The White Family in Minnesota

A New Home, A New Blog

2010-03-02T12:07:00.002-06:00

I've always loved this blog, mostly because I did the design myself and I love web design, but now I've started a new blog journey.

Recently, I started a new blog called "It's a Veggieful Life" where I'll be journaling about my journey to live a healthy, wonderful life. The name of the blog came from two things: my wanting to live a healthier lifestyle (eating wholesome foods, more fruits & veggies, beginning a fitness regime with a fitness coach at a local gym) and my all-time favorite movie "It's a Wonderful Life." I joined the gym in January 2010 and immediately started my new blog.

Thanks to those of you who have followed this blog! If you'd like to follow my journey, as well as get occasional updates on "The White Family in Minnesota who are now living in Tennessee" then please come on over!

Life in Tennessee

2009-12-04T08:57:00.007-06:00

At some point, I guess I'll have to change the name of this blog since we aren't in Minnesota any longer. But for now, I'll leave it as it is. Tomorrow, there's a "winter storm warning" for the Knoxville & Smoky Mountains areas. Wow! They're predicting a possible 3-6" and it's amusing to see how serious they take it down here in the south. It's been in the 40's which felt cold to me until I remembered what COLD really feels like in Minny. It's in the 20's up there and it'll just get colder. I certainly don't miss that aspect of Minnesota, but I do miss everything else.

Adapting to Tennessee has been difficult. And I'm not rushing to do so. There are rumors that the company my husband works for may be sold AGAIN, so forgive me if I don't finish unpacking!

Nicholas is enjoying school, and we were lucky to find a house to rent in the school system that we wanted, so I'm thankful for that. He was adapting to life here very well until his best friend, Hayley, had to move away to New Jersey in November. Not a day goes by that he doesn't mention her in some way. When we pass by her townhome development, I see him from the rearview mirror looking out the window with misty eyes. It breaks my heart. How he feels about Hayley leaving is how I continue to feel about leaving Minnesota.

Although it was extra cloudy, this is a

beautiful view in the Great Smoky Mountains (October 2009)

Nicholas and his "blue puppy"

2009-07-27T14:48:00.008-05:00

Anyone remember Nicholas' puppy? He's had it since he was a baby, and he used to suck on it's right paw. He never sucked a pacifier or his thumb - it was always "puppy." When he was around 3 & 1/2, the dentist said it was time for puppy to go bye-bye because his sucking on the paw was making him get an overbite. So, after many attempts at getting him NOT to suck on puppy, we had a discussion with Nicholas about puppy going away on vacation to Bermuda. Donald and I had gone to Bermuda when I was in my 2nd trimester with Nicholas, so I thought Bermuda was a wonderful place for puppy to go! We put puppy in a Priority Mail box, I "addressed it" and off he went....(into my closet).

We actually had four puppies total, all of them originally purchased from Target. I had to buy a few off of Ebay because Target was no longer carrying that product when I needed to buy back-ups for when puppy was in the wash. Every few years, Nicholas would ask if puppy was really in Bermuda and when he might come home. Could puppy come home if he promised not to chew on him? Interestingly, he brought puppy up right before we moved from Savage, Minnesota to Maryville, Tennessee. We decided that puppy should come home from Bermuda and meet us in Tennessee. It would be a good "transitional" item for him.

The night we arrived at our new home in Maryville, Nicholas asked if we thought puppy was there yet. Well, he was...in the priority box he'd been sitting in for nearly three years (along with his other "puppy" friends). See, I'd packed puppy's Priority Mail box in Donald's suitcase so that he'd be there to greet us. :)

Upon explaining that puppy had several friends and that his friends had always been there for him when puppy needed to get a washing, Nicholas was happy to have puppy again. He picked out one of the puppies that he dubbed the "real puppy" and the others were just puppy's friends. How he decided which one was the real one, I have no idea! Puppy went with us to dinner that night:

Reunited and it feels so good...

A happy little boy...and puppy seems happy too!

Packing Day!

2009-06-29T15:25:00.003-05:00

The movers are here, packing away. I think I've done my best to get everything we need separated from that which will be packed. The packers are doing a big job - only two packers for an entire house full! Nicholas has gone off to his friend Evan's house for a few hours. Donald and I should be doing something productive, but we're not. Donald is napping - he's good at that - and I'm on the computer. I'm listening to Adam Lambert on my iPhone and, of course, writing on my blog. Even without cable last night, I was able to watch last night's episode of HBO's "True Blood" on my computer, for free, this afternoon while the packers did their job. How did the world ever function without the internet??

Don & Gracie - life is hard, ain't it?

I will be taking pics later of the house in all its "boxy" glory, then posting them on the my blog (here) or on Facebook. Tomorrow is the big MOVING day. As I drove down South Park Drive this afternoon after doing some errands, I found myself getting teary eyed. I have become more attached to this place than anywhere else I've lived and it's very hard to let go. I know God has things under control...but, as I've told Donald numerous times before, God has things under control even when the plane is going down. I guess I should remind myself that, whether the plane has a soft landing or burst into flames, at least I'll be in God's hands. Right?? :)

Less Than Two Weeks to Go!

2009-06-18T09:35:00.004-05:00

Things are moving along here at a quick pace. I am feeling very overwhelmed & excited all at the same time. I've made my list, and checked it twice...Santa's not the only one who does that you know! :) And now I'm getting things done - when I'm not goofing around on Facebook...man, that thing is a time sucker! I still have some cupboards to sort through, then it's on to packing bags and getting things set aside to take with us.

Donald is in Tennessee until the 26th and then will be flying up to Minnesota for the last time before we move. Yay! The movers come to pack up our house on the 29th and then load up the moving truck on the 30th. We will be leaving town shortly thereafter. Our van will be loaded with things we'll need for the week - we'll be staying up in the Smoky Mountains for several nights once we get down to Tennessee and then we'll need some essentials at the house to tide us over until the boxes and furniture arrive. How many times have I been through this? Too many. This will be my fourth move since 2000 and I'm wondering where my final "resting place" will be...not to sound morbid or anything!

Once the packers arrive, I will be taking lots of pics to show the progress. And, of course, there will be lots more pics on the other end showing the progress of moving in.

The most important lesson I've learned in all these moves is this: Take the coffee pot with you instead of letting the packers pack it. Move-in day requires coffee and if you can't find the coffee pot, then all is lost!

Regina Brett's "45 Lessons"

2009-05-28T11:12:00.009-05:00

Below is an article by Regina Brett. It's circulating the internet and thought I'd share it here on my blog. Contrary to numerous emails circulating the web, Regina has not turned 90! For more about Regina Brett, her columns, and her upcoming book please visit her website: www.reginabrett.com.

Regina Brett's 45 life lessons and 5 to grow on
by Regina Brett
Sunday May 28, 2006

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Weather Craziness in Minnesota

2009-05-20T08:43:00.006-05:00

No one ever said the weather in Minnesota was boring! Yesterday, we had a high temp of 97 degrees; apparently, a record high temp for this early in the year! Tomorrow we're supposed to have a high temp of just 70 degrees (the norm for this time of year). Paul Douglas, my favorite weather guy, described yesterday's weather in his column entitled "Instant Summer!":

"With a May like this who needs July? Yesterday's extreme heat was a). amazing, and b). supremely humbling. 97 in the Twin Cities, smashing, obliterating the old record of 89 set most recently in 1978. Keep in mind the normal high is 71 degrees.

Record heat grips the southern third of Minnesota Tuesday, 97 in the Twin Cities, 94 in Rochester, 100 degrees reported at Granite Falls, nearly 30 degrees warmer than average....Grand Marais: Tuesday afternoon temperatures hold in the mid 30s, nearly a 70 degree temperature contrast across the state!"

To read all of Paul Douglas' Column, go to Conservation Minnesota.

Have a splendid day today; it's gonna be another scorcher!

Happy 6th Birthday, Nicholas!

2009-05-08T18:29:00.018-05:00

It's been a few weeks now, but I'm finally blogging about Nicholas' birthday. My baby boy turned SIX on Thursday, April 23! To celebrate, we spent all day on April 22nd at the Mall of America, riding rides, and then had dinner at Rainforest Cafe. He had a great birthday! And it was nice to have Donald home for the week from Tennessee to celebrate!

Nicholas after a favorite ride - he loves it!

Dessert time at Rainforest Cafe: Pudding "mud" with a gummy worm...yum. Does he look like a happy kid?!

Birthday presents with Mommy & Daddy
on his actual birthday, April 23rd

Saturday, April 25, we had a birthday party for Nicholas with three boys from his Kindergarten class...a good method of birth control. If I ever thought I needed more than one kid, this was a reason NOT to have any more. :) It was a lot of fun for the boys, and I even got a chance to race Evan in a game of Wii MarioKart! Nicholas loves Scooby-Doo nowadays. He had a SD cake and even got to wear his SD shirt for the occasion. His friends all knew he loved SD so two out of the three got him something SD related! He also got some Star Wars toys; guess it's time to introduce him to SW, huh? I can't wait - there's nothing like watching a movie or show I've grown up with with my little man! He's still trying to get over watching "The Wizard of Oz" and "E.T." :-)

The Scooby-Doo cake

Make a Wish!!

Balloon Fight!!

Scooby-Doo Matchbox cars

Star Wars: Clone Wars figurine
His friend's expression (on the left) is priceless!

I'll be posting these & more pics from the birthday celebration on my Facebook page, so check it out!

No, my husband isn't for sale!

2009-04-29T14:24:00.005-05:00

No luck yet on selling the house. But it's only been a month since we listed it, so we have to be patient. Of course, this past Saturday was Nicholas' 6th Birthday party and we told the Real Estate Agency that we couldn't have showings during a certain time frame. Wouldn't you know it! We had three showing requests that had to be turned down that afternoon! One group showed up anyway (apparently that Realtor doesn't check his messages) and they had a nice look at our house, toys scattered, laptops out on the dining room table, birthday party decor in the family room. Wow, what an impression we must have made! Pics of the birthday party will be posted at a later date!

My friend, Jan, took some pics of our "for sale" sign last week. In one, she got my husband standing next to the sign. Jan insisted that I put the pic on my blog, so here you go Jan! Just a reminder: the house is for sale, NOT the husband...although if the price is right, a deal might be made. Ha! :-)

Our House is For Sale!

2009-03-30T10:00:00.002-05:00

Our house is officially For Sale! I've been told that I need to bury a statue of St. Joseph to bring good luck. Some people say to bury him next to the For Sale sign. Others say to bury him in the backyard. Most say that you need to repeat a prayer every day, while envisioning the purchase price you want on a purchase offer. Anyone heard of this? Have you tried it? And, more importantly, did it work at getting your house sold??

Below are the photos I took right before our Realtor was here to take hers. I worked my butt off to get this place shiny; let's see if it stays that way! :-)

The Kitchen (upper level)

The Office & Master Bath (upper level)

Master BR & Nick's Room (upper level)

Master BR (wider angle) & Living Room (upper level)

Family Room; left & right (lower level)

My Library & the Playroom (lower level)

Decluttering Finally Finished!

2009-03-15T15:30:00.008-05:00

Some of you may remember me starting this "decluttering" journey last year. Well, today I finally finished the last room, "the office," the longest decluttering job in history where I took out furniture, put in other furniture, and then took that furniture out, etc. etc. My decluttering started after our book club read "It's All Too Much " by Peter Walsh over a year ago. Now that I've finished the office, the house is one step closer to being ready for show! I wonder how my other book club members have been doing with their decluttering jobs? :-)

Before pics taken about a year ago...this has been a slow process...

Finally: The After Pics!

Signs of Spring!

2009-03-06T09:14:00.005-06:00

Even though it's gray and cloudy today, and there's still some snow on the ground (along with mud and ice), the birds are happy! We have several bird feeders, my favorite being one that hangs outside our kitchen window. Because the window is on the second floor of the house, Donald has to climb the ladder outside to refill the feeder...looks like he'll be doing some climbing soon!

A busy bird feeder and a Blue Jay cleaning up the ground!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-03-04T14:30:00.002-06:00

The real estate agent came today. She is a wonderful person and a very knowledgable realtor. She sold us the house that we are now going to try to sell. She had a list of a few things that we need to repair and/or improve, but nothing too serious. The biggest job will be cleaning out the garage. Ha ha. I've been trying to get Donald to sort through boxes that have traveled from Florida to Georgia, and then to Minnesota, for four years! Whenever he needed something from the garage he'd go out and buy a new one instead of looking in the boxes of "garage stuff" to find what he wanted. Looks like I'll have to bring in the big dumpster. Maybe it'll be cathartic. :-)

Full Speed Ahead!

2009-02-27T10:52:00.002-06:00

My father-in-law was right: I just needed to make up my mind that we are moving and then go ahead with it. I'm busy working on an email to my clients (hard job) and trying to figure out what areas I need to get spiffy before we list the house. I'm a big planner, so once I have a plan in my head I'm ready to get to work. Now that I've finally made the decision that moving is what we need to do, I don't want to sit around and think about it. I want to DO.

Negativity Is NOT Helping

2009-02-27T09:23:00.002-06:00

I had a link to another blog (won't mention the name) from my own blog, but I removed it today. When I read what she was posting, and all the negativity it was creating regarding President Obama's fiscal plan it really made me angry. I understand that the President's plan has flaws. But people have to realize that something has to be done. Our country is headed even further down the crapper if someone doesn't do something. President Obama has been in office just over a month and he has a hell of a mess to clean up. Sure, it wasn't all the Republicans' fault...just as it wasn't all the Democrats' fault. But at this point it doesn't matter whose fault it is. It's OUR problem now. Everybody needs to stop whining about what the fiscal plan doesn't do right and start thinking about how they're going to help build this country back up!

New Name for My Blog?

2009-02-26T10:22:00.005-06:00

Remember when I wrote in a blog entry several months ago that I was NOT moving - "I repeat NOT NOT NOT moving"?

Well, it looks like Tennessee may be our new home. After much discussion, many tears, and quite a few tantrums (and that's just Donald we're talking about) I think we've decided that our family needs to be together in Tennessee. Even if Donald was to retire in a year or so, it would be financially tight living in our house in MN unless I got a full-time real job (which I'm not going to do).

So, if we live in Tennessee, how can I have a blog called Whites in Minnesota? I'll need to add a tag line that says "...the southern version" or "...now with more fiber" or something funny like that. :-)

The move isn't happening right NOW but we are making plans. The realtor is coming next Wednesday to take a look at the house and Nicholas and I will be going down to TN the middle of April to see what kind of place we can find to rent; house, condo, apartment. We'll put off buying anything for a year until we know where we might want to live down there. This will also make it a lot easier to move if we don't have to worry about coming up with money to put down on a house. We'll take a loss on the house up here, but hopefully not too much of a loss. Hopefully.

Oscars 2009: What a Night!

2009-02-23T08:55:00.006-06:00

Even though I wasn't feeling well (sore throat and all) I made it through the entire show! With TiVo, I was running behind "live TV" for most of it, but caught up near the end. It ran over by about 35 minutes, but it was worth it! Hugh Jackman did such a great job, he needs to host every year. I knew he'd be good, but MAN was he good. The only thing I recommend is that next year he does it without his shirt on. I mean, come on, it can only make the show even better! ;-)

My picks for this year's top six categories weren't too bad. I got four out of the top six correct (I missed Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories) and, overall, I got 16 correct out of all 24 categories! My best ever! The Winners were: Best Supporting Actress - Penelope Cruz; Best Supporting Actor - Heath Ledger; Best Actress - Kate Winslet; Best Actor - Sean Penn; Best Director - Danny Boyle; and Best Movie - Slumdog Millionaire.

Movie critic Roger Ebert only missed one out of the top six (he picked Viola Davis to win for Best Supporting Actress) and movie critic Richard Roeper nailed it right on the head when he made this prediction on the Chicago Sun-Times website:

"Mark my words, or mock my words. "Slumdog Millionaire" will take home eight Oscars, "Benjamin Button" will win a handful of technical awards, Heath Ledger is the biggest lock of the night and Kate Winslet will win for the wrong role in the wrong movie."

Richard Roeper got 21 correct out of all 24 categories! Wow! I'm impressed. Of course, he gets to see every movie, every short, long, medium, and foreign film out there. I'm jealous, really.

The comedy routine by Seth Rogan and James Franco, while sitting on a couch watching clips from some of the comedic films of the year (along with a few serious films which their characters considered to be comedies but weren't) was hysterical! I loved the musical number Hugh did at the beginning, and Anne Hathaway taking part in it was wonderful! They need to do a musical together right now. And, although other bloggers have been quoted as saying it made their "ears bleed," I actually enjoyed the musical number Hugh (along with Beyonce) did about musicals. Maybe the academy will eventually create a category just for musicals! Woo-hoo!

I especially enjoyed the way they presented the top acting categories this year. Instead of showing a scene from each nominee, and having the award presented by the winner of the award (from the opposite sex) from last year; i.e., the Best Actor from last year presenting the Best Actress award this year, etc. - they had five previous winners present the award for this year's winner. Shirley MacLaine's introduction of Anne Hathaway in the Best Actress category was beautiful; something I'm sure Anne Hathaway will treasure even more than being nominated!

The acceptance of Heath Ledger's award by his parents and sister, on behalf of his little girl, Matilda, was very emotional. We all knew he was going to win and we all knew it was going to be emotional. They weren't emotional, but I was!

Please share your thoughts about this year's Oscars, if you stayed up late enough to catch it all or if you were bored and went to sleep early, and let me know if there's anything from the awards that you found especially entertaining, touching, or simply weird. If you'd like to watch some behind-the-scenes footage from the Oscars, check out their website. And forgive me if my post today seems a bit scattered and poorly put together ,but I'm lucky to actually be awake and thinking even this clearly this morning! In fact, I've edited this post twice since first publishing it this morning...See you next year!

Mice: It's All-Out War!

2009-02-20T20:58:00.004-06:00

Today I got in my car, opened up the console that sits between the two front seats to get my sunglasses, and found crumbs on my sunglasses case. Hmmm, what do you think those crumbs were from. Yep, the mice are back. They/he/she/it had ripped into my snack bar and eaten half of it, leaving crumbs and packaging and stuff all over. After calling my husband - who is in Tennessee until the 28th - and then dropping off a friend at the doctor, I went to Home Depot. It's war, people. I bought a two-pack of Black & Decker Electronic Pest Repellers, a package of "Real Kill" Mouse Killer Place Packs that have poisonous (yes, poison!) tidbits that these fellers will eat and then go home to die, and a box of moth balls. Moth balls, so I've been told, should keep the mice from making nests in the area where the moth balls are. The electronic pest repellers emit a high pitched sound that is supposed to "drive out" mice and other pests, and the poison...well, you know what that will do.

I really love animals and I'm all for animals being free and enjoying life...but not in my car! I've had it. For the last seven months, I've let my husband catch one mouse (sometimes two) at a time and then drive them to the local park to set them free. Up until now, he'd caught at least 12 in his "live trap" and driven them to the park. Well, now that Donald is out of town for two-three weeks at a time, I am not driving these mice to the park! If the electronic pest repellers and the moth balls don't get them to leave, then they'd better get their affairs in order because they will be going to the great big cheese wheel in Heaven. Do I make myself clear??!!

TV Made Me What I Am Today

2009-02-20T20:35:00.005-06:00

My sister bought me a bumper sticker once that said "TV Made Me What I Am Today" and that is soooooo true. I just took the "80's Sitcom" quiz on Facebook and got 100%. Now, should I be proud of that? It's really sort of sad, isn't it...weren't there other, more exciting, important things to be doing than watching all that TV? Of course, in therapy everything is my mother's fault. After all, wasn't it she (and probably even more than that my dad since mom worked nights) who allowed me to sit and be mesmerized by the TV every night? Meanwhile, if my husband - who was born before they even had TV - took the quiz, he'd probably score a 0%. But if he took a quiz on 80's porn...he might get a high score. (I'm not joking.)

I Like Chicken...and Turkey...and...

2009-02-15T18:08:00.001-06:00

Well, so much for being Vegetarian...not for me. :-)

Check out my entry on Melissa's Veggie Blog and take a look at the recipes I've posted so far!

The Strib is now bird cage lining

2009-02-12T23:15:00.006-06:00

Okay, Paul Douglas will be fine. He's very successful in his weather-related businesses and life in general. But I will be canceling our subscription to the Star Tribune. Not only did WCCO let Paul Douglas go last spring but now the Strib is replacing Paul Douglas' weather forecast with the WCCO weather team starting tomorrow! The Strib is near bankruptcy and I guess this is their way of generating more income by partnering with a TV station. Well, the few issues I have lying around will now be donated for use in the bottom of a bird cage. Eventually I'll forgive the Strib. Or maybe not - I still haven't forgiven WCCO for their stupidity.

My New Blog About Veggies!

2009-02-12T16:56:00.005-06:00

I like bloggin' so much, I've started another one! Check out my new blog "Melissa's Veggie Blog" and read about my journey to eat and live healthier! I am working on getting some recipes posted, so don't be surprised if you visit and there's nothing to read yet!

My Oscar Predictions

2009-02-10T11:45:00.007-06:00

Since I've only had my blog for a few months, this is my "1st Annual Oscar Predictions" blog entry. I reviewed the winners from two previous awards ceremonies this year ~ The Golden Globe Awards (GG) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) ~ and then based my picks on a simple technique: Drawing names from a hat. Just kidding. I have no idea who will win, but I thought it would be fun to pretend that people care what I think. Sort of like a Richard Roeper or Roger Ebert. Only much prettier. :-)

Actor in a Leading Role
The Nominees: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler). Sean Penn won the SAG award and Mickey Rourke won the GG for best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama. Since he started off the year being the favorite but did not win either the SAG or GG award, so I'm going out on a limb here and picking Frank Langella.

The GG awards recognize actors from not only dramas but musicals and comedies as well. I will only be using the winners from the "drama" category, unless a winner for a musical or comedy is also nominated for the Oscar. Got it? Good. Let's continue...

Actor in a Supporting Role
The Nominees: Josh Brolin (Milk), Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight), and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road). Heath Ledger won both the SAG and the GG awards. As much as I love Philip Seymour Hoffman, I think there's no beating Heath Ledger this year. So, my pick is Heath.

Actress in a Leading Role
The Nominees: Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melissa Leo (Frozen River), Meryl Streep (Doubt), and Kate Winslet (The Reader). Okay, this is a hard one due to the fact that Kate Winslet won two GG award's: A Supporting Role award for her role in "The Reader" and the Best Actress (Drama) award for her role in "Revolutionary Road." Meryl Streep surprised everyone at the SAG awards by winning the Leading Actress award...so, who to choose? I'm going with Kate Winslet. She should have been nominated for "Revolutionary Road" but I think she'll win for "The Reader" here.

Actress in a Supporting Role
The Nominees: Amy Adams (Doubt), Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Viola Davis (Doubt), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler). Kate Winslet won both the GG and SAG awards for her role in "The Reader" but is nominated in the Leading Role category for that part. So, this is such an open field I have no idea. Let's go to my hat, shall we....Okay, my pick is Taraji P. Henson, although it would be fun to see either Amy Adams or Marisa Tomei win.

Best Picture
The Nominees: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire. "Slumdog Millionaire" won the equivalent of this category at both the SAG and GG awards. It's the favorite to win, which makes it kind of a boring pick, but I'm still going with "Slumdog Millionaire" as the winner. Plus the fact that I saw the film and it's truly an amazing piece of work.

Best Director
The Nominees: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), Stephen Daldry (The Reader), David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon), and Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road). The SAG awards have no category for Best Director (that's why they're the Screen Actors Guild awards, after all). The Golden Globe went to Danny Boyle, as did the Directors Guild of America award. Unless there's a great upset, I can't see anyone winning but Danny Boyle.

There you have it. Now let's hear from the gallery. Who do you think will win? I'd love to see some comments on this. And don't wait until after the awards are over (Sunday, February 22, 2009 LIVE at 8ET/7CT on ABC).

Early Valentine's Date

2009-02-09T11:58:00.008-06:00

On Saturday, Donald and I went out on a date! Woo-hoo! Thank you "Grandma Jan" for watching Nicholas for what must have seemed like two whole days! And thanks to Sarah for helping out too!

Donald and I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" at the new CineMagic Theatre in Burnsville, right behind Burnsville Center mall. Excellent movie and one that will make you realize how lucky we have it here in the States! It is my pick for Best Movie at this year's Oscars...but I'll discuss that in another post.

After the movie, we stopped by Jan's to drop off Nicholas' heart-shaped lollipop I'd forgotten to give him...then it was off to Perron's Sul Lago (simply known as "Sul Lago" to us locals) in Prior Lake for dinner at 5:00 p.m.

Recommended by several people, it was a wonderful dining experience! Lit by candlelight and very romantic, it's definitely a place to go if you want to get away from the noise and hub-bub of the chain restaurants. The meal was slow-paced enough so that we were able to enjoy our appetizers and salad without feeling like we had to rush to make room for our entrée. If you plan on dining there, be sure to set aside about three hours of your time.

Romantic atmosphere at Sul Lago

Our server was Mark and he was worth his weight in gold. I almost gained five pounds just listening to his description of the specials and other choices for the evening. They must practice reciting those because he was flawless! He was very good at checking on how we were doing, but wasn't a constant nag like at some restaurants you go to. When you need a fresh cup of coffee, they don't just stop by and refill your cup; they bring you a new cup filled with fresh, hot coffee and take away the old one. I pity the dishwasher there!

Mark let us take our time in choosing an entrée and he repeated the description of the Cod special for the evening because we were having a hard time deciding.

While perusing the menu, you're provided with fresh bread and an Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar dipping oil. We need to learn not to eat so much of that next time...you need to save room for desserts! Our menu choices for the evening looked like this:

Appetizer: Goat Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

Salad: Don had the Caesar Salad and I had the amazing Baked Goat Cheese & Apple Salad

Entrées: I ordered the Scallops Gnocchi (Seared sea scallops on a bed of Gnocchi in a cream sauce) and Donald ordered the Cod special (pan-seared Cod served on a bed of Parmesan risotto which had been sauteed with bib lettuce and garlic). After we were served our meals, Donald and I switched because I liked his better. Isn't he a gentleman? I had a glass of white wine with my entrée - a Riesling is what I think we settled on, as they have a very extensive wine list

Desserts were another difficult choice, so in the end, we got two and shared. Donald ordered the Pumpkin Bread Pudding and I got my favorite Crème Brûlée. The best Crème Brûlée I've ever had - so I didn't do a lot of sharing! I had trouble eating it all but I made room. It was just too good to leave behind.

We will definitely be going back to Sul Lago again to celebrate a special occasion!

Being Vegetarian

2009-02-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

Before Nicholas was conceived in 2002, I was a Vegetarian for one year. When I got pregnant, the taste of all the "veggie" burgers, bacon, and other non-meat products tasted horrendous. (My husband, Donald, would say they tasted horrendous from the beginning!) All my body craved was real meat: roast beef, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, bacon, etc. etc. I told myself that, since my body (or was it my baby) was craving those things, I'd eat them. I also told myself that once I had the baby, I'd see if I wanted to go back to my Vegetarian ways or stay an Omnivore. Well, I stayed an Omnivore. Now I am ready to be a Vegetarian again. My sister is a Vegetarian. My friend, Anne, is a Vegetarian. And many others are Vegetarians. I'm not talking Vegan here, people: I love ice cream and cheese too much and I'm not ready to give up my dairy products! I know there are hundreds of reasons to become Vegan as well, but let's deal with one issue at a time.

There are many reasons for being a Vegetarian and it doesn't just involve not eating red meat; however, ever since last summer, during the Dan Patch Days here in Savage, I haven't been able to enjoy eating red meat. I've eaten it, sure, but I haven't been able to enjoy it and I'll tell you why. Actually, I'll show you why:

This isn't the exact cow I met at the petting zoo at Dan Patch Days (I wish I'd taken a picture of her!) but she looks darn close. And once I looked into those big, brown eyes and patted her head, how could I enjoy eating red meat again? I grew up in central New York state, going into cow barns and visiting with cows throughout my life, but there was something about that cow last summer that stuck with me. I think her name was Molly, or it could have been Daisy, I really don't remember....what I do remember is her face. And it stares back at me whenever I eat red meat. More than likely, she was a Jersey dairy cow but that doesn't matter to my mind. In my mind, whenever I try to enjoy a steak or some pot roast, I see her face and that's all that matters.

Below is another sweet little calf I found on the internet. Don't you just want to keep her as a pet?

Anyone out there a Vegetarian? Anyone considering being a Vegetarian? Anyone tried it and decided they liked beef and chicken and bacon too much to be a Vegetarian? I'd like to know what you think! And remember, we're not here to bash omnivores, so keep your comments considerate of others. Thanks!

Gracie's Bad Pet Salon Experience

2009-02-06T09:59:00.004-06:00

Without naming names or even giving the location, I must rant about Gracie's bad pet hair salon experience yesterday. She was so depressed and angst-ridden when I picked her up, she couldn't get out of there fast enough. When the "lady" who cut Gracie's hair handed her to me over the gate, she clawed her way up my neck and wouldn't let go! And the lady admitted to me that she'd been calling Gracie "Lucy" the whole time! The poor girl must have been so confused, thinking "Why are these people cutting the hair off my feet, trimming my backside, and calling me 'Lucy'? Doesn't my momma love me no more?" :-(

Gracie doesn't need much of a hair cut - just the hair on her feet and backside mainly, and maybe a little around her ears - but she came out of there looking like she'd been put through the ringer. I will NEVER take her to that place again and I probably will never take her to any other pet salon either. She's been to another pet hair salon (inside PETSmart) and that went pretty well. But, from now on, I will trim her toe hairs and her butt hairs myself and if it looks horrible, then at least she won't be scarred for life!

Good Thing There Are No Cameras In Our House!

2009-02-03T19:12:00.004-06:00

Have you seen the media coverage of the "Christian Bale Tirade" out there? Apparently, he went on a tirade LAST JULY against director of photography Shane Hurlbuton on the set of his new movie "Terminator 4,206: Salvation" (really, how many Terminator movies do they need to make, anyway??) and TMZ.com just released it to the media. Come on, TMZ, why wait until almost a year after the incident to release it to the media? In the audio clip, Bale really rips the guy a new ***hole with his ****ing expletives. All I can say is that I think maybe he was just hungry and over-tired (although he has been known to have some anger issues in the past). It has been claimed that movie bosses sent the footage to their insurance company in case Bale didn't finish making the film. Good thing no one ever had audio or video equipment taping during some of my more vocal or physical outbursts!

Leave Jessica Alone!

2009-01-30T10:19:00.005-06:00

This is one of those blog entries where I would love to use profanity. So, let's get started, shall we? What the hell is going on in this country? Jessica Simpson's photo has been plastered all over the magazines, entertainment shows, and talk shows showing her having gained approximately 5.2 pounds. Could be more, could be less, but apparently she's now considered to be fat! As if young girls and grown women alike don't already have self-esteem issues, now the media is saying that Jessica Simpson is FAT. If she's considered fat, then sign me up! I recently rejoined Weight Watchers - I'm a Lifetime Member who has slipped back into bad eating habits - and this makes me wonder why I bother. Some of you may remember photos of Jennifer Love Hewitt in magazines a year or two ago showing her with a "fluffy" backside in her bikini. She's a size 0 for God's sake! What kind of froggin' ice-holes think that JLH and JS are fat??!!

Harvey Pasternak, Hollywood trainer and author of The 5 Factor Diet, tells Extra the star is healthy:

Harvey, who worked with Jessica during the filming of Major Movie Star in 2007, maintains that, “She has curves where a woman needs to have curves. We all go a little bit up and a little bit down. But she’s healthy. She’s still sexy. She’s still a beautiful woman. And I have no problem with the way she looks. I think if more people looked the way she looks now, the country would be a lot healthier.”

Here are some comments (just as they were written) posted regarding Harvey's defense of Jessica:

"When did “curves” become a nice way of saying fat rolls? She has rolls spilling over her mom-jeans. I don’t care what most fat lazy American stay at home moms think, fat rolls spilling out of clothing will never be hot."
"I’m not sure a size 12 is “healthy”…"
"I think she looks perfectly fine. The bone is for the boy the meat is for the man. She looks about a size 8 whatever idiot that claims 12 is not healthy apparently never knew Marilyn Monroe was a size 14."
"Jessica looks beautiful. So what if she put on some weight..."
"I don’t think she’s fat over even overweight, she’s just not skinny anymore and what she’s wearing is very unflattering..."
"15lbs less and shed be perfect, but if shes happy so be it. happy does not equal healthy though..."

Now, all you "fat lazy American stay at home moms" out there: What do you think? Should we all get really obese and then sit on everyone who pisses us off? I say, bring on the donuts!

My Sister Needs a Blog

2009-01-28T11:49:00.005-06:00

I was chatting with my sister, Cathy, last night and she was filling me in on all the crazy guys she's met over the last several months. I told her that she needs a Blog! It's very cathartic (that's the word I was looking for, Cathy!) to write things down. I have to keep my Blog pretty clean (aka, no obsenities such as I'd use in real life) because several people find my blog and then go to my business site. (I want to keep up appearances, you know.) Anyway, I told her she could do her blog and rant about all the crazy guys she meets, the insane situations she finds herself in, raising her two teenage daughters, being a new grandma, and all the things our mother tells her that really make her want to jump in front of a bus. Cathy is very funny and we've joked before that we should take our act on the road just so we can discuss all the things our mother has told us throughout the years that squashed our self-esteeem. There's a good title for your blog, Cath! "It's all mom's fault."Oh she'd love that! Anyone out there who knows our mom - you'll have to keep this to yourself. We don't want MOM jumping in front of a bus!

So, does anyone out there have any ideas on what my sister could name her blog? I'm thinking "She's Just Not That Into You" but she might get sued by Greg Behrendt, the guy who wrote "He's Just Not That Into You" (now a motion picture releasing on Feburary 6th). Or how about "I'm a Bleepin' Vegetarian" because of that guy she dated a few times who asked her if she wanted to come over to watch a movie and eat chicken wings! Here's a few other suggestions I have:

"What the Hell Was I Thinking: Misadventures in Dating After Divorce"
"In My Next Life I'm Coming Back Alone" (this was a saying Cathy wanted to have made into a bumper sticker years ago...I love that line!)
"Cathy's Clowns: How Many Idiots Are Out There, Anyway?"
"Maybe Being a Lesbian Wouldn't Be So Bad" (just kidding...not that there's anything wrong with that!)

If you read this blog and would like to leave a comment on this subject, please do! Or you can email me with your input and I'll pass it along to Cathy!

More Words of Wisdom From Southern Dad

2009-01-25T14:41:00.010-06:00

Here's a few more uplifting messages from my father-in-law, Donald Sr. Hope you find them as encouraging as we do!

"Build a Garden around my Life
out of Peace of Mind, Serenity, and a Sure Faith"

"Live Today with Faith, Hope, and Love"

"Let God be my Guidepost for direction in Living"

One Week to Go

2009-01-25T14:27:00.003-06:00

You might think I'm talking about Donald coming home from Tennessee - he'll be home on Friday the 30th. But, no, I'm actually talking Super Bowl! Did our team make it this year? NO! Who are we going to cheer for this year? Probably Arizona. A friend asked me why they are called the Arizona Cardinals since she didn't think Arizona had Cardinals. There must be cardinals in Arizona somewhere. Right? Well, they started out as the Chicago Cardinals (I think) and then went to St. Louis (I think). Now they're in Arizona. I really don't know. How many Buccaneers do you think live in Tampa Bay? I'd say very few! And what about Giants in New York? I could go on and on...

Anyway, there's a "little" surprise for Donald when he gets home on Friday. It'll make watching the Super Bowl together even more exciting. It's big and flat and has great picture and sound. I don't have to worry about him reading this, because he never visits my blog. At least I don't think he does.

Just a Stroll Down Pennsylvania Avenue

2009-01-21T20:23:00.007-06:00

Watched the Inauguration coverage yesterday - all day - except for when I had to go walk a couple doggies. Once I got home, it was back to the TiVo! "Grandma Jan" came over last night and we watched the Oath of Office (Poor Justice Roberts will never live down the day he screwed up administering the Oath!) and President Obama's speech. Doesn't that sound nice? President Obama. The photo above was taken while President and Mrs. Obama walked down Pennsylvania Avenue after the Oath of Office and before the big parade began. They look like two people out of GQ walking down the Avenue. Let's all say a prayer that the Obama family is kept safe from harm and that God instills President Obama with the courage and wisdom he will need to see this country through these difficult times.

(Chuck Kennedy-Pool/Getty Images)

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

My Sister is a Grandma!

2009-01-19T10:20:00.009-06:00

My sister, Cathy, is a grandma! Her son, Jeremy, and his fiancee, Angela, had their baby at 3:34 pm on Friday, January 16, 2009. His name is Aedan Joseph Carlton, weighing in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. I remember when Jeremy was born; now he's a father! How did that happen? Well, I know how it happened, so let's not go there....but how did he grow up so fast? Below are some photos. I hope Angela doesn't mind me putting her on my blog. Doesn't she look beautiful, that new mommy!

Baby Aedan

Jeremy with his baby boy

New Grandma Cathy with Aedan

Great-grandparents (again) Bob & Mary
Jeremy, Angela, and Baby Aedan

Numb & Number

2009-01-16T10:13:00.006-06:00

My title today is stolen (or should I say borrowed) from my favorite weather guy, Paul Douglas. (Note to WCCO in Minneapolis: The dumbest thing you ever did was let Paul Douglas go. I still haven't forgiven you for that!) The Paul Page talks about how froggin' cold it's been here in Minnesota. You people out east don't know the meaning of the word cold until you have three straight days (or has it been more than that?) when the high for the day has been in the negative. As Paul says in his entry:

Numb & Number
Theoretical question: can you feel any colder than numb? Thursday was, in all probability, the coldest day of the year with a low of -21 and a “high” of -6 F. Here’s a virtual high five – you just survived/endured the coldest day in 5 years. You made it. Think about that – most schools were open, people went to work, mail got delivered, people shopped, worked out, went about their business. Anywhere else in America they would have declared martial law and activated the National Guard. Here in Minnesota we just shrug our (frostbitten) shoulders and mutter “no big deal.” Having the sun out helped; have you noticed daylight is on the increase? In 2 weeks the average temperature starts to RISE again, for the first time since August...

Crazy me, I'm waiting for that really big snow storm. The kind we got in central New York state that dumped a good 1-2 feet of snow and it took days to dig out of. Now that is what I call winter!

Computer for Sale

2009-01-15T18:33:00.007-06:00

Nicholas has created his own computer. Anyone want to buy it? He used tinker toys and then a piece of paper for the "keyboard" and the "screen". He has a little holder for his blue marker on the side of the keyboard, and when he "types" on the keyboard, he takes his marker and writes the same word on the screen. So cute and so creative, I just had to share. In the future, when our son becomes a billionaire engineer / doctor / astronaut, you will wish you had this little piece of history. :-)

Goofin' at Perkins

2009-01-05T16:34:00.009-06:00

After church yesterday morning, we stopped at Perkins for breakfast. Sort of the last "get together" before Donald headed out of town this afternoon. While at breakfast, Nicholas decided to try on Daddy's hat and be a goofball. Have you ever seen such a beautiful, blue-eyed goofball in your life? I think not! I set Donald's favorite pose as his wallpaper on his iPhone so that he can see Nicholas whenever he wants. I set my favorite pose (the last one) as my wallpaper on my iPhone too! Which pose do you like best? I'd love to know.

A Month of Single Motherhood

2009-01-03T21:37:00.003-06:00

Does absence really make the heart grow fonder? I am about to find out. Darling Donald will be driving down to Tennessee on Monday, January 5th and won't be flying home until Friday, January 30th. Instead of coming home around the 16th for a few days and then again on the 30th for a few days, we decided he should fly home on the 30th (in time for the Super Bowl!) and stay up here until February 9th. It'll be hard being apart for so long, and at times I'm sure I'll feel like a single mom. What do I do with myself? A.C. told us that it's very important to give each other "permission to have a good time" while we are apart. That means, if I want to go out with a friend and have a good time while leaving Nicholas with a babysitter, Donald should not scold me for having fun while he's away. And if Donald wants to go to a jazz club and have a drink while listening to jazz, I should not scold him for having fun while he's away. Of course, he has to be back to his hotel by 10pm and no flirting with the girls (or boys). :-)

I haven't been without my husband for this long since before we were married. When he moved to Florida and I still lived in New York state, we went two whole years without seeing each other! We only talked by phone and via e-mail; and even that was limited. Now we have e-mail, cell phones, and text messaging; so things will be a little easier. With as many "acquaintances" as I have in Minnesota, I have very few close friends. I know that if I were in Georgia, Mandy would be right next door and she and I would have some sleepovers, especially if her hubby was traveling at the same time. Our boys, Nicholas and Will, would love having a sleepover! I know Grandma Jan will be available; she's already begging for Nicholas to come over on the 10th of January to help put away Christmas decorations. Maybe she'll be up for a sleepover?

Cross Stitching Christmas Gifts

2008-12-28T14:38:00.004-06:00

Here are two cross stitches I did as gifts. The ornament was for my sister, Cathy, and the bookmark of Angels was for "Grandma" Jan.

Where Did Christmas Go?

2008-12-28T14:08:00.006-06:00

Somehow, I missed Christmas. It started with a sore throat on Monday evening, turned into an extreme sore throat by Tuesday morning, progressed to a runny nose and constant sneezing by Wednesday afternoon, and by Christmas Eve I had the worst full-blown cold I've ever had. My head felt like it was going to explode and as soon as Nicholas was in bed, I left Donald to finish wrapping presents while I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. Donald finished up the wrapping and came to bed around 1:30 a.m. We both got up with Nicholas on Christmas morning and did our stockings, opened his gifts (and some of ours). Then we had to head off for my one and only pet sitting visit to see a couple of cats. Thank goodness I had insisted on not doing a lot of pet sitting this Christmas. My plan had been to spend the holiday with my family, but apparently God knew that I was going to spend the holiday sleeping! When we got home, I headed off to bed and slept from 2:30 p.m. until around 7:30 p.m. ~ just in time to get Nicholas ready for his bedtime!

I just posted our Christmas Traditions earlier this week. We did nothing from that list: No Christmas Eve ride to look at lights, no watching "It's a Wonderful Life," no cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, and we didn't even watch "A Christmas Story"! And I feel like a lot of people forgot about me this year. What about the clients that I bend over backward for to accommodate their schedule and last-minute cancellations? Where's the love, people? I am the service provider, and I provide a very nice service, but I'm the one who did the gift giving. I enjoy giving my clients' animals little gifts, and it would have been nice to receive a little appreciation in return ~ even a card would have been nice. Donald and I sent two very nice gift baskets to family members and what did we get? Nada, nothing, zilch.. Not even a card! Do I give in order that I receive? No. But it makes you feel good to know that others think you're special at this time of year, just as we think they're special. Oh well. Maybe I'm taking this badly because I'm still sick.

We did, however, have a very happy little boy who loved his gifts, even though Santa had a hole in his sleigh and seemed to have lost the bucket of Leggos...they're on their way, Granddad down in Florida found them. :-) I'll be posting some photos from Christmas day when I get around to it. I feel like I missed most of Christmas, so hopefully I'll be well enough to enjoy New Year's. Even though I missed most of Christmas, I got to miss it with my family. And that's more than a lot of people get to do. Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Traditions

2008-12-21T21:59:00.007-06:00

Having been "tagged" by Grandma Jan, I now must write a little something on what our Christmas Traditions are. Don't get too excited; you're probably next on the "tagged" list!

Donald and I watch "It's a Wonderful Life" together on Christmas Eve. It's a Wonderful Life" is a very special movie for us because it was the movie playing on the very first Christmas Eve we ever spent together...when we were in love but couldn't do anything about it.
On Christmas Eve we all take a special "pajama ride" to look at Christmas lights, with some hot chocolate and a few blankets to keep us warm and toasty.
On Christmas Eve we open one gift (to be chosen by someone other than ourselves).
Christmas morning, we start off by opening our stockings to see what goodies "Santa" brought. I make cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting (not homemade) and we listen to Christmas music while unwrapping gifts.
We watch "A Christmas Story" on Christmas Day; now that Nicholas is a little older, maybe he gets to watch it with us this year!

This year's tree with the room lights on...

...and now with the room lights off!

Our First Gingerbread House

2008-12-21T17:36:00.006-06:00

Well, here she is....our first (and possible our last) Gingerbread House. Nicholas helped the entire time - close to two hours - and neither one of us dropped a piece or got too much frosting on us! I had to prop the snowmen up against the wall because I couldn't get the little buggers to stand up on their frosting platform. After pictures, we ate the snowmen. That'll teach 'em!

I must say it didn't come out too badly, as long as you don't look very closely. :-)

Nicholas the Reindeer at "Grandma Jan's"

2008-12-21T14:45:00.002-06:00

Nicholas enjoyed many hours at "Grandma Zan's" house on Saturday. Her name is actually Jan but his "J's" sound like "Z's" so I'm gonna call her Zan. I don't think she'll mind. It was "jammie" day at school on Friday because they watched the still version of "Polar Express" and everyone had to wear p.j.'s to school. Anyway, Jan liked to hear Nicholas say that Friday was "zammie" day. Here are a few photos she shared with me. He is quite entertaining!

Wearing Zan's mittens outside - she didn't realize his were right inside his coat pockets!

Our little Reindeer getting ready to help Zan decorate the tree

What on Earth did Zan do to get Nicholas to react that way?! I may have to investigate!

Radical Acceptance

2008-12-15T15:08:00.005-06:00

I don't think of myself as having a borderline personality disorder or being self-destructive in any way; although there are times when I'm sure my husband thinks I've lost my mind! But while at my "happy doctor" (lets call him "A.C." and I don't mean Anderson Cooper!) he read me a blurb from the book "The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook" (try saying that three times fast!) and it really struck a nerve. I let Donald read the blurb and he found it very helpful as well. After all, we have both been wallowing in the "coulda, shoulda, woulda" world lately with the job change, the economic struggles, and health situations. The article describes the self-soothing skill of "Radical Acceptance" and I highly recommend that everyone try it. Below is just a sampling of the article:

Radical Acceptance

Often, when a person is in pain, his or her first reaction is to get angry or upset or to blame someone for causing the pain in the first place. But unfortunately, no matter who you blame for your distress, your pain still exists and you continue to suffer. In fact, in some cases, the angrier you get, the worse your pain will feel (Greenwood, Thurston, Rumble, Waters, & Keefe, 2003; Kerns, Rosenberg, & Jacob, 1994).

Getting angry or upset over a situation also stops you from seeing what is really happening. Have you ever heard the expression "being blinded by rage"? This often happens to people with overwhelming emotions. Criticizing yourself all the time or being overly judgmental of a situation is like wearing dark sunglasses indoors. By doing this, you're missing the details and not seeing everything that is as it really is. By getting angry and thinking that a situations should never have happened, you're missing the point that it did happen and that you have to deal with it.

The article goes on to explain the following:

Keep in mind that radical acceptance does not mean that you condone or agree with bad ehavior in others. But it does mean that you stop trying to change what's happened by getting angry and blaming the situtation. For example, if you're in an abusive relationship and you need to get out, then get out. Don't waste your time and continue to suffer by blaming yourself or the other person. That won't help you. Refocus your attention on what you can do now. This will allow you to think more clearly and figure out a better way to cope with your suffering.

Thank you for allowing me to share my therapy. I hope I've entertained and helped you in some way. Next time, let's have a little talk about tweetle beetles....just joking, that's a line from a Dr. Seuss book. :-)

Staying warm while doing errands

2008-12-15T14:45:00.004-06:00

Took Gracie's picture while waiting in the drive-thru at the bank; we were depositing moolah made from pet sitting so far this month! It's great to get paid to visit other people's animals, and today I lucked out because I had no outdoor visits. Just indoor, cozy ones!

Rethinking Minnesota

2008-12-15T09:49:00.003-06:00

Well, this is quite the weather we're having in Minnesota. Today it is supposed to be a high of -1 (yes, I am using the terms "high" and "-" in the same sentence) with wind chills of -20 to -30...what the heck?! I have the opportunity to move to Tennessee and now I'm rethinking my decision about staying here in Minnesota. Donald flew down to Tennessee last night in the middle of this mess; his plane left the ground an hour late because they had to get the ice off the sides and put the engines under some sort of hairdryers. I would have gotten off the plane and thanked them for their time. When he got to TN around 10:30 pm it was a balmy 43 degrees and it's supposed to be around 60 degrees there today. At this moment, 60 degrees sounds like Heaven. Maybe I should start packing now.

This is taken from Today's NowCast on Paul Douglas' Page:

....The mercury may not climb above zero on Monday, one of the coldest days of winter. Factor in the wind and it will feel like -20 to -30 tonight and early Monday. Be careful out there... B B B Bitter. A brittle airmass that formed 1-2 weeks ago over the frozen plains of Siberia, the result of long nights and heavy snowcover, is arriving on cruel northwest winds; we’ll be lucky to see a “high” near zero. When it’s this cold outdoor recess should be optional, after-school activities reconsidered. With a wind chill dipping to -30 exposed skin can become frostbitten within 5 minutes. Even though you may consider yourself a hardened, grizzled, veteran weather pioneer, take the cold seriously with a few extra layers, a hat. Consider bringing pets indoors on a day like this....

Funny or Die: "Prop 8 - The Musical"

2008-12-11T08:35:00.003-06:00

"Prop 8 - The Musical": You just can't beat Jack Black playing the part of Jesus. Wether you're for or against gay marriage, I have to do my best Larry the Cable Guy impression and say "I don't care who ya are, that's funny right thar!" Have a great day! And, just for the record, I'm not gay...not that there's anything wrong with that. :-)

Southern Dad's Words of Wisdom

2008-12-08T10:29:00.009-06:00

My father-in-law, Donald Hamilton White Sr., is 92 years old. He lives in Sun City Center, Florida and when we lived in Ocala, Florida for a short time, we would drive down to see him nearly every weekend. We miss him! I call him "Southern Dad" because he's like a second dad to me and thinks I'm the best thing that's ever happened to his son (aka my husband). :-) He is always telling me that he can see how much happier Donald, Jr. is since his life with me began. Boy, do I have him fooled. Ha ha. Southern Dad has such a positive outlook on life and has been sharing his words of wisdom with us over the last eight years that Donald, Jr. and I have been married. Recently, during these challenging days of another major surgery and job change, Southern Dad's wisdom has hit a new high. I just had to share these with you. (And let me warn Hallmark that I'd better not see these appear on a Hallmark card or such!)

"Trade in Worry and Fear for Faith"
"Positive Thinking, Positive Living"
"Live in the Sunshine of God's Spirit"

Southern Dad & Nicholas in 2006

Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me Christmas Was Coming?!

2008-12-06T23:46:00.005-06:00

Well, Christmas is 19 days away and I haven't mailed out my cards yet. In fact, I haven't even created my cards yet! Where is my brain? You know, I got a Christmas card from a friend right after Thanksgiving and I thought "Gee, she's really sending these out early." Now I know that she was the smart one! I am on the computer right now, at nearly midnight, creating my cards. Why bother? I have some cards left over from last year; they have Nicholas' preschool picture from 2007 on them. Would anyone notice? Probably not. I should just go to the store and buy some el-cheapos to send out. It would probably be much easier and I wouldn't be sitting here in the middle of the night! Now that I think about it, that's what I'm going to do. But before I go, here's Nicholas' Kindergarten picture from this year just in case you get a card with last year's picture. (And yes, I bought the optional copyright release so I can do what I want with it). Good night.

Any Perfect Mothers Out There?

2008-12-05T16:52:00.003-06:00

Have you ever met anyone who thinks they're a great mother? Most of the time, I feel pretty inadequate. Especially today. Sometimes, Nicholas is "too big for his britches" (what does that mean, exactly??) and I lose it. I lost my temper with Nicholas before he went to school this morning - don't worry, it wasn't corporal punishment or anything - and, although he's gotten over it by now, I am still thinking about what a horrible mother I am. I know my mother thinks she's a failure as a mother sometimes; and I know some of my friends think they are failures sometimes. Is there anyone out there who thinks they are actually a great mother most of the time? If there is, what's your secret and what planet are you from? My "happy doctor" says that all mothers need to realize that their children need a "good enough mother" not a "perfect mother." I guess I can handle that. :-)

My First Complete Cross-Stitch Project

2008-12-03T10:29:00.004-06:00

I have completed my first cross-stitch project! I have done other cross-stitch items, but they have not been cut from the large piece of aida or made into anything yet. The completed project is a coaster for my parents who have a cat named Duffer. I took a cross-stitch sample from the "Picture Your Pet In Cross Stitch" book and changed the colors to coordinate with Duffer. I hope my parents like it. They'll just have to fight over who gets to use the coaster!

The finished product

Sample of project from book

Joy Behar's Mouse Problem

2008-12-03T10:05:00.005-06:00

I am not alone in my fight against mice! As I was writing on my blog regarding another topic this morning, I was watching The View. One of the co-hosts, Joy Behar, had a mouse in her apartment last night and her "spouse" Steve took care of the problem (with some help from their cat "Benito Mussilini" and the Super). As Joy put it, "You can be a feminist, you can be a strong woman, but it takes a man to kill a mouse." I don't know who actually killed the mouse, but it was her man Steve who took over the situation to get the job done! Joy said she has never been more in love or attracted to Steve; kissing him, sitting on his lap. Let this be a hint to my hubby, Donald: Either start killing the mice or get us a cat!

One More Reason to Stay in Minnesota

2008-12-03T09:15:00.007-06:00

In my quest to keep us in Minnesota, I have found another reason NOT to move to Tennessee: it ranks as #47 on the list of healthiest U.S. states according to America's Health Rankings. I saw the report on the Today Show this morning and was not at all surprised that Minnesota ranks in the top five (#4). Granted, I think we'd be even happier living in the #2 state, Hawaii. :-) Click to read more on the results for Minnesota and for Tennessee. Remember, I didn't come up with the results, so don't blame me if you live in one of the bottom-ranked states!

One of the many sights in Savage
(photo from the City of Savage website)

My "Mice"-Mare

2008-11-29T10:35:00.003-06:00

Maybe not a great play on words, but I was trying to be witty by combining "nightmare" and "mice" - did I succeed? Anyway, mice are everywhere. I still have them in my car because my husband is so darn nice that he insists on catching them one by one in the "live trap" and then driving them down the road to the local park. I pity the people who live near that park; perhaps they have had a hoard of mice moving into their homes and/or cars. I find little presents in my car every morning when I leave; a mouse poop in the cup holder, a piece of tissue or other trash they got out of the little trash bag in the front of the car; some leaves or bird seed they've brought in to make their nest. I'm preparing to look up the number for an exterminator any minute!

This past week, we took my car to Walser Toyota to have the oil and filter changed. Also had them check out the air cabin filter to see if it needed cleaning. They just did it a couple months ago when they cleaned the bird seed out of the sunroof. This time, the cabin filter needed to be replaced because there was a "good sized nest" in there! When will it end?

Not only are mice in my car, but I found one at a client's house the other day. They have two Ocicats and there was an early Christmas gift waiting for me in the the living room. It was either a very realistic toy or a very dead real mouse. Regardless of what it was, it's in the garbage bin out in the garage now!

Everyone we know tells us to use the old-fashioned traps, the poison, or call an exterminator. I've told Donald that if, by the time he leaves for his first trip to Tennessee in two weeks, the mice are still active, I will be taking over. And it won't be pretty - at least not for the mice.

Cross-stitching: My New Hobby

2008-11-22T09:05:00.004-06:00

My new hobby is cross-stitching! I have been doing it for several months (thanks, Anne, for helping me get started with some supplies and a "how to" session). My reasons for starting were twofold: 1) to have something to do while watching T.V. so that I don't eat so much; and 2) to create custom cross-stitch gifts for my clients using their pet's photos.

I am trying to find a reputable, reliable, inexpensive software program that will convert digital photos into cross-stitch patterns. I have found several on the web, but have no idea which one will be worth the money. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a software program you have tried - whether free or for a price - that you can give five stars? Any suggestions would be great!

How to Cook a Turkey

2008-11-22T08:38:00.004-06:00

by Mrs. E's P.M. Kindergarten Chefs

Isabelle says "Buy the turkey at the store"
Amanda says "Buy a big one"
Allison says "10 pounds"
Emily says "Get all the grease off of it"
Tyler says "Wash it, to get all of the grease off"
Jaelon says "Grill it"
Amber says "Turn on the oven"
Temper says "To 300 degrees"
Heather says "To 10 degrees"
Abbie says "Put it in the oven"
Isaac says "Cook it for 4 minutes"
Nicholas (our little guy) and Evan say "Take it out of the oven"
Caleb says "Slice it"
Jacob says "Cut it"
Abbi says "Get the bones out"
Zack says "Let it cool"
Emma and Porter say "Eat it!"

ENJOY!

My Busy Day

2008-11-20T11:54:00.004-06:00

This morning, I took Cocoa (a doggie client) to the doggie park at Cleary Lake, a 28-acre off-leash area. If you have dogs and you haven't been there, it's wonderful! The dogs run around like crazy and play while you can take a leisurely stroll around the many paths. It was a cold walk this morning, but a nice way to wake up and get some fresh air. Plus, I get paid to do it!

Now I'm heading off to see Riley & Kirby, two long-haired Dachshunds. Then it's off to see if I can fit in a make-up session for Gracie's puppy obedience class we missed last weekend. Then Donald and I go pick up Nicholas as Kindergarten and all head up to Edina for Donald's post-surgery check-up with Dr. Saylor. Donald will get his staples out and I'm hoping it will help him feel much, much better! After the doctor appointment, we're off to QCumbers to eat 'til we drop. If you've never been to QCumbers, I highly recommend that as well (but you can't take your dogs). It's very similar to a place we used to frequent in Florida and Georgia called Sweet Tomatoes. Sweet Tomatoes was even nicer, but QCumbers will do...

Tomorrow is not quite as busy, and maybe I'll work on finishing "Ahab's Wife" the longest book I've ever read. Really, I've had to renew my library copy two times because it is long...but good. I just can't wait to get to the end!

I hope everyone takes a moment to enjoy their families, their friends, and their freedom! Next week is Thanksgiving and we have much to be thankful for.

Humbled by Katie's Blog

2008-11-17T12:37:00.003-06:00

Just ran across a blog entitled "When Hello Means Goodbye" and I have to say - Wow. If you're feeling down, trampled upon, selfish, or any other "oh poor me" feeling of the day, check out this blog. Katie shows such courage and humor, even after suffering the worst loss a parent could ever imagine. I am humbled by her.

My Turn in the Hospital

2008-11-16T10:20:00.003-06:00

I guess I didn't want Donald to have all the fun, so I took a trip to the hospital on Friday, November 14th. I started out the day feeling great. I ate breakfast, then took my pills for the day, and started taking the bed sheets and blankets off the bed. I was putting on the clean sheets when I felt out of breath and sort of ill. Sometimes my pills act like they "get stuck" and don't go down all the way, so I sat down to take a break. I started feeling even worse, so I headed to the bathroom. I knew I was going to be sick, so I made myself get sick just to get it over with. I asked Donald to get Nicholas down to the bus stop. While they were down the street, I called our neighbor, Jeff, who's an EMT and asked him to come up to check me. I didn't know if I was having a heart attack, getting the flu, or what!

Long story short - I ended up being taken by ambulance to the hospital and Donald drove there a while later to see me. Then he went with Nicholas to see a dog that I had to walk that afternoon. While he was there, Sammy's "mommy" showed up and said that I (Melissa) shouldn't be concerned about Sammy; she wanted to make sure I was okay and said Sammy would go spend the night at a friend's house and I didn't need to worry about coming to see him Friday night or Saturday morning like planned. Donald told Sammy's mommy that "Melissa wanted to make sure Sammy was taken care of." Because I'm such a good pet sitter, everybody, I make sure the pets are taken care of even when I'm in the hospital!

For five hours, the doctors checked me out, did EKG, chest X-ray, blood work, and found nothing wrong. Which is good. They want me to follow-up with my regular doctor. So I'm not sure if it was a stress-related incident, indigestion, the beginnings of the flu (I feel fine today), or what. Either way, I'm home now and I'm taking it easy. Laundry can wait for some other day!

Happy Birthday to Donald!

2008-11-13T12:11:00.005-06:00

Today is my husband's 66th Birthday. We met on September 30, 1991, about two months before he turned 49 years old and one week from when I turned 22 years ago. Wow! Now, we are much older and (somewhat) wiser. We've known each other for 17 years and have been married for eight. Now that he's home from the hospital and getting healthy again, he's hoping that he will be around for 40 more years....God help me. Ha ha.

Our Honeymoon at Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida

Why Do I Have to Move?

2008-11-11T18:50:00.003-06:00

What is it about the woman's role in a marriage that requires her to give up everything in order to go where the husband is working? I understand that a lot of times it has to do with money and who makes more, but why doesn't the wife's job/career carry just as much weight as the man's even if she doesn't make nearly as much? I am asking this because of the possibility that we may have to move to Tennessee. I am thankful that Donald has a job, although it requires that he start working down in Tennessee next month. And, perhaps if he were 40 or 50 instead of 66, I'd feel differently about giving up everything I have started with my pet sitting business to move down there. Donald is 66 and within a few years he should seriously consider retiring. Yes, he loves his job. But so do I. Yes, he makes very good money, but if he retires, we'd be able to get by. After retirement, he won't need to pay that huge alimony amount every month! He's already collecting social security benefits and that is giving us a great boost in our income every month, but we could still make due with his social security, my pet sitting profits, and any 401(k) benefits he'd be bringing in. The man who bought the AirCel division from Donaldson has bought and sold at least 40 companies over his lifetime. Who's to say that Dick won't sell off the AirCel company within two or three years and then Donald is, once again, out of a job or required to move to yet another state where the company is located. Or perhaps he decides to retire if the company is sold and we don't want to live in Tennessee any longer. Then, we have to pack up and move again - north, south, east, or west - and I would need to start up the pet sitting business.

We aren't looking forward to the commuting aspect of Donald's new position at AirCel, but we are thankful that he has a job. Before I started my pet sitting business, we were both hoping that we'd get to move to Tennessee. There were rumors that Donaldson Company was going to transfer Donald down to Tennessee two years ago, and I made plans for the move. I checked into the schools, the prices of homes, and the area. But then I started my business and it took off so quickly, becoming much more successful than I ever would have guessed. Now, I have decided that I don't want to take my business to Tennesee, I don't want to enroll Nicholas in school in Tennessee, and I don't want to sell our house and move again!

I have moved three times since 2000 (the year we were married) and I'm ready to stay put. So many people are saying "well, you wanted to move to Tennessee a couple years ago" and "your business can be run from anywhere" just don't get it. That's not the point, people. The point is that I'm tired of getting settled, getting close to friends, starting to like a place, and then having to give everything up to move. This time it's even more of a problem because I have my own business. If you've never had your own business or worked hard to create something of your own then you don't know what it's like. Sure, I can pick up and take my pet sitting business wherever we move to - but I don't want to. I like running my business here in Savage, Minnesota. And the more people try to convince me that I should move, the more likely that I'm going to dig in my heels and not budge!

Donald is Home

2008-11-11T18:45:00.001-06:00

Donald came home this evening. With the raining/sleety weather and the "rush hour" traffic (no one was in a rush!) it took about an hour to get home. He's relaxing on the couch, surfing the t.v. channels and considering having a bowl of cereal for dinner. He is still very confused at times and goes off on these tangents that don't make sense - such as saying that he wanted to eat the lifesavers that were given to Nicholas so that his friends wouldn't take them back, and that Gracie (our puppy) had gotten upset because he sent out an email that wasn't correct. Hopefully, within a few days, he'll be back on track! And hopefully, this is the last surgery we have to deal with!

Missing Mr. White

2008-11-09T17:55:00.003-06:00

Went to see Donald this afternoon at the hospital and we spent a few hours watching the Vikings-Packers game (Vikings won by one point). Cheri, Donald's daughter from his previous marriage, is in town and will be flying back to NY state early tomorrow morning. She's a doctor and it's been nice to have someone around to keep an eye on things, know the right questions to ask, and let me know that everything is going well and just as it should be. Donald still hasn't been able to have anything to eat - just a few ice chips - since Wednesday night when he has his last real meal. He had liquids on Thursday, the day before surgery, and then nothing since then. He's still dreaming of chicken wings! The nurse turned down the Epidural so that maybe he won't be so groggy and out of it; the walked him out into the hall and he did pretty well doing that; he should be able to have some liquids tomorrow - whoopie!

I wanted to call Donald last night while I watched t.v. but I knew he'd be asleep or out of it and wouldn't be able to chat. I'm hoping that tomorrow he's much more alert and can converse without drifting off or starting to mumble. I cannot wait until he comes home!

Surgery & Other Shenanigans

2008-11-08T08:50:00.004-06:00

Don's AAA surgery went very well and he's in ICU recovering. He was given an epidural before surgery which they will use to give him medicine for the pain and keep his abdomen comfortable. Hopefully, today they will begin giving him some liquids and will gradually work up to giving him solids as his digestive system gets back on track. He's been dreaming about chicken wings since Thursday when his co-workers took him to lunch and then out for a little gathering after work to say "good-bye and good luck" since he'll no longer be working for Donaldson. How cruel is that, I ask? The poor guy was on a liquid diet all day and couldn't eat anything! So he just had to sit there and watch them eat chicken wings, etc. He's been telling the doctors and nurses that he wants chicken wings today. Not gonna happen, but he can dream!

Yesterday morning, "Grandma Jan" Holman was here to help Nicholas get ready for school and she got him on the bus. She came over Thursday night and spent the night here so she wouldn't have to get up and be here by 5:00 a.m. She is a God-send and I'm thankful that she was here to help out. She and Nicholas went out in the first snowfall and threw snowballs, got cold and wet, and tracked in mud....but that's okay! They had fun and that's all that matters. Jan is getting Nicholas into making cards and doing other scrapbooking stuff; he has little pieces of paper and things all over the floor and he made little "Fall" pictures and taped them to the side of the entertainment center. Very cute! Below are some photos of the shenanigans!

Jan said that Nicholas wanted to take his snowball to school
in his backpack, but it didn't last that long!

Bailey was too tired out from all the commotion;
Nicholas and Gracie had fun with scrapbooking

Today I go meet a new client who has Ocicats. I think that if I were to have a cat, it would have to be an Ocicat. It sounds fascinating and I can't wait to meet them! I have to admit, I'm usually more excited about the animals than I am their owners - but that's why I started this business of pet sitting! :-)

Feeling Overwhelmed

2008-11-06T12:18:00.004-06:00

I am feeling so overwhelmed. My business is going crazy with three new clients just this week needing daily dog walks or vacation visits for November or December. Donald accepted a job offer with the man who bought Aircel-Ultrafilter and is tentatively scheduled to start working for him on December 13th. Of course, that date depends on how his recovery from surgery goes! Donald has surgery tomorrow morning at 8:00 to repair his AAA. It's supposed to snow/rain and be cold tomorrow; winter is rearing it's ugly head! I have bills to pay, dogs to walk (not including mine), cats to feed (again, not mine), and one of the remotes on our Wii died. The Wii remote is the biggest disappointment for Nicholas; thankfully, he really doesn't have a clue about the other crap that's going on. I need to buy a new Wii remote today so that at least something will seem normal around here. I know I should be happy that my husband has a job, but I'm still NOT MOVING!

Yes We Can!

2008-11-05T10:50:00.006-06:00

Barack Obama is our President-elect and I hope everyone who did not vote for him will stand behind their new president when he takes office in January. With his wife, Michelle, and their two young children, Malia and Sasha, we are entering a new era and I am excited. I know President Obama has a long, rough road ahead of him. Let us all pray that he appoints a cabinet that will help him get this country back in order! We all need to have hope and optimism, the things that Barack Obama ran his campaign on for the last two years.

If it ain't one thing, it's another! Update

2008-11-03T21:57:00.003-06:00

Well, Donald is flying down to Maryville, Tennessee to meet with this Dick guy about the job he wants to give him. Of course, I am hating this whole thing. Yes, I should be grateful that Don still has a job given the economic condition of the country, etc. etc. but I can still hate it. He is foreseeing himself commuting for six months or so (or I say six years or so....) until we sell our house and move down there. With the real estate market the way it is, we'd take a HUGE loss on our house if we sold it now; Nicholas is doing so well in school, I'd hate to make him start over in a strange place; and I do have a successful business that I can't just drop! Therefore, I have decided that I am NOT moving. I'm sure Donald will take the job offer, since he's not ready to retire for good, and he will commute back and forth. You know what they say: Absense makes the heart grow fonder. Well, if we're only seeing each other two weekends a month or so, he'll be excited to know that he'll be gettin' lucky on those weekends!

If it ain't one thing, it's another!

2008-11-03T16:15:00.004-06:00

Okay, get ready for a scream.... Ahhhhhhh!!!
Donald called me from work today and told me he was coming home. "Why?" I asked. "Dick Burkis (or whatever his name is) bought AirCell and he wants to talk to me on Wednesday," Don answers. "Okay...but why are you coming home?" I asked again. After all, I'm getting ready to take Nicholas to the bus stop and then I have three dog walks to do. So, if he was coming home to spend time with me (ha ha) I needed to know this. "I don't have to come home, I can just stay here if you like," he says. "Well, WHY are you coming home?" He is soooo NOT a good communicator! "Well, they don't need me here," he says. I think for a moment. "Are you trying to say you've been fired?" I asked. "Well, you could say that," he answers. Apparently, the division that Donald works for at Donaldson was sold to some guy on Friday. This guy (Dick) wants Donald to work for him and called him at the office today to ask him to fly down to Maryville, Tennessee to meet with him. The AirCell-Ultrafilter division is based in Maryville, I guess. WTF do I know?

Donaldson has Don's official "end date" as December 12th, the date he's supposed to have returned to work after his upcoming surgery for his AAA repair. So, Donaldson is keeping him on, covered by insurance, and he'll get his full pay through disability for being out due to his surgery, just as planned, which is good to know.

This Dick guy told Donald that he was prepared to cover Don's surgery before Don told him that Donaldson was taking care of it. And this Dick guy also told Donald that he should think about "putting your house on the market." I told Donald that I am NOT moving. NOT NOT NOT. Feel free to commute back and forth if you wish, I said, because I am NOT moving. Do you understand me? NOT MOVING!

I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

I voted today!

2008-11-03T13:30:00.000-06:00

Went and voted today. Now I don't have to worry about it tomorrow. With my busy pet sitting schedule tomorrow, and the possible long lines, I don't have to think about it. I did an Absentee Ballot at City Hall and so did Donald. He was home this afternoon, so we both went together. Read my next blog entry to find out why he was home. Hope everyone gets out to vote today or tomorrow! Don't listen to the false reports that say that Republicans vote on Tuesday and Democrats vote on Wednesday! Election Day is Tuesday, November 4th!

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T08:00:00.003-05:00

Bailey, Gracie, and Nicholas

Another Halloween gone...now it's on to Christmas! Well, Thanksgiving is in the middle there somewhere. Nicholas made it easy this year - he wanted to be a policeman again so we were able to use the same costume as last year. Gracie had an "Angel" costume (a cape with angel wings on it) and Bailey wore the red cape from Asher's Superman costume of last year. It was bittersweet getting out Asher's costume and finding Asher's white hairs covering it. We had a great time and Nicholas really got into Trick-or-Treating this year; we were out for about an hour and then we came home for a potty break and Donald took Nicholas out for another hour. We have enough candy to open our own candy store!

Another Surgery

2008-10-24T19:08:00.002-05:00

Donald needs another surgery. Just when things seemed to be calming down a bit, it's discovered that Donald's abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) has grown from about 4.2 cm to 4.8 cm in less than a year; more than the average AAA grows in that time. The vascular surgeon, Dr. Sayler, doesn't like to see the AAA's get any bigger than 5 cm. before he does corrective surgery. Given the option of going ahead with surgery now or waiting six months or a year, we decided that the sooner the better. So, Friday, November 7th at 8:00 a.m., Donald will go into surgery again. He's expected to be in the hospital for six days "give or take a day" Dr. Sayler says. He also said that recovery will be about four weeks, maybe six, once Donald gets home from the hospital. This surgery is something we wanted to avoid; hoping that Donald was a candidate for the less-invasive procedure where they can put in graphs by going through the groin area. Why can't Donald ever do things the easy way? Anyway, is there a grandma or aunt nearby who would like to babysit that morning? Ours live too far away. :-(

So Many Things to Blog About

2008-10-24T18:16:00.010-05:00

With all the exciting (NOT) things going on, I haven't had time to blog about them! Let's see...went to the Melting Pot on October 11th to celebrate my birthday, Don's birthday, our anniversary, and anything else that needed celebrating to justify going to the Melting Pot and spending so much money. I figured with the economy the way it is, this might be our last chance to go there. It was great FUN. I could live there! Here are a few pictures of the outing:

Donald, looking forward to dippin' some steak!

Nicholas loved the ballooons!

Our dessert tray (to be dipped in melted
dark chocolate Cherries Jubilee) Yum!!

On October 18th, we went to Sever's Corn Maze in Shakopee and, once again, had lots of fun winding our way through the maze, finding the letters A-Z, and spotting the picture of Sever on six of the posters. This year's theme was "Vote '08" and each poster had fun facts about the White House. We made it through the maze in about an hour and 15 minutes, Nicholas leading the way!

Donald and Nicholas going down the big slide

An aerial view of this year's corn maze & festival grounds

Asher

2008-10-09T08:38:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, my aunt Wendy had to put their beloved dog, Raleigh, to sleep. He was 12 years old, the same age as Asher when he went to Heaven. Yesterday was also the three-month mark from when we had to make that gut-wrenching decision to let Asher go. I know he's in a happy place now, but I miss him so much sometimes that it hurts. I wrote a poem many years ago about Asher, and I thought I'd share it today:

"Asher"
He may not always listen to me
Sometimes, he even talks back
He constantly wants my attention,
Especially when I'm the most busy.

He takes up most of the bed
And he snores sometimes, it's true.
He tracks in mud between his toes
And when I call his name,
He often runs in the other direction;
He thinks that I'm ready for play.
And when he gets a drink of water,
He spills most of it onto the floor.

I know that he's not perfect,
But he has the most beautiful face
And when I come home
At the end of my day,
Or I return from a long, long trip,
He's the one who greets me.
He makes me smile, and when I'm sad
He licks the tears from my cheeks

And I know then right at that moment
That no matter how down I may be
No matter what problems I'm facing today,
Or what loneliness has caused me to frown,
Asher is here and he loves me.
There's nothing else he lives for,
but to show me unconditional love.

Melissa Anne Morse
April 14, 1997

Below is a poem that I shared with my aunt Wendy yesterday. It was shared with me by Patty Keller. She received it from her father when their dog was hit by a car 30 years ago:

Decluttering Results - The Kitchen!

2008-10-08T15:00:00.002-05:00

"Before" Photos:

Above are "before" pictures of the cluttered and disorganized kitchen. Below are the "after" pictures: so much neater, organized, and a pleasure to cook in! Not that I cook much, but I'm working on it! I got a new "kitchen center" to replace the two microwave/kitchen carts in the corner. With the over-the-range microwave we got a month ago, we don't need a microwave cart anyway! Granted, this is not the way it looks every day. Once Donald gets home and plops his stuff on the counter, we bring in the mail & newspaper, and I start preparing dinner, it gets a little cluttering-looking. But, for the most part, this is the way it looks most days!

"After" Photos:

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-10-07T23:12:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm feeling old and crappy. This has got to be the most disappointing birthday ever. It was raining all day. I spent most of my afternoon in the car, driving from Eagan to Shakopee and back (more on that in a moment). I got no flowers, no gifts, no cake, no ice cream. My husband and our son went out at 10:00 this morning to buy two birthday cards and get my favorite ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery (they don't open until 11:00; so no ice cream for me). The card Nicholas picked out was geared toward a mom of grown children and said "Our wish to mother." He picked it out because it was pink and that's my favorite color. Isn't that sweet? I did however get a lovely hand-made card from my little man, Nicholas. He wrote I love you and put an "x" in the middle, meaning "kiss" and then he wanted to kiss me as I read it. That was the best part of my day.

As for driving up to Eagan and back, Donald had a colonoscopy today. Yes, of all days, he picked my birthday to have that done! He originally had our anniversary date picked out, but I asked him to reschedule and he picked my birthday. So, after putting Nicholas on the school bus at 11:30 a.m. I drove Donald up to Eagan. Then I had to drive about 30 minutes southwest to Shakopee where I was supposed to walk two doggies. My cell phone died yesterday and I haven't been able to get phone calls, check my email, or get notices that my business phone has a message, while I'm out and about. So, I had my old T-Mobile phone with pay-as-you-go with me - but I had no minutes left! So I had to call in and buy some minutes and then I was able to call my home office phone and check messages. Wouldn't you know it? There's a message from my client (whose development I am literally driving into as I listen) saying that she doesn't need me to walk the dogs today because she stayed home to wait for the DirectTV guy to show (he didn't show) and now she's just going to work from home the rest of the day. Annoyed, disgruntled, and ready to scream/cry, I turn the car around and drive all the way back to Eagan. Get there just in time to sit with Donald as he's recovering, and play the waiting game until they say he's ready to go home. We get home just in time to get inside the house before we have to walk down the street in the rain to meet Nicholas' school bus - once again, the best part of my day.

So, as far as birthdays go - this one sucked. I turned 39 today. I think next year I'll start counting backwards and I'll be 38....

Bird Seed & The Critters Who Live in My Car!

2008-10-02T10:59:00.003-05:00

The bird food has been moved, the critters are being caught and released into a new location, yet I still have evidence that something is possibly living in my car! Two nights ago, something chewed a hole in the sandwich bag holding some soft training treats for Gracie; then, when I was looking in my trunk to make sure nothing was in there, I find one of those treats in another bag that I forgot to zip closed. Ewww! I think the critters are living in my car!!

Donald put the 'live' trap (with a cracker & some peanut butter in it) in the trunk last night and caught two little critters; one of which had "expired" as he puts it. Poor thing. But I'm at the point where I'm thinking "one less critter to worry about." I asked him why he thought the little guy had expired and Donald's answer was, "I don't know...maybe he has an allergy to peanut butter." I have been parking in the driveway until we get the garage cleared of critters; however, it doesn't seem to matter where I park if the things are living in there!

Hopefully we (meaning Don) have caught the fellas that have been living in my car and maybe things will return to normal. I will make sure I don't have any food in my car from now on, that's for sure, whether it's for me or the dogs!

Our 8th Annivesary

2008-09-30T10:40:00.005-05:00

Eight years ago, at this very moment, I was a newly wed woman. I remember standing in the foyer of the church, crying because I was now married to the man I had loved for the last nine years, never imagining that we would be able to spend the rest of our lives together. Donald and I were married on the 9th anniversary of the day we met and today we celebrate 8 years of marriage.

Everyone hopes when they get married that the world will be brighter, the days will be filled with nothing but flowers & sunshine, and life will be perfect. As much as we all wish it, that's just not the way real life is. Every marriage has its ups and downs, its good days and bad, its passion and apathy. Our is no different; although I'm certain that Donald would say he's always had the 'passion' and not the 'apathy' toward me. He is, after all, enamored with me and will readily admit so.

Throughout the years, I have learned that it's okay to love someone even when there are times you might not particularly like them. We all have our stories of things our husbands do to irritate us, drive us mad, and make us feel like wielding a frying pan. But true to the old saying, I try not to go to bed angry.

I hope this entry doesn't come across as a message against marriage or my husband; it truly is not. It's simply a statement that a real marriage is just that: REAL. And I wouldn't want to experience it with anyone other than my wonderful, handsome, romantic, sexy husband - Donald Hamilton White, Jr.

I love you, sweetheart, forever and always. Melissa

A Favorite Photograph (left) & Our First Dance

My Decluttered Library

2008-09-29T16:45:00.008-05:00

Finally finished - Our Library! I forgot to take "before" pictures but here are the "after" pictures. It is relaxing, intimate, and inviting; all things it wasn't before I cleared out all the clutter that was useless! Of course, amongst all the books I got rid of, there's one in particular that my husband was looking for...sorry about that, Donald. :-)

Paul Newman and My Dad

2008-09-27T13:58:00.017-05:00

Paul Newman (left, of course) and My Dad

Paul Leonard Newman (1925-2008), one of the great silver screen legends, passed away on Friday, September 26, 2008. Over the years, my father, Robert DeWitt Morse, was constantly asked "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Paul Newman?" He was even asked this by a nurse while he was in the hospital for chest pains. We joked that the local newspaper would get word and soon news would spread that Paul Newman was in the Cortland Hospital! He does, indeed, look a lot like Paul Newman. Here are some other eerie similarities they shared:

Paul Newman and his wife (Joanne Woodward) were married for 50 years; My parents (Robert & Mary Morse) celebrated their 50th Anniversary in 2004. Paul had a son named Scott (deceased) from a previous marriage; My parents have a son named Scott, although he's not deceased. Paul Newman was in the Navy, as was my dad. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward have several children, one of which is a daughter named Melissa; my name, as you know, is Melissa. Paul Newman was born in January (the 26th) and my dad was born in January (the 21st) although several years after Paul. Paul Newman had those striking blue eyes, as does my dad.

My Parents (2004) and Paul Newman

It's strange to have someone who's always been so closely associated with my dad pass away. Not quite like losing my own dad, but like losing a piece of my dad. Even though my dad has never been famous or won any Oscars, he's a star to me. I love him and I'm glad he's my dad.

What Kind of Person Reads Blogs?

2008-09-26T19:11:00.003-05:00

What kind of person reads blogs? And what kind of person has a blog? I didn't used to be one of "those people" who had a blog, but recently decided that it might be kind of fun. I have read blogs in the past - mostly blogs about my favorite TV shows, written by TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, or People correspondents. Now I read other people's blogs - both friends and strangers. Some blogs are interesting, some blogs are weird, and some blogs I'd rather never come across again. But that's what blogging is all about, right? If you surf the blogs like I do (click on the Next Blog link at the top of this page) then you might come across a blog that you'd like to follow. I have a friend who says that she doesn't read blogs, she doesn't have a blog, and she isn't interested in reading about my experience with mice & bird seed or about my new microwave. She said if it was family, she might read the blog to keep up on things, but I'm not family. That hurt my feelings. I have lots of friends, some of which I consider family. In fact, I'd probably rather read their blogs than those of my family....if anyone in my family had a blog. So, what kind of "blog" person are you? Are you a regular blog reader? Do you read blogs for entertainment? Do you read blogs written by celebs?

Bird Seed & The Critters Who Have Been Relocated

2008-09-26T15:08:00.004-05:00

It appears that we may have rid the garage of critters. Keeping our fingers crossed, my car is finally back from Walser and the sunroof people actually did their job of cleaning out all the bird seed. I am parking in the driveway until I'm fairly sure that the critters have all been caught. Tally so far: Six critters caught in the garbage bin/trap by accident (may they rest in peace); two critters caught in the garbage bin/trap and then relocated to their new home at my husband's workplace; two critters caught in the new "live" trap and then relocated about a mile away to a very nice park with a playground and plenty of trees for them to frolic in. Donald has not caught any critters for the last two nights, so maybe we're in the clear.

Sunflowers and Roses

2008-09-26T14:41:00.017-05:00

I have been very lazy at finishing my garden this summer and now we have a garden full of sunflowers. Aren't they pretty? Maybe they are sunflower seeds planted by the birds as we have several bird feeders around the yard. But wasn't it nice that the sunflowers were planted at an evenly spaced distance from one another? We also have some "mini" sunflowers under our tree in the front. I think I will keep them there for now; they look so nice.

Here are some roses in the same garden area that I planted this summer; they are so gorgeous, I just had to take a picture. Isn't this the most perfect rose you could imagine? My favorite color rose is pink, but this yellow one could be a close 2nd!

It's the perfect day in Minnesota today; low 80's, light breeze, clear skies. I wish every day could be like this one!

A New Microwave - How Exciting!

2008-09-24T21:51:00.006-05:00

I have been decluttering my house and selling or donating (mostly donating) all the stuff I've accumulated throughout the years. I have recently finished decluttering my kitchen and library; "before" and "after" pictures will follow at a later date. But right now I just had to share my new microwave. I have been wanting an over-the-range microwave since we moved into this house four years ago and, this past weekend, I finally bought one. It's a Whirlpool from Lowe's and they had an outside contractor install it today. How exciting is that?! Can you tell we don't get out much? Below is a photo of the new GE electric glass-top stove I bought a few months ago (to replace the gas stove that was at least 15 years old) and the new Whirlpool microwave.

I highly recommend the book by Peter Walsh "It's All Too Much ." It was our book club pick for January 2008 and it really got us on the path to "living a richer life with less stuff." I have one more room to go: My Office.

Bird Seed & The Woman Who's Going Insane

2008-09-24T16:39:00.007-05:00

Picked up my car today from Walser and headed down the road; sunroof open a crack. I hear bird seed rattling around up there and some falls down on the seat. Not much, but enough to tick me off. So, I call Walser and talk to the Service specialist, Jeremy. I knew that Walser wasn't going to clean out the bird seed; they were sending it over to the company who installed the sunroof. And Walser had made it clear to the sunroof company that the "headliner" had to be dropped down and the bird seed cleaned out. Well, apparently, EXTREME SUNROOFS didn't do their job because you can see the bird seed, you can hear the bird seed, and you can feel the bird seed when it lands on you! I turned the car around and drove back to Walser, they called the sunroof people and told them the problem, Walser gave me a loaner vehicle, and tomorrow my car should be good to go....if the sunroof people actually GET RID of the bird seed. If I end up in the loony bin, please come visit me and don't bring any sharp objects (they search you when you come in).

Who Are We Gonna Vote For?

2008-09-23T16:54:00.017-05:00

The answer to that question is: Guess! We are going to put two political signs in our front yard. One will read "McCain/Palin" and the other "Obama/Biden." I really want to mess with our neighbors, don't I? Neither one of us will say who we're voting for (at least not in public) so the neighbors won't know what we're thinking. On election day, I'm seriously considering writing in Jon Stewart's name....anyone want to join me?

Bird Seed & The Critters Who Love It

2008-09-23T16:00:00.012-05:00

This afternoon, I left my shiny, red 2009 Toyota Corolla at Walser Toyota to have them clean my car of bird seed. My car has become a nesting place or something for some sort of critter - most likely mice. I must have sounded like a loony person when I called yesterday to schedule service and the lady asked what I needed service on. The last straw was yesterday when, while driving down the road with Gracie in the front seat and Nicholas in the back seat, I look over at Gracie and she's covered in bird seed! Then I find that I am getting covered in bird seed, my travel mug is getting sprayed with bird seed. Basically, it was raining bird seed.

Let's start at the beginning of this Seinfeld episode, shall we? (Not really a Seinfeld episode, but it would have been a good one, I think):

For the last several months, I've been involved in a war against bird seed (mice, actually). Bird seed in my car, bird seed in my pet sitting bag, bird seed falling from the sky when I have the sunroof open! I love animals and I agree they all have a right to life, but NOT in my car!!

We've had these furry, little visitors living in our garage, apparently. They had gotten into the dog food bags, the bird food bags, and then into the dog food bin which I think is what made poor little Bailey sick this past summer. Donald found a live mole in the bottom of the dog food bin and then - as my husband wouldn't hurt a fly to say nothing of hurting a mole - he scooped him up and took him out onto the driveway and let him free. "In the driveway?" I asked. "Do you really think that kept him from coming back?" Well, Don said, "Moles can't see and I aimed him away from the driveway."

Shortly after that (and this is where the "Ewww" factor comes in) I smelled something odd in Nicholas' playroom downstairs. Mind you, we live in a split level home and the playroom is pretty much on the other side of the wall to the garage. Having grown up in a very old house, with lots of critters taking up residence in the walls and then...shall we say...going to the mole/mouse heaven in the sky, I know dead-animal smell when I smell it! We searched that room over and found nothing. Then we smelled it in the garage.

Well, a few days later I didn't smell anything bad. Good news. I figured the critter had reached it's point of non-stink and we were in the clear. Donald made the mistake of asking me if I'd noticed that the smell was gone. "Yes" I said, "Did you find something?" (Ewww factor #2 - Why do I ask these questions??!!) Donald is the master at quibbling and, after I insisted on getting the full story, he finally told me: Something had gotten into an empty garbage bin that he uses to carry bird seed around the yard as he fills the feeders, and they died because they couldn't get back out. "Oh, poor little guy" I said. Donald muttered something along the lines of "them" which made me ask further questions. My bad. Not only were there two little critters in there, there were at least six! They had gotten in and couldn't get out and then starved. I felt so bad and so did Donald.

It was the next day, when at a pet sit, that I reached in my pet sitting bag and pulled out the leashes to walk the dogs....out spilled some bird seed. Upon further inspection, there was a pretty nice pile of bird seed in the bottom of bag. I'm over letting the critters live freely; Now I just want them GONE.

After the sun-roof incident yesterday, I called Donald at work and left him a message: "Get something to rid the garage of these critters. Either they're gone or YOU'RE gone, mister!" He could hear the seriousness in my voice, so he stopped at Home Depot on the way home and got one of those "live" traps.

This is Donald's plan: Capture the mice and take them up to work where he can release them into the wild and they can live happily ever after. So far, so good. He said he found two in the trap this morning and drove them up to work; let them out of the trap by the tree-covered area "I think they'll be happy there," he said. I asked him what food he used in the trap. "A cracker with peanut butter on it." "Did you keep the cracker to use again?" I asked. "No, I left it with them. They're in a new place now and I wanted them to have something good to eat. They don't know their way around there..." OMG! My husband is insane!

I don't want to hurt anything and I certainly don't want to destroy an entire family of mice; I just want them to find a new place to live. Walser estimates that it is going to cost at least $200 to get the bird seed out from between the sunroof and the roof of the car. If that ain't reason to want those suckers gone, I don't know what is!

The Gracie Challenge - Update

2008-09-23T10:08:00.005-05:00

Things are going very well with Gracie. She hasn't barked at anything since the neighbor took their toddler toy inside last week. She doesn't bark unless she's afraid of something or thinks there is danger lurking. So, apparently, our neighborhood has been free of any threats from plastic bags, balloons, or odd toys!

If she does bark at something, which she was doing over the weekend when she thought a stuffed animal on the bed was out to get her, I acknowledged her barking, calming told her to "hush" and treated her for her calm, hushed behavior - all the while getting her to keep her focus on me. It worked well. We'll see how it works when there's a real threat in the yard; toddler toys beware!

The Gracie Challenge

2008-09-19T10:59:00.006-05:00

Well, Gracie, our puppy, has gotten us in trouble with the neighbors for her constant barking. She is afraid of everything! The problem is, that if she's outside and is barking at something in the neighbor's yard (the neighbor, a loose balloon, an empty grocery bag fluttering in the wind, a toddler's toy "walk-behind") she has to alert the entire neighborhood of the danger.

To her, it is a threat to us and those she's protecting and, if in the process of her barking, the dangerous thing - be it a bag, a balloon, or a person - ends up leaving, she feels she has done her job.

After looking into citronella spray collars, sonic noise collars/devices, muzzles, and old-fashioned training, I'm going to go with the old-fashioned training. It's more time-consuming, and we cannot have her outside by herself until we get the barking under control, but it's best for her and us in the long run. We will use the clicker-treat method and only reward the behavior we want (being quiet) while at the same time NOT giving her a lot of attention when she's barking - which is something we've been doing (like picking her up, talking to her, petting her, making her confront the "dangerous" thing she's barking at, etc.) This will be a work in progress and we'll see how it goes. I'm going to print out a flyer to give to all the neighbors so they know we're working on this and maybe they'll be a patient with us (and her)!

Gracie is such a smart little dog, I think she'll learn fast. Now, Donald, on the other hand, I'm not so sure about....

Weird Dream

2008-09-18T09:26:00.006-05:00

Last night, I had a very strange dream. I've had plenty of strange dreams, but this was very stressful. It started with me realizing that the house was getting very warm inside. I checked the thermostat and found that the heat was up to about 90 degrees, but the heat wasn't in the "On" position! I looked at the thermostat and it had a big light that looked like a flame, which I knew meant that the furnace was on fire. In reality, our thermostat does not have a light like that!

I was going to head downstairs to check on the furnace, but thought it best that I get out of the house right away. After all, we have a gas furnace. I gathered up the dogs - Asher, Bailey, and Gracie - yes, Asher is alive and well in my dream. I put them all in my car and then drove off, trying to call 911 on my cell phone. Well, I could not get through. I kept getting local residents instead of the 911 call center. Why couldn't I get through?! I was in a panic.

I drove around town and stopped at our local bank - which wasn't actually our local bank but some other bank that was "our bank" in my dream. I went inside, with the dogs following along, and kept asking people to help me "My house is on fire and I need help!" I checked with a loan officer of some sort to see if he could help me and his response was "Sorry, I have my agents here and they're watching everything I do." "What in the name of Gavin DeGraw is he talking about?!" I wondered. Agents? What bank loan officer has agents? Does he mean movie agent? Literary agent? FBI agent?

I went to the next desk over and ask someone else if she could help me. She listened to me as I frantically told her that my house was on fire and I needed to reach the fire department. "Go to the police station and have them contact the fire station," she said. "Can I can try to call 911 from your desk phone? I can't get through with my cell phone - it keeps connecting me with regular people!" She said that she was sorry, but they weren't allowed to let customers use their bank phones for personal use!

Meanwhile, all three dogs are chilling out on the lobby sofas. And I'm hysterially trying to call 911....

The bank was getting ready to close and I'd been there 11 hours. I don't know why I'd stuck around that long, and I don't know of any bank that's open 11 hours, but this is a dream after all. So, I checked my phone and discovered the numbers I'd been calling all day long weren't 911 but other numbers such as 991, 919, 119, etc. I tried 911 again, properly dialing it this time, and was finally connected!

I told the 911 operator where I lived and that I thought my house was on fire. He paused a moment and then said, "Oh, yes...well...I'm sorry to say...actually, let me get my supervisor." Well, the 911 supervisor got on the line and informed me that my house had burned to the ground.

Then I woke up.

Does anyone have an interpretation of this dream? I think I'm angst-ridden over the country's current financial upheavals and I'm worried we're going to lose everything. What do you think?

And one more thing - I knew in my dream that Nicholas was safe at school and Donald was working...although after 11 hours, I'm not sure where they ended up.

I'm obsessed with my blog!

2008-09-17T16:23:00.009-05:00

I am totally obsessed with my blog. I have rearranged things, found different backgrounds, added pictures, subtracted pictures, created my own heading picture. I have created my own background and heading picture using Scrapbook Max! and ShabbyPrincess. I'm sure I'll find something else to change in my background, layout, and such, but I love doing this sort of stuff. I changed my business website (www.whitepawspetsitting.com) numerous times before I was finally happy with it; now I'm doing the same thing with this. If my pet sitting business doesn't work out, maybe I can design websites and blogs for people! But it would take me three months to complete because I'd never satisfied with the results.

What do you all think? Like the latest version of my blog? Is it too "busy"? Is it perfect? Is there some sort of Widget (the stuff in the side columns) you'd like to see?

Don't forget to take my Poll: Who Are You Going to Vote For? Thanks!

Glad to be in Minnesota?

2008-09-13T08:57:00.004-05:00

When I first moved to Minnesota from Georgia, I figured God had a great sense of humor. I had moved from Cortland, New York to Ocala, Florida in 2000 and thought "This is great! No more snow, no more shoveling snow, no more winter boots & coats & mittens! Life is good!" Well, the joke was on me when, four years later (and a short stint in Georgia) we ended up in Minnesota. NOT on my list of places to move to, that's for sure! Now, after living here four years, I've decided that Minnesota isn't so bad after all.

As I look around the country - and the world - and see all the weather-related events causing so much destruction, suffering, and loss of life, winter blizzards don't, for the most part, seem that bad. We don't (usually) have mud-slides, earthquakes, or deadly fires (the worst in Minnesota history having been the 1918 Cloquet Fire). We have had deadly tornadoes (1998 Tornado & Dericho) and flooding (2007 Flooding); however, they are very few and far between. Hurricanes have never caused our state to evacuate to Canada; although their remnants sometimes cause the tornadoes and flooding that hit our state!

Now that I've mentioned all the instances that our great state of Minnesota hasn't had to contend with, I knock on wood & cross my fingers...

Our boy is growing up too fast

2008-09-11T22:12:00.039-05:00

Waiting for the school bus: Nicholas and Gracie
on the 1st day of Kindergarten

Our son, Nicholas, started Kindergarten on Sept. 5th. Where did the time go? People always tell you that the years will fly by and you won't believe how fast children grow up. Now I understand. My husband and I put him on the school bus Friday morning, one week ago, and it brought a tear to my eye. Even though Nicholas is such a "big boy" he'll always be my baby. That's something that every mom will understand.

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T09:00:00.005-05:00

This day cannot go by without remembering the terrible events of 9/11/01. We all remember where we were and what we were doing when news hit of the attack on our country.

I was working in Ocala, Florida as a legal secretary. We all watched in amazement online from our desks as we saw the events unfold. First, thinking it was just a horrible accident that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers. Then, realizing something more sinister was going on once we found out another plane had crashed into the other Tower. When Donald picked me up for lunch, we sat in the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant and listened as President Bush spoke to the country about the horrendous acts of terrorism against us. We had never been attacked so viciously before in the history of the country; what could we do to protect ourselves from people who have no desire to negotiate? The terrorists aren't in it for anything other than to destroy what this country stands for.

I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud that our country has stood up to the terrorists whose only purpose in life is to destroy that which we hold so dear - our freedom, our love for country, and our hope for a better future. Regardless of whether you agree with how our government has handled the last seven years, we must take a moment to remember those who died on 9/11, whether on the ground, in the air, or as one of the many who ran into burning buildings knowing they may never come out; and we must thank all the women and men in the military who fight for our country every single day. God be with them and bring them home safe!

My first blog entry!

2008-09-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, I've finally joined the land of bloggers. I've been saying that the end of the world is near. Now there's proof. Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays are in 1st place and the Yankees are in 4th (as of today, anyway), my husband may vote Democratic this year (which is something he's never done), and now I've created a Blog.