Michigan Winter...

...it can be brutal but also quite picturesque. More snow is on the way tonight so I figured this was a good time to post my photos from my last snow shoot, taken on January 2:



This barn was one of the last images I took and I almost didn't get it. I actually drove past it and then on second thought reversed so I could get out and shoot this. As is often the case when I'm out shooting the last photo is among my favorites, weird that.



I like how these images both look lonely. That's one thing about a fresh blanket of snow, it brings a silence or serenity like no other.



I'm not in love with the fence in the background here but everything I did in photoshop to try to remove it just looked contrived so...

Odds

I'm thinking about odds today. We're all up against a countless amount of odds every time we leave the house. The odds that traffic will be bad or that you'll have car trouble, or worse yet be in an accident. The odds of catching the cold your neighbor has or running into your boss at Meijer when you're wearing your grungy sweat pants and you've got no make up on, the list could go on and on. Odds are a strange thing....I find it stranger still that we have language that revolves around the odds:

• "he's beating the odds"
• "against all odds"
• "the odds are in your favor"
• "odds are..."
  

what about the evens, what ever happened to those? Isn't it weird that we chose odds to carry so much meaning in our lives...I wonder where that comes from?

I'm thinking about odds for a couple of reasons:

1. My mom had a minor outpatient procedure biopsy today on a small area in her breast. She was told that it's unlikely that this type of deposit will be malignant. "the odds of these deposits being cancerous are about 1 in 5." So that's roughly 20% and needless to say we are hoping for the odds to be in her favor and for her to be part of the 80% majority. It's upsetting but also nothing to be overly distraught about at this point. I am worried but doing my best to think positively and hope/pray for the best.
2. One of my friends just had an interview in CA for a college teaching and research position he would really like to have. He works here in Ann Arbor now at the University but as of June his funding will be up so that means he needs another job. His interview went well but he is one of five candidates being considered so there it is again...that 20% chance against the odds that he will be the one. Even though I don't want this family to move...and especially not all the way to CA...I do hope for the best for him/them. And in this case I'm hoping for my friend to be the 20% minority.
   

The whole thing is weird...hoping for majority for one set of odds and minority for another. This is what my brain has been pondering all day and I just had to get it out in the open.

Home

Well I'm home at last but unfortunately I've caught what either Nick or Nan had. I'm currently doped up on several kinds of medication and I still have a fever of 100.1. :((

I'm not going to school today which actually really sucks. I don't like missing school at all but there was just no way I could go out there in the frigid cold and snow storm and try to function normally today. My head feels about 500 times its normal size and it's throbbing like nobody's business. I feel like there's a small, horrifying monkey behind my eyeballs jumping up and down and pounding away with his needle-sharp hammer. I have a cough that sounds like a seal and my throat is on fire. I already felt badly for Nan and Nick over the weekend and now I have even more sympathy for how they felt. This sucks.

I was up off and on throughout the night coughing and carrying on but even so I got up this morning with complete intentions of heading out for the day. I've had a shower and I'm dressed in several layers of clothing in order to go brave the cold.

Why is it that when you're not sick you forget how miserable it is to be sick? But then when you are sick you feel like you'll never feel better again? Weird.

Auburn Weekend

Well here we are in the Comfort Inn in Auburn. Ava just woke up and is eating eggs and bannas for breakfast. She's walking around the room saying hi to everyone and then saying yay. She's adorable!

I went out with all the old high school people last night. We had a great time, dinner at Pizza King here in Auburn and then a fun evening at the Mereor, a local kareoke bar. It was good to see everyone, it's been way too long and I hope we make it a higher priority to get together a little more often over the next few years. It's strange to be back in Auburn...the town has changed so much but is still somehow the same. Weird.

Wii Wii Wii All the Way Home

WARNING: This probably shouldn't be seen by kids!

I guess I'm all about EMBARRASSING MYSELF this week! I actually can't even believe I'm posting this on my blog but I guess it is pretty funny. Thanks to my baby sister for exploiting me in such a delightful manner! :)

Just Bread and Lettuce...

...OK so at school yesterday let me just set the scene for you:

I'm in the largest building on campus and it's absolutely packed with fellow students. I'm hungry and class starts in 20 minutes.

I wait patiently in the long line to get my overly priced turkey sandwich but when it's finally my turn she can't find any more turkey sandwiches. "I'll take the chicken salad instead then" I reply. Seven dollars and forty seven cents later I've got my lunch. So over to the bench I go to quickly eat my sandwich before class. I open the container and I am dismayed to find that there is nothing more than bread, wilted lettuce, and a slimy tomato in a bag. Irritated, tired, and hungry at this point I march back up to the counter and (politely) say, "I didn't get any actual chicken salad, there's just bread and lettuce here." The guy looked at me, looked at my sandwich container, looked back at me and then with a huge grin said, "that's the chicken salad right there" as he pointed to the small container I had presumed to be potato salad nestled next to my bread and lettuce lunch.

OK so I haven't felt that stupid in quite a while! I did at least have the good grace to laugh at myself but SERIOUSLY! "There's nothing but bread and lettuce here." WHAT A MORON!

I don't think I'll be frequenting that cafe again for a while...

Drinking the Drip

So I guess all older homes come with their share of issues...maybe homes in general do? Anyway...a new issue for the little house we call home is a steady drip from the kitchen sink. We think all it needs is a new washer (or something) but we still haven't made the time to fix it. In the meantime I've discovered that the drip produces approximately one full glass of water per night.

Perfect!

I always get water first thing in the morning anyway so now I just leave a glass in the sink before bed and then my water is ready and waiting in the morning. Now I don't have to feel guilty about wasted water and I even save myself a little time by having my water ready and waiting when I need it.

And in case you're wondering about the drip from daytime hours...I follow the same principle only I use the collections to water my plants or fill up the dog's bowl. It's quite productive actually. I think everyone should have a dripping faucet.

Cool Quote

"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged . it's how I arrange my mind."

-perspective of an old, blind man as he moves into a retirement home after his wife died. This came from an email a friend sent me about what it really means to have money in the bank.

So much to do...

...and so little time to do it in! So I spend my time blogging about it, now that makes sense! The rest of the Christmas break flew by as I knew it would. I can't honestly believe it's 2008 now. Michael and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on Dec. 29th, I can't believe how quickly that many years have come and gone.

I have some snow pictures from our last big storm but I haven't even gone through them yet. I had a chance to go out by myself for a couple hours and take photos. It was something I haven't made time for in quite a while and I had a good time...more to come when I get the photos ready to share! Now it's in the 50's and raining cats and dogs, very strange weather for January and stranger still how much it's changed in only a few days!

I've had all but one of my new classes so far. Yesterday was a good, though exhausting day. I think there's going to be a lot of work for me to do this semester but still work (and learning) I'll enjoy. A whole different ballgame from last semester!

Time to get the day started, I have online school stuff to do and a sink full of dishes. Then my niece will be here soon and later on Becca will be here too. My sister is coming over to hang out, which I'm really looking forward to. I think we'll go somewhere fun with the kids later.

Christmas Eve Comfort

This is a Christmas Eve that's a little different from my typical. My parents and I drove down to Fort Wayne, IN. today to take my nephew, Nick to his paternal grandparents Christmas celebration. When I heard of their plans I thought it might be fun to come back to the old hometown (I grew up just outside Fort Wayne in a small town called Auburn) so I decided to come along for the ride.

Our original plan was to go to Glenbrook mall for the afternoon and then see a movie this evening while we waited for Nick. One look at the mall and we developed a new plan…it was a procrastinators nightmare! So instead we drove back down the freeway to Auburn and went to Pizza Hut, one of our family’s prior favorite restaurants for lunch. This isn’t an ordinary pizza hut though, for some reason it’s much better than any other one I’ve ever encountered. I had taco pizza and bread sticks for lunch, which were quite yummy! Next we stopped by the movie theater and decided the best idea would be to check into a hotel room where my dad could take a much-needed nap and then head to a movie later. Once in the room we deiced maybe watching a movie in the room would be just as good (not to mention cheaper) than a trip to the theater.

So…here I sit…in my old hometown in a Comfort Suites hotel room on Christmas Eve. In a way it makes a nice change from other years. Normally I spend this day running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting ready for Christmas but this trip meant I had to get things done ahead of time for a change. It’s a little weird to not be spending the day with Michael but he sounds happy and I’m happy so I guess it’s all good.

While my dad took his nap my mom and I ran to the store where we got some snacks and a couple of games, one of which is called “Last Word” and it’s pretty fun but might be better with more players. The other game is called “Big Brain Academy” and it’s…interesting. There are lots of elaborate parts and there’s a “brain scale,” which struck us as terribly funny to the point of hysterical tears. All in all it’s been a good…if different…Christmas Eve and I’ve enjoyed the time with my parents perusing our old stomping ground.