A Reply From the Mayor

So I'm a bit late in posting this - but I have an update in the case of Cowboy T's letter to the mayor about Braums.

He let me know that he would be watching for a reply in the mail and I started praying he would get one and not be disappointed.  I told him to wait about a week before he started watching the mailbox.  Lo and behold about 3 days later an official looking letter arrived and I was so relieved - and he was SO EXCITED!!!!  

On official letterhead - this is what the letter from the mayor said:

Mr. T:

Thank you  for your letter about the Braums in our town.  The job of mayors and city council members is to take care of their town and see that the needs of the citizens are met.  It helps us to do our job if we know what our citizens want, and your letter is a good example of a citizen helping us do our job.

I'm sure that by the time you get this letter you will have been to the new Braums across the street from the one you wrote about.  I hope you like the new one even more than the old one and will enjoy going there even more than you did the old one.

I am enclosing a gift certificate for you to use at the new Braums to thank you for your letter and for helping me do my job of taking care of citizens like you.

Sincerely,

The Mayor

And there was - a $20 gift card for Cowboy T!  What a great mayor!  He was beyond ecstatic!  So of course - we had to go - and he's decided that maybe the new Braums is ok enough for him.  :o)

He wrote a thank you note back to her that I thought was adorable.  My favorite part of it was where he told her about his visits there.  He said something like:  Time 1 and 3 I got chocolate chip cookie dough.  Time 2 I got orange sherbet.  Just priceless!

She has no idea what an impact and what a wonderful memory she's made for our little Cowboy T!  What fun!

Cowboy T's Baptism

Cowboy T has chosen to be baptized on January 10, 2009 at 10am at the church.  Come and join us.  We are so excited for him and proud of his choice.

Have you seen Hulu?

Click Here:  Hulu

Everyone else may already to know about this site - but I didn't and its been a lot of fun while I've had some recovery and down time.  

"Hulu is a "corporate sandbox" loaded with content from NBC, News Corp., Sony, MGM, as well as their various subsidiary channels like FX, Sci-Fi Channel and so forth, offering anything from full episodes of Battlestar Galactica andBuffy to SNL Digital Shorts and an entire Russell Crowe flick, Master & Commander. It's Flash-based, it streams, just like YouTube, and it's ad-supported, with bumpers and "commercial breaks," just like the TV it's trying to ape." From: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/huluhoop/hulu-review-what-it-is-and-what-it-should-be-good-and-better-317831.php

It's got shows like The Office, Monk, Muppets, 24, 3 Stooges, Bewitched, ER, Househunters, Silver Spoons - and 33 pages full of different shows.  There are movies too - but I haven't even been there yet!  :o)  So in case you haven't heard - and you have some time - check it out and have fun!

Update on the Famous Golfer:

Here is a link!  The catalog is online in PDF format.  It takes a minute to load - but once it does it's on the bottom of page 40.  What a handsome guy!  

Click Here:  My Buddy - The Golfer

The Nutcracker

Image Source: http://www.thedctraveler.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/nutcracker-girl.jpg

This year a local law firm very generously donated tickets to the Nutcracker by the Metropolitan Classical Ballet so teachers and their families could attend.  It was first come first serve and luckily we ended up with tickets.  It was so fun for our family to go.  Until school was out we hadn't really had a chance to get too holiday-ish - so it was the perfect thing to get us feeling Christmasy!   My favorite part was after we got there and sat down I realized that Cowboy T had brought along a children's storybook of the Nutcracker from home so he could follow along.  To be honest - I didn't even know we had a children's storybook of the Nutcracker!  :o)  He was absolutely mesmerized by the ballet and really did follow along - even though it was dark.  It melted my heart! 

Mary's Marvelous Mush

Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Cornmeal_mush_liver.jpg

Okay - this picture is triggering my trigger-happy gag reflex - which is perfect for this story.  This post was a special request by my sister - specifically for my nephew Dallin.  So here it is buddy!  :o)

Growing up I was notorious for many things . . . being the last at the dinner table, being mischievously creative, and trying to get my sisters in trouble - among an assortment of other things.

After a particularly delicious meal of spaghetti (my favorite) as I lingered at the table facing the assigned task of clearing it off I began to delight in the unique culinary properties of the various foods before me.  There was a tad bit of milk left in my cup - and so - I began to deliver my best Juila Child's cooking show impersonation.  It began with several heavy shakes of Parmesan cheese in my cup of milk - followed by a dash of pepper.  I must have delved further into the kitchen at this point - because I don't know why the rest of these ingredients would have been on the table.  Next came a large satisfying squirt of mustard - topped off with a heavily aromatic spoonful of nutmeg.  

At this point I would like to add that my sisters were in the kitchen - probably being the wonderful children they were - doing the dishes like they were supposed to while I admittedly lallygagged around.  My mother was in and out of the kitchen mostly unaware of what I was doing - or so I thought.  

My downfall came when I began aggressively marketing my Marvelous Mush (as it was aptly named) to my sweet obedient sisters.  Harrumpphhh!  My sales pitch was strong - and so was the stench of this concoction.  The harder I pressed for a daring volunteer to taste my mush the louder our exchange became until I brought upon myself my utter downfall.  As I watched in horror - as if from an altered state of consciousness - my mother entered the room and with an amused smile announced that if I was so confident in my product so as to attempt to wrangle my sisters into eating it - that perhaps I should taste it myself to show them how delicious it really was.  Fear struck my heart.  I knew what was in that cup.  I could smell it.  (So could they!)  For perhaps the first time in my life I was speechless.  Words wouldn't come out.  I had been outdone - caught in my own genius plan!  

My hand trembled as I slowly raised the spoon to my mouth.  The grins and smirks of my sisters fueled my pride.  I would not back down.  I would not be beat.  

You may wonder how twenty plus years later I remember the exact ingredients I mixed that day.  I'll tell you.  As that nasty - abhorrent - disgusting gritty sludge slid down my throat - every ingredient screamed out it's individual contribution across my taste buds and down my throat.  Parmesan, milk, mustard, pepper, nutmeg . . . I'm beginning to gag now.  I can still taste it.  Right this second.  

I'm sorry - I have to run to the bathroom now . . . 

And that is the infamous story of Mary's Marvelous Mush.

He's Famous! :o)

For the locals:  Check out page 40 of the Funtimes Parks and Rec Catalog!

Yep!  That's my Buddy!  He's a golfer.  :o)

Wanna Laugh?

Click Here:  http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com

Page after page of sheer hilarity!  Have fun!

Laundry Happiness!!!

Usually 'Laundry Happiness' would be considered an oxymoron . . . however my wonderful, amazing, genius husband has made such an unlikely pairing a reality.

Due to circumstances - too mundane to mention here - we ended up with two dryers.  So Bob conveniently installed whatever it was that was needed - and I now have 2 working dryers!!!  Do you have any idea how quickly I can get a mountain of laundry to disappear now?  Wooohoooo!  I had about a weeks worth - and managed to get it all done in a leisurely day's time.  It's so fun to hear all three machines humming away!  

Ok - and here's the laundry tip of the day (per my Mom's request):  

Do you ever have a load of towels or dish cloths that sit in the washer too long and get stinky?  It happens to me - especially in the summer.  Well - here's a way to get the stink out.  Go ahead and dry the load.  When they're dry - throw them back in the washer and load like normal and then pour in about 1/2 c - 1 cup of vinegar in the load.  Wash like normal and when the load finishes the stink will be gone.  For some reason the load needs to dry first - it doesn't seem to work as well if you just rewash them from being wet.  Hopefully that is a helpful tip for someone out there too!  :o)  Happy Laundering!

Bronchitis!!! Go figure!

It's been over 4 weeks of being sick - so I finally made it to the doctor this week.  I was home anyway with my Buddy who caught a rough case of the stomach flu and ended up pretty dehydrated.  The doc gave me a bunch of meds including some really cool cough medicine that numbs the cough reflex in my lungs.  It works pretty good and I'm just so glad to know there's a light somewhere at the end of this tunnel!  The students in my class have been sick with a huge slew of unusual stuff - so it's no wonder its been hard to get well.  In our family - only Cowboy T has made it through all this without getting sick!  I'm so glad we finally have time to rest and recover.

School is out!  Hooray!!!!  

Much more posting to come!  :o)

Merry Christmas!

Still . . .

Still fighting it around here!  Right after I got better - sick again!  They sent me home Friday and I stayed in bed all weekend.  Went back yesterday - and I'm home with Bobby today.  Poor little guy.  We have some serious immune boosting to do around here!  :o)

Quick update

School was really rough this week.  One of our students from last year passed away.  That's always difficult - especially at this time of year.  Certain students are facing big behavioral challenges and the usual tricks up our sleeves don't seem to be working.  Also there are some really heartbreaking situations for some of these tiny little guys.  It sure puts things in perspective.  Hopefully this week will be better - but I'm learning not to ask "I wonder what today will be like . . . "  

On the other hand I'm really excited for Christmas with the kids.  We put the tree up - but haven't decorated it yet.  The kids make everything so fun.  Just the excitement they have is contagious and I can't wait to be home with them for Christmas break!!!  It will be heaven!

Little Orphan

Kbugs is an orphan!!! :o)  Woohooo!  hahahaha  Actually - every year her Junior High puts on a musical.  On a whim she decided to try out - and she got the role of Molly the orphan!  She's so excited and we are so proud of her.  She isn't afraid to try anything!  It will be a lot of hard work - but it will also be so fun to go see it!  The performance is in March.  Break a leg Kbugs!  :o)