~~ODNEAL FAMILY BLOG~~Port of Readlyn, Iowa

So the other night Tyler and about 14 others held a get together out in our shop and played a little poker. I love it when these boys can get together for hours and have some innocent fun playing cards and enjoying each others company. Bruce and I even heated up some Schwan's boneless buffalo chicken wingz and cream cheese wontons that noone at our house had been eating to make more room in the freezer. Apparently they were a hit because Ty said they were gone within two minutes of taking the platter out to the shop. The boys all bring some snacks and beverages to whatever house they decide to get together at. When you live in a small town and community like we do it is nice to see all of them get together and have fun without having to spend money! And they even clean up everything and pick up all the chairs when they are done. Definitely they can play at our place anytime!

So I didn't make it to Goodwill Saturday like I had planned because I was "shopped" and "peopled" out when I got done with everything else. Found some amazing deals at Kohl's and apparently saved $371.66 according to my receipt. Then I hit Sam's club for important stuff like vodka, whisky, fruit snacks, gushers, boneless pork chops, and Babybel cheese. Yep I think I grab the same stuff every time I am there. Oh well. My final stop was Aldi's for my regular groceries that I purchase there all of the time. As I came up to the checkout I remembered that I hadn't bought myself any flowers from there for quite a while. I grabbed a bouquet (not many choices to pick from I'm afraid) and split it into three vases when I got home. They look awesome and just make me smile when I see them. Apparently their flowers (Aldi's) draw people to my blog regularly so thought I would once again post about them and do an update in about two weeks when...

This was Ava's first bath last Friday at Grandma and Grandpa Odneal's house. She loved my big sink and definitely loves the water. She is such a loved little girl and her Momma is a great one that loves her dearly. When she is at our house she always reaches for me. Until Momma shows up that is! And we love her little "growl" that she does but I am glad I still got a couple of "oh's" out of her tonight. And she has figured out how to move in her walker that I have but just not real good at figuring out which way to go. She will be running all over in it way too soon. Glad that your Daddy brought you over tonight to visit and your Momma got a hot meal that she didn't have to hustle home to cook! Everyone have a great weekend. I am doing a "me" day Saturday and starting out with heading to town early to hit Goodwill and some other stores that I just need to check out all the clearance stuff. I haven't done that for a long time. Oh and a ...

Well we knew it had to happen eventually as we had gotten far too many 40-50 degree days in January to even seem real. So Thursday night I had Bruce run with me to get groceries hoping to get a snow day Friday and not have to leave my house all weekend. Well I didn't get a snow day and braved it going to work. Was only there about four hours and headed home because the roads were getting bad quickly. I made it home safe but my poor low profile car busted drifts all the way from Dunkerton to Readlyn. After the snow finally quit Friday late afternoon Bruce and Kyle got busy snow blowing and shoveling to clear the driveway and sidewalks. And the deck of course. Bruce just had to drag the blower up and do it! I guess that is so I can get to my bird feeder to fill as I know it wasn't so that he can grill! Oh and the guys even did our neighbors driveway and sidewalks for her since she wasn't home from work yet. She enjoys clearing snow but I think she was happy to have it mostly ...

So Ava went to her first high school basketball game Saturday night and she was so good. And she had fun at our house before we left. Tyler told the team that she is now their good luck charm since they won in OT by 2 points. Guess Grandpa and Grandma might have to take her along to all of the home games for good luck! Not really. As fun as she is it is a lot of work. But she had a lot of fun and was such a good girl! Love you Ava tator. You were so much fun this weekend. Too bad you couldn't enjoy the homemade pizza Gma made for everyone. Someday soon we can feed you that too. I went out on a limb and made chicken bacon ranch pizza, taco pizza, and boring pepperoni pizza (for Taylor without knowing she loves taco!) and they were all awesome I am told. I only ate 2 pieces and I have to agree that I pretty much rock on the homemade pizza! Never knew taco and chicken bacon ranch could be so easy! Have a great week!

Ummmmm.......Bruce bought me this awesome stupid ass sewing machine for Christmas and I was so excited. Well last Sunday when we got back from the brunch I asked/told Helen she had to help me set it up since it has been probably almost 20 years since I had sewn. And my Momma was always there to help and fix problems. This is a picture of some of the test pieces we did when it worked right. Guess what? It is boxed up and going back tomorrow or this weekend as after Helen left the bobbin stupid thing fell again and I could not get it. I have tried every night this week to no avail. Even Ty (who had a semester of sewing and thought he might be able to help) tried and gave up. I HATE love this machine. Do not buy it! I will take my SIL Helen to help me pick out another one that I can operate. I used to love to sew and it cannot be that difficult to drop a bobbin in and thread the machine and GO! Everyone have a great Friday and weekend. Started back at Jazzercise this we...

Just this cuteness for your Friday. Gizmo is finally accepting and liking Ava being around. I let her grab Gizmo a couple times and this was when Giz batted at her with her paw. Don't panic-Gizmo has no claws and really wouldn't hurt a flea. Gadget on the other hand I wouldn't even think of letting Ava try to "pet". Everyone have a great day and weekend. We are going to the WV game against NU and Ty just told me we better get there early because they bring a crowd. And rumor has it some technicals will probably be a part of the game. Might be very interesting. Usually we just go out towards the end of the girls game but we may have to go early to get a decent seat. Good luck WV boys. Play a good game and that is all that you can do! Clean play and sportsmanship are the most important things in any game. Some teams just don't know how to do that sadly. We always get some entertainment out of our coach so this should be a very interesting night if nothing else!...

I don't have much to say except that I hope that everyone had very happy holidays and a very Happy New Year! Totally enjoyed my ten days off at home with Bruce. Oh heck and with Ty & Kyle. It was hard to go back to work on Tuesday. But I did get most of the attic cleaned out and burned a ton of 20+ year old bank statements and tax returns. I did decide I still have a problem with keeping boxes. But if anyone needs any size and/or shape I'm pretty sure the one corner of my attic has it! Just let me know. We have our houseboater's brunch this weekend, and once again road tripping to Waukon with Helen & Louie to stay with our friends the Quillin's. I think this will be like my 5th year claiming our same guest bedroom. She has the comfiest bed and flannel sheets for us every year. I will try and get back into posting next week. Busy with year end stuff at work and just getting back into normal life. If this years get together in Waukon goes like usu...