Sidewalks

So recently there have been some questions regarding using sidewalks. Are bikes supposed to be on them, are you not supposed to walk on the sidewalk but rather in the road???

After the game on Saturday, we are almost home and on the main street near our house there are 4 girls walking in the street. So Josh slows down, not one of the girls gets out of the way, so he honks. Three of the girls move to the right side of the street, however one of the girls continue to walk down the middle of the street. What is it with people????? Weren't they ever taught any sort of street rules in school?? Do they think they have the right of way, what happens if they get hit? Probably the car drivers fault. So if there is a sidewalk to walk on use it! If there is no sidewalk please walk on the side of the road opposite of the flow of traffic. Also use a crosswalk if it is available, and look both ways. If pedestrians follow the rules it allows drivers to follow the rules. Same with bikers.

Grumpy Sports Fans

So it was gameday. Amber drove up to join me at the football game. So Jolene, Amber and I thought we would check out the sites on Melrose Ave before the game. We even caught up with someone we knew. We weren't too hungry so we also shopped around, Amber bought a new hat.

It was time to go into the stadium, and it was supposedly 66 degrees, I tell you they are always soo wrong, it was probably 86 degrees inside.

We went to our seats, and I had went to get a pop. I came back and Amber had a story to tell me. The lady that sits to the right of us, was in a mood!!! Amber was just sitting in the row alone, no one else was there. The grumpy lady came down and declares that Amber move over becuase she is in her seat. At this time there was no one else there, so what difference did it make where you sat.

So the row and seats started filling in. Just after the first quarter was underway, the same grumpy old lady, says to Amber, "scoot down, I am not on the center of my number, I am seat 10" Yikes, no one in the row was on their seat number. So I scooted to practically sit on the guys lap next to me. Amber then debated sitting on my lap or standing the rest of the game.

Yes the seats are narrow, not wide enough for all us fat people, but if the whole row fits in, not on their assigned seat numbers, does it really matter??? I don't know what crawled up her butt that day, but she was pretty set upon sittin in her seat.

On another note I managed to catch my first t-shirt at a sporting event. I dont' know if it becuase I am never close enough to the shirts or I am unlucky, but this game I got a shirt. A Palermo's Pizza shirt. I have yet to figure out what Palermo's Pizza is.

Oh and the hawks managed to lose the game, a game they had a chance to win.

Lots to blog about

Argh!! So I had this blog already typed out...and it disappeared into cyber space. I think the problem occured when I tried to upload a video of Chuck Berry shakin his groove thing at the homecoming concert. Try this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLhhUAKMMP0

Well to make a long story short....last friday night was the Iowa Homecoming parade it started at 5:45 pm. So I thought I would be able to get out of work early to attend. I usually allow enough time to walk from our house, and get a ride from our neighbor who I meet up with to watch the parade. I was running late out of work, so then I thought I would catch the bus downtown. So I took 5 seconds to take a shower, then a few more seconds to make sure the dogs were ok, and grabbed my stuff and out the door. Well i was 2 houses away from the bust stop when the bus pulled away. I had been running down the block with no shoes on, there was no time and just missed the freakin bus. The driver could have at least looked my way. So there is was 5:20 and I had to book it downtown some way. So I laced up my sneakers and walked all the way downtown. Well I made it in 25 minutes, I am a speedwalker. I didn't miss one second of the parade.

After the parade was the coronation ceremonies and small pep rally followed by a concert. The opening act was a colleg band called Rooney, never heard of them, and I was super tired from walking so fast downtown that I had to sit and take a break. Then finally it was the headliner, Chuck Berry. If I can figure out how to load my video I will, I think it is too big a file for this, maybe I can link u-tube. Chuck Berry can still rock at 81 years young. The tempo of the songs are a little slower, but the guy still has it. At 81 I hope i remember to at least shower.

Then becuase it was 10:30 and most restuarant kitchens are closed Jolene and I made our way over to the IHOP for supper. It was a long night, all to wake up early for the foot ball game.

false alarm

OK so all of you that were saddened by the news of my destroyed tea mug....it's ok. It was a false alarm. I must be so caught up in my morning routine of grabbing my mug and heading to my car, that I assumed I took it with me yesterday. In fact the mug never left the kitchen counter, it sat there all day long while I worried it was gone forever. So never assume people, it only makes an "ass" out of "u" and "me."

Fall is here

It is that time of year again, time for carmel apples....mmmmm....so gooey and sticky, and all that carmel that gets stuck in your teeth, so delicious.

Well I managed to make it 20 minutes without stopping on a run last night. However I almost got run over by one biker and another biker threw me aside into a bush, well sort of. I was not happy, so I asked Josh what the law was in Iowa City. Apparently bikes can ride on the sidewalks in town, great!!! Some sidewalks are not big enough for the both of us, especially when there is a bush to get thrown into. I don't mind if young kids are on the sidewalk, but for those adults who know the rules of the road...oh wait there are like 8 bicyclists in Iowa City that know the rules...any way ride on the road, or watch out for people on the sidewalks. Iowa City has never been biker vs pedestrian friendly.

Also this morning as I went to my car, I loaded up the dogs and set my tea mug on the top of my car....well I haven't seen it since. So no tea for me this morning, what a great start. Also I am out a travel mug, it was the one I got in Las Vegas, so if you see it rolling around on the street somewhere , send it back to me.

A New Can

Well the stupid hawkeyes managed to lose their first game this season only by one point. Hopefully with the upcoming homecoming game they can get things turned around and get a big win. In other sports news the Cubs are on to post season play for the second year in a row, maybe this is the year? Also the Red Sox are close to getting into the post season as well, so baseball will continue on forever.

This morning when I left the house, I almost backed over a new trash can. The city of Iowa City thinks everyone in town needs a huge 65 gallon trash can on wheels, that the trash mobile can pick up with a robotic arm so the lazy workers don't have to pick up the cans or even get out of their trucks. I am sorry if any one is a trashman, but come on. What are we supposed to do with our perfectly fine trash cans now? The city is offering to take them away for free, but no mention of recycling them, what a waste!!!! Also I hope our trash will fit in these cans, each extra bag that does not fit will cost $1, and these extra bags need to be placed on top of the new fancy can, so the worker doesn't have to get out of the truck. They claim these new cans will be good becuase it will reduce worker injuries...... Ahh what is next? They already have metering systems for the water in which they don't even have to get out of their trucks to check on. I guess maybe our mail will be coming via pneumatic tubes or we will have to all install mailboxes at the curb so the postal worker doesn't have to get out of their mail mobile. America is lazy!!! oh and on that note, I am continuing to train for a 5K race and this evening I will run or 20 mins solid without stopping...so if you see me dead on a sidewalk in Iowa City i have passed out from running...hopefully not becuase the 65 gallons of trash has not rolled over me.

Bakin Miracle

Who knew they made such a product...Bakin' Miracle. Cuz it's a miracle that we are baking? Any way Josh and I got some Tilapia (that's fish for you land lovers) and were torn on how to cook it. We have tried putting it in foil and grilling it, but it just seems to get too mushy and lacks any flavor no matter how we season it. So it was a miracle when we shuffled over to the Shake N Bake aisle at the grocery store to find the Bakin Miracle, for about $1.95. This stuff is like Shake N Bake but advertises its use for fish.

So tonight we preheated the oven, dipped our fish and shook on the Bakin Miracle, and watched the fish bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Well we actually went about and did other things, we didn't actually sit in front of the oven at stare at the fish, duh!

The fish was finally done, and it was soo good. The miracle was we had fish that looked like it had a fried outer shell, but it was baked. This stuff is great, who knew they made such a thing?

Other people are solving the world's problems, but Josh and I are enjoying the miracle of baked fish. We are living the high life!

Sunday

Wow another week has passed, even though some seem to go by slowly, they all go by fast and pretty soon it will be Christmas. However nothing too exciting happened this last week. Josh did some reffing, I did some working, the dogs went for a walk, we got some groceries, yadda yadda yadda.

Then there was the in state football rivalry. Iowa vs Iowa State. It was to be the first real test for the Hawkeyes this year. They managed to win the game, it was a good time. Amber came up to join me at the game. It rained for about 24 hours before the start of the game and on and off throughout the game, but it was still humid.

Now I am in Guttenberg to clean some rooms and will be back home by tomorrow. Who knows how this week will shape up. I am sure there will be some working, dog walking and reffing, and we already got the groceries earlier today.

Also our thoughts are with our friends in Texas, hope all is well and they get power restored soon.

Taking Donations

Looks like it has been a long time since I last blogged...I am getting bad at this, might have to hire someone to do this for me.

The weather here has finally cooled down. It was steamy for a while. We have had some rain and temperatures no warmer than 75 this last week. However the person who is in charge of the temperature at the football games should be fired! It is atleast 20 degrees warmer in that stadium, than what they announce at kickoff. Last Saturday it was 62, but there were many lobsterfied sunburns. Can't wait for next week, it is a "black out" we are supposed to wear black, can only hope the annouced temperature will be 45 degrees.

All 67 million of you reading this blog are probably in so much suspense wondering what the title of this post means. Well if you see the picture of my glasses in about 20 pieces, or what pieces we could find you will understand. So having a puppy means that you need to keep an eye on them all the time, not just check in with them every 10 minutes. Also do not leave anything any lower than the height of your rain gutters. They will chew on everything. We seemed to have gotten the chewing of my shoes under control (she never chews on Josh's shoes), however when you keep your glasses on the night stand, it is perfect dog chew toy, and the above picture is what remains. So I am taking donations to get some new glasses, ok just kidding. However these glasses were brand new in April, and I still have my old outdated (prescription) ones that I can wear. Luckily I wear contacts too, this problem just hampers my late night TV watching, I guess I will have to move the TV closer.

In other news, Amber is engaged. I know finally after 4 years. No date has been set, however if they don't do it quick her hand is going to get tired hauling around all those diamonds on her finger. She is not happy with the fact that I told her a fall wedding is out, that is football season, who gets married on a football Saturday????

Football Season

Saturday was the official start to Iowa football. It was a hot one. Probably about 423 degrees in the stadium, we did all we could to keep our clothes on. Iowa won the game 46-3 over the Maine Blackbears. I tailgated with the neighbor Jolene, where we discovered that colby jack cheese is good with peanut butter.

Saturday was also the National Varstity Club supper and the Iowa Hall of Fame supper. There were many people inducted into the Iowa Hall of Fame, among them were West Branch's own Marv Cook, so exciting! Also included were Dr. Tom and the doctor who did Josh's knee surgery last year, among many others.

Sunday was a quiet one for us, we cleaned up the house and ran some errands, we even went to Menards. It was another hot day though, the humidty seems to be about 99.9 percent.

We celebrated the Labor Day holiday by hosting the Franklin Street Block Party. It was a success, many people joined in on the fun, we got to interact with the newbies on the street. We also discovered that people like to drink alcohol, usually that is very hush-hush. It was also hot and very humid, when is the weather going to break!