It's a Big Year for Turning 30!

On November 17th, Joe turned 30! I was hoping to plan a surprise birthday party for him; however, he planned and did the exact thing I was hoping to do for him. So, things had to change, and I had to come up with something different and extraordinary, as his surprise for me was great. So I talked to a couple of people and got some ideas and decided to plan on getting Wild tickets. The venture looking into them, though, was a bit difficult, but in the end I was able to get great Club Level seats for the night of November 20th. I was able to get a good rate at the Hilten Garden Inn in St. Paul that we stayed at for the Rascal Flatts concert in Sept. and it being so close to the Xcel Energy Center, I thought it would be a great place to stay again, so we wouldn't have to worry about driving. I booked it without Joe knowning, and kept everything on the downlow. I told Joe he needed to take Nov. 20-22 off from both jobs so we could do something. He was sketchy about the taking the time off, but he did it anyways! Yeah, it was hard for me not to tell him though. I love but hate surprises and I knew he was going to love this adventure.

Anyways, about two weeks before the game, Joe got an email from the Hilton checking to see if he needed anything for his room on the 20th, the room he had no idea that was booked under his name!!! I almost died! I did so well keeping it from him, and this had to happened. So all I could tell him was "It's a surprise, you'll find out when we get there." Fortunately, he took that answer and ran with it, not asking anything more.

On Friday, the 20th, we left Superior and headed south. When we got to the hotel around 3:30 and got up and went to an early dinner. We talked about maybe going for a walk later in the evening then for drinks. Yeah, that's what we were going to do....we headed out around 6pm for our "walk". I got all bundled up, jacket, hat, gloves. Joe looked at me and asked, "why are you putting so much on for a walk?" My response was, "I get cold," and left it at that. As we were out walking, I was looking around at all the people wearing Wild Jerseys and outfits, I started getting worried Joe was going to pick up on what we were going to be doing, but for some reason he didn't say anything.
As we were walking, there was a little park downtown with a soon to be skating park once it was cold enough. Plus there were little Peanuts characters around, so we stopped to take a couple of pictures. During this time, I gave Joe a card that I didn't get give on his birthday. As he was opening it, his eyes kept getting bigger and a huge grin on his face. I asked, "What is it?" and all he could do was smile and say thank you. Here is his picture with his tickets!!

Here's me, playing around the Peanuts characters before the game!

I was so happy he was surprised and exicted!! I'm not the best person at keeping a surprise but this worked out great! Here's Joe at the arena, all smiles!

This was our 2nd professional hockey game we've been to together, and I don't remember all the fights the first time that happened, but within three minutes of starting the game, there was a huge brawl!!! Blood, punching, everything, it was great!! They actually fought for awhile, I was shocked! All Joe said was, "They do that in professional hockey," something that didn't happen the week before at the UMD hockey game. This was much better! Fast pace and exciting! We took a lot of pictures, but here is one picture of the fav player I was instructed to watch for, Clutterbuck. (I think that's how you spell his name, not sure.) We ended the evening with a drink and a walk back to our hotel. A great evening, all in all.

Anyways, on Saturday, we headed west to Alberville to experience the Outlet Malls. We really didn't need anything, but had a great time at the Under Armour, GAP, Eddie Bauer, and many other stores. We also stopped at Dicks in Bloomington to pick up suits to go swimming, then off to the Cheesecake factory for cheesecake dessert later. We also stopped at REI, and got our christmas present from Joe's parents: a bike trailer hitch for the car. Now we just have to have the hitch actually installed on the vehicle! It's a long story. All in all, it was a great, badly needed time away from everything, weekend. And the surprise turned out perfect. Happy Birthday, Joe!

Alots going on, so I will update soon enough!! Sorry this isn't done but work and school have been consuming my every minute. Soon enough all you interested people!!

Whistlestop Half Marathon Weekend

Well, on October 10th, 2009, Joe, Kelly and I participated in the Whistlestop Half Marathon in Ashland, WI. The morning started off cold, a whole 26 degrees with a wind chill. Seriously, in October it shouldn't be that cold!! Anyways, we jumped in the car, after I scrapped the inch of snow off my car!! It was so cold, I had a hard time really warming up in general. While we were waiting at that start, we stood in the chip shack, with many other runners. Trying to stretch the muscles to get warm wasn't really happening for me. I was freezing. Nothing I did helped to get me warm. Kelly and Joe both looked comfortable, but I wasn't at all. Other than the temperature never making it about 29 degrees that morning, I needed more clothing to put on and I didn't have enough. Plus, I didn't want to wear too much for the run itself, but I should've. I really think part of the reason why I wasn't faster is because I lost/used so much energy waiting trying to get warmer I just didn't have enough for the run itself. Oh well I guess. To top of the waiting, the race ended up starting 10 minutes late. I wasn't really sure what to think of the black ice on the road, but sticking off to the side seemed to be a little easier. After running about 1.5 miles on the road, we took a turn onto the corridor for the majority of the race. It was amazing and gorgeous! At one point on the race track, I was wishing I had a camera with to take a couple of pictures to share with everyone. Anyways, it was a quiet run, but with great spectators, water stations and just in general a great race. Other than having a horrible stitch in my side from .5miles to the end, the run run wasn't bad at all. I only stopped/paused 3 times for water. Way better than how Grandma's went, thats for sure. Then again, there was a 55 degree difference between these two runs!

I am not sure what Kelly's time was, but she finished before the two of us. I finished, with a personal record, of 2hour 24 minutes. Unfortunately for myself, I had been training at a 10minute/mile pace, however, during this run, I think the cold took a toll on me and I wasn't able to maintain the pace I was looking for. Oh well, right? It just means I'll have to run it again next year! And surprisingly, Joe finished at 2hour 26 minutes! At one point, Joe was running ahead of me which caught me off guard considering he was training at a 12 1/2 minute pace. So him running up with me was a surprise, but good shock! He did great though, and I am terribly proud of him!!

Here is Joe, just after he crossed the finish line! All smiles! He looked great! Although, a couple of hours later were a different story. He was really sore, but didn't want to admitt it. But that didn't matter, he completed his first 1/2 marathon!!

Here is a picture of Scott Raaflaub (Joe's friend from high school, a great guy,) Joe, myself, and Kelly all with our medals we earned. Did I mention it was cold out there! After our run, we all had hats, and layers of clothing on to warm us up again!!

Kelly and myself!

After the race, we went back to my parent house and had lunch with Kelly and her mom, then relaxed for the afternoon. The only discomfort I had from the race was from my SI joint, due to the uneven groud on the corridor you experienced at times. A little bit of IT band discomfort, but nothing else. Way better than how I felt after Grandma's thats for sure. As for Joe, he's still waddling around a little, but getting better every day.

On Sunday, we stayed and watched a movie with my parents, placed Phase 10 (it's a card game) and then headed home. On our way back to Superior, we stopped at a local farm that had pumpkins for sale. It was fun! Both Joe and I picked out our own little pumpkins, and one big one for carving soon enough. Here's me, picking out our big pumpkin for carving! There were so many options, it was hard to chose! But, honestly, it was fun. I love spending time with Joe. We have so much fun and get to act like children some times.

Turning 30...Isn't Bad at All!

To my surprise, my 30th birthday was wonderful, and nothing that I would have expected! It all started on Thursday, the 10th, at work. Joe brought in a huge, delicious cake from an amazing baker,"How Sweet It Is" (no, sorry, not my Grandpa, there are other people too) and 30 roses with a beautiful card. I had no idea, he was going to do something like that, but it was great! Everyone at work enjoyed at piece as we ate lunch and discussed my plans for my birthday. As I told everyone, I had none! None other than have a spa treatment, then going to dinner with Joe and my parents! That's what I thought was going to happen!

Well, on Friday I woke up to Nurse On-line calling me back from my call the night before about my ear. So I had to go in to see the doctor, but I had to go to Urgent Care because they had no normal openings....so I sat there for two hours to find out what I already knew, yep, it was an ear infection. But the best part was this time I got an antibiotic!!! YEAH ME! After that, I headed back across the bridge to Trends Salon and Spa which I had sent up an appointment for me to have a spa treatment for my birthday. I figured since no one was doing anything for me and Joe didn't take the day off like he said he was, that I knew of, I'd treat myself to a day of bliss. Upon my arrival, the girl at the front desk said, "You don't have to worry, this was already paid for." I looked at her and I got a huge grin on my face. I knew it, Joe came in and paid for it for me!! He insisted that he didn't, but I knew it was him! So, I spent three hours receiving a body wrap of chocolate rub, a facial, a glow treatment, and then a great pedicure. Oooo, don't forget the wine that was served as well! After that, I headed home, just in time for Joe to get there and spent some time together.

After awhile, my parents showed up, and we talked about where we'd be going to dinner. Mom suggested Ace's and I didn't oppose, they have fairly good food. But for some reason, we weren't going until 6:30 so we could meet Joe's parents there as well. Well, we were sitting on the couch, waiting, and waiting, and finally, at 6:20, she said we should go....weird. I would've left before, so we could get there and have a drink or two before others got there, but no, we had to wait. As we parked, I looked around the lot and I couldn't see Donna's car....weird. Joe said, "It's right over there," and just kept walking into the bar/grill. As I walked in, I looked to my right where there's a conference room and Suzanne and Andy caught my eye, but I didn't think anything of that. As I walked around toward the door, I looked in to find family and friends all yelling Happy Birthday to me. Joe had thrown me a surprised birthday party!!! I was so shocked and surprised, I didn't know how he kept it from me. Usually when I whine enough, (and let me tell you I had been whining alot that past week because we weren't going to be doing anything for my birthday) he'd give in and tell me what's up. But this time he didn't!!

It was great. My parents, Joe's parents, my aunt and cousin and her husband from Washburn drove up, my Uncle Jim and his friend Julie from Ashland drove up, and Joe's Uncle Le and Michelle from St. Cloud came up, as well as Andy and Suzanne, Seth and Traci, Krissy (Zach's girlfriend, but Zach couldn't make it cause he had drill), Amber and Mike, The Banker's, Kay (Donna's golfing partner), and Josh....man there are more that I may be forgetting, and I'm sorry if I do, it is not intentional!!! But the man of the hour, other than me, of course is Joe.
All smiling and happy he pulled off this great thing!! Of course, I threw out the idea of shots, and he was right on top of that!! Scooby Snacks and Sambucca for the men! And then, of course, you can't have a party without presents. People got me gifts, which I would never have asked for but are greatly appreciated.

Liquor, of course was present. Don't forget the Amaretto!! Yummy!

And the funny gift of the evening was from my cousin, Sara, whom I grew up with. Some might not understand, but I know, and Sara, this made me smile from ear to ear.

Thank you dear!

The best gift of the evening I thought was the whole party Joe was able to throw. But I was wrong. Joe had one more card for me. As I read it, I started to tear up. He usually doesn't get senimental cards....when I looked inside, there was a Northwest Airline voucher for $300. He had hoped to book a flight for me to go out see Amy in Arizona, but things just didn't work out. So instead, he got the voucher for me to choice when I want to go. I started crying, of course. I guess I never thought of him being so thoughtful and loving. Sometimes he doesn't show it, then others, like this, it just pours out. All in all, this was a wonderful birthday, and I have to say thank you to Joe and to the parents for helping plan this day. It was great! Thank you everyone! And a special thanks to my husband, I love you dearly, Joe! See, turning 30 isn't bad at all!

Just Keep Running!

Say congratulations as Joe (and myself) completed his first 5.1k road race last night! It was held in Duluth at the Mount Olive church, called The Festival 5.1K. It was fun, but must I say a little tasking for your first race: the majority of the course was up hill! Joe's friend informed him of this race, saying it would be a good beginning run, but little did he know the actually race course until the day before. All in all, he finished, alittle out of breathe, but made it through. He keeps complaining, saying he didn't do well, but I am very proud of him for sticking with it and completing it. It was fun to actually say we did something together, sportwise of course! As for myself, I am sorta happy with my finish. I stuck to my 10 minute mile pace, slow but steady and that's all that matters. As you all know already, we don't have that runners body, but making the effort toward running and getting exercise is all that matters! So hopefully we'll get out more and do more local races. It's something fun to do and you're giving back to the community while getting exercise! Only two more months till the big race in October!

Changes in the Martin Household

There really isn't much going on these days in the Martin household these days. Which is a good thing, right? Joe is still working full time at Advanstar and part time at Starbucks, and I'm still full time at the hospital.....but I'm loving it to wits end! *S* (Bet you never thought I'd say something like that, right? Ok, I should clear this up......I love what I am doing, absolutely love it! But I hate the politics behind what is going on. I know there is always going to be politics with things, but at some time you just get to the point of not wanting to have to deal with it anymore, know what I mean? Oh well.)

Other than my hours and schedule being changed at work, I am not back to working 8 hour days verses the 10 hour days I had been doing for 2 1/2 years. This, of course, was not my choice to change. It came from above, unfortunately I am not a big fan of the switch, but trying to deal with it. So, ultimately, I am getting a little bored of things. So I've picked up more running, now running between 4 to 5 miles each run. And, I've actually had the opportunity to run with Joe! Well, sorta! I finish before him, but we do start together, which is good for him. I'm so proud of him, keeping up on the running even though it isn't something he really likes. But having a goal in mind has kept him trucking forward. In the next couple of weeks, both of us are going to be running a 5k, this'll be Joe's first running race! I'll keep you posted as to our results.

So if anyone has any ideas for easy, part-time or at home jobs, please send them my way! Wish us luck, more Joe than myself, for the up coming community race we'll be taking part in soon! Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for keeping up on us!

Next on the Agenda

Finishing Grandma's was an accomplishment for me; however, I did not finish at the time where I wanted to, so I've continued training and pushing myself more. In my mind, move on to bigger and better things, right? Yep, another half marathon in October, The Whistlestop, which is held in Ashland. A close to home race, along the corridor starting in Iron River for the full and 1/2 way from there finishing in downtown Ashland. I've heard great things about this race and how most people get a PR running this race, something I'm hoping to achieve. Two other great things to go along with it is Joe, my husband, and Kelly are both going to run! Joe has this idea in his mind that he do it, and more props to him, who doesn't run for anything! He has a great mindset though: he has 6 hours to finish. Either way, if he doesn't run the whole thing, he can still walk! As for myself, I was not too happy with my finish during Grandma's so I figure I need to challenge myself one more time. The heat really took a toll on me, so hopefully a race in October I won't have to contend with the heat again! I'd rather run when it's cold any day!

Anyways, The Whistlestop is October 10th, and I am looking forward to finishing another race where I grew up. Who knew I'd grow to actually enjoying running? Sure not me! So I'm glad I've found something to keep me busy and healthy. I can honestly say this is the healthiest I've been in a years, and not only can I tell the difference, but I can see it in my work. It's a good feeling to be awake and healthy and traveling down that road is better than sitting around and watching my life pass me by, right?! So, wish Joe, Kelly and I luck in our training and on finishing the race!

Another Half Marathon Completed!

Well, despite the heat and sticky weather, I finished Grandma's 1/2 Marathon in 2hours 33min for my chip time! It was a bit slower than I wanted. Okay, I lied, alot slower than I wanted. I was hoping to finish right around the 2hr 20min mark, but the weather took a toll on me. The morning started at 4AM with a temperature of 64 degrees with 98% humidity at my house. When we got to start of the race, it was about 70, and only got warmer throughout the morning. By the time I finished, it was 82 degrees! It was awful for running, we at least for me, but I finished.

The first 9.5 miles went great with a good steady pace, walking only through the water stations. for hydration. I usually don't stop for water, but had I not, I would have been one of those people at the medical tents or on the gurneys at the end of the race! The replenisher at the aid stations were great and really helped me out. I got to meet several good people to run with, each of which ended up finishing after me. (Yeah, I guess!)

The last 3.5 miles felt like they took forever. Getting down onto Superior Street should have been a great point, knowing you are just that much closer to the end, but I sure didn't feel that way. There wasn't much wind and it felt like the temperature jumped. I do have to say the last mile was the killer for me and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it to the end. I was exhausted, and ended up having to walk a couple of times. The crowd was great, just encouraging you the whole way. "You're almost there," and "You can do it" were all I needed to hear. I was so close, I just needed to finish. Then, without notice, the w/c top racer came flying past me! Now, if he can do 26.2 miles in under 2.5 hours, I can finish this 1/2 marathon!

Before I knew it, I was at the finish line, receiving my heavy medal and shirt, taking everything in. Everyone congratulating everyone else. Despite of the massive chaos, I got to see a couple of coworkers who were running, too, so it was good to know I wasn't the only one struggling. It was a tough race, had the weather not been so hot, I could have finished a lot better than what I did. Another great experience though. So a new goal for me now is to potentially run another 1/2 marathon this fall in Ashland, The Whistlestop. Since I have that competitive side, I need to beat my time this summer. Hopefully Joe will join me this round, but we'll see! I'll keep you posted on that idea. Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement! It really meant a lot!

8 Days and Counting Down....

The count down begin.....for Grandmas is a week, and I feel like I may be ready. If not, I'm still in it to finish. Whether it takes me the planned 2 hour 15 minutes or 3 hours, I'm still going to cross that finish line! Joe doesn't have to work, so he'll be there with my parents and maybe sister, cheering me on! As I pass Starbucks, I'll have all the support from the crew there. It's been a long road of training, but well worth the time and effort I've put into all of this since February. I haven't pushed myself so much for awhile, it's been nice to have a challenge to make me work for my goals.

So, next Saturday as you all wake up around 6 or 7 or 8, think of me and wish me luck! I'm leaving the house around 4:20 AM with a friend and her family to get on the MN Power bus to bring us to the start on Old Hwy 61 to begin at 6:30! If all goes well, hopefully, I'll be finished by 8:45.....(I'll even take 9:30 if I just can't make!!) If you want, I'll post my chip number which you can go to the Grandmas website to track me through the race. A neat feature to allow those waiting to know how much more waiting they have to do!! Thank goodness I'm not running the full this year. So wish me luck! A week and counting.....I'll let you know where I end up!!

Easter Weekend and Work

Well, for the past two and a half weeks, I had a horrible cold that put my training on hold. Fortunately I'm still motivated and looking forward to crossing that finish line in June. Easter was okay. Joe had to work at Starbucks, so he was unable to join us. Emily was able to make the trip up north so she picked me up on Friday, and drove us both to the 'rents house for the weekend. It was nice spending time with her, since it doesn't happen all that often. As a family, we decided to celebrate Easter on Saturday so we could all be together. It was us four, my Uncle Jim, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Virginia and Joe's parents decided to join us as well. It turned out to be a very nice day, enjoyable to spend time with the family. Unfortunately, not only was I not feeling well, but I had to go back on Saturday with Joe's parents because I had to work on Sunday. (A co-worker asked if I'd work Easter so she could spend time with her children. How do you say no to that especially since we don't have children yet, and Joe had to work as well.)

Easter Sunday working wasn't that bad, other than the fact that the other workers there didn't want to be there either, kinda making it a more negative day than expected. I thought I'd have egg salad for lunch, which was okay. Unfortunately, it didn't stay down. After work, three hours later, I made it home in time to have severe chills, vomiting for several hours. It was absolutely horrible!! Sick with a horrible cold/bronchitis and then food poisoning on top of it! What the luck?! I called my boss to inform her I woudln't make it to work on Monday, this time she was very sympathetic, hmm, can't imagine why?! Anyways, I did make it the rest of the week to work, however, it was just on Friday that I was able to actually start eating food without having the feeling of a full stomache with the need to vomitt again. This was such a horrible feeling, but once I could eat, food was amazing!

After work on Friday, the temperature outside was 72 degrees! Can you believe that!? Absolutely gorgeous outside! After stopping to see Joe, I thought I'd go for a run, so I called Donna to see if she'd be willing to drive me back to our house if I ran out to theirs. She agreed so off I went on 4 mile run. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the wind direction when I started, and before I knew it, I was too far away from home to turn around. I had a heavy head wind the whole way. Bummer, if I do say so myself. But it was nice. I ended up a little slower than I wanted, but that's okay, I made it the whole 4 1/2 miles!! Yep, it was longer than I thought, but well worth the run! I'm glad I made it out last night, it definately made me realize that I can do this and I'll be able to finish the 1/2 marathon no matter what happens! Just gotta keep on training and thinking positive.

A small, yet huge accomplishment!

Okay, this isn't going to be much, but I just needed to shout it at the top of my lungs:
I actually ran 4 miles this morning without difficulty!
Can you believe it? I haven't run that far in a long time, and it felt great after I was done. Who knew the more you workout the better you get at things!! Just add 9 more miles and I'll have completed another goals. I'm following a program offered by Grandma's Marathon and it is working out great. This week I'll have completed 16 miles for the week. So, you got to start somewhere, right!?

An Update...

Today is Thursday, and I'm at home alone. Joe took a temporary job and is at work, leaving me to relax on my own. Nothing is new these days, except I have a wedding to attend next weekend. My mom had a good turn out from her MD appointment on Monday for her ankle. She is free and can do anything she wants! That's great. Other than that, work for me is going well. I'm absolutely loving my position and I enjoy working with my patients. I've had great ones lately. Especially the ones that smiled and said thank you for helping them move. That's when I know I'm appreciated. Anyways, I started running. I'm excited and I need to get new running shoes soon. But my goal is Grandma's this summer, then maybe a whole in the fall,but we'll see. I'm not the fastest, but I'm excited because I'm actually doing well, and keeping up on my plan. I'll keep y'all posted on that! Wish my luck, hopefully this running this will keep me going in losing more weight, I only have 9 more pounds to make my goal, so wish me luck!

Sea Cave Adventures!

This past weekend, Joe and I decided to take a trip up to see my parents and explore a little more around the area. I had heard about the Apostle Island National Parks and the Sea Caves many times, but I never took the time to venture out and see them. Well, Saturday turned out to be wonderful! Not too cold but not too warm. We got all dressed up, and headed north. (Who would've thought we could have gone further north than our house!) We got to Cornucopia, WI, which was 20 miles north of Washburn. I had a general idea of which way to go, so we headed east from there. Before we knew it, we were at Meyers Beach just outside of Cornucopia. A park ranger stopped us to give us the low down of what to come! And so our adventure began.

After parking about 1/2 mile from the stairs to the lake, we finally made it down to the lake and followed a path along the shoreline about a mile to the caves. The ice was chunky and difficult to walk on in some parts, but it was well worth the trip! Once we made it to the caves themselves, we walked about 1 1/2 miles along the shoreline, wandering in and out of caves, admiring the views along the way. There were a couple of times we got to crawl around on the ice in and out of holes and through barriers. It was great, and we got to be just like little children having fun! Here are some pictures from our trip!

Chilling between two huge ice chunks!

Check out the shoreline and the rocks. It's amazing how nature can change the shape of the land.

Joe tried ascending this trail but kept on sliding down. It was icy!

This was amazing crevasse, traveling further back than we were able to travel! It was so neat to see something like that! Some people were able to get up and over the ice mound in front of those people standing there, but we didn't have the equipment to get us back!

This is pretty neat. We crawled in and got to slide around for awhile!

This was cool. A huge hole in the wall! We did get our picture taken here, but the lighting was off and difficult to see. And as soon as we went to take a better one, some other couple pulled up in front of/behind us. Oh well! The picture itself is still amazing!

If anyone ever gets a chance to travel up here, please take it. This is something we have absolutely no control over and look to see what nature has done. The rocks, the ice, the colors. It is truly amazing and worth the truck out and back. If you want to see more pictures, please take a look on my Facebook page. I have them all there, waiting for viewing!! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=16677&id=1135476093&saved#/profile.php?id=1135476093&ref=name

Iced Out

During our recent "Ice Storm" event that happened earlier this week, Joe and I were a bit nervous about the commute, considering we never know what the bridge will bring us. So, on Monday we packed our bags, just in case (especially knowing what happened the last time we had a storm warning and I wasn't able to make it home due to the bridges closing). So, Joe drove me to work, he went and did his thing, then went to Starbucks for a couple of hours. Throughout the day, all we heard was how bad it was suppose to be, and how icy it was "suppose" to get. In lieu of the potential horrible weather, when Joe picked me up, we talked and decided since I had to be at work the next day and he'd have to be at Starbucks at 5 AM, it was in our best interest to stay on that side of the bridge, especially since our luck really hasn't been on our side lately! So, we got a hotel room at the Sheraton (I get a discount for being a SMDC employee!). We unloaded our bags, and took a stroll over to Fitger's Brewhouse for dinner and a drink! It was nice, just the two of us, a little vacation so to speak. After dinner, we headed back across the road, through the RAIN, to our hotel room and off to bed. In the morning, Joe left bright and early for his walk to the store, and me over the skywalk to the hospital. Yep, no ice, no snow. Nothing. It gets very frustrating. We rely on the news/weather to try and give us an accurate report, but this is another time they've been wrong. Oh well, we had a good time!

Congrats to the newborns!

It's amazing how being around all these pregnant women makes one really want a baby, too! Unfortunately, we are just not at the point in our lives, but we'll see what happens. Two of my co-workers recently had their babies. Heather and Aaron had a baby girl, Elsa Rose, on Friday the 30th. She was born at 2 something in the morning after a long time of being in labor and was 8 pounds, 22" long. Heather had a whirlwind of a pregnancy, if I do say so myself. She missed so much work the first trimester becuase of low blood pressures and what not. All in all, she made it through with a beautiful little girl.

Today, my friend, Sarah and Tanner, had their little girl, Sophia Rose, at 11:13 AM. Sophia was 7 pounds 12 ounces, and 21" long. Sarah had a long time in labor but was lucky to have actually pushed for only twenty minutes!! Anyways, Sophia is just precious as well!! Needless to say, Sarah had a very eventful pregnancy as well. Something through the middle, she ended up having her appendix removed and missed 6 weeks of work as well!!

I'm very excited for these two families and envious. I know at sometime it will happen to us when the time is right. But honestly, I wish these two families congratulations!!

Our New Addition!

Well, times change, and you move on. Joe and I, of course, have been going through a lot lately, but we're trying to keep a positive attitude about things. This week, we went up to the car dealer to see if the part was in for my Mariner. As Joe went to the service center, I decided to look around and see whats new since my lease for my car was going to be up in June. I've been in two accidents with my Mariner, and honestly, I was ready to move on and away from that car as soon as possible.

We talked to a great salesman, Ron, who I've talked to before about my lease and how things were going with everything. Anyways, it was brought to our attention that the dealership was willing to buy back my lease early, particularily because I had very low miles on the car. Well, of course!! Joe and I decided to we would buy his car, the Jeep Patriot, and I would continue to lease so we'd always have a new car around. So, looking around I found what I wanted. We've looked at the Nissan Murano and the Rogue a couple of times new, along with the Toyota Matrix, Highlander, and RAV4, as well as the Honda CR-V. I've also looked at the Saturn Vue, but that really didn't ride well at all.

Low and behold, yesterday Joe and I drove away with the Nissan Rogue. It is great. I has awesome saftey features, All Wheel Drive, Vehice Dynamic Control, side airbags, privacy glass, a moon roof! And we got this for a great price, something we can afford, irregaurdless of our financial situation. There are many more features, but these are the ones that make the car great!

As you all know how I am, I like to name things. Unfortunately, we have not come up with a suitable name! So if anyone has any ideas, please send them my way! All are appreciated!

Here's To A Better 2009

2008 has been a year of many trials. Especially the last quarter. I know we all want the best, but then again, life throws you a curve ball and some how you get over that hurdle, and another one gets tossed your way. The past couple of months have been difficult and I'm not sure it's quite over with yet. First it started with my uncle getting sick. He is still struggling with things, but slowly getting better. Then I had a bit of a scare at the hospital that almost left me jobless. Needless to say, I was able to retain my position, but at a little less pay that previously. A week later, Joe showed up at the hospital unexpectedly with horrible news. He was permanently laid off from his full-time job. Thank goodness for Starbucks and Joe's supervisor being able to give him some more hours; however, that is not enough to get us through this time. A week after this happened, my mother fell outside of her work and sprained her back and broke her ankle. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

As of right now, my mom is doing well. She is moving around better than before, but the non weight bearing is difficult. Surgery went great and she has a doctors appointment on Monday to see how things are holding up. She hasn't left their house since the Monday before Christmas. Christmas itself wasn't the best this year, but it was great to see my sister and family and just spend some quality time with them. My uncle, well, is good. We're keeping our fingers crossed the infection is gone. As for Joe, we are both looking hard to find a job. We've applied several places but a lot of them are gone and on vacation until after today. So hopefully we'll hear something soon. If all else fails, he'll be working in the Cities and commuting. (At that point, just an FYI, I'll be getting a puppy to keep my company if this happens.)

It has been difficult to keep a positive attitude right now, but we're both doing our best. We really didn't celebrate the new year last night, but I did spend an hour with my good friends Zack and Mike and Zack's brother Abe. Other than that, the New Year hopefully will be better than the last. So, I wish you all a great start to another year. And please keep us in your prayers during this time and keep your fingers crossed we find something sooner than later.