Red Mittens

Moving to Wordpress for now....

I'm SICK of all the trouble I'm having with Typepad.
I was once a loyal user.
Not
Any
More.

Check out Red Mittens at Wordpress......

Megan's Wedding

Lots of wonderful pictures!

The first time they saw each other...

The Bride Wore Pink...

 ...and she smiled the entire day.

Megan is married.
Pictures are to come.
But now, we are resting and remembering and reminiscing.

Check Becky Novacek's blog for the first look pictures.
They
take
my
breath
away.

Megan's Graduation Video

The Graduations!

When my kids were born four years apart, I knew that one day we would have two graduations.
Eighteen years later and in a blink of our eyes, it has come. Both of our children graduated.
One, from High School....

and the other from College

And we're all okay. A tear or two was shed, but mostly we are mighty proud parents.

Now for HER graduation weekend...

We are still in celebration mode.
Megan's graduation weekend is gearing up.
Today, she gave a speech at the Dana Builderers Luncheon.

That's her name in the program right in the middle. She ROCKED!

She spoke of how the college is a part of her life, from coming up to Brunch on the Hill on Sundays to swimming lessons, playing, camps and parties at Dana. And how the college was a refuge for her at first, and it protected her and then set her free.

Excuse me while I go pick up all my buttons. They just popped off my jacket!!!

Let's recap the last few daze...

Let's go back to Wednesday or Thursday. Try to follow along.
Style Show in Sioux City.

While she was getting all prettied up, I drove the Mom-Van up to the Lake to check on the house progress.

New sliding door in place of a window in our Grandma Florida's room.

The biggest bulk of the remodel at the house is done in the master bathroom. We took out a tub, moved to toilet, took out a shower and are making a newer bigger better shower.
The best news of all is that the Dock is IN and the Hoist is IN! The boat is still at the marina in storage because our boat hoist cover is still in some sort of storage. We need to go find it!

Drove back to Sioux City in time for the Style Show. Can't show the photos, but Megan was the best one.

Friday was Megan's 22nd Birthday. Her friend made her cake and it was both tasty and beautiful.

We had pizza and cake and Ice Cream at Dave's house. It was GREAT food and a fun evening.

Shower on Saturday at my Aunt Jane's house with my beautiful cousins.

Notice the cat in the card basket!!!

Sunday, Graduation Day!!!

We sat about the third row from the TOP, but our long lens got a pretty good shot of Matt getting his diploma.

And
it was Mother's Day!

We're tired.
But very Blessed.

 

Hooray Hooray

Hooray
Hooray.

Today is Megan's Birthdayyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

She gets 22 spanks today.

Happy Birthday Meggie!

That Sack O Lunch

180 school days
12 years
2 kids
That's close to 4500 lunches I have made.
And today......
I retired from being the Lunch Lady.

Today was his last day of school.

NO tears. We're all Okay. Actually, we're excited for him.

Good thing, too. I ran out of sandwich bags last night!

Wednesday

One of the Final Fittings for Megan's dress.
She's going  to be in a style show Thursday night in Sioux City, wearing that awesome dress.

I wish I could show that dress.
But this was her expression when she saw herself in the mirror in it.

She likes it.

Another shower on a sunny day...

Princess Lasertron had a bridal shower today.

It was so nice. Renee's home was perfect. The food was perfect. The weather was perfect.
Thank you so much, Renee, for hosting all of us today.

Graduation Video

I'm experimenting with Matt's Graduation video.
This is the first try.......

Graduation Video

The Hall Of Fame...

Uncle Nathan is in it....

(Presidential Scholar, 1984)

Megan's in it...for State Champion in column writing.
And now Matt's in it too!!!

(Megan's picture is the black and white one two rows above her head.)
Matt received his for Drama.

The Awards Convocation was tonight at the high school. We go every year and it is really inspiring to me. If you doubt the future of our country, go to your local high school awards night and you'll see really outstanding young people doing great things in drama, music, academics, sports and clubs.

Miss Lasertron, the Assistant To The Speech Coach even gave out an award!

All these seniors are in the Blair High School Hall of Fame. They All did extraordinary things in high school. But they are extraordinary kids, too.

Here are my chickens with our favorite teacher, our good friend, Mr. A.

PS. I saw Dan's name on a plaque in that trophy window, too.
Me?
My claim to fame was that
I
was
a
cheerleader!!!!!

(..........................oh man. that's pathetic!!!)

Fly Like an Eagle

He walked into the First Lutheran Church today as a plain old Boy Scout.

And after a long afternoon with these generous gentlemen who participated in his Eagle Board of Review...

.....Matt ended the day as an Eagle Scout.

Congratulations, Matt! You are one in a million.

New Family Portrait

We have been using Johnston Portrait Studio for 18 years.
They have done ALL of our family portraits.
But THIS one.
It is really wonderful.

I admit that we copied a Vanity Fair magazine cover. It was my idea....they just did what I asked.

But the dynamic of the portrait says VOLUMES about our family right now.
Dan, strong in the background.
Megan, in the center, pointing outward....ready to leave.
Matt, growing up, solid supporter.
and Me....just plain proud of all of them.

I love this portrait.

since my last posting.....

......The boys played games

.....Megan worked on the invitations

....Dan did some Boy Scout stuff. (Actually, he does Boy Scout Stuff all the time.)

.....and Matt had his last Drama Picnic. It was held inside this year, as it was raining outside. The younger kids always "roast" the seniors and Matt's group did such a nice job. They gave him a big lightbulb that was signed by alot of the drama kids.

I'm so proud of all of them!

April 12

Happy Birthday to my first boyfriend.

driving

I drove to the Lake today.
And Back.
A little more than seven hours.....all alone.......

Things are different up there. Still ice covering about 80% of the lakes. Grey. Snowpiles still laying around. Nothing is waking up yet.

The drywall and insulation are going up in the next seven days. Ducts have been moved....plumbing has been changed....lights have been installed in the ceilings.... outlets have been added.......windows are being sanded........

The long square metal vent in the middle of this photo is very exciting to me! It is a properly installed DRYER VENT!!!! Before the flood, it was a plastic tube held up with shoe laces across the ceiling of the laundry room.
I will never again underestimate the power of proper venting!!!

The new shower in our Grandma Florida's bedroom will have walls sort of like this in Bisque color.

With a door maybe like this one.

The cabinet doors have been changed to black stain. The flooring is still black and white tile. The countertop will be a sand colored formica. And I'm doing whimsical old-fashionded GLASS handles and knobs. So Fun!!!

I appreciated everyone's help and opinions today. I'm finding it increasingly hard to make decisions.

Prom!!!!

It is Prom.

Princess Lasertron made Brittany's corsage. She is Matt's date. A whole group of great kids rented a limo, made dinner reservations in the Old Market and will attend the dance at the Western Heritage Museum together. Sounds like fun.

There they go!

can you hear the fat lady warming up?

The last band concert.

They introduced the seniors.

And the last time he'll have to put that percussion equipment away!

Congratulations on 8 years of band, Matt!

Saltimbaco!

We went to the Qwest tonight to see Saltimbaco by Cirque du Soleil.
"A high intensity Acrobat Spectacle"
Just the 4 of us.
It was a surprise for Dan.
We all loved it. I gasped. Megan laughed a few times. So did Matt. And we clapped.
Alot.

Here are some videos of various Cirque shows.

We've seen Zumanity in Las Vegas. Next, we want to see KA.

Easy As Toast

My current toaster was inadvertently killed the other day. And NO, it was not an electrical accident.
I took it outside to shake out all the crumbs and I shook out something else. It won't hold the toast down anymore. I'm going through toast withdrawal!

I do alot of research on Consumer Reports when I choose appliances, house items, etc. I also use Cooks Illustrated for opinions and ideas on everything cooking related.

But finding a new toaster has been HARD!!!

The one we have now is sort of like this one.

I like the slanted front because our toaster is under a low cupboard and this makes it easier to get at the toast. I was trying to choose between these two models ....

....when I saw THIS!

Now THAT is just cool!!!!! I guess you take that little cage off for toast, but if you want warmed buns, you use that.

I loved this website called HugTheCook. And after reading everything, and thinking about how we use a toaster WAY TOO LONG, I have decided on this one.

The staff at the store does reviews and this Kitchen Aid ProLine did really well.
Cooking.com also gave it a good review.

A toaster is something you don't think about until it doesn't work right, or gives you trouble. I make our bread every day. Sometimes twice a day. And I raised a family of picky eaters who all like toast. I have many happy memories of eating toasted Wonder Bread with honey as a child. And Toasted Wonder Bread with Hot Chocolate. And Toasted Wonder Bread with peanut butter and mayonnaise. And Toasted Wonder Bread with bacon, lettuce and tomato.

I come from a toast family!!!

When it gets here, I'll give a report. I hope it is worth it!!!

hello gorgeous!

This one's for Carol...who sent me a really nice Easter card.
This was on Ebay and went for some big bucks.
I'd LOVE to knock on the door and be greeted by
THIS!!!!

Today was my day off. I take a couple each month.
I got some color painted back onto my hairs.....(it's the CurseOfTheArts!)
You either have big feet or grey hair. I've got both.
I also went to an afternoon matinee movie!
And now I know where all the OLD PEOPLE ARE in the afternoon!~
They are at the matinees.

TALKING OUT LOUD.

I was in a row all by myself. About 4 chairs in.
Somebody came into my row and sat ONE CHAIR AWAY from me.
Then somebody sat on the other side, one chair away.
I was TRAPPED. It was like being in the middle seat of an airplane. I almost got panickey, but I remained calm and tried to ignore them.
But it was hard.
Because I'm a ColdPrickley, not a WarmFuzzy, and I don't like people close to me. I have a LARGE personal space.

Aren't there any unwritten rules about sitting in a theater?
Stay at least FIVE chairs away from other people WHEN THE THEATER IS ALMOST EMPTY.

Oh, and one old person family BROUGHT their own popcorn.

My Grandfather is spinning in his grave!
If he only knew that I paid 6.75 to get in and 8.75 for a small popcorn and small pop!!!!!

I should have COUGHED in their general direction.

I sound like a 65 year old smoker

I have laryngitis.

I've had it since Thursday. Today is Wednesday. We once had a doctor who said...
"You'll be better in a week with this medicine or else it will take seven days."

Well I better start feeling better soon because I've got alot of stuff coming up!!!
May is the month of two graduations and a wedding.
And we all know that those things don't "just happen".

I wish I cold SCREAM.

Armchair Quarterback

I just read this in the Old Weird Harold Omaha World Herald.

Omaha school officials discuss idea of uniforms

School administrators in the Omaha district are spending a lot of time finding belts for students with sagging pants and asking girls with risque tops to cover up.

A discussion Monday with three principals and a staff development administrator left some school board members suggesting the district get community input about the possibility of student uniforms. Other board members said uniforms wouldn't solve underlying societal issues.

No proposal was before the board. Board president Sandra Jensen said during the meeting that no action would be taken without community input. Administrators were asked to schedule further discussion of the issue.

YA THINK?!!!

If I had any guts, I'd run for schoolboard on TWO tickets.
Uniform Shirts
and
More Nutritional Lunches

I think the clothing at school really REALLY REALLY contributes to the climate.  A simple uniform shirt, tucked in to pants with a belt, would totally even out the playing field.
I really don't think that a written dress code is enough anymore.
They need a shirt. Each school, a different color.
Easy.
Next subject!!!!!

Lunch
I read all the time about schools that serve local, organic, seasonal, good food.
I wonder if that could be applied to all schools.
JUST because you have "always" served creamed potatoes over buttered noodles doesn't mean you have to "always" do it forever.
I can imagine that planning a school lunch menu isn't easy, and costs really are the bottom line.
That....and most of the time, the food has to be TRUCKED to another location for service.
Yuck.

But, alas, I'm not brave enough to run for office.
So, I'll whine a little.

EDITED...ADDED LATER

Our friend, Mary Johnson, DID get up off her chair.
She's running for Washington County Board of Supervisors.

I stand in awe of her guts and determination.

Decisions Decisions....

Jim Krueger, our guy at the lake, spent the whole day with me picking out stuff. He drove me around and helped me make decisions.

I am still keeping with my original color scheme and plan. But some of the products have changed.
I wanted to try Marmoleum and PaperStone......but it's not gonna happen.
We are going with local trades people and companies, and nobody has those products.
Shipping them in, learning how to install these new products, caring for them, etc, is just too much.

Okay, mom. Here are the fotos!

The black and white squares are 16 inch rigid squares of something. The colors are greyish creamish and the other is almost metallic! It looks like chalkboard or slate. The black one changes color depending on how you look at it.

The brownish carpet will be in the rest of the house. It is soft.

The tiny black chip in front of the cupboard is probably the formica counter. Still thinking about that.

Ahhhhhh, that cabinet. That door front is my DREAM cabinet for my dream house.
It
is
NOT
the
one
we are getting.

THIS color is the color we are getting. The door will be the Dream Door in the beadboard. It will just not be painted or glazed as much.

Matt did some wiring.

Now I gotta go drink some Russian Vodka and think up winning lottery numbers!!!

A Major Award

I've only won one other major award
(If you don't count DAN)
and that was the 8th grade Woodmen of the World Speech Contest.
Gotta find THAT photo. It's a winnerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

But today, my naybor gave me a Major Award.
" because you all mean so much to me and I am a better person because I know you!

Thanks for all your inspiration and support!

Big Hugs!!!

cari

Well all I can say is
THANK GOODNESS YOU FINALLY UPDATED YOUR BLOG
because I almost had to go outside and SEE IF YOU WERE STILL ALIVE!!!!

I've been a supporter of Cari Kraft's art since she was a student at Dana College. I didn't even know her.
But I knew I loved her stuff!!!

This picture is of a birthday gift I got "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so many years ago" and it was a plate she made. I have another, too.

Jump ahead light years from then and Cari was at my house at a party and I had the plate on display.
She brought it over to me and turned it over to reveal her name on the back.
I
never
put
two and two
together!!!

SHE made the plates I had on display in my home and now she lived across the street!

I own many more original Cari-s and I love everything she does.

So THANKS for the award, naybor.

That House Up at the Lake

Another long weekend is ahead of us.
"When should we go up to the Lake?"
"Should we fly or drive?"
"I need to take up some more vintage Iowa Plates I found on ebay....."

oh

wait.

I remember. We CAN'T stay there. Because it FLOODED!!
geesh.

Well, all that is starting to change! This week, we are getting started.
Because our "people" are re-designing the house and putting it back together!
I'm exchanging e-mails every day, getting drawings, researching flooring, tearing out magazine pages, dreaming and thinking, and getting ready to get started!

Next up?
Picking out the carpet and flooring, finalizing the kitchen cabinet layout, deciding once and for all the layout of the bathroom, and driving around to stores looking for more fans!

We went to TheBoy's last conference and swelled up with pride at his grades.
School has never come easy for that one......and he works hard every day. Best grades ever. I hope he makes the honor roll. It will be the first time. He has come a long way, and the teachers in the Blair School System have seen to it that he was never left behind.

The other day, he had to read out loud in front of an audience on the spot. Without any practice or help.
It was no problem. No sweat. No Biggie.
Well, it was a biggie to me. I shed a tear over THAT.

And TheGirl? She took "her kids" to the State Speech contest in Kearney!
SHE drove a big huge suburban filled with the speech kids!
And the one she worked with did really well. They ALL did well, including HER!!!
She had fun, worked hard all year, and got some great experience under her belt.

And, I never would have seen that coming.
She's come a long way, too.

Closing Night

The play, Beauty and the Beast, ended tonight. Matt worked on the set every day after school for weeks. Saturdays, too.

Curtain Call

The cast brought all the directors to the front for a quick bow and gift. I can't say enough about how Mr. Joe Anderson help both of our children grow up. He is part of our "village".

Matt was the lighting director and spent the show up in the booth.

Lots of moms were there snapping photos after the last show. The seniors are there in the back row.

And then, the Set Strike! Everything gets taken apart.

It went from this

to this

to THIS in about an hour or so.

Thank you, Mr. A.
He learned alot this year.

 

Me and 16,999 of my old friends

saw and heard Bruce Springsteen tonight at the Qwest Center in Omaha.

and, thanks to Hitch, I was about THIS close!!!

But the interesting thing was the audience. It was full of people MY age!
I guess I thought it would be younger.
17,000 45 year olds sure can rock!!!

My Power Ranger

is almost 18. Today is his last day of being Seventeen.

Seventeen is SO MUCH younger than Eighteen.

.............sigh................
I'm not sad. I just can't believe it!
And "the lasts" are happening alot faster now.
Thursday is the last opening night for the high school play.
And then the last parent/teacher conference.

sounds from the other room

I'm in the computer room.
They are all in the TV room....playing a video game, using computers, talking and laughing.
The
Sound
Is
Beautiful.

We will soon be adding one more to our family.......not loosing a daughter.

We
are
gaining
a
Dave!

Button Boutineers

Are these not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

She sat at the counter the other afternoon and just MADE these. MADE THEM UP.

They are so cute. So HER. So original. She can't NOT do this!!!

The boys at that wedding are gonna look so CUTE!

Pssssst!

They're now FOR SALE!
You gotta go over to her etsy shop and see how funny she is!!!

the pink shirt

I had lunch with my cute hubby today in beautiful and bustling downtown Blair!

We were talking about college graduation or when we met or something like that and he mentioned "the pink shirt".

It's such a funny story. It made me smile.......

When he graduated from College, we had been dating about a year.....long distance, via the telephone and cards and letters.
(WAYYYYYY before the internet!)

I drove with his family to attend the graduation ceremony and on the way, we made a stop in Carroll to pick up a special gift I had for him.
I had a picture that he drew in 2nd grade framed by my oldest friend, Laura, who owned an art gallery and frame shop.
It was to be a surprise for Dan, and it cost me nearly a week's pay to get it done.

But I slipped.

On the phone, I said we would be there "after we picked up the picture". I didn't even THINK about what I was saying.
He HEARD...."after we pick up the Pink Shirt".
He was NOT really looking forward to THAT as a graduation present!!!

But, in the end, he loved the PICTURE!!!
It still hangs in his office at work. I have to take a photo of it.

Update....Here's the work of art!

Our favorite second grader

is Famous!

Emily and her Dad are featured in an article in the Omaha World Herald today!

Emily sold over FIVE HUNDRED boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. And she did it the old fashioned way.
She
SOLD
Them!

SHE made the calls. SHE tallies the numbers. SHE fills out the order form. SHE will sort them, bag them and deliver them.

And mom and dad watch, help, offer guidance, and drive!
Some parents do it right.
This little family is a perfect team.

I'm so proud to be responsible for it!!!

the fat lady is singing

The steps to earning the rank of Eagle Scout are almost done.
Matt delivered 20 bluebird houses to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge last week.

Tonight, he led a Court of Honor for his troop and also received some badges.

Next up?
Paperwork!

American Living

It's a flashback to 1981!

My Favorite Designer (Ralph Lauren) and my Favorite Styles ( Preppy and Comfortable) are coming together at one of my Favorite Stores! (JCPenney).
American Living has been on my radar for a few weeks now.
I read about it in the NYTimes online edition. (I like to read the Style Section on Wednesdays.)
I've been seeing TV ads for it and today JCPenney featured the line in their newspaper insert.
I got a catalog with it a few days ago.
And The Brand was also a BIG advertiser on the Academy Awards program.

I need to go to the store and SEE it!
But I tell you....does this NOT remind you of ME?!!!

It has been hard to be a Preppy these last few years of slutty clothes! And finding comfortable and tasteful home items has also been hard.

I got this Ralph Lauren book for Christmas and I love thumbing through it.

Times like this make me wish I had a job in advertising!

Just like I wanted it to be....

We had dinner in a private room at Travato's Restaurant. It was GREAT.

The atmosphere in the room was very relaxed and it didn't feel "odd" at all that we were all by ourselves at a restaurant because the room only had ONE table! I loved it.

I live my life wishing it were a commercial. Or a music video.
I'd love to have short edits of smiles and friends and family laughing and snippets of conversations and music swelling here and there.

This room reminded me of that.

I only wish I had taken more photos!!!

Thanks for coming with us, Kevin and Nancy and Emily. It was really fun.

I share my birthday with.....

 

These stars were all born on Feb. 22

Announcer Don Pardo is 90.

Actor Paul Dooley is 80.

Director Jonathan Demme is 64.

Actor John Ashton is 60.

Actress Julie Walters (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,Billy Elliot ) is 58.

Actress Ellen Greene (Pushing Daisies ) is 57.

Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 49.

Comedian Rachel Dratch (30 Rock,Saturday Night Live ) is 42.

Actress Jeri Ryan (Boston Public,Star Trek: Voyager ) is 40.

Actor Thomas Jane (The Sweetest Thing ) is 39.

Actor Jose Solano (Baywatch ) is 37.

Actress Drew Barrymore is 33.

Singer James Blunt is 31.

Actor Daniel E. Smith (John Q. ) is 18.

I fit somewhere between Kyle MacLachlan (actor in the worst movie I've ever seen...Dune) and Rachel Dratch!

 

Birthday Week...

I don't care HOW old you are!
Your birthday week is pretty fun.
Last year, I celebrated the whole MONTH.
This year? Just a week.

We're going out Friday night with my favorite second grader, her parents, and maybe the kids. I'm not sure.
I'm trying to decide where to go!
So many great restaurants in Omaha.

No school (Wednesday) due to extreeeeeeeeeem cold. Wind chills in the area will be up to TWENTY FIVE BELOW zero. It's pretty bad.

I'm also not really expecting much in the way of gifts this year. I usually get my OWN gift from Dan and I found something really great on Ebay that came a few weeks ago. I'll open it on Friday.
My parents want me to pick out something and I put a bid on some great glass cannisters but some STINKPOT bid on them at the VERY LAST MINUTE and won. I was so STEEMED.

I absolutely LOVE clear glass items and I comb ebay and antique stores for clear glass pieces. DANG I wish I would have gotten these!!!

Hmmmmm. Other present ideas.........

It's kindof fun to dream!

Martian Child

Hard movie for me to watch. I'm still teary from seeing it tonight.
Best Line....
"Is it good to be like everyone else?"   "That's a good question."

I am the mother of an extraordinary child.
Not Extra Ordinary.
EXTROIDINARY.

One who wears a black sheep wool. One who swims upstream. One who is smart as can be. One who eats four things. One who is now on her own.
And doing EXTRAOIDINARY.

I wish I had had this movie a few years ago. It's full of insight into the world of exceptional children. How hard it must be for them and ways they cope.
And they do.
And so do the mothers.......who carry it forever.

Bluebird Houses

Navy Seal did his Eagle Scout Project this morning.

This pile of wood

became these 20 Bluebird Houses for DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge.

And there was lots of fun in between!

Our friend, Mark Grabbe, spent many hours measuring and cutting the wood needed for this project. His help was invaluable for it getting done.

The bluebird houses are now loaded in Navy Seal's pick-em-up truck and headed to DeSoto next week.

Next up? The PAPERWORK!!!

my REAL boyfriend

has been keeping track of how many days we have been together.
and
today,
February 14,
is the day that I have been WITH him
longer
than I have N