I can't be the only one....can I?

Seriously, why is it that I can spend hours reading the musings on blogs of people I don't know, nor will I ever know, yet there is a pile of laundry that needs my attention and as I go to refill my tea I continue to step over it?

Anyone?

Sick

Being sick sucks. But I think that what's worse than me being sick is Niles being sick. He started feeling badly on Thursday night and has gotten worse ever since. His fever finally broke this morning for the first time in 3 days. He has a horrible cough and severe headache. He seriously has not gotten out of the bed in 2 days. He is going to the doctor today, hopefully the dr. will work some magic.

I pray that I will not, but I know that I will be, one of those high strung, overly cautious, thinks-the-worst mothers when it comes to my children being sick. Every time that Niles coughes (which, by the way, it sounds as if he is coughing up at least one lung and half of his intestines) I'm on edge. So, I guess I have some time to mellow out....

Get well soon Niles!

Slacker

Ok, I have been a major slacker when it comes to keeping up with the blog. As we near 2008, I am making it my goal to be a consistent blogger.....we'll see.
As we settled into life in Iowa City we have done some really neat stuff, met some great people and had visits from family. I will try to chronicle 4 months worth of festivities into this post.

WINDSURFING

Who would have thought that we'd learn to windsurf in I-O-W-A? Believe it or not, we did. AND, belive it or not, I was better at this aquatic sport than Niles. Really, that is all you need to know about the adventure.....OK, not all but in my humble opinion it is the most important thing of which you should take note.

The orthodontic program director is an amateur wind surfer. Niles, being up for all things adventurous, told him that we'd like to learn. When the stars were alligned and the wind was at perfect learning speed (10 knots, coming from the North) we were phoned, given all directions, and within 45 minutes were at Lake McBride for our first wind surfing lesson.

Now, before you go thinking that we drug the board and sail into the water and hopped on, let me correct your thinking. The first 45 minutes of the lesson were spent on land. "Practicing" the moves we would do once we were in the water. We each climbed on the board, pulled up the sail and rehearsed over and over what to do once floating in the cool water as sweat dripped from our foreheads underneath our "crash helmets" and long sleeved sun protection.

We really did have a great time and learned new words like tack, jibe, starboard, port, rig, mast and boom.

VISITORS!

At the end of September mom and dad made the trek to I.C. They were able to: see my school, bask in the coziness of our cottage style bungalow, stroll around downtown Iowa City and the pedmall, feast their eyes upon the fresh produce and much more at the farmer's market, eat breakfast at The Hamburg Inn, experience german life at the Amana Colonies, shop at Kalona's Stringtown Grocery with the Amish, pick a "perfectly crisp apple" at Wilson's apple orchard, join us at our church, take Bailey to the dog park and even saw a Clydesdale foal!

I knew I was homesick, but I did not realize just how sick for home I truely was until they came. It was a much needed visit and I loved every minute of it! I think that my favorite quote from the weekend was when I took mom and dad to the school and Brooke's students saw them walking toward the front with me. (Let me interject for a moment--we all go by our first names, and love it! read: major sacrasm) As we walked toward the building, Xavier announced to Brooke's class, "Look, its Mr. and Mrs. Sarah!" Enough said.

As I write this and relive the memories we made during their first trip to the Hawkeye state, I remember with much joy what a truely great time we had! Thanks mom and dad for visiting, I can't wait until we do it again--I dare you to come in the winter :).

The Hamburg Inn, Saturday morning

Shopping at the Farmer's market

Festive Fall Foliage at Amana


Movie Stars we met in Amana

You know you're not in the south anymore....a bakery in Amana that spelled Y'all as any yankee would...Ya All

Scenic countryside, only 15 miles outside of Iowa City!

Amish owned, Stringtown Grocery

Kalona's locals

Mom's quest for "an apple that snaps when you bite it"

What a great hubby, Niles hates apples!

Sampling the fruits of their labor

Clydesdale foal and her mama

This is horsepower!

SISTER, SISTER!
I don't even know what to say. My best friend in the whole world came to see me! As usual the weekend was WAY too short. It seems like as soon as Katie arrived she had to turn around and head home. She was a trooper, sleeping on the couch and sharing the only bathroom. She even had the joy of moving her hands between the hot water spicket and the cold water spicket in the bathroom to create a temperate mix of water to wash her face!

Of course, we shopped. We also made a trip to Kalona and stocked up at Stringtown Grocery. Katie was able to meet Brooke, and even some of my students since she accompanied us to the school's Harvest Festival. She was able to see it all, and as she says, she can now put a mental picture with our many, many phone conversations. One highlight of our trip was the I-80 Truckstop. This was a "must see" according to dad. We did not make it inside but did have many laughs trying to get the photo underneath the sign.

Look closely, we really are there!

CHICAGO

There really is life in the midwest--its in Chicago! For Brooke's birthday we made the trip to Chicago for a good dose of southern drawl from Paula Deen. Michigan Avenue was trimmed in holiday beauty, the shops were a buzz with people and great deals-- it was a great way to kick off the 2007 Christmas shopping season!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

So, my years as a 20 something are nearing an end, much to my dismay. This year I celebrated my 29th birthday in grand style. Niles sent an amazing bouquet of my favorite flowers (Star Gazer Lillies) to school and despite his hectic class schedule he made time to take me to Taste on Melrose with Brooke and Kate. For now, I am 29 and holding....

LET IT SNOW

Since we returned from Georgia at Thanksgiving there has been snow on the ground. It really is beautiful to wake up on Saturday morning to complete quiet with the streets covered in a blanket of white. It does not take long however, for the picture perfect scenario to really get on your nerves! With the beauty comes ice covered streets, shoveling snow, de-icing the car, huge--very unattractive coats, gloves, mittens, long underwear...the list goes on! But, for that one brief moment it truely is amazingly pristine.

Bailey loves the white, fluffy stuff. He finds great joy in running after the ball and then as he brings it back he purposefully drops it in the snow so that he can dig for it. It is so fun to watch! He does not love the salt we have to put on our walk...poor puppy, the salt stings his feet. Never fear, Bailey, we will be back on the beach before you know it!

Romney wins Iowa Straw Poll 2007!

Today we did something that you can only do in Iowa--we went to the Republican Straw Poll. Thanks to our friends, the McCords, who are huge Romney supporters we were given tickets to this mock primary.

Historically, this event has foreshadowed the candidate to win the Republican nomination for the Presidential Election. Bush won in 1999, Romney won in 2007.15,000 people attended this year's poll in Ames, Iowa (2 hours west of I.C.) and Niles & I made up 2 of that number. We left Saturday morning from the HyVee parking lot in Coralville on chartered coaches provided by the Romney campaign. We were served refreshments, given t-shirts, and watched a DVD to get us pumped up for Romney. After arriving we were taken to the polling area where neither Niles or I could vote since we still proudly hold Georgia driver licenses (technically we were charlatans since we did not make our support official by punching the chad). Romney paid top dollar for spot "center stage" with a huge tent, stage, live music, rock climbing wall, inflatable playgrounds, COLD water, COKE products (already a little gold star in my book), BBQ, misters to cool the patrons and plenty of seating. We chowed down on tangy Iowa-style BBQ sandwiches and then headed into the air conditioned coliseum to hear the candidates give their speeches. Prior to the candidates being introduced however, the Vice President of the NRA spoke as did Newt Gingrich--it was Republican to the core! Once the speeches were given we headed out, once again, to the Romney camp where we were able to meet him and his wife, Anne. With signatures and photos procured we wandered the aisles scoping out the other candidates' set ups while pouring buckets of sweat in the excruciating Iowa heat. As an aside, I am told that I will be wishing it was this hot come January! By 3:30 we were back to the buses to head home.Today, we were a part of history. We did something that we will more than likely never do again--something you can only do in Iowa. It was a great day with new friends and a chance to watch high-stakes politics in action.

Please notice the ironic tid bits from the slide show:

1. Notice the difference between Ron Paul's mode of transportation and the "Mitt Mobile"

2. Only in Iowa do you see a bicycle taxi

3. The back of the coliseum was filled with bloggers and reporters with computers and high speed connections, yet you had to give a thumb print in pink ink to ensure that you did not vote twice (No, we were not in Iraq!)

Its Not that Liberals are Ignorant, Its just that what they know is wrong. -R. Reagan

In preparation for the Iowa Straw Caucus on Saturday, Mitt Romney came to Iowa City. Julie, Addie & I went to Iowa River Power Restaurant for lunch and a question/answer session with the governor. This was my first "close encounter" with a presidential candidate. He gave a brief speech, highlighting the "3 legged stool" on which his campaign is based: strengthening the military, strengthening the economy, and strengthening family--all of which build to strengthening America. To me, his most impressive statement was when he addressed strengthening family. He was bold in saying that the first step to strengthening family was to teach children that marriage comes before babies.

Following his speech the floor was opened to "citizen's" questions. The media was not allowed to ask questions. Being in middle America (farm country) many of the questions that were asked centered around agriculture, one question was asked about education and one about medical care asked by a med student. Of course, there was also the token "green" question about alternative fuels--of which I know nothing but was impressed with the governor's knowledge of the "granola" jargon.

We have been in Iowa City for a little over a month now and I had no idea that there were other Republicans here! I have never seen so many Obama and Hilary bumper stickers--it was refreshing to spend time with like-minded, RIGHT individuals.

One of Romney's aides took the photo of us (which explains why MY head is cut off and Mitt's is perfectly centered) and the other photo is of Romney just after signing a bobble head doll of himself.

All in all it was an enjoyable afternoon, I love politics and am amped for the 2008 elections! Dad, get the speaker phone ready, I am sure there will be many hours of simultaneously watching the Fox analysts while on the phone but not saying a word.

www.mittromney.com

**On another note, you cannot see how cute my hair is, but trust me, Joel would be proud.

Shear Joy

I have found that one of the hardest things about moving to a new city is finding the perfect person to cut my hair. I have wandered the mall looking for girls with cute cuts just to ask them who cut their hair! My search is over; today I found someone to cut my hair! It may seem trite however, a great haircut can turn a somewhat crappy day into a great day. For me, if my hair is sufficiently coiffed then I feel better about myself. As of 2:00 today my unmanageable mane has been tamed and my hair is basking in its former glory.

All is right with in the world of hair.

My Australian Shepherd is Smarter Than Your Honor Student

Since there are no kids to brag about with spaghetti all over their faces, or taking their first steps, or dipping their toes in the ocean, I decided to take my camera to the dog park tonight. One of the greatest things about Iowa City is the awesome dog park!

I swear that after our first journey to the park Bailey memorized the route and now could lead me there if I wind up with memory loss. The closer we get the more excited he becomes. Tonight was no exception & he had a great time! He obviously loves to sniff the other dogs. As of tonight, he nominated himself as the official greeter. When he heard the gate open with "fresh meat" arriving he bolted over to the poor dog begging his ower to let him off the leash and gave him a good sniffing, then allowed him to join the rest of the dogs in play. When we finally left and got in the car he was so hot and panting that I just had to snap a photo of that tongue!

It is amazing to me that we can spend 45 minutes at the park with him in a full out sprint most of the time and when we come home he is still ready to play and begs us to put peanut butter in his Kong!

I wish I had half his energy...

So it Begins....

Ok, so we are in Iowa!

We survived the grueling 2 day trip in a 26 foot Penske with Bailey as copilot.

Niles did a great job maneuvering the behemoth with the Subaru (wrapped in blue painters tape to protect the paint) on the trailer behind us! There were a few tight spots--a gas station in Illinois that I thought we would be making our home--however, with a little finesse and lots of prayers we were back on the road!

All we heard on the news in Georgia before we left were drought warnings, we had not seen a rain drop in months; until we pulled into Iowa City. We took the car off the trailer in a mild lightning storm and did a once over of our little "cottage" before crashing at the hotel.

The next day we woke up to forecasts of R-A-I-N. According to Mark Schnackenberg (doesn't that sound like a mid-west name!) we had a narrow window between 10 am and 3 pm to unload the truck without precipitation. So, it was like the supermarket sweep of moving. As fast as we could with little attention or care for room placement we unloaded furniture and boxes and boxes and boxes and....you get the picture. In the end we were successful, we managed to unload all 26 feet without a single drop of rain. The fun began when we started sorting and unpacking the boxes inside. Again, this is a "cottage", once the boxes were in the house there was little room for us; let alone our sainted helpers, Niles' parents!

Obviously, we have had plenty of time to settle in. Niles kept saying we needed a "go-go-gadget" house; one that would expand to fit all of our "necessities" we'd brought with us from home. But in the end we are here with plenty of room to spare (thanks to the basement).

Now the hard part, adjusting to life in Iowa.