Ed, for your birthday, a sophomore reserve guard from Creighton scored 42 points against Bradley today, including the last 10. Bradley held him scoreless two weeks ago. Pete, I don't know of anyone scoring anything for you. Sorry, man.
I've taken to using those liquid soap boday washes when I shower. I was in KMart yesterday picking out my next bottle of wash. Many of them have macho names like "Pacific Surge" or "Artic Blast". I opted for the Old Spice Classic Scent. After I got it home I was reading the back of the bottle and here is what it said...
"Old Spice Classic - The Original If your Grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't be here."
Yesterday in your honor (and in preparation for St. Patrick's Day) I made a chocolate cake with white icing and decorated with shamrocks. The girls loved it.
On Saturday a bunch of us got together at a friend's place and drank a bottle of 12 y/o Jameson Whiskey. BTW did you know that if it is spelled Whiskey it is Irish and if it is spelled Whisky it is Scottish? I didn't. It was great. And then on Sun. Tom Bisenius came down and we went out for some chicken fried steak. It was awesome. I didn't think about it until you mentioned it, but I guess I didn't get any cake. That's fine. I would rather have the WhiskEy.
Roger Long (one of our agents) was getting a new listing today, the cliet's Mother also has her house listed with us...Mother asks me to go over to see daughter's house and Mother tells me to give the daughter hints on de-cluttering ,staging,etc...I was VERY nice said I loved the house, and had a few ideas...one of which included taking out one of 3 couches (some of these ideas the Mother was whispering to me). When I left the daughter was nice, said she would get to work, etc...well, she called Roger Long and said she was giving the listing to Ed Wolf at Farm and Home 'cause no one was going to tell her to remove a couch, etc!!! Mother and daughter and daughter's husband are all moving in together...good luck!! (Dr. Nedkarni's house) This girl is always coming in and using my fax and my copier...BRAT!
Pete is great to know that I can always count on you. thank you for being the kind and caring person you are, but most all, thank you for loving me. I love you so much. Happy Birthday Pete Mely
Tom, I just saw a news story about the OBama/Canadian/NAFTA issue. The Canadien amabassador says the story is not true and Obama said the story is absolutely not true.
Dad called and said that Wendy's is right by the airport exit...which they had just taken to drop Monica and Frank off at the airport...but they wern't hungry 'cause they had lunch with Pat in Fort Worth...you just don't know what the day will bring...like, right now my ceiling is raining and the L-Dog won't return my calls to tell me who put the roof on...
So, I called Pitchers (the Pub in Whittemore) because the owner is a roofer...I told the person who answered the phone that my roof was leaking and I needed to talk to Simon...she said "you mean at Dave's House of Photography"...news travels here!
Curiously absent, following the recent rash of gun multikillings, is an outcry for gun control. Election year jitters about putting a controversial issue front and center? I'd love to see ads for Hillary in a blaze orange vest sighting down the barrel of a 12 gauge touting her credentials as a sportswoman.
So I purchased HyVee's "Matrix3" advanced shaving system over the weekend. I hadn't shaved for 2 days before I used it. Despite my rugged good looks my beard is not overly thick. I would say it is slightly more robust than the average beard.
I am disappointed to report that the Matrix3 system is far outclassed by the much more expensive Gillette Mach3. Using the HyVee product with a brand new blade I could feel the tug on my whiskers as I shaved. In similar shaving scenarios the Mach3 blew through my beard with no resistance at all.
These results will mean I will not realize the $150 in annual savings I was looking forward to.
Gillette is now making a disposable Mach3 razor. I have a quattro razor that I got free in the mail and it works pretty good, but because the face of the four blades are so big it is a little bit unwieldy when trying to get to those hard to reach spots on your face. Generally I just use my Mach3.
Does anybody have a copy of the spreadsheet that we used for the March Madness last year? Mine are on computer at BP and I don't have it anymore and I don't want to make a new one. If you do have it e-mail it to me at work.
It amazes how many people take the cash register receipt instead of the bottom of their guest check which states, "Guest Receipt," and, the people who take the, "signed," copy of their credit card receipt instead of the unsigned...hello?!
It is...truly. A cash register receipt is tremendously helpful in, "balancing," a till and discerning what has gone wrong and who is to blame if there is a shortage. Secondly, if a Guest ever decides to dispute a credit card charge...I *must* supply the card company with a signed receipt or it will be charged back to me. In fact, I just recently had to go back and retrieve 11 *signed* credit card receipts and supply it to the bank. It truly only makes sense that the business would need the receipt with the signature...yes?
We love ALL OUR GUESTS!!! However, sometimes the customers must be in some sort of stupor because they will take the wrong receipt, or take the free dinner coupon that has been stapled (and applied $$) to their check when they leave, or they will take the entire guest check requiring a new one to be generated. Of course this doesn't mean we love them any less.
Waitstaff should stay on top of the receipt situation, staying at the table while it is signed or zipping back quickly before they leave and saying cheerfully, "Oh, I need that one! This one's yours!" because customers will never get it. Never, ever.
Ed, if I fedex $5 to Pat overnight, can I be in the pool? (Pat, just tell him you got it.)
The dot sticker is a good idea, or even a red sharpie check mark so the busy waitstaff don't have to languish by the table. "Keep the one with the red checkmark, and sign the other one. Hope you enjoyed your dinner!" A little simple instruction for the untutored masses.
When you get that folder with thirty copies in it and you're having fun and talking, you're just not going to try that hard to do it right because it has no effect on you. You need to punish those customers by loudly confronting them and accusing them of trying to get out of paying. That way, next time they come, they'll try harder.
Yes, all very good ideas...thanks! :-) Unfortunately, Guests don't like to be watched while figuring out the tip and signing, therefore it can be a, "tricky," manuever. Pat, you're cool...as long as yah leave the signature slip...that's all that matters. :-) Ohhhh the woes of bookkeeping...ha, ha. It did make me mad, though, recovering the 11 receipts...I had just purchased 18 bins and put all my paperwork in storage (after looking at it and thinking about it for several months) and literally 2 weeks later I get a call requesting those receipts. I don't think it was a fraud concern...I think it was someone wanting them for their tax return. This time, every year, I receive a handful of calls from people requesting many-o-month old receipts. I'll say, "Sure, I'll have it at the restaurant for you tomorrow." They always say, "Well, I know where you live...can I stop by shortly and pick it up?" Ha, ha...I say, "Yes, no problem." Grrr. Now, do I appreciate that these lovely people chose to spend their money and eat at our restaurant? YES! Do I wish they didn't request my help retrieving a $35 receipt for their tax return? Yep. m.e.~ I think I saw Louie and Dick leaving Pet Kingdom a few minutes ago.
Oh, you shouldn't have to drop everything to dig out a receipt for them! Tell them you're late picking up your kids or something. People can file their taxes without the receipts, they have the statements to tell them what they spent, they just need to have the receipts if they get audited. People are dumb. I guess that's the sentiment that started this whole subject. Well, they are. How about a polite little sign by the podium in front: "We are happy to provide copies of your receipts at tax time. We will need one day's notice."
Actually, the fact that they lost their copies originally indicates to me that their receipts are in safer hands in your custody. They can retrieve them if they need them for an audit or something.
i went to my first tae kwon do class last night. i was a skeptic and still don't like all the yelling, but it was actually pretty fun. i think it depends on the place you go. this one is good. and it felt like a workout. i'm going to try it for a few months. p
In Florida I've noticed that several restaurants wrap the customer's copy around the credit card and insert it in that little pocket that so many bill folders have. Then, the only things left in the folder are the restaurant's copy and the pen. Some other restaurants staple the original bill to the customer's copy but that would not work at Sister Sarah's because my recollection is that you keep the original bill. That wrap-around the credit card scheme seems pretty effective as far as I personally can tell. The Wise One
Eureka! By George I think you've got it! That is a great idea! We do still need a resolution for the peeps that take the cash register receipt and/or the entire ticket...hmm. Idea?
Brianne Sanchez. She's a little Hispanic/Irish pixie.
Here's something funny: yesterday the town of Battleboro VT passed a resolution indicting George Bush and Dick Cheney of crimes against the Constitution and instructing their police department to detain and hold them if they ever come to town until extradited by whatever judicial body cares to prosecute the crimes.
In this election everyone focuses more on universal health care and less on affordable college. To me the more pressing issue is affordable college. Maybe because we have kids who will be there before we know it. But there is no doubt that our country is falling behind in producing constructive members of society. Maybe if everyone thought there was a chance for them to be successful through education this trend would reverse.
I don't know either. But there is no doubt that a society with the potential for greater productivity would be better able to handle the health care issue.
I realize this over-simplifies a complicated issue.
We have Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Our rates just went up $75/mo due to an expected increase and Tom enetering a new age bracket...we now pay $425/mo with a $2000/per person/per year deductible.
When I got to work this morning there were a bunch of movie production trailers parked in front of my building. I have asked around and nobody seems to know what movie they are shooting or what actors are involved. The actor trailers have names on them, but they seem to have the names of the charaters.
The older generations worked hard so today's young generation wouldn't have to. And the younger generation is doing a fantastic job of holding up their end of the bargain.
Stevo...good poem...she's treading dangerously on the Dems chances to regain the White House...the ringing phone commercial was the worst...they will do anything! Obama will now HAVE to bring up crap about her taxes, etc...it's gonna get bad.
I hope he doesn't. John McCain can afford to just stand back and let them do the dirty work for him. This is nothing compared to what the Bush campaign unleashed on McCain, though. And on Kerry. So far there's some restraint.
I like how in Texas when Huckabee was giving his concession/goodbye speech, some supporters were still going, "YEE-HAW!!!" like it was a celebration. I bet they were waving their cowboy hats, too.
All I know is I'm sick of Obama presenting himself as an agent of change. No one, including himself, can cite him as being the agent of change on any issue while he was/is in the Senate. He initiated no bills, he never championed a cause, and he only realized "hey, I could be president" and began to position himself for that.
An agent of change reaches across the aisle and gets things done. He votes as an extreme liberal in almost all cases.
What a crock - and America is close to falling for it.
Senator Obama is one of the authors of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (S. 2180).
In addition, Senator Obama has sponsored three other ethics-related bills.
Senator Obama is a cosponsor of the Medicare Informed Choice Act (S. 1841), which would extend enrollment without penalty until the end of 2006. This bill would also allow all Part D beneficiaries to change their plan once during 2006.
He helped draft and introduce the National MEDiC Act (S. 1784)
He introduced the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Efficiency Act (S. 2247)
Senator Obama also worked to push $7.9 billion through the Senate to help the U.S. prepare for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.
In 2005, Senator Obama introduced the Lead Free Toys Act (S. 2048), requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban any children's product containing lead.
Senator Obama has been a strong supporter of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and is a cosponsor of the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act (S. 508).
He is a cosponsor of the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (S. 1151)
Senator Obama cosponsored the Combat Meth Act (S. 103)
Senator Obama cosponsored Dru's Law (S. 792) which creates a nationwide sex offender database
Senator Obama introduced the Spent Nuclear Fuel Tracking and Accountability Act (S. 1194), which would establish specific and uniform guidelines for tracking, controlling, and accounting for individual spent fuel rods
Barack Obama's first bill as a U.S. Senator was the HOPE Act (Higher Education Opportunity Through Pell Grant Expansion Act) (S.697), which would help make college more affordable
I read mostly "co-sponsor" and "help" in this last post. Co-sponsors could be someone getting waylaid in the hallway and being asked by perhaps someone like Sen. Biden "Hey, Obama-wama-ding-dong! Lay me some skin, bro. Hey you want to co-sponsor a bill for me? I've been working hard on it. I just need some signatures."
"I'm down with that! Hey, where's the party tonight?"
That nuclear fuel tracking bill was a committee endeavor which he picked up as his own.
And as far as his first bill I'm curious to know who it make college affordable for.
Tom...what's with the jive talk? I'd be inclined to think maybe Biden would say Bro, but not to Obama, also Obama wouldn't say "I'm down with that"...you're a bit racy here! Ya gotta quit quoting Rush!
Happy Birthday Ed and Pete! Hope you both had fun.
Florida was great. We went to a baseball game. The Mets lost but that was ok. It was just nice to be outside. Went to the beach a couple of times and down to the pool. The food was great. You'll never go hungry visiting Mom and Dad down there. Returned to 14 degree weather and 2 inches of snow today.
Pat is all tan and leathery already. Thank you Mom and Dad. Monica
His first name is Blake. I posted the address just as Renee gave it to me. I figured the last name first must be some jarhead thing...? And as far as I know he's there already. Also, if he makes it through basic I think I will prefer to fight my own battles. (Just kiddin')
It's an hour and a half before Generations of Faith and I'm READY. It's a record. Now I'm waiting for disaster to strike.
I think Obama drafted and cosponsored legislation to increase paperwork, tax rates and inspections for small businesses and to require any business with less than 25 employees to pay their employees' health insurance, tuition payments, rent and car payments. So he did some stuff.
Cathy, I'm glad you're all ready and relaxed for generations. I'm proud of you for all you do. By the way, since I know Cathy won't toot her own horn, for anyone reading this,she got an "A" in her last class at Creighton and has been doing great all along. Something like A 3.98 GPA. I'll see you abour six. Love, Your Secret Admirer.
If he's that dense, did he pass the ASVAB (test)? If he didn't score high enough, he won't get that guaranteed thing. He could end up a grunt or something. Yeah, we jarheads only know each other by our last names. Dates and times are all bass-ackwards, too.
For anyone who doesn't know, Grace has been taking 3 classes, working, and riding herd on 3 wonderful and rambunctious offspring. All the while earning a 4.0 or near 4.0 GPA. We're proud of you Grace and we love you. See you on Saturday.
Josh is not leathery but that is because he is the only one to wear flannel shirts on the beach. Jimmy Byrne was a lot of fun. He'll be down there through March(except St. Pat's weekend). Go see him.
We used to live around the corner from him (he lives in a VERY modest home) and his newspapers would be out for recycling and as I would walk by with my dog I always wanted to grab the Wall Street Journals with his name on them (mailing label).
Kudos to Cathy and Grace! You should both be proud and you should both take a break.
SInce I am up at all hours of the day and night, I see the MSNBC crew just about every few hours. On election nights Chuck Todd gets no sleep. He does the night show and then he's on in the morning with Joe Scarborough (sp?) on Morning Joe, which comes on at 3AM for me. Then he'll be on the Today show. Same for Andrea Mitchell. They all put in long hours, but these two are on 24 hours. I'll see Andrea on Morning Joe, then two hours later I'll see her on the Today show wering a dfferent outfit and her hair fluffed.
Ellen, to answer your question from a few days ago, Sam is doing well. He now sleeps 3-4 hours at night, which isn't too bad, but during the day he wants to eat every hour and a half and he wakes up when he's not being held. He's pretty good, though. My house is a wreck. I am going crazy looking at clumps of cat fur all over the place.
Em...why are your kittens shedding? Is it poatpartum fur loss?? They must be streeeeessed out! MEOW! The thing about Andrea Mitchell that's impressive is that she is married to Alan Greenspan, (Old Fed Guy) yet she is still such a hard worker! GO GIRL! I do think that Chuck Todd dyes his perfect beard. YIKES!
If I'd had a million dollars, I'd bet that Gates will vote for HIllary or Obama over McCain.
Cathy, I have started buying organic milk too. My nieghbor's coworker's daughter got her period at age 8 and the doctors think it may be from all the hormones in milk. Apparently this little girl drinks tons of it. I started buying organic milk the next day. I also buy organic eggs, but that's about it. Of course I'd like to buy more organic food but it's just too expensive, but I drink a lot of milk and Jude eats eggs almost every day.
Monica is right, I basically look like an old brown shoe.
I went to taekwondo last night, and you will not believe what they had us do. The guy that owns the place is Korean, was a national Korean team tkd teacher. He had a visiting instructor from Korea. Apparently, they always do more difficult things than those who've been introduced to the American way. THe regular instructor never would havd done this. We Were on the ground stretching out our legs...you know that stretch where you are sitting with palms of your feet pulled in between your legs and toudhing each other(legs out with the knees pointing in each direction.) Well, then we were partnered up and he had each partners STAND on knees of the other partner. The intent was to push the shoulders and head forward to the ground with your hands, and let the weight of the body push the knees down to touch the grownd. I started laughing in disbelief, and made the girl get off me after about seconds. IT HURTS. I am very stiff this morning. Otherwise I liked practice. p
It is very interesting that in Texas there is a primary vote and then after those polls close there is a caucus where anyone that wans to can go and vote a second time. What is that all about? I thought the only place where you could cast multiple votes was in Chicago.
Tom, whenever I stuff someting new in my head something else falls out. I can barely carry on a coherent conversation anymore because I can't remember names of anything or anyone.
Bill Gates is not the richest anymore...please read my blog entries. And, I would also bet with Em that Gates is a Democrat (like Buffett)...Gates is always flying into Omaha to hang with Buffett and play cards (no kidding).
My favorite Gates / buffet story happened a few years ago when they were lunching together at the flatiron... I think neither of them had cash on them and then buffet's car wouldn't start.
Isn't it funny how money makes a dork look less dorky.
Hey, we watched an interesting movie last night. That is, Stevo rented the movie and fell asleep during the opening credits. In fairness, they weren't very exciting and went on too long. But it was called The Greatest Game Ever Played, or something like that, about a legendary US Open early in the century (20th) and a kid named Francis Ouimet playing in it. Not a masterpiece, but not bad if you like feel-good sports movies. I never heard of him before.
Ag News...Re-Growth of Iowa's Wine Industry: Did you know that Iowa used to be 6th in the NATION for grape production? 1919=12 million pounds of grapes (Bulk of it from Linn,Polk & Pott. County ) 1940's=Corn herbicide damaged (killed) many vineyards, farmers switched to corn and soybeans. 1980=re-establishment of grapevines near Oxford, Iowa 2008=wine sales from Iowa wineries over $22 million!!
Rumor has it that Dallas Clark (of Ind. Colts fame) is going to start a winery around here somewhere. He should call it Colt 44 -cause that's his team and his number.
You know who Lake Worth's famous son is? Mark Foley, the disgraced politician. I've heard he's now a realtor in town. Perhaps we'll use him when we buy.
Brett Favre's retirement this week may mean out with the old, but the Packer quarterback's name has new life in the retirement mecca of Florida.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that David and Emily Kinsaul of Palatka, Fla., named their newborn twin boys Brett and Favre.
"I was hoping we'd have at least one year of him still playing," David said. The twins were born Feb. 22.
The Press-Gazette report says David Kinsaul grew up in Florida, moved to Madison, Wis., and lived there for about 3 1/2 years and now is back in his home state.
"There's a whole culture up there, watching the games and being interested in the Packers," he told the newspaper. "I just really missed it. And I loved watching Brett play. You could just really tell he loved the game, and he was fun to watch."
Council Bluffs has a neat old red brick building with "Council Bluffs Grape Growers" carved in the stone moulding over the door and faded green wood trim. Maybe it can be resurrected to its original use (or as a wine retail place or a "La Bouvet" kind of place)instead of being repurposed. Someone tried to make a go of it in there as an antique shop, but it only lasted a few years.
And poor little Favre Kinsual will always be getting in trouble at school because his teachers will think he is spelling his name wrong or else they will think he is dyslexic.
Our building rep is a man named Hans. His wife is Margo. He is the artist who painted the murals in our hallway and teaches Mom's art class. I was talking to Margo today and she told us their son is a fireman, a captain, who was the superior officer to the fireman who was killed in the Wendy's in West Palm Beach last Monday. He was actually in charge of the fire station where they both worked. Their son was also in the Wendy's eating lunch. When the lieutenant who was killed came into the restaurant he saw the captain and went over to his table to talk to him for a few seconds, then he got in line to exchange the toy for his son. The captain saw the shooter come out of the restroom and kill his friend. The captain and his family hit the deck and then ran out when the shooter paused to reload his gun. Margo said her son is really distraught because he really liked the victim. Dad
Recall of toothpaste made in China-apparently contained ANTIFREEZE!!! I never, ever buy food (ex. frozen salmon) if I see "Product of China" or something like that on there.
I'm certainly not a Hillary supporter and I favor Obama over her but I can't see why he is whining about the 3:00 am red phone commercial. It's certainly not a negative ad. It's not even directed toward him. It merely emphasizes Hillary's experience. The fact that she actually has very little experience does not make it a negative ad. Her phony claim to 35 years of experience is what he should attack; he should not whine about the ad. The Wise One
Dad, I agree. And the only thing they are doing by whining about it is lending credence to it. As an analogy...If a mean kid calls a skinny kid "fat" the skinny kid won't have hurt feelings because he knows he's not fat. On the other hand if the mean kid calls a fat kid "fatty" the fat kid's natural reaction is to get upset because he knows it's true. And then he beats up the mean kid and become the "big-fat meany"
I have a server who's a all about Obama. She went to the Jefferson/Jackson dinner and was a door knocker before the caucuses. I asked her is she heard the comment one of Obama's staffers said about Hillary ("she's a monster!"). My server hadn't heard about this remark and her reply to me was, "SHE IS A MONSTER!"
I then asked her who she would vote for if it came down to Hillary and McCain. She hesitated and then said McCain.
Well, is he whining or refuting? I've seen him talking calmy and even humorously about her "kitchen sink" strategy (non-whiningly,) and I've seen the counter-ad to the red phone ad, but be fair - have you seen him whining? Or have you heard news sources talking about unnamed campaign workers who didn't like the commercial (the "Obama campaign")? CNN had hours to kill post mortem-ing the primaries and things morph from being their perceptions and assumptions to being reported as reality. Every time I see the guy he seems to be totally rational and in control and not complaining about anything. Be fair.
I posted that before I saw the part about the story. So really. They grab some door-knocker and ask for a reaction and that becomes the reaction of the Obama camp? Non-news.
Offended. Annoyed. Upset. If it was because I wanted to use my card a restaurant. That dollar may end up coming out of the servers' tips.
I had a good last week at my first student teaching placement, but was ready to leave after spending hours and hours in the last few weeks talking with other professionals about one child who is in a bad home situation, but we also found out tried to kill one of his mom's boyfriends by pouring cleaner down his throat while the boyfriend slept. Now I'm off to a Head Start preschool in East Des Moines and am excited to work with kids who mostly misbehave for attention, not for revenge.
I would be upset if I were charged more for using a card. A tiny across-the-board price increase of a few cents per item would never be noticed if it were needed to offset the cost of charging meals. You could chase a lot of people away by doing that. Even if I didn't get mad about the charge, I would have a residual feeling of irritation about that restaurant that might cause me to choose another place every time.
Ellen, congratulations on completing the first half of student teaching. Don't accept any going away gifts from that student, especially if it is something to eat or drink. Good luck on the next phase of your student teaching in east Des Moines. You are doing great and we are proud of you. Love, Dad.
P.S. Congratulations for making the Dean's list again last semester.
Yah, we thought maybe we'd get these reactions. I have seen many-o-menus w/ this inclusion and it never bothered me. Unfortunately, in the past several months we have seen a significant rise in credit card usage. This usage costs us about $500/month...sometimes, more. I asked Nance's sister what she thought and she said that she wouldn't care but, of course she understands it from our perspective. This being said, the general public would not have this awareness and it certainly wouldn't be worth making anyone mad. Thanks for the input, if anyone else has a thought...do share. ;-)
I just came back from the post office. I saw Mark Behr standing at one of those high tables addressing an envelope. I thought it a funny thing if I were to greet him in they same manner in which he might greet me. So as I walk past him I grab a big handful of ass and give it a good squeeze. As I look back and am ready to say, "Hey, Gordo, what's going on" (That being his nickname in high school) I realized I had just goosed someone who wasn't Mark Behr.
The notMarkBehr was not at all amused. Even when I apologized and tried to explain my actions he was not in the mood to share a laugh. I'm sure he's going to go tell his friends some fag goosed him at the post office.
When we were in retail American Express cards cost us alot per month, so we quit accepting them, but Visa/Mastercard weren't much/month...do they all 3 cost you alot?
My publicist advised me that in terms of damage control it would be best for me to come clean with this right away. We thought about playing off the "wide stance" defense but felt in the long run this would do more harm than good.
I would be TOTALLY annoyed if I were charged an add'l $1 But perhaps that's bc it's harder and harder to cash checks, at least in the twin cities, so credit card is practically the only way to go.. You can end up paying $4 just to get your own cash out of a machine. So, I guess I'd agree with Cathy's suggestion of small price increases. And not accepting AE (or requiring a minimum balance to use it).
Ellen, isn't that revenge kid like in 2nd grade? Wow. Have fun with the Head Start kids. Hope you don't have any biters!
Thanks for the pats on the back Dad and everyone, it's nice to have support! Especially those days when I'm hanging on by a frayed thread... We call those weekdays.
Master/Visa runs $500+/month AMEX runs $10. DISCOVER runs $25 Of course, these totals are dependent upon how much is spent by the Guest...it's a percentage of total sales.
Take every price that's a round number and raise it 50 cents so $12.00 becomes $12.50. You haven't increased the dollar amount (for those regulars who know what their favorites cost) and most people won't notice the 50 cents or think it was always that price.
The Obama staffer who called Hilary a monster resigned. Just heard it on NPR. Creighton's winning.
It's funny because about a year+ ago a Guest asked me if we charged for using a credit card. I remember thinking that it was simply the cost of doing business and not a biggie. Now, in light of the HIGH increase in CC use...we're thinking we *should* charge 'em...other restaurants do. Guess not, though. It's nice to hear other people's perspective...thanks. Yes, Cathy and Pat, we agree...raise the prices! :-<> :-)
I don't think Obama whines either. He deserves to whine. Hillary's camp is playing dirty. Obama could come after her so hard if we wanted to start digging up stuff on her, but he hasn't resorted to her tactics yet.
Had Sam's well baby check up today and Jude's 3 year check up. I thought doing them together would cost me only one co pay, but they charged two. Our doctor is really nice though. He literally spent an hour with us, talking, examining, asking questions, etc. OF course this was after we waited for an hour. Jude is 90%ile height and 40%ile weight. Jude has beengetting sick constantly. He have a cough, cold or sinus infection for two weeks, it'll clear up then two weeks later he'll be sick again. Is this normal? DO all 3 year olds get sick all the time?
If I were crude I'd say that a charge for using my credit card would piss me off, but since I am a gentleman I must say that it would really annoy me, unless everyone else does it. I agree that across the board, small price increases are preferable. Dad
Cathy, there's no such thing as a round number on the menu. I think everything is $__.95. A slight increase bumps the big number up. A small business organization, trade group, with a lotta members should try to negotiate a lower usage rate.
Daylight Savings Time begins tomorrow at 2:00 am. We lose one hour of sleep. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour so that you won't be late for Mass. Dad
Went to Berte's Back Nine for the *first* time, yesterday. Had fun. :-) Liam used his Gift Card from his 8th B-Day and we used a GC from my folks (Christmas). The boys loved it. The food was fine. Simple bar food, plastic utensils and dinnerware...not, necessarily inexpensive considering...certainly, no cheaper than Sarah's. The boys had mini-tacos and Tom had a wrap sandwich. I had an Oriental Chicken Salad and although it was decent...the grilled chicken was that highly injected, spongey kind...which I don't really like. We hit about 200 balls and no one got hit on the back swing...surprisingly. :-<> All in all a nice thing to do and the boys wanna go back every Sunday. :-)
Mom's art was in an art show this weekend. I didn't know about it til the day of, and had already had dinner plans. Her latest painting was probably her best. A landscape. Lots of greens. p
I always assumed that any place tat accepts credit cards already imposes an across the board fee for them. I agree wtith the others that it could be a mistake to charge extra for credit card usage.
Yes, we are not going to charge for CC usage. Thank you, all, for your input...very helpful! We are gonna raise prices, across the board, though as food costs have greatly incresed, we receive a fuel surcharge for food deliveries & such and CC use has sky-rocketed...in recent months. Hopefully, the increase will not be noticed and/or not be of annoyance to our Guests. :-)
You can't do lunch at Berte's for less than $7.00 if you have a soda...I wish they would get rid of the menu and just do munchies...they seem to do some bar business, though...we missed you guys at the St.Michael's carnival! We spent more on Bingo than we did at The Wild Rose casino ($22.) I think Betty had a good time (I had a good time with her!). Joe3...are you gonna post anything about Boy's State???
Yesterday, the Berte's Bar was being operated by 17...maybe, 18 year olds? The bar, which seats @ six, was filled with teens drinking soda. Seemed kinda odd...but, that's just me. I would not allow the teens to, "belly-up," they would be at a table. Two reasons...one, they don't belong at the bar and two, if Tom and I were going in to have a mid-afternooon adult beverage (sans the kids) we would not want to sit alongside teenagers.
Em, I think any 3-year-old who goes to school or daycare or who has older siblings who do has a runny nose and/or various other respiratory symptoms for about 4 or 5 years until they acquire a sort of general immunity to most of the thousands of viruses that go around. I really don't think this is part of the daycare age, either. Little kids didn't used to go to nursery school in the numbers thay do now, but in general they had more siblings bringing stuff home. There have always been kids who always have a runny nose, and some who just seem to have more immunity.
Eli and Liam *always* had some sort of cold...they would just barely get over one and get another. We didn't smoke around them so that wasn't it and they didn't go to daycare either. They did have seasonal allergies and that would be awful both in the late Spring and early Fall...this is getting much better with age. Jude's fine. :-) I think those McDonald's Play Place's are a germ trap. Think of all the boogery kids that sneezed and wiped nasal matter inside those tunnels. Euw! :-<> Of course, it's a right of passage for kids...just gotta have sani-wipes at the ready when they make their exodus. ;-)
I agree, there's just nothing you can do about viruses. Mia was constantly sickly for the whole winter, and each cold turned into an ear infection. She's been okay since the surgery though. How big is Sam?
m.e. said... "Why can't you have a mid-afternoon adult bev. with the kids?" Ohhh, I meant if Tom and I went out to a bar...to relax and have an adult bev/convo...we wouldn't wanna belly-up next to someone else's teeny bopper. :-)
Yesterday someone told me that the reason the Pope classified "obscene wealth" as a sin (or whatever it is He did) was so that poeople would turn their money over to the Church. She may have been kidding, but I couldn't tell.
I listened to Eliot Spitzer's apology and found it incredulous that his apology was directed to his, "family." He kept saying his, "family," and although, yes, he has hurt his family terribly...I think the apology should be specifically directed to his **W-I-F-E**...hello?!
Absolutely! I can't help but wonder what message a mother sends to her daughter when she, "stands by her man," in a situation like this. What makes this even worse is that it's reported that he would demand **not** to use a condom! Wow.
I'm picking Drake to go all the way. It's a Cinderella story that can only end with a big kiss from Prince Charming. Hon, were going to mortgage the house and lay it all on the line.
Seriously, you gotta love the Drake story. First year coach, walk-on Conference player of the year, picked to finish last or second to last in the conference. A bunch of lightly recruited players.
I also think it's crazy that the media is comparing this incident to other male politicos who have "wandered" (Clinton, Gary Hart, etc) But there is a HUGE difference. This guy broke the law! Totally different. (Nance, did you hear that he insisted on no condom use..his wife should start packing now!)
202 comments:
1 – 200 of 202 Newer› Newest»Happy Happy Birthday! You ARE awesome.
What will the two of you do to celebrate?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!!
WISH YOU WERE DOWN HERE IN FLORIDA WITH US. Hope you both had great days.
P
Happy Birthdays to you!
feliz cumplianos Ed!
Happy Birthday Ed!
P&M
Happy Birthday, Ed!
Happy Birthday, Pete!
When does the pig come up?
Ed, for your birthday, a sophomore reserve guard from Creighton scored 42 points against Bradley today, including the last 10. Bradley held him scoreless two weeks ago.
Pete, I don't know of anyone scoring anything for you. Sorry, man.
His name was Witter.
In case you want to send a thank-you note.
Happy birthday Pete & Ed.
I've taken to using those liquid soap boday washes when I shower. I was in KMart yesterday picking out my next bottle of wash. Many of them have macho names like "Pacific Surge" or "Artic Blast". I opted for the Old Spice Classic Scent. After I got it home I was reading the back of the bottle and here is what it said...
"Old Spice Classic - The Original
If your Grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't be here."
I thought this was clever and amusing.
Tom
Happy birthday Ed!
Happpy birthday Pete!
Happy Birthday Ed and Pete! Hope it was wonderful! Whatcha do?
Tom...is that what Nance calls it...your boday!? In the future please keep such nicknames to yourself.
Happy birthday, Ed and Pete!
Yesterday in your honor (and in preparation for St. Patrick's Day) I made a chocolate cake with white icing and decorated with shamrocks. The girls loved it.
What did you do to celebrate?
Lisa
Happy Birthday Ed!! Did you go out for a drink at midnight on Saturday? Ohhh, fun!
Happy Birthday Pete...I rePete Happy Birthday!
On Saturday a bunch of us got together at a friend's place and drank a bottle of 12 y/o Jameson Whiskey. BTW did you know that if it is spelled Whiskey it is Irish and if it is spelled Whisky it is Scottish? I didn't. It was great. And then on Sun. Tom Bisenius came down and we went out for some chicken fried steak. It was awesome. I didn't think about it until you mentioned it, but I guess I didn't get any cake. That's fine. I would rather have the WhiskEy.
I was set up!
Roger Long (one of our agents) was getting a new listing today, the cliet's Mother also has her house listed with us...Mother asks me to go over to see daughter's house and Mother tells me to give the daughter hints on de-cluttering ,staging,etc...I was VERY nice said I loved the house, and had a few ideas...one of which included taking out one of 3 couches (some of these ideas the Mother was whispering to me). When I left the daughter was nice, said she would get to work, etc...well, she called Roger Long and said she was giving the listing to Ed Wolf at Farm and Home 'cause no one was going to tell her to remove a couch, etc!!!
Mother and daughter and daughter's husband are all moving in together...good luck!! (Dr. Nedkarni's house)
This girl is always coming in and using my fax and my copier...BRAT!
I do love the way Tom's "boday" smells...just like my Grandpa Kenny!
Pete is great to know
that I can always count on you.
thank you for being
the kind and caring person you are,
but most all,
thank you for loving me.
I love you so much.
Happy Birthday Pete
Mely
I just read that a gunman opened fire at a Wendy's this noon hour...shooting 6 people, one dead, it was in West Palm Beach.
Tom, I just saw a news story about the OBama/Canadian/NAFTA issue. The Canadien amabassador says the story is not true and Obama said the story is absolutely not true.
Don't they have any body washes at Hy-Vee?
But, then he wouldn't smell like me!
Dad called and said that Wendy's is right by the airport exit...which they had just taken to drop Monica and Frank off at the airport...but they wern't hungry 'cause they had lunch with Pat in Fort Worth...you just don't know what the day will bring...like, right now my ceiling is raining and the L-Dog won't return my calls to tell me who put the roof on...
Pat's in Lake Worth...
So, I called Pitchers (the Pub in Whittemore) because the owner is a roofer...I told the person who answered the phone that my roof was leaking and I needed to talk to Simon...she said "you mean at Dave's House of Photography"...news travels here!
yestuday was in the 70`s
today it is snowing,
is weather in texas is muy loco
this weather in texas is loco
sorry!
Curiously absent, following the recent rash of gun multikillings, is an outcry for gun control. Election year jitters about putting a controversial issue front and center? I'd love to see ads for Hillary in a blaze orange vest sighting down the barrel of a 12 gauge touting her credentials as a sportswoman.
So I purchased HyVee's "Matrix3" advanced shaving system over the weekend. I hadn't shaved for 2 days before I used it. Despite my rugged good looks my beard is not overly thick. I would say it is slightly more robust than the average beard.
I am disappointed to report that the Matrix3 system is far outclassed by the much more expensive Gillette Mach3. Using the HyVee product with a brand new blade I could feel the tug on my whiskers as I shaved. In similar shaving scenarios the Mach3 blew through my beard with no resistance at all.
These results will mean I will not realize the $150 in annual savings I was looking forward to.
Tom
Thanks for the b-day wishes.
Gillette is now making a disposable Mach3 razor. I have a quattro razor that I got free in the mail and it works pretty good, but because the face of the four blades are so big it is a little bit unwieldy when trying to get to those hard to reach spots on your face. Generally I just use my Mach3.
Does anybody have a copy of the spreadsheet that we used for the March Madness last year? Mine are on computer at BP and I don't have it anymore and I don't want to make a new one. If you do have it e-mail it to me at work.
That quattro sounds like just the thing for legs. Maybe I'll wait for the six-blade model to come out.
Would anyone like to hear my engrossing review of HyVee toilet paper?
Tom
I do, I do!
Grace - I should tell you that Renee was moved by your offer to write her son. Here is his address:
Recruit Muller Blake
2nd BN Hotel Company PLT 2165
36001 Midway Ave.
San Diego, CA 92140
Tom
Ed, I tried but I must have deleted it. I can't believe it - I never delete anything.
That reminds me - I still owe someone $5. Speak and ye shall be paid.
ME.
i forgive your debt.
Pat won. That is who you owe. Non-payers are not allowed to participate this year.
It amazes how many people take the cash register receipt instead of the bottom of their guest check which states, "Guest Receipt," and, the people who take the, "signed," copy of their credit card receipt instead of the unsigned...hello?!
HAPPYBIRTHDAY Ed and Pete.
Ed, let's grab drinks at the underground bar again soon.
Des
i do it quite often. but, what does it matter? does it?
p
It is a shame those paying customers who selected your restaurant to eat at aren't taking the correct receipt!! ;-)
It is...truly. A cash register receipt is tremendously helpful in, "balancing," a till and discerning what has gone wrong and who is to blame if there is a shortage. Secondly, if a Guest ever decides to dispute a credit card charge...I *must* supply the card company with a signed receipt or it will be charged back to me. In fact, I just recently had to go back and retrieve 11 *signed* credit card receipts and supply it to the bank. It truly only makes sense that the business would need the receipt with the signature...yes?
Des..Is the underground bar good for terror watching?
Sarah...just buy those yellow dot stickers, and tell customers to keep the one with the dot!!
Has anyone seen Louie McEnroe?
We love ALL OUR GUESTS!!! However, sometimes the customers must be in some sort of stupor because they will take the wrong receipt, or take the free dinner coupon that has been stapled (and applied $$) to their check when they leave, or they will take the entire guest check requiring a new one to be generated. Of course this doesn't mean we love them any less.
Tom
Louie's with me!
ohhh, well i just sometimes sign the one that says guest and take the one that says merchant copy. so i leave a signed one, but it's the wrong one. p
Waitstaff should stay on top of the receipt situation, staying at the table while it is signed or zipping back quickly before they leave and saying cheerfully, "Oh, I need that one! This one's yours!" because customers will never get it. Never, ever.
Ed, if I fedex $5 to Pat overnight, can I be in the pool? (Pat, just tell him you got it.)
The dot sticker is a good idea, or even a red sharpie check mark so the busy waitstaff don't have to languish by the table. "Keep the one with the red checkmark, and sign the other one. Hope you enjoyed your dinner!" A little simple instruction for the untutored masses.
When you get that folder with thirty copies in it and you're having fun and talking, you're just not going to try that hard to do it right because it has no effect on you. You need to punish those customers by loudly confronting them and accusing them of trying to get out of paying. That way, next time they come, they'll try harder.
Yes, all very good ideas...thanks! :-)
Unfortunately, Guests don't like to be watched while figuring out the tip and signing, therefore it can be a, "tricky," manuever.
Pat, you're cool...as long as yah leave the signature slip...that's all that matters. :-) Ohhhh the woes of bookkeeping...ha, ha.
It did make me mad, though, recovering the 11 receipts...I had just purchased 18 bins and put all my paperwork in storage (after looking at it and thinking about it for several months) and literally 2 weeks later I get a call requesting those receipts. I don't think it was a fraud concern...I think it was someone wanting them for their tax return. This time, every year, I receive a handful of calls from people requesting many-o-month old receipts. I'll say, "Sure, I'll have it at the restaurant for you tomorrow." They always say, "Well, I know where you live...can I stop by shortly and pick it up?" Ha, ha...I say, "Yes, no problem." Grrr.
Now, do I appreciate that these lovely people chose to spend their money and eat at our restaurant? YES! Do I wish they didn't request my help retrieving a $35 receipt for their tax return? Yep.
m.e.~ I think I saw Louie and Dick leaving Pet Kingdom a few minutes ago.
Oh, you shouldn't have to drop everything to dig out a receipt for them! Tell them you're late picking up your kids or something. People can file their taxes without the receipts, they have the statements to tell them what they spent, they just need to have the receipts if they get audited. People are dumb. I guess that's the sentiment that started this whole subject. Well, they are. How about a polite little sign by the podium in front: "We are happy to provide copies of your receipts at tax time. We will need one day's notice."
Actually, the fact that they lost their copies originally indicates to me that their receipts are in safer hands in your custody. They can retrieve them if they need them for an audit or something.
Were Louie and Dick picking up some catnip?? Or maybe they were picking out a goldfish, I dunno.
I'm not sure, but they were holding hands and skipping towards Algona Realty and Peps...so look out!
i went to my first tae kwon do class last night. i was a skeptic and still don't like all the yelling, but it was actually pretty fun. i think it depends on the place you go. this one is good. and it felt like a workout. i'm going to try it for a few months.
p
In Florida I've noticed that several restaurants wrap the customer's copy around the credit card and insert it in that little pocket that so many bill folders have. Then, the only things left in the folder are the restaurant's copy and the pen. Some other restaurants staple the original bill to the customer's copy but that would not work at Sister Sarah's because my recollection is that you keep the original bill. That wrap-around the credit card scheme seems pretty effective as far as I personally can tell. The Wise One
I saw Loowey with Obama. I think they are cooking up some shady real estate deal.
Tom
Our parish nursing people are trying to get a T'ai Chi class started. I guess it's all about balance.
Does your voice come out sounding all feeble and stupid? Mine would. It's not normal for a Straub to yell.
Eureka! By George I think you've got it! That is a great idea!
We do still need a resolution for the peeps that take the cash register receipt and/or the entire ticket...hmm. Idea?
Joe's new girlfriend has a fish named Penmanship. We like her. (The girl - we haven't met the fish.)
What's the fish's owner's name?
p
Brianne Sanchez. She's a little Hispanic/Irish pixie.
Here's something funny: yesterday the town of Battleboro VT passed a resolution indicting George Bush and Dick Cheney of crimes against the Constitution and instructing their police department to detain and hold them if they ever come to town until extradited by whatever judicial body cares to prosecute the crimes.
In this election everyone focuses more on universal health care and less on affordable college. To me the more pressing issue is affordable college. Maybe because we have kids who will be there before we know it. But there is no doubt that our country is falling behind in producing constructive members of society. Maybe if everyone thought there was a chance for them to be successful through education this trend would reverse.
Tom
I don't know. Affordable health care is a pretty huge problem. Look at how much you pay.
I don't know either. But there is no doubt that a society with the potential for greater productivity would be better able to handle the health care issue.
I realize this over-simplifies a complicated issue.
Tom
We have Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Our rates just went up $75/mo due to an expected increase and Tom enetering a new age bracket...we now pay $425/mo with a $2000/per person/per year deductible.
HAPPY B-DAYS ED AND PETE...so how old are you guys...in dog years>
ML
Hillary dillary dock
was watching the campaign clock
with nomination at risk
she resolved to fix
the results using tired old tricks.
I am 259 and Pete is 329.
When I got to work this morning there were a bunch of movie production trailers parked in front of my building. I have asked around and nobody seems to know what movie they are shooting or what actors are involved. The actor trailers have names on them, but they seem to have the names of the charaters.
Tom's thought for the day...
The older generations worked hard so today's young generation wouldn't have to. And the younger generation is doing a fantastic job of holding up their end of the bargain.
Tom
Stevo...good poem...she's treading dangerously on the Dems chances to regain the White House...the ringing phone commercial was the worst...they will do anything!
Obama will now HAVE to bring up crap about her taxes, etc...it's gonna get bad.
I hope he doesn't. John McCain can afford to just stand back and let them do the dirty work for him.
This is nothing compared to what the Bush campaign unleashed on McCain, though. And on Kerry. So far there's some restraint.
I like how in Texas when Huckabee was giving his concession/goodbye speech, some supporters were still going, "YEE-HAW!!!" like it was a celebration. I bet they were waving their cowboy hats, too.
http://garrigan.unlimitedweb.net/seton/honorchoir/
for pictures of betty.
i don't think that commercial was such a big deal. the press made it a big deal.
p
All I know is I'm sick of Obama presenting himself as an agent of change. No one, including himself, can cite him as being the agent of change on any issue while he was/is in the Senate. He initiated no bills, he never championed a cause, and he only realized "hey, I could be president" and began to position himself for that.
An agent of change reaches across the aisle and gets things done. He votes as an extreme liberal in almost all cases.
What a crock - and America is close to falling for it.
Tom
Senator Obama is one of the authors of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (S. 2180).
In addition, Senator Obama has sponsored three other ethics-related bills.
Senator Obama is a cosponsor of the Medicare Informed Choice Act (S. 1841), which would extend enrollment without penalty until the end of 2006. This bill would also allow all Part D beneficiaries to change their plan once during 2006.
He helped draft and introduce the National MEDiC Act (S. 1784)
He introduced the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Efficiency Act (S. 2247)
Senator Obama also worked to push $7.9 billion through the Senate to help the U.S. prepare for the possibility of an avian flu pandemic.
In 2005, Senator Obama introduced the Lead Free Toys Act (S. 2048), requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban any children's product containing lead.
Senator Obama has been a strong supporter of the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and is a cosponsor of the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act (S. 508).
He is a cosponsor of the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (S. 1151)
Senator Obama cosponsored the Combat Meth Act (S. 103)
Senator Obama cosponsored Dru's Law (S. 792) which creates a nationwide sex offender database
Senator Obama introduced the Spent Nuclear Fuel Tracking and Accountability Act (S. 1194), which would establish specific and uniform guidelines for tracking, controlling, and accounting for individual spent fuel rods
Barack Obama's first bill as a U.S. Senator was the HOPE Act (Higher Education Opportunity Through Pell Grant Expansion Act) (S.697), which would help make college more affordable
There are many more...
I read mostly "co-sponsor" and "help" in this last post. Co-sponsors could be someone getting waylaid in the hallway and being asked by perhaps someone like Sen. Biden "Hey, Obama-wama-ding-dong! Lay me some skin, bro. Hey you want to co-sponsor a bill for me? I've been working hard on it. I just need some signatures."
"I'm down with that! Hey, where's the party tonight?"
That nuclear fuel tracking bill was a committee endeavor which he picked up as his own.
And as far as his first bill I'm curious to know who it make college affordable for.
Tom
Tom...what's with the jive talk? I'd be inclined to think maybe Biden would say Bro, but not to Obama, also Obama wouldn't say "I'm down with that"...you're a bit racy here! Ya gotta quit quoting Rush!
Also...the college tuition plan was to make college more affordable to Muslims who belong to Christian churches.
What about radically Afro-centric Christian churches?
Happy Birthday Ed and Pete! Hope you both had fun.
Florida was great. We went to a baseball game. The Mets lost but that was ok. It was just nice to be outside. Went to the beach a couple of times and down to the pool. The food was great. You'll never go hungry visiting Mom and Dad down there. Returned to 14 degree weather and 2 inches of snow today.
Pat is all tan and leathery already. Thank you Mom and Dad.
Monica
Oh Monica...sounds like fun! Did you like Jimmy Byrne?? Is Josh leathery yet?
Happy Birthday Ed and Pete!
Tom, what's recruit Muller Blake's first name? Or is he Muller, Blake? Is Blake his first name? Is he there already? What happened to February?
My taxes are done. Ha.
His first name is Blake. I posted the address just as Renee gave it to me. I figured the last name first must be some jarhead thing...? And as far as I know he's there already. Also, if he makes it through basic I think I will prefer to fight my own battles. (Just kiddin')
Tom
It's an hour and a half before Generations of Faith and I'm READY. It's a record. Now I'm waiting for disaster to strike.
I think Obama drafted and cosponsored legislation to increase paperwork, tax rates and inspections for small businesses and to require any business with less than 25 employees to pay their employees' health insurance, tuition payments, rent and car payments. So he did some stuff.
Well then if he does get elected I hope he goes to the theater.
All kidding aside...I don't know about in everyone else's area but around here the only businesses offering/creating jobs are small businesses.
Tom
Cathy, I'm glad you're all ready and relaxed for generations. I'm proud of you for all you do. By the way, since I know Cathy won't toot her own horn, for anyone reading this,she got an "A" in her last class at Creighton and has been doing great all along. Something like A 3.98 GPA.
I'll see you abour six.
Love, Your Secret Admirer.
If he's that dense, did he pass the ASVAB (test)? If he didn't score high enough, he won't get that guaranteed thing. He could end up a grunt or something.
Yeah, we jarheads only know each other by our last names. Dates and times are all bass-ackwards, too.
At least you point your guns in the right direction. Right?
Congratulations, Cathy. How could you possibly stuff more knowledge into that cranium? I'm impressed.
Tom
Johnny and Georgie went to bed
Johnny forgot what Georgie said
eight years ago his words stung like arrows
politics makes for strange bedfellows.
Grace, Whoo Hoo on getting your taxes done. Come help us with ours.
For anyone who doesn't know, Grace has been taking 3 classes, working, and riding herd on 3 wonderful and rambunctious offspring. All the while earning a 4.0 or near 4.0 GPA. We're proud of you Grace and we love you. See you on Saturday.
Warren Buffett is now the richest person in the world...you'd think he would buy a nice suit!
Josh is not leathery but that is because he is the only one to wear flannel shirts on the beach. Jimmy Byrne was a lot of fun. He'll be down there through March(except St. Pat's weekend). Go see him.
Monica
We used to live around the corner from him (he lives in a VERY modest home) and his newspapers would be out for recycling and as I would walk by with my dog I always wanted to grab the Wall Street Journals with his name on them (mailing label).
Around the corner from Buffett...it would be fun to live around the corner from Byrne, too (more fun)!
Josh needs some cabana wear. And a damn haircut! Get it together, Josh!
Ed, what did you find out about the movie trucks?
Tom
Kudos to Cathy and Grace! You should both be proud and you should both take a break.
SInce I am up at all hours of the day and night, I see the MSNBC crew just about every few hours. On election nights Chuck Todd gets no sleep. He does the night show and then he's on in the morning with Joe Scarborough (sp?) on Morning Joe, which comes on at 3AM for me. Then he'll be on the Today show. Same for Andrea Mitchell. They all put in long hours, but these two are on 24 hours. I'll see Andrea on Morning Joe, then two hours later I'll see her on the Today show wering a dfferent outfit and her hair fluffed.
Ellen, to answer your question from a few days ago, Sam is doing well. He now sleeps 3-4 hours at night, which isn't too bad, but during the day he wants to eat every hour and a half and he wakes up when he's not being held. He's pretty good, though. My house is a wreck. I am going crazy looking at clumps of cat fur all over the place.
Grace and Cathy should go to Florida.
my shaved noggin started peeling today. it's pretty.
Frank
Molly, how are you feeling?
Em...why are your kittens shedding? Is it poatpartum fur loss?? They must be streeeeessed out! MEOW!
The thing about Andrea Mitchell that's impressive is that she is married to Alan Greenspan, (Old Fed Guy) yet she is still such a hard worker! GO GIRL!
I do think that Chuck Todd dyes his perfect beard. YIKES!
Warren Buffett says he can't decide between Obama and Clinton and that he would trust either one to run one of his businesses.
Bill Gates says...
I'M the richest man in the world!!! And I wouldn't let either of them run a lemonade stand.
I'm feeling okay, just tired but, for the record, no pregnant woman should ever have to scrub a toilet or tub.
If I'd had a million dollars, I'd bet that Gates will vote for HIllary or Obama over McCain.
Cathy, I have started buying organic milk too. My nieghbor's coworker's daughter got her period at age 8 and the doctors think it may be from all the hormones in milk. Apparently this little girl drinks tons of it. I started buying organic milk the next day. I also buy organic eggs, but that's about it. Of course I'd like to buy more organic food but it's just too expensive, but I drink a lot of milk and Jude eats eggs almost every day.
please ignore spelling, etc.
Monica is right, I basically look like an old brown shoe.
I went to taekwondo last night, and you will not believe what they had us do. The guy that owns the place is Korean, was a national Korean team tkd teacher. He had a visiting instructor from Korea. Apparently, they always do more difficult things than those who've been introduced to the American way. THe regular instructor never would havd done this. We Were on the ground stretching out our legs...you know that stretch where you are sitting with palms of your feet pulled in between your legs and toudhing each other(legs out with the knees pointing in each direction.) Well, then we were partnered up and he had each partners STAND on knees of the other partner. The intent was to push the shoulders and head forward to the ground with your hands, and let the weight of the body push the knees down to touch the grownd. I started laughing in disbelief, and made the girl get off me after about seconds. IT HURTS. I am very stiff this morning. Otherwise I liked practice.
p
It is very interesting that in Texas there is a primary vote and then after those polls close there is a caucus where anyone that wans to can go and vote a second time. What is that all about? I thought the only place where you could cast multiple votes was in Chicago.
The above was referring to the Democratic primary only.
FlexiPatsy! Ow!
Tom, whenever I stuff someting new in my head something else falls out. I can barely carry on a coherent conversation anymore because I can't remember names of anything or anyone.
today it feels like patsibroken.
p
Is that why you call me George sometimes?
Congratulations, Cathy and Grace!
I am very impressed, yet not surprised. You are both so capable!
Cheers,
Lisa
Bill Gates is not the richest anymore...please read my blog entries.
And, I would also bet with Em that Gates is a Democrat (like Buffett)...Gates is always flying into Omaha to hang with Buffett and play cards (no kidding).
My favorite Gates / buffet story happened a few years ago when they were lunching together at the flatiron... I think neither of them had cash on them and then buffet's car wouldn't start.
Lisa
Isn't it funny how money makes a dork look less dorky.
Hey, we watched an interesting movie last night. That is, Stevo rented the movie and fell asleep during the opening credits. In fairness, they weren't very exciting and went on too long. But it was called The Greatest Game Ever Played, or something like that, about a legendary US Open early in the century (20th) and a kid named Francis Ouimet playing in it. Not a masterpiece, but not bad if you like feel-good sports movies. I never heard of him before.
Ag News...Re-Growth of Iowa's Wine Industry: Did you know that Iowa used to be 6th in the NATION for grape production?
1919=12 million pounds of grapes
(Bulk of it from Linn,Polk & Pott. County )
1940's=Corn herbicide damaged (killed) many vineyards, farmers switched to corn and soybeans.
1980=re-establishment of grapevines near Oxford, Iowa
2008=wine sales from Iowa wineries over $22 million!!
Wine is good for Iowa!
Rumor has it that Dallas Clark (of Ind. Colts fame) is going to start a winery around here somewhere. He should call it Colt 44 -cause that's his team and his number.
Tom
We should have him debut his wine at Sarah's!
You know who Lake Worth's famous son is? Mark Foley, the disgraced politician. I've heard he's now a realtor in town. Perhaps we'll use him when we buy.
p
Brett Favre's retirement this week may mean out with the old, but the Packer quarterback's name has new life in the retirement mecca of Florida.
The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that David and Emily Kinsaul of Palatka, Fla., named their newborn twin boys Brett and Favre.
"I was hoping we'd have at least one year of him still playing," David said. The twins were born Feb. 22.
The Press-Gazette report says David Kinsaul grew up in Florida, moved to Madison, Wis., and lived there for about 3 1/2 years and now is back in his home state.
"There's a whole culture up there, watching the games and being interested in the Packers," he told the newspaper. "I just really missed it. And I loved watching Brett play. You could just really tell he loved the game, and he was fun to watch."
That's fine for Baby Brett, but what about poor little Favre? Going through life with everyone hesitantly calling him Fahvra.
Council Bluffs has a neat old red brick building with "Council Bluffs Grape Growers" carved in the stone moulding over the door and faded green wood trim. Maybe it can be resurrected to its original use (or as a wine retail place or a "La Bouvet" kind of place)instead of being repurposed. Someone tried to make a go of it in there as an antique shop, but it only lasted a few years.
That sounds perfect for a little wine bar or something. p
And poor little Favre Kinsual will always be getting in trouble at school because his teachers will think he is spelling his name wrong or else they will think he is dyslexic.
Little Farv might be the farvoite one!
Pat...what are you going to buy from Mark Foley?
Who is he endorsing? Can you find out for me? Thanks.
people all over wisconsin were in tears when he announced his retirement. it was pretty funny.
Frank
Our building rep is a man named Hans. His wife is Margo. He is the artist who painted the murals in our hallway and teaches Mom's art class. I was talking to Margo today and she told us their son is a fireman, a captain, who was the superior officer to the fireman who was killed in the Wendy's in West Palm Beach last Monday. He was actually in charge of the fire station where they both worked. Their son was also in the Wendy's eating lunch. When the lieutenant who was killed came into the restaurant he saw the captain and went over to his table to talk to him for a few seconds, then he got in line to exchange the toy for his son. The captain saw the shooter come out of the restroom and kill his friend. The captain and his family hit the deck and then ran out when the shooter paused to reload his gun. Margo said her son is really distraught because he really liked the victim. Dad
more snow yesterday,
I have a snow men outside my house,and maybe more today,
it looks like Iowa
Mely
Shocking story Dad - I hope the son who apparently wanted the toy exchanged will never blame himself for his father's murder.
It looks as though the Democratic nomination may be settled in a court room somewhere down the line. The level of acrimony is rising by the day.
Tom
Recall of toothpaste made in China-apparently contained ANTIFREEZE!!! I never, ever buy food (ex. frozen salmon) if I see "Product of China" or something like that on there.
I'm certainly not a Hillary supporter and I favor Obama over her but I can't see why he is whining about the 3:00 am red phone commercial. It's certainly not a negative ad. It's not even directed toward him. It merely emphasizes Hillary's experience.
The fact that she actually has very little experience does not make it a negative ad. Her phony claim to 35 years of experience is what he should attack; he should not whine about the ad. The Wise One
That's a REALLY sad story about the Wendy's shooting...did they figure out the shooter's "story"?
Dad, I agree. And the only thing they are doing by whining about it is lending credence to it. As an analogy...If a mean kid calls a skinny kid "fat" the skinny kid won't have hurt feelings because he knows he's not fat. On the other hand if the mean kid calls a fat kid "fatty" the fat kid's natural reaction is to get upset because he knows it's true. And then he beats up the mean kid and become the "big-fat meany"
So is Obama fat or is he Phat?
Tom
I resemble that remark.
He's "phat."
I have a server who's a all about Obama. She went to the Jefferson/Jackson dinner and was a door knocker before the caucuses. I asked her is she heard the comment one of Obama's staffers said about Hillary ("she's a monster!"). My server hadn't heard about this remark and her reply to me was, "SHE IS A MONSTER!"
I then asked her who she would vote for if it came down to Hillary and McCain. She hesitated and then said McCain.
The Republicans are enjoying this.
Tom
Well, is he whining or refuting? I've seen him talking calmy and even humorously about her "kitchen sink" strategy (non-whiningly,) and I've seen the counter-ad to the red phone ad, but be fair - have you seen him whining? Or have you heard news sources talking about unnamed campaign workers who didn't like the commercial (the "Obama campaign")? CNN had hours to kill post mortem-ing the primaries and things morph from being their perceptions and assumptions to being reported as reality. Every time I see the guy he seems to be totally rational and in control and not complaining about anything. Be fair.
I'm tired of Obama always pulling out my chair for me, he's not doing it to be polite-he's doing it for, "show."
I posted that before I saw the part about the story. So really. They grab some door-knocker and ask for a reaction and that becomes the reaction of the Obama camp? Non-news.
I never said Obama was whining. He supporters certainly are.
I'm watching with fascination as the Clintons are pulling out all the stops to win this thing.
Tom
He whines in a rational and controlled way.
Obama pointed at me, during one of his speeches, and indicated that I looked faint and needed water. I was completely fine.
Question: "How offended would you be if you incurred a $1 charge for using your credit card?"
Offended. Annoyed. Upset. If it was because I wanted to use my card a restaurant. That dollar may end up coming out of the servers' tips.
I had a good last week at my first student teaching placement, but was ready to leave after spending hours and hours in the last few weeks talking with other professionals about one child who is in a bad home situation, but we also found out tried to kill one of his mom's boyfriends by pouring cleaner down his throat while the boyfriend slept. Now I'm off to a Head Start preschool in East Des Moines and am excited to work with kids who mostly misbehave for attention, not for revenge.
This is good to know. I will explain, "why," we wonder once a few more have answered. Thanks. :-)
He must sleep with his mouth open... Have fun at the next stop, Ellen!
Tom...DO NOT charge for using the CCard, I think that would be a huge mistake...it would piss off most people.
Yikes.
I would be upset if I were charged more for using a card. A tiny across-the-board price increase of a few cents per item would never be noticed if it were needed to offset the cost of charging meals. You could chase a lot of people away by doing that. Even if I didn't get mad about the charge, I would have a residual feeling of irritation about that restaurant that might cause me to choose another place every time.
Ellen, congratulations on completing the first half of student teaching. Don't accept any going away gifts from that student, especially if it is something to eat or drink. Good luck on the next phase of your student teaching in east Des Moines. You are doing great and we are proud of you. Love, Dad.
P.S. Congratulations for making the Dean's list again last semester.
Yah, we thought maybe we'd get these reactions. I have seen many-o-menus w/ this inclusion and it never bothered me. Unfortunately, in the past several months we have seen a significant rise in credit card usage. This usage costs us about $500/month...sometimes, more. I asked Nance's sister what she thought and she said that she wouldn't care but, of course she understands it from our perspective. This being said, the general public would not have this awareness and it certainly wouldn't be worth making anyone mad. Thanks for the input, if anyone else has a thought...do share. ;-)
Congratulations Ellen! :-)
I just came back from the post office. I saw Mark Behr standing at one of those high tables addressing an envelope. I thought it a funny thing if I were to greet him in they same manner in which he might greet me. So as I walk past him I grab a big handful of ass and give it a good squeeze. As I look back and am ready to say, "Hey, Gordo, what's going on" (That being his nickname in high school) I realized I had just goosed someone who wasn't Mark Behr.
The notMarkBehr was not at all amused. Even when I apologized and tried to explain my actions he was not in the mood to share a laugh. I'm sure he's going to go tell his friends some fag goosed him at the post office.
Tom
Tom, I guess you miss Nate! I'm so embarrassed, you know I'll hear about it by 5:00.
When we were in retail American Express cards cost us alot per month, so we quit accepting them, but Visa/Mastercard weren't much/month...do they all 3 cost you alot?
My publicist advised me that in terms of damage control it would be best for me to come clean with this right away. We thought about playing off the "wide stance" defense but felt in the long run this would do more harm than good.
Tom
I would be TOTALLY annoyed if I were charged an add'l $1 But perhaps that's bc it's harder and harder to cash checks, at least in the twin cities, so credit card is practically the only way to go.. You can end up paying $4 just to get your own cash out of a machine.
So, I guess I'd agree with Cathy's suggestion of small price increases. And not accepting AE (or requiring a minimum balance to use it).
P
Ellen, isn't that revenge kid like in 2nd grade? Wow. Have fun with the Head Start kids. Hope you don't have any biters!
Thanks for the pats on the back Dad and everyone, it's nice to have support! Especially those days when I'm hanging on by a frayed thread...
We call those weekdays.
Master/Visa runs $500+/month
AMEX runs $10.
DISCOVER runs $25
Of course, these totals are dependent upon how much is spent by the Guest...it's a percentage of total sales.
Take every price that's a round number and raise it 50 cents so $12.00 becomes $12.50. You haven't increased the dollar amount (for those regulars who know what their favorites cost) and most people won't notice the 50 cents or think it was always that price.
The Obama staffer who called Hilary a monster resigned. Just heard it on NPR. Creighton's winning.
It's funny because about a year+ ago a Guest asked me if we charged for using a credit card. I remember thinking that it was simply the cost of doing business and not a biggie. Now, in light of the HIGH increase in CC use...we're thinking we *should* charge 'em...other restaurants do. Guess not, though. It's nice to hear other people's perspective...thanks. Yes, Cathy and Pat, we agree...raise the prices! :-<> :-)
I don't think Obama whines either. He deserves to whine. Hillary's camp is playing dirty. Obama could come after her so hard if we wanted to start digging up stuff on her, but he hasn't resorted to her tactics yet.
Had Sam's well baby check up today and Jude's 3 year check up. I thought doing them together would cost me only one co pay, but they charged two. Our doctor is really nice though. He literally spent an hour with us, talking, examining, asking questions, etc. OF course this was after we waited for an hour. Jude is 90%ile height and 40%ile weight. Jude has beengetting sick constantly. He have a cough, cold or sinus infection for two weeks, it'll clear up then two weeks later he'll be sick again. Is this normal? DO all 3 year olds get sick all the time?
If I were crude I'd say that a charge for using my credit card would piss me off, but since I am a gentleman I must say that it would really annoy me, unless everyone else does it. I agree that across the board, small price increases are preferable. Dad
Hey guys, look back to Tom's post about his, "postal," experience...super funny! :-<> :-)
Cathy, there's no such thing as a round number on the menu. I think everything is $__.95. A slight increase bumps the big number up. A small business organization, trade group, with a lotta members should try to negotiate a lower usage rate.
Nance...that's why I said he must miss Nate! haha
I miss Tom too.
Daylight Savings Time begins tomorrow at 2:00 am. We lose one hour of sleep. Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour so that you won't be late for Mass.
Dad
Drake just beat Creighton.
Went to Berte's Back Nine for the *first* time, yesterday. Had fun. :-) Liam used his Gift Card from his 8th B-Day and we used a GC from my folks (Christmas). The boys loved it. The food was fine. Simple bar food, plastic utensils and dinnerware...not, necessarily inexpensive considering...certainly, no cheaper than Sarah's. The boys had mini-tacos and Tom had a wrap sandwich. I had an Oriental Chicken Salad and although it was decent...the grilled chicken was that highly injected, spongey kind...which I don't really like. We hit about 200 balls and no one got hit on the back swing...surprisingly. :-<> All in all a nice thing to do and the boys wanna go back every Sunday. :-)
Mom's art was in an art show this weekend. I didn't know about it til the day of, and had already had dinner plans.
Her latest painting was probably her best. A landscape. Lots of greens.
p
Tom and Nance -
I always assumed that any place tat accepts credit cards already imposes an across the board fee for them. I agree wtith the others that it could be a mistake to charge extra for credit card usage.
Lisa
Yes, we are not going to charge for CC usage. Thank you, all, for your input...very helpful! We are gonna raise prices, across the board, though as food costs have greatly incresed, we receive a fuel surcharge for food deliveries & such and CC use has sky-rocketed...in recent months. Hopefully, the increase will not be noticed and/or not be of annoyance to our Guests. :-)
I wonder if you could raise the prices but offer a small discount for paying in cash?
I don't think people even walk in the door with cash anymore.
Tom
You can't do lunch at Berte's for less than $7.00 if you have a soda...I wish they would get rid of the menu and just do munchies...they seem to do some bar business, though...we missed you guys at the St.Michael's carnival! We spent more on Bingo than we did at The Wild Rose casino ($22.) I think Betty had a good time (I had a good time with her!).
Joe3...are you gonna post anything about Boy's State???
Yesterday, the Berte's Bar was being operated by 17...maybe, 18 year olds? The bar, which seats @ six, was filled with teens drinking soda. Seemed kinda odd...but, that's just me. I would not allow the teens to, "belly-up," they would be at a table. Two reasons...one, they don't belong at the bar and two, if Tom and I were going in to have a mid-afternooon adult beverage (sans the kids) we would not want to sit alongside teenagers.
Which Berte owns Berte's Back Nine?
LeAnne(sp?)...I think.
Why can't you have a mid-afternoon adult bev. with the kids?
Yeah, it's LeAnne (and Darren Tietz has some ownership, I think).
Em, I think any 3-year-old who goes to school or daycare or who has older siblings who do has a runny nose and/or various other respiratory symptoms for about 4 or 5 years until they acquire a sort of general immunity to most of the thousands of viruses that go around. I really don't think this is part of the daycare age, either. Little kids didn't used to go to nursery school in the numbers thay do now, but in general they had more siblings bringing stuff home. There have always been kids who always have a runny nose, and some who just seem to have more immunity.
Eli and Liam *always* had some sort of cold...they would just barely get over one and get another. We didn't smoke around them so that wasn't it and they didn't go to daycare either. They did have seasonal allergies and that would be awful both in the late Spring and early Fall...this is getting much better with age. Jude's fine. :-)
I think those McDonald's Play Place's are a germ trap. Think of all the boogery kids that sneezed and wiped nasal matter inside those tunnels. Euw! :-<> Of course, it's a right of passage for kids...just gotta have sani-wipes at the ready when they make their exodus. ;-)
I agree, there's just nothing you can do about viruses. Mia was constantly sickly for the whole winter, and each cold turned into an ear infection. She's been okay since the surgery though. How big is Sam?
Some of the girls in that ring made $5,500 an hour. I don't know how you ever quit a job like that.
you should all go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948
you should all go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948
If anybody would like to download phelan's band's newly recorded and mixed album, go here:
http://homepage.mac.com/desmondlavelle/deshare/FileSharing7.html
That David Caruso video is hilarious. The longer it goes on, the funnier it gets.
des,
is that a legal download? you don't want Phelan coming after you with a $10 million dollar lawsuit...
frank
des,
is that a legal download? you don't want Phelan coming after you with a $10 million dollar lawsuit...
frank
Frank. I wouldn't put it past her.
Can you (me) buy a cd? I'm downloadmusicilliterate
P
m.e. said...
"Why can't you have a mid-afternoon adult bev. with the kids?"
Ohhh, I meant if Tom and I went out to a bar...to relax and have an adult bev/convo...we wouldn't wanna belly-up next to someone else's teeny bopper. :-)
Des~ We want a Phelan CD too! :-)
Yesterday someone told me that the reason the Pope classified "obscene wealth" as a sin (or whatever it is He did) was so that poeople would turn their money over to the Church. She may have been kidding, but I couldn't tell.
I listened to Eliot Spitzer's apology and found it incredulous that his apology was directed to his, "family." He kept saying his, "family," and although, yes, he has hurt his family terribly...I think the apology should be specifically directed to his **W-I-F-E**...hello?!
Well, he has three teenage daughters. I'm sure this has messed them up a bit.
p
Absolutely! I can't help but wonder what message a mother sends to her daughter when she, "stands by her man," in a situation like this. What makes this even worse is that it's reported that he would demand **not** to use a condom! Wow.
Mary, Mike and Joe3...the Birthday Party for Donny and Liam is on this Sunday at 5:30pm. Premier Pizza and cake. :-)
I'm picking Drake to go all the way. It's a Cinderella story that can only end with a big kiss from Prince Charming. Hon, were going to mortgage the house and lay it all on the line.
Seriously, you gotta love the Drake story. First year coach, walk-on Conference player of the year, picked to finish last or second to last in the conference. A bunch of lightly recruited players.
Tom
I also think it's crazy that the media is comparing this incident to other male politicos who have "wandered" (Clinton, Gary Hart, etc) But there is a HUGE difference. This guy broke the law! Totally different. (Nance, did you hear that he insisted on no condom use..his wife should start packing now!)
nms said...
Mary, Mike and Joe3...the Birthday Party for Donny and Liam is on this Sunday at 5:30pm. Premier Pizza and cake. :-)
6:35 AM
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