I was doing SO GOOD about at least blogging once a month...I made it almost 5 months! Since it's June 21, I'll go a head and update May and June since the next week and a half of June won't be that exciting to wait an extra week to hear about.
May was in every sense of the word, a roller coaster ride! I went to Texas, Dallas this time, for another wedding of another grad school friend. The wedding was only about 2 miles from my sister's house so I was able to spend some time with her and see friends as well. It was a quick trip as usual but so worth it!
Then my mom was supposed to com in town on May 28 but mother nature had other plans and decided to send massive downpour, tornado filled storms to the Black Hills on May 24 which led to our basement being flooded. Coming home after a long day at work to standing water in your basement is not exactly "ideal". This was the first time I've ever just stood frozen in time literally not knowing what to do. So I called my dad...who also didn't really know what to do since they don't have basements in Texas like we have them in the north. So I made a few other phone calls and got my very helpful neighbor and within about 2 hours I had a whole team of help including neighbors, friends and the Stanley Steam 24 hour water restoration team. It wasn't a fast process because of the holiday and the extent of the water damage but after 10 days of frustration, yes, a few tears and maybe a couple of inappropriate choices of words the basement got put back together...and re-arranged thanks to my mom :) My mom was awesome and changed her flight to come in 3 days early to help me with the basement so I didn't have to take off too much work to deal with it. She ended up being her for almost 2 full weeks and we did a lot of touristy things and A LOT of house things to try and get stuff done before Todd comes home. I think she was glad to finally go back to Texas!
May 31 marked mine and Todd's 2 year wedding anniversary! It was kind of bittersweet not having him here to celebrate but I did get to talk to him and since it was a holiday I shared the day with my closest friends and my mom here in South Dakota. I know he will likely miss other anniversaries and that's ok because he's proudly serving our country. There will be many other days to celebrate when he is home.
The first weekend of June was full of activity! On Saturday June 5, we did something called the Volksmarch at Crazy Horse Memorlal http://www.crazyhorsememorial.org/events/volksmarch.html We got to hike to the arm of the still in progress monument. You can only do this one time a year and we missed doing it last year so I was really glad to get to do it this year. What a different perspective of this giant monument!
Saturday June 6 I ran the Mickelson Trail Half Marathon in Deadwood...another nationally known event that I was happy to be a part of this year. The Mickelson Trail is part of the "Rail to Trail" system and spans 100 miles of the Black Hills http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/mickelson-trail/default.aspx They do bike races and bike tours on the trail as well that I'd like to do at some point.
June 11-14 I went to Las Vegas for a weekend with some college friends. After all the drama in South Dakota with the house it was nice to just get away for a weekend, eat some good food, see a show and see one of my best friends. I didn't win big (didn't lose big either) but really just had a relaxing time.
Yesterday, June 20, I did my first ever Triathlon here in Rapid City. It was a sprint triathlon so 800m swin, 20K bike ride and 5K run. It was a lot of fun but I'm not sure I'm going to make Triathlons a regular part of my insane endurance sport schedule. I'm not particularly fond of the swimming part. I'd do this race again, and maybe one other. I definitely have a new appreciation for Ironmen! Holy Cow! That is just INSANITY!!
Well thats my wold travels and recent events. July will be pretty slow. I work the next few weekends (including the July 4 holiday) and I'll be spending time making sure all is ready for THE BIG HOMECOMING!! July 28 is the unofficial homecoming day! I'm trying not to count down yet but last I heard I think its about 34 days away! I am VERY much looking forward to my best friend being back and going on our "Western National Parks Road Trip"! So likely, I will no blog until August!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
May
For the 3 people that read my blog- I don't feel like blogging. The basement flooded in a bad storm last week and I've been dealing with that for the past week and a half now. Maybe I'll finally update next week when sanity returns.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Something to Look Forward to
Why am I blogging about something to look forward to you ask? So that its in writing and other people can be excited, maybe even a little jealous too :)
We've tossed around a lot of ideas as far as what to do and where to go when Todd gets home the end of July. There are some minor details that keep us pretty limited including:
1.Todd will have just gotten back from a 6 1/2 month deployment on crazy, mostly drug induced, 12+ hour work shift sleep schedules that he needs to get back on track.
2. The exact day they get back may change up until about 2 days before they get home.
3. They get 2 mandatory weeks of leave for free but have to actually take leave if you go more than about 8-10 hours away from base, i.e driving distance.
4. They ONLY have the 2 mandatory weeks because they have to be back to work 12 Aug to start preparing for a HUGE base exercise called Operation Readiness Exercise (ORE) in which they have a "mock" ORE in September and the real deal in October.
So where do you go when you live in South Dakota, want to "get away" but not have to actually take leave and not break the bank because you still want to go on a "big trip" after ORE?? Well here's the plan:
We're going to rent a camper from outdoor rec on base to be our traveling hotel (think $100 for a whole week!), pack up some food, the dogs, our bikes, our rock climbing gear and head west with stops at Devils Tower National Monument, Grand Tetons National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Bozeman Montana and Theodore National Park in North Dakota before heading back to Rapid City. It makes a big loop if you look at it on a map and we're calling it our "Midwest National Parks Road Trip". We got our National Parks pass this year since we have 2 National Parks just here in South Dakota less than an hour from our house so we want to get its use and see the beauty of this part of the country. Others may not see this as an awesome trip, but we're pretty excited!
Like I said...something to look forward to :)
We've tossed around a lot of ideas as far as what to do and where to go when Todd gets home the end of July. There are some minor details that keep us pretty limited including:
1.Todd will have just gotten back from a 6 1/2 month deployment on crazy, mostly drug induced, 12+ hour work shift sleep schedules that he needs to get back on track.
2. The exact day they get back may change up until about 2 days before they get home.
3. They get 2 mandatory weeks of leave for free but have to actually take leave if you go more than about 8-10 hours away from base, i.e driving distance.
4. They ONLY have the 2 mandatory weeks because they have to be back to work 12 Aug to start preparing for a HUGE base exercise called Operation Readiness Exercise (ORE) in which they have a "mock" ORE in September and the real deal in October.
So where do you go when you live in South Dakota, want to "get away" but not have to actually take leave and not break the bank because you still want to go on a "big trip" after ORE?? Well here's the plan:
We're going to rent a camper from outdoor rec on base to be our traveling hotel (think $100 for a whole week!), pack up some food, the dogs, our bikes, our rock climbing gear and head west with stops at Devils Tower National Monument, Grand Tetons National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Bozeman Montana and Theodore National Park in North Dakota before heading back to Rapid City. It makes a big loop if you look at it on a map and we're calling it our "Midwest National Parks Road Trip". We got our National Parks pass this year since we have 2 National Parks just here in South Dakota less than an hour from our house so we want to get its use and see the beauty of this part of the country. Others may not see this as an awesome trip, but we're pretty excited!
Like I said...something to look forward to :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
April Showers bring May....snow?
I really hope not. But we do have a chance of snow overnight tonight with a "Winter Weather Advisory" in the hills. It snowed the weekend we moved here April 24, 2009 and on May 2, 2008 Rapid City did get a blizzard. I hate to say that winter is not over yet :( Like a co-worker told me last week, "we have 4 seasons: June, July, August and Winter" SO TRUE!!
April had some good positives:
1. We reached the halfway point of deployment on April 20!!
2. I went to Chicago with two of my sister in laws for a weekend!
3. Todd turned 27
4. We "celebrated" our one year anniversary in South Dakota :)
While the weather is currently cold and windy with snow in the area we have had some great days thrown in there for a tease. One Sunday it was 70 degrees and I ran and biked and took the dogs to the park and literally did everything outside I could think of, it was so great!! It was funny this week mowing the yard for the first time and then driving to work with snow flurries the next morning. Needless to say, I'm VERY anxious for the weather to be consistently nice so that I can enjoy all my outdoor activities :)
Work is still great. I can't believe I've almost been an OT for a year! Once I reach my "year of experience" I can have students under me which is something I'm really looking forward too because I'd love to teach in an OT department at some point in life. I have to really interesting patients right now that are really challenging my skills.... and I like it :)
Todd is still busy busy flying and dropping bombs on the bad guys ;) We've been on pretty opposite schedules lately so talking has been really inconsistent and spread out which gets hard. It's also been one of those weeks where everything seems to go wrong, specifically things that I don't or can't fix. Lucky for me the guy that painted our house and finished our garage markets himself as a handyman and conveniently lives around the corner from me so he has graciously been helping me out with random things.
Yard work- specifically trees and my vegetable garden is still at the top of my "to-do" list but the weather doesn't want to cooperate with me on the weekends to get anything done. Otherwise, not doing much to the house right now. I think I need a hobby other than running and biking. Any suggestions??
April had some good positives:
1. We reached the halfway point of deployment on April 20!!
2. I went to Chicago with two of my sister in laws for a weekend!
3. Todd turned 27
4. We "celebrated" our one year anniversary in South Dakota :)
While the weather is currently cold and windy with snow in the area we have had some great days thrown in there for a tease. One Sunday it was 70 degrees and I ran and biked and took the dogs to the park and literally did everything outside I could think of, it was so great!! It was funny this week mowing the yard for the first time and then driving to work with snow flurries the next morning. Needless to say, I'm VERY anxious for the weather to be consistently nice so that I can enjoy all my outdoor activities :)
Work is still great. I can't believe I've almost been an OT for a year! Once I reach my "year of experience" I can have students under me which is something I'm really looking forward too because I'd love to teach in an OT department at some point in life. I have to really interesting patients right now that are really challenging my skills.... and I like it :)
Todd is still busy busy flying and dropping bombs on the bad guys ;) We've been on pretty opposite schedules lately so talking has been really inconsistent and spread out which gets hard. It's also been one of those weeks where everything seems to go wrong, specifically things that I don't or can't fix. Lucky for me the guy that painted our house and finished our garage markets himself as a handyman and conveniently lives around the corner from me so he has graciously been helping me out with random things.
Yard work- specifically trees and my vegetable garden is still at the top of my "to-do" list but the weather doesn't want to cooperate with me on the weekends to get anything done. Otherwise, not doing much to the house right now. I think I need a hobby other than running and biking. Any suggestions??
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Stressful Life
Conversation between Todd and me yesterday:
Todd: What are you doing?
Me: I'm unloading the dishwasher.
Todd: I always unload the dishwasher when I'm home.
Me: Well you'll have plenty of dishes to unload when you get home.
Todd:You can't make me being gone an excuse to make me do dishes.
Me: You an't make you being gone an excuse to NOT do the dishes.
Todd: Sometimes I may need a break...from the stress.
Me: I'm fully aware that you are flying in combat but you are in no way living in a stressful environment.
Todd: Sometimes they close the pool for a whole day. I can't deal with it.
Ladies and gentlemen, your tax dollars at work :)
Todd: What are you doing?
Me: I'm unloading the dishwasher.
Todd: I always unload the dishwasher when I'm home.
Me: Well you'll have plenty of dishes to unload when you get home.
Todd:You can't make me being gone an excuse to make me do dishes.
Me: You an't make you being gone an excuse to NOT do the dishes.
Todd: Sometimes I may need a break...from the stress.
Me: I'm fully aware that you are flying in combat but you are in no way living in a stressful environment.
Todd: Sometimes they close the pool for a whole day. I can't deal with it.
Ladies and gentlemen, your tax dollars at work :)
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Somewhere Out There
Somewhere out there beneath the pale moonlight
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight
Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there
And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
Tomorrow is 7 days since I've gotten to actually talk to Todd. It's a struggle.
Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight
Somewhere out there someone's saying a prayer
That we'll find one another in that big somewhere out there
And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
And even though I know how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star
And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky
Somewhere out there if love can see us through
Then we'll be together somewhere out there
Out where dreams come true
Tomorrow is 7 days since I've gotten to actually talk to Todd. It's a struggle.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
March Madness
So here we are in April already. I'd love to say that time is just flying by...but I'm not sure I feel like it is. We're not even to the half way point in deployment and that thought is sort of depressing. I'm still staying positive and keeping busy but the end of July just sill seems so far away :( I fortunately have at least a small trip to look forward too each month until Todd gets home so I have something to look forward too.
March started, as usual with my birthday. 26. Not the exciting. I celebrated the actual day with a couple of friends at Buffalo Wild Wings (YUM!) Then had another little get together with 4 friends that Saturday at Beaujo's-the amazing gluten free pizza place in Colorado that recently opened in Rapid City. Todd did a wonderful job with birthday gifts from the other side of the world! He sent me beautiful flowers to my work, managed to plan for a card to arrive on my actual birthday and got me a "wine of the month" club membership to one of our local wine shops! All in all it was a good day and I couldn't have asked for more.
Other than the usual work keeping me busy I was able to make another trip to Texas, this time for a wedding. It was a whirlwind trip that was mostly spent in a plane or a car but it was worth it. I got to spend time with my parents in Austin and I traveled to Houston for the wedding of an OT school classmate so we got to have sort of a mini reunion and I stayed the night with my best friend since childhood, Liz. It was wonderful time spent with all. Liz is pregnant with her second child and it was great seeing her, her husband and their toddler Will-he's so adorable!
As for updates on my house "to-do" list the paint is FINISHED and looks sooooo good! No more white out walls! The garage is finished and is so much warmer and looks great. When they get the spring cleaning storage stuff on sale I'd like to add more shelves in the garage and get it a little more organized but it'll do for now. I put knobs on all the cabinets in the house and they look great. And the grand finale, the carpet, gets installed next week!! I'm super excited about the carpet because we've had nice new carpet in the basement since we moved in but the upstairs has been the same old, flat, dingy, builder's grade carpet that was originally put in the house. It's going to look wonderful!
Now that its trying to get to be spring I'm looking ahead at my yard work. We wanted to plant trees in the back yard last year but never got around to it before the weather changed so I'm hoping to do that pretty soon. I've also been figuring out my vegetable garden. My tomatoes did really well last year so I'm going to do plant those again and I'm thinking some bell peppers, beans and peas. One of my patients is an expert gardener and has been giving me some tips. I'd also like to add some bushes to our front flower bed so that it doesn't look so sad in the winter. But we'll just have to see once we start getting the consistently nice weather what I get done! It snowed yesterday and it snowed the last week of April last year so I'm not getting too hopeful for the big change anytime soon. The few really nice days that we have had has just been a tease and gotten my hopes up for being outdoors again!
Coming up in April...Todd turns 27 and I'll visit Chicago with 2 of my sister in laws!!
March started, as usual with my birthday. 26. Not the exciting. I celebrated the actual day with a couple of friends at Buffalo Wild Wings (YUM!) Then had another little get together with 4 friends that Saturday at Beaujo's-the amazing gluten free pizza place in Colorado that recently opened in Rapid City. Todd did a wonderful job with birthday gifts from the other side of the world! He sent me beautiful flowers to my work, managed to plan for a card to arrive on my actual birthday and got me a "wine of the month" club membership to one of our local wine shops! All in all it was a good day and I couldn't have asked for more.
Other than the usual work keeping me busy I was able to make another trip to Texas, this time for a wedding. It was a whirlwind trip that was mostly spent in a plane or a car but it was worth it. I got to spend time with my parents in Austin and I traveled to Houston for the wedding of an OT school classmate so we got to have sort of a mini reunion and I stayed the night with my best friend since childhood, Liz. It was wonderful time spent with all. Liz is pregnant with her second child and it was great seeing her, her husband and their toddler Will-he's so adorable!
As for updates on my house "to-do" list the paint is FINISHED and looks sooooo good! No more white out walls! The garage is finished and is so much warmer and looks great. When they get the spring cleaning storage stuff on sale I'd like to add more shelves in the garage and get it a little more organized but it'll do for now. I put knobs on all the cabinets in the house and they look great. And the grand finale, the carpet, gets installed next week!! I'm super excited about the carpet because we've had nice new carpet in the basement since we moved in but the upstairs has been the same old, flat, dingy, builder's grade carpet that was originally put in the house. It's going to look wonderful!
Now that its trying to get to be spring I'm looking ahead at my yard work. We wanted to plant trees in the back yard last year but never got around to it before the weather changed so I'm hoping to do that pretty soon. I've also been figuring out my vegetable garden. My tomatoes did really well last year so I'm going to do plant those again and I'm thinking some bell peppers, beans and peas. One of my patients is an expert gardener and has been giving me some tips. I'd also like to add some bushes to our front flower bed so that it doesn't look so sad in the winter. But we'll just have to see once we start getting the consistently nice weather what I get done! It snowed yesterday and it snowed the last week of April last year so I'm not getting too hopeful for the big change anytime soon. The few really nice days that we have had has just been a tease and gotten my hopes up for being outdoors again!
Coming up in April...Todd turns 27 and I'll visit Chicago with 2 of my sister in laws!!
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