Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

Every writer has to do a bit on New Year’s Resolutions. I could throw the usual stuff in there about losing weight, being nicer to people, doing more volunteering, cursing less. With my belly still bursting from all the overeating, of course I can say I’ll never eat badly again. Then the smell of fresh baked brownies curls into my nostrils and that “never” word becomes “occasionally”…

This is my list of “I’ll-try-to-do-this-for-as-long-as-possibles”:

1. I will try not to throw recyclable items in the trash just to see if my uncommonly green husband will pick them out. (It is such a fun game!)

2. Most of the time, I will try to make our dog Sadie sleep on her own bed, not in ours even when she gives me the bassett hound look (how can she not- she’s a bassett hound.)

3. I will try not clean up my daughter’s room even if I can no longer enter without a rope around my waist. This includes but is not limited to putting away clean clothes before they become mixed up with the dirty ones, tossing out gum wrappers, price tags and cellophane from new CDs, collecting plastic water bottles with green/black slime coating the bottom and closing open dresser drawers that are spewing once neatly folded t-shirts.

4. With great angst, I will finally throw out my “Sick Sweater”. (C’mon, you know you have one, too.)

5. I will pay the late fee at the movie store instead of letting the next member of my family who rents get stuck with it. But only if I have extra cash on me, am in a generous mood and feel like parting with it.

6. I will definitely let the dust bunnies around the edges of my carpet enjoy their soft little lives without disturbing them in their natural habitat. I have always been an animal lover, real, synthetic or formed out of dog hair and dust.

7. I will try to have my checkbook out with the name of the store and my signature written in, and my driver’s license at the ready BEFORE I get to the cashier. (On the other side, I promise not to poke the person in front of me who does not comply with that rule. However, I may have to sigh audibly…)

8. I will try not to flip out when I walk in the house after working all day and someone innocently asks me, ”What’s for dinner?”

9. I will try not to think about all the practical things I should be doing while I am reading a really good book, watching a movie, soaking in a tub or any other pursuit of happiness for my soul.

10. I will try to occasionally eat ice cream for dinner and not feel guilty about it. I will also encourage family members to indulge. As I see it, it is essential to our mental health and well being that we break from steadfast rules and challenge the authority who governs what food to eat and when. Besides, the children will think I am fabulous.

Today’s dosage concludes the Daily Dose of Good News. I hope it has been as fun for you as it has for me. I believe we will go to a Weekly Dose starting on Monday to be perused ON that mother of all days, Mondays. If you don’t want to receive it, well, uh there is no Unsubscribe button and you are in a group e-mail so I guess it will pop in on you every Monday morning. Go ahead- delete it. I will never know unless someone rats you out. Not only that, you will be bereft of good news/humorous made up information. (Bereft…that’s an interesting word…)

Please feel free to continue to submit news that you deem worthy of reading on a Monday morning and I will twist and spin your words until it’s in a pretty package of unrecognizable jargon. Or, I’ll just write it myself because that’s how I roll…

Have a very safe and Happy New Year’s Eve (because that’s what we are really saying, isn’t it?) Be peaceful…

See you Monday-

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good morning!

I have to tell you that I read Good News in the Sunday paper. The news is not specifically local but I think we can apply the ideas here. We’ve already started with one of them…

There was a small insert in the section of PARADE magazine. They called it Doing What’s Right. If you read it already go ahead and delete me this morning as I will do nothing but gush over this:

Every Day People Solving Problems- ‘How I try to Help’

One woman organized her own coat drive. In 1992, the first year she tried it, she and her friends collected $300 and bought 30 brand new coats from a retailer who offered them a discount. This year, they gave away 4500 coats! I’m proud to say Reinhart is already all over this with our own coat drive. We give away more and more coats every year.

Another woman volunteers to teach people living in homeless shelters about financial literacy. (What a unique and perfectly sensible idea!) She says part of the reason some of these people are in the position they are is they were unaware of how the financial system works. She explains credit cards, credit reports, bad debt, taxes and bank accounts in real life terms. She trains others to do the same. She says, “I’m using all my mistakes to help others. I can say, ‘I’ve been there, and I’m teaching you how I escaped and what you can do.’ Then I tell them, ‘Now go help someone else.’

Teens: the Take-Action Generation

According to a 2006 study from the Corporation for National and Community Service, volunteering by 16 – 19 year olds more than doubled from 1989 to 2005.

“What’s different about this generation is that they are really acting from passion, not obligation,”says Nancy Lublin, CEO of DoSomething.org (isn’t that a sweet domain name?), a non-profit that encourages young people’s involvement in public service. “They are wired, opinionated, and more informed than kids have been before.”

So incredibly cool…

Have a great day!

Susan Marlette Contact Me

THE EATING SEASON

It really begins on Halloween with Reeses and Snickers and Smarties,
Caramel apples and homemade soups and all those potluck parties.
The leftover candy was hidden from children “have some fruit instead”,
for parents to dine on chocolate so fine
when said children were tucked into bed.

Colored foil wrappers on Hershey kisses and Dove chocolate packaged just so,
but it’s not only chocolate that warms my heart, I really think you should know.
There’s pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake too,
Add the whipped cream to this wonderful dream
And it’s really too good to be true.

The Thanksgiving Feast was a sight to behold, the food heaped so high on the table.
We gobbled and gulped, we sipped and we supped until we were no longer able.
The men waddled from table to couch to begin the afternoon doze
While the women are geared to have everything cleared
As that’s how it usually goes.

But the worst comes now as the holiday season really goes into full swing.
Gourmet meals, cookies and candies and that whole Secret Santa thing.
Chocolate at work and chocolate at home, chocolate in peppermint candy,
Chocolate desserts, (eat til it hurts!)
Chocolate Kahlua and Brandy.

So eat up this season as I like to say, alas it really will end all too soon
We’ll be riding on bikes and taking long hikes to get rid of the feast by June!

Susan Marlette Contact Me

First- the bad dews- I’b sigk. By doze iz all stuffy ad I’b coughing and I cad breathe. I’b achy all over. Sigk on Chrisbas. Id is dot fud at by house…

The Good News is…Gift Cards are here! Hooray for gift cards! I know you are supposed to go out and purchase just the perfect gift that reflects not only how you feel about the person but also takes into consideration the tastes of that special someone. But you know when your 80 year old aunt that you see once a year hands you an envelope that is slightly heavier than a card (or is it one of those musical cards?) you know she has taken the easy route and that is a-okay with you. Bigger bonus- gift cards from a couple of relatives from the same store. You have hit the grand slam of gift cards! (I know, I know as long as it is a store you like. But really, unless the giver is waaaaaay off, like giving a Cabela’s card to a peace loving vegetarian, surely you can find something at the establishment that has given you free money.)

So the giver has not put a lot of thought into the gift. So you have a procrastinating brother that gave you the card with the envelope still wet on the seal. So you’ll know how much the giver has spent on you.

So?

Have a great day after Christmas!

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

After the marathon shopping that went on this weekend, I just wanted to share with you good news that I’m sure you have heard rumors about. THE SALES WERE INCREDIBLE!! That really should be all I need to say but if you know me, you know I cannot just let THAT kind of news go without comment. Need last minute gifts? Use the coupons, take advantage of the discounts. ( I keep finding things for myself- is that so wrong?) Shop at the mall or downtown. I know it’s chilly for downtown but who can resist going into Peaceable Kingdom? How can you not play with all the wind up toys, the rubber mice and the plastic pigs? Great place for stocking stuffers. Acme Mercantile is another fun place to shop and whatever you purchase, it’s almost a guarantee that it will be a one of a kind gift. Make your own- anything that has a photo of someone you love is a guaranteed hit. And you know grandparents are suckers for homemade frames or anything that has little handprints on it.

The parking wars have become a source of entertainment as tempers start to…flare. Just a little side note: if you have passed the space that someone is pulling out of, NO backing up to snag it, especially if someone is directly behind you. And no parking on snow mountains and for crying out loud pull up as far as you can into the spot. I almost picked off the bumper of an Explorer and a really nice vintage Caddy. Before you parallel park ask yourself- Can I parallel park with just one or two moves? More than that, traffic backs up, drivers get agitated and the entire ebb and flow of Main Street traffic is thrown into chaos. You can do it! You are an Ann Arborite! Even if you are not, you have been around downtown enough to have a little parallel parking savvy. So after you have successfully wedged your vehicle between two others in a reasonable amount of time, do a pay it forward thing. Throw an extra quarter or two in the meter. I love finding time on a meter, don’t you?

Be peaceful. Only a few more days and the madness will be over. Any sort of altercation will just ruin your good news karma, anyway…

Have a great day!

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

Guess I should clarify that yes, I am doing this until December 31st. At the end of the last e-mail I had said I was done with the series. I meant the 10 Things That Make You Happy series. That was really fun and from the response I got, I think it went over pretty well. We are still in discussion about what to do with this whole thing after the first of the year. If you have an opinion or suggestions on that I would love to hear it. You can even say enough already and I will not be offended. I swear. I’ll just poke the voodoo doll of you with a very sharp pin. KIDDING! (I’d use a dull one…KIDDING…)

The DDGN has not only been a good thing for Reinhart. I have also started to receive e-mails from local businesses wanting to share their good news. (oh yes, this is spreading big time…) I am too happy to pass these along. It lets us know that there are still people having a positive impact and making not only Michigan but Ann Arbor proud.

Architectural Resource of Ann Arbor recently won design awards in seven different categories at the National Remodeling Show Master Design Awards making them the SINGLE MOST RECOGNIZED FIRM at this year’s competition. This is a NATIONAL competition and look what city and state came home with bragging rights? The awards included two first place honors, one for room additions less than $100,000, the other in room remodel. You can see the absolutely unbelievable local makeovers at www.architecturalresource.com. Founder Michael Klement said, “It was an honor… to bring home good news to Michigan.”

I know U of M continually wins awards and maybe it becomes routine to them but I think we townies can be proud too. After all, we are strong supporters of a college town, right? Anna Michalak and Max Shtein, both assistant professors at the University, received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at a White House ceremony on Friday. It’s the highest honor the federal government gives to early-career scientists and engineers. IN THE COUNTRY. Kudos to both of them but a special shout out for Anna- you rock! More women in the sciences can only be good. I love role models that say yes, you can do the hard, complicated stuff. Anna’s award was for developing “innovative geostatistical modeling tools to study carbon cycling and global distribution of carbon dioxide”. (A mouthful yes, but impressive, no?) Max was honored for “developing novel ways to make the next generation of energy-efficient lighting devices, displays and solar cells.” These two are forward thinking and inventive. They have highlighted good news for Ann Arbor in the nation’s capital. Suh-weet!

FLIPPIN’ COLD DAY NEWS:

· Hot Chocolate is the drink of choice today. Ditch the coffee. The Shakolad Chocolate Store is rumored to have the best, Chocolate Café is excellent and (here’s a guilty pleasure) McDonald’s.

· Moosejaw is having a really great sale on WARM clothing and it is very fun to shop there. Let’s just say I could write for their website and my style would fit right in. Stock up on tissues before you go outside.

· People with seat warmers are smug today

· Automatic Car Starters are great gifts

Stay warm and have a great day!

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

Wow- Wicked out there today!

Number Ten: Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away

I’m so glad I have already written a lot about this subject in various forms of this newsletter. The Coat Drive (which was a huge success), giving to the Salvation Army and the Galens Tag Weekend. There was the article titled, “Americans Keep Giving” about everyday people still giving in a generous manner. For more on this subject, visit the Reinhart Blog and look at Jennifer Fry’s latest entry.

It’s hard to make light of a difficult situation that people sometimes find themselves in. I am thankful every day that I have my job, my friends and family. Giving to the charities that help the less fortunate feels good in your soul but is just one way of giving. You can also give of yourself and your time. Helping out when someone is in need of a leg up or even just a little favor. Researcher Stephen Post says helping a neighbor, volunteering, or donating goods and services results in a “helper’s high,” and you get more health benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking. Listening to a friend, passing on your skills, celebrating others’ successes, and forgiveness also contribute to happiness, he says. (You know this is scientific- there are theories and tests and proven data. I’m not making any of this up.) I myself must admit am skeptical about it being better for you than quitting smoking or exercising (especially after we JUST had that whole exercise discussion yesterday.) But don’t you get little sparks of satisfaction from some of the very smallest things? Giving directions to someone who is not from here. Teaching your kid how to do something you love and having them love it too. Shoveling the walk of the person next door because what the heck, you are out there anyway. Don’t you feel better after you have done something selfless? Someone at Target let me go in front of them because I only had two items and they had several. I didn’t even ask to. I paid it forward and took someone’s cart to the corral because I was taking mine there. They were surprised and I’m sure a little unnerved (after all, I wasn’t wearing a red shirt and khaki pants) but they were pleased just the same. I hope they did a deed along similar lines later that day.

Who knew that celebrating other’s successes would be considered an act of giving? Come to think of it, I do feel great when someone I care for does well. I feel happy when our team wins, or when a friend gets a promotion or when my kids get a great report card. Even when you have had absolutely nothing to do with the success itself, YOU feel happy. Giving it away is not only about donations to those in need, but the giving of yourself and the contentment and fulfillment that comes with that. It doesn’t have to be a Big Give. Little Gives throughout the day can provide little bursts of exhilaration too. I can do those little gives very easily. You can too…

So this is the last installment of this “series”. I have received a lot of great feedback about it. I know it wasn’t exactly “Good News” selected from headlines or suggestions taken from all of you but I hope it gave you a daily dose of something positive and generated optimism from within.

Real live Good News (as if you didn’t know): U of M is about to announce the purchase of the Pfizer facility on at the corner of Plymouth and Huron Parkway. I know, I know the tax thing is a thorn. But job creation is a huge plus. Not only actual worker bees, but think peripheral employment- janitorial crew, cafeteria workers and vendors. Surrounding businesses will get an influx of customers again. The creeped out feeling I get when I go past that hulking mass of a metal and glass ghost town will eventually go away…

Have a great weekend! And seriously- enjoy the snow. It’s free…

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

Number 9: Get out and Exercise

How easy is it to say this? (So easy, Susan) How easy is it to DO this? (Gee Susan, it’s kind of hard. CSI is on tonight…)

I am ALL over this ole number nine. But I have to admit it. Yes, I have to. The exercise thing? I’m whispering it to you now to ease the blow…it does work. I am on the side of Science on this one. I try not to even think of any kind of weight loss when it comes to moving my body parts in a meaningful way. I try to think how good it feels to be in motion. One of my favorite things is walking the dog late at night in the cold. (She is a bassett hound so you know we do not walk very fast, very long or very far…) I found it exhilarating. We were not exercising, we were walking. I know the neighbors question my sanity but I can live with that. I am not the one who cannot park my car in the garage because I have too much stuff. (One notices things on late night walks…) Sanity is a relative term, don’t you think?

But this is NOT about moi. It’s about you. I’m not a trainer or a coach-y sort of person (I don’t think they allow couch potatoes to do that…) but let’s just say it’s about 35 degrees outside. Not snowing, just a wonderful steel gray sky. The kind of sky that looks like the clouds are about 2 feet above your head. Your nose hairs are not freezing in their follicles but you can see your breath. Put on your coat. Slip on your mittens (yes,I have mittens, what of it?) and slide on your boots. What, no boots? Okay, just no high heels. Step outside and suck in some air. Don’t stand by the bus and do this. Start walking. Look at all the crows ( I don’t know what’s keeping them around here. Maybe they are shooting a remake of the Birds in Ann Arbor. Movies being in shot in A2 are popular these days. There’s some good news! They probably answered a casting “caw-l” for extras. Okay, sorry, sorry…) Give yourself a destination. A warm coffee shop just down the street is fine. Walk there and get a coffee. Walk back. Hey, you just got out and exercised! When was the last time that happened? If the sun was out, all the better. Turn your face up, close your eyes and smile into the bright blue yonder. Savor that moment, get a little natural Vitamin D. Should we try it once in the morning and once in the afternoon? I hear whining. But Susan you say, agents get exercise showing houses, going on inspections, checking drain fields and tromping around mucky vacant land in the middle of a rainstorm. We go up and down hundreds of stairs, pointing out the wonderful crown molding, the fine carpet, the bathroom decor. We go out into the backyard to prattle on about the rose bushes. We shlep, we shuffle, we schmooze. Well, Good News! I would absolutely count that. Are you exhausted yet feel pretty good after that sort of day? It’s not from pushing the pencil, or filing the folders or checking your e-mail. You got exercise!

And you thought this was going to be all preachy about getting out and moving your body. You thought I would talk about taking classes at the new and fabulous YMCA or playing tennis at Varsity Tennis Club or playing soccer at Wide World. Did you think I would mention skating at Veteran’s Park or the Cube or Yost? Or that I might say great things about Gallup Park being so darn pretty this time of year or that perhaps jogging on the indoor track with the beautiful views at the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center sounds really fun? If you thought that, you have no idea who you are dealing with…

Number Ten: Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away

Have a great day!

Susan

Susan Marlette Contact Me

Good Morning!

Number Seven: Smile. Even if you don’t feel like it.

Hmmmm…that’s a tough one for some people. I understand that. And with things the way they are (there’s that slippery slope again…) it’s sometimes hard to put on a happy face. Me, I’ve always been a half full sort of gal (I know, I know, hard to imagine). But sometimes, when you are wearing your crabbiest cranky pants and feeling darn good about it, someone smiling at you makes you want to give them a good hard pinch on the fatty part of their underarm to make them stop. I know for a fact that while that hurts like the dickens (because yes, I have been pinched by a teen age daughter who, after my squeal of agony claims, “Oh, that didn’t hurt”) the satisfaction of inflicting small but lethal amounts of pain on someone else when you are in a mood does not last. And darkly sinister smiles do not count as smiles. I think….

My solution- have others help you smile. This takes very little effort on your part if you find the right people. Suh-weet! Yes, use the bright, happy shiny people of the world. They don’t care. They are happy and seriously, I think that rubs off if you are within their sunshiny sphere long enough to take advantage of it. Everyone knows someone who can make them smile. Why do you think jokes on the internet are so rampant? Those joke senders are attempting to make the recipients smile. Even the most cantankerous sourpuss forward jokes. Maybe they believe those e-mails that say bad things will happen to them if they don’t. (I’ve heard that on more than one occasion. From that exiled prince in Nigeria who has a cool 100 mil he wants to split with me if I just send him a mere $1000…)

Glomming on to a happy person has its’ benefits. I have two very specific friends who can make me laugh anytime. Anytime, anywhere, just by being themselves. They don’t even have to try! Yes, I am a VERY easy mark to get a giggle out of, but everyone has days where life just does not seem very…positive. So you go to those people and say, “Gee, Friend So and So, I’m feeling kind of down.” (Or words to that effect…) They cheer you with witty sayings and tell you how beautiful/funny/smart/ you are. You walk away, smiling, your spirits lifted. Those kind of friends are like a drug free drug. You go to them for the rush and it can help with the rest of the day.

So, I guess if you can do it- smile even if you don’t feel like it. Science says it will help you feel happier. I can attest to that. But if you really are an Eeyore, there are lots of Tiggers in the world who are more than happy (Yes, they CAN be more than happy. They can be flippin’ overjoyed…) to slap a smile on that silly, grumpy mug of yours.

Have a great day!

Number 8: Say Thank You- and Mean It

Susan

Marjorie Bolgos Contact Me

Want to learn more about Habitat for Humanity? Tune in Ann Arbor Lifestyle on AM1290 WLBY this Saturday 10-11 a.m., for my live interview with Sarah Stanton, the Executive Director for Habitat in Washtenaw County. Habitat’s mission is to enrich the community through a legacy of affordable home ownership for low-income families. My show is broadcast live; it’s your chance to speak with Sarah directly and ask questions you have about Habitat for Humanity, its goals and how it works. The number to call is (734) 827-1290.

In the last 10 minutes of the show I’ll interview representatives from Live with Gratitude. Their company offers a variety of inspirational holiday gifts.

Tune in to Ann Arbor Lifestyle on AM1290 WLBY, Saturday, December 20th from 10 – 11 a.m.