Why Walmart is Evil...

I try not to shop at Walmart. I try to get what I need from our smaller businesses in town. But I was at Walmart picking up items difficult to find anywhere else, and I thought I would grab some Valentines for the kids to take to their classes. (No, I didn't have the kids carefully craft Valentines from paper doilies and construction paper. The past two weeks we're lucky if we get to eat together.)

So I got cat and dog themed Valentines. Safe enough. Today we opened them. And on the Valentines are messages like, "God is love" and "God made us friends." I quickly scoured the box they came in for any indication that these Valentines were trying to make us their mission project. None. Zero. Nice move, Walmart. They were returned.

Thanksgiving edition?

What I want to know is how in the GD hell (to quote Carol Burnett on Glee) do people have time to blog so much? I guess for some it really is their job, so they must schedule it into their day. I don't even have a full-time job, and I can't keep a simple family news blog afloat. Also, I think I will stop using the word "blog." It's getting on my nerves.

Anyway, I forgot to take the camera for Thanksgiving, so no pictures. It was a pleasant enough time, with the highlights being a visit to Tim and Mindy's and spending the night with Kristi, Craig and company on the way home. Why can't we live closer? I try not to dwell on the past, but I do miss our old friends. Waaaahhhh...

So now it's December, which means M4's birthday, swim meets, M3's band and choir concert, and oh yeah, Christmas and stuff. I won't forget the camera.

Yeah, that's a box of doughnuts on the right

P.S. One was more honestly earned than the other, i.e. I was one of only two? entries.

Random...

• M3 thinks that because it's 19 degrees, she only needs to wear a sweatshirt.
• We have a preliminary appointment with the orthodontist for her.
• After having lost six teeth, M4 decided that now is the time to put his tooth under his pillow to see what happens.
• After school yesterday, M3 was teaching M4 how to make origami birds, step-by-step,
• M3 will be getting new glasses. Prescription has increased. M4 is 20/20.
• The snow is melting!!
  

Lunch

The kids are taking their lunch to school more often these days, which is just fine with me. M3's favorite sandwich: cheese and lettuce. M4's: formerly PB & honey, now PB & J.

On the subject of food, I read about yet another E. coli illness outbreak from hamburger, and I'm just grateful that we can easily buy beef from a local farmer. Particularly with hamburger, I feel better knowing it all came from just one cow, and I know where that cow lived (and died, thank you kind cow). Plus one of our local CSAs, Grinnell Heritage Farm, is having a winter share for the first time! Yippee!! I don't think I'm a food Nazi, but I feel better if I'm attempting to keep some of the crap out of my family's diet, uh...E. coli in particular.

News of the Weird

How's this for strange? The kids' gymnastics teacher was walking her dog along a rural Iowa road, turned around and realized she was being stalked by this:A serval!! In Iowa!! When she sends us the pictures she took, I will post them. (She freaked out, called her husband to pick her up, and they happened to have a camera in the car.) She got some amazing pictures!

Clearly, it was someone's pet, but it's just so interesting to contemplate...how long has it been loose? Has it been wandering all over Iowa? From a quick web search, it seems they are popular exotic pets. Which makes me sad. One site said they will not knowingly sell serval kittens to families with children. Uh huh.