Well Hello again world. I'd probably begin this by saying not much has happened since the last time I wrote but the reality is that a lot has happened considering it has been 6 months since my last post! Brett graduated with his Master's degree in Chemistry after many many hours of writing his thesis, more continued progress on our basement, we traveled to Oklahoma to watch my brother graduate college, built a garden, planted a garden, planted flowers, traveled to MN for a wedding and much much more that I just can't think of. We also celebrated being married for 6 whole years. It is crazy how time flies when you are having fun, right? On the first of March we also found out that I was pregnant! I have my own written out pregnancy journal but thought I might share a few of the things I wrote on here as well. Friday March 1 I came home from work in the morning and decided to take a pregnancy test just because it was getting to be about that time again. I had bought about 50 of the really cheap ones because they can get really expensive and I was peeing on a lot of strips :) Well it turns out there was one line on there and then this really faint other little line. I honestly didn't believe it. I showed it to Brett and told him that on his way home from school that day he should pick up a digital test just so we could check. I took that test when I woke up that evening and surprise! It said pregnant. We were both standing there waiting and waiting for the hourglass figure to stop and the words to show. Brett saw it first and said, "well it doesn't say not pregnant". We were of course thrilled and I just couldn't stop laughing. :) Then began the weeks of waiting and keeping it a secret. Hard to keep that kind of thing secret at work when I was pretty sick and never wanted to eat anything and always had to sit down while getting report because I felt dizzy. Weeks 6-13 I was pretty much sick every single day. I look back on it now and I am just amazed at how good I feel now compared to then. Thank goodness for Brett who went and picked up my prescriptions, got me popsicles, fed me plain toast and ginger ale and always made me whatever food I wanted if I actually wanted to eat. I don't know what I would have done without him. We had an appointment when I was 7 weeks and 2 days and had an ultrasound and heard the little nuggets heartbeat already! Strong at 160 beats per minute. That was pretty amazing and kind of surreal. There was a little thing growing inside of me and nobody else knew. I had a couple other appointments since then and everything seems to be going well. The doctor was happy I have gained 2 pounds finally. Currently I am 18 and a half weeks. Still wearing my same clothes. I noticed last night for the first time that my belly is more firm than squishy :) This coming Friday we have the big ultrasound/anatomy scan to check out all the little one's body parts and everything. We are not going to find out if it is a boy or girl so that will be a surprise at the end! And now some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Probably would have been nice if I was fit and skinny before getting pregnant then maybe I would like to share more pictures :) Oh well! I'm hoping I can start running again after the baby is born.
18 and a half weeks!
I found this picture on the camera as well. It is from our anniversary trip to North Carolina last year. I have a blog post started on that trip somewhere :)
I also wanted to give a shout out to my dad and say Happy Father's Day! You have taught me so much and I continue to learn from you. Thankful even now living 530 miles away that I can text you and ask for advice :)
I will try to post updates more often! Now, back to my movie. We are watching Captain America on Netflix.
2013 has arrived. And I sit here writing this blog post while avoiding the cleaning and dusting and scrubbing that needs to be done before we have friends over for supper tonight. Yup - that's me - procrastination at its finest. I really could have had the whole house scrubbed from top to bottom in the time since I have been awake this morning. Instead, the vacuum sits in the living room, with couches to be vacuumed (darn cat hair), furniture to be dusted, dishes to be done and bathrooms to be scrubbed. I have actually written several blog posts in the past few months and saved them as drafts yet to be finished and published. I'm good at that. Having ideas and my head and things to do and yet they never get done and time passes on. Like 2013 has arrived and the first month is more than half over and the days and time just keep moving. Wait that all sounds so morbid and depressing. Maybe I should erase it and start over...nah.
While I hate New Years Resolutions because I can never keep them and they just seem like something a person tries to do for one whole year and then they can be done with it - I might have a few of my own. Although I don't really think of them as resolutions having a new year upon me seems like a fresh start and a good time to aspire to new heights and dreams. Okay that sounds like my "resolutions" are dramatic and awe-inspiring. They are quite far from that. Ahem - without further ado - my life "resolutions"
- Recycle. While we have curbside recycling and most of my cans and milk jugs get in the recycling bag under the sink there are still things that could be recycled that just get thrown in the trash. I want to think twice about everything that gets put in our trash can and think if maybe it could possibly be recycled. I want our recycle can to be more full than our trash can each week.
-Compost. We have a yard. We have a pile of dirt/grass in the back corner that when we dug up our yard the summer we moved in was to become our compost pile. Instead it is still just a pile of dirt and grass. I know nothing about a compost pile except what kinds of things I can put on it. I will have to get a book from the library about compost for dummies. So there it is - throwing my garbage in a pile in the back corner of the yard. Quite the resolution huh?
-Water. Drink more of it. End of story.
-Have more friends. What I mean by this is not be such a loner. Invite more people over to the house. Have more planned dinners and game nights. Put myself out there for people to come into our messy house and have fun. Life is messy. (as I sit here typing that I see more crumbs and dust under the couch that are staring at me) sigh.
-Write more blog posts. Even if they are random and just a rambling of my crazy mind and boring life...write more blog posts. And publish them too.
Alright well now that I've just typed a random post instead of just saving it for later I will hit publish. And then I can feel good about one of my "resolutions". Oh and since we are having friends over tonight - I get 2 points today! A blog post and friends. whoo hoo! Adios for now.
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude of life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrance for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes."
- quote by Charles R. Swindoll
I haven't posted in awhile, and while many things have happened, life continues to remain about the same. This quote represents a mantra I have been telling myself lately, mostly surrounding work. I often wonder to myself why in the world people act the way they do. If they hate their job and have to complain about everything, everyday - why in the world wouldn't you quit or find something else - something that makes you happy? Lately I have allowed too many people to influence my mood and attitude. It is my life, and my heart, and my attitude. I have control over it and I control how other people affect me. It isn't up to them - it is up to me. It is just so difficult sometimes because people are fake, are rude, are mean, disrespectful and sometimes just down right awful. Anyway, I thought I had more to say about this subject but now my mind is tired after working all night so I need to quit. Moral of the story? I no longer give a rat's behind what other people think (most of the time). I will choose my own attitude and my own response. No one can take that away from me and no one can take my happiness away. No one.
Happy Mother's Day to my one and only Mom. This post is a tribute to her and to thank her for being my mom and everything she has done for me in my life. Thank you mom for carrying me for 9 months and giving birth to me (and 3 other children!). I will never know the sacrifice your and your body made until I have children of my own. When that day comes I hope I can be half the mother you were to me. My mom worked very hard in the house and outside the house. Not only did she work several days a week as a nurse she maintained a home. For as long as I can remember we had a huge garden. My mom spent countless hours out there to provide home grown, nurturing food to fill our bodies. While I probably grumbled many a times about helping pull the weeds and snapping those green beans, I am thankful. We always had a home cooked meal on the table even if my mom had to work that night. My mom is a wonderful cook and I look forward to eating her home cooked food (especially the rolls) whenever we travel to Iowa.
My mom supported me in all my endeavors throughout school. She supported, encouraged, and sometimes nagged me about the piano. Without that nagging to practice though, I wouldn't have accomplished what I did. She made it to almost all of my cross country and track meets, cheering for me all the while. I always had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with Gatorade and a granola bar thanks to my mom. She sat in the stands and iced my legs when my shin splints were so bad. She held my hand while I cried as I found out I had compartment syndrome. My mom always encouraged me to do my best at everything and work hard.
Thanks to my mom for being the role model I needed to become the nurse I am today. Thank you for supporting me through nursing school when things were really really hard. One day my mom came over to our apartment and cleaned and did dishes so I could study for a test. Thanks Mom. She was the first person I called when I found out I passed my boards and the first person I called when I had my first patient death. She celebrated with me and cried with me.
My mom is strong and loving. She loves her son in law like a son. My mom has a heart for Christ.
Thank you mom for being my mother. Thank you for raising me to have a relationship with Christ. We've had our differences but like dad always told me - we are more alike than different. Thank you for loving me and showing me that love. Happy Mother's Day Mom.
I think summer has officially arrived here and we skipped spring weather all together. Brett and I were commenting today how we only had one or two fires in the backyard this spring because it was either too cold, or now too hot. It is currently 89 degrees and sunny. Brett got up this morning and went golfing. I was awake from 3-6 so I just slept in a little longer. When he got home we went and ate lunch then ventured out to this produce place I saw advertised online. They have local produce from farmers and then quite a big green house as well. We got 3 peaches (which smelled wonderful!!) and some flowers for the front flower box and a hanging basket. The house already had a little metal hanging spot on the front - I have just never used it yet! I still need to get some flowers for a couple pots on the back deck. My goal is to keep them alive this year! The lady at the green house helped us pick out some good flowers and told me just to keep them wet. It apparently isn't good to let them get dry and then try to over compensate by watering them a bunch. I think that happened last year to my petunias in the front box. Whoops. I don't have as green of a thumb as my mom does. Brett has one final exam this week and then he is done with classes! This summer will be spent on research and teaching 1 lab as well as going to Korea for a week. I will still be working at the hospital 3 nights a week but will hopefully be transitioning to the new unit in June! I am going to be working on the PCU (progressive care unit) which is the Neuro unit and then higher acuity (more sick, etc) patients. I am looking forward to something different as I feel like I am starting to get bored sometimes at work. Hopefully it is a good experience and I don't hate it!
At the end of this month we will celebrate 5 years of marriage. Craziness!!! We both can't believe it has been that long and look forward to many many more years together. We will be going to Laura's graduation from college that day and then flying out the next day to North Carolina for a relaxing vacation on the beach and hanging out with our friends Megan and Josh. SO EXCITED for this vacation!!!
------ and now we are back after a little break and a trip to Menards -----
Turns out Brett didn't like the front box planter. He ended up taking it all down and we bought some wood at Menards and had paint matched to put up a new one. My flowers won't get planted tonight then but I still took pictures to share anyway.
The pie was delicious. :)
It has only been one day (not even 24 hours) since Brett has been gone and truthfully I am kind of lonely! I have tried to stay occupied and do things around the house but I kind of lack the motivation when there is no one else here. Sure I mowed the front lawn, took out the trash, did a few loads of laundry and sorted some mail/papers but I also watched a lot of TV episodes and laid on the couch and cuddled with my cats. Oh the cats - how we like them and how they make me mad at times too.
We all know that Marshy is a big fat cat and will do whatever it takes to get food, be it cat food or people food. The other day I got out some wet cat food for Parker just to give him a little extra. I was quiet about it since the can was already open and in the fridge. Halfway through Parker eating it Marshy came around the corner in the kitchen and practically sprinted toward the bowl. Before I could pick him up and put him in the other room he had garbled down 2 big scoops of the food!! That is the difference between Marshy and Parker. Parker daintily chomps with his small teeth and savors the cat food thinking "hmmm this wet food sure is delicious, so soft and moist and lovely. yum yum yum, a lovely little snack for me." His lips being licked by his small tongue all the while. Then the fatty comes around the corner bounding toward the bowl led by his huge nose. "FOOOOOOOOOOODDDDD" he thinks. Chomp, smack, swallow. The cat food disappears. I pick him up and a loud meow comes out. I bring him to the other room scolding him all the while. His thoughts? "FOOOOODDDD!!! I know there is more food in that other room. Food that fills my tummy food that smells good. I never know when I will get more food again. FOOOOOODD!!! Let me in to that room, let me in, let me in." By this time Parker has gotten scared and ran downstairs. I put away the rest of the bowl but had left the cat can on the counter. I walked into the other room talking to Brett then remembered I had left the can out. I walk back into the kitchen and Marshy is stretching his body to reach up where his nose smells something good. The silly cat acts like he never gets any food. And we still love him and scratch his belly till he purrs.
Now before you think that Marshy is the big bad cat and Parker never does anything to bring on scolding, let me tell you about something else. The clock reads 6:00am. In pounces Parker to the bedroom. He walks around 2 bodies lying peacefully in bed. "wake up large people, wake up, the day is beginning, time to get up, time to get up. purrrrrrr" he thinks as he butts his head on our faces. If there are feet or arms stuck outside the covers they are fair game for those little but sharp teeth Parker has. "ooooooh strings!!!! long strings so fun to play with!" as he bats and grabs at the blinds and strings. This persists until we get up and feed them, or get up and put him out and just shut the door.
Good thing I have the cats to keep me occupied while Brett is out of the state. I am also working 4 nights this week. Can't believe the month of March is almost over either. I am really enjoying this gorgeous weather we have here. I never even scooped snow one time this past winter. This past Friday night we went with Josh and Anna to The Hunger Games at the movies. It was a great movie but nothing compares to reading the book itself. There is so much more you get when you read the book that just cannot possibly be put into a movie - it would be way too long. It was interesting to watch the movie and compare what I had pictured while reading the book to how it was portrayed by the actors in the movie. My imagination runs wild while reading which is one the reasons I have always enjoyed reading books. It is an escape.
This May we are going to celebrate 5 wonderful years of marriage. I am so thankful for these past 5 years and for Brett being by my side supporting me and supporting us in all our adventures and decisions. It has been a fun ride so far and I am truly looking forward to all the years we have ahead!! I am also looking forward to taking a vacation in May. While it is true that I only work 3 nights a week and have the other 4 off most weeks - which may seem like slacking to other people who are not in my profession - I still need a vacation from work!
Well I think it is time for some ice cream here.
I leave you with a picture from Laura's visit to us in Illinois. Which reminds me, I still have to write a blog post about her visit here! Yay for sisters.
There is actually so much that has happened since I last blogged. Not really big things, but so many activities that I could have blogged about and have pictures to show. I am going to attempt to catch up on a few things! I'll start with last night. (This was actually several weeks ago now - but I never got around to publishing this post...) Josh and Anna and Brett and I went to downtown Bloomington to a chocolate festival :). We basically walked around and visited different stores and businesses that offered a variety of chocolate treats, truffles, miniature cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries, hot cider, and more. In the museum there was a competition for desserts and we got there at 7:45 when the judging was supposed to happen and then we were to get to try the different desserts there - but they were gone already... I have generally avoided downtown Bloomington but after last night Anna and I decided that we need to visit more stores there and generally walk around and see new things. There was this cute little music/guitar store that we quickly walked into just to look, we'll have to go back. Another plus to last night - it was free! We're all about free things around here. I don't have any pictures from last night. Afterwards we came back to our place and played a rousing game of scrabble.
Now lets go back to December. I was able to get some time off from work thanks to some great coworkers who switched dates with me and a flexible schedule. We took both cats with us back to Iowa over Christmas. Parker basically hid the entire time like he did last time in the truck and at the farm. Marshy explored the truck a little bit and also explored the farm a little too. We split our time back in Iowa with both our families and had lots of meals and lots of family time. A few pictures to follow!
Brett has been busy like usual at school with teaching labs and doing research again this semester. He is getting ready for a trip out to California to present some research and attend some seminars, etc at the end of March.
Claire in her apron helping me make cookies one day at Mom and Dad's. She was a really good help with putting all the ingredients in the mixing bowl! (and eating M & M's) :) 
There were a few toys at Mom and Dad's that didn't quite work right. The batteries had been in them so long that they had corroded. Claire brought them to Uncle Brett to fix - and she was quite interested in everything he was doing! 
Claire and Natalie playing the piano and singing together. I have so many pictures of the girls from our time in Iowa that I could fill this blog with them - but I'll just share a few. Miss these girls!!
We have had such a mild winter here in Illinois and I love it! I have not shoveled once this winter so far, and Brett has only shoveled a couple times. The high is supposed to be 51 today, the 22nd of February. Today is kind of a lazy day, although I have been awake since 3:30 this morning - couldn't sleep. ugh. I work tonight so I went to the gym early this morning and I will nap this afternoon before work tonight.
Our 5 year anniversary is coming up in May. I really can't believe 5 years have gone by already. Wow. I would love to take a week long vacation to a warm beach somewhere to celebrate but I don't think I will be able to take that much time off work, or afford a vacation to a beach.....oh well I can always dream right? Time to take a nap with my kitties today! And since a blog post on here wouldn't be complete without a picture of the cats - here is one from our trip back to Illinois after being in Iowa.
