The End

With everything in life there comes and end.  My part as and English student is coming to a close, as well as my blog site.
Taking English 1117 has not only taught me how to write better, but how to research a subject for a paper to make it better and stronger.  I have also learned how to start my own blog site!!  I was very skeptical at first, as I am with anything new, but found it to be a great place to just jot down whatever I'm thinking or feeling.
I have really enjoyed my time in this course.  It was great to meet new people and to participate in peer reviews and it really helped to have a great instructor as well.  What I really enjoyed, being type A and all, was how structured the class was.  We knew what to expect and what was expected of us.  There was plenty of time to get things done and if there were any questions, Nikka was great at responding right away.  Without having such a great leader, I do not think this class would have been as great as it was. 
I look forward to taking what I have learned from this class and using it for my future classes.  I have been informed there are many papers in the Nursing program, so this was one class that was a great stepping stone for me.
Good luck to everyone with their future endeavors!

A Modest Proposal

After reading some of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal I can say in this day in age we have some issues that could be considered as well.  One of the major issues that could become a subject of modest proposal is the health care system.  I believe is should be offered to everyone and like car insurance, everyone should have it.  I understand there is an issue with the cost of medicine and surgeries as well as doctor visits etc.   Why not make it free to everyone and then you make a little less money a year. 
Another issue is the lack of jobs which in turn causes people to become poor and lose their homes, so now they are not only poor, but homeless and in turn hungry. 
Basically what I believe it boils down to is what is important to someone.  People complain about how they don't have money for health insurance, yet these same people are out buying the new Droid phone or those Silver jeans that cost almost $100.00.  It's about priorities.  Families who are on welfare yet drive a nice car, have grills, or gold plated teeth or their children can be seen playing with the Nintendo DS.  White, Black, Mexican, English, Jewish, American. It doesn't matter your race or ethnic background.  It's about priorities plane and simple.  The priorities of this country are a mess and in turn the people become a mess.  It won't be fixed today or in my lifetime, but hopefully it will be better for my children's sake.

What are you thankful for?

Every year around this time people are asked what they are thankful for?  I am thankful for my health and for the health of my family and friends. 

I am thankful I wake up each morning.  I am thankful to be able to watch my children grow, learn and experience life.

I am thankful that I am able to go back to school with the love, and support of my husband and family.

I am thankful my daughter had a brain tumor because it has made me see how fragile life is and how quickly it can all be taken away.  It has brought my husband and I closer with more respect and love for each other and our family. 

Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for something.  I don't wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful.  I'm thankful all year long.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Traveling Salesman??

I read a little story in my English book about a traveling salesman and how he went around selling ladies slips and undergarments. 

The author wrote about how her dad was the traveling salesman and how after years of doing so, there was no longer a need for his job, and therefore went on to another career, one that seemed to be very prosperous.  The author went on to explain how she and her mother have been moving from city to city due to lower cost of living because she no longer had a good paying job.

She also went into some detail about the economy and how over seas companies are taking away jobs from American people because the workers over seas will work for far less than what people in America expect to work for. 

As I kept reading all I could think about is when will it end?  When will people stop wanting more?  Sadly, but I don't think this will ever happen.  What I see a lot of with younger people and couples, and some older ones, is their abuse of the credit card.  Charge it, charge it, charge it!  Not a good idea. 

People are living beyond their means.  They have a good job, maybe making more money, so instead of saving that money, they spend it or assume their job and amount they are paid will always be there.  Take it form me, life can throw you curve balls and things can change in a hurry. 

I had a job where I was making more money, but when the need for better health insurance came first, that was it.  I make probably 6 to 8 hundred dollars less a month and let me tell you...it is hard to go from making more to less.  You get use to a certain amount of money and now all of a sudden you have to budget big time. 

I think people need to start learning to live with less, before you are forced to and then it really won't seem so bad. 

It worked for me!

I can remember back when I was in tenth grade and there was a program in our high school that was taking students to Washington D.C. called Close Up.  A lot of my friends were going, so of course I ran home and had to ask my parents if I could go too.  Keep in mind I was not someone who was involved with groups at school.  I was not in bad, choir, play practice, tutoring or anything of that nature.  I played sports here and there, but that was about it.  My parents of course were wondering why I wanted to go.  I gave the all familiar answer of," Everyone is going."  Everyone meaning my close friends.  They just kind of looked at each other and me and I could see by their expression, they needed more than that.  I went over the information I was given at school and elaborated on my simple answer.  In the end I had the green light to go.  I must say that was the best experience of my life.  It was a huge learning opportunity and one of the best trips to this day that I have been on.  Although my fallacie had to be backed by more information, it still ended up working and gave me the experience of a life time.

I love to read!!

Reading for me is an escape.  I love to read and learn new things.  I recently read the book The Glass Castle for the second time.  It's amazing to me how much you can forget in just a short time.  I didn't read it all that long ago, I would say in the last six months.  It was great to read it again and I still had to tell myself that this is true story and not fiction. 
There was another book I read before this one that was kind of like this book.  It is called Crackers and Milk by Arlene Nelson.  It took place in Minnesota and not to far from Rochester. 
I really enjoy reading anything and everything.  I have read the book by Jesse Ventura called American Conspiracies.  He had some very good points in his book about the government and how corrupt it actually is and how, in his opinion, they were behind a lot the assinations of the presidents and bombings and events of 9/11 and other so called terrorist threats.  It was a huge eye opener to me. 
I hope everyone picks up a book and gets taken away by it.  Let your mind wander and take in the words as your mind goes to a far away place where anything can happen. 

To get started reading more I highly encourage people to start a book club.  It not only is a way to get together with people, but a great way to see how different people view different books.  Start one today with different people you don't usually get together with.  It's a great way to meet new people and gain new friendships along with expanding your mind. 

To Change and How?

If you could change your body, how would you change it and why?  Simple question and the answer seems to be simple, yet so hard to actually achieve.

I would change my body by changing its shape and size.  I would love to have smaller breasts, a flatter stomach and more defined arms.  This can be achieved by working out and eating better, which I have been doing.  However, the need for plastic surgery is a must. 

Why a surgical route?  I have had three children, and no amount of crunches and sit-ups will get rid of the stretch marked, loose, roley skin across my midsection.  Lovely picture isn't it?  The same goes for the upper half.  Things just do stay where God had first placed them.  Nothing that a little reduction and lift can't handle.  As far as my arms, I feel that could be done with a little lifting of some weights.

I would want to change not because someone else wants me to, but because I want to.  I want to look on the outside, how I feel on the inside.

Normal or Not?

What exactly makes a family functional or dysfunctional?  First you have to decide what is normal.  What one thinks is normal the other may not.  I believe spanking your kids if they are naughty is normal, and some may view that as not normal.  I think everyone has their own opinion about what exactly is normal and whether or not their family is functional or dysfunctional.  Take the book The Glass Castle, which we are reading in our English class right now.  The author grew up thinking her life was the norm.  If you are in a family and that is all you know, then to you it's going to be the right way and only way.  Even though while reading it, it appears to be the most dysfunctional family to others, including myself.  At a young age, three I believe, the author was making hot dogs on a stove and was burnt and ended up having to have skin grafts.  She thought it was a normal thing to make a hot dog on the stove.  She was hungry and her mother let her do it before, so big deal.  Right?  I as a mother couldn't ever imagine my daughter making any kind of food on a hot stove with boiling water.  The author and her brother and sister basically had to fend for themselves even though their parents were very intelligent, but lacked the ability to be a parent.  I assume they thought they were doing the best for their children by letting them experience things and figure out right and wrong on their own.  Most parents try to shelter and protect their children from the bad, but they seemed to throw them at the train.  It's amazing how those kids survived!
So just because one person feels something is normal, the other may not.  Maybe the normal ones are the dysfunctional ones.  Who are we to decide?

Zumbro Falls Flooding

Well last week I had a nice stretch off from work.  Eight days to be exact.  I ended up in Zumbro Falls cleaning up the mess. 
A girlfriend of mine grew up there and her parents owned and ran a gas station/convenience store on Highway 60 in down town Zumbro Falls.  I called her to see how things were going and that's when she told me about Thursday night, September 23, 2010.
It was raining like cats and dogs all day.  The whole town had been sandbagging trying to keep water out.  At around 11:30pm she said her and her family went across the street to the bar to have some pizza and relax for a bit before getting back to sandbagging.  At 12:30 the water had come over the levy and they knew it was not good.  Not once were they told to leave or evacuate town.  I would have thought that when they closed Hwy. 63 at 9:30pm they would have evacuated just for safety reasons, but they didn't. 
The water was like a nosebleed.  Moving steady and fast.  Her family could not move fast enough.  They were trying to place things up on shelves and moving their vehicles to higher ground.  Finally at 4:45 am they were waist deep in water in the middle of their store.  She said the current was so strong they could hardly move.  Could you imagine?  It's dark and you're in water waste deep and it's as cold as ice. 
I went down last Tuesday and Wednesday to help clean.  There was so much mud and sewage it was like walking through chocolate pudding, but it did not smell like it.  There were a lot of families that lost everything.  The streets were lined with piles of appliances, drywall, carpet, beds and family photos and stuffed animals.  I felt so sad for everyone down there.  What's worse now is Zumbro Falls may not be able to build again.  They may raise the flood plain and then Zumbro Falls will not exist, as least not at that level.  It's said to think it won't be there.  I have driven through Zumbro Falls everyday to get to my job in Rochester.  I can't imagine not seeing the glow of the street lights anymore. 

If anyone wants to help out any families please feel free to donate at the drop off location of Jenny's Greenhouse on highway 63.  They are in need of cleaning supplies, men's shirts in all sizes, laundry detergent, space heaters, mattresses and winter coats and boots.  All help and donations are greatly appreciated and it is all free for the flood victims.

Facebook Friend Request

Many people log on everyday to Facebook.  I have an account, do you?  I get friend requests typically from people I know and some I do not know.  I always decline to people I do not know, even if one of my other friends is friends with that person.  So what would  you do if your parents sent you a request?
If I were in high school or a young 20 something in college, I do think I would decline.  Of course parents can assume certain activities take place that their children are a part of, but I do not think they would think it is appropriate to post certain said pictures and updates.  At that young age I know I didn't want my parents to know everything I was doing, and I sure as heck wasn't going to censor things that I did at that age either. 
I would simply just decline friend request and not say anything.  The old ignore it and it will go away theory works best for me, or at least I thought it did.  If my parents were asking why I was declining them, I would just simply say I needed some sense of privacy with my friends and didn't really want them to know all of my business.  I do not think my parents would care, but maybe some would. 
It is scary for me to see certain things and pictures that people do post.  In my opinion nothing is secure and safe if posted on the Internet.  I see underage kids with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths and beers in their hands, or laying passed out in a friends car.  
Now that I am older, I would accept my parents request.  I have found through the years to never write or say something unless you do not care if that person or people find out.  Let's just say I 'm older and wiser and thank God I didn't have facebook as a teenager.
Just remember...anytime you go on the Internet, it may say secure, but nothing is ever 100%.  If you have any doubt in your mind if you should post a certain picture or update, don't do it! 

Name that movie!

I am addicted to television and movies.  Today is a great day to stay home and curl up and watch a great show.  It amazes me how people can still come up with new ideas to write about and then produce.  My favorite movie at the moment is The Hangover.  I have seen it a hundred times and I still laugh every time.  It's a stupid, funny movie and I love it.  Growing up my girlfriend and I would always write to each other in class and quote movie lines from our favorite movie at that time.  To this day I still love getting an email from her saying, "Guess the movie line."  So in honor of that memory, I say let's have a little fun and guess the movie. 

Below are a list of movie lines, guess what the movie is.  Answers will follow below.

1. Patches?  We don't need no stinking patches!

2. The truth? You can't handle the truth!

3. Tiger's love pepper.  They hate cinnamon.

4. Nobody puts Baby in the corner.

5. You shut your mouth when you're talking to me.

6. Try an association. Like uh... let's say the average person uses 10% of their brain. How much do you use? One and a half percent. The rest is clogged with malted hops and bong resin.

7. You're gonna need a bigger boat.

8. No wire hanger, ever!

9. I feel the need -- the need for speed.10. Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

History of Memories

I was in seventh grade and my history teacher had an assignment for us to do.  He wanted us do a family tree and interview a grandparent and get information about what it was like for them to grow up.  Not just they way they lived but what things cost and what it felt like.  I am so thankful that I was able to interview all four of my grandparents and sit and listen to them tell of their life growing up.  I ended up taping the whole conversation on a my sister's taperecorder.  I wish still had that tape, but I'm sure I just ended up taping some Milli Vanilli over it or Bon Jovi.  Who knows.  Good thing I have a great memory. 
He was my mom's dad.  Elmer Christ Lutjen.  He was born and raised on the farm I grew up on in Lake City.  I remember thinking when I was young how old he seemed.  Now as I get older it doesn't seem so old anymore.  He use to bartend at a bar called Beckmann's.  It was connected to The Blue Moon Restaurant.  Now the place has new owners and it totally remodeled and called Bronk's Bar and Grill.  I can remember him taking me in there and it was dark and had one little windown that I had to stand on a bar stool to see out of.  It smelled of cigar and cigarette smoke.  He would let me have a root beer and sometimes some chips.  I can still feel the foam on my lips and the salt on my tongue.  Boy did that root beer taste good on a hot summers day. 
My Grandma and Grandpa moved to town I believe in 1977.  I would stay there in the summer and Grandma would make lunch and he would push out his false teeth and click them.  I can still hear my Grandma yell "Stop that Elmer!"  He had gold rimmed glasses and slicked back hair from using Brylcream.  He smelled of some old dime store cologne.  He always had on jeans and a western shirt, usually red and green and white stripped and always pointed toed cowboy boots.  He use to call me Smokey and I can remember when my cousin had her little girl, he would call her smokey, and even though I was fifteen at the time I was still jealous of him using what was suppose to be just my name. 
He was my favorite grandparent and when I graduated high school he was dying of cancer.  He died June of 1996 and I miss him as much today as I did the day he died.  I miss his laughter and jokes and I'm sad he missed out on me growing up more.  I know he would get a kick out of my boys. 
I love you Grandpa and always will.

"Love Of A Lifetime"

Love Of A Lifetime (lyrics) by Firehouse


I guess the time was right
for us to say
We'd take our time and live our lives
together day by day
Make a wish and
send it on a prayer
We know our dreams can all come true
if loving we can share
With you I'll never wonder
will you be there for me
With you I'll never wonder
you're the right one for me

(chorus)
I finally found a love of a lifetime
A love to last my whole life through
I finally found a love of a lifetime
Forever in my heart
I finally found a love of a lifetime

With every kiss our love
is like brand new
And every star up in the sky
was made for me and you
Still we both know
that the road is long
We know that we will be together
because our love is strong

This song means a couple of things to me.   One it takes me back to my Senior Prom.  My husband and I were dating and that was the first song we danced to.  I loved it so much that years later that was the ring tone on my phone for when my husband called me. 
I was driving to work one day and looked at my phone and I was kind of ticked off for a moment because the screen that was up looked made it look like someone was messing with my phone.  Here my husband has changed his name in the contacts to Love of My Life.  That was seven years ago and I have never changed it.  It's the little things like that that mean so much to me. 
I'm going to get a little sappy here, so prepare yourselves.  I truly believe he is my soul mate, my one true love.  We have so much respect and love for each other.  What is the secret to a Happy Marriage?  It's not just one thing.  It's not enough to just love each other.  You need communication and respect for one another.  Marriage is hard and it takes a lot of work, work that I feel a lot of people aren't willing to do. I know it's not always going to be easy and fun, but we are both in it for the long haul.  I feel very blessed to have found the love of my lifetime.

Back in the saddle again!

     So here I go again.  Back to school to at further my career.  I have found that with age comes dedication and desire to do my best.  I tend to study more and understand things a lot better than in high school or in the first few tries at college when I was 18 and 19.  Some people know exactly what they want to do and be.  For me is was not as clear. 
     This time I am motivated purely by my family.  My husband is a huge support.  He wants nothing but the best for me and is a great help with home and the children.  My parents are not as supportive.  I do not think they were to thrilled when I decided to quit being a dental assistant and go back to St. Mary's last November.  Then they found out I was going to school for Nursing.  Their first thought was "who is going to watch the kids" .  With lots of help from the neighbor girls it is working out just fine. 
     I love patient care and with nursing comes the opportunity to grow and become more educated in different aspects of that role.  I look forward to continuing on and on and on.  I believe one can never quit learning and everyday I do learn something new.  Someone once told me every time you learn something new, your brain grows a new wrinkle.  No wonder I have such a big head!