Weddings

So I'm definitely NOT the only Jordan granddaughter married anymore and am about to be joined by another married girl! As I've been hearing little blurbs about the planning of Margaret's wedding I've been thinking back on my own on the little things I would have done or would have done better...

1. A picture with the Jago side of the family! I cannot believe that I forgot to get one of these. It's not hard to fit us all in a picture and I should have.

2. Directions for the guests and out of town baskets. I would have spent more time on them. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and creative sister who offered to do both and I was off in another world and didn't help.

3. Scrapbook! I had this wonderful idea for people to be able to write us little notes that I could scrapbook and I didn't lay it out right so that was able to happen. I still got signatures and have thought of a way to use those but again more thought would have been good.

Those are my three big "regrets" although they aren't even regrets. They're just sort of ohs... Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep. I've completed 2 of 9 rehearsals/services this week so I need to sleep when I can. :-)

Late!

It seems that I have been seriously lacking in the blog posting department lately so I will give a brief update on the last several months:

October: my birthday! and a beautiful time of year in Michigan. Also I performed a concert, God's Trombones as part of the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir.

November: Thanksgiving was spent with our dear friends from church, Dr. and Mrs. Robinson as well as their daughter, Sara, and my sister, Vivian. Fun was had by all.

December: Lots of snow here in Michigan as well as my first Christmas season away from home. Sang in a Lessons and Carols service at CCC as well as quite a few Christmas Eve services. Christmas was also spent with Dr. and Mrs. Robinson and both of their daughters, Ruth and Sara.

January: We rang in the New Year with a surprise visit to Traverse City and spent a few wonderful snow filled days with Paul, Jodi, David and Hali (as well as the animals Chance, Dakota and Pouncer). Also received a brief break from singing (and handbelling) before preparation began for a Bach Cantata Concert, CCC Choir Cabaret and Lent/Easter. Dean also began working at Starbucks! :-)

February: Lent! And lots of hours at the doctor's office = very tired Giles. Also had wonderful visits from Margaret and Vivian (including picking out a bridesmaids dress and shoes!) and a visit from Momma and PeggyDee before her music audition at Hillsdale.

March: Bach Concert! Went well and only a few vocal hitches. I think we did okay considering how hard those pieces were! Easter is around the corner as well as spring *hopefully.* Road trip to PA next weekend (not this coming weekend) for a church seminar and a quick return for Palm Sunday. We're looking forward to our second Easter together at CCC and are very thankful for all the friends that we have gained in 2007 and how those relationships will continue to develop in 2008.

As for today, I have the day entirely off (minus handbells) and have so much I want to do I don't know where to start but I ended up finishing my book so now I'm off to try and be productive. :-)

Georgia and Back

We had the great joy of visiting Georgia this weekend for my 5 year high school reunion at the Lovett School. It was really nice to see so many friends from then, to catch up and find out what everyone is doing now. Even better was seeing my family and visiting so many familiar places.

It's starting to turn into fall back in Michigan. The leaves are changing and my mind is starting to turn to learning to cook the wonderful soups and warm things that you think of during this time of year. Also coming up are my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and our first anniversary. So, despite the cold, cold weather that I'm sure is to come the next few months are filled with the best and warmest memories I have from many, many years.

From Momma's Blog

I know that this copy/paste has no real connection to anything I've written about before on my blog but I just found it on Momma's blog and needed to post it again. I truly loved and continue to appreciate my time at the Heiskell School and hope to continually be involved with the education they provide and to send my children there one day as well.

Soapbox

Why We Chose The Heiskell School
March 22, 2005


Before I answer the “assigned question,” let me first thank you all for being here tonight. I suspect that you, committee members, have “volunteered” for service with SACS and I commend you for such a sacrificial way of spending your limited “free” time. Expending energy to improve education in Georgia is a grand way to place a stake in the future. I want to thank The Heiskell School for participating in the accreditation process. Submitting to this type of peer review is what makes you stand head and shoulders above others.

So, why did Ken and Dana Jago choose The Heiskell School? Precisely because it was SACS accredited! Honest! In a nutshell, about 18 years ago, when it came time to seek a partner in rearing our girls in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and it came down to choosing between Christian School A and Christian School B, the deciding factor was SACS accreditation, which Heiskell has maintained for many years.

But if I can hope for your attention for just a bit longer, I would like to answer an additional question – and that is, “Why did we continue to send our children to The Heiskell School for sixteen years?

In these days of micromanagement, parents have succumbed to micromanaging their children’s schooling as well. But here at Heiskell, we parents don’t have to micromanage. Our four daughters (God’s Most Valuable Players) were successful here and have continued to achieve success through their high school and college years precisely because Heiskell remains committed and steadfast to their foundational goal of training up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Prov 22:6) Education has been their business and excellence their standard. Their mission “to glorify God” is clear.

(Story about PTFs? And hearing the commitment/mission reiterated.)

Training a child is a long row to hoe. It is an act of faith, and therefore, somewhat difficult to explain. But I can offer a practical answer in the three R’s. And those are not reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are remembrance, recognition, and realization.

As promised in John 14, the Holy Spirit continually reminds Ken and me of God’s commands and Jesus’ teachings. He makes us remember many of the things that the Bible says and the Bible speaks about everything. We wanted our children to remember the things of the Bible, too (Deut 6:5-6). At The Heiskell School our children were taught continually what God’s Word says about whatever situation they might face, which He has brought back to their remembrance time and time again, especially now that they are older and into their teenaged years. This is why we chose a Christian school as our partner.

Then we recognized that Biblical principles (teachings and commands) were taught at The Heiskell School, where all subjects are taught from God’s point of view. It is a Biblical worldview. It’s not just math, science, and history with a few Bible verses thrown in. We recognized that Heiskell teachers know and serve the Lord. We recognized an atmosphere here that is protected by God because it is devoted to His will. These things are only recognized with spiritual eyes (I Cor 2:12)

Finally, we were able year after year to realize our educational goals at The Heiskell School. This was not a quick process. It involved the completion of one day at a time, one school year at a time. This might be a good time to tell you that we live 30 miles away from Heiskell, so each year we really did count the cost. We had realization that our decision was right because we saw our daughters growing in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:40). Through thick and thin, we were encouraged to keep our commitment to Christian schooling by both the teachers and the administrators, in addition to fellow parents.

Indeed, by using the Bible as the standard of excellence, by employing born again believers to teach knowledge from God’s perspective and by instilling Christian character traits as model behavior, The Heiskell School has been our faithful partner as Ken and I continue to prepare our children for a life of earthly service to their heavenly master. I look forward to their being able to make wise judgments for their own families and exercise dominion as Christian leaders in the 21st century.


Thank you.

Cooking

Okay, so forget my lack of a china cabinet woes. Dean and I have decided that despite my desperate wishes we probably don't have room so he's going to get shelves to install on the wall so that I can at least display all my pretty stuff. Problem solved. (the closet still needs work)

But, I digress.

This month is my birthday month and I'm starting to think (like my mother...oh dear...) that it's great to celebrate all month. I'm not sure how but it's going to happen. And since it's my birthday and I'm lacking so many things in my kitchen (per myself and Vivian) those things are what are making up most of my wish list. I'm hoping to get more into cooking (aka making time for more of a variety so my husband doesn't starve or get bored with his food...)

Anyway, here is my *things you really need* list from Vivian (with a few additions from myself):

Mixing Bowls (small & large)
Knife Set
Dutch Oven
Baking pans: 1 pie, loaf, muffin pan, bundt pan (12C)
Pots! (more...including a double boiler...I really want to fix Momma's brownies...)

I have gotten a few things crossed off the list that are not listed thanks to Williams-Sonoma and Macy's. We have a brand new and improved Williams-Sonoma Grand Cuisine store so gift cards are always great. *hinthint*

I'm off to clean up my kitchen and write down a few more recipes from Momma's blog. :-)

Closet Storage Woes

So we have this closet in our hallway. It's a nice closet, I'm grateful to have it. BUT it's so empty of proper storage! The closet is 4ft wide x 2ft deep x about 8ft tall(to the ceiling). We currently have odd things like the vacuum, ironing board, tool boxes and Christmas ornaments stored in there but there is so much wasted storage space! Dean doesn't think there are beams behind the wall to affix anything to so I'm looking for any suggestions on freestanding storage units that anyone thinks might help. I'd like to be able to store things up high, down low and in between. I could fit in Christmas decorations, extra kitchen dishes that won't fit in the TINY kitchen, etc. The possibilities are endless. So, suggestions anyone? I'll take whatever I can get. I took a couple pictures and will try and post them soon so you can see what sort of a nightmare I'm dealing with here. :-)

Next apartment woe: how much I wish I had a china cabinet...

Happy Birthday!

Today is my dear sister Margaret's 21st birthday! I just got off the phone with her (after putting in a full 13 hour day of working at two jobs and she's having a great time at her birthday party. She was so excited that so many friends (Hillsdale and otherwise) showed up to help her celebrate! I'm sad we're not there but we're taking dear sister Vivian to school tomorrow and we'll get to catch up over dinner in celebration. I've really found it to be amazing how much closer I have become to my sisters now that we're all growing up and going our different directions. Ask us in high school or younger and we couldn't wait to get away from each other, but now as we are limited to the time we get to spend with each other, let alone be in the same state (PD!) we miss each other more. All this to say that I'm missing my family terribly and I hope I get them soon.

Our Apartment

Dean and I set off to work this morning like any other Monday and at the end of the day I went to pick him up. This is our normal schedule which also includes the discussion of whatever happened during our separate days on the car ride home. Well to make any extremely long story short there have been some problems with one of the occupied apartments in our building and us having the good relationship with the front office that we do have voiced our concerns. It is on that vein that I have to say that I live in one of the best apartment complexes ever. :-) Dean has lived here over a year and since that time I have only heard good things about the wonderful ladies up "the hill." That wonderfulness has continued as I moved in had various broken appliances and concerns, especially with suspicious neighbors. Needless to say I really appreciate the staff of our apartment complex and I hope that if we ever have to move out of this complex into a different one (God-forbid) that they are half as nice as they are here.

That's about all. Dean won tickets to a Detroit Shock game (WNBA) and so we have the privilege of attending that game tomorrow evening. I'm excited! I've never been to The Palace nor have I ever attended a WNBA game, although I have met GT WB players who have gone on to play in the WNBA. Anyway, off to bed so I can be rested for a full day of work and a fun basketball game. :-)

Mrs. Dean Simmer

I'm going to try and take a stab at this blogging thing again. Dean, my dear husband, has dsimmer.com set up as a "family" blog but it's a little too confusing for me and I think would be easier to keep my updates separate from his soapboxes.

We went to church this morning and then met Dean sister and her family for brunch at Big Boy. Now Dean is off playing put-put with the neighbors and I'm getting ready to go to work at Bath and Body Works. I hope everyone is well! :-)

Winter

So it's been a long time since I last posted. Things have been kind of busy. :-) Just thought I would let anyone out there know that I am still alive, I'm getting married in 40 days and wedding R.S.V.P.s are VERY exciting. :-) ta-ta!

Summer

With the official beginning of summer just a few short days away (June 21st) I have to mention some of my favorite summer foods: shrimp, cold vegetables, and any fresh fruit I can get my hands on and usually served with cottage cheese (this category includes things such as: Georgia peaches, grapes, watermelon! and pretty much anything else). There are lots more but those three things/categories could make up my entire diet during the summer (in addition to water and some sweet/plantation tea). :-)

Wedding Update: J.P. Stevens & Co.

I had the privilege today of visiting the well-known J. P. Stevens & Co. in Atlanta, GA today. I went to look at wedding invitations with my mom and in the process learned a lot about "paper" and discovered my new favorite stationary company, Crane & Co. We picked out the paper, decided on a font, chose the style of invitation and reception card and now there are just little bitty details to be decided for the rest of the invitations. Then once the guest list is better organized we'll order invitations! That's one more things to check of the list. I'll be sending lots of e-mails tomorrow to get more meetings set-up for Friday afternoons. If you're ever wondering what I'm doing on a Friday afternoon I'm probably planning some aspect of my wedding. :-)

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Birthdate: October 22

You tend to be understated and under appreciated. You have a hidden force to do amazing things, doing them your own way. People may see you as strange and shy, but they know little. Your unconventional ways have more power than they (and even you) know. Your strength: Standing up for what you know is true Your weakness: You tend to be picky and rigid Your power color: Silver Your power symbol: Square Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Gas

Joni sent this to me. Enjoy!

This is pretty cool. Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening. http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

Be a good neighbor and pass this along.

Cousin!

So, I have a new cousin, he's been around for a while but I was just informed of his website! The following link goes to the website of John Arthur Leithart (a.k.a. John, which is going to get extremely confusing since we already have Johnny, John III and John) and he is my first cousin, once removed. :-)

http://www.johnleithart.blogspot.com/

Kappa Formal '06

Here are some pictures from Kappa Formal '06 at Potowatomi Inn in Angola, IN. Left: "The Ladies in Red" - Heidi Schroeder '09, Amy Stollberg '07, Katie Haydn '08, Me. Below: Dean and Giles. :-)




















Left: Dean, Giles, Tyler Patterson '08 and Sean Michael '06.

Daphne

The Tenney family got a dog. :-) Her name is Daphne, she is a beagle and she looks like the most adorable little thing, especially with Maddie and Will. Aren't they cute?

Rain

Tonight is one of those nights when I cannot deny that I am my mother's daughter. I worked for the orchestra concert and the afterglow which followed, I came home and watched part of the OLD Pride & Prejudice, I cleaned and closed the Kappa kitchen during which time a bolt of lightening caught my eye and now a pleasant rain storm, of which there are very few in Hillsdale, MI, has descended upon the evening. So what do I do? I get back to my room to read and study until I go to sleep, I open up Itunes to listen to some music and instead decide to open my window for the first time all semester and listen to the rain, exactly like Momma does at home, except for the thunder storms in Georgia are much better. :-)

Martha Stewart

I was looking through a Summer 2005 Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and came across an article titled "50 ways to trim your budget" and I found a few that I like. For example:

18. While most popular bridal flowers are available year round, some traditiona ones, for example - peonies and lily-of-the-valley - can be difficult to find and expensive out of season. Seek your florist's advice before deciding on your flowers. (Roses, they're pretty standard.)

19. Mix berries, pinecones (for winter), and other economical nonfloral embellishments among costlier blooms to fill out bouquets and displays. (I want holly and berries in the bouquets.)

37. Borrow accessories from family and friends instead of buying them; this can also provide your "something borrowed." (My wedding dress is borrowed...)

42. Eliminate reply cards and have guests hand-write a note instead. You'll save on stationery and postage, and the responses will be great keepsakes. (Momma convinced me of this one a while back, but it's still a good idea.)

43. Prioritize aspects of the wedding that are most important to you. By compromising in some areas, you can afford to splurge on others. (This seems a little bit obvious...)

44. Use a personal car rather than a limousine to get to and from the reception. (Momma called this one a while back too...)

47. Pay wedding costs with a credit card to earn frequent-flyer miles toward your honeymoon. Just make sure to avoid incurring interest charges by paying the balance in full each month. (I never would have thought of this, but it's an excellent idea.)

50. After the event, donate your flowers to a hopital or nursing home; it's a thoughtful thing to do and also a tax deduction. (This sounds like an excellent idea, especially since then you know that someone is enjoying them and you don't have dozens of flowers all over the place and then you have to throw some away because you have too many.)

The strangest thing...

The strangest thing happened yesterday. My cousin, Julia, and I wore the same color shirt! Now, I know some people may think, wow, this girl is silly, that happens to people all the time, but not me and Julia! And to "top" it all off, it was the same color PINK! It was just crazy. Too bad we didn't take a picture...we may have to get a shirt out and lay them out on a bed or hold them up and make silly faces or something, but it was just crazy! :-)