Leaving on vacation

Things accomplished this week...

• Jewelry making party
• Reviewed Milepost Magazine and Al-Can Highway book
• Got nighttime bite block molded
• Got manicure and pedicure
• Got the advance for my Alaska travel expenses arranged
• Set up vet appointments to get all three cats health certificates to cross into Canada (who knew)
• Made appt to get bite block fit
• Made appt to have teeth cleaned
• Made appt with my primary care doc to get prescriptions for meds updated and to get new script for SAD lights to take with to AK
• Made appt for cut and color next week
• Book discussion dinner on 3 Cups of Tea
• Usual weird stuff at work...coon bites, puncture wound from a pressure washer, things like that
• Paid bills
• Working on laundry
• Fed-Ex'd my application for surgical and hospital privileges to Bassett Community Army Hospital
• Looked at a few houses in Fairbanks online (trashed a few, filed a few to go see in person)
  

Leaving in the morning for South Dakota...I need a vacation. Going to plan my road trip to Alaska with my dad. Go to the rodeos, parade, free bbq, and a dance or two during my hometown's annual celebration. Going to drive 1200 miles round trip. Considering it a warm up for the "real" drive in September :)

Who? Me? Well, thank you

Kelly gave me a blogger award today,the brillANTE weblog 2008 award. What an honor to receive recognition from someone as cool as Kelly. Now I'm stuck with the task of honoring 7 others....That's hard work. Here's what Kelly had to say when she bestowed the honors to me:

Moose: This is another blog I have been reading for a long time. She is totally awesome. She is also a big reader and we have tossed back and forth book recommendations for quite awhile now. She was really wonderful with offering support and prayers when my brother-in-law was dying last year. Not long after her mother passed away and she was open and honest with the blogging world sharing her grief and healing. She has always been supportive and inspiring. She also is pretty funny! http://moosekahl.blogspot.com/
Quote: "Accent: Midwestern gone very, very wrong...Minnesooooottahhhhh you betcha's all over the place and I now say "fer" instead of "for". Maybe it will go away in Alaska."

Here are the rules:
Here are the rules: Put the logo on your blog. Put a link to who awarded it to you on your blog also. You need to nominate 7 other bloggers for the award and put links to them also on your blog. Finally, leave a comment for those you've nominated - so they know they've received a special award.

Lime: Lime has made me smile, laugh, and cry with her sincere, eyes wide open approach to life. No matter what topic she tackles on her site House of Lime, she does so with energy and honesty. Two things I could always use more of in my life. When things were really bad in the last year, Lime was there to be serious when I needed her to be but she also sent me a few pairs of her custom made tie dye socks to make me smile. It worked.

Quote: "Over her own high decibel protests I added my own loud declaration of her ridiculous reaction to simple directives, 'No one is being louder than you are....bang bang bang....Do you realize how ridiculous this is.....crash crash crash....this is how you sound all because you hate to be wrong...bang crash bang...See now I can be loud like you!...clang clang clang'"

Rachel: Unbeknownst to use, Rachel and I went to college together. At the same college. On the same campus. At the same time. But we never knew each other. Then we met in the blogger world and became fast friends. While she misses Hawaii she is a Montana girl through and through. Together we revel in the mind clearing benefits of Glacier Park and keep Os from getting too full of himself.

Quote: Progress: "I've managed contact (the non-painful, biting, clawing kind)."

Robyn: Os introduced me to Robyn when both of us were losing our mothers. Not an easy time to invite someone new into your life. But Os knew both of us independently and felt we might be able to help each other. This young woman is wise beyond her years. The things she has dealt with, is dealing with, and how she goes about it are lessons a lot of us could learn from. Robyn has some pretty cool ink as well, gotta love a girl with ink.

Quote: "when I was like 5 years old she taught me how to read and write braille. So I wrote her name (Phyllis) out in braille and had it put on top of my right wrist..."

Patia: This blogger I don't know all that well but I was introduced to her site when I was last in Montana by the above mentioned Rachel. Whenever I need a bit of a Montana fix, I head to Patia's pages. Her photography is amazing and her stories of the Montana area she lives in keep me in touch. Today is the ultimate post from her though...she has baby moose video (duh, of course I love that!) but it is also set to music by Alison Kraus. I appreciate the touches of home she brings to me from miles away. Thanks!

Quote: "The best after-hours food in Missoula. Gyros, jalapeno cheese fries, hot donuts -- it's all crazy good."

The Sistas: This is a collaborative blog managed by my Stampin' Up Sistas in crime. I feel honored to count myself among this group of talented woman. There projects blow mine out of the water but their patients with me as I have taken up the trade has been beyond appreciated. Check out this crafty gals...

Quote: Not a lot of talk on this site but some really awesome pictures.

Doug: This man is a genius. He also appreciates a good cold beer. A GOOD beer, not that watered down domestic stuff. He also is very willing to share his life with his readers. Lightening Strikes Twice is literal for this man and his family. A long battle against cancer took the love of his life from he and his children and now he battles cancer as well. His honesty and straight forward approach to what ails him are noteworthy. Did i mention his supreme appreciation for good beer? That's pretty cool too!

Quote: "by the sound of the flowage coming in, at lease 100 of the guests had somehow squeezed themselves into the bathrooms and were pissing a volume equivalent to Niagara Falls"

Sandi: Sandi is far from being Manic as she suggests but she does do one hell of a set of nails but it's her art work on canvas and other mediums that blows me away. She has gone through a lot of changes in the last year, none of which were easy and none of which were entered into without a lot of thought and worry for her own well being and that of those she loves. She is a woman starting out on her own, taking charge of her own happiness and realizing her own possibilities. She gives me courage when I in my young age fear I can't make a difference. Thanks for being there!

Quote: "IF you are going to act like a car…want the rights of a car…then f-ing obey the traffic rules like a car."

Now pass the love on...Enjoy!

On two wheels

Summer is half over and tonight was the first night I got my bike out and went for a ride. Sad, uh? It was cooler than 80 degrees though, there was a little breeze, and I was home before 6:00 pm tonight. After supper I decided to get the bike ready and see if I remembered how to pedal.

Once I got all the spiders off my helmet, got my front wheel put on, enough air into the tires with the hand pump to get to the gas station at the end of the block, and had my iPod shuffle secured, I was off.

Many things along the trail made me smile...butterflies. The smell of the woods. The cocker spaniel in the FRONT basket of some old guys bike as he pedaled along. She was adorable! He...not so much!

For the record, I still remember how :) Bike needs a little tweaking though. Happy trails!

3669.12

Number of miles from Rochester, MN to Fairbanks, AK.

3. Number of cats to take along the way.

6. Overnight stops.

10. Approximate number of fill-ups at the gas station.

Sounds like fun uh?

Memories shared...

Robyn had this up too, figured I might as well steal it since I'm in a lazy mood tonight.

Memories

As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

ABC about Me...

I found this via The Daily Cat Chase via Rachel's comments. It was interesting so I thought I would fill it out.

Accent: Midwestern gone very, very wrong...Minnesooooottahhhhh you betcha's all over the place and I now say "fer" instead of "for". Maybe it will go away in Alaska.

Breakfast or no breakfast: Definitely not first thing when I get up. I like to wait until 8 or 8:30 ish and then will try to get to the cafeteria at work. At home on weekends, it is cereal.

Chore I don’t care for: Insert chore here: DUSTING!!!! and ironing is a close second.

Dog or Cat: 3 fuzzy kitties

Essential Electronics: Laptop, blowdryer, alarm clock

Favorite Cologne: Ralph Lauren Style

Gold or Silver: Silver

Handbag I carry most often: Typically a red leather Franklin Covey laptop/briefcase bag with sweet silver buckles. Wallet is tossed inside. On weekends I have quite the selection!

Insomnia: Do other people NOT have problems sleepign?

Job Title: Physician Assistant

Kids: See above mentioned three fuzzy kitties

Living Arrangements: I live in a really sweet three story 1938 built townhome that now has a really ugly for sale sign in the front yard because I'm moving to Alaska. Think the Army would move my house?

Most Admirable Trait: I'm not afraid to take a leap into the unknown. in fact, I think I thrive on that a bit. Routine drives me batty!

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: I bit the tip of my sister's nose while I had her pinned down because she still wouldn't shut up. No scars left though.

Overnight hospital stays: Just when I was little and had my tonsils taken out. I remember it very vividly though. Loved the banana and root beer popsicles. Hated the jello!

Phobias: Crunchy bugs, open water, small spaces

Quote: Routine drives me nuts so I my favorite quote is "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." by Longfellow for ever.

Reason to smile: When Montana, the smallest of the three furry beasts curls up under my chin to go to sleep at night.

Siblings: One above mentioned bitten sista...

Time I wake up: Weekdays...6:45 am. Weekends: when I damn well feel like it.

Unusual Talent or Skill: None that I can really think of. Pretty handy with power tools.

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Soggy green beans...must be crisp!

Worst Habit: Saying what I really mean

X-rays: let's see...chest, multiple feet films, ankle

Yummy Stuff: Avocadoes, fresh berries, CHEESE!, pasta, red meat

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Monkeys

I know I'm tired when...

Last night when I finally went to bed I read long enough to finish my 24th book of the year. Typically I then instantly go on to the next book in the large pile of "to reads" on my dresser. Last night, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to reach for a new book and at least read the first few pages. It was lights out and Moose out before midnight for the first time in many weeks. Not sure what I'll read next....this last book was a break from my Alaska reads and only took me a few days to get through with just reading at bedtime. Think I might need to stick to something just as quick again. Uhmmm....I'll have to peruse my pile tonight!

Wanna buy a townhouse?

It's official. My house is on the market. The thought of having complete strangers purposely coming through my home to judge it is freaking me out. I love my house. It's unique, I've made it my own. I've put a lot of sweat into it. All those things make me very attached to it and particularly partial to how it looks. Things like taking personal pictures off the wall is hard. Becomes sterile. I just hope someone likes it as much as I do and buys it...SOON!

HNT...Stress relief

"Good morning, Angels."

"Good morning, Charlie!"

4th of July Fun

Since moving to Rochester a few years ago a couple of us have been traveling to Northern Wisconsin for a long weekend every summer at a friend's family cottage. This year we made the trip during the 4th of July when the entire family was around for good times. Yesterday was an all American day out in the sun.



The Eagle River Chain of Lakes Association needed a few good men and women to help drive ATV's through the parade. We got to throw out candy, got sprayed by a few water guns and then had a little get up and go fun on the drive back to the garage.


The next item on the agenda was target practice. We pulled out a collection of handguns, rifles, and shotguns to entertain ourselves as well. I want to find myself a nice handgun to keep handy in Alaska and I had plenty to try out. The guys pulled out some high powered rifles before we all joined in for some clay pigeon shooting. I'll have more pictures when this week's HNT rolls around.
The little town of Three Rivers, WI puts on one heck of a 20 minute fireworks display. There was a slight ramp up in the first 5 minutes and the remaining 15 was one big finale! We were close enough to the launchers that we could feel the concussion while lying on our backs on the ground. All five senses were stimulated with this great show!

A good time was had by all. I hope you and yours enjoyed yourself this holiday weekend while taking time to remember the value of our freedom. Say a little prayer for the troops on the line this year.