When Friday comes around I'm dead tired. The busy week catches up with me I guess. I'm so glad we don't have to go anywhere tonight. Mom and dad left about 11:30 this morning. They watched Samantha for me when I donated plasma. I only did it once this week since I was fighting a cold at the beginning of the week. I have to say the cold is gone now. I didn't get to the Y this morning but that's okay-I got other things done. Samantha also seemed to be very tired out this morning. She usually gets dressed right away but she didn't get out of her pajamas until almost noon.
We were forwarded something about Easter recently. It talked about how Easter is rarely this early-it's March 23rd this year. My dad has told me Easter can be as early as March 22nd and as late as April 25th. Since Easter is March 23rd this year the only people that have experienced such an early Easter had to be born before 1913-making someone 95!! Also Easter has not been as early as March 22nd since get this 1818!!
I'm always interested in when Easter is/was. Both Aleah and Samantha can have their birthdays on Easter. I had to see how often they would have Easter birthdays and this is what I found out. Aleah's birthday is April 24th. Easter also doesn't usually happen this late either! Easter 2011 (that really isn't that far away) will fall on April 24th. It hasn't occurred on that date since before 1875! She will be 12 the year her birthday is on Easter. If she's fortunate enough to live a long life like her Great Grandma Gertie she may be able to celebrate another Easter birthday in 2095-she would be 94!
Samantha's birthday which is March 31st experiences Easter a little more often. She will have an Easter birthday in 2013-she'll be eight. She can also experience an Easter birthday in 2024 when she's 19, 2086 when she's 81 and 2097 when she's 92. My grandma's birthday was also March 31st and she was born on Easter Sunday 1907 and had Easter birthdays when she was 11, 22, and then not again until she was 84! Hope you're not too bored by this trivial information. At least I can look back when I want to see which years the girls will have Easter birthdays.
The temperatures are suppose to be in the 50's tomorrow!! We'll be spending sometime outside for sure. We have lots of indoor work to do as well and I have to go to the mall to pick up Samantha's birthday gift for mom. It's 50% off tomorrow only and the lady put it aside for us when we were there yesterday. It's a Dora talking backpack and a Dora doll-I'd say Samantha has enough Dora toys now!! She also will be having a Dora birthday cake-she actually wanted one last year but with mom being so sick and Dora being a more difficult cake to do I didn't make that one. Also I didn't think a two year old would appreciate the work as much as a three year old will! She had Blue's Clue's last year.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Good deals
Mom, Samantha, and I went to Herberger's and Target today and we got some awesome deals at Herberger's-80% off their clearance stuff. Samantha fell asleep as soon as we got in the van. She was so tired she even continued sleeping after I carried her inside when we got home. She didn't get a nap yesterday so fell asleep at seven. She wasn't down for the night though. She woke up nine and was up until eleven but she settled back down then for the night.
When we were at Herberger's one of the workers heard Samantha saying I want "Hannah" pants-Hannah being Hannah Montana. The worker couldn't believe she knew who that was and both mom and I said at the same time-she has an older sister. Anyway Samantha didn't get Hannah Montana pants but she got a cute pair of jeans, shirt, and sweatshirt.
I didn't go to the Y this morning. Samantha was playing so well with her Little People castle that she literally hasn't played with in months that I just decided to go tomorrow instead. She also had no interest in getting dressed until I finally dressed her-she's usually dressed before the kids go to school.
When we were at Herberger's one of the workers heard Samantha saying I want "Hannah" pants-Hannah being Hannah Montana. The worker couldn't believe she knew who that was and both mom and I said at the same time-she has an older sister. Anyway Samantha didn't get Hannah Montana pants but she got a cute pair of jeans, shirt, and sweatshirt.
I didn't go to the Y this morning. Samantha was playing so well with her Little People castle that she literally hasn't played with in months that I just decided to go tomorrow instead. She also had no interest in getting dressed until I finally dressed her-she's usually dressed before the kids go to school.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The Mopar Holy Grail
I was so excited about something today I had to call my brother, Duane, and tell him. In the process of doing a building survey I had found a car with the 426 Hemi motor - what is sort of considered the Holy Grail of the Mopar car collector world. The car was in a storage area connected to and behind a c-store. This is a 1968 Hemi Dodge Coronet R/T.
The owner of the business had given me guff about some things (another story that I won't be able to share here), so I approached the owner's son. It is his dad's car. I'd estimate his dad to be between 60-70 years old. He has been approached many times with sale offers for this car, but he just laughs them off. Not for sale.
At one time his dad was the owner of a car dealership in their town. He ordered this car new in 1967 and has owned it all this time. Apparently the car has just over 24,000 miles and has never been in an accident. It hasn't been driven for many years - just sitting there collecting dust. At the time I couldn't see it so well because the corner was dark, but looking at the pictures now it does appear to be in very good shape. It was originally yellow.
The son told me it was 1 of 120 1968 Hemi Coronet R/Ts made and that it was 1 of 6 survivors. I went online tonight to check it out and there were 230 Hemi Coronet R/Ts made that year. Of that, 94 were 4-speeds (manual) and 136 were automatic transmission cars. Pretty rare whichever way you look at it! I'm sure, though, that there are a lot more than six of those surviving today.
On eBay there were not any cars like this one, but there was a 1968 Hemi Dodge Superbee. This is pretty much the same car, although slightly more rare. Bidding was at $48,000 with seven days left and the "Buy It Now" price is $129,000! I wonder what this guy was offered for his car.
It was really cool to find this rare and valuable car, but I probably would have been much more excited had it been a '70 or '71 Hemi 'Cuda - my favorite Mopar. These are even more rare. For example, in 1971 there were 118 'Cuda hardtops and 11 'Cuda convertibles made with the Hemi. Of course, the '71 Hemi 'Cuda convertibles are extremely collectible and have sold for millions of dollars each.
I won't share where this car is or who the owner is. It's not that I'd want to keep it private for myself - I'd never be able to afford it! I look it at this way - if I owned this car and it wasn't for sale I generally wouldn't want people coming to me all the time and making offers/trying to buy it. I'm gonna guess this car is known in the Mopar community around here, but still.
Until later, everyone!
The owner of the business had given me guff about some things (another story that I won't be able to share here), so I approached the owner's son. It is his dad's car. I'd estimate his dad to be between 60-70 years old. He has been approached many times with sale offers for this car, but he just laughs them off. Not for sale.At one time his dad was the owner of a car dealership in their town. He ordered this car new in 1967 and has owned it all this time. Apparently the car has just over 24,000 miles and has never been in an accident. It hasn't been driven for many years - just sitting there collecting dust. At the time I couldn't see it so well because the corner was dark, but looking at the pictures now it does appear to be in very good shape. It was originally yellow.
The son told me it was 1 of 120 1968 Hemi Coronet R/Ts made and that it was 1 of 6 survivors. I went online tonight to check it out and there were 230 Hemi Coronet R/Ts made that year. Of that, 94 were 4-speeds (manual) and 136 were automatic transmission cars. Pretty rare whichever way you look at it! I'm sure, though, that there are a lot more than six of those surviving today.On eBay there were not any cars like this one, but there was a 1968 Hemi Dodge Superbee. This is pretty much the same car, although slightly more rare. Bidding was at $48,000 with seven days left and the "Buy It Now" price is $129,000! I wonder what this guy was offered for his car.
It was really cool to find this rare and valuable car, but I probably would have been much more excited had it been a '70 or '71 Hemi 'Cuda - my favorite Mopar. These are even more rare. For example, in 1971 there were 118 'Cuda hardtops and 11 'Cuda convertibles made with the Hemi. Of course, the '71 Hemi 'Cuda convertibles are extremely collectible and have sold for millions of dollars each.I won't share where this car is or who the owner is. It's not that I'd want to keep it private for myself - I'd never be able to afford it! I look it at this way - if I owned this car and it wasn't for sale I generally wouldn't want people coming to me all the time and making offers/trying to buy it. I'm gonna guess this car is known in the Mopar community around here, but still.
Until later, everyone!
Birthday Luncheon
Today was Barb's birthday (Happy Birthday, Barb!) and I had Barb and a few friends over for lunch today. It was really nice. I made lasagna, garlic bread, and chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Dawn brought a yummy salad. I asked Barb if she wanted me to make something she could eat or something she shouldn't eat (Barb found out last year she's allergic to milk and a bunch of other things so her diet is limited) and her response was something good-which everyone knows usually has diary in it. I hope she doesn't get sick now! I even got out my china and set the table nice. I really think that I may not have used my china since Thanksgiving 1999 when we lived in Volga and mom, dad, and Loren came to visit. It's just a big hassle to get it out of storage-and especially now since there's still a lot of extra things in there. That's pretty sad if I haven't used it for over eight years. At least we never spent money on it-mom gave it to me. Anyway everyone was appreciative of my extra effort.
I've been busy with lots of cleaning and projects the last couple of days. Bruce had been in Minot and Bottineau too so that makes for more duties when he's gone at nights-he's home tonight! I actually don't have anything tomorrow (that's very unusual) that I have to be at or do so I'm going to the Y in the morning and then mom and dad should be here late morning. Donovan is excited to play Wii with mom.
I've been busy with lots of cleaning and projects the last couple of days. Bruce had been in Minot and Bottineau too so that makes for more duties when he's gone at nights-he's home tonight! I actually don't have anything tomorrow (that's very unusual) that I have to be at or do so I'm going to the Y in the morning and then mom and dad should be here late morning. Donovan is excited to play Wii with mom.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Al's Rollerdrome
About four months ago I was in Dallas for work. It was a long trip but it was enjoyable. As I was driving from one place to another I noticed this building.
I stopped by to get a picture of it. Al's Rollerdrome is obviously no longer in business and the building appears to no longer be used, unless as a storage building. The building itself is in very poor condition - at least I don't believe the end wall should be concave and the roof wavy.
I can't help but think the business would have lasted longer had the name been Big Al's Rollerdrome instead of just Al's Rollerdrome. To me Big Al's Rollerdrome just sounds like more fun.
Dallas is a small town in south central South Dakota - close to the border. Have a good day!
I stopped by to get a picture of it. Al's Rollerdrome is obviously no longer in business and the building appears to no longer be used, unless as a storage building. The building itself is in very poor condition - at least I don't believe the end wall should be concave and the roof wavy.I can't help but think the business would have lasted longer had the name been Big Al's Rollerdrome instead of just Al's Rollerdrome. To me Big Al's Rollerdrome just sounds like more fun.
Dallas is a small town in south central South Dakota - close to the border. Have a good day!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Race Day (or Night?)
NASCAR started a race today in California. The start was delayed because of rain and then later stopped because of more rain. The NASCAR web site says the rain has stopped, there is no more rain showing on radar, and they plan to start the race again before 10:00 p.m. PT. This is in about 15 minutes from when I am typing this.
They've only run 87 laps out of a planned 250 laps. What, are they going to race into the night? I'm guessing there must be some reason they haven't rescheduled the conclusion of the race for tomorrow. Update: I see this morning (Monday) that the race was eventually postponed to today at 10:00 a.m. PT.
Last week was the first race of the season and the big race for NASCAR - the Daytona 500. I caught snippets of the race here and there and then watched the last ten laps or so. That's all you really need to watch, I figure. Daytona is a restrictor plate race - meaning they have a restrictor plate below the carburetor to limit engine power and subsequently top speed. Speeds would be too high and dangerous if they didn't do this. The result is that cars are bunched up in one or two big groups and, while there may be dominant cars that always stay toward the front or work their way back to the front, the lead changes many, many times during the race. Drafting behind other cars is big and so is cars behind pushing the car in front of them (bump drafting).
It was an exciting last lap and one of my favorites, Ryan Newman, won the race! His teammate, Kurt Busch, gave him the push to the lead and they finished one-two. Must have been exciting for the team owner.
Enough rambling about NASCAR. I used to be a huge fan and watch the entire race every week. Not so much anymore - I don't think I've watched a whole race for two seasons. Here is a video of last week's finish. It has the last two laps along with the post-race celebrations and the victory lane interview. A crazed fan attacks Ryan during the interview. No, it was just Ryan's dad.
They've only run 87 laps out of a planned 250 laps. What, are they going to race into the night? I'm guessing there must be some reason they haven't rescheduled the conclusion of the race for tomorrow. Update: I see this morning (Monday) that the race was eventually postponed to today at 10:00 a.m. PT.
Last week was the first race of the season and the big race for NASCAR - the Daytona 500. I caught snippets of the race here and there and then watched the last ten laps or so. That's all you really need to watch, I figure. Daytona is a restrictor plate race - meaning they have a restrictor plate below the carburetor to limit engine power and subsequently top speed. Speeds would be too high and dangerous if they didn't do this. The result is that cars are bunched up in one or two big groups and, while there may be dominant cars that always stay toward the front or work their way back to the front, the lead changes many, many times during the race. Drafting behind other cars is big and so is cars behind pushing the car in front of them (bump drafting).
It was an exciting last lap and one of my favorites, Ryan Newman, won the race! His teammate, Kurt Busch, gave him the push to the lead and they finished one-two. Must have been exciting for the team owner.
Enough rambling about NASCAR. I used to be a huge fan and watch the entire race every week. Not so much anymore - I don't think I've watched a whole race for two seasons. Here is a video of last week's finish. It has the last two laps along with the post-race celebrations and the victory lane interview. A crazed fan attacks Ryan during the interview. No, it was just Ryan's dad.
Boring stuff
Friday night Gerrit, Aleah, Donovan, and I went to the movie night at the school-they had fun. I was tired when we got home and went to bed early-early for me anyway. I've been fighting a cold the last few days-sore throat and stuffy nose.
I didn't leave the house on Saturday. I really can't recall that I accomplished much except a lot of laundry and some cleaning. The groceries I had ordered on Friday arrived about 11:30 and that made Donovan very happy. Gerrit went over to Micah's to play and Bruce burned a lot of boxes so the garage is cleaner.
Today we went to church. Taylor was there. You could tell she was still in quite a bit pain. The pastor had her come up front and he and the elders prayed for her. She starts chemo on Wednesday. Zoe came over to play with Aleah this afternoon. I took the boys to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club and went for a short walk-without a coat!!
This week is busy again. The kids go to the dentist in the morning so will have to miss about an hour and a half of school-Gerrit is pretty happy about that. I also have to do more cleaning and baking for Barb's birthday and for mom and dad's visit.
I didn't leave the house on Saturday. I really can't recall that I accomplished much except a lot of laundry and some cleaning. The groceries I had ordered on Friday arrived about 11:30 and that made Donovan very happy. Gerrit went over to Micah's to play and Bruce burned a lot of boxes so the garage is cleaner.
Today we went to church. Taylor was there. You could tell she was still in quite a bit pain. The pastor had her come up front and he and the elders prayed for her. She starts chemo on Wednesday. Zoe came over to play with Aleah this afternoon. I took the boys to Wal-Mart and Sam's Club and went for a short walk-without a coat!!
This week is busy again. The kids go to the dentist in the morning so will have to miss about an hour and a half of school-Gerrit is pretty happy about that. I also have to do more cleaning and baking for Barb's birthday and for mom and dad's visit.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Burning Boxes
Throughout our whole basement finishing project we just kind of let the various cardboard boxes pile up in our garage. Today was so nice I decided this afternoon to clean out the garage some and burn the boxes in our garden area.
I piled up the boxes for the most efficient burning. No, I didn't really. Seemed to work, though, because they burned very well.
Samantha plays while the fire rages in the background. The fire was very hot!
Donovan poses for me. Gerrit wasn't around because he spent the afternoon at a friend's house. He still isn't home.
Aleah had fun outside, too. She made a nice little snowman.
When Aleah went inside before the rest of us, Samantha proceeded to go about tearing down the snowman. She enjoyed that a little too much, maybe.
I piled up the boxes for the most efficient burning. No, I didn't really. Seemed to work, though, because they burned very well.
Samantha plays while the fire rages in the background. The fire was very hot!
Donovan poses for me. Gerrit wasn't around because he spent the afternoon at a friend's house. He still isn't home.
Aleah had fun outside, too. She made a nice little snowman.
When Aleah went inside before the rest of us, Samantha proceeded to go about tearing down the snowman. She enjoyed that a little too much, maybe.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Working for the Lord
Works every time!A business I worked with today had this up in their customer lobby area. Thought it was pretty neat so I took a picture. I enjoy my job and hope to work there a long time, so I smudged up the photos. Privacy and confidentiality, you know.
End of the week
I've been too busy to blog lately. Wednesday I skipped out on the MOMS Club business meeting-it was too cold that morning and Donovan was in a bad mood. Donovan made it to speech though and we made it to church that night. Yesterday I had MOPS and our table had to bring food so I brought monkey bread. I also had to stop by the MagiCandle Cakery and rent a Pokemon pan I'm doing for someone this weekend. Last night Gerrit (and all other fifth graders) had to be at school to sing with the artist in residence they've had there this week. In between that I got our room kind of back to normal Bruce moved the computer downstairs so I don't have a computer and printer on our dresser anymore-I think it's been there since June!
Today I donated plasma at six and did a few things around the house when I got home. I then went to drop some stuff off at the school for the girls in girl scouts that hadn't gotten their cookie selling info since cookie sales start today. Donovan, Samantha, and I then went to the Y. I had quite a short workout since I saw an old friend and a cousin and we caught up on things. I would have worked out longer but the child watch was getting ready to close. After that I brought the cake pan back and we picked up Donovan's pictures at Penney's. We met Bruce for lunch then. I had planned to go to the grocery store but it was after one already and I knew Samantha needed a NAP! I did my shopping online thinking I could get them delivered tonight but they're full so they'll be coming between ten and noon tomorrow. It's a good thing we're not out of milk. Donovan's a little put off that he won't have ice cream tonight but I think he'll live.
Tonight the school is having their movie night postponed from two weeks ago. I really would like to stay home but it means a lot to Aleah to go. I don't think the boys would care if they went or not but Aleah wants to go and see her friends. Aleah woke up a couple time last night saying she couldn't sleep-apparently her hermit crab must be so loud he wakes her up but he's been in that room for two years and she's just having problems so I don't know what's going on with her. I'm past being a nice middle of the night mommy-too tired. I told her to pick the crab up and move him around but she said no, so I told her it's 2:30 in the morning-do you want to get up, to which she replied no, so I told her to go back to bed. If it's not one girl waking us up it's another. Samantha seems to wake up a little after one everynight and wonders out of her room but then usually goes back to bed.
I'm busy getting ready to have a lunch for Barb's birthday on Wednesday. I've invited a few friends and hopefully everyone can make it and no one is sick!!
Today I donated plasma at six and did a few things around the house when I got home. I then went to drop some stuff off at the school for the girls in girl scouts that hadn't gotten their cookie selling info since cookie sales start today. Donovan, Samantha, and I then went to the Y. I had quite a short workout since I saw an old friend and a cousin and we caught up on things. I would have worked out longer but the child watch was getting ready to close. After that I brought the cake pan back and we picked up Donovan's pictures at Penney's. We met Bruce for lunch then. I had planned to go to the grocery store but it was after one already and I knew Samantha needed a NAP! I did my shopping online thinking I could get them delivered tonight but they're full so they'll be coming between ten and noon tomorrow. It's a good thing we're not out of milk. Donovan's a little put off that he won't have ice cream tonight but I think he'll live.
Tonight the school is having their movie night postponed from two weeks ago. I really would like to stay home but it means a lot to Aleah to go. I don't think the boys would care if they went or not but Aleah wants to go and see her friends. Aleah woke up a couple time last night saying she couldn't sleep-apparently her hermit crab must be so loud he wakes her up but he's been in that room for two years and she's just having problems so I don't know what's going on with her. I'm past being a nice middle of the night mommy-too tired. I told her to pick the crab up and move him around but she said no, so I told her it's 2:30 in the morning-do you want to get up, to which she replied no, so I told her to go back to bed. If it's not one girl waking us up it's another. Samantha seems to wake up a little after one everynight and wonders out of her room but then usually goes back to bed.
I'm busy getting ready to have a lunch for Barb's birthday on Wednesday. I've invited a few friends and hopefully everyone can make it and no one is sick!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Roll Report
Seems like whenever I try to bake something new I obsess about it. After supper tonight I made my third batch of caramel rolls this week. We are each bound to gain at least a couple of pounds! I've identified one major problem and this is that I bought half and half to use for the caramel sauce instead of whole whipping cream. Just isn't gonna work because it is too thin - all the caramel soaks up in the rolls. Caramel rolls just aren't right without a lot of extra caramel sauce floating around.
This is a picture of the first batch when it came out of the oven. I used a dough recipe for the bread machine. This was OK but not the greatest. Donovan wouldn't eat it. The second batch I tried a loaf of frozen bread dough. I had difficulties rolling this out, but that may have been because it was still fairly cold. The taste was better than the first batch but still not up to par. This third batch I made tonight was a hand mix recipe and the taste and texture were both through the roof. Excellent!
So I have a good dough recipe and the next time I make them I'll use whole whipping cream. Nancy's mom and dad are planning to visit next week and I can hopefully make a batch for them to try.
Nancy, make a note - I think we need a new baking pan.
This is a picture of the first batch when it came out of the oven. I used a dough recipe for the bread machine. This was OK but not the greatest. Donovan wouldn't eat it. The second batch I tried a loaf of frozen bread dough. I had difficulties rolling this out, but that may have been because it was still fairly cold. The taste was better than the first batch but still not up to par. This third batch I made tonight was a hand mix recipe and the taste and texture were both through the roof. Excellent!So I have a good dough recipe and the next time I make them I'll use whole whipping cream. Nancy's mom and dad are planning to visit next week and I can hopefully make a batch for them to try.
Nancy, make a note - I think we need a new baking pan.
Bath Time
Tonight I gave Samantha her bath and just had to get a picture of her playing with the dinosaur toys. She sure has a lot of fun in the tub!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
To All The Plecos I've Loved Before
Nancy and I have had a fish tank pretty much ever since we've been married and we have had a 29 gallon freshwater tank since 2001. Up until a few months ago we have not had very good luck with the plecostomus (pleco for short). Each pleco would die after two or three months, without growing. We would wait until the tank got a heavy algae growth (probably another couple months), clean up the tank, and get a new pleco. Rinse and repeat.
It wasn't until a few months ago the light bulb went on and I figured out that maybe they weren't getting enough to eat - they were starving. Terrible, I know. With our latest pleco I have been supplementing with dried algae chips and he is thriving. Although I haven't tried it, I've read they will also eat cooked vegetables, including peas. Hey, maybe he can take care of some of our leftovers - like throwing slop to the pigs. Here pleco, pleco.
This is our high fin or sailfin plecostomus and he is about six to seven inches long. He is usually very shy but you can see he is going for one of the algae chips. These are interesting looking creatures. Sometimes I like to sit next to the tank and examine him. Eventually he will begin to communicate with me through his eyes. No, not really. That's just weird.
In the top picture you don't really get a good side view. Here is his right side. I refer to it as a "he" but for all I know it could be a female. I don't know - is there a way to tell?
It wasn't until a few months ago the light bulb went on and I figured out that maybe they weren't getting enough to eat - they were starving. Terrible, I know. With our latest pleco I have been supplementing with dried algae chips and he is thriving. Although I haven't tried it, I've read they will also eat cooked vegetables, including peas. Hey, maybe he can take care of some of our leftovers - like throwing slop to the pigs. Here pleco, pleco.
This is our high fin or sailfin plecostomus and he is about six to seven inches long. He is usually very shy but you can see he is going for one of the algae chips. These are interesting looking creatures. Sometimes I like to sit next to the tank and examine him. Eventually he will begin to communicate with me through his eyes. No, not really. That's just weird.
In the top picture you don't really get a good side view. Here is his right side. I refer to it as a "he" but for all I know it could be a female. I don't know - is there a way to tell?
Tentative surgery
We found out at the doctor today that Gerrit's tubes are still in and looking great, however, they have been in for two and a half years and they will need to come out. The doctor is keeping them in a couple more months until the cold and flu season has passed and to give them a bit longer to fall out on their own. The date for surgery is May 1st! We will go back April 22nd to make sure they're still in there. I'm still praying they fall out on their own. The surgery isn't a big deal-it's a day surgery and he'd be back to school the next day but it's the cost of it and the use of anesthesia.
Samantha and I went to the Y. Barb had called and invited us to storytime at the library so I asked Samantha if she wanted to go but she did not. She wanted to go to Kid Watch-that's the child watch at the Y. She has a lot of fun there and I also got a workout in as well. I did miss Moms In Touch this morning since Gerrit had his appointment.
Tomorrow I have the MOMS Club business meeting and Donovan has speech. We also have church at night. Bruce will be home this week-he has too many reports to work on before he goes out of town again.
Samantha and I went to the Y. Barb had called and invited us to storytime at the library so I asked Samantha if she wanted to go but she did not. She wanted to go to Kid Watch-that's the child watch at the Y. She has a lot of fun there and I also got a workout in as well. I did miss Moms In Touch this morning since Gerrit had his appointment.
Tomorrow I have the MOMS Club business meeting and Donovan has speech. We also have church at night. Bruce will be home this week-he has too many reports to work on before he goes out of town again.
Monday, February 18, 2008
President's Day
It was nice to have the kids home on this Monday President's Day. Gerrit and Joseph didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night (at least not what Gerrit is used to getting) and the other kids had shorter nights too so they were in bed (except Samantha the night owl) before 8:30 tonight.
Noah did come over and play with Donovan from about 2-4:30 this afternoon. They had such a good time together. I almost didn't think Noah's grandma was going to bring him since she didn't call until she was almost here. Samantha kept calling Noah-Megan. She use to call everyone Megan until she learned their name-Aleah has a friend named Megan that use to come over more often.
I read on Taylor's caringbridge site that the surgery went okay. They did find more cancer in a couple lymph nodes and she's in a lot of pain tonight. Poor girl. She had the best week of her life last week and now it's back to reality for her.
Aleah and I worked on some cards and watched "Annie" again. She had dance at six and that's the only time I left the house today-to bring her there and pick her up.
Tomorrow I'm donating plasma at six and then Gerrit has a ENT doctor appointment at 8:30 to see if his tubes have fallen out yet. If not he may have to have them surgically removed since they've been in there for two and a half years now. I plan to go to the Y after I bring Gerrit back to school.
Noah did come over and play with Donovan from about 2-4:30 this afternoon. They had such a good time together. I almost didn't think Noah's grandma was going to bring him since she didn't call until she was almost here. Samantha kept calling Noah-Megan. She use to call everyone Megan until she learned their name-Aleah has a friend named Megan that use to come over more often.
I read on Taylor's caringbridge site that the surgery went okay. They did find more cancer in a couple lymph nodes and she's in a lot of pain tonight. Poor girl. She had the best week of her life last week and now it's back to reality for her.
Aleah and I worked on some cards and watched "Annie" again. She had dance at six and that's the only time I left the house today-to bring her there and pick her up.
Tomorrow I'm donating plasma at six and then Gerrit has a ENT doctor appointment at 8:30 to see if his tubes have fallen out yet. If not he may have to have them surgically removed since they've been in there for two and a half years now. I plan to go to the Y after I bring Gerrit back to school.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Rolls and Desk Assembly
On Saturday I finished up the trim in our basement finishing project. Duane-I'll get your brad nailer back to you as soon as I can. Feels good to be done with that trim - all that was left was about half of the trim in the back room that will be our office and weight set area.
Late Saturday night I got the wild idea to start assembling our new computer desk/workstation. I was hard at work until I walked into the family room area, looked at the DVD player clock, and had a Holy Cow moment. It was 3:30 am! Time got away from me as I was busy reading instructions and assembling. I promptly went to bed. Today I finished up the assembly of the desk and hutch. I think I spent about five hours all together on this. We've never had such a nice desk - what we had before was a rickety old dining room table.
Today we figured out a use for the closet in that room. Should work out nicely as a time out area for the kids. The chair fits just right. Now when they are acting up all we have to say is "You don't want to spend time in The Chair, do you?" Oh, I suppose that won't work - I need all the room in the closet for my junk. We can move The Chair to the furnace room. Just kidding!
Tonight, in the bread machine, I made a batch of dough for caramel rolls. Here they are toward the end of the rising process. When they had risen sufficiently I covered the pan and stuck it in the refrigerator. When I get up in the morning I'll heat up the oven and bake the lovely swirls of tastiness. Hopefully they turn out all right - it is the first time I've made caramel rolls.
Late Saturday night I got the wild idea to start assembling our new computer desk/workstation. I was hard at work until I walked into the family room area, looked at the DVD player clock, and had a Holy Cow moment. It was 3:30 am! Time got away from me as I was busy reading instructions and assembling. I promptly went to bed. Today I finished up the assembly of the desk and hutch. I think I spent about five hours all together on this. We've never had such a nice desk - what we had before was a rickety old dining room table.
Today we figured out a use for the closet in that room. Should work out nicely as a time out area for the kids. The chair fits just right. Now when they are acting up all we have to say is "You don't want to spend time in The Chair, do you?" Oh, I suppose that won't work - I need all the room in the closet for my junk. We can move The Chair to the furnace room. Just kidding!
Tonight, in the bread machine, I made a batch of dough for caramel rolls. Here they are toward the end of the rising process. When they had risen sufficiently I covered the pan and stuck it in the refrigerator. When I get up in the morning I'll heat up the oven and bake the lovely swirls of tastiness. Hopefully they turn out all right - it is the first time I've made caramel rolls.
Comfortably Numb - Michael Hedges
This one is mostly for my brother, Duane. I think he is a Pink Floyd fan.
The video is Michael Hedges performing a live cover of "Comfortably Numb." Michael is well known and respected by many guitarists. He was known for using alternate tunings. Although the video is not very good, I think it is an interesting cover of the song. He does a pretty good job vocally. Oh, and the instrument is called a harp guitar.
I've been listening to a lot of his songs on YouTube. He seems to be kind of a hippie type and sort of new age. Good music, though. I enjoy quirky, unique, and unusual music sometimes.
Michael died in 1997 at the age of 43- about one month after this performance, I believe. His car went off a mountain road in California. His body wasn't found for several days.
Here is a bonus video - another cover song. This one is "Lucky Star," a Madonna song.
The video is Michael Hedges performing a live cover of "Comfortably Numb." Michael is well known and respected by many guitarists. He was known for using alternate tunings. Although the video is not very good, I think it is an interesting cover of the song. He does a pretty good job vocally. Oh, and the instrument is called a harp guitar.
I've been listening to a lot of his songs on YouTube. He seems to be kind of a hippie type and sort of new age. Good music, though. I enjoy quirky, unique, and unusual music sometimes.
Michael died in 1997 at the age of 43- about one month after this performance, I believe. His car went off a mountain road in California. His body wasn't found for several days.
Here is a bonus video - another cover song. This one is "Lucky Star," a Madonna song.
Annie and the Polar Patch
The kids and I made it to the Polar Patch on Saturday afternoon-Bruce stayed home and finished the trim in the basement!!! He also got his desk put together so hopefully the computer will be moved out of our bedroom soon. The kids and I had a good time at the Polar Patch. It was nice out too-it was almost 40 but it was a little windy. We also went on a sled/hay ride pulled by horses Dottie and Babe.
That night Gerrit, Aleah, Donovan, and I went to see Taylor perform the first four scenes of "Annie." She and her schoolmates did so well. The theater was absolutley packed. It made me sad to think that she won't be able to perform the whole musical in April-very unlikely anyway. She's having surgery tomorrow to remove the cancer. The U of Mary collected donations for Taylor and her family this weekend at basketball games and the performance and they received over $6,500.
The kids really enjoyed the musical and asked what happens in the end so we went to rent the movie after we left. I'm surprised how much they liked it. "Annie" the movie came out in 1982!! Wow! That's over 25 years ago. I remember my mom and dad taking Loren and me to it. The girl that played Annie is now also my age!!
Today we went to church and did things around the house. Joseph just got here and now it's time to put the other kids to bed. Aleah had wanted Zoe to come over to play tomorrow but Zoe's cousin is visiting. Donovan's friend Noah (Taylor's little brother) may come over to play with him. I told his grandma to bring him over so she could get a break. She's watching him while Taylor and her parents are in Rochester. They expect to be back at the end of the week.
The kids and I don't have to get up early tomorrow since there's no school. There's no speech for Donovan either so we don't have to go out until Aleah has dance at six. I do plan on making some cards tomorrow-it has been a long time since I've made any and I'm pretty much out of any kinds right now. I had to buy a couple cards awhile back and couldn't believe how expensive they were.
That night Gerrit, Aleah, Donovan, and I went to see Taylor perform the first four scenes of "Annie." She and her schoolmates did so well. The theater was absolutley packed. It made me sad to think that she won't be able to perform the whole musical in April-very unlikely anyway. She's having surgery tomorrow to remove the cancer. The U of Mary collected donations for Taylor and her family this weekend at basketball games and the performance and they received over $6,500.
The kids really enjoyed the musical and asked what happens in the end so we went to rent the movie after we left. I'm surprised how much they liked it. "Annie" the movie came out in 1982!! Wow! That's over 25 years ago. I remember my mom and dad taking Loren and me to it. The girl that played Annie is now also my age!!
Today we went to church and did things around the house. Joseph just got here and now it's time to put the other kids to bed. Aleah had wanted Zoe to come over to play tomorrow but Zoe's cousin is visiting. Donovan's friend Noah (Taylor's little brother) may come over to play with him. I told his grandma to bring him over so she could get a break. She's watching him while Taylor and her parents are in Rochester. They expect to be back at the end of the week.
The kids and I don't have to get up early tomorrow since there's no school. There's no speech for Donovan either so we don't have to go out until Aleah has dance at six. I do plan on making some cards tomorrow-it has been a long time since I've made any and I'm pretty much out of any kinds right now. I had to buy a couple cards awhile back and couldn't believe how expensive they were.
Friday, February 15, 2008
"C" You
Well, it would be a "C" from the other side. I was driving southeast of Devils Lake this week and noticed this interesting tree to the north side of the road. Stopped to zoom in and grab a photo, and here it is.
I suppose those visiting are glad the photoshop of Keith Richards is moving on down the page. That truly is disturbing.
It's a girl!
Bruce's mom called a little after eight this morning to tell us that John (Bruce's cousin) and his wife Stephanie had a baby girl this morning. She is their first girl after two boys. Valerie Ann weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. I believe that was my birth weight. Aleah and I went to visit tonight after supper and she's really cute. Valerie's brothers are quite proud of her!
The kids had a great time at their Valentine parties yesterday. I do believe Gerrit and Aleah over did it on treats as both had bad stomachaches at bedtime-it even kept waking Aleah up until after one. Samantha and I drove Gerrit and a few boys from his class on a field trip yesterday morning. It was so cold and we had to park quite far away. Samantha ended up crying because she was so cold. We went to Wal-Mart after that and then met Barb and Sydney for lunch at Applebee's.
I donated plasma this morning so I'm pretty tired right now. I also had Book Talk this morning and Samantha and I got groceries as well. I had to make a meal for someone at church (she's also in my MOPS group) that had a baby a few weeks ago for tonight. I made Italian chicken and I made a double batch so that's what we had too. After Aleah and I saw the baby we went shopping at Kohl's. They had really awesome deals-we stick to the 75-90% off racks plus I had an additional 30% off. I got Samantha a dress for Christmas that was $6. I found stuff for all the kids.
Tomorrow night we are going to see Taylor perform in "Annie." We plan on being there early since I have a feeling they'll be a very large crowd. Not quite sure what the rest of the day will bring-it's suppose to be quite nice so I'd like to take the kids to the Polar Patch. Gerrit is having Joseph sleep over on Sunday night. Gerrit has slept over at Joseph's before but this is the first time Gerrit's had someone over-he's quite excited about it.
The kids had a great time at their Valentine parties yesterday. I do believe Gerrit and Aleah over did it on treats as both had bad stomachaches at bedtime-it even kept waking Aleah up until after one. Samantha and I drove Gerrit and a few boys from his class on a field trip yesterday morning. It was so cold and we had to park quite far away. Samantha ended up crying because she was so cold. We went to Wal-Mart after that and then met Barb and Sydney for lunch at Applebee's.
I donated plasma this morning so I'm pretty tired right now. I also had Book Talk this morning and Samantha and I got groceries as well. I had to make a meal for someone at church (she's also in my MOPS group) that had a baby a few weeks ago for tonight. I made Italian chicken and I made a double batch so that's what we had too. After Aleah and I saw the baby we went shopping at Kohl's. They had really awesome deals-we stick to the 75-90% off racks plus I had an additional 30% off. I got Samantha a dress for Christmas that was $6. I found stuff for all the kids.
Tomorrow night we are going to see Taylor perform in "Annie." We plan on being there early since I have a feeling they'll be a very large crowd. Not quite sure what the rest of the day will bring-it's suppose to be quite nice so I'd like to take the kids to the Polar Patch. Gerrit is having Joseph sleep over on Sunday night. Gerrit has slept over at Joseph's before but this is the first time Gerrit's had someone over-he's quite excited about it.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Mouth Eyes
Freaking News is a news photoshop web site. A while back they had one for Mouth Eyes. This one below is my favorite, if just for the level of disgusting-ness. Check the web site out - there is usually some pretty good stuff.
Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!
Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Notes To Vehicles
Note to the Pepsi truck I met on a highway during winter weather driving conditions and with limited visibility. You popped into my view coming at me at least a foot over the center line. You scared me and momentarily caused my stress level to spike from an already high level. Don't do that.
Note to the minivan that tailgated me for about ten miles in winter weather driving conditions and with limited visibility. You were able to catch up to me because of the path I made for you in the large pillow drifts all over the east-west highway. You didn't have to tailgate me. When we both turned heading northwest on a northwest-southeast highway the road conditions greatly improved - no pillow drifts and good visibility. You still tailgated for about twenty more miles. We were traveling at close to seventy miles per hour and there were times I couldn't see your front bumper. That is way too close. It's all right - I just pretended I was pulling an enclosed trailer with headlights and with a passenger seated at the front window, and it didn't bother me as much.
That is all, for now. Good day!
(I know - I could have slowed down to let the vehicle pass. Most of the time, though, I was afraid if I did he or she would be trying to pick up an M & M from the floor or something like that at the time I decided to slow down.)
Note to the minivan that tailgated me for about ten miles in winter weather driving conditions and with limited visibility. You were able to catch up to me because of the path I made for you in the large pillow drifts all over the east-west highway. You didn't have to tailgate me. When we both turned heading northwest on a northwest-southeast highway the road conditions greatly improved - no pillow drifts and good visibility. You still tailgated for about twenty more miles. We were traveling at close to seventy miles per hour and there were times I couldn't see your front bumper. That is way too close. It's all right - I just pretended I was pulling an enclosed trailer with headlights and with a passenger seated at the front window, and it didn't bother me as much.
That is all, for now. Good day!
(I know - I could have slowed down to let the vehicle pass. Most of the time, though, I was afraid if I did he or she would be trying to pick up an M & M from the floor or something like that at the time I decided to slow down.)
Not so much snow
I really wonder when the last time was that the weatherman actually got a snow predication total right. They always say we'll get so much-today was suppose to be six inches-and we didn't get even half that. We just haven't had much snow in Bismarck at all this winter. Bruce has said around New Rockford the ditches are full. There's still a bit of winter left though so we could get more snow. I think I would like to take the kids out to Papa's Pumpkin Patch (now referred to as Papa's Polar Patch) this weekend if it's not too cold or windy. They have a lot of things set up there and I've heard great things about it. They have sleigh rides, snow caves, snow slides, etc. If we don't do that at least we should take the kids sledding. Winter will be over before we know it.
I made it to the Y again this morning. Donovan and Samantha had a blast playing air hockey. I watched them and Samantha seems to know what she's doing. Donovan had speech after that. Samantha did not take a nap today but at least went down without a fuss tonight. She was up until 10:30 last night-she was just wired. I don't know what's wrong with her.
Tomorrow I'm helping drive for Gerrit's field trip to a health fair at the U of Mary. The kids are all excited about their Valentine's parties and Gerrit's box is finished-Aleah finished her box on Sunday. Both Gerrit and Aleah asked after school today if they could bring something for their parties tomorrow. I wish they would have asked earlier in the week. I need to get groceries so am short on things we could make and didn't have time to get them after school. Their teachers told them not everyone needs to bring since there will be plenty there-only if you can. Aleah was quite mad at me for awhile. Just a preview of the teenage years to come I'm sure.
Barb and I might go out for lunch tomorrow and the girls too. Barb hasn't been feeling good lately though so we'll see how she feels in the morning.
I made it to the Y again this morning. Donovan and Samantha had a blast playing air hockey. I watched them and Samantha seems to know what she's doing. Donovan had speech after that. Samantha did not take a nap today but at least went down without a fuss tonight. She was up until 10:30 last night-she was just wired. I don't know what's wrong with her.
Tomorrow I'm helping drive for Gerrit's field trip to a health fair at the U of Mary. The kids are all excited about their Valentine's parties and Gerrit's box is finished-Aleah finished her box on Sunday. Both Gerrit and Aleah asked after school today if they could bring something for their parties tomorrow. I wish they would have asked earlier in the week. I need to get groceries so am short on things we could make and didn't have time to get them after school. Their teachers told them not everyone needs to bring since there will be plenty there-only if you can. Aleah was quite mad at me for awhile. Just a preview of the teenage years to come I'm sure.
Barb and I might go out for lunch tomorrow and the girls too. Barb hasn't been feeling good lately though so we'll see how she feels in the morning.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
What day is it anyway???
When I woke up at 5:15 this morning to donate plasma I was so confused what day it was. Usually by the time I'm out of the bedroom (5 seconds after I wake up) I know what day it is but I was so confused this morning-first I thought it was Friday then maybe Wednesday then I realized it was Tuesday and that was why I was up so early. After I got home and finished getting the kids ready for school this morning I had Moms in Touch. The rest of the morning was spent at storytime at the library with Samantha and getting a few things at Target. Tonight the girls and I are going to a Diva Party-not quite sure what that is-I think it's a purse and jewelry party. I could use a new purse-not interested in the jewelry.
Yesterday was a busy day as well. I made it to the Y! Donovan has speech while I picked up a few things for Girl Scouts. We had 18 out of 23 girls scouts there yesterday-that's the least we've had at a meeting-there were a bunch out sick. The girls were especially loud yesterday so it was nice we were down five in numbers. Aleah had dance after scouts.
From what I read on Taylor's caringbridge site her school is letting her perform the first four scenes from Annie this weekend before she goes to Mayo. The University of Mary is letting the school use their theater. Gerrit, Aleah, and I plan on going to see her. It is of course everyone's hope that Taylor would feel well enough to perform the whole musical in April but the chemo made her very sick last time and she may have to have the radiation in Rochester and would be there from 4-6 weeks. She is so excited about performing. She had the lead role at the Christmas program at church and did such a good job. Her school is doing a lot of fun things for her this week.
Mom had sent the kids some Valentine's in the mail today-she sent them each a Winnie the Pooh (I think she's been using the same box for a few years now-she only gives them to her four grandkids and there's usually 30 or so in a box) one and Donovan told me, "Grandma has got to buy some new Valentine's-I do not want Winnie the Pooh anymore-she can give them to Samantha." I relayed his message to mom. She told me she had a princess card she was going to send for all of them but she really didn't think Donovan would like that.
Yesterday was a busy day as well. I made it to the Y! Donovan has speech while I picked up a few things for Girl Scouts. We had 18 out of 23 girls scouts there yesterday-that's the least we've had at a meeting-there were a bunch out sick. The girls were especially loud yesterday so it was nice we were down five in numbers. Aleah had dance after scouts.
From what I read on Taylor's caringbridge site her school is letting her perform the first four scenes from Annie this weekend before she goes to Mayo. The University of Mary is letting the school use their theater. Gerrit, Aleah, and I plan on going to see her. It is of course everyone's hope that Taylor would feel well enough to perform the whole musical in April but the chemo made her very sick last time and she may have to have the radiation in Rochester and would be there from 4-6 weeks. She is so excited about performing. She had the lead role at the Christmas program at church and did such a good job. Her school is doing a lot of fun things for her this week.
Mom had sent the kids some Valentine's in the mail today-she sent them each a Winnie the Pooh (I think she's been using the same box for a few years now-she only gives them to her four grandkids and there's usually 30 or so in a box) one and Donovan told me, "Grandma has got to buy some new Valentine's-I do not want Winnie the Pooh anymore-she can give them to Samantha." I relayed his message to mom. She told me she had a princess card she was going to send for all of them but she really didn't think Donovan would like that.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Re: People Get Ready
A little over two weeks ago I posted a warning about the inevitability of the upcoming deluge of Vermont Teddy Bear television ads. I'm not so confident about that anymore. In fact, I think I was wrong. It is only four days from Valentine's Day and I have not seen one TV ad from VTB. I apologize to our readers for any undue stress I may have caused.
Although, I have heard radio ads from VTB's sister company - Pajamagram. According to their ad, it is the only gift guaranteed to get women to take their clothes off. I don't know what that means - don't you always do that when changing from clothes to pajamas? That guarantee is pretty much worthless. Nancy - they have them for men, too. Hint. Hint.
Although, I have heard radio ads from VTB's sister company - Pajamagram. According to their ad, it is the only gift guaranteed to get women to take their clothes off. I don't know what that means - don't you always do that when changing from clothes to pajamas? That guarantee is pretty much worthless. Nancy - they have them for men, too. Hint. Hint.
End of the weekend already
The weekend went so fast. Aleah and I went to the cookie rally-Cookie sales start February 22nd folks!-and then we came home, ate lunch and she changed for her dance show. They start with the littlest girls-ages three and four and go in order up to high school. It's so neat to see how much they improve through the years. When we got home I started laundry and our washing machine stopped working!!!! This is never a good thing. Bruce knows what part it needs but the place was already closed and they usually have to order parts. He'll see if he can get the part tomorrow or at least order it. I may not have a washing machine until Thursday!!
After church today Gerrit, Aleah, and I went to the laundromat. I washed seven loads of laundry and that cost eleven dollars!! I feel bad for people that do not have their own washer and dryer. I took home all the clothes to put them in our dryer. I can make it to Thursday without washing (let's hope the stomach flu doesn't come to our house this week) so hopefully the part comes by then. I do not want to go back to the laundramat again.
Aleah finished her Valentine's box and we're still working on Gerrit's. He has until Thursday. Bruce's parents are here now. We had pizza for supper. Bruce's mom has to do another sleep study at the hospital tonight and Milo will sleep here.
This is a busy week coming up. Tomorrow I plan to get to the Y in the morning then Donovan has speech. There's girl scouts after school and Aleah has dance at six. We're also suppose to get some snow. Right now I need to get the cookie selling packs ready for the girls and get a letter written about our next troop meeting and all the cookie info they'll need!
After church today Gerrit, Aleah, and I went to the laundromat. I washed seven loads of laundry and that cost eleven dollars!! I feel bad for people that do not have their own washer and dryer. I took home all the clothes to put them in our dryer. I can make it to Thursday without washing (let's hope the stomach flu doesn't come to our house this week) so hopefully the part comes by then. I do not want to go back to the laundramat again.
Aleah finished her Valentine's box and we're still working on Gerrit's. He has until Thursday. Bruce's parents are here now. We had pizza for supper. Bruce's mom has to do another sleep study at the hospital tonight and Milo will sleep here.
This is a busy week coming up. Tomorrow I plan to get to the Y in the morning then Donovan has speech. There's girl scouts after school and Aleah has dance at six. We're also suppose to get some snow. Right now I need to get the cookie selling packs ready for the girls and get a letter written about our next troop meeting and all the cookie info they'll need!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Glad it's the weekend
I'm glad it's the weekend. I am so tired right now. I guess it's partly from being up before six this morning to donate plasma and it's just been busy as usual around here. Donovan's six year pictures are done. I had quite a time getting him ready this morning for them. We had decided a while ago what he should wear and he didn't want to wear the pants this morning. I finally talked (gave him an ultimatum) him into them. I didn't realize that the pants were a little short (I guess I should have listened to him) but I just didn't order those pictures where you could tell they were a bit short (I think he's grown a lot lately). In 10 business days his pictures can be viewed online so I'll put up the link then. They turned out pretty good except he wouldn't smile with his mouth open. Gerrit told him last night that he would look silly since he's missing two teeth. I think it's cute (he's recently lost the two bottom front ones) and that's just how kids are at that age.
We met Bruce at McDonald's after pictures for lunch and then stopped at the bread store on the way home. After school we went to rent some movies and went to Wal-Mart so that Gerrit and Aleah could pick out their Valentines. Donovan picked his out last week. I will never go to Wal-Mart at five o'clock on a Friday with four kids before a blizzard warning again-CRAZY!!
The kids are working on their Valentines now-Aleah is done with hers so she's helping Donovan with his-that's nice-they're actually getting along. Samantha is eating any candy they give her. Donovan picked out little Play-Dohs to give to his classmates.
Tomorrow is the big Girl Scout cookie rally and Aleah's winter dance show-I wish we could stay home and stay home instead!!
Wendy emailed that her mom doesn't have cancer!! She had something called a vascular malformation that she could have had since she was a child. She still has a long road of rehab ahead of her but things are looking good right now.
We met Bruce at McDonald's after pictures for lunch and then stopped at the bread store on the way home. After school we went to rent some movies and went to Wal-Mart so that Gerrit and Aleah could pick out their Valentines. Donovan picked his out last week. I will never go to Wal-Mart at five o'clock on a Friday with four kids before a blizzard warning again-CRAZY!!
The kids are working on their Valentines now-Aleah is done with hers so she's helping Donovan with his-that's nice-they're actually getting along. Samantha is eating any candy they give her. Donovan picked out little Play-Dohs to give to his classmates.
Tomorrow is the big Girl Scout cookie rally and Aleah's winter dance show-I wish we could stay home and stay home instead!!
Wendy emailed that her mom doesn't have cancer!! She had something called a vascular malformation that she could have had since she was a child. She still has a long road of rehab ahead of her but things are looking good right now.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Unwelcome news
We learned today that Taylor does have cancer again. I was actually getting my perm from Taylor's aunt when she got the call. Everyone was hoping that it wouldn't be cancer. I guess they always knew it could come back but they just didn't expect it a year later. Even the doctors are surprised since the type of cancer she was diagnosed with had such a low risk of occuring again. This time she will have to do radiation along with the chemo. She's 12 years old and I think the worst for her is knowing that she'll lose all her hair again and having to be so sick again. She missed most of her fifth grade school year. She's also afraid she's not going to be able to be in "Annie" since it sounds like she may have to do radiation in Rochester and would be there for 4-6 weeks. She has a Caringbridge site and she's been writing in the journal part lately too. You will have to create a profile if you've never visited CaringBridge. Otherwise I think all you have to do is type in your e-mail address.
Today was busy and I'm really tired. I started the day with MOPS, then went to drop off Sam at Barb's. I got my perm and picked up Sydney and Sam and came to our house. Barb came after she picked her boys up from school and the man came to tune the piano. It took him two hours but it sounds great now! It's even louder. The bookmobile came at five and we all checked out some books except Bruce. The kids had a bunch of homework tonight and that's now finished. Bruce didn't go out of town this week like planned so that was nice.
Tomorrow I'm going to donate plasma and Donovan has his six year pictures at Penney's in the morning. Tomorrow night there was suppose to be a movie night at the kids school-they were showing "Ratatouille" but I guess it's canceled now because of a blizzard warning tomorrow night. When the kids told me I said, "Yeah!" They thought that was mean. I know they were looking forward to it (it's not like they can't watch the movie at home) since there friends would be there, etc. but I'm just glad we can stay home tomorrow night.
We do have to work on Valentine's boxes this weekend and there's the Girl Scout Cookie Rally and Aleah's Winter Dance show on Saturday and church on Sunday. There's always something.
Today was busy and I'm really tired. I started the day with MOPS, then went to drop off Sam at Barb's. I got my perm and picked up Sydney and Sam and came to our house. Barb came after she picked her boys up from school and the man came to tune the piano. It took him two hours but it sounds great now! It's even louder. The bookmobile came at five and we all checked out some books except Bruce. The kids had a bunch of homework tonight and that's now finished. Bruce didn't go out of town this week like planned so that was nice.
Tomorrow I'm going to donate plasma and Donovan has his six year pictures at Penney's in the morning. Tomorrow night there was suppose to be a movie night at the kids school-they were showing "Ratatouille" but I guess it's canceled now because of a blizzard warning tomorrow night. When the kids told me I said, "Yeah!" They thought that was mean. I know they were looking forward to it (it's not like they can't watch the movie at home) since there friends would be there, etc. but I'm just glad we can stay home tomorrow night.
We do have to work on Valentine's boxes this weekend and there's the Girl Scout Cookie Rally and Aleah's Winter Dance show on Saturday and church on Sunday. There's always something.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Downhill Mountain Bike Trail
Here is a video of a couple of guys traversing a downhill mountain bike trail. The one in the rear has what looks like a helmet camera. That's about all I know about the video.
Doesn't that look like a lot of fun, though? Yes! Someone put a lot of work into the construction of the trail, I would say. If you get nauseous from a shaky camera, you probably shouldn't watch this video.
Doesn't that look like a lot of fun, though? Yes! Someone put a lot of work into the construction of the trail, I would say. If you get nauseous from a shaky camera, you probably shouldn't watch this video.
Times change
Something I learned today-you can get a lot of free sheet music off the internet. The last time I had a piano (1990) no one really had the internet so this is so great! I got For Elise by Beethoven, Wagner's Bridal Chorus, Pachelbel Canon in D, and the Wedding March. There's tons more but this is enough to keep me busy. I think it's too bad I didn't have access to this music when I was taking piano lessons-I think it would have kept my interest if I would have learned to play songs I enjoy.
More updates
I got a report from Wendy and Sonja that Wendy's mom came through the surgery okay. The doctors removed the mass and they don't think it's cancerous. She should regain her speech. I'm not sure about the paralysis. She'll be there probably another week. This is good news.
Prayers are definitely needed for a girl (Taylor) at our church. Her brother Noah is Donovan's age and they play really well together. Anyway Taylor was diagnosed in July 2006 with a type of cancer in her ear. The doctors had removed the tumor and she went through chemo which was really hard on her. She finished with that about a year ago and has done so well and was declared cancer free. The risk was low that cancer would return. Last week they discovered a lump in her neck which her doctor in Bismarck sent her to Mayo for. The doctors at Mayo now suspect it is cancer. She has a biopsy today or tomorrow and they will know for sure then. Just pray that it isn't cancer. She's amazingly strong about it but is a little down since she doesn't want her hair to fall out again (it's finally grown out and really cute) and she has the lead in her school's spring musical "Annie." She's 12 years old.
I didn't make it to the Y yet again this morning. Samantha's cough still sounds rough and Donovan is not in a good mood-I think he needs a nap. He has speech in an hour though.
Tomorrow is a busy day-I have MOPS in the morning and then after that Barb is going to watch Samantha while I get a perm and then I'm going to watch Sydney while Barb goes to the doctor and the piano tuner is coming at four. The bookmobile also comes so the kids will be excited about that.
Prayers are definitely needed for a girl (Taylor) at our church. Her brother Noah is Donovan's age and they play really well together. Anyway Taylor was diagnosed in July 2006 with a type of cancer in her ear. The doctors had removed the tumor and she went through chemo which was really hard on her. She finished with that about a year ago and has done so well and was declared cancer free. The risk was low that cancer would return. Last week they discovered a lump in her neck which her doctor in Bismarck sent her to Mayo for. The doctors at Mayo now suspect it is cancer. She has a biopsy today or tomorrow and they will know for sure then. Just pray that it isn't cancer. She's amazingly strong about it but is a little down since she doesn't want her hair to fall out again (it's finally grown out and really cute) and she has the lead in her school's spring musical "Annie." She's 12 years old.
I didn't make it to the Y yet again this morning. Samantha's cough still sounds rough and Donovan is not in a good mood-I think he needs a nap. He has speech in an hour though.
Tomorrow is a busy day-I have MOPS in the morning and then after that Barb is going to watch Samantha while I get a perm and then I'm going to watch Sydney while Barb goes to the doctor and the piano tuner is coming at four. The bookmobile also comes so the kids will be excited about that.
You Can Tune A Piano . . .
But You Can't Tuna Fish. An REO Speedwagon reference, my friends. You Can Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish is an REO album released in 1978. The album gave us such songs as "Roll With the Changes," "Time For Me to Fly," "Say You Love Me Or Say Goodnight," and "The Unidentified Flying Tuna Trot." Thank you, official REO Speedwagon web site, for providing me with this information.
They have a new CD. I did not know that. They are touring this spring with Styx and Def Leppard. I did not know that, either. That would probably be a good concert.
I came home from work today and Nancy was playing our newly acquired used piano. I could tell almost right away it was out of tune. My parents gave me the name of a piano tuner in Ashley. They had a string break in their piano and this gentleman replaced the string and tuned their piano. I'll call and get on his list for the next time he is in Bismarck. According to my dad, this tuner is in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. I checked out the web site for the orchestra and he plays clarinet.
Last night when I was talking to my mom she mentioned the receipt and papers for their piano are probably still in the bench. She checked and they had purchased it from Wylie Music in 1982 for a little over $1,900.
I took a picture of our Baldwin spinet piano. This is it. The nice elderly couple we bought the piano from included the metronome and lamp with the purchase. The framed photographs are ours.
They have a new CD. I did not know that. They are touring this spring with Styx and Def Leppard. I did not know that, either. That would probably be a good concert.
I came home from work today and Nancy was playing our newly acquired used piano. I could tell almost right away it was out of tune. My parents gave me the name of a piano tuner in Ashley. They had a string break in their piano and this gentleman replaced the string and tuned their piano. I'll call and get on his list for the next time he is in Bismarck. According to my dad, this tuner is in the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. I checked out the web site for the orchestra and he plays clarinet.
Last night when I was talking to my mom she mentioned the receipt and papers for their piano are probably still in the bench. She checked and they had purchased it from Wylie Music in 1982 for a little over $1,900.
I took a picture of our Baldwin spinet piano. This is it. The nice elderly couple we bought the piano from included the metronome and lamp with the purchase. The framed photographs are ours.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
My fingers hurt-in a good way
We had the piano delivered this afternoon. We decided it was worth it to have it moved by movers. As soon as Samantha woke up from her nap I've been playing piano. I forgot how much I like to play. I'm very rusty though but I found an old recital piece I didn't do too bad on. I'll have to play it for Bruce when he comes home. The kids are "playing" on it now. The only problem with the piano that I can tell is that the C an octave up from middle C sticks a little. It's too bad it's not another octave up then it wouldn't be a big deal. It is still tuned well.
I'm waiting on news on Wendy's mom. She's been in St. Paul (not Rochester) since Saturday and they don't know much more. They were going to do a brain biopsy this afternoon and I hope they get some good news and can treat Lois.
Aleah has to dance at a half-time for a basketball game tonight. At least Bruce is home so I don't have to take all the kids out. Maybe he'll take her so I can play more piano-but he does want to go vote in the caucus so I'll probably take her.
I'm waiting on news on Wendy's mom. She's been in St. Paul (not Rochester) since Saturday and they don't know much more. They were going to do a brain biopsy this afternoon and I hope they get some good news and can treat Lois.
Aleah has to dance at a half-time for a basketball game tonight. At least Bruce is home so I don't have to take all the kids out. Maybe he'll take her so I can play more piano-but he does want to go vote in the caucus so I'll probably take her.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Weekend wrap-up and a piano
Thursday ended up being the last day I watched Summer. Her grandparents (my aunt and uncle) were visiting for the weekend and watched her on Friday. Donovan was a little bummed since he didn't see her on Thursday. I told him that sometimes if Summer's other babysitter is sick we can watch her then.
Friday since I didn't have Summer I took Donovan and Samantha and we found Donovan a new pair of shoes ($9) and a new backpack. His shoes were falling apart and his backpack was also falling apart-he had his backpack since the fall of 2006 (a Spiderman one with wheels) so I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. He settled on a plain blue one that was also very cheap. I told him he could probably get a new one for first grade since we didn't pay much for this one.
Friday night Aleah went to Zoe's sleepover and had a blast-she didn't want to come home when I went to get her Saturday morning. Gerrit and I went to National Treasure 2-Book of Secrets. We loved it and it was nice to do something with just Gerrit. Bruce and the two little ones went to Dairy Queen.
Saturday we went out to eat at the Golden Corral. We all felt cheated since we weren't able to get there for Bruce's grandma's birthday. We also got Samantha's crib put away. I also paid bills and figured how much we paid out in medical bills in 2007 and gave to church and charities. I think last year was the lowest we ever paid in medical since we've been married! We had a fairly healthy year and didn't have any births left to pay off!!
Sunday we went to church and just hung out at home and watched movies. We actually forgot about the Super Bowl until almost halftime so didn't see any new commercials. Bruce saw the last minute or so of the game. It sounds like it was a good one. We were rooting for the Giants since they were the underdogs. I did make homemade pizza.
This morning Bruce saw in the paper a piano for sale. I called up and it hadn't sold yet so we drove over and looked at it and bought it!! I am so exicted I'll be able to play piano again. Aleah will start taking lessons soon too. The problem now is getting it here. It's only about two or three miles from here but we have to get it here. That should be fun. I called about how much it would be to have it moved and it would be over $130 so that's out of the question.
Friday since I didn't have Summer I took Donovan and Samantha and we found Donovan a new pair of shoes ($9) and a new backpack. His shoes were falling apart and his backpack was also falling apart-he had his backpack since the fall of 2006 (a Spiderman one with wheels) so I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. He settled on a plain blue one that was also very cheap. I told him he could probably get a new one for first grade since we didn't pay much for this one.
Friday night Aleah went to Zoe's sleepover and had a blast-she didn't want to come home when I went to get her Saturday morning. Gerrit and I went to National Treasure 2-Book of Secrets. We loved it and it was nice to do something with just Gerrit. Bruce and the two little ones went to Dairy Queen.
Saturday we went out to eat at the Golden Corral. We all felt cheated since we weren't able to get there for Bruce's grandma's birthday. We also got Samantha's crib put away. I also paid bills and figured how much we paid out in medical bills in 2007 and gave to church and charities. I think last year was the lowest we ever paid in medical since we've been married! We had a fairly healthy year and didn't have any births left to pay off!!
Sunday we went to church and just hung out at home and watched movies. We actually forgot about the Super Bowl until almost halftime so didn't see any new commercials. Bruce saw the last minute or so of the game. It sounds like it was a good one. We were rooting for the Giants since they were the underdogs. I did make homemade pizza.
This morning Bruce saw in the paper a piano for sale. I called up and it hadn't sold yet so we drove over and looked at it and bought it!! I am so exicted I'll be able to play piano again. Aleah will start taking lessons soon too. The problem now is getting it here. It's only about two or three miles from here but we have to get it here. That should be fun. I called about how much it would be to have it moved and it would be over $130 so that's out of the question.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Cabin Fever Car Show
Pioneer Auto Club of Bismarck/Mandan had their Cabin Fever Car Show this weekend. They held it indoors at three locations in Mandan - Ressler Chevrolet's Detail Center, Riverwood RV, and Moritz Sport & Marine. Donovan and I went to check it out on Saturday afternoon. His favorite car was the bright green '72 Cuda.
Instead of posting a bunch of photos here, I went ahead and put them together in a slide show video. Here it is, people.
This is a huge file - just a warning for anyone on dial-up. Enjoy!
Instead of posting a bunch of photos here, I went ahead and put them together in a slide show video. Here it is, people.
This is a huge file - just a warning for anyone on dial-up. Enjoy!
Find Chuck Norris
Here is a fun thing to do. Go to Google. Type "find Chuck Norris" in the box (caps do not matter). Click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button, instead of just hitting enter or clicking on the "Google Search" button.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Donovan's Birthday Party
I think Nancy might have mentioned we had Donovan's birthday party last Sunday. It was supposed to be the Sunday previous but Donovan was sick that weekend. This party was at the Bismarck YMCA. The kids swam for about an hour then went to the party room (the child care room) to party down. They were there for a few minutes and then went to walk/run around the walking track for a bit. The walking track is on a level above one of the gyms. Then back to the party room to play, eat cake and chips, drink punch, and open gifts. Donovan really enjoyed this party.
Gerrit was there, of course, and one of his classmates was there too, so that he could watch over his younger brother during swimming. His brother is one of Donovan's classmates. That little kid there was intense about playing the air hockey. He latched onto it right as soon as we got in the room and practically didn't leave the table except for cake time. The older kids had to regulate his playing time so the others could take a whack at it.
Aleah was there with her friend Zoe. They sat together in a little couch at a table. I zoomed in to take this cute picture of Aleah whispering in Zoe's ear.
This looks innocent enough - two older boys playing kitchen. But they were cooking babies! The horror.
The cake had intensely thick frosting on top. It was good frosting, not so rich, but the volume was too much even for my sweet tooth.
Donovan at the little kid table with the candles burning. I think we were getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to him at this time. After the first blow he had two candles left, so Gerrit's classmate said, "Oh, he has two girlfriends." The young lady in the blue works for the YMCA and was running the party.
Donovan enjoys all his gifts, but right now what he likes the most is this art table and the blendy pens.
Gerrit was there, of course, and one of his classmates was there too, so that he could watch over his younger brother during swimming. His brother is one of Donovan's classmates. That little kid there was intense about playing the air hockey. He latched onto it right as soon as we got in the room and practically didn't leave the table except for cake time. The older kids had to regulate his playing time so the others could take a whack at it.
Aleah was there with her friend Zoe. They sat together in a little couch at a table. I zoomed in to take this cute picture of Aleah whispering in Zoe's ear.
This looks innocent enough - two older boys playing kitchen. But they were cooking babies! The horror.
The cake had intensely thick frosting on top. It was good frosting, not so rich, but the volume was too much even for my sweet tooth.
Donovan at the little kid table with the candles burning. I think we were getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to him at this time. After the first blow he had two candles left, so Gerrit's classmate said, "Oh, he has two girlfriends." The young lady in the blue works for the YMCA and was running the party.
Donovan enjoys all his gifts, but right now what he likes the most is this art table and the blendy pens.
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