Another year gone by...

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...

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...

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!

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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...

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?

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.

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!

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!

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...

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

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...

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...

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.