And then there were three!

My Dusty kitty came to me 11 years ago in 1998. She's a pretty little calico.

Then, Mom and Dad found another calico with similar markings a year or two later. Her name is Mini because she was Dusty's "mini-me" (until she grew to be quite a bit bigger than Dusty, that is).

This morning Mom introduced me to a new tiny calico kitten. She has similar markings to Dusty and Mini! So, now there are three pretty calicos in the family. Mom and Dad said I could have her once I have my own place again. I named her Trifecta! :p

You must be kidding!

It scares me to think people who write like this are training to be or already are teachers/instructors. I took this straight from one of my online class discussions...

You made some very good points! It's always great to
train/teach students who are "coachable or teachable". Not all adults are
teachable. Some, as you stated, feel that once they are seasoned or
experience, there is not much more hey can learn. Its like adding salt to
a womb, when the instructor appears younger or less seasoned. This is
something, that as adults, we have definitely got to improve!! There is
always more room to learn and grow. We don't know everything and can often
learn from those younger.

I have seen worse, but couldn't get over the "salt to a womb" bit. One word: proofread!

I figured it out.

I've been trying to figure out how I will be able to share all the zoo fun we had all the way back on August 1st and not cross anyone's eyes or give anyone cute-zoo-picture-burnout. So, I decided to do it in chunks. I already posted about the bats. (That was really creepy, by the way; but you might have noticed I felt that way by the "they're going to get me" comment during the video.) This will help me sort through the pictures for my own evil purposes, too. I know Trisha and Justin took a lot of pictures as well. Trisha might already have some up on her Facebook or whatever-it-is page.

"Batty, batty, bat!"

Sesame Street's Count von Count would have been wild about this part of the zoo when we were there on August 1st.



"Count with me! Doing the Batty-Bat!"

Picture size

I haven't figured out why the picture at the top of my page is small! When I created my blog, the picture was the perfect size. It filled the top part of the page (give or take) in just the right way. Ever since I changed it from that first picture the only way to get a viewable picture is to tell it to shrink-to-fit (which I think it did that first time, too, as that is the automatic setting) and now I only get those tiny pictures. It bothers me. If anyone knows how I can fix it, please feel free to pass along your advice. I would love to listen to it! :)

From Hayrack to Barn (July 23, 2009)

Ever wonder how a bale gets from a hayrack into a hayloft? Well...maybe you haven't, but if you read/look on you will find out. Oh, and the answer is the elevator...that's what you call the loud, squeaky thing my sister is putting the bales on...you'll understand what that's about in a bit.


First, Dad climbs up in the hayloft via a ladder to a hole in the loft floor. He graced us with a photo op...though he has been known to lean out that door for less noble reasons.






Sandra uses a hayhook to pull a bale down so she can get hold of the twine keeping the bale together. Then she'll pick it up to put it on the elevator.






Mom even got in on the act when she arrived home from work. She didn't even bother to change clothes! What a farm wife!! Dad must be so proud! :)






Okay, here's what it looks like all put together (give or take). Remember the elevator I mentioned? Don't have your sound turned up too high on your computer. There's the disclaimer. Now if you sustain hearing damage it's your problem and not mine. You had fair warning! :p

Of course, I was there lending moral support...looking goofy...and documenting this momentous occasion for all of you dear, sweet people. :)

Sandra's Birthday

(Slowly but surely I will get caught up.)

Sandra turned 21 on the 27th of July. We celebrated on the 23rd with Grandma Haack.

Becoming 21 doesn't stop Sandra from requesting a cake with sprinkles and a SpongeBob candle!

It was too windy outside, so we all had to go in to the physical therapy/exercise room at the vet's home to light candles and sing "Happy Birthday."

It was good cake and good weather. I still can't believe my "baby" sister is 21!

Sang at St. John's 7-26-09

I got to sing at St. John's Green Garden Lutheran Church. It's where I "grew up". My accompanist ended up being Eric whom I babysat from when he was an infant! A long way from "Come listen! Come listen!" He would have me listen to him practice for his piano lessons. Now he is a great pianist and did a wonderful job accompanying me. I found my new favorite accompanist. :) But, boy, does it make me feel old! :p

VBS 7-25-09

Vacation Bible School (for those of you who aren't familiar with it). Mom was helping by taking care of one of the VBS leaders' baby girl. I went up there to rehearse and ended up being appointed impromptu photographer for the day. I followed the kids around and took pictures of their craft time, snack time, lesson time and music time. Just one picture...

Confused tree

I saw this tree the other day (not yesterday) when I was walking too and from Wal-Mart. Then, today, I saw another one in a different part of the neighborhood. What kind of tree has naked branches, but a leafy trunk?!

I need air!

For probably the first time since I moved back to Nebraska, I miss Arizona air. I'm sure there have been days since I got here on April 1st that were more humid than today and that I walked outside on those days. There is something about today, though. I'm glad I'm done with errands...except maybe moving my car back into the driveway...which I might forgo now. I took one step outside to walk to Wal-Mart and the bank and it felt like the air sat down squarely on my chest. I don't remember having a hard time with it before today. It was bizarre -- the heaviness! I don't like it. It sure made the walk difficult. I don't know. Maybe there is something about my actual health today that made it seem that way. I have been pretty wiped since going to the zoo, but I walked yesterday and was fine -- granted, it probably wasn't as humid at the time.

Well, obviously I'm back in the air conditioning now. The discomfort is wearing off and I'm watching Sesame Street with Nikki, so I think I'll get over it. Sesame Street + Nikki = Awesome! :)

Coming Soon!

Here I am falling behind again. I've been very tired lately. And, since my new class started, I've begun to spend more and more time on that, too. I definitely have some fun things coming up I will be posting. For example, VBS from St. John's (Mom & Dad's church), and the trip to the zoo yesterday. I am still sorting out pictures from the camera for the last couple weeks -- 400-something!!! :-0 It will take some time, but it's one of my goals today to get caught up with that...and do homework. I have a large project coming due tomorrow and, as is an unfortunate habit of mine, I have yet to start. There is also a team assignment due and so far I do not appear to have a very focused or time-aware team. :-/ I guess we'll see what happens.

Well, I am making lunch today. The cake should be about done and then I can put the green bean casserole and the ham in the oven. In fact, I should probably be going to get them ready.

Hope to post more this afternoon and evening! Ciao, All! :-)