I don't know Jill & Kevin, but I wish I did!

Be sure your sound is on, and if you are as sentimental as me, have a kleenex handy ...



Now that's the way to start a life together!

As seen from the Guthrie Thrust Balcony last night ...

Banana Peels

Somewhere within the past year, on one of the blogs I read, there was a debate about the "right" way to eat a banana - which end you "should" start from. Well, I was just directed to this video ... and now I am going to go buy some bananas to try it!





(I know, I know, you can thank me later.)

Extreme Makeover ....

Here's the 3 stages of hair change in Brian yesterday ... I'm still getting used to the new look.

Weekend Work

When Hillmans return to China later this month, I will be storing their van for them. In return for storage, I get to use it for runs to IKEA or other times I need a large vehicle to haul stuff or kids or dogs or kids AND dogs. But.

Here is my garage as of this morning:And another shot:
Hmmm .... not quite sure where that van is going to fit in. But I am determined ... so this morning after I took those pictures I started sorting, cleaning, and tossing. I have made tremendous progress in the past 3 hours (and I am starting to think I should never move again as I have too much stuff. Even after making a giveaway pile and filling my garbage can.)

Here is the give-away pile. The game board is one that the boys picked up 3 years ago at the neighborhood curbside pick-up. It's never made it into the house, we have no idea if it works or not (it has a plug) and we have no game pieces to use with it. The TV works but the remote doesn't. The microwave works great. The VCR plays but won't record. And the boxes are full of clothes and other assorted stuff. (If anyone wants any of this let me know soon!)

And then there is the final pile. The problem pile. See, I have had a thing for boxes my entire life. Perhaps it stems from moving every 1-2 years during my formative years. Perhaps at one point in my life I was threatened "if you can't pack it in a box you can't keep it." Or perhaps I am just odd. But I have real difficulty throwing away a perfectly good box. Or the bubble wrap or packing paper or styrofoam peanuts that come in some boxes. And now I am (hopefully) moving soon, so it really doesn't make sense to get rid of any of these, right?

My pile of empty boxes (it doesn't look that bad, but know that every box you see is filled with more boxes. I am efficient.) Sigh.

Hopefully tomorrow I will finish up and have some "After" shots to show you. I have another week until I need the space, but I want to take advantage of the cool weather to get it done now. Wish me luck!

Old Friends are Best

Today I had lunch with Kelley, one of my very best friends in junior high and high school. I haven't seen her much in recent years, even though she lives fairly close, but we have reconnected through Facebook and are enjoying renewing our friendship. She just emailed me this picture she found in some box in her basement - it was December, 1976 so I had just turned 15, and she was a few months older than me. Neither of us remember where we were, but our best guess is Southdale since that is where we tended to hang out when we were together. Since it was winter and we were 15, one of our parents must have driven us - in warmer months we used to ride our bikes (something I would not let my kids do today - there are a lot of busy roads and intersections between here and Southdale!!!

I am so grateful for Facebook - it has brought me together with so many people from my past, and provided us with a way to reconnect virtually even if we aren't as geographically close as Kelley & I are. The memories we share are fun to discuss and it's really rewarding to see that we can still connect in a close and meaningful way, even without seeing each other in 20 years, because of that shared past.

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, to Iowa we go ...

We are leaving shortly for Iowa. Off to meet a large number of Brian's relatives. Off to celebrate his mom's 75th birthday (shh, it's a surprise!) Off to visit Mitchellville - a town I had never heard of before February of this year, but now it feels like I could be from there, too.

I assume this is the town logo? This was the first image that came up when I googled for images of Mitchellville.

And apparently they have cows.

What would Iowa be without cows?

And, apparently, there is a giant mushroom somewhere. I will try to find this and get a picture of Brian & me in front of it.

There is (or was?) a Reform School for Girls there in Mitchelville, too. Looks kind of spooky.

Check back later this week for current pictures and stories of our trip!

A Milestone Reached

Measured today for the first time in 10 months ...

But my hair is bigger!

Apologies for not posting more frequently ...

Time sure has a way of marching on, regardless of human intent, doesn't it? Today I give you bullet points, as I just don't know that I can manage much more.

• Carla was here and is already gone. *sniff* I hardly got to see her. If you haven't heard, her role for the next several weeks is now stage mom (Matron, you can give her tips, maybe?) as her son is in the movie "Kung Fu Kid" starring Jaden Smith (yes, the son of THOSE Smiths.)
• Fireworks were great at the Bloomington Summerfete on the 3rd. It was the world premier appearance of former spouses Steve & Karen Peterson each with their respective new honeys, all on the same blanket.
• I am baffled by Sarah Palin.
• My townhouse is still not sold, and I am seriously (as opposed to all those frivolous times) considering taking it off the market and making do. I have not been looking at houses to buy at this time, though I am still very aware that the dream house I didn't get *is* still available. If we were to stay in the townhouse, we could spend some time and money fixing it up a bit to make it more comfortable, though we still would not have a yard to let the dogs run in, and I would still have to drive the boys to school every morning. Those are the two drawbacks. The benefit, of course, is that we could stop keeping it so darn impersonably clean.
• I am still among that great group commonly known as the unemployed. I am still in the running for one clinic RN position at Planned Parenthood, and I don't know when that decision will be made. I am plotting Plan B (err, I guess Plan L would be more realistic) which is to get a job somewhere like Caribou or Home Depot or Barnes & Noble to generate some income while I figure out how to become an independent millionaire. I'll keep you informed as to how that goes.
• Part of the reason I haven't been blogging too much is that Facebook makes it so easy to stay over there all the time. Those of you who aren't on FB yet, you really oughtta be. Just yesterday, I friended my great-aunt in Oslo, and someone I went to middle and high school with who knows my friend Teresa with whom I was in a homeschool co-op with years ago and who knows my sister-in-law from Ireland, AND that someone who was my classmate years ago is a long-time family friend of Brian and his family. SMALL WORLD, indeed.
• I took the boys to see "UP" last week and if you haven't seen it yet, GO. TODAY. BRING KLEENEX. (And don't bother spending the extra $$$ to see it in 3-D. 2-D is wonderful.)

OK, I think that's it for now. Life is in the details - didn't someone profound say something like that? That's as close as I get today. Happy Monday, all!