Just in time for Christmas

Happy Wednesday!

I'm in a blogging mood, so I figured I'd get one in before Christmas.

First off, I am proud to say that my cousin, second cousin to be exact just landed on American soil after sacrificing so much of his life for our freedom! I personally don't think the timing could have been any better! What a welcome home just in time for Christmas! Not only did he sacrifice his life, he missed out on so many moments of watching his three baby girls grow up. I cannot even imagine what type of homecoming it will be, I imagine it being fairy tale like, which shoots shivers up my arms!

With that being said, I think we should reflect on all of the courageous men and women that have sacrificed their lives to bring us peace and freedom and thank them not just on Veteran's day, but every day! While you celebrate the holidays with all your loved ones, military families don't always get do so. Be thankful for your family and loved ones!

How many of you made "Christmas List's" of the things you wanted this Christmas? Be honest! It's okay! My "list" was super hard to come up with this year. I remember being a little kid and could think of numerous things to get. However, this year I feel I have everything. I am so blessed to have the most amazing family, and to be in closer proximity to them again. I am so excited that my family gets to be together, so in all honesty my biggest Christmas wish would be to have what I have now for the years to follow!! I truly have it all! What more could a girl ask for?! While I wish that each one of you has a list of something that would be truly special for you, take time to remember the simple things, you never know when you could lose them...

On a happy note here, I finished up my first semester of Grad School, but the free time seems weird to me now...oh boy! I am proud and extremely excited to say that I rocked 3 A's and a B this semester, which I felt I worked super hard for. I suppose having no social life pays off in other ways... (I'll keep telling myself that).

I also switched jobs in November, well to a new floor anyways. I'm loving it. It is funny how one single person can ruin an experience for you. The nurses and manager on my new floor are so pleasant and fun to work with, and were so welcoming which made the transition ever so easy!

My life is good! :)

While I was reading my Bible today I came across a verse that reads:
"For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you." --Jeremiah 29:11-14 ♥
I don't think this could have been any more perfect for me. As I reflect on the past year there have been many negatives, however I do know the Lord has great plans for me, and this semester of grad school was a little sign from above I believe! I look forward to what the future holds for me and I'm not stopping until I reach my dreams!

My wish for you for the rest of the week is to turn up the Christmas tunes as loud as you can, sing out loud and enjoy the moments with your family! You'll remember them for a lifetime, and I can assure you that your children will too! My memory of this is with my family going to go cut down a Christmas tree and we would listen to Christmas songs the whole way there and the whole way home, it is a memory I will always cherish. :)

Here are my top 5 Christmas songs EVER.... EVER... EVER!!
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeShHAZk3to
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hAUWyp0qzs
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNkll4JSwo&feature=related
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6xNuUEnh2g
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o8-eLZhrOA

And my FAVORITE CHRISTMAS movies:
1. Christmas Vacation
2. Elf
2. The Grinch
3. Santa Clause 2, 1, 3 (yes in that order)
4. Frosty the Snowman
5. The Christmas Story

And for all you Grinches out there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8J-YmVs1j0

there is hope! ;)

Merry Christmas to you all, I wish you many blessings, laughter and love this holiday season!

God Bless you all!

-K

I may be blunt, at least I have manners.

Good morning!

In effort to make some people laugh, I will describe my 8 hours at work last night. Yikes!

This comic above just cracks me up!

It amazes me what comes out of some people's mouths these days. Where were the parents to help guide individuals into mature classy adults?! Apparently absent, that is my only conclusion. After my night I had at work I am now questioning why I want to help people psychologically, while rather maybe I should teach them manners and English... hm.. perhaps I'm on to something! ;)

To start my shift off, I was walking down the main hall in the hospital and a "fella" said to me in passing "dammn GURRRRL shake whatchya mamma gave yUH!" I turned and looked at him and said "Excuse me? That was rather rude, my mom doesn't have an ass." and kept walking. Honestly, where do people find comments like this acceptable? You're at a hospital, not a strip club. While most patients are merely clothed, this is still not a strip joint. It is a hospital.
For those of you who don't know... the hospital is in the heart of the ghetto! I mean...realistically we get every thug from every 2 block radius. While not every patient is a "thug" the "thugs" seem to think they run the hospital. Hello!! Some people are actually paying for their stay here and are honestly sick.... (wait, is that too honest? Whatever, it is the TRUTH!)

Another incident from last night. A call light goes off for a patient that was not mine, however I like to help people so I answered the call light. Boy was that a mistake. I walk in "Hi! Can I help you with something?" The man replies " B!tcH get me god damn pain meds, now" I just froze, stunned.... what part of my "Hi! Can I help you with something" sounded like "Hi! I'm you bitch, I'll take your order now" people, common sense here, you respect others you shall get respect in return. People that treat me like that automatically annoy me. Where are your manners?! As this man continued to throw many more rude inappropriate words towards me I walked out with no intentions of helping him. We later had to call a "code green" on him because he was throwing his phone, urinal, table, and even a chair at the nurse.... really.... really?....Really?!!! Grow up! I feel so bad for other patients that need to hear and see such rude and immature behaviors.

Again another incident, I was going to go to the bathroom and the aid who talked more ghetto than what I'd imagine people in the Bronx talk like says to me as I'm walking into the bathroom "ahhhh gurrrl yuh betta not go in dur I shit real bad!" I turned and looked at her with my eyes I'm sure just massive, "WHAT?!" I asked, did I really just hear her right?! haha she goes "I shit in there, stinky real bad" Oh my goodness. I just about died. I am not one who ever likes to talk about pooping, so this was just so not something I needed to know. However, since it was the only bathroom available I took one for the team and took a deep breath before entering and went to the bathroom as fast as I could. I'd imagine the huge sigh of breath I made after exiting the bathroom was heard by her around the other side of the hall.

Cripes the things I see and experience as an everyday basis at the hospital. So my only advice for people who may have to experience a stay in the hospital.
1. Get a private room
2. Don't expect much
3. Don't expect much quietness
4. Be NICE
5. Be RESPECTFUL
6. Understand that you are NOT the only patient being cared for
7. Appreciate the help we give you, especially if we are genuinely being nice.
8. Do NOT hit on your nurses, aids, or doctors...its really creepy!That is all for today, hope you have a better day with more manners than I received!
-K

Finally some time to BLOG!

25 things I things I learned this weekend:

1. City girl doesn’t "fit in" at snoX races. Wearing a pink jacket, and a flowered hat doesn’t really go with the other attire everyone else wore.


2. NEVER EVER sit on a public toilet seat. I don’t care if you’re sitting on the toilet seat for 2 minutes, 10 minutes or 40 minutes. DO NOT sit on public toilet seats...eww!


3. Every sport will have a cocky arrogant athlete.


4. Every sport will have an awesome athlete who gives back to his fans. I may be biased here, but Levi LaVallee is awesome at giving back to his fans!!


5. I seem a lot more mature than 92% of the women at the snoX races...offta!


6. Men NEVER ask for directions, and they will always think they are right. HELLO MARK! Did you forget I am a human map?! Silly!


7. Standing out in the freezing cold for 10 hours is what I would consider a true fan!


8. Hockey is way less prone for injuries than SnoX. I will never think snowmobile riding is easy ever again.


9. Mark will never stop being a little kid, I think I heard 14 new plans on life in the three days I spent with him. Thanks to Levi, Mark now wants to ride SnoX?!


10. I would commit suicide if I ever lived in Duluth


11. I will always be a city girl. Nothing will change that


12. I stress out over the silliest things, and that will never change.


13. I would much rather be vomiting than having a sore throat and terrible cold. At least when I’m puking I know I’m losing weight and doing something productive ;)


14. Girls that chew tobacco is extremely unattractive, NO man will date you!


15. Sometimes I think I’m as funny as Chelsey Handler. HEY! People do laugh at me!


16. Common sense is not for every one, which annoys me more than anything.


17. Some people should NEVER EVER be nurses, or work with sick patients. I cannot believe how rude some people are!


18. With my super duper good grades I still find myself freaking out about the finals week this week, apparently a 4.0 isn’t good enough for me?!


19. I cannot wait for Christmas!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of the family time.


20. I need to SLOW down and enjoy more of the simple things in life. I realized after looking back on my first semester in Grad School I really didn’t do much. However when I did do stuff I realized how much fun I had doing it.


21. I miss my friends, I’ve sort of abandoned them this semester!


22. I have mastered the voices of every movie I have seen in the last month... YIKES! I’m best at animal voices. Just ask my family. Yes I talk for my dogs in the voices I image they’d have! :)


23. Thanksgiving reminds me of how good I have it. I wouldn’t change my family or my life for the world!


24. Money corrupts families! I will never wish to be "rich" in wealth. I will wish to be rich in happiness, love, joy, family closeness, friendships, and laughter!


25. For only being gone for three days from my family, boy did I miss them! I hate feeling as if I’m being left out or missing out on something!

This weekend was filled with fun, minus being sick! I got to spend Thanksgiving with my family, which was full of noise and laughter! Then I had to work on Thursday night. Friday- Sunday I spent up in Duluth at the International SnoX series. Mark and I went up there to watch Levi, which was so much fun. If I didn’t have someone to cheer for I don’t know if I would have liked it as much. Wait scratch that, I did enjoy it! I don’t know how mom’s can watch their boys race. I watched riders crash and burn, seen riders get pulled away on stretchers. I even watched one rider get hit by another rider, then was caught underneath a snowmobile. The scariest incident was when a rider was in the finals, and got whipped off of his sled after soaring in the air, then to look up and get trampled by another rider on his sled. Honestly, SO scary! The guy freaked out at first, as if he were in shock. Then he just went still and was carried out on a stretcher 10 minutes later. We got to see Levi do a back flip while simultaneously having fireworks go off at the same time. It was so awesome! If you don’t know who Levi is, I think you should check out this video! :)

http://www.redbullusa.com/cs/Satellite/en_US/Video/levi-returns-new-year-no-limits-021243122016301

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and long weekend. Hopefully none of you were hospitalized after BLACKFRIDAY! Hey who knows, maybe you were like the blond lady in the Target commercials who trained all fall for the big shopping day! That’s my mom’s favorite commercial, cracks us up every time we see it!

For those of you looking for some fun winter dates here are some suggestions (my list of things to do this winter personally):

1. Holidazzle- fabulous as a date, or bring the whole family!


2. Macy’s Christmas floor!


3. Skating at the Depot!


4. Sledding, so much fun! Great giggles to follow!


5. Skating outside on an outside rink, old school, but fun!


6. Horseback riding after a fresh snowfall- so romantic! (Bunker Hills has a ridding stable)


7. Baking TONS and TONS of Christmas cookies! :) YUM! Make the man stir, or if you’re like me just take over and let them watch! ;)


8. Snowball fights! – NO ice chunks please!


9. Build Snowmen—and snow-women!


10. Go snow shoeing or skiing through the woods. Watch out for lions, tigers and bears or should I say wolves, bobcats, coyotes. ;) YIKES! I always think of Parent Trap when the soon to be step mom is smacking the sticks together to scare the animals away haha!!

Pain is Only Temporary

Hi Everyone!

I haven't blogged in awhile, I mean to. However, every time I try to type something it isn't something that should be read by everyone. I have SO much built up, yet not all is appropriate to share, even though writing seems to be my perfect source of self-help therapy. So now I am finding new ways to regulate myself. For instance, Mark bought me oil paints and the 'special' paper to go with it. When I saw this I was so excited! I thought of all of the things I could draw and paint... funny thing is, that was three weeks ago...haven't touched it yet. I also said I'd start playing the piano again....haven't touched that yet either...unless you count dusting it! ;)

Life has been crazy, I definitely have been placed in situations where I have questioned the people that are in my life, how my life is so different than others, and how good I truly do have it. I truly am blessed to have my loving family and amazing friends.

As I sit in my classes I often get tangled in thoughts that go through my head. I am learning so much, learning so much to the point my head could honestly explode. I have always enjoyed school, I have always loved learning so I'm glad I'm enjoying this journey of my life. I find myself laying in bed late into the night thinking about what I learned in class and how it relates to situations going on in my life, this process isn't good for someone who doesn't have time for insomnia!

A couple weeks ago Mark and I got the opportunity to go back down to Boone, Iowa for the DMACC alumni game. It was honestly the greatest feeling in the world to be back down there to see all of the guy's as well as some of the parents whom I spent much of my first 2 years of dating Mark with. It was such a bittersweet feeling to see them all out on the field playing with each other again, smiles lit up that town of Boone that weekend! It felt like home again to all of those boys and I cherish the memories of those 2 years, as well as the memories created that weekend. It is neat to see how far those guys have came and how their lives are changing into the process we now call "adulthood" !!

This past Saturday my best friend Ali and I ran the Mankato Marathon, I tell ya what an experience that was! As I added another 1/2 marathon for the books, Ali created her first one for the books. I can honestly say I have never had such a bonding experience like I did with her while we trained for the Marathon. I have always considered her to be one of my best friends, however this process brought us even closer. I remember as the weeks narrowed down for this some of our friends bet me that she would bail. To be completely honest, I had my doubts. As it came down to the final days before the Marathon she was getting cold feet, any excuse you could think of I think I probably heard! haha! my favorite was on the way down to Mankato and she goes "I have to call my dad" so she calls her dad and has a conversation with him but all I remember was "Hi dad, so I'm on my way down for the marathon with Kayla, and I'm calling you because my heart hurts, is that bad?" Her dad then asks her medical questions (after all he is a doctor) my favorite line was "Ali, you're fine, what is your resting heart rate?" we died laughing, Ali then goes on "well I don't know, what's the average? because I'm sure its higher than that" as they continued to talk he wished her luck and told her he loved her. After she got off the phone she told me "I really can't do this!!"

NO ALI! You're not backing out on me now. Our car ride there was so much fun, reminiscing about my memories of Mankato, and all of the crazy things I did with my friends. When it was time to fall asleep we were dead set on going to bed early, as we climbed into bed at 10:30pm we stayed up till about 1- 1:30 am dying laughing. I'm pretty sure all Mankato could hear our laughter. I honestly doubt I will ever laugh that hard again. Wait, scratch that...we laughed on our way home too!!

The morning of the Marathon was beautiful, we couldn't have asked for a better day! My parents came down to cheer us on, however if you know my parents, they don't really "CHEER" like some other people's parents do. My parents cheers consist of "GOOD JOB" other than that, I'm not really sure what they cheered...haha! Ali insisted they bring a wagon to stroll her through the finish line. While they didn't bring one, she never needed it! When we started the run she was good, she seemed super nervous but once we got going she was fine. We even got passed by a 80+ year old man at mile 4 we laughed so hard! We both pulled out our iPhones to snap a picture of him too!
There's our guy! hehe he's so cute!

At mile 7 we saw a sign that made us laugh it said "trust your training" (lone behold I found out that she NEVER ran when I couldn't run, so basically she ran Wednesday's and Sunday's) at mile 11 we got pushed by a grandma running which made us laugh again. The best laugh was going up this stupid hill at the final mile, it wasn't a steep hill but a steady hill. All I remember was Ali looking over and just busting out laughing. She goes "we look like 90 year old grandma's trying to get up this hill" literally we did! Our form was terrible, we were crippled over as if our bodies couldn't take it. Once we hit the finish line Ali had the biggest smile on her face, she then asked "so are we doing this next year?" Mission accomplished I have a marathon buddy for life now!! YES!!!I have never been so proud of someone in my life, well minus my brother. But I felt like a proud mom. I was so proud of Ali for how much she doubted herself, and told herself she couldn't do this....she did it. She did it without WALKING! We NEVER walked once. We finished 2:21:13 to be exact! I truly am proud of her and couldn't have asked for better memories than the ones I've had with her through this whole process!! However, she sure was feeling it the next day, which I knew she would! She still claims it was the "greatest experience of her life"

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."
-PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

That is all for tonight, I hope this finds you all well!

-Kayla

How Time Flies When You're......

I haven't blogged in a couple weeks so I figured hey! Why not!

The title of my blog comes from the saying "how time flies when you're having fun" however, am I really having fun?! I'm not sure! I would say time flies when you're busy! ha

School is taking up most of my life in terms of free time, but I guess that is what is expected when you're in grad school. I feel as if I don't really have a life. My only free night of the week is Wednesdays and that day sure seems to fly by fast. I can't really say I've been swamped with homework, because some days I seem to have a LOT of reading, yet other days I feel as if I don't have anything (which is nice)!!

It is already mid-term this week for two of my classes, one finished up which I got 100% in, so I'm starting out good! WOOP WOOP!! ;) Now if only I can keep that route up! The next few weeks to come I will soon be swamped with papers... and by papers I don't mean a nice 3-4 page double spaced paper. I am talking 25-30 page papers....times 3. YUCK! I guess I shall enjoy this nice weather while I can!

It's hard to believe it is already October, where did the summer go?! I decided that when I am done with grad school I am going to open my own private practice or my own company and only work October- May. Summers, will be optional. No wait, scratch that. Summers will be OFF! I am going to move somewhere in the Winter that is ALWAYS sunny and 80+ degrees out, where I can be on a boat, or on the water at all times of my day. Even better, my practice will be on a boat... now we are talking. There is so much evidence that sun can boost yourself esteem and brings you out of depression so why not practice in the sun ;) Coolest idea by far! Then in the summer I will move back to Minnesota and live on the lake! My office/practice will be closed unless skyping is an option on a boat! Perfect! ha now if only it were that easy!

The Mankato Marathon is coming up in 3 weeks...umm we shall see how well this goes for Ali, ha I haven't told her yet how hilly this course is...oops! She will love the experience so I'm not going to tell her! She is sort of dreading this run now because it is becoming more real to her now!

On the 15th there is the DMACC alumni game, so Mark and I are going down there for it! I honestly can say I have never been so excited to go somewhere which is weird because it is Iowa...Boone Iowa to be exact. I'm pretty sure it is the smallest town I have ever been in, with absolutely NOTHING to do there but I have such fond memories there that I am SUPER excited! :)

That is all for today, just a little update! Ps. Happy Grey's Anatomy day! hehe!!! My favorite SHOW ever that I obsess over!

-Kayla

just a run away

I haven't blogged in MONTHS!!

Today Mauer ran away! I let him out about 9:40 this morning and normally he stays in the backyard...however today that wasn't the case. He was GONE! I searched for him for about 50 minutes, until finally I get to the park! When I got to the park I had to smile, not only because I knew I found Mauer, but the sight was so freeing and liberating.

Here's this yellow lab leaping, running as fast as he can... HAPPY! He looked so happy out there, so how could I get mad at him. As I'm calling his name, he turns his head towards me and gives me that look like "oh shit" it was honestly so funny. For those of you who know him, his looks he gives people are priceless, its almost as if he were human.

When he turned his head towards me, he looked...then just get leaping and running as if he were the free-est happiest dog in the world. Almost as if he were giggling while running. When I finally got him to come my way he went straight for all the little kids playing at the playground, while mothers looked worried that some crazy dog is on the loose, but all he did was lay down right next to a mom and rolled on his back like he wanted a belly scratch. He sure has a way with people, the two mom's then started rubbing his belly as I finally get up to him and the little toddlers were loving him. How could I yell at him?

I couldn't... we walked back home as he was leashed up and kept looking back at me as if I were an evil parent ruining his fun. OH well he's home and not dead on the side of the road!

(here is a picture of him giggling this winter, but this is what I think he was doing when I saw him at the park)

Anyways, on to real life stuff.

I started grad school on the 29th of August, it hasn't been too crazy yet, however the papers that I have to write that aren't due for awhile are already scaring me! I wish I had in detail what the criteria was for them so I could get a jump start! I like finishing things way before they are due! Anyways, classes are good, I can actually say I am enjoying STATS, never in my life did I think those words would come out of my mouth. The first day we watched a YouTube video on math... here is the link, its pretty funny....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QBv2CFTSWU

Alex left us on the 3rd of September. I can honestly say mom didn't cry, well at least I didn't see her cry. If anyone cried I'm sure dad cried secretly in the bathroom or something...haha I will admit I teared up a little, okay a lot. But only at night time!

The house is super duper quiet now, I am the loud one of the family; however with Alex gone I have no one to joke around with... SUCKS!

When we moved Alex in the joke of our house was if the weather was muggy, raining and hot his school year would suck. (when I moved into Mankato the weather was hot, muggy, and rainy...well I only lasted a semester there...so when I moved to NDSU my first year there the weather was hot, muggy and rainy...... I hated my life there.... haha then my second and final semester there it was hot, muggy, and raining....hated it just as much as the first year there...so you get my point) Well needless to say the weather was cool and actually a decent day so he will be fine!

With that being said, OBVIOUSLY it's better than fine for him because he NEVER talks to us.... this part is extremely hard for me because Alex and I talked everyday, all day and now he is "an independent adult" now (which I don't understand) No worries though, because I gave him an ear full the other day on how just once a day he should at least "check-in" he didn't seem to understand why this is needed...so he's not listening to me very well. Little does he know.... I will just come stop by if this theory of his keeps up!

I told my mom the other day that I was envious of Alex, he is loving college, playing the sport he loves and does NOT have to work.... ahhh to be young again. Her response was "Alex will be envious of you someday because his debt will be more expensive" but no this isn't the point!

My mom and dad have now became pretty much "Empty Nester's" I say 98% of the time they are on their own. I go to school Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights, and the other days I'm out trying to enjoy the life people call "adulthood" aka spending time with friends, going out and working. During the day I work so my life seems to not exist at home, I really just use my parents house for a place to sleep and then BOOM back at the crazy life. So I really have no idea how my parents are enjoying their "new" life together! Hopefully they are enjoying it, because I think it sounds kinda fun!

I'm sad to say that summer is done, I drive down St. Paul and see the leaves starting to change, which excites me!! I think fall is honestly the most gorgeous season there is, and I cannot wait till the leaves start to change even more. According to the NEWS it is going to be the best colors in 10 years!! Cannot wait to whip my camera out and take TONS of pictures!

I have so many things I want to do this fall so I'm looking forward to it. This fall I'm dedicating my life to my very own "life of independence," basically doing everything and anything that excites me, makes me happy, makes me feel free and on my own. (NO MOVING OUT IS NOT ON MY LIST) but adventure is mostly what I'm talking about. I am on a mission to find my very own true meaning of ME! I cannot wait!

One of my best friends and I are training for the Mankato half marathon! So we have been running around Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles for maybe a month now, and its so much fun! She has never done a half marathon or maybe even ran as far as I make her, but she has been quite the trooper and we have had such great laughs while training so its been great! I have been taking pictures on our run! I think everyone should get down there and walk, bike, run, or Rollerblade around those lakes, such a beautiful sight! :)
Lake Calhoun :) Taken on Friday!

That's all for today, happy Monday! :)

Not So Average

"He taught us the art of unqualified love. How to give it, how to accept it. Where there is that, most other pieces fall into place."

"A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty." -- My favorite John Grogan quote! :)

This is my not so average post:


First off: Today my workout consisted of dancing with Mauer, its so much fun! Can't get any more blissful than that!


It reminds me of the clip from Marley and Me where Owen Wilson pulls into the drive way to look through the front window at Jennifer Aniston dancing with Marley.

However Mauer doesn't exactly stay up on his two back hind legs for long, he more is like crazy leaping for the most part but the joy of it all is that he follows the beat in some odd way...who knows maybe I'm too in awe with it all and imagine the beat being at the same pace of his leaps!
(ps. we like anything with a great beat especially this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0RvPYRRRbE&feature=relmfu ) :)

Second: Grandma and I were watching the Proposal the other day laughing enjoying the part where Sandra Bullock is dancing with Betty White and I couldn't help but think out loud telling my grandma: "grandma this could so be you and I some day" we just laughed. You see grandma plays in the Alumni band from her high school and plays the snare drums... I think so don't quote me on it! But if anyone knows my grandma you would too see how this could be grandma and I when we are older!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wwQWyo0J3E cannot get enough of this part of the movie! Gets me to laugh every time!!

With that being said how many people can think this is a normal grandma, granddaughter moment!(Grandma and I a couple years ago!)

Third: This weekend people made fun of me for how I make up voices for my dogs. For instance, since McGuire is OLD! (13 years old now) when people say "Hi McGuire!" I always mock his voice to sound like an old Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh! ha that is defiantly not so NORMAL! But hey it works for him!

McGuire :)

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."

The Sum of LOVE in a box

The other day I was cleaning and organizing my room when I found all of my old love letters and cards from Mark throughout the years. Then I found old OLD old pictures of Mark and I from our first date, our first 6 month anniversary, as well as pictures throughout the significant events.

My first date with Mark was to the Underwater Word at Mall of America, walked around Mall of America just talking and then eating at Olive Garden.

(This was our first picture ever together)

The First time Mark asked me out (yes he asked me out twice) was at the Keith Urban concert with Gary Allan Friday November 17th 2007. (I have a very good memory, wouldn't it be creepy if I remembered the time?) ;)

Then I decided to break up with him "for good" sometime in December, but boy was the stupid. I think it took me a whole three days to realize that was dumb and maybe nice guys actually are the type I want to date. You see, I broke up with Mark because he was "too nice!" That's right, I broke up with him because he was too nice. I was used to dating jerks! Mark on the other hand, opened doors for me, wanted to buy everything for me, and was always super sweet. That creep-ed me out though! Then when I realized I wanted him back, he didn't want me back! Ouch!!

After trying to win Mark back....he was teasing two girls at the time, me and one other. I won! We started dating again February 17th 2008! The rest was history!!

(Picture from when Mark showed up at the Airport to surprise me on my 19th birthday)

While I can remember a lot of things from my relationship with him, I don't remember them all sad to say. However, when looking back at old pictures, old letters he wrote me, or cards he sent me I had flash backs to the days we spent together and apart. My relationship with him has mostly been long distance, but for one whole summer we spent practically every waking moment together, and we didn't get sick of each other. Then last year at NDSU we spent a whole year together, and got pretty sick of each other.... no I'm kidding! We definitely found out what a relationship was like to see someone all of the time.(hiking Summer of '09)

(summer of '09)

My first two years of my relationship with him he was in Iowa and I was here, I spent a LOT of gas money to see him but it was well worth it. I met a lot of great baseball players, and new friends because of him. I have a lot of great memories with him in Iowa. Its funny how fast time flies by!

While living in Fargo, it was definitely different on our relationship, we hit some major road bumps and even took some detours along the way, but we are now stronger than ever in our relationship.(Christmas '09)

That's when it hit me, if Mark and I made it through all of that.... I can only imagine how we will survive what will slap us in the face down the road! Who knows maybe it will all be sunshine, beautiful flowers and winds at our backs type of ride down this journey I call 'ours'.(Spring Baseball in Florida '10)

(spring Baseball Arizona '11)

With all of this being said I want to create a time capsule, I have ideas of what I'd put in there such as old pictures of us, old cards, letters and things that have meaning to me, some personal and some things that make me think of Mark. I also want Mark to put things in there that have meaning to him as well. Then have us come up with a list of 50 things we hope we will have accomplished as a couple, as individuals, and of our families within the next 25 years.

(My college Graduation... Mark had a game that day!)

I think it would be sweet to dig a deep hole up at my cabin and 'plant' it there and dig it up in 25 years! I can only imagine how cool it would be to dig it up in 25 years and look back at things we put in there, look at the list and see what we wrote and see how far off we were about the life we imagined, and the life we had created. And if for some sad reason Mark and I didn't make it, I would still love to open it up 25 years later and look back and remember what a great love story I truly did create!

So as cheesy this idea is, I am a hopeless romantic and will be forcing Mark to do this with me! :)(Vegas June '11)

"You are my best friend as well as my lover, and I do not know which side of you I enjoy the most. I treasure each side, just as I have treasured our life together."

The doctor is in....

For some reason when I posted this yesterday, no words showed up! Crazy!

Anyways, yesterday I got to work with my beloved Alzheimer's patients! One man who is 89 was the sweetest thing ever. He was so confused, yet EXTREMELY funny, I couldn't pass up the opportunities to take "breaks" and sit at his bedside and talk to him and his wife. They have been married for 66 years, a true love story! She was a nurse, he was in the service. The little old man would chime in every now and then with "actually facts" as his wife would call it. He told me it was NOT love at first sight, his wife chuckled a little, apprehensive to laugh along she whispered to me... "he's not lying, he called me a b!tch the first day we met. We hated each other from there on out..." They continued on telling me about their love story and how he would wait for her after work "to try to figure her out" as he said. She said she came from a wealthy family and was very stuck up at the time and didn't give a rats a$$ about men with no money. little did she know they fell in love and raised a family of 5 and traveled the world. They continued to travel the world up until 2 years ago when his Alzheimer's became progressively worse. They were the cutest little old couple ever.

My title of the blog comes from this little old man, because he thought the doctor was "flirting" with his "married wife of 66 years!" See the doctor came in to tell the family that not only did he have progressive middle stage Alzheimer's but that his brain was filled with cancer. As the wife cried the male doctor gave her a hug... this is when the little old man got upset. I moments later walked into the room and as I knocked on the door the little old man goes " OH THE DOCTOR IS IN DEAR, you better go hug him some more" in an angry voice. As sad as it was, it was also cute, this man who was so confused was still being protective of his wife even at the state of mental capacity that he was at. As we talked about the doctor he drifted off to other stories of totally off subject topics and would jump from one another, but no matter what we talked about it was about "momma" as he called his wife!

Precious couple, one that I enjoyed getting to know in a little 8 hour shift.


On another note, I did run into the sexy doctor at work, so if you feel like getting sick and want to see a sexy doctor, you now know where to go ;)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm5kx3xqmg0

This song is my current obsession I cannot seem to let go of this song, enjoy!

Field of Dreams

For some, baseball season has just begun.

However that is not the case for my brother, or Mark.

My brother's senior year of high school baseball ended last night. I can only imagine how it felt for him to know his senior year of his favorite sport came to an end. Fortunately for him, he will be playing college baseball to continue on the journey playing his favorite sport. With that being said I'm sure it was still a surreal feeling.

Mark's season is coming to an end as well... senior year of college, senior year of baseball. I think when his season truly does end he will be very sad. I don't know what it is like to grow up playing baseball since you were a wee little guy playing baseball, to being a 22 year old college player who is "hanging" up the glove. I'm sure it will be emotional for him... his dream was to play baseball and college and he got that opportunity! Even though his college career wasn't always smooth sailing, he handled himself with so much dignity, and always was modest. With the past two years of ball not being at all what he had anticipated, or expected he has been so mature about the whole situation that I truly look up for him! ( Since he is so mature I will do all the Sh!t talking for him, I'm really good at that) ;) It's sad to see how we will say 'goodbye' to baseball here soon, and yes I say WE. I have been dating Mark for his whole college career. His freshman year I didn't miss a game, and only missed a few his sophomore year. Junior and Senior year I'd try to make it to every game possible. I hated to miss his games.... and him being a pitcher didn't mean I'd get to see him play in every game.... that didn't matter to my family or I we were just proud to show our support!


There is a joke between Mark and I for all the cold cold cold games I have been to, for all of the LONG long LONG car rides I have driven to see him... play...or better yet sit on the bench. The joke is that my diamond ring better be big.... cost ooddles and ooodles of money... so basically every time I frigidly shake while watching him play or not I increase the carat size of my diamond. This is all fun and jokes, because honestly I wouldn't miss a game of his for the world. Watching him and supporting him brings joy to myself, and I think he appreciates it.

Some of my favorite memories with Mark are at baseball games of his, with him and his teammates, and road trips to watch his games. I got the privilege of traveling far for his games, when they made it to the College World Series his freshman year I road tripped with his mom, dad, and sister. The joke from his little sister is that I "slept the whole way and only woke up once to take pictures!" His sophomore year I road tripped with my mom to the College World Series again, we had fun singing the whole way there and back, and just talking about life. Flying to Arizona with Mark's mom was fun, and extending our stay because of a winter storm was just fine with me. I will cherish the memories of watching Mark play, and can only hope he remembers and cherishes these college years.

As for my brother, he still gets to fulfill his dreams of playing ball. I can only wish, hope, and pray so much success for him! I wish him the best, and cannot WAIT to watch him play college baseball. I also believe he should be so proud of his hard work and dedication that has blessed him with this opportunity. I know my parents are extremely proud.

I wrote a poem for both Alex and Mark, let me warn you it is nothing special nor is it all that good, but I thought I would share it with you all!!!

Field of Dreams

As a young boy you are placed on a team

For the purpose of fulfilling every dad’s dreams

Standing in the field anxious as can be

Wishing “I hope the ball comes to me”

As the ball bounces over the glove

Proud moms and dads can only encourage with love

The years go by and teams come and go

The friendships you make will go far, everyone knows

Fields full of dreams, hoping to succeed

The passion of the game continues to proceed

With all the passion and goals of the game

Determination will create the next step in the game

Up to bat bases are loaded Tied for the championship game

Pressure is on, fans are cheering

All the adrenaline has got you fearing failure

All goes quiet as you make contact with the bat and the ball

Everyone’s watching as the ball goes over the wall

As you cross home plate off your grand slam

You look up in the stands and see your dad

Proud as can be with a smile on his face

You can only smile knowing you made him so proud

Times fly by and your off to college

Playing college ball was only a dream you had as a child

Great work ethic and determination

Lead you to that destination

Games won and games lost

The passion for the game never gets lost

Fields full of dreams

A team full of friends that now will become your family

Never forget them and never mistreat them

For everyone on the team has the same dream

Working together will create success

That’s when fields full of dreams become a reality everyone knows best

It all started out as a dads dream

To have a son play on a baseball team

Now it’s the boy who has accomplished the dad’s dreams

While creating his own while playing on a team

Baseball is forever and always

The memories will be cherished for the rest of your life

Remember When....

I just got home from work and my mind is racing. It was such an emotional night, I sat in a 1:1 with a combative, confused, lost, anxious Russian woman who has Alzheimer's disease.

As many of you know, my favorite people I have ever met in my life are little old ladies and little old men who have dementia or Alzheimer's disease.... so my heart felt love goes deep for these people.

This patient not only was beyond confused, but had not a clue about the English language. She not only didn't know what I was saying or trying to say to her, but she didn't know what I was doing to her. In my mind I could only think of how scared she must be. We tried to have a translator talk to her but she was SO confused that it didn't help. The worst thing was, she had no family. (this breaks my heart)

While I continuously tried to help her and make her comfortable, change her brief, get blood or to even try to feed her I was getting my ass kicked. It took at times 3 to 4 nurses to help hold her arms down, to hold her legs down while she just sobbed and screamed. It was just heartbreaking....

I have such fond memories of the last 3 years that I have worked with the elderly, and can only smile with tears in my eyes of special memories with specific people. The joy that they brought to my life will always make a lasting impression.... I can only hope that someday I too can put that type of influence, impression, joy, and love into other people's lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLl8YdXv4R4&feature=related
This link is a short documentary Alzheimer's disease that I found and thought I'd share... let me warn you it is sad.

The disease is sad, any form of dementia is sad... but I truly believe they are the most special people in the world. I wish everyone could experience the different experiences I have with those types of people. You would learn so much, and how it truly is the simple things that matter most, so cherish them, they will be lasting memories.

With this being said I think Everyone needs to read the book called Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It is the greatest book I have yet to read. It is about a professor that is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and what life is like from a person with Alzheimer's, it is such a great book. Grab some tissues because you will be balling.

Random Rainy Day thoughts

"There's a reason I said I'd be happy alone. It wasn't 'cause I thought I'd be happy alone. It was because I thought if I loved someone and then it fell apart, I might not make it. It's easier to be alone, because what if you learn that you need love and you don't have it? What if you like it and lean on it? What if you shape your life around it and then it falls apart? Can you even survive that kind of pain? Losing love is like organ damage. It's like dying. The only difference is death ends. This? It could go on forever."


If you are curious where this quote came from I recently got caught up on my shows and this was the opening quote of once again Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. I think this is true, falling in love is so exciting yet, being alone to prevent a heart break sounds SO much easier.

Anyways this post isn't to express my opinions on love, just found this quote fascinating because so many people fight to make a relationship last, that I think this quote explains why so many people don't want to fall in love!

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”


here are a few of my top favorite songs of the moment that I'd like to share:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ5IIDn_JXE
Jason Aldean: Red Dirt Anthem
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVrSChJPfhw
Leighton Meester ft. Garret Hedlund: Give into Me
3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4xY__FoDzY
Amos Lee: Windows are Rolled Down
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FtvF4k2QaQ&feature=related
Amos Lee: Colors
5.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8R399dzIHU
Mumford & Sons: Awake My Soul
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AW9C3-qWug
Adele: Someone Like You
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G0_eN36QVc
Lissie: When I'm Alone
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opw8I6UTpGo&feature=related
Ray LaMontagne: For The Summer
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU6OU1LJv1E
Jack Johnson: From The Clouds
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPuqA94-qCo
Matt Nathanson: Faster
11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKqDaA1InEE&feature=related
Matt Nathanson: Wedding Dress
12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeCClzNCfcA
John Mayer: Heartbreak Warfare
13. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLAseDl9umw
THIS ONE NEVER CAN GET OLD!!!!! Van Morrison: Days like This

That's all for now, enjoy your rainy weekend!!!

a great time to snuggle up and watch good movies!!! :)

4 years in a nut shell

On Saturday I graduated from College!Here is a picture of Mark and I on Graduation day! (He had a baseball game, which is why he is not dressed up!)

I consider myself one of the lucky ones to finish "on time." On time, meaning in 4 years or less!

It doesn't seem like much of a big deal to me, its just a mile marker down in my eyes. I'm not done with school for good, so this "all done with school thing" is a tease for me! Oh well, great things will come with Grad School so I look forward to my new adventures with school, I think great big things are in store for me!

I've learned a LOT in the last four years. I can't tell you what I learned in Anatomy Class Freshman year at Mankato, but I can tell you... don't go to class hung over, you won't learn anything that way! ;) I can't tell you I learned much in Chemistry either... make sure to put "cheat" sheet notes in the calculator so you remember how to do the calculations.

No, this blog isn't to tell you of all the 'bad' things I did in college, I would like to consider myself a pretty well behaved college student. I studied hard, got good grades, didn't get pregnant in college, and I found who I was!

Freshman year I started at Mankato, first thing I learned...dorms SUCK! I remember move in day like it was yesterday, rainy, muggy and hot! I remember texting a specific boy saying "I'm kinda nervous, what if this isn't what I expect?!" Pretending to be super excited for the parents was easy, however I remember being scared! Moving in we were sweating it was awful. Maybe the rainy day we had should have been taken as a sign how freshman year would go.... miserable, drove up to the cabin 3 days after I moved in.... transferred after fall semester.

I learned dorm food sucks also. My mom had to call and remind me to eat there.... "that meal plan was a lot of money" blah blah blah! The fact that food sat out for people to touch, cough, sneeze on sounds just as disturbing as it did then as it does now. Needless to say, I didn't eat there much!

I also learned people change... this was the toughest thing for me to learn. Its funny to look back and think of how much I liked someone & how relationships don't last & how fast things change. Or to think of how much "friends" from high school...actually aren't your friends in college. I think it is depressing to see how much people change, well some change is good. I feel that I changed a lot in those few months of being away at school... I was growing up, maturing, and finding who I really was.

I met great friends who I still call my friends. I had great laughs with them, and lasting memories. There are a specific memories that I still look back at and laugh out loud. Those are the best! I think freshman year offered a lot of events that lead me to great places in my life. Freshman year is when I also started dating Mark, luckily for me I still have him!

Sophomore year was kinda dull, more like a blur. I do remember driving down to Iowa a lot to watch Mark's baseball games. I have met great guys on that team some of which I consider great friends of mine. The "DMACC" days as Mark and I refer to them as were the greatest college memories I have had by far. The friendships and memories created there are irreplaceable.

Junior year, I made the dumbest decision of my life... move to Fargo. Junior year was by far way worse than my freshman year at Mankato. Fargo should have never been a place I moved to. It wasn't the right fit for me, nor did it make me happy. For the events that have happened in Fargo, I will forever HATE Fargo. Fargo made me realize how much I appreciated my family being close to me, how much I truly appreciated my REAL friends, and how great the friends I had really are!

My main goal that year: GET OUT FAST!

Fast was my main mission Senior year of college. I got out of there after Fall semester and moved back home in December. Senior year wasn't fun either, lots of drama...things I thought I was forever done with once I walked out of the doors of my high school however that wasn't the case.

College may seem like it wasn't that much fun for me... four years later, four colleges later...I'm done. That is truly what matters. Its between the pages that meant the most to me. I have memories with friends that I will cherish forever. I have great friends that I know will be my friends for life. I have had laughs that gave me just as much of a side ache now as they did a long time ago. Most of all I can smile when I look back on the things I have witnessed and experience since my freshman year of college.

I learned what it was like to have my heart broken. What love felt like. What friendship truly is. Most of all I have learned what it means to be me. I know what my goals and ambitions are in life, I have dreams to chase from here on out, and intend to chase them.

Katherine Anne Porter once said: " Don't sidestep suffering. You have to go through it to get where you're going."

With that being said, my new motto in life is "Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order." - Samuel Beckett.