Tomorrow is my birthday. My mom went into labor on Labor Day.
My parents came down yesterday and took me out to eat. We went to The Wedge, a great pizza place in town. They also gave me a food saver! I have already vacuum packed lots of meat. Dirk's parents gave me an air popcorn popper and a new Cubs tag for my car. Oh and Dirk's mom made me an apple pie!! But the "big gift" was our 32" LCD flat panel TV that Dirk and I bought last month. It was for our anniversary and my birthday.
Now I understand why adults always dreaded birthdays. This just means I'm one step closer to 30. THIRTY! jfkjf;adsafjk;ads
Sophie's birthday is next week. She will turn two. I think we'll get her a new collar.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Is this a joke?
I'm trying not to get caught up in politics, I really am... but I can't help but feel slightly insulted by McCain's choosing a woman as a running mate. I feel like he chose her JUST BECAUSE she is a woman. She certainly doesn't have experience--and that's something he's hammered home about Obama. It just seems like a joke! It's like he watched Obama make history (like him or not, he did make history–being the first African American to accept the democratic nomination) and McCain is like "OH I think I'll make history too!"
I just feel insulted, because I would like a woman to be a candidate, but not like this. Not JUST BECAUSE she's a woman... but because she's qualified. (And no, I don't want Hillary.)
This reminds me of that show that was on a few years ago with Geena Davis called "Commander in Chief" where she was on the ticket as VP to get the female votes, then the president died and she was made president. McCain is 71.......
This is shaping up to be a very interesting election.
I just feel insulted, because I would like a woman to be a candidate, but not like this. Not JUST BECAUSE she's a woman... but because she's qualified. (And no, I don't want Hillary.)
This reminds me of that show that was on a few years ago with Geena Davis called "Commander in Chief" where she was on the ticket as VP to get the female votes, then the president died and she was made president. McCain is 71.......
This is shaping up to be a very interesting election.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
It's a small world...
When Yankee great Bobby Murcer passed away, our department was asked to help with the memorial service for him. I designed the program for the service. Many of Bobby's friends in the Yankees organization came, as well as many people from Oklahoma. It was a lot of fun to do, and just made me appreciate and respect Bobby Murcer and what he contributed to baseball, and the example he set for others. His family was so nice and kind, it was my pleasure to work on this for them.
That said, a co-worker spotted an interview that was done with Derek Jeter (Yankee shortstop for all you non-baseball fans)... I couldn't post the actual video, but I took a screen shot. Check out what is hanging in Jeter's locker, right behind the microphones... MY PROGRAM!
MY WORK IS HANGING IN DEREK JETER'S LOCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is all.
That said, a co-worker spotted an interview that was done with Derek Jeter (Yankee shortstop for all you non-baseball fans)... I couldn't post the actual video, but I took a screen shot. Check out what is hanging in Jeter's locker, right behind the microphones... MY PROGRAM!
MY WORK IS HANGING IN DEREK JETER'S LOCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is all.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pizza Night
Every few days we have "experimental nights" where we try a new recipe. I recently bought a Cooking Light recipe book and have loved most of the recipes we've made out of it so far. I get Cooking Light the magazine and love it, so when I saw a huge cookbook for $20 I couldn't resist.
Tonight's experiment was Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza. The recipe included crust and toppings. The toppings were: roasted corn, mozzarella cheese, scallions, red onions, lime zest. Instead of sauce it was olive oil mixed with garlic and red pepper flakes.
Dirk was skeptical, he doesn't see how a pizza without meat can be any good, but he liked it. To be honest I was a little worried too, because it didn't call for any sauce, but the pizza tasted great. The crust was excellent too. The picture isn't so awesome, but the pizza was. We'll be making this again.
Eh, sorry I don't have anything more interesting to blog about.
Tonight's experiment was Corn and Smoked Mozzarella Pizza. The recipe included crust and toppings. The toppings were: roasted corn, mozzarella cheese, scallions, red onions, lime zest. Instead of sauce it was olive oil mixed with garlic and red pepper flakes.
Dirk was skeptical, he doesn't see how a pizza without meat can be any good, but he liked it. To be honest I was a little worried too, because it didn't call for any sauce, but the pizza tasted great. The crust was excellent too. The picture isn't so awesome, but the pizza was. We'll be making this again.
Eh, sorry I don't have anything more interesting to blog about.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Grandpa.
This weekend was so hard. So hard.
We all cried and laughed together, but it's all just really hard on my Grandma. She just looked sad and defeated and it breaks my heart. Dirk and I were the last of the family to leave. I sobbed today when we had to go home because I hated to leave her alone in the house without Grandpa.
Making the slide show for Grandpa's service really helped. I learned a lot about him and Grandma that I never knew before. My Grandma loves to scrap book. I never knew this. If she had been born later in life, I think she'd be real big with modern scrap booking (stickers, fancy scissors, etc.) She gave me a book to look through for photos and it was called "Our Yesterdays" and Grandpa had bought it for her in 1947 (I thought that was sweet) and she had filled it. It had family history, what they did for every anniversary, photos, who sent cards, all the information on their kids (vaccinations, achievements, etc.)
Grandpa went into the Army in 1942 and was discharged in 1946, the year he met Grandma. He fought in the Pacific. In his early army photos he had the stripes of a corporal, but on his discharge papers it says he was a private. Dad said grandpa would never tell him why he'd been demoted, but he told my aunt why, here is the story:
Grandpa was in the communications battalion, he was a radio man. His commanders told his crew to go and place some communications equipment at this certain location, so Grandpa and his team did it. When they got back the commanders told him they'd made a mistake, and they'd actually just put the equipment 1 mile behind enemy lines, so they told him to go get it. Grandpa said OOOh no, I'm not doing that. Since he defied orders they busted him back in rank. That made us all laugh.
Gramps drove a truck for most of his life, he even did it in the army for a while too. He was a "certified" Chevrolet mechanic in 1948, we found his certificate buried in the garage. I remember that grandpa drove SO FAST. His driving scared me! We were sitting around the table talking about things Grandpa used to say, and my aunt said she remembered riding with grandpa, and he'd be speeding down the road or something and she'd say "Dad did you see..." and he'd cut her off and say, "They got brakes." But when she was telling the story, my dad and his siblings all said grandpa's line in unison, "They got brakes." It was his driving motto. I laughed so hard at that one.
My sister and I had a special bond with grandpa. We called each other "fat kid". It wasn't mean or meant as an insult in ANY way... I really have no idea how it came about, but I think when Jamie was little she called him fat man once and he called her fat kid in return. It somehow got handed down to me, he'd call me fat kid and I'd call him fat kid. Even his email address was fatkid, and he'd address them to me like this: well fat kid how are things going?
Grandpa was a wood-worker too. I need to take photos of all the things grandpa made for me. He made me a cradle for my dolls. It's so pretty, I still love it. He also made me THE most memorable Christmas gift I ever got as a child--a whole kitchen set. It had a fridge, a sink and a stove. The rest of the family gave me dishes and plastic food. I played with that for years and years. It's still in my room at home.
Apparently I was the only grand kid that he took his teeth out for. He used to take them out and grin at me. Loved it.
I thought that the funeral went very well. There was lots of laughter, which is exactly what Grandpa would have wanted. It was the cemetery that was the hardest part for me. (It didn't help that I was standing by my sister who cries really loud.) They had an honor guard there, they gave Grandpa a 21 gun salute and played taps. That was nice and very respectful. But it was just hard. They buried him in his overalls, which was perfect.
We will miss him. Grandma's house is just not the same. Yesterday I was walking into the living room and my cousin's father-in-law was sitting in Grandpa's chair and I saw his bald head and it took my breath away. Today at lunch we all sat down to eat, my dad sat in grandpa's chair and said the prayer... but it just wasn't right. I miss my grandpa.
We were home a few weeks ago... the last time we saw him, I gave him a hug and kissed his head and told him not to give Grandma too hard a time. He told me to stay out of trouble. (He tells everyone else to stay out of trees.)
He wouldn't want me to be sad. He'd say, "what's the matter fat kid? knock it off."
We all cried and laughed together, but it's all just really hard on my Grandma. She just looked sad and defeated and it breaks my heart. Dirk and I were the last of the family to leave. I sobbed today when we had to go home because I hated to leave her alone in the house without Grandpa.
Making the slide show for Grandpa's service really helped. I learned a lot about him and Grandma that I never knew before. My Grandma loves to scrap book. I never knew this. If she had been born later in life, I think she'd be real big with modern scrap booking (stickers, fancy scissors, etc.) She gave me a book to look through for photos and it was called "Our Yesterdays" and Grandpa had bought it for her in 1947 (I thought that was sweet) and she had filled it. It had family history, what they did for every anniversary, photos, who sent cards, all the information on their kids (vaccinations, achievements, etc.)
Grandpa went into the Army in 1942 and was discharged in 1946, the year he met Grandma. He fought in the Pacific. In his early army photos he had the stripes of a corporal, but on his discharge papers it says he was a private. Dad said grandpa would never tell him why he'd been demoted, but he told my aunt why, here is the story:
Grandpa was in the communications battalion, he was a radio man. His commanders told his crew to go and place some communications equipment at this certain location, so Grandpa and his team did it. When they got back the commanders told him they'd made a mistake, and they'd actually just put the equipment 1 mile behind enemy lines, so they told him to go get it. Grandpa said OOOh no, I'm not doing that. Since he defied orders they busted him back in rank. That made us all laugh.
Gramps drove a truck for most of his life, he even did it in the army for a while too. He was a "certified" Chevrolet mechanic in 1948, we found his certificate buried in the garage. I remember that grandpa drove SO FAST. His driving scared me! We were sitting around the table talking about things Grandpa used to say, and my aunt said she remembered riding with grandpa, and he'd be speeding down the road or something and she'd say "Dad did you see..." and he'd cut her off and say, "They got brakes." But when she was telling the story, my dad and his siblings all said grandpa's line in unison, "They got brakes." It was his driving motto. I laughed so hard at that one.
My sister and I had a special bond with grandpa. We called each other "fat kid". It wasn't mean or meant as an insult in ANY way... I really have no idea how it came about, but I think when Jamie was little she called him fat man once and he called her fat kid in return. It somehow got handed down to me, he'd call me fat kid and I'd call him fat kid. Even his email address was fatkid, and he'd address them to me like this: well fat kid how are things going?
Grandpa was a wood-worker too. I need to take photos of all the things grandpa made for me. He made me a cradle for my dolls. It's so pretty, I still love it. He also made me THE most memorable Christmas gift I ever got as a child--a whole kitchen set. It had a fridge, a sink and a stove. The rest of the family gave me dishes and plastic food. I played with that for years and years. It's still in my room at home.
Apparently I was the only grand kid that he took his teeth out for. He used to take them out and grin at me. Loved it.
I thought that the funeral went very well. There was lots of laughter, which is exactly what Grandpa would have wanted. It was the cemetery that was the hardest part for me. (It didn't help that I was standing by my sister who cries really loud.) They had an honor guard there, they gave Grandpa a 21 gun salute and played taps. That was nice and very respectful. But it was just hard. They buried him in his overalls, which was perfect.
We will miss him. Grandma's house is just not the same. Yesterday I was walking into the living room and my cousin's father-in-law was sitting in Grandpa's chair and I saw his bald head and it took my breath away. Today at lunch we all sat down to eat, my dad sat in grandpa's chair and said the prayer... but it just wasn't right. I miss my grandpa.
We were home a few weeks ago... the last time we saw him, I gave him a hug and kissed his head and told him not to give Grandma too hard a time. He told me to stay out of trouble. (He tells everyone else to stay out of trees.)
He wouldn't want me to be sad. He'd say, "what's the matter fat kid? knock it off."
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Sadness.
My Grandpa Walker passed away this morning. My mind is still a little muddled. This was just unexpected. He didn't die because of complications from the car accident, nor was it from the Lymphoma in his bones, they think he had a heart attack. He was supposed to be getting better, he'd completed the chemo treatments. We weren't expecting this. I just feel sad. I feel sad for grandma and for my dad. I JUST FEEL SAD. It rips my heart out to hear my strong, steady dad cry on the phone.
I went to work, but I just felt like a raw nerve all day. I was able to distract myself with a Cubs game and other thoughts, but I'm sure I looked strange with red eyes. Our office is going to a baseball game tomorrow as a team building event, and I've been looking forward to this for weeks... but now I just feel bad. I feel bad kicking back and having a good ol' time while the rest of my family is hurting. Mom told me not to worry about it because if I came home we'd all just be sitting around.
The service is Friday, and I'll be going home Wednesday night to help with service arrangements and make a photo slide show. I feel bad about missing work when we are so busy, but I don't really have another option. I am so thankful that I work somewhere that values family and understands.
Please pray for my family. Please pray for my grandma as she goes forward alone... and for my dad. We will see Grandpa again someday. But right now I'm just sad.
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