Christmas Hangover

Christmas was really great this year, 4 straight days of family and feasting. I have been spending the last couple of days trying to recover from all of the commotion. All of that excitement can sure wear a person out.... plus you can only eat so many cookies before you start to feel like butter and sugar are coursing through your veins.

Here are a few of the highlights...

The 23rd was my Birthday... 27 years young. I was treated to breakfast, got a foot rub and new knitting and crocheting tools from my hubby (there is a baby blanket already in the works). That evening we went to mom and dad Call's for the famous candle light dinner.

I say famous because this is where Chuck and I started our magical life together last year. So it is really special to us. Plus the food my mother in law makes is always incredible. Prime rib, shrimp, green beans, potatoes, crescent rolls, and delicious salads... I felt like royalty.

Plus my in-laws have this great tradition that when it is someones birthday everyone in the family tells that person why they like them. So everyone went around the table and gave me a compliment... so nice to be loved, and I always feel like having family around is all one could really ask for on their Birthday.

But as if that wasn't enough... I got a Pampered Chef garlic press (There is no substitute!)

Then we were all treated to Chuck and his brother Dan's annual wrestling match. I believe Chuck has kicked Dan's trash countless years in a row.

Yet it appeared this year Dan would triumph when he put Chuck in this little maneuver.
(don't you love the matching PJ bottom's mom Call made for them!?)

However Chuck unleashed the beast, got his head out from between Dans thighs and tackled him to the ground. I really wish I had audio to go with this picture because Chuck was screaming and grunting something but I was laughing too hard to remember what it was.

So for another year Chuck remains triumphant.

Jason and Chuck played Christmas songs for all of us to sing along to... and we made some beautiful harmonies together.

I learned how to finish a quilt.

And I got to see Toni! My also very pregnant sister in law. Her and Dan live in Idaho and we haven't seen them since our wedding in May. We are due only a few weeks apart, and are looking forward to our babies being really close in age, and hopefully great friends.

We spent Christmas day with my side of the family... but I was busy in the kitchen and didn't take any pictures (bummer). My sister came into town and it was great to see her. We celebrated her 29th birthday on December 26th by playing Rock band at my brother's house. Good times.

Hope all of you in Blogger land had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas is almost here...

I hope you were good this year!

This is my brother in law Parker... Chuck and I went to the Macy's display on the 8th floor of Macy's downtown with him last week. It was an anamatronic presentation of "The Day in the Life of an Elf." It was cute and Santa Claus was at the end along with the gift shop and a bunch of ther treats that you could buy.

I remembered going when I was little and thinking it was so amazing, I still thought it was cool but more enjoyed the 8 floor escalator ride and trying out all the matresses on the 5th floor on the way back down.

This will probably be my last post for a couple of weeks... I have familiy in town and I plan on soaking up all the time with them that I can.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We ate the Cake

That is the little topper of our wedding cake. It has been chillin in my parents meat locker freezer out in the garage since May. I know there is this tradition where you wait until your one year anniversary to eat it. But... when I checked on it the other day it was starting to get the freezer crystals on the side. In fear of freezer burn flavor ruining our precious treat... and due to my sweet tooth we thawed it out and went to town. Mmmmm it was good. Neither of us really got to eat any at our reception... My mom sure did a good job of picking it out. Surprisingly Chuck ate more than me (which can often be hard to do).

SO happy almost 7 month anniversary cake eating day to us!

A lot has happend in 7 short months... and just to prove it here is a pic of the belly for all of the pregnant belly stalkers out there.

25 weeks down

What a GRAND day.

The job interview went great! We got the property management position and a 2 bedroom apartment that is huge! Baby girl is going to have quite the crawl space. It is on Grand Ave, which is such a great part of the city.

The man who interviewed us asked about the missionary service that we had put on our resumes. It turns out he has done a lot of missionary work in his life for various churches. When he told us that we got the job, he said, "The mission got me." I remember people telling me that serving a full time mission would bless my life countless ways and I already feel that it has, yet I never imagined it would catch the eye of an employer looking for a couple to manage his apartment complex...

There are a lot of little things that all fell into place to help this work out. We feel like God has pointed us is a new direction and we are excited to move forward.

We get to move in a little at a time throughout this month (without having to pay double rent). SO the move will be completely stress free. I am excited to finally get to use all of our wedding gifts that have been packed away in my parents shed because we had no room for them here. I kind of want to wrap them all again and put them under the Christmas tree!!! This just feels like a Christmas miracle... plus it's snowing outside today :)

One and a half to go

Only one and a half weeks left of the semester (before finals that is)... and it's a good thing because I literally only have one and a half inches left between my baby belly and the desks at school.

Good news

Chuck and I have a job interview on Tuesday.

We have been interviewing together for apartment management/caretaking positions

I like having job interviews with my husband (go team!)

If we get this job (oh please oh please of pretty please)

We will get to live in a

2 BEDROOM apartment

with

CARPET

and

5 CLOSETS

and... oh could it even be true?!?!?!?!?!?

A DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!!

I feel like this opportunity came straight from heaven. I have been praying really hard that we would find somewhere that we could afford (first and foremost), and kept us in the area, and was a wonderful place to bring home a new baby. We will see how it goes on Tuesday, but I have a feeling this is going to be the best Christmas present I ever could have hoped for.

Dear Ramsey County Human Services Department-

Thanks for accepting my application for Health Care, there is no way my husband and I could afford having a baby without government assistance. I was just wondering however if it might be possible not to mail me hundreds of forms that are confusing and only have two sentences on them. I feel like a small portion of some distant serene rain forest has been torn down in order to provide enough paper to send me all of these forms. I just know President Obama really wants our country to be more "green" so maybe you could just e-mail me or something... or even better, just call me! My phone number should be readily available on forms 1 through 678. Yet I am starting to think that my case worker is actually a robot... so I understand if the current technology does not allow these machines to have actual conversations with human beings.


Also I was quite surprised to find out that my policy "does not cover anything Natural" (as stated by the kind worker on the telephone). I thought I would be saving you all some money by having a natural birth... I mean no $1,000.00 epidural, machines, or surgeon fees for a C-section. When I suggested to the nice insurance lady that my natural birthing class at a mere $230.00 would potentially save you all $770.00 she informed me that my "opinion" doesn't determine coverage. I would be most appreciative if you would reconsider covering my Hypnobirthing class. You know Christmas is coming up and my birthday is also on December 23rd.... it could be my present. I figure the hospital would also greatly benefit from one less screaming woman in labor, I will be peacefully in a deep state of relaxation from the breathing exercises I will learn during the class and be able to birth pain free (without yelling at all the nursing staff).

I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining, just trying to help... it seems like there might be a efficient way of doing things down there. I hope you get it figured out! Happy Holidays.

Sincerely,
Tacy Marie

I am most THANKFUL for...

My rock throwin'

Leg up sleepin'

Wife dippin'

Floor moppin'

Soul singin'

Husband

This year I am most THANKFUL for Chuck

(my multi-talented baby's daddy)

The Plight of Minnesota Mom's to be

Picture by Trevor Morris

I have always loved the changing seasons of Minnesota.

The sleet storms of spring,

The humidity of summer,

The beautiful changing leaves and cool breezes of Fall,

And winter with it's 30 below freeze your breath days.

(Can you guess what my favorite season is?)

Yet, as wonderful as it is for Mother nature to keep things interesting, I find myself running out of room to put my ever changing wardrobe. I think our storage shed (which is tiny) is overflowing now with plastic bins of skirts, tops and Capri's that wont make an appearance until next summer.

Then you add a pregnancy to it all, which ends up being like 3 different sets of clothes in and of itself...

• The "Oh cute I'm showing" set
• The "I can't squeeze my butt into anything anymore" set
• and of course (Soon to come) The "I'm gonna pop" set

Who has money to buy clothes to keep up with it all?

My saving grace has been some ANGELIC ladies who have given me all their preggo hand me downs. I am so grateful that people are so willing to share, and I figure what I get I will share when my baby days are done.

I can remember when I was younger I hated hand me downs... I always wanted new stuff. These days I feel like kissing the ground and thanking the heavens every time I someone gives me their used stuff (I don't even care what it is!!!)

It makes me want to be more generous to others

and reminds me of the old pioneer saying,

"Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"

The hamburger sign says no turtles here

This is my attempt to show you an ultrasound pic. It is extra blurry because I took a picture of an already blurry picture (Alison! I don't have a scanner either!!).

Meet baby Call who enjoys...

• Chillin in the breech position
• striking a pose Madonna style (had hand up by face for almost every shot)
• snuggling with placentas
• Livin in-utero
• Flashin the hamburger sign... which, for all of you who are familiar with Ultra-Sound lingo, means that baby Call

IS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

So much for maternal instinct. I was SURE it was a boy,

But The hamburger sign says no turtles here.

Do you think we could come up with some other terms for recognizing the female anatomy on an ultra sound. I mean there are many things we could compare it to... but a hamburger?!?!?

Maybe this will be the awkward conversation that I bring up sex education with my child... "Well you see honey boys have turtles and little girls have hamburgers"

Or not

Lucky Chuck

Two incredible women to Love

ACP Foundation: Health Literacy

In light of my finishing my Medical Terminology course, I thought I would share with you this little video I saw during the semester. It was really eye opening to me... we had a group discussion in class about possible solutions and reasons this problem is increasing. Sure makes you think.

Thank you Quick and Easy Medical Terminology

Last night I finished one of my classes for the semester! It was a self study course that you could do at your own pace. I decided to crank out my last two exams and quiz last night after a day of studying. The course was on Medical Terminology and taught the Greek and Latin roots of words that help you to understand medical terms in a quick and easy way (oh how convenient!).

I do feel very well versed in the medical terms which I think is important for anyone to know... I mean how frustrating is it to go to the doctor if you don't understand what they are talking about. However the main thing I took away from this class was a list of diseases and disorders I am glad that I don't have and hope to never contract in my life. Here are just a few, in no particular order:

• Kyphosis- A condition commonly known as humpback or hunchback


• Dysphagia- Inability to swallow or difficulty swallowing.


• Trichosis- Abnormal condition of hair growth, including baldness or excessive hair growth in an unusual place


• Exophthalmos- Protrusion of the eyeballs

And here are a few self diagnosis of my current health condition:

• Polyuria - Excessive urination... especially in the middle of the night.


• Polyphagia- Excessive hunger and uncontrolled eating


• Cephalalgia- Headache


• Narcolepsy- Sudden attacks of sleep that occur at internals

The above was not meant to be a complaint... I am quite enjoying my pregnancy these days. Feeling the baby move is really exciting and makes everything else seem like no big deal.

Candid

These are my siblings. It was my Brother Ben's birthday on the 17th.
I love this photo because it's not phony... I feel like it captures a lot about each one of our personalities (note the spoon of ice cream in my hand).

Candid photo's are the best
and
I love my family

Photo credit: The handsome and always charming Charles H. Call

Stretchy Pants

Viva La Stretchy Pants

Chuck took me maternity clothes shopping a few days back. Two pairs of "secret fit belly pants" a sweater, a pair of tights and two long sleeved shirts.

Not much when you consider it's pretty much my entire wardrobe now... although I continue to stretch out many old shirts and wear unbuttoned pants with the BellaBand now and again.

I have realized the power of clothes that actually fit. It's really liberating to not feel like your circulation is being cut off by your pants... or that your shirt might roll up and expose your midsection or top of your bum. Consequently I find myself moving around a lot more this week... I went for a great power walk with a pregnant neighbor and am trying to exercise a little bit each day.

We scheduled our first Ultra Sound for November 8th... so in about a month we will be able to find out the sex of the baby and see what's going on in this belly of mine!!!! We predict a boy... but are not counting all of our chickens before they hatch.

Lots to look forward to...

No nUtZ in here!!!

I don't know if I have mentioned this previously or not, but the squirrels that live around my apartment complex are on crack.

Usually on a weekly basis I catch one doing something ridiculous, and I always wish I had a camera to show people... because it is kind of unbelievable.

I have seen squirrels eating hot pockets, hot dogs, bagels and just about anything else they can find in the garbage. I have seen them sitting on my bike seat... all proper like they are going to ride away on it. They climb in and out of people's storage bins, mess with their out-door furniture and dig up people's gardens.

Most often however they are climbing on the screens of my windows, it's like they are spying on me (or peeping would be a better way perhaps to describe it). I threw a pencil at this one shortly after I took the photo... he didn't even flinch!!

On a side note I find it interesting that it is common in American culture when someone (or some animal) acts crazy or unusual we jokingly claim "crack" as the culprit. Yet actual crack addiction is far from humorous (see side effects listed below).

• changes in blood pressure, heart rates, and breathing rates
• nausea and vomiting
• anxiety
• convulsions
• insomnia
• loss of appetite leading to malnutrition and weight loss
• cold sweats
• swelling and bleeding of mucous membranes
• restlessness and anxiety
• damage to nasal cavities
• damage to lungs
• possible heart attacks, strokes, or convulsions

Please DO NOT use crack!

Thank you.

Depends on how you look at it (Week 14 on Planet Pregnancy)

You might think this is a picture of the marshmallow statues on top of the mighty black mountain. Yet those are just my little feet peeking out from under my growing belly.

I wanted to show you all my pregnancy bump.

Yet these first two photo's more capture the way it FEELS to be expanding, and not necessarily what it appears like to all of ya'll.

Sometimes I just feel like I'm blowing up like Violet Beauregard from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory... Only I wont have to be sent to the juice room for squeezing, more like the delivery room for pushing:)

Yet from the side, it's not all that big yet... I have a long way to go, and lots more growing to do.

I have always loved seeing other ladies pregnant bellies, I think they are cute. It is just interesting when it's your own, because at times it can be a little uncomfortable. I am sure it will be different when I buy some maternity clothes, right now I am wearing all my regular clothes... stretched, unbuttoned, and tight.

Bring on the stretchy Pants!

Don't mess with stress

So I have realized over the last two weeks that my classes at school require a great deal of my time and effort. I am sure those of you who have ever had to read over 100 pages in a text book at a time can understand what I am talking about. I have felt like a crazy person these last two weeks trying to get everything done on top of work, church, family, dishes, laundry, exercise (which usually is the first thing to go these days), pregnant lady naps (CRITICAL to survival), cooking, eating, sleeping, spending time with Chuck...

Those were listed in no particular order... we all know Chuck is much higher on that list:)

I am sure many would say, ya that's just life... busy busy busy. Well I decided I didn't want to live my life without being able to stop and smell the roses when I wanted... Or paint my toenails when they get all chipped, or go on dates, or get to read my new book on hypno-birthing, or be able to go to the doctor without worrying about sitting in the waiting room for too long, or bake stuff... like bread, and muffins, and cookies, and wow I feel really hungry right now, or WRITE IN MY JOURNAL (something that has really fallen behind these days).... Or blog:), or or or take a long shower or curl my hair!!!

So, I am thinking about quitting my job. Just like that. Somethings are just more important. I mean who needs money anyways... I mean I am a pregnant, newly-wed college student, I think by definition I should be broke. I would hate to go against social norms here.

Plus my neighbor who is in very much the same boat as me but with 3 kids and one on the way gave me some really great advice... "Pray for free stuff."

I don't know quite what I am going to say to the boss man... I'll have to pray for words for that conversation while I am praying for prosperity to knock on my door. I shouldn't have any doubts though, God always seems to come through for me... which reminds me I should tell him thanks for a bunch of stuff today.

So-Long Summer Shibang

F0r all extensive purposes my summer has come to a close. School started this Wednesday for me (and two weeks ago for Chuck), and along with taking a full load of courses (15credits), I am also working part time and growing another human being inside of my own body.... So I guess you could say I'm a bit busy these days.

I was able to wrap up my summer in my favorite way, and that is by eating a lot of deep fried food at the Minnesota State Fair. It was Chuck's first time ever going so it was fun to watch him experience it for the first time... it's kind of a big deal. We were able to go with our new friends from church... Diana and Matt (they bought us tickets... that sure was sweet of them!!!)

On the State Fair Menu this year...





Deep Fried Australian Battered Potatoes smothered in a delectable nacho cheese sauce and ranch dressing. You could barely taste the potato... it was like a hot batter patty, which you can't even see because there is so much sauce on it. (This is a nutritionists nightmare!!!!)

This is the "Super Dog" named after the fact that it is SUPER huge (3 hot dogs in length), SUPER delicious, and when you are done you are SUPER full.

Chuck and I just went for the Pronto Pup... battered and fried before our very eyes. I have read that you shouldn't eat hot dogs when you are pregnant... Oooops, guilty as charged.

And what trip to the state fair would be complete without a bucket of hot fresh cookies to share and all you can drink milk.

We also had corn, and best soft serve ice cream in the world in the building where the butter head sculptures are.

We also took part in some of the other fair festivities... who can resist sticking their heads in these things. Chuck looks pretty devious with that chain saw.

I made a goal this semester to only blog once a week... I got to focus on my studies ya know. Hopefully this semester will prove to be eventful and full of wonderful new things to learn. Talk to you next week.

Sure don't take much...

To make me happy. This morning I found a version of the song Corinna that I have been looking for for a long time. My old roommate Megan and I used to listen to this over and over again in her black blazer. Especially when we went to parties or get togethers that we thought were lame-O we would get back in the blazer and sing that song at the top of our lungs and just laugh. Because a couple of "White Chicks" trying to sing a black soulful song is humorous.

So push play on the playlist and enjoy... I am going to be jamming out today while I do the mountain of dishes that seemed to appear overnight. I threw some other jammy tunes on there for your listening pleasure.

Ps. I am a project playlist junkie.

Yum Yum Yum

Can you tell that I am home by myself right now? Not that I don't make bagel goggles and take pictures of myself when Chuck is home (ok, yea I don't do that). Well Chuck if you were wondering how I entertained myself while you were at school... there ya go.

I just wanted ya'll to know that I have shaken the pregnancy nauseousness and it has been replaced with an incredible desire to eat lots of bagels with cream cheese.... Mmmmm Cream Cheese, you are so soft and delicious. I just want to eat cream cheese wantons... spread it all over crackers... eat it plain. Oh it doesn't even matter how you serve it... give me a cream cheese slip and slide in my front yard!!!

I feel like my old self again just with new and exciting food desires. LOL I have also been eating tater tots, RANCH dressing (which is VERY unlike me)... Gravy... oh baby. I can't help it, the baby wants it :) If you are my mother and suddenly concerned that I might not be getting proper nutrition please sit down and relax... I eat fruits and veggies too.

Feels great to be cooking and eating my normal horse sized portions... And to all the sick pregnant ladies in the world (especially you Toni) hang in there!!! You are my hero's.

Gettin a belly...

Sorry no picture, it is not big enough to document with a photo. I haven't had a belly since I was on my mission (too many desserts!!) This belly is much for fun because there is something incredible inside.... I can't stop looking at it and touching it. I wish my belly was see through so that I could witness what is going on in there. Actually that might be kind of nasty with my nausea... scratch the see through belly idea.

My baby is currently about the size of a strawberry, pretty remarkable that something so small can cause so many changes in the physical, mental, and emotional state a a person. Ahhhhh the miracle of birth. I am 8 weeks or so along, I have yet to go to the doctor, but am trying to pick one at the moment, anyone from the twin cities have any suggestions?

Seinfeld - The Serenity Now

I am sure many of you have seen this classic Seinfeld episode before. It really reminds me of the lesson that I have learned this last week... namely that sometimes you just have to let your emotions out. Even if you are ticked, frustrated, sad... you get the point. I am learning to ride the pregnancy emotional swings instead of fighting them. I am told I will be a much happier and cheerful pregnant person in a few weeks. Till then... you will probably want to stay on my good side:)

Planet Pregnancy

I have embarked on a new journey... many have traveled this way before but for me it is extremely uncharted territory. With Chuck by my side we are setting off for the land of parenthood...

We are going to have a baby!!!!

And as such life as we have known it before this point shall never be the same. It has been an interesting experience thus far to say the least. Many of you may not be familiar with the process but in order to have a baby you have to enter a new world or dimension... it looks a lot like earth only with a few notable differences...

Everything stinks... and nothing tastes good.

I have found that on planet pregnancy nausea is a normal state of being, that oatmeal sometimes makes you cry, falling asleep at all hours of the day is required, and usually highlighted with crazy wacked-out dreams.

Ahhhh YES!! I am pregnant, and I guess I was a little fuzzy on the details before I got to this point. I love how happy everyone is for me... I keep trying to be really excited about it too. However I spend most of my day saying, "don't throw up... don't throw up... don't smell that... don't think about yogurt..."

I am trying to not dwell so much in my current state and to envision myself in nine months... when a smiling nurse walks over to Chuck and I and hands us our new little bundle of joy. Sounds like a beautiful little scene... but I really don't have a frame of reference for it. I just can't even really imagine what that will feel like. I hear from mothers all over that it is the most incredible experience...

But right now I am going to need someone to hold the baby of my dreams... I am not feeling so hot.

Five weeks down... I shall return to earth on March 29th or thereabouts. Wish me luck, maybe I'll send ya'll some postcards while I'm gone.

ps. Thanks Chuck... for EVERYTHING.

Mental note... always take notes, but not just mentally.

So I invented something brilliant the other day. I mean absolutely genius... I was just at home and it popped into my head and I thought, "I can't believe no one has thought of this yet!!!"

And then I stared doing something else and quit thinking about it... and didn't write it down and now for the life of me I can not remember what in the world it was that I invented. BLASTED!!!!!

This post really isn't supposed to be a joke, I need someway to go back in time... or retrace my mental steps. Let this be a lesson to all of us that "Mental notes" should not be used as your only source of documentation. I should have learned this the countless times I have been to the grocery store and forgot the sole reason I went there in the first place... I mean sometimes I (and I know many of you) can't even walk into another room without wondering what in the world I am doing there.

Photoshop... making dreams come true, one edited photo at a time.

A couple of nights ago Chuck had a steamy fantasy that he was on stage with the Red Hot Chili Peppers doing a dueling base solo with Flea (the guy with his hand on Chuck's shoulder). I say steamy because Chuck woke up sweating it was so realistic and vivid to him. He then proceeded to crank the air conditioning up full blast to cool down his rocking self down.

I was in the dream too... out in the crown ticked off because I thought some girl was trying to put the moves on my husband!!! (Don't mess with my man!) And his family was in the crowd cheering him on.

I really wish I could make all of Chuck's dreams come true... but I had no idea how I would get a hold of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so I had Christy Photo Shop this picture for me instead. And I realized that I am glad that I don't have Photo Shop because I would never leave my house.... sitting at home trying to make funny pictures.

Love you Chuck... you will always be a rock star to me:)

Tripple B

Bass

I think this is my favorite picture of the summer!!! I mean the kids were having the greatest time fishing.... until the fish actually entered the boat. Their faces are priceless.

Me in an over sized hooded sweatshirt holding a bass and Chuck with his eyes closed.




I felt bad for not posting pictures of the bass that I caught a few weekends ago... just wanted to give proof to all the non-believers that I was a bass fisher woman.



Butterflies
I had a chance yesterday to join a friend at the Como Zoo with her cute little girls. They have this amazing butterfly pavilion you walk into and butterflies are everywhere and they land on you and flutter around. It is kind of like this parallel universe where everything is happy and magical and no wrong can take place... until you find the dead squished butterflies that people accidentally stepped on.... it is like a reality check. But I also got to ride the carousel and I got kind of emotional about how pure and innocent little kids are... we should look at the world through their eyes more often.

I bet you thought from this picture that the third B - word was going to be biceps!!! But it's not it's....

BOOK

I started reading this book this week by Michael Pollan and it is changing my life... I think he is a brilliant writer and gives great insight into the food we eat as Americans. Chuck and I have been having long and deep discussions about the chapters that I read. I am going to write more of a summary about it when I am done. But until that time I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in Nutrition and the food that we eat. It is a must read!!!!

Got a job

I start on Monday. It has been almost a year since I have been in the working world... it will be interesting to return. I am going to be working for a health care clinic that aids patients in weight loss. I will be the secretary to two dietitians and a physician... pretty cool huh. I figure it will be a great way to network and get some real life nutrition experience.


Time to break out the old business outfits... Ooooo I get to ride the bus and wear my heels again too!

Faux Deer Faux pas

I am not sure exactly what it is about seeing a deer on the side of the road that makes me want to alert anyone within five feet of me. Which is kind of funny because this is Minnesota and there are deer all over the place... but I just can't resist yelling, "Oh look a deer... right there, did you see that?"

So the other day I was driving in downtown St. Paul with my friend Kristy when there smack in the middle of some one's fenced-in yard was a little deer. I was so excited... "Kristy look at that...." But then as I looked a little closer I realized IT WAS A FAKE DEER. I really felt cheated... and I sat there wondering what is the mind frame of people who buy fake deer to put next to their gardens. I looked at a few websites where you can buy them... would you believe that there are people who exist who will spend over $900.00 for fake deer. If you don't believe me see for yourself.

Lawn Ornaments

White Tail Deer (over $1,000)!!!!

Or if you like a little bit more exotic animals... how about dropping $14,000

I mean do you find joy in tricking people into thinking that your yard is some sort of animal sanctuary... do you find pleasure in pretending that a hunk of plastic is gracing you with it's presence each day. I want answers... and I want to know who these people are. Mostly because I am looking for a summer job and I figure if you are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars to look at a fake deer, maybe you could pay me money to take you to see some real ones. I will be excepting cash or credit... NO CHECKS!

A Delicious Bass

This weekend Chuck and I got to spend our time with his sister Katie and her family. I loved being there... they are the greatest people. I am still amazed that we are family, what a happy thought. The coolest thing about it is that I am an Auntie now. I am sure many of you out there already have bundles of nieces and nephews... but these are my first ones. I have never really spent much time around kids in my life.

How grateful I am for these kids... they bring me mass amounts of joy, and I am happy they warmed up to me so quickly. Bill Cosby was right... they really do say the darnedest things. Life would be really boring without kids... I am super excited to have some of my very own:)


We went fishing, which I haven't done since I was little with my dad... which was never a very fun experience for him because I was so high maintenance when we fished. Dad! you would have been so proud of me. I got my own fishing pole ready, baited my hooks and took the fish I caught off. Thanks be to my husband who gave me a couple quick lessons and assured me that i was stronger than I think. I had just convinced myself for most of my life that doing those things was scary... not so, it twas a piece of cake.
I am a little disappointed that I do not have the picture to show you of the bass that I caught fishing this weekend. It was the BIGGEST fish I have even caught!!! I will let you imagine how big it was... just picture me holding my arms out showing you the size right now.

In other news I LOVE farmers tans!!!! My husband was lucky enough this summer to achieve the coveted "Neapolitan Tan." After a day of wearing a shirt that was a little bit shorter in the sleeves he was lucky enough to have the brown tan, the red burn and of course the white natural skin color as well. I really don't think my camera adequately captured the colors. Nice work Chuck :)

Ps... I am doing much better with the stick shift... the trick with the clutch is to "Work it" and not "Pop it" I made up a little song about it to assist me when I get frustrated.... it has a nice hip hop beat....if I find someone to beat box for me I will give you a little performance sometime.

Pps. My MOM started a blog... called the Chronicles of Mary (see my blog list for the link). She doesn't have much on there yet, but I am sure she will have many wonderful posts in the near future.

Michael Memories

I am sure that everyone has been hearing a lot the past two days about the passing of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop. It was a big topic of conversation for Chuck and I as we thought back on his musical influence and his life.

I fell in love with Michael Jackson in elementary school with my best friend Krystal Shonka. We loved the song Ben, and The Man in the Mirror. We used to play with our stuffed animals while we jammed out. In high school my girlfriends and I loved to blare Thriller from Angie Craig's truck when we were driving away triumphantly from a football game. Recently the song "Don't stop Till you get enough" has motivated me through a lot of long runs.


Who can forget the Thriller music video, or watching the making of it... so cool. I am sure we have all enjoyed being at a dance and watching people form a circle when Billy Jean came on and then one by one people would walk in the middle to do their best moon walk or foot kick... sometimes someone even broke out the crotch grab with the "Hee Hee!" He can be imitated but he will never be duplicated. I can honestly say that I am really grateful for his contribution... the WORLD will never forget him.

There was definitely no shortage of drama in his life, it makes me sad to think that he lived under such constant public attention and pressure. I can recall many times in my life wondering "what in the world is going on with Michael Jackson?" I will miss hearing about him...

What are your favorite Michael Jackson Memories?

Second Nature

People will tell you that driving a stick shift is "easy" and that is because second nature... I was just wondering how many times on average I will have to stall in the middle of intersections with angry downtown rush hour drivers in 90 degree Minnesota humidity before that happens. My apologies to anyone who was trying to take a left turn from the Harmar parking lot onto Snelling on Tuesday evening... I know you all missed the light, it honestly was not intentional that I didn't get the car into gear until the light turned yellow, sometimes that is just the way things are.

Because I will just tell you that while I find it very funny for the car to violently shake and then stall, I don't think my fellow drivers find it as amusing. Not only do I look ridiculous when I stall the car but I have to talk to myself in order to make sure I am doing everything right...
"Ok, push the clutch... foot on the brake... put it in first.... foot off the brake... and give it gas while you release the clutch (Shake Shake, Stall) Ok... push the clutch... foot on the brake... put it in neutral... start the car.... first gear..." You get the idea:)

So far this has been the greatest adjustment to married life... I have to learn to drive Chuck's car. I don't get why people would want to intentionally give themselves work while they were driving... I like driving automatics because I don't have to think about what gear I am in, where my RPM's are, if the clutch is pushed in far enough... in fact my left foot gets a complete break. I can focus on listening to my music really loud, singing out the window, flying my hand like an airplane out the window and putting on lip gloss in the rear view mirror just like you are supposed to when you drive!

What is really funny about all of this is that when I was in high school I thought that it was cool to have a stick shift, but I did not... so I would PRETEND to be shifting so that people who saw me in my truck thought I was driving a stick.... NERD ALERT. Once again... thanks Chuck for marrying me!!!!!

I have never loved riding my bicycle so much as I do now.

Five hours and two minutes

Well... I ran a marathon. 26.2 miles, five hours and two minutes.

Grandma's Marathon is from Two Harbors Minnesota to Duluth and runs along the shores of Lake Superior. It was incredibly beautiful, but just as it is with life, the PEOPLE that I met and talked to were the most amazing part of it all.

There were over 7,000 people who ran in the race... there was a lot of energy at the starting line, and also a deep sense of respect for what we were all about to experience.

Those of you who have ran marathons before can attest that ALL kinds of people run these races... big, small, young, old, tall, short, muscular, thin... there were people with disabilities, deformities, people with expensive clothes and gear and people who looked like they were wearing rags. Their reasons for running were different, some had a goal of how long it would take them, but many people all said the same thing... "I just want to finish"

That was me, I just wanted to finish and I wanted to enjoy the journey.

And I did.

My family came and waited at the finish... I can not describe to you my joy in seeing them after five hours of running. All of the volunteers and people cheering were great. There were times I felt like breaking down and crying with gratitude for all of the support and camaraderie that I felt along the way.

My face hurt more than my legs from smiling... I think I said thank you a thousand times to each person I saw holding out a cup of water to me, a wet sponge, a cup of ice, an orange slice, sports drinks and gels shots. There were people squirting us with hoses, playing music, beating drums, playing bagpipes, horns, belly dancing, cheer leading, clapping, singing...

I wish I could go back and shake every one's hand, they made the journey beautiful and gave me a reason to keep going. I am so grateful for the talented people in the world who love life and share their talents.

It definitely was a challenge, and I could never have done it without all of the hours of training and support that I received from my husband and family.

When it hurt to bad to run, I walked... but I never stopped. I just thought about my family waiting for me at the end and I wanted to save whatever strength I had so that I could run by them at the end... and I did, I even somehow found the strength to sprint across the finish line.

That's how life is... it's hard to keep a steady pace, sometimes we walk, sometimes we jog and sometimes we run like the wind. We can't go at someone else's pace, we must set our own... know our own limitations and use our strengths.

It's great that there really are people along the path to cheer us on, and help us finish... to endure to the end. There are beautiful rewards awaiting us if we will just hold out and not give up.

I hope we can all reach our goals... we are capable of much more than we even know!!!

I can't wait to run another... who's coming with me?