Pitiful...

Can't stand to see such an old post...don't have it in me to update. Stay tuned...I'll be back.

And the "shew" goes to...

...oh my goodness, it's a tie!! As 'puppy' and 'robot' both scored equally high on the latest poll, I'm hoping you all receive that little robot puppy of your dreams.

Also, a belated congrats to 'sleeping in' as being our previous winner. I would have given you your award earlier, but I was in bed.

Christmas!

Abbie loving our Christmas tree after we put it up a few weeks ago


Our helper elf



Kids being crafty - they made "ice candles" for some family gifts. They actually turned out really cool.

Yep...it's Christmastime! Kids are home from school, ready to enjoy a nice long break. Presents are wrapped and under the tree, packages have been mailed and received, cookies have been baked and eaten, programs and concerts have been attended, parties have been held, now...we wait. For 3............long...........days.......... for it to actually be Christmas morning aka, the big dance, the show, the big enchilada.

Santa had some pretty tall orders to fill, but I'm sure he'll come through. I'm so excited!!

As I don't send Christmas cards, let me take this opportunity to tell all my faithful readers MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope we see each other soon!

True

Maggie is the best dog we've ever had.

It's here!

Remember a few years back when our president told us that the best way to fight terrorism was to go about our daily lives? We were told to go out to eat, to go shopping, to boost this economy that they were trying to destroy!

Well, we now have a TV bigger than our son. Take that, Osama!!

Yep, posting again!

Impressed aren't you!

First, congratulations to Miles for being the winner of the first Shew Box poll. I feel you ran a clean campaign, and although I was personally pulling for King Henry IIX, you are a worthy champion. I am a fan of your platform, and look forward to your tenure.

Second, highlights from the holiday break:

We introduced (and, of course, addicted) yet another family to the wonder that is Guitar Hero. Keith is right, Sony owes us a commission check.

We got our outdoor Christmas lights mostly put up. Those of you who have witnessed the progression know that we try to add at least one new element every year. This year's? Two more trees added to the colored line (you kinda gotta see it to understand, maybe I'll post a pic when it's completely finished). That's right neighbors, we love the Baby Jesus more than you!

Lots of cuddle breaks with a 2 and 4 year old. Also, having these same children cry because they didn't want to leave our house. Yes! I'm not just a "great Aunt" in name only...I live it man.

And the biggest highlight...

more days are off the calander, which means we're that much closer to the new TV being delivered!! Tomorrow is supposed to be the day. Yeah, I probably won't be blogging much for awhile. If you want to have contact with anyone in the family, put yourself in an HD signal and broadcast yourself to the family room.

Tootles.

Yum!

A rare occurance happened this evening. Abbie and Keith are both out of town for the night, so Adam and I were on our own. First, we went to Goodies and split a piece of French Silk Pie, then we were going to go to Spenser's for a smoothie and to watch our good friends Bryan and Jaron rock an original song on open-mic night...but, alas...open-mic night was trumped by karaoke night. So, Adam and I headed to Mr. Movies and rented Ratatouille, which we had both seen in the theatres, but was playing on the Mr. Movies screen when we went looking...so, in a nut shell....their marketing worked.

Anyway, the movie started me on my own personal food rant. You see, not unlike our favorite rat chef, people think I can cook. The truth is...I'm not sure about that. I feel like everytime I get the "what's for dinner" question, I have to re-invent the wheel. Remember when you were growing up and you could say "oh, my mom makes the best _________"? Well, I don't think my kids have that, mainly because I don't feel like we eat the same things very often. Now, you might think that's a plus...really, it's a lack of planning. It's 5:00, we need to eat in the next hour-ish, so I throw together what's in the fridge/pantry/cupboard and serve it. I'm trying to remember things we've eaten...and really liked...and I can't think of even one, even when I've made an effort and started with a recipe.

Which is another part of my rant. I google and print recipes...alot. I have recipes and the print date on the bottom is sometime in 1997. Remember 1997? People weren't even sure what the internet was in 1997. You would think with all these recipes, I would have those staple favorites that I make again and again. You would be wrong. Now that's not to say I never repeat dishes, I guess there is a small core. However the closest thing my kids have to the proverbial "my mom's ______________ is my absolute favorite", is the sweet potato in orange cups I make on Thanksgiving...and it's not even my recipe...it's Emeril's. *sigh*

Take it or leave it

I'm sick of every post starting with "well, it's been awhile..." or something to that effect. Here's the thing. I haven't posted regularly for some time because, well...people were reading them. People whom I didn't always know were reading them. This caused much distress.

I finally found some peace with this whole thing by adopting the following philosophy..."yeah, I wrote that...all of it...and sometimes there's mild swearing or opinions you don't like...take it or leave it".

So, I'm trying to live into a new era of blogging where I actually comment on all of your posts that I read - because you all know I read them all anyway - without fear that someone will track me down through said comment and read my blog without my knowing!! AHHH! Wait...it's fine. It's just a blog... To quote Cosmo Kramer, "That's right I'm out there baby, and I'm lovin' it!". Truthfully, I'm not sure I'm lovin' it yet, but I think I will...

In other news:

We recently painted 85% of our house a different color...I like it.

Keith is getting a new TV...possibly 2.

We've also 'tweaked' lots of areas of our house...gives us the feeling of something new without actually having to move.

The book of Daniel is currently blowing my mind.

Abbie has 8 more weeks until she can legally drive, albeit with a permit..help me.

Adam is turning into a stereotypical boy...he loves video games, football, star wars, pokemon and sharp things. I think I need to get that kid some dolls...

Keith had a birthday...so he's older...but that little rascal is still as cute as ever!

Here's some random eye candy before I go...

Handsome devil...

.......and Obama ain't too shabby either.

Yep, we saw Obama in Spencer, IA yesterday. It was a solid alright. I thought he seemed very charismatic (duh), but tired (again, another duh). Most of what he said was tired political rhetoric to me. I felt like....yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know Bush is an idiot and we need out of Iraq...tell me something new. I don't know, maybe I went into it with unrealistically high expectations of him. Don't get me wrong...great public speaker, very confident, and VERY hot.

Still...for me...the search continues. Maybe I'll come back to Obama...I really like him. My problem is, I really like alot of the choices...but don't love any of them...and I want to. If I could put about 3 of them in a blender I could create the uber-candidate...unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out how to do that yet. So, for now, enjoy the nice eye candy.

9:28 PM

...and the kids are both asleep. It is a special night. Why? Because friends, it's the first school night of the 2007-2008 school year. Tomorrow morning hundreds of children from the greater Spirit Lake area will rush to their buildings in eager anticipation of the education that is to come. Their minds like sponges, they will cling to every rich phrase uttered to them by their wise instructors. Their instructors, in turn, will shower them with worthwhile knowlege...and not only knowledge of basic academic skills, we're talking discussions on philsophy, world religions, your role in humanity and the greater good.

At least...I'm pretty sure that's what will happen.

Or...you could walk into a stale building that reaks of Elmer's glue, find your teacher is some guy that was burned out by the mid-80's but still teaches just to get his lousy pension in 2 more years, and you won't learn anything because all the teachers care about is showing the government that "no child was left behind in my school", so they can get their measly paychecks and go home to their pathetic lives.

It's probably somewhere in the middle.

Happy school year everyone.

Beware the ides of March...

...for they bring new posts.

As promised, I didn't post until March. Actually, you can all thank Shannon for the wonderful post which you are now reading. I decided to conduct a small experiment and not create a new post until someone commented on my old one about how old it was, or how I really needed to update, etc. The winner...Shannon.

So, here's some eye candy from our recent Disney trip. I kept the first one green to keep with the 'March theme' - but it's also sweet how my children are mocking the power ranger to his "face" and he doesn't even realize it. Cool.

Disney rocked in every way. My advice to everyone...go there...soon...stay as long as you possibly can....and eat at Boma's. We had an awesome time, and are already thinking about when we can go back! Look at us rocking that roller coaster! Sweet!

In other news, the jury is still out on this whole "early daylight savings time" thing. I live in Iowa. March is still winter here. Making it lighter later in the day only plays with my head and makes me yearn for spring and warm weather more than I already do. In the words of Steven Colbert "It's the fault of all the lazy farmers who won't get out of bed at 4 unless we tell them it's 5."

One last thing, and I hesitate to put this in. I haven't made this public knowlege, but the few people I've told have replied with "oh yeah, Keith told me that like 3 weeks ago" so, I guess it's not really a secret. However, putting it out in such a public forum makes it all too real, when in fact nothing is real...not yet. What am I talking about? Look here to find out. It's happening, I'm doing it, it's true...and so far, it sucks...seriously.

Hugs and Kisses everyone. Happy March.

My Gift to all of you...

...is a little more me.

I know, it's been awhile...seems like that's how I always start posts lately. Deb D. asked in a comment on the previous post if I'll ever post again. I thought about commenting back "no", yet here I am. Now that so many people have cracked my shield of defenses (commonly called 'searched for me') I've had mixed feelings about my good 'ol blog. She seems different to me now...I thought about abandoning her altogether. However, she's a steady 'ol gal, and we've weathered quite a few storms together. So, I was left feeling that, as long as I'm still safe from the Dust Bunny (thanks, Whitney), I will carry on. BTW, Holli - maybe you could look at building back some of the walls of my fortress, too many people are finding me!! Curse you search robots!! Also, to all of you whom I read, but don't comment on...I've had lots of comments to say! Really! For those of you whom I read and comment on...welcome back to the country, and...to the D-Nast...your last post is even older than mine.

So, quick update...
November - Keith's birthday...good. Involved lots of sushi, spur of the moment road trips, and gifts from a very attentive perspective. Thanksgiving...also good. Good food, lots of family, etc.
Also in this month was the now infamous day of waiting in line for a ps3...which we have yet to sell...because the price is dropping...which makes me sad. Good-bye 'free' X-box 360??? I don't know yet.

December - I feel bad commenting on this month as it's not dead yet and I don't want to make it feel self-conscious, or like I'm not appreciating it's final days. December, you are great! I've enjoyed you!

January (because I can see the future) - good. Keith's parents coming for a visit, Abbie's birthday, camping National conference (not necessarily good, but good to see the friends there), and someone else's birthday...on the 8th....rhymes with rebra...

February - AWESOME!! Six weeks from yesterday we will be in the second happiest place on earth!! Walt Disney World!!

Well, looks like I won't have to post til March...

Bigger or Better...you decide

Yeah, yeah...I know it's been awhile...off my back whitney!! So here goes, what has been keeping away from the wonderful world of blogness...

But before I get to that, just an observance. We're getting really bad at blogging/commenting, friends - myself very much included. Since this is one of the ways I keep up with certain people who choose to move far, far away near lands of wonderful seafood, we need to be better. I'll turn over a new leaf if you do!

So what's up...

BTW, in case you didn't understand the title of this post, it's a warning to you. This is gonna be one MEGA post!

Halloween is tomorrow! We've already done many costumed activities and have just a couple left. Why is this exciting...I mean, beyond the free candy??? BECAUSE! Check out Adam's SWEET costume!! He's a JEDI! He's totally into it! It's crazy! We feel like we're living in that commercial showing the balding guy talking about how now he shares Star Wars with the next generation. The nerd gene has not left the pool. It lives on strong! The dark side did take a mild victory this weekend however. Adam was robbed at the kid's costume contest at the Spirit Lake "mall". First prize, and the $100, went to some kid in a wal-mart costume. sick. I won't even embarrass myself by telling you how many painstaking hours went into creating the young warrior's robes. I console myself by knowing he's thrilled...and did I mention how AWESOME it is??! And yes, that is a little jedi braid that you see in his hair.

Abbie had her annual halloween party this weekend as well. It concluded with all the girls going to her first REAL dance. There were boys and everything. When we dropped them off the whole place smelled of sweat and cheap perfume...and plummeted me into a deep, dark flashback of the jr. high dances of my youth. The good news, there were contests and Abbie won TWO of them! She scored a cd player and a WOW cd...which she took to Wal-mart the next day and returned for a cool $37...sweet.

Okay, this is going to get annoying...I feel like this is one of those stupid Christmas letters where parents brag about their children, politely "forgetting" to mention little Jimmy's drug problem...but I just have to mention one more thing.

A few weeks ago Abbie and Adam both auditioned for the local children's theatre production of Beauty and the Beast. Abbie got the lead!! It was so fun!! Even Adam got a scripted part - a big deal in the children's theatre world. I'm thinking this could be a safety net occupation for one/both of them. It could definately bring in enough bank to support their parents.

Keith's birthday is this wednesday. The bummer part about that is that it is 6 days earlier than the release of Guitar Hero II. Can't wait.

November 7th cannot come soon enough. I'm sick of political ads and the politicians in them. Although one fun game to play is to try to create your own ad. We like to add phrases like "his opponent was witnessed kicking a kitten" and such. It spices things up.

If any of you are still reading this, I'm impressed...

Speaking of politics, here's another fun home game. It was born when I came to the conclusion that everything our president says has been dubbed. No, I don't mean the voice-over kind of dubbing...I can only assume if that were the case that he'd actually complete a cognitive thought. I mean 'dubbed', as in "having been altered by W". The examples are everywhere, so the challenge is to come up with one that he hasn't already done. First, start with a common saying/phrase. Here's an example to get you started: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Now, think of ways you can "dub" this saying. One way might be: An ounce of premption is the cure for a pounding...and so on. Have fun.

For some reason, blogger is not letting me add more images to this post. I wanted more eye candy!! Plus, it would really add mega-ness. Alright, I guess I'm done.

Go Huskers!

Alright...we didn't actually purchase the corn head hats...but we did go home with that foam finger.

The game was AMAZING. Yes, there are the obvious reasons...seeing YOUR team, and it was very nice that they pulled out an incredible 56-0 victory. However, the true value lies in the experience itself. For those of you who have attended large sporting events...I know you've got my back. It's not just the game...it's the whole experience. There's fireworks, stealth bombers buzzing the stadium (Keith's favorite part), the bands, the food, the Weiner Schlinger, the sights, sounds and smells of what autumn Saturdays were created for. Our kids have never attended anything on this scale...almost 85,000 in a sea of red. They were enthralled. Adam was engaged every millisecond for 4 hours. I didn't know he had it in him outside of the video game realm. Abbie asked when we could go again. I've never been so proud.

In other news...
D-Nasty back blogging...'bout friggin time!
Choidog...back in the books...s'bout tym u got sum schoolin'.
ShayK...if you don't update soon my head will explode.
Abbie gets braces on Thursday and we don't have dental...sigh.
Adam will be a green belt soon...be afraid, be very afraid.
No x-box in our house yet...keith says he "isn't sure if he wants one". This has kept me up at nights crying...because it can only mean he's dying. Why else wouldn't he want one???

Sick?...More like Suck!

Drugs are good...don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I've managed to catch the cold that Adam introduced to our house last week. Usually Keith and the kids are the only ones to get sick...but this one hit me too. Suck. Did I already mention the drugs?? They don't suck. They make you feel like you're swimming...even when you're on dry land!! Cool!!

Keith doesn't like my cookies. He says they're not soft and chewy enough. Last week I made a batch of run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookies and he went on and on about how amazing they were. I did nothing different. After 3 days of Jonesin' for more cookies, I made a batch using chocolate "chunks" (in a Nestle aisle near you) to sooth his cravings. They passed test again. I have no idea why.

We're all going to a Nebraska Football Game in just under 2 weeks!!! The kids are stoked, I'm stoked, and Keith is letting us be stoked!! I can't describe the magic....it'll be awesome and worthy of an entire post when we're back.

I don't know what to have for dinner. I think something with a psudeoephedrine sauce would be good. Did you know you can't just BUY that anymore!! I hate meth-heads!!

I'm going to go lie down...

Workin' for the weekend

So, this being the big holiday weekend, we are heading out tomorrow after school for a camping trip. We're headed to MN, near lots of tax-free shopping, so hope to finish up all those back-to-school needs.

Speaking of school, have you all realized that we have an "official" Jr. Higher living in our house? Abbie is finishing her first week of 7th!!! grade. She babysits and everything. Less than 6 months to go till the teenage years. I swear I'm not that old.

FYI - I'm really enjoying our new wireless router. I'm surfing in the living room while Keith is on the desktop in the office. No more waiting to get on the computer in our house...which should bode well for the frequency of blog entries. Ahhh...nothing brings families together like technology.

What are you all doing for your long holiday weekend??

Holy Cow!!!

...There's a new post!! Yes, friends, it's been a long time coming, but I'm back..and as mediocre as ever.

...I rode with Lance Armstrong!! Well, technically not with him, but we did see him twice. However, I did ride the entire week - plus extra century loop - of RAGBRAI. It was completely awesome, in the non-overused sense of the word. Wonderful, exciting, fun, fun, fun! You all are invited to come with me any year.

...I survived a 21 hour car ride with 2 kids and 1 dog!! That's right, we decided, somewhat on a whim actually, to do the entire drive from Washington to Iowa in one stretch. Keith drove the entire way...he's a stud, and also a coffee addict. My job was to talk to him and keep him awake...mission accomplished.

...The camping season is over!!! 10 summers done and gone. Where does the time go?

And possibly the biggest 'holy cow!' of all..

...The Dagit's are moving to SEATTLE!!! So many emotions over this, most of them not pretty (envy is a start). You guys will love it. The Kalb's will love having you so close. We will love to visit. Go to Ivar's and have a clam chowder for me.

Let's discuss this over coffee...

...a big, big cup of coffee. It'll take a BIG cup of coffee to discuss everything, and is there a better way to chat about anything than over a steaming mug of freshly brewed goodness? Coffee...you are so wonderful, so warm, so giving of your caffeine to my bloodstream...what a good friend...anyway, I digress.

So, what's up? Well, there are two worlds at play here - house and head. What's going on in the house? It's CRAZY time! We're in the middle of some crazy-busy weeks at camp, and there's all sorts of kid activities that have either just happened, or will be happening very soon. (take a sip of Joe) I don't want to talk about it anymore...

Then, there's what's going on in the head. (Take another sip) Again, so many topics that I have been wanting to go off on lately, that it's baffling where to start. (take a good, long pull) I've had the opportunity to be in my home church the last two Sundays, as we have not been on the road for camp. I also attended the Maundy Thursday service. This gave me three chances to again experience what 'my' church is up to. Oh, Oh, Oh...I really try not to sit there and critique the entire time, really I do. I consciously try to have an open mind when I walk in the door, but it never takes too long before my juices start to boil. Some highlights...equating baptism with salvation (uh, yeah, I've got a problem with that) and saying that God does not hear/answer all prayers (isn't 'no' still an answer?).

Actually, what has been occupying much of my head time lately are the blissful thoughts of bicycling. It was warm here last week and I got to go out a few times. Ahhh.... Bike....almost as good as coffee. I'm so excited for RAGBRAI! Nothing could be better! Unless it was riding it on a brand new road bike....hmmm...

As we finish our cup together, let me take this opportunity to reiterate a few long standing truths...W sucks (did anyone see Dave's bit on presidents speaking eloquently? So funny, so sad and embarrassing), salesmen SUCK (that's a whole other post) and Tom Cruise is a total nut job (but I'll still go see MI3).

Anyway, what would you like to say over a hot cup?

Male bonding

There is a smile on my face and a warm spot in my heart as I sit to post. You see, we've always loved our son and enjoyed partaking in many various activities with him. These activities though, were usually for his benefit. Sure, we enjoyed them, but we're doing them for him. However, he has recently crossed the threshold into equal level coolness. The material that built this bridge?...video games.

The men in the house can spend hours...nay, days...playing PS2. They've developed their own language. They can talk to each other - extremely enthusiastically - and go on and on and on....and I have no idea what they have just said. It reached a pinnacle the other night...

Keith was playing after the kids had gone to bed and came upstairs after a bit, looking pretty forlorn. I thought "uh oh, what's wrong? Is he not feeling well?" Then, he sighed heavily and said "I wish Adam was up. I just got past a part I've been stuck on for two days. He'd understand. I almost want to wake him and tell him." He then slunk off to the computer realizing the only person awake enough to hear the important news was me...and I don't understand...and would probably just mock him if he tryed to explain how cool it was. He needed his boy.

Yays and Boos

Too much time has passed between posts, I just don't know where to start. Let me just ease back into it with a few ice breakers...

Oscars - yay Jon Stewart!! yay George Clooney!! Two of my favorite men! Also, Yay for Crash!! It was just plain better than Brokeback Mountain. If BM (by the way, isn't that funny!) was the exact same move, only with a heterosexual couple, it wouldn't have even been on the radar. Slow plot, undevelped characters....original? yes. Does that mean it's good? No.

Boo for Crash - the other kind. This was our Mini a few weeks ago after some 16 year old chick with a mohawk (the cool kind that still leaves the long hair on the sides so you can dress it down for Sunday mornings, but still totally rock for party time) decided to use her mommy's car without permission, run a no-left-turn sign and hit me...and my daughter! The Mini is back, and she is better than ever. She actually likes having been in an accident, says it gives her street cred.

Yay and Boo for RAGBRAI. The entire route has been officially announced...yay!! It's one of the shortest ever with only 444 miles...boo. By the way, consider yourself invited to join our team. I need to know fairly soon, but seriously, if anyone wants to do it, it's pretty fun....plus, it's a cool thing to tell the grandkids someday. I figure if you're reading this, you're someone I would want to come along. Nasty?? Sam?? Shannon?? You have some free time coming up...

Yay for Spelling and Math....Abbie qualified for the regional Spelling Bee and made the Math Bee team. Some would call her a geek. She says she's a 'mathlete'. I say, she's gonna pay for my retirement.

Yay for Orange...the color of Adam's new TKD belt! Now he can beat up anyone who makes fun of his geeky sister.


Feel free to leave some yays and boos of your own...