Good Bye 2008

As I reflect back on this year a lot of things have happened both good and bad. Let's start with a positive note and go with the good..........
In April I was able to see Bon Jovi in concert for free with my friend Sherry. They were just as good as when I had seen them in the 80's. It was awesome!!!!
I turned 36 in April and it was a good day, we all went to an indoor waterpark for fun.
Trevor got his blue belt in Tae Kwon Do.
We went to Indianola to the hot air balloon festival which was pretty amazing to see hundreds of hot air balloons all together.
RAGBRAI came through the little town of Lisbon and downtown was crazy with bikers.
My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and Darryl and I celebrated our 15th.
I started running for exercise and ran in 4 5k's.
The DNC was a killer week and very moving (go Democrats!!!)
We did a remodel on our living room that we had talked about for a year.
and last but certainly not least something I'm still pumped about and can't wait until Jan. 20,2009 is I voted Obama/Biden and he WON!!!! The first black man to become President of the United States.......history making in the present.

Now for the other side bad things..........
It was a long cold winter with a lot of snow.
Gas prices continued to rise up to $3.99 a gallon.
June floods in CR and surrounding areas near the rivers.
The economy which got worse and worse as the months went on and everything for consumers got higher and higher.
Alivia fainted at the dentist after getting two teeth pulled to get her ready for braces.
I continue to have two different health problems.
Darryl developed an allergy to our laundry soap we think and had two pinch nerves.
President Bush was a terrible President. Not for this year but for the past 7 years. I'm happy to see him go bye bye.

So that is 2008 in a nut shell. I'm looking forward to 2009 and have a few goals in mind already for the New Year. I hope you all have a great 2009 and a Happy New Year's Eve tonight.
Remember to thank God for all the people in your life that have helped you make it through 2008. I know I have a list of them.

A great day.

It finally came......Christmas!!! Trevor woke up at 4:00am and then went into his sisters bedroom and woke her up and then came into our bedroom to see if he and his sister could get up and wait downstairs until we got up. The answer was NO!! So he went back into his sisters room and fell asleep with her until 7 and then dad made them wait until I woke up which was at 7:45.

They got out all the presents from under the tree and took the gifts out of their stockings.

Trevor got Pokemon XD from us, Super Monkey Ball from Alivia, and two Wii remotes, a pokemon ds game, and pokemon cards from Santa. He got a Sonic game from grandma Studt, pj's and slippers from Grandpa and Grandma Freeman, and a ds game from uncle Sean.

Alivia got a manatee webkins from Trevor, a robe and pj's from us, and Disney sing it, hair stuff, and a ds game from Santa. A cd and calender from Grandma Studt, slippers and pj's from Grandpa and Grandma Freeman and a Hannah Montana little camera from Uncle Sean. Oh yes and we can't forget the What not to Wear vinyl pants from grandma Freeman as well.

Darryl got a bible cover, iPod shuffle, 19" flat computer monitor from us, a Carhartt sweatshirt from my dad, dress socks and cash from mommy and candy from Aunt Marcia.

Together we got a new keyboard and mouse, a under the counter can opener, a handheld mixer and some bedding from my parents.

Darryl got me a purple iPod nano, a gift card to Gordman's and some slippers. I got earrings, and cash from his mom, a bird feeder from my half sister , a candle from a friend, bath soap from a different friend and an Amazon gift card from another friend.

It was a wonderful Christmas had by all. I hope yours was good as well.

Christmas is near.......

Christmas is coming near and I think Trevor says about 50 times everyday how excited he is.
This week will be full of activities. Sunday morning the kids have their Christmas program at church. Trevor plays a disciple and a Jew and Alivia is in the chorus. They are doing The Three Trees play. Then Sunday night we are going to our old church First Federated to hear their cantata in which my mother-in-law sings and we go every year to see friends.
Tomorrow we are going into CR for Darryl to finish his Christmas shopping for me and to buy 3 pairs of shoes for needy children in our area. Monday the kids have school and chiropractic apts. at 2:15 and Trevor has a sax lesson at 3.
Tuesday I think things are quite so we may go sledding and Wed. is the Christmas eve service at church and I said I would help get the sanctuary ready with candles etc. so it is beautiful and calming for that night. Somewhere in there I need to bake 3 pies, and make cookies and other Christmas goodies. I guess I better do that Tuesday when it's slow.
It is a busy time of year, but I hope you all can breath and relax for a few minutes and enjoy what the celebration is really about.....Christ.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow......

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful.....

And since we no place to go.....Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.

And that is what it is doing today in Iowa. It started at about 10:00am and looks like it will keep coming down until tonight.

And I did have places to go today but they will have to wait until tomorrow.....hopefully.

The kids are getting super excited for Christmas and are counting down the days. I'm all done with Christmas shopping, I just need to get a gift for my dad and nephew Saylor who turns one on my dad's birthday this Thursday. Plus I need to pick up our Christmas cards so I can get them mailed out. I was planning on doing that this afternoon until the weather decided to come earlier then the weather men thought. So hopefully tomorrow I can get out and go.

Trevor made a snowman on Friday and by Sunday morning it was almost gone. We had Saturday and Sunday being in the 40's so most snow around here had melted along with his creation. He was disappointed that it only lasted a day but after this snow storm hopefully he will get to make another one.

Alivia is out enjoying the weather and I have already got the snow blower out to get ahead start on this storm. I'm sure sledding and maybe no school will be on the kids list of things to do tomorrow in the a.m.

Enjoy the SNOW !!

Another lovely day in Iowa

As I look out my window I still see ice all over my driveway. Of course there is no way our snow removal guy Ed can get rid of the ice and it hasn't been warm enough for it to melt. Today after talking to my friend Arlene I'm thankful that I don't live in the country where the roads are still so bad that school buses won't drive on them. I don't mind the snow as much as what I really don't like the ice. But this is Iowa and that's what happens.
I was talking to my dad last night and my mom for sure will be done working this year at the age of 76 and next year at this time I will be thinking about Alabama. He is already looking at places around where his sister lives to snowbird to after Christmas. And I told Darryl if they go south I will be gone for 2-4 weeks with them. Another great thing about homeschooling is I can just pack up and leave!! So I'm already looking forward to Jan. 2010 going south to warm up for a few weeks.
My parents will be having big changes in their lives for 2009. They are going to be selling their home and moving into a ranch (somewhere) because it is getting harder and harder for both of them to climb up and down stairs. They will stay around CR area since us kids are here and I would love for them to move back to Lisbon/Mt.Vernon area but prop. taxes are a lot higher out here then in CR. So hopefully around spring we (my sister and I) can paint and get their house ready to be sold and they can find a home with everything on the 1st floor.

It looks cold out today.....the kids want to go sledding.....and I need to go workout at the gym......
so I hope you all enjoy this day with your family and stay warm.
Because it is another lovely day in Iowa.

It Is Finished

God said it after creating everything in this world and I'm saying it because I think we are done with the remodel. The ceiling has been raised almost 2 feet, there is now a framed out opening between my living room and kitchen which will help get heat in there in the winter time, painting and trim work are done downstairs, I just painted the lower part of the hallway last night and Darryl needs to help we reach the impossible places upstairs in the hallway, he has wallpaper to hang in the kitchen so it all matches up where we had to take some down and I have some trim in the kitchen to paint which shouldn't take to long. Other then that we are moved back in and done.

The pics are of the living room looking into the kitchen, kitchen towards the fireplace and lastly the kids tv/school room.

It's nice that it's done and slowly and as money allows we will get this house all updated and ready to sell in 8 -9 years. Next project I want to do is rip out carpet downstairs in the living room and kitchen and expose and refinish the hardwood floors. Darryl is tired from this last update and so I hope around springtime if we have the money we can do it.

What have I been doing.......

It's been a while I see since I put anything on my blog. Darryl is gone this weekend in Oklahoma
(I always want to sing when I say that states name) to a gun show. He goes every year and this year he thinks he needs to stock up before the awesome new President takes over this country in January.
I have been very busy painting and getting my living room back in order. After Darryl gets back (since he took the camera) I will post the completed living room. I just finished painting trim last night since since we were able to get our free granite countertop installed this week. Now I think I'm done with painting...yyyyeeeaaaahhhh!
I've also been busy on Facebook posting and commenting on political things that really tick people off. Freedom of speech and freedom to vote how I want are two things I love about my country. Things did get heated sometimes with my christian friends but we would all take a breather and return. Most of them the big issue was abortion which has been legal in our country since 1973. During which from then until 2008 republicans have been in the White House all but the 8 years that Clinton was in. For me abortion isn't something I vote on. For that I hold to God being able to stop it if and when He chooses. There are a lot of sins that go on inside and outside the Christian faith because we are all sinners and continue to sin. So voting on just one of those sins murder doesn't seem logical to me. What about don't lie... I think every time Palin talked she lied about something and McCain had his and so did Obama so maybe as a Christian you shouldn't vote for anyone because they all lie. Palin abused her power as gov. another sin. Mccain is a little over weight and maybe a glutton another sin.
OK sorry I'm going on and on my point is sin is sin we may put degrees on it but God just sees it as SIN.
I have one more problem with Christians and teaching their children about the issue of abortion. I continue to hear from my children that their friends say Obama kills children. This is from more then one friend from different families. Obama doesn't kill children if he did he would be in jail. Or then you better say Reagen, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr kill children because abortion has been legal under all their administrations. They don't kill children so teach the truth!!! In our country our supreme court voted to allow women to kill their unborn child if they decided they didn't want to have a baby. So these women are the ones who sin and actually go in and terminate their pregnancy. So as Christians we need to pray for our court justices and for someone to come along side these women and help them during this scary time of an unplanned pregnancy and give them other options. Instead of teaching them wrong things teach them ways they can pray for our country and women in our country and maybe spend some time volunteering at a place like Aid to Women of donating money to them so they can help women in crisis. If that is your passion then do something about it and serve God in that way.

So did I answer the question of what I've been doing????
Today at noon I'm going to get my hair colored and cut. I have a friend visiting and coming over about 4pm when we will go to Coral ridge Mall and eat and let the kids ice skate. I have her daughter over here all day playing with....Trevor. Yes Trevor they are both gamers. Alivia will be going over to my mother-in-laws before my hair appt. to play with her cousins visiting from Chicago. So today I have a full day and the kids have a full day of fun and no school!
Hope you all have a great weekend.

Under Construction

We are still living in two rooms here at the Studt house. Darryl was able to get all the plaster taken out a very messy, dirty job and then update the electrical. Put in a lot of can lights and more light switches, and hang drywall. It's taken a bit but he's doing great and doing it all by himself after working 10 hour days at work.

He is not a master drywaller so we got a couple of bids for guys who do this for a living to come in a mud/tape/sand and put a light texture on the walls. We were thinks about 16-20hrs at about $30.00 and hour plus about $100 for materials. OK we have money that we saved from his bonus check in September to do this raising the ceiling project so we can hire someone for this part of the job.

The first bid we get is $1,120. The second bid is $1,889. We still haven't got in the mail the bid from the other guy. So on Saturday Darryl just started it himself. His friend Jim Jones came over for a few hours on Sunday to help which was great. He plans to be done by Saturday so I can start painting to get the house back together before Thanksgiving here.

During this raising of the ceiling I wanted to rip out the blue carpet and expose the wood floors crafted by Americans many many years ago. Darryl was not to sure wood was under the whole area. Well he had to take out a frames in area which was attached to the floor and low and behold I have real wood floors underneath. Now my next job to to talk with his friend George who installs wood flooring and have him help me convince Darryl to expose the wood and he will bring over the commercial sander and fix them up for us. Not sure if this can happen before Thanksgiving but I would love it.

Here are some pics of where we are at now.

Anamosa Pumpkin Fest

Darryl and i headed out this morning at 7:00am to go up to Anamosa for the 5K run. I'm staying consistent doing it in the same time as Lisbon's. After we got home I showered and took the kids back up so they could see the enormous pumpkins and watermelons. We headed over to the pumpkin carving building and were able to see 30 different carved pumpkins. I'm hoping to try a unique carving on my white pumpkin this year but these people did excellent. Keri you should try this. Trevor voted for Charlie Brown as his favorite pumpkin and Alivia and I voted for Jesus as our favorite. It was a nice day for it. And we had a great time.

After we got home from Anamosa we had lunch and then left for Alivia's soccer game. Alivia scored her first goal of this season!!! We are so proud of her!!

Visit to Kroul's Farm

I know we were just at a pumpkin patch, but on Friday it was so nice that we had to get out of the house. So the kids and I loaded up and went down to Kroul's farm. It seem to be lacking this year but that be because of the flood waters. Anyway here are some pics of our short trip.

Going to the pumpkin farm

We went to Indianola, Ia this weekend to visit our friends and so Darryl could go to the Kansas City Nascar race. On Sunday we went out to this wonderful pumpkin farm they have about 20 min. away from Indianola. Both kids decided to pick out green pumpkins this year. Trevor will carve his and Alivia is painting hers right now. Here are the pics of them and their pumpkins and of the Sullivan kids and my kids.

Maxx the Morning Dove

Last Sunday we (Trevor, Alivia and I) came home from my parent's house to see a morning dove in the driveway with a broken wing. The kids took care of it by giving it water and bird food and the name Maxx.

As night came Maxx was getting weaker and weaker and not moving around as much. The kids prayed for Maxx that night and said there good-byes to him.

By morning Maxx was gone. So Trevor and Alivia made cross head stone for Maxx out of popsicle sticks and when Darryl came home they buried Maxx and put there crosses by where he was buried in the yard.

They have been rained on but Trevor's says " Here lies the bird we tried to save but failed his name is Maxx"

Alivia's says "God Bless You Maxx"

I will make sure in our will that we have Alivia be in charge of what the headstone says and not Trevor. I can see it now.... Here are my parents dead in the ground.

Buy all you want....She'll make more!

I like watching political tv at night and sometimes during the day if the candidates are talking. Now McCain has had a bad week in changing his mind on things and giving the right initials for the correct company he is talking about. I'm sure he is wishing all these wall street people had names instead of initials so he could keep it all straight. Poor guy.... at 72 your memory has to be failing you.
Then there is someone I truly dislike Sarah Palin. I feel towards her what republicans feel towards Hillary. So I will pick on her more then McCain. Since she has been named VP candidate the lies keeping coming out of her mouth as they would let say, maybe.....satan.
1) The TelePrompter broke during the RNC when she was speaking. This has been proven false by many, many people. Lie #1
2) I fired my personal chef. Really then why are they still cooking for you and your family. Lie#2
3)I took a pay cut which displeased my husband. True if a pay cut is when your salary increases. I mean it's on the record lady. Lie#3
4)I had to deal with 20% of the US Domestic Supply of Oil and Gas. That would be true if 20% and 13% were the same and equal numbers. Lie#4
5)She has reformed earmarks so the money isn't spent on things that doesn't serve the public. Then why did you give money to the research of the Bering Sea Crab and how they mate. I don't think that serves the public. Lie#5
6) Went to Iraq. Too bad you never did Lie#6
7) I told congress "Thanks but no thanks to the Bridge to Knowwhere" This is a favorite of mine since she has repeated it many times. And it has been proven that she supported it until Congress told her no. So why does she continue to say this when by now we know it to be false. Lie #7

Now let's move on to things that make her look stupid and deceitful.

She came to CR this past Thursday and spoke at the airport. It is reported that she said when she takes office she would make sure the federal checkbook was online just like what she did in Alaska so taxpayers know where their money is going. This is a great idea!!! In fact Obama thought it was great to which is why it has been online since 2006 when Obama said they needed to do that. My thought is that with McCain inventing the Blackberry that some of his lobbyist on his campaign could have looked on their Blackberry's and seen that it is available online before having Palin say it and look like an idiot.

I call this "Troopergate". Before becoming the VP candidate she was fully in favor of the investigation and all voted in Alaska to have it done. Now republicans in Alaska, McCain and Palin are trying to stop it and/or delay it until after Nov. 4th. Her husband Todd will not go in to answer questions about "troopergate"and it seems as if they are hiding something.
I just heard last night that their stalling will not work and the lawyer in this case is determined to have this case settled by Oct.31. I was so excited to hear this. I mean if you have nothing to hide get it over with. I can't wait to hear the outcome.

Now this last one may be new to you reading this but I had to get it out. Keith Olbermann from MSNBC decided to give $100 to charity for each lie Sarah Palin tells. On Friday night I watched him write a check for $3,700. Now the kicker is the charity he picked. Sarah Palin in order to save money in Alaska cut money in the budget to the Special Olympics. They went from receiving $550 and she cut it in half down to $275. There are many things that are sad about this. They don't give that much money to the Special Olympics anyway so what is an extra $275. And now that she has a special needs child will we see the giving go up into the thousands since she can relate. Thanks to Keith and Sarah Palin's 37 lies the Special Olympics will have some extra money to help put on this awesome event.

So as we continue on to Nov. 4th and the lies continue to fall easily from her mouth
Buy all you want.....She'll make more.

Remembering 9/11/01

I had to go to Marion today and when I went by a business I thought why is the flag flying at half staff? Then I remembered the day. What a terrible day in American history. Since we weren't home today I'm sure tonight they will be some shows on this tragic event that the kids and I will watch.

I was at Ground Zero in 2005 and 2007 and will go back in 2009. The change from 2005 to 2007 was incredible. These pictures are from 2004 when we went over the anniversary.

Ground Zero is a sad place where you can feel the sadness when standing there looking at it.

Seeing it up close it's hard to believe what actually happened on that day. So today take time to pray for those who continue here on earth, living without their loved ones.

RNC In Minnesota

OK the RNC is done and I'm finally done vomiting and peeing my pants with laughter to where I think I can write this. Mental note next year I will buy Depends for when Republicans talk because it is to hilarious the things they say.
The first night all I heard was Joe L. because I wanted to see what a back stabbing independent traitor would say. Well it wasn't too bad and I was glad to see he gave Pres. Clinton the congrats on balancing the budget(since Bush has sent us into deficit) and us having a surplus by the time his eight years were up.
The next night was Sarah Palin.
As for her position as Gov. she wanted to have Alaska break away from the USA and was in support of that happening. She voted for the Bridge to Nowhere before she ever voted against it. She is also under investigation for a firing of an employee for personal reasons. Normally this case would have been settled by October but since she recently decided to hire a lawyer the case will not get decided until after the election. Now isn't that convenient.
Listening to her speech she is now called a pit bull. Pit Bulls are mean Jesus was meek. During her speech I would have NEVER guessed she was a Christan. I just don't think Ann Graham Lotz, Elizabeth George, Ruth Graham Bell, Sheila Welsh, Martha Peace etc..... would ever talk in such a way. She doesn't represent what a Christian is very well. Her speech is not honoring Him. She should have said " I won't slander others and spread untruths. Write me a speech about what I can do to help McCain and this country."
Now on to McCain.... I actually like him better now then before the convention. He has a few plans for our country that I like. He seemed more genuine, then his VP pick.
Although Christians should know that he voted against theFMA bill which would define marriage as between one man and one women. Which is why the Log Cabin Republicans supported him for President.
I guess my question of all of this is WHY do Christians think either candidate is a great wholesome choice. I guess it's a question that I will never understand why.

Trevor's new cut

Trevor got a haircut last Wed. and then this Wed. this is what happened.

He loves it!!! I would have liked it to be red or blue but white works to.

Remodeling the Living Room

Darryl started this week on tearing out the celing in our living room. It was originally close to 10 feet high when it was built back in the early 1900's and we wanted to restore that look. Actually I think he just wants to get a tall Christmas tree. Anyway we have the big screen tv in the dining room along with one couch. We moved the other couch into the hottub room where there is now, two couches, the computer, tthe tv, the hottub, the kids' school book case and an antique buffet. Needless to say we are crowded into two rooms downstairs. I'm glad we have a tv in our bedroom because I seem to be retreating there a lot :)

School starts tomorrow!!

Well today is Labor day and after a long morning working at the Pancake Breakfast, I was able to get in a nap this afternoon and have been relaxing.
Now I'm getting things ready for the first day of school tomorrow. We have been doing things at least a few times a week all summer so it should be an easy transition. or I hope. Trevor will be in 6th grade and Alivia is in 4th. I can't believe I've been homeschooling for 6years!!
I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day and were able to take it easy and enjoy your families.

Labor day

Well this is the final weekend of summer :( The pool will be closing and the Studt's will be starting school. We will not be able to get in another camping trip :( and I wonder where did summer go?
Darryl wants to start this weekend tearing out the drywall in our ceiling in order to raise it back up to the original height of almost 10feet. So we will be using heavy tarps and moving all the furniture out in order to keep it from getting dusty. I may be going to my mother-in-laws to live if I can't handle the dust with my allergies. Because above the drywall will be a plaster ceiling which will be extremely dusty to remove in order to hang new drywall.

Then Labor Day is the Lisbon Fire Dept. pancake breakfast. Darryl will get there early and I will roll in between 8am-9am to help clean up tables, wash dishes, and make sure the butter and pancake syrup on the table is full. So a normal day for me besides the early morning part :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day and a great last weekend of SUMMER!

The DNC

Tonight we finish up the DNC and it has been a good one. I don't know that in the past that I have taken time to watch but this year I did get to see a lot of it. Michelle Obama had a great speech the first night. Hillary Clinton who I didn't caucus for did an excellent job. I clapped four times up in my room at what she was saying. She was very much to the point of what an a** Bush is and how McCain will continue this country on the wrong path. The more I thought about she spoke on the 88th anniversary of women having gotten the right to VOTE. And had she won the most delegates I would have voted for her and History would have been made not only for her being the first women President but being the only wife of a former president to be voted in. How cool!!!! Then Joe Biden spoke last night. He has had a lot of misfortune in his life and had been a single dad after the death of his wife and other children in a car accident. He would be an excellent Vice Pres. and a great choice for Obama. Then I was able to listen to former Pres. Clinton and he too will go down in DNC history of being a very good speaker and inspiring the Democrats to come together and get a Democrat into office.
And then tonight Barack Obama. He laid out his plan for America if he was elected. It is exactly what this country needs. Eight years HAS been ENOUGH! Life for the middle class ("those who make under 5 million" -McCain )yeah right!, will change and we will have more money to work with and to use to help our children out and ourselves. If you didn't get a chance to listen to it, get online and listen to his speech. I will listen to McCain's when it comes his turn and see what he has to say that he will do. I hope he sticks with facts and doesn't make petty remarks about Obama and his love for this country etc. Like his political ads do. He just needs to give us the truth and the facts of his plan and keep his opinions to himself. Because they are lies.

Anyway it was a great week for Democrats at the National Convention.
Don't vote on one issue that hasn't changed with republicans in office, and think about the America you want and the opportunities you want for your kids and make an educated choice.

Tramatic Day at the Dentist

Alivia had a dentist appointment yesterday to get two baby teeth pulled. She was getting these pulled as requested by her orthodontist so her big tooth would have room when it came down.
So of course she was nervous but a brave little girl. I told her if she can get stitches in her lip she can do this and it would be a lot easier. Well I lied :(

He worked on the bigger tooth first which was towards the back of the mouth and it had some big strong roots. It was gross for me to watch him try to get that tooth out. But at last yeah it was out. So he gave her a few minutes and the next tooth would have fallen out this year and so we knew it would be an easy pop out and it was.
We finish up he gives me the instructions about soft food etc. They put her chair up, she gets up and goes to the "prize room" to pick out something. We walk to the receptionists desk and I'm talking a little to her . Alivia says to me "I feel dizzy". I put my arm around her she puts her head on my side, her eyes roll up in the back of her head and she goes limp. I carefully get her to the floor and yell for the dentist who is just a steps away. He comes out gets the gauze out of her mouth and about a minute later she comes back to us.

She is still glassy eyed and wondering why mom is crying and why there are 4 people from the dentist office looking at her and why is she lying on the ground.
So she slowly gets up we have her lay down for a while on the couch at the office. She drinks some sprite complains that her stomach really hurts and her head. I tell her to relax and just close her eyes.

So after a while we get ready and go. I call Darryl crying and tell him what happened and how I didn't freak out on the outside but on the inside I was panicked at seeing this happen to my child.
So she took it easy yesterday and laid on the couch all day and night. This morning she woke up had $6.00 from the tooth fairy although the tooth fairy thought about giving her $50 :)
And is back to her chipper self and acting normal, and I couldn't be happier!

IOWA STATE Fair

We get up at 6:30am Friday morning to get ready to go to my parent's home in CR to go to the fair. We get there a little after 8am and wait for my mom to finish breakfast and head out. It was my mom, sister and her two little ones and myself and my kids. We always take her van to places far away since we get to park up front in handicap parking ;).

We arrive around 10am get everything unloaded and head in. We get to see a magic show which my kid's loved and then headed off to the barn area to see animals which my 3 yr. old nephew want to see. I took extra allergy pills that day since I'm allergic to hay (which was everywhere) and wool ( they sheep barn was a killer). So we spend almost 4 hours looking at animals with my sister taking lots of pics.

My mom was tired of animals and wanted to look at crafts and hot tubs and other things. So we found the different buildings and did that. The kid's got to ride on the giant slide and on the sky glider.

We left around 6:30pm stopped and had supper and headed home. It was a good day at the fair and we didn't even get to see it all. If you ever think about going you should next year it is a good time. Just bring lots of money or else your own food.

Our 15th Anniversary

This is late getting on here but I was gone all day yesterday at the state fair. So here goes....
Thursday August 14th we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. Darryl worked all day and I took an older lady that we help out to CR for a pedicure (she paid for me to have one too) and to Aldi's. After getting home I took Alivia to the pool for about an hour came home took a shower, shaved my legs and got ready for my night out.
We went to Iowa River Power Company in Coralville for supper. It was nice and quiet in there(not a place to take kids for supper) and our table had a view of the dam which was nice and calming.
After dinner we walked along the path that goes over the dam. Then we headed off to Iowa City to try out this piano bar.
We get there soon after 7:00pm(when they open) and no one was there besides one worker. So we left and walked around went into Old Capitol Mall (in which the stores were closed?) and so we left there went into a few stores outside that were still open and headed back to the bar about 8:00. We walk in and once again no one. Well my feet hurt from these cheap heels that I have so I told Darryl let's just sit down and have a few drinks. We sat at the bar where we could see the tv, I asked him if he would turn it to the Olympics and he did. Then Darryl asked him when does the piano player come in.... about 8:30 he says. Darryl asked are you guys usually busy on a Thursday night. he said yes we get busy around 11pm to which we both said we will be in bed by then. Now in general I don't feel 3* , I feel more like 28,29 years old. But on Thursday I felt like I should have been 62 years old. So Darryl got a coke and I got a Strawberry Martini. Wine and Martini's were half price that night which was good because they normally charge $7.00 for a martini. I have no problem paying that in NYC but in Iowa.....no. So I drank that down the piano player Sean got there and started to play. It was nice listening to him. I ordered another martini this time a chocolate one for my dessert of the night and it was so so good. So I asked the bartender for the recipe. So Sherry come next month when the guys are gone in Kansas City we are having some Chocolate martinis!
It was a good night and we had fun. This was the first time I had been to a piano bar. I wanted to go because I had seen a "Friends" episode where they went to a piano bar but you could ask the piano player to play a song and you could sing. Then there were commercials for a piano bar in CR (which got flooded) and the same owner runs the IC one. We left around 9:15pm to get home so I don't know if they ever let you sing but it was nice to hear him play and sing. I would go back again. And I think I will make the girls go to one in NYC this May.

THE MOLE

Last night was the season finally of The Mole on ABC. When the competition first started I had on my list as suspects Liz - because of her age she would be able to use that as an excuse to fail at certain challenges and also because she would be like a "mom" to the other players and who would peg their mom as The Mole. Craig because of his size he would also be able to fail at many challenges because he is in bad shape plus people that big are usually very friendly and funny and so no one would peg him. Then third it was Bobby. Although a skinny little guy he had a lot problems with leg cramps etc. in the first few challenges.

By about week 4 my front runner for The MOLE was Craig. I think Liz had been executed and Bobby was just a bad player with lots of problems. As I continued to watch Craig everything about him and his actions confirmed to me he was The MOLE.

As it got down to the final three Nicole, Mark and Craig, I kept saying Craig was it. So between Mark and Nicole, I had hoped Mark would win. He is 42 his wife is pregnant with their 4th child and he works 2 jobs and she works as well. If he won the money he would be able to let his wife quit her job to stay home with the kids which is what she really wanted to do. Now Nicole is an OB-GYN and more of a high society snobby girl (that's the impression she gave off). She is single and already makes enough money to support herself plus. So I was hoping for Mark to be the winner.

As the winner was reveled last night it was........Mark!!!! I was so happy I actually had a few tears of joy that he had won.
Then The Mole, was it Craig or was it Nicole? The door opened we waited and out came........Craig just as I had thought.

It was just the way I had hoped the show would end. The Mole is a great show and I would love to see my hubby try to be on it or heck maybe even ME.

Sauerkraut Day's Parade plus

Like Heritage Day's the kid's walked with Tae Kwon Do in the the Sauerkraut Day's parade. As observers and knowing lots of people Darryl and I got a ton of candy for them. They had fun but both said their feet hurt from walking.

Later that day we worked the BINGO tent as a family, the kid's got to feed the animals in the petting zoo, going on the expensive rides, and throw water balloons at the racers during the bath tub races. And then Darryl and I enjoyed the band for a while Saturday night. So over all it was once again a good Sauerkraut Day's weekend.

Kraut Route '08

My alarm went off at 7:01am :( I was a little nervous the night before and didn't sleep to well.

I make my way downstairs, get some OJ and take some vitamins, plug in my hair straightener, and Darryl tells me we may be running in rain this morning. I get dressed in my new Asics Cornell Track shirt ( thanks Keri and Lonnie) and start to stretch. Do my hair, brush my teeth, and get ready to head over to the park with my hubby. It was sprinkling off and on. We get registered and stretch some more until race time...........

We get on our marks...get set....the gun didn't go off. We try again.... on your marks....get set..... the gun didn't work a second time. We do it again, on your marks.....get set.....nothing!! I was like OK Mr. Timm we don't need a stupid gun shot just say GO geezzzz. So the fourth time, on your marks...get set...and he yells GO! We had some walkers in front of us blocking us a little bit and I about yelled HELLO Runners behind you move duh! But we(Darryl and I) just pushed by them instead.

At the mile marker I was at 11min 24 sec. (which is good since I had been running 12min miles).

But this was the start of the dreaded hill from the dark side. I made it up the big big hill and up the medium hill and up the two little hills and then finally we were at the two mile marker just past our house, my time was 22 minutes. The kids stood at the end of the driveway and cheered us on as we ran on through our last mile. With about 1/2 a mile left to go we pass a lady runner in my age bracket (yes) and then we passed another lady in the next older age bracket (yes again) we go by Keri and Lonnie's and they were out with the boys cheering us on and she took our picture (thanks Keri). So we are about .2 miles from the finish almost there and the lady in the older age bracket is running faster to get across the finish line. Fine I let her pass, but then I see the other lady in my age bracket out of the corner of my eye and she too is sprinting for the finish line and I said to myself....self there is no way you are going to come into last place, so I hauled butt with Darryl beat her and got 6th place out of 8 ladies in my age group and had a great time of 34 min. 16 sec. my new 5K record :)

All in all it was fun and I was glad Darryl was there to move me a little faster and we had a great time doing something together.

Sauerkraut Days

At the end of this week is Lisbon's annual Sauerkraut Day's. It will start on Thursday with a pie and ice cream social at the City Park followed by Friday late afternoon thru Saturday night events. There will be BINGO ( Darryl and the kids and I will be working on Saturday from 4-6pm if you want to see us) a car show Saturday, parade (the kids will be walking with their Tae Kwon Do group) expensive carnival rides that are a big rip off :), lots of brats and sauerkraut - yuk! And on Saturday morning the thing that I have been training for now for 6 weeks........ the Kraut Route 5K run/walk. Darryl is going to join me so we will be the cute couple running together! Come out and cheer us on, we will go right by our house so feel free to park and come to the sidewalk and cheer for us, we would love it!!

Mama Mia - One thumb down

Last night two friends of mine went to go see Mama Mia. Now I knew of course it was a musical, but didn't know the whole story line. It's about a girl Sophie who is getting married and wants to know who her dad is. She reads her mom's diary from 20 years ago and finds out it could be 3 possible men (yes mom was a slut). She invites all three men to come to her wedding and they all do. The story is good and I would like to see it on Broadway.

At the end of the movie as they are doing a special song and dance, I see the the executive directors were Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson. I'm a HUGE Tom Hanks fan and think he is an amazing actor. But I thought their choice for actors in this movie was a little off.

Then my friend told me that Rita kept bothering Merle Streep until she finally said she would do the part of "Donna" the mom. In general I'm not a big Streep fan at all, but I thought her singing and dancing in this movie was not good. I wish Tom would have stepped in and got someone who can sing and dance and act like...... Cathrine Zeta-Jones or even better a wonderful actress whom my daughter was named after Olivia Newton-John. Now that's who the should have got!!

Then Pierce Bronson played one of the potential fathers. I laughed so hard the first time he broke out in song!! I told my friend he could never play 007 again after this. My favorite movie that he played in was Mrs. Doubtfire. Anyway he did not sing well at all either. They should have got a different actor to play that part like...... Richard Gere or the best choice I think would have been their (Tom and Rita's) friend John Travolta! That would have been great to see him and Olivia back on the big screen together.

Well those are my thoughts. In general the movies story line was good but I did find myself laughing A LOT at the musical numbers and the cast that sang them. I think this movie could have been great with the choices of different actors whether the ones I mentioned above or non-famous actors who could sing and dance. I'm disappointed that Tom put out a movie like this but I still respect him as an actor.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

This weekend we packed up the family and headed back for the last time in a while to Indianola,IA to see our friends the Sullivan's. We planned on going this weekend because starting on Friday was the Indinaola Hot Air Balloon Festival. Indianola is home to the National Hot Air Balloon Museum(now if this answer is ever on Jeopardy you know the answer). We got there Friday night around 5:30pm. While we were eating we could see some of the balloons which had taken off at 6:30pm for the night ascension. It was a nice thing to see. Then Friday night at dusk they were doing the night glow. This in tells the balloons being on the ground but lighting up. So we get there around 8:45pm and cars were leaving. We thought it's not even dark yet whats the deal!!! We asked someone and we had missed it (thanks Sherry :) there was maybe some storms coming in so they did it earlier then dusk. Bummer!! But the next night we went over for the 6:30pm ascension and here are some of the pics I got from it. It was so beautiful. The purple one is called the Purple People Eater. And the spaceship didn't fly that night it was so huge and I'm glad they kept it blown up for awhile.

If you ever get the chance I do recommend going to the Balloon Festival it was a great time.

RAGBRAI in Lisbon

Well we had a whole lot of bikers come through our little town today. All walks of life from old to kids sitting in carry along things while their parents peddled away. I went walking around 10:30 this morning with a friend and we were able to check it all out. There were a lot of bikers and some were drinking beer which I would expect from the riders but thought at 10:30 in the a.m. was pretty early unless you are an alcoholic :)

Then further down on our walk we heard a few guys hooting and hollering and as they went by we were able to get quite a few glimpses of about eight guys butts!!! That's right they had half of there spandex shorts pulled down and everyone got a good look.

Also when we were downtown there was this let say 20 something year old guy with no shirt and not spandex but skin tight Calvin Cline boxer shorts. Let's just say if a sketch artist needed me to describe him the police would be able to pick him up in about 10 min. ( from Seinfeld).
It seemed like a great day for the bikers and they all seemed to be having lots of fun.

Doing Laundry..Trevor style

I just got done mowing and I have Trevor help me by doing the big open area. Both kids have chores and this is not part of his but he does it cause he loves his mom and is willing to help me out.
OK back to the main idea of this post. One of Trevor's jobs is to fold laundry. So when he first started I showed Trevor how to fold it etc....
He now does it by himself. So after he is done I sometimes need to change clothes or the next day get dressed. I would find Darryl's underwear in my underwear drawer. Then there would be Darryl's shirts or shorts in my pile of clothes. I thought good night does he REALLY think I could fit into these things?? Does he think I'm fat???? What is going on????
As time goes on though I know he is just clueless. I'm trying to train him whoever might be his future wife :)

I figured out he has no idea because I have found Alivia's shorts in my pile, sometimes her shirts, and sometimes her pants. Now that makes my day :) I think wow Trevor thinks I'm a stick thin 60 lb. mom. Although I know the truth is he has no idea whose clothes are whom besides his own that he wears.
AHAH.... another day in the life of Trevor. I do love him so much and he makes me laugh everyday.
Ladies I really am trying to train him up to be a wonderful husband. We are currently working on..... holding the door open for women, not saying mom listen and then farting loudly, and not burping out loud and straining chucks as he does it.

I'm having a hard time with the last one since his dad burps all the time, and very loudly. It is gross and I have learned to put up with it. I only hope if I can't break this habit, that his wife will be tolerant of this genetic disorder that has been passed down the Studt line :)

I'm going back to NYC

Big Apple here we come!!!! I just got done booking my flight this morning to NYC in May 2009.

A few months ago it was not looking good with airline prices going way up (along with everything else) plus our hotel we stayed at last time is under new ownership and they bumped up rooms from $250 a night to $400 a night!! When we went in '07 we planned $500 for room and air ticket, this time it was looking like it would be $500 for air and $500 for room. So I told my friend that I didn't think I could go. Then this week my other friend going said United had tickets going out of Moline,IL for $204. So this morning we booked at that great price.

We are still searching for a good hotel that doesn't cost too much. Right now we have reservations at a hotel called Herald Square. The cost for 5 nights is $1,485.70 for two queen beds, that divided by 4 women equals $371.42 each for our room stay. So my cost right now for room and flight is $575. I have that saved already so now I have 10 months to save for spending money, food and money for a broadway show. I plan on giving plasma once a month (going in twice in the same week) and earning $60 which would give me $600 by the time we leave.

So I'm set and ready for NYC again. I do love going there and there is always so much to see each time. People who live there really do have so much culture around them. If you have never been I encourage you to go.

Heritage Days 5k.... I did it!!!

It was a stormy night last night and the thunder booms kept waking me up. My alarm goes off at 7:01am and I hit snooze and hear the rain. I lay there thinking do I get up and check the weather or go back to sleep. I get up and go downstairs. Darryl is up and talking with our friend Mark Sullivan whom spent the night along with his brother last night because they are leaving for Chicago at around 8:30am to go to the NASCAR race tonight.
I check the weather and the storm looks like it has passed. So I get ready for the 5K. I stop at Casey's and get a granola bar that has yogurt to continue on my carb eating. I pull into the Mt.Vernon High school and someone is waving at me....... it's my friend Vanessa. I was in shock! Was she there to run with me or walk by herself??? I park the car, get out, hug her, and she tells me she is there to cheer me on and take my picture. How sweet!!!
I line up in the back of the pack of runners and in front of the walkers and the gun fires. I'm off..... I get to the 4th Ave. hill and can see a lot of people walking up it :( So I get to it and make it almost to the top but walk about 15-20 at the crest of it. My mouth is dry and I need a drink of water. Just a little ways up Sam Young has a water jug. I stop grab and cup and fill it with water take a drink and get going again. I hit 1 mile marker at 12min 15 sec. Not bad since I never know what I run a mile in. I'm thinking minus the walking and stopping for a drink I could have done it in 12min. The rest of the race is on pretty level ground with only a small hill about a 1/2 mile later. I go to the finish, Vanessa takes my picture and is cheering for me and I get me stick which has #163 on it. I still don't know my time the stick was my proof for when all the runner/walkers came in. But I had fun and got my exercise in for today. Now it's back to training for sauerkraut days 5k. I will post Vanessa's pictures she took of me before and after the race as soon as she e-mails them to me :)

Getting ready for a 5k

That's right I'm getting ready to run/jog in my first 5k. I have always walked them before but started jogging in late winter/early spring to try and lose some weight faster then just walking everyday. I started out on the treadmill and could barely do 2 minutes of jogging now I'm up to 2 miles and have done 3 miles at different times. I know my body is in better shape and my legs are looking great! In general I really don't like to run/jog so this has been a challenge for me but the results are great. Mount Vernon is having Heritage Days this weekend and I signed up to walk that 5k since Mt. Vernon is so hilly (is that a word?). but a lady told me last night that there is only one big hill on the 5k, so I think I will run until I get to the monstrous hill and then walk up it. I will try it out.
I am however running in the Kraut Route in August in Lisbon. This is what I've been training for.
I will let you know how it all goes. I was going to run with my friend Vanessa but she is ditching me because she is pregnant!!!! No excuse I say, suck it up and do it! She disagrees with me :(
Wish me luck!!!!

4th of July/ 40th Wedding Anniversay

My Mom and Dad with the Grandchildren. My Mom and Dad
My Mom and Dad with us kids.