In The First Place (Sept 29)

• Great competition day yesterday. Started with the amazing hospitality of Karen, letting me spend the night and then making me a very yummy breakfast. And having such a great conversation with me that I was late to rehearsal...oops. I was also late because I NEEDED to stop at Starbucks. No, really, I did. And it was a good thing I did because I got to educate a family about competitive marching band! They were behind me in line and asking about the "Cirque Du Soleil" reference on the back of my t-shirt (my show shirt from this year). I explained to them about the show, and then how competitions work, what I do with the band, and it's relation ti DCI. It was a couple and their teenage daughter and they were really interested in everything I was saying - it was so cool! Once I got to the school, I taught the girls how to do sock buns and re-realized how awesome they (the sock buns, that is) are! They just make the perfect little buns. We refined the make-up look and they looked fierce and ready to go :) Then we had a great practice, in the beautiful sunshine, where we had the field to ourselves. It was a lot of fun and one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday. After that, we finished getting ready and - get this - the guard was ready 10 whole minutes before we were supposed to load the buses. 10 MINUTES! And I didn't even have to do anyone's hair or make-up on the bus! Amazing. I rode in front of the bus with Lauren and Katherine and had lots of fun chatting with them. (At one point, Lauren told me I should teach high schoolers. Melissa told me that last year too...maybe I should think about it?...) Once we were at the competition, I glitter-fied the girls and we headed to warm-up. On the way, I got to see/chat with Chad, Alex and Timon! Yay! It was so fun to see them, I just wish we could have talked for longer - though we did get to chat long enough for Chad to ask about Korea and be impressed that I got an MCBA "Director" badge :) It's so crazy to me that friends from college (who are my age) are in charge of marching bands and music programs. It's so cool! And I love that I get to see them throughout the competition season. After a pretty good warm-up, we headed to the field. We had a good show - not as musically good as last week but still strong, and visually better though we still have a lot to work on. It all balanced out though and we ended up getting "Best General Effect" and 1st place! It's all relative to who we're competing against, of course, but I am still proud of and excited for the kids. Can't wait to finish everything off! Last thing that was memorable was Lauren showing Brad a misspelled text from a friend and Brad saying that maybe the friend typed it with his typewriter...he meant "keyboard" *smh* :)

Corner Of Her Jacket

• My navy blue spring jacket had it's first American adventure today. It received many compliments and enjoyed the breezy but 70-degree weather :)
• The girls really enjoyed the work I wrote for them for 4th number :D I like it too and it's nice when they are excited about it.
• I LOVE NEW GIRL.

End Summary

I know, I know...no posts in a few weeks. Keeping a blog is hard without regular internet access! How rude. Hopefully that problem will get fixed soon. Amongst the new job, Farmington drama and fun of all sorts, getting gas, sewing, figuring out internet, and loving NPR, here are some highlights from September:

• I love Michigan sunsets. I usually end up driving home from Farmington (going west) around sunset time on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and sometimes Saturdays. This means that if it's clear - or even a little cloudy - I get to see fabulous sunsets more than I don't. They are miraculously pink, orange, yellow, purple and blue and they always remind me of my favorite Firebowl song, "Have You Seen?" They are even better when there are "clouds suspended like feathers". Sunsets (and sunrises) in Korea were fabulous too, though I couldn't seem to see them for as long, because of the mountains. Plus they came earlier because I lived on the east side of the country.
• I'm very thankful for my Dad helping me figure out all this grown-up stuff.
• I love the family I have with Krystle and the Eischeids. Jen and Andrew make us food, house us, call the spare bedroom “your bedroom”, send us home with food, trust us with Ella and Katie, and are just always there for us. I love it and am so very grateful that they have become such a big part of my life.
• Anna came to visit last week! The main purpose was to work on the sleeves we are making for guard but the other purpose was to visit. We had Jimmy John's, Dom's donuts, Biggby and Dairy Store ice cream; had visitors in the form of Kim, Kyndra and Halley, who also served the purpose of helping us keep Chloe off of Anna and out of the 35 yards of black China silk; watched Tangled, Princess Diaries and Peter Pan; made considerable progress on the sleeves; stayed up til 1:45 am, which neither of us have done in quite some time (I'm going to pin that on the project deadline, the coffee and the fact that we were just excited to be together); and slept our normal way - sharing a double bed. We talked about lots of things and it was a wonderful night. I miss having people to come home to. And having Anna be one of them. Also, she left me sticky notes all over my apartment. I loved it! And it reminded me of those that PP left before she went to England - some of which I still have in my DVD collection and sewing stuff :)
• I did get to talk to PP a few times last week, which was nice. I definitely miss living with her too, because she has the best reactions to things I need to talk about - we have a very similar thought process. It stinks that we are both living alone in apartments, simply because we are too far away to share. (I feel similarly about Katie, Carrie, Krystle, and Carlee too.)
• It's nice that I get to see Cara all the time (when I go steal her internet and a little food) though. Yay for some people still being close by :)
• I received a compliment from one of the teaching teams I worked with this past week. I was filling in for a teacher who was sick (finally - actually subbing for someone, instead of feeling extra and in the way) and, when I went to ask if there was anything I needed to do during nap, they said no and followed it up with telling me that I was amazing and proactive and they loved having me in their room. Yay! I definitely needed that. The day after that, I went in their room because I was extra. When I was called out to fill in somewhere else, I told them and they said, "We heard! [frown face]" It was cute and I'm glad some of the teachers are finally able to see how I work.
• First band competition yesterday! It was fun and we managed to only get rained on for about 10 minutes! Woo. The girls were nervous but ended up doing okay. And the band scored such that they got first place! It was so exciting for them. It was a scholastic competition (like the ones I did at Mattawan) so the scoring and competing bands were different than in MCBA. But it was a good ego boost for them and I'm hoping it will inspire more effort for the rest of the season. Now for writing more work for them...
• My cat likes peppers. And ate half of my cereal when I left it unattended this morning. She is so weird.
• I went to FUMC Ann Arbor and Wesley lunch today again. Yay! It was nice to see the new friends I met a couple weeks ago and meet other people. Plus, free food. And I love that church building. And singing in service. And I found out my bus comes right here! (YAY for accidentally getting an apartment on a bus line that goes to work AND church!) And one of the verses really stood out to me: James 2:18 "Show me your faith apart from your works and I by my works will show you my faith." It was a great morning/afternoon and I'm excited to come back next time :)
• I want to go visit Korea. I miss things there a lot. I'm trying hard to see if I can save money and go visit soon...I hope it works out!
• I still miss my blankie :(

Family Ties

• I love the family I have with Krystle and the Eischeids. Jen and Andrew make us food, house us, call the spare bedroom “your bedroom”, send us home with food, trust us with Ella and Katie, and are just always there for us. I love it and am so very grateful that they have become such a big part of my life.

Support Your Troops (Sept 9)

• Met some new friends from U of M Wesley last night! Mandy invited me to dinner and, even though I was totally physically and mentally exhausted, I went and I'm so glad I did. It was yummy, carefree, relaxing and filled with exploration (of Mandy's awesome co-op) and laughter. Can't wait to hang out with them again. I'm so grateful for wonderful friends who give me hugs, eat yummy food with me and take my mind off things.
• And today I moved into my new apartment! We had beautiful weather and, thanks to my dad and my brothers and Barbara, it went so fast - everything was in the apartment in under an hour and we finished arranging and putting (most of the) things away shortly after that. Yay! And I'm so excited for how the apartment looks. Still a little nervous about living without my roommates but let's take it one day at a time.

Fair Warning

• Just so all my lovely readers know, I will not likely be posting every day (as you may have noticed). I considered stopping this blog altogether, what with me not being unemployed anymore (I mean, I even have benefits!), but it's such a habit for me now - it even changes how I think about my day (I often find myself thinking, "This is what today's post will be about!" which is a great injection of positivity into my life). So I don't want to stop. But I also don't want to feel forced to write every day. Honestly, there will probably still be a lot of posts - if nothing else than to quote my adorable preschoolers - but this is my warning ;)

Work To Make It Work

• Even though I worked 10 hours today, it was a good day. One of the little girls I worked with today told me all about how her dad is teaching her Korean. When I started asking her if she knew such-and-such words, she was like, "Do you know Korean?!" I said that I had just lived there for a while so I knew a little. I just got to sit during lunch (hasn't happened since I started). I got to stay with the sleeping kids during nap time (yay reading time!). I hung out with a bunch of very cuddly kids today :) :) And there were extra people in my room at the end of the day so I got to leave a little early. It was nice after the amount of stress I endured yesterday.
• Tonight, I watched Michelle Obama's DNC speech, Ann Romney's RNC speech (for comparison) and The Daily Show from yesterday. Several interesting points came to mind:
• Do you think they (Michelle and Ann) frame their speeches as the president's wife and as mothers because they are the First Lady (and prospective First Lady) or because it's a reflection on our current societal views on feminism?
• (From Carlee) Because of ^, it will be interesting when we have a female and/or single candidate.
• Tom Brokaw and Jon Stewart had a really great, actual conversation about media, the campaign vs. the job that needs to be done, among other things and I really enjoyed it. Notable quote: "By the time people tune in to [various news programs on whatever channel], they already know what happened...they want to know what it means - what was right, what was wrong." I'm glad Tom Brokaw is still around :)
• Thank NPR, for providing transcripts of both speeches. You are cool.

Late Night Shopping Spree (Sept 4)

• I stress-purchased season 8 of Grey's, season 4 of Big Bang Theory, season 4 of How I Met Your Mother and 2 mini-bags of pretzel M&Ms. Maybe not my smartest financial choice, but they were all on sale, I got a free gift card to Best Buy for it, and it made me feel a lot better after a very frustrating day. And now I can catch up on Grey's before the premiere! :D

Funny The Way It Is (Sept 3)

• Today was a great last day of a long weekend. Katie texted a little after I woke up asking if I wanted to get breakfast. Since I was about to indulge in blueberry buckle and coffee, I invited her over and she was there about 45 minutes later! We talked and got caught up. I miss her and wish I could see her for more than a few hours at a time - but, at the same time, I'll take what I can get and any time we are together is always well-spent :)
• After breakfast, I went over to the Hammonds' to hang out for a while. Kristin made a yummy lunch, Phil agreed with me about how credit - and the fact that you need it to be financially trustworthy - is stupid, and Jane was adorable and let me play with her. And when Jason came over later and was playing video games with Phil, Jane would go over to his computer and push a bunch of buttons and it was so funny to watch. She kept pushing keys that actually did things and Jason feebly threatened and told her not to do things, while also telling her what to push to help him out. It was adorable and hilarious.
• Sidenote: I had Maroon 5's "Phone Booth" song stuck in my head all day
• I engaged in a "sunset chase" on the way to Mom's. I drove on 94, then to 9th street, then to West Main. It was fun and worth it:

• I'm really lucky to have a best friend who struggles with a lot of the same things I do - we can't solve each other's problems, but it helps to be able to talk about them together.

September All Over (Sept 1)

• Happy September! And Happy 400th blog post :)
• My dad and Barbara made me a celebratory dinner of scallops in a butter garlic pan-seared sauce, zucchini stir-fried with olive oil and garlic, red pepper alfredo pasta, and viogioner white wine. It was fabulous and tasted like a restaurant. Be jealous.
• Got to see Krystle, Katie, Carrie, Phil, Charlie, Justin, Jason, Ryan, Joe, Ben and Kathreen all in one place! My own lateness made it a short visit but it was fabulous nonetheless.

Theme From The Apartment (Aug 31)

• My week at the day care has been an adjustment, but there were some highlights: 1) The playground has one of those mushroom fountains and, since it was 95 degrees this afternoon and one of my flip flops broke, I got to wander around in the water barefoot with the kids. 2) I was in the 2.5-year-old room, which I love because they are cuddly, relatively easily consoled and take naps. AND 3) One of the boys I played with on Tuesday put a taco and cheese into a coffee maker and said he was making grapes. True story. 
• Tonight, Cara and David were awesome enough to try one of the Korean restaurants I found on South U this week. I got 냉면 and it tasted like "home" - I mean, until I actually tasted the noodles and they tasted like a box. But the 김치 saved it...eating that reminded me of with my Korea loves :) 
• I have an apartment! It's not fabulous yet, but it will be when Cara and I are done with it. Chloe (my lovely kitty) and I will enjoy all the closet space but we hope for lots of visitors because it might get lonely sometimes. There will be lots of movies, baking and sewing that will happen there - at least after marching season is over :)