MYIP: Week Thirty

Tuesday, July 24: Pasta dinner and good conversation with my friend Sarah.  We forgot to take a picture of the meal itself, so here's a shot of the dessert!  Talking to a school friend helped me start to feel back in the "school spirit" . . .

Wednesday, July 25: Blueberry picking again, this time with my parents.  Of course, both of them picked as children and are really good and much faster than I am.  The berries were still plentiful, though, and with some donations from Mom and Dad's buckets, I went home with over six pounds!

Thursday, July 26: Choir practice tonight!  Here's my favorite song that we sang: "Into the Night."

Friday, July 27: This salmon and vegetable salad by Jaclyn was super-delicious!  (I contributed a minorly notable blueberry pie.  It'll be better next time . . .)  It was great to catch up with her again after her trip to Israel and decision to go to Calvin in the Fall.  We finished the night of good times with Bride and Prejudice.  "Show me the way, take me to love!"

Saturday, July 28: Our second wedding of the summer was the celebration of Jana and Aaron.  Here the bride and groom eagerly run into the reception area.  The smiles are genuine, and the afternoon and evening were entirely enjoyable.  I made lots of notes about ideas for my own wedding!

 

Sunday, July 29: A day out at one of Michigan's many inland lakes with a friend of Eric's (Mike) and his family.  Here, Eric swims the "water boggan" back into shore after it snapped while he was riding.  Then, Mike's parents patiently tried MANY times to help me get up on water skis, but to no avail.  I sure plowed through a lot of water, though . . .

 

Monday, July 30: A shot of some of the books I tagged today at the library.  One of my favorite things to do during the summer is to volunteer at my city library, where I have helped out for almost 15 years now!  Whew, am I old or what?!  ;)  Instead of shelving kids' books this summer, I have been assigned to the adult section to help with RFID tagging.

MYIP: Week Twenty-Nine

Tuesday, July 17:  My poor dead grass, from weeks without much rain.  It's been a rough summer!  One bonus though: no need to mow it!  :)

Wednesday, July 18:  Blueberry picking with my lovely friend Kristi was a treat, even if it was a bit hot.  It even rained a little in the morning!  It was great to chat and catch up.

Thursday, July 19:  My man, in his foulies (foul weather gear) and life jacket, tethered to the boat for safety.  We delivered the boat again with Eric D (in the yellow) this year to Chicago, and had quite the doozy of a storm with lightning, strong gusts of wind, and hours of rain (most of which sadly never reached land, though . . .)


Friday, July 20:  With Yeni, visiting her and Colin's sweet apartment for the evening.  It was so great to see so many friends this week!  We were very thankful to Jen and Colin for letting us spend the night, too -- such good company, good food, and a good night's sleep before Eric left on the race.


Saturday, July 21:  Here's a shot at the bus stop, while we waited for our transportation to the Red Line to Belmont Station.  The Craigs' apartment building is adorable inside *and* outside!  (Luckily, no problems at all on our solo trip to the harbor, either.  We were actually early and had time to sit and eat at Dunkin' Donuts.)


Sunday, July 22:  Spent a few moments throughout the weekend, checking on Eric's boat's progress.  They seemed to be moving pretty quickly, even though they had forecasted light winds.  In fact, he arrived on Monday -- hour before they usually finish the trip!  Way to go, Que Loco !!


Monday, July 23:  Here is a portion of the berries I picked with Kristi, fresh out of the freezer and ready to be bagged and returned to the freezer again.  When you freeze them this way, they don't freeze in clumps and are very easy to use later!  However, my fresh blueberry container is already diminishing.  I think I can see another trip to the u-pick farm in my future!  Yum!

MYIP: Week Twenty-Eight

Tuesday, June 10: The heat keeps coming!  On the record, hottest year since 1895!  And this even made the front of the BBC News page.  I told you that it's been hot . . .  Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise made it in, too, for the biggest split of the year (so far at least . . .)

Wednesday, June 11: Somehow I felt like I was doing a lot of driving around this past week, so I took a shot in my car.  This little Pukka has been traveling along with me for years -- her drums are even fading a bit, but I love having her along for the ride.  She was originally a gift from my dear friend Brianna.

Thursday, June 12: A beautiful sunset as we cruised in a friend's sailboat in the evening on Wednesday.  Not much breeze for sailing, but otherwise it was a perfect night to be out on the water!

Friday, June 13: I didn't actually catch what the name of this is, but apparently it's a recipe from Eric's mom for a Dutch dessert.  I think.  We melted brown sugar and butter on the top of this Dutch cookie/bread, then put lots of strawberries on it.  Delicious!

Saturday, June 14: Sticking with the fruity theme of the week, I brought this English trifle to Denise and Laura's for our English evening, complete with Iron Lady and King's Speech movies, cherry and pumpkin scones, bread pudding, fish and chips, and my trifle.  Yum, yum, YUM!

Sunday, June 15: I'm having problems with my camera, so the next two shots aren't quite up to my normal quality.  Here are my three violet plants, which I water faithfully and which sit happily next to my kitchen sink.  I am really really really hoping for a flower this year!

Monday, June 16: Many stops today for wedding-related questions, from catering to bridal gown to folding chairs.  I liked how this shot of coffee carafes turned out, despite using a camera with no zoom or focus functions.

MYIP: Week Twenty-Seven

THANKS for detouring this week to a new site!  I'm hoping we'll be back to xanga like normal next week.

Tuesday, July 3: Debbie and I spent some of our afternoon playing mini golf.  It turns out we're both pretty bad, so we were good partners.  Also good that no one else was behind us to get annoyed by our frequent mulligans . . .  :)  (Notice Debbie's high swing here.  Maybe this is why she shot her ball off the green so many times?)

Wednesday, July 4:  Happy Independence Day, America!  Holiday celebrations at the beach are a family tradition, and donuts, waffles, and potato bake made this one wonderful.

Thursday, July 5: Saying goodbye to Debbie at the Ford International Airport.  What a hot day, though!  Temperatures hit 107 degrees in Grand Rapids and made history -- highest temperatures since 1936!

Friday, July 6: A calm day on the water meant a perfect day for a kayaking adventure with my fiancé!

Saturday, July 7: Yes, folks, this is Lake Michigan.  Unseasonably hot hot hot weather was followed by big waves and intense under-toe.  I had to head in from being so tired, but here's Josh and Eric, riding the waves.

Sunday, July 8:  Thanks, Eric, for a nice shot of me making guacamole: a little taste of Honduras.

Monday, July 9: In my eagerness to get as many details nailed down before I go back to full-time teaching, I have been a little wedding-focused.  Hopefully it's not obsessively focused, just the super-excitedly focused . . .  It's been fun to plan everything, though, and we officially have a location and date for our wedding next year!