Spring Blooms!

Happy Happy Tuesday! I wanted to do a quick update and some photos from University of Nebraska Kearney! Maddie took photos of her sorority sisters and it happened to be when some of the trees were showing off their beautiful spring blooms!

We had a weird winter and spring with not much precipitation and then really hot weather and then really cold weather, so all of blooming trees were -- to put it simply -- freaked out and unsure of when to bloom! When they finally did bloom, some blockbuster rain storms came through and knocked the blooms down (boo hoo), so it was a really short blooming season!

That's the weather in Nebraska -- if you don't like what it's doing, wait 5 minutes and it will change! These are from the lovely Harmon Park located near UNK campus! Love Kearney and UNK!

This and That and Weird Stuff

I've noticed some weird things in the news lately and figured I'd share in case you might have missed it.

Do you have droopy eyelashes?? Well, I definitely do. I think it's part (or mostly) age-related. I will admit I have had eyelash extensions on occasion. Good grief -- the last time, the stylist made them SO LONG and BIG that I looked like a freak!! Plus, the maintenance is insane -- like go in every 2 weeks!!! No thank you. So, I found a different remedy. Maddie goes to an esthetician who does eyelash lifts. Maddie's eyelashes are long- but very straight. So, her eyelashes basically get a perm! Remember perms??? Remember the smell of perms??? Yep -- same. It seemed to be working well for Maddie, so I tried it too. It really has helped and I think it makes me look younger (yay for anything that does that) and more awake! The lift can only be done every 6-7 weeks. It does seem like after about 4 weeks, the lashes are starting to fall again. M and I searched and found a solution -- a heated eyelash curler! Of course, it's available on Ama*zon. OOOOH -- I kind of love it! I think it helps my lashes and the heat on my eyelashes feels weirdly good! Move over hot rollers (yes, I use hot rollers to tame my frizzy hair) - hot eyelash curlers are joining the group!

One of the strangest things I saw on FB recently was when someone asked the question -- "where can I get my little pal cremated?" It was a hedgehog! Most responders were thoughtful and said to check with vet's office or the Humane Society. The first answer that popped up was a photo of a grill! UGH!

Maddie heads back to college on Sunday. It's been a nice long break and SO wonderful to have her home. I'm going to miss that cutie! Stay tuned. Pinky promise to keep the blog updated more this year!

December??? Already???

Hi friends! Oh wow -- how did November escape me without a single post??? I've been overwhelmed lately with the office and various other things - so the good old blog has suffered. Frannie the mini-golden doodle says hello! What a needy dog!! She is spoiled beyond belief by Rickster. They sit together in the recliner nearly every morning for some CNN news and toast!!!!!!

Here's a quick recap and my New Year's resolution will definitely be to do better!! Pinky promise!!

Well, October zipped right by, didn't it! I made a couple drives to Kearney to see Miss Maddie and those were fun! I just love that campus. Sometimes Maddie and I would take "walks and talks". I'd call from Lincoln and walk and talk to her and she'd walk in Kearney. Such a great way to keep in touch. I kind of wish I had known about the University of Nebraska at Kearney when I was going to college and maybe I would have gone there! Of course, there have been a ton of improvements since the really old days when I went to college.

Maddie is now in one of the suite-style dorms known as Antelope dorm. Nicer than any apartment I ever lived in! So great that she can have her own private room as that makes studying so much easier. Otherwise, she was jam-packed into a tiny space and had to leave the room to study and/or make a phone call. She'd make telephone calls from her car so she had a little privacy. She was on the waiting list to get into the suite-style dorm since fall and there was an opening, so Connor and I went one weekend and helped her move from one dorm to another. I recommended she move when it became available as I sure didn't want her to be sitting in her cold car calling! Later, she had fall break around the end of October and it was super to have her home for a few days. The fountain above is right outside her dorm and so pretty!

In case you're wondering, she and I like to send each other inspiring quotes now and then, so I'm posting a few of our favorites!

That's it for this update. Stay tuned and I promise to keep posting no matter if anyone reads it or not.

Move-In Day!

Left a very big part of my heart in Kearney, Nebraska at the University of Nebraska! Maddie started her sophomore year there as a transfer student in the Health Sciences field. It was a bit of late sign-up, but she was able to get her classes and a dorm room -- so that was a huge relief. On a tour the week before school started, the tour guide (a student) told us she had a transfer student the day before and she wasn't able to get into a dorm! Even though the rooms are small, it's such a great experience to live in the dorm. UNK was super organized and had lots of student helpers there to move boxes and gear to the rooms and even bump up her bed a bit! Such a huge help! Her room reminds me a lot of my room in Heitz Hall at Bradley University my freshman year -- many, many, many years ago!

Her roomie is from Grand Island, Nebraska, about 40 minutes away. She works at a local hospital part-time so goes home most weekends to work.

Maddie joined a sorority and is busy with classes and studying and getting the whole college experience -- including that the food is often a bit questionable - but at least, the cookies and desserts are generally yummy! I'm sure Maddie and her roomie are going to have the BEST experience there. Lucky for me, she is taking the advice on the pillow I got for her to heart and texting and calling me! Love and miss that sweet girl!

Study hard. Have fun. 💙💛! #UNK #GoLopers

Catching Up Again -- University of Nebraska Kearney!

Hi Friends -- Oh my goodness -- how did I get so far behind again??? I pinky-promise to be a better blogger, but not sure anyone reads it anyway. So much to talk about, but only have a few minutes today, so it will be a quick update!

Some of you may have heard from FB or Instagram that my sweet Maddie decided to go away to college! Yep! She decided she wanted to go to University of Nebraska at Kearney (a couple hours away). UNK's mascot is the antelope so they are called Lopers! They have a very interesting tradition of "throwing lopes." I don't think I've mastered it, but Maddie has. She's a sophomore transfer student and her major is Health Sciences with plans to go into the Radiology Tech program. It's a really nice campus and nice size - about 6,000 students. UNK is said to be a little bit city and little bit country -- how perfect is that! Of course, it's fastest to get there on the scary interstate, but can also get there by some highways that are simply lovely - though it does take longer.

Maddie just decided to apply the second week of July, so it was a bit of a race to get everything done on time and be signed up for classes, the dorm and a roommate. So far, so good!

These photos are from our official visit day -- which was only 1 week before move-in day! The campus was lovely! BUT . . . there was no food to be found except vending machines! Once again, we proved how non-technical we are as we couldn't get the credit card option to work to get some chips. Finally figured out that good old dollar bills worked. Our lunch was Cheetos and Doritos - oh yum!

We had a great tour from a wonderful tour guide who had also been a transfer student. She gave Maddie lots of information and tips! Best of luck to my sweet girl! More to follow about UNK and hope to get some posts about our summer trip to WDW!