A quagmire of epiphanies (both complete and partially formed)

Yesterday was a day of wrestling...with numbers on a yellow legal pad, with expectations, and with God.

In short, we decided to walk away from our condo purchase.

Upon evaluating the final numbers and our own situation, we came to realize that it simply wasn't wise for a number of reasons. As much as we wanted to do this, we want to make sure we're coming at it from a position of financial strength, more so than right now.

Wrestling is tiring. But it brings freedom, too, and we're feeling that in spite of our disappointment. I'm tempted to be a little embarrassed about the whole thing, especially with how much we've been talking about it to people, but ultimately I'm proud of the decision we made and know that you all support us in spite of our occasional starry eyes. (And believe me, this assurance comes only after a meltdown on my part where I may or may not have said, "I'm that foolish person they always talk about in the Bible!" There was anguish and gnashing of teeth and everything.) Wrestling is painful and gut-wrenching.

After making this decision, we rushed to our 3:00 appointment for more soul-searching as conducted by a professional (aka counseling - not really related to above epiphany) and the conversation turned to my frustration with where my career is (or, rather, isn't) going. My frustration with how hard I work and how my worth as a counselor can't be measured by a formulaic job evaluation (or a suitable paycheck, for that matter). Mario (blessed man) asked me what I want to do, ultimately. I said school counseling. He then started talking about networking, about how I need to sell myself, etc. I started thinking about how difficult and awkward that sounds (albeit necessary)...then I started thinking about something Mario had said earlier...about private practice. About how he found a lot of freedom in that. And I recalled how I had thought in the past how good he has it - not having to deal with bureaucrazy (misspelling accidental but totally appropriate), insurance companies, etc. About how at the age of 16 I had read Reviving Ophelia and decided that I wanted to be a psychologist who works with depressed teenage girls and how that was what started all these shenanigans in the first place.

On the walk back out to the car, Josh said, "What are you thinking?" And I replied, "Don't talk. I'm thinking."

Truth was, I wasn't just thinking. I was listening. Realllllly listening for the first time in awhile. I was asking God if I need to alter my path a little, if I need start pursuing my original ambition. And I got kind of excited.

I don't know where this will lead, but my outlook, attitude, and list of possibilities is changing. Prayers, please...or, as Diane would say, have a little talk with Tiger for me.

::

On a lighter note, I've been watching a lot of 80s sitcoms on TV today. Almost on purpose...Little House on the Prairie, Full House, Family Matters, and now Roseanne (something tells me it's time to find something else to do). A number of thoughts came to mind:

+ Poor Uncle Jesse with the pink bunnies on the wall!
+ I'm so glad that I don't have to call my mother in law something like Mother Winslow
+ I wonder what young Judy Winslow is doing with her career these days?

A quick search of imdb.com told me that Young Judy Winslow had a foray into hardcore pornography, which saddened me greatly. I then read her bio, which told me that she has since walked away from it and is once again pursuing a legitimate acting career and religion, which made me happy.

Right. Must find something else to do. Signing off.

Unlikely, but true...

I am addicted to this show. Watch it, and watch it often. Holy cow.

MA-MA

Mommy Dearest turns 62 today. I'll bet you didn't know this about her...

10. When Mom was a kid, her little sister (Aunt Candy) gave all her dolls away to the neighbor girls. My mother still brings this up.

9. She can't whistle. I inherited this from her.

8. My mom smoked for several years in her 20s. She gave it up cold turkey as a wedding gift for my dad.

7. Mama Bear was born exactly two weeks before V-J Day, or the end of WWII in Japan.

6. My grandpa was not present for my mom's birth, as he was stationed in Kansas or someplace equally boring.

5. My mom makes the best snickerdoodles around. Just ask honorary Russell daughter Kym. My mom once drove to Kalamazoo on a weekday night to surprise me with a fresh batch of snickerdoodles. Kym was in on it. It was fabulous.

4. My mom has slowly turned into my grandmother over the past several years. The hallmark of this phenomenon is regular usage of the phrase, "Oh, for heaven's sake!" This is sometimes accompanied by collecting an entire wardrobe of Alfred Dunner apparel - my mom has not yet reached this pinnacle.

3. When I was a kid and my mom would take me shopping (always at JC Penney or Sears...ALWAYS), I never wanted to try on clothes. Mom's response was to say with cheesy enthusiasm, "Oh, come on. Just for fun." Don't ask me why, but it worked.

2. As a child I did not require much discipline - I feared Mom's disapproval a great deal. You'd never know to look at her that she could be so intimidating.

1. For a brief time we were able to share both clothes and shoes...until I got to fifth grade and became taller than her.

Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you!

A day late...

And more than a dollar short. Yesterday two of my favorite boys turned a year older...

Preston is three, and as you can see, his birthday was very much orange (and Diego). Five things you may not know about Presto-Chango:

5. Preston once said that he didn't like Uncle Josh. Why? "He's bad." What did he do? "He hit me." When? "After school." The kid is full of it on all fronts. He loves his birthdaymate Uncle Josh.

4. Even though at three years old he is a very big boy, Preston cannot go to bed without at least two pluggies and a sippy cup of warm milk.

3. Preston is only willing to eat the following: hotdogs, tater tots, and apples. It is not unusual to find, in random spots such as the refrigerator or on a chair, an abandoned apple with a few tiny bites taken out of it.

2. Preston is very smart. It is rumored that he has memorized the entire Gettysburg Address.

1. Preston's favorite response to any question is, "Sure!"

It was also Josh's 32nd birthday. Here's 10 things you may not know about Josh:

10. Josh is ambivalent about the color orange.

9. Josh has recently learned that he has a gluten intolerance. Last night he got a gluten-free cake made from wonderful things like sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum.

8. Josh also has an intolerance to caffiene. He can't even drink decaf coffee. He has to buy this very expensive "coffee" made from chicory root, carob, and other fine wholesome ingredients.

7. Josh has an assortment of Star Wars action figures lined up on a bookshelf in our office. Also in our office? A life-sized Luke Skywalker cardboard cutout.

6. Josh does a dead-on impersonation of Milton Waddams.

5. Several years ago, Josh wrote and had a role in a locally-produced feature-length film. During filming, the set was swarmed by the GRPS SWAT team and he was commanded to lay on the ground with his hands over his head. No kidding.

4. Much like Preston, Josh likes to rock out.

3. Josh is surprised by how much he likes his Torts class. I may end up being the wife of an ambulance chaser.

2. Josh has been to China three times and obtained a very realistic fake Rolex Submariner during his last excursion.

1. Josh loves The West Wing. He owns all seven seasons and falls asleep watching it every night. The show even inspired him to make up his own dance, which he calls "Disc Two." Someday when I'm stealthy enough I'll film him doing it and post it on here for y'all.

Tomorrow's post? You guessed it...another birthday.

Little Lainey Lou, she's not quite two...

...but today, she's one!



Five little-known facts about our niece and goddaughter, Lainey:

5. She has quite the extensive vocabulary. Two of her favorite words are "baby" and "kitty."

4. Lainey doesn't much care for fruit. She would much rather eat a jar of squash.

3. Lainey loves kitties, especially the family cat, Nedwin. Ned is a good sport and lets Lainey poke, prod, and pull on him mercilessly.

2. Lainey LOVES Shrek and can watch the entire movie with rapt attention in a single sitting.

1. Lainey absolutely hates it when you wear a hat or other head accessory. She will start crying the minute she sees you and will shun you for hours after you've removed the offending item.

Next on the birthday docket we have Preston and Uncle Josh...both on Monday.



















Hopefully Josh is okay with having an orange birthday. (Or a Diego birthday...whatever.)


And as for the shiner on Preston's right eye...we're not sure what happened. His story was rather inconsistent. From what we can tell, it involved the kid next door, Connor, and either a car, a golf club, or a baseball bat. Yowch. Preston had a bad week in the face department, given that on Sunday morning he put a YoGo up his nose at big brother Evan's request. Moral of the story? Don't do what Evan tells you to.

Confirmation...

Photos of the evidence...purple wall, indeed.

Oh Preston.
Preston Elijah.
How silly you are.

As a little background - my nephew Preston has only been to my house once and probably doesn't remember it. Sometimes he asks me about where Uncle Josh and I live, and I tell him it's far away.

Fast forward to tonight - my mother in law (bless her) calls me as I am having dinner with my mom in Portland, MI (undeniably far away from my usual locale) and tells me that Preston wants to talk to me. Apparently while babysitting him tonight, they'd been sitting out on the front porch and he'd started listing off all the people he loves. Then he got to me "I love Aunt Laura" and decided he needed to give me a ring. Smart kid.

So he gets on the phone and is very, very insistent that I come over tonight to watch Shrek with him.

So I explain, "Oh honey, I'm sorry, I can't...I'm really far away right now and I can't come there tonight." To which he replies, "Well, when you're done at your house come over here and watch Shrek."

(This connection did not dawn on me until just a few minutes ago, mind you.)

Then I again explain that I am very, very far away and I by the time I got there, he would be in bed. He says (very earnestly), "No, I'm not going to bed yet." I hear some talking in the background, and he says, very matter-of-fact, "Grandma says I'm going to bed soon."

So apparently then I was told that I am going to come over tomorrow night to watch Shrek.

Preston will turn three later this month.
And his birthday is going to be orange. (Or so he keeps telling us.)

PS - What's the place where Shrek lives? Far Far Away? HMMMMMM...

Movin' on up....

...but not sure where yet. Josh and I have a realtor, we have a good faith estimate, and every reason to believe we'll get approved for a mortgage, for which we'll apply soon. We've been scouting out houses on GRAR. We're kinda excited. We're also prepared to possibly not find anything we want in our price range and make our apartment work for awhile longer. It hasn't been that momentous of a step yet, but it feels a lot better to have a couple of professionals in our court, understand the process a little better, and have a much better idea of what we can actually afford, y'know? We'll probably wind up with something relatively small and meager, but it will be OURS - we'll be able to get a dog. We'll be able to paint the walls purple if we want (because I certainly don't know anyone else with a purple wall in their house). We'll get a tax deduction...even if it isn't this kind just yet.

Speaking of that kind, congrats to my good friends Liz and Jeff. Liz was a good friend in college who helped get me through some...uhhh...interesting Russian Culture classes (we learned a LOT about this guy) and shared my profound affinity for fine cinema. Today they welcomed two new little he-Wierengas - Gibson Donald and Henry Daniel. Here are the official publicity photos:


Aren't they lovely? Laura might have to make a stop out in Clarksville before long to say hello. Additionally, Mama and Papa are about to celebrate their 4th anniversary on July 4 - that was one schweet wedding. We all got little pies as favors. Great theme, guys.

That's all for now...you'll know more as we know more!

Oh, sweet Jesus

I really mean it. Jesus is sweet and beautiful and lovely.

Some photos of this evening's festivities:







We've been through some gut-wrenching emotion over here at Mikrut Central lately, much of which has resulted from a certain final grade that did not correctly reflect a certain amount of studiousness on the subject of Torts. I won't go into that so much, because today was a much better day. I get a phone call from my boy, who informs me that another of his grades has posted, and he'd gotten an A- in Contracts.

Huge. Freakin'. Victory.

The boy is exuberant. He's thrilled. His faith in himself has been restored. He tells me that prior to calling me, he ran around the house and shrieked like Macaulay Culkin. (Don't you just love the imagery?) Although when you think about it, Mac's shrieking was not so much from joy as it was Aqua Velva, but whatever.

I found JOSH confetti at Meijer. Life doesn't get much better than this.

Sooo...

So I gave up blogging/myspace/instant messaging/etc for Lent. I had intended to write about it when I returned, and I'd intended to return much sooner than this. I just wasn't inspired. So instead I've been lurking - reading your blogs and commenting, but contributing nothing of my own to the (cyber)world. Sorry 'bout that, but oh well. Deal. :)

Tonight I finally convinced Josh to try Yahtzee, which he had NEVER PLAYED IN HIS LIFE. Seriously - how does one get through nearly 32 years in a developed nation without knowing how to play Yahtzee? Anyway, he caught on quickly but had bad luck. He then taught me chess and poker.

I would like to state, for the record, that I whooped ol' boy's butt in 2 games of Yahtzee, five card stud, and seven card stud. Unfortunately, his bishop checkmated my king. Grrr.

Another interesting component of my day...I was drugg'd. As some background, I am a lifelong sufferer of these horrific cramps in my feet, the kind where two of your toes clamp together and curl downward. It hurts like crazy. I've been told to take potassium supplements, calcium supplements, drink lots of water, and stretch my feet on a regular basis. Do you think any of this helps? 'Course not. (Why should my body work like it's supposed to?) Anyway, last night I was just starting to drop off at 2 a.m. when all of a sudden - searing, painful spasm in m'left foot. I got up and stretched it every which way I could think of. I put on my fleece "booty socks." I wrapped my foot in a heating pad on the highest setting. (I should take this opportunity to point out that the two latter actions have great possibility of making things worse, as they require some degree of pointing my toe.) Anyway, nothing was working, and Grumpy Sleepy Josh muttered, "WHY do you keep wiggling around???" So I said screw it and retrieved one of Josh's Flexeril (sp?) tablets out of the medicine cabinet. Now, I know it's illegal to take someone else's prescription (so SHHHH). And I knew full well that these fine muscle relaxers would make me a zombie all day today.

I was a zombie all day today. But at least I didn't get arrested.

So even though I zoned out a lot at church, dozed off on the couch at Josh's grandma's this afternoon, and didn't get any of my rapidly-coming-due paperwork done for my day job, that's okay. IT WAS WORTH IT.

To paraphrase a song from this morning - I'd like to love my feet to heaven. Or at least a perpetually relaxed state.

So now, Sleepy Rubber Cement Girl is off to bed.

Signing off (or TTFN in KateSpeak)

Well, friends, I must bid you adieu for awhile...not that I haven't done it before (and certainly much less ceremoniously and out of pure posting laziness)...but when challenged by Mars Hill, myself, God, and Diane (most notably Diane) what I would be giving up for Lent, I rolled the question over in my mind. As I asked myself, "What unhealthy thing needs to be less present in your life?" an answer quickly came to mind. (It was, incidentally, the same thing that Diane suggested...Diane, you are a prophet!) Could I do it? Could I give it up entirely? Do I ultimately want to change this part of my life? The answers were yes, no, and yes.

I am giving up the Information Superhighway for Lent.

(You know you love it, Anne. I love it too!)

Not entirely, though. I do need to use it for work, and there is critical information I get via e-mail (regarding bills, important social events, etc). I should mention here that a big reason that I want to do this is that I need to better develop my social life here in GR and I spend way too much time on cyber-socialization. And it's not good for me at. all. So if this is my goal, why would I want to risk missing out on movie nights, k-nitting parties, Law School Oscars Night Parties, and the like? Right. E-mail's not my problem.

MySpace is. Blogger is (even though I rarely post, I spend way too much time reading others' posts and checking back to see if there are any new posts). Facebook is. IKEA.com is. Random surfing for the purpose of random surfing is. Instant Messenger is. So these are the things I will be giving up. (Realize here that I am going out on a limb to admit my obscene nerdiness...)

I can do e-mail, I can do work for my job, I can read some news as long as I don't spend too much time on it. I can shop if there is something that I need to buy and I know I can buy it at a particular website.

But that's it. No more.

I am praying that my Lenten journey brings me better time management, more time actually interacting with people in person, and more time for spiritual matters. Oh, and maybe I'll actually get off my duff and go work out.

AND, in a funny (and Diane-esque) turn of events, my computer decided to crash on Saturday. I mean crashed. Windows has gone belly-up. Gotta call the IT guy to come nurse it back to health and *hopefully* I won't lose all my music, photos, and all the papers I've written since my freshman year of college. Seriously, if that wasn't a sign, what is?

So I won't be leaving you all witty comments for awhile. (For that I am truly sorry, for I am a funny funny woman.) You can leave me comments if you like, as I will be able to moderate them from my e-mail, but I won't be responding. If you want to communicado con yo, e-mail me. (laura[dot]mikrut[at]gmail[dot]com)...or you can call me and say, "Hey Laura, in honor of your boycott of the internet, let's go to the arcade and play some Pong." (Seriously...I would do it. I'm not above Pong.) You all know my number.

So I will be seeing you on Easter Sunday...or mabye after that. I might be perfectly happy to stay off the grid by that point.

PS - I'm also giving up pop. It's not good for ya, yo. But I'm not giving up WHAM! (That one's just for you, Kate.)

Hearts and flowers rings and vows (rings and vows!)

You'd better have been singing that to the tune of "Heads and Shoulders Knees and Toes." Don't make me get all corporal on you.

Today is V-day, of course. I never put THAT much stake in it, but I am a girl and thus always thought it would be nice to have a lovely person to share the Hallmark holiday with.

That didn't usually happen for me, which was just as well. My friends and I celebrated in a number of ways over the years. In college Kym and I started the AVD parties (Anti-Valentine's Day for those of you not possessing the gift of acronymical intuition)...these celebrations took a number of forms. I don't recall which came first, but it always involved a large gathering of some high school friends and some wholesome activity. There was the time we piled into cars with the mission of doing laser tag. I don't remember why that didn't work out, but I do remember that we wound up at a coffee shop over on the West side of Lansing. The best part about that one was making Matt and Emily break up for the evening...they were long-standing high school sweeties, and our rule was that only single people could participate...thus, we told them they had to break up. No touching, no kissing, no riding in the same car. They hated it but wanted too much to be part of the fun to really object. Then there was the time we had the AVD bake-off at Kym's parents' house...we made sugar cookies and decorated them with black frosting in a tube with Xs through hearts and that sort of thing. It was great fun. I have pictures somewhere. There was another year when Kym, Anne, and I shared an elegant dinner. It was like our own little romantic date. I think we even lit candles.

Then there was grad school. Most of the AVD people were long gone - moved away to faraway states, gotten married, fallen out of touch, etc. About four years ago Melissa (middle school friend), her roommate Suzanne (our favorite tree-hugging vegetarian) and I had a fun-filled rendezvous that gave a whole new meaning to V-Day. We made tacos with vegetarian taco "meat" (V #1 is for vegetarian). Then we went up to campus for a special V-day performance of the Vagina Monologues. (I don't think I need to tell you that there's a second V there!) Then, on the way home, Melissa and I were riding in her old beloved Ford Probe (otherwise known as the Anal Probe) when "All That She Wants" by WHAM! came on the radio, and of course we had to car dance. We laughed until we cried and it henceforth became known as the Vagina Dance (its moniker deriving ENTIRELY from the show we'd just been to, don't get any funny ideas, people). Not too long thereafter I found the album at CD Warehouse and it's been one of my favorite songs ever since. I love you, Closeted George Michael.



Fast forward to two years ago. I had met Josh. I had a bona fide boy in my life who I had, by that point, had decided was a keeper (THE keeper, in fact). He stretched V-Day into a week, leaving me little clues and notes around my apartment (one being in my dictionary because we're both nerdy like that). He snuck into my office when I didn't even know he was in town and left these on my desk:









Sweet boy.











Here's us a few days thereafter - look how happy we were, flush with all the joys of new love (including Josh's lopsided smile, compliments of Bell's Palsy):
















Last year? We were going insane putting together the final details for our wedding...only four days to go. We decided that Valentine's Day didn't really need to involve a big fuss, so we decided to go low-key and have a Big Fat Mars Hill Wedding.



This year? Several ideas got thrown around, including having two holidays in one, having a romantic Valentine's-like holiday in the summer instead...at one point this involved tears on my end (because despite all my practicality, I am a GIRL)...we came to a decision, and then things morphed in their own way despite our plans...last night Josh came home with a dozen roses, a bag of Valentine's peanut M&Ms, and V-Day socks. I gave him a Reese's Peanut Butter Heart (a big one, mind you) and a Tamale Pie dinner kit he'd had his eye on. Then I caved and gave him his anniversary gifts too - an iPod armband for the gym (he learned his lesson after dropping his on the treadmill) and a new gym bag. (Maybe I was sending him mixed messages with the fattening candy and the gym paraphenalia?) Valentine's Day is February 14th. Our first anniversary is the 18th. We did much of our celebrating last night...although we're going to fancy dinner and symphony on Friday and at some point this weekend we'll eat our (most likely freezerburned) anniversary cake, bust out our gorgeous crystal toasting flutes, and drink the duty-free Korbel champagne we bought on our cruise. I just love that we bought champagne in St. Thomas that we could've gotten at Meijer. So exotic. Oh well. Here's a final parting picture for you all:













Thus Endeth The History Of Valentine's Day by Laura Russell Mikrut. (This is where you sarcastically say, "Good story, Grandpa! Tell it again!")

Happy V-Day to you, however you choose to celebrate.

Mi esposo es MUY divertido

Picture it: Gaines Township, 2007. Josh is engrossed in Back to the Future 3 on AMC (which, may I add, he JUST WATCHED LAST WEEK). Laura wanders into the room.

Laura: I want to learn to knit. (k-nit for those of you whose gates swing that way)
Josh (distractedly): Well, um...you have the genetic disposition...and the right source material...

Source material??? Does he speak of ore and wood? Are we playing Settlers of Catan today?

She got me!

Diane, that is. Thanks, for tagging me, friend!

Five random, little-known facts about me:

1. I can't whistle. (No elaboration needed on that one.)

2. Since I graduated from high school nine years ago, I haven't lived in any one place longer than 13 consecutive months. I have been living here for 12 months. I'm getting crazy antsy and have been looking for houses on grar.com and even for other apartments, despite the fact that we just renewed our lease. (Two years in one place? What will I DO?) Somebody smack me upside the head and tell me that I already have a perfectly good place to live. Sheesh.

3. Seeing an inappropriately placed apostrophe makes my skin crawl. I'm a spelling and grammar nazi too, but I've made the apostrophes my own special cause.

4. Last night, I won my first game of Scrabble. Ever. (For the record, I also won Boggle - I was a word maniac!)

5. When I was in elementary school, I read the Little House books obsessively. Of course, it helped that my name was already Laura...all I needed was a long skirt with a petticoat. The closest I could get was a knee-length magenta skirt that was quite full. One summer I wore it every. single. day. (Whether or not it matched anything else I was wearing!)

Okay, your turn...Anne, Rudi, Marie, Chris, Tracy...go! (But seriously, Tracy...only if you have time!)

La la la...

...I'm back. Sorta. Anne reminded me that I haven't posted in awhile, and I must admit she's right. But I have been thinking about it. I'm just lazy. So here's the thing...I'm going to blog about yesterday.

My first day at my new job.

My very exciting first day.

At my lovely, wonderful new job.

But not now.

Why?

I have to figure out how to get my Bluetooth to work so that I can send some pictures from my phone to my computer.

Because they're worth seeing, and fully explain the excitement of the day.

My new office is on Lake Drive, and that's all I'm gonna say.

Busy as bees are we!

Flurry of activity over here lately...

Laura:
1. Going to seminars, conferences, and other professional development-type events.
2. Madly finishing internship hours (5 weeks left!)
3. Have taken on a contract job with the Kent ISD to recruit students at my secondary school placement for an afterschool tutoring/credit recovery program. Fortunately, some of these hours overlap with internship hours (but with money!)
4. Applying for jobs (two in last two days, perhaps another tomorrow)
5. Trying to remember to do laundry (failing miserably, aside from non-essential laundry: case in point - washing and ironing of duvet cover as opposed to crucial underwear washing)
6. Ruminating about progress on wedding thank yous - it's not that we're not grateful, we REALLY are! It's just so hard when EVERYTHING is a priority...but we will send them, and they will be overflowing with love and gratitude for the ways everyone gave of themselves for us.
7. Operation TightBudget - need I say more?
8. Trying to fit social things into the calendar, such as Beneath The Wreath with Anne and Marnee last month
9. We traveled most weekends in October and it was exhausting.

Josh:

1. Applying for law school with plans to start in January
2. Prepping for second taking of LSAT on December 2nd - his first score wasn't bad, but we're shooting for more scholarship money.
3. Finishing three incompletes from master's degree - two in the form of retaking the classes, one in the form of finishing that last paper...
4. Working at Carrabba's 3-4 nights per week (although he is taking a 3-week hiatus for LSAT prep)
5. Operation TightBudget - hey, let's not pretend it's only affecting one of us!
6. Organizing a cover band and having fairly regular reunions with former band MilitantPoet.
7. Also lots of traveling weekends in October
8. Mars Hill worship team commitments

We're running a race here, people, and in many ways we're near the end...and yet also near the beginning of another! We would love some extra love and prayers! That I can manage to wear clean clothes to work...that Josh have focused time for LSAT prep...that he scores better on this test...that I figure out all the irritating and confusing details surrounding the licensures I'm seeking...that I find a JOB...that we both get good sleep and nutrition...and maybe even some time for exercise. Also, if you could throw in an extra bonus prayer, we are really hoping to not have to deal with any car troubles until I am working again!

So if you wondered where I have been, or have been wondering how we're doing...there you go! Love and miss you all - we promise to emerge into the world again sometime soon!

...

I know that I haven't posted in awhile. I know that I probably have all sorts of interesting things to share with you...like spending a day snuggling into a featherbed in a room at the Grand Traverse Resort (with a killer view of the bay, mind you) while enjoying a room-service quesadilla with J-Dogg. Like getting tipsy on cosmos with Mrs. Falicki this weekend and having a good ol' time in D-town. Like going to the Michigan School Counselors Association annual conference Sunday and Monday. Like going to the dentist today for the fourth time since getting my fillings in May because it hurts to bite down on crunchy things (and subsequently finding out that there was an air pocket in one of my fillings - got that taken care of).

Instead, however, I would like to make one solitary statement:

John Kerry, your statements today have done nothing but remind me once again why I did NOT vote for you. Apologize to the troops, for they are the people you insulted. (Let it be known that I would love to throw around some choice words here, but we're running a family-friendly show.)

The End. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

At Diane's request...

Thank you, my friend, for reminding me that it has now been officially over a month since I posted!

Yesterday was my birthday. Yes, indeed, I am 27...officially in my Upper Twenties. (Or, as Sera Kitty would say, Halfway To Fifty Four.) Lovely gifts, lovely cake, lovely burritos, lovely in-laws to celebrate with. I got two (2) pairs of Halloween socks. Josh and I are going to Traverse City this weekend to a) celebrate birthday; and b) commemorate engagement which happened this time last year. We'll go to my old church on Sunday and hopefully I can introduce him to my kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Good will just love him, I am sure!

Today I taught. Yes, that's right, got up in front of kids and fed their minds. Who'da thunk? I actually enjoyed it! (And so did they!) The teachers were very complimentary and said I did a great job - a much-needed professional ego boost. We made collages about ourselves and shared them with the class in the hopes that these kids will learn to appreciate each other's differences and quit throwing racial slurs at each other. This poor school needs so much love and understanding. It's amazing how nasty trailer park culture can be and how it affects these poor kids. There's one girl I see who has turbulent friendships with several of the other kids. Why? Because her mother gets in fights with THEIR parents, they all call the cops on each other, etc. Poor things. I wish they could understand how much better it could be.

I've decided that I need to lay off the news for awhile. The world is so unbelievably depressing to me right now. Madonna infuriates me with her adoption. (Why couldn't she financially sponsor the family so this boy could return to his father? Why leave him alone with her staff his FIRST NIGHT at her home?) I am still grieving the recent school shootings (especially the Amish one). I am utterly and thoroughly convinced that video games are one of the main causes of the recent surge of violence in adolescents (don't ever buy them for your kids). Josh suggested we join the Amish. I pointed out that neither of us would adjust well, what with our overeducated worldviews and propensity to drop four-letter words. He agreed. But it WOULD be nice. These people know what they're doing. They get it. There's something to be said for a simpler way of life. A communal way of life. A life of quiet joys. A life of utter dependence on God and your community. A life free of garbage, clutter, and overstimulation.

In short - no news. No Madonna. No staying up too late playing with my gadgets. More time sharing time with others. For awhile.

In other, unrelated news, I got two new pairs of jeans tonight. They fit me. They were only $30 apiece. (I wish I were in Britain so that I could say they cost me 30 quid.) I bought them with a gift card I got for my birthday. My jeans situation was, until today, quite hopeless...the one pair I had that fit JUST TODAY got a hole in a very unflattering region. So for all my talk of living a simpler, less commercialized life, thank you, God, for your divine hand of good fit and price during my JC Penney experience this evening.

I have a final request...Josh should be getting his LSAT score sometime in the next four days. We are not worried about him getting into law school...what hangs in the balance is how much scholarship money he'll get. His practice test scores very consistently put him in the range for a 75% scholarship, and one score was very close to what he would need for a 100% scholarship. I'm asking you all to pray for blessings on this score...that it will serve Josh well and help meet our financial needs. That would be fantastic, friends. Thank you.

Tomorrow...college trip to Ferris with the high schoolers! YESSSSSS! Free lunch! School bus ride! Maybe I can get them all to sing 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' with me...

This post may well cost me a job someday...oh well.

Okay, so I really wanted to post the entirety of this conversation here, as it is most hysterical...but given that it was full of expletives and we're running a family-friendly show here, I shall provide only the final, culminating remarks, which caused big fat laughter tears on my end. Just know that it involved my rationale for wanting to send our kids to private school and the mention of pizza with dessert square.

Melissaloon (9:34:09 PM): The meap test is making our children fat
Melissaloon (9:34:23 PM): someone should tell dateline

I hope you think it's funny. It is. Melissa, you are my Soul Mate of Funny. PiPi loves her Sugar.

A mixed bag

Up and down this evening. I left school this afternoon with the intention of going home, as my less-than-five-hours-of-sleep last night had left me dragging all day and totally unmotivated to go to the Y (as previously planned). I am happy to report that somewhere on Burton between Clyde Park and the 131 South ramp, I decided I was going. And go I did. I lifted and worked my abs. I showed the elliptical trainer who was boss. I watched "What Not to Wear." All those endorphins must've brought on some euphoria, because I belted out some Mars Hill tunes from the new CD whilst in the car (not that that is so unusual, really) and went to Meijer. Now, here I am, all exercised and healthful, and I go to town on the produce section. I immediately noticed that the strawberries were on sale and was, literally, OVERJOYED to buy them. I bought cucumbers. Acorn squash. Spaghetti squash. Whole grain english muffins. An inordinate supply of little boxes of raisins. Then I left (after being very genuinely friendly and cheery with the U-Scan attendant - when have I ever done that?), daydreaming about the dinner of tilapia, squash, and spring mix I was going to make myself. Saying to myself, "Ugh, why would I want something rich and sweet and chocolatey?"

If you don't exercise, think about it. It's amazing how it really makes you crave what it is that your body ACTUALLY wants and needs.

Now, though...maybe it's the 4.75 hours of sleep. Probably. But right now I'm just feeling, well, a bit hostile and bitter. Not for any good reason, either. I won't even go into the ridiculous thoughts that have been swirling through my head, because they deserve no credence. They're lies.

Sorry. Hope that was somewhat lucid and not too cryptic. I've concluded that it's bedtime, and some NyQuil just might be in order :)