Typicality May 27, 2008

It has been a great week here so far. We spent the weekend doing things that we like to do – even though Tony still has his paper route job and had to work both Friday  night and Saturday night. On Friday, he napped while Liza went to the mall to see Cortney. Saturday, after we both got up, we lounged around the house for awhile and then headed into the city to buy dog food. We ended up spoiling all of our animals. We welcomed a brand new parakeet (Eden) into our home, having lost one of ours about a week or so ago. Parakeets are social animals, so it is always best to keep two of them. That way, if Tony can’t spend time in his office, the birds will still have each other. So we found a pretty yellow parakeet at a Petco in Eden Prairie – Yes, the same Petco where Wicket went missing. We also bough some new bird toys, some cat toys for the cats, and some dog supplies. It was like Christmas for our animals. After we got home from the cities, we went to have dinner at Applebees in Buffalo, and then saw Indiana Jones. It was a great movie.

We narrowly missed some storms here on Sunday afternoon. The big one went right over our heads, and we caught the tail end of it because it was heading north. We got about three minutes of pouring rain, and then we drove out on Highway 12 for a few minutes to watch the storm go. We knew that somewhere, someone would get a tornado, and they did. Tornadoes hit three northern suburbs, including Hugo, where we’ve got some friends. We are thinking about them and everyone else in those areas, and hoping that everyone’s clean up efforts go well. We feel fortunate that the storm didn’t drop on us.

Tony worked Memorial Day – and made double wages for his 8 hour shift, so that’s something to be thankful for. Liza is still hoping her work will pick up again, though it is starting to, slowly. Solo is getting bigger – he hit the 4 week mark last Friday, and now is no longer content to simply sit around in his box. He’s drinking puppy milk and eating some canned food too, though Willie is still feeding him and cleaning up after him. Daisy and Wicket are so enjoying having a puppy to play with, although they want to run and play a bit more than his tiny legs are able to do. He still doesn’t have a “for sure” home yet, though we’ve got several people who are interested.

Stay tuned!

Spring Days May 21, 2008

Things have been quiet around the house since Tony started work last week. Liza wishes that she could get more done, but it is the slow time around the freelance writing business, and so she does as much as she can each day and then concentrates on doing other things as well.  We are looking forward to having a weekend when we are all home!

Junebug put on a fantastic showing at the Battle of the Bands on Sunday afternoon. They played at 6 pm, and were right in the middle of the entire thing. Unfortunately, these Battles are judged by audience reaction, and so it comes down to who can bring the most people to the show. Closing out the show were three local high school bands, who had their friends and families there in full force. However, the organizer came up to Junebug after the show and told them that if the “weren’t the BEST, they were a close second”, so that made them feel great! Also, the Battle of the Bands led to two shows being booked in the near future, and will hopefully lead to more! Check out the “Junebug” link so that you’ll be sure to know when and where the boys are playing. You can find gig lists on their MySpace.

Also, check out our photo album. There are new pictures in the “Baby Solo” album, plus an album of our latest game night, the Junebug show, and some pictures of Liza’s spring flowers that have come up. We can’t take credit for them – everything was already planted when we moved in. But, we did clear out the flower beds so it could all come up!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Weekend Again May 16, 2008

Liza’s in Aberdeen once again. She left Howard Lake today at around 1:30, and got to Aberdeen in time for Michael’s soccer game. It’s tournament time – so they’ll be games all weekend long. Liza is in Aberdeen for her good friend’s baby shower on Saturday. Tony is still in  Howard Lake, working this weekend and getting ready for the JUNEBUG show that will take place on Sunday. Anyone in Minneapolis should come down to the Varsity Theater – Junebug is participating in a Battle of the Bands starting at 4 on Sunday – so come and support them!

Other than that, we’ll both have a pretty relaxing weekend, I am sure!

Great Week! May 14, 2008

Well, we’ve had a great week so far. We had a wonderful time with friends on Saturday night. Rory came out at about 6:30 and we played Wii while we waited for the others to come out. Dustin, Anthony, and Katie got to our house at about 9:30. We had a great time playing games, eating dip, and just hanging out. Of course, Tony had to go to work at about 2 AM, so Liza went to bed quite late.

On Sunday, Liza got up and drove to Aberdeen to surprise her mom for mother’s day. She stayed there Sunday night and had a good time going out to eat, hanging out with her mom, and playing with the dogs. She got back to  Howard Lake Monday evening. Tuesday, our week really began.

Tony started his REAL job with orientation on Tuesday, and training that lasts for the rest of the week. He’s working in the garden center at Walmart in Buffalo. It’s just a temporary, get us through the summer type of job, but the hours are going to be great – he’ll be off by 6 in the evenings, and he won’t have to work weekends.

So, yesterday and today, Liza’s been doing the stay-at-home wife thing while her husband works. Of course, she’s working too, but no longer putting in 10 or 12 hour days. With Tony working, she can afford to quit by 3 or so each afternoon, so everyone is a bit more cheerful around here.

Friday, Liza will head back to Aberdeen for part of the weekend. Her high school friend Griz is expecting her first baby in July, and so there is a baby shower on Saturday afternoon. She’ll be back in Howard Lake on Sunday, though, because JUNEBUG has their very first Minneapolis show (well, since they’ve been here) on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. It is a battle of the bands, and it will be a fantastic time. Contact either Liza or Tony if you want more information!

That’s all for now! Back to work!

Rain! May 10, 2008

It’s another rainy weekend! It seems like every weekend that Tony delivers papers he is either doing so in rain or snow or a combination of the both. At least during today’s rainstorm you can see that the buds are out on the trees outside the window, which means that real and TRUE spring is here. We’ve had green grass for a couple of weeks now, but the trees have been slow in coming. in a few across the street we can see shades of green, and within the next couple of days we should have leaves out all over the place.

We were in Aberdeen last Monday night, for Michael’s band concert. He did a pretty good job in the percussion section, and it was fun for Liza to be back at her junior high. She showed Tony the band room, and ran into her old band teacher, who happened to also be one of Tony’s percussion instructors in college. Small world, eh? We enjoyed dinner out with the family, and then headed back to Howard Lake on Tuesday. It was a pretty slow week, but during it we got great news! Tony is going to start working at Walmart in the garden section – which should be a full time job. It is a temporary position, which is fine because we are probably only in Howard Lake for a few more months anyway. He starts with his orientation on Tuesday, so we’re happy about that!

So far we’ve had a pretty relaxing weekend. Liza has done a little bit of work, and we went to see “What Happens in Vegas” last night in Buffalo. Tonight, Anthony and Dustin are coming out to play some games, s we’re looking forward to that, even in the rain.

Off to prepare taco dip and get ready for guests!

Great Weekend May 4, 2008

We’ve been having a fantastic weekend around here. Last week was a pretty stressful work week for Liza, so she took it easy on Friday and after work we went out to eat at Applebees in Buffalo, and then saw “Leatherheads”. GREAT movie, we both enjoyed it very much. Yesterday we rested and relaxed, and then had Cortney and Jeff and Renae and Tate over for a little bit of a Mexican Fiesta. We had great food to eat, and played some games, like usual. Check out the photo album for some great shots!

Hope everyone else is having a fantastic weekend as well. Tony worked Saturday morning and this morning, so we’ll spend the rest of the day relaxing. Tomorrow we’ll head to Aberdeen for Michael’s band concert tomorrow night. Should be great!