Hurricane Katrina

Everyone knows about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. We have all heard that it is probably the worst natural disaster to hit the United States. So how does it affect me, a Minnesotan...

First off, it hits me emotionally. Seeing these places just torn apart, 90% of come cities are destroyed, is just heart wrenching. To hear about the conditions in the Superdome where originally 10,000 people were staying to 30,000+ people that have been rescued and brought there; and now they have to get them out. To know that (years ago we drove from Texas to Florida and) I may have driven on some of these roads and past some of these areas that are just wiped out.

Second, it hits people I know even harder. My friend Tonya used to live in New Orleans. Her mother, father, sister and brother-in-law still do. Thankfully her Mom and Sister went to Alabama with her sister's pets and her father went somewhere else. Only her brother-in-law stayed back to due his duty as a firefighter. But they don't know what they will be coming back to. And my friends on Scrapshare who live in the area or have close family/friends that do, that are just agonizing over what has become of their cities and towns.

Last, it is going to have effects we do not even know about. The first was gas prices going up. One-fourth of all of the US oil is "farmed" in the gulf regions. This has already caused gas prices to get close to $3.00. I went and got gas Monday night and a lot of people were trying to get ahead of the rise. Plus, I heard today that some crops, that are grown there, were of course wiped out. And economically, who knows what this will do. Will people lose their jobs because their businesses were wiped out or will their be more jobs for those in areas like construction to help rebuild? I heard that gambling is a big industry down there with their floating casinos, and most - if not all - were wiped out. Will people ever visit New Orleans like they used to.. will it still be the Big Easy? Or will people just not come.

I stayed up later then I planned to last night watching some of the coverage. It just tugs at me, more then any disaster ever has. I only hope and pray that people will get back to their version of normal more sooner then later.

Here is a pic from www.wcco.com showing the flooding in New Orleans:

I think I will go give blood to help.
For those of you dealing with this yourself, I am sorry.

C-Ya!

Cutie Pies!

Ok, I have got a ton of cute pics that I swear I am going to post online... either here or on a special picture site. They are, of course, of the kids!!

They were being so cute last night. Since Nick had an allergy attack I had to take care of everything and overall they were pretty good (though not as good as they maybe would be for Nick). I fed them pancakes - which they wanted to help make. Then they took a bath. They love their baths.. we have resorted to having them take them together, just because it is much easier and they have a lot of fun. Jeffrey likes to take the sponge and wash everything, while Samantha likes to drink the water and dump it out. After that I dried them off and got their diapers on and then took some random black and white pics (most did not turn out because I was having too much fun w/ the flash - absence of the flash). Then off to brush teeth, get dressed and go to bed. And all of it ended at 10:10pm! Ha! It was a long night too. One of the cutest things is when they are talking to each other. Usually Jeffrey asks the questions and Samantha answers yes or no, but sometimes she throws other things in.

Hopefully Nick does not have an allergy attack tonight. I really wanted to try to figure out a healthy meal and just could not do it last night. I did go to Target today and got myself some healthier snacks for work. I really just have to get into the smaller meals and water. Laura, friend/co-worker, said we can start walking at lunch because w/ (her) being pregnant she does not feel like going to the gym.. so hey, this weight loss challenge may work out.

Well... off to do more work!!
C-Ya!

MN State Fair

Well... I said I was not going to do it... but I did.  We went to the MN State Fair. 
Growing up this was never a tradition.  We went maybe a handful of times.  But ever since I have been w/ Nick we have gone almost every year. 

This was the first year for Samantha and Jeffrey's second year and I have to say... they probably had more fun then me.  Not to say it was not fun, but some of the excitement for me was watching them have fun.

We started out the day (at about noon)... let me back up... we started out the day at Target to get another lightweight stroller so each kid had one... then we got to the fair.  Our first stop was the corn booth... this is the place last year where Jeffrey had his first bite of fair food, so it was only fitting that Samantha have hers there (though Jeffrey did not want any really).  Next we headed towards the old machinery hill area.  This was where Jeffrey and Samantha got to be little farmers.  At the end of that they got to pick out a gift and got the little Serta counting sheep.  Next was over to the Kidway where they got to go on rides.  First off, they went on the race car ride and got to sit in a Jeff Gordon car.  Unfortunately, Samantha did not have as much fun.  Next Jeff went on some boat ride and then Jeff, Sam and I went on some plane ride.  Samantha was still scared but I held on to both of them to calm their fears.

After that we started to go in some buildings and eat some food.  I got to try the spaghetti and meatball on a stick.  Nick had the cheese curds.  We then went and got french fried and went over to the all you can drink milk booth.  There we filled up on chocolate milk.  Then over to the DNR building and we saw the fish.  Next we went back over to the buildings and machinery hill.  After that we started heading back to the car.

This meant we stopped back at the food building with a stop for Nick to get his cholestral checked.. and he got more cheese curds while I got to try the fudgepuppies.  Then we realized we had not been in the building with the butter heads of the Princess Kays... so over to there and some ice cream for Nick and the kids.  Then we headed back towards the car.  Jeffrey noticed the skyride and wanted to go so we all went on that.  Nick and I realized it is actually scarier when you are older because you worry more about the cables breaking.  Both the kids had fun with their birds eye view.  Off of that we stopped for a couple minutes at Heritage Square.. and then we headed home (at about 8:30pm).

Phew... both kids did not take a nap at all - so within 5 minutes of getting in the car they were both asleep.  Nick and I were worn out (especially me - I am still sore today).  And of course, I have tons of pics, but I need to download them still.

On another note... today is day 1 of the weight loss challenge.. and I probably did more walking then eating yesterday, so I think that helped.

C-Ya!

NASCAR

So, we are big NASCAR fans... especially Nick. We basically started watching the year we got married. This was the year before Earnhardt's crash & death and about the time the rules got more strict and the sport got more family friendly. I cannot say why I like NASCAR, though I am a sports fan in general (more football and basketball...). I mean, I do not have to catch every race... but with 36 (?) races, you are bound to miss one or two... but I do sure get into it when it gets closer to the end of the season. This is the second year of the "Chase for the Championship" - basically after 26 races, the top ten drivers compete to be the Champion. They also "erase" the points and give advantages in 5 point incriments.
Our favorite driver is Jeff Gordon.. though we also root for Jimmie Johnson.. and Chevy cars in general. Jeff is a 4 time champion. Last year in the chase he was 3rd (I think)... this year he is just trying to be in the chase.
Tonight's race was at Bristol, TN. Bristol is a very tough track because it is a half mile short track. Racing is tight, and most people leave Bristol with marks all over there car. Well, after some highs then lows Jeff finished 6th. This made him back in the chase in 10th place overall. Though the next two people are 11 and 12 points behind, respectively. Uggh!! It would be quite depressing if a 4 time champion would not be in the chase.
The good news is, everyone is predicting Jeff will be in the chase. The race tracks favor Jeff. So we will see.
And... if you cannot figure it out... my son's first and middle name is Jeffrey Gordon. Though, I thought of the name. Jeffrey because I liked the name and Gordon for my fil and his father. Though it does not hurt that he shares his name with our favorite driver!!

On another note... I got stuff done around the house today. Yippee!! I have more on my list for tomorrow... wish me luck!

C-Ya!

My Day

Well, in my quest to write really long entrys I have decided to start writing this now and just kind of fill things in as the day goes by.

So, first off. I got woken up last night by Jeffrey due to the "boomers" and "light, light".. so I am even more worn out because waking me up in the middle of the night makes me so off. And then I was warm the rest of the night because Jeff was in bed with us. Thankfully Nick shifted to the middle so I did not have to deal with squirmy kid. Samantha, on the other hand, sleeps the night away. Though I imagine there will come a day where they both want to be in bed with us.... then I will move to the couch!

I have done some "blog surfing" lately. And I am always amazed at what some people will write. Of course the ones that peek my interest are usually ones talking about what they have been doing. I do not care to read about batteries (yes I found that), nor your political musings. But if you talk about the crazy guy you saw in a bar... yea, I will stick around. There is some people I talk to online, and I need to put their sites on here, so hopefully I will get to that today. And do you know, if you click on the ads to your left (and down) or search the box underneath the ad, that I get paid!!! Not a lot, but still. Kind of funny how they are relivent to what I am talking about.

Today is Friday! Yippee!! (my new favorite word). Nothing planned for this weekend besides church of course. I do need to get some scrapbooking done and organize my pictures. Oh and there is the mound of clean laundry and the piles of papers on the table and the dirt in the bathroom and the pans in the sink that need to be taken care of, well yesterday. So... maybe... I will do that... I just have still been so exhausted. And my eye is still feeling "twitchy".

I have to say, I am not a hypocondriac... but sometimes, things make me wonder if I don't have some hidden disease. Like is the lump on my leg cancer, or the exhaustion a sign of something. I mean I am generally healthy, but I always just wonder. Of course if I was a hypocondraic I would have been in the dr 10 times by now, but that would just be too much work.

Hey, so "SHOUT OUT" to all my friends (notice I did not say peeps). I am starting to let people know I blog... so thanks for visiting. BTW, I have got some great friends. And trust me, I used to be a crappy friend, but I think I am getting better.

Isn't it funny how normal you really are. When you talk to people, you find that many of them go through the same highs and lows as you. And you take comfort in that. I know I do. I like generally being normal and average. Though there are times I want to be #1.

Three more days till the start of the weight loss challenge. Eek!! I need to figure out my "eating plan"... this is going to be hard. Because the family still will eat normally (and I have not said anything to Nick anyway). I guess just eat less of some stuff and get better versions of things (like low fat or whole wheat products). I mean, I really do not eat bad. And it should not be hard to cut out some snacking. So I think the big thing for me will be introducing exercise into my life. I think that will produce results.

I do not talk much about work here... but I have to say. They are remodeling a lot of it and we have to hear it. Right now it sounds like a dentists drill - ick!!

Ok... I think that is enough. If I have more later, I can always write more.
Have a good weekend!!

C-Ya!!

Long or short?

There is another title for ya. And I am not talking about my hair.
For some reason I feel (just slightly) bad when I just have a short post. I guess this goes back to my deep thoughts post. If it is really short it is probably not worth it. I mean, I guess I should not say that exactly. If I post every day, it should be ok if it is short, sometimes I just do not have a ton to say in one day.

So again, not much new. I just get up, go to work, come home, play with kids, go to bed. Though life is sure going to get busy again.

Maybe I will have more later.

C-Ya!

Up and Down

And no, I am not talking about a roller coaster nor am I talking about one of the kids' new favorite games. I am talking about how one day things can look kind of crappy and the next they can look quite sunny. I mean nothing is a sure bet... but I may have just seen some rays of sun.

Of course, I will go home tonight and something will burst my bubble.
Ah well, such is life.
At least we are halfway through the week. Even if time seems to fly by.

C-Ya!

Comment?

Hey, just a quick post to say... are you visiting? Comment and let me know what you think. I doubt this will get the publicity of dooce or boing boing but it would be nice to know you have stopped by.

And, I have to say. My kids are so precious. And I am grateful every day for their health.

Deep Thoughts

I have always wanted to use my blog to have a place to put all my deep thoughts rather then a play by play of my day/week/month.  But as you can see, I do not have many deep thoughts.  Yes, it is true... I am a superficial thinker.. It has always been hard for me to just sit and think about one thing or contemplate the mysteries of the universe.  How I wish I could think something bold.  Instead my mind is a jumble of many things!!  That is why I have always thought it was cool that I made up my own quote: "You can live in hope, but you cannot live on hope".  There ya go... my deep thought.

On another note.  I joined a weight loss challenge.  I really only have about 13-15 pounds that I could use - though I am still in the average part of the BMI scale.  So, I said my plan is to lose it by the end of the year.  I think I could maybe do it, I will be put on a team and would hate to bring them down.  I have never dieted before either.  Oh well, come Monday, I can do it!

Just a suggestion to anyone contemplating letting there parent/in-law move in... DON'T DO IT!  That is all I can say.
And there is nothing like having two kids in the "WHY" stage.  Well Jeffrey is leaving it (thankfully it was a short stage) but Samantha is going at it full bore.  Though at least they are both cute when they say it. 

So I ate lunch outside today.  I have to remember we have a month or less of nice weather.. I need to enjoy it.  I mean the State Fair starts Thursday and then it is Labor Day and then kids go back to school and then it is my birthday and then you might as well unpack your parkas because cold weather is a comin'.

And speaking of school, Jeffrey starts preschool on September 8!!!  Wow, my first baby will be going to school.  He is going to get so smart!!  He already kind of knows how to count to 12 (well he usually skips a number here and there).

And since I talked about Jeff, I need to talk about Samantha (some more).  She has 4 more teeth coming in so she will have at least 12 (kind of hard to see in her mouth).

And see... I told you I am a jumble of many things!

C-Ya!

Exhaustion

If you were to sum up my life lately I would say "exhaustion". And it is not like I have been busy every night and done tons of stuff, I just feel exhausted. We had the Parade of Ponds the end of July and that went really well. Nick got tons of compliments on how natural our ponds look and how they were the "best on the tour". And then after that weekend I just felt wore out. More wore out then normal. So then two weekend after that (about a week ago now) I had Creative Memories Showcase. I was so worried that it was going to suck because I was so tired. But I have to say it was the best Showcase (this was my third) so far!! So that was cool. And I scheduled 4 "get togethers" during that time! Wohoo!! Right before Showcase I had seen the doctor for my "tired problem" and he did not say I was crazy and that it was all in my head. He did say it could be one of many things and so I am scheduled for a sleep study in September and will find the results out in October...so at least that is going somewhere.

Otherwise, Nick has been crazy-busy... he has tons of work, just not a lot of employees. The kids are good. Jeffrey keeps impressing me with his speech. He talks so well. I can actually have conversations with him. And Samantha is becoming quite the talker too, which also impresses me because she is talking earlier then Jeffrey.
Oh and Nick let me get a digital camera for our anniversary... so maybe I will spend a couple minutes and post some pics of the kids... actually here is one...



I have been having a ton of fun taking more photos than I think I will know what to do with.

Well that is my summary.... I will have to try to post more again!!!

C-Ya!