I Live in Obamaha

Well, it's about time. I finally got my "free if you donate $12" Obama shirt from MoveOn.org.



I'm going to wear it to family functions and to work. Start some trouble.

I love that politics are finally cool. I gotta say though that I enjoy reading about politics and watching it on the news, but I hate talking about it. Everyone has their own opinion. Mine happens to be that Obama is stellar. Yours may not be. That's cool. Let's not get worked up over it.

Grandma's Sewing Machine

The height of my sewing skills came around the eighth grade when I learned how to sew make up bags in Home Ec. Still though, I like to sew little projects around the house. Make some curtains here, hem a pant leg there. My mom loaned me her sewing machine prior to the wedding when I was crafting my butt off. Then, when my mom's family came to Omaha for said wedding, my aunt brought me one of my grandma's sewing machines that she had at her house. I was really excited to get it, but ever since she gave it to me it's been sitting in the box in my office.

My grandma passed away almost two years ago. She was living with my aunt and uncle at the time because she was suffering from Alzheimer's and well... you know. She always thought that her sewing machine was broken, so she'd go out and buy a new one every so often to replace it. I think when she died she owned four perfectly functioning sewing machines, but she thought they were all broken. I don't think she ever took any of them out of the boxes. The one I ended up with was still in its original packaging.

It sat unopened until tonight because I couldn't bring myself to open it. It breaks my heart to think of my poor grandmother spending hundreds of dollars at a time on sewing machines that she'll never use, because she doesn't know any better. I opened it up tonight but didn't use it. Inside the box was a receipt for $229 and a warranty with her name on it. It's dated less than a year before she died.

I used the loaner machine from my mom tonight. I know that I should use grandma's machine and appreciate her unintentional gift to me, rather than never use it. Maybe next time...

Fight the Good Fight!

I'm fighting the urge right now to buy this jumper from Target. It's 30% off! And lots of Christmas parties are coming up! It's so easy to rationalize buying it!

I already ordered a digital photography tip book from amazon today so I should just cool it. I'm going to go clean the bathroom and distract myself from internet shopping.

Yesterday and Today Photos

I've become the unofficial photographer for all things family related. This, happens to be what my family does... I have the pleasure of getting to photograph it. The brothers performed their show, Yesterday and Today, last week in Des Moines. (My husband is in the middle.)

Fly the Friendly Skies

I'm in a surprisingly good mood at the moment! I bought tickets to Las Vegas for Matt and I back on October 1st. I checked back at Southwest today to see if the prices have dropped, and sure enough, they have! I was livid! The prices for the exact same flights went down $62 for the pair of tickets! They are super-saver fares so they aren't refundable. I called their customer service number anyways and kept my cool with the customer service lady. Guess what? They couldn't give me a refund, but I now have a $62 voucher for my next flight. Not bad! Southwest isn't the most luxurious airline to fly on, but boy is it cheap. And you still get free peanuts and don't have to pay to check bags.

We flew Northwest for our trip to California and I will never again fly with them. It's $15 to check your first bag, $25 for the second! God help you if your bag weighs over 50 pounds. That will be an extra $50. When we checked in for our flight home, we didn't get seats next to each other. The kiosk told me that we would have to pay an extra $25 to switch seats, even though there was an empty seat next to each of us. We checked in and then had to haggle with the lady at the terminal counter to switch. It was ridiculous. The airline switched our flights so many times in the weeks leading up to the trip that we had a five hour layover in Minneapolis. We ended up paying $25 each to switch our tickets to an earlier flight that was nearly empty. Why couldn't they have given us that flight in the first place since they'd already switched it four times? It didn't make sense. The service was terrible and they gouge passengers with crazy fees every time they ask for something.

Airlines need to learn that good customer service and reasonable policies are always appreciated, just like any other business. Also, people need to learn that some times all you have to do is call and ask politely.

Oh, the show was good too.

The older I get, the happier I am to return home to Omaha after time away. I breathed a literal sigh of relief when I passed over the Mormon Bridge back into Nebraska. Des Moines was alright. No offense to anyone who lives there, but it's kind of a strange place. They have a very nice cultural district with a great museum and a community playhouse. It's near a neighborhood of very fancy houses (owned by millionaires) that are tucked away in hills and thick trees. But when you leave that area, the city becomes pretty indescript. Parts of it look just like west Omaha. Other parts look just like Minneapolis. It's bizarre. And then there was the Machine Shed...

The Machine Shed is basically a better version of Cracker Barrel, where you get served giant meals by people in overalls and John Deere hats. It's very Iowa. We were told that Machine Shed had the best breakfast around, so we went and were surprisingly greeted by a gut-busting buffet. I love breakfast but I cannot begin to tell you how much I hate buffets. They're very odd and the food is never as good as if it had been made just for you. Buffets only belong at banquets and receptions out of sheer necessity. The only good buffet that I can recall was at a place called Bishop's, and even then it was more like a lunch line than a buffet. They had the most incredible French silk pie, but they closed years and years ago and that delicious pie is a thing of the past.

I got home and crashed into bed, where I watched Sex and the City and stayed until 7:00. The sight of our comfy, fluffy, polka dot covered bed after that awful hotel bed was one of complete and utter relief, and I couldn't get up once I plopped down in it. I eventually got up, did a little work, showered, made Matt a home cooked meal of... soup. There's nothing more comforting than soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I made bean and bratwurst soup, which was delicious despite the description on it. Another thing I've grown to love with age: black eyed peas. (The legume. Not the band.) They're good in just about anything. Black eyed peas and brats? Hell yes.

It's wonderful to have Matt home. As much as I loved cuddling in bed with Dingo in his absence, there's nothing like the Real Deal Holyfield.

Dude.

Dude. It's snowing in Denver? You keep that shit to yourself, Colorado.