Holiday Tidbits

Here are some snapshots from this Christmas:


This funny guy is Mitch's favorite ornament on our Christmas tree. And he says I have eclectic tastes!


These Santa Bears guarded Mitch's pile of presents. The note reads:

Beware, Mitch!
Laurie put us in charge of guarding these presents. Now, we're peaceful bears but we have our orders: if you touch them, we're going to have to bite your fingers off. So if you know what's good for you, you'll back away slowly and keep your distance.

Ferociously yours,
The Santa Bears


Our good buddy, Pete, was home from North Carolina for the holidays, so his family graciously threw a party so we could all get together. Here's Chelsey, Jillian, Pete, Sumit, me and Mitch at the end of the night.


Here we have Mitch and his brother-in-law, Brian, getting ready for Brian's first hunting excursion. They didn't see anything (story of Mitch's hunting year) but I got some great photos!


Before we left for Christmas with Mitch's family, we tried to snap a quick family photo in front of our tree. After jumping through hoops to position the camera just right, Chip would not cooperate and show his handsome face. Ah well...


Meet our new nephew, Mason Thomas Korodi! He's Christa and Brian's first, and this is a rare shot of him not angry with the world. Actually, he's very sweet, he just seemed to cry a lot during our Christmas celebration.


Mmm, what a yummy-looking Christmas Eve breakfast for two!


Who's that sharp-looking couple? Oh, it's us, all decked out on Christmas Day for the McGrath family party. Too bad you can't see my shoes...they're really hot.

Now the real work begins.

Now this is great: it's almost noon and I'm still in my PJs, robe and slippers. I feel cute, not lazy, as my PJs are new from VS and my slippers are fuzzy and pink. I also feel productive, because for the past hour or so I've been starting all the projects I've put off 'til after the holidays. Since I have the rest of the week off, I figured I should probably get rockin' on the following:

1. My return to academia: I signed up for Business Law at Alma because many MBA programs seem to be requiring it. That and I really need to get back into class mode if I want to survive...

2. ...my foray into graduate school! I've been researching programs this morning and am currently considering Northwood University, U of M Flint and possibly Cornerstone. My initial criteria includes location (Northwood and Cornerstone have branch campuses in Lansing) and how the programs fit with my schedule (U of M Flint is online with traditional classroom work every sixth weekend). More evaluation to come, I'm sure.

3. The great homestead quest: while we've been passively examining options for acreage in the greater Lansing area, an email I sent to our realtor should have her on the phone with me to organize the various online searches she's set up for us. The goal is 10+ acres by spring, then house-building the following spring.

4. And finally, the very quiet job search: this is definitely on the DL, but since I think I know who reads this, I'm OK disclosing because I don't think any of you are going to go a-blabbing. For the record, I like my job; it is fulfilling and I feel an immense sense of responsibility to the students and families with whom I work. However, I've know since I started that it wouldn't be a career and with our new move to the Lansing area, it feels like the right time to start looking for other opportunities down here. This week, I plan to update ye olde resume and touch base with a Lansing non-profit connection my dad suggested. With items 1-3 also in the works, I'll be very selective about my jobs, mainly because I won't be able to take a pay cut like last time and because I don't need to switch positions right now. Don't worry, I'll keep you all updated!

Other (more fun) things to look forward to this week: an overnight visit from my cousin, Dayna; basement-painting with Miriam; and New Years Eve at Jon's! And now, maybe I'll go get dressed. We need groceries and I need to go strut it in my new Arc'teryx coat, my wonderful Christmas present from my wonderful husband! (Yes, I know Meijer is not exactly hardcore enough for such a badass jacket, but I'll be on the slopes soon!)

Merry Christmas!

The stockings to carefully hung and filled are now empty; the brightly wrapped gifts are no longer in a festive pile underneath the tree, but are scattered throughout the living room and even the house. The scrumptious Christmas Eve meal has been reduced to leftovers and the sweet Christmas breakfast fills our tummies. But a fire still crackles in the fireplace, our family is still gathered together and more festivities will follow tonight.

I love the anticipation of Christmas morning, don't get me wrong: my entire family is incredibly generous and thoughtful in their gifts, and I have some lovely new things. But you can't beat Christmas Eve, with the fantastic food and the wonderful candlelight church service. That's when Christmas seems most real to me.

I don't miss TV...

...mostly because not having it means I don't have to listen to all the campaign ads! While I was catching up on my Townhall reading, I found a number of articles discussing recent TV ads for various presidential candidates and I mentally went, "Huh? If these are such a big deal, why haven't I seen them?"

Oh yeah, my rabbit ears give me three fuzzy stations and all are playing reruns or crappy reality TV. So except for some snippets of "The Simpsons" or "Two and a Half Men" while I make dinner, I'm immune to prime-time propaganda!

And cheesy as it was, I'm glad I was watching the last half of "Transformers" (I really liked that Bumblebee robot!) rather than cringing every time an ad for any candidate came on the screen. Painful memories of the Michigan gubernatorial campaign ads are still too fresh in my mind.

***

On a completely different note, I am so excited for Christmas! Almost all the gifts are wrapped and clustered under the tree; all the plans with family are made, including a late doe season hunt for my citified brother-in-law; and the cookies are baked, though they're rapidly disappearing. Here are our plans for the upcoming week:

Tonight: Party at the Pietila residence in Grand Rapids. Pete's parents sent us an invite because Pete will be home from North Carolina. It will be great to see him after so long!

Saturday: The above-referenced deer hunt takes place at Mitch's parents, and while the boys are shivering in the woods, I'll be holding my new nephew, Mason Thomas, and watching Christmas movies.

Sunday: Christmas at Mitch's parents, complete with a deep-fried turkey and more baby-cuddling.

Monday: Christmas Eve at my parents'. This will be a more relaxed celebration than usual, because we won't be getting together with any members of the extended family. Instead, Mom's making a fancy dinner and we'll attend an evening church service.

Tuesday: CHRISTMAS! We'll gather around my parents' tree to open presents in the morning, then head to my grandparents' (Mom's side) for an Italian Christmas celebration. Now you're probably thinking, "Laurie, you're not Italian!" Well, I have an Italian uncle who married in to the family and my aunt wants to expose us all to their fantastic traditions. I do love me some Italian food!

Wednesday and Thursday: Back to work for Mitch, and lots of sleep for me. My little cousin, Dayna, my come up to visit and I hope to be able to see Jen Conkey while she is in Michigan, but nothing is solid yet.

Friday: Finally, the Christmas celebration with Dad's side! This would usually be on Christmas Eve but my cousin, Ryan, and his son, Landon, are flying in on Christmas Day and we wanted to get together while they were here. Should be fun!

And of course, we've got great plans for New Years. It's not another cruise, like last year, but it's a big bash at Jonny D.'s in the basement we're been helping him renovate. I'm sure pictures will surface!

If I don't post again 'til after Christmas, here are my wishes for all of you: I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and are able to revel in all the joy of the season. To those of you with new babies: what a special, special year! Give your little ones kisses for me!

Fulfillment

Today, at this moment, I genuinely love my job. I was able to pass on news of acceptance to two students who are or have recently been legally homeless. One has some great role models who have helped shape him over the past few months, and the other, as far as I can tell, has been the beneficiary of extreme kindness.

Whether either of them come to Alma, I know they'll both go to college. And I know that today, I made two phone calls that will probably end up being the highlights of their weeks.

A Susie Homemaker Day

I would just like to announce that I took an entire vacation day to bake Christmas cookies. On the menu, we have jam pockets, black forest cookies and probably chocolate chip with dark chocolate, holiday-colored M&Ms.

Yum!

Oh, and Ryan, I'm not sure about the legitimacy of driving bra-less, but it had to go down that way. I just wonder if the guys in the truck behind me could see me whip that puppy out from under my shirt! Ha! (And the technique is magic...if we women told you guys how we did it, we'd have to kill you.)

Time to don my apron and get into the kitchen!

And now the state of...

...my boobs.

Tim, Ryan, I'd prefer comments be kept to a minimum from you two. This post is for my female readers!

I accidentally bought a push-up bra, and I am regretting my reluctance to try it on in the store. See, I was in a hurry and I needed a flesh-colored bra for underneath my gold "holiday" top. It looked good, felt soft...I wore it for an evening with no ill effects, but I have it on now and I hate it! Now granted, it shouldn't feel any different; I mean, how much do I really have to push up? ("You hit Laurie in the chest! What are the chances of that?!?!?") But let me tell you, the girls are not pleased right now. And I'm at work, so they're not getting freed until we're safely in the car!

So ladies, I'd like to hear any experiences - good or bad - you've had with a push-up bra. And I hope they come quickly so I have some way of distracting myself until 4 pm!

I would prefer to focus on Christmas...

...(and on new babies, TIM) rather than politics, but this article was too interesting to pass up. No, it's not on global warming or Repubs vs. Demos, but rather a synopsis of the main Republican candidates' strengths and weaknesses. Enjoy!

Photos

As promised, here is a photo of our Christmas tree! Isn't it beautiful?



And as an added bonus, here are some cute kitty cat photos. See, we took our goldfish out of the tank and put him in a glass bowl because he was being mean to one of the other fish. Then we put the bowl on the table and let Chip have a little fun with the fishy!

Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

I am happy to report that our Christmas tree is up and glorious like never before! I'll post a photo when I get home tonight, but let me tell you, vaulted ceilings open up a whole new world for Christmas trees! Our tree is a beautiful nine feet tall and finally, a focal point rather than an afterthought stuffed in a corner of the dining room.

Knowing how much I love Christmas trees, my ever-wonderful husband has the lights set to turn on when I come out for breakfast in the morning, turn off when we leave for work, and be on again by the time I walk in the door. Now if he could just make it automatically water itself...no, I love taking care of it! Chip thoroughly enjoys it, too; I call him my Christmas cat because he is always curled up on the tree skirt.

In other holiday-related news, I've almost completed the Christmas shopping. Let me tell you, I love buying gifts for my family and friends! I think I would do it all year round if I wouldn't go broke. (Instead, I compensate by incessantly feeding people - who wants to come over for dinner?!?!?) I've been able to completely spoil Mitch, too, but I'll refrain from posting too much about that because he reads this! (Mitch, if you're looking for a hint, you won't find it on this blog!)

And finally, there's one Christmas activity left besides the actual celebrations: cooking baking! This year, Lizzie (Bruce's girlfriend) and I are taking a whole day to bake together at my apartment. So far, we are planning jam pockets, black forest cookies, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies and maybe Snickerdoodles. Again with the feeding...I'm really going to need help eating all of them or the pounds the bike trainer is taking off are going to come back in full force!

I haven't decided...

...who I'll support in the primaries, but HuckChuckFacts is rather convincing! Thanks for posting that, Ryan!

For Ryan

No, it's not a politically-charged column from the ever-wonderful Townhall.com - this entry is an update on the things about which he asked in his most recent comment!

The new digs:
We do like our new apartment in St. Johns. The commute is longer for both of us, but I've already gotten used to it. "Oh look, there's M-57! I'm halfway home, only 15 more minutes!" I'm also catching up on cell phone calls as I cruise at a safe 61 mph down that slow section of 127. As for the town, we have not had much time to explore. We found a Meijer 15 minutes away in DeWitt, a Blockbuster just across the street from said Meijer, and discovered when and where open gym occurs. I think we pretty much have our bases covered, other than finding a bar that serves amazing Long Islands.

Mitch's job:
He really enjoys it. Ridiculously so, in fact. He's had some informal performance reviews and those have gone well, and he's always telling me about different pricing projects he has on his plate. He feels like Dart is the kind of company with which he could stay for a long time, and I like that idea. Company loyalty doesn't happen as much nowadays, but if you can find a place where the atmosphere and opportunities for advancement are good, there's no reason to look elsewhere.

What priorities?

Usually I'm very good at prioritizing, but this afternoon I really stink at it! I have a nice long to-do list here at the office, but here's the thing: I don't want to do any of it! Write notecards to my students: nope, not a fan. Ditto on Christmas cards. Format email blasts: nope, burned out on that after a couple of hours this morning. Email some kids with specific scholarship info: maybe, but that requires getting a list and...yeah, nope. Browsing through photos for the new slideshow: um, not really thrilled about that, either. Eat another Jello Jiggler leftover from the Christmas potluck for our student workers: yeah, I think I can do that one! All right, just 23 more minutes 'til I don't have to feel guilty about not wanting to be here!

Let it SNOW!

We have a big admissions event tomorrow...scholarship interviews...I have to drive downstate for a wedding that afternoon...if it keeps snowing, or stops and then gets as bad as they say it will, the roads could get pretty slick...

But I say, "Bring on the snow!" I love winter and once everyone calms down on the roadways, we'll all be OK. This first blast of winter just freaks everyone out. But I'm not freaked out - I LOVE SNOW! So let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Family Resemblance?

I thought I'd post some photos from Thanksgiving, and see what you guys think about the family resemblances!


For the McGrath side, here's Mom and Gramma...


...and me and Mom.


Now the Eccles side: Grandpa and Dad...


...and me and Dad.

I don't think I'll ever resemble my mom as much as she resembles my grandma...those Eccles genes are pretty strong. At my Grandma Eccles's funeral, an old friend came up to me, put her hands on my face, and said, "You look just like Linda!" Linda is my aunt on my dad's side, but I don't have any pictures of her because she was the one behind the camera all night.

Based on all the smiles, I know you can tell we had a wonderful evening. In fact, we had a wonderful long weekend, though we didn't end up as busy as we anticipated. Since my sister-in-law went into early labor and subsequently got put on bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy, we did not go to her house in Ohio the a Saturday Thanksgiving meal. That left a whole day, which we filled with a bit of shopping and workout time. We did cut our Christmas tree on Sunday, but that only took an hour (unheard of - usually it's a whole afternoon!) because we found a great place right away. AND we got a TALL tree this year, to go with the vaulted ceilings in our living room! Yesssss!

Work is going well; I'm back in the office full time, with no more traveling around 'til it's time for winter college fairs. I've been able to be productive despite working on a folding table in the main part of the old International Office. Actually, it wouldn't be bad, but the whole rep staff is stuffed into the space down there and when my coworkers are goofing off (happens pretty often), it can get pretty distracting. In a few weeks, we should all be settled back into the Admissions building in brand new offices! Another yessssss!

Thankful for new little ones

As always, Thanksgiving is my time to especially recall all the things for which I'm thankful, not the least of which are our family and friends, our health and the many ways in which God provides for us.

This year, I have some extra special "thankfuls:" Tim and Anna's new baby, Caedmon James Slade, has made his grand entrance, and my sister-in-law, Christa, is expecting her son to arrive at any time. I'm preliminarily thankful for a successful birth for him, and hope to get a phone call with joyful news soon.

Today I'm not celebrating Black Friday at the stores...I couldn't even if I wanted to, because Mitch left early this morning with my car and I can't really drive his manual transmission. He is out hunting with his brother, trying to be a good provider in preparation for the winter! I'm happily puttering around our apartment, cleaning, doing laundry and putting up Christmas decorations. 'Tis the season!

Frustrated

I don't know how much more obvious I can be: stop asking me questions when it becomes apparent that I don't have the answers! If I can't answer the basics, I can't do the specifics, either.

Oh, and you don't get a lunch break AND a workout break. One or the other: I make it work, you should be able to as well. I don't care how pregnant or sympathetic to pregnancy you are!

The long weekend cannot come soon enough!

New Apartment Pictures

The new place is put together enough for me to post some pictures:


Here's a view from a corner of the living room. The doorway is the front door, and just to my right is the balcony door.


Now I'm standing in front of the balcony door, shooting into the living room.


Here's our dining room, which looks remarkably similar to our old one: right down to the pictures on the wall!


Here's our nice, big kitchen! The door goes to our very own laundry room. Yeah!


Here's the guest room/office/storage room. It's all ready for guests...


...as is our brightly colored guest bathroom!


Here's our bedroom, complete with the skis in the corner. I don't think we'll be keeping the bikes in here again, though it is a possibility.


And finally, our nice, new master bathroom. Like the colors? I do - I bought them with points earned on my work credit card. Thanks, Alma!

In less than a week, this place will undergo a transformation for the holidays. I love decorating for Christmas, but I refuse to do so until after Thanksgiving. As in, the day after Thanksgiving! I'll definitely post pictures of what is sure to be a lovely Christmas tree!

Almost done...

Well, I'm nearing the end of another travel season. This has been the easiest one so far, mostly because I got to see Mitch throughout most of it. I suppose I'm also a bit more used to it, but I sure am tired of it by now. It's like the last 100 meters of a set of 400 meter repeats: you've been pushing yourself really hard, and you're too exhausted to even feel any sense of satisfaction. The satisfaction comes later, when you've had time to reflect on all you've accomplished.

I can't wait to get back to St. Johns. (I almost wrote "Mt. Pleasant!") I want to truly settle into our new place, and take Chip home, too. He has been staying at my parents' nonstop since mid-September and now he's going to have to get used to a new home, just like Mitch and me. And speaking of the new home, here are some highlights:

*I already like having the master bathroom. I didn't think I would, but now I can devote a whole bathroom to our guests...and that means I better keep getting overnight visitors!

*I love the laundry room! It's so convenient, and I've been able to use some of the space to make up for the lack of cabinet space in the kitchen.

*And the kitchen: a more open floor and newer appliances make it a very nice place to cook. I'm sure I'll rearrange a few things, but so far I'm happy.

*The living and dining rooms have cathedral ceilings, which make the space look bigger than it actually is. Nice, very nice!

The biggest adjustment, other than the commute to Alma, is that we are not getting cable for now. Charter charges an arm and a leg for cable, so we've been on a really basic plan that only offers network stations. Since the writers' strike continues, most of our favorite shows will run out of episodes by the end of the month. Why should we pay to flip through a bunch of reality TV and reruns, which we won't end up watching anyway? And we don't even need to worry about Internet right away, because someone in our building has wireless. That means we can explore other Internet options for a bit while still having access as needed. To meet our entertainment and news needs, we're thinking about increasing our Blockbuster Online plan and subscribing to the newspaper. I think I can handle that!

And on a completely unrelated note, the holiday season is beginning and the weekends are filling up with all sorts of wonderful plans. Here's what's coming up for us:

This weekend: The final Alma College fall open house, deer hunting for Mitch, and a trip to Bronner's to buy some ornaments as a wedding gift
Thanksgiving: Dinner with my family, dinner with Mitch's family in Ohio, and Christmas tree cutting with my family
December 1: The first Alma College scholarship competition and a wedding
December 8: The Dart Christmas party
December 15: A weekend of winter and wine in Travese City, with all luck
December 22: Christmas weekend - plans TBD
New Years: The big party at Jon's!
First weekend in January: Grandpa's 85th birthday party
Second weekend in January: MY birthday! Goodbye 25, hello 26...

Busy busy!

We're here!

Well, we're all moved in! Not unpacked by any means, and really in need of a foot massage, but happy to be here. Photos to come, but they won't look much different than our last place since all the decorations are the same. What a day!

Priceless

Six rolls of packing tape: $30
50 feet of bubble wrap: $25
Piles and piles of boxes: $50, plus mooching off Mom and Dad's workplaces
Visions of packing tape, bubble wrap, and boxes dancing through my head all night: Priceless

On a related note, I kind of pride myself on having a very clean kitchen, but when I packed everything up and went to clean from top to bottom, I was disgusted to find out how much grime actually lives under/behind/on the edges of everything. Yuck!

The move happens tomorrow, and I'll be so happy when we're all settled in again!

Political Correctness on Campus

I never thought I would post an article from the New York Times, but here it is. And it aligns well with an article on Townhall.com, which is just amazing!

Halloween Party!

Ray and Kristy hosted our annual Halloween party on Saturday...good times!


Here's me as a mermaid - this has to be my favorite Halloween costume EVER!


Ewww...Mitch and Ray as Playboy bunnies. Pretty much the scariest thing I've ever seen, but good for tons of laughs!


Kristy the flapper, trying out her litter box/cat poop dessert. And yes, it was very tasty!


How Bruce ever got such a cute Violet Beauregard to be seen in public with him is beyond me. Then again, I am married to one of the bunnies...


Our costume contest winners: Bruce got "Funniest," Mitch got "Scariest," and Kristy got "Sexiest."



Here's the whole group, minus my brother who is out in Colorado for the winter. Peter Pan and Wendy, on the end there, are Bobby's girlfriend, Andi, and her friend, Shannon, respectively.

Mellow Week

Other than a few brief, stressful moments here at the office, my week has been very nice indeed. I only had two days' worth of visits and a day catching on up pesky doctors' appointments before heading back to Mt. Pleasant. It's Thursday and I've spent the entire day working on things that desperately needed to be done but weren't...until NOW! So I get to blog for the last few minutes of the day.

Tomorrow should be another productive one, both at work and at home. Since I'm back in the apartment, I'll be working on packing the rest of our stuff, which includes the contents of my closet, most of the kitchen, and some miscellaneous items. Then I have a big campus event on Saturday, followed by a quick drive back to South Lyon to shower and change before heading to Ray's to get set up for the Halloween party.

Changing the subject - here are some of my thoughts after watching this morning's news(ish) show, Today. (1) Any woman who votes for Hillary Clinton simply because she's a woman is sexist; and (2) Any woman who votes for Hillary Clinton because they think the "boys" are "ganging up on her" has no faith in her gender. And yes, I heard both of those lines as reasons she should earn votes among women. Seriously, newscasters...

Saturday's Tasks

1. Make it out of bed and get presentable - check.

2. Host a group visit at Alma and try to make everyone happy, while not saying anything too stupid - check (and I must have done something right because my VP wants me to do a presentation for the faculty sometime - yikes!).

3. Schmooze at lunch - beginning in fifteen minutes.

4. Return to the apartment to complete the majority of our packing. This is going to be an all-day project, halted only for a quick bowl of chili from the crock pot for dinner.

And on Sunday, we'll need to pack bags for the rest of the week in South Lyon, wrap Mom DeYoung's birthday present, get dinner marinating, take dinner to Mitch's parents', celebrate Mom D.'s birthday, set up the deer blind, clear shooting lanes, check the accuracy of Mitch's scope so he can provide for me come hunting season, make final plans for the baby shower next Sunday, put the finishing touches on my mermaid tale, and drive back to SL.

We are set to move to St. Johns in two weeks. Then life should start to go back to its normal busy pace, rather than this current frantic one!

Me + Panera = A Great Way to Kill Time

Anytime I have some downtime during the day - like when I don't see any students and leave a school early, with at least an hour 'til my next appointment - I go on a mission to find a Panera Bread. Not only is the food good, but the wireless Internet makes it so I can catch up on work email and all my friends' blogs!

So that's what I'm doing right now: I have half an hour left to surf the 'net before heading to my third high school of the day, so I thought I'd update all of you on life in general. The biggest thing, I suppose, is our impending move to St. Johns. Mitch and I were approved for an apartment on the north side of town, so we're going to spend the next couple of weekends packing and move in by mid-November.

Pros of the new place: Our very own washer and dryer, a larger living room, nicer appliances, and a master bathroom (I guess that last one is a pro, though I feel it's sort of a waste of space).

Cons of the new place: First floor rather than second (OK, those helping move us aren't sad about that, but I like second floor apartments, especially because this complex has vaulted ceilings on the second floor!), considerably less storage (we have to get a storage unit for all our stuff!), and a smaller master bedroom. It also costs more, but that was expected given our proximity to Lansing.

What's with the house, though? Well, whatever. Our real estate agent is supposed to let us know when it goes on the market as a foreclosure, but we'll more than likely stay in the apartment and save for a bit longer. I'm fine with that and am really just excited at the prospect of having a home of our own again!

In other news, my brother is moving to Colorado in a few days to start his winter stint on Winter Park's ski race crew. He's living in a duplex with our cousin and another friend from high school. He's really excited, and I'm excited for him, but I'm mostly happy that a new romantic interest insures he'll be back in the spring.

That's it, other than I'm about to realize a childhood dream: in a couple weekends, I'll be a mermaid! The annual Halloween party, while not hosted by us this year, is the weekend after Halloween and my mom and I have been working diligently to sew the most beautiful mermaid tail you've ever seen. Once I've constructed my seashell bra, the ensemble will be complete! I promise to post pictures!

Unwinding

After I graduated from college, I remember having a phone conversation with my dad about how I didn't know what to do with all my time. I would go to work at the hospital from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm, and then I'd have the rest of my night, whereas in college it was 8 am 'til midnight or later, all the time. He told me if I wasn't married and actually liked my job, I'd turn into a work-a-holic.

And as with most things, I'm finding he's right.

Since Mitch doesn't generally come back to Mt. Pleasant with me on Thursdays or Fridays, I find myself at the office much later than normal. For instance, I just finished a campus tour and should be packing up to go home, but I'm unwinding with a blog post and contemplating staying another hour or so to get some less-than-urgent projects accomplished. The only thing keeping work-a-holism at bay is the rumbling in my stomach, telling me that this afternoon's peanut butter sandwich and kiwi-fruit are long gone.

To stay or to go...well, I'll be miserable if I get even more hungry (not that I know what I'm going to make for dinner, anyway) and I can always send emails from my couch while watching back episodes of House. Man, I'm terrible at being single.

Weekend hits

Friday night, Mitch and I went to the Carson City-Crystal Homecoming football game and watched arguably the worst football I've ever seen...it was, however, a great time! While Mitch spent most of the game lamenting the terribly blocking, the poor play selection, and the team's inability to tackle, I was swept up in the strange magic of high school football. Maybe it was the twinge of the cold weather combined with the scent of dewy grass and concession-stand popcorn. Maybe it was the blare of the little marching band or the dull clang of my shoes on the bleachers, or maybe it was the tangible excitement and pride of the players and their student fans when they finally managed their season's first (and likely only) win. Whatever the case, I found myself on my feet, cheering loudly as the fourth quarter drew to an exciting close.

The contrast between the Friday night game and the college spectacle I experienced could not be greater. Thanks to Ray's standing as a U of M dental student, he managed to get tickets for Kristy, Mitch, Matt and me for Saturday's game against Purdue. When I finally stepped into the Big House (after the longest walk ever!), I forgot the pain of my lovely heel blisters and was in absolute awe of the number of people packed in, chanting in unison every time the band played the fight song. The stands reminded me of Sunday Afternoon on the Island La Grande Jatte, a painting by Georges Seurat who used a technique called pointillism on that particular Neo-Impressionistic work: and by that, I mean that each little person could have been part of a whole scene, which tells you the absolute magnitude of Michigan Stadium.

Switching from football mode on Sunday, our little group packed into my new G6 for a trip to Cedar Point. It was my first in almost five years, given my aversion to waiting in long lines. But, on this nice, cool October weekend, we never waited more that 45 minutes for a ride and hit most of the coasters in the park. I was even able to doctor my feet such that I barely felt the big blisters from the day before!

And now it's Monday, and I'm feeling the excitement of the weekend fade into the background as I deal with another week of recruiting. This morning was rocky: I discovered I forgot my black dress shoes and had to borrow a pair from my mom. She has good taste, but her shoes are half a size too big and I had to outfit them with some moleskin from my blister-care supplies. Even that doesn't keep the heel from slipping when I walk, but it's better than nothing. I also experienced a (pleasant?) surprise when the PRESIDENT of the ALMA COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES showed up at one of my high school visits. He has taken a personal interest in one particular young man and decided to join him for my talk that day. Nothing like a bit of pressure! Plus another student's father was there as well, and the counselor, so I felt like a ping-pong ball, trying to answer everyone's questions and not screw up in front of the most important figure at Alma College. Happy Monday to me.

Mmmm. Must get food for strength during tonight's college fair. Must make sure all is packed so hotel stay for next three days doesn't cause more stress. Must get brain unscrambled (highly unlikely).

House Update

When we last left our intrepid house-hunters, they were planning to reevaluate their housing budget, do some research on a lovely home, and possibly make an offer.

Budget determination: We can definitely afford more than we could a year ago, and felt it was close enough to make an offer, especially in light of the information we found on the home...

Home information: Anyone purchasing a house should always take a trip the the county's Register of Deeds first! I went in there with an address and came out know when the property was purchased, how much was spent, and the amount of the mortgage for the house itself. I also learned the house is in the process of foreclosure, how much the owner needs to get to have it not go to the bank, and when the bank will take it away if he doesn't get said amount of money. Oh yeah, and we also now know the name of the attorney with whom he is working regarding the foreclosure.

Offer outcome: In keeping with our budget, we were only able to offer the owner $20K less than he owes on it. He turned us down because there is no incentive for him to take a loss like that. His credit is already shot and he really has nothing more to lose (other than a sense of pride) by letting the foreclosure proceed. Still, we felt we should give it a shot. Unfortunately for him, with the decreased values in the Michigan housing market (up to 30% decreases in the last year), it's unlikely that he will be able to unload the home for the price he needs.

So what now? Well, because we know the attorney's name and approximately when it will go on the market as a foreclosure, we've put the realtor with whom we've been working on the trail. With all luck, she will be able to let us know as soon as it becomes available through the bank, which should be in December, and if the price is right, we may be homeowners shortly after the New Year. In the meantime, we plan to move to an apartment in St. Johns. I have three, possibly four, places to check out on Thursday on the way back to Alma.

And they're ugly, too!

The Prius is one of those cars that make me cringe when I see them on the road, along with that goofy-looking Honda Element. Other than being particularly hideous, they don't deserve all the environmentally-friendly hype. Read this and watch this, and tell me you're not amused.

Bottom line: if you're committed to driving vehicles that conserve energy and get better gas mileage, don't let me catch you in a Prius. Ride a bike or try biodiesel.

It's been almost five years...

...and I'm still waiting to be "blown away," Governor Granholm.

Thanks.

For you out-of-staters, here's what's been happening in our beloved Michigan:

(From an article in the Wall Street Journal's online edition - emphasis added)

Hail to the Taxers
Oct. 2, 2007

Actor Jeff Daniels makes a cool pitchman in those national TV spots inviting business to Michigan, but soon he may have to start pitching inside the state. At about 2 a.m. Monday, a handful of Republicans in the Legislature broke days of gridlock and handed Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm the $1.48 billion tax increase she has been demanding.

The state's personal income tax will rise to 4.35% from 3.9%, and the rest of the revenue grab will come from a new 6% sales tax on business services. Already 14th in tax burden among the 50 states, according to the Tax Foundation, Michigan is now headed up in the rankings. Congratulations.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce estimates that two-thirds of the $750 million in new sales tax revenue will apply to business transactions that are tax exempt in most states to avoid a compounding effect that raises costs to final consumers. The tax is especially unfair to small employers that contract out for activities, such as office services, that large businesses provide in-house with no sales tax applied. By the way, last year Michigan introduced a new 4.95% business income tax, which will be applied on top of the sales tax.

Last year, amid the national expansion, Michigan was the only state outside the Gulf Coast to lose jobs and see a decline in economic output. Comerica Bank recently moved its headquarters to Texas, in part because of Michigan's hostile business climate. Michigan's 7.4% jobless rate is the highest of all states and far above the 4.6% national rate.

The state is suffering from the decline of Detroit's car makers, but that's all the more reason to promote policies that attract new businesses -- or at least don't drive current employers to Florida. Ms. Granholm argues that the combination of new taxes to balance the budget, and to finance such new public "investment" as job retraining and education, will reinvigorate Michigan.

She should check her history books. In the past 25 years, the only period when Michigan's growth has exceeded that of the national economy was in the mid-1990s after then-Governor John Engler's tax cutting and welfare reform. For a time, Michigan became the unlikely national leader in job creation. Now the total tax burden is returning to where it was before the Engler years.

Michigan last went on a taxing binge in 1983, and voters were outraged enough to mount a successful recall campaign against two state Senate ringleaders. This time, two of three Michigan voters have told pollsters they want budget cuts, not new taxes. It may be that the only way to get jobs back into Michigan is to make sure the taxing politicians in Lansing lose theirs.

More Adventures in House-Hunting

Or, "The Quest for a (Semi?) Permanent Residence."

Monday's house-hunting brought on sort of an epiphany for Mitch and me: we want new construction.

We checked out a house that is for sale by owner and substantially out of our price range, but since it had been on the market for a long time, we thought he might deal. Of course, we fell in love. The guy built it for himself and his wife, but once he got it framed in she decided it was too small. So he finished it, right down to brand new appliances, and has been trying to unload it for a year. It has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a roughed-in basement, a gorgeous kitchen, a fireplace, a nice little deck, a two-car garage, and three acres of land. Wow!

None of the existing homes we visited later that night even held a candle to this place. I've seen many people make beautiful renovations to existing homes with some issues, but we've pretty much decided we would rather not take chances on somewhat of a "fixer-upper" (which is all we've really found) that could end up being more trouble than we bargained for.

So what now?

1. Find out if we can afford to make him a reasonable offer. We had a budgeted amount for a house when we were searching in Mt. Pleasant, but we think we can afford a bit more because of Mitch's new job. We are also prepared to make some lifestyle changes, whereas in Mt. P we didn't really think about that possibility. So we need to get our budget set and find out how much the owner owes on the house. If those figures match up, we'll make an offer. If he wants to get rid of it badly enough, he'll settle for breaking even.

2. If we can't afford to make a reasonable offer, we will officially abandon house-hunting and shift gears to apartment-hunting. Once we're settled, we'll begin actively looking for land, purchase at least an acre when we find something we like, increase the contributions to the house fund, and plan to build our own place in a year or two.

It makes me feel good to have a plan when our situation has been up in the air for so long. If course, I know my plans make God (and everyone else) laugh, but they get me through and I've proven to be flexible with them. I think I just need a place from which I can flex, rather than adopting a "go with the flow" attitude. That type of an outlook is admirable, to be sure, but too stressful for me!

Done in the Yoop

I survived another year of the UP Swing after logging over 1500 miles in just five days. Yikes! Now I'm down at my parents' house, hanging out and preparing for travel in my real territory.

You know, I like being down here with my family, but I really don't like this part of the state. All the traffic, people, buildings, noise, money...I mean, when the mall at which you generally shop puts in an Armani store with a real DJ spinning in the front window, you know the area is rich enough to support such folly. And after checking out some of the "new" (read: recycled 1980s) fashion trends, I think I'm going to be doing my fall clothes shopping at REI.

Mitch has been staying with my parents all week because the commute to Mason is shorter from here than from Mt. Pleasant. Plus, my dad offered up the motorcycle on nice days, so Mitch has been saving a ton of money in gas. He'll continue to stay here until we find a place in St. Johns, which brings me to the next topic: when we'll find a place to live.

We're going to see three, maybe four, houses tomorrow after work. The consensus is that if nothing really grabs us this week, we'll more thoroughly explore the apartment option and make our permanent residence plans more long-range: i.e. look for land and plan to build our dream house (or a practical version of it) in a year or two. I'll keep you posted!

Good question.

Tim asked a good question in his comment on my last post: whether it's difficult to be hands-off at this point in the week, and whether I feel like I don't really have a role in our travels. I thought I'd address it in the ten or so minutes before we go to dinner.

In short, the answer to both is, "Not really." Now that the week is closing out, college fairs only take up about two hours of the day. For those two hours, while I let the new reps man the table on their own, I get that coveted "me" time. I can answer emails from work and take care of my other tasks, or just spend some quiet time browsing the web.

I feel like I've done my job this week. At first, I did most of the talking at the fairs, and would listen to their conversations with families to determine where they needed some assistance. I talked about conversation techniques, questions to ask to keep them at the table longer, ways to connect with them, and demonstrated a number of them. After the first fair, I let them take more of a center stage role, eventually fading into the background and just jumping in when they asked. I feel they have a very good grasp of what to do and say, and now they need time to hone their skills without being self-conscious. And let's face it: this is not rocket science. Most of the time these kids won't remember anything you say in the two minutes you get with them. They will, however, remember a smiling face who expressed genuine interest in them, which is what I hope I've instilled during this training week.

Mah-nah-mah-nah!

(Do-doo-do-do-do)

Muppets, anyone?

Yes, I am in Menominee, hanging out at a college fair and letting one of our new reps man the table solo. It works out nice: we've done three fairs together, and the last one I basically stood in the background and came to the rescue only when needed. Since MHS brings in three distinct groups of students (juniors, sophomores and seniors) at separate times, Matt's on for the juniors, we'll all have fun watching the awkward sophomores, and Megan will take the seniors. That gives me time to blog, especially since I found a wireless connection in the school!

So the UP week has been pretty fun. Last night we went out for a late dinner with the U of M and Adrian reps, and tonight there will probably be a slightly larger crew at one of the only restaurants in Ironwood. I have to admit, my natural tendency to be an introvert is really at odds with the role I'm playing this week. I would like nothing more than to curl up with a book, all alone, and spend a few hours recharging (and resting my voice - it's about gone). Maybe this evening I can have some "me" time.

I was asked to be a medical school reference for my intern, so I think I'll get started on that. I don't know how well I'll be able to answer some of the questions specific to his qualifications, but I can soundly attest to his work ethic and sense of personal responsibility. I'm guessing that's what he's hoping for from me!

Swingin' in the Yoop

Well, travel season has officially begun, and I'm writing from a lovely hotel in Iron Mountain, Mich. This week, I am traveling around the Upper Peninsula with Alma's two newest admissions reps, taking part in the "UP Swing," a series of six college fairs. It's a lot of fun, because you get to know reps from other schools and hang out after the fairs, but of course, travel is my least favorite job function so I'm kind of bummed that this means I have to start all of that again.

See, I really hate being away from home for so long. Mostly I miss Mitch, but I also miss the physical space I call home. This year is even more challenging, because we're trying to find a new place to live, too. Don't ask me how that's going...I don't really know. Mitch is going to look at a couple of houses this week, and he'll also check out apartments. I kind of want someone else to make the decisions and tell me what to do. It's overwhelming to think of it now.

And yes, Mitch begins his new job tomorrow. I'm confident he'll enjoy the new challenges it presents and I hope he's as fulfilled by it as we anticipate.

Now I have about 45 minutes until it's time to get some dinner before our first fair, so I'm going to curl up on my comfy bed and read for a bit. More updates should come throughout the week!

Rained Out

This seems to be the summer of aborted vacations. Last week, I took Thursday and Friday off and we packed up for a hiking trip at Pictured Rocks. We knew it would be rainy, but we thought we'd give it a try anyway. Here we are at the trailhead, bound for Mosquito Falls:



One hundred yards later, we donned garbage bags over our packs and kept moving, only to discover - a mile later - that we'd left our pass in the car. So Mitch went back to the car (he says running is for suckers, but he jogged anyway) and then we continued on to Mosquito Falls, where we posed for photos despite the rain.





We made it out to Lake Superior, had lunch, and paused quickly for the only shot of the cliffs we could manage, given the swarms of mosquitos that descended every time we stopped moving. And yes, we had bug spray, but it didn't help much because the rain kept washing it off.



After a couple of miles of hiking along the shoreline, we gave up. It was getting miserable and it was very likely that nothing would dry out even if the rain stopped. So we turned around and trudged back to the car. We thought we might still be able to salvage a night of camping elsewhere, but about half a mile from the car, the sky opened up with a soaker. The trails became little rivers, gushing around our boots, and the wind whipped sheets of rain right through us, it seemed. Looking like a couple of drowned rats, we threw our packs in the trunk and headed for the nearest (cheapest) motel we could find. We tried to maintain a bit of our budget, though, by cooking Raman in the parking lot and eating dinner out of our backpacking cookware:



Here's what our room looked like when we spread all our wet things around:







After a night of relative luxury, we awoke to still-wet boots (and almost everything else). Though the sun was shining, rain was in the forecast for the evening, so rather than try to navigate the trails in our sandals, we packed up the car and headed home, stopping along Lake Michigan to play.



So, while it wasn't the trip we planned, it was still fun and we still enjoyed the time we spent together. This will be Mitch's last vacation until after Christmas, because with his new job, he doesn't get any time off until after the first of the year. And speaking of his job, he starts next Monday (Sept. 17) and is really looking forward to it. I am, too, but I've kind of gotten used to having my "house husband" do all the cooking and cleaning!

One more thing unrelated to hiking or new jobs: Mitch and I just got the new Caedmon's Call CD, Overdressed, and really like it! I'm still going through my usual pattern of listening to it over and over until I start to identify my favorite songs, but so far I'm very pleased. Everyone reading this should go check it out!

Ew!

So we went to see the house last night and, with the help of our parents, discovered some major problems with the kitchen floor (rotting underneath) and the septic system (standing sewage). Gross! Obviously that means we won't be buying this one. Luckily, we have some time to look because it doesn't make a ton of sense to force a move before travel season is over for me, which for all intents and purposes is the end of October.

She takes a deep breath...

...and revels in the relative calm of the day. Last week was a busy, stressful week but the long, wonderful weekend with my family made everything better. That and Preterm is over, so my obligations to the Orientation Committee are significantly scaled back.

Last Week's Stresses:

• The OCs: Oh my goodness. In addition to just having to supervise them and help them plan three off-campus trips, we had two major communication breakdowns that resulted in program changes and cancellations. I literally took two whole mornings to straighten things out. The lesson: as much as they may chafe against it, I'm going to be shortening the leash even more this year and requiring formal reports from them at the end of each day. Ugh...
• Publications: They're pretty much done now, but last week was a flurry of hasty revisions and "I-need-this-now" projects. Whew.
• Travel planning: I probably have half my appointments for this fall confirmed, but it's always challenging to juggle appointments around when things don't work out according to my plan!

Great Things About Labor Day Weekend:

• We stayed at my aunt and uncle's cottage in Boyne City and had a great time at the festivities surrounding the Red Fox Regatta on Lake Charlevoix.
• The wind was crazy on Sunday, so we went to Petoskey State Park to play in the huge waves. I even tried surfing and was semi-successful!
• Mitch and I had rode two good mountain biking trails: Hanson Hills in Grayling (actually, I rode that one on my own because Mitch bent his rim a mile and a half in and had to walk out while I finished) and Aspen Park in Gaylord. We tried Hartwick Pines in Grayling on the way home, but it wasn't a good trail so we turned around.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:

• Tonight Mitch and I are taking both sets of parents to look at a house in St Johns that we really like. I'll take lots of pictures and will try to post them. Unless something is seriously wrong with this place (and we don't think there is, because we've already been to see it once), we'll probably start the process of putting in an offer later this week!
• I requested some vacation time at the end of this week, and Mitch and I are hoping to take a trip up North for some hiking. Rain is in the forecast, but we're still planning to go and then make adjustments as needed.
• It's apple season in Michigan, and the U-Pick orchards are gearing up. Right before I start fall travel, Mitch and I always go pick a nice big bag of apples; I know it's a funny thing to look forward to, but I always love those afternoons!

OK, I need to prep for arts and crafts time - a.k.a. our rep work meeting, where today we're putting together our display boards!

Praise the Lord!

Mitch got his job offer from Dart Container today! We're so thankful for this blessing, and for all the support of our family and friends. His tentative start date in September 10.

Praise God!

So anxious

No word yet. I don't do well with the unknown, even though all signs point to an eventual offer from Dart. They don't tell you to call them if you get an offer from another company before hearing back from them if they don't want you; they don't review benefits with you if they don't want you - but if they want Mitch, they should just call him!

I'm struggling so hard to be patient. Sometimes I want to break down and just rage with frustration that things are taking so long. Then I hear that little voice that says, Trust, and the urge recedes...until the next time I think about it and get anxious all over again. I seem to pray equally hard for progress and patience.

Changing the subject: Saturday was move-in for all the freshmen! For the first time, Admissions was a formal part of the check-in process, providing students with a decal for their cars and a card with some pertinent information (like where their first advisor meeting was taking place). And there was one priceless moment: standing in Newberry lobby and hearing the first strains of Tenacious D's "F*** Her Gently" blare from the iPod. I hopped over and skipped past that one very quickly!

I also went waterskiing this weekend for the first time all summer. Yes, pathetic, given the amount of time I've spent at the lake, but the water has never been nice enough for my spoiled tastes. I lucked out this time, though: after dinner, when the lake was clear and flat, my dad took me for a pull behind his Chris-Craft, an old wooden boat he reconstructed. I think it was really cool for him to drive the boat he resurrected from a rotting pile of wood, pulling the daughter he taught to ski so long ago. At least, that's how I interpreted the huge grin he was sporting each time he turned around!

Now it's Monday and I'm back at work (sore from biking and skiing) but less stressed than last week. Well, there seems to be less work-related stress, anyway. Here's some background and then an explanation of what has been waking me up in the middle of the night:

This year, we started planning our Admissions publications very early. We always seem to run behind on them and then scramble at the last minute, and we were committed to not letting that happen this year. Because we wanted to revamp everything, we decided to hire a copywriter to give our pieces a new voice: something a little spunky that would appeal to our students while still accurately getting the important information across. I was pretty pumped about this, because I wrote the copy for our viewbook last year (in 24 hours!) and I didn't really want to get roped into it again, especially as the deadline approached and I was neck-deep in other projects. So we got this guy from Massachusetts, and he made some phone calls to interview people, and he sent over some copy...and it was terrible. Literally awful. And the clock was ticking. And we were fed up. So the project ended up on my desk, and though I really want to be modest about it, I think I turned out some of the best copy we've had in a long time. (I think it could have been even better, though, if I had more than a couple of days in which to do it.) The piece on which I worked is the one all us reps will be taking on the road with us and handing out at college fairs and high school visits. Now we've moved on to our viewbook, and because the copywriter really just took a lot of our old text (written by me last year) and tweaked it, I only had a couple sections to rewrite. Actually, I'm supposed to be working on that right now. Shoot. I'm currently fresh out of inspiration.

The interview is done...

...and now Mitch is just waiting for a call. It was more intense than he thought it would be, but he left feeling even more confident than he did after his second interview there. He did tell them he was expecting a call from American General later this week, so hopefully that makes them move quickly.

Thanks for all the prayers and support. I'm working hard at having patience and faith!

The waiting game

Tim, you're about a week ahead of yourself: Mitch's third interview is next Wednesday (Aug. 22). Don't worry, I'll post details as soon as we know. He's really antsy, but has been keeping himself occupied with a lot of guitar playing and biking. His goal is to log 100 miles this week, which he will have no problem accomplishing. The wind has been fierce here, so he's getting a heck of a workout every time he goes out.

Since we think a move south is impending, we started looking at houses and actually went to see a few on Wednesday. One was awful, two were pretty bad, and one was great! So great, in fact, that if/when the job offer does come through, we will be making a return trip with all the 'rents to see it. Unless someone else buys it first or there is something major wrong with it that we don't see, we may have found "the one."

Digression: There's a part of my personality that I've only recently accepted and stopped fighting: I have this tendency to get very excited about things and start making plans in my head, and then when they don't work out, I get really disappointed. This happened at least three times with the house hunt in Mt. Pleasant and I've figured out that while the disappointment can be pretty piercing, it doesn't last long and actually provides me with an emotional outlet. While I used to try to avoid this, fearing the let down of having things not work out, I've now realized it's just something I do that's not necessarily bad, given my faith and the ability to move quickly past the disappointment.

Back on track: Work has been nonstop busy with tons of different things. We're interviewing candidates for two rep positions, and I'm preparing to take whoever we hire to the UP for training in mid-September. My OCs move back on campus this Sunday, so I'm getting everything ready for them and helping the co-chairs with their roles. I'm planning my own travel season in the Oakland-Livingston-Washtenaw-Lenawee-Monroe area, making web updates, editing new publications and of course, still trying to get all my new freshman ready to walk in the door in a week! Yesterday I went to a workshop in Chicago with some folks from advancement and PR on market segmentation and using the web. Very cool stuff! The bad part: 5 hours in the car each way, and no stopping for dinner!

Oh, and here's my plug: Everyone should read Robin's blog and listen to Grant's sermon!

Praise God!

That's the only appropriate title for this entry. You all know Mitch has been increasingly unhappy in his current role and has been seriously job searching for a few months now. Yesterday he had two interviews: one with American General, a lending institution in Mt. Pleasant, and a second interview with Dart Container in Mason. Both went well; the Dart one lasted two hours and he succeeded in making all four interviewers laugh when they asked him if he knew why manhole covers were round. When he gave the actual reason, they were amazed that he knew it and he confessed to being a "bank of useless information." Yes, that was his exact response, and he had them cracking up. They also asked him where else he was interviewing, so he told them about his interview later that afternoon. That must have given them a sense of urgency, because later that day...

...they called him back in for his third interview! This one involves "business casual" dress, a tour of the plant, and lunch with his "peers," all of which says to me: "Job offer!" He will undertake this adventure in a week and a half.

Onto the American General interview: that one also went well, and he left there with the sense that a job offer is also impending there. Maybe it was the fact that his interviewer said she had to run a background check but would call him next week. They don't do background checks until they're basically ready to offer you the position...yessssss!

So, should both job offers come through as anticipated, which one would he prefer? Obviously he would be thrilled with either, but it's the Dart job that really grabs him. It's a marketing and financial analyst position, which would allow him to do that geeky analysis stuff he likes so much without having to deal directly with angry customers who can't balance their checkbooks and want to know why you can't reverse their fees. We'll see how it all plays out - I'm breaking my rule here by posting about what I think is going to happen before it actually does, but I'm so excited for him that I can't contain myself. For all he's put up with, he deserves this.

Thanks are in order for everyone who has been praying for us. I know prayer works, just as I know God will open and close doors as he sees fit. Faith is a glorious thing, and even though there are times when you have grip it tighter to keep it from drifting away, the effort is well worth the deeper relationship with God that results. I'm thankful for his blessings, even though they sometimes don't seem like blessings at the time.

"So keep 'em coming, these lines on the road,
And keep me responsible, be it a light or heavy load,
And keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise,
And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes..."

Abort, ABORT!

Our weekend started out on a very promising note: Mitch interviewed with National City in the morning and since I was able to get the afternoon off, we were north-bound by 3 pm with bikes in tow. Our car was packed with camping gear and even an accident-induced traffic jam on 127 North couldn't dampen our spirits.

After a couple hours, we arrived in Grayling and fought our way through town (I guess there was some big canoeing event) to Hanson Hills Ski Area: the first stop on our weekend-long tour of trails in the Grayling-Gaylord areas. The plan was to ride HH, stop for a swim at the Otsego Lake State Park, and then head up to the Pigeon River State Forest Campground just north of Gaylord. From there, we planned to ride Shingle Mill Pathway in the Pigeon River State Forest and Aspen Park in Gaylord, and then hit Hartwick Pines State Park in Grayling on our way back on Sunday. Plans plan plans...

Anyway, the ride at HH was great! Since we hadn't had dinner yet, Mitch made me eat one of those nasty Clif bars, and as we climbed hill after hill in the first few miles, it sat at the bottom of my stomach like a brick. My legs ached, my lungs burned, and I barely had the energy to appreciate my beautiful surroundings. Eventually, though, my legs and lungs remembered how to work and I began to enjoy the thrill of the fast downhills. As for the uphills, well, I got a song stuck in my head that helped motivate me as I continued to grind them out:

I use what I got, take what I get,
Give 'til I ain't got nothin' left
Then I give it some more,
Keep on climbin' up that mountain.
Keep truckin' along, work up a sweat,
Past every no after no after no 'til I get a yes,
I don't worry 'bout what I'm not,
I use what I got.

Apart from the awful grammar, country artist Jason Aldean pretty much summed up the determination I need to ride these tough trails!

Eight or so miles later, we were back at the trailhead, packing up the car and trying to dry our sweaty, stinky gloves. We took a nice dip at the Otsego Lake State Park in lieu of a bath, but by the time we got gas and drove back to the park so I could retrieve my forgotten sunglasses, it was raining. As we were not too keen on setting up camp in the rain, we stopped at La Senorita in Gaylord for a disappointing dinner, then continued our drive up to Pigeon River. Our worries about not finding a campsite there were unfounded (no reservations at state forest campgrounds); the place was deserted. We lit the lantern, paid our fee, set up camp...and now I digress for a confession:

I've seen too many horror movies, watched too many episodes of Unsolved Mysteries, and am generally a 'fraidy cat when it comes to dark, unfamiliar places in the middle of nowhere. I kept telling myself to knock it off as I constantly scanned the woods with my headlamp, but by the time we crawled into our tent, I couldn't help mentioning to Mitch that it was a little creepy being the only people here. Had he reassured me, I would've spent a restless night in our tent with my fears to myself, but he agreed that yes, it was a bit uncomfortable...

...so we promptly packed up and left. Just like that. We thought we could just get a cheap hotel for the night and try our luck at some of the other campgrounds the next day. Little did we know that every hotel in Gaylord was booked for some Little League tournament, and Grayling was packed for the canoe event! So, by midnight on Friday, we were on the road back to Mt. Pleasant. I was disappointed that our weekend hadn't worked out, and for better or for worse, I'm now convinced that reservations must be made, and that one should be a bit familiar with a specific state forest campground before assuming that a walk-in in the middle of the night is a good idea.

Maybe God puts you where you need to be, though, rather than where you want to be. When we stopped in Houghton Lake to get drinks for the drive home, we saw a clearly intoxicated man get into an SUV and prepare to drive away. We called 911 and gave them a description of the car and its license plate number. Maybe we got a drunk driver off the road, and if so, it was worth not having the weekend we planned.

And all was not lost, biking-wise. We explored the Midland City Forest on Saturday and rode Burchfield in Lansing on Sunday. We also got through large chunks of our respective Harry Potter books and spent some time with Bruce and his girlfriend, Lizzie. We do hope to resurrect this trip again in the fall, though we'll be making other arrangements for camping next time.

Notre Dame Weekend

Visiting Miriam this past weekend at Notre Dame was awesome! We had a great time mountain biking, relaxing at the lake, shopping and just hanging out. The mountain bike trail we rode on Saturday morning, Rum Village, was really cool. It had a short beginner loop, an intermediate loop, and an advanced loop. It took us awhile to find the advanced loop, and we didn't ride the whole thing, but it was tons of fun. I fell off a small bridge but luckily did no damage to my body or - more importantly - to my bike!

In other biking-related news, we are planning a weekend of Northern Michigan biking. We're thinking about going up to Gaylord and camping at Pigeon River to ride Shingle Mill and Aspen Park. While we're there, we'll also probably go down to Grayling and ride Hanson Hills and maybe one other place. Another option is to head south to the Kalamazoo area and hit up Fort Custer and some other small places. We're still working out the details, but biking is definitely going to be the focus of our weekend!

And there is progress on the job front for Mitch! He has two interviews: one this week with National City in Haslett and another next week with Dart Container Corporation in Mason. I'm so thankful that he's at least getting interviews...obviously we want one of these to pan out for him, but I'm taking it one step at a time. That's hard for me, because I want to be able to start figuring out where we will be living this fall: Mt. Pleasant, St. Johns, house, apartment...will the big change fall before, during or after travel season...if it's during travel, how is that going to work out with me in Southeastern Michigan all fall...obviously this is a source of stress for me, but I think I'm handling it well by trying not to think about it too much and relying on God to set the timing for us.

And by the way, two weekends ago we had to cancel out hiking trip with Matt and Becky because Matt got stuck in Philly longer than expected. Boo! But we're hoping to do a fall trip when the colors are at their best.

OK, back to work for me. Sometimes it's so hard to get going on Monday...

Excitement at Alma College

Yes, we're bringing in the LARGEST CLASS EVER at 450 incoming students and counting (and yes, we do have room to house them). You probably already knew that. But I thought I'd take a moment to update you on some other changes to Alma's campus:

1. The Admissions staff has grown so much that we need more space, so we're taking over the entire Reid-Knox Building! Jerry Scoby and President Tracy's offices will remain here, but the Business Office is moving out in a couple of weeks so a construction crew can come in a reconfigure most of the building to accommodate additional office space and another small conference room. Along with this, we're getting all new matching furniture for our brand new offices! Construction has already begun: they're renovating our bathrooms and that means I'm displaced from my office so they can knock out one of my walls to expand the women's restroom. Therefore, I'm moving to the basement of the library until my new office space is ready, which will probably be in October.

So where is the Business Office going?

2. The Business Office, Registrar's Office, and Financial Aid Office are all moving to the basement of Saga and taking over the space previously used by the Center for Student Development. Crews gutted the area last month and are renovating it as I write. This makes it a "one-stop-shop" kind of thing down there.

So where is the Center going?

3. The Center is downsizing it's operations to include only personal counseling, and they will be moving to the Med Shed. On a related note, the Med Shed is now being run by the local hospital, Gratiot Medical, in hopes of improving service and streamlining services provided by the hospital.

So what about all that other stuff the Center did, like career placement, tutoring and learning disabilities?

4. Well, we all know the Center never did a fabulous job on things like career placement, but that's slated to improve with the addition of a new office called the Transitions Office. Headed by a woman very active in the Alma community (Ginna Holmes, if any of you worked with her through the Alma After-School Program or the Alma Community Center) and staffed with two other administrators yet-to-be-hired, the Transitions Office will improve career placement services and take over tutoring and learning disabilities services. This office will live in the basement of the library, where the International/Off-Campus Studies Office currently resides. Actually, the functions of that office will be absorbed by the Transitions Office to put some more structure and support around study abroad and internship programs.

There must be more!

5. Eventually, IT will move from first floor SAC to the basement of the library, in the places vacated by the Registrar and Financial Aid. That's not in the immediate plans; everything else is scheduled to be completed by the time school begins in the fall. Now, whether that will happen or not is anyone's guess, but I'm excited that it's actually beginning!