Last Call: Relay for Life

I got a memo on my desk this morning: "A friendly reminder that Bank Night will be Monday, June 4." Crap, that means I'm still short of my goal for Relay for Life and I only have a few more days to get there.

So you may be asking yourself at this point, "How can I help?" It's simple. Visit my Donation Web Site and make a secure online donation. You can use your credit or debit card, and the best part is it's tax deductible! (Amazing how the older you get, the more inportant that is.) If you'd rather send cash or check, we're getting pretty tight to the deadline to mail a donation but it's still possible if you get it in the mail right away. Visit my work web site on the right and you can send it right to the office.

A special thanks to everyone who has donated so far: Jen, Cindy, Lynn, Corey, Grandma, Todd, Jennifer L., Jane...sorry if I missed you, I'm listing those off the top of my head.

Still on the fence? Here's two reasons to donate:

#1. You are supporting the American Cancer Society and its efforts to help millions of people who have cancer now and the millions who may get cancer in the future. Supporting cancer research is an insurance policy. Maybe some day our children won't have to worry about this horrible disease.

#2. Wouldn't you like to see me walk from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m.? For every donation I get, I'll put up one picture of me doing something silly at the event (and I'm taking requests).

But seriously I need your help! Hope to hear from all of you soon!

The Car Saga (5.23 column)

Mondays have not been too kind to me lately. But then again, neither has my car. Cars and I have a mixed history. My first car was a 1984 Plymouth Horizon, more commonly referred to in our household as a rat on a roller skate. The little four-cylinder was purchased for a run-around car for my mother long before I got my drivers license. My brother refused to drive the thing so two years later it became my shuttle to school every morning. Although it was not exactly a “cool” car, it got great gas mileage and drove like a go-kart. The poor little thing met its match with a large doe one December evening. Then it was on to my Olds Cutlass, a traditional and rather unexciting car for a high schooler.

When it was time for me to go off to college, I needed something more dependable. I had been eyeing the forest green Grand Am owned by one of the school administrators for a while when lo and behold he offered to sell it to me at a fantastic price.Despite higher mileage, I loved that car. It was trouble free and perfect for the times.

But my senior year of college, I had a good job working on a dairy farm and money burning a hole in my pocket. With a road trip to Louisville looming, I took out a loan for my current car, a newer Grand Am with lots of features. I left my trusty green car with my parents since they had helped pay for it. In this new car era, the ride has not been smooth. An alignment problem cost me few sets of tires before the problem was found. The intake gasket went bad. A wheel sensor was on the fritz. This winter I started to miss my green Grand Am still parked at my parents, now with almost 200,000 miles and no engine problems.

But never did I miss it so much as lately. My car has been towed twice in the last 10 days. The first incident was on a Monday in Colby. I went to a meeting and when I came back, the engine would turn over and over, but never fire up. I hitched a ride back to the office to borrow a car to make it home for the night, then called the shop in the morning. Along with a laundry list of little things I knew about, the fuel pump wasn’t working. Although it did start, there was no guarantee how long it would stay running. A few paychecks later, the problem was solved.

Or so I thought. This past Monday after dropping Jacob off at day care, I returned to my car to find the same problem: the starter would turn, but it just wouldn’t fire up. So it was another trip on the tow truck (which I believe my car may have a crush on) for more tests and analysis. The car did start at the shop, and no problem was found. To be on the safe side, for now I’m limiting my driving to a 30 minute radius from home just in case my car gets temperamental again.

In the meantime, Nate and I have started talking about possibly replacing it, but we haven’t agreed on what kind. He thinks he’s being brand loyal. I think he’s being close-minded. Either way, does anyone want to buy a car?

Update: My car refused to start Wedsneday and has been sitting in front of the house since then. We checked did a little vehicle shopping Thursday and found a Trailblazer, but I actually like the Equinox better. However, Nate doesn't think it looks manly enough, for some reason. More arguing to come, I believe.

Relay for Life!

Volunteering has been a big part of my life in the past, but, I sadly admit, it’s been pushed aside in the last few years due to family and work obligations. As a 4-Her for 10 years, many of my childhood memories include donated time. Christmas time always included a trip to the local nursing home for carols. Spring was time for roadside clean-up, and the first weekend of June was spent bussing tables at the county dairy breakfast. Then I spent the summer in the marching band entertaining in local parades. August was fair time which meant many little hands who wanted to pet calves at both state and county fairs. They also had a zillion questions about the critters.

The school year was filled with food stands at sporting events, pep band and other unpaid hours for the good of the whole. I didn’t have a job off the farm in high school because I was too busy doing unpaid labor. In college I was a member of a sorority which meant more volunteerism, which I was happy to do. It was a pleasant break from books, and I always felt better afterward no matter what other drama was going on. Three events really stick out from my sorority volunteering. The first was a trip to a children’s hospital in St. Paul to do craft projects with the kids. My sorority also annually conducted a special “trick-o-treat” for spare change around Halloween. We raised nearly $500 for charity. The third event was “Senior Prom” held at a local nursing home.

Since college though, other commitments have prevailed, right or wrong, for the past few years. I had nearly forgotten the joy of donating my time when I helped out at Colby Cheese Days last summer. For my New Years resolution, I vowed to find more ways to get involved. When a co-worker suggested putting together a Relay for Life team, I decided it was a great chance to give back. Cancer has become a presence in my life over the past few years as I’ve watched friends and co-workers struggle with the disease. It just seemed like the right cause.

Our TP Printing team, also known as “The Headline Chasers,” has been individually raising money over the past few weeks. If you have not been asked to donate and would like to, be sure to track one of us down. Donors are welcome to stop in the office during regular hours. Or if you see me out in the community in the next few weeks, I’ll most likely have my donation envelope with me. We’re also working on a few group efforts to boost our team total. We’re still in the planning phases, but a bake sale and raffle are potential events. Check this paper next week for the final plans.

Relay for Life organizers are also planning some fun activities during the event June 8-9, 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., at Owen-Withee High School. There’s a survivors’ lap at 6 p.m. and luminaria ceremony at 10 p.m. Going with the theme, “Carnival for a Cure,” organizers are planning family carnival games with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. We hope to see you there!

If you'd like to donate, visit my Relay for Life site: Donate Now!

Update: Plans for a bake sale and raffle are set for May 24 and 25. If you'd like me to pick you up some treats or need some raffle tickets, let me know!

Homeless by Sunday

Well, I knew it was coming. We are officially homeless as of Sunday. The house deal is currently on the edge of disaster. We got news of the appraisal results at 6 a.m. this morning. $118,000, and that's just the house and one acre. The other four acres (which we want) are another $12,000. This is more than 50 percent higher than what our loan officer estimated it was worth. Not to mention it's still not done.

I was upset at first, not because we wouldn't get the house but because of how the seller jerked us around for the last year and a half. For example, he lied to Nate about when the appraiser was coming so he wouldn't be there when it was done.

I got a copy of the appraisal when I got to work this morning, and I've calmed down. There's one big red flag on it, and a few little ones. It was appraised as if we were adding it to an adjoining property. We don't own the farm buildings around it (Nate's dad does) which could reduce the property's value by about one third. That would put the appraisal right on the money with our loan officer's estimate.

There's also a few little things wrong with it. The house is listed as a three bedroom, but anyone who's been inside it knows the third room is not a bedroom. There's hardly enough room for a twin bed, and no closet. We planned to use it as an office for now, and a laundry room down the road when I tired of hauling clothes up and down the basement stairs. Another red flag is the septic system is very questionable. It didn't work when the last people lived there, and it sure as hell didn't fix itself.

Well, I'm taking the rest of the day off to get this thing straightened out. I'm hoping to meet with the loan officer this afternoon, and Nate wants to call the appraiser to say what gives. If all else fails, we'll be moving in with the in-laws I guess.

This week's column: Divorce (not me!)

A Chicago billboard is causing quite a stir. But it’s not the bare male torso or woman’s cleavage peeking from a black lace bra that’s causing the controversy. It’s the message between the two images: “Life’s short. Get a divorce.”

While neither Nate or I come from families of divorce, we are starting to see it among people our age. Right after college, it seemed like everyone was getting married. Now, just a few years later, three couples we know are divorced or in the process of it. Luckily, none of the three have children involved.

Divorce, although considered by some to be a modern phenomenon, actually dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, according to my internet research. It was liberally granted in ancient Rome under the theory “matrimonia debent esse libera” (“marriages ought to be free”). Either husband or wife could renounce the marriage at will. Divorce was eventually restricted by Christian leaders. The Christian church considered marriage a sacrament instituted by God and Christ indissoluble by mere human action. After the 10th century, divorce was generally prohibited. Husbands and wives were allowed to live separately (like today’s legal separation) but were still married. This is where alimony came from. The husband, even after separation, was bound to support his wife.

Marriage later became considered a civil contract, which was able to be terminated. Today divorce is quite common. It’s estimated around 50 percent of first marriages end in divorce. Your chances of a successful marriage don’t improve following divorce. According to divorcestatistics.org, 60-67 percent of second marriages fail and 70-73 percent of third marriages end in divorce.

So apparently lots of people are taking the advice of the all-female law firm who used the billboard with the catchy slogan as advertising. Critics say the ad promotes divorce, still seen as taboo among portions of our society. Supporters, as well as the sponsor law firm, say it promotes happiness among people living in a bad relationship.

I guess I have mixed feelings on the subject. The message alone has a lot of truth. Life’s too short for a lot of things, including living in a bad marriage. Although I’ve seen situations where people “stay together for the children,” sometimes I think the children would be better off without the tension and unhappiness in the home. At the same time, the use of sexual imagery is in poor taste. It leaves the impression that’s all there is to marriage. Everybody knows that’s not true; there’s also bills, raising children, working together, playing together and talking together.

Chicago won’t have to worry about whether or not the billboard is motivational or grotesque. It was taken down Tuesday. I don’t endorse censorship, but this may have been the right thing to do. There was nothing wrong with the message, but how it was presented was in poor taste.

This week's column...all about rocks

After a stressful week that included a big work project and a trip to urgent care, I was hoping to spend the weekend napping on a lounge chair under a shade tree. Nate, however, had other plans. So did Jacob.

My lazy weekend turned out to be rather productive, which was probably good for me. Saturday started off with a trip to the bank, then a stop at the barn to let Jacob explore. He loves all farm animals and knows all their sounds, but cows are the favorite by far. One game he can play for hours is walking in front of the cows in the tie stalls and smacking whoever dares to sniff him on the nose. I guess for a 30-pound boy, startling an unexpecting, 1,200-pound bovine is a thrill.

After lunch with Grandma Bubble, I finally got Jacob down for a nap, which I enjoyed as well. He was tired from tearing around the farm, but I was exhausted from trying to keep up with him and make sure he didn’t get hurt. Later that afternoon, we took a can of cold pop to the field where Nate was working. Watching him in the tractor made me realize how bad we need rain. He was just a cloud of dust as he worked the soil. Jacob got to play with Grandma that night so I could help Nate with chores. Since the guys were on the tractors all day, we got a late start on chores. An extra person makes all the difference then.

On Sunday, Nate had special plans for me, Jacob and Grandma Bubbles: rock picking. Where I grew up, rocks are a big deal in the fields. I can remember picking rocks one time as a kid, and that’s because we were making a new field from what had been an overgrown brush patch. When I moved up here, I couldn’t believe how full of stones the soil was. In the spring, rock picking is just as important as plowing or planting. Corn fields aren’t as important, but in hay fields rocks can be a big problem. Hitting a rock with a haybine can cause a lot of damage, and with a disc-bine like Nate uses, it can be deadly.

Nate’s dad Tony found this out a few years ago. They had only had their new tractor a few weeks when he hit a big rock with the discbine. A piece of it hit the back window, shattering it. But he was lucky. If the window hadn’t taken the brunt of the damage, it might have hit Tony instead.

So Sunday we scoured a hay field for rocks before the alfalfa gets too tall to see them. Jacob seemed to enjoy the experience for the most part. I was hoping since he showed he could pick up Easter eggs, he could pick up little rocks too. But no luck. He was content just to tag along and jabber to the rest of us. More than three hours and many trips across the field, we called it a day. We didn’t quite finish the field, but it should only take another two or three passes to clear the remainder.

I had planned to pick up some groceries Sunday on the way home, but decided neither Jacob or I were in any kind of shape to be seen in public. As the saying goes, “It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.”

New month, new house!

Kind of looks like a Lincoln Log house doesn't it? I loaded the much anticipated photos on facebook this morning. You can see all the interior shots plus my commentary by clicking here: Our Future House

There's still a lot of work to be done in the next too weeks, but the end seems to be in the distance. The much anticipated (and possibly dreaded depending on how it turns out) appraisal it next week. We have to be out of our rental home by May 12. So if anyone wants to come help us move that Saturday... :)