hospitals

hi friends. someone very close to me had to have a major surgery this week. it was planned- no scary accidents or anything. but it is has been a long, hard, trying week. this person requested that info about the surgery/connecting it to them not be splashed all over facebook/the internets so to request thier privacy all you will know is that it is someone close to me.

i was prepared for this. i was prepared for surgery day to be hard and to cry. i was prepared to not really like the hospital. i was not prepared for the recovery part to be so draining on everyone involved. when we go back to our rental house every night we are all exhausted and emotional. my body hurts all over. and i feel so torn to have to leave here at night and not stay with my loved one.

we all know that this surgery will make our loved ones life better but it is so hard to see them hooked up to everything. and it is so hard to let someone else care for them. i know that we are at one of the best facilities in the world, we are at st. mary's hospital in rochester, mn which is a part of the mayo clinic. for the surgery that my loved one had there are 3 places in north america to go- Mayo, Clevland, OH, or Tonronto. thankfully Mayo is just about a 5 hour drive from hometown, mn.

my loved one will be fine. they are expected to make a full recovery and the doctors are happy with how surgery went, and their life will be better. but it is so hard to see them in the hospital. i don't really like hospitals.

love, mrs. k

So What Wednesday

It's Wednesday already?

Time to link up with Shannon again!

 

Here's what I'm saying So What to this week:

 

*if I'm feeling completely ovewhelmed by my office? I'm going to be out of the office for the next two weeks and it's super hard to get everything ready to go especially when it's the start of the school/church year...

 

*if I cut up all of my meat before eating any of it? Like when we grill chicken breasts I'll cut mine down the middle/thickest part to make sure it's done then I'll cut it all into pieces that are small enough to eat then I'll eat it. My mom makes fun of me for this.

 

*if I watch the Kardashians so much that the Mr kind of has an idea of who's who and whats going on?

 

*if I hate when people park in front of my sidewalk, the one that goes from our house to the street? Seriously! You want to walk up the sidewalk when you park there so why would you park your car right in front of it? Then you just need to walk around your car and through my grass (or snow in the winter...) Dumb.

 

*if I prefer fountain pop to bottled or caned? Yes, there is a difference.

 

*if I think I'm going to re-read 50 Shades?

 

*if I wish someone would pay me to live at the lake all summer?

 

What are you saying So What to this week?

Head on over to Life After I "Dew" to see what everyone

else is saying So What to and to link up!

 

Love, Mrs K

Lake Life

I have lived in NW MN for most of my life (for reals- we moved up north when I was 3). I love living here. You see- I am a water baby. When I was in elementary school my sister and I went swimming on mother's day, yes Mother's Day, the one in May. My mom came home from work that day to see my dad sitting on the dock in a sweatshirt, drinking coffee and her two daughters in the lake swimming, the same lake that had ice on it a week and a half ago. She wasn't impressed. But I thought it was great. I love the lake!!

There are 416 lakes in the county that I grew up in. 412 lakes with-in a 20 mile radius of Hometown, MN. Everyone I know either lives on the lake, has a lake cabin, or at the very least has easy access to a lake.

But then I got a big girl job after college. In one of the two counties in MN that does not have a lake. Yes, you really just read that. In the land of 10,000 plus lakes, there are two counties that do no have lakes in them. I'm in counseling for withdrawl from not having a lake nearby (kidding).

Thankfully my mom and dad have a lake cabin. That's only a 180 miles from my big girl life (sarcasm- 180 miles is a long way). And thankfully the Mr loves going there as much as I do. Life is just better when we're there. You can lay in the lake and float and work on your tan. You can have a bonfire. You can have a few drinks because you don't have to drive anywhere and no one is going to judge you. You can sleep in. You can catch up on your magazine reading (really important). You can nap. Ahhh... It's so great.

We were at the cabin this past weekend.

Along with four of my besties from high school and one of their husby's (the only one that's married- thank God that he was there for my Mr and vice versa). It was one of the best weekends ever!! And here are some pictures to prove it:

This is what my trunk looked like leaving my northern town.

Lord help me when I have to travel with children some day...

I got to stop at this cute little shop since the Mr wasn't with me- I went on Thur and he didn't get to come down til Fri after work

I made glasses for everyone to drink out of.

More on this tomorrow- but they were a huge hit!

The glasses in action :)

Some of the towels and bathing suits- when 7 people are at the lake for the weekend there is a lot of stuff involved

Relaxing by the fire

Isn't that like the best view ever?!

One last drink at Ernie's to finish off the weekend

If the Mr and I could both get jobs near the cabin I'm pretty sure we would move there. It's just so perfect. But then it wouldn't be the cabin, it would be everyday life, and maybe that wouldn't be as great...

Love, Mrs. K

So What Wednesday

I'm linking up with Anna from Caffeine & Cocktails and Shannon from Life After I "Dew" for another installment of So What Wednesday!

Here's what I'm saying So What to this week:

*if I want to go back to school shopping? I loved getting new clothes and I love the office supply section of Target

*if I wish people would lable thier facebook pictures? Or at least the album and not just the date.

*if I can never remember how to make chocolate chip cookies? I always always always have to read the back of the bag of chips to make them.

*if when I go home from work in the afternoon I like to have an after "school" snack just like I did when I was little? It's usually crackers and cheese or fruit snacks :)

*if Meg's blog makes me want to visit Colorado in the summer? I've been there lots of times in the winter but never in the summer- it's so beautiful!!

*if some days I feel like I just need to craft something?

*if I haven't done a project in the craft room since early in June?

*if our new upstairs neighbors make me want to move?

*if I'm super excited for high school weekend at the lake cabin this weekend?

What are you saying So What to this week?

Head on over to Life After I "Dew" to see what everyone else

is So What-ing and to link up!

Love, Mrs. K

Pinstrosity

So, I cruising around on Pinterest today looking for something to create. Do you ever have the urge to just make something? I sure do!

Anyway- I'm searching for inspiration and I find this.

Bahahahaha!!!! Can NOT stop looking at it and laughing. There is a whole blog dedicated to pinterest projects that turned out horribly wrong.

Please go check it out.

You're welcome.

Love, Mrs K

WE Fest Recap!

I know y'all have been on the edge of your seats dying for my recap of WE Fest (riiigghhhttt.....) so here it is:

It was great. Always is.

Day 1, Thursday Aug. 2nd

What I wore:

Dress: Wal*Mart

Belt: Maurices

Tank: Old Navy

Necklace: The Vintage Wanna Bee

Boots: 2nd hand store for $20 (take that Mr K! he spent $120 on his)

The view from our seats:

For real- no zoom. Thanks mom and dad!!

Who we saw:

Luke Bryan

He was SO good!! And he's easy on the eyes :)

The Mr and I during Luke Bryan

Jason Aldean

He was good but I liked Luke better. Jason is the Mr's favorite so my Mr was super happy to see him.

Day 2, Friday Aug. 3rd

What I wore:

Purple Tank top: bought it as a t-shirt at Wal*Mart then doctered it up after a Pinterest inspiration

White Tank: Old Navy

Flower Pins: made by me

Shorts: Target

Wanna-be converse tennis shoes: Wal*Mart

This was the day that it rained and rained. For real- we didn't leave the Miller Lite hospitality tent for hours. The concerts were delayed by 2 hours!

All of the guys under the blue tent work for the Miller Lite distrubter in our area. The person in the rain jacket getting a beer is Katie, one of my high school besties. Apparently she really likes her free beer :)

Who we saw:

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

My dad really liked them and the Mr really did not.

They were ok, not really WE Fest music but they were ok.

Toby Keith!

I had seen him twice before. Once a WE Fest and once at a concert all by himself. This was not the best that I had seen him. The Mr thinks that Toby was drunk before he even came on stage. Not the most professional way to handle a two hour rain delay.

But that didn't stop us from celebrating the Red Solo Cup with Mr Keith :)

Day 3, Saturday Aug 4th

*My favorite day!*

What I wore:

Jeans and a sweatshirt- y'all is was cold!!

Who we saw:

Little Big Town

They were so good!! I love them, a lot!

Sawyer Brown

They are so much fun. The Mr and I went to their Christmas show a few years ago at a casino. They told the crowd that people get mad when they come to a Christmas concert and the band just plays Chirstmas music. So they played a bunch of their hits then they played 4 Christmas songs in the middle and told us that we had to like them :)

They put on a really high energy show. SO fun!

Eric Church

So great!

I didn't realize how many of his songs I knew until this concert.

He's coming back next year! Yay!

One my high school besties, Katie and I

The crowd- it's insane!

And to close out the weekend:

Alabama

This year was the 30th Anniversary of WE Fest. Alabama was there the first year, the 10th, the 20th and now the 30th.

They were good but I didn't know a lot of their stuff. And they put on a concert similar to George Straight, they are there to sing their music and that should be entertaining enough, ie- it isn't a really flashy show and they don't move around a whole lot.

All in all it was great! And we already bought our tickets for next year!

Can't wait to see Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Eric Church as headliners!!

Love, Mrs. K



My week in Instagrams

Trying a new link up this week!

My life in an Instagram.

I'm linking up with Liz from According to Liz (she's another MN girl!!)

to share my instagrams from this week with you!

I got my peace tee in the mail last weekend from Shannon and I am in love!

I found this recipe yesterday on Pinterest and knew I had to make it.

Hello crockpot chicken taco delioushness!!

They were so easy to make- 6 chicken breasts (boneless & skinless), 1 16oz jar of salsa (I used Pace), and taco seasoning. I did add a little chiptole in adobo for a kick.

It made enough for the Mr and I to have dinner last night and then some to freeze in two smaller ziplock baggies for dinner later.

I can not wait to try this again but with a beef roast (like what I use for hot beefs) and then we can have shredded beef tacos. YUM!!

We said goodbye to this little guy yesterday...

And hello to this good looking car :)

We went with the 2010 Pontiac G6.

The exterior is Silver Metallic with black cloth interior.

I'm in love

The sales guy was going to take the sign off and I said "Wait!! I want to take a picture!" He looked at me like I was crazy, like really lady? You want the sign in the picture? I sure did :)

Love, Mrs. K

So What Wednesday

Linking up with Shannon again for So What Wednesday!

Here's what I'm saying So What to this week:

*if I have lots of posts running through my head but no time to write them?

*if I'm a little jealous of my husband and the fact that his family gets together more than mine? I wish I had relationships with my cousins like he has with his?

*if I haven't written my WE Fest recap for you yet?

*if I'm already excited about WE Fest 2013? Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Eric Church! Umm... hello?! You'd be excited too if you'd already bought your tickets :)

*if outside of my office hours during the day I'm not doing a whole lot of work related stuff? Like I'm going to the cabin three weekends in a row and I don't feel bad about it. I spent most of June and July doing work stuff, I can take a few days for myself.

*if one of my friends got this for me to put in my craft room?

And I love it!

*if I haven't worked in the craft room for a while? Y'all it is hot in there!! Our house doesn't have central air, the craft room is on the south side of the house with a south facing window, and no 2nd story above it. So yea... I'll hang out in there when it cools down a bit.

*if I'm a little emotional about this being my last day with my car? Even though I don't really like my car? Yay!! New car day!!

What are you saying So What to this week?

Head on over to Life After I "Dew" to see what everyone else

is So What-ing and to link up!

Love, Mrs. K

Wanna take it for a test drive?

Back on July 1st my car stopped. I was driving the 100 miles to Hometown, MN, I was 10 miles from mom & dad's and my car just stopped. I was speeding back up after going through a town and it wouldn't accelerate. My car is a 2000 Ford Focus Wagon (sweet- I know), so it has a few years and miles on it. But really?! It just stopped.

So I called my parents to see what I should do. Dad: "Did you check the oil?" Well, not before I left home but I did when it stopped. Dad: "Ok, well, mom and I will come get you." While I was waiting for them I called the Mr to fill him in. He told me that he thought it felt funny when he was driving my car the night before and that maybe the transmition was going out but he didn't tell me because he didn't want me to freak out. Gee, thanks hunny. So mom and dad came to my resuce. Dad tried to drive it back to town but only made it about a mile and half. He said he couldn't even keep it running so we were going to have to tow it. Ummm... At this point I'm driving his Ford Expedition. And I've never towed a car or 'driven' car that's being towed. This should be good.

I go to pull back out into traffic to go around my dad in my car to hook up and pull him. But a car stops infront of us and offers to help. Too bad we're pretty sure they were all 3 sheets to wind... For real- there was a girl hanging out the back window trying to talk to us and the dude in the front seat got out of the car to talk to us and he was stumbling all over the place. Finally convinced them that we had it all under control and they left. Now I get to tow my car. It went fine. We made it back to town and got the car to the Ford dealer- had to go through two stoplights and an interestion of a 4 lane highway (go me!!).

Ford dealer had my car for almost two & a half weeks. Awesome. Then they couldn't even tell us what was wrong with it! They didn't find anything!!! Great. So now I'm driving this car that may or may not die. Needless to say I'm a nervous wreck when I'm driving.

After dad got my car back from the dealer he told the Mr that he wouldn't put another dime into and we should probably sell it.

That means that the Mr and I are now car shopping.

In the past week we have test driven lots of cars. I thought I really wanted a Pontiac G6. So the Mr honed in on them and looked everywhere for them, at every dealership that he drives past, online, in the paper, everywhere. The first one we found had too many miles and a wrecked title. Then there were three at a dealer about 40 miles from our northern town. Then we went to Hometown, MN last weekend (in the dying car no less) and while the Mr was cruising the interenets for cars he stumbled upon a VW Jetta. Not just any VW Jetta- a 2012 with only 18,000 miles. Say what?!

Isn't she beautiful?

But the dealer won't budge at all on their price or what they're willing to give us for the dying car. The Mr. really likes to make deals so he's frustrated with them. And this is really at the top of our price range.

Last night after work we went to a small dealer in our northern town and test drove both of these guys:

 

A 2011 Jeep Patriot and a 2009 Pontiac G6. The G6 has a bigger engine than the Patriot. Weird. Nothing really wrong with either of them but they just weren't for us. The Patriot has a small engine so it doesn't really have a get up and go feel and it's kind of loud when you're accelerating. The G6 has too many miles for us. But the dealer was willing to give us the best price for our dying car- probs because he didn't even drive it to listen to it or check it out at all...

After that we went to the dealer 40 miles away that the Mr drives past everyday to check out their G6s.

The one on the left is a 2009 and it's "Silver Green" and it smells like a hotel room that someone smoked in and then tried to cover up the smell. And it has the 'old' style radio/dash display. Those were the only things wrong with it.

The one on the right is a 2010. New style radio/dash display. Low miles. Rides well. Salesman is willing to make a deal/he'll barter with us (and by us I mean the Mr). In my head I know that this Silver G6 is the better deal, that it will cost us less in the long run because it will be easier to service. But everyone drives Silver cars, everyone drives G6s. No one drives Jettas. Basically, I like the G6 but I love the Jetta.

So, this morning the Mr called the dealer in Hometown, MN to let him know what the dealers up here were willing to give us for our dying car to see if they'd budge at all. We're waiting for a phone call back right now... Fingers crossed.

*None of hese are pictures that I took. They are all dealer photos.

Love, Mrs. K



Summer!!

Hi friends! I'm so sorry that I have not been good about blogging in the summer time. I missed y'all!!

I can not believe that it is August 6th already!! What?! Where did the summer go? Oh yea- camp (3 times!), Vacation Bible School, the 4th of July, a family reunion, an eleven day trip with 18 high schoolers to New Orleans, and WE Fest. Yup- that would do it.

So- in the fastest most photo heavy recap ever, here's my summer:

1st worship of the summer at camp

Sunset at camp- love that seeing this is part of my job :)

Campfire worship at camp

The theme verse of the summer

Father's day weekend at the lake cabin

Week 2 at camp- the littlest boys singing.

Making dinner Kate Gosseling style- for real, I had 9 kids to feed that night!

Learning about cake decorating at DQ during Vacation Bible School (VBS)

Waterballons for water fun Wednesday at VBS

Got to spend an afternoon at the beach with these cuties :)

Closing worship during VBS

Week 3 at camp- so peaceful early in the morning

The crew at camp from our Northern town- 3 churches

The Mr and I at a demo derby

Broken down car :(

Life is better with sandy toes

Spray paint tie die

Our New Orleans group at 6:30 am!!

Got to see the St. Louis Arch on the way

And we got to spend an afternoon at the Gulf of Mexico on the way to NOLA

Female adult leaders enjoying the beach

ELCA National Youth Gathering!!

Worship with 33,309 people! Wow!

Muffelatas in NOLA- yum-o!

Did some Habitat for Humanity work in NOLA

National Civil Rights Museum on the way home

Our last NOLA group picture- the kids saying thank you to everyone who supported them

My 2nd Sonic stop all summer :( the closest one is 5 hours away

My first time eating at Ikea!

When it's really warm out and you only have a window air conditoner in one room (your bedroom) you'll do almost anything to stay in that room.

So that's June and July 2012 for ya.

Stayed tuned for a WE Fest update later this week!

Love, Mrs. K