I have had no motivation this week. I don't know what my problem is. I'm reading a new book, which is okay so far, but it's not like I'm dying to read it. Tonight I did run an errand and have dinner with a couple friends. Then I watched the elimination show of So You Think You Can Dance. Usually, I'm really excited about that show, but I felt ho hum about it. I must just be in a slump.

Finally home....

I got in around 1 p.m. today. I snuck in a short nap this afternoon before church tonight, then went to see Ocean's 13 with friends. It was just as good as the first two.

I'm getting tired, so here are a few pics from the trip. My sister, Abby and I visited the Lincoln, NE children's museum on the way up. While in Laramie, we all visited the mountains above Laramie. On the way back, we stopped at the arch museum in Kearney, NE.

Living in airports

I know this is going to sound negative, but yesterday was one of the worst flying experiences I've ever had. I was supposed to leave South Bend at 8:07 a.m. and arrive in Kansas City, via Detroit, around 1 p.m. Instead, I was in five different airports and four different states before I arrived in KC around midnight. It started out with a two-hour delay in South Bend, because of thunderstorms going through Detroit. Then the flight in Detroit was delayed several times because of mechanical issues with the intrument panel. Then they just canceled it! By that time, it was already 2:30 p.m. I called a 1-888 number and got myself switched to an American Airlines flight that would go through Dallas. The only other NW flight would have taken me to Minneapolis and wouldn't get me to KC until 10:55 p.m. I was supposed to arrive in KC by 8:55, but because of delays I didn't get there until midnight. The one bright spot was meeting a Christian couple from the KC area. They had even heard of Granger Community Church, which is in my area. They were my hangout buddies, and we managed to get our seats together on the last two flights. I also met a girl who designs and builds theater sets. I thought that was a pretty cool job. My niece was amazingly awake the whole drive home from the airport. She kept sayin, "nenny, you laughing." She has grown a lot since I last saw her.

Well, I'm off to squeeze in a shower before we head out for the day. I think my sister and her husband might buy a house today. Exciting stuff!

I leave early tomorrow morning for the homeland. I'm tired right now, but I know I won't sleep well. My layover in Detroit is almost three hours, so I hope I meet some interesting people to converse with. I'll be too tired to read that whole time. There is a funky fountain there that I didn't get a picture of the last time. I'm keeping my camera out this time.

I'm really dreading the drive through Nebraska. It's going to be SOOOOO boring! My sister bought number flash cards for Abby, so maybe I'll be on teaching duty. She also has some other ideas on how to entertain her. My whole family is not together as a whole very much, so it should be an interesting couple days. My mom has already been driving us crazy by constantly checking to see if we know how to get to Wyoming. She sent us directions two weeks ago! My sister and I think she must be bored and needs to find something to do. That's why she's bugging us! I suppose it's better than having a mom who doesn't care at all. I told her we're two smart girls. I think we can figure it out.

Oh, I just remembered I need to clean my bathroom. Ta ta...

Flower Power

Today I went to the Farmer's Market for the first time this summer. I love going there. You see such a variety of people, and the herbs smell SO good! I was on a quest to find flowers, and I saw some pretty cool ones. Unfortunately, I couldn't buy a ton. I only have a small spot in front of my house for planting. I found these funky ones called Columbines. I also bought some cute little purple flowers. If memory serves me right, I bought them last year and they grew really well.


The Columbines. The picture is a little blurry. I haven't mastered photographing moving flowers.




For all of you out there who think it's amusing that I always write about food (you know who you are), there was some yummy stuff there. I passed up the Gelato, since I just had some yesterday. The Italian stand had some olive salad that looked delightful. I did not pass up the cheese. That stuff sucks me in. They also had some beef jerky. Sorry guys, I didn't buy any. I dined on a freshly baked pretzel and fresh-squeezed lemonade before picking my flowers. After that, I decided I wanted some apples,new potatoes and rosemary. Then I had to stop. There were just too many tempting things there. I was going to plant my flowers when I got home, but it's around 90 degrees outside. I think I'll wait until this evening, when it hopefully cools down a little.

Oh, in other good news, my brother got a 97% in his upholstery class (that's for cars not furniture) at his Vo-Tech! That is pretty awesome for him, because he's always struggled in school. He has three job opportunities in KS once he graduates next week. One guy even said he'd be willing to buy the $3,000 machine my brother would need to reupholster the cars the guy restores. It certainly isn't any job I'd ever want, but apparently my brother is good at it. Guess he won't be moving back home for long. That means my mom can turn his room into an office. I think she's pretty excited about that. :-)

Cooking experiment

So last night I went grocery shopping with a list of specific ingredients. I even used coupons. I decided it was time to finally use some recipes from the many food magazines I've collected. Tonight I made something super easy. While preparing a package of Lipton's parmesan noodles, I simmered some chicken, fresh green beans, mushrooms and a teaspoon of chopped garlic. When the noodles were done, I tossed in the meat and veggie mixture. Mmm...it was mighty tasty. Fettucine alfredo is my my next adventure. I've never made it from scratch.

I'm craving a grilled cheese sandwich, and it's almost midnight. I tried to feed my hunger with watermelon, but it didn't work.
I just spent the last hour searching tourism info on Nebraska. My sister, Abby and I will have to drive through Nebraska on our way to Wyoming next week. There are many touristy things but not many that my 2-year-old niece would be interested in. There are a few good zoos, so maybe we can have an animal extravaganza. My mom told me we plan to drive down to Loveland, CO after my brother's graduation. He doesn't want to eat in Laramie. From my what I've heard, it's nothing to shout about. He can't wait to get out of there. It was snowing and 36 degrees there the other day. Yuck! I hope we get to see some mountains or different scenery along the way. I've only been to Colorado Springs, and I've never been to Wyoming. I've only been to the southeastern part of Nebraska. It will be nice to have some quality time with my sister and Abby. I hope I get to see my best friend for the couple days I'm in KS. I don't know if I'll be home again before Christmas. These plane tickets are getting too darn expensive.

So I'm running out of things to look at on the Internet. I followed a link off a friend's site to the M&M maker. Introducing the saucy Lynette M&M.