Sunday, August 30, 2009

One year ago today

Today I am letting my mind wander back to a year ago when we celebrated Alissa and Nathan's wedding. In ways it seems like only yesterday, but in other ways it feels like ages ago. It too months and months to plan and in an instant it was over. I think Alissa had just the kind of wedding that she wanted and I know that everyone who was there had a fantastic time. So come take a walk with me down memory lane...
Sisterly advice
Alissa and her bridesmaids
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter leavng the church after the service.
We are looking pretty good if I do say so myself.
Here is Paul rocking out on the bass. Hard to believe he will be leaving for Ethiopia in the morning to meet his daughter.
Paul's band played and entertained us all night long! They did a great job with my favorite oldies.
These two lovely ladies are both going to be mommies in the next year!
Mr. and Mrs. Hunter dance the night away.
Thanks for the memories, Alissa and Nathan. It was a great wedding!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country

Okay, this is going to be a little political, but mostly just some thoughts on the death of Ted Kennedy. Last night as I logged onto Charter, one of the headlines said, "What happens to Ted Kennedy now?" Well, let's see, he's dead so I guess he either goes to heaven or hell. Nothing else, that is it folks. I can't begin to know what is in his heart, that is between him and God, but he was not a very honest, good man as far as I am concerned.
Anyway, the news people kept calling Barack Obama the youngest Kennedy brother. In my humble opinion, our president is about as far away from John F. Kennedy as one can be. The only similarities I see are
- Young children in the white house
- A rather attractive wife
- Same party, but not same ideals

The difference can be seen if you just remember what JFK said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Kennedy believed in individual rights, in government keeping their nose out of our business, in free enterprise, in the wealthy keeping their wealth, in the American dream of the middle class, in lower taxes, and on and on. He wanted us to do things for our country but he did not want us to expect our government to take
care of us with free hand outs and screwed up Health care.
So I personally do not see any similarity between Obama and JFK except on superficial things. I was only in the fifth grade on the sad day that JFK was assasinated and I remember the black cloud that fell over our country on that day. I had lots of respect for JFK as a leader, not so much as a husband, but he was worlds above his brother Ted. And if I were Obama, I would not want to be likened to Ted Kennedy for even one minute. (After all it is Barack Obama we are talking about here.)
I apologize for this post being all over the place, but I know what I am trying to say.

Monday, August 24, 2009

All ashore that are going ashore!

John and I took a last hurrah to summer mini vacation this past weekend. We headed up to St. Ignace, Michigan. We visited St. Ignace on our first vacation as a married couple in 1977 when I was pregnant with Courtney, then again in 1989 with the girls in tow, and finally in 2001. We felt it was time to revisit this lovely place. We left early on Saturday and arrived in St. Ignace around 3:00. We immediately got on the boat for Mackinac Island. I had forgotten what a wonderful, quaint place the island is. A step back in time and a feeling like you are in a different world. We rented bikes and joined the many, many other tourists biking around the Island. We stopped at all of our favorite places and took the required photos. We bought the mandatory fudge and headed back to our motel in St. Ignace.
On Sunday we headed to Ludington via a beautiful scenic route. We checked into our motel and took a walking tour of the town. What a charming area. We were only two blocks from the lake. Courtney, Paul, and Tizita arrived from a visit with friends about 7:00. We ate pizza and then headed to a park right on the beach.
Today we boarded the S. S. Badger and took the four hour tour across Lake Michigan. It was a fun way to travel. John and I had fun exploring the boat withTizita. We arrived in Manitowac around noon and enjoyed a lunch and ice cream at their downtown ice cream parlor. What a great way to end a fabulous weekend get away!
The happy travelers on Mackinac Island.
On top of Arch Rock.
At the cannon, we take a photo here on every visit.
The S. S. Badger pulling into Ludington on Sunday night. This is the same boat we took on Monday.
Tizita really enjoyed the park we found. Here she is riding a dinosaur climbing structure.Tizita and I enjoyed playing in the kidsroom on the boat.We spotted the land in Manitowac! Our cruise was over

Friday, August 21, 2009

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is...

This morning when I turned the TV on at 5:30 it was on channel 25. Must have fallen asleep to Project Runway Models last night. Usually I just switch over to Charlie Shortino, channel 5, but something on an infomercial caught my attention and I just had to listen and then, finally order. John was in the bathroom and when he heard what I was listening to, he yelled out, "No, don't even think about it!"
Now, usually I am known for all the exercise machines that I purchase from infomercials. I have purchased the fast trak, the ab doer, some ab chair contraption that left grease on my shirts, a sliding board with little slippers, an eliptical machine, some stair stepping tape with two stools, and countless other tapes. I purchased all these things because they promised to get me down to a size negative whatever and all while I kept eating chocolate. I will say the fast trak actually worked because I used it faithfully everyday while I watched my taped soap opera. The only problem is it was so loud that the TV had to be blaring so that all the neighborhood could hear it.
I sold all these products except some tapes at a rummage sale for pennies on the dollar, but they made room for more things.
I have been tempted by Chuck Norris and his home gym lately so I figured my purchase today was cheaper than purchasing that, right?
So, is your interest peaked?
I mean who wouldn't buy a body shaper that will take 20 lbs. off of you by just slipping it on? Yep, that is what I purchased and by the time I was done with my transaction I will have two, count them, two body shaper tops and two body shaper bottoms one in nude and one in black. I am not new to body shaper either, I have four different ones but none purchased from TV and none promised to take off 20 pounds! I found them to be uncomfortable and all they did was move the bulges around. This shaper is supposed to actually smooth out the bulges especially bra fat! I absolutely hate bra/back fat and if this will make it go away, I am all over it. Buy bigger shirts, you say. Well, I am not ready to give up my tight shirts for bigger, baggier ones quite yet!
The phone call to order the shaper was an experience in itself. I was not just able to order the one item I wanted, no sir. I had to listen to speal (pronounced schpeel) after speel about different products and offers including but not limited to magazine offers, Walmart gift cards, insurance policies, and free vacations to Orlando. Yeah, right, I learned a long time ago nothing is free in the infomercial world!
Anway, I will let you know if this product sounds too good to be true or if it indeed takes 20 lbs off of me instantly! If it is a scam, watch for it at my next rummage sale...

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A near perfect summer day and other randomness

Just got back from a 4.5 mile walk. The weather today is near perfect as far as I am concerned. Mid seventies, low humidity, light summer breeze and blue skies. I almost think I could have this weather year round if it weren't for my wardrobe which I get sick of and therefore I am always thankful to switch seasons just for different clothes.
I had my ipod all set for my 25 walking tunes and I started out with Kokomo, by the second song, Country Roads, by the way, I thought the battery was losing its charge. I fiddled a bit but wanted to keep up my gait and I can't do both very well. About half way through the walk I thought I would push the little connector in a bit and sure enough Jimmy Buffet was coming through loud and clear. Silly me and my need to study "Ipods for Dummies." Anyway I actually added about a mile on to the usual walk because I was so happy with the music. It put a skip in my step!
On another note: I heard on the news that a woman training for a triathlon had to be pulled out of the lake in Madison and revived. Now in my humble opinion perhaps she should not be participating in that event!
One other random note: If both Christine and Sarah cannot be on the morning news, I am voting that Charlie just do it himself. That square they had sitting in today was awful. I could sense that Charlie was upset, too.
And as we figured St. George Island stood strong through tropical storm Claudette. Way to go SGI, we miss you and cannot wait to visit you again.
And on all of these interesting notes I am signing off...

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Good bye to those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy days of summer...

Today is registration for the 2009-2010 school year at St. John's and that can mean only one thing-the summer is winding down. This is a picture of Tiz and I enjoying Kev and Mal's pool one last time this summer. This summer was unusually cool so we weren't able to use the pool as much as we usually do, but it was still fun when we did get in it. I will update later about registration and how it all went. I am anxious to see all my little ones!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Guess who's coming to Preschool?

This post is pretty much for Tizita but anyone else is more than welcome to read it. This year Tizita is going to be coming to my Preschool class one day every other week. I am so excited to be able to be her teacher and help her learn new things and to be able to watch her interact with all the other children. It will be an hour drive one way for her mama, but I guess she feels it is worth it, which of course, it is. Next year when Tizita is officially ready for a three year old program she will attend one in Oshkosh, but for now she will get to experience a little taste of it in my class. I take two year olds up to five year olds, so she will fit right in.
That being said I wanted to share some pictures with Tizita to get her excited about school.
Here is her shoe nametag on my attendance board along with thirty other shoes. As the children come in, they find their shoe and move it up into a big heart with the words, "Walking with Jesus." Hey Tiz, I hope you like the sandal I chose for you. See your friend Laura is right next to you.Here is the heart where all the shoes will end up each day to let us all know who is in school that day.
Here is your crayon which is on one of the bulletin boards. I chose pink for you, hope that is okay.This is the door to the classroom. It has a space shuttle for each student. Yours is up there by the red planet, I suppose it is Mars.See there it is! Flying just above Carlee's an near Aquila's. Both of those girls are about your age and they will be your friends in school.This will be your hook where you will hang your coat and your backpack. That is a little Noah's ark with your name on it.
And last of all, this is a fish and an apple with your name on it. When the children come for registration they will find their fish and apple and put the apple up in the tree and the fish into the pond. Since you won't be here for registration I will do this for you.
I am sure you will have lots of fun in my classroom and I am honored to be your first teacher. I was your mama and Alissa's first teacher, too. I am getting so excited for school to begin again. I am always so happy when the year is over, but now I am ready to take on my new class, so bring 'em on!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Time for a harvest!

I have been so busy lately and have not been very faithful about updating this blog. I have more than a few irons in the fire. I have been getting my rooms (yep, that's right I have two rooms this year due to the number of Preschoolers) ready. Seems like I just walked out of my room last May and now I am ready to go back. I am also obsessively addicted to Farmtown on Facebook. I am so busy harvesting, plowing, planting, and working on my farm. Who knew farming was such a time consuming business. And finally, I am working on publishing one of my blogs to a hardcover book. It is not this blog, but rather another blog that I keep for Tizita so she can have a book of memories of our first year as granddaughter and grandma. I have to edit it and get it all set up page by page and then it will be published. Now if only someone would purchase my books! So between all these projects there is little spare time to blog but today I have something worth sharing.
I harvested my own real crops today as opposed to the ones on my FB farm! These are the three cherry tomatoes I harvested. I am going to use them on a salad. Actually I did harvest another one but ate it right away and it was tasty. There is nothing like home grown tomatoes.
Here is the plant they came from. There are three more tomatoes ripening on there as I type. I have already doubled my goods from last year. And this is my topsy turvy planter. It also has a few green tomatoes on it, but it didn't really work as well as it sounded like it would on the infomercial. Will I ever learn? Just like all the exercise equipment I order which promises I will lose weight, but that is another story...
Anyway in conclusion, I am definitely a better farmer online than I am in real life, Oh well, it is what it is!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Riverfest in a whole new light




Riverfest has been a staple in our lives and in the lives of most of Watertown for the past 23 years. The very first year when the girls were just six and eight, we had no idea how big this event would be. We went to the park as a family and told them to go to the midway and ride the rides with their friends and we said, "we will meet you right around in this area." Little did we know that "this area" would soon be packed with people and we would have no hope of finding Courtney and Alissa in that mob. Luckily, they knew to walk up the hill to my mom's house which is now our house so we found them there.
We have many memories of Riverfest, most of which involve beer and lots of it! One year we returned from a trip to Noah's Ark with our friends, the Dobbratz's and ended up at Riverfest to hear Three Dog Night. Courtney, Alissa, and Sarah Dobbratz just wanted to hear Tiffany. Sorry gals, she never did make it to Riverfest! One of my favorite concerts was Peter Noone, oh, how I loved Peter Noone in his hay day! I felt like I was back in the sixth grade with my record player and vinyl disks. I won't go into any more specific memories here, but as I said before our trips to Riverfest always involved beer. It always goes down so easily when the weather is warm and the company is good. But this year was different...
This year we had Tizita with us. It was her first Riverfest. She enjoyed the music so much. Lots of people commented on how beautiful she was and how she moved to that music. She enjoyed a few Mullen's ice cream cones, a few rides on the teacups, and a few cheap prizes from the carnees. I didn't miss the beer drinking even one little bit because seeing it all through the eyes of a two year old was intoxicating enough in itself! I hope she will be here with us here in Watertown for many more Riverfests to come!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Our day at the Milwaukee county Zoo with Tizita

We spent a wonderful day at the zoo with Tiz.
From Merry go round rides on beautiful horses,
to the ever popular zoo train,From the birds,To fish, turtles,
And Grandma's favorite snakes
From giraffesto elephants
and lazy hippos,
From playing in the zoo park,To pink ice cream conesTo big sticky suckersAnd pizza with Cheddah and AlissaIt was a tiring, but very fun day for all of us! We look forward to many more zoo trips with our precious little Tiz!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

College or University...The life and times...

Somehow all roads seem to lead to Carroll College for John and I whenever we are in the Waukesha area. In the last few years, Carroll has changed its status from a College to a University. Not sure what criteria measure into this distinction between a college and university, but Carroll must have met it. John and I will always call it Carroll College because that is where we met and started this wild ride we call marriage. Whenever we walk around the campus our minds go back to two twenty year olds getting to know one another and falling in love. We shared times, mostly crazy times, always fun times, times when there was way too much alcohol involved, quiet times, times to dream and plan for the future. Would I want to go back to those times? Well, maybe for a short visit. Would I change them, not on your life...
John just could not find his way around the new and improved campus!
John's fraternity house. He was a TKE, but the TKE's no longer exist on Carroll's campus. I was a Delta Zeta and they no longer exist on Carroll's campus either. There were many good parties in this house, most involving Whop-a-too-lee which was always so yummy! Oh, if these walls could talk...
North Bergstrom Hall, my home for three years. And oh, if these walls could talk, the stories they would tell...
This is the union, much improved since we went to college. We ate all our meals here. Each dinner at night and on Sundays were sit down family style meals. We were served by waiters and waitresses. That seems bizarre now a days! John and I have many, many good memories of this place which do not involve the meals. We went to Schlags (beer dances) here almost every weekend. For a $1.00 and sometimes just your ID card you could drink all the beer you wanted and dance the night away. Oh, those were some good nights!
Old Main, John and I first eyed each other up in a speech class in this building. I wore short, short skirts and he had a great looking ass. It was meant to be!
It is difficult to see in this photo, but this is actually a steep hill that leads down to the glass gym doors. My college roommate, Joan and I roller skated down this steep hill in our little shoe skates with the key. You know the kind that came off your shoes every few skate steps. Well, going down this hill was not a very good idea when we crashed into those doors. No broken glass or wrists though! It was one of those things you only did once!
Vorhees Hall, the administration building. John and I were only in here to pay our bills.


Both John and I spent a fair amount of time in the Library. They have really updated it since we were there. Proudly, none of our money went to any of these remodeling projects.
Rankin Hall, I had all my education classes here. John says he never entered this building.
Maxim Hall, John spent most of his college life here in this building learning his Geography. I had a required geography lab in here, too. I think the big computer was up on the third floor here, too. That big computer took up a whole room and scared me.
Lowry Hall, I think I had math classes in here. John says he never entered this building. Apparently neither of us has strong attachments to this building.
Apparently Carroll College/University comes with its own effigy mounds, who knew? When John and i attended college here these were just little bumps in the lawn.

On our step back in time tour we came upon a few of these signs. Now this is a college or university (as it is now called) campus and unless things have changed drastically since I attended this college/university, smoking was a big part of college life. I am guessing no one heeds this sign. I also wondered if marijuana was allowed or if all smoking was banned!
So, as you see, the above sign clearly contradicts the entire smoke free thing since it states that one can smoke in designated areas of the Library! So, Carroll University/College, which is it????

Anyway, despite this smoking discrepancy our day was lots of fun especially with our step back in time to the glory days that were Carroll College!
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