Is this week over yet?

After the holiday last week, this week just won't end! Here are the high-(and low)-lights so far:

Dinner with Minda and Derek - Note to self: if shrimp has the shell on, it must be deveined before cooking. If not, you'll throw away the whole meal and go to The Cabin for pizza and Long Islands. Then you'll get tipsy with your family and tell funny stories all night long. Waking up the morning will be difficult.

Office Drama - Our new associate director quit after three weeks on the job. He had some family issues (who tries to commute from Detroit to Alma, really?) and, in my opinion, was disappointed to discover he wasn't the "magic man" who would come in and whip us into shape without encountering any resistance. We're back in a crappy situation because we (again) don't have a full staff going into fall planning, but the tension that's been plaguing us for the past few weeks has lessened substantially.

Volleyball - True Scots won against one team but lost to the other. Don't know what happened in the second game, but we haven't been playing much and probably just didn't have the stamina to keep up a high level of play.

PIRATES! - Tonight Mitch and I are going to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean with Kristy, Ray and probably Gabe. Good times will be had by all.

Redneck Weekend - It's time for the first of two Redneck Weekends at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes! We'll be tooling around the dunes in Dave's Blazer, watching people and their crazy machines, and hopefully swimming a bit since it's going to be hottttttt this weekend.

Remembering

"It is terrible how much has been forgotten, which is why, I suppose, remembering seems a holy thing."
-Anita Diamant, The Red Tent

Work on a Saturday?!?!

Yup, I'm at work. Just for another hour, which I plan to kill online and with a good book.

I just gave a presentation to a group of students. Great kids, great questions...honestly, I don't mind being here if I get to work with a good group. One question, though I knew it was coming, always throws me for a loop:

From the group's advisor (a white woman): "What kind of support services do you have for multicultural students?"

Part of me always wants to answer by telling her these kids are just like every other kid who leaves home for the first time and finds him or herself in a new place, meeting new people and encountering new challenges. Does a different skin tone really make leaving home any harder? So we don't discriminate by offering support systems to specific groups, but rather to our campus community as a whole.

Oh, and an African-American themed dorm, lady? Isn't segregation wrong, and wouldn't that completely conflict with the whole idea of a campus community?

At what point are you lending someone a helping hand, and at what point are you convincing them they can't overcome hurdles without your help?

Argh.

We lost at volleyball last night. It's so frustrating. Tim, when we come visit you, I hope we can get a game together...

Bruce wrote a great post on the concept of home, and that's something that's always in the back of my mind. Where is home, for me? Is it South Lyon, the place I grew up and still label "home" in conversations? It was Alma, for a wonderful period of time, but it sure wasn't Cadillac. (The first time I referred to returning to Alma as going home, I thought my mom was going to cry.) Is it Mt. Pleasant, where Mitch and I have friends and are putting down some roots, all the while knowing we will probably leave in a year?

For me, I guess I've come to the conlcusion that, like Bruce says, home is the people holding you up. I can have more than one physical home; being surrounded by friends and family, no matter where my feet are planted, feels like home.

Independence Day!

I feel like this holiday has stretched out a very long time, because we celebrated in two parts:

Part I: A weekend in Bayview with Grandpa, Uncle Jack (Grandpa's brother), my parents and (for a little bit) Aunt Linda. We biked along Little Traverse Bay, canoed down the Sturgeon River, enjoyed some tasty margaritas at Red Mesa, and just had a good time in general.

Part II: 24 hours in South Lyon. We both had to work on Monday, so after we got done we hopped in the car and sped down to SL to hang out with Bobby and complete Mitch's Fourth of July checklist:

-Mountain biking
-Drinking beer on the pontoon boat (and watching fireworks around the lake)
-Finding a new watch
-Going for a motorcycle ride
-Swimming

All accomplished!

A quick word about the mountain biking: I found out that a group of women rides together at 6:30 pm every Monday at Island Lake, so I went out with them this time. The first loop (6 miles) was fast because I led most of the way and let one of the women chase me. Then I fell. Oops. The second loop was bascially a chance for me to talk for nine miles, because I wasn't leading and we were going so slow. One of the ladies is a distance biker and will do 30 miles on a trail and not blink an eye, so she just kind of plods along. The other one doesn't have much experience (I don't think) and the third, the fast one who chased me, left after the first loop. Bottom line: it was a good experience but I think I like riding with the guys better because they push me harder.

Now I'm back at work, and while it feels like Monday, I'm so excited that it's Wednesday already! Woo-hoo!

Promotion :)

When I come to work on Monday, I will officially be an Assistant Director of Admissions instead of just a plain old rep. Yay!

Now if I could just get my Mac to turn on so I can finish my current project...hmmm....

Rocks, roots and ridiculous hills

That pretty much sums up my ride at the Pinckney State Recreation Area's Potowatami Trail this past weekend. It was brutal; fifteen miles felt like fifty and I was wrecked for the rest of the day. But I did it and I'll probably do it again, once I forget how much it sucked.

DeYoung Family Vacation

It's the first hour of my first day back to work after a nice long vacation, and I'm already wasting time on the Internet! Well, I just thought I should update before things get crazy around here, OK?

I took last Friday off to go down to SL and spend some time with my dad, since I would be missing Father's Day. We went mountain biking in the morning, then he spent the early afternoon working on his boat while I napped in the hammock, beneath the most beautiful maple tree ever. Eventually, we made it out to the lake, just in time for my dad to be a hero once again.

***Exciting story***

So there we are, floating in the middle of the lake, enjoying the sunshine and contemplating a swim, when we notice a SeaDoo boat with steam coming out of its stern. It wasn't getting any lighter, so we sped over to see what was going on. There are two women and one man in the boat, and two little girls and another man floating on a raft-type thing. The boat driver starts flagging us down (Mistake #1: He had done no signaling prior to seeing us heading his way) and tells us there is a fire on the boat. So Dad tells the two women, both of whom are wearing life jackets to get in the water and swim to the platform at the back of our boat. One women has no problem with this; the other starts panicking, saying she can't swim. "You've got a life jacket on. You'll be fine," says my dad, and one doesn't argue with that stern of a tone. So she bails into the water, doesn't even get her hair wet, and starts freaking out. "I can't breathe! I can't do this!" Then, once the other women has hauled her to the platform: "I can't get up! I'm not strong enough!" Having none of this, my dad unceremoniously hauls her up by one arm.

While all this was happening, Dad had given the man our fire extinguisher (Mistake #2: It's illegal, not to mention stupid, to not have a fire extinguisher on board) but he couldn't figure out how to use it. So with the women in the boat and the smoke getting thicker and blacker, we got the man in the boat as well. Then we picked up the little girls and the other man, and sped off across the lake. No one wanted to stick around long enough to find out whether this boat was going to blow up, because by this time, flames were coming out of the engine compartment.

I called 911 on the way to the family's house and got the fire department out there. Once everyone was safely ashore, we ran back over and picked up three firemen in our boat. They had Dad drive really close to the burning boat - which was totally engulfed in flames and thick, balck smoke - so they could attack in with their fire extinguishers. The boat drifted closer and closer to shore, until it rested against the bank and a fire truck could put out the flames from the road.

By the way, I said my dad was a hero once again. A number of years ago, he jumped from a moving ski boat onto a runaway JetSki to keep it from crashing into shore. He's going to become a legend out there.

***Back to the vacation update***

Saturday was Mitch's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary bash up near Cadillac. We got there around 10:30 am to help with set-up, and then spent the rest of the day keeping the food stocked and getting introduced as "Carla's youngest son, Mitch, and his wife, Laurie." A ton of people attended and his grandparents really enjoyed it. The rest of the family kept saying, "This enver would've gone off without the DeYoung kids," because Mitch and his siblings (plus us married-ins) were the only grandkids busting their butts before, during and after.

We spent Saturday night camped out in the grands' front yard, trying to beat the heat with our well-ventilated tent. Oh, and we had to go to the bathroom in the trees because his grandma locked us all out at 11 pm. Haha. Hope none of the neighbors were driving by as I bared my bottom!

Sunday morning, we skipped out on "the big breakfast" (translation: a mishmash of leftovers from the part, plus eggs) in favor of Bob Evans and the chance to beat the rain to TC for some mountain biking. No luck there, but we did get to visit Adrienne in her new place and take a much-needed shower. Eventually we met Christa, Brian, Minda, Derek and the kiddos at the cottage we were renting for the week, but it was so rainy we couldn't do anything but sit around inside. We did go grocery shopping and make pizzas for dinner, and it dried up enough for a campfire in the evening. The three couples played Nertz well into the night (that night and every night) and I think, by the end of the trip, we had each won once.

On Monday we went to the beach in TC to kill some time before Jeff and Carla got up there. It was really hot but the water in the bay was too cold for swimming. In the afternoon, Mitch and I took Minda and Derek wine tasting on the Leelanau Peninsula. More campfire, more Nertz, more sleep.

Tuesday we went canoeing with Minda, Derek, Christa and Brian. This was the most fun canoe trip I've been on in a long time! It wasn't too long and the water was warm so splashing was actually fun! We laughed so much and I got some fun photos with my new digital camera. (Old camera got sand in it and it was going to cost just about as much to fix it as to replace it, so we upgraded.) After canoeing, we met Jeff, Carla and the kids at the beach, where we relaxed for a bit before heading to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. We didn't walk all the way to Lake Michigan because the others would be waiting too long, but we did enough to make my thighs a bit sore.

Wednesday was our last day, and we didn't do much in the morning but ride about four miles of mountain biking trail reminscient of Cadillac. (Translation: Hilly) When we got sick of sitting around, we kidnapped Minda and Derek for more wine tasting - this time on Old Mission Point - and eventually met the rest of the gang back at the Dunes for the scenic drive. We got back home around 9 pm and spent the evening fighting the idea of going back to work.

Wow, it's taken me the whole day to get around to finishing this, but here you go. I'll post photos on my Yahoo site soon...though I'm not sure anyone is particularly interested in seeing family vacation photos! Look at that, time to pack up and go home!

What's eating me.

It makes me so terribly sad (and a little mad) when people don't take care of their bodies. I'm not saying everyone needs to be super-model thin or have six-pack abs, but people who are seriously overweight should think twice about loading their grocery cart up with Twinkies and Coke and pork rinds.

It's not an aesthetic thing: it's a health thing. If someone is eating healthy and being active, it doesn't matter what her body looks like. She is taking care of this amazing vessel God has given her for her time on Earth. If someone is just shoveling crap into his mouth and spending his days doing nothing, he's not respecting a gift from God and I think that's pretty wrong.

Helmet Law

This weekend, Bobby and I were discussing the Michigan motorcycle helmet law and whether or not we thought it should be removed. Then this morning, all the radio stations are talking about it, too, because the quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers got in a bad motorcycle accident and was not wearing a helmet. I took all this as an indication that I should post about it.

First, let me say I think it's absolutely stupid not to wear a helmet on a motorcycle, just as I think it is ridiculous not to wear a seatbelt in a car. However, is it the government's place to make laws protecting us from ourselves? I understand protecting others by setting speed limits, etc., but when an action is not (a) morally wrong or (b) a danger to others, I believe I should have the personal freedom to make a choice.

Now, one could argue that not wearing a helmet on a motocycle is a danger to others because a rider's death or serious injury is probably going to be very harmful to his or her family - emotionally, financially, whatever. But one could make that same argument against pretty much anything we do; any risks we take, including walking across the street, could potentially have the same negative effects on those we love, should something unfortunate occur. So I'm going to throw that argument out, because it is easily taken too far to be reasonable.

I'm in favor of removing the Michigan helmet law, but I would strongly encourage riders to make the personal choice to continue to wear helmets. When Mitch gets his bike someday, I know he won't be going anywhere without one. Let's all take responsibility for our own choices and not let the government decide these things for us.

Rugby and rum

OK, so the whole weekend wasn't made up of smashing each other's faces into the sand, then getting smashed, but it was a big part of it. Anyone here ever played any pick-up rugby games? If you were at Jon's this weekend, you did. Man oh man, it was rough. Real tackles, confusion over the rules...what a great time!

Team Jager made another appearance, complete with a twelve-minute voicemail from Bobby and Ray to Liz, encouraging her to come up the second night. I believe they told her she could drink for free since she was a teacher and they didn't pay teachers that much. Everyone had a good time and though some people claim to have heard a big of heaving in the bathroom, no one will own up to getting sick.

Mitch, Bobby, Kristy and I went mountain biking, too. The Cadillac trails kick my bottom because of all the hills, but they are good for me. Bobby got lost and had to stop at some old lady's house and ask for directions. Mitch rode half the trail looking for him. Silly boys.

This entry feels very choppy. Oh well. Big plans coming up for us - I'm spending Friday with my dad for Father's Day, then there's Mitch's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary bash on Saturday, followed by four days in the TC area with my in-laws. It should be a fun time, especially because Mitch and I will be breaking in his new two-person MSR tent. Monday through Wednesday we could probably snag some floor space in the cottage his parents rented in Lake Ann, but why would we do that if we could peacefully slumber under the stars?

And I found a couple of new places to mountain bike near TC. I don't know how good any of them will be compared to the VASA trail, but it'll be worth a shot. We are so easily amused.

On Wednesday we are hashing out recruiting territories in the office. I'm ambivalent about where I end up. Anywhere would be closer to home than the North, so I won't mind giving that up. I do like all the people I met up there, though. OK, we're having a meeting soon, so I should sign off.

Volleyball

Last night was our second set of volleyball games in the Mt. Pleasant summer beach league. I was too frustrated to post after our first one, but this one went much better. We split, beating one team and losing to the other, but I think we played better together than last week. We tried something new: with all eight players present, we split into two separate teams and each team played a whole game, without any substitutions. There was never a need for a third game, because we either won both or lost both, but had a third game been necessary as a rubber match, we agreed to field the best players that evening for the final game.

I like this format. We plan to mix it up and play different people together, while keeping our teams relatively even. When not on the court, we generally peppered around to stay warm, practiced hits, or even played a friendly game of twos. I think we can perform well in this league if we can shut down this one tall dude - a member of the team to whom we lost last night. He spikes often, but not hard, and he's pretty predictable. He is, however, only getting better so we need to stay on our toes.

By the way, our team name is True Scots and everyone on it has a connection to Alma. Mitch, Jon, Matt, Kristy, Gabe, Andrea and I are obviously alumns, and our fourth girl is one of my coworkers in Admissions. Root for us every Wednesday evening!

Eighteen minutes

I am so hungry. Why can't it be five o'clock, when I can go home and have a big glass of milk to tide me over 'til dinner?

OK, I won't complain anymore. It's my own fault: I always know I'll be hungry by the end of the day and I never pack more food.

The weekend was fun - spent some time with the in-laws and my grandparents, and I had my first ever casino experience. Mitch made me lose a dollar. And I saw the saddest sign ever in the parking lot:

"Do not leave children unattended in cars. There is childcare."

Having a sign means people have done that often! It about broke my heart. How could anyone leave their kid in a car while they go and gamble away their college fund? OK, that might be a bit extreme, but anyone who would leave their kids probably has a gambling problem, and they may very well be gambling away college money! Sad.

I wonder if we'll play volleyball tonight. Our team really needs the practice, but I've only heard from people who can't make it. Hmmm. Can't think. Still focused on my empty tummy! Callin' it a day a few minutes early, methinks.

24 miles of trail

Some people think long holiday weekends are for relaxing...apparently Mitch and I don't know the meaning of the word!

Friday: Work all day (which meant driving to Boyne Falls and back, then spending some time in the office), bachelorette party all night! Lindsay, a friend from high school, was getting married on Sunday so it was time to celebrate her last weekend of singledom. I met the group at this fun country bar way out in Shelby Township called Coyote Joe's, and though I had to drive home and couldn't join in some of the festivities, it was pretty cool. Actually, I'd love to take all my college friends there (we'd be on the mechanical bull all night!), but it's really far away. After that bar, we went to a place in Rochester called Main Street Billiards, which was also cool. My favorite thing was people-watching...especially this one group of guys who were staked out next to the entrance to the dance floor, overtly checking out every girl that walked by! The evening went 'til about 12:30 am, but then I had an hour drive home. So tired...

Saturday: At 8:30 am, my dad was in my room, waking me up like old times. He said he had a surprise for me and was really excited, so I pushed off the urge to drift back to sleep and dragged myself up. Turns out he bought me a whole new front sprocket for my mountain bike! Last time we were down there, we discovered that my front gears measure 28-38-48 instead of the standard 24-34-44. Smaller front gears would help me climb hills better (I'm horrible at climbing hills), but Mitch and I thought it would cost a lot to get new ones based on the prices we saw at REI. Turns out it wasn't that much at all, and Dad thought I should have them. What a guy!

Since we had to wait for Mitch to finish work and get down to SL before we could bike, I went out to the lake with Mom and Dad to clean up the cottage and get it ready for the annual family Memorial Day party. Mitch got there about 3:30 pm, we put my new sprocket on my bike, and headed out to Island Lake. We planned to ride the nine-mile blue trail, then break off and ride the six-mile yellow trail, but I rode blue a bit too hard to do the second leg. See, there were these guys, and we passed each other about three or four times before I got sick of it and decided to stay ahead of them for the rest of the trail. Turns out I didn't need to ride as hard as I did, because I was finished, packed up and on the road before they returned to the trailhead. Still, I was pretty beat.

Sunday: Mitch went to work with Bobby and Dad had to mow the lawn, so we didn't get out on the trails until 11:30 am, by which time it was over 80 degrees with a heck of a lot of humidity. This time we went out to Brighton Rec, where Bobby and Mitch tackled a tough five-miler called Torn Shirt while Dad and I opted for the longer but easier nine-mile Murray Lake Trail. My legs were pretty tired from the day before, and the heat didn't help, so I kind of felt like crap for most of the ride. Still, it's a fun trail and I look forward to going back in better conditions. Needless to say, I was dripping by the time we got done, and the dive off the dock in my biking clothes was amazingly refreshing.

Lindsay's wedding was late that afternoon, so Mitch and I hurried to grab some lunch at the lake before returning home to get ready. I am proud to say that even in the heat, I still blew my hair dry and straightened it. I had a sexy black dress to wear and didn't want to half-do anything! Anyway, the wedding was nice but we didn't stay long. Mitch didn't really know anyone and the atmosphere was really strained between me and a friend who's suppose to be my best friend but seems to forget I exist many times. We were happy to be home by 10:30 pm, watching Braveheart in the nice, cool basement.

Monday: When 7:30 am rolled around, the last thing I wanted to do was go out biking again! But we had promised ourselves three days on the trails, so up I rolled. Mitch and my dad's friend, Dan, wanted to ride the Potowatami in Pinckney, but that's a pretty long, hard ride, so Dad and I left them to punish themselves while we rode the yellow trail back at Island Lake. Even in the heat, I felt great! I passed more people (two guys and two girls) and, to borrow my dad's words, my tank was not empty after the ride.

For the rest of the day, we lounged around at the lake. I have a bit of a sunburn to show for it, but it was great. Adrienne and Kyle came out, somewhat surprisingly, and it made me feel a bit better about the state of our friendship. We swam, took my cousin and her friend tubing, swam some more, ate great food, swan some more, and just had a great time with family and friends.

And now I'm back at work, but only 'til about 3 pm, when I'll leave for Alpena to present some scholarships to a couple of students. This week promises to be fun, with our first official beach volleyball game tomorrow evening and a great Friday night with Ray and Kristy. They're coming over for dinner and then we're all going to see the new X-Men movie.

Well, I guess I better get something accomplished this morning. I hope everyone out there had as much fun over the holiday weekend as we did!

Dreams

I have three recurring dreams I would like to share with you:

The first is that I can run forever. Sometimes I'm running from danger, but most times I'm just running, all the while thinking I should be getting tired - but I never do.

The second is that I can breathe under water. Usually in this dream I am swimming for whatever reason, and I'm underwater and know I can't make it to the surface in time. I take an experimental breath, and WOW! I can breathe without any trouble at all! That makes for some fun adventures.

The third - and best - is that I can fly. Not like Superman flying...more like I take a few steps, jump, and I get to soar around for a little while before I glide gently back to the ground. Each time I have that dream, I seem to be able to stay airborn for longer and longer. Usually I'm alone in this dream (sometimes people are watching me) but the last time I had it, Mitch was flying with me. In my last flying dream, I also told people that I used to have dreams about flying and couldn't believe it was real this time.

I don't attach any special meaning to these dreams - they are just really fun to have. If I could pick a superpower, it would come out of one of these three dreams, depending on the situation. Does anyone else have recurring dreams and if so, what are they?

Bitterness

Around Easter I posted the lyrics to a song called "The Story" by Caedmon's Call. Part of the song goes:

And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy
When he's standing in its light.

Those lyrics have stuck with me since the first time I heard that song. I interact with so many bitter people, like coworkers and even some dear friends and family members, and their bitterness truly saddens me. They think there is so much wrong with the world, with their lives, whatever, that they just exude this constant sense of cynicism. They see all that is bad with the world: all the dishonesty, the cruelty, the lack of compassion. They fail to see the generousity, the kindness, and the beauty of our world and of the human race. In their own lives, they experience hardship and decide there cannot possibly be a God because bad things are happening to them and those they love. They can't see the little everyday miracles that can't possibly be explained by chance or coincidence - what sad way to go through life.

We all have our ups and downs, our days when the bad seems to overwhelm the good, but I don't know what to do with these constantly bitter people. All I can do, I guess, is to be visibly hopeful and optimistic, to see the God's grace and show it to others when I can, and to never let negativity weigh me down. They may call me naive for this hope and faith in the inherent goodness of life, but I'd rather live like this than be miserably blinded by bitterness.

Finally, photos!

I'm boycotting work right now, and took advantage of it to put up some photos from Dan and Vicky's wedding, finally! Go to my Yahoo site to see them (hint: click the link on the right that says something like "My Photos on Yahoo").

So why am I boycotting work? Because I'm a hardass. Not to put too fine a point on it, but yesterday I really felt like my coworkers were being broke-dicks yesterday. That's Mitch's description, anyway. The situation would take a long time to explain, but suffice to say, I cover for a lot of people and no one was willing to step up and give me a hand, though they had no excuse not to except their own personal comfort. When I asked my boss to bring up this issue at our meeting this morning and described the situation, he agreed, then made a wishy-washy announcement about us all pitching in when our student staff is low.

Personally, I think there are definitely situations where a general announcement should make those to whom it applies feel guilty and uncomfortable. This was one such situation, because the issue has been ongoing. It makes for a stressful working environment and it just makes people bitter. If anything like what happened yesterday occurs again, there's going to be some honest confrontation, and not any more of this biting my tongue.

Onto more pleasant things, a good chunk of our beach volleyball team, the True Scots, got together last night and practiced at the rec center. We did drills and worked on areas of weakness, and I think everyone is more confident in themselves. Our first game is next week, and I have to miss it because of work, but I really look forward to hearing how it goes.

Meeting time in 10 minutes. I don't think it's going to be very fun. Is it Friday yet?

Michigan Weather

Not that I'm complaining, but I thought it was supposed to rain all week around here. Last night we had a nice enough evening for a bike ride, and this afternoon it's sunny! Glorious.

Last weekend was nice...we spent it at my parents and celebrated Mother's Day by taking my mom to the zoo. We dropped off some flowers for Grandma, too. I know it made my dad sad, but he concentrated mostly on telling us stories of his grandparents and an uncle who are all buried there. This weekend, I'm looking forward to wine tasting and general merriment with Jon and Miriam.

There's really not much to write, I guess. Work is work, and it's a bit depressing because our numbers aren't panning out as expected. Thankfully, no one's pointing fingers or putting an insane amount of pressure on the staff. We just keep chipping away with different strategies, hoping something will stick. So much for the predictability of yield and conversion rates. Obviously even with the strongest of efforts, X number of accepted students won't automatically convert to Y number of deposits, as our consultant would have us believe.

Meant for Two

My grandpa eats dinner alone now.
I can see him clearing half the kitchen table
and meticulously preparing his meal
as carefully as he used to pour our milk and cereal
that one spring.
(I imagine he sometimes forgets
and pulls two dinner plates from the cupboard.)
He's sorting through years of accumulated stuff,
unearthing old college papers
letters from his children
yellowed newspaper clippings,
but my grandma's toothbrush still stands by the sink.
Does he ever sit in her armchair
because he can't bear to look over
and see it empty?

New pet peeve

Wow, am I getting tired of hearing people say, "I heart this" and "I heart that." Heart is a noun, not a verb!

I'm going to start responding with other body parts from now on. "I pancreas you, too."

Photos

I forgot to mention that photos from the climbing trip are up on my Yahoo site (see the link over there --->) if you want to check them out.

In other news...there is no other news. I need some motivation to study for the GMAT so I can hopefulyl begin graduate school next fall, but that's hard when the weather is so gorgeous that I just want to hop on my bike every single day.

Oh yes, the trip to St. Louis is finalized - we bought plane tickets and everything. Tim and Anna, here we come!

West Virginia Trip

I'm finally getting around to posting about our awesome climbing trip!

Friday: Departure
Mitch, Gabe and I left Mt. Pleasant around 4 pm - two hours earlier than expected! The drive itself was uneventful, as I slept a good portion of the way. We arrived at our usual camping spot around 2 am and were excited to find that it wasn't raining, so we prepared to set our tent up down by the river. Unfortunately, someone was already camped there and I was reluctant to traipse through their site to find somewhere else, so we resigned ourselves to sleeping in the car. In order to make room for all of us, we stuck the camp stove, a camp chair and the boys' shoes underneath the car and settled in for the night. Within a few moments, Mitch decided it would be more comfortable - due to the incline - to turn the car around. Great idea...CRUNCH! We ran over the campstove! I grabbed my shoes and scampered out of the car to retrieve the sad piece of equipment when a car pulled up to me. This local started asking me all these questions: mainly, were we drinking? No, but the guy was insistent, telling us we'd be better off camping by the river because, "The law's out tonight." Eventually he left, but I was perturbed that Mitch and Gabe just let me talk to this stranger by myself. For the next half hour, laying there in the car, I was convinced every approaching set of headlights was another local coming to bother us. So, since it was humid and stuffy in the car, and since at least Mitch and I weren't going to be able to sleep, we got a hotel. Yay us.

Saturday: Setting up camp
It was raining when we woke up on Saturday morning, so we waited until about noon to go back to the campsite find somewhere to call home for the next week. Luckily, the previous inhabitants had left, so we promptly set up three tents and a nice, big tarp. The river was really low, so we spent lots of time playing on the rocks. Actually, Mitch and Gabe did most of the playing and I plopped myself down on a big, flat boulder to enjoy some peace.

Sunday: The group arrives
Last Saturday night, Brian and Katelyn rolled in and crashed in the tent we set up for them. When we returned from our morning visit to the Visitor's Center, the rest of the group was there. Some were sleeping but most were up and about, excited for a fun day. We took a good-sized group up river to the Hawk's Nest Dam for some bouldering, and after lunch most people went over to The Pinnacle, somewhat of a multi-pitch climb with a 90-foot rappell at the end. Mitch, Brian, Katelyn and I decided to head over to Junkyard and boulder a bit instead, but we all had a great time.

Monday: Summersville
In my opinion, Summersville Lake is the best place to climb in the whole entire New River Gorge area. In one section, there are numerous 5.7s, 8s, 9s and 10s - not to mention a huge, clean lake for swimming and bathing. While the climbing was awesome, the most memorable part of our day was the pirate ship. A few years before, Jon, Jeremy and Ben jumped in the lake and commandeered a floating log as their pirate ship. Determined to resurrect the tradition, they experimented with a few logs close to shore before spotting a huge one floating in the middle of the lake. With our encouragement from shore, they swam out to it, played a bit, and then became convinced the wouldn't be able to bring it back to shore. So a determined contigent, including me, stripped down, braved the chilly water, and brought the pirate ship ashore. Most of you reading this will never see them, but Gabe took some very hilarious photos of the voyage. Let's just say most of the people in the water will never be able to run for public office...

Tuesday: Bubba City (Beer Wall)
Bubba City is also a great place to climb, and we spent all day Tuesday out in the hot sun climbing routes like St. Pauli Girl, a 5.10c and arguably one of the best climbs in the Gorge. I led the same route I did last year, and reminded myself why I don't like ledgey climbs. Everyone had a great time...until we got back to camp and it was pouring rain! Five people were heading out for Spring Term and sports, but the rest of us decided to screw hanging out in the rain and went back into town for dinner at Pies and Pints. It was all-you-can-eat pizza night, and they didn't just have regular pizza; they made pies with gorgonzola, rosemary and grapes, or pesto, or figs, or jalepenos...you get the picture. Mitch, Gabe and Jerry decided an eating contest was in order, and promptly stuffed themselves. Mitch wolfed down 18 pieces and Jerry and Gabe each had 21. Boys.

Wednesday: Endless Wall and night bouldering
Wednesday was dreary, and we were afraid it would be nasty all day, but it dried up enough for us to head to Endless Wall for some slabby climbing. This is one of my favorite types: you don't really have any handholds, but the wall is slightly angled in and the rock is very grippy. So you just find a place for your feet and slowly stand up. Sounds like fun, huh? Anyway, I climbed one route and was lead-belaying for Brian on a second when it started to rain. We gave up on that in a hurry and hiked out, but the rest of the evening was dry enough for night bouldering at the dam. Once it got dark, a bunch of us grabbed our headlamps and tackled some really great problems. This was my crowning achievement for the trip: I topped out a 20-foot boulder on a not-super-easy route. In the dark. Yeah.

Thursday: Bubba City (Sandstonia)
This area was formerly known as Tattoo Wall and has just been recently developed. Actually, the guys went here last year while us girls were at Beer Wall. I'm not sure about this place, though. The guidebook made it look like there were a ton of climbs of all abilities, but I think the routes were rated low. Gabe led a 5.10 that took him 15 feet to the left of his bolt - not safe. Jerry attempted a 5.9 on lead but took a whipper and cracked his shin on a ledge. The only good climb was a 5.7 Brian led at the end of the day, and I was the only one who climbed it after him.

Friday: Bouldering (last day)
The Climbing Club bought a guidebook for bouldering the the Gorge, and while we could have taken a whole day clambering up big rocks, we decided to save it for the last day and spend the morning instead. We went to Bridge Area, which is mostly trad climbing, and found this huge bouldering with a ton of problems. From what we could see, I climbed a couple V-1s and the boys worked on a few V-2s and 3s. It was a ton of fun, and standing on top of the boulder, the last thing I wanted to do was put on a suit and come back to the office.

Once we got back to Michigan, it was a whirl-wind of showering, sleeping, cleaning gear, driving back to Mt. P, and attending Vicky and Dan's wedding on Saturday. What a glorious celebration! They got married in the Alma chapel, with Christine, our on chaplain, performing the ceremony. The reception was a blast and Van Dusen never looked more elegant. Tim and Anna came up for the event and stayed with us, then on Sunday morning we had brunch at the Embers with lots of good friends. Definitely a great end to our vacation week!

Sick Day

I stayed home from work today to try and recover. Last night was really bad, but I feel a bit better today. It's running its course, just like Mitch said: a day and a half of a super sore throat, followed by congestion and eventually a cough. Right now I'm in the congestion phase, with a spurt of coughing every once in awhile.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise: I'm doing some work from home, but I also put the finishing touches on my packing for WV. I also discovered, to my delight, that I'm able to access one heck of a wireless connection from my living room. We may not be forking over the big bucks to Charter for cable modem if this thing stays consistent!

Did I mention earlier that Jerry is joining Mitch, Gabe and I on this trip? He's coming down with another group on Saturday while we are leaving tomorrow, but he'll only miss a day. Cool, huh?

I'm Sick

Mitch gave me his sore throat, cold-type bug. If anyone has any medical advice for me, I'd appreciate it. I'm currently self-medicating with a combination of gargled salt water, tea, Robitussen, ibuprofen, Slurpees, cough drops, ecinacea and grapefruit juice.

Three more days!

The days are seriously dragging - at least, until I get home from work and try to cram shopping, packing, spending time with soon-to-be-graduated friends, climbing and working out into the four or so hours until bedtime. Last night we bought all the food, tonight Pete is coming over for dinner, tomorrow we're hoping to climb, Thursday is hardcore packing night, and Friday is departure! I love vacation, and I love the anticipation of vacationing.

Switching topics, I have to say, I really hate condscension. I have an uncle who's very condescending and while I love him, I loathe conversations with him at more than the superficial level. He's a lawyer and he's always angling for ways to make you say what he thinks you should say, or ways he can twist your words to his advantage. At Easter, he was being condescending with regards to religion, and I really wish we hadn't been interrupted by dinner because I think I could have really held my own with him on the subject of whether or not going to church makes you a good person. He seems to hold the view that Christians think going to church is the main mark of being a good person, but I betcha I could show him he's wrong. Also, he seemed surprised that religion even played a role in my life. What does he think, that I wear a cross around my neck for fashion purposes?

Many of you know Mitch and I were struggling to find a church home, and we've definitely succeeded, though summer weekends are definitely going to put a kink in our regular attendance. Be that as it may, I've really come to see Sunday mornings as a time of renewal, of reminding myself about God's role in my life, of providing me with opportunities to learn and question and see things in a new light.

Easter

It was easier than I thought, remembering this as Grandma's first Easter with Jesus rather than our first Easter without her.

We had a busy weekend between spending Friday night and Saturday morning in Lake City with Jon, Saturday afternoon with Mitch's family in Carson City, and Sunday with my family in South Lyon. I wish I could say the highlight of it all was Easter morning service, but I just about fell asleep and I had to wake both Bobby and Mitch up. The old church downtown is just not particularly inspiring (though the pancake breakfast was amazing). Still, we go for family.

In actuality, one of the highlights was a great mountain bike ride in Cadillac. We went 12-14 miles and since I always ride by myself - the boys are just too fast - I usually have a lot of time to think and appreciate the act of just being outside and (in my opinion) very close to God. Of course, I can meditate on this better if my lungs aren't burning as they often were on the two-mile uphill stretch, but even then I manage to do a little focusing on God, as in, "OK God, I need a bit more strength here. Just a little nudge, come on." Usually I get songs like "I Need Thee Every Hour" stuck in my head at that point, because boy do I need something!

Now I just have to get through the week, because it's almost vacation time! I check the weather in WV every day and while there looks to be some rain, I'm also pleased to report a little sun and, most importantly, NO SNOW.

I have a to-do list a mile long, so I better get hoppin'.

The Story

With Good Friday tomorrow, I thought this was an appropriate set of lyrics to post:

The Story
Written by Andrew Osenga for Caedmon's Call's newest CD

In some sweet ways it's simple,
Sometimes that's all that I need,
To trust someone else so I can get some sleep.
And all our heroes have deserted,
Said we were nothing on our own,
And now that's all I am.

Oh, can you tell me the story,
Of all of your glory,
Of your rising again?
'Cause I, I'm in love with the mystery,
Of how our sad history,
Can turn out for good.

And the bitter man is angry,
Angry man just thinks he's right,
Too right to see mercy,
When he's standing in its light.
We can shed tears over dying,
We can rage and we can fight
But we cannot forget that
we were loved before we opened up our eyes,
Such foolish pride.

It's a shame to build our homes,
With bricks of fear and cynical stones.
There is nothing left to run from,
There is nothing left but love.

Can you tell me the story?
Can you tell me the story?
I need to hear it again,
I need to hear it again.

Wonder?

Does anyone else ever wonder if, "Just be yourself and everyone will like you for who you are?" is really just code for, "I don't particularly like the way you are, so change and I will like you?"

Just wondering. I've had friends drop the "just be yourself" bomb on me when I was pretty darn sure I was being extremely true to myself. Granted, that was quite awhile ago and I'm not quite sure why it popped into my head now. Maybe it's because I'm still acutely aware of not being "myself" (read: the self they want me to be) when I'm around them.

Quote of the Week

(for last week.)

So I'm sitting in my office around 5 pm, wrapping up my work, and I hear my coworker call my name from the bathroom. (My office shares a wall with the women's restroom.) I go in, and she's run out of toilet paper. I hand her some, bust out laughing and go back to work. A few moments later, she comes into my office and says:

"This is really symbolic of our working relationship. I drop a deuce and you help me clean it up."

Hehehe!

Apologies

In the past few months, I've attended dance concerts, a track meet and Honors Day presentations at Alma College, partly because I enjoy them and partly to recognize and support the efforts of my friends as they complete their time at Alma College. I realized, after sacrificing lunch to watch part of a home track meet, that I was ridiculously self-centered in college. I never attended choir concerts, dance shows, orchestra concerts, athletic events, Honors presentations, or anything else to support my friends, not because I wanted to be a jerk but because I was too busy and wrapped up in what I had to do. I lost sight of how good it made me feel to see my friends at dance recitals or sporting events in high school, and I would truly like to apologize for that.

Some of this preceded an insightful email sent by one of my friends to the entire campus community. If you're curious, go to http://www.xanga.com/marchon2884 to read it. Marc makes some good points and gives me a lot to think about, not only in the context of my experiences at Alma but also those in the "real world." I have found, since graduating, that time with friends is sometimes more important than a good night's sleep; that the world will not end if I press pause on my work; and that making an effort to really KNOW my family is more valuable than any academic accomplishment or accolade in the workplace. I feel like I've done a good job balancing work and home, and am able to resist the pressure to work insane hours and make my career my life. I know I still have a long way to go in discovering and accepting what is truly important in this world, but I'm working on it.

What a night!

It's 4:30 pm and I just woke up - for the second time since going to bed 12 hours ago. We had a bunch of people over kind of as a last hurrah before everyone graduating this year goes their separate ways. It was a blast...I made a ton of food as always and Mitch mixed up some pretty serious Long Islands, which got everyone out to a great start. It was so much fun just to hang out with my friends and not worry about anything except making sure Miriam didn't fall off the balcony while peeing. Like I said, it was about 4:30 am before we went to bed and I was up at 9:30 am making breakfast and straightening up. We hit the noon service at church and I crashed on the couch as soon as we got back. I'm still a bit tired, but I'll make it.

I am a wuss.

Yes. Wimp, 'fraidy-cat, take your pick.

I led one climb at the wall last night and Mitch tried to get me to rappel down and clean the draws off the wall at the same time. I was all hooked up, ATC in place and everything...and I couldn't do it.

You may recall my absolutely terrifying experience trying to rappel at Summersville last spring. Only 25 feet off the ground, indoors, and I still got all panicky. The thought of having to lower myself and take a hand off the rope to awkwardly take draws off the wall was just too much.

Mitch tried to be stern with me, thinking a Tim-like approach would work. Nope. I refused and sat there like a stubborn child on the brink of unnecessary tears until he agreed to bring me down himself, like normal. He tried telling me I was going to have to do it outdoors and I told him there was no way I was doing that again.

Wuss. Wimp. 'Fraidy cat.

Seven Minutes with Laurie

Seven minutes 'til five and I've been really busy lately, so posting has taken a backseat. Let's just say that work is getting crazy, with financial aid packages going out and my website redesign project shifting into high gear. I advise anyone with free time to check out www.alma.edu/admissions and see the "before." I'll tell you when you can view the new and improved "after."

Three weeks and two days until we leave for West Virginia and I'm pumped. My arm and core muscles are constantly sore from the unrelenting workouts, which I'm sure will pay off in the end. Tonight we're heading to the wall to do some lead climbing with our very own rope and quickdraws. Oh, and I might be ordering a new harness. I'm not totally convinced, but testing out the new Black Diamond Primrose is making me lean in that direction.

I completely meant to post about last Sunday's sermon, too. It was all about spending an ordinary day with Jesus and how we would go through our day if Jesus happened to be sitting on the side of our bed one morning and asked to spend the whole day with us. It was simplistic but eye-opening.

Two minutes to five. You don't get the full seven minutes, because I'm going to pack up now. I know you're bummed. :)

By the way, anyone looking to purchase outdoor gear should check out www.moosejaw.com. Their prices are sometimes a bit steep but you can't beat their customer service and unique marketing communications tactics.

Back on track

Mitch and I went climbing last night and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't totally suck. After blowing off the start hold, I finished a challenging boulder route (possibly a V-2) and once I struggled my way through a 5.8 top rope route, I tackled a (supposed) 5.10 b (but it's probably just a 5.10) and made it just above the boulder line. There were three big moves in a row - well, big for me anyway, being short and all that - and after I cleared the overhang with a fun mantle-ish move, I didn't have any strength left to go farther. I'll work on it more tonight.

In preparation for the West Virginia trip (30 days and counting), we've committed to climbing as often as humanly possible and doing hangboard workouts whenever we can't be at the wall. I am insanely excited about this trip, especially because we will be self-sufficient enough to do our own thing if lazy people are taking too long in the morning. Our own food, our own rope, our own full set of draws...what more could we want? Well, there are a few people who won't make it that I wish would be there, or be there for longer in some cases. But next year I think I'll be trying to put together an alumni climbing trip, since we're getting so old and all. Plus, I can't have kids I recruited watching me skinny-dip, now can I?? :)

Time? What's that?

There was a lot a wanted to write about right after my grandma's funeral - conversations with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and others in attendance. I will always remember that my 30-year old cousin had never attended a funeral, yet for me this felt strangely familiar after the death of a close family friend just a few years ago. I smile when I remember Bobby saying Grandma would want us to have a drink with dinner, so we should go to the pub instead of Big Boy for dinner during her visitation. And I get a little teary when I remember my aunt taking my face in her hands as we were leaving the luncheon, saying, "Grandma loved you so much."

For Bobby, this brought back memories of his best friend's father, Dave. He told me losing Dave was like losing his own dad because they were so close. He told me he still thinks about Dave at least twice a week, just randomly. He said if he could have one person back, it would be Dave; I guess I've never stopped to think about the fact that when Dave left, Bobby lost him and, in a way, Dave's son, Pat. They were the best of friends but after Dave's death, Pat drifted away, making a new life for himself that didn't really include those from his past.

I realized that I don't really know anything about my grandma - I only knew her as Grandma, who didn't like boating but loved to sit on the porch reading, who played in the church bell choir and served chocolate milk with bendy straws on special occasions. Turns out she was an accomplished vocal soloist and just wow-ed everyone on the organ. "No one played hymns like Inge," according to the minister who gave her eulogy.

So now, after two weeks of craziness, I'm trying to get caught up in the office. Everyone seems to want something from me but I'm slowly making progress. Today I'll visit with three students and their families, after spending last night at a college fair in Gaylord. On top of that, I'm trying to get back in shape after a few weeks off, and my muscles are protesting. I feel like I'm always tired - hopefully restocking my vitamins will help with that. Well, I have an appointment in 10 minutes, so I better get back to work!

Grandma

“For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

My Grandma has soft hands. I sit next to her on our couch, holding one and stroking the softest spot, the one between her thumb and forefinger. If I inhaled close enough, I know I’d smell powder just by their touch.

Grandma tells me about being a little girl in America, about being the only little girl who can speak German well enough to give a special reading on Christmas Eve each year. She tells me how her father never came to church on Christmas Eve and how she never connected that with the big tree magically decorated in their front room when she returned from service those evenings.

In the self-centeredness of youth, I never asked her more stories about her childhood. Now I hold on to what little she offered up.

I lean my head back against the cushions and turn sideways to smile at her. Something tells me I will treasure this moment.

I should have held on to so many other moments. The fun ones in the summer when we tried to play in the lake with her, unaware she’d rather be anywhere but in the water. The sweet ones when she and Grandpa faithfully came to watch me dance. One night, she told me she watched me leap off the stage and couldn’t hold back the tears at the expression of joy on my face. I don’t even remember feeling the joyful, but Grandma saw it.

I’m her only granddaughter. I carried her prayer book down the aisle at my wedding. She sent me books to soothe my soul at college; “old lady books,” I called them, but relished their sweetness each night when the days were filled with strain and stress. The last time we played Scrabble she beat me, humbling the college English student with a few well-played tiles.

I see her now in the hospital bed, smiling tiredly as she tells us how she spilled her coffee all over that morning. I grin as she matter-of-factly complains about the breakfast, telling us we wouldn’t eat it, either. She’s always been spunky in a quiet, mischievous way. I catch her peaceful eyes as I lean to kiss her, telling her to get better, listening to her gentle retort that she is, in fact, fine.

Part of me is glad I didn’t know that was the last time I’d see her. I would have wept, I would have held her hand too tightly, willing her not to leave, not yet. Instead I hugged her, kissed her, smiled at her, promised her flowers to brighten up the room. She saw me leave happy. She didn’t see my cheeks wet with tears.

This Christmas, Grandma couldn’t play the piano. I saw her eyes moisten as she longed for a talent dulled by age. She’s playing now. She won’t see my first child, watch my brother get married or celebrate any more milestones with us; but she’ll play a song, so sweet and still and silent we’ll just hear it in our hearts.

Biking Season Begins

And my tailbone is suffering! Mitch and I took advantage of the great weather this weekend to pull out bikes out of the dusty confines of my parents' garage and hit the trails. We tested everything out on Saturday, riding mostly paved rail-trails and scouting out the mountain biking trails via a one-mile jaunt - but the six or so miles really did my behind in and the first mile we rode on Sunday was pretty painful. I had my legs tensed and couldn't really sit down, but soon everything else hurt so bad I didn't even feel my bottom anymore. My lungs were burning, my heart was knocking around in my chest, my legs were aching - but I made it all the way and it wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated.

Word to the wise: if you have a cat, make sure you always keep the fabric liner underneath the boxsprings of a bed staple securely up. Chip was hiding up in the box springs on Sunday evening and it took us forever to (a) find him and (b) get him out. Brat cat!

On a more serious note, my Grandma Eccles is in the hospital. She has pneumonia and had a heart attack on Thursday, though she didn't know it until she went to the ER on Saturday. She's very old and has been slowing down for awhile, but we're not ready for her to leave us quite yet. Prayers are much appreciated.

And now, after about almost five days out of the office, I better get to work.

Super Rep!

The original plan was for me to join my coworker for another college fair on Wednesday evening at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. We were going to stay the night at my parents' house and on Thursday, I was planning to drop her off at a hotel in Livonia, where she would meet up with two other reps from our office for a fair Thursday evening and another one on Friday morning. One of the reps who was coming is experienced, the other is a newbie who has never done a college fair before. Unfortunately, I get an email this morning saying the experienced rep was sick and was not going to make it. The rep I was with said she would feel better if I stayed instead of just letting the two new reps handle this fair alone, because it's supposed to be huge and crazy-busy.

So here I am - hanging out in a hotel in Livonia watching Fifty First Dates and waiting to head over to the fair. I had to go shopping for some new shirts and underwear, plus get shampoo, conditioner and other necessaries because I didn't plan on spending another night here, let alone a night in a hotel without the comforts of my parents' homes. It's nice not to be at the office, but I think I'd rather be home with Mitch and the kitty cat. Well, it's about time to go and I still need to do something with my hair!

Grr.

Here I am, all excited about the book discussion on "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" over lunch today, when I suddenly get stuck doing a tour at 12:45 pm. I was the only one to volunteer, with the stipulation that if anyone else could do it, I'd rather not. No one else jumped in to offer their assistance - yet only two other people out of our entire rep staff has a valid appointment on their calendars - and one of them is in the same book discussion group as me but didn't even consider pitching in. I never mind helping out and willingly pick up the slack when needed, but at the same time, all I can think is, "Jerks."

Birks and TNF

I went to this college fair last night in Bloomfield Hills and felt very out of place without a pair of Birkenstocks on my feet and The North Face on my back. Though I'm excited to have this territory next year (it looks almost certain that I'll be the Southeastern Michigan rep), it'll be culture shock seeing Calvin Klein instead of Carhart and Steve Madden instead of steel-toed boots. The North was a hard place to work because of the distance and the loneliness, but I'm starting to think that the down-to-earth people might have made up for it in a way.

Switching gears...there's a political issue that's been bothering me lately. I hate how both parties are trying to show that they are the "moral" party. Oh, Republicans are the moral party because they oppose abortion and gay marriage. Oh no, the Democrats are the real moral party because they support social justice. Personally, my political affiliation has nothing to do with religion or morality. Can we say, separation of church and state, anyone? I have more conservative views because I think they are in line with a more practical, rational way to run our country - not because of whatever "moral" platform they pretend to stand on.

Worthy

My commitment to prayer over Lent has been going well. I feel more refreshed each time I make the effort, though sometimes it's more of an effort than it should be. I never realized how wrapped up in myself I am - how much my own personal gripes and groans and desires rule my life. But I had a neat thought: Jesus died for me and I want to be worthy of his sacrifice. Whenever I make a decision, or a snap judgement about someone, or have a little pity-party because things aren't going my way, I've been stopping and asking myself, "Is this behavior worthy of his sacrifice?"

I've also been trying to be more conscious of God's blessings. For instance, the "Norman Rockwell" moment on Sunday when I was sleeping on the guest bed, curled up under a homemade quilt with my cat at my feet while my husband played his guitar in the same room. If I could have a picture painted of my family right now, that would be the scene.

Lent

I almost forgot: what (if anything) are you giving up for Lent? I've given up ice cream for the past two years but I didn't find it very meaningful or, honestly, very hard. Last year I added gossiping to the "give up" list but since that's something I try to avoid all the time, it just didn't seem right to single out during Lent. So I'm not giving up anything: I'm going to pray more. I see that honest, heart-felt prayer is often lacking in my day-to-day life and that I only seem to call out to God when something bad happens. Every day during Lent I will take a few quiet moments to pray with my whole heart - and I won't do it at bedtime because I fall asleep in the middle of my prayers.

I just don't get it.

I don't understand people. I've been enjoying my job and the people with whom I work - even so far as to consider them new friends. But recently it's just been one exclusion after another and I'm getting sick of it.

Here's another coworker situation I don't like: there's a new girl we hired that, for whatever reason, my other coworkers (the three other young women I referenced above) have decided they do not like her and refuse to include her in anything. "There's just something about her," they say, and I don't get it. My default mode, for the most part, is to like people I just meet. You have to do something to make me not like you, rather than the other way around. It's almost like my coworkers want some sort of proof that she's "cool enough" to hang around them. I don't like it at all. I stick up for her, though I admit it's a weak effort.

I would love some advice and/or encouragement...this week's been a real downer in the office. Just when I think I've got something great it turns out to be shallow and petty.

Grapefruit Revelations

Sometimes you have to be thankful for an everyday activity that can teach you something.

I was peeling a grapefruit in the back room at work, which is something I don't normally do. I'd rather just cut it in half and neatly cut out the sections, but for whatever reason, I found myself tearing off the thick skin and working the fruit out of the membranes. Here I am, dripping all over the counter and sometimes into the trash can below me, when I realized that peeling a grapefruit is a lot like life. There are times when it's messy and unpleasant, but it doesn't stay like that. You will eventually get through whatever is troubling you at the moment and when you're done, you'll have something to show for it, or at least it will make you appreciate certain things more.

When I finished making my huge lunchtime mess, I washed my hands and had a whole plate full of juicy grapefruit to enjoy for a few moments. It was worth it; life's worth it like that, too.

Courage, man!

Yesterday, 2:15 pm: I get called into a meeting that isn't on my calendar by the VP. We're talking about the results of our consultant's latest visit and apparently I have a voice in the office. This can't possibly take more than an hour. I really want to hear that Republican guy speak at 3:30.

3:30 pm: They're still talking. I stop talking and start jiggling my leg and checking the clock every three minutes.

3:40 pm: We move onto a new topic and I ask the room full of Democrats if they need me anymore. They razz me, because they know where I'm going, and I jet. It was a good talk basically designed to raise awareness about Dick DeVoss as the Rep. candidate for governor. Don't take me too seriously on this, folks, but he basically owns GR and that city seems to be prospering for it. Let's give him a chance with the whole state, because anything is better than what we've got now!

At the end of the day, I was feeling very good about myself and had this whole blog in my head about self-identity and a series of affirmations that, no matter what others might say, I don't hold the wrong political beliefs as long as I voice them respectfully and respect others' beliefs, too; that I can't choose the wrong church as long as I keep my heart and mind open; that I can't wear the wrong shoes, the wrong hairdo, the wrong outfit as long as I like what I see in the mirror; etc. etc. etc. By the way, these are all things I struggle with on a daily basis because the opinions of others matter WAY too much to me.

Then I spent this morning shopping in Novi - ugh. We could never live there. I'd feel ugly and unfashionable all the time!

As you may have guessed from that statement, I have the day off today. I had a few doctors appointments, one that went all right and the other that was great. How many orthodontists do you know who will not only remember an old, old patient but actually make you a new retainer for free and call it a wedding gift? With this, I highly recommend Dr. Debbie Priestapp in Milford whenever your kids need orthodontic work! Now, rather than going home, I'm hanging out in the Lyon Township Library, taking advantage of their wireless. I tried Caribou Coffee in New Hudson first, and they said I probably wouldn't be able to get it unless I went to Novi. Someone needs to tell them that the library down the road is GREAT!

OK, this is getting kind of long, so I better let you, my faithful readers, return to your lives. Thanks for checking in!

"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"

So I'm reading that book for a book discussion group at Alma and it's very interesting. So far, though, there are some things I don't agree with. Most of them stem from the fact that the author decided to redefine racism so that basically, anyone white American is essentially racist because he/she receives advantages solely because he/she is white. Hmmm.

I also find it hard to believe that (1) finding your racial identity is more important than finding any other part of your identity and (2) that in order for an African Americans to find their identities, it is essential and part of a "process" that they immerse themselves in their own racial culture at the exclusion of every other ethnicity. The author herself even brags about not remembering the names of any of her white undergraduate classmates. Is it just my liberal arts education speaking, or is everything in our world connected and do we need to understand many different facets of life to truly grasp any one area?

Further, I don't think that I, as a German-Irish American, need to go through a period of feeling bad or guilty about the color of my skin in order for me to have some sort of racial identity. For me, developing a racial identity would mean researching my ancestors and accepting the good with the bad. Everyone wants to have a positive self-image, but that doesn't mean we should be unrealistic and blind to the changes that need to be made within our own race. Not everything about majority or minority cultures is a positive thing that needs to be embraced and held up as a virtue.

And finally, the use of dark and light as a way to protray good and evil in works of art is not a racist thing. Who likes dark, gloomy days better than bright sunny ones (as a general rule - everyone needs a rainy day now and again)? Dark and light have historically been used in art because of those connotations, not racial ones. So the fact that Scar in The Lion King is a shade darker than Mufasa is not racially motivated. Sorry. And yes, as Christians we sing about God washing us whiter than the snow, because the color white (not the skin tone) is a symbol of purity.

Regardless of my issues with the book, I'm finding it very interesting, especially the ancedotes about children as they discover race. I'm truly looking forward to the discussions with my collegues, though I hope we'll all keep an open mind. Trying to talk about it with a coworker who had read it in college this morning just didn't go all that well. I suppose I shouldn't have aggravated the conversation at the end by asking her if she was going to see the chairman of the Republican party this afternoon - but it wasn't that nice of her to say she'd only go to spit on him. Don't hate, it's not nice. By the way, I'll update on that later. It should be interesting, because he's coming to talk about Michigan's economy.

Everyone else is doing it

ISTJ - The Inspector You scored 45% I to E, 84% N to S, 66% F to T, and 0% J to P!

Your type is known as the inspector, and the single word that describes your is superdependable. You also belong to the larger group of guardians. You look carefully at the people and institutions around you and notice every last detail. You feel it is up to you to make sure those around you uphold certain standards of attitude and conduct. You are down to earth, with a distaste for fanciful things. You prefer things practical to new-fangled. Your word is your bond. You have no problem with detail. You share your type with 10% of the population. As a romantic partner, you are dependable and predictable. You usually like things done in very specific ways. You tend to appreciate tradition, and you work hard to achieve goals. You have trouble sharing your feelings, though. In your eagerness to be organized and productive, you can also be unwilling to examine or embrace alternative points of view. You like to be appreciated for your practical contributions, your common sense, and the efforts you make to keep your life on track. You like to be thanked often, both informally and formally and are most likely to be upset when your partner forgets a tradition you hold dear, such as an anniversary. Your group summary: Guardians (SJ) Your Type Summary: ISTJ

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 58% on I to E You scored higher than 97% on N to S You scored higher than 74% on F to T You scored higher than 0% on J to P

Link: The LONG Scientific Personality Test written by unpretentious2 on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

The Great Ice Storm

I've posted a time or two since we got slammed with this ice storm, but I thought it was worth going back to. Personally, I was not all that bummed by the weather because I got sent home from work early on Thursday. No one knew how long it would be before the rain started to really freeze, so by 4 pm I was home - and I hadn't come in until 11 am because it was my day for swing shift. I worked from my home computer for awhile (in pajama pants, eating a bag of popcorn!) and was settling down to read some scholarship apps when Mitch came home. Obviously I took a few minutes to relax with him on the couch, and then....BBBBYYYYEEEEWWWW. Power want out. Mitch was ecstatic - "Get the headlamps!" - and we had a great evening of grilling our entire dinner, eating by candle/flashlight, and playing board games with Mitch's coworker and her sister, who live in our apartment complex. I was a bit nervous about our apartment getting really cold, but the power was back by 1:30 am. Unfortunately, our bedroom light switch was flipped on, so we awoke with a big jolt!

Friday was a bit of a bummer at work because I had two girls who were supposed to visit and they didn't really make it because of all the snow to the North. I had a few cancellations for the Honors event we were hosting on Saturday, but that actually turned out to be a great day.

Yesterday we slept in nice and late, probably due to the fact that we hung fleece blankets over the drafty windows in our bedroom and now it's dark (and pretty ghetto). We made it to church on time, and it was really nice to go after missing it since December. Then we broke in our waffle maker and did some laundry before I headed off with Lori Cargill to see the Alma College Theatre Company perform Major Barbara. It was, um, long. Props to the actors and actresses, but the thing was tedious. Anyway, we return to find Mitch has made a phenominal apple/cherry pork roast AND finished all the laundry! I don't think I'll be trading this man in EVER!

Today is New Boss Day for us...we finally have a director! It's also a bank holiday, which means I left Mitch curled up in our warm bed this morning and had to start my own car. Geez, I'm spoiled.

Curious George

I just saw Curious George and I'm feeling like a little kid again. Those were my favorite books and monkeys were (are) my favorite animals. When I was little, I wouldn't go anywhere without my own stuffed monkey, Teeny. Wanna know something? He's falling apart - literally - and I still sleep with him every night. Anyone who's read The Velveteen Rabbit should understand...he's Real.

He's very sweet.

Valentine's Day was nice...dinner didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to, but no meal can be too bad when there's candlelight, some Jennifer Knapp playing in the background and a good bottle of wine. Yes, I said it. A good bottle of wine. I actually found a wine I can drink...slowly.

If we weren't going climbing, I think Mitch would need a stiff drink when he gets home tonight. He called me and corporate just dumped a bunch of work on him and the other staff. Their attitude was, "If you don't have time to do it during the day, stay later." That's bulls*it because he stays late enough as it is and they don't pay him overtime or anything. He's just straight up salaried, and not making enough to justify more than 50 hours a week, which he's already easily working.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mitch is cute...last night he went to the bike store and bought us lights for our bikes as Valentine's Day presents. When I got home, he already had his open and was playing with it. This morning, he wrapped mine in paper towel at breakfast time, put my name on it and gave it to me. The extreme romance thing may only come once in awhile, but the cuteness is there every day.

Tonight is Experimental Dinner Night, once again. Pork roast in the crock pot surrounded by apples and cherries. I've had luck so far...hopefully this one works out well, too.

Taking Stock

I hope everyone had a great weekend...I sure did! We went to Cadillac to watch Bobby ski in his final race before Regionals, which is next weekend at Marquette. He did well, and hopefully he'll do even better at Regionals.

I'm reading "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. It's Mom's next book club book and I think their discussion will be even more interesting since this book was supposed to be true but it's not. I think I'm going to Google it and read more about this author...who writes a fictional memoir and tries to pass it off as real?

And now, if there's anyone who's been reading my blog but has never left a comment, you should do so now. I doubt there are many (if any) of you, but I'm interested to know who's been following my life! Thanks!

Swingin' again

It's another swing shift, only I've enjoyed this one. I would still be busily calling prospective students, but I'm waiting for a student to call and I don't want to miss it. I know the conversation could be a long-ish one, and I really want to leave by 7 pm. My sweet husband will be waiting for me to eat my tasty crockpot concoction and my girls from the office are getting together for pre-college fair festivities that I'd like to join - talk about some great motivation!

I feel a little bad about leaving Mitch again this evening, since yesterday I didn't get back from my college fair in Lakeland until midnight, but it's not often that I get to hang out with these great gals outside the confines of the office. Mitch and I will be spending the whole weekend together (although Fri. and Sat. night will both be spent in a hotel room with my parents) so I guess he won't be too bummed.

Work is busy, and I've recently opened up a big can of worms regarding our website. I think that stuff is going to take up more and more of my time, but I enjoy it. I'm also making progress in getting a new territory - the one by my parents' house. It turns out that the girl who currently has it would rather be in the North, because she's from Manton. Score! Her and I were both at the college last night and had a long drive (thanks to a jack-knifed semi at Fowlerville) to scheme.

OK, this kid has 8 minutes to call me before I roll out of here. Now it's six minutes, because I was chatting with one of our student workers. He's going to take over the Adventure Club - finally! He seems very excited about it, and has four other friends working with him to revive it. Sounds like some people I know from a few years back. :)

Thank goodness it's...Tuesday??

Well, at least it's not Monday anymore, though my day went super-fast yesterday. Three hours of meeting with students and their families, having to be perky and happy and know all the answers will really take it out of a person. The rest of the week should go pretty quickly, too. Tomorrow I head downstate for a college fair with one of the new reps...the bosses know I want that territory for next year so they suggested I go with her and do her training. College fairs are really fun but this one won't be the same without the Northern Crew I met in the UP. They know how to make a week in the boondocks fun, that's for sure!

Thanks for all the comments yesterday, friends. The whole "college being where you mature the most" thing also helps explain the situation.

Friendship

Is my situation unique or does anyone else see a huge difference in their relationships with high school friends vs. college friends?

I essentially have two close female friends from high school, but I get the feeling I call them "close" more out of habit than anything else. One went to school in Indiana, now lives and works there and rarely ever comes home even to see her family, who still lives in our hometown. I've been to visit her a few times throughout the years, but the trip is long and she hasn't been to see me since we were sophomores in college.

The other girl lives relatively close in comparison but is busily completing grad school and maintaining a long-distance relationship with a guy met through my Indiana-dwelling friend. She, though, will go skiing (an activity we used to do together almost religiously) and not think to invite me. Or she'll go home, make a big deal about getting together, and then place everything else ahead of our plans to that we eventually end up spending less then an hour in a coffee shop or something.

The thing I find more difficult is that our friendships doesn't natuarally extend to our spouses/boyfriends, who are complete opposites. In fact, Mitch and I are both pretty different than them but the bonds from high school hold us gals together more than any commonalities we may have now.

So where am I going with all this? I find my college friends work way harder at our relationships. Whether it's online through emails or blogs or a serious effort to make plans every so often, we seem to stay close and involved in each other's lives even though we have scattered after graduation. My theory behind this is that we've always had to work to maintain our relationships due to busy schedules and summers away from each other. We grew up with the people from high school and never really had to work to see each other, except when we went away to college, which is (logically) when the distancing really began.

Mitch and I also have a lot of mutual friends from college, which makes it easy. He does not fit in my high school friends' perfect little mold and I resent the disapproval in their eyes when his sense of humor is different then theirs or when he voices a view that doesn't align with their opinions. I find it strange, though, that this doesn't apply to friends from Alma who are closer to me than to Mitch (like you, my lovely Jenn!).

Anyway, I tried to make that coherent but I'm not sure it was. Relationships are complicated things and I'll never really be able to explain them.

Skiing Quotes

Reading SKiing Magazine at lunch, I literally cracked up at the following blurbs:

"Release 15,000 angst-ridden, nonskiing teenage Mass-hole marmots on: Rose Marie Boniface, superintendent of the Marlborough, Massachusetts, school district, who, citing liability issues, squelched a student ski program that had taken more than 15,000 kids to the slopes of New England since 1994. Come to think of it, release the marmots on all of the sleazy lawyers who fuel the frivolous-lawsuit economy."

"Get out of my ski town: Adults in jester hats, especially if they're multicolored or bedecked with little bells - or both. When kids or grandparents wear them, it's acceptable - barely. When you wear them, it's grounds for a beating."

Michigan made the list of five ski-town meat markets for The Zoo Bar at Boyne Highlands:
"In the Upper Midwest, skiing is often viewed as an excuse for guilt-free daytime drinking. And the Zoo Bar, which sits at the base of Boyne, is the epi-center for getting schnockered on schnapps before dusk. Daily classic rock-and-roll cover bands guarantee dancing elbow-to-elbow with Grand Rapids steaknecks and Michigan State sorority girls. Last call comes early - 8 pm - when partyers amble uphill to the slopeside lounge. Our advice? Keep going all night long. You'r eonly skiing 545 vertical feet, after all, and no one brags about scoring the first chair."

New Photos

Photos from Christmas (including the party we had at our apartment) and New Years Eve at Matt and Jon's are up on my Yahoo site. The link is on the right side of the screen...go check them out when you have some time to kill!

I didn't climb last night, but Mitch and Gabe went and apparently set this killer route. They're hoping it's about a 5.10c but by the time they were done setting, they were too tired to climb it. Next on their list is a solid 5.10 for me to work on, which may go up on Saturday while I am on a Habitat for Humanity build. Yippee!

It's strange to me to be so content where we are right now. I mean, I spent all last year hating where we were living and now I like our place, my job, the friends in the area, the activities, etc. We know we don't want to stay here permanently, though, and talked a little about what kind of town we want to settle down in when it comes time to raise a family. Midland came up, but currently the lack of climbing facilities is a big negative. Ryan, oh economic development guru...wanna work on that for us? :)

Waiting...

...for one of my students to call me back. I'm starving, tired, crampy and really just want to go home. I have to go to the grocery store because we're running out of food for lunch, but lucky for me it's venison night, which means Mitch is cooking.

Today was at least productive. I made some relatively major changes to the content on the admissions website and got intimately familiar with Photoshop again.

We're supposed to go climbing tonight, as always, but I'm not sure if my uterus is up to the challenge. It may prefer a date with the heating pad. Too much information for most of you, I'm sure.

Is it time to go home yet?

Wal-Mart stole my stars.

We've been spending the weekend at my parents' house and it's been great, as always. The sad part about coming down here is all the development in what used to be a relatively rural (read: horse capital of Michigan, not so long ago) area. Nowhere is the cost of development more apparent to me than in the fact that, on a clear night, I can no longer stargaze from my backyard. With the invasion of Wal-Mart about a mile and a half away came another car dealership, a Lowe's and a strip mall. Light pollution at its finest, my friends.

And what's with the weather? Just when I think Jack Frost is back from his many vacations, he heads back to Florida or wherever, leaving us to deal with Mother Nature's overeager desire for spring. You're ruining my winter, jerks! The edges on my skis are going to still be sharp and I'm not even going to have to wax in preparation for next winter with the amount I've gotten to ski. Geez.

Tuesday Night Climbing

Every Tuesday, Mitch, Gabe and I go climbing. Last semester, it was more like we went to the wall, climbed the few routes that were decent, and sat around for half an hour before going back home. This semester, though, the young'uns received a lecture about their route-setting techniques (ie, setting big-move routes only was not cool at all) and have produced some great, more technical boulder routes. They've set some routes I can actually do, and some that I can do better than many male climbers. Hmm, maybe I have some technique after all.

Mitch and I decided to set a technical route on Monday that starts on this huge, grippy blue hold then works its way across the wall with three tiny handholds (most requiring matches) and a sloper for the finish. You get three foot chips, one of which is a green "slimer" with no edges (Tim, this is mostly for your benefit). This particular route is along the slabby part of the wall, starting near the crack and working toward the corner. We made it on Monday, but I was too beat to try it all the way through until last night - when I hit it, first try! Mitch got it, too, but we had a blast watching people fall off it all night. I'm happy we set something challenging that will help some of the new climbers develop static technique, not just dynamic strength.

A Winter Weekend

Time to post at work is scarce nowadays, but before I even begin my day, here's a quick one. On Friday Mitch and I went skiing at Caberfae with Ray and Kristy. The snow started coming down thick about 15 minutes from the hill, and continued the entire night. The skiing was great, but the drive home was slow and hairy at times. Still, we all made it back home safely. The next day, we went winter camping with the Venture Crew we've been helping Matt lead. Let's just say I've done it now and I don't feel the desire to do it again.

Besides being cold, I definitely felt disappointed by some of the students on the trip. These young men, for the most part, have gone through Boy Scouts and many of them are Eagle Scouts. They are supposed to represent, according to the Scouts, the best leadership qualities, etc. etc. I didn't see that, though; they made little effort to assist those who had never done this type of thing before (mainly the girls on the trip) and didn't take initiative when it came to tending the fire, straightening up camp or anything else.

Quick one

Work's been a bitch...think over six hours on one task where doing the same thing twice does not tield the same results...and this is with a computer program, not a person. Ugh. And there's no bread in the house, so I don't even get a real lunch today. There are, however, two boxes of food from GFS for the Venture Crew camping trip on Saturday.

I climbed last night for the first time all week. Rocked out on this new boulder route and talked to a girl whose Dad does confined space rescue. She's also into that and was showing me her rope walking and rappelling equipment. Neat, though I think I'll stick to climbing.

Time for a staff meeting. Yay.

My weekend was great because I...

...found some great deals at EMS with my friends. I'm sad that they are closing all the EMS stores in Michigan, but I've only ever bought a few things from them, so it's not devastating. If REI closed, that would be devastating.

...slept for 12 hours on Saturday night, two of them in front of the glorious fireplace at Jon's place in Lake City.

...actually feel like winter camping with the Venture Crew this weekend is not going to be awful. Aside from the fact that I feel this whole thing is too focused on "the Boy Scout way," I think I can enjoy teaching the girls in the group some cool outdoors stuff. (And yes, I realize this is a Scouting organization, but I'd be an idiot if I actually believe I could be warmer is a tarp and some straw - without the benefit of insulating snow - than in a well-ventilated tent. And I'm not paying $200 and taking time off work for some special training session. I'm pretty sure my leadership abilities are developed enough for this.)

And now for a random mini-rant: I have come to HATE the line, "My kid just isn't a good test-taker." I'm going out on a limb here and saying this is not an excuse for poor performance on a test. I hate standardized tests as much as the next person, but if you do crappy on a test, you have to figure out why, not just brush it off as something over which you have no control. You screw up multiple choice questions? Read more carefully. You're slow? Practice makes perfect, my friend. It's like parents expect us to take that into consideration when we admit a student, but what happens when Cunningham's first econ exam rolls around, and there are enough multiple choice questions with enough choice combinations to scare even the most proficient test-taker? I'm done.

He's Wonderful

Mitch treated me to a wonderful, home-cooked birthday meal yesterday...and made enough to feed a third world country! Steak, fettucine alfredo, strawberry-spinach salad, bread, and even a cake...mmm - we have a ton of leftovers, but that means I didn't have to make lunches this morning.

I'm going to be sappy here, but I seriously love him more each day.

Work is crazy, so I have to go, but thanks to everyone who called or sent me a birthday message. My friends are amazing.

Another one from Ryan

Read this and let me (and Ryan) know what you think!

Still Got It

I went skiing with Mitch, Kristy, Ray and my parents this weekend (Kristy and Ray came to Caberfae on Friday night, then my parents took us to Crystal on Saturday) and I was pleased to find I can still smoke the slopes. It made me really want to go visit Minda and Derek and see what I've been missing in Colorado, but I know it's probably too expensive, especially if we want to go visit Tim and Anna this summer in St. Louis. Yes guys, we're thinking about it!

We hired a new gal at work and should be hiring another guy soon to replace two reps who left (or are leaving, in Deedee's case). I was discouraged throughout the interview process because each candidate we interviewed was told his/her territory would be Southeastern Michigan - the territory I want for next travel season. Thankfully, one of our interim co-directors told me today that the second person they're hiring will be told there are no guarantees as to his territory for next year. She said I shouldn't be shy about asking to switch when we get a new director, which will hopefully be soon. I'm more confident about the whole thing now.

My birthday is in two days...as my dad put it, I'll be almost a quarter of a century old. Nice. No idea what Mitch has planned, but he seems excited. Mom and Dad got me a massage with our family friend/massage therapist. Heaven!

I'm thankful for...

...things I wanted to happen that didn't happen. How many times has God kept me from making mistakes that could have wrecked something I hold dear? At least once for me, and I am completely aware of it now.

...my husband, who woke me up by snuggling me in the middle of the night and doesn't remember it this morning.

...my friends, both old, new and rediscovered. You light up my world. Take care of yourself, Bruce. You know everyone here is praying for your safe return next year.

Clouds

I think I'm starting to understand seasonal depression a bit. Why won't the sun come out? On the bright side, though, it's supposed to snow this week. Looks like skiing on Friday won't be a total bust!

Mitch and Johnny (his cousin) fixed the car last night. It was a loose connection, caused by all the shaking Mitch's car has been doing since he improperly rotated his steel belted radial tires (thanks to incorrect directions, just to redeem him). Johnny didn't charge us anything, but he's getting a big gift card to Applebee's!

It's experimental dinner night again...this time I'm making barbecued venison in the crock pot. I followed the recipe exactly, so let's hope this stuff comes out.

Becky and I got together to work on scrapbooks Monday. (1) It was great to not be doing that all alone and (2) it was awesome to actually spend time with a female friend. I spend so much time with guys (and it's wonderful, boys) that I sometimes feel starved for female company.

Garth Brooks has been rocking my world since Mitch got the box set. I bet I've listened to it more than my hubby!

That's all from the desk of Laurie!

Happy 2006!

New Year's Eve was great! Matt and Jon, thanks...Bruce, great to see you...Tim, did you get my message at Michigan midnight?

And now it's back to work. In other news, we're trying to get the electrical f*#%-up on Mitch's car fixed. It's been at his cousin's for four days now and hopefully soon he'll know what's wrong and can get it working again. After all, it's no good to be driving along at night and all of a sudden have no lights...or to finish working out only to find that the car won't start. That happened, too.

By the way, I'm not making resolutions this year. It's not because I have no motivation to change or that there is nothing I want to change; rather, it's because I've been working to change a number of things for quite awhile so nothing's really different because I have to write a 6 at the end of the year instead of a 5. So here's to resuming a regular work-out schedule and reasonably regular church attendance!