Life Down On The Farm

I have many things that annoy me, so I thought instead of being grumpy I would think of the things that make me smile...in no particular order of course!

Becky and Eli are on vacation. They left this morning to spend a long weekend in Minneapolis going to a car show and the Mall of America. I am sure Becky will convince Eli to go to more malls and I am sure he will find more cars to look at too. It is nice they could take some time to get away and have fun together, just the two of them.

Brian is spending a few days in Kansas, applying for jobs and doing interviews. So far he hasn't gotten any news, but he is hopeful he will get something soon. He told the hiring agency that he would pretty much accept any job except for going door to door selling vacuums. I am sure something will come up, I just hope it is something he enjoys and something that will pay well enough so he doesn't have to get a second job to afford his rent and living expenses.

Owning a car seems to sometimes be nothing but trouble. Brian's car won't start. Not sure why, but think perhaps the starter. Dan's car needs a starter too and his truck needs brakes. The other day the truck overheated because the radiator drain plug fell out and all the water ran out...so he had to have the truck, and him, towed home. Since Brian's car won't start he had to take mine to Kansas, Becky and Eli took hers to Minneapolis so that leaves us here at home with only Kayla's car. It made for an interesting morning when I had to go to work and Dan had to go do chores...he dropped me off, came home and fixed the truck and then picked me up again. Luckily Kayla then had her car to get to work tonight. Like they say...if it has wheels or testicles it is going to give you trouble...heeheehee :)

Kayla seems to be fighting a never ending battle. She is sick, gets better for a few days and then something else happens. First she had female troubles, although we were told it was something else. Took her to the doctor time after time, got medication after medication and nothing worked. Took her to a different doctor, immediate correct diagnosis, surgery and she is fine. Wasn't many months after that and her knees starting causing her trouble. Ended up having surgery for that and now she seems to be okay with them, as long as she doesn't wear her flip flops too much. Got over the knees and the headache started...all day...every day. Doctor visit after doctor visit, test after test, no relief. Finally got an appointment with a specialist, different medication and it seems to be working. Lately she hasn't been able to eat any more than a few bites before she feels sick, so more medication for that. We thought we had the medical issues under control...but we were wrong. Tuesday night she went out with friends for supper and a movie. On the way home she started feeling very hot and "pukey"...they had to pull the car over so she could throw up in the ditch. Then they got to one of the girl's houses and she threw up in their front yard because she knew she wasn't going to make it into the house and the bathroom. I thought maybe it was just a flu thing..of course the night before we were supposed to go to college visits...but she was fine in the morning. Now tonight she is at work and feeling the same way again...not throwing up though...yet. Her sides hurt so much she can barely walk since the first episode of this ailment and she has a few other symptoms. Looks like a time for another doctor appointment and more medication.

Sometimes it worries me with all the medicines she takes...I trust her doctor to not give her something that will interact with what she is already taking, but I still worry about what all those medications are doing to her body. She is only 16 and is already on two medications daily plus she is frequently on others for various illnesses. I know some people have constant health issues and apparently, sadly, Kayla is going to be one of those people.

Two college visits done, three more to go. Kayla and I visited Simpson College in Indianola and Drake University in Des Moines. We still have St Olaf, University of Minnesota and Northwestern to visit.

As of right now Drake is in first place, USD is second and Simpson is off the list. Simpson is a beautiful campus and a great school. It has a building on campus that is so old it is in the National Registry and it is beautiful inside and out. The music building is one floor and has a lot of practice rooms and a wonderful auditorium. But, Simpson is more a school that focuses on vocal music over instrumental.

Drake campus is gorgeous and has awesome buildings. The music building is a work of art all in itself and several floors tall. Lots of practice rooms, two floors worth! The freshman dorms have all been remodeled within the last three years. The auditorium where the music students perform is amazing! Just comparing looks between Simpson and Drake...Drake wins. But comparing music programs...Drake is far and away the winner.

We talked to the clarinet professor at Drake, he is also the professor in charge of the music department. He was friendly and outgoing and even offered Kayla lessons if she would like to come see him again. That was a huge selling point for her...she is very excited to go and have a lesson from him before All-State tryouts. Drake has a marching band, a pep band, a concert band, a wind symphony and several other ensembles. They also give lots of scholarships to music majors...and no football scholarships! Drake is the only school I have visited or looked into that doesn't think of athletics first and fine arts second, if at all. They give major money to the fine arts department and have a lot of benefactors to fund them as well.

Kayla was impressed with Drake and I was very surprised when she said it was first above USD she has been to USD for band camp and of course visited Becky there, so is well acquainted both the campus and the music department. The only thing Drake doesn't offer is a graduate program but USD does...so she could go for her undergrad at Drake and her grad at USD. Not a definite plan yet, but a strong possibility.

Choosing a college can be a tough decision. I am glad Kayla is visiting lots of different ones so she can see what each has to offer and find the one that is right for her.

Not much happening around my house lately. Wednesday and Thursday Kayla and I go to Des Moines to visit Drake University and to Indianola to visit Simpson College. The first of several college visits we have planned for the summer. Next Monday we go to Hawarden for senior pictures. All these things to get done and Kayla has to have band lessons and work in there too!

The world is full of idiots...and apparently one of them is a frequent commenter on a newspaper website. I made the mistake of reading an article online about the tragic death of Mr. Petersen...and then was dumb enough to read all the comments people made. One idiot just keeps commenting and driving home the idea that the sun was not a factor and it was not an accident. How the heck does anyone know what really happened except for the two people who were there? They don't...so they need to stop making stupid, offensive comments so that other people can read them and make more stupid, offensive comments in response. It was a terrible thing that happened...the bicyclist was just out riding and minding his own business, the driver of the car was doing the same. To say that this was anything other than an accident and that charges should be filed is ridiculous. This tragedy will be difficult for a lot of people to get over and having someone trying to cause trouble for the survivor is not going to help.

Ever have one of those days where you are just in a bad mood and you really don't know why? Maybe you do know why and you are still grumpy because there is nothing you can do about it. I hate days like that...I just want to go home and sit around and do nothing, talk to no one and everyone just leave me alone! Unfortunately, that isn't a possibility most days so I learn to pretend to be in a good mood and try not to yell at anyone too much. I really don't know what the problem is, I mean after all, I got a great deal on a new pair of shoes last night so I should be in a great mood! Grrrr

I walked into Wal-mart the other day and saw a display of flip-flops. Heaven knows I don't need any more shoes, especially flip-flops. But then I saw these...for $3...it was all downhill from there :)