FREE CHECKING

This picture was taken outside one of our hometown banks on Thursday morning around 5:30!! Thought it was pretty funny. The crazy part is that this is our main street, that has been dug up and under construction all summer, so theres pot holes, different levels, etc. Unfortunately, they come from my Cousins farm just outside of town.....

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like........

Yep, it's beginning to look alot like Christmas!! We had our first snowfall today.....nothing that is really staying on the ground, and nothing like our first snow fall last year that left us 6 feet of snow!! The wind is nasty, and just plain cold here in ND!! I'm actually missing a home football game tonight, and I love going to FB games here in Velva...it's like a social event for me. Oh well, there will be more FB games!!
My Uncle is recovering from his surgery very well. He had a few setbacks, nothing major,but is doing well now. I visit him a couple times a day, as he's in the same building!! So, thats been cool. Not sure if the nurses appreciate me, but I'm making sure they are on their toes taking care of him!!
Not much else is going on......will hopefully get another post up here before the weekend is over. Enjoy your weekend!!
Rita

Happy Fall!!

It is feeling like fall here!! The temps have been close to freezing, and it's been drizzling for 3 days!! I do love this time of year, even though we have winter that follows.......

Alex leaves this morning for the FBLA Fall Leadership Conference. Short trip, only 100 miles away, and will be home tomorrow sometime. Alex is excited for the event, as he and the rest of the officers are the ones that plan it and put it on....so, it's a BIG thing!! Earlier this week, Alex was chosen to be on the National Executive Board for FBLA for the Mountain Plains Region. Again, one of the many goals Alex has wanted and now has accomplished. The kid amazes me somedays!!!!!!

I will be spending my day catching up on housework....I may run into town for some shopping, and.....I will get to watch Desperate Housewives without interuptions!! Woohoo, who could complain about that??? Anyone want to join me??

My Uncles surgery was postponed last week due to his cardiac issues, but has been cleared and he's ready for surgery tomorrow at 2pm!! Looking forward to having this behind us, so he can move onto the next step to his recovery. Please keep him in your prayers!!

Hope you all have a super SUNDAY!!!

Prayers Please.....

I have a few extra minutes before Desperate Housewives starts, so thought I would post a few prayer requests......

First off, my Uncle Bob will be having a thoracotomy on Tuesday, he has lung cancer......he is having this done where I work, so I will be sure he is VERY well taken care of. He has an excellent Dr, and I have hand picked his OR staff. (not to mention the private room he will get on arrival to the hospital!!)

Please pray for my friend Ann. She lost her beloved Oreo (puppy) last week and is having a very difficult time. Oreo had cancer throughout his whole body, so was put to sleep on Wednesday. Please pray for her!!! I cannot imagine her loss, and typing about it brings tears to my eyes........my little Art must never leave me!!

Oreo, rest in peace buddy.

Also, keep in your prayers Angie. I have been following her Caringbridge website for over a year now, and she FINALLY will be recieving the heart transplant she's been waiting for.....here is the link to her site, www.caringbridge.org/visit/angelaneidererstaub if you wish to visit her. Also keep her donor family in your prayers.

That's all I have right now.....I have had a busy weekend, I'm excited to sit down and watch one of my favorite shows, less then 30 minutes!! woot, woot!!

Have a great week, it's starting to feel like fall here, so I'm sure we'll be doing some outside projects this week preparing for the inevitable.....SNOW!!

Is it September Already??

Once again, I have been missing in action. No good excuses, just not making the time to blog these days. We've been extremely busy at work, which leads to one tired blogger by the end of the day!! However, I am always greeted by little Arthur when I walk in the door.....this is Art on Alex's first day of school. He was a little confused as to why Alex was up before noon and leaving the house looking all handsome.......(you will see that pic at the end of the post)

The following pics are from our trip to Minneapolis. We took very few pics as it was hot and humid the whole time we were there.....mainly scenery pics and of course, my favorite.......

My favorite and one of the many reasons I like going to Komo Park!! Isn't he just the cutest, I love this picture......he looks a little annoyed at all the visitors!!

I tried making pickles this year with some of my cukes......they look good, but I am not impressed as to how they taste. They are OK, just not what I had hoped for. I also made spaghetti sauce, love the Mrs. Wages mix, very good!!

Here's Alex in his FBLA gear.....he has been working on sorporate sponsorships and has not got all of his!! The officers need to get 3, and he got his last one this week.

Here he is on the first day of school. A junior this year, hard to believe....he's been keeping busy with school work and FBLA stuff. He was elected Local Secretary this week, so was happy about that.

As I approach the final 3 months of my 30's, I am realizing that I am not enjoying getting old!! I was hoping for a non-eventful 3 months, but I guess when you are as old as I am, thats not an option. This past week, my favorite Uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer, not sure what type, he's still undergoing some testing, my cousin tried to end her life, I have another cousin in treatment for 90 days for depression/alcoholism, and my friends husband was diagnosed with brain cancer, stage 4, and has 6-12 months to live. So please, keep these people in your prayers!!

My vacation to Cancun cannot come any sooner!!! I leave on December 5th......cannot wait!! I would love to start packing now, but I think I do have time for that later!!!!!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I am headed down to my crawl space to find my little tree to decorate for Fall.

Have a great week!!!

Rita

Simply August

It's hard to believe that August is in full swing, and in 11 days Alex will start his Junior year of high school. Earlier this week the temp was 100 degrees, today it's 69. We really have not even had much of a summer, but I am prepared to get this school year started!!

So far, we've been busy this month:

* we were in Minneapolis for 4 days this past week.
* Alex celebrated his 17th birthday on the 9th.
* my nephew Tyler turned 18 on the 5th.
* my sister will have a birthday tomorrow - not sure how old, just know that shes older then ME!!
* my nephew Taylor left for college, he's now part of the NCAA!!
* my 2 friends from high school were here this week to cool off at our home town pool!! they brought their little people and we all had fun!!
* Alex purchased his first laptop with his own money!!
* I've been busy outside trying to trim up some of my flowers....they are overgrowing my flower bed!!
* the list goes on.


I am back to work tomorrow after having the past week off. ugh. I love being at home, but miss the social aspect of work.

>

Hope you all enjoy the week!!

North Dakota State Fair 2009

Just thought I would share a few pictures from the fair....Alex and I went there yesterday, I swore I would not go this year, but I did, and I did enjoy myself. Alex was off with friends, and I was alone.....it was GREAT!!!
Here we have Sally the Camel......I believe you could actually have a ride on Sally for a small fee. I was riding on the tractor when I took this pic, so did not get any details.


Here is a pic looking down the midway where all the rides are at, for big people. I used to like some of the rides, but I have no interest in them now. I would rather spend my money on fresh squeezed lemonade, corndogs, etc...... This is also where all the scarey carney folks hang out trying to get you to play there dumb games to get a life size stuffed Sponge Bob.....just what I wanted!!??

This is where the little people hang out. They have a nice assortment of rides for little ones, and of course all the cheesey games, and scarey looking carnival workers.

You will also see many booths that look like this one.......from cheese curds, to hotdogs, corndogs, indian tacos, slushys, donuts, deep fried oreo cookies and candy bars.....the list goes on and on......I had a corndog, some curly potatoes, and a lemonade, and I was happy.

With the State Fair, also comes the livestock. I was in the sheep/swine barn, so took a few pictures while there. (hope I don't get the "swine flu")

Here are the not so small pigs!!! Wow, what a life!! To think they are so tiny when they are born, and they grow up to look like this or in many cases larger!! Yikes!! That's about all I could take in the barn, the smell was about enough to knock me out!!

I hope you enjoyed the State Fair, as I did. For the record, this was the largest State Fair in ND to date. and....Taylor Swift had the largest crowd at our State Fair then any other concert she has performed at. How cool is that??

I have some recipes to post, so hopefully tomorrow I will find some time. I got my housework done today, and if I can get my yard work done, I will post again tomorrow!!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.