it's winter!!

There was no snow on the ground this morning and then all of a sudden... a blanket of white! There were people outside throwing snowball earlier.Although it's almost December so I can't really complain, I still don't have to be happy about it!

we made 12 cents the hard way...

You may wonder what we do on a relaxing Monday night once dinner and Dancing with the Stars is over...

We started with the vacuum... These were the tools....
This was the problem...
Investigating...
Treasure!!
Yes, there's a bobby pin in that wad of carpet, hair and dust...
This was the end treasure...
Yes, all of that came out of the hose on the vacuum. In that bag (along with the obvious) are about 6 nails of various sizes, shapes and colors, an earring (not mine), bobby pins, and that's right.... 12 cents. Don't worry- we didn't get this vacuum for a wedding present. It survived (barely, apparently) four years in the Pocatello house.
It all started when we could not figure out why the hose did not have much suction. We cleaned out the filter... no success. More investigating led us to a small little mass of goodness in the hose but nothing could have prepared us of what we found.
After the vacuum got new life, we vacuumed the apartment again and it's like a whole new world! We thought we'd share the simple pleasures of our life here in Michigan!

this one's for uncle Roger....

This doesn't happen very often so don't get used to it but Michigan State is rooting for Michigan football to win this weekend! Even Magic Johnson said so on ESPN so it must be true!
Here's the deal, if Michigan beats Ohio State in football and Michigan State can beat Penn State this weekend then Michigan State would win the Big Ten and would get a bid to the Rose Bowl. MSU will have their hands full trying to beat Penn State but .... hey, it could happen!!
Therefore (I'll have to apologize to Jim Clover for this) I'm rooting against Ohio State and for University of Michigan this weekend! Go Spartans!

an exciting day....

That's right, that's a gas station selling gas for $1.84; of course that's with a car wash but $1.99 without is not too bad either! It was exciting to fill up our car from almost empty (don't worry dad, I figured out we do have a gas light-- just like mom's car!) for less than $40. The Xterra hasn't seen that cheap of a fill in awhile... maybe not ever considering when we bought it!


Also, we bought a bed today at Sears. The beds were on clearance and it was a special employee discount day and with Mikel's normal employee discount, it was a deal we couldn't pass up. The double bed has been ok, but a queen is now coming and we are definitely excited!
I think it is a sign that Mikel allowed me to take a picture of him at Sears while bed shopping; he's resigned himself to the fact that I love taking pictures even at the most awkward times! He didn't even fight it! He was happy about the new slippers he was getting as well! Ahhh, the little things!


Now that we've had such a busy afternoon, we better relax, do homework and watch football!! =)

a quick update

So I haven't written a blog for awhile and the main reason is that my camera is nearing retirement and I haven't had many pictures to share. I dropped it on our visit to Holland and although it's not completely shot, it's seen better days. The batteries don't quite stay put anymore and it turns of randomly. Mikel does have a camera too but I'm kind of a creature of habit and I haven't embraced it yet.

Since I last posted it finally snowed...very sad. It wasn't much snow and it has only happened the one time so we still can't complain! We have been told that the worst part of winter is in January so we have awhile to wait.

Also, Mikel got a job working in the tools department at Sears at least for the holidays. Although it is definitely not his dream job it's not too bad and he's getting a paycheck! We still looking for something else in sports or something but a job's a job right now!!

As for school, things are still going well. There are only three weeks left before finals which means that I have three weeks to write 2 LONG papers-- but I'll get the done! My teaching is still going well; I'm enjoying my classes and my students (for the most part)! I have a lot of grading to do this weekend but I'm enjoying it!

That's an update on our life in a nutshell! We miss our family and friends but are still having a lot of fun here!