Anderson/Hatgidakis/Nelson/Metcalf: Newsletter

Old news: January 2007

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Amanda
1/31/07
We submitted our taxes! On the last day of January, whew. I just had a personal goal to get it in before the mad rush of everyone else, BUT the good ol' State of Nebraska decided to wait until the last day, today, to get my W-2 to me! We collected all 3 of Ryans as of a week ago! I had everything ready to go, so I just entered my stuff.


Lindsey
1/30/07
Those are the exact same computers that the school got. They are very cool but I'm not used to Apples really. Also that was the group of the computers (or one of the groups) that got ruined when one of the pipes bursted at school. Lots of lost money...

Ouch! --Gary


Gary
1/29/07
Not much new here, for me. Way too cold here this morning, too.
The new computer was just part of an office-wide upgrade. About every three years we all get new computers, and so that we're all "speaking the same language" they're all more or less the same. So I didn't have any input on it. It's really just a matter of us going to our computer shop, asking "What's the latest and greatest?" and then buying eight or ten of them. I did get mine first, though. I'm kind of the main "computer-guy" in our office, so people wanted me to take the plunge first to see if there were any problems with the switch-over. There have been no problems; and everybody has gotten jealous of my machine, so now they're lining up to get theirs installed. :-)
P.S. I agree about "The Illusionist" -- great movie! I meant to write a review, but never got around to it...
P.P.S. Congrats to Erika and Emily! Well done!
Karen
1/29/07
Brrrr, cold, cold day -- a high of 10 and wind chills of -20!! Doesn't look like the rest of the week will be much better. Gary, that new computer is pretty cool -- did you have input as to what to get? Didn't do much this week-end -- rented a couple of movies -- one was pretty good -- The Illusionist. Worth watching if you are looking for something to do on a cold night. Emily got honored for her service at Mayors Youth Commission last night. Got a very nice certificate from them. Next month she is also going to be honored at a lunch for her work with Teen Court. Her activities with those groups are coming to an end. Erika gets to do something cool next month too. She was one of a few 8th grade girls who were chosen to attend a conference on careers in the science and math fields. She will get to go the college and hear about different jobs that need more women in them. I think she is doing a criminal investigation.
Sad news yesterday about Barbaro.
Brent has had an interesting week last week. He was in a sex trial -- the city tried to get a sex shop out of town and now they are suing. Since he was the head planner at the time he was called to court to testify. He was on the stand for more than two hours and a possibility of being called back. So he was pretty stressed out last week. I think that should catch you up on our activities. What is new with all of you?
Sean
1/26/07
Nice Comic Book Gary!

Thanks! --Gary


Gary
1/26/07
Happy Friday! A spring-like day today to melt a lot of the remaining ice and snow, but a cold weekend is ahead of us I hear.

I have posted the new Christmas list (thanks again, Emily!), and also updated the calendar page. Note that this year, Congress voted to extend Daylight Saving Time a whole month -- so it begins two weeks earlier, and ends two weeks later. (Did you know that Daylight Saving Time was Ben Franklin's idea? True!)

Have a great weekend, everybody!


Emily
1/25/07
Well, I just sent in my Oscar ballot. It's always a lot harder than I think it should be, proably because I've only seen a few of the movies. I do hope Little Miss Sunshine wins some, it was a very good movie!
We have had a pretty quiet week around here, and it has been nice. I had my dance competition on Saturday. It was a long and tiring day, but it all went really well!
I graduate from Mayor's Youth Commission next week, and will be all done with that. Although, I will still have a few projects going. I am planning on going to the legislative day in Des Moines again in the beginning of February. And, I will proably be going to another recognition in February. I was asked to accept the award for all of our work on passing the Beer Keg Registration Ordinance. So, not a bad way to end my four years.
The first week of the new semester at school is going well too. I have all of my credits needed to graduate and then some, I have been accepted to all of my colleges, and already have over a semester of college credits done with, so I am just pretty much coasting for this semester. I dropped my Western Civ. class and am taking my 5th semester of debate! I am ready to be done with school!
No one has sent anything to me concerning the 2007 Christmas list, so I guess the one posted down below is it, Gary!

Yeah, I was thinking enough time had passed -- I'll post it officially tomorrow! (And congratulations on the Beer Keg Registration award!) --Gary


Lindsey
1/25/07
I just got home from school and I just dropped my Applied Physics class to College Economics so I'll get Macro-economic credit for college through this class too. That'll be two college class credits I have under my belt!
Gary
1/23/07
If speed was the issue, then Erika would have won this year's Oscar contest! Her picks came in just a few hours after the Oscar ballot went up. But we won't know if she is the actual winner for another month. Good luck, Erika (and everybody else)!
Gary
1/23/07
Oscar ballot is up!

Ooh, this is going to be a tough year... I don't think I've ever seen a list that had so many films I haven't seen, and so many people I've never heard of. I mean, a race where a movie starring Al Gore is up for two Oscars is going to be unpredictable!

Dreamgirls leads the pack with 8 nominations (but is not nominated for Best Picture!); Babel (which I'd never even heard of until last week) got 7 nominations; The Queen and Pan's Labyrinth each received 6 nominations; The Departed and Blood Diamond got 5 each; and Little Miss Sunshine got 4 -- including a Best Supporting Actress nomination for 10-year-old Abigail Breslin!

Good luck, everybody. Should be a wild horse-race!


Gary
1/23/07
It's Oscar-time! Nominations come out today, and I'll have our ballot up ASAP. Check back!
Livy
1/21/07
Hey everybody! Room is almost finished. We got the bed set up, filled up, and covered up. We put the sheets, pillows, and the bedspread all on top of it. It is still kind of cold. But with the sheets and bedspread on it, it's really warm. We went and saw Night at the Museum. Awesome!!! I wrote a review on it too. It was really funny! All we have to do left with the room is put furniture back in, one dresser and maybe a make-up table, the one I already have, and just the things in the closet. I will take some more pictures and will send them in shortly. Well talk to you all later!!!
Erika
1/21/07

Hi everyone, We got about 4 inches of snow last night too! I also got my report card on Friday so here are my grades:
English- B
Life Skills- B
Science- B
Government- A
Pre Algebra- B
Spanish- A
Choir- A
P.E.- A

Great, Erika! Too bad students don't get paid for grades -- you'd be making a lot of money! :-) --Gary


Amanda
1/21/07

More snow! What is it about Sundays?! The last 3 we have gotten snow. This was a good wet snow too.
We had a meeting at our house yesterday with the builder & realtor to discuss the progress. Trim is being put up inside now, kitchen cabinets will go in today! They measure for flooring tomorrow, so its getting exciting. Took dad, Lori, Linz & livy to see the progress yesterday. Then all day yesterday Ryan helped dad install the floors in Livy's room & set up the waterbed. It looks nice. They still have some work to do, but it looks nice. Can't wait to see the pictures, OLIVIA! Then we went out to eat at Olive Garden last night with dad's & Sean & it was DUMPING snow at that point. It was slick there for awhile too. I think today we are going to go see a movie, Night at the Museum. Ryan & the girls have been wanting to see it for a month or so, ever since they went to Elephant Hall one Sunday. That's all I know.
Livy
1/20/07
Hey everybody! Sorry Marsha, I meant to put up a Happy birthday but couldn't... The floor is being ripped up as we speak and the wood floor will be put in when they are done with this. Dad also varnished all of my wood things in my bedroom, except the floor... We finally finnished painting the dots on the wall. I did the stencil and the sponge part myself and mom would tell me to go left or right or something. She stenciled about 1 and a half wall. It was really fun too! Dad wants to get my waterbed set up by Sunday, but that will take about a night or two to fill up all of the way I think though. My mom was also looking through a cataloug two nights ago and saw a really cute just a little couch loveseat sort of thing for a cheap price for my room, to replace my bean bag chair. I think I am going to give it to Max, because he loves to lay in that thing whenever he comes up to my room! Ceaser, I don't think he will lay in it unless me and dad will like lay by it and tell him to get in it, he will check it out and lay there untill we leave the room, then he will follow us. Well I am going to go get something to eat, so I will talk to you all later!!!

Thanks for the new reviews, Livy! --Gary


Marsha
1/19/07
Thanks for all of the birthday wishes, I had a great day and plan to keep on celebrating for a little while longer (why not? 1 day just isn't enough). Emily, I appreciate that you put up the list for Christmas exchanges! Thanks for taking care of that. It is a cold evening here. The world's largest indoor tulip show is going on at the MOA for just a few days, I may run out there tonight to see it. We went to the MOA just after Christmas to see the world's largest (geez, are we in Texas) gingerbread house -- over 2 stories of gingerbread and the gumdrops were as big as Tristen. It sure smelled yummy. Who watches The Office? So glad that Dwight is out of Staples and back at Dundler Mifflin!
Zachary, Samantha, Anna & Sunny
1/19/07

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

We didn't forget. We just weren't thinking Newsletter Greetings.


John
1/19/07

Happy Birthday, Marsha!!!!

Is this a day late or 364 days early?


Gary
1/19/07
So what happens when an ice storm hits a part of the country (in this case, Portland OR) where they don't have winter road equipment to deal with it and the drivers don't know how to drive in it? This:

Lindsey
1/18/07
My name is spelled wrong... :-)

Ooops! I didn't notice, sorry. Now fixed! --Gery


Karen
1/18/07
Anna, nice article on your school. So did you raise all the money you needed? The Christmas list looks good to me :) So what are everyone's plans for the week-end? Emily has her dance competition on Saturday, but otherwise a quiet week-end for us.
Emily
1/18/07
Well, looks like no one has any Christmas requests so I have formulated the 07 list... hope its alright with everyone:
Amanda has Emily
Anna has Tristen
Brent has Ryan
Donna has Amanda
Emily has Paul
Erika has Grandma
Gary has Teghan
Grandma has Lori
John has Lindsey
Karen has Marsha
Lindsey has Brent
Lori has John
Marsha has Olivia
Olivia has Gary
Paul has Anna
Ryan has Zachary
Samantha has Sean
Sean has Samantha
Teghan has Erika
Tristen has Donna
Zachary has Karen
Looks good to me, Emily. Thanks for doing it! I guess the way to do it is this: If anyone has issues with it, contact Emily directly; I will post the list (including any changes Emily may inform me of) in a week or so on the Christmas page and make it "official." Deal? --Gary
Donna
1/18/07
You know there were all those fires at East while Linz was there too...
Lindsey
1/18/07
Well, no school for me today! A friend called me last night and was like "Hey did you hear school was cancelled?" It was on the news and I guess one of the main water valves broke, the basement is flooded with about 2 feet of water and there's no electricity! Not sure about tomorrow yet but I'm not counting on there being any school. Tuesday when we first went back there was a water pipe that froze and then busted over the Media Center computer lab and ruined all the brand new computers and flooded out that room and it messed up the heat so we hadn't had heat since Tuesday anyways. So much for finals week...

Sounds like sabotage to me. Where were you on the night in question, hmmmmm...? :-) --Gary


Donna
1/18/07

Happy birthday, Marsha!!!
Ryan, Amanda, Tristen & Teghan
1/18/07

Happy Birthday Marsha!
Paul, Lori, Lindsey, Olivia
1/17/07

Happy Birthday Marsha!
Grandma
1/17/07

Happy Birthday, Marsha!!
Gary
1/17/07
Good call. Great performance.

Anybody hungry? There's a new recipe on the recipe page!


Amanda
1/17/07
One that should be on that list is Katherine McPhee Somewhere Over the Rainbow...
Gary
1/17/07
Hey, American Idol fans! (Y'all watched last night, right?) "Entertainment Weekly" did an article on their top ten all-time favorite "Idol" performances. And here's the list! Click on the names to see the performances (except for #7).

10. Constantine Maroulis -- "Bohemian Rhapsody"
9. Trenyce -- "Proud Mary"
8. Clay Aiken -- "Solitaire"
7. Ruben Studdard -- "Superstar"
6. Chris Daughtry -- "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)"
5. Jennifer Hudson -- "Circle of Life"
4. Bo Bice -- "In A Dream"
3. Elliott Yamin -- "A Song For You"
2. Kelly Clarkson -- "Stuff Like That There"
1. Fantasia Barrino -- "Summertime"
Gary
1/17/07
Here's a cool article about Anna's school that John forwarded. Thanks, John!
Musicians raise money for Watershed High

When a funding crunch threatened to close Watershed charter school in south Minneapolis, several students spearheaded a rockin' way to raise some money.

Colette Page, 16, and Kelsey Elder, 17, were doing homework at a Minneapolis coffee shop last month, but their minds kept drifting to the financial problems facing their high school down the street. Watershed High School had a budget deficit of $123,000, and the bill was due by the end of January. The Waldorf school had erased about $75,000, but more money was needed -- and fast. Said Page: "We figured a bake sale wasn't going to do it."

But a fundraiser featuring some popular Twin Cities bands might generate some real cash, they figured. So they discussed it with the school and joined forces with other students and parents.

The result: an all-day fundraiser Sunday featuring about 15 bands and some of the hottest young musicians in Minnesota -- the Alarmists, White Light Riot, Chasing Elroy. The musicians, students and parents took over two floors at Stella's Fish Cafe in Minneapolis' Uptown area, which donated space and a slice of food proceeds to the event.

There were also photo ops with the Minnesota RollerGirls, an all-female roller derby league, plus the more usual T-shirt sales and a silent auction featuring items such as jewelry, doggy gift baskets and CDs.

"I knew we'd get this off the ground, but I never expected we'd have this insane number of people," said Page, clutching a clipboard and fielding questions from volunteers on the airy second floor of Stella's.

"I thought we'd be able to get our friends and their bands and have an open mike at school. I never expected to be standing next to White Light Riot. And there's people piling through the door. It's been amazing."

The Minnesota Department of Education, which is working with Watershed High School, a charter school, on its budget woes, also is impressed. It's not uncommon for charter schools to face financial difficulties, they said. But it's unusual for a group of students to undertake such an ambitious response.

"I think it shows a great degree of dedication and creativity from the students," said Randy Wanke, spokesman for the Education Department. "We've been working with the school, and they've come together and righted the ship. They are a school that we'd hold up as a model, to show how a charter school can work with the department and be successful."

The school, at 2344 Nicollet Av. S., has about 100 students in grades 9-12. It was conceptualized in 1996 by a group of students from City of Lakes Waldorf School who wanted to continue the Waldorf model beyond middle school. It became a public charter school in 2002. It is housed in the same brown brick building as the City of Lakes (grades 1-8).

"Our goal is to inspire creative thinking, not to force-feed facts," according to its website.

Watershed ran into financial difficulties this year because of an unexpected decline in enrollment and because the school had to repay some special education funding from the state, said Jamie Hepner, dean of students.

Since September, it laid off its administrator, cut the front desk position and divided the work among volunteers. And some teachers agreed to teach extra classes without pay.

Hepner -- and students -- say the school is like an extended family and they'll do whatever it takes to keep it open.

The stars seemed to align themselves for the fundraiser, which was pulled together in about five weeks. For starters, a lot of the students are musicians. Hepner is a former bouncer and had contacts. And parent Scott Herald had considerable experience organizing fundraisers with musicians.

Herald recalled that when his daughter Jade Gomez told him how much money the students wanted to raise, he replied: "We're going to need some help."

They advertised on MySpace, on Radio K, through the bands' member lists and more, said Herald, standing outside one of the two stages where musicians were playing.

By 8 p.m. Sunday, some 500 people had come through the doors, school officials said. They won't have a total of money raised until today.

For the musicians, the fundraiser was a way to help an interesting school and reach out to their next generation of listeners.

Eric Lovold, guitarist and vocalist for the Alarmists, said he had never heard of the school until Herald contacted the group. But the band was impressed by students' enthusiasm.

Said Lovold: "I wish I would have believed in my high school as much as they do."


Gary
1/17/07
New countdown item, from the Metcalfs. Thanks!
Nelsons
1/17/07

Happy Birthday Marsha
Emily
1/15/07
Alright then I will begin the 07 Christmas list in the next few days, so... If anyone has any requests, comments, questions, concerns, etc. let me know asap!
We ended up with over 7 inches of snow from yesterday and this morning, and I am glad for the snow day, since we don't get MLK day off.
Amanda
1/15/07
Well, we get the day off too. BUT, not for snow! We already had MLK day off. As Gary pointed out, the snow keeps dumping on us on days we already have off! It's not quite fair! And this one is bitter cold, so we aren't outside enjoying it. 0 degrees? I don't think so... I'm telling you, that last snow was made for us, sort of a welcome home from Texas!
Karen
1/15/07
Well, we get a two hour late start this morning. Must have gotten at least 8 inches of snow since yesterday morning. Emily and Erika are taking the whole day off -- they already had an early release for this afternoon. Just didn't see much point in sending them for 4 hours -- they were also to have an assembly on MLK, so not much time spent in the classroom. So I can have another cup of coffee and go in at 10 today.
Lindsey
1/14/07
Pre-college math is just the type of math class I would be taking in college. I'm in Statistics right now and I'm getting college credit for that already so I'll have less math to take when I get there!
Gary
1/14/07
Emily, I haven't heard of anyone doing a Christmas list yet, so I would say go ahead; if anyone else has any thoughts or contributions to make, you can do so here or communicate directly with Emily. Does that work for everyone?

Snow here today off and on (off right now). We haven't gotten as much as you in Sioux City (a couple inches, I would guess) and I think ours is over now. But it looks like you have more coming!

P.S. Thanks for the new review!


Emily
1/14/07

Has anyone started, or thinking about doing the 2007 Christmas list?? I always think its fun to put together, and I would be willing to do it unless someone else has already started.
We have been getting snow all day today! It was coming down when I went to work at 8 this morning and its still coming down pretty heavily. We think we must have about 6 inches by now. I am hoping for a late start tomorrow, but I am sure we won't get anything. We never do. I had fun looking at the ice storm cool site a few days ago too, Gary. Hopefully we don't get anything that bad!
At least we don't have much going on this week, so the weather won't affect that. I have my last solo dance class for a few months at least this week. The competition is on Saturday, so we have been getting ready for that. I think it will go pretty well, and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we will be able to get some good pictures to send in!
Looks like the house is coming along really well, Amanda. Hopefully you will get to move in even sooner! Will Tristen still be able to go to the same school once you move?
I can't wait to see your room, Olivia, it sounds really nice. Did you decide to do the circles on your walls?
We start the new semester tomorrow at school. I am looking forward to being finished with my AP Psych and Anatomy/Physiology classes, I should have much much more free time now! I am hoping I enjoy my new classes too, Sociology and Western Civ. are my only completely new classes, but I am also thinking about getting rid of my late arrival for another art or debate class, or perhaps one of my other classes, since I am now completely done with school! I got the last 2 credits I needed to graduate this semester, so I am pretty much free to do whatever I want with this semester.
Hope you have fun on the newspaper, Lindsey. I was going to join the newspaper at my school, but we don't really do much at all. We only put out a new paper once a semester, so there really wan't much point to it. What is pre-college math?
Amanda
1/14/07
Olivia,
Loving the commentary! Keep us updated. I was going to have Tristen call you last night to see how it was going & to see how you were feeling (when we were there Friday night you thought you might be getting sick) but then Gary said you put a posting on here! Then you did it again! Great updates. Your room might just get finished before our whole house!
We did a little house shopping yesterday. Got some things for the bathrooms actually, towels, shower curtains, etc. I got home & felt like I got a lot done til I pulled it all out to show grandma & Donna then it felt like I still have a lot to do. Dont know exactly what phase the house is in today. We haven't talked to Pat the builder for a few days. We might pop in there today just to check it out. Last week they were drywall midding & taping & I imagine that took most of the week, if they're still not doing it.
Supposed to get more snow today. Its nice, but not nearly as nice as that first snow on New Years Eve. And man oh man if the road crews here in Lincoln aren't working triple time to make up for NOT working last time. The city took a lot of heat, and they should have it sucked. Plus its just colder this time & there hasn't been enough to cover everything, so you can see spurts of tall grass and stuff...
Livy
1/13/07
Hey everybody! Well, dad is paitning the ceiling, and I helped him a little bit, but he said that it's kind of hard, because you have to push hard and I couldn't stand on a chair and do it because then I would probably fall. Ok, I will fall, for sure.... I think. Anyway, that is about half way done, and then I am not for sure, but we might be able to paint the walls tomorrow. I am so excited (I am doing the hand thing right now, just to let you know...)!!!!! Well I gotta go, I will talk to you all later!!!
Livy
1/13/07
Hey everybody! Amanda, I loved the pictures you sent in. House looks realy nice too! So I see Sasha loves the snow too!!! All my wallpaper is off, and dad started to take the carpet off, and my mom is scrubbing the walls. We picked out the paint, and we have the paint and supplies to do it. Today we might be able to paint the ceiling, because way back when sometime long ago when the house was built, well you get my point, there was a leak and now there is yellow spots, so we are going to paint over that. They said we might be able to at least start my walls today. I have before, during, and will have after pictures to post up on the website. Oh that reminds me, in home ec. we have been making frogs, and I am almost done with mine. All I have to do is sew the back on, and stuff it, and it will feel like a beanie baby. I will take pictures of that and put it up as well. Well I gotta go, talk to you all later!!!!!
Gary
1/11/07
New pictures! Thanks, Amanda!
Karen
1/11/07
Gary -- thanks for the web page pictures this week -- I really have liked them. Last day of school for Emily, Erika and I. We all get tomorrow off, semester break. Doesn't make much sense to come back for two short weeks after our long christmas break. But I'm not complaining, in fact I am ready for a day off. I think we will hit the mall for sidewalk sales, then out for lunch somewhere. Later that night Brent and I are going to an after christmas, christmas party. Speaking of Christmas, anyone doing the list this year?? Livy -- is your room finished yet? Amanda - Ryan how is the house coming -- have a moving day yet?
Lindsey
1/9/07
I got my schedule today for next semester

1. Advanced Composition
2. Pre-college Math
3. US History
4. Newspaper
5. Oral Comm
6. Appled Physics

I actually wasn't planning on taking newspaper, but my composition teacher said that they were selecting a few students to be writers for the newspaper and asked if I would be willing to do it. So I went and talked to my counselor more about it and she said there's only about 10 people in that class and it's pretty fun so I thought I'd give it a try!


Amanda
1/9/07
Very cool cool site Gary, thanks for making an extra mention of it!
Gary
1/9/07
Don't miss today's cool site -- a whole bunch of amazing photos of the ice storm that hit western Nebraska on the 29th of December. I heard this morning that there are still thousands of people out there without power....
Emily
1/7/07
Your room sounds neat, Olivia. I think you should do circles, can't wait to see it!
I had a pretty good weekend. Got back from Des Moines last night. State went pretty well, and I did make finals. I thought I did pretty well in my first 5 rounds, but when they posted who made finals no one saw my name! So, after awhile one of the judges had to come back over and find me. Turns out they got the codes wrong, and I was supposed to be in the finals round. So, once that all got worked out it went pretty well for my last tournament!
We go back to school tomorrow for the last week of the semester and get Friday off. I got my new schedule for the new semester on Friday and just about all of my classes will change! I have late arrival then AP Biology, Advanced Mathmatic Concepts, Sociology, AP English, and Western Civilizations. Hopefull all of those will go well too.
I love the Drummers for Jesus day of Christmas today, Gary! Can't wait for the cats of Rome!
Livy
1/6/07
Hey everybody! Today, we are finally going to strip my wallpaper today and tomorrow. Then I am not for sure yet, but we might paint this weekend, but I am not totally for sure. We gave away my bunk bed futon to Jamey because they had the bed that Tristen wanted. So I have been sleeping on a twin matress for about a week now. But my rug came about 2 or 3 weeks ago, and we got my waterbed about a month ago maybe, and we got my wood floor about 2 or 3 months ago and now we are ready to put it all together. About 3 nights ago we were trying to narrow down a couple of colors. We are either going to do all blue walls, like a light blue, and then just slash big circles of light green and purple all over, or do like 2 walls blue and 2 walls purple or something like that. I don't know. I have plenty of pictures. I will post them on the internet!!!! I gotta go, talk to you all later!!!
Karen
1/5/07
Ummm, runzas.... I wish we had a runza hut here. Finished our 1st week back to school, glad to be done with it. Emily left this morning at 7:30 for Des Moines for state debate. Should know tomorrow how she did. No plans at all for us this week-end. Gary -- I will look forward to next weeks sites..... Still enjoying the 12 days :)

Only one more day -- the 12th and final day of Christmas is tomorrow... --Gary


Gary
1/5/07
Two announcements:
1) Hungry? Runza is doing their annual thing of pricing runzas this month at the day's temperature -- meaning today, for example, a runza will set you back only about forty cents. Deal!
2) If you are a cat-fancier (and who isn't, right, Livy?), tune in to this site on Monday. All next week is Gatti di Roma week! (That's "Cats of Rome," if you don't speak Italian.)
Gary
1/4/07
Well, back to work, back to school, and it is now 355 long days til Christmas.... I did have a great Christmas break, though. While I didn't get everything done that I wanted (like cleaning the kitchen), I did take care of a few projects that had been nagging at me. Especially this one: A while back I bought a gizmo that will convert old cassette tapes into MP3 files; but after several sessions of monkeying with it I was never able to get it to work, and I reluctantly shelved it. So one day last week I hooked it up again, called their tech support number and inside of five minutes the techie found an incorrect setting and I was up and running. So my project now is converting lots of old audiocassettes into MP3s, suitable for my car DVD player, Palm Pilot, IPod, whatever. Stepping out of the 80s into the 21st century! Beginning with hours and hours of my old Bob & Ray tapes. Woo-hoo!

Snow is melting fast here. I don't think it even got below freezing last night; I heard water trickling down gutters first thing this morning. Enjoy the winter, what's left of it: Scientists are saying 2007 could be the warmest year on record... Joy.

P.S. Good luck at the state debates, Emily -- make somebody cry! :-)


Emily
1/2/07
Gary, I've been meaning to note the 12 days of Christmas as well. They've been fun to look at, my favorite was the ring shaped diet.
We did end up getting some snow this weekend. Luckily we only got a few inches and most of it is gone now.
We all go back to school tomorrow, and none of us are looking forward to it! Dad had to go back to work today, so we picked him up for lunch and went to the Vill, surprisingly it was pretty good. Then we did a little shopping.
I have the big state debate trip coming up, we leave on Friday and come back late Saturday. Hopefully the bus doesn't break down and we do well!

Happy 2007 everyone!! :)
Gary
1/2/07
New review today -- thanks, Emily!
Lindsey
1/1/07
We rented World Trade Center the other day along with the movie Invincible, but I went and saw WTC in the theaters and hadn't seen it since the other night and still it is such a good movie and I really recommend watching it!! I've already watched it twice since we've rented it and I'll buy it to, highly recommend seeing it!!

Thanks for the new review, Lindsey! --Gary


Karen
1/1/07
Happy New Year Everyone

Gary, I wanted to let you know how much we've been enjoying the 12 days of christmas sites -- always look forward to seeing what it will be :)

Ha! I was wondering if anyone else was following these. :-) --Gary