Here are your answers for the riddles. Let's see how you did...
Answers:
1. If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, then you are second!
2. If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?
3. Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100. If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!
4. Did you answer 'Nunu'? NO! Of course it isn't. Her name is Mary! Read the question again.
5. He just has to open his mouth and ask...
And how did you do?
12.31.2008
Riddle me this...
Quick set of brain teasers for you today :)
1. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
2. If you overtake the last person, then you are... ?
3. Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10 . What is the total?
4. Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
5. A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?
Post your answers in the comments, and eventually we'll share the answers, to see just how you did today! :)
1. You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
2. If you overtake the last person, then you are... ?
3. Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10 . What is the total?
4. Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
5. A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?
Post your answers in the comments, and eventually we'll share the answers, to see just how you did today! :)
12.30.2008
Christmas Recap
Ok, so we slacked a little with the blog during Christmas....
Seeing as how Bethany now has a JOB, we had to wait around to receive her "hiring packet" in the mail, until Tuesday. Then we left for Montgomery to spend Christmas with the family.
Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we went to a candlelight service with my folks, and did Christmas with my parents.
Thursday, Christmas Day, we did Christmas morning with Bethany's family.
Of course we made out with a nice little loot from everyone, and surely didn't go away disappointed! It was a great time.
We stayed in Montgomery throughout the weekend, visiting with family, lounging around, enjoying the holidays, and doing a whole lot of nothing. By the time we returned on Sunday, the holidays were over and we both had to go to work. Talk about a SHORT HOLIDAY!
Seeing as how Bethany now has a JOB, we had to wait around to receive her "hiring packet" in the mail, until Tuesday. Then we left for Montgomery to spend Christmas with the family.
Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we went to a candlelight service with my folks, and did Christmas with my parents.
Thursday, Christmas Day, we did Christmas morning with Bethany's family.
Of course we made out with a nice little loot from everyone, and surely didn't go away disappointed! It was a great time.
We stayed in Montgomery throughout the weekend, visiting with family, lounging around, enjoying the holidays, and doing a whole lot of nothing. By the time we returned on Sunday, the holidays were over and we both had to go to work. Talk about a SHORT HOLIDAY!
12.17.2008
Woohoo!!
Merry Christmas and a Ho, ho, ho to Robert and I. I accepted a position at UAB this morning, so although I don't quite have my degree yet, I do finally have the big J-O-B :). I start in January and will defend my thesis in the next few months. This is a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because we weren't sure how easy it was going to be to get a job in this economy. I will be in a structural biology lab doing things I've never done before, so this is going to be a great opportunity for me to learn some new technologies in an exciting field of research.
Well I better quit stalling and get back to icing the 14 dozen cookies that we need to have done by tomorrow. We will post pictures of our finished product. We hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.
~Bethany
Well I better quit stalling and get back to icing the 14 dozen cookies that we need to have done by tomorrow. We will post pictures of our finished product. We hope everyone is having a happy holiday season.
~Bethany
12.10.2008
Weather Flashback
Just a little weather comparison between Iowa and home.
Home:
Iowa:
Yep. It's good to be home!
Home:
Iowa:
Yep. It's good to be home!12.09.2008
Atlanta recap
As most know, we went to Atlanta to go the 2008 SEC championship game, courtesy of my grandmother. She willingly gave us her tickets, so we put them to good use. Who wouldn't have? Along with the game tickets, she provided two for the SEC fanfare too.
10:00 - We arrived in downtown Atlanta, found our parking spot just east of the dome, and headed into the crowd. We stumbled on a parade and kept moving...
11:00 - Made it into the World Congress Center, watched some kids play flag football, took some photos with the Chick-fil-a cows, the Nissan Sports Illustrated group, and enjoyed the crowd atmosphere.
2:45pm - Finally get back to the stadium, and now have to stand in line for what seems forever to get cleared to get back into the stadium.
3:20pm - We realized our seats were actually in the nosebleed section, 10-12 rows from the top!
4:00pm - Kickoff. Since I didn't have the camera, I had to settle with the low quality cell phone camera.
Again, I could take too many post game pictures that would turn out, but there really wasn't a whole lot to photograph since we lost.
We left the game, headed to a really late dinner and still made it back to Kim's apartment within an hour. Somehow we completely avoided most of the traffic. That was the best part.
Sunday - Georgia Aquarium. Too be continued...
10:00 - We arrived in downtown Atlanta, found our parking spot just east of the dome, and headed into the crowd. We stumbled on a parade and kept moving...
11:00 - Made it into the World Congress Center, watched some kids play flag football, took some photos with the Chick-fil-a cows, the Nissan Sports Illustrated group, and enjoyed the crowd atmosphere.
2:00pm - We figured we'd beat the crowd and head into the dome early. This is where we got the notice that I had to be turned away until I stored my camera elsewhere. Apparently, some kind of SEC rule prohibits cameras with interchangable lenses and lenses over 6inches long.
2:45pm - Finally get back to the stadium, and now have to stand in line for what seems forever to get cleared to get back into the stadium.
3:20pm - We realized our seats were actually in the nosebleed section, 10-12 rows from the top!
4:00pm - Kickoff. Since I didn't have the camera, I had to settle with the low quality cell phone camera.
Both schools came out and did the national anthem for everyone.
Nothing really took well during the game, but the extra lights helped for post game. Unfortunately, the outcome was 31-20 in the favor of Florida. Not what we were hoping for, but we still had fun.
Nothing really took well during the game, but the extra lights helped for post game. Unfortunately, the outcome was 31-20 in the favor of Florida. Not what we were hoping for, but we still had fun.
Again, I could take too many post game pictures that would turn out, but there really wasn't a whole lot to photograph since we lost.We left the game, headed to a really late dinner and still made it back to Kim's apartment within an hour. Somehow we completely avoided most of the traffic. That was the best part.
Sunday - Georgia Aquarium. Too be continued...
12.07.2008
Dumb rules...
Quick post...details to come later...
NO CAMERAS W/ INTERCHANGABLE LENSES ALLOWED IN THE GEORGIA DOME
What kind of crap is that? I show up at the gate 2hrs early to get told I can't bring the camera w/ the telephoto lens since it's a "professional camera" and I have to take it back to the car. A point and shoot is allowed, but nothing with interchangable lenses.
Yet amazing how many others we saw with nice SLR's that are interchangable. Talk about making you mad!
The actual breakdown to come later...
NO CAMERAS W/ INTERCHANGABLE LENSES ALLOWED IN THE GEORGIA DOME
What kind of crap is that? I show up at the gate 2hrs early to get told I can't bring the camera w/ the telephoto lens since it's a "professional camera" and I have to take it back to the car. A point and shoot is allowed, but nothing with interchangable lenses.
Yet amazing how many others we saw with nice SLR's that are interchangable. Talk about making you mad!
The actual breakdown to come later...
12.06.2008
Atlanta or BUST
Bethany and I scored two tickets to the 2008 SEC Championship Game, (No.1) ALABAMA vs (No.2 AP/No.4 espn) FLORIDA for today and I am pumped.
We drove in last night from Birmingham and visited with our dear friend Kim (Thanks Kim) to be in place for the game. Last night was Mellow Mushroom before crashing at her pad for the night.
This morning, yea we're getting ready to head out to the game! We'll be there celebrating and pulling for the TIDE! We'll keep you updated...
This post is brought to you live from Atlanta on location in Kim's Apartment...
We drove in last night from Birmingham and visited with our dear friend Kim (Thanks Kim) to be in place for the game. Last night was Mellow Mushroom before crashing at her pad for the night.This morning, yea we're getting ready to head out to the game! We'll be there celebrating and pulling for the TIDE! We'll keep you updated...
This post is brought to you live from Atlanta on location in Kim's Apartment...
12.03.2008
When it rains, it pours....
Well, I thought that once the month of November was past us, the rest of my bouts of bad luck would pass too. At least Robert is home now to help me with everything.
It all started when I went up to Birmingham near the beginning of November and decided to paint our downstairs hallways. While taping things off and getting stuff ready to paint, I heard a buzzing in the living room. Turned out there were about ten or so wasps congregating in the living room windows. They were pretty content to stay there when it was pretty cold in the morning, but by the afternoon when things had warmed up, they were buzzing all over the place. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get rid of them, but I ended up deciding on a fogger. The only bad thing about the fogger is that I had to leave for about 4 hours. At least the lawn needed mowing, so I killed a bunch of time doing that. When I was done, I had lots of wasp bodies littering the living room.
That same weekend I had big plans for getting all of my laundry done. Turns out though, that when you leave your house for an extended period of time, you should turn the water off to your washer. Apparently, we had water leaking from one of our connections for a while leaving a bit of water damage behind.
Because of all the distractions, I didn't get my hallways completely painted. I figured Robert could help me out before Thanksgiving, but he ended up having to stay on a little longer than we expected. No big deal.....we just have primed walls at the moment :). So, I cleaned up what mess I could and went back to Montgomery.
The weekend before Robert came home, I went back to Birmingham to finish cleaning up the messes I had left behind earlier. Sunday morning, Java woke me up with that infamous gagging sound that precedes the inevitable. It was apparent that she had swallowed a few rocks the day before, and the larger ones escaped the best way they could. After upchucking three rocks, she was still pretty uncomfortable, so I called the emergency vet clinic because she obviously couldn't have eaten these rocks during the middle of the week.....she had to do it over the weekend. After an X-ray showed that one rock had made it into her intestines, the emergency vet decided to hook her up to fluids, keep her overnight and update me once before going off duty and assuming that I would just transfer her to our regular vet on Monday. So I picked her up Monday morning and we were on our way with an envelope of X-rays, no records and a bag of fluids. At this point in time, I had no idea where the rock was or when the last time X-rays had been taken. Our regular vet did an X-ray, said the rock was moving along and sent me home with Java and fiber rich canned food. After all of that, the rock made its escape Monday night and things have been going well for Java since then. Red on the other hand goes into the vet this Thursday for a dental and lump removal.....
I figured things would fall into place once Robert came home, and they have for the most part. Except his truck is now doing funny things, so off to the dealer that will go. I just love how everything decides to fall apart right around the holidays.
On a lighter note, we are getting back into a routine and things are getting back to normal. We had a great holiday and hope that everyone else did too :)!
It all started when I went up to Birmingham near the beginning of November and decided to paint our downstairs hallways. While taping things off and getting stuff ready to paint, I heard a buzzing in the living room. Turned out there were about ten or so wasps congregating in the living room windows. They were pretty content to stay there when it was pretty cold in the morning, but by the afternoon when things had warmed up, they were buzzing all over the place. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get rid of them, but I ended up deciding on a fogger. The only bad thing about the fogger is that I had to leave for about 4 hours. At least the lawn needed mowing, so I killed a bunch of time doing that. When I was done, I had lots of wasp bodies littering the living room.
That same weekend I had big plans for getting all of my laundry done. Turns out though, that when you leave your house for an extended period of time, you should turn the water off to your washer. Apparently, we had water leaking from one of our connections for a while leaving a bit of water damage behind.
Because of all the distractions, I didn't get my hallways completely painted. I figured Robert could help me out before Thanksgiving, but he ended up having to stay on a little longer than we expected. No big deal.....we just have primed walls at the moment :). So, I cleaned up what mess I could and went back to Montgomery.
The weekend before Robert came home, I went back to Birmingham to finish cleaning up the messes I had left behind earlier. Sunday morning, Java woke me up with that infamous gagging sound that precedes the inevitable. It was apparent that she had swallowed a few rocks the day before, and the larger ones escaped the best way they could. After upchucking three rocks, she was still pretty uncomfortable, so I called the emergency vet clinic because she obviously couldn't have eaten these rocks during the middle of the week.....she had to do it over the weekend. After an X-ray showed that one rock had made it into her intestines, the emergency vet decided to hook her up to fluids, keep her overnight and update me once before going off duty and assuming that I would just transfer her to our regular vet on Monday. So I picked her up Monday morning and we were on our way with an envelope of X-rays, no records and a bag of fluids. At this point in time, I had no idea where the rock was or when the last time X-rays had been taken. Our regular vet did an X-ray, said the rock was moving along and sent me home with Java and fiber rich canned food. After all of that, the rock made its escape Monday night and things have been going well for Java since then. Red on the other hand goes into the vet this Thursday for a dental and lump removal.....
I figured things would fall into place once Robert came home, and they have for the most part. Except his truck is now doing funny things, so off to the dealer that will go. I just love how everything decides to fall apart right around the holidays.
On a lighter note, we are getting back into a routine and things are getting back to normal. We had a great holiday and hope that everyone else did too :)!
12.01.2008
Random Catch-up
Ok, so we got behind yet again... (what else is new?)
Here's a quick recap:
1. I landed in BHM Tuesday (11/25) night, late. I found an iPhone at the Cincinnati airport sitting on the chair arm. I gave it to the desk attendant, but I still hope whoever lost it, manages to find it. That's a tough loss.
2. Family came and visited on 11/25 through 11/30. We had celebratory Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cornbread dressing, frozen cranberry salad, squash casserole, green beans, and both sweet & mashed potatoes. This is apparently the first time my "yankee family" has ever had cornbread dressing....
3. Iron Bowl. I don't need to elaborate too much, it may hurt the feelings of the Auburn fans around here. We were able to get tickets from my grandmother, so Michael, Bethany, myself, and Amanda got to enjoy a great game. Well, Michael & I enjoyed a great game. For those unsure, Bama beat the drum to a tune of 36-0! Roll Tide.
4. Christmas...Time to decorate...We'll post photos later, when everything is done...
Here's a quick recap:
1. I landed in BHM Tuesday (11/25) night, late. I found an iPhone at the Cincinnati airport sitting on the chair arm. I gave it to the desk attendant, but I still hope whoever lost it, manages to find it. That's a tough loss.
2. Family came and visited on 11/25 through 11/30. We had celebratory Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, stuffing, cornbread dressing, frozen cranberry salad, squash casserole, green beans, and both sweet & mashed potatoes. This is apparently the first time my "yankee family" has ever had cornbread dressing....
3. Iron Bowl. I don't need to elaborate too much, it may hurt the feelings of the Auburn fans around here. We were able to get tickets from my grandmother, so Michael, Bethany, myself, and Amanda got to enjoy a great game. Well, Michael & I enjoyed a great game. For those unsure, Bama beat the drum to a tune of 36-0! Roll Tide.
4. Christmas...Time to decorate...We'll post photos later, when everything is done...
11.21.2008
Lessons Learned
As I mentioned earlier, it was cold last night. It got into the single digits last night around these parts. Some are excited, because the colder it gets, the faster the lake freezes, and the quicker the ice fishing season starts. Great. Not me!
Well, on the way to the post office this morning, I made a rather interesting discovery. Drinks freeze in single digit temperatures. On my previous trip to Cedar Falls last Tuesday, I bought a Mountain Dew. I left it in the cupholder, didn't go anywhere yesterday, and forgot about it last night. This morning, on the way to the post office, I noticed the 'brick' of Dew sitting there...Luckily it didn't explode in the cupholder.
After noticing the Mtn. Dew, I then made the realization that I had a 6pk of waters in the trunk. They've been there for a good while now too...After a few uses, I recycle the bottles, and get new ones out of the car. Well this morning, yep, they were pretty frozen too.
The bulging bottle...guess I got lucky. Of the 6, 4 of them are okay. Two actually busted and cracked the plastic from the neck to the base. Again, luckily it is so cold, they stayed frozen, adhered themselves to the carpet in the trunk, and just needed to be thrown away. The others, well one is a slush with a rather large bulge through the bottle, and the other is just frozen solid. Again, call me lucky.
I'll put these back in my fridge and try to drink them quickly before I head home. Can't take them with me on the flight...
Well, on the way to the post office this morning, I made a rather interesting discovery. Drinks freeze in single digit temperatures. On my previous trip to Cedar Falls last Tuesday, I bought a Mountain Dew. I left it in the cupholder, didn't go anywhere yesterday, and forgot about it last night. This morning, on the way to the post office, I noticed the 'brick' of Dew sitting there...Luckily it didn't explode in the cupholder.
After noticing the Mtn. Dew, I then made the realization that I had a 6pk of waters in the trunk. They've been there for a good while now too...After a few uses, I recycle the bottles, and get new ones out of the car. Well this morning, yep, they were pretty frozen too.
The bulging bottle...guess I got lucky. Of the 6, 4 of them are okay. Two actually busted and cracked the plastic from the neck to the base. Again, luckily it is so cold, they stayed frozen, adhered themselves to the carpet in the trunk, and just needed to be thrown away. The others, well one is a slush with a rather large bulge through the bottle, and the other is just frozen solid. Again, call me lucky. 
I'll put these back in my fridge and try to drink them quickly before I head home. Can't take them with me on the flight...Note to self: When freezing, remove everything from the car. Probably safer that way!
There should be laws...
...about it being so darn cold. Last night we hit single digits...6*. That's cold. Today, currently, it's 10*. At least it's warming up some.
11.20.2008
Coming Home
I've been here since Aug. 1st working. My work here is done and it's time for me to start heading home. After being here this long, I've started calling the hotel home, but I'm ready to really get home. Home, here I come!
I have everything wrapped up, most everything packed, questions answered, travel arrangements made, and now, just hurry up and wait.
Under one week...
I'll see everyone when I get home
I have everything wrapped up, most everything packed, questions answered, travel arrangements made, and now, just hurry up and wait.
Under one week...
I'll see everyone when I get home
11.15.2008
I just thought it was cold
I thought it was cold earlier....it's REAL COLD now!
I went out to an early dinner at 4:30 for wings, football, and drinks. When I left to come home for the 2nd half of the Bama game at 8, I already had ice all over the car.
Yea. It's COLD.
I went out to an early dinner at 4:30 for wings, football, and drinks. When I left to come home for the 2nd half of the Bama game at 8, I already had ice all over the car.Yea. It's COLD.
Still fallin'
This is really something I can look forward to. It's nice to know I'm not having to pay out my first born for a gallon of gas.
This is taken at the Pilot just beside my hotel and the interstate. The crazy thing is that it's $1.87 about 5mi down the road away from the interstate.
The crazy thing is that regular unleaded is usually more expensive than the super unleaded, all because of the ethanol. The regular has no ethanol in it, so it's more expensive. Amazing what happens when the state has huge tax incentives for "green gas".
This is taken at the Pilot just beside my hotel and the interstate. The crazy thing is that it's $1.87 about 5mi down the road away from the interstate.The crazy thing is that regular unleaded is usually more expensive than the super unleaded, all because of the ethanol. The regular has no ethanol in it, so it's more expensive. Amazing what happens when the state has huge tax incentives for "green gas".
More of the Windmill
There are still quite a few windmill workers in the area around here. Just earlier this week, we say another convoy of blades heading down the highway. This is a bad photo, but it's from the 5th floor windo of the hotel.
That's one blade on the truck. It's a pain in the rear when trying to pass them on the interstate. The most common ones around here are close to 150ft long!
That's one blade on the truck. It's a pain in the rear when trying to pass them on the interstate. The most common ones around here are close to 150ft long!
11.09.2008
This is cold
Yea it's cold. This was the forcast at 11am this morning.
We still have snow lingering around on the grass around us, and ice patches in the parking lots. Definitely colder than back home!
We still have snow lingering around on the grass around us, and ice patches in the parking lots. Definitely colder than back home!11.07.2008
I woke up to snow
As usual, I threw open the window curtian around 6:30 this morning to notice it had snowed during the night. It wasn't much, but it was snow. And us 'southern folk' don't get to see too much snow.
So, just before the morning meeting, I ran out and snapped a few photos for everyone to enjoy. Guess this means that it's really about to start getting cold!
By the way, this is my newest rental car, a two door Chevy Cobalt. Not too terribly bad. I'm sure it's "winter driving" capapbilities may not be the best, but it won't be too bad (I hope).
So, just before the morning meeting, I ran out and snapped a few photos for everyone to enjoy. Guess this means that it's really about to start getting cold!
By the way, this is my newest rental car, a two door Chevy Cobalt. Not too terribly bad. I'm sure it's "winter driving" capapbilities may not be the best, but it won't be too bad (I hope). According to the latest weather reports, it's supposed to snow off & on for the next 4-5days with the high being 37*. We'll see what happens by then though.
11.04.2008
Back in Iowa
My vacation is over and I'm back here in Iowa. The vacation itself was pretty good and worth going home for, but it was very short lived.
While home:
--Dad had surgery on his back (10/30) and is finally back home. Surprisingly, he went home pretty early after such a serious surgery. Amazing. He's still got some pains, a 7inch cut, and can't walk very far, but at least he's home.
--We trick-or-treated on 10/31. Bethany, myself, her parents, and Mike all came to the house to pass out candy and eat dinner, and generally do nothing. We burned through 6 bags of candy by roughly 8'oclock. We had droves of kids showing up looking for candy. I carved our pumpkin in about 20mins for the night, and didn't take a single photo of it. Nothing elaborate. Triangle eyes, buckteeth, candle inside...yea nothing fancy. Not long after the kiddies came, we went to bed in anticipation of the race.
--I ran in the Vulcan 10k run on 11/1. It was a new PR for my 10k, but definitely not what I was shooting for. I finished in 1:08:08, placing #1303 out of 1550 runners. Now, my leg is still hurting from the run and I'm willing to bet that means a long time off from running! I have one more race for the year that I'd like to work on so we'll see how that goes.
--Roll Tide. After the race, Mrs. C, Bethany & I drove to Tuscaloosa, tailgated shortly with the gang on campus, and then went to the UA vs Ark. St. game for homecoming. It was nice to get to go to a ballgame finally. Alabama won 35-0. The best part was that Texas Tech beat Texas throwing us to No. 1 in the nation! ROLL TIDE.
-- I packed and headed back out on Sun 11/2.
The interesting thing is that now that I packed all warm clothes, it's turned warm in Iowa. Today's high is supposed to be 69*. Yesterday was about 65*. I guess it's okay though, b/c the weather is predicting snow for the weekend. Guess there's no way avoiding it when I'm this far north.
I'll be heading home for good soon. See you all shortly.
While home:
--Dad had surgery on his back (10/30) and is finally back home. Surprisingly, he went home pretty early after such a serious surgery. Amazing. He's still got some pains, a 7inch cut, and can't walk very far, but at least he's home.
--We trick-or-treated on 10/31. Bethany, myself, her parents, and Mike all came to the house to pass out candy and eat dinner, and generally do nothing. We burned through 6 bags of candy by roughly 8'oclock. We had droves of kids showing up looking for candy. I carved our pumpkin in about 20mins for the night, and didn't take a single photo of it. Nothing elaborate. Triangle eyes, buckteeth, candle inside...yea nothing fancy. Not long after the kiddies came, we went to bed in anticipation of the race.
--I ran in the Vulcan 10k run on 11/1. It was a new PR for my 10k, but definitely not what I was shooting for. I finished in 1:08:08, placing #1303 out of 1550 runners. Now, my leg is still hurting from the run and I'm willing to bet that means a long time off from running! I have one more race for the year that I'd like to work on so we'll see how that goes.
--Roll Tide. After the race, Mrs. C, Bethany & I drove to Tuscaloosa, tailgated shortly with the gang on campus, and then went to the UA vs Ark. St. game for homecoming. It was nice to get to go to a ballgame finally. Alabama won 35-0. The best part was that Texas Tech beat Texas throwing us to No. 1 in the nation! ROLL TIDE.
-- I packed and headed back out on Sun 11/2.
The interesting thing is that now that I packed all warm clothes, it's turned warm in Iowa. Today's high is supposed to be 69*. Yesterday was about 65*. I guess it's okay though, b/c the weather is predicting snow for the weekend. Guess there's no way avoiding it when I'm this far north.
I'll be heading home for good soon. See you all shortly.
10.31.2008
Surgery went well
For those following and not knowing...
Robert's dad had back surgery yesterday (10/30). We knew about it for a while, but just weren't sure how it was going to go. As of last night, he came out of the surgery well, and is still in the hospital. He's supposed to come home Sunday, (11/2).
It started with numerous back problems over the years, but it finally resulted in him having some of his vertebrae (lumbar) fused together. He had a degenerating disk and a bulging disk, which were pressing on some nerves causing problems thoughout his legs. To go with that, they discovered that he also had a pin hole in the spinal column, that was leaking spinal fluid. This could have come from many of the previous treatments, or just from the damage from the disk. Nobody knows. For now, everything is fixed. We just hope it stays that way.
From the surgeon, they placed metal rods horizontally through his vertebrae, then two (one on either side of the spinal column) vertical rods intersecting to clamp everything in place. In theory, this will help keep the disks from moving around, free up the pinched nerve, and get him back on his feet, again. The coolest thing is that he gets a note from the hospital explaining the occurance of him tripping a metal detectors at airports or courthouses. It's all titanium, but "just in case". Take that TSA!
The downside is that he will be in a brace for a good while (approx 3mo), will have a weight limit to lift, and currently is confined to laying down. He cannot rise more that 30* above the horizon. Try eating something while laying down....it's tough.
For those that said prayers for him, thank you. For those wishing to see him, let us know and we'll direct you to him. Again, thank you everyone.
Robert's dad had back surgery yesterday (10/30). We knew about it for a while, but just weren't sure how it was going to go. As of last night, he came out of the surgery well, and is still in the hospital. He's supposed to come home Sunday, (11/2).
It started with numerous back problems over the years, but it finally resulted in him having some of his vertebrae (lumbar) fused together. He had a degenerating disk and a bulging disk, which were pressing on some nerves causing problems thoughout his legs. To go with that, they discovered that he also had a pin hole in the spinal column, that was leaking spinal fluid. This could have come from many of the previous treatments, or just from the damage from the disk. Nobody knows. For now, everything is fixed. We just hope it stays that way.
From the surgeon, they placed metal rods horizontally through his vertebrae, then two (one on either side of the spinal column) vertical rods intersecting to clamp everything in place. In theory, this will help keep the disks from moving around, free up the pinched nerve, and get him back on his feet, again. The coolest thing is that he gets a note from the hospital explaining the occurance of him tripping a metal detectors at airports or courthouses. It's all titanium, but "just in case". Take that TSA!
The downside is that he will be in a brace for a good while (approx 3mo), will have a weight limit to lift, and currently is confined to laying down. He cannot rise more that 30* above the horizon. Try eating something while laying down....it's tough.
For those that said prayers for him, thank you. For those wishing to see him, let us know and we'll direct you to him. Again, thank you everyone.
10.28.2008
One more day....
Woohoo!! One more day till Robert is home. Too bad it is only for a few days. I have sooo much stuff at the house to get done though. I decided to do a few home improvements while Robert has been in Iowa, and I'm not so sure I'll get them all done by the time he gets home. I'll have to update after he gets here because I haven't really told him what I've been doing :).
10.26.2008
Rough Weather & First Snow
Today had some very interesting weather. Several of the proposed plans were cancelled due to the weather too.
First, the state of Iowa was under a high wind warning. Sustained winds were 25-30mph with gusts reaching 50-60mph. Street crews came out and removed some traffic signs, some traffic signs were blown over, and at most doorways, corn husks were piled about 3ft high.
Speaking of corn husks, on the way to lunch, I found some husks stuck in the rims of my tires.
After the high winds, I looked out the window and noticed the winds wasn't the only thing. It was snowing. Yep. The first snow up here. Of course it wasn't sticking, but it was blowing sideways due to the high winds. The temps were in the low 40*'s and with the wind, the wind chill was right at 30*. Not cold enough to stick, but cold enough to snow.
First, the state of Iowa was under a high wind warning. Sustained winds were 25-30mph with gusts reaching 50-60mph. Street crews came out and removed some traffic signs, some traffic signs were blown over, and at most doorways, corn husks were piled about 3ft high.
Speaking of corn husks, on the way to lunch, I found some husks stuck in the rims of my tires.
After the high winds, I looked out the window and noticed the winds wasn't the only thing. It was snowing. Yep. The first snow up here. Of course it wasn't sticking, but it was blowing sideways due to the high winds. The temps were in the low 40*'s and with the wind, the wind chill was right at 30*. Not cold enough to stick, but cold enough to snow.Looking out the hotel window. It was just as grey, but there was plenty of snow coming down.
Right behind that red line is the interstate (I-35). The only problem is that you can't see it from the snow. Sadly, it's only about 250yrds away from the hotel.
Due to the high winds coming through, the power was actually interrupted at the hotel for roughly 4-4.5hrs. Several blocks from the interstate to the west, the power was out and the temperatures were dropping. The hotel was actually delivering extra blankets and flashlights to the rooms, preparing for the night.
Right behind that red line is the interstate (I-35). The only problem is that you can't see it from the snow. Sadly, it's only about 250yrds away from the hotel.
Due to the high winds coming through, the power was actually interrupted at the hotel for roughly 4-4.5hrs. Several blocks from the interstate to the west, the power was out and the temperatures were dropping. The hotel was actually delivering extra blankets and flashlights to the rooms, preparing for the night.Now, at 1700, it's snowing again. The bad part is that the temps are now 34* with the chill making it 20*. The winds are sustained at 31mph with gust at 44mph. Tonight's low is 29*. That's cold.
I'm just hoping it'll be a little warmer when I come home for my "vacation".
10.20.2008
It just keeps falling
Gas Prices that is. We've determined that it's safer to wait until the evenings to buy, just because the sign changes almost every day now.
It's hard to read it in the photo, but the $2.31 is for Super Unleaded. Surprisingly, that is the cheapest blend available. The less ethenol, the more expensive.
It's hard to read it in the photo, but the $2.31 is for Super Unleaded. Surprisingly, that is the cheapest blend available. The less ethenol, the more expensive.10.18.2008
I'm getting spoiled
The tough part about being in Iowa....golf every Sunday. We've found a local course that has decided to help us out with a deal and only charges $20 for all day golf with cart and clubs. We figured with that price, why not.
We had the luxury of playing today, so I figured, while fall was in the air, I'd share some with everyone. Here's hole 1 par 4.
On the backside of the course, the trees were really in full color and the course couldn't look much better. Granted, it's not a Robert Trent, but it's still pretty nice. Hole 4, par 3.
We were playing to beat the night and cold. By the time we were on hole 8, it was just about too dark to be playing. Same hole 4.
The worst part about the golfing is that I don't see myself being able to play every weekend. Guess I need to enjoy it while I can!
We had the luxury of playing today, so I figured, while fall was in the air, I'd share some with everyone. Here's hole 1 par 4.
On the backside of the course, the trees were really in full color and the course couldn't look much better. Granted, it's not a Robert Trent, but it's still pretty nice. Hole 4, par 3.
We were playing to beat the night and cold. By the time we were on hole 8, it was just about too dark to be playing. Same hole 4.The worst part about the golfing is that I don't see myself being able to play every weekend. Guess I need to enjoy it while I can!
Where have you been?
Where have you been in the US? Amazing at where I haven't been, more so than where I have been.
Sadly, I still have lots more places to visit before I cover them all.
So, what states have you visited? And airport changes don't count.
Sadly, I still have lots more places to visit before I cover them all.
So, what states have you visited? And airport changes don't count.
10.17.2008
It's getting cold
Yesterday :
High - 56*, Low - 28*, Mostly Sunny
Today:
High - 54*, Low - 32* Cloudy, 20% precipitation
It's getting cold. Real Cold.
High - 56*, Low - 28*, Mostly Sunny
Today:
High - 54*, Low - 32* Cloudy, 20% precipitation
It's getting cold. Real Cold.
10.12.2008
Sharing some photos...
The Clear Lake Gardens are just a mile or so down the road, so I've been trying to take some photos and see what I can find. Here's what I've found...
alpha, 50mm, +6, f/10, 1/200
alpha, 50mm, +6, f/10, 1/200
alpha, 50mm, +2, f/16, 1/80
alpha, 50mm, +2, f/8, 1/200
The weather has been nice to get out and take some photos, and hopefully it will stay that way!
10.11.2008
Signs don't last
Apparently, road signs don't last too long. Especially the "No Hunting" signs. Rubber tires come in quite handy for that case. It's not uncommon to see these throughout the backwoods of Iowa.10.07.2008
Soybean Farming
As I went out to meet an applicant and take some photos for our files, I found that the farmers were out gathering the soybeans, so I shot some pictures to share.
Remember the combines? Well this one is fitted with a soybean blade. The blade on the front rapidly spins, pulling the soybeans from the field. On the bottom is a series of teeth that seperate the pods from the plant itself. Then it gets shaken, jarred, and vibrated around to try to seperate the individual bean from the pod.
In this case, the hopper was full. The driver lifts the blades, and heads to the storage hopper at the end of the field. As the beans pile up out of the top of the combine hopper, the onboard computers tell him when he's full and when to unload. Notice the unloading arm coming out.
This particular farmer has two hoppers at the end of his field. At some point, when these hoppers fill up, he'll hook his truck or tractor up and haul them off to the storage plant, silos, or some other distributor.
Seeing that the first field hopper is full, he's using the second. And the beans go flowing from the combine to the hopper.
And from the front. I'm still wondering what the farmer was thinking when he saw someone get out of the car on the side of a dirt road, taking photos...
Once the farmer empties the combine, he goes right back to cutting. Basically, it's a cut, dump, cut cycle, and some of these guys are out there all day.
Most of the soybeans have been gathered as of the weekend. These guys have been going 12-15 hrs days for the last two weeks. Now, they just need to wait a little longer, trade the cutting blades out for corn, then repeat the whole process. The corn just needs a little bit longer to dry and they'll start soon.
Remember the combines? Well this one is fitted with a soybean blade. The blade on the front rapidly spins, pulling the soybeans from the field. On the bottom is a series of teeth that seperate the pods from the plant itself. Then it gets shaken, jarred, and vibrated around to try to seperate the individual bean from the pod.
In this case, the hopper was full. The driver lifts the blades, and heads to the storage hopper at the end of the field. As the beans pile up out of the top of the combine hopper, the onboard computers tell him when he's full and when to unload. Notice the unloading arm coming out.
This particular farmer has two hoppers at the end of his field. At some point, when these hoppers fill up, he'll hook his truck or tractor up and haul them off to the storage plant, silos, or some other distributor.
Seeing that the first field hopper is full, he's using the second. And the beans go flowing from the combine to the hopper.
And from the front. I'm still wondering what the farmer was thinking when he saw someone get out of the car on the side of a dirt road, taking photos...
Once the farmer empties the combine, he goes right back to cutting. Basically, it's a cut, dump, cut cycle, and some of these guys are out there all day.Most of the soybeans have been gathered as of the weekend. These guys have been going 12-15 hrs days for the last two weeks. Now, they just need to wait a little longer, trade the cutting blades out for corn, then repeat the whole process. The corn just needs a little bit longer to dry and they'll start soon.
10.06.2008
Amanda's Birthday Wish
This morning my mom asked Amanda what she wanted to do today because it is her birthday, and Amanda promptly replied that she wanted to visit the pumpkin patch. This afternoon, we decided to try the pumpkin patch in Clanton. It was kind of empty since all the kids were in school, but we had a good time. It was actually a pretty nice place with lots of inflatable toys, pony rides and cotton candy vendors. There were also a variety of pumpkins around the gift shop....some were huge and some were green :).
Since the pumpkin patch is one of Amanda's favorite things to do, she was pretty anxious to share her excitement with Mooney.
We all hopped on the hay ride to get out to the actual pumpkin patch. Because it is early in the season for the pumpkin patch, we had a pretty good selection of pumpkins. We couldn't decide which ones we wanted to take home because they were all so perfectly round.
After finally deciding on which pumpkins to take home, we hopped back on the hayride to get back to the car.
Amanda picked up a friend along the way in the pumpkin patch.
On our way out, we thought about trading one of our pumpkins for one of their GIANT pumpkins......but we wouldn't have been able to carry it. And I'm not so sure I'd want to clean one of those out to carve it :). Well...we had a great afternoon, but I wish Robert could have shared the day with us. Amanda's birthday wish was granted.
Since the pumpkin patch is one of Amanda's favorite things to do, she was pretty anxious to share her excitement with Mooney.
We all hopped on the hay ride to get out to the actual pumpkin patch. Because it is early in the season for the pumpkin patch, we had a pretty good selection of pumpkins. We couldn't decide which ones we wanted to take home because they were all so perfectly round. After finally deciding on which pumpkins to take home, we hopped back on the hayride to get back to the car.
Amanda picked up a friend along the way in the pumpkin patch.
On our way out, we thought about trading one of our pumpkins for one of their GIANT pumpkins......but we wouldn't have been able to carry it. And I'm not so sure I'd want to clean one of those out to carve it :). Well...we had a great afternoon, but I wish Robert could have shared the day with us. Amanda's birthday wish was granted.10.05.2008
Just one of those days
Ever have those days, where it seems nothing really goes right? Yea, I thought so.
1. I wake up this morning at 0630 to go running. I figured I would have plenty of time to get my 10miles in, eat and be ready for my noon tee time. Well, the thunderstorms and rain decided to disrupt those plans. So, I slept a little longer, got ready, went to breakfast, and guess what? The skies were clearing up and it was turning nice for a good run. Too bad I was at breakfast, right?
2. I had nothing better to do while waiting for the tee time, so I did some work (not really supposed to work on Sundays though). That's when I found a few mistakes on a couple of my reports, that will need to be corrected before I turn them in. Great. Now that's going to bother me all day while playing golf.
3. I developed one heck of a headache. It merely laughed at the Excedrin.
4. I make it to the golf course, only to realize that I'm having horrible luck swinging my driver (the rental). Really bad luck. If I wasn't slicing it, I was topping it. If I wasn't topping it, I wasn't getting distance out of it. Not good. I then went to driving with my 3wood, and guess what? Yea, I wasn't swinging that one very good either. By the 4th hole, I gave up and started swinging irons off the tee box. Go ahead and add 4shots to every hole! I shot 25over par!
5. After 18holes, the weather finally cooperated for a run. I change and decide to go for my long run. Turns out, it wasn't much of a long run. About 2mi in, the battery died in my mp3 player. About 3.5mi in, the cramp in my left leg hadn't loosed up. At 4mi in, my right hip flared up and stopped me dead in my tracks. I quit running and walked home. Now, I'm sore.
6. I didn't realize I was out of yogurts in the fridge. I refused to buy an overpriced yogurt from downstairs, so I'm doing without.
Now, I'm going to veg out, watch a tv show and go to bed! Hopefully things will improve tomorrow.
10.02.2008
My hotel likes me
I guess when you become a "long term" guest in a hotel, the staff gets to know you pretty well. Today, one of the nice hotel staff members knocked on the door to bring me a gift! Apparently, the long term guests received a littel gift box filled w/ all sorts of goodies, chocolate, crackers, chips, can koozies, pens, a notepad, and a thank you card. How cool!Pretty neat how a little gift box like that can make your day.... now, if it's only warm up just a little for my evening run, I'd be set!
9.29.2008
Two Years
Hey you,
Just thought I'd tell you Happy Two Year Anniversary! Wish I were there in person to share it with you too.
It's been a great two years so far and I'm looking forward to many more!
Love,
Your Husband
Just thought I'd tell you Happy Two Year Anniversary! Wish I were there in person to share it with you too.
It's been a great two years so far and I'm looking forward to many more!
Love,
Your Husband
9.27.2008
Fun in Iowa
This past weekend I was able to head to Iowa to spend some time with Robert for my birthday and our anniversary. We had a great time even though things started out a little rough. I was supposed to catch three flights to get to Iowa by 10:30 Thursday night, but I ended up missing my last connection. The airline was nice enough to put me up in a hotel that night and book me on a flight in the morning, but apparently I needed to be in Iowa earlier than the flight was going to get me there, so Robert drove to Minneapolis to pick me up and we ended up making the two hour drive back that night. Once we got back to his hotel, Robert gave me his birthday/anniversary gift—a certificate for a spa day Friday morning! He did a great job surprising me :). This was the reason that Robert insisted on coming to pick me up….I would have missed my appointment for the following morning.
Robert and I had a great time at the spa! I enjoyed a manicure, pedicure, facial, massage and haircut and he even indulged himself in a massage and a facial. We ended up spending the entire day there. That evening we had dinner with his team members and then we had a lazy evening of watching Ironman.
Saturday morning we slept in and got ready to head back to Minneapolis to visit the Mall of America. Along the way Robert was able to get updates on the Alabama football game from a friend. I tried to find the game on a radio station, but the Alabama game isn’t such a big deal to people in Iowa :). The mall was HUGE!! It had its own amusement park on the first floor and an aquarium in the bottom of the mall. We managed to ride the SpongeBob rollercoaster which was actually pretty thrilling but short. The mall also had a giant Lego display….probably one of Robert’s favorite parts of the mall. The mall was 4 or 5 stories tall with tons of stores several of which we don’t have in Alabama. We ended up walking about 4 ½ miles that day. After we’d had enough of the mall, we headed to our hotel which was pretty neat. It was very modern and one of the newer hotels. We were able to catch the Auburn game while we ate dinner down at the hotel bar…too bad Auburn lost.
Monday was a lazy day….and the weather wasn’t too great. We were able to take a quick trip through Clear Lake, and Robert showed me the sites of the small town. Because it was chilly and windy we decided to grab a pizza and head back to the hotel for some more lounging. After a nap, the sun started to come back out, so we made a quick trip to Dairy Queen and then to a garden. This garden was still under construction, but it was still very pretty with a nice water garden in the middle. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant before calling it a night.
Robert and I had a great time at the spa! I enjoyed a manicure, pedicure, facial, massage and haircut and he even indulged himself in a massage and a facial. We ended up spending the entire day there. That evening we had dinner with his team members and then we had a lazy evening of watching Ironman.
Saturday morning we slept in and got ready to head back to Minneapolis to visit the Mall of America. Along the way Robert was able to get updates on the Alabama football game from a friend. I tried to find the game on a radio station, but the Alabama game isn’t such a big deal to people in Iowa :). The mall was HUGE!! It had its own amusement park on the first floor and an aquarium in the bottom of the mall. We managed to ride the SpongeBob rollercoaster which was actually pretty thrilling but short. The mall also had a giant Lego display….probably one of Robert’s favorite parts of the mall. The mall was 4 or 5 stories tall with tons of stores several of which we don’t have in Alabama. We ended up walking about 4 ½ miles that day. After we’d had enough of the mall, we headed to our hotel which was pretty neat. It was very modern and one of the newer hotels. We were able to catch the Auburn game while we ate dinner down at the hotel bar…too bad Auburn lost.
Monday was a lazy day….and the weather wasn’t too great. We were able to take a quick trip through Clear Lake, and Robert showed me the sites of the small town. Because it was chilly and windy we decided to grab a pizza and head back to the hotel for some more lounging. After a nap, the sun started to come back out, so we made a quick trip to Dairy Queen and then to a garden. This garden was still under construction, but it was still very pretty with a nice water garden in the middle. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant before calling it a night.
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