Minnesota Madness

My Sad Little Flower

2009-06-25T14:15:00.004-05:00

Wow! I have not blogged for a VERY long time. I think about it a lot, about what I'd like to blog about, then never seem to have time to do it, or at least I think I don't have enough time to write what I want, so I don't do it! Vicious cycle! So my new goal is to just do it! I have a list of things I'd like to blog about, but this one was not on my list. Oh, well! I have planted lots of pretty flowers in containers on our deck and around the yard. In particular, I planted a hot pink gerbera daisy. It was lovely. I enjoyed it every day. Early this morning we had a rain downpour. It rained HARD. When I got up this morning and opened the blind over the deck doors, I noticed the deck was covered with leaves and things. Then I looked over my plants, and this is what I saw.....

My sad little flower used to look like this....

Megan did point out that another blossom was growing, so hopefully my sad little flower will once again be beautiful!

Walk Like a Duck.....

2009-01-11T22:19:00.002-06:00

I have meant to post this for quite a while. Rich brought home a couple of these bottles (they are about the size of a peanut butter jar...) from work in November. Lockheed Martin handed them out to employees.... I laughed and laughed at the front of the container, then laughed even more as I read the rest of the info on the label. This is an ice melt product called "Duck Droppings", Stop, Drop, So You Don't Flop! Here is what the label has to say....

READ BEFORE USE: So, what is "walking like a duck"? It's simple. Employees should bend slightly at the knees, walk flat-footed with the center of gravity directly over feet and take short steps or shuffle for stability. No waddling is required. In addition, walking in designated, cleared paths and wearing proper, treaded footwear will help ensure that employees stay safe on the way to their destination. Facilities and the ESH Awareness Team encourages everyone to keep a lighthearted attitude about the initiative, but remember the goal of the program... making sure that employees don't slip or fall and injure themselves outside this winter.

Stay Safe....Target Zero. "Quacks" and safety suggestions can be sent to the ESH group at ...

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The Facilities department and the Environmental Safety & Health (ESH) Awareness Team is trying to bring a higher level of awareness to protect employees and stop needless injuries. The team's "Walk Like A Duck" campaign is a fun, lighthearted way to get people thinking about what to do when they encounter slippery surfaces outside. All kidding aside... falls outside on slippery sidewalks and parking lots are a serious issue and have resulted in some significant injuries to Eagan employees in the past, independent of job title or salary grade. Everyone is susceptible to the harsh winter conditions.

The Stop, Drop, So You Don't Flop campaign offers employees a new tool in addition to regular plowing - salt shakers - that employees can pick up and keep with them as necessary when walking between cars or on sidewalks - anywhere, anytime. Two barrels of shakers will be placed at each of the North and South employee entrances. Pick one up at either entrance, use the shaker until the contents is gone, then bring it back, place it in the empty bin and grab another one.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE: Sprinkle the ice melter on ice and snow at the rate of 1.0-4.5 lbs per 540 ft(squared), depending on the amount of snow and ice present. When applied during the early stages of a snow storm, this ice melter makes snow removal much easier.

And then there are the CAUTIONS which I won't list here because we all know what those will say -- don't eat it, don't put it in your eyes, don't use it around food, may irritate skin, etc, etc...

The kids have had fun making Rich practice walking like a duck and asking him if you used his Duck Droppings today. Then Rich and I get to laugh as we watch them practice... I should film that....

Happy 2009!

2009-01-02T12:02:00.002-06:00

I can't believe 2008 is over. This was an interesting year for us. It seems like we could say that about every year, though. Nikki got married, Rich unexpectedly had to find a new job, I started working part time, all kinds of little and big changes occurred!

We (the kids and I) are in Rochester visiting the Burton's. The Burton Hotel is lovely. It is our favorite bed and breakfast! Plus there is built in entertainment for everyone! Especially me, I just like to watch Ann launch herself off the couch or irritate Kambrie by teasing her. Ann and I have had more fun than the kids this time, I think. Rich was at home and Phil was out with a friend, so Ann and I spent New Year's eve watching movies, eating chocolate, and telling the kids to go away and leave us alone. On New Year's day we went shopping at the mall and ate a yummy lunch at Hu Hut's. The kids played outside for hours in the afternoon. After a yummy dinner of waffles, hashbrowns and bacon, we watched more movies and ate more chocolate. Friday morning Ann and I went to Baker's Square for breakfast with Leslie, Lorie, Kris, and Janus! Do you see a food theme developing here?

Breakfast with the girls was entertaining. Lots of laughter and stories. I definitely have a new appreciation for the word "raw". Since then, Ann and I have been sitting by the fireplace getting ready for lunch! Not really.... I probably won't be hungry for days! Ann has been using her new laptop, and I have been using Phil's. We decided we should be productive and do something like "blog". We wouldn't want to strain ourselves or get off the couch (or the floor) or do anything too stressful. I did get Logan some lunch.... what does that count as?

We'll head home this afternoon, then the fun will have to stop. The kids have things they need to work on before school starts back up, and I suppose I should undecorate the house. Then in 2 weeks the fun can begin again! We will be on our Disney Cruise! We leave on the 16th. Maybe I shouldn't eat for the next 2 weeks......

The Rant about the Christmas Tree, by Logan

2008-12-16T14:13:00.010-06:00

Oh, the ranting that goes on in these little clips is priceless. We often never really know what upsets Logan or why he feels the way he does or responds the way he does to things. It's always surprising but rarely hilarious. Logan was not pleased with our Christmas tree choice. He wanted to go WAY back to one that Megan had suggested. It was way too cold for me to even consider going back, and since Logan was also miserably cold, I'm not sure why he wanted to stay out in the cold even longer. His tears were freezing to his frozen cheeks! He was MAD and nothing anyone said could make it any better. So we got the tree around 4 pm. The videos were taken around 9:30 pm that night after the ward Christmas party. He was still just as mad. At the party, he told anyone who would listen about our horrible tree. According to Logan, there is no love in that Christmas tree. He finally warmed up to the tree. It took a few days. Decorating the tree is one of his favorite things, so I'm sure that helped. Enjoy. I'm sure it's only hilarious to us, but thought I'd share....

Hunting for the Perfect Christmas Tree

2008-12-13T21:59:00.004-06:00

Last Saturday, the 6th, we decided it was time to find our Christmas tree. This was a stupid idea. It was freeze-the-snot-in-your-nose-cold. Needless to say, we did NOT look very long, but came away with a nice fraiser fir. We drove about 30 miles north to a tree farm in Stacy. It was a good place -- they had tons and tons of trees. You could cut any tree you wanted, any size, for $34. They hand you map when you drive in so you know where you are and where to go for the kind of tree you want. The coolest thing was the tree shaker. I'll have to see if my video turned out. The sun was on its way down and I was filming from the wrong angle... However, I did get a few good photos! Logan was not pleased with our final tree selection. He wanted to go back to cut down one that Meg had thought was good. It was, but it was back a ways and I was too frozen to go back. He was MAD. He cried and I was trying to dry them off before they froze on his face. Did I say he was not happy? He was also extremely cold and not happy about that either, which made us laugh even more because he wanted to GO BACK for that one tree, instead of just be done with it and go to the car. I will add a video that I took later that night after we got home from our ward Christmas party. It was 5 hours later, and Logan was still MAD and RANTING about how much he hated our tree. Classic stuff in our house!

Megan, Logan and Dusty freezing but happy, well Logan was not, but 2 out 3 is pretty good!

Meg and Dusty. Dusty wanted to cut the tree down!

Dusty was the only one smart enough to wear snowpants, which was a good thing since he got down and dirty with the tree. Luckily the mud was frozen!

We told Dusty that since he got to cut the tree down, he had to drag it to the car. He was very willing and had a great time with his tree!

This is after the tree had been shaken and wrapped. They have this cool contraption that will hold 2 trees at a time, and then shakes them violently to get all the dead needles and other things out of the tree. It was way fun to watch. Even grumpy-boy Logan thought it was fun -- from the car anyway, he was too cold to get out again. Then they would wrap it if you wanted. This is the wrapping contraption you see in the photo.

Small but mighty!

Well, hello there, little reindeer, otherwise known as a caribu!

Here is the tree shaking in action!

Rich and I just watched the little videos of Logan ranting about the tree. Oh, my child! That is priceless video! I will post them tomorrow!

Gas Prices

2008-12-13T21:46:00.002-06:00

So I took this last Saturday, December 6th. On Monday gas was down another 10 cents, and then eventually dropped to $1.45. Friday it jumped to $1.75, and today it is back down to $1.59. I'm confused. Don't get me wrong, these are great, lovely, low prices compared to what they have been, and filling my 42-gallon capacity vehicle isn't quite as painful. However, the constant and quickly changing prices is confusing!

Eight Things Tag....

2008-12-13T20:52:00.003-06:00

Okay, here goes! I've been tagged by both my dad and sister.

8 Shows I Watch

Life
Chuck
The Mentalist
Survivor
Amazing Race
The Unit
Pushing Daisies
11th Hour

8 Restaurants I Love

Axel's Bonfire
El Sol
Fredrico's
Maddox
Olive Garden
Red Lobster
Chili's
Market Street Grill

8 Things I Did Yesterday

Got up and got myself and the kids ready for school -- left for school at 8:45 so I'd be on time for work (at the school). I was para-subbing, but 2 of the kids who have paras were out sick, so I was sent home after an hour. Rich was off work so it was okay with me!
I went to Kohl's -- tried on about 20 pairs of jeans, maybe more, and finally found one that worked -- it was the second to last pair I tried on. I also found a few things for the kids.
Went home from Kohl's and brought Rich back to Kohl's to look at shoes for work. While he was trying on shoes, I sat in the demo shiatsu massage chair. It was wonderful.....
Learned all about the Kensington Rune Stone -- One of Megan's 6-week social studies units is about Minnesota. Actually, it is making a book about Minnesota. They have a 32-page blank 8x10 inch book that they turn into a book all about Minnesota. It's a cool project that allows the parent(s) to also learn a lot about Minnesota while scouring the surrounding areas for things like Minnesota postcards, stickers, themed paper, etc., and helping your 4th graders put a book together while following the rules and outline. Finding Minnesota postcards has been a headache. I know where they are at the airport. Someone finally told me where I could successfully find a few.......
I went to a store called "Love from Minnesota". It is about 16 miles south from us. It was a very fun store, I must admit, but I was not happy that I had to go that far for my daughter's 4th grade project. It was a crafty store with moose, and geese, and loons, and bears, and eagles, and fish, and cabins, and lakes, and anything and everything related to those things! Cute cute cute!
Before the store, Rich, Logan, and I went to the church house. I dropped them off and went to the MN store while they went to Cub pack meeting. They were doing a service project for military personnel and then awards. I made it back in time for the awards ceremony and treats. Then we helped clean up and went home!
Before we got home, I made sure that Dusty had made it home from the middle school knowledge bowl, and then we stopped to pick up Megan from a friends house. They had decided to have a sleepover, so we went home, I gathered up her "stuff" and sent Rich the delivery dad back to Amanda's house!
Around 10:30 pm the phone rang. It was our friends the Terrell's. Derika was in labor and they wondered if Tiaunna, who is Megan's good friend, could come stay with us. Sure, I said, however Megan was at Amanda's.... that did leave an empty bed for Tiaunna, though! So, I cleaned Megan's room so Tiaunna wouldn't be scared and so that she could find the bed....

8 Things I Look Forward To:

Christmas
The Disney Cruise in January!!!!
Visiting the Burton's again during Christmas break
Megan being done with her Minnesota book (3 more weeks..... )
Eating yummy Christmas treats, like oreo truffles after I make them!
Visiting family and friends, and welcoming visitors
Seeing REAL mountains (the bluffs ARE lovely...), the drive through Sardine Canyon and rounding the bend waiting for Cache Valley to come into view, driving through Logan Canyon (especially the part where the trees meet over the road by Wood Camp) and seeing Bear Lake at the end of the journey!
Warmer weather....

8 Things I Wish For:

Better economy, no Obama, I could go on and on here....
Cure for diabetes
Cure for autism
Or at least the ability to get inside Logan's head to observe what goes on in there and figure out how things work for him.
Get inside the head of my 13 year old and shake it up a bit!
That my children can be happy and healthy as possible, and know how much they are loved
Live closer to family
A piano

8 People I Tag

Well, since all of my family has been tagged and not many other people know I have a blog, that leaves Ann and Leslie! Andy hasn't done it yet, has he? Neither has Missy, although they have both been tagged.... hmmm.....

The Photo Tag......

2008-12-04T22:43:00.004-06:00

I have been negligent in posting, I know! I guess I need to start with the TAG.... Angie tagged me with the "post your 4th photo in your 4th folder" tag. Okey-dokey! Andy will love this one! However, I must explain why my this photo is so recent. See, it all started back in November of 2007 when I discovered that my husband, whom I love and adore, changed around our computers and in the process deleted all of my photos forever never to be recovered ever again. This wouldn't be a problem if I'd been a good girl and backed my dear photos up. Needless to say, I lost over a years worth of photos - Sept 2006 through Halloween 2007. I did get some of them back because I'd sent photo discs to Nikki, but not all of them. AND, most importantly, I haven't put any back on to the computer. So my photo folders begin with Nov 2007. Andy spent an afternoon with us in Minnesota in Feb of 2008. He bonded with the kids over pokemon, webkinz, and littlest pet shop! Fly back and see us again soon, Andy! Bring Missy next time!

Logan and his Glasses

2008-11-06T22:24:00.003-06:00

Well, I know my family will have to take a moment and check to make sure that this is really ME actually writing in a blog.... I know, I know, I've talked about doing it forever and finally decided to just drive in.... But it is me, and I am writing!

I thought I'd start with a little story about Logan. He is in 3rd grade this year. He has had glasses since he was three, but really only started wearing them for more than 3 minutes at a time when he started 1st grade. He would wear them for a few hours at a time, then last school year he did really well wearing them during the school day. He and Megan both have one eye that they see extremely well out of and one that they don't -- opposite eyes from each other -- so they see pretty well without their glasses.

Logan has been ..... hmmm, let's say "resistant" to wearing his glasses at school this year. He has then on when he leaves the house, and has tried stashing them in his locker or in his backpack when he gets to school. Took care of that one fairly quickly. The first part of October I was at the school in the afternoon (I work as a substitute paraprofessional) and walked by Logan's classroom after they had come in from lunch recess and noticed that he did not have his glasses on (he does take them off for outside recess and is supposed to put them back on when he comes in). Logan has a morning para and different afternoon para. So I asked his afternoon para, Connie, where his glasses were. She gave me this funny look, looked at Logan, then back at me and said, "Logan wears glasses?" I laughed pretty hard. I don't think she thought it was quite so funny. She was rather horrified that after more than a month of school she had never seen his glasses. After that there was a little note laminated to Logan's desk reminding him to ALWAYS wear his glasses!

A few weeks ago while I was working, I again notice that he did not have his glasses on right as school was starting. He had a substitute teacher that day, and he was standing in the classroom door way chatting with her. I stopped as I was passing his classroom and asked him where is glasses were. He put his hand on my back and pushed me in the direction I had been going and said, "Just keep on walkin', Mama, just keep on walkin'!" It's fun being in the school!