The Andersons

Unexpected arrival!

2011-02-01T15:30:00.004-06:00

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! Many people have been asking to hear my labor and delivery story, so here it is!

On January 13th, 37 weeks pregnant, I went in for what I was expecting to be a normal OB appointment. My doctor was going to do an ultrasound to determine baby's position, and see if I was dilated at all yet. To our surprise, baby was not head down, he was breech and was positioned to come out butt first. I knew what this meant - I was going to have a c-section.

My doctor knew having a c-section wasn't something I was thrilled about, so we discussed what my options were at that point. We could either attempt to move him by an external version, or I would need to schedule a c-section. I had heard of the external version but knew it was really painful - unsure of what to do, I decided to talk to a specialist to learn more about it - risks, success rates, etc. Since I was already 37 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I was running out of time to do the procedure. In fact, I had to do it that day if I was going to do it at all because if you wait too long into the pregnancy, the baby no longer has room to turn - so the procedure wont work.

I went up to labor and delivery and after talking with many doctors, I decided to go ahead with the procedure. Due to my age, the amount of fluid around the baby, the location of the placenta, and the baby's position, I was a good candidate for the external version and the chances of success were very high. Since I was having contractions when I went in, they gave me something to relax my uterus during the version. The procedure was so fast I barely even remember it. In less than 10 seconds, my little guy had moved out of breech position and was head down. Success!! I have to admit it was quite painful, but it was over very fast.

They had me stay for a few hours after the procedure to make sure baby & I tollerated it okay. When the nurse was going to send me home, baby's heart rate increased to 180. They kept me there for another hour to make sure it dropped. It didnt. After doctors came in and did several ultrasounds to check on baby, they decided to admit me overnight. I initially thought of all of the possible things that could be going wrong with my little guy and I was terrified. They assured me everything looked great and they couldn't find anything wrong, but they just wanted to monitor me overnight in case something was to happen.

They gave Derek the okay to go to work that night, and told him they would call him if anything changed. As soon as Derek left to go home and get ready for work, the doctors came back in and said I was going to have a c-section in 20 minutes!!! Talk about short notice!! Baby's heart rate had been high for 6 hours, and now all of a sudden they couldnt wait any longer. Luckily, my doctor was by my side when they delivered me this news, and she kept me calm - I was very overwhelmed and scared. Everything was happening so fast. We werent ready to bring a baby home. There was so much we still needed to do! Derek came back in about 15 minutes to drop a few things off for me, and I told him there was a slight change of plans - he wasnt going to work, he was going to be a Dad by the end of the night! The doctors immediately gave him scrubs to change into and ready or not, I was escorted into the OR.

Once we got into the OR, I got my spinal and my body immediately went numb. Such a crazy sensation! This was real...I was going to be a Mom very soon! I quickly glanced up at a monitor to see what day it was, since it was clearly a day I would never forget! Within 10 minutes, all of my fears melted away as I heard my precious baby boy cry for the first time! Landen Donald Anderson was born at 11:58pm on 1/13/2011. 6lbs, 14oz, 19 1/4 inches long. Landen is named after Derek's Grandpa Donald, who passed away a couple of months before Landen was born. He was so excited to meet our little boy, but we know he is watching over us today - and we cant wait to tell Landen all about him :)

Words cant express how amazing it felt to see him for the first time. Although we weren't at all expecting to meet him that soon, we were so happy he was here! Landen was completely healthy and his heart rate dropped back into normal range as soon as he was born. Although they didnt find anything wrong with him or any signs that he was in distress, my hemoglobin was quite low prior to the delivery (despite me taking extra iron throughout my pregnancy). My doctor said it was a blessing in disguise that everything happened the way it did, since the situation would've been much worse if my low hemoglobin went unnoticed.

At the time, I had no idea why God decided to bless our lives so early. However, in a little over a week, I found out what that reason was. My Grandma developed pneumonia and after being sick off and on for quite some time, she decided she didn't want to go on with treatment. The doctors said she had anywhere from a few hours to a few days to live. She had made a comment to my Mom that she was worried she would never get to meet Landen, her 30th Great Grandchild. :( We brought him to the hospital that night, and I am so glad we did. She completely lit up when she saw him! It was such a precious moment, and I know I will never forget it. As we were saying goodbye to her that night, she looked down at Landen and back up at Derek and said that she was ready to go now. That was the only time Landen got to spend with his Great Grandma Majerus - as she passed away 2 days later. I am so thankful that I was able to say goodbye to her, and words cannot express how it felt to see her smile and interact with my little boy. God had a plan - and although it wasn't how I imagined things would happen, I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thank you God for allowing my Grandma to meet her Great Grandson before she died. What a precious gift.

32 Weeks Pregnant!

2010-12-09T09:03:00.008-06:00

Well, after having multiple issues logging into this, I have finally recovered my blog! I was hoping to keep up with it throughout my pregnancy but that clearly hasn't happened. Life is busy these days. I'm officially 32 weeks pregnant - eek! Time is flying and I'm getting more excited every day. Our nursery is painted and the wallpaper border is almost completely done. Then we can finally start putting it together!

I had my first baby shower last week and we finally have some baby items in the house! We got a lot of really cute stuff from my friends and I'm looking forward to dressing our little guy in all of the tiny clothes :)

I have been sick with a nasty cold the past few days, but I'm otherwise doing great. Baby is moving constantly so that keeps me entertained :) This week Derek & I both have our work Christmas parties and then I have another baby shower this weekend with my Mom's side of the family!

Feeling better!

2010-07-18T01:20:00.002-05:00

Well I am almost 12 weeks pregnant and I have been nausea free for the last 3 days! (Knock on wood!) What a great feeling! I figured I better take advantage of it and get some housework done so I finally got caught up on laundry and cleaned as much of the house as I could before working all weekend. What a great feeling! I can finally move without having to run to the bathroom ;) I'm not nearly as tired lately either, which is also nice.

Things are going well - I feel like I am already getting a little baby bump! Which is kinda scary since it seems so early, but exciting at the same time.

So far I dont have any weird cravings - now that I feel better I can eat just about anything. Unfortunately I crave chips way more than I'd like to! I went from wanting anything chocolate to anything with salt! Too bad I dont crave fruits and veggies!

Everyone keeps asking if we're going to find out what we're having ---and yes we are! We are having a hard time coming up with names for a boy - so we decided that we are going to wait until we find out for sure what we're having before we look into it any more. We agreed on 2 names for a girl right away - but boys are pretty tough!

I'm hoping to keep updating this as I get time, now that I actually have something exciting going on!

We've got a secret...

2010-07-05T14:56:00.002-05:00

Well, the secret is out - - - I'M PREGNANT!

The last couple of months have been crazy. I have been feeling pretty crummy and I haven't had much energy, so I've been sleeping a lot! I had my first doctors appointment last week and heard baby's heartbeat for the frist time - and all I have to say is amazing! I went into the appointment ready to beg for zofran or anything that would make me feel better, and I left feeling like I was on cloud 9. =)

We are due February 2nd - and there is a lot to do before then, so we're going to be busy around here! Derek is trying to get our deck built so we can start working on our basement so we have room when baby arrives. Everyone keeps telling me the time goes super fast so we're trying to be as efficient as we can!

Its so great seeing Derek so excited to be a dad. We have always known that we wanted to be parents, but it's so crazy to think that it's actually going to happen soon! I cant wait!! I'm so happy that my sisters and I are all starting families around the same time. I never thought my kids would grow up having cousins their age, but I'm so glad it's going to happen! And now that Michelle and Dave moved closer, its going to be even better! Plus, a bunch of our really close friends have kids and a couple of them are expecting a baby around the same time as us, which is going to be even more exciting!

Life is GREAT right now! Now if only the nausea would go away...then it'll be even better! :)

I'm an auntie again! =)

2009-09-21T02:10:00.008-05:00

Babies, babies, everywhere! Apparently this is the year for babies! My sister Michelle had a beautiful baby girl, Rylee Paige, on September 6th. She is super sweet and very mellow. I couldnt get over how much she looked like Michelle! We went to the hospital to meet her the day she was born, and when she was a week old, we stopped over to see the family at home since Derek hadnt met his new niece yet. She is perfect, and I'm so excited to have another niece! - And I'm also excited that my sister Katie is pregnant with her second child! =) I love the fact that the three cousins will be close in age.

Along with becoming an Auntie again, two of my friends also had little ones recently! My friend Kayla had baby boy, Tyson Blake, on August 17th. Since I've been sick, I didnt get to meet him until a little over a week ago. He is pretty cute as well!

And on September 11th, my friend Jenni had a baby girl! Olivia Dale. She was just a peanut at 6lbs 2oz...and although she thought she was 2 weeks "overdue," found out later that the doctors were wrong about her due date, and she actually delivered her at 39 weeks!

Needless to say, this means lots of baby time for me! =)

Kevin & Danielle's Wedding!

2009-09-21T01:28:00.007-05:00

What a fun weekend! One of my good friends Danielle got married on Saturday, so the weekend was filled with wedding festivities! I was Danielle's personal attendant/photographer (at least until the professional photographer arrived!) and I had a blast! I have known Danielle for many years and was so excited to be part of her special day.

I couldnt believe the amount of detail she put into everything. She made everything by hand...centerpieces, decorations, programs, you name it! She cut down tree branches for her centerpieces to go with the outdoor theme, and used baby food jars as candle holders hanging from the branches. It was such a neat, inexpensive idea. I loved it. Everything was perfect, and the weather couldnt have been better for an outdoor wedding! It almost made me want to get married again...almost! =)

Its been a while!

2009-08-17T00:40:00.003-05:00

Hmm...its been a while since I've posted anything.

Not much new with us...getting closer to school starting and I'm not very thrilled about it. Where did summer go? We still have a lot of things we'd like to do before summer is over. Hopefully we still get a chance to.

Our puppy is the cutest ever! She is finally brave enough to go down our stairs, so she just sits by the door waiting for Derek to get home. Its so cute. Or she'll watch the neighbor kids playing outside. Having a puppy around has definitely been work at times, but its so worth it. Shes so playful and cuddly, I couldnt imagine not having her around.

One of my best friends, Kayla, went into labor this afternoon and I was really bummed that I had to work tonight so I couldnt be around to hear how everything went. I'm pretty impatient to hear the news! Blake promised everyone he would post something on facebook, so I've randomly checked throughout the night, but still nothing. Im pretty sure telling everyone isnt his number one priority, but I'm super excited for them and hope everything is going well.

Speaking of babies, my sister Michelle is due to have her baby in a few short weeks! I cant wait. Being an aunt is seriously the greatest thing ever. I cant imagine what our family is going to be like with another little one running around :) Derek is also loving it. Now that he can actually say hes an uncle now that we're married! He loves kids and its so cute to see him play with Mara. Oh the baby fever has already started! He is just as excited as I am to get to that stage in our lives.

The joy of working weekends

2009-06-14T00:34:00.003-05:00

I guess its been a while since I've updated. Not too many interesting things going on in my life. I dont have cute belly pictures to post, or pictures of adorable little kids, so I'll just ramble until I come up with something clever :)

Married life is great so far. Cant believe its almost been a month already. Wow. Its pretty crazy. When I see how close Michelle is getting to her due date, and how fast my niece Mara is growing, I really see that time goes super fast. I'm trying to enjoy every day and get the most out of the summer as I can...since its the middle of June already! EEK! We have camping trips, valleyfair, and lots of bonfires planned. Oh, and we hope to start building our deck soon! Never a dull moment at our house! It has been great lately now that Derek and I are finally on the same shifts. It is quite difficult to get big projects done when we are never home at the same time. Now as long as the weather cooperates the next time we both have 2 days off together, we'll be able to go camping for the first time this summer! :)

I'm a bit bummed that I have to work all weekend. There is so much going on, and it always seems to work out that way. Now I'll have the next two weekends off, and there wont be much going on. Im not usually all that excited about cheese fest. I usually go and get some cheese curds, talk to a few people, and go to the parade with my parents.. nothing too exciting. But this year, a ton of my high school classmates were going...who I havent seen, well, since graduation I suppose.. and it wouldve been nice to catch up. We didnt have a 5 year reunion...but I guess thats what facebook is for! haha. I still hang out with a small group of friends from high school, but lately I've been talking to more. Its just fun to catch up and see how different peoples lives are.. some are married, have kids...others havent done a thing since high school...others are finishing up grad school, and some live halfway across the country. Its pretty crazy.

Along with that, 2 of my friends got married on Saturday...and I really wouldve liked to go. And my cousin Nicole had her graduation party this weekend too. Not to mention, could've gone to Chicago to watch the Twins! ...although, that wasnt really a necessity, it would've been fun!

Oh well...there's always next weekend! ;) Derek was able to pick up overtime though, which was nice! Since he knew he wouldnt get to see me at all anyway...might as well make some money I guess! At least one of us can still get overtime!

I suppose..my break will be over soon. Better get back to work.

I'm MARRIED! =)

2009-05-27T22:03:00.005-05:00

After 11 months of wedding planning, on May 16th, I finally married my best friend :)

The wedding was everything I dreamed it would be, and more! It was such a fun day. Even though our flowers were the wrong color, I realized that if that was the worst that could happen, I was okay with it! Everything else was perfect. 200+ friends and family came to celebrate with us! Now that the wedding is over, it seems very strange to sit at home with nothing to do :) The wedding planning, moving, working, and homework had taken over my life..and now that I still have a few more days off of work, we are completely moved into our house, I've spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying the beginning of married life :)

Our honeymoon was great! We went on a Caribbean cruise and it was awesome. It was also pretty cheap compared to other options we looked into, which is always a plus! I got A LOT of sun, and ended up peeling pretty bad when I got home, but it was totally worth it. The weather was great, and the views were even better! And not to mention the meals that were all included...24/7 all you can eat buffets, room service, and the most elegant dinners I have ever had! I dont think I have ever eaten so much! I'm pretty sure I gained back a few of the 17 pounds I had lost before the wedding, but it was totally worth it!

So far married life is good! Our house definitely feels like home now that we have everything unpacked and decorated. (thanks to having 2 1/2 weeks off of work!) I'm glad we moved when we did, because it was great to come home to OUR home :)

I'll post pictures later. I'm getting really anxious to see our professional wedding photos! :) :)

Less than a week to go!!

2009-05-11T01:35:00.002-05:00

I cant believe it...in less than a week, I will be MARRIED!! How crazy is that?! We will have a new house, wedding, and honeymoon, all in less than a month! Crazy. Of course I'm on a break at work right now (1:41 am) planning out my next few days of craziness before the big day. All of the last minute wedding stuff with papers for school and boxes to unpack is enough to make my head spin! I'm surprisingly calm though, concidering. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm freaking out yet, and prior to that, I honestly dont think it had really set in yet! Derek is excited, which is enough to keep a smile on my face. Although at the beginning he wasnt always the most helpful ;) He is now asking what he can do to help, and constantly reminding me how excited he is to finally say I'm his wife :) He is such a sweetheart.

Anyway...this will probably be my last post until we get back from our honeymoon! I just hope the weather shapes up a bit by then! Pray for no rain!!! So far its looking like rain most of the week but there is still plenty of time for that to change!

We've moved!!! =)

2009-05-03T04:17:00.002-05:00

I realize it's been a very long time since I've had a chance to update this...

The biggest news is that Derek and I are officially first time homeowners! We closed on our house on Thursday and did most of the moving on Friday. It has been so exciting! ...and exhausting! I was just bummed that on top of all of the moving, I have to work 12 hour night shifts all weekend. Boo. I'm so anxious to get everything unpacked and decorated!!! I will finally be able to have color on my walls, and can actually hang things and decorate however I want! :) Its still so crazy to think that this is OUR home. I never thought I'd own a house this nice! Especially not as my first home. All of the years of renting and saving money sure has paid off! Derek of course is already planning what kind of deck to build, and what accessories to put in the bathroom and laundry room downstairs. He is so thrilled to be able to do this for us...and even though he has big dreams, its great to see things falling in place for us :) I cant wait to get married now!!!!

The wedding is 2 weeks away from yesterday!!! Holy cow! Once we get all settled in, I'll feel much better. Then I can just focus on all of the last minute wedding stuff. I have a bunch of little things to do..and I cant wait to start crossing everything off my list! I keep looking at my calendar and seeing that the wedding really isnt far away...and then a much needed vacation! Derek and I have never been on a vacation just the two of us, so we are SO excited for the honeymoon! At this point it really doesnt matter where we go...just as long as we can get away for awhile...and a little sun wouldnt hurt! :)

Everything is falling into place...I couldnt ask for anything more! :)

April is going to be a very busy month!

2009-04-03T16:31:00.002-05:00

Ugh I am ready for this month to be over, and it just started! So much to do and so little time!
My Spring break is officially over. Classes start again on Saturday. I'm only taking one class this time though, so that should be much easier for me to handle with my busy schedule. With the economy the way it is and with hiring holds/job cuts, etc, I dont want to take any risks and am hoping to get my 4 year degree as soon as I can. If that means taking classes with everything else I have going on, I'll do it. Tuition reimbursement is a great thing, and I want to take advantage of it while I can!

Only 6 weeks to go until the wedding...Yikes! Its coming quick! Now is the time where we need to hurry up and get all of the last minute things done...and of course Derek and I are working opposite shifts so we never see each other. This makes it very difficult to get anything done. If he didnt want to be involved in certain things it wouldnt be a big deal, but some things I just cant do on my own. And it makes it even more difficult when he doesnt even know his work schedule for next week yet. I have my schedule 8 weeks in advance and always know what shifts I work on weekends, etc. so it's quite frustrating when you have deadlines and everyone is calling to meet with us about certain things and we have to keep putting it off until Derek knows his schedule. I cant wait until he is able to choose the shift he wants to work and we wont have to deal with working opposite shifts anymore! Life will be much simpler then!

I suppose I better get something done. Hoping to get the cake figured out today and a few other things. I wish I could just hire someone to do all of this for me...haha!

Our Future Home!

2009-03-27T20:13:00.009-05:00

We were able to walk through our future home this week! So here are some pictures just for you Andrea! :) We close on April 30th.

We're homeowners!!!

2009-03-19T13:33:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited to announce that Derek and I are homeowners!!! I was very nervous to go through the process again after what happened the first time, but we knew if we didnt act fast, the house would be gone! To our surprise, we were faced with another offer on this house as well, and had to make some big decisions in order to get it in the end. And we ended up getting the house...BARELY! Our realtor wasnt able to tell us what the other people offered, but she told us it was very close and had we offered anything less, it wouldnt have been ours. Oofda. The other people who put an offer on it have been through this process 3 times now... and Derek and I decided if we lost this house too, we were going to put off looking for a house altogether. This process is a lot more stressful and exhausting than I expected. We are so glad its over!!!

The house is brand new, and the basement is unfinished, which is what Derek originally wanted. He used to work in construction, so he is very excited to finish the house and we can make it our own this way. My dad is also excited I think, as he and Derek discussed all of the options we have of finishing it! Great bonding time for Derek and Dad :)
Right now there are 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, and when its finished there will be 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We have a decent sized yard, and a three car garage as well. All of the appliances are stainless steel, and its all brand new obviously, since the house has never been lived in! We will have to put some money into it, but since there is plenty of space for the two of us, we wouldnt have to do anything for a while. I have a feeling Derek wont be able to wait long though!

Anyway, we are excited and I couldnt wait to share the news! We are closing a lot earlier than we hoped to, but we will make it work. Talk about a busy couple of months...as if I wasnt busy enough already!!! I will be more than ready for a vacation after all of this is over! :)

It can only get better from here

2009-03-07T23:52:00.003-06:00

Go figure, after a super stressful couple of weeks, I ended up getting sick. It never fails.

I'm slowly recovering now. I was so congested and my throat was so swollen that I could barely talk. I of course had to miss work too, so I'm hoping to pick up shifts after my crazy busy week of classes this week. If I dont make up those days, I can pretty much kiss my honeymoon goodbye, because I wont have enough PTO. :( Ugh.

For those of you who havent heard yet, we didnt end up getting our "perfect" house. Another couple put an offer on it, and offered the full asking price. We were shocked, and are still quite bummed about it. Since then we've looked at many more houses and just cant find anything that compares. Now Derek keeps looking further and further out of town...which is not at all what I had in mind. I know it wasnt meant to be, and it just means something better will come out of it... hopefully we'll see what that is very soon!

School is busy as always, and I missed class this week too so I'm trying to play catch up. Pretty difficult when you're not feeling well and you have only a few short days to put together a huge 20-30 minute presentation. Hopefully Ill feel 100% better in the morning and it will all go smoothly. One can only hope.

I got a wonderful surprise in the mail yesterday. Dereks brother and sister in law knew I'd been stressed out the past couple of weeks, so they sent me a gift certificate for an entire day at the spa! It literally includes everything you would go to a spa for: 30 minute full body massage, pedicure, manicure, 30 minute facial, along with getting my hair colored and styled, and my makeup done!! Holy cow! Talk about a day of pampering. Hopefully Derek and I can have a date night or something after. Im definitely looking forward to that! I guess having a massage therapist in the family will come in handy! :)

Thats all for now... I cant sleep since Ive been sleeping most of the day, so I figured I'd vent a little...

Stressed

2009-03-03T14:19:00.003-06:00

Yikes. Just when I think my life is settling down, I realize I have even more things to do! I cant keep up!

As school is winding down for the trimester, the papers and presentations are increasing, and my stress level is through the roof! After a very long weekend of work, all I wanted to do on Monday was sleep! Luckily I had exciting things to do, like meet my mom at Mestads to try on my wedding dress for the first time! :) So I was actually able to wake up early. But then I had to sit in class for 4 hours, and then the day was over. Now today I have the entire day off of work and school...and as I was looking at my schedule, I realized that I have very limited time the next week to get my presentation done...so I need to do it TODAY. I have rewritten it a couple of times already because I dont really know what shes really expecting us to do...and I'm ready to throw my computer out the window. I would much rather write a paper any day...Or even take a test for that matter!

We only have 3 more weeks of classes, and then I'll finally have a break. But too bad we have deadlines for the wedding coming up this week too and have to get the DJ our song list, the videographer needs our photos and song choices for our slide show and we still need to find someone to sing for the wedding and make our cake! Oh, and we need passports too for our honeymoon.

Not to mention the fact that Derek and I are working different shifts right now, so when I actually have time get some of the wedding stuff done, he needs to sleep.

I wish I could just hire someone to do this crap for me. This is so frustrating. I cant believe I CHOSE to do all of this at once....

Pre-approved!!

2009-02-14T01:31:00.003-06:00

About 2 hours after filling out the pre-approval form, I woke up to a phone call from the loan officer telling us we've been pre-approved to buy a house! Woo hoo! Unfortunately, with our joined incomes we make too much to get 100% financing, so we'll have to pay a bit of a down payment. Hopefully coming up with the money wont be a problem. Its really hard to tell at this point how much we'll have available once everything is finally paid off for the wedding. I feel like I work on our budget non-stop just to make sure we save every dime possible! I wish I was that organized when it came to everything else!

Its crazy how much my life has changed in the past year. Starting a career, starting another degree, planning a wedding, buying a house. I sometimes feel like I grew up really fast, but I'm okay with that. A lot of people my age are out partying all the time, and thats just not a part of my life anymore. Although I couldve started my career much earlier if I didnt take a break from the nursing program, Im glad it worked out the way it did. I needed that time to have fun and I was not ready for all of this responsibility at that point in my life. I'm so excited for the future. Although I dont have a lot of time to do many fun things right now, I know it will all be worth it in the end. Sometimes growing up fast isnt such a bad thing.

My head is spinning

2009-02-13T02:41:00.004-06:00

I feel like I cant catch up with life these days. I'm barely sleeping because I keep myself awake thinking about everything I need to do. Ive worked the past 2 overnights, and then today I also had 4 hours of class...so that equals no sleep. I wish I could just go to sleep after work this morning and just sleep for an entire day! Ha.

Aside from my lack of sleep.. I have some really exciting news.
Derek and I are taking another big step in our relationship, and hoping to buy our first house! We made an appointment to walk through the house in Byron that we absolutely love, and we are in the process of getting pre-approved for a loan! I'm nervous, but excited at the same time. We have looked at a ton of houses online and this one is by far the best we've found. Derek and I both want the same things in our first house, which is great! I actually worked with someone last night that lives across the street from this house! She said its a great neighborhood and very kid friendly. We've driven by the house a couple of times, and it always seems like a pretty quiet neighborhood. We're trying not to get our hopes up just in case we're not able to get it...but its pretty hard when you find a house with everything you like.

We have also had to make some changes in our wedding party...3 months before the wedding. Jason called to tell me he is going to be deployed at the end of April. He had been overseas a few years ago but has not had to go back in the years I've known him. Now couldnt be a worse time either because he is expecting to be a dad in September :(. He is pretty upset/worried about it, and I'm really bummed that one of my closest friends wont even be able to be at my wedding. I could not imagine my life completely changing with one phone call like that and having to pick up my life and fight for the country. Needless to say, he doesnt have a choice.

And we will more than likely need to choose another groomsman as well. Dereks friend Andrew was chosen to play Arena football in Iowa (basically a step down from the NFL)..which has always been a dream of his. He just moved down there and will know very soon if he'll be able to make it to our wedding. This also bums Derek out quite a bit...since he and Andrew are best friends.

Ugh. Luckily, Derek has a lot of close friends, so the decision shouldnt be too difficult. But still.

Thats all for now...

Feeling motivated today!

2009-02-05T09:45:00.003-06:00

It's been quite a while since I've had time to update this!

I could start every one of these by saying the past few days have been crazy, but I'm assuming at this point anyone who reads this already knows I'm busy 99.9% of the time!

I was excited that our wedding invitations arrived in the mail yesterday, and with tons of extras that we didnt pay for! YES! I debated on a few things because they were a bit spendy, and although we decided not to spend the money to get a lot of the "extras," they arrived anyway! :) What a nice surprise! ...I think it really hit Derek and I now that the wedding will be here very soon!

Today is my day off, so I decided it was a good idea to get up at 6am! Crazy is the only way to describe that! Its now almost 10am and I've done all of my laundry, cleaned or organized our room, made a bunch of phone calls, finished a paper and started on another one, and now I just have to work on my part of our group project, and then I plan to get all of my scrapbook stuff organized and ready for our scrapbook weekend! Productive days like these are the BEST!! After today, I definitely wont feel so bad about having to work all weekend.

I got my taxes done last night...and I was surprised by how much I'm getting back. And it couldnt be better timing! It will be nice to know that I have the money available for the wedding, and wont have to continue to work overtime to pay for things. I also plan to pay my credit card off, which will be a huge relief! Derek had the great idea that he is going to pay for our honeymoon with his tax refund, since I've been paying for most of the wedding stuff up until now. Hes been so great..checking every day to get the best deals on everything and calling the travel agency asking questions. He managed to find us a great deal on our caribbean cruise, and we'll be spending half the price of what is advertised online! He wasnt kidding when he told me he would take care of the honeymoon and I wouldnt have to worry! :) Yay! I'm SO excited! I could really use a vacation right now!

After I got my taxes done last night, Derek and I went to see Marley & Me. We hadnt been to a movie in quite a while and I've really been wanting to see that one. I was already warned that I would cry my eyes out, but wanted to see it anyway. It was such a cute and very sad movie. You could see how the movie was going to end before it actually started, but it was still worth it. I definitely recommend it!

That is all of the exciting news I have. Keeping busy writing 2 papers a week, working on group projects, presentations, etc. Work has been good, but VERY busy lately. Hopefully the rest of the day will be just as productive.

The joys of being an aunt!

2009-01-27T21:45:00.007-06:00

I know my blog is usually pretty boring since I dont have super cute kids or pets to take pictures of, so I finally took some new pictures! Derek and I got to spend some time with Katie, Jay & Mara over the weekend and were able to watch Mara crawl!! It was so cute. I cant imagine what it feels like to watch your kids go through milestones like that. Being an aunt is seriously one of the best things ever. To see that little girl grow up is so much fun. It's cute to see her change each time I see her, and it melts my heart when she smiles at me when I walk in the door! I hope that doesnt change as she gets older! I had to post some pictures of her bonding time with Derek :) She loves his hats, and seems to think it's pretty funny to wear them whenever he comes over! Mara showed us all of her new toys and was the center of attention! We had a good time. :)

The perfect house!

2009-01-23T17:50:00.002-06:00

Derek and I have been talking about buying a house, and since I have been so busy with school and wedding planning, I've put the idea out of my mind for a while. Derek decided that between wedding planning and moving, his two jobs are planning the honeymoon and watching for the perfect house to go on the market. I got the news a couple of days ago that the house has been found!

Its a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom home with vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room, attached garage, etc. It has everything we are looking for. And, its in Byron. I've decided to be more open to the idea of moving out of Rochester. After talking to people at work who live in Byron, it sounds like a nice town with a great school. Since Derek was so sure thats where he wanted to live, I decided not to totally push the idea aside. And after seeing this house...I couldnt be more sure!! We obviously have a long way to go though...since we are still in a lease until August. We're hoping to go to the bank to see what kind of loan we can get and make sure we can afford this house before we fall even more in love. And then we have to talk to our landlord to see if there is any way we can get out of the lease early.

There is still a lot of work to do, but we're just happy that we found excactly what we were looking for. Derek and I want the same main things in a house, and since we'd like to live in our first home for many years, we would like to live somewhere where we could eventually raise a family :) Its a big step, but I'm so excited about it!

Finally feeling some motivation!

2009-01-23T00:09:00.003-06:00

After the stress of starting classes last week, I was worried that I wouldnt find the movitivation to get started on all of my papers. But to my surprise, I have gotten a lot accomplished this week. Our marriage prep meeting thing went pretty well. I wasnt sure what to expect from the "test" we had to take, but it didnt end up being so bad. Hopefully we matched on most of the questions so we dont have to have a million sessions. It was hard enough trying to find one day that worked for all of us to meet! I didnt realize how much work was involved with getting married!

I felt motivated today, so I sat down and started writing a paper, and I was almost finished with it before I left for work tonight. I was pretty impressed. Hopefully I feel that motivated for the next couple of months!

So much to do, so little time

2009-01-18T23:10:00.003-06:00

Wow, I dont think this weekend is ever going to end! I have a list a mile long of all of the things I need to get done this week and its really hard to get things done when you work 12 hour shifts all weekend!

I have two papers to start, a house that needs a good cleaning, a scrapbook to finish, and A LOT of wedding stuff to finalize/pay for. We need to book the limo, book the cruise for our honeymoon, start our marriage preparation classes, go on a marriage retreat...pick out centerpieces/decorations, and order invitations...just to name a few ;)

I'm hoping to have a little down time at work tonight to get some stuff done.

I luckily dont have to come back to work tonight, but we have our first marriage prep meeting @ 7, and then we're going to visit with my parents a bit and order the invites and get some other wedding stuff squared away.

Busy busy!

Darn nails

2009-01-16T17:41:00.005-06:00

Today was a good day, minus the fact that I had a flat tire. Apparently I managed to run over a nail, even with all of the snow on the ground. Luckily they were able to just patch the hole and I didnt have to get a new tire. I swear I have tire issues every year. Luckily I'm marrying a handyman!

While we were waiting for my tire to get fixed, we decided to head over to the mall. We ended up picking out our wedding bands and got a huge discount on them! Which is good, considering all of the hassle I went through with my engagement ring last summer. The manager told me we'd get a discount, but I wasnt sure if he'd actually follow through with it. I'm glad we went in when we did!

Exactly 4 months from today, I'll be married!!! :)

Holy crap is COLD!

2009-01-15T22:08:00.005-06:00

I cant believe how cold it is today!! -35 below zero wind chills?! YIKES. Of course, on the coldest day we've had in years, I have a busy day of traveling planned. Luckily my instructor didnt make me go to Minneapolis for my community nursing experience. So now I just have to reschedule and hope another day will work in my busy schedule. Even though all area schools, including Rochester, were closed today...guess who still had class tonight?! Rochester never closes, so I was expecting Augsburg to close too, but what was I thinking?! They just dont want the kids waiting for buses or walking home in this horrible weather...no one cares about the adults getting frostbite walking to our cars at 10pm! Oh well, its the first day of this class, so I suppose its important that we dont miss it. I've been home for a while now and my hands still feel like ice. And yes, I wore the thickest mittens I could find. This weather sucks. I cant wait for 70 degree weather! Actually, at this point, even 20 degree weather would be GREAT! Funny how I complain about it every year, and yet I still live here... I wonder if I could convince my entire family to move south?! haha!

After the first week of class, I'm quite overwhelmed. I think I feel this way every semester, and I knew getting into this that I was going to be crazy busy, but now it has really hit me. Last trimester I took an elective..Art History.. and it was really boring, but now I'm wishing I could go back and take that class instead of the two I'm in! Papers, papers, papers...and presentations, presentations, presentations! I hate public speaking...always have. Some people think I talk a lot, which actually really annoys me. But thats a completely different topic. I get really nervous when I have to talk for 20-30 minutes in front of a class of complete strangers. Even if I know a lot about the topic, I find myself rambling on and trying to rush myself to get through it. Hopefully this class will go well. It seems like it's going to be A LOT of work.

On a positive note, I made some progress in the wedding planning today, and we have decided on our honeymoon destination! We decided a cruise was the way to go..after spending months looking into a lot of different options. A Caribbean cruise! I'm so excited. I just found out that one of my friends went on the exact same cruise last week, and had a blast! At first I wasnt sure about it, since I wanted to spend a lot of time on the beach, maybe swim with the dolphins, scuba dive, etc.. and I wasnt sure we'd spend enough time off the boat to do these things, but it turns out I was wrong! And they have A LOT of fun stuff on the boat too. And all meals and activities are covered. I'm soo excited! I really havent gotten to travel much, and I've never been on a cruise, so I'm looking forward to it! Plus, its in our budget, which is the most important thing. We are bummed that we cant afford Hawaii right now, but Derek is sure we'll be able to do that for our 1 year anniversary! Or hopefully before we have kids! We'll see! :) Thats another one of our dreams to add to the list! hehe.

Exhausted.

2009-01-13T18:27:00.004-06:00

Wow, I realized this week just how busy my job can be! I decided to pick up 16 hours extra this payperiod, and holy crap I'm already exhausted! As a nurse, I usually dont work 5 days in a row because its way too exhausting...and burn out is huge with nurses. Last week we were all bummed that we werent very busy at work, and today was the exact opposite! We are pretty much to the point that we are pushing patients out the door faster because they have so many surgeries scheduled and not enough rooms to put them in! That makes for a very busy and stressful day. We went from having too many nurses scheduled, to having so many patients there arent enough nurses. After my last few day shifts, I am definitely looking forward to having a couple days off, and switching to night shifts this weekend. Its still going to be super busy, but its a different kind of busy...and hopefully more tolerable!!

I started class this week too, which didnt help my stress level. Classes started last night...so after working all day, I had to sit in class for 4 hours and didnt get home until 10pm. YUCK. Plus, the weather was horrible and the roads were bad, so half of our class wasnt there anyway. I was really hoping it would be cancelled since RCTC closed early and almost everything else in town was called off. But they had to make their decision by 2:30, and at that time, it had stopped snowing for a short period of time. It looks like I'm going to have 2 papers due every week until March...which does not sound fun. And Im supposed to go to Minneapolis for class on Thursday to do some community nursing for those who are homeless, or dont have the money or insurance to get the health care they need. I'm looking forward to the experience, but I'm praying that the weather is okay by then because I have to be there all day and then hurry home for 4 hours of class again that night. I'm not a fan of winter driving...so hopefully it will be fine! Even my days off are filled with trips for school! I guess I need to plan on not having a life again until the end of March! Woo hoo.... I'm very optimistic, cant you tell!? :)

Longest week ever

2009-01-08T17:49:00.002-06:00

Im pretty sure this has been the longest week EVER. I work night shifts Monday-Thursday, which I do almost every week, but for some reason I cant seem to get caught up on sleep. I usually get a lot more sleep when I work nights because its a lot easier for me to sleep during the day...but for some reason I have felt super tired every day. Ugh. Derek is working overnights this whole month, which means we actually get to see each other. I feel like the week is never going to end though....which isnt good, because I decided to pick up a day shift on Sunday. I'm pretty sure I'm crazy! I picked up 16 hours of overtime this payperiod...which means lots of money, but also means I'll be working pretty much every day...and school starts again on Monday. Yikes! Have I mentioned that I'm crazy?! :)

Bored on the night shift!

2009-01-07T00:38:00.002-06:00

I really wish my life was exciting so I had more to write about!

I've been trying to pick up some overtime at work before I go back to school, but of course, our unit is super slow right now. We only had 15 patients (we have a 33 bed unit) last night and 8 were supposed to go home today! We usually have about 5 patients per nurse on the night shift, so I knew I'd have to float tonight! So now I'm on another floor in the hospital...the trauma/general surgery unit. Which is my least favorite...and I'm sitting in an individual assignment and get to watch my patient sleep all night. Boring! And of course its the night that I didnt get to take a nap before coming to work, and I'm already fighting to stay awake. We're usually busy on our floor, so I'm running around all night and dont have a problem staying awake! Thats not the case tonight. Hopefully the night goes fast. This is the time of year when many people's cholesterol is at it's highest - after eating a lot of junk over the holidays! - so I'm sure there will be a lot of surgeries coming up, and we'll be busy again. I love my floor, so I always dread having to go to another floor in the hospital.

As far as the wedding planning goes...we're trying to find a honeymoon destination. I would love to get it booked now and have one less thing to worry about later. I just keep hoping we'll find something a little more reasonably priced I guess. We really wanted to go to Hawaii, but that is looking like its going to be pretty far out of our budget. We've looked into Mexico and the Caribbean..and since neither of us have been to Mexico we are clueless where the best vacation spots are. We both want to be somewhere with warm sandy beaches and lots of sunshine! Any ideas?!

There's always next year...

2009-01-05T11:42:00.004-06:00

So the weekend is over...already. Why does it seem like my weekends off always fly by?!

I was the biggest loser of the week during the week of Christmas! At first I was shocked, but then I remembered that I worked that whole week, so I wasn't tempted by as many sweets! So far I have lost almost 7 lbs! Woo hoo.

I had every intention to work out and get a lot of stuff done this weekend, but I ended up spending the weekend on the couch watching football! We went to Bens house (one of Dereks coworkers) for the game on Sunday, and ate pizza and cheered our butts off for the Vikings, and of course...they lost. As soon as Philly came back and scored a touchdown, there was complete silence in the room.. and that NEVER happens when we're around this group of guys! It was a huge let down, and now the famous words of a Vikings fan.."theres always next year."
Bring on the Twins!

After the game, Derek and I went to Heather and Brandons to play games. We had a lot of fun, even though we didnt get home until about 3:30 this morning!! I learned a new game, and then the boys of course wanted to play monopoly, which is the longest game EVER!! The boys both lost right away, and by about 3 am, Heather and I decided to just call it a tie and end the game. We would've been there for hours, and Heather had to work in the morning. I love game nights...we had a blast. Heather is 6 months pregnant and looks so cute! I love pregnant bellies!

I did manage to get some scrapbooking done this weekend. I really hope I can get this book done before the wedding! A little over 4 months to go!! :)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T15:39:00.002-06:00

Since Derek and I are on a strict budget, we decided to just hang out at a friends house for New Years Eve. We hung out with a bunch of Dereks coworkers, who are a lot of fun! We played games and had some drinks. I hadn't drank in a while, so I'm definitely feeling it today. It was a lot of fun though! I cant believe its 2009 already! I have a lot to look forward to this year...and most of all, I'm hoping things will start looking up for my family. 2008 was a year of a lot of ups and downs...including starting a new career, Derek and I getting our own place, the birth of my niece Maralyn, my sister Michelle's wedding, my engagement, going back to school, the loss of my Grandpa, the shop fire and loss of my dads business. I am looking forward to 2009!

The joys of wedding planning...

2008-12-30T21:34:00.003-06:00

I have been very productive the last two days! We have tuxes and flower girl dresses picked out, and flowers as well! I was surprised by how picky Derek was when it came to the tuxes! I guess they gave him too many choices! He wanted them to be different and didnt want to be too "boring" if thats even possible. The flower girl dress is so cute! I cant wait to see the little ones in it. The flowers were probably the most frustrating part. According to the experts, teal isnt a very easy color to work with. They originally wanted me to have all white flowers... umm...white dress, white flowers?! I finally convinced her that I wanted at least a little bit of color, but they are going to be a lot different than what I originally thought I'd have. They will hopefully still look great. Who would've known that choosing flowers would be such a process!!!

Other news.. Derek and I have been looking online at houses for sale in NW Rochester. Just to see what was out there and what to expect for prices in our area. We hadnt found anything that we really liked, until last week. Derek fell in love with a house and had to show me the pictures right away. It was a very nice house and pretty much had everything we were looking for, except the price was quite a bit higher than what I wanted to spend...and...its in Byron. After growing up in a small town, I did not plan to live in a town any smaller than Rochester. I was even thinking about moving to a suburb of the cities at one point. If I ever moved out of Rochester, I just assumed I'd be moving to a bigger city, not a smaller one. Our lease isnt up until the end of July, so we have just been looking online to get an idea. But now Derek wants to live in Byron. Part of me thinks its because he moved so much growing up, that this is the longest he has spent in one town and hes getting bored. Hes even talking about his sons playing sports for small town schools.. this boy has so many dreams!!! There are so many changes happening in my life right now I feel like I can barely keep up! So many decisions to make. Buying a house is a big step. And as easy as it is to keep renting, we're paying almost as much as we would for a house payment, and everyone keeps telling me that now is the time to buy.

Planning a wedding, saving up for a honeymoon, buying a house, going to school...what am I getting myself into!?

Christmas

2008-12-29T09:32:00.004-06:00

I had a great Christmas this year. Even though I had to work Christmas Eve, we were still able to make it to my Grandmas house for a while. Some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were still there, so it was nice to see them. The we went to church, and then back to Rochester since Derek and I had to work in the morning. After work on Christmas day, we went to mom and dads and opened presents, ate some great food, and hung out with the family :) I got a lot of great stuff this year...a new camera, dvds, a bunch of books, clothes, scrapbook stuff, etc. It was Mara's first Christmas this year, and she was so cute opening her gifts and playing with her toys. I was amazed that she stayed awake so long and was happy the entire time. Such a cute little girl!

I missed out on the McNamara Christmas this year since I had to work, but I was thrilled to get a 12 hour EA (excused absence) on Sunday! The hospital census is very low, so there werent enough patients for all of the nurses, so some of us were able to have the day off! That meant I was able to watch the Vikings game! Derek had invited a lot of his friends over for the game, and he failed to mention that to me until I told him I was going to have the day off!! Typical guy. We had a lot of fun though, and the Vikings won! After the game, the guys played some guitar hero, and then later that evening Derek and I went to see Four Christmases! Such a good movie! We'd been wanting to see it since it came out. Yesterday was a great day! :)

Now today I'm hoping to get wedding stuff organized and maybe pick out flowers. I'm clueless when it comes to this stuff so I have a feeling I'll be giving my sisters a call at some point! ;) I know I want lilies and daisies, but I'm unsure what colors to choose. And I'm having a hard time finding anything that matches my bridesmaid dresses...apparently teal isnt a very common color for wedding decorations!! I'm off work now until Friday, so I'm hoping to get a bunch of stuff done this week. And I need to pick up my dress, order flowergirl dresses, and choose a veil as well! So much for a relaxing week off! ;)

Is it spring yet?!

2008-12-21T01:57:00.003-06:00

It's pretty sad that I'm not really looking forward to Christmas as much this year... not because I dont love this time of year, but because I have to work during the majority of it. BOO. I work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I miss my moms family Christmas, and I also work 12 hour day shifts on the weekend, so I miss the McNamara side too. Luckily, my family decided to have our immediate family Christmas on the 25th after I get off work, otherwise I'd be pretty depressed this year I think! Derek works day shifts on Christmas too, so at least we'll be able to see each other. It wouldnt be so bad if I had missed out last year too when we went to Missouri to spend the holidays with Derek's family. At least there will be snow this year! There wasnt any snow in Missouri and it was warm out! Didnt feel like Christmas at all! (until we had to stay a couple days later because of the blizzards back home!)

I decided to finish my Christmas shopping after work Saturday morning since the mall opened at 8am. I was hoping to beat the snow, but I didnt. The snow was blowing everywhere and I almost got rear-ended on the highway because you couldnt see the person in front of you. This is exactly why I hate winter. I had one more gift to buy, but at the time I just wanted to make it home! Needless to say, I havent left the house since!

Snow, snow, go away!

2008-12-19T01:26:00.003-06:00

I'm finally feeling better! :) I luckily only missed two nights of work, even though I've been sick since last weekend. I'm a little nervous about being at work overnight tonight with all of the snow we are supposed to get. I'm hoping I dont get snowed in! Some of the nurses said that a couple of years ago, the weather was so bad that none of the day shift people could come in, and the night nurses had to stay overtime and have twice as many people as we are usually allowed to have. YIKES. It sounds like we may only get 5 inches or so, which is better than the 6-10 inches they were talking about earlier. Sounds like the worst of it is supposed to come this weekend..when I'm supposed to be Christmas shopping! ugh. As long as we have snow for Christmas, I'm happy. It can all go away after that. I HATE snow, and I especially hate driving in it. Derek and I dont have very reliable cars for the winter either, so I avoid winter driving as much as possible. He really wants to get a truck, (along with the huge house, hot tub, and pool that he dreams of! ;) Ha! He apparently thinks we're made of money all of a sudden. A boy can dream though I suppose!

I'm getting really excited about our honeymoon now that the weather is so crappy here! Sounds like we may be going to Mexico. I have never really been anywhere fun, other than California to visit Danielle over a spring break one year. So I'm definitely looking forward to it. We've been looking a lot and have found some decent priced honeymoon packages. I let Derek be in charge of the honeymoon. I get to do all of the other wedding stuff, so thats pretty much his only job. We both really wanted to go to Hawaii, but we're obviously not made of money, so we cant quite afford that right now. We are definitely going somewhere with a lot of beaches and blue skies though! :)

Since I've been doing the Biggest Loser at work, I've lost about 5 pounds. About 1lb a week. Not too bad. Better than gaining a few pounds a week like I have been doing! Some of my coworkers have been losing 4-6 pounds a week! These are the people that can spend 2 hours at the gym everyday. I'm a bit on the lazy side! :) My original goal was to be down 20 by our wedding, but I'd be happy with 15. We'll see! My dress came in this week, so I'm excited to go in and try it on! :)

Blah

2008-12-15T20:25:00.004-06:00

Yep, still sick. I was supposed to work tonight, but I had to call in. Derek's friend Andrew from Sandstone is in town for the night, and while they're in Owatonna with some of our other friends having some drinks and playin games, I'm stuck at home. Grr. When am I going to start feeling better? This is getting old really fast...

Nothing else exciting to write about. Workin on finishing another book..since theres nothing else to do when you're stuck on the couch all day!

On a happier note, the Vikings kicked ass yesterday! That cheered me up fast! Apparently they struggle to beat the bad teams but sweep the good teams! How does that work?!

Sick

2008-12-13T21:26:00.002-06:00

I have spent the entire day on the couch today... I worked overnight last night, even though I didnt feel very well. It was too late to call in, so I didnt have much of a choice. I came home and slept this morning and Derek and I have been watching movies, and are having a Friends marathon now. He takes good care of me when I'm sick :) My throat is so sore and I just feel achy. I hope I'm not getting the crud that everyone at work has had...yikes.

I was supposed to go to Heathers today to make Christmas cookies with a few girls we went to high school with, but I had to stay home. I'm hoping I feel better tomorrow so I can get something done before my long week of work. We were planning to go to Whistle Binkies tomorrow to watch the Vikings game with a bunch of guys Derek works with. Looks like I may be watching the game on my couch! Oh well.

Books

2008-12-12T08:36:00.004-06:00

Well my dreaded final is over! Such a relief! I think I did pretty well, but I wont know for sure until Sunday. One class down, and only 8 more to go before I have another degree! Woo hoo.

After sleeping for most of the day on Wednesday, it was no surprise that I was unable to sleep last night. I didnt feel the best, and tossing and turning was getting me nowhere, so I thought I'd read...reading has always put me to sleep in the past, so I was sure I'd be asleep in no time! I started reading a book that I was borrowing from my sister, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I've read two other books by her and loved them, and so far this book isnt any different! I started reading in attempt to fall asleep, and its now 8:45 am and I'm still awake! Yes, I'm a very slow reader so most of you would probably have the book finished by now, but I'm not quite done yet. I am amazed that I havent been able to put it down since 4 am! And I will be even more amazed when I'm able to read the entire book today! My sisters would be impressed ;) I really havent really read much other than nursing textbooks and lately its been art history books! (BORING!) Now that I'm done with classes for a few weeks, maybe I'll get the other one read that I borrowed from Katie as well! Haha!

busy week

2008-12-11T09:04:00.006-06:00

Hmm, where to start?

After my long weekend at work, I had been planning to visit mom and dad on Monday and see the damage of the fire for myself. Unfortunately we got a ton of snow and the roads were nasty so we stayed home. Finally, on Tuesday Derek and I were able to go home. The pictures on the news and in the paper did not do it justice. Wow is all I can say. Dad was super busy running errands that day and said another day would be better, but since I was going to be in town meeting with our wedding photographer anyway, I had to at least stop and see the damage. Dad was outside blowing snow and came to my car as soon as we pulled into the driveway. I immediately gave him a huge hug and he shed a few tears and then reassured me that everything was going to be okay and we'd get through this. I was so happy to see him in positive spirits. I didnt know what to expect when I saw him, but I guess he had had plenty of time to think about everything so it was finally time to move forward. I love my dad so much, and I've only seen him cry twice in my life, so it was hard to see tears, but he told me he was happy we came over. Its so great that Derek has an interest in some of the same stuff as my dad, so they had a lot to talk about. And Derek really wants to help build the new shop when the time comes, since he used to work in construction and loves that kind of stuff.

Dad went on to fill me in on all of the insurance stuff and seemed very happy and surprised by the amount of money he should be getting back. It sucks that its going to take weeks before he gets the answers he needs, but he has a positive attitude about the whole thing, which makes me feel a lot better about it. Its hard to really understand the damage until you see it for yourself. But more than anything, I wanted to be there for my dad, since I'm one of the few people that hadnt had a chance to stop over since it had happened. As we were leaving, Troy, one of his good friends, stopped over and gave him a hug. I'm so happy everyone has been so supportive of dad. :)

My work schedule is crazy this week, so I havent had time to study for my final yet, which is TONIGHT. Yikes. I worked a day shift yesterday after working overnight last weekend, and I was so exhausted that I came home and took a nap after work, and meant to only sleep for an hour so I could get stuff done, and ended up sleeping until this morning!!! Holy crap! Of course Derek took a nap with me and he turned the alarm off, so we both got like 14 hours of sleep! I didnt think that was possible! So now I'm hoping to get a lot of studying done today. My work Christmas party is tonight too, I'll miss the food, but I might get there just in time for drinks and karaoke. Then I'm back to a night shift on Friday. Not sure how I managed to get scheduled 2 different shifts over 3 days, but I guess I should be used to craziness by now!

I should go get some studying done I suppose...wish me luck! ;)

A huge loss

2008-12-05T19:04:00.003-06:00

Today was a rough day. My dad's shed burned down last night and he lost everything. It's really sad because he worked so hard to save money for that shed and he was really proud of it. Not to mention its his business and now his job is gone. :( My dad is by far one of the hardest workers I know. And some nights he stays out late in the evening just to get everything done. Luckily he wasnt in the shed at the time. I'm happy that no one was hurt, and I hope to God that this wasn't an intentional fire. I was so shocked when I heard the news. I feel so bad for my dad :( Why do bad things have to keep happening?

Derek's grandma also had a stroke last night. She seems to be okay and was released from the hospital today. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and it will all have been a dream.

Now I have to work tonight and all weekend...and thats the last thing I want to do. I guess I just need to be thankful that I have a job...

Busy, Busy

2008-12-04T12:09:00.003-06:00

Aw, I just love her! :) Mara is my first niece, & I am also her godmother! :) These pictures were taken a while ago, but are some of my favorites! She is such a cutie!

The past couple of days have been busy, to say the least. I hate that it feels like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done! I was so exhausted after working overnight on Tuesday, that I slept most of the day yesterday. The fact that it gets dark at 5 pm definitely doesnt help anything. I have two classes left until the end of the trimester, so you know what that means...its almost final time. I'm trying to stay focused, but art history is by far the most boring class I have ever had to take! I cant wait until its over!

Derek is working today and its my day off, so I'm trying to be productive. So far I've done a little bit of studying, but I get easily distracted by the computer!

We are doing the biggest loser competition at work, and so far I'm doing okay. I was pretty shocked that I've gained almost 20 pounds since I met Derek, so I figured I better do something about it. I'm afraid I wont fit in my wedding dress if I keep this up. I have a very bad habit of eating when Im stressed...and with everything I have going on right now, I find myself eating whatever is convenient. I tell you, living with a boy doesnt help the whole dieting situation. Lets just say Derek isnt the healthiest eater...and before I lived with him I didnt buy much junk food, and now it's always around. Its quite frustrating! We've been getting better at cooking the last couple of weeks, but it's pretty lucky if we're able to eat meals together since our schedules are so different.

I better go get some studying done...I have class tonight and then work 12 hour overnights this weekend. Blah.

The beginning of something new

2008-12-02T04:11:00.000-06:00

Hello! It's been a LONG time since I've had a blog, but thought I'd start up again! It's hard to believe I'm actually finding time to do this with everything I have going on, but I'll try to keep up with it!

My life is pretty crazy right now. Derek proposed to me in June, so I've been busy with all of the wedding planning, and I'm learning very quickly that weddings are not cheap! Along with the wedding planning, I'm working full time as a registered nurse on a monitored cardiac surgery floor. I love my job, and although it can be very busy at times, I know that I have the perfect career for me. My coworkers are great, which definitely helps! :) It's hard to believe I've been a nurse since February already! Time sure does fly by!

Also, for those of you who havent heard (if you've seen my facebook or myspace site, it would be extremely difficult for you not to know!) I became an Auntie for the first time this April! Maralyn Elizabeth Booth is by far the happiest baby I have ever met! Not to mention the CUTEST! ;) I never knew how great it would be to be an aunt! I absolutely love it! It's so fun to watch Mara grow up, and its hard to believe she is 7 months old already! I'll post pictures of her later! As if I didnt want to be a mommy enough already, she definitely makes me even more excited to have my own little one someday :)

Other than that, I'm also back in school. Yippee! I decided I better just get it over with! I currently have my 2-year nursing degree, so I'm finishing my bachelors degree now. I figured since Mayo is paying for it, I cant really pass it up! Plus, if I ever wanted to work anywhere else, it's definitely a plus to have a 4-year degree. I apparently really enjoy being super busy all of the time. My days off of work are rarely relaxing, since I have a million other things I need to be doing! Oh well, keeps me out of trouble I guess! ;)

Besides the craziness, I cant really complain. I never dreamed I'd be where I am at 23 years old. I found the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, I have a career that has a million possibilities, and pretty much guarantees me a job for life, and I have the best family and friends a girl could ask for. I am so blessed.