And the adventure continues...

Hopefully you've all read my previous post since I'm just continuing the saga...

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.

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.  

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.

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! 

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!!

Insanity 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...

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. 

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 MANY phone calls later (although we were not too happy with the cell minutes significantly over our monthly allotment), we made a decision. 

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 LOVE adventures!

What I learned in 2010

Okay, I know I just did my end of year post - but that was for normal stuff, not my "creative" side!  LOL

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.

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

My first two paris of socks

 Pair #3 - it's an alpaca blend that turned out too big :(

I will have to re-knit with smaller needles

 Pair #4 has no toes - they are pedicure socks. 

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

Pair #5 - first true lace socks. 

I had to learn how to read a charted pattern for these. 

Oh, and they were knit from my own hand-dyed yarn...Bonus!!!

I learned so much more this year, besides socks: 

I learned how to knit in the round by making hats

I made several hats, but Bubba would kill me if I posted the pics of him modeling them!

I learned how to cable, making my MIL some hand knit cabled legwarmers

I learned how to "felt" a wool project - on purpose!

I did NOT felt the cat...but I did felt the bag. 

(the cats were not harmed in any way by my felting or knitting...Tigger just likes the camera's ANY attention)



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)

But why would I want to cut up my pretty yarn into 20 "minis" and swap them with other yarnies, you ask? 

So that my itsy-bitsy sock yarn blankie will grow into a big couch-sized blankie

 
 
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! 
   

All of the yarn I have dyed has been cut into minis and swapped out, with the exception of this last one, "orange creamsicle"

 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! 

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). 

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!   

Farewell 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.

 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! 

 We took our first ever international trip together

(and first non-family-visiting trip since we were married 12 years ago  LOL)

We met some fabulous new friends

and had lots of fun with old friends

We were met with some interesting opportunities

but decided to keep to our path to Colorado

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 good GREAT year! 

Good Things Come in SMALL Packages....

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

Perfect Weekend

Friday, the official start of my weekend, started off with a bang... 

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. 

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. 

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!!  

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? 

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! 

So, Friday we celebrated @ the Outback Steakhouse  with steak and lobster and finished it off with some Chocolate Thunder...mmm. 

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. 

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. 

Finally...a perfect weekend!  Who could ask for more?

Vietnam

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.   

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

 

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!

 

 

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. 

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. 

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. 

  

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.

So, all in all this was a great trip and an experience that we will remember forever.