Meet Us in Osseo! Meet us at the Play!

Teresa and I are playing in the pit for the CrossPlayers production of "Meet Me in St. Louis." We had two performances this last week, and there are four more, 2/26,27,28 at 7 PM and Sunday 2/29 at 2. Click the logo below for details, plot summary and more info:

Hello! Nice to hear from you, Gustaf!
Dad (aka John) has been riding a new kind of recumbent bicycle lately (this is him in front of our house):


Nice outfit, Dad. I've been busy with Graduate Recruitment Weekend this weekend--the Delph lab as "Friends" poster was a big hit. I'm enjoying my role as Phoebe!
Bye,
Ingrid

Gustaf

Gustaf--what a nice surprise!!!

We would love to have you visit again. And we would love to visit Sweden (and will someday). Did you receive email from Sandy Williams recently? Dale and Sandy's son Jonathan is planning on visiting Sweden and wants to study Swedish.

We have been curious about the picture on your mother's Christmas card... can you explain exactly what it is or what it represents? Is it a Yule tomte or Santa standing in a bowl of coals, chestnuts, or candy?

Your English is great. Don't take English language lessons from our blog... especially not from our inner city high school students, Stevie and Liv.

gustaf!!!

GUSTAF!!! WOW!!! YAY!!!
Tom---I am doing a project on Cuba for school (planning a trip) could I make some copies of some pictures of yours or something or advice or whatever. You can email me at livand@aol.com rather than write it on the blog for everyone to see.
School is very boring. Especially health. Luckily I have the idiot to teach me, so we do just a little busy work and he yells things like "Crack don't smoke itself!" and "The Big One's coming up! March 17th! I'm half-Irish [pause] Big Ma's 100%" Oy vey.
----Livvi'i

old school

Hey everyone,
Gustaf, it is pretty chill that you posted some stuff on the blog. I cant believe that it was 1998 that you were here. 6 years ago, where does the time go?
so today I got up at 6:10 to do homework. I have gotten into the habit of doing so because I am so tired after tennis that it is just easier to get up early than stay up late. It is good because I can have a good breakfast and today I even made coffee. the hw that I got up to do was an essay for an application for a class that I want to be in next year. it is for seniors and it is kind of exclusive. I dont think I will have any trouble getting into the class, even though I am a bit of a slacker. English and Social Studies are my favorite and best subjects and thats what this class is. it is a block class actually. well, anyways, the application was due today. after school I am going to tennis out at northwest. after tennis I am planning on working out with danny and christina, but I dont think that they will fill norris' size 13 shoes. well, I think that I am going to go do some reading now. ms. hoyt said that I could do whatever I wanted, since I finished my assignment so quickly. peace.

Tom, Stevie and Norris

Tom, we are glad you are safe... it sounds like a horrible experience. It's good you have a big heart, but maybe next time you shouldn't immediately run outside when you hear gunshots. Just a thought.

Stevie, I did not tell Norris what you wrote about him. He happened to be here and I told him to read about Tom on the blog. However, I will tell your classmates what you think of them.

el dia de nuestro amor

hola familia,
tom, are you ok? wow, I know that you are physically unscathed, but I am sure that there will definitely be lasting emotional consequences stemming from this horrific experience of yours. anyways, this is stevie. I am in fifth hour right now. it sure has been a while since I have been in the computer lab for one of my classes. this time it is chemistry. I am supposed to be researching alfred nobel and his invention of dynamite, but you know. my class is so ghetto. it is unbelievable. everyone in my class is really dumb, I just hope that they don't glance at my computer and read all of the horrible things I am saying about them. it probably doesnt matter much anyways, since they wouldn't understand most of the vocabulary that I use in my high class talkin. I am back to normal pretty much with regards to my physical activities. I played tennis everyday last week, and am planning to do the same this week. norris and I have been working out together. it is alot of fun to make fun of the people there. one guy looks like billy graham. the resemblance is remarkable. so anyways, we are getting into pretty good shape I think. norris is pretty strong. he was better than me at the free weights. but to tell the truth(dont tell norris that I said this, that means you teresa) he cant do a set of pull-ups to save his life. well, I better get going. ms. hoyt just walked by and I had to pretend that I was looking things up on google. she already likes me, since I am the only one in her class that does my work, but I still am going to try to stay on her good side. peace.

pete, did you say two bedrooms?... when are you going?

At 2:00 I hear the gunshot and looked out my window to see the woman screaming. I grabbed my phone and ran across the street and the suspect was gone. The woman, who was the girlfriend of the dead man, was sprawled over his body and I will spare you any details, but I was right there standing over them talking to the 911 operator and trying to ask the woman questions. So I saw the victim very close up and so there is a very graphic image of the whole thing burned in my mind.

I am doing okay though, at first the image was relentlessly with me, but I have come to be able to control it now and am happy to be feeling quite fine.

that is all,

Tom.

Tom,

we're all very thankful that you're safe after that horrible incident.. were you interviewed by the police? Did you see the man who was shot, and was the suspect still around when you went out side? We'll have to talk more about it later.. hope you're doing ok after all that..

Maria and I are going to Las Vegas March 7th-14th. Maria's parents generously allowed us to use a week of their banked timeshare time. We'll be staying at the beautiful Polo Towers right on the Vegas strip (next door to the MGM Grand). Click here to view.

We got a huge 2 bedroom/2bath/full kitchen suite, so we'll be living in luxury all week. Here is our room's layout:



We can't wait! Any suggestions any of you have on places to go/see are appreciated.

http://www.kstp.com/article/view/127842

You may have heard they just caught the suspect in a double murder case in Minneapolis.

One of the murders you can read about happened outside my living room window. I heard a shot and a woman screaming for help, ran outside, saw the victim and made the 911 call. I am okay.

Tom

Older than dirt...

Thanks for the b-day wishes. It was great to see the picture from BRAG 1994, 10 years ago this summer. It's been raining non-stop down here for days, but at least it's way above freezing. I guess I'll go down and ride in the basement. I'll try to get a picture of me on my new (used) 7 foot long bike -- long as a car and almost as comfortable. We're looking forward to seeing Matt and Janelle in a couple of weeks. Have fun everybody...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Here's hoping that this year you find the ideal way to locomote!

Best wishes, Ingrid
(7 foot recumbent bicycle, maybe?)

Happy Birthday John!

Another Birthday!!

    

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 |8 |9 |10|11|12*13*14|<--Happy Birthday

 |__|__|__|__|__|!!|__|      John!!

 |15|16|17|18|19|20|21| Many Happy Returns!

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Deployment

More prayers needed...

Many of you know my friend (and former dental assistant) Kris. Her husband Brian is being deployed to Iraq next month for 18 months. She and her younger daughter Kara are having a hard time with this.

More Ander-pseudo-celebrities...


... the Ander-bournes from Halloween 2002

Wait, so now we've got Tom as Justin Timberlake and Norris as Ed Norton/Brad Pitt? As long as we are comparing ourselves flatteringly to good-looking celebrities, here's how my lab sees themselves (we made this for our lab poster for recruiting new graduate students, a yearly event):



Ingrid

Fight Club

Tom, your Fight Club reference made no sense to everyone over at 2344, except me, so I wound up having to act out the major plot of the film for them. The first time I went to Norris's (and really, most times after that) I kept thinking that Norris's alter ego would blow the place up...maybe Norris should start going to support groups.
Livvi'i
p.s. Its good that Norris rarely reads this.

hey ya

Best male pop duo!

Strangely enough, while looking at Norris' people magazine in his bathroom on Sunday, for the first time I thought to myself-"For Pete's sake, I look like Justin Timberlake!" note the rhyme in my thought. I have also been told I look like Heath Ledger. Norris your pad is real nice, just don't be carried away by your possessions (did I see Fight Club).

Thomas

grammys

While watching the Grammy's last night, my mother (aka "Auntie Teresa") kept saying anytime Justin Timberlake came on screen "My stars, he looks like my little nephew Tommy" (not a direct quote, I just wanted to make her sound more outdated, it probably actually included a "fo shizzle" or two). Judge for yourself. For the first time ever I might concurr with her.
Livvi'i

speech meet speech meet speech meet

speech meet speech meet speech meet
Today was my first speech meet. Yippy. I got an A and two Bs. Good for a first time. I can tell you the whole story tomorrow if you wish.
----livvi'i

def poetry jam

so today at school we were visited by the fine folks from def poetry jam. there was a rumor that Russell Simmons was going to be in attendance. disappointingly, he was not. still, the program was a smashing success. it was really cool. maybe I'll tell some of you more about this experience of mine at a later time. peace.

hey, i'm sitting at Excell Academy in a chair made for a five year old in a computer lab filled with children in the after school program, doing their homework. that's all. See you all Sunday. Tom.

Thanks

Thanks for all of your kind wishes, I'll see you at Norris's place on Sunday!

Matt

happy birthday

Happy Birthday, Matt!
I would have sent this wish earlier, but I was locked out of our house all day. I hope you had a great day! You certainly are blessed with a wonderful wife and a lovely home and of course such a nice family! Nancy

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Matt!! Now you can say, with



Jack Benny, "I'm 39!".

Happy B-day

Hey Matt, have a happy birthday. tom.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Matt! :)

Janelle

hey guys

hello ya'll. this is of course stevie. today was my first day back at tennis. it was pretty painful. I was disappointed at the level to which I have sunk. I was not able to hit serves, overheads or backhands very well at all. a couple of times i tried to go all out on some backhands and they really really hurt alot.
I actually checked to see if i was bleeding. but other than that, its all gravy. peace.

Chutzpah

I sent the last edited chapter of my aunt's book to her last night and prepared to celebrate. My parents and I have expended much time and energy on this and I figure I have given her about $1,500 of my time. We had never heard whether of not she had the chutzpah to ask my rich cousin for the $10,000 she wanted to have 500 copies professionally printed. Well, today she called my parents and asked for money! This from a person who owns three homes in California, has lived in Europe for years at a time, etc. They are not donating to the cause and are suggesting that she start with printing 50 copies at Kinko's.

The "boys" are enjoying themselves in DisneyWorld now, although it has drizzled both days they've been there.

to whom it may concern:

what up family. I went to the doctor today and got my bandage taken off. the doctor says that the gash in my neck is healing very well(yeah right). he probably just said it to get more money or something. after he took of my bandage, he put another, much smaller and more maneuverable bandage on. I can take it off some time tomorrow. the good news is that I will be able to play tennis a little bit starting next week. I can't wait. well, I'll see all of you sometime later. peace.

Network Security Expert Meets 'Gator

                        ....zzz.zzzz.zzz

            .-._   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

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'.___ '    .   .--_'-' '-' '-' _'-' '._ 

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let sleeping gators lie...

Norris and I have just taken a nice long bike ride around the island, which included a visit to the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Very nice and picturesque (and Norris took the pictures). He kept complaining about seeing NO gators... then we came on one, then another.... then another. All as ferocious and active a Koko in the sun... in fact the first one Norris was SURE was fake... till finally it flicked an eyelid....


Tomorrow on to Orlando.. and probably no more posts.... Stay warm!! It is COLD here... down to 44 last night!!

More info needed

Hi all:

I want to know more about your girlfriend, Tom. A week ago you said NOTHING and now you are having your FATHER take pictures of you kanoodling in the kitchen. And she is a supermodel and you look like a unhappy prisoner.

Our main computer got infected with this new worm just when the resident network security expert went to Florida. Fortunately, Liv's laptop still works. Matt is going to try to help us out. I am an international expert on website content only!

Speaking of which, tomorrow I have an international conference call with all the people whose websites I dissed. Pray for Mojo!

Hello from Sanibel!

Where it is a sunny, but cool day. I'm biking around, Norris is back by the pool. We've gone to the beach and done some shelling ... check out the place we ate supper last night: The Bubble Room

Tom and Becky. Picture courtesy of Mark.

So Tom, who's this new girlfriend? Give us more details! (is it Becky Reeve? Maria seemed to think it was - I must have missed something...?) :)

edit: wow, she sure is tall Tom... is she standing on a chair? (lol) I'm happy you two got together, I always had a feeling that it would happen..

Mazel tov to Tom on the girlfriend (maybe this one won't get this url). Get well soon, Stevie.
I know I haven't posted in awhile, so here goes Liv's update:
-I've knit 2 scarves and a bag and am working on a pair of legwarmers
-I'm on the speech team and our first meet is on Feb. 7th. I'm doing extemporaneous speaking-international topics. Of course, as a first year speaker I choose the hardest category.
I guess that's all. Well, have a good Sunday, I'm off to sing with small children.
Livvi'i

oh, i have a girlfriend. she's real cool.


Tom

check out brokendownheroes.blogspot.com for the first part of a journal entry that i wrote sitting ina plaza watching street preachers. peace.

alive and, well, alive

hello everyone. I am still here. the surgery went well as my mother already informed all of you. thanks to everyone who sent email greeting to me in the hospital. if anybody wants to chill, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. well, I'll let you go now. peace.

Good News

Hi everyone. Good news. Stevie is relieved to be on this side of his surgery. The surgeon said it was the best possible result, getting all of the cyst intact and preliminary microscopic check indicates it is benign...complete path. report on Monday.
He was really happy to get those great e-mail get well wishes. He slept most of the afternoon and didn't actually read them until this evening. They really perked him up!
Tomorrow morning we'll know if he will come home Friday or Saturday.
Have a great day, y'all. Love, Nancy

jk

that last post of mine, from two minutes ago seemed a little somber for this crowd. I am not really as depressed or whatever as it might have suggested. I actually had a pretty good day. the start of the quarter was on tuesday and some of my classes were not to my liking. I switched out of orchestra(I hated it) and Gov/Econ. instead of gov/econ I now have ethics/philosophy which promises to be a much easier although more interesting class. instead of orchestra I dont have a first hour which means I will be able to sleep in an extra hour everyday for the rest of the semester. well, I'll talk to you all later. peace.

death bed

hey everyone, this is stevie. It is now approx. 10 hours and 30 minutes until my surgery on my neck. as you can tell I am definitely looking forward to it with wide open arms. well I guess I will talk to all of you later unless...
peace.

Up at "the lake"
Today marked the end of "Snow Village season" and we took down all our houses, stores, and cabins. Before I was willing to see it go, I got a cheap digital camera at Target (from the toy department, for $20) and snapped some pictures of the scene. Then, for fun I made the panorama above, adding in some "real" scenery... think of it as sort of a virtual Island Lake.

Saturday

Thank you for the news about your mother, Maria. And we'll be thinking of your surgery this week, Stevie. Try not to steal anything the doctor might need to finish the job.

Sandy Williams called me this week and said to stop by today as she and Dale would both be at their new house, stripping wallpaper. So Janelle, Matt, Joel and I went over there to greet our new St. Paul neighbors. They have big plans for major remodeling, ripping out walls several places, etc. They will be able to walk to Lake Como easily and have a new 5-month-old dog (that Andrea brought home) to exercise there.

hey ya

oops, my outkast reference in the title of this post was not even intentional. i was just writing to say hi and stuff like that, you know what I'm sayin. today I went to the doctor for a pre-surgery physical examination. it was pretty dumb. I stole another tongue depressor. anyways. after the the appointment at our local clinic on bloomington ave and lake street there was a bit of a traffic jam. lake street was blocked off and there were police cars directing traffic and what not. so we drove around trying to see what was going on. there was this burned out building on the north side of the street at 17th and lake. I think that there will be stuff about it on the news late. well, I will see you all later. peace.
p.s. I like the way you move.

Good News!!!

Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would update you on what we have found out regarding my moms health. She went to the Mayo Clinic yesterday and after having several tests done all last week, they finally gave her the news. The mass that they found is a fibroid tumor. The doctor said that these are never cancerous and that a lot of women get them after having a hysterectomy. My mom had a hysterectomy in 1985 and they had to leave her cervix in because she was bleeding so badly. This mass is just residue from the surgery and is connected to her cervix. They said that she may not even have to have surgery. However, because of this mass her bladder has fallen and they said that in the near future she is going to have to get that repaired and when they do that, they will most likely have to remove the cervix along with this mass.

The doctor was not concerned regarding the lesions on her liver. She said that a lot of people have them. My mom is so relieved along with the rest of us. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and concerns. God truly heard them!

happy birthday to me

hey everyone. thanks to all of you who made it to my wild seventeenth birthday bash. it was pretty wild. it is getting kind of late, and I am about a fifth of the way through my big research paper for the quarter for my history class. it is really boring so I thought that I would let you all know how I am doing. everything is pretty good. I just thought of something. it is 2004. isnt that amazing? I remember when it was 1998 for goodness' sake. I feel like robots should be conquering earth soon or something. I guess all those h.g. wells novels have given me a pretty silly outlook on life. I just bought "the war of the worlds" on saturday. I have read time machine and stuff like that. so tonight at around 8:45 p.m. peter and maria stopped by to say hello and give me a b-day present. they gave me three really awesome books. well, I guess I will talk to you all later. you can expect another post from me around 1:35 tomorrow, during 5th hour. peace.

Hi Everyone,
I have an urgent request. My mom, Pat, has been having several problems lately with her health. Today she went into emergency and had a cat scan done. They found a 4" x 6" tumor in her lower stomach area. They arent sure if it is malignant yet, but she is going to the Mayo Clinic tomorrow to have it tested. Either way, she is going to have to have surgery to remove it. Cancer is extremely common in my family and as most of you know, two of my moms brothers died last year of it. So, I am very concerned and worried about her. Please please everyone pray for her. Thanks.

birthday boy

hello everyone. thankyou teresa, pete and joel for your wonderfully thoughtful birthday wellwishes. I am at school right now in 5th hour. It is kind of boring. it seems like everytime I am in the computerlab I end up posting something on the blog. My birthday has been very good so far. in gym today I won the badminton(my mother corrected my spelling of this word after veiwing my last entry) singles tournament in gym today with a resounding score of 11-0 in the final match. I have to look up some pictures of beyonce knowles on the internet. they are due at the end of the hour. camille(the girl sitting next to me) sends hedr love to everyone in the anderson family and whoever else might be reading this. I look forward to seeing everyone at my birthday party this weekend. sorry paul but I had to open your card early for lunch money. joel I like the tennis joke. alright everyone, have a nice day. peace.

Birthday

Happy Birthday, Stevie!

Happy 4 years with your adopted family, Koko!

That sounds like a stressful start to a job interview, Nancy.

Happy Birthday Stevie! Try not to go to too many R-rated movies now, they're over-rated.

Q: What number is also a sport?

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A: Ten is.

elevator troubles

I gave platelets this morning and watched "You've Got Mail." Joe Fox gets stuck on an elevator for an hour and makes important decisions while trapped. This afternoon I went to the Memorial Blood Center's new facility in Eden Prairie (for a job interview) and as soon as the elevator door closed, the lights went out... it was TOTALLY DARK. After a couple of minutes the lights came on, but the elevator wouldn't move and wouldn't open. Eventually I got out, but had a really tough time getting up to the second floor. (The stairway was roped off and had a sign saying, "Use elevator.") I climbed over the ropes and snuck in. Have a great day. Nancy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHEN! How well I remember January 8, 1987. We waited until after midnight to go in to the hospital, (We didn't have to pay for Jan. 7!) then Dr. Komoto went to the wrong hospital. You were born at 3:13 a.m. HAPPY DAY FOR US! We're proud of "OUR THREE SONS." Love, Mom

First Color Photograph taken on another planet's surface:

the boring day

once upon a time there was a little boy who went to school today. when he arrived at school he could not open his locker because he had forgotten the combination over break. then he was late for first hour but it was all good. in gym class he played badmitten and had a lot of fun. at lunch he put dorritos on his pizza and it was really good but the other children made fun of him. right now he is fifth hour. it has been a lackluster day so far. I think he will visit the love calculator for a little pick him up. heidi klum here he comes

Here's the official link to Mars...

Now, *WHY* NASA has edited out MrKlingon's sign, I do not know....



(I'm happy to note that Teresa, Norris, Liv, Joel AND Kokomo ALL have their names on board Spirit AND Opportunity!)

Here's something I thought many of you would find interesting. Pictures from the Mars Rover:

Martian Landing

Hello,
Here's the family picture for the Georgia Andersons! Happy New Year to all!

As Stevie mentioned we had a great time down in Illinois over the weekend. We had a get together with our extended family to celebrate our grandparent's 64th wedding anniversary. Maria and I are well on our way to that - only 62 1/2 more to go! Here we are at our Aunt Jan's house on Saturday.

yo x-mass eatings

I hope that everyone had a wonderful christmas time. we had a great time down in illinos with my grandparents and everyone. tom and I along with our cousins tim, jenn and liz all went to see "cheaper by the dozen." it was a pretty silly movie and I would suggest it for anyone who is in the mood for some good clean fun(sorry norris). I had fun helping tom drive his stick all the way down there. I dont think he enjoyed as much as I did. there was not very much at all in Iowa or Illinois so that was too bad but it was like 50 degrees a couple of days so that was nice. well I am going to catch up on some me time. I look forward to seeing all of you next sunday. peace.

Happy Birthday, Anderblog!

Happy Birthday, Anderblog!

I'm not sure of the exact date, but I remember being invited to sign up for the family blog a year ago when we were in the Easy Internet Cafe in London. So, thanks, Peter, for the good idea!

This Christmas vacation has not been as interesting as the last, as we've spent it moving furniture. Everything that Norris didn't take with him, we bundled up in garbage bags and boxes and moved to the garage. We are hoping someone will steal it. Then we moved Liv upstairs, Joel and me to Liv's old bedroom, and the computer stuff into our old bedroom. It's certainly good to move every once and a while to get rid of stuff, including the dust. We are having a hard time not throwing ourselves on the floor, thinking it's our bed, and keep walking out to the dining room to check our mail.

Happy Birthday Dad! Merry Christmas to one and all!
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quinirius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to the, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angle, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in he rheart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20 (NIV)

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...and

Merry Christmas!

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   LEAD YOU TO PEACE AND  '  '      /#\          # 

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          EVERYONE      '      '            #_ 

Elvish has left the building

No, actually Elvish is probably just coming into its own, now that there are movies that need to provide Westron, I mean English, subtitles for the Sindarin and Quenya dialogue! Liv and I had a great time going to see the Return of the King last Saturday, and in that spirit I offer this seasonal greeting:

(that is "valina nosta heru!" meant to mean "be-happy (at the) birthday (of the) lord")

hello everyone

I am at school right now in the south high media center. it is really boring and I had nothing else to do so I decided to update everyone on how my day is going. well, in gym class today we played kick ball again and so that was a good time. my team was killing the other team and needless to say, I was pretty much the mvp for the first couple of innings. my team was up 23-1, the competition was not too great. I suggested to my gym teacher, ms. frisvold, that I be traded to the other team. in an attempt to "equafy" the teams she agreed to my proposition. the tide turned in my new team's favor after that point but alas, it was too little, too late. we ended up losing 17-31 but the true reward is in the spirit of a little friendly competition. I ended up getting four in the park homeruns, a triple and a double. most valuable playa. I asked the girl sitting next to me if she had anything to add but she graciously refrained. peace.[

As you all know the Lord of the Rings Return of the King opens today, and I can' t wait to see it. It's already got a buzz as being a front-runner for Best Picture. Below is one of the many glowing reviews of the film.. Enjoy!

Review of the Movie

tumor: part II

hello everyone. I hope that all is well. as some of you may be aware, I played in a tennis tournament this weekend at the U of M. on friday night I played m first match against tom litscher, but we wont talk about that one. I lost... so anyways, I played again on saturday morning against some kid named sam something or other. he's not really much to write home about and I have beaten him quite handily in the past. I was feeling fine, everything was going smoothly; I won the first game very easily and was surely coasting to a glorious victory when suddenly my neck tensed up really painfully. it was really weird. all of a sudden my neck was just hurting really bad. I couldnt rotate my shoulders on my forehand because that would require me to turn my neck in a fashion which now gave me great amounts of pain. I started playing badly but I was still able to pull out a win: 6-4, 6-3. it was probably one of the most painful physical endeavors of my entire life. I am not sure what it was on my neck, it could have been a tumor maybe not. ok so I won that match but I was still in a lot of pain. my parents got me a bunch of advil or something so I took that. they also got me some ice. I iced my neck and massaged it for the two or so hours I had until my next match. nick hansen was next on my agenda and it was a daunting task to say the least. when i went out to play this match I was a little bit anxious because I didnt know how Iwould feel but everything worked out pretty well. I didnt experience very much pain at all but still lost the first set 3-6. the second set was mine for the taking though as I won it 6-3. for the third and final set we played a super tie-breaker. that is, a regular tie-breaker, only you play to ten instead of 7. I lost it 10-12. it was very close, but I think, without my obvious handicap, I probably would have left victorious.

NEWS FLASH!!!

Saddam Hussein was captured today! Click the picture for the whole story:

Travels (travails)

Travels (travails?)

Returned from Washington, D.C., last night without incident, until we landed in a blizzard. Deborah and I had to wait two hours at the airport while Joel valiantly struggled through snow, ice, and stalled traffic to pick us up. It took us as much time to get home from the airport as to get to Minneapolis from D.C.!

Then today I was driving Liv to her guitar lesson when a man passing me on the freeway pointed out our flat tire (I had thought it was just ice in the wheel wells). We limped into the bank lot where IAC is located and Auntie Janelle quickly pulled on her boots and drove Liv to her lesson on Summit Avenue. Although we have AAA, they were backed up and wouldn't be able to get there for two hours, so I swallowed my pride and asked the bank parking lot guys to help me. They threw themselves into the task enthusiastically, both crawling on their bellies to find the proper spot to place the jack. I felt very guilty, but they wouldn't quit. I was even able to pick Liv up on time. So THANKS freeway stranger, Janelle, Mike, and Billy!

Moving Experiences

Well, we spent all Thursday moving Norris in to his new place. I got 17,000+ steps on my pedometer (usually 10,000 is the goal), some cuts on my hands and aches in muscles I forgot I had.

Thanks to Mark and Nancy for the loan of their van - it was a tremendous help! We used it to bring innumerable boxes and bags of clothes, shoes and whatnot, his bed, four armchairs, a dining room table from Goodwill, various furnishings from World Market, and a desk. Well the desk was for US. Norris benefited from Teresa's work by getting two nice leather armchairs that her boss was getting rid of, and then we learned they (Immunization Action Coalition) had a desk that they were getting rid, so we hauled that back to our place. Once all the rearrangement is done at our home, we'll have a den with a real desk!

No pictures yet, but we can report that Koko gives his seal of approval - he stopped by last night and looked the place over - he likes the windows that reach low enough to the floor for him to look out.



Quick question : someone email me Tom's email address, please (don't put it on the blog, or he'll get more spam.)

liv you silly little couzin

yo cuz, this big black kid in my gym class named chris "killa" otis called me nephew today. i thought that was pretty cool. it sounds like maybe your defensiveness concerning people's reaction to the color of your hair is partly due to the deeper insecurities which drove you to dye it pink in the first place(jp). no but seriosly, I am very proud of you liv. I think thats tight. actually, a girl in my math class has her hair dyed blond and red and black at the same time. it looks pretty crazy. ok, now for the second installment of "stevie's joke of the day."

Q:what did the tea cup say to the tea pot?

A:nothing silly, tea cups cant talk.

I hope you all liked that one. it is one of my favorites. so in my math class today, my math teacher was really dumb and stuff. she is pretty stupid. I dont like her very much. all my other teachers are really chill though. especially mr. fitz. his wife used to be a lesbian. she is also a teacher at my school. he is funny. he curses sometimes but thats not as funny as when he almost curses and then says something silly like "muffed up" instead of what he originally intended. he is like 27 and his wife is 34 or something. peace.

Hair, long beautiful hair
Well, it may (or may not) shock and surprise you to know that my hair is now pink. Well, it shocked Deb, the liturgical dance leader at my church. But when I spoke to her and saw her it seemed to have shocked her in a good way. But then she talks to other people (behind my back, of course) about that my hair poses a "problem." So what does she do? Not call me to talk, of course! That would be the mature solution. Instead she has the other dance leader call me. So first she lies to me then she won't even face the "problem." I find it extremely immature for an adult who is a mother and supposed to be a role model within the church to not only not talk to me about the problem, but lie to me.
I had initially intended on covering my hair with a liturgically colored scarf (as used to be tradition in the Catholic church) and this is still the plan, if she would have just addressed what she saw as the problem, she would have found the solution to be a lot easier than she thought, instead of making me respect her even less.
----Livvi'i

the prodigal cousin has returned

greetings to one and all. the day has finally come; I have obtained my own screen name for the family blogger. to mark this momentous occasion I shall institute a new tradition.

stevie's joke of the day.
Q: what's the hardest part of a vegetable to eat?

A: the wheelchair

sorry about that one if anybody takes offense to it. I think that it's a pretty good joke. I told it to my friend will muessig and he started laughing in the middle of class when we were supposed to be quietly reading to ourselves. he has a very distinctive laugh to say the least.

how about I put in a quote from the latest book I have been reading.
it is a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky with the title "white nights"

"it was a sad and dismal day today, rainy, without a ray of hope, just like the long days of my old age which I know will be as sad and dismal."

there is this girl really annoying girl in my gym class. she is afraid of deer. if people even say the word "deer" she gets all freaked out. what a dummy. she is so stupid. I think that she is actually just looking for attention while at the same time distancing herself from the rest of humanity in a frail attempt to come to terms with her bitter loneliness.

the end.

Hi everyone. Here's me after running the half-marathon in Atlanta with my friend Nancy, who was my support team.

Janelle and the giant turkey.



Tom's new ride that took him to Brooklyn, New York for Thanksgiving.

(Images courtesy of Mark and his new digital camera!)

Stevie:
We are happy to hear your good news, although you probably think it would have been better news if they would have decided this before hooking you up. Being able to read the highly amusing account of your ordeal on the blog is an additional bonus. Don't wait for another near-death experience to write!

pain, suffering, death, etc.

yo whats up fam. hopefully you have already realized that this is not nancy. thats right, its yours truly, stevie. I am sure that you are all very eager to hear the latest news on my recent grapples with mortality so here goes.
after the lovely thanksgiving day festivities, which were so graciously hosted by matt and janelle, i returned home to check my email and watch conan. since I would not be allowed to eat or drink anything in the morning before my ct-guided needle biopsy, I ended up staying awake until 3:00 a.m. I ate every morsel of food that I could find and accidentally consumed a half pint of sterno(jp). my mother, nancy, awoke me from my rejuvenating slumber at approximately 9:07 a.m.

ok I am getting really tired of telling this story so thoroughly so basically I went to the doctor and they took some of my blood out and stuff and I had an iv in my arm. I even had to change into a gown and everything. then they were giving me a cat-scan and it was kind of weird because they had a sticker on my neck, some dewhickey clamped to my finger, an iv in my right arm and a blood pressure thingy on my left arm. I was in the cat-scan-o-matic for like 15-20 minutes and then they said, "we are really dumb so we arent going to give you the biopsy because your tumor got smaller and so we think that it would be best to wait and see what happens." then I had to get the iv out and all that jazz. the lady left me in a room by myself to change and so I stole some medical equipment. anybody need a flu-shot? so thats what happened today. I dont really know anything more about my tumor than I did before. peace.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks!

We had a wonderful time at Matt and Janelle's! Everything was terrific, and it was a fine time to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for! Thank you, M&J!!

The excellent turkey looked much like this one, but BIGGER and even better!:

Happy Birthday Joel

Happy Birthday, Joel - 7 x 7 candles for you!
Livvi's card is quite funny, but I happen to be one who thinks you are very young indeed! I hope you had a great day!
It's great to hear from you, Ingrid. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I'll be in St. Paul on the big day. Nancy

Happy Birthday Daddy!
I made my dad a card that had this pic on the front:

With the words: "Some things never get old..."
inside it said "You're not one of them. Happy birthday!"
I found it quite funny...
---Livvi'i

Hello from Bloomington

Hello Everyone,

Good work, Joel and Teresa! Thanks for keeping the blog interesting. Maria, is your cousin who is in Iraq from Indianapolis? I noticed that the article Peter posted a link to was from the Indy Star. That's pretty close to me, here in Bloomington. One of my friends' brother is in the 101st Airborne near Mozel, and it is quite amazing to hear about some of his experiences. How is everyone spending Thanksgiving next week? I'm planning on going home to Atlanta, and hopefully catch up with my parents before their big anniversary trip. I'm going to run the Atlanta Half-Marathon, and eat a big dinner and enjoy being home and taking a break from my plants! Hope everyone is doing well,
Ingrid

Hey! That is what I wrote!

Both Teresa and I were pleased (and surprised) to find things that we'd written get published online without signifigant editing.

Teresa's employer from the World Health Organization contacted her last week and asked her to do some more work (long distance). Although the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety decided not to link to other sites from their official website, they do want Teresa to evaluate other organizations' websites for possible inclusion on a separate WHO page. He mentioned that the website criteria she had developed for them in June had been put up on the GACVS's website. This was a total surprise to Teresa. You can find it on the GACVS web site here. (click on the link "New document: Good information practices," on the right hand side.)

My online publication is the "Klingon Language Version" of the World English Bible, that I mentioned before. It has been included in the online Bible Tool prepared for the American Bible Society. You can find it here. I was happy to see they used my short explanation/disclaimer, "Why a Klingon Bible," on their page (follow the Learn More.... .link under Just for Fun).

Check out Charlene's Angels, a movie starring Norris, Liv, myself and Janelle as well as Lisa and Emily Letourneau. Coming soon!

If any of you would like to write to my cousin in Iraq, here is his address:

SSG Vankleeck, Jason
194MP Co/716 MP Bn
(Babylon)
APO AE 09332

Any kind of letter would be greatly appreciated by him and by our family. Thanks!

We have told you about Maria's cousin in a couple of posts below. He was now written up in his local paper as well. click the link below to read.

Sally and Todd Van Kleeck are proud of their soldier son's bravery -- something that this month earned him a Bronze Star in the ongoing conflict in Iraq.

My cousin sent me this picture of him receiving some sort of medal for saving several of his fellow soldiers during battle in Iraq. He is the one in the middle. Just thought you guys might be interested to hear how he is doing. We are all so proud of him. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Does anybody know this guy? -- RHS grad wins Nobel Prize

Hey everybody,
Anybody know Peter Agre, RHS 67 and Augsburg 1970 who was just awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry? I guess he was a sophomore when I was a senior. I'll see ifI can find my yearbook...

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2003/OCTOBER/031008A.HTM

First, the Governor, now this...

John

For all you Simpsons Fans out there, here's a story about another fan who has way too much time on their hands:

Simpsons Fan Creates Real Tomacco Plant

Our church, Evergreen Community Church, has been involved in a church movement called the "40 Days of Purpose". It is a movement designed to help people realize their purpose in life, and to show them that it lies beyond themselves, in a greater purpose that God has for their life. We are about 20 days into the track, and it has been very eye opening thus far.

Over the weekend the Star Tribune had a story discussing the Purpose Drive Life phenomenon. It is a good quick read.

Also, over the weekend, my parents, brothers, Maria and I went to the funeral of Charlotte Davis at Hennepin Ave. Methodist in Minneapolis. Charlotte was a wonderful kind-hearted woman who spread God's love to others for her entire 77 years. We have known Charlotte and her husband Harry (who once ran for mayor of Minneapolis) for many years now, through our involvement in the Minnesota Christian Ashram where they were very involved. She always had kinds words for you, and I remember her just taking Maria under her wing when she came to the Ashram for the first time. She died last week with her family around her, and we know that now she has gone on to a better place. Thanks Charlotte for your Godly influence in all of our lives. We will miss you.

Transportation Footnotes

Recently, I was also looking to upgrade my transportation to and from work. I found a good solution at Kohl's in Roseville - a nice new pair of shoes that look something like this: . These are very comfortable. I track my mileage using a "DigiWalker" purchased at Health Partners: (note: I don't walk ALL the way - I walk to the St. Paul campus and then take a bus .)

More Cars!

Maria had a 1995 Honda Civic LX (good choice on getting a Honda Tom- good cars!) that she has had for several years. She liked to call it her "baby car". Recently her mother decided that she wanted Maria to have something a little safer - something with side airbags and anti-lock brakes. So last week Maria got a 2002 Honda Civic EX (with a sunroof!). It is a beautiful beige color and is a great car.

So next time we all get together, we'll all have to show off our new cars!

Car troubles too

With three licensed drivers and one wanna be our transportation needs were being adequately served by two vehicles (99 Voyager& 86 Caprice) and my bike until one day several weeks ago when the Caprice started running too hot and leaking water. Not wanting to invest money in this longtime member of our family I parked it at the Roosevelt Auto shop with the intention of donating its remains to a worthy cause. This put us in a bad way since Tom must drive several miles to his work each day. Fortunately a woman from our church came to the rescue and loaned us her spare 89 Taurus for several days. Then some neighbors went to Africa for three weeks and gave us access to their Saturn, mini van and pickup truck. We started looking around for a permanent replacement. Tom found a Saturn station wagon that looked promising at a dealership. However when we took it for a test drive it quit a couple of miles from the dealership and we had to call for a ride back. Finally we found the suitable vehicle, a 95 Honda Accord with a five speed manual transmission. We bought it from a woman from our church who got it when it was new and has maintained it properly. To top it off the the auto shop guy at school thinks he can fix the Caprice cheaply so we may get few more miles out of it.

Misc. stuff...

Sorry to hear about your cousin, Maria.

Just wanted to let people know that the musical at Como Park this year is "South Pacific." Liv is one of the nurses. If anyone wants to come, the dates are Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00, Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30, Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30, and Sunday, November 16 at 2:00. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students. As in previous years, there is also a 5:00 "dinner theater" option on Saturday night, in which you can get dinner in the lavishly decorated cafeteria, be greeted by the cast, dance to a jazz band, and get reserved seats for the show. The dinner theater is $20--if anyone wants to go to this they need to tell me so I can make the reservations. Otherwise, you don't need to buy tickets ahead of time. Hope some people can come!

Here is Koko in his Halloween costume.

Hi Everyone,
I have an urgent prayer request. My cousin Jason is in the army and he has been in Iraq fighting throughout this entire war. He hasnt been in the midst of most of it until now. His mom wrote to me and this is her e-mail:
We would like you all to know that Jason was involved in the firefight in Karbala, Iraq, but fortunately was not shot. He called us at 5 this morning to let us know that he is ok physically, but emotionally he is not doing well. His battalion commander was killed as were two squad leaders that he knew well. One of his best friends was shot in both legs and is now in the hospital (stable condition) in Germany until the end of this week when he will be flown to Walter Reed Hospital. There were 7 hurt by shrapnel fragments. He told us that a rocket propelled grenade exploded a foot above his head. They were in an intense firefight that lasted for about half an hour.
I guess he wont be home until April. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. We would all be so blessed to see him come home safely.

CAR TROUBLES - R.I.P. '96 Dodge Intrepid

A week ago from last friday I began having problems with my 1996 Dodge Intrepid. This was by no means the first time that I'd experienced problems with said car, but as I was to find out - it was the last.

After starting it up, the engine began making a loud knocking noise, something akin to knocking a frying pan against your kitchen counter. I took that to be a bad sign. I turned the car off and decided I would take it into the shop on Monday.

Monday came and I drove the car through Savage, towards the service station in Burnsville. After crossing 35W on hwy 13 the "little Intrepid that couldn't" decided it would go no further. After a couple of final death gasps, the engine sputtered and died.

After sitting on the side of the road in rush hour traffic for over an hour, I finally had the car towed to its final destination at the Burnsville Amoco. They looked at my car and announced with finality that my engine was dead on arrival. They then informed me (with much delight) that installing a new engine in the car would cost upwards of $3000. I could tell they had already begun counting the money in their heads. I decided I had had enough. It was time to get a new car.

And here it is, my new 2001 Chevrolet Lumina, courtesy of Ryan Chev Olds in Buffalo.