Motivation

I hope my family recognizes the growth that has occurred within me since returning to W.V.
I hate doing the dishes, but have done them nightly since getting a new kitchen. It is amazing how the drive to keep things looking nice can make you do such crazy things. I guess Drew realized this is what it would take to get him out of dish duty (at least temporarily).

Have Dones and To Dos

Here's the deal: Anything bold is something I've done. Copy the list and adapt it to what YOU'VE done!

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a checkF
lown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been a passenger on a motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Redwoods
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Got a tattoo
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee

A notch up

Drew has climbed a notch on the residency to tum pole. It's official, on July 1, 2009 Drew became a third year resident. He is still considered a junior res., he still takes first call, he still is basically a peon - but - we are one year closer to being done (two yrs down three to go). Oh yeah, and no more consults at the end of the day.
This may not mean much to you, but to me it means he could knock off one or two hours at the end of most days. To me it means he may actually get to see his children on a semi-occasional basis (instead of random-occasional). I thought they were going to pop something when he showed up yesterday for dinner (only to have to go back to work, but hey). Elena actually said "Daddy's home and it's not dark." To me it means I may actually have to start making real dinners again.

Flood follow-up

I was going through some pictures on my dad's camera and found these. They were taken during the flood this spring. I was running through my parent's neighborhood this summer, and although many people have replanted their yards and tried to repair, there are still many signs of the damage done this spring. Sidewalks are buckled, fences were torn apart to allow way for the floodwall, dirt paths and patches are beginining to sprout grass. I was visitng with a neighbor who is new to Fargo, and he was amazed that people whose houses were perfectly safe (on the other side of the double dikes) would sign up for overnight shifts of water/pump patrol. Even the FEMA representative commented to him about the initiation and independence the community showed in preparing and protecting their city.

Anyone want to build a sandbox? This is the first load of sandbags that were brought in for the dikes being built along the river.

Volunteers building the wall in my parent's and their neighbors yard. The wall would eventually be about 5 feet tall. The Fargo-Moorhead area estimated over 100,00 people volunteered in the flood fight. 3.5 million sandbags were filled.

Nothing like a snowstorm in March to set you back. You can see the wall and the river in the back yard.

Moving to higher ground. With a dike being built in the back, along the river, and in front, through the street, my parents needed to move everything out of their basement. My dad and brother chose to stay at the house and help run pumps and dike patrol for their neighbors. They brought in food storage and generators, just in case.

The war zone that was my parent's front yard and driveway.

This is a view of the dike from the second story of the "dog house." This picture was taken after the flood (the water is still very high, but not threatening). The water came up to within two feet of the top.

This is a picture of the dike that was built in front of their house. The brick mailbox is my parents. A staircase was built over the wall, so people could access their homes if necessary.

Who misses these faces???

I bet their Dad does. We've been a little MIA on the blog scene thanks to our month-long hiatus to North Dakota. We're having a great time!!