Dear Friends and Lovers,

(of the Midwest)

My dear, dear friends Amy and Nick are getting married on Saturday, May 7th. Now, when two people are this adorable and this in love, you just can't stay home and think about it in your own city. You must board your megabus, be driven a few hours from the stop to Ohio, and then drive a different car to the adorable camp where they once met and celebrate it with your favorite friends who you haven't seen in a year. So, that, my friends, is what I shall do. Below is the itinerary. I'm posting it because

if you are free and in Ohio or Michigan on the respective days, let me know and we'll play. It'll be great!

WEDNESDAY:
Morning in NYC
Afternoon/night on the Megabus

THURSDAY
12:00am: Pittsburgh to Amherst
Sleep
4:30pm Wedding Food Tasting for my sister's wedding!
After that: Cinco de May celebrating with Mike, Jeni, Jenkins, etc.

FRIDAY
Wedding present buying/wrapping
Packing for the adventure
Running with Jessica
Sleepover, either with JB & FW or Melissa

SATURDAY: WEDDING DAY!!!!
Drive to Onekama, Michigan and celebrate the lovers!
Have a day at camp! Note to self: Bring other shoes for wondering around Portage Lake Bible Camp!
And a sleepover with my favorite housemates [minus one... you know, because it's her wedding night] in a cabin!

SUNDAY:
Drop off Jackie in GR and [mope about it]
Drive to Holland, MI for Hope College Graduation 2011
Sleepover somewhere

Monday:
Breakfast with Tim
Lunch with The Grandparents
Quality time with Melissa if no Friday sleepover
Quality time with the parents

TUESDAY:
Morning in Amherst
Afternoon drive to Pittsburgh
Return to New York by midnight
My apartment by 1:30am.



On an unrelated note: Brussel sprouts get a terrible reputation and to those poor mini-cabbages, I'm sorry. you sound way worse than you actually are. Dribble some olive oil, salt & pepper on those veggies and stick them in the oven on 400* and you'll understand. Better yet, let some leaves fall off and let them get super crispy... better than some chips.

Christmas at "home, home"

I love New York, but sometimes you just need to go Home. By Home I mean the state I was born and raised in home, also known to college kids and new grown-ups as "home, home".

This Christmas helped to cement that you're-an-adult idea I've been having. I opened my presents last at the extended family Christmas Eve this year and didn't even sneak a peak.

Watching adorable nieces open presents in a much more entertaining manner helped. Besides, Grandpa (mid 80s) and Reagan (3) had difficulty resisting all that sat in their laps.

There are so many great things about coming home. At my place in New York I had one Christmas sweater to wear, plenty of baked goods to eat, but only a few Christmas decorations to decorate with. It wasn't that I didn't want to decorate, but a lot of my things were still at my parent's and I didn't have enough space in my bags to bring them up at Thanksgiving, when I had hoped I could. I hate to admit it, but I never decorated the gumdrop tree I did have in NYC because Target's giant gumdrops were too expensive. I decorated my parents' tree as soon as I saw the (already bought) gumpdrops in the cupboard.

[an Anna Jo picture]

I only plugged my Christmas lights in once or twice because I didn't want to inflate the electricity bill when I forgot to unplug them.


I love my family's Christmas decorations. Most of them are handed-down, hand-made, gifted, simply sentimental, or all of the above. I know I will never remember who all owned our decorations before us, but I do know that I love coming home to the house decorated. My parents do an amazing job every year.

Crazy Ornaments on a Real Tree

                            

I love that our family still practices nearly all of our traditions and does so much laughing throughout the Holiday.
Looking around the corner of the stairs to see if my parents were done making coffee so it could be "time":

In the last couple of years my Grandparents on my dad's side have joined our festivities. We go around opening our presents, which have always been (sometimes impressively) well thought-through. My mom's delicious breakfast casserole always follows, this year with the accompaniment of a raspberry-esque pastry, yogurt and fruit. There's usually a movie and then a few other variables. 2010's Christmas continued with some of the family watching one of my Dad's new John Wayne movies while the kitchen transitioned into dinner mode and Grandma and I worked on her sewing machines. When her eyes got tired Anna Jo, Justin and I went on a our sibling holiday run! There are usually time constraints keeping it around 3ish miles which is a perfect 3-person run when allergies, colds, and general semi-out-of-shapeness could affect the run. Afterwards my sister went in to pack, while my brother and I went sledding because it was a beautiful White Christmas! My brother had requested there to be sleds at home so Santa had left us some obnoxiously bright ones that also happened to be quite speedy. This limited how many times we could go down the hill in my back yard as our speed increased every time we cleared more trees out of our way and packed down the snow.

We had no desire to break the ice and fall into the creek.

Showers, dinner and general jovial-ness followed until my brother and I drove my sister to the airport where she caught a flight that took her to her first cruise with her fiance's family (best of both worlds perhaps?). Sadly this did mean that she missed the watching of "Amelie," which my brother gave me for Christmas. My mom and I watched it while my brother and Dad drove my Grandparents back to Perrysburg. I now understand why so many people were shocked that I hadn't seen it... amazing. After a little clean-up, it was bedtime. It was a complete holiday.




Uncle Gordon playing us Christmas carols on Christmas Eve and putting me to sleep


And my favorite Princess Cloe

She's adorable. I know.


I know I won't have the same holidays forever, but there's just something about home, home that make the holidays "right".

In the Freezer Section

A week from today I will leave the place where I have lived for about three of the last four years. And you know, I just might miss seeing upper-middle-aged women dressed in traditional Dutch costume in the freezer section at Meijer. You see a lot of things in New York, but streets lined with 2-102 year-olds in Dutch costumes dancing in unison?
Not annually...


And buying hot pockets?
...Even less so.

What do you have Against Learning?

I believe in libraries. I grew up loving Summer Reading Programs. I enjoyed reading, but the summer reading programs were extra motivation to read a lot over the summer. This is a great way for kids to not fall behind in school. When the next Fall comes up, and the school year starts, their minds won't be mush. For a variety of reasons I agree with the statement that "Summer Reading Programs Save Lives". Perhaps that's drastic for you?
There is no denying that in many cities libraries are the only source of free internet that the community has. In times when less people are able to afford computers and internet access, this service helps people find jobs and construct resumes.
While private grants could help to support the libraries, I believe they need to stay public to continue the guarantee of equal access to everyone.

The following is taken from the Library Council website.

Why are Ohio public libraries in trouble?

At a news conference on Friday, June 19, the Governor proposed a cut to state funding for public libraries of $227.3 million in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 as part of his plan to fill the $3.2 billion gap in the budget that must be balanced by the Ohio General Assembly's Conference Committee by June 30.

The proposal amounts to a 30% cut in funding for Ohio's public libraries. This cut is in addition to the 20% reduction in funding that libraries are already facing, because their funding comes from 2.22% of the state's declining General Revenue Fund.

Libraries could close or face significant reductions in operations as a result of the Governor's proposal. With some 70% of the state's 251 public libraries relying solely on state funding to fund their operations, the reduction in funding will mean that many will close branches or drastically reduce hours and services.

The Governor's proposed funding cuts come at a time when Ohio's public libraries are experiencing unprecedented increases in demands for services. In every community throughout the state, Ohioans are turning to their public library for free high speed Internet access and help with employment searches, children and teens are beginning summer reading programs, and people of all ages are turning to the library as a lifeline during these difficult economic times. Ohio's public libraries offer CRITICAL services to those looking for jobs and operating small businesses. Public libraries are an integral part of education, which Governor Strickland says is critical to the state's economic recovery. But it is unlikely that many of Ohio's public library systems, especially those without local levies, can remain open with these proposed cuts.

About 30% of Ohio's public libraries have local property tax levies that supplement the state's funding. However, with the Governor's proposed drastic cuts in the state funding for libraries, even those libraries will face decisions regarding substantial reductions in hours of operation, materials, and staffing.





So what can you do?
Please join the facebook group.

And then call or email the governor and your Representatives:

Governor Ted Strickland: 614-466-3555 or 614-644-4357
Online Contact

Senator Bill Harris, President of the Senate: 614-466-8086
SD19@senate.state.oh.us

Senator John Carey, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee: 614-466-8156
SD17@senate.state.oh.us

Representative Armond Budish, Speaker of the House: 614-466-5441
District08@ohr.state.oh.us

Representative Vernon Sykes,Chairman of the House Finance Committee: 614-466-3100






Save Our Libraries. Save our place for free, unrestricted self-motivated LEARNING.