expressive faces

like my look?

i love the way the girls in this family embrace unique and interesting fashion looks

fun together

bonding time with grandpa during disney channel time

finally

a couple of minutes free - can actually post again for a change - and on top of that the weather got nice again - hooray. tonight was one of the most perfect evenings (weatherwise) we have had so far this summer. i got home around nine'ish and it still wasn't dark. the sky had that pinkish glow as the sun was going down - a very slight breeze - mild temps and i went outside to sit on the swing and just soak up the fresh air. i loved it - peaceful, quiet, a few moments to think - or in my case tonight - not think. it was great. i highly recommend it to everyone - and this weekend is supposed to have the same weather for the most part.

whew

First of all - I think I am making up for such a long interruption in my blogging - so this is lengthy - sorry about that - and I also posted tons of posts FOLLOWING this one - with more pics.

Here goes:

Tonight was interesting – and good. Even learned a lot – which is always a plus. So first - news to all family – I NOW know why all my grilling so far has produced dry meat – and I think I can actually apply my new knowledge! - so I should improve! Wouldn’t that be great? I got some new recipes – gotta try some if anyone is brave enough to eat them. Even learned the RIGHT way to grill fish – can’t wait to try.

I was told tonight there are 115 lighthouses in Michigan – and I think I would like to make it a goal to see all of them. Anyone want to come along? This could be a number of road trips.

Also had an interesting lesson on how to tell your story. Wonder what that means? I thought at first it would be a scrapbooking instruction because of the display - but it really wasn’t. Instead, the storytelling angle took a different turn - it was pointed out to all of us that we all probably wish we knew more about our ancestors – more than just who was related to whom, when were they born, when married, grew up where, etc.

Wouldn’t it be fun to know more about their personalities, goals, passions, day to day life? Sure. And there is even a chance our future generations may want to know about old Aunt Molly or Great Grandma Barb – and wonder what our lives were like.

That was what this lesson was about. It was about taking pictures, writing stories, keeping a journal. But as it was pointed out that often our lives have a sameness and routine about them, sometimes writing in a journal might be boring – I got up, went to work, got groceries, cleaned the kitchen, went to bed. Okay. Does that tell who I am? Not at all. Jill told us to write down thoughts – keep our doodles – draw a picture of an emotion. She also gave us TOPICS – I will share them all later with you – but some were just plain fun. Make lists of things that you may want to remember later – or compare. How about making a list of your contacts in your phone? Then compare it in 5 years to your list of that time. Have you lost touch with someone? Did you stop talking to someone? Why?

Some interesting lists to make:

Things that inspired you growing up

Who I love or who loves me

Words that describe you

Things you’ll never understand…and so on

Here are two lists I would like to see from everyone:

If money was no object what would you do?

My first thought was very practical – if money was no object I would pay off all the debts of my children, set up college funds for THEIR children and help them get their first homes. My second thought was – oh wait – that is selfish – I should think of others – so I would want to check out charities that really make a difference and share there. THEN I thought, wait a minute, if money were no object we could be good AND selfish – so what would I do for me? I would take a month and travel – and I would take my WHOLE family along!!! After all, money is no object, so I could make sure their paychecks were covered – and as long as we are dreaming – I would bring along others to help with childcare. Might as well have it all!

So how would you answer that? But seriously - think about it.

And then...

What are the 7 wonders of YOUR world.

At first I was going to answer the 7 wonders with the names of my family – and that would, of course, be true – but also cliché. So here is a different direction for my response – and reasons

MY SEVEN WONDERS OF MY WORLD:

1. Heart surgery – I will always be amazed that the techniques were developed that enabled Molly to grow up healthy.
2. Love – sounds so corny – but it is a wonder to me because the emotion is so unexplainable and yet so simple
3. Genetics – How in the world did my children get all MY good genes (hee hee) and all the bad ones from their father. But seriously, genetics has more meaning to me since Reagan was born. It was unbelievable that gene markers that are totally random can impact a life so much.
4. Lake Michigan – okay – so there are many Great Lakes – so why is that one so special? Lake Superior is arguably the most intriguing because of the history and mystery around it, but Lake Michigan always makes me feel good. Memories of camping trips with family, playing in COLD water, and just the sense of peace you can feel sitting by the lake as twilight approaches. Nothing like it.
5. Stories/books – I love them. They entertain, they inspire, they intrigue and confuse, they stimulate my mind and senses. They go along with Lake Michigan – combine the two and it is a perfect day.
6. Creativity and imagination. HOW does the mind work? Inventions and progress come from those two characteristics – but more importantly to me, our imagination knows no boundaries and we really CAN reach the sky. I was continually amazed at the thought processes of my own kids – Nick’s writings, Molly’s playtime games and forts, Katie’s imaginary friend and then characters for dress up – their plays. Now I get to experience all that again with Austin, Nayeli and soon Karyna and Reagan.
7. Nature – mother earth – whatever you want to call it. So glad I don’t live in a concrete world – so glad that the whole life circle process gives us something so beautiful.

Yeah – I know there are a ton more items to make this list – but someone somewhere decided there were 7 wonders – so that is our number. Did you know that there are MULTIPLE lists of 7 wonders though? Google it sometime.

And finally fears – write down what you are afraid of? Spiders? Snakes? The dark? Getting bad grades? Fire?

Jill made us all pause – she said that this week her fear was of Target stores and the fact that a place we all go, a place we all think of as safe, is just like anyplace else – and her fear for her daughters in this world, or anyone’s daughters or sons – is that this happens.

sleepover

Which fairytale is correct? Sleeping beauty or Cinderella with the slippers?

kudos to katie c

Kudos to Katie C - i just felt like it was time to post something about this person. She is a friend - a colleague - a character - and gone.

Why kudos? I guess I would say maybe because she successfully made it through the MSU EJ program- and to do so she had to really persevere as it was not all she hoped it would be ... and she still accomplished good things while there. She would deny it - actually probably would argue it too - she IS fairly adept at arguments - I think she enjoys a good one - but anyway, she did good work - she was independent and efficient and responsible - and improved so many aspects of the magazine, web and even our PR.

Katie is done - she graduated - no picture of cap and gown yet - but i know she finished. She also received the best graduate student award for the whole J-school this year. She didn't know if she even wanted it - glad she took it though - best speech in many a year. But still she is gone - and some of us are wondering if we will ever have another student like her. So kudos to Katie - and good luck and best wishes.

walking in no time

just a few more

Please note that the sign says nothing at all about strollers ... so no rules broken.

pix of the day

Three beautiful ladies spending a day at the tennis courts

exercise and sweat

On a very hot day, Katie called me and said that Nick and Rick would play tennis, but she needed someone to elp watch the girls (Allison had a commitment). I went - we walked around MSU - you can't get anywhere there in a straight line. Yucky construction zones.
I stopped by to get Nick and the girls - we got to the courts first, but if you look closely at Karyna you can tell why - yeah, there is food stuck to her poor face everywhere. Our rush kept us from a thorough cleaning job. that was fine though - as later on Nayeli got ice cream in her hair and everywhere - necessitating a bath as soon as home. We got our exercise though - as when we tried to go one direction, invariably we hit a roadblock - no sidewalk - turn around and retrace steps and try again.

no time at all

I haven't posted anything to this blog for quite a while ...and feel guilty even throwing up a comment now. How can time pass so quickly? There just is NEVER enough time to do all the things we want or need to do. Does anyone have any great ideas on how to manage time better? I could really use some good suggestions.

I really enjoyed taking time off when Mom was here - and would have liked to take even more - but the downside is that there is no one at work to pick up the slack when I am off - a real quandry when there are no other employees and not even the possibility of student help. Therefore, the daily work just accumulates and I end up working EXTRA to make up for being off. Kind of defeats the purpose of days off in my mind.

Big sigh!