Sometimes You Gotta Go Off Course.....

I work up this morning at 5am with a strong urge to sit down and write.  Those of you that know me know that I usually do not wake up at 5am I go to bed then.  So I figured it must be important.  For the past 9 months I have been traveling around the country as a NICU nurse....most of you know this.  I love what I do, but when I woke up this morning I couldn't help but think there is something more.  I think I know what that something is....Operation Smile.

These are some pictures of me 30 years ago.....

and this is a picture of a little girl named Brittany from Honduras..

Whats the difference between me and her?  I was born in America! 

Those of you that know me well know that my driving force has always been my heart.  I make most of my decisions based on how it makes me feel.  Some would call this foolish but it has taken me places I could have never dreamed of otherwise.  I want to say once again that I love what I do and that I am very happy doing it, but I used to have this fire that propelled me forward and frankly....I want it back. 

Most of you are probably thinking "what brought this on?"  Well I have been reading the book by Katie Couric  The Best Advice I Ever Got.  It got me thinking.   Am I doing my best?  Most people would look at my life and say she is pretty lucky....I am.  It's because I live a good life that makes me want it to mean something.   I have a job that I can take time off in between jobs to put my knowledge and skills to work and help put a smile on the face of a kid like me....why am I not doing that?   That is the question I woke up with this morning and I just thought I would share it.

Any thoughts?

Stay Tuned...

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything.  Here is a quick summary about whats happened over the past few weeks.  I was starting to get a little nervous when I has still in New Hampshire with no job lined up so I extened my contract for a few weeks to see if anyting came up that didn't require me to make the drive across the country AGAIN!  It was getting down to the wire and Baltimore came through for me.  I know what you are thinking....Balitmore? DANGEROUS CITY!  Just to make it clear...I don't live downtown.  I live in a nice community about 20 min out of the city towards washington dc.  I really like the hospital so far....they even offered me an extension on the contract after the first week.  I must be doing something right.  Here are a few pictures of the harbor area. 

I will post more again soon!  Promise!  Jeaneeen and Ivoriee are going to be here for a visit in a little over a week.  I will surely have lots to talk about after that!  Until next time....

ALL ABOUT MAINE!!

Charla and I are going to depart on another adventure this weekend to the lovely state of Maine.  As I was doing some research I found some wonderful facts about the great state.  I thought I would share them with you.  I have been beginning to look at possible places for me to go to next....Portland ME is on that short list.  I hope I like it!

DID YOU KNOW...

State Capital:  Augusta

State Cat:  Maine Coon Cat

State Nickname:  Pine Tree State

State Fish:  Landlocked Salmon

State Motto:Dirigo ("I lead")

State Insect:  Honeybee

State Bird:  Chickadee

State Tree:  White Pine

State Floral Emblem: White pine cone and tassel

State Animal: Moose

State Fossil:  Pertica quadrifaria

State Gemstone: Tourmaline

State Berry:Wild Blueberry

Maine...

…has 5,500 miles of coastline, and about 2000 islands off the coast.

 

…has the largest wild blueberry crop in the nation, raising 99 percent of all wild blueberries in the United States and is the single largest producer of any blueberries (wild or cultivated) in the US. (Grandma Foster and Evie would get a kick out of this)

 

…is the only state in the continental U.S. to be bordered by only one other state (New Hampshire).

 

…contains 32,000 miles of rivers and streams equal to more than the combined length of the Mississippi, Amazon, Yangtze and Nile rivers.

 

…has over 60 lighthouses.

 

…produces 90% of the country’s toothpick supply.

 

…is where Chester Greenwood invented the earmuffs in 1873.

 

I sure hope you learned something that might help you win the next game of trivia that you play! 

Zip a dee do da

Here are some pictures from out latest adventure.  ZIP LINING!!!  yes you might ask "what are we thinking doing this in the winter?"  Here is what we are thinking.....we are only here for a little while so why not?  That has pretty much been our motto for this assignment. 



if only you could see how high we actually are



Do Re Me....

So much has happened since the last time I posted. It is just now that I have time to sit and write.  Can I just say I love living in a hotel?  There are many things to love about it but nothing tops the laundry!  The dreaded task of doing laundry is so much nicer when you have 4 machines to use at one time!   It no longer takes me all day to do the laundry or force me to go shopping for new clothes!  Anyway back to the fun stuff I have been up to.  We have been pretty busy the past few weeks!  A week or so ago we took a road trip to Conneticut.  We stopped in Hartford, New Haven and then headed up the coast.  The area is pretty but the people proved to be a little snobby!  (with all their private beaches and private roads and all)  We set out to find lighthouses but that task was not all that easy.  Since they don't have addresses per say the GPS can't find them very well...who would have thought.  We did the best we could.  We stopped at the USS Nautilus on the way back home. Here are some pictures from that leg of the adventure. 

Climbing through the hatch in the submarine

CT state house

I got a kick out of this head stone

Sunset in CT on the private beach...shhh don't tell!

Look we found a lighthouse!





We also went up to Stowe VT and saw the Trapp Family Lodge....you know from the Sound of Music.  We went to the tour and ACTUALLY MET MARIA'S YOUNGEST SON!!  Then we went snowshoeing around the property.  It was really cold that day but well worth it.  The chapel that one of the brothers built took him 7 years to build because he had to haul all the rocks up there himself.  Crazy I know!

Trapp Family Lodge

This is the chapel that took 7 years to build



Snowshoeing in Stowe VT



Dare you to move...

The world is full of people who will go their whole lives and not actually live one day....I do not intend on being one of them.

Over the river and through the woods....

I have been off of work the past few days. My first day off we got over 2 feet of snow. Needless to say I didn't go anywhere that day. On friday I went out for a little photo expedition and for a little snowshoeing. It is such a pretty area!

Charla and I decided we would go find a snowshoe trail over by Concord so we could go shopping in Manchester NH when we were done snowshoeing.  Once we actually found the place we were not impressed that the trail was so populated with snowmobiles.  There didn't hit us so we were happy about that.  We stopped and took some fun pictures as we always do.  We finished up our hike and decided it would be a good idea to change our clothes at the car...it was a good idea until some snowmobilers drove by and we had our pants around our ankles.  It quickly became less of a good idea!  I am sure the person across the road shoveling off his roof enjoyed the show as well.  Live and learn I guess!  We finally found our way out of the woods and headed to Manchester.  We were so excited to actually have a choice of places to eat....we chose Olive Garden.  After salad and bread sticks we were already full....then our entree came out and I could hardly look at it.  I brought most of it home. The journey home was a story in and of itself.  It is roughly 70 miles between Lebanon and Manchester.  It tooks us nearly 2 hrs and 40 mins to get home.  It was sleet...snow...thunder...lightening.  We got it all and guess who was driving....ME...the wimpy winter driver.  I got us home and thats all that matters.  I have perment white knuckles but I got us home and thats all that matters...haha.  Here are some pics from today.

Trying out snow shoes!

A photo collage by Smilebox

Charla and I took a class with LL Bean on snow shoeing. We liked it so much we both got a pair when we were done! Can't wait til they arrive and we can go check out more of the trails at the preserve!

CHEERS!!

Here are some of the "cheers"  photos that Emily and I have taken over the past few years.  There will be many more to come!

Sydney Australia

San Francisco, CA



Memphis TN
PS. that is my "brown" coat....does it look brown to you?



Max out your passport

Can you say SNOW TIRES!!!

I have only been in Lebanon for less then a week and we got a major snow storm on wed.  I tried to drive a few blocks down the street for some food and my car was NOT having it.  I came to a hill and I was like the little engine that could...I think I can I think I can.  So need less to say...my car got what it was asking for.  NEW SNOW TIRES!!! 

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” –  Robert Louis Stevenson

A few more pics

Time Square

The Natural bridge we found for free as Em mentioned before

Queen of the Road

Foamhenge

Emily's Top Ten

Hello, everyone. Katie asked me (Emily) to write a guest blog about our recent roadtrip to New York.  After mulling around several ideas for the past few days, and considering I have no idea who reads this blog and most of you don't know me and wouldn't realize I'm joking 97% of the time, I decided to stick with a more traditional writing style and go with a "Top Ten" list. Now, I don't really like top tens because inevitably things get left off that should have made the list. However, for the above noted reasons I decided to go with the top ten instead of my first idea which would have been titled "I wonder if Josh & Anna Duggar like spaghetti?"

So, here goes... the top ten things about our trip in my opinion:

10.  Leaving Arkansas. It seemed so empty and there is nothing to do... which probably explains why the Duggars have 19 kids... and counting.
9.  Scoring some sweet Elvis mugs at Graceland and taking our nearly-patented cheers photos.
8.  Not paying $16 to walk a trail to the Natural Bridge and driving the back roads to find it ourselves for FREE!
7.  FOAMHENGE!  Google it.  This fulfilled our mission of finding a quirky roadside attraction.
6.  The constant love/hate relationship between us and Wendy (the GPS).  She'll talk your ear off on the open highway, but does that lady have a thing to say in the city when you need a direction?!?! Doubtful.
5.  Belting our our former road trip anthem, "Come On Eileen" and learning a new one that Katie likes to call "Sex and Spaghetti."  We also promised our selves we would learn more words to Come On Eileen before our next trip so we can sing more than just those three words.
4.  The amazing ribs I had at that little Cuban restaurant off Times Square.  Oh yeah, the full pitcher of sangria was a nice touch too.  Definitely going back there.
3.  Exploring NYC with tour guides who suck at their job and then have the balls ask you for tips.  "We are a service industry you know..."  Really?  I would not have guessed that from the sh#tty service you've been providing.
2.  Buying cute new hats from a street vendor and finding out that (a) when the vendor says "$15 dolla" Katie finds it impossible to say "I'll give you twelve" (true, she really told me she can't do it so if you'd like to sell some overpriced junk to someone who won't hassle you, call Katie) and (b) Katie did not know that her coat was brown. (she thought it was black until I pointed out the stark contrast between her brown coat and black mittens)
1. As always, spending the last night of our trip planning the next adventure!  Alaska anyone?!?!?!

2837 miles to new hampshire...

As I await for a guest blog from my partner in crime on this adventure I will post of few pictures from along the way. 

The Brooklyn Bridge



Our nearly patented Cheers photo! (just ask and we will gladly show you more of them)

This is from a float in a presidential inauguration


More to follow......



Home on the Range

Well now that I am back in MN my body is getting used to the cold once again.  I am enjoying the snow since I haven't seen it in a few years.  Ask me again in a few months if I am still enjoying it when I am scraping it off my car every day.   Slowly but surely the family is filtering in.  My grandma has decided that she doesn't want her christmas tree up this year and she wants us to use paper plates and I for one can't wait to hear Ryan's reaction to that change.  Ryan is our biggest advocate for keeping family traditions alive...he will not be happy.  As for myself I am finishing up all the last minute paper work for my new job and then I will be headed east after the new year.  I just found out today that an old friend of mine will be joining me on this leg of my adventures.  I am thrilled!  She loves to ski so I am hoping to get back into it since there is some great skiing out there.  Emily will be joining me on my cross country drive.  The ipod is full of good tunes and our first stop is GRACELAND!!
As for today I am off to do some catching up over lunch with another old friend! 

What's next...

My current assignment is coming to an end and I am starting to look forward to what comes next.  I took a job in Lebanon, NH.   Yes, New Hampshire.  It is the home of Dartmouth College. I will be working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.   It wasn't exactly where I pictured going next but I think I will enjoy it. I am excited at what I might learn there.  I have never really been to New England so I am pretty stoked for some good skiing and some even better seafood.  I am going to miss the sunny days of california but not the traffic.   Before this new job begins I will be on a completely different type of adventure....a road trip!  I have to travel from phoenix to new hamphire in less then a week but the good news is that I think I have talked my good friend Emily into joining me!  Graceland here we come! 

More on that adventure to come....