I suck....

Things have been crazy busy and I haven't had much of a chance to write anything.... I'll try to get better but I wouldn't hold your breath for too long... this might be a long year ahead....

Summer 2008 Pictoral Reveiw

Seems as if this summer flew by ~
here are some pictures of us and some of the things we did this summer:

Geek on the loose

Ok so I read this board every day.... the topic is about something very lighthearted/happy (nothing deep) and I read it for ideas, a laugh, cause I'm bored... who knows. Today one of the posts asked what everyone thought about lowering the drinking age. Now I rarely comment on this board but I after the few responses that had been made thought I chime in mine (an educated perhaps devils advocate type viewpoint).

This was my initial post:

This topic seems to come up more often lately... and there are strong viewpoints on either side.

IMO it doesn't seem to matter how old you are if you want it there are good chances you are going to get it legally or illegally. In many other countries the age is lower than in the US and they also don't have as many issues with DUIs etc... (unsure if it is because of tougher rules or because the issue is taken more seriously or if it is the culture and their views on).

I must say I also agree that if someone can serve our country and put their life on the line on a daily basis they probably should be able to legally drink if they choose to. I also think if you are viewed to be responsible enough to vote you should be able to drink legally if you choose to.

A couple more people chimed in... I just kind of shook my head and thought whatever but then someone wrote they chose the age of 21 because your brain isn't fully developed until your 21 and that's why the law is 21 and a few other things that were a bit unsupported or untrue perhaps.

So you know me geek to the core on a mission to at least get people to think and perhaps try to educate them I posted this...

Wow kind of a deep topic I guess...

Drinking age not increased to 21 due to brain function/development. States changed the drinking laws in 1984 so they would not lose money from the Federal Highway Aid Act. The push was from a few well funded special interest groups. The law actually prohibits the purchase and public possession of alcohol but it does not prohibit persons under 21 from drinking. If you read the law public possession does not apply to possession if it is for a religious reason (if you are with parent/spouse/guardian over 21), medical reasons, or in private clubs or establishments. Therefore it is legal for someone under the age of 21 to drink in the privacy of their home ~ it is illegal for who ever purchased it to provide to them knowingly, it is illegal for them to drive intoxicated, and if they were out in public they could be charged with public intox or disorderly conduct but it was legal for them to drink (legal loopholes and oddities). I'll stop boring everyone with my mini history/legal lesson now but for fellow geeks like me or for people who would like to read more here are some good sources of info regarding drinking ages/laws/history:

http://en.wikipe
dia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age
http://www2
.potsdam.edu/hansondj/LegalDrinkingAge.html

http://inst.sfcc.edu/~hfl/speech/drinkage.htm


I am sure there are more out there but these are unbiased or give both sides of story.

Thru my line of work I have noted the majority of drunk drivers are legal to drink and people who should know better (because they are old enough to know better or are repeat offenders). After spending a day in court listening to drunk driving cases I have realized it is all a big joke and not taken too seriously (at least by that judge and those defenders). I know there are many officers out there who pull over drunk drivers and charge them appropriately but there are others that do stop them but don't charge them due to all the paperwork and BS it involves... they merely have them call for a ride or get them a cab.

I have held the hand of someone dying due to injuries sustained in a drunk driving incident, I have had to explain to family members that their loved one will never be the same due to a incident with alcohol, and I have prepared and cleaned the bodies of people killed in alcohol related incidents. Do I drink, yes, do I drive after drinking, no. I think education, change in attitude, and enforcement of laws drunk driving laws is what is needed not higher drinking ages. Educating people about responsible drinking (which would included not driving), changing people's attitudes about binge drinking/the dangers of drinking/etc..., enforcing the drunk driving laws and making it a serious matter.

Ok I've went on much longer than I intended... everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that... as with anything I would hope that before forming that opinion you take a moment to search out unbiased information on both sides and weigh that information for yourself.

So I highly doubt half the people will read my post and I am sure there will be a few who won't want to read or be further educated or just plain don't get or want to get the facts. But damn it all it made me feel better :)

Hmmm now as far as being welcome on that lighthearted board any more ummm well all I can say is I didn't bring the subject up... lol nah I don't think I'll get kicked off... well I hope...

First Shopping Link

Another first... added my first link off to the side (shopping link ~ I know me a shopper what a shocker ;) ). So if you haven't checked out Etsy do ~ it's great. Ebay for crafts... and we aren't talking shit here... there's some really nice/quality stuff at great prices.

Enjoy :)

A few more firsts

Just added the first blog link to my blog list and made a few comments... big day in the blogging world.

LOL directions what are those?

Chain saw massacre

Came home this am after a tiring weekend at work and the tree men where in my drive... they were suppose to be here tomorrow (it was part of the deal with my dad and part of the contract between my dad and the company). The dude was probably like what a bitch when I asked if he was sure he was there on the right day and he offered to come back but I was like WTF go ahead. I called my dad and he came over so that he could deal with any BS that might arise. I sat with him and watched for a bit until I thought I might pass out from being exhausted and then I went to bed. Just passed out and didn't even hear the chipper, chain saws, or anything. Woke up and everything all gone... looks different but better... now I just have to figure out what to put in their place.

Ancient Chinese Secret

Totally ran across this link and thought it was fun and that I would share. I tested it out for me, my brother, and Jackson and it was all right. Says it is 90% plus accurate so if you are trying to guess the sex of a baby, want to birth a certain gender of baby, or just are a geek like me and want to test it out here go....

http://www.thenestbaby.com/calculators/ChineseGenderChart.aspx

Fair 2008

Only went 3 days this year... ok so four separate trips but they were only for short periods at a time and with different people/purposes.... kinda

Jackson and I headed out the first day to see if we could get into the corn dog record... we got in free but by no means could even get into the grandstand for the event (guess it was a bigger success than any one thought as they ran out of corn dogs before everyone who had a number got one). Jax lasted a couple hours looking at the animals, got some food, and we headed home. (trip one)

Later that night we brought Sone out to the fair and walked around some more and then went to the early Nadas show. It was Jax's first concert... he liked it for the first couple of songs but then got bored... of course his mean mom made him sit there for the whole hour long show (how mean). I wanted to stay for the 2nd show but that got a big old veto so we headed home. (trip one and a half)

The following Tuesday afternoon Dad and I took Jackson out again... the kid has a hollow leg and he ate and ate, looked at a few things, and then was ready to go... we drug it out a little bit and then headed home (my trip two/Jackson's trip three).

Thursday Dad and I went out early and looked at all the things that we couldn't drag Jackson to (it was nice when he was in a stroller and didn't really have much of an opinion or choice in things) and of course ate some more. (trip three)

So now I am sure I am at least 5 pounds heavier but I had a great time and more great memories to add to the memory bank....

Some of my favorite things from the fair
*Fried cheese curds (thanks Lee for getting me hooked on those fair treats)
*Pork chop on a stick
*Hot beef sundaes
*Fresh chocolate chip cookies in a cup
*Hot fudge peppermint ice cream sandwiches
*Mac and cheese on the hill
*Fresh lemonade
*Salt water taffy
oh and for the none food things....
*Walking in the barns and getting my fill of animals for the year
*The Knapp Learning Center and all the cute little babies
and best of all....
*One of the best people watch venues of the year ~ I could sit and watch for hours ~ mullets, bad clothes, odd conversations, inappropriate and/or shocking behavior, lol I could go on and on....

Definitely worth the price of admission ~ where else can you get fat, be sassy, and get entertained so much??

Now let's see do I have it in me to ever tackle East Side Night... hmmm IDK about that one...

Four girls and Jackson

Last night I met up with some old high school friends (Melissa, Jennifer, and Bridget) and Jackson tagged along (with his Calvin and Hobbes book in tote). We had a great dinner chatting and talking about various things ~ what everyone had been up to/has planned, up dated each other on what's going on with who (ok so think you might call that gossiping ~ well kinda it was more of an FYI session I guess than anything), etc...

To sum up what I learned from the night... each minute of life is precious (good luck to Jody and her family on her impending surgery), Bridget has some partying friends and memory issues (remembered the source/rest of story yet??), Melissa has a great life ~ much different path but yet similar - she cures the soul while I work on the physical ailments, and Jax isn't too bad of a kid and the money I spent on the Calvin and Hobbes book was well worth it.

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures.... I know I know... next time....

And then there was one....

So last night was Shawna's last night... kinda wierd coming to work and not having her here... first Mo left and then Shawna... and then there was one....

Week in Review

This week was a busy one...

Tuesday morning we (Jackson, Sone, and I) left early in the morning... ok so it was like 9:30 when we pulled out of the drive but that is kinda early and actually I woke up around 6:30 to get everything done (pack, look up info on places we wanted to go,feed everyone, take Chloe to kennel, etc... so... ok so I might have been a little pokey or I could have prepared a bit better). Trip to Minnesota pretty uneventful - Jackson had his books and DVD player so there wasn't much complaining coming from the back seat. We stopped once at some filthy gas station in Clear Lake... I think Sone might not be able to sit still very long either so we got out and stretched and took a quick bathroom break (this is where the filth was) and then moved on.

We got to St.Paul about 1330 and headed for the Children's Museum. Jackson and I had been there before (when he was still in a stroller) and he loved it last time but I think my guy has grown up more than I realized and he didn't really find anything that tripped his trigger there so an hour later and $30 poorer we left and headed to the hotel (Embassy Suites - Downtown St. Paul) to check in. Our room was ready a little early so we trekked up to the room to drop off our stuff... hotel was ok... we even got a half eaten pizza in our fridge to enjoy if we got hungry... hmmm yeah. Since the cold left over pizza wasn't tempting us we headed out to look for lunch. Jackson wanted fast food so ala GPS we were headed for Culvers. Lucky us it was the one Culvers in town that McGruff the crime dog was visiting (now for those of you who aren't aware Jackson has a huge phobia of mascots and things wearing costumes) and Jackson walked in, saw him, then ran out refusing to go back in. So I went in and ordered and we ate outside and sweat.

After a fun fill lunch (ha ha) we headed to the Science Museum to check out the big reason we decided to take a quick over nighter to St.Paul... the Star Wars exhibit. We found the parking ramp... ok so Jackson saw it as we were passing by and headed in to buy our tickets to the Star Wars exhibit and an IMAX presentation about the making of special effects in the movies. We walked around a bit since there was some time before our show and the museum was great... lots of very interesting and interactive displays that everyone enjoyed. On to the IMAX ~ Now I've never been to an IMAX show so I was amazed at how the screen came down and enjoyed the movie... Sone fell asleep and Jackson wanted to leave about 3/4 of the way thru.... Then to the Star Wars display ~ a large room full of models used for special effects, costumes, and interactive learning experiences ~ fun exhibit and worth the few dollars it cost. Afterwards we finished checking out the exhibits and headed down to play a round of mini golf at the museum's little interactive/learning course.

We ended up the eve at a wonderful Italian restaurant downtown St.Paul and a few melt downs from Jackson (he was hell bent he wanted to go home) and then an early to bed for all (especially Jackson who had kinda been on emotional roller coaster all day).

Up early Wednesday morning and down to free breakfast (remember I'm dutch ;) ) and out the door. We got to the zoo soon after they opened which was great ~ it was cool, not very crowded, the animals were active, and everyone still energized. We had a great time there... dolphin show and all (ok the dolphin show was cancelled but I had to hear about it over and over again... ). After the zoo we headed for the IKEA. IKEA was great and we all had fun (ok so Jackson started complaining after awhile) and snacked on some cinnamon rolls. Then off to MOA. We walked about the whole mall shopped, played mini golf, and only had one melt down (some body was walking about in a shark outfit and well... remember the whole mascot fear).

After the mall we plugged pizza into the GPS and randomly picked a little family pizza joint (what did we do before we had GPS) ~ it was clean and the pizza was great and we filled our bellies before making the journey home. Jackson passed out about half way home, the weather was good, and the roads weren't busy at all so it was pretty uneventful.

Then Thursday am Jackson and I got up early and headed to the fair... we thought we'd try to be part of the record but we got there a little late for that (0810) but we did get in free (dutch remember) and walked around for a couple of hours (with Jackson you have to do things in little bits). We headed off to register Jackson for school, eat, run a few errands, and pick up the dog. Later that night we headed back the the fair to catch a Nadas concert (Jackson's first concert). I had hoped to go to the 7 and 9 shows but Jackson barely made it thru the first show (guess he got bored??? IDK guess he doesn't have good taste in music) and asked to go home... well at least I got to one of the concerts.

Friday it was back to work for me... East Side night at the fair so a few fights but not as bad as it could have been (thank goodness). The plastic sheet in the triage area driving me crazy but the improvements made thus far are nice... can't wait until this area is completed tho....

I hope everyone has a great weekend ~ have fun and be safe :)

So that worked

So that seemed to work... sorry guys this is kind of new to me and I can be a bit picky and all... still not quite the layout and the colors I would prefer but I'm happy with it as is for now... so not in the mood to tweek and find enter different codes for layouts (if you even can) so I'll just go with it.

So let's see... why am I doing this... well hmmm mostly to keep friends and family up to date. As we get busier and/or move on it seems as if we tend to lose touch. Whether it is because we all get tied up and busy in our own lives, forget who we tell what or think that no one else is really interested in hearing what's up, or who knows... Also I guess I'm doing this as an outlet for some of my creativity perhaps... to get things off my mind, to rant a bit, to pass on good tips/tidbits, or just to ramble on (yes, probably about nothing important). Any who choose to read this blog if you like... check up on me periodically and see what crazy things I am up to or just to laugh at my occasional randomness...

Test Test

Ok so this is my first feable attempt at this.... not even sure where to start ~ just testing the waters and playing with settings etc... to see what my options are and what's out there...