Additions to Joann's list

In case some of ya'll haven't finished your shopping yet, I thought of a few more things that I would enjoy:

Elixer acoustic guitar strings (medium/light, polyweb)
Jim Dunlop guitar pics (size .60 mm--they're light gray)

And, for a limited time only at Payless Shoe Source:
size 9 1/2 Lower East Side "ballet flats" with ribbon laced through sides leaving a bow on top (same color as shoe), color red or black (I can't decide...I kind of want both). They are slip-on, casual/dressy shoes, rounded toe, real comfy and cute.

I Retain My Title!

Drill Bits
New Music (CD's, mp3's, whatever--even tapes!)
Old Books
Hardback Copies of Ender's Game, C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, Terry Prachett's DiscWorld novels (any)
Books in General, Really (Hardback preferred, but not necessary)
Bookshelf To Hold Said Books (Too Many Book + Not Enough Shelving = Stacks On The Floor and an annoyed wife)

UPDATE!!!
High Quality Chessboard (beautiful wood or glass)
Video Rocker (as seen here ---don't care about brand, just a good pic)
Nice Poker Set (chips specifically---cards not needed)
Wired Optical Mouse (not wireless, please)

No Laptop (Heather and I bought one as each others' Christmas gifts..."Look Heather! A SPACE BAR!!!")

UPDATE THE SECOND!!!
CDs...
Jimmy Eat World (any)
KT Tunstall (any)
Sarah McLachlan's "Fumbling Toward Ecstasy"
Depeche Mode

Accessing Lists

Sorry about the access issues... I re-posted the October lists so that they would all be visible on the opening page instead of everyone having to go into the archives. Henceforth, if you wish to update your lists and can't access them yourselves, just let me know and I will do the updating for you.

Joann's Christmas List

Instructions: the Target one is a wish list I composed...there are a few on there that I really love and some that I really like--basically it gives you an idea of my clothing/jewelry taste. The slip-on Converse shoes are way cool. I like books and movies a whole lot too. The books & movies are in order of desire:)

Half.com
Books (all w/o highlighting/underlining please):
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Knife of Dreams (book #11 in the Wheel of Time series) by Robert Jordan
Anne books (I have 1 & 2, and would like 3 & 4 as well) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland H. Bainton

Movies (DVD’s only please):
Anne of Avonlea (the 2nd one)
The Little Mermaid
Mulan
Singin' in the Rain
Muppet Christmas Carol
Nacho Libre


converse (chuck taylor) all star slip-on shoes (black) unisex (size 10 in women’s)
Search on line (I’ve seen it lots of places)—it runs around $40--they look just like regular converse low tops, but they don't have shoe laces because they are actually elastic where the tongue is sewed to the sides of the shoes.

Gift cards:
Old Navy
Fred Meyers
Target
Barnes N’ Noble
Starbucks

Target on-line
Joann's Wish List

Mama told me that the link no longer works for my target wishlist, but if you go to target.com and then click on "wish lists" it will ask you to enter in a person's name---type in "Joann Whittaker" without putting in a location for me and I will come up!

PS--the things on the wish list (except for a few) and also to give you an idea of my style if you want to risk branching out from the list:) But I do really love the black skirt and red coat (and the other stuff too I guess:)

Mama's Christmas List; updated 12/2

New items added 12/2:
:
Books about Rosemal painting

warm terry cloth bathrobe
Warm PJs (Flannel ? -- like what the girls have gotten at Old Navy, etc)

Nice sock with small floral designs or things like I've seen on Beth

“Little House on the Prairie” on DVD – Seasons 5 and thereafter
pretty jewelry – no hearts (I have a lot of hearts already)
henckel knife (or equivalent – ask Beth)
– I have a good paring knife and one with a 6 ½ inch blade
Scrapbook tote –
- > ‘Crop n style P3 paper tote
-> Fmpguru/ MemoryStor rolling scrapbook cart and organizer

Books: “For Women Only”

DVDs: “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”
"Showboat"
Padded hangers

Light table (I haven't looked for any of these, but know I'd like something for tracing -- instead of having to hold the things up to the window to trace. I can only do that when it's daylight out!!)

I'll add things as I think of them, so check back if these don't help. Some of these items are more expensive, so if several of you want to go together to get me something, that's okay with me. You aren't required to get me anything, though. I'll still love you no matter what!!

Beth's List (edited to reflect recent Bday gifts)

www.half.com

Bebo Norman, "Try"- $2.50
Margaret Becker, "Immigrants' Daughter"- $2.50
Russ Taff, "Under Their Influence"- $3.00
Russ Taff, "A Christmas Song"- $3.99
Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD
Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller
Bringing Up Boys, by James Dobson- $8.00

www.bedbathandbeyond.com

Henckels International Hollow Ground Classic 7" Santoku Knife- $46.99

gift certificates

Old Navy
Starbucks
Target

Subscription to Blueprint- www.marthastewart.com- $17.94
yardstick
256MB or 1GB memory card for my Canon PowerShot A40 digital camera
Burt's Bees skincare products- www.burtsbees.com
SDW circa 1710 German Band Sampler, graph only- www.scarlet-letter.com- $16.00
Swift River Cardigan, Chocolate Brown, size L, WQ50876- www.llbean.com- $29.50

Target on-line(I copied Joann!)
Beth's Wish List

Jack's Christmas List

Clothing sized 12-18 months
Lincoln Logs
Cast Metal Toy Tractors- www.getgreengear.com or www.deeregear.com for ideas
Books
Age appropriate educational toys
$$$ for his college fund!

Matt's Christmas List

A big, heavy Bench Vise- harborfreight.com- $50 range
Webbing Tie-Downs- harborfreight.com- 4 pack for $13.99
Advantage Timber John Deer Hat #00273- deeregear.com- $17.85
Advantage Timber Camo Hat #1494- deeregear.com- $14.30
John Deere Parking Only tin sign- getgreengear.com- $15.99
This Farm Uses Quality Equipment tin sign- getgreengear.com- $16.99
Lion King DVD
Fox and the Hound DVD

gift certificates

Old Navy
Sportsman's Warehouse
Harbor Freight
Sears- he would really love this- there are some router bits he wants there
Coastal Supply

Kimmie's List-a-Roo-Zeeeeee!!!!

Sears Gift Card
*goes toward the purchase of a much desired Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer)

Books *Dr. Suess (hardcover please)
-- The Butter Battle Book
-- To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street
-- If I Ran the Zoo
-- 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
-- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
-- Daisy Head Mayzie
-- Scrambled Eggs Super!

Andy's List-a-Ding-Ddoh!!

DVDs
* Simpsons Seasons 2-8
* Strong Bad DVDs/Misc. Collections (homestarrunner.com store)

CDs
-- U2 - 18 Singles (releases November 20th)
-- Billy Joel - Live @ Madison Square Garden, NYC
-- 4Him - Hymns

Gift Cards
# Best Buy
# Sears
# Barnes & Noble
# Powell's

An Incredible Edible

Books
@ Road Trip USA (4th Edition/2006) By Jamie Jensen
@ Justice: Vol. 1 by Doug Braithwaits, Jim Kreuger, & Alex Ross (Graphic Novel)

Clothes (no turtle necks)
^ Chicago Bears attire
^ Homestarrunner.com attire (store)

Singapore Wish Lists

OK, so we are finally getting you our lists, we have set them up on Amazon.com so we can continue adding things to them, some things were not on Amazon, they are added separately:

Combined list
Brad Stine – A Conservative Unleashed

Betsy's list
Billy’s BootCamp Elite

Danny's list

Aaron's list

Dr. Suess books
We have: Cat in Hat (& Comes Back), Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs, To Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Great Day for Up
Little Golden books
18-month clothes and up

Heather's Christmas List

Well, here is my list. Tim's is coming later.

~ Plants:
Heather plant
English Ivy (small plant for our bathroom)
A Feathery Fern (unless it will die outside on the patio)
A small metal watering can
*Please no ceramic pots I have PLENTY!

~ Decorative kitchen coffee signs
~ Your own or bought pictures in a black frame (I don't care if it's black and white or colored)
~ Ladle Rest for my stove (please no plastic)
~ Bread Machine
~Espresso Machine (I am starting to REALLY love coffee on the mornings that I have to get up at 3:30 in order to get to work on time!)

~ Movies:
All DVD's please
Pride and Prejudice (the one with Kera Knightly.)
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Ben Hur

~ Gift Cards
Old Navy
Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Borders

~ Spending money for India
~ Cloth Money Belt to hold my passport, etc. (kind of like a fanny pack, but is able to be worn unnoticed under clothes.

Daddy's ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

I've been pondering this Christmas gift thing for awhile, with little success. I suppose there are some 'things' that would 'make my day', such as:

the Coming of Jesus!!! Wow! That would be fantastically fantastic!!

the total healing of Holly! No 'thing' could compare to that!

a visit from my 'kids' - Hey, you could give mom and I a combined gift!

But down to the ordinary - I have three books I'd like, and used books are fine -
- Fifth Seal (A.D. Chronicles, #5) by Bodie Thoene
- The Temptation (Mustard Seed Series #3), Nancy Moser
- Legends of the Guardian-King (4 books), by Karen Hancock
A new belt would be nice
NEW idea! An indoor/outdoor thermometer + perhaps rain guage? Don't need
clock, though it's OK. http://www.weatherconnection.com/storefront.asp?mfgname=Oregon+Scientific+Factory+Outlet&mfgid=osoutlet0 has some ideas
I have plenty of clothes - items from 20 years ago still work for me
I have lots of ties - perhaps I'll pass a few on - beware of what you open!
I like gadgets (at least for a few days before I lose interest). Been thinking about one of those LED flashlights with lots of LED's . . .
I like DVD's that I can trade in for other DVD's if I want to . . .

Most of all I like you, my family, who make me proud. Few dads not only survive marriage to one sweety, but also have great kids who love Jesus and seek to live like it. I am greatly blessed and look forward to being together with you for whatever time works out this holiday season. And some fun internet video times with you special and missed ones in Singapore!

Sheesh!

Hey all- I do check this site often to see if anyone is out there posting. What I didn't realize is that it has actually been almost exactly a year since I last posted! That is pathetic. Sorry.

Activity will pick up on this site now, as it seems to be a great place to post Christmas lists. So post away, ya'all! Hopefully we will know soon who we get to splurge on for Christmas. :)

WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?

It was a good weekend at the school retreat and visiting family at Kim and Andy's on Saturday. After Kim's, we (mama and I plus Tim, Heather, and Joann) spent the night at Jack's (along with his mom and dad . . .). Tim and Heather took Joann back to Bend, leaving about 11:00 AM. I helped Matt on the shop while mama visited, leaving close to 4:45. We decided to stop in Albany at the DQ for a 'treat' (it was actually mama's idea this time!), then went to get back on the freeway. Getting on the freeway in Albany required stopping at a light . . . while stopped, we saw a car that looked just like Tim and Heather's! Wouldn't it be something if they just happened to be coming through on their way back from Bend and intersect with us on our way to Junction City when we had left the same place but on very different paths? So we called Tim's cell phone and found out . . . . . . . . . (pause for dramatic effect) . . . . . . . . . . . . that it was them we saw go by! How about you mathmeticians in the family come up with the odds on that happening without any planning!!!

Have a great week, month, fall, year, decade, century, life, and eternity!!!

God bless

A Car, Bend, and Birthdays

Figured it's about time to push "Little Scandinavia" to the #2 position - it's been up for nearly two months! Probably no one will even see this new item for a while - gotten out of the habit of checking since nothing new shows up!

Mama and I found a car for Joann. "Pete", Joann's bright red Prizm, had motor difficulties too costly to be worth the dollars - it had well over 200,000 miles . . . she now has a '95 Toyota Tercel that we hope will capture her heart as Merlin and Pete did. But it may take a bit of time. Mama and I have been trying to figure out what to do with the CRG on the license plate . . . we thought perhaps there was a Craig in her future, but all the Craigs she knows are no longer available. You can enter your ideas on this site just to keep it interesting! How about 'Certifiably Righteous Girl' or 'C Renee Giggle' or 'Catch (the) Right Guy' or ?????? Let us know, Joann, when you have decided on an appropriate name for the car.

I'm doing a school staff retreat in Bend. It's been good so far - much better than expected, actually. Good direction, insights, fun times, food, etc. Tomorrow Marie and I take Joann with us to the birthdays celebration at Kim and Andy's. Look forward to seeing family and perhaps talking to Danny . . .

We are praying for you - for jobs, direction, wisdom, purpose, safety - let us know of specific requests so we can be more focused in our prayers.

GOD BLESS!!!!!

'Little Scandinavia'

The Scandinavian Festival is over for another year. It’s one of those things that I count time by. I told Jim this morning that today is the beginning of a new year….

It’s a four day event, and the town of Junction City kind of shuts down for it. They shut down a four block section of Greenwood Avenue and two blocks each of the intersecting streets (5th, 6th and 7th). There are booths down both sides of the streets – (food and products), and there are four buildings that are dedicated to showing off and selling goods – including the firestation, which is filled with tables and booths with all kinds of Scandinavian things as well as things not Scandinavian. The sounds of Scandinavian music can be heard from several blocks away. And at each end of the festival ‘grounds’ there is a stage where dancers and musicians perform throughout the day. Also you will see Vikings and trolls roaming the streets. Honestly even though we live in Junction City and are familiar with the streets, both Jim and I had a hard time getting our bearings at times. It just isn’t recognizable as our town, but is transformed into a ‘little Scandinavia’!

I always enjoyed attending the festival through the years, but now that we live in Junction City, it’s so much more fun! My honey let me be a Norwegian for the week-end – as much as I wanted to be. I was there every day for hours, and loved every minute of it!

Why do I love it so much? I think it’s because my Daddy was 101% Norwegian! He felt that there was no country as wonderful as his Norway, and that love for the country was contagious. My visit to Norway with him back before I was married just added to the appeal that Norway has for me. So it’s somewhat the nostalgia of wonderful memories of my Daddy and of Norway itself, and it’s the heritage that I have. I loved watching the dancing and imagining my ancestors participating in similar dances in ‘the Old Country’.

I didn’t venture over to the area today, but know that when I do go back, everything will be back to normal, and it will seem like Junction City again. (Incidentally, I love Junction City, too, so that’s not a bad thing). Of course there are the ever present reminders of the Scandinavian roots of the town – numerous buildings (particularly in the festival area) are painted with Scandinavian designs and colors. So though the major things – like the booths, the windmill that sits in the center of the festival area, the stage areas, the music and the wonderful smells of the festival – are tucked away somewhere out of sight, it’s easy to see that little Scandinavia isn’t far from the surface here. Maybe that’s why I like living here so much.

What do you think?

IT'S SCANDINAVIAN TIME!!!!

It's really quite amazing that so many come to little 'ol Junction City for the Scandinavian Festival. In its 46th? year, I've heard that over 100,000 people come through each year. Mama visited yesterday quite a bit plus I stopped by twice - an afternoon show with a former student in it, then for a Ukrainian dance group (from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!) that was real good. They do some amazingly intricate and athletic dances! There also was a play of sorts (put on by local young people) based on 'The Emperor's New Clothes' - some fun, but somewhere less than the quality I've gotten used to at Kim's plays . . . Grandma, Bruce, Megan, and Caleb were at the Festival last evening, also. Looking forward to some of the family stopping in to be a part of the fun this weekend. Wish Singapore weren't so far away!!!

I'm starting to 'gear up' for a new school year, hoping this one will be full of purpose and fulfillment in the lives of the students. Installed an air conditioner in my classroom yesterday, may do some sorting of stuff later today. No tractor work for awhile - perhaps after the 20th . . .

Guess that's it for now. Have a great end of summer! God's blessings to you

One Month

Well, Heather and I have been hitched for a month now, and I thought it might be a good idea to post an update. As far as housing goes, our former property manager evidently sold the complex, because a new property manager came to visit us last Wednesday to get acquainted. But the apartment itself is great, though the heat wave has been...unpleasant...

As far as jobs go, Heather has a few applications and resumes circulating, and I am starting my search today. She is hoping for an office-type job, whereas I would love to work at Starbucks or some other coffee shop.

Not as much of an update as I thought this would be, but there it is. Consume slowly for best results.

timmy and Heather Whittaker (hehe!)

July Update

June with its end of school, tractoring, Tim & Heather's wedding, Danny + Betsy + Aaron's visit, has come and gone. Now July is almost gone as well. Marie and I went to my 40th Rochester High School reunion recently - I was encouraged to find that most of my classmates looked older than I think I look! But then, they probably thought the same thing . . .

We had a nice trip this past week. First we visited my mom - she looked good! Then on our way to see Danny and family, we stopped to see my Aunt Katie, who is now 97. She is also doing well, though not quite as sharp memorywise as she used to be, though not bad. Then we had a good two days at Deer Lake north of Spokane. Aaron is definitely changing - now reaches to grab items (glasses, mouth, whiskers, fingers, toys, etc.). Mama W. had a special nap time with him the morning we left - Aaron fell asleep in her arms and slept for a half hour or so, then opened his eyes and just continued to lay there, watching 'grandma', studying her face, listening to her soft words to him. That lasted another 10+ minutes before he decided to move.

After Deer Lake, we drove to Bend, delivering a new computer to Joann (insurance money allowed her stolen one to be replaced), visiting some Wednesday evening. She is doing well! Her new job seems to agree with her. She is looking into where she will stay this fall when school begins again.

We are now home, have gone through a weeks worth of mail, etc. and are getting ready for the Woolley reunion tomorrow. With predicted 100+ degree weather, it may be warm at the park! Then next week we go to see Danny, Betsy, and Aaron off. Hope to see more of the 'fam' then also. Then a Whittaker family reunion in Chehalis, then not sure what. Probably some tractor driving, some relaxing, some gearing up for school, helping with grandma K. and Bashor family, etc.

In case you hadn't heard, Holly and Kris are at OHSU today for some tests - not sure when they come home. I know they want to be at the reunion tomorrow, but that is not likely. Hope all is well with you! God bless - - - Dad

A Memorial Day

Nothing really out of the ordinary today here in Junction City, except I'm home and the rain has stopped for a day - been too wet to mow the lawn lately, so I'll be doing that this evening (waiting 'til evening so it has time to dry more). Lots of change coming, though . . . last week of school, then our school has a bow shoot this Saturday that I help at - about 40 targets are set up on a farm in the hills east of Junction City, mostly in wooded areas. The targets are some kind of rubberized 'statues' of animals (deer, bear, cougar, etc.) that the bow hunters can shoot at - it's quite a deal . . . last year about 180 came despite it being our first year and poor weather. We're hoping for 400 this year - weather is supposed to be better . . . made over $10,000 last year - hope for much more this year.

After the bow shoot, I hope to drive tractor some (weather permitting), then Danny, Betsy, and Aaron arrive. Then Timmy's wedding preparations and actual event - so it will be a busy June! God bless!

The Dreaded Fever of School Absence

It's weird. When I was in grade school, I liked school and didn't want to miss. Same thing in junior high. In high school, I enjoyed being sick because I got to stay home and miss class. Now I'm in college, and I would want to miss class for almost ANY reason, but I also get stressed by the classes I miss. So I really DON'T want to miss class. I think that's a bit odd, since I'm so ready for summer break.

Anyway, just a pointless thought for you to ponder.

Temporary Confusion

I don't know what happened, but the background is back for me now. Whatever. I am NOT blind!!!

I, too, am looking forward to a new pic to put up, though this one IS really good, just outdated. Maybe a wedding pic this time? Just a thought...

Seeing Double

I can see the background just fine, and I'm also seeing the same post twice! Looking forward to an updated background picture this summer with two additions and a stronger connection!

Love you all!

Love is Blind!!

So, I can see the beach picture background. Can everybody else? You know what they say about love being blind. I guess Timmy must be in love!!!

Lack of Background

Is it just me, or is there a sudden lack of a beach picture on our site? Oh well, I guess white is a fun color...

Okay, so in seriousness, I think I will be going to summer school this year. I need about 60 credits to graduate, and to meet that without summer school, I would need to take a massive 20 credits a term! That would be insanity, so I'm planning on taking 12-19 credits spread out over the summer to make it less stressful. Unfortunately, I won't be getting a good break this summer for a full-time job, but I should still be able to work part-time to help my breadwinning wife...

Hey! You know what would get people to start blogging again? Start paying everyone $1 for every 100 word entry onto the site! I know I'd be putting up entries a hundred times a day! Now we just need to find someone who will fund it...

Sunny Saturday

It's been a nice sunny day here in Junction City. The brisk wind made it seem a bit cooler than it looked though. Mama and I did several hours of weeding, trimming, etc. around the house today after sending Tim and Heather off to Beth and Matt's this morning. They should be back this evening sometime, since Heather wants to get back to Roseburg.

School is in it's last quarter - about 30 days left. We do SAT testing next week - will be a good change of pace for the class. We had a YWAM group stay at the church this past week - they did chapel plus did a Bible class for my class Thursday and Friday. The group was from the Tyler, Texas YWAM base.

Danny and Betsy + Aaron plan to be here in June - hope to set up a family get-together in mid-June. Be thinking about what would work for you as to timing and place.

God Bless!

Nice to see you again

Welcome back, Joann & Danny! Now if only the rest of you had something to say...

Well, I have some exciting news. As a student at OSU, I am subject to periodical presentations by the Study Abroad office. I checked into the possibility of Heather & I being able to go on a trip together, and there's a good chance it will work out! It will be pricy ($3,000 + plane ticket for each of us), but there's also a fairly good chance that financial aid would cover most of it. We still have some hoops to jump through, but it will probably be Summer of 2007 if we do it at all, so there's plenty of time to get it sorted out.

As far as the rest of my life goes, it's pretty normal. No excitement except for the fact that June 24th is only 64 days away! Woo-hoo!

White-House-On-An-Acre

White-House-On-An-Acre

I think I'm back? I don't really remember how to post...but the church computers won't let me do xanga anymore, so I'm trying this.

White-House-On-An-Acre

I'm back?

OK, alone no more!

OK Robin, I'll return, just to say hi, and thanks for getting something going here again. Apparently the rest of the family is too busy with their individual blogs to post here. . . oh, wait, they don't update those either! Maybe they all forgot their passwords?? Or their computers got the new "don't blog" virus and they haven't been able to erradicate it! I don't know.

Things are going better here lately, we had a rough weekend with me going home early on Friday with a VERY sharp pain in my abdominal area, the right side. . . Ended up going to the hospital just to be safe and found it was just some type of abdominal bug causing spasms (and not appendicitis). I got some pills to help take care of it, but was still pretty much incapable of doing much until Saturday evening. This made life rather stressful for Betsy, taking care of two of us. Sunday I was feeling a bit better and was able to give Betsy a break though, taking Aaron to HarbourFront (a nearby mall) for about 3 hours to do a little grocery shopping, but mostly just to give Betsy a break. It was quite fun and we may have to make it a regular date! This week is SAT testing here at the school, so I was able to come in late on Monday so I could stay and help Betsy in the morning as well. I think we are pretty much back to normal now. The pain in my side is only VERY slight and only occasionally felt now.

Love you all, can't wait to see you in 58 days, 16 hours!

A Little Picker-Upper For You

Lonely, Lonely Me

What is this? While I wasn't posting, this site was uber-active, but once I post stuff, everyone leaves? This is reminding me of junior high...

Snafu...

Thanks, Danny, for the great countdown timer! Unfortunately, it's not quite accurate, and though I tried to fix the problem, I was unable to. So if you want an ACCURATE reading (which I'm sure all of you are keeping in your heads anyway), add 1 hour to the time.
115 and change left!
timmy

Timmy get's hitched in:

Watching Timmy's little countdown on his MSN account, I thought I would help him out with this little web counter:

Update Central

All right, since there have only been 5 blogs since 12-4, I'm gonna drop an update on you.

First and foremost, we are down to 125 days! Yippee! Heather and I have been crackin' on the planning (okay, Heather has). We have our wedding parties planned and invited (besides me needing to pick my best man from among the guys), a location (Vine Street Baptist--across from Jo Lane), photography, videography (Andy Shire), a dress (from what Heather's told me, it's lilac with scarlet slashes down the bodice), a cake decorator (Mother), a preliminary guest list (only 400 so far!), and Heather is aggressively hammering out the invitations. I think that covers most of everything...

OSU continues. I'm in the middle of my second term there, taking U.S. History (fascinating), my second term of French (a lot of fun), History of Psychotherapy (fun class, boring material), and History of Western Civilization (the prof is BORING!!!). I'm well over halfway to my Bachelor of Arts, History degree. I am enjoying it immensely, at least besids the homework...

Let's see...Oh! I am still unemployed, but I am planning on dropping off my resume at a bunch of law offices, hoping for a part-time assistant position so I can get experience in the field before I enter it in 4-1/2 years...which is a depressingly long time, because I am SO ready to quit learning! Ah well, c'est la vie.

Well, I guess I'll leave it at that. Enjoy this beautiful, sunny Sunday.

No longer the youngest of the bunch,
timmy

Grandma again!!

Grandma is thrilled to tell you all that we have our second grandson! (I love being a grandma, as I knew all along I would!! Johnathon is delightful, and I'm sure Aaron will be, too. I can hardly wait to get him in my arms!!)

************************
Here is Danny's post from his blog: (Times listed are 'Singaporian'.... In our time, that was 3:40 AM, Feb. 6)

Aaron is here and beautiful!
As you can see from the banner, Aaron has arrived! He was born Monday, February 6 at 7:40 pm after 36 hours in the hospital and 12 hours of labor. Betsy's water broke Sunday morning, but labor didn't start until this morning.Aaron and Betsy are both doing fine.The stats:Aaron was 50 cm, 3.07 kg, with a head circumference of 36 cm.For those of you who are American (most of us!) That is: 19.7 inches, 6 lb 12 oz, and 14.2 inches.Sorry, no pictures yet, I forgot to bring my card reader to the hospital! Will post some pics tomorrow!

Vision for 2006

On Friday we were out doing some banking in Eugene late afternoon, and decided to call the Bashors to see what was up. they were going to go to see 'Narnia', and wondered what should be done for Grandma. So we stopped there and picked her up to come spend the evening with us.

On the way home, my contact started bothering me quite a bit. So I popped it out. Then we got stopped at the railroad track for a train. So I dug in my purse and got out the wetting solution. Put the contact back in, but it immediately starting hurting again. But I couldn't get it back out, and it hurt extremely -- like something was stabbing my eye. I was crying and trying to get it out all the way home. I'm not sure the car was even stopped in the garage before I was out and in the bathroom -- working on getting it out. It finally came, with some pain.... but it was only 3/4 there! We couldn't see any more of it there, but my eye still hurt (though not nearly as much).

Poor Grandma! I took her into the living room and turned on all the Christmas lights so she could see my magical room. We sat and talked for awhile, but I was distracted by the discomfort and by the greatly diminished vision in that eye. I didn't know if that sharp little piece of plastic in my eye could do major damage or not. I finally told Grandma I had to call the doctor. Got the doctor on call and told him the problem. He said I should go to urgent care -- that I shouldn't take chances with my eyesight. So we took Grandma back home and went to the Urgent Care on 13th and Willamette. We waited there for over an hour to be seen.

The doctor did a thorough check, and said there was nothing there except a scratch, which would cause the discomfort, but should be okay by the next day. So we paid our $25 Co-pay, and went back home.

He was right, by the next day my vision was back to normal, and it felt better, but I still felt there was something there, even thinking I could feel something floating around in there at times. When I closed my eyes tightly and when I looked to one side or the other, I thought I could still feel something there, but....

Then this morning my vision was a bit cloudy briefly, and I went in to look at my eye in the mirror, and what did I see, but the piece of contact! It took a little time, but I got it out!!

I had been thinking I needed to get an eye appointment, and upgrade my glasses and contacts because my vision hasn't been good for awhile. Now I know I need to do that! My glasses haven't been changed the past couple of times I got a slight contact change, so they really aren't doing the best job for me. I'll be calling an eye doctor this week and will hopefully get in soon for an exam and the means for better vision for 2006!!