I made a pretty!

August 30, 2008 · Posted in Ramblings, graphics · 1 Comment

I’m back into learning how to create images for websites. Here is my latest. What do you think?

My Dinna

August 27, 2008 · Posted in Photo, Ramblings · Comment

I sure miss her

I was surfing through some of my pictures today and realized how long she has been gone and it made me sad.
This picture was taken in Lisbon ND Either 1993 or 1994 after dad died. This was out first family get together since his funeral. The ENTIRE family was there and as you can see by the ’smile”, we were having a good time.

They sure look alike don't they?

As you can see here the 2 sisters , Mom, and my 2 nieces are having a good chat.

Check out the lazy bum on the grass! HAHA!

This was dad’s favorite little city park and none of us had been there in at least 15-20 years and it looked exactly the same as last time!

I (We) lost Linda almost 8 1/2 years ago to cancer. Not a day gos by that I dont think about her.

Teacher huh?

May 10, 2008 · Posted in New, Tribune articles · Comment

This months installment from wifes column! {clap}

Well, this last month hasn’t quite been the giant bowl of yucks that it has been in the past. My mom has had to go to a nursing home for the long haul, and that has kind of sucked the joy out of a lot of things for me. Her memory has gone to the point where most days, she thinks I’m her sister, 50 years ago or so, and my oldest son is her brother before he got married and moved away. And the younger grandkids are just cute little kids she has pictures of. She doesn’t really recognize my Dad as her husband, some days either. That’s not easy to see. On the 20th, they’ll have been married for 58 years. That’s pretty impressive, in my opinion. I can’t imagine that much time under one roof with anyone. I like my “me” time!

But the other day, after we’d been to see Grandma, taken Grandpa back home, and were FINALLY (said with all the exasperation that a 4 year old can muster, complete, I’m sure with a GIANT eye roll) on our way back home, Andy announced to me: “When I grow up, I’m going to work at Checkers!” Said with the same enthusiasm that he usually reserves for “I’m going to have cake!” Now, mind you, there’s nothing wrong with working fast food. I’ve done it. It paid my bills for several years. I went to school to manage restaurants, and despite what people think, even fast food with a drive through counts as a restaurant. It’s like a denim jumper compared to a ball gown. They’re both dresses, just not in the same category. But with this child’s wicked imagination, and intelligence, I just feel that maybe we should aspire to something a little “more” than fast food.

I said “Well, honey, I think that maybe you should be like a scientist, or a doctor when you grow up! You are so smart, you could come up with a cure for cancer, so nobody else’s Daddy has to go through cancer like your Dad did.” And he says, “OR! I could be a TEACHER! If a school doesn’t have a teacher, then I can be the teacher, and if the kids want a “A” then I’ll give ‘em a “A”, and if they want a “F” then that’s what they’ll get! It’ll just be an “A” and “F” school! Isn’t THAT a great idea?” You know, the more I think about it, maybe that’s the way schools SHOULD be. So much of life is ”Pass/Fail”, maybe school should prepare you for it. It could be a charter school, maybe. You go through the lessons, and you take a test, and you either get it, or you don’t. Time to start going to school board meetings! I’ll lobby for the pass/fail system! Like Bonnie Rait says in her song; “Let’s Give ‘em Somethin’ to Talk About!” Wouldn’t THAT be an interesting brew-ha-ha!

{clap}

Blue water

April 8, 2008 · Posted in Tribune articles · Comment

The latest from my wife’s monthly newspaper column. Hilarious!

I’ve got a little story for the next time you’re having a bad day. Yes, it’s another story about the joys of raising my 4 year old. This kid is incredible! He can be SO charming, loveable, and fun, and then, there are days like the following:

On Monday, we went to see a family counselor. We basically need to learn how THIS 4 year old works, so that we can find the strategies that are going to work with HIM. We DID learn that there are 4 personality types, and that my husband is one, I’m a different type, and the 4 year old is NOT a combination of US, but his own, unique type. He’s a Lion. Always wanting to be in charge. The counselor said that raising a Lion is VERY difficult, because children are NOT in charge, they CAN’T be in charge of most things, and thus, are almost always in turmoil. Yep, that’s MY kid! So anyway, we’re embarking on this new chapter, hoping that it will lead to more harmony, and less strife in our world. Pray for us.

On Monday evening, I was in the living room, watching some TV, and Andy was playing with his cars on the floor. I told him it was time to brush his teeth. He actually got up and went to the bathroom, (I almost fell over) I heard water running, and then when he was finished, he came out of the bathroom with the orange cup that’s kept in there for mouth rinsing. He was sipping out of it along the way. He says, “I brought you a drink of water, Mom.” I really don’t like drinking water. I know it’s good for me, but ick. But because he was so thoughtful, I took a teeny little sip. My thought at the moment was, “Note to self, make sure that cup gets to the dishwasher tonight”, because it smelled just a bit “funky”. Then, Andy took a big drink from it, and says, “Hmmm. That doesn’t TASTE like toilet water at all, does it Mom?” I grabbed the cup, took it to the kitchen, poured the water into a white bowl, and sure enough, there was the faintest blue tint there! MY CHILD FED ME TOILET WATER! The ONLY thing keeping me from just puking every time I think about it is the fact that there was that one little girl who did a study, and swabbed the toilet water at a fast food restaurant, and also took swabs of the drink dispenser, and the ice dispenser, and the toilet water was actually cleaner than the other areas of the restaurant.

So, there’s my little public service announcement for the month. Whenever things are going tough, you can sit back and say, “At least I didn’t drink toilet water today!” Just about everything else is less icky. Just about.

My Boy

December 19, 2005 · Posted in Photo · Comment

Man! Is this kid growing up or what? I just love the picture and it was a candid shot by Auntie Carolyn in Wyoming. (Thanks BTW) It wont be long and my one time baby will be a young man. We are already well into “littleboy”. Dirty face and all!

I think he looks like Granpa B here but, Julie thinks he looks like uncle Joe. He must have all the good looks from both sides of the family. What do you think?

Click here for more pictures