Grumpy old man magnet

Happy Good Friday! 

Its cold, rainy and I am on day 5 of bronchitis. To make things worse is that NO ONE is getting my Zoolander 'black lunch' reference. I must be getting old.

I decided to drag my sorry butt out and hangout at the internet/coffee cafe. This is a sweet place. But of course if there is an odd old man anywhere to be seen, they find me. He starts the conversation asking about my laptop and once I smile and answer then he is off on the rant.

They owners actually came over to tell him to be quiet. LOL!! But he never leaves. Finally he goes and the cute guy beside me takes off his head phones and says that I was being kind to the grumpy man. Thought about helping me out but said I has handling it. 

Seriously!?!? IF you weren't so cute I would have smacked you for not stepping in.  Maybe my good karma was will result in future conversations with cutie boy. One can only hope.

As cutie boy leaves he tells me his name and says he hopes to see me ---without the loud man-- next time.

FYI---this happened to me last weekend at Starbucks too

Sofa Shopping

This is what I like

Couch Hunting should be an Olympic Sport. I have sat on almost every couch in town and haven't found the right one. I feel like I am Goldie Locks. Its either the wrong color, too much or not enuf cushion, wrong price, wrong arm shape.....etc

I think I might end up sitting on the floor. :)

I like the choc brown couch. I have never owned a micro-suede before but that is what the majority of the ungranny-like couches are made of. The search goes on.

post-holiday update

Don’t forget to check out the family pics!!

It’s actually almost mid-Feb but later is better then never Right!?!? The Holidays were highlighted with my emergency gall bladder surgery. That put a twist in the plans. I was lucky to have it happen so close to the holiday break. I spent the first week of the break in bed sleeping. Lets be honest there is about 30 days that I don’t remember! No complications so far. I am just very impatient and still trying to get back to eating food with spice.

My family celebrated the holidays at my brother’s house in Illinois. Forgot how bitter cold the north was! We were lucky to be there between the winter storms. Had a great time and celebrated the New Year’s with my niece and nephew. My new nephew, Nathan, is cute as a button. He slept thru the New Year but I enjoyed spending time with him.

Jan went by really fast and honestly nothing exciting happened. Except for the 3 days snowed in. LOL!! WE were lucky that the ice went further south. They are still cleaning up the mess about 2 hours south of us.

Work is going well. I am between projects right now. Can’t finish any one thing yet. In a few weeks everything will pick up and I will be crazy busy. Its feast or famine! I have been applying for multiple grants while I have the time. I am hoping that some funds will come my way so I don’t have to take out student loans for my last semester.

In March I am moving. My roommate is returning to Hawaii. So this will be the first time I will have the apartment to myself….ever!! Silver lining is that she will be in town till summer at her sis’s house…..which includes a pool and hottub. LOL We will be bummed when she leaves but that just means a trip to Hawaii for me. 

Plans for Spring and Summer are in the air. We lost some vacation days due to the snow so I have to reschedule my Utah plans. I still want to go overseas sometime this summer. The Brit Pound and Euro has finally fallen so the exchange right is more reasonable. Last year it was almost double. EEK!! I guess tourism is also down so there are some great deals.

That is about it. Hope all is well with you. Keep me posted.

New Robbie Videos

Rambles while wandering around Fall

Now that it is dark by 430 everyday, I have plenty of time to email everyone. Don’t even get me started about the whole time change thing.

I truly love this time of year. It is by far my favorite. I have forgotten how vibrant the trees in the Midwest are. I really missed the Maple trees. When I was little (in Nebraska) playing in the leaves was always a blast and we never had a shortage of them. Besides the excellent scenery, you also have the best weather. I like how it is warm but the air is crisp. Makes for great football and local festival weather. Then you have all the great food found at the festivals and orchards. You would think that I would be sick of cider but I enjoy going to the orchard to pick up fresh apples and newly pressed cider. Don’t forget the corn-mazes and bonfires too.

Now when you look around all you see are the signs that fall is over. Santa is at the mall, dark when you go/return from work, you are stuck running at the gym instead of the trails, and that brown grass and trees. Sigh…. Things will be kinda blah till the first snowfall. And thanks to climate change, I may have to migrate north to see the white stuff.

Other news….. My nephew is a month old and the two older siblings are doing well and adjusting. My mom and dad went to visit for Halloween. I don’t know who enjoyed it more, the kids or grandparents. My parents survived some construction at the house. No more chimney and hello new wall with fab window. Only sad part is now the kids won’t have a chimney to hang stockings (by kids I include myself,my bro, and wife lol) Dad will have to rig something up.

Work is going well. I like all the tech stuff in a warped way. Don’t worry, I haven’t turned into one of those odd/hide in the dark tech people. I took the semester off to adjust to new job and the fact I had transfer because the school I was at lost their accreditation in MO, but will be back in Jan.

Roomie is leaving for Hawaii in the Spring. Now her ‘days are limited’. I think that is to just get her way. LOL But on the upside, I will have a new place to visit. Her family has offered and it would be rude not to take advantage of it. 

Christmas plans are still up in the air. Was going to head to Vegas for New Years or Chicago for xmas. Everyone around is changing plans so I am going to wait and see what happens. I think I will aim for Prez Day vacation to go on a holiday. Hopefully the airlines will agree with me.

FYI—as of today gas is only 1.82 gallon. Gotta love it!! What will I do with all my extra gas money!?!?!?!

Let me know how you are and I will post new pics soon!!
Take care and go enjoy some Wassail.
Lisa

Random Pics

At Springfield Cardinal Baseball Game.




In KC at Art Museum and then Rho's 'cousins'


Bday Fondue Party


SpringBreak 08 Fishing Trip

Sept Update

Hope you are enjoying your pre-fall activities!!

The last four days been really nice fall rainy weather. But the last few days I have been sick. Don't know if it is a nice cold or allergies. Hopefully this weekend I get over it. I figured since I am stuck inside, might as well catch up on some emails.

Work has been really busy, but in a different way then I was used to before. End of September and October I have a bunch of state reporting I have to do... plus the regular stuff. I rarely see anyone... mostly just phone calls and emails from people needing help.

Labor weekend was really nice. My sis-in-law is doing really great.... she is due mid-October but I don't think she will last that long. They are having a boy... Nathaniel

We shopped with the kids, biked/played in the park, & did some exploring in the towns near by on the Mississippi. On the way home we stopped at this huge Amish colony... bought some cool stuff. Seriously good cheese, breads, and summer sausage.

I haven't up North for awhile and forgot about how Northerners act... sometimes in peculiar ways.

But the cops were extremely thick. Saw over 12 in an hour. Actually got pulled over. But I was going faster earlier in the day. The officer said the windows of my mom's car was too dark...whatever. They gave me a warning and no my good looks didn't get me out of the ticket--- i was still in my PJ's. :)

Will post pics ASAP.