Anniversary Party

My Grandma and Grandpa Cover celebrated their sixtieth anniversary last weekend. I returned to Des Moines, and got to see family from near and far, plus spend some quality time with my dad and get a look at his home addition. As usual it was fun to see everyone and hear about their lives. My relatives have all kinds of interesting occupations, professional and personal, and it was hard to squeeze it all into a weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa were married when they were 18 and 20, and check out the slideshow to see how their family has grown! The picture above is the happy couple, sitting with myself, my stepmom Mary, Dad, and my brother Dave with his fiance Lori.

Sorry about the red eye, break out the Photoshop. And be sure to watch for one of the best photos taken of me in a long time, the camera is not usually so nice to me! Well done Lori. : )

Finally, it was only a matter of time before someone I knew had something on YouTube, check it out.

My New Project!

My new pet project is changing out the lightbulbs in our building. It sounds a little silly, but I've estimated that we have about 70 bulbs, not including the garage, that are on 24/7. This totals up more than $200 in energy bills every month.

By using compact fluorescent bulbs, we should be using only a quarter of that, saving the association close to $2000 a year! Not to mention the environmental result, too.

If you're interested in lowering your own power bill, start here.

Tis the Season

The guest room is ready, the new decorations are hung... And the stuffing is cooked! Look at that four pounds of bread! I can't wait for the holidays, time with family, and of course good food.

Holiday Recommendation!

Tis the season of culinary indulgences, and I have a great one for you. Ever since last Christmas I have eagerly anticipated the return of Dreyers holiday flavors. My favorite is Peppermint, and has been my favorite flavor since my grandmother bought it for me as a little kid. We are not talking about your standard old green mint with chocolate, this is pink peppermint, made with little bits of candy cane, and is especially tasty after a spicy meal. The second-best part is that it only has 110 calories a serving. This fall I've also tried the Pumpkin and Apple Pie, also very good.