The Life of a SpyGirl

All coming together…

2011-04-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Since I quit my job to go back to school 6 years ago I have felt like I was living in limbo…. Always in transition…. Sitting on the fence. After I graduated, the feeling remained. First with the Camp Nurse job with Concordia Language Villages in Bemidji knowing that that was a temporary gig. Then I worked the night shift at Sunrise Nursing Home in Two Harbors. This job built my confidence and was actually a very fun place to work… but my heart was in the Twin Cities so I knew it wouldn’t last. On the fence I remained. Then I took the night shift facility charge nurse position at a facility north of the twin cities that will remain nameless, simply because it was a nightmare. While there I questioned why I had even become a nurse in the first place. It made me incredibly sad that I hated going to work while I had only been an RN 6 months. It taught me a valuable lesson however. It taught me what kind of nurse I did NOT want to be.

I applied to many positions during this time and all the interviews seemed to happen in a two week window. I had 3 job offers on the table: 1) a very well paying position as a Unit Charge Nurse, day shift, in a dementia unit of a large LTC and rehab facility. 2) RN Case Manager with Hospice of the Twin Cities, with my area being Minneapolis with most patients coming from Hennepin County Medical Center, and 3) an evening shift RN in a very nice long term care facility 10 minutes from my home. I followed my heart and took the hospice RN position and have never been happier!

I have found that I wear many different nursing hats in my new role. A concept that I truly embraced while at St Scholastica was the concept of holistic healing – treating the mind, body, and spirit. I am able to work this concept every day and with every client. It is so much more than simply meeting the medical needs of a dying client. It may be providing respite for a caregiver… or it might mean bringing in the music, massage, or pet therapist in to help someone with their pain or anxiety. I work in neighborhoods that are typically low income and filled with a variety of different people. Somali, Hmong, Hispanic, Russian, Polish, African American… all races and cultures with one thing in common. All have a terminal illness and their days are numbered.

In the month that I have been in this position, I have seen many different people in a variety of circumstance.

I have seen beautiful old homes filled with antiques, studio apartments in low income developments, small neat homes in scary neighborhoods, and homes neglected and mistreated for years. I have seen a patient on a mattress in the living room with every space filled with caring family and friends. .. and I have seen a small studio apartment, neat , tidy and organized with many things but the patient alone with no one to care for him but our hospice team.

I have seen patients with the question on their hearts on why God hasn’t taken them yet… and patients wondering why God is taking them this soon.

I finally feel that I am where I am meant to be, doing what I do best. I have so much to learn but I am sure I will continue to feel this way throughout my career. My team includes a team leader, 2 RNs other than me, 2 night RNs, 2 LPNs, 2 Aides, a Homemaker, a Social Worker, a music therapist, a pet therapist, a massage therapist, and a chaplain. Together, we are amazing.

The pukers have all gone home.

2010-07-28T17:33:00.001-05:00

We shipped out the latest bunch of Villagers on Saturday and the new ones arrived on Monday. The kids were great, but good riddance! Too much puking!

I had my first 24 hours off this past weekend… awesome! Jeff hit the road early and drove up here to attend the closing ceremony with me Saturday morning. Wowee was he a sight for sore eyes! Tears were shed!

It was also my birthday on Saturday. I have decided that this will be the last birthday I will be celebrating. 45 is definitely my limit. 45?! Really?! Wasn’t I just 25 a couple of years ago?

58 new Villagers arrived in my Village on Monday. After a crazy day of checking everyone in along with their meds, it has been a very peaceful Health Center (aka Club Med). I only hope it continues!View from Paris towards Club Med

Paris

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Sunny and 75 degrees with a slight breeze. I actually had the opportunity to enjoy the weather today! Spent some time weeding the garden that is next to Paris. The sun was warm, Guillame was playing the piano inside Paris and the music carried outside ever so lightly, and the smell of bread baking was wafting from the kitchen. When I closed my eyes I could almost imagine myself actually in France. After lunch I even got to spend a nice two hours lying in the sun on the dock. Heaven!

Hmmm… if only all the days as a Camp Nurse were like this one.

Bonjour. Welcome to Camp PukeALot.

2010-07-22T18:42:00.001-05:00

Bonjour. Mon nom est Gabi. J’ai quitte la Chine en France.

Hello. My name is Gabi. I have moved from China to France.

Can you say culture shock?! I had to quickly close out two sessions in Chinese, train in the new nurse, and then race over to French to be trained in by that leaving nurse. Not to mention pack up all my stuff, move it, and then unpack.

My first meal was dinner… it included rice but not sticky rice (mi fan) and it had veggies in it. And it included fresh homemade baked baguettes and butter. I almost cried. Seriously.

The new nurse gave me a very quick short tour and introduced me to a couple of key people and then left. Estelle (my health care assistant) was instructed to finish the tour with me later. Within no more than 10 minutes after the current nurse leaving, a Villager came in and puked in our garbage can. Welcome to French Bemidji.

French Bemidji has had an interesting summer so far. The Norwalk virus went through and they had 23 puking and pooping Villagers at one time. They set up a “sick bay” in one of the activity buildings and brought in other nurses and health care assistants from other villages to help. I came in at the tail end and have had 3 pukers of my own.

The nights have been rough since everything seems to happen in the middle of my slumber. I have had one full night of sleep since getting here this past Saturday. This is the hardest part of being a Camp Nurse. Well, that and I miss my family and friends.

Let’s talk about my Chinese Village. The kids there were amazing… they were fun, and sweet, and quite entertaining at times. I had more free time there than here and more opportunity to get to know them. Above are my very first patients as an RN. They were very excited when I told them this later and we all took pictures. Both have been coming to the Chinese camp for several years and can speak it quite well (of course, how would I know?!). The gal wants to be a nurse when she grows up so we had lots of conversations about nursing and nursing school.

This is Da Wei my First Aider and right hand man. He’s a very talented young man and it’ll be interesting to see where life takes him. He had been at Chinese for the first half at the summer and was moving to Portuguese for the second half. I would have been lost without him there.

I haven’t taken any pictures of my Village yet…been a little busy! Watch for a new blog soon…

Playing Tourist

2010-07-13T21:01:00.001-05:00

Had 12 hours off on Saturday so I spent the day in Bemidji playing solo tourist. Camp was crazy that morning (I swear all the girls are menstruating at one time) and I locked myself out of the cabin so Hua Ai wasn’t able to turn back into Evelyn until 30 minutes later than planned.

I started my day at the local Dunn Bros since I was craving a Latte (Lordy, too many days since my last Latte!). I had planned on spending some time applying for jobs, but their internet kept cutting out and I felt like I was wasting too much of my valuable free time. My first stop was to visit Paul Bunyan and his giant blue Ox Babe, of course.

Does anyone know why Bemidji is tied to Paul Bunyan? I checked a respectable historical resource, Walt Disney, and didn’t come up with an answer.

From the website RoadsideAmerica.com, there are the following Paul Bunyan’s in Minnesota:

Minnesota

Akeley:Kneeling Paul Bunyan 20 feet tall (maybe the claimed 33 feet, if he was standing), across from Paul's Purple Cow Ice Cream Parlor. Akeley is "Birthplace and Home of World's Largest Paul Bunyan Statue." His cradle was here when we visited.
Bloomington: a 19-foot Bunyan, part of the Mall of America
Bemidji: Paul Bunyan and Babe Statues, built in the 1930's.
Blackduck: Paul Bunyan's Duck.
Brainerd: The 26 feet tall Talking Bunyan, long a fixture at the now defunct Paul Bunyan Amusement Center, can now be seen at This Old Farm outside of town, along with Babe the Blue Ox and Sport the Dog.
Brainerd: In 2005, a seated Paul Bunyan was erected outside a new welcome center 5 miles south of town.
Chisholm: "There is a statue of Paul Bunyan inside one of the buildings at the Minnesota Museum of Mining. I know of this statue because it scared the living s**t out of my when I was a little kid in the '60's. I believe it's at the main curve of highway 169 in Chisholm...last visited in 1992." [Jon A. Egger, 3/24/97]
Hackensack: Statue of Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart, Lucette Diana Kensack, 17 feet tall, on the east shore of Birch Lake.
Kelliher: Paul Bunyan's Grave, in Paul Bunyan Memorial Park.
Ortonville: Paul Bunyan's Anchor, weighs 225,000 lbs., and is mounted on four granite pillars. Looks like a big rectangular piece of rock with a chunk of metal chain sticking out of the top. At an overlook above Big Stone Lake.

My favorite, and one I must see is Paul Bunyan’s duck in Blackduck, Mn!

Inside the Visitor Center is this fireplace – The Fireplace of States. It was built in 1934. The mason wrote hundreds of letters to all the state governors, governors of Canada, the US President, and all the County Directors of MN, as well as all the National Parks and Monuments asking for stones for the fireplace. Some senders placed inscriptions on the stones.

Bemidji also has several statues of Native Americans, including Chief Bemidji.

The Beltrami County Historical Museum is also in Bemidji and is housed in the last depot built by James J. Hill. Their current display is on the history of healthcare in Beltrami County – fascinating!

Here’s something common to most of Minnesota, except the North Shore – not a whole lot of grain being grown up there!. When I see one of these it always makes me think of Henning, the town where my grandparents lived when they retired.

Drove a few miles over to see the County Courthouse and discovered a beautiful little park area just outside of it. It’s one of the prettiest courthouses I have seen.

Remember the Snoopy statues that were all over St Paul several years ago? Well, Bemidji did the Beaver.

I also took a drive down the “Gold Coast",” which is Bemidji’s version of St. Paul’s Summit Avenue.

It was hot and humid on Saturday, so after hours of sightseeing I decided to head to the theatre and sit in air conditioning for awhile. Not really knowing what movies were out there, I picked Grown Ups since it had SNL comedians in it and I was in the mood for something funny. Boy, did I choose wrong. I won’t spend much time on details, but I will say this: Don’t waste your money or time, Sandler is just out to make some dough the lazy way.

I went out to dinner at the Green Mill which is one of the most beautiful Green Mills I have ever been to. Right on Lake Bemidji and with a very nice patio area. I wanted something far far from Chinese… decided on a deep dish Canadian Bacon and Pineapple pizza. And lots of Diet Coke. Nummy.

Got back to camp, and every meal since Saturday has had rice in it. Every meal. I am not exaggerating. For breakfast it’s either Soupy Rice, or Rice Krispies. No joke.

My first days as Camp Nurse at Sen Lin Hu

2010-07-07T15:15:00.002-05:00

My name is Hua Ai and I am the Hu Shi at Sen Lin Hu. Nihao.
There are currently 73 Villagers, about 20 Counselors, and about 10 other staff (kitchen, office, maintenance) here at the Chinese Village. Many of the counselors are from China and speak very little or no English. The Villagers are from about 8 years old to 18 and are here for 2 or 4 weeks. I am the only RN on staff; I have an assistant who has been trained in First Aid etc and is very fluent in Chinese who helps me when he can. He is also a head counselor and “go to” guy for many things.
I felt very overwhelmed when I first arrived… new nurse, new place, new people, new foods, new culture, new language. A lot of newness in one big dose. My clinic was not organized and so I spent Sunday, my day off, cleaning, organizing, and checking expiration dates. After this, I felt much better about my job and responsibilities.
This is the nurse’s clinic. It has my office, waiting area, bathroom and shower, my sleeping quarters, and a sick room for Villagers/Staff who need to spend the night because of illness. So far I have not had any overnight guests!
The Concordia Language Villages teaches by immersion – it truly feels like I am in China! All the meals are Chinese (and not American Chinese, I might add) – rice has been served at 98% of the meals. The meals are generally very healthy – lots of fruits and veggies… no bread and butter… I miss the bread and butter. English is really only suppose to be spoken with the Nurse, and the kids are rewarded each day they accomplish this.
So far I have had quite a few skinned knees and elbows, bug bites, tummy aches, and sore throats. Hopefully this trend will continue! I have also helped rescue a bird from a cabin, find the home of a lost dog scared by the fireworks, and helped feed a baby bird (who later died).

Each day is different as the Hu Shi at Sen Lin Hu!

To see more of Sen Lin Hu, please visit: http://senlinhu.villagepages.org/

It’s the end of the world as we know it…

2010-06-11T10:37:00.001-05:00

My life has been turned upside down, twisted around, and shaken up into a whole new form over the last month. My last semester in college did not consist of a "senior slide" as I often heard it would be. Even though there wasn't a lot of sit-down studying as I had been accustomed to, there was 130 clinical hours at St. Luke's, a giant community health project that I worked on with the Boys & Girls Club of the Northland, and two "normal" classes with the usual papers and tests. My community health class also consisted of visiting "public health" type facilities such as the Damiano Center and CHUM (and of course writing papers about them) and spending some time with the Public Health nurse in Two Harbors. On top of all of this, I began re-creating my resume and starting the application process, compiling the paperwork necessary to graduate, and worked on studying for my board exam (NCLEX). I truly felt like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions at once. Instead of a Senior Slide, it was more like a Senior Scramble!

As the end drew near, I found myself an emotional wreck… ecstatic one minute, insanely sad the next, and filled with worry nearly constantly. I don’t like the unknown… I like to know exactly where I am going and when, and how I will get there. My life was in complete limbo, and it’s a very scary feeling. While the majority of my other classmates were overjoyed as we finished our classes, I fought back tears. Even though school was more difficult and more time consuming that I ever imagined, I loved it. Yes, I felt lonely and out of place at times, not to mention overwhelmed, but generally speaking I loved the learning process, the challenges, and the environment. And I will miss it.

My parents and Jeff and the boys all were in attendance for the Pinning Ceremony and Commencement. The Pinning Ceremony is just for the graduating nursing class… I had Jeff and Brandon “pin me.” They butchered Brandon’s name (Brayndon?), but otherwise was a very nice ceremony.

I expected to be bawling like a big baby at Commencement, but instead could not stop smiling. I smiled so big and for so long that by the end of the day my cheeks hurt!I have never felt so proud of myself. It was a long, hard, and scary 5 years but I did it! And not only did I finish, but I graduated cum laude and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing (thus the purple cord)! I never felt smart in high school; maybe that’s because my best friend ended up being Valedictorian and rarely had to study while I studied my heart out to get C’s, or maybe it was just a confidence thing, but if someone had told me 25 years ago that I would be graduating cum laude, I wouldn’t have believed them. It’s a giant accomplishment, especially adding in being a single parent and home owner, and something I will always be proud of. There were two single moms in my class with me, and I am sure they feel as proud of themselves as I do.

After commencement, I took a week off and did very little, and wow did that feel good! Then I began cramming for the scary NCLEX exam. I studied every day, all day. I studied until I cried. Literally. And then I studied some more. I decided to take my test right before I headed to Wilderness First Aid Training, so that gave me about 10 days. There was so much riding on this test… if I failed I wouldn’t be able to be a Camp Nurse. If I failed I would have to wait 45 days to retake it. If I failed I wouldn’t be able to put down on job applications that I was a licensed nurse. If I failed, I FAILED. That is an awful lot of pressure for an old gal like me.

I also got a job interview in Staples, MN (of all places) the day before… so there went a day of studying. Urgh.

I arrived at the test center in plenty of time, but found myself shaking as I signed in, was fingerprinted, photographed, and had my palm veins read. I asked to use a restroom before going in because I thought I was going to puke. I went into the handicapped stall and instead of puking did some deep breathing and a yoga move or two to relax.

The test is computerized and everyone is asked a certain percentage of questions on various topics. With each question you answer, it predicts whether you are passing or failing. At 75 questions, if it is like 98% sure you are passing, it will shut down. If it is 98% sure you are failing, it will shut down. If it is too close too tell, it will keep going. Or if you are one of the randomly selected poor souls who will be taking the whole damn thing, it will keep going. It kept going for me. At question 150 I was sure I was failing and began to feel really sick and started sweating profusely. I was afraid of having to pee during the test, so I didn’t drink much, plus going in I thought I would be done in 2 hours and 21 minutes which is the average time… I was sure I was dehydrating. I skipped all my breaks because you have a time limit of 6 hours… I did the math and if I was given all 265 questions, I would barely make it. I ended up getting all 265 questions and it took me about 5 hours and 20 minutes. 5 hours and 20 minutes of pure hell.

I left and sat in my car and cried. I didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. I knew I had failed.

The next day I left for Wilderness First Aid Training and orientation. I will be Camp Nurse at the Concordia Language Villages for July and August, specifically the Chinese Village in Cass Lake, and the French Village in Bemidji. I passed the First Aid Course (yay!) and made some great friends along the way. The camp is much nicer than I expected and the responsibilities much greater. It combines my love of nursing, my love of children, my love of the camp atmosphere, my love of foreign languages and culture, and my love of food so it should be an amazing experience!

Everyone in training knew I had just taken my test and was waiting for the results. I paid an extra $8 to find out in 48 hours instead of 4-6 weeks. I took my test on Thursday, so I expected to hear late Monday. I had Jeff checking for me… On Saturday I headed to Waldsee (German Village) for dinner. About 20 nurses and nursing aides, plus many Lifeguards, counselors, and kitchen staff were in attendance during this week. At each meal I think there was about 100 people in attendance (but I’m a really bad judge of these things). I noticed that Jeff had been trying to call and worried there was a problem. As I was looking at my phone, the following text message appeared:

“You passed. Congratulations! I am very proud of you!”

I immediately started yelling, “OMG – I passed! I PASSED!!!” and started to cry. Everybody around me from my class was yelling and hugging me! It was crazy! And very emotional. At the end of the meal, they have time for announcements (which are often in a foreign language), and my nurse manager stood up and introduced me as the Camp Nurse for Chinese and French and told them that a half hour ago I became a licensed RN! Everyone was clapping and cheering and then they all went into this Hip Hip Hooray deal! It was a really fantastic place to end this crazy roller coaster journey I have been on for 5 years… becoming licensed at the very place I will be starting my career. For days afterward, complete strangers from around the globe were congratulating me. I felt insanely happy.

I will write more about the CLV later, but want to take one more paragraph to thank everyone for sticking by me and supporting me over the last 5 years. I know I have been neglectful and cranky, whiny and unpleasant at times and yet not one of you gave up on me. Your support and continual encouragement was my life-line and I will never forget it. I could never have done this without all of you behind me every step of the way.

Insurance Blues

2010-02-05T12:24:00.002-06:00

I have health insurance. Since I currently am unemployed and a full-time college student, I am able to purchase “Student Health Insurance” through the BCS Insurance Company.

Today I found out about another medical procedure that I had done was not covered. This time it was the bone density test my dr suggested I have done back in September. I have broken two bones in 4 years and he was worried that I may have some bone density loss since I was on the Depo Provera birth control shot for over 10-years. Studies released in 2004 show that Depo Provera is associated with a loss of bone density resulting in an increased risk of osteoporosis. This bone loss appears not to be reversed when the woman goes off Depo Provera. Depo is not recommended for long term use. Women on Depo are advised to exercise and take in plenty of calcium. The recommendation is that if you have taken Depo Provera for more than two years, you should get a bone density test.

I understand why my doctor wanted me to have the test. The recommendation makes sense... if the results had shown that I did have bone loss, he could advise me to take extra measures (calcium supplements, strength-training, etc.) now so that it doesn’t progress into a more serious case of osteoporosis later. Thus, it would save money in the long run. Thankfully, my bone density test results showed no bone loss… in fact, my bone density is at 110%.

Prior to this, my insurance didn’t cover my crutches from when I broke my leg. They also considered that an “elective.” Really? Like you have a choice whether to use crutches or not with a broken leg?! What the hell?! I could understand if I had a prior broken leg and they already paid for my crutches… I obviously wouldn’t need new crutches. I would agree that that would be a waste of insurance money… but my scenario isn’t like that and without crutches I would have been bed-ridden for months. But yet, how would I even get to the bed after my surgery without crutches? I guess I could have crawled…

Healthcare in America and more Extreme thoughts

2009-08-12T17:49:00.001-05:00

First of all thank you to those who responded with comments or emails on my latest blog on my Extreme thoughts. I want to clarify that I do think the Extreme Home Makeover show is a great show that does great things -- especially compared to a lot of the other trash on tv these days. And I'm happy that the house built in South Range is eco-friendly and much, much smaller than the typical houses they build. Like GooChick, I have always thought that it would be nice if they could spread the wealth a little -- build smaller homes so that they could help more families. I was very touched by the outpouring of volunteers and donations especially knowing how bad our economy is up here right now. I only wonder where all these volunteers have been before Hollywood came to town? Lausten commented on my earlier post about how Extreme Home Makeover shows people that volunteering can be fun -- something they may not have realized before. My concern was that many of these volunteers were volunteering simply to get on tv or meet a star, but even if this is the case, maybe it will spark them to continue volunteering on a smaller scale.

But I also saw how Extreme volunteering made people crazy. Where it became their only focus and they had no regard for those close to them. Parents spent more time in the last several weeks than they did with their kids... hard feelings were caused between coworkers... local companies bickered amongst one another about levels of publicity... Would these people have gone this crazy if it had been for the local food shelf?

Moving on to my other soapbox: Healthcare in America.

I know this is a heated topic right now, and I encourage you to watch this video:

Something has to change. We are the richest country in the world and yet there are millions of people who go without medical treatment because they can't afford it. Currently 47 million Americans have no health insurance. Nearly 9 million are children. This will continue as long as our health insurance companies are "for profit." A "for profit" company's purpose is to make money... period. And as you can see from the video, UHC has been very successful -- they are able to pay their CEO $102K an hour! This country is turning into a place where only the very rich and the very poor will have medical care and receive higher education. The rest of us will be choosing between prescription meds or food on the table. In America, NO ONE should go without healthcare. Healthcare costs are rising at 5 times the rate of inflation! A major reason for this is greed -- the insurance companies' top dogs want bigger mansions and fancier private jets.

The bottom line is that insurance companies should not make a profit. Switzerland's healthcare plan would be a good place for America to model after (if we could only put our arrogance aside -- yes, other countries are better than us in some areas). If you'd like to read more on this, follow this link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92106731

No one should have to choose between food and healthcare, and that is what is happening right here in the good ole' USA.

My Extreme Experience and Thoughts

2009-08-11T10:26:00.008-05:00

As many of you know, the Extreme Makeover Home Edition recently filmed an episode here in our Twin Ports area (South Range, WI to be exact). Five area families were competing for the spot but the Huber family was chosen. Rumors have it that one of the reasons the Hubers were chosen was because Duluth was uncooperative in pushing through the permit requirements etc to meet the show's schedule. Once again, Duluth -- and Minnesota in general -- pushes away a big money making opportunity and a boost to our economy (think Leatherheads and Public Enemies).

I didn't take many pics, but here are a few. The people in the red shirts are the paid employees from Builders Commonwealth and their selected family/friends. The blue shirts are the regular volunteers from the community. The black shirts are the stars of the show... well, except for Paige who wore pink right down to her hard hat.

First let me tell you what I liked about the show being here in town...

I went out to the site twice. The first time was with Jenn and because her employer donated goods, she had passes to the VIP tent. Parking was in a giant mowed field that a neighbor had donated. Because of my broken leg, they let us park up close and then shuttled us in to the site with a golf cart -- impressive! The VIP tent had free food and places to sit in the shade -- the food was okay at best; the view was better in the general spectator area; but the opportunity to sit was awesome. Standing on one leg gets tiresome pretty quickly.

We were there on Day 3 and watched them spend oodles of time filming one scene with Ty placing the first part of the houses frame. After they finished filming it, a crane took the wall piece away and the workers continued doing something else. Ah, hollywood...

Ty Pennington was quieter than I expected. I expected him to be running around the site with his megaphone encouraging people to work faster. Instead he came out, waved to the small crowd of fans once in awhile, ran through his scene a couple times, had a pic taken with someone, and then headed back to his trailer. But what impressed me most was that on his way off the site -- and off camera, I might add -- he shook every volunteers' hand as he passed. Good job Ty!

Other than the filming, it wasn't very exciting. Lots of volunteers standing around doing next to nothing, and a smaller group actually building the house.

The second time I visited the site was this past Sunday. Jeff and I took the kids to see the site. This time we saw Paige and Eduardo from the show being filmed. The house was up and the landscaping was in. Other than that, it was again a lot of volunteers standing around, and a smaller group fervently working on the house.

I personally like the show. I think what they are doing is basically a very good thing ala Hollywood style. I liked it better when they would simply renovate the older house to better accomodate the family living there, rather than build brand new massive homes. The house done here was one of the smaller homes built, and it was also the greenest -- this makes me happy. I understand that many families had run into trouble later because they didn't know how to keep up with the money involved in living in a mansion. However, I heard that now people are brought in to teach the families money management etc before they are handed over the keys... nice to see that they have learned from their mistakes.

Okay, here is what I don't like.... keep in mind that this is just my own piddly personal opinion...

In my opinion, the communication was lacking at best. People who wanted to volunteer were directed to an email address. They were then requested to fill out an application and were told to expect a phone call. The show has certain requirements of i's volunteers (no cameras, work shoes were required, no asking of autographs etc.) but according to the facebook page dedicated to this event, many of the volunteers never received this important bit of communication. After they reached the number of volunteers needed, they closed down the email. Which left oodles of frustrated volunteers no place to go with questions. After a few days of this, they announced on the website for them to call the office at Commonwealth. But sadly, they had a teenager manning the phone who was unable to answer most of the callers questions. All of this seemed easily avoidable with a little common sense and planning. And by the way, I saw 6 volunteers wearing flip-flops, one in high spiky heels, and too many to count who were taking pics and asking for autographs...

The community was continually told to go to the website for up-to-the-minute changes in scheduling, announcements, and news and yet most times what was communicated was too late to matter. For example, until sometime after noon on Sunday they were not letting spectators in because of the "knee-deep mud puddles" from the rain the night before. We saw hundreds of cars drive out there and then have to turn around and head home. I wondered how many had driven further than Two Harbors to see the site and had to drive home disappointed. This announcement wasn't put on the website, facebook page, or Twitter, until much later. We were able to get in because we knew someone, and yes, it was muddy, but I saw no puddles that were knee-deep, nor did it seem necessary to send people away because of it.

I am impressed with the number of people that volunteered their time, and the number of businesses that donated supplies and equipment. Apparently, our small community had more people volunteer for this episode than any other episode in the history of the show. This is one of the reasons why they have decided to make this episode their 150th episode and the 2-hour season premier. This is something to be very proud of! But where are all these people when the cameras and tv-stars are gone? There are so many places in our areas that are desperate for volunteers year round and come up short. This saddens me. I've seen how some volunteers have let this opportunity take over their lives, leaving their own kids on the wayside nothing short of being forgotten. The Huber family benefits, but their own kids are neglected and feeling unimportant and left out. This saddens me most of all.

The Greatest Gift of All

2009-07-24T15:18:00.003-05:00

The last few days I have just been worn out beyond belief. On Wednesday I also was running a low-grade fever, which of course sent up my red flag. Sure enough, I unwrapped my leg and found it much more red, swollen, and tender than it had been previously. Urg... that's all I need is an infection.

Knowing that an infection is never anything to be taken lightly, I immediately left a message for my surgeon in the cities, and also made an appointment with my doc in Two Harbors. The doc gave me a nice big shot and a 10-day supply of antibiotics and also commended me for coming in so promptly. She explained that especially when there is hardware involved (such as the plate and screws currently holding my leg together), it is very important that infections are treated quickly and kept a close eye on because if they get away from you it could require another surgery to clean the infection off of the plate. Don't want none of that, thank you very much!

I also must praise the Minnesota Orthopaedic Specialists which is who took care of my surgery. Not only did they promptly call me back after I left a message, they also called me this morning to find out how my appointment in Two Harbors went. Now that's what I call "Personalized Customer Service." And that is all it takes to make me a lifelong loyal customer... although I sure hope I won't be needing them again anytime soon.

My parents have been here the last two days and have been busy as bees not only taking care of me but also taking care of stuff around my house. Normally I would rather die than let them see my house looking like this, but I realized that they love helping me and I really NEED the help. So I put my pride aside and let them in. My Dad has been taking care of what is left of my garden and potted plants as well as fixing small things that needed fixing around here. My mom has done oodles of laundry, cleaned my bathrooms, kitchen and dining room, baked and cooked like crazy, and cleaned and organized my fridge.

And being it's my birthday today, I usually find myself wondering about my biological parents and siblings... I wonder where they are and if they think of me today. But today instead I find myself ever so thankful that Larry and Eva chose me to take home to be their daughter. They are the greatest gift of all and I believe they were truly sent by God himself. I thank God every day for selecting them to be my parents.

Sorry I don't have a better choice of pictures to post, but most of my boxes of photos are tucked away in high places, unreachable by birthday girls on crutches.

as if my life wasn't interesting enough

2009-07-21T16:00:00.003-05:00

Too make my life more challenging and interesting, I decided to walk down a hill wearing flip flops and break my leg. That's right, I BROKE MY LEG. And I couldn't be lucky and have it be my left leg... nooo... it has to be my RIGHT leg. And it couldn't just be a simple break, but has to require surgery involving plates and screws.

And it couldn't have happened with someone I know really really well so that I could scream and holler like the big baby I truly am... nooo... it has to happen with a guy I haven't seen in 27 years. But that's okay since I had plenty of opportunity to scream. holler and cry myself silly as I drove myself across the twin cities using my left foot through rush hour traffic.

But on the good side of things, it happened in the cities so that Jeff and my parents could take care of me in shifts. And it happened during summer, so I don't have to worry about long pants, snow and ice, or big heavy backpacks filled with textbooks. And I should be walking again by the time I go back to school. So, see? There is a silver lining.

The bad thing is that I haven't been able to put any weight on it since it happened 11 days ago. And summer is the time of year I love to spend outdoors gardening, and hiking, and KAYAKING! Yes, I just bought the darn thing and now I can't use it! And it's my last free summer, no less. And, my ankle is really, really ugly now.

The surgery went well and was educational. I had awesome nurses who all shared little bits of nursing career advice with me. And they all thought I was delightful (yes, they actually told me this. One male nurse, who also went back to school midlife like me, said I was his favorite patient of the week). My first words I remember saying as I came back from being put under was "Do I look okay?" -- well, at least my sense of humor was intact.

I'm now back at home and Brandon has been helping me and trying to stay smiling at the same time. My parents are coming up later in the week and Jeff will be coming up on Friday. In the meantime I have figured out how to hobble around the house in small exhausting spurts, take a shower without actually stepping in, and drive my car using my left foot. My biggest excitement today was that I figured out to balance on one foot and clean the toilet at the same time! It's been an interesting adventure to say the least!

I have an appointment on Monday in the cities to get the staples taken out and I'm hoping I'll then be able to put a little weight on it and start physical therapy. Hopefully life can start to get back to normal after that.

I have learned a few things along this bumpy journey:

I've learned to put my pride aside and let people help me.
I've learned to be patient.
I've learned to slow down.
I've learned that not everyone does everything exactly the way I would, and that's okay.
I've learned that Malcolm in the Middle is on TV a lot... and that's a very good thing.
I've learned how to keep my toes cool and dry inside a hot black boot.
I've relearned that there are a lot of wonderfully good people out there in the world.

Warning: some of the photos below are pretty gruesome!

Okay, well maybe THIS one isn't so gruesome. Jeff had surprised me with a hotel stay that weekend as an early birthday gift... well, the easiest way to get me in and out of the hotel was by use of the baggage cart.

Post Op Day 2

For those who aren't completely familiar with my right foot, it is not normally as fat as it here!

Saving Bambi...

2009-06-04T15:44:00.003-05:00

All night I had been telling myself that I really needed to get outside and go for a walk. I kept putting it off, and then started myself that it was too late... the mosquitoes are going to be bad... it will be dark soon. Finally at 8:45 I pushed myself out there to get a quick one in before it got dark.

I got to the end of my driveway and planned to turn right onto the road, but glanced to the left to check for cars. About 30 yards from me was a deer standing on my side of the road. I stood there and talked to her a bit like I always do and then I noticed something underneath her. My first thought was that it was a fawn, but it seemed too little and too low to the ground. It almost looked like a bunny. It was getting a little dusky out, and it was a little hard to see so I took a few steps closer to get a better look. It spooked the doe and she went running back into the woods and there, crouched on the side of the road was the littlest fawn I had ever seen! I took a few steps back because I wanted the mom to come back, but instead the liitle guy got up on his new legs and wobbled across the road to the other side and then plopped himself down again right there on the edge.

Okay, now I started to freak out. While my road is a simple country road and doesn't lead anywhere but to people's homes, people drive crazy fast on it and the sun was going down... if the momma didn't come back the baby was gonna be toast. So I started slowly walking towards him, coaxing him to go back to his momma. But instead he looked like he was going to nap. As I got closer to the little fella, I heard a car coming down the dirt road that connects to my road about 1/2 mile away. Now I knew I was going to have to act fast -- I was really afraid that as the car passed it would spook the little guy and he would dart out into the road and get hit by a car right in front of me (I've already seen a fawn get hit by a car once -- I never want to see that again).

Crazy things were racing through my mind: was the doe going to attack me as I got closer to her baby? If I touch the fawn will he be rejected by his mom like they told me long ago about baby birds? Will the fawn freak out if I pick it up and start kicking or die from a heart attack brought on by fear? Will he bite me? Will he pee on me? But regardless of these crazy thoughts, talking very quietly and calmly, I walked over and scooped him up into my arms. Cradling this precious newborn, I turned my back to the road and waited for the car to pass and then carried him back across the road where his momma had gone back in. I carefully carried this incredible creature of God's, who I honestly think was about to fall asleep in my arms, through the ditch and to the edge of the woods. There I set him carefully on the ground. He laid there for a minute or two while I petted him and chased the flies off of him and for a second I thought I was going to have a new pet because the mom was never coming back, but then his little nose twitched and his head shot up. He got up and stumbled into the woods -- he must have caught a scent of his mom. I went back to the road and waited a good 10 to 15 minutes (the whole time being devoured by mosquitoes) before going back into the woods to make sure my new little friend wasn't still there all by himself. I looked all over and couldn't find him, so I am hoping for the best that his mom came and got him and took him deeper in the woods.

I don't even like to think what would have happened to the fawn had I gone on a walk earlier or not at all... the car may have come by and spooked the doe and hit the fawn. And what kind of mom hangs on the side of the road with a newborn like that? ;-)

I ran as fast as I could down my driveway and into the house to tell Brandon what had happened... he now regrets declining my invitation to join me on my walk.

Spring Fever

2009-05-19T14:37:00.006-05:00

Spring Fever:

n.
A feeling of restlessness, excitement, or laziness brought on by the coming of spring.

Yep, that's me. Feeling as restless as hell; excited? Yes... but about too many things... I feel like I'm running from one thing to the next. I guess I am excitedly restless...

My plants are as anxious to get out in the sun as I am. But since it's only like 40 degrees out today, I think we will all have to sit tight just a little bit more. My living room and porch have turned into make shift greenhouses and every night I haul my plants back inside and every morning I haul them back outside again. Oh how I dream of having a greenhouse (hate you Janie!). I often think about the greenhouse I saw on Lake Vermillion a couple summers back... not lovingly used as I would but used instead to store old tools, lawn furniture, and stacks of Playboys. Certainly not getting the kind of respect it deserved! And this greenhouse was a REAL greenhouse with actual glass windows... it reminded me of the St Paul Conservatory, but on a smaller scale.

I do miss the cities especially this time of year... two reasons: St Paul's Farmer Market and their longer growing season. Jacquie's blog tells me that their lilacs are in bloom in St Paul... the leaves are just started to bud on the one I have in the back. I'm hoping it will bloom this year... my Dad and I planted it 4 or 5 summers ago and it still hasn't bloomed. The snowshoe bunnies chewed up the one in the front that I planted last summer... but I did spot one leaf budding... maybe there is still hope after all for that one.

I bought myself a kayak last week. I told myself that I would buy myself one when I graduated; but then decided to push it up to this year since this may be my last "free" summer. I took it out on Lake Loaine last week... it was glorious! Lake Loaine is a little trout fed lake about 5 miles up the road from me. So quiet you would think you were up in the mountains somewhere. There is a loon couple living there. I'll have to go back in a few weeks and see if there are babies. I also saw a couple of Osprey's -- one of them dove into the lake right near me for a tasty fish... came up with nothing though. The fish were jumping like crazy... one fisherman shared the lake with me... he floated around in this weird little inner tube thing. As I was leaving another fisherman arrived using a kayak and one fished from shore.

I'm hoping to get back out again on Thursday... let's hope it's not snowing or anything.

Sunset on the Gulf

2008-12-30T16:54:00.007-06:00

The sunsets over Lake Superior can be incredible, but they still pale in comparison to the sunsets I have seen over the Gulf. They simply take my breath away and a photo just doesn't do it justice -- well, not one taken by me anyway! Now is when I wish I had asked for a nicer camera from Santa this Christmas. I took about 30 photos, so choosing which ones to post will be interesting!

2008-12-28T20:58:00.008-06:00

It was a beautiful sunny day here in Orange Beach today. Lots of people on the beach and playing in the waves. I feel so blessed to be able to come here winter after winter... especially now with the stress of school. It is an amazing place to rejuvenate. I took a walk by myself at sunset and could just feel the peace wash over me. I felt completely relaxed... even with a cold! Yes, I got my inevitable "after semester ends cold." Even though I am only on day 3, I think it is on its way out so I feel lucky. Notice the blue box of Puffs in my hand in the posted photo. I never leave home without it!

A little crab ran up to me on the beach today... he blended into the sand so much that I call him a ghost crab. He stared at me just as much as I was staring at him. He was way cool.

On the way to the store this morning Brandon and I took the short cut through the state park and a bobcat ran across the road in front of us... awesome! My Dad was way jealous! He says he drives that road at least 2 times a week for the last like 10 years and has never seen anything!

My little brother Glen is here from Louisiana as well. I'm happy that he moved to Louisiana from California because now I can see him more often when I am down here! I wish his wife could have made the journey... I haven't seen her in ages. Maybe next year. And maybe next year Jeff and the boys will come down too. I can only hope.

Tomorrow is Monday... ugh. Only two weeks left and back to school I go. What a short winter break!

I hope you all had an wonderful Christmas! Stay warm!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:12:00.004-06:00

I am again in Alabama this year for Christmas. My parents winter in Orange Beach, so for the 2nd year in a row we are here for Christmas. At first I thought it would be weird celebrating Christmas in a place with no snow, but I think I will pick sand over snow any day!

Brandon and I are about to take a walk on the beach and then swim in the pool, but I thought I would blog just a little to wish all a Merry Christmas. I went for a 3-mile walk yesterday with my mom and we saw tons of Man-O-War's on the beach. Apparently they are so poisonous they can kill you with one touch of their tentacle. They are even weirder looking than jellyfish.

I'll blog and post more pics later. I hope you all have a safe, healthy, and very merry Christmas!

With love, Evelyn

What I learned at school today...

2008-10-09T15:59:00.002-05:00

About 23 years ago I was in Duluth for the weekend and was interviewed by the news... Rock Hudson had just announced that he had Aids and the Duluth news wanted to know what I thought about it. I remember saying that I really didn't know too much other than you can get it from having sex and you can die from it. I remember saying that maybe this would scare everyone into taking precautions and that condom sales would skyrocket.

Today my patient at clinicals was a 46 year old male who was HIV+ and was suffering from end-stage Aids. After I learned who my patient was yesterday afternoon, I had to give myself a crash course on HIV and Aids and everything that goes along with it. Not to mention I had to make drug cards for all the drugs he was taking (25+). I felt sorry for myself the whole time because I was tired from staying up late the night before studying for my test and I was exhausted.

I now feel guilty for complaining and completely thankful that I have my health.

This kind, grateful, and well-mannered man would probably love to spend 10 minutes in my exhausted shoes. The sad thing about Aids is that you just don't suffer from the virus; the virus affects all of your systems. So anything with your body from head to toe that could go wrong, probably will. And what isn't affected by the virus, will most likely be affected by one of the tons of drugs that Aids patients are on. Even though he felt absolutely miserable, was paralyzed on one side, was in intense pain, and was in the process of going through kidney failure, he always thanked me for whatever it was I did for him. I felt privileged and honored to be his student nurse today.

On a lighter note, I was very excited today because my patient needed the flu vaccine and they were going to let me do it (I've never done this... or even have learned how to do it)! But sadly, his arms were so wasted away that his primary nurse felt that he better do it instead. Part of me was bummed... part of me was relieved!

And, before I go, one vent: I've noticed that there are quite a few doctors/surgeons from India. Now, I have nothing against people from other countries, however, if your accent is so thick that people can't understand you, and you want to work here in America in the medical field where English (for now) is the primary language, wouldn't you want to take classes that teach you to speak without the accent? In fact, shouldn't they require it? People are sick in the hospital, barely able to focus on what is being said, and then they get a doc who comes in speaking fast, low, and with a thick accent -- how are they going to possibly understand one word? My patient is a little hard of hearing (HIV even affected his hearing), it states this all over his chart. This Doc from India (not his normal doc) was making his rounds and didn't even take the time to notice that my pt was hard of hearing. So he is talking softly, fast, and with a thick accent. COME ON! Not to mention he did no assessing of any kind and never left the foot of the bed. I was PISSED OFF! That is so ridiculous! And it was one of the coldest interactions I had ever witnessed.

That's all the news from the nursing student in the north for today! Take care of yourselves!

Hello, My name is Evelyn and I'll be your student nurse today.

2008-10-01T10:15:00.002-05:00

School is absolutely insane this semester. I thought there was a lot of work last year... well this year it has doubled at least. It makes me laugh when the profs assign hours and hours of reading and memorizing and work and then they hand out supplemental assignments for us to do in our spare time! Who the hell has any spare time!? I barely have time enough to shower let alone do extra readings.

But regardless of the work involved, I am loving it this year. We've started clinicals and I am really starting to feel like a nurse. I currently am at St Mary's on Thursdays from 6:30am - 2:30 on the Neurology/Trauma floor. I've had two very different patients so far. My first was an older man with a bit of dementia who had back surgery in August and the wound keeps opening back up.I actually was asked by the Neurology surgeon to assist him with a procedure. Awesome! My second patient was a younger man on a business trip here who had a traumatic brain injury from being mugged in Canal Park. I got to do all the prep work involved in discharging him. Also awesome!

The bad part about clinicals is that on Wednesdays after 2 I have to go to the hospital and preplan. Basically I am copying everything from the patient's chart that I can. It takes about 2-3 hours. Then I take that info home and have to look up all the diagnoses, lab tests, and medications and learn everything there is to know about them. All in all it takes about 8 hours. Seriously. The first preplan I did I was up until 2am working on it and then up at 5am to go to the hospital! There is a reason college is for young people. My old body just doesn't function well on less than 8 hours of sleep! They say it gets easier and less time consuming as time goes on, and true enough, last week I was only up until 11:30. Tonight I am shooting for 10pm.

I also got the most amazing news last week. The government (yes, our very own US Government) every 2-3 years offers a scholarship to the most needy nursing students in the country. They basically pay for 2 years of your tuition and other educational fees and give you a monthly stipend to cover housing, transportation, and books with the deal that you work for a medical facility for 2 years that has a nursing shortage (which is basically all of them). It's huge. This year there were about 3000 qualified applicants and only about 100 and something are picked. I was picked!!!!! I applied last spring and had been praying ever since... I cried for about 1/2 hour when I got the news. I thought my financial aid person was going cry too (only 1 other person at CSS has ever gotten this). I had been so worried about the mass amount of student loans and the fact that I don't have as much work years as the typical graduate does. Plus I have been putting off things like having my teeth and furnace cleaned because money just was too tight. All those worries flew right out the window and now I can just focus on school! And get my teeth cleaned!!!

I know some of you had been sending your own prayers for me for this scholarship, and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is truly a miracle for me.

Okay, I really have a paper that isn't going to write itself....

My little brush with fame

2008-08-04T20:27:00.014-05:00

I am a mediocre golfer at best. I have some really awesome shots once in awhile, but in between are thrown in some really awful shots. I've even been known to hit a goose waddling by a few feet in front of me. But I love to golf! And with my summers off, combined with a nice student discount, I am able to do it quite a bit at Lakeview National in Two Harbors.

Occasionally the golf course gets busy and there can sometimes be a group waiting for their turn at the tee box while we tee off. This makes me insanely nervous, and I nearly always end up with a ball in the woods, popped up 5 feet in front of me, or I miss the ball completely, hitting up a large clump of grass instead. One time, Jeff and I golfed 9 holes at a golf course in the cities and they paired us up with another twosome. While waiting for our tee time, I literally thought the anxiety would make me puke up my morning Latte. Luckily, it was a mom and her son, and they weren't too much better than me, so by the 3rd hole or so I relaxed a little.

Jeff and I have had a pretty tough summer, with only one free alone weekend. Sadly, that weekend involved painting my house, so really not countable. So as this past weekend approached, we decided a weekend away, just the two of us, was in order. Since we were planning our little getaway late in the game it was tough to find anything available. We settled on staying at Fortune Bay Resort and Casino on Lake Vermilion with a round of golf at The Wilderness (the #2 casino golf course in the nation, I might add). I was quite nervous about golfing at such a fancy place since I really struggled during my last round at Lakeview. But Jeff assured me that we would spend some time at the range beforehand working out my kinks.

On the drive up he informed me that the course would probably be quite busy and that we would probably be paired up with another twosome. A pit was instantly placed in my stomach and continued to churn there for the next few hours. I imagined two older executives playing with us... serious golfers... playing 3-4 times a week at only the best courses... club members somewhere... taking golf vacations all over; golfing while their wives shopped at expensive shops where I can't even afford to window shop. I imagined them being frustrated with me as I take 4 shots to their one. This was going to be bad...

As I struggled to work out the kinks on the range, I noticed that other than the beverage cart girls, I seemed to be the only female around. This of course just added to my nervousness. My swing looked terrible... Jeff continued to tell me to just relax. I did some deep breathing yoga moves... my swing improved slightly.

Our names were called and we headed to the first tee where we met our partners for the day. Tall athletic Mike, short nonathletic Mark. Friendly enough, with smiles to put me a little at ease. Jeff had on a very nice black polo with a Red Wings logo on the chest. Mark instantly pointed this out to Mike... "Look out Mike, we got a Red Wings fan!" Jeff explained his connection to all things Detroit, Mike tells us he was raised in the Hibbing area, and that they now both live in the cities, and so begins our day.

Jeff hit first... beautiful long high shot as usual. Mike and Mark hit... not as nice as Jeff's. I hit... not my worst but certainly not my best. After 10 shots and some really nice divots in the grass, I completed hole #1.

Hole #2 was a little better... after we tee off we all tended to go our separate ways so no one was really seeing how horrible I was golfing. I relaxed a little. Had a beautiful long putt. All were impressed. Whew, getting better.

Jeff then asks them what they do in the cities. Awkward glance between them and then the older nonathletic Mark says he is a recovering lawyer trying to get out of the business. Mike says nothing. How very peculiar that they don't want to disclose how they make their living. Mike certainly doesn't look old enough to be retired... maybe he's a golden boy born with a silver spoon?

On the drive to the next hole, Jeff tells me that he thinks Mike plays some sort of professional sport, maybe hockey, and Mark is an agent or something. What?! I cannot possibly golf thinking I'm playing with a professional athlete! I am the most nonathletic girl alive... how can I possibly play with a professional athlete!

So as Jeff goes off to hit, I sit in the cart sweating; worried about the next hole which is a short shot, but over water. I have a history of hitting really terrible when water is involved. Meanwhile, Mike, the possible professional athlete, approaches me and says how jealous he is of Jeff and I. (What?!) He tells me that he thinks golf is an awesome sport to share as a couple and he tried to golf once with his girl and she ended up throwing her clubs at him. We talked and laughed a bit more about this and I realized that whatever this man's background, he is a normal guy and a really nice one to boot. I went up and hit a beautiful shot right over the water just left of the green.

For the next several holes I tried to piece together who Mike was. I was also golfing better... impressing all with my nice putts especially. I noticed that Mark at one time called him Palu. Hmmm... Brandon knows everyone in sports... I texted him and he replied that he didn't know any Palu. Palu must be short for something... Jeff suggested Paluso, thinking that it sounded familiar. Brandon replied that Peluso was a hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks.

OMG, I'm golfing with a professional hockey player! I'm super excited about this news, along with feeling like I could puke, but of course cannot say anything to him. I was rather impressed that he kept who he was hidden... did he not want the fuss? Was it a humble act? Or did he not want a confrontation with Jeff the Red Wing fan? Regardless, I liked it. And the four of us really had a nice time golfing... shared quite a few laughs... lots of encouragement all around. Twice he approached me and said what a nice time he had golfing with us and thanked me.

I did a little research on Mike Peluso today and found out his Dad worked in the mines and he played hockey in the range area as a kid. I am 3 months older than him. He was drafted in the 10th round by the New Jersey Devils out of high school, but wanted a college education first so went and played at Univ of Alaska -- Anchorage.

This is a 1984 photo of Mike... I'm guessing it's his HS grad photo... what an awesome mullet!

He started his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1989. After the Blackhawks, he played for the Devils, the St Louis Blues, and the Calgary Flames. When he joined the Hawks, he was told to fight if he wanted to stay. His first fight came in his first NHL game which happened to be against the Minnesota North Stars. He fought Basil McCrae. There's a pretty good chance that I was at that game, since during those years the North Stars were a big part of my life. Apparently, he became somewhat of a cult hero in New Jersey, where the fans liked his gritty, hard-nosed style. According to Wikpedia, Peluso played with emotion, known to be a dominating figure in person and on the ice. He was on the famed "Crash Line" with Randy McKay and Bobby Holik, a fourth-line combination that provided energy and timely goal-scoring during the Devils' 1995 Stanley Cup run.

Mike and his Devils competed with the Detroit Red Wings for the 95 Stanley Cup run... thus the comment about Jeff's Red Wing shirt! And actually, according to Wikpedia, "he is most remembered for how he displayed his emotions on the bench in the closing minutes of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings on June 24, 1995." According to another blog, he cried when they won. But as the blogger stated, "You try calling him a wuss, and let me know how that goes."

I wish there could have been a way for me to let him know that I knew who he was. I would have loved to have talked to him about his hockey playing days! I'm sure Jeff felt so even more, since his dream as a kid was to play professional hockey some day. I needed my friend Jacquie -- she is so much better at communicating with famous people than I am! Back in the years when I followed sports much more than I do now, I was a big fan of Donny Beaupre, goal tender for the North Stars, and Kent Hrbek. They actually played in a golf tournament across the street from my house one summer day. I talked casually with both of them through the fence, (Donny loved my dog Polar) but never had the nerve to ask for a photo, or an autograph or anything.

Well, maybe I'll run into him on another golf course some day and have another opportunity to talk to him. Hopefully I'll be playing better by then!

By the way, at the end of the course, even though I was golfing a difficult course I'd never golfed before, and with extra celebrity pressure, my score was equal to my average score at Lakeview. Good for me!

Confirmation Day!

2008-07-17T12:35:00.008-05:00

Brandon was confirmed in June and I am just now posting the photos that I took... yes, I am behind on things. I am still waiting to hear from the professional photographer (aka the handsome Jeff Blade) I hired for the day whether his photos turned out (he had camera troubles). I am so proud of Brandon that he stuck with the classes for 3 years with minimal whining. And I am so thankful for my parents and Jeff who helped immensly with party preparations. And I am so blessed to have such wonderful church friends who are so supportive and caring towards Brandon and I.

The worst few days of my summer vacation

2008-07-15T09:53:00.008-05:00

Most parents agree that we would much rather be sick ourselves than have a sick child. Brandon (Thank God) usually doesn't get sick very often, but he's been making it up this year. He's had strep twice, and a couple of colds this past winter but that still doesn't hold a candle to how sick he has been these past few days.

It started on Friday with a bad headache and a slight fever. Sat am he puked, headache was worse, no appetite, and his fever was up to 101.

Sunday am he puked twice, headache was terrible, no appetite, he had spots on his limbs, face and neck, and his fever was up to 102.7. He was suppose to go to a Christian camp this week, so I called our pastor and told him that Brandon was very sick, we were going to the ER, and he wouldn't be at camp. I expected a compassionate answer (I don't know why, I've never gotten one in the past) like, "Oh! I hope Brandon will be okay!" or "I hope Brandon feels better soon." or "I hope it's nothing serious; I'll be sure to pray for him." But no, I heard nothing but "okay, I'll hold your registration until next week." Frustrates the crap out of me... if it wasn't for the members of the congregation whom I love dearly, I would be so out of there! Anyway, that's a topic for another blog.

We took him to the ER in TH where thankfully we got in right away. They ran blood tests and took a throat culture. No strep, and his blood was okay except his white blood cell count was high. They ruled out meningitis, strep, hoof and mouth disease, rocky mountain fever, allergies, and lyme disease. Oh, and syphillis. We left with no answers (viral syndrome is what is written on the sheet), and the orders to withold food and give tylenol (which is what we were already doing). The standard line of "If he doesn't improve, take him to see his regular dr." Ugh.

So Monday, he puked twice, his fever was down (prob due to the tylenol), spots still there, lightheaded, weak, and headache was at a pain level of 8. Tylenol wasn't helping. His normal doc was out (of course) so we got the one doc I don't like... Dr. Peterson. He has the bedside manner of a dead fish and always seems insanely nervous. But at least he ausculated and palpated B's abdomen, which ER doc never did (too busy looking at the spots, I guess). B was tender in the lower right quadrant, so doc thought it may be his appendix, even tho the other symptoms didn't match up. So off we went to have a CT scan.

They made him drink horrible stuff and on a stomach that was already upset, you can guess what happened. And the stuff he had to drink was red... Then, because he was a bit dehydrated, they couldn't find a good place to put in an IV. The third time was the charm, finally. Then the CT scanning machine wouldn't work -- they had to reboot it twice. Meanwhile, my child is laying flat on his back, bright lights in his face, writhing in pain because his head was hurting so bad. Finally, they got it to work. Then came the awful wait for the results. The last time I waited for CT scan results was 6 years ago and the answer was a death sentence, so you can imagine what was going on in my head no matter how hard I tried to think positive.

An hour and a half later the dr informed us that all looked ok. Which was a huge relieve, but still no answer on what was wrong!

So, guess what? Because this doc didn't know what it was either, he chalked it up as a viral syndrome too. I did convince him to at least give him something stronger for his pain, so we walked out 5 1/2 hours later with a prescription for Lortab.

He puked when we got home and puked two more times before bed, but finally his headache was down to a 3.

He didn't sleep last night, but didn't puke this am -- Thank God! No fever, and the spots are fading. But still no appetite... not even for gatorade anymore. So maybe, we made a turn for the better, but I'd feel better if he would eat something and drink more.

I wish it were me instead.

Dinner and a blog

2008-07-02T21:58:00.002-05:00

I'm having a late dinner tonight... a nummy dinner of pasta, tomatoes, basil, and garlic, sauted in olive oil and sprinkled with just a bit of parmigiano... mmmmm...

It was so nice out when I got home from my fab lunch with my fab lunch pals that I spent hours out there doing yard things. Brandon has been cutting the grass the last few years and I realized today how much I missed this task! Ipod on, I drive around on the tractor singing, out of tune, I'm sure, at the top of my lungs. What a simple pleasure! Then I did the trimming with the push mower and the weed wacker (wow, I have a big yard!), weeded my veggie garden and watered everything. While I was standing at the veggie garden watering, I looked down the yard towards the gazebo, and was amazed at how park-like it all looked. Especially with the lush forest behind it. There is nothing better smelling or looking than a freshly mowed lawn. Another simple pleasure!

Today's lunch outing was at the Ledgerock Grill in Larsmont. Beautiful place... very Norway-like... but our waitress was rude and had very bad hair, and the food was good but not exceptionally good. The company was exceptional, however, as always! We always manage to laugh hysterically at something or other... usually Judy and her infamous dots in her calendar! Poor, poor Les...

I have my German class tomorrow in St. Paul. And now, in German: Ich habe morgen meine Deutsch Klasse in St. Paul. While I enjoy my class, and seeing Jeff, I am tired of being in the cities. The good news is that Jeff and I will actually be sharing alone time this weekend! Due to our ex's schedules (an on-going issue, really), and family obligations, we have not been alone since May! I'd much rather spend it up here, but his parents will be out of town so we need to dog sit. That's okay, I'm sure we'll still have fun!

On Sunday, he needs to drive back up here to pick up the boys from their moms (after driving all the way up on Thursday to drop them off -- another on-going issue). He wants me to stay down there until Tuesday... but he'll be gone for 6 hours.driving there and back (she refuses to drive 1/2 way)... or I'll be riding back and forth with him... but I really need to get back home to do stuff... but I'd really like hanging with him and the boys... can you tell that I am torn on what to do? I just really need to have him get a job up here... I pray daily.

My toothbrushes came today! They are AWESOME! They are completely made out of recycled materials, including the little box holding the toothbrush (which also can be used as a travel container) and the note. And everything can be sent back to them postage paid to be made into lumber when my new one comes in 3 months! Awesome!

I also called around trying to find a place that takes plastic bags... not just shopping bags, but the packaging bags you get when you buy stuff that have the recycling number on it. I found out Cub Foods has a bin to collect them. Whew, I feel better now.

Now, just what to do about styrafoam....

zu heiss!

2008-07-01T16:05:00.002-05:00

I came home yesterday from the cities, leaving all my loved ones behind, with the good intention of getting some things done both outside and inside around my homestead. My plants looked very sad and thirsty, so it is a good thing I did come home when I did. But it is so blasted hot and humid today that I have no energy to do anything! I am actually envying those of you who have to work during the summer, but only those of you who actually work in the cool fresh air of air conditioning.

I did manage to get 3 loads of laundry done... 2 of which are hanging outside on the line waiting to come in and be put away. I also did Wii Fit for 50 minutes (gotta love the boxing!). And I made the procastinated phone call to my insurance agent regarding my chimney claim (I, like my good friend Jac, for some reason hate the phone). And I've actually put away 2 laundry baskets full of stuff that was in my room. So it hasn't been completely unproductive... I just hate that walking from one end of the house to the other makes me sweat.

And I am soooo not looking forward to putting in my volunteering hours at the library tonight. I think they have AC, but it either doesn't work well, or they have it set at too high a temp, because even in May I was sweating. I can only imagine how I will sweat tonight!

On a side note, can you believe it is July 1 already?! I'm going to be heading back to school before I know it!! Ugh! I haven't even opened my camper since hauling it home from storage, let alone camped in it. Geez!

By the way, I'm planning on selling it... it's a really nice camper with AC (hey, wait a minute!) and has barely been used. Know anyone? Let them know!

Trying to do my part

2008-06-26T10:07:00.008-05:00

Those who know me, know that I try desperately to be earth conscious. I recycle everything, even though it involves frequent tedious trips to the recycling center in town since there is no curb side pickup where I live. I try to reuse as much as I can. I use my own totes when shopping at grocery and retail stores (no one should be using plastic bags at stores anymore! In California, they have been banned alltogether). I look for local products when shopping. I have my own compost pile. And on and on... sometimes (as my family will attest) I'm an annoying recycler.

My latest focus has been on plastic products. Plastic is made from oil and natural gas—making up roughly 9% of the world’s petroleum usage. I don't think I need to tell you how we need to stop relying so heavily on oil! But everything seems to be made of plastic! It's unavoidable, but the first step is to at least recycle the plastic we are using.

Let's first talk about plastic bottles. Americans buy 28 MILLION plastic water bottles a year. 8 out of 10 of these bottles end up in a landfill instead of being recycled. Making these plastic bottles accounts for 4% of America's energy consumption. In 2006, it took more than 17 MILLION barrels of oil (not including the oil used in transporting the plastic) to produce plastic bottles. It also takes more than three liters of water to create one liter of bottled water. Think of the energy needed to make the bottles, fill them with water, transport them to the store, keep them cool and dispose of them. It is estimated that the total amount of energy used to bottle water is equivalent of filling a bottle a quarter full of oil. It has been stated that the amount of oil used to produce plastic water bottles in America is enough to fuel about 100,000 cars for a year.

And then there is the plastic bags, which an even bigger peeve of mine. About 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are used each year and only 5% were recycled in 2005 (I know my recycling center doesn't take them). Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal clean-ups according to the Center for Marine Conservation. I read once that there is a mass of them floating in the ocean that is the size of Texas... this is what lead them to ban them in California. Plastic bags do not biodegrade, they photodegrade, which means they slowly break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that can contaminate soil and waterways.
Plastic litter can take up to 1,000 years to decompose.

Then there are the other plastic products such as PVC, plastic packaging, plastic casing found in tvs, radios, computers, etc), and styrofoam. Some areas have banned restaurants from using styrofoam in take out containers. California claims that styrofoam is responsible for 15% of the litter collected from storm drains.

I am always trying to find ways to recycle and use products made from recycled products, but sadly, they often tend to be spendy. Well, this morning I was happy to find a place that makes toothbrushes and razors from recycled plastic at a reasonable price! The company is called Recycline, they have 14 earth-conscious employees, and they are located in Boston. For $11 they will send you a toothbrush every 3 months for a year. The toothbrushes are made from 100% recycled plastic (mostly yogurt cups) and when you are done with yours you send it back to them in a provided postage-paid envelope to be recycled into plastic lumber! How awesome is that? If you live in the cities, their products are also carried by Trader Joes in Woodbury. Target will also start carrying their products soon.

I encourage you to check them out at http://www.recycline.com/index.html. Please think twice before you bag your groceries in a plastic bag or throw that plastic bottle in the trash.

Allright, I will step off of my soap box now. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Much of my facts were taken from another of my favorite sites Earth 911.

Quality

2008-06-03T10:46:00.008-05:00

Last night I watched The Grapes of Wrath. The book was written in 1939 by John Steinbeck and the film was directed by John Ford in 1940 and starred Henry Fonda. I understand that the ending of the book is quite different than the movie, so now it is on my list of books to be read. The movie is about a poor family of tenant farmers that are driven from their home due to the dust bowl and poverty. They head to California, which they think of as the "promised land" along with thousands of others in search of land or jobs.

I believe this movie won 2 Oscars... it's a long film but well worth watching! After seeing the Route 66 display at the Smithsonian a few years ago, I have always been fascinated with its history, so I especially liked the many references to it in the film. The story is so touching and such a part of our American history that everyone should either see the film or read the book. I also found it interesting that "Red River Valley" is also performed in the movie by Henry Fonda.

Here's the trailer for the film: http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/screenplay/vi1686962457/

Procrastination will eventually bite you in the butt

2008-05-23T08:45:00.003-05:00

I don't have a lot of time to spare, but thought I'd write a little as I finish my coffee this morning.

Brandon's confirmation open house is a week from tomorrow. I literally have a list of 50 things to get done before then. Thank God I'm not working right now! I got quite a few things done yesterday: took down the winter hallway curtain, washed and hung on line to dry; I made a decision on a color for the family room and went to town to buy it; took down the awful valance and vertical blinds and brackets from my patio door (good riddance!); I purchased my hanging baskets and got them where they go; purchased my marigolds for walkway; worked on painting the bar stools.

Today I am going to finish painting the bar stools, clean off the porch, and start on the family room. I am most excited about the family room as I have HATED it since I moved in 7 years ago. It is a dirty rose color with teal green carpeting -- puke! There is no time or money to replace the carpeting right now, but I think painting it will make a huge difference.

Why do we wait for a big celebration to fix up our houses? I remember as a kid my parents and my friends parents all scrambling to get their houses fixed up for confirmation and graduation parties. We should do this stuff for us instead of doing it for other people since we are the ones you spend so much time here! I think we all have good intentions to do stuff but time just slips away and the next thing you know 7 years have passed and you still haven't gotten it done. Well, that's what happened to me anyway, and now I'm scrambling.

This weekend Brandon is going to his Dad's (I'm waiting for the inevitable "gas is too expensive" excuse from his Dad) and Jeff is coming up. Jeff and I will be painting the outside of my house this weekend, so I am praying for good weather. He has already replaced several boards and the paint is already purchased, so we are pretty well set to go. I really wanted to have the front deck replaced before the party, but that is definetly not happening! I'm hoping we can also have a little fun and go see the Indiana Jones movie too.

BTW, summer has officially started because Judy is back and we have had our first summer girlie lunch! Woohoo!

Garbage

2008-05-14T21:22:00.006-05:00

I have taken on the project of cleaning out the area behind my back yard so that the hay rake thing that is back there will be visible (it's really cool!). So today I took my saw and giant pruners and a big black trash bag and went to work. I pulled out a couple of dead trees, trimmed some branches, and cut down some pesky alder (?) bushes. I noticed a big pile of what I think is bear poo just behind my propane tank. It's either that or moose poo. Fascinating.

I have lived here 7 years. Every spring I take big garbage bags and walk around on my property beyond the yard and pick up garbage. I wish I would have kept count on the bags I have filled. If I had to guess, I would say it's been at least 35 bags worth. Not too mention, my first summer I hired a couple of guys with a pickup to load up their truck with garbage too big for me to handle on my own. They did 3 or 4 loads... I'm talking overflowing kind of loads. They pulled out water heaters, and stoves, and hunks of metal, and tires, and weird rusty pieces of farm equipment. I bought this house in the winter so the stuff was hidden and the woods looked very pristine.

Even though I have "cleaned" this spot at least 3-4 times prior, I still found a full garbage bag full. I keep thinking that one day I will find a treasure, but 90% of what I find is green bottles with a twist top. Were the people who lived here cheap wine drinkers? Or did they make moonshine? Whatever it was, they sure loved it.

The history of my 10 acres is this: a railroad spur came here in the 1800's and this area was logged. I have found several railroad ties, a couple of spikes, and an actual rail in my woods. Cool! A family then owned my 10 acres as well as probably 30+ acres in addition. I think this would be in the 30's. They had a beef farm here which explains why sometimes when I dig in my garden I smell manure. It also explains the thousands of feet of barb wire I find everywhere in my woods. Nice. They had two boys and a girl. The girl had a weird disease and died shortly after she graduated from high school. One boy lives in Two Harbors. The other tried to sell his 10 acres next to mine but couldn't because he owed 20 years of back child support. He finally sold it to a very nice guy from Knife River who uses it to camp with his sons. My rustic outbuilding (and most of the garbage) is all that is left from this family.

A photographer from the cities bought the land next. He spent his time in my rustic outbuilding and took pictures. I find it amazing that anyone slept in there. I'd feel better sleeping outside.

The land was then sold to a husband from Two Harbors and his wife from Utah and their kids. They lived in a trailer on the land (and I heard later that they ran their septic into the drainage ditch! Ewww!) until they built the house that I now live in. He told me at least 4 times during our two meetings that she was a former Miss Utah. I found it very hard to believe, but maybe they have a different set of standards out their in Utah... I don't know. Either that, or the Mn winters were extremely hard on her. Or, maybe all those cigarette butts I cleaned up were hers... and the green bottles! That would really explain a lot!

This family also contributed to the garbage... mostly beer cans that the husband threw into the woods as he cut the grass with the lawn tractor. But also, according to the local trash hauler, they were behind 16 months for their trash bill. He also mentioned that they hadn't had trash service in at least 6 months. Hmmmm... I wonder what they did with their trash?

Anyway, I find it so hard to believe that 2 or maybe 3 of these families looked at this land and instead of seeing the beautiful trees and wildflowers and wildlife, they saw a place to throw 100 years worth of garbage. I feel like the Native American in the commercials from the '70s where he stands looking over the garbage and a single tear runs down his cheek.

I hear that most old homesteads around here are like this... mine isn't the exception... it's what the "old Finlanders" did.

So what "treasures" did I find today? An old perfume bottle and a old bottle of Pond's face cream (not just the men who threw the garbage). At least 10 green bottles and 2 clear liquor bottles. A pie tin. Dozens of rusty cans. At least 5 beer cans. One of the pieces to a kid's toy. A never ending piece of plastic. Rusty wire. A plastic bowl. Blue glass. Some unidentifiable hunks of metal. A skippy peanut butter jar lid, and two mayonnaise jar lids. That's what I remember anyway.

Summer... or is it winter?

2008-05-13T11:02:00.008-05:00

My god, is it ever going to warm up? I am so anxious to get outside and do stuff in my yard, but it is just way too cold and gloomy! I waited all winter for this?

My sophomore year (again) is done. My nursing classes were frustrating, but went well (got an A so I really don't have to much to complain about, do I?). I had a brief taste of clinicals at Benedictine Health Center on the sub-acute floor. My first patient only had 2 minutes of exposure to me and then he got the news that he had an untreatable obstructed bowel and was going to die. Great start to my career.

My other classes went well as well. I got an A- in Nutrition (I was robbed!) and an A in Financial Management. Just waiting to hear about my German grade...

So far my summer vacation has been spent getting the house ready for Brandon's big Confirmation shindig. Jeff has been helping me prep the house to be painted... replacing boards and stuff. I also want to get my fireplace replaced before then and at least get the family room painted. I'd like to get new flooring put in there as well, but I just don't know if there will be enough time.

I did manage to get my front flower gardens cleaned out during the couple of warm days we did get last week. The few daffodils and muscari that the deer didn't eat are blooming nicely.

I checked the schedule for The New Adventures of Old Christine and it doesn't look like she is going to be on at all during May! Figures, now that I have all the time in the world to watch it!

Just finished watching Walk The Line. LOVED it. Joaquin Phoenix was very convincing as Johnny Cash. And I was impressed with his and Reese Witherspoon's singing. I know I'm behind in seeing it since it was released in 2005... I'm behind in a lot of things! If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do. I found some great photos of June and Johnny if you are interested: http://www.junecartercash.com/index.html.

As a lot of you know, I am fascinated with old and often abandoned buildings as well as old things. My house is filled with old things that have been in my family, or things I have collected over the years. My newest fav is a trunk I picked up at my fav antique store in Two Harbors. I've been asked a few times why I love old things so much, and I sometimes find it hard to explain. Well, I ran across an excerpt from a book entitled No Smooshing, by Gary E. Anderson, that I thought sums up why I feel the way I do about old things pretty well. Check it out if you have a spare minute or two: http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/2674/family/the_sadness_of_old_buildings.html

Well, that's all the news for now! I apologize if I seem like I have been ignoring any of you the last several months... please know that it nothing personal; school just tends to occupy all of my time. This is why God gives students their summers off! If you want to get together with me over the summer, give me a holler!

TGISB!

2008-03-03T10:16:00.003-06:00

Day 1 of Spring Break...

While most college students are most likely lounging on sunny beaches with Margaritas in their hands, I am soaking up the quietness of my house and reveling in the fact that I can have a leisurely healthy breakfast sitting at my kitchen table rather than a granola bar eaten in the car on the way to school. Plus I slept until 9:15 this am!! I must have been exhausted!

I have a jam packed week planned:

Monday: Clean house and do laundry. Watch Christine at night. This is my most fav show ever! Mondays @ 8:30 on CBS.

Tuesday: More of the same in the morning, Duluth by 11 for appt, friends for dinner and vitals (homework for my nursing class)

Wednesday: Redoing my home equity line so an appraiser is coming, as well as the chimney cleaner and a dishwasher repairman. Wow, who needs a beach and a margarita when you can have this much fun right here at home? Oh, and then I'll go to the potluck at church and attend lenten service. Sadly I haven't been there since they've been in the new bldg. I actually have attended more church in the cities or in Alabama since September, than I've attended my own.

Thursday: morning at the nursing home doing vitals and then a much needed lunch and outing with Janie!

Friday: Breakfast at Amazing Grace with fellow nursing students to study for upcoming test. Guess this means my spring break is over.

That's all for now!

What the hell am I doing?

2008-01-24T13:11:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but I really need to vent today and since I'm at school with no familar faces who might possibly be able to relate to my situation, I thought blogging might do the trick.

I started my nursing lab today... from 8 to noon every Thursday I will be learning all the essential skills necessary for me to pass my boards and become a competent nurse. I have to tell you that it scared me shitless. There is so much information and so much homework... not to mention finding time to make it to open lab to practice before testing out in front of a TA. Today our tasks were proper handwashing (got it), temp taking (got it), respiratory rate (never got to try), and practicing using our new stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs. I couldn't even find a pulse on my partners skinny little arm! Then we went in to the simulation lab (think Monsters Inc.) and I couldn't even find a pulse on the simulation dummy! I could feel my heart start pounding out of my chest and knew I was freaking out. How the hell am I going to get through this? And why the hell am I putting myself through this?! I could be working in a normal cubicle environment collecting my extra widow money from our govt and coming home at night to sit on the couch and hang out with Brandon. Instead I race to school, study every spare moment between classes, race to Kickboxing, race home and throw dinner together with whatever happens to be around (last night we had hamburger, onions, tomato paste, diced tomatoes and tomato sauce over Kraft Easy Mac and Cheese -- pretty inventive, huh?). I talk to Brandon while we eat, and then off to my bedroom to study some more. When I'm not studying and actually doing something enjoyable like hanging with family/friends, I am feeling guilty for not studying or getting my house clean. I am so far behind in stuff... I have a sympathy card to send -- the person died on Christmas Eve! ... I still have a handful of Christmas cards to send out... I need to send a thank you card to the nurse I shadowed over break in the first week of January... anyway, you get the idea.

And the junior and senior nursing students and profs keep telling us that it is just going to get harder...

If I get through this in one piece it is going to be a miracle...

Back @ it

2007-09-06T11:01:00.000-05:00

Here I am at Bixby's, where I live during the school year. I thought while I ate my coconut curry soup and spinach bagel with cucumber slices I would type up a quick little blog.

It's my 3rd day back to school and already I am feeling out of place, lonely, and overwhelmed. I find I have to continually remind myself that this is a good idea and in the long run I will be very happy. I am happy with my schedule and classes this semester. I have Pathophysiology, German, Financial Accounting, and Quantitative Management. The only one I am unsure about is Patho... there is no textbook, no assignments, 5 tests, and a very brief and sketchy outline. I like structure and so far this class doesn't seem to have any. How will I study? I may take advantage of the tutor through the Mentur Project for this one.

My German class only has 4 students! At first I thought this was going to be awful... no way to hide in the back of the room... but it is turning out to be kinda fun. 2 of the 3 other students I know from last years German class, so that helps.

Brandon is really liking school so far this year. Has talked non stop every night. Well, except last night because they really worked him at football practice and he was too exhausted to say much. They practice for 2 hours every night except Fridays.

Speaking of football... anyone watch the Gopher game last Saturday? I am almost embarrassed to say that I have season tickets! Well, at least it isn't Michigan. ;-D

Brandon and I will be going to the game on Saturday morning... I'm hoping I can make it back in time for Perry and Dasia's wedding celebration! The game is at 11am, so I should be back on the road by 2:30...

My veggie garden is doing really well this year. I have cherry toms that barely fit in your mouth! And the sunflowers are blooming now. My perenniel garden is looking a little worse for wear though... and my marigolds leading to the front door look terrible! The grasshoppers really munched them all to hell this summer. I should just pull them out.

I've attached some photos from our trip for your viewing pleasure.

This first one is of this awesome gas sign at this little gas station on a lonely stretch of highway between our ranch and Yellowstone. It actually had the cheapest gas around!

This is my favorite photo that I took of Jeff, Ricky and Robbie at one of our picnics at Yellowstone. We had sandwiches at a picnic area in Hayden Valley. The buffalo were so close that we could hear them grunting while we ate our lunches!

This is Cowboy Brandon and his horse Alamo. Notice how they are looking at each other like they both are annoyed with me and my camera!

And this is Jeff standing in front of Old Faithful at Yellowstone. It was at the tail end of its performance so it doesn't look like much at this point. But it's not really what I look at when I look at this photo anyway...

;-0

Summer is ending and I am sad

2007-08-30T11:35:00.001-05:00

This is it folks, the end of summer as we know it. I always start my summer with such big intentions… paint the house inside and out, build a garden gate, hike in a new place once a week, lose a thousand pounds, blog regularly… and somehow none of it happens. What happens with time that it always goes so fast during the awesome days of summer? Why do cold snowy winter days go so slowly? Does anyone have the answer??

Our school supplies are purchased and waiting to be organized into our backpacks. I love new school supplies… new notebooks with fresh pages inside waiting patiently to be written on, new pens and pencils and post-it notes. Its fun that I get to share this with Brandon, although I don't think he gets such a big kick out of it like I do. This year I decided to abandon Frank, my trusty Franklin Planner that I have religiously used for the last 10 years, and find a less bulky way to track my life. It was a tough decision… Frank and I have been through so much over the years! He has kept me organized and sane and I feel a little guilty dumping him only because he is taking up too much room in my backpack. Ah, change and progress; they go hand in hand. So, I have taken up a new relationship with Outlook 2007 and OneNote. I've been playing with it for a couple of days now and I think it will work out okay. It means bringing my laptop to school every day, buy hey, that's why I bought it last year, right? I get an awesome deal through St. Scholastica on software, so I bought the whole 2007 Microsoft package saving hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Wow, is it different! Word even has a blog post deal that I am trying out right now. If you haven't seen the 2007 Microsoft package, it looks nothing like what we are used to. They have completely overhauled it.

I just got back from vacation with Brandon, Jeff, and his boys, Ricky and Robbie. We took to the road and headed west with the end goal of Yellowstone. The 20 hours in the car there and back were tense at times, but all in all it was worth it! We shared a lot of laughs and many adventures. For most of the trip we stayed at the D and R Ranch between Cody and Yellowstone. It was an awesome place right in the Rocky Mountains with an old historic lodge and a corral filled with friendly horses. As we hiked our way up the hill to the lodge each morning, the ranch dogs ran out to greet us, the sound of old cowboy music filled our ears, and the smell of a hearty breakfast wafted into our noses. The lodge is where we had breakfast "family style" every morning with the other ranch guests.

I will write more once I have the photos organized (waiting for Jeff to upload his!), but here is a rundown of our adventures:

Go-kart races in Sioux Falls, SD,
The Mitchell Corn Palace,
Horseback riding into the mountains with a cookout lunch,
Two and a ½ days at Yellowstone including picnic lunches, hikes, photo ops, and plenty of wildlife,
Whitewater rafting down the Shoshone river,
Cookout BBQ dinner in the Lodge,
Cody Rodeo,
Hours of Monopoly,
Football games in the field in front of our cabin,
Mount Rushmore, and
Whittling on the front porch.

We had a wonderful time and it was really difficult to say goodbye as I dropped them off in Plymouth. Thoughts of our next journey are already swirling in my head!

Can't believe it...

2007-08-16T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's August 16th, I haven't blogged since June, and summer is almost over! I promised I would blog weekly this summer! So sorry! I had lots of things I planned on doing this summer that didn't happen. Frustrating.

I've had an awesome summer, even with summer school going on. Tonight's the last night for my marketing class thank God. We're having a potluck so I imagine it would be a terribly difficult class. I'm registered and books have been ordered for fall semester. My school supplies have been purchased as well... I'm ready to go.

I tried paint ball this summer and absolutely loved it! Jeff brought his boys up and along with Brandon we all played in the woods behind my house. It was awesome. I only got hit once and it was in the hand. It stung a little but really wasn't all that bad. Here's a couple of photos.

We look pretty tough, don't we?

We've also played a lot of Guitar Hero this summer, including a little tournament. Brandon took 1st Place and Ricky took 2nd place.

I've also spent a lot of hours in the garden this summer. Next blog will be after our Wild West adventure in Yellowstone!

What peace...

2007-06-21T20:38:00.000-05:00

Brandon went to his Dad's this afternoon, and I have the house to myself. A rare occurrence lately. A missed, rare occurrence. I am sitting in my gazebo with my laptop in front of me and the only sounds are from the birds singing in the woods, the wind in the branches, and the downy woodpecker on my deck trying to crack open a stubborn seed. No tv, no traffic and, thankfully, no neighbor noise. People pay a lot of money for peace like this. And I have it right here in my backyard. I am truly blessed.

On a sad note, the other day Brandon and I were driving home from his baseball game in Gary/New Duluth and as we got onto Hwy 35 heading north, out of the corner of my eye I saw a little brown something come onto the road. Tragically, there was a lot of traffic, and the van in front of me slammed on his brakes and swerved over to the shoulder. There directly in front of me was a tiny little newborn fawn, struggling to get up. I slammed on my brakes, and the truck behind me just missed rear-ending me. All that was left to do was watch as this poor little creature with his apparent broken back legs try to pull himself off of the road. If Brandon hadn't have been in the car with me, I would have been sobbing. I immediately called 911 to tell them of the suffering animal on the side of the road and after being transferred 4 times the lady said she would dispatch someone out. I know these things happen, but why in hell did it have to happen in front of me? Not only is this video in my head replaying every so often, but I am also beating myself up wondering if I should have gotten out of the car and tried to help the little guy.

I'm thinking of having a casual, little cocktail party sometime this summer... anyone interested?

What an awesome day!

2007-05-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

First off, the sun was shining! Wow, what a beautiful day!

The Sears guy came out today and tuned-up my tractor so it is ready to go. Also gave my washer and dryer a clean bill of health. If any of you have front-loader washing machines, be sure to use the HE detergent. He told me that he does tons of repairs on bearings because people are using regular detergents in their front-loaders.

I skipped cleaning and crap today and went for a 5.2 mile hike at Gooseberry instead. I decided that when I am old and sitting in a nursing home, am I going to be recalling the fond memories I have of cleaning? Hell no! So, I went hiking instead and oh how glorious it was! I headed up the river and then took a trail away from the river. I packed a lunch and everything... how come a plain ole sandwich tastes so good on a hike?

Afterwards I decided to hang out in town until B finished Baseball practice. Drove thru my favorite coffee shop and got my favorite latte which was free because my little card was full... awesome! My fav coffee guy was working and we shared mosquito stories... only in Mn. I went to Burlington Bay and looked over the lake, drank my coffee, read my book, and said a little prayer thanking God that I live in such a beautiful place.

When I got home I drove my tractor around... it was so much fun that I didn't even mind all the happy little gnats flying around my head.

And then I checked my grades for the 1400th time since I handed in my last paper... and, well, you can see below. I don't mind tooting my own horn because I had to work so damn hard... so TOOT! TOOT!

Hatha Yoga: A-
Biochemistry and Cell Biology: B+
Introduction to Literature: A
Beginning German III-IV: A
World History II: A-
Leadership Hlth Care Systems: A

Current Term: 18.000 Credits 3.76 GPA
Cumulative: 32.000 Credits 3.74 GPA

TOOT! TOOT!

Wow, do I feel good!

2007-05-16T20:40:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine referred me to a Chiropractor in TH who is also a nutritionist (Dr. Stout on 7th Ave next to Al's Bait). After hearing Jacquie continually rave about her Dr. Dan in the cities, and Rose rave about Dr. Stout, I decided to make an appt. I went to see her today. She spent a lot of time discussing the neck and shoulder pain I've been having, and then also spent quite a bit of time talking about some other issues I've been experiencing and nutritional changes I can make in my diet to alleviate them. She then did a bunch of little "tests" on my shoulders, neck and arms and found that my neck was out of line, which would cause my headaches and the weird shoulder ache I've been having lately. She then put some heat on it for awhile and then did an adjustment. The noise my bones made scared the crap out of me, but OMG did I feel amazing afterwards! My head felt so free... like it was floating on top of my body!

My only hope now is that my insurance will cover some of this, because now that I know how good I can feel, it's gonna be hard to give up.

Brandon had catechism tonight and I went to the library as usual, except this time I just sat and read mindless magazines the whole time instead of studying. Wow, did that feel wonderful!

Here's a couple of more Norway photos...
This is an actual Viking ship that was found buried on a farm in Norway. Many times Vikings would bury someone of importance on a ship... they would be on the ship, and then the whole ship would be buried. There are three of these ships in this museum near Oslo.

Really, really cool.

If you are ever in Oslo, this is a must see museum.

Tomorrow the sun is suppose to shine (it's been raining and in the 40s for 2 days straight) so I hope to clean up my gardens a bit. A little to chilly to lay out... only gonna be a high of 58.

Yesterday I had my coffee with Jenn. Why do I always feel better about everything after chatting with her? Probably because she gets me and we think the same way about stuff. She looked great! Divorce definitely agrees with her! We're gonna have lunch next week.

We also ran into Dave and Edna at Super One the other day. Made me miss my friends and I vowed that this summer I will reconnect.

Enough chit chat... will write again soon!

let the errands and to do list begin

2007-05-15T09:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. I am on summer vacation until the middle of July. I emailed my last paper (history paper on King Leopold's Ghost -- King of Belgium who lied his way into privately owning the Congo) to my history prof yesterday morning. I have a chemistry book to sell back to the school today, and that is it for the year!

I'm going to take a week or two to try and get some order back in my life, and then I'll start working at the nursing home again. Everything gets put on the back burner while I'm in school... and I mean everything! Laundry, house cleaning, hair cuts, it all doesn't happen during school. My friends also get sadly neglected, so I plan on doing some reconnecting over the summer as well.

Friday I got my hair cut... found a great new stylist (had to find a new one since the last one is an old friend of Jeff's ex-wife and that just felt awkward as hell!) at Headlines on Superior Street in Duluth. Her name is Erin and I immediately felt a connection. It's been so long since I have had a stylist that I clicked with, and who understands my hair and what I like, so this makes me crazy happy!

Today (right now, actually) I'm at Kolar getting some work done on my truck. They are doing the 90K check. putting on new tires and back brakes. At the end of the summer I need to have stuff flushed and belts replaced, but he told me I could put that off a bit and just do the safety stuff first (tires and brakes). I had them look at my driver seat too... it's wiggly and I found a nut. They checked it out and the seat is safe. To replace the nut and stop the wiggle they would have to pull the whole seat out and take it apart... he advised to wait on that as well. I wrecked the mat in the cargo area because I forgot I had a battery sitting back there to be dropped off at Sears and it leaked stuff. Sadly, they can't order me a new one because it comes with the truck. I can get a rubber one, but that costs about $200. He advised that I put indoor/outdoor carpeting or a big rug back there. I gotta make this vehicle last me at least until 2011 -- he told me that this engine or whatever has been known to go 350K so it should make it. That's why I bought it, so I keep my fingers crossed! Luckily I sold my Stratus last week to a cute high school girl down the road from me, so that money will go towards these repairs.

Tomorrow I am going to the chiropractor. A friend of mine recommended her. I'm having pain in my shoulder that I can feel go all the way down to my thumb. It's a bad ache, more than a pain. Hopefully she can do something about it without breaking the bank. I only have student health insurance and it doesn't cover much!

Tuesday Sears is coming out to do yearly maintenance stuff on my tractor and my washer and dryer.

And in just a little bit I'm going to be having coffee with Jenn. It will be non-stop talking and laughing the entire time and I can't wait!

I'm working on the rest of my summer "to do" list and this summer and I swear I will accomplish everything! It is just so amazing how fast the summer goes! This summer will go extra fast since I need to take summer school.

I have absolutely no traveling plans mapped out for the summer yet. My camper has been recalled and is unusable until I get it fixed (it'll be on the list). I'd like to go with Jeff and all the boys out to Custer State Park, but I'm not sure that will happen. I've also had an idea of renting cabins at Itasca with Fred and his family and me and Jeff and all the boys (they know nothing of this idea yet!) for a long weekend or something. It's so late in the year I don't even know if cabins are available anymore. Most people plan their summers way back in January. Lately I've had the traveling itch and find myself thinking of Norway!

Here's a stave church that they moved from somewhere in Norway to this "historic outdoor museum" in Oslo that I went to. There are only about4 of these left. The rest were burned or destroyed during wars.

Anyway, that's probably enough rambling for today. There will be more blogs from now that summer is here, I promise!

Stay safe!

I'm not gonna make it

2007-05-07T20:19:00.000-05:00

Here I am at the the start of Finals week and blogging instead of studying Chemistry, or Literature, or writing the 5-7 page paper on the Congo due on Thursday that I haven't even started. The last 3 weeks of school have been absolute hell. I am so exhausted I can't think anymore. It's not a sleepy kind of exhaustion... more like a brain exhaustion. I had my German written test AND the oral test on Friday. I wasn't as prepared for either of them as I should have been. For the oral test you partner up with another student (Aaron, an English major, is my partner) and you go into the prof's office and make conversation with her. It's horrible. I do fine talking in class, and fine on the written tests, and singing the songs, putting on performances (well, except the last one where I was the Fairy King... got my first B+ on that one), but you put me in that office and I totally freeze up and only gibberish comes out. She asked me, in German, what I do when I get up in the morning. I answered in German that first I stretch and then I brush my teeth and then I shower. Well... that's what I thought I said... what I REALLY said was that first I KNIT and then I brush the HOUSE! Well, at least I made my prof laugh!

I so can't wait until next week! School will be done for me and I can take the whole week and get all my laundry caught up and my house cleaned. And just watch mindless tv and lay in the sun if I want. I feel like for the last 3 months all I have done is go to class and come home and study. My highlight of every day is playing catch with Brandon. Hmmm, and just 3 more years to go.

BTW, my 2000 Dodge Stratus is for sale. 90k miles, new brakes, new battery, mint condition. $3900. Let me know if you know anyone interested.

I miss my friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring Break

2007-03-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

Since I'm a college student, shouldn't I be somewhere sunny and warm, where I can lay around in the sun, drinking margaritas? Doesn't this go with college? Well, then why have I spent the last 3 days of my spring break spring cleaning?! Granted, my house desperately needed it... this is what happens when you don't clean for 5 months. The only things that managed to stay clean since school started in the fall are my kitchen counters and sink, and my toilets. This is thanks to FlyLady. http://www.flylady.net/ I can't imagine how god awful my house would be if I didn't follow a little of the flylady plan. I keep telling myself that during the summer months my house will be clean and all will be well. In the meantime I pray that no unexpected guests show up at my door, or that I die and everyone I know will flock to my house (Jenn, you know the plan!).

I have participated in a bit of leisure activity on my spring break... it hasn't been all drudgery. While cleaning, I have watched Judging Amy every day from 11 to 1. My God I've missed this show! Each episode is guaranteed to pull at my heart strings in some way, make me laugh, make me cry, or just make me feel good inside. I continue to ask myself why on earth they would pull this quality show off television so apruptly? Not enough violence (well, there is plenty of talk of abuse)? Not enough nudity (there was that scary episode where icky Stu was nude at the pool... ewww.)? Not mindless enought; did it make Americans think too much? I miss it soooo much.

I have also been doing a lot of reading on my spring break. Brandon has hockey every day (except Wednesday because of church) from 4 to 5 so I've been going to the library with Java Express Latte in hand to kill time. I've been reading "King Leopold's Ghost" for history class.
It's about the colonization of the Congo in Africa in the late 1800's. It's actually a pretty good read if you like history.

I've also been reading The Secret. If you haven't heard of it, you must live in a cave. Oprah had it on her show and it's been on the best selling list ever since. For a few weeks you couldn't find it in stores if you're live depended on it. I'm undecided on how I feel about it... it has good points, but so far, it really isn't anything I haven't heard before. I'm only a quarter of the way through it, so maybe it's too soon to tell.

The third book I'm reading is How to Be Like Walt; Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life. I have always loved the history behind Walt Disney and am intrigued about his philosphies. This book is written by Pat Williams, who is the owner of the Orlando Magic. It's a very simply written book, and most of the stories of Mr. Disney I have already read about, but I like the way Pat shows how to take Mr. Disney's experiences and apply them to your life. Mr. Disney had many qualities that CEO's and owners of companies could use today. He is an inspiration. Art Linkletter wrote a particularly moving introduction as well. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through it.

I also watched Mona Lisa Smile. This movie really displays how far women have come... and also how far we have yet to go. Not a mindless movie and there is no violence, sex or nudity. If this is what you're into, you won't find it in this movie, so save your rental dollars.

I have to go make a dessert now... we have a dinner at church every Wednesday during Lent and the youth group is hosting tonight's. Brandon signed me up to bring dessert, so dessert I am bringing.

And I have much more cleaning to do.....

Be safe!

Now this is what I call WINTER!

2007-03-01T20:49:00.000-06:00

My class and Brandon's school were both cancelled today (and they've already announced that they'll be closed again tomorrow) so we have been cooped up all day. I guess nearly all of Duluth was shut down today (well, apparently all but 50 Below, but that's all a whole nuther story -- what some people will do to avoid spending time with their kids)... even the Urgent Cares and clinics. The DOT shut down the Expressway between Duluth and Two Harbors @ 4pm as well as Canal Park and Park Point... actually put barricades up keeping people out of there. Isn't this a cool photo I found of what Aerial Lift Bridge looked like this afternoon?

I got all my tax stuff done today; tomorrow I'll file with FAFSA for the student loan and grant stuff for next year. Me and B went out and played a little in the snow and did some shoveling. We also walked to the mailbox to get the mail and check on my truck. I parked on the end because once again my dear neighbor who has a lifetime commitment of plowing my driveway has broken his plow and doesn't know when he'll get time to fix it. And he actually was expecting some pity from me! Whatever! B and I didn't last too long out thought... the wind felt like someone was throwing tiny razor blades at my face.

Brandon is suppose to go to his Dad's this weekend, and once again his Dad had a hundred and one excuses. So, if the weather cooperates I'm gonna drive him down and then do laundry at my parents.

Did I mention that my septic system is frozen and we're living like pioneers? I need spring to get here quick.

Got in a little accident the other day on Arrowhead and Haines. I was approaching a red light and my truck started slipping way back but stopped right at a van's bumper in front of me. I literally tapped him. This guy who looked like he hadn't showered in a year got out holding his neck and back and before he even got to the back of his van he says, "Well, I can guarantee that my van doors aren't gonna open." Of course, they didn't even tho I TAPPED him. I literally laughed out loud. Then he started going on about how he hoped his back wouldn't hurt later and then asked if I was okay. Of course I'm okay... I only TAPPPED you. Anyway, he didn't seem like the kind of character I really wanted to spend time with, so I got the info and hightailed it out of there. I called my agent and told her the whole scamming story. So we'll see. It just pissed me off because it's because of people like him that our rates are so high. Ass.

Check out my patio door... this is not a drift, just straight snow!!

Okay, I gotta go play a little Guitar Hero with Brandon... have you played this yet? It rocks! And I'm addicted!

Later snow peeps!

Could it be any colder?

2007-01-30T19:27:00.000-06:00

On days like today I find myself again asking the question "Why do I live here?" At least during normal winters we have snow and I can go snowshoeing, but with no snow, what the hell is the point of having winter at all? Parking at school absolutely sucks. First I drive around the close lot, stalking everyone who walks by, praying that they are leaving. When that fails, and time is running out, I head to the back lots. Most days I have to park at the furthest lot which means a 15 minute uphill walk. The school is at one of the highest points in Duluth which means most days it is windy. This walk sucks! I bundle up with a hat, scarve, mittens, and closed toe shoes, and still I am frozen by the time I get there. I mention the closed toe shoes, because you would be amazed at how many stupid college girls are wearing flip flops or dressy sandal type shoes and walking through snow and cold to school. And boys who refuse to wear a winter coat and head to class in their sweatshirts. Boy, I am really sounding like a mother right now, aren't I?

For German class, our group project is that we have to lip sync a German pop song called Kussen Verbotten. Translation = Kissing Forbidden. If you are interested, email me and I'll be happy to send you the mp3 of the song... It's not bad, actually! I'm a little old to be in an air band, but I will do my best! My friends and I did take 3rd place in an Air Band concert in college the first time I went... at least, I think we did. My memory is foggy on these years... Jacquie will remember and I'm sure she'll comment with a correction if needed! She remembers this stuff way better than I do. Hey! But ask me anything about Christopher Columbus and I bet I will remember! Well, maybe...

We saw the movie Arthur and the Invisibles over the weekend. My advice to you is don't waste your precious dollars. If you must see it, rent, do not buy, but rent the movie when it comes out. It had a few laughing moments, but that was about it. I preferred the movie when it was real people and not a cartoon. I thought the cartoon part was really lacking. They tried to sell it by throwing Snoop Dogg in it, and while that part was slightly entertaining, it didn't make up for the rest of the movie. The cartoon girl was played by Madonna and she was suppose to by like a 14 year old girl. Personally, I thought she was drawn like a midriff-exposing 22-year-old instead. The 12-year-old in the movie of course falls in love with her, and she with him. Incredibly unrealistic and again, shows young girls that this is what you need to look like, even if you're a cartoon, to even attempt at getting a young kid to be interested in you. We are all going to hell in a handbasket.

I also watched In America for the second time, this time with Jeff. He of course hated it because it made him sad. He thinks I have this morbid taste in movies, like City of Angels (one of my all time favorites), always picking the most depressing movies with horribly sad, tragic endings. My answer to him was they are just too deep for him to handle. :-) He didn't find that very funny... Anyway, In America is a movie about an Catholic Irish family who moves to Manhattan from Ireland in the 80s. They are in search of a better life in America and basically sell everything they own just to get here. They have two adorable little girls, and tragically lost their little boy to a brain tumor. It's all about how their lives change for the better even though they are living in horrific conditions surrounded by a life that is new to them. If you are looking for a "feeling movie," rather than the shallow stuff Hollywood usually throws at is, see this one.

I even watched One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. I haven't seen this movie in years, and was surprised how differently I viewed it this time. I can sure tell that I have grown up since the last time I saw it! If you don't remember, this was a movie from 1975 starring Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, and Christopher Lloyd and takes place in a mental hospital. Quite disturbing, but good movie. My physchology professor from last year said that up until the 1960s, lobotomies were performed quite regularly in mental institutions. Nice.

All right, enough procrastinating on my end. I must go study German and Chemistry. I have tests in both on Friday. Scary!

Later little peeps!

In a slump

2007-01-24T15:09:00.000-06:00

Well, I survived my first week back at school. I have really good classes this semester:
1) German, again. We sing German songs so I love it.
2) Modern World History after 1500. History is always good!
3) Yoga. Enough said.
4) American Literature. I love to read stories, so no complaints here.
5) Biochemistry. Well.... I do tend to fall asleep in lecture, but so far I am learning lots about proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates, etc. Useful knowledge to have, I suppose.

Its a full load though, with 17 credits. My life is studying.

After a year, my ceiling fan part over my kitchen table has finally come in (thank you Jeff for ordering it for me). Now let's see how long it takes me to hook it up.

My new doors on my porch will not shut. Neighbor Kevin says its because our houses (he has the same problem) are built on a frost line, and with no snow, it is causing the ground to shift. In spring they will shut again. I don't know... he could be full of shit.

Have you heard about the 29 year old sexual predator who enrolled himself as a 12-year-old at a middle school in Arizona? What the hell is wrong with people? I sure would hate to be the parents of his classmates!

Brandon and I saw Charlotte's Web last weekend followed by a nummy meal at Hacienda Del Sol on Superior St. Excellent movie, although I am a bit biased since this was one of my favorite books as a kid. Julia Roberts had the perfect voice for Charlotte. The crows made me laugh hard. And the pig was cute.

I seem to be in a gray mood slump lately that I can't seem to shake. Is it cabin fever? Is it pre-menopause? Am I not eating enough fiber? What is causing it and how do I put the sunshine back into my life?! Send me your ideas...

This is a picture of what the maid did to our washcloths and toothbrushes while we were away from our room at Walt Disney World. We stayed at the French Quarter of Port Orleans within the Walt Disney resort. Very nice... I would stay there again.

This next photo is of our hotel. I would share more photos but I switched memory cards halfway through the trip, and now I can't find the other one!

Okay, I must go clean the house a little. Tonight is catechism night, which means I drop B off and head to the library. Oh the joys...

A very sad ending to 2006

2007-01-09T15:01:00.000-06:00

I am back from spending Christmas with my parents on the Gulf Coast in Alabama and from a visit to the happiest place on earth (Disney World, silly!). It was a much needed rest as my week before Christmas was a rough one. It's not usually good, but this one was especially bad. I had finals that week. I had to pack and prepare for the trip. I went to court to fight a speeding ticket. And, most sad of all, I had to take Polar to the vet to be put down.

Polar would have been 18 years old on June 1st. I have had her nearly my entire adult life! She and I had been through an awful lot together and I still have a hard time imagining her not here with me. But I feel so incredibly blessed to have had such a fantastic companion for so many years. I couldn't have asked for a better dog... I'll never forget her.

Anyway, on to happier topics... Brandon and I flew out of Mpls on Christmas Eve and spent about a week with my parents. My brother Glen was there for part of the time also. I haven't spent Christmas with Glen in a very long time! My friend Fred's mom and step-dad, Nancy and Tom, joined us on Christmas Day for dinner. That was also an extra special treat! The weather was not the greatest, but I still managed to get a 2 mile walk in on the beach every day. I got to see the dolphins swimming. And the Blue Angels flew over several times. And a crazy bi-plane did insane tricks right in front of our beach. We spent New Year's Eve at Nancy and Tom's along with their daughter Linda, and a whole group of the snow-bird friends. Because Brandon and I had to get up so early for the long drive to Orlando the next day, we didn't stay up to ring in the new year.

Disney World was awesome as usual. It rained at some point every day but one. But we still enjoyed ourselves immensly! My new favorite all-time ride is Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. This ride totally rocks! Brandon's favorite was the Talk with Crush at The Seas in Epcot. My only regret is that I came home with no tan whatsoever.

This week I am spending at home cleaning and doing laundry. I need to get my house back in order before school starts next Tuesday. Speaking of school, I got all A's in my classes except for a damn B in Chemistry. I wanted an A in that class so badly!!! Ah, well... I really shouldn't complain. My gpa is 3.71.

News

2006-11-14T09:01:00.000-06:00

It's 9am and I am at school waiting for 9:30 to roll around. I normally have class at 8am on Tuesdays, but the Prof cancelled class for today. I have to be in the studio at 9:30 to be videotaped for my Interviewing and Counseling class. Uck. I have to interview another classmate. And then that classmate will interview me. Then I have to study the videotape and write a paper on it for Thursday. I hate seeing myself on tape and I hate hearing my own voice, so I am not looking forward to it. Bet money that I get my hair cut and go on a diet after viewing!

It's gonna be a long day today. After my taping, I have Sociology class from 12 to 2. On my last test in this class, I got 103% correct! It was an essay test and I'm pretty good at bullshitting. Plus the prof likes me. He wrote on my test "You go girl!" with a smiley face. I felt like I was in grade school again... and I liked it.

Then from 4 to 8 I have my CPR renewal class. I have to take this every year for the rest of my life. Boring. And long.

I got my German exam back yesterday with an A. Woohoo for me. But the best news of the week was for my Chemistry exam. I needed a 92% to push my grade up to an A, so I studyed my ass off... and got a 92%! Big Woohoo for me! Now I gotta keep it there! We just started Organic Chemistry which is completely new to me, so I think its gonna be harder than ever. This is my toughest class.

In German we have these projects coming up where we have to come up with an entertaining skit, in German of course, be videotaped, and then present it to the class. This sucks to begin with, but then I got stuck with the world's worst partner. Her name is Lydia and she is about as spineless and timid as they come. She couldn't even give me a straight answer on when she would be available to work on this thing. Everything I asked her, her reply was, "Uhhh... I don't know." Plus she doesn't know her German and has no clue on what is going on in the class. I have a feeling I know who is going to be doing most of the work on this one....

Brandon started hockey. Our arena was being remodeled so the first bunch of practices were held in Silver Bay. I'm sharing carpooling this year with two other hockey moms so that should help out a ton. His first game is Thursday, I think.

He also has conferences coming up. I wasn't gonna go because his grades are okay and there hasn't been any major issues. But the more I think about it, I think I will. I want to talk to his Band teacher... he has been missing his books for about 3 weeks now. His lessons didn't start when they were suppose to. And the "bad" players don't get to be in the concert! I have problems with all of this. I also want to talk to his science teacher and tell him what a great job he is doing... Brandon is totally excited about his class. And then the Math teacher... I heard there were weekly things for parents to sign, but Brandon has only given me one since the beginning of school. I wonder how conferences work now that he is in middle school and has numerous teachers.

The last Gopher game is this weekend. This season went so fast! Christmas will be here before we know it! I think Brandon and I will be going to Alabama to visit my parents again this Christmas. And we'll probably take a side trip to Walt Disney World like we did last year...except for a shorter amount of time. It's always hard for me to say no to WDW... it is the happiest place on earth, you know!

Gotta go to my taping. Auf Weidersehen!

Voting disappointment

2006-11-07T18:09:00.000-06:00

I was excited about voting today... I think Two Harbors is ready for big changes, and our country is ready for big changes. I did my homework, studying the candidates, and made my notes. I vote at the Alden Township Town Hall building down the road. I live 8 miles from Two Harbors and 24 miles from Duluth. My home is in St. Louis County, but a small portion of my land is in Lake County. Even though I live in St. Louis County, I am in the Two Harbors school district. I arrived at the polls, notes in hand, and excited about making a difference. I sat down in my booth and glanced over the voting sheet. To my dismay, because of where I live, I didn't get to vote for any of the Two Harbors candidates! I feel so cheated! The only Two Harbors item I got to vote for was the school district referendum. Totally sucks. Why does my address say Two Harbors if I am not considered a voting resident? How mixed up is that?

I was also disappointed that nobody asked to see my driver's license. The voting poll volunteers obviously didn't recognize me since they seemed surprised that I was already registered. I've only been voting there for 6 years and our township has like a handful of voters. I pushed it in front of her anyway, hoping she would get the hint for future voters. But no, no one behind me was asked for a DL either. Anybody could come in and vote several times under other peoples names.

Anyway, on to other news. I finished my German Section 1 class with an A+ on the final exam, and an A for the final grade. I am currently getting a B in Chemistry... I need to get a 92% on the exam tomorrow in order to push that grade to an A. I have no idea what I'm getting in Sociology. We had midterms last week and haven't gotten the test back yet. I got an A+ on one of my papers, and the prof likes me, so maybe that will count for something. In my interviewing/counseling class it's also too soon to tell.

I've decided to apply to the nursing program one more time next fall... if I don't get in, then I am not suppose to be a nurse. The man upstairs will have spoken. If I don't get in I will switch my major to Health Information Management... I think.

Went to the cities last weekend. Sent Jeff and Brandon to the Gopher/Indiana game without me since I had to study for Chemistry. I had a heck of a time finding a coffee shop to study in! Where are they when you need them? When you don't, they seem to be on every corner. I ended up at the one on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. Got a lot of studying in, but it was so damn hot in there and there is a hair salon around the corner so it stunk like perm. But otherwise, good!

Had dinner with Ryan and Julie, the newlyweds, at an Irish place in Maple Grove. It is always so comforting to be with old familiar friends. It's like putting on an old favorite sweater. By the way, the martinis there are really good. As is the fish and chips. But don't order a full order!

I took Polar in to see the vet last week. She'll be 18 in June! Amazing! I'm thinking there might be a world record there somewhere. She had a growth on her ear that she had removed... she was so good for the vet. Of course, he is the world's best vet so of course she would be good for him. He also did a senior citizen health check on her. She is having a neurological problem with her back legs. That's why she is falling so frequently. It's a part of old age. But otherwise she is good. She sleeps a lot, tends to poop in the house on occassion (can't make it outside fast enough), and I have to carry her down the steps, but otherwise is happy and content. Every day I wonder if I'm going to come home and find her dead in her bed. That's gonna be a real sad day.

Okay, enough already! I really need to start studying for my Chemistry test tomorrow. Wish me luck for the 92% I need!

Warm wishes to you all!

I hate the unknown

2006-10-23T19:31:00.000-05:00

And God must know this about me and must love to throw unknown curve balls in my direction to make me squirm. I don't even like it when I don't have a plan for tomorrow, let alone, next month, next year, the next 5 years, or beyond!

As you know, I quit my corporate america job to become a nurse. I really wanted my bachelor's in nursing, and St. Scholastica told me that I could have this 4-year degree in the same amount of time that it would take to get my 2-year at Lake Superior College. So I made the switch.

On Oct. 2nd, I applied for the nursing program with my recruiter and advisor telling me that I had nothing to worry about because of my high GPA and my membership with Phi Theta Kappa. On Oct. 19th I got a letter saying that I'm a reject.

The next day there was a group of girls, including myself, outside my advisor's office in tears. Apparently they had way more applicants than they expected.

I can reapply next fall. And if accepted, graduate in May, 2010.

The problem is, the money I am living on stops coming in when Brandon turns 16. November 25, 2009.

I really wanted to be an RN. Not only would I be damn good at it, it pays well enough where I could pay off my student loans, and cram for retirement, making up for the lost income years.

What are my options?

If I ever make it off the waiting list at LSC, I could transfer back and get my AA in nursing.
I could reapply next fall, and if accepted, I could work over breaks, saving every penny for the 6 months where I'll have no income. Graduate in 2010 with a double degree in Nursing and Business Management.
I could quit school, play for the next 3 years, and then find a sugar daddy to shack up with. ;-)
I could switch majors:

Education: my original career dream, but sadly, I don't think it pays enough.
Social Work: completely different course schema, and I don't think it pays enough.
Health Information Management: I would still be employed in the healthcare world, my double major in Bus Mgmt would go nicely with it, it doesn't pay like a nurse, but after a few years, it doesn't pay too badly.

Tomorrow I have an appt with the Dean of Student Advisement (the head of advisors and student retention) to discuss this situation of mine. Hopefully I'll come out of there with some idea on where my future is going.

Other than this latest turmoil, life has been good. All I do is study. Although, this last weekend I took off from studying and went down to the cities and played with Jeff. We went to the Gopher football game on Saturday... if you missed the news, the win felt like a loss. Fire Mason.

Allrighty then.... gotta go study some Chemistry before The New Adventures of Old Christine comes on. LOVE this show.

Missing you all!

Winter is coming... like it or not

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

Stopped at Java Express (the best thing that has EVER happened to Two Harbors) tonight after picking up B's hockey equipment and the owner told me that we are suppose to get 8 inches of SNOW between now and this weekend. No way! The last 2 days have been in the upper 50s and gorgeous... how is this possible? And how mean, really!

Not to mention I still have so much left to do. I took the camper in to the dump station yesterday and cleaned out the tanks... what a pretty job for me to do. Visions of the movie RV always flashes through my mind as I complete this horrific task.

As I was putting away bird baths and bird feeders in my back yard I managed to step in a big pile of bear poop. I bet most of you have never made this statement! It was fresh too... and slippery... thank god I didn't slip and fall right into it. Oh the excitement of living in the woods...

BTW, I got an A on my German exam. The extremely immature girl who sits behind me and who says the F word 5 times every minute got a D-. :-D

Okay, I gotta run and get Brandon from town... he had a football game in Grand Marais tonight.

Have a great Wednesday!

Bad day/Good Day

2006-10-03T08:37:00.000-05:00

Bad, bad start to my day yesterday. I wanted to head into Duluth early so that I could spend a good hour at Caribou studying for my German Exam at 10:30. I didn't get my shit together the night before, and ending up spending way too much time trying to find my MN State CNA license that I needed to make a copy of and hand in with my application to the Nursing program. The deadline was yesterday. Never found it but gave up.

No time for Caribou, but I thought Plan B would work just as well. I'd get coffee at school and spend the hour there studying before the exam. But no, I could not find a parking spot if my life depended on it. Even the illegal spots were taken. And my timing must have been off, no classes were getting out, therefore no people leaving in their cars. I drove around for 25 minutes before I found a spot over by the dorms.

I had spent some time this morning packing my workout bag so that I could work out at the awesome fitness center at the school. I have found my workout fever that has been gone since 1998, so I was looking forward to working out after my last class. As I was thinking this thought while parking my car, I realized that I left my Student Id in my jacket pocket at home. Ugh! This not only means I cannot workout at the awesome fitness center, but it also means that I can't use the Student copy machine to make copies of my CPR and First Aid training cards that are also needed for my degree application. Ugh!

So, I hike to Tower and plan to check my mail (my Chem test results should be there), get coffee, and spend a half hour reviewing before my German test. No mail. 2 people in line at coffee. Doesn't seem bad, but those two ladies took a good 10 minutes to get through! Ugh!

So I get my coffee. My sling-style bag (my bf calls this bag "the splitter".... nice.) is pulling my hair, so as I am trying to wrestle my hair free, my phone starts to ring. I pull my hand out from hair quickly to dig my phone out and a huge handful of hair gets tangled into my Norway ring and rips right out of my head. Great. And I didn't make it to the phone in time.

So I have 15 minutes to study. Not enough time. I feel okay about the test... Brandon quizzed me using the flashcards on the way down to the cities this weekend and the way back. On the last 3 quizzes I've only gotten 1 wrong, so I should be okay.

Head to class... Within minutes I realize that we are suppose to hand in our journals today... mine is sitting on my desk at home. Fantastic. She hands out the exam and I immediately see that this is going to be tougher than I thought. The anxiety starts to set in. Every German word I know runs screaming from my brain in sheer panic. I take a couple of deep breaths, and a couple of swallows of my coffee, and start at it. Luckily, the screaming German words decided to come back to my brain, and I think I did okay.

After class, I run to the copy place in Duluth and make my copies, run back to school, hand in what I have (which makes me nervous because the lady says that she doesn't think I need all this extra stuff... I tell her that the instruction sheet said I did... was this really the right place to hand it in? Is she going to lose it and I won't be accepted to Nursing School this spring?).

I check my mail for the 20th time and still no test results. I see other students pulling the scan sheets from their mailboxes, so where is mine?

I head to Chem where the prof says that he gave the mailroom the tests at 9am. After class I check again. Still nothing. I head back to the science bldg to the prof's office. He remembers grading mine because of all the students he has, I am the only Q. He says I did "extremely well." He is now looking up my grade while telling me that the class average was 82%. I got a 94%!!! I only got 3 wrong! I couldn't believe it! He had said during class that he felt that the avg was so high because a lot of it was review from high school. Well, high school is a long way off for me, so none of it was review! Whew!!

So, there you have my very bad day, turned good.
Later!

Exhausted and feeling overwhelmed

2006-09-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

I had a huge test today that I have been studying for constantly since last week. It was chemistry. I felt like I had a handle on the material when I sat down for the test, even though it's the most confusing crap I have ever had to learn. By the end of the test, I couldn't wipe the huge grin off my face. I grinned the whole way through the auditiorium... grinned at the professor as I walked by... grinned as I put my finished test on the table... grinned at the lab instructor (who looks like a female John Candy and thinks she is Ellen Degeneres)... and grinned all the way back to my car. Hopefully my grade won't disappoint me now! I'll have it back by Monday. In my mailbox. I actually have a school mailbox! It totally brings back memories of the first time in college.... 1983... checking that damn mailbox numerous times and it always being empty! Same things happening now... empty, empty, empty. If anyone's interested... my address is:

Evelyn Quast
CSS Box 1863
1200 Kenwood Avenue
Duluth, MN 55811

:-)

I stole a photo of me and my friend Jacquie/Paige (long story on the name!) from her blog...

We haven't changed a bit since 1984!!

Okay, gotta run... gotta pay my sprint bill before they shut me down (OH the Horrors!) and then run from football practice to catchecism. Single parents rock!!! Well, the good ones who do their job, anyway.

Yep, school has started.

2006-09-24T09:37:00.000-05:00

School has started and I've been so consumed with studying that other things, like blogging, and remembering my boyfriend's birthday, have fallen to the wayside. I'm so nervous about my grades this semester. Last year I made the Dean's list both semesters and the National Dean's list for the year. Lake Superior College required a 3.5 gpa for their Dean's List. St. Scholastica requires a 3.75 gpa... and the classes are harder. So, we'll see. I should be studying now, but I thought I would blog while drinking my am coffee. Plus I promised Paige I would get back to blogging.

Speaking of Paige, I had dinner with her Friday night in the cities. For those of you who don't know, she is a friend I have had since Junior High. We lost each other for a few years after college (the very first time in college), but I found her again when she was featured in the 3M newspaper as a new employee. I haven't seen her in nearly 3 years.... much too long! But she is a friend who, no matter how long it's been since we had seen each other last, we just fall into comfortable conversation like we had seen each other just last week. We went to this fantastic restaurant near her home on Cathedral hill. La Grolla http://www.minnesota-restaurants.com/main/OLDBMS/BUSCGI/ViewFrontPage.cgi?acctindx=2000098

I will definitely be visiting there again!

I spent Friday night at my parents... we stayed up late catching up, even though I just saw them last weekend! I have the coolest parents ever and I feel so blessed that they chose to adopt me. We went to IHOP for bkfst and then hit the farmer's market. The St Paul Farmers Market is probably what I miss most about living in the cities. I just love it. The smells, the people, the colors... even if I don't buy a thing, the experience itself is worth it.

I still can't believe summer is over. In fact, yesterday was the first day of autumn! I had a great summer though.... got lots of camping trips in. The last one was at Pattison State Park with Jeff and his boys. We stayed up every night until midnight playing Flashlight tag and spent our days riding bikes.
Jeff making bkfst one morning. PB&J French Toast with bacon. Nummy!

My kid and Jeff's youngest kid.

Camping Polar. Still alive at 17 1/2 years old. Amazing.

Okay, I really got to go hit the books. I have a German quiz tomorrow morning and a Chemistry exam on Wednesday. Scary!

Catch Up!

2006-08-31T18:02:00.000-05:00

It's nearly 6pm and I just now finished my morning coffee... that's the kind of crazy day I've had. Brandon had his 7th Grade Orientation this morning. Very well-organized and they did a great job of getting the kids acclimated to the new world of class periods. Brandon is very excited about school this year. He got into his favorite art teacher's class... he got into Industrial Arts with his friend Nick... and he is looking forward to his Science class. He also starts band this year and chose the trumpet as his instrument (his band teacher talked him out of the drums, thank God!). We got that all settled with Schmitt music this afternoon so he is excited and ready to go.

We got home around 2pm and I was amazed at how awesome the porch reconstruction project is shaping up!
I've added the new window that you see (there was only one in the back before. The old porch was literally falling off the house... the guy who built it didn't attach it; just shoved it up the house. This one is so solid! And it has a new door (which you can't see at the moment) and it will also have the new screen door that I picked out at Home Depot.

This is a phot from the back of the house. The old porch didn't line up with house at all... it was just slid under the fascia (sp?). They have electrical stuff, shingles, screen doors and gutters left to do. Maybe they will be done by tomorrow?! I may not even know until Monday because we are leaving to go camping with Jeff and the boys tomorrow around noon or so....

Yesterday I had my last lunch with the Wednesday Lunch Ladies... we go out for lunch every Wednesday from about May until mid-October. My school schedule is full over lunch every day so this was my last.

This is us, minus one -- Jane who attends sporadically. Not a great photo, since my eyes are shut, but you get the idea anyhow. From left to right is Janie who is daughter of Kathy (next to her), Judy (who lives on Lake Superior in the summer and Panama Beach Fl in the winter), Donna (a local) and me.
Since sports are over for the summer season, I thought I'd share a couple of photos.
This one is of Brandon on his way to Golf. His game has really improved over this summer... I hope to get him out one more time before the end.

This is Brandon and the kids from next door: Micky, Brad, and Malory. I found myself the carpool driver for baseball this year since I'm the only mom around who is home during the day.

Did I mention we had a bear visit our place while we were on our last camping trip? Based on the advice given on the news, I stopped feeding the birds so that hungry bears wouldn't come around. But while we were gone he went after the empty feeders that were hanging off the deck. As you can see, they are destroyed. Now I bring the feeders in the house every night. I guess this is why the name of Hungry Bear Acres fits our place here in the woods!

That's all the news for now... I need to go pick up Brandon from football practice. Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

Where has the summer gone?

2006-08-29T18:18:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe that one week from today I will be back in school! This was the fastest summer ever!

I haven't posted in over a month, so I have a lot to catch up on. I'll start with today and work backwards. The guys from Jim Perrault Construction (http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/living/ask_expert_front.htm?forumId=2010) started working on my porch yesterday. Within hours they had it demolished (you would not believe the amount of mouse stuff in the insulation... yuck!) and the framework is up as of now. I ran to Home Depot and picked up my new screen door. It had gone on sale since I last looked at it... yippee for me!

Brandon started football practice today... 5-7 everyday.

I picked up my books from St Scholastica.... I am now $543 poorer.

Last weekend I found myself on my own so I went on an awesome 4 hour hike... about 7 miles. I started at the Trail Center at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and headed up Day Hill and across the highway to the Superior Hiking Trail. It was incredible!

This of course is the infamous lighthouse. I have hundreds of photos like this, but yet I cannot resist taking more shots when I visit. I wonder if it might be the most photographed landmark in Minnesota?

I hiked up this huge hill (more like a mountain) called Day Hill. At the top is this fireplace built on a rock. Apparently a man in the late 1800's named Frank Day owned this hill. He proposed to the love of his life, she said yes, and he began building their dream home on this hill. She then left him for someone else... this fireplace is what remains. How sad.

This is the breathtaking view from the top of Day Hill... well worth the sweat and feeling of exhaustion from climbing it! Plus, what a great place to relax and catch my breath!

This is my day pack and the book detailing the hike that I went on. This book is great because the hikes are all in a circuit; therefore no repeats. And he goes into great detail every step of the way. I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/50-Circuit-Hikes-A/dp/0816641994/sr=8-1/qid=1156894958/ref=sr_1_1/002-9921608-4011241?ie=UTF8

Me, on the hike, on top of Day Hill.

This is scat (aka wild animal poop) on the trail. I took the photo so I could figure out what animal did it when I got home. My conclusion? Timberwolf. I took other photos of other scat, but I won't make you go through that! ;-)

Do you see that tiny white dot in the distance? That's the lighthouse. I have now hiked across the highway and am up on a ridge overlooking the lake. It's awesome!

This is the remnants of an old mine from like 1905. You can find it within Split Rock State Park.

That's all for today... I gotta go pick up Brandon from Football. Later!

Updated Summer List

2006-07-25T11:13:00.000-05:00

1. Make contact with old friends: there is a group in the cities that I have not talked to in like 3 years.... I need to make contact!

2. Finish painting kitchen: purchased the wainscoting.

3. Find a way to get into my old PC, get the photos off of it, and then take it to the landfill

4. Dentist appts for both B and me

5. Finish mulching the vegetable garden

6. Remove the blue hole in the front garden and purchase a fancy bird bath or bench something to put in its place: Done 7/25/06! Solar bird bath with spitting fish! Looks great!

7. Paint the house, garage and decks

8. Paint the school chair

9. Build a gate for the veggie garden

10. Get the oil changed in the SUV and have it detailed. Scheduled for Thurs. 6/29 Done!

11. Call Hunter regarding my ceiling fan

12. Investigate Lasik Surgery (I'm tired of being blind). Scheduled for July 21. Done!

13. Take bike in for new tires: In Shop Now

14. Get health insurance for next year. Mailed 6/28. Follow up on this.

15. Finish student loan process. Scheduled for 6/27. One step left to do.

16. Finalize with Jeff about summer schedule (for the 100th time)... are we going away for end of summer weekend? Are they coming to Custer with us? Are we going to Vermillion? Are we going camping?

17. Find a time to get together with Kennicutts

18. Start running again

19. Fix shades in bedroom.

20. Paint the family room.

Oh my God!!! It's almost August!!

My Birthday Gift to Me.... New Eyeballs!

2006-07-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

I am so excited... I had Lasik Surgery on Friday morning and, I swear it's a miracle, after a simple procedure and a 5 hour nap, I can see better than ever! I had it done at the Crosby Eye Clinic: http://crosbyeyeclinic.com/index.cfm?pageid=180 . This place was fantastic! I had my preop appt in Duluth last Tuesday. I was taken immediately back and given test after test to make sure my eyes were good candidates for the surgery. They even made me watch a video about the surgery and take a quiz to make sure I understood. I was there an hour and a half.... their thoroughness made me confident that I had chosen the right clinic.

The surgery took place in Crosby MN, which is about 30 minutes from Brainerd. Brandon and I drove down early Thursday and spent some time in the Waterpark at our hotel http://www.rapidriverlodge.com/. At the waterpark, I immediately "lost" Brandon because I had taken my glasses off and left them in my bag (did I mention that I have not worn my contacts or any makeup since July 4?). The only thing I could do was to stand against the wall and wait for him to find me. I couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time I would ever have this problem. It seemed too good to be true.

Jeff met us later that day to be my "desiginated driver" for the surgery and the follow-up appt on Saturday. The morning of the surgery, I was slightly nervous, and incredibly excited at the possibilities. They ran a few more tests (measure twice, cut once you know), explained the procedure again, and gave me a relaxant. Jeff and Brandon were able to watch the procedure from another room. Not only did they see me, but a closeup of my eye on a television screen.

The first eye went really smoothly. They gave me a rubbery football to hang on to... I found myself squeezing it the entire time (the same thing I do at the dentist). They numbed my eye and then kept it open with something that felt like a vise. It felt like my eyelashes were being yanked out. Then they cut my eye with a tool, making a little flap, and then, before opening the little flap, they warned me that everything would go black.... which it did.... and it felt incredibly freaky and scary... I couldn't help but wonder if my sight would ever come back. Then I was able to see a red light which I was told to focus on. I then heard the laser and smelled flesh burning.... which also freaked me out a little. But within a couple of minutes it was over... my flap was put back, my vision was there... blurry, but there.

And then they moved on to my other eye. They warned me that this eye would seem to hurt because I knew what was coming... almost a mental thing. It did!! Not horribly painful, but more creepy feeling. I was praying for it to end. And it did.

A minute later, I was walking back to the exam room where they placed clear plastic eye shields on my eyes as well as sunglasses. I was told to go back to the hotel and take a 3 to 5 hour nap. My nose hurt like hell (like a sinus headache I guess) and my eyes felt tired, but otherwise I felt great. I took some Advil for my nose and the pain went away. After a rough go at putting drops in my eyes (sorry Jeff... I hate people putting drops in my eyes!), I settled in for a nap while Jeff and Brandon shopped (thanks for the pink sunglasses and Tshirt!) and played at the waterpark.

When I woke up I felt fantastic! I took the eyeshields off and headed to the waterpark to find the boys. I walked in and was able to scan the area and locate them! A big difference from the day before! I immediately said a huge thank you prayer!

Since then, my vision was tested at 20/20 and my eyes have never felt better. It is amazing to be able to wake up and immediately see. I'm thrilled!

After a round of mini-golf and numerous races around the go-kart tract, Brandon and I headed to Leaf Lake (about 80 miles west of Brainerd) to visit my Aunt and Uncles cabin. We had a wonderful time! Brandon, my Dad, and my Uncle went fishing this morning and caught about 45 fish in like 2-hours. I'm looking forward to frying them up! My aunt, who has pancreatic cancer, looked really well and seemed especially happy to see us. I'm really glad we decided to make the trip.

I can't wear makeup for another two weeks... I can't rub my eyes for 6 months... I have to wear sunglasses for a couple of weeks when outside to avoid dust... and I have to wear the shields to bed for another 5 nights... and for about a week I need drops 3 times a day.... but that's it!!

Everything was good at home... Polar's dog sitter had dropped her off and she was happy. The plants survived. The roses have buds again. And the tomatoes are getting bigger. Great trip, but I am happy to be home! With my new eyes!!

Heat: Makes the world go cranky

2006-07-14T09:54:00.000-05:00

I got called in to work at the Nursing Home from 2 to 11 last night. It was like working in a sauna. But not "sit at your desk" kind of work but "hauling water from the creek" kind of work. I drank 6 glasses of water. As I leaned over to help people the sweat dripped from my face and landed on them. It was unbelievable. And gross (for the people my sweat was hitting anyway).

And it made the residents cranky. The sweet lady who calls me "Sugar" and "Honey" and "Baby" told me to leave her alone. One lady got so cranky they sent her to a special home in Litchfield for residents with behavior problems (sounds ominous, doesn't it?). Her husband eats dinner (the same tray as her as well as a cover up for him too... how sweet is that?) with her every night. Even though she was sent away, he still came for dinner to eat with his sister. His sister never says a word and sits with her eyes tightly shut. Although last night she opened them for a second when I told her I wanted to see her pretty eyes. And she smiled a little. So apparently she is one who likes heat.

My big lumberjack resident must also like the heat. I could hear him whistling down the hall and when I walked into the room he smiled at me. I've never seen him smile. In fact, the other CNAs warned me to watch out for him because he likes to hit. He's been nothing than pleasant with me (although last night as I rolled him over he said very loudly, "Owwww. Goddamit!"). Anyway, he smiled at me. I told him I loved his smile and would like to see it every day from now on.

So, my night was going pretty well even though the residents were cranky as all get out. One of the nurses asked me to work in the am (6-2:30). Without thinking I said sure. That's when everything took a turn for the worse.

It started with the gal who is 3 years older than me. She was so cranky she was giving me the evil eye. Everything I asked her was answered with "I don't care." With huge tone.

"Sally, would you like to wear these pink pj's?"
"I don't care."
"Sally, would you like to wash your face?"
"I don't care."
"Sally, would you like to go with me to the big lake and jump in?"
"I don't care."

So getting her cleaned up and tucked into bed took twice as long. Not to mention, whoever had her in the am didn't do a very good job cleaning her up so she was doubly dirty.

After tucking her in, I checked in on my lumberjack who had pooped for the third time my shift. And his poops have a smell that I have never smelled before... some unnatural, not from this world kind of smell. He is a very large man who can't help at all. Which means I have to roll him from side to side alot to get him cleaned up. My muscles and back usually scream "Owww... Goddamit" when I'm done with him. Sadly, when rolling him, he got his cover sheet dirty as well (the small sheet that keeps the main bed sheet from getting dirty). This meant more rolling to get the dirty sheet out from him and the clean one in. Keep in mind I woke him up from a deep sleep to roll him around. It was like waking an angry bear early from hibernation.

After the Lumberjack, I went to tuck in Lucy a very large, pretty mobile (wheelchair to walker and back), and very alert resident. To pull her up to standing you grab onto the back of her pants and pull her up. Without giving you the grossest of details, she had had the runs at some point. I didn't realize it until pulling her up... that's when I noticed it... all over her pants, all over her wheelchair, and all over the floor. Nice. It took me 4 times as long to get her tucked into bed than usual. And by now I was extremely cranky. Although, she would have never known it.

I did some charting and then made my last rounds right before my shift was to end. Sure enough, the Lumberjack had done it again. What a nice ending to my night. Hmmmm... and I had agreed to come in again in the morning! What had I been thinking?

So this morning when my alarm went off at 5 and my back and shoulder and arm muscles were still screaming, "Owww... Goddamit!" I did the unthinkable. Something I have never done in my entire working career. I called in sick even though I wasn't.

Oh, the horror!

Guilt washed over me when the RN who answered the phone said that she hoped I felt better soon.

What a horrible monster I am.

And the worse thing is, now I can't go into town to have bkfst or get coffee because someone might see me!

Missing Norway

2006-07-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

It's been a year since I visited the beautiful country of Norway, and lately I've been missing it like crazy for some reason! On my mind a lot....

So I thought I'd throw a couple of pictures on here periodically to help ease my lonesome heart. I promise I won't put all 800+ out here at one time... just a couple a post. Promise!

This is me upon arrival at my Hostel in Oslo... I have EXTREME jetlag. My plane was delayed like 8 hours in Iceland... I got lost on the way to my hotel... I was extremely tired and extremely hungry to the point of feeling sick.

This is me a few moments later when I realized where I was... on vacation for 3 weeks by myself in NORWAY! Much better...

This is my very inexpensive room in a Hostel in Oslo in a neighborhood just behind the palace and filled with expensive shops and restaraunts. There was a sink in my room but the bathroom was shared and across the hall. I never had to wait however, and they were extremely clean and recently remodeled.

My little sink in my room.

The view from my window. Below was a very popular, and sometimes noisy restaurant/bar.

Perfect Camping Weekend

2006-07-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

Brandon, Polar and I spent the last 3 days at Jay Cooke State Park camping. The weather was absolutely perfect! We had a cold front come in which to me is happy news... I despise heat. I think the highs were around 70-75 and at night we were comfy with the windows shut and our blankets. Perfect.

This was our 2nd camping trip this summer. In June we went to Pattison State Park just south of Superior. This had been our 1st time to this park... gorgeous!

This is Brandon, Polar and I at Pattison sitting in front of our little camper.

These are the new gadgets we bought for camping this season. I love the tripod thingy! It makes cooking over the campfire so much simpler. We cooked steaks along with pepper and onion foil packets for this meal. Dessert was Banana Cream Pies in the Pie Irons. Yum-O.

B and I went on a 2-hour hike at Jay Cooke. A lot of the path for the hike looked like this

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Yes, very weedy and in need of a good mow. But it still was a really good hike. There were no mosquitoes and just a couple of horseflys. The weather was cool and the sun was shining.... can't ask for much more than that!

We saw a Leopard Frog (the below photo is not mine, but learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_frog) and an extremely large, very scary spider inside a huge hole in a tree.

We've stopped taking Polar on our hikes because she just can't keep up anymore. Her legs just don't have the strength. It's tough getting old... and she's old for a dog -- she turned 17 on June 1st! She loves to camp though... she likes to wander around the campsite, lounge on the outdoor rug, or sleep in the doorway of the camper. She is an excellent traveling dog!

Below are some miscellaneous photos of our latest camping trip at Jay Cooke. The swinging bridge is always popular... I've been visiting this park since I was in grade school. My parents have many pictures of me on the bridge just like the one below of Brandon. Jay Cooke is one of my most favorite parks... I love all the rocks along the river. There is a huge rock wall in the campground that I used to climb as a kid. I tried to climb it last summer, but freaked out about a 1/3 of the way up. Tough to get old! I love the River Inn at Jay Cooke.... as soon as I walk in, the smell of the old logs brings me right back to my childhood. I attended many naturalist programs in this building and sang many camp songs!

Touched by an Angel... in the Nursing Home

2006-07-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

The other day at work, I was trying to get Jane (names have been changed to protect the innocent) to eat her dinner (I have never seen her eat... I don't know how she survives). Jane is ancient and with alzeheimer's. I also believe she is near death based on various things she does (I read tons of books on this sort of thing after Paul died). While I was coaxing her to eat, she had her face very close to mine and was saying various nonsense, but cute, things... like, she asked me to tell Pete that she liked him (I have no idea who Pete is). All of a sudden her eyes very quickly shifted from mine to somewhere over my shoulder. She pulled her face back from mine, still staring over my shoulder and said, "Who's that there?"
I looked over my shoulder and saw nothing but the elevator. I said, "Who?"
"That man there."
"What man?
"That nice man standing behind you."
"Is it anyone you know?"
"No, I've never seen him before." She then began reaching just beyond me, her hand grazing my shoulder.
"What does he look like, Jane?"
"He looks like a nice man. He's kinda tall, and he's smiling, and he looks almost like an angel. Yes, that's it, he looks like an angel standing there. What a nice looking angel!"

Sadly, we were then interrupted by one of the nurses. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck and I was covered in goosebumps. It felt like all the blood had drained from my face.

In many of the books I read, they talked about how when a person is dieing slowly (e.g. old age, disease) they are often inbetween worlds... this one that we know, and the world beyond (in my belief, heaven). Often times they see things that are definetely very real to them but we are unable to see them because they are not of this world. All of the books said that the best thing to do is not tell the person that it is in their imagination (I sure wish I knew this before Paul died!), but to ask them as many questions as you can. Some books argue with this, saying that it is simply hallucinations... the mind playing tricks on them. I like to think the former train of thought is true.

I consider it a true gift that I was able to share this experience with Jane.

My Weekend

2006-07-05T20:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend FLEW by!

Friday I took Brandon to meet up with his Gparents in Banning Jct. Then I did a couple of errands for Jeff (BTW... you owe me $.70!) and a little shopping at the mall. Old Navy seemed to be the store of choice this shopping trip.

Saturday Jeff and I ate bkfst at the Rustic Inn in Castle Danger. He bought me this really cool chunky silver necklace with a pale green stone (what is this called??!!) in their neat gift shop. Love it! Then we headed north to the Silver Bay Golf course where we played eighteen in gale-force winds. At about the 11th hole I finally figured out how to keep my ball from heading to the right... I'm thrilled! It's only taken like 5 years to figure it out...

If you're a golfer and you haven't tried the Silver Bay course, I highly recommend it. ESPECIALLY, over the Two Harbors course. It is clean and really well-maintained. It's only a 9-hole course, but that makes it all the more fun since you can compare how you did the first time around.

Later we met Jennifer, Perry and Dasia for dinner (which ended up being just appetizers.... how did this happen) and drinks. I'm really glad Perry brought Dasia... I hadn't really had a chance to get to know here when I worked there and this gave me an opportunity. She seems really, really nice and I think she's really good for Perry.

It was especially nice to see Jenn! We laughed the entire night at things no one else found funny. I really need to be better at organizing get-togethers with her.

Sunday Jeff and I headed to the cities for the Twins game. He won tickets... and wow! were they great tickets! 4 rows directly behind home plate! We ate incredibly expensive hot dogs (with proceeds going to Concordia Academy... imagine that!) and did a lot of people watching and I kept the stats in the scorecard (what a geek I can be!). We had a fantastic time!

That night we stayed at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington. Got a great price -- $65! -- not bad for a 4-star hotel. It was really, really nice. Done European style, which of course I loved being the European-traveling snob that Jeff claims I am.

We ate steaks at the Wildfire (?) followed by Creme Brulee. Nummy!

The next day we did some shopping at Dick's and the MOA. I got another pair of Crocs for work.... only $29 at Nordstroms... in Fuschia. These are great! And if they get messed at work, I can just hose them off! And they are super comfy! I also got a really cool hat.

Then we picked up Brandon from his Gparents and took him to the Thai restaraunt across from the Farmer's Market in St Paul... it used to be the Sawatadee, but now it has a new name and I can't remember what it's called. Really Nummy!

Tuesday we golfed 9 holes at Lakeview in Two Harbors. This course sucks. There is more weeds than grass and if your ball goes in the rough you'll never see it again. But, we still managed to have a pretty good time.

The afternoon was spent watching the Pink Panther and grilling burgers. Later we went to the TH fireworks. We sat in front of the depot which was a perfect location. It was actually a really good show. Better than a lot of the ones I've seen in the cities.

Today I had lunch with the ladies at Nokomis. Nokomis is this really hip restaurant on the scenic hwy. http://www.nokomisonthelake.com/

I had my fav Basil, Tomato, Ricotta sammich. Nummy, Nummy, Nummy!

Then Brandon had a baseball game (lost 5-4). And then we met a group of friends in town for pizza at Do North.

Whew!

1st Photo!

2006-06-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

This is the very first photo taken of Jeff and I together. We are so cute!!!!! I can't believe we have been seeing each other for several months and there hasn't been any photos taken of us together.... especially since he was once a professional photographer. Hmmmm.... not sure how I feel about that! :)

Just got back from lunch with the ladies (Judy, Jane, Donna, Janie, and Kathy) at the Olive Garden. We have lunch every Wednesday. Love those gals!

In the next few minutes I'll have to take Brandon to his baseball game. I'll probably run and get a coffee from Java Express for the game. Love that coffee shack!

I am soooo looking forward to this weekend. Jeff and I haven't had a weekend to ourselves in over a month. Saturday we are meeting our pals Perry and Jenn for dinner and drinks at Blackwoods. I miss those guys! Then Sunday we are heading to the cities... Jeff got free tickets to the Twins game. I got us an incredible deal at Hotel Sofitel in Mpls. so that's where we'll be staying Sunday night. He took Monday off so we can hang out. We'll pick Brandon up at his grandparents and then head home late Monday afternoon. Can't wait!

Summer List

2006-06-27T08:22:00.000-05:00

These are the things I need to get done before school starts in the fall:

1. Make contact with old friends: there is a group in the cities that I have not talked to in like 3 years.... I need to make contact!

2. Finish painting kitchen

3. Find a way to get into my old PC, get the photos off of it, and then take it to the landfill

4. Dentist appts for both B and me

5. Finish mulching the vegetable garden

6. Remove the blue hole in the front garden and purchase a fancy bird bath or bench something to put in its place

7. Paint the house, garage and decks

8. Paint the school chair

9. Build a gate for the veggie garden

10. Get the oil changed in the SUV and have it detailed. Scheduled for Thurs. 6/29

11. Call Hunter regarding my ceiling fan

12. Investigate Lasik Surgery (I'm tired of being blind). Scheduled for July 21.

13. Take bike in for new tires

14. Get health insurance for next year. Mailed 6/28.

15. Finish student loan process. Scheduled for 6/27.

16. Finalize with Jeff about summer schedule (for the 100th time)... are we going away for end of summer weekend? Are they coming to Custer with us? Are we going to Vermillion? Are we going camping?

17. Find a time to get together with Kennicutts

18. Start running again

19. Fix shades in bedroom.

That's all for now.... although I'm sure I'll think of more to add to it later.

Weekend news and my day at work

2006-06-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Had a great weekend even tho I spent a lot of it working with Jeff on his apt. We packed his remaining stuff up and stored it in my garage. And cleaned. Funny how work doesn't seem so awful when I'm doing it with him...

The three of us saw Over the Hedge Friday night. Excellent movie that made me laugh out loud numerous times. We had dinner at the China Star.... this time the MSG didn't affect me, so I'm thinking it only happens when I have a buildup of MSG in my system.

Sunday we (Jeff, Brandon and I) golfed the Silver Bay course (which reminds me that I forgot to get the scorecard from Jeff). Nice course! On the 4th hole I got it on the green in one shot!! Of course then it took me like 4 more to putt it in.... but still!

I got up at 5am this morning to be at work by 6. I teamed up with another gal because I'm still in training, but I got two gals up and ready for the day all by myself. My first gal is 43 and has MS and slight dementia. She has a gorgeous daughter that graduated from HS this year. I've never seen her visit her mom tho. Every time I work with her, I say a quick prayer to God thanking him that I have my health. The other gal I worked with is elderly and a tiny, tiny woman. I can lift her up by myself with no problems. She is an absolute sweetheart until she gets tired. She always calls me baby or sweetheart. She shares a room with her husband who I have never seen even acknowlege her. He doesn't even join her for meals (she eats in the dining room and he eats in his room). She asks about him tho. How sad. Their daughter and son-in-law visited them today and were there for a good hour.

By the end of my shift at 2:30 I'm exhausted! And don't feel like doin' nuttin! After my shift I ran home and picked up Brandon and his friend Micky and raced them to the ball field. They had a game at 4:15 but wanted to be there for the 3pm game in case they were short players. Brandon is getting a ride home from Micky's mom and actually said that I didn't need to be there for his game.... how thrilling and unusual since he expects me to be at every hockey game and practice and watching every single moment! So I've had the house to myself since 3:30.... I took a wonderful and rare 1/2 hour nap.

Polar pooped in the house twice today without ever asking to go out. She also is pooping on the back deck for some reason. I bought her a little non-slip rug for in front of her food and water bowls so she would stop slipping on the slippery floor, but yesterday her legs gave out and she fell right into her bowls! She never seems in pain.... she's quite happy actually... so I just don't know what to do with her. I hate even the thought of putting her down. I've had her for nearly my entire adult life (17 years)!

I'm reading a Bill Bryson book right now... Neither Here nor There, I think it's called. It's about his journeys in Europe. He makes me laugh out loud.

One of my residents told me today that I have a really nice laugh.

Another one (the lumberjack) told me he was going to whistle me a song... and then did! How do you not smile at that?! I smiled inside and out. He also told me he was as hungry as a timberwolf.

I saw Big D at Tejas last week. She was there with a balding little man and a woman with mousey brown short hair. I passed her on the way to the bathroom... on the way back she had turned her whole body toward the booth and was hiding her face with her hand as she talked. She obviously didn't want me to see her. I so wish I was bold.... I could have said to her, "Hey! How are you! How is that sexual orientation treament working for you?" Or any other numerous comments to bash her. She is pure evil like I have never seen before.

Gotta go.... Brandon should be home any minute.

Joy to you all!

Back at it!

2006-06-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

Jacquie sent me her blog and it's inspired me to write in mine again.... Thanks Jacquie!

Today's happenings:

Jeff came to the North Country to drop off his kids last night and met me at Brandon's hockey game. He spent the night and the three of us had breakfast at the Bean before he headed back to the city and to work.

B and I then went to the arena to get his baseball outfit (yea, I know, boys don't think of this as an "outfit") and schedule. A man there said to me as I was leaving that it was nice seeing me again.... who is he? I hate when this happens.

We then went to the bakery to pick up brat buns... found out that bakers dont make any money baking bread and buns.... what?! What is happening to our country if bakerys stop baking!

Next on our run through town was a trip to the greenhouse to pick up a couple of hanging baskets for the front deck. Also picked up 4 jalepeno pepper plants.

At home I hung up the baskets and hammered up some lattice to my deck for my clematis to vine on. Looks good.

Talked to Jeff for awhile and then B and I headed to Duluth to see Cars. Excellent movie with amazing animation. The popcorn had too much butter and gave me a belly ache. Plus I really, really had to pee badly. Otherwise, an excellent time. Previews showed quite of few new family movies coming up that look pretty good.

We then went to lunch/dinner at Old Chicago... had bad sandwiches and played trivia.

Forced myself to take a 2-hour nap since I have to work at 10:30 tonight until 6:30 tomorrow morning at the nursing home. My first night shift.... not sure what to expect.

When I woke up me and B cleaned out the crap from under his bed. Boys are yucky! Then I cleaned out the rubbermaid boxes under mine. Got rid of 3 bags of stuff.

Pretty good summer day, I must say.

Missing Jeff..... Friday Baby! B has been talking non stop while I type this.... driving me a little crazy. I'm super sad for B and for me that his dad is once again backing out of his visitation weekend this coming weekend. He is such an idiot and has no clue how his actions affect B. What could I have possibly been thinking when I married him?