I ::heart:: Runnings

Runnings is a regional Fleet and Farm outlet. We buy lawn mower blades and occasional bunnies there. They have been expanding lately, whenever possible buying old Wal*Mart buildings. Our town is no exception, and the corporate moving crew is in town moving them across the road from the old store to the new. They put them up in hotels and feed them all over town for a week. They've been at job 2 twice this week. Tonite my tab for them was over $400. They tipped VERY generously. I can pay for my online class this week! Woot! Off to bed. Just submitted homwork for said class and I am sleepy!

Ten on Tuesday

Today's Ten on Tuesday is Ten Things You’d Fix in Your Home (if you had the time and money) If time and money were of no concern, there are only a few things I'd do around my house:

1. Apply turpentine to floor
2. Light a match
3. Throw it in
4. Move to Florida

Again with the snow...

The Crazy Hip Blog Mamas asked about our thoughts on the end of winter and approach of spring. We woke this morning to a new coating of wet, sticky, white stuff. It was no surprise, as the local weather sensationalizers were forecasting 3-7" in the metro. So far, we've only gotten about an inch. The dogs love to walk in it; the snow is the right depth and consistency for them to leave perfect little paw prints on the road.
As much as I hate winter, I kind of like spring snow. When winter looms out ahead of me, promising nothing but bitter cold, dark, and high propane bills, I get really depressed. In March, I know the snow won't last long. We got 11 inches last week, and it's long gone. Today's accumulation will be gone by Wednesday, since tomorrow's forecast is sunshine and 37 degrees. In spring, I can enjoy snow because it does not threaten to smother me for three more months. The days are longer, the wind less bitter (though sometimes still pretty raw!) and the air holds the promise of warm days to come. Bring on April!

Dreary

The weather is mild, but gloomy. The grey clouds seem to stifle any life or energy I have. Bleah. iPastor was home to rally the troops, and Alex helped Thing 3 clean her room, so I came home from work to find progress. iPastor also went to the internet, Source of All Information, and found a way to rig a little homemade gizmo to improve our broadcast TV reception, so we have a couple more channels coming in well enough to watch out here in the boondocks. I'm all for PBS, but it gets a little old when that's ALL we can pull in. Now I'm off so Thing 1 can write a paper she put off all weekend. That apple is not far from the tree at all...

Now I've gone and done it...

...I went and bought a bike. I stopped at the local new and used bike shop, and for less than the cost of a tank of gas, I got myself a bike, complete with baskets and knobby tires. I'll pick it up Wednesday after they give it a once-over. I plan to ride it to and from work, weather permitting. With local gas prices at $3.24, it shouldn't take too long to see some benefit. Maybe my butt will see some benefit, too.

I got nothing...except a photo Friday

A run-of-the mill day here at Casa del Goose. Hung out this morning and got some housework done, then went to work both jobs and came home to find Thing 3 puking. Gave her some TLC until she got to sleep, then came here to waste some time. Tomorrow is a one-job Saturday! Woohoo. I've got papers to write, so I'll use my time wisely...right.
CHBM asked for "Kids in the Kitchen Pics." I like this one...

The narcissistic post

So, Groovy Mom and the Flip Flop Queen have been posting swell karaoke video. I posted some crappy video last year. I dig the app Groovy Mom uses, but my poor ol' Mac just isn't up to it. So, I poked around until I found something I thought would support the files I have. These are from a demo I did for a contest that required a demo (go figure...) Somewhere around here I have a live song from a Christmas concert I did, that I really like, but I need to go digging to find it. Argh. Anyway, let's see if this has been worth the time I wasted invested in it...
height=62 width=144 controls="console">

Hey, Mr. Peabody...

Guess the reference and win...I dunno, something I dig out of the basement storeroom.

For those who can pin down the reference, you will have prior knowledge of a device called the wayback machine. On the internet, the Wayback Machine does indeed exist to archive web content. I have bemoaned the lost website here on occasion, from the stupid domain host that dropped us like a hot potato out of the blue one day for "too much traffic." I think that may still be lost to the ether, but iPastor was playing around the other day and remembered the wayback machine, and pulled up some archived versions of the Firestorm site. Back then, the ol' bloggaroo was tagged on the back of that site. Here are some treats for your viewing pleasure. Count the Things for an idea of how old these tidbits are. Some of the pictures load, some do not, I don't know why, because they would have all been hosted the same. Oh well.

This was a fun little trip.

So was this.
And finally, some ranting, complete with potty mouth.
Go visit and dig around archive.org a bit. Almost as much fun as googling yourself, and doesn't sound as dirty...

Zzzzzz

Been spending my campus time today doing resume checks, signing up for job fairs, determining dates to take PraxisII, and all that lovely paperwork-type stuff. Drains a body. Makes my head tired.
Other than that, it's been schoolwork and trying not to eat every unclaimed item in the NTSO. What is up with that? All the munchies, none o' the fun...

Controlled Mayhem

So the kids had the day off school and I worked two jobs. Guess what got done around the house...

He is Risen!

He is Risen indeed! Blessed Easter to all!
***
I'm beginning to wonder if I have a mild bug of some sort. I really zonked out last night, and I needed a nap this afternoon. Just feel worn and draggy. No fever or other symptoms, just shot.
***
I told Thing 2 to clean off her bed, and she has her whole room ripped apart in that "worse before it's better" stage of cleaning. Hate to stop her, but hope she doesn't fizzle out before she's done. Thing 1 did the same sort of job last week, and I think little sister likes how it turned out and is trying to follow suit. More power to her!
***
Off to do some work of my own. The sun is out, so I hate to miss it!

Slop

Still more snow today! Made for a sloppy run to the cities to visit Elsie. Stopped very briefly at Borders and Target on the way home. Got back about 9 and I am shot. Highway hypnosis is a drag; I get all warm and lulled by the drone of the motor and my brain feels like mush. Now to sleep it off.

March in Minnesota

I stayed in Marshall after class to attend a meeting for an online high school starting next year. It's not the first, but the kids are interested so I checked it out. It was raining when I left Marshall yesterday. I drove into this storm. Ew. It didn't really bother me, I just went slowly. There was someone ahead of me who couldn't decide which side of the road to drive on, and the biggest challenge was just not to follow the tracks he left.
There was no school today anyway, so the kids have been out using the snow to its best advantage. It's fairly warm and the moisture content is perfect for snowman and snowfort construction. I'll stay inside and man the hot chocolate production and cookie baking.

Seven random things.

Hm. Got tagged, I see...Trouble with these things is not repeating stuff I already posted way back when. Oh well...
1. I won a VFW/American Legion essay contest on freedom in the 4th grade.
2. My second cousin was the art teacher at my grade school and also the Legion Auxiliary president. Everyone hated her and gave me crap. There truly is nothing better to do in small towns.
3. I was a bullied kid, but I survived. I can understand those who don't. I have a lot of empathy for the bullying issues I see on TV and read about for ed classes. Never got to the point of gunning down a school, though.
4. I snort when I get a good laugh on.
5. I don't think I've got grey hair yet. I color too often to tell. My mom was silver by 35, so I'm kinda surprised.
6. My teeth are still really crooked, despite three years of braces.
7. I like spinach. (That's lame, but this is harder than it looks...)

OK, who to tag...
1.Mama Michel
2.The Flip Flop Queen
3.Kelly
4.Cosmic Junkie
5.Rachel
6.Jamie Dawn
7.Groovy Mom

1. Link to your tagger (that's ME) and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Wordless Wednesday

Ten On Tuesday

This week's theme: Ten places I'd take a visitor to my home town. In our case, town is 200 people, so I've expanded to what I consider "home turf." Play along in the
comments or link back to your list on your own blog...
1. Really Big Tree:
This is about four miles from my house and almost the first thing we visit when we have exchange students.









2.
Camp Release


The link will give you the history of the event there. Our own little piece of the Dakota Conflict of 1862.




3. Art's Dairy Freeze. (In Season)
My kids would be far more excited about this (and iPastor.) I don't really like it that much, but I'm all for the nostalgia. There's one in my hometown I'd list if we lived there.











4. Our Church!
5. If a visitor had kids to entertain, we'd hit the PYC. Someone is really making a go of Prairieland Youth Center. It's putting a disused building to work, and providing activities for kids. Several have tried and failed since I came to town, and iPastor and his buddy Dan built their first DJ business from the ashes of their go at one wayyyy back when. It has been very difficult for any of these people to enlist community or municipal support, and the present management, while enduring some growing pains and reorganizing, is rallying to keep this going.
6. We would have to lunch at Valentino's.
7. And have supper at Duffy's
8. Historic Chippewa City
9. Swenson Farm Are you getting the Historical Society theme here? For one thing, we are interested in this stuff. Also, there's not much else to do here.
10.LacQuiParle Mission If we went geographically, this would be by the tree, but oh well.
***
Only in Minnesota, would you find at, oh, say, 6am, a woman in her jammies, slippers and fuzzy robe, plowing a minivan in reverse through the plow rut. Successfully.

Snowy

Lovely white poofy stuff coming down. Doesn't last too long this time of year; by tomorrow it'll be brown slop. The yard looks clean for now.
I have no telephone, and no idea why. The internet is up, the phone appears to be fully charged, and there's no reason I can think of that I get dead air. I also have no idea where iPastor has the vonage box rigged in to check it out.
Checked out some meme things for Monday, but none of them sparked my interest. That and many were St. Pat's related. I believe firmly that Saint Patrick spends most of March 17 every year spinning like a top in his grave. I have no idea what green beer and debauchery have to do with St. Pat. Or being Irish. Just an excuse for the Norwegians around here to tint a keg. Of to get ready for work and track down a sitter on foot.

Hosanna

It was our church's annual breakfast and egg hunt today. We like to beat the rush and take care of stuff on Palm Sunday. We had lots of wonderful food, but the kids had one goal in mind. They came home with buttloads of candy. Thing 3 got the "golden" egg and won a little Zebco fishing kit that Thing 4 is quite jealous of.
Speaking of Thing 4, he's been coming into his own lately, but also showing sides to his temperment that I druther not see. He crawled into be with me this morning chirping about his trip for pizza and the Horton movie with grandpa. He proceeded to explain left and right (correctly) to me, and play with the cat. Getting ready for church, however, became a struggle. He threw a fit over jelly toast, then acted up all through church. It'll all come around, I'm sure, but it was a trying morning.
Now it's time to wind down tonight and gear up for tomorrow. Nite, y'all.

Not much of a Saturday

Work and work. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Hootin' and hollerin'

The concert was awesome. We dropped the girls off with g'ma and headed for ELmen Canter at Augie for the concert. Revive opened: good fun, young noise. Then Decemberadio took the stage rocking it old school. They had apparently studied 80's hair band style and it was working for them. The riff into Kansas'"Carry On" didn't hurt, either. Sanctus Real was third; everything on their playlist has had airplay lately, so they are up and coming. The openers were an hour and a half, then they struck all the equipment from the stage and Third Day hit. Wow. Just. Wow. Mac had a twinkle in his eye that looked like he was having a blast, or he's a really good faker. The band was fired up and put on an excellent show. We hung on the rail. iPastor's secret superpower is being able to get to the front of any GA concert crowd, so we got Mac's water dumped on us (which was all right, blessed hot in a crowd of jumping co-eds.) and came home with a guitar pick. We also scavenged enough Coke caps to pay for one of the kid's college, cuz I'm tacky that way. Scored some swag on the way out, and hit Lange's for breakfast on the way home. Good times.
Got home at 2:15 in the blessed am, so I slept in and my day is shot, for I am off to work and out the door!

It's a lovely day...

...and I'm sitting inside. All that sunshine means slush. Ick.
Getting ready to ship the kids off for weekend at G'Ma D's house. Chasing down undies and socks, etc. Better get to it.

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the Cosmic Junkie for sending me this link.

List of the day:

Ten on Tuesday!

10 Things I'm Looking Forward to in the Spring

1. Lower propane bills!
2. Fires in the firepit
3. Taking another swing at gardening
4. Graduating!
5. Mud (although I'm sure this one will soon become one of "Ten things I'm sick of this spring"...)
6. Thunderstorms
7. Opening windows
8. Dumpster day! (Town supplies free dumpster for one truckload of junk from each house)
9. Longer days.
10. Walking the dogs without snowy paws.

So, what are you looking forward to?

Ramping up

Time to get off the chair and get cracking with some chores before I head off to both jobs today. I have all day off tomorrow, and I need to do some serious planning so I don't just fritter it all away. I'm just in a sluggish mood today, physically and heartwise. Yuck.

Party Pooper

Tonight my kids ambushed me in the hallway with waterguns. It was one of those spontaneous bonding moments, right out of the wacky family montage in a sitcom. They were getting along, playing together, laughing and having a blast. All I could think of was how angry I was with them for doing that instead of the simple chores I'd been asking them to finish all day, and I had just reminded them about again. It sucked the joy out of the moment for me. Tonight I am just too weary.

Speedrun V2.0

We ran to the cities today to visit Elsie. I usually don't have problems driving in the cities, but this and this were kicking my butt today. It was like that scene in European Vacation, where Clark keeps hollering "I can't get left!" "Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!" I could see the stinkin' Washington Avenue bridge from anywhere in the neighborhood, but I couldn't get on the dang thing! At least the Wiki explains why it's so verschlugende hard... Anyway, we had been told her visitors were limited, so I dropped Thing 1 and iPastor off, then we headed to the N burbs to visit my bro and the rest of my clan who were in town for a visit. We had a lovely lunch and some chat, then headed back to miss the Washington Avenue bridge AGAIN. We were able to all pop into Elsie's room long enough to say Hi and give sanitized smooches, than we headed to MOA just long enough for iPastor to browse the Apple store with his gift card, and play a little parking tag. We then decided to take an alternate route home in order to eat at the Bayrischer Hof. Who knew that Springsteen, the Eagles and the Beatles were all accordion music? There was just enough snow to make driving interesting; speeds varied from 65 to 45 all the way home. It'll wait until morning to shovel.

Friday Meme-ness

Look! Blog Fodder, and a list! Two birds with one stone! Yay for writing prompts!



Appetizer

If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be?
I'd like to be Bono, with money, recognition and resources to make a difference in underprivileged parts of the world.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone?
Erm, 5. Love being able to connect with people far away. Love visiting. Hate waiting on hold. Hate answering machines. Hate being easily distracted from the conversation by stuff around me.

Salad

Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to).
Modest Needs

Main Course

What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month?
Orange creme whole milk yogurt

Dessert

Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year?

Don't think so, but we're constantly passing around some bug or another.

Bleh

The week rolls on...
Thing 1 is having bus troubles. Our route has a bad rep for troublesome behavior, so the driver is pretty strict and brooks no nonsense. With all the kids he has to get safely to school, I usually appreciate this. However, Thing 1 has been on one sort of restriction or another since Christmas break. She feels as if she is unfairly singled out, or sometimes she will take the fall for a group thing to avoid a confrontation with the driver. Now she's been ejected from the bus for two weeks, and the school wants her to write an apology to the driver and to us for inconveniencing us. After talking with her, and corroborating with the other Things and some other kids on the bus, we feel she is not to blame for this incident and her dad wrote a letter to school explaining it. The school counselor wants her to go ahead and write the letter and "take responsibility," though she is in possession of a letter that tells her we INSTRUCTED HER NOT TO. Hello? Bucking parental authority is for teenagers, not the school counselors. Not making matters easier is the fact that she has been dealing with an intern in the counselors office. We'll be calling and changing that as well.
***
iPastor's mom is not doing well. She has been hospitalized this week with pneumonia, and they are having a difficult time keeping her fever down. Hoping to go visit tomorrow. Sucks that the decent healthcare is so far away.
***
Tuckered out. Two job days all week, and next week too. Bonus: Next week is spring break at school, so my two school days off work are FREE!! Thursday iPastor and I are going to Sioux Falls to see Third Day. Woot! We'll drop Things 1 and 2 off at G'ma & G'Pa D's for their combined birthday weekend. Bonus day for going together this year. Off to bed. Rest is good.

Wordless Wednesday

It's My Big Break!

From 11:45-5:30. Trying to find a productive way to spend time. Today I have all my reading done and no major assignments until after spring break. Got my first Austen paper back. A. I rock. Now if only it paid money...

Can't trust that day...

Off to a rolling start here. It wouldn't be so bad if Thing 4 would just crawl into bed with us and sleep, but he has to sprawl across the pillow with his whole body, grind his teeth and snore. Sleep was a relative concept last night. Then the rest of the family wonders why I don't feel like getting out of bed right away in the morning. Arg.
***
Got a new toy over in the sidebar. The Blogger folks were pimping it out in the dashboard, so I'll give it a try, as long as it's free. Check it out and see what you think. Any serious foolishness may be posted to the blog for fodder.
***
NaBloPoMo has expanded their format to every month now. Jump in where you are and get your feet wet. The theme for this month is lists. The Cosmic Junkie sent one last week that I will address here rather than email, because I am lazy that way. Two birds with one stone and all that...However, I can't find it right now, so I'll do it later.
***
Last week I joked that I only had one two-job day, whatever would I do with all my free time. It's come back to me in spades, as every day until Saturday is a two-job day, except for the twelve hour school day tomorrow. I may be a little scarce here...

Happy Birthday Thing 1

I'm aging as we speak. My first thing was born 15 years ago today. Pull up a chair and I'll tell you about it. Guys are allowed to zone out or glaze over, childbirth stories are a woman thing, to be sure.
At that time, iPastor was actually mayor of Montevideo, and was settling in for a particularly grueling fiscal meeting of some sort. He joked as he left, "Feel free to go into labor and get me out of this meeting." Ever an obliging and agreeable wife, I started having contractions. I called him home, and settled in to wait. The contractions were sporadic, so I headed for bed. When I woke in the morning, the contractions were becoming stronger and closer, so we headed to the hospital, where I got all checked in and settled into a room. By then the contractions were three minutes apart and getting hard. I foolishly had the thought that this was textbook, and proceeding like clockwork. That's when the doc came in and burst my bubble. Contractions were three minutes apart, but I was only dilated to two. No pushing a baby through that. He started a pitocin drip, and drove me to the edge of insanity. Periodically, a nurse would come in and rip my loins asunder to see if I'd dilated any further. The news was never very hopeful for me, so they'd pat my hand, help me to the bathroom, or fetch me a basin in which to puke. The doctor had made some brief mention of pain medication, but he wasn't a real proponent of it, feeling it slowed delivery. Six hours after the drip started, I had finally decided that I. NEEDED. DRUGS. NOW. when the nurse chirped "Oh, you're at 10, I'll get the doctor and you can push." With the end in sight, I could do without meds. Once they fetched the doctor from the clinic we got down to business and in 10 minutes I had a purple, squirming, eight and a half pound daughter.
Apparently I was a bit noisy, because the nurse told me a couple of times not to grunt, to concentrate on pushing the baby out. Not the way to my good side. In the aftermath, while they were stitching and cleaning me up, it came out in conversation(between her and the doctor, don't mind the groggy chick that you're sewing back together over here)that her kids were adopted. Adoptive parents are awesome, but don't be telling me how to force eight and a half pounds of grapefruit through a 10cm window if you've never done it yourself. Sheesh.
For all that, I got this:

She was a little smaller back then, but only slightly more cranky. 15-year-old girls just have a different set of needs to meet and different tears to dry. On a good day, she's funny, smiley and full of life. We'll stick with good days for now. Happy Birthday Thing 1. Love my girl, I do, I do.

American Waitress

Two job day today, then picking up the German kid from the school dance. Which, due to a huge basketball tournament in town, they held at the American Legion. Ummm. Made waiting around for the kids a little more interesting for the grownups...

Leap Day

Today is the official Blog 365 day of rest. I will spend my online time reading all you other guys and posting some long-overdue comments!

It's snowing!

I like snow when it's like this. As far as I know there are no weather advisories. A quiet, steady white fluffy accumulation has fallen so far. I just heard the first plow of the day go out and it's been coming down all morning, so it can't be piling up too fast. It cleans things up and lessens the gloom. It's definitely a white day, not a gray one. We haven't had a lot of snow in our neighborhood this year, so if we don't get more soon it will be an awfully dry spring. I just hope it keeps coming like this.
***
I have a confession to make. I like school. I am awfully tired of the commute, and the drain on the pocketbook, however, I like to be at school. I like to read books, find the merit or fault in them, pick them apart and read between the lines. I like to find hidden meanings as well as to conclude that the cigar is just a cigar. I like to examine ideas and talk or write about them. I like hanging around other people doing the same thing. iPastor and I can do this, but it out here in the real world there isn't enough time. We get too busy paying bills and trying to schedule the lives of 7 individuals. If this material wasn't required to complete the requirements of a teaching degree, I wouldn't have made the time for it either. I'd be using that time making money somewhere instead. Somewhere where people blink if I use a word like "conspiratorial." Sad. It's also one reason I get so frustrated with this blog. I think I have something to say. I think I can be witty and entertaining, and sometimes insightful. But after grinding out four pages of feminist theory found in Pride and Prejudice, then waiting tables for six hours, the well is dry when it comes time to haul the bucket up for you, dear interweb. Sorry you come out on the short end of the stick.
With that, dear friends, I am off to do some housework and make like a good mommy. Ta.

Long day

I'm tired tonight. There's an old Carol Burnett skit where the wife gets up, goes into the kitchen, gets ready for work, puts down the toast and leaves, then her husband comes in from work just as the toast pops up and butters it and eats it. That seems a lot like my life right now. I so seldom see iPastor that on nights when we're actually home together we do stupid stuff like stay up until 2am to spend some time together. Pretty much wrecked my day today. Worth it, though.
Blog has been pretty trite lately. I think of interesting and witty stuff when I'm somewhere else, but by the time I get back to the keyboard, I've forgotten it, or I'm too tired to work out the words the way I want them. I'll head off to bed and work out something amusing for a future post.

I think I must be sick...

...I found myself agreeing with the president tonight. He said we're not in a recession, but a slowdown. I don't know if that's technically correct or not, but I agree with the concept. Especially at Christmastime, we get these reports that sales grew less than expected. Hello? They grew! I haven't personally heard a report of negative growth yet. I know there are many other criteria for determining economic recession, but this has always been a pet peeve. I am sick of the boy crying wolf. Stuff is expensive. It sucks. Get over it.
Off to bed now.

Gloomy

It is indeed warmer than this time last week, but it is cloudy and the wind is raw. At least the temp is on the right side of zero.
iPastor is on supper duty today, and it looks promising with cheezy hashbrowns and omelets. I have some homework for the online class, so I will leave you at your leisure.

Sunshine on my shoulders

Geez, there's a song I haven't thought of in a while. Beautiful day here. Went to work after church, where we had a slow day because everyone was off doing something else in the sunshine. That meant I got out the door right at closing time, and came home to walk the dogs in the sunshine. Very nice.
Got back inside to news that Elsie was in the ER with a fever of 102. Cancer sucks. Don't know if it was reaction to treatment or just compromised system letting her get sick, but the were comfortable giving her fluids and antibiotics, then sending her home to head back to radiation tomorrow. She stays in the cities at a residential hall set up for cancer patients for the duration of her treatment. First round of radiation will be done midweek, then reassess. Poo.
Well, plenty of homework and prep for a phone interview with Teach for America in the morning, so g'nite!

What to do, what to do...

Thursday through Monday I only work one job each day. Tuesday I have off for school. What's up with that?
Unfortunately, there's plenty of laundry to wash, and other chores waiting to be done, so I'd better get at it.

Good neighbors

Hopped out of the car after work to be waved over by neighbors for fried chicken and a game of cards. They said they'd already talked to iPastor. He had two kids home sick form school today, so he had fed them early and headed back to bed before night shift. I checked in with the homefront, then headed to Uncle Dan's for a lovely evening. Uncle Dan is the friendly neighborhood curmudgeon. You may remember his transplant last year. His is the house all the kids flock to when they get off the bus. He always has cookies or banana bread in the freezer, and he loves to share. He's not afraid to cut 'em off when they've had enough, and he keeps track of which parents allow what sort of TV before letting them at his satellite TV. I've always known him to be pleasant, but according to his family he's had a bit of a turnaround in his life and attitude these past few years. Would love to see more like him.

Harumph.

As I drove home at 9pm Tuesday, it was crystal clear outside and bitterly cold. From the moment the road bent northeast, I could see flashing lights ahead. News of the accident had begun to filter through campus, but details were sketchy. I prayed for the families and the emergency crews still out hard at work in the cold. Traffic was diverted to gravel roads that brought vehicles into Cottonwood from the west and back out onto Highway 23 beyond the chaos. When I got home, the evening news had more detailed reports, and afterwards ran a short investigative report of the bus company, finding a few past safety violations. If a bus has the right of way on a state highway and is broadsided, it's a fairly safe guess that the driver on the secondary route is at fault. The "investigation" smacked of blame seeking and sensationalism, and I wrote KSTP and told them so.
Back to school for one class today. I stopped in Cottonwood on the way home to get gas. There was a news truck from Sioux Falls in the Cenex parking lot. As I left town, there were two satellite trucks, one each from Sioux Falls and Minneapolis parked on the service road alongside the school. At what point does our genuine care and concern for the people involved in a tragedy turn intrusive? All of the local papers yesterday were filled with (mostly the same wire) photos and stories about the bus crash. It's all anyone could talk about in a small town. There but for the grace of God go all parents who load their kids onto a bus any given day. I suppose as we drink in the news and pray for the families, we are able to count our blessings, but perhaps those people would rather we all just went away. Hard to tell. I don't think I've made much of a salient point here, just kind of sifted through some gut reactions to the whole mess. Thanks for the ear.

Loony

Got some pics of the lunar eclipse, but of course I can't find the cable to load them up just now.
Now I'm home from a two job day, but I have until 11:59 to drop an assignment for my online class, which I have not yet completed, so I'd better get to it!

Double bummer

So, it's 15 below with 41 below windchills.
Then, my route home from school is detoured around this. Think I'll hug my kids and go to bed.

Zzzzzzz

I am so not a night owl anymore. I tried to do some research online and kept nodding off, so I'm heading off to bed. I found while student teaching that I actually do better to go to bed and get up incredibly early than to try to stay up. I'd better get about it...

Enough already...

It turned blustery and raw today, and the temp is due to slide back below zero tonite and stay in the single digits a few days. I think I will now retreat under the covers until June.

Speedrun

Made a quick trip to SD to help bro move some furniture and do some cleaning. His new place is still little, but a little better and definitely cuter. Dropped the kids for some mall shopping while I helped clean, then turned around and headed home again to work at job2 at 5:30.
Hit Starbucks on the way home. I read the cup cozy as I waited for Thing 2's drink. It stated that the cozy was made of 100% post-consumer recycled materials, making it environmentally friendly amd lessening waste. It also stated "Intended for single use." Um...nevermind.
On the way home we scattered a flock of HUGE turkeys in the river bottom, and disturbed these poor ladies as they tried to have a liesurely snack. Poor things, never a moments' peace. Off to work!

Just a quicky...

...sent to me from Cliff.

What's the difference between a canoe and a Norwegian?

A canoe will sometimes tip.

The Valentine Post

For those who missed the comments on my Caucus post, let me clarify that iPastor did, in fact, squeal like a schoolgirl, but he did it for effect. I wish everyone would take such an active interest in the political process, instead of just complaining about it.
***
So it's Valentines Day. I got a Valentine from iPastor earlier in the week. He and Thing 1 were reporting back on their excursion to the Evil*Empire Stupid Center. "I got a Valentine for you!" he said as he scurried off to get it. He returned with both hands behind his back and presented with flourish, a large jug of Heinz 57 steak sauce. I fear he read my expression of bewilderment as disappointment, but I must give him all credit where it is due. On an earlier excursion to the store, we had done some comparison shopping and though we did not bring home said jug of steak sauce, I mentioned that it was a really good buy. He bought it, thinking I wanted it (Thing 1 testified to his enthusiasm in the store: "Mom is gonna love this!"), because (listen up here, guys, and rejoice women everywhere) he paid attention to something I said! That I really wasn't all that interested in steak sauce pales in comparison to the fact that he tuned into something in which I showed an interest. I don't mean to make it sound as if it is such a rare occurrence around here, but little things like this help buoy a gal up when the world weighs her down.
Here's the valentine I sent him. I likes it.

moar humorous pics
Off tonite to wait on Valentines diners. Better to make money than spend it!
Happy hearts to all of you.

Oy

Made it through my long day at school, then picked up a happy teen from dance class on the way home. Somewhere between then and bedtime she morphed into a shrieking banshee teen. These years may kill me. She was relatively pleasant when I got her out of bed for school, but made it all the way to sullen by the time she left for the bus stop.
Been randomly chasing some linkies I may sort out and share later, but that is for another day. Today is a short work day, so I'm hoping to put it to good use around the house. Thursday's homework is reading Emma, so that's hardly a chore once I carve out some time for the task. I am also applying to Teach for America (think teacher peace corps), which I found relatively late in the game, so I have to crank out an application essay by Friday. Better get at it.

Clickety click

Just checking in from school, where I am furiously cranking out that paper. Not much going on. Finished watching Sense and Sensibility, lovely Victorian chick flick. And Alan Rickman stayed yummy. Now, back to work!

Get a bucket...

Late yesterday afternoon, iPastor's dad called to check in, and wondered if there was any water in the abandoned cistern in the basement. One ice cream pail and dog chain later, I was able to at least flush the toilet. The running water came back shortly before eight, so everyone could bathe and I was able to wash the counter full of dirty dishes as I had so desperately longed to. Not. I made sure there were enough clean dishes to feed the family and let the rest go hang.
Still banging my head against this paper, but I at least have a theme and some literary criticism that fits, so now I just have to crank it out.
Two job day today so I'd best get at the schoolwork...

Cold and dry

I am still amazed at the idiots who think a windy night with -33 winchills is the time to go out to the freakin' bar and load up. Morons.
Stayed home from helping the brother move today due to that bitter chill. We'll head over next weekend, maybe.
During church today, our friend's three-year old took herself to the bathroom during the sermon. She came out and announced plainly, "There's no water in the pipes." That's right, friends, the cold has brought yet another busted water main to our fair city. I feel for they crew that has to brave this cold to fix it, but not so bad as to cease complaining.
I have been having a difficult time with studying today. The aforementioned e-resources I got have been interesting, but not pertinent to the paper I need to write. When it comes to further e-research, I have been Captain Distracto, finding anything and everything on the 'net to amuse myself except useful stuff. I did manage to reconnect with some former theatre friends who are now in the ministry in North Dakota, so it's time well spent, anyway.
Now it's time to feed the clan and head back to church, with high hopes of running water in time to flush before bed.

Saturday night's alright for working

I was bone tired last night, but it was a fun night at work. Most of us like to be busy and make money, and we heartlessly razz those who compain about it, so it's all good. Breakfast at Job 1 rocked, but lunch was hopelessly slow. We got most of the closing work done and had gone so far as to turn the sign off, when a table straggled in at ten minutes to close. Poo.
Now it's time for a lovely bubbly bath and a few minutes r&r, then off to Job 2, where I will tick away the minutes until I get off work and start a whole day off! Sorry, but I won't be blogging from the tub.

Pooped

That's about it.

Studious

Leisurely school day today. Tracked down some e-resources for a paper, spent class watching Sense and Sensibility, which is lovely to look at and has a yummy Alan Rickman. Came home for a bit then off to work. Friday and Saturday are two-job days, then iPastor and I both have Sunday off. Cool. We'll probably spend it helping my brother move and squeezing in a b'day dinner or something for MIL. So far we're still waiting on all her test results, and it's getting really frustrating.
Now I'm shot so it's off to bed!

Squee!

So after we got everyone settled in to bed last night, iPastor switched on the TV.
"Maybe there'll be some election returns," he said. We visited about nothing and passed the time, when the music indicating the return to the newscast sounded. My husband squealed. Like a schoolgirl.
"Oooohhh! It's on!"
I gave him a look.
"What?" he said. "I'm excited."
"You are such a geek. I am so blogging you."
We watched the returns for a time, all the while iPastor kept a running commentary of who was faring how in which states, with speculation as to why. I finally turned to head for bed as the network returned to commercial, text and graphics flying in over the picture.
"Ooooh!" I heard. "I like the stars!"
At least he'll keep me interested until November.

Raucous caucus

Probably would have been more fun if it was a little more raucous. Oh well.
Long day. School in a.m. Got up at 0445 to get some reading done in peace and quiet. The kids were fairly compliant last night, but I kept nodding off, so I figured it was better to wake early and start fresh. The evening class was cancelled due to caucus, so I came home and worked from here. Then off to deposit kids at dance and go caucusing, were I got elected delegate to the freakin' county convention. Poo. I was hoping to hit the vote and out, but they didn't pass out the senate ballots until later, effectively roping us in. The senate race was the only one in which I had a clear preference, so I was committed.
Now it's off to bed, and I leave you with this cautionary statement: Don't ask your 13-year-old daughter to shovel unless you want this...

Denied!

I didn't follow the NFL season very closely this year, but I watched with delight and joy as Randy Moss was robbed of a Superbowl ring in the last two minutes of the game. Har. Minnesota fans can carry a grudge with the best of them. It's all about attitude. When Viola left the Twins he was soundly booed the next time he showed his face in the dome. Chuck Knoblouch graduated to trash thrown on the field. No-one seems to bear any ill will toward Kevin Garnett or Torii Hunter for seeking out greener pastures, because they were gracious and polite. Randy Moss has been a thorn in the side of Minnesotans since Cris Carter gave up his babysitting job. Moss's "I'll play when I feel like playing" attitude got old quickly. The response when Moss begged off his contract was "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya." Lots of fun to see his season end in a loss.
***
Back to the grind today. Got a couple more free evenings that I expected, though, so I hope to get some stuff done. Happy Monday!

Reboot

Ahh Sunday, a day of rest. I wish. I really would like to dedicate the day to spiritual rest and refreshment, but propane isn't getting any cheaper. Unfortunately, this is also the day to take out the garbage, make sure everyone has clothes for the upcoming week, yada yada yada.
Superbowl Sunday at a bar and grill ought to prove interesting. Job 1 was pretty quiet; I'm sure folks were preparing for tonight. Yuck. The 'rents returned my kid to Job 1 today, and it was quiet enough I got to sit and eat with them and have a visit. Gotta like that. Now I'm off to squeeze in a couple loads of laundry before Job 2.

Home improvement

iPastor has been mighty impressive lately, completing a couple of long-avoided household projects this week. Thing 2 and the dining room have newly functioning light fixtures. Cool beans.
My MIL got hold of me and gave me a haircut Thursday, and I am cold!!! I like the ease of super-short hair, but I miss my insulation. Now I have to invest in hats. MIL was anxious to get it done, though. Tuesday she's off to the U Med Center for assessment of her newly-discovered cancer. We've been dealing with that revelation hereabouts for the past couple of weeks. She wanted to keep it relatively quiet until she had more details, but we live in a small town, and the news network had ahold of it almost before she found out herself. This is only a slight exaggeration. She is a hairdresser, after all. ;) Go send the woman some long-distance love.

February?

Jeez, a new month already? Time flies when you're having fun. Or working insane schedules, I guess. Friday night off! Woot. Taking Thing 3 to meet up with the g'parents for her birthday weekend with them. This is one of those aforementioned free evenings, so we'll hit the stores or something as a family and try to have some fun. Weird when K-Mart is an evening out, but I guess I covered that last week.

Tax Day!

It's deadline day for W-2s. I am still waiting on a couple of them, which makes me cranky. The earned income credit is very good to us, and propane isn't getting any cheaper this year.
Off to a short day at school, Then errands and Job 2. Tomorrow night I actually took off so we can take Thing 3 to meet G'ma D for her b'day weekend. In the next two weeks I have two evenings and a Sunday free to do something with my family. I have to be anal about scheduling and planning. Hate that, because I suck at it.
Off to get ready for school.

Holy frostbite, Batman!

Windchills -42 f. Yowch. Actual temp -15. If you can make a beeline from the house door to the car door and avoid the wind, it's only really insanely cold. Surprisingly enough, both Job 1 and 2 were busier today than Monday before the cold settled back in. Not much moved yesterday, but it doesn't take too long before born and bred Minnesotans develop an in-your-face attitude about the cold. I met a friend in her seventies at the door of the store across the street form Job 1. "I was only coming across the street," she stated, "my car is warm." explaining her lack of coat or mittens. Maybe it's just senility.
Filed Thing 1's very first tax return. The little bugger is quite excited about the prospect of her first refund. Now it's late and I'm shot. Nite!

A day off?

Thing 4 has a virus that prevents me from going to school today, as iPastor has two night shifts in a row, so he can't watch him. This leaves me with a whole day at home. I will not be poking my head any further out the door than necessary, now that our January thaw is over, and another Alberta clipper has brought back the cold with a vengeance. I have cookies in the over, hot chocolate ready to go for when the school bus comes home, and I am ready to relax until tomorrow, when the two-job days start again.

Ready, Set, Monday

Another week and we're off and running. I work my normal schedule at Job 1 (MWFSS), and I've picked up some shifts at Job 2 to fill in for a quitter. All day school on Tuesday, one class only on Thursday. Haircuts for mom and Thing 2, then Thing 2's high school registration. That will be two of my very own Things in high school. No. Way. They are not that old yet. Neither am I...

Inter-waitress ranting

We were crazy busy at Job 2 last night. We had a regular Saturday crowd and a short staff. Instead of the normal camaraderie, however, everyone was testy and short-tempered. As the evening wore on, I noticed one of the other waitresses in the workstation with her cell phone. She was texting away, having an argument with her fiancee. I thought it was a bit silly, but made no mention as my kids frequently call me about dumb stuff at work, so who am I to judge. Today at Job 1, we got about halfway into lunch when my partner started arguing via text with her brother. She was in tears most of her shift. Is it contagious or what?
***
I may or may not have told the bathroom story here. It may have been on the incarnation of Sauce for the Goose that is lost to the ether. You may have heard it before. I don't care, I'm telling it again (I have a point). As a mom of 4, bathroom privacy is fleeting. Having a defective doorlatch doesn't help matters any. I am frequently barged in upon for lunch money requests, phone calls, bill conferences, or just a friendly chat while I am in the tub or trying to peacefully perform any manner of bodily functions. One day, the whole fam damily was off somewhere and I had he house to myself. I headed for the bathroom, and actually had the conscious thought of "Hey, I get the bathroom all to myself for a change." As I sat there, a little paw came under the door, pushed it open, and in sauntered the cat. I get no respect. Anyway, I told you that, because it made this just that much more funny to me.

Dancing girls!

So here's the promised video. I cleaned off the camera Sunday when grandma visited, so I thought I had an empty memory card. The kids filled it with junk, tho, so I didn't get the whole thing. She can buy a pro video for her memories, but this gives her mom something to see! Enjoy.

Sneakin' around

Tonight was slow at work, so I finished early and swung through town to grab a jug of milk and pick up a few things. As I tried to remember what we needed, I ran into iPastor. He actually had a list and everything. So we spent a couple hours and most of his paycheck with no kids in tow. Weird kinda date, but these days I'll take what I can get.

Last dance

Last nite as I pulled into town, I noticed orange cones in the intersection. That means one thing hereabouts: busted water main. They got it back up and running by bedtime, but I had to flush with distilled water, and it made me cranky. Our water here is unmetered. When we first moved to town we paid a flat rate of $19/month. Then TPTB decided we need a new sewer plant, and started hiking our bills. We now pay $68/month. for that much, the dang water better work. Oh well, at least it's not my heat bill. The first tank of propane this year lasted 48 days. At $675, that was $14/day. The next tank was $840. Lets hope we get at least 60 days out of that one...
Tonite was the last performance for JV danceline, so I took a video. I was trying to work on it but I am too tired to monkey with relearning iMovie tonite, so I'll get it posted later. Maybe Sunday. Friday and Saturday are two-job days, but I'm bucking for Sunday off. See ya on the other side!

Where's my worm?

Methinks my body may be reverting to the early bird schedule. Not such a bad thing, once I get used to popping awake at 4:30 am. The butt crack of dawn, indeed.
Yesterday I rolled out about 5:45, all prepared to hit the road by 6:15. Strategic before-bed planning is imperative, as I can stumble into my clothes and have coffee before my body even realizes it is upright. The effort was well-rewarded yesterday, though, as I drove out into a crystal clear pre-dawn, with a startlingly blue full moon reflecting on new snowfall. We didn't get much here, just enough to dust everything and clean it up. My fellow commuters from the south fared less well; I heard tales of commutes the same distance as mine that took two hours. The Metro news reported lots of accidents as well. Come spring we'll miss the moisture, but I haven't missed the ditch (or rather, I have consistently missed the ditch. You decide.)
I hadn't planned on waking so early this morning, but my brain dictated otherwise, and the beagle reinforced it with an early morning visit for some long-overdue attention. I was up and had the dishes done (that I wasn't here to use, how does that work?) and the laundry running before I roused the kids from their beds a few minutes early out of sheer spite. No-one missed the bus today, and the mood was definitely improved. May have to try that again tomorrow. I've even kept the laundry going while I did my online homework and checked the mail. Now I am having a little goof-off time before I get ready for work. The kids have an early out today, and no-one has work or practice. I foresee a pleasant evening at home. I'll let you know when the other boot drops.

Jiggity Jig

One more dreadfully long day today. I enjoy my classes, just not the layout. I've been making good use of my break time, though, searching job sites and working on my online class. Too pooped for any real content here, though. TTFN.

Observation...

...when outlining chapter notes, it's best not to mix them up with Yertle the Turtle, even though the four-year-old wants to read it one more time.

Brrrr

It is old news around here that the temperature is FREAKIN' COLD! By the time we get used to it, it warms up, if only slightly. Dinner today at job 1 was decent, as people came out who were sick of being housebound. Sometimes we hearty Minnesotans do something just to spite the weather. The sun shone today, too. That makes a big difference.
Saturday was a different story; nothing was moving that didn't have to. We had planned to go to Marshall to watch the las JV Dance performance, as Alex is on danceline. The idea was to meet up with the G'mas on their weekly foray to Marshall, but that wasn't coming off as planned, and in the end, I couldn't justify spending the gas money and the $25 to get the family in the door, to risk a trip in dangerously cold weather. I picked up a shift at Job 2, then we had an impromptu birthday party for Thing 3 with her neighborhood friends, a pot of chili and a funfetti cake, per the Birthday Girl's request.
The cold weather has been opportune for my activity of choice, which is reading like a madwoman. This is a lit-heavy semester, so there's a lot to be done. The Austen has breezed by; Hemmingway not so much. Textbooks, even when they contain good information, are written to put me to sleep, so I have to do those in very small doses. The latter has proven to be an awesome sleep-aid, so I'm off.

Happy Birthday Thing 3

Here we find Thing 3 early last month, as she discovered that Saint Niklaus had traveled all the way from Germany to leave goodies in her shoe. Ew.

My goodness, has it been 10 whole years since nearly 10 pounds of baby arrived on a winter afternoon? Ten years of chirpy little sunshine, always a song, always trying to be like her sisters, now trying to be a big sister to her little buddy. Wow. I sought long and hard for just the right picture or pictures to post, and learned that I really have to get going with the scanner (or find some serious bribeworthy incentive to get iPastor on it.) Anyway, Happy Birthday to you, baby girl.

This could be a long semester

I just got the official email about our new time/room for the early bird Ed. course I mentioned before. The instructor said it was a pleasure "facilitating our learning" on Tuesday. Oh dear. 15 more weeks of educational theory-speak. Strength...

Studious

So I've spent most of the past couple days reading Pride and Prejudice. A very engaging read, once one adapts the rhythm of the archaic language. I'm thinking this class may be as much fun as the Tennessee Williams.
This morning was relatively quiet and completely free of misfit cats. I got to be the hero for letting the kids sleep in and dropping them off on my way to school. Fun. Tonite is Job 2, now with Karaoke goodness. I'm trying to shake a nagging headache, so we'll see how the evening pans out.

Heckuva way to wake up

Got the kids off on the bus and curled back up in bed to wait for Thing 4 to wake up. As we were dozing peacefully, I had just heard him starting to chirp when we were jolted out of bed by a blood-curdling scream. I hadn't heard a thud or crash, but my heart was pounding as I bolted out into the hallway to investigate. I found him sitting calmly on the stairs. "The kitties were scared," he said. I reported back to iPastor that all was well, if weird. "Cats don't make that noise." he said, and I was in agreement. It sounded like a woman screamed in my hallway. I think Thing 4 may have startled and yelped a bit as well, but I couldn't think of any other explanation. Oddly enough, the cats have never been that loud before, though they frequently tussle. I chalked it up to the younger one approaching heat, until iPastor called up from downstairs, "Well, here's the problem." as he found Fuzznut staring down a black and white stray in the living room. The doors were all closed, but we have some issues with the closers not working properly, so the newcomer may have taken advantage of a gap between the kids trucking out to the bus stop. iPastor got kitty shooed out, and we got our two little ladies calmed down. As he was breaking up the fight, the cat was moaning and yowling as they do, but I also distinctly heard it say "Meow." It sounded just like a person. Weird. Now Fuzz is kneading my lap and threatening to jump on the keyboard to put a stop to my blatant neglect of her needs, so I'd better get busy paying attention to her. Worse things to do on a January morning than love on a warm fuzzy cat.

One down...

...15 to go.
Tuesdays just got longer. The 8:00 am class is moving to 7:15 to accommodate some history majors who have a conflict with one of their other required courses. That puts me on the road at 6:15 to have plenty of wiggle room for coffee stops, pee breaks, etc. Getting out of the house early is a small blessing. I seem to get hung up when we're all trying to leave at the same time. I can be up and out before they get started. I spent my very long break getting my online Alcohol awareness class straightened out, passwords and the like, as it is through Lake Superior College. Then I spent some time online and found an online Brit Lit survey that the department head will accept as a substitution, if I switch to the 3 credit Brit authors course, and out of the 1 credit Tennessee Williams course. I'm a little sad about that, and If I had extra $$ I'd keep 'em both 'cuz it looks to be really interesting, but unfortunately they meet at the same time. I opted for the Austen/Bronte course over retaking the Shakespeare. I actually did quite well in the Shakespeare course, and had I competed the stupid paper my grade would have been good. This way, since I have to cough up the money anyway, I get more bang for my buck. I spoke with my Ed dept. head, and with a trip to the registration office it looks like I will be DONE the first week of May. Hallelujah.
I am hoping to use that long break to do my reading and course work. My fees also pay for health services, and there's a fitness center and a pool I may take to using. We'll see how it goes. I got roped into a NTSO officer's meeting. Love to be of help, but need to avoid the distractions.
Got home to the bosom of my family and frozen pizza. College life, indeed...

Here we go again...

I start back to school tomorrow. An ed class, two lit classes, and an alcohol awareness class I have to have for the Ed program. What. Ever. Tuesdays will suck. Class from 8 am until 8 pm. No class from 11:30 until a night class at 5. Yuck. Should be plenty of time to get my homework done. Thursdays I'll only have one class, and it's a one credit author's course, so I'll be done the 15th of Feb. Now I need to get to bed so I can get on the road in the morning. Nite!

Winding up...

Wrapping the weekend. Getting ready to launch into another week. Just made plans for a friend to come to dinner. Trying to get some humanity into our routine. Now I am sleepy and a bath sounds lovely. TA!

Saturday slackin'

On the way home from Job #1 I got sucked into "This American Life" on the radio. Great stories this week. So I'm flopped with a comfy blanket and a coke enjoying them. Feel free to join me.

More waitress rants

If you are in a hurry, don't snark at me for not taking your order sooner when I have been to your table three times to try to get it but you are yakking on your cell phone!

We love it when buses come. Just call first. (We rocked it anyway)

I have bibs, colors, paper and crackers for your kids, but no bottle warmer. Ditto for dropcloths. Eternal gratitude to the poor mom on her hand and knees picking up baby flotsam.

And I leave you with this. At a previous job, I worked with one of the other waitresses at Job 2. After one particularly long night I said, "My dogs are barking!" To which she replied, "Why? Did your neighbors call?"

Organized?

Today's contest at the Crazy Hip Blog Mamas is to post my favorite decorating or organizational tip, sponsored by better.tv. Ha! I am so hopelessly disorganized it is not even funny. The best thing I've come across, however, is Flylady.net. There are lots of hints and tips there, but the best thing there is the attitude. She and her crew invite people to take pride in the tasks that get accomplished, and not get overwhelmed with what remains. They always encourage to keep trying, keep moving, but also take stock of what is already done. When I look at my surroundings in that light, I can see how far I've come, and not get completely overwhelmed by ho far I've yet to go.
Now, it's time to chip a little more off the stack, and get ready for work.

Dreams and pie

Cliff, as usual, was right on the money. Concord Grape Pie it is.
***
I have to quit going back to bed, because lately when I do, I have some weird dreams. In them, I will frequently question whether or not I am dreaming, convince myself I am really awake, then wake up. Today I dreamt I was in Florida for a weekend trip. I was thinking the whole time that it was really unlikely for me to be there, I was just home, we don't have vacation money, etc. etc. I started checking out my surroundings to make sure I was awake. I looked out the window; it was overcast and 55 on the digital clock on the hotel sign. I reached out to feel the walls around me and examine my surroundings to be sure I was really awake. When I decided I must be awake, I woke up.
***
It seems we have inadvertently started a bedtime ritual of flopping on our bed. As in the whole famdamily. A couple years ago at tax refund time, iPastor and I decided we could justify replacing our bed, which had been his grandparents', so out of shape that the mattress continually slipped off the box spring. We both loved the Tempur-pedic, but it was dreadfully expensive. We settled for a standard mattress with a pillow top of the memory foam. We decided to live large and get the king size. Lately at bedtime, the Things will gather one by one, usually until all five of them and at least one of the cats are present in a strange hybrid of a monkey pile and a perpetual motion machine. There is much laughter, frequent gas, and occasional tears if there is an unfortunate incident with a stray limb. Not a bad way to wrap the evening. So I will.

Productive

One of the other college girls at work was looking to pick up hours, so I gave up a day today and puttered around the house. I wanted to be free in case bro's truck was fixed and we had to return it to SD. No-one called, so I stayed home. I could have easily frittered away the day, but iPastor was good at keeping us on track, so we got a couple of drawers cleaned out, sorted some paperwork, and got some errands run. Not the sort of thing that shows, but it felt good to get some stuff done.
While we were in town erranding, we stopped for lunch, where Thing 4 decided he wanted grape pie. He's hard to deter once he gets his mind set on something, but luckily for him he doesn't much care if his grape pie looks an awful lot like raspberry cream.
I just now got the call that the Exploder is done, so I may take another day off. We'll have to see what they have planned.
Now it is time for the weekly chauffeuring of dancing girls. I bid you adieu; pray for my foray into the land of spins, twirls and high kicks.

Aw, MooOoom

I don't even remember what I said today to elicit the patented "MoOm!" from Thing 1, but I absently responded, "What?" After a short pause she replied, "That was a rhetorical 'Mom'."

January Thaw, indeed...

45 degrees?!?! This is Minnesota, after all. I think most of the population was too flabbergasted to do anything yesterday. The ice fishermen and snowmobilers had a day of mourning. Our cook said he was going swimming and laying out for a tan after work. I merely came home and herded kids, which is not at all unlike herding cats. They got Dance Dance Revolution for Christmas, so I was constantly prying one of them away from the playstation to complete a task. Started taking the tree down last night. We got all the deco off, but I am thinking of leaving it up and doing the year-round tree again, just because it is such a bugger to get up and down the stairs, and guess who is the one who always gets to haul it. It's not bothering anyone there in the corner of the dining room. When we were first married, I had a tabletop tree that I kept up and tricked out according to season or whimsy. I don't think I went the whole year, but it was kinda fun. Better than a ceramic goose, I guess. Even in the Goose Capitol.
Off to bed!

Lame

I had a much better day reading all of you today than coming up with something good to post. I got sprung from Job 1 a little early, so I had a lovely afternoon of goofing off. After work, I had to pick up Thing 1 at the high school dance. One of my coworkers was surprised I have kids in high school. Not nearly as surprised as I am. The little lovebirds were twittering around the front door of our armory/school facility when I pulled up, so enraptured with the games that I sat for 10 minutes before she noticed I was there. Can't decide if I miss that feeling, or if i"m glad its over.
ipastor was kind enough to bring me the laptop so I could post before bed. How thoughtful.
Since this is lame, I'll leave you with Dear Abby's column from January 1. I thought it was rather nice.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once.

I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things I can correct and accept those I cannot.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I will improve my appearance, speak softly, and not interrupt when someone else is talking.

Just for today, I will refrain from improving anybody but myself.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll quit. If I am overweight, I will eat healthfully -- if only just for today. And not only that, I will get off the couch and take a brisk walk, even if it's only around the block.

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JUST FOR TODAY: I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.

And now, Dear Readers, I would like to share an item that was sent to me by I.J. Bhatia, a reader who lives in New Delhi, India:

DEAR ABBY: This year, no resolutions, only some guidelines. The Holy Vedas say: "Man has subjected himself to thousands of self-inflicted bondages. Wisdom comes to a man who lives according to the true eternal laws of nature."

The following prayer of Saint Francis contains a powerful message:

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

"Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

"Where there is injury, pardon;

"Where there is doubt, faith;

"Where there is despair, hope;

"Where there is darkness, light;

"Where there is sadness, joy;

"O Divine Master, grant that I may not as much seek to be consoled as to console;

"To be loved as to love.

"For it is in giving that we are pardoned;

"It is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

And so, Dear Readers, may this New Year bring with it peace and joy. -- LOVE, ABBY

Shot

Just home from Job 2. My knees ache. I am too old for this. It's a fun place, and a great crew, just like Job 1, but I am sore. The propane tank needs fillin', though, so I keep plugging.
iPastor is 4 for 4 in 2008. He rocks!
I'm thinking a soak in a hot bath and a glass of wine are just what the doctor ordered, so I'll leave you with that. G'nite!

The resolution post

As part of the Crazy Hip Blog Mama's Collaboration this week, and to jump on the bandwagon, let's pull up last year's resolutions, commentary in italics...

1. Exercise more (walking the dogs might actually help with this one...)
Very slight improvement here. Still a long way to go.
2. Read the Bible through in one year or less.
Ummm, next...
3. Set consistent time for prayer and devotions, not just toss it in when I remember.
Still with the tossing...
4. Spend more time with my kids.
Making baby steps here.
5. Establish healthy eating habits.
Not.
6. Drink two quarts of water daily.
Not hardly, but better...
7. Start juicing.
A couple times...
8. Cut down on the time I waste on the internet (blogging is therapeutic, not wasteful...)
Ups and downs. Scrabulous is my downfall.
9. Finish the damn degree, already!!!!
One semester left. $2000 to go...
10. Be less sarcastic (oh the pain...)
I think this is better.
11. Jump in where I am instead of waiting for circumstances to be "just so."
This too.
12. Laugh more on purpose.
Hard sometimes.
13. Finish painting the hall.
Nope.

Resolutions are a bit silly, but they exemplify the human drive for self-improvement. Every year is like having a clean slate to start ourselves over and make a new creature. Even if we never do, the potential is there, and it's exciting.
This year, I'll probably revisit all of those. They're worthwhile, but I'll add one more:
14. Be content.

Zzzzzzzz

The joy of my job is that I normally don't have to punch in until 11, so after I got the school kids loaded on the bus I crawled back into bed for a while. Thing 4 slept remarkably late for his usual habits, so I didn't roll back out until after 9, and he was just starting to wiggle. Not much time to get anything done around here, so I will enjoy a little mommy time with the Thing and get back to the grind tomorrow.
iPastor has a nice New Year's blog. I hope he holds to his intentions of posting more frequently. I think he's got a lot to offer.
Off to a new adventure. Hopefully something bloggable.

Blog 365

...aaaand we're off.
Happy New Year to all of you. I have yet to write a check, so the change in date hasn't hit me yet. I spent most of the last two days in a fog of housework preparing for the last Christmas celebration of the year, which was held here. I got off easy. I just cleaned and made a couple of side dishes, MIL brought the ham and dessert, BIL brought cheesy potatoes. iPastor's mom spent most of Christmas break in FL, visiting her brother. He has cancer, but seems to be doing quite well. Alex returned home in the middle of the night from her trip to FL. She took over 300 pictures and is none the worse for wear. We enjoyed our meal and the kids opened grandma's gifts, and we called it a night early since we all have work or school in the morning.
Tomorrow it's back to the grind. Two jobs for me for the rest of the week; iPastor has a couple more night shifts. I need to contact the department head about some substitutions, then see how school plays out for next semester. Now I'm ready to hit the hay and start day two of 2008 with a bang. G'nite!

Edjumacated

Grades posted. Two A, One B. Hell yeah.

(No quite so) Quiet Christmas at home

As per usual, nothing goes off without a hitch around here. No major disasters on our part, but enough bumps in the road to keep it interesting.
In the only-a-minor-disaster department, we wound up junking out my little Geo. *sniff* We had been watching carefully, knowing it was on borrowed time, and wondering at what point the repairs would be too expensive to justify. When it developed the knock of death (on the way to my finals), we knew the time had come. Replacement parts for a 4-cylinder subcompact are hard to come by in the rural midwest, land of big-blocks and F-150s. So we've been doing the one-vehicle dance, while iPastor tinkers on the other van (E-150, of course), to press it back into service.
Saturday I worked at Job 1, where we wound up staying open a little longer to accommodate Christmas shoppers. When I called for pickup, the internet at home was down, meaning my Vonage phone service was also down. After calling the neighbor, with hopes of sending a kid to fetch someone at my house, I found out another neighbor was in town, so I arranged a carpool. The accumulated waiting and errand-running put me home two hours later than planned. We used some of that time at work to clean out Nina's collection jar, so I got to take a little bonus to her family, including a sucker and little notes put in by kids who read her information.
Meanwhile, back at home, our Christmas company had arrived. B is a friend from a group dating back to our more, um, intense, Trek fanhood. She has a similar situation to mine, in that her (half) blood siblings are considerably (20+ years) older than she. She is not particularly close to any of them, so she tends to spoil the kids in our little group instead. Things 1 and 2 were particularly excited to see her again, having spent a weekend on their own with her during their foray to Theatre Camp this summer. iPastor had started supper, and B had finished it up, so I came home to a hot meal and some good company just lazing around and passing the BS.
Sunday morning my bro and SIL called, asking about timetables. I hadn't been expecting them until Monday, but told 'em to head on over, the turkey was in the roaster. I went to church, ran Thing 1 to McD's, stopped at the Evil*Empire Stupid Center, then came home to wait for bro. And wait. We come from a line of terminal putzers, so I was not too surprised by tardiness, but felt a little guilty when they were dropped on my doorstep, having made it within 8 miles, only to unexpectedly drop the tranny in their Explorer. We shuttled back to collect the contents of the truck (which contained enough food for another complete Christmas dinner), then park it at a friend's in the little village where it conked out (once again affirming the rural/small town lifestyle) but wound up limping them home. We then commenced with dinner, having picked up said friend for dinner, and I rushed off to work, where I was not needed due to the turn in the weather, so I came home after collecting the McD Thing, and we flopped on the various couches and chairs to watch the stack of Christmas movies bro had brought, visit amonsgt the girls, and drink a little Christmas wine.
Yesterday, the mechanic (steady Job 1 customer) came with trailer in tow to collect the Explorer. We had a leisurely brunch of crockpot oatmeal and an awesome egg bake we invented on the spot with gluten-free bread. A weekend of paying attention to someone's gluten and corn-free diet really makes me thankful for relatively good health, and very aware of the grain-based ingredients that go into things you would never guess. Hot cocoa mix? Canned Cranberries? Gravy packets? All make sense when you think about it, but just fly under the radar most of the time. We commenced goodbye-ing as B headed home to regroup and head out to visit some of our other friends. We had an abbreviated gift opening so the Things could enjoy the stuff from Uncle and Aunt, then I packed them up for the trek back to South Dakota, so they could get their second car unparked and running. I drove home in a beautiful winter sunset and twilight, and we piled on the couch for more movies.
Today, I was up when iPastor got home from his night shift. He has been on a stretch of nights, so he has flitted in and out of the weekend's activities as his sleep schedule allows. I tucked him in, and soon the Things began waking and checking the stockings. When iPastor wakes, we will have our little family gift exchange, then we will do more lazing and movie-watching. Not a bad way to spend Christmas Day.
Somewhere along the line, church father's decided to celebrate Christmas at this time of year as an alternative and incentive for new converts to replace their pagan celebrations. The actual date of the Birth of Christ is lost to the ages, though speculation and guessing is a fun pastime. It does not matter what day we pick to mark the event, as long as we hold appreciation in our hearts for the very real and miraculous nature of that Birth. Families often choose this time to gather and celebrate, but once again, the date is not as important as the gathering and the loving purpose therefore. May your personal holiday be marked with joy and peace. Love your family, and keep Christ as the forefront of your celebration.
I leave you today with this adaptation of 1 Corinthians 13, read by one of my church family on Sunday. God Bless your Christmas!

Christmas 1 Corinthians 13 Style
- author unknown

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust ... but giving the gift of love will endure.

Done and done

Finals taken.
Dropbox items submitted.
Papers turned in.
Professor bribed with whisky (no crap--the dept. majors showed up with a giftwrapped bottle for retirement/Christmas. Mellowed him out for the whole class.)

Done for the year!

Now if I can afford next semester, it's licensure come spring. Please pray me tuition!

Language development

Thing 1 has developed a starnge language tic. She and her friends have taken to using words with -ness. Sometimes it works: "Mom, check out my awesomeness" Sometimes not so much: "We had a great time. Massive funness." I was in the tub, and she came bursting into the room (as per usual, privacy is elusive). I expressed my annoyance, and she exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm, "Mom, I have to pee right now! I have peeness!!!!"
Then she realized what she said.
Somedays being a parent is sheer joyness.

You've come a long way, baby...

Visual gem of the day: a big ol' dude with a proud Minnesota belly, smoking a Virginia Slim.

Still here

I have not fallen from the face of the planet. Finals crunch is upon me, and I am cranking out the papers and projects. Job 1 and 2 are at busy restaurants with lots of Christmas parties and I've been working most of them.
I have been collecting lots of bloggable tidbits for you, and tucking some away for Blog 365. Now I need to be off and about my business. I'll try to poke my head up for air this weekend.

Minnesnowta

The first snow of the season arrived here on December 1, which, I suppose, is nothing to complain about. There were warnings and forebodings, and cancellations galore, but I think we only got 4-5". I begged off work Saturday night more for the hassle factor than higway conditions. Why take the time and effort to go in and wait on no-one? I am a bit self-serving, after all. I did manage to get stuck for the first time travelling 3 blocks to pick up a kid who hadn't sense enough to come home. It was about 4:14, not quite dark enough for headlights to make much difference, and not light enough for really good visibility. I drove right into a heap the county and city snowplows had left smack in the middle of the road. Had the light been better, I would have seen it there, but as it was I had no idea it was there until my car stopped moving. Luckily enough, other neighbors were adventurous (read: damn fools) enough to be out and about as well, and they passed word ala a game of telephone back to a neighbor at the corner store with a chain who had me out in less than five minutes (I LOVE small towns!). (For extra credit, diagram that sentence) Here we have a lovely little exercise in revision for clarity, but I'm not playing today. Other than that, I only had to shovel the plow rut behind the vehicles (do we see a theme here?)
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Anyone else see this today? We may not all have 500 pounds to lose, but her views on blind acceptance are right on the money.
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One last thing, I am truly insane. Michel, I double dog dare you...