After 2 years of whining, begging and using my very best puppy-dog eyes I am proud to announce the latest addition to the Joedeman Family....  34 baby chicks!  We picked them up from Orschelen's this morning.  They are of the Production Red variety for those of you who know something about chickens.  I had originally wanted Rhode Island Reds, but they were back-ordered until June.  And being the impatient person that I am, that was just not acceptable.  So we went with these.  They are supposed to grow to about 5 pounds and be "excellent" brown egg layers.  Kris and I chuckled cause the lady at Orschelen's told us that the Rhode Island Reds are listed as being "very good" egg layers and ours are "excellent."  She went on to explain that "excellent is better than very good." 

Regardless of how they are classified, we are just tickled to welcome them to our little farm.  Now if we can only get that chicken house fixed up....

         

 

 

 

I just wanted to share my weekend.  Not because anything spectacular happened, but just because I haven't blogged in a while and it was a really good couple of days. 

Friday night was a lovely relaxing evening in with my handsome hubby.  I made chicken, broccoli, and bacon calzones with an alfredo dipping sauce.  Yummy!  We popped a DVD into my laptop and snuggled in bed until both of us fell asleep.  (Side-note - we didn't even make it halfway through the movie.)  :)

I spent Saturday getting ready for "Girls Night."  Allow me to explain... There are several girls in both the Gandy and Tallin Churches who have birthdays in March and we all get together once a year to celebrate with a few of our other friends.  Usually this involves going to either North Platte or Kearney for dinner, but this year we decided to pick someone's house and do a game night.  So we all brought yummy goodies and games to play.  I made my famous Cheesy Corn Bites (at least they are famous in my mind).  There were about 10 of us (including Kari!) and we never even opened the games, we ended up snacking and chatting the night away, until past midnight.  A few of us did manicures and pedicures.  I never dreamed that living in a small community I would be so blessed with so many girlfriends my own age.  I am very thankful!

Then yesterday the weekend was rounded out with church and fellowship dinner (woo hoo!) followed by an afternoon spent in Arnopolis golfing with my family.  Mom and Dad bought all of us golf clubs for Christmas (mine are pink!!!).  Mom and I are fairly terrible!  We spend a lot of time swinging and hitting the air, but our motto is that we "look good doing it!"  Kris and Jamie spend a lot of time either frowning or muttering obscenities under their breath.  Then there is Dad and Dave... the real golfers of the family.  I don't think any of us are going to take Tiger's spot any time soon, but it is a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

And now I am back at school.. shaping and molding young minds for a brighter tomorrow.  It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it! 

I checked my calendar and I officially have 39 days of school left until summer!!!!  Yay!

I must start this with a confession:  I am an inauguration junkie.  It's the first time I've ever really either had the opportunity or cared to pay attention.  For Bush's second oath of office I was in Thailand and didn't even vote, cause that whole absentee thing in a foreign country is just too much of a hassle.  For Bush's first swearing in I was in college and had a million other things to do besides care about politics and government.  I was an Independent and rarely voted. 

But now I care.  I followed the election very closely. We studied the process in all three of my Social Studies classes and I really got into it.  We made posters encouraging people to vote, we researched both candidates, and held our own mock election.  And even though most of my students come from Republican families and even though most of them voted for McCain in our mock election, I knew that this was a historic event and that they needed to be a part of it.

I gave them all this little pep talk yesterday morning about how I know most of them don't like Barack and that most of them didn't want him to win.  But the fact of the matter is that whether we like him or not he is now our President.  And regardless of our own personal feelings, this is a historic day.  I wanted them to grasp the significance of it all.

Well... I don't know if they bought my little speech or not.  But we watched the whole process.  From the coffee with the Bush's in the morning, to the swearing in on the steps of the capitol, to the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.  Most of the kids really got into it.  They like the choirs and the marching bands and of course all the secret service men with their long black coats and dark glasses and serious expressions.  I should say that the boys got into the secret service, the girls were more concerned with what kind of dress Michelle was going to wear to the inaugural ball.

Last night as Kris and I were watching the First Couple dance their first dance I was struck with this overwhelming sense of pride in my country.  I know that Barack is not going to fix all our problems, in fact he may not fix any at all.  I didn't vote for him, nor do I gree with him on several issues.  But neither do I worry that he is the anti-Christ.  And I'm excited because I heard that he's going to bring back unicorns.

Every time I travel oversees I am struck by two things:  One, is that we truly live in the greatest country on earth and I would not trade my American citizenship for all the free shoes in the world.  And two, our American patriotism sucks.  While in Thailand I was so impressed with the love of country that those people have.  They truly honor their government and their king.  They may not always agree with his actions, but they still honor him.  They have an immense sense of pride.  While here in America you are more likely to hear sounds of apathy or disdain.  People are either frustrated or they just don't care.

But I feel like yesterday America shined.  I feel like we gave ourselves a much needed hug.  And while we have very serious problems and issues facing us, we spent the day in glorious pomp and circumstance.  People who normally don't care about our country and/or govenrment actually paid attention.  And maybe, just maybe, they felt a sense of pride.

I realize that there is the chance that I am simply an overly passionate Social Studies teacher.  But I do love my country deeply.  And I know that God loves the people in this country.  And that gives me hope and excitement.

Apparently when you turn 30, which I did this year, trying to lose 1 million pounds it not as easy as it used to be.  I remember fondly the days of college and early 20s when if I decided that I was in need of weight loss I would simply eat less than I was already eating (by the way, you should know that back then my diet mainly consisted of popcorn and coffee), work out a little more and viola!  I'd be 5 - 10 pounds slimmer. 

But here I am at 30 years old, 3 whole weeks into my new diet/workout plan and what do I have to show for it????  A rather large blister on my left foot.  Sooooooooo... I've decided to up the stakes.  I am now working out on the treadmill for 45 minutes instead of 30 and I've upped the speed as well.  I'm still just walking, but at a good clip. 

I've also upped the rewards system.  Some people (who I try not to be friends with) are able to set a goal and when they reach that goal they pat themselves on the back and move on the next phase of their life.  I do not work that way.  I need rewards and celebrations.  I had initially set a prize to be received when my goal weight was reached, but have since decided that I need something a little sooner than that.  So I have strategically placed rewards along my path to better health and fitness.

I suspect that my darling husband is starting to worry that this little diet/health plan of mine is going to put us into debt.  I try to reassure him that he will be so overcome with attraction to me in my rock-star new body that all thoughts of the money spent along the way will be forgotten. 

Someone sent this in a forward and I decided it would be way more fun to just post it on here so you all could have a little peek.  Enjoy!