Always On An Adventure

Jury Duty

2011-04-13T20:42:00.002-05:00

So, I had my first experience with jury duty this week. The case itself was pretty unexciting... but here are a few ways to get excused from a jury in DWI case, just incase you ever need to know.

Admit to having EIGHT DWI convictions yourself. Wow.
Admit to having one DWI in 1988 and that you have been sober since that day.
Be a retired police officer - who retired 10 days ago.
Have a parent killed by a drunk driver.
Have a kid who is sick.
Have your own graduation party the first day of the trial. At 2pm on a Monday. One - What does a person graduate from in April? Two - Who plans a graduation party at 2pm on a Monday? Really?

Needless to say, I was not excused from the jury - I got to serve in my first jury trial. At least it only lasted two days.

My three month period continues until June 3oth, and they can call me back an unlimited number of times for more trials between now and then. As we left, the bailiff said, "See you in a couple weeks." Perfect...

Raleigh

2011-04-13T20:17:00.004-05:00

Last week I got to go visit Rose, Korey, and Maxwell for a few days in Raleigh. I have visited them in North Carolina (well, once in South Carolina) now for 4 springs in a row.

Rose, Maxwell, and I went to an Arboretum on Thursday - the coolest thing there was this tree that has flowers that grow out of even the biggest branches, this is an example, I could not get a good picture that represents how cool this tree is.

The big happening of this trip was... their son Maxwell turned one on Friday! Even though we live in different parts of the country, I've actually seen him 3 times already. Right after he was born last spring, when they were in Minnesota for Christmas, and now over his first birthday. He's a pretty cool kid. It had been kind of a long day by the time we gave him his birthday cupcake, so he looks a bit grumpy in this picture.

Here's a cuter look while he's eating his cupcake. He's sleepy, but he has a cupcake.

On my last day we drove by a Rita's Ice, and I missed it at first, but Rose saw it and remembered I loved Rita's when I lived in Philly. I haven't been to one in probably 5 years, and I got one on Saturday. It was awesome.

Maple Syrup

2011-04-03T20:28:00.004-05:00

So, I took Marcos out to Gorham's to check out how to make maple syrup. Although I've known them forever, I don't believe I've ever been out there during maple syrup time. First time for everything right? 40 gallons of sap for 1 gallon of syrup - that's only worth it if you love doing it. And how did anyone ever come up with that crazy plan... lets stick something into the tree to get this clear sap that runs out, and then boil the heck out of it until it's dark brown and really sweet. And then dump it on pancakes. No idea who's crazy mind came up with this process... but I love syrup. :)

Buckets on trees... a few of the hundreds...

Three taps into one bucket.

This is where the sap gets boiled down from 40 gallons to 1 gallon.

This is the beauty of being outside that day... but I can't get it to rotate on here, stupid blogger.

Yoga

2011-03-02T21:35:00.005-06:00

Today I went to my first Yoga class. I am in better shape than I have been in years... but I think I have lost all my flexibility. My balance is fair... but this one, this one I had issues with, and this lady makes it look so easy.

And this is the hardest thing we did, none of those really fancy ones. Good deal though or I would have made a complete fool of myself.

At least my first yoga class went WAY better than my first Zumba class. I am way too much of a white girl to do Zumba.

It's been awhile!

2011-01-20T14:23:00.003-06:00

Okay, I'm back! I know it's been a long time, but I am going to try to post at least once a week now.

Life since my last post in March 2010...

In June, I went on a mission trip with my church, Trio Community Church and Horizons Community Church. It was a great trip, it was nice to be back in Jamaica after 7 years! How have that many years passed?

In August I went on my first solo backpacking trip to Isle Royale for five nights. It was amazing, and I can't wait to go back. First boat to the island is early May!

In October/November I went to Neptal for a couple weeks with Global Health Outreach. I loved it, and I really like how GHO puts their teams together and runs things, so I will likely go on another trip with them in the future.

While I was on a plane between Dehli, India and Newark, NJ - my second niece was born - Maura (Moi-ra) Anne Holland. She is now a little over 2 months old and I love my nieces to death. :)

December 22 was my last day working at Kanabec Hospital... I took a new job in Long Prairie, still in the emergency department starting January 3. It's a smaller department, and different, but I think I made the right choice.

More later, and hopefully next time I won't have to do the highlights of the last 10 months because it was that long between posts!

Arizona!

2010-03-18T22:08:00.002-05:00

So, last night I landed in Phoenix early after an uneventful flight, I think the pilot may have been speeding. My aunt, uncle, and cousin were there to meet me and drive me back to their house in Maricopa. I slept in today, and then we went to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument and the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and Museum. Then we relaxed at their house for the evening. I sat out on the patio and read for awhile, had some good food tonight. Just relaxing at their house for the evening.

I'll get pictures up later!

30 by 30...

2010-01-27T21:58:00.000-06:00

My life has become pretty routine... not a lot of adventures. Even though I have a full time job, and I own a house... I want to live a life that is a constant adventure, full of new things... So, because I work well with lists... I made a list of things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. Some are big things, some things not so big, but all should be adventures in one way or another.

Here's my 30 by 30...
1. Pay off my car
2. Be debt free except for the mortgage and student loan payment
3. Finish the basement in my house
4. Build a deck
5. Add trees and landscaping to yard
6. Spend a full week backpacking by my self
7. Improve my Spanish skills
8. Improve my ASL skills
9. Go back to the boundary waters (it's been probably 10 years!)
10. Get through my pile of books I haven't read yet so I actually buy one and read it right away... what a concept!
11. Read the main text of at least 2 other world religions so I can better understand them.
12. Go back to Texas to visit Aunt Lue & Cliff
13. Get to at least 5 more states I have never been to, to bring me to 30 out of 50 states (I believe I am at 27 out of 50).
14. Get to at least half of Minnesota's State Parks as an adult
15. Get involved in an international ministry
16. Get involved in a local ministry
17. Finish a sprint triathlon
18. Do the Minnesota Skinny Ski Series
19. Get snowshoes and use them
20. Do the Duluth In line Marathon
21. Never wear double-digit sized pants again. Size 8 or smaller!
22. Get to Louisiana to visit Jess & Robbie
23. Learn to knit hats, mittens, and socks (so far I can only knit flat things)
24. Sew a piece of clothing that I will wear
25. Go to at least 5 new National Parks (I am at 6 of 57 parks)
26. Learn to Skijour
27. Ride a century ride (100 mile bike ride)
28. Have a trained therapy dog
29. Go whitewater rafting
30. Blog at least once a week about some adventure I've had, be it on this list or otherwise.

I do recognize that God may step in and change my list, he may make some things impossible to complete, he may bring other adventures into my life... But... On June 7, 2012 we will see if I made my list!

27th Year of Life in Review...

2009-06-07T23:43:00.000-05:00

So, I'm 27 years old today... Here's the high points of the 27th year of my life...

I moved back home.

I took a job at the Kanabec Hospital ER.

I house shopped... a lot (Thank you Joslyn).

I finally bought a house in Milaca.

I got my first neice... Evalynn Mae.

I visited Rose & Korey in Charlotte, NC.

I made a long vacation out of my conference in San Diego and stayed 18 days in California exploring... returning the day before my birthday.

Year 28 doesn't have much of a chance of having as many changes or events...

Last day in California...

2009-06-06T00:15:00.003-05:00

So, I went to Yosemitie and from the begining it wasn't meant to be. I got there farily early in the day, but yet all the campsites were full... so I had to go hunting in the National Forest outside the National Park. If ound a site about 10 miles outside the park's western border... set up my tent and headed for the park. Hoped to eat at the resturant that was on the map up on Tioga Pass, but alas, it wasn't open yet. I went up to Glacier Point for sunset, but it was too cloudy. Oh and somewhere between there I hit some wild animal that was about bumper hight and dark in color... it jumped into the road from the shurbs and i didn't get a chance to move. Crap, I feel so bad! Luckily it didn't really hurt the car. Anyway, it rained all night and was supposed to continue through Monday, and it was actually snowing so much that they closed Tioga Pass and were requiring chains on other roads, and I have no chains... I could have gone the long way around (2-3 hours) to Yosemitie Valley to see the museums and exhibits down there, but that's where EVERYONE would be since it was raining and the ranger told me that they were saying it was so cloudy in the valley that you couldn't probably even see the sights (like the falls) down there... so I opted not to do it. I drove to San Franscisco a day early instead with my sopping wet tent... Anyway, I decided to go home early, between Yosemitie not wanting me to visit and the fact that I was just ready to go home anyway, I changed my flight and I'm going home tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon. Today I got to San Franscisico, checked into the hostel, packed up all my stuff and made sure it'd fit in my luggage (I didn't gain much while I was here, so it all worked, no need to ship stuff home). Then I went and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge (which is in fact red, not gold incase you didn't know or you care). I went to Mount Tampalis (as suggested by Ashley & Kurt)... it was BEAUTIFUL day in San Fran, I hear it's usually foggy here, but it was a beautiful sunny day. Tomorrow morning I plan on heading to Golden Gate park and maybe walking part way across the Golden Gate Bridge... then heading to the airport. Flight out at 3:10pm. Before I fly out I have to deal with the rental car company and the fact that I dented their car... Thank goodness for my credit card having rental car coverage, shouldn't cost me anything, just the hassle. Lesson in that... get the rental car insurance, stupid things can happen fast. I'll get pictures up Sunday or Monday... I have yard work to do if it's nice out, if it's raining they'll be up sooner. Getting home sooner also gives me a chance to study for ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) class that I'm taking Thursday & Friday at North Memorial. Bad timing for a class and vacation, oh well!

Trip Update...

2009-06-03T23:20:00.006-05:00

Ok, sorry I haven't written for a bit... no Internet when camping and the Internet here at the hotel in Death Valley is not very good. The only way they could get Internet here is satellite and it's no good. But hey, it's some access to the outside world. :)

So, this internet is definitely not fast enough for me to get any pictures uploaded... so that will have to wait. Sorry.

Here's the scoop on my last few days...

Sequoia National Park Day 1 (Sunday): Arrived, went on the tour of Crystal Cave (unfortunately, the memory card those pictures are on is currently MIA, so I HOPE it's in my stuff and not in the National Park somewhere... Luckily I missed the afternoon rain shower while I was in the cave! After that I went back and set up my tent and such... then went to check out sunset on Moro Rock, that was AMAZING! Very beautiful!

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks Day 2 (Monday): Drove up to Kings Canyon. Apparently Kings Canyon is deeper in places than the Grand Canyon. It's pretty in the canyon. Checked out some really big trees... found some really big pine cones... saw some big stumps, mostly from the logging industry, but one that got cut down so slices of it could be put in museums. I did a lot of hiking, probably at least 10 miles in total which included lots of hills at a decent elevation. Maybe now I'll be in better shape to do the half marathon in August! At the end of the day I decided to watch sunset from Moro Rock again so I practically ran up the rock to make it by sunset. Again, definitely a good workout!

Death Valley Day 1 (Tuesday): So, I turned on the GPS and as the bird flies it says Panamiant Springs (where I am staying on the edge of Death Valley) was only 74 miles away! Fortunately I had looked at a map and realized there are no roads that go anywhere near where a bird would fly... it took just over 6 hours and just under 300 miles to get there. Wow. Anyway... I explored a bit around Death Valley... saw Badwater (280 some feet below sea level), the Salt Flats, Natural Arch, The Devil's Golf Course, Devil's Cornfield... wow, is it hot and the wind doesn't even cool you off because the wind feels hot too. I took some cool pictures of sunset from down in the valley... but unfortunately my memory card didn't store them right or something because now when I try to open them "File Contains no Image Data" or something like that... sucks. Oh well.

Death Valley Day 2 (Wednesday): Didn't really want to get going this morning, slept too well... but, I went and saw Stovepipe Well, Artist's drive (the mountains are so many different colors! Amazing!), I wanted to drive into a few of the canyons but I only did the short ones because the roads really are not meant for regular cars... at least a truck or jeep would have been better, so instead of getting stuck in a rental car, I opted not to do that. I saw a couple great views from Zabriske Point and Dante's View. When I was driving down from Dante's View a red car was going up and I looked at the person driving and thought, "that guy's face looks familiar"... a couple minutes later it popped into my head that he looked like Kris Allen, our new American Idol... for a brief second I debated going back up and seeing if it was really him... but I talked myself out of it because seriously, why would he be in Death Valley 2 weeks after winning American Idol... he'd either be at home, or doing whatever a person does after you win before the tour starts... Anyway, it rained all day off and on. The wind was so bad I thought I was going to fall over when I walked, seriously. It wasn't only blowing the sand around, but the gravel was blowing! It hurt when it hit me! It was so cloudy, but I was wearing my sunglasses most of the time I got out of the car to keep the sand out of my eyes! Crazy wind! Apparely this is totally crazy weather for here. Obviously, since Death Valley is one of the driest places in the country, you'd assume very few dark clouds and very little rain. But, at least now I can say I was rained on in Death Valley, how many people can say that? :) Right now it's thundering outside.

I have pictures of most of what I described above... but the uploading will have to wait. Maybe this weekend, maybe when I get home next week.

Anyway... tomorrow I will be leaving Death Valley... if I ever come back it will be in a Jeep so I can explore those crappy dirt roads...

Tomorrow I will be driving about 4 hours to Yosemitie National Park for 2 days. Saturday I will head to San Franscisco, so that will be the next time I probably will update or have internet or phone access. Home Monday morning... the back to work, I'll be hitting the ground running when I get back from this long vacation...

Saturday, May 30

2009-05-31T00:54:00.002-05:00

So, today I drove my so far favorite stretch of Hwy 1 from San Simeon to Monterey... it was BEAUTIFUL! Then I met up with Brian for the first time in more than 5 years... that was great! We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium together and hung out at a park and got some ice cream. Caught up on each others lives... it was great. :) Then I drove the "17-Mile-Drive" which wasn't as cool as I expected with what I had heard about it... the stretch of Hwy 1 south of here is cooler. Then I got some Chinese food and hung out around the hotel room and relaxed some. I also worked on getting pictures up, links below:

May 20 - 29
May 29 - now

Off to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks tomorrow!

Friday, May 29 in California...

2009-05-30T01:12:00.002-05:00

Sorry, still haven't put the last 2 days of pictures up... maybe tomorrow night.

Today I started out the day checking out the Santa Barbara coast... then up to the Santa Barbara Mission. Apparently they recently had a festival where people drew chalk drawings in front of the mission... the pictures were AMAZING! I'll have pics up later... Then I drove up the coast on Hwy 1 most of the way. Also went off the coast to a little town that was founded by the Dutch and is the only town designed differently than any other town in the area. There are towns along the way here, including the one I'm staying in tonight, that seem to me that they haven't changed much since the 1970's... it seems that I could have done nearly the exact same trip 30 years ago... kind of interesting. I saw sea lions on a dock by Morro Rock today. Tonight I went to Hearst Castle... amazing. They have 5 different tours you can take, I took #5, the night tour. I need to come back here someday and do some of the other tours.

Tomorrow, up to Monterey Bay... Last Hwy 1 stretch I'll be doing on my way up there tomorrow morning. Then to spend part of the day with Brian Johnson. Haven't seen that guy in more than 5 years... maybe 7. It should be fun! We're going to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and maybe some other stuff depending how long we spend at the Aquarium.

Thursday...

2009-05-28T23:47:00.003-05:00

So, today I went to 2 lectures, and then went to get my rental car. Ended up with a black PT Cruiser. I hate PT Cruisers, I think they're the ugliest cars in existance. Wait... second ugliest, the ugliest is the one that looks like a box on wheels. Anyway... Drove up to Santa Barbara via the Pacific Coast Highway... took at least 2 hours longer than the interstate probably would have... or maybe not since the interstate would have brought me through downtown LA in the afternoon... Anyway, this was beautiful and worth it. I drove by a big sign to Camp Pendleton and though of Jake... I drove through seaside towns on the ocean side of LA and couldn't help but wonder if there was a celebrity in the car next to me with tinted windows... Then I drove by a sign to Peperdine University and thought of Christina. So many friends that have lived out here at different times... I got to Santa Barbara and checked into Guest House Inn & Suites, which by the way, has a VERY SLOW wireless internet connection. Then I went to La Super Rica which is a very good, makes the travel books, hole in the wall rickety looking Mexican food stand. It was very good. :)

So, pictures from the San Diego Zoo and Balboa park are working on uploading now, and I'm not waiting for them to load to label them and such, I'm going to bed... you will have to wait for the pictures from the drive today. I'll work on those later. For now I'm going to bed!

Conference DONE!

2009-05-28T09:52:00.002-05:00

Ok, a couple more hours of lectures this morning... then the conference is over. I'll be getting my rental car around noon and heading north to Santa Barbara today, a couple stops along the way...

Yesterday I did the conference in the morning and then went to the San Diego Zoo and a little bit of walking around Balboa Park after the zoo closed yesterday. I will work on getting those pictures up soon I hope.

Today in Review...

2009-05-24T00:36:00.002-05:00

I slept in, then wandered around the Gaslamp District a bit. Ate lunch at the Tin Fish, it was pretty good. Then I went for 4 1/2 hours of lectures. I went to on on "Hot Topics in Bioethics"... apparently I don't watch or read enough news. I need to figure out who Bernard Madoff is and what he did. Haven't looked that up yet. Then I went to the Maritime Museum of San Diego. That was pretty interesting. Old ships are so beautiful. One of the ships they have was used to film "Master & Commander"... apparently I never saw that movie. Then I was going to walk back along the bay... but a guy who does the cycle-cab things (I don't remember what they're called)... anyway... he offered me a ride all the way back to my hotel for $6, so I took him up on it. His name was Sasha and he is 22 and her from Serbia for the summer to make money to buy a nice guitar. This is the first time he has ever had a job because he has been in college and gotten money from his family. He is in the US for his first time and has only been here 3 weeks. Interestingly, he learned English as a child from watching the Cartoon Network. Anyway... it was a nice ride and a nice chat... and I gave him more than $6... since that was significantly lower than I think the standard rate was.

Got the pictures up to date... all captioned and all the pictures through tonight are up. Either click on the slideshow from the previous post or the link on the left. (For those of you reading this in Facebook... you have to go to "view original post" to get the links).

California pictures so far...

2009-05-23T11:13:00.002-05:00

So, here's what I've got up so far... it's a representative group of the pictures I've taken... not many are captioned yet. I'll be slowly working on that over the next few days while I add new pictures of the upcoming days. You can look at the pictures by clicking on the slideshow above or the link on the left.

I also put up a few new pics of Evalynn, my niece, on the Spring 2009 pictures if you want to check those out too.

First few days in Cali...

2009-05-22T22:23:00.003-05:00

So far...

Day 1 (Wednesday)... I flew into LAX. I had reserved a car from ACE Rent A Car - never use them. First of all, in LA, they make you take the Holiday Inn shuttle to the Holiday Inn instead of picking you up at the airport themselves. Then they pick you up at the Holiday Inn. From the time I picked up my luggage, to the time I was at the rental car office was a whole hour. They are 2 miles from the airport. Then it took ANOTHER hour to actually be in a car. Never use ACE Rent A Car out of LA. Horrible. Anyway, I drove to Joshua Tree National Park once I finally got out of LA. Picked a campsite... then ended up running back to into town to buy gas and water. There is no running water in Joshua Tree National Park. I also found out that the roads were just paved 2 years ago. I suppose not bad when you consider that the park just opened as a national park in 1994. I tried to get my campstove to work... but it turns out that general Coleman Camp Fuel doesn't work. I could get a huge flame but not a regular blue flame for cooking. So, peanut butter sandwich. Decided I'd find the RIGHT fuel the next day. The interesting thing about this campsite is that it is about an inch of sand on top of rock, so I couldn't stake in the tent. And it was windy. I put rocks on the straps you put the stakes through, but it still blew away. Chased down the tent. Then decided to put the rocks IN the tent. That worked.

Day 2 (Thursday)... Woke up early and did a lot of exploring the park. I drove up Keys View Road. Then up to Oasis Visitor Center and the Oasis of Mara. Drove down Pinto Basin Road to the Cholla Cactus Garden and Octillo Patch. Then to Arch Rock and Skull Rock. Then I drove back into Joshua Tree. I went to a cool outdoors store called Nomad Ventures and they had the White Gasoline I needed for my camp stove. Yay! If you're ever in the area, check them out, very helpful. They suggested I go to the Crossroads Cafe for lunch. Well worth it - amazing burger, AND they make their own amazing salsa. Then I went back into the park and checked out the Hidden Valley Trails and Barker Dam. Then I rested in my air conditioned car for about 45 minutes before deciding to hike up they Ryan Mountain Trail. That hike was awesome. I go to the top and there was another couple, about my age, up there... I asked them to take my picture. Turns out the guy is a professional photographer. Random. I took their picture too with his Nikon D700 with all kinds of fancy features and extras... ohhh... When I got back to my campsite I made my first meal on my cook-stove. Worked perfectly. :) Then another nights sleep... The funniest thing about the day was people complaining about the horrible humidity. It was 16% humidity. Is it ever less than 16% humidity in Minnesota?

Day 3 (Friday)... Up and made breakfast - eggs & sausages on my cook stove. Then off too drive to San Diego. I took the senic route which took awhile. The beginning of the drive I was dissapointed by the "senic route" but then as I got up into the mountians it was awesome. Not many pictures because there were very few if any places to pull off. There are pictures from one pull off. When I got to San Diego the rental car company shuttle brought me to the hotel. This hotel is less than 6 months old and beautiful. I took my first shower since Tuesday. :) Then I checked into the conference. Then I decided to go out to Coronado Island for the evening. I had dinner at a nice Mexican Resturant that reminded me of actually being in Mexico. I had hoped for a beautiful sunset... but the clouds rolled in... which seems to be normal here. Oh well, maybe another night. Now I'm back at the hotel... conference starts tomorrow at 1pm, not sure what I'll do in the morning.

Maybe I'll get pictures up by tomorrow. Working on getting them all on the computer first, then have to wort through which ones will go online. Fun fun.

Pictures

2009-05-05T21:42:00.002-05:00

So, I FINALLY got all my pictures up from my visit to Charlotte to see Rose & Korey.

Click on the slideshow or use the link on the left to see the album.

The next 2 weeks I'll be doing stuff around home, specifically yard work to make my house look more like a home from the outside, and working... and on May 20th I'm off to California for 5 days of a conference and 15 days of vacation exploring the west coast for my very first time! There will be a lot of pictures on that trip, no doubt.

Charlotte Continued...

2009-04-24T16:14:00.005-05:00

Tuesday I came to Charlotte and just hung out with Rose and ran some errands. I got to eat at Chick-fil-A. I love some Chick-fil-A. Especially their waffle fries. And the fact that they play Christian music in the restaurant. The we just hung out at their house after Korey got home and ate some food and talked.

Wednesday, as mentioned in previous post, Rose and I went to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Then hung out at their house.

Thursday, Rose and I went to the Latta Plantation and Latta Nature Preserve. We got a bit lost on the Latta Nature preserve trails... but it was a nice day for a hike. They need to either have paper maps to take with you, or signs up along the trail. They just have one sign with a map at the entrance to the trails by the parking lot. Anyway, we made it out eventually. :) Then after dinner we went to Cold Stone. I also love Cold Stone. Unfortunately... somewhere between Cold Stone and when we ran to Target Friday morning, I lost my debit card. So, after searching for it, I had to cancel it... so I'm down to my credit card and $75 cash until I get a new card in 5-7 business days. I have my checkbook too, but nobody takes out of town checks.

Today, Friday, we went to downtown Fort Mill, SC to take some pictures because they have cool old buildings. Rose is working on a project that she needed some "urban photography" and I just like taking pictures. They had a lot of antique shops we looked around in, but neither of us got anything. In the afternoon we went to Costco because Rose is trying to decide if the membership is worth it. Tonight we might go mini golfing after dinner, but it's kind of hot outside (still 88 at 5:30pm)... so we'll see. I'm not used to this hot weather!

This weekend we're going to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and going to The Biltmore Estate. More pictures will come on Sunday Night or Monday.

It's been fun and relaxing to see Rose and Korey and not be running around like crazy busy all day. I need the break. The only down side is that I am allergic to something here! Started as soon as I got here. I've gotten store brand Claritin-D, Afrin, and gone through a LOT of Kleenex. This needs to stop. Allergies suck. I'm glad I'm not this allergic to anything at home because it would be miserable to be like this all spring or all summer.

You can look at all my pictures to date by clicking on the slideshow in my previous post or by clicking the 'April 2009 - Charlotte Trip' link in the left hand column. I take a lot of pictures. Some are cool. Some are not. :)

Adventures in Charlotte

2009-04-22T16:00:00.002-05:00

So, I'm in Charlotte visiting Rose & Korey and enjoying some time off...

Today Rose & I went to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, NC. I took a lot of pictures trying to artsy... if you want to check them out, here they are!

Painting adventure...

2009-03-11T19:30:00.007-05:00

After a stressful and sad weekend at work, I spent my 2 days off working on re-painting my bedroom. Last weekend Alison helped me pick out colors and she did a very good job because I LOVE IT!

Here's what the bedroom looked like before:

And here's the result of a day and a half or work:

Recent "Adventures"...

2009-03-05T21:33:00.007-06:00

I haven't traveled at all recently... haven't even left Minnesota since November, and that was just across the river to see friends in LaCrosse. But... my life has been entertaining. :)

I did the Vasaloppet for the first time since 2000. 35km on a beautiful sunny day with great snow! I finished faster than I predicted, so no pictures of me actually skiing, but that's ok.

I've been playing aunt to this cutie as much as possible:

I've been working on making little updates to my house, most recently I finished re-decorating my bathroom:

I went to an outdoor baseball game in the snow:

Because I was invited by "The Nerd"... My friends are not boring people!

Now off to work all weekend!

I plan on updating this more often than I have. Sorry for the neglect.

New Pictures up

2009-02-02T15:00:00.001-06:00

If you want to check out some pictures from my every day life of the last couple months... there are new pictures up! Link below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/aleathea.anderson

A New Year

2009-01-05T20:56:00.003-06:00

I am trying this year, to not dwell on the things that make me frustrated. I am trying to have a more positive outlook. I am trying not to feel down on myself when those that are my supervisors decide to make me feel like crap on a regular basis. This has already been challenging this year... but God is definately on my side on this one. Today, my devotion time included coming across these verses:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, than I am strong. -2 Corinthians 12:8-10-

I am praying I can live my life more positively this year.

Thanksgiving Fact...

2008-11-28T10:37:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving was not always celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. The Continental Congress issued its first Thanksgiving Day proclamation for December 18, 1777... The purpose:

"That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively and prosper the public council of the whole."

Source: WORLD; November 15/22, 2008; page 9.

ALSO... My first and only niece made her appearance at 1:15am on Thanksgiving day! Her name is Evalynn Mae Holland... isn't she beautiful! Look at all that hair!

I wish I totally understood this...

2008-11-05T00:47:00.003-06:00

I'm sitting here still awake trying to stay up to find out about Coleman vs. Franken...

But, with this whole presidential thing... I wish I understood why popular vote and electoral votes don't correspond with each other what so ever...
Why does 52% vs. 49% become 338 vs 159 electoral votes?
Seems to me it should be somewhat closer to 258 votes vs 239 votes with those percentages... which would mean neither one would be the winner yet. I just don't get it.
I'm probably more frustrated about it because I'm tired.

AFTER SOME RESEARCH...

Ok, so today I'm working on figuring this whole thing out...
For those of you who are curious, this is how it works...

*The number of electoral votes a state gets equals the number of of the states Congressional delegation. This means: the number of US Senators (which is always 2) PLUS the number of US Representatives.
*Ok, so the current number of US Representatives is 435 - assigned to states proportionate to the population. BUT each state is entitled to at least one representative.
*This means that even sparsely populated states get 3 electoral votes... and California has the most electoral votes at 53 because they have the high test population.
*The District of Columbia gets 3 according to the 23rd Amendment.

So, this seems somewhat fair to me... but I still don't understand why the popular vote percentage and the electoral votes seem off if the number of electoral votes is actually based on the population of the state... oh well, I guess I don't' have to understand.

Ok, so that's my basic understanding 18 hours after the original post.

FINALLY!!!

2008-10-27T21:59:00.005-05:00

Ok, so if you didn't hear... the house in Isanti I was going to buy had a crappy inspection... so I didn't buy it. Still waiting to get my ernest money back... grrr...

BUT... I found a house outside Milaca I liked too. Not nearly as much character... but a cute split-level on just over 5 acres. Little creek goes through the back yard... It's about 17 miles from work, which isn't bad at all. AND... if all goes well, we'll close in 2 weeks so I almost have a home! Yay!

Click HERE to see full album.

Chicago Pics

2008-10-12T16:54:00.002-05:00

Chicago Pics are here: (click on the picture to get to the full album)

Chicago - October 2008

I'm trying Picassa... I can't find an online album I like, so this is a trial... let me know if it's easy to look at.

Adventures in Chicago

2008-10-11T11:58:00.002-05:00

So, Wednesday I arrived in Chicago. I was kind of planning on taking a cab into the city from O'Hare (which is 17 miles)... but then as I was walking out of the airport I saw the public tranist maps and realized that was going to be a whole lot cheaper. So, I took the El/Subway to the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed at. So, I had tried to find a cheaper hotel downtown, but I couldn't find enough of a price difference that would make up for the hassle of having to find my way to the hotel by 7am each morning if I was staying somewhere else. So, alas, I ended up at the Hotel Inter-Continental where this conference was held. I go up to my room... and it looks nice... until I look at the bottle of water which informed me that if I drank it, $6.95 was being charged to my room. There was a nice basket of snacks too, but agian, it informed me that the regular sized bag of M&M's was $4 if I caved and ate it. Also, no free complementary toothpaste if you forget yours: agian, $4. I go to log onto the internet, agian... $13.95/day for internet access. You'd think a $240/ night hotel would suppy a few of these things for the cost? (thank goodness for a CME stipend from work and that I'm not paying for this) Anyway... next time, I'm finding a cheaper hotel. At the Holiday Inn Express (one of my favorites)... Free wireless internet, no taunting snacks (and a reasonably priced vending machine down the hall), and often times a mini-fridge to keep my Diet Coke cold. No more fancy hotels. Screw this. And there was a banging noise in the wall every time the fan turned on. Anyway... enough about the hotel.

Wednesday night before the conference started... I went walking around and started getting cold, so I decided I had to do something inside. I decided to go to the Shedd Aquarium. It was kind of fun, but not the coolest aquarium I've been at. Maybe something to do with the fact that the outdoor part with the dolphins is cosed for renovation. :( Also, my camera was apparently not fully charged, so I didn't get many pics before it died. Also, that resluted in only one picture of the bean mirror in Millenium Park. They were busy setting up for the Chicago Marathon in Grant Park, so on my walk I saw the most big white tents and the most port-a-potties I've seen in one place in a very long time. Before I went back to the hotel, I went to Walgreens and bought my Diet Coke, granola bars, pretzles, and E.L. Fudge cookies at a NORMAL price to ward off any inclination to even TOUCH the super expensive snacks taunting me. Then I went shopping. I mean, my hotel was on the "Magnificant Mile"... how could I NOT go shopping? I got my first pair of LUCKY jeans ($30 of normal price - YAY!) and so far I love them. I also got 2 pairs of good shoes that I've been drooling over and I FOUDN THEM ON SALE! YAY! Big city shopping is awesome, lots of sales. Then I hung out in my room for a bit and attempted to sleep. I sleep like crap in new places.

Thursday... 7 hours of continuing education lectures with psych topics... un-interesting to most of you, so I'll leave that out. At lunch I went wandering a bit and took some fun pictures. After we were done... I went over to the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the United States and saw Chicago from up high. When I was in Chicago for my rotation, Alison and I went to the Hanckcok Tower that time, so I decided to do the other this time. Then I went to a show "No Country for Old White Men" which is essentially a sketch comedy show at Second City comedy club. A lot of the famous people on SNL, MadTV, and some movies trained here before they were "discovered." It was actually quite awesome. Then I went home late and slept.

Friday... 7 more hours of continuing education lectures with psych topics. Then I walked down to Navy Pier. Much more going on down there than there was when I was here for 6 weeks in February and March... Took a 30 minute boat ride tour of the Chicago Skyline. Pretty cool new view. Ate some food. Took some pictures. Then I went to another comedy club called: iO (improv olympics)... this is by Wrigly Field. Pretty much all the famous comedians who didn't train at Second City trained here (including Tina Fey). This was pretty funny too, totally worth it. :) Then I packed and went to bed!

Saturday... 5 more hours of continuing education... this just finished... now I will be heading to find some Chicago Style Pizza before heading to the airport... agian on public transportation. Hooray! Back in MN tonight!

Pictures will be uploaded later tonight or tomorrow (I hope).

WHAT are you spending OUR money on???

2008-10-05T09:58:00.002-05:00

So, agree with me or not, I wanted Mike Huckabee to be the Republican nominee... now I'm stuck not liking EITHER choice for president (or MN senate for that matter)... but I still get Huckabee e-mails a couple times a week... this was from yesterday...

Dear Huck PACkers-

I wanted to write you to convey my disgust with the passing of this 451 page bailout bill. Wall Street has gone trick-or-treating in Washington a little bit early this October. Wall Street is getting the treats and America is getting tricked. The “Axis of Arrogance” has tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the Main Streeters and in doing so hid a sty full of pork in a bill whose constitutionality is questionable at best. Friends, the folks in Washington continue to treat your wallet as their tip jar and this has to stop.

Just check out a few provisions in this bill:

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.

Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for a motorsports racing track facility.

Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.

Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.

At a time when we are at “ground zero” and on the verge of an all out financial collapse, I am disgusted that these provisions were made.

At a time when Congress had the opportunity to do something to help the American economy, they lived up to their low approval rating. The only thing we can thank Congress for right now is that they are consistent. They are consistently spending money that doesn’t belong to them, consistently expanding pork projects, consistently doing nothing to help rebuild the American economy and consistently hurting the future of our country. Ultimately, they are consistently ignoring their own values, principles and beliefs and as a result, the American People are going to have to suffer.

Without the bailout there might have been some temporary hurt, but the long term effect will be far worse because of the precedent this bill has set and the “Bail-Aholics” it will create. Within minutes of the bill passing the state of California was already in line asking to be the next recipient of a Government hand out. We are creating an economy where you cannot fail and by doing so disabling our ability to ever truly succeed.

I am afraid this is just the beginning of the bailouts. We must not go silent into the night, we have to continue to fight and stand up against these legislators.

Almost a home owner! Yay!

2008-09-19T10:37:00.002-05:00

Ok, so after this process of looking and looking some more I finally picked a house AND they accepted my offer. So, now I have to get an inspection and apprasail and all that jazz which is complicated by the fact that someone stole the power line from the pole to the house... Anyway... this house in in Isanti, just outside of town, on 4 acres. Brick, wood floors... really fun. The windows and shingles are pretty new. It was built approximately 1900... but when we were there yesterday there's a little board hanging from the peak of the roof that we believe says 1882... so it may be 100 years older than I am.

If you want to see all the pictures... here they are.

Quick Comment Before Bed...

2008-08-16T22:25:00.003-05:00

MICHAEL PHELPS IS MY HERO.
8 Golds and 8 World Records in one Olympics. Will it ever be matched? Will it take 36 more years (9 summer olympic games)??? I guess only time will tell... for now it's Michael Phelps...

The crazy thing is that in 36 years I will be 62 years old. Wow. 32 years ago I was negative approximately 9 years from being concieved. Weird thought.

My (first) COUSIN (once removed) the Olympian!

2008-08-16T18:48:00.002-05:00

So, I have a cousin who is an olympian! Actually, she's my mom's cousin's daughter.. which makes her my first cousin once removed... but once when we were in elementry school, we caught frogs in her yard. And their gerbils died after we put them in the fisher price merry go round. Oops. Anyway... click here to check out her olympic bio on the NBC website. Considering she's a wrestler... that probably won't make the NBC broadcasts... but I'm related to an olympian none-the-less. I also found this which has a link to actually watch her wrestle live on the internet. That's my somewhat exciting information of the day. :)

Welcome to the world Oliver!

2008-07-30T22:44:00.004-05:00

My friend Joslyn had a new baby boy yesterday, June 29, at 1:48pm. He is a very big healthy boy weighing in at 9 pounds, 7 ounces.

Here is mommy enjoying her new baby...

And here is the new baby sleeping in mommy's arms.

Babies are such a blessing!

(I haven't been doing much but work lately... so, that's why I have to post about my friend's baby, and not my life, the new baby is so much more exciting.)

Pictures

2008-07-21T21:14:00.001-05:00

New pictures uploaded...see link on left. Random photos from this summer.

Amazing Farewell...

2008-07-19T19:54:00.002-05:00

So, only a couple days out from the release (you gotta forgive me, I was working)... tonight, after finishing the PHA event, alone on a rainy day in Milwaukee... I got my butt out to see The Dark Night.

It was the most amazing movie I believe I have ever seen. And it's not just because of my love of Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger's Joker was the most amazing character portrayal ever. I believe he had to be half crazy to portray the joker in that way. Even apart from the Joker it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm going to need to see it again. As much as I LOVED the move, I left the theater somewhat saddened at the thought that Heath's Joker will never be reprised.

I loved Heath Ledger from the moment I first saw him in "10 Things I Hate About You"

Who would have thought THIS would be his final character...

An amazing finale for Heath Ledger... just far too soon...

First PHA Adventure to Milwaukee

2008-07-19T16:03:00.006-05:00

So, I just finished my first PHA (periodic health assessment) through Logistics Health. They flew me out here yesterday from Minneapolis, and because you have to pay to check your bags now... people are carrying on EVERYTHING. And nobody is watching to make sure people are staying under their carry-on limit. Frustrating to find overhead bin space. But then I got here, and went to pick up my rental car. You know what kind of car I got? The car I have picked on the most since the day it came out. The PT Cruiser. So I'm driving around Milwaukee in a bright blue PT Cruiser. Very funny. I got to the hotel and THIS is what they got me... A suite at the Residence Inn.

And that is just the main part of the room.

And this is the view from my window. First you can see the river, and way at the end of the road is Lake Michigan and the weird building that looks like it has wings is the art museum.

I went for a walk downtown to the Lake Michigan. This is a picture of the outside of the art museum.

Then I had a meeting with the other providers from 9-10:30am.

Then I got up at 5:30am to get ready for the day. We headed out at 6:45am and went to the Navy Reserve center. Did histories, focused exams, and made suggestions for referrals. This is to keep the health up of the service members. It actually went pretty well for my first event. I will likely keep doing more of these as an extra income.

Now I'm just hanging out waiting to fly home at the crack of dawn tomorrow (Sunday).

In other news...

I FINALLY GOT MY ECONOMIC STIMULUS CHECK!!!

AND... MY DELL COMPUTER IS ON IT'S WAY!!! After 4 delays after ordering it Memorial Day weekend. It's shipped!!! Yay!!!

So far in Mora...

2008-07-03T19:22:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to buy a house. I'm told with the market and all, I should be able to get a house without paying anything down and getting the seller to pay the closing costs so I only need like, $1000 to buy a house on closing day. So far, the house I chose to put my first offer on... the seller still wants me to come up with $3000. Plus, I'm not in love with that house... so I think I'm starting again, and trying to find another one I like. Joy to my realtor (who is also my friend)... she's already showed me 30-some houses. Hehehehe... Anyway, maybe next week I can see some more houses next week... which may be tricky... being my realtor headed to the hospital this afternoon to have her baby... so, I may not have a house as soon as I hoped... but my friend is having a baby. :)

Work... I have oriented. I'm hoping I'm at least temporarily credentialed by tomorrow so when I work all day Friday, July 4th... I can help with the craziness of the holiday instead of being in the way "training."

There's my update. I'll keep you posted.

Another year gone by...

2008-06-08T21:07:00.002-05:00

Twenty-six. Today was my first full day of being 26 years old. When did that happen? And may I mention... gas prices have quadrupled in the ten years since I started driving? So, in the past year... what's happened in my life?

June... My sister got married. I now have a brother-in-law.
July... I can't recall anything interesting in July...
August... I judged at the state fair, I love judging at the fair.
September... Alison and Jeff moved to Mora and bought a house. The end of the month I took off to England for 11 days with Rose & Korey.
October... at the beginning, we were still in England. It was wonderful. My first out of the country trip that wasn't planned for me.
November... I went to a medical conference at the Mayo Clinic for 3 days. That was a lot of information from some very smart people.
December... Christmas, I got to go home for about 2 whole days since Christmas was in the middle of the week.
January... Hit my one year anniversary of working at Gundersen Lutheran. Finally I feel I can look for another job and at least I've been at my job for a year, and leaving won't look so horrible on my resume. I interview for an ER job in St. Cloud... and I wait. Also, my friend and neighbor, Sharron, has a baby girl named Aspen.
February... I FINALLY find out I didn't get the job in St. Cloud. I had been looking around for other jobs, I really didn't like my job. When I found out I didn't get the St. Cloud job... I signed on to work for Delta Flex Travelers as a traveling PA.
March... Last day for Gundersen Lutheran. Move out of my apartment in LaCrosse. Start my first travel job in Mankato. I'm now a nomad with my possessions in various places.
April... I go to a Focus on the Family Medical Conference in Colorado Springs... it was an amazing conference. I just wish the weather had been a bit nicer for some more sightseeing. I also find out my sister and Jeff are going to me make an aunt this fall! How exciting!!!
May... I take a long weekend and visit Rose & Korey who have recently moved to South Carolina. Korey happened to be working out to Charleston that week... so I visited them there.
June... I interview for a job in my hometown of Mora, MN. And I decide that if they offer me the job, I'll accept and move home. The travel work is not good for me. I'm too Type A for my life to be so up in the air and unpredictable. The day before my 26th birthday, they offer me the job and I accept. I'm moving to Mora.

My 26th year will start with a new job, a move back to my home town, and hopefully the purchase of my first home.

Waiting in limbo...

2008-06-03T16:57:00.002-05:00

Right now I'm waiting in limbo. Except when I'm working. I'm here working in Mankato for 2 1/2 more weeks. My last day here is June 20th. What I'm doing after that is where this waiting comes in...

Option 1 - Last week I interviewed for an Urgent Care job in my hometown of Mora, MN. The ER is overwhelmed with patients who cannot get in to see their primary providers in a timely matter for acute problems. As a result, the Kanabec County Hospital is hiring 2 PA's or NP's to see the urgent care problems that come into the ER. Pay and benefits would be pretty good. Plus I'd live in the same town as most of my family. If I get that job it'd start in July. And I'd probably buy a house. I was told I should know by the end of the week.

Option 2 - If I don't get offered that job... I'll be staying with Delta Flex Travelers until I find another premanent job opportunity that sounds worth it. It sounds like they will be sending me to Appleton, WI for an Urgent Care/Family Medicine job next. That's about all the details I have on that... again, waiting to hear more.

Saturday I'm going to Jen & Mark's wedding. I'm so happy for those two that they are finally "tying the knot." It should be a nice day, I'll get to see some college friends I haven't seen since graduation (can you believe that it's been 4 years since I graduated from St. Scholastica?).

Besides that... I rented Bella and The Great Debaters over the last few days (since I don't have very many hours at work this week). Both movies are AMAZING - you should see them if you haven't yet.

My life this week...

2008-05-10T19:11:00.003-05:00

So, I got home from Charleston, and I worked. I've worked a lot this week.

Except yesterday. Yesterday I went garage sale shopping for the baby in my sister's tummy. Yup, for those of you that don't know, I'm going to be an auntie this fall! Yay! I do believe I may end up making this child the most-spoiled-by-an-auntie-baby ever.

And it's till the size of my thumb in there! Baby clothes are so fun!

And after that, I got my Charleston pictures uploaded. MyPhotoAlbum.com link is on the left!

Now I must go to the laundrymat. I hate the laundrymat.

Charleston is BEAUTIFUL!

2008-05-03T07:32:00.003-05:00

So, I got to Charleston at about 6:30pm last night (only a half hour late - not too bad considering the problems there have been with airlines lately...)

First we went to the Isle of Palms beach for a bit to get an ocean view before the sun went down.

Then we at at the Kickin' Chicken

Snow??? I need out of Minnesota...

2008-04-26T20:19:00.003-05:00

So, I think those doomsday global warming people should have been in Minnesota last night. I can't believe I woke up to snow this morning... April 26th... ridiculous.

So, what I've been considering for the last week or so... I jumped on it today. Rose & Korey just moved to a suburb of Charlotte, NC... I'm going to go visit them. Next weekend. Turns out that they will be in Charleston, SC for a couple weeks for Korey's work... so I'm going to go visit them there instead, which works out well considering it's further south, warm, and includes the ocean. I love the ocean. And I've never been to the Carolina's... at least one more to check off on my goal of making it to all 50 states! Charleston, South Carolina here I come! (May 2-6th) Yay!

Day off...

2008-04-22T20:01:00.006-05:00

My day off was semi-productive after I finally rolled out of bed around 10am.

I hung out with Daisy for awhile. Daisy does not like getting her picture taken.

Then I went to get my hair cut and highlighted. I struggled to get a good picture of it for you... this picture doesn't do it justice... it's pretty fun. :)

I stopped at Scheels while I was at the mall and got myself a chair to sit on outside and read in the BEAUTIFUL weather.

And, last but not least... I changed my license plates! My car has Minnesota plates for the first time! Yay!

Brownie goo...

2008-04-20T19:45:00.005-05:00

Last night I got to hang out with Sheree, Corey, & Zach. They are so fun. After dinner Sheree and I decided we needed something sweet. So, first idea was Special K Bars... but, unfortunately there was no more Caro Syrup in their house. But, there was a box of fudge brownie mix. We decided brownies would work well too. Turns out Sheree doesn't eat eggs anymore because she's allergic to them, so she had a box of powdered egg substitute. That should work right? Well... no. The mix looked good when it was liquid... but we opened up the oven when they should have been done... and the brownies were boiling! I've never seen brownies boil. Turns out the oil kind of came to the top of the brownies... so when it cooled off Corey tried to dump the oil off the top. What we left underneath was fudgy brownie goo... but it was actually kind of yummy.

And... a week later, I finally have my Colorado pictures up for you to look at... link on the left.

Focus on the Family Medical Conference

2008-04-12T22:49:00.003-05:00

Wonderful. This is where I've been the last few days.

I have gotten 12 hours of continuing medical education... but more importantly i got to be encouraged in my faith by hearing some big names in the Christian world who are wonderful speakers and can proclaim God's word in amazing ways.

Thursday night: John Trent, PhD

Friday morning: Henry Blackaby - who wrote http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Experiencing-God-Member-Book/Henry-T-Blackaby/e/9781415858387/?itm=3.
He said we must have an unhurried time with God every morning, and that that time is the best way to always be aware of and responsive to God's leading in your life. That was something I really needed to hear.
AND...
Del Tackett from The Truth Project.

Friday afternoon: JAMES DOBSON!!!

Friday evening: Gene Rudd, MD who is the Christian Medical and Dental Association Senior Vice President
Gene Rudd on suffering: "Is it necessary for you to know why? Or is it acceptable to know God who knows why?"

Saturday morning: Henry Blackaby again (see link above)
"In EVERYTHING you should seek to please God"
AND...
John Patrick
Dr. Patrick on how not to offend people with your thoughts or beliefs: "Never make a statement. Always ask a question. There are no politically incorrect questions."

Saturday evening: KEN HUTCHERSON
"You cannot fear and have faith at the same time - you can switch back and forth real quick - but you can't do both simultaneously.

This is just a short summary of the last couple days. It was totally worth it... if you want to know more, just ask! :)

Exploring in the Colorado Springs Area...

2008-04-10T10:59:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was my day before the conference begins to explore the Colorado Springs Area. This morning was supposed to be as well, but unfortunately the weather did not agree, so I'm hanging out in the hotel until the conference starts at noon. Here's a synopsis of yesterday...

I started out the morning at the Garden of the Gods. It's a big area of red rocks standing upright in interesting formations. Beautiful. The sad part is that the coolest part is paved trails that you're not supposed to leave. Bummer. But there were some other areas I discovered that you can hike around.

I had to leave Garden of the Gods before I saw everything to make my reservation for the 1:20 Cog Railway ride up Pikes Peak. Here we go... you can see the peak out in front of us...

Unfortunately, we couldn't go all the way to the summit because of all the snowstorms and wind in the past week, they can't keep the tracks clear. The road hasn't been open in over a month either. So, the only way up to the top now is to hike through snow deeper than you are tall... or a helecopter. This is where we had to stop and turn around because of the snow.

Then I headed to see the ancient cliff dwellings. They were cool, but not my favorite part of the day.

Then I went back to Garden of the Gods and did a bit of hiking around and taking more pictures from the good photo opp places before the rain/sleet/snow started. I got wet getting these pictures, but it was worth it. :)

All my pictures will be up soon... you can see them using the link on your left...

Drive to Colorado Springs

2008-04-08T20:55:00.002-05:00

Today I dropped Daisy off at a new kennel in Mankato and drove off to Colorado Springs. In the just over 13 hours alone in the car I learned a few things...

1 - My newly LASIKed eyes are still sensitive to bright sunshine.
2 - I re-discovered how yummy Little Debbie's Star Crunch. Yum.
3 - Did you know Nebraska is the "Home of Arbor Day"? How can a state be a home of a holiday? I mean... Israel could be considered the home of Christmas or Easter... but how is Nebraska the home of Arbor Day?
4 - 13 hours in the car alone is about the limit of my sanity.
5 - I really miss the mountains. I could spend a lot more time out here...
6 - Why is Jesse Ventura back in the political scene? We had enough of him in Minnesota.

Well... now some rest. Tomorrow is my day for adventuring before the start of the conference.

Goodnight.

Oh my, finally de-stressing...

2008-03-18T19:45:00.002-05:00

So, this transition hasn't been too smooth...

Scheduling is kind of a mess, and overwhelmed me yesterday... hopefully we'll get all that worked out tomorrow. I'm just praying I get at least full-time hours every week that I don't have days I need off. Hoping at least the next couple weeks will be planned out by tomorrow.

Housing... I am moving into the Windsong Executive Townhomes this week. I'm in the GrandStay Suites until Thursday morning. Thursday morning I'll move my stuff over there... and at 10am they will deliver me furniture.

Then... I'm driving back to LaCrosse, hopefully leaving Mankato by noon on Thursday. Packing up my stuff in LaCrosse. My dad is coming down early Friday to load up his truck and trailer with my stuff. Then I'll stick around and clean, see if I can get all the cleaning done or not. I have to head out Friday evening back to Mankato, because then I work Saturday. After working Saturday I'll be heading to Mora for about 24 hours and get stuff unpacked and see my family for Easter.

Whoo... In a week I think life may finally be somewhat normal. I hope the transition isn't this rough with every new assignment.

Arrived in Mankato...

2008-03-15T17:55:00.002-05:00

So, I arrived in Mankato today. My condo was not quite ready, so I'm at the GrandStay Suites for a few days or a week until the condo is ready. It's nice, small... but nice. The challenge is going to be getting Daisy to stay quiet enough to not get us kicked out... the rules say dogs are supposed to be "Quiet (no barking or whining) at all times." That may be a challenge for Daisy. I feel mean, but the bark collar may just have to stay on. So, I have about 36 hours here with Daisy to convince her that she can't bark at the noises in the hallway. Right now she's relaxing at my feet. She's a good dog in general... but barking is one of her faults.

Monday I start at Mankato Clinic's urgent care. And hopefully I'll get a schedule for at least the next couple weeks so I can plan when I'm going to get back to La Crosse to finish packing and get moved out of that apartment before the end of the month.

No work on Friday?

2008-03-07T12:39:00.003-06:00

So, today was supposed to be the day that the fancy laser machine made me see. The apparently the fancy laser machine didn't want to work yesterday. It couldn't be repaired until today. So they canceled my appointment. Tear. Like everyone keeps saying... at least it didn't break while they had my eye sliced open. So, now I have the day off. Well, except that I had to drive 40 miles to pee in a cup for a urine drug screen for my new job. Joy. Now I'm packing and trying to sell stuff on craigslist so I don't have to store everything. Tonight I'm going out to dinner with some friends. Yay. I think I need a nap first.

Mike Huckabee -- Faith. Family. Freedom.

2008-03-05T19:56:00.003-06:00

Agree with me or not... but today is a sad day knowing that Mike Huckabee is out of the race. I have been a Huckabee supporter since last spring when I first heard about him and his desire to be our president. He made it further with little to no resources than anyone has in the past. I believe he ran this race with intregrety, and conceeded with intregrity and humility.

Today he sent a letter to his supporters, copied below:

Dear Faithful Friends,

Last night was a tough one for all of us. While Janet and I stood on the stage, we felt as if we were surrounded by a much larger family than our immediate family. We have been surrounded throughout the process by a large and growing family of faithful friends whose efforts in the campaign have humbled and amazed us day after day. I regularly wept or choked back tears just reading comments on the blog when I realized the sacrifices that so many have made for the campaign.

We had held out hope that we would win enough delegates to keep the contest going, but had vowed that if Senator McCain actually got the 1191 delegates, we would accept the will of the voters. In the end, the relentless hammering of the media that we "couldn't win" influenced enough voters and while we campaigned long and hard in the final states, it simply wasn't enough. I congratulate Senator McCain and will do what I can to assist him and influence him to take strong stands for issues that we conservatives cherish.

I don't see the long journey having reached its destination, but merely taking a detour. As my Marine friend Clebe McLary says, "I didn't lose--it's just that the game ended before I got finished playing."

In the immediate days ahead, we will be transitioning from campaign mode. For 14 months, there have been a lot of things put on hold in our lives. We have to join the many incredible people on our staff to figure out "what's next?" But this much I can tell you---we want to stay in touch and start now building a platform to continue addressing issues that brought us together in the first place.

Throughout my life, I've found that there are sometimes three possible answers to our prayers--"Yes," "No," or "Not Now." I would like to think our prayers were answered with a "Not Now."

We will keep our website up and as we transition, will want to create a way to keep in touch and continue the battle for our families, our freedom, and our future. We will also focus on assisting conservative Senate and House candidates, in places where we know our investment of time and energy can make a real difference. You can expect us to be active online as we do this and to regularly solicit your opinions and support. Too many big issues are at stake for us to sit on the sidelines.

In the immediate time, we have to make sure that we help our staff find ways to earn a living, and make sure that we don't lose the momentum of the past 14 months, but instead follow the plan:

REFLECT, REST, RENEW, and RE-BOOT!

I really welcome your input and thoughts during these coming days. Pray for us as we seek wisdom as to what steps we take now. Despite what some have thought, we really didn't have a "Plan B' in the wings--we always thought we'd be in this until the inauguration in January of 2009!

God has been so good to us! We can never fully express our gratitude for all you have done and how you have touched and blessed our lives. I truly hope I didn't let you down. I promise to you that I gave it all I had to the last minute and left it "all on the field." What is more amazing is how you were willing to be "poured out" to the point of empty in order to be with us all the way. I stand amazed by it all and overwhelmed with gratitude.

We will dust off, pick ourselves up off the canvas, and answer the bell for the next round, whatever that may be. We love you all, and trust that the journey has just begun!

With tired bodies and grateful hearts,

Mike and Janet Huckabee

Pictures! Finally!

2008-03-05T17:19:00.003-06:00

On the left is a link to my new online photo album. So far it contains pictures from the two biggest events of 2007... Alison & Jeff's wedding, and the top 150 pictures of my trip to England. More to come.

I'm Back!

2008-03-03T16:18:00.003-06:00

So, apparently it's been exactly one year today since I last blogged. I stopped because my life has been farily boring this last year except for a few exciting interruptions like my sister's wedding and a trip to England with Rose & Korey. Now, in the next couple weeks my life is going to be fun agian (I hope).

1 - On Friday (March 7) I'm getting LASIK... no more glasses or contacts! Woo hoo!

2 - I am quitting my job, March 14 is my last day with Gundersen Lutheran - this job has driven me nuts for 14 months too long and it's almost over!

3 - My restless spirit has taken over and I took a job with a Locum Tenens medical staffing company called Delta Flex Travelers. Assignments are usually 13 weeks in length and I get to help pick where I go. My first assignment is in Mankato, MN working in an urgent care. I will be there March 17-June 20. Then I don't know where yet, anywhere in the US, depending what's open and what sounds good. This job is sounding great because like I said, I'm restless... I can't decide where I want to "settle down"... ALSO, they pay amazingly, I get a free furnished apartment, my dog Daisy can come with me, on top of my amazing houly pay I get a car stipend and a per diem that are untaxed. I'm going to pay off my student loan debt! Yay! My new goal = Debt free by 30!

4 - If approved, I am going to start doing some independant contractor work with a company called Logistics Health which is based here in La Crosse, WI. They do Periodic Health Assessments and Post-Deployment Health Re-Assesments for military personel. That's a good gig too.

5 - I'm going to Colorado in 6 weeks! It's for a Christian Medical Conference sponsered by Focus on the Family. Sounded fun. Plus it's right by Pike's Peak, so at minimum I'll get to go up Pike's Peak on those fun train-type things!

So, that's my life now! I will keep you all posted!

It's official...

2007-03-03T12:12:00.000-06:00

I'm a Wisconsinite. Yesterday afternoon (since I didn't go to work yesterday due to the fact that the river road I take all the way there and the sleet and wind didn't sound too great) I went to the DMV after the roads here got somewhat clear. My car now has Wisconsin license plates. My car title is now in Wisconsin. They took the Minnesota title. They also took my Minnesota drivers license. Now I have a piece of paper until I get my real Wisconsin license plate. Seriously, this is weird, living in Wisconsin and all. Now it's official, people can pick on me even more. Bring it on.

Snow Snow and More Snow

2007-02-25T17:45:00.000-06:00

When I came home from work on Friday there patchy snow with mostly brown grass showing. All week had felt like spring with temps between 40-50 degrees. It started snowing late Friday night. It hasn't stopped. Well, it stopped briefly twice, and the started up agian. I know La Crosse hasn't won the snowfall totals, Winona has, but it's still a lot of snow. The national weather service said La Crosse got 17 inches as of 1pm this afternoon. I think it's a little more than that. When you move it, it makes for some big piles of wet snow. If I was a kid with a lot of energy - I'd be making the bomb of a snow fort with these big snow piles. This is my home. The snow is still coming down, but more lightly now.

My life the last few weeks...

2007-02-22T21:19:00.000-06:00

It was pointed out to me that I have not written in awhile. My excuse is that life hasn't been too exciting to talk about... Here's my life thus far...

* Everyone has bronchitis. And they expect me to work a miracle. Bronchitis sucks, but I can't make it go away any faster. Sorry.
* There'a house I drive by every day that recently went up for sale. From the outside I love it. Good thing it's $289,000... way out of my price range. If it was half that, I might be looking at buying a house. Not a chance at that price.
* I saw my first patient with mono. Wasn't expecting that, but ran the test just to rule it out. Turns out it was positive.
* And I'm pretty sure there's an influenza-type something going around that isn't showing up on the rapid-flu tests.
* I think rumor is getting around there's a female provider at the clinic that nobody knows. I'm getting more STD patients than anyone else. I had to tell a 46 year old woman she has genital herpes. I had listen to a girl younger than me tell me about her abusive boyfriend she won't leave. And another my age tell me about how her cheating fiance gave her chlamydia.
* I hung out last weekend with a guy I went to high school with and his wife. Hadn't seen him in years. Then we realized we lived in the same town. That was pretty cool.
* She grew up in Lino Lakes and knows people I know... small world.
* Finally found a Bible study of young professionals to hang out with. Other people at a similar point in life as I am, wonderful!
* In a week I'll have a dog. Well, not my dog, Kurt's dog. Kurt joined the national guard and is leaving for basic training and AIT and I get to watch his dog, Daisy, until December or so. She's a great dog. And it's even better since she's very well housebroken and can be alone for at least 12 hours without peeing on anything. Perfect for my job and my long days.
* My hands are so dry from washing them all day. The soap is horrible. I can't keep up putting lotion on them, because as soon as I put lotion on them during the day, I wash it off agian. Seriously, my hands need a new alternative. Super-moisturizing soap or something.
* I love sleeping. I wish I could do it more. 5:30am comes really early some days.
* Edy's is making Girl Scout Ice Cream. I have a coupon. Super excited for Girl Scout Cooking Ice Cream.
* My baby sister is getting married... In June. well, she's not a baby, she's 21. So that's a little crazy...
* That's my life thus far... nothing extradorinarly fun. Just my life! :)

From La Crosse to Prairie du Chien and back...

2007-02-06T18:35:00.000-06:00

I love all the little towns nestled up in the bluffs.
I see houses daily that I love.
I also see run down trailer homes.
Today, I noticed that the cows must be cold, because the snow just sits on their backs and dosen't melt.
Why are there 2 dams within 20 miles?
Ferryville = "A Sportsman's Paradise"
Do you find it a little disturbing that the funeral home is next door to the clinic and across the street from the community hospital? At least nobody has to go very far...
Can I tell you agian how beautiful it is?
And... My favorite thing I see every day on my drive is... a bait shop/hunting liscense/carpet store/bar. All in a building smaller than my apartment.

Grown-Up Job

2007-01-30T20:45:00.000-06:00

I've been seeing my own patients starting yesterday. It's great because I get to do what I've been working so hard to get to do. But, I doubt myself too much. I see a patient with an upper respiratory infection, a simple cold, and I send them home and wonder... "Did I miss something? Are they going to come back here more sick in 2 days? What if I dosed that medication wrong (even though I calculated it twice) and the kid gets too much medication (even though the pharmacy typically catches those things)?" Sigh... I can't leave it at work. I need to read more so it dosen't take me so long to come to a conclusion. I need to fast forward 6 months to a time when I might feel more confident with my abilities.

Another thing... having a grown-up job is exhausting.

I'm driving an hour each way to work, and overall, I don't mind it. It's a BEAUTIFUL drive. The only day I minded was yesterday night when I had been at work 10.5 hours, then it snowed. The road wasn't slippery, but the visability sucked. So, it took forever to get home. That's the only time I've minded.

First grown-up paycheck comes tomorrow. It's only a partial paycheck becuase I haven't worked a full half month yet... but it's a real paycheck. Yay! :)

New PA

2007-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

So... 2 days of sitting in a conference room learning about history of the facility, policies, and the like... very long, very boring, and sometimes overwhelming. Done. Turns out that they need me in Prairie du Chein longer than origionally thought. Apparently they're short 3 physicians... and have some issues getting doctors to want to work in middle of nowhere Wisconsin. So, I'm going to be orienting there the rest of this week and then starting to see patients down there on Monday. I get an office that's mostly just mine, occasionally have to share it with a medical student, so that should be pretty good. I hope it has a window. So, I could easily be there for at least 6 months depending on how long it takes them to fill those positions. At least I usually like driving and I'll be getting paid mileage. So... that's my life so far. I'll keep you posted!

What I've done with my week so far...

2007-01-17T20:08:00.000-06:00

*Finished unpacking all my crap
*Made cookies
*Finished making a knitted teady bear
*Found at store #4... drawer handles with 2 1/2 inch centers (didn't think it'd be that hard, but apparently it's not a standard size) Menards is awesome.
*Went to dinner with Teri, Kevin, & Tabitha
*Checked out a few different gyms
*Found out I have a MN liscense... and a DEA number
*Watched the first two nights of American Idol Season 6... Yay! (Minneapolis kinda sucked up auditions though, sad...)
*Almost finished the book I've been working on "Shadow of the Almighty"
*Started my One-year Bible read-through
*Got a new cell phone: 608-397-2880
*Finally got cable set up
*Found out I get to start work on Monday for sure! Yay! Orientation all week... fun fun! But I'm getting paid, that's a plus. :)

GOALS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK...
*Get a new social security card (mine is definately MIA)
*Pre-employment stuff (badge, getting pay and benefits set up...)
*Sending out "I moved" cards
*Join the YMCA and start working out
*Get some CME hours done from reading journals
*Work on knitting a scarf
*Check out Bethany Free Church (I hear it's a good church)
*Try not to get bored between now and Monday morning

Whoops!

2007-01-15T20:54:00.000-06:00

So, I've been anxiously awaiting the Season Premire of American Idol for months... ANd I was just laying here on the couch of my new place watching the movie Sahara... and all of a sudden I got this horrible thought that today was the season premire. I thought for a few moments that it was Tuesday. And I got really upset. Beacuase if it was the season premire, even if I turend off the DVD right now... I'd only get the last 5 minutes. And the even suckier thing was that the first show is the Minneapolis auditions. And I really want to see the Minneapolis auditions becuase I want to see if I know any of the people at the auditions. There's a chance. I know some people crazy enough to give it a shot. I know one for sure that went to auditions but didn't get a "gold ticket" to Hollywood... so we'll see who else. But the lucky thing is... I didn't miss it, it's tomorrow. Yay! I really need to start work so I quit loosing track of days.

On a more grown-up note... Added to my liscense to practice medicine in Wisconsin... I also now have a liscense to practice in Minnesota. Yay!

Today

2007-01-11T08:41:00.000-06:00

Today, January 11, 2007 is a good day...

1. They finally granted my liscense to practice medicine in the state of Wisconsin. (MN to come Saturday hopefully)

2. The movers are currently bringing all my things into my wonderful apartment.

The only downfall of today... I officially live in Wisconsin... dang.

Welcome to the world baby girl!

2007-01-04T19:39:00.000-06:00

My cousin had a new baby girl today. I'm excited it's a girl. They have two boys, who I love, but I wanted a little girl to play with. She was born just before 1pm today. She dosen't have a name yet.
6 pounds 8 ounces
20 1/2 inches

Also... pictures from New Years are up... link on the right...

Goals for 2007...

2006-12-31T18:23:00.000-06:00

I refuse to call them resolutions... resolutions just get broken.

Well... here's 10.

1. Get a dog
2. Get back to the weight I was in high school (I know, that's on everyone's list)
3. Travel to England
4. See Jessica in Louisianna
5. Read at least 20 new books... For fun
6. Go on at least one date (it's been awhile...)
7. Start working my way out of student loan debt
8. Quit drinking caffine every day
9. Start enjoying exercise agian
10. Read the whole Bible

My first scarf...

2006-12-15T18:05:00.000-06:00

So, after wanting to learn how to knit for over a year... and being very unsucessful at trying to teach myself. Then I kind of learned from a fellow volunteer in Bolivia... only to have Bolivian airport security yank the knitting needles from my yarn on my way home. I hadn't had enough time to practice and I couldn't figure out how to begin agian. So... finally. My mom's friend Caramel, as a Christmas present, paid for me to take a knitting class with her one night a week for 3 weeks. We've had two classes. I made a scarf. And a half a scarf, but I need more yarn to finish it... But anywho... this is my first scarf. It has errors, but it's a scarf.

Crazy animals...

2006-12-13T22:34:00.000-06:00

These are the crazy pets I'm house/pet-sitting for this week. They're kinda cute.

That's Max.

This is Moses... he looks a little snotty in this picture, but he is, so it's ok. :)

FINALLY!

2006-12-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

Look what I finally got in the mail today. Two months after I finished my requirements it was finally granted, hence the date on the diploma... and now, a month later, I finally have it. I FINALLY can finish my liscensing process to start my job!

It's been awhile...

2006-12-10T21:45:00.000-06:00

So, back when I was a very little girl... my Aunt Lue used to rent attic space to live in from this family. This family, called the Jones' family, had children my age. We used to play with them. It's probably been 20 years since I've seen them. In college I realized that Alli, the girl from the Jones family, was friends with one of my high school friends, Kate... and eventually became her roomate. Still didn't ever see her. Just heard her name here and there. Heard she wasn't their roomate anymore because she did something silly like, go and get married, last year.

So, high school friend Kate had a Christmas party last night. I went to said Christmas party and so did Alli, the girl I haven't seen in 20 years. We talked for awhile. We took a picture together so my Aunt Lue could see it. This is for you Aunt Lue. :)

It's the season...

2006-12-08T19:13:00.000-06:00

It's the Christmas season of course... but it appears to me that it's also the season for Aleathea's friends with the first name of Jen to get engaged.

The first one was last weekend. Jen Tripp that I went to Jamaica with in the summer of 2003. She's engaged to a guy named Todd. Now, being I haven't seen Jen in person since we returned from Jamaica and have only talked to her via the computer... I have never met Todd. But, I assume, from the way she talks, that he is a wonderful man. They're getting married this June. Here are Jen & Todd.

Then you have of course, Jen Falck. I met her in college and she's an awesome friend that I don't get to see nearly enough even though we're living only about an hour apart agian. She's really busy. I haven't found out the story yet... but she and her boyfriend, now fiance, got engaged just today I'm thinking. I knew it was coming though. 'Cuz she told me... not because I'm psychic or anything. They're getting married next year (2008) in May or June. So... here's Jen & Mark.

(sorry, that's a 2 year old picture, but it's the only one I have without stealing one from facebook)

Congrats to the newly engaged Jen's of the world! :)

World AIDS Day...

2006-12-01T14:17:00.000-06:00

Today is World AIDS Day. Every day 5,000 to 8,000 people die from AIDS. Every day. Below are websites that you can check out for more information or ways you can help to find a cure.

Wickipedia Information
World Vision - Sponser a child orphaned by AIDS
Red Ribbon Ride
(RED)
AVERT
World AIDS Campaign

It's the weirdest thing...

2006-11-30T23:27:00.000-06:00

Tonight I got into my car and I was going to swing by the 35 cent pop machine by the police station and use a quarter and a dime from the coin thing in my car. I reached down for the quarter and... no quarters. I could have sworn I had 5 quarters in there last time I checked. Dimes and nickles, still there. Successful in still getting a pop. Then I realized, not only were 5 quarters missing, but I had thrown a folded up $1 bill down by the coins too... My sister and my dad both drove my car on Tuesday, so I figured one of them used it. No prob, just wanted to know where it went. So, I called my dad and he said not only did he not touch it, but he left a quarter in the cup holder. No quarter in the cup holder. Called my sister. She didn't take it either. I'm living in Mora... I'm starting to not lock my doors all the time. Someone could have easily come in my car and taken the $2.25 I think I'm missing... but if they did... why did they leave the nickles and dimes... much less the various car chargers and the GPS thing that plugs into my computer and is worth at least $50. Odd. Just plain odd. I hope that of all the things that could have happened to it, I hope it fed someone who was hungry.

On another weird point... I got my UPS pants, and when I tried them on, they still had the tag on them, so I assumed they were new and not left over from someone that used them last year as a seasonal helper... but I reached in the pocket and there's a $5 and 2 $1's in the right front pocket, all crumpled up like they had been washed in there and left. But the attached tag did not look washed. Weird combination. Maybe they re-tag their pants for organization sake? Either way, it was just odd. But, I got $7 since there's no way to figure out who it belonged to...

So, lost $2.25... gained $7... I guess either way I'm up $4.25. Who knows.

Oh and just to get this off my chest... my mom made Christmas cookies, and I believe in 2 days I have eaten enough Christmas cookies to feed an orphanage of starving children. Ooops.

So...

2006-11-30T14:28:00.000-06:00

So, I'm still in Mora. I'm so tired of being stuck in limbo here. I have nothing to do. I am waiting for my life to start agian and for the meantime... I just get to hear about how everyone else has stuff going on. I mean, techinically I'm working for UPS for a month duirng their peak time... but I've only actualy worked one day. They haven't needed me more than that yet. I wait for my phone to ring in the morning, if it does, I go meet a driver somewhere. If it dosen't, I keep sleeping. Tonight I'm babysitting for I think, 7 kids? Otherwise, I fight to keep myself entertained all day. I'm so ready to move. If I could afford December rent, I'd just move down there now and be bored in La Crosse and learn about my new town there. Ok, enough venting. I'm done.

I joined the bandwagon...

2006-11-27T23:56:00.000-06:00

I finally joined facebook.com. I couldn't before because 1) I can't get into my St. Scholastica e-mail and therefore can't verify I went there... and 2) PCOM (my grad school) isn't registered with them. But now, you can join without a college so all is well. Yay. I've only been on there for 3 hours, and I already have 26 friends. We're all loosers that are online way too much. Especially those of you who added me at like, 11:30pm. Get some sleep people. Oh wait, that means I'm up too... hmmm... Maybe I'll go to bed now...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T23:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving all! I was just going though my pictures trying to decide which of my actually-really-there-Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade pictures I was going to put up for you today... I'm not going to lie. If you know me, you know I was not there this year, I'm in Mora for the first time in a few years. I watched it in person Thanksgiving 2004. I was going to put up Garfield... but then I realized I had this picture. One of the things I am thankful for is that one time in my life, I was like, 20 yards from none other than... The Crocodile Hunter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

I couldn't beat this one... had to re-post my friend Heather's Thanksgiving story... for more writing by Heather, click here.

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Oh, Thanksgiving. The day that we Americans celebrate the Pilgrims and the Indians and their friendly co-existence. I remember it like it was yesterday, my elementary school reenactment of that fateful day on Plymouth Rock.

Little Jason Evans played the lead Pilgrim. “Ha!” he said, as the Indian women set about decorating the picnic tables with cornucopia. “You bring turkey and we bring smallpox! Ha! Ha! We are in the process of launching an unprecedented biological war on your people. You will lose 75% of your population because God has given us this land from sea to sea!”

Then Sally Jones, the Narrator, said, “The Indians were only the first step in conquering the new world. Early Americans also marched across the continent and took land from Mexico and Canada, and ultimately moved into the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, claiming islands and finally stealing Hawaii from Queen Liliuokalani so that the state count could be a nice round 50 and the stars would line up right on the flag.”

Out in the audience someone’s dad shouted, “Queen Liliuokalani! Pshaw. More like Queen Lilliputian!” And everyone laughed, because people who are not even 6 inches high, that’s funny stuff.

Jason Evans: Lead Pilgrim then continued shouting at the Indians, “I am still working on my plan to gain the middle part of the continent. My sources tell me that pesky old France is going to grab hold of it.”

The lights went dim over the Thanksgiving feast and the spotlight shone brightly again on Sally Jones. “Fortunately the Americans would never have to fight the pesky French for control of the middle of the country. God saw fit to send slaves to Haiti where a guy named Toussaint (which ironically rhymes with croissant) led a big rebellion. The French were kicked off the island, which meant Napoleon no longer needed the middle of America for sugar cane supplies. So he sold it to Thomas Jefferson dirt cheap.”

And everyone laughed again because, get it, dirt cheap!

The Thanksgiving stage lights came back up. “My plan is called Manifest Destiny and it means Americans can do whatever they want because God wants them to have all the land! Ha! Ha!”

Then the audience clapped really big and my class took a good long bow.

It was a very accurate play.

Man of the Year

2006-11-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

So, I saw Man of the Year tonight... It's pretty funny, laugh out loud funny like... But then they throw in this action movie stuff that wasn't any good. Plus a love story. I mean... comedy + love story = normal movie. Love story + action = normal movie. Comedy + Love Story + Activion Movie = way too much. Not normal. But, Robin Williams is great. All the men in the movie are great. The lead woman though stinks, at least in this movie. She does not add to it at all.

"Politicians are like diapers. Both should be changed often; and for the same reason."

It's getting closer...

2006-11-20T17:13:00.000-06:00

I finally made a decision on where I'm going to live starting in January...
It's a sweet deal for the price...
Building is only a few years old,
Gas fireplace in living room,
Big dining room,
Big kitchen with dishwasher,
Utility room with supplied washer & dryer,
Big bathroom with jacuzzi tub,
Attached 1+ car garage,
Quiet complex of 4-plexes... Yay...

This is my soon-to-be kitchen:

Yay, I'm excited to have a home agian. It's been awhile since I've had a space that's mine.

Moving somewhere around the 2nd week of January. Starting a week or two after that... Spending about 6 weeks from February to March driving to Prairie du Chein to fill in for a doctor that will be on maternity leave.

So, that's the La Crosse update. :)

Girls can work too!!!

2006-11-16T11:33:00.000-06:00

So, I got a temporary job (like 5 weeks) with UPS helping deliver packages. Well, I need dark brown or black work boots. Not a problem I didn't think. Until I went looking for some. I wear a 7 1/2 women's shoe. They don't exist. Most stores only carry them in mens. And the smallest men's size they carry is a men's 8. I wear probably a men's 5 1/2. I was even told by the man in the shoe department at Sears that they shouldn't have hired me because if I don't fit into men's workboots I'm obviously too small to do the job. He showed me some wussy women's boots, I told him they wern't good enough. He told me of course they are, what do I want? A steel toe? I said maybe. He said there was no way I should want a steel toed boot, I'm a girl.

My mom called and I told her I couldn't find boots. She told me to go to Fleet Farm. Why didn't I think of that? I found a woman in the shoe department that helped me pick out work boots. Now I have brown work boots. In a woman's size. Yay.

Maybe not politically correct... but funny...

2006-11-07T21:11:00.000-06:00

Ok, so my friend Joslyn posted this the other day... and I think it's pretty funny. Not politically correct... but funny.

Election Day

2006-11-07T16:54:00.000-06:00

Today I did something for the first time. I voted actually at my local polling site. It's the 4th time I voted, but the first 3 were all absentee ballots.

Yay for the political ads to be done tonight! I can watch TV without yelling at the TV agian!

The ultimate question lingers until later tonight... will we get a old MN 4-Her in Senate? Hmmm... polls don't look promising... we'll see I guess!

Saturday in Florida...

2006-11-04T22:55:00.000-06:00

This morning we slept in a bit, and I mean a bit, it's sleeping in for my dad... and left at 9:15am or so. We went back to Montverde, where my grandma's house is, and went to the Montverde Days Festival. There's a lot of people at Montverde Days for how small the town is. We saw some of the other retiree's from home that winter down here... Then we went off to see a cool sculpture garden that Alison had found in a tour guide thing... although it took us awhile when the sculpture garden was in Winter Park and we first went to Winter Garden... oops. Anyway, that was cool, and I took a bunch of pictures. Then off to Old Towne in Orlando. We walked around there and checked out the classic cars that were there. Then mini golf at Pirate's Cove. I lost both rounds. I'm not so good at mini golf anymore. Then... off to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at Universal City Walk. All 3 of us were going to get a Margaritaville Margarita... only... my ID was not in my bag when we got there. Grrr... he wouldn't serve me. So, below, my dad and sister with THEIR Margaritaville Margarita's, while I sipped my diet coke.

EPCOT

2006-11-03T22:20:00.000-06:00

When we were kids my grandpa told us that EPCOT stands for Every Person Comes Out Tired. It is so true. 10 hours there and we were drained.

I met Pooh and Tigger... Tigger "Grrr"ed at me and tried to take me out the door with him. :) Funny Tigger...

I had a fun day, it's just interesting how different things seem when you're 5 versus 15 versus almost 25... I haven't actually been in Epcot since our band & chior trip at 15. Was there quite a few times between 3 or 4 and 15. First time since 15 today. Anywho... I'm tired.

More pictures at My Kodak Gallery Site ... plan on putting more up each evening.

We were driving out at the end of the day and my dad said something to the effect of, "All of these roads here are still Disney's, not the city's."
Alison responded, "Wow, that's a lot for Disney to plow in the winter."
True northerner talk there...

Warm weather here I come!

2006-11-01T14:38:00.000-06:00

My dad is bringing me and my sister to Orlando for a long weekend. Yay! We're leaving bright and early tomorrow morning. It sounds really nice especially since the temperature just plumited here in MN. Yippie!

Trick-O-Treaters?

2006-10-31T18:25:00.000-06:00

Well, It's 6:30pm, the porch light has been on and the Jack-O-Lantern has been lit since dark... Candy is in a basket by the door...

And no Trick-O-Treaters yet.

They don't love me or something. Or it's really cold. It's only 30 degrees. It was 63 yesterday. What's with that?

But you know what? I don't care if it's cold... back in 1991, we went trick-o-treating in a BLIZZARD. We were tough kids back then. Although I did whine a lot about the fact that my mom made me put on my jacket and snow boots on over my costume and that was no fun 'cuz they couldn't see my costume! I believe that was Sock-hop costume year...

Anyway... waiting on the trick-o-treaters. If they don't come... I'm going to have to eat all the candy myself. And that will not be good...

AMMENDMENT:
My cousin brought over his 2 kids, they're dragons, they're cute. :)
Then there were two unknown kids.
That's all.

Trans Fat Free...

2006-10-30T22:33:00.000-06:00

Ok, so all day I've been hearing about how KFC is switching to Trans Fat Free cooking. Wendy's already did. Lots of groceries have gone Trans Fat Free. But you know what? As much as it's kind of a step forward... they have to replace it with other fats. And mostly, still saturdated fats. Which are not good for you either. Or other fake stuff that they're eventually going to decide kills us too. It's still fat. It's still Wendy's... It's still KFC. Eat it if you like it... just eat it sparingly. It's friend chicken and burgers for gosh sakes, it's never going to be good for you.

Why?

2006-10-26T18:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, so one of the random things I'm getting paid for is to help my dad build furniture for Pamida. You know, the cheap furniture they have, and they have a display of each one up? Yeah, that.

Anyway... today I built a gun rack. It's not a bad looking gun rack. But... here's what I'm thinking. It's made of particle board and has a cardboard back. Not bad if there's only adults in your house and you just need somewhere to put the guns. Here's my question though... There's locks on the front. But the back is cardboard. What's the point of locking your cabinet when you can very easily just pull the back off?

SIMS

2006-10-26T11:17:00.000-05:00

So, I finished delivering Yellow Books. Waiting for my money from them, probably made about $300 in 4 1/2 days... not too bad.

BUT... now I'm bored. I've been playing SIMS2 almost contantly. Yesterday I played for so long that I dreamed in SIMS all night. That's sad.

I Passed!!!!!!!

2006-10-19T21:04:00.000-05:00

I just wanted everyone to know that I passed my board exam!!!! Yes!!! So, now I just have to do paperwork and such before I can work. Soon.

Today I saw Open Season...

"Boog! Rabbit Fight!!!"

Yellow Book... Not the other book

2006-10-18T20:28:00.000-05:00

So, I took a temporary job delivering Yellow Books. Right now I'm working on rural Milaca, MN... woo hoo! I've seen awesomely cool farm houses... I've seen falling down farm houses. I've seen super cute dogs and ugly matted dogs. I've seen loud jumping dogs and lazy quiet dogs. I've seen cats that think they're dogs. I've had people refuse the new phone book. I've had a guy ask for 300 of them so he could wrap them up tight and use them as firewood. Anyway... back on the road tomorrow to pass out some more phone books!

Still anxiously awaiting board results...

Barter System

2006-10-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

I just got back from spending 3 full days with Rose & Korey. I have a good barter system going with them. I paint, clean, rake leaves, whatever they ask me to help with... and in turn they give me a double bed to sleep in, some home cooked food, and they pay for me to eat out. Works well since according to The Five Love Languages for Singles, my primary love language is Quality Time... which pretty much means I feel loved by my friends as long as we spend time together, dosen't matter what we do. So, we all win - they get things done with my help - and I get to spend time with my friends. Yay! :) On Sunday night when we were all done with everything, we went to Space Aliens, and played games, and got about 50 cents of prizes for $9 in games we played. But we had fun!

Done

2006-10-12T22:08:00.000-05:00

I finished my test... and I kinda feel so-so about it. Don't feel like I failed it for sure... but not feeling extremely confident either. So, I don't know, so I'm going to try to avoid talking about it until then.

So, I'm in Fargo staying with Rose and Korey until Monday. :)

Hmmm... Which One?

2006-10-11T18:40:00.000-05:00

Ok, I'm exhibiting in an art show in a few weeks... but I have to decide which picture, and I have to decide soon, like in enough time to get it postmarked by Friday, in 2 days Friday. Yup, so here's my choices... please cast your vote. Every one of you that look at this, please.

NUMBER 1
This one would be cropped along both sides so it's tall and skinny with just the woman and her daughter.

NUMBER 2

NUMBER 3

A little early... but okay...

2006-10-11T10:04:00.000-05:00

So, I've been whining that I haven't really gotten to play in snow the last couple years. In Philly it melted right away when it snowed, and when I've been home at Christmas both years there hasn't been much snow. But, God heard my whining and gave me some snow a little early this year. Maybe it shows that there will be plenty of snow this winter. Here's a glimpse of what my front yard looked like around 9:15am today, and it's still snowing. :)

Seriously, loosing my mind

2006-10-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

My brain is full. I can't remember any more. I'm not a great test taker. I'm terrified. My board exam is on Thursday at 10am for 6 hours... I'm told not to study the day before the exam. I'm scared of not passing... I'd have to wait to take the test agian for 90 days... that comes out to January 10th. I don't know what happens to this whole job thing if I fail... I don't know what they'd do, or if I'd still have a job. This is scary. Please pray that I can be calm until then... and on Thursday that I can pull out of the corners of my brain everything I've learned in the past 2 years... That I can concentrate on the questions and not worry... and that when I really have no clue, that I can make an educated guess. Your prayers will definately help. Thanks for all your support! :)

Happy 25th Birthday Jessica!!!

2006-10-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

This is Jessica and I and "Uncle Al" in 2001 - he's a statue in Duluth that we named "Uncle Al" in about 1996 on a marching band trip. We still visit him and sit on his lap.

Today Jessica turns 25. That's a quarter of a century.

Jessica is my longest time friend. We met when we were about 6. That's almost 20 years.
Jessica I think is my craziest friend. We've had some fun adventures together.
Jessica I think is my only friend that's traveled more than I have.
Jessica was the last person I expected to get married before she was 30... she's married. Weird.
Jessica has two funny looking dogs. She thinks they're cute. I think they're funny looking.
Jessica and I can not talk to eachother for months and pick up right where we left off.
Jessica moved to Louisianna with her husband. That's far away, so I don't see her much anymore.
Jessica and I have seen eachother through lots of good and bad.
Jessica used to be able to predict when there was a fresh fruit pizza at our house 'cuz she'd show up every time before we even cut into it. So, when she got married, my mom got her a pizza pan and a recipie for fruit pizza for one of her bridal showers.
We've had a lot of fun together. I need to go visit her! :)

Again - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!!! :)

Ahhhh... How Sweet...

2006-10-06T12:58:00.001-05:00

Free Hugs. Isn't it sweet? I was lead to see this by another friend's blog and finally decided to post it myself.

Happy PA Week everyone!

2006-10-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of National PA Week. October 6-12th it is. It's always those days, no matter what day of the week, it's weird, I know... but anyway... It's National PA week. Which means... since I'm taking my National Board on the last day of PA week, the 12th... I'm in cram to learn as much as possible in 6 days mode. So, We'll chat later...

What?

2006-10-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

Ring Ring Ring (507 number on caller ID)

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Sue calling from the Yellow Clinic, is the Althea?"

"The WHAT clinic?"

"The Mayo Clnic... Is this Althea?"

"Oh.... the MAYO Clinic... and this is Aleathea."

Sometimes I swear I can't hear... And who would of thought I'd ever reject a job interview at the Mayo Clinic. But I did. And the job I accepted is better anyway.

In my "spare" time...

2006-10-03T19:29:00.000-05:00

Inbetween studying... I'm looking for a bunch of work to fill my time from October 13, the day after my test, until I move in January-ish... The range of potential jobs are...

Target Cashier
Walmart Cashier or Stocker
Early Morning Menards Stocker
Administrative Assistant
Waitress
Child Care Aide
Medical Transcription Assistant
Lab Secretary
Merchandiser (drive around and fill shelves with Pepsi products)
Personal Care Attendant
Hotel Housekeeping
Kennel Assistant
Bartender
Bank Teller
Home Health Aid
Adult Foster Care
Stuffing Envelopes
Delivering the Phone Book (my personal favorite of the moment)

Isn't this exactly what you go to school for 6 years to do?
Gotta love life's ironies...