happy halloween!!

I'm Feeling: very comfortable
Background Noise: You May Be Right by Billy Joel
(I'm on a Billy-kick lately... sing us a song, Piano Man!!)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Depressingly enough, I'm the only one (so far) in our office who has dressed up today. I'm wearing some scrubs (thanks, HOSA) and a white lab coat, and best of all - tennis shoes!! Now I just look silly walking around in my "costume" but I don't really care, because I'm way more relaxed than anyone else here today. Gotta have some fun at work!

Did some traveling this weekend - got to see the fam, which was nice. My big brother grilled the most delicious filets you've ever eaten, and I basically pigged out the rest of Saturday on chocolate cake a'la Mom, peanuts & candy corn, and pizza. It was good. Sometimes I wish we lived a little closer so that we could see them more often (and sometimes I think not...) It was a nice visit - I love Mom & Dad & Adam & Melissa & Meg a lot.

Last night I had dinner at Damon's with some friends - Katie, Katie, Chelsie, Aaron, Chris, Mark, Mark, Dana, Dave, James and Laura all came - it was loud and fun and full of laughing.

Tonight I get to dress up as Baby Bop and party down with a bunch of middle school and high school students - I think I'm overseeing the pumpking decorating table, which should be totally fun, and a great end to the day. My life is pretty good.

eek!

I'm Feeling: relaxed
Background Noise: cars zipping by on Farm Lane

Mildly disgusting work update: Our building, in the colder months, plays host to several field mice. They particularly like my office, and Jane's office (across the hall). Lately, when I arrive in the morning, I find mouse poop on/in my desk in some fashion. Last night, they were apparently tap dancing on my keyboard. While I'm thoroughly yucked-out at the thought of critters hanging out in my office at night, I did have to stop and wonder... if my computer had been on, what might have appeared on my screen last night, as the mice traipsed across the keyboard? Would it have spelled anything interesting? Maybe these mice are intelligent... somehow distantly related to the Secret of NIMH rodents...

I'm torn between setting traps (get rid of them!) and not wanting to come into my office in the morning and actually FIND one in the trap. Turns out I'm a little girlier than I thought about mice... it's just plain nasty. However, you'll all be glad to know that I clean my desk and wash my hands regularly, so I won't catch the bubonic plague or anything else.

On a far-less-yucky note - I had cake for breakfast today (one of the gals at work brought in a cake shaped like a witch, complete with spiders on her nose and green hair) and another gal brought in cinnamon bread - birthdays = treats! And I do like treats.

navy day

I'm Feeling: mellow
Background Noise: Uptown Girl by Billy Joel

My calendar says today is Navy Day. Not sure if that means navy the color, or Navy the Armed Forces... either way, my shirt is orange, so I guess I'm not really in the holiday spirit today.

Tonight Mark and I get to drive to Grosse Pointe to visit my friend Kelsey - there's some dessert function-y thing we got invited to. I'm excited to see her, but I always get a little bit intimidated to visit ritzy places like GP. Oh well - it should be fun.

I've been hearing a lot about the flu bug that's going around - a student called this morning to cancel his appointment because he "has been hurling all morning." While I don't necessarily appreciate the detail, I do hope that people heal quickly and get back on their feet soon!

am I an addict?

I'm Feeling: like sneaking out of the office early today
Background Noise: I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher

The puzzle shown above is called SuDoku - thanks to my parents for introducing me to one of the most addicting puzzles ever! The grid is 9 x 9, and the numbers 1-9 can only appear once going up/down and across, and once in each 3 x 3 grid. Some puzzles are hard, some are super easy. I'm totally hooked!!

Today was fairly relaxing for me - only a couple of students came in, although my phone has been ringing nonstop and my IM advising has been busy... but I was able to get some mundane tasks completed, and I like being able to clear those off my list.

Happy Birthday to my brother-in-law, David - he turns 19 today!!

living the wyld life!

I'm Feeling: like it's a great day to curl up with a book in front of the fireplace
Background Noise: I'll Join the Rocks by FFH

Sunday night was Mason YoungLife/Wyldlife's annual dessert fundraiser event. The gym at Mason High School was transformed by well-decorated tables, posters, tables and tables of desserts - and, of course, a couple hundred really amazing people. I helped plan parts of the event, and was in charge of the guest list (a bigger task than I originally anticipated, but it seemed to go fairly well). It went famously - we had lots of kids show up, lots of their parents, our friend Joe shared with the group about his life and his walk with the Lord, and we ate good food and laughed a lot! Plus, we raised about $33,000!!

Last night we had DIG (Deeper in God) with our Wyldlife friends - and I just love those kids. I was tired yesterday, and a little on the edgy side. But they make me relax and laugh and enjoy myself - everything is silly and smiley and hilarious. They have such genuine hearts... I know we pretend to be teaching them every week, but I learn so much from hanging out with my middle school friends. And we got to eat a delicious dinner at the Tackaberry's house, as usual. Life is pretty stinking good.

poor bambi

I'm Feeling: soooo bad
Background Noise: No Day But Today from RENT soundtrack

This morning, on my way to work, I hit a deer! I've never hit a deer before (or anything really, I try soo hard to avoid squirrels and birds and possums and raccoons and bunnies and everything that scurries on the road when it shouldn't). But it was dark, and there is a cornfield not far outside our subdivision, and sure enough, two deer are hanging out at the side of the road. I slow down, then they run in front of my car, and I know there's not any way to NOT hit one, if not both. The first one made it across, but the second one stalled a second before running, and I hit his/her/its back legs. Don't think I killed it, but it'll probably not walk away at all (I think I was going 45 or 50 miles an hour). I'm okay, and my car is okay (a dent about the size of my hand in the hood, that's all), but I feel awful. I'm certainly relieved that I didn't him it square on (I've heard of some horrible accidents involving deer), but I have zero desire to hit a deer at all.

I didn't hit anything else on the way to work (thank the Lord!). This morning, I was super tired (we had a really big weekend - really fun, but basically exhausting) and I didn't want to come in to work this morning. I'm just glad I'm not NOT at work because a deer came through my windshield on the way to work today. Yikes!

grrr...

I'm Feeling: tough! (but I don't quite look like this gal yet... thank goodness!!)
Background Noise: You Created by Caedmon's Call

Our basement holds many things - air hockey table, ping pong table, foosball table, free weights, captain's chair, workout bench, an elliptical machine, and a couch. Along with numerous boxes filled with very important things that we haven't touched in over a year. Most of these things were bought with the intention of using them... and this morning, I did! (Not all of them, it's hard to play an interesting game of foosball on your own...) But I did drag my sorry butt out of bed and use the elliptical and the weights and the bench... I have such a hard time making myself do that, but I always feel fantastic when I do. You'd think that the classical conditioning thing would kick in, and I'd WANT to do something that makes me feel good... oh well. I just am glad I was able to have a little discipline today, and avoid going into hibernation mode as the days get colder.

Today after work I get to go to a Mason Middle School basketball game, and then Mark and I embark upon date night (not sure what is planned - it's his week to orchestrate the activities). But it will be fun to hang out and laugh - I'm looking forward to a nice night!

i love my bed

I'm Feeling: like laying on my back in the leaves
Background Noise: cars zooming by outside (my windows are WIDE open)

This morning I wanted to stay in my bed so badly when the alarm went off... then when I was making the bed, it was teasing me, whispering "climb back in, I'm warm and soft and big..." At least Saturday isn't that far away - maybe I can sleep in a little bit then. Although for me, I never want to sleep in as much when I can... I always want to sleep in when I have to be somewhere.

Not much going on tonight (I think)... I hope it stays that way. I like spontaneity, but when I'm specifically looking forward to a low-key evening, I usually don't adapt quickly to changes in the plan. I'll probably go to Mason YoungLife's club tonight with Mark, but that only lasts an hour. Maybe I'll sit down and start putting together Mark's quilt (finally). Who knows?

The picture of the rose is the first thing that came up when I googled "turquoise." Pretty, isn't it?

and... spit!

I'm Feeling: relaxed and smiley
Background Noise: Real Good Thing by Newsboys

I had my semi-annual dentist visit this morning... I always get a little nervous when I go, because I HATE having work done on my teeth. Cleanings don't bother me, but I'm afraid they'll find some big honking cavity, and if I never get another novacaine shot for the rest of my life, it'll be too soon. But everything checked out just fine - my hygienist (Val) was super nice and I really like my dentist. We agreed that to make my next visit more interesting, I should give up brushing altogether. I chuckled along with him, but will probably wind up brushing again before the day is out.

Today I start (along with Jane and Jennifer - colleagues of mine) an 8-week Pilates class MSU is offering... and it's free! So we'll spend part of our lunch hour toning our powerhouses, or more accurately, getting our butts kicked. But I like that. A few appointments this afternoon, and a relatively relaxed evening - sounds perfect!

The tree outside my office window has leaves that turn a gorgeous golden color. The sky is bright blue with puffy little white clouds... praise God for creating beauty!!

lookit the kitty!

I'm Feeling: like going home (darn, it's only 3:30!)
Background Noise: Jukebox in my Mind by Alabama

That's me and Meg (my sister)'s cat, Bomber, when I visited her a couple weeks ago. He's a funny kitty!!

I had a great weekend - we had a WyldLife event on Saturday that rocked my socks off - we had about 40 kids, all the leaders - lots of food and fun and yelling and playing and the high school leaders did awesome! Then Katie & Aaron came back to our house and hung out til almost midnight - which was totally fun and a great quality-time for our team. Sunday was church and a soccer game and then a meeting for Together (the couple's ministry at our church). Meeting new people, making new friends - it's all good!

I applied for a grant today - MSU sends 2 advisers every year to a study abroad program for a week - to learn, to come back and help promote, etc. I'm trying to go to France next May for a week (or more!) to get some new experience and all that jazz - I'm pumped... I really want to go!

More WyldLife tonight - Mark is leading the music on his gee-tar, which is awesome. Gotta get back to the grind now - have a b-e-a-yootiful Monday!!

what to be for halloween?

I'm Feeling: busy!
Background Noise: Danny Boy by Eva Cassidy

Well, I'm turning into a lazy blogger... mostly because work has been so hectic this week! Lots of appointments, the class I am teaching ended yesterday, and it's degree certification time at MSU. Whoopee!

I'm trying to decide what to be for Halloween. We have a party for YoungLife and WyldLife... it has to be original (tasteful, of course)... and funny would be good too. Any ideas?

blur

I'm Feeling: like a post-lunch nap would be nice
Background Noise: gentle hum of my vents - which are thankfully, now blowing warm air

I had a lovely weekend (aside from the monstrous amounts of driving - which allowed me to catch up on a lot of phone calls). Friday, I drove to my parents' house in Bolingbrook and had lunch, hung out for a few hours. Then I drove down to Peoria to visit my little sister (she's 22 and working on her master's degree). We ate sushi (I ate salmon, tuna, eel, shrimp, crab - all dipped in sauces I can't pronounce and eaten with chopsticks I can barely maneuver). We also went to an apple orchard (with her cat Bomber, on a leash, which was super funny), ate cider donuts, went shopping at the outdoor mall, laughed a lot, ate a lot... it was really nice to hang out. And fun to see her living in her own space, too.

We have WyldLife tonight - last week we had record numbers - I'm leading this week, so I'm a little nervous. I just hope that things run smoothly and that the kids have fun. We're talking about God's promises tonight - I'm excited to teach about that.

Bonus - it's 56 degrees right now, which means it actually feels like fall!! I'm not crazy about winter being right around the corner, but I love sweaters and cider and red leaves and chilly breezes!

where is fall?

I'm Feeling: motivated
Background Noise: It's Your Love by Tim McGraw

First off - Happy Birthday Kelsey! I don't even know if you read this, but that's okay.

Second - what in the world is going on with the weather? Yesterday was 85 degrees - I wore a tank top and had the AC on. Weird. I'm not anxious for winter (AT ALL), but I really love fall and I'm looking forward to days when I'm not sweating when I walk around outside! :)

Third - I get to visit my sister this weekend! I'm totally pumped about that - she's funny and smart and makes me laugh... plus she's excited for me to visit, and it's always fun to visit people who really want you to be there.

SMILE!

I'm Feeling: tired & energetic (is that possible?)
Background Noise: Seasons of Love from the RENT soundtrack

This is me and Kelsey - smiling! Today is Smile Day, and I thought the picture was appropriate. I found some yucky pictures of rotten-tooth-smiles, but I could hardly look at those pictures myself without yacking, so I thought I'd spare you all.

Big weekend - breakfast at the Depot (yes, there is a lot of train memorabilia in there), lots of yardwork, we spent some time with Mark's family on Saturday, watched the football game (snif!), got groceries, worked in the nursery at church, had a WyldLife team meeting, went to a bonfire at church, made pumpkin muffins... it was fun to be able to be at home and do things - I'm tired, but I feel good about the weekend.

Busy at work today too, but I like that - got a lot to get organized and updated, and a few appointments thrown in as well. Gotta love the way life keeps on moving!