I'm feeling lucky

I regret to say that my posts will be few and far between until we get a new computer and Internet hook-up at home.
Imagine this:
Your cruising along at 55 miles per hour on an undivided highway. There is no one in front of you, you have a clear view of the icy road ahead. Out of nowhere, it seems, a white pickup comes barreling out of the opposing traffic and starts heading for the guardrail. Right in front of you. It's only about 20 yards away, and you know this old tank your driving isn't going to stop in time. Not on these roads. You are completely helpless. You brace yourself for the crash. It is so powerful, yet you feel no pain. Your view is suddenly blocked when your airbags explode sending a horrible burning smell into the air. You feel your car twist around without actually seeing it. A scream pierces the air and you suddenly realize that it comes from your own mouth. Your car, mercifully, comes to a stop. You jump out, unsure of what to do next. Looking across the highway, you see a girl in a white pickup banging on her window and yelling, it takes a moment to realize that she can't get out. You run across and open her door and finally hear her voice, she's yelling "I need a phone! Does anyone have a phone?!" You run back to your car saying "yeah, it's in my purse!" Or course, by the time you extract it from your mangled car, someone else has already helped her. You glance in the direction you've come and see the flashing lights of the police, ambulance, and fire trucks. All racing in your direction. The thought crosses your mind that you should call the police.
Oh wait, someone already did.
Now imagine that was me.
I am so lucky to have survived. I hate to sound so dramatic but really, not many people can walk away from a head-on collision with nothing more than a bruised knee and a small cut on their shin. Especially when the bed of the truck that they just ran into held cinder blocks, one of which landed on the windshield. There are times like this when you know that God truly is watching over you.
On another note, the other driver had a revoked license. She wasn't even supposed to be on the road, and was apparently arrested.
We still haven't had a chance to look at the car. It was our '93 Intrepid, so other than the inconvenience of being out of a car, it wasn't a real big loss.

I've been feeling so lucky these past couple of days! Let's all count our blessings this holiday season!

Wrecking my kitchen, one piece at a time

I think I may have ruined my non-stick electric skillet. How do you get that sticky greasy residue off? I'm guessing a scotch-brite pad wasn't the correct answer.

Anyone?

I'll be home for Christmas...

You can count on me!

Change of plans here; Jeff was somehow able to get Wednesday and Friday off work so we will be coming/going down on Tuesday night! I am so thrilled! I just keep thinking about how little sleep I'll be getting that weekend and I get excited tingles all over! Oh what fun, and with most of the family home too! CHA-CHING!! [Insert fist pump/elbow jab]

Read Me

My blog readership seems to be growing...kind of scary considering most of the "new" people are those who I've only known for about a week! There's no fooling them now!

Katie: Our tree is working just fine, we need tons more ornaments though! The less green the better, ya know? I'd like to make my own so I really need to get moving on that!

Me and My Memory (or lack thereof)

I somehow forgot to mention that I've been meeting quite a few people up here. A very nice girl from downstate gave me a number to a very sweet girl up here so I gave her a call and before I know it, I've met half the church!
And I'm probably not exaggerating either. The congregation here is about 1/57 the size of our congregation back "home." It seems like it's growing though, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I met up with some girls for a craft show last weekend and then went visiting and met quite a few other couples. Jeff and I have both been having fun meeting and getting to know people. It's definitly kept us busy!

On another note, we will not be able to come home for Christmas. Jeff is working the day before and the day after so it just isn't possible. Thank goodness for family close by! We will be going to Grandma and Grandpa's just as we did for Thanksgiving.

Random Me

I was tagged by Barbara to list six random facts about myself.
Here goes:

1. Growing up, I had wished to be good friends with a guy, date him, possibly in high school, and get married shortly thereafter. My dream came true.

2. I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) so the left side of my belly sticks out further than the right when I inhale.

3. The thought of having a favorite color scares me because, I feel that if I have one favorite I will only have that color the rest of my life. I love all kinds of colors!

4. I am working on my "Total Money Makeover." I just read Dave Ramsey's book and would like to get us out of debt. The usual, car payment and student loans. I am also interested in other books about getting out of debt if anyone has one to recommend!

5. I never would have pictured myself living in Marquette. And I definitely would not have thought I'd feel comfortable so quickly here!

6. I weigh half as much as my husband.

I will now tag:

1. Emily
2. Amanda
3. Mom
4. My other Mom Paula (post in the comments, I know you read this!)
5. Kaitlin
6. Gretchen

Remember, this is not required. I will not flunk you if you do not complete the assignment.

Green Tea

I suddenly became a tea-drinker. I used to drink coffee pretty moderately but looking back at the past month, I've realized that I only had about two cups of coffee and about 273 cups of tea. Green that is. I think I like it for the convenience. Convenience you ask? How is boiling water and letting a tea bag sit for a few minutes for each cup convenience? Well let me tell you. When I drink coffee, I brew about half a pot at a time. But...I would drink it so slowly that by the time I went back for more, the warmer had turned off and I don't have an insulated carafe. And who wants to drink coffee that old anyhow? Okay I'll admit, I didn't know the difference. Still, tea work for me, I just keep a kettle of water on the stove all day and heat it up when I need it! Besides that, it's so much better for you than coffee! Here are a few benefits that I've heard along the way:

When consumed over a period of time green tea may:

Aid in weight loss
Prevent cancer
Fight bad breath

Now, shoo, go buy some tea!

Finally!

I've been trying to post for over a week but everytime I signed it it showed "adult filter blocked" at the library. Talk about frustrating! I thought I kept everything PG on here...I might have to review my posts.

Help Help Me Rhonda!

Does anyone know (and I know that someone out there will) how to get a custom or at least more unique background on blogger? I'm really sick of this solid color stuff, I want something a little more vibrant and "happy." How do I go about doing that?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving and that you all had much to be thankful for!

Among other things, I am thankful that we have a friendly neighbor. We met him shortly after we moved in (so about an hour ago). I figured he was a pretty nice guy when he offered to give us coffee (apparently he bought it and it gave him heartburn or something). Anyhow, the other day I made peppermint cookies, my Mom's recipe from the family cookbook. If you've ever made them you know that you have to crush the peppermint candy or candy canes in this case. The only thing I had to use for this task was a metal hammer (I tried a can but it smashed the can more than the candy). It was SO loud! I mean, my ears were literally ringing and I did it for a LONG time. I had thought that the neighbor guy was at work so, I didn't worry about the noise. I wasn't even done when I heard him come to his doorway and starting POUNDING like crazy on the door or wall, I couldn't tell. Of course I felt like the biggest fool, realizing that he was home the entire time and probably ready to knock me out. I decided I'd give him a few cookies and a note apologizing considering he'd been so friendly before, I didn't want him to think we were our previous upstairs neighbors. (I swear they rode their horse around up there). He rang the doorbell later and insisted that we were not loud at all and that he was actually hitting his door with a mallet because it was crooked. He must have thought he needed to reinforce that message because he stopped by later to give me a paper, with all the ads, and eggnog with Vernor's! Apparently it was a family tradition of his to mix the two. It sure is a breath of fresh air to have a neighbor like him after our last experience!

We enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's out at the lake. It was definitly different not seeing Mom and Dad but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
Thanks again for your gracious hospitality Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Catching up and going downstate

JoLynn: Thanks for all the advice! I'll be sure to use it, I've already looked up directions for all of the places you mentioned so I can check them out next time I run to Marquette. (We actually live west of Marquette, but I'm there nearly every day.)

We may possibly be getting a computer on Friday. I have my fingers crossed. It's a Black Friday deal however so my chances aren't that superb. Wish me luck!

I made bread yesterday. For the second time in my entire life. The first time the consistency resembled that of a rock. This time...it took forever. But it tastes good and it's much softer. However the recipe said to bake for 30 minutes. I was thinking that sounded like a pretty short time. I was right. It took closer to an hour and when I finally said, "enough!" and took them out of the oven...they STILL weren't completely cooked through. Maybe my loaves are just too big? I am by no means an expert though, so feel free to throw ANY and all tips and advice at me!

I forgot to mention...my landlord was in our apartment replacing a door handle while the dough was rising. I was talking to him and sort of forgot about my dough. By the time I remembered, it had overflowed from the bowl, what a mess!

I also made chicken fettuccine alfredo...geez that's a long name! The recipe was from Better Homes and Gardens. However, it didn't call for garlic and we (Jeff and I) didn't realize it till the end so we just added a little bit of garlic salt. That was fine but next time I think I'll roast fresh garlic with the chicken before adding it to the sauce. Jeff said it was delicious, I thought it was alright. I made it for him, I know he loves it and I'm not really a huge fan. It was, however, very fast and easy!

I'm looking at facebook as I try to remember what I had actually wanted to post about and notices yet ANOTHER mom expecting twins. I'm telling you, it is the year of the twins!

Jeff had hockey again last night. It starts at 11 and the poor guy gets up before 5. And I slept til 10...I feel kind of guilty about that one. I was the only girl yet again. I brought a blanket and book this time so it passed pretty quickly. I feel pretty silly being the only person sitting in the stands but I guess it beats sitting home alone. Like I do every day...

Speaking of which, I think I'll bake some cookies today.

I just remember what I wanted to say! I have no idea how I could forget this. Probably because we've been going back and forth about it for a week and I can never seem to remember what we did decide. But this is it: We're going downstate this weekend! Not for Thanksgiving day though. Jeff has Thursday off but, not Friday. We will go up north to my Grandparents for Thanksgiving; did I mention that they live two hours away as well? Hi Grandma! ;) Then, we'll be leaving to go downstate when Jeff gets home from work Friday. He had originally had Monday off so we would go home then but now he's not so sure. Either way, we'll be at church on Sunday so we can see all of our friends that we haven't seen in...what's it been, two and a half weeks? Ha, we're pretending we never moved!

We visited "up north" the past two weekends so Jeff could go to the hunting camp. This past weekend was pretty short, just Friday and Saturday (Jeff has Friday off). I'm starting to think my sister Emily is a shopaholic since we went out shopping both times I was with her. Okay, I'll give her credit, it is the holiday season, there is Christmas shopping to do!

Well this is getting a little long. See what happens when you don't have access to a computer every day?

Another quick one

I have so much to say, I am SO missing the Internet.
I found the library. (It's a Carnegie! I was pretty excited about that.)
Jeff's on his way home from work so I really don't have time to say much.
I'll just type a few blurbs...
I thought the mice were gone but I SWEAR I heard one/some in that fan tower thing, whatever it is.
I'm starting to decorate, it's not even cleaned.
Jeff and I MIGHT be buying a computer tomorrow. I would ask for recommendations but then we'll probably just get a cheap one for now to use for general Internet usage.
I've been to Wal-Mart every day this week. I don't even like that store.
I need a haircut really bad (so does Jeff) but I have no idea where to go.
My address is officially changed, if you need it for any reason just email me!
I've got to go check out two items now so they know that I can be trusted once I bring them back. Then I can get as much as I want. (Have you ever heard of such a thing?)
I'll probably be back tomorrow with some more complete thoughts!

Oh and by the way: If we get a new computer I'll be able to post pictures again! Yay!!

We Made It

Our trip up went smoothly, no problems to report. Our new home however is another story...
It's kind of cool, unique ya know. But...
It's really really dirty.
There is orange shag carpet that's about a billion years old, and smells about a billions years old, in the bedrooms.
There are three flights of stairs to get to our second floor apartment and then another to get to our bedroom.
And we have mice.
But I guess, all in all, it's the typical U.P. apartment. Plus mice.
We think it was an old school house.
I wish I could show you some pictures but I forgot to take a bunch. I'm at Matt and Emily's right now so I could have actually showed you.
We don't have internet yet so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. I just wanted to give you a quick update!

Any advice on the mice?

The Big Day

Well this is it, we're off! We're leaving around 8:30 tomorrow morning, wish us luck! Wish I had pictures but I'm sure you know the story by now...it's very frustrating.
Time to cry...
But I WILL be okay. I do know this. I'm still laughing as well!
We'll see you all...um...well, either January or whenever all y'all stop by!

5 more days

As this move approaches my emotions only get more out of wack. As I have said before, I embrace change. I am so thrilled to begin our lives in Marquette. To meet some new friends. To get back into some hobbies: sewing, scrapbooking, decorating, knitting, photography...I am also eager to know if any of the many people who have mentioned moving to Marquette one day will actually do it. Some very good friends of ours have been discussing it for the past year. I would love to have another familiar couple up there! And just last night, two of my single friends mentioned it. Somewhere along the lines of "Why not? What the heck is tying us down here?" So who knows what will happen, what's talk and what's for real. It would be sweet...

On the other hand I am nervous, anxious, and scared. The floodgates let loose every once in a while and my heart aches for the family and friends that won't be twenty minutes away. Oh geez, here they go again. *Sniff* Maybe one day Marquette will have a direct flight to Detroit so they will only be an hour or two away. All I have to say is that I am so thankful that I have my faith to fall back on and I can always pray for strength when I need it most.

Okay, did I mention that I'm at work and I am trying my darndest not to cry for fear that their dad might walk out into the kitchen at any moment?

Speaking of which, today is my last day of work. I am officially unemployed after 7:30 tonight.

Back to this impending move. I am also really excited to be two hours from Emily and Amanda. And a mere nine hours from Jennifer and Sara. PLUS, our home (so long as we have room) will always be open for those traveling to and from the Keweenaw, either to visit or stay for a night. We hope to be able to visit out-of-towners very often!

I Voted!

Did you?
I waited an hour and a half in line, by myself. Talk about boring.
Now we'll just sit back and wait for the polls to add up.
I enjoyed an evening at the in-laws. They even fed me. Okay, they usually do...actually I tend to eat them out of house and home whenever I'm there. We watched the results on the election and crossed our fingers. It seems that many children seem to think we are going to die if a certain candidate wins. I'm sure there is no adult influence there.
Tomorrow is a packing day. I don't work til two so I'll be getting up semi-early to put the coffee on and get cracking. Wish me luck!

The Countdown is ON!!

Our official move date is Wednesday, November 12, 2008. That is only 9 days away.
NINE!
Did you get that?
I had planned on packing after work today but I got home after 8 so I decided I'd put it off another day. Probably not that smart. These week is a little crazy too. I work my normal shift tomorrow but then Wednesday I go in late and work late, Thursday I get out early, and Friday is a 7am to 8pm. And somewhere in there I'd like to see both of our families, hang out with some friends and of course...pack.

Go McCain! Yeah, that was a little out of the blue but tomorrow in Election Day, don't forget!

Happy Halloween!

I hear it's supposed to be in the 60's for trick-or-treating around these parts. That's a lot better than the 30's that we've been having! So have fun all you little (or big) trick-or-treating monsters! I'm not sure what we'll be doing on Halloween. For the past couple of years, we dressed up and passed out candy at Jeff's Mom and Dad's.

Speaking of Jeff, I can't wait to see him! He went up to Marquette yesterday but he should be coming home today. I told him he can't come home until we have somewhere to live. He called me earlier today and it sounds like he found a decent aparartment.

I had such a hard time falling asleep last night without him there. This was the first night I've been away from him since we got married. Of course every noise sounded like a cannon going off. We have electric heat and it kept popping, not the usually ticking, I heard that too. I was certain I would wake up in a blazing fire. And then the scratching...I actually went outside to look for animals outside my window but I couldn't see through the bushes and I wasn't about to go IN them. I ended up talking to Jeff on the phone until I fell asleep. Literally. I woke up wondering why in the world he was calling me back. Turns out he had already called about six times not knowing that I had fallen asleep.

Happy Halloween to everyone! (In case I don't post before then.)

No more teachers, no more books

Did I mention that Jeff's done with school? His last day was Monday. It's so odd now, I used to think ahead to my evening after work and wonder what I would do all by my lonesome. Now I'm like, "hey, Jeff will be home! What should we do tonight?!" It's really very exciting. AND we could go out to H-town every night if we wanted to and we would STILL be saving gas compared to him driving to Belleville every day! I think he was driving 100 miles a day.
Oh, and another thing; Trevor B. was saying the other day that both of them would fall asleep every single day on the way to school. And it was no big deal. Uh, hello, they could have died! BUT, they didn't and I'm really glad I didn't know that before although of course I suspected it because Jeff never got nearly enough sleep.

Three more weeks

I had the day off work today.
So I've been busy cleaning and now I'm getting ready to pack a few more boxes. They're really piling up now. I was listening to a CD (those round shiny discs, remember?) from graduation that Annette K. had made for everyone. There are some good oldies on there...about leaving, moving, growing up basically. WELL. I had to turn it off before I started bawling my eyes out! I have told myself and told myself that I will not cry until it's time to go. There's just no use crying now! If I start, I might not stop! Don't get me wrong, I'm still really excited about moving. I'm one to embrace change so, this is a challenge I'm ready to tackle.
Sounds like I need to go burn some more Cd's!

Oh and BTW Megan: We're moving on or after November 10, which is a Monday
That's less than three weeks people!

Too Many Blogs

I'm telling you, there are just way too many blogs. I sign in to post and get sidetracked by the 4.7 billion other blogs out there. I, of course, have to read all 4.7 billion. So a year later, I'm posting about that one weekend that Jeff and I went to Marquette to find a place to live. Which was a joke by the way.
I ended up working til about 8pm on Friday so we didn't pull into Marquette until the wee hours of the morning. We were both positively exhausted as we stood outside the Travelodge with the gusty 32 degree weather laughing in our faces. You see, in the U.P. they don't keep someone up to man the front desk all night. The guy came down in pajama pants and a red wings sweatshirt with clearly nothing underneath. Rubbing the boogers out of his eyes no less. He ran our card about 6 times but indeed, if it didn't work the third time, its probably not gonna work the sixth time either. We ended up sleeping in the car. Did I mention that it was 32 degrees? And I didn't bring any blankets. We trekked up to Walmart and were lucky enough to buy a warm blanket with our 13 dollars and a gift card.
The rest of the trip wasn't so bad considering we both got 4 hours of sleep at best that first night. We just felt a little clueless considering neither of us had so much as stayed the night there before. Most everywhere we called was closed. I'm still getting returned calls. A little late now. It's looking like we're going to have to sign a lease to a place we've never seen before. It's only temporary right? Convince me.
We went to the hockey game on Saturday night, Jeff's already talking about getting season tickets.
There was church on Sunday morning so we went and then left for home straight from there. Literally. Didn't even stop to change clothes. I'm glad that I knew we had bought that church from someone because if not, it would have felt even more awkward walking in than it already did. It felt like everyone was staring at the newcomers. I'm sure they weren't, it was just odd walking into a different place. However, once church started, the awkwardness disappeared. It is so wonderful to hear that same message preached even though you are in a "strange" place.
Back to our living situation; one of the numbers we called for an apartment happened to be a realtor. He said he's helped people find month to month rentals while they look for a place to buy. Hopefully he can help us!

HELP!

We're heading up to Marquette tonight as soon as I get out of work...at 7:30. We plan to look at apartments and houses to rent for the winter while we look for our dream house (haha). Problem is...I've called about 30 places and no one offers 6 month leases. And I don't really know where to look. And I just have no idea what I'm doing. I literally have two places written down to look at. Not much.
Does anyone living in Marquette have any suggestions? Jeff will be working in Gwinn but considering where we live now and the distance we drive every day, we don't mind living in Ishpeming, Negaunee, or Marquette.
Hopefully we'll find something tomorrow! Wish us luck!

And a week later...She finally returns!

I'd like to say that the reason I haven't blogged in a week is because I've been so busy getting ready to move. But that would make me a liar. I had intentions of doing that. Does that count? Actually this is what I did this week:

Monday: Went to Mom and Dad's for supper. I even went to the library before with the littlest ones and Mom. I went to Paul and Paula's afterward to see Grandma Ginger whom I hadn't seen since...I can't remember, sometime before St. Johns. She's been staying at the camp in the U.P. like every summer. I hadn't realized how much had happened over the summer until she was asking me every other sentence what in the world I was talking about!

Tuesday: Clipped coupons and scoured the store ads for the week. I am so slow at this, I literally set aside a night to make my grocery list!

Wednesday: Went grocery shopping with aforementioned list. Scored a free toothbrush and toothpaste at Walgreens. Threw in a few other necessities and my total was 20 cents after coupons and register rewards (from a previous trip). I hit up Meijer and spent my life savings because alas, I can't seem to be able to save money with coupons there. The good deals are all at the drugstores! I also spent over a half hour in line behind a guy that wanted a certain wine that wasn't on the shelf. HALF AN HOUR. What was I thinking.

Thursday/Today: Made beef enchiladas with the chicken enchilada recipe in the family cookbook. Didn't have bouillon so I used beef broth in place of the water. I swear, I'm always missing something! It turned out good anyhow. I also made oatmeal caramalitas from the same cookbook. Mmmmm they smell good! Darn it, they're not for me! If you go to church Saturday night you can eat them there.

Anyway, back to my original excuse. The biggest reason I'm not posting regularly is my computer. Honest. You should see my face every time I look at it. Absolutely disgusted. It's so slow, I can't upload pictures. And what could be worse than a post with no pictures? Oh yeah. Fifty posts with no pictures.

Make that five with the rate a post.

MmMm, Meatloaf!

Ah, dang! I was going to give you a nice visual of a meal that would surely make your mouth water but alas, this computer does not want me to show you any pictures of my life.

I made Mom's meatloaf for dinner and it was so delish! I ate so much a literally had to sit down and just breath so it wouldn't all come back up! If you get Taste of Home, her recipe is in the August/September issue for "My Mom's Best Meal."

I did earn that meal. I haven't worked out in forever so today I had the urge to go biking. I did the loop in the metro park plus biking from my apartment. I think it's around 9 or 10 miles. That's not that far for biking but come on, there are hills! And I'm out of shape. I passed two people (older than me by the way) twice and another older guy three times...more like they passed me (going the opposite direction).

So anyhow, that meatloaf was really good even if I did have to substitute a few things. I used parsley in place of sage, I know they aren't the same but I figured it needed something and I didn't have sage. I also forgot that I didn't have milk until I had already mixed most of the ingredients so I just used cream (yikes). And I didn't have any crackers so I used potato chips. Come on, it's meatloaf. Anything goes right? It was still VERY good. I also mixed peas with my corn because peas are good for you. That is basically the only reason I ate them. Well that and the fact that they were sitting in my freezer.

Can't wait to see Amanda and Paul tomorrow!!!

Have a fun weekend!

Reading List

I have my reading list set up on my blog to track all you bloggers and I just love it! I set it up a day or two ago and it makes checking blogs so much faster (especially when our computer is sooooo slow!) I don't have every one's blogs on there yet but man, I just checked/read through about 8 blogs in less than five minutes!

Fall is in the Air!

We went to a cookout in Kensington last night with Matt and Lori, Wade, Ashley, and Kayla. Jeff and I were noticing that we've been so much busier with our friends in the past few weeks. He had hockey on Friday night and we went to a bonfire at Ed and Michelle's on Saturday night. It just figures considering we're moving pretty soon! It's just going to make it that much harder to go.

After the cookout, everyone came to our place to play Phase 10. I haven't played that game in so long, we had so much fun. And I just love to have a houseful of people! Too bad I waited until my day off today to do some baking! (Sorry guys!)

On a side note: I am trying to help my nanny family find someone to replace me. If you have anyone in mind please let me know, I'd like to give them a few options! Oh, and make sure it's someone I know please!

Northbound!

We're moving!

Jeff had an interview in Texas yesterday. They flew him down there for the day. He called me around noon to say "Well, I'm going to need a new winter coat!" I just about screamed, I'm so excited! He'll actually be working in Marquette. Their recruiting office is located in Texas. We're both very happy, this is the specific job he's wanted since the first day of school.

We're here until the very beginning of November. That's only a month and a half!

A Little Clarification

A friend of mine moved away about a year ago and unfortunately, we don't call each other up very often. So I was somewhat surprised to get a phone call from her the other day...wondering if I was expecting. I had to laugh because I hadn't been to Mom and Dad's for about a week and half, which is a long time for me. I had been there just the day before and the first thing I heard when I stepped in the door was "we figured you were waiting til you got a belly to come over." Anyways back to the original story. My friend's suspicions come from the previous post where I mentioned buying baby toys at a garage sale. I hate to keep you in suspense but...I'm not pregnant! I bought those toys because most of my married friends have babies or toddlers. I figured I should have some way to keep them entertained if I ever get around to having those said friends visit!
I'm actually somewhat surprised that no one has asked me that question before now. I mean considering every other young married woman is pregnant right now--there are three in my family alone--I figured I would just be considered pregnant by default.
I hope that cleared up any questions anyone may have been having!

Yikes, I don't think I've ever been this personal on my blog before!

Enjoy your weekend! I'm off to Teresa T's bachelorette party tonight!

Camping and Saunas

ETA: I did actually type this post the next day, I just never put pictures on it. I'll post what I have tomorrow...if it works. I tried yesterday and the pictures wouldn't even load onto the computer from my camera. Sorry for the delay!

Date posted: Sep 5 (Yes I know, this wasn't quite the "tomorrow" that I was going for)

We took off on Friday afternoon as soon as Jeff was out of work. Well almost that soon, we met his parents at their house first and didn't actually leave for another hour and a half. And to think I was feeling rushed...
We stayed at the State Park in Traverse City; for any of you that have not been there, it's smack dab in the middle of the city, not exactly your middle-of-the-woods campground. The went (salmon) fishing at the crack of dawn every morning. I personally don't think any fish is worth losing sleep over. Apparently they disagree. Jeff caught two, Dave caught one, and Paul caught one.
Other than that, we played lots of card games, went swimming, played putt-putt, and went garage saleing (how in the world do you spell that anyway). Yes, garage sales. We WERE with Paula after all. I am glad we went; Jeff and I really lucked out. We had been planning on buying one of those Coleman gas grills for camping. We found one that looked like it had never been used for $15! They sell for 70 bucks at Meijer!! Jeff's sister Jen thought I was crazy because I kept buying books. I don't know about you but, I'm thinking 7 books for under $1.50 is a pretty good deal!
We ended up going to this one garage sale at the home of an older Finn couple. So of course, Jeff and Paul figured this out and struck up a conversation. Paula and I both bought toys from them. I had paid a dollar for three baby toys. I'm walking away thinking "not bad."
Later on, back at our campsite. A minivan stops in front of our site and who should it be, but this same couple! (We had mentioned that we were staying at the state park.) The woman recognizes me and hands me fifty cents. She says "I was thinking about what you had bought, and I thought 'we were making deals today, she should have only paid fifty cents for those toys not a dollar.' So here's your change!" I couldn't believe she had tracked us down just to give me a measly fifty cents! Well I guess that wasn't it. Once everyone started gathering wondering what in the world this couple was doing at our site, she turns to Paula and invites us all for saunas the next night!
Long story short, we ended up fishing that night instead of going for saunas. But imagine that, a complete stranger inviting us over for saunas!

Tenting in Traverse City

We were tenting it this weekend. I'll be sure to post tomorrow!

Warning: Photo Overload!

ETA: I did actually post this 'for real' on Tuesday.

I took over 200 pictures on our recent trip to Minnesota. Apparently I was catching up for all the times I don't pull out the camera! Jeff and I had such a good time that week. It was especially nice for me considering I was coming off of a pretty junky job, I was able to relax and destress before starting my new job (which is going great by the way, but more about that later). It was so much fun to see all of those kids again and to see Mark and Jen's new house! This was the first time that Jeff and I have spent this much time with these neices and nephews. We usually see them with the rest of the family so we don't get a whole lot of time with them. Nikayda followed Jeff everywhere and he did a very good job of keeping all of the kids entertained: digging for worms, building a firepit, making fires, and of course, playing with chickens!

These pictures aren't really in order...

A day at the Park:

Mia (Jon and Sara's)


Lori (Jon and Sara's)


Will (Jon and Sara's) Mark told him to wear this hat everywhere...so he did.


Nikayda (Mark and Jen's) holding Mia


Janie (Jon and Sara's)


Paul (Jon and Sara's)


Janie


Lori


Paul


Abram (Mark and Jen's)


Nikayda


Will and Janie


Mia


Lori and Paul zonked out after a day at the park


Carter (Mark and Jen's)


Nikayda with Molly (I think) ETA: Not Molly! Thanks Jen!


Nikayda and Abram with the chickens


Mia


Abram


Nikayda


Will


Carter


Carter and Nikayda


Will


Nikayda and Mia


Lori, Janie, and Carter


Nikayda, Janie, Will


Lori


Lori again, check out that blond hair!


Jeff digging for worms with Carter, Nikayda, and Abram


Carter (which of his Uncles does he remind you of?)


Nikayda the whistling girl, she is good!


Nikayda and Carter all snuggled up after a bath


Abram and Carter, their favorite spot


Abram, he thinks all good food stinks apparantly!


Carter


Crazy Willie


Alfalfa, the funniest rooster I ever did see


Nikayda


Carter


And Carter again. He was so shy of us when we first got there but by the last day he was jumping all over me!


BTW spell check won't work so I apologize for any mistakes!

We Went Camping...

PLEASE NOTE: There are some missing photos, I will edit that as soon as it works.

That was over a week ago! It's been so long I almost forgot! We stayed at Bewabic State Park in Crystal Falls. I think we all agreed that it was a really nice campground. We camped with...
Keith and Katie L with their baby Bennett (not sure about the spelling):

Paul and Amanda (so sorry Amanda, this is the only picture I had!):

Corey and Heather J and their baby Kael (I just realized this is the only picture I have of them! They are the 2nd and 3rd in from the right):
INSERT PHOTO
Not pictured: Greg and Jen S. I never did get a picture of them.
Saturday night, we decided to look for a waterfall, apparently the only one in the area. We took our Malibu bush bombing down some old logging path to try and find it. Problem was, you still had to hike out about three quarters of a mile to find it. We looked for about an hour and couldn't find it. On our way back out to the main road, we found another path that looked a little more promising. We bush-bombed down that path which actually ended up being about ten times worse. We stopped halfway down and walked because we were afraid we'd wreck or get stuck. This one had signs pointing "falls" so we knew we were on the right path:
INSERT PHOTO
It was definitely a fun weekend, staying up til the wee hours of the morning, playing an great 360 game of Rook, and then a not-so-great game of Rook. Then we hopped into the car for another 8 1/2 hours to visit Jen and Sara and their families in their happening town.

Home Again, But first...

Jeff had a tour of one of the terminals at Metro Airport this afternoon. I went along to check it out. We were able to go inside a few planes. We sat in the cockpit, I never realized how many switches and gauges and what-nots there are! Our "tour guide" (maintenance trainer) said that some pilots manually land their planes just because they're bored. In most airplanes, the pilot needs only to record speed and altitude at certain intervals, otherwise they just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
We also saw the flight attendants sleeping quarters in some of the bigger planes that fly internationally. Talk about cramped, I think I would be claustrophobic; my head was touching the ceiling, that's only 5 feet high!
He also brought us in the lower level under the passenger and cockpit seating, I didn't even know such a thing existed!
One of the planes that we were looking at had to taxi to another gate so they actually let us stay on it while they taxied.
Afterwards, Jeff's brother Dave was meeting his girlfriend and her friends who were flying in from Florida. (They had to come back early because there's a hurricane.) So we just walked on into the airport...kind of weird how easy that was considering we didn't have to go through security.

Relaxation

Whew!! Finally a week of relaxation! Sleeping in and playing with chickens. It has been wonderful. I've been taking lots of pictures so I will be able to post when I get home!
Have a fabulous rest of the week!

I'm done!

It's official, I am not longer an employee of KinderCare Learning Center. And it feels great! I am quite suprised at myself however; I did not think I would cry, I mean HELLO! I'm so glad to be done! The thing is, I've known so many of those kids for two and a half years now! And some of the teachers, although the ones that I'll miss haven't actually been there that long. I did get quite a few email addresses and telephone numbers and "stay in touch!"'s.

There's one boy in particular that is SO sad that I'm leaving. He keeps asking me if I'm coming back with the most forlorn look. His mom said he will not forget about me...he's still trying to get over the babysitter leaving over a year ago!

It's been really nice hearing from all of the parents (to the kids) in my class. I have such a great relationship with so many of them, they've been writing me the nicest things and saying the nicest things. Apparantly I was a favorite to quite a few, I really needed to hear that! It's almost to the point where I'm thinking, why didn't I quit a long time ago? I needed that confidence booster!

Well I should probably go while my head still fits out the door!

Have a fabulous weekend! We're off to go camping tomorrow and then Minnesota all of next week! Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures when I get back!

Four more days til vacation!!

And three more days of work! WOOHOO! I am so excited to go camping! And then off to Minnesota! I haven't the slightest idea as to how we are going to get our car moving, it's going to be stuffed! We seem to be playing postman because we have a whole bunch of stuff to bring for all of my siblings that I'm going to see! I may just have to ride on the roof.

J-O-B

Oh happy day, again! Thank-you for all the birthday wishes here and on my Mom's blog!

I finally got it: A NEW JOB! I am most excited! I met a nice little family not far from my home and was hired as their nanny the same day. I put in my notice today and it couldn't have worked out better; My last day is the Thursday before I leave to Minnesota! My wish had been granted. Who can complain about that? Quit one stinky job, go on vacation (I may need therapy as well) and then start a new (and hopefully wonderful) job as soon as I return!

I am one happy girl!

Oh Happy Day!

WOOHOO!!! IT'S FRIDAY! I SEE TWO DAYS AHEAD WITH NO WORK! (YOU ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE MY JOB!) AND ALSO....MY BIRTHDAY IS ON SUNDAY! THAT'S A BIG 2-0! OH WOW, I JUST REALIZED IT'S MY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! I WONDER IF THAT MAKES IT MORE SPECIAL...
HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND EVERYBODY!!

Paula did you find me yet?

I am still blogging, believe it or not! I have a post that I typed up about a week or so ago but I haven't put my pictures on it yet because it wasn't working. Maybe tomorrow!
I'm going to IKEA with Jenna K (Dave's girlfriend) tomorrow. At least we had planned to, I should give her a call! That will be nice because we've never really hung out besides at Paul and Paula's house. Well...I just went to call her and I don't even have her number!! Maybe that's why we never hang out!
One more day of work for the week! And I think it may even be payday! Woohoo!
Have a great night, weekend, month, year, millenium, however long it takes me to post again!

I Talk in my Sleep

A lot.
I've been told that I do ever since I can remember. Jeff's already heard it in the short time we've been married. Here's last nights conversation:

Me: I got pulled over 'cause of french fries
J: Were they burnt?
Me: Yup

Enjoy your night! (And this awesome weather!)

Bikes, Camping, and Summer Vacation

Well!! It's been a while!
Jeff and I are now proud owners of some beautiful new bikes. I've used mine about twice. I won't go to Kensington by myself and it doesn't fit in the car very well. But, the good news, we bought a bike rack the other day so we can take our bikes camping!
Speaking of camping, we are not going to Canada with Mom and Dad this year as we had planned. I'm not sure if I even mentioned that before. I am bummed about that but I'll be okay because we are going to MINNESOTA instead! I am SO very excited for that. We will be visiting Jennifer and Sara of course! I can't wait to see Jen's new house and see ALL of those little kiddos again! WE haven't been out there for about two years now! ANd Jeff has that whole week off in August so we'll be staying there all week! PLUS, we are planning on camping with Paul and Amanda for two nights in the U.P. to break up the trip. So basically we are going to have so much fun!

What's wrong with this picture?

We've had three newbies at work in the past week. A girl was fired today because she allegedly "physically punished" a child. I heard both sides of the story, from her and her coworker; they definitely conflict. My boss is still on medical leave. My "assistant boss," if you will, is telling people that my coworker and I are quitting. One of the new girls is trying to tell ME what to do (mind you, I've been there over two years). The girl who hates DRAMA the most is the one who starts ALL of it. Licensing has been called three times in the past month. We had our maintenance man's boss look over the outside of the building and now our playground time is changed to accommodate another class. And to top it all off, I'm going in earlier tomorrow morning because my coworker isn't coming in. No explanation for that one.

So...the question is:

Do YOU think I need a new job?

Avocados and Cookies?

I made monster cookies AGAIN. Apparently Jeff's brother Dave shared his lunch with Jeff at school so I "owe him." So oh darn, I had to make my favorite cookies again! I remembered to use avocado this time. I only ate two cookies but they seem to taste the same, maybe just a slight bit chewier. So have at it ladies! Substitute half of the butter/margarine for avocados! I wonder what it would be like if I used all avocado instead of margarine. Hmm...
I was in the midst of cleaning up when I sat down on this cushy couch and I can't seem to get back up. Shoot.
BTW: My possible interview never happened, the guy never called back. Not sure what that means at this point.

Searching for a New Job

Woohoo! I have an interview (possibly) tomorrow! I've been trying to find a nanny job and I just got off the phone with someone who lives ten minutes away from me! Wish me luck!

New Neighbor

I have a new neighbor! Wade just moved in to the building across from us. I went over to check it out today, lucky kid, he has a dishwasher!! Speaking of which, my dishwater is probably ice by now.
Scrap Tales is closing! Their projected close date is somewhere around June 15th. I can't remember exactly what day they said. Everything is on sale right now so I just HAD to go buy some stuff for my stash. Actually, I was looking for stuff for my wedding album. Hopefully I have everything I need! I stocked up on letter stickers, rub-on's etc. You can NEVER have enough! That's the truth too. I'm always searching my scrap desk for more letters thinking that maybe if I keep packages in there long enough they'll start breeding and create cool new letters. Unfortunately that doesn't usually happen.
I'm heading out to go garage-saling for real tomorrow. I went once on my lunch break a couple weeks ago but I only stopped at one and I didn't get anything. Jeff MIGHT come with me. He's debating whether or not to go make up time at school. Wish me luck! Enjoy your weekend! (And next two weeks at the rate I post!)

Suzy Homemaker

Work today was so INCREDIBLY FABULOUS! No really, actually, it was Kayla's last day, the lucky girl, so it was rather depressing. Sooo...I decided to drown my sorrows in a pot of coffee. I don't usually drink that much coffee, maybe twice a month if we're visiting. So I basically felt like superwoman and was able to get quite a few things accomplished tonight! I made some delicious monster cookies from the H**n*n cookbook.

Unfortunately, I forgot to use avocados. I bought them specifically for cookies but I forgot all about them until it was much too late! 'Spose I've gotta make guacamole now! Then of course, our apartment was in dire need of cleaning so I tackled the dishes, living room, and of course the bathroom. Oh, I forgot to mention, I also made chicken in the slow cooker so we can hopefully make panini's this weekend. And I made a hamburger for dinner. And I went to Kohls to get a few cooking utensils (like a cookie scoop) with gift cards of course! And...well that's about it. Maybe I'll get started on my "Thank-yous."
On another note, I finally looked at etsy, I've been so curious as to what it is! It looks really cool. And Jen, what are you waiting for? Get your stuff on there already! :)
Have a fabulous weekend! (I hear it's supposed to snow on Monday, blah!)

Older or Younger?

I went to see Cami for a haircut last Wednesday. I keep hearing both but what do you think, does it make me look younger of older?

Not the greatest picture, I know. I took it myself.

And Finally...What we've all been waiting for!!

Our pictures from Sharyn! I'm am very happy with how they turned out!! Here are a few of my favorites:








Weeellll, as you can see, I do like our pictures!
Enjoy!