H1N1 Flu Virus

For anyone interested, KCCI, one of the local news channels, came to Vet Med on Tuesday to talk to our virology department. Here is the link: http://www.kcci.com/video/19316142/index.html They asked questions about the H1N1 (swine) flu. It is very important to understand that it is being spread by humans, not pigs, and that pork is safe to eat. Provided it's handled and cooked properly. Please be safe and take care of yourselves.

It Don't Mean a Thing

Since my mom complained about how my cousins and I only blog once a week at most, I am posting for the second time in two days.
I took my grandparents to eastern Iowa this weekend to go to the Glenn Miller Orchestra concert in Maquoketa. We had a really good time. My parents and sisters went, along with my youngest sister's boyfriend, aunt Martha, uncle Jim, and aunt Ann. I sat next to Jamie, who sat next to Grandpa, who was supposed to tell her what songs were being played. He didn't do so well. Next time we're sitting by Mom and Ann.
On Sunday we had brunch at Mom and Dad's. (FYI: All four of their kids were home, with the two grandkids, yet they stayed at the hotel in Maquoketa. Yes, their house is still standing!) Grandma and Grandpa had such a good time watching and talking to Jasper and Mason.
My absolute favorite was when uncle Jim brought out the birthday cake for Grandma and Grandpa. Mason got this very depressed look on his face. Why was he depressed? Because his tummy was full and there was no room for cake. Until he found out it was carrot cake.

For those of you who know Grandpa, he only gave me directions to their bank and back to the interstate. He sat in the back listening to his books.

No, really....

This is my mom, two of her sisters, and their parents getting ready to take a picture.

That's why it takes so long to take pictures. Not that it keeps us from taking them!
And here's the picture I ended up with.

VEISHEA

It was VEISHEA week in Ames, and it was a beautiful week. I ended up being home sick for part of Tuesday and all of Wednesday. I have a chronic sinus infection, but they had blood taken for mono. (I do not have mono.) So, I went back to work on Thursday being very well rested.
Jason's friend Luc came to visit us and he was here from Wednesday to Saturday. He rode his motorcycle up from Atlanta, Georgia. Yes, Atlanta. On his Harley. He's very brave. We went out to eat at Old Chicago that night. Luc went and visited some friends in Des Moines on Thursday, while my friend, Bethany, came over and we started to put some fabric together for a quilt. Friday, Jason and Luc met some of my co-workers and me at Great Plains Sauce and Dough Company for lunch. This place has the best pizza in Ames. The crust is really thick and has lots of cheese. A lot of our friends who used to live in Ames insist that we go there when they visit. Jason and I are more than happy to oblige. Jason's friend, Dave, also came down on Friday on his motorcyle. The four of us and Matt went to Hickory Park for supper and I went to the bar with Luc, Dave and Matt afterwards to meet some more of Jason's band friends. (Jason had to work Saturday morning, so he didn't go with us.) We had a pretty good time.
Dave and Luc left fairly early Saturday morning to try and miss the rain. Apparently, it didn't happen and they got soaked partway to their destinations. Matt and I met up with my friend, Kim, and her son, Neil, on campus to watch the VEISHEA parade. We got to see the alumni band and drumline, which was the main reason we went. After the parade, we all walked to CyRide where Jason showed Neil the buses. Always a fun time. This is Neil and me posing in one of the stands by Kildee hall. I'm a peanut and Neil is a sweet potato. We went back to campus to have lunch (Gyro's from the gyro guy are the best!), and we went out to Vet Med for all the fun activities out there. I also gave Matt and Jason a quick tour of the lab I work in. (Kim used to work there, so her and Neil had already seen it, but tagged along anyway.)
Jason, Matt, and I met up with Pete, Mary, and Pat at Old Chicago shortly afterwards.
We did a lot of walking and dodging raindrops. It was a fun time, but it wore all of us out. I'm so glad that VEISHEA is only once a year.

Easter

Jason and I went to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's for Easter. We met them at church where the service had their choir, bell choir, and brass choir with tympany perform. There was a lot of music, which Jason and I love, and it was a very nice service. Plus we went with Grandma and Grandpa, what's not to love? We went to their house for lunch, which was excellent, and met Grandpa's cousin, Steve. Steve works at the University and lives in Ames. Small world! We had a great time, but didn't play any games.

Afterwards we visited our friend, Matt, and his family in Pleasant Hill. (It was somewhat impromptu seeing as we were going to go home and work outside.) We watched a movie and I chatted with Matt's mom, Joyce, for a little bit. We'll be going back to visit them in May because of the bonfires they're going to have. Fires you can see from space. Joyce offered us some leftovers for supper, but we went to Bennigan's since Jason had been craving it all day. We actually had to drive by it to get to church that morning.

We had a very nice weekend with some pretty nice weather. The rain held off until Monday. Monday started VEISHA here which is always full of activities. Jason has a friend from his band days coming to stay with us for part of the week. Jason and I are planning on going to the Vet Med open house on Saturday, and hopefully I'll get to show him where I work. Even if I don't, I'm sure I'll magange to get him lost in the building.

Funny Stuff

So, I was watching TV Thursday night while my computer is being fixed, and I watched this hilarious new comedy. If anybody was curious as to what playing dungeons and dragons is like, watch KrŐd Mandoon on Comedy Central. The only difference is that we're not actually doing the acting, we use dice and paper, but if you use your imagination, that's what it's like. Matt watched it with me and we laughed a lot. I tried taping the second airing for Jason, but the tape wasn't good. Unfortunately, I don't see the first two episodes airing again anytime soon, so he'll just have to wait for the DVD's.

A Fun Weekend

Jason, Matt, and I successfully made it to Galena and back, despite the snow on Sunday. We had a wonderful time! We first made a side trip to Olin where we picked up the beef Kate and Blair had bought. We had dinner with Jason's parents, grandparents, his uncle Doug, Jen, Ethan, Mike, and Mike's dad John. (Isn't Ethan a cutie?) Unfortunately, Ethan got sick before the food came and Jen and him had to leave. He's feeling much better now! It was good to see all of them. It ended up being a late night by the time we stopped at Kate and Blair's, unpacked all the meat, and got checked into the hotel.
We saw my high school friend, Destiny (below on the right), and her family. We met at an Italian restaurant and had a good time catching up. The last time I had seen Destiny was when we graduated eleven years ago. It doesn't seem like that long, but it has been. Her family is wonderful and I'm so glad we got to meet them. There were a lot of pictures taken. Hopefully they'll be able to come visit us someday.
We spent a lot of our time gaming, which is always fun. (See the pictures of Matt and Jason below.) Matt and I did find some time Sunday morning to use the pool at the hotel. (Jason decided he was too tired to go.) The pool had an awesome water slide. Just getting out of the pool and climbing the stairs to get to the top of the water slide was exhausting, but so worth it. I have informed Blair and Kate that, although I love them very much, I'd rather stay with the water slide.
Zara did stay home, but a friend of mine from work, Lisa, stopped by to see her and give her antibiotics for her cold. (Thank you very much, Lisa!) Lisa said she loved that Zara purred while taking her medicine. Zara was very happy to see us when we got home.