Day of Thankfulness 1

As we approach the holidays, it's easy to overlook Thanksgiving with all the hustle and bustle of shopping, get togethers , gifts. It's important to stop and consider what Thanksgiving is about. It easy to stop and says a quick word of what we aare thankful for, but do we ever really stop to think of all the many things we are thankful for, but also why we are thankful for them. So I embark on a 30 day journey of thankfulness, so that I can grasp and secure a better understanding of what God as done for me, and what he has given to me. My first item of thankfulness is my parents.


That is my mom and dad, one of God's greatest gifts that he gave to me. I am told by those in my family that I have my dad's personality and my mom's looks, which is very true. I have my dad's stubbornness, quick wit, passion for the hurt, and tender heart. I have my mom looks which includes lots of thick hair and being short, but I think my mom is beautiful and has such a sparkle in her eye, and love with the hands that she uses to serve her family. Both my parents are very passionate and instilled values in me that I will carry with my for the rest of my life. They were not always perfect, but they tried and tried very hard to keep our family of four on the right path. They have set examples for me that I am so thankful for. My dad taught me to always think of others first, and to always to best job with your whole heart. He taught me to respect others in order to gain respect for yourself. He taught me to give it your all, or don't give anything. My mom is my rock, the one I can go to when I need that extra little encouragement, that little extra "it'll be alright, just hang in there." My parents have been dealt a hard hand in many ways, life hasn't always been easy for our family, but for 31 years my parents have stood my each other as a testament of endurance and love. They are an absolute gift to me and I love them so much!!! Thank you Lord for giving me the most amazing parents.

H1N1, Tamiflu, and Saltines

It's been a rough couple of days. I started with a sore throat earlier this week and thought nothing of it, as it's harvest time here, and it's never really surprising to experience allergy problems this time of the year. Earlier this week my mom came down with H1N1, and was home sick for a week. It seem so ironic but whenever she gets sick, I tend to get it within a week, or vice versa. So, it wasn't surprising when she told me that I probably had it, as the first sign she had was a sore throat.

This weekend was our church's woman's retreat with all the local C&MA churches in Minnesota. I was so looking forward to going, but decided that perhaps I should stay home just in case I was coming down with something. Yesterday I got up and laid around for a few hours and then decided to get a few hours in at work, so I went but left a little early cause I wasn't feeling the best. I called mom and she urged me to go see the doc and find out if it was H1N1 with my history of asthma, so I did. I wasn't running a temp when I went in, and the doc said that my throat and ears looked fine, and that my lymph glands were only a little swollen. She thought we should perhaps do a Influenza A nose test to see if I by chance had H1N1, and sure enough I did. She sent me home with a 5 day dose of Tamiflu and orders not to go to work most of next week because H1N1 is so highly contagious. I thought perhaps it would be nice if I could just stay feeling that way I was for 5 days and maybe call it a "little vacation." Well, not so much. I got home took some Tamiflu and decided that it was time to eat a little dinner since I hadn't had anything since lunch. I made some bland butter noodles to satisfy myself, but they just smelled awful and an hour later I still couldn't get myself to eat them as the nauseousness was setting in very suddenly. I laid down and well the noodles I did eat and the Tamiflu I had, didn't stay down very long. I had dry heaves and vomiting for a while. A word to the wise" DO NO take Tamiflu on an empty stomach, very very bad idea.
Well, I finally went to bed and felt rather weak and lethargic. I did sleep well surprisingly, but woke up early. I decided that it might be best to try the Tamiflu again, but this time eating something before I took it. I ate a bunch of saltines, waited 45 minutes and took the Tamiflu, and so far I am doing okay. The Tamiflu has made me quite dizzy and a little incoherent, but other then that I am just tired and week, but am at least holding food down for now. Now to figure out what to do the next four days to pass the time. I guess my four books from the library may not be a bad idea. Well, that's all for now, probably not the best blog entry for the weak stomach people, but well that's just that way it is I guess. Tata for now.

Fall in Minnesota

Fall is always so pretty in Minnesota, and every year for the past four years by Dad comes up and we go on a father/daughter trip up to Lake Superior and the Duluth area. This year dad came up a little earlier as the leaves typical peak here around early October. We have had a slow fall so far, but it has been very cold so far. This morning being the 10th we had our first snow, which is quite early for Minnesota. Dad and I had a good time, the only problem we had is that is rained almost every day while we were gone. Over the course of the week we had over 5 inches of rain, which would of been very nice to have earlier in the summer when we really needed it. The farmers are trying to get beans and corn out, but not with the ground being this wet.

Lake Superior

Split Rock Light House

Row Boat that was in front of the cabin we stayed in

The leaves here are so colorful this time of the year.

Savana Portage State Park

Well, that's it for now, it was just time for me to update this blog and maybe I'll try to update it more in the future.

House Updates

So, ever so slowly I've been able to update the house, very very slowly. Here's a few before and after shots. I still need to take some more of the living room, as it looks a lot better then it did and it doesn't have white walls any more.

Dining Room Before Pictures

After Pictures:

Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend was fun. I went to my friend Jen's house in the cities and we went shopping for a while and hit up a few garage sales. Her wee one, Maddie was sick so we came back so she could nap for a while. We watched grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs and had a great time. It was very nice to just get away with friends.

Maddie and her new sunglasses, all ready for summer

Maddie & Me

Where to Start aka Priority List

Very Important (To do this weekend)
Straighten Room
Do Dishes
Send Giftcard
Paint Dining Room
Laundry
Mow Lawn
Important (To Do in the next week)
Till & Plant Garden
Paint Bedroom
Organize Basement
Sand Bathroom Floor
Hang Curtains in Living Room and Kitchen
Pull Weeds in Flower Bed
Somewhat Important (To do this month)
Weed B Gon the Yard
Start Cleaning Out Garage
Not so Important (To get done as time seems fit)

New House

Heavens, I have updated in nearly 6 months, so I figured it about time. So, in early January I decided to take on the idea of home ownership, and it was a long long process. It started out with getting pre-qualified at the bank for a home loan. Some how that was the easiest part of the whole thing. Next, I found the best realtor ever, whom we will call Jer. We started out looking in the town where my church was which had several houses, but many were in more repair then I wanted to invest in. We then looked in a different area then I really wanted to look, but it looked promising. Same scenario as before, some good houses, but with lots of work. Finally in the orignial town I really wanted to look in I found a house that looked like it would work, it was one of the orginal houses that we had looked at. We went forth with an offer, but they wouldn't except it as it would put them into a short sale. So, then another house came on the market, and it was a good house, good bones, but had broken pipes from not being winterized. So, about two months after looking at it, and then major major issues with the bank it finally worked out, and now I am here at my new house.

So here's some pictures

Front

Back

Living Room

Going Downstairs

Here's a few updates

Painted Living Room

I need to take some more pictures, but this is some for now, more later! But that's my new house.