Beth and I were watching The Today Show this morning.  They had a feature on Seniors playing the Wii.  We knew Beth’s grandma (Grammy as we call her) played at her retirement home.  Low and behold the story was shot there.  Next thing we know we’re seeing Grammy on TV!  It was pretty sweet.

In fact she’s the one on the far right in the screen shot.

Back in January I posted about the court debate over Prop 8.  As you all probably know by now, the court upheld Prop 8.  I still firmly believe that was the right thing to do.  The people of CA voted for Prop 8 and the courts should not invalidate their wishes.  That is the way our government is set up.

Had the court ruled the other way it would have been a blow to our form of government.  The issue in this case was not about gay marriage, but about the rule of law.  The people voted to define marriage in their constitution, and the court says that’s okay.  It’s a victory for our system of government.

Comments welcome.

The people demand that I blog, and so here is your update!  I attempted to post one a while back from my phone, but I think it got lost in the nether regions of the phone and the intertubes.  Not sure where it is, but I think it’s gone.

Work is a lot slower these days.  Or perhaps quieter is a better word.  There is still a fair amount to do, but with the Members gone (for the most part) it’s not as hectic as it was.  There are a few things to wrap up, and that demands a fair amount of attention.  But I typically don’t have 7 different things going on, so it’s easy to focus on one project at a time.

We’re doing more stuff around the house.  The pool is up and running for the summer.  I may just jump in later today.  We’ll see.  We’ve painted the guest room. That’s the one room we hadn’t touched since we moved in (minus everything down stairs).  So that’s not a lovely shade of green.  I’ve got to put some new blinds in there today.

We’re also working on getting the downstairs bathroom into shape.  With the summer coming up and more people going to be here for pool parties, etc. we figured a second functioning bathroom would be great.  Well, it has always functioned, but by cleaning it up it will be more inviting to use.  That’s a better way to phrase it.  So that’s been keeping us busy too.

With summer almost here, or is it here already, I’m looking forward to spending time pool side and relaxing as much as possible.  Our house is a nice getaway with the pool in the back.  The porch is lovely and I think I’d take this place over having a cabin up north any day of the week.

That’s enough for now.  There’s more stuff I’ll be posting about life in general.  So be on the look out!

Deadlines in the House are Coming up. That means there are very long debates on the omnibus bills. While it is kind of interesting.

So while the hours are long, it is kind of fun. We are cranking a lot of things out which is great. Being productive is a wonderful thing.

I am slightly disappointed the weather is really nice while I’m stuck inside. Too bad it will rain all weekend.

Our dishwasher has been broken since January.  Which, just as luck would have it, was 1 month after the warranty had expired.  So today I went and got a new motor for it.  I pulled the dishwasher out and got the new motor and everything in.  It really wasn’t too hard.  I was surprised at how smooth it went.  Perhaps my handyman skills are improving.

Sadly that didn’t fix the problem.  So there’s one other thing that it could possibly be.  I’m looking into how much it will cost to fix that.  I’m not sure, but we’ll see.

And on a completely unrelated note I washed part of the kitchen floor today too!

I’m a big fan of mini-brownie muffins.  They are delightful.  Well I was hungry for cookies and decided to make mini-muffin cookies.

I am happy to report they are quite delicious.

It’s a great day out of the year!

For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, you know who you are, you may not know this.  Recently I was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission in Blaine.  I was appointed by the Mayor with confirmation by the City Council.

It’s a pretty exciting thing.  It’s a volunteer position, which is fine.  One night a month, with some hours reviewing the agenda and getting ready for the meeting.  It’s a great step on my career path and moves me along toward my future goals.

If you want to learn a little bit about the Blaine Planning and Zoning Comission you can check out their website. They have vido archives of the meeting and you can even stream it live.  So check out this site and you can watch me being sworn into office at 7.

So I’ve had a lot of good thoughts on blog postings. But they all come to me before I fall asleep and leave me before I wake up.

Perhaps I’ll remember some of them and put them up for your reading pleasure.

President Bush, you have served our country, and I am grateful for that.  You have kept us safe, and strengthened our security.  While I may not have agreed with every single proposal or thing you have done, you were a good President.

Mr. President you have served our country honorably for the last 8 years.  You’ve not always had an easy time, but no President does.  You always seem to be in good spirits, which impresses me.  Mrs. Bush has always been a First Class lady, and her time as First Lady has touched many lives.  Thank you, Mrs. Bush, for your service and your dedication to your country and husband.

It was an honor and privilege to work for you in D.C.  Getting the chance to work with the great group of people that served you was amazing.  Meeting you and Mrs. Bush were some of the highlights of my time, and I carry memories with me that I’ll never forget.  The chance to live history was something I’ll cherish forever.

My office, both at work and at home, are constant reminders of the great times I’ve had serving you and Mrs. Bush.  The pictures and letters are a constant reminder of your good nature, your humor, and your kindness.  To meet you was to truly see who you are, which no television cameras can convey.

As the sun sets on your Presidency I, like you, look forward to the future of our country.  I pray we will remain a “shining city on a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.”  I thank you again for your service, and may God bless you and Mrs. Bush.

And it got busy at work.  It was kind of fun.  It’s nice to be busy again.  The fast pace of session is nice.  I’m really liking working with the new members cool.  So overall I’m liking it a lot. It’s also back to full time again.  They’re not sure if that’s permanent or not yet, but five days a week is nice again too.

The other night Kari and Adam came over for dinner.  Beth had to call me and remind me so I would come home.  Otherwise I would have been working even later.  It was fun to hang out agian.  We hadn’t seen them since their wedding I think.

We got Beth a new car.  A Pontiac Bonneville.  It’s a nice car, it has around 95,000 miles on it, but it seems to run well.  I was worried about the mileage, but we were able to get a warranty on it.  So it doesn’t worry too much.  Plus we’ve heard from a number of people who have driven their Bonnevilles for over 230,000 and a few over 300,000.  So that’s pretty exciting.

Last Sunday Idrove the parents truck back up to LP.  The roads were not good.  The freeway was covered with ice.  I saw at least a dozen cars in the ditch, two on their side, and one on it’s roof.  But by the time I road back to St. Cloud wiht my aunt and uncle it was good again.  Beth picked me up and we were traveling 70 mph.

I’m glad to be done with that.  And I’m looking forward to relaxing the next couple of days.

It’s off to a good start too.  Even though we’re only 13 hours into 2009, I’d say it’s pretty good.  The coffee is tasty, the rolls were delicious, and the temperature is above 0!  After all of the auld lang syne I’m relaxing at home.  My wife is even home with me this year, so that makes it a little better than last.

Looking back at 2008 I can say it was a good year.  The trip out to PA (pictures) was one of the highlights of the year for me.  It was fun to meet Beth’s side of the family more.  PA is a good place to visit as well.

It was the first full year in our house, which was fun.  Getting the pool up and running was nice.  We’ve recently done some small projects around here to make it a little more homie.  While it takes a fair amount of money, owning a house is worth it!

We had a number of friends and family get married in 2008.  So we got to see a number of friends and to do a little bit of traveling in as well.  A fun mini-vacation added to the good memories of this year.

It was a year of new things as well.  From a new car to new phones, and a new nephew, with no new jobs (we left that to 2007).  As for Beth’s need for a new car we’ll get that squared away in 2009.

Of course the year in review wouldn’t be complete with out some mention of the elections.  Even though my guy for President didn’t win, I still got to see him.  My guy for State Rep. did win!  It will be interesting to see the next two years, which I’ve talked about before.

That sums up 2008 for me, at least everything I can remember.  I hope it was great for you.  Best wishes and blessings for your 2009!

Merry Christmas to all!  Even though it’s only Christmas Eve.  Today I’ll be busy cleaning, baking pies, and getting things ready for the family to come down.  They’ll be here a few days so I probably won’t blog much.  I might try to get some pictures up though.  We’ll see how it works.

Also, don’t forget to track Santa with me today!  You can do that thanks to Norad right here.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Two years ago today Beth and I exchanged vows.  It doesn’t seem like it’s been two years.  But if the first two are any indication of the many years to come I’m looking forward to it!

Beth has to work today, while I get to hang out at home.  Although, I’m working at home!  The maid service (aka me) at Hotel Bleess is in full swing.  Last night Beth’s family spent the night here, as a pit stop on their way to Tennessee.  So I’m cleaning up, washing towels and sheets, and everything else getting ready for my family to descend upon our place over the next couple of days.

So I’m getting things ready for Christmas.  I need to wrap a few presents that arrived yesterday.  Start preparing some food, and run a few errands. I’ll be heading out shortly to do those, hopefully to be the crowds!

So enjoy your time working today (for those at work) and some time off for those who have a little vacation!