This Weekend & Next

This weekend -- well, what can I say. It started out with a 3-hour Happy Hour at my place. Alicia, Trudi, Linda & Misun came over. It was a good way to end the first week of school. I didn't need it until Friday, and when Friday came I REALLY NEEDED IT! I like to have people over to my house for drinks for several reasons: 1) it's cheaper 2) no smoke 3) plenty of snacks available 4) clean bathrooms 5) more privacy. Then Andy & I went and rented Hide and Seek. It was a pretty freaky movie.

Saturday: Not much happening here.....went to some rummage sales.....found a lot of crap! so I only spent 75 cents.....stayed home in the evening and made us a nice meal and homemade strawberry pie.

Sunday: Another day of sitting around.......I can ge used to this......only ran out to pick up a few groceries and met Carrie & Kyle @ the Muni for some drinks. Made Eggplant & Spinach Lasagna, which is in the over cooking as I type.

Next week -- LOTS of meetings....welcome back to work....yikes!

Next weekend -- Cathy & Keith are having a New Orleans party on Saturday night....I guess this was something they were planning before Katherine...she just wants to cook a bunch of food....I have some Hand Grenade mix I had bought in New Orleans and never used, so I think I will bring that with some vodka (don't have the grain alcohol it calls for.) I asked her if she plans to flood her house too. Probably bad taste.

During the day on Saturday Andy & I plan on going to this auction (click on Saturday's date). Looks like a lot of nice stuff. I am excited to go. We've only been to one auction this year and it rained so we didn't stay long. Auctions just get my adreneline pumping (maybe that's why I am addicted to ebay so much). This one is indoors, so it will be fine either way.

Sounds Interesting...

I think I want to go to this Open House for the U of M Southern Research and Outreach Center. I have never been there, so it will be nice to see. Plus - free food & wine. I'm game. I think I will offer it as extra credit to go to for the classes I teach at the community college. It fits in nicely with both classes I teach there in the evenings.

I am going to this conference on Adlerian Play Therapy in 2 weeks. I am looking forward to that. I get 5 conference days per year to go to (it's great being contract into the school district, as there is more flexibility.) I used 2 conference days in March and now one this month. So, guess that means I have 2 more to go.

I Made It!

I slept like crap last night because I was so excited about being back at work from summer break. I made it through the first day of school. When is the first break? No, I'm just kidding. We have some really challenging new students and one of our 4 periods is overloaded -- too many kids. You know what happens when there are too many kids with emotional and behavioral disturbances are together -- well, I can tell you it isn't good. They certainly don't sit around scrapbooking. So, we'll have to do some arranging of schedules to make sure big problems don't arise.

Innocence Stolen

Well, my innocence was stolen much before this. But this still does not make me happy. Andy had his Rio Carbon (mp3 player) in the garage and left it there last night and it was stolen. Fuckers! Didn't steal anything else, even though we have a lot of tools in there. So, it makes me believe it was probably teenagers. When Andy talked to the Sheriff he had no idea what an mp3 player was and said, "So, is that like an iPod." Yes dill-hole, it is. I sometimes hate that mp3 players are only known as iPod, just how all copy machines are either copy machines or Xerox Machines, or all tissues are Kleenex and all gelatin products are Jello. One brand gets known for an item and that is all people can associate with it.

Anyways, it sucks that his Rio was stolen and that we now have to feel like our little town is less safe.

The Long Weekend

Friday: We went to Carrie & Kyle's House. We were going to go out for dinner, but decided to run to Papa Murphy's & the liqour store instead -- which allowed the guys to watch the Vikings game while the girls talked. Kim & Travis joined us a little later. Andy got drunk.

Saturday: The morning I ran errands (bank, library, Farmer's Market, Fleet Farm, & get a dvd from Redbox) all in a 1 hour time frame. Then went over to the outlet mall to check out their Labor Day Weekend bargains. Found a bunch of recipes to make with my stuff from the FM. Cooked & watched Finding Neverland. Also watched Shark Tale on HBO. Then we sat in the candlelight and talked. The storms were pretty bad and I figured the power just might go out anyways.

Sunday: Pretty much stormed all night and morning. Ended around 10:30am. We had a Flash Flood Warning for our County & the one above us until 11am. Some more cooking. Made Raspberry Scones (ate some for breakfast) and have Chicken Wild Rice Soup in the slow cooker. Watched The Grudge and In the Army Now on HBO. Also, went to see March of the Penguins at the theater. Should not have gotten a Diet Coke that late at night. Read "The Undomestic Goddess" all last night and finally went to bed around 3am. Also, did some caulking of windows in the house, maybe that will help with the drafts in the winter. I'm not done yet (since we have sooooooo many windows and they are almost all 6-pane) but it's a start. God, I love caulk!

Monday: Made some Banana Cereal Muffins. They don't really rise much, but they sure taste good. For some reason I was really in a "homemade" cooking mood this weekend. For dinner I made homemade tomato soup. Never had that before, was very tasty. And some open-face ham,veggie& cheese sandwiches. Yum. Also ran to the outlet mall again. Went to a few stores I didn't go to the other day.

Tomorrow: Back to work. School starts.

Another Redbox Code

Code: LABORDAY to get your free night rental.

Farmer's Market

Today was a great day to go to the Farmer's Market.....there is so much produce ripe for picking.....so that means so many choices. I decided to pick up some stuff that I did not grow myself. I bought a lot of stuff.
* 1 Eggplant (Plan to make Eggplant Lasagna with this)
* 2 Yellow Tomatoes
* 2 Zucchini (my plants seem to be done producing) (Want to make Chocolate Zucchini Bread)
* Small Basket of Okra (never cooked this before, thinking about making some seafood gumbo)
* HUGE head of cabbage (am makaing cabbage rolls & cabbage soup tonight and still have leftover cabbage)
* 3 Onions (1 yellow & 2 purple)
* Jar of Pico de Gallo (she claimed it was very spicy...to me it's very mild)
* Bunch of Bok Choy (going to use this in a Chicken Stir Fry)

All that for only $6.50, pretty good I say.

The Weekend

Friday: Andy went golfing in the afternoon with his dad & then went to our nephew's b-day party (it was all N of the Cities and since he works up there he was already halfway there, where I would have to drive a long time in freaking rush hour to get there - so I didn't go.) Anyways, I went out with Carrie. We went to Weber's Bar (never been in there before) and then we went to see 40-Year Old Virgin. Freaking Hilarious Movie! Then back to her place where her, Kyle & I sat & drank and chit-chatted.

Saturday: Late start to our day, but we had a good time. We went to the Cannon River Winery. It opened just about a year ago. Beautiful place. So, we drank some wine there and they also sell cheese & crackers there (good idea!) as we bought more wine by the glass. The cheese was sheep's milk cheese and was very soft as they flavored it garlic & herb. Very tasty. We tried walking around their town, but apparently we were an hour late, everything seems to close between 4-5. Oh well. Then we came home and ate dinner & drank some of the sparking wine I bought in Colorado. Watched the Spade-a-thon (or whatever they called it on Comedy Central) and watched "Joe Dirt" and "Tommy Boy". Then I ran to Mc D's (see previous post) and rented "Cursed" It was an ok movie. Best that it was free, would have been fine to rent for a dollar too, but would have hated if I paid movie ticket prices to see it.

Sunday: We went to April & Jason's house. Met up with Molly there.We took their boat out to Lake Washinton and spent all afternoon there. Docked at a lake bar/restaurant and had some appetizers and then was back on the lake. It was the PERFECT day to be out on the lake boating. Got some nice color today. Then back to their house for dinner. I made dessert. It was these Dark Chocolate Raspberry Squares. Very good. Now, we're back home and watching CNN and can't believe that we haven't heard about the hurricane that is going to wipe out New Orleans in about 7 hours. Yikes. That's scary. Make me glad we're in the Midwest.

Free DVD Rental

I saw this posted on Deal of Day. It's a coupon code for a Free Night Rental from Redbox. Gotta say - I love Redbox! It's so convenient. I rented "Cursed". So, even if it sucks it will be ok 'cuz it was free. Gonna go watch it now.

Yummy Food!

Last night I made some yummy food for supper. I made my favorite soup recipe, Pasta e Fagioli.
It's a completely vegetarian version (not like the Olive Garden Version.) I used greens from beet tops (bought at the Farmer's Market) in the recipe. I had actually used the beets to make a sauce, but that didn't taste so good.

I also made this Roasted Eggplant Basil Spread. I am actually eating it right now on some Rye Crisp. The recipe is actually from a Weight Watchers Website. No points (as it's all vegetables.) I had bought an eggplant at the Farmer's Market and was looking for a recipe. This was perfect. I halfed the recipe (except the garlic, I kept that at 2 cloves. I love garlic!) Definitly a recipe worth trying.

Today I will be making some jellies.

Books & Classes

They are actually 2 independent topics.

I am still waiting for the library to tell me that the other 2 Kinsella books are in for me, so I went over to the bookstore at the outlet and bought a new book to pass the time (should have just gone to the library and picked something out -- but I hate wandering aimlessly in the library trying to think of what I might like to read next -- the bookstore has stuff displayed so it grabs your attention and then you read the cover and decide, yes I do want to read this book -- with the library I always request things online and only go in when they call to say my book or video is in.)

So, anyways, I bought The Dirty Girls Social Club. It is not exactly what I expected. I don't know what I expected, I guess I didn't understand that Dirty Girls was referring to the name of their group - Sucias - which is referring to their skin color (They are all of Latina descent, but very different backgrounds.) It's a pretty good book, aside from the random Spanish words thrown in here and there (which I don't understand) but they usually tell you what it means (eventually.) It could really be written about any group of women that formed their "after-college" club. It is neat to see what different perspectives they each have of each other and the secrets they keep.

The other topic was classes - I taught my first night this semester for both classes I am teaching at the community college. One class I have taught for quite a while now (Walking & Jogging for Fitness) and that was like and old hat. I am totally in the groove of teaching that one. I rarely had to even look at my notes and when I did I realized I had said all of that. The other class is new to me and I have been waiting for it to be offered at a time that is convenient for me to teach it, that is Stress Management. For the first time teaching that class, it went really smoothly. I was not going to get stressed out teaching stress management. I think I am really going to like teaching this semester.

Rest of the Weekend

Well, Saturday we went to the Cities to Jessi's parents house, as they were having a welcome back party for Jessi & Alex (back from their month-long volunteer trip to Sri Lanka.)

Here is a pic of Jessi that Alex took. Very cute.

At their party, her dad made these smoked,grilled turkey legs that were 2 pounds a piece. Each one could have fed a family. Everyone was eating their own; I couldn't believe it! Andy & I shared one. And her mom made this rice that had a bunch of spices in it (tumeric made it yellow, and black peppercorns, coconut milk, and many other spices.) It was pretty tasty.

After that we ran some errands and then headed home. We stopped at a couple of lakes on the way home that we had never been to, to see what they were like (Lake Sakatah State Park & Lake Fox.)

Today, we both did a bunch of clean-up stuff around the house and then we went to Peppermill to eat. We had never been there before. Pretty good food. We each had the AYCE Salad & Soup bar and then split a meal of 1-lb. of crab legs. By doing that we ate just enough and didn't have to roll us out.

Tomorrow class start back at the Community College. I teach one class on Monday nights and one on Tuesday nights.

Old Ladies

Check out this post on Alison's blog. It's very funny. You have to listen to the clip.

Outlet Mall Updates

Finally - after having a bunch of stores pull out of the outlet mall, we have some new things coming in.

Samsonite is already here (I think they came last month).
We are getting 2 news stores: Haggar, Pac-Sun & Old Navy. The Old Navy outlet is going to be huge. It is taking up was 2 (or 3) stores before. I think the Old Navy outlet will help revitalize the outlet. It will be nice to have Haggar there to get clothes for Andy.

A couple of stores flip-flopped sides (Izod and T's&Sweats and 50 Off).

The stuff that came new last year is: Mustard Seed Primitives (an antique and crafty store), Remember When Scrapbooking & Gifts, Untamed Riders.

There are 2 open spots yet. It will be nice to see them filled in soon.

Less than 2 Movie Tickets

I was thinking about suggesting going to the movies last night, but after running to the mini-mart to pick up a paper I decided against it and for less than the price of 2 movie tickets I decided to buy Marinated Tri-Tip (finally!) and pick up a vide from Redbox @ McD's.

We've been living in this town for 4 years and have continously heard people rave about the Tri-Tip Steaks. I guess I didn't think they could be that good so that is why I never went & bought any. They were nice & think (just the way I like my steaks) and marinated perfectly. I grilled the Tri-Tip with 4 ears of corn and it was all EXCELLENT! Andy went & picked up Lemony Snicket's from redbox and we were good to go. And for $10.55 we ate steak & corn and watched a movie. Certainly costs that 2 movie tickets (& we would probably have bought pop & popcorn too since we would not have eaten dinner.)

The steak was so great. See - it's from this butcher in town. But this guy does not sell from his shop, you can only buy his stuff at this mini-mart in town. He does other stuff (obviously) besides the Tri-Tip. They had some bacon-wrapped seasoned pork steaks that I think I might like to try next.

Lemony Snicket's was an interesting movie. I wanted to punch Count Olaf. Leave the kids alone!

Fair Time

Just got back from the Fair (3rd & Final time this week).

Here's the food tally:
* Cool Dog Sundae (Andy & I each had one, this is what my friend April was selling)
* Apple (free, the hospital was passing them out - me)
* Corn Dog (Andy)
* Strawberries & Creme (me)
* Grilled Chicken Sandwich Plate (I chose healthy sides of grape cup, strawberry cup, & Diet Coke, Good Deal from the 4-H Foodstand)
* Sloppy Joes Sandwich(Andy chose sides of potato salad & orange sherbert & lemonade, another 4-H Foodstand deal, they always have the best deals)
* Raspberry Custard Pie (Andy - these are always good and relatively cheap {$2.50} according to fair food prices)
* Bottled Water (Andy)
* Deep Fried Garlic Mashed Potatoes (we shared this, it was something new and came with seasoned sour cream - pretty yummy and filling)

We won't be going to the Fair anymore this week. It is always so crowded on weekends. It was pretty impossible to walk around tonight.

April & I did sneak away (leaving Jason to man the ice cream cart) to watch the human cannonball. I had never watched that being done. It was pretty neat to see. This year he was being launched over 2 ferris wheels.

Comments Hidden

I had to hide comments for a while. I have gotten spammed on here about 10 times in the last half hour.

Services @ Colleges (Part 2)

I did find out a few things that I was looking for before.

The Le Cordon Bleu school emailed me back and said:
You can make reservations at The Minnesota Room by calling 651-286-2400

I also emailed Northwestern chiropractic to find out about their services (I had gotten chiropractic services from them when I was in college - most affordable option I could choose and was good too.) But here is what they emailed me back:
Visit the link below to get information on our clinics. Costs are $30for an hour-long massage and $35 for an acupuncture appt and herbalconsult. http://www.nwhealth.edu/natcare/main.html
The Burnsville clinic specializes in massage and the Edith Davis clinicis acu and Om.

I found this about the Art Institute International.

You can go to the Aveda Insitute in Mpls and get a lot of services. I have done product & service testing for them & you usually get gift certificates for participating.

Any college that has programs of beauty, automotive, cooking, etc. are good places to get deals on the services. Every December, Riverland offers free pedicures, facials, or manicures to it's staff. It's a nice treat.

STOP SPAMMING

A bunch of dumbasses are spamming my last blog post comments section and it's pissing me off.

All sorts of dumb advertising ploys. They should all be killed.

Dentist

How come they insist on asking you questions when they have metal utensils in your mouth? My dental hygientist is particularly chatty and kept asking questions, which I could not answer since my mouth was full of sharp pointed cleaning utensils.

Other than that - good check up & cleaning. All good. No need to return for 6 months.

What is Andy?

So, he was born on April 20. He was born on a cusp - in between signs. Depending upon where you look he might be a Taurus or he might be an Aries. He was born in the morning (he thinks around 8:30, but he could be completly wrong). Anyone have any idea what he is?

Pisces

I am Sooooooo a Pisces!

Shopaholic Series

So, I have finished reading 2 of the books in the Shopaholic series, although I was not able to get them from the library in order. I did read the first one first (Confessions), but had to skip the 2nd one (Take Manhatten) and read the 3rd (Ties the Knot). I have the 2nd & 4th (& Sister) requested. I am hoping to have them & read them before the end of the month.

It had a hard time getting into the first few chapters of the 1st one, but once I got going I really enjoyed it. In the 3rd one I was put off by the fact that the first couple chapters was about 2 cousins marrying (not the main character - Becky Bloomwood). Once they finished with that and got on with Becky's wedding planning it was much more interesting.

I know that the 2nd really does fit in the series, they build on each other. Although I am stumped by what the 4th is about - because Becky & Luke are both only children. So, I had to look up info on Amazon about it and it turns out that Becky's dad created a child with another woman before he hooked up with Becky's mom. But it also does make sense of where it falls in the series, because it has to do with Becky & Luke's honeymoon.

I still need to request her other book "The Undomestic Goddess". (Not part of the series.)

Services @ Colleges

I know that somewhere, sometime I read an article on getting a nice (& cheap!) several course meal at colleges that have cooking programs. I thought that might be something fun to do. Anyone ever here about that? I am having trouble finding it online.

Images in Red Rocks

I guess I should have turned some of these pictures. This should be turned. Here we have a butt crack.

Apparently my friend Jeni & I have a sick mind and we were seeing obscene things in these rocks. This should be turned. But here we have a vagina.

Jeni & I

Here is a pic of Jeni & I @ Red Rocks.

This is Nebraska?!?!?!

This is the beach at the lake in the State Park that we stayed at in Nebraska. Can you believe that is in Nebraska?
Looks like someone took a wrong turn and ended up in the lake. Just goes to show what happens when you drive a Ford.
This last picture is another view of the beach. It was just beautiful. Read my blog post about my trip for more info.

Vacation Days

Tuesday - Sunday were vacation days for me. I left very early on Tuesday on Sun Country Airlines and flew to Denver to visit with Jeni. We stopped at her bar, 15th Street Tavern (check out the link, they are on Stuff Magazine list of 20-Best Dive Bars), then back to her place, and packed to go camping. We went camping at Lake McCounaughy in Ogallala, Nebraska. I will have to post a picture, because this lake is unbelieveable. It's huge, but what is amazing is that the beach is very nice and white sands. When we got there on Tuesday evening it was really windy, but we went in anyways. It was fun playing in the waves, almost like you were in the ocean (since it was so windy). What is great about Nebraska State Parks is that it costs $5, yes, that is it. I would like to go back there someday.

Wedneday - We stayed at the lake most of the day. It was a 3-hour drive from Denver. That evening we went to Elitch Lanes to bowl. On Wednesday nights they have $1 games, $1 shoe rental, and $1 beers. It was fun.

Thursday - We went to Hammond's Candy Factory and had a tour, tasted some samples, and bought some candy. FYI - Bath & Body Works will be selling a HUGE pink & white lollipop during the Christmas season that is made by Hammond's. It was a really interesting tour. Then we went to Redstone Meadery. We toured there, had samples, bought wine. This place makes wine out of honey & water. It was really interesting. I have not toured a place that did that, nor did I know they made wine out of honey. There are a ton of wineries in CO, and I would definitly like to go back and visit some more. Then we finally went to Red Rocks Park. This was really pretty. I will have to post some pics. I took pics of some interesting "things" we saw in the rocks (like what you see when you look at clouds.) Finally, we went to dinner at Tommy's Thai. Fantastic Food! And cheap too. Entrees were $6.85 and you get a huge plate.

Friday - Left to go back to Minnesota. I decided to upgrade to first class, which on Sun Country it only costs $75. I figured it was well worth it. You get a real meal and unlimisted beverages of any kind. I had a Bloody Mary before the plane even took off. It was fan-freaking-tastic. Plus, 1st class has their own bathroom, which rocks and your own airline strewardess, plus nice big leather seats. I highly recommend it (did it once before w/ Andy coming back from San Diego and it was great!) That evening we took off for Forestville State Park in Minnesota and met up with Carrie & Kyle there.

Saturday - Still camping (staying 2 nights). I went into a nearby town (Wykoff). They have a B&B there that I might like to stay at, just 'cuz it's interesting. It is called The Historic Wykoff Jail Haus. I did some shopping & food sampling at the Bank Gift Haus. And then went to Magpie Studios. The girl who just opened and owns this studio is only 22-years old. I bought a pottery vase from there. It should look nice with cuttings from my flower gardens. Later that evening we were joined by Kim & Travis. Lots of sitting around the campfire after we went hiking for 2 hours. Later we went hiking to the ampitheatre area to lay on the benches and watch the meteor shower, but unfortunately it was too cloudy and we couldn't see anything.

Sunday - Drove home and were here for the remainder of the day.

Next week is our county fair (largest free fair in Minnesota), so I'll have to write about my favorite fair foods. My friend April & her sister Jenny decided to start a business and have a booth there selling Cool Dogs Sundaes. They are hoping that next year they can get into the state fair to sell them.

Restaurant Knock-off's

I stumbled across this website. It is a collection of recipes that are like the foods you have in your favorite restaurants. Shhhh! It's Top Secret.

If I wasn't already a good cook I would use these and pass them off as my own, well, I still think I will do that. But honestly, I am a good cook. No kidding.

I looked at it a little more and looks like you have to buy the recipe. I bet there are other places out there you can find them for free. I know I have seen some of them.

Denver

I leave for Denver on Tuesday. That should be fun. When I come back on Friday, we are leaving right away to go camping with Carrie, Kyle, Kim, & Travis. That should be fun too. We are tenting it, which we have not done before.

Fast Growing Bushes

So, we were talking about planting some bushes on the South side of our house next spring. We want to plant stuff in front of the 3-season porch and deck in the back of the house. The house could use some more shade and privacy, so we are thinking either a short tree or tall bush. And ideally fast growing would be nice. We have a couple bushes in the front of the house by the garage that grow nice & tall & fast (we have to trim several times a year).

Here are some options (I've included the growth rate and expected mature height):

Arrowwood Viburnum (my MIL has one of these in her back yard and she says it grows really fast, but she is annoyed that it was planted too close to the house because it hits the house eery time it is windy. (fast growth, 6-15 feet)

Lilac Bush (not too fast of growth, a medium. We already have 2 purple lilacs in the backyard and 2 white lilacs -- of a different variety -- in the front yard, and another one in the front that I can't remember what it is; I think white) (medium growth, 8-15 feet)

Elderberry (Fast growth rate, 8-12 feet)

Privet - Amur North River(I think this is what we have in the front yard by the garage next to the white lilac) (fast growth, 12-15 feet)

Indigo Bush - False Indigo (medium growth rate, 6-20 feet)

Looks like everything I picked out have blossoms, which is good 'cuz I like flowers. I definitly want something that grows 8-12 feet. I haven't decided if I would want something that we already have. Since we want to plant them across the back, we would have several of the same kind. And it might look cool to have a bunch of lilacs since there are already 2 in the backyard, or it might be too much.

The planting of these bushes and the tree in the front yard will probably be it for landscaping we do next year. I say we, but really I mean me. The flowerbed I planted earlier this summer is looking nice (now that I filled in a bit more and weeded it.) I will have to take a picture and post it.

Mutter Museum

Next time I am in Philadelphia I want to go to the Mutter Museum. I am watching "World's Creepiest Destinations" on the Travel Channel and this is one of the places featured. It was developed as a teaching tool for those in their school, but is now also a museum.

They also talked about Gettysburg, which we plan to be in next August for Andy's cousin Shannon's wedding (which will be in Gettysburg).

This is their list of Top 10 Creepiest Places:

10. Bermuda Triangle (in the Atlantic Ocean)
9. Haunted Hollywood (Hollywood, CA)
8. Tower of London (London, England)
7. Mütter Museum of Medical History (Philadelphia, PA)
6. Gettysburg (Gettysburg, PA)
5. New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
4. Salem (Salem, MA)
3. Roswell (Roswell, NM)
2. Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, CA)
1. Lizzie Borden Bed-and-Breakfast (Fall River, MA)

Hazzardous Name

Andy & I went to see this movie last night. It was cute. Certainly not good acting, but made me want to go drive fast & crazy. Of course in our cars we would kill ourselves.

When I was a kid my brother & cousin Jeremy always wanted to play Dukes of Hazzard. Of course they were Bo & Luke and cam to an agreement pretty fast as to who was who because one had brown hair and the other had blond hair. Hair color was the deciding factor here. You might think I got to be Daisy Duke, but there was a different determining factor for deciding who I would play. My middle sister got to play Daisy since she was the only girl left after the boys decided that I would play Uncle Jesse, since that was my name. I had to be an old man because our names were the same. What a crock of shit! I was pissed and refused to play and would try to convince them I should be Daisy, but they kept on playing and calling me Uncle Jesse.

It was then that I HATED the name Jesse. I was not a boy! and Jesse is a boys name and I was going to be called by my real name, Jessica. That's it! No more calling me Jessie.

That's easier said than done since I have A LOT of uncles & aunts that had been calling me Jessie all the time and now I had to get them to stop. At first asking them was just not cutting it. Because they all think they are funny, they then saw the humor in calling me a name I now hated. I would become livid and yell, "MY NAME IS NOT JESSIE!" This almost seemed to encourage them, because now making me mad was funny.

As I got older I would just not answer to the name Jessie, and then it was them getting mad because I was not listening to them. Eventually I would turn to them and say, if you would like me to listen you should call me by my real name. That was pretty effective, but I had to be persistent.

To this day, there are uncles & aunts that still call me Jessie. My brother is amazed that I don't start whipping out some kung-fu moves or something to retaliate. I like to think of it as I am older and wiser and it is just not worth my energy. I don't get the sense that they are trying to do it to be hurtful or see what they can get away with. I just think you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You can, but in the grand scheme of life, do you really have the time and will it be worth it in the end. I see my extended family so infrequently (usually once, maybe twice a year) and I don't need to get upset because they can't get it.

My immediate family is different, they try to pull that shit and they better bring it! I think they know better though.

So, now you know my first name, after just after a year of blogging. Although many of my readers are family members or friends(many of who never post anything, but send me emails later on) who already know my name.

New Books

Went to the library today and picked up some books that I requested:
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
Shopaholic Takes on Manhatten (Again, Sophie Kinsella)
The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need (Andrew Tobias)

I am liking "Can You Keep A Secret?" (by Sophie) better than the Confessions one, but I am only about 3 chapters into it.

Sudoku

Sudoku is very addicting.

I Want That!

Ever watch that TV show on HGTV. It can be a lot of trouble. They have really neat things on there. And one of them I really want. It's an Easy Clean Toilet Seat. Kohler also sells one. My brother-in-law works for Kohler. I should see how much he can get them for.

Tree Selection

So, Andy & I were talking about planting a tree in the front yard (we disagree what the front yard is, so let's just say the big open grass area when you walk straight off the porch toward the road - not Main St.).

It is such an open area that gets so much sun. So we were thinking of planting something so that the houses can get some shade, although it will be a bitch to mow around. So, I'm thinking a fast grower, probably some hybrid that can thrive here in our Zone 4.

Here are some options:
Tuliptree (Yellow Poplar) It grows fast (about 6 ft. 1st year), has pretty flowers, nice oval shape, like full sun, maybe a little too tall
Hybrid Poplar Grows very fast(up to 8 ft. 1st year), nice oval shape, like full sun, good height for what we need
Ameri-Willow Grows very fast (8+ ft. in 1st year), likes full sun, likes a lot of water, might get a little too tall

I think we are leaning towards the Hybrid Poplar. The height will probably be perfect and the shape is nice. I read on different message boards that all willow varities have a tendecy of stealing all the water in the ground (which will dry out the grass more) because they have a shallow root system, and the roots can grow to invade sewer pipes and septic systems if they are not getting enough water. Sounds like they could become quite a problem if not planted in the perfeect location. We'll probably wait until next spring to plant, rather than planting this fall.

Making Pasta

So, I bought a Pasta Machine quite a while ago, but never used it. I had also bought the Pasta Drying Rack to go with it. I think the 2 items have been taking up space for 2 years. I even bought Semonlina flour (about 6 months ago) so that I could finlly make the pasta.

And Today........I finally got to it. I made the pasta (actually use the dough hook for my Kitchenaid, never used that hook before - worked nicely) and now it is drying. I plan to make it tonight. So, I'll see if all that waiting and work was work it. It was pretty easy to do once i figures it out and put the drying rack together.

Animal Update

Took all the animals to the vet today to get all their shots (every other year - like this year - gets to be expensive with Rabies shots due.)

Bad news:
Larry gained MORE weight. He gained another 1.5 pounds (See last year's post). Now he has 6.5 pounds to lose. He's just plain obese now. We have an 18 pound cat.

Good News:
Molly stayed the same, which is good. She's right where she needs to be at 60 pounds. And her heartworm test was negative.

More Good News:
Lucy gained weight. Last year we were told she was bordering on being underweight. She gained 1.5 pounds too, but she needed it. Now she weighs 9 pounds (was 7.5 pounds). Mixed breed cats should weigh between 8-12 pounds. Wow! Now Larry really is twice the size of Lucy.

Next Blog

Did you ever hit the Next Blog button at the top of this blog (& pretty much every blog in blogger)? It randomly brings you to another blog. Sometimes you find cool blogs to look, but 2 out of 3 times it is some listing of things to buy - basically they have used it as free advertisements. I hate getting those.

Brat Camp

So, I am watching the show "Brat Camp"(which I TiVo'ed). Andy watched a bit of it and did not like it. The kids drove him nuts.

But honestly, I have had kids that are like that all of the time. Those kids that are like them all of the time, don't last long in the school system or in the home and do end up going to a place like Brat Camp, or by us one of the places they go is to the Sheriff's Youth Program. And I have many or almost all of my kids have acted like this at one time or another.

The thing a person has to remember about a TV program like this is that they are only going to show the things that will get a reaction out of it's viewers. They show the extremes; they show when they act out (which scares people) and they show the moments when they cry or make their parents cry (tugging at the viewers heart strings).

I am glad that they showed how sweet the kids can be. That sweetness is inside there somewhere in all of these kids. But what is also frustrating is the manipulation that the kids do with the parents, and what is even more frustrating is that some of the parents buy into it and then try to continue to enable their kids, which is never helpful because they will never get better.

I don't think that the show is an exaggeration at all, they just aren't showing all the parts. They aren't showing the parts where people are getting along and are doing well (not yelling, crying, or complaining).

Yesterday, we had a summer program day with our kids and we first had them plan out a shopping list with which to buy lunch for 7 people on a $20 budget and then watched a video on distracted driving, then we went mini-golfing, to the driving range, then grocery shopping, then had a picnic, then went to a zoo with animals that are in MN (i.e. cougars, Buffalo, various hawks, raccoons, prairie dogs, etc.) and then finally a stop at DQ. It was a fun time, but not without the inappropriate conversations, not following directions, fighting between students, attention-seeking behaviors, threats to each other, etc. But in between those times the kids would tell us about other things they have done this summer or what is going on in their families.

It may sound like all we did was go out and do fun things, but really - these kids rarely get to do these types of things. And in the reality of their lives they will not need to know a lot of history facts, but they will need to know how to handle themselves when they are participating in an activity that they are not doing well in, they will have to know how to shop on a budget, they will need to know how to work with others even when they don't like them or can't agree, and they will need to know that there are people there that care and want to know about their lives and want to see them do well.

When working with these kids you have to have the right attitude and point-of-view. If you don't you will get burned out and the kids will see this. Even though they try to wear a rough exterior, they are very sensitive. So senstive that they try to protect themselves from rejection with that rough exterior and rejecting others first. You need to look for the small successes and you will not be disappointed. If you expect that someone will have huge changes, both you and the person will be disappointed. And everyone wants to succeeed. If you make it too toughto succeed they will just become frustrated and see it as another time they have not lived up to someone else's (or their own) expectations.

It is a challenging job, but I really love doing it.

Pictures of Kendra

Here are a few pictures of Kendra that Tim took and sent us. The first one is her in my hat. I just loves thee pitcures of her. She is so photogenic and so beautiful!

Apprarently today is a day for posting pictures of my friends.

Jessi in Sri Lanka

Here is a picture of Jessi & Alex that she sent. She has about a week left of her month-long volunteering trip to Sri Lanka. It sounds like she is having a great time, even tough she was sick while she was there and had screaming kids bouncing off the wall.

Coolness

Finally a cool day. Actually it's almost a little too cool here @ 9am. Not at all like the last month or so. Supposed to only have a high of 72. It's actually quite gray looking outside. Planning on going to see "Wedding Crashers" today, and hopefully will get the lawn mowed and maybe pick some more weeds.

The Weekend Run Down

Hmmmmm......I think my weekend can be summed up in a few words: inside, movies, reading, decorating.

They were all sounding good until that last one which means work......

It was too hot to be outside, so we pretty much remained indoors. Friday we went out to go to eat pizza (Andy apparently didn't like the place as he complained a lot) and go to the natural foods store, then came home and watched a movie. Saturday we finished (well, at least finished a part of the upstairs hallway - I made/put up all the decorations while Andy cut all the wood laminate to size to fit around doors and walls), then we watched some movies. Sunday, Andy went to help his brother Chris out on one of his project vehicles, I stayed home and went & did grocery shopping and went and bought an area rug for that hallway (it's such a big space that we echo, need soemthing to dampen the sound), then came home and watched a movie I picked up from the library ("Big Fish"), made dinner, and stayed inside.

That's it - not overly productive or exciting.

HP Continues

Ok - After reading Alison's Blog about her reading of Harry. I had a few questions:

* When does the next movie come out?
Answer: November 2005, Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire Looks like Harry, Hermione, & Ron are still the same charcters. There was speculation that they may outgrow their characters.

* How many more books are there going to be?
Answer: Well, there will at least be a 7th book. (Go to the Publishers Website, Check out News, then Interviews, then Edinburgh Festival August 2004) It comments on people wanting to know if there will be an 8th, but she won't say.

Could Harry Potter be Spiderman?

Ok - so Spiderman is supposed to be Peter Parker. But I must say that HP & PP have much in common. I only make this analogy after finishing reading this latest book. I will not give anything away, except one tiny detail. Harry gives up being with the woman (or in their case, girl) he loves because he doesn't want her to get hurt because his arch enemy will not stop at anything to kill Harry, including harming those he cares for. So, does that sound familiar (Think Spider-Man 2). Plus they both have these powers, both have arch enemies, both are orphans and raised by an aunt & uncle, and now both have these women/girls they love that they are giving up so that they are not hurt. If I were more of a Spider-man enthusiast I could probably make more comparisions. Just think about it. I will not say any more in case, you are still waiting to read the book, which is all I really did today.

End of Philly Trip.

We returned on Wednesday and I didn't have time to update my blog about what we were doing.

Monday we slept in, then Kendra & Tim picked us up and took us the Society Hill area of Philly to a restaurant called Bridget Foy's. Then they took us out to the burbs where Andy's Aunt & Uncle live. Dee cooked us a nice dinner and we were joined by both his cousins Shannon (who was visiting for the week) and Jaclyn (who lives in the area) and Jaclyn's boyfriend, Jim. That evening, we went with Shannon to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was a good movie but strange and it is NOT a movie that you go to see because Johnny Depp might look hot. Actually his character is pretty creepy. Then after that we met a bunch of Shannon's friends at a local bar, Baggataway.

While we were at that bar, this guy named "Chase" came up an start talking to our group (he thought one of the guys was on Fear Factor). He ended up telling us all about his house with a tennis court, and that he is married and has a 1 year old and 4 year old and a 15-year old who is on Ritalin, but that is his step-son, but he's on Ritalin too, so they have that in common. It's his wife's 3rd marriage and his first and his wife thinks it will last forever, but he's not so sure he's cut out for marriage. Then he starts talking about partying with pot and coke, then says he doesn't do coke but has pot and proceeds to grab a pill bottle from his shirt pocket, open it and dumps out a bunch of pot in the middle of the bar. And then tells us, "Now you know that I don't lie." Very interesting.

Tuesday we slept in, Dee made us breakfast, then Shannon & Jaclyn too us to Stone Harbor in New Jersey. We went there to go to the beach. We had never been to an East Coast Beach. It is how it looks in the movies. That evening we went to dinner @ Henny's for a seafood dinner.

Wednesday we woke at a normal time and Shannon took us to the airport. We had a small delay out of PHL, and then again out of MKE. But I do have to toot the horn for Midwest Airlines
a little bit. This is the 2nd time I took this airline (actually, both times to Philly). They have oversized leather seats with 2 in a row, NOT 3, so no strangers sitting right next too you. Now more about the seats, the head rest actually raises (which is a plus to the tall ones, like my 6'4 Andy) and there is nice leg room, and the headrest sides can be moved in so that it basically hugs your head, which helps keep your head sturdy and give you some place to rest you head when you sleep. Very cool. Plus they also have foot rests too. They do a beverage cart and snacks like all other airlines, but in the afternoons & evenings you get warm Chocolate Cookies. Mmmmm.....Yummy. They also sell meals if you want, which most airlines do not give a meal anymore, but here you can buy one if you want. We just bought bagels sandwiches before we got on the plain and they gave us a beverage and pretzels and 2 cookies, so it worked out very well for us. I also should note for Tim, that they sell Leine's on board as well.

It is always nice to be home and sleep in your own bed.

216 Down!

I started reading the 6th Harry Potter book last night. I read 216 pages of the 652 pages that comprise the book. I think I will be donw reading the book in a by the end of the weekend, as long as I give myself time to read it. Maybe my MIL will borrow this one when I am done. She borrowed my 5th book. It's nice to get several reads out of it when you buy a book.

It's a pretty good book so far.

Day 2 in Philly

We took the "Phlash" Bus to a few blocks from Kendra & Tim's condo and went there for brunch and to watch them open presents. Then we started to hike it back towards the hotel (Club Quarters). We stopped in Chinatown and ate at the Empress Garden. I had the Shanghai Stir-Fried Noodles (a thick homemade noodle) which was awesome. We stopped in a bunch of stores and bought a few things (jeans for Andy, a couple tops for me). Then we headed back to the hotel and just as Andy was about to fall asleep the alarms went off and we had to go out in the rain. We were going to head over to a couple of stores, but at 5:30 on a Sunday a lot of things are either closed for the day or closing at 6pm. So we walked a few blocks and came across Tony Jr's restaurant. We had some Philly Cheesesteaks and they were tasty.

Then we decided to walk around a bit more to see if there were any places we could hit later for dessert or some drinks.

After relaxing for a bit & Andy got in a successful nap, then we headed out for snacks and beverages. We went to Scoop Deville and bought ice cream there. It was vited Best Ice Cream in Philly and I must agree, although I have not have ice cream any other place in Philly. We also went to Elephant & Castle Restaurant & Pub. There we had some English Pub Chips (aka thick homecut french fries) and some local brews. Andy had a Yuengling and I had a Yard's. Both nice complments to our snack. Now we are back at the hotel and are going to relax some more until bedtime.

Tomorrow on the schedule is lunch with Kendra & Tim (they'll surprise us with a place) and out to visit & stay with Andy's Uncle Rory & Aunt Dee for a couple of days. Dee is making us a big family dinner, as Shannon (Andy's cousin) is staying there for a few days and Jaclyn (his other cousin) will be there too, as she lives very close to her parents.

Tuesday, I believe the girls are taking us out to the beach. So, that should be fun. And then Wednesday our flight leaves late morning.

Pics from Philly

The first picture is of Kendra & Tim kissing after the shoved cake in each other's faces. You can tell who got a little more cake shoved in their faces. This was a beautiful party. The vow renewal part was neat; they did a time capsule with letters to each other, wine glasses and wine to open either in time of hardship or on their 25th wedding anniversary (what a great idea!). Tim had to tell Kendra that being out of wine did not qualify as a hardship.

I actually cried during their presentation. It was just so heartfelt and beautiful. I never cry at weddings. What the hell!?!! Although I do have to admit that I had quite a bit to drink before it all started, so that might have had a little bit to do with it.

The 2nd picture if of our room at the Club Quarters. Somehow we got the Executive Suite. I am not sure why that happened. But it really is our room. I swear! It's a nice room. I like it. Well, off to brunch at Kendra & Tim's house.

A View of the Other Side

A Close Call

The Upstairs Hallway BEFORE

The Table/Chairs I refinished as a wedding present

Dad & I @ Miranda's Wedding

Larry's Rough Life

The poor kitty. His life is so rough. When I left for class at noon today he was lying in the door to our bedroom. When I returned at near 6pm, he was lying in the door to our bedroom. Now and for about the last half hour, he has been sitting in front of the AC in the formal sitting room. He's got this thing about sitting a foot in front of the AC. I just imagine him looking into it and humming. Funny. I'll have to take a picture of him.

I Will Be Glad When.....

I will be glad when......

* My summer class ends on Friday!
* I have working AC in my car.
* The weather is less humid.
* I get the new Harry Potter book I ordered in the mail.
* I win the lottery (guess I need to buy a ticket some time for that to happen.)
* My garden gets magically weeded (I really don't know when I will get to it.)

Thoughts

Here are just some thoughts from this week:
* The French Silk Blizzard from DQ is awesome
* Typing with fake nails is hard
* I hate when people ruin the surprises I have planned
* Cats really hate you giving them eye medicine
* My car is weird and I should just accept it (as long as it never strands me)
* People won't be in Ancestry.com unless they are already dead, and even then it is limited
* My children will be even more mutts than me (considering Andy & I each have 4-5 different heritages and only 1 is the same)
* Owning a DVR is awesome. I watch 2 soaps a day in about 20 minutes. It's fantastic.
* Summer is almost half over :(
* I am very close to going over our monthly minutes and we have a week left yet
* My garden is starting to resemble a jungle.

Working Weekend

Well, this weekend we were quite busy. So much for a holiday weekend break. We are working on our upstairs hallway (7x20 - approximately - so a big space). We never really did like the peachy pink walls that were here when we moved in, but this house is so big you have to take your time getting to paint everything. So, we painted all the trim, built-in bookcase, and linen cabinet white (looks nice). Installed some new shears (old lace be gone!). And painted the walls a shade of blue. It's actually the same color we used on the stairwell going to the bar room on the 3rd floor that we had extra of. We had bought a couple gallons of a different color (supposed to be a light blueish green). Anyways, wse started putting that up on the walls and it was the color of a 50's kitchen. Nope! Not for us.

We also tore out the carpet to the stairs. We will keep the carpet on the stairs because it provides a sound damper. There are the nice thin-slat hardwood floors underneath, but they are all glued up. So, we are installing wood-look laminate. All I gotta say about installing that is - FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!

We also put in a new ceiling fan/light fixture and another light fixture. It already looks 100 times better. We are taking pictures and I think Andy will put them on his website later.

We also had to install a new mailbox, as the city has hit it with the snow plow several times during the last couple winters and it is just dangling there.

I start my new class "Counseling Through the Family Life Cycle" today. So, I guess I better go read. I still have a lot more to read before class this afternoon.

Andy Doing Fieldwork

New Peonies

My Path

I'm a Machine!

I really am a machine. I have been so productive today. Here's what I did between 10am-6pm:
* ran errands in town
* mowed our lawn (it's a big lawn)
* trimmed up all the edges of landscaping w/ weedwacker
* sanded top to table, put 2 coats of stain on, put 2 coats of poly on
* got the huge branch that broke down during last nights storm down out of the tree
* chopped up branch and tree Andy chopped down several weeks ago
* went to the P.O. to talk to them about moving our mailbox closer to our place
* washed, dried, and folded 3 loads of laundry

And I still have time to go. I think I will go take a long relaxing bath. I feel grimy after all that stuff.

Denver?

Any ideas of things I shouldn't miss when I go to Denver in August? Jeni said we would go white water rafting one day. What else?

Summer School

We just had another couple days of summer school. We went to the MN Zoo yesterday and today we had a tour at Sellner Manufacturing (the Tilt-a-Whirl Company - they make the tilt-a-whirls for the world and a bunch of other family amusement rides. It was a pretty good time at both places. We have 5 more days left.

Redbox Rocks!

We have a McD's a couple miles away, which now means we have video rental a couple of miles away. This weekend we rented "In Good Company" and "Spanglish", both ok movies that were worth the $1 (a night, but we only did one night) that we paid for them. Last week we had rented "Ocean's Twelve" and "Hitch". I really liked Hitch. I fell asleep during OT. They have a limisted number of titles, but there new releases. And it's great that it only costs $1/night/movie. Woohoo!

Not-So-Famous

So, I'm reading "How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less" and I've come to one big conclusion. I really have no desire to be famous and here's why:
* It's too much work & is exhausting.
* I'm ok with being in bed by 11pm, I'm not ok with less than 8 hours of sleep.
* If I go to a party with food - I'm gonna eat.
* I live in a rural area of MN and there is just not a lot of fame to be had here, and even if we still lived in the Cities, there isn't a lot of fame to be had there either unless your last name is Carlson or you are from Hollywood.
* There is just some clothes I will not be caught dead in. I don't care how much attention it will get me.
* I just don't want to be on the phone that much trying to get invites to parties.
* I just don't dig being superficial and ditching my real friends.

It is a funny book and I'm about done reading it, but it is starting to drag a little. I am amazed and how much they were able to do in that short amount of time. They certainly have some stories, that I am sure would be even more interesting if they were remotely enjoying themselves during this time rather than being so concerned about being famous (although them I am sure they would not have had as many short stories.

I think I'll keep with quality rather than quantity.

Ode to Small Kitchen Appliances

Oh! How I love my rice cooker and egg cooker! Not only for the convenience factor (adding just water to the one ingredient, walking away, and presto! It stops cooking when it's done and the food is perfect!)

And by perfect - I mean it! How often can you really make the sticky rice (that you get with your Chinese food) on your own on the stove top or in the microwave. Never. Now how many times do you burn the rice on the stove top trying? Quite often. With the rice cooker - there is no more crappy rice. It's perfect every time. And for those that want to be resourceful, use the steamer tray (mine came with one) and make steamed veggies at the same time. Perfect I say!

Now - the egg cooker. I have to say - this is fabulous! I had this problem where I would walk away from the boiling water and forget about my eggs and then BAM! they explode all over the kitchen. And man! Did they stink!

But with my egg cooker, I put in the water and the insert I want to use and poof! I have perfectly boiled eggs or poached eggs. What's the best feature is this tiny pin prick area that you use on each egg, which allows them to fill with steam & not explode. But what's great it that the steam inside makes it so the eggs peel perfectly everytime. None of this picking of hundreds of little broken pieces of egg shells. It comes of in 1-2 pieces every time.

Oh! How I love my small kitchen appliances. And what even better is they clean up so easily. Wonderful.

I would like my rotisserie better 'cuz it cooks perfect every time, but it's so big and takes up so much cupboard space and the clean up is not at all fun. But I suppose if I use my rotisserie and rice cooker w/ steamer insert, I would have a perfect meal and don't have to slave over the stove.

Ugh!

I hate this hot, sticky, humid weather. And I am going to hate the electrical bill that comes along with having to cool this place.

Denver - Here I Come!

I just booked my trip to Denver to go visit Jeni in August. Her & her boyfriend bought a bar, I think it was a little over a year ago. And just a few months ago they bought a house too. Should be a fun little trip. I think the last time I saw her was 3 years ago when she came back to MSP to visit friends.

New Books to Read

So, I posted before about reading "Can You Keep a Secret?", and someone on another blog suggested reading all Sophie Kinsella's stuff. So, I think I'll start with the Shopaholic series. Sounds like something I will like. I requested the 1st one from the library and am next in line, although usually I can't wait that long. But here are the 4 books in the series:

1. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (2000) aka Confessions Of A Shopaholic
2. Shopaholic Abroad (2001) aka Shopaholic Takes Manhattan
3. Shopaholic Ties the Knot (2002)
4. Shopaholic and Sister (2004)
Shopaholic Boxed Set (omnibus) (2004)

And then she also wrote "The Undomestic Goddess", which is new this year and the Secret book.

I preordered the 6th Harry Potter (Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince) from Amazon and I also bought "How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less" from half.com.

Plus I have to probably start reading for my 3rd summer class which start soon.

And I picked up a couple Danielle Steele books for 10 cents a piece at a rummage sale, those might not get read this summer. They are a good thing to take along to read on vacation.

Here it is....

We were just talking about this. Andy making enough money so I can stay home and do laundry and make him pies. He was commenting that his laundry was getting done at an alarming rate. I guess having time on my hands since my summers are generally free and being excited about the new washer has made me a little eager to do laundry.

Double Whammy!

Not only does this guy get $13,804.59, but he breaks a record as well (maybe he can get into Guiness.)

Good 'Ole Fashioned Lemonade Stand

So, I'm going to these rummage sales. And about half of them have food for sale too. One old lady has this HUGE pot of coffee, you know the kind you see at church halls, and a sign that says "Free Cup of Coffee w/ Any Purchase". It's flipping 80-some degrees out and humid as heck. Who wants coffee? But she also has rolls (to buy) to go with. There are also places with coolers of pop for 50 cents a can and then hot dogs sitting in a slower cooker (for 50 cents too!), so for $1.00 you can eat your lunch at a rummage sale.

But the ones I think are cute are the Good 'Ole Fashioned Lemonade Stands manned by 5-year old girls. So very cute! I bought a glass for 25 cents at one of them. This little girl had to be about 6 and had a sister a couple years younger. The sign for her lemonade stand was in her handwriting and said "Lemondae only 25 cents. It is the best lemonade in the whole (which originally was "hole" and she crossed it out and wrote out the correct word) lemonade world" Who knew there was a lemonade world? I guess I learned something today.

So, I walked up to this rummage sale and told the little girl I would buy a glass. She says to her little sister "A real adult finally bought from us!" I guess there must have been a lot of fake adults buying from her. As I was walking around looking at the tables of stuff I hear her yell back to her mom "WE HAVE TWO WHOLE DOLLARS NOW!" The mom of this little girl leans over to her own friend and says, "her brothers bought $1.50 from her, they keep using their allowance to buy more lemonade, they are keeping her in business" So, I guess that means 6 glasses of lemonade to her brothers, 1 glass to me, and 1 glass to a fake adult. Hmmmmmm!

As I hit the rest of sales tomorrow I think I'll buy some more lemonade. It's very cute to see how excited these little girls get. Maybe it will encourage them to be powerful business women some day.

You know - we've lived here for 4 years and when we moved down here it was the first time I ever saw a lemonade stand. I only ever saw them before in commercials, tv shows, and movies. They really do exist!

City-Wide Rummage Sales

Every year during "Straight River Days" in our little town there is a city-wide garage sale. People pay $5 to be on the garage sale map and the sales go on Fri, Sat & Sun. Some of the sales are only 2 of the days. There are 49 on the map, plus there are always plenty of other people having them that don't want to pay the $5. So, far today I have spent just under $11 and went to 23 on the map and 12 that are NOT on the map. There are some that are supposed to be open today and just haven't opened. It's always a lot of fun. Although my feet are getting tired. I came home to grab some lunch, watch some soaps, unload, and rest my feet. I was out for about 3 hours already, time to get going.

Bush is the Devil

This happened a little over a week ago. It's pretty scary, as this guy graduated from highschool a couple years before me. This happened in the little toen in WI that I grew up in. Apparently it was George Bush (who is the devil) who made him kill his mom, nephew & dog. Very Scary.

Here are a couple of other links that may contain some other info:

"He's got a bunch of us possessed in here. He really does. He kills a lot of people."

‘‘There certainly might be mental health issues.’’ Ahhhh, HELLO! You Think!

Hammersley killed the two with a 20-gauge shotgun

And the list goes on and on of places that have this story........

Grrrr!

So, we got this DVR and we have had to call DishNetwork 3 times already. Bah! Is the live recording and timed recording really worth all this? Right now Andy is talking to some asshole from DN that doesn't seem to get it that our local channels are just not there. They are stupid.

Frustrations w/ Blogger

I know I shouldn't complain when I don't pay for it - but work correctly every time dammit! Bah!

I think I am going to go back down to the basement where it's nice & cool. It's supposed to possibly hit triple digits today. Although I need to go take care of my roots first - getting a little dark. I don't know what I will do when I get pregnant. I'll have 9 months of roots growing in. Anyone know if there is any hair dye out there safe to uses when you are pregnant? I know there is some natural stuff at the natural foods store. I wonder if that will be safe. Maybe I'll just have to get my hair done a little darker right before we start trying so that it matches better for the 9 months. I have seen some women look after 9 months of letting their roots grow in.

Is a Free Car Worth This?

So, I believe tomorrow the people start Day 4 of constantly riding the Wild Thing at Valleyfair. I have been on it a time or 2, but to ride it time & time again. Maybe I just have a weak stomach (yes, I do!) but to ride it 3 days ALL day to get a free car. I think it's a small car anyways - something like a Kia. I bet you still have to pay taxes on it too. I don't think I could ride this ride 3 times in a row, much less 3 days straight. Crazy People.

The Perfect Man

I went with my girlfriend Alicia to see The Perfect Man this afternoon. It was nice 'cuz the theater was all nice and cool and we were the only people in that screen. Very cool. We could talk outloud and make fun all we wanted and not disturb anyone. We knew we were safe seeing this movie since it is a chick flick, the husbands would be more than happy to not have to see that with us. It was more on the side of the teeny-bopper chick flick and it didn't get into the adults hooking up until the very end. And no tears were shed. Some chick flicks you leave and you just feel all good and happy with the world, this just left me feeling just ok. Maybe it was all our synical comments during the show that ruined it for me.

Cool New Phone

I wish I could say we got them for free, but once they have you as a customer they certainly don't want to give you anything else for free, you gotta pay for stuff.

And I don't want to change service. We have T-Mobile and we have been happy with their coverage & how it keeps expanding, so we stay with them.

So, we got a picture phone. But you gotta be careful about how you use it 'cuz they are going to get extra charges on there for you if you don't figure it out. Our plan has unlimited picture/video messaging, but not texts (those cost extra.) So, we can send a pic to an email (as long as we do not include any text) and it's part of the plan, but once someone replies to that pic message it sends me a text. So, basically I should just send the pics to my email and then forward them on -- or just send them to Andy who knows what's what. But get this - if I send a pic msg. to his phone it just sends him a text to go to their website and check out the pic & then charges me for a text message.

They are going to nickle and dime me all the way - aren't they.

But I do like that it's a small, little flip phone.

Ebonics Translation

Very funny. You have to check it out. They have translated "One More Chance" by Notorious B.I.G. from ebonics to standard English.

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

Ok - this is not professional advice coming from me, but I do think it is funny - maybe even a few things worth trying.

My favorites are Number 1 & 14.
_________________________________________________________
1) At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.
2) Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.
3) Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with That.
4) Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it "In."
5) Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.
6) In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"
7) Finish All Your Sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy."
8) Don't Use Any Punctuation
9) As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
10)Ask People What Sex They Are. Laugh Hysterically After They Answer.
11)Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
12)Sing Along At The Opera.
13)Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme
14)Put a Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds and Jimmy Buffett All Day.
15)Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party - Because You're Not In The Mood.
16)Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, "Rock Hard."
17)When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
18)When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
19)Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......
20)Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile. Its Called Therapy

Made in America

Let's see how much we all know about products made here in the good 'ole USA. Take the quiz.

I got a 60%, which I am shocked at. I really didn't know many of these and could only make educated guesses.

Are you a Cheapskate?

Here's a new quiz for everyone.


Here are MY RESULTS:
Here’s my score: 20 pts.
You've got your wily ways, but you're not wackily withholding. You're practical, and interested in saving a few pennies -- but not to the point, say, where you'd risk a trip to the pokey (far as we know, grooming your hair in-store with said store's unpaid-for products is petty pilfering -- though we doubt Death Row would be the end result).
You also wisely weigh all factors in making monetary decisions -- i.e., if it saves you a sou or two, is it worth the time, trouble or perhaps loss of your good standing with others? Your final decision may not always be 100 percent on the money -- but 100 percent is neither a necessary or obtainable goal. You embody an admirable balance between living large and living lean -- living la vida in-between.

Happy Anniversary

Actually - it's 3 days late. But I have been blogging on here for a year. What fun! I have enjoyed it. I know a few people read this and it's nice to stay in touch, but it's also nice to get some thoughts out too.

Weekend Re-Cap

Friday: Last day of PIM&FC class. Shopping for some new clothes (got it into my head that I wanted a few things really bad!). Washing clothes (I love the new machine!). Watching TV. Reading a book "Can You Keep a Secret."

Saturday: Class (bah!), grocery shopping, lawn mowing (haven't done this on the rider since high school when my family made fun of me for snagging the porch- very traumatic experience for me - seriously!), out to dinner with the girls, drinks at my place, then walk to the street dance. The street dance was so much fun. We drank and were merry. In my little town, people actually get out & dance, so it's fun. The band played songs from the 80's, 90's, & today. At one point I was dancing to Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes) (Check out the mis-heard lyrics for this song - funny!) Anyways, I was dancing in a way on the ground that my heels were at my butt and I was horizontal. And this guitarist (who makes really funny faces when he sings and was wearing awful B&W striped skin-tight pants) points me out and says something in the mic about how I can really dance or something. Well, while he's doing this I am freaked and can't get up very fast (man, I'm getting old, but I was really down.) Anyways, when they finished playing he came up and complimented me on my dancing and I was like "I got recognized! Yes, many beverages were consumed that night. Then we (the girls & I) came back to my place, ate leftovers and sang some karaoke. Fun stuff.

Sunday: Got up late. Watched TV. Finished reading my book (above). Ate food. Slept. Man - how sad.....I couldn't even fill up a whole line for one day.

Finally - A Day of Summer

So, I have mentioned that I work in a school. Well, school has been out for about 2 weeks now and I finally get a day off - but just one.

I decided to take some summer classes. One started 6 weeks ago and ran once a week for 4 hours every Wednesday & 1 Saturday (this last Sat.) That class was my Multicultural Counseling class. It ends this Wednesday evening. I am sure I did well in the class, but I didn't care for it much. I should say I didn't care for the textbook much which is by Sue & Sue and they completly make all whites out to be racist and we can't deny it and it will just always be that way. Of course, the white man is the only racist one; no one else from another race discriminates against another race. I also don't like the teacher's style of teaching, the thing of it is - she doesn't seem like she's teaching us anything. And she is making us do all this group work, we have a big group presentation this coming class. Bah!

The other class is Professional Issues of Marital & Family Counseling. This class met for 4.25 hours everyday for 2 weeks straight. Now I have to mention that both these classes are an hour travel each way for me. So, on those 2 Wedendays I spent 8 hours in class and 4 hours in my car. I was beat! But back to my critique of this class. I really enjoyed it. I didn't like the 8 am start - but what are you going to do? I really felt smart in this class. It's amazing how smart you feel when you have real life knowledge to apply. I learned a lot too and thought the professor was worth listening to. He seems very intelligent. You know how it is when you get a prof that you just don't think is worth listening to (that's my MC class, not this one.) So, this class ended on Friday. I'd like to toot my own horn and say I got A's on EVERYTHING!

But if that's not enough I decided to take another class in July from this prof (the one I liked.) It's another 4.25 hour class for 2 weeks straight. I have about 3 weeks off, maybe I'll try to get the books and get some stuff read beforehand.

And I do have to mention that tomorrow starts summer school for my Day Treatment kids. Because of the nature of the services (Therapy) they get from us, they don't do summer school as you would traditionally think it. We meet for 2 full days every other week, so that they have consistent meeting times throughout the summer.

Now rest for the weary.

So, if people were wondering where I have been - that's where (although I have been wondering where the people are.)

Andy vs. The Tree

This is something I posted about a couple weeks ago. He put some pics on his website.

Free Stuff

Free Rootbeer Float (w/ any purchase) @ any A&W on June 20 (Jessi's Birthday!)

Free Suave Professionals Coupon (1st 25,000)

Free Catbox Liner

Free Schick Quattro Pro (There is a link on the page to click on.)

The Weekend (so far!)

Friday: Stayed home and watched TV & movies, bought some Arby's.

Saturday: RAIN! Went to the Farmer's Market while it was only sprinkling & bought some bread, eggs, rolls, & spinach; Went to work out (sweat like a pig!); Did some grocery chopping (the place is remodeling & raised prices on stuff - bah!); Did the usual Weekend Cleaning (floors, laundry, dishes - which will also continue to Sunday); Went shopping to return clothes Andy bought online to JC Penney (returned half of them) and bought some more; went to Best Buy and had a shopping spree (spent WAY TOO MUCH money - but it will be well worth it - we bought a dishwasher {the commercial one we have has been on the fritz, this one has a cool rack system, and we'll have to build up a cabinet around it}, washer {OH! We so needed this, the current one squels and spits out water from below. I think it's 20 years old. Was bought in the 80's. Time to lay it to rest. I broke down and bought the front loader. This is the largest Cu Ft. in a washer that they carry.}, and an over-the-range microwave (really, what I needed was a vent and light over the range, but it basically was going to cost the same to get it all in a microwave and now we have a cool new microwave with sensor features and we free up some counter top space.) The links are to the exact ones we bought. The joys of home ownership - spending more money on applicances. So, we spent A LOT more money than we had planned to, but we got the items that we REALLY wanted and can be happy with our appliances. We went cheaper with the stove and fridge, but at that time we didn't have much of a choice. I think the only appliance we have not replaced since living here would be the dryer & water heater. In addition to the above mentioned, we had also bought a water softener.
Then we went to eat at the place called Bobby Joe's Pub. I think I will pass on it. It was not stellar food or service. Then came home and watched movies.

Sunday - So far, just more cleaning & TV watching. Hopefully we finish the landscaping today (if the weather holds out).

UPDATED!!

Sunday - ok, stuff above and also finished the landscaping in the backyard (putting in dirt & plant bulbs, seeds, and some annual plants). I need to buy cedar bark mulch to put over it all (at least the flower garden part of it.) the new landscaped garden is split up into 3 areas: flower garden (largest part), strawberry patch, & herb garden. I'll post a pic after I get the mulch down.

Decent Day

So, after my long post about the weekend, I still have more to write about. Well, this time it's about today.

So, I'm driving to my first day of class at a campus I never took classes at before, and I am listening to the radio and they have a call-in contest. I thought - what the heck! I'm just driving and I think I know the right answer (what year did these 2 songs come out). And sure enough I get through and have the right answer (1981). I won a $10 gc to a local Greenhouse and a GC to get some Bosch Wipers professionally installed from Auto Glass Specialists. Cool.

I get to class and am not sure what to expect as I am beginning a new program, but it is much easier than I imagined, which I am thrilled about.

Although I leave and have a parking ticket. Of all the free parking lots (since it's summer) I chose the one that is NOT free. Dammit! Oh well. Things happen.

I get to work and things ran smoothly and no big upsets. After work I go meet with the Aflac guy to sign up for June (yes, I know I am cutting it close). I am signing up for the Long-Term Disability, which covers childbirth. Who knew? Anyways, it has to be in effect for at least 30 days before you get pregnant and has to be in affect for 10 months at least. So, what it boils down to is you need it early and in case you deliver early, you need it even earlier than you might think. I know my MIL reads this, so I don't want her to go start baby shopping yet, but yes, we will be starting to try very soon and when it happens, it happens.

Then I went and joined the City owned Fitness & Tennis Center. It's not owned by the city we live in, but the city I work in - which is only 7 miles away anyways. But they have this deal where you pay $55 for 3.5 months (May 23 - Sept 6, or something like that). So, I joined that and worked out for 45 minutes (all the while reading for my class). I figure I can handle $55 for 3.5 months and I can see how much I use it. If I do use it often , then maybe I will extend it. I have to mention though that the hours are not the greatest, during the week they are fine, but Saturdays it is 8a-1p and Sundays they are closed (those are summer hours, and it's city-owned, so that makes sense.)

And now I am here catching up with my blogging. But I should go because I have to type a paper yet tonight for one of my classes.

All Weekends Should Be 3 days

I think I would be a much happier person (not that I am necessarily unhappy, but I would be happier) if we had 3 full days EVERY WEEKEND, and only worked 4 days a week. Now, some might ask me why I would even ask for such a thing when I already have summers off (well, except for 2 weeks of summer school programming for the kids, spread over 2 months) and get a week for spring break and a week for Christmas and plenty of other misc. days here and there throughout the year. (Honestly, school do a good job of making sure that you have a break of at least one day every month, whether it is holiday or other.) But I think I would give up summers off if I could have 3 day weekends.

So, here's my run-down of the latest long weekend:

Friday PM: decided that we need a little road trip and drove 1 3/4 hours to North Branch, ate at the Pizza Pit (good Taco Pizza), stayed at the AmericInn (crazy old lady in the hot tub there, but nice continetal plus breakfast), drove home Saturday AM.

Saturday: drove home, did weekend chores (laundry, cleaning), filled the hottub, reading for my classes, went to dinner w/Carrie & Kyle, then ended with a bonfire at our place (mmmm! Smores!), oh! and Andy & Kyle chopped down a tree (why you may ask - well, they were drunk and Andy never liked that tree and I disappeared for a couple minutes, so what does any smart husband do - do it now and ask for forgiveness later - when I caught them there was no stopping since they were already sawing throuh it - it was an ugly tree!)

Sunday: Drove to LaCrosse & back to pick up an engine for Andy's project car (nice little road trip with a shotr visit to a park where we chilled & I read), sat in the hottub, did more reading, went to bed by 11pm

Monday: This day was super busy! We worked up my garden and got everything planted (cucumber, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, tomoato, lettuce, radishes, carrots, peppers, onions, & sweet corn), finished pouring my cement rock molds (400 more pounds of cement for a grand total of 1000 pounds of cement used to make my path - I'll have to post a picture, it looks nice), digging up areas to do more landscaping for another flower garden, a herb garden, and a strawberry patch. So, the pattern is made and all of the border stones are bought and installed, now we just have to lay dirt & plant (as they are somewhat raised), more reading, another hot tub and to bed.

Both Andy & I feel very beat up from the physical work on Monday. It was A LOT & very tiring, but I think it will turn out very nice. I will post a picture when it's all done.

Latino Power

My professor of my Multicultural Counseling class suggested we read this. So, I found it and decided to post it. Maybe this will help me remember that I need to read it.

Good Thing School is Almost Over

Looks like some people REALLY need summer break. But we can learn something from these; here's a list of:

WHAT NOT TO DO:
* Ask yous kids "if they had a set of these or were they equipped with a vagina"
* Write a nasty letter to your students
* If it looks like Elephant Dung - Don't Touch it!
* Senior Pranks involving Crisco & Plastic Wrap aren't widely appreciated
* Call religious belivers "moral retards"

Oh! The Memories!

Manamana!

Hopefully you can view this. Thanks to Andy for sending it to me.

100 All-Time Movies

This is the list from TIME. Looks like I have some old movies I am missing out on.

What The?

Where did my blog go? Says page cannot be found. Blogger must be having problems again.

E.L.F.

I just have to tell you about this online makeup place. I bought 12 different items (3 were different shades of lip gloss) and have tried most of them.

This place is E.L.F. (Eyes Lips Face). The stuff is ALL ONE DOLLAR ($1). Yes, that is correct. This is what I bought:
Mascara: Love it!
Eye Liner (Coffee): Wow! Goes on nicely and lasts and doesn't smudge, comes with a sharpener
Shielding Lip Gloss (Chocolate Kiss): Looks great! Smells wonderful!
Conditioning Balm: Ahhh, yes. Feels nice.
Hypershine Gloss (Nude & Tourmaline): Smells fun. Shine is unbeatable.
Bronzing Blush Duo (Sundance): I actually like this better as eye shadow and have used it for that and it looks great!
Shielding Hydro Tint(Tone 1): Basically just a suncreen that smells nice with a tinge of color. It does NOT make you turn orange and does help to keep pressed powder on. This is on the small side.
Clarifying Pressed Powder (Tone 1): Nice smell again and is a full size powder that comes with a sponge.
Nail Laquer (Helene's Metallic Blush): Haven't tried this yet. It's a bottle that is half the size of other polishes, but who ever uses a whole bottle of something before it starts to dry out?

So, check it out. S/H charges are not that bad either. And if you buy 10 items, they automatically give you a coupon for Buy 5 Get 5 at 50% off. So, now all of a sudden 10 items that would have been $10 are $7.50. And s/h on those 10 items will end up being $4.95 (it's $3.95 s/h for the first 6 items and then $1 for each additional 6 items.)

Happy Shopping!