Updates...and stuff...

I've been MIA. Sorry. This week I spent Wednesday through Friday in Des Moines for the annual Iowa Court Reporters' Association Convention. I don't think I'd say it was fun. "Fun" is a word I reserve for things that don't leave me feeling like myself and my chosen profession are considered totally obsolete by the person who decides our fate within the state. I was hoping to leave the convention hopeful and revitalized about court reporting. I left with the exact opposite feeling. I'm still glad I went because it was informative and also gave me enough continuing education credits to renew my Illinois license. I suspended it this year because I'm working for the State and didn't need it, but from the sounds of things, I may be back out freelancing soon, and living on the border or Iowa and Illinois means I need lisensure in both states.

I came home Friday, driving directly behind the massive storm that apparently hit Iowa. My friend Amy, who lives in Des Moines but was heading back to our hometown for the weekend, called me at 2:30 to say the roads were terrible and she could barely see driving. I left Des Moines at 4:45 and didn't see more than a sprinkle of rain all the way home. Amy called me around 5 and said she had just gotten close to Williamsburg. So she had left before 2:30, and it took her two and a half hours to get to Wiliamsburg, which is normally only an hour and a half from Des Moines. She said she was at a complete stop because the fields had flooded and water and mud were rushing like a river over the interstate, so the police had them stopped and weren't letting them pass through it. About an hour later she called again to say it had cleared up a bit. When I got to that point, there was no water on the interstate, but it was still rushing through the fields like a river. It was crazy. I'm so glad she got there safely, even though it did take her five hours (normally it takes 3 at the most).

Saturday Brian got to feel Baby E move for the first time....TWICE! He was really excited, and I was so glad he finally felt him or her. So that was his father's Day gift, which he said was perfect. My cousin Paula pointed out that it won't go over quite as well in, say, four years if he gets kicked for Father's Day. She cracks me up.

Today we celebrated Father's Day with my side (had everyone from Brian's side over on Saturday night). We left my grandparents' a little early because we had to get to the grocery store, and we stopped at Furniture Row on our way to look at sectional couches for the basement. The couches down there are massively uncomfortable and also don't allow us to sit next to each other and see the tv at the same time. Essentially, we have the super awesome basement that we don't use because the seating sucks the big one. We hadn't planned on buying today. You know how plans go, though.......The couch we got is almost exactly the same as the one upstairs (to see that, go Here and scroll down to the after pictures of our living room). The new couch we got is modular, so we can move allt he pieces around, and looks a little higher-end than our upstairs couch. Also, instead of the light color like the upstairs couch, the cushions are chocolate brown and the back pillows are all chocolate brown, with lighter accent pillows. We didn't want the lighter color downstairs, because it stains easily, and we're hoping to spend much more time down there once Baby E comes. We also didn't get an ottomon, because we don't need it in the basement. The new couch is our anniversary gift to one another. We always do a large gift.

Then we went to the pet store for food and litter, and to the grocery store. So basically, we spent a crapload of money today. LOL.