Outside Dubuqueland

For those of you outside Dubuqueland, here is an update. This week school on Monday and Tuesday was an early out and a late start. School was cancelled Wednesday. Wednesday night they decided on a delay start for BOTH Thursday and Friday because of windchill. Today, Thursday it was upgraded to a cancellation. I will assume the same for Friday because of windchills way below 0. My friend is going to college and working and I had one of her kids yesterday and will also today.

Big day for the Dubuqueland economy if not to just uplift our economic spirits. Today is the business forecast luncheon for the Chamber of Commerce. One of the presenters is my neighbor and one is an organic farmer and one is the head of McGraw-Hills building that Ron is in. So I thought we should go. Bought the tickets done deal.

I had heard a rumor that there was going to be a big announcement about a business coming to Dubuque AFTER the Inauguration. Well it is happening today just before the forecast luncheon. The governor is coming in today too.

Big Blue - IBM is moving into the old Rosheks or Dubuque building.
Cut and paste from TH website:
Dubuque lands IBM operation: 1,300 jobs
Tech positions will pay average of $45,000 a year
Advertisement

IBM is coming to Dubuque -- and bringing 1,300 jobs with it.

The Telegraph Herald has confirmed through local sources that the technology giant will operate an information technology service center downtown, in the Dubuque Building. IBM officials today would not comment.

Officials have scheduled an announcement for 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Grand River Center, where Gov. Chet Culver is expected. The Telegraph Herald's Web site, THonline.com, will carry a live webcast of the event.

The 1,300 jobs, primarily IT positions, will pay an average of $45,000 per year.

Organizer

I got this from Target for Mitchel and he has outgrown it. Targets website says $69 but I think I paid 45-49. Please let me know if you know anyone that is looking for one of these as I am ready to sell this one.

End of the Year 2008

I regularly check my facebook and find that blogging is so much more laborious than just writing a sentence in facebook. I am going to cut and paste some recent facebook entries below going backwards:

Jennifer has finally got her fill of live music, Rocket Surgeons, River and the Tributaries, Collective Soul and Wild Animals. Whew!on Sunday Dec 28

Jennifer is going to Colllective Soul! Dec 27

Jennifer is cleaning the basement and afraid it is a multi-week task.Dec 27

Jennifer is getting ready to go out tonight because I am craving live music.Dec 26

Jennifer says have a Merry "White with Snow" Christmas! sniffle, sniffle.Dec 24

Jennifer says Ron gave her his cold and I ache. Not good timing.Dec 23

Edit
Jennifer says brr, cold, freeze, chill! Dec 21

Jennifer has all her boys at home today! Dec 19

Jennifer is listening to Ode to Joy being played on the violin by Willie. He can't stop playing it! So cute.

Edit
Jennifer loves to watch the snow fly off the tires of the SX4 in her rearview mirror! Dec 17

Jennifer is making homemade chinese food & lighting advent candles. dec 15

Jennifer thought the New Diamond Jo was amazing and Cheap Trick rocked! Dec 12

Jennifer finally saw her new friend kitty. She is black and was sitting outside my door on my metal drop box. She has been drinking out of the pond here. Stray. Dec 11

97 Venture Deal

For those of you who know the story of Ron's old van dying a year ago October, we finally made it to small claims court yesterday.

WE WON!

There were apologies and handshakes and I look forward to getting a check, although smaller than what I had asked for.

We had a court date 2 months ago. When we left mediation, the clerk went to check to see if they could get us in to court that day. When she returned she said that the judge would have to reschedule as he had a conflict - he sits on a board with me. So they rescheduled it until the 16th.

I really did not want to go, but it was actually easier than the mediation. The mediation was a heated throwing of words. They had no idea what our gripe was and had no idea all of the background we had on the issue.

Interesting little tid bit as we walked out of the courtroom. There was a gentleman sitting in the back row awaiting his turn. He pulled us aside as the judge had walked out of the room to go get a file. He said he went to the same Tandem service center on Stoneman road and went to the mall after his car was making a strange noise. They told him it would need $4500 in repairs and he better get rid of it before he had to tow it. He shook his head and took it directly to a dealership. The dealership fixed this problem for I think he said $260!

Ron and I wondered if he was for real. But why would he say something like that?

Ron was also quite the man about this. I had often said I did not want to go through all this hassle and negative energy. As soon as we were done, he said, "Ok, you get the money." His mother would be proud!

Sick

Knock on wood I am not sick. But Ron is getting a cold and Willie has been sniffling. Seems everyone I talk to has nasal congestion or their voice sounds bad.

I was at the store today and thought I would look in to some Zicam, although I have not done any research on it. Decided against it because the ingredients were unfamiliar. Came home and did some research. As we all SHOULD know, proper diet, rest, exercise and stress reduction is vital to a good immune system. Since we almost all screw that previous sentence up, I love to read things by Dr. Mercola. Below is a link to one of his articles. For a couple of cents, I think I might just try this:

Peroxide in your ear

I have signed up for his newsletter. Sometimes you have to sign in to view some of his articles. Please let me know if you have heard of this before.

Let it snow!

I put this window cling Gel Gem in Willie's arch window last night. And he woke up today and we had a dusting of snow on the ground. Just enough to cover the grass!

He is so excited for the holidays. He had to have me put Christmas break on the calendar. They only have school today and Tuesday and then Wed-Fri off for Thanksgiving break.

This past weekend we finally took advantage of the house rental in the territory in Galena. I am tired though. I did learn that a hot tub in the winter creates ice when you let the kids run in and out of it and once it freezes it is extremely slippery after you drink wine! I fell getting out and landed on the wooden steps flat on my side on the edges of the steps. Have the bruises to prove it. Spent 3 hours on Sunday talking with the owner of the property. He never told me he owned 2 boats. Mitchel is scheduling next summer to go there whenever he can. I asked if he needed any lawns mowed so Mitchel would have an excuse to go over there.

Busy week. I would like to go see a concert tonight, but unsure if I will. Want to go see a band on Wednesday night. Thanksgiving Thursday. Friday I am not going shopping but will prep for Saturdays wedding shoot. Friday night we are taking the boys to Puddle of Mudd concert.

Happy shopping to all and Let it snow!

Frustration

Ok, yesterday I lost it. Saturday Mitchel got superglue on 3 separate places on my kitchen table. This was after I cautioned him to put down papers. So he did that but was gluing in on the carpet. I told him to take it out in the garage, so he decided to put it on the kitchen table. I was mad. So I tried to scrape it off with a razor blade. It bonded with the finish and took the finish off.

Just several little piddly things like that later.....
3pm Sunday I wanted to go to the Messiah Concert at St. Lukes. I explained to both children that you are not to eat in there - they had brought snacks in to the car since they choose not to eat any lunch. Mitchel starts munching something crunchy - mind you, we are in a church!

Fastforward through 2 bathroom trips, the evil eye given several times, the finger in front of the mouth motioning to be quiet because he was whispering, elbowing him since he was touching his brothers ear(I was sitting in the middle)and I whispered in his ear that I was going to videotape this last part.

This was a strings concert with a combined choir of probably 60 people. It was beautiful and like a symphony of Handel's Messiah. The end is the Hallalueia and everyone stood up. Mitchel had already put is coat on and was trying to exit the pew by pushing in front of you. I have my hands above my head and was trying to video tape with my little still camera. He kept trying to go in front of me and there was no room to do so.

I LOST IT.

I was so irritated that I grabbed him by the hair, yes a nice full handful and he has a lot of it, and pulled him down into a sitting position in the pew.

It was the culmination of about 20 minutes of chit chat on his part and him really not getting it that he needed to be still and quiet.

I did not do this gently either.

Now I was pissed at him and at myself for losing it in public.

I made him stay in the pew and I explained to him afterward how important it was to be quiet and how we were ruining the other guests experience. He stood with me for a while while Ron was saying goodbye to someone. Oh yes, Ron was not sitting with us. Then all of a sudden, he and his brother were gone. They had taken off to get refreshments. Ron went in and grabbed them just as they were about to get them and headed them out the door.

I am still mad at how I allowed them to ruin my time there. I should have sent them outside I guess. I told them in advance it was going to last about an hour. I ended up being less than that.