50% Irish - 50% Bohemian, warm heart and a wonderful mom!

The girls won their first basketball game last night!!!!!!

Jess had 12 points which tied the team high. It was a good game for the girls last night. They played pretty well and did a nice job of playing like a team. They still have a long way to go but at least the monkey is off of their back. They won't go the whole season without a win.

Drew has a game Thursday and then Jess has games Friday and Saturday.

Today my blog is dedicate to my mom. It is her birthday today and I want to take some time to recognize how special she is.

The relationship between a mother and son is very special. Men are tough and rugged. They fight and wrestle, watch football and action movies. They seldom cry and hardly ever show emotions in public. It is in their nature and that is the way things are; but if you see a man and his mother, you will see a side of him that is rarly displayed. Men, as I see it, hold three things in their lives dear. Their children, their spouse and their mothers. Relationships go sour and chilren move on but we hold our mother always dear to our heart.

When I was a boy and I scraped my knee, it was mom who would hug me and make it all better. When I was lonely and had nothing to do, mom would play the piano and we would sing. As a teen with girl problems, mom was always their to reassure me. In college, mom was supportive and understanding when I came home with a bag of dirty laundy and a tendency to raid the fridge on my way back.

I know her life was full of worry when I was living at home and probably still is from time to time. There probably isn't such a thing as a "perfect son" and even if there were, I would have been far from it, yet my mom stayed with me through it all. She listens and cares. My life is all over the place most of the time. It is an existence that is far from perfect but if I ever need a lifeline to sanity, I pickup the phone and give mom a call. Usually about nothing in paticular but always a sense of comfort and support.

Mom, I love ya and want you to know you mean more to me than you could even know. We share the same sense of humor and are similar in many ways. I don't get to see you much but I think of you often. You are a very special person and I am not sure what I would do if I didn't have you "a call away".

I hope you have a great day today and many more birthdays to come.

Happy birthday!

If your lips are moving as you read this post....STOP IT!

The big stresser for the week is behind me. I finished teaching my first night of class!



It was a good night. The kids were all well behaved and the class moved along pretty well. Four hour is a long time but taking breaks every hour makes it not too bad. We covered all of the information I wanted to cover last night and went over the homework as a group. The first hour of class I showed them the homework assignment and what I wanted done and they were kind of freaked out. By the end of class they were all comfortable and felt that it wouldn't be that big of a deal.



I really like the group and it should be a pretty good class. I hope the students felt like it went well too.



Today, I continue the maraton of little to no free time. I have an early meeting at 7:30 another meeting at 11 and then Jess has a game tonight. At least her game is here in Perry so I shouldn't be too late. I would guess I will be home by 7:45 or 8.



The weird thing about teaching my class is that when I got home, I needed a bit of downtime to be able to go to sleep. You can't go home at 10 and be asleep by 10:05. At least I wasn't able to do it last night. I ended up getting to sleep around 11 or a little after. The coffee is helping me this morning.





I wanted to post a video of the Gingerbread house experience from Christmas. Here it is!

Video took too much time to Upload!!!!!! Maybe another time....

I wanted to note the weather today. It is foggy again and it has kind of become a trend as of late. There were also some tornados to the north around the Minnesota border. How weird is that? Rain and fog and tornados in January.

Drew was telling me last night that he likes the show "American Gladiators". I remember that show back in the 80's or early 90's. I don't remember the actual decade it was on but it was ok back then. I will have to check out the new version and see how it goes. I know Hulk Hogan is the host. How old is that guy?

I can't tell you how nice it is to have all the political stuff done here in Iowa. No more phone calls. No more ads on TV, of course I haven't seem much tv lately. It is a nice and refreshing break from the mess that it was a week or so ago. You can only take so much of that before you just tune every candidate out. New Hampshire is being victimized now but they are going to be past it after today as well.

I saw that yesterday Hillary broke down with tears in her eyes and so did Borak. I would imagine the stress and weight of a campaign can get you in all sorts of conditions. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a mandatory hiatus from campaining or ads. How about every Sunday there is no campaigning or political ads on tv, radio or the paper? It would give the candidates and the country a nice break from the madness.

I have kind of read through the post and it seems to be long and rambling but I am waiting for the video to upload and it is taking awhile. As it loads I am just rambling and rambling. I will stop now for you benefit!

Have a great Tuesday.

What the hell!

This weekend was long and I am facing a long week ahead. In a nutshell, here was my weekend.

• Saturday: Alarm clock went off at 5 am. Went to DMACC orientation from 7:30 until 3:30. Jess had a game in Perry so I went staight from the orientation to the game. Got home around 8. Jess did well but the team lost. She scored 13 points, which lead the team.
• Sunday: Woke up at 2 am with insomnia. 3 am, Drew puked all over the floor from food at the movie theater from the night before. I cleaned that up, threw his clothes in the washing machine and started my day. Heavy fog made the two hour drive to Jess's volleyball tournament a mess. Visibility less that 200 feet the whole way. The tournament lasted until 5:30. Drove two hours home and went to bed. The volleyball team did ok but they haven't learned to play together yet. They went 2-3.

Today I work all day then teach class from 6-10 tonight.

Tomorrow Jess has a game in Perry I won't be home until after 8.

Wednesday I have a school board retreat that is supposed to last until 9 pm.

Thurday Drew has a game, Friday and Saturday Jess has a game.

It is a grim looking week ahead but what can a guy do.

I don't really feel much like writing today so I apologize that this is short and rather pointless. I will post about my class tomorrow.

Ya gotta love Monday!

Doesn't the word "Caucus" sound kind of dirty?

The Iowa Caucus has come to an end. I have to say, it was a pretty cool experience. There were 4 Democratic precincts so my experience was with the second precinct. We had 200 people show up and they were broken up into groups. You had to have 15% of the total number of people in the room stand for a candidate to make it "viable". Biden only had eight people so they were out early. Those people could join another group or just stay with Biden and not really count for anything.

In the end Edwards had 57 people, Hillary had 56 people, my man Obama had 54 people and Richardson had 30 people. We had 5 delegates so Edwards received 2, and Clinton, Obama and Richardson all recieved 1. In the end Obama won Iowa so I was happy.

The experience was a good one. I really thought the caucuses were a bad way of doing it but after going through it, I kind of enjoyed it. People were not mean or confrontational, they just talked and everyone was pleasant and it gave you a sense of community. Everyone clapped for every other group and it was nice. We were all Democrats after all. I knew almost everyone in the room and it was interesting to see where people stood. It took about an hour and a half but I will participate again. Who knew!

Yesterday was a bit hectic at work but it was expected. I think everything is back under control for today so I am anticipating a quiet Friday. Time will tell.

Drew has a game tonight and so does Jess. The weekend will be busy and I don't get to sleep in even one day. Tomorrow I have to be in Ankeny for my orientation at 8. Sunday we leave at 5:30 for the volleyball tournament. I have a feeling this weekend will fly by.

I plan on taking some pictures and video this weekend but I am promising nothing. I have too often said I would post pictures and failed to follow through. My intent is to do it but you all know how I am.

Hey Mom - Your birthday is just around the corner. Don't think I have forgotten.

Have a great weekend!

Time to elect a presidential candidate - Caucus 2008

Here we go....School is back in session today.

I am expecting a few little problems today. We did a bunch of reconfiguring this break and I would be very suprised if we come out of it clean. There will be some kind of issue today. Kids not able to access the web, phones in some classroom not working, etc.

Over the years I have learned that no matter how hard you try to prepare, there are always a few glitches coming out of a big project. This should be no different.

It is also Iowa Caucus day. I plan on doing my part and attending the caucus to cast my vote. It will be a first for me and it is easy to go because it is at the high school. There is a JV girls basketball game at the high school tonight so I will probably go over and watch that for a bit before I head to the caucus down the hall.

Drew has practice this morning. I think it will be good for him to get back into the swing of things. He has a game tomorrow in Winterset. I don't think I will go, it is about an hour away and they start at 4. I would have to leave work by 3 and it is just hard to get away that early.

Jess has a game Friday as well. She plays in Saydel. I am not sure if I am going to go to that game or not. I am temped because it is a Friday and I don't have any other plans.

Saturday I have orientation for DMACC instructors. It is an all day deal but gets over by 3. Jess has a game here in Perry at 4 so I should be back in time for that.

Sunday we have the first volleyball tournament of the year. She plays at nine so we will leave around 5:30. It is a little over 2 hours drive so I want to have plenty of time to get there and find the gym. The tournament is at the University of Northern Iowa.

It is good that it is Thursday. I would have to be looking at a full week of staff right after break. It is best to kind of ease into this sort of thing.

Friday is just a day away.

The year in review and remembering my friend Shelby.

As I rush through my days I find myself getting caught up in the little things and don't often or at least often enough, take the time to reflect. Each year time passes by and we don't always realize all of the events that occured. Today I will reflect on the events, as I can remember them, from last year.

As I remember, the Winter months last year were cold and snowy. I know we had quite a few snow days and the track season got off to a slow start becuase of the weather. The first couple weeks of practice were indoors.

Jess had a stellar year in track. She broke two school records and made it to State in two events. The open 400 and the Sprint Medley Relay which she anchored with a 400.

Shelby passed away right before the state track meet. I took her in to get spade and she died during surgery. It was one of he hardest days of my life. She was part of our family and was my friend. I still think of her and miss her. She will never be forgotten.

The summer was hot and humid. Drew had a solid baseball season and decided to not play all-stars. The coach said he would have been on the team but Drew wanted to have some free time to play with his friends in the nieghborhood.

Jess had her first start on the Varsity in softball. The season was a bit of a dissapointment but she played well. The coach was a mess and resigned at the end of the season. The highlight of the season was when Jess hit the game winning run in a tournament against Urbandale.

We had new neighbors. The Carmicheals. Drew spent the whole year playing with the girls, Courtney and Beth. The family moved out right before Christmas. This new year will bring new neighbors so I hope they have nice kids.

We got a new puppy. Molly. She was a handful at first and very naughty. She has since turned out to be a great dog. She has been a nice addition to my daily routine.

Football season went well. Drew played tight end and defensive end. The team did well but lost a few games. He loves football and was sad when the season was over.

Jess played Varsity volleyball. She played the center position and played front row. She broke a couple school records and was selected second team all conference. Not bad from a team that went 16-15 and finished second to last in the conference.

Basketball has been rough. The girls haven't won a game and Drew's team is about 500. Jess starts Varisty and does a nice job.

Jess tried out for a club volleyball team and was selected. She starts her tournament season this weekend.

In a nutshell that has been the year. I am sure I have forgotten things but there should be a record of it all in my blog postings.

As for today. It is the last day of break and I plan on cleaning things up in the office and taking it easy the rest of the day. Nancy and I deserve a break and today we are going to take it.

Jess had practice yesterday for volleyball and she learned to jump serve. She is excited about the tournament this weekend. The coaches are great with the kids. She blocked on the coaches during the scrimmage yesterday and from across the building another coach, who was coaching his team, yelled "Nichols - YOU ARE A STUD!!!". Jess said her face turned red and she was sooo embarassed.

Drew had his New Years Eve birthday party and the boys had a good time. He slept most of the day yesterday.

The new year is just winding up and I can feel the pressure of the pace starting to quicken. This month is going to be a whirlwind and I hope the weather holds up.

Is this a new year or did somebody re-gift last year?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

The evening ended up being a bit uneventful. Drew had his birthday party and as I type this, I can hear them playing downstairs. I am sure there was very little, if any, sleep done by those boys last night. They will eventually crash and sleep through the day. My guess is that Drew will spend the first day of 2008 sleeping.

Jess had changes in plans last night. Two of the three parties she was planning on attending were cancelled. The third one she didn't really want to go to so she ended up just staying home last night. Personally, I was kind of glad becuase she has been fighting a cold or the flu or something but she has not had much energy and really stuggled to keep up in the scrimmage yesterday. I think the rest did her good. She has two practices today. Basketball at 9 and volleyball at 2.

I am heading to work today. I have a few things that I really want to get done and tomorrow is the last day of break and I need to use these next two days to get ready for the hords to return.

The weather is terrible today, kind of a snow/sleet. The high today is going to be 12 with a bad wind. Not fit for man or beast outside.....I would love to put some names to the beast comment but will refrain because of the public forum in which I post.

I have been working on my Intro to Computers class. I start my official teaching career Monday night. I really want the first night to go smooth. I imagine I will spend a bit of time on Sunday working on things. The orientation is Saturday and I really want to wait until I get the instructors books before I start putting together the instructional presentations. I don't want to recreate the wheel so to speak. I find myself thinking of things I never thought about from a students perspective. Here are a few of those thoughts:

• For me to be able to teach and in turn, make money, I need students to enroll in class. I want to make the class worth while but if I make it too much work or too hard, I think students will not be interested in taking it. If numbers are small or zero, I lose my job.

• The students have a fundamental knowledge of what I am going to teach, so how do I cover the material without it becoming a snoozefest?

• I really want to do a good job but as with my day job, I can put everything I have into this and nobody will really notice or care. There really is no evaluation process. Just a student feedback/evaluation form collected twice a semester. What the students think is important to my future.

Oh well. Things will just work out as they normally do. Somehow things just seem to work out for the most part in life. We have our small victories and setback but life just keeps pushing forward.

Off to start my day.