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...