House-to-House

The Ozog's have been doing House-to-House for well over 30 years. That term is something we all know. In looking at Dan's facebook I was surprised to see people posting questions about it.

House-to-house was always the highlight of the holiday week when we were kids. We got up early and went to all our aunt's and uncle's houses. When we were younger it was always cool to drive with people who were not your parents. The goal was to not drive with the same person twice.

Over the years as we grew up house to house continued, but not as robustly as the early years. This year Dan and I decided to go just to the end and have dinner with the family. Well a lot of my other cousins had the same idea. Holy Cow there must have been 60-70 people at my parents house.

One of the things that makes the Ozog family unique is its welcoming spirit. We are definitely an in-your-face family. There is no warming up period. And with house to house everyone shows up at the same time, so it's instant chaos. While this is something that I am very use to, it took Matt and Nate a minute to get use to it. I guess I now know how Morgan and Gwen feel when they visit.

Dan and Suzi.Sr. Pat, Sr. Ann and Aunt Lottie. It was nice to see Sr. Pat up to the day. Dan will do anything for his mother-in-law. Here he is cleaning up a spill. Some of the cousins. Nate, Matt, Chris, Mary Ann (who I haven't seen in YEARS), Rick, Kate, and Al
Al and Uncle Wally-Look they have the same hair!! Me and Bobby - again haven't seen him in years.

**Pictures compliments of Lori's facebook- thanks Lori***

It's been a busy Christmas

We started out Christmas on December 22 with a trip to Ann Arbor to celebrate with the English Family. After that we did Christmas Eve at our house, followed by Christmas day at Busia and Papas. Spent the night there until the 26th. Home for a day and then back to Plymouth for the Ozog Tradition House-to-House.


These pics are from the English Family Christmas. It's nice to have little ones running around. Brody (top left) looked so cute in his Christmas outfit. The only bad thing was he didn't have a belt. On more than one occasion he lost his pants while chasing something or someone around the room. We were able to fix this with a pipe cleaner. Maureen did a great job putting everything together. She was a little worried. This was her first party - usually she is the girl who brings the rolls. No one left hungry!


Christmas at Busia's is always lively. Brian, Heather and the boys were in. Eric, Patti and the girls and Heather's family also joined us. There are always SOOOO many presents under the tree. The little boys had no problem figuring out the Santa thing. We all must have been very good, Santa brought lots of great things for everyone. The second highlight of the day is singing St Lat to all those December (January) birthdays. Unlike last year the music was not too loud and the little boys seems to enjoy the Polka Dancing.

Merry Christmas Mrs. English

There are times when 8th graders give their teachers a little something for the holidays. Today I got the sweetest sweet. One of my students made gingerbread people for all her teachers. She painstakingly went to the trouble of decorating them to look like each teacher.

Every day when I get dressed for school I take an inordinate amount of time picking out just the right necklace. And every day in class at least one student every hour will mention my necklace. Well, this students depicted me wearing a beautiful necklace. I am very touched.

August 7, 2011

Matt went on Friday and signed on the dotted line and swore an oath to Uncle Sam. He starts OCS on August 7, 2010. (That is if things in Washington don't delay things - ie budget cuts) At least now he has a definite date. In the meantime he will continue subbing and hopefully be able to get his Pepsi job back when the weather breaks.

Trying to get into the Christmas spirit.

For some reason I am having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit. I came across this youtube video - and yes I was able to sing along. I do prefer a faster beat though.

Cancer Free

I had my last procedure yesterday. As of today-NO MORE SKIN CANCER! Out of the three spots: face, head, back - the removal from the head was the most painful.

I felt like a baby Chrissy doll. Baby Chrissy was the most sought after doll when I was in the 5th grade (for those of you who are too young to know). She had this red hair that you could lenghten by pulling straight up from the top of her head.

After they stitched up my head the tension was so tight that for about 8 days I felt like some little girl was pulling at the top of my head trying to make my hair grow.

And yes I did have a Baby Chrissy doll. Got her for my birthday. She was big enough to wear real baby clothes. While I loved her I never loved her as much as baby Thumbalina.

The parts are ordered

Yesterday we got the approval to have the car fixed. The dealership in Madison WI seems very on-the-ball with keeping us informed on things. Hopefully this diligence will be apparent in its workmanship. One more hurdle we have crossed.

Dan and I are usually very uptight about things like this. We are both trying to take a different outlook. We decided that it's crazy to worry about things we have no control over. And we obviously have no control over this. I have to say I like the calm as opposed to the stress and tension that worry brings.