The irises are blooming!

Yet another reason why I love where I live.

These were taken May 11th. Lucas is growing up so fast!

And this is me with the coolest babies in the whole world. I am such a lucky grandma. :)

Son2 Grad Pictures

Getting caught up on pics I've said I'd share. The non-picture taking grin was three times as big!

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I suck for missing 10 random last week. And I suck again for not blogging anything else other than random blatherings for the last month. My apologies. I'll try and work on that.
2. The irises are starting to bloom. I SOOOO love my yard! I'll post pics this weekend. (pinky promise)
3. We got Roxanne clipped two weeks ago. She was "summer cut" and looks freakin hysterical. I was convinced they'd given me the wrong dog.
4. POS Van has been retired out to pasture. (ok, just back along the fence line)
5. Which means I had to get a new car. So after more than a month of looking, I bought a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. I had to go to KC to get the price I wanted but I again have a reliable vehicle that I can drive out of town without freaking out about not making it home. Too bad it comes with a car payment.
6. Jim gets Monday off. An actual honest to goodness two days off in a row. He's in heaven.
7. Jr tells me that Lucas James has an ear infection. It makes me sad. I feel his pain.
8. I realized on Tuesday that I have been going to Starbucks too often lately. The cashier/order taker gal not only remembered what I order, she even remembered the name to write on my cup.
9. I am planning on having a garage sale next weekend. We'll see if it actually materializes but I REALLY need to get the stuff out of the chicken shed.
10. Speaking of chickens. We no longer have chicks. We have chickens. I can't believe how fast they have grown!

Now if that wasn't just the most boring 10 things ever. LOL

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. This week's snack of choice is CLIF Mojo Bars. I never got around to making the granola I'd planned on and these were on sale at Baker's this week. Feel the love.


2. I cleaned the house on Tuesday for a salesman my husband set a meeting up with. He never showed. The salesman that is. Hubby was there. He mowed the lawn.


3. The new mower makes mowing the lawn much quicker. I think he finished in about an hour and a half. I'll time him next time.


4. The gas tank on the van sprung a leak again. So much for the special gunk that was supposed to be made specifically for gas tank leaks. Investment in new gas tank? $105.


5. My admin assistant has a fat lip. Contrary to popular belief I did not give it to her. She fell at Baker's. And no, she was not getting me more Mojo Bars. We just like to go to Baker's on lunch.


6. I had a dream last night about vampires living on the 4th floor of my house. It was weird. I have no 2nd floor let alone 4th floor.


7. I am skipping this month's book club book. Just couldn't get into it. I've moved on to next month's. It's pretty good so far.


8. Spent a good part of the afternoon test driving a car. But I don't LOVE it. So I am not supposed to have it right? But the hubby says it's because I don't love the idea of a car payment. I think he may be right.
9. Leave for back East tomorrow. I get to spend Grandma time with Lucas. I'm a little excited.
10. Speaking of Gma time ... Baby B is as cute as ever! Pics after the weekend.

10 Random Things for a Friday

I know this is two days late. Pretend you didn't notice.

1. I saw a Honda CRV on the side of the road yesterday. It should make me feel better but it didn't.
2. The POS van is still for sale. It's getting cheaper. Jump on it while you still can. Not that jumping on it will make it look any better but you never know.
3. When I logged into Google Reader on Monday (hadn't been on since Wednesday night) I had 1324 new blog posts. Me thinks me need to clean out some of my blog feeds. I may have too many. What do you think?
4. I have resigned myself to the fact that dairy is not my friend. In reality it is my foe. Even ice cream is now bad. I am so sad. And all I really want is a DQ Krunch Kote cone. And a cheese pizza. Oh the horror! So I've started to read everything on PETA's Milk Sucks website. It's making me feel a little better. Actually it's grossing me out.
5. Economic Farce payments started via direct deposit this week. Based upon the poll (and the informal poll I took with about everyone else I know) if the people I know are the average, I'd have to say it will make little to no difference in the actual stimulus it creates. But then again, once most people have it in your hand, all plans seem to go out the window.
6. I spent more than an hour and a half the other night planning a vacation I can't remotely afford. It was a nice diversion.
7. Son2 walks across the stage on Saturday. I'm beyond proud.
8. Tutu sent me pics of her holding Lucas James this past weekend. She said it was because she wanted to show me current pics. I think she was just rubbing it in.
9. Sally aka Houdini has figured out how to open the back screen door.
10. MA and baby are adjusting to being home. He is FAR from sleeping through the night.

Thoughts for Thursday

Time Magazine released it's top 100 most influential people. But they didn't rank them. Just listed them. So they left the ranking to the public via a poll. The poll shows that video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto ranks number 1. A Nintendo video game designer. That's Ok, it gets worse. Britney Spears at 72 comes in only a little less than the Pope at 60. Nelson Mandela is ranked at 16. George W. Bush? 158th. The Dalai Lama rounded out the list at 207.

Who are the most influential people in your life?

GPO Update - aka Introducing Brandon Alexander

The GPO is not longer the GPO she is now the Mommy Amber.

We'll just call her MA. LOL

Introducing .... Brandon Alexander.

He was born Thursday April 24 at 11:36 AM. He weighs in at 6lbs 8oz and a 18 3/4 inches long. He has beautiful dark hair and is perfect in every way. Mommy is resting as comfortably as can be expected. Daddy is all smiles.

(but so are Grandma and Grandpa.)

She used to look like this 4 days ago.

But now she gave us this beautiful baby.

He's got good lungs.

And he's absolutely perfect.

Every party has a pooper and it might as well be you

Today is someone's birthday. A friend and I wanted to take said someone to lunch. I said to the someone this morning..."Happy Birthday someone. Friend and I would like to take you to lunch today." Someone said, "I'd really rather not. Thank you and all but I'd really rather not."

How would you take that?

Weather for Wednesday

I don't know why I came back to work after lunch. We should all take the rest of the day off.

Earth Day one Day Late

"Sometimes you have to act as if acting will make a difference, even when you can’t prove that it will."

I'm glad it's Earth Month now and not just Earth Day. I meant to post this yesterday but time got away from me. I found a really good article on the New York Times website. It's message is simple. WHY BOTHER? The main points of the article come back to the quote above. It's a thought provoking article. A little long, but that's just become standard for the NY Times hasn't it?

While I'd like to say we are "green" at my house, I'd be only giving a half picture. We have changed most of our lights over to high energy bulbs. We use reusable shopping bags. We reuse and recycle as much as possible. We use environmentally happy cleaning products. We grow our own veggies and freeze or can what we don't eat fresh. We buy locally and organic for many products. But then we drive vehicles that get awful gas mileage. We have looked at solar energy but haven't found a way to justify the price. We do a not so great job of reducing consumption. We are as much of the problem as the next person. But we are getting better. We try to incorporate one new "green" thing into our lifestyle every month.

And you? What one thing can you do that would make your household part of the solution? What do you do now that is environmentally friendly? Will you share? I'd love to know what you have done to "green up" your household.

"Sometimes you have to act as if acting will make a difference, even when you can’t prove that it will."

Economic Stimulus Payment Poll

Ok. Figured out how to do a poll. It's over there. ------->>>>

Now you can answer COMPLETELY anonymously. Y'all read the question. I know because I can see you.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I accomplished little to nothing at work today because the phone wouldn't quit ringing.
2. On Tuesday, I decided to lay off caffeine for a while after reading this article. On Wednesday morning I had to drop Son2 off at work at the burrito place which is right by Starbucks. So much for that idea.
3. We had Jimmy John's for lunch. I had a #6 and a pickle. It was good. :) It always makes me smile when I say their name. Not because of the #6 and the pickle but because it makes me think of Jr. and that makes me smile.
4. Families Helping Families is having their Gala this weekend. I REALLY want to go. But alas, we are on baby watch and I've been told I can't leave town. If you are within driving distance of Cedar Rapids and have an open social calendar tomorrow night, you should really go. Tell them I sent you. Or don't. They'll probably charge you double.
5. Somebody remind me to call Lamar next week about getting a discount on another billboard.
6. Tomorrow is Stamp Club at the Stamp Pushers house. Gotta get my fix.
7. Honda CRVs are stalking me.
8. It's supposed to be 75 on Sunday. Yippee!
9. I had another "everything is for a reason" moment this morning. It was one of those "a really not so good thing happened in someone's life but something completely perfect and life changing came out of it" kind of things. I like those moments.
10. GPO Update. I don't know why she hasn't had the baby yet. It could be any day. But I cancelled my trip out of town Tuesday-Thursday. That's why the baby hasn't made his appearance yet. Had I left town...he'd have shown up. Betting GPO wishes I'd left now. LOL

Yahoo's 25 Worst Rappers of All Time

I'm freakin dyin' here. Guess who number 1 is?

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/2977/the-25-worst-rappers-of-all-time

Economic Stimulus Package

I am not going to stand on the soapbox and say that we did this once before in January 2003 and it didn't work then so why would it work now or talk about how the government is already operating at a the largest deficit ever so what program are they going to steal this $152 billion from. I'm not going to even stand there. So don't expect it.

Here is what I really want to know.

In all honesty....

What are you going to do with your check?

1. Spend it on something fun
2. Spend it on something we wouldn't buy otherwise
3. Spend it on stuff you'd buy anyway
4. Use it as a downpayment on a larger purchase
5. Save it
6. Put it towards debt

Love to see your answer. Comment anonymously if you like. I have my own theories. Just wondering if they are close to the truth or not.

Thoughts for Thursday

Why are there not more words that end in ‘age?
Why aren’t there more movies where the good guys don’t win?
Whose mom decided what words were curse words?
If Superman and Batman arm wrestled, who would win?
If it’s not all about the Hokey Pokey what is it really all about?
When you’ve lost your mind do you know you have?
If the birdhouse was made for starlings, who told the sparrows they could move in?

Nothing like the last minute

I just e-filed my taxes. I think I may cry. Good thing they take payments.

Does it irk anybody else to pay the taxes in and then look at what we are getting for our money? I think I'd rather pay huge local taxes to support the services I get here than to fund the government spending I have no control over. And yes, I know I theoretically have control through my vote but that's just a crock of snot.

Write this off to the ramblings of taxpayer who just filed their taxes and owes the IRS money.

Just sayin.

Happy Tuesday!

:)

That is all.

You may now go back to whatever cool thing you were doing before you were here.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I am having one of those days where if one more stupid thing happens I may just snap. I know you know what I mean because we've all had them. A ton of little things that just build because you can't let them slide off for whatever reason. The kind of day when the little men in the white coats could show up and you'd gladly go with them just for the quiet time and someone else to do the laundry and cook supper.
2. I have this odd desire to make granola or granola bars. It's the fault of these silly food blogs I've become addicted to. I sit here at lunch and eat my Amy's frozen dinners and drool over food blogs. I think I may make Joyful Abode's bars. They look pretty good. Or maybe these or these. See it's a conspiracy. The universe wants me to make granola.
3. Outstanding today's Siouxsie and the Banshees that I blew at you earlier, I'm on this odd folky kick this week. No clue why. Can't explain it. Please don't ask me to.
4. Son2 got a 2nd job this week. He's pretty cool that way. Ever been to Moe's? Go on Monday. They have a good burrito deal. Besides. They give you more chips and salsa than you can reasonably eat for lunch. And who can't use leftover chips and salsa?
5. Jr says Lucas is finally starting to be a little less colicy. They may finally get to sleep sometime this year!
6. Erin's birthday is Monday. That makes me sad.
7. I had a baja blast and a 7-layer burrito for lunch.
8. Willy still smells like skunk on his head. It's less pronounced and you can be in the same room with him again but he stinks still. I may have to make a trip to Petco today. Which reminds me. We need cat food.
9. Wonder if I can talk hubby or Son2 into going to see Horton Hears A Who this weekend.
10. GPO update: the upcoming arrival is measuring at 5# 13oz. (Ultrasounds still amaze me.)And she is making progress. Looks like we might get a baby this month! Another 5 days and she'll be past the day I thought she'd deliver. So that's a good thing!

Please note there was no mention of Sushi or Sake bombs in the above 10 things.

For Sale: POS Van

Stupid car.

I know the paint is coming off because it was a defective paint job that was recalled before I bought it. I know it sounds kind of funny when it runs. That noise is really common in that series of Voyagers. No one really knows why. Gas mileage isn't great. So what if the trunk doesn't open anymore. It's a fond memory of a daughter's ex-boyfriend that got mad and slammed it. It opens sometimes. You just have to stick your knee into it. At the moment it has a hole in the gas tank so you can't put more than 3 gallons in at a time. The part is only about $100 and I'm sure you know a good mechanic that has the time to put it in.

What's that? You don't want to whole car. How about just the new fuel pump that is only 2 weeks old and the $200 worth of tires that have less than 5000 miles on them. Interested now?

Stupid car.

I don't want a car payment though. I don't want to pay for full coverage insurance. I don't have the cash to buy a cheap car outright this month.

Stupid car.

Siouxsie and the Banshees Kiss Them For Me

Peek-a-Boo

I'm having a day. More to follow. In the meantime...enjoy a little Lalapalooza type flashback.

Thoughts for Thursday

It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature.

-- Laura Ingalls Wilder

What are your fundamental things?

So this is how I spent my lunch break

It's Harmony's fault. Blame her. And I warn you now, if you do the test there are about 10 of those stupid "ACCEPT ME" offers at the end.

But it was kind of cool. I wonder which one I missed?




Am-I-Dumb.com - Dumb Test



Edited later to say:

Ok. I apologize. I just realized that the lovely banner above and my subsequent posting of it basically just called 96.7% of people dumb fools. I SOOO don't think that. None of you are fools. Except one of you. And you know who you are. LOL

Vanilla Ice

This morning as I was taking Son2 to work, "Under Pressure" came on the radio. The beginning stanza comes on and Son2 says, "are they seriously playing Ice Ice Baby on the Brew?" I pointed out they may have similar rifts in one place but that the song was definitely not the Vanilla Ice song he was expecting. Son2 says, "yeah I thought that was odd." Then says, "I remember when he as popular though. It lasted all of what, a month?" I think it may have been a little longer. ;)

Got me thinking about the where are they now stuff. If I watched VH1 reality shows I'd probably know but I don't.

But then the Vanilla Ice memories kicked in. Spanky's. The bowling alley pseudo dance floor. Casey's Top 40 countdown. I do wonder what happened to some of the people I knew then though.

What's your Vanilla Ice memory? And did you know he's still making new albums and touring? Who would've guessed?

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I have a headache. Not a bad one. Just annoying more than anything.
2. I am looking forward to a Partylite spa party at my friend Sharon's house tomorrow. This is going to be a blast!
3. It is supposed to rain on Sunday. I feel bad for hubby. It's his only day off this week and it's supposed to rain.
4. The chickens are growing. And the more they grow the more they stink. Can't wait to move them to the front porch. Hopefully it will be warm enough this weekend.
5. Tonight is book club. Yeah, I know I said it was last week. And I even drove all the way out west and went into where it was supposed to be. But I was a week early. Me, early. Imagine that.
6. Saturday morning will be devoted to putting more seeds in the ground to grow green things. That and digging for more of the fence. I figure if I put the green things in the ground, I'll have more incentive to get the fence up before the bunnies find my sprouts.
7. I hit 1000 blog hits at some point in the last couple of weeks. Not sure how the heck that happened. You people must be pretty bored. LOL
8. Work is work. I have a to do list that is longer than is reasonable. I need a grant to fall out of the sky to fund the salary for another person. Either that or I need someone that will come work for pennies. Know anybody like that?
9. I was going to go through 10 random this week without mentioning that I wanted sushi. But I changed my mind. We found a sushi place near Sharon that's pretty darn good. Maybe tomorrow for lunch. :)
10. GPO Update: the baby is doing well. According to the most recent photo shoot all parts and organs are where they are supposed to be. He's gained a little but not much. He even has hair. Did you know that you can see hair on an ultrasound? It's pretty cool. GPO on the other hand... she's ready to be done being the GPO. I can imagine. She does look pretty uncomfortable lately.

The skunky ones are feeling left out

Sally (above) and Willy are feeling left out. So their skunky selves wanted to say hi. Or at least Sally did. Willy just wanted me to leave him alone. :)

Finally pictures of the puppy

This is Roxanne. She's almost 16 weeks old.

She likes to eat grass and dirt and sticks and leaves.

So she usually look like this.

There are green things in my yard

See that -- there are flowers growing in my yard. Anybody know what kind they are?

Blades of Green grass are starting to show themselves!

And those are buds on the lilac. YEAH!!!!

Spring may have finally sprung.

Dogs - 0 Skunk - 2

Willy found the skunk this time. Poor guy was blinded until sometime this AM. He seems to be seeing again. But I can still smell skunk today. Outside, inside, on the dog, on my hands. It's the definitive of ick. It won't come off. I'm sure that when we head to the garden center in a little bit that they'll politely ask us to leave. Because I can't believe that as bad as it was/is, that we don't smell like skunk too.

Good thing I had Selsun Blue still! Stuff really does work. Now it makes me wonder though what it is doing to your head if the stuff is strong enough to remove the smell of skunk.

Wonder if the dogs will figure out now that the black and white rabbits aren't for chasing. I sure hope so. Or they may just become permanently outside dogs. Outside dogs that stink like skunk.

The rest of the Chicken Story

Went and picked up chickens this afternoon. Grandpa Jim's farm has added 12 new members.

Ever spent several hours in a house with chickens in the back room? It's kind of like having a fridge that is going out and you keep hearing the motor running. You kind of tune it out. And then the noise gets louder and you hear it again. Then you tune it out. And then you hear it again and you think, "What is that noise all about?" And then the noise starts to bother you . And then you tune it out again.

Fresh eggs. that will make all of this worth it, right?

we have chickens in the back room.

I think I have lost my mind.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. What are you doing on Monday night? Want to come to my starter show for Partylite?
2. We are planting things in the garden on Sunday. Potatoes, peas, greens, onions, leeks. yummy yummy things. I love spring.
3. Signs of spring - a peek of green in my grass. the moles are active. the cardinals and robins are back!
4. The new puppy is on crack. You should see her run around and around in circles from one end of the house to the other. It's freakin hysterical!
5. Son2 gets to walk across the stage for graduation on May 3rd. We are having a party the same day. Can you come?
6. I am taking the afternoon off. I have an appointment and then I am going home to do some work and maybe read the last of the book for book club tonight. Or maybe I'll just sit on the back deck. You never know with me.
7. I'm working tomorrow at my main job. That sucks. But I haven't worked a Saturday in a while so it's not that big of a deal.
8. I'm looking for a reasonably priced digital camera for Jr. Maybe then he'll send me baby pics. I can't help but think about all of the things I'm missing by not being where Lucas is. :(
9. I want sushi. Not that that surprises anyone. It's pretty common actually. LOL
10. The great pregnant one went to the dr. on Wednesday. According to the measurements from the latest technology, the baby is now bigger than 5 lbs. Apparently feeding her everytime she turned around the last couple of weeks worked. YEAH great pregnant one! Now get off the internet and go have a healthy snack. :D

Not two weeks but pretty close

I'm a bad blogger. I admit it. I go in spurts don't I. Sometimes I run my mouth off like a bad case of verbal manic. Other times I just don't. I think it's just because I feel like I am rambling. Then again, it could just be that I have nothing to say. LOL Me with nothing to say. Yeah right. You know better than that. I think it is more the other reasons. Why I haven't blogged for two weeks:

I'm behind on the book club selection this month. I'll be lucky to get it done before we meet tomorrow night.

I've been on the computer so much working that when I'm not working I've stayed off the computer.

Last time I was on the computer for leisure it was to look up chickens. Don't ask. I'll explain later.

Baby class has taken up a night a week.

I had nothing important to say.

David Letterman has been yawnable and I haven't stayed up that late except tonight. And that's usually when I get my blogging done. I haven't really taken a "lunch hour" in a few weeks. That's the other time I usually get my blogging done.

I've become addicted to other people's blogs. Mahala makes me laugh. I have to catch up with what's going on with Harmony and Maggie. Unclutterer and Zen Habits have so much to teach me. And the food blogs. Who knew there were so many good veggie recipes out there? Oh and the scrapbook blogs. See! It's never ending.

Blockbuster sent me new movies. We're watching Enchanted tomorrow night after book club. If I can stay awake that late.

I've been planning a garden.

I decided to get a part time job helping a friend who is helping me by giving me a part time job to pay off my IRS bill.

I've been doing taxes.

Started selling Partylite again! Want to have a spa or candle party? I'm your gal!

Ok. I see I have no excuse really. I promise to try and do better. :) See BFTLFA! I posted. Now you have something to read.

What time of the day are you?

Found this quiz and subsequent badge over at Harmony's Blog. Thought it fit me quite well. Not sure if that is good or bad but it proves I am not a morning person! If you want to take the quiz yourself, click on the picture!

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. Jr had a birthday on Tuesday! Happy birthday to my favorite oldest son. ;)
2. Apparently I wasn't thankful for anything for over a week. Ok, I was. I just didn't acknowledge it on the blog. So I updated it yesterday. A week's worth of blessings in a day. Perspective. I'm glad it worked out the way it did.
3. Last week's scrapbooking weekend was a blast. Not so much the scrapbooking as I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. But the friend part was great. And the rum runners. They were pretty good too!
4. We ended up not going for Kona or sushi last weekend. I was sad. But we ate at PF Chang's. And I made my own sake bomb there. So that was a good thing.
5. We have a new puppy. Courtesy of the friend that lives far away. She's a Shih Tzu and cute as heck. I'll post pics later. The big puppies are a slight bit unhappy with us though. Apparently they feel invaded. And the cat. He's beyond irritated and has spent most of his time outside this week.
6. This weekend's plans revolve around a baby shower on Saturday for the great pregnant one's pending new arrival. Friends and family and fun! I am looking forward to it.
7. I'm feeling like a bad friend because there are a few people that I feeling out of touch with. Even after talking to them. It's just been too long since we've spent quality time together. I need to work on that.
8. Sushi. I want sushi. Is this a recurring theme or what? LOL
9. I need a good part time job. Any ideas?
10. The great pregnant one update: New ultrasound pics. That baby is one of the most photographed babies ever! We'll have pages of ultrasound pics for the scrapbook. He's still looking good but needs to gain more weight. Which means the GPO needs to eat more. Hear that GPO? EAT MORE! So I asked her what she wanted for supper last night. She wanted Grilled Brats. So I fed her Brats. Brats for the brat. How funny.

It's a David Bowie kind of day Part II

Dance the magic dance!

It's a David Bowie kind of day

Not sure why. But it's a David Bowie kind of day. I've been streaming a bunch of his music today. So I thought I'd share. Enjoy while he sings Heroes to you. Besides there are worse ways to spend 5 minutes on a Thursday.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. Eric (Son2) found out yesterday that he has everything he needs done to get his GED. This is huge. He took the classes, passed the tests, and now he is done! He is so proud. And I am very proud of him.
2. I am feeling like a bad blogger because I haven't posted since last Friday's 10 things. :(
3. I am leaving in about 4 hours for KC. I will get to see my best friend that lives far away! This weekend is a scrapbooking weekend. My creative side is VERY happy for that.
4. We are adding a cute little puppy to our family on Sunday. :)
5. I spent the week playing catch up for all the things I pushed aside the weeks before because of the big project.
6. I have done more taxes this week than any other this tax season. Have you filed yours?
7. My house is a mess. And I don't think I care. Ok, obviously I do or I wouldn't even mention it. LOL
8. I have only had 3 diet Cokes this week. I've been good don't you think? My Coke Rewards points balance is hurting though.
9. Jr is in culinary classes at the college. For one of his classes he has to make a vegan menu this week. I had lots of fun sharing some of my favorite vegan blogs with him and referring him to recipe archives on my favorite veggie recipe site.
10. The great pregnant one and I are taking "natural" childbirth classes. The next 5 weeks should be interesting.

Happy weekend! I'll try and check in on Sunday night! Promise.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I got to hold Lucas last weekend. I had to share him with other people too but that's ok. Because they kept telling me how cute he was. And I got to agree and smile.
2. Yesterday i was driving like a grandma. then i remembered that i am a grandma now so it was only fitting. then i realized that no matter how i drove i was driving like a grandma. because i am one. so there.
3. Next weekend counts as a vacation. I get to go away from home, with nothing I HAVE to do. Only things I want to do. I like the idea of that.
4. One week from today I will be drinking sake bombs and eat volcano rolls at Kona in KC.
5. I am planting things in my back room to go into my garden. And watching them grow a little more every day makes me very happy.
6. Huge project at work is finally pretty well done. At least my part is. And I can now go back to sleeping and working 9 hour days and going to the gym and eating food that didn't come from Lean Cuisine and spending time with my family like a normal person. Not that I'm anywhere close to normal but you get the idea.
7. I need to buy pet food. The bill for which is only climbing as in the next few months we are adding 2 rescued outdoor bunnies and about a dozen chickens to our psuedo farm/zoo. the manchild keeps saying something about fresh eggs and free fertilizer. huh.
8. I have an entire quart of wheat germ in my cupboard. Don't ask. Long story that isn't worth telling really. What else can you do with wheat germ other than put it into say bread or the breakfast shakes I keep telling myself are healthier than the Cap'n Crunch?
9. I get to play with Lucas again in two weeks. Not that I count days or am obsessed or anything.
10. The great pregnant one says the doctor says the baby is 3 lbs 12 oz. Amazing.

Thoughts for Thursday

If you eat just Girl Scout Cookies for lunch BUT you eat several different kinds does it count as a balanced meal?

When does optimism become denial?

Does spending all or your time deciding what to do count as doing something?

Zen Habits

I am a blog junkie. I admit it. But so many blogs bring so much into my life. The time I used to spend reading not so entertaining or truly un-enlightening magazines, the time lost to stupid tv shows, I've replaced it. With blogs. It's almost sad really. I'm a cyber geek.

Every once in a while I decide that I really need to scale down my blog reading. But then I find these certain blogs that just stick with you. Zen Habits is one of them. His 12 step eating program epitomizes what I am trying to do with my life. Most everything he talks about are things that you KNOW you have to change in your life. At least in my life. Check it out. You might even find that one of his e-books is what you need in your life. I know I need them more in mine.

Click here to view more details on the ebooks

10 Random things for a Friday

1. I get to see Lucas tomorrow!
2. I am 98% finished with this huge project that has been driving me nuts and causing me to be grumpy and sleep deprived and having had too much cafeine and anxiety attacks and just being an all round loser. But it's almost done. Tomorrow even.
3. I have to work on a Saturday. Again. But the project will be done so that's a fire out.
4. My desk is clean. Amber did it. And it somehow makes me feel a little better.
5. I am feeling completely uninspired as to what to make for dinner tonight. Any ideas?
6. Amber is done with her "actually having to go to school" classes in two weeks. Then she's on independent study for the rest of the semester
7. I get to see Lucas tomorrow. Yeah I know. I said it twice. It deserves two.
8. I get to have sushi for supper tomorrow night. Not Kona, but it'll be Pei's and that's just about as good.
9. We are having a baby shower for Lucas' mom (Allison) on Sunday. I get to hold Lucas. That makes me smile. Big. Big Smiles.
10. The great pregnant one weighs 130 pounds. She can't decide if that is good or bad. But she looks good. So it is a good thing. Any bets on how much she'll weigh in 9 more weeks?

A $300 pair of walking shoes

I'm looking for new shoes. Walking shoes to be exact. So in my adventure to zappos I find this pair. Insanely expensive pair of shoes

Seriously. Do people really spend $300 on a pair of walking shoes? I want to meet them. I want to ask them to buy a $200 pair instead. And then buy me a nice $100 pair of Ryka's. Heck for $300 I could by a pair of shoes, new sweats, and next year's gym membership.

And why am I looking on the internet for a pair of shoes anyway. Anyone that knows me knows I'm going to end up buying a pair of shoes at DSW anyway. Because they are next to Archivers and Kona Grill and they have Volcano rolls. And they are worth the 30 minute trip just for those. And sake bombs. Can't forget the sake bomb.

Yeah, I really need new walking shoes. Wanna go with?

OK, mental health break is over. Back to work.

It's Arctic not Artic

the local news channel has a front page story about the cold weather. It's been on the front page of their website since mid evening yesterday. It's titled "Artic blast closes schools". It's ArCtic. Not Artic. Notice the first C? It's driving me nuts.

So I emailed them. Wonder if they'll fix it. I feel better now that I emailed them. Should have done that last night.

Here is our Arctic Cold Blast though --- Keep in mind that the "wind chill" is -25 degrees. It's cold. It's 10:30 in the morning. And it's cold.

Gotta love Nebraska.

3:45 update -- they took the Artic story off the front page. There is now a blurb on the narrative forecast. They must have gotten my email. (or a better spell check)

10 random things for a Friday

1 - I really am craving Volcano Rolls from kona. And Sake bombs.
2 - I want to go see my best friend that lives far away. It's been too long. Besides, it's warmer there.
3 - It's been 11 days since I've seen Lucas. It'll be 8 more before I do. This is ridiculous.
4 - My knee hurts from where I skinned it when I slipped on the sand while walking the day before yesterday.
5 - I am drinking Mango Ceylon Tea (Republic of Tea). This is my 4th cup.
6 - I have 221 coke rewards points. Considering I donated most of my points for Toys for Tots last fall, that's a pretty ridiculous amount of Diet Coke.
7 - I have to work this weekend. It's a 3 day weekend. This sucks.
8 - I cooked dead cow for my husband and Son2 for Valentine's Day dinner. I used Pioneer Woman's Recipe. They liked it. Not so much so the spinach and mushroom side dish. But that's my fault. Not Pioneer Woman's. She said nothing about spinach.
9 - I got paid today and according to "the budget" I have no fun money. This sucks twice.
10 - I want sushi. Lots of it. And Sake bombs. Don't forget the sake bombs.

Spring Comes When?

Valentine's Day

Today I am thankful for my valentine.

He makes my life complete. And I love him. And he's mine. I don't even have to ask him to be mine. He just is.

That and he turns my toes to jello. :)

Love - a wildly misunderstood although highly desirable malfunction of the heart which weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, blood pressure to rise and the lips to pucker. ~Author Unknown

For this blessing, I am grateful and indebted.

To Do List

I love Boston Legal. Have I told you that before? I look forward to Tuesday nights at 9:00. I consistently laugh. I laugh hard. I've been known to laugh so hard I cry. It's that good. Do you watch it?

One of my favorite times in the show is at the end when Denny and Alan sit on the balcony and have their little review of the day/week. There are always these little "make you think" comments. It's a great way to end the show. Did I mention I love this show? Tonight was no exception.

"there are many things in life that are paramount. But being there for a friend in pain..."
"Lovers come and go but friends...Not everybody has somebody like us."
"the thing about life. you have always have to keep something on the to do list"

Anybody else a Boston Legal fan? Show of hands

And what's on your to do list?

Strike or not. I love these writers. And hey, did you hear? The Writer's Guild accepted the contract today and go back to work tomorrow. {{jumping up and down}} We'll get good TV sometime in the next month or so. As shallow it is, I'm glad for it. I don't think I can handle another mid season "what will we do now" show get picked up that was thrown out before. They should have left most of them in the trash.

Sicky watch --- I'm feeling better. My voice is still shot, the croupy cough is still hanging around, and I'm tired as heck but a week later and I'm feeling mostly better. Eric is past the worst of it. generic Dayquil and lots of liquids seem to be pushing it through him faster. his voice is about an octave lower though. It's kind of cute. :) Jim on the other hand. He's still icky. He's slept since he got home from work. He has a low grade fever, poor guy. But he went to work today. That's more than I did at this time last week. Gotta give him his props for that. Well isn't that more than you really wanted to know. :)

I had about a dozen more things I was going to talk about today but I'll be darned if I can remember what they were. I'll get back to ya. Probably not until tomorrow though.

Be well!

A sick house

My boys are sick. They may be men the rest of the year but when they are sick they are definately boys. Little boys. Little whiny, grumpy, stuffy nosed, coughing, wheezing boys. I love them. And I feel sorry for them. But last week when I was sick, they didn't really give a fig. And now they want me to take care of them. Ok, maybe not Eric so much. But the oldest one? Yeah, he's a miserable sicky.

I'd take his poor miserable sicky photo. But I think he'd not be so happy with that. LOL

Hope that all at your home are happy and healthy and not so whiny.

Today we laughed a lot

Today we laughed a lot.
It was just what we all needed.
We should all do it more than we do.
Laughter cures so many things.
And could solve so many problems.

I love the way my kids look when they laugh.

How do you follow up a post like that last one?

The last post was probably THE single most important post EVER on this blog. That says alot because you KNOW how much we discuss poignant and earth shattering subjects here. For that reason, I haven't been able to come up with anything to follow it.

So what's a person to do? Well any good Grandma posts more pics. So here you go.

Welcome Lucas James

The baby is here!
Lucas James
Born 1/31/08
7 lbs 10 oz - 19 3/4 in
and as his daddy said, "He's just perfect."