Shiny!

Dave got home Friday night, and Saturday morning we got right to work looking for a new vehicle. We found a 2003 Ford Explorer and I love it...

Prayers - Keep 'Em Coming

Yesterday morning, Stacy's husband was in a motorcycle accident. She sent out this message last night:

Be in prayer for Chris. He was in a motorcycle accident this morning. Wasn't wearing his helmet so he's banged up really bad. Took the doc almost 2 hours to get his face stitched up. His right leg is broken. They'll have to do surgery in the next day or so. He'll be in the hospital for a few more days and then he'll have a long road ahead for recovery with his leg. Doc is saying about 8 weeks before he'll be able to use it properly with full recovery estimated at 6 months. My prayer is that they'll do another scan and be amazed at how well his leg is healing and they won't have to do surgery at all.

Thanks to everybody who already has been praying for Chris & Stacy.

Hospital Tour

Last night Fairview Ridges had an information session and tour. The tour and the speakers were interesting, and it was also interesting to see other pregnant ladies. I think most of them were due in August & September, and my October belly looked pretty small in comparison. Anyway, the nurses that I met were all very nice and informative. Then we went on the tour. Everything was nice, both the labor & delivery rooms and the postpartum rooms. But, the rooms are small. And that brought into very real terms the issue of visitors. There are just two chairs and the bed, and I think any more than 4 people would be really claustrophobic. So I'm going to have to think about how to discourage visitors without hurting feelings...

Another Sunday

The week hasn't exactly flown by, but here it is, Sunday again. Last Sunday I had a bit of a meltdown, but all in all now, a week later, things are looking better. I mean, the things at the root of the meltdown are better, and that's good because this week has it's own collection of meltdown-inducing challenges. Ha.

I let myself get a little dehydrated this week, and that wasn't so good. I'm still feeling lethargic and am struggling to drink enough water. Not sure what's up with that.

My van became ill this week, and I took it in and found out the transmission needs to be replaced. I'm waiting to get a few more estimates before we make a decision on that.

And then there's a family situation that I'm trying to work through...

Nearly Neighbors

I'm so glad that my Aunt Sandy is back in the Twin Cities again. (for half of the year, anyway!) My cousin and I have been trying to get together for a couple of months now, and we finally found a date that not only worked for us, but also worked for Sandy. So we met for lunch at Jake's in Eagan. I had a fantastic time and I'm hoping that we can make a habit of it.

Preferred by 4 out of 5 Polar Bears

Here's another marketing idea that kinda went off in a wrong direction. Now with more baby seals!

Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund

Do you know about the Minnesota Military Appreciation Fund?

After the Storm

Two things... The neighbor that has this swingset also runs a daycare. How sturdy was this thing to begin with? And last night, while the parents surveyed the yard, their kids were playing on the thing. I think I'll pass on checking into them as a daycare option...

Camera-Shy

This weekend was filled with some fantastic times, and so many opportunities to take great photos. And most of the time my camera was... in my bag. Friday, Saturday, Sunday... I was satisfied to let others take the pictures. Or in the case of going out for dinner, we had no pictures. (Hello, camera phones take mediocre pictures, but they're better than nothing!) I think when I am around other people with cameras, I become passive. I think, I'll just get a copy of their pictures, and that's either good enough, or often times better than what I'd take.

But then I think about last fall in New England, and all of the pictures that were taken during that trip. At the same time, at the same event, we all had different points of view, and different "voices". That's something I need to remember-- to let my voice be heard... and to pull out my camera and unabashedly take those photos!

Now... who wants to email me some photos from this weekend?

Chuck a Duck? (aka WHY can't I remember I have a camera phone??)

No takers on the chuck a duck reference? Nobody? Or is that why the ASPCA truck is sitting outside my house, doing surveillance? (kidding...)

Well, here's the story anyway. So suffer.

Yesterday, I was leaving the parking lot of the library/county offices, and as I was about to pull out into the street, a mama duck and a half a dozen tiny fuzzy ducklings crossed the driveway in front of me.

awww....just picture them, a la "Make Way for Ducklings"...

The mama duck jumped up over the curb and onto the grass. The very tall curb. The baby ducks, presented with what was essentially a concrete wall twice their height, milled around the gutter trying to figure out where the heck their mama went.

I think, although I do naturally have a soft spot for animals, that it's these darn pregnancy hormones that caused me to be completely compelled by these ducks. All of the babies were clear of my path. But I couldn't drive off without seeing for myself that each one had made it up onto the grass. Luckily, nobody was behind me, as I sat in the driveway (like a crazy person) and watched them struggle to figure it out. Finally, one brave duckling managed to jump/flap/scramble his way up the curb. And that gave the others hope... so one by one, the others figured it out...
You know already, don't you? One of 'em couldn't make it. Poor little thing was hopping and flapping and crashing back down that inch and a half, and panting and looking pathetic, all the while peeping and making pathetic noises, while the Mama meanwhile is quacking away... She turned back to see where her straggler is, and naturally, all the other babies start making like they're going to jump down and back into the driveway.

I had no choice. Again, hormone-compelled, I put my car into park and got out... I carefully approached the duckling, scooped him up and tossed him (he landed face first, I regretted that) into the grass. He got up and joined the family, as I ran back to my car... finally another car was behind me, probably wondering what kind of nutjob I was.

The pregnant kind, sir. The pregnant kind.

Nursery Tree

This is how it goes... Yesterday morning, I saw something similar in a Pottery Barn Kids catalog. Yesterday afternoon, I made it at Minda's. And last night, I hung it on the wall. Well, I have to take it down, attach the owl a little more permanently, and put some clear coat over the whole thing, but...

Darn cute, isn't it? I had to see it on the wall.

Oh and yesterday, I (gently) tossed a baby duck. Good day.