More Random Pictures

Some Random Pictures

Congrats Katie Goodyear

We just read the in Friday's paper that Katie was named to the Dean's List for spring semester, 2006 at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Great Job Katie!

Goofing off with Bonnie

Bonnie and I having a bit of fun while waiting for the pictures!
As you can see "Mine is bigger than yours"

The 60th Weekend

Bottom Line...Bryce and Hildur had a nice time!
Thank you to all who helped out! Nancy and I did not have to ask for the help...you just jumped in and helped where ever it was needed. You all know who you are and we greatly appreatiate the assistance.
Pictures to follow!
Gary and Nancy

Some Pics of Family

Colorado Road Trip

I have the day off and I was thinking I haven't put any pictures up of my roadtrip to Colorado. I went back in May...so it's a little bit late to post, but that's alright. If I remember, I'll have to bring my pictures this weekend to the anniversary party. It was a very quick vacation, but a lot of fun no less. We left Winona on a Monday morning and got to Laura's house by about 7:30 that night in Longmont Colorado. I drove the whole way out there. It took us about 13 hours. I didn't think that was bad going 950+ miles. Supper was waiting for us when we got to Laura's house. The next day we ventured to Denver. We went to the zoo and to the science museum to see the body works display. I hear that display is at the Science Museum in the cities too. It was pretty cool. The next day we went back to Denver and went to the Botanical Gardens and the Hard Rock Cafe and then shopping downtown Denver for a little while. That was a lot of fun too. Then, the next day we drove up into the mountains to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous! Laura lives about half an hour from the Park, so we didn't have to drive far at all. We watched a couple movies and played a couple games of Monopoly. Laura has a 6 and a 4 year old brother, so we had fun entertaining them. On our trip back, we stopped in Lincoln, Nebraska at an International Licorice Store. It wasn't what I expected at all. They said they are more of an online store, so it wasn't all that interesting. It was about 99 degrees when we were there, so it was hot! It sure was nice to stop and get out of the car for a little bit though. We got back to Winona about 11:30 that night. I drove the whole way back home too. So...my vacation in a nutshell!

Bryce and Hildur's 60th Update

The weekend of Mom and Dad's 60th celebration is here. We think we have everything in place...The food is planned, the house and yard are all spiffed up... We have a rain plan (we can use the old church next to our house). Remember this is a casual picnic...Nothing to fancy.
We have confirmed RSVP for 86 people and I know we will have a few more who didn't RSVP but that's okay. Everyone is welcome!
Please bring your camera's so we can all share photos of this great event...Just think 60 years of putting up with each other...Through good times and bad...Is a long time. I have asked Scott Lunt to be the official photographer...He does a nice job and if anyone wants to have group pictures of you individual family, he is willing do that. Maybe we can talk him into making a movie we can as well.
Dale Goodyear will be taking some shots with the video camera and we are hoping to be able to share these as well as the digital pictures.
We are looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday.

New Fair Food?

I realize that the State Fair doesn't start for another two months, but is it ever too early to ponder what the new "food on a stick" for this year will be? I didn't think so either. I think last year it was the deep fried Snickers bar, and recently we had pork chops on a stick. What new gastrointestinal delight could await?

This morning while I was waiting for a file to load at work I read a blog to keep myself entertained. And this blog may have accidentally revealed what this year's new Fair food is. It's new to me, anyway. It's The Cream Pickle Pup. The what, you say? I'll say it again. The Cream Pickle Pup. Here's the theory. Take a giant dill pickle (available on a stick at the Fair for years) and somehow hollow it out. Then fill it with cream cheese. Dip it in batter and deep fry (obviously) that sucker.

When I first read about this, I thought ewwwww. But then the next line got me. She writes: "It improbably manages to combine the best elements of a jalapeno popper and a cake donut. Tart, salty, mellow, sweet, pillowy, cheesy, crunchy." Mmmmm. I might need to go to the Fair this year.

My Trike

My new trike generated a fair amount of interest on the camping trip. I had been trying to figure out a way to bring it along because it would have been a ton of fun for everybody to try out. But since I couldn't fit the trike, kids, dog and all our camping gear, you'll have to settle for some pictures after the fact.

Independence Day 2006

Remember this weekend is only possible and is brought to you by the hard work, dedication and lives of many common and great Americans.
This celebration can only continue with the support of the us, the American people. Take time to thank guys like Grandpa Bryce for his personal sacrifice in keeping America free. If you know a guy or gal that is fighting now, let them know you understand that they are fighting for us so you don't have to!
Have a great 4th of July weekend!

The Loungeabout

Once again, we had a lovely time at the Loungeabout. Emma, Morgan and I (Pete) woke up Friday and had a leisurely morning getting the car packed, eating breakfast and whatnot. We finally hit the road at about 11am. The drive north was uneventful, which was a nice change from last year's puke-a-thon. Though it's much less frequent, the girls are still suffering from sporadic carsickness. We stopped at Subway for lunch in Royalton and made it to camp at about ten minutes after three. We showed up at almost the exact same time as my folks, who were walking in to the ranger station as we pulled up outside. After registering and seeing a tree chewed by a beaver (A real beaver, papa!) we found site 42 and made camp.

There was a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms all weekend long, and things started out with a less than positive result. As I was setting up the tent the winds started to pick up and it looked like rain. I hustled to get everything up and threw a few things into the tent. Then the girls and I made our way to the main campsite. Just as we reached Dale's tarp the rain began. But fortunately, it only rained for about 30 minutes and that ended up being all the rain we saw all weekend. I'll take that any day!

I realized today that in all the excitement of trying to beat the rain, I never even took my camera out until Saturday. My first pictures are from a walk Theo and I took around 7am Saturday morning. We walked out and over the dam that makes Cross Lake more than just a wide spot in the river. I read the plaque about how and why it was built, but I barely remember any of the details. The one I do remember is that the dam was made largely irrelevant by the completion of the Mississippi lock and dam system downstream.


Later after everybody had cooked and eaten the Big Breakfast the girls, Joe and Dylan wanted to swim. So the kids all suited up and us older and wiser types stayed on shore and took pictures. The swimming was fun, but didn't last long. The cold water and the invisible menace of swimmer's itch kept their enthusiasm at bay. Back to camp, change clothes, and a return to the fire.


Lunch was it's usual wonderful feast, with way too much food to realistically eat. Everything I tried was quite yummy. How did this family end up with such a good collection of cooks? Grandma and Grandpa surprised me and some others by making their way out on Saturday for lunch with Sara. I had thought, with the recent health issues, that driving several hours to a campsite would be too much for them but I was glad they made it. As Grandma said, "I'm fine, but I'm not getting too far without the walker." Whatever it takes, Grandma. At least you're fine.

After lunch Emma and I had a quiet moment back at our campsite. It seems that two chipmunks had discovered Theo's food dish. We sat quietly and watched as they appropriated every bit of dog food they could carry. One little guy managed to stuff seven whole pieces of dog food in his cheeks before scurrying off. After about 15 minutes we put the cover on the food dish and left them puzzled, but certainly not starving. Not long after, Nancy arrived in her shiny new PT Cruiser. It was a rental, but after driving it we might be inclined to buy one should the right deal come along. My Mitsubishi is running well, but it's 15 years old and the van's no spring chicken at 8 years of age. Speaking of not being a spring chicken my camera battery died Saturday afternoon even though I had fully charged it Thursday night. Right during the walk to the ice cream parlor!

Saturday night was another night of talking and laughing in the circle around the fire. Mom's right, it is the best part of camping. The kids had a second consecutive night of glow sticks, we made pizza pies and cherry pies on the fire. I think everybody was a little tired, because the group called it a night earlier than Friday night.

Sunday morning nobody had the energy to mount an attack on breakfast. So since we could, Lois, Dale, Mom, Dad and Nancy and the kids and I broke camp and went across the street to have a breakfast that just couldn't be beat, one that was cooked by somebody else. We hit the road soon after and beat the Sunday afternoon summer traffic. We arrived home tired, dirty and hungry but altogether happy. I can't wait until next year!

Good Times

We had another GREAT time at the Lounge About this year! Kane has already been to his second one!! He sure is growing. The campfire was welcoming after the rain and the cool evenings. Good food and good fun was had by all!

Dale and Lois

Lounge About Report

Another lounge about year goes by and a BIG Thank You to Mandy Saunders who inspired us to do this annual event! For those of you who were not able or inclined to come this is my update for you. Thank you Dale G. For this picture to add to this article. We had a nice relaxing time again. It is great to get away from the day to day grind of everyday life and just decompress! That's what we did!
There were five camping families; Carol and Scott, Peter and Nancy(and Emma and Morgan), Lois and Dale, Alicia and Kane and Nancy and I were there with Joe and Dylan (our nephews from Nancy's sister Vicky). Joining us for Saturday were Bryce and Hildur, Bonnie, and Sara and Janae.
We started out by being the last campers to show up on Friday...And it was in the middle of a huge and really loud and wet thunderstorm, We got to our site and the rest of the campers were huddled under Lois and Dale's big canopy, keeping dry! We joined them and waited out the rain which did not last too long. We all then got the fires going, finished making camp and got down to business making supper. We all finished the night with a nice fire and of course S'mores and a few cocktails.
The next day we all had a shared a common breakfast and a pot luck main meal!
We had lots of great food...All the usual fare...Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob, Black Bean Salsa, Pasta Salad, Baked Beans and more... And of course lots of choices of beer and soft drinks and a good choice of mixed beverages as well. It was all good!
The keeper of the fire(Dale) came with a truck full of firewood and of course, his fire stick. He always does a great job of keeping the campfires going with both wood and great conversation. One of Pete's girls actually used Dale's fire poker without Dale even knowing it! (shhh).
Sunday morning we all sat around the camp fire and drank coffee and decided this was good enough to do it again next year and at the same campground. We soon broke down camp, took some group pictures and went on our separate ways. I cannot speak for the whole group but I had a good time and I will look forward to seeing more people next year!
PS...Please share your Lounge About Pictures with the rest of us!

Lounge About Pictures (no bugs)

End of an Era

Some of you may have noticed I removed many of my posting. I did that because of I want to get out as the one who talks to much, and post too much. Its time for me to back away a bit. My hopes are that someone may rise to the surface as the person manages this Blog...any takers?

Project!

It's been a busy weekend here in Eagan. At least at our house. For all I know the neighbors all slept and watched TV all weekend. Saturday morning after the kids got done with soccer they went to their grandparent's house for an overnight and Nancy and I went to Home Depot. I bought a whole ton of treated 4x4s and started building Nancy the raised bed gardens she's been wanting. I took some pics earlier today but have been having a heck of a time getting them uploaded. But after taking the day off work today so our new fridge could be delivered (the old one died) I got it mostly done. I just need to spend a couple more hours putting on the final couple of levels and then get some black dirt hauled in to fill it up.

Gas prices

I took this photo last week, but forgot to post it here. I saw this sign in Minneapolis as I was heading in to work, and it made me laugh so hard I had to stop and take a picture.

Well, the end of school is officially here. I have 4 days of finals next week, then it is officially summertime! I love how early Winona gets done with school! I don't know how things have been everywhere else, but this week has been absolutely gorgeous in Winona. Right now, I'm sitting out on our porch, it's sunny and it's 75 degrees. My idea of perfect! I was at school in Rochester today, and took some pictures of tulips that are there and then a some of tulips outside our house in Winona, so I thought I'd share. Have an excellent weekend!

Long time....no type

Hello to all-

It has been months since I logged on. I thought I should get caught up as well as share an update.

As I believe many of you know, Ryan and I sold our home in Cloquet and are in the process of buying a new place near St. Cloud. We are very excited about the new home we will be moving into May 31st. It's in the small town of Avon MN.

Little Kane is not staying too little. He is a very active little boy. Mom and Dad are enjoying spending more time with him, as Ryan and he are staying in Bemidji until we move.

I am glad to hear everyone is doing good. We plan to be at Grandma and Grandpa's party and look forward to seeing many of you.

Lots of Love,
Alicia

P.S. We can so relate to the dog poop thing....the trick is to sell your home prior to the winter thaw~

So Much for Spring

Well, we sure haven't had much for spring. Down here in Winona, we made it to 82 degrees. I'd have to say, it's almost too hot. It is nice thought because there's no humidity. I do kind of wish that it was more like 60's. Oh well, we can't control Mother Nature.

The Next Step

Well, it's official. I'm officially ready to begin the next step in my career. Not too long ago, I recieved a phone call saying I was being offered a nurse intern position. I'm rather excited. I'll be working at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield in their 8 week nurse intern program. I'll be working on 3 North, which is a cardiac floor. I work 32 hours per week with that, and then I'll be working 8 hours a week in my current job as Nursing Assistant in the Birth Center. I can't believe I've been working there for almost 2 years already. I'm excited and scared at the same time. Excited, because it's the next step and because I'll learn a lot. Scared because people's lives are going to be in my hands. I work with a nurse preceptor, and she pretty much follows us around to make sure we're doing everything right and then she gives us little hints along the way. I didn't think I had shared that with anyone, so I thought I should. Only 4 more weeks of school! Yay! Oh yeah, one more thing, I'm going to Colorado on a road trip in May. I'm excited. I think that's about all that's new with me, hope everyone is doing well!

Peek a Poop!

Melting snow, sunshine, warmer temp., visions of a beautiful, green lawn...& OH, NO...! There are mountains & mountains of it right out the back door...you guessed it...Doggy do-do! In the early winter when the snow just starts to fall, it really looks miniscule, & a few more days pass, & then it snows, & it looks miniscule, & a few more days pass, then it snows...well, you get the idea. Pretty soon it is all covered up...& the yard looks, well, clean.

And I forgot all about it. But I can no longer forget!

So, I have been trying to figure out what to do to keep the exercise energy flowing & now I know...yardwork. And I know what my top priority is...anyone want to help?

Bemidji

Hello there! Starting right now, I'm on spring break. I am questioning coming to Bemidji next weekend. I was just wondering if people are going to be around at all or if there's anything exciting going on up there. I have off from work Thurs-Sun and I was thinking about going to Duluth for a day or 2 and then continuing up to Bemidji. So if there's anything exciting going on, let me know please :)

"The Big Mountain"

We have fallen in love with cross country skiing, the quiet, serene, winter wonderland is so beautiful & peaceful, too. We are going to put our sport to the test by skiing in Whitefish, Montana, beginning Saturday morning at 5 AM, when we board the Empire Builder to begin our journey westward.

We are going with Steve & Margie...so, there won't be a dull moment all week!! Dale & I are excited...it should be a great, relaxing time.

We will be taking some pics & I will work on putting one or two on the blog when we get back.

Lion/Lamb

Well, I now know that March is here...wow!
Yesterday I left work around 4:00 pm to a light, cool rain. By the time I got to Paul & Babe, it was pouring... I continued driving along Paul Bunyan Drive...& within a matter of minutes, it was not only raining, but large, wet snowflakes were being splatted onto the windshield. This continued until around 5:30 when I noticed that we were in the midst of a blizzard! The wind was blowing & the snow was flying & I couldn't see the houses across the street from us! It snowed for a while, & then quit abruptly! Such is March!

Curling & Katie

Well, it looks like I need to clarify a couple of things:

Katie competed in the Bemidji Junior Bonspiel this past weekend. There were 25 teams involved & Katie's team won the championship trophy. :) This is her second year in a row to win the bonspiel & she is elegible to try again next year. (She has to be under the age of 21 by June 1...& she qualifies for that.) However, she hasn't decided if she will or not.

When I said that we are going to Vancouver in 2010...I didn't actually mean in curling competition, rather as spectators...(sorry about any misconceptions). That doesn't mean that Katie won't have the opportunity to try out for the Olympic trials, but we all know that a lot can happen in four years, too. She was the fifth player on a team that did try out for the 2006 Olympics...& they came in 9th in the nation, so anything is possible!

I heard that there may be another curling rink built someplace in the Twin Cities...does anyone have any other info on that?

More curling news...our olympic champs will be arriving in Bemidji on the 10:15 flight tonight...& then Tuesday night, Dale is in charge of a fish fry to raise money for the Junior Curling program in Bemidji...&, of course, I help...& our olympic champs will be there to spur on the juniors. It should be an exciting couple of days. And, we will be tired!

Great news!

Lois posted this in a comment to my curling post, but I think it's too good to be hidden there!

I am so proud :) to report that Katie & her team took first place for the second year in a row!! Katie can play one more year in Juniors if she chooses, but she told us tonight that she is going to Vancover in 2010!

I guess we will be going, too!

That's so cool!

Congrats!

Congrats to the mostly Bemidji based curling team! I got to see a little bit of their match at work on Friday, and then I saw some of the recap coverage last night on TV for their bronze medal. They and their families looked so happy and excited. And I know that Katie and several others got to play with them as well. That's so cool!

I just thought I'd post some pictures

One of my roommates and one of my good friends decided to go play in the snow the other day, so I thought I'd post some of our pictures! So here ya go, enjoy :)

The Kite Runner

A Short Book Review

I just finished reading an interesting & captivating book, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. It is a story about an Afghan now living in the U.S., but begins with his childhood in Afghanistan & how his life unfolds. From the very first paragraph, I was hooked:

"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcase day in the winter of 1975. I remember the precise moment, crouching behind a crumbling mud wall, peeking into the alley near the frozen creek. That was a long time ago, but it's wrong what they say about the past, I've learned, about how you can bury it. Because the past claws its way out. Looking back now, I realize I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years."

Finally

Yay!!! It's snowing. It has been way too long since there has been snow on the ground down here in Winona. Every weekend that I go home, there's usually still a little bit of snow, but it's so nice to have some snow at my home here now too. Maybe by later tonight there will be enough to make a snowman. Hope everything is going well with everyone

Wednesday at Murray's

My bike and I got to go to Murray's for lunch today. I was lucky and got to go inside, while the bike waited (pictured above). My mom called me up and asked if I had lunch plans. I didn't, so she offered to take me out to lunch, her treat. I jokingly said that if she was treating we should go to Murray's. It sounded like a fine idea to her. Murray's is right across the street from her office. I met her over there and had some of the best beef stroganof I've ever had. I also tried her pot roast, which was equally good. But of course, everything at Murray's is. It's not cheap, but it's worth it. Thanks again for lunch, Mom!

After lunch I had the opportunity to go and visit Mom's office. I hadn't been there since her firm moved from my side of downtown to it's new location. The building was very nice, and she's got a spectacular view. Sure beats my scenic view of the men's room.


The Mrs. called about 2 and asked if I could take the kids to swimming lessons this afternoon. She hasn't been feeling well lately, and today she had sort of a relapse. No problem, sez I. So I left work about 2:15 and got to ride home on a beautiful sunny day. It was a little on the chilly side, temps were in the teens I think. But the wind was at my back and I wasn't cold at all. An enjoyable ride, to say the least. I missed out on the Shred the Skyway event because I took the girls to McDonald's after swimming, and then we had to work on some of their homework. But I got to spend 1/2 an hour sitting in the hot tub while they were in the pool. Man, did that feel good. And surprisingly, it didn't completely knock me out. I got a good chunk of reading done for my homework as well. It helps that I got plenty of sleep the night before, crashed on the couch by about 9:30.

Olympic Curlers' Websites

Just thought if anyone is interested in keeping up with the Olympic curlers that I would publish their websites:

Women's Team www.curlgirls.com

Men's Team www.teamfenson.com

NBC's www.nbcolympics.com

New Look!!

Hey, I do like the new look of our blog...from black to almost a "sunshine" (although muted tone) look. Speaking of sunshine...I get more excited this time of the year when I notice that the days are getting longer. Even though our January was unusually mild, it still was winter...our roads have been challenging and the daylight has been limited. Welcome, February!! It is all downhill now until Spring rears its beautiful head!

Free Sharkey!

Oh no! Our most recent goofball for governor candidate, Jonathan Sharkey was arrested!

"Jonathon Sharkey, 41, of Princeton, was arrested Monday night on two felony counts from Indiana, said Mike Smith, the Mille Lacs County jail administrator. One warrant was for escape, another for stalking.
...
Sharkey was arrested by police in Princeton without incident"

Normally I wouldn't let a candidate getting arrested change my plan to vote for him or her (they're all crooks, getting arrested just means they're not a very good crook), but I don't believe I'll be voting for Mr. Sharkey after this incident. Why? He was "arrested by police in Princeton without incident." Without incident?? He's a vampyre, for cripe's sake! Trying to arrest a vampyre should result in chaos, mayhem and bloodletting! What kind of weenie vampyre is this guy? Really.

Complete Story

Kids in the news...sort of...

Actually, it's their school that's in the news, in the form of an Op-Ed by Mark Dayton in Tuesday's Star Tribune.

Here's the pertinent bit:

For example, Rochester Mayo High School's 1,800 students speak 54 languages. At Eagan's Pilot Knob elementary school, 18 languages are spoken. At Austin's Community Learning School, newly arriving children learn English in one classroom, and their parents learn English in another classroom.

If you're interested, you can read the entire piece here. (Registration might be required.)

The timing on this is funny, as Emma's teacher and I just had a nice chat on Friday about the incredible diversity in their little suburban elementary and how enriching/broadening that experience seems to be, not just for our two but all the PK kids. (For example, Emma's best friend, Sofiya, is from the Ukraine--at six the little girl is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian, how fabulous is that?!) Granted, the gist of Sen. Dayton's Op-Ed piece is about school funding (or the lack thereof), not nifty diversity things. But still! :)

Clue #1

Clue #1

Treasure hunters swarming amidst global warming

Make it hard to park our loot.

Look for snow and ice, enough to suffice,

To shorten your winter pursuit.

There you go. I've nothing to offer on this one. Not even a city v. county clue.

If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, today is the first day of the Pioneer Press Winter Carnival Treasure Hunt. More details are available here. It's a modern day hunt for buried treasure, $10,000 to the victor. I'll be following it closely for the next 12 days or so.

Back to school once again

Well...classes started last week Thurs and then I had a 4-day weekend. Kind of crazy, but oh well. It's so hard to believe that I only have 3 semesters left. I know time will fly, but I can't wait to be done. I just keep telling myself, 3 more... Yesterday I came down with a nasty cold. Excellent way to start off the semester...sick as a dog. Oh well, hopefully it will go away as fast as it came on. 16 credits this semester. It's going to be a lot of work! I'm hoping I can stay on top of all my reading....I'm thinking it's nearly impossible. So I'm going to have to pick a couple classes to read in and then say forget it in a couple other classes. Last semester I started out so good, but then ended up not reading for any of my classes at all. The nurses that I work with, they tell me they didn't read much in college, so it kind of puts my mind at ease when I think of how overwhelming everything is. Hope all is well with everyone!

It's Back to the Books!

Katie left this afternoon for Spring Semester at UMD! (Now that is a hopeful name for a semester, isn't it?) I know that she was excited...and we are excited for her! She will be taking 16 credits & also hoping for a part-time job. One of her classes is one that I particularly enjoyed when I was a college student...Interpersonal Communications, much more fun than Speech 101 where you had to get up "IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY AND MAKE A FOOL OF YOURSELF!"

Best of luck, Katie, and remember to have some fun, too.

Happy January!

This is one of the funnest things I've seen lately. It's a Garfield randomizer, it takes three frames of random Garfield comics and assembles them into one sometimes incoherent but often hilarious comic. Try it yourself!

http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/natetrue/gar.html

Kinda fun

So, ever wonder which celebrity you look like? MyHeritage.com has some free facial recognition software available on it's website. It's kind of fun to play with, but I'm thinking they need to work out the bugs yet. I uploaded a photo of myself and this is the list of celebrities I supposedly look like:

Eleanor Roosevelt 57%
Tom Cruise 56%
Gene Hackman 55%
Alain Prost 52%
Kimi Raikkonen 51%
Sophie Marceau 48%
Gerald Ford 47%
Dennis Quaid 46%
Barack Obama 45%
Mick Jagger 45%

If this software really worked, they would have come up with Tom Green, 100%.
Tom:

Me:

Merry Christmas

Just a quick note...wishing all of you...a very Merry Christmas! Our home came alive with lights, tree decorations, candles, and most importantly sugar, cut-out cookies...Katie has arrived!

Aaron is spending time in Grand Rapids, MI, working...& Alicia, Ryan & Kane will be home over the New Year weekend.

We are truely blessed!

Love to all!!

Dale & Lois

More about me, me, me!

I feel like I'm dominating this blog as of late. Sorry about that! But, I also got interviewed on the local radio this morning. There's an mp3 of it here under the Morning Show heading. You may need to go to the archive if you're looking at this in a day or two. I'm not sure how long they keep them out there, so if you're interested you should take a listen sooner rather than later. :)

Pete Saunders on Paul Harvey

Pete was mentioned on Paul Harvey on Monday at noon. Click on the title above and listen to the last five minutes or so. Congrats Pete!

If this is Santa's backup...We all are in trouble...

As most children dressed by their very crazy moms....Kane is all but thrilled with this outfit. I did explain to him when he was old enough to scream "no" and run faster then his mom, he would get out of these highly embarrassing photo ops!

Sledding

Here's what I did this afternoon.


View this clip on Vimeo

Repeat roughly 120 times.

Santa's Gone Cyber

I found out that our school provides web hosting, so the kids and I made a little website. The only things that are functional are the home pages for each family member and the Dear Santa pages for each family member. I just added the Fun and Hobbies categories as placeholders. Emma and Morgan each designed their own graphics and text. Don't ask me to explain Morgan's, because I can't. She was insistent that I type "I'm the store of Morgan. Eat me." I have no idea what it means. I must add that it doesn't sound nearly as offensive when coming out of the mouth of a smiling six year old. Here's the link:

Family Page

College & Finals

Just checking in with all college kids...how is everything going now that finals week is just a few days away?

I am a college lab assistant at NTC & one thing never ceases to amaze me...the way college students all of a sudden "need me," and want me to change my schedule to "help" them. My schedule has been posted since the first of September...where have they been?? Faces are strained, fists clenched, not many smiles, very tired eyes...it will all be over soon, only to start the cycle again in January.

Good luck to all college students out there! As Anna said, "It is crunch time!"

Hildur's Lefse Recipe

Okay, here's one for Randee!

Lefse

Enough potates to yield 3 c. riced potatoes
3 T. oil
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. milk
salt

1 cup flour (added in the morning)

Measure 3 c. riced potatoes with sugar, oil, milk & salt. Mix well & refrigerate overnight.
Add 1 cup flour -- a little more if dough seems too sticky. Form into soft balls with large ice cream scoop. Chill. Roll & bake. Enough for about 7-8 lefse.

(5# potatoes makes approx 8 c potatoes)
Enjoy!

Update

A great big thanks goes out to everybody who helped me with my web site yesterday. I was able to use all of your comments and reactions in my final report. Does the web site suck? Yes, it does. I could have made it a lot better if I'd started working on it when we got the assignment 3 weeks ago instead of waiting until three days before it was due. But all in all I was fairly happy with the outcome.

Don't forget, A Charlie Brown Christmas is on tonight on ABC. Check your local listings for time and channel. It's 7:00 on channel 5 locally. Grab a blanket and snuggle in with the one(s) you love. Wah-wah-wah.

Web Design

Hi all!
I made a website for school this weekend. It's due this evening, and I need a little user feedback. So if you have 5 minutes or so to help me out, I'd appreciate it. Below is the link to the site. If you're interested, please explore and e-mail me the answers to the following questions:
1. Say you wanted to buy a hat. Time yourself to see how long it takes you to complete the transaction. Send me your time along with any positive or negative feedback about the transaction process.
2. While buying, did you need to back up using the back button?
3. How long do you estimate that it takes to get from the home page to any
desired page, on average? 5 seconds? 10 seconds?
4. Any feedback in general about the site. Specifically the navigation, usability, or overall impression.

Nothing fancy, just a sentence or two will do. Send any feedback to frosti AT gmail DOT com. If you're looking at the site after Monday, you can still send me feedback but I won't be able to use it in the report. Thanks! Here's the link:

Third Wave

Christmas time

It was a nice relaxing weekend for Mandy and I. We went to the Christmas party at my work on Saturday night and enjoyed a buffet dinner (of course), chatting with friends and co-workers, wine-tasting, bingo and more.
Today, we went and got a Christmas tree and decorated it all up. We also managed to get the lights hung outside. It's good to see some snow on the ground here in St. Paul.