Sometimes I Write

Well, here it is…drumroll please…my big secret is…

I went to Minnesota and Wisconsin for the weekend.
O.k. – I know some of you are disappointed with the big revelation, but it was really great. I went to visit my brother Lennie and surprise my parents. The only people who knew I was coming were Lennie and my Stepmom, Shari. The look on my Dad’s face was priceless. There I was sitting in the livingroom with Shari when he arrived home. He looked at me, then her, then back at me. I hugged him and he said, “Is everything o.k. with the marriage?” I laughed and said yes and he told me a lot of times when kids come home unexpectedly it’s because something is wrong with their marriage. My first thought was that he’s thinking of one of my brothers and my sister, who have both done that with him several times. I would never say that out loud though, except here. We had a great meal at the Outback , then went home to watch videos of the kids and chat until bedtime. The visit was short, but very sweet! Shari sent me home with Easter candy and new clothes for the kids. She even bought Benny and I two shirts each. She’s so awesome in the little things like that.

The next morning I surprised my Mom and Stepdad at breakfast. Lennie had arranged to meet them at a restaurant, and my Dad dropped me off just as they were going in the door. The shocked look on my mom’s face was so funny. I hugged her and gave her the bouquet of white tulips I bought for her, and she just stood there smiling, but completely dumbfounded. I loved it. What is it about me loving to surprise other people, but hating to be surprised myself? My brother Mike came with my niece Ayla(7) and my nephew Scotty(10), and my uncle Randy was there too. We all had a great breakfast laughing and joking about life and watching the kids play with their gifts I had brought for them. After breakfast we went back to Uncle Randy’s house to see Aunt Sharon. She is currently recovering from her second kidney transplant and she’s doing pretty well. It was nice to visit with everyone, and I was able to show them video of the kids too.

Backtracking a bit, my trip was intended for visiting Lennie. Surprising my parents was a nice bonus. I put the teaser on my blog because my mom reads it regularly now. 🙂 I was hoping to torture her a bit, then she never even asked about the secret! Oh well.

I had a wonderful time with my brother! I arrived in Minneapolis a little after midnight last Thursday and my luggage (1 suitcase) arrived Friday afternoon! Please explain to me how that happens on a straight flight??? Two other women didn’t get theirs either, but they were both from connecting flights. I don’t get it. One of the ladies, clearly a business woman, asked the unfriendly soul behind the claims counter where she might find a place to get some clothes for her meeting the next morning. Unfriendly lady said, “There’s a WalMart open 24 hours nearby but I wouldn’t recommend buying clothes there”. I laughed to myself because I knew that was our next stop so I could buy pajamas and a toothbrush, and a few other incidentals I needed before my suitcase would arrive. When the suitcase did arrive, they called to see if someone would be home from 1-5 pm so they could deliver it. Like we wanted to spend the whole afternoon waiting for them – we drove back to the airport to pick it up. The kid didn’t even ask for my ID, I offered to him. hmmmmm

Lennie and I went to the Mall of America to shop and hang out for a few hours. I’ve been there so many times that it’s lost some of the excitement for me, but we had fun anyway. We both love to people watch, and there were some fun shops to check out. We watched a guy making sushi, and played a game in a shop that zaps the last person to push the button. Yeah – that was me. We had lunch at Johnny Rockets, looked at swords and knives (so I could brag to Benny), and we laughed our butts off at a t-shirt shop. I found the perfect t-shirt for Benny. It was red with the Heinz logo on it and read, ” I put ketchup on ketchup”. Like a teenager, Lennie kept trying to nudge me hard enough to run into people. Fun times at the MOA! That night we met some of his friends at Benihana for supper. What a great meal. I had shrimp and actually liked it for the first time ever. I liked his friends a lot and I could tell they really love and respect him. What else did we do? Watched Tommy Boy, shopped at the most expensive grocery store in the world, and practiced tearing decks of playing cards in half. I’m up to 40 cards – not bad for a girl! 😉 He can tear 70 cards. ( If you’d like to try this at home, The Dollar Store has two decks for a buck.) He also ripped a license plate in half and rolled a small frying pan up like a burrito. I got it all on tape for proof. Yep, that’s what he does for fun…my martial arts, funny, strong, creative, nutty, younger brother. I had a blast with him!

My flight home was delayed for three hours, so I bought a book. I needed some lighter reading after finishing Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent, so I bought and enjoyed reading Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I enjoyed it so much that I rented the movie when I got home. BIG MISTAKE. If you’ve read the book, don’t bother seeing the movie – they changed so many key points about the characters I was disappointed. I’m sure those of you who just watched the movie enjoyed it just fine, but I’m a reader and I’ve yet to like the movie better than the book. The ONLY ones that have come close, but still didn’t win me over to the movie side, were the LOTR trilogy and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The books were better, but the movies were really good too. I must admit that I have yet to read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility because it is my all-time favorite movie and I don’t want to ruin it. I’m really ridiculous like that sometimes. Love me anyway.

Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of a very long post. I had to catch you up, and I’m taking a blogging break until next weekend so I can catch up on Mt. Washmore and Mt. Dishmore, BSF, and getting us all on a routine. Benny did a great job while I was gone, but it’s amazing how much I’m needed around here! 😉 Job security – hehehe! 🙂 Bless you friend!

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Tune in to the History Channel on Tuesday, February 28, at 7 PM (CST) and watch “Risk Takers, History Makers”, a documentary featuring YC History professor, Tim McNeese!

Here’s a description of the program from the History Channel website:

A modern-day team of adventurers tackles one of America’s most unforgiving landscapes to trace, experience, and recount the journey of one-armed explorer John Wesley Powell. At the end of the 19th Century Powell led an expedition into the last unknown territory in the Continental United States: the Grand Canyon. Over the course of the three-month journey the men would face starvation, dizzying cliffs, terrifying rapids, and even death. But Powell was determined the mission succeed, and by summer’s end, he and his crew floated out of the Grand Canyon and into the history books. Now our team is heading back into this brutal oasis to discover how Powell tamed the southwest. Chris Warner and Greg Davenport are teaming up with historian Tim McNeese to swim deadly rock-infested rapids, and scale cliffs as tall as skyscrapers. If the trio hopes to better understand Powell’s enormous accomplishment, they’ll have to rely on each other’s individual skills to survive.

Mr. McNeese was one of my professors at York College in the early 90’s. He was not only a great professor, but a really great guy as well. He took all of our wedding pictures for us for FREE as a gift to us poor college students. Even if I wasn’t a history buff (and I am), I would watch his documentary just to honor him and his work. Hope you check it out! You had no idea I was interested in history, did you? I love to keep you guessing! 🙂

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I love this line from “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”. I especially like the Relient K version on the JONAH album. Gotta love Veggie Tales! Seriously now, I’ve been thinking about all the things I haven’t done in my life that I either want to do or need to do.

Watching the Winter Olympics these past two weeks has been incredible. How I would love to be there in Torino cheering on my favorite athletes, and soaking in the sights of beautiful Italy. It’s now on my list of things to do before I die. The thing is, Benny would rather attend the Summer Olympics because you can do more touristy stuff. As much as I like warmer weather, it’s the sports in the winter games that hold my attention the best. I’ve loved having the DVR so I don’t miss my favorite events. We’ve even let Max stay up and watch some with us – a special treat that only comes a few times a year otherwise (birthday, New Years Eve, and a few others). I love the Olympics! Here’s my favorite skater. She’s been my favorite for a few years. Congratulations Irena on winning the bronze! You’re already golden in my book!

Travel the 50 states. It’s something we may do when we retire, or if we have an especially fruitful year in ministry ;). It would be a great homeschooling fieldtrip! My friend Adam’s (he’s the one on the right) brother Luke (on the left) is doing just that right now…staying with a different family in the 50 United States of America. He’s an adventurous soul! He’s blogging about his trek across the country and the people he meets along the way. Check out this guy that is living one of my dreams! Speaking of Boston…

What are your dreams? What is it that you’ve never done, but want to? My list is long and I’m sure I’ll share more in the future.

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I am now a Colorado resident. O.K., so I’ve lived here for 10 months…who’s counting? Do you know what my penalty for waiting so long to change my drivers license was? Waiting in line at the DMV for 4 hours this morning! I was planning on returning home after my chiropractor appointment and skipping BSF so I could rest (I’m STILL sick)…but NO…I decided to run by the DMV (I know – stop laughing!) to get my CO license. The waiting line number was 484 when I arrived, and they start over at 1 after 500. 45 minutes after I arrived, the kid sitting next to me decided to leave and he gave me his number – 22. I was holding number 33, so this was a blessing! A HUGE blessing. They finally called my number almost 3 1/2 hours later! If I had kept #33, I’d probably still be there. When I left, the guy sitting behind me was #103…I’m thinking about bringing him lunch tomorrow – I’m sure he’ll still be there. I was REALLY glad that I keep a book in my purse. The irony is that they gave me the same DL# I had before I had moved away. They also MAIL your new license instead of handing the dumb thing to you before you leave. Surely there is a more efficient way to handle these things.

On a positive note, I e-filed our federal taxes today. Yeah Turbo Tax! IF the IRS accepts our return, we should have our refund back in 2 weeks. Yeah Direct Deposit! Filed CO too, but will be doing Kansas manually. If you’re in Kansas and reading this, could you please send me a part-year resident form? Thanks. So I have a question for you. If you get a refund, do you tithe a part of it? Just curious. I don’t think we ever thought about it before taking our money classes. Now we always find someone who needs a little extra help financially and we anonymously bless them with a portion of our refund. God has blessed us, so we bless others.

Totally unrelated to the above topics…I have a secret. It’s a big juicy one and I’m dying to tell everyone I talk to, but I can’t…AAAAAGH! (It doesn’t involve any pregnancies, just in case that’s where your mind went) I told Angi that I wasn’t even going to mention it because it would drive you all crazy waiting to hear what it is…but I can’t help myself. I want to tease certain readers…it’s also blogging security. You’ll want to know what it is, so you’ll keep coming back here until I divulge the goods. I can’t just yet, but I will sometime soon. Only a few people know and they have sworn their undying loyalty and secrecy to me! As sick as I feel today, I am giddy with excitement! It’s going to be worth the surprise for a few of you, and yet some of you may not care at all. Only time will tell…

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I just spent a week with my brother Lennie. He had taken a week off work, then his plans were cancelled, so I talked him into coming to Colorado instead of working anyway. Helpful aren’t I? 😉 He flew in Monday morning and flew back out Friday morning. That’s 5 days of inside family jokes, much teasing, and wrestling (not with me, but with Max). I enjoyed cooking for him even though he insists I can burn water (that was when I was 13). That didn’t stop him from having a second helping. I even baked his favorite cookies an hour before he left so he’d have something to torture the other passengers with.

We kept him busy with a trip to the Children’s Museum, eating at Casa Bonita, and the old-school McDonald’s (our family name for it). We watched movies and t.v., dragged him to the gym and Dr. Zack’s, and contemplated a trip to the tattoo shop (didn’t happen). If you’re planning a trip to see the Nowell’s this year, don’t worry – trips to the tattoo shop with our guests is NOT the norm around here. (Unless your name is Angi!) LOL

He went to work with Benny a few days, including going to the pool hall Thursday night where he got his butt kicked by one of our homeless friends – a girl. I’ll be using that against him at a later date. He can probably beat me at pool, but I’ll never tell him that! We had a good time and he got to relax a little for a few days. I love every minute I get to spend with my brother – even when he’s teasing me…and he can be relentless! He so good with my kids, and Petey cried when Lennie left. Not just cried, but threw himself on the floor crying. He woke up this morning asking, “Where’s Uncle Wennie?”

His adventures didn’t end when I dropped him off at the airport. Nope…little did he know what was in store for him just a short time later. As he was going through security, the lady asked him if she could search his carry-on bags. He said, “Sure, search anything you want”. SHE FOUND A KNIFE IN HIS CAMCORDER BAG!!! It has been there so long he had forgotten about it…which means it somehow got through security undetected on his way to Colorado. He said he was way more shocked than she was. After measuring it, she let him mail it home since it was shorter than 3″. He said he could have been in a lot of trouble – it wasn’t a pocket knife, but a tactical knife – he’s a martial arts junkie. Here he is, 6′ something, a BIG guy wearing a black Dry Bones hoodie (with the white skull and crossbones logo on the front) and she finds a tactical knife. I was relieved that it ended so well, but I laughed sooooo hard I almost cried. Is that mean? Not for an older sister who just came through a week of sibling teasery. (I think I made that word up). I can’t wait to see him again! Until then, we’ll chat on the phone several times a week like we always do! Special thanks to Mom for watching Scrappy (his dog) so Lennie could come to CO!

I wish I was as close to my other siblings as Lennie and I are. I’ll have to work on that.

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