Lori's Minute

2011-05-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well I finally figured out how to get back and blog. Here's a quick update:

WInter is finally over....I think.

That about sums it up.

I am a writer

2011-02-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

Has it really been almost two months since I last blogged? Can't be true....I must have blogged somewhere.

So much as happened....the addition is done and we use the hot tub every day. We had avery nice Christmas and New Years and now the Packer are in the Super Bowl! It sure makes the winter go a little faster.

Speaking of winter...it seems like everyone is getting blasted with winter weather. We are getting some but not as much as some poor folks.

Yesterday was Pete's birthday. Breanna wrote him a beautiful letter. She came home from school and wrote it in about five minutes. I asked, "How did you write such a nice letter in such a short time?" Her answer: "Mom, I AM a writer."

2010-12-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

We have had the hot tub filled four six days and I have been in it everyday! Thr room itself is pretty much done. The contractor has to come back to seal the grout next week and we also have to see if the minisplit works. So far, with the heated floor and the hot tub, the room does not need heat!

I still need to get a couple chairs and will probably go the wicker route. We also need a storage basket for towels. I was going to make a picture to hang but with the moisture I am rethinking. Perhaps a mural? We will see.

This morning I sat out in the tub and it had snowed. I felt like I was in the mountains, sitting outdoors. I am so happy with the the room.

We have a busy weekend. We have to get a tree, do some shopping and there is a neighborhood Christmas party Sat. night. Sunday is church and then the game of course.

We put together shoe boxes for the shoe box drive. We ended up with five boxes! This is the first year we did it and I think we will do it next year. I am going to try to pick up hats and gloves after the holidays when they are on sale for the boxes next year. We also included shirts. The guys got wallets, small tools, and flashlights. The kids got toys. All got candy, hats, gloves and socks.

Nothing puts my in the holiday mood like giving to someone else.

2010-12-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Checking my last post I see I predicted a 20% chance of the hottub working last week. Well, the electrician did not come until this week. He is still not finished but should be soon. Pete stopped at the hot tub place to see how to run the hot tub.

He came home and we decided to wait until the electrician was ALL done (not mostly done). He tried out the mini split and it did not work. Checking the manual it looked like we did not get the right model number. He thought we got only the cooling unit and not the heating unit which is the main reason we got the mini split. Fast forward to today, and the contractor thinks the heat pump is in the outdoor unit, not the indoor unit which is how these things apprently work. The electrician still has to hook it up so that is why we could not get it to work last night. Whew! I am still not sure if we got the right unit....

Pete is home sick today with some tupe of tummy issue. I hear a lot of moaning coming from the bedroom as he tries to sleep. Poor baby...

Thanksgiving went well...Pat brought more turkey legs, Alex brought a bunch of pies, Mom brought her ham and a bean dish which the dogs got into, and Betty brought rolls. Pennie brought Maggie who was very good and liked to look out the window. (Maggie, not Pennie)

Alex lost his itouch and it ended up being my fault because he had set it ontop of the newspaper ads which I put in the basket not seeing the itouch. Once I found out where he last saw it, I checked the basket with the papers and sure enough, the itouch was in the bottom of the basket...whew!

I did the same thing with my hearing aids. I set them on top of my nightstand (usually I put them in my jewelry box), went to clean off the nightstand later and accidentally threw away the aids! I just happened to need them shortly after and went to check the garbage, which is full, and there they were, sitting on top! "Thank you God!" I said aloud....another whew!

I think this means I am not supposed to throw things away, could it be? No, I need to be more carefull. So hard when one has a hard time seeing.

Luke had a blast playing with his cousins.

A good day.

2010-11-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

It will be a busy week. The addition should be pretty much done if the electrician comes on Tuesday. He may not because of deer hunting.

The hot tub guys came and unwrapped the hot tub and discovered it was placed wrong so they turned it and now there is floorboard exposed where there should be tile. We held off hooking up the hot tub until the floor is fixed. After they left I realized the inside color is not the color we ordered. I called them but they insisted it is the right color. Doesn't matter, because it is the right model number and I think I like the mistaken color better anyway. It does bother me they would not admit their mistake. Pete came home and said it was not the color we ordered so at least I am not going crazy.

Earlier this week Pete said he was going to cut a pipe while trying to fix the toilet but first he had to stop at Home Depot after work. As soon as I heard him say he was going to cut something, I called the plumber who came out and fixed it in 20 minutes.

THe deck has to be totally redone and will cost more to do it but at least it will be done right.

The other thing is the car is making a burnt popcorn smell and we cannot figure out where it is coming from. Believe it or not, between looking online and talking to people, there is a possibllity there are mice storing food in the car engine or exhaust somewhere. . We know there are mice in the garage but were going to wait until the addition is done.

THe good news is the Packers beat the Vikings, Pete installed two recessed lights in the hallway and we found turkey legs for my brother in law. I will have to ask mom how to make those.

I am looking forward to having everyone for Thanksgiving. I serve the meal early so then I can rest the rest of the day.

I am giving us a 20% chance of having a hot tub working this week. Pete sat in it yestereday and he looks good in it but of course, there is no water yet.

2010-11-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

Both kids had check ups and they both went well. Bree may need glasses.

I think today is going to be the last nice day, it looks like cold weather starting tomorrow.

The contractor and his assistant are working on the floor in the addition today.

I may go shopping with mom tomorrow.

2010-11-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend. Pete's family came up to visit on Saturday and on Sunday we went to visit mom while Bree went trick or treating with her friends. She went as an angel. Mom made chili. Pete was in heaven, the Packers won and he got to eat her chili.

Today the contractor worked on painting the trim. We are not sure when the room is going to be done. I keep thinking one more week but then it passes.

Pete has classes in Appleton all week.

Tribute to Toast

2010-10-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Lots of work getting done on the addition this week. The walls and ceiling are insulated and now the wallboard is going up. I have chosen a color for the walls...Toasted Wheat. This is good because the floor tile is called 'Toast'. If any one word describes the Linna family it is 'toast'.

You can eat it, make it, burn it, butter it, throw it (think Rocky Horror Picture Show) give it as in a wedding toast, become it as in "Oh, now you are toast", or be toasty warm. You can dunk it, put jelly on it, or feed it to the birds.

Nothing beats toast.

Except maybe chocolate.

2010-10-16T04:40:00.001-07:00

The addition has been stalled because when the electrician came he said due to new laws, nothing electrical can be within five feet of the hot tub (or something like that). We thought we were going to have a hot tub room but the hot tub will be on the deck!

Contractor called the city inspector and we think we have solved the problem but the electrician is booked the rest of the week and came for an hour or two since then.

But it is coming along...I think next week a lot will get done. The windows and the siding for sure and then the plastering.

We are also thinking of having some landscaping done in the front. I let it get overgrown. I wish I would have kept up with the trimming but with my sight it was too hard. I really like what the landscaper designed but it is a little over our budget so I will take a look at our finances to see what we can do. Taking out a few flowers or shrubs does not save us much since most of the quote is for removal of the old stuff and the general mulch and edging. I'm sure our neighbors would be happy to see a nicer yard! The design really is pretty. I looked up the plants on line and I think it will look very nice. I asked for purples, blues, with some pinks and whites. I am keeping the liiac bush because I like the way they smell when it blooms.I told the designer it was the one thing I wanted to keep but he took it out! I'm keeping it!!!

Pete is sick with a nasty cough/cold. Poor baby...

We don't have anything planned which is good since he is sick.

2010-10-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Breanna went to homecoming this past weekend. She and her two friends looked so pretty. I cleaned out master bedroom and bathroom so the girls could get ready in there and have lots of room. Pete took them to the dance and picked them up.

Tomorrow we have Luke's conference and he is going with us. Should be interesting.

The addition has a roof. The electrician comes Monday. After that, things should accelerate pretty quickly from there.

The last couple days have been beautiful, sunny fall days.

2010-09-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have a headache.

I think it's from the five hours of pounding from the contractor dude.

Ya think?

2010-09-18T07:24:00.001-07:00

Finally Pete comes home today after spending the week in SF for a conference. The cool thing was the Brewers are playing there so he got to go see them last night. I taped the game because they often show Brewer fans in the stands at opponent stadiums. I watched until I fell asleep but I had not seen him yet.

They started the framing on the addition...it is hard on the weekends to wait until Monday because I am used to seeing the contractor out there working every day.

Bree is still cleaning her room. The deal is it has to be done before dad gets home. I am going to work on the the family room and if time, the laundry room. I had planned to do it earlier but came down with a nasty cold so every time I tried to work I got worn out. I am doing better today so am on the mend....just sucking on cough drops. I have noticed with the colds I have gotten the last couple of years, the cough tends to hang on. I had one last spring where the cough lasted two weeks! Makes it hard to go to church and be quiet....I ended up listening to the sermon out in the lobby area.

More later.

Redo Do over

2010-09-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

THings are not going well on my 100 day plan...might start again tomorrow.

Went and voted today...made an error so had to ask for a new ballot.

Kids got their new beds. Luke fell asleep in his but when I woke up this morning he was sleeping on the floor in our room where he usually ends up. What is that kid going to do in college? Walk home every night to sleep on our floor?

Bree likes her new bed and is cleaning her room. She is finding lots of stuff she forgot about in her closet. Her bed fits nicely in the corner.

Do Over Day 100

2010-09-07T06:50:00.000-07:00

I did not do well this weekend with my steps or water. I did hack down a lot of trees, though. Anyway, I am starting my 100 day countdown again starting today. !00 Days from now is Dec. 15.

Remember I need to do the following daily:
!. At least 10,000 steps
2. At least6 8 oz. of water
3. One good job done. You know, the kind where when you are finished you say, "That is a good job done!"

Manual Labor

2010-09-04T16:00:00.001-07:00

Today I did not wear a pedometer but I spent about four hours hacking and trimming weeds, bushes, and silver maples. I hate silver maples, they grow like weeds and multiply like bunnies. I made about 20 trips hauling it all to the curb. The sad thing is it is only two sides of the house.

I had the kids go out and pick up the sticks and leaves I missed and any garbage. Bree looked at me and asked, "Now?" She is shocked I am having her do manual labor. I bet it will take no more than 20 minutes. Kids...

98 days to go

2010-09-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

I am on the comoputer before the kids get home from school. I drank some water, got my 10,000 steps in and paid bills as the chore for the day. I think I will do some laundry.

I am going to try to think of something for each number....100 is one of my favorite numbers, 99 reminds me of the song "99 bottles of beer on the wall..." which brings us to 98. Ummmm, this is a stretch but in '98 I had my 15th class reunion but I did not go.

99 days to go

2010-09-03T05:03:00.001-07:00

I did not get a chance to get on yesterday because my daughter was on the computer. Not to worry, I got my 10,000 steps, drank some water and did a chore. I could have done better though so will try to do so today.

The kids both had good days at school.

Looks like rain today and Hurricane Earl has landed on the east coast. Uff da!

100 Day Countdown

2010-09-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of school for the kids. Since they are starting something so will I. Starting today will be a 100 Day countdown. Every day, before I can blog or use the computer, I must complese the following:
1. walk 10,000 steps
2. drink water and less soda
3. accomplish one household chore

Why 100? Because I like that number.

So far today I walked the steps, had lots of water and washed all the throw blankets in the family room.

2010-08-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today we took Luke to school to meet his teachers. He has two, one in the morning and one in the p.m. He told them both he likes science. He saw some kids he is friends with and some he is not.

Pete has been so busy with work we have not had time to grocery shop. Tonight I made pizza with french fries and we had choc. chip ccokie dough ice cream for dessert. Still ended up good!

Bree has her outfit picked out for school. She had a project she had to do for English which included reading a book, writing an essay and making a travel brochure which I thought was pretty good! She made it for California and on the back it said, "Orange you glad you are going to California?" Ha..ha..

The nephews

2010-08-27T05:50:00.001-07:00

What a great day yesterday. The kids came back from Neenah. Spanky followed Bree wherever she went. Pat, Betty, Pennie and the boys came yesterday. Pat, Betty went with Bree and Pete to the Packer game.

I helped Alex with a project (just a little help) and then he, Pennie and I taught Caleb how to play canasta and he did very well! We missed the second half of the game so we rewound it to see all the Packer touchdowns! Luke and Elijah played the whole time.

The best conversation was when Luke came up to me asking for a scissors. I asked why. He said to cut something. I said what. Hw said they made a repelling hook for his bionicles and they got all tangled up. THen I ok'd the scissors. As parents we need to ask these questions.

Good day yesterday.

shopping!

2010-08-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Pete and I went shopping. The kids are out of town for a few days so we bought them a surprise. We also got some groceries. Pat's boys and Pennie will be here while everyone else will be at the game.

I went for my walk this morning...it was perfect weather wise.

Reunion

2010-08-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

We went to a Hovey family reunion this past weekend in Mondovi. It was nice to see everyone. I wrote in the book they passed around "The old saying The more things change, the more they remain the same" describes the Hovey reunion.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Eau Claire. It was a nice hotel. We had adjoining rooms. Jared came with us to swim. It was the first time he had ever gone swimming at a hotel. It was also the first time I ever saw mom in a pool or a hot tub.

It was a nice quick trip over but good to be home. We are trying to finalize things on the addition plans so we can move ahead with it. Seems like there is always one more thing needed.

The kids are staying in Neenah until Thursday. Pat and the boys are there also.

Perspective

2010-08-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

I saw on the news today a four year old boy was found after he wandered off after a horse ride. He went missing overnight and they found him! So happy for him and his parents. Whoo-hoo!

Better Now

2010-08-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, now that I am done venting I feel better....I called and talked to a friend who has a similar situation. But, I'still don't like the situation.

Blog advice, anyone.?

2010-08-16T10:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I really need some advice from my blog friends.

My brother is being an idiot. He has been selected to be responsible in taking care of some legal matters but ignores it so now I have attorneys calling my house and sending me emails.

When I talk to him or send him emails, he blows me off just like he has my whole life. When I told him dad was not getting better, he said he was fine. When I suggested he talk to his doctor because he was the only one allowed to, he did not. When he asked me to call medical records to get them ready for him to pick them up, I did but he never went to pick them up.

The one time I asked a lot of questions about his boys, my nephews, his response was "You want too many details, your are worse than the soccer moms...geez!" SInce I hardly talk to him over the years I did not think it was a big deal but apparently to him it was. Then he proceeded to show me his newest phone/toy asking me to watch something on this tiny screen when I couldn't see it because of my low vision.

I don't want to cut him out of my life but I don't seem to have a choice. I am so angry at him. I have offered several times to help him out in any way. What really gets me is the people he does talk to would rather not upset him than stick up for me. I feel like I have nobody in my corner. No one thinks about upsetting me.

My friends say he must have a good reason but they don't know him the way I do. He has not been responsible for anything his entire life. FOr such a smart guy, he can be really stupid.

It all comes down to this, I can only control my own behavior and as of right now, I choose to cut him loose. Ater forty years, I am tired of constantly towing the line. Let someone else do it because I 'm done.

Not over yet

2010-08-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to water around the furnace and all over the carpet in the basement. I called the guy who was here two days ago and he thinks he has it fixed now. We will have to rent a blower from Home Depot to dry the carpet. I was polite on the phone when I called the furnace place but on the inside I was not happy. They were concerned and got someone out to use right away which helped. Hopefully, it really is fixed. Uff da!

Luke, Bree and I had dental appts. today. Both kids have one cavity so they will need fillings. Luke has to see an orthodontist regarding his overbite and possible braces, both things I was expecting to hear. I had an over bite and wore a retainer for a couple years.
His teeth are such mess that braces are obvious.

It is stormy and windy here.

Of Mice and Men

2010-08-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

THe one guy I called to come look at the A/C unit never called me back so today I called someone else. He was here in a half hour and left about an hour and a half later. Turns out there was a huge mouse nest inside the unit. He said he had never seen one this big and filled a garbage bag about 35 pounds of mouse nest. It needed a new capaciter which was only $36 plus labor. Now the house is cool again.What a difference a day makes. We will call this guy again the next time we need service, that is for sure.

Another appliance bites the dust

2010-08-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

Last night our a/c unit stopped working. I have a call in to have it looked at but am anticipating thw worst. Pete said he heard it make a loud noise last night and that is never a good sign. Last spring we had people come in to give us quotes on furnances and a/c units but never decided because they are all so different but all in the same price range. Looks like we will have to decide.Meanwhile today I have to empty our fridge because the new one comes tomorrow.

I not even going to attempt to run the washer/dryer or dishwasher today...

New Fridge

2010-08-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally decided to get a new fridge. Our current one is not keeping things as cold as it should in the freezer. It has been on the blink for a couple of months so we decided to get a new one. We are looking at another one with a bottom freezer which I really like. The top has french doors with an outside water/ice dispenser which Pete has always wanted. Of course, after consulting our Consumers Reports as well as online searching, we think we found one that will work. I hate spending money on appliances but it will be nice to buy stuff for the freezer again.

This weekend we spent a lot of time working on the yard. Pete mowed and did some trimming, I pulled a TON of weeds. Pete and Bree took all the weeds (three rubbermaid garbage containers full) to the dump. Pete also replaced the light bulbs in the garage and bought me a new shrub clipper thingy along with a new hand saw. Mine are so dull it takes three times as long to cut a branch.

Tomorrow we are going to Neenah to visit my nephews who are staying with Betty and Pennie for a week.

Walking with Dinosaurs

2010-08-04T05:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to see 'Walking with Dinosaurs'. They have been here before but Luke was not interested in going but he was this year. It was really cool! A guy came out and talked about each dinosaur that came out and roamed the floor stopping to eat plants, roar at other predators or stare at the audience. Our favorite part was at the end. Everyone waits for the T-Rex, right? He announces the t-rex and you are expecting this huge dinosaur to come out but it is a little baby one! He gets chased around by a predator but then his mama comes and saves the day! She would roar and the baby would mimic her. It was pretty cool. We gave it four "PC"s. Everyone thought it was Pretty Cool.

Shareholders meeting

2010-07-31T03:39:00.000-07:00

Pete and I went to the Packer shareholders meeting. This my first one so he warned me it can be boring. He likes to hear about the players and that's about it but I enjoyed hearing about the financial/marketing/fundraising ideas plus their plans for the future as far as renovations and building a sporting complex.I think it is a good idea because it seems anything with the Packer name attached to it turns to gold.

We want the games to start now!

EAA

2010-07-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Pete took a half day and we went to the Airventure show in Oshkosh. We got there just in time to see the air show where there were several planes that flew in formation, war planes, and aerobatics. After, one of Pete's favirite bands played, Chicago. It was a good time. I wish we would have maybe spent the whole day there so we could have looked at some of the planes but we got to see a lot walking to the show site.

Life is Good

2010-07-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

My daughter has a new blog page. Her granpa would be proud.

www.brlfaithblog.blogspot.com

We all went to church today and attended a bible study afterwards. The question came up "which five books would we choose from the Bible if we could only choose five if the rest were to be destroyed?"

We decided on: Genesis, John, Luke, Acts, and first Corinthians.

I was little embarrassed because I don't know which books the important stories are in.

Bree and I both chose the same story as our favorite...the one where the king has to decided which mother the child should go to and says he will cut the child in two and the real mother steps up and is willing to give her half to the other woman so the child could live.

FOr some reason, I also love the first few verses in the bible. When God created everything, he looks at what he does and see that is it good. There are time when I look at my family when we are all home, safe and sound and enjoying each other's company and I think "Life is good" and I hear it as the voice of God.

The Basement

2010-07-20T11:22:00.000-07:00

Pete didcovered water in the basement although it is not from rain but from running the A/C. We rented a vac to suck up the water and a blower to dry out the carpet. Hopefully mold will not develop but if it does, we will have to rip it out. I called a furnace/A/C guy but he has not gotten back to me yet. Luke saw a mouse in the garage so we have to se traps.

The good news is I now have a key to the house. The front door knob was falling off so Pete replaced it and gave me one of the keys. We've been married almost 17 years and he finally feels comfortable enough to give me a key. Funny! I also got a new kitchen light. It looks just like our old one but this one works....big difference.

Now it is time to take Luke to his swimming lesson.

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Luke just completed his first two week session of swimming lessons and he not only passed but passed with flying colors! He passed Beginner 1 AND Beginner 2. Just eight days ago he was clinging to his teacher afraid to let go as she peeled his arms off of her and now he can swim unassisted the whole length of the pool and back. I am so proud of him. I signed him up for another two weeks so he can get stronger.

We asked if he wanted to celebrate by going out to get ice cream but he wanted to go home and play a video game with his dad so that is what we did.Too bad because I really wanted ice cream but as a parent, we have to make sacrifices, right?

Life is good.

Riding the Bus with Luke

2010-07-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got up at 5:30 and went walking with my friend Jane. We went again last night. Today I woke up with sore legs and blisters on my feet. We went walking again this morning but I was dragging.

Pete and Bree are home...tired but happy. We gave Bree her gifts...a leather bound journal, a quill pen, minutes for her phone, itunes card and butterfly notecards. She seemed to like all the gifts.

Luke had swimming lessons yesterday and we will go all week. We took the bus and counted how many VW's we saw (he counts all VW's not just bugs). I guessed we would see 12 on our trip and that is exactly how many we saw. I should say he saw them because I cannot see the logos of the cars from the bus. He is learning the makes of the other cars. I was looking at the lawns of all the houses and decided our lawn may not be the best, but it is not the worst either. It is fun to ride the bus with Luke...sounds like a title to children's book.

2010-07-11T06:59:00.001-07:00

Pete and Breanna have been gone to Lifest since Wed. and are finally coming home today. Spanky has been moping around here and will be so happy when Bree gets home. We will celebrate Bree's birthday when they get home. Luke helped me wrap her presents. I still have to frost the cake.

We have kept ourselves busy while they were gone. We have been working on a puzzle which can take a lot of time when you let it. I have been catching up on some reading and housework. I will say the house stays a lot cleaner with two less people around the mess it up!

My friend Jane came over and we did her resume. It went faster than I thought, it only took about an hour to put together. My mom came over and brought lunch and worked on the puzzle with us.

Time to go frost the cake!

2010-07-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Our Fourth went pretty well. We went to Neenah later in the day so we could leave the dog home. They had food which Pete grilled and was very good. Betty, Pennie, Bree and I played canasta while Pete and Luke set up the fireworks. When I watched Pete walk out the back door, I saw a picture of John I had never seen before up on top of one of the bookshelves. He LOVED the Fourth of July.

When it got dark, Pete and Luke donned their goggles and set off the fireworks (mostly fountains). It was not too long and their were not too many little ones but enough good ones. The only thing missing were Pat and the boys. And John, of course.

Swimming Lessons

2010-06-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Finally at age nine, I have Luke signed up for swimming lessons. We had to take the bus there. I went online to have the bus website plan our route but it wanted us to walk a mile away and across a six lane road to take a bus which did drop us off in front of the building we were going to. However, we took the bus that picks us up a half mile from our house, no busy streets and it dropped us off two blocks away from our destination. All we had to do is walk around the corner. Luke made the point if we had to walk a mile to the bus stop, he would be too tired to swim! Pete got done with work the same time his lesson ended so he picked us up. He works only a mile away from where the lessons are so it worked out well.

Bree was a big help because the building is a maze to get to the obervation deck to watch the swimmers. She sounded like a drill sergeant...left, right, left!

Luke was hesitant but did very well learning how to float on his back, do the crawl and tread water, three things I tried to get him to do but he refused. He clung on to the teacher but eventually loosened up. He goes every day this week, has next week off and then every day the following week. I may sign him up for another two weeks since he has nothing else planned this summer.

I'm rather sleepy because Pete did not come to bed until three a.m.! I woke up and did not sleep well after than because I was afraid he would oversleep.

Time to go pay bills....

The Drive Back

2010-06-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

The drive back from SD was hairy. Pete was thinking of driving all the way home but as we headed into Albert Lea, MN there was a huge, dark wall cloud. They started talking on the radio about tornadoes, high winds and hail. We decided to turn around and get a hotel in Fairmont. When we got up the next day we heard there were several tornadoes and flooding as well as fallen trees and powerlines. There was another storm coming so we left early to stay ahead of it. We got home around three in the afternoon. It was good to be home. Pete did a great job driving and the kids were well behaved.

*****

Today I had my Field Vision Eye test. Pete dropped me off after he dropped off Luke at camp. My appt. was not until ten but I brought a book along to read. They got me in early and I was done by 9:30. Pete came back early and took me home. The test went fine but I am pretty sure there was a change from the last time I took the test two years ago. I won't know until the doctor looks and compares the two tests.

For those of you who do not know, this is a test where you sit in a chair with your chin against a chinrest and one eye patch on. You stare at a dot and the person giving the test moves a tiny, dot light from the far outside of the screen towards the center. I am supposed to click the button when I see the light approaching the center dot. WIth one eye, I never could see the smallest light dot but did see the larger dot. The left eye I could see the smaller dot but only when it was almost ontop of the center dot. I could see the bigger dot as well. Both eyes I could only see the bigger dot when it was two or three inches from the center dot or closer. Pretty sad, really.

*****

We went to look at bunk beds for Luke, new chairs for our living room and a new bed for Bree. The one we made for her fell apart. We did not buy anything but did find some things we liked. The chairs currently in our living room are too big and bulky plus hard to sit in because the seat cushion always falls out. We will probably check out a few more stores and get something but I have a hard time making a decision.

Once home I rolled up the garden hose so it looked better and got bit by a million mosquitoes. Now I am really itchy...

The Drive Out

2010-06-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

I forgot to talk about the trip out to SD. We left on a Sunday around one in the afternoon. We stopped in Fairmont, MN overnight and continued on the next day. We stopped at Wall Drug, ate at Al's Oasis, and stopped at an antique store. I looked for miniature sugar and creamer sets and only found two sets which were both ugly. I did see some nice glassware I thought would make nice dessert dishes so maybe that is something I will look for the next time I am at an antique store. I don't go often because one time I broke something so I avoid them most of the time. We arrived at our hotel around seven p.m. We went swimming and ate at Fuddrucker's in the mall in Rapid City. The hotel had a nice map of the area with all the attractions that had simple and easy directions.

In other updates, I had a Weight Watcher's meeting tonight and I had a loss which I thought was pretty good considering we were on vacation last week. I have to keep going....

Luke has been at invention camp this week...so far, so good. Pete picks him up at three and takes him back to work with him until it is time for them to come home.

Second day in SD

2010-06-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

The second day was a lot of fun and the attractions were closer to our hotel. First we went to Reptile Garden. We saw a show on snakes. The handler was a kid around 24 years old who was pretty funny. Luke sat in the front row so he could see all the snakes and he took lots of pictures. We learned a lot about snakes. We then headed to the gator exhibit for the second show and it was the same kid giving the presentation. There were about five or six gators/crocs all hiding in the water. They came out one at a time to eat which was kind of scary because sometimes the kid had his back to the gator but he survived.

Then we went into the building which had a ton of more snakes. We went back outside to see the giant tortoises before ending the day in the gift shop which was amazing. Again, we spent too much time and money there. There was also a beautiful bald eagle who was unable to fly in the outdoor exhibit. He was big and strong looking.

We then headed to Bear Country...a drive through park which took about an hour. Bears were all over the place sleeping, walking across the road in front of us, swimming, etc. We also saw deer, wolves and mountain lions. We were too broke and tired to go to that gift shop!

We debated about going to the caves...we all wanted to go but with my sight, Pete's claustaphobia we decided to skip it and go to the geology museum which was at a college in Rapid City. We were there about an hour before it closed. It was cool but I've seen enough rocks for a lifetime.

That night it stormed and we watched it from our hotel window for a good half hour.

Tomorrow, the air and space museum and the Badlands.

South Dokatoa pics

2010-06-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mt. Rushmore

2010-06-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

The first day we got up and headed to Mt. Rushmore since that is why we were there in the first place. We took Iron Mountain HWY which is the one that is very curvy and you can see Mt. Rushmore through the tunnels as you go through them. It took at least a half hour on this road before we reached the monument.

We parked and got out to look at the Presidents, took pictures. I tried to stare at it for awhile to sear the picture in my brain but everyone else wanted to go, others were telling me to move, etc. so we left.

From there we went to Hill City where we took an 1880's train to another city. Before we boarded we had about an hour to kill so we ate lunch outside on the picnic table. It was a perfect, sunny day. I did feel like I should be wearing clothes like in "Little House on the Prairie." The ride was an hour there and an hour back. We spent a lot of time in the gift shop...too much time.

Then we took the Needles Highway back which is another curvy road with giant rock formations...beautiful. There were a couple tunnels where the car barely fit through it was so tight. I admit I got a little nauseous with the curvy roads.

The last thing we did was go through a wildlife loop through Custer Park. It was an hour drive through but we did not see much and I think by then we were all tired. We did see some cute prairie dogs and a donkey licking somebody's car window. Don't see that every day!

We went back to the hotel for a swim and then to bed. Tomorrow I will talk about the second day in South Dakota.

South Dakota

2010-06-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

We are back from South Dakota. We had a great time....we always have good vacations. I always think every time we go, "This is my favorite vacation."

THe funniest part was when we had to stop in MN for a night on the way there. We stopped at a Super 8. Luke was not happy because it did not have a pool. He asked, "Why do they call this a 'Super' 8 when it ain't that super? There's no pool!"

On the way back it was so windy and there were several tornadoes in the area. This time I asked him to carry in a bunch of stuff to the room. He said, "It's a good think I have all this stuff weighing me down or I would blow away!"

More on the sightseeing later. It is good to be home.

2010-06-10T20:14:00.000-07:00

Today I trimmed some more bushes. The problem was both the saw and the hedge clippers are so dull it took three times longer than it should have. I raked all the clippings into a pile for Pete to take to the dump but it was raining when he came home plus he had a church council meeting I forgot about. Now I am really sore from all the trimming and fighting with the ladder to get it close enough to the tree to hack off the branches. Seemed like ever car that drove past would slow down to watch.

Tonight I am cleaning out the cubby holes going through Luke's papers from the school year, etc. Seems like there is so much to do! I am also doing Bree's laundry.

Tomorrow mom is coming over with a pizza for lunch with me and the kids. When Pete gets home we will go to Crystal Falls for John's memorial. We are all looking forward to being in Crystal again.

I went to Weight Watchers last night and did well. I hope I can keep doing well while we are on our road trip to SD.

School's Out

2010-06-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

The kids are done with school. Luke had a great report card so we went to Perkins to celebrate and then to Barnes and Noble where we spent too much money. I bought some magazines on backyard gardens, the Laura Bush book and a Buzz Aldrin book. Luke got a Calvin and Hobbes book, Breanna got a book she wanted plus The Grapes of Wrath because she needs to read it over the summer for school next fall. We also bought a copy for her friend because last year her friends parents would not get it for her. Pete bought some computer mngazines. I also got some graduation cards.

I was surprised this morning when I read the paper and I saw a former coworker passed away. He was only 46 years old.

Today I spend the day looking online for a hotel near Mt. Rushmore...took forever to decide but I finally got'er done. I am starting to think maybe we should stay an extra day.

I still have the stinkin' cough...it has been almost two weeks and I am getting tired of it because it keeps me awake at night. I just fall asleep and then wake up coughing. Errrrghhhh....

Oh yeah...we found out what games we got in the Packer lottery. We got a preseason game against Indianopolis and a regular season game against da Bears!

I think I used the word 'got' way too much in this post.

The Muggies

2010-06-06T12:32:00.000-07:00

I have a bad case of the muggies...when it is muggy I don't want to do anything. I don't want to cook, I don't want to clean or do laundry.

Yesterday for the first time ever I watched a bunch of movies on the Hallmark channel. They are the old fashion kind where guy meets girl and they end up together at the end. I really miss the love stories they used to make. Yesterday they were all westerns so there was a lot of shootin', girls is the cool victorian dresses and strong, silent type cowboys along with horses and some bad acting.

Funny, Pete has been cleaning....good job, Pete! Maybe I should get the muggies more often? Noooooo...just kidding.

Oh, we got tickets to see simon and Garfunkle! Whoo-hoo...cannot wait.

Memorial Day

2010-06-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Memorial Day. We went to my mom's for a BBQ. I did not want her to work so I told her I would bring all the food. When we got there, she still had food set out. I had my first hot dog on the grill for this summer which is always good.

I went to Weight Watchers Wedmesday even though I still do not feel all that great. I lost this time so that was a relief. I have so far to go I wonder if it will ever happen. I like junk food too much.

We went to see someone who is going to draw up plans for a sunroom so we can get a quote on how much it will cost. From what I hear from others who have had quotes it is going to be more than we were hoping. THat's ok, then we will know and can move on. There are worse things in life than not having a sunroom. (But I really waaaaaaannntt one).

We took Luke to the doctor for a med check and an xray on his leg for a follow up from when he broke his leg a couple years ago. Everything looks good.

Tomorrow the kids have early release. Only a couple days of school left.

2010-05-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

Another good day. We went to Neenah to see Betty. We took clothes to Goodwill, ate lunch and then went to Stein's so Betty could buy flowers for John's grave. She picked out a beautiful hanging basket of flowers and picked out a cool plant stand which I may want to get for my house. We put the flowers at the gravesite and saw the headstone for the first time. It is very nice.

Pete worked on her computer for a bit before we headed home. I think we are all glad it is Friday. I think I may have a cold...did not have one all winter and now I have one. So far, not too bad, just annoying.

2010-05-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good day. We went to help my mom make her outdoor shed into a garden shed. She already did most of the work before we got there! I painted the inside. She made lunch and we visited for awhile which was nice. (It was a nice little visit as Bree once said when she was little).

A guy came over to talk to us about the possibilty of putting on a sunroom to our house. We have an appt. next week to draw up some plans to see how much an addition would cost because we have no idea. We've been talking about it since we moved into the house but because we don't know how much it costs, don't know if it is even something we could afford to do. (My reasoning is since I don't have a car, I can have a sunroom!) We plan to put a hot tub in it. We had one at our other house and I really miss it...especially October through March.

Today we picked up our new glasses, Pete talked to his sleep doctor about getting a new machine and we stopped to pick up the final supplies needed to finish our utility closet. I think it will really work out nice when it is done.

I made lasagne for dinner. Tonight we are watching a movie that Pete has not seen yet, "Up".

Tomorrow we head to Neenah to see Betty.

WWW

2010-05-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

WWW stands for Weight Watchers Wednesday....I joined about a month ago and I go on Wed. evenings. I really needed to go someplace where there are others like me trying to do the same thing.

Last summer I did very well on my own but gained it back over the winter. I hope by going to the meetings I can stay focused and keep it off once next winter comes.

Having said that, even though I did great eating wise all week I somehow gained a pound!

I will continue to work at it and not give up.

Pete is on vacation...or is he?

2010-05-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

My husband is on vacation but I, the stay at home wife who does not drive, made plans for him on his vacation.

I made eye appts for both of us. We are both getting new glasses which we ordered today and will pick up tomorrow.

We did grocery shopping, dropped off clothes at Goodwill and bought stuff to redo the utility closet which he is doing as I write this.

Tonight is Bree's spring concert...we have to tape American Idol.

It might rain tomorrow so we may not get to help mom set up her potting shed. Pete has an appt. with his cpap provider. Friday we will go to Neenah to see Betty. The week is flying by for me but probably not for Pete.

He did sleep in this morning until after ten.

Spring Cleaning

2010-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

What happened to spring? Seems like it skipped and went right to summer. We have been doing a lot the last couple of months all on account of the show, "Hoarders" First we started with our garage and got a lot done. I went through some of my dad's boxes and only have four left.

I think I will probably end up with two or three once it is all done. Originally there were over forty bins and boxes! Not to mention office furniture, books, filing cabinets. We recently got the new large recycle bins from the city. The kind that are about four feel tall and you roll out to the curb with a lid on it. I am on my fourth time loading it with his papers.

Pete is working on his tool bench and it is coming around. Eventually he wants to get it so he can drive the lawn tractor straight through the garage (there are doors on both ends).

While he was in San Diego I tackled the closet in our main bathroom. I bought bins, labeled them all and now it looks much better. It's been three weeks and it still looks pretty good! Good job, family!

Next week Pete is off from work...he thought he had nothing planned...HA! I made eye appts. for us both, we are helping my mom turn her outdoor shed into a garden or potting shed. We also plan to go to Neenah to visit his mom. We talked about cleaning the basement but probably won't decide until the day of.

That Hoarders show really works.

Wise Elder

2010-02-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been over a week since my father-in-law passed away and I am still trying to figure out what to write. He was so many things to so many people. Knowing that, I can only write about what he meant to me.

When I first met my husband and it came time to meet his parents I was worried about meeting his mother. But for my husband, he was worried about me meeting his father. It went fine because I think his dad was just happy his son was dating someone and that was all that mattered to him.

As the years passed, I looked forward to his story telling, his jokes and his reminiscing of the past. I would listen carefully knowing he would leave hints to see if I could figure the true meaning of his message. Sometimes I got it but other times I didn't.

He was the first pastor who gave a sermon that met all my needs. Being hearing impaired I often got tired of concentrating on listening but with John, I had no problem staying focused, staying interested, and learning the message. There were times we would make the two and a half hour trip to his church just to attend church services so I could hear his sermon.

I have to say I admired his tenacity when it came to living his life after he got sick. I tend to be a homebody and don't try very hard to leave the house being both sight and hearing impaired. But John was always doing something even with his oxygen tank and his scooter. He and my mother-in-law built many model railroad gardens. Do you know how much work goes into that?

If I were to sum up John if a few words it would be the follwing:
He loved God.
He loved Betty.
He lived as God's servant.

My eight year old son said it best when he made a little flag to put on the model train at his funeral. The flag said, "Wise Elder."

Early Valentine

2010-02-11T06:17:00.000-08:00

Pete and I went out for our Valentine dinner a couple days early. The food was very good and so was the company. We stopped at Fleet Farm to get him some suspenders so the people at work don't have to see his tushy. Also picked up a Wisconsin Badger shirt for Luke.

Dream

2010-02-03T08:41:00.001-08:00

It's not often I have a funny dream. I actually wanted to go back to sleep to see what happened next.

In this dream, I was on the show 'Survivor' and the location was where I used to live as a kid. It had a dead end street with woods and hills. I thought I could win this game because I knew the area well. The first challenge was to retrieve something from a tall tree at a neighbors house. There were two ferris wheels one could ride to get to the top of the tree. I did not make it there in time and someone else got it. I went back to camp but got scared because there were two large pythons in my way so I called the host, Jeff Probst, to help me. He did help me but said since I was on 'Survivor' I should be able to do this myself.

We went to another challenge to eat lunch. I drank some blood from some animal and had to eat bat's wings. (Tasted like chicken!)

When they stopped filming for the day we hung out at the mall.

I really wished I could have seen what happened next.

The week

2010-01-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, I got out of the house twice this week. My mother and and sister in law came up to take me out to lunch. It was fun. They are so funny.

Today we went to drop our daughter off at the Lambeau Field Atrium because she was volunteering at Safety Town. She was helping her friend who is Buckle Bear. They helped a little girl find her mom. While she was there, the rest of us went to the Home Expo. First we went to the wrong place. (My mistake). Then we parked and put money in the parking meters and some guy said "You know, parking is free on the weekends!" Then when we walked in some other guy gave us his tickets so we did not have to pay to get in. A lot of the booths really liked Luke and his questions. THe water heater guy wanted to hire him. We looked at replacement windows because our windows suck and our house is always cold and I am tired of putting plastic up every year. We also looked at sunrooms...a dream of ours since we bought the house. We found two nice contractors, the other two were not too nice. I also looked at countertops. I like my cabinets but would like some new counters.

Tomorrow I will get out again if we go to Neenah. I might die of shock.

They should call it a dream expo because that is what it is. Maybe someday...it is good to dream otherwise I would have nothing to do.

2010-01-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Blah...

2010-01-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Ugh, I can't believe it. The Packers lost in a heartbreaker! We should have won. It's all my fault. I came downstairs before the game was over. I should have waited like I always do for all the other games. But no, I wanted to share the experience with my family and we lost. I'll take the blame. Go ahead and fire me as a fan. It's time we part ways and I move on. Sigh...

2009-12-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

I think we went a little overboard this Christmas with the kids.(Note my husband counts as one of the kids). Usually we keep it together but for some reason, not this year. (Instead of one big gift, there were three). The problem is with the economy the way it is, there are a lot of good deals out there and they were all things we were saving to purchase anyway.

Now we have to find a place to put all the stuff. I find myself walking into the room, looking at it and leaving, unable to make a decision. I know this is not something to complain about, I'll try to remember this feeling next year.

Today we went to Menards and purchased outside lights for the house next Christmas because they were half off. These will replace the ones the snowblower ate this year. We tried to get a train for my father-in-law but they were already gone.

Packers are in the playoffs, Badgers won the bowl game. I finally sent out my Christmas cards.

My two favorite gifts I recieved this year are the angel snow globe from my daughter and teh dolphin necklace from my son. (They also replaced my dolphin bracelet which broke last year). I am one lucky mama! All were surprises because I gave them my list too late so they could not find any of the stuff which is the way I like it.

Update

2009-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been awhile since I blogged. We had a nice Thanksgiving. People came, ate, I received a beautiful fruit edible bouquet which was so nice to have along with the other stuff. The Packers played that day of course.

Winter showed up yesterday dumping over a foot of snow and then it became very cold. School was out yesterday and started late today. Hopefully everything will be back to normal Friday.

Our new snowblower works so well it ate the lights on the bushes....oops! I am glad no one got hurt and the blower still works.

The latest acquisition is a flat screen tv for our bedroom...we really like it. We have been planning on getting one for a year. Pete did a great job putting it up (during the Packer game on Thanksgiving...his poor family only saw glimpses of him as he passed through looking for tools).

We also made a canopy bed for Breanna as a surprise while she was gone to Neenah to shop on black Friday with the inlaws. We made the canopy bed out of pvc pipe! We found bedding and matching curtains at Wal-mart that worked perfectly (the curtains are used on the canopy part). Luke did a great job helping his dad put it together and kept the dog occupied because he kept laying on the bedding while we were trying to work with it. I think she was really surprised and so were we because we put it together in a day without too much arguing. Whew!

Next project will be painting the master bath....after the holidays.

Finally Finished!

2009-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Look below to see pictures of my kids on Halloween and our master bedroom which is finally finished! Click on each picture to see a larger image and the back button to go back to the smaller image. I love it and want to stay there all the time. Thanks to Pete for helping me put up the pictures. I made all the pictures in about two days. Isn't Luke's pumpkin scary????

2009-11-15T19:33:00.000-08:00

2009-11-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween is over, I hope to post pictures of the kids in their costumes soon. They also carved pumpkins. Bree's had a cross on it which was cool when it was lit at night. Luke's was scary with four mouths, two noses and one eye. It also had two forks sticking out of it...the trick or treaters were puzzled by it. We tried to go to Neenah to show the grandparents but they were out. We showed them a week later. We did make it to my mother's.

This week I am going to finish our master bedroom if it is the last thing I do. I pretty much have the bed done, the curtains up, the chair slipcovered, the walls are painted. I am currently working on four pictures to hang on the wall. Since Pete likes chess, I like horses so two pictures are of the horse head chess piece. They turned out ok, but not great. The other two pictures will be of the king and queen piece representing Pete and I. I am working on those tonight and tomorrow. Once they are up, all I have to do is vacuum and put a few things away.I will post pictures of our bedroom when it is done.

We made it to church this morning, raked some more leaves (the leaf catcher on the back of the riding lawn mower works great for those who are looking for a way out of raking) and then we watched the Packers lose to the worse team in football. How can we beat Brett in the playoffs if we don't make it to the playoffs???

2009-10-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend we are going to a wedding. Our friend Greg is getting married. He is our son's godfather. Pete will be an usher at the wedding and has to wear a tux! I tried Luke's dress clothes on him and they are a tad small but if we do not have time to get him a new outfit, it will do. We are all very happy for Greg.

We went to Bree's first choral concert of the year and the group sounded very good. We also went to Luke's parent teacher conference and he is doing well but needs to practice his math facts and penmanship. He is an excellent reader! As a surprise we stopped at the school book fair and purchased a Star Wars Lego book which will arrive soon.

Spanky went in for a hair cut. Pete went to see a chiropractor. I've been at home with a cough, enough to keep me awake most of the night. It seems better today.

I have been trying to clean the house and am not successful with not feeling well and the dreary days. I will try again tomorrow. I purchased new curtains but have to iron them first. I can't find my water spray bottle. Once I find it, I should be good to go. Maybe I should have the kids look for it since one of them probably took it in the first place.

We still have to get pumpkins!

2009-10-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Well with Pete being gone all week to St. Louis I thought I was going to get a lot more done around the house than I did. I did mow the lawn (had Bree show me where I missed so I got those spots as well) and I went out to lunch twice for my birthday. Once with my friend Jean and once with my mom. Both were good food and good company.

I also worked on my next column for the paper and sent it in to the editor. It should be in this Monday. October is National Disability Employment Awareness month and since I worked for 15 years with a hearing and sight impairment, I shared my experiences. (Most of it good).

We also had a meeting with Bree's counselor at school to go over her goals and so on. I was surprised to learn she wants to be a mermaid....not sure where one goes to college for that but we will look for one. Ok, she really wants to be a teacher.

Today I replaced lightbulbs, cleaned the floor, ran the dishwasher and did some laundery. Next I will clean out the pantry.

I finally turned the furnace on since the I read it was 62 degrees in the house. I was trying to hold off until Novemeber but we could actually get snow this weekend, before Halloween!

Pete comes home tonight!

the week ahead

2009-09-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

We had a nice weekend. Saturday we went to Fuddruckers and then stopped in to see the inlaws. Sunday I made turkey, mashed potatoes and rolls for lunch during the Packer game. My mom came over to watch the game with us. The dog finally settled down around the fourth quarter.(I am not kidding).

This week is busy...tonight Luke tested for his brown belt but we won't know if he passed until Friday. Tomorrow night we are taking the neighbors out for dinner because they gave us a ride to and from the hospital when Pete had his surgery. Bree also has stage crew meeting after school. Wed. Luke has a bible class...he really likes the bible he received from our church. I also have a doctor appt. that day. Thursday I am going to see a friend who lives in Fond du Lac. We have been friends since the sixth grade..almost thirty years now. By the time Friday comes, I will be exhausted but in a good way.

I helped Bree with her math tonight but she knows more than me. I don't like it when my kids know more than me but I am proud of her. Apparently intelligence skips a generation.

luke ism

2009-09-15T19:28:00.000-07:00

The other night Luke and I were getting ready for bed. My daughter does not want to walk to school because she does not want to cross a very busy street. My son still won't sleep in his room and my husband comes to bed after midnight. I said to Luke, "What am I going to do? I have a daughter who won't cross the street, a son who won't sleep in his own room and a daddy who won't come to bed at a decent time!"

Luke said, "Mom, we all have our thing."

He is a mini Dr. Phil.

Finally Spring Cleaning

2009-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter is being confirmed this weekend. We want to have people to the house after but as usual, my house is so messy and dirty even I cannot stand it. In the past I would start cleaning but get distracted and never finish a room. So, my new rule is do one room at a time and get it done no matter what it takes. If that means piling stuff in the basement, so be it, at least the one room will be clean. So far that way of thinking has worked well. I have cleaned the living room, washed the windows and am now finishing the dining room. I cleared out everything that was not supposed to be in those two rooms. I broke a candle holder which set me back an hour cleaning but that's ok...expect delays.

My daughter offered to help so I had her dust the curio cabinet thinking she would have fun handling each object and putting it back any way she wanted (she did). We talked about our favorite pieces. Hers is the white rose and mine is an AVON perfume bottle I had when I was a little girl but all the items are precious.

Next up is vacuuming the stairs, cleaning the loft, mowing the lawn and then working on the kitchen and main bath. I have two days to get all that done. If it doesn't, oh well, at least some of the rooms will be done and I am actually pretty happy about that! Whoo-hoo!

Back scratchers

2009-09-05T14:16:00.001-07:00

The last two days I have been in the mood for going through the many boxes from my dad's home office. I tried several times before, but would get discouraged quickly and go back into the house. But, this time I was successful.

Most of the things I found so far fell into two catergories, files or textbooks. Dad was a university instructor. I went through and reboxed three boxes of books that were either in sports psychology, first aid, human development or sports in general. I did recycle certain manuals. For instance, he had about ten books on the rules of officiating for softball, ten on high school footbal, and several on track. All in mint condition but out it went. They all had his name on them in the upper right hand corner.

Then came the files...they were in binders or folders. All have about 50 paper clips which I had to remove before putting the papers in recycle. I hope my tetanus shot has been updated. I saved the three ring binders and so far I have 20.They are going to Goodwill along with some other office supplies.If anyone out there wants about three checkbook boxes of rusty paperclips, let me know or they will go in the garbage next week. I think I have gone through about a third of his boxes including several more of which are only files.

I did find something I have been looking for...a backscratcher! I have been wanting to get one for Pete for years but they do not seem to make them anymore. In fact, I found two, one must be a deluxe model because it has rollers on one end.

I also found a letter to dad signed by Bart Starr when he was a coach for the Packers. I will see if my brother wants it, and if not, we will display it with our Packer stuff. I started a box for all the electronics stuff for my brother since he was left that in the will.

We went and donated all the books,a chair, and some clothes when I cleaned out the closet last week. It felt good to get it out of the house. Then we went to Sears to buy a snowblower. After what we went through last year without one, there was no way I wanted to go through that again! Pete seems happy with it and it should be easy on his back since it is an electric start and has a cool turnaround feature. The snow would not have been so bad last year if it had not been for the snowplow making the huge piles at the end of our driveway after we had just shoveled!

Came home to find the kids did a great job cleaning the family room...all I have to do is vacuum.

2009-09-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

Kids had a good first couple of days at school, Pete goes back to work tomorrow. I finally called the phone company because we had such bad static on our phone I was using my cell phone to call people which is only for emergencies. Turns out we needed a new modem so now it works fine.

I was talking to my mom when my brother called which showed up on caller ID. He was calling to tell me to stop talking to mom because he was trying to get ahold of her...so even when he calls me it is not to talk to me!

2009-08-29T07:58:00.000-07:00

Pete is home safe and sound. He must be feeling better because he is using his laptop and took his shirt off...a sure sign he is himself.

He will stay home from work until Tues and go back part time for the rest of the week before returning full time after Labor day. Of course, he will probably work from home in the meantime.

We had a strange thing happen...our neighbor gave us a ride home from the hospital. In our driveway was a dead rabbit. Our other neighbors have cats so we think the cat got it. Our neighbor was gracious enough to 'take care' of the rabbit for us. He came over later to say it was filled with bees so he sprayed it with bee killer before disposing of it. He said it was creepy like out of a horror movie. I told Pete and he said it was odd because bees like sweet things and not dead animals. I am so glad our neighbor was there to take care of it for us (and the ride, too!)

2009-08-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had a nice time at the family reunion. Pete said it was the first time he went to something like this and he could eat everything on the table! (Funny, when I was talking to my cousin's husband I mentioned I missed the reunions and he agreed, saying he missed the food). We stayed at a hotel, watch the Packer game and went swimming in the cold pool but the hot tub was warm.

Back at home, I have been serious about getting cleaning done around the house. Having the rummage sale really got me going. You may recall I cleaned out my bedroom closet, still have not gone in there so it is still clean. Yesterday and today my daughter and I have been cleaning the laundry room which in our house includes going through the winter coats and boots. I'm almost done. We have more things to go to goodwill and some of it is winter stuff so I am sure it will be appreciated.

Next up is the closet by the front door...more winter coats and misc. things because I did not know where to put them...umbrellas, a telescope with a tripod, and for some reason, a few Halloween costumes. Once that is done, I will tackle the drawers and cabinets in the main bathroom.

Tomorrow, Pete has his gallbladder removed. I really hope he feels better afterwards. I have known him for 16 years and his tummy has hurt this whole time. Maybe it is me?

The kids have their school supplies and are all set to go. I will miss them, it will just be me and the dog at home.

The new dishwasher came but it is the wrong color so we sent it back. Every time we order an appliance, it is never right the first time. (It said the right color on the box, but once opened, it was wrong.)We should get the right one next week Monday. If we get a trash compactor instead, we will start using paper cups and plates and be done with it.

2009-08-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting week. I cleaned out our closet and it looks so nice I want to take a picture of it but I don't dare enter the closet because I may mess it up. Between all of us, we took about eight bags of clothes to Goodwill.

We went and got the kids from the grandparents. They had a good time, but I really missed them and the dog was pouting the whole time they were gone. We played canasta, me and my partner lost. I got called stupid for doing something nice but whatever at least I got my kids back.

Pete had a gallbladder test done which he found out operates at zero percent. The surgeon told him a normal gallbladder operates at 90 percent, it is acceptable to operate at 40 percent but Pete's was at ZERO percent. The doctor said he had never seen a patient with a gallbladder that does absolutely nothing. Pete decided to have it removed sometime next week. We hope it will help him feel better after years of having pain.

Then our dishwasher stopped working so we looked at Consumer Report and went to Sears to buy a new dishwasher which should come in next week sometime. As long as it does not come the same time as the gallbladder is removed, I'll be happy.

This weekend we go to a family reunion on my mom's side. We have to postpone the trip to Mt. Rushmore due to the gallbladder but we will go another time. There was a reason I had not made hotel reservations yet!

Meanwhile, Brett Favre unretired again. Anyone who deliberately postpones joining a team until after the preseason to avoid training camp has lost my respect. Pete has tickets to the Packer Viking game, too!

Busy Friday

2009-08-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spent all day calling tire places to get four new tires on our van. All were very nice, all within the same price range but in the end we decided to go with Sears. They were having a sale so we are getting better tires for the same price as the other guys. We also do not need an appointment and need a new battery which we know Sears has in stock.

Meanwhile, I also made appt. for the kids at the dentist. The dentist had a cancellation today so we got them in today rather than in Sept. when we would have had to take them out of school. After the dentist they will go to Sears.

Pete is also taking Spanky in for his vet check up so he will be all ready to go when we have to board him while we go to Mt. Rushmore. In the middle of all this, Pete and Bree are going to the Packer practice.

So, in order, we have dentist, Sears, lunch, Packer practice, vet.

It all adds up to one busy Friday for us.

I went for my walk this morning. I am getting closer to my goal of 100 days of walking 10,000 steps per day. There will be thunderstorms this weekend so I hope I can still get my walks in.

Brewers

2009-07-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

I learned something new today. We were watching the Brewers and they had a throwback uniform with the Bears logo on it. Pete searched the webpage on it and it is the annual appreciation of the Negro league. I had no idea that it was done every year since it is the first time I have seen it.

Went for a walk today. Tomorrow my friend Jane will go with me to pick up some of my dad's office furniture. She and her husband are starting their own business in their basement. Her husband was let go last Feb. She said they needed a file cabinet and a light bulb went off in my head. It will be good that someone will use it and some of the other things (desk, hutch). It's nothing fancy, but it will do for now. It always feels good to help others out.

Bree is in Neenah...she has only been gone two days and we miss her.

Another Luke comment

2009-07-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

My eight year old son Luke made $3.00 from the rummage sale. He looked at me and said, "What can a buy with three dollars?" in a very sad tone. It used to be a quarter would make him happy but ever since he started buying toys with his own money, he realizes how much he needs to have to get what he wants.

But I had forgotten he had sold his Big Wheel so he got another five dollars and was much happier.

Rummage Sale Mania

2009-07-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

We had a rummage sale Saturday. It was exhausting getting ready for it because we decided at the last minute to have it. My friend Jane brought over a bunch of her stuff as well. Pete and Bree helped out and Luke told everyone how his toys worked. He would make a good sales person.

I think it was a success...we have room in the garage (a little) and a little more room in the basement. Pete and the kids took the money they made and went to Toys R Us two hours after the sale ended. I am using the money I made to take everyone out for a steak dinner!

It was cute seeing all the young families come and get excited over finding stuff. Our neighbor who is watching his first grandchild for a week came over and bought some stuff to have for his grandson to play with when he comes over.

One of the few things I had left over which did not sell was the wooden kitchen set my dad made for me. Breanna played with it for awhile but it has been sitting unused in the basement for a few years. This morning, a woman who was looking at it yesterday came back today to see if we still had it and she bought it for her two little girls. I will miss it but I am glad it is getting used.

I think that will my new motto...use it or give it to someone who can!

Stargazing or UFO?

2009-07-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

While Pete and Bree were gone last week, Luke used the telescope to look out our bedroom window. He is positive he saw several UFO's! All I saw was dark sky. So tonight, he and his father are outside looking at the stars and searching for stars, constellations and UFO's.

Now Luke wants to be an astronomer as well as a video game developer. I said the two would go well together. He agrees.

I wish I knew what I wanted to be when I grow up.

A Dream with a Lesson

2009-07-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a dream. My family and I were living in an apartment when five women burst in from the church we belonged to. They were searching our apartment and said we were such slobs, if we didn't clean up we would be banned from the church. For some reason Pres. and Laura Bush were there also.

The only person who had a clean room was Breanna because in reality, she cleaned her room yesterday to get ready for her birthday sleepover. Back to the dream, we went to church and I met with the ladies and asked if they had a housecleaning person they could recommend because I really need help. They all laughed and said I should be able to do it myself. They also said we ate the wrong food (despite the fact that two of them were over 300 lbs), needed to floss and dress better.

Feeling overwhelmed we left and got into our truck (which we don't really have) and when I opened the door, all this junk fell out. The head of the ladies group stopped with her family including her little girl who was holding a Coca-Cola glass. I admired it and told her I collect Coca-Cola stuff as well. The little girl showed me how when she pressed a button, the glass automatically filled with soda!

The girl's mom helped me pick up the stuff that fell out of the truck and said, "Maybe if we helped out more and criticized less, we would have more friends."

With that, we all got in our vehicles and headed home.

My Favorite Quote

2009-07-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

I have been struggling with a very personal issue the last few months so I went searching for a quote and found the one I was looking for. Then I went on to have a nice day with my family.

Road Trip

2009-06-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

We took a bus to see the Blizzard(arena football) play in Milwaukee. All four of us went and it was a nice family trip. Pete did not have to worry about driving(and me yelling) parking, etc. We left Green Bay around four and got back around 12:30. We won which made it a lot more fun. Breanna talks like her dad during a game giving me a play by play. Sitting between the two of them I would get "Holding!" in stereo.

We are watching a neighbors house and they let us use their pool. We have gone twice and it is so nice...feels like we are on vacation or something. We are sunburned a little today and it looks like it will be cool or rain the rest of the week so we probably won't go again but it was fun while it lasted.

2009-06-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Good week...I went walking every day. Pete works a four 10 hour day for the summer and has Fridays off. Only he is so tired from working ten hour days he sleeps the rest of the weekend to catch up!

Today we take the kids to mom's for a school's out celebration. Pete may go to the doctor because his cough will not go away. We may go to Neenah sometime this weekend.

We may also do a cardboard run today. Next week we get the new recycle bin for streamlining recycables. I'm excited because the bin is much larger, we can put everything in one bin and it will cut down on our cardboard runs. Boy, my life is exciting.

Kids are doing well. Luke is enjoying being back in martial arts. We got Bree's report card...I dunno....all A's....what is with these kids today getting all A's? We're going to have to put our foot down with her.

School's Out!

2009-06-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

Bree and I took the dog for a walk which made the four miles seem to go by really fast. We went to get Luke after his last day of school. He did really well on his report card. So proud of him...we are waiting for Bree's report card. Proud of her too!

Pete is back to work after two days of being sick. We all have it but he always seems to get it the worse.

The President was in town today. I seem to be the only one in the family who was excited the President of the United States was in our little town. That does not happen every day.

The family room

2009-06-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Is it legal to ban your family from the 'family' room? I ask because I spent the whole morning cleaning it...since I cleaned it I should be the only one allowed to use it, right?

TGIF!

2009-06-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a good week. I went walking every day except today but the day is not over yet. Yesterday I had a meeting and my brother dropped me off at Pete's work so he would not have to bring me all the way home and it was close to Pete's quitting time. I got to spend an hour at the office with him. His office was a lot cleaner than I thought it would be. I decided he needed a painting on his wall so will work on one for him. He does not like abstract art so I will have to paint something that actually looks like something. I reminded him an abstract piece would be a good conversation piece so we will see what happens. It would not surprise me if it ends up in the dumpster. (Not even sure work will allow it).

Luke has a cold so stayed home from school today. His last day of school is next Thursday and Bree's is Wednesday.

Pete bought a WiiFit...the only problem is we have to clean the basement to set it up so guess what we are doing this weekend?

2009-05-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

I learned a valuable lesson yesterday which I thought I would share. A couple days ago, it was raining hard enough to soak my shoes when I went for my daily walk. The shoes were still wet yesterday so I wore an old pair of shoes. I now have three blisters and a bubble blister on my heel. YOUCH!

Moral of the story...stick with what you know when it comes to health. After running them through the dryer three times, the wet shoes are finally dry and I wore them today. I walked a little further today. The weather was perfect.

The kids have a half day of school today. Luke was excited when he learned he has less than two weeks of school left and then three months off for summer.

Pete and Bree have a Blizzard game tonight.

2009-05-24T15:05:00.001-07:00

I planted more flowers today. Usually I have only one planter so all I have to do is worry about watering the one. THis year I have four planters on the ground, and four hanging plants. One side of the house is nothing but weeds so I put two planters there.

Bree and I walked around the house and looked the back part of the yard where there are trees to decide where we want to put a swinging wooden bench. We will make stepping stones leading to the bench.

I need my mom to come and tell me what is a weed and what is not.

The weather today is just right...sunny, a little windy, not to hot or cold.

2009-05-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

It was hot today so I am going to talk about summer.

What is your favorite summer memory as a kid?
Picking buttercups for my mom, making forts out of blankets on the picinic table, and walking between the sheets hung on the clothes line.

A worst memory?
Every night as a kid when I went to bed, I could see what looked like a ghost in my parents bedroom door...finally figured out it was my dad's white shirt hanging on the door.

What was your bedroom like as a kid?
I had a comforter set from Penney's with loud pink floral print with matching curtains. I had shutters on my windows. I also had a Bambi painted on one side of the window on the wall and Flower the skunk on the other side.It made me want to grow up to be an artist. I also had a cool headboard that looked like a princess headboard and I had a ton of stuffed animals on it...my favorite was a Snoopy pillow.

Any major health issues as a kid?
I went into the hospital when I was 12 because of a form of anemia...the symptoms were awful...weakness, vomiting and the runs. I also had shots for allergies which never seemed to work.

Ever go on family vacations?
We would always go see my grandparents in Eau Claire and a small town about 25 miles southwest of Eau Claire called Mondovi. Sometimes we went camping on weekends.

Summer chores?
I had to dump the grass from the lawn mower into a bin out in the back yard. The bag was hard to carry because it was heavy and had holes in it. I also did all the trimming back in the days when they only made the hand clippers with out a pole so I had to get on my hands and knees. Picked up the crabapples and had to clean out the rocks around the trees. When we washed the car, my job was to clean the whites on the tires and clean the windows and wash the floor mats.

Payment for chores?
35 cents a week until I lobbied to make the same as my brother because I thought I did more work than he did. (I dried the dishes every night and he only did the garbage twice a week). I did get a raise to 50 cents a week. I also cleaned the basement every Saturday.This involved vacuuming the stairs, cleaning my dad's office, sweeping the gameroom floor and filling the ice cube trays in the fridge behind the bar.

Any other summer memories?
After a BBQ, I was in charge of making popcorn on the grill because I was the only one who would not burn it!

Lawn games?
We played darts, sometimes croquet and badminton.

Favorite summer meal?
Probably shish ka bob.(all steak)

What did you do for Fourth of July?
The neighborhood boys would do a show on our street and then we would walk to the hill where we could see the city fireworks going off at Bay Beach.

Worst thing about summer?
Mosquitoes!

Best thing about summer?
Flowers and butterflies. Swimming. Not having to wear a coat, hat, boots.

What is around now that you wish you had then?
Hmmmm...mp3 player. Cool water sprinklers.

What did you do as a kid your own kids do not do?
I rode my bike a lot to the store or to the pool. I had a cool blue Scwinn bike with a white banana seat. My kids do not like riding bikes. I also liked to roller skate.

flower power

2009-05-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today my mom took me out to lunch...we both thought the servings sizes were double what they should have been (so was the price). Then we went to Steins and bought flowers. I bought a bunch of purple impatients and potting soil. Usually I only fill the barrel in front of the house with flowers but this year I am going to do two pots on the side of the house and three hanging baskets off the deck. My bleeding hearts are blooming nicely and mom said she looked at my lilac bush (the one I hacked down last summer) and there are blossoms coming so that it is a relief I did not kill it. I did notice I had more trouble seeing the plants at the store than I did when I was there last year but I keep going anyway.

Pete and I went and got some more of dad's papers out of his office. I found checks he wrote in 1966. He has labels for his labels (Christmas, patriotic, etc). He saved every referee rule book from 30 years ago...mint condition but I doubt anyone would want them. Maybe I'll see if I can sell them on ebay. Anyway, the office is almost cleared out.

Luke and I are watching Walle while Pete and Bree are at the Blizzard game. I can't believe I found all the remotes I needes to play the movie (can't believe we found the movie since it was not in its' case). Dad would shudder at our disorganization.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

It was a great Mother's Day. We all went to the Brewer/Cubs game. Even though we lost, in my mind we won. We went with my mom, my brother and his family (Cubs fans), Pete's mom and his brother and sister. All the moms got to be with their kids. I don't know if that has happened for awhile.

I finally felt it was ok to be happy since my dad passed away two weeks ago.

2009-04-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Had a good day yesterday. Luke's school had family reading night so he and I went. Usually Pete does these things since I don't do crowds well but I was in the mood to go and Pete was not feeling well anyway so it worked out.

I am so proud of Luke. He will be eight in a couple weeks. He was very good at making sure I got around the school with his verbal directions. "Turn left here, watch out for the bale of hay (there was a western theme) or turn right by the door up there." He also noticed when I was looking for him and told me where he was. "I'm right behind you, mom!" I asked him if it was embarrasing for him to have a mom with a white cane and he said "Sometimes." I am glad he did not say "All the time".

He wore a cowboy hat, his jean jacket and a Packer bandana. He looked so cute. We searched for his "Wanted....for Reading" poster. All the kids had their picture on a wanted poster. We found it right next to the Commons.

He bought two books at the book fair...one on Bionicles and the other on bugs. We almost purchased an ISPY computer game but it was too expensive.

They also had a raffle of theme baskets so we put our tickets in a movie basket (Luke saw there were Starburst in that basket), a Mother's Day basket (I saw all the chocolate), a dog basket and a kitchen basket. We did not win.

Then we came home. It was nice to do something with him outside the house, just the two of us.

2009-04-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

I did not get to do my trial bus run on Mon. or Tues. because it was raining and snowing at the same time. But today the weather was perfect. I walked Luke to school and then walked another 1/2mile to the bus stop. I got on and asked "$1.50, right?" and the nice lady busdriver said it was only 75 cents for people with disabilities. I got a transfer to the other bus which I would catch at the metro station. Once there I walked all the way to the other end to catch the other bus. I took that bus to the Walgreens (they are all over the place here) and found out there was a stop right in front of the nursing home.

It took an hour to get from the first bus stop to the nursing home. I went to dad's room and told him I took the bus to see him. He said he was glad I was taking the bus now. He even asked me a few questions. Ne was awake until noon and slept until just before I left. I stayed from ten until three because I had to be home by 4:30. As I left I thought I heard dad say something and I popped back in and asked what he said and he said, "Thanks for staying the whole day."
"No problem!" I said with a thumbs up and just made it back to the bus stop at 3:08. That particular bus only comes once an hour so it was important I catch it.

I got home at 4:30. Bree picked up Luke at school. Then she had confirmation class. Luke and I had bagels with cream cheese for supper. I know it is not a meal but it did the trick.

Brewers win!

2009-04-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Easter...I got a rainbow of peeps from the Neenah Easter Bunny and they are already all gone. My brother in law cooked and my steak was just right. Pete was my partner for canasta and we did well. It has been a long time since he was my canasta partner because he does not like to play.

My mom made brunch and we got more candy from the Easter Bunny. I also got a plant which I will put in my garden.

I hacked down some more trees and bushes in out yard. It is slowly getting done. We decided we need to call a professional to take down one of our trees. The roots are out of the ground and too close to the house.

My dad is now in hospice. We took the kids to see him Saturday and he was doing well that day. Luke showed him the scorpion he made out of legos and Grandpa played with it. Breanna was a good interpeter since I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. I sent in my next column to the paper for teacher appreciation week. I dedicated the column to my dad since he was a teacher.

This week I found out the bus goes to the nursing home so I will try it out. I have to make a transfer but I studied the map well and it should be fine. I just have to make sure I have enough quarters. Monday will be a practice run because on Wed. I am going to spend the day with dad so he will not be alone.

Brewers finally won and so did the Blizzard.

We had a talk with Luke about his homework...he was rushing and getting sloppy. He did not like being talked to. From now on he has to do his homework before he can get on the computer. I think he will be glad when school is done.

Time for a Luke-ism

2009-04-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

The other day Luke and I were watching a reality show about a couple with a lot of little kids. Luke was upset because he heard the mom was taking the kids in for 'headshots'!

I explained to him the kids were getting pictures done not having shots in the head!

Luke is over his cold but Bree has it...was home sick Monday and Tues. but today her cough sounds worse so we may end up taking her in to the doctor...hopefully she will not get a headshot.

I've gone a whole week walking 10,000 steps before noon according to my pedometer. Whoo-hoo.

Last night I spent most of the time painting a panel for church for Good Friday. They have a bunch of five foot panels each with a certain picture done by a member of the congregation. Mine is of when Jesus meets Simon who helps to carry the cross. I only had a couple days to do it but got it done. I may have to do it over because unfortunately I painted Jesus' arms too short and it looks funny. It will have to wait until after Friday but at least it should be better for next year.

I hacked down a bunch of bushes in the backyard and hauled them all to the front for pick up. It was a good job done especially before the bugs come. I still need to do the ones on the side of the house. I usually do not do the ones in front until later in the summer.

My dad is in respite for a week so his caretaker can get a break. We hope to see him tomorrow.

2009-03-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

This was spring break so we went to Madison and Milwaukee. The last day I was ready to go home but we still had to go see the Titanic exhibit.

We woke up early and headed to the continental breakfast which according to the ticket, was in the lobby. We go to the elevator and wait...it is the time when people are checking out so we cannot get an elevator. After 15 minutes we walk the eight flights down to the lobby only to be told the breakfast is on the top floor. We try the elevator and get on the first time and go to the top floor. It is a revolving restaurant which Luke loves. I don't enjoy it because we need to eat breakfast and check out to make our museum check in at 9:30. Pete forgets his wallet so he leaves to get money to leave a tip. He seems to be gone forever but finally comes back, we eat, go pick up our bags after calling the front desk to sort out a billing error. (Still not sure if it is right but will wait for the credit card bill).

We get our car, hook up the GPS to go three blocks to the museum. Unfortunately Pete put in the Madison museum rather than Milwaukee so the GPS lady keeps trying to get us on the HWY! after driving in circles for a half hour I see a guy coming out of an office building and ask him for directions. He makes sense and we make it to our destination.

Now we get to the parking garage, the ticket booth has about eight different directions and we are stuck trying to figure out what to do, the gate fails to go up so Bree in the back has to open the sliding door to the van, push more buttons until we finally get the gate to go up and then we search for another 15 minutes for a parking spot.

We finally find one and make it to our check in at exactly 9:30.

The exhibit is somewhat interesting, we see a few other areas of the museum, see the IMAX movie and finally head home trying to decide whether to take 41 or Hwy 43. We take 43 since it is much closer.

In the car Luke asks me why I sound funny. I ask him to clarify. He says, "You sounded mad." I ask when that happened and he responds.. "In the hotel, in the museum, in the car..."

I said I wasn't gonna be happy until we were home safe and sound.

Now we are home so therefore I am happy. I think the rest of the family is glad we are home too so they do not have to deal with my crabbiness anymore.

2009-03-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

It is an exciting day in my house....I get to get a hair cut!

Bree gets one tomorrow.

Spring break starts after today which is fitting since this is the first day of spring.

2009-03-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

We got this great bed and now I am trying to decorate it with bedding and curtains for the windows. The problem is I can't make a decision because I like everything except plaid.

The other thing is the stuff I really like is NOT on sale or in stock or won't match. If I like one and need two there is only one available while all the ugly stuff there is plenty of. I looked at nightstands and lamps, too...a lot I did not like and only one of the ones I do like.

You get the idea...

Pete and the kids ate at Wendy's while I browsed at the store so they did not have to wait for me. I used my cell phone to call them when I was done.

We went to church and at the children's sermon Luke was the kid that finally got the answer the pastor was looking for. (What makes the ten commandments special? They are from God). THEN, in the line the pastor said she saw my article in the paper. Finally somebody saw it besides my mom!

2009-03-15T15:22:00.001-07:00

My dad has been very sick and he does not seem to be getting better. I would appreciate any prayers.