Band of Gold

I hope this isn't a bad omen. My wedding ring BROKE! At first, it looked like a hairline crack, but I was shocked to discover that one of the bands is broken clear through, right next to the spot where the three bands are welded together. It's only 15 years old, so I must be hard on it. My jeweler did tell me about a year ago that the crown would have to be replaced sometime in the near future, but she didn't mention anything about the bands being weak.

Since I don't wear gold anymore, Brad and I have been talking for a couple of years about getting a new setting for my stone. We've been putting it off because I'd like to get platinum, which would be quite expensive. Maybe we'll have to think about doing it sooner than planned...

Far And Away

Yep. Missing my mom and dad tonight.

Free Hugs

Great song - Great video. Kinda made me tear up.



If you prefer, click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Beni The Bull Rider

Beni Paulson is the newest member of Rift. He's also a champion bull rider. I recently discovered that he has a cameo appearance in a Master P video from about four years ago.

The song and the video are atrocious! The clips of Beni are brief, but it's a bit entertaining to see him. There's a good shot of his belt buckle about halfway through. Isn't that the prized possession of a bull rider?



Video link.

JFK Winter Show

This was the scene tonight at our annual Just For Kix Winter Show, with performances by every class in the Bismarck North, Bismarck South, and Mandan JFK programs.

I haven't figured out how to counteract florescent lighting yet, so the photo doesn't do it justice. It was such a sight to see over 400 dancers in their bright and sparkly dance costumes all on the bleachers together.

We had a terrific show with lots of great performances, and things ran quite smoothly. After all that planning, worry, and work, what a relief now that it's done. I was so proud of all my dancers and of my co-conspirators in JFK, Marcy & Jenn. GO JFK!

National Champs

The sport of dance team is, of course, one of my life-long passions. Here are two examples of the best that it can be. The University of Minnesota-Minneapolis Dance Team is the reigning college national champion, and these performances are AMAZING. They make it look so easy and effortless, but trust me, these dances are extremely difficult, requiring incredible strength and control. They make me proud to be a part of the dance team community, and they give me goosebumps every time. You go girls!

2004 Nationals - Aerosmith, "Dream On"


2005 Nationals - Tori Amos, "Little Earthquakes"


If you prefer, click here to view the videos directly on YouTube.

Saving Face

Dylan took a spill on the ice today, and landed square on his nose. Ouch! It bled profusely for awhile and now looks quiet sore. His knee also took a beating. He's tough - hardly cried at all, and never complained after it stopped bleeding.

Jane Austen Rules

I was first introduced to Jane Austen and her novel Pride and Prejudice in college. As I recall, I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing in one sitting. I really like the language and humor.

We happened to catch the recent Hollywood film version of the book from 2005 on HBO a couple of nights ago. It was OK, but paled in comparison to the gorgeously epic BBC TV five-hour mini-series version from 1995. So we got out our DVD of the mini-series tonight and started watching it. Gone are the days, I guess, when I had the time or inclination to watch the entire thing at once. I even remember at least one occasion on which I watched the whole thing twice in a row when A&E was airing a P&P marathon. Hopefully we can finish it tomorrow night. For me, that's one mark of a great book/film: I can read/watch it over and over, and enjoy it every time.

Lock The Box

More drivel about Oasis...


Awhile back I blogged about the new Oasis album, Stop The Clocks. It's a best of with no new songs on it, so I had no plans to buy it. Then I stumbled onto something on YouTube that has convinced me otherwise. There is a "special edition" version with a 40 minute documentary/interview DVD called Lock The Box in addition to the music. Someone named Daniel has uploaded the whole thing, in five parts, and it's brilliant. Well, I think it's brilliant. You may be mildly entertained.

The interview segments are of the brothers (Noel & Liam) together, which they rarely do anymore because they always end up brawling. They do take jabs at one another here, but it's mostly good-natured and quite funny. The picture and sound are top quality, which is not always the case with YouTube uploads. And they are both just looking and sounding great.

If you have 45 minutes to spare, you might enjoy it. Here's the link to Part 1. You can follow the links to Parts 2-5 from there. Parental Advisory: Not for young viewers.

Snow Day

The snow finally came, starting last night and continuing even now as I write. Giant, fluffy flakes floated down by the bucketful, and we must have around 10 inches by now. To top it off, there was no wind, and it was just below freezing for most of the day - perfect snow day weather.

The kids played outside three separate times, although the last time Connor got a little too cold. His skin is so tender, and he's got no body fat for insulation. Hopefully tomorrow holds more of the same fun outside for them.

The downside is two-fold: First, with Brad out of town, the bulk of the shoveling fell to me. I'm kind of spoiled because he usually does the shoveling. Second, my parents were planning to leave yesterday morning for their first Snowbird trek. They have had to postpone their trip due to the huge storm that stretches from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, right down the path they are taking. Here's the culprit:

After months, or even years, of planning and a sad good-bye on Thursday night, they are "stranded" in their own home. Even though they don't have to be anywhere by a certain time, it's still frustrating to be put off by forces beyond their control. On the bright side, at least it's given me a couple more days with them, and we've had time to try out our new video phone equipment.

Evening In

I got some new wine glasses for Christmas from Susan, and we christened them tonight. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the glass is "cracked" at the bottom of the bowl. Very cool.

We had the neighbor kids over for movie night (Cars), so we moms could imbibe a bit. Denise, Megan and I, with help later from Craig, polished off a very good bottle of red wine. It was so nice to have friends over as the snow started tonight. A lovely evening!

Happy Holidays

Best to your family from ours!

Christmas Is Coming

It's hard to wait!

Candy Land

Dylan's class made gingerbread houses at school. They worked together with their 6th grade buddies, and his turned out so cool!

Proud Mama

Today Connor's YMCA preschool class took a field trip to Marilac Mannor, a retirement home, to sing carols for the residents. I was so proud! He sang beautifully, in a nice, loud voice that I could hear from across the room. The residents were loving it. It was one of those moments that I will remember. Unfortunately, our camera is out of order, so I couldn't get any pictures. I tried taking one of him later in the day, but he was having none of that. Too bad, because he looked adorable in his red sweater.

For The Birds

Dylan's Cub Scout den is working toward their Wolf badges. One of the requirements is woodworking, so they made bird houses at last week's den meeting. The plans called for the whole thing to be constructed from a singe pine board, and they got to use several methods of construction, including using a measuring tape, saw, drill, hammer, and screwdriver. The boys had a really good time, as thir faces show in the photo with their finished products. Dylan is looking forward to painting it and mounting it outside next spring.


He also earned another badge, the Bobcat badge, in which the boys learn the Cub Scout promise, salute, handshake and motto. His Cubmaster presented Dylan his Bobcat badge that night, too.

I'm so glad that Dylan enjoys scouting because it's something I have many fond memories of scouting myself.

Jack Frost Spikes, er, Strikes

The last few days have been foggy and cold - apparently perfect conditions for some pretty cool frost to form. Everywhere I looked, everything was frosted with amazing ice crystals. The photo of berries above was taken in Mandan, and the one below was taken at the University of Mary. I got them off the KFYR website.


Today, the sun finally came out, so the frost is gone now. I liked walking in a winter wonderland for awhile, but it's nice to have the sun back again.

More From 1989

Here's another shot from 1989. I've been raiding my old photo albums for pictures, and I found some pretty good ones. This is Linda McDonald, me, and Brad taken at Double Ditch north of town. Linda is a friend of Rachel's from England who came for an extended visit that summer. She looks terrific in this shot. I'm looking quite the clown in my rolled up red sweatpants and duck shoes from 7th grade, and Brad doesn't look a day over 12. (His actual age here: 21!). Very funny.

Happy Belated Anniversary, Toni & Steve

I missed the 16th wedding anniversary of my friends, Toni & Steve, back around the Thanksgiving holiday. They got married on a cold, snowy night in a little country church near Detroit Lakes, MN, back in 1990. This picture is from 1989. Great picture.

They live in Michigan now, and we don't see each other as often as I'd like. We were able to meet up in Fargo last spring, but those visits are always too short.

Happy 16th anniversary, Toni & Steve. I'm thinking of you (even if I am a little late).

Josie's battle

My cousin Deb, her husband Jay, and their four children live in Minneapolis. The youngest, Josie, has a very rare auto-immune disease called dermatomyositis. As I understand it, it attacks the skin and muscles. The cause is unknown, and there is no cure.

Jay has kept a blog of news about Josie since she was diagnosed about a year and a half ago. I check it every day and it is heartbreaking! Things took a serious turn for the worse about four months ago, and Josie has been hospitalized ever since. It's hard to go on with my everyday life here, knowing that part of my family is suffering so terribly. Thankfully, they have a good support network of family and friends to help.

Their church is hosting a spaghetti supper benefit this Saturday, December 9. It looks like a big shindig with lots to do for the whole family, and all for a good cause. Click here for the website.

A local TV station picked up the story. You can see the piece here.

HEARTBREAKING