AAA

After my detour yesterday I woke up early today to do the errands I didn't do yesterday only to get in my car, put the keys in the ignition and have nothing happen. It made me wonder what message I was suppose to be getting from these daily plan changes. Thankfully, I had decided to get AAA a month ago and the AAA battery guy showed up in a half hour with a new battery! My neighbor filled me in on the fact that my cabin light had been on all night the other night, but since he is new to the building he didn't know which condo I lived in. Nice way to meet your neighbor. I am hoping tomorrow will not continue in this pattern. It's time to go back to work!

Locked Out

For the second time since I have lived in this apartment I locked myself out. Thankfully, both times were on my days off and today was a beautiful, sunny day! I had to purposefully not get frustrated with the situation and find the humor and blessings in the situation. I was thankful that I had my purse on my shoulder with a book tucked inside. I was thankful that my bus pass was in said purse. I was thankful that my landlady was home and on a bus route. Between the time I locked myself out and I was able to get the spare keys I shopped at Goodwill, ate lunch at Ivar's, bought an iced vanilla latte and chocolate mint cupcake at Cupcake Royale and walked many blocks in between. Even though the day didn't go as I had planned it was very pleasant!

A Summer Read

I finally started one of the five (yes, five) books that I recently purchased from Barnes and Noble. It was a "happy graduation" gift to me. :) I started reading Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese yesterday; it was the beginning of a stretch of gloriously sunny days in Seattle. I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far and look forward to a day at the park or the beach to continue the story. It has been a very enjoyable few days off so far!

Family over the 4th

Our family traveled from California, Idaho, Washington and Iowa to meet in Montana at my sister and brother-in-law's farm over the July 4th weekend. (Unfortunately, Michael wasn't able to join us.) It was fun to spend time together. We only see each other about once a year so it is always a special time. We spent a lot of time just feeding and entertaining all ten grandchildren. That was a full time job for the 14 adults. :) It was entertaining for us to watch the kids interact with each other. The "snaps" were a big hit!

Free time

It's been a while. I have many excuses, but none seem legitimate so I won't even bother to mention them. I finally finished my bachelor's degree in nursing last Thursday. I spent the last 8 weeks studying, writing papers and taking tests. In spite of my complaints that summer hadn't arrived by the middle of July, it was a blessing to have rainy, cool days for those study times. I have enjoyed many cups of coffee! The day I took my second to last test the sun broke through the clouds and it has been quite warm and lovely since! I am thoroughly enjoying the free time and having a growing list of books I would like to start and organizing I feel needs to be done. It's a pleasant, peaceful feeling.

A John Deere Conversation

I had the best conversation with a 6 year old patient the other night. He is a future farmer with a love of John Deere machinery. He sat up in bed surrounded by a John Deere combine, tractor, hay baler and round bale with a school bus and road grader in the mix. He was watching a DVD about farm machinery while he was hanging on to his combine when I walked in the room.

I commented on his combine and mentioned my ties to farmland in the midwest. He eagerly held up his combine pointing to each part asking me what it does and why it is on the combine. Surprisingly I remember most of the parts and could think of a reason why it was on the combine. It was a great start to my work night!! A little taste of farming in the middle of Seattle.

Family Time

During my time off due to my shoulder injury, I decided that was a perfect time to take a trip over the mountains to see my nephews and niece (and my siblings and sibs-in-law, of course). There was a lot of reading (I could almost recite The Ugly Truckling from memory) and a lot of snuggle time. It was a fun time to catch up with everyone and their new tricks.

It is always fun for me to see the family...even though I thoroughly enjoy coming back to my quiet, peaceful home. I love to hear "Aunt Sarah...!" Benjamin invited me to sleep in his "green hotel room" and was very disappointed one morning when I woke up and he realized he "forgot to wake" me up. As active as all of the kids are they all love to be read to...I love it!! It is such a fun bonding time to all snuggle up together and read stories that I loved to read growing up.

Florida

I went to Florida last Thursday for a few days to visit some dear friends. It had been about 3 years since I've seen Susan and while I talk to Yvette often it is always on the phone. It was so relaxing and fun to chat and laugh in person. There is something calming about having those friends that even if you don't see them or even talk to them often you can pick up talking like you have never been apart. We could talk honestly about what we are learning, what we should be learning and what God is doing in our lives.

It was a little cooler than I thought Florida would be, but I always love to go to the beach and the sunset at Siesta Key was gorgeous!

New Year, Fresh Start, No Mistakes...Yet

Growing up I always liked the early morning hours, the beginning of the week, the first of the month and of course the first day of a new year. There was something fresh, invigorating and hopeful to start a day, month or year. I loved the line from Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it...yet". As I've gotten older I haven't appreciated the "firsts" like I used to. I have become a bit indifferent. So my New Year's Resolution for 2011 is for a new appreciation of the "firsts" starting with today...the first day of a new year! I added a couple of other resolutions as well to make it a list. :) I do love a good list! Happy 2011!!