Kyla gave me a book for Christmas. The Secret Life of Bees. It is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend it, especially for women. It kind of reminded me of Fried Green tomatoes. It is set in the south during the 60's civil rights movement. The main character is a 14 year old white girl coming to age. The story revolves around her trying to find out about her mother, but the real story is about the sisterhood between a group of women. I loved everything about this book. The author made me feel like I was right there. I could sense nature the way she described it, and the bees were fascinating too. If I could write it is the way I imagine I would write. It was like she was writing just the way I perceive. That is what made the book come so alive I think. I hope it is made into a movie. If you have read it, let me know what you thought. Or if you have read another book that you loved, pass along the title so I can read it.
Quote for today:
I believe in the sun - even when it does not shine
I believe in love - even when it is not shown
I believe in God - even when he does not speak
-Holocaust Victim
If a holocaust victim can still believe without seeing, I have no excuse to give up. It brings things back into perspective. I will stop my wallowing in self pity.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
ANOTHER DAY GOES BY And the old clock goes tick tock
It is a gloomy here today, but at least it is warm. It is almost quitting time. Things are still pretty slow at the office. But I did get a call to list a house, so that is good. We close on a house we bought and fixed up in Garretson tomorrow and a rental we bought here in Dells. So it will be good to get that business completed and start on a new project. It keeps us (especially Greg) out of trouble. There isn't much more for news here. We are excited to spend New Year's Eve with Greg's sister Deb and her husband Brian. It will be a nice relaxing night and I am so ready for that. Let me know what you plan to do to celebrate the New Year.
Quote for the day:
If you would have your children be something in the world teach them to depend on themselves. Let them learn that it is by close and strenuous personal application they must rise - that they must, in short, make themselves, and be architect of their own fortune. -Edwards
Quote for the day:
If you would have your children be something in the world teach them to depend on themselves. Let them learn that it is by close and strenuous personal application they must rise - that they must, in short, make themselves, and be architect of their own fortune. -Edwards
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Now More
It is always a let down after Christmas. All the glitter seems duller, and anticipation is no longer in the air. Now it is back to the real world drudgery. Actually I enjoy my job, I just need to find a creative outlet in a hobby. And I need to face reality that I am in a new phase in my life, and take a positive approach to all the changes.
I am going to try to post a quote in my blog everyday or at least every time I post. We'll see if they solicit any responses. I haven't had any comments for a long time so I'm not even sure anyone is still reading this. But I will post on.
Quote of the Day:
TIME is the chrysalis of eternity. -Richter
I am going to try to post a quote in my blog everyday or at least every time I post. We'll see if they solicit any responses. I haven't had any comments for a long time so I'm not even sure anyone is still reading this. But I will post on.
Quote of the Day:
TIME is the chrysalis of eternity. -Richter
Post Christmas
First a cute little joke:
But Dust
========
A visiting minister waxed eloquent during the offertory prayer.
"Dear Lord," he began with arms extended and a rapturous look on his
upturned face, "without you we are but dust..."
He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter
(who was listening carefully for a change!) leaned over to me and asked
quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice,
"Mom, what is butt dust?"
But Dust
========
A visiting minister waxed eloquent during the offertory prayer.
"Dear Lord," he began with arms extended and a rapturous look on his
upturned face, "without you we are but dust..."
He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter
(who was listening carefully for a change!) leaned over to me and asked
quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice,
"Mom, what is butt dust?"
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
twas 3 nights before Christmas
Hello!
Well all the children are home. They all arrived on Saturday the 18th right before our Christmas party. So the festivities have begun. It is fun having them all here, the house is full of life. We have seen a lot of Ginger, but not much of Wyatt. He has only slept at home one night out of four so far. I suppose he has a lot of catching up to do with friends. But come on Wyatt spend some time with your family too! I can see where we are on your priority list, oh I guess we didn't even make it on the list. Ok, I'll quit crying.
Our Christmas party was a blast. We had 84 guests plus the 6 of us, so it was a full house. It was so nice to see everyone! I think we will have another party next year! We finally hit the sack at 4 am. Then we were woke up early by a phone call at 8 am. I am too old for these late hours. The Martell Christmas is here on Christmas Eve. That will be fun. My dad is coming for the first time in 5 years, so I am happy about that.
Last night Greg, Ginger, Kyla and I went out to Spezia's for supper. It was busy there. The food was just ok. But it was nice to have dinner with the girls. We had just finished a marathon shopping spree at TJMax. They have the neatest stuff there. Ginger was able to buy lots of gifts for her friends.
Kyla has been doing really well at her new job. She has had the highest sales both days They have been on the phones. I think her coworkers are wondering what her magic is. We all know that she is highly talented! Kyla has Christmas Eve off so that is nice.
It is cold here today! The skies are clear blue and sunny but it is -1 degrees! Yikes. The first days of winter have hit with a vengence! The high tomorrow is only going to be -1 degrees. But at least there isn't any snow and ice so hopefully there will be safe traveling.
That is all for today!
Well all the children are home. They all arrived on Saturday the 18th right before our Christmas party. So the festivities have begun. It is fun having them all here, the house is full of life. We have seen a lot of Ginger, but not much of Wyatt. He has only slept at home one night out of four so far. I suppose he has a lot of catching up to do with friends. But come on Wyatt spend some time with your family too! I can see where we are on your priority list, oh I guess we didn't even make it on the list. Ok, I'll quit crying.
Our Christmas party was a blast. We had 84 guests plus the 6 of us, so it was a full house. It was so nice to see everyone! I think we will have another party next year! We finally hit the sack at 4 am. Then we were woke up early by a phone call at 8 am. I am too old for these late hours. The Martell Christmas is here on Christmas Eve. That will be fun. My dad is coming for the first time in 5 years, so I am happy about that.
Last night Greg, Ginger, Kyla and I went out to Spezia's for supper. It was busy there. The food was just ok. But it was nice to have dinner with the girls. We had just finished a marathon shopping spree at TJMax. They have the neatest stuff there. Ginger was able to buy lots of gifts for her friends.
Kyla has been doing really well at her new job. She has had the highest sales both days They have been on the phones. I think her coworkers are wondering what her magic is. We all know that she is highly talented! Kyla has Christmas Eve off so that is nice.
It is cold here today! The skies are clear blue and sunny but it is -1 degrees! Yikes. The first days of winter have hit with a vengence! The high tomorrow is only going to be -1 degrees. But at least there isn't any snow and ice so hopefully there will be safe traveling.
That is all for today!
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Only 12 days until Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas!
I'm not sure I'll write again before Christmas so I added the premature greeting. Today is a windy windy day! Our Christmas tree in the screened porch blew over, but there is no sense in setting it back up until this wind stops. Yesterday was a fun and busy day. It started out going to Erin's graduation in Brookings at 10 am. It was a typical college gradation ceremony, long and boring. But the party at Johnny Carinos was great! They have the nicest party room there. It has a fireplace, windows with a view and good privacy. I highly recommend it! And we had a great waitress too. The food is always top notch Italian. One interesting thing was the mussels. Have you ever had them? Well, I would advise taking a close look at the insides of one of those creatures. Kyla dug one open before she ate it. There is some nasty hairy thing inside. Seriously, some things should not be eaten. But Grandma and Grandpa seemed to enjoy them. I'll stick with chicken, everything else tastes like chicken anyway doesn't it? And I don't have to worry about any nasty hairy innards either. OK, moving along. We had a great time at the party, then we came back up to Dell Rapids to go to the Polar Express at the theatre. It was an entertaining show. Actually the story was lame but the animation was incredible. After that Deb, Brian, Tim, Erin and Jeff came over for Tom and Jerry's and Ginger Snaps (the cookie). They left at about 7:30. Then we went to an outdoor party at Ron and Cindy Friedbauers. It was really neat. They had tons of Christmas lights, a campfire, hot cocoa and cider and Christmas goodies. They had music hooked up. We spent sometime in the house and garage too. It was very festive. We left there at about 10:30 and went to Mark and Kellie Sneve's for a little get together. It was fun relaxing and visiting with old friends. We looked at some old motorcycle trip pictures and reminisced, had some more snacks, and enjoys each other's company. We finally made it home at 1:30. So it was a very fun day!
Are you all ready for Christmas? We are really looking forward to the kids coming home for the holidays. It will be so nice to all be together for a whole week. I'm trying diligently to have everything ready before they get here so I can relax and enjoy their company. I think I am on schedule!
Today is the local tour of homes. Kyla, Dianna, and I are planning to go this afternoon. It is always fun to see everyone's decorations and the interiors of other homes. Tonight is the car club Christmas party at the Prairie View. It is always a fun time. We do a gift exchange, and enjoy a nice meal paid for by the club. I have grown to enjoy this group of people even though the whole car thing isn't big for me.
Our LandMark party was on Friday night. It was really nice. We were at the Prairie View for that too. There were 12 of us there. Everyone gets along really well. I can't believe I have been selling Real Estate for 12 years already, and Greg for 4 years. Wow, time just flies!
Well, I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears. I hope that you are enjoying the preparations for Christmas as much as we are. Don't forget our party next Saturday the 18th, you are all invited!
-Jeannie
I'm not sure I'll write again before Christmas so I added the premature greeting. Today is a windy windy day! Our Christmas tree in the screened porch blew over, but there is no sense in setting it back up until this wind stops. Yesterday was a fun and busy day. It started out going to Erin's graduation in Brookings at 10 am. It was a typical college gradation ceremony, long and boring. But the party at Johnny Carinos was great! They have the nicest party room there. It has a fireplace, windows with a view and good privacy. I highly recommend it! And we had a great waitress too. The food is always top notch Italian. One interesting thing was the mussels. Have you ever had them? Well, I would advise taking a close look at the insides of one of those creatures. Kyla dug one open before she ate it. There is some nasty hairy thing inside. Seriously, some things should not be eaten. But Grandma and Grandpa seemed to enjoy them. I'll stick with chicken, everything else tastes like chicken anyway doesn't it? And I don't have to worry about any nasty hairy innards either. OK, moving along. We had a great time at the party, then we came back up to Dell Rapids to go to the Polar Express at the theatre. It was an entertaining show. Actually the story was lame but the animation was incredible. After that Deb, Brian, Tim, Erin and Jeff came over for Tom and Jerry's and Ginger Snaps (the cookie). They left at about 7:30. Then we went to an outdoor party at Ron and Cindy Friedbauers. It was really neat. They had tons of Christmas lights, a campfire, hot cocoa and cider and Christmas goodies. They had music hooked up. We spent sometime in the house and garage too. It was very festive. We left there at about 10:30 and went to Mark and Kellie Sneve's for a little get together. It was fun relaxing and visiting with old friends. We looked at some old motorcycle trip pictures and reminisced, had some more snacks, and enjoys each other's company. We finally made it home at 1:30. So it was a very fun day!
Are you all ready for Christmas? We are really looking forward to the kids coming home for the holidays. It will be so nice to all be together for a whole week. I'm trying diligently to have everything ready before they get here so I can relax and enjoy their company. I think I am on schedule!
Today is the local tour of homes. Kyla, Dianna, and I are planning to go this afternoon. It is always fun to see everyone's decorations and the interiors of other homes. Tonight is the car club Christmas party at the Prairie View. It is always a fun time. We do a gift exchange, and enjoy a nice meal paid for by the club. I have grown to enjoy this group of people even though the whole car thing isn't big for me.
Our LandMark party was on Friday night. It was really nice. We were at the Prairie View for that too. There were 12 of us there. Everyone gets along really well. I can't believe I have been selling Real Estate for 12 years already, and Greg for 4 years. Wow, time just flies!
Well, I hope I haven't bored everyone to tears. I hope that you are enjoying the preparations for Christmas as much as we are. Don't forget our party next Saturday the 18th, you are all invited!
-Jeannie
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