Great News!!

Why is Zoe giving Amber a "high 5"? Could it be because Amber just got a new job?? Yes, that's it!! Amber just received an offer from AOL in Dulles, Virginia and has accepted. She was waiting for the "official" offer which they were overnighting her. She is going to be a very busy girl the next 3 weeks as she starts her new job on January 22. That's just three short weeks to find a car, find an apartment and get moved!!! She's really looking forward to a new job, a new town and a new exciting chapter in her life! Great job Amber! We are proud of you!! XOXOXO

Well, Christmas is over!! I'm exhausted and you probably are too! All that shopping, wrapping, decorating and then the cooking!! Then today Amber and I were back at the stores making a few returns. Surprisingly the stores we went to weren't crowded at all! Amber had several things to exchange and no problem doing it! Now she's trying to figure out how to get her backmassager into her suitcase!! I cooked 2 turkey breasts for dinner, one to eat for dinner and one for sandwiches later. My Mom came over for present opening and dinner later in the day. Amber leaves for New York in about an hour so she can get back to work tomorrow. Howard and I have the week off and the boys have to work a couple days, but no school. Still no real sign of winter. Today was overcast and a bit drizzly but no snow and none in the forecast. Please don't worry though, winter will arrive eventually and we will have to shovel at some point!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

Amber arrived home early Thursday morning . It's always nice when she comes home for a visit! Thursday night the cookie baking started. Friday morning I went back to the Dr. for a re-check and apparently I wasn't as well as I thought I was. After a shot, breathing treatment and inhaler, I'm feeling even better. Apparently I now have asthmatic bronchitis. But like I said, I'm feeling much better! The rest of the day was spent baking dozens and dozens of cookies to give to our friends. Amber's boyfriend, Andrew, arrived around 9:30 this morning just in time for breakfast. Shortly after breakfast the cookie icing started and continued for several hours. Later in the day we were all involved in a rousing game of Scrabble, which Amber won, as usual. Dinner was a yummy white chicken chili and rosemary foccacia bread. A nice day spent at home with the family. I have a feeling tomorrow will be spent mostly wrapping presents as unfortunately not much of that has been accomplished this past week. We have a couple invitations for Christmas Eve but we aren't sure what we are doing yet. We usually attend a Christmas Eve candlelight service at 11:00 p.m. Before we know it Christmas will be over ! Watch for more pictures ! Merry Christmas to all!!

Under the Weather

I am really feeling the Christmas pressure now! I have been sick since Thursday morning when I woke up and could hardly talk or swallow. I didn't have time to be sick!! I was hosting 10 girlfriends for Bunco that night! Thankfully I had already shopped for food and the decorating was done. After taking myself to the Dr. and a 2 hour wait, I was home with medicine by 10:00 a.m. Diagnosis - Acute Bronchitis, possible Pneumonia. Geez, I didn't feel that sick! I managed to get through the day and had a successful Bunco party but have paid for it since then. Friday I layed around all day, Saturday managed to get dressed and then lay around and today got dressed and managed to do a few "must do" tasks. Bronchitis always takes it out of me. No energy, lots of bone-wracking coughing, yuk!! I just want to feel well enough for work tomorrow. We only have until Thursday but it will be a crazy week with both classes having parties and the All School Sing-A-Long on Thursday. Amber will also be home Thursday morning. Both boys are finished with school for the semester so one of them will be elected to pick Amber up in Detroit. Hard to believe by this time next week it will all almost be over!! Take care of yourselves and stay well. I will be busy wrapping and doing that last minute shopping this week. Thank goodness for the Internet as I was able to do alot of it that way and am just waiting for the deliveries!!

Busy Weekend!!

We had a very busy weekend but did manage to accomplish a few things. The outside of the house is decorated thanks to Howard and the boys. It looks so pretty at night. The tree had been up for a week but I finally got the decorations on with help from Howard. I also managed to get the cards mailed and a few Christmas cookies started. We still had a little snow left on Saturday but by Sunday it was pretty much gone, at least at our house since it was in the 50's. That's so unusual for us at this time of year. Guess we can chalk that up to global warming. Sunday Howard and I took Zoe to a local park for a walk and game of frisbee. In some places there was snow and in other places just mud! Yuck!! The House Porch

Backyard

The Tree
At the Park

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BRRRRRRRRRRRR

Well, so much for Indian Summer!! This past weekend it was really cold and now today it is snowing. I don't think it will be enough to shovel but it's very slippery. Last weekend was spent finishing up the Christmas letter until I ran out of ink. We have the tree up but no lights yet. I have been doing a little shopping, mostly on the internet. It's so much easier shopping in the comfort of the living room rather than running from the car to a store when it's below 30 out there. I wanted to take some pictures of the snow but it was just too cold to stand out there and take a picture. This weekend I did take a couple of Zoe though. In the picture on the right she's wearing an apparatus that Howard bought her! Can you tell she doesn't like it much? It really looks cute though, Zoe Reindeer. I already had this "embellishment" (on the left) purchased and she seemed to like it a little better. I'd say she's all set for Christmas now. I don't really like to dress her in clothes but I do enjoy an accessory now and then.

Beautiful Day!!

Yesterday I made this Christmasy arrangement in my summer urn. I got the idea from the local garden center which had the same thing for $79.95 if you can believe it. The urn was probably 2/3rds of that cost but luckily I already had that!! So for not too many dollars I added the purchased greens and when I didn't have quite enough I cut a few boughs from our fir tree in the front yard! They look pretty on the front porch.

It was a gorgeous day here in Southeast Lower Michigan. The thermometer said 65 but it felt warmer with the nice sunshine out. Many of you take the sunshine for granted but living here in Michigan in November and having a sunny day and warm to boot is a gift! After work Zoe and I headed for the Bark Park as we often do on Mondays. Lots of owners and dogs had the same idea. We spent about an hour just enjoying a walk in the woods and a few games of catch.

Thanksgiving and beyond

Thanksgiving has come and gone! Scott was resting pre-Turkey as he worked late the night before. Apparently the night before Thanksgiving is a big bar night as all the kids come home from college and meet their friends at the bar. My Mom came over and we made quick work of the turkey and all the fixings. Since the weather was so mild the boys decided the day after Thanksgiving would be a good time to get a jump on the Christmas decorations. We had an amazingly mild weekend for the end of November. Howard had to make a quick shopping trip as most of the lights from last year weren't working. The house looks great now and we are ready, on the outside at least. I put up a few decorations inside yesterday but will wait until next weekend to put up the tree. I even started buying a few gifts before the holiday weekend but stayed home on "Black Friday". Amber spent her weekend on the other side of the state, visiting Drew's family.

Lunch at Mr. B's

Jill, Laura Lee, Tyler, Joanna
Patrick and Scott

Today we met Cindy Henderson, her boyfriend Randy, Laura Lee and Joanna at Mr. B's for lunch. They are visiting from Florida. Also present were Bill, Judy and Jill Hoekstra and Mark, Cheryl and Patrick McGinnis. Scott came with us and Tyler was already there working today. It was really nice seeing them again, meeting Randy and catching up and talking about old times in the old neighborhood when all the kids were little. We stayed at Mr. B's for several hours and then it was time to say good-bye. Come back soon Cindy or maybe we'll see you again in Florida in the near future!!

Here you go, Connie! Usually I'm the one taking the pictures. I believe I took this one of Howard and me from arm's length.

Congratulations Drew!! Amber says Drew has passed the Bar Exam and it's official, "he's a lawyer"! Good thing since he's already working at a law firm in Washington, D.C. I thought this picture looked very lawyerly. We never doubted you would pass!

Instead of raisin oatmeal cookies, I say "let them eat cake!!!"

Today after work Zoe and I spent our afternoon at the Bark Park. It was a chilly and overcast day and not too many doggies were hanging out but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot Zoe started her "screaming". She gets so excited when she realizes where we are. We wandered the fields and trails, played ball, visited with a few dogs and then headed home.

This is Zoe. She's 2 now and in this picture she was enjoying a beautiful summer day in the back yard, complete with swimming pool. She's not really a swimmer, more a wader but loves the water when it's hot out!

October Happenings

In October, my Mother celebrated her 72nd Birthday! Aunt Elaine and Uncle LeeRoy came up from Tennessee to help us celebrate. We took them all to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's, one of my Mother's favorite restaurants. It was an enjoyable weekend and it's always nice to see Aunt Elaine & Uncle LeeRoy.

We celebrated Scott's 18th Birthday in September. Amber was home and Grandma came over too for cake and presents. All my babies are growing up!!!

Greetings from The Mitchells in Michigan. This is my first blog and I'm giving it a try.

Here is Amber with her boyfriend, Drew Porter. They (and we) were attending a wedding of Amber's friends from high school, Sara and Chris. Amber was one of the Bridesmaids. Drew and Amber have been dating since January.

Tyler has applied and been accepted at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii. He's hoping to start there in January and pursue Marine Biology.

Scott is attending Oakland University and says "it's better than high school." He's also working 2 nights a week at a local restaurant, Mr. B's, bussing tables.

Amber changed jobs in September and now works for Juvenille Diabetes Research Foundation as a Producer of Public Service Announcements.