5 Random Factoids About Myself

I was tagged by Jayme over at Bouwens House this morning to share 5 random things about me so here it goes....

5. Yesterday I cried watching Oprah as she talked about euthanizing animals at the Humane Society if they don't get adopted. The shelter that she featured kills about 16 dogs a day, simply because they can not find homes for them. The dogs were so cute and wagged their tails right up to the end (o.k. now I am going to cry again). But anyway this week I plan to visit the Humane Society in Harbor Springs and check out their pussycats. I plan to just visit and give some lovin to those poor caged up animals, but if an old grandpa cat is going to be put down just because they can't find a home I am not ruling it out that he may just find his way into my home.

4. I once told a confused elderly man that my name was that of a mean co worker just so that I didn't have to hear him calling out my name all day. I know I should probably got to H*** for that, but we all make mistakes (even though I still don't think of it necessarily as a mistake) and I think God has forgiven me. I will say that the man got very good care that day (from me) even though he thought I was somebody else. There I finally confessed that one. I feel better with that off my chest!

3. I love thunderstorms and I wish it would thunder during the Winter in Michigan.

2. I got excited when the National Spelling Bee came on tv today and yes, I am watching it right now.

1. One of my favorite things to do is go mushrooming. I think it is way more fun than going to the thrift store and you all know how much I love doing that.

There you have it, 5 random factoids all about Me! I hope you enjoyed that!!!

Betsy and I (she moved up here you know) ate lunch at the Pier today. We ate Morel Bisque on the deck and Lance was our server. It was delicious and at a very discounted price ;) While we were there Betsy may have landed a second job and who knows maybe Lance can train her if they need more help. I can tell this summer is going to be lot of fun and I can't wait to hit the beach. Dad if you come visit maybe we can enjoy a bowl of Morel Bisque together on the deck at the Pier.

Last night I got a juicer as a housewarming gift from Lance. Off to the store for fruits and veggies we went. I thought it would take like a million pieces of fruit to make one glass, but my favorite turned out to be a half of an apple and 4 strawberries...yummy. Now I will have no excuses not to eat my fruits and veggies for the day. Doesn't it look like fun?!? Everyone can come visit just to try the juicer.

Celery, onion, carrot, tomato juice....a few more slight changes..a little mixin and you have fresh squeezed V8.

Here is a picture of the sky by my house tonight. I thought it was really pretty. I think I have one of the best places in town to watch sunsets. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the nice weather today..finally!!! I checked out the state park and although a bit chilly it was very nice. I purchased a beach sticker for my car so you know where to find me once it gets a little warmer.

PRETTY..pictures don't do justice.

I thought this was a cute video of Smokes in the tub this morning. What a crazy cat!

The house continues to get smaller as Dad continues to demolish room after room. He has now moved on to the living room. As you can see all of those heavy bricks that once made up our fire place are now gone courtesy of a jack hammer and dad's muscles. I have been helping dad the past two days and I have not been this sore since a college swim practice. We have resorted to wearing masks so I guess that is a good thing. Anyway, after another long day on the homefront I am happy to say it is a mess!!!!Dad standing by the fire place. Those bricks were SOOOOO heavy!

Can't wait to see Santa come down our new chimney. I think he will like the renovations.

We had to empty this thing a ton of times. The plaster from the ceiling was also quite heavy and dusty. I can't imagine carrying all of that to a dumpster.

Here is a picture of Betsy's room, the laundry room, Mom and Dad's bedroom and the living room all combine. They are all one room right now. Pretty spacious I would say!

A Dog Walk

Today was Vinny's special day. We did a charitable walk for animals today that started at the Duke football stadium. I had so much fun and it made me want a dog soooo bad. I think Vinny had a great time too. We walked out of there with several samples of dog food, tennis balls and other pet products. Overall its was a great time and I am glad we participated.Vinny and I on the way to the walk. Vinny was so excited he could hardly sit still!

Here we are before the walk. Our team represented the Piney Woods Dog Park of Durham. We even raised enough money for special gold team shirts. Notice Vinny's matching bandana.

Vinny and the rest of the dogs enjoyed taking in all the free smells....if you know what I mean. Look how big that dog is...wow!

The "Poop Mobile" drove around and waited for dog owners to toss their poop bags in. I think St. Joe needs to invest in one of those. I think the driver of this thing should be featured on the show "Dirty Jobs."

After the walk Vincent was extremely hot and tired, so he decided to do some relaxing in the community dog watering hole.

I am in North Carolina!..Whoohoo

This weekend I am in North Carolina visiting Jayme and Dan. Today Jayme and I went shopping , with much success. I am having a great time so far and I have decided that I am a huge fan of warm weather. Good thing I just moved to Northern Michigan..right?!?Grandpa and Grandma drove me to the airport. We had a great time and laughed a lot as we had to keep circling the airport because we could not figure out exactly where the drop off zone was due to massive airport construction. But I made it safe and on time....thanks guys!!!!

Tonight we ate real southern bbq at a "hole in the wall" restaurant. I had bbq pork, macaroni, fried okra and hushpuppies. It was sooooo good and I must go back sometime. It was the kind of food I can see myself craving on a lonely night in Petoskey. Very tasty!!!!

Here I am being according to Jayme a "corny tourist" whatever!!!!!

We were invited to sign the walls at the restaurant. So we took full advantage and left our mark!!!

Jayme signing her name in the corner. Very nice!

Demolition Day 3

Today at 7:30 am I woke up to some really strange loud noises and then my bed began to shake. Turns out there were two strange men in the attic above me sucking out insolation with a giant vacuum. Dad was also contributing to the noise by banging out the drywall ceiling with a sledge hammer. Welcome home Jenna....welcome home! The noise didn't seem to bother Betsy though, she amazingly was able to drown out the sound until a comfortable 10:30 am. Anyway, the house is looking more and more a mess each day which is a good thing! Tomorrow is our garage sale hopefully the quarters and dimes of junk add up to a new piece of furniture for Mom's new house.Dad and Mom working together to make my old bedroom their pad for the summer. A ceiling fan?! I don't think I ever had that. Also you will be happy to know that we now have a lock on the back bathroom door....things are improving here all the time.

All the drywall is gone, right down to the studs now!

Dad and Mom's room just got a whole lot bigger. I think I even heard Mom question if they would have too much room...ha!

Betsy and I pulled rusty nails from the walls for a while tonight, good thing I got a tetnus shot this week. After a long day, I speak for everyone when I say I can't wait for tomorrow's garage sale....oh and I fly to Jayme tomorrow afternoon so I will let Dad progress a little more on the house before I update again.

Demolition Day 2

Dad continued with his demolition today while Mom, Betsy and I prepared for a garage sale that will take place on Thursday and Friday of this week. We priced out a lot of stuff, so everyone should come check us out at Aunt Barb's house. Most everything is super on sale for 25 cents!This is a picture of Dad and Mom's bathroom. Makes me want to take a tub...NOT. As you can see their old bedroom is now connected to Betsy's old room.

Ummmm... where is the toilet, I need to take a poop! Oh wait, it is now in the back bathroom, replacing the toilet that sounded like a monster...good work Dad!!!

Who would have thought Mom and Dad had hard wood floors all along. Dad got pretty far today, the boarded up hole in the wall is where their new hot tub will eventually be. Mom is sooooooooo happy to have this all happening for real. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I can't believe this is FINALLY happening. Dad and Mom have decided to start remodeling our house. The plans are drawn up, they look awesome and it is actually happening. I hope the project goes according to plan and that everything turns out great. Just think at Christmas Mom will be putting up her tree in a new living room and Piper and Nola will be sitting by a new and improved fireplace leaving cookies for Santa. I can't wait to see the finished project, until then....Mom hang in there and Dad please wear your dust mask!!!!Here is a picture of Dad making the first cut into the brick outside their bedroom. He is standing where the hot tub will be this winter.....SWEET!!!!

Above is a video of the first cut into brick, it is kind of loud so you may want to turn the volume on your computer down.

Here is a picture of Dad is Betsy's old room. He got pretty far in just one day I would say. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. Keep up the good work Dad, you are putting Bob Villa to shame.

Now that I officially live in Northern Michigan I can go shroomin whenever I like. Today I walked around Lance's dad's property for a few minutes and found all of these white morals. I really really wish dad didn't live 4 hours away because I am itching to find Grandpa De Jonge's cabin way back in the woods and go shroomin around it for a few days. I can't wait to throw these little buggers in a frying pan with some butter...yum!!

Check this out....a perfectly done pork stir fry dinner for two...only about 6 dollars. Even better yet, I had enough left over to have lunch tomorrow. I highly recommend using your rice cookers people!!!

This post is for dad. Dad I know you have been sick for a couple of weeks now with a terrible cough/cold. Lance has been sick for about two weeks now too and he has been making himself a streaming tent to help loosen it up. Just boil a pot of water and enclose yourself in a towel to catch the steam....Genious I tell ya!! I can only imagine it is good for your pores too, just like having a sauna in your kitchen.

Petoskey living

This past weekend, I got pinned at a nursing ceremony, graduated and moved into an apartment in Petoskey. I was extremely busy, and felt like I was on a rollarcoaster of emotions. I was happy to be graduating, sad to be leaving my friends, estatic about living closer to Lance and nervous to actally have to answer "yes" to the question "are you my nurse?" But now that I am here i am excited to see where life takes me. This week I am taking some time to make my "house a home." I do not start work for another two weeks so I will be enjoying some time to myself before getting started. Here are some pictures of what the place is looking like so far.....enjoy!

The guest bedroom where I hope all of you will have the pleasure of staying sometime. Can I lure with a new mattress and some extremely comfy blankets?! And yes Dad, I will have cable hooked up when you come next time!
My bedroom. I actually have a bed frame now! I also have a dresser which is something new for me as well.
My kitchen/office. Check out the table. Now isn't that inviting?!? This room is also my office, I just couldn't resist passing up a view like that while working on the computer. I do important stuff in my office like blog and watch past episodes of the Bachelor.
My living room. Guess what is under that slip cover. I just got that plant yesterday, lets hope I don't kill it.
And finally, my view. This is by far my favorite part about the apartment. Although this camera does not do justice to the view, that is the water in front of those buildings. As I sit here and type a sea gull is flying by and I can see a boat out on the lake. If you come and visit I promise you will NOT be disappointed in my view.

Here is a picture of the BEST mom on earth. Mom you have given everything you have to us girls and we all would not be where we are today without you. Thank you for being such an awesome person and for loving each of us so much! Here is a picture of mom with her new rice cooker we gave her for Mother's Day. I can't wait to come over for some dinner. I love you Mom.....enjoy your day I wish we could all be there for it!