MFCB Y2K7: CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
The Miller Family Christmas Blog (MFCB) is back & better than Ezra (well maybe not quite that good) for 2007 (Y2K7) with Your MFCB Supporter, Jack Strap manning the keyboard to report on all the Millers action (& leave out the inaction).
The older we get, the more we like most things to stay the same, rather than CHANGE (this is based on my psychological research which some compare to "Pavlov's Dog"). But CH-CH-CH-CHANGE (sing it like Ziggy Stardust) is an inevitable force and thus impacted the Miller Family in 2007 in some good ways & some bad. Of course some things stayed the same, but I'll try to re-package those to make them sound more exciting for you the MFCB Reader.
From this point forward, I'm going to use an advanced writing technique that I like to call "Sections". This will allow you to skip sections you could care less about like "Glenn" or quickly look for sections you're most interested in like Karen, Brittany, Andrew, etc.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
If you haven't already figured it out, CH-CH-CH-CHANGES is the 1st Section which I tried to make easier for you to determine by changing the font color to Christmas Red. Major changes this year included Glenn leaving his job at Penske (Roger's 2nd biggest loss after Nascar) for a VP Finance position at FES Systems in York which I think will be a good CHANGE. A bad CHANGE was the passing of our beloved Dog Comet who was always such a positive force in the Miller Family Household (MFH), but from Heaven--Comet continued to make "his people" happy by sending us Chandler from the local Golden Retriever (Comey Boy was part Golden) Rescue League via (interestingly enough) Florida & Oregon.
Cancer SUX
More CHANGE came in the malignant form of Cancer & don't have to tell you that is Bad CHANGE because I know most of you have been impacted by it. The MF's 4-year old Niece Lauren was diagnosed with Leukemia and although her ultimate prognosis looks positive, she has to go thru 2-1/2 years of very difficult treatments (e.g. chemo, steroids). More recently, Glenn's Dad was diagnosed with Lung Cancer that has spread to bone and liver, thus the prognosis is unfortunately bad. Our friend Steve "Swoop" Poletti's 8 weeks of proton beam therapy in Houston did defeat his prostate cancer, although was nerve-wracking in the interim. And Rich "Hey-Suess" Sammel's thyroid cancer miraculously "disappeared" after providing a major scare.
Vacations
Let's CHANGE the subject & escape that last section by flying off to Disney & then Vegas. In early February, we enjoyed a most expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) courtesy of PTL (Penske Truck Leasing) as they had a meeting there @ The Grand Floridian. While Glenn was meeting, the rest of the Miller Family was twice running into Super Bowl Winning Coach Tony Dungy. As always, the MF had a great time @ WDW. In June, we took our "no expenses paid" Vacation to Viva Las Vegas which was a CHANGE as we had never been there. The highlights included beating the heat (106 degrees) with the amazing David Copperfield (before the FBI raided his magic-quarters) and a stunning Cirque Du Soleil Show.
Karen
The aforementioned Vegas Vacation was expertly planned by Karen who is also the Organizer of the confusing Miller Family Calendar (MFC) and Managing Director of the demanding Miller Family Household (MFH). She also continues to find time to teach first graders to read @ West Wyomissing, tutor other elementary kids in the Wilson District, and be a "#1 Fan" of Wilson football & basketball (ask her to tell you the story of when she almost had to run on the field).
Karen's Christmas Recipe
Peanut Butter Snowballs:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Beat butter until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Stir in chunky peanut butter until blended. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until well blended. Roll dough into 60 (1 inch) balls; place 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar.
Andrew
Usually Brittany appears in the MFCB (and it's predecessor the MFCNL: Miller Family Christmas News Letter) before Andrew due to seniority, but CHANGING that this year. CHANGE for Andrew this year included him being the Grand Finale in the Junior High's Talent Show where he choreographed & starred in an innovative percussion act, but instead of drums he used a ladder & a trashcan--it was excellent. Another CHANGE was his first real job as he followed his sister's footsteps to Boehringers this Summer. Andrew continues to do very well in school, play in the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO), "exercise" with his Wii games, and in addition to marching in the Junior High Band--he got to twice drum in the stands with the Wilson High Band including at an exciting playoff game in Harrisburg. Also don't ask him because he doesn't want to talk about it, but he's taking an interest in girls.
Brittany
The Miller Family (MF) is proud of how well our Sophomore Britty is doing while dual-Majoring in Elementary Education and Psychology at Albright (or "All-Britt"). She's now awaiting the results of her just finished Finals with her current GPA @ 3.75. She has done that while juggling her new job (i.e. CHANGE) at Austin's Restaurant (she meets & greets & seats so stop in to see her), while continuing to french fry at Boehringers, volunteer teach in the Wilson Youth Swim Program, and is still dating Jimi who is now enrolled at Kutztown University. Britty also helped Teach an Albright Freshman Forum class this past semester and continues to sing be-a-u-tifully in the Albright Choir.
Chandler & Lola
Not to be confused with Disney's Charlie & Lola, the MF's Dog Chandler & Kitty Cat Lola are getting along fine now that an initially scared Lola (note Chandler is a lot bigger than Comet) has established herself as Da Boss (just like Mindy was with Comet). After leaping tall cabinets in a single bound, Lola likes to curl up in an available MF lap for a nap. Chandler loves to go on walks with his new Mommy & Daddy as much as they enjoy taking him. Since we have Chandler's past records, we know that he celebrated his 4th Birthday on November 30 and just before that he had the pleasure of meeting his pet-loving Cousin Kristen who stayed with us for a couple days.
Glenn
If anyone is still reading this, I can tell you that Founding Father Glenn's "M2--Miller Madness" Hills Hoops Inc. (HHI) celebrated its 15th Anniversary this summer with the Hoopsters sharing laughs & trading baskets on Saturday mornings (notable: a special HHI guest appearance by Brother Jay from IL). On the downside, the long-running (pun intended) Lunch Run Program (LRP) appears to be defunct after Glenn left Flying Hills although with that CHANGE he has started up the YRP--York Run Program. Most Notable events attended included the 3P--Poletti Pool Party (often imitated, never duplicated), the Penn State Weekend Road Trip (included a victory over Buffalo Bulls), another Penn St. win vs. Iowa (if he went to every game, they'd be in the National Championship Game) with "On the River" Reitzy, Scholesy & his son Steven's historic first PSU game (& after game dinner @ Hooters because the food is really good there), Commisioner Collin's Dad--Old School Bruce's HHI/TCFL Golf Outing, Buca di Beppo Pope Room Dinner (Glenn wasn't the "guinea bastard"), and last but certainly not least: the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (ACS-RfL) which deserves its own section.
Relay for Life
Moving forward, this unfortunately takes on even more meaning for the Miller Family as per the "Cancer SUX" section above. Our Team Poletti participated in our 3rd ACS Relay this past May and work together year round raising monies for this worthy cause, so please contact us if you'd like to donate. Our Captain Diane-dretti Poletti (who survived Breast Cancer) leads our efforts & last year our little team almost raised more money for the ACS ("Cheat'in" Ross notably ran a great Texas Hold'em Fundraiser) than the goliath Reading Hospital Team (although we did defeat them in Volleyball & Tug-of-War). So if you haven't been involved with this Cause, then CHANGE this year by joining and/or supporting (with a donation) our Relay for Life (RfL) Team.So from the Miller Family Christmas Blog (MFCB)--MERRY CHRISTMAS & Our Best Wishes to You for a HAPPY NEW 2008 YEAR filled with Good CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!!!!!
Plus Special Added Bonus Pictures Below from the MFCB:
In Loving Memory of COMET (with his Pal Lola)
Britty & Andrew @ Magic Kingdom + Las Vegas Pink Jeep Tour
Red Rocks Canyon near Las Vegas + What's Karen Doing?
Britty, Andrew, Lola & Chandler in front of the Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
The older we get, the more we like most things to stay the same, rather than CHANGE (this is based on my psychological research which some compare to "Pavlov's Dog"). But CH-CH-CH-CHANGE (sing it like Ziggy Stardust) is an inevitable force and thus impacted the Miller Family in 2007 in some good ways & some bad. Of course some things stayed the same, but I'll try to re-package those to make them sound more exciting for you the MFCB Reader.
From this point forward, I'm going to use an advanced writing technique that I like to call "Sections". This will allow you to skip sections you could care less about like "Glenn" or quickly look for sections you're most interested in like Karen, Brittany, Andrew, etc.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
If you haven't already figured it out, CH-CH-CH-CHANGES is the 1st Section which I tried to make easier for you to determine by changing the font color to Christmas Red. Major changes this year included Glenn leaving his job at Penske (Roger's 2nd biggest loss after Nascar) for a VP Finance position at FES Systems in York which I think will be a good CHANGE. A bad CHANGE was the passing of our beloved Dog Comet who was always such a positive force in the Miller Family Household (MFH), but from Heaven--Comet continued to make "his people" happy by sending us Chandler from the local Golden Retriever (Comey Boy was part Golden) Rescue League via (interestingly enough) Florida & Oregon.
Cancer SUX
More CHANGE came in the malignant form of Cancer & don't have to tell you that is Bad CHANGE because I know most of you have been impacted by it. The MF's 4-year old Niece Lauren was diagnosed with Leukemia and although her ultimate prognosis looks positive, she has to go thru 2-1/2 years of very difficult treatments (e.g. chemo, steroids). More recently, Glenn's Dad was diagnosed with Lung Cancer that has spread to bone and liver, thus the prognosis is unfortunately bad. Our friend Steve "Swoop" Poletti's 8 weeks of proton beam therapy in Houston did defeat his prostate cancer, although was nerve-wracking in the interim. And Rich "Hey-Suess" Sammel's thyroid cancer miraculously "disappeared" after providing a major scare.
Vacations
Let's CHANGE the subject & escape that last section by flying off to Disney & then Vegas. In early February, we enjoyed a most expenses paid trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) courtesy of PTL (Penske Truck Leasing) as they had a meeting there @ The Grand Floridian. While Glenn was meeting, the rest of the Miller Family was twice running into Super Bowl Winning Coach Tony Dungy. As always, the MF had a great time @ WDW. In June, we took our "no expenses paid" Vacation to Viva Las Vegas which was a CHANGE as we had never been there. The highlights included beating the heat (106 degrees) with the amazing David Copperfield (before the FBI raided his magic-quarters) and a stunning Cirque Du Soleil Show.
Karen
The aforementioned Vegas Vacation was expertly planned by Karen who is also the Organizer of the confusing Miller Family Calendar (MFC) and Managing Director of the demanding Miller Family Household (MFH). She also continues to find time to teach first graders to read @ West Wyomissing, tutor other elementary kids in the Wilson District, and be a "#1 Fan" of Wilson football & basketball (ask her to tell you the story of when she almost had to run on the field).
Karen's Christmas Recipe
Peanut Butter Snowballs:
1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Beat butter until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Stir in chunky peanut butter until blended. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to peanut butter mixture, beating until well blended. Roll dough into 60 (1 inch) balls; place 1 inch apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar.
Andrew
Usually Brittany appears in the MFCB (and it's predecessor the MFCNL: Miller Family Christmas News Letter) before Andrew due to seniority, but CHANGING that this year. CHANGE for Andrew this year included him being the Grand Finale in the Junior High's Talent Show where he choreographed & starred in an innovative percussion act, but instead of drums he used a ladder & a trashcan--it was excellent. Another CHANGE was his first real job as he followed his sister's footsteps to Boehringers this Summer. Andrew continues to do very well in school, play in the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra (RSYO), "exercise" with his Wii games, and in addition to marching in the Junior High Band--he got to twice drum in the stands with the Wilson High Band including at an exciting playoff game in Harrisburg. Also don't ask him because he doesn't want to talk about it, but he's taking an interest in girls.
Brittany
The Miller Family (MF) is proud of how well our Sophomore Britty is doing while dual-Majoring in Elementary Education and Psychology at Albright (or "All-Britt"). She's now awaiting the results of her just finished Finals with her current GPA @ 3.75. She has done that while juggling her new job (i.e. CHANGE) at Austin's Restaurant (she meets & greets & seats so stop in to see her), while continuing to french fry at Boehringers, volunteer teach in the Wilson Youth Swim Program, and is still dating Jimi who is now enrolled at Kutztown University. Britty also helped Teach an Albright Freshman Forum class this past semester and continues to sing be-a-u-tifully in the Albright Choir.
Chandler & Lola
Not to be confused with Disney's Charlie & Lola, the MF's Dog Chandler & Kitty Cat Lola are getting along fine now that an initially scared Lola (note Chandler is a lot bigger than Comet) has established herself as Da Boss (just like Mindy was with Comet). After leaping tall cabinets in a single bound, Lola likes to curl up in an available MF lap for a nap. Chandler loves to go on walks with his new Mommy & Daddy as much as they enjoy taking him. Since we have Chandler's past records, we know that he celebrated his 4th Birthday on November 30 and just before that he had the pleasure of meeting his pet-loving Cousin Kristen who stayed with us for a couple days.
Glenn
If anyone is still reading this, I can tell you that Founding Father Glenn's "M2--Miller Madness" Hills Hoops Inc. (HHI) celebrated its 15th Anniversary this summer with the Hoopsters sharing laughs & trading baskets on Saturday mornings (notable: a special HHI guest appearance by Brother Jay from IL). On the downside, the long-running (pun intended) Lunch Run Program (LRP) appears to be defunct after Glenn left Flying Hills although with that CHANGE he has started up the YRP--York Run Program. Most Notable events attended included the 3P--Poletti Pool Party (often imitated, never duplicated), the Penn State Weekend Road Trip (included a victory over Buffalo Bulls), another Penn St. win vs. Iowa (if he went to every game, they'd be in the National Championship Game) with "On the River" Reitzy, Scholesy & his son Steven's historic first PSU game (& after game dinner @ Hooters because the food is really good there), Commisioner Collin's Dad--Old School Bruce's HHI/TCFL Golf Outing, Buca di Beppo Pope Room Dinner (Glenn wasn't the "guinea bastard"), and last but certainly not least: the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (ACS-RfL) which deserves its own section.
Relay for Life
Moving forward, this unfortunately takes on even more meaning for the Miller Family as per the "Cancer SUX" section above. Our Team Poletti participated in our 3rd ACS Relay this past May and work together year round raising monies for this worthy cause, so please contact us if you'd like to donate. Our Captain Diane-dretti Poletti (who survived Breast Cancer) leads our efforts & last year our little team almost raised more money for the ACS ("Cheat'in" Ross notably ran a great Texas Hold'em Fundraiser) than the goliath Reading Hospital Team (although we did defeat them in Volleyball & Tug-of-War). So if you haven't been involved with this Cause, then CHANGE this year by joining and/or supporting (with a donation) our Relay for Life (RfL) Team.So from the Miller Family Christmas Blog (MFCB)--MERRY CHRISTMAS & Our Best Wishes to You for a HAPPY NEW 2008 YEAR filled with Good CH-CH-CH-CHANGES!!!!!
Plus Special Added Bonus Pictures Below from the MFCB:
In Loving Memory of COMET (with his Pal Lola)
Britty & Andrew @ Magic Kingdom + Las Vegas Pink Jeep Tour
Red Rocks Canyon near Las Vegas + What's Karen Doing?
Britty, Andrew, Lola & Chandler in front of the Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
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