Anderson/Hatgidakis/Nelson/Metcalf: Newsletter
Old news: February 2002
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Marsha and John
2/28/2002
Congrats to Gary on your trip to Rome. Maybe you're too preoccupied to
give much thought to the Oscars. You could bow out gracefully and we would all
understand. I did well with the Grammy picks (Marsha speaking) but, of course,
nothing was in writing. O Brother was album of the year and I didn't even mind it
beating two of my favorites, Dylan and U2. I also like Outkast and Alicia Keys, but
they are really overplaying her music - getting too much of a good thing. Sam had to
make a crown to wear to school tomorrow to read Julius Caesar. How Roman, maybe
Gary could borrow it. Also enjoyed India Arie on the Grammys too!
Marsha
2/28/2002
The weekend of April 21st works well for our family for a Des Moines trip.
If you are planning to go and would like John to make reservations for you, let him
know by Saturday night (March 2nd.) Any special requests, suggestions, or
preferences for hotel accomodations....let John know.
Amanda
2/27/2002
I think the Iowa get-a-way sounds good (or we could just all go to Rome with Gary), BUT, Ryan is due to leave anytime soon, & I ain't making the trip with 2 kids alone! I would prefer the later weekend, better weather & a better chance for Ryan to be here, and Im not sure what we will be doing for Tristens birthday, but the
17th is only 3 days after that. Course, I guess we could have a little family celebration for her if we did it that weekend, she would like that... But I also dont know if we can work it into the ol budget, so keep the plans a comin and we will try to accomodate, because it sure sounds like a good time.
Lindsey
2/27/2002
Wow! I wish I was going to Rome! What a neat place to visit! Get some good pictures for the webpage! See ya l8a! Bye!
Lindsey
2/27/2002
Sorry I haven't been on the webpage for a while. Homework and school never end!!! Well, I really want to go on the Des Moines trip just to see everyone so I will talk to my parents and we'll be on a little later with our reply. Good-bye!
Karen
2/27/2002
Wow, Rome, I wish I had a friend like you do!! Not nearly as exciting as Italy, but what are everyones plans for Des Moines? We are ready to go. Brent's Dad is doing better, still in the hospital.
Gary
2/27/2002
That's right, I'm going to the video store to rent "Gladiator" again! No, actually I am going to Rome. Yes, the real Rome, the one in Italy. A friend of mine got hold of two round-trip plane tickets to Rome, so for the price of my hotel room and my own bread and wine and cheese, I'm going along! We'll be there for eight days (the first week of June) so there'll be plenty of time to see lots of sights, including the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and popefully the Hope -- I mean, hopefully the Pope. Plus, we're probably renting a car, so we'll take a few day trips too -- maybe Pompeii, Capri, and a few other spots. We're staying at a hotel right in the center of Rome, just off the Piazza Navona (which used to be a chariot racing track!). More details to follow (probably til you're sick of them...). I've been getting ready for this trip my whole life! :-)
Donna
2/25/2002
I had a nice chat with Tristen on the phone yesterday. I told her I loved
the pictures of her posing in dance class. She said she wasn't posing. She was
scratching her leg.
Gary
2/24/2002
Yesterday was Tristen's first day of swimming class, and Amanda was there with a camera. Judging from the smile on Tristen's face, she had a great time. Have a look!
By the way, I can't believe nobody even mentioned yesterday's cool site.... With a name like "Butts Across America," and not a word? :-)
Amanda
2/24/2002
Remember that I have an 8 week old baby & Tristen. So 1:20 in the morning is about the ONLY time during the day for me to get on the computer (or do anything else for that matter) by MYSELF! Shoot, Friday night I finally got around to baking a cake I needed to bake, and I was doing that at midnight... Had I waited til Teghan woke me up Saturday morning (at 5:30AM), I still would have been the first one to enter.
Point taken! BTW, Samantha turned in a perfect list of answers to the Scavenger Hunt last night. :-) --Gary
Karen
2/23/2002
Wahoo, I won! But I wasn't up at 1:20, it was about 7 before I sent in the answers.
Well, once again I must point out there are no prizes, and no winners or losers! But Amanda's entry came in at 1:20 am, Karen's at 6:12 am, and Erika's at 7:00. Looks like I should have made this a lot harder! :-) --Gary
Amanda
2/23/2002
VERY COOL Scavenger hunt! And it got me back to the "fakes" which I
hadn't looked at in a long time & got me laughing all over again! We need another Who
am I? game, maybe with a twist this time... Thanks Gary for the hunt, it was great...What do I get for winning?
Good job! (And by the way, what you get for winning is me saying "good job.") But at 1:20 a.m.(!) you should have been in bed like the rest of us. Two early risers, Karen and Erika, have also turned in perfect scores. This game is like the Olympics pairs skating event: everybody who plays, wins! :-) P.S.: I am working on another Who Am I right now. Stay tuned. --Gary
Gary
2/22/2002
Note to the DisneyWorld bunch: You sure picked the right time to go. I noticed this morning that the weather forecast for Disneyworld today is heavy rain, high winds, and possible tornadoes! :-)
Amanda
2/21/2002
Teghan isn't losing any hair up front, a little in the back from rubbing, but I don't think she has in the front. I think it is just the way the picture looks. Her hair is at least lighter than Tristen's was to start with, and hers lightened up the older she got, so maybe it will be lighter. Actually I see red in it, which is the Allgoods all the way! Speaking of Allgood, did anyone see the articles in the Lincoln paper (I guess there were a few, one the week before the tourney started and then one in Sundays, and of course Omaha had quite a few since this is where he is from) about my cousin, Brett, at the state wrestling tournament. He took state again, 4th year in a row! And he won by a pin, what a way to go out! He went undefeated in his highschool career, 140-0! Very impressive! The Allgoods strike again!
Grandma
2/21/2002
Love the pictures of Teghan, she is really growing and smiling
already! What a cutie, but I can't see that she looks like Tristen. Is she
losing some of her hair? Maybe it will come back blonde. Has Tristen started
swimming yet? What a little social butterfly! Livy spent the day with me on
Monday, and we had a fun day, in the Doggie Cafe! I think Rainbow sounds like a
great name for a fish. Been a good name for a cat for many years. Amanda, I
commend you for getting your pictures and recipes in order. Something I would
like to accomplish but have no hope of getting done. Your organizational skill
didn't come from my gene pool. Penny's foot is better, although she still favors
it. Sounds like winter will reappear next week, so I guess I will stash in a
few days worth of wood.
P.S. Hey Gary, yesterday's cool site was really interesting. I spent at least an hour reading how our "elected" officials are spending our money! Makes you proud to pay taxes.
Olivia
2/20/2002
Hi. I will get a new pet. I been taking care of Ceaser alot. I'm looking forward to a dog. Or a fish. I named my old fish Rainbow this how I spelled his name Rainbow. I think if I get a fish I might name it Rainbow.
Paul and Lori
2/19/2002
A, where's Teghan webpage!! Can't wait.
Amanda
2/19/2002
If I sent you an email in the last day or so & you have gotten MANY, I'm
sorry, it is lovely MSN on the fritz again...
Amanda
2/18/2002
When did I recommend this site? Yes, teachwithmovies.org is cool, but I have never seen it before.
My bad. Actually John recommended this site. My apologies to you both! --Gary
Gary
2/18/2002
Thanks to Amanda for today's cool site. Also, I'm in for either weekend. :-)
Karen
2/17/2002
The week-end trip in April sounds good to me. I have the 17th and the 29th
off so either of those week-ends would be best for us, but any would work. So where is the destination? You know, I think Sioux City is about half way between Lincoln and Minneapolis......
Marsha
2/16/2002
For anyone interested in an Iowa getaway, how about any Friday, Saturday
and Sunday weekend in April? Our calendar is open for any of those weekends.
Anybody else?
Grandma
2/15/2002
Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day. I think Amanda and Tristen did. Hope you are feeling better Tristen!!
And Erika, you get well soon. Emily, did you have a good Valentine's day? I heard you did!!
I love the baby pictures. You need to keep that little one on the home page a long time.
Sam, I woke up thinking about you this morning, was wondering what color your hair is now and I really like your honest reviews.
My brother Bob is in the hospital, he has pneumonia and don't know when he will be home. Miss him dropping by for breakfast.
Just wanted to say Hi to you all.
Gary
2/15/2002
I have changed the Tie Breaker #2 question on the Oscar ballot. So whaddaya think??
Tristen
2/14/2002
Happy Valentines Day! I got a pink flower from my dad with breaths baby. My mom got
roses and she let me have one. He gave us chocolate too. I cut out hearts and colored them for my Valentines. My mom, dad & Teghan.
Amanda
2/14/2002
Gary, that Teghan pic on the front page is CUTE! Thanks!
Donna
2/14/2002
Cool site today.
Hey Gary, can I borrow the audio version of Seabiscuit? It sounds like a really good story.
Marsha, thanks for the card. It's really funny. I think I will hang it up at work.
Hi Tristen, I hope you are feeling better!
Happy Valentine's Day!
Amanda, Ryan & Tristen
2/14/2002
Well, for the name Teghan there is a little story. We had another name picked out, Taylor Noel, but we were never really fully taken on the idea. And now that she is born she is DEFINITELY not a Taylor. We also like names that are a not so mainstream like Ryan & Amanda. Amanda also likes names that can't be nicknamed as easily as hers can. We also like names that aren't
necessarily gender specific. We also wanted to stick with the T & 2 syllables. Teghan has an English/Irish origin and it means good-looking. We did see it in a baby name book, though not spelled or pronounced this way. Thanks for asking!
Marsha
2/13/2002
Hey everybody. All's well here, John got a digital camera (Olympus C-700 Ultra Zoom) for work so he should be sending off more pics in the future. Toys just get
better and better. I'm still very interested in a weekend get away, just need some dates thrown out by others who are also interested. I'd prefer to wait till we can depend a little more on the weather being good - March is usually our snowiest month and we have been buried in the past. Late March or early April. I, like Ryan, also crave those Louie's pancakes in Duluth, but that's a really long drive for y'all for pancakes. I suggest for the Oscar tie breaker that the question be "How many minutes over will the Oscar program run?" It never seems to end on time and it could be a nice abstract guess (just like the Olympic skating judges.) I really liked the Olympic opening program but haven't seen much since. Hey Amanda and Ryan and Tristen, I love the name Teghan and I've never heard it before...what is the origin and is there a story about it? Happy St. Valentine's Day to all!
Amanda
2/13/2002
We need a webcam of Utah, maybe we could see the cheating ice skating judges...
As a matter of fact, I looked for an Olympic webcam just this morning, but couldn't find one. If anyone sees one out there, let me know and I'll put it on our webpage. --Gary
Amanda
2/13/2002
The webcams are much better with a fast modem, but why does Lake
MacDonald look like someones office, I'd hate to fish there...
Ooops! Someone bumped the camera! :-)
Amanda
2/13/2002
What about "How many nominees/winners will mention something
pertaining to the September 11 attacks?" for a question, something like
that.. And of course, if I said Whoopi wore dark pink, I would be right. Kind
of like Channel Surfing...
Not bad. But it might require the occasional judgement call. If someone says, "We need a movie like this now more than ever," is that a reference to 9/11? :-) How about this: "How many times will Whoopi say 'Osama'?" Then again, probably not more than one or two times, if that.... In the last year of Clinton's presidency, the tie-breaker was "How many times will Billy Crystal say 'Lewinsky'?" Answer: zero. One year one of our tie-breakers was, "How many people will be in the 'they-passed-away-this-year' tribute?" That might be a good one again. And by the way, it's not dark pink, it's light red. --Gary
Tristen
2/13/2002
I am going to swimming lessons. There is a fish on the days on my
calendar, like dance days. It is on 2 3. And Saturdays. It is at a big kids
school and the pool is HOT the air. I got a Leap Pad for learning. I use it a
lot. They have a backpack for it that mom said she would get. So I can take it
when I spend the night.
Amanda
2/13/2002
Hi all. Just a quick note to say hi! Everyone here is doing well.
Ryan has Friday & Monday off so we are looking forward to a nice 4 day
weekend. Hope the weather is nice. Teghan is doing well. Tristen has been sick
almost all week. She got a cold Sunday and is finally pulling out of it today.
It has killed her trying to stay away from Teghan. We got a cable modem, which
is totally sweet. I don't know what we were doing with dial up all this time.
Whatever happened to the weekend get-a-way idea? This weekend would have been
a good one, with the holiday Monday....
Gary
2/13/2002
I made a slight change on the Oscar ballot; but as no one has voted yet this is just an FYI. One of the tie-breaker questions was "How many people will be on stage accepting the award for Best Picture?" Well, I just learned that there's a new rule in place that says no more than three people can accept an award -- which made that question kind of unfair. The new rule is to help speed the show along, and also reduce the traffic problem onstage -- they said the year "Shakespeare in Love" won best picture, the only person who wasn't onstage was Shakespeare himself. :-) So I made up a new tie-breaker question. Can any of you think of a more interesting one? One that has a wide range of possible results, and is easy to keep track of? It has to be a numbers-type question ("How many...") and not a judgement-call: If the question is "What color will Whoopi wear?" you might say dark pink and I might say light red...who's right?? Give it a think, and let me know!
Marsha
2/12/2002
Boy, have we enjoyed seeing the pictures of Tristen and Teghan! Also love
Teghan's website. Our computer has been sort of busy lately and I haven't been able to write too often. I had a long letter going the other night, but Zach came along to play a game and he erased it. I guess it's going to be hard to beat Donna this year in the Oscar race. We haven't had any snow days this year and you've all had so many! I'm not really jealous, it's been a really wonderfully mild winter and you are all welcome to the snow.
Hey Livi, Lindsey told us about her favorite rides, but what did you enjoy at Disney
World? Did you ride the teacups? Please write and tell us what you liked while you were there. Sam and Anna are off on Thursday, Friday and Monday. I suppose they will come up to work with me one of those days.
Donna
2/12/2002
I can't believe Artificial Intelligence got nominated. What were they
thinking?
Only twice, for score and visual effects. And the visual effects in A.I. were good!
Gary, was yesterday's cool site so cool it needed to be up two days in a row? :-)
My bad. In the excitement of the Oscar nominations, I forgot to change it....
What do I win for getting top 5 picks correct? I'm feeling lucky. I should vote for the Oscars now while I'm on a roll.
Gary
2/12/2002
The Oscar ballot is ready! We've got about a month to think over our choices. Unless I counted wrong, "Lord of the Rings" got 13 nominations, "Moulin Rouge" got 8, and "Gosford Park" got 7. Good luck everyone!
Gary
2/12/2002
The other big entertainment news story today (the Oscars nominations being the first) is for all you "Friends" fans: The cast has agreed to come back for one more year, for which they will each be paid one million dollars per episode.
Gary
2/12/2002
...And two more pictures of Teghan and Tristen!
Gary
2/11/2002
In case you didn't see them yesterday, don't miss the new pictures of Teghan and Tristen.
Lindsey
2/10/2002
Amanda, thanks to your review of the Pizza Hut P'zones, I really want to try
one. They sound so good.
Amanda
2/9/2002
Lindsey, thanks for the review of A Knights Tale, because of your review, I
now want to see it!
Lindsey
2/8/2002
Just a little note to catch up to date a little bit!
I have not yet entered my votes, which I should because you all know that I will
win~NOT!! I am not good at those guessing things.
Um. . .
Hey Tristen, how's Teghan doing?
Teghan~Is Tristen takin care of you?
Well, Can't think of much to write, so Or eh Vai!(Good-bye)
Muah! Muah!
Gary
2/8/2002
Thanks to Amanda for today's cool site!
Gary
2/6/2002
Well, I know a lot of John's time is spent thinking about his Oscar picks, as he is under the sadly mistaken impression he will win the statuette this year. ...Poor guy....
Amanda
2/6/2002
I was wondering the same of the Minnesota kin folk. Seems like they are on lots, & then disappear for awhile... Busy-ness comes in spurts I suppose!
Grandma
2/6/2002
The cool site was really cool today, Thanks Teghan!!
Hope the Nelson's are up and going today.
And Amanda because of your review of P'zones we tried them on Saturday, and we agree they are pretty good. We tried the classic and "meaty" I believe.
Sounds like Pauls' had a great time in Florida.
What are the Hatgidakis's up to?
Gary
2/6/2002
Harry Potter news: The Harry Potter DVD will be released on May 7, with lots of extra scenes that didn't make it into the movie. Check the Countdown page!
Also, I've received Oscar-nomination picks from Amanda, Donna, Gary, Grandma, John, Marsha, and Samantha so far. Unless you get in the game, one of these people will get the bragging rights. So if ya wanna gloat, ya gotta vote!
Amanda
2/6/2002
Here's an idea for another website addition. A comments page of some sort for reviews and recipes. I know the newsletter could be used for this, but it seems like no one ever comments on a recipe they may have tried from the recipe page, or a movie they watched because it was reviewed here. Just an idea, we need some fresh ones.
Gary
2/6/2002
Thanks to Teghan for today's cool site!
Amanda
2/5/2002
Let's just say that I am trying to not go crazy now that I have no school or
work! And, the SIMS does let you take a picture, refer back to last year at this time
PROJECT page.
Actually, I remember doing those screenshots; and I did them exactly the way I described below. "The Sims" may have a one-click-does-all method, but if it does I don't remember it. --Gary
Karen
2/5/2002
Boy Amanda, you are really getting organized! I think it would be a nice idea to make albums for Tristen and Teghan for when they are older.
Amanda
2/5/2002
I need some help. Imagine you have been taking pictures for the last 6
years and never putting them in books, just keeping them in their packages in a BIG
box. Now, you are about to buy a bunch of books, go through all the pictures and
put them all in books. Also, each roll of film you have gotten doubles of just in
case anyone wanted some of them. NOW, what do you do with the doubles? Ryan & I
can't agree on what to do with them.
1. Save them in another box
2. Offer them to anyone who may want some of them and then toss what's left
3. ANY OTHER IDEA.......
(An inexpensive, and relatively easy idea though.) We appreciate your input.
Gary
2/5/2002
Some games will allow you to take pictures (or screenshots, as they are called) with a simple keystroke; other games don't. I can't remember if The Sims has that or not. But either way, here's how to take a screenshot in any game:
1. Start up your favorite graphics program (e.g. PhotoShop).
2. Once your graphics program has opened, create a new (blank) document.
3. Now open up your game and start playing.
4. When you get to a scene you want to take a screenshot of, hit the PRTSCN button ("print screen," usually near the scroll lock). This action will "take the picture," like clicking the button on a camera, and will hold the picture in memory.
5. Use the ALT+TAB command to switch back to your graphics program.
6. Press CTRL+V to paste your screenshot into your blank document.
7. You now have a screenshot of your game. Make sure to save it under a file name and folder you will remember.
8. Sometimes screenshots are very large, so it may be useful to resize the screenshot. This will reduce the file size depending on the amount of resizing you do.
Sounds more complicated than it actually is. If you have any questions, let me know! By the way, there's a new Sims expansion on the horizon -- called Sims Vacation, you will get to take your Sims to the beach, to the mountains, and on a wilderness camping trip. Read about it here. My sources tell me it will be released March 27.
Amanda
2/5/2002
Hey Gary, in case I ever get time to play my computer game that I got
for Christmas, SIMS HOT DATE, I'd like to be reminded how to take a picture and
send it. Could you post the instructions on here so that I (& anyone else) can
reference it. Thanks.
Gary
2/5/2002
So far, four people have made their picks for the Oscar nominations: Grandma, me, Donna and Amanda. Last year, John correctly picked four of the five, Grandma and Amanda picked three, I picked two, and Emily and Karen picked one. So get on board and make your picks!
BTW, at the very end of the ballot, I asked how many of the movies you had seen, but the question wasn't clear. I meant to ask how many movies out of the total list of 248 you had seen. Me? I've seen 18 of them so far (a mere 7% of them!), but expect to pick up a few more before Oscar-time. And who saw the most movies on last year's big list? Lindsey!
Gary
2/5/2002
Hey, when was the last time you looked at the Projects page? That page has been up for over a year now, so we have a full year of projects to look back on. Go see what everybody has accomplished. :-)
Also, Emily and Erika (and Brent?): Get Well Soon!!!! And Karen: Stay Well! :-)
And also: Thanks to John for today's Cool Site.
Amanda
2/5/2002
Thanks Karen, I will try there!
Karen
2/5/2002
Amanda, I have found those inserts at Claires. Emily and Erika are
both home sick today. Erika has been out since Thursday - tried to go back
yesterday and only made it until 10. Emily woke up sick yesterday morning. They
seem to be getting better, hoepfully they will go back tomorrow.
Most of our snow has melted, but still cold.
Amanda
2/5/2002
This is going to sound goofy, but I need help. You know the plastic
inserts that go in wallets that hold pictures? Where can I find some? Ryan needs
new ones, his are shot and full of Tristen and he needs room for Teghan, and that
is one of those strange things you don't see everyday, and I can't find them. I
looked on the internet, and it is a goofy thing to look for there, so I didn't have
any luck. If you have any ideas, let me know!
Amanda
2/5/2002
Because I am such a smart college student I can tell you that the
columns on the front page are Corinthian columns.
Aunt Lindsey
2/4/2002
I'm so sorry Teghan! You're just gettin' so old I forgot! HAPPY 5TH WEEK
DAY!!!!!!!
Gary
2/4/2002
I just now (11:15 am Monday) received Oscar votes from someone who didn't sign their name. If you sent in your ballot at approximately that time, would you please vote again? (Also, count your votes -- you made six choices!) :-) Thanks.
Gary
2/4/2002
There are 248 movies eligible for the Academy Awards this year, and that list has been released. Here's your chance to vote on which five of those movies will be nominated for Best Picture. Oscar nominations will be revealed in 8 days, so vote now!
Teghan
2/4/2002
Hey aunt Lindsey, I am 5 WEEKS old, you weren't gone that long!
Paul
2/3/2002
Back from Florida, had a great time. Disneyworld is really an amazing place. Even if you don't go for the rides you can just walk around and marvel at the craftsmanship, detail, and imagination. What a genius Walt must have been! And talk about customer service, THE BEST.
Tristen, did you go sledding into my buddy Sasha? Say hi to Teghan. Hey,
so that's Wall Drug, I never knew what that was!
Lindsey
2/3/2002
Hello everyone! Got to Omaha today about 11:45. Got our luggage and stuff
and got back about 1:45 because we stopped for lunch. Went over to Gma's house to pick up the dog. DisneyWorld was great! We went to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and
MGM Studios.
Animal Kingdom: We saw a Lion King show that was fabulous! Had real people, acrobats, singers, etc. One of the rides was a dinosaur ride. I went on it with Dad the first time while my Mom stood with Olivia. Very fun, yet very edgy! Mom went on it with me after and we got STUCK!! Very scary. There was one other couple in the car with us and so...but we got out of it. Dinosaurs would just POP out at you and the big meat-eating ones were very scary. Then we also went on a safari in about an 80 acre savana with giraffes, lions, elephants, alligators and everything. We saw a parade also.
Magic Kingdom: Very very cool! Tons of rides I loved! Tomorrowland, there was a part that looked like you were in the 1920's. Frontierland, and Adventureland! So much and Cinderella's castle! We saw a fireworks show at night with the castle and they kept changing the castle colors! You know I bet they spend about 2000$ a night on fireworks and they do that every night!
MGM Studios: One of the BEST! We saw many shows such as Indiana Jones Stunt
Show, Beauty and the Beast Live, Hunchback of Notre Dame Live, many others. Probably
the best rollercoasters I have ever been on in my life and probably the best one was the Rock N Rollercoaster. It's with AeroSmith and you listen to music while you're going on it. The best part about it is that you get in it and it is like a super stretch Cadillac limo. Then you come over and the lights say all lanes are busy STEP ON IT! You go from 0 to 60 miles an hour in 2 seconds. Your tires are screeching and then right when you hit 60 you go upside down into a corkscrew turn. My parents loved it also and we all said that we could've gone on it all day long. Olivia didn't try it though.
If you want any further information then just email me amd I'll be happy to write you an e-mail about whatever you want to know about. By the way we had the race and we tied one and I won one and Olivia won one. But I don't care just as long as everyone's happy. Happy 5 month birthday Teghan! Luv ya Lot's!
Always and Forever
Lindsey :)
Teghan
2/1/2002
I am 5 weeks old today!
Gary
2/1/2002
Thanks to Amanda for today's cool site!