Karen
3/31/08
Rainy day for us too, even a few rumbles of thunder. Not too far from us they are getting hit with snow -- and lots of it! Hope that stays away from us. Easy day for me today -- out at 1 for conferences. Gary I love the stupid signs -- and the cat story was funny too. Donna what is Fireworks? Haven't heard of that restaurant. Hatgidakis how are you? John are feeling better now? Wanted to call this week-end, but I had NO voice all day Saturday and not much better on Sunday. A kindergartner asked me today if I had a "frog in my voice."
Here's a site for Fireworks, in case Donna doesn't see this for a while. Good place! --Gary
Donna
3/31/08
Karen, this is a late response, but I had a great birthday. I went to Fireworks for dinner.
I hope everyone is feeling better by now.
I heard Scott Kleeb had his driver's license revoked for too many speeding tickets. I don't think that will keep me from voting for him, though. ;-)
Gary
3/31/08
This is amazing. Here's a guy in Michigan who is moving around Stonehenge-sized blocks single-handedly, without even levers and pulleys -- using only, as he puts it, "sticks and rocks and gravity." So one of my favorite historical mysteries -- how did the builders of Stonehenge do it? -- goes out the window. Easy when you know how!
Gary
3/31/08
Happy Monday morning, everybody. A rainy one here in Lincoln.
Here's a story for all the cat-lovers out there (and bear-lovers...?).
Gary
3/27/08
Soon-to-be Senator from Nebraska Scott Kleeb is asking for our help in selecting a logo for his campaign. It has already been narrowed down to four choices, so all you have to do is vote for one of the four. (Voting also puts you on his mailing list, but what the hey.) Go here!Karen
3/27/08
Yippee, we get a 2 hour late start this morning. Got about 3 inches of snow overnight -- started as rain so it's slick underneath. I get to have another cup of coffee and enjoy....
Two hours?? Take the whole day! :-) --Gary
Tristen & Teghan
3/26/08
Happy Anniversary Grandpa & Grandma!
Ryan, Amanda
3/26/08
Happy TWENTIETH Anniversary Dad & Lori!
Grandma
3/26/08
I'm sorry for all you "sickies," and I hope you are all on the mend. These bugs this year seem to really hit fast. Nice Spring day so far, may get rainy and colder later on today. We finally ventured to the new Hy-Vee, and Erika, I'm pretty sure ours is bigger, we must've walked 2 miles easy, but I must say it is a nice store. If you only need milk tho, go to the Quiki-Mart.
Get well, Everyone!!!
Karen
3/25/08
Well, I guess Erika doesn't have the flu -- it's tonsilitis. Took her to the Urgent Clinic, did a few tests and came back with tonsilitis. So she is loaded up on drugs and gets another day off of school. How is Teghan doing? When do you guys head back to Nebraska? Donna did you have a nice birthday -- wanted to call, but the phone wasn't by the couch and I wasn't moving.....
Karen
3/25/08
Amanda, we have the flu here too! I got it just after Easter dinner and spent all day yesterday on the couch -- Erika came down with it just as I was beginning to recover. Great way to spend our last day of vacation.
Sorry it's late. Teghan got sick yesterday. Flu stuff, with the vomiting. She also complained of a sore throat & earaches in both ears. She didn't eat a thing all day & still kept getting sick. We took her to an "urgent care" place here, and they checked her out & determined it was just a viral flu. She got better by the end of the night. She's still tired & cranky acting today, but better. Lovely timing. It made for a very long day, being away from home...
The Hatgidakis Family
3/25/08
Happy Anniversary Paul and Lori!!!!!
Grandma
3/25/08
Happy Anniversary, Paul and Lori!!
Sean
3/24/08
Happy Birthday Donna!
Nelsons
3/24/08
Happy Birthday Donna
Grandma
3/23/08
Happy birthday, Donna!!
Donna
3/23/08
Happy Easter!
Nelsons
3/23/08
Happy Easter
Amanda
3/22/08 Happy Easter!The Hatgidakis family
3/22/08
Happy birthday Donna!!!!!!
Amanda
3/22/08
We're here in Ohio. Flight was great, girls loved it. We've been here less than 24 hours, barely left the house & we're loving it! Teghan & their son Peyton are already best friends. Tristen is in love with the twins, they are soooo sweet! More later!
Karen
3/21/08
Got home about 7:30 -- had a good trip back. Traffic was a little busy until out of Omaha, but not too bad. It was a fun day -- Brent was sorry to have missed it. Thanks :)
Gary
3/21/08
Big thanks to Karen, Emily, & Erika for driving down to Lincoln today. Lots of fun to see you all again. P.S.: Our Hy-Vee is bigger than yours!
The Hatgidakis Family
3/21/08
Happy Easter, Everyone!!!!!
Dad, Mom, Zach, Sam & Sunny
3/21/08
Happy Birthday Anna. We Love You!!!!!
Donna
3/21/08
Happy birthday, Anna!
Karen
3/20/08
Emily, Erika and I will be coming to Lincoln tomorrow morning -- hoping to leave here by 9. Brent won't be able to join us.....
See you tomorrow :)
See you tomorrow around noon! --Gary
Nelsons
3/20/08
Happy Birthday Anna
Grandma
3/20/08
Happy Easter, Everyone!
Grandma
3/20/08
Happy Birthday, Anna!!
Gary
3/19/08
So, five years ago today (though it seems like a hundred, and will be a hundred more if John McCain has his way, God forbid) was "Shock and Awe," the beginning of the war in Iraq. Some time later today, the Chimp will be making a speech about how well it's going, and why it is worth 4000 American lives, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, and an ongoing $5 billion every month....
But hey, he wants to give us each some money, so maybe he's not such a bad guy, eh? To check on your rebate, go to the IRS website and click on "Rebate Questions." To find out the amount of your rebate, you will need some info from your previous tax return (though I think the amounts are pretty standard -- around $600 per person, plus $300 per kid). You can also find out when to expect your check. They are being sent out in order of the last two digits of your Social Security number. With my two digits being high, I wouldn't get my check until sometime in July -- so I'm going to opt for direct deposit, which will put it in my account in May.
So don't forget to order some "Freedom Fries" with your lunch today!
Gary
3/18/08
Thanks for sending that video. I never did figure out a way to keep it "private" and yet still be able to show it on this page. I'll keep at it, whenever the inspiration strikes. (I re-posted a few of the double exposures I mentioned at the end of the video, just for old time's sake.)
News for any fellow MSNBC junkies: The finally pulled the plug on Tucker Carlson's show, and in its place have put a new show headed by David Gregory. It can only be better. I had hoped they would give that time-slot to the excellent Rachel Maddow (look here and look here) as was rumored; hopefully a deal for her is still in the works.
Amanda
3/18/08
Awhile ago I posted a video of Teghan on my You Tube page and set it to private & Gary & I were playing around with others being able to view it... Anyhow, it's not looking like it will work, so I set it to "not private" and here it is.. It's too good not to share!
Donna
3/17/08
Happy St. Patricks Day
Emily
3/14/08
My bamboo plant!
I got my first one at Eyes of the World last time we went there.
Donna
3/14/08
Bambi???
Emily
3/14/08
I'm pretty sure we are planning on getting to Lincoln around noon, and leaving that evening. I will have to work the next morning. I don't think we really had anything special we were wanting to do, just to see everyone. But, I could be talked into an Eyes of the World trip. I have been wanting to get a Bambi replacement....
See everyone next week!
One week from right now -- see you all then! :-) --Gary
Grandma
3/14/08
Amanda, I do believe I can be available on Sat. morning! Looking forward to the Nelsons. Anything fun or special anyone would like? Hope the weather stays nice.
Donna
3/14/08
Hey Karen, what time do you think you'll be here Friday? Are you staying over?
E&E, anything special you want to do/see while you're here? A trip to Eyes of the World, maybe?
Karen
3/13/08
Gary, I took your suggestion and checked out the web site -- watched the couch -- cool!
Yeah, this is one powerful shredder! And if you doubt the power of this thing, try "Tires" or, even better, "'Hippie' Bug." They clearly know how to have fun with it! :-) --Gary
Gary
3/13/08
I know that time is precious, and there isn't always time to spare for the cool sites -- but if you have a few seconds for something funny, try today's. It's the site of a big industrial-sized shredder, and they have a bunch of videos of all kinds of different things being shredded. I know, it's not the meaning of life or anything, but it's good clean destructive fun! If you don't know which video to choose, try Pumpkins. :-)
Amanda
3/13/08
Hey Grandma, on Saturday morning mind if the girls come over at about 9:30 or so? I have a hair appt at 10. Tristen has dance from 11:15-12, and I'm trying to arrange a driver for her. I should be done by noon-ish, and we'll have to leave about then as Teghan has a 2:00 French Poodle Birthday party to go to for a friend! Let me know if this works for you.
Amanda
3/12/08
Yea, I guess I'm officially a price complainer now. It's a RECESSION people. Admit it... Argh. Anyway, I will now take part in another price complaint. Or two... Gas is cheapest in town right across the street from my work, so I habitually watch it. It was $3.04 last Friday. I kinda needed it, but thought, no I'll wait, its generally higher before and throughout the weekend. Then Monday it was $3.11! Did I get it then? No... I thought, maybe it will go back down. NOPE! $3.19 today, Thursday. SO, I got it. God, I hate it. It is legalized gambling, and that's not allowed in this state! THEN, to top it off, both our vehicles needed an oil change. Ryan has always done it himself, one because it's always cheaper, two because he doesn't trust the idiots at all the lube job places. However, he went to his local auto parts store to buy the two filters & enough oil to change both. It was nearly $50! $25 per vehicle. That is MORE than the lube jobbie places! As a matter of fact, Ryan griped a little about it to the cashier & she said, "yup, that's why I go to Jiffy Lube." Phew.
Karen
3/12/08
Just wanted to let you all know that we will be in Lincoln next Friday. Brent is taking the day, Emily, Erika and I already have it off - so we should all be there. Not sure who else will be able to be there, but hope to see you. Another spring day here, most of the snow is gone. NAIA basketball games are in town -- half of St Pauls went to see one of the teams this afternoon. They won their game so they all get to go to another game on Friday. The team players will be at the school tomorrow for a short assembly, so an easy couple of days for me. I think Brent and Erika are going to go to game tomorrow night. Amanda, I am probably one of those people who complains about the grocery prices too (in fact Mom and I were on that subject on Sunday). I haven't noticed the coffee prices, but EVERYTHING else is way too high. John, I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow -- I'll be thinking about you.
Amanda
3/10/08
Everyone LOVES corned beef & cabbage. The girls go crazy over it. We will be in charge of drinks. (Reminds me of the episode of Friends where Phoebe was put in charge of cups by Monica so she went crazy with the cups)
Grandma
3/10/08
Monday sounds like fun, Amanda, If you want to take care of drinks, and Donna will do dessert, I think I can handle the corned beef and cabbage. Does everyone like it? Or shall we add something? I think I made soda bread once. Maybe I can find a recipe.
I'll make soda bread! I've made it in the bread machine before. --Gary
Amanda
3/10/08
Grandma, did Donna mention St. Patrick's Day? What do you think? It's on a Monday. We can bring whatever. We bought green maraschino cherries yesterday for something fun for the girls to drink!
Lindsey
3/10/08
Anyone ever heard of Jeff Dunham? He's a comedian, he's been on Comedy Central. Hilarious guy! He was in Lincoln tonight at Pershing and Matt got tickets for his birthday so we went with his parents. He's also a ventriliquist (? spelling) as well as stand up. Had a great time and laughed the whole way through. His opening guy was great too. Brian Haner I think his name is. But check out some of his stuff on Youtube sometime!
Amanda
3/9/08
OK, I'm not one of these people who goes to the grocery store & comes home talking about the increase in prices (you know who you are.... Grandma....) BUT, today I went to the grocery store & I about passed out in the coffee aisle. I think it nearly doubled since the last time I bought it, which was probably a few weeks ago. I get the bigger coffee container (probably close to the old basic coffee can) and it was over $9! One flavor was on sale for $6 something so I got that, but even it was originally over $9. They ALL were like that! OH my gosh!
And Donna, Tristen & Teghan have to tell you what they got at the grocery store... I'll leave it to them to discuss.
Amanda
3/8/08 Can you believe this? I feel like writing the IRS. "Dear IRS, yes I am aware that I get a rebate. Save the 32 cents for this household..."
Then, at another 32 cents, you'd get: "Dear Taxpayer: Thank you for your recent letter about the rebate..." --Gary
Gary
3/3/08
Those of you who raised an eyebrow at Tuesday's crawl -- "The world's largest living organism is also the oldest. It is a single fungus growing underground in eastern Oregon. It measures three and a half miles in diameter, and is at least 2,400 years old" -- can read more about it here. (In the original crawl I mistakenly said it was in Washington state, not Oregon. I corrected it above.)
And if you missed it, here's a link to Tuesday's cool site. Warning: It will make you mad....
Amanda
3/3/08
Karen, we will be out of town that weekend! Ohio.
Yea, I got the stitches out & they just chalked it up to being sick, dehydrated, low blood pressure, maybe overheated, etc. I did find out though that when they did labwork at the hospital my calcium & potassium were low. Calcium doesn't surprise me with the lactose intolerance, but the potassium apparently aids in blood pumping. So, that combined with the already low blood pressure & the dehydration made for a bad combo. I am to up the pottassium intake & go back in in a month for a recheck. Who knows...
I'm home with Teghan today. She woke up this morning saying she didn't feel well, that she was tired and her head & stomach hurt. Got her breakfast & she laid on the couch while we finished getting ready. I figured it was mostly tired because I caught her still up and messing around in her room at 9:45 (bedtime is 8:30). So I took her to Deedee's and warned her to keep an eye on her. She told me stomach stuff had been going around. So, by 10:30 I got a call at work, her nose & head hurt she said. I went & got her & she seemed OK. So I brought her home & had her lay down, thinking if she got a good nap maybe she can still make it to school by 12:45. Anyway, she started crying that her forehead hurt, so I have her on tylenol & she is finally sleeping. I'll let her sleep & see how she is when she gets up.
Feel better, Teghan! --Gary
Donna
3/3/08
Erika, what a cute dress! Did you have a good time? Karen, I hope you come down that weekend--two holidays to celebrate. ;-)
Sad to hear about Izetta.
Amanda, have you heard anything yet from the doctors?
Grandma
3/3/08
Brrrr! It was a short reprieve from Winter. Karen, I hope you are able to come in a couple weeks, keep it on the top of the list of things to do! Thanks for the neat picture of Erika! I was wondering how pretty she would look in her party dress. Did you have fun, Erika? Emily, your break went really fast, are you hitting the books hard this term? Max called last nite to tell me Izetta is in The the hospital, she fell and they have found blood clots in her lungs and legs. No news so far today. The bulb basket the Hatgidakis's sent me is really thriving, this morning I counted 9 buds, a couple i don't even know what they will be yet. Making salsa this morning so I better get to it. Keep warm.
Gary
3/3/08
Okay, what happened to spring?? Beautiful 65-degree weekend, and this morning it's freezing out there! Welcome to March, I guess.
P.S. Thanks to Amanda for the new recipe. Sounds great!
Karen
3/2/08 Erika went to a school dance last night, seemed to have a good time.
Emily is back to dorm this afternoon. Her break is over and third term will start tomorrow. Should be a fun week for me -- Lutheran School week so something fun everyday. Had a beautiful day yesterday, got lots of snow melted. Still lots of snow around, but it is getting better. Can't believe that Easter is only three weeks from today! I've been thinking we may try to make a quick trip to Lincoln that week-end (probably Friday or Monday) but still deciding on the details.
