Trying to be less random, I've organized my journal to make it easier for some to view!!! Hope it works.

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My first experience living in snow - this is at the Kansas City Airport on my way home from Thanksgiving with the fam in South Florida - what a change!!!

( See the Snow!!! )

I actually missed most of the great pics of the Fall colors - they were there one minute, gone the next. I did manage to get this one though... so preeeettttyyyy... =)

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Here's some pics of my house that I am slowly... and I mean SLOWLY... getting decorated.

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I went in and decorated my resident-mate's desk for her burfday!

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And the sunflowers, apparently!!!

Here's some pics of the sunflowers around my house a few months ago!!!

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Here are some pics of the damage the tornado did when it hit Wednesday night. This used to be a True Value Hardware Store.

Sorry for the blurriness. This is "drive-by shooting" at its finest.

( Click here for the pics... )

Manhattan has not been hit by a significant tornado since 1966. Well, one hit last night. There are multiple reports of damage at Kansas State University (roofs ripped off of buildings, a fraternity house half-demolished), a subdivision was nearly wiped away, a True Value Hardware was reduced to rubble, and a Toyota dealership has cars flipped here and there. Two deaths were reported in Kansas, one in Chapman, a small town about 40 min away from me that was nearly completely wiped off the face of the Earth, and one in Soldier, KS, about 2 hrs from here or so.

Fortunately, I was out of the thick of things. I did notice a drainage pipe in the ditch next to my house - have no idea where it came from.

Here are some videos of the lightning during the storm. Certainly not the most impressive of the stuff I saw - those I was cringing and running away from the windows for!!!

( Click here to see the videos... )

Here's more photos... of the new fish tank and the storm that passed through the other day...

( More photos... )

Still stuffless - so here's some random photos and two videos.

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I should write a book. I really should. Things happen to me... and it's like a sitcom. I'm waiting for Ashton to jump out and yell, "You've been PUNK'D!!!". Ok, Ashton, give it up. I've called your bluff. 

Got a call this morning about Kelly's results...

( Click here for the results )

We had Easter at the VanderManor and I've only now gotten the pics from it!

( Click here to see the pics! )

So Nicholas had an ultrasound appointment. Dr Gellatt came down from Gainesville and did the exam.

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So... Kelly's appointment was this morning. I brought her in (a little late, stupid me set the alarm for 6:45 PM - not AM - oops). Asked if they could possibly do an abdominal radiograph just to ease my mind.

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So I had taken in Nicky and Racer because they were both losing weight. Nicholas has slowly been doing this - but has always been hungry (VERY hungry, which is a sign of hyperthyroidism) and Racer lost a ton of weight over the time I was gone for two weeks. I came home to a very skinny cat! It reminded me of Face.

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Well, it had been a week since Ashley/Princess had been found. Ramiro and his brother, Arnaldo (I think) were very excited about the prospect of getting a new puppy. Ramiro worked in the blueberry fields with his mom all day yesterday - collecting 105 buckets of blueberries - at $3.00 a piece, he had racked up enough for heartworm/flea/tick prevention, dog food, bed, crate, leash, collar, and dishes - and still have some left over for future expenses. The boys came over today to walk the puppy and play with her, and Arnaldo was finally beginning to warm up to her - actually petting her and not running away.

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So... I have spent the last few days printing out flyers for the boys (Ramiro and Mini Me) to plaster all over the neighborhood, took the dog to the vet to scan it for a microchip (no such luck), placed ads in several newspapers, and online forums for lost pets, scoured ads and googled "lost pomeranian", no calls yet! I can't believe it! She SUCH a cutie - but everyone kinda hates her here. LOL. The cats hide or swat at her, the dogs either just tolerate or in Buddy's case, get after her for getting in their face. But... how can you resist ( THIS face??? )

I was at home this afternoon and my doorbell rang at about 7:30 pm. It's either some kid selling something or the ADT people are back (for the 5th time). Nope! It's actually two boys holding a small dog in their arms. They were wondering if this was my dog. I said no... where did you find it?

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It's going to take some getting used to not being close to an airport while living in Manhattan. Since it's a 2+ hour drive to Kansas City, we decided to head over there the day before and stay in a hotel so we could get a later start for our flights. On our way, we decided to stop at The Topeka Zoological Park. I could have sworn this guy in the elevator at the Fairfield Inn in Manhattan said this was *THE* best zoo he's been to... well, he can't have been to too many. This zoo is a little sad. Compared to the Sunset Zoo in Mahattan, this is peanuts. But we got some good pictures and it was only $5.25 to get in... and it was on the way. Won't say I won't go there again, but hopefully it will get a little better after spring is over and all the animals are out in their summer habitats.

I'll definitely go back with my big camera... you can get pretty up close and personal with things here at this zoo too. They have some pretty old animals, so I think that's why some looked pretty frail. Check out the vid of the bears playing!

( Click here for pics from the Zoo and Speedway... )