Mike: You and my brother must like a lot of the same things: Pat had the same Classic Football Game in about 1980. I believe Mom still have it somewhere :) Cool that it's back!



Sharon, Jack and Kelly Osbourne were on Howard Stern last night. 2 things: Howard asked Sharon about giving Kelly the finger wiping incident on one another. And, when Howard asked what was up with Sharon's new friendship with Rosie O'Donnell. Jack's response: "It's a big lesbian love fest." Kelly got really ticked at him for saying that. It was too funny. Second half is on tonight, 10pm Central on E.



Just got the call on my car. Damages are over $1400 so they will total it. But, guess what they're going to pay me for the car? Over $1900!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Plus, an extra $50 for the loss of clothing and luggage (bag) in the vehicle. This is a damn good thing to have happen. I'm buying a newer vehicle this week!

Because I'm still relatively new in the working world, I struggle with many decisions I make. Ever written an internal document and had it come back and bite you in the ass? My boss accidentally (it appears) forwarded it on to someone in the business office and there were some strongly worded observations on this other person's position as part of our org. Needless to say, she (person I wrote about) is not too happy with me. And, my boss is in Denmark and unreachable. However, I maintain that nothing I wrote was wrong, everything was truthful and they were simply MY observations and opinions, that my supervisor asked me to write. To be honest, I was tired of the fakey, sugar-coating stuff that was going on and so I wrote things in a manner that weren't quite as business like as I normally would have. Any suggestions on how I form a defense plan? I'm not embarrassed, and although I would rather have had it paraphrased, there was no other way this would have gotten my point across. Sometimes MN nice gets frustrating....



Paige's room looks awesome. My sister-in-law is one great decorator! Guard your wallet, Pat, when she and Pam live nearer to one another :)



Ever seen the movie Joe Dirt with David Spade? Better then I thought.



Friday night we went to a surprise 30th birthday for friend Shanda. You could tell that Gabe planned it (her husband). He called us 2 hours before we were due there to say, "Crap, we're having a surprise for Shanda tonight. I forgot to call a bunch of people. Can you come?" Had to laugh. And we went. She was surprised and asked, "Who coordinated this?" Couldn't believe her husband had managed to pull it off. Funny part-she said that her 3 year old Tyler said earlier in the day, "I have a surprise for you. Happy Birthday Mommy!" He knew about it and did a great job for his age to keep a secret :) The funnier part is that he keeps switching between Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day-likes to wish his mommy both. And, his daycare lady is pregnant and he keeps getting breasts and belly mixed up on which is what. The other day he told Shanda, "I like your boobs Mommy!" She says she wished she had never mentioned the name of what those were :)


My 13-year old cousin Tyler asked his Dad the other day, "When guys are older and then don't get married, does that make them priests?" :-) They're Lutheran. This is from the kid, who was told that our Fore-fathers came here from Norway, asked his mom, "You had FOUR FATHERS?!?"

I've posted some digital pictures here. They consist of work (the crazy teens and others) as well as our friend's new puppy, my broken car, etc.


I agree with Mike L. Hawk wussed out big time on Tough Enuff. I think Jackie might pull through if she keeps up the good work. Kenny got to be King Kenny from the looks of the chick he picked up. :)


The season finale of Friends was decent. The 'surprise' ending sucked donkeys. I have to say they did a fair job in the birthing sequence. I thought with Rachel being all fancy they wouldn't have her looking like she did. Still, TV births are wierd. Phoebe shot out triplets and barely grimaced. I did not watch ER yet, as we went to see....Episode II: Attack of the Clones!


Now, I heard people on the radio today say they liked it better then the first. I can understand that. Some are saying that they liked it better then Star Wars or Return of the Jedi. I think those people are going a bit far! The battle scenes are amazing, and the last battle is the best. However, Yoda carries the fricking movie. Because he is now animiated digitally and not operated as a puppet, he's able to do so much more. Very cool. The love story is kind of stiff and dorky, but needed of course to set things up. Hayden Christensen who plays Anakin is decent, but is going to be wonderful as he descends into the dark side. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Won is great-perfect pre-cursor for the version of Alec Guiness. I missed the cool costumes of Queen Amidala in the first, but Natalie Portman's Padme is played much softer and still has some nifty looking outfits. It reminds me very much of Leia. Much of the movie is the audience going, "OHHH, I get it..." because so much is being set-up from things we didn't quite get from the original trililogy. My vote: 3 out of 4 stars. I think I only like it a tiny bit more then the first.


Might I point out that this time in the theater, one couple brought their 2 year old to a 9:15pm movie. She was not quiet. It took a 16 year old kid in front of them to turn around and tell them that we'd all waited a long time for this movie and how disruptive this was. That was impressive! He wasn't mean, just serious. Second thing, another couple brought their infant who whimpered frequently. She just stuck a boob in it's mouth to shut it up though. I'm ready to give up on movie theaters. No cell phones rang in this one though.


Lordy Lordy. Adjustor looks at the car today. Pray for me.

No news on the car, yet. It sits sadly in our apartment lot waiting for it's destiny. I will post pictures of destruction tomorrow.

I agree with my brother on the police-why did I have to go find the car? I can only guess. They'd rather put my life in danger then theirs? Or not waste time if it wasn't my car?

Minnesota's budget appears to be balanced. My job is safe for another year. The state is borrowing money from the Tobacco Endowment, however, have plans to pay it back. Hopefully they keep their promises. Check out the STRIB article. They say it will NOT hurt prevention programs like ours.

Jobs suck sometimes. Red, the dad on That 70's Show says it best. "That's why they call it WORK! If it was enjoyable, it would be called Happy Fun Time!" Thoughts are with you Mike.

Apparently, I spoke too soon on my car! This morning my co-worker, Pogi (his real name is Eric, but I digress) walks in and asks me what my license plate number is on the car. I told him and he looks at a slip of paper and said, "I parked next to your car last night at my apartment lot." Holy Crap! I called the police, they told me to not approach the car but go to see if it was still there. It was, so I called them back and they met me there. They did not finger print and they didn't seem to think the people lived in the complex. Probably just dumped it there. The kicker is: it's 5 blocks from our place.

A total of anywhere of 20-30 miles were put on. They jimmied the lock and put a hole there by it. Next, they cracked the shaft of where the steering wheel sits on. Started it from there. Next, graffiti all over the passenger side and on the dash (inside). Lovely permanent markers. Chucked out the glove box and took nothing but my insurance information and the photocopy of the title. Took the rosery I had hanging from the rear-view mirror. Dumped out all of sweaty gym bag clothes and shoes, but took the bag. Pop cans (not mine) and a cigarette packages all over, and my maps scattered all over. Busted the ash tray, which never opened and kicked in a lot of the dash. I tried to start it, and although the key does go in, it does not turn in the iginition. Insurance will take a look at it and find out if it's fixable or total it. wild.

Mike says maybe they took it for a ride and realized how shitty the car was. Haha

Forgot to mention that I went to my step-sister's graduation from Community College on Friday night. Key note speaker was former MN Governor Arne Carlson. Not a fan of the guy (Republican) but his speech was quite good. The real fun of the night was during the National Anthem. The guy forgot the words. I have never witnessed this before. I thought something was up when he said, "perilous night" instead of fight and then he went into "for the ramparts we...." and then he mumbled something like "hmmm, hmm". The guy behind him says, "Rockets red glare". The singer shrugged and jumped back in and everyone cheered. I didn't, I laughed hysterically. For some reason I thought this was extremely funny. Or else I'm just mean.

I'm also the person that couldn't ever stop laughing in class when someone accidentally farted. :)

No word on the car. I like my rental car because it's smaller car then I've ever had. But, it's a Ford Escort, and even though the new ones are better, I'd still never buy one. No offense to those out there that have one. It's just that if I came home with a Ford, every male member of my immediate family would shoot me. GM-the way to go. In the paper I looked at a Cavalier, Corsica, Lumina, Malibu, etc. Another Buick LeSabre would put me in the grandpa category-the new ones are huge. Any suggestions? Since my husband is tall and Mr. Muscles, I have to have a vehicle that will fit him too. And, 4-door is a must, since parenthood would be on the horizon in the coming years.

Mike is currently benching 380lbs. His goal is 405. OH MY GOD. He quit drinking pop/caffeine (or soda, coke, or whatever the hell else it's called) again 3 months ago and he is amazed at what power it's given him. And, it's always a given while he's working out that some dude will walk up and say, "Hey, where can I get the juice you're on?" He loves to say "This is nothing but hard work." Cool.

SNL was decent this week. Will Farrell's last impression of George Bush. I can't believe he's leaving. My favorite part is his reference to the widow of King Hussein of Jordan, "Queen Amidala." I'm willing to bet Queen Noor gets a laugh out of that one. My favorite skit was near the end. The show with Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch in "Wake up Wakefield". As always, Maya will be the future 'Mrs. Randy Goldman.'

FYI to Mike L.: You'll be happy to hear that this Webb did not attract morons in customers/service/general public this weekend. Unless spending time with my extended family on Sunday for Mother's Dad qualifies. It might.

Funny story: ran into a guy I dated a few times in high school at Shopko over the weekend. He stops me as I walk by him and says, "Are you a Webb?" Then, he remembers my name and I finally realize who it is. I went out with this guy like 4 times total in my senior year. He was a year younger and SOOO immature. I knew his sister and she hooked us up. Nice guy, cute, but clueless. He was in a foster home-his mother had 9 kids (hard core Catholics) was scizophrenic and the Dad had walked out on them. The mom cracked and most of the younger kids were farmed out to foster homes. The kid had no confidence. Anyway, he tells me as we're standing there that when we dated he'd never kissed a girl. Let's just say he NEVER kissed me. Why is he telling me this now? I turned bright red and laughed. He thought it was funny. Wanted to know if I was married, etc. Long story short-uncomfortable and wierd. Brought back memories I didn't really want to remember I guess!

Ocean's Eleven came in the mail on Friday on DVD. Good movie.

Interesting statistic: Only 4 percent of people complain to management about bad service. 87 percent tell 10 friends about it and where it occurred. I've decided to become a part of the 4 percent. What do you think?

Story of the week: my car was stolen on Wednesday.

I will repeat: MY CAR WAS STOLEN ON WEDNESDAY. Laugh, please. I have many times. OR, you can say what most others have said: WHAT?!?!?! Why the hell would anyone want to steal a 1987 Buick LeSabre?

Parked my car in front of my apartment on Tuesday at 5:30pm. Locked as usual, in full view from my apartment deck. Left for work at 8AM the following morning. Walked outside and thought, "hmm, that's funny. I thought I parked here."

Walked up and down the lot going, what the hell? Looked in the front lot, and started to panic a small bit. Went into the house and called my husband and said, "Tell me you know where my car is." His response? "I don't know what you are talking about." I lost it. Started to freak out and cry, he says he's coming home. I freaked for 2 minutes, and then calmed. The madder I got, the calmer I was. Called the stupid ass rental office and asked if they had heard anything? Did they tow it? Nothing. Called the police. Filed a report. Sent a cop over. Called the insurance company. I was on the phone a lot. Cop took a look outside and found no broken glass, etc. Probably popped the lock with a coat hanger, and according to my step-dad, most likely used a heavy duty screwdriver to start it. And off they went!

NO valuables inside. My gym bag with shorts and a tshirt, along with my Reeboks were in there. Total: about $50. Had bags of old clothes in the trunk that I was taking to donate. No biggy there. If they do not find the car in 30 days, the insurance company will buy the title from me for the selling price of what a '87 is going for these days. My brother checked out the Kelly Blue Book and I should get anywhere from $350-$700. After putting $300 into last week on the f*ing CV shaft, I'm not happy. I guess the bonus is that this forces us to buy a car. The house fund is now seriously depleted, but I'm glad we had the money there to use. Pushes back buying a house by about 4 months I'm guessing, but we've got time. Final word: I want to move.

Happy Friday!

To follow my brother's lead for today, I remember quite well the day of his wedding. What a blast! It was only the 2nd time I had ever gotten drunk in my life :) (Realize that I went into my 2nd year of college after this and downed more than my fair share.) Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Whittney today too. Hard to believe she is 17. I remember the day she arrived!

Forgot to mention that I saw Spider Man on Friday night. My rating: 3 out 5 stars. Wasn't bad, but I was expecting more. Surprisingly, I really liked Tobey Maguire as Spidey. He had the perfect balance of nerdy Peter Parker and ultra cool Spider Man. I was super excited about Willem Dafoe playing the Green Goblin, but he acted like it was a huge step down for him and the Goblin character just got to be dumb. It wasn't the coolness like Jack Nicholson playing the Joker. First hour was good, second hour started to slow down. It probably didn't help that we had a group of asshole teenagers behind us. Let me just recount what they did:

1st: Had to save a million seats for their friends who didn't show up. Considering this was opening night, seats were hard to come by.
2nd: Started talking, burping and farting the MINUTE the show began. After 15 minutes I turned around and said, "Guys,come on." They quieted briefly.
3rd: After an hour of this I turned around and said: "SHUT THE F*CK UP!" Response: the classic look of "oh shit".
4th: Not five minutes after this happened, I hear 'clink' and feel a gush of liquid all over my sandals and feet. My response: "JESUS CHRIST"
5th: A guy sitting near us went and got an employee who walked back there and said, "you guys are this close to getting kicked out." They finally stopped.

Mike says they were drinking booze wrapped in brown paper bags, from what he could see. These kids couldn't have been more then 16. I sincerely hope I never acted this shitty in a movie when I was 16. Or am I just getting old? This may have had something to do with me not liking the movie better.

The final episode of the Osbournes tonight. I'm sad. Did you hear they are coming back next season? Sharon managed to get $20 million baby! She's my new idol.

I've posted to my blog a page devoted to quotes. I will add to it as I think of even BETTER ones.

Might I add that Mike L. had to correct me again. I did not know it was Jeremy PIVEN not Priven. Oops. I guess I better pay attention to play in this league.

New site that plays off those cool motivational posters and cards you can get. Here's an example: Cluelessness. There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots." I'm posting this one on my desk at work. Check out: www.despair.com

Highly recommend reading this editorial from The Sporting News, last week. If you have beef with Commissioner Selig, this hits the nail on the head.

This weekend we moved my grandparents out of their home of almost 50 years to a retirement community. Tough one-can't even imagine how hard this must be for them. I hated moving from my house I had lived at for almost 20 years! Anyway, cool story. I'm unpacking the kitchen stuff at the new place and Grandpa comes over and asks me to find his 'sippin' wiskey.' Not knowing for sure what this was, I pulled out the only bottle I had seen which was of Southern Comfort. (I have never known my Grandpa to drink). He asks me to find him a glass, at which time he pours himself a little shot and downs it. I laughed my ass off. He says it relaxes him and I have to say, he was in a perky mood after downing his tottie. :) Plus, he got a new 27' TV that he was looking forward to watching.

Is Tough Enuff getting good this week or what? A new cut is coming on Thursday. I DO NOT want it to be Hawk. I love this guy! However, I think it might be him or Anni. Is it just me, or is Anni a bit mannish?

Last week's episode of the Osbournes was my favorite. Fave line: when Ozzy was playing the slot machine and talking to the camera and all the sudden just goes, "I just won!" I think Sharon was getting a little tipsy! BTW, she is one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. And, apparently Ozzy went to Washington too!

I come back from a lovely work trip to Northern Minnesota and find a full blown WAR going on with Mike L. and my brother on movie quotes.

First, I bow to you Mike on your quote from Ferris Bueller. I did mix two scenes together. My only defense is: I have no defense. However, if we're allowed to correctly identify the quotes from the ORIGINAL SCRIPT ON THE WEB SITE this might change things a bit.

Might I point out though, that a few years back I tried to tell my brother that Jeremy Piven was in the movie "Say Anything" with John Cusack. He told me repeatedly that I was wrong, and made it a point to call Mike L. so that he could prove me wrong. Mike rendered me the winner, as well as repeating verbatim the scene I had quoted with Piven. This could get good.

However, my husband tends to be the king of quotes at our house, and I think using his expertise, I might be able to come into league with Mike L.

There is no way to narrow these movie quotes to a Top 10. They're all too good.

Movies aside, I may have to list quotes from Friends as well. Too many good Chandler quotes to not acknowledge.

Back to the real world this week. Had a cool time in Iowa, although the weather was cold and rainy most of the time. We didn't do much, but mostly took it easy and hung out. Thursday we went up to Davenport to eat at Steak and Shake (interesting experience) and then a little shopping. I ate my first Krispy Kreme donuts (yes, they're fricking amazing and I gained 4 pounds over the weekend from eating them) and had Mike's Aunt Tracey's amazing lasagne. Friday we took off to do some cemetary hunting. Mike found many of his relatives down there, and was able to gain a ton more information from his Uncle on their family history. We also went to Oakville, near Wapello, and found the cemetary where my great uncle John is buried. It was nice to be able to go back.

The cool part (btw the drive went pretty good too) was on the way back we stopped outside of Spring Valley, MN to check out a few cemetaries of my relatives. I found the tiny Bloomfield Cemetary finally, and located my Great-Great Grandparents (my grandfather's maternal grandparents). In addition, I found 2 of their children buried next to them, and 2 Great, Great, Great Uncles. This was ultra cool. Although I froze my ass off, it was well worth the trip. To be honest, it feels like I'm repaying a debt to my ancestors by doing this stuff.

Cheapest Gas on the trip: Atalissa, Iowa, $1.27.

FYI-working on recording my Sharon voice. (I tried last night, but was getting bad quality) I will also post photos of our new nephew, and a picture of Gabe and Shanda's kids. Mike was using the computer last night, and we tend to not be able to each use it for short stretches. Rather, it takes a LONG time to get stuff done, so we have to trade nights :)

Getting my car fixed today at last. I realized how dangerous it was getting when I turned a corner at the grocery store last night and heard this clunk. CV Shaft, can't wait to see the bill! I also noticed last week that I have a crack in my windshield. Today, it's turned into a larger crack. In other words, the time is nearing that my car is turning into a piece o crap and I should start parking it on cinder blocks in front of my trailor house or something....It's bad enough parking it at the Apt. building next to brand new Crown Victoria's, cuz we live next to so many old people!

Ozzy tonight. Jay Leno's 10th Anniverary and Bob Hope bloopers. What to do??

Leaving for Brainerd tomorrow for work. Health conferences are not my idea of a good time!

Got a really cool envelope of information from my 1st cousin, once removed Janet Hoskey Kvidera. (Art and Ethel's daughter) I've been touch with her regarding some family history information. Because she is the oldest grandchild, she had a lot more details then I ever imagined, including pictures. The package included 1 picture of all 6 kids of Vance and Julia's, many other ones over the years, some of Vance and Julia, other large family pics at gatherings, etc. Some funny ones of my dad in there when he's a little kid, with his brothers. Other things included group sheets of each family, with their children. I don't know most of my Webb cousins. And many great pieces about my great-grandpa Vance wanting to play baseball. Apparently, he was offered the chance to go pro (or close to it) but his Dad told him he couldn't. Therefore, he became a mechanic and farmer, neither of which it sounds like he enjoyed. An interesting look at a guy I didn't know much about.

Our scanner crapped out on Saturday night. Mike's on the kick of scanning these obituaries he has into his geneology program. It's cool, because it allows you to automatically insert them with the person. Anyway, as I'm sitting in the den with him (i'm counting how many shot glasses I own) we hear this big crack. Test it out for awhile, takes 15 minutes to scan, then it freezes the computer. Pick the thing up and see this small metal object floating around on the inside. Hmm, I think it's broke. We drove over to Best Buy to simply look.....but bought. It's a Microtek, and is a much better upgrade from the $30 one we had that lasted 3 years. This new one has one touch scanning, copy, to email, and the coolest part: a device that scans slides and negatives. It doesn't do a great job, but it works just the same. With the new printer we have, printing and scanning has become a sweet deal. I haven't set foot near the computer since then, as Mike has taken over.

Work has slowed to a crawl, which hasn't happened since January. And even then, it only lasted a week. No more details on the legislative battle. The Attorney General has filed suit to take money from the endowment away from MPAAT, which is a group that is funded similarily to us. If they get the ax, it doesn't look good for us. Thank god the last 5 days have been quiet in the news for us. Last week was a nasty one between radio and TV. As Jesse Ventura said, "I thought we got over this lyrics business in the 60's." No, I think it was over in the 80's after Tipper Gore didn't get much further with it. To quote the dude from Twisted Sister, "Tipper Gore is a twit." I might have voted for her husband, but.....

The Osbournes tonight. I have to say this has become the highlight of the week, along with The Real World and Tough Enuff. Yesterday at work the guys kept having me do my Sharon impression. It's the one when she raises her voice up really high and says stuff like, "there's a little voice telling me to go to Tiffany's." My secret wish is to be able to conquer the British accent. I can do some, but not others. I've tried doing Irish but that's even harder. Anyway, I can relax with my Ozzy tonight.

My back is fricking killing me lately. I don't know what happened and why, but it seems like it's my neck and middle back. I've tried heating pad, moist heat, and last night a cold pack. Since we're going to Iowa this week, which means sleeping on something other then a bed, I'm a bit worried. I don't know if I need a chiropractor or a good massage. And, the damn car place won't call me back with an estimate on my CV shaft that needs to be replaced. It has to get done soon because it' s starting to get dangerous to drive it. $300 here I come! Fix your car or go on a vacation is a real shitty decision to have to make.

Last week was a busy one...


Mike's sister gave birth to a healthy 5lb 15 oz baby boy on April 15. Name: Alex Michael. Uncle Mike is quite proud to say the least! We drove up to Duluth that same day to visit-it was cool. The funniest part is this: we left St. Paul at 1pm and it was 91 degrees. When we arrived in Duluth at 3:30, the temperature in the harbor was 39 degrees and there was zero visibility because of the fog. How's that for April in Minnesota???


Went to La Crosse with my step-sister Janelle on Thursday. She was accepted there and wanted to check out the school and see if she wants to go there. She is having conflicted feelings about going, because she could go to Winona State and be done in 2 years. If she transfers to WI she'll probably have to go 3. I told her that she had two options: stay in rochester and your life stays the same and you may never move or go to La Crosse, meet new people, have fun and do something with your life. She's leaning towards getting out, which is good. SHe lives with her boyfriend and I really think she nees more then just that in her life. She's got a wicked good GPA going and is smart, so I think she'd do well. The problem has been that she needs someone to walk her through this stuff and help her figure it out. Her mom wants to help but can't, and she doesn't want to bother Dad. So, I volunteered and we had a pretty good time. She met with her advisor and figured out what she has to take and then we got a tour of the campus. I wish I had gone down there for a tour-I like it better then River Falls! I'm hoping she can find a way to get there.


Didn't do much but drive most of the week, with having to go to Rochester on Wednesday night, to get up early and go to La Crosse Thursday. We're leaving for Muscatine, Iowa on Wednesday night, and I have to say I'm not looking forward to being in a car for another 5 hours. Yuck.


West Wing should be really cool this week, with interviews, Clinton, etc. The Osbournes are on the cover of Rolling Stone this week. Good article.

My quote of the week: "Dad, I hate Jack..." Ozzy: "What do you want me to do about it? If it bothers you, just ignore it." I don't know why that's funny. I hope some of you were able to see Saturday Night Live-Horatio Sands Ozzy was the best skit I've seen in awhile.


Second quote today, this one from my dad: "random thoughts from a cluttered mind...." that's me for the week.

So, I'm watching my brother and Mike L. post their blogs and I'm laughing my head off. Seems like Mike L's getting quite the following of people starting their own blogs...

In the state of Minnesota today, things are getting pretty interesting with the legislative battle over the budget, and new government candidates. Yesterday, Rep. Tim Pawlenty, the Republican Majority Leader, who is also running for governor, decided this in the following AP article:

ST. PAUL -- House Republicans on Thursday stepped up their pressure on Target Market, an anti-smoking advocacy group funded with money they want to use to reduce the state's budget deficit.

House Majority Leader Tim Pawlenty criticized the group for co-sponsoring a concert later this month that features alternative rock bands that use obscene language and sing about violence, drinking and drug use.

"We need to find creative ways to appeal to teens, but this is like treating cocaine addiction by encouraging heroin use," said Pawlenty, who is also a candidate for governor.

Pawlenty said Target Market should cancel its financial support for the April 30 concert, which features Sum 41 and Goldfinger, in St. Paul. A spokeswoman for Target Market didn't return a phone call Wednesday night. (not true)

Target Market, an independent group overseen by the state Department of Health, coordinates the state's anti-tobacco ad campaign aimed at 12- to 17-year-olds. It uses money from the endowment fund created by settlement of the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry in the late 1990s.

House Republicans have proposed using $325 million from the $590 million endowment to reduce the state's deficit. Such a move could put Target Market out of business.

Last week, another Republican lawmaker, Rep. Kevin Goodno of Moorhead, criticized Target Market for an October concert in St. Cloud in which a punk band from Chicago sang songs with obscenities.

State Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said the two concerts are different cases. The band discussed last week was hired to play at a Target Market event, but the upcoming event is put on by a local radio station that Target Market paid $3,600 to co-sponsor.

"To me, it's a rather different thing for Target Market to have a presence," she said. "Target Market isn't hiring these bands. Target Market isn't creating this."

And the organization thinks it's an effective way to reach some hard-to-reach teens, she said. "To me, it's a question of effective marketing strategies," Malcolm said. "I accept that there's room to debate the effectiveness."

This is cracking me up. Fortunately, our governor, who hosts his own weekly lunch program on WCCO radio, commented that he thought this was a bunch of crap. The gist of his message was that he and his wife attended Ozzy Osbourne concerts when they were younger, and that it was up to PARENTS to protect their kids from lyrics, not a Representative. heehee He also asked, what's worse? Having your kid go to a concert with questionable lyrics, a phase that may only last a brief time, or get them hooked on smoking for the rest of their life? GO JESSE! The Strib is running something this weekend that might screw us pretty good, however, so it's on to a hard core fight again.


FYI-I've pulled out my husband's Ozzy CD's for a little trek down memory road. Did you recognize the theme song to the show? It's the first lines of Crazy Train!


Here's a list of movies that I thought of, in contribution to Pat: (no order, with quotes)

Ferris Bueller "I could be the Walrus and I'd still have to bum rides off people."
(corrected by Mike L.)
16 Candles "She getting married to oily bohunk."

Field Of Dreams "Ty Cobb wanted to play, but none of us could stand the son-of-bitch when he was alive, so we told him to stick it!"

Say Anything "Lloyd, see ya round. Maybe."

Slap Shot "You go to the penalty box. You feel shame."

La Bamba "Rock and Roll in Spanish?"

Fast Times at Ridgemont High "Learn it, Know it, Live it."

Revenge of the Nerds "What the f --- are Robster Craws?"

The Green Mile "What happens on the mile, stays on the mile."

Wierd Science "Anything bigger then a handful and you're risking a sprained tongue."

Forrest Gump "Momma said you can tell a lot about a person and they shoes"

Grease "I got chills...they're multiplying...and I'm looosing control."

Dumb and Dumber "I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a lot rockier then this. John Denver's full of shit."

Office Space "Hey Milton whaaaaat's happenin."

It's A Wonderful Life "You sit here, Mr. Potter, and weave your little web..."

Almost Famous "Your mom kind of freaked me out...."

Tommy Boy "Bees! OH MY GOD!"

Had a good birthday. 27 was painless, but like I said, the number itself feels old.

MN was hit good with a snowstorm (finally) and it closed pretty much everything. Was able to stay home because our policy is when the St. Paul schools are closed, so are we. However, we all worked at home. Calling kids, adults, whatever to have them call their damn legislator. The House voted this morning to take $350 million of the endowment to fund some of the debt. It's not sounding like it will get through the Senate too far, but we're not sure. I hate this crap and i'm sooooo sick of fighting it. I have to admit, I didn't do much today but my laundry. I designed 20-30 email blasts yesterday to kids and called around 30 of them. I guess I'm just wearing out.

Mike is gone this weekend up north, so I'm on my own again. I'm taking a nap and reading my books. BTW-seeing Doris Kearns Goodwin speak was AWESOME! I enjoyed it a lot. Madeline Albright is coming next month and I'm tempted to go hear her speak too.

Time to reflect...I'll be 27 on Friday. To be honest, that feels like a really old number. I don't feel it mentally, and people tell me I don't look it, but my face has the first indications of lines are showing. I have a laugh line going , and my chin has a big ole line circling it. What does this mean?!?! I guess I have good genes on my side, not that I really care about looking older. I get carted all the time, so I think I maintain I look about 24 or so. However, Mom doesn't really look her age, Grandma Garness has never really grayed at all and looks a lot younger then 84. Although Grandma Webb has white hair, her and Grandpa didn't really start to look their age until the last few years. Hey, if I look as good as they all do in my 80's, I'll be thrilled!

Last week, the whole age issue started to press when I found out my friend Syrentha had passed away from Breast cancer. I had worked with her at Digital City, my first job out of college, and she was really my mentor there. Taught me tons of computer stuff, including how to do rainman, the aol propriety language. When she and her husband moved to DC in 1999, I stayed with them when I went out there on vacation. Super great person and a lot of fun. She was diagnosed in 1999 at 27, and passed away January 12 at 31. Mark's mother had just recently passed away from cancer too, so I can't even imagine what he must be going through. I was pretty upset last Monday. Mike had the day off and came and took me out for lunch. I don't think he quite understood why I was upset right away. I think in his mind because she wasn't living around this area anymore, that I wouldn't have really known her all that well anymore. I kept in touch with her and had last talked with her in the summer. She was close to my age, and really one of the first people I know close to my age that died of cancer. Anyway, Mike and I spent last Monday night laying on the floor with the lights off, listening to music, and talking. It was a time to reflect and think about your family and friends. There are a lot of people I've blown off and I need to be the bigger person and try to contact them. Syrentha was a great person and I'm really my life is richer for having known her.

We bought a kick ass tv this weekend. A 32' and it rocks. We had to go by a stand for it too since it wouldn't fit into our entertainment center. Mike is pretty thrilled. Watching NASCAR on it on SUnday was cool. It also helps when I win. Matt Kenseth was my saviour. :)

Also, watched Man on the Moon this weekend, Say Anything (Lloyd, see ya round maybe), and The Green Mile. I've seen them all before but it was super fun to watch them all again. Jim Carey is fricking amazing as Andy Kaufman. Freaky. Mike and I have watched The Green Mile a ton lately, cuz it's always on. A few weeks ago I watched Cast Away until I was going to puke. Anyway, we've gotten to the point that TGM is hilarious, in some ways. The acting is superb. The dude that plays Wild Bill is so funny. "I'm currently cookin up some turds" or the way the Cajun dude, Del, thanks John Coffey, "I tank ya John, Mr. Jingles tanks you. My momma tank you, but she dead." Although this movie is very moving and emotional it's fun to watch in a different perspective. Highly recommend it. I love having HBO, Showtime and STARZ even though there are some days there isn't shit on!

Our funding is threatened again at TM becuase of the state of the budget in MN. We're in the REd pretty damn deep. Fingers crossed, fight again. Plus, our new ad agency doesn't know shit. They are so overwhelmed by all this that they can't keep things flowing. I hope they get their act together soon. Either way, I think I better prepare for a new job hunt come July. Hmmm, that would make a 4th company that I've worked for that has gone under. What the hell?????????????????????????

Okay...so when I try to argue NASCAR at the office, I get people that won't even LISTEN. Is that just me or the sport? I don't even get the words out barely of what strategy they use, and the response is: "Yeah, the put gas in the car." It's kind of frustrating, and not all of it has to do with NASCAR. I guess I'm the type of person who tries to listen as carefully as I can to the other person's viewpoint without interjecting or interuppting much. Not too many people in this world do that, I've learned.

Especially the scary, conservative crazie Republicans. I am not classifying all Republicans as this-just those ones like my friend Ryan, Jerry Falwell, and a few others.
These dudes are the ones that stir up stuff that does NOT need to be stirred up.

To quote the Onion after September 11th regarding Jerry Fallwell, "Is this guy a dick or what?"

SuperBowl was good, commercials disappointing. I did like Britney's Pepsi retrospective. Cool. SNL with her was okay. Highpoints were: Will Farrell as a LDSer on the slopes during the Olympics yelling, "Have you found Jesus Christ in your life yet?"; The monologue with Kattan, Britney and Justin; Barbie and Skipper in the Dream House; and Weekend Update with Fallon singing his tunes. Will Farrell's impression of Neil Diamond ROCKS! "We're coming to America..."

This weekend I spent time with my parents and grandparents. Let's just say I learned a few valuable lessons about the differences in my Mom's family and my Dad's family.

Animal cruelty, can't stand it. I couldn't even watch Old Yeller or Where the Red Fern Grows. So, guess what happens? A little kid, who will remain nameless, threw his new puppy off the stairs and broke it's leg. I can't even deal with it, it makes me so pissed off. A cast on a 10 week old puppy, and orthopedic surgery to boot. Little f...er. I sincerely would spank him, lock him in his room, and make sure he knew how serious this is. Of course, mom and dad are telling those who know, "don't tell anyone about this....we're really upset about it." One more fricking reason to not need to talk to my uncle.

Back to the orthodentist yesterday after being gone just short of 5 years. My teeth looked great, my bite has stayed put, and I got a new retainer and bite plane. The goal is to wear it less and less ( I didn't tell him I already only wear it a few times a week if that). Top priority is if my jaw hurts or my teeth feel like they're shifting. My TMJ doesn't both me very often, which is proof that 4 years of hell wearing some strange appliances and braces paid off.

Finished scanning all the pictures from Grandpa and Grandma's box. Tried to get some info out of Grandpa on Saturday, but he just didn't feel up to it and wasn't remembering everything. I really realized that I know very little about my great aunts and uncles and their families. I think I'm going to have to actually write to a few relatives and see if I can get some info.

Saw Ocean's 11 last weekend. If you like Vegas, you'll think this is a cool movie. Most of it takes place at the Bellagio, which my brother had already given me the scoop that it is wicked cool. At the end of the movie they show the fountains doing their dance to the music. What an amazing place. I really really really want to go there!

I've written and gotten this accidentally erased, so back I go again....
New printer at home that is cool beyond belief. Our little HP 690 piece o crap fell apart about a week ago after we spent $70 on new cartridges. Still not sure what happened to it. Anyway, it came as part of our computer system and is close to 3 years old, so it was probably about time. The new one is an HP 960 that prints fast, has great photo capabilities, and a sensor that tells paper type and when ink is running out. I tried a few things out and was very impressed. At some point the new hardrive is going to have to come, but I think that will have to wait until the end of the year.
Also bought our new Geneology program which has had Mike attached to the computer for a few weeks. I think this weekend I will have to spend time trying to get my stuff in there. I don't think my stuff from the other program is going to transfer, unfortunately. A little extra work possibly, but enjoyable none the less. I think cleaning is the call of the weekend. There is some really cool stuff that I can do with it.
Grandpa and Grandma are moving it sounds like. Dad is getting them into an assisted living program in Harmony. Grandpa isn't feeling the best it sounds, which worries me to no end.

I have to say this hasn't been the best of weeks...
Beyond recovering from being sick last week, it seems the littlest of things keep going up and down. Is this what they call life? Yes, I think so.
Tuesday my mother called at about 8:45pm to let me know great-Uncle Wayne in California had passed away. That was a tough one to hear. This was a guy we all had admired and kept in touch with over the years. IN fact, I had just got done sending him a Christmas letter just a few weeks ago letting him know all the geneology info I had collected over the the last year. And, we never did make it out there to see him, which is something I always wanted to do. He was only 71 and did so much with his life. Married for 51 years, 6 kids, a college professor and writer. 2 books, including one about his time in the Korean War as part of the Chosin Few, who survived the battle at Chosin Resevoir in 1950. He was the one that I thought about when I went over to college to pursue journalism, because he was one of the few in our family who had graduated from college and done something spectacular with his life. Admired from afar, I guess you could say. A super nice guy, who always reminded me a bit of my dad and a little of my grandpa.
So, all that remains of the Vance Webb family now is Grandpa and Ethel. I wonder how that makes you feel? You're the oldest ones, and still around. Plus, with Ethel not knowing what's going on around her with Altheimers, that leaves just Grandpa. Amazing. I hope that Dad and Tom were able to make a trip out to CA. Dad sounded very sad on the phone when we talked. Wayne was only 11 years older then him, and Dad spent a lot of time with him. I can't imagine how I'd feel to lose my favorite uncle. As one gets older, as my grandparents and my dad have experienced, I can't even think of what it's like to see your family and friends pass away. Not something I look forward to I guess.
Work is a bit better. I spoke to my brother and a few others about the circumstances, and am gaining a better perspective. IN any sense, I meet with my boss on Monday. I think my biggest issue is always to learn to see things from a different light. I'm one to read into situations, based upon my intuition. When things become tense at work, and mistakes are being made by all, I tend to few that I am the only one making things go wrong. I find out later, there's a lot going on and a lot going wrong. Will I ever grow up and learn??!??? Plus, management is NOT one of my strong points.
Friday at last. Staying home tonight to relax. Lunch with my old techie friend Renee tomorrow, and supper with Matt and Jill. Time to let lose a bit and laugh I hope.

Blog at last....
Thanks to my brother and his friend for showing me this is indeed a cool idea.
Monday, the day o crap began with work sucking beyond belief and my husband's credit card and wedding ring stolen out of his locked locker at the gym. Unless he's lying to me about the ring and is trying to tell me something :) Just kidding. Of course, the Y is 'not responsible for lost or stolen goods.' AHH!