This is a cropped version of a group photo that included me and my honey-man, the angel boy-O and his mommie, Wendy and her lovin'-man, all of us together with Weird Al... but I can't show ya all that, so here's me and Al, having a moment between us.
The concert on Friday was fantastic fun! We had a total blast ~ And after the concert was over we all waited over an hour in line so the angel boy-O could get his concert ticket autographed and our pic taken as a group with Al sitting on the steps of his tour bus! Al patiently, most generously remained post-concert to see everyone who had waited for him... and there were A LOT of people. After a two hours and 20 minute long performance, including multiple wardrobe changes and some pretty dang enthusiastic and energetic stage antics, he had to be utterly exhausted! I was very impressed with his calm and gracious demeanor.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I Luv Weird Al Yankovic
Friday, June 27, 2008
Family Bloggin' vs. Annejelynn As Is
In the last 3 weekends in a row, we've been out of state:
1st wkend: Wedding in Ogden, UTThe last trip cost $200 in gas!?! - - so I won't even attempt a total gasoline tally for the last 3 weeks. . . I may choke! Anyhow, we've been out of town, doin' family stuff, so any significant time devoted to blogging (if any), has been spent on our private family blog (no sharing of family pictures here, sorry!), but here's some purty non-identifying-of-family shots I can share here from our camping trip in Zion:
2nd wkend: Camping in Zion over Father's Day weekend
Last wkend: Another family wedding, this one in Bear Lake, ID
These are from our first afternoon in the park from our first hike:
And these are from our 2nd day of camping, hiking the "Hidden Canyon" that morning
This is a lil' almost hidden free standing arch - - a few hikers would have missed it, had we not pointed it out to them.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Why I Love Mah Honey-Man ~ Reason 26
Because he's not at all shy about dancing in public with total abandon!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
This first video I've linked is from June 13th, and it eventually loops to play through for a 2nd time, but in the beginning, when they mention the search boat rescue with an aerial shot of Diary Queen and 1st avenue, my step-mum's business is off of 1st avenue in east downtown Cedar Rapids = and her business will be a total loss. FIRST VIDEO HERE = Once you click the link, on the left, select "Watch the Video" typed in red found below 'Multimedia.' And here's the 2nd video HERE, from the same news station, KCRG.
See this building on the far left? My step-mum's business is right by that!
Although the river is within 2 blocks of my parents' home, they live on a high hill (thank goodness) in the NE quadrant of Cedar Rapids.
My lil' brother has been a part of the frantic sandbagging effort since all this began. He goes to school down in Iowa City, but right now, if he were to return to school, he'd have to take a 280 mile detour.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Camping! Thum! Summertime! Boy-O! Hooray!
We're running a lil' behind schedule, but sooner than later, we'll be out the door and off to Zion National Park to go CAMPING! YAY!
The angel boy-O has been here since Sunday and he had a great first week at his summer camp (and with us too!) The first day of summer camp, he literally RAN in right past the sign-in table and got to socializing immediately. He was totally thrilled to be there - - which was more than a lil' encouraging!
Monday night, we had a very lovely, very yummy home cooked dinner together at home, and afterward, the boys played street hockey together until it was time for bed.
Tuesday night was chores night and potstickers (the boy's favorite meal here). It was also the night of what I hope will be the one and only most serious battle we'll ever encounter against the 'Thum'... For "most serious battle," read "swearing, hitting, long suffering gnashing of teeth, wailing and tear-streaked sobbing for nearly an hour." See, the angel boy-O's mommy, Wendy and I, last weekend together in Ogden, we scored a topical oral deterrent for thumb-suckers, and the poor kiddo absolutely HATES it ("we hates it *gollum* we hates it"), but it's way overdue! Despite any protesting, however, I think the angel boy-O must know deep down it must be done and he wants it to be over, as he happens to be the one to always remind us to apply it at bedtime about 20-30 minutes before it has to happen! ...although last night, he did hide the bottle and refused to reveal it's location for about 5 minutes.
Yesterday, the boy-O and zee honey-man went swimming together and the two had dinner together too, and did some grocery shopping for our camping trip, while I was at to our MS Walk final-wrap-up committee meeting - - more on that to come.
Although it's only our first week with the angel boy-O, I can honestly say that this time around, compared to last summer, I think my honey-man and I, we finally have the right line of expectations and there's not as much pressure and anxiety as last year... we're calm, collected, cool... and we're relaxed and really enjoying our time with the angel boy-O.
And now? Well, we gotta go camping!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Got Rain? How 'bout Lightning too?
Since Monday, I'd been calling my parents' home to hear how they've been doing with all this crazy mid-western rainfall, but I hadn't caught anyone at home; the home phone would just ring and ring and ring... This morning on the way to work, listening to NPR, flooding in Cedar Falls, Iowa, was mentioned and that caught my attention big time = Cedar Falls is not at all that far from Cedar Rapids, where my parents live. I tried calling their home again, and once again, it just rang and rang, and I finally figured something was wrong; a pattern became evident: I wasn't even getting an answering machine pick up! [BACKGROUND INFO: Not many in my family are fans of call waiting, and my parents don't use it at all, if they even have it as a service (I don't think so). We all will usually ignore awaiting call until done with the first, and just call back the missed person.] So yeah, the whole not answering the phone is not at all that unusual, but the answering machine not coming on at all?
The short of all this would be the following: My parents' home was hit by lightening, and it has knocked out their phones and services, and all their household appliances are ruined (at least $10K worth), but their computers and printers are fine, due to hefty surge protectors.
I reached my step-mum on her cell this morning and she was on her way to clear out her downtown Cedar Rapids business office. See, the Cedar River is supposed to crest in Cedar Rapids tonight by about 3 feet and it's very likely her business will be flooded - - and there's a lot of heavy, very hefty duty, somewhat immobile, very, VERY expensive equipment that's gotta get off the floor! but how? UPDATE, 6/16/08: It's didn't flood by a mere 3 feet... it went past the height of the front entry door!
Meanwhile, my father is in Milan, Italy, totally unavailable. Of course, before I remembered this fact [SEMI-RELATED TANGENT: My father travels more often than not, and it's honestly difficult to keep up with his international travel schedule unless I write it down. END OF TANGENT], I had actually called his cell phone first and he had answered! It totally threw me off to hear his answer as to where he was, and for me to realize I'd forgotten he'd be in Italy, and then the fact that he'd actually answered my call, and THEN, it reeeeally threw me for a loop when he told me their house had been struck by lightening!? Jeepers!
I hope everything goes the best way it possibly can - - I wish I was there to help out, dammit! And I feel terrible for those having to bear the brunt of all this nasty weather our world is encountering nearly everywhere around the globe.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Hooray for Leslie & Freecycle!
Sooo, over our wedding weekend in Ogden, Wendy's lovely sister, Leslie brought up the subject of Freecycle.com and the timing could not have been better - - ever heard of Freecycle? I had before, but I'd totally forgotten about it! You can post things online via Freecycle that anyone might want (and you can ask for things too) and it's all FOR FREE; it's not just the listing you post online for free, but the actual items listed. It's basically meant for things that you don't want to bother selling for money, nor do you want them sitting in a landfill.
As I'd mentioned recently, we bought a new sectional couch set that includes a queen-size pull out sofa bed, but we gotta get rid of what we've had first, especially SOON because we found out today that the new set up will be delivered this very Wednesday!?! Only last week did it occur to me that I'd really have to figure out some way to get rid of these beauties and quick.
And here's the two WITHOUT couch covers!?!
I'd bought these lovelies off of my old roomie, Helen (she was 83 at the time), for $100 when she'd announced her plans to sell her home so she could live with her sister. I was to get an apartment of my own and the two pieces were far better than nothing. [TRIVIAL SIDE NOTE: The DVD spindle seen on the smaller of the two was meant to indicate some scale for those interested.]Well, not more than a couple hours ago, I posted these oh-so beautiful beastie couches online via Freecycle and guess what?! = They'll be gone by tomorrow afternoon!?! We are saved!
And Thank YOU again to Leslie, for putting that Freecycle-bee in my bonnet!
Shoved Off Course
This past weekend, we went to Ogden, UT to attend the wedding luncheon and lovely reception of my honey-man's former spouse's uber cutie niece... Yes, those unfamiliar with my mega-extended family orientation, it happens to include the family of the angel boy-O's mommy too ~ They are a most delightful group that has essentially adopted me into their family, and I love them all!
BACK TO MY STORY: After a most excellent, most enjoyable wedding weekend, playing and hanging with Wendy's clan, we returned home yesterday. And after the 6-hour drive together, back to Vegas, with Wendy staying overnight until her own return drive home to LA this morning, I thought it'd be nice for us to have a lil' girlie-girl time together on the couch with my hot paraffin tub, but we needed some more paraffin pellets. With a store just around the corner, I ran off to pick some up some before the store would close at 6 pm...
With my bought paraffin pellets in a bag thrown beside me in my car's passenger seat, I was headed back home, no more than 10 minutes from the time I'd left. Having barely rolled to a complete stop at a stop sign that's clearly visible from our own bedroom window, I was violently struck from behind, hard enough that my car was shoved all the way out into the street I'd been waiting to make my turn on to. What fantastic luck, eh? Just wait... it gets better.
The driver was an unaccompanied minor driving with a permit with a vehicle she does not own, insured only by the actual owner of the car to whom she is merely making payments, and the insurance card she gave me lists the owner's insurance policy expired as of 4/8/08, and the driver has no insurance of her own. Fun stuff, indeed.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Kitty Time! For now...
This lil' guy snuggled himself into my bathrobe that I'd laid on the couch, about to mend one of the belt loops...
I was looking through my pictures on my camera and saw this and was like, "Ahh, did you take this?" And my honey-man's response, in a very light, yet seemingly earnest tone: "Actually, I came into the room and Owen had the camera..." Smart ass.
"Where are the kitties?"We have no idea why the two of them were in here.. maybe they were having a secret meeting regarding a future take over of our home?
