Friday Night with the DeYoungs

This has been a rare but lovely evening. Most of the time, it feels like Mitch and I are running all over the place - literally. This winter, most evenings have been focused on working out in preparation for our upcoming mountain bike races. We've been taking turns on the trainer, tightening our cores on the exercise ball and strengthening our shoulders with the free weights. But our various illnesses made us put those priorities on hold as we healed, so tonight we spent our time on our calm hobbies: I've been scrapbooking (something I haven't done in a couple of years now) and Mitch has been playing his guitar. It's so nice to sit in our apartment, in the soft glow of the lamps, listening to the soothing bubbling of the fish tank and the sound of Mitch strumming on the guitar while poring over memories.

The Arsenal

Between my bronchitis, Mitch's cold and the new addition to our litany of current illnesses - Mitch's kidney stone - we are, yes, taking all these remedies!

The good news: after my entire day off, I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow. Also, Mitch passed his kidney stone at the hospital (at about 4:30 am - 15 minutes after we got there) and after his day of rest, he's also going back to work tomorrow. Our lazy day was needed, but we're sick of the couch!

Health Update

Yup, it's bronchitis. I figure I had a cold, started to feel better, then aggravated my immune system by going skiing and not sleeping well all weekend. Lovely. I called in on Monday, went in for the morning today before crashing, and will probably do an afternoon stint at work tomorrow. I HATE being sick, and if you were to scroll back through blog entries, you won't find any illnesses but the common cold. It's been ages since I've been laid up like this and I'm WAY tired of it! But I'll just try to be patient and rest up. It's a good week for it: Alma's on Spring Break and the pace at the office has slowed way down.

Well, now that I've checked my email and the usual blogs, I'm going back to finish my book. I'm reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and am really enjoying its intricacies. It's the kind of book I'll probably revisit this summer, when I don't feel the need to plow through it at a furious pace. Do all the rest of you read your books multiple times? I always feel like I get more out of them the second and third times.

State Champ!

Big congratulations go out to my cousin, Jeff Thompson, who is the MHSAA Boys State Champion in slalom skiing!

I can't help being proud, not just because he is my cousin, but because nine years ago, my friends and I started the varsity ski team at South Lyon High School. We had tons of help from my aunt and uncle (Jeff's parents), don't get me wrong, but the idea, the recruitment and the countless drop-in meetings with the Athletic Director came from yours truly and a good friend of mine. He and I were the team's first captains and while that first season was pretty terrible in terms of talent, it laid the groundwork for success in the seasons that followed. I can easily credit that team's improvement to the dedication of my aunt and uncle, who not only coach the team but host the entire group of rowdy high schoolers at their cabin for training camp at Boyne Mountain.

So congrats again to Jeff and his family - the Lions are a force to be reckoned with out on the slopes!

Getting well?

Not exactly, but thanks for all the well-wishes, friends! I definitely overdid it this weekend, but it was worth it! See, we'd had the trip to Searchmont planned for awhile and love that place so I wasn't about to miss it. The skiing was amazing...so much snow, and tons of places to go tree-skiing! Seriously, about a third of the mountain is purposefully undeveloped, so you can start off on this little windy trail, then shoot into the woods in any direction and get lost for about 20 minutes before making your way back to the lift. It was awesome!

Home Sick

I finally gave in and took a day off. Since last Wednesday, I've basically been struggling through each day, coming home exhausted (though trying not to show it) and just not getting better. See, it's a really busy time of the year for visits so I was meeting with lots of families and they were pretty much sucking the life out of me. I feel like I should be at work as long as I'm upright, but when your VP asks you to go home halfway through the day, you know you're in bad shape. So I called in this morning, slept almost 12 hours, and plan to spend the day doing a whole lot of nothing. Good thing our couch is very comfortable!

I'm not really a fan...

...but here's one thing I do like about Justin Timberlake: he doesn't take himself too seriously.

Case in point: "It's my dick in a box!" (Tim, I'm so reminded of our trip to NC, where you kept singing this in line at ALDI! Oh, and I found an ALDI close-ish to St. Johns so I can buy those Grandessa bars you got me hooked on!)

And for some reason, I really like his Pepsi commercial...mostly just the, "Hey, you," at the end.

And since I'm on a funny video kick, check this one out:



Now that is a work of creative genius!

Monday's Pet Peeve

You know how sometimes the answer to a question in in an easily accessible location and could be determined with a minimal amount of effort? Well, I hate when people ask me a question without even trying to find the answer for themselves!

Coworker: Laurie, where is the transfer recommendation form on the website?
Me: Did you look for it?
Coworker: Not much...

(I might add that the transfer recommendation form, which is always included as a part of our application, can be found on the "Apply to Alma" part of our website by *gasp* downloading our application. Whodah thunk it?)

Argh!

Rainy Sunday

With this lovely cold, all I want to do is sleep. I got almost 12 hours of sleep last night and I feel like I could still curl up on the couch and conk out for another couple...or maybe for the rest of the day. I even passed up the chance to see Kristy and Ray last night, and sent Mitch to Ann Arbor without me so I could rest up. I'm dreading volleyball tonight; I'm afraid I'll play as poorly as I feel!

Mitch should be home soon, so maybe that will give me a little pick-me-up. Maybe I will take a little snooze 'til he gets here...

...zzzz...

He's "That Guy"

So my dad is "That Guy" who forwards all the emails, and the one he sent me today listed 25 ways to tell you're "grown up." The one I thought was particularly funny was #25:

"What you find out your friend is pregnant, you congratulate her instead of asking, 'Oh shit, what the hell happened?'"

So true!

And now I'm paying...

If you stop taking your vitamins because you're too lazy and cheap to order new ones...

If you have crappy dinners because you can't muster up the energy to cook...

If you're not taking care of your body and everyone around you is sick...

Your traditionally strong immune system with fail and you'll end up with the crud.

Now I'm going to order my vitamins while digesting my first hearty meal all week, and hope this doesn't last too long.

Baked Oatmeal Recipe

Just for fun (and because I was emailing it to someone else), I thought I'd share one of my favorite breakfast recipes. This baked oatmeal is great to make for big crowds. For fruit, I've done apples (by themselves and with raspberries or cherries) and peaches (usually with blueberries). Both are awesome - make it and enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal

2 1/2 cups regular rolled oats
1/2 cup steel cut oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups milk
1 egg - beaten
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups fresh fruit

1. In large bowl, combine oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2. In medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except fruit. Add to oat mixture, stirring until combined.

3. Turn in lightly greased 2-quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Remove from oven. Stir, then fold in fruit. Bake 20 more minutes.

Serves six people.

Putting it off...

I have a nice list of students to call, but I'm putting it off because I really hate phone calls. It's gotten better over the years because I have to do it so much, but I'd still rather do other things - like tell you about my weekend!

It was a very nice weekend, all in all. We ended up going to my parents' house because (a) we didn't think we had anything else going on, (b) Mitch's birthday present was in for us to pick up at REI and (c) Mom invited us for turkey on Sunday evening. Plus it's always nice to go home for a visit. Anyway, we spent Saturday night at Detroit's Winter Blast, which would have been cool if ice skating, sledding and campfires were foreign to us. As it was, we just walked around in the cold carrying our ice skates that got very little use on the overcrowded rink.

To our surprise, we discovered that reason (a) for coming downstate was not true: our church's volleyball league began on Sunday, so we had to cancel on the turkey dinner and made plans to leave in the late afternoon. On Sundaymorning, Mom and I tackled her haphazard boxes of 30+ years of photos in an effort to get them at least somewhat organized and in albums. We covered the entire floor of the living room and still had sorting to do after about four hours of work! Maybe it was a good thing we had to leave by 3 pm; otherwise, I think I would have buried myself under decades of Christmas photos!

Church league volleyball was pretty fun, though the competition is not what we're used to. We got lucky, though, and only have one real dud on the team on which we were placed. The other woman is solid, one of the guys is just athletic so he's picking it up OK and the other guy is older with what appears to be very little volleyball experience. We're definitely not at an awesome level ourselves, either, but I am proud to say that the majority of my serves went over!

Oh, and a mini-crisis erupted this weekend: where to stay for the June wedding we're attending (and in which I'm a member of the bridal party) in Traverse City! The matron of honor called to tell me everything at Crystal Mountain - the reception location - was either booked or ridiculously expensive. The bride had not blocked off any rooms for the wedding party or traveling guests, and we're not paying $200+ per night to share a condo for three days, so I went into problem solving mode and found some cabins for rent about 10 minutes from the resort. I'm waiting for some call-backs, but it looks like that is where we'll be staying even if others in the party decide to book one of those pricey condos. I can't decide if I think the bride will be upset with us going off-site for accommodations or not...oh well.

OK, I can't put it off any longer. Phone time. Yay...

Ha.

I just left a staff meeting feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the amount of things people want to see changed, etc. Then I remembered: it's not like any of them are actually going to commit to doing anything about the issues they so passionately advocated, anyway. Talk is easy; taking on more responsibility doesn't taste quite so good.

Half-Full Glass

I keep wanting to post and complain about things, like how the art of a thank you has been lost, or how one of my student workers is having accountability issues, or how people always complain about driving in the winter when they know full well what to expect from Michigan.

But then I look outside, and I see all the snow falling, and I can't even justify the complaints I listed. What a lovely day!

Recipe for a Great Weekend

A flash of spontaneity
Good company - Mitch and Jon will do just fine
A few slices of G&D's pizza
4-5 hours of skiing at Caberfae; consistent snowfall preferable
One hot chocolate/beer break
A loaf of bread, summer sausage, two blocks of cheese, some crackers and blackberry jam
Two bottle of wine - one red, one white
One nighttime snowmobile ride
A couple hours of snoozing next to the fireplace
A good night's sleep in the bunk room
Eggs, pancakes and more hot chocolate for breakfast
A late morning sauna bath

Mix it all together at Jon's place in Lake City, enjoy, then follow with a Super Bowl party in Lansing!