So I finally got Jenna's eyes checked today. At her early childhood screening they said she didn't quite pass the test and I should take her to get a full eye exam. So we did that today- forgot the camara though. As it turns out she needs to get glasses (if I read the prescription right she needs a -1.00 correction in both eyes) so that is one more thing that we get to take care of as we are getting ready for school.
So now I am in the market for glasses for Jenna and will start making the rounds to compare prices and deals. Wish me luck to find the glasses and that Jenna won't lose or break them right away.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Hotdish- welcome to the midwest
So I was having fun checking out facts about the MN State Fair- it starts up today and we are trying to figure out when we are going. Wikipedia had some interesting facts about the MN State Fair and it referred to the term Hotdish because at the fair you can now get "hotdish on a stick" as one of the many offerings of food served on a stick.
Hotdish is basically a term for casserole. Around here when people are talking about bringing food to a potluck the term casserole is generally only is used by those "not from around here". But of course the Minnesota Nice personalities don't make fun of those who say casserole- we know what they mean. The requirements are usually a can of creamed soup and a cheese topping with the other ingredients usually including meat, pasta or potatoes, and a vegie or 2.
There is also a difference between hot dish and hotdish- check out the above link for this peculiar term from "up north".
Anyone else have know of other regional terms for food. I know all about the "coke" and "soda" debate- I'll stick with "pop" thank you very much.
Hotdish is basically a term for casserole. Around here when people are talking about bringing food to a potluck the term casserole is generally only is used by those "not from around here". But of course the Minnesota Nice personalities don't make fun of those who say casserole- we know what they mean. The requirements are usually a can of creamed soup and a cheese topping with the other ingredients usually including meat, pasta or potatoes, and a vegie or 2.
There is also a difference between hot dish and hotdish- check out the above link for this peculiar term from "up north".
Anyone else have know of other regional terms for food. I know all about the "coke" and "soda" debate- I'll stick with "pop" thank you very much.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
No Power- A new list of essentials to get
Okay- it doesn't seem that long since I blogged about losing my internet connection. Now I don't know why I was complaining.
We lost power completely for 3 days. A storm rolled through here Saturday morning around 3:15am (our weather dog was kind enough to tell us it was coming- with her shaking and all around panic). We lost power around 4:30am and didn't get it restored until 5:10pm Monday Night.
My poor kids didn't know what to do with themselves. Plus our whole routine was off so that was hard for them too. Of course they wanted to watch tv and computer but that wasn't as disturbing as not having night lights, or music to listen to at bedtime. Jenna went to bed one night with a flashlight and pushed the play button to her music that she listens to at night. It didn't work obviously and I told her that her radio didn't have any power either. She was a little panicked and said "Now how am I going to fall asleep?" so Nate lent her his IPOD to listen to High School Musical. She kind of enjoyed that and requested it the next night too.
Note to self- Batteries are important and especially the big batteries (C and D). I realized that I didn't have batteries for the radios and flashlights.
A new item that needs to go on my preparedness need to get list is a generator. A tip from a family friend was that you get a smaller generator and just rotate it between the different appliances (such as the refrigerator and freezer to keep them both cold) every 5 or 6 hours.
I was even thinking that would have been a great idea so that I could have temporarily plugged in my stove to cook too. Having a gas stove would have been a plus since I would have been able to cook but no mine is electric but that isn't going to change anytime soon (I like my smooth top surface).
Also on my list is having food that I can prepare without power. We had all of the water we wanted but it was hard to put the food storage that I currently have into meals without needing a stove. Another item to preparedness list- camp stove.
Yes, I could have BBQed or used the camp fire but -as Spencer was constantly commenting- we need "fire utensils" to be able to cook more than just hot dogs and marshmallows. So another item should probably be pots or pans that can be used on the grill or fire pit.
After being so happy about getting power last night we had another huge storm roll through. I was a little nervous that we were going to lose power last night but thank goodness we are not one of the households without power this morning from that storm. I hope that it affected new areas- just for the sanity of those that had to be without for so long.
Luckily we didn't lose too much food and today is garbage day so the stuff I did lose gets picked up today- phew! We had just stocked up our big freezer for some future BBQs and I think that the large amount of frozen food worked well to keep things cold. Although I had a lot of frozen berries and I think they may have thawed a bit and now I may only have berry mush but I can live with that- we'll just have a lot of smoothies and things.
What was interesting is that Nate and I were just starting to stock up on preparedness items. We have been focused on the food aspect but now I am going to work more diligently on the non food items so that we are stocked up for the future.
Anyone have any other ideas of what essential items need to be on a preparedness list do to your own experiences?
We lost power completely for 3 days. A storm rolled through here Saturday morning around 3:15am (our weather dog was kind enough to tell us it was coming- with her shaking and all around panic). We lost power around 4:30am and didn't get it restored until 5:10pm Monday Night.
My poor kids didn't know what to do with themselves. Plus our whole routine was off so that was hard for them too. Of course they wanted to watch tv and computer but that wasn't as disturbing as not having night lights, or music to listen to at bedtime. Jenna went to bed one night with a flashlight and pushed the play button to her music that she listens to at night. It didn't work obviously and I told her that her radio didn't have any power either. She was a little panicked and said "Now how am I going to fall asleep?" so Nate lent her his IPOD to listen to High School Musical. She kind of enjoyed that and requested it the next night too.
Note to self- Batteries are important and especially the big batteries (C and D). I realized that I didn't have batteries for the radios and flashlights.
A new item that needs to go on my preparedness need to get list is a generator. A tip from a family friend was that you get a smaller generator and just rotate it between the different appliances (such as the refrigerator and freezer to keep them both cold) every 5 or 6 hours.
I was even thinking that would have been a great idea so that I could have temporarily plugged in my stove to cook too. Having a gas stove would have been a plus since I would have been able to cook but no mine is electric but that isn't going to change anytime soon (I like my smooth top surface).
Also on my list is having food that I can prepare without power. We had all of the water we wanted but it was hard to put the food storage that I currently have into meals without needing a stove. Another item to preparedness list- camp stove.
Yes, I could have BBQed or used the camp fire but -as Spencer was constantly commenting- we need "fire utensils" to be able to cook more than just hot dogs and marshmallows. So another item should probably be pots or pans that can be used on the grill or fire pit.
After being so happy about getting power last night we had another huge storm roll through. I was a little nervous that we were going to lose power last night but thank goodness we are not one of the households without power this morning from that storm. I hope that it affected new areas- just for the sanity of those that had to be without for so long.
Luckily we didn't lose too much food and today is garbage day so the stuff I did lose gets picked up today- phew! We had just stocked up our big freezer for some future BBQs and I think that the large amount of frozen food worked well to keep things cold. Although I had a lot of frozen berries and I think they may have thawed a bit and now I may only have berry mush but I can live with that- we'll just have a lot of smoothies and things.
What was interesting is that Nate and I were just starting to stock up on preparedness items. We have been focused on the food aspect but now I am going to work more diligently on the non food items so that we are stocked up for the future.
Anyone have any other ideas of what essential items need to be on a preparedness list do to your own experiences?
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I've been tagged...
Alright- even though I have already posted twice today I thought I would answer the challenge/tag from Callie. Don't get too used to multiple posts in one day though.
Jobs I’ve Held:
1. I worked in a root beer barrel (yes, you read that right) at the MN State Fair a couple of years (My uncle owns them and he sells just drinks-Pepsi products and yes...Root Beer)
2. Filene's Basement- A clothing store. The store I worked at closed.
3. Babysitting- lots of it.
4. Working at The Oasis a seasonal hamburger/ice cream restaurant as manager for my aunt (she is married to the root beer barrel guy!) The place is no longer however - After she sold it I think it became a parking lot.
5. I worked as an ESL tutor in Orem while going to school at BYU.
6. I did Data Entry for Signature- Nate worked there too and that's when he switched to programming after college. That company is gone now too.
7. I am currently working at our YMCA in the Kid's Area about 3 hours a week- sometimes more. I am just working for the free membership.
Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
1. Totally Modern Millie "Soy Sauce!!!!!"
2. I love Musicals- 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Singing in the Rain, The Happiest Millionaire, etc.
3. I really liked a few action films too- Batman Begins, The Bourne Identity (I don't like the filming of the other films), the others escape me at the moment.
My Guilty Pleasures:
1. The theme for us moms is catching those rare naps.
2. Doing Genealogy when I should be cleaning or doing other chores.
3. I am sure that there are others but I cannot come up with any right now.
Places I Have Lived:
1. Minnetonka/Hopkins/Maple Grove/ and Minnetonka again- all in Minnesota
2. Provo, Utah
3. Nearby Spanish Fork, Utah
Shows I Enjoy:
There are far too many shows that I enjoy so here are the ones I will admit to...
1. Monk- I love mystery shows. I grew up watching Murder She Wrote and Matlock and Columbo.
2. I'll admit that I enjoy the CSI shows
3. House
4. I was a Gilmore Girls fan and a West Wing fan but those are both lost forever now.
5. We also enjoy several shows on the Discovery Channel- Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters to name a couple.
What were likely the 1st things you thought when you saw your significant other for the first time?
Well, the first time we met we were on a group date with different dates and he was trying to overcompensate for the dullness of the girl he brought. He seemed nice but she was lame and since I didn't know either of them I spent the night talking to the others in the group. That was just before he moved into our apartment complex.
Places I’ve Been on Vacation (other an the U.S.):
1. Does having lunch across the Canadian Border count? You may say yes except that it happened while I was on a Boundary Waters trip- it is a canoe area on the MN/Canada border and it wasn't really obvious that anything had changed. We were just on the other side of a lake.
Favorite Foods:
1. Pasta- gotta have it.
2. I love Nate's smoked Chicken- okay I like anything that Nate smokes on the BBQ. I never want to cook a turkey the normal way again.
3. I enjoy ice cream- many flavors.
Websites I Visit (almost) Daily:
1. My favorite Comics
2. Family and Friends Blogs
3. Star Tribune Website- to keep up on the local news
4. Ancestry.com and other genealogy related websites
5. Google to search for everything
6. Wells Fargo
Nicknames I’ve been called:
1. Kimmer
2. Kim is technically a nickname and almost everyone call me that
3. Kimba -from those who know me from college
Now I Get to pick 4 other Blog buddies to do this!
I don't know that many people who blog who haven't already done so- so if you haven't done this yet- consider yourself tagged and then let me know!
Wildlife in the Burbs
We have had a lot of wildlife to observe around here. The most recent is a woodchuck. My mom has been trying to catch it for almost 2 weeks. It has been living under their shed and it has been getting into her garden- never a smart move. It was tricky to catch and in the mean time she has caught 2 raccoons and a red squirrel (all of which were transported to nearby -buy not too close- parks). There may still be another woodchuck in the area so the trap will stay baited. Here is a photo of the prisoner.
National Night Out
What happens when you don't go to the neighborhood meeting? You get picked to host the National Night Out neighborhood party! My parents were there and technically they sort of volunteered us but it all worked out fine. I was amazed at the amount of people who came. We had about 70 or more people mostly adults that showed up. I didn't take any group shots because I didn't want people to feel uncomfortable but they were all in our front yard under our shade trees.
Here are some photos of the area where all of the people were gathered. Spencer took these photos a while ago. We have a lot of shade available especially in the evening.
Just try and imagine this area filled with 2 picnic tables, a patio table, 4 card tables and another patio table with food and lots of patio chairs and other lawn chairs. It was packed pretty solidly.
We also had some visitors to our party.
A Minnetonka police officer came and talked for quite a while to the kids. She was available for adult questions too but there didn't appear to be any.
The former owners of our house also joined the party and Kathy works for a different city but her job is to bring McGruff the crime dog around and so she made a special stop to our party too.
It was a fun night- we met lots of our neighbors although without the name tags I have no chance at remembering all of their names.
Did any of you attend a National Night Out Gathering?
Here are some photos of the area where all of the people were gathered. Spencer took these photos a while ago. We have a lot of shade available especially in the evening.
Just try and imagine this area filled with 2 picnic tables, a patio table, 4 card tables and another patio table with food and lots of patio chairs and other lawn chairs. It was packed pretty solidly.
We also had some visitors to our party.
A Minnetonka police officer came and talked for quite a while to the kids. She was available for adult questions too but there didn't appear to be any.
The former owners of our house also joined the party and Kathy works for a different city but her job is to bring McGruff the crime dog around and so she made a special stop to our party too.
It was a fun night- we met lots of our neighbors although without the name tags I have no chance at remembering all of their names.
Did any of you attend a National Night Out Gathering?
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
We're all okay
I know many of you have seen the news about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis today, and I can reassure you that we're all okay. I was in traffic at the time of the collapse, and I do have to cross the Mississippi every day, but I cross the river further south on 494.
Minneapolis straddles the river with the main downtown area on the southwest side. The bridge that collapsed is on I-35W which runs essentially through the middle of the University of Minnesota campus. You can take a look at the location here. The marker is on the Cedar Avenue Bridge immediately next to I-35W. Just downriver from the Cedar Avenue Bridge is a pedestrian bridge where the crowds are gathered watching the scene--including, according to the news footage, a couple of guys in white shirts, ties and black name tags leading some group prayers.
We just got a call from the Relief Society Presidency making sure that I made it home safe. They and the bishopric have been calling around to all the ward members that work over that direction, and thankfully all of those calls have been positive so far.
Minneapolis straddles the river with the main downtown area on the southwest side. The bridge that collapsed is on I-35W which runs essentially through the middle of the University of Minnesota campus. You can take a look at the location here. The marker is on the Cedar Avenue Bridge immediately next to I-35W. Just downriver from the Cedar Avenue Bridge is a pedestrian bridge where the crowds are gathered watching the scene--including, according to the news footage, a couple of guys in white shirts, ties and black name tags leading some group prayers.
We just got a call from the Relief Society Presidency making sure that I made it home safe. They and the bishopric have been calling around to all the ward members that work over that direction, and thankfully all of those calls have been positive so far.
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