Monday Update

Soup Sunday was very good yesterday. Brain was the birthday boy. He said he is not a boy anymore. We asked how old he was and he said "36", we said "You're still a boy." I had two bowls of Fish Chowder and a small bowl of Pork and Spatzle (German noodles). Deb brought baguettes from Panera and White Chocolate covered popcorn. Both were very yummy. We also had a bottle of Lockwood wine that Deb had brought last week. Sara and Ana brought strawberry jello. I had to mention Ana because she told me, "We had to come to bring you the jello." Unfortunately, Wanda and Mark could not come, becaue they were taking Amber back to school. Mary and Jordon were also here. Mary brought yummy Lemon Bars. Ashley's friend Keeley came with a hanful of Tootsie Roll Pops for her and Ashley, they did not share.

Carnivale was very good again last night. A lot has been happening in the last few episodes.

Word of the Day

infinitesimal • \in-fin-ih-TESS-uh-mul\ • adjective
1 : taking on values arbitrarily close to but greater than zero
*2 : immeasurably or incalculably small

Example sentence:
The days get longer in seemingly infinitesimal increments, but by the end of February we've gained two whole hours of sunlight since the winter solstice.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

In England, if you commit a crime, the police don't have a gun and you don't have a gun. If you commit a crime, the police will say "Stop, or I'll say stop again.

Word of the Day

evince • \ih-VINSS\ • verb
1 : to constitute outward evidence of
*2 : to display clearly : reveal

Example sentence:
Darby strode confidently to the end of the diving board, evincing not the slightest sign of fear or nervousness.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Orange alert — What the hell does that mean? We're supposed to be afraid of Krishna? Of orange sorbet?

Saturday Update

This week was very quiet at work. Not many phone calls and lots of registration entries.

It turns out our children are cultured. Last night Ashley went to Zoey's for pizza with Jeff and then they went to the Marion High School production of 'The Wizard of Oz.' Ashley's friend Keeley was one of the flying monkeys, of course. Thomas went to a production of 'The Music Man' at Wartburg last night as well. We aren't sure what Chloe was doing last night.

Hopefully today Doug will have the wiring for the fuse box finished in the basement, so we can dry clothes at home again. He is almost finished, we just need to go back to Menards to find the correct fuses.

This Sunday we will be celebrating Brian's birthday with Fish Chowder. Next Sunday will be Ashley and Wanda's birthday celebration.

Word of the Day

despot • \DESS-putt\ • noun
1 a : a Byzantine emperor or prince b : a bishop or patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church c : an Italian hereditary prince or military leader during the Renaissance
2 a : a ruler with absolute power and authority *b : a person exercising power tyrannically

Example sentence:
"Her spoilt younger sister, Phoebe, is a lip-glossed despot, able to command . . . attention with a flick of her pretty head." (Lisa Allardice, The Daily Telegraph [London], March 22, 2003)

Robin Willaims Quote of the Day

When you look at Prince Charles, don't you think that someone in the Royal family knew someone in the Royal family?

Word of the Day

cabbage • \KAB-ij\ • verb
: steal, filch

Example sentence:
In the late 18th-century play The Reconciliation, Mrs. Grim confesses that she "now and then cabbaged a penny."

I don't know this is at Merriam-Webster online.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

"Orange alert — What the hell does that mean? We're supposed to be afraid of Krishna? Of orange sorbet?"

This Cool!

Check out this site.

Word of the Day

eristic • \ih-RISS-tik\ • adjective
: characterized by disputatious and often subtle and specious reasoning

Example sentence:
Scott grew tired of the eristic arguments his friend put forth and refused to discuss the issue further.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

ROBIN ON THE COST OF WAR: "America is broke basically, but Bush wants to wage a war that costs pretty much a billion dollars a month."

Word of the Day

placid • \PLASS-id\ • adjective
: serenely free of interruption or disturbance; also : complacent

Example sentence:
It was fortunate that the horse Becky was riding had a placid disposition and didn't try to bolt when the car backfired.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.

Amanda and Russ's wedding. 

It's too bad you can't see the slide show better here, Doug did a very nice job. 

Having fun at the reception. 

What a beautiful wedding cake! 

Monday Update

I guess the President is at least good for a paid day off. I don't have to work today! Yeah!!

So Thomas wants a Pika (rock rabbit). I'm sure Mao would be very afraid when it made its "EEEK!" noise.

I think Doug and I are going to try the new KFC $0.99 Snacker for lunch today.

The Baked Potato Soup was excellent yesterday. We had a small group, which is very nice once in a while. It was Deb, Jacob, Wanda, John, Ashley, Doug and myself. Deb brought her famous lemon cake, apple saled and a very nice red wine. Wanda brought her famous bagel dip. Yum, yum!

Everyone left rather early last night, so we watched the last 15 minutes of Extreme Home Makeover and then we watched The First Five Years of SNL.

Word of the Day

vicissitude • \vuh-SISS-uh-tood\ • noun
1 a : the quality or state of being changeable : mutability b : natural change or mutation visible in nature or in human affairs
2 *a : a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance : a fluctuation of state or condition b : a difficulty or hardship attendant on a way of life, a career, or a course of action and usually beyond one's control c : alternating change : succession

Example sentence:
You have to be able to withstand financial losses to weather the vicissitudes of the stock market.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Cricket is baseball on valium.

Sunday Update

Doug is getting better so we will be having Soup Sunday today. I love potato soup. I guess Diedre does too. I'm sorry that she can't be here today.

Not much to say today. Tonight we are going to watch the Saturday Night Live special instead of Carnivale. You can never pass up a chance to watch Gilda.

Word of the Day

aleatory • \AY-lee-uh-tor-ee\ • adjective
1 : depending on an uncertain event or contingency
2 : relating to luck and especially to bad luck
*3 : characterized by chance or random elements

Example sentence:
The aleatory nature of a lottery drawing makes it impossible to predict who is going to be the winner.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Carpe per diem - seize the check.

Word of the Day

motley • \MAHT-lee\ • adjective
*1 : variegated in color
2 : composed of diverse often incongruous elements

Example sentence:
Lenny went to the medieval festival dressed in the bright motley garb of a court jester.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

If I could light my own farts I could fly to the moon or at least Uranus.

Friday Update

Quick update. I woke up late today. Guess I was tired. Yeah it's Friday and I have a three day weekend. We weren't originally supposed to have Presidents Day off and then two weeks ago they told us we would have it off.

PS: I won the Doritos Get Digital contest! Click here to see what I won. It is supposed to be mailed in 6-10 weeks, I can't wait.

Word of the Day

billingsgate • \BIL-ingz-gayt\ Audio icon • noun
: coarsely abusive language

Example sentence:
A steady stream of billingsgate could be heard coming from the basement after my father hit his thumb with his hammer.

RObin Williams Quote of the Day

"Do you think God gets stoned? I think so . . . look at the platypus."

Word of the Day

pastiche • \pass-TEESH\ • noun
*1 : a literary, artistic, musical, or architectural work that imitates the style of previous work; also : such stylistic imitation
2 a : a musical, literary, or artistic composition made up of selections from different works : potpourri b : hodgepodge

Example sentence:
When Alfred Tennyson was only 14, he wrote a clever pastiche of Elizabethan drama.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

I'm a very tolerant man, except when it comes to holding a grudge.

Word of the Day

ululate • \ULL-yuh-layt\ • verb
: howl, wail

Example sentence:
"People waved, ululated and punched the air with their fists, not bothered if those inside the motorcade were responding or even paying attention to the excitement outside." (Africa News, November 2004)

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

You're still young. Being a true loser takes years of inaptitude.

Tuesday Update

Happy 20th Diedre!!

Yesterday was a very busy day for Basher. She had a half day at school, so Jeff took her to Panera for lunch. AFter I got off work we went to the school for conferences. All is well except for the math grade. She also had to work from 6-9, although she didn't get out of work until 9:45. Then she had to finish the dreaded Alegbra II homework.

On Sunday we thought Doug might be getting a bit better. But it all came back on Monday. Doug was not feeling very well at all last night.

Tonight we will get to see Thomas and Diedre for a little bit. Thomas is taking Diedre to Vino's for her birthday.

Word of the Day

fey • \FAY\ • adjective
1 a chiefly Scottish : fated to die : doomed b : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity
2 a : able to see into the future : visionary b : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude c : crazy, touched
3 a : excessively refined : precious *b : quaintly unconventional : campy

Example sentence:
"Smocked silver jersey skirts came with frills and had a fey allure, as did the silver tennis dress and ruffled black chiffon dress trimmed with satin." (WWD, October 8, 2004)

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

Happy Valentine's Day

Word of the Day

Ruritanian • \rur-ih-TAY-nee-un\ • adjective
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an imaginary place of high romance

Example sentence:
Tolkien fans were elated when the Ruritanian world of Middle Earth was finally depicted on the big screen.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

She is not perfect. You are not perfect. The question is whether or not you are perfect for each other.

Good Will Hunting

Word of the Day

desultory • \DEH-sul-tor-ee\ • adjective
*1 : marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose
2 : not connected with the main subject
3 : disappointing in progress, performance, or quality

Example sentence:
"His studies are very desultory and eccentric, but he has amassed a lot of out-of-the-way knowledge which would astonish his professors." (Arthur Conan Doyle, "A Study in Scarlet")

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

"We Americans, we're a simple people . . . but piss us off, and we'll bomb your cities."

Friday Update

Yeah, another Friday. Unfortunately, Doug is still not feeling well. He has been up off and on all night for the last two nights. He just now went back to bed. I'm afraid that he may not make it to Amanda's wedding and we may have to call off Soup Sunday this weekend.

Thomas and Diedre will be home this evening. It will be nice to have Thomas home for a few days.

Today should be pretty good at work. Yesterday we weren't busy at all. We have been entering product registrations when we run out of other work. The only down side is that it is hard to sell if there are no calls coming in.

Word of the Day

brummagem • \BRUM-ih-jum\ • adjective
: not genuine : spurious; also : cheaply showy : tawdry

Example sentence:
The jewelry box in Penelope's grandmother's closet was filled with brummagem costume jewelry.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

I'm talkin 'bout a fine white wine....like Mad Dog 20/20.

Thursday Update

Not much to say today. Last night we had French Toast for supper. We watched a new episode of Lost. The pregnant girl is back and doesn't remember anything except that she was on a plane from Australia and an expendable person who no one ever saw was killed. We also watched American Idol. Very entertaining as usual.

Doug is still not feeling well, that makes me sad.

My supervisor at work had to take her vacation early because her sheep started having thier lambs this week. She was scheduled to start her vacation on Monday of next week.

That is all for now. Bye, bye.

Word of the Day

tutelage • \TOO-tuh-lij\ • noun
1 : an act of guarding or protecting
2 : the state of being under a guardian or tutor
*3 : instruction especially of an individual

Example sentence:
Under the tutelage of her high school swim coach, Lynn has greatly improved her times.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

We have a president for whom English is a second language. He's like 'We have to get rid of dictators,' but he's pretty much one himself.

Word of the Day

promulgate • \PRAHM-ul-gayt\ • verb
*1 : to make (as a doctrine) known by open declaration : proclaim
2 a : to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law) b : to put (a law) into action or force

Example sentence:
In a recent speech, the governor promulgated his plans to revamp the state's educational system.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Ah...so many pedestrians, so little time...

Tuesday Update

Yesterday was relatively quiet at work. Although, I did have one Sup Call from a woman that refused to take no for an answer. She had a program that was five years old and did not want to go to the web site for support. She wanted me to transfer her to someone she could talk to for support. When I transfered her call, the Supervisor said "I will be happy to tell her no as well".

Last night was very quiet around here. Ashely worked from 6-9 and Doug did not feel well and went to bed around 6:30 and didn't wake up until about 9:15. I washed the dishes from Sunday in between watching Extreme Home Makeover's "How'd They Do That". Bill Engvall was also on Comedy Central, although I didn't watch much of it.

It will be nice to see Thomas and Diedre this weekend. That's all for now, I have to get ready for work.

Word of the Day

rathskeller • \RAHT-skell-er\ • noun
: a usually basement tavern or restaurant

Example sentence:
Many workers from the town's mills and factories liked to gather after hours at the rathskeller located underneath the banquet hall.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

If it's the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?

Monday Update

The Super Bowl party went very well yesterday. The game wasn't too exciting though. Thomas, you did not miss much, well except for the food. The commercials weren't that great either. I didn't see all of the commercials, but those who did said they weren't that good. A lot of the commercials were old ones that everyone had already seen. We all wondered why the companies would pay 2.4 million dollars to air an old commercial; or a commercial for tabasco sauce for that matter.

Chloe had two friends over for the party, Anna and Katie. Anna brought a wonderful Chocolate Mousse with whipped topping in the can. Yum,yum! Jeffey also came, his Mom made a Bean Dip that everyone raved about.

Mao was not at all happy with the whole evening. One minute he was resting nicely in the Day Kitchen and the next minute everyone was here. Needless to say he was even hissing at me. He spent most of the evening on the landing going down to the basement and hissing at anyone who came by.

Word of the Day

cadre • \KAD-ray\ • noun
1 : framework
2 : a central unit especially of trained personnel able to assume control and train others
*3 : a group of people with a unifying relationship

Example sentence:
NASA's cadre of courageous astronauts offered America the modern-day heroes it needed.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

After I quit drinking, I realized I am the same asshole I always was; I just have fewer dents in my car.

Sunday Update

Well it is Super Bowl Sunday. There is still lots to be done. I made the cheese ball yesterday. Ashley made the Mango Salsa and Doug made the Guacamole Dip. Everything else is being made today. Thomas and Diedre will be missed.

We also got our wedding gift shopping taken care of yesterday.

Anyone interested in writing should take a look at Zach Braff's Garden State Blog.

Word of the Day

placate • \PLAY-kayt\ • verb
: to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : appease

Example sentence:
After his baseball crashed through his neighbor's window, Jared tried to placate the angry man by offering to replace the window with his own money.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

If we were interested in making money, we wouldn't have become teachers.

Saturday Update

It is early Saturday morning and Ashley is on her way to the All-State Speech Competition. Go Basher!! At 7:00 AM someone from Hy-Vee called to ask Ashley to work.

Chloe says that Green Day is coming to C.R. in May. Thomas says that Bill Engvall is coming to Wartburg in March. It is true it's on the tour list on his web site.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, I know ours will be busy. Chloe has to baby sit four kids today from 6 P.M. til midnight, fun, fun. It's too bad Thomas is too busy working and studying to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday.

I almost forgot, Chloe now has a working computer in her room and she is on the network. Yeah!!

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Ah...so many pedestrians, so little time...

Word of the Day

gamut • \GAM-ut\ • noun
1 : the whole series of recognized musical notes
*2 : an entire range or series

Example sentence:
Jenny's musical tastes run the gamut from Bach to Janis Joplin to Usher.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

[Before opening an envelope for best supporting actress]
I feel like Adam when he said to Eve, `Back up, I don't know how big this gets`

-- (at the 71st Academy Awards)

Word of the Day

fusty • \FUSS-tee\ • adj
1 British : impaired by age or dampness : moldy
2 : saturated with dust and stale odors : musty
*3 : rigidly old-fashioned or reactionary

Example sentence:
Tweed jackets and horn-rimmed glasses give Professor Mitchell a fusty air, but he's actually much hipper than he looks.

Friday Update

I am glad it is Friday. Yesterday work was actually very good. I didn't have to answer one phone call all day. I was entering catalog orders for leads in the schools division. I won another prize at work on Wednesday, the books were all gone so I got Reader Rabbit addition flash cards instead.

It is suppose to get into the 50s today and tomorrow. I love this weather!

Ashley is so excited about her speech competition tomorrow. Everyone wish her luck. She is a very busy girl right now. Speech meetings, competitions and work, work, work. It is getting busier at work, because of Valentine's Day coming up.

Congrats to Diedre for being admitted into the teacher education program at UNI.

This weekend will be busy. Saturday we will shop for Super Bowl Sunday. We will also make the Sweet-n-Sour Meatballs and Cheese Ball. I also have to think about a wedding gift for Amanda's wedding next weekend.

Word of the Day

jingoism • \JING-goh-iz-um\ • noun
: extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy

Example sentence:
Albert Einstein found German jingoism in the 1930s so objectionable that he left his homeland never to return.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

I can see it now: Osama bin Laden goes up to the pearly gates where George Washington comes out, starts beating him and is then joined by 70 other members of the Continental Congress. Osama will say, "Hey, wait! Where are my 71 virgins?" And George will reply "It's 71 Virginians, you asshole!"

Word of the Day

sinecure • \SYE-nih-kyoor\ • noun
: an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income

Example sentence:
The organization recently restructured its workforce, eliminating several positions that had become mere sinecures.

This pretty mush describes our HR manager's job where I work.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

We had gay burglars the other night. They broke in and rearranged the furniture.

Tuesday Update

I was on vacation yesterday and I really didn't do very much at all. I did watch Doug work on the slide show for Amanda Anderson's wedding. I also got bit on the face by Mao. He was laying in my spot on the couch as usual and I bent down to move him. He wasn't too happy with me moving him and jumped up before I knew it and bit me. My face looks like I have a little scratch. Needless to say Mao was in a bit of trouble after that.

I have to go back to work after four wonderful days of not doing much at all. I think doing nothing makes me very tired though. Oh, I did wash the van yesterday. It really needed it.

The house behind us was sold and the people were starting to move in yesterday. I am a little leary about what kind of people they might be.

Word of the Day

campestral • \kam-PESS-trul\ • adjective
: of or relating to fields or open country : rural

Example sentence:
The campestral scenery surrounding Reginald's new home inspired him to take up landscape painting.

Robin Williams Quote of the Day

Having George W. Bush giving a lecture on business ethics is like having a leper give you a facial, it just doesn't work!