Love First~Live Incidentally

Good News!

2009-07-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

I got the results of my latest MRI, and they're fantastic! The scan looks significantly better than my last one. The tumor is picking up less of the dye they inject in me. The part of the tumor that was picking up the dye was the part that was more worrisome, so this is very good! The tumor also has some water in it, which is consistent with tumor necrosis (meaning it's dying!).

2009-07-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

As most of you are well aware now, I am moving back to WI on the 17th. I'll be living in Madison with Nate. Mom and Dad are flying out on the 14th to help me pack up and head on out of the Yampa Valley. We'll be in Madison on the 18th.

There are definitely things I'll miss, and a few that I won't, but it's time for me to be closer to family and friends.

I had another MRI on Friday, and for the fourth time in a row, I got ill when they injected the dye into me. Fun times. I'll find out what's going on in my brain on Monday. Hopefully everything is continuing to break down and die right. Unfortunately, I start my next round of chemo on Tuesday. Dr. Uhm decided to double my pills, so now I get lovely nausea and the anti-nausea meds don't seem to get rid of it.

On a good note, my hair is growing back, and you can barely see the bald spots anymore. I don't always have to wear a hat now!

I finished my first big project for my business: 180 wedding invitations for my friends' wedding. That was quite the task, but I was happy to do that for them. I also learned that I will not be working with Paper Source ever again. Check out my business blog for pictures.

Red Rocks and RMNP

2009-06-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Nate came to visit for 6 days! We had several adventures; the first being me driving down to Denver to get him. I swear he is cursed when it comes to airports. Because of runway construction in Denver, his flight was delayed an hour, causing him to miss the connection to Steamboat. *Smacks hand on forehead*....

Now if I had been thinking, I would've packed my bags and we would've stayed at a hotel Wednesday night. However, I thought his bags had to go to Steamboat and that we had to come back. So, we got real familiar with I-70.

On Thursday, we drove back down to Denver for the Rise Against/Rancid concert at Red Rocks. Before the show we ate at a cool Mexican restaurant in Morrison, sat on the rooftop patio. Luckily, the rain held off and the concert was a blast! I was so thankful we had gotten a hotel for Thursday night. There's no way we could've driven back to Steamboat that night.

We drove back through Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Grand Lake. RMNP is so beautiful! It was great to see some elk and a moose too.

The never-ending rain in Steamboat foiled our hiking plans :( but we still had fun just hanging out.

On Sunday, we went up to the hot springs. As we were driving up there, a wicked thunderstorm rolled in--lightning and thunder like crazy! Needless to say, we waited in the suburban until the storm rolled through before getting in the springs.

Nate took off Monday morning and actually made it back to Madison without any problems! Yay!
There's too many pictures to upload here, so follow this link to see the rest.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1204846013/a=123328029_123328029/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Ta ta for now.

Love Always,
Kaitlin

3 Years Ago

2009-05-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, it was just like any other Saturday in college, except that I had to work. After work, I was in the Eau Claire Target and my mom called. Worst phone call of my life. I was too far away to make it to the hospital in time.

Grandma, I love you and I miss you.

Vacation

2009-05-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Please see my other blog for the St. Croix USVI recap and pictures.

http://sboatspringsadventures.blogspot.com

All My Bags Are Packed

2009-05-01T18:29:00.001-07:00

And I'm ready to go!

I leave for St. Croix tomorrow morning at 4:20 am. My first flight doesn't leave until 6:30 am, but the taxi likes to pick you up nice and early. Nate and I won't meet until 9:00 pm in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and our flight to St. Croix doesn't land until 10:30. Yea, that's right I'm going to be flying all day, 18 hours. My great aunt Carol and uncle Owen will pick us up from the airport and take us to Cottages by the Sea.

I.am.so.excited.

7 days of sleeping, eating, and RELAXING.

Finally, Hallelujah!

2009-04-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

S-l-e-e-p. I finally got some sleep. And I only had to get up twice. Hallelujah!

I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up the last time; it was 10:50.

And I could've slept more.

Hopefully this is a sign that the steroids are starting to chill out. I think my body is freaking out, though. I was so jittery all day today, which isn't very helpful when I'm trying to craft. Regardless, I still got some stuff made today that I can put up for sale at the Hayden Marketplace. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, so I'll have to work on the baby albums and the memory box after work this week.

And in 6 days... I'm going to be sitting on the beach, sipping something with Cruzan Rum in it.

Counting Down

2009-04-22T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well, my steroid dosage is down! 2 mg in the morning, 2 mg at night. It doesn't seem to be going fast enough though. The side effects are really driving me insane. I'm so warm all the time. I have my window wide open at work, and I just sit there and sweat pretty much all day. And then there's the weird, sporadic sleep pattern, even the Ambien doesn't seem to help much.

On Sunday, I'm down to just 2 mg in the morning. My MRI is Tuesday morning, and that will be my last day of the devil drugs. They'll be FedEx-ing my MRI to Dr. Uhm at the Mayo Clinic just to check it out and make sure everything's breaking down the way it should.

Now to figure out how to detox my body so I "unpuff." I'd really rather not have this huge belly and moon face while trying to wear a swimsuit and take pictures.

Speaking of swimsuit, NINE DAYS...NINE DAYS...NINE DAYS. I cannot wait to get on the beach and just relax and hang out with Nate. And I'm still so pumped about our free uprade to the nicer cottage! It is literally steps to the beach from Chart House.

Nice Surprise

2009-04-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

I just got an e-mail this morning that we've been given a free upgrade to a different cottage! So, when you check out that link, we'll actually be staying in Charthouse.

Happy Little Surprise :)

Feeling Blah...

2009-04-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well the good news is that I talked to Dr. Uhm, and I now have a schedule to start tapering off of these devil drugs. So, on Monday I'll get to knock down the dosage a bit, and I'll be all done hopefully on the 28th. I'm supposed to stay on a small dosage until my next MRI, which I'm hoping to schedule on the 28th. This will give plenty of time for it to get Fed-Exed to Dr. Uhm at the Mayo Clinic, and be all good to go before Nate and I leave for vacation on May 2nd.

Vacation and off of these steroids cannot come soon enough.

Speaking of vacation, this is where we are staying, in the Coco Palm cottage: http://www.caribbeancottages.com/index.html

The cottage is in Frederiksted, which is just right down the hill from my great uncle and aunt, Owen & Carol.

We're so excited to go!

Not much else in news. I've started really advertising for my business, and I will have some of my creations for sale very soon. Check out my business blog ;)

25 Things You Might Not Know

2009-02-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

In no particular order...

1) I have never eaten a fast food burger in my life. And after reading Fast Food Nation, I NEVER will. Gag!

2) I throw hissy fits about this brain tumor crap sometimes. I'm getting entirely sick of being stuck in a place all week where the smell makes me nauseated (Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that the Hope Lodge exists and is free to stay in. But, do they have to make it smell so dang bad?!). I am sick of being generally nauseated. I'm just getting crabby in general. But I'm entitled, right? More than anything, I am sick of people taking my blood!!

3) I have to take two Lorazepam (anti-anxiety drugs), lie down, close my eyes, and pretend it's not happening to get my blood drawn. And I'm still a big sissy even then. I hyperventilate in the waiting room, and my face/eyes spasm the whole time I'm sitting in that dang chair. And I have to have this done 4 out of 6 weeks because I'm doing chemo and radiation at the same time. Crap...

4) I like peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Well normally I do, this radiation bit has me wanting to hurl at the smell of meat. Before you get sick, let me explain. When I was little, my dad, my sister and I didn't like tomatoes or mayo. That makes it kind of hard to eat BLT's! So my dad came up with peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. They all eat some form of BLT now, but I still can't stand tomato or mayo, so... it has to be bacon and super chunky peanut butter :)

5) I officially want to be a vampire. Well, I want to be Bella anyways! The Twilight series sucked me in like a little teenage girl.

6) I have a group of lady friends, most of which I have never met in person. I swear to God they keep me sane sometimes. I love you ladies!

7) I spend an obscene amount of money of plane tickets flying back to WI. However, it's worth it! And I can think of someone else who agrees completely.

8) I sleep with three stuffed animals. And they have names. Pumpkin (cat), Babycakes (cat), and Teddy (teddy bear, obviously). Oh and a blanky. Yes, I am five years old.

9) Tyson and Hormel products make me want to hurl. Yuck!

10) I hate doing the dishes. At times, I have huge stacks of dishes in my sink and on my counter. Sometimes, I wait until almost all of my dishes are dirty before I will even try to load the dishwasher, despite my normal clean freak nature. This is how much I hate doing dishes.

11) I despise smoking. It's a filthy habit and the smoke gives me a headache. I absolutely love that Colorado is smoke-free in bars/restaurants/etc; I wish the whole country would go smoke-free.

12) On that same note, I have never smoked anything in my life (one exception, I took one puff off pipe tobacco. I don't grasp the concept of inhaling though). No cigarettes, no pot, nothing.

13) Is my lucky number. It was my number all through sports in high school.

14) Speaking of high school, I loved wearing spandex for volleyball. It was so much more comfortable and easy to move! I liked them so much I still wore spandex under my shorts and pants for basketball and softball.

15) I really want a peanut butter sandwich right now (without bacon), despite the peanut recall. The radiation really limits which foods will not make me hurl, and right now, that sounds especially tasty.

16) Steroids are the devil. I'm sure most of you have heard me bitch about them on more than one occasion, but they truly are. And the side effects seem to have lasted long after I stopped taking them. They do their job for sure (I had momentary relief of headaches), but the side effects suck. I feel bad for people who have to be on them for longer than a month.

17) I am losing hair my by the handful, and only today I found a spot that is starting to bald. Apparently I have more hair than I thought! But the sensation of it falling out and the fact that it is absolutely everywhere (I'm shedding worse than a golden retriever) is a rather pain in the ass.

18) After brain surgery, I had to stop watching hospital shows for a month. And as soon as I started watching House again, sure enough... they were doing a stereotactic biopsy. Things I could've gone without seeing.

19) I still have to choke back tears when I think about my grandma. It's been almost three years, but I can't help it.

20) I have fleeting thoughts about running away. Not like running away to Colorado to live (wait, I already did that!), but seriously running away to Europe. Not permanently, but just for a couple months. Anyone want to go?

21) I haven't slept normally in months. At first it was the steroids. Now, who the hells knows. Some combination of chemo, radiation, and stress. I want to sleep for more than 8 hours without the help of AmbienCR, which only works some of the time. And I want to sleep for a consecutive amount of hours.

22) I love Harry Potter, and I don't care how geeky it is. I have read the entire series twice, and will probably read a couple of the books again before the sixth movie comes out. I also wish it was real. Eff this, I'm going to Hogwarts!

23) The age I will be in April. Nobody likes you when you're 23.

24) I am obsessed with plucking my eyebrows. Those of you who knew me in middle school should understand this (read: I had a unibrow). I must be traumatized from then, and this is what's fueling my obsession.

25) I cannot wait to go on vacation. Nate and I need a vacation after this radiation vacation.

2008 In Review

2009-01-02T12:05:00.000-08:00

I stole this from Jessie :)

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

I moved a thousand miles away from everything I've ever known and started my first real person job.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Nope, I failed! I only lost 10 of the 30 lbs. However, I did graduate college and get a job.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Well, a bunch of my MKE girlfriends had babies! 2009 is going to be full of new babies too :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank God.

5. What countries did you visit?

Nope, not unless visiting my hillbilly drunkles (thanks Jessie, I love that word!) counts. It's like a different country there.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

Enough willpower to finally get back in shape

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 1st--Nate and I's first date

January 4th--The day I moved to Steamboat Springs

November 14th--The day I found out I had a mass on my brain, and later a brain tumor

December 2nd--Brain surgery!

December 15th--The last day of those god-awful steroids

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Surviving my first year in a real person job and living alone

9. What was your biggest failure?

I don't know?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Ha, ya! Hello my little friend (brain tumor)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Adobe Creative Suite 3 software, how good it is to have it back!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Oh gosh, everyone who has been so supportive! Especially Nate... he has been absolutely incredible.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I can't pinpoint just one right now.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Gas, rent, scrapbooking supplies

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Every time I got to see Nate :) And my Cricut and my Garmin

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

The entire Sara Bareilles CD and "Calling You" Blue October

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier

b) thinner or fatter? Fatter, thank you steroids :(

c) richer or poorer? Both, richer because I actually have income, poorer because of my huge student loan debt and upcoming medical bills

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Explored Steamboat: hiking, fishing, skiing. Read more.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Sitting on my butt!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Oh yes, more and more every day.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

CSI, How I Met Your Mother, and Ghoster Whisperer

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Not hate, but I do feel differently about some people

24. What was the best book you read?

I didn't read much this year :( But I promise to get back in the habit during radiation vacation!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Rise Against, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Kate Voegele, Lady Antebellum, Matt Nathanson, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Sara Bareilles, and Tristan Prettyman

26. What did you want and get?

Nate :D, Garmin GPS, Spice Rack, Wafflemaker, a good diagnosis!

27. What did you want and not get?

Oh, there's a lot of kitchen stuff I want ;)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I didn't see a lot of movies last year, but I liked all of the ones that I did!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I met some of my friends for dinner and went out for drinks. I ended up walking home shoeless (the sidewalks were clear and it was a warm night in April!) with a few of my friends. I turned the ripe old age of 22 ;)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Being able to see Nate more than once a month.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Dress pants, nice top, and heels during the week; shorts/sweats and t-shirt on the weekends

32. What kept you sane?

Nate, my Steamboat friends, and waking up to mountains every day :)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Eh?

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Sarah Palin makes me insanely angry. I do not want to get started on the subject right now.

35. Who do you miss?

I miss Nate, my family, and friends when I'm in Steamboat. I miss Steamboat and my friends there when I'm in WI.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Number 1, of course, is Nate! I'm happy to have met some of my TIA girls in person finally and will be meeting more tonight!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

When someone tells you that you can't do something, prove them wrong. Believe in yourself, and be true to yourself. When you find the person who loves you exactly how you are, hold on tight!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"I've found all I've waited for, and I could not ask for more."

Pomegranate Guacamole

2008-12-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

After watching an episode of Rachel Ray 30 Minute Meals about holiday party appetizers, I decided to try my own version of what looked to be absolutely delicious. And I was right! I know, I know.. pomegranate guacamole, it sounds a little funky, but I promise... it's GOOD!

So here's the recipe:

1 Avocado, mashed
1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and deveined (I think I might go with 2 jalapenos next time though for a little more kick!)
1 Serrano pepper, seeded and deveined
1/2 Red Bell pepper, seeded and deveined
1/2 cup Red onion
2 cloves of garlic, pasted (which I learned from Rachel Ray: mince the garlic, add a little salt, and mash it with the back of a spoon until it's "pasty")
Seeds from 1/2 of a Pomegranate
Juice from 1/2 of a Lime
And as much Cilantro as you want!

Mash the avocado, chop the veggies, and squeeze in the lime. Mix it all together and voila! This makes enough for one person to eat a couple times. I will definitely be eating more tonight!

Proof

2008-12-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

Further proof that they didn't screw anything up with my brain surgery.

Before Nate and I headed to the airport, we stopped at Chipotle. I decided I had better use the bathroom before we started driving. In this particular Chipotle, there's a wood ledge that sticks out about an inch all the way around the room, about shoulder height on me. Not even seeing it, I bent over to grab some toilet paper and.. SMACK!

I slammed my forehead right into the ledge. If I had been in a cartoon, there would've been little birdies flying around my head. I immediately grabbed my forehead and started laughing. I wasn't bleeding, but geez did that hurt! I go to look in the mirror, sure enough.. perfect red line across my forehead.

But, at least I missed the bruises where I had the screws in my forehead. I came out of the bathroom laughing, and Nate just shook his head at me when I told him what I did.

All just proof that I'm still a klutz, nothing's changed. Haha :)

Back in the 'Boat

2008-12-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

I made it back! My flight was supposed to leave Minneapolis/St. Paul at 7:20 pm... 40 minutes of de-icing later we took off. I was supposed to land at 8:30, had we taken off on time, and somehow we still landed at 8:45. Thank you for the speed pilot! I still had to run thirty four gates and barely make my connection flight to Steamboat, but I'm back.

Back to my little space, with seven shiny staples in my head, where I can maybe establish some normal again. Well, at least until I fly out for Christmas on the 20th!

Putting Up The Tree

2008-11-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

Nate's going to do some more decorating yet, but we had a lil fun :)
Ain't she cute?!

Our First Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

Nate and I had our first Thanksgiving together. Of course, as a cop, he had to work until 10:00 pm, so it was a late dinner. This was also my first year making turkey dinner, and I have to say it went quite well!And yes, we're real klassy like that, but it's the only glasses I had to work with. And yes that is sparkling juice. The steroids I'm on do not allow me to drink alcohol. Wine :( Literally, I whine.

Halloween

2008-11-03T21:40:00.001-08:00

Wilmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Six Fabulous Fall Days

2008-10-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Once again , a lovely weekend with Nate :)

We went out to dinner at Cafe Diva; it was fondue night. Neither of us had ever had fondue before, but it was delicious!

On a walk downtown, it was actually blue skies and nice out, but for some reason this picture looks like we're in a storm!

Also on the walk downtown, along the river.

Just about there and just about time for dinner at Mambo Italiano

We attempted to hike The Devil's Causeway. This was one of the lakes on the way up to the trailhead.

Nate also in front of the same lake/resevoir.

I love how the colors reflect off the water!

The Flattop Mountains in south Routt County

And this is the reason why we didn't get to hike up to the Causeway. It started snowing on us!!

Brrr! It's c-c-c-cold!

The nearest town to the Causeway is Yampa (one of the tiny-ass towns in south Routt County). I could not believe that most of their streets are dirt!

This was just too funny, haha!

SHEEP! On the way back there was a whole bunch of sheep on the mountainside. So like tourists, we pulled over so I could take a picture.

We got rained out of the hike to the seconds falls at Fish Creek that we were supposed to do on Saturday, so instead it was pumpkin carving and wine!

And the end results!!

It's Fall!

2008-09-27T15:53:00.001-07:00

I have a pumpkin. The leaves are changing. The air smells crisp. The mornings and nights are cold. Yep, it's fall!

Whirlwind Weekend

2008-09-04T19:59:00.001-07:00

It was so nice to go visit Nate! I took a long Labor Day weekend, and it happened to work out that Nate had a few days off... so, we got to go home-home! We met each other's parents, friends, played with babies... it was great :) Busier than hell though!

Out in River Falls with Nate's friends
Nate playing paddycake with my cousin Owen

How cute is he?!!

Nate's friends' daughter Lyla, another lil cutie!

And I match the baby lol...

The Family Comes to Visit...

2008-07-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad, and Bri came to visit for the Fourth of July Weekend.

On the gondola to the top of Thunderhead Peak. I still contend that I look high in this picture.

Mom & Dad in the gondola

On the little nature trail at the top of Thunderhead
All cowgirl-ed up for the Cowboy Roundup Days Rodeo

Getting ready for the hike up to the second falls

Dad with his girls on the hike up to the second falls at Fish Creek

Taking a break on the hike

There were pretty wild flowers all along the trail. I didn't even realize I got Dad & Bri in this picture until afterwards.

This is the point where Bri & I realize that Mom had been taking pictures of our butts for the last ten minutes.

The newest addition to my apartment: a pretty, sassy lil betta named Fancy :) I am officially a crazy fish lady.

Another Wonderful Weekend

2008-06-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Nate came to visit! :) It was perfect weather and the perfect 2.5 days together. Although not nearly long enough!

In my apartment before heading out to explore

Riding in the gondola to the top of Thunderhead Peak

On the top of Thunderhead

Ahh, Steamboat.. Isn't she lovely? My favorite mountain, Sleeping Giant, is in the top middle.

Drinking margaritas at the 3rd floor bar/restaurant on the peak

At Fish Creek Falls

The water was rushing so fast!

On the bridge at the falls

Back in Wisconsin

2008-06-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures from Memorial Day Weekend. It was nice to visit "home" again, to have 4 days with Nate, and very nice to meet some TIA GFYers!

Out at the bars in Madison for Nate's golden birthday

After our incredible dinner at the Capitol Chop House

Mmm, gotta love a man in uniform! HCMM

Nate's attempt to teach me how to play catch the lacrosse way

So sad, time to leave :(

Best.Weekend.Ever

2008-04-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

I had the best.weekend.ever! As some of you already know, Nate came to visit me this past weekend after not having seen each other in 3 months.

Friday night was a little frustrating, driving down to Denver and running into a whiteout blizzard 1/2 way, going 10 mph through switchbacks. It took me 4 hours to get to the airport, park, and get inside to meet Nate at the baggage claim. We didn't get home 'til 1:30 am, but the whole ride back was great just being able to talk in person.

Saturday, I showed him around town, gave him the grand tour of Steamboat, and we saw the movie "21"--which is excellent by the way and really makes you want to go to Vegas!

Sunday we met two of my friends, Scott and Bridget, for lunch, and then bummed around the apartment for a while. That night we went walking downtown by the river; it was such a nice day: sunny, warm...perfect. After dinner at Tequila's, my fave Mexican restaurant here, and a couple of margaritas (might I recommend the blackberry margaritas--delish!), we drove up to the natural hot springs. The sun was just setting as we were getting up there, so picturesque. It was so incredible. Clear skies, bright stars, perfect weather, relaxing in the hot springs. I think it was probably the best night of my life.

Saturday Night Alone

2008-01-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Following Krista's lead, I'm going to fill out this jazz.

10 bands/artists you can’t live without

SHeDAISY / Josh Turner / Trace Adkins / Sara Bareilles / Sum41 / Sara Evans /
Maroon 5 / Nickelback / Michelle Branch / Keri Noble

9 movies you could watch forever

Titanic / 10 Things I Hate About You / Pearl Harbor / The Wedding Date / Sweet Home Alabama / The Notebook / P.S. I Love You / Mean Girls / Eurotrip

8 books you found to be good reads

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman/ Harry Potter Saga / The Red Tent by Anita Diamant / The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood / Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin / The Watcher by Sigmund Brouwer /The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes / Life of Pi by Yann Martel

7 inanimate objects you couldn’t live without

laptop / cell phone / purse / sunglasses / webcam / digital camera / chapstick

6 things you do in the morning

Hit snooze / brush my teeth / put clothes in dryer /check e-mail and facebook /
apply makeup / hairspray hair

5 tv shows that aren’t dumb

CSI Las Vegas / Charmed / Cold Case / Sex and the City / Two and a Half Men

4 Songs With Meaning To You

"There's More To Me Than You" Jessica Andrews / "Keeper of the Stars" by Tracy Byrd / "Who Knew" by Pink / “Calling You" by Blue October

3 jobs you’ve had

waitress / office slave / accountant

2 best friends

Kendra/ Amy

1 random fact about you

Usually when I don't like a certain food it's because of the texture, not because of taste.

Steamboat Springs

2008-01-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well I made it, I did it, I'm here. One thousand miles away from home starting a real person job and living alone for the very first time. I'm excited to be here, but feeling very overwhelmed by my job. But it's gotta get easier, right?!

Did I mention that I HATE packing/unpacking. I feel like this place is going to be a mess for weeks, and I'm an organization nut and that makes me crazy!

Well, I think I will continue to drink my Mike's Hard Cranberry and watch Zorro, in my very own apartment in BEAUTIFUL Steamboat!

College Graduate

2007-12-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

As of 11:00 this morning, I am officially a college graduate!! Not much time to write now, have a lot of packing and partying with friends to do. I leave for Steamboat Springs at 5:00 am tomorrow to start my real person job on Monday (for two days anyways--I don't officially move 'til January 4th!)

One Down

2007-12-12T13:39:00.001-08:00

Mini AW: One goal completed for 2007

This afternoon I finished my internship presentation and I got an A for the whole deal. Yay for me!

Sun Burn in Freezing Temperatures

2007-12-06T20:50:00.001-08:00

This is just further proof how freakin' Scandinavian/German I am. Even though I look like I'm Irish (reddish hair, pale skin, freckles)--same effect when in contact with UV rays though. I went tanning for 7 minutes today...7 minutes...and I am now a lovely shade of Christmas red! Pasty pale white winter skin apparently doesn't fair well with that amount of time. Maybe I should've started with 5 minutes. Good grief.

On a happy note, I'm starting to get festive. I made a trip to my local scrapbooking store and got some things to make Christmas cards! I spent the last couple hours being crafty and creative...instead of studying for my Econ quiz tomorrow. Whoops! On a side note, I can't wait 'til I can have a room devoted soley to scrapbooking and my other crafting hobbies. Oh some day, when I'm not so poor and I no longer rent my living quarters.

I Love Brett Favre

2007-12-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

God asks Peyton Manning first: "What do you believe?" Peyton thinks long and hard, looks God in the eye, and says, "I believe in hard work, and in staying true to family and friends. I believe in giving. I was lucky, but I always tried to do right by my fans." God can't help but see the essential goodness of Manning, and offers him a seat to his left.

Then God turns to Tony Romo and says, "What do you believe?"Tony says, "I believe passion, discipline, courage and honor are the fundamentals of life. I, too, have been lucky, but win or lose, I've always tried to be a true sportsman, both on and off the playing fields." God is greatly moved by Tony's sincere eloquence, and he offers him a seat to his right.

Finally, God turns to Brett Favre: "And you, Brett, what do you believe?"
Brett replies, "I believe you're in my seat."

While I'm Waiting To Go Drinking

2007-12-05T16:59:00.000-08:00

I saw Sarah had posted this, and it looks like something fun to do while I'm waiting to go eat wings, drink, and watch a band play with my girl Kendra!

Here’s what you do:
1) Answer the questions and type into Google image search
2) Post a picture from first results page

• the age you will be on your next birthday

• a place you’d like to visit

one of your favorite places

• your favorite object

• your favorite food

• your favorite animal

•your favorite color

•name of a past pet

•where you live

•1st grade teacher’s last name

•your middle name •a bad habit of yours

•your college major

and

•your favorite holiday

And I'm Off!

2007-11-17T20:06:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving Menomonie at 9:00 am tomorrow morning for Hudson to pick up my grandpa. From there we will be heading to the lovely state of Colorado. I'll post pictures when I get back, and hopefully I'll be able to say...."I got a job!!" Ta ta for now ladies!!