Day 3 ~ Detroit to Niagara

We didn’t get out of Detroit until after 10 am. That makes me crazy when it’s a driving travel day. Welcome to Canada! I had the not so brilliant idea of driving along a scenic route along the lake. It took forever to go a short distance. Ontario is very farm oriented. There were gigantic green houses everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like it. The landscape and towns reminded me of the San Joaquin Valley in CA. We saw fields and fields of onions and tobacco, vineyards, orchards, wheat, and the shortest corn I’ve ever seen! It was such a contrast. In Iowa there was corn that was probably 8 feet high and starting to tassel while here there is 2 foot corn that is fully tasseled!

I bought some Ontario cherries at a fruit stand. They are sweet and juicy and deep reddish purple. The blueberries are fantastic, too.

We had lunch in the town of Erieau. It’s on Lake Erie (which is very cold, too). The lake had waves and white caps when we waded at the beach. Molly and Oj’s is where we dined. It was dark with a supper club atmosphere. We had a basket of chewy and crusty flax bread with sweet cream butter while we waited for our lunches. Our dinners came with soup so we both upgraded to the clam chowder. It was fantastic! I had a lemon pepper battered perch and Kurt had blackened rainbow trout. We were too full for dessert.

It was already mid-afternoon so we decided to forgo the scenic route and get our tushies to Niagara Falls. Evidently, Mapquest hates Canada (according to our B&B hostess); the directions I got put us in Niagara-on-the-lake which is lovely, but 20km from our destination.

We’re staying at the Eastwood Tourist lodge. We have a large room with a fireplace, a king size bed and a garden patio. We’re about 1 mile down (well uphill) from the Falls overlooking the Niagara Gorge. We can hear the Falls from here and see the Rainbow Bridge.

Once we got settled we drove down to see the Falls. UNBELIEVABLE!!! It’s truly incredible. We could see that without even getting out of the car. We drove up to the Cliffton area of town and had dinner at a great (cheap) little family restaurant. Then we rode the Skywheel. I hate shit like that so me getting on it was pretty amazing. I was squeezing the blood out of Kurt’s had though. It was awesome getting a bird’s eye view of the Falls. After our ride we drove down to the Falls and found some parking. We watched the light of the Falls while we waited for the fireworks. The city puts on a fireworks show every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday during the summer. The show was short, but spectacular. Tomorrow we will do all the Falls tours.

Flickr

I've created a Flickr account for my photos from the trip. I wonder if it works. It's free for you to view. I haven't figured out how to make a sidebar link on the blog yet, though. Enjoy!

Meet Francis

Meet Francis. He's a 6 week old sheltie boy. He's sweet, fluffy, and likes to explore. He smells like a barn (hay, dirt, animals) but in a good way. I love him already!

RAGBRAI 3

RAGBRAI arrives on Thursday. I've cleaned the kids' rooms, vaccuumed and flipped the mattresses, cleaned the bathroom, set out fresh towels and washed the bed linens. I'm now hot and tired. I saw a load of porta potties head into the park. The city is repainting the lines on the street...coincidence? I think not!

I bought some foamcore to make a sign to welcome our riders. Hopefully, it will help them find us. I'm going to make some muffins. That will probably be the extent of my hostess with the mostest-ing.

Niagara Falls at Night

Indiana Sand Dunes

Reading Harry Potter

I'll be back later!

We're Home

We're home. 12 hours in the car yesterday. 7 hours today. We don't like each other much at the moment, but we had a fun trip.

Exhausted. Plus I have another 3 hours in the car tomorrow as my mom and I have tickets to SPAMALOT in the Capital city. Ugh.

Obsessed

I'm truly obsessed. I used to love to shop on vacation and pick up all kinds of tacky souvenirs. For, I'd say the last 13 years, I've been over it. I'd rather buy 1 significant souvenir like a piece of potter, jewelry or something similar. EXCEPT for postcards. I'm still completely obsessed with postcards. I've probably bought 50 or 60 this trip. Yet, we didn't go anywhere that I could buy ones in Mystic or when we crossed Massachusetts (and 2 states to my tally - I think I only have 8 to go!). I buy them to keep. I buy them to send. I buy them to use in scrapbooking. So I might have to buy 3 of one view! I have yet to find a postcard of Utica.

Eastward Ho - Day 2

We got a bit of a late start heading out of Geneseo. Kurt says I’m a different person when I’m on vacation, since I want to get up and go where usually I prefer to laze around. If we've got miles to cover, I want to get on the road!
Our first stop was at the National Sand Dunes Park on the Indiana shore’s of Lake Michigan. I’ve always wanted to stop and see them when I’ve been on my way east, but I’ve never been able to spare the time. We hit the gift shop first and got information. We also picked up a really neat National Parks passport book. The dune’s parks were incredibly busy. Many of them were closed because the parking was full. We weren’t able to get to the beach that had been recommended to us, but we did make it to see Mt. Baldy. This is a live dune that is growing and shifting and threatening to take over the parking lot and potty area. Mt Baldy is blocked off in an effort to save her, so we walked around, up and through the woods to descend to the beach. It was gorgeous. Lake Michigan is very very blue and very very cold! We waded a bit then headed back over the dune and had a picnic lunch on the road.
Michigan is full of fruit orchards and deer from what we could see. Kurt napped quite a bit, but did manage to come awake in time to see a sign for an Air Zoo and space museum in Kalamazoo. We spent a few hours there. Kurt was more into than I was (of course). Yet, it was interesting. They had all kinds of planes and space craft. The walls were covered with realistic murals. The Air Zoo also has air themed rides such as a hot air balloon and little planes for kids. For bigger kids there is a space shuttle going to the International Space station as well as flight simulator for an F-14 tomcat (think TOP GUN). I sat those out but Kurt had a great time doing nose dives and barrel rolls. The zoo also features a WWII aircraft hangar and a simulated bombing run of a B-17 bombing run of Nazi Germany. It was 3-D and the true story narrated by the sole survivor. I did go on that one. It was really meaningful because of what’s going on now, and also because my Great Uncle Glenn went down in one of those during the war.
We only had about 45 min to go thru the second building which featured more space stuff. I looked everything over quickly then waited for Kurt outside where there was some fresh air. The Air Zoo is much like the National Air and Space museum in D.C., but I thought it was much better because it isn’t so stinking crowded! However, their moon rock in encased in glass, where you can touch the one in D.C.
We were at the Air Zoo until it closed then we got back on the road. We had a super yummy supper at a Bob Evans. You can never go wrong with a hot turkey sandwich!
We decided to drive to Detroit. Kurt was sleeping when we got into town. We ended up getting into an argument about where to find a hotel. We had a lovely (and thankfully) short tour of the burned out, abandoned, boarded up and still being inhabited section of the city. We quickly got back on the freeway and headed for the museum and downtown district. I hadn’t made a hotel reservation because I wasn’t sure how far we’d get. We ended up in a very expensive Courtyard by Marriott. I only got a room because there was a cancellation just as I inquired. The woman who checked in before me almost came unglued. She’d been trying to get a second room for months. We just happened to decide to spend the night in Detroit while the 98th annual NAACP convention was there, along with a Tigers game and an airshow. The room was nice, the hot tub was cold, and the bed was soft. Plus I should be getting bonus Marriott rewards!

Eastward Ho - Day 1

Day 1 - July 6 -
I was so excited about our trip, I couldn’t wait to leave! I wanted to be able to see some stuff on the way rather than having to rush the 800 + miles to Niagara. I approached Kurt about leaving Friday night and driving part way. He agreed so we set out about 630 p.m. We made it about 20 miles down the road and we had to stop for supper! We pigged out at Pizza Ranch and then resumed our travels eastward. We made it as far as Geneseo, IL where we stayed at a not so cheap yet very cheap Super8. They said they had one room left, so we ended up in a so called suite. It reeked of pot so I called down to the front desk. He said he’d see what he could do. We could have a hot tub suite (more expensive, yet tempting) or a “I’ll give it to you for the same price” room with 3…count ‘em 3…double beds. We took that one. The room was humongous and freezing cold. I loved it! The next morning though, Kurt and I agreed, we are higher class hotel people despite our discount chain budget. The towels were like sand paper!

Musings

Iowa is a pretty homogenous state. Most everyone you meet is Christian (or their ancestors were at one point). The east coast not so much. I love the diversity. Kurt and I were having lunch over looking the drawbridge at the S & P Oyster Bar (or company) in Mystic, CT. The two couples at the table next to us were having quite the far ranging conversation. I told Kurt it was like listening to a Woody Allen movie!

Sports

New York and the East Coast seems to be for sports fanatics. Baseball mainly. Everywhere we go people are watching baseball, listening to baseball, or discussing baseball. It seems like the entire sportscast on the news is about baseball. Right now we are only 45 min away from Cooperstown (and the baseball hall of fame). We've been past a basketball hall of fame, the boxing hall of fame, the curling hall of fame and one more it seems like. Iowa is not a baseball state. New York apparently is. I could care less.

Mississippi Overlook

Alaskan Waffle

Hiawatha

Happy 4th of July!

Deviled Eggs....a great holiday tradition. The parade is out front at 9 am. People have been putting out chairs since early this morning. We've got a spot saved in case my grandpa comes up. I've got chicken marinating and beans ready to be baked. We have fresh black berries and raspberries to go over vanilla ice cream. I've got the sparklers and the invitation to my parents for a cook out tonight.

Even if you are against the war (like me), please don't forget the soldiers and their families - past and present. Happy Indpenendence Day everyone!!

RAGBRAI 2 - For those of you who don't know

RAGBRAI is the Register's Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa. It started out as a small bike ride with a few riders sponsored by the Des Moines Register. Riders start on the western edge of the state dipping their bike tires in the Missouri River. Five days and usually some 400+miles later they end by dipping their tires in the Mighty Mississippi. When it started out the few were just riding for fun and to see the state. Now more than 20,000+ riders from all over the world spend a week in our state. Smalltown organizations make lots of money selling fruit cups, pies, tenderloins and anything else you can imagine! Check it out at http://www.ragbrai.org/

RAGBRAI 1

RAGBRAI is coming again. It's always the last full week in July. This year they are overnighting here. Since we will be childless and have lots of extra space we decided to be a host family. I just got our first email. We'll have a group of 3 men from Colorado and it looks like another group of 2 from the Quad Cities. We're only a block away from one of the main areas so it should be crazy. RAGBRAI is always a rockin' good time!

Sleep Number

Kurt and I have always thought we wanted a Sleep Number bed. He likes a harder mattress and I like a featherbed. He's slept on Sleep Numbers while on business trips. Well, he had to go to Lacrosse for a PBX upgrade Wednesday - Friday so the kids I went with him. (We're trying to pretend it's a vacation). The kids were loving the sleep number. I finally had to take the controls away from them. Turns out Kurt is a 75 while I'm somewhere between 35 and 40. However, 35 is too soft and 40 is too hard (yes, I am just like the Princess and the Pea). The problem is that Kurt is sleeping on high ground and I'm down in a divot. I can't roll toward him and if he rolls toward me I get squashed. Plus because of the way the bed is structured, since my side is soft it's like climbing out of a water bed. Yuck. Kurt seems a little disappointed that I'm anti-sleep number. I told him to look at it this way; I just saved us 3k!

Energy Fun in the Sun

While Christy is at Horse Camp this week, I have Nick going to a day camp type class at UNI. It's called "energy Fun in the Sun". I don't think he was real excited about going, but he's having a good time.

The first day it was overcast so it was a bit of a dud. The kids (I'd guess there are 10 or so of them) are grades 4-8. They made an "oven" out if bubble wrap and aluminum foil. They also started working on solar powered cars. Tuesday was sunny so they were able to make smores in their ovens and have solar sprint car races. Nicky won first place and now has a blue ribbon and a hat with a solar powered fan. There is only one more day of it. Tomorrow they are touring a solar home (and I get to go too!)

To kill the 3 hours while I wait for him, I've been reading Stephanie Plum novels at Barnes and NOble. I read the new one, Lean Mean Thirteen, today. It was really fun! Yesterday I shopped for perennials. Few retailers have discounted them yet, but I did get a few plants I need to fill in some dead and/or weedy spaces.

Whew!

Even with my incredibly crappy grade in Accounting (we're talking as low as you can go and pass, people) my GPA is 3.08. So! I'm not a total loser! Whew! Plus, I still might graduate!

Memorial Day weekend Wrap up

We took our family vacation before school was even out! We have the kids for Memorial Weekend so we went to Sioux Falls to see Kurt's parents (cheap hotel)! We had hoped to go to Omaha, but Kelly's family went to Branson for the weekend.

I had sandwiches and packed Ziploc lunches to eat on the way. We were on the road by 8 am Saturday morning which is quite an accomplishment for us. Since we are on the poverty stricken end of things, our goal was to do cheap fun stuff.

We drove west and stopped in Pocahontas to get our picture taken with her. We're all about the roadside oddities. Our next stop was in Mallard next to the giant duck. Then we loaded back up and headed for West Bend and the Grotto of the Redemption.

The Grotto was awesome! So many different and colorful stones from all over. They have a stalagmite from Carlsbad Caverns and lots and lots of petrified wood. We took the free guided tour then had lunch on the grounds.

Next we got back in the car and headed for the cemeteries. We stopped and put flowers on both sets of Kurt's grandparents and his older brother's graves. The stone for his brother is new as is the one for his parents...even though they are still with us, they've gotten that purchased and placed. It's very attractive lol. Kurt wanted to drive past his parents farm. We haven't been by since Grandma's house was knocked down. We stopped in Lone Rock and climbed on the giant rock, too.

Christy was interested in Okoboji so we drove down there to check it out. We got out and walked around a bit. We also finally managed to locate the Abbey Gardiner cabin of Spirit Lake massacre fame. I've wanted to see that since I learned about it in 5th grade Iowa history. It was kind of a let down.

We finally got to Sioux Falls around 630 pm. Grandma had oatmeal cinnamon raisin cookies backing and supper in the oven (very unusual). Their new apartment is very nice. It's a huge 3 bedroom. Kurt and I actually got to sleep in a bed! We were sooooo excited. Air mattresses get less and less attractive as does sharing a room with the kids.

Sunday morning we went to the Great Plains Zoo. It was surprisingly nice. I don't think I've ever been to a zoo when it hasn't been August and a million degrees. We got there right at 9. The animals were out and having breakfast. the Siberian Tigers were especially impressive. One caught a black bird right in front of us. The he leaped up on the chain link (3 feet from us) and attacked another one. It was WILD!!!! I thought maybe the kids would be too old for the zoo, but they really enjoyed it.

Lyle and Audra Kae took us to a car sale at the fairgrounds for free brats, burgers and chips. It was something else. It was easy to go than to protest. After lunch we drove a half hour east and north to Garretson, SD where we went on the Jesse James Pontoon ride on the Split Rock river. Jesse and what was left of his gang hid out in nearby Devil's Gulch after their botched robbery in Northfield, MN. We got to explore Devil's Gulch and cross the bluffs where he made a 20ft jump with his horse. (There's a bridge there now). The pontoon ride was peaceful and relaxing.

We spent the evening watch BLOOD DIAMOND and playing cards. We left for home Monday morning around 10. I packed more sandwiches and we took another route home. We visited Orange City to see the windmills (they have nothing on Pella), drove through a giant wind farm near Storm Lake, stopped to see the world's largest popcorn ball in Sac City, and finished up with a visit to the fort in Fort Dodge. It was a really nice trip!

Thank you to the Troops

Roadside Oddities!

Grotto of the Redemption

Lone Rock-ers

Spirit Lake Massacre Site

Devil's Gulch - Jesse James jump site

Split Rock River - Quartzite Bluffs

Definately not Pella

World's Largest Popcorn Ball

Old Fashioned Fun at Fort Dodge

Jailbirds

Happy 44th Birthday, Kurt!

Today is my honey bunny's actual birthday. We were awake to celebrate at 2:28 a.m. when he came into this world 44 years ago.

We'd just gotten home from a night of sushi, dancing, laughing, and gay karaoke. We had dinner at SoHo with Rikki and Amy then ended up at Karaoke where we ran into Brian. Kurt reluctantly did a shot, but he gladly sang some duets with Amy. Amy only sings karaoke with Kurt so he felt very special!

We slept late, got Alex off to his soccer game, and we finally headed south. We went to an Art in the Park festival which was great! It was a juried show with only 50 artists (one of whom I know!). It was a beautiful blue sky and white puffy cloud Iowa day. We skipped the food stands and ended up at Happy Joe's for sauerkraut and Canadian Bacon pizza and the birthday boy's free Silly Willy Sundae!

Sushi Anyone?

Finally outta the car

VooDoo Hurricane

The Birthday Boy

On the Chicago River

Downtown Chicago

Early Birthday Weekend

I took Kurt to Chicago for an early birthday celebration. I couldn't figure out what to get him and I got my weekly theater email from the Windy City. I saw that CAMELOT was going to be in Chicago thru yesterday. In the back of my mind I recalled Kurt saying that was his favorite musical. I asked if he wanted to go and he said yes.

It was on a 3 week run and it's starring Michael York as Arthur. It was at the newly restored (and renamed) LaSalle Bank Theater. We enjoyed it even though Michael York is a little long in the tooth the be Arthur. I thought he was really overacting. It seemed he thought the way to sound kingly was to drag out all his vowels....ie....heeeeeere's Joooooohny type thing. He also threw his arm out in a wide sweeping motion quite often trying to appear regal. I thought maybe I was just being critical but I found a review (after we got home) in one of the magazines I picked up at the hotel and it said the same thing. We had good seats though. We were in the Mezzanine level on the aisle so Kurt was able to stretch out his legs a little. We were just high enough that we could see from the front edge of the stage all the way back. I'm glad I didn't get cheaper tickets than that.

Unfortunately, due to the custody pick up times and soccer it was a flying trip. Saturday morning was parent's night for Alex's soccer. There was a screw up with the scheduled referees so the game was a forfeit. Team members and parents were VERY poor sports about the whole thing. It was shameful. The kids just ended up thrusting the flowers in the parents' hands and stomping off. But we chose to be supportive of Alex and go the event even though it was a last minute reschedule. We didn't leave for Chicago til 1030.

There is construction on the Kennedy Expressway so traffic was awful. We didn't get to the hotel until 430. We stayed at the Hyatt on Wacker. It's right on the river across from the Tribune tower, and the round Marina parking garage towers. We were on the 28th floor. At the ends of the hall there were views of the skyline and Hancock to the north, and Millennium Park and the Art Institute to the south.

We had a fantastic meal at the House of Blues. We shared entrees. Kurt had a catfish, rice and shrimp creole dish while I had ribs with Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was incredibly flavorful and yummy.

After the theater we had some coffee and dessert at Stetson's a very nice restaurant in the hotel.
It was 1230 am by the time we got back up to our king size bed.

Sunday morning we had brunch at the hotel, a mini nap, and then headed for home. It was a quick but fun trip!

Ridiculous!

It's May 14th and it was 94 degrees today! I can't take it! My HAIR was sweating!! I've had 3 showers just to feel human.

I washed all the throw rugs today. That was a filthy ordeal. Now I'm washing the kids' super stinky clothes which is also an ordeal.

My yellow iris are all blooming. They've all fallen over so I cut 5 or 6 stems. It made a pretty arrangement.

Tonight was sports physicals at the middle school from 6-730. It was also Christy's Choir Concert and she had to be at the high school by 630. I had Alex drive himself to soccer practice (watching him back my car out of the garage was frightening). Then I got supper ready by 515. Christy and I went for her physical at 530 (they let the choir kids in early). Kurt and the boys came once Alex had supper. Then Christy and I came home and found something for her to wear to the concert. Then we went to the high school while the boys got their physicals. I then saved 3 seats at the concert (which, of course, made me VERY popular).

The guys arrived, we sat thru the 5th grade, a surprise quartet, the 6th grade (Christy sounded good) and a Soprano duet. There were around 500 ppl in the 90 degree gym. It was awesome. Then while they were changing sets, Kurt, Nick, Christy and I came home (via the DQ) while Alex stayed to hear Amber sing. He's driving Kurt's car home. Oh, he and Amber dyed the bottom half of their hair black.

So there you have a typical day at our house.

Summ Summ Summertime!

The weather this week has been lovely! I've gardened (some). I see I've some yellow iris blooming. A French or Fernleaf Peony that I got from my great aunt Betty made it through the winter (and my lack of attention last summer). Because of our April snowstorm my tulips weren't worth a crap this year.

I bribed Alex into mowing the lawn the other day so Kurt doesn't have to deal with it. He wanted to know if he could go to his gf's and I in sneaky mother fashion said, "after you mow the lawn." He passed his driver's test on Wednesday which is good but scary!

We got Christy signed up for Horse Camp. She's excited to go. She and I went shopping for shorts, shirts, and bras for her last night. We had supper at Fazoli's (we spent more on clothes than I anticipated). She is NOT a fan of white sauce. Her face when she tried Fettuccine Alfredo was priceless! I bought a pair of Doc sandals from Rikki for $20.

We're trying to find a camp or something to do with Nicky this summer, but so far he's got little interest. He may get assigned something.

In July Kurt and I are going to Canada/New York state/Connecticut for vacation. We're doing Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes, the Hudson River Valley, and Mystic. Then we are coming back through Utica so he can do some work. I'm so excited! I found a place where we can go to a Lobster and seafood boil in some little coastal town in CT. Before we decided on a day or 2 in CT we thought we might take the train into NYC for overnight. We thought about it though, and an overnight would be expensive and probably frustrating since we'd barely have time to do anything.

I start summer school on Monday for 3 weeks. I got my grades. Not too hot, but I did pass accounting so I'll still be graduating in December. Besides accounting I got an A, a B+, a B, and a C-. Nineteen hours may have been overly ambitious!

California - The Wrap Up

******I've been too busy with school and everyone here at home to have time to blog. Here are the details of my Spring Break trip to California******

So it's been almost 2 months already. I may as well get this trip wrapped up! Another reason this hasn't been done in a timely manner is I shot actually film on the trip and when I turned it in, I forgot to mark "CD" on the envelope so I have no way to post photos.

Wednesday the Aunt stayed home from work because she had a doctor appointment (and because I was there). We got a lot of cleaning done. I made many trips to Goodwill which was conveniently located a couple of blocks away. We took a load of books, magazines, and catalogs to the library. We flew to the library the next town over. We thought it was closing at 5, but once we got there we discovered it was now open until 7. The aunt's IMT appointment for Thursday in Monterey had cancelled so she decided to go whale watching with me. We printed out her ticket at the library.

We got home very, very late and we were quite tired. We had to leave for the coast at 6 am. I started to flick dirt, cat hair, etc off my sleeping mat. As I grasped the sheet I put my hand in wet. THE CAT HAS PISSED ON MY BED. The aunt didn't believe me! "He doesn't do that". Well he did. I freaked out.

"I've had it! Where's the nearest hotel?"

She started laughing. "You can have the bed."

"I don't know that the cat didn't piss in it! I'm outta here!"

I packed up, went online, and got myself a room at the Super8. I spent 2 nights there and the next three in a Courtyard by Marriott (great deal on hotwire).

I called my husband crying to see if we had enough money for me to spend 5 nights in a hotel. So much for my cheap vacation. Graciously, the aunt paid for half my hotel bill.

Staying in the hotel improved my vacation a lot!

She let me take the car for the reminder of the vacation. I would drive her to and from work each day then I could "buzz around" in it the rest of the day.

Thursday morning I picked her up early and we headed to the coast. It was a pretty drive. We went through orchards, strawberry fields, and artichoke fields. The sight of the ocean really takes my breath away. I forgot how white the sand is in Monterey. We had a yummy breakfast then walked down the wharf to board the whale watching boat. I took some Dramamine. It was a beautiful sunny day. The guide chick said yesterday was an amazing whale day (it must go every other day lol).

Now, I'm a landlocked Iowa girl. I had no idea what the hell i was looking for! Eventually, I figured out it was the plume/mist that comes up when the blow out their blowhole. I also finally managed to see the tops of their heads/back when then surface. It was pretty cool, but a little disappointing. I have to say that the discovery channel ruined whale watching for me! You become accustomed to seeing the animals so very close up due to the amazing lenses. Toward the end of the trip we saw an albatross and finally a FLUKE! I even managed to catch it on film! We were (supposedly) between 2 pods of whales so we stayed out a while longer than scheduled. We ended up getting about 45 minutes extra of cruise time. On the way in we saw sea otters and of course, seals. I want to do it again!

We had a great seafood lunch overlooking the bay and headed back to Modesto.

Friday, the Aunt went back to work. I did some cleaning and hung out at the hotel in the hot tub.

Saturday we did some more sorting and I got to go to Trader Joe's. What a disappointment. A bad thing happened, too. The cat was sick. We took him to the vet hospital where we had to wait a very long time. He had renal failure and possibly a polyp between his ear and nose. We left him there getting IV's and fluids.

Sunday, we drove to the mountains to have brunch with Pat. It was nice to see her again. She had come to Iowa with the aunt years ago. She is an art teacher. She has a pretty little house. The air was clear and crisp. Her daffodils were in bloom. We drove up to about 5, 000 feet to discover the brunch place is no more. I really enjoyed the scenery. We drove back down the mountain and had brunch at the casino. It was a nice day.

Monday morning I took the Aunt to school then I went and picked up the cat. I took him to the regular vet and left him there. The Aunt and the vet would decide later what to do. Ultimately, she had to have Jazz put to sleep.

I took myself to the airport. My suitcase was overweight, but the guy let me go with out paying the extra baggage charge. My flights home were good and my husband was glad to see me.

Scrappin'

I scrapped with the old ladies at PH yesterday. I was the "Hobby Share" speaker. I had 8 or 9 participate which is a huge turnout. I took the 5x7 photo folders I was supposed to return to Brian and had them cover it with paper. Then they had either photo's of themselves from their Mardi Gras party, or of their grandkids and ggrandkids. They picked out a friend or love vellum which I attached with brads and then they added stickers and embellishments. They really, really enjoyed it. More of them wandered in as the activity wore on so I barely made it out of there in time to leave for my study group. They want me to come back and show them something else!

A Country Drive

Friday was gorgeous here. After the kids left for the weekend, Kurt and I decided to see if my parents wanted to go out for supper. They did so the four of us headed to Edgewood to eat. It was country that Kurt hadn't been through before. There is construction on Hwy 3 so a direct route was out of the question. My dad and I are HUGE fans of "never go the same way twice" so it was fine with me! I used to live over that way so it was interesting to see the changes to the country.

We had a cheap and yummy buffet dinner and drinks. Kurt and my dinners (and vodka lemonades) came to $23.12!! So there you have another bonus of living in podunk Iowa. After dinner we decided to head north through the countryside. North of Edgewood and Strawberry Point is very hilly with long ranging vistas. It's referred to as "Little Switzerland" (according to the town sign - I've never actually heard anyone call it that). I've been in Switzerland though and it's an accurate description. It was that golden hour when the sun is setting and everything is bathed in that wonderful light. We saw lots of wildlife - most of which were up close. Wild turkeys, a partridge, a badger, four or five deer, and lots of hawks. I'd really like to live out in the country again. I can't imagine living in a big city. I need some space and some green.

I drove home for my study group tonight. It was 78 degrees at 8:30. It's much to early for it, but I really enjoyed having the windows down, the music turned up, and being able to smell the fresh air, and the newly turned soil. Lots and lots of farmers are putting in many, many hours.

A Lovely Weekend

Kurt and I had a lovely weekend. The weather was very nice. It was ridiculously warm today though; reaching almost 90 degrees. Kurt got the lawn mowed (part of our prenuptial agreement - he does all the mowing). We went to Waterloo, had a lovely lunch at Zio Johno's, recycled our cardboard, went to Barnes and Noble, and dropped off some stuff at Rikki and Amy's place. Rikki and I have set our garage sale for the second Saturday in June in case anyone wants to bring anything.

Kurt and I hit some garage sales yesterday morning on our way to Goodwill. We didn't get much just some goodies and a soda. I had two finals on Friday so I decided to take the weekend off. I have two more this upcoming week. Tomorrow night I have a 3 hour study group for my Bio-Medical Ethics class. I need to learn the last 2 chapters of accounting by Tuesday so I can hopefully pass that class.

Friday I'm having an endoscopy to see what the deal is with my constant gagging. I have the following week off since the summer Biology class I'm taking is 3 weeks instead of four (but that also means it's 3 hours a day. YIKES!)

Hopefully, I'll utilize the next few days off and get lots of studying accomplished. Tuesday, I'm taking Alex for his second driver's test. This one has to be better than the last. I can't imagine it being worse!

I Know it's Wrong, but.....

I go to a state university. Ever since the Virginia Tech Massacre I've been disturbed. The next day when I got to class, you could see it on everyones' faces. We were all checking to see if the doors locked from the inside, the outside, or even if they locked at all. Most of my classes have the uncomfortable chairs with a desk attached (no protection). In the newer and remodeled buildings there are desks/tables but they are a long row, bolted down, and there would be no way to turn them over.

The thing that I know is wrong is that I am finding myself suspicious of/wary of the few Asian students on campus. I don't mean to feel that way. I hope they can't see it in my face or body language, but it's there. An Asian male student came running down the stairs from the 3rd floor. He was taking them two at a time. I felt myself blanch and my stomach fall. I'm ashamed that I am reacting in this manner. I'm trying to get over it and think about what my real issue is.

I think some of it is stemming from NBC and the showing of the photographs and the video. The picture where the viewer is staring down the barrel of the gun if very powerful. When I watched the Sopranos Sunday night I was incredibly bothered by/uncomfortable with the rage that was coming from the Asian kid Junior was using as an underling.

I do realize that the killer's rampage has nothing to do with his ethnicity, but merely the manifested evil of his mind and soul. Unfortunately, evil (this week and last) has an Asian face.

California - Part 2

******I've been too busy with school and everyone here at home to have time to blog. Here are the details of my Spring Break trip to California******

After a short and restless night it was time to get up and take the Aunt to work. She had the washer repair man coming and he was also going to install a new hood over the stove. It worked out well that I was there so she didn't have to arrange time off from work.

We got out the door and headed across town. It was probably a 30 minute drive to work. We stopped and got a few supplies at the grocery. Salads for our lunches, yogurt for my breakfast and rubber gloves so I could start cleaning. The drive to work was nice. I refamiliarized myself with the town. We drove thru brilliant pink blossoming orchards (I think they were peaches and some nut trees). It was gorgeous. I've never been out there in the spring. Everyone's grass was green, the flowers were blooming, and the air was warm. Everyone I ran into was complaining how hot it was. After two months of subzero, snow, and ice storms I thought the were crazy and ungrateful!

I got her dropped off at work and headed back to the apartment. I decided to tackle cleaning off the stove top first so the repairmen would have a clear space to work. Since every surface was stacked with stuff it was quite the change.

Next I decided to do the dirty dishes in the sink (I thought that might be a source of the smell). First, though, I had to create a clean surface to put clean dishes on. I started hauling empty boxes, a bird bath, and other clutter out to the patio. I managed to clear off half the table. I found a clean bath towel to set on the table and I was ready to go. The sink was disgusting!

The repairmen showed up. I made it clear that I was a guest. At one point we had to find the circuit box. The repair guy had to help me into the 2nd bedroom because there was so much stuff! I finally found it in the closet. In 1987 the closet was full of 5 gallon pails of quick oats, now it's full of very nice glass wear and ceramics. I think the Aunt needs a hobby other than going to TJ MAXX!

I gave myself a break and went to Barnes and Noble. I had some tea, some cake, and some wi-fi. I already missed my husband (but not enough to wish I was home!) I drove downtown and went through the McHenry Mansion - they were some of the earliest residents of the town. It was gorgeous! I also saw the American Graffiti statue sine Modesto is the birthplace of George Lucas. I sat in the park for a while and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

I was to meet the Aunt and her friends at a restaurant called the FRUITYARD for an early dinner. It was aptly, out in the orchards. Her old friend, Ruth (whom I know), Jose (her boss), and two sisters all were in attendance. Everyone was Latino so it was a cool experience.

The buffet was huge and varied. There was stuff you just don't see on an Iowa buffet. Tamales, huge slices of calamari, prime rib, fajita meat and rice, a stew, as well as prime rib, crab legs (cold instead of hot - weird), shrimp, as well as desserts and salads. The restaurant had all kinds of animal heads up on the walls - a lot of them were African. No one seemed to know why - was the original owner a big game hunter? What was the deal?

The Aunt was taking the next two days off. She had a couple of doctor appointments and Thursday we were going to the coast, to Monterey!

California: Part 1

******I've been too busy with school and everyone here at home to have time to blog. Here are the details of my Spring Break trip to California******

Day 1

I flew to CA today via Chicago and LA. Landing in LA was really cool. It was just at sunset so all the buildings were bathed in golden light. The airport itself seems old and sucky. I had to walk a very long ways to get to my gate to Modesto. It was awesome to see palm trees as we were landing. I saw the round LAX thing. There are also tall glass structures that are lit in ever changing shades of blue as cars exit the airport.

Taking off for Modesto was really neat, too. We flew out over the Pacific. There were lights everywhere! The LAX thing was lit up purple. I saw the hugest jet I’ve ever seen, It was a Quantas “spirit of Australia” jumbo jet. It was the kind that had upstairs windows.

The ride to Modesto was loud and very vibrating. It was nice when I got outside. Aunt Jan’s car smells of rotten fruit. I had to move a bunch of apples and a half rotten avocado so I could sit down. And I had to throw out a core of some kind.

When we got to the condo, I could see the stuff piled up inside the dining room. It wasn’t as bad as I’d heard but it was still awful. When she opened the sliders a stench of rot, sour, and I’m not sure what else greeted us. We're going to have our work cut of for us.

I'm sleeping on a mat of some sort on the floor. She and the cat have the bed. The cat hair and dust is bothering me. I'm exhausted so sleep should soon come.

Things that Amaze me about California

• The geographic diversity. My aunt is 1.5 hours from the mountains, 2 hours from the ocean, and smack dab in the middle of rich farm land. In one week I was at sea-level and at 5,000 feet.
• The fresh produce. I saw fields of strawberries, artichokes, asparagus as well as fruit and nut orchards in bloom. There were beef and dairy cattle all over as well. People had lemon and orange trees IN THEIR YARDS! (I can't get over that! Whenever I've been out there before their hasn't been fruit on the trees.)
• The traffic. The traffic is insane. There is so much of it and it's so very fast! My aunt's car has no brakes left in it at all!

I had a good time while I was there. Actually, it was either really, really good or really, really bad. There wasn't any in between. The tourist stuff was great. The weather was great. My aunt's apartment is an entirely different story. Which brings us to the question....how does a person blog when they want to be honest, but they don't want to upset the persons that will be mentioned in said blog? Any blogger advice out there?

Things I appreciate about Iowa

• No Traffic
• Cheap gas (compared to $3.39 our 2.29 is cheap!)
• Fareway
• Clean air
• My husband (gosh I missed you honey!)

Woo Hoo

I leave for California in tomorrow afternoon. Thursday, we're going to the coast to Pacific Grove (which is Monterey). I'm going to go whale watching! I'm so very excited. Their site says that the grey whales and the orcas are very active right now. I don't know about you but I watched Orca when I was a kid and it scared the hell out of me!

Hopefully, we are going to get my aunt's condo cleaned out and organized. We're going to the mountains one day too. I hope I have a good time. Maybe I'll see a celebrity at LAX!

I'm Addicted

I admit it. I'm addicted to two things (currently) no wait, make that three. I'm obsessed with the online game Mahjong Eternity Towers, Bon Jovi (especially the CMT Crossroads special with Sugarland), and Marshmallow bunnies or eggs. The last 12 pk I bought I got a baker's dozen. It was AWESOME!!

Home Again - Home Again

My hunny bunny is on his way home after a whirlwind trip to Orlando. He claims he was inside almost exclusively. He left on Monday am and is on his way home from the airport. His parents have been here managing the children for me since I have midterms this week. It's been incredibly helpful although I haven't enjoyed sleeping alone in the chilly basement.

I have 2 tests tomorrow. Then I think I am done. I will have one the week we get back from spring break and I have paper I will need to work on (i.e. start).

I'm looking forward to my trip to California. Sounds like my aunt is going to take one day off and we will head to the ocean. It's been too many years since I've breathed the salt air. I am really going to miss Kurt a lot (but not enough to stay).

A Wonderful Weekend

Despite the awful weather in Iowa, it was a wonderful weekend. I got to spend 48 uninterrupted hours with my husband. I didn't have a headache and I didn't have to get dressed.

Kurt and I were/are REALLY lucky. Our little town was spared the damage that is all around us. We got about 3/4" of ice and then a few inches of snow on top of that. We never lost power. My dad was without for several hours and my grandpa was without for a couple of days. I finally got him convinced to come stay with us. He is almost 92 and is out in the country on the farm. I called yesterday at 5pm to check on him. He'd been without power since 11 pm the Saturday night. He said he was plenty warm and had enough to eat. At 6 the phone rang and he asked if my offer to come get him was still good. He said, "it's getting a mite chilly." I was very relieved he came over and accepted our help. There is a long 4' drift in front of his garage so he wasn't going to be going anywhere. He is one of 2300 people with out power on his electric co-op. We went over at 1 today to empty out the fridge. Five minutes after we arrived the juice came back on, so I left him there. Of course he slipped me a little something for helping him out. It will be nice to sleep in our own bed again tonight.

We left the kids at their mother's since some of the roads were closed by the high way patrol. Alex was mad because he wanted to see his girlfriend. He actually was mad when he left on Friday because he claimed he had homework and needed to use the computer. Upon further investigation it was because he wanted to see his girlfriend. I'll be lucky if I don't end up with an illegitimate step grand kid. Ugh. Kurt went up and got them today. Hopefully, they'll have school tomorrow.

I hope everyone is safe and warm and not sitting in the dark.

California Here I Come!

My aunt booked me a ticket to CA today for spring break. Like the song says, "I gotta get outta this place."

I HATE being an Adult

Saturday I'm scheduled to go to a 12 hour crop with my sister and the Beymer girls. We've planned it for months. I haven't had time (or the will) to crop since the last one. I've been looking forward to it forever. Plus my sister got me a pink and brown rolling cropper case for Christmas that I haven't had a chance to use yet either.

Well, I have, for lack of a better term, a shitload of homework.

Therefore, I believe I will have to make the crappy adult decision of staying home and doing it.

A Year Ago Today....

I married my very best friend. My one and only true love. I never knew I could love and be loved like this. We've had our ups and downs, but even the downs are better than anything either of us knew previously. I love you, Kurt. xoxox

BRRRRRR!

It's freezing here. I dread the thought of leaving my warm flannel and grandma made quilts to go to class. My husband puts out lot of heat, too. Once he rolls out of bed at 5 or 6 am my chilly day starts. My India class was cancelled today. Of course, you don't find out til you put on all your Arctic gear and traipse across campus and find a little sign on the door. I have an Aging and Health test tomorrow. I've spent 2 hours studying for that already. I'm pretty sure I'm done at this point.

After class I did a bad thing and stopped at the pet store. They had 3 adorable, fuzzy, playful sheltie brothers. I feel the need to liberate them from their caged existence. They are already 4 months old and expensive! They were $329 each! Ridiculous. I'm going to see if I can find the number for the breeder I got Lewis from. I'd much rather buy from them. Dad and I picked Magoo up from a nice, warm, roomy dairy barn.

Thursday is our one year anniversary. It seems hard to believe. Kurt's always the "great sum upper" but we've had a helluva lot of stuff to happen to us in the past year.

I met with my advisor last Wednesday. After this semester I only have my science lab class and my 720 hour internship to complete. I WILL be graduating on December 15, 2007. Woo Hoo!!

The Fall - NOT for the Anti Foot people

Tuesday afternoon I fell down or off the 3 steps we have in the garage. I landed on my right side, twisted my ankle (severe sprain), scraped my right elbow (through my sweater) and smacked my left knee and shoulder. Plus I clonked my head on my car. All the while Christy was on the other side of the door which was unlocked but she couldn't get open. It's probably a lucky thing that she couldn't or she would have bashed me in the face with the door. I've been gimped up ever since and haven't been to class. Nice.

Blaming Others

I've really had it with people that don't take any personal responsibility for the problems in their lives. My ex husband blamed his father for everything that ever happened to him. Admittedly, his father was a bastard and his mother was no prize either, but at what point do you start moving beyond it? Are you always going to "live" your life as a victim? Or put off living because of what you say has been done to you? We watched Walk the Line last night. For most of the movie Johnny Cash was blaming his drugs, drinking etc on how his father treated him as a child (and adult). By the end though, Cash seems to have made his peace and moved on.

We deal with this on a daily basis. We erroneously get blamed for situations of which we aren't a part. I'm really over the victim mentality. Everyone has a personal responsibility for the situations in their lives. You can bitch and moan about it or you can work through it, move on, and get a life.

It's finally Winter

It finally looks like Iowa in January. We've got a bunch of snow and it's been cold. On a personal level I'm not very excited, but on a global level it's a good thing. I took my first medical terminologies test today. It only took me about 15 minutes. I swear some of that stuff was NOT in the reading. I studied for it quite a bit too. I think I will have done o.k.

The kids continue to drag all kinds of crap here. I just threw out some size 10 underwear of Nick's. Those are pretty ancient. They must be at least 6 years old. I had to convince him it was ok to throw them out.

We had zero meltdowns last week and hoping for the same again this week.

I continue to have tons and tons of homework. I'm avoiding it right now.

Friday night Kurt and I ate dinner at a new seafood restaurant in Dubuque. It was FANTASTIC! I'm very excited to go back. I had the dump dinner and Kurt had the clams, scallops, and crab cake combo. Their handcut calamari is perfection! Check it out! www.joeysseafood.com

A New Day

It's a new day here (and everywhere else, I'm sure). My mom always gets depressed on Sundays. I was having that same problem yesterday. A good cry, some cuddles, and a trip to Barnes and Noble took care of that though. The fact that the kids were pleasant when they got here helped, too.

I'm off for MLK day. Despite the snow the kids only had a 2 hour delay so all is right with the world. I'm only doing light homework so that I can enjoy myself. I took another load to Goodwill, visited my Aunt Donna, and took stuff back to Wal-Mart. I used the money (and the gift card I had from Christmas returns) to get a BMI, water weight, and regular weight scale. Kurt and I are on a mission to eat better, weigh less and improve our health. We need to live a long life.

Saturday my sainted mother came over and made us curtains for our gigantic living room windows. Four windows took 14 yards of material. It took all day. She did a great job and we really appreciate it. We can watch TV during the day without a glare AND it looks like we actually live here rather than are transients.

To the Rescue!

My husband has arrived home to rescue me.

Thanks be to God!

The Inn at Irish Hollow

Kurt and I had a great weekend in Galena, IL. It's a historic 1800's circa town, most of which is on the historic registry. Money was made from steamboats and lead mines. Kurt got a "night on the town" cash bonus from work so we used it to treat ourselves to something we wouldn't otherwise be willing to spend our own money. I did some internet research (remember how you used to have to write away for information or get a Frommer's guide?) and found an inn out in the hinterlands of Galena which offered a 2 night package that included 2 "lavish" country breakfasts and a 7 course meal on Saturday night.

www.irishhollow.com is where we ended up. It's down a long, winding road (especially long in the dark) outside of Galena. The innkeeper said the area was named because it reminded the settlers of Ireland. The inn is in an Old General store and attached house. They also have 3 or 4 guest cottages. We stayed in the main inn.

Our room was upstairs. We had a sitting room with a fireplace, a private bath, and a bedroom with a four poster bed with lots and lots of down pillows and duvets. I ordered foam for Kurt's side of the bed.

Friday night we drove back into town and had dinner at Vinny Vanucchi's www.vinnyvanucchis.com ( I should really figure out how to hyperlink). It's up a couple of flights of stairs and takes up a few floors. We had some fried ravioli with a spicy mariara sauce and a bottle of Asti. Kurt had a seafood linguini dish and I had chicken piccata. Both were yummy. We each got some (terrible) cheesecake to go. We took a short (less treachorous) cut back to the inn where we curled up by the fire and had some quiet time.

Food was a big theme of the weekend. I'm still pretty full! Breakfast was served between 9 and 10 am. I was hoping for bacon....boy was I ever wrong! It was 3 courses

1. Fresh pineapple 1/4 with bits of pomegranite, peach, pear, and apple.
2. A warm taffy apple bread with a caramel ginger sauce
3. A chorizo, green and red pepper, and cheese quesillida with a tarragon hollandaise with poached eggs.

It took an hour to eat. Then we had a nap. Then we waddled into town where we walked and shopped. We also toured President Grant's home. I had been there when I was a little kid. It seemed pretty much the same to me. Suggested donation for admission was $3. We had our own personal tour guide who answered lots of questions for us.

I'm not much of a shopper anymore. After a few hours I was ready to head back to the inn. The drive is gorgeous in the daylight. We saw a home we could buy for 1.75 million that had a fanatastic view, but needed a lot of work. We read, played scrabble and had a nap. Dinner was to be served at 7 o'clock.

We traipsed downstairs for dinner. Each table had candles and a bottle of wine. A different innkeeper (there a three of them) served us dinner. He was very nice and informative. All of their ingrediants are fresh and many of them are organic. They are self taught cooks. Dinner was a production. The food just kept coming!

1. Cheese and tarragon stuffed portabello mushroom cap
2. Roasted Apple and Butternut squash bisque with creme fraiche
3. Stilton cheese tart with a cranberry conserve
4. Kiwi lime sorbet
5. Mixed greens salad with spiced pumpkin seeds, kumquat, shaved paremesan and pear wedges with a pomegranite, balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil dressing
6. Damison (spelling) cherry glazed tenderloin of beef with roasted vegetables (potatos, sweet potatos, garlic, beets, and brussel sprouts) and corn pudding
7. Peppermint cheesecake with chocolate ganache

And a bottle of 2004Cabarenet Sauvignon and Rosemary bread with rosemary infused butter.

NOW those of you that know me are probably laughing. I tried everything. The beef was fantastic so was the salad. Kurt made a terrible face with the bisque. As we got further into the meal, I asked what he liked the best. He replied, "The bisque". It ended up being the corn pudding (which is something I make). Two and a half hours later we waddled upstairs for more scrabble and antacids. I don't know how people eat like that. We are not haute or nouvelle cuisine kind of people. I think a fancy or a Food Network chef's restaurant would be wasted on me. Having a predeteremined menu required I be adventurous. I've had this gagging problem for a while. So I got a visit of that when we got upstairs, too.

Kurt finally managed to beat me at scrabble. He got ticked off at losing 7 games in a row and played for blood. He "pasted my ass" in his words 309 to 240.

Sunday morning soon arrived and it was once again time to eat. I didn't want to think about it, but downstairs we went. We paced ourselves.

1. Brown sugar grilled grapefruit half
2. Bread pudding with a pure maple cream sauce
3. Ham (i think) and roasted red pepper stuffed croissant with a red pepper cream sauce and herb scrambled eggs.

Overall, the weekend was very relaxing. Kurt was shocked at the lack of internet, tv, phone, and radio. I relaxed right away and he was just getting into it when it was time to leave. It was nice to getaway. Now we need to plan our anniversary destination!

The Boudoir at Irish Hollow

Our Sitting Room

The Front Parlor

Main Street Galena

The End

The end of my vacation is almost here. I go back to school on Monday. I bought books for 3 of 5 classes. So far it's $322! All used. Again I reiterate that we are getting screwed. One of my teachers has even sent out email already. The kids are back from six days at the farm so we've been trying to readjust to routines. They go back for the weekend tomorrow night though so this weeks pretty much a loss.

For the past few days I've been sucked into America's Next Top Model marathon on VH-1. I'm doing dishes and laundry, too.

Yesterday, Mom and Aunt Jan and I went to town. We bought material for drapes for the living room (finally). Mom's going to sew them for me. We got a 50% off dark blue jacquard. Hopefully we can make them some weekend this month.

Kurt and I are getting away this weekend. He got a "night on the town" bonus from work so we are going to a bed and breakfast for 2 nights. It should be great. It's way out in the country with no phone, no tv, no internet (honey, I might not have mentioned that before...oops!)

A Trophy Wife

I played at being a trophy wife (some prize, I know) last night. We got invited to a holiday cocktail party at Kurt's boss's house. Kurt thought it would mostly be people at his level and above. We're talking Directors, VP's and people who have 3 letter titles like CIO, and CFO. Keep in mind some of these people are the ones who told me and my former employees that they weren't closing our site, we wouldn't lose our jobs, and other assorted untrue BS. (Note...I am FINE with losing my job! I was hoping for it, but most of my team member desperately needed their job).

Anyway, it was a very nice time. Good food, good margaritas, and very nice people. The ones who had lied to me didn't remember me. I answered questions about my time with the company in a positive manner, I kept my snorts of disbelief in check, and I didn't drink as much as I wanted. I even wore pantyhose...and you all know how much I hate that!

Game Night

Thursday night we went to supper at Kevin and Theresa's place. They have two kids, Ella and Austin, who are are 3rd and 1st grades. We haven't seen them since the wedding in June. Scheduling is just too difficult most of the time.

We played games with the kids and tried to visit. We got in UNO, checkers, Trouble, and Battleship. We also managed to wolf down two pizzas and catch up a little.

It wasn't the evening we thought it would be, but it was still fun.

A Cheap Date

Kurt and I went out on Wednesday night. We'd heard there was good food one town over. I wanted some MEAT! We arrived and there were two bars with equal amounts of cars in front of them. We decided to go with the one that looked newer. It was mostly a bar. They had 6 plasma screens and lots of college kids home from Christmas. The air was smokey and the menu was disappointing. It was mostly sandwiches. NOT what I had in mind. We ordered a couple of beers and some cheese fries. Both of them were disappointing as well.

We decided to try the place down the street for dinner. It to was a bar, but looked like it had a separate dining room. When we entered we ran smack into a bride. It brought back memories of being a wedding photographer. (It also reaffirmed my belief that I made the right decision to quit the biz). Kurt and I made our way to the "dining" side of the bar and got menus. There was an empty salad bar against one wall so I started to lose hope. The waitress said we could order anything off the menu. Kurt and I each got a 6 0z Sirloin which came with salad, a baked potato, and a roll. He got a beer and I had soda. It was DELICIOUS!! Our bill came to....gotta love smalltown Iowa....$17.12.

Out with the Old

Kurt and I have WAY too much stuff. I'm not kidding. We have 100...that's right...100 rubbermaids! We liberated 3 of them tonight (but filled up another two). We managed to throw out alot of computer parts, outdated records etc. I have another 3 boxes to go to Goodwill. They LOVE me.

Marnie and I had a great time in the Twin Cities. We saw White Christmas at the Ordway. We had fantastic seats. We were in the last row of the Mezzazine level. We were actually the two seats closest to the aisle. We were seated in side chairs/arm chairs! It was great! Our buckets fit and we could push the chairs back so we didn't have to stand up for people to go in and out. Plus we could stretch out our legs and had room on each side of us.

David Odgen Steirs (Winchester from M*A*S*H) was playing General Waverly. I think I recognized the lady that was the housekeeper, too. I can't remember her name offhand. We took the skywalk to the theater. It took us 35 minutes to get there! After the show we chose to walk outside. We were in the room and in our jammies in 10 minutes!

Wednesday morning we had the 99 cent breakfast at IKEA and then shopped. Not my cup of tea. It's a huge warehouse of a store. They did have some good prices on somethings though. The one thing I really liked was a double porcelain (sp) sink.

Today was the kids' last day of school. I'm taking them shopping tomorrow. Pray for me.

Christmas Vacation

My Christmas Vacation...I mean Holiday Break...is off to a roaring start. Christy woke up with the flu this morning. Luckily, Kurt dealt with it for the most part. I took Nick and Alex to the dentist this afternoon. I did make some Puppy Chow. I'm in the mood to bake but don't know if I will.

I don't have to go back to school until January 8th. I bet it will go really fast and I won't get half the things done I want to get done.

I need a good book to read. Anyone have any suggestions? I just reread A Year in Provence for bookclub. I realized though that I won't be able to go because my sister and I are going to the Twin Cities to see White Christmas at the Ordway. It's my Christmas present to her. "Sisters, Sisters...there were never such devoted Sisters!" Maybe we will wear blue dresses!

So Sad

I realize I haven't been a parent for very long, but some people's parenting style appalls me! Christy had a friend come over after school. That in itself is great. I'm glad she's making friends and wants to socialize. Of course, Christy still doesn't know our phone number so she couldn't give it to the girl's parents so they could call us to check us out (which I will require before Christy goes over there).

They walked here after school, had a snack, and got to the playing. I asked Christy when the girl had to be home and what her last name was. She said "I don't know" and "I"ll ask" to both the questions.

As it was getting darker I went down and asked the girl what time she had to be home. She said, "My mom doesn't care. Whenever. I should probably be home before it's too dark though." Well it's winter in Iowa. It was already 5 o'clock and pitch dark. Now keep in mind the girl's mom has virtually NO idea where her 11 year old daughter is, when she'll be back, and whether or not there are any adults present! Once it hit 5:30 I had Alex and Christy walk her home. Christy asked if she could come over again tomorrow. I wonder what the family situation is at that house.

Crisis Averted

I was FORCED to switch to Beta Blogger. I'd heard so many horror stories of lost archives I didn't want to do it. One day I went to sign in and it said I had to change so I said FINE. Today, I try to log in to dash off a quick post and I can't. I can't find my password. Amazingly it was very easy to reset.

The semester is winding down. I have a test tomorrow and a final on Thursday. I also get a take home final tomorrow. My final final is on Monday. I tried to sell back my Accounting book yesterday. A new edition has been picked up. It isn't worth a thin dime now. You do have to love the continued screwing of the college student.

For some reason 9 x out of 10 I can't answer my cell phone without hanging up on the caller. Evidently, a flip phone is too complicated for me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I used a portion of my birthday money to get myself a cut and color at a nice salon. (Keep that money coming...GEESH it was pricey!)

The stylist chick straightened it when she dried it. My friends have tried to tell me it would be the way too go. I'm WAY too much of a roll out of bed at the last possible minute to deal with that ever day.

If we hadn't bought Nicky a new bed today, I'd have Kurt take me out tonight!

I'm not really handling 35 very well. It seems pretty stinking old to me.

I should have had the eyebrows done too. Doesn't look like a little make-up would kill me either!

Turkey Day continues

I'm so full I may never eat again! However, I am having a cinnamon roll right now. We had a great yesterday. Kurt's brother Kelly, his wife Jackie, and three boys arrived in the afternoon while I was at the first 50th anniversary party. Greg, his other brother, arrived from Rochester around 5 p.m. He told us of his adventure at Target yesterday morning. He was a nice guy and helped a security guard open a case which led to him being one of the 5 people that got an Xbox something or other with a bonus pack. The armed guard ended up escorting him to the check outs!

Alex came over to see his grandparents and cousins, go for pizza, and swimming while Nicky and Christy declined. We had a 48th Anniversary party for Lyle and Audra Kae at Pizza Ranch. Everyone really enjoyed the buffet and the chocolate cake we brought.

I need to write a memo for my staffing class and I'm having trouble finding an article for it.

We'll have a houseful trying to solve the problems of the world again. It's exhausting!

Anyone for leftovers?

A letdown

We were planning on having a huge Thanksgiving dinner here. It was going to be around 16 or 18 and now it's down to 6 possibly 7 people total. The kids' mom was awarded Thanksgiving (for this year) in the ruling. Normally that is one of our holidays. Kurt's parents and brothers aren't coming until Friday and my Great Aunt isn't feeling well. I will, of course, make too much food. I've just made the pumpkin pies. I might do the apple tonight if I can make the apple corer peeler slice work.

On the menu we have:

• Turkey
• Mashed potatoes
• Gravy (hopefully mom can make it)
• Dressing (courtesy of my mom)
• Cranberry relish (ditto)
• Seven Layer salad (ditto, ditto)
• Assorted crudite - pickles, black olives, cheese and crackers, radishes, carrots, pickled beets
• Pumpkin Pie
• Apple Pie
• Waldorf Salad
• Green Bean casserole
• Corn Pudding

I think that may be it. Hosting is expensive!

Tonight is book club. We read IN COLD BLOOD. I'm wavering on going. I'm not feeling too hot because I've got a bacterial infection. Mom is going to get us next month's book which is A YEAR IN PROVENCE. Kurt is comatose because he's had a rough 2 weeks at work with 130 am and 530 am conference calls. The 530 calls he has to do at the office so he's been getting up at 4 a.m. That's happened a half a dozen times. Last night they migrated a CMS system so he was gone from 10pm til 830 am this morning.

He was awake long enough (and between conferences calls long enough) for us to have lunch at the tearoom here. It was FANTASTIC! The lump crab cakes are too die for! They say they fly it in from Miami. There were two of them the size of a hamburger for $9.95. It was WAY better than the crab cakes we had in D.C.

Tomorrow is cooking and cleaning. Thursday we're hosting Thanksgiving dinner, Friday Kurt's entire family is arriving. We also have 5oth anniversary to attend as well as the family party for Kurt's parents' 48th anniversary. Saturday is another 50th anniversary party, and Sunday is my Great Uncle Melvin's 90th birthday bash. It looks to be a busy food filled weekend!

Good-bye Old Friend

I had to make the decision to put Lewis down yesterday.
It was the worst day I've had in a long while.
Today is even worse.
I miss my puppy. I keep looking for him.
For years he was the only thing I had to look forward to at the end of the day.
He was always happy to see me.
I'm glad he didn't suffer much. He got to chase a cat on his last good day.
We buried him in the evergreen grove at my parents.
He's wrapped up in a blue blanket with his favorite tug of war rope.
I wish I had taken the bandages off his legs.
I wish his last memory of me weren't putting him in the crate at the hospital.
I had him for 1 month short of ten years.
I loved him. He was a good boy.

Good-bye Old Friend.

Poor Baby

My Lewis is one sick puppy dog. He stayed at Mom and Dad's last night because we were out of town. They called early this morning to say he was throwing up and listless. We headed for their place and called our wonderful vet, Dr D.

Dr. D gave him an IV and took a blood sample.

Lewie had been throwing up bile, had blood in his stool, has an astronomical white count and his liver function is incredibly high, too. He has congested lungs and is wheezing. He also has a low temp, is dehydrated and pale.

They are going to keep hydrating him and so some xrays. They will call me in the morning. He's not as bad off as he sounds. He's got a serious infection of some sort.

Dr. D will call me in the morning.

My poor baby :(

He's so sick he even let Ryan pet him!

Against All Odds

As many of you know we had a custody trial in the middle of October. We were hoping for a ruling by Christmas. Monday, night I saw there was a decision in our case posted online. I called Kurt and he raced to the courthouse just before close of business.

Long story short....WE WON!!!!

The kids have been placed with us except for 3 weekends a month, 4 weeks in the summer and alternating holidays. She has been ordered to pay us child support.

Nick and Christy start school in the morning.

This has renewed our faith (that and the Democrats winning!).

It's been a very good week.

Thank you to everyone for their thoughts, prayers, good wishes, and caring concern. We appreciate it more than you can ever know. Eventually, the kids will, too.

I've got mine! Do you have yours??

An AWESOME DAY

Details to follow!