Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Good times with students

For all of the tough times with teenagers, there are also good times. Like field trips where we get to watch them transform from 17 to 7.



Or watching them participate in a "hug booth" activity where they "hug" their Dean of Students' soon-to-be-born baby.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Snow Days Rock.

Is there anyone out there with whom I have not shared my love for snow days? Doubtful.

This one was fantastic.

Because I was so excited, I never fell back asleep after my 5:50 phone call. It really is that exciting.

The whole day was nice - walks outside, dancing in my dance room, lunch with friends. . . .

The evening was even more fun. Amy and I laughed a lot, took some risks, made a few more friends - some real, some, uh, cold and snowy. Check out Martha below.



Luckily (yes, I was a girl scout) I took my snow shovel along, so while Amy brought Martha to life, I shoveled a track around the iceless skating rink so we could skate.




After a stop at our favorite coffeeshop, Amy and I walked around the town and took some pictures. Well, Ok, I took pictures and worked on being "Lou-quacious" (Amy's new term for my hyper, talkative states) while Amy waited for me to burn through some energy.








It was a good day. And good night. LOVE those snow days!

Saturday, February 24, 2007

TAG, you're it.

There's a really neat group of "artistically motivated students" in town - TAG, or Teen Advisory Group. They are a group dedicated to showcasing teen creativity at the Creative Spirit Center.

Here's one incredibly inspiring young woman.
Amanda is so good that she doesn't even need fingers on her right hand to play guitar.


A special treat at the end of the night was to hear Amanda sing with Jordan. It was beautiful.


Other talents showcased included artwork and poetry reading. These are some VERY TALENTED teens. Check out www.creativespiritcenter.org for future events.

Feeding the craving

Strange as it may be, I rarely get homesick for the house where I grew up. I do, however, get very homesick every winter for the cottage. Or maybe it's homesickness for summer. Whatever the case, I try to get my "fix" when I can, even if it's silly to spend 3 hours driving just to hang out for a 2.5 hours. . .

After checking on all three cottages (my parents, my neigbors and my sisters), I stopped at the local vet clinic to see my favorite dog in Caseville. . .oh, and to say hi to the coolest vet I know! Hoover is lying in wait for nervous doggies to come in and visit.


The breakwall was chilly, but at least it wasn't full of snowdrifts, so it was a good spot for a walk.


Winter sure is wierd in a summer resort town. Check out how I got in this picture (and didn't realize it until I saw it big on the computer screen!)


Summer, come back soon.

Fridays, Fish and Fashion

It's that time of the year again: Lent. It sounded like fun to start it off right by inviting some good friends over for a fish dinner!

Chad and Jill "practice" with Shawn. Don't they look like they'll be great parents?!


After dinner and the exodus of most guests, Amber tried on some dresses for an upcoming event. Her socks were a beautiful addition to this outfit.


Amy was suitably impressed by the show.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Random thursday musings.

Did you know that, on average, men use approximately 7,000 words a day while women use around 20,000?

I wonder if this blog counts toward my total? Regardless, I think that I probably help keep the women's average up. That's been a part of my personality (my "loquaciousness," according to one friend) that I've been very embarrassed about at times but - I think? - have come to accept as just being part of who I am.

Of course, there are the moments where I realize that I'm gushing words, seemingly without being able to stop. Those are the moments where the little voice inside is saying, "stop. stop talking. Stop Talking. STOP TALKING!!!!!" I had one of those moments today. Sigh.

Anyway. The big-word-friend from above suggested that I blog about a topic that I was passionately orating on today (while he stuck to minimal grunts in order to keep his word total low): Modeling.

Nope, not fashion modeling, but the kind of modeling we ALL do EVERY day.

Do you ever stop to think about what messages you are giving out? Have you ever considered what your actions are saying about you, how they are swaying others, or what younger people are learning from you???

It's not my place to judge anybody and I certainly wouldn't want that responsibility. However, I recognize changes in our world that are not all positive. Whose "fault" are they? Doesn't matter. We EACH have a chance to be part of the solutions, or part of a "better way." Please let me encourage you to be intentional in the choices you make in order to help move our world in a more positive direction.

Consider:
How do you treat people, especially those who are in service positions? Do you gossip or talk meanly about people?

How much do you drink? When? Where? Are there ever underage people around? Do you talk about drinking in front of underage people - and if so, how do you frame it for them?

How hard do you work? Do you stay positive on the job? Do you look for solutions or just point out problems?

Are you exercising, eating well and taking care of your body overall? What are your choices for hobbies? How often do you make the choice to be healthy?

Do you follow through with what you say you're going to do? Are you honest and honorable? Do you live with integrity?

What are you not comfortable with in your life right now? What choice(s) do you need to make to make that situation right for you?


I could go on for eons, but I think you get the drift. I invite you to strive with me to ponder these questions and make some choices so that we may be intentional in this world of our creation.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Relaxing sunday habits.

Good times with good people and good music.

Amber and Jason discuss their desert choices.

Check out Tony's "new" haircut. . .(well, new to me, anyway!)

Family weekend

Another weekend in Leelanau country.

Kevin laughs at Gina as she eats Kelsey's yogurt. . .


Relaxing family time. Can you guess which two (kids) jumped in the picture after seeing me pick up the camera?? Unfortunately, I had to tell them to stop squirming so that they wouldn't be blurry with the "candlelight" setting on. Does that take away from the spontaneity of the picture???



Getting ready for sledding isn't really that fun. Mostly crying, pouting, etc. Kelsey doesn't fit the normal kid mode though.


See how happy she is. With slightly less happy sibling in back.


Pretty soon they'll be going down the hill like daddy.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Colt's Flashback.

With all of the excitment of frozen pipes and other house issues, I never had a chance to blog about the Colts.

It's sad to see the season end, but what an end!

This is my favorite pic from that wonderful Superbowl evening.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

My valentine's day wish. . .

I've had two "first dates" recently. My conclusion: I hate dating. I quit. I hope Mr. Right just bumps into me somewhere.

If any of you are planning on trying to "help" shove Mr. Right in my direction, please consider the following:

1) Just because someone is single and in my age range does not make him Mr. Right For Me.

2) Just because someone else says he's a great guy does not make him Mr. Right For Me.

3) Just because you like someone doesn't mean they're Mr. Right for me.


Mr. Right For Me will be:
* athletic/active
* musical (at least have a HUGE musical appreciation)
* excited about life, learning and growing
* living a healthy lifestyle
* involved in his community. . .
and ALSO interested in ME (that one is pretty crucial).

I'd love to find Mr. Right For Me, but my Valentine's Day wish this year is to not have any more unnecessary, uncomfortable dates with Mr. Not Right For Me.

As for those, I quit.

On a random note, below you see a man I've always considered a fine catch... Coach Cole (at left). He's with Coach Leister (middle) and Josh Brehm, winner of the Gagliardi Trophy. What a cool thing for Alma College! Kudos, Josh!!


Happy Valentine's Day to all. . .hope your wishes come true!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Shit happens.

It's important to give thanks for the "little" things in life.

Like indoor plumbing. Water. Toilets. You know.

Things that we take for granted. Things that make us say "ewwwww" if we have to deal with them. If they smell. If we have to clean them.

Consider the old days. . .digging ourselves a hole. Taking care of business. Covering it up. Letting the breeze take away any aroma. Doesn't sound half bad... unless you consider -20 degree wind chill weather.

So. Thank God for indoor plumbing, especially when it works.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Visiting Indy. . .and the Civil War

I raced to Indy tonight to see my sister in a musical. Luckily, I was there in time to go backstage and pick up my new COLTS jersey that she bought me!



Kay was both a soldier and a southern belle. . .very neat performance, and very thought-provoking for those of us who haven't thought about our country's history in a while. . .



(She's on the left)

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Frankenmuth trip.

Amy's birthday celebration was last saturday night. We took her to Frankenmuth to see the ice sculptures and eat at the Bavarian Inn. We didn't want her to know where we were going though, so first we blind-folded her!


Dinner at the Bavarian Inn was FANTASTIC. A great time. . .oh, except for the kid puking behind us at the end of dinner, maybe that's what Amy was laughing about.


After dinner, the real photo man took a picture of us POSING (yes, folks, posed pictures do happen outside of Midland County -shhhhhhh) with our (hopefully) soon-to-be "princes."


Another posed picture, with timer this time.


The ice sculptures were pretty awesome. Brett really liked the big bass (Oh mah GAWD! Lookit that bass...), while Amber was "pretending" to be a baseball (softball) player. Yep, I think she's got it down. Maybe when she's on the olympic team they'll carve her name on one of those sculptures.