Couple Of Updates And Other Stuff

Gramma: please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She is still pretty weak. She goes back to the doctor on Feb 10. She is pretty much on oxygen round the clock. Your O2 level should be 93%, hers is dropping to about 80% when she is up and about. As I said before, she is 93, but she can be a fighter. My prayer has been for God to do what's best for her.

Noelle: she will be playing her flute while her friend plays basoon at her friends church. She is really excited about that. We found out that like her mom and Aunt Amy, Noelle has Osgood-Schlatter, so, she will have the beautiful "knotty knees". Noelle grows more mature every day. It's so hard to believe, in my mind she is still the little three year old who wanted to wear her Barbie princess gown 24/7. Where is the time going???

Michael: he missed three days of school this week as well as guitar practice. Michael LOVES guitar and for him to miss practice, you know he does NOT feel well. This crazy weather has not helped. I think he could have blown his nose for several hours and still not been able to breath.

Sean: he has been super busy lately. The article has brought several customers. It's so wonderful to see his dream come true. We have had a lot of people on the lot to look at the cars we have for sale. The comments are always the same: "wow your cars are clean". The look on his face when he hears this...priceless.

Me: I'm watching the game with mom and dad on Sunday. Mom told me she is making layered taco dip for munchies~yummy!!!! I still haven't been working. I know it will pick up, hopefully soon. I'm heading back to Haiti. I'm not going with the same group this time. I'm going to a different orphanage. When mom and I were in South Dakota, I got a call from a friend asking me if I would like to go to Haiti if she paid my way, she can't go and wants me to take her place. I'm looking forward to what this experience will bring. This orphanage is in a different location, the kids at this one are a little better off.

In The News

The local paper did a quick story on the shop. More free publicity!!!

The paper here in town, as well a in neighboring towns is thrown by kids. They go door to door to collect the "voluntary donation" each month. You get a receipt that always has a coupon on it. We found out today that we can out a coupon on one for free.

I cried at "Grey's" tonight and am getting ready to watch "CSI". So far I like Lawrence.

It was a beyond beautiful day here today. We better not get to used to it, we are supposed to have accumulating snow this weekend.

How long is it until spring?

All I Can Say Is WOW!

I know that some reading this may not be as enthusiastic as I am about our new President.


Tonight, I had the time to watch the coverage from yesterday. I couldn't believe how moved I really was by everything. From hearing "Air And Simple Gifts" to seeing President and Mrs. Obama dancing to "At Last". I just couldn't help but feel hopeful.


I heard today that there were between 1-2 million people at the national mall yesterday for the inauguration. There were no arrests.

It's nice to know that, on such an important day, with the large number of people witnessing history, we can be a peaceful nation. Yes we can.

A New Day Has Come

As I said the day after the election, this is an "do you remember where you were" moments.

I was so happy to find out that the kids were able to watch the coverage at school today. I taped it just in case they didn't get to see it.

It was unbelievable to see just how many people were in DC. I would have loved to have been there, but there weren't enough porta potties.

I can't wait to see what the next four years has in store.

Can We Have Your Attention Please

Well, tomorrow night is our next big "meeting" about the boundary issues in our school district. There are so many people in many neighborhoods besides ours, wondering why the committee came up with the proposal they did.

It is a question and answer session. (or so they say) I have a couple of questions I'd like answered. Hopefully I'll get a chance to ask them.

Here is a picture of our sign. So many people I've talked to thought this was all a "done deal". Our hope is that people will either realize it's not, have some questions of their own, or they don't know what is going on and this will make them curious.

There is a meeting again in two weeks. We'll be posting that time and address as well.

There's No Place Like Home

We finally made it!!!

Mom dropped me off at Sean's dad about 2:45 because we were eating dinner over there for Sean's birthday.

We left Sioux City around 10 or so. It was so nice to leave behind the snow and slick roads. It will feel so good to sleep in my bed.

While this was a sad, difficult and hard few days, I wouldn't change one moment I got to spend with my mom. (inside joke to mom~salted nut roll alarm)

I would have liked to spend four days with mom under different circumstances, hopefully we can some day.

We laughed, we cried, we shared so much. Mom, you're a strong, caring, loving wonderful person and grampa is looking down on you with pride.

I love you so much.

A Special Kind Of Hell

That's where mom and I are. We left for home about 1:30. We drove about 178 miles in about 4 1/2 hours!

For a large stretch of that, we were going about 40 mph. It was very odd, there would be stretches where there would be clear roads and then you could drive a mile or less and they would be covered with snow and ice.

We saw about 16 or more cars that went off the road. One car we came up to was on its side. Suddenly a man popped his head out of the drivers window and was waving his hands. I pulled over, told mom to call 911 and I ran over to him. He was yelling "help, please help, we've got kids in here". Some how about three or four of us were able to put the car back on all four wheels.

All four of them, (the man, his wife, 9 month old, and a 5 year old) were fine. As we were driving, I kept telling mom we'd be home around 2 am. That was wishful thinking. We got about 26 miles outside of Sioux City and mom said maybe we should stop for the night. It was getting dark and the roads were wet. With the temperature dropping we were worried about ice and having something happen in the dark.

We called dad and Sean and they agreed we should stop and stay the night and not take a chance on something happening. So, we should be home on Sunday, two days later than we originally planned.

Funny things that happened today:

• Mom needed to use an ATM. We found a bank and went to the drive thru, no ATM. Mom tells me to pull up to the widow and ask if there is a place with an ATM. I ask, the girl looks at me like I'm nuts. She inquires if I need a special one. When I say no, she tells me to pull through the drive thru and there is one on the other side of the parking lot.
• Not long after we stopped to help the family, we stopped to hit the bathroom and grab a snack. My feet were cold because my socks were wet. I asked the guy at the register if they by chance sold socks. He looked at me like I had three heads. I took that as "no".
• When we were headed to the motel, (going the wrong direction) I was on the phone with dad who was telling me the names of some of the restaurants close to where we would be staying. He was saying them so fast, mom was asking if she was going the right way and I was trying to tell mom the names of the restaurants and answer her question at the same time. Dad said "Hu Hot", I thought he said "Hoo Ha" and mom thought I said "Hu Hause". In the end, we ate at Applebee's.

I know there were a couple more, but I'm pooped. Mom is quietly "purring" and I'm sure I will be soon as well.

We still have a couple hours in the car ahead of us. It is snowing slightly here tonight. It is also snowing in Omaha.

Let's all pray the weather is good to us and we can be in our beds tomorrow night.

BTW, the title of tonight's blog was provided mom who made the comment "this is a special kind of hell" when we were trying to find a place to eat, saw someone get stuck in the snow and suddenly realized just how much snow there was on the ground now and thought about just how much might fall tonight.

For what it's worth, this hell is beautiful. (if you can get past the smell of the slaughter house but that's another story)

South Dakota Fashion Statement

Yep, I set one tonight.

Mom and I each brought two blankets with us to have in the car "just in case". We use them at night for extra warmth. (we both tend to be cold) Today, we took two of the blankets with us because when we run the defrost for the windshield, our legs get cold. We used them tonight to cover up our legs on the way back to the motel from the nursing home.

As we were getting ready for bed, we were putting our blankets on our beds. (btw, never, never, NEVER use the bedspread at a motel/hotel~take a minute, stop think~ew!) Anyway, mom asks where the other two blankets are. I said I didn't remember her bringing them in and said I bet they were in the car. We are now in our pajamas and mom says it's too late now, we just won't use them...

• Me: "That's ok, I'll go get them"
• Mom: "No, you're not. It's ok"
• Me: "I'll just put my shoes on, wait, better yet, I'll put on the Noelle's pink & purple galoshes"

Mom is now laughing looking at me. I'm wearing a short sleeved light blue pajama top with light blue and white striped capri bottoms as well as pink and purple galoshes. My wild out of control hair is pulled up on top of my head with a large hair clip.

As luck would have it, our room is on the bottom floor with an outside door. I go running across the parking lot. Keep in mind, it's about +3 here, (I know, heat wave) and as an added bonus, there's a McDonald's right next door. As an added bonus plus, the drive thru is on the side next to the motel and it's full. So people in the drive thru, looking out windows of the motel, driving by in general, (be it the highway or the street), saw me running in a way that according to mom "I can't think of how to put it in a way that sounds good".

I get to the car, no blankets. I run back to the room and find mom laughing. (I even think she snorted a little) As I'm taking off the galoshes, I hear this...

• Mom: "Oh, you know, I bet I left them at the front when we came in"
• Me: looking at her thinking 'what!!!' as I say, "Ok, I'll go get them"
• Mom: "Ok, put my shirt on" pointing to a denim shirt
• Me: "No, I'm going like this"
• Mom: "No, you must" (yes, she actually said that)
• Me: "Watch me"

I head down to the lobby to get the blankets, still in pajamas, minus galoshes but with my non-slip Winnie The Pooh socks with Pooh heads on the back. As I get there, I hear the guy at the front desk say "oof dah!". I'm not going to lie, I thought maybe he saw me running and was so traumatized, he was just now able to speak. Soon after saying "oof dah", he said "who wants to get up that early on a Saturday". Maybe he liked my running after all.

Needless to say, I found the blankets and we are ready for bed. Other "exciting" things that happened today:

1. Some good Samaritan thought they were trying to help us by closing the hood all the way on the car. Um, no, they broke the connection for the dip stick heater. We stopped by O'Reily and got the last one they had.
2. I discovered I lost a ruby out of the ring Sean fixed for me last Christmas. I am very devastated by this. I waited about five years to get it fixed, and now I'll have to wait again.

Well, it's time to hit the hay. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. It will be hard to leave gramma, but we know she is in good hands. Mom has some cousins that live close that will be able to check in on gramma, so God bless Nelda and Donna.

Mom is snoring, I mean "purring". According to her, I have been doing the same. It will be nice to be back in our own beds, we are so exhausted.

Your Nose Hair Will Freeze When It's -32!

This is something I have discovered. I could have lived my whole life not knowing this information.

It is amazingly, freakishly, ridiculously cold here. I can't believe people actually live here when it's this cold. Dad bought a heated dip stick to put in the car at night. First night so far so good.

Mom and I will be staying until Saturday instead of Friday. Gramma was released to the nursing home Wednesday as we were heading up here.

She is pretty weak and doesn't eat very well. I hope she can get some strength back and get home soon. I'm praying that God does what is best for her.

We had a nice visit today. We have some paperwork stuff to do tomorrow. Since we aren't sure just how long it will take, we decided it best to stay the extra day.

Tomorrow we heard it's supposed to be "real nice". I got excited until she said -15!

On The Road Again

Mom and I will be hitting the road Wednesday morning. Gramma fell, hit her bedside table and broke her sternum. As an added bonus, she has pneumonia. It will be a quick trip as we will be heading back on Friday.

They are having a heat wave in South Dakota...-20. I guess I better pack something warm.

Almost The Big 40

Today is a special day for a special someone.

Sean is 39 today. He probably had one of the best birthday mornings ever. He got up and went to work for himself, something he has wished for many birthdays. He also had "Happy Birthday" sang to him slightly off key.

So, Happy Birthday to my wonderful, loving, hard working, supportive, fun, and handsome hubby.

I Love You!!

We've Got A Fight On Our Hands

As I've said before, I really do like the school district we are in. We moved to Liberty because of the schools. Now, it looks like several of us will be fighting with the school.

One of the main reasons we bought this house was because there is an elementary, middle school, junior high and high school with in one mile of our house...or so we thought.

It all started as a quiet rumor. Noelle came home from school saying she may have to go to the other junior high. No way, we thought, the other one is three miles away. Why would she go to that one when when there is one one mile away? We didn't hear anymore about. Then, Sunday, I got an email from someone from church whose daughter is in Michael's grade and son is in Noelle's. She asked if I knew about the boundary meeting that was open for comments.

Could this be real? I got another email from a different mom who said not only was there a boundary issue, but a budget issue as well. (don't even get me started on the things they want to cut)

They had a budget meeting on Monday night and I asked why there was a need for the tax payers to pay for district employees to have cell phones. Answer~safety. I pointed out the fact that before cell phone were ever used, people used house phones and schools managed to run successfully. (they did say that employees will now have to pay for the personal use of cell phones~WHAT, why just now and not before???)

I also asked why taxpayers needed to pay for the grass to be green at all the schools when most of us can't afford to water our grass. Answer~image and again "safety". I questioned the safety and he started to mention playing fields. I explained that, while I can understand the safety issue regarding football, soccer and baseball fields, I really don't think that "green grass" is what makes a parent select Liberty as the district for their child. There was no answer for that.

At the boundary meeting on Tuesday, at an auditorium that was about 3/4 full, I was one of about 40 parents and members of the community who spoke. If the school board was wondering if the parents and students were happy about the proposed changes, I think they have their answer.

One of the big things my neighbors and I are fighting, is the fact that they are wanting to take Michael, and the other soon to be middle schoolers in our neighborhood, out of a school that is under capacity and have them go to one that is over capacity. How over capacity is this other school? It will have 39 students too many. How many soon to be middle schoolers from our neighborhood are they wanting to move? Would you believe 39!?!

We are going to put the time and location for the next two public meetings on the sign outside the shop so that others in the community can know when and where to be. There are several of us in the neighborhood who will be passing out fliers to every person in our subdivision.

One of the biggest problems about this whole thing is the fact that parents were not properly informed and then there is the issue that there are members of the boundary committee that have publicly stated they agree with the proposal and that their neighborhoods' disapproval is not going to change it. (it was not pretty when they were saying that at the meeting Tuesday)

The number one complaint at the meeting was that according to the district website, the role of the boundary advisory committee is "primarily to advise the Board of Education on community issues and desires regarding boundary changes". Not one parent or community member could raise their hand to say they had been asked for their opinion or at the very least informed about what was going on.

Each school had two people on the committee, meaning that there were, in our case, four people. We never got a phone call, email or snail mail from any one, not one.

The kids and their friends are wanting to make posters and t-shirts to wear to the next two open meetings. Michael and all the other kids in 5th grade signed a petition to keep them all together.

Who know where this will all go.

HAPPY 2009!!!

Let me be one of the first to wish you and yours a wonderful, safe, happy and healthy 2009!!

A few thoughts to live by:

• It's a clean slate, a fresh page, a new start.
• Forget the past, forgive yourself.
• Move forward, hold your head up.
• Be the first footprint in the snow.
• Laugh until it hurts, but not enough to wet your pants.
• Do something you've always wanted to do. (as long as it's legal)
• Take a moment to be silly and don't care whose watching or what they think.
• Believe in yourself.
• You only live once, so slow down, close your eyes, take a deep breath and soak it all in.