Good news for today!

The best news is that the recylce bin has been found. I sent the boys out after school and they found it and our neighbor's trashcan lid stuck in the tree line. Sadly I think the neighbor's trashcan may be mia. Not too much use for the lid. Oh well, they left it on the front porch anyway.

More good news is the S & K both had great days at work and we did not get out early. These days with strange schedules are reaking havoc on some of the more moody/needy kids at school.

The 3rd bit of good news is the I got some really cool scrap stuff today that I ordered from my monthly scrap club. It is CTMH stuff. Some neat boy paper and an awesome Serendipity pack with paper, cut-out and stamps for a ridiculous price. I almost passed on the offer from the scrap club leader but I thought what the helk? Yeah me for thinking!

OK off to read more The Pillars of the Earth before bed. I am more than 600 pages into this epic and I hope to finish it by next week.

I am a bit concerned though because I am unable to spell check this post. My apologies for any major goofs. G-night!

Babble and a birthday shout out!

First and foremost... Happy Birthday to my pal Cheryl! She is a good friend from back in MI that I wish I had gotten a chance to know better before we moved away. Lucky for me I got to spend the day and share the BIG Kirste birthday secret with her last year. We are forever bonded! Hope you had a great day and consider the Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life a bit of a present from me. It is a fun read. Are you done yet?

Now for the babble...

Oh my gosh so much to talk about tonight. First of all according to my super cool Oregon Scientific Thermometer mounted on the boys' play set it is a brisk -2.9 degrees outside. If only we had a windometer (i know that isn't a real word but you know what I mean) to see what the windchill is. It was a VERY windy day today. I had to work very hard holding the van/school bus on the road when I took S to work today. I did a great job with the van but the school bus tripod thing that is magnetized to the top of the van is no more. It flew off the roof on our way home today. S offered to get out and go get it from the median but I saw it land and it was toast. Not to mention I would probably open myself up to a lawsuit if I let the kid run across the highway in a freezing windstorm. Ya think? So I have now had one accident, and have broken two school bus tripods. When do think I'll get that pink slip? I am sure that there are many employees who do great work and never damage school property. Why can't I be one of them? I am starting to think I am a bit cursed. I suppose I should have forwarded that magical novena ancient chines secret e-mail Aunt Kathy sent last October. Instead of good luck for forwarding to 7 friends I am cursed for seven months.

Back to that wind storm. We had some horizontal snow this afternoon and even got out of school early. It made for a nice quiet afternoon. We had early out yesterday too so we enjoyed two long afternoons. So I was ready to hunker down and bake something today. Yesterday I did laundry so today was a good day to make brownies. How is it then that I was out of brownie mix? My pal Vicki suggested I make then from scratch. What was she thinking? Anyhow I don't have cocoa unless you can make brownies with Nestle Quik. I have about 6 cake mixes and some chocolate mousse mix but that was not what I wanted. However, I was not going out just for brownie mix, had to draw the line somewhere... I made chocolate chip cookies instead. Problem solved! I will buy brownie mix and some canned pumpkin tomorrow when I go to the store to work with K. I can use up some cake mixes making pumpkin muffins but I need pumpkin.

So the wind did a number on the trash that all the neighbors set out today. I did my best putting my trash in place with the mailbox to keep it from falling. When we got home the trashcan was half way up the driveway and our recycling tub had disappeared. Generally I can find it in a ditch or the neighbors yard. Not today. I think it may have made it to Newton or maybe even Missouri. Guess I need to find a new one. There is a chance it is lodged in the tree line but I was afraid to send the boys out to look for it (they have snow pants and I don't.) I was afraid that they might blow away. I just have to say that I am VERY glad that we have the dog on a tie out. He would have been airborne for sure!

I had a great time at Stamp Club last night. The lady who hosts us, Carolyn, was a little too excited about our projects. I thought they were cute but she was over the top about it. She was showing us how to do the projects in steps then would reveal the final product with a huge grin. Then she went right into the next project while passing out materials for the first project. If I have materials I am going to get busy. I never am doing just one thing. I multitask. It is who I am. Well, apparently Carolyn doesn't like that. She got a little snippy and told us all to put down our tools and look at her. Well, OK. I got through it. Made my stuff, placed my order and ran. Until next month. Here is a look at two of the three projects. The third one is unbelievable a pain to make and won't photograph well. I will never make that one again. Not sure that I will repeat the other two either but you never know... The red one holds a Dum Dum sucker and the purple one holds a pack of SweetTarts or something else that size like M&M's or the like.

So one more funny then I am going to read and sip my warm apple juice. Too bad I don't have any pumpkin muffins to go with it.

Sunday I call Jen to connect after a week of missing each other. She and her family are cleaning up from dinner but she is nice enough to chat with me through the mayhem. Natalie and Landry are playing with a bouncy ball, she is cleaning the crock pot and Shannen is likely stowing the leftovers. After Jen and I chat a bit she asked Natalie if she wants to talk on the phone. She says yes and we carry on a perfectly delightful conversation. She tells me the secret ingredient in her brownies (chocolate chips) we talk about Landry and other stuff. We say our goodbyes, love you, all the good stuff. She is obviously handing the phone back to Jen and I hear her say, "Mommy, who was that that I was talking to?" Too flippin cute!!! I love that girl! That is why I am sharing this cute pic of her from Christmas. And although Landry and I did not talk I will add a picture of him because he is cute and one and walking around like a champ according to Natalie.

Super Saturday and Sunday

Well, Nic survived the Explore Test. He mentioned that it was hard and there was plenty that he did not know. I am OK with that since it is a test for 8th graders. There were about 35 kids at Ames Middle School taking the test. Nic noted a dozen 4th graders in his room and the rest of the 5th and 6th graders were in another room. While he was testing I ran to Target, Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's and Panera. I still got done plenty early so went back to the middle school and read while I sipped my hot chocolate from Panera. YUM!

After the test Nic wanted Taco Bell for lunch. I had found the Taco Bell on my trek from one end of town to the other so I knew exactly where to go. We took care of that then made one more stop at McD's to get lunch for the home team.

The afternoon was full of a nap for me, gaming for the boys and daddy spent many hours cleaning up in Will's room. It was necessary. VERY NECESSARY! I also got to chat with my pal Kirste. It was so great to catch up and hear her happy voice!

I got myself up and moving in time to make it to 5:00 Mass and order Bailey's for dinner. YUM! We enjoyed the new and improved Miss America Pageant last night then watched the return of Paige Davis on Trading Spaces. I love TLC.

This morning we moved rather slowly and enjoyed the quiet. Love quiet with warm sheets and a totally comfortable pillow. Can't get better than that.

This afternoon we had some of Will's classmates over while their mom went to a meeting. I started the first of MANY loads of laundry and caught up on some e-mail reading. Taking the nap yesterday but me behind but way ahead in the happiness category. It was all worth it.

The good news is that tomorrow we have a short day at school. The teachers have in-service so we are released at 1PM. Nic is having a friend over and I will continue to work on laundry. Always have laundry. I also have stamp club tomorrow night and Fred has worked really hard at making himself available to spend the evening with the boys. I will try to show you what cool stuff I create on Tuesday!

FRIDAY!

I just have to tell you how happy I am that this week is over! It has been a doosy. I had a tough migraine yesterday. I am considering giving up Coke for lent. This is big but not as big as dying on the cross, so it really should be quite easy. Well, I tried going without my mid-day Coke yesterday and that totally backfired. I am absolutely addicted to the caffine and I am not happy about that. I think I need to wean myself off over the next 10 days before Ash Wednesday. I think my sister has done this, any tips Jen? Please share.

It is countdown to baby time too. Andy and Sara are due in just a few weeks. They have not found out what they are having so we are all the more anxious. Such a blessing to a great couple. Good luck guys and look for the nesting to kick in soon if not already.

Back to me. Guess what? My house is soooo quiet. It's just me and the needy dog here right now. Both boys went to a birthday party after school so it is strangely quiet here. Fred is on his way home and we are planning to go out for a nice hot meal in Ames. I have to go back there tomorrow morning EARLY but the thought of a hot meal made by someone else and not having to do the dishes makes it OK to make the trip twice in about 15 hours.

Nic and I are headed that way tomorrow so he can take the ACT Explore test. This is a test, generally given to eighth graders, to check academic progress. Since Nic did so well on the Iowa Tests last year, and probably just as well over the last week, we thought we'd up the ante and see how he does. I just know he'll have the circle thing down pat. He is so sick of it already since they have been taking ITBS all week but it is just three more hours. No one is going to die from filling in a few more bubbles. I keep telling him that.

Well, I am going to get myself together for my date. More to share tomorrow I'm sure.

Pokemon

Today was a good day! Aside from the frigid temperature that is. The girls and I ordered pizza for lunch since the idea of a pancake on a stick just isn't right. The drive to work with S was a bit rough but we survived getting there and back and he worked like a champ today stacking 24 piles of metal. His all time best is 25 so 24 is great!

After work I picked up the pizza and headed back to school for a mellow lunch in the classroom. After lunch I headed across to the nursing home to donate blood. I have been turned down more lately than have successfully given but today was my lucky day. My iron was 38, my temp was normal and I gave an awesome pint in near record time. Yeah me!

After the donation I took K to work then headed to fill my van at the elementary. The boys and a few friends joined me for our second Pokemon League event at the library. We had a special guest of a student at the HS who is going to volunteer to mentor the kids in the art of Pokemon battle. He was really great with the kids today and was thrilled to get volunteer hours and a couple of card packs. All is good.

After Pokemon we headed home to enjoy a hot dinner of tacos. After that the boys had some down time then Religious Ed. They are both feeling a little under the weather so I gave them some Benadryl to help them breath easier while they sleep. Hopefully tomorrow we will all wake up happy and well rested and not frozen. The wind chill is supposed to get down to -20. Maybe someone should call us tomorrow and make sure we are not frozen.

Sleep tight!

Sealants vs. Cavities

OK. Today was the day that Will needed to go to the dentist for some sealants. The plan was to do his top and bottom last molars on both sides. Well, we settle in, his name is called and he heads back willingly. I am reading along in my novel and then I hear him. Not laughing and joking, but crying Will Baker. Although at the dentist's office he goes by Bill. Don't ask.

I sneak back to see what the issue is and find him sitting upright in the reclines chair with arms crossed emphatically saying how he is not getting the sealants. He was adamant to say the least. I offered a bribe that I had gotten just today, a set of Skippyjon Jones books that I had planned to save for Valentines Day. I tried the "I'm your mom and I said so." the "This is not your choice to make" line and the "You see all the grey spots in my mouth? Those are spots from where I had cavities filled. If I had only had sealants when I was your age." tactic. None of them were as convincing as the "If you give up and don't let us try one tooth, you will be footing the bill for this whole thing." Apparently when it comes to Will... money talks. It was my last attempt and it worked. I would not say that he was totally excited but he became willing and we got the top teeth on each side done. Half the battle won!

The dentist was awesome and his assistant was trying to be patient and explain the procedure to Will/Bill. He is such a turkey. Will that is, not the dentist. I will sending him a thank you note for sure. He suggested we wait a long time, years maybe before we try for the bottom two. Will has apparently inherited my strong gag reflex and that makes procedures like this especially difficult. We'll have to be tenacious about the brushing. He may have inherited my amazing ability to get cavities because my entire mouth is a sweet tooth. We'll be diligent.

OK, so we are home and warm and fed so I think I'll go make that Thank You card for the dentist, a congrats on your new car for a friend at work who also needs a condolence card for the passing of her grandfather-in-law. What diversity in creativity I am up against. I accept the challenge!

BRRRRRRRRR

Can you hear my teeth chattering???? It is too cold here for me. I think we need to move. Since Fred is gone so much we hired this guy to clear our driveway. I already owe him $90 for three scrapes in the last 5 days and he will probably come back tonight. I think I should cancel his services and just get snowed in. Then I could call in to work and school and stay home by the nice cozy gal log fireplace. I do love the fireplace here!

(this picture is from winter 07 but we could be back to this soon.)

OK, so we had a mellow weekend with a lot of scrappin done by me on Saturday. Then shopping and dinner in Ankney Sat. night and I showered a dressed on Sunday but did little else. It was awesome. I read lots of pages in my BIG book and stayed warm. I literally sat on the floor in front of the fire reading. It made getting up and moving away very chilling.

Nic just got home from a friend's house and I need to help with homework. We also have Monday chores. These are chores that can be completed any day but if we start on Monday maybe they'll get done by Friday. Here's hoping.

Will is getting some teeth sealed tomorrow after school and Wednesday we have Pokemon League at the Library. Hope I can post some pictures later in the week.

Happy Monday!

New Music

In my attempt to avoid straightening the house I have up-dated the music list on this blog. You can hear that my tastes tend toward country but are not limited to that genre. I suppose I can not put off cleaning up the counter any longer. Fred will be landing in DesMoines soon and that means the 60 minute countdown starts. The house actually looks pretty good if you don't look at the counter. It is my nemesis and drop spot. Off to attack it!

Happy Friday!

Checking off my list

So I got a grand phone call at 5:45AM today. Most would not consider any call at 5:45AM grand but me, being the optimist, saw the positive side of the call. It was the call that told me that school was cancelled for the day. In turn I have to call the next lucky staff member at 5:46 to tell him to go back to bed. It is a fun turn of events that doesn't really happen that often.

I had been awakened just 5 minutes before "the call" by Will who was trying to squeeze into my bed. Picture the I have a King sized bed all to myself, Fred is out of town, and have one foot hanging off my side. Instead of seeing the massive blank space on daddy's side he tries to squeeze in on my side. Uh no! "Go to daddy's side," I mumbled and he did so without a word. He was asleep less than 10 seconds later so he was not even bothered by "the call."

Pete the dog was wide awake and thought that I should be too. He had to go, you know... I let him out as I went to find that phone tree that I should really just keep in my night stand.

So, after that was all taken care of I went back to bed until Nic got up a little before 8. He tried to feed Pete and managed to dump the dog food container all over the floor. Well, check sweeping the floor off my list, before 8AM. I then returned to bed again and managed to get a bit more rest. Operative word in that last sentence, bit, I really needed to start my day.

I got myself showered and assessed what I could do with this snow day...

1. Vacuum

2. Laundry - wash, dry and put away

3. work on Optimism art piece

4. Prep for scrapbooking this Saturday

5. Dentist appointment at 1:40

6. Pay the Discover bill while in M-town

7. Deposit misc. checks to Wells Fargo

8. Cook a real dinner

9. Boys showered

10. Read more of my book The Pillars of the Earth

I am happy to report that it is 5:00 and I have done 1-7. Laundry is still in progress but is moving right along. I even added one not on the list, make chocolate chip cookies. Did that right after I got back from the dentist.

Not sure what is for dinner but am going to find out right now. It is Thursday but I don't think there is squat on TV tonight so I should easily get some reading done and may even work more on the art piece. I researched a bunch of optimism quotes this morning. I need to select one that speaks to me and add it to my canvas. Stay tuned!

Optimism

So there is a little surge going on with many of the blogs I visit. These ladies, mostly linked to the scrapbooking and creative industry, have chosen "one little word" to help direct their lives in 2008. Well, I am a few days late in selecting my OLW but today I think I found it. Optimism.

I have really always considered myself an optimist. Fred would agree with that too. I am the one who tries to turn the negative experiences of our history into the positive of what did we learn from this. He hates that by the way. My optimism has gotten us into some trouble, or so it seemed at the time, but we have persevered. It's what we do. What I do. I should clarify that I am not the ETERNAL optimist. I do get down and frustrated and do not always see the light at the end of the tunnel, see a couple of posts regarding bus driving and social security from late 2007, but when the dust settles I am the one ready to move forward and look beyond.

So, I will make a little something to remind me of my optimism on a daily basis. My mom got me some uber cool foam stamps for Christmas. I have not used them .... yet. I think that tonight I will put some paint on a few and get busy. I will post a pic if I like how it all turns out.

Here is a picture of a couple of cool things I put together over Christmas Break. We had these neat silhouettes done of the boys when we went to Disney in 2005. They have been tucked away for two years while I was supposed to be looking for oval black frames. Oops, somehow that fell off my list and so when I saw these cute collectors boxes on clearance at Michael's I was inspired to find the shadows and get busy. I simply mounted them on some scrap paper, trimmed the paper to fit the box and taped them in. They are sitting on the front hall table for now. I need to find the right place to hang them. In case you don't make it to Iowa to see them on the wall enjoy... Can you tell who is who? Of course you can, even with the glare, they are both so unique and beautiful! Gosh I love my boys!

I had some cushion...

I guess with two posts on Friday I had some cushion for posting this weekend. After I got done posting I crashed on Friday. Saturday came along splendidly and I started my day watching the movie Hairspray. It was fun. I really like Michelle Phifer in her role and hearing her sing took me back to her role in Grease 2. John Travolta was trying hard but I just kept seeing him, not his character. The boys joined in watching the climactic ending and then we really started our day.

We headed to Ames to see Alvin and the Chipmunks the movie. Our pals Vicki and Megan joined us and it too fell into the "it was a cute movie" category. Doubt we'll pick it up on DVD but a good way to kill some time. Once the movie let out we RAN to Sam's for our weekly milk rations and then headed home. I dropped the milk off at the house, let the dog out and in real quick then we made it to church just a couple of minutes late. After church we were home for the night. Awaiting the arrival of our daddy dude from Mexico. The boys crashed before he got home but I tried to me nice and stayed up for him. He would have woken me when he came in anyway. He always has to unpack and get settled immediately and that is not such a quiet thing to do sometimes.

Sunday was family day and chore day. Sounds like one in the same right? I did laundry, we played Whoonu and then we treated ourselves to Olive Garden for dinner. Not that we could just run to Ames or Marshalltown. We had to go to DesMoines, to a new area that I had only gotten lost in once, and find the destination. It was not really worth all the hassle but I couldn't really say that out loud in the car. Once we got home Nic had to finish his homework but threw a hissy fit instead. I sent him to bed at 7:30 and told him I'd wake him early to finish his homework. Thankfully he can be a good morning person when he needs to be.

OK, enough about me. My goal for last week was to clean up the pictures. This weeks goal is to update my music selections. Any suggestions would be welcome. Leave a comment and I'll see if I can find it. Happy Monday!

2nd post for today! Other pics from December and January

Nic and Austin during the Character Counts Award program in December.

Will receives a Character Counts Award in December. YEAH!

I got a flat tire after a VERY long day. The boys and I had left Logansport to go to Ft. Wayne to see our pals from MI, the Droskis. The weather was not great for us but it was REALLY bad for them. They didn't even make it to the state line after getting stuck on 94 W for 2 hours in stopped traffic. We went to Chuck E Cheese anyway because it is not as accessible for us then did a little shopping in Ft Wayne before heading back to Logansport. About 2 miles, if that, from our destination I heard a strange noise and found myself with a VERY flat tire. The amazing team of Matt and Fred had it switched out in no time and Sears repaired it overnight. Just had to add some drama to the day. The strange thing... Julie had a flat tire when she got back home too. I guess we were just not meant to see each other that day.

Will makes a guy burp at the Grossology Exhibit at the DesMoines Science Center.

Nic has fun playing with the fart machine at the Grossology exhibit. Great fun for boys of all ages!

It's a wild and crazy night!

Well, so far this afternoon I have made double chocolate chunk cookies and eaten too many of them. I have fed the boys a couple of the afore mentioned cookies along with an amazing dinner of PB & J and chips. I have watched a movie (Premonition with Sandra Bullock) while the boys spend some time "gaming" in the basement and have done a bit of laundry. I have also copied all of my photos from June 2007 to present into monthly files on my computer. I have not backed them up yet but this is a HUGE step to just get them off of my memory card in some semblance of order. I have another movies to watch, Hairspray, and I would like to go to bed at a decent hour.

Fred called and he is still in meetings at 8:30. He hasn't connected with us since he left practically. Working REALLY hard there in Mexico. He will be home LATE tomorrow night then here Sunday and Monday before returning south on Tuesday. Just enough time at home for me to do all of his laundry. Ahhh the never ending laundry. If I were to win the lottery I would probably hire someone to do my laundry from gathering it out of hampers to washing to ironing, folding and putting it away. It is a NEVER ending chore that would ensure someone a great deal of job security. I know that right now I am irreplaceable!

Tomorrow the boys and I have BIG plans. I will likely watch Hairspray in the AM then we will head to Ames. We want to catch a movie and buy some essentials at Target and Sam's. We are also planning to browse and buy at Borders. We all have gift cards and coupons to use. YEAH!

Check out this cute pic of Will reading the paper over breakfast. He had his socks close by so he could keep to his daily routine. Thankfully the Mid Iowa Enterprise is a quick read. We weren't late for school or anything. The editorials are short and too the point, if they have a point to make. Although, this was taken in November right around the time of the school bond vote, so there may have been more to read than usual. All good stuff and well worth the subscription price!

Yeah, it's Thursday Night!

I am so thrilled to see a NEW Grey's Anatomy tonight. It has been a long month without McDreamy. Sadly because of the writers strike there will be no more new ones for a LONG time but I will be happy tonight.

Today was a decent day at school. We ran a few minutes behind this morning. It is our usual Thursday morning after Wednesday night Religious Ed. class rough morning. I have come to expect this and plan accordingly. We all just sleep a few extra minutes and leave just in time to make it to school. It is worth it, I hope!

Well, I got a little interrupted by a call from a friend so I am going to cut this short. Ta ta!

Happy Belated Birthday Matt

How's that for making it into the blog? Sorry I missed your big day yesterday but I obvioulsy had so much more on my mind... The bug question and all... Hope you had a good day and that you have a great year!

Questions I ask myself...

How does a 24 hour bug know when it's time is up? SO as I mentioned yesterday I was puking at 4 AM. I thought I was done when I went to bed but no, I was up worshipping the toilet gods at 3AM this morning. Thought for sure I was going to have to call in sick again. I returned to bed and slept VERY well until my alarm at 6:30 and awoke a new woman. Not that I could run a marathon but I felt A WHOLE LOT better! Yeah. So, that illness lasted 23 hours. Sounds close enough to 24. How does it know?

I was wiped out after school today and even had to come home a few minutes early. I was at work with K and got a call from the Elementary School. Will was in the office with a tummy ache. Ugh, was he coming down with the "bug?" I couldn't chance him puking or worse at school so I picked him up and we rushed home. No other symptoms to report from him so I think we are OK.

We had a tasty dinner of meatloaf and Julianne Potatoes tonight. We are back on our menu. We made a plan for the week on Sunday and quickly diverged when I felt so yucky yesterday. Fred brought home McDonald's for the eating members of the household. Tonight was meatloaf and tomorrow is a planned Pizza out night before Relig. Ed. Fred will be in Mexico so we'll eat out just like him. Thursday is Hamburgers, Will's request and I am finally getting chicken on Friday. Can't wait!

Sick

Nic and I stayed home sick today. I spent a LOT of time in the little girls room and he just rested a lot. I was up at 4 puking my guts out and spent the rest of the day dealing with the other end. Thanks to some Imodium I am better but my tummy is still not quite right. I am hopeful that I will make it to work tomorrow. My regular sub is not available to cover for me so I really need to be there.

Dad, in response to your note about leaving a comment. You need to sign in with a Yahoo address which I don't believe you have. Option #2 is signing your comment within the comment and posting it using the Anonymous button which is under the sign-in one. Take a closer look and that should make sense, I hope. Not sure how clear I am being right now.

Say a prayer for me if you will and I will get photos off my camera by the end of the week!

What a nice day we had.

We were all REALLY tired this morning but we had to get up and out! The boys have been BEGGING to stay up all night some time. The weekends are too short for this to take place during the school year so I supposedly PROMISED that they could do it over Christmas Break. Well, we are almost done with break and they just had to stay up so last night was the night. They lasted till 1:45 and put themselves to bed. Fred and I only went to bed 30 minutes before them so when the alarm went off at 8:45 it was way to early for all of us. Thus I hit snooze a few times.

We had to get out of our house for a bit today and needed to go to Des Moines to do the last of our Christmas returns and exchanges. We left around 10:45 and got out errands done by 2:30. We were already in Des Moines so we decided to take advantage of our membership and spend a little time at the Science Center. They were wrapping up some sort of Lego Tournament that I had forgotten about. Nic was a little bummed. We were able to check out the Grossology exhibit. It was all about burps and farts and poo so the boys obviously had LOTS of fun! Will's favorite part was sliding down the esophagus to the stomach and Nic enjoyed shooting bacteria up a nose with a air cannon type thing.

We then headed home and ate a yummy supper. The boys are now downstairs playing new PS2 games they bought at Game Stop today. I am about ready to go do some laundry and make some prototype cards for the card gathering I am hosting at church next month. I also need to write a blurb for the bulletin. Haven't done that in a while. Better sharpen my pencil and make sure I have a fresh eraser.

Oh yeah, must mention how much FUN we had last night. I had the ladies from work over. One brought her husband and daughter and the rest came alone. The kids ran wild in the basement and we ate, drank, laughed and were merry. I bought the game Apples to Apples with some of my Christmas money. We had played the game at the Culps house over Christmas break and it was fun! I think the ladies and even Pete and Fred had fun too. I know I did.

I am an Iowan

I did it! I caucused last night. It was a learning experience and I am glad I took part. First and foremost I had to declare a party last night. You caucus by party so my NO PREFERENCE card was just not good enough to get me in. Once I picked my party I went into the "official" caucus room. Doors were closed shortly after 7 and 126 of us decided the fate of the 11 delegates from our precinct. The hat/envelope was passed as were a couple of items for the platform. It was all good. I was home by 8:30 to watch TV that was then constantly interrupted by Caucus 2008 Up-dates.

Today we have gotten the house into further order. I took down the tree and dropped it into it's box. Can't close the box but Fred knows the trick so I'll let him handle that later. We are having guests over in a short bit for pizza and game playing. I have wanted to do this for a LONG time and tonight is the night. I ordered Bailey's and everyone else is bringing snacks. Hopefully no one will be hankering for a beer since we have none. I did go spend some of my Christmas money on the game Apples to Apples. We have a pretty diverse crowd, all native Iowans, and it should be a fun night! Kids in the basement, adults upstairs let's hope that's how it goes!

I will do my best to upload some pics from Christmas soon. I have not even taken my camera out of the bag from IN.

It's almost time to caucus!

Yep, today is the day that Iowans are invited to their local precincts to caucus. It is a different experience depending on your party affiliation. Republicans do a paper ballot and Dems. go for more of a consensus. Not everyone has to agree but there is more discussion and lobbying for all the candidates. I hope that Fred gets home in the next 30 mins so I can take part. It is his first day back at work so he may need to be there a bit longer. We'll see.

Well, I did take the tree down, my apologies to the kings. If I didn't take care of it today it may have stayed up till February. Fred is here to take the tree itself apart. I was just noticing that there is a whole string of lights out. Guess it will wait till next year to get fixed.

Once I got the decorations put away I dusted, straightened, and vacuumed. I need to work on some bathrooms before company tomorrow night but that is just one thing on my list. I'll get it done.

OK, off to finish dinner and call Fred again.

Happy New Year!

I know you thought I fell off the planet but no such luck. We arrived home from our trip to IN on New Years Day and yesterday we kinda chilled. Today I am going to get some cleaning taken care of and hopefully dismantle the tree and put away other decorations. If all goes well I should be able to get back to the computer this afternoon. Stay tuned!