That should come to Rochester.
I just have to throw out there that I also want a Sonic, which Eau Claire is also getting this year.
RAR!
I also want a Texas Roadhouse Grill, which Eau Claire got last year!
RAR!
And I have been begging White Castle my whole life to bring one near where I live. There is one in South St. Paul that I frequent when I go that way, but having one nearby would just rock! Most people I know aren't familiar with White Castle and/or aren't too fond of it. I believe it is something that you don't necessarily fall in love with, I think it has to be part of your DNA and you have to be raised on it like I was. MMMMMM! Gut bombs! Not sure what they would do to my new "stomach", haven't been brave enough to try that yet, but maybe this next trip to Indiana I'll think about it.
I would love it if BJs Pizza and Brewery would come this far east and plant itself in our state, I'd be happy even if they came to the cities for the bigger market! PUHLEASE!!!
I also love Rocky Roccoco's pizza, and this is a Wisconsin thing, and I know all their locations, but I would totally love it if they step foot one hour into Minnesota and make life easier for me!
Rochester in general is severely lacking in restaurant choices. We are a town of over 100,000 people, not to mention all the outlier communities in a 60 mile radius that come HERE to get something more than hometown food, Subway or Dairy Queen. Rochester is booming and yet, we don't seem to be a hotspot for too many companies to look. I think this should change.
Any of the above mentioned companies who happen to read this, I have written most of you letters and emails. Please consider us once again!
That being said, I am very happy we have an Outback, one of my fave places of all time to eat. Can you say potato soup? MMMMM! And we have an Olive Garden. Can you say Zuppa Tuscana? MMMMMM! We also have a Buffalo Wild Wings and Noodles, very delicious! We do have some other chain restaurants, but it is slim pickings. Someone, please, consider coming to Rochester to give us more choices!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Speaking of restaurants...........
Red Robin
YUM!
Well, I got the surprise of the weekend while driving into Eau Claire Friday night.
They have a Red Robin!
I have been begging Red Robin to come to Rochester for I can't tell you how long, so imagine my surprise when a town half our size has one!
RAR!!!!!
Anyway, on Sunday evening, Al, Brenda, Austin and I got to go. I got to sample their delights for the first time in seven years and it was just as good as I remembered! My first Red Robin experience was in Seattle and I couldn't get over how good their food was. I have to say that they are somewhat pricey, but the food is awesome, so I guess once in awhile, its a nice treat.
Red Robin, if you are out there, reading this, R-O-C-H-E-S-T-E-R! That should be your next location!
As for now, I guess the 90 minute drive to see my nephew will have to include a visit to Red Robin from now on.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Favorite Foto Friday 07/11/08
This week, I just had to post another picture of my blog friend Doni's daughter Tori. Doni is not a professional photographer, but she has a sweet camera and loves experimenting. She then bought an awesome editing program, and she could be a pro! She is really honing her skill and I think someday when Tori isn't keeping her so busy, perhaps she'll have a business in this area, but for now, she focuses on her family, that of her siblings and friends, and she is creating some very nice artwork!
So, another picture of Tori, this is from a 4th of July photo shoot she did and Doni captured Tori with a grin that says it all!
Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Update on Greg 07/10/08
Greg ended up having his leg amputated just below the knee. It was the best place for him so he could eventually have a prosthetic attached. In August, they will start that process.
He is home from the hospital now, he is not allowed to do much but hang out and relax, which is really hard for him as he is a gogogo type of person.
He and his family are thankful his life was spared and are giving God the glory despite the situation.
Please keep them in your prayers as he is on the road to healing and recovery.
Thanks!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tuesday Funnies ~ more Kersten
Well, a couple of weeks ago Fred was putting Kersten down for the night. He tucked her in and said her prayers with her. He finished with Amen as usual and Kersten pipes up "Daddy, I want a baby sister!". Fred looks at her and tells her that it is up to God if we have a baby sister. So then he asks her if she knows who God is and she says "Jesus!" and Fred says she is close, but who is Jesus' dad and she says "God!". So she gets it. So they amend their prayer and add to it "Dear Lord, please send me a baby sister, Amen." Two seconds later Kersten says "Daddy, I think He heard me!".
Is she not the cutest!!!
So the next night, Mommy is putting her down for the night and Kersten tells mommy she is going to say the prayer. She of course includes the request for a baby sister. Again, after they are doing praying she says "Mommy, He heard me!".
Out of the mouthes of babes!
Oh to have faith like a child!
She continues to add this to her prayers every night.
Dear Lord, if it is your will for the Peaslee clan to have a baby sister, please bless then appropriately. If not, we are thankful for the blessings you have already given them. Amen!
Happy Birthday to...........
my niece Olivia Rae!!
I can't believe she is a year already!
I don't have a picture scanned, but I will after this weekend.
Her party is Saturday at the beach by Great Grama's.
She is so cute and smart. Really looking forward to seeing both her and Dominick. Hopefully Autumn will be around too.
Love you sweetie pie!!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Favorite Foto Friday 07/04/08
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Random Wishes
I want these things, in no particular order:
1. I want to take a shower one time without the water running cold. I live alone, meaning all the hot water belongs to me. Why oh why can't I take a hot shower then?
2. I want all the "yidiots" to move to the right-hand lane. It's like they have a meeting every day and make the decision to drive in front of me, blocking both lanes at ten miles under the speed limit. I am a busy girl. If you continue to torment me, I will stop taking my meds, hunt you down and kill you and then plead temporary insanity and get away with it and do you know why? Because the Judge was late for my hearing due to some "yidiot" driving slow in the left-hand lane!
3. I want gas prices to have to be the same no matter what side of town you live on. If I drive to Walmart for groceries, the gas station on that end of town is at least three cents cheaper than the one by my house. Why is that? Same chain! Same town! Makes no freaking sense!
4. I want child rapists to rot in the electric chair instead of being "rehabilitated" and set free again. What on earth could the judge possibly be thinking? He did it once, he sure as heck is going to do it again, don't you think??? I have never heard of a rehabilitated sex offender.
5. I want people to get off whatever political bandwagon they are on and do some real research! SEARCH OUT THE TRUTH, don't just be a follower! Seriously! Figure out where you stand and then go check out the candidates. When you have some facts, then you have my permission to open your big mouth!
Ok, thats my rant session for the week............I don't do this regularly, but some things have been on my mind lately. Forgive me!
Cody makes his first adult mistake
Cody got a tattoo.
He is 18, legal age, but we all thought we had portrayed the fact that it was not a good idea, but he obviously had some other influences.
On top of getting a tattoo, he didn't just get an itty bitty one, he got a monster sized one, and of a dragon.
He knows his parent's thoughts on dragons and yet he did it anyway.
And on top of that, he lied to his mother about the cost, he told her it was $100, it was $500.
Mom is NOT happy.
Ok, lets back the story up a bit. A couple of weeks ago, the babies would wake up in the middle of the night having had a bad dream/nightmare or in Jess' case, screaming and inconsolable. This went on for over a week, we couldn't figure out what on earth was going on. They both sleep through the night just fine unless they are sick. Jess is teething, so we thought maybe that was it. The real reason revealed itself about ten days into the no sleep for mommy fest.
Cody had bought these mystical magic dragon cards and brought them home. One day he brought them upstairs with him and Laurie noticed them and asked him what they were. The minute she saw them, she had this feeling that this was the cause for the babies not sleeping. She told Cody to get those things out of her house now or he could leave. She told me that I'd probably think she was crazy for thinking that, but the minute she told me, I knew she wasn't crazy. That very night, the babies slept, and every night since.
The babies are having nightmares and waking up a couple times a night again.
Thanks Cody. Your baby brother and sister that you love so much are being tormented AGAIN because of you.
I sure hope you grow up soon. Mom is going to force it on you pretty quick!
And the reason I don't think Mom(Laurie) is crazy, because she was thinking like my Mom that day. My Mom has been very adament about what is allowed in her house from cartoons to movies to video games. My Mom is also a prayer warrior and has prayed over her children from day one to be able to resist the temptations and not be caught in the spells of the evil world we live in. My Mom would have known instantly that those cards were a problem and like Laurie, would have denounced them immediately.
Parents, those of you reading this, PLEASE be careful of what you allow in your homes. I used to think my Mom was crazy, but I now see the wisdom in her decisions. YOU are the one that can control what your children do in your own home and you have to hope and trust that it will carry with them when you aren't around.
Dear Lord~
Please be a beacon to all parents to realize what is going on in their homes and be able to make the changes necessary. Help them realize that You are the center of the home and You are in control. Please protect baby Jess and baby Kersten from these bad dreams and nightmares, help them be able to sleep peacefully, wrapped up in You. Please help Cody realize the errors he has made and learn from them.
Thank you Jesus!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Meet Josiah
Jose & Elizabeth ~ engagement photoMy best friend from childhood, Beth, recently had a much anticipated baby. He is adorable and the apple of everyone's eye. I think even though he has more of Jose's coloring, he has a tint of Beth's red in his hair too.
Enjoy the pictures!
Josiah Franklin
Josiah with Mommy
Josiah with Daddy in the classic pose
Josiah with Grampa Jesse
Josiah with Uncle Jimmy(Beth's brother)Girls Night Out Updated
So, things went as planned. Lolo actually got into town earlier than we had thought and picked me up from work and off to Olive Garden we went. I love their all you can eat soup/salad/breadsticks and even though it is twice as much at dinner, it is still worth it! I ordered my usual pasta e fagioli for the soup, but Laurie ordered the Zuppa Toscana and it looked good. It has sausage and potatoes for the main ingredient and we all know I love potatoes! It is now my favorite! I like it better than pasta e fagioli! YUM!
So after a very nice dinner that wasn't interrupted by children arguing or something being spilled, we headed to Northwest Nails for the pedicure treatment. Lolo also got a manicure. So all four of us were in chairs side by side getting our feet worked on. Now if you don't know Lolo or Laurie, they are not very fond about people, anyone, touching their feet. I wish I had the picture Lolo took with her cell phone, but the minute the lady touched the bottoms of Laurie's feet to do work on her callus', she was acting like she was having a seizure and laughing uncontrollably. Which in turn, made the rest of us laugh. You know those good, deep down belly laughs, those kind! Oh I wish I had my camera with me. Next time, I will for sure! It was hillarious. Lolo was a little more tolerant than Laurie about it, but all in all, we had a good time.
After that, we decided we needed some Cold Stone, so we went to the mall. Kam wanted to check out a sale at one of the stores, but it was across from Cold Stone, so it was on the way. We each got a treat and then headed back towards home.
I got home around 9:30 and settled into my nightly routine. It was a fun evening, just the girls, hanging out. We plan to make this a regular occurence and hopefully the rest of the posse can join us in the future.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Girls Night Out
Lolo, Laurie, Kam and I decided it was finally time for girls night out. The plan was to go to Olive Garden for all you can eat soup/salad/breadsticks and then off to the beauty shop for pedicures(manicures too if wanted). We had invited Jill and Betsy to join us, but they were busy, although Betsy was going to try and meet up with us if she finished early. Fred is watching his seven children, Dave is watching his four, Mikey is working and of course, I have no husband or children.
So Lolo picked me up around 5:00 and off to Olive Garden we went.
Favorite Foto Friday 06/27/08
Austin, Trinity & BrandonWednesday, June 25, 2008
Out with Jake & Sara
Well, after more than six weeks, I finally got to see my nephew Jake and his mom Sara on Monday. I hadn't seen them since before I went on vacation. Sara is in the process of moving her and Jake to Spring Valley and has been spending all her non-working hours fixing things up at the new house and taking small loads over. She has been a busy girl, so not much time for socializing.
So Monday night, she finally squeezed me in. She picked me up after I got off of work and we were going to Denny's for dinner. Now, I knew Jake was going to change cause he is a growing boy, but the surprise was Sara. She is not quite five month's post surgery and has already lost 130 pounds! She looks awesome already! You can really see it in her face and the rest of her too. I remember my weight loss taking awhile to show, at least to me anyway. She has more to lose then me, so her number might seem dramatic, but its pretty close to on par with what her doctor was hoping for. She joined a gym and has a trainer and is planning to run a marathon next year. She is WAY more ambitious than me!! I am so proud of her, this is a huge step closer to the goal!
Pretty soon, she and I will both be so skinny, noone will recognize us!
Congratulations thus far kiddo, keep it up!!
Oh Kersten............
Well, I couldn't wait until Tuesday to share this with you because it was just entirely too funny.
Last night, I went down to the Peaslee's because I needed Laurie's help with some paperwork for a day camp I am taking the girls to on Saturday. They needed alot of personal and medical info, you know, the stuff moms know! Plus they had to sign off on the adventure.
So, as a sweet part of the deal of going down there, I got an excellent dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn. MMMMMMMMMM, nummy. Not a bad trade off for the long drive.
Anyway, before supper was ready, Kersten and the big girls were outside playing, but as always, whenever Mamie arrives, she has to come and give me a hug. Well, whenever she comes inside, she is supposed to try and go potty. She is in PullUps for potty training, and aside from the poop issue, she does pretty good. So last night, after she hugged me, I asked her if she needed to go potty. Her reply? In a very matter of fact tone:
"No Mamie, I already went. I can change myself."
The three year old who is all grown up except in this one little area!!!! Oh the girl can frustrate you some days. When you ask her why she didn't go in the big girl potty, typically her answer is she didn't want to, but lately, its I dunno. Thanks older siblings for passing those pearls of wisdom on to her! And then to top it all off, she came back one day with "Josh doesn't". How do you respond to that? Her 14-year-old brother pees his pants at night and poops them during the day, so why should she have to go in the big girl potty when he doesn't? Three year old logic!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday Funnies ~ Jess
Jess is almost 14 months now and I think he thinks he is two. He kinda skipped a year and went straight to the terrible twos, cause boy, can that kid through a tantrum! It is hillarious! If he gets mad or doesn't get what he wants, he stomps his feet and throws himself around. He'll sit three rooms away from you and just scream because you didn't pick him up on your way to wherever you were going. Not sure who taught him these actions as he doesn't go to daycare and noone in the house is as much of an actor as he is!
I do love that he is finally not so stuck on his mama. For awhile there, she was the only person he wanted, nobody else was good enough. He is mostly getting away from that and there have been a few times he chose me over her even. Mama said I was grounded cause he called me "mama". I didn't instigate it, so not sure how that is my fault. I love to hold him and snuggle(if you can call it that) with him. He never sits still for very long though.
I find it amusing that almost all of my "kids" when they are little call me Mamie. I think its the natural progression from Mama to Mamie that makes it easier for them. He does say "Mamie" now and I am sure to correct him if he is saying "mama".
Something else fun about Jess is his love of the outdoors. I don't know if he felt as cooped up as the rest of us over the long winter and much anticipated spring we never really got, but he LOVES to be outside and if you go without him, he throws a tantrum and beats on the door. His sister Kersten loves to be outside too. Mom & Dad bought them a swing set/jungle gym apparatus about a month ago and they both could play on it all day. It is probably the best money they have ever spent! They both love to swing, but Jess is still in a baby swing due to his age, so he gets buckled in. When you swing him, if you get close to him and let him "think" he kicked you or if you say boo or try to tickle his feet, he giggles uncontrollably. He has the best laugh, I could listen to it all day. And when he figured how to climb the ladder and go down the slide himself, the smile on his face at the bottom was priceless! He was so proud of himself! He can do it over and over and not get tired.
Still hard to think he is already one, but he is definitely working on two. He can walk by himself now, but is still sort of in the drunken falling down phase and very wobbily. Its cute, but we encourage him all the time to keep going. I am sure he'll be running in no time!
Happy Birthday to...........
My baby is definitely not a baby!
and this is her 2006 volleyball pic 
These were taken in May 2007 at Mark's wedding
These were her 2007 school pictures.
Prayer needed ~ Wyatt
Please be in prayer for a little three year old boy named Wyatt today. Wyatt fell off his deck about two months ago and it was scary initially, but he is a very big miracle today in that he is mostly "normal" for his age, but there are some underlying things that will require treating for some time yet.
Today, he is having laser surgery on his throat because the intubation from his initial hospital stay cause alot of damage and its the only way to correct it. Oddly enough, they may have to intubate again today.
Pray that the surgeons have steady hands and precision with results. The wrong move could result in no voice ever again. Pray for his parents as they are weary from all that has transpired since the accident and of course worried about today and the outcome. Pray also for Marshall, Wyatt's younger brother who is not getting as much attention lately and is reacting accordingly. As a side note, Sooki, Wyatt's mom, is pregnant, so the stress of all this is not good for the baby either.
Thanks for your faithfulness as always!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Update on Greg
Please continue to be in prayer for Greg.
Today, they were going to make a decision to amputate half or all of the injured foot.
Greg is very positive and upbeat despite all the trauma and pain and indecision. He trusts God implicitly to be leading him where he needs to be.
Please pray the doctors make good decisions and that the family will continue to feel comfort during this difficult time.
Had to share..........
My friend Wendi has had quite an eventful week. She came to Minnesota last weekend for a wedding and stayed a few extra days to do some visiting with friends. On her way home, at the Minneapolis airport, she took a pregnancy test and it was positive.
Here is the cool part. Not quite seven weeks ago, baby Isaac joined their family via adoption. Wendi is seven weeks and three days pregnant. IRISH TWINS!!!
Wendi and her husband JB have struggled with infertility for years, even going through several cycles of IVF.
The girl is pregnant on her own!!! No medical interventions! A real God given miracle!!
They are excited, their friends and family are excited and God is the awesomest(I know, its not a real word!) God ever! He sure does have a funny sense of humor!
Two babies nine months apart will be alot of work, but oh they are looking forward to the blessing of a sibling for Isaac. If you didn't know, Isaac means laughter, I think its pretty fitting!
God is good all the time, all the time, God is good!
Congrats Wendi, JB, Isaac and Scrubs!!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Memorial for Carrie
Today is the day for my friend Carrie's Memorial Service. If you'll remember, she passed away about a month ago, we still don't have an official cause of death. Click here to read her obit.
The service starts in about 20 minutes. I was hoping to go, but its inconvenient from a weekday perspective, and its three hours away. I also just found out.
I am sure her family will honor her in a fitting way.
Thought I'd share a memory, though since they are so old, they are lacking a bit.
Carrie was older than I was by about five years. I remember always wanting to hang out with her, she probably thought I was a brat, but she didn't treat me that way. Growing up, I was essentially the only girl in our church, so for that little while, it was nice to not be the only one. After her parents divorce, we didn't see her or her brothers very often, but I just remember what a treat it was when I did see her. She was always smiling and happy. I hope she kept that quality in her grownup years. Several years ago, she was in what should have been a fatal accident. I remember going to visit her in the hospital and she was in this bed that rotated her, basically it was like she was on a rotisserie. This was somehow supposed to help the circulation I think. She smiled even through that.
Carrie, although I hadn't seen you in a long time, you will be missed. Your children and your family are missing you most of course, but know that friends miss you too.
