when you're not strong...

This is what we did on the ride home from camp.

It was amazing. :D

healthy eating

I'm Feeling: like curling up with a good book
Background Noise: Down in the River to Pray by Alison Krauss

Last night, Mark and I went to our friend Jacob's 14th birthday party. He has a beautiful, huge, in-ground pool with a diving board, a chocolate lab named Max, a pet turtle named Alabama (Big Al), and there were Cheetos, burgers, hot dogs and ice cream sundaes.

I must say - the delights of birthday parties do not diminish with age. I had a blast playing in the pool with my teenage friends, and I ate a burger, a hot dog AND my whole sundae (on which I put every available topping, including 2 cherries). I even got a treat bag to take home with me. It was a fabulous way to spend Tuesday night, especially with all the things going on with work these days.

don't leave, all the plants will die!!

I'm Feeling: a little emotionally worn out about leave-ing (get it? LEAVES... I know, I'm reaching...)
Background Noise: It Doesn't Matter Anymore by Eva Cassidy

I've embarked upon the journey (entirely new to me) of quitting a full-time, professional position. It is so much harder than I thought it would be. Of course, it's big news, so everyone wants to talk about it. Some people are excited for me, some are disappointed that I'm leaving, some are hard to read, some are stand-offish. Mostly, it's nice that people care - but I never really realized how hard it would be to leave a job I've worked hard at, co-workers I've come to respect and care about, and students I've gotten to know and enjoy over the past two years.

Enough brooding. Suzanne put this in her blog, and I thought it would make a nice distraction for me.

The first player of this game starts with "5 weird things/habits about yourself". In the end you need to choose 5 people to be tagged and list their names. The people who get tagged need to write a blog about their 5 weird things/habits, as well as state this rule clearly, then tag 5 more victims. Don't forget to leave your victim a comment that says "you're tagged!" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I separate all my silverware in the dishwasher. This makes putting them away SO much easier, it's not even funny. And, I have to have them all pointed up - except for sharp knives, obviously.

2. I don't care which way the toilet paper comes off the roll - I've realized human beings CAN adapt to either setting.

3. I (like Suzanne) make spreadsheets for fun. If I get a chance to use a couple of formulas and do some color-coding... even better.

4. I love to be organized, but when things get out of hand, I tend to like to cover them up and ignore them. Clean folded laundry that needs to be put away will stack up... the dishwasher will remain full of clean dishes, my flower beds become overgrown with weeds the size of a small child... It's not a great strategy, I'll admit.

5. I've become one of those people who won't leave the house without mascara on. I don't wear much makeup, but I've convinced myself I look like Frankenstein if my hair isn't washed and my eyelashes aren't coated with some sort of colored goo.  

my life is good

I'm Feeling: blessed, nauseated, calm, nervous and eager all at once (it's busy over here!)
Background Noise: none because my computer is being cranky

What an amazing week!! I got to spend 5 days with 14 absolutely hilarious, sweet, silly, and genuine middle school girls (some pictured on the left) at camp - we got wet and messy, stayed up til 2:30am braiding each other's hair, laughed a lot, went tubing, mountain biking, rock climbing, conquered the ropes course, screamed and sang and prayed and learned about Jesus. You can't ask for a better time. I could blog for weeks telling you silly stories - so if you want to hear some, just ask.

Also - Monday, right before we left for camp, I was offered a new position - working for the College of Business at MSU - and I accepted!! I'll be advising, teaching a freshman seminar on leadership, and helping to coordinate the C o B's new residential program for freshman. I'm super excited about the new job, and simultaneously feeling like puking because of quitting my current job and all the weird, random loose ends I have to tie up here. It's a really, really good move for me, but it's still hard to leave my current position. I pray that the next few weeks pass by quickly.

The job thing helps with my roller-coaster emotions - that was one of the big things that was up in the air that I couldn't control. Camp is always fabulous, because you get to forget about regular life for a week and just laugh and eat and praise God. Thanks for all your faithful prayers - hopefully I have lots of good stories to post soon!!

whirlwind, anyone?

I'm Feeling: the calm before the proverbial storm!
Background Noise: I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye

Busy week/weekend - here is a quick run-down:
Thursday:
Cedar Point! We dodged the rain almost the entire time (thanks, God!) and rode the Raptor twice, the Magnum, the Millenium Force twice, a couple of really wet water rides, the Gemini, the Twister, Distaster Transport twice, and Top Thrill Dragster (pictured). I have never screamed in such genuine fear as I did on that ride. It was fun, but it's more than mildly terrifying to go from 0 to 120 mph in 4 seconds, and be shot up 400 feet in the air, only to plummet back down. The plummeting is my favorite part, by far.

Friday:
Job interview (no news yet, I'll keep you posted)
Sleepover with 5 middle school friends - Nat, Courtney, Huntar, Maria and Christy. We had chocolate fondue, set up a bracket for Connect Four (look out - we know how to party!) and ate cookie dough while watching Harry Potter. My life is pretty good.

Saturday:
Cleaned up from the tornado that swept my house the night before
Dinner and church with Chris and Mark
Dairy Hill for ice cream (yum!)
watched a movie

Sunday:
spent our life savings at Meijer (we should buy stock)
planted flowers/plants and pulled weeds
cleaned the house so as to impress our new friends Dan and Suzanne
had dinner with Dan and Suzanne - again, lots of fun, laughing, getting to know each other a little better. They're fun, and their kid is fun. What else could you ask for?

Today:
Catching up on emails/voicemails, seeing some students before I leave for...

Tomorrow:
WyldLife camp at TimberWolf Lake! Seriously fun - but I need to pack and get my act together before tomorrow morning!!

confessions of a mid-twenties wacko

I'm Feeling: like a hungry monster lives in my belly
Background Noise: Beautiful by Bethany Dillon

I have a confession to make. (sidenote: blogging is really good for stuff like this - it doesn't seem like you're talking to anyone, so you can say whatever you like, but at the same time, you know you're spilling your guts about necessary things. Sidenote finished).

My confession: I've been really emotional/mood-swingy lately. Not a clue why. Everyone's first response: "Are you pregnant?" Nope. Second response: "Are you PMS-ing?" Not for two weeks straight, unless my body is reacting to some sort of radiation that has exposed me to unheard-of hormone levels. Third response: "Are you exercising regularly?" Not exactly, but then, I never really have, so there's no reason why my body should suddenly decide to freak out about it.

I'm a person who likes being busy, I like having lots of things to do... but I also like to have some measure of control over those things. Right now in my life - there are a few things that seem so far beyond my control - things that need to be decided, things that need to change, things that I've been dealing with for a long time that don't ever seem to resolve themselves... I've psycho-analyzed myself and decided that this combination is why I've become an emotional pod-person.

In summary - please offer up some prayers for me - I need peace, I need to turn things over to God's sovereign hands, and I need patience as some things will only work themselves out with time. And Mark needs prayer too, because he has to live with me through all this.

If we hang out in the near future, and I (out-of-the-blue) get all weird and teary-eyed and quiet... just wait a few minutes, try to make me laugh, and know that it has nothing to do with you.

(p.s. the picture is of an ancient confessional - where you pour out your guts to the priest... not some scary haunted jail or something, which is what I think it kinda looks like...)

soup and interviews

I'm Feeling: so full
Background Noise: hallway chatter + James Taylor's crooning

We always go to Olive Garden when our friends at work have birthdays - so Jane, Jen, Kay and I went out to eat today for Kay's birthday (which is next week, but schedules demanded an early celebration). Delicious. It's also a really funny group of people - I'm the youngest by about 18 years, and Kay is a techie, Jen works in Career Services, and Jane and I are both more student affairs-y people. But mostly, we all laugh a lot at stupid things and have a good time.

I have a job interview on Friday - still at MSU, just working in a different department doing slightly different things. Job interviews stink - and I'm not sure if knowing that people are "talking me up" prior to the interview makes me feel better or worse. Is it better to keep expectations low or to have their opinion already be formed that you're amazing so that it doesn't matter what you say? At any rate - pray for Friday!! Updates are forthcoming.

I need a break from work, I think. Good thing we're going to Cedar Point this week and camp next week, otherwise I might lose my mind.

conjunctiva = kangaroo?

I'm Feeling: chipper
Background Noise: The Rain in Bombay by Caedmon's Call

Okay... so this morning was the last official morning of freshman AOP (academic orientation program, for those not up on MSU's acronyms) for the summer. Hooray indeed. I love AOP, but this week has been exhausting, for some reason. A couple of students this morning almost made me twitch... so I was looking for some kind of interesting picture to post today, and I typed "eye twitch" into Google - and this came up. I had no idea that any part of my body could be compared to the pouch on a kangaroo, let alone my conjunctiva.

I had a stellar night last night - I completed my first original watercolor painting (as an adult), had cheeseburgers with the Grangers, spent time with Jay the Cowboy, and had coffee with my new friend Cheryl. Cheryl and her husband Dale have lived in Mason for 14 years, they have a farm with pigs and lambs and cats and dogs, and they have 3 kids - 2 in college, 1 at Mason High School. They're awesome - I had a really good time with Cheryl last night. Hopefully there will be a second date.

I'm saying that a lot lately. Maybe too much for a married lady. Good thing Mark is not the jealous type.

nerds and insults

I'm Feeling: cerebral
Background Noise: Fear by Sarah McLachlan


So I found a link to a quiz online that will tell you how "nerdy" you are. I think that the very fact that I clicked on the link makes me a nerd. And the fact that I by no means need a computer program to tell me I'm a nerd. I scored in the 76th percentile - meaning I'm nerdier than 76% of the people out there. Does it make me nerdier that I like being nerdy - or does that make me cool because I'm OK with myself... ??

Moving on... we had dinner with Dan and Suzanne last night - Mark managed to tell them that the way they met and started dating was lame, and I think I left half of my dinner in their fondue pot. And it was a blast - great food, really cool kid to hang out with, and we laughed an awful lot together. Which is cool, because hanging out with new people for the first time is always a little nerve-wracking. I think there will be a second date though... we'll have to think about how we can possibly offend them next time... :)

i heart ribs!

I'm Feeling: anticipatory
Background Noise: This Charming Man by DeathCab for Cutie

I had the most delicious barbecued ribs EVER this weekend, courtesy of my brother's not-so-secret love affair with grilling. Seriously - they were amazing. And I think every one of us who ate them fell asleep for at least 5 minutes within an hour of our meal. We were all so sleepy-content-full.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those weeks where you're busier than you think you are... I have some big stuff to plan, people to see, work to do - hopefully it all goes smoothly. Just gotta keep perspective - big picture over details. My problem is - I like details. I like little things that make all the difference. However, I think detail-lovers also tend to be stressed out. I'd rather not be stressed out this week.

It's supposed to be 92 degrees today. Hooray for sweating when you're not even moving!

sweeping the clouds away...

I'm Feeling: useful
Background Noise: If This Is Love by Deana Carter

On Tuesday, the FedEx delivery lady stopped by my office, which is unusual. Even more unusual, she left me the box that was sent from FTD.com - which means that it was full of flowers. In two years of working here - not once have flowers come to my office.

I find these lovely yellow flowers inside, with a fun green vase, and a note from an MSU student whom I've never met, but been in contact with via email for the past 9 months or so, helping her sort out her various graduation issues and anxieties.

They make a very sunny addition to my office, and it's always nice to get a token of appreciation from the students I work with.

In other news, I got to take an unexpected road trip last night. Mark called (he's camping in Irons, MI with his HOSA state officers this week) and asked if I could meet him in Clare (halfway to Irons, about 90 minutes from Mason) to bring him an extra set of car keys, as his are now somewhere at the bottom of the Pine River. So I spent three hours on 127 last night in my un-air-conditioned car... luckily, I had nothing else planned for the evening (except bury my nose in my new book that I'm addicted to...) And this way, my husband is able to drive himself home today. I like him enough to not want him stranded in Irons, MI indefinitely.

still kickin'

I'm Feeling: out of the loop - it's been too long!!
Background Noise: Why Walk When You Can Fly by Mary Chapin Carpenter

Here's what's happened in the last 7 days since I posted:
Worked on Thursday (Hooray for AOP) and Friday morning
Friday afternoon: Destination: Uncle Tom's Cabin
All weekend: eating, waterskiing, roasting marshmallows, hanging out with Mark's family, trying to not let the sun get me again (unsuccessful - my nose on Sunday would have put Rudolph to shame)
Monday: more AOP, then home to clean up a little and watch a North Country (in the picture)

I like movies a lot, and I try to rent one or two when Mark goes out of town (as he is now, and will be next week) - it gives me something fun to do while he's gone, and I can rent movies that he wouldn't normally be crazy about watching.

North Country is about the class-action sexual harrassment lawsuit brough by the women working in the mines in Northern Minnesota in the late 1980s. I thought it was really well-done... It's definitely not an "enjoyable" movie, but it kept me watching the whole time. That's $3.50 well spent. 

"Take THAT," says the sun...

I'm Feeling: a little warmer and sorer than usual...
Background Noise: You Call It Madness by Nat King Cole

This weekend, the mighty sun scoffed at my SPF 45 sunscreen and gave me a lovely pink hue... it's not a bad sunburn, but it's making me minorly uncomfortable right now.

Despite my minor skin afflictions - I had a great weekend - Mark and I were in Traverse City for 2 days, celebrating our anniversary (tomorrow = 4 years of marriage!) - we ate great food, met some new people, chatted with old friends, and watched the Blue Angels twice - with some of the best seats in the "house!"

Then we went to Uncle Tom's Cabin (yes, Mark's uncle Tom has a cabin near Midland) and we ate more, waterskied, went tubing, helped around the house a little, ate marshmallows around the campfire, watched fireworks from out on the lake, and generally had a great time.

We got home last night and went to watch Mason's fireworks with our neighbors - which was really fun except for the part where a rogue firework nearly killed people sitting around waiting for the show to start. It's crazy that people were lighting things like that off in such a big crowd. Luckily, it didn't appear that anyone was hurt seriously at all. Just mad and scared - understandably.

How was your holiday weekend??

no place like it

I'm Feeling: chilly - the temp has dropped 12 degrees in the past hour...
Background Noise: Welcome Home by Shaun Groves

This is our house. We've lived there for over 2 years now, and I absolutely love it.
What do you think makes people feel at home? I've been thinking about how different people and places can make me feel more or less "at home." Sometimes I feel less at home because the person or place is new - but sometimes I meet someone and feel instantly connected. Or I walk into a new place and am immediately peaceful.

Sometimes I am less at home because of a known or obvious point of contention... when you feel judged, or know that you think differently about things than the people around you... being misunderstood definitely draws away from that "homey" feeling...

I've been thinking about this since I came back from my "home - home" this weekend - i.e. my parents' house, where I grew up. I am comfortable when I walk in, and I know the house well... but there are moments when I distinctly think to myself, "this is not my real life." It's not my home anymore.

What/where/who is your home? What makes it home?

pigs, relatives & other worlds

I'm Feeling: even-keel (sp?)
Background Noise: My Girl by The Temptations

So that's our friend Cory, pretending to eat the pig that was de-boned and roasted in his backyard. Mostly, the picture just looks mildly psychotic - check out his eyes!! :) But, all creepy-ness aside, the pig was dee-licious, and Cory's really not crazy.

I had a big weekend - battled traffic on the way home to Chicagoland on Friday, hung out with the parents and my sister - then went to visit all 3 grandparents. Here's a brief update:

My dad's mom is in a nursing home (independent care for now) because of Alzheimer's. She's pretty darn lucid still, but definitely shrinking. The top of her head came up to my ribcage.

My mom's mom is never going to die, I think. She's tough, loves to talk, and knocks the breath out of you when she hugs you. Also shrinking, though.

My mom's dad had a stroke almost 3 years ago - he's been in a nursing home ever since - can't really talk, and has no function on the left side of his body. I don't get to see him nearly as often as I should, but it rips my heart out a little each time I do. He was so strong. But he loves us to visit, and he smiles more than I ever remember him doing when I was a kid.

It was good to hang out with my sister, brother, sister-in-law, mom, dad and assorted relatives. We laughed A LOT over the weekend - mostly because my sister and I can be massively obnoxious. But funnny. So funny.

Do you ever feel like different parts of your life exist completely independent of one another? Like you bounce from one universe to the next as you move between them? I get that feeling a lot when I visit my home... some kind of strange, parallel universe. The weirdest part is that I grew up there.

rainy days

I'm Feeling: good-worn-out
Background Noise: Gilmore Girls on the TV

Check out Mark's miraculous dive from this weekend!!

Half day of work today, then went to the movies (saw Cars - very funny) with Christy, Huntar and Stephanie. I just love hanging out with those girls - can't believe they're going into 8th grade!!

I think the rain and gloom have sapped my energy today... thinking of hitting Beaner's this evening for a pick-me-up.

Ciao for now! More tomorrow.

scrub a dub

I'm Feeling: massively productive
Background Noise: Skid Row from Little Shop of Horrors Soundtrack

I still haven't found my camera cord, so no pictures from the pool yet...

Instead, feast your eyes upon cleaning products! That's pretty much what I did all last night - I gave both our bathrooms the most thorough cleaning they've had in ages - scrubbed floors, cleaned under the sink - the works. Awfully glamorous, let me tell you. I made 2 trips to Target and 1 to Meijer last night too.

Tonight's agenda: more cleaning (perhaps the kitchen this time), laundry, talking to the family on the phone... hold onto your hats, folks.

When Mark is away, I sure do know how to play. Seriously though - our house is one of those homes where it never looks dirty on the surface - but underneath, it's nowhere near as clean as I'd like it to be. So once in awhile, I try to scrub it down completely.

I went for a run last night and today, my knee hurts. Serves me right. Darn those healthy habits.

teaser

I'm Feeling: winsome
Background Noise: Jeopardy by Greg Kinh Band

As usual, Mark and I laid around, watched TV and slept in late this weekend... HA! Well, the sleeping in part is mostly true... but we definitely were not really sitting around doing nothing - what a fun weekend we had!

First - Friday, after AOP was over (10:30am), I hopped in a car with Mark, Cheryl, Dale, and Julie and headed up to Timberwolf Lake to visit for the day - we were having our Mason YoungLife and WyldLife Mission Community meeting up there. It's always fun to be at that camp - kids everywhere, lots of life and fun and noise, and James gave (as always) a really great talk. Got back around 1:30am after a really fun car ride back home.

Saturday - slept in til about 10:00 (which is super late for us) and decided to take 6 middle schoolers with us to the MSU pool to jump off various diving boards for 2 hours. It was awesome, especially since Saturday was HOT. Then we went to Coryell's house for fresh roasted pig - it's a little weird to see the teeth, nose, and tail of the animal you're about to eat... but man, did it taste good. (Here's the teaser part - I have awesome pictures and video of the trip to the pool, and pictures of the roasted pig... I just need to upload them - hopefully you'll see them tomorrow)

Sunday - went to church, then headed to Kawkawlin, MI (near Bay City) for a high school open house, then to Canton to have dinner with Mark's dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. Home by nine, and we rounded out the night watching The Punisher - one of those Marvel comics movies that makes you want to laugh a little bit (and not because it's trying to be funny).
What was the best part of your weekend?

eclectic thoughts

I'm Feeling: a little bit ornery
Background Noise: Without You by Dixie Chicks

Not sure why this picture of a cow is on my computer. I was scanning my "My Pictures" folder, looking for something inspired to post today... and who can resist a photo file named "cow.jpg" - I ask you. Not I.

I had weird dreams last night. Not weird like "I was eating mud and wearing a banana suit while riding a unicycle." Weird like stressed out, high pressure, actual occurrences - work and personal related. I kept waking up, wondering what was making me dream such intense, gray-hair-inspiring things. I don't feel particularly stressed out at the moment, and I had a very relaxing night last night. Makes me think about how it's funny that we use the same word for the nocturnal movies that play in our brains as we use for our hopes, plans, and imaginings for our futures.

What kinds of things do you dream? If you could have anything, live anywhere, do anything, be anything... what would your life look like? Do you know specifics, or is there just a general sense of what things would be like?

i know you've thought about it...

1. Post a list of up to 20 books/movies/TV shows/videogames/etc. that you've had an obsessive fannish love of at some time in your life.
2. Have your friends guess your favorite character from each item.
3. Post in your own journal.

1. Gilmore Girls
2. Friends
3. Harry Potter
4. The Babysitter's Club series
5. The Lord of the Rings (books, not movies)
6. The Princess Bride
7. Wishbone
8. Veggie Tales
9. X Men
10. Dirty Dancing
11. A Few Good Men
12. Mad About You
13. Full House
14. East of Eden
15. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (book, not movie)

Okay, it's harder than I thought to come up with these... so fifteen is all you get. Clearly, many of my obsessions date back to childhood - I find I'm not as freakishly into things as I used to be. Any thoughts on whether that's good or not? :)

Give it a shot - what character did I like best from these books/movies/TV shows?