WW: Dressed Up {Linky}

Isaak had a workshop at school called Think Tank. A handful of students get to go from each middle school. In the past they mixed those students up to form groups. They get to name a business, come up with a business model and logo. 

Isaak hasn't had much to do with the honors club (his school calls it GATE). He's not a reader, doesn't really like Quiz Bowl like Mica did. If his cards align, he's a great student, a strategic thinker, understands process, creative, and has a keen since of detail. 

The staff member that's in charge of GATE came to Isaak before spring break to ask if this would be something he would want to do. Isaak jumped in with a big YES. After spring break Isaak went up to this same guy asking for the paper work. He said, "Are you sure you can handle this?" He acted like he didn't remember asking Isaak to be a part of Think Tank. Some people are so odd! I hate when teachers, councilors and so on lack faith in young people. Here is this kid that wants to be involved. Let him be. 

Since he's artsy I got him a Keith Haring button down shirt at H&M. Doesn't he look handsome!?

WW: Rotary Honor Roll {Linky}

Isaak has struggled for a few years. In 5th grade he had a horrible teacher, in 6th grade he started a middle school where he only knew one person, and in 7th grade the pandemic hit. When the pandemic hit he went from an A | B student to a D | F student. He went back to school and pulled his grades up to being a B student. 

He was loosing his confidence. I’m not sure he’s totally gotten it back. 

BUT now he’s an all A student. 

He was nominated for the Rotary Honor Roll. 40 kids were picked by the teachers, He had to write a paper, teachers read all of them and voted for who they felt had the most leadership. Isaak was one they voted up. He was one of the 16 chosen. He’s up for scholarships. 

He also got into his school of choice for high schools. A new school, a new slate. 

Here he is with his Rotary Honor Roll Letter:

WW: Warhol {Linky}

I am glad I got my gecko Warhol. He used to stand at his tank like he wanted to come out to play, then fall and winter happed. A lot of times geckos like to just chill in their tank, and eat less when it is colder. He comes out to hang out with us sometimes. 

It's a good thing they are like a cat, and poop in the same spot in their tank. Otherwise my poor husband's head may have gotten a surprise. 

Before anyone says, "Oh gross!" I can't have very many pets. I have allergies and asthma. When I was little my parents had to give up their short haired dogs because I kept getting sick. Geckos it is. They are cute, like to cuddle (sometimes), and each have their own personalities (we have two). 

Do you have any pets?

WW: Accident | PSA | New Car

A month ago I was in a car crash. I was driving my 13 year old Isaak to school. I was going the speed limit. Out of no where this car was driving all crazy like through a red light, when mine was very green. It was dark, airbags went off in my face. My car wouldn't do anything. The next thing I knew the car I hit just started driving away. 

The crazy thing...he left behind his in transit sticker along with some glass. So I have a name, 3 witnesses that were on my side, but the cops can't do anything because it's not enough to get a search warrant. He of course went into hiding. I looked the guy up online and he has tons of videos of him drinking hard alcohol and smoking pot, while driving. Get this he's a proud lover of Jesus Christ though. He wears a cross around his neck like it means something to him. 

We had taken our 16 year old car off accident insurance, so it was a loss. I actually was ready to buy a new car, but was waiting for the pandemic and shortages to come to a stop. Travis said it looked like I lost a baby or something when he came to get Isaak from the scene. It felt surreal sitting in a cop car in the middle of a busy intersection. I couldn't get out to take pictures, There was bars separating us like I was the one that did something wrong.  

I was lucky I was wearing my seatbelt, and the Isaak was in the backseat. My chest hurt for weeks. Then it itched inside for a few more weeks. My knee was really bruised up. 

I've tried to find the car that hit me, but the guy has like 4 addresses online. If I find it they can have a cop meet me, or do a search warrant. I wouldn't find him for me. He has no insurance. His car isn't even registered. It would be to get him off the streets. 

I spent a few weeks just with my husband's car. I drove him to work, Isaak to school, and repeated that at the end of the day.

My husband finally said, "No more." I said, "How do we do this with the pandemic?" We went to Subaru, and bought this Crosstrek. It's a brand new 2021. I guess it wasn't bought because people didn't like the color. I was just glad it wasn't ultramarine blue. There's nothing wrong with the color, but my Civic was that color, Travis' Outback is that color, and he had a truck that color. I was just done with that color for us. Green it is. 

It took a bit to get used to driving without putting a key in. I couldn't stand the engine shut off feature, so for now that's off. I felt odd driving after the accident for awhile. Isaak felt the same as a passenger. Switching insurance was a pain in the ass. I had to go to the DMV a few times because the one I used to go to isn't there anymore and the one I went to didn't have plates as a feature to get. DMV's are something! I'm glad I have a car that runs. 

 

I Heart My New Shirt

I love my new shirt! 

Colors:

It comes in 5 colors.

1. Wine Red (what I chose)
2. Green (what I almost chose to wear on St Patty’s Day)
3. Black
4. Blue
5. Dark Grey and Light Grey (which are kind of like 2 more colors)

Sizes:

1. Small
2. Med
3. Large (what I got)
4. XL

I feel like it fits true to size. They do pride themselves on it being a tunic. I feel like it’s just a short. A tunic to me is a long shirt that can be paired with tights. This is regular shirt length. I’d only wear it with jeans or black pants. Never tights. 

I do like how the sleeves fit me. I have ape-l arms. Sleeves tend to be too short. I want sleeves that fit me, or are meant to be 3 quarter sleeves. 

Material:

1. 96% Polyester
2. 4% Spandex

It is super soft and skin-friendly fabric. It’s stretchy. I like that it’s not see through. No one needs to see my bra. It’s comfortable to wear. 

Care:

I did see one place to wash in cold, and hang dry and another place to hand wash only. Consistency in their description would be helpful. I will say the I’m not about to hand wash anything right now in my life. 

You can pick up this shirt on Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09LYHXP7D/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1&th=1

I’d get this shirt again. It’s more sporty than most of my things. That’s maybe a good thing. 

Have you gotten any new shirts lately?

Disclaimer: I got this product to review, with a discount. All opinions are my own. 

Stay Healthy #immune_support_supplement #immune_supplement #immune_booster

I hope all is well. Our family is good. I actually like the job where I work. Sure there are hiccups. But they are normal hiccups, not toxic ones. I felt like when the pandemic happened there was only toxic leadership jobs at first. Seriously! 

Isaak is in a better place in school than he ever has been. Straight A’s, nominated for The Rotary Honor Roll, his science fair project he did all on his own got sent to the district, and he mentor other kids! Let’s just hope he gets into the high school he wants to go to!

Mica is a working boy. He took the pre-ACTs and got a 27! He is in mostly honors courses. He had a group in one class that did nothing. He talked to his teacher, and did his part. 

Travis got a raise. He has a studio now, so it’s good to have some stuff out of the house. 

With these accomplishments I want to stay in a good place! 

It’s important to boost up your and my immunity during this pandemic and spring allergy season. So far-nock on wood we’ve only had two colds in the fall. Covid has managed to skip our house (that we know of) so far. I hope we don’t get it. We’re boosted, mask up, and don’t go very many places. 

Sickness can be out of one’s control. We take daily vitamins, try to eat right, and go on a lot of walks. 

Energy Immune Boost Formula has 10 boosters in it. Vitamin C, B6, E, zinc, elderberry, garlic, echinacea, glucosamine, probiotic, turmeric, ginger and more! 

Per usual I wish the bottle was filled to the rim to not waste so much packaging. I would even pay more if it was fuller. 

It does have a lot of good ingredients packed in each pill. A lot of the ingredients I take in the form of food. I have my family take this instead of their daily vitamin. 

Do you take vitamins, or do you feel like they are a waste of money? 

Stay well, stay happy! 

You can get this product on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NZRNV69 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.I got this product as a discount in exchange for an honest review. 

Holiday Card

I didn't send cards to too many people this year. I did one though. It's a bit different. I capitalized on their likes: Isaak art and Mica listening to music. 

Did you send out cards this year?

Got That Holiday Feelin'?

The last few years have been difficult holiday wise. 

We used to get together with my aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin's kids, siblings, grandparents, and so on. It's kind of come to an end sort of. Some of my family is careful, while some is not. When you have one relative that has 2 kids that have compromised immune systems, non careful families do not sit well with them. I now have a job that works with individuals that have compromised immune systems, so we talk daily in my team about restrictions. Yes, my sister chose to have five kids when she knew she had the chance of having Trisomy 18 individuals; I care about them so I'm more of an advocate for them than not. 

Plans:

We used to have Christmas Eve at my parent's house. Packed in like sardines to eat a nice meal of soups, cheeses, crackers, dips, and shrimp, open gifts, and eat cookies. Now we're having a quiet evening to ourselves, where we're making New Orlean's meal and eating junk. The boys have never had jambalaya and that kind of food.

We used to have Christmas Day with the cousins, aunts... But now we're having a get together at my sisters, where we play games with masks on and eat snacks (with distancing). 

We haven't decided when we're opening our own presents. I suggested 1/2 on Christmas Eve and the other 1/2 Christmas Day. 

Mica didn't tell me what he wanted, and Isaak pretty much picked out all his gifts. Teenagers sure do change things. 

Gone are these days, where Mica rattles stuff off that he wants:

I got Mica a foot spa. He always gets ingrown toenails, and has to do food soaks. Why not enjoy those soaks a bit more? LOL I got him a book about deep thinking about life and another one on world religions. he also got clothes. 

Isaak picked out some things he wanted at World Market. A mini tool kit. I snagged that when he wasn't looking, so something would be a surprise. He's big into pineapples, last year it was lemons and limes. I got a pop fidget pineapple and pineapple shirt. He got mostly things for his room: Pillow, a lamp...

Jobs:

Mica got a job at Freddy's. It's walking distance. I am sort of bummed because when we went their food area was closed because of covid. They were one of the last places to open up. I was hoping it was still closed. Oh well. He gets paid a lot for just starting out. $11.50! Travis said, "WOW I need a raise!" 

Mosaic is still going well for me. Only two struggles: 

1. They throw vacay, sick and time-off all in one pot. So I only have 6 hours of PTO. I feel like I have to work on these holidays. It amounts to 3 weeks off, but is annoying right now. Especially when I started. If I started in August I'd have some PTO built up. Nope! I started right before Thanksgiving. It will get better. They are so willing to work with me on picking up Isaak from school...stuff like that. 

2. The other struggle is I got a project no one wanted. I thought I had a great idea, but nope it's sitting on neutral and not in drive. It's for a medical supplier. Their stuff is really dated. 

What they had Yuck!:

They want a fresh look. I did a lady in a wheel chair by the trees. Headline, "Go Places Do Things". My supervisor doesn't think it fits our market enough. They sell stuff to people that work for Mosaic Homes. DSP help their clients buy the stuff like wheel chairs, lifts, hospital beds, adult diapers and so on. I thought the catcher image could go on the front, and the noise (type) could go on the back. I'm not married to the type. I thought each background could fit with the location they serve. This is Colorado. They deliver right to the home, so that's something. I thought about maybe having an older person at the door with their product. But I want it to look pleasing, and have a story to it. Help! LOL

I don't disagree with my supervisor, but I also don't know what to do. I spent all day cutting out medical supplies in Photoshop knowing I'd use some. But now what...I'm stuck!  

It's a Wonderful Life @RoseTheaterCo Review

It was really great to visit The Rose Theater again! It's been awhile, since we've gone there. Too long! Their shows are geared towards kids, and my boys are 13 and 16. BUT their latest show is wonderful for my boy's ages. 

We all enjoyed the show It's a Wonderful Life. It's their first show that they had at The Rose Theater in 1995. 

Overall Thoughts:

Travis said he felt like he could relate to the dad in the play. He seriously can be a Scrooge during this time of year. All holiday things fall in my lap. Santa Claus in our house is not a guy. It's a girl all the way. LOL

Isaak just liked being there. He misses going places, and doing things. It kept his attention all the way through. 

Mica liked that it wasn't a musical. They typically do have mostly musicals at The Rose Theater. A play is great to go to as well. he now gets all the hidden humor that only adults catch. 

I liked that it was less draggy than the movie. The movie just kind of goes on and on. The play didn't seem to do that. It was entertaining throughout. I did feel a bit sad because I thought about how kids missed so much with live performances that places like The Rose Theater offers. 

Safety First:

I have to be honest, we really don't go very many places, since covid became a thing. I'm vaccinate and boosted, I still wear a mask, and I still feel like other people do not care; they either get it or don't. I have to really want to go somewhere to venture out to do things. At this show masks were required. Overall people were respectful of that. The actors didn't wear masks while they were performing. They had less people in the venue to help stop the spread as well. It was also available for online streaming. 

About:

Meet George Bailey, whose guardian angel has to descend on Christmas Eve to save him from despair and to remind him that his has been, after all, a wonderful life. George always wanted to get out of the town he lived in, but one thing lead to another and he was stuck. It's about George realizing that his town and life were not as bad as he thought. Featuring live music from the era and a virtuosic cast playing multiple roles, this production is the perfect homage to the power of community. 

The Set

The set was really pretty with things from the town and decked out with Christmas stuff. I liked seeing old things like the phone, and radio. 

Show Dates:

The show is at The Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska from December 5-20, 2021. There are online shows.

It's 75 minutes.   

It is for all ages. 

Cast and Crew:

Actor 1 (Clarence) – Wayne Hudson II 

Actor 2 (Joseph) – Stella Clark-Kaczmarek 

Actor 3 (George Bailey) – Marcel Daly 

Actor 4 (Peter/Mary) – Delaney Jackson 

Actor 5 (Billy/Harry) – Zhomontee Watson 

Actor 6 (Potter/Burt/Others) – Matthew Olsen 

Actor 7 (Pete/Sam/Others) – Natalie Hanson 

Actor 8 (Violet/Erin/others) – Carina Dumarce 

Actor 9 (Janie/others) – Maddie Smith 

Actor 10 (Zuzu/others) – Anina Frey 

Actor 11 (Understudy 3 & 6) – Kevin Ehrhart 

Actor 12 (Understudy 4, 5, 7, 8) – Caulene Hudson-Pace 

Actor 13 (Understudy 1, 2, 9, 10) – Grace Garrigan 

Artistic/Production Credits Director – Sarah Brown 

Assistant Director – LaDareon ‘LD’ Copeland 

Music Director – Jerry Brabec 

Choreographer – Sue Gillespie Booton 

Stage Manager – Lisa Krabbenhoft 

Scenic Designer – Lindsey Purvis Lighting Designer – Matt Benes 

Sound Designer/Engineer – Christy Hernandez 

Costume Designer – Sherri Geerdes 

Hair & Makeup Designer – Zach Kloppenborg 

Director of Production – Erin M. Solemsaas 

Technical Director – Hunter Andrews Props Mistress – Devon Denn-Young 

Scenic Charge Artist – Savannah Savick Master Carpenter – Jackson Curtright Stitchers – Sherri Geerdes, Zach Kloppenborg, Audio Helkuik

Contact The Rose Box Office: 

• 402.345.4849 for more information

• Tickets for play are $20 Main Floor 

• Members of The Rose receive discounted tickets to the production

Disclaimer: I received tickets from The Rose Theater to see It's a Wonderful Life. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Farm Days

This last weekend we took the 3 hour trip to one of Travis' old coworker's family farm. He was begging for us to join him. It was good to get away, for a bit.

Is it mandatory for all farms to have 1 red barn? I'm not complaining, I love the color red!

The farm didn’t have animals, but they did have a lot of old things to look at, history, and squash to pick. 

If you lived on a farm what animals would you wish you could have? I'd love horses, goats, chickens, alpacas, a few farm cats, and a few farm dogs. Mrs Allergy sufferer can have animals if they are outside. Right?

I did ask Tom, our friend if he had his wife and son hidden in his trunk. I was bummed that they didn’t come along. His wife is from Russia. Since she wasn’t there to define herself I made jokes about how he’s really married to a spy. I’ve watched too many episodes of The Americans. We made Tom watch the first episode during breakfast. Not typically a show one would watch with children, but hey it's given us more reasons to talk about sex more openly. Really Tom's wife was back home with their dog and their son is only 11. He had a friend thing to do. 

I guess these go unused on their farm:

I think this is my favorite shot:

It was in Iowa, and one thing is for sure, all farms in Nebraska and Iowa are usually full of corn. 

What made this farm special is that it was owned by the same family, for many generations, they had relatives that owned areas all around it, and that it was right by the lake. What water hobbies would you take up if you lived there? I'd like to fish, and go paddle boating. 

 

They rent out their land for other farmers to grow things. At this time pumpkins and other squashes were there. Tom said after Halloween they sit there and rot. We could take what we wanted. I took too much. Fully intending on canning pumpkin puree, but I found out that it's not a good idea to do that. Ya learn something new everyday. Reason? Every squash has a different water content. Pumpkin puree in the store has all the water content removed practically. It's best to cook, puree, and put it in ice cube trays to freeze. 

Tom drove us around to show us all his family's property, and let Travis take Mica and Isaak down to see a special spot I never did see. Mica's driving. I'd like to say he learned how to drive a stick shift, but I don't think he drove it long enough to learn the standard H. 

Isaak's big about wearing these coveralls. Funny because he hated them when I bought him a one when he was about the age of 5. He thinks they are artsy. Kids say he looks like Michael Meyers or a farmer. I think he looks like one in the Blue Man Group (without the make-up), or an auto mechanic. 

Travis with Mica. They took one of me, but I look so out of it and I'm not posting it. 

We found a few of these caterpillars. I heard they mean either we have a long winter ahead, or a short one. I don't know that I believe such tales, but if you do we found them. 

We got to stay in their old farm house. Lots of cool things, but I like the door handles the most. 

Have you been to a farm lately?