What a nice house.
What, two garages?
I'm so proud of both of you!!
Tired and happy movers.

Nice view from the back yard.

Stray cats that the neighbor lady takes care of.
The high school and it's wondeful wind turbine.
The first good harvest from our garden. Looks good doesn't it!

Saturday Update

I don't have much today. I will still be working from home on Monday. They are putting some pipes in the ceiling at work. I'm not sure what I will be doing this weekend. I do know I need to finish mowing the yard. I only got to the front yard so far. We are starting to get ripe tomatoes and I will be picking green beans soon.

Wednesday Update

Yesterday I worked from home. It was very relaxing. I did not have to hear the back and forth bickering of my co-workers. Mao also did not bother me like I thought he might. Talking into the headset must have made me look crazy to him. Working from home must have worn me out. I was very sleepy from about 7:30 on last night. I could barely stay awake to watch the Olympics. I did get to see Phelps win a gold medal. His Mom was very excited.

It is just a few days away from Thomas and Diedre beginning their teaching careers and I am very excited.

Monday Update

I'm back!!!

Mediacom brought us a different modem today. So far we have internet. But, as always that could change. Tomorrow and Wednesday I will be working from home. Highway Equipment needs their conference room for a sales conference. We still don't know when we get to go back to the office downtown. If the internet holds up at home, I might be given permission to work from home until we go back downtown. I hope that will happen so I don't have to drive so far.

Tonight is the 2 hour season finally for The Mole. I still think Craig is the Mole. I will probably be wrong though. It is so hard to pick the mole.

I'm excited for Thomas and Diedre; their first day of teaching will be this Friday. That is all for now. I might post more in the morning.

Tuesday Update

The weekend was very busy. It was also a very good weekend. I love Thomas and Diedre's new house. The kitchen and family room are a toss-up for my favorite room. We took pictures which I will post at a later time. I still don't know how to get them from the camera to the computer.

Small towns are so great. There is a small theatre with one showing a day at 7:00, they were showing Walle. The court house building is very beautiful. My favorite has to be the Aloha Fountain. It even has a real soda fountain. It reminds me of my childhood. Thomas also met one of his future students working there.

The local motel was cutting corners a bit too much. The air conditioner was not quite big enough to cool the room and the over head fan did not work. They also had unplugged the refrigerator and did not bother to let us know. We actually had to stop at Pamida to buy a fan to circulate the air in the room. It did help to cool the room.

Thomas and Diedre are settling in to small town living nicely. They are being given fresh vegetables on pretty much a daily basis. They especially enjoy the sweet corn. They are already planning their garden for next year. It sounds pretty impressive.

On Sunday we went to Justin and Jamie's new house. Also very impressive. I'm not sure how to describe it. There a lot of rooms, a nice bar in the basement and a huge back yard. I love the huge willow tree.

That is all for today's update. Have a great day and stay cool everyone.

Thursday Update

Yeah, this is my Friday. I have tomorrow off to go up to Eldora and help Thomas and Diedre with their new home. I can't wait to see the house. I just hope we will get some alone time with Thomas. I love small towns and it will be nice to get away for a day and also see what Eldora looks like. Yesterday Doug bought a new bed for Thomas and Diedre. Tonight Mark and Wanda are going to help us haul it home. After that we are all going out to eat.

Today is the last day we can work from Mt Mercy. We still have not found an alternate location and it looks like we won't be able to go back downtown until the 18th. They are looking at Highway Equipment out by the airport and if that doesn't work out a place in North Liberty. I'm not too thrilled about either place.

Sunday Update

I am sore today because yesterday I trimmed the evergreens out front and also cleaned the gutters. Up and down the ladder too many times. Today I need to fertilize the garden and do some clean up in the basement. I'm not looking forward to cleaning the basement. But, it needs to be done. Mao has been very confused ever since Tommy brought some of his things up from the basement. Every night before going to bed, he has to take me to look in both rooms at the boxes. What a silly little cat.

Thursday Update

Tommy is coming home today. I can't wait to see him. The only boxes I have are rather big and his books that I have been packing are very heavy. I hope he doesn't mind too much.

It looks like our next temporary work place will be on the edge of Marion at Involta. It is off of Hwy 13 a few miles north of Walmart. Those of us living in Marion are happy about it. The rest of my co-workers have been complaining so much that our supervisor had to send an email stating there would be no more complaining as the move was not going to be for that long.

Tuesday Update

Chloe paid us a visit yesterday afternoon and stayed the night. I'm so glad I was able to see her for a little bit. We didn't do much last night. Salad with chicken strips for supper. After supper I washed dishes. Then at 9 we watched The Mole. I think Craig is the Mole. Hopefully it won't rain today and the temp stays down, because I need to mow the lawn. It was just too hot this past weekend. Random thoughts coming out again. That is all.

Monday Update

It was a very good weekend, although too short as usual. It also rained too much and now we have water in the basement again....

Friday night we watched a movie "in Bruges". I really enjoyed it. Saturday morning I planted some flowers I bought at the Hy Vee garden center. They were marking down everything during the last week of the garden center. I bought some wave petunias and two different colors of small carnations (yellow and pink).

Saturday afternoon I went over to my Dad's to get the boxes for Thomas and Diedre. It took three hours, because everything with my Dad takes forever. He wasn't sure what he wanted to unpack and he left a lot packed. Mostly because Elsa has way more ugly pillows, blankets and sheets than the two of them will ever need. What took the most time was getting rid of all the bubble wrap, paper and styrofoam peanuts that was inside every box.

Sunday was great because Thomas and Diedre came over at about 2:30 and stayed for supper. The Mongolian beef turned out very well. It was way too hot outside, so we ended up cooking everything inside. Diedre also enjoyed the key lime pie. We had a good group; Doug, myself, Thomas Diedre, Jamie, Hunter and Johnny. Mark and Wanda didn't get back from Florida until around 7:30, so they did not show up. Everyone was gone by 8, so the rest of the night was pretty quiet. It was a good thing, because Doug was not feeling too well again. He relaxed and I washed all the dished from supper.

The rain just never stops this year. It is raining again right now. I hope it is done before I have to take the trash out. Well that is all for this update. Have a wonderful Monday everyone.

Saturday Update

Not much going on here. Yesterday Doug gave me a scare. I called at lunch as usual and he told me his back was really hurting. He was lying on the floor trying to find a comfortable position. Later when I called back he said he had passed kidney stones and his back was better. Although he did have a restless night and I think he my not be finished passing the stones. I hope he gets back to feeling better soon.

This afternoon I will be going over to my Dad's to help unpack more of their boxes from the move over a year ago. The empty boxes will go to Thomas and Diedre for their move. Fun times.

This morning I fed Mao and went back to bed. A little while later he was meowing like crazy. When I finally got up again, I went to the basement and found out what he was trying to tell us. There was water in the basement again and he would have gotten his feet wet on the way to his litter box. He was very relieved when I moved it to the landing.

Friday Update

Yeah, it's Friday!! Happy three day weekend Thomas!

I don't have much to update about. It rained very hard for a while last night. I had started watering Wanda's garden before I found out it was going to rain. At least I didn't have to water mine. By the time I got home I had received a warning from Thomas about the rain, plus the sky was looking very ugly.

Other than going to work, this has been a very lazy week for me. With the central air broken you don't really feel like doing much. I do have to contact my Dad to get some more moving boxes for Diedre and Thomas. If he hasn't already cleaned his gutters, I will probably be asked to help with that. Plus, I will probably have to help unpack some of the boxes he has in the basement. Sounds like fun doesn't it.

Monday Update

The birthday party was a huge success. Lots of Chloe's friends showed up. Jamie, Justin, Johnny and Hunter also showed up. Almost everyone ate the turkey burgers, which really surprised me. I think they were surprised how much they liked them as well. After eating, everyone watched Chloe open her birthday gifts. Chloe was very excited and happy with everything. Then we sat on the patio and talked until dark. We had a fire and Ross brought the makings for S'mores. We ended up talking on the patio until almost midnight. I was so glad I did not have to go to work today. Chloe said it was her best birthday ever.

Happy 20th Bobo!!

Saturday Update

I can't wait to give Chloe her birthday gifts. I think she is going to love them. I wrapped all but one gift yesterday. We are still waiting on something for the main gift. Hopefully it will come today. Otherwise we will have to wrap it anyway and give that part later.

This morning I am cleaning Thumper's tank so I can start using the new filter we bought for him. I hope it helps keep the tank clean. I wanted a canister filter, but they are just too expensive. This one will go inside the tank and work in as little as 2 inches of water.

If the weather permits I will try the new mower and see how I like it. Funny thing is we probably did not need to buy it, because after we got home from Sears Doug figured out what was wrong with the old one. Oh well, Tommy and Diedre needed a mower anyway. Now if we could just get the air conditioner guy over here to take a look at our air conditioner we would be doing well. Hope it doesn't get too hot and humid today. Chloe might have to sleep on a couch in the cooler part of the house.

Friday Update

I have a 4 day weekend in honor of Bobo's 20th birthday weekend. I still need to get wrapping paper to wrap the gifts. Too bad it is so hot. I have things I would like to be doing out side. We are going to take the mower in to Sears this afternoon to see if they will fix it since it is a Craftsman. It would be nice to have it running good again. Or better yet to get a new one.

Sunday Update

This has been a very quick 3 day weekend. Friday I weeded the garden and we had some excellent stuffed chicken grillers. Then we went to the Jordan family reunion to shoot off fireworks. It was fun. Yesterday I was lazy all morning. In the afternoon I went to Sam's and Walmart. I then went over to visit with my Dad and Ilse for a while. I told Doug they really need to come up with some new stories. After I left their house, I went to Hy Vee Drug and bought 4 plans for $0.27. I planted the green stripe tomato and tomatillos in the garden. I still have 2 pansies that I need to find someplace to plant. Today I plan to mow the yard. Exciting!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!

Thursday Update

Yesterday at work I was getting ready to leave and it started to down pour, so I thought I will wait a little bit before I leave. Then while I was waiting the sirens went off. They never actually told us what to do in this case, except go to the tunnels. We were never told where the tunnels were. I thought well I can just go to the ground floor hallway. When I got downstairs the rain had let up and a bunch of women were trying to figure out what to do, they were not told what to do either. I decided to just go after talking with Doug. Not much chance of a tornado hitting Mt Mercy anyway.

Today we get to leave at 3:00 for the holiday, yeah! I hope today goes fast. Not sure what we are doing for the 4th. Not many people will be around. Everyone is either working or has other plans.

Monday Update

This weekend went very fast. Yesterday was fun though. We celebrated Deb and Matt's birthdays. Deb brought her sister Katie and her sister's new baby, Levi, along. Hunter also showed up again. I guess he likes the food and conversation. The riblets were excellent and so was all the other food. After eating and talking for a while we went outside and had a fire in the pit.

This will be a short work week due to the 4th on Friday. With the strange weather and the recent flooding, it just doesn't seem like it should be the 4th already. This week and part of next, I will be in charge of picking up the mail for my company. That means an extended lunch for me. I have to drive from Mt Mercy to the Hy Vee Drug on Mt Vernon Rd. I had to ask Doug to make a business card for me to use when picking up the mail. He did a very nice job on it and I think it looks better than the one my supervisor has.

That's all I have for now. Have a good week everyone.

Sunday Update

The internet is working just fine for me know. Yeah!!

I slept in this morning until almost 8. Guess I was tired from all the OT last week and then going out with Mark & Wanda last night. The food at Hamburger Mary's is very good and you get a lot for the money. Who knew you would get such a big plate of Chili Cheese Fries for $2.99. And they said Mary's Handbag was just a little sampler. Sorry, that was a meal for two. Fried Twinkies are not my favorite, but the raspberry sauce was very good. It was fun watching Gayla perform on stage.

Today we celebrate Matt's 18th birthday. That means I need to get going. I am making the birthday cake and potato salad. I am just glad the weather will be cool for the next few days. With the air conditioner broken, it may have gotten rather hot in here with the oven on.

Friday Update

It figures, my only way into College is having my work relocated to one. I like the room we are in, however, the Internet phone is not ideal. It is hard to hear most callers and sometimes they have trouble hearing me. Most people are understanding that we are not running 100%. Others don't care if we were flooded and get very verbal about it. So, it is business as usual.

The cable man came to fix our connection problems to the internet yesterday. He gave us a new modem and it was working faster than ever. Just my luck I connected just long enough to login to hotmail and my blog and then the connection failed. It says connected, but pages won't load and it keeps saying connection was reset. I'm not as impressed as Doug was yesterday. Aaargh.

Trash from Theater Cedar Rapids.
Trash piled up along First Ave. NW.
Trash near the Asian Market on First Ave. NW.
Time Check Park.

Displaced garage.

A&W during the flood of 2008.
A&W during clean-up after the flood of 2008.
A&W during clean-up after the flood of 2008.

House at 319 5th Street NW where the kids and I used to live.
Notice the water line is even with the porch railing. This house had the yellow notice.
House at 330 G Ave. NW where I lived for 13 years, 7 of which I had kids.
The 2nd story which was not touched by the flood was unlivable
when we lived there. This one has the pink notice.
I don't remember the house number for this one. It is on 5th Street NW 1 block from Timecheck. It was given the yellow notice. We lived here for about 1 year before moving to the other house on 5th Street.

Friday Update

It has been strange working from home these last few days. I never thought I would see the day. It will be coming to and end after today though. They have found a temporary work place for us until we can go back to the Armstrong building. Starting Monday, I will be working at Mt. Mercy College. At least I did not have to answers the phones while I was working from home. I would have been nice to have a laptop at home, instead I will be using one in the new work place instead. The city of Cedar Rapids just reeks right now. Every now and then you get a whiff of the smell. I guess it is pretty nasty smell over at Johnny's house and I can't imagine what it smell like downtown.

Mao can't understand why I am at home all of the, but ignore him through most of the day. Several times he has jumped onto the dining room table and knocked over the flowers Cathy Thomas gave me. That is all I have for now. It is time for me to shower and get ready to set down at the computer to work for the day.

Green Porno by Isabella Rossellini

(Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The Paramount Theatre's front doors, seen Monday, were blown in when floodwaters overcame the historic venue Thursday, leaving its Wurlitzer organ under water. Most of the furniture had been moved.

Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette

Muck and debris litters the floor at Zins on Monday, June 16, 2008, in southeast Cedar Rapids.

Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette

Appliances lay on the sidewalk after flood water smashed in windows at Smulekoff's Furniture along First St. SE on Monday, June 16, 2008, in southeast Cedar Rapids.

Enter to win a lifetime of Maytag kitchen appliances!!

o

Thursday Update

Wow, a lot has happened since my last update. We had a wonderful birthday party for Doug on Sunday. The kids showed up. Chloe had been telling us all along she would not be able to make it due to work and then when Thomas and Diedre pulled up, Chloe popped up from the back seat. What a surprise. Ross even showed up!

Work has been very busy and after work I have been making preparations for the grad party on Saturday. The rain and water just won't quit. Yesterday at 12:30 they evacuated downtown Cedar Rapids which included the building I work in. I do not know how long it will be before we can go back to work. They are calling it the "500 year" flood. And of course it is raining pretty good right now.

Free Ayn Rand classroom books. For teachers only.

Friday Update

Last night Doug and I went to the city council meeting. We accomplished what we went for. After the meeting we went to Red Robin to celebrate Doug's 46th birthday. We got stuffed and came home around 9:30. I got sucked in watching the new Green channel and didn't go to bed until about 10:30. I'm a little tired this morning, but Mao decided to be very vocal this morning and I couldn't sleep a little later than usual. Chloe is coming home for a visit today, I hope she can stay late enough so I can see her. I suppose it will rain again today and I will never get a chance to mow this grass field of a yard we have going. Have a wonderful Friday everyone.

Happy Birthday Honey!!!!

Thursday Update

I finally got the rest of my garden in last night. Now I wish the rain would let up for a few weeks. I can't wait for this weekend. We can finish painting and shiska stuff on Sunday!

Monday Update

Saturday morning I slept in until 7. I must have been very tired! After breakfast, I started to plant the garden. I only got a few plants in as I decided I needed to get more topsoil and some compost. I cleaned up and went to the bank, Walmart and Hy Vee Drug. When I got home Doug helped me unload the topsoil and compost from the van. By this time it was time to go to Amber's graduation party. We meet Mark's grandfather, father and stepmother. His grandfather told an interesting story about a tornado in Mt Vernon a long time ago. He had seen it coming and drove his tractor back to the barn. He sat on his tractor in the barn through the whole thing. He is lucky the storm did not take the barn. It did take the roof off of his house though. After we left Amber's party we went to Sears to buy the birthday/father's day gift Thomas and Chloe picked out for Doug. It is a Kenmore Stainless Steel gas grill. In looking at the reviews, the only thing most people complained about was the assembly because there are no clear instructions and the fact that the food sticks if you do not spray the grill.

Sunday was another busy day. Once again I worked in the garden. First I mixed the topsoil and compost. After it was mixed I put some in planters and the rest I distributed through the garden. In the planters I put the Big Boy, German Queen and purple tomato. I also put a Big Bertha green pepper and zucchinis in planters. I got about half the garden planted before the sun came over the garden area and it got to hot. I still have 15 tomato plants to put in and green beans to plant. After planting I had lunch and then went to Menards to buy paint for the bedroom walls and a new fan. We put the fan together when I got home and then took a break for a while. Around 3 we started painting in Chloe's room. We have the ceiling completed. Mark and Wanda stopped by just as we were finishing up. They stayed for a little while. We did not eat supper until around 9. Needless to say I was tired. And I never even got around to mowing the yard. I will have to do it after work one of these nights. I will also have to fit in the rest of the garden.

The Mole starts tonight, so I will have to make time to watch it. Yeah!!

Friday Update

Rain, rain , go away. I am tired of all this rain. We have the garden plants and need a nice day in order to plant them. It looks like we will have water in the basement yet again this weekend. I have been working lots of OT this week, so there is not much else to write about today. Have a good Friday and try to stay dry.

Monday Update

Thomas and Team Depot helped clean up after the Sunday storm in Dunkerton yesterday. He says they pretty much picked up what was left of a whole house. Once again, we are very proud of him. Yesterday morning I cleaned up the branches and sticks in our front yard from the storm we had in Marion on Sunday night. I also started to prepare the garden for planting. This year we plan to have cucumbers, eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, assorted tomatoes and green peppers. Last night we had a BBQ. Wanda and Mark came along with Wanda's mom, brother and sister. Johnny, Jamie and Justin also showed up. After Johnny, Jamie and Justin left we went inside and looked at graduation pictures and then played Apples to Apples. It was a lot of fun.

Oh no, Thomas has finally graduated!!!

It's official and he has the diploma to prove it.

Our beautiful Raven has graduated too!!

Way to go Thomas! We are so proud and wish you luck in your teaching career.

Love, Mom and Dad

Wartburg to host 156th Commencement

WAVERLY, Iowa — More than 300 May and August graduates will participate in Wartburg College’s 156th Spring Commencement ceremonies Sunday, May 25.

Commencement will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Hoover Field House and Track of Wartburg-Waverly Sports & Wellness Center. The event is free and open to the community. A reception for graduates and their families and friends will follow.

The academic procession, led by faculty marshals Dr. Fred Ribich, professor of psychology and director of institutional research, and Dr. Ann Henninger, professor of biology and chair of the Biology Department, will begin the ceremony. International students bearing the flags of their countries, emeriti faculty, current faculty members, the graduating class and platform party will join the procession. The Wartburg College Concert Bands will provide music throughout the ceremony.

A member of the graduating class will speak. President Dr. Jack R. Ohle will also speak about his years at the college, marking his final Wartburg commencement address. He has accepted the position of president at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

During the ceremony, the college will confer honorary doctorate degrees on Dr. Gerald Kleinfeld and Dr. Richard L. Wahl and honor high school teachers Ryan Cooley and Jessica Jones.

Congratulations Diedre!! I knew they would choose you!

Looks like someone likes thier birthday gift.

Here are my beautiful flowers. Thank you Diedre and Wanda!

Monday Update

Today's the day! See everyone later. Very exciting.

50 Stunning Photos

Friday Update

It has been a busy week. Worked OT every day. This weekend I have to mow the yard as usual. I also have to search for a birthday gift for Mark, make sure Chloe's room gets emptied out and cleaned and possibly paint it. Although we my not paint until after Tommy's graduation. I also need to start prepping the garden for planting. Although, Matt borrowed some of our tools for his Eagle Scout project, so I'm not sure how much I will be able to do this weekend.

It sounds like Diedre's interview went well. The hardest part will be the waiting. I wish her luck.

Wednesday Update

I am so excited for Thomas and Diedre, this is such a wonderful time in life for them. Good luck Diedre with your interview on Thursday. I know you will do very well!

Tuesday Update

It has been very busy lately. Work is picking up again. And it doesn't help that our order management system has been breaking every morning since last Thursday.

I mowed the yard on Saturday. Just as I was getting done in the yard, my Dad and Ilse stopped by. They brought me a nice rubber plant for Mother's day. After they left I went to Menards for bug and weed killer and a Mother's Day gift for Ilse (never found the gift), to Hy Vee for a few things and stopped for McD fries to go with supper. While I was at Menards Doug called to say he was having a bad day because he had just blown the speakers on the stereo for the TV in the day-kitchen. It was getting late and by the time I got home Thomas was here. We ate supper and then he went with me to Walmart. We went to get water and a Mother's day gift for Ilse. We still did not find a gift for Ilse, but Thomas got me a nice plant pot for the new rubber plant. This was my Mother's Day gift from him. We also found aPhilips DVD home theater system for Doug. It is an early birthday.Father's day gift for him.

Sunday Thomas got up early to go to breakfast with Diedre's family. While he was gone I made potato salad for our BBQ. When he got home we went to Gordmans and finally found a tacky roaster thingy for Ilse's gift. We came home and had lunch and then went to give the gift to Ilse. She loved it of course. She also had to show me her new toilet with the butterfly seat. We visited for a while and before leaving she gave Thomas his birthday card and a graduation card. She made me read them both before she brought them out to give to him. I think she could not wait, but she kept saying I think he needs the money.

For the Mother's Day BBQ we had brats, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, chips, potato salad, cole slaw (Wanda) and lemonade (Diedre). Wanda also brought a cheese cake assortment. Wanda's mother was here visiting for Amber's graduation, so we got to meet her. It was a great Mother's day, although Chloe was not here.

Things younger than John McCain

Tuesday Update

Not much to report today. Sunday turned out great for an unofficial Soup Sunday. We were just BBQing and if anyone wanted to show up they could. So who shows up? Mary and Jordan. We hadn't seen them in some time. It was a small group, Mary, Jordan, Mark, Wanda, Chloe (after 7), myself and Doug.

Is seems that Diedre has some great possibilities in her future. Good luck Diedre!!

Saturday Update

We have decided the friendship bread is better when made with vanilla pudding instead of chocolate. I got tired of making it every ten days and threw out the rest of my last batch though. I just looked it up online and found a starter recipe. And now after it is too late I found out Diedre was right, you can freeze in one cup measurements.

Our last child is leaving the nest. Chloe has been packing her things all week into boxes. This does not make Mao very happy and he lets us know it every once in a while. She is taking a load of her things up to Cedar Falls today. We have been helping her get ready for living on her own. Last week we gave her two laundry baskets, two bath sheet towels, kitchen utensils, wooden spoons, a lemon shaped cutting board and a cupcake tin. She can't leave home without a cupcake tin to make her famous colorful cupcakes. Today we will be buying a full size bed for her room. She will not have room for a queen size, which is what she has now. Since we will not be getting her a pillow top, Chloe and I went to Walmart last night to pick out a mattress pad. We choose a Dream Puff (down alternative filled) Pad. It is like the one we have on our bed. She is very happy with it. And since Chloe loves to live on cereal, I had her pick out a super size bag of MOM cereal. She choose Berry Colossal Crunch.

Thomas has been busy getting ready to move in with Diedre. In a few short weeks he will be moving out of his apartment at Wartburg for the last time. Has it been four years already!! Yesterday he purchased and assembled a desk for his computer. It is a good thing that their apartment has a large bedroom, so they can fit in two desks.

Today is Afton's 1st birthday party. Jessica requested we make BBQ sauce for the pulled pork. So, of course we did. We will probably be too busy to make it the the party though. Mark and Wanda are working on putting new carpet on their basement stairs. We offered to help because of all the help they have given us. They thought it would be too crowded in the stairs for all of us. So, we are treating them to supper tonight instead. Not sure if we will be taking them KFC or ordering pizza.

Congratulations Thomas!! I am so excited for you.

Love,
Mom

Wednesday Update

Not much going on here. Chloe had a good interview at the coffee shop in Cedar Falls. She said they already started checking references. I have been busy at work getting caught up from my days off. This evening Thomas and Diedre are going to visit Eldora. I'm sure Diedre will like it there. I wish them luck. It's getting late and I have to leave for work now. It looks like it will be a nice day.

Sunday Update

It has been a nice vacation, despite all the mopping in the basement. It is alway nice to have Thomas home for a visit. We watched a lot of Trailer Park Boys together. I am so excited for Thomas. He had a job offer from South Hardin Community Schools in Eldora, he turned it down and now they are still trying to get him to accept. They are looking into getting money for Diedre to get certified in the Gifted and Talented Program "GAP". If both Thomas and Diedre can find a job in the area, Thomas will take the job. Eldora looks like a very nice community to live in. I hope it all works out for them both.

Wednesday Update

Yesterday was very busy at work. I stayed until 5:45 to try and get caught up before my vacation. On my way home Diedre called and said, "Have you seen your son yet?" I said, "No, I'm on my way home. Why?" She said, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad." So of course all the way home I wondered what they were up to. When I got home I rushed into the house and Thomas said, "Diedre thinks she worried you." I said, "What is Diedre up to?" He went into the dining room and brought out this beautiful Bromeliad plant. She got it for me because I had taken care of her plants all these months. I miss her plants.



This is a Bromeliad. Not the one Diedre gave me though. I need to take a picture of it. Once I do, I will post a picture of the real one.

Tuesday Update

Today is my Friday for the week. I have a lot of things to get done at work today, so I hope the phones are not too busy. I may end up having to stay late. I will probably have to work a little OT next week to get caught up, since no one does my purchase order work while I am out.

Thomas had a very good interview yesterday and I hope todays goes good as well. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him.

I hope the weather is good the rest of this week, so I can get outside and finish clearing the yard of sticks. It looks like we may have to start mowing this week as well. It would also be nice if it did not rain again for a while. I don't like having to watch the basement for water all of the time.

Monday Update

Saturday was very fun. We had a nice drive up to Waterloo with Mark & Wanda. Everyone liked Thomas and Diedre's apartment. The food and service at Gary's was very good. It was strange not having to cook for a crowd on Sunday. We made a big roaster of riblets for ourselves anyway. I made potato salad and we had supper with Chloe after she returned from putting in applications at various places in Cedar Falls all day Sunday.

I wish Thomas luck today with his job interview. One more tomorrow and then we get to see him for a few days again.

Saturday Update

Road-trip to Thomas and Diedre's place in Waterloo.

Friday Update

I don't have too much to say. This weekend will be nice, we are actually going to leave town for a few hours. It will not be nice how much the gas will cost. But that is life in a 'Bush' world.

Our shows were good last night. Although, Lost was a rerun again, so I did not watch it. I don't know when they will actually have new episodes. Thomas watched all of the shows except Scrubs with me. Doug was in the other room on the phone most of the time talking with Jessica about Johnny's adventures in China. He was also talking with Wanda part of the time.

Like I said, I don't have much. I am so looking forward to the weekend.

Thursday Update

This week has not been very busy at work, so the time is going slow. But when I get home the time goes very fast. The time at home is going very fast because Thomas is home and I want to spend more time with him not less. At least he is here until Saturday and we are going up to Waterloo that same day to visit him and Deidre and to eat out. He will be back next week from Wednesday through Sunday and I have vacation those same days. Yeah!

Doug and Thomas have been watching 'Trailer Park Boys' it is a funny mindless series with some pretty crazy characters. I hope I can watch my Thursday night shows this week. Last week the bad weather preempted the shows and I never got to watch them. You know the shows; My name is Earl, The Office and Lost.

Monday Update

This weekend went very quickly, I guess because it was a busy weekend. On Saturday I did my usual shopping, plus I had to find a 'First Communion' gift for Holland. I also did laundry and a little cleaning. Sunday morning I made a Strawberry Swirl cake with sliced strawberries in the middle and on top of the frosting. It was yummy. I also made potato salad. In the afternoon we went to Holland's 'First Communion' celebration. They had the good sandwiches from Walmart and a Coldstone ice cream cake. Later Sunday afternoon, Ilse and my Dad stopped by. She wanted to see Thumper and give me a winter scarf she had bought on clearance.

We had junk-yard dogs, pasta salad, potato salad, and baked beans for supper. Lauren brought the baked beans and Wanda brought cereal treats. Wanda was tired because she had chaperoned a prom party for Matt and his friends the night before. We also got to see Amber and give her birthday gift before she leaves for China.

I hope Johnny and Ethan made it to China alright. They left yesterday right after Holland's 'First Communion'.

Saturday Update

It's nice to have weekends. I wish they lasted longer. It looks like I will spend a share of this weekend keeping water mopped up in the basement. It is not too bad. It is coming through cracks in the floor in the first room, a little puddle formed by the door to Tommy's room and there is a puddle over where the ping-pong table was set up.

We ate supper very late last night, it was after 9:30. Doug was busy on the computer and then Johnny stopped by with his new camera. We ended up getting Whoppers at BK. The young girls working there were so silly. The one said she has ADHD and ate lots of sweets and had two bottles of powerade. So she was pretty much jumping off the walls.

Diedre had excitement at her apartment building yesterday. Some neighbors were arguing and the cops were called. Diedre called 911 and other neighbors had done the same. I have not talked directly to Diedre yet for all the details.

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Thursday Update

I just want to wish Thomas good luck with his interview with the Independence Schools today.

I don't have much else. The customers have been very nasty this week. I can't wait for Friday to be over with. We are looking forward to having Thomas home next week.

Monday Update

Yesterday there were two firsts. We went to Afton's baptism reception and when we pulled up to Johnny's house we saw him getting out of the van and he was wearing long pants! In thirtenn years that is the first time I had ever seen him wearing long pants. Doug said it was only the second time he had seen it. I would post the picture Doug took, but I did not check to see if would be okay. If it is, I will post it tomorrow.

Last night Deb and her boyfriend Tim came for supper. They were a bit late though. Most of us were finished eating by the time they got here. This was the first time we had meet him. He seemed nice enough and he and Doug had a lot to talk about because he had been stationed in Germany in the service.

That's all I have for now. Have a great day everyone.

Saturday Update

The weather is supposed to be nice today. I hope that is true. The yard really needs some attention. There are still so many little sticks out there that I need to rake up and sand near the curbs from all the snow that sat there over the winter.

Last Night we watched 'Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story'. I thought it was okay. But, it wasn't one of my favorite movies.

Lately it seems to be all about China. Johnny and Ethan are going over there for a week this month. And yesterday we found out that Amber just got a job teaching 7 and 8 year olds English in a school over there. She will be leaving next month. We are very excited for her and wish her luck. If I were to visit China, the main thing I would want to see is the great wall.

Doris Day turns 84 today. Here is a list of the movies she was in.

Romance on the High Seas My Dream is Yours It's a Great Feeling Young Man With A Horn Tea For Two The West Point Story Storm Warning Lullaby of Broadway On Moonlight Bay I'll See You in my Dreams Starlift The Winning Team April in Paris By the Light of the Silvery Moon Calamity Jane Lucky Me Young at Heart Love Me or Leave Me The Man Who Knew Too Much Julie The Pajama Game Tunnel of Love Teacher's Pet It Happened to Jane Pillow Talk Please Don't Eat the Daisies Midnight Lace Lover Come Back That Touch of Mink Jumbo The Thrill of It All Move Over Darling Send Me No Flowers Do Not Disturb The Glass Bottom Boat Caprice The Ballad of Josie Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? With Six You Get Eggroll

Thursday Update

I thought I should do at least one update before the weekend. I don't have much going on. It looks like we lost another new temp at work. She went through over a week of paid training. On the day she was supposed to go on the phone in the afternoon, she asked to go home sick and the next day she did not come in at all. Hopefully she really was sick and will be back, but it usually doesn't work that way.

Tonight is the beginning of the new season for our Thursday night shows, The Office and My Name is Earl. It hope they are good as they have been in the past.

Thomas has a couple of busy days ahead of him. He will be camping with around 50 kids for the next two days. Good luck with that Thomas. Be safe and have fun.

Monday Update

The weekend went too fast. I just hope the work week goes that fast.

Saturday was fun, Diedre came over and went shopping with me. We went to the library and the moving sale at Pine Needles Sewing Center. Then we went to Hy-Vee. After we were done shopping, we had to stop at her parents house and let her dogs out. I threw the orange buoy thing a couple of times for Ellie (?), but I could never throw it very far.

It was also very nice having Thomas home all weekend. He finally gets a break from school in a couple of weeks. He plans to spend most of the break at home. However, on the 19th he will be going up to stay with Diedre a few days. The Sunday Group plans to go up to Waterloo to see Diedre and Thomas' apartment on the 19th and then go out to eat with them. I hope it works out so we can all get together.

Mao is crazy, he just now came running through the house from the Day-kitchen yowling. I know he wants treats. Crazy cat!

Saturday Update

Last night we watched two old Frank Cappra movies. The first was from 1934, 'It Happened One Night' with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. The second was from 1938, 'You Can't Take It With You' with Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore and James Stewart. Lionel Barrymore actually played a part that was the exact opposite of his part in 'It's a Wonderful Life'.

Today we are going to have Sheppard's Pie with real lamb. Not sure if Chloe will be here to try it. And I hope Thomas and Diedre will like it.

Of course I will do my usual Saturday shopping and maybe look for some plants to replace those that Diedre confiscated. I think I just got too attached to her plants. Sorry Diedre! I also need to stop at the library to return movies and maybe look for more. They seem to have some good old movies.

Friday Update

Yeah, the weekend is almost here. Thomas and Diedre will be driving down this afternoon for the weekend. Diedre is going to be dog-sitting for her parents. I hope to be able to sit down and watch a movie with them this weekend.

I don't have to much else to say today. I hope yesterday's snow is the last for this season. But, something tells me it probably won't be. The snow just will not go away!

Tuesday Update

I wish every work week either started on Tuesday or ended on Thursday. Yes, a four day work week all of the time would be good. I don't have much at all today. Thomas' interview went well yesterday. I took Easter leftovers to my dad and Ilse and listened to stories they have told me many times already. After about an hour I couldn't take it anymore and came home. Other than that I did some laundry, washed dishes, moved a few plants around and watched TV. Not an exciting day off. But, still better than working.

Monday Update

What a busy weekend. I'm glad that I had two extra days. Friday Thomas and I went to Irwin's to pick out his suit. The kid really wears a three button suit well. The shoes he liked were all out in his size, so we went to the mall. We looked at Sears, Younker's and Von Maur. None of their shoes compared. It was a good thing that Irwin's called while we were looking to say the shoes came in on the UPS truck about two minutes after we had left the store. Thomas had even opened the door for the UPS man and we drove around his truck. Anyway, we ended up going back to Irwin's and got him the nice black shoes made with deer skin.

Saturday I went shopping for a white shirt for Thomas. Because his neck is so small, this was not an easy task. Sears was out of white shirts in a 14-1/2 neck size. Von Maur and Kohl's did not have them. And Younker's said they haven't had that size in 2 years. Then I remembered the new Mens Warehouse at the mail. They had his size thank goodness. I also stopped in at Barnes & Noble to pick up the Hello Kitty Uno for Chloe's Easter basket. She was thrilled.

On Saturday, I also made three flavors of jell-o jigglers with my new jiggler molds; lemon, lime and tropical passion (taste like fruit punch). And I mixed up the fruit for my Ambrosia, which by the way was excellent. And Chloe made chocolate cupcakes with bright pink, green and purple frosting.

Easter supper was excellent, all of the food was so good. Of course I almost hurt myself. I was as full as at Christmas and we didn't even have turkey. It was very good to see Jamie, Lauren and Justin make it, despite Jamie's recent loss. We ordered flowers to be sent to the funeral home today from the whole Soup Sunday Group. We are also sending a sympathy card.

This morning is Thomas' interview at Benton Community Schools. I know he is going to do very well. I would hire someone who looks as sharp as he does in that suit! It would be very nice to have him teaching so close to home.

I am going to spend my last day off relaxing. However, I am going to take some food over to my Dad and Ilse since they were not able to make it over yesterday. I am also going to move some of my plants around in the day kitchen, since Diedre took some more of her plants to her apartment yesterday.