The Year in Review

It's hard to believe that 2010 is at a close and tonight we welcome in 2011. This is the first New Years Eve that I have actually been excited to begin the new year. This has been a crazy year and I have so much to be thankful for so I thought I would give a quick year in review for all those events that didn't get their own posts.

2010:

January: Bobby and I rang in the New Year with family and friends and then a few days later found ourselves at the IU Med Center in Indianapolis. In late 2009, my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery at the beginning of the year. The surgery was a success! and his follow-up appointments have gone well. Bobby was great and stayed with my mom and I and then drove my dad home in a horrible snow storm. That night we were so tired, we both practically collapsed in bed. Just as Bobby drifted off to sleep, he yelled out, "BUMP!" and jerked the whole bed.

April: Bobby and I celebrated our first anniversary! Marriage is tough and it is a lot of work but it's worth it. Bobby is a great husband and takes good care of me.

After several months of rotating partners at work Josh was TDY'd to Medic 12 for the month of April. He then decided to stay another month, then another and finally said he would stay and be my permanent partner. I am very fortunate that I have someone that I can rely on that not only has excellent patient care skills but is someone that I can be myself around. It makes for a very looooonnnnnggggg day when you're working with someone that is difficult to get along with. I have had the opportunity to get to know his wonderful family and consider them an important part of our lives.

May: I graduated!!! It's official, I am a college graduate! I graduated from IUSB with a BA in History and a minor in Anthropology. Bobby, my parents and grandmother all attended the ceremony and saw me walk across the stage- what a great feeling!

June: Bobby and I headed to Florida for a quick, 4-day trip to visit Jen and her kids. Ryan, Jens hubby and proud soldier in the US Army, was stationed in Germany and she and the kiddos were following shortly. I medicated my husband for his first flight and we arrived in St. Pete where I had a surprise for him: a convertible. Well, somehow the car rental people saw me coming because the offered us a 2009, yellow, Corvette convertible, at an affordable price, of course. It was a great time and we got to see Jen and the kids just before they left.

July: Bobby and I took our annual summer vacation at the lake and this year decided to take on the project of painting the cottage. It was a long process and there are still some things left to be finished but it looks GREAT!

It was a Hertel/Price fun night in July when we ended up in the ER with my dad and Bobby. Bobby broke his toe and dad had to be cardioverted because of A-Fib. I was back and forth between both rooms all night. Talk about an evening of fun...

September: After many wonderful, relaxing days and nights at the lake it was time to bring our summer to a close. The pier was taken out, the water turned off and leaves were raked ending another great summer.

November: Bobby went on disability after his shoulder surgery. The doctor said that it was not as bad as he thought initially so instead of 6 months, he should only be out of work for 3 months.

December: Christmas came and went and I finally found my Christmas Spirit! Bobby decorated the house and put up a little tree in hopes of helping me find it and it worked. He's a great guy!

I am excited about this coming year. To all my friends and family, may you have a healthy, safe and happy 2011. Please be safe tonight and use a designated driver- it's not worth the risk.

A 4-day of Fun

This past 4-day Bobby and I traveled to Florida to visit my friend, Jen, before she and the kids leave to live in Germany with her husband who was recently deployed there for three years.

Jen and I have been friends since Cornerstone University, which dates back to 2000. We had an interesting relationship and became friend easily. Over the years we have kept in contact, I was her maid of honor, she was my matron of honor and here and there we have kept in contact through facebook and phone calls.

I am very excited that she and the kids get to be with Ryan but I wanted to be sure I could see her and Caelyn and meet Eli before they left. So we boarded a 6:30 flight from South Bend and made our way to Fort Myers. You've gotta love a place that has turtle crossings!

As a thank you to Bobby for going with me, I rented a 2010, Red, Ford Mustang convertible since he loves (fast) cars. While we were checking out, the manager came over and offered us a 2009 Corvette (I love Corvettes!) for only $30 more per day- an offer we couldn't pass up (hey!, we don't do this- ever, and we should have fun!). Bobby was in love! And so was I. We had so much fun driving around Florida in this beautiful car. Did you know there's a Corvette culture? Every time you see another Corvette you have to wave or else you're considered snobby.

Saturday we met Jen for a quick lunch since she was working and (as luck would have it) got a call and so we hit the hotel for a quick nap. After, we drove down to the beach and watched the sunset and had a late dinner at Sharky’s. This Key Lime Pie was homemade and the best part was the gummie shark - how cute!

Sunday we hit the beach and in the morning and later went back, and were on the hunt for shark teeth. We bought a strainer at a local store and dug around on the shore. This place is known as the shark teeth capital and we did well for a few hours on the beach. We made a haul- 50!

Monday we met Jen and the kids at the beach and spent some time playing in the sand and looking for shells. Bobby and I bought masks and snorkels the previous day and after he went out looking around I went out and saw an amazing sight: hundreds of sand dollars! I noticed these lumps of sand about 8-10 feet down and went down to check them out. After I brushed the sand off I realized what they were and they were everywhere! Bobby had missed them but he was amazed when I handed him my mask so he could see. It was beautiful.

In the afternoon, we met Jen in and the kids in Sarasota at Mote Marine, a must see if you're ever in the area. It is a research facility/lab/rehabilitation facility with a focus on education and healing so animals can be reintroduced to their habitats. They had huge turtles(!) manatees and dolphins along with hundreds of fish and examples of habitats. After she dropped the kids off we had dinner at this WONDERFUL Italian restaurant Valenti’s. I wish we would have found this our first night because it was great! The food was excellent and the Martini list was one of the best I have seen in a long time- I recommend the Creme Brulee Martini!

Tuesday it was time to leave so Jen and the kids met us at the airport for lunch and our traditional airport picture. Very bittersweet, like always I cried. I forgot that I had a card for her until after we had already gone through security- Bobby said send it to her but I just couldn't do that. I must have been a mess- eyes red and cheeks puffy from crying, nose running, and the very nice TSA guy said he would take it to her since the plane was supposed to board soon and the line for security had gotten really long. I thought it was very nice of him.

So we made it home in one piece. I didn't leave Bobby in the lost and found at any of the airports and he didn't push me out of the moving car. Win- win! It was a good trip and I actually got him to say that if Jen and the kids are still here in 6 months we could go back. Wouldn't that be fun!?! Not likely though.