Back in the UP

After a very busy, but wonderful week I am back in Marquette. I feel more mellow already.
Jason and I were supposed to drive back home on Friday some time during the day, then Friday night, and then with whole lota parental persuasion our departure time was moved to 6am on Saturday morning.
I hate to admit it, but Jason's parents and my parents were right, it was very good that we waited.
The roads were so horrible before we got to the bridge. As my tires were slipping, and crazy SUV drivers are passing me as I'm going 50 mph in the only drivable lane...I was thankful that just this one time I could admit that my parents were right. (just this once though...don't get used to it!)

It was so nice to be home and see everyone that makes coming home for Christmas so special.

Here are a few of the things that I did while I was at home.

Celebrated Jason's 28th birthday. (you are so old!)
Celebrated Aunt Pam's 50th birthday. (it was a surprise!!!!)
Celebrated Jason, Grandpa Troost, and Aunt Kim's birthdays (there are a lot of December birthdays)
Went to church with my parents. (it was sooooo good...full orchestra, full choir, you catch my drift)
Took Shrontz family pictures (Debby and Denny's Christmas present from us kids)
Had my hair cut and colored by my most wonderful sister.(I look way better. Thank you.)
Ate dinner at Logans. (with Jacob, Linda, Steve, Amber, Emily) (for Jason's birthday)
Ate dinner at Blue Ginger. (with Grandpa and Grandma Troost, and my Mom and Dad)
Ate lunch at Panera. (with my Mom and Dad)
Had a beer at Fridays. (with the fabulous miss Megan Sue)
Ate dinner at Applebees. (with Debby, Denny, Steve, Amber, Emily, Jacob, Linda, Laney and Josh)
Saw the movie 27 Dresses (so cute, totally a chick flick)
Saw the movie Charlie Wilson's War (wait for it to come out on video...oh and don't see it with your dad and father in law)
Went shopping at Rivertown mall (the day after Christmas, what was I thinking?)
Went shopping in Holland (for awesome Vera Bradley)
Said goodbye to a cousin (safe travels Tashina, Carlos and Andres, I'll come visit as soon as I can)
Found out that I have a lot in common with another cousin (answer your phone Katie Polly)
Held a ton of babies! (I was just letting the baby fairy dust rub off on me!)
Played with my niece (so darn cute, I can hardly stand it)
Watched the 7th and last season of Gilmore Girls (22 episodes in 2 days, my laptop went everywhere with me)
Celebrated Christmas with both families. (we are soooooo blessed by everyone. Jason and I are set for a while. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

And I definitely did not get to spend enough time with everyone. I wish that I could have been in more places than once and spend real quality time with all of the people that I love and cherish. Definitely not enough time.

It was good and very needed to be home and see my families, but it is very good to be back home here in the UP in my Marquette where hopefully I can spend some quality time with my husband before we have to start school again.

Oh and no I have no pictures to post. This crazy girl forgot her camera in Marquette. Whoops

Merry Christmas

May your day be blessed as you spend it with family and friends.

May you also remember the true reason for Christmas.

Jesus.

Much love to all.

Mom I'll update this soon I promise! Sorry I've been so lazy! :)

I love you and I'm glad I'm home.

I'm much better in person than on my blog (most of the time)

Thank you

Thank you for all those who prayed for Samara and her family.

Her mom, Nan Tilkens went to be with the Lord at 1am this morning.

Please keep praying for the family.

Thank you.

Please Pray

Please pray for my friend Samara and her family.

Her mom is in the end stages of cancer and is currently in hospice care.

My heart is breaking as I can only imagine what Samara and her family members are going through.

If you could just lift them and her mom up in prayer, I know that she would be forever grateful.

Thank you.
Stacey

Burrrr....it's cold here!!!

a quick note

I was just checking the blogs of my other friends and looking at comments that have been left by others...

and I am so amazed at the connections that have been made through my blog and other's blogs.

My friends are commenting on other friend's blogs that would not have known each other any other way.

I love it!

Pros and Cons

About a month ago I had to ask my parents if I could borrow some money from them.

It is so hard for me to ask for help, especially if involves asking for money.

So, usually when I do have to ask for help, it is a big deal for me, and I usually overreact.
(What??? Stacey Shrontz overreact?? That is absurd!!!)

This money was for the initial deposit to save my place for the Europe trip.

As soon as I asked my dad, he said, "Of course, just let me talk with your mom so we are on the same page."

I talk to my mom later that day and she hadn't talk to my dad yet, so I told her about it. She told me that they would have to think about it. They would have to weigh the pros and the cons of loaning me the money.

Some of you might know this about my mom, she has a funny sense of humor! Her comment about a pros and cons list went right past me because I knew she was kidding. (You're so funny Mom!)

Little did I know that for fun on their dinner date that night they actually made a pro/con list.
After a week or so had passed, I received this in the mail:

PROS
*She's Cute
*Further her education
*Make her happy
*When we go to Europe she will be able to tell us where to go
*The blog will have good pictures
*It is always good to have someone owe money
*She can look up Dutch relatives
*She already has a passport
*Traveling makes her happy.

CONS
*She'll be further away from her parents
*No interest on loan
*Make Jason lonesome
*The Red Fox Inn will not be able to operate
*She's already been to Amsterdam

The pros out weigh the cons so, yes we will loan you the moula!

Thanks Dad and Mom. The two of you are one in a million. I'm glad that I can be your dinner entertainment!

Happy Birthday Andrea Joy!!!

Stuck

I left work at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon and it is 2:44am and I am still here.

But, I am in bed in one of the rooms (i work at a hotel).

The weather as I'm sure if any of you have been watching the weather channel has been a bit treacherous.

Normally if I was in Marquette in my warm cozy little apartment the weather wouldn't be an issue, I would just deal with it, like you do when you live in the UP!

Tonight was a different story. The snow kept coming and coming and coming to the point where driving on the curvy, hilly road 25 miles back to Marquette would have been a really dumb choice.

So here I sit. Soon I will hopefully be sleeping. And in the morning it's still going to be crappy out, but hopefully better than tonight.

Sorry this is so late, but I wanted to make sure that I wished everyone a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

I'm going to Europe this summer!!!

This summer towards the end of May, I will be on my way to Europe!!!

Here is a sneak peak at my tentative itinerary.

Arrive in Amsterdam

Visit the Van Gogh Museum, Floating Flower Market, Anne Frank's house, Rembrandt House, and the Rijksmuseum. Plenty of free time to explore the city and then...

2 days later, board a train and head to Brussels.

Visit the Musee des Beaux Art, the Comic Strip Museum, and explore the many churches in the area.

2 days later, board another train and head to PARIS!!!

No hotels in Paris, we will be staying in apartments with kitchenettes (I get to shop for and cook food in Paris) (How cool is that!?)

Attractions in Paris:

Hôtel De Ville
Notre Dame Cathedral
Ile St.-Louis
Aux nos ancetres les Gaulois
the Louvre
Place de la Concorde
Tuileries Palace
Church of the Madeleine
Le Petit Palais
Le Grand Palais
Arc de Triomphe
Champs Elysées
Eiffel Tower
Palais de Chaillot
Ecole militaire
Musée Rodin
Montparnasse area
the Latin Quarter
Le Jardin and Le Palais du Luxembourg
the Panthéon
St. Sulpice
St. Germain des Prés area
Saint-Chapelle Church
museum of the Orangerie
Sacré Coeur
Place de Tertre
Musée d’Orsay
Monet's House
Les Halles district
Centre Georges-Pompidou
the Mouffetard Quarter

...just to name a few!

(sorry about quitting on the links, we are just doing too much!)

in total 8 days living in Paris.
What an experience.
Did I mention that I get class credit for this?

When the boys go hunting....

On November 15th every year I shove my husband out the door and tell him to have a good time with the boys.

I tell him, "catch a deer, don't worry, I'll be fine, I won't miss you that much, I can't wait to have the bed all to myself..." etc.

So I enjoy the simple pleasures of not sharing the apartment with anyone.

But then....

It doesn't take long for me to realize how wrong I was. I do miss him. Everything is better when he is around.

I love November 15th, but I love when it is over!

I'm still alive!

Sorry for the lack of posting! I could lie and tell you all that I've been way too busy to post, way too busy to bother with a little thing like a blog....but then I wouldn't be telling the truth.
The truth is that I have been incredibly lazy and in a funk.
I do not fare well in funks and neither do the people that are around me! :)

But....it is Monday. And Monday's are a new week! Whoo Hoo!

In other news. Yes, it did snow up here in the UP. I took pictures of the piles of snow that the plows made, and all of the snow plastered on the side of the trees. It's been almost a week since it snowed and all of it is almost melted. I'm not worried though. It will be back! :)

Jason is working his butt off with the classes he is teaching, the classes he is taking, working on his thesis, and applying to MFA (Master of Fine Arts) programs.
He will be leaving for deer camp in Lake City on Thursday night. He can't wait!
I'm not sure what I am going to do while he is gone, but I'm sure I will think of something!

Have a good monday!

my view of monday

Happy Birthday Kathryn P. Toony!!!

I love you!

I Saw Snow Flakes Tonight!!!!

But I am not excited at all!!!

I take it back

I take it all back! About the snow that is!

I have mentioned on more than one occasion to more than one person that I am ready for the snow to come.
Ready for the boots, the hats, the scarves, the mittens, the scraping off my windshield, and the digging my car out of the parking lot.

How easily to I forget after such a short warm time. What was I thinking.

It has not officially snowed yet, but this morning it was very very very cold, and there was slushing. Slushing is my term for the stuff that was coming out of the sky, rain that is slightly frozen, resembling snow. Snow! Uck. Did I mention it was cold, very cold.

**As a disclaimer for myself, I know that I will contradict this post in the very near future with joyous excitations of how pretty the snow is, and how wonderful everything looks covered in a blanket of snow.

goodbye to my fake nails

For Andrea's wedding, I had fake nails put on. They were so beautiful, and definitely a luxury that I only indulge in once and a great while. That is why I was so sad to see them go.
The thing about fake nails is that no matter how short you get them, or how nice they look when you first have them applied, it is only a short amount of time before they start to look not so nice.
There are other disadvantages to fake nails.
1. Once they start going bad, your hair starts to get stuck in the sides of them.
2. It's hard to play games on my phone, and most importantly, type accurate text messages to my mom.
3. Probably the worst thing about these nails, is that it is hard to pick....anything, mainly my nose! :)
4. Oh, and they are sooooo hard to get off, when you actually want them to come off.

I cut them off last night and sanded them down the best I could and then repainted them. It was very hard to say goodbye to them in the end, but it was for a good cause!

Now that you know way too much about my fake nails, I will sign off and wish you all a very happy, relaxing, and beautiful Sunday! Enjoy it...soon it will be snowing!

fun with slow shutter speeds

Our last assignment for class was to take night shots, or difficult lighting shots, anything really that required a slow shutter speed. I went out on Tuesday night and took a few shots in the fog, at night, and then at pool last night I was able to take some really fun shots of the pool table and behind the bar.

I did not alter these photos in any way. I think that is what makes them so much fun.

These first two shots are my friend Dee who is on my pool league team with me.

The streaks on the pool table are actually the cue ball and the ball that was hit moving.

This picture was taken from below the hill of coal that is in front of the power plant. The glow is from the lights of the power plant in the fog.

good times

While I was home, I was able to stop by my Great Grandma Troost's house after pedicures the day before the wedding. She is such a wonderful woman. I'm glad we were able to stop by and give her a favor and a program for the wedding since she wasn't going to be able to make it to the wedding. I really think I am the luckiest girls in the world to have a 94 year old great grandma!

lots of pictures

I am so exhausted! What a whirlwind week!
Tuesday night I got into Grand Rapids around in time to shower before the rehearsal for the wedding. The rest of the week was a blur.
It was so good to be able to help out and make sure that Andrea and Tim had the best day that could have wished for. The wedding was beautiful and so much fun.
I posted a ton of pictures and figured that would be easier than writing a book, plus, I am just too tired!

By the way I will be posting ALL of the pictures on my Flickr site. Double click on the photos on the right of your screen. It might take me a while, but I'll get them on there!

Little Ones

The Cassady's

The Speyer wedding!!!