After a holiday hiatus, I am now back to blogging.
The holidays were quiet and fine. Being a part from Mike was tough and I hope we don't have to do it again. It was nice to be home and with my family for Christmas Eve. We always have fun, and it was especially nice to have Amy with us for the first time since she went to Salt Lake.
Everyone was very generous, as always. Especially my parents. We received a cool door knocker engraved with The Lemke's from my dad and Debbie, and a card table and chairs from my mom and Barry. Other cool gifts were: Coca Cola stuff for my kitchen, books, CD's, DVD's. Pam gave me an enormous Coca Cola Santa Claus cut out from the grocery store. It's really great. At Christmas time it will be fun to find a place for that to sit out.
I also bought a small jukebox to sit in the kitchen. It's just a table top one that has pre-programmed partial songs from various artists. Nothing fancy and didn't cost much. It's also a radio. I am considering building a jukebox like my brother did. I'm checking into the ideas and if I think I am creative and handy enough to do so.
New Year's Eve was quiet. We went to Pam and Charlie's and laughed a lot. I drove down to visit my grandparents that day. They had visitors, but it was nice to see the Olsen's from Burr Oak. I hadn't seen them in years. I talked with Grandpa and Grandma about some family history stuff and they were able to fill me in on some information. Grandpa told me that over the years he had heard many times on what a nice man my great-grandfather Paddy O'Brien had been. Since Grandma was just two when her dad died, we never knew much about him. Pat and I were just saying to each other how DUMB we all were to have never asked Aunt Katy or Uncle John more about their dad. Being the oldest, they could have told us things about him. It's funny how you regret these things. Anyway, Grandpa said that he had always heard that Paddy was just a really great guy. And having seen some items written down by my great-grandmother, she must have really felt his loss. One of the items I have seen written was 'when we lost my dear Paddy.' Oh how I wish I had known Grandma O'Brien!
Grandpa and Grandma continue to go down hill, which is really hard to see. It's funny how roles become reversed. I cut Grandma's finger nails for her while I was there. I thought to myself, how many times do you think she did the same thing for me when I was little? We both laughed that neither of us like our nails long-just kept short and rounded off. We talked a bit about how she wanted to be a beautician after she no longer could be a nurse. She said, "I had forgotten all about that. How did you remember?" I used to pester Grandma all the time to tell me stories about when she was growing up and the things she wanted to do. This was one of them. She gave lots of woman in the Burr Oak and Bluffton area perms over the years, or set their hair in curlers!
On New Year's Day I woke up feeling like crap and have yet to shake it. Seems like the flu is really hitting hard at our Office. Some people have been out as much as 5 days. Yikes.
Today, Greg Sellnow's column in the Post-Bulletin says that Emma has now replaced Emily as the top Girl's Name of 2004! I'm happy to report that Kristin (however which way you spell it) is not in the Top 10. I believe I may round out the Top 50, but that's as good as it gets. :) Jacob is still the #1 boys name, beating out Michael for the 5th year in a row. Other such funky names getting face time: Shakira, Justice, Lexus. Oh. My. God. I know that I like wierd names, but I guess I draw the line at naming my kid after a car. I'm still hanging on for naming my kid after Johnny Cash. How cool would it be to have a middle name like CASH? Yeah, let's just say that I have my doubts that my husband would EVER allow this to happen!
Speaking of names, more friends are having babies. Mike's friend Amy in California just announced that they are expecting. Surprisingly, there are not too many of our friends left that are without kids. We also spent time with Matt, Jill and Sam this past weekend. Sam had us in stiches. He is now 15 months old and talks jibberish and is just a fun kid to be around. In some ways I can't wait to be a parent after being with him, in others it freaks me out to no end. We'll see what the future brings, I guess!
Madison update: she went to the vet on Friday. No ear infection like I thought. She has now determined that she doesn't like the vet or the techs there! She went from 37lbs on August 25th to a whopping 56lbs! The vet would like her to lose a few to keep her hips in better shape. Mike calls her tubby now. Believe me, the dog is not fat. They would just like her to have more of a 'waist' as the Vet calls it. I don't want a fat dog. That's a fear of mine. So, her treats and food have been reduced and we'll have to crank up the walks more. Otherwise, she is still a happy, talkative pup who pretty much runs the house!