Did You Know...?

This week I've been perusing a book that Number One Son received for Christmas this year. It's a book called 1001 Cool Freaky Facts. This type of book is right up N1S's alley. He loves reading and memorizing facts. A few years ago he was into Presidential trivia. Did you know that George Washington died in 1799? Or was he born in 1799? Or maybe he had 99 kids. I can't remember which. I really need to listen to N1S more.

Then N1S switched to 'Crazy Laws' trivia for a while. That's when we heard all about some state that would throw you in jail if you told an Ole and Lena joke to a skunk on Sunday.

And almost since birth, N1S has been spitting up geysers of Star Wars minutiae.

So last week, I was sitting in the living room trying to find something on TV. Since NBC gave Conan the axe, I have been left with nothing to entertain me. So I picked up N1S's 'Freaky' book and idly paged through. As they say, 'The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree'. I got pulled in and trapped by this book. I could feel my brain growing stronger with each page. Did you know that diamonds are flammable? It's under fact #697. I also found out that Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy. (#489) And Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.(#466) Butterflies taste with their feet (#96) and robots in Japan pay union dues.(#950)

My favorite section of the book was about words and languages. I learned that Zorro is Spanish for fox.(#814) and the dot over the letter 'i' is called the tittle. There are also no words in the English language that rhyme with the words 'month, silver, orange and purple'.(#802) And we all have Dr Suess to thank for inventing the word, 'nerd'.(#812)

So we now have two active information geysers in the house. When N1S takes a fact break for school or bedtime, I'm right there to take over for him, much to the enjoyment of Lady Di.

And speaking of Lady Di just reminded me that I haven't written my Valentine's Day poem to her yet.

Ode to Lady Di-2010

I practiced and practiced every month,
but won the lisp-contest only oneth.

The prize I received was a grill colored silver
So I threw on some steaks. What else is a grill fer?

I guess silver is better by far than orange
but Sweet Pea said my poem so far is bor-inge!

You need to spice it up now, add some Va-Voem!
So I copied a line from my Father-in-law's poem.

Roses are red, violets are purple
I love Lady Di more than maple syrple.

With my ode concluded. It is now time to go.
Just remember LD, you're still a 'Zorro'.


Happy Valentine's Day, Honey.

And remember, candles burn better when they are frozen(#121) and apples are members of the rose family.(#308) So don't tell Lady Di about my surprise romantic dinner outside in the snow with a lovely arrangement of a dozen apples. Yellow ones, of course. Her favorite.

Tender Is The Night

I recently experienced a tender moment as the kids were getting ready for bed. I have no idea what was wrong with the kids, but it just happened.

After supper, Lady Di thought it would be fun to play a family game before bedtime. The kids, of course, were all for that. With suspiciously little arguing, we decided to play Trouble. But after multiple trips up and down the basement stairs, we could find no Trouble. So LD brought up the game, Sorry. I braced myself for loud and vociferous protests and debate from the kids. I was greeted with tranquil acceptance.

I felt their foreheads to make sure they both hadn't come down with a fever that was causing them to act so strangely.

But their heads were cool so we kicked off game night. Now when I play board games I really don't care if I win or lose. I just like to tease, mock and get the kids all worked up every time I happen to move my little green Hershey Kiss playing piece a square or two ahead of theirs. My favorite thing to do is to start singing, 'I Am the Champion' to Queen's tune of 'We Are The Champions". But tonight, they just let me sing and dance and promptly sent my Sorry Guys back to home a hopeless number of times.

The beginning of the game started with Number One Son getting every good card available and Sweet Pea receiving the exact opposite. With her luck, I was half expecting SP to draw an Old Maid or an Uno Draw Four card mixed in with the Sorry cards.

But as these games always do, eventually everyone's positions on the board evened out and everyone got to send everyone else home at least once. But in the end, N1S couldn't get the right card and Lady Di snuck in the back door and won. Again, I gritted my teeth and squinted my eyes to prepare for "No Fair!", and "You Cheated!" followed by an airborne board and a snow storm of cards.

But no, only a long "Awwwwww", feigning disappointment and both kids searching through the remaining cards to see how many more turns it would've taken for them to win. They even helped put the game away.

Whose kids are these and where are N1S and SP!?

Bedtime snack was a rice krispie bar without any measuring or comparing to make sure each kid had the same number of krispies.

Then after brushing their teeth, the most incredible event of the night occurred.

SP asked N1S if he wanted to read her a bedtime story. And he said, "Sure."

I know everyone has good days and bad days, including myself. But tonight was definitely a good day for the kids. A lot of things went right. A lot of good choices were made. It all added up to a fun-filled, memorable night for us.

After cleaning up the snack dishes I went upstairs to peek in on them in N1S's room. They were taking turns reading the Dr Suess story, Sneetches.

Then I went to SP's room and I found out what she had done with her free time this afternoon.
Apparently, she had constructed a bath robe hammock for all of her stuffed animals.

Yes, this was a very good day.

Invasion of the Barbies

When the kids were younger, Lady Di used to hit all of the summer garage sales in the area. They still are the best places to get baby and toddler clothes. But ever since the kids outgrew those yard sale bargains, we haven't returned to anyone's house to buy their junk.

Until last week that is.

Lady Di was invited by our neighbor to check out a few sales. It had been years so LD said OK.

Here is what she came home with.

Needless to say, LD is now banned from yard sales for awhile. It seems one household was divesting itself of a collection of Barbie clothes, dolls and accessories. It was an entire totefull.

This is a plastic bag full of just shoes, boots,flippers and apparently one cooking pot. Any guesses as to how long Sweet Pea will be able to keep at least one pair of matching shoes together?

Here is one of Sweet Pea's ideas for a snappy outfit for Ken. It fits, but I'm not sure those clothes actually belong to him. Although, it could be from his Miami Vice collection. From the next picture it's easy to tell which outfits are Sweet Pea's favorites. She had a lot of fun with the mermaid tails.

How many mermaid tails did this house really need?

It took about a day and a half to sort through all of the stuff and we had to build a Barbie wing onto the back of the garage to store it all. But at least we are now prepared for any Barbie emergency that might arise. No fashion crisis or wardrobe malfunctions are in our immediate future.

All except for Ken's outfit.

Ode to Lady Di

Roses are red

Violets are blue
Is not the best way
to write a poem for you.

It's too cold for violets
and yellow roses you like.
All other flowers
can go take a hike.

So, what do I get you
this Valentine's Day?
You deserve so much more
than I'm willing to pay.

Diamonds, gold and jewelry galore.
And anything else from that Jared's store.
A winter home in the south
or a cabin up north
are all things that measure up to your worth.

A meal at a fancy restaurant
or a night at a play
or would you like to visit
the Mall of America for the day?

Or maybe a quiet evening at home
after the kids start snoring
we could just rent a movie
if it's not too boring.

Although, boring or not
whatever we do
I will be happy
just being with you.

It may take some time
and a robbed bank or three
but I will grant all of your wishes
eventually.

My number one goal
is to treat you like a queen
Just tell me which bathroom
you would like me to clean.

My poetry is clumsy
and I struggle with rhyme
just be patient with me
Just give me some time.

And time is something
I gladly will spend.
As long as it is with
my soul mate and friend.

I'm glad that you picked me
so many years past
with more years to come
I hope it will last
an eternity and more
because I'm greedy that way.
I cherish every second
of every day.

My love for you
continually grows.
I don't say it enough
but I want you to know.

I love you Lady Di.

Happy Valentine's Day, Lady Di!

Pretty in Pink...and Green

Wii Wiish You a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a festive and safe holiday. We enjoyed a quiet day at our home with just our family. We spent most of our Christmas Day jingling bells, roasting chestnuts on an open fire and spreading peace on earth and goodwill to each other.

Actually, you can probably guess how we really spent Christmas Day by the title of this post.

We broke down this year and finally got a Wii.

For years, we have been fighting against the X-Boxes and PSP's of the world. We had seen too many young and not-so-young brains turn to mush playing Mario Bros. for twelve hours at a time.

Here is how our road to mush started.

After the kids opened all of their other gifts from Santa, we had them open a wrapped Wii remote. It took about ten seconds for them to figure out why they only had remotes. Once they checked the TV for the game consul, you could see the realization on their faces. For the next few minutes we heard many shouts of something about the greatest day of their lives. We then officially surrendered our TV to the kids for the day.

Number One Son bowled a 216 right off the bat. Both kids quickly ran through all of the Sport games before starting the Guitar Hero rock off. Lady Di then had to step in just to see if the game was working correctly. After the kids scored more points than her on Livin' on a Prayer, she decided something must be wrong with her guitar.

Here is Sweet Pea perfecting her slide steel guitar technique. She is dressed in her rock star pink, froggy, footie pj's.

N1S is rocking out a little more conventionally. Maybe camo thermal pj's will catch on with the rock and roll crowd.

At lunch time we forced an intermission on the kids from the game. Lady Di prepared a monster Christmas banquet and we all indulged to excess. We were all feeling a little groggy after eating so the kids suggested that we get some exercise to work off some of the turkey and stuffing. So we played some baseball, bowled a few games and boxed a few rounds.

That is one good thing about the Wii. At least we get more activity out of the game besides just our thumbs.

After playing for a while I asked the kids if they wanted to get some real exercise and help me outside. They just popped in the Wii snow shovelling and floor sweeping game and said, "That's OK. We'll just work in here."

Toward the end of the afternoon, Sweet Pea was asking for some gel to put on her back.

"Why do you need gel?", I asked.

She answered, "Look at my back. Every time I move my arm, my back hurts."

Her first Wii-related injury. We may have to invest in the Wii Athletic Trainer game in case we need to virtually wrap an ankle or rub out a cramp.

God Bless us, everWii one!

Trip or Treat

I hope everyone has recovered from their sugar induced comas by now. I was glad for that extra hour on Saturday night to help get my blood sugars down. This year we observed all of our Halloween traditions. The kids dressed up and went begging for candy. I hid behind our front door and jumped out to scare kids away from my candy basket. I didn't really scare any kids, but I still had fun.
Here's a picture of Indiana Jones and Foxy Lady.This year our Halloween weather was unseasonably warm. And it was just a coincidence that it was Lady Di's turn to take the kids around the neighborhood. That's what she informed me anyway. I could swear that I have taken the kids out on the last four bone chilling, thirty degree, howling gale Halloweens.

Oh well, it was fun to stay home once just to hand out candy. This year I had an epiphany and took the screen out of our storm door. Every other year, the ghosts and goblins would ring the doorbell and wait directly in front of our out-opening storm door, causing us to warn the mob to back up or they would be pushed off of the porch like a bug being smeared by a wiper blade on the windshield. With the screen out, I was able to hand out the candy without moving a door. Earlier, with the screen out, I was stepping through the storm door to put the finishing touches on the decorations. When I asked Number One Son to help me, he opened the storm door to come outside. I told him he didn't have to open the door. So then next time he opened the door halfway, hesitated, backed up and then stepped through the opening. I think it made him a little uncomfortable to do something so unnatural.

Before the kids went out in their trick or treating group, they visited our bachelor neighbor to show him their costumes. He apparently was not planning on staying home to give out candy, but he found a couple candy bars and wrapped a dollar bill around each one for our kids which was very nice of him. But before he could leave home, Sweet Pea ran to her group of friends and loudly announced, "Hey guys! Paul is giving out dollar bills!" Like moths to the flame, about ten kids all raced as a group to Paul's house and started pounding on his door. I think he turned out the lights and ran for his basement.

The kids eventually left to go seek their candy fortune with Lady Di leading the way. I can't tell you much of how things went except to say that Lady Di told me that this would be her last year to take them out. I asked why. The weather was perfect and a lot of houses were giving candy. She said, with so many people out, she only had time to take the kids to fifteen houses in two hours. She had to stop and visit with just about everyone on the street that night.

Back at home, I was trying to keep the kids moving through our candy line. We have two steps on our porch and at least a half dozen kids missed the second step because of their mask. Then the poor young ones had to stop and return their spilled candy to their bucket before the next wave of kids trampled them. The really young ones would also stop to talk to our pumpkins and other decorations. They didn't care if they got candy or not, but were hypnotised by a glowing plastic ghost. I'm glad someone was appreciating my work.

The end of the night brought out the older trick or treaters and only a couple of them arrived without costumes. With those kids I tried the old trick of placing their candy deep in their bags and coming out with three or four candy bars in my hand. Both kids gave me a wry smirk and a 'heh'. I guess I'm not as hilarious as I thought.

One thing that disappointed me was I had no 'box costume' kids come to the door. No kids in a homemade robot, TV set, or bucket of chicken costume. The combination of an unwieldy costume, dim light and a tricky porch step was something I was looking forward to.

Even though I enjoyed giving out candy, I think I prefer walking around the neighborhood with the kids. Even if it is cold and miserable some years, I just like being able to relive my own trick or treating years with them. I don't want to miss any chances to make Halloween memories with them. They will only be doing this a few more years before they start going to Halloween dances. Then Lady Di and I will be at the top of the chaperone list, much to the disappointment of our kids I'm sure.

Why buy expensive apples?

We've had a pretty busy week. On Friday, Number One Son and I went to the local high school football game. We met one of his friends there and they got to sit together. They actually sat and watched the game for the whole first half. At half time though, I had to cut them loose for the concession stand. I gave him $5 for snacks for both of us. I learned my lesson at a basketball game last year. If I give N1S more money, he will buy what I asked for and then proceed to spend the rest on anything else they are selling until the money is gone. Which meant extra hot dogs and Gatorade even though we had just eaten supper.

So during the second half of the game, I caught glimpses of N1S and his friend visiting with each other and various friends that they ran into. At one point I saw N1S showing off his dance moves for a certain girl he knows. He set his popcorn and Gatorade down on the ground, placed both hands flat on the ground in front of him and kicked up both feet like a donkey. I guess he picked that up from his dad's break dancing routine.

Saturday found me on the golf course. This has been a rare occurrence this year. I was asked to play best ball with some friends and neighbors. I had a blast and our team finished even par. I was told that we finished first of the three groups, but strangely our prize money hasn't been delivered yet.

On Sunday, the family finally made it to the apple orchard. We went to the same one as last year. Everything was pretty much the same. The kids and I picked and sampled apples while Lady Di picked three pints of raspberries. After picking raspberries, Lady Di's forearms looked like she had been fighting a chicken. Raspberry bushes are mean.

Unfortunately, the apple cannon broke down just as we got in line. But the kids still got to ride in the cow train around the strawberry field. The kids got to pet goats, feed chickens and talk to geese too.

N1S looks like he is getting a little old for this. He really had to bend down just to get his head in. I know SP appreciated him being a good sport.

The weather was warm and windy. A nice day, but I prefer apple picking air to have a little nip in it. We may return in October for the corn maze.

We may have tried to cram too much into the weekend, but it was worth it. Even if it exhausts me, these family outings are a great blessing to me.

We got our apples weighed and tiredly returned home to catch the end of the football game. Another family tradition accomplished. I think this is our third year coming to this orchard. The kids are starting to remember and anticipate these trips when fall comes. Which is the reason we go to ballgames, field trips or stay at home and play board games. If we are together as a family, we will add memories to our experiences.

The Great Outdoors

In an effort to fill our last days of summer with memories, we went tent camping as a family for the first time last night. We packed our smores and hot dogs, borrowed a tent from our friends and set up camp at the 'Cheapskate Park' located ten feet behind our house.

In the picture you'll notice the circle of dead grass where the park's above ground pool was this summer. Our park even had wild animals walking about as you can see the small black bear (Liberty) snooping around the deck.

I know we didn't travel far, but we saved a lot on gas. Even though we were in the backyard, we still had trees, a bonfire and sleeping bags. I even lit some tiki torches for some 'Survivor' ambiance. Lady Di and I were hoping it would cool off a little since our tent was sitting in the sun and quite warm. The kids had their own two person tent and were excited to start camping.

I got the bonfire going and we started to roast hot dogs. When that was done Lady Di and kids asked, "What's next?"

"I don't know. I guess we just sit around the fire until dark. Camping, right?"

We watched the fire until dark and then headed inside our tent to watch a movie on the portable DVD player. Just like our pioneer ancestors.

When the movie ended, the kids got into their tent and we went to sleep in ours. I woke up about an hour later with frozen ears and nose. The temp had dipped down around sixty degrees and we only had one blanket because it was so warm before. As I went into the house for another blanket, I checked on the kids. Their little pup tent was toasty and both were snoring in their sleeping bags. When I stumbled back into our tent, Lady Di said that our dog, Liberty, was shivering in her bed so she snuggled between us under the covers.

Let's just say the rest of the night went better for the kids than for Lady Di and me. Inflatable mattresses are not very helpful to my back. Thankfully, around six AM, Sweet Pea woke up and said she had to use the bathroom. So I walked her into the house, making sure to carry my pillow with me. When she was done I asked her (tried to convince her) if she wanted to sleep in her room until breakfast time. She looked at me with a bewildered (what are you talking about) look and said, "No. I want to go back to the tent."

Groan.

I went back upstairs to get my pillow to follow her out, but on my way to the back door, Number One Son and Lady Di were coming in the house to announce that camping was done. Both kids whined a little but didn't fight too much and got into their beds for another hour. Aside from the sleeping arrangements, I did have some fun. The campfire was nice and I got to see stars in the night sky at 1am. The kids had fun sleeping outside and actually did some playing and reading in their tent most of the afternoon.

Even though we didn't really rough it too much, it was enough for Lady Di and myself. I'm sure we could have prepared a little better, but we didn't think we had to in our own yard. Lesson learned I guess. We know that we need a little more room in the tent for all of us and we need to pack warmer clothes, even in August. I think we will probably try this again but we will definitely include a few more comfort items next time. (blankets, TV, fridge, X-Box)

Mission Accomplished

Last week the kids visited Gramma and Grampa for a week. This was Lady Di and my big chance to do something fun. Aside from seeing The Dark Knight at the IMAX, we mostly enjoyed the quiet.

Lady Di actually got a big project completed during our short vacation. She painted Number One Son's room. She really did a good job too. She chose colors that matched his bedspread. Blue, green and orange. She had to include orange because it's N1S's favorite color.

Last year, N1S hinted at wanting his room painted green with a giant Yoda mural on one wall. Lady Di compromised and still used green, but put this on his wall instead.

Needless to say, N1S really likes his room. Although, when he first saw the words, he said, "They're OK, but it should say 'Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away." Then he said, "It's OK, Mom, I'll just tell my friends you're not a very big Star Wars fan." We then double checked our facts and played one of N1S's Star Wars movies. It turns out that Lady Di is a bigger Star Wars fan than N1S thought. She was right, N1S was wrong. The force must have guided Lady Di.

Lady Di had already painted Sweet Pea's room two years ago with her favorite color, yellow. But just so SP wouldn't feel left out, LD included this to her wall above her bed.

Lady Di really knows how to paint. She doesn't enjoy doing it but she knows she has to, to keep me away from a brush. Lady Di paints straight lines. I paint DUI lines. Lady Di uses smooth brush and roller strokes. I like to put diagonal to random patterns in the paint. Lady Di keeps paint off of the trim molding. I end up with 'Spiderpig' footprints on the ceiling and paint drips where paint drips shouldn't be.

So as long as Lady Di keeps transforming plain boring walls into warm, vibrant rooms, I will let her. And if she ever needs a splatter pattern or a big thumbprint on the wall, I'll be there.

88 Is Great!

Lady Di's high school class turned twenty this weekend. So we packed the minivan with yearbooks and hairspray and headed up north to party like it was 1988.

Last year, I had my twenty year reunion and we had a blast. Lady Di's class had a tough act to follow. I had some high expectations for this year. I'm glad to report that the class of 1988 rocks almost as much as the class of 1987.

We started off the weekend with the fishing Gramma and Grampa. We arrived a little late so all we had time to do was shoot some two year old fireworks for the kids. The kids were pretty excited to wave some sparklers and slap mosquitoes a few hundred times. It seems that whenever fireworks are involved, kids will always gravitate towards the fireworks box with their lit sparklers. No matter how far away I started the kids with their fire sticks, they always gradually backed themselves closer and closer to the box just to keep Dad on his toes.

The next morning Lady Di and I had the opportunity to swing our golf clubs with another couple attending the reunion at the local golf course. Gramma and Grampa kept the kids entertained on the lake, so I had no excuse for losing as many golf balls as I did. We still had a lot of fun and hopefully will be able to play another round if we can all get together at the end of summer.

Golf was followed by a rare night out at the fanciest nightclub in town. It also happens to be the only nightclub in town. In fact, nightclub may also be a bit of a lofty description. But who cares? We saw a band and did some dancing and stayed up late. So we were nightclubbing.

On reunion day, we went to a classmate's home for a cookout and Lady Di was able to reconnect and reminisce. I got to hear all of her embarrassing secrets from high school and luckily I had a pen and paper to jot down the juiciest stories for future posts. I may have missed a few stories because I was put in charge of the grill. I must have had the grill a little too hot because along with the smell of hamburgers, there also was the smell of singed arm hair.

Once the cookout was done, we raced home to quickly check on the kids. Yup, still fishing. Then we were off to the fanciest dinner club in town. We had to drive ten miles to the actual town where Lady Di went to school two decades ago. This town is a little bit bigger than where Gramma and Grampa live, so there are actually a few restaurants to choose from. After the lovely chicken and ribs buffet, we again went nightclubbing.

And just so you don't get the wrong idea, we didn't spend the entire weekend drinking at the bar (I mean nightclubbing). We did lots of other things like visit and tell stories and look through year books and we only drank during some of those times. Well, I guess that's what you do at reunions.

The highlight of the weekend was getting the award for 'Most Handsomest Spouse of a Classmate'. I was so totally not expecting it. Luckily, I always have a 'Most Handsomest' speech ready at a moments notice.

Overall, it was nice to see Lady Di get caught up with her friends and it looks like we may get together with a few of them later this year.

Lady Di has a great class of friends and I had a lot of fun meeting them. There was already talk of planning a twenty-five year reunion so I have five more years to practice my golf swing and my nightclub head bob.

Be Mine

Since we are in the season of love, we honored a timeless holiday tradition by taking the kids out to choose their Valentine cards. You can no longer just get a Valentine assortment of old jokes and puns. No more "Bee my Valentine" with a picture of a bumblebee. Gone are the arcane expressions "You Send Me", and "Oh, You Kid!"

This year we had many 'cooler' choices for each child. Sweet Pea had to decide between Disney Princesses and Bratz. I'm glad she made the right choice. For some reason I just can't stand anything concerning Bratz. SP also had her eye on the Shrek Valentines which were Scratch and Stink. But in the end, the Princess glitter tattoos were the deal makers. I'm not sure, but I think the tattoos in the Bratz Valentines were for the lower back only.

Number One Son had a few choices as well. He could choose from Spiderman, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean. N1S was pretty predictable. He has been in a pirate play, had a pirate party and loves to read Jack Sparrow chapter books. And of course, his valentines included pirate tattoos.

I hope the kids don't expect tattoos for every Valentine's Day or we may have some trouble when the teen years come.

When those days do arrive, I know that I won't have to weather the storm alone. I know that Lady Di will be right there beside me. That comforts me greatly. When I see all of the loneliness in the world, I realize how blessed I am to have someone to share my life with. Someone to support me and challenge me. Someone to listen to me and laugh with me. I treasure all of the small moments we have together. Just sitting together on the couch, under a blanket, watching the news fills me with a content, warm feeling of belonging. We were meant to be together. I feel very fortunate that we found each other, and I'm looking forward to the next thirty to forty years of small moments. That many small moments add up to a pretty full life. Thank you, Lady Di, for filling my life with love and happiness. I love you.

Happy Valentines Day, and thanks for Bee-ing my Valentine.

Caught Peeking

The family and I were eating supper the other night and we happened to have the television on. We usually have to turn the TV off during meals to keep the kids' from being hypnotised and accidentally sticking a carrot up their nose.

But the kids were being good and they were right in the middle of a 'Dog Eat Dog' rerun on the Gameshow Network, so we left it on. If you are not familiar with the show, contestants have to perform stunts involving swimming, climbing or other physical feats. Since many stunts involve swimming, contestants must wear bathing suits. Since contestants wear bathing suits, contestants are usually young, athletically fit and physically appealing. The bathing suits are usually a bit revealing also.

Like I said, we were eating supper when Number One Son, impulsively shouted, "Wow! Look at that girl!", startling Lady Di and myself.

After I removed the carrot from my nose, Lady Di and I turned around to see a female contestant in her bikini on the screen. As I said, these contestants are young and physically gifted and she was no exception. Lady Di and I looked at each other uncomfortably and wondered, what do we do now? N1S has never shown any interest in the opposite sex before. He's only nine years old. Maybe we were jumping to the wrong conclusion? He does usually notice things that we don't.

So I casually asked, "What's so special about her?"

N1S must have realized that he may have spoken a bit too loud and excitedly. He hesitated and got an embarrassed grin and stammered, "I just thought she had a cool swimsuit."

Sure she did. I guess we jumped to the right conclusion after all. Mark one more milestone for N1S.

Later in the show, one of the male contestants was chosen for a stunt. Lady Di then wondered out loud, "I wonder if he has a cool swimsuit too?"

Shoulder Angel

I'm very proud of Lady Di. She has recently climbed the first rung on the ladder to nursing. She just completed an accelerated three week CNA training program. So now she is a certified nursing assistant. Her program had tests every day. She was so nervous about passing them that she studied like crazy every night. It paid off too. She graduated at the top of her class and was offered a job at the nursing home right away. Her instructor gave an award to each student at the end of the program. She cited Lady Di for being 'Most Meticulous'. At the beginning of the program, Lady Di's instructor told the students that she was going to be a little angel on their shoulders, whispering the correct way to perform tasks. She said that Lady Di's award signified that Lady Di no longer needed her shoulder angel, as she always strove for perfection and never cut corners when caring for residents.


She's not sure if she will work right away. She is also taking a college English class on her way to nursing school. Once her college general classes are finished, she can apply for nursing school. Her CNA certification and 4.0 grade point average should give her a little bit of an edge when they select students for nursing school.


It's not easy to go back to school after over fifteen years. I don't think I could do it. In fact, I'm sure I couldn't do it. My study habits involved a lot of procrastinating and cramming. Now with two kids, I don't think they would always be accommodating to the 'all nighter'. Lady Di doesn't have that problem. She does her work nightly and actually learns what she needs to know instead of memorization. I know Lady Di will do well. She really works hard and it will be worth it in a couple years when she is a nurse.

Nursing really does suit Lady Di well. She is the most caring and empathetic person I know. She works well with kids, seniors and everyone in between. I don't see any limit to what she will want to do. As long as she continues college, I will try to be there with help and support.


As long as she tells me where the 'college parties' are.