Rural America-Right Next to the Corn

Dan and I just moved to Rural America. We are actually living in a town instead of some unincorporated county area, but the town is probably six blocks on either side (if that). We don't even get to have mail boxes at our house, we have to have a PO Box because our town is too small. Also we don't have a sewer system. Yep, everyone has septic tanks (and some people just have ses pools-sick). Let me first say living here wasn't my idea--I never pictured myself in a town where everyone owns their own horse. I told Dan that the place we end up in has to at least have sidewalks. There are a few things that I absolutely love about the place we live in though. There are also some things that I think are cute/funny.

• Last night as I was driving home from work Dan called me and asked where I was, wondering how long it would take me to get home. When I said, "I'm at the slow part next to the corn," he knew EXACTLY where I was! How often do you hear that about your drive home?
• The valley that we live in is riddled with little lakes/swamplands. On my way home I get to see these beautiful vistas. Yesterday there were herons (at least that's what my uneducated eye thought they were) in one of those areas.
• I love to look at all the different crops growning and being harvested. It really is beautiful.
• Everyone in our town waves at each other. If someone is coming by you wave, even if you have no idea who they are. You will soon.
• There is a town square which is closed from dusk to dawn. They sell hunting permits in the town square during that time of the year.
• When we first moved in our neighbors would look out their windows checking us out each time we would go in. Now that we've introduced ourselves they must have figured we were OK and they no longer had to "keep an eye on the place" for the owners.
• Each person is linked with the house that they live in and each house is linked to the ORIGINAL owner/person who built it. Our in-laws "live in Sid's old house." We're "renting the Godfrey's trailor."
• I think half the town are Godfreys.
• I think at one point they've all had to spend some time living in our trailor.
• We have town pic-nics.
• You can see ALL the stars in the sky at night. It really is breath-taking.

If that doesn't make you love our town then you're crazy! There are things that I miss, like a grocery store less than half an hour away, but for one year of my life I think we made a great choice.

Because I never thought I'd be happy living in a place like this, and I am happy I was wondering if anyone else has had that experience. It doesn't necessairly have to be about living in rural America.

***Note, I will still want to have a sewage system, grocery store, and sidewalks in a town that I decide to live in for any extended amount of time.***

Grandma/pa

Growing up we always called our grandparents by their first names. For example, Grandma Jane or Grandpa Mel or Grandma Margie. When it came to great grandparents we called them by their last names like grandma DuBois.

My husband's family calls grandparents by first names (Grandma Whiting). Although this isn't unheard of to me, I've always figured that my kids would call their grandparents by their first names. My parents have always planned on this as well. My in-laws seem to be ok with it too. My father in law is even ok with me calling him by his given first name because Grandpa Greg and Grandpa Craig are a little close that it might confuse. The other people in my husband's family have expressed ideas that my way of addressing grandparents is unheard of/weird and (this part I may be extrapolating since it has never really been expressed this way) I'm just trying to rock the boat. (Since my husband is the youngest the tradition of Grandpa and Grandma Whiting is well established with the other grandchildren.) I love my in-laws and I don't want anyone to think I'm complaining about them so don't think that. I just want to know the opinions of others out there.

So my question is this: Do you call your grandparents by their first names or thier last?

***Note regardless of what people say I will probably still have our children call their grandparents by their first names so long as the said grandparents are ok with it.***

Da-Da-Da-Daaaaaa (Read: The first four notes to Monday Night Football)

My husband loves football. Not as much as he loves wrestling, but since wrestling (the real kind not the WWF kind) isn't really a big televised sport he puts his athletic entertainment into football (except for during the summer when it's baseball, YUCK!) I don't know if my readers know this but yesterday was the first night of Monday Night Football. Those four little notes really mean that the next hours of his life my husband will be glued to the television. He even has this old NFL quilt that I'm pretty sure is a hand-me-down from one of his brothers. This is the only quilt he owns and he's pretty attached to it.

I on the other hand have so many quilts it would probably make your head spin. This is a combination of factors really. First, I quilt so some of them I made myself. Also my mom and grandma quilt so I have ones from them. Finally, I'm cold all of the time so I actually use all my quilts. My husband thinks I have WAY too many quilts.

Anyway, when we got married I packed up his one NFL quilt in a box that I thought he would never open since the quilt is sort of old and falling apart and, well, I don't really like it. He found it when we moved this last time. I was making the bed and I needed a quilt to put on it and I asked him to get me one to which I replied, "Anyone you want." He came in with the quilt behind his back and sang, "Da-Da-Da-Daaaaa!" as he revealed his choice. He said it was in honor of Monday Night football coming back. So now we have the old stinky NFL quilt on our bed. He's lucky that I love him. And also that our comforter covers up the quilt. And also that his brother has satellite TV because without satellite TV or digital cable you can't get ANY channels in our little town (even with rabbit ears).

Miracle Worker

The medicine that the doctor told me to take was half a pill of Unisom and vitamin B6 that had been put into one capsule. Last night I started taking them and it was a miracle! It was the first time I've slept through the whole night without having to get up and eat something a couple of times. Also when I ate breakfast this morning it totally stayed down! At this point I love my doctor! And I love the miracle of modern medicine.

Twins

Today I went to the doctor and got my first ultrasound to check my due date. The doctor found out a few interesting things....twins.

Just kidding. If I had twins I would be more overwhelmed and scared than excited right now. I've just got the one. The fun thing about my baby was that as soon as the doctor saw whosit (that's what I decided to call the baby until I figure out the sex and the name) he said, "Woah! You have a very active baby!" It's arms were waving and legs were moving and it was sort of bouncing up and down and it made me laugh. Everytime I laughed it would move some more. I think that was well worth the being late to the appoinment because I was busy throwing up everything in my stomach all morning. Yes, I went to the doctor's on a completely empty stomach. I almost threw up during my check up too, but I was able to breathe it down. Luckily the doctor called in a Rx to treat mild nausea that I can pick up later today. The other thing the doctor was worried about was that I've had a kidney stone before. He said I had to really stay on top of being hydrated becasue of that and my throwing everything up. If I get dehydrated my risk for kidney stones goes way up. Just what I need. I can just see myself throwing up and passing a kidney stone at the same time. Yuck. Anyway, now I will really watch what I drink.

I'm so excited! Two arms, two legs and one enormous head. At 3.5 cm, little baby whosit is perfect!

Strep Throat

I don't have strep throat (which is a very good thing I think). The other girl that works at m y work does. Since there's only the two of us and she has strep it fell to me to work for her today. Not that I mind, it's not like my job is hard, I just sit here waiting for customers to come in, I just wasn't mentally prepared to come in. After she left I used our Clorox wipes and wiped every surface that she might have touched because there's no way I want that sort of thing. My boss, the owner of the store, lives about an hour away so she was really very happy that I could come in at such a short notice. The only cramp that it put in my day was that today was supposed to be the big pack-up-and-move-every-last-thing-we-own day today so tomorrow could be the big clean-the-basement-spotless day so that my aunt would be happy she let us live there for practically nothing for two months. My husband says he's getting off work early today though so maybe that means he'll do the parts of the packing that I don't want to do before I get home, although I doubt it because they're probably the parts that he doesn't want to do either. We'll probably just end up doing them together.

Anyway, back to work. Since I had no time to prepare for my hours on end of doing nothing I feel less prepared than yesterday. Although today I brought in some CD's that I like so I don't have to listen to the same stupid commercials over and over again on the radio. I also brought my bag of free things that the doctor's office gave me which has four baby magazines in it so I can at least enjoy some very light reading about baby issues.

As for baby names, sorry anonymous, my husband's family (read: my husband) likes to do the whole name the baby boy the dad's first name and then call them by the middle name. My father in law goes by his middle name and it never seemed to bother him. I don't have strong feelings either way. My problem is if we have a boy we're not going to get to name him anything since neither of us can agree on any name. It looks like Douglass is out because my husband said, "It's OK, I guess" (read: I hate it). We haven't narrowed to anything as far a boy names go so hopefully it'll be a girl. That's my secret hope anyway because I like the idea of having a little girl.

I almost forgot to talk about two things that have brought much warmth and excitement to my pregnancy lately.

1. Yesterday my sister-in-law's sister brought over her baby that is only five days old. She weighs approximately 6 pounds and I got to hold her for a while and it just got me so excited!
2. My sister has been sending me little baby gifts almost weekly. They are so cute! I wish I could show all of you photos of them. First she sent me onesies. I took one out of the package and sat with it on my chest and marveled at how little they were! Then she sent me some duck bath slippers that I immediately put on my fingers. This week I got a two pack of hooded bath towels and washcloths. The one I took out had a turtle on it and was SO CUTE!

My husband says it might be a little too soon to be getting the baby things out and gushing over them, but I say if he were barfing everyday he'd look for the up side to it too. I love babies! I'm going to have a beautiful baby!

A new feeling of calmness

Well, yesterday I went to my first prenatal visit. It was just the nurse's consult, but it was so much fun! Well, fun probably doesn't really describe it, they told me all about common questions and concerns and then did a urine and blood test. I hate getting blood drawn, mainly because it's never really smooth going. Apparently I have the smallest veins that a grown adult should ever have. They always have to use the child size stuff. This time I told the nurse that I get nervous, but I am perfectly fine and not to worry. Then she put the arm band thing on my arm and tried to find a vein on that arm and said, "hmm, I can't even feel anything on that arm. Let's try the other arm." In the end she made another nurse do it because she wasn't confident that she could find a vein. On the plus side the other nurse did just fine and I couldn't really even feel the whole thing!

One weird thing is that they didn't even weigh me to see my starting weight and track the gain. I bet they'll do it on Monday when I actually see the doctor. Not that they need to quite yet because I haven't gained any weight. I think that's a good sign though because you're only supposed to gain about 3 pounds during your whole first trimester (which I'll be done with in two weeks!)

Today at work my boss for some reason thought two of us needed to be scheduled to work. I have no reason why because I've been here for an hour and a half and nobody has even come in. Plus, the other girl that came in had a cold and a big red rash all over her body. I didn't want her to even get close to me because I really don't want anything that she has. I told her she needed to see the doctor and convinced her that it would be a good idea to go then called my boss and told her and she said it was ok for her to leave. So now I'm here by myself. I really need a good craft project or something to occupy my time! I think I'll look into getting a Christmas craft then I could have it done by the holidays.

I'm back

Sorry its been so long since I posted, but I haven't really had time to go to the library to get to the internet. Now I have a job that gives me hours of free time with nothing to do so my activity will pick up I'm sure. In fact I'm at work right now.

Pregnancy Update

Although being pregnant has been nothing like what I expected it to be it's still pretty good. I throw up pretty much daily, but it never hits at the same time of day so it's hard to plan around. I'm worried about being at work by myself working all day with nobody to cover me when I have to go to the bathroom to barf (which I have already done once at work and I don't want to repeat.) I'm still worried about money with this baby. If that got figured out I think I would be able to relax a lot more and enjoy myself. I didn't know I would feel like I have the flu for two months straight. Also that I would spontaneously burst out in tears for absolutely no reason. I know I've heard about all this, but it never really described everything that I'm feeling. Right now I'm starting into my 10th week so hopefully the sickness will calm down soon.

Church Update

So we just moved into this ward in a small town in Utah and last week the bishop asked us if we would be on this pannel talking to the laurels and the priests about dating (since we were newly married). There were two other couples with us and it was ok. Well, in all honesty I was pretty shocked about what they were telling the youth about dating and how unrealistic it was. I'm not going into the whole story, but they told them that your spouse being the first person you kiss is the right thing to do. I wanted to turn to the bishop and say that these girls and boys had probably already kissed people and that kissing wasn't a sin so there was nothing wrong with that. I didn't though. I just kept my mouth shut. I don't know about other religions, but sometimes the messages that get sent to the youth of our church seem incredibly judgemental and completely unrealistic. Plus, that's not the church's official stance on the topic anyway.

Big Jimmy

As I have been spending a lot of time with my wonderful niece and nephew I thought I'd take a moment to post something about how cute they are. My nephew has an AMAZING imagination. It's better than any other child I have met. He has an invisible friend named Rankeler. I'm not entirely sure how to spell it, but I do know if you pronounce it wrong (like wrangler) you are corrected. Anyway, Rankeler has an entire life outside of ours and occasionally he comes over to play. It's amazing his life's story. My nephew also has another imaginary character named "Invisible Jack." Invisible Jack shows up much less, but also has lots of fun with us. Whenever my nephew plays dinosaurs he has to be Big Jimmy. Sometimes you can hear him talking and you think he's talking to himself, but then you realize that he's talking to an imaginary person. He will ask a question and then wait for their response and then respond to them. It is truly amazing!

My sister-in-law is also pregnant and a couple days ago we were sitting around talking about names. She asked my nephew what he would name their baby if it were a baby brother and he said, "I would name him Rankeler Jack Whiting." We all thought that was a great name.

Aberdeen, WA

This weekend my sister-in-law, her two children and I made a 15 hour drive from Utah to Washington to attend my other sister-in-law's wedding reception. Here were the pros and cons to the trip:

Pros

• Rachael seemed to be so very happy to be married! The reception was enjoyable and it was kinda good to not be the newest member of the Whiting family.
  
• My sister-in-laws kids were amazingly good to be in the car for a total of about 40 hours in three days.
• My mother-in-law and father-in-law made the most impressive cake for the reception (like always) and it was great to see it.
  
• It was great to see the other members of my husband's family. Heather and her kids were there and so were John and LeAnn. We all went to the Ocean after the reception and the kids played in the water until their numb little feet couldn't handle it anymore.

Cons

• Both my sister-in-law and myself are pregnant so the drive took a little longer than we wanted it.
• I have never felt so sick and confined in my life. I spent most of the time in the car concentrating on not barfing.
• The not barfing was made harder when my sister-in-law's little girl barfed and we had to clean it out. We took turns cleaning out the car seat and walking away from the car to get air so as not to barf ourselves. Mostly I just felt so bad for her little girl though because she felt so sick and was crying so hard. It almost made me cry. Her son (4 years old) was so cute because when I asked him if he was sick he said, "No, but I am concerned." He was worried all night about his sister and tried to do everything to make her feel better. What a great brother!
  
• Once we were in our room the first night we passed out from exhaustion at about midnight. The previous people to stay in our room had set the alarm and we were not aware of it until 5 AM the next morning when it went off. It woke up my sister-in-law's son and he never went back to sleep. He was SO EXCITED to go swimming with grandpa and his cousins that he bounced around the room for about 3 more hours when we finally gave up any chance of sleeping longer.
• The first thing out of my brother-in-law's mouth was, "Looks like you're starting to show." I'm only 6 weeks along. I'm not showing yet.
• I was so completely hormonal that I felt I shouldn't really open my mouth because I would probably say something I regretted. It's hard not to feel in control of yourself.
  
• I will be making this same drive (UT to WA) in two weeks to attend my husband's best friend's wedding. At least it will just be the two of us. Hopefully the nausea will go down enough to let me sleep.

All in all it was a good trip. I don't know if I'd ever want to do the same trip again, but I am glad that I went. It was good to see and be with family. Just thought I'd catch everyone up on my weekend events.

"Very Positive"

Well, I thought I might as well break the big news on here since I've told pretty much everybody else. I'm pregnant. Yep, that's right. Six weeks now. My due date is March 20th (the day after my birthday). Today I went into planned parenthood just so I could get an official test and some paperwork in order to start getting all my ducks in a row. After the lab techs did the test the lady came into the room and said, "Well, your test came back very positive." My question is how does one become very pregnant? I thought the test could either be positive or negative, but not very positive. Well, the point of this whole post is that I'm pregnant. I'm really excited (in case you couldn't tell that from my writing).

In other news I have a job interview at 4 today. I'm pretty nervous because this job would be really great to have. It's full time and it could be a job that I leave at work and don't even think about at home. That would be really nice. Anyway, wish me luck!

Not that it's all that Interesting

So here's the update so far

I had an interview for a job working at a place called "Dub's Scrubs." They sell scrubs and other medical equipment. Anyway, it was nice to go to the interview and do absolutely nothing but give them my resume and say hi and have them love me. It would be nice to have a completely stress free job that I never had to worry about. On the other hand I faxed in my resume to a place needing an administrative assistant and they called me for an interview on Tuesday. That job would be full time with benefits. So that probably means more stress. So I don't know. It would be nice to get the higher paying job though. So that's how things are on the job front.

Daniel and I are still looking for a place, but I have had MUCH better luck lately. We called about a 2 bedroom place yesterday that was only $395/month including utilities. That seems so cheap that I'm worried it's a dump, but we'll go see it. There's also a few that are a little more expensive but nothing like the ones I was seeing before. So that's good.

In the me going insane department, I realized last night that I've been an absolute nag to my husband and I felt really bad and started crying my brains out when I apologized. The whole epiphany started yesterday when I was supposed to call the places for rent from the classified ads in the paper. There were so many, and let's be honest I'm a big baby and HATE to call people on the phone. So anyway, I piddled around the whole day trying to stall the inevitable. After I hung up from talking to the third person my husband got home from work. I asked (read told) him to help me call half while I called the other half. Then when he didn't really want to do it I blew up in his face. (Keep in mind that "blowing up" with us actually means a heated silence and then angry words. Nobody actually yells.) I said some not very nice things in front of his brother and his brother's wife and instantly was completely embarrassed by my outburst. The problem got resolved for the time being and I just let things lie. Later, when we were home alone together I realized that I had acted horribly and apologized. It was then that I realized that I've been nagging at him a lot lately and if the roles were reversed I would have totally been complaining and he had said nothing. Also another great thing about him on top of that was that as soon as I apologized he forgave me. There was no hurt feelings being held or anything. I thought to myself how amazing my husband is and everything for me and that's when I completely lost it. Anyway, I know you're not really supposed to talk about fights that you had with your spouse or something, but I figured this one was OK because it taught me that I need to quit being so negative. I'm sorry to anyone else that may have experienced any of my negativity lately. (At this point there's no need to lecture me because I already feel bad and embarassed enough.) I've decided to be better.

Other than that I just thought I'd say how much I love my family here in Logan (Nate, Jenny and their kids). I like to look at them and think about how Dan and I will be in the future. I'm so grateful that they are here and so I don't feel completely lonely. It's great to be so close to Jenny that I can just go to their house when I have free time. I can tell this year is going to be a good one already.

Slightly Out of Control

Last night Daniel decided to agree with me that we need to look for a place to rent on our own. That's a plus, but the negative is that I pretty much will be doing the looking. Also we're poor so that always puts a cramp in my style. Also, when I try to look online at rental sites the very cheapest thing I can find now are all the way up to $600 a month. In case anyone wants to know, that's way too much for us. Then again if that's what it's like living here then that's what it's like. The thing is that neither of us have lived here before so we don't know if that truly what it is like. So the hunt for job and home is still on.

In other news I think I might be going slightly crazy lately so if I say or do anything to anyone that makes you think, "She's crazy." Then you're probably right. Just thought I'd give everyone a little disclaimer.

Checking In

Well, we're in Logan. It's really pretty here in this valley and I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy myself this year. Already we have driven to Yellowstone for a day (4th of July) with my brother and sister-in-law and two of their kids. We've also already watched two full fireworks displays. Here's what's going on:

• We don't have the internet at home so I found the local library to access it from. Unfortunately, without a library card (which I can only get with two forms if ID, one of which has to have my Logan address on it) it costs $1 to get onto the internet. That's not a big deal, but the one hour time limit seriously limits what I do to only what must be accomplished.
• What must be accomplished is me getting a job. If anyone can help that'd be great. (I'm thinking of calling my sister's friend Sarah tomorrow for help.) I just graduated magna cum laude from Oregon State University with a degree in Food Science and a minor in Chemistry. I feel that I am a very employable person, but I have no access to job openings in my field in this community so I feel sort of at a loss. At this point it might just be nice to get a job at a fabric store or maybe a bookstore or something.
  
• Our apartment here is GREAT! It's half again as big as our space in Corvallis and it has.....A DISHWASHER!!! Yes, it is the joy of my life right now. The only sad part is that we will be forced to move out at the end of August.
  
• Last night I found out bad news about my uncle, who has had brain tumors for as long as I can remember. Or maybe its just one tumor that's coming back, I don't really know. Anyway, with all the stress of needing to find a job and a place to live in a couple months and now this last night pretty much sucked.
• This morning was a different story. I got up and did my hair pretty and put on a nice outfit and decided today I was going to find something about jobs in this area. That's my goal for the day anyway.

That's about it for now I guess. My time is running out and I still have to change my address on the bank account so I can get a library card. It's somewhere in the $300 ballpark to get a library card if you don't live in the city so I'd better get it before I move out. (It is a deciet to claim you still live inside the city limits for a library card, but there's no way I'm spending $300 just for a stinking card!)

How I Almost Died

And other News:

Well, it certianly feels great to be D-O-N-E done! Last week was AMAZING and I loved it. Too bad I don't have any photos or I'd post some. I have a few stories to tell so I'll start with the least interesting and go to the most interesting (obviously the story of how I almost died is the most interesting.)

First, let me just say that packing is the pits! I used to think we didn't own very much because it's just the two of us and we've been living in this tiny apartment only a year so we hadn't had time to accumulate things. I forgot my expert ability to organize and pack everything away. We've had to go back a buy boxes three times now because we underestimated. On the plus side though, Dan's mom is here and she is an absolute angel! Without her I think I would have gone insane and decided that all we really need is a place setting each and a fry pan and I'd probably have given everything else away. (We have taken about four bags to the Goodwill total. Sorry Heather (Dan's sister) the shirt is already in Goodwill or the garbage, whichever one Dan thought was the most appropriate.) Perhaps the Whiting family inability to throw things away can come in handy when balanced with the Timothy (or is it Laird?) family ability to throw just about everything away. I'm pretty much fed up with packing. Also, it stinks because I know we'll just be doing the same thing in a couple months anyway. Man I wish we only had to do this thing once a year (well, I wish less moving than that, but at this point I'd take it.)

Secondly, Ashland was AWESOME! I think this may have been the best vacation ever and I'll tell you all why:

1. John (Dan's Father) likes to be in charge and plan things. This makes it easy for the rest of us who then don't have to make any decisions. We can just follow along and enjoy. It really is glorious.
2. The financial burden wasn't carried by us. We would NEVER be able to afford this trip on our own. We are blessed to have parents who will do nice things like this for us!
   
3. I bought a mandolin. Not only that I got to take a lesson where the teacher just showed me the basics. She also set me up with stuff to practice so I'll be able to play just about anything if I work hard at it. I'm SO EXCITED! Now I just have to get used to thinking about chords instead of melodies.
4. All the plays we saw were great! We saw Merry Wives of Windsor, A Winter's Tale, Cirano de Bergeraque (sp?), and Two Gentlemen of Verona. All were exceptional. I think I love going to plays and that will probably be the thing that Dan will have to get used to in our marriage. Hopefully we'll be able to find ones that he likes too. He seemed to really like Cirano so maybe that will work out well.
5. I also go a new pair of summer shoes and a new dress both of which are beautiful. I wore my dress to church on Sunday and got lots of compliments on it.

Also in Ashland we stayed at a little B&B which was tons of fun! Each room had its own bathroom so I was happy and a small TV, so Dan still got to be updated on the World Cup events. One downside to the whole thing was the egg surprise we had every morning. All the other dishes of the breakfast meals were great, but I didn't like a single egg surprise dish. It was like they tried to see just how many things they could put in the eggs. Oh well, all the other food we had was amazing (eating was a HUGE part of the trip and probably one of my favorites as well.)

Finally, how I almost died.

One day of the trip someone (probably John as he did make most of the decisions) decided that we needed to do an activity especially for Dan. We had eaten at a lot of good places (which didn't serve ice with any of their drinks and Dan thought that was silly). We had done a lot of good shopping (which is hard for Dan because he doesn't usually spend his money unless its something he has spent a while deciding he needs). We had gone to a couple of really great plays (which didn't really seem to excite him as much as anyone else). Dan had commented on a flier that he had seen at the B&B about a rafting trip and it was decided that we would go. Now I think I need to make a small confession, I really don't like anything that has the potential or percieved potential to be dangerous. I try to relax, but I get this feeling in my stomach that feels like I'm constipated. That sounds gross, but that's the exact feeling. Anyway, I decided to suck it up and go since Dan had done a lot of things that he doesn't really like to do. We were rafting down the water and all was calm for a while. I even played a game on a calm part. Someone stands on the front of the raft while everyone paddles in a circle to try and make them fall. I did it with Dan and he pushed me in. Anyway, we had gone over a couple of, I don't know what to call them so I'm going to call them rapids. Whenever there was a big one that we were going to go over our guide would tell us to put on our helmets so our brains didn't get bashed in. Well, he didn't say it quite like that, but I knew that's what they were for. Our guide had said that most up until the end were "class 2" with a couple of "class 3's." We had gone through them without a hitch so my nerves calmed down quite a bit. I think one of the ones we went right through was a class 4, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we got really splashed, but it was all exhilirating. The last part of the Rogue we were going down before the take out point was a class 4 with a couple of class 3's directly behind it. A mile after those rapids was the take out point. We were told to put on our helmets so I knew we were going into something big. There were two boats in our group going down the river and the first boat made it through the rapids just fine. Then we went. Somehow we got going sideways just before the first drop and immediately I was on high aleart. I forgot all about rowing and grabbed onto the raft in my terror. By the time we hit the drop we were completely sideways and I knew we were going over. I was on the higher side of the boat that flipped over and I have a clear snapshot in my mind of me looking down at everyone on the boat. Because of my death grip on the boat I was not dragged far under (like my mom, LeAnn, and Dan were) I was however directly under the boat. My dad pushed me out from under the boat and then he went out too. Keep in mind we are amid class 3 rapids at this point. So once he pushed me out I grabbed onto the outside of the raft. Then I called to him and he grabbed my hand and pulled to the raft. The fear I saw in his eyes was terrifying. We were both hanging onto the raft and it was bashing us against the rocks on the side of the river. Somehow our guide appeared on top of the overturned raft. He told me that I had to calm down, that my life vest would hold me up and that I had to let go of the raft. Since it was overturned we had to go down the river and make it to the other raft. This was not a claming message and at first I didn't do it. The raft was keeping me afloat. But he knew what was best and I let go. That that moment I hit a rock that nearly knocked the air out of me because I was not in "swimmer's position" with my feet forward. I struggled to get air and to get my feet ahead of me. I thought for sure I was going to drown. Then, when I got in swimmer's position I realized that when the raft had flipped I had somehow lost my helmet. I was going down class three rapids without my helmet! Now I really had to be careful. Just when the next rock came I bounced off it with my feet. Then I saw Dan and LeAnn floating down the river. I clung onto the back of them so that the other raft could come get us. Dan kept us from hitting some big rocks (by gettting hit with them himself, he kept saying ouch or something like that). Then the raft dragged us in and I felt like a fish flopping on the boat because I couldn't get up no matter how hard I tried. John had swam to the other shore of the river where it was shallow. The raft that had saved all of us had to get over to that shore. Once we got there we were much past John so we had to cling to the grasses on the other side as hard as we could. My arms were burning with the effort, but I could see that Dan's were shaking so I didn't let go. When we finally got out of the water our guide found out that we had broken one of the big oars they use for steering. Remember when I said that the rapids were a mile from the take out point? By the time we got everyone out of the water we were at the take out point. The other guide told us that there were "hydraulics" in the water right where we flipped that can pull rafters under really very far (which is probably what happened to the three that were under for so long they had to actually swim to the surface). We were really lucky because there were no serious injuries. On the other hand my sinuses were FULL of water. I was blowing water out my nose for two days after! Also on the ride home I looked down at my arms and found a very itchy rash had developed from holding on to the grasses. When I got home I realized that before I had thought about anything I had brushed water out of my eyes with the hands that had been clinging onto the grass. My eyes itched and then my eyelids started to swell and get that nasty rash. At least we were all alive.

You should really hear everyone's story, but I have to get back to packing before Dan and LeAnn wonder where I am.

"Mom Clean"

Well, since I've been done with finals I have decided that it is very VERY important to have my apartment clean for when my sister, mom, and mother in law come. I don't know why, because if my apartment was dirty they would still love me. Actually I bet that if my apartment were dirty when my mom came not only would she help clean it up, she would probably chip in painting the walls too (just because that's the kind of mom I have). Anyway, I spent yesterday helping my husband purge all the clothing he's been keeping for no aparent reason for the last, oh, eight years. The conversation was SO FUNNY. It went a little like this.

Him: "So you're going to throw all my clothes away?"
Me: "No, you're either giong to throw the clothes that you no longer wear away, or give them to the Goodwill."
Him: "But there aren't any."
Me: "What about this shirt?"
Him: "That one has memories."
Me: "It also has an enormous hole in the armpit. Look I can fit my fist through it. Also its stained and I've never seen you wear it."
Him: "Ok, but I got it for wrestling my junior year in high school."
Me: "And what a wonderful year it was. I'm not taking that away. Just the old dirty shirt."
Him: "I guess you're right."

By the end he was throwing things away all on his own! He had 15 work shirts! 15! I told him to get rid of 5. I consider 10 "work shirts" is plenty. After actually looking at the shirts and thinking abuot if he will wear them or not, he ended up throwing away 6 of the shirts he calls his "dirty work shirts" all on his own. I case you were wondering a dirty work shirt is one that is permanently stained and thus gets used for dirty jobs. I do think you need these, I just don't think you need 10 of them. (He is keeping some) I also didn't make him throw away his SEVEN pairs of work jeans. I think that seven pairs is a little excessive, but I already had a little victory over the dirty work shirt situation and I thought I shouldn't push my luck. Just so everyone knows, I'm also getting rid of my old clothing that I no longer wear. Only I didn't wear it out to having holes and stains so I'm giving my old clothing to the Goodwill.

Anyway, back to my insane cleaning. My husband had no idea why I was doing it. I was talking yesterday about the list of things I wanted to have clean by the end of the day today (bathroom scrubbed top to bottom, vacuuming, washing windows, mopping floors, etc) and he said, "We have the whole week after vacation that's free that you can get all our stuff orgainzed and cleaned. You don't have to do it all now." And I said, "But I want it done before everyone gets here." To which he said, "I'm beginning to see that. I guess I'll take the kitchen." What an amazing man! Even in my insanity he offers to pitch in and help out! I love him so much!

I guess this post was more about my husband than cleaning my apartment, but let me assure everyone, my apartment will be "Mom clean." That's the highest level of clean. (Well, maybe Grandma clean is higher, I'm not sure anymore.)

No More School!

I just realized today that even if I get a zero on my finals I will still graduate with C's! Nothing can keep me from graduating now! Not that I'm aiming for C's, but it certainly does take the stress off the whole "finals" thing. (I only have one comprehensive final, the other two are just midterms for the last two weeks of class.) Anyway, I think I'll spend my time tonight cleaning and getting ready for my family to come see our apartment instead of studying. It's so funny that the last week I actually live in the place is the first time my sister and my in-laws will actually see it. Luckily my mom came in and helped me decorate at the beginning of the year so its not new to everyone. Anyway, did I mention that I'm so excited for my family to come?!?! Cause I am.

On another note it was rainy off and on all day today. Not very great weather for the middle of June, but at least we're not looking at a tropical storm. I watched the local news this morning and they said it'll probably be raining on Sunday. With that in mind I wonder if we're really going to have to sit through commencement. They don't actually read anyone's name we walk across the stage en mass and then a speaker will talk for an hour or so after everyone has gone through. Also they don't actually give the diplomas then anyway. So I'm wondering how the attendance will be at graduation on Sunday if its raining.

To Be Sure

Well I've decided something and nobody can convince me otherwise. There are times when people may say to me, "You'd better be sure about what you're doing." And to that I say to myself, "Well, no I'm not sure." So I fret and I worry. I cry and I pace. What if I make a huge mistake? What if I'm doing something wrong? Or not even that, what if I'm doing something good, but not the best thing? It was last night that I came to my decision. Sometimes life isn't about being sure. Sometimes it's about being totally scared out of your mind, being worried about making a big mistake or simply not knowing what it is you want to do. It is at times like these when I pray and get my answer and then come hell or high water I'm in it for the long haul. Even if I'm not sure about the outcome, about my ability to succeed or about what I'm doing.

And The End

Well I just attended my last class before graduation! Now all I have to do is my finals. (That's not a big deal since I know I'll do well on them.) It feels like a huge weight has been lifted and I am joyous to have all my family come.

Here's something odd that has happened to me this week. I'm taking this women's study course and one of the projects was to do a financial analysis of a dream of ours. I decided that my dream would be to be able to have my husband get through his first year of medical school debt free. Since we have a lag year between now and him starting medical school I figured it would be a good idea to set up a savings plan and budget for the coming year. (After submitting the assignment I realized I negelected to put on a few expenditures that we will have so I'm going to have to redo it now.) Anyway, we also had to submit a write up talking about our dream and how we are going to succeed in our dream. Part of the grading was on our description of the dream. For that I included a small description of our situation and of the financial situation of medical students in general. When I recieved the grade back my professor had said, "__0/2__Detailed description of the dream is not included. I want to know about YOUR dream, not your husband's. I suppose your "dream" is to be debt free, but that's more of a practicality rather than a personal dream. What do YOU want to do with YOUR life? Are you going to medical school, too? I'll score the rest of this assuming you are." Like my dream isn't valid so I don't get the points. Like having a practical dream that is tied to my life with my husband is ridiculous. Anyway, I reacted like you would expect a redhead and had a complete scorched earth meltdown. I wrote an email to her, but decided to send it to my mom and sister for review before I sent it to my professor. (I find its always better if I give myself a little time to cool off before I let the heads roll.) Well, my professor didn't really appreciate my email, but she did give me the chance to explain myself and then did regrade my assignment so all is well.

The really odd thing about this whole situation is that today I recieved an email from her to a director or something nominating my paper I wrote earlier in the term for a Culture of Writing prize. I must not have pissed her off as much as I thought!

I think that's all the drama for the week!