Sitting down here at Mike's aunt and uncles house, so thought I'd post since I'm not doing much else. Besides watching people be drunk :)

I got down here to Muscatine, IA Wednesday afternoon. Took about 4 hours-nice trip. It was about 80 degrees and so sunny. Very nice drive with my thoughts...Went to the funeral home that afternoon for the wake of Mike's Uncle. Met a lot of family and friends of course. It was pretty cool-they buried him in his Cubs hat and jersey. About 4 cans of Budweiser and packs of cigarettes made their way into the casket as well. As they joked today, they're probably already gone :)

The funeral was much more difficult as we all know. Unfortunately, the pastor was a real boob and delivered a very inappropriate sermon to say the least. A lot of people were very upset. The hard part was the song played-Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle. Since he was a dad to 3 kids, it really broke a lot of people up. As usual, I underestimated the impact of the cemetary just like I did at my Grandma's funeral. Military funerals are hard and so emotional (Tom served two tours in Viet Nam). The part that hit me was when this old VFW guy in his outfit comes up to Tom's oldest son (who is currently in the army and was dressed in his uniform) and said with the flag in his hands: "On behalf of the United States Army, we'd like to present you with this American Flag in appreciatation for your father's service to his country." Wow. Then, they did the 21 gun salute and Taps. Taps hit everybody hard. Anyway-I think we all felt a large weight lift off our shoulders when everything was done. He's really going to be missed by his family and friends.

Leaving tomorrow morning to head back to Rochester and stay there until Sunday. Mike will leave here on Sunday to come home. Back to work for us both on Monday. I've been checking my work emails and I'm starting to get nervous. They want a full staff meeting with us all on Tuesday and the request was that all the staff bring their schedules of what they have planned for work in the next month or so. What can that mean? I'm really thinking shut down early.

Jobs-send 'em my way. PLEASE!! :)

It's been over a week since I posted-been extremely busy.

We had our last big event with Target Market this weekend. I haven't had a day off now in 9 days, worked 43 extra hours on top of my normal 40. Ready for a break!! :)

Unfortunately, we had more bad news yesterday. Mike's Uncle Tom was killed in a car accident Saturday night. So, he left this afternoon to head down to Iowa. I'm leaving Wednesday for the funeral on Thursday. He's very shook up about it, as are the rest of the family. Hopefully all goes well this week.

FYI to Dad, Pat, Lyn-no NASCAR results probably until next week. I"d do them, but I don't know where he has the Excel sheet. Lyn-I heard you're sick of Steve Park being the human wrecking machine?

I haven't had time to catch up on my war news until today. Just found out that Peter Arnett was fired. That's a story, for sure. Heard Geraldo got fired too...that on the other hand isn't so surprising.

Pat-Kirby's trial is all the news at night up here. He's supposed to be testifying himself sometime this week.

I'm watching the movie Primary Colors tonight. I love it-John Travolta was great in it. Makes me miss Clinton. I can't help it. I was reminded of an SNL right after Bush took office. Will Farrell's on the phone talking to Bush Sr. and says, "Daddy, this is HARD!" I love Barbara Bush's quote last week. She said (and I'm paraphrasing big time) "I'm counseling the former President, the current President, and the governor of Florida." Then I think she said something about how she's really running things. Pretty close!

I'll be out of state from tomorrow through the weekend. Our HR director who is acting as the boss these days had the nerve to ask me if I was taking sick time for funeral leave. My response? "How many hours do you think I worked this past weekend? I'm taking comp time." I would have liked to have added a name to punctuate the sentence, but I did not. I need the unemployment. :) Pat, I keep your advice in my head each day, believe me. It's the only way I don't go postal.

Again, I agree with Pat's analysis of Clerks.

God Bless America.

And hope for the very best.

This article really makes me sad about Kirby Puckett.

As I read this quote from an article relating to the SI one, I felt it was appropriate. Especially since I looked at this guy like an idol.

"Idolatry is really not good for anyone," as Washington Wizards assistant coach John Bach said of Michael Jordan in Monday's New York Times. "Not even the idols."

I'm still glad I saw him go to Cooperstown. There isn't another baseball player I'd probably ever go see inducted in person.

Tell me again why I'm mad at you Lally??

;-)

Tell Karen she'll probably like Daredevil. I didn't tell MN Mike that I had no interest in going because I knew nothing about the character. Since it was his birthday, I went. And then, to my surprise, I liked it. So, tell her to give it a chance. I did the same thing with SpiderMan and Xmen and really enjoyed them too.

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted anything. Work has been hellish and has taken much of my time and energy.

For Lally and my brother, I sent to you both a photo of Mike & I at Graceland. I promise I will scan more when time permits. My days are taken up largely by resumes and cover letters these days.

The birthday season for us passed through on March 1 and March 6 for me and Mike (respectively). When my grandfather who is almost 88 tells me that I'm old at 28, what does that mean!?! :) On Mike's birthday we went out to dinner at Ol' Mexico, a neat mexican restaurant in Woodbury near our home. Then, we went to Best Buy so he could spend his birthday money on electronics. His purchases were: The Osbournes Season One DVD and NASCAR 2003 for PS2. I had a few bucks left from Mike's parents gift to me, so I bought an Elvis CD and a cheapo design cd for the computer so I can make frames around photos I scan, for a project I'm doing. The $5 I spent on Corel Draw was not worth it, but what do you get for that amount of money anyway? Exactly. Also, I must point out that I was asked by 11 different people at the store if they could 'help me'. Why is it that when I am not purchasing anything of value at their store, they want to help me? But when I want to buy a computer or television, there isn't anyone around for miles and miles? The service even included an emaciated young man in a wheel chair asking if he could help me out. His arms were so thin that I wanted to ask him if I could help him before they snapped in two!!

After the Best Buy excursion, we went to see Daredevil with Ben Affleck. Great movie-I really liked it a lot. I'm not a big comic book person, so I don't know anything about the character. Because Mike is a big fan of this guy, he wished they had gone into more detail in some areas. I like Ben most of the time and thought he did an admirable job. My favorite character was played by Jon Favreau, the guy that played Monica's boyfriend Pete the millionaire on Friends. (the guy is always and will be Pete to Mike & I. Also in Swingers and Rudy.) He was the perfect balance for Ben Affleck. I did agree that there were a few too many gaps in the story line that left me wondering a lot of stuff. Overall, entertaining. And, Jennifer Garner kicks some ass.

Remember Lally, this is all only in my OPINION!!!

Shut down date for Target Market: April 30. My thinking: they'll get rid of us by March 31.

Pat, I bought the book Religion for Dummies that you had listed on your wish list. It's a cool book.

In response to my brother's post of the Kellogg guy being the namesake of my junior high...it is so fitting that the man was a 'flake' because I HATED that school more then anything I've ever disliked in my life. It was the worst three years! It was so appropriate they named the school after him.

Lally-I collect Hard Rock shot glasses.

And, I will scan Graceland photos to post.

Back to Minnesota last night as off 9:15 pm. It was a long 13 hour day of driving from Memphis, Tennessee. But, we made it and had a fantastic trip. The only downside is that we've come home to 5 degree temps after basking in 80 degree sunshine for 5 days!

As I could tell a zillion stories, I'll give you a low down of the trip, and then put in "tales from the road" as my brother does...

We left at 7:30am on Friday, the 14th. We were in Paducah, Kentucky by 6pm that evening. Not too bad. Left at 7am the following morning and arrived in Jacksonville at 6:30pm. It was warm and beautiful! I liked Jacksonville as a city a lot.

The next day we went back to Georgia to visit with Mike's cousin Chad, whom he hadn't seen in 6 years. He is married with 7 year old twin girls, and a 14 month old daughter. We met at a great outlet mall about an hour from Savannah where I was able to shop at the Gap and get some deals. Nice to meet more of his family. On Monday we drove to St. Augustine, Florida, which is the oldest town in the US. This is where Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Fountain of Youth. Naturally, there is a whole tourist attaction around this! The town is cool-a fort is on the water front and the town is all in cobblestone with little shops. Spanish influence, sort of reminded me of a cross between California and the French Quarters in New Orleans. Ate supper there and shopped. Beautiful weather. Went to the beach there as well and walked in the ICE COLD ocean!

Left Tuesday morning for what intended to be a stop at Daytona and then to Disney. Well, we rolled into Daytona at 8:45am and fell in love with the place. Toured the track (which is so banked on the corners it's amazing) and got to walk on pit row, AND go to victory lane for pictures. Wicked cool stuff. Got to see the Earnhardt statue out front. Inside there are attractions such as the history of the track, the hall of fame of Daytona, etc. There is the 16 second pit challenge where you are invited to try change ONE tire, not four, in 16 seconds. It was fun to watch. You can also do play by play for a taped race, watch a movie, drive the Silcon Speedway, go on a simulated ride (the kind that puts you in a seat in front of a screen and jostles you all over). The highlight was to Michael Waltrip's Napa car on display from just two days prior. I posed with thumbs up! :)

We didn't leave Daytona until noon, and decided to go to Sea World instead of DIsney. We finally realized we wanted a lot more time to go to Disney then we would have, so decided to wait until another trip. Disappointing, but I think we made the right decision. Sea World was really neat. Shamu show is fantastic as are the other shows such as dolphin and sea lions. It was a super fun day.

On to Ocala, FLorida to stay with Aunt #2 who had a new puppy named Minnie. We didn't do anything for 2 days but lay around and actually 'vacation' and check out the town. Left Friday morning for Memphis and had one hell of a day trying to get there. Got caught in Birmingham, Alabama for over an hour due to a closed down interstate. Then it rained all the way to Memphis. Another 13 hour day.

Spent all day at Graceland on Saturday, which of course to me was the highlight. I'm a dork, I know, but i've wanted to go there since I was 8 years old. I nearly peed my pants when we drove up I was so excited. It was a cool experience, with the house being as gaudy as you would expect from Elvis. Shag green carpet on the floor AND the ceiling in the Jungle Room! But, only 2 rooms were lavishly decorated-the rest are putting much typical 70's living areas. Just with more money! The do a nice audio tour, so you can wander at your leisure and it has Elvis, Priscilla and Lisa giving anecdotes on your headset. I learned even more then I thought I knew about the King. Last, we headed to the Meditation Gardens where he and his family are buried. Everyone gets pretty quiet out there-rather neat experience. Then, the rest of the time is spent exploring 3 other museums and like 20 gift shops. I didn't buy a lot, but did buy a fair amount! Car museum is really nifty-he had some great ones. Ate at the Elvis Chrome Grill, which is a southern style restaurant with harleys and cars parked in it. Then, we also were able to go on the two airplanes he owned. The Lisa Marie is truly a 'Flying Graceland' as he called it. Gold plated seat belt covers for godsakes! I was in my glory all day long.

Later, we drove down to Beale Street and then went to Sun Records where Elvis was first recorded. The pamphlet says, "They say the tour will give you goosebumps..." Which I thought was crap. It is not. One truly does get goosebumps! It's a simple half hour tour, with a tour guide who is a little too theatric, but puts a nice twist on everything. (He totally fits the place-side burns, rolled up jeans like the 50's, and REALLY knows his rock n roll history)_I was actually standing on the mark that Elvis stood while recording "That's All RIght Mamma". They play bits of the different songs recorded there in the studio as you stand there...and that's where the goosebumps begin. Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Ike Turner, Carl Perkins, BB King, you name it. They even let you touch the original microphone that Elvis used. They let you use flash photography in the studio so I hope the pictures turn out. They also have a great souvenir shop where I bought Dad his tshirt that he asked for. I also bought a small poster of the "Million Dollar Quartet" if you've ever seen the photo of Elvis at the piano with Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee and Johnny Cash surrounding him. That was Sam Phillips money makers at their best.

We ate on Beale Street at BB King's club. Great food, and even cooler music. It was Beale Street at it's finest with loud blues music, lots of people and food that is southern to the core. Did a little shopping at the Hard Rock down the street and a few other shops. It was hard to leave Beale!

And then we left yesterday morning. we drove by Graceland on the way out of town as I waved and said,"Later Elvis!"

Tales from the Road:

Played the license plate game and came up three states short: Hawaii, Rhode Island and Wyoming.

Some interesting signs included the following:
Cruisin' Chubby's Gentleman's Club-Truck Parking
Ho Chunk Casino
ABS-The Bovine Love Connection
Eat More Chikin (from a bunch of cows posing)

Funny License Plates:
Uff Da 4
Nrwgn 2

SItes:
A water tower size cross in Effingham, Illinois. Still no idea what it represents.
From Paducah to Florida we saw more then 50 Waffle Houses. What's the big deal?
In Nashville, you could buy Fireworks EVERYWHERE. And really cool ones at that!
Saw TBS, Olympic Torch Site and Turner Field in Atlanta.
Kentucky boasts cheapest cigarette sale prices in the US.
We got into some freaky backwoods places in Alabama. "You shore gotta purdy mouth"
Earnhardt statue at Daytona!
Cheapest gas was $1.33 just over the Georgia border.
Most expensive was $1.79 in Illinois. Most we paid was $1.74 in Edgewood, Illinois.. The cheapest we paid was $1.51 in Macon, Georgia.
Went through 11 states in all: MN, WI, Illinois, Kentucky, Tenneessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansaw.

And those are the tales from the road. Great trip, but I think we'll fly to Florida when we go back the next time!! It was a looonnnnggg drive but well worth the money and vacation time. Back to work tomorrow! All I heard from the newspapers on the job situation is that the Governor proposed taking all the money that funds us-but obviously the legislature still has to vote on it. I'll find out more tomorrow I'm sure! Post cards will probably reach many of you this week...hope you like them.

I'm outta here...gone until the 25th.

Bye!

I just spent 2 hours at the most worthless job fair of non-profits. You know things are really bad when all they're offering is summer help and stipends.

It's even worse when you see a former political candidate that you know there who lost the last local election looking for a job too.

I had a blogger moment this morning as I was attempting to drive patiently through traffic in snowy weather....do you ever have a time when you want to tell something to someone, but the topic is rather gross? Here's an example: say, you go to the bathroom, and something happens such as a poo that is so long you wonder whether it will flush. It's so funny and interesting (at least to you) that you want to pass it along. But others will be grossed out, such as many of you are that are reading this. So, maybe you confide in your spouse. Your spouse is equally grossed out, but can't help but laugh. I guess one just keeps it to oneself. Here's my question then:

What's the funniest term you've heard to describe having a bowel movement? Here's a few I've learned:
"pinch a loaf"
"dropping the kids off at the pool"
"take a crap, shit, dump"
and my all time favorite, "I gotta go grow a monkey tail."

Florida trip is close to being a reality. We leave Friday morning. I guess all that's left to do is to buy food and stock the cooler, plus pack. I dug out the summer clothes and I can only hope that it's actually warm enough to use some of them!

We might try to go to The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, on our way to Memphis. Still no decisions on Disney World yet. It's really hard!

Tonight, we are all cordially invited to watch Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne renew their wedding vows in a ceremony sure to freak us all out. Preview: Ozzy kissing Marilyn Manson. Ouch!

I'm feeling like this sort of says it all for American companies these days...

"A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race
on the Missouri River. Both the teams practiced hard and long to reach
their peak performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won
by a mile.

Afterward, the American team became very discouraged and morally
depressed.

The American management decided the reason for the crushing defeat had
to be found. A "Management Team" made up of senior management was formed
to investigate and recommend appropriate action.

Their conclusion was: The Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person
steering, while the American team had 8 persons steering and one person
rowing.

So American management hired a consulting company and paid them an
incredible amount of money. They advised that too many people were
steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.

To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the rowing team's
management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors,
3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering
manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1
person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called
the "Rowing Team Quality First Program," with meetings, dinners and free
pens for the rower. "We must give the rower the empowerment and
enrichments through this quality program."

The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, American
management:

- Laid off the rower for poor performance,

- Halted development of a new canoe,

- Sold the paddles, and

- Canceled all capital investments for new equipment.

Then they distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior
executives. "

Spent last weekend in Northern Minnesota visiting my in-laws and the nephew. He's grown a lot and is hilarious. He doesn't want to crawl, but rather inch worms his way to where he wants to go. Loves his walker thing. He's a very laid back baby and smiles all the time.

The decision was made last weekend that we are going to take a trip to Florida Feb. 14-23. COOL! We'll be driving down and staying in Jacksonville and Ocala with Mike's 2 aunts. We're going to plan a day at Disney World, which means we have to make some serious choices on what we want to see. The big two at this point are Magic Kingdom and Universal. When I get Pat's Disney book, we'll have to check it out. I'd really like it to be warm so that we can go to the beach in Jacksonville. I've only been to one other beach on an ocean, which was the Bahamas, and I couldn't get in the water because it was hurricane season!

On the way back home, we're coming on up through Memphis so I can visit Graceland at last. I've been doing a lot of research on it, along with the added attractions that go with it. All I can say is that I will be in Elvis Heaven when I go there. I wanted to stay a night at the new Heartbreak Hotel, but it's looking like they are full that weekend. Have to settle for a 'normal' hotel I guess. Otherwise, we'll visit Beale Street, some shops, and take a tour of Sun Records where Elvis got his start.

Mike found a cool web site that allows you personalize hockey jerseys and it is immediately displayed on the screen. Example: Gretzky, 99, on a Pittsburgh Penguins Jersey. Or, Kristin, 01, on a Minnesota Wild. It's cool. They even have old teams, such as our hometown fave, MN North Stars. Check it out at: http://www.icejerseys.com/ Click on the link "Customize Your Jersey".

Here's a brief tidbit of what's going on at work: we are a program of the American Lung Association, because they administer our grant. Guess what they did today? They eliminated the entire tobacco control program. Um, hello? Does it make sense to anyone to operation the American Lung Association without a tobacco program? Is it not the number one cause of lung disease? We're still here until July at this point, when our grant runs out. Just another reason to get out sooner!

Yay!

Spent the weekend hanging out, not much going on. I had to work on Saturday as well. It's been so cold we pretty much have stayed home and burrowed in. It's not supposed to get above 6 degrees tomorrow. And we still have no snow.

I have an interview tomorrow. It's not something I think I'll take, but I figured it would be good practice to get back into the groove again.

I've got Mike hooked on Harry Potter books right now. He just started the third one, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban, which is my favorite by far. I'm really excited to know that the fifth book will be out in June. The fight will be on which one of us gets to read it first!

I just finished family photo book #3 for Mom, which means I'm finished. All I have left is to begin the Webb album, which is mine, so I can take my time. I'm taking a short break, and organizing my information at this point. I still have a lot to put into the computer program. Unfortunately, our setup at home with our desk doesn't make data entry very easy. I think I'm going to have to re-adjust some stuff in that room.

Rented The Rookie with Dennis Quaid, but haven't watched it yet.

Friday was the last day of work for my boss. Scary. Much drinking commenced last week.

Yesterday there were issues already, but managed. I can only imagine what today may bring. The governor is going to announce his budget ideas.

Pat, did SNL not suck with Jeff Gordon? Or, should I say that the show itself sucks now?

We have finally hit typical January weather in Minnesota. This morning it was -2 degrees with only a high of 13 expected. We have yet to receive any substantial snow, however. We had about an inch last night, bringing our total to 6 for the season. So, if you guys in NY would like to send snow our way, we'd take it. I'd like to go snowmobiling next weekend up north, but it might only happen if I go out on the lake. The lake is the ONLY place with enough snow!

This past Friday we attended the Vikings Exhibit at the Science Museum in St. Paul. It was very interesting, especially for us Norskies. If it comes near you, I highly recommend it. It was interactive with a Viking ship you could walk on and a replica of a village.

Yesterday in the mail I received two new books that I'm psyched to read. Last Train To Memphis and Careless Love are 2 part bios on Elvis written by Peter Guralnick. It's great because the books are based on facts, interviews and the author is not simply drawing his own conclusions or painting Elvis in a specific way. I'm looking forward to learning some things I didn't know. And, as Paige said, "What's with you and this Elvis?"
:)

I'm getting really scared. All I did was post a brief comment on Clerks and Mallrats.

If I had known it was going to become this, I might not have. haha

:)

I don't know enough about Kevin Smith and his movies other then to make a passing comment.
I don't think I care enough to post more then a passing comment. But, as always, I am interested in reading any movie rant. March on Lally!

I was going to repeat a good burn that my husband said, but I won't. It could just open up another can of worms from Lally AND my brother. :)

I will agree with you both that A Beautiful Mind is a great movie. I think that anyone who has this disease deserves a medal for just living day to day. It was really a great explanation of what a person with Schizophrenia goes through.

Hey Lally, can I not have my own opinion on a movie!?!?

:)

Since this is my FIRST foray into the world of Kevin Smith, here's my discussion of the topic:
I did like Clerks, it was, as I said, Interesting....I laughed. The format was cool. But I still liked Mallrats a lot better. That's just the way it goes in my world! I guess my personality and humor is better suited to Mallrats. Perhaps it's my age and that I did hang out in malls when I was ages 12-16.

However, if you want to get into the whole Kevin Smith, best flick discussion, I would say Clerks is his finest of that series because it's 'different' and that he made the frickin' movie with a budget of like $20,000. Dogma would be the close second.

All in my 'opinion' of course.

Thank You. Good night.

Okay, just so no one takes me off their blog lists, I thought I better post something.

The sickness stuff is much better then it was, but still isn't going away. I managed to get in a full day of work yesterday, but I am paying the piper today. It seems like one day I'll do good, the next I'm worn out. Day by day will just be how it goes.

Mom & I had a great time visiting Pat & family for Christmas. My two favorite things that Paige said to me were:

"Aunt Kristin....what's with you and this Elvis guy?" This was in reference to a book Alissa had given me for Christmas. Paige didn't quite get why I liked him!

"I'm glad I'm not you!" We were disagreeing about her not getting out of the tub and I told her that Lyn would be mad at ME if Paige wasn't ready. That was her response.

It was nice to see Alissa still excited about Christmas too. Kids really do make the holidays fun and memorable. That's what it should be all about.

I'm offically on a mission to find a new job. My boss is leaving her position as of next week and I can't stay here without her support. It pretty much seems like each day or week, we find out how crappy the state of government offices and their staffers REALLY are. Unfortunately, they are screwing a fantastic program and disappointing a ton of Minnesota teens. I wouldn't give it more then 3 months to last. I had thought I would stay on to close the place down, basically since I put so much into setting up the program at the beginning. But, the information I received yesterday pretty much erased that option from my mind. I'm on the hunt!

Mike & I are in the midst of a Kevin Smith movie marathon. I had honestly never seen such flicks as Mallrats, Clerks, Dogma, etc. Mallrats was awesome (and it was filmed at Eden Prairie center which is right next to where I used to work at techies), Clerks was interesting and Dogma was hilarious.

Apparently, this sickness that is going around is not going away. Hang in there Mike L.!

Here' s the take on my cold/flu/sickness whatever. Mike had it first, both my parents have had it. Barry's still hasn't gone away completely and is on anti-biotics. Mike felt better, but still didn't get rid of his hacking. Then, I get it a week ago. It's the kind where the first day, I was so wiped out I could barely move. After that, I could manage half days at work and had some energy. Then all the sudden, I would feel like crap. By Friday I was doing a little bit better and thought I was on the right track. WRONG! I was up all that night coughing again. We had a Christmas party in Duluth on Saturday night that I really wanted to go to, so once I got up and going Saturday morning, we went. I made it okay-but was in bed by midnight. Woke up hacking the most horrible crap out. We were home by noon on Sunday and I felt a lot better. Still coughing , but it was getting much better. Mike slept all day Sunday, so should have known something was coming. He woke up Monday coughing again with a sore throat. I felt good all day Monday, and felt really good Tuesday, minus the coughing. Tuesday, Mike's down for the count with it again. This morning I'm up at 5am coughing my brains out and now I felt like shit AGAIN! My next step is to lysol the whole place to get rid of germs. We're down to separate hand towels, no drinking out of the same glasses, you name it. I hope things start turning around.

Work stays about the same, but gets just a tad worse with each meeting. I don't even feel like talking about it anymore. Same shit, different pot each day.

I agree with Mike L. that there is diddly on television. I can only watch Thirteen Days so many times before I feel like I was AT the crisis. I watched an excellent biography on Queen Noor of Jordan, as well as one on the Queen Mum. Both very amazing ladies. Caught the Osbournes last night. It's not as good as last season, but still worth watching. Ozzy was in tough shape in last night's episode. I wonder if he was self medicating?? I love Ozzy, but you can't help feeling bad for the guy. He's really taken Sharon's cancer hard. And Jack and Kelly are brats!

I read my last post. Man, I've been in the dumps lately. Yuck. I got the dreaded 'cold' that I've been so excited that I had been able to avoid. Managed 2 half days at work, was able to work from home today on some crap that could only be done AWAY from the office & interupptions. My boss said she didn't care what I did in terms of sick time/vacation this month, she's doing the same. Nothing to lose so use 'em! There is a certain amount of relief in the 'screw it' attitude. :)

I watched my two holiday must see movies. Last night while I finished the tree (While resting in between ornaments from my cold) I watched It's A Wonderful Life. I truly did feel better after I watched it. Did you know that it did not become a classic until they started playing it on TV in the 70's? It was a box office failure. Jimmy at his best. 2nd movie: Going My Way with Bing Crosby. Technically, it's not really a Christmas movie, but the movie ends at Christmas time so I always watch it then. Bing won his Best Actor for this one.

Now, I'm looking to Charlie Brown & Little House on The Prairie to complete the holiday movie ensemble.

We have a cable channel called True, which mostly airs biography movies. Anybody have it? Tonight I started watching a bad movie about the life of Rock Hudson. I was really pissed off because although it was made in 1990, all "Rock" and his "lover" would do is hug. Give me a break-the guy was gay, the story is about this, KISS THE GUY! Not that I want to see it, but I try to not be homophobic and I think it would have been a much more realistic movie if it had been done.

Anyone seen what Johnny Cash looks like these days? He is in Rolling Stone this month-it's sad. He's 71, has asthma, diabetes and glaucoma. He can't read or write, but can barely sing and play guitar. What's happening to those outlaws? Is Willie next? They're getting old.

I think I should move to Canada.

I know that I live in the greatest country in the world, but I'm starting to become very cynical. More so then usual. It's scaring me. I am going to watch It's A Wonderful Life tonight while Mike watches the Penguins take on the Crapitols, as he calls them. Jaromir Jagr is a hated enemy in our household.

Job:
Word came down from our grant manager that I need to start pulling together a list of all the things we have, contracts, etc so that should we be given the word to shut down in 30 days, we are ready with a plan of action. I think it will take them about $100,000 to shut this thing down. Breaking contracts isn't a cheap business. We still have no final word on where the place is going. We do know that the program as we know it is gone. If we want to play, we have to play by the Health dept. rules.

Christmas shopping is done! Shipping will commence this week! I feel a huge amount of relief in terms of the pocket book. I think we'll be just fine. However, it's time to start looking for that good old thing called a job! And, the house probably is going to take another back burner leap. Oh well. At least we are not like some family & friends that we know that are in debt up their butts, work a zillion jobs, and keep on buying. However, my uncle Tom related a cute story about our grandparents at Thanksgiving...

Apparently, in the early years of their marriage, they found themselves with $18. All the money they had in world, which back then, was a pretty good chunk of change. They borrowed someone's car, drove to Decorah, and purchased a record player for $18. They now had no money. Grandpa said, "We were the dummies. We had to BORROW someone's car to get the darn thing, but we sure wanted it bad enough to spend all we had." My aunt Diane's comment was: "It sounds like a Webb. Spend your last cent on electronics." Heehee

Second story: Diane asked Grandpa how long he and Grandma had been together before they knew they were getting married. Here's his response: "I was living with Grandma and her Mom at their house in Bluffton for awhile. Grandma Molly was called away to a birth (she was a mid-wife) and found out that she would have to stay for quite a long period of time. We were told in no uncertain terms that Grandma and I had to get married if we were going to be staying in the house like that. So, 2 weeks later we were married in the rectory at St. Bridget's." Then he said to Diane, "I don't think that story is common knowledge in our family." I assume he was referring to the living together part!! Pretty cute.

Thanksgiving was fine. Ate well, gained weight. My pumpkin pie was the best. 2nd year running. Pam made romogrout from Grandma's recipe. It was damn good.

John & Jenny had a baby boy on November 23. Just under 7lbs, but 1 month early. Issac John Simon. He's a doll, but soooo small. They said that even though he weighed a good amount, he has no body fat because he is early. He's a little jaundice, doesn't want to eat, and only wants to sleep because he is still technically in-utero. They call him their little chiquita banana because he's dressed in yellow because they didn't if he was a boy or girl, he has blond hair, and then is jaundice! Poor little guy. But, they'll get there. It just takes time. We are passing on stories to them, including yours Mike L. on the success of babies that come early.

Put the tree up Sunday night, and will finish decorating tonight. Mike has his own small tree in the corner with just his sports ornaments on there. Gotta have the Jerry Rice, Steve Young and Mario Lemieux guys on there! I have my own collection of Gone With The Wind ornaments. Pat, your tree looks nice in red.