OK, turn on the heat, this isn't funny anymore!

We have a new Nichols in the clan. Avery Jon (AJ) Nichols was born yesterday and I am sure he has a couple of proud parents.

It is about as cold as it can be today. Right now the temperature is -11 WITHOUT WINDCHILL!!! The high today will be 4. Windchills will put the temps down to -20 to -30 today. Ugh!

Both of the kids had practice last night. Drew had basketball practice and Jess had her first track practice. She is always a bit disgruntled after her first track practice and last night was no different. She was a little sore from the workout but she gets really ticked off when people don't work hard in practice. To her, you are there to work and get better so when the track meets begin you are ready to win. She just doesn't understand how people can walk or jog slow, when they should be pushing themselves. She is definitely driven.

We are getting to the end of the trimester and that means report card time is here. It is always a bit hectic in the office during this time of year because we have three different buildings with completely different needs. Each wants different things on the report card and then they have attendance needs as well. I spent much of the day yesterday fixing and remaking reports.

Today I have to proctor a test; then I have a meeting and then I teach class in Des Moines tonight. I wish I could take my phone off the hook.

It is kind of good to be almost half way through the week. It seems that this year is really flying by. In the blink of an eye the school year will be ending and Jess will be looking to start her Junior year of high school. As long as she was a Freshman or Sophmore it seemed like a long time until she would graduate. Once she hits her Junior year, it will start to hit me. In a year and a half, Jess will be a senior and Drew will be a Freshman.

I don't want to think about it. I am going to start my day.

You know its bad when the 20's feel like a heat wave!

It is good to be past Monday. The weather here really stinks! It is very, very cold and windy. I don't think it is going to get better this week at all. The high has been in the low teens or single digits. It you throw in the wind chill you are really feeling the bite of the Winter. The normal high right now is upper 30's. I think we are going to get to 14 today.

Jess finished up the volleyball weekend yesterday. The won all three matches and won the silver bracket in the tournament. They ended up 13th out of 65 teams and a 7-2 record.

Jess starts track practice today.

Drew had basketball practice last night and he is looking forward to playing in the tournament this weekend. I am not sure when track starts for the middle school.

I taught class last night and it went pretty well. I had to talk to a couple of students about their grades. They are failing! One of them is on the golf team and if his grade doesn't get up, he will be ineligible. I am certain he will get caught up.

Today is pretty open. I have a meeting at 10 but other than that I have the day, free of appointments. Tomorrow I have a bunch of stuff going on so I need to use today to prep for that. I also teach tomorrow night so that is another part of what needs to be done.

The current temp is -3, with wind chill -14. Give me a break!

Off to start my day.

So why do people abuse rented mules?

I am really kind of disgusted that it is Monday. The start of the week is here. I teach class tonight and have the whole week ahead. Ugh!

Jess had her volleyball tournament in Omaha this weekend. It was at the QWest center, which is a very cool place. There are teams from all over the country at this tournament. I saw teams from Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. There could have been teams from other states but these are the ones I personally saw. They also had recuiters from over 200 colleges.

On Friday we played teams from Colorado, Illinois, and Missouri. We won all of our matches and were seeded 1st going into Sunday. Yesterday they won their first match, lost their second match and then faced a very good team from Nebraska. They were the Nebraska Volleyball Academy and had two girls that are 6'2. We won the first game, lost the second and then lost the tie breaker game by two. We ended up seeded 3rd in Sunday's bracket. They will play for the silver medal today. If they lose, they are done. If they win and keep winning, I think the would play three games, they will play their last game at 1.

I hope they do well.

Drew and I went up Saturday morning and then came back Saturday night. The weather here was supposed to be really bad. Ice starting at midnight and then 7+ inches of snow on Sunday. Here in Perry the weather kind of fizzled out. We got a little ice but maybe an inch of snow. It kind of sucks that the weather didn't go as planned. I could have stayed for the games Sunday.

Both kids have tournaments next weekend. Drew plays in a basketball tournament in Boone and Jess playes in another volleyball tournament in Des Moines.

Track season starts for Jess on Tuesday. She will have her first practice. She also have volleyball practice that night at 7 so I am sure she will be grumpy. The first track practice is usually tough on the body so I am sure she will not be in the mood for volleyball.

I have some pictures of the volleyball tournament but Jess kept the camera with her for the weekend so I will post them tomorrow. They should be back tonight sometime. It kind of sucks that I teach class tonight because I wont be able to talk to her about the games.

Yesterday, Drew and I had a lazy day together. After Drew got up we went over to Nancy's, she made fresh cinnamon rolls...(They were awesome!), to get Molly. They puppy sat for us Saturday. After that we watched a little tv. We had lunch and then took a nap. For dinner we had fondue and hashbrowns and watched the American Gladiator finale. All in all a pretty good day.

Off to start Monday!

I can't believe I am having writers block for the stupid title

Friday is here and it comes with a bit of mixed emotions this morning. I am very happy it is Friday. Typically people leave us alone at the office and are just ready for the weekend to begin and I don't have any meeting scheduled. I am also looking forward to being able to sleep-in tomorrow morning. By the end of the week I seem to be about drained. Saturday morning will be my chance to catch up.

On the other hand (Kind of a reference from "Fiddler on the Roof") Jess has a tournament in Omaha this weekend and it is going to be a long weekend. I really enjoy watching her play but my back and butt really get sore from sitting in bleachers all day.

Drew is feeling well again. Thank Goodness! I came home last night and he had the normal look in his eyes and seemed to be just fine. He needed a shower and all but he looked like he was back to his old self. Now he gets to go to school and pickup all of his homework for the weekend.

Jess has the Sweetheart dance tonight. She went to Des Moines last night and got a dress. I asked her why she couldn't use her homecoming dress and she said that was "out of the question", one of her friends told her the other day she specifically remembers her dress from homecoming so I guess that makes it taboo to wear ever again.

At least she doesn't spend much on the dresses. I think the one they bought for tonight was $30 and it is her money. She works in her grandparents dental office on the weekends and has her own money. If she wants to spend it on a stupid dress for one night, whatever!

Drew and I had a nice night together last night. He was hungry of course from not eating much the last couple of days and he wanted, chicken rice. I make white rice and add butter and chicken base. The kids love it and he was hungry for that. I asked him what else he wanted and he said, "I am hungry for the rice and haven't though much past that". I made him a chicken breast and I had a steak, a tenderloin and it was wonderful. We watched a little tv and then he headed off to bed a bit early. I think he is still trying to get his energy back. I am betting the dinner helped.

I am planning on taking a bunch of pictures and some video at the tourament this weekend. I plan to post a bunch of stuff to the blog when I get back.

I hope everyone has a good, safe weekend. Stay warm (Did I mention the high today is going to be 4?) WHAT THE WHAT!!!!!!!!!

Have a heart....be someone's Valentine!

I have to admit, I am a little tired this morning. Teaching class last night and then not getting to sleep until around 11 is rough for a morning person. The coffee is strong today and it reminds me of how I feel on Monday mornings. The good news is, I am done with teaching for the week and have nothing going on the next couple of nights.

Drew is still sick. When I got home last night he was still sleeping on the sofa. He has done nothing but sleep the last couple of days. He still has a fever but has been drinking fluids. He really hasn't eaten anything for awhile so hopefully he will be able to get something down today.

The basketball season is over for Jess. They lost by 10 last night but gave it a valiant effort. They were down by 22 at the end of the third quarter and cut the lead to 10 by the end. Jess only scored four points but she said thought she played good defense and had a bunch of rebounds. The local radio station didn't cover the game. They went to the state wrestling tournement where we had two boys wrestling. They both lost.

Jess was asked to the sweetheart dance tomorrow night. She is pretty excited to go. They are going to Des Moines tonight to get a dress. Saturday we have the volleyball tournament. The team plays at 4, 6 and 8 pm Saturday but has to be there at 2 because the officiate the game at 3. It sure beats having to be there at 8 am like some of the teams.

So I was pretty disgusted with the gabage situation here in Perry and I am also disgusted with the snow ordinance as well, but as the week went on, there has been so much to be disgusted about that trash day doesn't even have me worked up today. It has been kind of like sensory over load but with disgust. A sense of apathy has set in and to be honest, I feel much better. I now can relate to Nero when he fiddled while Rome burned. Sometimes you just have to sit back and watch the train wreck. Today I feel no obligation to make things right or to stand up for the wronged. It is kind of a sureal, out of body feeling that isn't so bad.

I think there is a saying or a quote, I am not sure who to cite, but it goes something like: "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

I am not really up against evil but today I choose to do nothing.

I have a meeting this morning and then nothing on my calendar for the rest of the week. It is kind of strange to not have a game to go to or an event of some kind to attend. Jess and Drew don't even have practice the next couple of days.

Valentines day and Anthony's birthday. The streets of Lincoln will never be the same.

I am not sure if I mentioned that I wrote the Governor a couple of weeks ago. I recieved a response back last week. I will share that story with you another time.

Happy Valentines Day!

If you sqwint your eyes, you can see Friday from here!

Yesterday was a mixed bag. The day seemed to go quick enough but little Drew is sick. He had a fever and went to the nurses office at school. Nancy took care of him for me, I was in a meeting and didn't answer my phone. Drew was home for the rest of the day and still had a 101 degree fever at 10:00 last night. Tylenol knocks the fever down but when it wears off, the fever has been coming back.

I think Dawn is going to stay home with him today if he is still sick.

I had a HUGE headache yesterday afternoon and it really didn't completely go away until about 10:00 last night. I really hate headaches. They are the one thing that almost incapacitate me.

We left work a bit early yesterday, I guess 4:30 isn't that dang early but it was early none the less. I had to go shovel at the other house so I didn't get a dang compliance ticket. I did the sidewalk and part of the driveway up to the house.

My dryer is broken, I spent some time working on it last night and I am not sure what the problem is. It won't turn on and I am pretty sure it is a fuse but I am not sure. I think I am just going to call the repair guy to look at it. It needs to be fixed ASAP.

My DMACC class is tonight. I kind of look forward to it but at the same time, I know what we are covering today and it is boring for me. The students will be busy but I just kind of sit around and wait for them to complete the work and help them if they have problems.

Jess has her regional basketball game tonight. I am anticipating a loss and I think the coach is wanting it as well. He didn't hold practice Saturday or Monday and last nights practice was only a little over an hour long. Since I am going to be teaching class, Nancy is going to listen to it on the radio and email me updates. I can check my email while the students are doing their work.

Big volleyball tournament this weekend. I tried to call Angie last night but got the answering machine. I left a message and will try to call her again today.

It is cold as heck here. I think the high this week is going to be 20 and that is today. Friday the high is going to be 4. We have gotten snow and cold and I am sick and tired of it. BRING ON SPRING!!!

Jess turns 16 in 16 days, Anthony turns 16 tomorrow! Keep us in your prayers!

How do stupid people get into positions of authority?

Monday was a long day but it is finally over. On to Tuesday.

Class last night seemed to take forever. We are working in the Office package right now and I have them do a resume project in the book. I show them the skills they need to know prior the the project and they follow the steps in the book to complete the project. It took the whole four hours, actually 3 1/2. It was pretty dull for me but they all agreed they like that better than the lecture type of class.

I don't think I have anything on the agenda for today which is good. Sunday night I had a bit of insomnia and was up at 1am. Last night I didn't get home until 10 even though I let class out around 9:30. I had a student stay after class and wanted to talk to me about the Army. She was thinking of joining and wanted some information on what it was like. I told her to make SURE that is what she wanted to do because it is a serious committment. Sometimes I think the kids just want someone to talk to.

It will be good to have the evening off. I may go to bed a bit early, I guess I will have to wait to see how things go today.

We got a dusting of snow last night and they got quite a bit up north. I see school delays on the tv but we aren't included in that. We didn't get that much at all. For some reason we seem to be in this "belt" across Iowa that seems to miss the bad stuff. They have had huge snow falls to the north and south of us but we seem to have missed almost all of the big snowfalls so far this year.....(Picture me knocking on wood).

High school track practice started yesterday. Jess wont have to attend until basketball season is over. The coaches are giving them a week off after their last game. It will probably be Wednesday so she won't have to practice until a week from then. My guess is she wills start on Monday if she is back from the volleyball tournament in time. Last year after the first practice, she came in the house and proclaimed "Shoot Me Now!!!". We will see how this year goes.

Drew doesn't start track practice for a few weeks so he is enjoying a little down time right now.

Hopefully the day goes well.