Parental Guidance Suggested

...because I said "dead" once and "meth" twice.

Deadly Sin #6, courtesy of the United States Postal Service

Shame on Melissa for sending me this...but I have to say, it made me laugh hard in memory of our recent conversations, which would be some variation of the following:

Me: Pooky, it snowed thirty-six inches today and the wind chill is a thousand below zero.
Mel: MOVE TO CALIFORNIA!

Productivity

One thing I absolutely hate is lounging around, unshowered and in my pajamas until 4:00 pm on a Saturday (which, I'm embarrassed to admit, is more the norm than the exception). Yesterday was refreshingly different - I went to the new house and painted the first coat on the master bedroom and the bathroom, with the help of Ebeth, Sarah, and Kimmy. Looks good, no? The bathroom color is Dutch Boy's Biloxi Blues and the bedroom is called Bamboo, which is totally suitable given our longstanding Asian decor theme in there :) Kimmy and I are going back today to do the second coat, but I'm worried about how it's going to go, as neither she nor I are gifted with Sarah's exceptional cutting-in skills. Pray for us, por favor.

August 2008

Grand Rapids. London. Bath. London. Paris. Frankfurt. Munich. Salzburg. Rome. Munich. Grand Rapids.

The Von Trapp tour will be commencing shortly, as will the Jane Austen walking tour.

Happy New Year...?

Guess who this stinker is? My dad's so creative. (Didja notice the cloth diaper, huh, Kate?)

I meant to write this 29 days ago, I swear.

I've thought a lot about it, and in recent years I've decided that I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. I mean, it's kind of unrealistic that beginning on Day One you're going to do a total 180 when it comes to your body, your finances, your spiritual life, whatever. (Thank you, Bridget Jones, for so amusingly showing me this in your stream-of-consciousness prose. I love you, even though you're not real.)

I am, however, in support of the symbolism of a new year, of turning over a new leaf, much in the same way that Easter is reminiscent of eggs and rabbits. Okay, maybe not the best metaphor, but bear with me. I'm not a believer in saying, "Starting January 1st I'm going to be 100% better at this, this, and this." I do think, though, that it's a good time to set goals for oneself in the coming year. Do you think, maybe, that goals might keep us going to the gym past mid-February? Maybe...if you haven't set impossible standards for yourself, you're less likely to feel like an utter failure and throw in the towel for the rest of the year, yes?

Our goals for this year include...living in a way that honors our bodies (portion control = good, Krispy Kremes = less so), interacting with our finances on more of a daily basis (including actually sticking to the budget we spend so much time creating), traveling more, and chipping away at some lingering debt.

Now, we're doing fairly well with the first two. Not perfect, no earth-shattering changes, but guess what? I guarantee we'll still be working on them come May. We're making more concrete plans for a Florida trip in May and a Europe trip in August, including money and logistics. (Remind me to apply for my passport!) The debt one, though, is the one I'm going to talk most about today, because I'm really proud of us.

We talked one day last weekend and decided that we need to make some sacrifices toward this one. Not that we have much leeway in our budget, honestly...but we both, uniformly decided to get rid of cable. For our own good. Unilaterally. Oh, how good it felt. We also decided not to join the Y as we'd previously planned...part of the reason being that the "scholarship" they offered us was $74 a month, more than twice what it was this summer. Not affordable right now. But little did we know there was more to the story...that night, a friend of a friend called Josh and basically said, "Hey, my roommate's moving out, I heard you might be looking for a place to live, come live at my house for $200 a month cheaper than what you're paying." Initially, we weren't really about it...we don't know this guy. We don't want to share living space with someone else. No. We're selfish creatures of comfort. The next morning, we both woke up thinking, "Ohhhh, but we could pay off our debt FASTER. We can DEFINITELY go to Europe before we have kids. Hmmm." Josh called the guy, who was on his way home from work. We went over, looked at the place, and talked to him for awhile. Not a red flag to be seen. We felt very comfortable with everything, and after a few days of thinking about it, we decided that we're doing it. It's open-ended - we can decide to move out whenever we want. We'll have the whole 2nd floor (2 bedrooms and a bath) to ourselves...he sleeps in the basement and we'd share the main floor (kitchen, living, dining room) with him. It's a nice, well-cared for house. He said we could paint our rooms if we want. I'm two miles from my office instead of 15 (which I figure will save me alone at least $60 a month in gas). We'll be giving up some things for awhile, yes - the use of all our stuff (some of it will go into storage), total control over our domain, cable (yes, we're sticking to that one!), some privacy, maybe...but it's good. Making steps to improve your life is HARD. You gotta give a little. You've got to be creative and unorthodox sometimes. We're not thrilled about moving in the winter, we're not totally comfortable with everything we'll be giving up. But guess what I tell my clients? The definition of insanity is doing what you've always done and expecting a different result. Change is uncomfortable, but being comfortable isn't really getting us anywhere in this department...so change it is. (Yeah, that's right, I got all therapy on you - THAT JUST HAPPENED!)

We're moving on Feb. 23rd. Wish us luck...and if anyone wants to help paint or help us lug some stuff in or out of a U-Haul, please let me know :) We can't offer you much beyond pizza and love, except we'll get whatever kind of pizza you want and even get you a soda :) Oh, and moving things to and fro burns calories, DID YOU EVEN KNOW THAT? Wow.

Oh, and the newest "Lainey's The Cutest Thing Ever" photo (I made her necklace):

Because everyone's birthday should be a week long...

The photo is grainy and I am regrettably more prominent than The Birthday Girl, but it just captures her essence so well. On Sunday my dear old friend Melissa turned 28...

10. About 5 years ago we realized that we were coming up on our 10-year anniversary of friendship. We talked exhaustively about our big plans for an anniversary date, and (shockingly), that never actually happened. Nor did, for that matter, our 15th Anniversary date.

9. Mel and I have a special relationship...if you see or hear us throwing vicious threats (i.e. "You haven't rented 30 Rock yet? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!") or, alternately, being a little pseudo-sexual and disturbingly affectionate, don't worry. We both like our boys plenty well. We just have an interesting dynamic that includes a little dirty talk every now and then. Just love us anyway, okay?

8. Speaking of which...Mel has a little habit of talking in her sleep. A few years ago in a hotel room in Anaheim, I was awakened by her mumbling. I said, "What?" She said, "I want to put your butt in my mouth." I said, "WHAT?" (laughing very hard, mind you), and she said, "It's a San Diego thing." Laura: "A SAN DIEGO THING?" Melissa: "Actually, it's a WORLD thing." Best conversation I've ever had with her. The other day I sent her a text message that said, "Happy birthday, Buttmouther."

7. I've called Melissa many nicknames over the years, including Pooky, Sugar, Smelly Melly, Kymmel (which is actually used when referring jointly to her and Kym), and the aforementioned Buttmouther. I think it's a keeper, don't you?

6. In 7th grade we walked home from school together all the time even though she lived just far enough away to ride the bus. Usually our travels took us to DeRosa's Party Store for a Little Debbie and Crystal Pepsi. One day we had gotten only so far as the Crystal Bar when I suddenly turned around and slapped her across the face For No Apparent Reason. She said, "Ow! Why did you do that?" I said, "I don't know, I just felt like it." We both found it incredibly funny at the time...and still do. (I'm so glad that I've learned some basic social norms since.)

5. Melissa has given me some nicknames, too, which include PiPi, Pooky, and Chia Pet. (Ask me about that last one some other time...not for the squeamish.)

4. Melissa and I met in 7th grade...hard to say whether or not it was in band class or in swim club. We competed against each other for first chair clarinet, played Celebration by Kool and the Gang, went to countless swim meets together, spent our summers going for bike rides and runs, got our moms to drive us to the mall for Champion shirts and Bass shoes, went sledding at Dead Man's Hill with trays stolen from Wendy's, watched The Cutting Edge in her basement, ended up college roommates (best time of my life), and I drove with her across the country when she moved to LA 3 1/2 years ago. I never knew that you could have so much fun squished in an overpacked Chevy Cavalier for four days straight. Better vacation than even my honeymoon, I tell you.

3. Back in the day we had another friend named Lisa, who once said that Melissa's sister was actually her mom, her mother was actually her Aunt Frank, and her father was named Larry Bon-Bon. I've been calling Larry that ever since, much to Melissa's chagrin.

2. Have I mentioned that we were WEIRD ADOLESCENTS who ended up surprisingly well-adjusted?

1. Melly now lives in West Hollywood with her boyfriend Ray (who is perfect for her) and her cat Napoleon...she's armed with a fresh Masters in Film and is working on breaking into the film editing industry. I made her promise to take me to the Oscars someday.

I Googled myself...

...would you believe there's several more of me out there? I couldn't believe it.

Well, kids, I've decided to follow Anne's lead and remove all occurrences of my last name from the ol' blog...consequently, this has changed my URL, so I'm sure none of you are even reading this. I'll e-mail ya. Anyway, I'm doing this because it came to my attention that if I were to apply for a new job (IF...not that I would ever do such a thing), someone out there might think to google me, and quite frankly I probably don't censor myself enough on the ol' interweb. Thus, I must go into hiding. I know our last name is our trademark, and it's fun to say and type, but for the sake of being a responsible grown up (blech), I'm going to have to ask you to not use it on this blog. Or, if you must, replace the i with an asterisk or something, as if it were a dirty word (which it sometimes is...let's use it as a verb, no? WITH ASTERISK!)

Sorry, all...

Don't worry...it wasn't us.

I returned home tonight around 8:30, and as I wove my way through the complex, I saw increasingly odd sights. The clubhouse was alit and filled with people ("Okay, not so unusual for someone to rent it out for a party on a weeknight"), then I passed a big ol' Consumers Energy truck sitting alongside the road, doing absolutely nothing ("That's weird, everyone seems to have electricity..."), then I came around the bend...all manner of emergency vehicles in full glory. The building just beyond ours was illuminated with red and white strobes, and a fire truck crane was hovering over the building. A Fox 17 mobile broadcast truck was there, too, satellite dish engaged. I couldn't quite see what was going on (fire? C02 leak? Meth lab?). I went inside, could find nothing on the news, so came back outside with my mom on the phone...still can't tell and don't want to get so close as to be barked at by police officer or similar. Went back inside because it was too cold for other gawkers, who would've been my only source of good information. Finally got the story on the 10:00 news (because at 11, it's history!) Courtesy of WXMI Fox 17 (the only news outlet who cared enough to come all da way out here):

Fire At Gaines Township Apartment Building

January 24, 2008

GAINES TOWNSHIP — About two dozen tentants evacuated a Gaines Township apartment complex Thursday night after a fire broke out in one of the apartments.

The fire started around 7 p.m. at The Crossings apartment complex near the South Beltline and Eastern Avenue.

Firefighters saw flames shooting from the roof when they arrived on scene. They dispatched an aerial truck and knocked down the fire before it could spread.

The fire damaged two apartments, one with smoke and the other from fire damage.

No one was injured, but some residents disregarded the fire alarms that rang through the complex.

"Fire alarms outside activated, some people failed to realize those alarms mean time to get out," said Dutton Fire Chief Russ Jansen.

Fire investigators think the fire may have started on a second floor balcony. It remains under investigation.

Copyright © 2008, WXMI

Thank you, Lord, for yet more affirmation that it is indeed good to be overinsured. Amen.

Happy Birthday, Kym!

Today is my BFF Kym's 28th birthday. Anne beat me to the birthday list, but you can never have too many fun facts about my one-time twin. However, in lieu of the usual facts, I'm going to indulge in some memories:

10. In 9th grade history class, Kym and I convinced Anne that Kym had a cool older sister named Hunter. We kept up this charade for weeks.

9. Kym and I (and our dads) went to tour GVSU's campus together in 12th grade. She'd had some sort of foot issue, and my knee was acting up, so we were both on crutches...we decided to make the most of it by wearing matching outfits. We got a lot of attention from everyone else in the tour group.

8. It has only been in the past two years or so that people have run into me and not said, "So where's Kym?"

7. Kym changes teeth like some people change cell phones. (But that's a sensitive issue, so let's not discuss it any further.)

6. Kym and I encountered each other often in middle school (7th grade Stage Band, 8th grade Honors Algebra) before we finally got acquainted in the aforementioned history class. Thank you, Mr. Spencer, for your marvelous livelong friendship fostering skills. And for teaching us how to make birchbark canoes and rifles.

5. Kym and I decided to be roommates in college despite everyone's warnings that you should NOT! room with your best friend from high school. Boy, did we prove them wrong. We lived together all four years...though our senior year, we decided to "branch out" and not live in the same bedroom...though who were we kidding, our two-bedroom apartment was only so big!

4. Kym and I share a larger than life affinity for Sweetwater's Donuts (one of Kym's favorites is the Sugar Raised), Hunan Gardens Chinese Restaurant, Taco Bell, Target, and the films Evita and Anastasia.

3. Kym eventually plans to have her first name legally changed from Kimberly to Kymberli.

2. I have a notebook FILLED with "notes" from the religion class we took together junior year of college - she and I sat in the back row and played hangman for two hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Many of our hangman messages were related to donuts (i.e. "DONUT FEVER!"), as we always stopped at Sweetwater's on our way home from class.

1. We've both grown and changed over the years, and we now live far apart, but nothing can replace all those years of fantastic memories :) HELLO KITTY! I honestly don't have anywhere near as many inside jokes with anyone as I do with this fine chica. I love you, girl...Happy 28th!

This is my official Debbie Downer post

Picture me as Rachel Dratch. Not really. Overall it's been a pretty good week, but I had to share the two icky things that bookended my week:

Monday: I drove to Muskegon and met my parents and my Uncle Brian (otherwise known as Uncle Daddy...and no, we're not Appalachian) in Muskegon for...yup...a funeral. We'd gotten a call on Thanksgiving that Aunt Bonnie died that day of pneumonia. Now, Aunt Bonnie is my dad's aunt, grandma's sister, my great aunt. I've always thought she was just a great lady. We spent a good amount of time with her over the years and I can't tell you how good she's been to my family. I had no idea how amazing she really was. She had one of those Life Story funerals, so I learned a lot of things...she had tuberculosis as a child and spent a year in a sanitarium. She lost her firstborn child at 5 months to a crib accident. She worked full-time as a teacher while raising four kids. She was two classes short of her doctorate when she retired. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and had one of her lungs removed in 1983. The doctors said she would only live five more years, and she lived 24. She died at age 85. Unbelievable. It was nice to see my dad's cousins, not to mention their kids, whom I haven't seen since we were all little (and they don't remember me because they're so much younger than I).

Aunt Bonnie's church was someplace I had been twice before in my life, and when I arrived I remembered that when I was younger I used to have a recurring dream that took place in that church. I was being stalked by a man I never actually saw. I ran up some back stairs in an attempt to reach safety (I could hear women in the kitchen talking), and just as I'd reach the top step, he'd grab my ankle and I'd wake up. I probably had this dream four or so times since I'd last been there, so it was definitely a strange feeling to actually revisit the place. I'm weird, I know.

Friday: I was on my way to Kent City to see one of my kids for counseling. I KNEW the roads were bad up that way. I KNEW I shouldn't have been in the left lane when there was slush in it. Nonetheless, right at the exit for 14 Mile I hit a patch of slush and started skidding/fishtailing this way and that. My ONLY concern was the huge oil tanker that was not too far behind me...more specifically, I wanted in no uncertain terms to avoid any contact with it. As my car flailed around across the two lanes, I spoke aloud exactly these words: "Sh*t-sh*t-sh*t-sh*t-ditch-ditch-ditch-ditch!" I wanted that ditch. I wanted to be cradled in its loving arms so very badly. Then I saw the other car in the ditch, and I hoped I could avoid hitting that as well. Finally, FINALLY, my tail end spun to the left and placed itself (thank you) in the ditch with my front tires resting on the rumble strip, my car at a perfectly square 90 degrees of oncoming traffic. Once I ensured I wasn't going to have a heart attack, I looked left and saw yet another car about 20 feet away...must have followed me into the ditch. (Have I mentioned that I love the ditch?) The guy in the silver Grand Am came over, asked if I was okay, and said, "I was watching you, that was really scary!" I said, "You're telling ME!" The driver of the Jeep Liberty managed to get hisself out of the ditch with his 4-Wheel drive and came over to help. I immediately got on the horn and called Progressive to send a tow truck. Mr. Grand Am said he'd called Progressive over two hours ago for his tow. We all decided that I could probably get myself out once there was a break in traffic...with a little push from my new friends, I did. I thanked them. I called Progressive and canceled my tow. I proceeded on to Kent City. While driving, I started thinking about what could have happened (oh my GOSH what could've happened), pulled over in a party store parking lot, and started bawling. I decided that I wouldn't do much good helping people heal emotionally in that kind of state, so I canceled my appointments and headed over to Josh's parents' house.

Aside from typing all that out, I'm trying really hard not to think about it.

Anyway, today's a new day, I'm excited about it, and it's well past time I went to bed. Thanks for reading all my adjectives, friends :)

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Today is Grandma Chipman's 91st birthday. Here are ten things you may not know about her:

10. When she was a little girl, she saw her first airplane fly by and she was so excited that she wet her long bloomers.

9. She had a nice wedding planned but it was changed quite a bit when my grandpa's deployment was moved up during World War II.

8. Grandma's favorite TV show is All Creatures Great and Small; this has been her favorite show for at least 25 years.

7. Unlike many people her age, she is a die-hard Democrat and likes to tell me why Debbie Stabenow is the best choice.

6. As you may have previously heard via my blog, every article of clothing Grandma C wears is made by Alfred Dunner.

5. Grandma didn't learn how to pump her own gas until about eight years ago.

4. Grandma had her hands full with my mom and my Aunt Candy, who did not get along at. all.

3. She has always had a great distaste for cats. In fact, when I was about six years old I brought my stuffed Garfield over to her house and she took one look at it and said, "Cats are evil." (Sorry, Anne.)

2. She makes the best icebox cookies in the world.

1. She has a very dry, sarcastic sense of humor that I've really begun to appreciate a lot these past few years.

Tagge'd

So Diane got me. (Mainly because I whined.)

Here's how you play....once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with ten random facts, habits, or goals about yourself. At the end, choose ten people to tag, listing their names and why you chose them; don't forget to leave a comment on their page letting them know "tag you're it". You cannot tag the original people/person back that tagged you first, but let them know when you have posted so they can read your blog.

10. I love dogs. I want a dog very badly...but unfortunately we live in an apartment complex that is [apparently] a police state and does not allow anything furry and comforting (other than Josh, that is). A smallish dog like a pomeranian or cocker spaniel would be perfect. For the record, I'm not such a big fan of cats, but I do have an affinity for cats who are really dogs at heart, like my brother-in-law's cat Ned.

9. I had ancestors on the Mayflower. One of these Thanksgivings I'm going to make everyone dress up as Pilgrims, as we are usually with our Pilgrim side of the family for turkey day.

8. I love love love Saturday Night Live. I have a very irreverent sense of humor. I could spend hours on their website watching the video clips. Click the link for something hilarious...Andy Punches

7. I have recently re-resigned from my self-appointed role as Cruise Director of my life. I like using the Cruise Director analogy to indicate someone who is in charge of a given situation. I'm going back to my cabin and awaiting the next port of call. (This is the point at which the metaphor gets incredibly cheesy.)

6. I have a band of very longtime friends who I am incredibly loyal to. Lately I've really been enjoying and treasuring the way our connections to one another have morphed and changed over time...sniff.

5. I intend to be employed as a Zamboni driver before I die.

4. I have a girl crush on one Tina Fey. She's so great. Josh bought me Season 1 of 30 Rock for my birthday and it was the best thing I didn't know I needed to own. I keep offering to loan it to people, so they too can know the joy, but I can't actually bring myself to part with it.

3. I've been having a series of epiphanies lately (related to #7). Ask me about them sometime, and please bear with me as I work on figuring it all out.

2. During my freshman year of college I became known as my floor's resident computer techie-slash-Master Paper Proofreader. I coulda made money hand over fist if I'd had any assertiveness skills back then.

1. I love me some lime pepper Talapia.

I tag Anne because she's put up with so much over the years and loves me anyway... Melissa because we never got to go on our 10th (or 15th) anniversary date...I tag Rudi because he married my friend Errin and has made her a very happy woman...I tag Sarah despite the fact that she only writes in her blog once a year, because she keeps me sane at many a family gathering...and Jon because, well, he's an absolute riot, and even though I haven't spent any time with him in a few years, he's the best SaHD I know. Further, I tag Eliina because she and I started a gang in high school called Los Chulos Cubanos (The Cuban Pimps)...or maybe her gang name was Chulo Cubano. I can't remember. And that's all I've got.

Houseguest

We have a visitor for a few days...say hi to our dog nephew, Noah. His mama went to Mackinac Island for a few days. Here's the hitch - we live in a pet-free community, and after two years of living here, I've come to believe that they really are nazis about this. I have never seen a snuck-in dog or cat. We're being risky here, people, but it's all worth it, no?


Noah was pretty skittish at first, as we were hearing noises from the neighbor's apartments, but Josh's mom tipped me off that a heating pad will calm him right down. I pulled mine out from the nightstand, and man oh man did he get excited. She was right, he chilled right out! What a funny little guy.

As is appropriate (given his heritage), we'll be taking him to TexasNorth tomorrow...for a hayride...and if you're lucky, I'll get a picture of him playing inside the dishwasher.

On disappointment...

I recently told you about a potential living situation that, at the time, seemed unbelievably God-driven. A friend of mine, her husband, and their four children were very, very likely going to be moving to China for a two-year-long job assignment. They asked if we'd consider living in their house while they're gone. Rent-free.

Yeah, you heard me.

In a surprising turn of events, what was once a 95% certainty became 0%. They've been told that, as a family of six, they're too expensive to send there. I got the e-mail yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday was a rough day, to be sure. I had to drive Josh back to church for his guitar-playing artistry. I had been planning to attend that service, but I was a crying, sorrowful mess...and to be perfectly honest, I was not feeling at all worshipful and was pretty angry. Fortunately that's abated now, but in the meantime I was determined that retail therapy was my cure. I left the mall empty-handed, as the pants I wanted did not want to fit me yesterday. Insult to injury! (Though it was a bit comical.) Thanks to those of you who sensed something was a bit off with me and offered me e-mails and/or MySpace comments of encouragement. Your words were incredibly helpful, even if you didn't quite know what you were comforting me about.

I did have a much better day today, though. I forced myself to think about the positive outcomes of this - we can still move come January if we want to. We could lease month-to-month and move at some point after that. There's some freedom involved, even if it isn't the financial freedom we were so looking forward to. We're not sure what we'll do, but it's good to have choices. It also helped that yesterday morning (prior to getting this news), I cleaned the bejeezus out of our apartment and thought to myself, "I love my home." There's something to be said for all this.

But it's still a bummer.

On a totally unrelated note, I'd like to recommend a fine drink called Chaider. Now, if you're totally culinarily-challenged, you can go pick one up at Kava House...hot or iced. (I love me some Kava.) OR OR OR if you'd like to save money and feel like a domestic god-dess (yes, say it that way), go buy yourself some Tazo Chai concentrate (they have it at Target and other fine establishments) and some cider. Pour 4 oz Chai into a mug, then fill it up the rest of the way with cider. Work that microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, stir well, and collapse on the floor in ecstasy...fer real. It's way up there with Kate's mac and cheese.

You can thank me later...with lavish gifts, if so inclined.

Little wonders...

Ok, so I'm going to hijack Chris' subject matter tonight...our dear Shauna Niequist has published a gorgeous book about the joys of the minutiae of life. Albeit, I have yet to read the whole thing (aside from the sample chapters on her website), but I am confident I can assign the word gorgeous to it, because nothing she produces could possibly be otherwise.

Today was another one of those great days in which I got to hang out with Adam and Sarah's kids. There's four of them. They're very busy. They're usually clambering all over each other. But gosh, they're fabulous little people. I spent the evening lamenting the fact that I'd forgotten my camera (my apologies for the pictureless post)...but let me tell you the highlights of my day with each of them.

Lainey...at 14 months, she has just mastered the art of standing up on her own and will walk if you hold her hands. She loves to hold entire conversations with you...you may not understand all the dialogue, but no worries - she does. Everything she sees, she points at, looks at you, and says, "wassat?" Tonight I gave her and Preston a joint bath, and let me tell you - the girl loves her some splashing. As I got concerned about how wet I was getting, I had to keep reminding myself of the pure joy she was in the midst of, and to just savor it.

Preston...what a little man he is. It's so hard to believe that he was only five months old when I first met him. He's surely bound for MENSA membership one of these days, and the expressions he makes with his chocolate brown eyes (set against his white-blond hair) are just priceless. The last time I watched him, he announced that he wanted "cornedbeefhashandeggs" for lunch. Tonight for dinner, he requested salami and cheese. Gosh, it's SO hard to believe that he and Josh were born on the same day. (Ha!) I also had to put him in time out twice today. He gets so so upset when he's put in time out, but he totally forgives me. Immediately.

Evan...well, lately we've been a bit concerned about Evan because he's a bit of a drama queen. Something tiny doesn't go his way? Total meltdown. Today, though, he had the most fabulous day. I've never had such an easy time with him. He showed me how to use the ridiculously complicated TV/DVD/cable hookup in the living room. He told me that Lainey takes soymilk in her bottle. He dressed as Darth Vader for our walk around the neighborhood. He told me that yes, in fact, he would like broccoli with his dinner. Sarah and I later concluded that it was because Spencer wasn't home and thus Evan got to be my helper and was therefore involved. Poor kid. Classic middle child...so often, I think he's just trying to make sure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I just love Evan.

Spencer...well, admittedly, he was at a friend's house all day and I saw him for exactly 2.5 seconds when he got home. However, he called TWICE prior to coming home to let me know where he was at, and could I please tell Evan that he could sleep downstairs with Spencer in his room tonight? This was very important. What nearly-12-year-old boy makes such a point of having his six-year-old brother down to his room for a slumber party? I can't speak highly enough about Spencer. He's such a phenomenal kid.

Here's to all of us taking note of the glorious little moments of our day...

Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges...

Hello, friends. I'm feeling listy today.

1. My office moved. Just about everybody moved somewhere. My new office isn't really any further away and I now share with only one person instead of two. Tyler and I will get on well, I think. We've already made a joint dorm fridge purchase on Craigslist to store Diet Coke, and...well, that's probably about it. I will miss the Eastown bus stop out my window, however...some days more than others. Let's just say that.

2. We've had some financial fallout from the whole condo thing...on top of losing a $500 deposit (which we were fine with), we've learned that when you apply for a mortgage, lots of people come out of the woodwork. Two in particular who say that somebody owes them some money for certain utilities they utilized while living in Allendale, MI at some point in their young adulthood.*

3. I just got a paper cut opening an envelope from one of these woodwork-type people. And it bled.

4. We're meeting on Thursday with some people about an intriguing possibility that is increasingly looking likely come January. I won't go into details just now - mainly because we don't know too many, and also because we haven't had enough of the important conversations yet. Let's just put it this way - this possibility involves shelter for the Mikrut Party of Two, and it does not include purchase OR rental. Nor does it involve a cardboard box (as I know this is your next question). If you've read Diane's blog recently, we are indeed some of the people she was referring to when she said, "Over the last few weeks I've heard many crazy stories from my friends on how Tiger is meeting their needs in such crazy and nonsensical ways and we wonder, in the end, why it's always a surprise." Yup. You'll know more when we feel we have enough info and certainty to share it.

5. For the next week and a half, we are On A Mission. We're going to create the most bizarre meals, as we are going to use only What We Already Have. I'm having a vision...I'm thinking oatmeal with a side of beets. For Lunch. Maybe.

6. Oh, and also, we're both determined to get healthier, so we're making changes simultaneously to help motivate each other. It's pretty great. Today I ate FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables. Ooops, that reminds me - I forgot to take me vitamin.

Right. Bedtime.

*Laura has NEVER been a resident of Allendale, MI.

Tell Josh congrats...

...and say hi to Lainey while you're at it.


This may look like a random assortment of Roman numerals, but I assure you, friends...it is not.

It's report card season again, wOOt wOOt!

The new chalkboard announcement tells us that Josh got the certificate of merit for his Civil Procedures class. For those of you who are not Eliina, this means he got the highest grade in the class, beating out 39 other people. This is a bigger deal than it might seem...he gets an actual certificate and gets to make a note of it on his resume. The boy's in shock, he's really not sure how this happened but golly is he joyful.

Now, if I could only remember where I put the "Josh" confetti...

Happy Birthday, Nate!

Josh's little brother Nate turns 17 today. Here's a few interesting things about him:

5. Nate is child #5 out of six. Nate is also fortunate enough to be one of the only Mikruts with his Very Own Birthday (see earlier posts).

4. When Nate was confirmed, he had to choose a confirmation name. He chose Paul. This makes his full name Nathan Paul Paul Mikrut. He's hilarious.

3. We haven't seen Nate's eyes in several years due to his flowing tresses.

2. Josh and I frequently comment that Nate is a very good kid.

1. Nate borrowed my car for his drivers license test a few months ago. The check engine light has been on ever since...but at least he passed.

EEEEEK! I forgot!

I fell off my birthday list wagon! How could I forget? Certainly, I didn't forget the birthdays themselves, but in the wild joys of the early days of my vacation, I totally forgot to post. My apologies to the boys who helped me prepare for the trials of living with THE boy.

First, on the 25th, we have my illustrious brother Steve, who turned 26:



10. People often ask where Steve gets his red hair, as my parents and I all have dark brown hair. In reality, both sides of the family are blessed with that recessive gene - mom's mom has red hair, as do three of my dad's four siblings. In fact, Russell is a Scottish (and French) nickname for redhead.

9. When we were little, I had a friend over, and she and I made up a song to tease Steve that went, "Stevie Wonder's gonna get hit by thunder." I remembered the lyrics but forgot which friend it was. I was later reunited with Kim in college when I befriended her best friend Tanya - she remembered it too. Mystery solved.

8. When we moved to Lansing, six-year-old Steve got his hands on one of those Graphic Street Guide books (i.e. "For Walnut St, see page 37, coordinates A-9") and the kid memorized it. He also told my parents how to get around town.

7. Steve remembers the birthday of everyone he's ever met. He's going to be a big hit at his high school reunion.

6. As a preschooler, Steve's most treasured companion was an old, tattered Sears Christmas catalog.

5. Steve was once an ardent admirer of Cookie Monster and owned several related items, including this one.

4. Give Steve any date in history, and he will tell you what day of the week it fell on.

3. Steve is an accomplished public speaker; he once performed a solo act on one of our high school mission trips that had an incredibly funny punchline about a blue-light special.

2. Steve works in the library of the Lansing branch of Josh's law school.

1. Steve just moved out into his first apartment and we're all very happy for him!

Daddy-o then turned 66 on the 27th (because the Mikruts aren't the only ones who can pile up birthdays on top of each other) -


10. Dad was a honeymoon baby. I figured this out when I was about 11, and as his 50th birthday was approaching, I realized, "Hey, wait a minute...we just had Grandma and Grandpa's 50th anniversary party...nine months ago?"

9. His middle name is Sean, although my Grandma has always insisted that it is pronounced "Seen," which she claims is the Scottish pronunciation.

8. When I was a kid, Daddy and I always got up early together on Saturdays to watch The Muppet Show and the cartoons that followed. One of his favorite ways to get my goat was to insist that he and Gargamel were the best of friends.

7. Being the jokester that he is, Dad once painstakingly crafted gag Christmas gifts for some of his co-workers. I remember him retrofitting a string of Christmas lights, four lights in length, to plug into a co-worker's outlet. The lucky recipient was apparently very vocal about how much he hated Christmas lights.

6. I remember Dad working hard on preparations for one of my birthday parties; he got a book of kids' games from the library and my favorite of these was a shuttle relay in which we had to carry a golf ball on a spoon and hand it off to the next person without dropping it.

5. When my mom was nearing the end of her pregnancy with Steve, Dad was very insistent that 40 was too old to be welcoming a new child into the fold. Steve was born two days before Dad's 40th birthday, and Dad has been most appreciative ever since.

4. Dad has always been handy and creative in the area of woodworking. He has spent many Saturday afternoons in front of the TV watching Bob Vila on PBS, though now his interest has shifted to gardening.

3. Only my father would purchase one of those faces that you put on a big ol' tree.

2. Papa was a sailor in the Navy. He loves boats, books about boats, books about wars between boats, and all things Tom Clancy. He and Josh get along so, so well.

1. My father is one of the only people I know who does not like Mexican food. Poor guy - doesn't know what he's missing, I say.

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.