"Twas Four Nights Before Christmas..."

We just whipped this up to spread some holiday cheer (Nebraska style). Hope you enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,

Everyone was sleeping, except me and my pet mouse.

The stockings were hung on the deer heads’ with care,

But I secretly knew my parents would put my gifts in there.

My brother and sister were jumping on their beds,

“Be quiet and go to sleep!” my parents then said.

Mom in her night gown, dad in his sweats,

Were still up late, feeding our pets.

When outside, a gunshot was heard,

I paused my Ipod, thinking someone had shot a bird.

I got up from my bed to see what was the matter,

Peered through the window and saw someone on a ladder.

The moon was real bright, and obstructed my view,

There was someone outside, but who?

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a sleigh and eight tinny reindeer.

When I saw the driver, so plump and so old,

I knew in a moment: “he must be so cold.”

I thought I should offer him my winter jacket,

But no, on second thought, that’d create too much racket.

The man started yelling, “On dasher! On dancer!

O Comet, and Cupid! On Donner and Vixen!”

I started thinking, “Man, this guy has convictions”

Then it all started to fade away fast,

With the “beep, beep, beep” of my alarm,

He was gone in a flash.

I woke up from my dreaming,

And started screaming:

“Merry Christmas I say! Hope I get an Ipad today!”

Until Next Time!

IIIIIItttttt'ssssss Snnnnooowwwiiing!

Okay, you get three guesses. What is this blog post going to be about? 

No, we're not going to be talking about cute puppies.

Wow, that was cute. If anyone doesn't know what to get us for Christmas yet, we'll take the puppy (Not sure how we'll be able to ship him back to Nebraska though...)

Second Guess? Nope, we won't be talking about amazing Rube Goldburg Honda commercials.

(Sorry Honda, we still like Kia better).

Last guess! Okay, you probably guessed "snow" the first time. If you haven't guessed that this blog post is about snow yet, now's your chance. So, what is this blog post about?

Snow?

Exactly!

This Saturday, Brian & Nina experienced the biggest snow storm yet!  (For them, at least). After hours of snow fall, North Platte got, not a 1/2, not 3/4's, but one whole inch  of snow! Wooo! Call in the Abominable Snowman; this snow's getting crazy!

(It's so fluffy! (Quick: Which animated movie does that line come from?) But seriously, if you don't know what to get us for Christmas, we'd love to get this guy. Though, the shipping might still be an issue, we hear he's on the "no fly" list.)

See the snow!

See Nina in the snow!

See Brian in the snow!

Poor little Kia! 

Needless to say (though we'll say it anyway), Brian & Nina's coworkers are eager for Brian & Nina to see "real snow". Apparently, this deadly blizzard was just a "snow flurry".

Did we miss anything? Oh yea, tonight, for the first time this winter, the temperature is planning on diving below 0 degrees. Forecast for tonight: -8 degrees.

"Minus 8! That does not happen!" Quick, what random Christmas movie does that line come from?

 Who knew he was yelling about our weather?

 (Hint: it's the same movie as: "I'm in a store, and I'm singing!")

On that Christmasy note, goodnight to you all! Stay warm tonight!

Until Next Time...

This Just In! 10:00 O'Clock News at 11:30

Hello, and welcome to the 10 o'clock news at 11:30 on BNF Networks. Introducing your co-anchors: 

Brian "Cat's Pajamas" Fleming

and

Nina "Bee's Knees" Fleming.

Tonight's Top Story: 

Two lions escaped from Omaha's Zoo Thanksgiving night. Apparently, their Thanksgiving dinner of rotting meat and bone just wasn't enough to suffice their Thanksgiving cravings. Here is a picture of the two escapees:

Do not be fooled, these are wild beasts. Under no circumstances should you approach these animals; unless, you are really curious.

Feature Story:

Local Californians in Nebraska blog celebrities, Brian & Nina Fleming have returned safely from their wild Thanksgiving adventure in that far, far, away land: Denver, Colorado.

To bring you this story, our field correspondent, Strange Third Person Californians in Nebraska Blog Narrator (STPCNBN for short, TPCNN for even shorter, TPN for shortest) has developed this feature story:

For some, Thanksgiving is a time for gorging on turkey, slipping into a tryptophan induced coma, and saying thanks for gluttony.

For others, Thanksgiving is a time for family reunions, full of friendly conversations, furious family football, and, of course, family feuds.

But for a select few, Thanksgiving represents an opportunity to visit Denver's Warwick Hotel for a second time. 

Meet two of these "select few": Brian & Nina. Two simple Nebraskans, from, you guessed it, Nebraska. 

I had the pleasure to sit down with Brian & Nina during their Thanksgiving dinner at Warwick's Randolph's Restaurant to hear their Thanksgiving story. 

When Brian & Nina found out I was, in fact, interviewing them for this feature story, and not trying to sell them second hand tissues as I had originally told them, they asked me if they could include a special Thanksgiving shout out to all of their friends and family. Now generally, I don't allow for these, but Brian & Nina did share their wonderful Tiramisu desert with me, so here goes, straight from their mouth to your eager ears:

Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for the following:

-Our wonderful families (yes, that includes you!)

-Our fantastic friends (yes, if the above isn't you, this includes you!)

(do you recognize yourself in this picture?)

As I interviewed Brian & Nina over our scrumptious meal, they told me about their mid-afternoon coffee rendezvous at Dazbog coffee, a Russian themed eclectic coffee shop.

After our wonderful dinner was complete, we said our adieus and I took one parting picture:

For these photogenic lovers, Thanksgiving was not only a time for giving thanks for their loving friends and families, but it was also a time to enjoy Denver, relax, and recharge. 

In Sports:

On the way out of their trip from Denver, Brian & Nina enjoyed watching a Dever Bronco's football game at the world famous Mile High Stadium. Or, more accurately, Brian & Nina enjoyed seeing the stadium momentarily from the freeway as they drove out of Denver.

That's all for sports! Tune in next time to hear how Brian & Nina have learned to go grocery shopping during Cornhusker games as Wal-Mart is empty during that time!

In Weather:

While this year's first recorded snow fall consumed the hearts and minds of all who read last week's blog post, this week, Brian & Nina where swept off their feet upon returning to North Platte from Denver as strong winds pummeled their little car and cozy apartment.

There has been no break in the wind today; in fact, after putting a small sail on their little blue Kia,

Brian & Nina were able to drift to Wal-Mart and back without using any gas at all. Amazing! Unfortunately, through this wind-surfing, all of the fallen leaves of North Platte began to fall in love with Mr. Kia. Seen here, Mr. Kia is fighting off thousands of dry leaf fans as he attempts to transport Brian & Nina to Starbucks later that day.

Tune in next time to hear how Brian & Nina have completely "disaster-readied" their cars with water bottles, nuts, first aid kits, and blankets, all easily accessible from the backsets of their cars.

In Other News:

Christmas decorations have landed in the Fleming household. Bam! Take a look!

Ooohhhh! Awwwww!

Movie Trivia: Which Christmas movie is playing in this picture?

TV Show Trivia: Which TV show series do Brian & Nina have on the bottom shelf of their DVDshelf?

Mathematical Trivia: How many lights are on Brian & Nina's Christmas tree in this picture?

Tune in next time to see how Brian & Nina plan to bring presents to California for Christmas!

We hope you have enjoyed BNF Networks 10:00 o'clock news at 11:30. With your anchors, Brian & Nina Fleming signing off, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas season!

Until Next Time...

Blog Post #70 Coming Your Way! (Topics include: Freak Blizzards, Brad Pitt, Freeze Generators, in Less Than 20 Minutes (Nineteen Minutes to be Exact)) Is it Just Us, or is this Blog Post Title Rather Long?

Hello, hello, hello! (Is there an echo in here?) No! We're just so excited to give you another update that we are repeating, repeating, repeating our greeting, greeting, greeting (okay, I'll stop). 

How have you been? 

-Are you tired? Well, our blog will energize you! Or, it will put you to sleep. Either way, it's a win-win!

-Sad? No worries! Our humour (that's right, it's spelled like British humor) will make you laugh until your spleen ruptures (please do not send us your medical bill).

-Ready to read our update? Awesome! Read on! (If you don't really want to read on, but figure since you brought up this page on accident (you actually meant to go to Anin and Nairb's Nebraskans in California blog post) that you should at least humor us by pretending to read the following post, we appreciate that too).

What have Brian and Nina been up to in the last few weeks? Well, last time we spoke with you we were caught in the freezing grasp of a freak blizzard.

(Freak)                                                    (Blizzard)

Okay, we exaggerate (just like that callama in the pic above, he only swallowed a baby panda). Actually, we haven't received as much snow as North Platte usually gets by this time of year. We must have brought the warmth of California with us when we came. No? You say we don't have that kind of power or influence over mother nature? Then how do you explain this?

   +  =

Sorry, but you can't argue with this.

It's math.

No real snow yet, but we are eagerly waiting! You may ask (don't you love how we write in so many of these rhetorical questions? You probably love it even more than us answering these rhetorical questions for you with such long answers that you have to look back up in the paragraph to figure out what we're even talking about and what the original question even was!) what do you two do while waiting for this snow?

Great question!

Nina has become an amazing literary scholar in her spare time. Under her warm, plaid blanket, through her focusing purplish-pink glasses, Nina has been reading 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult (pronounced Pi-coult, not Pi-coul-i with an Italian inflection as Brian likes to say it). 

Awwww...this book looks so sweet. 19 Minutes is probably best friends with Nicholas Spark's A Walk to Remember; looks like 19 Minutes belongs in that romantic genre doesn't it? Well, here's the truth:

"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five....In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge."

Wow, sound interesting? What if we tell you that 19 Minutes isn't a romantic book at all. What if we tell you it's a psychological thriller/heartbreaking look at a 19 minute school shooting?  An amazing read. Seriously, add it to your "To Read" list (now, make sure to add it to the "to read" list you actually read from, not the "maybe I should read this book because someone suggested it and I don't want to be rude and just say 'no' to their face so I'll add their book to my imaginary "to read" list so they'll stop bugging me about it" list). 

Now, before you go off to your nearest bookstore or to Amazon to buy 19 Minutes for your Kindle (you technologically savvy reader, you), allow us to update you on what Brian has been up to in the last few days. 

But wait, before we get to Brian's main hobby in the last few weeks, we would like to share with you a theory we have come up with. Time to put on your "open-mind" hat on. Think about our following proposition and our evidence. Let it soak in. Consider it.  

Okay, here it is:

Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are the same person. More accurately, Leonardo DiCaprio is Brad Pitt in costume. 

Evidence #1: Brian can not tell the difference between these two actors. He thinks Pitt was in Inception and Shutter Island; DiCaprio was in Benjamin Button. In Brian's defense, DiCapro and Pitt look eerily similar:

(Remember the theory: Pitt puts on facial make-up to become DiCaprio)

Evidence #2: While DiCaprio and Pitt are both phenomenal actors, they have very rarely ever been in a film together. Coincidence? We think not. You movie buffs out there are probably asking, "What about Inglorious Bastards?" Good point; though, we would like to point out that there are many movies in which one person plays two characters seamlessly (the original Parent Trap anyone?)

Okay, so now that we have fully convinced you that these two actors are one in the same, we are sorry to say that the above was just a farce. That is, unless our theory is actually right...

Let's move on to what Brian has been up to. Lately, Brian has been on an inventing kick. He's not sure why he likes to invent so much. Maybe he's the great-great-great grandson of Thomas Edison (that would be cool wouldn't it?), or perhaps because his Grandpa Roland Fleming was an inventor, or it could be because his father, Edward, is still an inventor, whatever the reason, Brian has to entertain his creative ideas every once in a while. So, during the last few weeks, Brian has been pursuing an idea he developed while feeling his fingers freeze on the steering wheel as he drove to work. 

Brian has taken this problem and developed an invention, which he has coined, "The Freeze Generator". Hopefully, if Brian can pull it off, it will end up looking something like this:

Needless to say (though we're going to say it anyway, just to be annoyingly obvious), this will take Brian some time to make. 

We will update you as the Freeze Generator hopefully evolves from a computer design to a finished product which makes Brian & Nina millions of dollars, allowing them to retire early to write blog posts on a more frequent basis (lucky you!).

That's all for now!  So, in case you have already forgotten what this posting was about (or you skipped down to the bottom of this post so that you could tell us "oh yea, I read your post"), here's a quick summary in mathematical terms:

Brian & Nina + Nebraska = Warm Nebraska Weather

Jodi Piccolt + School Shooting = 19 Minutes

Leonardo DiCaprio + Hours of Make-up= Brad Pitt

Brian's Freezing Fingers + Inventing Genealogy = "The Freeze Generator"

Bam! Done! Finished! 

That's all folks!

Until Next Time...

Team Fleming!

Hello Faithful Blog Readers!

Nothing too crazy to report!

We did get snow on Wednesday!!

However, it did not stick to the ground and it only lasted about an hour.

But still!

PRETTY COOL!!

(we're pretty sure it didn't look like this, but still....cool picture)

In other news...we were featured in two local newspapers (no pun intended)! :)

Please check out the North Platte Telegraph:

http://nptelegraph.com/articles/2011/11/03/news/40004363.txt

and the Gothenburg Times:

http://gothenburgtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3426:service-projects-give-speech-class-more-meaning&catid=3:brady-happenings&Itemid=4

Brian had the idea of having his class pick a community project

for their persuasive speech unit.

Brian and Nina came up with the idea of helping foster kids out, since Nina works

directly with the state of Nebraska helping foster kids.

Brian's students loved the idea and ran with it, collecting a MASSIVE

amount of donated items that included:

clothes, diapers, wipes, bottles, toys, coats, stuffed animals, etc!

The community liked the project so much, that they featured it in

two newspapers!

We're pretty excited - and pretty proud of each other and of Brian's students!

Go DHHS & Brady Public Schools - helping the community one step and/or

donation at a time! :)

TEAM FLEMING!

Woo!

Okay, enough gloating, we're pretty excited - and wanted to document this is our

handy, dandy blog. :)

Until Next Time...

Been Awhile

Sorry for the hiatus, faithful blog readers.

Nothing too exciting to report since Denver. 

Nina went on a four day trip for work this past week.

Monday through Thursday night.

It was sad being apart.

We are now happily reunited since Thursday night - and have 

been working and relaxing since then. 

(As you can tell from the picture, we're thrilled).

Oh - one thing we have changed since Denver.

Yet again - our diet.

We are jumping on the Atkins bandwagon again.

We're also going to be starting the 30-Day Shred

(random fact: Jillian Michaels & us share in our alumni. That's right - we all graduated from California State University, Northridge!)

We're pretty excited to start these changes (which we're doing tomorrow).

Please, don't hesitate to cheer us on!

(Rah, Rah, Go Brian & Nina)

We would love the encouragement.

Alright - that's about it for now.

No crazy updates as of yet.

Until Next Time...

The Flemings Go to Denver- The Novel

Hello! Welcome to another fabulous update brought to you by your lovely website hosts (that's us! The Flemings!) 

Time to tell you about our weekend trip to Denver, are you ready? 

Do you have your popcorn popped?

Your seat reclined?

Yes! Then, "beam me up Scotty!" 

Wait, wrong idiom. 

Ready? "Let's get this show on the road!"

Starting on Saturday morning, Nina & Brian (again with this weird third person narration, but you readers are used to that by now, aren't you? You're also used to our stalling, rabbling self-reflections. We appreciate your patience with both of these things) went to Starbucks.

Are you surprised?

Then we hit the road! 

Hey, guess which towns we passed on the way to Denver?

We'll give you a hint...

Sorry, that's more of an answer than a hint. The cool part was that after passing Fleming, the next town was...Proctor! No joke (sorry Proctors that we didn't take a picture of your sign, so we did a bit of research and found a nice picture of your town)

Cool town you've got there, Proctor family!

Unfortunately, after our family reunion in Colorado, we hit some pretty bad weather.

Do you remember that "death cloud" from our travels to Nebraska?

Yea, that cloud is like a cuddly little pillow compared to the storm we drove through on Saturday. More than once, Brian & Nina considered pulling off the side of the road. The rain was coming down so hard and so fast, that Brian could barely keep control of their little blue Kia. 

(this picture doesn't do the pounding, blinding rain justice...)

If that wasn't enough, the rain turned to snow, sticking to the Kia's windshield and freezing the road beneath the Kia's cold tires as we entered Denver.

Brrrrrr...

Did you pack the snorkel?

Is that ice on the road? No, it's probably just shiny water. Yea, shiny water, that's all.

Needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyway), we were more than relieved to reach the Warwick hotel. Definitely a sight for sore eyes (or in our case, wet, freezing eyes).

Ready to see our hotel room? Forewarning- We are not rich snobs. Upon arriving to the hotel, the welcome desk attendent informed us that our package had been upgraded for free. So, when you see our "Mile High Suite", just know, we were supposed to get the Junior (little) Suite.

Welcome to our (not so) humble abode:

Knock, knock...

"Hello, let me show you our crib"

This is our hallway, with hard wood floors and a Disneyland fun house looking mirror...

The view from our balcony...

 Our snack corner,

 Boo! Oh, wait, those are just our robes, phew!

 Our study area...

 separate living room...

 detached bedroom...

 Let's just pause to remind you again, we didn't sign up for this crazy apartment suite, that's why we don't mind pretending to be hoity-toity.

Oh yes, that is a telephone in the bathroom. Room service, anyone?

What do Brian & Nina look like when they get pampered above and beyond what they paid for?

This is what we look like =]

Soon after we arrived, our wine and cheese appeared. We were definitely out of our element here!  We had to ask room service to come up to open our wine bottle for us!

(Because apparently you don't open a wine bottle like this...)

(or like this...)

(though that face Nina is making is pretty cute...)

After relaxing and watching a few episodes of Netflix, we decided to go to dinner. But not just any dinner, a fancy, have-to-get-dressed-up for dinner.

(awww...)

But before dinner, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around the 16th Street Mall in Denver, which is actually a mile long strip of road with shops, restaurants, and trolleys.

We got a lot of funny looks as we walked in the "mall" though.  You see, it was about 45 degrees outside.  Apparently, to the native Denverians (Denverites?), that was a pleasant temperature.  Yea, not so pleasant for us.  So we were bundled up in our heavy winter Cabela's jackets, complete with beanies and winter gloves.

(as modeled here minus the onlookers in the background)

Once we couldn't feel our feet or our ears anymore, we decided to go to dinner.  Our dinner was at Randolph's  undoubtably the most fancy restaurant we had ever been inside of, let alone eaten at. As we starred at our menus in confusion,

we couldn't help but think of those "What in this picture doesn't belong?" puzzles. (We would be the thing in the picture that you would circle).

After our one-of-a-kind dinner experience (which left us very full, but still slightly puzzled), we were greeted by a box of chocolates upon arriving back at our hotel room.

(completed with its own instruction manual on the different types and shapes of chocolates)

After eating our chocolates, we crashed and slept very soundly (or soundlessly) through the night.

Sunday morning, we awoke, feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.  Maybe it was the cool Denver morning air, or maybe it knowing that we were waking up in a hotel room as large as our apartment, either way, we woke up happy.

With this happiness, we decided to go make a trip to North Glenn, where Nina's grandparents grew up. Apparently, North Glenn has changed a lot in recent years, but the street that Nina's grandma lived on is still there:

(Grandma, hope this brings back pleasant memories for you!)

After North Glenn, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel (amazing!), a Michael's (fantastic!), and a Super Target (wonderful!). 

It was nice to be part of a consumer culture again, if only for a few hours.

Then it was time to go home.  We were ready.

And while the drive home wasn't as stormy,

it was still as long.

(yes, that does read 209 miles).

We are home now. Happy. Satisfied. Exhausted.

Thank you for checking in with us...

Until next time...