Random Thoughts and Occurrences

This is a post about some random thoughts and recent occurrences. I just can't think of enough to say about each one to make it its own post:

1. Gym Membership! Yes, we bought memberships to Bally Gym, and there was buyer's remorse immediately following! We tried the gym (2 minutes from our house, mind you!) for two weeks for free, and we both decided that we enjoyed it enough to sign the contract. They have an indoor pool for me, and weights/bike/etc. for Todd. It's been great to be back in the water! But all the negative consequences of swimming are occurring: seriously dry skin, the continual chlorine smell, and clogged ears. But how I love the water! It is the only exercise that I can do for an extended amount of time each day that doesn't give me cramps or body pains. Yes, the Bally Gym by our house is a little ghetto, but convenience, convenience, convenience is the key. We go when I get home from work at 4:30 and get back around 5:30, when most people are just getting home from work!

2. Cleaning the basement. Our basement is gross (I guess most Midwest basements are). It is slightly damp and kind of smells, plus there are a ton of bugs. But we have been working to keep it nice. Last Spring, we had a small flood and it ruined several of our boxes (and some of Todd's art work). As a result, mold started to form. This last weekend we finally upgraded to plastic totes for all of our stuff, in preparation of this coming Spring. It was a dirty job, but we had to do it. We have yet to go up to the attic...SCARY!

3. FYI: Todd packs the best lunches in the world. It is so nice to have him work at home.

4. Last night we watched Three Men and a Little Baby. I love that movie; I almost died laughing at the part when they are trying to change her diaper! Todd wasn't as excited about the movie as I was, but he made me watch Rocky (just kidding, I liked Rocky).

5. Since I work in Kansas, it is appropriate that I mention that Kansas became a state today (Jan 29th) 147 years ago. Just in case you wanted to know, Missouri became a state 187 years ago!

Well, that about does it for my random thoughts for now! Here's a pic of us!

Stranded, Cold, and Late

Yesterday we took our monthly trip to St. Louis to visit the temple there. Things didn't exactly go as planned though, starting the night before. After our date night, we came home and started to make muffins to take on the trip, but it wasn't long before we realized we had no eggs. So, we decided we would make some bread and honey butter, but for some "magical" reason, the bread maker wouldn't work (the next morning it was fine). With nothing to take with us for breakfast, we just downed a few bowls of cereal before we left.

As we left, the gas gauge was already on empty, but our trip odometer only read 322, which is far from the average 400 a tank that we get. We've hit 500 before, and on a temple trip last year, we chickened out at 492. So I was pretty sure we could just get gas along the way, somewhere in the middle of Missouri.

The gas light came on at 404. We've learned that in our car, that means that we have about two gallons of gas left, which is at least 45-50 miles, especially on the freeway. But, we came up on an exit with a gas station immediately, and I decided we should just gas-up there, until I saw the price was 20 cents more than every other advertised price I'd seen so far. So, we got back on the interstate headed for the next exit.

But, we didn't make it. Our car tricked us. It came to a slow stop off the side of the road just 11 miles after shining the gas light. I looked at the mile marker in front of us, and we were eight miles from the next advertised gas station. Off to the side of us was a billboard for the station we had just left advertising the adjoining Dairy Queen, only eight miles. We were out of gas, literally in the middle of two gas stations 16 miles apart, and it was 12 degrees outside.

Not to fear, though, we have AAA emergency roadside assistance. So I called, explained the situation, told her where we were, and she said she'd send someone, but it would be about an hour. It was cold, but we were still in pretty good spirits.




An hour and twenty minutes later, I called back and this time the first question asked was where I was, and I was transferred. The next woman I spoke to found no record that I had called before. By this time, it was really, really getting cold, and my nose was running. I hung up, feeling helpless. It would be another hour now. We got into the trunk and found a pair of fleece give-a-way Royals blankets, and the 72 hour car kit my parents gave us last Christmas. In the kit were a pair of heat packs that came in handy. A little after we called the second time, a highway patrol car pulled up behind us. He knocked on the window and we opened up. We were so happy to see him. He asked if we were broken down, and we told him the whole story. He called the local AAA tow truck affiliate and told us he would be there in about 15 minutes. After the tow truck showed up with a gas can and gave us a few gallons, and we scrounged up enough change to pay for the gas, we were back on the road, only a little more than two hours behind schedule.

We finally made it to the temple, but we just missed the session we wanted, which put us further behind. But, at least we didn't have any trouble on the way home. Not much, anyway.

Why Does This Always Happen?

Brooke and I have found a television series that we can get into. We don't watch Lost, or My Name is Earl, or Scrubs, The Office, E.R., or C.S.I. Until we stumbled onto this show, our favorite TV shows were The Cosby Show (we now own seasons 1-5) and Knight Rider (we've watched season's 1-3 so far via Netflix).

Our new favorite show is NBC's Journeyman. I'm not totally sure how we found it. I know I screened the first three episodes before I told Brooke about it, and then we watched the first six episodes online. It is a fantastic show about one man's "condition" which takes him out of the present and thrusts him into a situation in the past, ala a former NBC hit, Quantum Leap, only not nearly as corny. His purpose is to find his "objective," someone in need of assistance, and to help them. It's a very clever show, and there are two things we really like about it. There is all sorts of history in the background as the main character goes back in time to the 70's, 80's, etc. But, more importantly, the show lacks the violence, sex, and crassness so often embedded in television's primetime. This show is clean, relatively speaking.

And, as it turns out, this show is also canceled.

Curse you, NBC! Why is it that the only two shows that I've made time for over the past eight years have been canceled? Probably because the shows were clean and everyone knows that sex sells. If you've known me for any length of time, you know that Ed is the other show that I loved. At least Ed made it four seasons. Journeyman only made it through nine episodes. We feel so ripped off. And, just to dump a pound of kosher salt in an open gash, Ed is still not available on DVD, four years later.

So, we had found a way to pass the time on Mondays from 9-10 CST, but now Journeyman has been replaced. Apparently a bald Howie Mandel and 26 well-framed briefcases get better ratings. At least American Idol starts tomorrow, right?

Guided Tour

Brookie and I thought that the pictures we've posted of our home were good, but we thought a personal guided tour would be better. We recently acquired a Flip Video, and we love it, so personal "home videos" will be a regular occurrence on our blog from now on.