Baby Cate

Catherine Louise Strande ("Cate") was born on March 20th to Brother1 and Erin.  Boyd and I traveled to Sioux Falls this past weekend (I KNOW - - we did not go to MN!) to meet Cate and also watch Brother2 play in a basketball tournament.  Cate is sweet.  This may shock some of you, but I typically do not think that "all babies are cute".  I'm sorry . . they are not.  However, Cate is adorable and no, I'm not biased. :) *see . . smiley face inserted . . this is to reduce the risk of people getting offended that I just said not all babies are cute . . :)*

 

Boyd, Cate and Cooper

I do not get to see Brother1 and his family as much as I would like.  I am hoping this will change since we live in the same state now.  Cooper is a high-energy little chap and he ADORES Cate.  I really hope she still has eyeballs in 3 months - he loves to poke at her face.  I tried to get him to just touch her feet but he goes right back to her little face.  He also thinks he should be able to hold her whenever he likes.  He's charming AND assertive.  Oh dear.

Cooper is ready to go "find some puppies"

Other than the arrival of Cate . . . I have very little to report.  Both Boyd and I felt "off" all weekend since it is out of our routine to stay put.  It was a needed break from the traveling and . .. . we were able to finish taxes!  That is newsworthy, right?!  Such a painful, painful ordeal.  I'm very confused as to how and why we all decided we would pay taxes and PROVE that we paid taxes.  Fine . . I'll pay them but don't make me keep track of everything.  Would a pinky-swear suffice as evidence?  I discovered last year that the IRS does not accept plasma donations as payment.  Commies.

I would like to report that I have only made 2 meals since moving here.  Yes. 2.  And one was an appetizer.  But it still counts.

I have been feeling very lethargic lately . . . people say exercise helps with this problem but I'm trying to see if caffeine and junk food will do the trick.  I'm wondering if the fact that I have only cooked 2 meals is playing into this . . . I'm not a doctor so I won't jump to conclusions.

I shall keep you posted.

Super 8 - Where Life's Not So Great.

I'm tired of winter.  I'm tired of being cold.

Boyd and I just ate at Sr. Max's.  It felt as though I was back in high school . . . except for being old . . . .  Ahh . . the greasy nachos. . . . how I loved you.  I still ordered them but now I'm nervous I will have another "Potato Ole episode" tonight. (I would link to this story, but that would involve me using the "help" button to figure it out) We then strolled through the mall.  It lasted 5 minutes.  Dang.   However, the mall does have a hurricane simulation machine. I find this ironic - given that stepping outside on the Prairie involves precipitation being hurled at your face at warp speed.  

Last night we unloaded the trailer full of our junk. The weather was spewing ice chunks at us.  SoDak was literally giving us "the finger" as a welcome.

Last weekend . . . . well . . . last weekend was tough.  I think I am still recovering.

Mom and Dad came to help us out and since we have our renters moved in  - - we got to stay at the Super 8 - - where life's not so great.  Its been awhile since I've stayed in a MOtel.  And its going to be an even longer while before I do it again.  The hard beds, the tiny rooms . . the smoking and non smoking rooms located right next to each other.   Mom told Sister2 she should stay with us.  After all, "there is plenty of floor space for you."  Sister2 declined.

Dad had forgotten his luggage in SD.  Its entirely out of his character to do this so I didn't bug him too much about it.  Although maybe if he didn't pack his luggage in garbage bags, it wouldn't be so hard to remember.  Then, Mom forgot to pick me up at the office on Friday after work.  This is in character for her, so I did bug her about it.

Boyd threw his back out which ended in a trip to our friend the physical therapist -"Thanks, Mike - he's feeling much better!"  We also managed to have our diesel truck break down.  It is leaking diesel into the coolant.   Its at least a $1,000 fix.  I'm thinking about leasing Boyd out as a dancer to help pay for this.

I'd say I'm still smiling but frankly, SMILING IS FOR THE WEAK.

slk

P.S.  Good News (do not fear - I will keep good news to a minimum on this blog) - - Brother1 and his wife, Erin had their baby girl!  Her name is Catherine Louise (a.k.a "Cate").  I am hoping to be able to meet her this weekend.  She is the first niece of the family - - I highly doubt she will be spoiled at all.  :)

My Mom.

This is a photo of my mom's parking skills.  Her vehicle is the small car.  Her comment when seeing the picture:  "It's not that bad!"

Photo courtesy of Sister2

Moving Weekend.

I am typing while all three boys are screaming and chasing each other.  O is yelling at G not to laugh at him.  Oli is begging to "do the airplane".  I am tempted to throw them outside into a snow bank but I think that is against the "caretaking handbook".

What shall I write about?  How about the Stillwater house? Are some of you thinking: "Good Grief - - does the girl ever have anything else to discuss?!"  No.  I guess not.

So, here you go.  We randomly found renters.  Sister2 lives with a family and they had some friends who were looking to live in Stillwater.  They are moving in on the 17th . . . yes . . . this month.  As in tomorrow.

Any idea how difficult it is to sand and stain the main floor WHILE getting all your crap out of the house?  Its tough.  I keep trying to look at this situation as a "marriage/character building seminar".   If I only snap twice in a day . . . victory.  More than two mean comments at Boyd . .. fail.  At this rate - I might never get out of this "seminar" but rest assured I will have a TON OF CHARACTER.

Regardless . . . renters are GOOD to have.  So we shall celebrate.

Jordan was still in town (remember the pooping dog - - that dog is his) and Sister2 was a great help.  Our friend Ben also stopped over to help with the move.  (Ben is the king of hoodies.  Boyd tries to keep up but is no match for Ben's high caliber hoodie-wardrobe.)

Those boxes look heavy. (Jordan, Boyd and Ben)

Sister2 kept telling me that we HAD to meet up with her and Jordan at Nacho Mama's for dinner on Saturday.  I said I couldn't commit.  She then said they would help if we promised we would do dinner.  OK, FINE!  I need the help and I love Mexican Food.  Deal.

We show up at Nacho Mama's and an entire table yells at us.  It was a surprise going away dinner.  Basically all my favorite people in one spot.  It was lovely.  I did really well with not being sad and then on the way back to the house I started to cry.  BLASTED FEELINGS! Just when you think you have stuffed your emotions down deep enough . . . . . It is truly amazing the wonderful people we have met in Minnesota. 

See?!  We DO have friends.  They are not paid actors.

Jonathan and Stacy Anderstrom, Dan and Steph Greene, Jon and Jenny Ochs, Shawna Bergman, Darren Matson, Ben Kidd, Kevin and Candy Zollinger, Wendi and Tony Engebretsen.  And of course, there are others who have been very special to us who are not pictured.  I have always loved our "hodge podge" of friends.  They come from different times in our  lives in Minnesota.  Some are friends from when I went to college at Northwestern.  Others we met through softball and of course through jobs, where we lived, etc.

I hope we are able to keep in touch.  PUH-LEASE come and visit us!  Boyd is already having paintball dreams dancing through his head. 

****
Wow.  This is not a "light-hearted" post at all.  I shall switch subjects . . . how about the poop subject?  I have very little material. :)

I use smiley faces a lot.  Every time I type an email, I think I use at least 5 smiley faces.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe its because I can come across as offensive and it softens the blow with a smiley face.  Or maybe I'm just being passive aggressive.  No idea.  Someone name my mental disorder.  It will save me millions in fees.

In other news, Mr. Hobbs came to the Prairie with us on this trip.  Supposedly the renters are allergic to cats (absurd, I know) and didn't want the cat-with-the-house- deal.  Oli, however is THRILLED.  And so far, it has helped with distracting him.  Whenever I need a small break, I tell him that Hobbs is hiding and he should find him.  It is even more convincing if you have him close his eyes and then say "Mr Hobbs, go hide!"

Mr. Hobbs did a poor job of hiding.

I love it that Oli likes me . . but I wish he would stop calling me his "big friend".

***

On our drive back from Stillwater we stopped at Taco John's.  I think I consumed an entire pound of potato ole's.  Lovely.  Later that night after we went to bed, I found myself on the bathroom floor.  Most people only have the "spent the night on the bathroom floor" because they partied too hard.  Not me.  Nope.  Mine is because I have no will power with Potato Ole's and nacho cheese.  Seriously . . when did I get OLD???  My love for greasy food never sent me to the bathroom floor before.  I thought we had something special.  I thought my relationship with grease was safe and secure - - something I could count on.   

****

Did I skip around enough?  Was it hard to follow?  Did I make you cry?

Warning: This is a Tangent.

I just got done cleaning up another mound of diarrhea from Bowser, my future brother-in-law's dog.

I just realized I mention poop alot in this blog.  My apologies.

So. Yes. I was kind of crabby yesterday.  There is too much hammering, sawing, dust and pooping going on around here.  The bright spot of the day was that Wendi and Tony were coming over that evening to see the house and then head out to eat.

We decided we wanted to head to Nacho Mama's.  With a name like that . . . how could you resist?  We get there . . . .one hour wait.  We then decided to cross the bridge in Wisconsin and eat at San Pedro's Cafe in Hudson.  I had the street tacos. They were muy bueno.  However, being with Wendi and Tony AND eating at a Mexican restaurant made me wish we were back in Mexico.

***Time traveling taking place***

Wendi and Tony were married in December.  I was lucky and got to be a bridesmaid thus cementing our decision to make the trip to celebrate with them.  It was divine.  I'm not sure if it was just a perfectly timed break from a crappy year or it really was as great as I thought it was.

They were married on Isla Mujeres.  It is an island near Cancun.  The wedding was beautiful.  The music was fantastic.  The weather was dreamy.  And the food was delicious. 

I'm not the greatest bridesmaid.  The whole "figuring out hair, makeup, general hygiene" before the big event escapes me.  Fortunately, my friend, Sherri, was there.  She is very adept at remembering these things.  As I was looking at my toes and realizing they were grossing me out . . . I thought, "hey, I should put some toenail polish on.  That will solve everything."  I had my dress on at this point and said out loud: "This probably isn't the smartest thing but I will be REALLY careful."  Famous last words.

I spilled dark red polish on the baby blue dress.  Wendi was getting her hair done in the other room so she couldn't survey the damage.  I just kept saying:  This is really bad.  Really Really bad.  I start looking for scissors  - - because that is obviously the first thing one should do in a wardrobe emergency.  Sherri takes control of the situation.   She finds a brooch and pins up my dress.  Ta da!  Fixed.  No wonder she was the Maid of Honor.  Lucky for me, Wendi was a laid-back bride and was completely elated that I was able to use her brooch for my wardrobe malfunction.  **Later in the day, Tony mentions something about having the wrong belt along and hoping Wendi doesn't get mad.  I start laughing.  Seriously . . if she kept her cool with me ruining the dress, I'm pretty sure she won't care about the belt.  And I was right.**

Unfortunately, I ended up looking like the "freakish" bridesmaid that had to be different than everyone else and make my dress shorter and glitzier.  If they only knew . . . .

Later that night during the wedding dance:

Boyd LOVES wedding dances.  I mean REALLY LOVES them.  **random note:  someone who saw him dancing at a wedding said they would pay him to show up at their wedding dance to keep things exciting.  He was flattered.**  So, Boyd is doing a solo thing with the body flops on the floor and even ended it with a rock-n-roll splits-type-move.  He gets back up and starts dancing and then all of the sudden says to me:  "I just blew my pants out."  and then he quickly backs up to a pillar.  I'm alarmed. I have no idea what "blew my pants out" means.  But, I'm having fun, so I ignore him for awhile and keep dancing.  After awhile, when he isn't coming back out to the floor - - I go looking for him.   He had managed to rip a large whole in his pants.  Long story short - -he takes a cab back to the hotel and makes it back with a fresh pair of pants and starts dancing his little heart out again.  What a trooper.

Boyd proving you really can dance too hard.

This is a really long post.  So to make a long story even longer . . .the 2nd half of our trip, we traveled to Tulum for peace and quiet and relaxation.  It was blissful.  Honestly . . the trip was refreshing for the soul.  We were able to have the fun, party atmosphere with friends and then kick back, read a few books, walk the beaches and hang out together in Tulum.  I cannot wait to go back.

That is all.  I will share some pics.  Lucky you.

Our view outside the door of our cabana in Tulum. 

Showing some killer dance moves.

Yeah!  We still like each other!

Wendi and Tony

My pinned dress and story telling talents.  I appreciate courtesy laughs.

Classmates meeting up in Mexico.  The way it should be.

I need another vacation . . . .quickly.

Dogs, Angry Cat, Puke and Poop

Stillwater House has turned into Crazy House.  Sister2 and her fiance, Jordan, are staying here this weekend along with their dog, Bowser. (*Bowser used to belong to Sister1 but after Ryan died, he was hard to take care of along with the 3 boys, so she gave him to Jordan and the boys still get to see Bowser.  Win win.*)  Boyd's dad, Jim, also came along for the weekend to help with installing the new floor on the main level. 

Furniture is everwhere, dogs are running and jumping and leaping and Hobbs is angrily hissing . . . .

Bowser seems to be nervous in this environment.  I can't imagine why . . . . is he not used to living in such primitive conditions?  Wimp.  Regardless, he somehow manages to poop whenever you turn and look away.

Mr. Hobbs has been so nervous, he has been unable to eat and when I finally put him up high and gave him some food and locked him the laundry room so he could calm down . . he pukes.

Just breathe, Sabrina . . . breathe.  In, out, in, out.

This picure depicts me (and Mr. Hobbs) today.

Nerd2.

I have no idea if people actually follow along with recent book reads/reviews.  But since reading is my favorite past time, I shall post away on my books.  I'm by far the coolest person I know.

I feel like I haven't read too many books since my last "Nerd" post but maybe its just because there were too many 'emotional' selections this month which makes the reading slower.

Transfer of Power, Vince Flynn:  This one was NOT emotional, which was a relief.  It is the first book of the Mitch Rapp series.  Its action packed but not too cheesy . . . although some cheese is to be expected for "hero books" and cheese you will find.   But oh my - - secret service, CIA, secret agents, dumb political people, the evil brilliant terrorist and the oh-so-capable and strong Mitch Rapp is all wrapped up in this book.  I bought my dad the first 3 books of this series.  I knew he would like them and I also knew he would share.  I'm such a giver. 

Same Kind of Difference as Me, Ron Hall and Denver Moore:  This is a true story written from two different perspectives.  I kept hearing about how great it was but to be honest, I just couldn't quite get into it.  And then when I did persevere and keep reading, it got really emotional for me. **Spoiler Alert:  Debbie dies of cancer.**  So then, I started to get angry again about how bad things happen to good people and I completely felt Ron's pain of "God has seen a lot of bad press, so it would be the perfect time for a miracle and that they would give him all the glory and shout it from the roof tops that it was a miracle".  I had to pace myself with this book . . I'd read it a little bit and then put it down and move to the next book.

Heaven is for Real, Todd Burpo:  The author's son supposedly has 3 minutes in Heaven.  I didn't want to like this book because everyone likes this book.  **I try and be as difficult as possible**.  However, once I got past the "stupid doctor" part and into the section of Coulton (the 4 yr old) recounting things he saw in Heaven, it was rather uplifting.   The book is nice and short and could be read in a day.

Crazy Love, Francis Chan:  Once again, this book is too popular but I read it all the same.  Its good.  Its challenging.  It is well written.  I promptly absorbed the information and then put it in the dark recesses of my brain so I do not actually have to "take action" with the soul challenges of this book.  I did love the chapter where he lists different heros of the faith.  I love having concrete ideas and paths that people took to live out what they believe.

Blind Your Ponies, Stanley Gordon West:  I adore Mr. West.  He is a local author and he wrote one of my all time favorite books: Until They Bring the Streetcars Back.  Blind Your Ponies is about a small town in Montana and their loser basketball team.  It details the year they start winning and get into the state tournament with only 6 players on their team.  The phrasing and details of small town basketball was heart warming and familiar.  This book was hefty. It lasted awhile, which I love.  I was going to just down a quote or two from it, but forgot and now I don't feel like it.  Read it - - especially if you like basketball and grew up in a small town.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND (or in my Kindle):

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Stieg Larsson (*The last book in this trilogy*)

Separation of Power:  Vince Flynn (*The 2nd Mitch Rapp book*)

Mr. Impossible: Loretta Chase (*February's book club choice - I'm really behind.*)

Into Thin Air: Jon Krakauer (*March's book club choice*)

The Shack:  William P. Young (*I've already read this but want to read it again*)

Thus ends this Section of Nerd2.