Word A Day Calendar

When I moved home from Oklahoma in 1990, I lived with my dad for a few years. He had started getting a word-a-day calendar every year for Christmas (from Krista, I think) and it became our routine to look at the new word each morning at breakfast and try to use it in a sentence as often as possible throughout the day. Birthday words were special, as were other special dates. It was fun we kept up through the years until his death. When I lived away from him he'd always be sure to bring over the page with the word for my birthday or the kids' birthdays. In my scrapbook I have the word of the day for each of the days my kids were born, too. So it seemed entirely appropriate that we continue the tradition, and I picked up a word-a-day calendar at Barnes & Noble this week. The kids and I thought it would be good to learn a new word every day at breakfast - and it's a small way to remember my dad every morning as well.

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More Holiday Stuff

Last night our holiday festivities continued at John's parents house. I bought John a new Nikon compact digital camera for Christmas and he took a bunch of photos there. At the condo there's a basement room that was perfect for Devon to try out his new RipStik, which is like a skateboard on two caster wheels instead of four. It's supposed to be like snowboarding on wheels. It came with an instructional DVD that he watched before leaving for the Flynns, and he couldn't wait to try it out. He's got such great balance that it worked out well for him and he loved it! One of the other residents showed Rowan a funny ride-on toy her grandchildren use when they visit, and he had fun riding around on it. It made for some fun photos! John's camera is nice, and will fit in his pocket.
Today is my final day of four days off, so we plan to make the most of it. Unfortunately, I woke up with a fever and a raging cold, but I'm plugging myself full of comtrex and advil and I'm determined to have fun with the kids! We plan to try out the toboggan and go to the mall to spend their gift cards. One of Devon's video games didn't work, so we need to return that to Game Stop, and we all received gift cards from Barnes & Noble, too. It should be a great day of fun with the kids, and my cleaning girls are coming so I'll come home to a clean house.....order a pizza, and play a game or two in the evening. First, though, I still have to track my radio show, record two ads and write a quick column for the prep service (I know, on my day off!) - but after that it's all good.

Merry Christmas

Christmas Day is here - the season has flown by, as it always does. Last night the kids participated in the annual pageant at their church. Last year I didn't go, as I was at home caring for my dad, but this year I went, and was glad to sit in the balcony where no one could see me cry. Christmas Eve has always been our family time, from the time I was little - the night we opened gifts and sat around the tree together. It was really hard without my dad for the first time. Everything about the season this year has been hard but I've been trying to keep up a brave front for the kids - I didn't want to ruin their holiday and didn't want them to see me cry. They had a great Christmas and did a wonderful job in the pageant at church - I was very proud. I took video that I will edit and post later tonight or tomorrow.
Devon got his PSP, and Rowan got the digital camcorder he wanted - a terrific Canon I picked up on the internet for a really good deal (better than mine!!!). They also received Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii and a beautiful toboggan from LL Bean - we can't wait to take it out for a spin! Since we had a huge snowstorm over the past two days (fourteen inches!) there's a fresh layer of snow to speed through. I'll take them to the hill either this afternoon or tomorrow.
This morning I made waffles (our holiday tradition) and now we're all in our pajamas by the tree, playing games and reading books. Later we'll go to the Flynns for gifts, dinner, and the usual sarcasm and insults.
John had to work overnight and will work again tonight, so he's spending the day sleeping.

Tis the Season...

Free Skis!

The Sylvan Hill tubing area opened this weekend, and though Rowan is still too sick to go the kids can't wait to tube for the first time this year. Sylvan used to be a ski hill, but it was too small to really compete with our fabulous Granite Peak ski area, so thc county turned it into a tubing hill with two runs. The old tow ropes are still in use so you use that to get up the hill on your tube, and it's cheap fun at only $5 per person for kids. The chalet is warm and toasty with a fire crackling away - usually I take the kids and hang out by the fire with 50 cent hot chocolate and a book. Seeing as though I have been stuck in the house for weeks on end, my workout routine has really suffered, so I was interested to read the article in this week's newspaper talking about Sylvan's cross-country ski trails. I didn't even know they existed! Perfect opportunity for me to get some exercise while the kids are tubing. The only problem? No skis - and with Christmas fast approaching I did not want to spend any money on myself. We have a few pair of cross country skis in the garage that we brought back from John's parents cottage when they sold it, but they have the old style bindings and there are no boots that fit me, so I'd thought of buying boots and replacing the bindings, but even that would be pricey right now. Early yesterday morning I noticed an ad from the Freecycle Network for a pair of waxless Edsbyn skis in my size with boots - also in my size - and a pair of poles up for grabs. I was lucky enough to be the first to respond, and yesterday afternoon I picked up my new skis. They are older but in great shape, and the boots fit really well. It's fate, I tell you! So now I can't wait for next weekend, when I can take the kids to the hill and I can get some x-c ski time in. It's been years since I've done it but I used to love it - so this should be great!

Ho, Ho, Ho - the Altenburgh Show

The show last night at the Grand was great - hard to believe 12 years of fun is coming to an end. Wonderful music and great fun backstage with my brother as always. This is, however, the first time in 12 years I made a joke emceeing that I probably shouldn't have (nothing off-color, it was about the fervor over the airport's trees) but other than that I felt good about it. The party afterward was the usual glitz and glimmer and I didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was there, from the mayor to the police chief to all the downtown business people, lots of media, and all the musicians and their friends. Janet Planet gave a terrific rendition of Amazing Grace, and even former Airkraft frontman Mitch Viegut got into the action with a little "Run, Run, Rudolph" (in the photo); Chris O'Keefe gave a wrap up of his Martha Stewart running anthem, "Martha Stewart's Coming For Christmas (and that's a real 'good thing')" and Otis sang some great tunes as well. Loved John's opening this year, too. Great stuff - now we'll just have to wait for the reunion show in a few years!

Meet the Green Bay Packers

Big Cheese was the media sponsor for this week's Superbowl 32 reunion party and fundraiser for the LeRoy Butler Foundation this week in Stevens Point. Only a few comp tickets were available for the $85 a plate dinner, so we all put our names in a hat and I was one of the few lucky enough to go, and I was able to bring my brother along. The night featured live and silent auctions, a VIP meet and greet which we were a part of, a dinner and more. LeRoy Butler was there, of course, as were fellow teammates from the Superbowl winning team including Mark Chmura, Santana Dotson, Ron Woodson, Bill Schroeder, Gilbert Brown, Chris Jackie, and others. The dinner wasn't great and there were FAR too many people in the VIP room to be a true VIP experience but it was still a fun night and I was glad to be able to treat my brother to a night of rubbing elbows with great athletes like that. Here are just a couple of photos from the evening!

Visitor Maps

I've been playing around for awhile now with different visitor maps on the blog. You'll see the latest version on the left. I just pasted the HTML into the template and I think this one's going to do it. The last one was irritating - it was too big, bleeding over into the post text, and didn't show the detail I wanted it to. Don't worry - it's not that I want you to think Big Brother is watching. I just like to know where people are reading this. It's always fun to see a reader in England, France, or somewhere else that seems exotic to me. It's also comforting to see a click from Milwaukee - I know my cousin's checking (hello, Pete!) - or one from Seattle - (hi, Spike!). Love to see the clicks from Duluth (hello, my dear friend Beth!) Rob in Los Angeles, Wendy in New Mexico (I love you, sister!) Ed in Des Moines, Chris in Colorado - and someone from Minneapolis that I can only assume is my long lost dear friend Paul who never responds to email anymore (shame on you). So humor me, if you will - and I'll let you know how the latest version - this one from ClustrMaps - works out.

Ouch!

Today in school Rowan had a bit of a mishap. He was sitting on a chair backward, rocking...and he fell.....and the chair back smacked him HARD in the face. His front tooth is crooked (hence the enormous orthodontia bills) and the corner of it cut through his entire lip to the other side - all the way through. OH MY GOD. It is so gross. That poor kid! I picked him up right away and took him to the walk in - where I was treated to a TWO HOUR WAIT only to be told that he was lucky enough to have a very straight cut - so no stitches were necessary. If it had been jagged, or if there had been a flap of skin, he would have definitely needed one or two - but this should heal up just fine on it's own. He was so relieved, and so was I. Meanwhile it's swollen up like a big balloon. I took a photo but you can't really tell the magnitude of the swelling in this picture! Eating is hard, of course, and he can't play his baritone for at least a week. Ack! I'm just glad he didn't have to have a stitch! Of course if I hadn't taken him, I'd have wondered for weeks whether I'd done the right thing, so despite the wait and the benign result, I'm glad we went.

Caroling in the Great Hall

Tonight Devon's Choraliers and Choralation choirs led the community caroling event at the PAF's Grand Theatre Great Hall - 30 minutes of fun Christmas carols that finally got me into the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, Devon is the shortest one in the group, and he stood behind a bunch of much taller people! But we knew he was there singing, and we all had a good time.
I've struggled with the holiday blues this year for a variety of reasons, but tonight I finally feel like I'm a little more with it. Here's hoping that feeling lasts.

Altenburgh Show Ahead

The annual Altenburgh Christmas show is coming up soon, and I'll be emceeing it for the 11th and final year. John Altenburgh & Co. announced today this would be the final go-round for this holiday event - hard to believe this is coming to an end. John, who is a cousin of famed jazz musician Pat Metheny, owns Altenburgh records and assembles an eclectic array of talent each year. The show features some of the area's finest jazz and blues talent: John Greiner, Otis McLennon, Chris O'Keefe, Mitch Viegut, Tom Washatka, Randy Sabien, and the amazing vocals of Janet Planet. Some of the band members, including John, are part of the blues band Johnny & the Mo-Tones, which has enjoyed success nationwide these past few years.
Some fun Altenburgh Show facts:
* Over 20, 000 tickets have been sold in the show's history. Last year only one single ticket remained.
* The show actually started at The Scott St. Pub, Wausau, WI as a Christmas Jam session in the late 1980's to early 1990's.
* Altenburgh's Christmas Show has historically created the largest bar night of the year for The PAF. (Not surprising. You should see how much alcohol they go through backstage!)
* Chris O'Keefe (notorious for his obsession with Martha Stewart) predicted Stewart's prison time in his song "Martha Stewart's Christmas in Prison." performed at the show a full year before any public knowledge of her troubles.
* 57 different local people have been mentioned or lampooned in Altenburgh's opening monologue, including two Wausau Mayors - I myself have been mentioned twice!
* Co-owner of City Bike Works, Ricky Walters, donates a bike to give away every year and also runs the spotlights during the show. During a Bike give away routine, where a dart had to be thrown to a seating chart to pick the winner, Otis McLennon missed the board four straight times from six feet away. Otis was quarterback of his high school football team.
* Because most performers live outside of the Wausau area, only one rehearsal is
available with an average of 3 hours of rehearsal time per year.
* Thanks to a manufacturer's defect, the flying toy chicken "give-away" during the 2004 show, all landed in the audience without heads. The heads came off in mid flight.

Oh, the fun we've had - Altenburgh, we're gonna miss you. But let's have one more great year!

Nutcracker Photos

Of all the six years I have attended Central Wisconsin School of Ballet's annual presentation of The Nutcracker, it's quite possible that this year was the finest. Small changes in the show every year keep the show fresh - and this year was no exception. Most notable was the expansion of the role of the Harlequin, who first made an appearance last year. The costumes in Snow were changed slightly, and the choreography in the Battle scene were changed and improved upon. The professional dancers, hired from the American Ballet Theatre, were absolutely perfect. Veronica Yaeger, most recently seen in the highly popular Disney hit High School Musical 2, returned to reprise her role as the Arabian dancer, superb as always.
Devon did a fantastic job as a naughty boy. Last night seeing him onstage - I couldn't have been more proud. As Patrik told me after the show - Devon is an old theatre pro. Years ago Devon's kindergarten teacher told me - "That kid is going to be on Broadway someday - just you wait!" - and you know, she could be right!
Central Wisconsin was hit with a blizzard last night, Mother Nature dumping nearly 16 inches of snow in our area, resulting in a sparse crowd for what is normally a sold out show. Those that braved the weather were rewarded with a holiday treat to remember!
I snapped a few photos, though cameras are prohibited in the theatre, even without a flash. I had to wait until the ushers were looking the other way. Even so, my brother was convinced we were going to be thrown out of the theatre. Scaredy cat!!!! :)

CWSB's Nutcracker from Rehearsal to Perfomance

More footage - this is raw video from rehearsals taken by the photographer covering the story - thanks, Erik!

Behind the Scenes of CWSB's

Great footage from this year's preparations from the Nutcracker. If you look closely, you can see Devon in the opening scenes!

O Christmas Tree

Yesterday, the kids and I went to get our first real Christmas tree. I have always had a fake one, because I have always been worried about the dogs chewing on the branches. (They chew on the ones outside, so it stands to reason!) At this year's Una Notte Bella, I bid on and won a freshly cut tree from one of the school's faculty. Mr. Huntsburger lives near Green Bay, and on Tuesday morning he cut the size tree I asked for and brought it to the school. My stepfather helped us hoist it onto the top of the Honda and secure it with tie-downs, and we brought it home to decorate. I'm using the old, sturdy tree stand we used when I was a little girl - my brother dug it out of my father's basement for me. Rowan, Devon and I always decorate the tree together and love looking at all the beautiful ornaments. I couldn't get our angel to fit on top - she kept falling off - so I'm in search of a new angel, something vintage and cool. I'm sure the right one will pop out at me. In the meantime, however, we are all pleased at how our tree turned out and it's really helping us get into the holiday mood!

Which 2008 candidate do YOU hate the most?

Which 2008 candidate do you hate the most?

I took the quiz I found on Buttafly and this is what I came up with based on my answers to a few short questions.

"The candidate you like least is Republican Duncan Hunter. He is pro-life, supports the death penalty, is in favor of No Child Left Behind, opposes embryonic stem cell research, opposes banning assault weapons -- this guy is your worst nightmare!"

Take the quiz yourself and let me know what you come up with - click the link!

Take the quiz at Buttafly.com

And the award goes to.....

Sean Penn. At least, he gets the Idiot Celebrity of the Week award, after he spent a day touring Venezuela with Hugo Chavez, finally proclaiming the country "a great place". Sean Penn loves to complain about our own president's many shortcomings, but his idolization of our revolutionary enemy is inexcusable. Penn does not seem to be troubled by Chavez's harrassment of opposition leaders, his frightening treatment of the media, and his attempts to change the country's constitution so that he can keep the presidency indefinitely. How a totalitarian leader who regularly "disappears" journalists who oppose him can be lauded by anyone living in a democratic society is beyond me; then again, this is from the man who, in a jealous rage, left his wife tied to a chair for 3 hours and reportedly force-fed her dog food. Penn should stick to what he does best - turning out award winning acting performances - and leave the politics to someone more qualified.
While Penn is entitled to his opinion, using his celebrity to endorse Chavez's dictatorial leadership of Venezuela is ridiculous. However, he is hardly the first to applaud the man - recent visits by Naomi Campbell and Danny Glover ended in a similar fashion. What is it about celebrities who believe they are entitled to use their popularity in this way? It's baffling. One can only hope they someday realize the extent to which they have been used.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving Day morning, and I'm up before everyone else. Traditionally, I work the holiday in addition to hosting the dinner celebration for both families, mine and John's. This year, we're expecting 12, down from a high of 18 two years ago. Notably absent, of course, is my father, but in addition, John's brother divorced earlier this year, eliminating his wife and her two children and the friends they usually brought along for the festivities. I'll miss them all - I really enjoyed Trudy and her boys.
My dad usually made the pumpkin pies and Trudy made a bunch of things, too. This year my mom is in charge of the pies (except the apple, that's my bag) and I've assigned each family member one small thing to bring. The bulk of the dinner I gladly make myself, planning the meal weeks in advance to try new recipes and resurrect old favorites.
This year I ordered a free range turkey which is brining in the cooler on the deck right now, and bought a ham that's already simmering in the crockpot with a cola/brown sugar/cinnamon concoction as a glaze. The apple pie is in the oven, and I've got everything set out. On the menu aside from the above, a new stuffing recipe (unheard of, I don't usually mess with perfection - LOL!); green bean, watercress and crispy shallot salad; roasted harvest vegetables; cranberry grape compote (already in the fridge!); mashed potatoes and gravy; and assorted dips, crackers, and relishes. It is literally the largest meal I make all year.
Tuesday I'm picking up the Christmas tree that I won in the Una Notte Bella auction, freshly cut from one of the faculty members farms, and I've begun my Christmas shopping in earnest. The season always makes me so happy, but this year when I allow myself to think about it I am unbearably sad to celebrate without my dad. Every day I am stopping at his grave to put a stone on the marker, a tradition that says "I remember you".....it's the only thing I can do.

First Snowfall of the Year

The first snowflakes of the year have started to fall. I just took this photo out of my office window. Big, fluffy flakes!