Hope was running high in Ames last night. The weather was beautiful. ISU has a new coach, new systems, new players, new attitude. The tailgating was in full effect. Reports were coming in from patients that traffic was snarled up all over town. We hurriedly bolted out of the office with my brother and sister-in-law so that we could get to the game before kickoff. The team emerged from the smoke filled tunnel to 47,000+ people cheering. They teed it up and proceeded to...
STINK IT UP!
They were terrible. On both sides of the ball. It was very difficult to watch. If not for a couple of fortunate turnovers deep in ISU territory, we could have very well lost by another 10-14 points. My expectations for this season were fairly low anyway, but this game was one I thought was going to be a notch in the "Win" column. It's hard to believe, but we may actually be worse than last year.
It's going to be a looooooooong season in Cloneville.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Marching Out
Either the 409 was so toxic that the ants couldn't go near the sprayed areas or Tony scared them away with the vacuum. Regardless, they have marched themselves out of our house.
Tony & Kel: 1
Ants: 0
We take victory where we can.
Tony & Kel: 1
Ants: 0
We take victory where we can.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Marching In
The ants are marching in. I always wish I could prevent it, but each spring and summer, the little tiny ants invade (my mom calls them "sweet ants", but there's nothing sweet about them infesting our kitchen).
This morning Tony pried himself out of bed first and ventured down for some water. My enjoyable minutes of being a bed-bug were cut short by the sound of the vacuum. He had the attachments out and was going after the ants. I decided to join in on the attack with some 409. Folks, it's scary how quickly 409 kills ants. Makes you wonder if you should be spraying it on something your food could touch.
The ants feasted well overnight as two of the four traps we set out yesterday were licked clean. We set out more traps before we left for work. Hopefully they will decide that our home is not a hospitable environment and march themselves out.
This morning Tony pried himself out of bed first and ventured down for some water. My enjoyable minutes of being a bed-bug were cut short by the sound of the vacuum. He had the attachments out and was going after the ants. I decided to join in on the attack with some 409. Folks, it's scary how quickly 409 kills ants. Makes you wonder if you should be spraying it on something your food could touch.
The ants feasted well overnight as two of the four traps we set out yesterday were licked clean. We set out more traps before we left for work. Hopefully they will decide that our home is not a hospitable environment and march themselves out.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...
Kel and I are big fans of the State Fair. We try and go down for at least one day each year to soak in all the sights, sounds and "fair-omas."
We finally had our chance to go on Saturday. It was a nearly perfect day weather-wise for fairgoing. We got there at around 9 and were able to take in all the major sights very quickly without having to wait around in line. That gave us plenty of time to mosey through the animal barns, the 4-H Building and the commercial exhibits.
In total our State Fair experience was complete. Kel got to pet a baby pig. We saw the butter cow, the Super Bull, the Biggest Boar and the Biggest Ram. We counsumed our annual four-course fair lunch (details below) and ran into some friends that we hadn't seen in awhile.
This year's four-course fair lunch included:
We finally had our chance to go on Saturday. It was a nearly perfect day weather-wise for fairgoing. We got there at around 9 and were able to take in all the major sights very quickly without having to wait around in line. That gave us plenty of time to mosey through the animal barns, the 4-H Building and the commercial exhibits.
In total our State Fair experience was complete. Kel got to pet a baby pig. We saw the butter cow, the Super Bull, the Biggest Boar and the Biggest Ram. We counsumed our annual four-course fair lunch (details below) and ran into some friends that we hadn't seen in awhile.
This year's four-course fair lunch included:
- Appetizer: Cheese-on-a-Stick
- Main Course: Kel- Pork Chop-on-a-Stick; Tony- Footlong Corn Dog
- Side Dish: Sweet Potato Fries- This was our "new" thing to try this year. They were really good!
- Dessert: Deep Fat Fried Twinkie (on a stick, naturally)
Attached is slide show of some pictures we took at the fair. Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Spring has Sprung into Summer
After three years of driving quickly into our garage to avoid looking at our weed infested flowerbeds, this past spring we finally did something to improve them.
Many thanks to Tony's mom and dad for their help in choosing plants and preparing the beds as well as helping to plant everything. Thanks to Nicki for the lovely book carrying gnome. He contributes mightily to the ISU red and gold theme.
The hostas and day lilies have survived our care very well. As it has been so hot, they've kinda given up blooming, but the coreopsis in the front bed have kept blooming regardless of weather. Now that summer is in full swing the hibiscus and their lovely mammoth blooms are in their glory. And yes, we are aware that the hibiscus do not fall into the red and gold theme. The seeds were from red plants, but these particular plants seemed to have a different color in mind. As most of you are aware, pink is not a color I would ever choose for anything...but the blooms are so pretty I forget that every time I look at them.
Lusty Leland Day Lilies
We tried to come up with a better name, but he's known as "Gnomie" and you better not have a problem with that or he'll throw his little black book at you. He takes guarding the front flower bed very seriously--and you can tell by his attire that he is a huge Iowa State fan.
Here is the "so dark pink you think I might be red" hibiscus stretching out a morning bloom.
Many thanks to Tony's mom and dad for their help in choosing plants and preparing the beds as well as helping to plant everything. Thanks to Nicki for the lovely book carrying gnome. He contributes mightily to the ISU red and gold theme.
The hostas and day lilies have survived our care very well. As it has been so hot, they've kinda given up blooming, but the coreopsis in the front bed have kept blooming regardless of weather. Now that summer is in full swing the hibiscus and their lovely mammoth blooms are in their glory. And yes, we are aware that the hibiscus do not fall into the red and gold theme. The seeds were from red plants, but these particular plants seemed to have a different color in mind. As most of you are aware, pink is not a color I would ever choose for anything...but the blooms are so pretty I forget that every time I look at them.
Lusty Leland Day Lilies
We tried to come up with a better name, but he's known as "Gnomie" and you better not have a problem with that or he'll throw his little black book at you. He takes guarding the front flower bed very seriously--and you can tell by his attire that he is a huge Iowa State fan.
Here is the "so dark pink you think I might be red" hibiscus stretching out a morning bloom.
We Came to the Conclusion...
that we have been doing a really crummy job of keeping in touch with everyone. Some of you may be surprised to know that we are indeed still alive.
In brainstorming ideas of how to do a better job of communicating, we thought, "Why not start a blog?" Apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing. So, here it is!
Kel and I will be posting pictures and stories here to help keep everyone up to date on the goings on in our lives. Add us to your favorite aggregator (Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) or add us to your favorites folder for exciting updates. Ok, not all of them will be exciting, but they will be updates. In addition, we'd love to read your comments!
Here's a picture of us, just in case it has been so long that you've forgotten what we look like (plus, we've heard that blog posts are more interesting with pictures):
In brainstorming ideas of how to do a better job of communicating, we thought, "Why not start a blog?" Apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing. So, here it is!
Kel and I will be posting pictures and stories here to help keep everyone up to date on the goings on in our lives. Add us to your favorite aggregator (Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) or add us to your favorites folder for exciting updates. Ok, not all of them will be exciting, but they will be updates. In addition, we'd love to read your comments!
Here's a picture of us, just in case it has been so long that you've forgotten what we look like (plus, we've heard that blog posts are more interesting with pictures):
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