Alright! I am too pooped from trekking all over northern Minnesota and Wisconsin today to add each and every one of my 43 photos that I took today to this site. So, instead, you can see them here, where I could add them all at one, instead of individually. This is my Flickr page. I have also loaded them onto my MySpace and Facebook pages, which is why I'm not going to add them here.
Anywho, the day started out nice and cool and cloudy. This is apparently the best lighting to have while taking pictures of trees, otherwise the Sun washes out all the colors. Not only did it get more cloudy, it also got more wet as the day progressed, and we got rained on a few times.
We picked Aaron's parents up from a KOA nearby and headed to Osceola, Wisconsin. By the time we got there, it was lunch time, and we stopped in a nice little place and had lunch. Then we headed down 150-some stairs to the falls (which is accessible right from downtown Osceola). After that, we headed to Stillwater, Minnesota to find Taylor's Falls and the pot holes that had been formed by glacial waters carving out stones. That is where we ended our day, and we never actually got to see the falls of Taylor's Falls, because we were on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River, and the falls were on the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River, and it was getting on into the afternoon and Buffy and Jasmine had to be let back outside of the camper, or Aaron's parents were going to have some mess to clean up!
We stopped by the campground to take care of the pets, then headed to Plymouth to eat dinner at the Old Chicago, went to the Lund's winery right next door, then headed to Wal*Mart for a few things. After that, we dropped off his parents, picked up some stuff that they brought us from Spearfish, SD, and headed home. And here I am now.
Tomorrow, we are going to IKEA, then to Aaron's workplace so he can show it off to his parents (and I haven't been in there since June when we first came out to visit), then True Thai, apparently the best Thai place in the Twin Cities for lunch, and who knows where else. We're also going to give his parents back the microwave and some other random things that we don't need here in this apartment so they can take it back to Spearfish with them. That will get a lot of things out of our hair that we don't have room for.
All in all, it was a very good day.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Head Wounds
Okay, so we're just getting over the kidney stone thing, as I said in my last post. Fine and dandy.
Tonight, Aaron and I go out to dinner, enjoy a good meal, and are walking back out to the car. I was walking ahead of Aaron, and giving a wide berth to the ladder that was sticking out of the back of a pick up truck. Aaron, however, was using his phone to find the location of the nearest booze store, as his supplies had been depleted over the weekend.
All of the sudden: SMASH!
I turn around, and Aaron is stumbling backwards, dropping his phone, and clutching his head. Oh shit. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't too bad, just swollen right around the cut (thankfully the ladder moved when Aaron hit it, instead of being a stationary object), and some of his skin was missing. Nothing too horrible. And it wasn't bleeding, thank God. We went to the nearest grocery store/booze store, where Aaron got his booze, and I got antibiotic cream and large band-aids for his forehead. Yeesh. I was being blamed for the incident, as I was not watching out where he was going (even though he was behind me). However, I blame him for dinking around on his fancy phone and not looking where he was going.
I'd look a little sheepish, too. Poor guy.
Tonight, Aaron and I go out to dinner, enjoy a good meal, and are walking back out to the car. I was walking ahead of Aaron, and giving a wide berth to the ladder that was sticking out of the back of a pick up truck. Aaron, however, was using his phone to find the location of the nearest booze store, as his supplies had been depleted over the weekend.
All of the sudden: SMASH!
I turn around, and Aaron is stumbling backwards, dropping his phone, and clutching his head. Oh shit. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't too bad, just swollen right around the cut (thankfully the ladder moved when Aaron hit it, instead of being a stationary object), and some of his skin was missing. Nothing too horrible. And it wasn't bleeding, thank God. We went to the nearest grocery store/booze store, where Aaron got his booze, and I got antibiotic cream and large band-aids for his forehead. Yeesh. I was being blamed for the incident, as I was not watching out where he was going (even though he was behind me). However, I blame him for dinking around on his fancy phone and not looking where he was going.
I'd look a little sheepish, too. Poor guy.
stuff and things
Well, I have a job interview on Thursday, the 27th for the TCF (Twin Cities Financial) branch in Coon Rapids, which is about 20 minutes from here, so not too far at all. This particular branch is actually inside a grocery store, but hey, it's a job, and I hope I get it. I should be okay, with all my experience in cashiering, and especially working in the cashier's cage at the casino.
Aaron's kidney stone finally passed. I think it was on Friday while he was at work. It's much different than I thought it would look; almost like crystals. I was thinking of an actual little stone, I guess, having never seen one before. Now he just has to take it in to have it examined, I guess.
Aaron's parents are going to be visiting us this weekend to see the leaves change colors. Some of the trees have already started to change. Some have lost all of their leaves. Some are still quite green. I'll try to remember to bring my camera with me when we go anywhere so I can post some fall foliage pictures.
I just finished the Harry Potter series. I had the seventh and final book finished before I came out to Minnesota, and then once I was here, and jobless and bored, I started the whole thing over, from book one. It took me a little over two weeks to finish the whole series, but it was kinda cool to read it in its entirety, instead of waiting a year for the next one to come out.
Well, I can't think of much else to say. Just thought I'd let you know what's going on for now.
Aaron's kidney stone finally passed. I think it was on Friday while he was at work. It's much different than I thought it would look; almost like crystals. I was thinking of an actual little stone, I guess, having never seen one before. Now he just has to take it in to have it examined, I guess.
Aaron's parents are going to be visiting us this weekend to see the leaves change colors. Some of the trees have already started to change. Some have lost all of their leaves. Some are still quite green. I'll try to remember to bring my camera with me when we go anywhere so I can post some fall foliage pictures.
I just finished the Harry Potter series. I had the seventh and final book finished before I came out to Minnesota, and then once I was here, and jobless and bored, I started the whole thing over, from book one. It took me a little over two weeks to finish the whole series, but it was kinda cool to read it in its entirety, instead of waiting a year for the next one to come out.
Well, I can't think of much else to say. Just thought I'd let you know what's going on for now.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Storm
Tonight there was a severe thunderstorm that came through the area, although it moved away fairly quickly. I took some pictures of the back yard during the storm, before Aaron had come home from work. He was stuck on the highway because traffic was moving rather slow due to the rain, hail, and standing water.
The first pictures are at the beginning of the storm.
Then the view from the porch.
Then the flooded back yard about 30 minutes into the storm.
During the storm, which had almost blown itself out by this point, we started making dinner, potato leek soup, which was delicious. Around 6:30pm, however, we lost power. The electric range stayed hot for a while, and with a lid on, the soup kept cooking, until about 8pm, by which point we were getting hungry. After making sure the chicken was cooked all the way through, we poured ourselves a bowl, ate, and then put the remaining soup in the freezer (which was cooler than the fridge, seeing as there was still no power in the house. We lost power for about three hours total, not getting it back until a little after 9pm. The power had threatened to come on, but flickered off shortly a couple of times during this three hours. When the power finally came on for the last time a little after nine (and STAYED on), we remained in the bedroom, reading our books that we had been earlier by candle light.
About twenty minutes into this, I get up, smelling something, and ask, "Did you leave the burner on?" I knew the answer, but just wanted to be sure. I could smell something not quite burning, but getting close, and went into the kitchen. Sure enough, one of the kitchen towels was laying on the burner that, for three hours, hadn't been on. But for the last twenty minutes, it HAD been on. No harm done, just scraping some burnt plastic off the burners, and running the poor towel under water.
Only three weeks at the apartment, and we've almost set it on fire. Thank goodness I have a good nose (Aaron hadn't smelled it because his nose was stuffy). The towel had been placed on the stove when the power was out, and the heat was off, and neither of us had thought to turn the electric burner off after we took the pot of soup off. We will have to be more careful from now one. I hate electric ranges, they are dangerous and remain hot long after they've been turned off. Grr.
The first pictures are at the beginning of the storm.
Then the view from the porch.
Then the flooded back yard about 30 minutes into the storm.
During the storm, which had almost blown itself out by this point, we started making dinner, potato leek soup, which was delicious. Around 6:30pm, however, we lost power. The electric range stayed hot for a while, and with a lid on, the soup kept cooking, until about 8pm, by which point we were getting hungry. After making sure the chicken was cooked all the way through, we poured ourselves a bowl, ate, and then put the remaining soup in the freezer (which was cooler than the fridge, seeing as there was still no power in the house. We lost power for about three hours total, not getting it back until a little after 9pm. The power had threatened to come on, but flickered off shortly a couple of times during this three hours. When the power finally came on for the last time a little after nine (and STAYED on), we remained in the bedroom, reading our books that we had been earlier by candle light.
About twenty minutes into this, I get up, smelling something, and ask, "Did you leave the burner on?" I knew the answer, but just wanted to be sure. I could smell something not quite burning, but getting close, and went into the kitchen. Sure enough, one of the kitchen towels was laying on the burner that, for three hours, hadn't been on. But for the last twenty minutes, it HAD been on. No harm done, just scraping some burnt plastic off the burners, and running the poor towel under water.
Only three weeks at the apartment, and we've almost set it on fire. Thank goodness I have a good nose (Aaron hadn't smelled it because his nose was stuffy). The towel had been placed on the stove when the power was out, and the heat was off, and neither of us had thought to turn the electric burner off after we took the pot of soup off. We will have to be more careful from now one. I hate electric ranges, they are dangerous and remain hot long after they've been turned off. Grr.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
update
Just a quick update for everyone. Aaron's kidney stone isn't bothering him very much anymore. We're not sure if he passed it, if it broke down, or what, but he's feeling much better about it.
I'm still looking for a job, I have a couple of resumes and applications out there, so hopefully someone will bite. If not, Aaron's friend/cousin Karlie has a friend who is starting at Corporate Target and might be able to get me a job t here, too. That'd be kinda cool.
Once I have a job, we're looking at getting a kitty (because a puppy would be too much in the small apartment. I'd like to get one that's already a couple of years old, has already been litter trained, and just needs rescued from a shelter, as opposed to getting a new kitten. The upside to shelter cats is that they've been spayed/neutered, shots, vaccines, all that jazz. And most of them have lived in homes or with people before, so that helps with the personality.
Our dishwasher is working very crappy; it leaves residue on all of the dishes, which makes them feel slick and they look spotty. We're not sure if it's weak, if it's hard water, or what, but we've tried different combinations of detergent (grainy stuff, liquidy stuff, Jet Dry), and nothing really seems to make a big difference. I think we're going to try to talk to the landlord about it, see if that's a common problem, or if our dishwasher just needs fixed or replaced.
Things are finally starting to feel like home around here, which is nice. It's "our" place, finally. We haven't had any one over for dinner or movies yet, but we might try to do that in the next couple of weeks here, just to thank everyone for letting Aaron stay with them before we got this place.
Everything is going well here, so now we're just focusing on finding me a job so that we can make a little more money, get a kitteh, and get me a new cell phone. Until next time! Ciao.
I'm still looking for a job, I have a couple of resumes and applications out there, so hopefully someone will bite. If not, Aaron's friend/cousin Karlie has a friend who is starting at Corporate Target and might be able to get me a job t here, too. That'd be kinda cool.
Once I have a job, we're looking at getting a kitty (because a puppy would be too much in the small apartment. I'd like to get one that's already a couple of years old, has already been litter trained, and just needs rescued from a shelter, as opposed to getting a new kitten. The upside to shelter cats is that they've been spayed/neutered, shots, vaccines, all that jazz. And most of them have lived in homes or with people before, so that helps with the personality.
Our dishwasher is working very crappy; it leaves residue on all of the dishes, which makes them feel slick and they look spotty. We're not sure if it's weak, if it's hard water, or what, but we've tried different combinations of detergent (grainy stuff, liquidy stuff, Jet Dry), and nothing really seems to make a big difference. I think we're going to try to talk to the landlord about it, see if that's a common problem, or if our dishwasher just needs fixed or replaced.
Things are finally starting to feel like home around here, which is nice. It's "our" place, finally. We haven't had any one over for dinner or movies yet, but we might try to do that in the next couple of weeks here, just to thank everyone for letting Aaron stay with them before we got this place.
Everything is going well here, so now we're just focusing on finding me a job so that we can make a little more money, get a kitteh, and get me a new cell phone. Until next time! Ciao.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Talk Like A Pirate day!
This is just a friendly reminder that there is less than one week (Wednesday, September 19th) until Talk Like A Pirate Day, so go to your local Wal*Mart and buy a pirate costume, ya scurvy dog!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
outside
Well, I wandered around the building grounds today and snapped some shots of the lake, the willow, and the building itself. Here we go!
Here's the entry way (my car on the left)
This is the willow tree by the lake, but you can't tell the lake is there because of all the lily pads.
A few shots of the lake itself. The dark one was because I was looking directly into the Sun and couldn't tell if the picture was any good or not. Sorry.
These last two are of our back yard, with the trees, hilly little bumps, and all of our balconies.
Until next time!
Here's the entry way (my car on the left)
This is the willow tree by the lake, but you can't tell the lake is there because of all the lily pads.
A few shots of the lake itself. The dark one was because I was looking directly into the Sun and couldn't tell if the picture was any good or not. Sorry.
These last two are of our back yard, with the trees, hilly little bumps, and all of our balconies.
Until next time!
Kidney stones!
The day before I came to Minnesota, I had talked to Aaron, and he'd been complaining of pain in his abdomen and left side. He'd been helping some friends of his move out of their apartment, but said he hadn't lifted anything heavy. But later that night, he was in great amounts of pain, and very close to having someone take him to the hospital. Eventually, the pain subsided, and when my parents and I arrived, he was feeling fine, and able to help us move everything.
That was about a week and a half ago. Then on Monday the 10th, Aaron calls me around 10am saying that he's in a lot of pain again, and coming home from work. He also had me start looking up clinics in the phone book (not that I was much help there), so he could go to a doctor that afternoon.
We got him into a clinic at 1pm. After a round of questions, exams, and even a tetanus shot, they sent him over to the hospital, just across the street, for a CAT scan of his abdomen. The CAT scan confirmed kidney stones, well, one of them, at least, 4mm in size. That's a little less than half a centimeter in diameter. Pretty big, if you're asking someone to push that through his urethra!
He got some pain medications from the doctor at the clinic (who probably thought Aaron was the weirdest, funniest kid with kidney stones to come in), and we went home. The next day we were back at the clinic for a urology exam. Let me tell you, he was the youngest guy in there by about 40 years. The doctor gave him some anti-inflammatory medication and something else to help things, uh, flow.
Basically, they said to go back to work and do things as normal; if anything happens and he's in pain, he needs to go back to the urologist, and they're going to shove a tube up his urethra and laser the stone to bits. Oooh, fun. I've heard that passing a kidney stone is worse than giving birth.
Thank God all the times I have been in the hospital have been self-inflicted injuries. So he is at work right now, and seemed to be doing just fine last night, so hopefully...no more pain.
In other news, I am looking for a job still. I'm going to call back the employment agency I talked to on Friday to see if they have any updates, and also contact another agency in town as well. Gotta keeps as many irons in the fire as possible, if I want this to be a quick procedure.
I'm looking for a job that is more clerical in nature, as opposed to retail and cashiering. When I work retail, I find reasons to dislike people (customers) on a daily basis, and am generally not the happiest person all the time. I think a different type of job would be better for me. So we'll see!
That was about a week and a half ago. Then on Monday the 10th, Aaron calls me around 10am saying that he's in a lot of pain again, and coming home from work. He also had me start looking up clinics in the phone book (not that I was much help there), so he could go to a doctor that afternoon.
We got him into a clinic at 1pm. After a round of questions, exams, and even a tetanus shot, they sent him over to the hospital, just across the street, for a CAT scan of his abdomen. The CAT scan confirmed kidney stones, well, one of them, at least, 4mm in size. That's a little less than half a centimeter in diameter. Pretty big, if you're asking someone to push that through his urethra!
He got some pain medications from the doctor at the clinic (who probably thought Aaron was the weirdest, funniest kid with kidney stones to come in), and we went home. The next day we were back at the clinic for a urology exam. Let me tell you, he was the youngest guy in there by about 40 years. The doctor gave him some anti-inflammatory medication and something else to help things, uh, flow.
Basically, they said to go back to work and do things as normal; if anything happens and he's in pain, he needs to go back to the urologist, and they're going to shove a tube up his urethra and laser the stone to bits. Oooh, fun. I've heard that passing a kidney stone is worse than giving birth.
Thank God all the times I have been in the hospital have been self-inflicted injuries. So he is at work right now, and seemed to be doing just fine last night, so hopefully...no more pain.
In other news, I am looking for a job still. I'm going to call back the employment agency I talked to on Friday to see if they have any updates, and also contact another agency in town as well. Gotta keeps as many irons in the fire as possible, if I want this to be a quick procedure.
I'm looking for a job that is more clerical in nature, as opposed to retail and cashiering. When I work retail, I find reasons to dislike people (customers) on a daily basis, and am generally not the happiest person all the time. I think a different type of job would be better for me. So we'll see!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Connected with the world again!
It all started on Saturday, September 1st. We drove to Spearfish from Gillette at 6am so we could pick up the U-Haul that we had left at Aaron's parents' house, along with the television, computers, and random other pieces.
This was my view of Dad's truck on the way in. Now, imagine a U-Haul trailer attached to it, and stare at it for 12 hours while driving 80mph on the Interstate. Yeah. That was Saturday. We arrived in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis in the evening, too pooped to unpack. So we found my parents a hotel, went out to dinner, and would meet again in the morning for some breakfast and unpacking.
This is our tons and tons and TONS of crap that we brought with us from Spearfish. Mind you, not everything made it to the Twin Cities; some things were left behind. And after much unpacking, moving, and rearranging, we found that some things will have to be taken back; we just don't have the room for it. This apartment is a one bedroom, while the one in Spearfish had two. It's got just about the same amount of square footage in it, but we're just missing a closet to store all of our crap in. Sheesh. I don't remember buying this much stuff.
Here's the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
And here's the living room. It was the biggest pain, because we'd added a new piece of furniture, the brown chair.
I've been driving on the freeway, which is a much different experience when you are the driver instead of the passenger. All of the other times, it seemed so nerve-wracking to me to have to drive on this thing. Of course, all this was while Aaron was driving and I was looking around at EVERYTHING that was going on, not just looking at what I needed to see; the car in front of me. I still have no sense of direction and am easily turned around and confused unless Aaron is with me to navigate. There are so many damn roads here!
I'm still looking for a job, but have gone to an employment agency with my resume' for help on that; there is so much to do here, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the possibilities.
Everything has been going very smoothly. Up until today, that is. And I will tell you about that in the next post, so this one doesn't get so long.
This was my view of Dad's truck on the way in. Now, imagine a U-Haul trailer attached to it, and stare at it for 12 hours while driving 80mph on the Interstate. Yeah. That was Saturday. We arrived in Robbinsdale, a suburb of Minneapolis in the evening, too pooped to unpack. So we found my parents a hotel, went out to dinner, and would meet again in the morning for some breakfast and unpacking.
This is our tons and tons and TONS of crap that we brought with us from Spearfish. Mind you, not everything made it to the Twin Cities; some things were left behind. And after much unpacking, moving, and rearranging, we found that some things will have to be taken back; we just don't have the room for it. This apartment is a one bedroom, while the one in Spearfish had two. It's got just about the same amount of square footage in it, but we're just missing a closet to store all of our crap in. Sheesh. I don't remember buying this much stuff.
Here's the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen.
And here's the living room. It was the biggest pain, because we'd added a new piece of furniture, the brown chair.
I've been driving on the freeway, which is a much different experience when you are the driver instead of the passenger. All of the other times, it seemed so nerve-wracking to me to have to drive on this thing. Of course, all this was while Aaron was driving and I was looking around at EVERYTHING that was going on, not just looking at what I needed to see; the car in front of me. I still have no sense of direction and am easily turned around and confused unless Aaron is with me to navigate. There are so many damn roads here!
I'm still looking for a job, but have gone to an employment agency with my resume' for help on that; there is so much to do here, it's easy to become overwhelmed with the possibilities.
Everything has been going very smoothly. Up until today, that is. And I will tell you about that in the next post, so this one doesn't get so long.
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