Family-Time

This morning I got to sleep in a bit before meeting my parents & their friends for breakfast - which I definitely needed after being out so late the night before.

After breakfast, my mom & I headed an hour east to Sioux Falls to see my sister-in-law as well as my nieces & nephew & enjoyed the afternoon hanging out with them. My brother had left for Vegas early this morning so I missed seeing him :(

Here are a few pics I took at their house:Aunt Heather & Joslyn

My nieces Kyra & Joslyn

My nephew Lane & big sister Joslyn

My adorable nephew Lane

After a wonderful afternoon spent with family that I don't get to see very often, my mom & I made our way back home. We had dinner plans with my grandparents later that evening so we didn't have much time to relax before we were all on the road again traveling 30 min to my grandparents farm.

Grandpa ended up taking us out to dinner at the local restaurant & then we headed back to the farm where we toured grandma's awesome garden & spent more time visiting. It is always wonderful to get to see my grandparents & I cherish every moment I get to spend with them!

It ended up being an early night to bed for me as I was getting up early to make my way back to South Dakota. It turned out to be a great trip back home spent with old friends & my wondeful family.

20th HS Reunion - part 2

After some down-time & a cool shower, I got ready for this evenings conclusion of the 20th reunion festivities. I picked up my friend Murf & we decided to eat first since we would be drinking this evening & should probably have full bellies beforehand! We may have gotten old but we definitely aren't dumb :)

We headed to Chef Louie's for a steak dinner & some one-on-one time to catch up. We started dinner with a glass of Reisling & soon time was passing us by with all our chit-chat. After a lovely meal we paid our tab & moved on to Dr. Lucky's Bar & Grill where everyone from the reunion was meeting. One of my classmates owns this bar so he shut down the place for a few hours so we could all enjoy ourselves.

We walked in & this was the sign above the bar that greeted everyone:

Time to mingle & get this party started! We spent most of our evening catching up with everyone, snapping tons of pictures & reminiscing about our high school days!

Murf, Amy & Fry pose for the camera

Darin, Fry, Farah & Murf

(I have been friends with Farah since the 3rd grade & friends with Murf since the 7th grade)

Me & some of the girls I used to hang out with in high school - minus the dude in the middle! I think he saw an opportunity to get a pic with these lovely ladies & jumped in!

Fry & Murf toasting the evening with Purple Passion - our drink of choice in high school! Tastes just as good as I remember it!

I ended up staying out until 1:30am with my ol' classmates & had SO much fun! I didn't want to leave but I had an early morning ahead of me so I said my goodbyes & we all agreed to get back together in 2015 for our 25th reunion.

Scary to think I will be in my 40's by then....yikes!

20th HS Reunion

This morning I awoke early to the sound of an empty house. Dad was out feeding the livestock & mom was still asleep. I made a pot of coffee & then made my way out to my favorite spot in the house - outside on the front deck. This was the view:

It was just me, my coffee, the horses, birds & this awesome view. So peaceful! What a great way to start one's day!

Today was the beginning of the reunion festivities starting with the picnic. I spent the rest of my morning getting ready for that & then made my way over to my friend Heather's house - who was my BFF in high school - to pick her up & head to the park. Her last name was Murphy & mine was Freier so all throughout high school we were known as Murf & Fry! I haven't seen her in 10+ years so I was very excited to pick her up & catch up with her. Here we are in 1989 - big hair and all :)

We were in charge of the "registration" portion at the picnic so we set up our stuff at a picnic table & greeted everyone who arrived. This was nice as it allowed us a chance to see everyone who was there as well as meet their spouse & their children.

After everyone checked in, we all enjoyed a catered lunch & spent the next few hours catching up with everyone. It was fun seeing how people have changed - for the better & for the worst - as well as seeing my old classmates interact with their children. Here is a pic of me & my classmate Jenn Dice who was the organizer of the entire 20th reunion event!

Shortly after we ate, we all gathered for a professional "group photo" which took forever to take! By this point, it had gotten extremely hot out, the kids were hot & tired, the adults were hot & people wanted to get going. After about 45 min of shifting people left & right & up & down they managed to get the picture. Hope it is a good one after all that trouble!?

I left shortly after the picture & made my way home for a little "down-time" before the evenings festivities....as well as a nice cool shower :)

Road-trip

I am leaving the hubby & dogs behind & making my way to South Dakota for the weekend. Seems that when I wasn't looking, 20 years passed me by since I graduated high school & for some reason my classmates wanted to all gather this weekend for a 20th High School Reunion!?

I was unable to get Friday off so unfortunately I had to work the morning shift before I could make my way. I went in to work around 6:30am & left the hospital around noon. Put the top down on the convertible, iPod was on shuffle & I was off for the 7 hour road-trip to SD!

This was my first long trip in the car with the top down. The first 3 hours were fantastic. Sun shining down upon me, wind blowing through my hair, fun music being played. But after awhile, I had to put the top back up because I was starting to get burnt - even with my SPF on - & I didn't want to look like a red lobster for the reunion. So I finished the rest of my trip in the air conditioning.

Arrived into my hometown of Mitchell around 7:30pm & my mom had an awesome steak dinner waiting for me when I got there! I enjoyed the rest of the evening hanging out & visiting with my parents. It was so nice to be back on the farm & spend some "alone" time with my mom & dad!

Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 Favorite Purchases Made This Year

1) Dell laptop - I bought this in January & can't believe I lived this long without one. It has been SO nice being able to watch TV, lay in bed, sit on the patio, hang with Shane all while being on the laptop surfing the internet. It was definitely money well spent!
2) Mustang Convertible - it has been so much fun driving this little sports car around town - especially with the top down. Unfortunately, these last few months it seems we have had more rainy days than sunny days but it has still been fun regardless if the top is up or down!

Holiday Weekend

So excited to get to enjoy a 3 day weekend. Shane & I didn't have any definite plans since I was on call the entire 3 days but we did enjoy it none-the-less. Unfortunately, it ended up raining the entire holiday weekend so that really put a crimp in my "pool-time" :(

Saturday morning Shane woke up bright & early to install a storm door to the doorway off of the patio. One more to go & soon all the outside doors will have the protection of a storm door. The rest of the day was a lazy one spent inside (since it was raining) catching up on the DVR, cleaning the house, running a few errands & waiting for my pager to go off. Lucky for me it never did.

Sunday ended up being another lazy day. I woke up thankful my pager hadn't gone off yet, thankful I have the freedoms I do as an American citizen & thankful to be spending the latter part of the day with awesome neighbors.

Since they made fireworks "legal" in Spring Hill this year, I ventured out to get a few as did the neighbors so we could light them up later in the evening. The rest of the day was spent lounging around watching movies. While out getting fireworks, I made a stop at the local Redbox & rented Shutter Island. After watching it, we both agreed that it was a pretty good movie that kept your interest but I didn't particularly care for the ending. We were both glad we didn't pay to see it in the theatre also!

After the movie, we met our neighbors out in the cul-de-sac to light fireworks & enjoy the evening. About 15 min after everyone got settled in their lawn chairs it started to rain. So, fireworks were postponed to Monday night. Talk about a bummer :(

Monday I woke up to another quiet evening on call. Can't believe I had been on call for 50+ hours & I hadn't gotten called in yet!? Crazy...but I am not complaining! Shane & I decided to risk my being called-in & went to a movie. I had been wanting to see the new Twilight movie: Eclipse so we went & ended up seeing it in the IMAX theatre. I have loved all of these movies & would have to say this was the best one I have seen thus far. I loved it & can't wait until the next one comes out.

Afterwards, we ran to Hyvee, got a few groceries & headed home. As soon as we walked into the house my pager went off. Talk about good timing - was thankful we weren't still sitting in the the theater. So I rushed off to St. Lukes East, did the procedure & was back home in time for dinner & fireworks with the neighbors.

It was a beautiful evening to be outside & we enjoyed watching the little kids light fireworks....as well as the "big kids" :) Our neighborhood friends Melissa & Nick ended up walking down to our cul-de-sac & joined in the festivities. It was nice to be able to catch up with these two "busy bee's" as it seems they are always on the go!

Since Melissa is our "photographer" of the group, she made sure to get a pic of the girls before her & Nick left. Little did we know that my neighbor Brian snuck a lit firecracker behind us - can you see it in the pic?! Yeah - that would be the "big kid" I was referring to earlier :)

Thanks neighbors for another successful July 4th gathering! Until next year...

Dream Dinners

How many times do you come home from work & ask yourself "what should we have for dinner"? This is a question I ask myself at least 3-4 times a week & I hate having to think about it. I wish I was one of those wives who was better prepared during the work week & provided her husband a hot-cooked, homemade meal Mon-Fri but lets be realistic - my job is not bankers hours. 2-3 nights a week I am either on call or scheduled on the late team which means I don't get home until around 6pm - sometimes later. By the time I get home, I am not in the mood to figure out what's for dinner.

So last month, a co-worker of mine was telling me of a place where she goes & chooses meals off of a menu, prepares them, takes them home & freezes them. She will then take a meal out of the freezer in the morning & it is thawed & ready to bake when you return from work. Sounded awesome to me so I looked into it.

The place is called Dream Dinners. I checked out the menu for June & signed up to attend a session with my co-worker Lisa. For those of you who have never heard of Dream Dinners you are about to be enlightened!

First you select your meals online from a menu that lists up to 17 entrees which changes every month. You can choose either 3-serving or 6-serving meals. Next you select which session you want to attend to prepare your meals. Don't have time to go & prepare them? No problem. They can prepare them for you & all you have to do is pick them up.

When you get there, you grab an apron & start assembling your entrees. There are stations organized so that guests can rotate from one to the next. Each station has all the ingredients needed for a particular dinner, from main ingredients to sauces to seasonings. Easy-to-follow instructions are posted, all the ingredients are pre-sliced & cut, & appropriate measuring cups & spoons are provided. Scoop/pour ingredients into Ziploc bags or baking pans that they provide & store in the frig until you are ready to go. It’s that simple. Takes about 2 hours to make everything.

Since it is just the two of us, I opted to make the 3-serving meals - minimum order is 36 servings. Each meal cost me around $10-$12 to make & I got a total of 12 meals. To some that may sound expensive but to me, for 3 nights during the work-week I can come home, not have to worry about what's for dinner & can be eating a nice hot meal with my husband in 20 minutes. In my opinion, you can't put a price on that!

Off of the June menu, I made: Hawaiian Chicken w/Jasmine rice, Surf & Turf Pinwheels, Sweet Chipotle Chicken over Egg Noodles, Grilled Pork Chops w/sweet potato fries, Southwest Chicken w/ciabatta rolls, Mango Glazed Salmon, Calzones, Italian Pomodoro Burgers & Herb Dijon Chicken Breasts w/Garlic Bread. And to think there were 9 entrees on the menu that I didn't choose! They also provide you a "side suggestion" with each entree so you can create a grocery list of "sides" for the week. Convenient!

Tonight was my first night baking one of the meals. I pulled the Hawaiian Chicken out of the freezer, put it in the frig this morning & by the time I got home it was thawed. Took less than 20 min to cook, made a side of honey-glazed carrots with it & it was dee-lish & easy-peasy.

After just one meal, I am already "hooked" on Dream Dinners & can't wait to go back at the end of July to prepare more!

Let me know if any of you reading this from the KC area are interested & would like to join me ;)

Out with the old...

...and in with the "new"!

I never thought I would be saying this anytime soon but last week Shane sold his beloved truck. Shocking I know. He has been having problems with it for the last month & was going to have to put several thousands of dollars into it to get it fixed. It was 6 years old & had almost 100,000 miles on it so instead of sticking the money into it, he thought he would try & sell it & get something newer with less miles. He mentioned to a friend at work that he was selling it & within 3 days, the truck was sold. I have never seen Shane more sad than I did the day he sold his dirtbike....until today. It almost broke my heart seeing him part with something that he loved so much - something he spent countless hours on & countless dollars on fixing it "just right". Removing everything stock on it & replacing it with something more "him"! I don't "get it" as a girl & am not sure what the big deal is but I guess that truck was a big deal to him.

So Shane spent the entire rest of the week looking for a replacement. At first he was considering getting a Hummer 3 but that thought was short-lived. After not having his truck for 2 days, he realized he is a "truck-kind-of-guy" & started looking for a truck similiar to his previous one. Well, he found one....down in Meridian, Mississippi.

The plan was to rent a car, drive down there & drive the new truck back together. An impromptu road-trip if you will. Well, unfortunately I got stuck at work late on Friday so Shane ended up making the trip by himself. He left around 3pm on Friday & returned home Saturday night around 11pm. 1400 miles in less than 32 hours - the man is crazy!

So what did I do while Shane was gone? For starters, Friday night I ordered take-out at my favorite Chinese restaurant then rented 2 chic-flic movies from Redbox, vegged on the couch & watched a sappy movie. Saturday I slept in, ran a few errands in the morning, spent 2 hours in the yard cutting grass, watering flowers & working on my tan, had cereal for dinner & watched another movie. It was FABULOUS! Just like old times when Shane was on the road for Roadway. As much as I enjoyed my time, I did end up missing my hubby :(

So when I woke up Sunday morning, first thing I did was check out the "new toy":

It's an '06 Dodge 3500 Ram with a Mega Cab & short bed. Shane informed me that the seats in the back fold down & you can fit a twin mattress back there. Hmmm - wonder what is on his mind??? :) Anyway, Shane loves his new toy & that is all that matters so I now have a happy husband back once again. And you know if the hubby is happy then mama is happy :)

Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 things (not people) you would take with you to a deserted island....

1) lip-stuff - an endless supply of Strawberry Carmex w/SPF 15 - love that stuff!

2) Blackberry - that way I would be connected to the outside world (calls, internet, blogging, facebook, camera, etc). Not sure what I would do when the battery died?!

Reality Check

Imagine if you will...

It is 10:25am.
You pull in to the QT to get a pack of cigarettes & a soda.
While you are at the counter, suddenly the world as you know it goes black.
You pass out & fall to the ground.
A stranger calls 911.

10:49am you arrive to the ER
You are unconscious, intubated, laceration to the head, with large ST elevation on the EKG.
You are having a major heart attack.
10:58am you are taken to the cath lab
12:35pm - the time of your death has been called
Your 47th birthday is in two days.

Sadly, this was my 2nd case of the day. In the 1-1/2 hours this patient was with us we did all that we could do & still it wasn't good enough. We don't often lose a patient on our table but when we do, it hits all of us hard - especially when they are so young. It is yet another gentle reminder how your life here on earth is short & can easily be taken away from you in a minute.

As I was doing this patients post-mortem care, I thought back to the "spat" I had with the hubby the night before & how he went to bed early & left for work before I woke up. We left things somewhat "unsettled" & even though I slipped a little "apology" note in his bag last night for him to find today, I couldn't help but think that if something had happened to him or me like it did to our patient, that the "spat" would have been the last conversation we ever had & that made me sad.

After I had finished with my patient, I went to the phone & called Shane. I told him what had just happened, apologized for being such a "pain" last night & promised myself that I would never leave any conversation left unsettled ever again. Again I am reminded to "live each day as if it is your last" because you know what? You just never know! I'm pretty sure our patient didn't wake up this morning knowing he was going to die later in the day. It makes me wonder if he lived his life to the fullest with no regrets!?

So far I have learned that it isn’t about the big things that you do, it’s about the little things in your life. It’s about taking an extra second to help someone and never leaving anything left unsaid. It’s about finding happiness in the small things you do every day. Most importantly it’s about never having regrets. Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can. Because like my patient today, you may never be able to experience it again...

Top 2 Tuesday

Top 2 Reality TV shows you would be on...

This required little thought as you all now know I have a Reality TV addiction. Hands down it would be:

1) Big Brother - which starts July 8th - not that I'm counting down or anything :) This show has been on for 11 seasons & I have watched every single episode! I would SO love to be able to live in that house & play for the chance to win the $250,000 prize. I just don't know if I could be away from my hubby & furry kidz for 3 months though?!

2) Amazing Race - I have watched every season of this show as well & would love to go on it with either my hubby or one of my siblings. Where I lack in the endurance & physical strength, I make up for in my keen sense of direction, map-reading abilities & awesome driving skills - just ask the husband :)

Summer Solstice

June 21st...

the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere & the start of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. It's also the longest day of sunlight for us and the shortest day for those south of the equator.

This is how I chose to spend my evening during the longest day of sunlight here in Spring Hill, KS:

Blogging on the patio with my "furry kidz" :) We all love summer-time!

Especially Millie - this is her favorite spot & her best impersonation of "Jabba the Hutt" - LOL :)