a long car trip all over Kansas. Both were a blessing. Glad to be home.

I woke up to another 5 inches of snow this morning. Upon opening my bedroom window this morning and taking in the view of fresh snow, I spent maybe a minute planning on snowboarding all day. I actually started calculating how long it would take to put a fresh coat of wax on my snowboard. Then I realized I was in Iowa and there was no hill worthy of my board within miles.

So I ended up doing what most Iowans do in this scenario. Shovel my way out to my car and slide along the road to work.

On a good note, I did have uncanny timing this morning. After I shoveled my driveway and de-iced my car, a snow plow came down my street. I pulled out behind him and got a slow but clear path all the way to work. He actually drove the entire route to where I turn to park.

My husband will be the first to tell you one of the best things we have around here is organic meat. We get ours from Dave and Rita Smith. They are located in Bonaparte and deliver right to your door. We have a hand written price list and one of the options is Rita’s special pork sausage. I don’t eat much meat, but when I do I want it fresh and organic. The Smith’s provide this at a very reasonable price. My favorite is the whole chickens.

While out to dinner with friends last weekend, someone mentioned that Smith Farm was converting to a dairy farm to be part of the Organic Valley “family”. While I couldn’t confirm the Organic Valley story, Rita Smith emailed and said they are in the process of changing to a dairy farm. They will continue to have chickens but the other animals they are not sure about.

This just may be the push my hubby needs to cut down on the red meat. And I’d love another local diary. We get our milk, yogurt and some cheese from Radiance Dairy. Which is amazing. I would however, like milk in a glass container. And add to the list, sour cream, cheddar cheese and butter (although we do get our butter from Kalona Iowa). I’d also like the Smiths to be able to be independent of the organic giant, “Organic Valley”.

So there is my dairy wish list for 2008.

If you want to get meat from Smith Farm you can email them at smitfarm@netins.net or call at 319-592-3266.

Someone recently mentioned how nice it will be to see the lights in downtown Kansas City when we go there this weekend.

This got me to thinking about downtown Seattle and I felt a little homesick. The midst, the lights, the hustle and bustle. That nostalgia lasted a whole 10 seconds before I remembered walking store to store to store to store…

You know that headache that is particular to shopping?

My goal this year was to shop only in town. I almost succeeded. I had to order the newest Eagle’s CD (it was a request!) online.

I fulfilled my shopping list from Plant Art, Natural Selections, At Home, Adela, Earth Wisdom, Overlands, Michelle (can’t remember her last name) made me a bracelet to order and Dawn Hunter at Aurora Farms made my daughter a fairy doll and two dragons!

I bought for 5 nieces and 2 nephews, 2 moms, 1 grandma, 2 boyfriends (my mother and my sisters’), 2 siblings, 1 sister-in-law, one husband and one daughter.

I already received my best gift of the season: I did not come close to a mall.

I just watched the Iowa Democratic Debate that took place on December 13th (you can watch it here). What’s interesting about the format of this debate is the candidates all received an equal share of speaking time and were positioned randomly on stage (I think). In other words it wasn’t like the CNN debates where Clinton and Obama are the focus (in time and position), as if the whole primary is being scripted.

I’m curious to hear from anyone who watched this debate and who they came away thinking about. I came away really liking Dodd and Richardson, and still liking Edwards. To my surprise neither Obama nor Clinton really impressed me, or rather neither of them left me rallied to caucus for them.

I haven’t seen The Kingdom yet (it comes out on HD-DVD next week and is sitting in my Netflix queue), but I caught this clip of the opening credits on YouTube.

I’m not assuming The Kingdom is anything more than an action thriller, but the opening credits are an impressive mini-documentary on US-Arab relations over the past seventy years. Impressive in creativity and style, as well as a very succinct explanation for the shit we’re in now.

I finally met Professor K today!

A totally bizarre and entertaining look at growing a beard by dubstyle as posted on Flickr.

The speculating “news” from the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal was that the Des Moines Register would endorse Obama for president.

The Wall Street Journal stated that, “some think the Resister prefers to back candidates who aren’t establishment favorites” and stated, “after all everyone likes to play kingmaker”. In guessing the Register would go for Obama, they obviously agree with this assessment.

I was a little offended at the Wall Street Journal’s insinuation that the Register was motivated mostly by power. I have the view that it is the state of Iowa that does not like to back established favorites. And it is because we don’t trust the establishment all that much. And I thought, when the Register does endorse Obama, it would be a reflection of our views as a state.

Well my idealistic self was shot down (again).

The Register’s editorial endorsement for Clinton stated there really wasn’t much of a difference in the candidates’ plans. That it came down to, “preparedness: Who is best prepared to confront the enormous challenges the nation faces — from ending the Iraq war to shoring up America’s middle class to confronting global climate change?”

The Register’s editorial board, went on to say, “Indeed, Obama, her chief rival, inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence. Each time we met, she impressed us with her knowledge and her competence”.

I guess I am more hopeful than the editorial board of the Des Moines Register. I am imagining a better country and a better world. I do think Clinton is knowledgeable and competent but I want a leader with a brighter vision for our country and our world.

Ones’ hairdresser speaks volumes to the place you live.

In Seattle I had Steven at Salon Ciba. I LOVED Steven, he cut my hair for over 10 years. He was a master at dying my hair any funky way I wanted it and provided juicy gossip while he did it. He laughed loudly at my jokes and treated me like I was the shit.

Once on Bainbridge Island I started taking the trek less and less to the city to get my haircut. I tried out a couple of different hairdressers on “the island” and well, lets just say they were not up to par (I can only hope that my husband does not pull up a photo of this time period).

A new hairdresser opened shop on the island from LA. Word on the street was that he was a hair stylist to the stars. He gave an amazing haircut but at an amazingly high price. He told stories like, he missed traffic in LA so bad that he and his wife would wait for the ferry to dock and merge into the “ferry traffic” for fun. But, he also told stories like, having an affair and not understanding why his wife refused to go to a party where the lover would be. OMG. My hair looked good (actually only in an up-scale suburb kind a way, GROSS) but what was I thinking? This may be what really started the process of moving to Iowa.

Annmarie, my new hairdresser, is awesome.

1. A good cut- not too styled, kinda a messy look.
2. A good dye job, she didn’t bat an eye when I wanted my tips dyed pink and later reacted the same when I wanted the gray washed out and a natural look.
3. She dotes on my child and I.
4. Her wait is NOT three plus weeks.
5. And she treats me like I am an insider. LOVE IT.