Nurse

Angie took and passed the NCLEX test and is now officially an RN. Yay Angie! It's been a long two years since she got laid off and decided to take this path. What an accomplishment for her. Now we have to concentrate on getting the huge student loan paid off.

The leaves are starting to change, the wind is starting to blow, the combines are in the fields. Fall is here. Sweet.

Peace-
Matt

(PS - Happy Birthday to my wife, who will be 29 tomorrow)

BBQ

Spandex

Not to sound old...

Abby's getting confirmed on Saturday, Oct 8th at 10am at St Mary's in Elkhart. You're all invited, by the way. Classes for confirmation ended with the school year, but have resumed tonight. Abby had class tonight from 6-7:30pm. I had a Pastoral Council meeting from 7-8:30 tonight. I dropped Abby off a little before 6 and then headed to Casey's for a Redbull, because I had some time to kill before my meeting, and because I was falling asleep on the drive to church.

When I arrived back in the church parking lot at 6:15, I noticed a couple of things. First, there were a couple of cars just now dropping their children off. At 6:15. Class started at 6. "Why so late?" I wondered. The next thing I saw was that one (and maybe the other, I don't know for sure) of the girls was wearing the shortest shorts that I have ever seen. I had to do a double take because I thought she had no pants on, just underwear. This girl is in my daughter's class (9th grade, 14 yrs old). She was walking into CONFIRMATION class. I could not believe it.

I asked Abby about it later. She said they were late because they had volleyball practice. She said the shorts are "spandex, and they all wear them". Like duh.

It's a crazy world folks. Surprising even to me at times.

Peace-
Matt

Panes

The dirty windows appear to be a recurring theme lately. I just noticed that. I think they're cool, how they interact with light and all. I might never wash the van again. It'd probably fall apart if I did anyway.

I've been thinking about a few new photo projects. One of them is dirty windows. Not necessarily the dirty window itself, but the patterns it makes as it mixes with the light, and the story it tells beyond the window. I think this would be fun to do in many different homes, places I visit, etc. If you would, don't wash a window or two for me. I might just slip by when the light is right.

Angie finally got her NCLEX test date scheduled. She'll take it on Sept 22nd. That means she'll finally be done studying. Time to get a party planned I think. Keep Saturday the 24th open.

Peace-
Matt

Kickoff

College football starts tonight. NFL kicks off a week from today. It's September now. Awesome weather is in the forecast. I love this time of year.

I'm taking tomorrow off and getting a four day weekend out of the deal. Gonna try and get the camper out for a few day here very soon.

Angie is done with school and waiting for the "go ahead" from the state to take her NCLEX test. Then it's job shopping time. Please keep her in your prayers. She deserves to find something just right for her.

Don't know much else.

Peace-
Matt

Felicitations

Good job baby! I'm so proud of you.

Dear readers, you've not seen anyone work so hard as my lovely wife has worked on getting through the Mercy College School of Nursing. Mercy College has a 97% pass rate of the national RN nurse test, the NCLEX, one of the best pass rates in the state. Can't get much better than that. It's definitely not an easy program. Tons of really hard work. She picked the right school. She got really good grades there too. Great job Angie! I'm proud of you baby!

Angie graduates from Mercy College tomorrow (Friday, 8/19). She'll take (and easily pass, because she knows her stuff) the NCLEX test in the next couple of weeks. We'll then have a well trained nurse on our hands, looking for a lucky employer.

Congratulations Angie! I love you!

Peace-
Matt

Toil

As everyone knows all too well, the economy is moving s-l-o-w. As an estimator, it's my job to bid work. Since we are low on work, we are bidding everything that we possibly can. This means that I am extremely busy. In the last four weeks or so, I have worked tons of extra hours. I am salaried, so I don't get paid for it. If I did, I'd have an extra 2 grand or so, which would be damn handy right about now. What I will get for it is some "comp" time. Fall is coming. I will be taking a few me days when the weather is perfect. I hope the bidding calendar is light by then.

School starts on Thursday. Angie graduates on Friday. Changes are a coming.

Peace-
Matt

Red Ribbon

It's been 5 years since I last entered photos in the Iowa State Fair photography contest. About two months ago I was in a photo shop and noticed the entry form for this year's contest. I thought "what the heck" and decided to enter.

Today was the photographer's reception and awards ceremony. I won a 2nd place ribbon for the top photo (the boat) and have the bottom photo on display. There were 4,052 photos entered this year. 911 are on exhibit. 222 won ribbons.

Look for them if you're out there this year. Just wanted to brag.

Peace-
Matt

Summer

Long time, no post.

Angie has six more weeks of school left. It seems like she's been doing it for years. We can not wait until she is done.

The kids start school around that same time, on August 15th. Only 5 more weeks left to their summer. Alex will be starting at DMACC Boone Campus around that time as well.

Here are a few photos from this summer. Some are from my phone camera, some are from Alex's camera (which I am currently "borrowing").

Take care and have a great July.

Peace-
Matt

Deer Lake

Got back from my fishing trip yesterday. The fishing was a bit slow, but the weather was perfect and it was very relaxing. It's always nice to be home though.

Madeline had her 1st Communion last Sunday. Alex graduates this Sunday. It's been a busy spring so far. Lots of life going on around here.

Peace-
Matt