August 2012

Yes, I know It's been a while...  I could make promises about blogging more but my history speaks for itself... 

Anyway, I wanted to share a little about what's new in our lives and tell you about my new toy (this is mostly going to be about my new toy...). 

Another summer has come and (almost) gone.  There are a few days left but it has started getting cool at night (last night it was in the 50's) and it's still nice during the day.  Perfect fall nights. 

The lake was a lot of fun this year.  I had some great birds at the feeders and around the cottage including a nesting pair of Eastern Bluebirds!  However, someone entered their home and stole their eggs so they left.  I am going to put a lock on the lid so that next year we can try again.  I also saw a Cooper's hawk, pied billed Grebes and a pileated woodpecker among the many other species of great Michigan birds. 

The last week of July I finally made my big purchase- a Big Green Egg!  We were in need of a new grill (I had no temperature control because it would catch on fire every time I tried to use it) and every time I walked into DC Meats, our local butcher shop, the Egg displays were staring me in the face.  I researched several types of grills and smokers and I found that the Egg was superior to everything else on the market.  I finally took the plunge and I am totally in LOVE! Yes, it's a grill, and a smoker but it's so much more than that.  My greatest examples of how wonderful it is: I made cookies for dessert one night- Oh...My...Goodness...  They were FANTASTIC!!! And the next morning I made pancakes on the "grill."  There was no "grill" taste or smokiness in the pancakes- everyone was amazed!  You would not believe how great it is! 

This past week I grilled some steaks, a very normal grilling activity.  (I would consider myself a good cook.  I enjoy cooking and grilling and Bobby has always commented how he enjoys my food.)  When we were done eating, Bobby said, "That was the best steak I have ever eaten.  I could eat another one it was so good."  Everything I have made on the Egg has turned out amazing!  The chicken was moist, the burgers didn't shrink up and dry out and the steaks....  WOW!  This has been the best purchase I've made in a long time.

So really, nothing is new in our lives.  We are still working hard and enjoying our off time and trying to hang on to summer as long as possible.  Life is good!

I Guess We Have a Boring Life

Yes, I know I said I was going to post more often but there's nothing really new. I had a nice vacation at the lake and didn't want to go back to work. Bobby has been lucky and has spent a lot of time up there this year (even though he says he is ready to go back to work I secretly think he likes living at the lake). The lake has been REALLY warm- 88 degrees- soooo nice. So we have very boring lives- nothing new.

Blogging is so Hard to do

I'm not sure why I find it so difficult to keep this blog updated. Whenever I think about posting I always get distracted- stupid Facebook! Anyway, here's the short, very short, version of our lives since April.

The first part of May Bobby and I took a holiday in Chicago. We stayed at this beautiful B&B, The Villa D'Cita and had dinner at Geja's, a fondue restaurant that was WONDERFUL! Then on our way home we stopped in Portage and saw Thor on the 3D IMAX. It was a nice little get-away.

We have been spending a lot of time at the lake. I have seen a lot of interesting birds, a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a Redheaded Woodpecker and we even saw a Bald Eagle fly overhead last week. I start my vacation tomorrow and am looking forward to many hot days at the lake.

Bobby saw the doctor last week and has been officially released to begin strength training. I know he is ready to start back to work and is looking forward to a change in his daily routine.

My partner and his wife sold their house and are in the buying mode, which has become contagious. I have been looking at houses and am ready to get out of Mishawaka. I made a list (I love lists) of things I would like to do to the house to get it ready to put on the market and started we cleaning out yesterday. We have so much stuff! I am almost overwhelmed with all the boxes and things that need to go to storage (or the trash) before we can even think about a realtor. And as I'm "cleaning" I seem to be making a bigger mess because now I have several piles on the basement floor- Goodwill, garage sale, library donation, Better World Books donation, trash, save... Holy cow! I just need to stay positive and not become discouraged.

So, that's us in a nutshell. Yes, we have boring lives, which could be good- I'm not complaining. As I have said many times before, I hope to start blogging more, but you can see how that has gone.

That Time Again

It's that time again!!! LAKE season! Wednesday, Bobby and I went up to the lake so I could do a little work (he's not much help with one arm but he tries). All I wanted to do was hang my bird feeders and pull out some Day Lilly's because I want to plant a Hummingbird/Butterfly flower mix.

My mom once said that if there was a statement that described Bobby it would be, "Bobby rigged a system," or, "Bobby rigged it up" and for anyone that knows him knows how true this is. And he came through with his "systems" when it came to hanging my feeders. He set up a pulley system for my feeders by the house so it is easier for me to fill them. He told me how to hang them and I got up on the ladder and he supervised/directed.

Then, when I was hanging my new feeder, using a similar method as the others, I didn't secure the wire enough to the tree and when the ring took the weight of the feeder (it held 6.3 pounds of food!) the wire gave way from the tree and my feeder crashed to the ground, breaking into several pieces. Very sad, but my own fault. I was not thinking when I was twisting the wire to the tree and didn't secure it enough.

So, my feeders were hung, at least some of them, but I only got about 1/3 of the Lilly's pulled out. As far as I can determine they have been there forever! The bulbs are deep and there are so many! The plan is to try again tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be nice and I can work in the yard.

While we were there I could hear some of the birds have already returned. I could hear Purple Martins but didn't see any and none had taken residence in the Martin house that we put up last year. I can't wait to see if we have any new birds!

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.

I Will Take Two Tylenol and a Heating Pad Please

This 4-day we ended up at the lake working on the cottage... again. No, it is still not done. Our vacation project has turned into the most drawn out event- I can't wait for it to be done so we can enjoy the place again. And after a day of up and down the ladder and painting, I am going to need the Tylenol and heating pad so I'm not sore tomorrow. So as promised, here are some pics of our project so far. We still have plenty to do but it is coming along nicely, if I do say so myself. I can't wait for dad to see it when he comes back from Canada.


So, here is the before. We had already power washed the front- that's why there is some paint missing.


And this is what it looks like now (at least the back):

Bobby did a great job painting and replacing a lot of rotten boards- I mean A LOT! Then today he put down the rock in the back and put up the new shutters- they look GREAT! We still have some painting to do and more rock to put down but I think it looks great so far! We are excited about the progress but ready to be done!

On a sad note: This summer I began feeding the birds at the lake. I had about 8 feeders around the cottage and Bobby finally put up mom's Martin house- a little late in the season to get Martins but we did have some Sparrows nest in it. When we got up to the lake on Wednesday, I filled my feeders like I always do. But apparently the time has come and most of my birds have flown away. Bobby and I noticed a few weeks ago that we didn't see any Blue Herons and the arrival of the Sea Gulls always notes the end of summer- and they're here, landing on the raft with their dinners and leaving a huge mess! It seems a bit early in the season for the birds to leave the area but, maybe they know something we don't. I wonder if this means we are going to have an early winter or a cold/snowy one. Just have to wait and see. I really miss seeing my birds this weekend and I know the cats we disappointed too. So now I am on a mission to make my "aviary" (as Pam calls it) better next year.

Also this morning another first- Bobby and I saw a juvenile Muskie under the pier. This is a hybrid fish that is stocked in the lake. It was about 8 inches long, brown with spotted fins and more square than a bass. This is interesting because it was thought that the only ones left in the lake were between 45-60 inches long- yep, no joke. It's a big fish. Someone must have stocked the lake recently since this fish does not breed and this one is the smallest I have ever seen. - At least I thought it was neat.

So back to work we go. I got a text from one of the other Medic 12 lieutenants letting me know our brand NEW truck was in service. However, during a call this morning, someone went to move the truck and didn't realize the side door was open- BIG SCRATCH! At least I wasn't driving, considering my reputation for wrecking trucks!

What Happened to July???

It's hard to believe that August is here! Where has the time gone? I feel like it should still be 2009 and here we are in August 2010. The spring/summer always go so fast. Seems like we dread the snow and the cold, which seem to linger, but the summer just slips away.

After we were in the emergency room with Bobby's toe injury, he was off work for a round (3 days no work), lucky him. Then we were both on vacation for 13 days (one of the several perks to our schedule- take off 3 work days and get 13 days off).

we had planned to spend the vacation at the lake painting the cottage. I know, it really doesn't sound like much fun but we were both really excited to do something different to the cottage. We decided (with the ok of my parents) to paint the cottage yellow with white trim and red shutters. (I will post pics soon) It is VERY cute (even though it's not done). Oh yeah, nothing seemed to go right. The power washer didn't take off as much old stuff as planned so we had to scrape A LOT. Then we found several trim boards that were rotten. So those had to come off and be replaced. And I can't forget the high humidity and several days of rain, so we had to wait for the house to dry before we could paint.

Once we started painting it went really quickly. We bought a paint sprayer and it was AMAZING!!! Anyway, the house is really cute and not white any more (it has been white for as long as I can remember).

Oh, and then there was the other emergency room visit to Three Rivers ER because Bobby was having problems with his right leg- broken toe leg. I was worried and made him get it checked. I think I am going to write a book about Michiana ER's, eh, maybe it will just be a picture book.

On a sad note, today we attended a funeral of a longtime family friend of both our families. John was a great man who was caring and always had a joke to tell. He will be greatly missed.

p.s. This was the first lunchon/wake that I have attended that had an open bar. He would have loved it.

A Weekend of Injuries

This 4-day was one to remember, full of a variety of injuries that created an exciting 4-day which turned into an unofficial 5 day. Wednesday after work Bobby and I went up to the lake to spend the hot days relaxing in the water with anticipation that we would return to town on Thursday for a pain management appointment for my neck. Thursday morning I awoke with a horrible, take-your breath-away pain in my chest. The best way to describe it would be that it felt like my chest/ribs needed to be adjusted and as long as I didn't move or breathe, I was not in any pain. My appointment provided a little relief but it quickly returned when I dove into the water on Friday. Bobby had to swim over to me and actually help me to the boat because I was in so much pain.

Later that night while Casey, Phil, Bobby and I were playing a game, Bobby got up to get another beer and stubbed his toe on the chair. Now, to many this may not sound like a big deal, however he was in A LOT of pain- A LOT!

Saturday we had taken Casey and Phil tubing and Casey fell off, cutting her nose on some part of the tube. Well, that was the end of that for the day. When we returned to the lake house, I walked into the house to find my dad sitting at the table looking very uncomfortable. When I asked what was wrong he said he felt dizzy, lightheaded and just didn't feel well. I took his pulse, which was abnormally irregular, and then his blood pressure, which was low. I advised him, in my paramedic voice, that I felt he should go to the ER because this was not normal for him. (My dad is a pretty healthy guy and never admits when he is not feeling well.)

After a few hours his pulse was still irregular and his blood pressure was still low and I finally convinced him to go to the hospital. And at this point Bobby decided he should go too since he couldn't walk anymore. We drove back to the hospital in Mishawaka (there was no convincing either of them to go to the one in town) and, dad went to room 11 while Bobby went to room 8. Talk about a circus going from room to room.

The doctor saw dad right away and he was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He was sedated with Diprivan and Cardioverted (more or less shocked with a defibrillator) at 100 joules. His rhythm was converted and when he woke he said he felt much better. They sent him home that night and he still says he feels great.

Bobby on the other hand was diagnosed with a broken toe, it may not sound like a big deal, but he will be off work for a few days and has an appointment with the foot doctor tomorrow.

So, Casey's nose stopped bleeding, dads heart is back to normal, Bobby is limping around in a soft cast/boot and I am still having my goofy chest pain. I called in sick to work yesterday because I still had very limited motion- for the most part I have pain any time I move. However I had forgotten that I promised to work for someone today so I had to come in for the first 14 and then back again tomorrow. Hopefully I will be feeling better and able to move/breathe without being in pain.

Another great weekend

Bobby and I had another great weekend at the lake. For the most part the weather was nice. A few days it started off overcast but then it cleared up nicely. We decided to take the kids (they are not good car riders) this weekend. Sophie only cried for half the drive (30 minutes) and Lucky threw up on M40- he just can't take the hills. But once we got there they made themselves at home.

Lucky, for the most part, did not move at all over the 4 days. He took up residence on the cot so he could see the bird feeders and stayed there.



And my little hunter? Well, I couldn't figure out why she wasn't eating, or I should say, why I didn't see her at the food bowl. I figured it out when I noticed she was catching and eating bugs. I actually saw her catch a moth in mid air- yep, she's that good.

Thursday we invited our co-workers to spend the day at the lake. I had so much fun!! (I think the kids might have had a good time too) Bobby took the kids tubing, the jet ski was out and Goodman and Lisa even fished. It was fun, we are going to have to do it again before the summer is over.

Today my parents came up and spent the afternoon with us. Dad, Bobby and I fished at the end of the pier and, for once, I did not take home the prize for the largest catch. Dad ended up with an amazing 22 fish! I had 4, including a super small Rock Bass and, well, Bobby didn't catch anything. :-( Oh well, there's always next time. Sorry Bobby- shouldn't have been so obsessed with catching the catfish under the pier. But thank you oh great and wonderful husband for, not only taking my fish off the hook but also putting the worm on so I did not feel guilty about killing it. But for future reference the red wigglers that my dad used today worked much better than the night crawlers we were using. 22 to 4, need I say anything else?

Don't Feel Bad about Eating the Tots- It's Their Destiny

This morning was my first Sonic experience. Now, normally, I wouldn't even mention a restaurant, however I got the biggest kick out of their Tot carton- a carton of tots, salt shaker in hand, salting himself with the above saying. Huh... It makes me laugh.

Anyway, today was supposed to be a work day at the lake, and there is a storm front hanging around IL, so I'm not too excited about going up there to work in the rain. If I have it my way- nap! then maybe (if the weather is OK) some work. To my advantage, I am sitting at the table and I can hear Bobby snoring on the couch, so now is the time if I want to catch a few.

Work has been interesting lately. Yesterday we had a kid tripping on some shrooms; yes shrooms. I'm not sure why someone would knowingly put themselves into that state. I'm sure this person wasn't having too much fun in the ambulance and it looked like they had eaten some grass before we got there. Why would you do that to yourself? Yummmm grass...

I learned yesterday that my girlfriend Jen will be moving to Germany to be with her husband who was recently stationed there. Bummer :-( but good for her. Maybe that's my excuse to travel Europe- Hey Bobby, I'm going to meet Jen in Paris for the weekend, be back soon! Don't think that would go over too well.

This year is my 10 year reunion- 10 YEARS! Oh my! I can't believe it has been 10 years- sometimes I still see myself as that high school graduate and wonder, what-in-the-heck-am-I-doing?!? or how-did-I-end-up-here!?! I always thought I would be excited about my reunion, but- I'm not, and I don't think we are going. Initially it was $80 per person for a Friday night pub crawl (oh that's what I want to do in South Bend on a Friday night) and a dinner on Saturday at St. Hedwig. I think I'll save my $160 and spend it on something special for me- camera lens maybe? ??? And now with Facebook it's not like I don't keep up with the people I graduated with- Is it really Facebook stalking if they accepted your friend request and you just keep up on their postings? Just wondering!

Our Piece of Heaven

Many years ago, my father's parents bought a lake cottage on an inland lake in Michigan. Today, my parents are kind enough to allow Bobby and I to come and go as we please and we spend most of our days off at the lake.

After many hours of working, we are FINALLY at a point where we can enjoy the days with only a few projects here and there. I LOVE this place. I love the sounds, the smells and the feeling that I can relax and be myself with no one to critique me. We are very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time in a place like this.

The view from the end of the lake on the pontoon .

Our Blue Heron

On nice days there are turtles everywhere! As we were going around the lake on the pontoon, Bobby noticed this and if he wouldn't have said anything I would have missed the two turtles sunning themselves on the cradle area of the lift.

Growing up, I used to think that pontoon boat rides were very boring. Sometimes, if I begged enough, my dad would take us through this "special area" (well I thought it was!). It is a portion of the lake that is considered to be wetlands and there is a channel that allows the people access to the lake. As we would travel through this path, shore on one side and weeds/land on the other, we would always see interesting things: large fish, birds nesting and I even saw a deer among the weeds a few years ago. Here are just a few of the beautiful things I saw on our latest ride:

This may not be an area I am excited about swimming in but sitting on the boat and listening to the animals is wonderful!