Praise the Lord!

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

Praise God!

So anxious

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

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

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

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

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

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

The interview is done...

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

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

The waiting game

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

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

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

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

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

Praise God!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Abort, ABORT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Notre Dame Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

Excitement at Alma College

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

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

So where is the Business Office going?

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

So where is the Center going?

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

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

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

There must be more!

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

Refreshed

I was way burned out going into the weekend, but after doing pretty much nothing at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes but riding around in the Blazer and getting burned on the beach, plus getting a good, full night's sleep in my own bed, I think I'm all recharged. The knowledge that we're not leaving the Mt. Pleasant/Alma area until Saturday helps, too.

There are few updates on our two biggest projects: Mitch's job search and our grad school search. Mitch has many applications out but no interviews yet. I have had one good conversation with a rep from Northwood regarding their MBA program, and I plan to visit within the month. I've started my app and personal statement, but I don't think we'll be in a position to make a decision about grad school until Mitch gets a new job and our location is determined.

Other than that, nothing much is new. This weekend's adventure: hiking with Matt and Becky! I hope to have some photos to post after that.

Need a nap...

We've been caught in a whirlwind of activity lately! Let's see, to catch up, we spent June 22-24 camping in the Leelanau State Park with Adrienne, a friend from high school, and her boyfriend Kyle. It was fun and good to spend time with her, but he's kind of weird and I definitely like trips with my college friends better.

Now for the Fourth of July fun:

Saturday: After Mitch finished work, we went down to Lansing to hang out with Bruce. We biked Burchfield and went out to dinner at Mitchell's Fish Market, then ended up staying the night there.

Sunday: Drove home from Lansing, repacked the car and headed out to Lake Mecosta for the Ribitch family party. The boys (which means every young person but Kristy and me) made heavy contributions to the completion of almost two kegs of beer, but the sad thing is that they were all in bed before all the parents! We all set up tents so we could just stay the night and hang out the next day.

Monday: Took the day off work so we could recover. Started with a refreshing early-morning swim, then went golfing. Actually, I didn't golf: I just rode in the cart and watched everyone else play the back nine at Meceola Country Club, where Ray and his brother, Scott, work. Went swimming again after lunch, and then headed home.

Tuesday: Work. Blah.

Wednesday: Drove up to Lake City for the tail end of The Greatest Fourth in the North. Bruce and his new girlfriend, Lizzie, came with us and we had a great day! We showed some youngsters (read: college students) how Ultimate Frisbee should really be played, but when I say "we" I mean Mitch, Bruce and Jon. They were unstoppable! And of course, we stayed for the fireworks, which is why I am so ridiculously tired as I sit here at work.

Plans for this weekend: Silver Lake Sand Dunes! That's right, it's time for another Redneck Weekend, and if I weren't so sleepy, I would be pretty excited. As it stands right now, the only thing exciting is the thought of lunch at noon and the possibility of taking a little nap at the park on my break...

Marc and Sarah's Wedding

Last weekend was very busy, but the highlight was definitely Marc Hong and Sarah DeYoung's wedding at Alma:


Here's the bride, all smiles and sass before the ceremony.


Anna and I couldn't resist a photo with the groom.


The bridal party with the newlyweds - aren't their dresses pretty?


The wedding cake had three different flavors! I don't have cake-cutting pictures because there were too many people up there, but they both had cake on their faces by the time they were done!


Sarah and Marc are all smiles as the reception winds down. They've had a whirlwind weekend!


The bride and groom with the old Alma alums.

Our other weekend event, besides getting pregnancy updates from Anna, was Father's Day down with my dad. Though we were there for only ten hours, we managed to ride at Island Lake, get stuck in the pontoon boat because the impeller broke, spend time with Grandpa, go wakesurfing and wakeboarding, and eat a huge dinner. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got back to Mt. Pleasant, but it was worth it.

To keep the momentum of our summer up, this weekend we're going camping at Leelanau State Park with Adrienne (a high school friend), her boyfriend Kyle, Bruce and my parents. Plans include biking at Vasa, wine-tasting, and going to the beach. Wahoo! All this will come after the second freshman orientation on Friday, during which we will strive to entertain almost 200 new Alma students and their parents. Talk about a draining day! I guess that's what happens when you recruit a RECORD CLASS!

Go Scots!

This should be of interest to all your AC alums! (Is there even anyone who didn't go to Alma who reads this?!?)

End of the week

It's Friday, and another gorgeous week comes to a close. Work has been busy...we did a two-day planning retreat in Mt. Pleasant on Tuesday and Wednesday, and while at times it was really frustrating (a group that large seems great for brainstorming but terrible for making decisions!), it was generally helpful. We took the Myers-Briggs personality test as a staff to learn more about each other and identify some of the dynamics in the office. I'm an ISTJ, for anyone who's familiar with this assessment. :)

Other than work, we had our third week of beach volleyball and lost both our games. This league is more advanced than the one we were in last year, but I think it's where we need to be. I subbed in the intermediate league and it's kind of full of a bunch of yahoos who don't like to follow the rules and are more concerned with drinking beer than playing volleyball. So, while it's frustrating to lose, at least we are losing to superior teams who call their own net violations.

Our church is preparing for next week's Vacation Bible School and while we haven't been able to help out a ton, we did go over and blow up balloons for over an hour last night. I have a blister on one of my fingers from tying them all together to help with the balloon arches! The theme is "The Greatest Show on Earth" and you should see how they've transformed the whole place into a big circus arena! If I have a chance, I'll go over and take some pictures today.

And the best news of all - tomorrow, Marc Hong and Sarah DeYoung are getting married at Alma, and Tim and Anna arrived late last night from North Carolina for the wedding! They're obviously staying with us, and we'd have made some plans for them to get together with more people but they have to leave early on Sunday morning to go home. I'm working this morning while they catch up on their sleep but I'm heading back at lunchtime so we can spend some time together. It's crazy to think that next time I see them, they'll be parents! Wow!

Well, I need to prepare for a meeting. I'm coordinating the Orientation Committee again this year, and I need to meet with my co-advisor (though he seems to have that role in name only most times) to plan some off-campus excursions for Labor Day weekend. Time to get organized!

Mitch's Skydiving Adventure

Last weekend, Mitch did something I'd never do: he went skydiving! Here are some of the photos from his adventure:


Thumbs up...he's ready to go!


Oh my goodness, this would freak me out!


Free-falling above the Frankenmuth area


Gliding back down to solid ground


Thanks Mike - what a ride!

It wasn't even my birthday...

...but it kind of felt like it! Yesterday I joined Megan and two of her friends to celebrate her 22nd birthday, and we were royally pampered by her husband! He bought all four of us pedicures (I do still have my callouses), movie tickets to see Mr. Brooks, popcorn and pop at the movies, and dinner at Gengi's, a Japanese steakhouse in Midland. He also took Mitch and I out for drinks at The Cabin at the end of the night, though I'm not sure Mitch exactly appreciated the celebratory shot!

Since we had to skip volleyball last night, I'm pleased to report that I'll be subbing for another player in tonight's league. Of course, I will look very funny wearing socks to protect my pretty toes! On another note, Mitch and my mom are going skydiving this weekend! There's no way you would get me to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but he will have a good time. I'll try to post pics or something...scary!

Good morning!

Though it's usually a struggle to get out of bed in the morning, today felt like a great day. Not only did I have a blast this weekend (hanging out with Bruce, swimming and Frisbee at the gravel pits, Pirates 3), we were also very productive. When I woke up this morning, the apartment was vacuumed; Chip had a clean litterbox; all our fruit for the week was cut up or washed; the laundry was done, folded, and put away; all my dress pants were ironed (thanks to Mitch, who did that while I edited his cover letter); the bathroom was cleaned, including freshly washed rugs and towels; and because of the rain, my balcony garden looks healthy and amazing. Top that off with all the new clothes hanging in my closet (spent too much money at Express - Mom's fault - but now my summer work wardrobe actually exists) and you have a recipe for the most fantastic Monday possible.

What am I looking forward to this week? New clothes to wear, for one! Also, it's Megan's birthday tomorrow and Chris has a full afternoon planned for her and her friends, including me. Pedicure, anyone? (To anyone who's ever had one: can I request that they not file off my callouses? I like and need them!)

And I guess I would be remiss if I didn't post my opinion of the new Pirates movie. I thought it was definitely too long, and it almost seemed like nothing really happened until the very end. I kept thinking, What is happening here? and felt that too many subplots were introduced and not really resolved. All the betraying and scheming is complicated enough without trying to figure out how crazy crab lady and freaky fish man were in love if she was never human in the first place...anyway, I still maintain they could have stopped at the first movie, because that one was GREAT.

Well, at least it's over.

We're both done with the GMAT. Mitch did well, but I didn't perform quite as I had hoped. With all the studying and the good scores on the practice exams, I anticipated a much better score, but the math section was ridiculously hard - much harder than anything on the practice exams. Still, I'm thankful for all your thoughts and prayers, everyone!

Also disappointing was our first beach volleyball game on Tuesday. Mitch, Ray, Kristy, Gabe and I are in the advanced league because Kristy's schedule conflicted with the intermediate league, and we lost both our first games: one to a team of two. Yes, two girls beat us, though they were CMU volleyball players. Many of the folks we met at open gym this winter are on teams, and by the looks of it all those teams are going to school us royally. So, Tim and Courtney, you're not missing much over in these parts!

On a brighter note, I spruced up our balcony with some potted plants: yellow zinneas, pink morning glories, blue heliotrope, basil, a tomato plant, and a hanging basket full of multicolored impatiens. When they start to bloom (or bear fruit) I'll post some pictures...I don't really have a green thumb, but last year's plants were a success and I anticipate the same this summer.

And finally, we have "a weekend full of nothing to do at all...yeehaw!" The forecasted rain means that we're tanking our tentative plans to camp in Grayling and do a mountain bike race at Hanson Hills and hanging out in Mt. P instead. It will be a good opportunity for Mitch to buckle down on his job search, so he can get out of the increasingly difficult situation at the bank. Not to be greedy, but prayers that an opportunity will present itself would be greatly appreciated!

Memorial Day Lessons

Here's to the most eventful Memorial Day weekend in memory! Of course, every weekend at Jon's is full of great experiences and stories...but here's what I learned this time around:

#1: I must be a hippie pot smoker in denial, because all climbers, mountain bikers and wakeboarders smoke the reefer.

#2: Breakfast at Jon's is always excessive: think pancakes or French toast, hash browns, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs, every single morning. And a word to the wise: adding chocolate chips to whole grain pancakes doesn't really make them taste much better.

#3: Sometimes you just need three nights in a row of excessive drinking. You'll be crowned That Girl by the end, but maybe it's worth it because you realize you have friends that will take care of you 'til sunrise. (And no, this was not me - I couldn't handle that much craziness!)

#4: Vasa is the coolest mountain biking trail, and what I lack in endurance can be compensated for with a bit of technical skill and a lot of pushing it to the edge. And at the end of the ride, there's nothing like a passion fruit margarita to rehydrate!

#5: SPF 4 just doesn't do the trick.

Mitch takes the GMAT today, and mine is scheduled for tomorrow. Wahoo...I'm mostly just ready to not do math problems each night, and to have it over. Tonight is also our first sand volleyball game, followed by the season finale of House. I really should take another practice test instead of gorging on homemade popcorn with Ray and Kristy, but maybe I can get out of work early and do one before the game.

Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.

If you love the TV show "24" like Mitch and I do, you really need to read this.

Yeah Jack Bauer.

ZOO-DE-MACKINAC

What a weekend! The pictures can tell the story:


On the damp, slightly chilly Saturday morning, the guys departed from Boyne Highlands to ride approximately 27 miles along the Lake Michigan shore, through the scenic Tunnel of Trees, and into Cross Village...


...where they met up with Miriam and me. We joined the riders for the final 24 miles of the trip: a much flatter, gentler, if slightly less pretty ride. An hour and a half later...


...we arrived in Mackinaw City, thankful for our matching Adidas sweatbands yet not quite as exhausted as we anticipated. I still had energy for...


...Oatmeal Cookie shots on Mackinac Island with Adrienne and her friend Amber, who also participated in the ride. While we optimistically planned to party the night away until the last ferry back to the mainland at 2 am...


...we ended up leaving the Mustang Lounge - the greatest bar on the Island - at 9:30 pm to catch the 10 pm ferry back. It was a great day, and I look forward to next year when I will tackle all 51 miles!

Update: You can see more pictures at http://photos.yahoo.com/skibunny11282!