tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15805743040011915662024-03-05T01:07:49.217-06:00Just Another DaySuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-21936739774221311712011-11-23T08:45:00.001-06:002011-11-23T09:14:26.865-06:00After working consecutive 10 hr to 14 hr days, I finally have a day off. I decided to settle in and work on some knitting. I would love to continue with my sweater, but I need double pointed needle for the sleeves and after driving over 300 miles in 2 days for work, I <u style="font-weight: bold;">DO NOT</u> want to even look at my car or think about having to drive 30+ minutes (one way) to find a craft store to buy these things. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Torf79GEltIvC6nKdNlRHGv8tOfdxccMwMXpA7ZJFXRbZTtSm-dnC8EAsdKqYD8za5gvVK1ZtjkdaTZf4zwTZNR9HHhvhL1hCVOduU5qVbrsVRBzo-XqhSWghBTQXelzLZ9ly4eMvEo/s1600/DSC00285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Torf79GEltIvC6nKdNlRHGv8tOfdxccMwMXpA7ZJFXRbZTtSm-dnC8EAsdKqYD8za5gvVK1ZtjkdaTZf4zwTZNR9HHhvhL1hCVOduU5qVbrsVRBzo-XqhSWghBTQXelzLZ9ly4eMvEo/s200/DSC00285.JPG" width="200" /></a>Note to self: stop by Michaels <i>in between</i> store calls so I don't have to do it on my day off! Yes, I was right next to a Michaels (actually two) over the past couple days, so I only have myself to blame for not being able to finish my sweater this weekend. So, instead I will work on a super cute little scarf made out of a yummy silk/wool blend yarn. <br />
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Well, as I started to settle in I noticed some movement outside our back sliding door. Now, we back up to the woods so you would think we get a lot of wildlife, but really all we ever see are squirrels, birds and insects - mainly spiders - lots and lots of BIG and UGLY spiders. Oh, and I can't forget about all the ticks...there are tons of ticks out here. But today I had a pleasant surprise and I had to run and get my camera:<br />
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I really do love living in a home that backs up to the woods. Views like this almost make up for all the bugs.SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-33055570517387142612011-11-12T18:49:00.001-06:002011-11-12T19:19:29.472-06:00KALA few months back I was thinking about how much I've learned about knitting but I still haven't made a garment. I have stuck to accessories, and my most recent <strike>obsession</strike> passion has been socks - and has been for the past year. I have not really branched out since I learned how to keep my toes toasty and comfy in hand-knit wool socks. Then BAM...I stumble across a knitter's <a href="http://kristenmakes.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> that mentions a new KAL (knit-along) for newbies. I'm not really a knitting "newbie" per se (but I am when it comes to sweaters) but I thought this is what I needed to break the ice on garment knitting. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwvusvJlwQ_T1UIs7XoHdTij5AnCUsmRxxo_FyTGXyBnforGmE7Dbxd3Xc8h2aA4z5YEo0VtAmoIXPg69NRl6aTa2UjBibz5MrSOrM1Y-YJrTn04NfMl014tjOMc15DWCIxxW2k1632M/s1600/DSC00178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwvusvJlwQ_T1UIs7XoHdTij5AnCUsmRxxo_FyTGXyBnforGmE7Dbxd3Xc8h2aA4z5YEo0VtAmoIXPg69NRl6aTa2UjBibz5MrSOrM1Y-YJrTn04NfMl014tjOMc15DWCIxxW2k1632M/s200/DSC00178.jpg" width="180" /></a>With very little knitting time invested, I am now over halfway complete and should be done with the body by tomorrow. <br />
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Tonight, Bubba took a picture of my progress ---------------><br />
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The top is a bit big (and is poofing out a little, making my chest look HUGE) and I had to do more decreases than called for in the body. Hopefully the top will tighten up a bit when I add in the sleeves and close up the gap under the arms. But, overall, I am pleased that I have at least gotten this far.SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-91430657466817551922011-10-30T09:59:00.000-05:002011-10-30T09:59:14.930-05:00Yes...with a new camera comes new blog posts. This blog is my journal, and it gets boring with no pictures, but with my new <strike>toy</strike> camera we are back at it!<br />
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We have been pretty lucky here this fall - beautiful temperatures hovering in the 70's and up into the low 80's. Hopefully this is normal, because I could get used to this. I know the cold is coming (and actually it's here this weekend as I type...but this post is for <i>last</i> week), but we decided to enjoy the weather while we could. <br />
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Bubba goes in to Annapolis once a week for some shoulder work with an ART Chiropractor. It's a bit of a drive, and we have to cross the bay bridge to get there. I'm really not that fond of bridges, but I'm not terrified of them either. I sometimes think of the stories of bridges collapsing and cars plummeting into the water. Yes...my mind really does go there, but more when the weather is dismal and the water looks cold. <br />
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Oh, but on Tuesday the weather was PERFECT. So, we stopped at a marina on the way home and enjoyed some time bay-side with a beautiful view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.<br />
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After we got home we decided to load up the bikes onto the truck and go down to Trap Pond State Park, about 25 minutes from the house. They have a great little 5 mile trail loop through the forest and along the pond that we like to ride and it really was a great day for it. It took us quite a bit longer to get through the loop, but that's what happens when I bring my camera. It really is beautiful there and I just had to keep stopping to take pictures. </div>
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The colors are changing now, with golds reds and purples mixing in with all the shades of green - it really is beautiful and I'm so glad we got out to enjoy it. I hope it doesn't get too cold too quickly here...it sure would be nice to have a few more days like this.</div>
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There is a bridge right along the road by the park entrance. The bridge has a couple of built-in benches so you can sit back and enjoy the view. Every time we have been there, there have been people on the bridge - either just sitting on the benches or standing along the railing trying to catch some fish. One day we even came upon a man studying the scriptures there. It truly is a peaceful, beautiful spot, with the most spectacular view. </div>
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We were lucky to have the bridge all to ourselves on Tuesday...and this was our view:</div>
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</div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-32709520623362569602011-10-30T09:11:00.000-05:002011-10-30T09:11:54.042-05:00Black-Screen-Death...Oh My!A little over a year ago, I made a horrible, sad discovery... at a very inconvenient time and place. It was the at the O'Hare Airport in Chicago and we were on our way to Vietnam. My Canon camera - the one I sold my plasma to save up enough money to purchase - decided to stop working. I had checked it a few days before leaving and all was well, but once we were on our way it just went black. What I didn't know is that this model is prone to "black screen death", or at least that's what all the other poor Canon customers were calling this issue. So I had to lug this large useless <strike>camera</strike> brick halfway around the world and back, and had to settle getting pictures with Bubba's little point-and-shoot Olympus. After returning home, I tried all the "tricks" that worked for other people on the various forums I trolled, but I still had "black screen death". Well, at least I still had my work camera if I needed it - except now I'm not working and had to send back all my equipment - so no camera for me...until now! <br />
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My mom and M-I-L both sent $$ for my birthday (the best present, in my opinion) and I went camera shopping. I really wanted a digital SLR and I was going to take photography classes and become this fantastic photographer. Um....yeah....when will I do this? So I decided to settle on a cheap little point-and-shoot camera, but one with a better zoom than Bubba's (his is <i>not</i> that great). I came away with a not cheap (but reasonable) Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V. This is Sony's top of the line Cyber-shot...but I went in for the lower end one that was on sale. I love how they totally up-sell you on these things, and I was an easy mark, an easy, easy mark. E-Z...really. I love gadgets, and the more something does the more I WANT it! LOL This thing does everything but cook me breakfast (and I have Bubba for that). I still have not figured out everything - but I'm having fun with it. It does sweeping panorama shots in normal mode, HD and even 3D. It does impressive macro shots and you can blur the background like the more expensive D-SLRs. It also records movies in full HD 1080. It has a 16x zoom and the colors translate so well. I am in love with my little camera - one of these days I will graduate to a D-SLR and maybe even take some photography classes, but for now this is more than enough camera for me.<br />
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<br />SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-28979439250309734932011-07-06T21:28:00.000-05:002011-07-06T21:28:51.336-05:00June<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxZxl-0L9HjaU5YX8RyTbAnoU47I48rgoDSwv9eN9favjcS3O2MprtPo-A04OzWP47GWwkteZVgsDBxVrHxo9gHZyrNx0kH0XbvZZZ6yGDXa0qKPE1kZaa6XvQXtYD5KCpDA5gsGWfSk/s1600/262091_2153570080268_1276916331_2655416_3926362_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxZxl-0L9HjaU5YX8RyTbAnoU47I48rgoDSwv9eN9favjcS3O2MprtPo-A04OzWP47GWwkteZVgsDBxVrHxo9gHZyrNx0kH0XbvZZZ6yGDXa0qKPE1kZaa6XvQXtYD5KCpDA5gsGWfSk/s320/262091_2153570080268_1276916331_2655416_3926362_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div>June meant a trip back home to Vegas for my high school reunion...my 25th high school reunion. Really? 25 years? When did I get old?! LOL Well, I had fun re-connecting with friends from my past, as well as spending time with family. One of the highlights was staying with family up at the lakes. Walking out the back door in the morning to sit dock-side, gazing at the mountains in the background and feeding the resident ducks, and then later taking an evening boat ride...a <s>little</s> <i>HUGE</i> slice of heaven in the middle of Sin City. <div><br />
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</div></div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-49143493457654166722011-06-02T09:04:00.000-05:002011-06-02T09:04:02.079-05:00The Good, The Bad, and the BeautifulThe Good: We are out of Iowa!! Woohoo!<br />
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The Bad: We live in an area that is a 30 minute drive for just about everything...<br />
you <strike>want </strike> have to go to the DMV? 30 minutes<br />
you want to go to a movie? 30 minutes<br />
you need a haircut? well, 25 minutes...but you get my point. <br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Beautiful: The view from our back deck...</div><br />
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</div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-30323831809406668042011-06-01T10:14:00.000-05:002011-06-01T10:14:56.098-05:00Turning the page...Okay, so you've hopefully gotten past the first two posts of this series, and you may THINK you know where we are...but you don't, unless I have told you personally. <br />
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Now, why all the secrecy and delay in getting this out there to my friends? Well, thinking back to last fall when I posted about our upcoming move to Montana, by the next day it had all fallen apart. I know I may be a little paranoid, but I didn't want any kinks thrown into this already crazy delicate mix of planning we had going on. Our house was under contract, yes, but not final in any way/shape/form. The buyer could still back out, and we lived in the "ghetto", so we thought that could be a distinct possibility. I didn't want to tell ANYBODY ANYTHING, lest something go terribly awry. <br />
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But you know, if something can go wrong, it usually will (at least for us!). I'm happy to say that nothing went wrong with our house sale - we are no longer Iowa home owners. What did go "wrong" was the rental house at our destination. We were set up to live on a farmstead house in the middle of a private golf course, complete with membership (sweet!). This was "arranged" by Bubba's employer. It was not, however, actually arranged. It had been discussed but not finalized...and, in fact, the property was ultimately rented to someone else - someone on the board of the club. We were within a month of moving with nowhere to move to...and no way of looking around since we were halfway across the country with no personal contacts in the area, or so we thought. Bubba was relating our woes to his mom (who lives in a tiny town in Nevada) during a normal conversation one day. By the next day, we find that her best friend in this tiny little town has a daughter who lives 30 minutes from Bubba's new clinic...and they are trying to move to Utah to be closer to family and are trying to sell their house. Well, as it turns out, they decided to rent their house to us, which gives the market time to jump back so they can sell their house for a profit later on. Pretty much a win-win. Things are truly working out for the best, so what went "wrong" with the house really didn't, after all.<br />
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Another kink in the whole plan also bubbled to the surface. It turns out that where we will be living is not a highly populated area with a less than brisk real estate industry. Needless to say, transfering my job would be difficult, if not impossible. The only way for me to continue with the company I have worked at for 15 years would be to cover five large counties over two states, including the difficult-to-master resort communities. After a profitability analysis and risk assessment (really just a sit-down-and-think session to decide if I really, really, really want to do this), and I have chosen to retire after 15 years at the company and over 20 years in the business. Yes friends, I am retired / unemployed, and I'm having a little difficulty with the concept. I'm too young not to work, so now I need to decide what I want to do next. Any suggestions?<br />
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So, where are we? I know you are all dying to know, right? Here's a pic from the internet, since my camera is still packed away...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOmBbo3Z6DZOZxeEH_w6pF6L18TiCljLcDcGloV8nobV0P2h_RlSfqsT3ygkUEw2GAjXtl_8SCq2XyDCrFvG9WS4LEY2jWDcU8YAnvWXCNlV9hmYblyxu5fYk5ov4H54CpDrfKGTAPdg/s1600/town-sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOmBbo3Z6DZOZxeEH_w6pF6L18TiCljLcDcGloV8nobV0P2h_RlSfqsT3ygkUEw2GAjXtl_8SCq2XyDCrFvG9WS4LEY2jWDcU8YAnvWXCNlV9hmYblyxu5fYk5ov4H54CpDrfKGTAPdg/s1600/town-sign.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
Yes, we live in Bridgeville. Yes, the sign really does say "If you lived here you would be home now". Yes, that is a pretty goofy slogan. But it is home...at least for now. <br />
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Where is Bridgeville, you ask? In the very small, very flat, very first state of our glorious nation...Delaware! We have no mountains...which is unfortunate (however we are within reasonable driving distance). On the plus side, we do have the ocean just a quick 30 minute drive to the east! We are excited for the possibilities that this area holds and are excited for this new adventure to begin.SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-10833183837647634092011-06-01T09:45:00.000-05:002011-06-01T09:45:38.539-05:00And the adventure continues...Hopefully you've all read my previous post since I'm just continuing the saga...<br />
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After returning from our trip out east we proceeded with contract negotiations. Of course, we were still taking calls from other docs to make sure we didn't put all our eggs in one basket, so to speak...just in case. But we had one major roadblock no matter where we decided to go - our house.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQXjx3vpXWGjHlztAFjqJnwW4jszqID68lxLoRjP6UmxEkldgv1GwWXDSlUJjam87eCwQhx8GoiSdF_ygggfRGQ3Q_LelSoJFGogZyo9_PpMftIjg2ZBr_Qhne6BmQz5wHlm1pQDdBx0/s1600/misc._007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQXjx3vpXWGjHlztAFjqJnwW4jszqID68lxLoRjP6UmxEkldgv1GwWXDSlUJjam87eCwQhx8GoiSdF_ygggfRGQ3Q_LelSoJFGogZyo9_PpMftIjg2ZBr_Qhne6BmQz5wHlm1pQDdBx0/s200/misc._007.jpg" t8="true" width="200" /></a></div>That blasted house was standing in our way. If we didn't sell it, I would have to stay behind and work in Iowa and Bubba would move to wherever it was that he would be working. That did not appeal to either of us in the least. We had already put the house on the market...we tried to sell it by owner last summer/fall, but our timing was off. The market all but completely died earlier than anticipated and nothing happened. We broke down and listed it with a realtor during the holidays - a horrible time to try to sell a home, but I had to at least try! Three months later...nothing. The market finally started showing signs of life, so we did another 30 day listing by owner. <br />
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In the mean time, Bubba and doc came to a verbal agreement...all was starting to look up and we could see a light at the end of the tunnel. Even though there wasn't a written contract yet, Bubba proceeded with licensing in the state we would eventually be moving to and otherwise getting all his ducks in a row to start working as a doc in the clinic.<br />
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On the last day of our 30-day listing, Jason, a dear friend of ours came down from Wisconsin to visit, and to go turkey hunting. Yes, this was a very crazy time for us, but it was probably the last time Bubba would get to hunt for turkey in Iowa. So they went. That morning, Bubba dropped a 25lb tom at 8:45 am with a 9 3/4 inch beard and 3/4 inch spurs. I don't really know what all that means, but he was very happy with this and he wanted me to share it with you. All I know is that it was yummy! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEI0XehhYbjyFGHPo5GnCwwg0KB4NZakbH9Y9X36-0q_u1CKkWevufrB91imcY04Z3cOIgGdl3qXZAQB7QkVxq5GpHe21P43xCiucz77KjXlLpgKJeq1yHyBK76AmGJu4uC4zIoGZkJt0/s1600/Spring_2011_Iowa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEI0XehhYbjyFGHPo5GnCwwg0KB4NZakbH9Y9X36-0q_u1CKkWevufrB91imcY04Z3cOIgGdl3qXZAQB7QkVxq5GpHe21P43xCiucz77KjXlLpgKJeq1yHyBK76AmGJu4uC4zIoGZkJt0/s320/Spring_2011_Iowa.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I know the story seems to be rambling and jumping all over the place, but I have added the turkey hunt to the story as it was the kickoff to a very good day. This was the day that everything came together. Bubba got his turkey that morning and he got his new license in the mail in the early afternoon. The final employment contract was faxed to us a little later that day. AND THEN WE SOLD THE HOUSE!!! Yes, that turkey was the precursor to a WONDERFUL day!!SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-39520127029556600312011-06-01T08:24:00.000-05:002011-06-01T08:24:16.081-05:00Insanity is....Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". According to Einstein, I would almost guarantee that we have been insane for the past several of years. Let me explain...<br />
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Since about the middle of Bubba's time over at Palmer, we decided that we would like to live in the greater Denver Colorado area. During his final year, as well as the months following graduation, we continually tried to find a way to go to Denver. I had a job there waiting for me, so that was an easy decision. What wasn't easy was finding a clinic for Bubba. Numerous road trips (and large travel expenses) later, what did we come up with? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It didn't matter what avenue we pursued, nothing opened up. We looked at associateships, independent contractorships, sharing office space, buying an existing practice, and opening our own clinic. Nothing panned out. We found one space sharing option that was promising, but the location was way too small and wasn't set up for how Bubba wanted to practice. Maybe we were being too picky, but some things you just don't want to compromise with. We were lucky...I had a good job in Iowa and we could take our time to find the right fit. <br />
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As some of you may know, we decided to break the Denver search cycle and opened our sites to the rest of the country (see posts from last fall). Well that, my friends, was the end of the insanity but the beginning of a whole different kind of crazy. Bubba placed a great ad on Planet Chiro with his CV attached, and his phone and email lit up with docs wanting to interview, and some even making offers site unseen. After much weeding out and<em> MANY</em> phone calls later (although we were not too happy with the cell minutes significantly over our monthly allotment), we made a decision. <br />
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First, we had to send Bubba for an interview. I decided not to go, just to save $$. We booked his flights and all was well. The next day, my mom convinced me to go too, and even paid for the ticket, so I went ahead and booked a flight. Unfortunately, not the SAME flight. Not even close. Bubba had an uneventful flight to Baltimore, rented a car, had a nice drive down to Salisbury and stayed at the Marriot. I had a significantly different experience...I had the flight from hell. Due to flight scheduling, I flew into Reagan in DC. There were severe winds that day, and flights were rumored to be grounded...but we made it...barely. Coming in over the Patomac River, the winds hit hard...the plane was being shook violently both vertically and horizontally. The flight attendants were screaming, which did not give much comfort to us passengers. We had to take numerous passes at the runway before the pilot was finally able to set us firmly on the tarmac. We were alive and unharmed...there was applause. Because of the winds, we landed late...very late. This matters only because of my rental car. Due to homeland security issues around the DC area (or so we were told), I could not rent a car at one airport and drop it at another, and I was leaving from Baltimore, not DC. So, I had to catch the metro/subway from Reagan, switching lines halfway through, then take a bus to the Baltimore airport. Timing was everything...and nothing worked as planned. I missed the train by 30 seconds, so I took the next one. Ultimately, that caused me to miss my bus, so I had to wait an hour for the next one. And I had to pee. Sorry if that is TMI, but there's nothing worse than being stressed, having to go and having nowhere to go. But I digress....it all ended up working out - I eventually go to the car rental desk, got the car and proceeded to drive to Salisbury. I'm still not sure my trip was really worth all the effort, especially seeing as I only stayed one night (albeit it was at a Marriott) and had to leave the next day, but it was definitely an adventure...and I <strong><em>LOVE</em></strong> adventures!SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-75731425375156863782010-12-31T11:24:00.000-06:002010-12-31T11:24:31.631-06:00What I learned in 2010Okay, I know I just did my end of year post - but that was for normal stuff, not my "creative" side! LOL<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When I learned to knit in Oct. 2009, I had no idea that I would enjoy it as much as I do. I learned to crochet right before moving to Iowa in 2003, but that's my extent of yarn history. So, when I got bit by the yarn bug I was a bit surprised, then decided I needed to challenge myself and learn some new stuff.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I learned to knit socks. I love hand knit socks. Who knew (other than knitters) how absolutely wonderful they are to wear? In order to satisfy my need for uniformity, I knit them both at the same time on the same needles. It would drive me batty if one was even 1 row longer than the other. I know, I'm wierd...especially when you see how unruly my house is LOL</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhl0xQgKtRQocLy6E3ZVPWu9RtCI0jJM5qFe2Uquh_TJpd1KPSdyKJuyOWTAADbGgDff2CVzVFCCyb8LXtiY-qKOGVyZXp6spili_DYtIXzOGDnlXr6Uv_tPDxtc-ubC_D7axeevn2N4/s1600/1st+socks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNhl0xQgKtRQocLy6E3ZVPWu9RtCI0jJM5qFe2Uquh_TJpd1KPSdyKJuyOWTAADbGgDff2CVzVFCCyb8LXtiY-qKOGVyZXp6spili_DYtIXzOGDnlXr6Uv_tPDxtc-ubC_D7axeevn2N4/s200/1st+socks.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCfeFYLoneWXZ9Lb5uTkKnHNiFSldtqztploiZMEZWHcJUcG3Vve-o9Zp-WxUDFhX4KcJXdPkHhneewqo6T_ZjNu7pnK6h3-lIQ5gOW17uXMXgdZUKMjkqGNCRYtN-vEyqLgFGIhQ64o/s1600/Twisted+Rib+Socks+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCfeFYLoneWXZ9Lb5uTkKnHNiFSldtqztploiZMEZWHcJUcG3Vve-o9Zp-WxUDFhX4KcJXdPkHhneewqo6T_ZjNu7pnK6h3-lIQ5gOW17uXMXgdZUKMjkqGNCRYtN-vEyqLgFGIhQ64o/s200/Twisted+Rib+Socks+5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">My first two paris of socks</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_tXSFmt-CKZnxb5Ld6yG2GI3m_VmkEzbiXqHdXR1aFRPSktL3jGlGPF3RMbI4FcdYsFuwb-ohyeD5n4hdYXXJa91ydbFYZaF3WmLQ3w29WNCcifUK53Mpbh4cYD4sBH-th6n1Fywpqs/s1600/Butterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig_tXSFmt-CKZnxb5Ld6yG2GI3m_VmkEzbiXqHdXR1aFRPSktL3jGlGPF3RMbI4FcdYsFuwb-ohyeD5n4hdYXXJa91ydbFYZaF3WmLQ3w29WNCcifUK53Mpbh4cYD4sBH-th6n1Fywpqs/s200/Butterfly.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> Pair #3 - it's an alpaca blend that turned out too big :(</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I will have to re-knit with smaller needles</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1dBYQQd3iG7UsRjJnHeHQgyEonvN1G4GH7MXnWwSDzyUgXYcAyJtCzhNjocB55sbe7Gq9-ZpS88f8xFpfk_wAeMAH15nPw_yo7JpIyJf6QHL800ShQbMezhEu5r3PYfHoeR6-xbBvhc/s1600/Pedi-Socks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1dBYQQd3iG7UsRjJnHeHQgyEonvN1G4GH7MXnWwSDzyUgXYcAyJtCzhNjocB55sbe7Gq9-ZpS88f8xFpfk_wAeMAH15nPw_yo7JpIyJf6QHL800ShQbMezhEu5r3PYfHoeR6-xbBvhc/s320/Pedi-Socks.JPG" width="180" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> Pair #4 has no toes - they are pedicure socks. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Put them on before they paint your toes and your feet will stay warm. Perfect for cold weather pedi's! These were a gift for my SIL</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzxNKZPVZkoiyU68Xh6QpsYRADIsgQaJiTnVIvTRnA33htITFJlHQ3mrhpoJtoLo3E-CnmnlhO-soAfuyAwTo6rQr_k7roAkBFGYAciZmNuGjKU50gVdHZ8HZeAvMPofq0z_HWEC7Bog/s1600/Finished+Swans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzxNKZPVZkoiyU68Xh6QpsYRADIsgQaJiTnVIvTRnA33htITFJlHQ3mrhpoJtoLo3E-CnmnlhO-soAfuyAwTo6rQr_k7roAkBFGYAciZmNuGjKU50gVdHZ8HZeAvMPofq0z_HWEC7Bog/s200/Finished+Swans.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Pair #5 - first true lace socks. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I had to learn how to read a charted pattern for these. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Oh, and they were knit from my own hand-dyed yarn...Bonus!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I learned so much more this year, besides socks: </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqrBZUES6K82m5fhaIUYPswEIFeaKTVwzdy1woPiEXTKywU9XXXvn-ENZkzRHrtUusTzH2SOQmY-jD8jQgQa-0Qe48XQLGOdrE3-7FGcOS0evXfkWLUqebWk7DO3guDAdAl8vIpfIIPM/s1600/1st+hat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqrBZUES6K82m5fhaIUYPswEIFeaKTVwzdy1woPiEXTKywU9XXXvn-ENZkzRHrtUusTzH2SOQmY-jD8jQgQa-0Qe48XQLGOdrE3-7FGcOS0evXfkWLUqebWk7DO3guDAdAl8vIpfIIPM/s320/1st+hat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I learned how to knit in the round by making hats</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I made several hats, but Bubba would kill me if I posted the pics of him modeling them!</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9-9HJY8sV76qj4DAN5KmKuEnhnYzseIICqQFM4NfKzyFPg5b7EQ1u2L5Znbu1Y5YFKQAvE2plvOp2yKyWr6X6qPFwAhNvRtAvDOSBWfRbQlq7aExOcfatOYz5dOPVLioFOmaWouucnU/s1600/Cabled+Legwarmers+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG9-9HJY8sV76qj4DAN5KmKuEnhnYzseIICqQFM4NfKzyFPg5b7EQ1u2L5Znbu1Y5YFKQAvE2plvOp2yKyWr6X6qPFwAhNvRtAvDOSBWfRbQlq7aExOcfatOYz5dOPVLioFOmaWouucnU/s320/Cabled+Legwarmers+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I learned how to cable, making my MIL some hand knit cabled legwarmers</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQSt4VlEoJUJEHFTcRAZWOskm3KGcmjRwe29krSOPjdKqU5u8aWcO394nTp4CNczprrWdxazn_pTay4OMseZ0qo67lSbOgpjfqbCqSqxWjS6xnr-RBuLTJI1cJitEu-LmP7jXQAHpPac/s1600/Booga+Tigg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQSt4VlEoJUJEHFTcRAZWOskm3KGcmjRwe29krSOPjdKqU5u8aWcO394nTp4CNczprrWdxazn_pTay4OMseZ0qo67lSbOgpjfqbCqSqxWjS6xnr-RBuLTJI1cJitEu-LmP7jXQAHpPac/s320/Booga+Tigg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">I learned how to "felt" a wool project - on purpose!</div><div style="text-align: center;">I did NOT felt the cat...but I did felt the bag. </div><div style="text-align: center;">(the cats were not harmed in any way by my felting or knitting...Tigger just likes <strike>the camera's</strike> ANY attention)</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfTyVjX3qkKlwR2WIUyhG0DOwC8VjVirnMLDQwK_qOlzla5-Xpjwm0Xyl5CaUpQK4-Ai9IFMUuLWLIj1SIZTwetPMnQ_VgsLn5UxwnG_SW854uezKRgw_r_kjW0rXWLfb-h8AMZmCFDc/s1600/Blankie+yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfTyVjX3qkKlwR2WIUyhG0DOwC8VjVirnMLDQwK_qOlzla5-Xpjwm0Xyl5CaUpQK4-Ai9IFMUuLWLIj1SIZTwetPMnQ_VgsLn5UxwnG_SW854uezKRgw_r_kjW0rXWLfb-h8AMZmCFDc/s320/Blankie+yarn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I learned all about yarn swapping, and learned to swap out "yarn minis" like a pro. I also learned that when you are trying to find a scale that measures in the tenths of grams, you need to specify CLEARLY what it is that you are weighing so they don't think that you are a drug dealer. (yes, I got a few weird looks)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">But why would I want to cut up my pretty yarn into 20 "minis" and swap them with other yarnies, you ask? </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">So that my itsy-bitsy sock yarn blankie will grow into a big couch-sized blankie</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgAAzcudcmyQou6JsoZhQ_PiGjx0j7BZfaqU1xgkm1x7eywt9Md9UwBD4Sw1G944Kb5oUSuHbloIw5PxJDL1jZFYhKtFA7W9Cb8wsj6oKgHZKbQpSD9P1XNAWlXplcM8yZX3knnMswOQ/s1600/yarn+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqgAAzcudcmyQou6JsoZhQ_PiGjx0j7BZfaqU1xgkm1x7eywt9Md9UwBD4Sw1G944Kb5oUSuHbloIw5PxJDL1jZFYhKtFA7W9Cb8wsj6oKgHZKbQpSD9P1XNAWlXplcM8yZX3knnMswOQ/s320/yarn+020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
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I think the last, and maybe the BEST thing I learned this year was how to dye my own yarn. It's like coloring with a little chemistry for big kids! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuseC5eqxtIZe9RvwhOtafRFRZjEYCLzFK-3B9lkDB5-fi1rMVNBm4Xfd55UTVkftFPt5CZEV3TCtsteBMRjaj9q5JCN9i_2dJG4JjTRbFO3jE2BmNjoyeuuZOaGHG9p0bq8BzZ4A930I/s1600/DIY+16-B+re-skeined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuseC5eqxtIZe9RvwhOtafRFRZjEYCLzFK-3B9lkDB5-fi1rMVNBm4Xfd55UTVkftFPt5CZEV3TCtsteBMRjaj9q5JCN9i_2dJG4JjTRbFO3jE2BmNjoyeuuZOaGHG9p0bq8BzZ4A930I/s320/DIY+16-B+re-skeined.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqsApWD3A6cWsDU8E9h_Dak8XIWG9lZSDqKcMDyxCeLE5lQuqa0BTb2KNE4DwDDAqS484gahB2MKykQljDXl_TBk_wyXziz_7jAYjmZ2hZ2jqFNCqOeMzSp6p5gMj09Gv0X8h82uypmA/s1600/DIY+%2523+17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqsApWD3A6cWsDU8E9h_Dak8XIWG9lZSDqKcMDyxCeLE5lQuqa0BTb2KNE4DwDDAqS484gahB2MKykQljDXl_TBk_wyXziz_7jAYjmZ2hZ2jqFNCqOeMzSp6p5gMj09Gv0X8h82uypmA/s320/DIY+%2523+17.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdQg19yJDUqu8mpnxzhaljhVpb6fQRh5O6i6dafoHQt8c3_2OLqde0zWc9klYGK3Q9EGzGWjXMxqLM2V9_buZbUCm7_dEXgeC58lUjA1if7U4c0tuzggDpYr-IIsA2H8M6Y_J0ssF7nc/s1600/Orange+Creamsicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdQg19yJDUqu8mpnxzhaljhVpb6fQRh5O6i6dafoHQt8c3_2OLqde0zWc9klYGK3Q9EGzGWjXMxqLM2V9_buZbUCm7_dEXgeC58lUjA1if7U4c0tuzggDpYr-IIsA2H8M6Y_J0ssF7nc/s320/Orange+Creamsicle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">All of the yarn I have dyed has been cut into minis and swapped out, with the exception of this last one, "orange creamsicle"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> While I have never been a big fan of the color orange, I love how the yarn turned out. I knitted it up into the socks shown above and L-O-V-E them! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well friends, that's all I've learned in 2010 as it relates to my craftiness. I have not stamped or scrapbooked ANYTHING in at least a couple years...it's all packed away, and I don't really sew or quilt, although I have a sewing machine and would like to learn (I still have my unfinished quilt I started when we were first married). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What does 2011 hold for me and my yarn? I am not sure, but there is so much to learn...I'm sure I can fit it in somewhere between socks and dye pots! </div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-42087416694503013242010-12-31T11:18:00.000-06:002010-12-31T11:18:16.589-06:00Farewell 2010...2010 has not been a "great" year, but it certainly has not been a bad year in any way, shape or form. It has, however, been a year of great moments.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUOS59I9vtDVIY-NtwkWhc8Ov-e86pFgGzKsE3gxycNxLo9y2pZrzB1wk2zWRnFDGeuPmag-Lq9PP0r83yblMeRh20v2wj4DbxuB-FIcY-YwX5c5louobtiaqgVnL9RvkMnwXWfdDiAA/s1600/Randy%2527s+Graduation+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUOS59I9vtDVIY-NtwkWhc8Ov-e86pFgGzKsE3gxycNxLo9y2pZrzB1wk2zWRnFDGeuPmag-Lq9PP0r83yblMeRh20v2wj4DbxuB-FIcY-YwX5c5louobtiaqgVnL9RvkMnwXWfdDiAA/s320/Randy%2527s+Graduation+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> This moment, GRADUATION DAY, was such a wonderful experience. It had been such a long road we went over to get to this point, but it was so worth it when we were finally reached the finish line! </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcicAAtW6K7fEf8Yl9U0FzEJfmRhDe9GfRkBbv6D1J8PtOIASE07xn35LKJgUOmlsODqpFcKwDtueSYfKIBQSqCRhwEd90b0EZRyjVywPPZNtofkdN3YWnzXPNtuhR9KWev-QWHxZ4Wv8/s1600/P9120099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcicAAtW6K7fEf8Yl9U0FzEJfmRhDe9GfRkBbv6D1J8PtOIASE07xn35LKJgUOmlsODqpFcKwDtueSYfKIBQSqCRhwEd90b0EZRyjVywPPZNtofkdN3YWnzXPNtuhR9KWev-QWHxZ4Wv8/s320/P9120099.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> We took our first ever international trip together </div><div style="text-align: center;">(and first non-family-visiting trip since we were married 12 years ago LOL)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtgVU7Ivo58tt1orac6ws_0px6y4fMZSZPtNaDafCDTHOHT1GVgrIno_-0C3NLzoRzXVKGenUyyIBOI-4XDNyUOxXLh7htAxvTjalA3pKwLf5Zxcf6Qw9tku0Odp3NEcxrv28xyRza5M/s1600/P9110067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtgVU7Ivo58tt1orac6ws_0px6y4fMZSZPtNaDafCDTHOHT1GVgrIno_-0C3NLzoRzXVKGenUyyIBOI-4XDNyUOxXLh7htAxvTjalA3pKwLf5Zxcf6Qw9tku0Odp3NEcxrv28xyRza5M/s320/P9110067.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We met some fabulous new friends</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTDC2VE1tIUEXPwdmDFLcXs0Nq8ORwvjwo9Z3eqSB6uMuxkJPHVgTLU8DH6G4l8R16qNQcWHVUsrpriTPlF2lo_aGMtED7hTH_fn_zw399yh5bMAKYYYsJSNQeGlhEgGeoLfDFU1GsWs/s1600/wisconsin+2010_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTDC2VE1tIUEXPwdmDFLcXs0Nq8ORwvjwo9Z3eqSB6uMuxkJPHVgTLU8DH6G4l8R16qNQcWHVUsrpriTPlF2lo_aGMtED7hTH_fn_zw399yh5bMAKYYYsJSNQeGlhEgGeoLfDFU1GsWs/s320/wisconsin+2010_3.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIWbAXV_WVVPjtxhrpz8eMcy1hgdEGIWvSV5xXymhuDNvJwOtCLRbwbp13hv1z6Whn7oOo_OSYu3oSXqMRs98YuBxRPulP9LKCBrF26Iz7HscQ_88FvmBjLlX8Aks9iOolviIwDVPVw4/s1600/wisconsin+2010_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIWbAXV_WVVPjtxhrpz8eMcy1hgdEGIWvSV5xXymhuDNvJwOtCLRbwbp13hv1z6Whn7oOo_OSYu3oSXqMRs98YuBxRPulP9LKCBrF26Iz7HscQ_88FvmBjLlX8Aks9iOolviIwDVPVw4/s320/wisconsin+2010_2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">and had lots of fun with old friends</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuUE3M-pplrbO64t-jc8ciKt2hFPER7ubwAZ1-yP5PSiKXYVzyoTwu_w51mMm3QUlExpTNfpMWnAd8XHg3VBbZFacEswwnaNM9hM73Pjgrgwe0gq0Mq2zXc35eX1ENrP_KennBsc_JWw/s1600/missoula+map+2.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuUE3M-pplrbO64t-jc8ciKt2hFPER7ubwAZ1-yP5PSiKXYVzyoTwu_w51mMm3QUlExpTNfpMWnAd8XHg3VBbZFacEswwnaNM9hM73Pjgrgwe0gq0Mq2zXc35eX1ENrP_KennBsc_JWw/s320/missoula+map+2.GIF" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We were met with some interesting opportunities</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU_TRi3H2Uph0T4Tu66dIg0KOOGo0g4itE28UyBLbo0oWtTYtB45bDnCh2VUoi3UNJU5TNfHAw_FVR3IVDW7tEuagwcB6U6zwlYUveTtYDT01F0HA8Fj5SmGKrXJUTQLH6_olPAgtUH4/s1600/welcome+to+colorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKU_TRi3H2Uph0T4Tu66dIg0KOOGo0g4itE28UyBLbo0oWtTYtB45bDnCh2VUoi3UNJU5TNfHAw_FVR3IVDW7tEuagwcB6U6zwlYUveTtYDT01F0HA8Fj5SmGKrXJUTQLH6_olPAgtUH4/s1600/welcome+to+colorado.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">but decided to keep to our path to Colorado</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">As I look back at our year in review, I am thinking that this was a pretty darn good year, maybe even great (if you take away the fact that the house isn't sold and we are still in Iowa so we haven't opened a practice - I know, what a downer). We have our health, a roof over our heads, food on the table, clothes on our backs, a car that works, family that loves us, and most of all, we have each other - what more could we ask for? Wait...I'm thinking it really has been a <strike>good</strike> GREAT year! </div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-67477738534715806982010-11-30T14:37:00.000-06:002010-11-30T14:37:42.913-06:00Good Things Come in SMALL Packages....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">You know the old adage: Good things come in small packages. Well, friends, I'm here to tell you that isn't always true...especially when dealing with employment contracts. It looks as though, in my total excitement for my wonderful husband to have a seemingly perfect job offer, I may have jumped the gun a little. As another old saying goes....If it's too good to be true, it usually is. Apparently, as contract negotiations began, we found that things are not as they were verbally discussed. Without getting into all the grubby little details, there were too many unresolved issues, which left us feeling very uneasy about pursuing this any further. Not to sound "wishy-washy" or anything, we have formally withdrawn from negotiations and declined the position. We have officially reverted back to our original plan to move to Denver, which is not a bad thing - we both are excited for Denver and all the possibilities that city holds. So, instead of deleting my prior post, I am posting this retraction. Please disregard everything from my last post - it was all hogwash. Denver, here we come...unless we don't...who knows anymore LOL</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgltBvIOuFQtVPznNpsS15jmn_7DUOReloAgabbvR82twd-F1rOmhZ9m_SkO5rC81WTdqSt8D30iZmMEnVQ2kRmPSWUBJ1_Po6JwFJBJIY26aUqhOo08sguzoBypZ50gGagaVIX7cqVw/s1600/coloradowelcomesign_cropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgltBvIOuFQtVPznNpsS15jmn_7DUOReloAgabbvR82twd-F1rOmhZ9m_SkO5rC81WTdqSt8D30iZmMEnVQ2kRmPSWUBJ1_Po6JwFJBJIY26aUqhOo08sguzoBypZ50gGagaVIX7cqVw/s1600/coloradowelcomesign_cropped.JPG" /></a></div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-42527210163249456322010-11-21T17:22:00.000-06:002010-11-21T17:22:01.722-06:00Perfect WeekendFriday, the official start of my weekend, started off with a bang... <br />
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So, as you all know, Bubba graduated in February. A LOT has been going on between then and now...including Part III boards and waiting for those results, getting licensed in Colorado, road trips to Denver for job searching, finishing the house, trip to Vietnam...we've been a little busy. <br />
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As for the job search, Bubba looked at associate positions, indepenent contractorships, buying an existing practice, opening our own practice from scratch. There are so many options and we were just not having luck finding the right fit. The opportunities that did seem good ended up falling apart, then the search would begin all over again. There seemed to be a great big wall keeping us out of Colorado. Yeah, we could have just moved to Denver and he could have made it work at some random clinic, but we both had that feeling that there was a great opportunity out there waiting for us. <br />
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So, Bubba did what any frustrated recent grad would do...put out an ad. He typed up an eye-catching ad for a position wanted on a huge Chiropractic web page and the phone lit up. He had offers all over the country...but none from Colorado. We didn't want to move to North Carolina (okay - this I would agree to), Nebraska, Conneticut, Florida, Ohio, Washington...just to name a few. But one call struck a chord with Bubba and he decided to interview...that was a month ago. We have been waiting ever since. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work at, then purchase, a high income clinic with state of the art equipment. This is Bubba's dream clinic, so needless to say the waiting has been killing us!! <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Friday...we got the call...Bubba got the job!! So, we are no longer moving to the Denver metropolitan area. Where are we moving, you ask? </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuUE3M-pplrbO64t-jc8ciKt2hFPER7ubwAZ1-yP5PSiKXYVzyoTwu_w51mMm3QUlExpTNfpMWnAd8XHg3VBbZFacEswwnaNM9hM73Pjgrgwe0gq0Mq2zXc35eX1ENrP_KennBsc_JWw/s1600/missoula+map+2.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuUE3M-pplrbO64t-jc8ciKt2hFPER7ubwAZ1-yP5PSiKXYVzyoTwu_w51mMm3QUlExpTNfpMWnAd8XHg3VBbZFacEswwnaNM9hM73Pjgrgwe0gq0Mq2zXc35eX1ENrP_KennBsc_JWw/s320/missoula+map+2.GIF" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Yep...Missoula Montana. It may not be Colorado, but we will still have snow, we will still have mountains, and we will still have a bit of a drive to see family. We will NOT have all of the conveniences of a metropolitan area (I don't think they even have an asian market), but it is an awesome college town and it has a Costco! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">So, Friday we celebrated @ the <a href="http://outback.com/index.aspx">Outback Steakhouse</a> with steak and lobster and finished it off with some Chocolate Thunder...mmm. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Saturday we recycled, donated, and laundered...then I finished the evening knitting my blankie while Bubba finally got to enjoy his new Call of Duty Black Ops game. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">This afternoon, the Cowboys won again (although we couldn't watch it - it's not in our region), Bubba made his famous and very tasty Potato Soup, and I get to play with yarn. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Finally...a perfect weekend! Who could ask for more?SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-75134678260693658702010-11-14T11:54:00.002-06:002010-11-14T12:09:50.853-06:00Vietnam<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our trip to Vietnam was not the typical tourist/vacation type excursion. That would be too easy...and that's just not how we roll. Instead, we went with a close friend from Vietnam and had a completely different experience than we would as a tourist. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon7z4A7jCr4_FufwivuNG8_T3RbLBC6zAnPI9Ckvq6EThev_oytuC1snM9Fi7G-CI5nzF4W1NefM0DrFV96vibJTvmEf6L8SNrdiARZ0sM-dr_nM8AbJ8AyF-abHqInHNHY1osfGCS_k/s1600/P9110063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjon7z4A7jCr4_FufwivuNG8_T3RbLBC6zAnPI9Ckvq6EThev_oytuC1snM9Fi7G-CI5nzF4W1NefM0DrFV96vibJTvmEf6L8SNrdiARZ0sM-dr_nM8AbJ8AyF-abHqInHNHY1osfGCS_k/s200/P9110063.JPG" width="200" /></a>As a tourist, we would have stayed at a hotel, with glass in the windows, hot water and air conditioning, and would have paid for this luxury. We stayed at our friend's house in DaNang...for free. There was no glass in the windows (just security bars), the front door was a metal accordion door, no hot water (woohoo - cold showers!) and no air conditioning. This was a little hard to get used to, as the weather there is very tropical (hot and HUMID). I have to say, the cold showers were not so bad in the afternoon/evening, but a little shocking in the early morning LOL. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUIprP-dEDMC2PfeYc0SxeH08Cw5D1IwyPXB4CBLWwzD6NDYiLidieV_VeeM1Vn9MiH0mh826F6DMAvZCuD2RcCcyaLA721FZi9DmUyVLcQ07BZf1k094LjliFi1rEs5jvTayHb30gnI/s1600/P9130112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUIprP-dEDMC2PfeYc0SxeH08Cw5D1IwyPXB4CBLWwzD6NDYiLidieV_VeeM1Vn9MiH0mh826F6DMAvZCuD2RcCcyaLA721FZi9DmUyVLcQ07BZf1k094LjliFi1rEs5jvTayHb30gnI/s200/P9130112.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">As a tourist, we would have eaten at hotel restaurants, making sure we knew WHAT we were eating. We ate at small area "restaurants" that the locals frequent. I use the term "restaurant" loosely, as many of the eating establishments are small store fronts with some tables and chairs, and NO menu. They only serve one dish. You sit down, they bring food, you eat. For someone like me that has a hard time deciding what to choose from a menu, this was great. The food in these places was actually pretty good and mainly consisted of different types of noodles served with mystery meats, and some in soup form. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGEEj9lhdNHf6dmgCTc_7cTw1So3i9hgcChJOZY-dZSR2Fn4df8lDmngZwTomzgTeibNbn1XKfSsNDd07_rVet6NEF-ediLyQCehE5kVhKeY7UREe0rbraC69tBBpci_yNh_WVHY5wo/s1600/P9120078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGEEj9lhdNHf6dmgCTc_7cTw1So3i9hgcChJOZY-dZSR2Fn4df8lDmngZwTomzgTeibNbn1XKfSsNDd07_rVet6NEF-ediLyQCehE5kVhKeY7UREe0rbraC69tBBpci_yNh_WVHY5wo/s200/P9120078.JPG" width="200" /></a>As a tourist, we probably would have taken some excursions to touristy areas. We were able to go to the a couple small villages outside of DaNang for memorial services for family members. Dai took us to the "temples" which were burial plots in the family's village and we gave offerings (incense, flowers and fruit) and said prayers to honor the memory of his family. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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As for touristy-type stuff, we did get to Hoi-An, which was filled with tourists. The streets were lined with vendors pulling on your sleeves trying to sell their wares. While there, we sat by the river, enjoying the view and a Coke, before moving on. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcicAAtW6K7fEf8Yl9U0FzEJfmRhDe9GfRkBbv6D1J8PtOIASE07xn35LKJgUOmlsODqpFcKwDtueSYfKIBQSqCRhwEd90b0EZRyjVywPPZNtofkdN3YWnzXPNtuhR9KWev-QWHxZ4Wv8/s1600/P9120099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcicAAtW6K7fEf8Yl9U0FzEJfmRhDe9GfRkBbv6D1J8PtOIASE07xn35LKJgUOmlsODqpFcKwDtueSYfKIBQSqCRhwEd90b0EZRyjVywPPZNtofkdN3YWnzXPNtuhR9KWev-QWHxZ4Wv8/s200/P9120099.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZGrYas6o5CLh0dHfKj2H-h9agvTtcglWiAs7NOnWuXkwJBkT2FXMbl5C8Z_bVKrh-Ekh4Esl11ASH19tWLzi5fDiQmKgTWeuMsygcFDI5g-K9gcVBvonvjrVPEpBRgdz1JfsOR14jHs/s1600/P9120102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZGrYas6o5CLh0dHfKj2H-h9agvTtcglWiAs7NOnWuXkwJBkT2FXMbl5C8Z_bVKrh-Ekh4Esl11ASH19tWLzi5fDiQmKgTWeuMsygcFDI5g-K9gcVBvonvjrVPEpBRgdz1JfsOR14jHs/s200/P9120102.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-W_uoGqUNWy_Ndsqhv-kX2H9cuRST-ovbSJYWjnCuzEErcXwNygWOIO2FW8ArkIQSnjYozXtgRYUWna9VwqDuuecxUYnpwKOXjh1F0P0-zqVh2uVbJtTAea1HwCTd9BEP4W8tyhmu0I/s1600/P9100056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-W_uoGqUNWy_Ndsqhv-kX2H9cuRST-ovbSJYWjnCuzEErcXwNygWOIO2FW8ArkIQSnjYozXtgRYUWna9VwqDuuecxUYnpwKOXjh1F0P0-zqVh2uVbJtTAea1HwCTd9BEP4W8tyhmu0I/s320/P9100056.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We also got a chance to go to China Beach which is in DaNang, just a 10 minute drive from Dai's house. This area is beautiful. We took a walk down to the water which was SOOO warm! We pulled up our pant legs and played in the water for a while, enjoying the beautiful day. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra4bcLqUW1f9Cx8xoEk3CiN5YwKQfiZCFA_zxfArnv7HBokuYI4c_KJg6NVWuH_fkF_Mgf91_VqiMHEhVSUNySca33eMn-8-hJKXzghRf4IVmgssDD_gD5m2rE20906vkcbLrsaWlXsM/s1600/P9110068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgra4bcLqUW1f9Cx8xoEk3CiN5YwKQfiZCFA_zxfArnv7HBokuYI4c_KJg6NVWuH_fkF_Mgf91_VqiMHEhVSUNySca33eMn-8-hJKXzghRf4IVmgssDD_gD5m2rE20906vkcbLrsaWlXsM/s200/P9110068.JPG" width="200" /></a>As a tourist, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet all of the wonderful, gracious and generous people in Vietnam as we did. Dai took us around to his family and friends, and we met some absolutely wonderful people. Most of the people we met did not speak a lick of English, however there were a few that we were able to speak with, and they posed as translators for us. The language barrier did not keep any of us from enjoying our time with each other. They even had a surprise party in our honor!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqdAKexCoDIgtlQ3VyrymdD46xNgkef98p9j6MNxX-S4xZHsyE2cQDN6gs0u88U5M3x1VoREywfW0QBU0aDslr-RXC9w0tstgxwt4YFYa5dJP-2wcmnVTlHjIjBYUUK-knyNaczz7-20/s1600/P9110065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqdAKexCoDIgtlQ3VyrymdD46xNgkef98p9j6MNxX-S4xZHsyE2cQDN6gs0u88U5M3x1VoREywfW0QBU0aDslr-RXC9w0tstgxwt4YFYa5dJP-2wcmnVTlHjIjBYUUK-knyNaczz7-20/s200/P9110065.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtgVU7Ivo58tt1orac6ws_0px6y4fMZSZPtNaDafCDTHOHT1GVgrIno_-0C3NLzoRzXVKGenUyyIBOI-4XDNyUOxXLh7htAxvTjalA3pKwLf5Zxcf6Qw9tku0Odp3NEcxrv28xyRza5M/s1600/P9110067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtgVU7Ivo58tt1orac6ws_0px6y4fMZSZPtNaDafCDTHOHT1GVgrIno_-0C3NLzoRzXVKGenUyyIBOI-4XDNyUOxXLh7htAxvTjalA3pKwLf5Zxcf6Qw9tku0Odp3NEcxrv28xyRza5M/s200/P9110067.JPG" width="200" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6wIKzbCIm9-9B0lhAFT77kT6EsGZLc0eTh0uDFyJ3q-G8dWeI4Fg774e-dvSAE85jBK6WbzS0iHTquJ_Y6tN5Kk_e4-uQ2YrDnXIVeO96xq9dSZKNe-2G4fwOrluoDEACxNay-aH2tE/s1600/P9090044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6wIKzbCIm9-9B0lhAFT77kT6EsGZLc0eTh0uDFyJ3q-G8dWeI4Fg774e-dvSAE85jBK6WbzS0iHTquJ_Y6tN5Kk_e4-uQ2YrDnXIVeO96xq9dSZKNe-2G4fwOrluoDEACxNay-aH2tE/s200/P9090044.JPG" width="200" /></a>We had originally planned this trip because Randy was asked to address the Orthopedic Surgeons at the DaNang General Hospital regarding the benefits of Chiropractic for their non-surgical patients. I wish I could say that the presentation went off without a hitch - it did not. The translation of his power point presentation was not there, and the person who coordinated everything was gone too. Our electric adaptor did not fit our computer, and we barely had enough juice in the laptop to get through everything. Luckily there was a translator for Randy, but the translations took so long that time ran out before the presentation was done. There was question and answer time at the end and it seemed that they understood what Randy was trying to get across to them. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtQo4S4uusK9MqjvIj7zpkNUJk64D3MW66ETVVwI2zn3jyIclgAlHVyEynP04HQKCzaSOc1H9h3_Kjxl-LTStV5W0wBcssI3PhUa8wsKVCzy7adyq6Vs9pck1_BcRHPW9l6aCiJAifkg/s1600/P9130105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtQo4S4uusK9MqjvIj7zpkNUJk64D3MW66ETVVwI2zn3jyIclgAlHVyEynP04HQKCzaSOc1H9h3_Kjxl-LTStV5W0wBcssI3PhUa8wsKVCzy7adyq6Vs9pck1_BcRHPW9l6aCiJAifkg/s200/P9130105.JPG" width="200" /></a>We did not think this was a "success" due to all the things that went wrong, but this presentation led to meeting some influential people which then led to a last minute formal meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs. We went to the government building and met with government officials. Randy was able to explain what Chiropractic is and how it can benefit their patients. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I need to back up...one thing I have not mentioned is the traffic. There are few, if any traffic laws. The streets are loaded with so many motor scooters (and some cars) going in all directions and very few stop lights/signs. It truly is a madhouse. Because of this, there are many traffic accidents and injuries, with many of the injured not requiring surgery. With their current health care system, these people have no treatment options other than pain meds. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Recently we received a call that the Vietnamese government in DaNang would like the student docs at Palmer to come to their hospital as part of the Clinic Abroad program. And while the Clinic Abroad program already goes to Vietnam, they do not treat nearly as many patients as they could with the cooperation of the hospital. This can be a great benefit to the Vietnamese people, as well as a great clinical experience for the student docs.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, all in all this was a great trip and an experience that we will remember forever.</div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-10519895430403929612010-09-03T23:56:00.000-05:002010-09-03T23:56:54.284-05:00AugustAugust News:<br />
<br />
We are STILL in Iowa<br />
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That's about all that can be said for August. <br />
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Oh wait...I played one round of golf and made the best shot of my life - a 60+ yard chip right into the cup. SWEET!!<br />
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And I had some more big-girl coloring time in my kitchen (I really only use my kitchen to dye yarn...Randy has to do all the cooking if he wants to eat!!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOwV_Yvqz48l-BXYHQjRHaPWns4eAnrAYFzwqmgsFXbZ8jCtDfmsjfUIoV9nWcV6eTj11h5W646QZX4VxAMeXgGOs4udRlSI2763HOBGNAv0w3xdtJFDAgvMY8t_gBgqSHPJsvCy2bp4/s1600/All+Balled+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOwV_Yvqz48l-BXYHQjRHaPWns4eAnrAYFzwqmgsFXbZ8jCtDfmsjfUIoV9nWcV6eTj11h5W646QZX4VxAMeXgGOs4udRlSI2763HOBGNAv0w3xdtJFDAgvMY8t_gBgqSHPJsvCy2bp4/s200/All+Balled+Up.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvxwQzrMRFffCMMEuxcdQU_NslKTtdqnn069VmYIk0QZG-4rDph7XQIuDaS1KZ9_ZRhMUAO89XRSzHm0nmqoo7csKltEKSXPTWXDrCDslDUHkQQkNusaCXr9nJF6gbNXViCt9FZ8kiAo/s1600/DIY+%2315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOvxwQzrMRFffCMMEuxcdQU_NslKTtdqnn069VmYIk0QZG-4rDph7XQIuDaS1KZ9_ZRhMUAO89XRSzHm0nmqoo7csKltEKSXPTWXDrCDslDUHkQQkNusaCXr9nJF6gbNXViCt9FZ8kiAo/s200/DIY+%2315.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, <em>THAT'S</em> all that can be said for August</div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-56978814463849955492010-09-03T23:44:00.000-05:002010-09-03T23:44:44.527-05:00What Happened to July?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, I just realized that my last post was in June. What happened to July? This year is flying by - and not in a good way - more of a "Oh no...I thought we'd be outta here before the end of summer" way. Hahaha...we continually find that life cannot be planned out and perfectly executed - so we will continue to wing it, and just enjoy the ride! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspWTqYFO-14M1y4sIBT7gtgzl2yw2UWc25cwc7mnYca32sgmPiIFhGk13c_hLMwzRw3HkxCtgYjcfqKsPtJEvZogOvVi9c8p94IHXUd7DLk4Cd-mnBMMoLLGBCXhYUiLoML2ChKJ_Biw/s1600/IMG_1937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspWTqYFO-14M1y4sIBT7gtgzl2yw2UWc25cwc7mnYca32sgmPiIFhGk13c_hLMwzRw3HkxCtgYjcfqKsPtJEvZogOvVi9c8p94IHXUd7DLk4Cd-mnBMMoLLGBCXhYUiLoML2ChKJ_Biw/s320/IMG_1937.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">July was HOT, humid and rainy for most of the month, which meant NO GOLF for me. It rained every day that I wasn't working, but that's okay, I'll survive. Early in July we spent a long weekend in Colorado, scoping the place out. It was nice to see mountains again - Oh, glorious mountains, how I have missed them! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNNUvXWgCY8sEtTwUSh3GxI8L0TwTeuq0KXd4kRRu7RerZHcS5gtH1tvZtK-aBcc85Cq-C0Yhnt7Zs5Z0X7WDJi2DMKHy-WHgpyIeIVzb6_l_N7SUmZW2cwHPSZ7JGB3MTFJ759y9xhc/s1600/wisconsin+2010_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNNUvXWgCY8sEtTwUSh3GxI8L0TwTeuq0KXd4kRRu7RerZHcS5gtH1tvZtK-aBcc85Cq-C0Yhnt7Zs5Z0X7WDJi2DMKHy-WHgpyIeIVzb6_l_N7SUmZW2cwHPSZ7JGB3MTFJ759y9xhc/s320/wisconsin+2010_1.jpg" /></a>We finished off July in Wisconsin, fishing on Lake Michigan. Again, it was hot and humid...and rainy. Over the course of our 2 days of fishing, we braved the rain, heat, humidity, freaky-thick fog, and horrible swarms of mosquitos. We had FUN (that is NOT said in a sarcastic tone...we really DID have fun!) and came away with about 50 lbs of king salmon!! </div><br />
In between our out-of-town adventures, we spent our free time installing a vinyl floor in the basement and various other little home improvements...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mbg4qjVb7eXSHYisVz7OAEXqFHFEZ1WQzOFPe6E8LhCMYwmP46Vhy7uoASbQszljuceA509eMX6ohMTXOqyIz4tNpoNlRo3aiootUjDr507FtqOLSI3R9Y_p7mJDMDoAu9_dlii9EDc/s1600/misc.+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7mbg4qjVb7eXSHYisVz7OAEXqFHFEZ1WQzOFPe6E8LhCMYwmP46Vhy7uoASbQszljuceA509eMX6ohMTXOqyIz4tNpoNlRo3aiootUjDr507FtqOLSI3R9Y_p7mJDMDoAu9_dlii9EDc/s320/misc.+004.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Before)<br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OmM5jerc-_VN0DRvtbuelBwM5P5mu9qCo3nO4mlVuZmLHX3Gk4owZd29hr94f1J0y3elVt-juOIGr8WEYg0E8kXfigbybNuL25hHzLvV5pmRToqF6y6Or1a84jDervgBCWwmB2cRKic/s1600/Basement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6OmM5jerc-_VN0DRvtbuelBwM5P5mu9qCo3nO4mlVuZmLHX3Gk4owZd29hr94f1J0y3elVt-juOIGr8WEYg0E8kXfigbybNuL25hHzLvV5pmRToqF6y6Or1a84jDervgBCWwmB2cRKic/s200/Basement.jpg" width="180" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(After)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Nthw3-56lzmH09VX4fq6ezw72-gPRYS5TlbEG4sSDDZyiOfSxbAn4uYKFA6w8G0E3YZRqYtrM4ShhHyqeaXxW4jCcbfyu6LJe2zvxn-2hk9X1bc6EIjV01qE3eldn73smvRo0KyKKM/s1600/Basement+Floor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8Nthw3-56lzmH09VX4fq6ezw72-gPRYS5TlbEG4sSDDZyiOfSxbAn4uYKFA6w8G0E3YZRqYtrM4ShhHyqeaXxW4jCcbfyu6LJe2zvxn-2hk9X1bc6EIjV01qE3eldn73smvRo0KyKKM/s200/Basement+Floor.jpg" width="180" /></a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I also kept myself busy during my "free" time with all sorts of yarn play - I learned how to cable and I got to dye my own yarn which turned out lovely </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQk9lZdevSmhuPmft3uIV_E2S7n44cHAXALY_Qu1oQ8KP2BoxWQYoTp0bJfbg0dh7sQrLSkJ8EtvWKDGYDRMdzZFSGO0I0U7ccEdv0wQOsvtCW4OUG_CTWHzELJXMwR4fNuGcgZwGFUI/s1600/yarn+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitQk9lZdevSmhuPmft3uIV_E2S7n44cHAXALY_Qu1oQ8KP2BoxWQYoTp0bJfbg0dh7sQrLSkJ8EtvWKDGYDRMdzZFSGO0I0U7ccEdv0wQOsvtCW4OUG_CTWHzELJXMwR4fNuGcgZwGFUI/s320/yarn+027.jpg" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Wilton's icing dyes makes yummy colors</td></tr>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">All in all, July was a great month full of adventure - but it seemed like I blinked and it was over. </div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-23204488183946050172010-06-12T11:28:00.000-05:002010-06-12T11:28:45.559-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Hi...my name is Suzy and I'm a (developing) yarnaholic. I am an addict...obsessed with all things yarn. It is my crack and Jessi is a B-A-D influence on me!! LOL Over the Memorial day weekend, I went to Coralville and spent Saturday with Jessi. It was my 12th anniversary. I spent it playing with yarn, not my husband. I'm bad, I tell you...addicted to yarn crack. Of course, Bubba and I had a lovely evening together to celebrate 12 years of love and marriage, so at least he wasn't totally ignored. Besides, he spent our anniversary playing Call of Duty and thought I was only gone two hours, not the eight hours I was really gone - so we both had fun, which set the tone for a great weekend. (Disclaimer: we were <em>supposed</em> to spend the day on the golf course, enjoying our anniversary TOGETHER, but his shoulder injury flared up and his doctor <em>ordered</em> him to take it easy for a few days, which meant no golf. So, he would have spent the day playing that blasted video game whether I was home or not)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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These are some of my recent acquisitions...I love the pretty colors - they entice me to spend money and I just can't resist. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Lf4yU9p5bY-cvVktLJRtxElGdkF6ezcH5jsFAszq5rY90cd9zDRY8pFlcDhXCWUOl6CYeyRm9N5t3uqDZ8IjfiY69EhtKryJqYsz3ISfQyR96bxFDFweFiCnvGAZsOxovByfzOqirAY/s1600/yarn+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Lf4yU9p5bY-cvVktLJRtxElGdkF6ezcH5jsFAszq5rY90cd9zDRY8pFlcDhXCWUOl6CYeyRm9N5t3uqDZ8IjfiY69EhtKryJqYsz3ISfQyR96bxFDFweFiCnvGAZsOxovByfzOqirAY/s200/yarn+004.jpg" width="150" /></a> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Bubba made me a cool new tool to use to help me with my yarn winding...a yarn swift from pvc. I eventually want a beautiful wooden one that can mount to the wall and a table, but I will have him do that after we are set up in the new house. Besides, I have NO space in this house for a table-top swift, so this floor model is perfect - and it easily comes apart for storage. This works wonderfully and cost less than $20 (which means more $$ for my habit!!)</div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-66376913510755719602010-05-09T18:44:00.000-05:002010-05-09T18:44:02.244-05:00Cold Feet - Warm SocksYay for me! I finally finished my very first knitted socks - and just in time because they are wool and the weather turned cold this weekend! They are a tad big, even though I made them toe-up and tried them on numerous times, and the heels looks funny when they're not on my feet (actually the entire sock looks clown-like without my tootsies in them, but who cares...right?!) I have to say that knitting socks two at a time on two circular needles was actually enjoyable...I might have stumbled upon ANOTHER addiction LOL<br />
I even have left over yarn...maybe I will have to make a sock yarn blankie too, just like Jessi! :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnZTrrl2jR_nOeHYJA7s2rPBiqeUoXbhajTPY6uTTXsV3_p532HrO34syel7egfTJJJKs_ujX5e3reP3qMhI0u8vawzDnLZn4bTkVP-JAUE0F4D_sEBGBp3OQ1eYdTK9Ibzith2HC1Nc/s1600/1st+socks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnZTrrl2jR_nOeHYJA7s2rPBiqeUoXbhajTPY6uTTXsV3_p532HrO34syel7egfTJJJKs_ujX5e3reP3qMhI0u8vawzDnLZn4bTkVP-JAUE0F4D_sEBGBp3OQ1eYdTK9Ibzith2HC1Nc/s200/1st+socks.jpg" tt="true" width="200" /></a></div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-67074721383033231902010-04-11T11:09:00.000-05:002010-04-11T11:09:30.594-05:00Ugh...So much to do, and I don't want to do it! Laundry has completely gotten away from me, but why? There's only the two of us. I am trying to get all the blankets washed, coats, etc and packed away, but that just takes time away from regular laundry. And then there's the packing and organizing. REALLY? I am at the point where I just want it all gone. <br />
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I packed up all my craft stuff last weekend - 18 boxes worth. They are all taped up, labeled and packed neatly away in the crawl space. Now I'm re-thinking that. Do I really want to haul all that stuff across the country so it can sit in boxes for months or most likely years? Should I just get rid of it all? I was very inspired after visiting Jessi yesterday, as she had a very valid point - if I EVER decide to stamp again, will the stamps I have even be "in style" anymore? And all that ink would just be dried up. Maybe I should go through it and sell most, if not all of it now and save myself the headache later. So, does anyone want to buy my stuff at a discount?! <br />
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Ok, back to organizing and packing - my third bedroom is now the catch-all room. It should be the guest room. We have a bed in there, but it is standing on end with tons of stuff (mainly for Goodwill) piled around it. Our close friend Jason in coming down from Wisconsin tomorrow and the boys will be doing some spring Turkey hunting in the mornings and basement remodeling in the evenings this week. This means I need to spend all my non-laundry time today trying to get things packed or removed and donated from this black hole of a space by tomorrow. Ugh...I wish I had $$ so I could just hire someone to do all this tedious crap for me and I can just play all day. I got some yummy new yarn to play with yesterday when I visited Jessi and I just want to park my butt on the couch and knit. Or maybe golf first (the weather is beautiful) and THEN knit! Decisions...LOL <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirogwPIz-pCJkg9dwDnvgyI6T8kcE4mcLu7AUJruLvnPUHx-kDqhyphenhyphen8ah-p3HtnNMK_lQCZF8yihhQCL5sKLaiQmkvd4q0xbO5u4pjEmor0RO5qNXwxt9JePQUKLS-HqTd2WpujAoLkwFU/s1600/yarn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirogwPIz-pCJkg9dwDnvgyI6T8kcE4mcLu7AUJruLvnPUHx-kDqhyphenhyphen8ah-p3HtnNMK_lQCZF8yihhQCL5sKLaiQmkvd4q0xbO5u4pjEmor0RO5qNXwxt9JePQUKLS-HqTd2WpujAoLkwFU/s320/yarn.jpg" wt="true" /></a></div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-4558458726204174912010-03-28T18:26:00.000-05:002010-03-28T18:26:19.946-05:00It's Official!!!Well, I guess it's old news now...but it's official - Randy graduated and is now a doctor! WOOHOO (you can't see it, but I'm doing the happy dance)!!<br />
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Okay, so now what? Our time in Iowa is drawing to a close and it's time for a new adventure in Colorado. I do have to say that I'm excited to be leaving Iowa (and I won't be sad leaving our little home in the ghetto), but I have a lot of great memories, met some incredible people and made wonderful friends. I guess it's time to get to work and get the heck outta here :)SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-4849315171204357862010-02-14T18:28:00.000-06:002010-02-14T18:28:37.635-06:00How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways....<div style="text-align: center;">1. You make me feel safe when I'm with you</div><div style="text-align: center;">2. You are bright and shiny, like a new penny</div><div style="text-align: center;">3. You are technologically advanced and fun to play with</div><div style="text-align: center;">4. You are comfy</div><div style="text-align: center;">5. You are easy to handle, even in tough conditions</div><div style="text-align: center;">6. You are strong and rugged</div><div style="text-align: center;">7. You are dependable</div><div style="text-align: center;">8. You have great features </div><div style="text-align: center;">9. You turn heads when we go places</div><div style="text-align: center;">10. You are well built and FORD tough </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Although these things describe my Bubba, who I LOVE with all my heart, I'm actually talking about this: </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAafWQ3anntg4zFsU9ijae7RiKQKNQiUd6VODoqCdA9iaU8bOnGaJsFgLdUcZXlBfS5MO_X4FWC1qfVnKKs7fKMwFDqcv26eFY8xZFECW7PJa0oqFDSONF6BF3tgV4iNDrfVTFs9hQvs/s1600-h/New+Truck+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAafWQ3anntg4zFsU9ijae7RiKQKNQiUd6VODoqCdA9iaU8bOnGaJsFgLdUcZXlBfS5MO_X4FWC1qfVnKKs7fKMwFDqcv26eFY8xZFECW7PJa0oqFDSONF6BF3tgV4iNDrfVTFs9hQvs/s320/New+Truck+cropped.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Our brand-spankin' new 2010 FORD F-150</div><br />
Our poor old truck had enough and we had to let her go. With no warranty and looking at a buch of $$$ in engine repairs that we couldn't do ourselves, we decided to trade her in for a new model while we still had good equity. It was a cold and snowy night - much too cold to be walking around the car lot trying to find THE truck, so we drove off the lot with a demo truck and had it for a couple of days before taking it back, knowing that it wasn't the truck for us. After a lot of looking, our salesman finally found the truck we wanted - or at least the closest thing to it. We still had to pay for a chrome package that we didn't want, but we got a couple extras that we weren't expecting, so it made up for all that chrome. Oh, and it's RED! Happy Valentines Day!! SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-33472911716883313322010-01-30T10:23:00.000-06:002010-01-30T10:23:58.967-06:00Vacation Anyone? Check out this awesome blog and website AND possibly win a Seattle Vacation. Who doesn't need a vacation? <br />
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<a href="http://www.rachelthurston.com/blog/?p=1860">http://www.rachelthurston.com/blog/?p=1860</a>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-61620818484552638852010-01-29T19:06:00.000-06:002010-01-29T19:06:53.328-06:00Mad SkillsI've now got mad ninja skills...with my brand-spankin'-new circular knitting needles - so watch out! LOL I finally made my first real foray into circular knitting and made a hat. I've been putting this off for months because of those EVIL double-pointed needles (DPNs) - yes, they ARE evil!! Every time I tried to work with them I either made tons of mistakes or almost lost an eye from all those pointy ends sticking out. I got so excited when I found out I didn't HAVE to use DPNs for knitting in the round E-V-E-R (yay!!) So, armed with two sets of circular needles, I was able to finish with no mistakes AND the hat actually fits! cha-ching Even Bubba was impressed and wants me to make a hat for him :)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-61856229567651965122010-01-08T14:00:00.000-06:002010-01-08T14:00:34.213-06:00S-N-O-W is that four letter word I've been mumbling under my breathI love the snow...under CERTAIN conditions. Growing up in the desert, I did not have to shovel snow. We could drive up a well maintained road to a mountain resort and enjoy the snow while not having to work with it. Then, when we had our fill, we could drive back home to our warm, sunny spot in the desert valley. That was nice and enjoyable. Now we live in Iowa...it's a whole different story here. Between the arctic temperatures, the strong winds blowing across the plains, freezing rain and a whole bunch of snow piling up in my driveway, I'm starting to re-think my love of snow. Ok, not REALLY - I still love the snow...I'm just not liking Iowa so much right now. What I AM rethinking is my wish-list for Santa. This is my new wish list: SNOW BLOWER. That's all I want/need. Why didn't I ask for this back in 2003 when we moved here? or the next year? or the next? Why do I forget this one essential item? Because we normally don't get slammed with snow until AFTER Christmas and the memory of such horrible, backbreaking days shoveling ice-snow is just an inkling of a nightmare long past. So instead, I get to send Randy outside to chisel away the foot tall ice hump at the end of the driveway while I rest my aching back from shoveling the rest of the drive. SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1580574304001191566.post-38551243308131448262009-09-11T20:22:00.008-05:002009-09-11T21:23:24.556-05:00While Randy studies for National Boards (part 3), I figured I would finally download the camera and update the blog...<br /><br />Our last Iowa summer is coming to close, not that there was much of a summer. Other than about 2 weeks of HOT, the weather was relatively cool and pleasant and I'm glad that I won't leave here with fresh memories of a sauna-like summer. We ended up having a lot of fun in August, with a tractor ride through the country followed by a game of horseshoes with some friends, finally seeing a River Bandits game (who?!?), and ending with a spectacular 4 days in Wisconsin. I have no pictures of the first few events, but we did get pictures of our Wisconsin adventures.<br /><br />Our friend Jason is from a small town outside of Milwaukee and he invited us up for some fishing. We love fishing, but we've never experienced BIG lake fishing and Lake Michigan is HUGE! We left his dad's house around 2:30 am on Friday and were in the boat heading towards open water by around 3:30. Apparently, the fish stop biting after the sun comes up, so we had to get an early start. Have I ever told you that I'm not a morning person? Yeah, I was not too happy about the lack of sleep, but excited to bring in some fish so I didn't complain too much.<br /><br />Jason had checked the wave report before we left, and we were supposed to have 2 to 3 foot rolling waves. We made it past the break and into open water and found out the wave report LIED! We were hitting 3 to 5 foot waves (and I swear there were some bigger that that) and feeling every one of them. After going almost a mile we were ready to set up rigs. Unfortunately, Caroline (Jason's girlfriend) ended up feeling very ill from the waves. Poor girl - she looked absolutely miserable. Needless to say, we turned around to take her back so she could nap in the truck, then we headed back out again. All that travel on the water was really freaky...the waves were high and the sky was pitch black so I had to turn around and watch the Milwaukee skyline. Well, we got back out to the spot, set up the rigs and ended up catching three 8 lb fish - two king salmon and one rainbow trout. The fish stopped biting and we were freezing, so we headed back in. We did end up going back out that evening and the waves were pretty much gone, but so were the bigger fish. We caught seven, two of which we lost and three we released since they were really small. We kept the only decent sized fish - two more 8 lb king salmon. We had to cut it short as we watched a storm roll in and we didn't want to be caught out on the water. We finished getting the boat secured and the fish cleaned as the rain hit - perfect timing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhOD2nHotxZ_3nU1hZiGz4dNjRmPArZSVsgmaAwHn0ndh_eUf7TRWpjRdCvhgQgFoHbgfs3CqKdNzBRJRv-MPhFOtaTopnRobTxuHl2-ML1_AtXqBr2AMBcoAOxutl0ljbMa_qEDZrj8/s1600-h/P8280032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhOD2nHotxZ_3nU1hZiGz4dNjRmPArZSVsgmaAwHn0ndh_eUf7TRWpjRdCvhgQgFoHbgfs3CqKdNzBRJRv-MPhFOtaTopnRobTxuHl2-ML1_AtXqBr2AMBcoAOxutl0ljbMa_qEDZrj8/s320/P8280032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380397951669906690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4GzQKG92ntWRFMvQGWmSYIIwtjHzSWj0GkMnuL8nE3ygz7EQpuPFW_tWKlUF0PV6opMxFOQQU8TkD24yRSk9FKmwB_A4z8yTCeW-V0BbVfp0RJhmbO7pMhk160at5crMgwpy7l7tals/s1600-h/P8280040.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4GzQKG92ntWRFMvQGWmSYIIwtjHzSWj0GkMnuL8nE3ygz7EQpuPFW_tWKlUF0PV6opMxFOQQU8TkD24yRSk9FKmwB_A4z8yTCeW-V0BbVfp0RJhmbO7pMhk160at5crMgwpy7l7tals/s320/P8280040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380398173355905090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3USJ1qAG9C4GHWXewZcSrjtGJlJZazs9Fu32XXN5FIZs5h84Iz0ls6L25lja4Q3ivZJ3JSM1ee_t7dLKKyuTtmxonWKf5WoyNS8DEtaaXPfInkiau5DHTm9FrW4vYBFDZsfovD1jRpI/s1600-h/P8280030.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu3USJ1qAG9C4GHWXewZcSrjtGJlJZazs9Fu32XXN5FIZs5h84Iz0ls6L25lja4Q3ivZJ3JSM1ee_t7dLKKyuTtmxonWKf5WoyNS8DEtaaXPfInkiau5DHTm9FrW4vYBFDZsfovD1jRpI/s320/P8280030.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380397080370177938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnH8M6H9Gco-xn_vlrkEe_ojRgCHV7xSZL6YgPpE5RDwiTXKMygX54yrq-QILoyPNGLwn7pexPFdEKuw9z0TxFEe47X6ZJ6dhvPHNmqDQQVnyKzCQ6cAPqSdqhjzXegrJFzylRyMzdM0/s1600-h/P8270018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnH8M6H9Gco-xn_vlrkEe_ojRgCHV7xSZL6YgPpE5RDwiTXKMygX54yrq-QILoyPNGLwn7pexPFdEKuw9z0TxFEe47X6ZJ6dhvPHNmqDQQVnyKzCQ6cAPqSdqhjzXegrJFzylRyMzdM0/s320/P8270018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380396478015132226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8C_DJfUKvDwkImpuRoz527oNfap48EE_Y5a4m7CQm-qYy3IVHbZez4-GhBVTA1cUxAVz0jf7gYicY1JVEhCy0bM0pOWkAGa3-JbtqlPiH58mQwvc1WYZ8ABcPExsLd0A3wYHbVM2_2Y/s1600-h/P8280047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8C_DJfUKvDwkImpuRoz527oNfap48EE_Y5a4m7CQm-qYy3IVHbZez4-GhBVTA1cUxAVz0jf7gYicY1JVEhCy0bM0pOWkAGa3-JbtqlPiH58mQwvc1WYZ8ABcPExsLd0A3wYHbVM2_2Y/s320/P8280047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380397102010101266" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That evening, while we were on the lake, another couple from Palmer arrived at Jason's. They ended up heading out fishing Saturday morning. We decided to sleep, especially since the wave report was for 3 to 5 foot waves (which meant they were probably bigger) and I had my fill of that adventure. They ended up not even getting a bite - the storm must have scared all the fish away. We spent the rest of the day at Cabella's and the guys were in heaven (and so was I since there was a sale and I can't resist a good sale!)<br /><br />We ended our weekend with a trip to Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. It was Randy's first MLB game and we had so much fun! What a great way to end our last summer in the midwest!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuLkFi3NpdXZYie4UgR25NGQZFWoSpR7vqQPjnK6wUPmuCLaMFWPMfRfCIVxtEgb9ZJZAn_6JZaLhr7Z3ZWAzRh6cDxbIBQ0nBAi3rzYh3usm6H3t2Y_Z9NOEG0FRBDosF4rDTei_5qU/s1600-h/P8300057.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiuLkFi3NpdXZYie4UgR25NGQZFWoSpR7vqQPjnK6wUPmuCLaMFWPMfRfCIVxtEgb9ZJZAn_6JZaLhr7Z3ZWAzRh6cDxbIBQ0nBAi3rzYh3usm6H3t2Y_Z9NOEG0FRBDosF4rDTei_5qU/s320/P8300057.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380397111942102082" border="0" /></a>SuzyQ01http://www.blogger.com/profile/01642359406656750358noreply@blogger.com0