On the Lighted Stage

After MONTHS of practicing, I finally broke 100,000 points on the song "Limelight" playing Rocksmith Bass. I have never struggled so hard with any songs, except possibly for "Rebel, Rebel" on the guitar when I first got the game. JP listened to that a very poor rendition of that song over and over and over again.

Here's someone else playing Limelight on Rocksmith: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw-gm12aFbo

The new Rocksmith 2014 came out this week and I'm desperately wanting to try it out and play it, but I can't afford that sort of distraction until the semester ends. Only six more weeks!! My accounting midterm was last week, and my management class midterm is next week. The end is in sight!

If I fits, I sits

There's something about cats that makes them sit in or on anything on the floor. JP has a video of clips of cats trying to fit into various things. It's titled "If it fits, I sit". We have the same here. L was determined to get into the basket. She and it rolled around for a while before she was comfortable. 

Day at the Movies

We did our annual trek to the big screen to see the remake of Carrie. The boys are both big King fans, and CP is in love with the girl in the movie. We have a movie screen in the basement, but we don't have a blast door and pinball machines. Don't have $20 popcorn, either.

GP's 1st Husker Game

Our new neighbor to the north has season tickets for the Huskers. She not only gave us her tickets for the Illinois game, but also invited us to the Chancellor's Tailgate Party at the Lied Center. We met some interesting people there and ate an amazing breakfast. My favorite was the eggs Benedict casserole. Mmmm.

Friday, it was 90 degrees, muggy, and windy. Saturday (gameday), we failed to hit 50. The game started with a nice blue sky, but by halftime, the temperature had dropped, the wind picked up, and clouds darkened the sky. We should have dressed for a Packer game. We made it to the end of halftime and then bailed to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the rest of the game in luxury.

Despite the cold, I think GP had a fun time. CP's turn is next - Michigan St. in November.

Better than Homework

Last week, I had to go to Kohler, WI, for business. I had three small papers to write, a few dozen accounting problems to do, and a hundred pages to read. I had resigned myself to start on it at the hotel, but my colleagues twisted my arm and talked me into going out to dinner with them.



We ate at River Wildlife, one of Kohler's magical little places in their storybook village. The atmosphere, ice-cold Spotted Cow, and walleye made up for not getting any homework done that night.

 

Class Assignment

For my management class, we had to visit a local dining establishment and discuss their structure and how it relates to what we're studying in class. We took advantage of a beautiful day and hit the new Haymarket district. We discovered "LeadBelly", a new restaurant in an old 1881 foundry building and enjoyed a tasty meal. I missed a few details - we might have to go back and do some more studying.

African Art Auction

Our new neighbor to the north, an associate dean at UNL, took us to a fantastic fundraiser last night at the UNL quilt museum. (The idea of a quilt museum sounds kinda dumb, but it's a really cool place that deserves to be seen.) The main event was a rousing live auction of African art. The first lady of Tanzania was on hand to get things rolling. It was amazing how much security was present for her. It's one thing to see the deplorable conditions in Africa on TV, it's another to actually talk with people that live there who are doing everything they can to improve things. Very inspiring evening.

The event was hosted by an amazing lady, Natalie Hahn. She has spent her life improving conditions for kids in Africa. Her main focus is to improve education there. Check her out: http://gobigred.unl.edu/featured/husker/Natalie_Hahn/.

We sat next to her cousin, Shorty. He was an original Nebraska character that talked JP's ear off all night. By the end of it, she knew who was who and everybody's secrets.

The auctioneer was the 1971 national champion. He's used to selling cattle and corn, not African artifacts. He was very entertaining as he tried to goad the crowd into spending more for a good cause. Everything in the auction was from Natalie's personal collection.

The kids in the culinary program prepared and served all of the hors d'oeuvres, and the girls in the textile/fashion program showed off African-themed clothes they created. We met the new dean of Engineering - I'm looking forward to visiting with him at work and chatting about how we can help each other.

We did our part to support the event: JP ended up winning a pretty basket (she loves baskets!). I wanted to buy a robe that was created for the supreme emperor of Ethiopia, but JP said no. It had 24K gold stitching and would look really cool anywhere. Our neighbor took home two HUGE embroidery panels. By the end of the night, the auction raised over $21,000.

Here's a link to the event and better pictures of the embroidery: http://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2013/08/20/African+art+gala+and+auction+funds+CEHS+scholarships+for+education+abroad

Firepit Season

Shorter days and cooler nights can only mean one thing: it's neighborhood firepit season! Our friends across the street are building a new house out in the country. We're going to miss hanging out with them around the firepit next year.

Tasty Tree

One of our river birches was putting out something that must have tasted yummy for our bugs. Beetles, flies, and butterflies were all filling their bug bellies on it.

CP's 1st Dance

Last night, CP went to his first high school dance. It was Homecoming. He went with a girl he texts all the time and his long-time friend from cub scouts. All four sets of parents were in the girl's front yard taking pictures. We were all very proud.

CP's date wore 5" heels & platforms to help match his height. I've never seen her in anything other than sneakers.

They had dinner at Macaroni Grill and then danced the night away. CP was beaming both before and after. He hooked up with his friends from speech camp, and they all had fun.

Cooler Windows

We put the boys' PC in the spare room upstairs. In the afternoon, the sun comes thru the top window and heats the room to nearly the temperature of the surface of the sun. JP finally let me install some window film to block out some light. It's still warm, but it's noticeably cooler in the afternoon.

Wipeout

GP was riding down a hill with no hands and hit some gravel. From the scratches left by sprocket teeth, it looks like he got pretty tangled up with his bike.

 

Alone Time

Sometimes, you just have to give yourself some alone time.
... with the potato chips in the pantry.

New Storm Windows

The windows on Nana's garage were looking pretty old. The glazing was gone from the outside, and the styles were getting thin. She bought some new storm windows from Menard's and we put them up for her. Now her garage is a bit more weatherproof.

 

Galena

No trip to NW IL would be complete without an afternoon in Galena. It was a picture perfect day, and we met up with S & BD for lunch.

 

Camp Shenanigans

We spent the Labor Day weekend in IL at Nana's house. The boys enjoyed an afternoon at JP's cousin's Camp Shenanigans. It's a recreation area for boys. They could zipline, hoot & holler, splash, and even sink the paddle boats without getting in trouble.

My favorite is the chair lift swing under a big oak.

Zombie Football

For whatever reason, we had Zombie week in Lincoln. There was a zombie night at the baseball game, and LSW had zombie night at the first football game. CP and his friend had a blast with all their other friends at the game.

GP sat in the student section and had fun, too. He can't wait to go to high school.

 

Water Dog

Who says cockapoo's don't like the water? M learned a new phrase to run from: "Wanna go swimming? Pool?"
We had the pool up all summer and went swimming most weeekends. Our neighbors gave us their old pump, which was able to keep up and maintain clear water.