Grandmother Update

I didn't realize that my last blog had been my grandmother's hospitalization.
I am happy to report that she did come home about a week later. They put a pace maker in her... yes, doctors rationalized a pacemaker for a 96 year old woman!
She's doing well... stubborn as ever and refuses to move out of her own home.
Uncles and aunts are rearranging schedules to figure out how to be at their house more, to help my grandfather take care of her.
So... it'll be a bit longer before I see my extended family...
Maybe by the time she does become grave, Steven adn I would have some exciting news to share... but until then...

Crazy Month of May

It's been a while since I've blogged... and the month of May seemed to have never ended with parties, Confirmations, Graduations and rain.
We confirmed 2 young ladies at St. Peter's; and 4 young ladies at St. Luke's, graduated off a few from Stanton High School and retired a teacher as well.
Somewhere in there, we also managed to get a quick trip to Hastings, to see my great-aunt and uncle... I've only seen them once in the last 3 years. Aunt Georgie is my mother's maternal aunt... my grandmother died in '93, so it's been interesting to see my aunt age... and see the family resemblances!!! My gosh!!!
Hastings is a fabulous and quaint midwestern city... population is 25,000 approximately. It has an adorable and thriving downtown with personality and specialty shops; and the Blue Moon coffee shop... a must for any idea of survival! But at the same time, Hastings is growing and boasts the chain stores of a super Wal-Mart, huge Menard's, and the chain stores that typically follow suit. It's located along the Platte River... mostly known for the migratory patterns of the cranes in late winter/early spring. One of these days, I'll see them... hundreds of thousands of cranes holding time along this shallow and wide river; waiting for the warmth to come to Canada, to go home. Fascinating!
Memorial Day weekend, we had the opportunity to attend the Memorial service at the cemetary... a first for me... and it was a bit windy and chilly; compared with the day before... of 80s. But it made an impact on me... as I considered the fact that my sister would be one of those soldiers in Iraq, so very soon.
After the ceremony, we took part in the ribbon cutting of the new Pilger Swimming Pool... a $750,000 undertaking... I commend the village for taking this on... not an easy one; but one that is a key piece in the chance of a future of the village.
And we'll finish the month out in Grand Island at our annual Nebraska Synod Assembly. What a priviledge that I get to spend my 34th birthday at a conference... surrounded by 1,000 of my closest friends... :)
Steven heads to camp on Sunday, to kick off the summer, with 10 young ladies... confirmands from both churches. Camp isn't his best gift or strength; but it's really one of those, 'once he's there, it's enjoyable.' and when all else fails, he finds himself in Lincoln at Barnes and Noble for a bit of introvert time.

Honoring Gertrude

Last night, my father called to let me know that my paternal grandmother, Gertrude; had been hospitalized and the outcome was unknown... tenuous, no doubt.
Gertrude is 96 years old... born in '12; married in '36; 6 children (one died in '73), 9 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren (just 2 grandkids have come through!). She is a retired school teacher who taught English... devout Roman Catholic and awesome fudge maker, in her prime.
She's outlived several Pope's... her dying wish was to have met Pope J.P. II. She did that; and outlived him... not sure if Benedict XIV is on her list of 'to meets'... she'll meet him, someday!
So... the waiting game continues... Grandpa, I know, will stay by her side... and all of the kids are making their journey to their mother, coming in from Ohio, Illinois, Texas and Louisiana.
My dad's folks are my remaining grandparents... I grieve that they may not meet my kids... that's one wish I had wanted... but then again, I've not sped up the process and they've held on until their 90s... someone is going to have to make a move!
More to come on Gertrude's life...

Surviving Easter

It's been a while since I last blogged... Easter has come and gone... and honestly, I remember very little of it. It was cold, and because of that; it didn't seem very Easter-y.
We did venture out during the late afternoon to a friend's house... nice to get out and have someone else cook dinner.
The morning after, Steven flew to Texas for a few days of R & R. My mother and step-father arrived on Wednesday; and I took the rest of the week off to spend time with them. During their stay, it rained, sleeted, snowed and slightly hailed. Nebraska spring weather in a nutshell. It was nuts... and cold, and miserable; so there was lots of card playing to do and just hanging out. Steven returned on Thursday and the all-camp activity on Friday was a trip to Sioux City, Starbucks and Barnes and Noble were the highlights for all.
My step-dad participated in worship that weekend, playing his guitar and wowing the crowds... with country gospel music. There really aren't crowds the sunday after Easter (a very typical low-Sunday attendance); but for those who were there, a treat was had by all.
Dark and early the next morning, everyone left... the parents hit the road for an all-day drive back to Texas; and Steven headed to the airport once more for a trip to Chicago... and the house was silent... and Tucker and I just sat!
And then we prepared for the next wave... Steven returned on Wednesday; and my sister arrived on Thursday, staying till Friday; leaving with us her electronics that she'd prefer to not put in storage during her deployment. We rearranged Steven's office, switched around the living room and sent her on her way back to Cheyenne.
And then we sat, and played video games... pretending we knew what we were doing.
But then the biggest excitement came the next week... our house went wireless for internet! My husband has discovered youtube.com and the myriad of websites out there that work much better on wireless than dial-up... it was nice knowing him while i did! :)

Board Games and Card Games

I grew up in a card playing/board game playing family. I've realized that you either are or are not a game player... it's probably a 50/50 chance of marrying someone who grew up with the same tradition. I distinctly remember Sunday Night Game nights (before Hasbro or Mattel thought to market them); and I remember long running Rummy 500 games with my father in the summertime during college. It's what we did.
Now, I'm not talking "Hungry, Hungry Hippo" or "Candy Land" and "Chutes and Ladders." No chance that we'd have the games of just 'luck' in our house... although I did manage to sneak in "Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City" and "Sweet Valley High." From my earliest memory, we were playing: Uno, Jumble, Yahtzee, Monopoly, Othello, Mastermind, Rummikub, Chinese Checkers, Chess, Pente, Waterworks, Connect Four, Perfection, Mille Bornes, Trivial Pursuit and Parchessi, to name a few. Card games were Rummy 500, Gin, Spades, Hearts and progressed into 42 with dominoes. And I'm completely aware that you may not have heard of all of the board games... neither had my husband. Of course, Solitaire in a dozen different ways was always the option too... Idiot's Delight was a time killer favorite... cards were always packed for vacations, road trips, etc.
New games have come into our family: Phase 10, Sudoku, Mexican Train, Chickenfoot, Pitch, Sequence and Apples to Apples. I'm grateful to game companies who can continue to dream up new and inventive ways to play a game. And I'm glad to see they are games that my husband is willing to try, play and win! But here in lies the twist...
Game playing with just 2 people isn't so much fun. Yes, Othello, Chess, Checkers, Mastermind and a few others work perfectly with two people... but Uno, Phase 10, Spades, Hearts, and domino games work much better with 3-4+ people. You need them for friendly competition and a better strategic game...
Which leads me in to my most recent 'laugh till your belly hurts' reflection.
My sister blew into town this past weekend, enroute to her base. We had brought out the card shuffler (for my husband's entertainment) and the Phase 10 25th Anniversary card set for an afternoon of low-key entertainment and friendly competition. We'd gotten through one game and were starting another, when a friend dropped in... with a few hours to kill before his next appointment. We invited him to join in our game... gave him the brief and important rules, and started a new round. Steven and I were thrilled... we hadn't had 2 guests over in ages to play games.
Halfway through the game, it looked a bit like this... Courtney had the lead early on; but had given it up; Steven was quietly progressing through his phases, not paying attention to anyone else's game... Steph was in the lead, in points and phases and Erik was in dead last in all categories... he was sitting in the defense position to Steph... so, he quickly had to decide: Defense or offense. Was this game about keeping Steph from winning or giving himself a boost in the rankings? He choose defense which lead into the most hysterical attempt to sabotage Steph and in the meantime, inadvertently sabotaged his own hand from ANY chance of going out... he was holding all of the yellow cards, and in the meantime, didn't have a chance of getting his 4 of a kind as necessary. In the end of that hand, Steven, Mr. Methodical; went out... and Erik and I got stuck with obscene amounts of points... I hadn't really cared what I was doing... it was much more fun watching the sabotage play out and laughing till the gut just hurt.
Steven and Stephani are 1st borns: "Must Win."
Erik and I are the babies... "Just want someone to play with. Don't care about winning."

The War in Iraq

Let me start out by saying that this in no way is going to turn into a political piece. I have quickly separated 'politics' and 'emotional ties' in regards to the military, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan or anywhere else for that matter that the government is shipping our soldiers off to.
A bit of background... my father is a Vietnam Vet, not by choice. I grew up in a household where those months/years of his life were not discussed. We were not allowed to watch anything about the war on t.v.
Flashforward... my sister does the college thing, the post-college jobs and then decides to sign up for the Air Force at the age of 26. Eleven years later, we're finally having to face the idea that she's going to be going across the pond to Baghdad for a year, in personnel support with the Army. What she's actually going to be doing... well, do any of us really know? Or want to know?
She was given the information this week of where she will be doing her pre-deployment training... in Washington State. So, the mental preparation really begins for our family.
She's stopping in to visit this weekend, and I know the visits really are numbered before her departure. We're the only siblings... and she's not married nor has kids; so we won't have to worry about her dependents... just our nice, close-knit family... who really struggles with the needs of the military; and how she feels called to this job. I'm grateful she does... because it's never been a part of my thought process... I'm quite a junkie on picking out my own clothes each day... I'm forever grateful that she and thousands of other men and women are dedicating their lives to our government and the freedom of us and others throughout the world.
More to come on this subject, I'm sure...

Eating Out and Eating Healthy in Mid-America

I know... I talk a lot about food. It's become my obsession, as I joined Weight Watchers in 2007; and lost 40 pounds. I've become in fear of it; yet, I still crave it!
So, as you've read... eating out isn't quite as easy as it sounds; and eating healthy is quite the next chore. Most small cafes are equipt with the basic menu: cheeseburgers, fries, gems (tater tots), breaded chicken sandwiches, mexi-burger (Sloppy joes), onion rings and other strange oddities: fried cheese curds, breaded french fries and something local... one is always skeptical.
So, I love it when I do find the stand alone 'house salad.' Usually preparing myself that it's lettuce with a tomato or two on top. Never fear, ask for dressing on the side for your own control.
So, how does one go out to eat with their very high metabolism husband, and stay within the realm of eating well? I think last time that I ate at our local cafe, I ordered the chicken breast sandwich, hold the buns (as they are buttered and toasted); and had a hot veggie side dish. Of course, I had one of my hubby's sour cream fries (which used to be my staple); and I tasted the local water. Not exciting; but supporting the local economy is important!
If you've got tips, or better ideas on how to get around the skinny menu that doesn't keep you skinny, let me know!