Funny Story

Chase visits Michigan

I'd like to get better at writing here. It's a good outlet for me; something about seeing your words in front of you that makes me think more clearly than otherwise. And facebook and twitter just don't quite fulfill me in that way like blogger does. As much as I enjoy them, I end up feeling like I'm not modern enough for the witty one-liners.

My brother was recently up here for a visit. His children were so excited to play in the snow. When my southern family (georgia and texas) talk about snow in foreign terms I always wonder what it feels like to them. To me it feels like home. And I probably take it for granted. It really is beautiful.

One of the most fun things was sitting around my mom's kitchen table telling stories of when we were all growing up together. And then my brother-in-law Tim started telling stories and that took the cake. He's a great story teller. A quality that I love in people. I haven't laughed as hard as that in a long while.

I'll try to upload a video clip of Tim telling us about how his son's first job was gardening his neighbor's pot plants. Yeah, you read that right. First just a couple other videos.

Kratky Girls Photo Shoot

This was so fun. I really love doing this. Melanie, thanks for asking me to take photos of your sweet girls. And I'm sending a cd to you with many more :)

Back Home

Martin and I went to Texas for Christmas/New Years. It felt really good to get out of Dodge for awhile. It was nice to re-connect with our Texas family too. We took photos on a few occasions and I'm sure I'll be adding some of them here. Martin's sister Melanie asked if I would take photos of her girls, I was so honored! I love taking photos of children, it's probably my favorite thing to do and I need practice still so of course I said absolutely. Her girls are so sweet and fun. Martin and I were talking all the way home about all the cute things they did and said.

Hi mom

I'm in love with this guy! (photo by martin)

Oh and if you want to see a really cool tattoo (with an even cooler meaning), click on my friend Katie's blog titled "The Kolbs"

Friends and their Families

Fall in Northern Michigan is hard to beat. And What I'm loving the most is that states below us are getting snowed on like crazy and all I've seen up here is a couple little sleet-like rain drops that were gone in about 5 min. LOVE THAT. I really love that.

So, with most of our friends having children now, it's been a great time to get outside and enjoy the crisp weather, leaves, sideways sunlight, and take photos. I've got at least two more families to try and squeeze in before the bitter cold arrives...that might not work but I'm hopeful.

I've been cooking so much more now that I'm not working. I didn't plan on it but have remembered that I really enjoy cooking. So far, Martin isn't complaining about the hot meals, apple crisp, and banana bread that have been showing up. It used to be a stressful time of the evening when we both got home from work and were trying to get each other to figure out what we were doing for dinner. I really think that home-cooked meals do something to a house that makes it instantly cozy and comfortable. And what I think I love the most is that when friends drop by (and they do almost nightly, which is another thing I love about living in town), I have some sort of home cooked something to offer them. It instantly puts them in a relaxed, calm mood. There's a lot of stressful things going on in all our lives that it makes me really happy to see people sit, relax, talk, and eat something tasty.

Happy Fall everyone.

Going a different Direction

I'm finally done working at Eye Health of Charlevoix. While, I was very thankful to have a job, especially in Michigan. And especially while we have been trying to aggressively pay student loans off, I'm more thankful that we are at a place where I can move on to things that will give me more freedom and self fulfillment.

I'm currently working on a course to train me in Medical Transcription. This is the freedom part of the previous statement. When I finish the course (hopefully in late January), I'll have a job that will let me work from home. (did you notice the South Africa tab on the site? Yeah, I did too.)

I'm also in Petoskey now which is great. All our friends and dealings are here in town and I hardly know the people here. I could tell you every family in Charlevoix but that's not where my life is. I can go to the functions here that I used to miss because I was out of town. I can now meet friends for lunch, I've been taking photos of our friends and their little children which is nothing but pure fun.

So yeah. I'm perfectly content with not working there anymore. It feels good when you know without a doubt that you made the right decision.

That hardly happens with me.

Took some photos of my sister's family when they came up for a visit. I think they wanted to kill me after making them climb up the sand dune, but they'll get over it. Love those sand dunes at Petoskey State Park.