tim and lisa cocking

serving with the JESUS film project

Archive for the ‘life in Michigan’ Category

We’re moving!

Posted by Lisa on Jun-7-2006

We finally got a closing date yesterday, so we know when we’re making the big move! Our close is on July 14–a nice birthday present for me, I have to say! We’ll be moving out of our apartment on Saturday, July 8, and anyone who wants to help is welcome. Tim will start the drive down on Monday the 10th, then the girls and I will fly down to meet him on Thursday the 13th. We’ll be staying with my parents for the time between move-out and fly-down. We get the keys at closing, and the place is ours!

There’s so much to do between now and then, not least of which is finishing up raising support. We’re close, but not quite there yet. Your prayers for all this are appreciated!

Random thoughts

Posted by Lisa on May-29-2006

I haven’t blogged for a while because I never feel like I have enough to say about any one thing. So here are some random thoughts about unrelated topics.

 

Our computer has been running really hot and slow for quite a while. It finally dawned on us this morning that it might be dusty inside, blocking the fans. It’s a notebook computer that we’ve had for almost 2 years and have never cleaned or otherwise serviced. Tim opened it up and found the exhaust vent and “radiator” completed blocked with about 1/8 inch of dust. Now, post-cleaning, I’m no longer frying my fingers on the keyboard, and the fan isn’t running on overdrive all the time. Much better!

Tim and I both love coffee-shop coffee. Good, strong, bold stuff. We’ve found we can make a close-enough approximation of the coffee at home, which is much easier on the budget than going out for it. But we missed the extra flavor that the “raw sugar” at the coffee-shop adds. I looked at picking up some raw sugar at the supermarket, but was shocked by the price. So I was happy to make the discovery that putting brown sugar in my coffee adds that same bit of flavor as the raw sugar, without the high price. Yummy!

I like keeping outgrown or not-yet-grown-into kids’ clothes in those big Rubbermaid totes, but am always annoyed when I can’t see what’s inside. My solution was to pick up a couple of the clear plastic sleeves that you use for the address label for overnight letters, and stick them to the outside of the tote. Then I can slip a paper into it with the contents written on it. It’s easy to swap out the paper as I change the contents of the box, and the sleeve is resealable. Works great!

Almost time for the Memorial Day parade now (aka the candy-chasing fest). More random thoughts later!

What a week it’s been!

Posted by Lisa on Mar-29-2006

Yikes. Things have been crazy! First of all, there’s our daily existance:


THE ONE ON THE RIGHT!
Don’t even think anything else. But it’s that, times 3. Then add to that normal insanity, starting from last Friday:

Friday night: Tim sick all night
Saturday: Tim sick all day; Lisa take girls to visit Grandma Peg (Lisa’s grandma)
Saturday night: Lisa sick all night
Sunday: Lisa sick all day; Tim play in both services, coming home between sets to take care of the kids
Monday: our (only) car in the shop all day
Tuesday: get car from the shop at 12:00, just in time for 1:00 dentist appointments for all three kids (their first)
Wednesday (today): take Micah to the doctor for lingering stomach problems. She’s put on the BRAT diet, and promptly becomes one when she can’t eat what she wants for dinner. (for those not in the know, it stands for bananas, rice, applesauce and toast)

Gee, I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow!

On a better note, today was the official un-shrinkwrapping of the windows. The weather’s supposed to stay above freezing, at least. And we desperately needed some fresh air in this place! We are thankful for the little things! Tomorrow we hope to take the kids to the playground. We’re all going a bit stir crazy

Super Bowl in Detroit

Posted by Tim on Feb-2-2006

Ahhhh…..Detroit in February. Haven’t you always really wanted to come here at this time of year? I guess if it’s the Super Bowl they’ll come. There’s one CNN guy who has been whining for the last week that he has to come on assignment. Here is the game day forecast:


Few Snow Showers High
29°F

The city itself looks pretty good, though it would be better with some sun!

I was downtown for a meeting a couple of days ago and snapped these shots from the People Mover.
Here is the RenCen with the largest wrap ever done. The media center is inside.

Grocery shopping

Posted by Lisa on Jan-16-2006

Every Monday morning my wonderful parents-in-law watch the girls so I can go grocery shopping ALL BY MYSELF. Those without little kids won’t understand what a treat this is.

Something that’s made my shopping easier for the past year or so is a program called Snowbride. It manages recipes and shopping lists, and it’s a free download. My only complaint is that it’s too easy to accidentally alter the recipe ingredients. But it lets me just check off the things I need on the recipes and it automatically adds them to my shopping list. This program, combined with my 4-week menu plan for dinners, has made my shopping and cooking so much easier!

And no, I don’t have anything to do with Snowbride. I just like the program!