The Bells

Another little step on the journey

2012-01-26T21:13:00.001-06:00

I’ve had a busy month and it’s slowing down just a tad for the moment. The baby shower I was planning was awesome. I put a lot of time into the projects I made. If you haven’t already; you can see some of it HERE. We also hit up a basketball game, and I made more stuff (can’t tell ya what yet…). I tried a new bread recipe that was delicious just needs perfecting. (2nd round batch is on it’s last raising in the pans now). I have good intentions to make our own bread with it if I decide it’s cost effective and good enough…we shall see! (sometimes my ‘big’ ideas kind of fall through after a little while…)

I’m starting a small stretch of this journey I was never looking forward too. During school, Josh gets some ‘time off’ to go work at a clinic somewhere to learn, practice, and get graded. The students can choose where they go-the clinic just has to agree to do the requirements. He had some options nearby but had been invited to go to my first clinic, Bannock Animal Medical Center in Pocatello, ID. Room and board included. Even though I’d like to have him closer so we could SEE each other; I am happy that he is going to a place we know is great, we know he will learn a lot, and we know has awesome people for him to work with and learn from. He will get to see a lot that he might not see at a small clinic around here-the thing is all the really ‘cool’ stuff goes to the Vet School. Yes-I do realize that is where he is every day! But, he gets to see that same stuff from a different perspective, at another clinic, with different doctors, and no residents and interns in his way!

So, why am I dreading this? Because this morning he left to Saint Louis for a conference and he will be back late Sat night. Sunday morning he will get up and drive 21+ hours to Idaho (alone) where he will remain until the middle of March. Yes, 1 1/2 months. By then I will be flying home for a few days and we will drive back to Missouri together. I know there are so many other women out there who give up their husbands for much much longer time periods than this, with much worse circumstances. There are those with Jobs that take them away weeks or months at a time, and those in the military as well-and some of those have pretty limited contact with their families. Plus I don’t have any children to look after. I am thankful that honestly I really don’t have it that bad at all. But, even knowing all of that, this is still going to be hard. It will go by fast, but it won’t. He’s home, and I’m not.

Sixteen: the number of months until Vet School Graduation! In some ways that sounds like a lot-I mean it’s almost a year and a half. After starting the Journey with 4 years (48 months!) ahead of us though, 16 months is definitely a lot shorter. I haven’t been counting down really. I think I realized around 18 months where we were at, but when I sat down and thought about it I realized that I will have one more birthday in Missouri, One thanksgiving, One Christmas. I have one last summer to grow my garden here, because hopefully we will have found a job and moved before it’s time for one in 2013. Doesn’t that make it seem a little closer? It gives me hope-and something to look forward to!

Now, I’m not saying life here is bad. In fact leaving will probably be nearly as hard as it was moving here and leaving home even though I will be excited too. I am not very good at goodbye’s-and when saying hello to the future you have to say goodbye to the present. I honestly LOVE my job. I never think the phrase “I hate my job”. I cannot say I WANT to go to work EVERY SINGLE DAY…who does?-we all have ‘those’ days. But I never dread it. A good friend told me when I was leaving Pocatello that just because we move doesn’t mean we have to lose our friends. Now she would just be able to say she has friends in Missouri. I hope I can always say that after we leave. I hope I can say that I have friends all over the United States because of the people we have met through Vet School. I don’t know where we will end up exactly; but we know it will be closer to home and for that I am excited and thankful. I know Heavenly Father has guided us through this Journey and he won’t stop at graduation. I have faith he will lead us to the right place-whether it’s ‘home’ or a few hours away.

Any good tips/advice from friends out there on how to stay happy and help the time go by while you’re home alone? Work will keep me busy, but it’s so easy for me to let myself get depressed. I am weird: I ENJOY time at home. I don’t like to go out every night and be gone all the time. Occasional outings are awesome and fun-but my true content is at home. I’m thinking: exercise, crafts like sewing, reading, studying, some tv (about what i watch now-it’s too easy to just fall into the tv and stay there hours on end), and try to make good habits like housekeeping and perfecting my homemade bread.

{Bad cell phone pic of beautiful flowers Josh gave me before leaving.}

Twenty-Twelve

2012-01-04T23:40:00.001-06:00

I didn’t want to look back on what I wrote as far as goals from new year 2011, because I was afraid I didn’t do anything I wanted to. But, I actually did accomplish most of my list even though some things fell short. Over-all 2011 was a good year. I excelled at work and solved some health issues (being my exhaustion caused by low Vit-D levels; and lack of sleeping -not sure what that was caused from. I was taking a sleep aid to make me drowsy but I have been able to stop that and sleep pretty well now! Maybe that was also the vit D. My knee and wrist have been a long battle *I declined PT because of associated cost* but is doing really well-I’m just slowly working up). Getting my body back to normal levels has helped in all kinds of ways-chronic pain, sleeping, attitude, energy, headaches, even charlie horses!… I am so glad I finally found a doctor who listened to my concerns and was willing to do bloodwork to see if there was something off. She understood I wasn’t fishing for medications, but also understood I needed sleep. I was glad she tried me on something light and not addictive that did just what I needed it to-made me too sleepy to wake up lol.

We also nourished our relationship, and I was able to do some more decorating of my home. I LOVE my new paint and curtains. I had no idea how big of a job that room was going to be when I started-it made me feel that much more accomplished when it was done.

Because of the knee/wrist it was hard to exercise as effectively as I wanted, which was discouraging and caused me to do it less. We cancelled my gym membership-Wasn’t feeling like 1-2 times a week was enough to pay for it. THAT made a difference and walking outside when there’s enough light just hasn’t been enough to make up for that. SO I have a cheap-o treadmill on the way so I can work my way up walking inside this winter. I really hope to be able to jog again with my knee. I’ve been ignoring my body condition and I’m done with that now. I wasn’t meaning my new found motivation to be a new-year resolution-it just happened to come to me in December. Also I think December is a little bit of a hard month for me-missing my father. What intensified those feelings was not being able to go home to see my family this year. Depression also discourages my working out. NO MORE EXCUSES!

I haven’t been sewing constantly by any means-but I have continued to nourish my new talent at the sewing machine when I can and have a project in mind. I made a number of gifts, curtains, etc. I am currently working on a couple of gifts for a baby shower. I highly doubt the mom’s to be are reading this but I guess I won’t share too many details just in case. Don’t worry though-I’m trying to get it all done before the shower I’m throwing on the 14th so I can post it soon.

Speaking of the shower…
these are the invites I made. I think they turned out cute.

I got the idea from Pinterest and modified it. The carriage is fabric, and the brown lines are thread stitches, and the wheels are buttons.

I don’t think I will make a list of resolutions right now. Really they are always the same-just continued. I am going to really ponder what I want to work on the most. The top things on my mind are my health, both my body and my spirit. I want to work on those-make my body strong and healthy and help my spirit grow and thrive. I think I have a better outlook on this year because of an improved ME, and am excited for everything overall.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas far from home

2012-01-04T19:21:00.001-06:00

So far our winter has consisted of almost ¼” of snow which quickly melted. I’m worried that it’s saving itself up to bury is later.

We spent our December working hard as usual, attending Christmas parties, and going to Kansas for Christmas. Molly & Landon had us (and Sassy) along with her grandparents and dad over for the Holiday. We had a great time! We still missed home and the rest of our family but were thankful we could be with them. Ryder has gotten so big! He got spoiled and enjoyed every minute of it. We were able to skype with our families a little bit which helped with the home-sickness.

These are the something hills in Kansas, the most hilly and highest part. Scenic huh?

We drove around their neighborhood looking at christmas lights. We came across this house. It was fun to watch even though it wasn’t super fancy…
(Don’t mind the narrations during the video)

Christmas Day was beautiful. We walked to this pond to see the ducks and geese.

I was able to get the curtains up before christmas. I like how they turned out! I think I will really enjoy them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:54:00.001-06:00

Just saying hello from the Bells. Josh got lucky with school and has the holiday and weekend off. We didn’t know if he would until just a couple days ago. Landon, Molly, & Ryder came over yesterday. Today we made a HUGE dinner and it was wonderful. We had to use every inch of the fridge for the leftovers. Turkey, Dressing, Potatoes, Gravy, Cornbread pudding, orange jello salad, candied yams, rolls, spinach artichoke dip, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cheesecake. Even had yummy orange rolls for breakfast. We’ll just say my feet are tired from standing in the kitchen cooking and cleaning all day haha! TV was full of football and PS3 Call of Duty. Now we’re watching ELF. :)

This weekend we are heading down to Branson with our company to meet with Molly’s family and have some fun. The weather was BEAUTIFUL (65* today!) and hoping we’ll have beautiful weather the rest of the weekend. So glad for this time off!

Time to enjoy family, food, and relaxation. I’ll try to give you all a better update after the weekend :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall

2011-10-24T16:35:00.001-05:00

I have been LOVING this beautiful weather we’ve been having. The temperatures have been perfect for a couple of months! About half the leaves have turned and fallen, and we’ve had just a couple frosts. I wish it could just stay like this all winter.

We have been enjoying a few football games together with some fun tailgating. I had my 26th birthday in September. Worked in the morning at a fundraising event called Paws in the Park-my work had a booth there and we had a good time (except I got my first bee sting in YEARS). It wasn’t as bad as I remember, and after discovering the co-worker standing next to me was allergic-I was happy to take the sting. That night Josh took me to a WONDERFUL place in town for dinner. It’s definitely got prices that only let us come about once a year-but it was so amazing. That night we had a work bowling party and it was a lot of fun with good laughs. Josh gave me a beautiful pearl & onyx bracelet-he has great taste in Jewelry.

I recently celebrated my 2 year anniversary working at Rock Bridge Animal Hospital. I feel so blessed to have a job that means something to me and I feel like a valued employee. My boss made sure I knew that by giving me a card, some gifts, & brownies for all. (And then reminding me I was going to be teaching at our staff training meeting the next week! Luckily that went well and the saga will continue and end this coming wed.)

We celebrated Homecoming weekend by going to the tailgate and game again, and Josh’s brother Landon was able to come and stay the weekend with us. Even more important that weekend though, was Josh’s White Coat Ceremony. This was to celebrated the change of his class over from the classroom to the clinics in the teaching hospital. They were given a white coat to signify their achievements and remind them they are on the downhill slope of school. The students were able to choose whoever they wanted to present their white coats, and Josh chose me. I am very proud of him.

I’ve also been working on some home improvement projects. If you remember many many months ago we tore out some overgrown bushes and I finally nearly finished all of that project. My friend Jill came and helped me with the first set of bushes after Josh helped me yank out the old roots with his truck. Later I got some knockout rose bushes and planted them in the other side which was sort of a wildflower garden-or so it was called. SO much better. :)

Before:

partway:

After :)

There are small river rocks on the left side, with a new border and in the picture you just see dirt. I planted it with grass seed which is now growing, and it’s still under some cover too keep it moist. I’m excited to have some lawn there. I didn’t have enough rocks for the rose side, and i might go ahead and fill it with mulch for now. I’m deciding between buying paint for the front room or rocks for the flowerbed…but I already have enough mulch to fill it in so I might do that and buy rocks another year. Would that look bad with rocks in the other part??

The other project I just started happened for two reasons: 1. I’ve been wanting to do it for a while-I hate the wallpaper and curtains and am ready for some new paint; and 2. OOPS I sorta messed up the curtains while washing windows and instead of putting up the mess of a curtain rod and ugly curtains again, I think I should just make my new ones. BUT the new ones don’t really match the walls…and especially the wallpaper…

the walls are a sage-y green color, looks weird on my screen though.

So that’s what I did to the curtains…not horrible but actually harder to put back up than I thought. (at least the windows are clean!) If you can see the fabric on the couch-thats for the curtains/pillows. The pile of books in the corner is the last 2 years for Josh.

The fabric is hard to see in this blown up picture, but I love it. That big window is almost 12 ft long! The side window is 7 ft. I just need some fabric for some trim-to add some length to the curtains. Not sure if I should go brown or red… Ideas???

As far as paint goes, I got on the sherwin williams website where I was able to upload a pic of the room and change the paint colors. Did you notice the ceiling is also green? yay. More to paint.

These are pictures I took off the website. Yes, they are all ABOUT the same. I’m leaning toward brown (yes boring, but neutral and hopefully easy for resale) Which is better?

A B

C D

The other thing I’ve struggled with is to paint that built in shelf and other trim around the room to white. Hmmm. Did you also see I changed the ceiling colors?

Here’s from my camera phone today, after I got the wallpaper down from the entire room, and scrubbed the stupid glue off of one wall. Too bad I couldn’t reach further across our 900# piano LOL.

Any Volunteers?

The Summer

2011-09-10T12:59:00.001-05:00

In July we were able to take a wonderful trip home to Idaho. Josh had a short 6 week break from school, and I convinced my boss to let me have a couple days off work. Josh headed home and I shortly followed. I got to spend a little time with both my family and his before heading back.

Things I loved about being home:
* Family
* Temperatures in the 70’s-80’s
* Cool breezes
* Being able to open the windows at night.
* The mountains
* The smell of farms
* Rivers that aren’t brown
* No tornado’s! LOL

I was able to spend Wed afternoon through Friday with my family in Teton Valley. We spend a lot of time at the house with Mom, since she doesn’t like to go anywhere. We did get to go out to eat with her though which she really enjoys. Friday night Josh and I went with Susan & Mandy and Josh’s whole family to the Bar J Wranglers in Jackson Hole, WY. It was a great show and we had a good time.

Saturday morning Josh and I were up early to head out to Preston for his 10 year class reunion. It was nice seeing some people I haven’t seen for a long time, and even nicer for Josh. We also had a couple of family gatherings with his families this weekend so we got to see a lot of people. We also hit up the famous Preston Night Rodeo.

I headed back to normal life in Missouri on Monday. Josh was able to stay for a couple more weeks and spend time with his family. Landon and Molly were in the middle of moving from Las Vegas to Wichita KS via Idaho following his job with the air force. Josh and their mom drove with them to Kansas and helped them find a place to live. We are so excited to have them so close to us.

Josh has had a few opportunities to play rugby again. He really loves the game.

We spent a weekend in St Louis for some weddings.

I also had the opportunity to go back to CVC for work this year. CVC is the Central Veterinary Conference in Kansas City. I got to learn and have fun, and get some free stuff from vendors. I’m thankful for a boss who feels I’m valuable enough to send to things like this. Had a free Josh Turner concert there that Josh was able to drive over for too.

College Football season has begun. Josh got us season tickets for the Mizzou home games. Last weekend was the first.

It was a very hot day. We tailgated before and after, and some fun and good food.

Josh has started back to school. On Oct 16th he will be out of the classroom and starting clinics! I’m excited for him even though I’m sure I will be seeing a lot less of him.

We’re loving the cooler fall weather. No more 90+ degrees 24 hours a day. We’re enjoying 24 hours of 70’s! The gardens still sharing some food with us (what’s left after the darn deer attack anyway). I think the black plastic is a winner in the garden…stuff is doing better this year-everything but the weeds anyway!

Harvest Time

2011-07-03T20:30:00.001-05:00

The super hot weather does a garden good…

Surprise!

Soon there will be beans…

Summer Squash!

LOTS of little tomatoes!

The squash plants are getting huge!

Our Harvest tonight

The pickling cucumbers got a little big, we might just eat these, but soon we expect a large amount to pickle. We enjoyed the summer squash for dinner tonight-it was perfect! I wish we could have the garden all year round.

A little garden magic…

2011-06-22T19:01:00.001-05:00

{Beans}

{Carrots}

{Pepper}

{Summer Squash}

{Me in the garden…yes that is black plastic---but see? There are barely any weeds! And if you think it looks bare…just wait until those squash plants grow some more-they are going to take over!}

{Baby Praying Mantis}

{‘weed’ that I think might be baby’s breath???}

{More ‘weeds’ that I let grow…}

{Baby Tomato}

{a bunch of baby cucumbers!}

{Then found this surprise! It’s about ready to eat!}

{Peas Please!}
{Oh and a random Poison Ivy…dang stuff…}

Well if you made it this far, I will share a little story. Night before last, we were suddenly woken by Thunder. Next thing we know it sounds like a lightning bolt just hit our house! (I’ve been in a house when that happened before-it sounded the same!) If you aren’t familiar with that feeling-imagine a big gun shooting off next to your head, blinding light, and a burning smell in the air. We got up and investigated. Finding no major problems we went back to bed. Later we found this tree branch pictured below in the front yard. We have some giant trees (the branch is really nothing if you see the rest of the tree) and decided this was quite possibly the victim of the lightning strike. It also knocked out a few of our breakers.

{Sassy just thought she’d help show you the size}

My Time as a Volunteer in Joplin, MO

2011-06-20T22:01:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer! This is a very long post. Lots of words, some pictures and videos. I wanted to write it all down before I forgot, so here it is…

I was invited to travel to Joplin Missouri this past week to offer my assistance to the 100’s of homeless animals displaced by the tornado. Dr. McCarty and Samantha from Millersburg Veterinary Hospital were kind enough to take me there with them. Sam and I are friends because Josh and her Fiancé are in the same class in Vet School. We’ve been on a couple outings together and she was a client at my clinic Rock Bridge Animal Hospital until she was hired by Dr. McCarty. When they had room for one more, I was the first person Sam thought of. I am so happy that they invited me. My boss, Dr. Forbes took some time and re-did the schedule. Travis and Jill were so kind to accept the changes and take over the hours that I was giving up to go.

We left Wednesday evening. Stopped south of Kansas City for some Applebees and arrived at our hotel in Pittsburg, KS at about 12:30 a.m. After getting checked in, Dr. McCarty headed to her hotel and Sam and I to our room we were sharing. After opening our door we discovered that we were in a filthy room, which hadn’t been touched since the previous tenants left. We called the front desk. The guy there wasn’t understanding that we meant the whole room was dirty. He kept telling us that the maid could take out the trash in the morning or we could come to the desk for more towels. Finally he understood that the room wasn’t cleaned (there were even some clothes that had been left behind) and scrounged to find us a new room. At 1 a.m. we got to our new room and went to bed.

Wednesday we woke up bright and early and headed to Joplin. It was about a ½ hour drive to the Joplin Humane Society. The ASPCA had rented out some large warehouses right next to the Humane Society building where they housed their supplies and animals. I thought they were very fortunate to be able to do that, it was very convenient. We registered and went to the meeting where we got our assignments. I was assigned to the medical team for the tornado pets inside the humane society, while Dr. McCarty and Sam were assigned to the medical team in the dog warehouse. Other people were assigned as a medical team in the cat warehouse, a spay/neuter team, caretakers, dog walkers, cleaning staff, logistics, etc. We were separated by different colors of duct tape which were used as name tags. Mine was red, which meant I could pretty much go anywhere and no one would think twice. Sam and I had crossed our fingers we would end up on the medical staff and not dog walkers or something-just because we wanted to use our best skills.

{2 of the 3 warehouses FULL of pets & supplies}

{Me & Samantha posing at the JHS}

I quickly learned that this disaster situation was still in crazy mode, and the organization was poor even though they were doing their best. With new volunteers coming each day there was constant training and very few people could stay for a long period of time. It really took nearly the whole day to learn what on earth we were supposed to do, find things, and who was who. I also came to realize how many valuable skills I really did possess in this situation, and I was going to be more help than I anticipated.

There were over 750 displaced animals being housed between 2 warehouses and the humane society. The humane society also had it’s normal function going on with their own animals and adoptions. No tornado pets are being adopted out yet, since there are many which are still being claimed since the storm. I think next week they will have their first adoption day. Some of the animals being housed are actually boarders because their owners have claimed them but had no home to take them back to. Many people are still in shelters or hotels and cannot have their pets there. The ASPCA is letting them stay for free and when they can go they are sending any supplies they need with them. They are hoping to wrap things up around the first part of July but I didn’t hear an actual date.

{We were not allowed to take photos of the animals or facilities in the Humane Society or the tornado pets, the following video was the best representation of what I saw. The main difference is this was made a while ago, and all of the rooms and warehouses have MANY MANY more animals than the video shows. If it doesn’t work, see it HERE}

Luckily we got done around 7 that first night and had a chance to drive around Joplin to see the damage. Even though it’s been a few weeks, there is still a lot of devastation. Some of the rubble has been scooped up into piles, and many building remains are still there. What trees are still rooted have no bark, but most of them aren’t even in the ground anymore.

Sam and Dr. McCarty spent their first day with the Dogs and the other two with the Cats. The dog walkers/caretakers would watch for anything that concerned them with the patients. They would report to the Dr. and Sam who would then go down the list examining/treating those patients. They were very busy doing this and giving the medications all day. Any who were very ill or injured would be sent to my location inside the Humane Society for further evaluation and treatment.

I got to help save some animals, and comfort some while they passed on. My skills were valuable when I was the one who could draw blood from and place an IV in a very mean diabetic patient who’d liver was failing and had a severe upper respiratory infection. We knew who the owner was but had been unable to find them, so the ASPCA did not want to euthanize the pet, even though it looked bad. We were able to get in touch with their regular vet who took over their care until the owner could be found.

I helped identify Giardia as the primary cause of some extremely ill kittens. There was soon an outbreak in the cat warehouse due to some volunteers who neglected to follow the rules. They were so young and diagnosed so late that they did not all survive. It was heartbreaking. Others were very ill from upper respiratory infections. They were too young to be vaccinated and others just may not have been. Even vaccinating does no guarantee they will not get sick-since just like our colds and flu-there are different strains. Most of the older ones were fighting through okay, and if the kittens had a milder case and it was found early they were doing well too.

There was some kennel cough going around, but they worked hard to keep it isolated. I wasn’t aware of any deaths from that. There was a couple Parvo puppies who were doing great. There were also some cats/kittens with Calicivirus and they were doing okay when I left. Overall I think things were pretty well controlled considering the conditions. There was as much ventilation as they could give the pets in the warehouses, they also had a lot of air conditioning that was brought in. It was in the 90’s each day. We had a generous amount of donations-enough that we were able to pack up some to send to Arizona for the fires and down south for the floods. I think the only thing that was lacking was volunteers. We were using an outstanding amount of medications for all these pets to treat their ailments.

Even though there were horribly sad times, such as the deaths, and bittersweet times, such as the amputees, there were also happy times. I was hoping I’d see a pet be reunited with it’s owner and I did. It was wonderful. The dog had been lost since the tornado, and was hit by a car. We saved it and were worried of brain damage-but he was recovering well. The owner came in and was so happy to find her beloved friend. It made the harder things worth it.

Our last 2 days were long. We didn’t get back to go to bed until nearly midnight. I put in over 45 hours just at the location. Our lunch and dinner was supplied, but we took short breaks for there was so much to be done. We were lucky to be there on Friday night-an anonymous donor had sent $1500 to serve all the staff and volunteers a BBQ dinner. It was welcome since most of the meals were sandwiches. People were craving variety.

My team was also able to assist some community pets who just needed help. The Humane society was so busy trying to take care of everything that occasionally they’d send something of theirs our way. One was a poor little 5 week old kitten. It should have been gray and white-but the white hair was stained red with it’s own blood which had been digested by fleas. I have never seen so many fleas on one pet, especially one so tiny. It was given a bath and we picked 100’s of fleas from it. It couldn’t hold still or relax at all with them crawling all over it biting. I dug until I found a quick acting flea medication (capstar) which was safe for the tiny thing. The fleas were dying in 30 minutes. We pulled them off with our fingers and forceps, and finally the poor thing could rest. One of the employees of the Humane Society took it home to foster.

We gave the pets our own names based on their personality. One was Gramma, an older Pomeranian with little hair left and warts all over. Her hips were crooked and she had a collapsing trachea, and she loved to bark just to get our attention (sounded more like a croak!) Another was Momma, who was about to pop with a litter of puppies-her owners were able to take her home just in time for them to be born. There were over 30 babies born while I was there to tornado pets. We were caring for a little litter of 6 pups who didn’t have a mother anymore. They had kennel cough and were nearly better, very messy, and cute as could be.

Our last evening was spent doing surgery on a dog who’s neuter hadn’t turned out so well. Somehow his incision had become infected and had abscessed. The poor guy had been cryptorchid prior to surgery (which meant one teste had not dropped and was somewhere in his abdomen) so the incision was very large. He was so swollen and painful he couldn’t walk or even lay with his legs together. We had to anesthetize him and open up and drain the abscess. Once he was awake again you could already see his relief.

Once we were done we headed back to our motel. We got some ice cream and barely beat the storm. It started to rain as we walked to our room, and then discovered we were locked out. We had to go back to the front in the rain and lightning to get another key….remind me to never stay at that motel again. (Oh and our toilet was so loose we could have brought it home with us…it was sort of like a rodeo in the morning when you sat down still half asleep…). The power went out, then came back on, then went out for all the motel except our row. The TV was out and so was the wifi. We just watched and waited knowing we were in a tornado watch, near a tornado warning. It rained and hailed and water even came in under our door before it was done.

{Here’s a video of the lightning and thunder that was above us, out our motel room door}

Sunday we slept in some and drove to Prairie State Park which was nearby. The visitors center was closed Sun-Wed…we were out of luck there. The campground was flooded so we didn’t visit that either. We drove back and hiked through the beautiful prairie looking for the elk and bison-no where to be seen. All we found were some footprints and poops. It was still a beautiful day and beautiful scenery. I also picked up more than my fair share of lonestar ticks…I really don’t like ticks. I’ve never even had one bite me but they were all over! We were picking them off each other except for Sam-they didn’t like her for some reason.

We were lucky enough to eat some blackberries along the way!

Hard to see, but it’s a bison footprint (going the opposite way we are…hmmm)

After hiking back and driving we were tossing more out the window as they crawled around. I had considered stripping where we parked the car…but there were people driving by. We stopped and ate at a Mexican restaurant. It started getting really funny because more and more ticks kept crawling from the Dr and I, and we didn’t know what to do with them! She even gave one to the waiter asking him to dispose of it for her haha! If you’ve ever tried to kill a tick that wasn’t engorged-you know it’s difficult. They just DO NOT squish! You have to rip them apart. We sure didn’t want all our restaurant neighbors seeing us ripping apart ticks so we were secretly trying to kill them and toss them aside. It was becoming really funny. Sam was pretty paranoid that she still hadn’t found any on her, and she finally found a tiny seed tick. Once we were done we went to pay. After that we all took turns going to the restroom to strip and figure out where those awful things were hiding! I found a couple more in there and then couldn’t see anymore. As I was getting dressed again, I looked down and there was a tick right on my bra-where there wasn’t one just a second before. I might have let out a tiny squeal before I tossed it in the toilet. I was a little more comfortable the rest of the ride home. I had a good time with my travel buddies sharing stories and getting to know them. The first thing I did when I got home was strip again, send Josh to the washer with my clothes and me to the shower. I found 3 more ticks before scrubbing myself and my hair cleaner than it’s ever been before LOL. I’m still a little creepy-crawly today.

This was a fantastic experience. I was not ever sorry that I had gone. The days were so very long but the time really flew by. I wish I had more time to give. I met people from all over the USA who were there to help the animals. I am so thankful I could help my fellow man by using my best skills in veterinary medicine. They are still in need of volunteers. We could have used twice as many people as we had. Many of us were there scheduled through the ASPCA so they could at least have people there all the time, and not everyone all at once. Many people from surrounding areas also just showed up as community volunteers as well. I also feel more confident that I am capable of responding and offering my assistance to the animals if there is ever another disaster situation I can help with.

New mid-year resolutions ;)

2011-06-12T00:37:00.001-05:00

I’ve been thinking about the past year and me. I’ve decided that time has come for some positive changes, which I am excited about and actually feel like I can accomplish. Change doesn’t happen all at once-it’s a new lifestyle that I have to develop and make habit.

I never knew how tired I really was. I can’t tell you when it started but last spring,, summer and through the winter I just was so exhausted all the time. I would get home from work and crash. I would wake up tired-no matter how much or how little sleep I got. Sometimes I couldn’t even sleep at nights unless I took enough Benadryl to knock me out. Even then I wasn’t resting. I tried improving my diet, and exercising more, nothing really made a difference. I realized that there was no reason for me to be so tired-I do work full time but that was about all I was accomplishing. My schoolwork fell behind and my housekeeping habits declined. I was feeling depressed from fatigue and being a little homesick and feeling under accomplished too I think. I went to a new doctor, the one I went to last year just blew it off. She sent a variety of blood tests to the lab for me and put me on a light sleep aide (which works great for me). I began to sleep better immediately feeling a lot more rested. I had more energy but was still lacking. Once all of the tests came back they call and said that I was actually pretty low on my Vitamin D levels, which can cause my symptoms. She put me on a super-dose of that and said I should start noticing a little difference in a week but over time it would greatly improve. I asked if I spent more time outside or if I ate more yogurt if it would help. Apparently with my problem it was really beyond those healthy things we do like take our daily vitamin and eat well. She said there wasn’t really a reason-it just happens sometimes.

I am so happy to say that it has made an amazing difference. I cannot even believe how much better I feel. I can honestly say now that I did not truly understand how tired I was then until I look back now. I am sleeping better. I have energy beyond work. I have more energy at work-my co-workers noticed the difference without me even pointing it out, just because of my appearance. I want to do more when I get home than sleep, and I have the energy and desire to go do outside chores or start a project.

I think it’s time to take my new found energy and work towards reversing my bad tired habits. I’ve made up some lists to try to help me accomplish things when I want them to be done-such as homework, cleaning tasks, planning tasks, garden and outdoor things, etc. I am excellent at making lists and poor at completing them. I used to love to check off the last item-but lately it seems like I make them so long they are impossible to finish. I have thought about this one-to make it a lifestyle again-not just a huge unreachable goal. I’m still not sure if there are enough hours in the day to complete what I have put down-but I won’t know how far I can go until I take the journey. Wish me luck!

Fingers Crossed

2011-06-05T21:13:00.001-05:00

I don’t write on here too much, but time seems to be just flying by. There’s not usually too much worth writing about-we just go day to day down the path of life.

Since we are finally seeing some nice weather we’ve managed to enjoy a rodeo, planting some more in the garden, and being super hot and sweaty. I wanted to put seeds and the rest of the plants in the garden a month ago but the rain just wouldn’t let up. The things I did manage to get out there between storms survived for the most part and are thriving. The rest was sitting on my deck feeling choked in their little pots-or were still in the seed packets. Yesterday Josh helped me and we were finally able to get it all out there. The tomatoes, Cucumbers, and squash that i had already planted have recovered the shock of the storms and are looking good and growing fast. I hope the rest of the tomatoes, and the peppers soon catch up. I also planted some onions, carrots, beans, and peas.

A week ago tomorrow I discovered a tiny pea sized lump on sassy’s head. I barely saw it as it is almost an extension of the edge of her ear. I tried to convince myself it wasn’t really there, but I took her to work with me anyway to have it checked. I assumed I was just wasting my money and our time, but upon further examination it is the worst. The same cancer that plagued her in 2008 has returned. We did some further testing and didn’t find any more on her. Her radiographs looked good-which means that we should continue onto surgery. Her lymph node biopsy was inconclusive so we are trying that again tomorrow-to be sure it hasn’t spread there. Surgery is tentatively scheduled for Tues or if not then on Thursday. It is a very small tumor right now, but we need a good wide margin-and her ear is in the way. I’m afraid she might come out of surgery missing a chunk. She will be looking a little silly with a shaved head too! I plan to have the tumor checked to see how severe it is-and those results will tell us where we go from here. As I understand it, the outcome is: a) it’s a low grade and if the margins were good that should be it. b) it’s a medium grade (what she had before) and chemo and further treatment is recommended. c) it’s the highest grade-which further treatment might not buy her any time.
So we will continue our testing, do her surgery, wait for results, and see what’s next. Keep your fingers crossed for her. She seems to be feeling and looking great, and her spirits are as happy as ever. We will do what we can for her.

Ruby Slippers?

2011-05-25T20:05:00.001-05:00

I’m crossing my fingers that we don’t get carried away by a tornado and need ruby red slippers to get home.

If you have seen or read any news lately, you are surely aware of the massive amounts of tornado activity in our part of the country right now. We have been very fortunate to have been left alone in our immediate area by these forces of nature. (*Knock on wood!)

I have previously seen other places around the country who have suffered by tornados or other natural disasters this season and been thankful we weren’t part of that. Well it’s all starting to get really close to home for us.

Sunday our neighbor to the south, Joplin MO suffered from an EF5 multi-vector wedge tornado. This city of 50,000 now looks worse than a war zone (according to numerous war veterans) after this massive nearly mile-wide tornado stormed over six miles through destroying homes, retail stores, a hospital, and even taking over 100 lives. Last I heard there are still over 1,000 people who are unaccounted for. This city is less than 200 miles from our home here. The pictures and videos are devastating.

Since Sunday we’ve been watching as tornado’s ripped across the central USA. Our neighbors in Oklahoma and Kansas have been dodging them as we’ve watched and worried for them. Today was our turn once again.

Sedalia was hit today by another tornado. This town is about 35ish miles away from our home. It tore through residential areas destroying homes and businesses. It created an estimated 1.6 billion $ in damage. Luckily they were well prepared-I think all of us here have a new appreciation for what mother nature can really do after Joplin. Only about 15-20 people were injured and no fatalities reported. I watched the news station online as they reported a tornado Warning for our hometown-Boonville-knowing there was nothing I could do from Columbia. Luckily even though there was a scare-no tornados formed in my town, although I think one was spotted only a few miles away.

After passing through Boonville, the storm was headed to Columbia, another city of about 50,000ish people-where I work and Josh is in school. The alarms sounded and I checked the news feed once again (sometimes they sound for the whole county, but our city is not in danger-sometimes it’s further south or something). It said there was a wall cloud over the city, and funnel clouds forming. It asked all people in Columbia and surrounding areas to seek shelter immediately! I was already supposed to be off work-but I sure wasn’t heading toward the coming storm in a tornado warning. I helped as we moved all our patients and boarders to the basement where we all hung out for an hour until the threat passed. No tornados touched down in Columbia. About 15 minutes to the east though, multiples touched down but I don’t think they did a whole lot of damage-they weren’t in really heavily populated areas. I didn’t hear of anyone hurt to our east.

I felt lucky that the tornados just kind of hopped over us, holding off from just barely to the west to just barely to the east.

Meanwhile—Josh was in a surgery lab doing surgery all afternoon. The Vet School is a storm shelter-so I guess they didn’t feel like the students needed to know what was going on. I talked to him once he was out of class (after the storm had passed) and he hadn’t hurt anything about the storms or tornados!

The weather people said this big storm should be continuing to the east and dissipating tomorrow. I wish well to all those east of us here and hope no one else has to suffer from this crazy weather. My prayers are with all those who are affected by the recent storms-those who are now homeless or who lost loved ones-I am thinking of you…

Thank you to all our family and friends who have had us in their thoughts and prayers to keep us safe in this tornado hazard zone! We are safe and we truly appreciate your concerns.

{FOUR}

2011-05-14T21:28:00.001-05:00

The number of years since Josh and I were married

1461 days together. (okay, 1463 by the time I posted this)

Thursday, May 12^th we celebrated our anniversary.

Josh went to class and studied, I worked a 10 hour day, then we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a nice restraunt together.

It doesn’t seem that long ago since we were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple with our family and friends around us.

Our life is crazy right now with Vet School and work, just trying to get by. In 2 more years our lives will turn upside down yet again, once he graduates as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and we start yet a new chapter in our life. I have loved being married to this man of mine-I wouldn’t have it any other way.

hello summer!

2011-05-08T21:22:00.001-05:00

I’m sure enjoying the hot weather that’s coming our way. Right now it’s actually perfect-I prefer the 80’s over the 90’s-but they are on their way.

I’m not too great at keeping this up to date lately, so I’ll try to catch up a little bit. I must warn you, there are many pictures ahead…

We had the annual Open House for the University of Missouri Veterinary School, which Josh was the head tri-chair of. Overall it went really well! Here are a couple pics from the day…

Josh was invited to play with a local rugby club team. They were playing against the University rugby team. There were a lot of guys with very little experience. Josh was having a good time—it’s been many years since he played. He’s the one in the black shirt and scrum cap…

Here V

And here, in the white and orange socks…
V

And then the game was maybe close to have over…the worst happened. He fell down and didn’t get up. Then he got up and fell down again. He was helped off the field hopping on one leg. I knew that he is one guy who refuses to look like anything is wrong-so I was worried about what was wrong. He said it felt like a horrible cramp in his calf, but it wouldn’t go away. He was worried something had torn. We ended up at Urgent Care and he tore his calf muscle.

The pictures below are from a few days later…there were many bruises, and they really don’t as bad as they really were in real life. They also looked worse before they got better…

One fine Saturday we were able to go out with the University of Missouri Mule Club (Josh is (now was) the VP and I participated as a community member. We headed to the one and only Budweiser Clydesdale Breeding Farm. It’s only about 10 minutes from our house here…

One of the breeding stallions…

3 day old foals…

This yearling below was having a grand time teasing me. First we were posing for a picture. You can see his eye watching me…then suddenly he grabbed my hair, then snuffed my ear! Josh got all of these pictures over those few seconds.

Here’s the group that went. Josh and I are under the word ‘Warm’ V V

Look, they saved a stall just for me!

These pregnant mares are about to pop any day! They have 40 foals a season here.

It was a lot of fun seeing all the beautiful horses. It’s an amazing (expensive!) facility.

This was random…but I came home one day and there was this GIANT turtle out in the road. I couldn’t believe it was still alive-but it was-I saw it move. So I was headed out to try to dodge cars and move it out of the road…when I realized how big it really was…and that it looked an awfully lot like a snapping turtle! I’ve never seen one in person but knew they were dangerous. I hesitated and ran back inside to google pics of snapping turtles. Sure enough this guy could have taken off my hand. I learned there’s no safe place to grab them-they can still swing around and bite. The only trick is to have them bite something like a broom handle first, then move them while they are chomping that… As I was trying to decide what to do-a big truck ended my dilemma and sent that big guy to turtle heaven.

It was sad…but I’m glad I wasn’t dumb and tried to help something that would have kept part of me as a snack. It’s hard to tell from my little crappy cell phone picture…but the shell was literally almost 3 feet long! His neck is actually really long too, he just has it sucked in. See his chompers? And his long alligator like tail in the shadow?

Just this past weekend my work had our 5th Annual Luau party. It’s a client appreciation party with food, fun, tours, and prizes.

I spent the afternoon there getting set up and helping and cleaning up. Josh showed up for a while with Sassy, both dressed for the occasion. We managed to sneak in a picture…

I started some seeds a few weeks back-behind schedule. Well about 1 1/2 weeks ago I moved them outside on the deck and today we moved a few into the garden. Here’s some that haven’t made it out there yet…

Bell Peppers and Jalapenos…

Summer and Spaghetti Squash…

Of course I had to stop to get a picture of Luna, enjoying one of the chairs on our screened in deck. She demands to go out. Sometimes she lets us sit in her chair.

Today was beautiful. In the 80’s and humid. This was a shot from next to the garden, looking up at the sky…

We tried something new with the garden this year. After a nice guy driving by saw us digging out there one day a few weeks ago..he stopped to see if we’d like him to till it! So, we let him do it and paid him. This was so much easier and cheaper than renting one like we did last year!

Then, from the advice of Josh’s mom Jackie, I covered the whole thing in black plastic. Last year the weeds were our downfall. There were too many growing way too fast to keep up with on our busy schedules. I left it that way for a couple weeks. I read on gardening websites this will actually help the little plants because the ground will be nice and warm when they go in and it will help them grow faster!

We placed a couple cattle panels and a bunch of tomato cages and transplanted tomatoes and cucumbers outside in the garden today. I just had to cut holes for the plants in the plastic and move them in! Hope it all works! These cucumber starts look a little sad after transplanting, but most baby plants do.

Here’s the tomatoes…looks like quite the mess since we just watered them and there was extra dirt everywhere…

So one day I got a little excited because there was a hole patch of plants growing out behind a lilac bush and a tree that looked just like a strawberry patch. There were even little buds forming. I had josh leave them (we’ve always mowed them under before) and they blossomed yellow flowers. I was confused-cuz strawberries have white flowers! But they looked JUST LIKE strawberries. So of course I googled them and decided they were probably native missouri wild strawberries! But, they are no good to me because they are itty bitty with lotsa seeds. The birds and the bunnies are the only ones who enjoy them. Darn! Below is a berry that finally grew and ripened.

Can you believe I JUST painted the deck last fall? Sassy runs up and down those stairs like somethings chasing her!

And here’s the other cat Stormy…usually sleeping somewhere. Here she was lounging in the middle of the floor under the ceiling fan-coolest place in the house.

Tonight we enjoyed a nice 3 mile or so bike ride (like nothing for Josh-but a small work out for me…hey-there were hills!) and I was happy my knee didn’t hurt too bad. I got my fair share of bugs in the nose and eyes though. We enjoyed the company of a white tailed deer, some bunnies, and plenty of squirrels.

Girls Weekend

2011-03-28T22:17:00.001-05:00

Josh has been off on his own adventure-which I think I’ll write about in full once he’s home… It will be a good read…

SO this weekend I had a couple friends over for a Sat. Night sleepover! Taya and Jill (Girls from work) came and I had a great time.

We made this…

Taco Soup!

And this…

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream-and that bowl IS HUGE

And this…

DELICIOUS orange rolls! SOOO good

We ate well. We also watched movies, listened to music, chatted, and did some ARTS AND CRAFTS

This is my picture. It’s a pattern that I enlarged and modified. There’s a couple flowers you can see if you’re looking at it right. What is cool about this picture??

It’s made of BEANS! Yes, dried beans…

Neat huh!?!

This is Jill’s. Isn’t it cute!

Taya took hers home before I got a picture…maybe she’ll send me one! :)

That was my weekend…all that and some sewing. Be sure to look at my craft blog for the fun stuff I’m making…There’s a link here or always at the left.

{creative} Crafts!

Happenings

2011-03-19T17:28:00.001-05:00

Can you believe the year is already 1/4 of the way over? I sure can’t…it doesn’t seem real.

Seriously-all I have been doing is working and sewing lol.

Josh has been crazy busy with school-as always

We’ve got nearly a whole new staff at work and I’ve been super busy training them! It’s been fun and I enjoy them all. I realize how much I actually know when I get 5 or 6 questions tossed at me all at once-and sometimes I can answer them all.

We had some crazy snow here! Nothing like back home in Idaho-but the people here feel like it’s one of the worst winters they remember in a lot of ways. I will agree that the roads get horrid-but it’s because of the lack of ability to maintain them in the winter, not so much because of extreme weather.

We’re definitely on our way to spring! Had a few 70+ degree days and now we’re getting our rain. Today I even found this little guy fighting his way up through the raindrops…

This past week was a super busy one for Josh. They had started a new block, and just picked their schedules for the rest of Vet School. Now he knows who he will be in class with and when his classes and breaks are! The end seems so far yet so close at the same time. This past week though, he had a bunch of tests and quizzes, and on top of that he had to prepare his presentation and poster for a poster research contest. He went to a National one in Georgia previously, and this one was one just for Mizzou vet students. He fixed a few errors and had to change the poster size for this contest. He had to present his research in front of judges and answer their questions. He did a great job and took second place!

I’ve been sewing stuff for that fundraiser silent auction, and I finally finished everything. I feel good to have gotten it done and am happy with how it all turned out! I hope it raises some money :)

I will put up some more detailed pictures on my craft blog, but it’s a set that includes a table runner, button towels, pot holders, and flowy apron-all designed by me.

Listen to the sound.

2011-03-04T22:25:00.001-06:00

Well here is a test. This is a little video that’s only a video for the sound. This is what I’ve been hearing while I am at home :) Its much better in person, but they are so relaxing! I love it, and i think it’s a good sign that spring is really coming.

Missouri River

2011-02-06T17:45:00.001-06:00

there’s not that many days though the year that the Missouri River has Ice floating in it. I really should have gone out yesterday, since it was more like giant tall chunks. But, today I went instead. There was no sidewalk shoveled across the bridge so I had to hike though the snow to the middle to get the pictures. The river seems a lot larger when crossing it on foot! Aren’t the ice chunks strange looking?

If you have a moment...

2011-02-06T11:29:00.000-06:00

Please take a minute to fill out my little survey! If you want to see what I am talking about by some of the stuff, here's a few pics of what i have made already. These were for learning and a product for sale would be of good quality :)

Scroll down to see a few pictures, and please fill out the survey!!

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

I just have to say {yum!}

2011-01-23T23:11:00.001-06:00

{Delicious Banana Bread}

be jealous :)

Casino Night

2011-01-23T23:09:00.001-06:00

This was a fundraiser for the Joshua Project (no, not for Josh-but that would be great wouldn’t it?). This is a group who furnishes a stuffed animal and a book about the animals surgery to children in the hospital who are going to have surgery. It’s a pretty cool thing they to do try to help comfort these kids through a super scary experience.

Last year it was the Masquerade Ball. This year it was Casino Night with a James Bond theme. They had numerous table games and everyone dressed up. We were furnished with a certain number of chips to begin and at the end we cashed in our winnings for raffle tickets for a number of different prizes.

We won some chips and came home empty handed, but it was a ton of fun and worth it :)

Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with my face in this picture. I just have a stupid look on it….

but it’s the only clear, semi decent picture of both of us.

There’s also this picture…It’s a little dark and fuzzy. Josh is showing off his James Bond prop

{Yes, It’s real. It’s not loaded. Most people thought it was fake-like other peoples. A few knew and laughed.}

Me with my winnings! And my crazy casino hair…

{This picture was quick…just in case someone was watching! lol}

A little change goes a long way!

2011-01-23T22:46:00.001-06:00

Well I looked and looked and apparently I hated my bathroom so much that this is the only picture I could find of it. This wallpaper went all the way around and there was nasty glue that would seep out every time we showered, and was always on the walls and ceiling no matter how often we washed it off. yuck.

So, I got rid of the wallpaper. The paint job that was already there was pretty poor. You can’t tell in the pictures but it was. It was cracking and peeling in a few places and was just thin and sloppy. It was a stark white color but just looked nasty and dull.

SO I finally got around to painting. I’ll confess-this is the first room I have painted. I have helped people paint their rooms a couple times but never did the whole process. It was pretty painless! I’m overall quite pleased with the results. There’s a couple little things I might go back and fix, but it turned out nice and fresh.

I also added this row of hooks as our towel rack. The way things are set up there isn’t room for a regular bar. This was my solution! Matches the clean white ceiling nicely.

(yes I also painted the ceiling. Like I said---pealing cracking nasty paint! I chose a different white color-almost grey actually.)

{updated}

2011-01-03T11:12:00.001-06:00

I have updated my crafting blog. I’m sorry the web address has changed. You can still always find it on my list to the left, or now at

http://creativecraftsbymichelle.blogspot.com/

Two Thousand Eleven

2011-01-02T20:56:00.001-06:00

Each year I make some goals for the year I try to keep them in mind as the year goes on to make my life as good as I can. I looked back at last years and Did good on some and okay on others.

As always, no matter what I’m already doing, I can make it a goal to grow closer to my Savior. I think that I can improve in all ways of my daily life.

I also realized how fortunate I am to be married to my best friend, and that in this difficult world and our difficult circumstances we manage to keep it together. I want to make it a goal to continue to nourish and flourish in my relationship with my husband. I know that there are relationships that don’t make it through vet school, let alone what life in general throws our way. Even though our time together has it’s limits, and patience can be thin, and between my job and his classes we can both be a little cross, we are supposed to be together and make the best of what we have.

I didn’t do so well at continuing to lose weight. I can say though that I didn’t really gain anything after my resolution last year. I started a running program last summer but my knee wasn’t very cooperative. I ended up canning that idea, but It’s been doing okay lately so I’m hoping to try that again. I’ve also been thinking about a gym and I’ve chosen one maybe if I do join one. SO another goal is to keep my body healthy and implement a do-able exercise plan. I know that if I can accomplish this, that goal deep down to lose weight and get into shape will happen as well.

This one is simple: become a better housekeeper and continue to tastefully decorate our home. I haven’t done nearly what I wanted to, but I have made a little progress. I need to take a little more time here and there because it really doesn’t make everything a little better, to just relax and enjoy your home.

I want to excel in my work and my classes. I haven’t been too on the ball with my classes. Things got crazy this summer and never really slowed down. I need to make more time to get that done in a timely manner. I’ve been doing great at work and want to keep that up.

I am going to Stay Positive. Things can seem a little tough at times. Sometimes I feel alone, and overloaded, and stressed, and tired. Deep down though, I’m not alone, and I am lucky to have everything I do. I am very fortunate to have Josh, have him in vet school, be in a job I love, and have all my blessings. When times are hard I will keep remembering that.

I plan to develop my skills. This means become good at my newest and favorite hobby: Sewing. I’ve been doing pretty good and hope to get a lot better. By the time we have babies I will be a pro and make everything myself! LOL. Also get better at other things I enjoy like cooking.

And finally, I plan to make ME time. I feel better and need that little bit of time for myself. Things like stuff I enjoy such as sewing, and reading, and photography. Also do my nails once in a while, and take an extra long shower. Make some cookies and bake some bread-just because I want to. :)

crafts

2010-12-29T22:20:00.001-06:00

Oops! I accidentally posted a post on this blog instead of my craft one. That’s what I get for using a program for writing my blogs…

Check out my latest projects! Look to the left and click on Creative Crafts! Sorry the accident probably showed up in your blog feeds for new blogs on here.

Wonderful White Christmas

2010-12-29T11:02:00.001-06:00

We were lucky enough to be able to go home to Idaho for Christmas. We made the 11 hour trip on Saturday morning, the 17th, starting at 3 a.m.

It was wonderful to see all our family! We were able to enjoy a few Christmas parties, lots of good food, and some real snow.

We were able to take a day and go Skiing at Beaver Mountain new Logan Utah. The snow was AMAZING and we had a good time!

We wished we could ski at Grand Targhee again, but we spent all our money on the trip, and couldn’t really justify spending $140 in tickets for us to ski one day. It was great seeing our families and being back home. Can’t wait to go back!

We had to fly back the 26th, again leaving at 3 a.m. Took me until today to recover since I went straight back to work on Monday. (Today’s a real short day this afternoon for me-yay! I got some sleep). Josh still has the rest of this week off school, then he’s back to working on the 2nd half of his 2nd year in Veterinary School. Hope you all had a great Holiday!

{Glittery snow in the fields while
driving by back home}

Kansas City

2010-12-12T15:47:00.001-06:00

Excited for the weekend!

2010-12-03T20:10:00.001-06:00

Here’s why…

We’re going here…

with this view…

to watch….

for the first live NFL game for either one of us :)

GO Broncos!

{thanks}giving

2010-11-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

I have so many things in my life to be thankful for. There’s no way I could actually list them all-or even remember then all at one time.

*My Husband who I married for time and all eternity. We’ve been married for 3 1/2 years now. Looking back the time has flown by. I love him with all my heart and am so proud of him for his hard work and dedication. I know he will make a fantastic Veterinarian. He is a good husband and will one day be a good father as well :)

* My Family both who raised me and the one I married into. My parents raised me with love to be smart and responsible, loving, caring, strong, and thoughtful. I miss my daddy every day, and I try to talk to my mom on the phone every day as well-whether its 2 minutes or 30, we always have a good conversation. I’m thankful I am such good friends with my sister and that I have a family who support me. I’m thankful I married into such a good family who also care about me and support me and each other. I can look up to each person in my family.

{A few missing here…(Susan…)}

* My friends I consider much of my family my good friends. I don’t have many people here in Missouri other than Josh’s friends and my co-workers. BUT I am lucky to consider many of them my friends as well. There are a few people though, that I know I can still talk to and I know care for me, even after all these years of being away from each other.

* My Animals both past and present. They all have taught me about love and loss, responsibility, and dependability. They also keep me company while I’m here all alone sometimes.

* Technology that allows me to keep in touch with those I love and cannot see in person, that allows me to travel home to see them once in a great while, that allows me to learn, and do hobbies I enjoy.

* Beauty all around me. It’s so green here in the summer, and the mountains back home are magnificent. I love being able to find beauty everywhere I turn. I’m happy I can capture a few of those moments with my camera and enjoy later.

* All My Stuff Pretty much everything I own that makes my life simple, easy, lazy, convenient, fun, warm, happy, and cheerful :)

* The Hard Times because they show me how wonderful the good times are.

Most of all,
*My Heavenly Father and his love for me. I would have nothing in my life worth being thankful for if it wasn’t for him. He has been a beacon of light guiding me throughout my life. I’ve always felt his peace and following his guidance as it put me where I needed to be-whether I could see the path at the time or not. Especially in those choices I had to make all on my own-his comfort was so valuable to me. The following are just a few of the major things…
     - choosing a college and housing
     - pursing a long courtship with my then husband
       to be
     - marrying Josh having no doubt whatsoever it’s
       what I wanted and what I was supposed to be
       doing.
     - ending pursuit of a degree I had no place for in
       my heart
     - the direction I took, volunteering so many
       hours with animals
       that ultimately landed me in my current
       occupation-which I love and ended up being
       Josh’s pursuit as well.
     - choosing a place for us to move and attend Vet
       School. There were a few to choose from and
       we’re so happy to end up here.
     - getting a job during our 3 day visit before
       moving, even though it wasn’t one I liked or
       stayed at for long. It was a blessing because it
       allowed us to buy a house, and get about
       $14,000 back from the university for out of
       state tuition. It also gave me a whole new
       appreciation for my work ethic and values. It
       got us by until I found the perfect place for me.
     - Helping me get the two fantastic Vet Clinic jobs
        I started with and now have. I am so thankful
        I can be happy with my job.

What are you thankful for this season? If I go back and look at what I’ve written about in the past-it’s always pretty much the same. Some things never change, and for that I am also Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

to {DO}---

2010-11-14T22:55:00.001-06:00

* Make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

* Make Banana Bread

* Plan Thanksgiving Dinner

* Sew some stuff!!

* Plan for the weekend road trip :)

* Homework :(

* * * * Go to bed now –probably a good idea:)

Recent FUN :)

2010-10-22T19:58:00.001-05:00

53:36

was Josh’s actual time for the go! St. louis Halloween fun run 10k. There was about 5000 people registered. It was pretty fun, and Josh did a pretty good job for what little training he actually did!

Josh dressed up, as you saw in the pics above, but these guys below I took pics of were just a few of the real serious costume wearers of the race…

We were able to go visit the corn maze the other night. It was a lot of fun. We walked a ton and had a blast. We went with a group from the vet school and Josh and I got lost with Caitlin.

above: Josh hiding from the corn (yes, behind me)

below: Caitlin not sure which way to go

Home…

recent project: painting the deck. Nope, still not done, it takes a while when you don’t have much time to dedicate to it at once, and it keeps raining on the days you plan for it…

Here is kind of what it was like before I started…

And here is part of it after…much better!!!

I was thinking I may have never shown you our unique old doorbell. It’s a favorite for our visitors. In fact, if I see them coming and open the door before they can ring it, they are very disappointed and ring it anyway…I should probably record the sound and add it…
This is the outside…you turn the knob round and round…

and this is the inside…where it’s basically like those old bike handle bar bells…it rings and it’s loud!
Fun huh!

Just a view of what I deal with sometimes while trying to relax and blog-surf…yes, that is my lap (wearing scrubs home fresh from work)
and yes, my computer on my lap…
oh and what’s that between me and my computer, on my lap??
Yes, my two cats…hogging it all… and yes, it’s hard to type that way…

I took 5 minutes to run around outside tonight and take some fun fall pics. The trees are really annoying…some are already naked and barely changed color while others are still green and full… how can I get pretty fall pics with that???
I’m trying to decide which one to make my new computer desktop background…

{sew} excited!

2010-10-20T08:41:00.001-05:00

I have been surfing blogs and reading tutorials and thinking up all kinds of ideas. It’s definitely not easy for me to find the time to sit down and sew but I am working on that. I’m hoping to spend a little more time at my machine, and make some fun things. Hopefully I can use my craft blog a lot more!

Click the picture to read about it if you want. It’s a camera strap cover for my digital SLR camera.

Lately

2010-10-06T22:12:00.001-05:00

*Josh is crazy busy with school
*Michelle is still working lots of overtime, and doing online classes.
* The weather is cooling off
* The garden is pretty much done for
* Been to football games
* Been to mule club events
* Been to the comedy club
* Michelle turned 25
* Michelle got another haircut
* Michelle’s been painting the deck
* We got plane tickets for Christmas in Idaho!
* need to “fall” clean our house-it’s been neglected this summer!
* Not ready for missouri Winter-coldness, worthless snow, and lots of icy roads. Looks so dreary here without the beautiful snow-covered mountains.
* The backyard deer are back. They spend the nights in our backyard-when we come home late in the night they are always there. I’m sure they’re probably there right now-just too hard to see without the headlights.
* Josh is training for a 10k. It’s coming up!
* Josh is also considering a triathlon…

That’s the quick update. I’ll try to find you some pics maybe this weekend! :)

July…oh, August…September???

2010-09-12T19:34:00.001-05:00

You probably wouldn’t know that I do actually log in here about every day. I think that maybe I should write something; but usually I’m too tired, or feel like I have nothing interesting to say. Now suddenly it’s been a very long time since my last post! Now, it’s hard to remember everything that happened. This is a problem I run into with journal keeping as well. The same thing happens day after day, and then I stop writing. When something different does happen I don’t have the habit anymore. I also miss out recording all those thoughts and ideas that I have on a daily basis. Then I feel bad, but all that time is lost. I should probably start yet once again…

Anyway…I guess to catch you up:

Most of August consisted of Josh being gone for numerous things, from his job and presentations in Georgia, or things with clubs like the Mule Team going to all the fairs, and student council activities. I think he spent about 5 nights at home in a 20 day period. I was working overtime, and have been for quite a while. Maybe once I think I didn’t have overtime one week in the last couple months.

We were able to squeeze in some fun between all the busy. We were very excited when we got to go meet Landon and Molly down in Branson, MO. Josh had met they baby Ryder already once, but I hadn’t.. He’s sure a cutie! And full of personality. We had some fun and went to Silver Dollar City. We were only with them for about 24 hours but we had a blast and it was really great to see them again.

On the way back from there we hit up my new favorite place in that neck of the woods called Lambert’s Café. You may have heard of it-it’s a bit famous. It has been featured on national TV before. The food was delicious and there was TONS of it-and the price was incredibly low for how much food there really was. They put a lot of people through that place and I will defiantly want to be going back. I couldn’t eat the rest of the day. Oh and they toss hot rolls to you whenever you need a new one…

Right after that we headed straight over to the Ozark Empire Fair to meet the mule team. I helped them get set up and hung out a little. Then I had to head back home for work-Josh stayed and began his life of a month away from home. He also attended the State fair in Sedalia. I was able to visit there as well.

We were able to squeeze in a few things, a concert I won tickets to on the radio, a few comedy shows at Déjà vu.

Josh and I made our first “food storage” project ha ha. We used some of our cucumbers from the garden and whipped up a batch of pickles. We’ve opened one jar since-I think they’re pretty good but I’m hoping some more time will make them better. I’m hoping that we can get all this preserving stuff figured out before next year and take advantage of all the great local food we can get access too. Speaking of great local food, we’ve also been purchasing farm fresh chickens that are pasture raised and killed on the farm by a local guy. We’ve been enjoying them but can’t eat them as fast as they’re supplied. I think we’ll be set for the winter…

Josh rode in the MS150 again this year. Smoker, a big party for the first year vet students, was the night before (again) but this year Josh was helping at it since he’s on the student council and he had to stay and clean up after. He was up so late and had so little sleep the whole week before because of tests-that he chose to miss the first day of the MS150. He’d planned to ride 40 miles both days. Today he went and rode 75 miles and turns out a bunch of people from the team who went yesterday missed today because they were too tired or sore, so it worked out for him. I think he had a good time and felt really good about this new mileage on his bike.

A couple weekends ago on of the girls from work got married. We went to her wedding but had to take off early because a doctor from work and I were headed to CVC (central Veterinary Conference) in Kansas City. We left the wedding in St. Louis at about 8 p.m. and arrive in Kansas City at about 12:30 a.m. I had a good time and learned a lot there. I will be excited for the next conference I can attend. I’m sure many of you don’t know-this is something that is actually required for Veterinarians and Technicians. Since I’m not a licensed tech its not actually required for me. You earn points based on the lectures you attend and are required to maintain a certain number each year to keep your license. They are very educational and get you up to date with what’s going on. You can choose your classes to attend so you can tailor your experience to your interests. There are also tons and tons of vendors and it takes hours just to wander by them all! Once I have my license I will actually have to keep track of my time there and get that stuff marked off!

Remember I had that little surgery? I never really took good pics of it but these were from my phone. Since Josh wasn’t home I was sending him text updates ha ha…

Ok, well only look at them if you don’t care about seeing stitches. No blood-just bruises.

This was a day or two after…I guess there was a reason I was so sore

This is after the stitches came out. They were really tight! The black spot was an extra piece of stitch that worked its way out later. I don’t have a more recent pic than this one, but I think it’s finally started to fade away a little bit. YES it is hard taking a picture of your own side by yourself. And YES it was also hard to bandage it.

Well I guess that’s about it for now. Maybe I can try to be a better blogger J Wish me luck. Does anyone read this anyway?

Last month…

2010-07-27T20:11:00.001-05:00

Warning: Long Post!! that’s what happens I guess when I don’t write anymore.

What a month! I can’t believe so much time has gone by already. I guess I’ll give a quick update of my comings and goings… (or maybe it’s not that quick after all…)

July 2^nd marks the day my Dodge Intrepid bit the dust. I was on my way to work that Friday morning, excited to speed through the day and enjoy a relaxing weekend, when suddenly my car choked, coughed, and gagged it’s way to the side of the road with me wondering what on earth just happened. It wouldn’t start and made terrible noises! I called around and got a ride into work, and had it towed to the shop. Finally I found out the timing chain had come off and ate my car’s guts…

Assessing the total repair bill would take about $500 of diagnostics, and the repair after that for the best case scenario was quoted at minimum $1500, worse case possibly up to $4000!! I certainly loved my car, but it was a little high on miles to have to put that much money into it, especially money I didn’t have sitting around-and not knowing what might go wrong next. Another problem was going to be getting around without it. It just wasn’t going to work for Josh and I to share a vehicle. The cheapest rental I could find was $40 a day…that can add up real quickly while you’re waiting for your own car to be rebuilt.

Ultimately we made the decision to car shop. After shopping and test driving and thinking I ended up purchasing a 2007 Ford Fusion with ~30,000 miles. Looks brand new inside and out. I needed something that I can put 70+ miles on a day and that’s going to last a little while. I’m hoping this will be a great car. I’m really enjoying it so far.

As for the Intrepid, there wasn’t an honest salesman who actually wanted the car-it was worthless to them! I decided to try craigslist before turning it over to salvage. I cleaned her up as best I could without a vacuum and little time, and put her picture up with a description of the car and the diagnosis. I advertised it as a Mechanics Special and much to my surprise (and happiness!) two days later my Intrepid found a new home with a mechanic a couple hours south who gave me $1200 for it. It blue-booked about $3000-$3500 in good condition on KBB, so I felt happy with the amount of money I got.

Other fun things this past month have included fun times with the Mule Club. Josh is Vice President of the club at Mizzou. They take the team out (Tim & Terry-who are a couple of gentle giants-actually draft mules) and give rides and do events. Had a great time with them on the 4^th, and by the time we got home we were too tired to even go out to fireworks lol.

We had a great time this past weekend. Josh’s mom Jackie was able to catch a plane and spend a few days in hot, humid Missouri. Josh took her on a tour of the Vet School, we went to a show at the comedy club, did some shopping, ate fresh homemade rhubarb pie at midnight, headed to St. Louis for a Cardinals game, ate out on the Hill, enjoyed a hot & sweaty outdoor concert by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and somehow still managed to sleep in a little! We kept ourselves very busy but had a great time! I was sad when she had to leave.

This was my first week not working overtime for the past month, but I’ve still felt just as busy and tired. I went in on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to have a birth mark removed. Sounds weird-I know. Well it had pigmentation changes and the Dr. felt that even though it looks okay-it would be best to either take a biopsy or remove it completely. Then he added-at some point he’d like to remove it anyway. I decided to go for it. I think it was about 1 ½” long ¼” tall piece of skin on my side over my ribs. They numbed me up with Lidocaine/Epinephrine. I’ve now confirmed a suspicion I had that I am resistant to Lidocaine-they said that normally they’d use about 9cc of their concoction on that large of an area. Well he kept poking and it kept hurting…by the time I was finally numb they had used 24 cc! Even then the inner layer of stitches provided a small amount of pain with each little poke-but not enough for me to have them stick me more to numb it again. He stitched me up, applied the bandage, and sent me on my way. They warned me I might feel jittery from the epinephrine…boy were they right about that! I don’t drink coffee but I feel like I might know what it’s like to have about 1 gallon of it or so at a time. I couldn’t hold a paper still to read in front of me-my hands were so shaky. I tried to drink some water and it was actually splashing and shaking on my teeth! My heart rate was about double what it normally is and I felt sooo funny.

I went to work right afterwards. Luckily we had a lunch meeting before I actually had to see any clients. By then most of the Epinephrine had worn off. I brought IB Profen with me to take for the pain. The Dr. told me not to take that and only take acetaminophen. I guess the IB Profen and other things will increase the risk for bleeding. He also gave me a vicodin rx that I could fill after work. Well I got off work at 6 p.m. The lidocaine started wearing off at about 4 and had completely worn off by 5. I couldn’t believe how much that silly incision hurt! I went to the pharmacy and picked up my rx and some OTC pills, as well as bandages to cover the stitches with.

I’ve learned that Vicodin helps with the pain-doesn’t completely take it away. It makes me tired, sick for about 5 minutes, dizzy, and extremely social! All I wanted to do is talk to someone while on it. I also couldn’t sleep through the night with it-I think when it started wearing off I’d wake up and couldn’t get back to sleep. Also I discovered that my incision was actually longer than it had appeared in the mirror the doctor used at the clinic. I think it’s actually about 5 inches long with 11 outer stitches. The bandages I purchased (which were the largest they had) were not long enough. I cut the end off one and stuck it together with another. It didn’t really last that long. Ultimately I ended up with gauze and medical tape (really sticky kind) from work and have since made my own bandages which stay on until I peel them off. I only took the Vicodin for 2 nights-and the pain has been bearable and decreasing since with very few medications. I am excited to finish healing and be done caring for it. He expected it to take a week or so to get the lab results-which I am not at all stressed over. I expect them to be perfectly fine-if something else happens then we’ll go from there.

To top the week off I had to give a talk today in Sacrament meeting, and play the piano for relief society. I don’t really mind doing either but with working so much and the surgery and pain meds and tiredness I prepared very little. It all worked out though.

Here are a few pics…

been a hard week…

2010-06-26T16:57:00.001-05:00

This is kind of a real personal story. Two events got tied together the other day, and I can’t get them out of my head. Something happened at work-that happens in this kind of job, and always makes me sad-but this time was different. Each moment I find myself alone and quiet-my mind wanders its way back. I’ve decided to write it down-so maybe I don’t have to keep re-thinking it…this didn’t happen today-but I still feel the same as if it did…

Today I held a kitty. She was old, sweet, and liked to speak when we rubbed her ears. She had those eyes, the kind that make you melt and instantly fall in love. She was sick, without much time left, but she enjoyed our company just the same.

Today I held this kitty, as she started her journey to another life. She began to struggle as it was hard for her to sit up and to breath. In my heart I begged her to hang on just until her family could arrive to say goodbye.

They arrived, in the same moments she had to leave, barely in time.

I’ve seen and held many beloved pets as they moved onto the next life. But, this one was a first…

She was the first one to die of natural causes, without the aid of euthanasia. She finally got a small amount in the very end to help her relax and let go after her family said goodbye, but mostly she made the journey on her own. She was the first one to die this way, that I couldn’t try to save. We’d already done all we could do-and it was her time. There was no adrenaline rush, no rush for medications or machines. There was just goodbye.

She was the first one-to take me back so closely and completely to that day; the day of December 30^th, 2004-one winter morning. The day I held my daddy as he died-while in my heart I begged him to hang on until the paramedics would arrive. He couldn’t wait for them-but mom and I were there. I held onto him as he made his journey.

A natural death for a pet is different then one aided with euthanasia. Once given an injection-they quickly fall into a peaceful sleep before they pass away. Holding that beautiful kitty the other morning while she made the journey on her own hit me very hard-harder than any before-in a way that really took me back to that morning with my Dad. I haven’t been able to let go of it since. Might sound a little silly-but I’m hoping by writing this out and sharing it I will find peace again. I don’t like crying in front of anyone-and talking to someone face to face about this will make me cry. I tried to explain to a couple of people at work why I looked so down and out of it afterwards-it brought me to tears then. But I had an appointment waiting-the clients don’t need to know what just happened, and they don’t need to know what happened to me. I put on my happy work face, choked down the tears, and went about the rest of my busy day. That’s what I do. My job is full of great times, fun times, hard times, happiness and anger, sadness and even some hate. I love what I do. Even though this one moment has torn me up-I am glad I was there with this kitty in her last minutes, to help her make her journey…

where'd it go?

2010-06-07T16:44:00.000-05:00

…the {TIME} that is…

I have a lot to write about-but I don’t think I have enough time to do it all justice tonight…which is how I’ve been feeling about it every time I think about updating-and it’s starting to pile up on me! I’ll have to just do a little every now and then until I’ve got something post-worthy.

A few things we’ve been up to lately…

Using up free tickets to the comedy club! Fun times with good friends-some great comedians and some not so great…

I took a trip home to IDAHO to visit family for just a few short days. I wish I had more time there as well. Even though the visit was short it was sweet and I feel better after seeing my family again. Idaho managed to show me all four seasons while I was there too…not sure I appreciated that quite as much as seeing loved ones…

Memorial Day weekend brought the Air Show to columbia’s airport. Josh got a job on-site for a couple days that he really enjoyed and I went one afternoon and watched the show. Pics and videos to come…

Boonville hosted our 2nd annual rodeo! Yes, second annual. ha ha. It was voted the best new rodeo in missouri for 2009. We were able to go last night and it was fun to watch and be outside. We ran into a couple vet school students and it was fun to visit with them too. If you’re wondering-it was more like a Tetonia rodeo than a Preston rodeo-but there were lots of contestants and real big bucking beasts and they gave us a great show.

My Garden is growing like crazy! Almost everything has been successful so far, and what hasn’t been we are working on. The season is so long here I think we have time. The onions never came up so we are trying that again-as soon as I find time to plant! The green beans only had about half come up so I’m going to try starting some more of those. The spaghetti squash wants to take over the garden. The cucumbers are starting to climb, and there’s lots of pretty buds coming on about everything! One of our tomato plants got busted in a sudden downpour-we weren’t home but it looked like someone had just poured out a giant bucket of water from above us trying to drown everything! We’ve replaced it and hopefully the next one grows! At least it wasn’t the one full of fruit. I’ve even got little watermelon, cantaloupe, and summer squash plants growing in cups getting ready to move into the garden. We have concluded we needed about twice as much space as we’ve got :)

Next weekend we’re planning a river float trip and camping with friends. So for everyone back home-we’re not floating the Missouri and I guess there’s no kind of rapid whatsoever so we’re just going to be lounging on inner tubes. I’m picturing those ‘lazy rivers’ at places like Lagoon…we’ll see!

I’ve also learned that POISON IVY is my worst enemy. My garden has lots of it on one side and my body has become pretty allergic to the stuff. I guess I’ve developed the allergy because I found out I’ve been getting into it a pretty fair amount since last fall and it never bothered me until early in May. I had some pretty big rashes and it took some prescription steroid ointment to heal it up. I lost track but I think it was probably over 6 weeks of healing. I still have two little spots left that are almost better. I don’t remember if I got any pictures-but it was nasty!! Ever since I’ve been VERY careful. I tore a whole bunch out that had grown up again-wearing rubber boots, pants, gloves, and then washing multiple times with soap/water, then rubbing down with alcohol, and then a shower…that method seemed to keep me from getting another rash ha ha. I hope I find an easier way. hmm, I hope there isn’t any where we’re camping…and now I just remembered how many ticks there are out here---and we’re going camping…ok I’ll try not to think about that ha ha. The TICKS here are AWFUL! Luckily there are very few around my house.

SO this turned out longer than I’d planned…I’ll try to put up some pictures and stuff soon-but I felt like it had been forever since I’d posted an update. Hope I didn’t bore you. What have you been doing so far this summer? I guess back home in Idaho it hasn’t really started being summer yet…It’s been in the 90’s here-I’ll try to send some heat your way!

3 years

2010-05-14T21:55:00.001-05:00

I couldn't have lived till now
If it wasn't for you
I would have been so lost
Not knowing what to do

You put me together
Only now can I see
You make me what I am
You complete me

We're two different halves
Put together, we're one whole
Every beat of my heart is yours
Everyday I pray for your soul

It's just your smile I need to see
When there's no other remedy
You put me together
You complete me

I'm too scared to let you go
I never want to lose you
If you weren't here with me
I'd never know what to do

All I feel now are joys
All my sorrows are history
What else can I say now?
It's because you complete me.

I don’t know who wrote this poem but I think it says everything perfectly.

Our anniversary was May 12th and we didn’t have the opportunity to do a lot but it was still special. When I first met Josh I had no idea that 5 1/2 years later we would be married and living in Missouri. But-here we are! And I couldn’t be happier! Live has been a rollercoaster and we haven’t reached the end-but I’m enjoying the ride.

{Engagement Photo}

On a GREAT side note:
In this specific vet school Josh is sort of in an accelerated program. It still takes the same 4 years to complete. The difference lies in the fact that he will complete 3 years of learning in 2 years so he can spend an extra year in the hospital instead of only 1. Anyway-because of all this he is actually now in his first block of his second year of vet school! Even though it’s still his first year-he’s considered a second year vet student. I’m very proud of him-getting his good grades and doing well it vet school.

Grow!

2010-05-14T21:40:00.001-05:00

Here’s some pictures from our garden! Some of it’s outside in the dirt and some is on the deck. Sorry-you’re probably sick of all the garden pics-but it’s one thing in our lives that’s changing and growing and is fun to watch!

Here is a picture of our herbs. They are now on day 28, but I think it was more like day 26 when I took the pic… parsley, chives, and cilantro are all doing well the basil seems a little slow and the catnip is a little dissapointing…and I think there’s maybe finally one rosemary coming up-we’ve mostly given up on it. I keep trying to decide if it was a different between the two pots? same bag of soil planted same day and both watered liberally? they’ve been rotated and had same access to sun…don’t get it!

We purchased some plants from the farmers market-and only now did I realize I haven’t photgraphed the cucumber and spaghetti squash plants-you’ll have to wait until next time for those ha ha. Below is I think the sweet banana pepper plant growing some itty bitty peppers!!

We planted 2 different tomato plants and 4 different pepper plants.

Yay for the Early Girl! We had it less than a week before we had fruit growing!

This little worm got by blood bubbling! I came home from work the other day and stopped to look at my beautiful plants and what did I see?? HOLES! Something was eating the leaves! I knew it must be a worm and saw all the little green poops in the pot. I was determined to find the little bugger and after searching for probably about 5 minutes (he was really doing a good job of hiding!) I found him!!! After his sacrifice Josh got some spray out and gave all of our plants some relief.

Almost time for a rhubarb pineapple pie!!

Here’s some stuff growing in the dirt. We have 3 rows of the corn you see below-I think we’re going to enjoy a lot of corn!!!

Josh built us a fence. I got the stuff and he buried the wire below ground so no critters would dig under it. Took a couple days in his spare time (well I think he had to make the spare time) and it seems to be doing the job! I was really worried it would be a horrible eye-sore, but I was pretty happy when it was finished for what we actually paid for it and put into it! It doesn’t really stick out when I look at it or pull into the driveway. There’s no gate right now-I can step over it-probably later we’ll build something out of wood and extra wire and insert it in.

Thanks Josh for all the hard work you’ve been putting into our garden!! I think he’s weeded it more than I have so far too. There are TONS of weeds but for some of it we really need to let the stuff grow so we can tell it apart from the weeds!

Any good tips or advice for this first time self gardener? How about the herbs-do I need to thin them out? The garden is soaked with rain-I’m glad I don’t need to water every day out here. Thanks for your words of wisdom!

{wet} outside

2010-04-30T17:21:00.001-05:00

well we had a couple nice days again and now we’re back to the rain…I have a feeling I might get sick of the rain before rainy season is over. (Oh and with rainy season is tornado season by the way)

Boonville is right in the middle…I was sitting through this for a while. The thunder here literally shakes the house!

So below is the view from my deck…there are screened over gutters here that drain to the sewer below ground. It’s raining so hard that it can’t drain fast enough for all the water coming down. There’s 3 different spots where water is shooting out through the sides and top of the gutters! This isn’t the only place it does it in the house…

And this is just from the deck the other way over the driveway. You can sort of see all the water splashing on the river down the road and making mud in my driveway. I’m glad the driveway is basically gravel…

While I was out there I snapped a couple pics of the herbs! This is day 14 for them! Everything is coming up so far except the rosemary!! The Cilantro only came up about 2 days ago-look how big it already is! It’s nearly taller than the chives which were up 5 days ago!!

Joys of owning a home in the spring:
A yard coming to life!
Planting a garden!
.mowing the lawn
..weeding the garden
…clearing out hated bushes
….getting termite inspections and quotes
…..flooding garage
…….flooding basement
Ok it’s not really that bad ;). The termite inspections are because we found termites in stumps outside and they made us nervous. Had a couple guys here with a couple quotes-one is $1000 and one is $300…what do u think i’m leaning closer to? Just got the smaller quote today so we’ll probably either do nothing and watch or go with that I’m guessing. Haven’t discussed it with josh that much yet.

Flooding garage is because our garage is down the hill from the initial driveway and it all flows right to there. Last big rain josh had to deepen a little trench for the water to flow past the garage and to the yard. I am thrilled that so far today there has been no water overflowing into the garage! Last time it came in the garage and through to the basement…good thing it’s unfinished and has some built in drains!!

Flooding basement is a tiny crack or two in the walls down there-can’t hardly find them until you track the water when it’s coming in. Nothing that’s putting us under water but probably something that deserves some attention. Nothing like the lady who came to my clinic today who’s house was under a foot of water on the inside and 3 feet outside after the last rain…

Well, Josh just finished with one of his final Final’s of his 1st year of vet school! He’s taking a quiz right now and I think it’s Wednesday or Thursday(?) he’s considered a 2nd year vet student! Too bad that’s not when summer break starts-he still has another block…

This might work after all

2010-04-25T17:43:00.001-05:00

Well we planted our garden I think about 11 days ago. It’s been pouring rain for 2 days and we were hoping it wasn’t too much for our freshly planted garden. Well, today during a break in the storm we went out to check things out and what did we find…
Some sprouts! and I think they are not all weeds! ha ha.

This was day one for the garden and day one for the herbs…

Now we are at day 9 for the herbs. This morning there was all just dirt, but this evening I noticed…

Yup! Some itty bitty baby chives :)

Day 11 for the garden and what did we find (or at least we think we found ha ha)

Corn

Green beans and I can’t remember now which row I took the other pics on…I need to go look at my chart and figure out what’s coming up!! :) there might be some carrots out there too-but I’m not sure yet if they are carrots or weeds. There are plenty of weeds for sure.

hope everything keeps on growing!

Next up-a fence for the bunnies and other little critters and then finding a solution for the deer. Any good tips other than a really really tall fence? We looked into electric fence but it might be a pain. Have deterrents worked for anyone?

As soon as we put up the fence we can get our pepper and tomato plants. soon we will plant our squashes, watermelon, and cantaloupe as well. So exciting!!!

Updates!

2010-04-16T23:44:00.001-05:00

Well Here I am finally getting to the blog and posting some updates!! What’s taken me so long?? I dunno-mostly I think it’s that I’ve been busy and when I’m not busy I’m worn out! Then I had to also get pics of stuff and make the pics post-worthy! Hope you are able to maybe enjoy seeing what’s been up with us! Everything from guns, to runs, to gardening, and biking :) You’ll have to hit the ‘older posts’ button to get through it all (if you make it that far!)

(The order of events posted are not necessarily the same order they happened…)

. . . . . .. .. … .. .. . . . . .

-Michelle’s New Ride-

2010-04-16T23:43:00.001-05:00

Cute huh?

Josh kind of insisted (but still leaving it up to me) that I should get a new bike. My old one was..well..pretty old and broken down. It was heavy and needed repairs in because of it I hadn’t enjoyed riding it anymore and actually hadn’t ridden it for a long while. Josh found out about a sale at a Columbia bike shop and we went in and found this cutie!

Ended up falling in love...gave it a {slightly tipsy!} test ride in the parking lot and went in and paid. They say you never forget how to ride a bike…but that doesn’t mean it’s a little wierd to get back on one when you haven’t ridden for a long time! Also when you aren’t used to the seat actually being as high as it’s really supposed to be it’s a little more scary. I’ve been having fun taking little rides around outside and looking forward to an outing on the Katy Trail soon!!

PS I got the helmet at walmart-cheaper than the bike store for the same thing…couldn’t find a cute blue one to match so I had to go with grey.

more {springing} Spring!

2010-04-16T23:41:00.001-05:00

1/2 Marathon! Go Josh!

2010-04-16T23:39:00.001-05:00

Josh trained hard and ran a half marathon in St. Louis! I was so proud of him! He did great-

The pictures are not in any particular order…

Joshua Bell #9921

Boonville, MO

Age: 27 Gender: M

Distance	HALF MAR
Clock Time	2:04:01
Chip Time	2:01:35
Overall Place	2888 / 10703
Gender Place	1758 / 3883
Division Place	328 / 694
Age Grade	48.7%
6Mi	52:09

DiRT

2010-04-16T23:35:00.001-05:00

I tilled it. It was HARD work and I paid for it for a few days afterwards! BUT it felt great to know I spent hours working hard and accomplishing something outside :). It’s no where near as beautiful as my mothers garden always was when she got done tilling it-but I was a little disadvantaged…firstly this ground hadn’t been tilled for a few years, and secondly the tiller I rented was a sad specimen compared to the beauty my mom owned. Of course-she was AWESOME at gardening back when she could do it every year-so she definitely deserved that handy dandy tool.

Here’s what I used…

I am very grateful I could rent this tiller though! A local hardware store rented it to me and delivered/picked it up for a small fee. Couldn’t have cultivated the garden without it!

Before getting down to digging work…there were some daffodils that mostly finished blooming in the middle of the garden-to-be. I hated to toss them or chop them to itty-bitty-pieces…so I carefully dug them up and transplanted them to another flower garden. They still look about like this but I expected that. Gave them some water, planning on them dying, and hopefully coming back up next spring. Thoughts? Tips? Advice? I know it was the wrong time to do it, but it was this or nothing!

Guess what sprouted up over a week from one garden visit until time to cultivate…

RHUBARB!

I am excited for that. Rhubarb Pineapple pie-
here I come!

OK PEOPLE NOW I NEED
ADVICE…

Here is the problem with my rhubarb plant…

…there is a stupid tree growing right in the middle of it!! HOW on earth do I get rid of the tree WITHOUT hurting the rhubarb??? Should I just take clippers to the tree close to the ground and then in the fall dig it all up and replant the rhubarb?? I have no clue..please help!

And another little more simple question…

This is a little rosebush by my front door…

Do I trim off the part that hasn’t leafed out? Will it leaf out later maybe? What do I do to ‘prune’ it-or do I? Man-I know nothing…Help!

Well that’s it for now. We actually planted the garden a couple days after tilling it! I realized I haven’t taken a picture of it since then-but it’s dark outside now so that will have to wait…

BANG! BANG!

2010-04-16T23:33:00.001-05:00

New toy…

Josh’s baby

I’ve kind of favored the revolvers…they are less complicated-making me less nervous to do something wrong with them and break something lol. BUT this gun is way fun to shoot! I had a great time when we took it out for it’s first target practice. Can’t wait to go next time! I’ll have to get pictures then of it in action-and after Josh gets to shine it all up. I had to get it out real quick to get the pics tonight…

The Cat in the … Box?

2010-04-16T23:32:00.001-05:00

So recently my doggie got left unsupervised near a box from my new work shoes that I purchased that day…(lucky the shoes weren’t in it!) and it got chewed up a little. Before tossing it-my kitty cats decided it made a great place to chill…I’m not sure why-seeing how it probably smells like cardboard, shoes, and dog drool…but they look like they both enjoy it. Actually they’re fighting over who gets to lay in it right now! (Yeah-tried for a pic but I distracted them and they stopped) So yes…I’ve left this piece of garbage out sitting in my living room so my kitty cats can enjoy it for a little while longer…

This last pic was Luna right after her and stormy were battling it out…look at that evil stare!

Can it be true?

2010-03-30T20:26:00.001-05:00

Is spring really here for real?

Temperatures in the 70’s, and 80’s tomorrow!

beautiful weather…

and…

FLOWERS! :)

OK, so the watermark thing-ies was me playing with a feature on my blogging program-NOT because I think they are amazing and worried about someone stealing them ha ha. Actually it’s kind of cool-the distorted backgrounds actually are original to the picture-for some reason the lighting while the sun was going down and the little breeze helped make the awesome ‘texture’ to the background when I was zooming into the tiny flower buds.

I was glad to get home just in time to see the bright flowers outside in my yard-brightened up my mood after a long tiring day :)

{SPRING} break

2010-03-27T14:21:00.001-05:00

Well I know I don’t write on here all that much-but I guess usually I don’t feel like there’s anything anyone would really want to read about. This month has been going by pretty fast! I’ve been working lots-getting my 40 hours or overtime. Josh just finished up with midterms yesterday and it’s a nice thing to be done with. He’s doing great in school.

Here’s a few details from our lives over the past month…

* Our dummy cat stormy managed to eat 6 ft of yarn. It settled in her stomach for about four days. She was a little sick but not to convince me of a blockage. I took her into work where she got worked up enough to vomit the big ball of string out. It really was 6 ft of yarn-mostly still in one loong piece! Her radiographs were good and she got some meds to help calm her tummy. she was back to herself in no time. I’d just paid of my bill for the dog too…

*Josh and I went to Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum in Columbia! It was lotsa fun! It was a fun show and we really enjoyed it. Josh was studying between shows and sets, and I was tired from working all day-but we still had a blast.

* We had Missionaries over for dinner.

* We (mostly Josh) started a little work outside. We got the railroad ties out from the middle of the garden-so now it’s just one big rectangle. They’d been there quite a while! They were pretty rotten underneath. Also Josh dug our fire pit! We still need to get some sort of stone to line it with but he’s already set fire to it once. Here’s the interesting part: I had called the fire station before even digging the thing to see about rules and what not. Josh set the fire and within minutes a police officer stopped by. He was friendly I guess but Josh ended up calling the fire station AGAIN and got a whole different story than the one I got. We didn’t get in any trouble or anything-just irritated me that I called and got the station dummy…

* Hung out and lost a little cash at the local casino-it was a great date night though!

* Got our federal tax refund!! buying this house and paying all that tuition made our check a beautiful thing.

* Got my plane tickets to visit Idaho in May :)

* Reserved my rental car for the Idaho trip after landing in Salt Lake and realized that they will charge me an extra $15 a day because I am 24 and not 25…grrr

* Been giving young women’s lessons, made food for church potluck (love using mom’s recipes!) and gave a baptism talk…

* Got my new (very old) piano tuned :)

* Went and saw Alice in Wonderland with Taya from work :)

* watched Josh play volleyball last night. brr, there was a cold breeze…

* Said goodbye until Wednesday to Josh just a few minutes ago…

Josh decided to take a little vacation for spring break and go to Las Vegas to visit Landon, Molly, and Ryder! I’m jealous but there just wasn’t enough time for me to be off work and go. He was planning to drive but luckily I found some plane tickets that dropped the price a few days ago and now he’s flying instead of driving for nearly 24 hours straight (each way). I’m going to miss him tons but I am very happy he can get outta here and do something fun with his brother.

Josh has been training for a half marathon. We’ll be going to St. Louis for him to run that on April 11th. I’m exited for him and this accomplishment.

Oh I forgot-we also got some other good news. Since I’ve been working here since we moved here, and I’m not a student, and we’re married, and bought a house…We got credit back for the out of state portion of Josh’s Tuition for this semester! That’s nearly $8,000 that we do not have to spend on tuition :) Don’t you love when something great like that happens?

Well, I guess that’s about all I can think of for now. I’m not sure of my plans for the weekend-but I’m sure I’ll find something to do. I hurt my arm at work the other day and I can’t lift it up very much so I won’t be getting too crazy!

Hope everyone has a great spring break!

Chopped

2010-03-15T16:06:00.001-05:00

Ok so I’ve been wanting to cut my hair for a while. I am pretty chicken when it comes to going to new people for things and I really miss Nancy doing my hair back home in Tetonia. BUT I just couldn’t take it anymore. I cut my hair in October and I was not happy with the girl or the cut that much. I finally decided to give it another try somewhere else. I’m pretty happy and am glad to have about 8 inches gone :) What do you think?

PS It’s really hard to take self portraits by the way…

I’m ready for summer and the humid heat (okay just the summer part)

I thought about going a little shorter, but I’m good with this for now. If its still too hot in the summer I’ll take off even more.

MoM

2010-03-01T20:31:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Mom! Ok, I know she won’t read this, but I wanted to make a quick post in honor of my mom on this, her birthday.

My mom is one of the greatest people I will ever know. She is a unique hardworking person who always wanted nothing but the best for her family. She raised us three kids with dad. She was a hard working stay-at-home mom who got up long before the rest of us each morning to make sure the house was in order and breakfast was waiting. I don’t think I would ever be able to measure up to her dedication to a clean and orderly home and getting so much accomplished in one day.

I am sad today, that I had to be here in missouri while the rest of my family is still in Idaho. I missed out on yet another traditional Bubba’s breakfast with my favorite girls. I’m so glad they were all able to go and have a fun time! I am so thankful that I am able to pick up the phone and talk to my mom nearly every single day-even if some days it’s only a few minutes.

I blame my desire to be a good cook, to learn to sew, and to take on this garden this summer all on her. I know I’ll never be able to measure up to her high standards but I have something wonderful to strive toward because of her example.

I love you mom and I hope you enjoyed your birthday! 77 down and many more to go! I miss you so much especially on days like these. Thank you for being the best mother I could have ever asked for.

Love, Michelle

Almost time…

2010-02-27T11:02:00.001-06:00

This is the layout of my garden right now. Without measuring at all, I’m guessing about 25 ft x 15 ft. The lines around and inside are railroad ties dividing everything up. Not sure if I like that or not. I think I’d almost rather just have one big plot without any divisions. I’m just not really sure? What do you think?

Here’s a list of things I think I’d like to plant in it this year…

OK so the tomatoes and peppers-I may decide to plant those in a separate place further up the hill where they can drain better. We’ll see…

I’m thinking about strawberries, rhubarb, or some of those other perennial plants as well…I know they won’t give me anything this year so I guess I’ll need to decide if establishing them is worth it knowing that I won’t be in this house for many many years.

So I found a little local shop where I can rent a large garden tiller for $30 a day (or as little as $16 for 2 hours) We’re still debating over buying one, but I think initially I will rent this large one for the first cultivation of the garden. I know it’s been a wildflower garden for a few years now and there’s a little bit of digging to be done from that. I think a larger more powerful tiller would do a better job than one we would buy. After that we can decide weather to purchase one this year or not. Maybe we’ll wait until the end of the season-maybe there will be good deals then?? I have a lot of other stuff to get-at least the basics for gardening. I already got me some rubber boots I was wanting for outside work. They were like $14 and should last me a good long time. I used to wear old coveralls back home while helping mom. I’m thinking that those might be a little hot in the humid weather here. I also realized that I have a bunch of old scrubs from before my current job. Now my boss purchases my uniforms and I have a few old ugly scrubs that I only saved for dirty jobs. I think this might qualify! We have a hose…but I don’t know yet if it reaches the faucet all the way to the garden…lol. I’m hoping I won’t need to water much since it rains so much here. I would love to get one of those big rain reservoirs that have a hose connected and you can water with rain water-but they are kind of expensive. If I follow my current plan-the tomatoes and peppers will be right next to the faucet.

Here’s another of my summer thoughts: Growing herbs on my screened in deck! Or possibly on the deck out of the screened area-if they need a little more sun than they will get inside. I’ve never grown herbs before. Have you? What do you grow? What’s your favorite? Any tips??? I’m nervous to start them inside cuz I’m pretty sure my cats will devour anything that starts popping out of the soil…

What’s your favorite gardening tools? What are the must-haves I should get for my first year?

anyway…I’ve spent much of my morning reading over gardening articles and I think I’m gardened out for now. Thank you ahead of time for any advice or input!!

-~NEW~-

2010-02-20T22:35:00.001-06:00

I have two new things to tell you about! The first one is my newest nephew!

LANDON RYDER BELL

Born February 18, 2010
at 7:24 a.m. in Las Vegas
7.99 pounds and 21 inches long

Proud parents:
Landon & Molly Bell

Congratulations guys! We’re so happy for you and your first baby! Looking forward to even more pictures!!! Love you!

Secondly: my new {baby} is….

Ta Da!! This PIANO!

So you might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned a new addition to my home but I didn’t tell you what it was? Well this is it! Took me forever to arrange to get it here but here it finally is! As you can likely tell from the photo-it is not at all brand new. I actually found this piano on craigslist and the sellers sold it to me and even delivered it to my house (40 miles!) for $200!!! I know what you’re thinking-must be a piece of junk-but it’s not! It’s not too badly out of tune-I can actually play it without it sounding horrible right now. A key or two has a couple tiny chips that don’t interfere with playing, and the highest key doesn’t play. The finish could use some work but overall I feel like I got a fantastic deal!

So it was sort of dark and my cat Luna is black-so I didn’t even realize she was in the picture until I loaded it onto the computer lol.

I wouldn’t call myself any kind of professional when it comes to playing the piano. I don’t have desire to play for audiences or anything-I really just play for pure enjoyment-and this is something I have greatly missed since moving out of my parents house. I used to be able to stop into Institute in Pocatello and sit down in an empty classroom and play away-but when I wasn’t in class anymore it just wasn’t an option for me. I’ve really missed playing piano for about 5 years or so now. I am so excited to have one in my own house!!! Special thanks to Josh for his patience, help, and muscles. Also thanks to the local missionaries and the people who sold it to me. Now I’ve got a new ‘old’ way of providing myself with hours of fun, relaxation, and stress relief… :)

Buy, Rent, or Hire?

2010-02-14T18:24:00.001-06:00

So I’m sitting here thinking about my garden I’m dreaming up this summer. I’ve got the spot-it’s an old flower bed that I guess used to be a garden before that…

My question running in and out of my brain is:

How am I going to get the ground prepared for planting??? It needs to be tilled!

Do I buy and inexpensive (Gas) tiller? between 200-300 dollars? Do I rent one? probably over 100 dollars. Do I Hire someone? I dunno the cost of that…

I’m leaning toward just buying it. What do you think? What’s your advice???

4 weeks

2010-02-06T14:19:00.001-06:00

Well today is the day that I am no longer a foster mom to puppies. My second puppy Xena found a home today! I think sassy is a little sad to have lost her little sister but she’ll have to get over it. We only have two left of the bunch and they’re living with the doctor! I’ve been a foster parent for over 4 weeks and even though a part of me will miss the little buggers, I’m glad to be free from it.

Gettin’ excited for Landon Ryder Bell to get here! Josh’s brother Landon and his wife Molly will be parents possibly any day now with their first child. I made my first baby blanket and baby sling and sent off to them this last week. Definitely not perfect sewing but it’s the effort-right? lol. I’ll put details up on my new craft blog.

Josh had midterms these past 2 weeks and he’s glad to have that over. He did a good job and he worked hard for it.

Last time I wrote about getting a new craigslist find-well it didn’t arrive and I will have to wait ‘till later this month for it. Haven’t decided if I should reveal the big surprise or not…

Well, now I can hopefully catch up on some stuff…like shampooing my carpets, home improvement projects, and sleeping :).

Try to write something more interesting soon!!

CC

2010-01-29T21:39:00.001-06:00

My new blog dedicated to crafty-ness. http://ourcreativecrafts.blogspot.com/

2010-01-29T17:40:00.001-06:00

Finally Friday…I’ve worked i think 11 days in a row and i’m ready for the weekend!! Been a pretty busy week at work and with puppies and colds on top of that it has worn me out! I’m on the mend-feeling much better even though not 100% yet. Josh has had a very busy week at school with 5 tests in the last 5 days and more to go for next week. We haven’t seen to much of each other but at least for me the week kinda flew by-as I look back anyway.

I’ve had little Xena all week but she went home with another girl from work for the weekend. That way she’ll be at the clinic on my days off for potential adopters (and I get a little bit of a break!)

I’m excited to finish (and start!) some projects, for the Tim McGraw concert in Feb. and for our new baby nephew waiting to be born to Landon & Molly-due in less than 3 weeks!! I’ve got tons of stuff I can catch up on this weekend. I also have another fantastic Craigs list find that I am so excited about! It should arrive Sunday unless something comes up. I forgot to save the picture so I’m waiting to see if I get an email with it but if not I can wait until Sun. to see it again… Are you curious? I’ll let it be a mystery but I will say I think I got an amazing deal…

Try to update more later! I haven’t progressed on those curtains anymore so I’ll have to see if I can’t get them done this weekend.

it’s being ‘frugal’ :)

2010-01-25T18:06:00.001-06:00

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since my last post. It really seems like it was only yesterday. Everything is blending together. I’ve had this cold thingy that mostly is just a nasty cough and me being really tired. I’m really excited to feel better. I’m sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!!

On the bright side: little Zeke got a home today!!

I’ve just been working still and Josh has been working hard at school. He’s got a bunch of tests this week so I don’t expect to see much of him.

I’ve been working on those roman shades I was talking about. I’m not sure what % I am done but I’m getting there!! I have measured, cut, pinned, sewn, and Ironed (2 of the 3) together. I need to iron the 3rd then I can start sewing the rings on. I have measured and decided where I want to place them. Then I need the hardware and to put on the strings. Maybe this week I’ll get them done-we’ll see.

I also managed to catch a steal of a deal on craigslist. This chair will most likely find it’s way to my back porch after some love…

I picked it up for $10. A little cleaning, a little spray paint, and maybe a cute homemade cushion will make it great! Now it needs a friend… (or josh will just have to sit on the camping chair) But it will have to wait until I finish a few other projects first!!

My weekend consisted of working and working. I had kennels so I had no real day off and am looking forward to friday!!!

Does anyone have any sweet projects they’ve done with handmedowns or thrift store/craigslist finds?

week.{end}

2010-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

I was very ready for the weekend for some reason this week. Nothing bad going on-just tired. Getting a little less sleep with the two foster pups-but they are getting better and don’t really wake me up anymore so that’s good. They are cute-but I hope they find a home soon! Puppies take work and time and even though I like helping them out-I wasn’t ready for a new puppy in the house-let alone 2 of them! (one of the girls at work took 3!- yipes!) Anyway…I had all these plans for yesterday of stuff to get done-and I did NONE of it ha ha. My day consisted of me getting up (earlier than I wanted-but still I slept in a little) to take care of the puppies and my other pets, watched a netflix movie that’s been sitting by my TV for a while, tidying up a tiny bit, and then a nap! After that some food, some internet, some tv. Then Josh and I went into Columbia to spend some christmas money on a headboard for our bed (Picture later-he’s still sleeping under it) then hung out at Sportsmans wearhouse until it was time to go to the movies. We saw Sherlock Holmes which was pretty good (I liked Avatar better) and then came home! I put the headboard together last night-it was pretty tricky since it came in like 3 pieces total lol. It was great to relax, do nothing, and spend time with Josh. NOW i guess it’s time to accomplish some of those things on that list…

I did get some {CUTE} fabric for my bay windows-I’m making roman shades-like I’d planned in the [.crafty.] post. Hopefully I can get them right! I still need a few of the supplies to hang them and stuff, but I guess I can start the sewing part. Remind me and I will attempt to take pictures through the whole process :).

I do have a 3 day weekend-but only because it falls on my normal long weekend-not because of the holiday. Hope most of you get Monday off too! Josh does so I’m excited about that. Have a terrific weekend!

Foster Pups

2010-01-16T09:36:00.001-06:00

Meet Xena and Zeke! They’re looking for a good home :) Seven weeks old and up for adoption through Rock Bridge Animal Hospital (573-443-4501)

View Full Album

Crazy crafty thoughts

2010-01-10T23:21:00.001-06:00

So I’m up too late right now. Been studying for work about dentals, dental x-rays, teeth, and dental disease. I’ve got a test on Wed! Also been playing with puppies (or trying to control them anyway ha ha) and coming up with names. I think it’s probably Zeke and Ziggi (or Ziggie or Ziggy) which spelling do you like best?

I keep debating about what i want to do with the stinkin’ windows in my house. I’ve still got the ugly curtains up from when we moved in. Every window also has blinds except for the bay window. Sometimes I just want to close it off. I thought I wanted roman shades but they are very expensive and they seem overwhelming to make. I finally found a website with a really great tutorial that turns them into what appears to be a piece of cake. I’m not excited to give it a try. I’m hoping they will work out perfectly, satisfy my ‘privacy’ need, and also help insulate the window when they’re closed.
HERE is the website I was so happy with.

Now to decide on a color? My kitchen is a creamy-ish color that I don’t mind but don’t love. I’d like to paint it something prettier eventually. I’m leaning toward a citrus-y color maybe…like a light lime green or yellow…ya know-something sorta brighter? So I want something that might fall into the latter color scheme. I think I’ll look for some sort of big bold pattern maybe, with two colors like white and ____. Whats your favorite kitchen color? My cabinets are a medium light wood tone and my countertops are the same color wood.

Then as soon as those are done I’ll move on to the living room and make curtain valances in something with a blue/tan/brown pattern i’m hoping, then in the front room I want to make long draperies in something with red or red/brown or even some gold in it would be okay. Maybe I should paint in there first?

GOAL for me is to first get caught up on some chores…measure the windows tomorrow…make my plan and see how much of what I need. Then Tues I can go in after work and pick up some stuff.

OK now that it’s out I can relax, look over my notes, and go to sleep (waay past my bedtime)oops.

G’night!

2010 Goals

2010-01-09T21:47:00.001-06:00

I haven’t decided on really specific Resolutions for this year yet but I have some goals in mind. I looked back to my goals I posted for 2009. Those were things I worked on all year as part of my daily life, and things I want to continue with this year and more…

* Grow closer to my savior my reading my scriptures, saying my prayers always, continue writing in my journal more often, make plans to attend the temple as often as we can manage (i hate how it’s so far and difficult to set aside the time to go, but I guess that is just one of our trials now…

* Improve my home in a range of ways from keeping it tidy to decorating in an appealing way. Use $ wisely to make improvements to increase the resale value and make it more enjoyable for us. I want to take down old stuff that’s not ‘us’ and put up new-like make my own curtains, and repaint a few walls. Get some of my own photographs framed and use them to decorate the walls…

* Keep it off – and lose the rest! I was able to lose over 50 pounds last year through eating good and exercise. This year I need to push myself and continue improving my body to an even healthier me. Moving took it’s toll and put a stop to my progress. I am ready to pick up where I left off…

*Excel in things I do-like my job. I will work hard to learn and retain important knowledge and be a good employee. If I am able to start up school I also want to excel in that.

*Keep my spirits up Some days it’s more hard than others to maintain a happy attitude. Some days are long and tiring, my husband is hardly home, and I feel all alone out here. Truly I am blessed and I will find little things to help remind me of that on those few days when I need the boost. I will do something that makes me happy :)

Now, to accomplish these things, my final goal I am thinking of right now is to formulate a plan so I can finish those things I have in mind. Any tips on ways to motivate yourself to get things done, to find the time, or just whatever??? I think I might sit down and write out just a few things for each month that I will complete and then when that month comes around sit down again and pick out some days that I can spend working on MY GOALS, and then maybe the feeling of accomplishment will motivate me to continue and complete what I’ve got planned for myself.

New Year!

2010-01-09T21:22:00.001-06:00

Hello 2010! We finished our trip back home. To my huge disappointment I got really sick while at home. Thought it was like food poisoning at first but Josh got a more mild version of it as well, so some sort of flu I guess. I wouldn’t say it ruined the trip but definitely took a whole lot out of it for me and ruined a few plans. The sad part of the trip was having to leave so soon. It felt like I’d barely said hello to anyone. I knew I would miss my family and I really do.

We flew back to Missouri on the 4th and Josh started school the next day. He’s got another hard semester ahead of him but I think it will be a good one.

On a very cold morning this week someone left 9 little puppies outside the front door of my clinic. They were nearly frozen. After some considerations my boss decided to keep the little buggers and adopt them out instead of sending them to the humane society. So me, being a lucky fellow staff member, am fostering two of them. They are six week old pit bull (mix?) puppies. I have one boy and one girl-both black w/ white chests. They are up for adoption with a fee of $100 which covers vaccines so far, spay/neuter and some other goodies. If you know anyone around here looking for a new puppy-point them in my direction!! So now each day I spend my ‘extra’ time potty training, feeding, cleaning, etc. for the pups. I want to name them, but I haven’t decided what yet. Any ideas??

Last night Josh and I attended a Masquerade Ball put on by the vet school. Proceeds went toward the Josh Project who put together care packages for little kids who are about to have, or just had surgery. We dressed up and made masks. It was fun!

Coming up: more working for me, more school for josh, hopefully homes for the pups, maybe Bowling for Soup, and I’m not sure what else.

Guess that’s all for now. Sorry I don’t have pics at the moment. I’ll try to find something for you. :)

Goodbye 2.0.0.9!

2009-12-31T15:58:00.001-06:00

This month has gone by pretty quickly. As usual I’ve been busy with work and Josh busy with school. He had finals a couple weeks ago and he did great! He gets a two week break (which sadly ends on Monday). I had to work over Christmas and that weekend so we weren’t able to go anywhere. I was finally able to get today off and we headed home to Idaho! We left home at 3 a.m. and drove to Kansas City, flew to Denver, and flew to Salt Lake where his dad Randy picked us up and now we’re in Preston! took about 10 hours to get here but it’s nice to be back. We’re kind of tired from the early leaving and the trip though. We’re hoping for great weather and a great time with both our families. It’s great to see his (we get to see everyone tonight!) and I’m excited to see mine tomorrow :). Miss you Landon and Molly (they’re stuck in Vegas with work) but we’ll try to see you soon somehow! I’m glad to be able to kick of 20-10 in Idaho!

2009 in {quick} Review:

January
Landon & Molly got engaged! – Vet School Interview letters & Interviews– Josh got to go to the Presidential Inauguration in Washington DC

February
Valentines :) More school interviews

March
Landon & Molly got married! - Visited Mandy and getting facials at her esthetician school – New Guns –accepted to kansas state vet school

April
Got accepted to Missouri and obviously chose there – Moved Mandy home from school – Josh ran a 5K – Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo – Shooting guns :)

May
Josh working in the narrows again! – Dylans rodeos – Camping – More guns – 2 yr anniversary! -

June
More Dylan rodeo (state!) – Visit to Mizzou – Michelle got a job in Missouri

July
Found a house! – moved -

August
Got settled in – Josh biked the MS 150 – Started Vet School!

September
Budweiser Factory – St. Louis Zoo – Mizzou Football – Cardinals Game – closed on House!

October
new AWESOME job for Michelle – Branson w/ Landon, Molly, Dave, and Dee – RAIN – Mizzou Homecoming

November
Church callings – mule team – car troubles – Thanksgiving in St. Louis – Temple! – Possum

December
Finals! – Josh’s 1st surgery (spay & dental!) – Christmas blizzard – IDAHO!

Plans for 2010~

-Lots of WORK, lots of CLASS and STUDYING
- Masquerade Ball
- Tim McGraw/lady antebellum Concert

Thats all I can think of for now! Maybe I’ll take a quick nap before celebrating New Years Eve. Can you believe it’s really 2010?!

Father

2009-12-07T20:41:00.001-06:00

Today is my Dad’s Birthday. Just less than a year ago I wrote a post dedicated to my dad so I’m not going to re-tell the story, but if you are interested-it’s found HERE on Dec. 30, 2008.
Anyway, He was born Dec. 7, 1930, before it was Pearl Harbor Day. Almost 5 years ago I said goodbye to him but I know he never really left me. Even though it’s hard sometimes I can still feel his influence and love in all kinds of ways. When making decisions, sometimes I think about what he would do, or if he would be proud. He taught me to work hard, have a tender heart, and love everyone.

He always took time for me. This picture was taken when I was just a kid, and he took Susan and I to Green Mountain on horseback. I remember having a great time this day and all the other trail rides we went on.

I never once felt like it was a burden to help him work on our farm. I was proud of my dad for how hard he worked for our family and the values he taught me.

I could not have asked for a better father, and I hope that he got to celebrate his birthday in some special way today up there in heaven. I miss you dad, I love you, Happy Birthday.
–Love Michelle

Saint Louis Temple

2009-11-27T22:19:00.001-06:00

We finally got to go to the temple! It’s been a long time and it was really nice to go again. We have to drive over 2 1/2 hours to get to the closest temple in St. Louis. That’s really hard to do when I’m working and Josh is in vet school. We had plans to go there over Thanksgiving since we couldn’t make it home and we stayed an extra day so we could go to the temple the day after Thanksgiving. It was worth it! We had a beautiful day and it felt great.

We snapped a few pictures. Sadly we had to kind of hurry and I set up the first picture on the automatic timer and had to run run run back to Josh and barely made it-and we didn’t try again lol…

Josh wouldn’t let me take any others of him. Can’t wait to go back!

Where did it go?

2009-11-23T17:36:00.001-06:00

The {WEEKEND} is gone! Ok, I know it’s Monday night-but I had today off too…

Well, Josh did not go hunting after all, so I had him here with me! He got to stay up really late and sleep in even later and it was nice to be with him. I didn’t get so much of the stuff done I had planned, but I got other stuff done!

We got our freezer, we got a possum trap, and mouse traps (and got a mouse-ew). Today we both worked outside-I worked on clearing that huge flower garden and Josh mowed leaves. I also did some other raking and sweeping and random cleaning out there and in the garage. I also worked on insurance stuff that needs done and my poor car that got hit on Sat. Got some done towards my talk and I’m working on the laundry-it keeps getting neglected…I hate when I do that.

Well, there’s pleanty more to work on so that’s what I’m gunna do-I work tomorrow all day long and wednesday till 2. Then on wed we head to St. Louis for some good times with friends, and ourselves, and also a temple visit!

Tonight: Dinner, Laundry, Packing for trip, cleaning house, shampoo a carpet? enjoy having josh home :) memorize for my work test, and work on my talk and lessons. I have more planned than I’m going to do I’m sure but oh well-I always do that.

PS check out the recipe box blog to the left for a couple new recipes!

Here we go…

2009-11-21T12:20:00.001-06:00

Well this won’t be an exciting post…I’ll try to come up with one of those. I’m off for the weekend though! Josh is off for Thanksgiving break and he’s going hunting. He leaves tonight. He’ll be with a friend from school and they will be hunting from tree stands for deer. (Sounds like a ton of fun-right? lol) anyway…I hope he has a good time-he deserves a break. This means that I will be home alone on my 3 day weekend and hopefully I’ll remain ambitious and get some stuff done around the house. Things like: Routine cleaning (never ends!), peeling wallpaper, going through some of that stuff we never unpacked yet, re-organizing closets (now that I’ve been here for a while I’ve decided how I really want them. It’s hard to know on the first day), maybe I’ll deep clean my car and change the oil (or I should say-get the oil changed-hehe) and watch some more LOST.

I am loving our PS3 we got a little while ago. Not so much for the gaming-but for the blue-ray player and especially now for how it combines with Netflix! We ordered the free DVD and we put it in the PS3. Since we have wireless internet and have the PS3 connected-we can stream the movies and tv shows that we could only watch on the computer before-but now on our TV. I could have hooked the computer up to the TV before-but it was a pain so I never did. SO I tried out LOST and I wouldn’t say its amazing-but it is addicting!

Well, I’m heading into columbia with Josh today-he needs some stuff for hunting and I want to try to get us a freezer. We have hardly any room in the one with our fridge (there’s an ice maker in there which takes up half of it-but I do enjoy the ice!) and I would love to be able to make a few things to freeze for those nights we are crazy busy and don’t feel like cooking. Also-if Josh manages to get that deer and some of the other stuff he’s talking about-we will definatly need the freezer space! Plus-there’s a nice big basement to put it in. I guess it’s time to start our food storage.

Speaking of food storage-We should have a years worth-how much is that really?? I think it’s hard to really picture it. This is partly why I’d like to start a garden in the spring and then learn to can things and dry things or however we preserve it lol.

What would be some good things to have stored away in case we have a storm or something to help us out? For example-to keep us warm? Is there anything that we could get and store in case the power is out and we can’t use the gas heat? We don’t have a wood fireplace or a place to put one. What does everyone else do?

I’ve realized I have a lot to learn… :)

to be {Thankful}

2009-11-09T18:06:00.001-06:00

A think on facebook got me thinking about things I am thankful for. After all, this is the time of year for that sort of thing, right? Well the idea was to put up a different thing I am thankful for each day until Thanksgiving. I thought, surely I have more than enough things I am thankful for to be able to fulfill this challenge. Then I really did start thinking about everything I am thankful for. I remembered that last year about this time I posted a blog about things I am thankful for. Not much has changed in the big picture but I wanted to share some things I am thankful for in my life…(no particular order)

I am thankful for my husband who supports me and who works hard to be a great doctor one day and support his future family. I love him more than I would have imagined and I know he loves me. I am sad that I hardly get to see him and he has to be so tired and stressed with school. I support him though and am proud of the good work he is doing and I know it will all be worth it.

I am thankful for my parents who raised me, support me, and love me. I talk to my mom on the phone nearly every day and she always pays attention and cares about what’s going on in my life. I haven’t gotten to talk with my dad since Dec. 30, 2004, but I know he is watching over me from heaven and I still feel his love and support and wisdom.

I am thankful for my whole family both close to me and extended. Both my side and Josh’s. I get continued love and support from them all and I don’t know what I would do without any of them. Especially my sister Susan, my niece Mandy, mother in law Jackie, and sister in law Molly. They have all been really close to me and I am so thankful for that.

I am thankful for my home it’s our first house and we love it. I think there’s probably something special about your first house…

I am thankful for the gospel this has been such a big influence in my life and my decisions. I know the Lord has been a huge help and guidance to me especially that we are out here on our own.

I am thankful for my pets because they are nice to come home to, the cuddle with me, and they need me. They cause trouble and I think they will continue to teach me patience that will be valuable when we do have kids. Also I’m thankful that we still have Sassy. She has been our miracle dog. If you followed me a year ago you know that she had cancer and we didn’t think we would have her much longer. It’s been a year and she is doing fantastic! I admire her strength and courage and her fight to be with us.

I am thankful for my job last year I was also thankful for my job. This year it’s a new job and it’s been a real blessing in the last month to have gotten my new job. I love it, I love the people, I love my boss, I love the work. It’s amazing what a great job can do for your life.

I am thankful for reliable cars My car has never really given me trouble. I recently had to spend some money to get something fixed and I hated doing that, but I realized it was the first time I really had to do that and I am thankful for that and thankful to have been blessed with good vehicle purchases.

I am thankful for friends I have so many good friends in my life and even if I can’t talk to all of them very often I am still thankful for them and love having them as my friend.

I am thankful for beauty in nature like fall leaves, mountains (that I miss), flowers, and other pretty things we’ve been blessed with.

I am thankful for clumping cat litter

I am thankful for the internet

I am thankful for phones because I can talk to my family and to Josh anytime. I have a phone with me if I’m in trouble I can use it, if I’m bored, if I need advice. What a blessing they really are.

I am thankful for my brains and that I have the ability to use them :)

I am thankful for my husbands brains :)

I am thankful for the temple and that I could be sealed there to my parents, and then later I was sealed there to my husband for eternity.

I am thankful for eternal life

I am thankful for a comfortable bed

I am thankful for promptings

I am thankful for pictures because they help me ‘see’ my wonderful memories and help me show the world things I enjoy looking at

I am thankful for good food and it’s availability to us just down the street in the market. We can have a variety of healthy fresh food, convienient food, frozen food, canned food, any food that we need. We don’t have to depend on our garden or raising and butchering cows if we can’t or don’t want to. We can nourish our bodies and be healthy which is something that wasn’t always available in the past.

I am thankful for indoor plumbing ..yeah :)

I am thankful for all my stuff which is basically everything I am able to own and use that I am not going to list on here. There are so many little things in my daily life that make it better. Each one is a blessing and I am thankful for those things and the life I have.

I challenge you to think of things you are thankful for. I challenge you to make a list, whether you choose to blog it so I can read yours too, or just keep it to yourself. I am also thankful for you-the people who read my blog and comment on it, give me answers or advice, and write your own blogs that I can read and enjoy and keep up with you!

Already November??

2009-11-08T18:41:00.001-06:00

Just thought I’d give you a few updates on us. We’ve just still mostly been keeping busy with work and school like always. Sometimes we find some time to do something else once in a while. This weekend was one of those times. This past week Josh was studying almost straight through for his multiple tests (which he did well on them all) So this weekend we spent some time together.

Friday night we were able to just hang out at home and relax and eat a home cooked meal which was great.

Saturday we got up early to take my car into the shop to get it fixed. That lasted all day. Meanwhile we hung out and did some fun things. One of those things was going down to visit the mules at Mizzou that belong to the Mule Team which Josh is a member of. His friend and study buddy Caitlin came with us. Here’s some pictures of us and Terry the Mule…

We had a fun time. We also went shopping and went out to dinner. I really enjoyed this time with Josh and I’m glad he wanted to take time to spend with me.

Today we got up and went to church. Church is going to be keeping us busy…

Josh is giving a talk in sacrament meeting next week, and I’m giving one on the 29th…

Josh is called to be a teacher in priesthood once a month (he did it last week and did such a good job they decided they wanted him to keep doing it)

I was called to be the Young Women President! Yes, you read that right. Here’s the thing that’s going to be a little different about this calling…There’s only one young women in our branch who just moved in and just turned 12. I am not only the president, I’m the whole presidency. I’m not really sure how I am going to do a lesson for one girl and all the other things that go along with young women. For me growing up in young womens there were many other girls, so this will be a new big adventure! I’m excited to get to know this girl and I think she will be into this because she was wanting to go to young womens (which is why I got the calling!). If anyone has ideas or advice for me I would love it! I’m excited and very nervous and just really don’t know how I’m going to make it all work yet!

PS Thanks to everyone who posted on my last post about the gardening stuff! I’ve got a few good ideas now and I am planning on tearing out the green bushes in front of the house. Now…to just find all the time… :)

~Need Some {Green Thumb} Tips~

2009-11-01T14:49:00.001-06:00

OK so I’ve got some ideas for my yard for next year, but I think for some of them I should do a few things now. On idea is this flower garden thing outside…I’m thinking about making it into a veggie garden, or at least 90% and then maybe 10% flowers..I dunno. Anyway…it’s pretty big and it’s just really full of these wildflowers. Here’s some pictures I put up a couple months back of the flowers and the garden behind us…

SO here’s my questions…
Please, I’ll take any suggestions!!

* Now they are dead…what’s the best way to ‘clear’ the land?
     -would a weed wacker work?
     -can I rent a garden tiller?
     -what’s the best way to keep things from
      growing back?

* Can I collect the seeds and how? There are still some spiny tops out there…

* If I collect seeds, how do I re-seed for the spring where I do what flowers to grow?

* There’s Poison Ivy. HOW do I get rid of it and will it come back the same places next year?

* What will be the best way to keep critters out of my garden next year? I know we have deer, squirrels, bunnies, raccoons…

* Am I over my head???

Ok, one more topic that’s been in and out of my mind a lot…

See the green bushes under the window on the left? I don’t love them. Spiders build webs in them. They are overgrowing the sidewalk. There’s leaves that build up behind them that shouldn’t be there.

* Should I tear them out?

* If you vote yes, then HOW? I’m guessing cut them short down to stumps then dig them or something? Then I’m thinking a few flowers/plants and/or some of the little decorative rocks. There’s the sidewalk to the front door right in front of the bushes.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for your opinions and advice!!

Little Bit of Fun

2009-10-24T20:23:00.001-05:00

See, I’m trying to get better and keeping this updated again!

Well, I have more pictures that I wanted to put up here, but sadly they are with Josh on his camera that he took to the game tonight.
…Yes, Josh is at a Mizzou football game and I am at home. Well the reason is that way back when he bought his ticket for this homecoming game, I was scheduled to work so he didn’t get me one. Well…I got this new job, and today ended up being my day off after all. He tried pretty hard to find me a ticket (without paying someone a ridiculous amount of money-cuz it’s not worth that much to me) and it wasn’t successful. I’m not upset about it though, I’m just as happy here in my warm house!
Anyway…that means more pictures later….

Even though I didn’t go to the game I still went to the tailgating party :). It was fun hanging out with Josh and his (some of them I know well enough to call “our”) friends. Since I wasn’t going to the game afterwards I took Sassy so she could have a little fun and everyone always seems to really like her.

It was a nice day, even though by 4 p.m. it was a little chilly outside. I was happy there was no rain!!

Josh is still doing great in school. Every week he has more tests and quizzes so he really never stops studying. I try to go visit him after work when he’s still at the school and he tries to take a few minutes out to go out with me and grab a bite to eat. Vet School life sucks but we’re getting through it and are still just as happy together as ever.

I promise to give you more updates when I have a hold of Josh’s camera with pictures! He put up the shooting pictures on facebook (yes, we went shooting yesterday) but I don’t feel like copying them one by one to put on here. Sorry!! Plus there will be pictures of him with the Mule Team (one of his fun clubs on campus) and whatever else I’m not remembering right now.

Don’t forget to check out my Picture of the Day link to the left. I’ve been trying to update it and there’s some fun fall pictures and stuff up there! If I know people are looking it might help me stay motivated!

so behind…

2009-10-12T23:32:00.001-05:00

Well I know I’m so behind on posting stuff on here that I’m supposed to, but at least I keep up with a few things!!

Here’s some pictures…

Josh rode in that MS150 bike ride and had a great time. They raised a lot of money-I think they’re still working on the final number. He rode his bike 40 miles on day 1 and 40 miles on day two. Way to go!!

Lookin’ good isn’t he!

Here’s a couple of the house…
New couches and tables…

Our bedroom…needs more work

Wallpaper border that needs to come down…how do I do it???

Ugly curtains that also need replaced….

Rain Rain Go Away…

So it rained and rained and rained for like three days last week. I’m not exactly sure how or where the water was coming in at, all my theories seemed to be wrong. The previous owner said that years and years ago in a heavy rainstorm they found about a cup of water that got into the basement, and that was it. Well it rained more than twice as much as it did those years ago and I went downstairs to find a little bit of water….

That is the washer and drier, flooded underneith and the rug in front was completely soaked, if you step on it it would splash!

Crazy! There had been even more that I could see had already dried. There’s a dehumidifier that came with the house down there and it worked over-time and got the basement dried out within the next 24 hours. It quit raining and there was no more water.

This weekend we were able to go down to Branson, MO to visit with Landon and Molly. We had a blast with them hanging out. We played arcades and mini golf and ate some good food. I wish we could have spent more time together. Here’s some pictures…

{click to see larger}

WELL today was my First day of work at my new job!

Rock Bridge Animal Hospital showed me a great time today and I’m excited to be part of it! I had a great first day. Click on the picture to go to the website…

Well I guess that’s enough for now. Looks like I still need pictures of the living room and the kitchen and what not in our house. I’m REALLY excited for the trees outside-they’re changing slowly into the beautiful fall colors and soon I want to go out and take a bunch of fall pictures.
This morning when I went outside early in the dark with the dog there was a deer in the yard I think was so close I could have stepped on it and it took off. Those white tail deer sure have big white butts!

changes

2009-10-08T22:55:00.002-05:00

Well a lot has gone on this week. I decided this week was like a rollercoaster: As I posted on Facebook: "Long, great, bad, angry, happy, sad, excited, tired, busy, lonely, hot, cold, wet, and there's probably more I don't remember right now!" but with the happy butterflies of relief and satisfaction at the end of the ride.

Basically though-there is one big change of plans and it all happened before the weekend. A position opened up in a vet clinic in town I applied to back in June and they ended up offering me a position. I didn't see why I shouldn't be looking out for myself and be open to good things. I went in for an interview, and a working interview. Decisions were made based on a few things like what I get to do, hours, and pay. I really liked the clinic, the doctor, and the staff. I think I'll fit right in and enjoy my job. I will miss the friends I made at my old job and I'm greatful for the opportunity I had to work there. I feel like I left on good terms and they understand. I'm excited for this new chapter in my life and I know that Heavenly Father has been guiding me all along this journey-I don't think he's going to lead me wrong now.

Josh has been super busy with school. He's got a big anatomy test tomorrow which meant I have seen very little of him this week (hence the 'lonely' part of the rollercoaster) but I'm very proud of how hard he works to do the great job he's doing. He's still at the school studying right now, at 11 p.m. at night. Last night he got home at 2 a.m. (well I guess that's this morning huh).

I have some pictures to share of the house, but as I add little things I have to take new pictures. I WILL keep trying to get you some more pictures on here. I've gotten some furniture in our sitting room and I'm loving how it's turning out. I do need some advice though...
* whats the easiest way to get wallpaper off the wall? There's borders at the top along the ceiling that really need to come down...
* Is it hard to paint the ceiling? If I paint in there I have to paint the ceiling too...
* Curtain ideas? But this will probably need to wait for the paint decision and some pictures...
Ok, I'll save the rest for when there's pictures.

This weekend we're meeting up in Branson with Landon and Molly (Josh's little brother and his wife). Landon has been in England for a looong time now with the air force and we haven't seen him since their wedding in Oklahoma in the spring. It's going to be a lot of fun and we're excited!

Well that's it for now. I need to call it a night. It's been a long few days and I'm worn out!! I will try to update this again very soon :)

Pass it on...

2009-10-08T22:40:00.002-05:00

Saw this on facebook today, hopefully my posting this helps the cause...
Just check out these links, see if you want to participate :)

A little girls story: http://www.tayliebug.com/Index.html
A woman trying to help: http://adashofseason.blogspot.com/

I thought this was sweet. I'm not usually one to post this kind of stuff but I liked this one.
Thanks for checking this out :)

Sports!

2009-09-21T18:45:00.001-05:00

We had a lot of fun {together} this weekend! We don’t get to see each other all that much any more so I think we were both looking forward to our weekend of SPORTS. Ok, so there were only two games we went to but I will admit I am worn out from it all! And I wasn’t even the one who had to spend every other minute studying!

On Sunday we went to the Cardinals/Cubs baseball game in St. Louis! Josh purchased the tickets right after moving here and he partially chose this particular game because it was supposed to be at like 2 p.m. Well, due to request by ESPN they changed the time of the first pitch to 7:09 PM! Well thank you ESPN. We kept the tickets and went anyway. I’m glad because we had a great time! (Even though we didn’t get home again until about 2 AM)

Below are some pics from the game. The weather turned out great and I enjoyed my first professional Baseball game.

View from our seats

See the Arch in the background?

If you look really really close you can see where the hitter accidentally tossed the bat. He actually threw it almost all the way to 3rd base! Must have slipped out of his hands but I thought it was funny we happened to be taking a picture at the same time.

Ew you can tell I’ve been sick and am still getting better. Sad. Sorry ‘bout that!

Well, we just had to get a ballpark hotdog. It was everything we’d heard… 5 bucks, and cold ha ha.

The stadium in St. Louis! Well we had a fun time. We decided to park at the airport and take the tram in. Brought us right outside the stadium. Cost a few extra bucks but we didn’t have to pay a huge parking fee at a garage nearby and we really didn’t have to walk anywhere. I was happy with it

It must have been our lucky night not only because we had fun and everything went so smooth, but also because on the way home Josh got pulled over speeding just a little at like 1:30 in the morning (we think they were looking for drunk drivers) through Columbia and he didn’t even get a written warning. Thank Goodness!!

I know these are out of order, but here are a few pictures from our Saturday game…we got some tickets to watch Mizzou (university of missouri) play football in Columbia. A nice girl Josh studies with has parents who have season tickets to the games. they couldn’t go, and she couldn’t go so Josh got the tickets!

Here I am, enjoying(?) some popcorn. Remember this is right after I started feeling better after being sick. *yes this weekend was BAD for our bodies*

Go Mizzou!

Yeah, we won. It’s nice going to a University where the football team is just plain awesome instead of having the biggest losing streak in the nation :)

Well, I guess that’s it for now. I was getting this ready for the blog to help pass time while the power was out (Laptop has a battery!). I came home from work today through a nasty storm and got to wait a little while for the power to come back after I got home. I was worried about big hail on my car so I had to open the garage door on my own and close it to get my car inside. At least I know how to do that!! I’m sure I looked silly though-pulling that big door with that tiny rope way above my head! ha ha.

fun before school

2009-09-15T21:23:00.001-05:00

Since we knew it would be hard to go do too many fun things after josh was in school, we decided to take a little trip to St. Louis the sat. before school started last month. We went to the St. Louis Zoo and also to tour the Budweiser Factory. We had a good day together. Here are some pictures from the day!

BUD WEI SER (remember the frogs?)

View Full Album

Some of the ZOO :)

View Full Album

I’m gunna try to get caught up on here!!! tomorrows my 11th morning heading to work in a row. Friday will be the 13th morning and finally I get the weekend off! Yay! Tomorrow really is my day off but there’s a really early staff meeting I have to go to, so no sleeping in for me…which reminds me-I should probably get going to bed here pretty soon…

Finally a few pics...more to come

2009-08-23T21:43:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone! Finally I have an update here for you. I know, I am a
slacker. I'll admit it-but you all know how hard it can be to get those promised
updates and pictures up on here.

We've had a fun first few weeks here in Missouri. I'm actually putting some
pictures up on this post for you!

One night Josh and I went for a fun walk until it got too dark. We found a
couple neat things..

{Old Boonville Building, I think a trading
post/train station}

.

{this is a pic of the side of the riverboat
casino here}

{some baby bunnies we found near the casino!}

Our great friends Chris and Britney Gamble were on their way
through to their new home in Boston. Boonville turned out to be a great stopping
point for the night so we got to see them and have them stay with us. We haven't
seen them since our trip to Europe a couple years ago and so it was great even
though it was only for the night.

{I was actually a bit sick for a few days. This
day I had gone to work but they sent me home. I came home and crashed for hours.
I think my cat felt bad for me so she loved on me and Josh thought it was really
funny so he snapped a pic. Don't mind how sickly I look}

Here are some pics of my house. I waited and waited for the rain
to stop and I snuck out for a few shots.

{Front-from the main highway}

{one side with the bay window}

{Other side of the house}

{Some bushes I don't love. They are ok but they are overgrown and
have lots of spiders. The ground behind them and next to the house needs cleaned
up and so I really want to tear them out. Any advice or ideas for what to put in
their place?}

{one of the pretty blooming bushes out front}

{our mailbox we put up ourselves}

{Our tall trees}

{back of the house with the deck, garage, and big gravel
driveway}

{Flowers in the garden}

{Our nice amish-built storage shed}

{screened in back porch area on the deck}

{Random pic of my cat taking over Sassy's bed. Sassy was so
confused on what she should do about this}

{I think stormy was sleeping there because she was so worn out
from watching these geese hanging out just outside the window. They were here a
few days and were fun to watch}

I guess that's it for now! Next up will me pics from the inside
of our house, (need to do a little more cleaning and organizing) and pictures
from our trip this weekend. We went to St. Louis yesterday to visit the Zoo and
to tour the Budweiser factory. We really had a great time. I'll save details for
the pictures.

Josh starts school tomorrow so wish him luck! It's going to be a
lot of work! I'm proud of him.

Bike MS Express Scripts Gateway Getaway Ride

2009-08-20T23:22:00.003-05:00

Just wanted everyone to know that Josh will be riding in the MS 150. It's an annual fundraiser event where all proceeds go toward research of Multiple Sclerosis. He will be participating in a bike ride riding 40 miles two days in a row. Each participant has a fundraising goal to raise a minimum of $250 to go towards research. If you would like to donate follow THIS LINK to his personal page where you can read more about this event and donate if you'd like. This will take place September 12th and 13th. Hope for good weather and a good time! Thanks everyone!

Don't take advice from this lady

2009-08-20T22:59:00.004-05:00

I was channel surfing today on our limited selection of channels and happened upon Martha Stewart struggling with her new cat that was too scared to come out of the carrier on it's own on her tv set. Next up was so called cat expert Tracie Hotchner to tell us about cats and answer questions. Please see the second question on this video and her answer. I haven't found any accreditation to her name yet other than she wrote a couple books and has a radio show. Not even sure she has any kind of educational degree or title. She's also claiming the AVMA backs up her claims and that there are studies showing this all to be true, but she doesn't give any references. I had to laugh and hope there aren't too many stupid people out there who actually believed her. Martha even agreed that people don't get vaccinated for anything after they are babies! There are vaccines you get more than once including tetnus for one! I guess the lady picked the right show to go on. Of course this is all my own personal opinion.

I might be a little partial but I do think that a Doctor with more than four years of school might know a little more about cat vaccinations than someone who just likes to talk about them. I'm sure she can find someone with a bad experience with vaccines, but there's a whole lot more who wished they'd kept up on their own pets vaccinations-I've seen them. Follow your Vets advice!

PS the video quality is very poor. I sacrificed it for good sound :). I got it online since there's not really a good link for it. Here's how to find it if you want to SEE it better...

Go to http://www.marthastewart.com/affiliateinfo
choose the date of Thursday Aug 20th at the top tabs
on the left pick the video "Ask Tracie Hotchner"

WiFi!!!

2009-08-13T23:28:00.002-05:00

Yay! After being here for more than 2 weeks we finally have the internet. It's wierd-the stuff showed up in the mail for us today, and the paperwork says it won't work until tomorrow night after 8 p.m. but we hooked it up so it would be all ready for tomorrow and it's obviously working right now! We're happy to miss out on our nightly trip to the Holiday Inn and surf the net while enjoying the comfort of our own couch.

I caught some little flu bug from work and was sick the last couple days. Not fun. I went to work yesterday and they just sent me home. I slept hard for almost 5 hours straight when I got home again yesterday. Today I'm still tired but feeling much better.

We were happy to provide a comfy air mattress for our friends the Gambles while they were on their way to Boston to live there. They were driving from Preston and Colorado Springs. It was fun to see them if only for a few hours. I hope we can visit them next!

Now that I've got the WWW-dot back I have a new motivation to take pictures and post of our place. You've seen pics from the outside and a few from the inside before we got here. We have almost all our stuff put away and it's feeling more like home. Can't wait to make some more little changes but for the moment it's great! I'll try to get around and take some pictures in the morning!

Tomorrow night after work we're having a bowling party with my job. Hopefully it's fun! I think it will be. Then Saturday I work 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday Josh is leaving for an orientation and there's a little potluck after church. I also have to work before and after church. Any ideas for something easy to bring? I don't even know if there's a kitchen to heat stuff up-I didn't notice that when we were there Sunday. hmmmm....

OH one more thing...Since we have blackberry phones we currently have a fix for our phones not having service at home. They can pick up the wifi and make calls through that-SO finally I don't have to drive away to check messages and make calls. THAT was inconvenient as well. So far it's working fine-hopefully it keeps it up.

Anyway-I'll try to come up with an interesting post for everyone with PICTURES :).