Updates, reviews, and more ... oh my!

Oh, where to begin? I know it has been awhile. (You know, it seems like I start almost every blog with that lately ... or not so lately, as it goes.)

Here's what you missed on Teej's Life:

Teresa's living in Bemidji, Mn, at her friend Sarah's house (for now) and working at Lueken's Villiage Foods North as a Cashier/Bagger/Service Counter/Bookkeeper, or as she likes to call it FESA (Front End Super Associate). She's making fair money, but with all the bills she has to pay, she's not actually making much ... oh well, that's life. In February, a boy that she kinda liked at work got her some flowers, and they started dating soon after. She met his family, and he's met hers, and no one got hurt, so that's good. For as little actual time as they have been together, they're pretty serious about each other, and it's a for sure that sometime down the line there will be wedding bells. Speaking of wedding bells - they are pealing, but they're for Teresa's sister, Stephanie, who will be marrying Christopher Manikowski on May 28th. Teresa is a bridesmaid, and she was asked to make a speech at the reception. She's crazy nervous about that, and has no idea what to say - suggestions, anyone?? Coming up soon, Teresa will be starting work at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse for the summer (which she has done for the last 6 years), but this might be her final year, and she's starting off the summer more than a little disappointed at taking a step backward in her job as she won't be able to Stage Manage a show this time. Major bummer, but what can you do? Despite that, the summer looks like it is going to be amazing.

And now you are caught up. At least, I think you are.

Here is where I insert a review of sorts - something to deflect from me for a little while:

The Fast and the Furious (all 5 ... yes, all 5!) So, I didn't think I was going to like these at all. Really. I am not all that into cars (mostly because I know NOTHING about what makes a car awesome. I mean it, when it comes to cars, all I know is how good the body looks :S) But, Ahren is really into cars and these movies, so I thought: what the hell, why not? Well, they aren't all that bad, actually. There is a story there. Nothing drastic or dramatic, but entertaining. Design is pretty great, considering most everything is about the cars. Although I will say this: the type of people they portray as being into cars are almost all alike: sluts and gangstas. At least, all but the actual main characters themselves. I was more than a little turned off by that kind of thing. But, it's a guy movie, so what did I expect? Booty shorts, cleavage, cars, muscles, and money. Anything I miss? Hmm - don't think so. That aside, I did enjoy the movies. I wouldn't watch them everyday, but once in a while. Acting wise: it's okay. Least Favorite: I would have to go with ... okay that one is actually tricky. I don't think I have a least favorite. They all kinda fall into a : 'meh' catagory. Just there, okay, but nothing amazing. However my Favorite: by far, number 5. No kidding, this movie is GREAT (as far as these movies go). It's like 'Ocean's 11' meets street racing, add a little bit of 'The Untouchables' and some of 'The Fugitive' combined with 'Rambo'. Seriously, I know that is a lot to take in, but trust me, when you see it, you'll get what I mean. #5 is by far the best. I loved it! And if you go to see it in the theatres, stick around - don't leave as soon as the actual movie is over, you'll miss a little bomb they drop on you. Totally caught me and Ahren off guard. Overall, the collection gets about a 3 1/2, but the last movie alone gets a 5 star salute from me.

On to other things: How about this: Ahren. Yeah, things are GREAT. I can't even begin to describe how good things are between us. After the summer is over we are going to be moving in together somewhere. Probably an apartment in town (for work sake). We've grown so close so quickly. I am completely in love with him. And, although sometimes I have to pinch myself over this, he is in love with me. I can not believe my luck. I don't deserve this, I know it. But I know that love is a gift from God, and I am treasuring it, and doing my best to deserve it. We're completely devoted to each other, without being overwhelming. We've gotten past the overtly giddy stage (almost. I mean, there are still times when he walks into the room and I get this ridiculous smile on my face), and now we're just utterly comfortable with each other. We've gotten approval from both our immediate families. Come Steph's wedding, he is going to be meeting a lot of my elongated family, and I couldn't be more excited about that. We're just waiting for the summer to begin. Just being able to get out more, and we both get to introduce each other to our passions: Cars for him, and theatre for me - and what is even better: we're both excited for that. I can not wait for him to take me to our first dirt track race, and he actually wants to jump right in and help out at the playhouse. I'm so lucky. He is the greatest thing to happen to me. He's always there when I need him, and most of the time, he is always there when I just want him to be there - and he doesn't mind that. Last night, I was feeling terrible, and he stopped over after work. He just came in, gave me a kiss and a hug and stayed with me. We cuddled together - something he actually doesn't mind at all - and there we were, just in each other's arms. It was bliss. Pretty much every day with him is.

Okay, okay, enough gushing, I guess. Just so you know, I could say so much more. :D

Other thing: health. Going through some problems again. Same thing as before: some gallbladder problems. Can't eat after a certain time, can't eat a lot, lost a lot of my appetite. But this time, I had Ahren. No, I am not back to gushing, I'm serious. His dad went through problems with his gallbladder, and Ahren shared some suggestions. Papya. Apparently it is great for your digestive system. Enzyme tablets after every meal, and juice occassionally. It's not a miracle worker, but it certain helps A LOT! I'll look forward to when this starts to go away again. It's more under control than it was before. but it's still there. Another small thing Ahren introduced me to: the hot towel. No kidding, I didn't think about this before. I don't have a heating pad, and I needed one the other night, so Ahren grabbed my towel and threw it in the dryer for a little while. Oh My Gosh, it was AMAZING! So soothing,. Eased my tense muscles and the pain. Didn't end it, but certainly allowed me to relax a lot more. So, word to the wise: hot towels do wonders.

Shoot ... I had a lot more to say. But time is running out and I have to get ready for work. More on that later, I am sure.

Sorry to leave you so soon! But, hopefully I will come back soon with a better post that is less update, and more current substance.

Love and Hugs!

Teej

Ahren

I'll try and keep this short because I need to get some sleep before work at 5AM tomorrow.

So yeah - Ahren (the boy who got me flowers) is going to be around for a while, and a major part of my life. We're together now. Boyfriend/girlfriend like. *Majorly blushing right now*

We're kind of cute together. We're both pretty cautious and new to this whole relationship thing, so we take everything pretty slow. But this also means that we're comfortable being completely blunt with each other. We're not scared to admit our shortcomings to each other, which, in turn, endears us to one another. We're slowly exploring each other ... that is the best way I can describe it. It's like we've set off on this new adventure together. Holding hands, we're taking baby steps down the path. It's so very sweet. It's strange, but even with this incredible caution, we completely trust each other. I mean, I know, somehow, that he would never intentionally do anything to hurt me. I feel so safe and secure when I am with him.

This is a big thing for me: You all know how much I say "I'm Sorry" and I get a lot of grief about it from a lot of people. So much so, that sometimes I just get so mad about it. But when I say "I'm sorry" to Ahren, he just looks at me and says "It's okay" And get this: I believe him. When I am with him, I don't feel like I'm constantly making mistakes, or in the way. I feel apart of the world, not just an observer of it. And when he compliments me, (which he does ... a lot), I actually find myself believing him. He says I'm pretty and while I don't understand it, I believe it. I have so many physical, mental, and emotional flaws, and all this time I felt like that was going to keep me from ever finding someone. But there is Ahren, right next to me, in spite of all of that. And he is almost the same way. He posted a song on Facebook - Rascal Flatt's 'God Bless the Broken Road.' It's kind of perfect.

What is even better: it is not a one-sided relationship. Not to bloat my ego or anything, but I do things for him as well. I make him happy. Again: I don't understand it, I can't imagine how, but he tells me this is true, and I believe him.

We talk about family a lot, because they're very important to each of us. And apparently, from what I can tell, they are very similar. We can't wait to introduce each other to our parents and siblings. I know he will fit in perfectly with Mom & Dad, Steph & Chris, and Nick & Amy. Yes, even Nick will like him - I am sure :D While we were talking about seeing family, he said that we should see my folks before his because, while we're already seeing each other, he wants to ask my Dad if he can continue to "court" me. I about melted on the very spot. It's nice to find someone who likes the old fashioned ideas of a relationship.

He's also incredibly supportive my of theatre/crazy side. He doesn't seem to mind how much of my life has become ingrained in that. When I laugh at something and tell him it's a theatre thing, he doesn't mind at all. And I can explain to him all the private jokes and experiences in my life, and he gets them. Even with nicknames - we talked about that and I can tease him about something he was called when he was younger, even though I wasn't apart of that. His personal passions are becoming my interests, and I can't wait until we can go to a drag race or something together. I also can't wait to take him to see a show. When I go to see his family, I'm going to learn how to milk a cow :D I'm excited for it all. I want to learn new things together and try all our individual interests with each other.

The past couple of days have been the happiest of my life thus far. There are time when I swear, I'm floating above the ground. When I was younger we sang a song in Chorus called "All Around the World Tonight" and I always pictures a man a woman dancing through the stars when I heard it. That is what he makes me feel like: waltzing in the star speckled sky. I've been so perky and giddy at work that even the costumers have started noticing. I prance (yes, prance), I bounce, I dance through each hour of the day.

Well, I better end it here, for now. More will come, I promise, but I'm so comforted talking about Ahren that I'm completely relaxing and the music I am listening to as I write this is rocking me to sleep.

Christmas time has come and gone ...update

Another year, another Christmas - and time for another update!
Things are going well - again, not perfectly, but pretty well. I'm trudging through life. Still no theatre prospects, but I'm working a lot right now, so at least I am somewhat busy. For a couple weeks now I have been working at or a little over 40hrs per week - so, that is great. I like my job a lot right now. Good people make it wonderful! They seem to like me as well, and the Front End Manager seems to really trust and enjoy me, so I feel pretty confident in my work. Even the Store Director knows my name. My co-workers are really the best. Lots of laughter with my Front End co-workers, and there is a guy in grocery that can pretty much make me smile and break out in laughter under any circumstances. He's a lot of fun and seems really interesting, so I kind of wish we had more than 5-10 minute intervals to talk.
Family - we'll keep it quick before digging into Christmas. Everyone is pretty good. Dakota is doing more than well - he's entertaining and such an adorable little guy. Stephanie and Chris are engaged - you should see the rock she got! Gorgeous! Chris, sadly, is back in Iraq, but he is doing okay.
Friends - yeah right. I don't even know them anymore! Between work and having no theatre things going on, I have lost touch with pretty much everyone. Before Christmas I was able to have lunch with Matt D. I almost forgot how nice it was just to sit and talk and catch up with people. We hadn't been able to really catch up except for the "5minute sum up of my life" kind of thing, so this was refreshing. I was able to call Barry tonight, and talking with him is always comforting to me, although afterwards I miss him more than ever. I'm trying to bury myself in work so I don't notice how lonely I get. Doesn't always work, but I don't think there is much alternative.
Christmas: the season really began for me a week or so before. Mom called and wanted to know if I could come up for a couple days to help her around the house. I had the time, so I got to come home for a weekend of hanging out with the folks, christmas shopping, wrapping, and baking. It was a WONDERFUL weekend. It did me a lot of good, and I got a lot of work done. It also finally got me into the spirit of the season. Normally, at the first signs of winter, I get in Christmas gear, but this year, there was a delay on that, I don't really know why. So, that weekend helped a lot.
Leading up to Christmas was a little hectic at work. Not bad, but busy, busy. I worked Christmas Eve at the Service Counter, which meant I had to miss Christmas Eve services. I was bummed, but at the same time, I didn't mind being there one bit. We had a great group of people there, and the customers were all cheery. So it wasn't bad. The roads were mostly clear heading home, so I was able to make it in record time. Soon Nick, Amy, and the kids arrived and everyone settled in for the night. Sleeping arrangements were tight, so I was out with the kids in the living room. Didn't mind it so much, except that every move they made woke me up. And then there was Dakota waking Steph up for feedings, which woke me up. And there was Santa, which scared the heck out of me - luckily the kids were able to sleep through all of that.
Morning came before the morning actually dawned, and coffee was the only perk to that. We had our annual breakfast pizza, and opened stockings and some of the gifts:

Dakota snuggling with Dad.

Dakota in his Christmas sleeper

Nick and Matthew opening gifts in the morning

Savanna's reaction to the fashion drawing set she got from Santa. I LOVE this picture! She hardly stopped drawing the rest of the day!

Just about the time when we were wrapping up with opening the first round of gifts, Steph was able to get on a video chat with Chris. Pretty soon after they started that, all the women had to leave the room in search for a tissue, and in interest of giving them some private time, I took the kids and Allie outside to play. This lead to some interesting moments. Thank goodness Auntie J had her camera!

This is what Allie does as soon as she gets outside: shoves her face in the snow. Everytime! And then she looks at you like, "What?"

I somehow managed to get the kids to all sit down on the bench for a quick picture. Matthew was not thrilled, as he did not want to stray off the "trails" that Granpa made with his snowblower. Savanna and Daniel were thrilled enough until I told them to smile. It was then that Daniel mentioned that he couldn't smile because his mouth was covered. Like, Duh, Auntie. I then just told him to wave to the camera - which he did, and continued to do so with every picture we took outside.

See? There's the wave again!

Somehow, Matthew managed to get the idea to help Grandpa with the "trails" by kicking the snow on the edges of the "trails" I asked him what he was doing and he said "snowblowin'" I about died! And then he did this: He kicked the snow, some of it got on his boots and he just look at it like: "how did that happen?" I snapped the picture quickly. To me, he looks like a Peanuts character.

Soon, Matthew got cold and tired and I took him inside. With the other two, I figured it was safe to head to the house, because I had a project for them. You see, Mom and Dad didn't remove the fall lawn decorations before the first snow, and then the first snow became covered by the second, and so on, and so on. At some point, the wind knocked over one of the little scarecrow people and they got buried under the snow. I thought it would be kind of fun to dig it out. So the kids helped me out. I told them that I would get pictures and that we needed to make up a story to tell the adults when we got inside about how the Scarecrow person got caught and their rescue. Daniel jumped in with his ideas and then Savanna threw in some finishing touches and something about the "Crutacious age" While we were in the process of saving the Scarecrow person, Allie came over and played rescue:

We came inside and the rest of the day was dedicated to getting the meal ready. Then the rest of the family showed up. It was about this time that my photography abilities failed and my natural tendency to feel like I am in the way took over. I didn't get many pictures of the rest of the time. Mostly because I spent a lot of time with mom in the kitchen, getting everything ready. Or at least trying to help. So yeah - sorry about that everyone.
Best part of the evening: after dinner we put in Mom's Christmas gift: which was a copy of the original UNCUT version of 'Muppet's Family Christmas' It's a family favorite of ours for YEARS, and this year Santa was about to find a dvd copy to get to Mom. So, at some point after dinner and before the kids started going crazy, we found everyone in the living room, watching this movie together. For a little while it was quiet except for a couple of us softly singing along with the carol medley. It was beautiful.
All in all, it was a good Christmas.
I was able to get the next day off, and it was a well needed rest. Hated to leave home and head back to Bemidji though. I think Mom hated it too.

So: back now to the present. A little more work news: I am now going to be trained in on Books. Isn't too much of a big deal, but I am more than a little nervous about it. Only bad part: work begins at 5:00am. I mean, I can do it, no problem, but that is still going to suck a little.
Personally: I'm going to talk around this more than about it, but it's a kinda major thing going on right now, so I'm mentioning it. There is a thing with a person, and I think there might be more to it. Only problem is: I have a history with not having the best of luck with this kind of thing, and I am scared. I don't want to make a fool of myself, or turn this person away. But I also don't want to miss a possible oppurtunity. The family is being very helpful and supportive - even people who don't know the situation are being supportive and encouraging. I compared my state of being to that of Charlie Brown's when he's talking about going over to talk to the Little Red Haired Girl: "I'm standing up, now I am going to walk over there. I'm standing up! I'm... I'm ... I'm sitting down." People got that and are kind of cheering me on, which is great. I almost did something about it. I mean, I started to, but I kinda bailed at the first sign of trouble. Now, I've just about convinced myself to trust my past experiences, and my instincts. There is no way something could come of this. Well something has come of it, but I don't want to ask anymore. I know better, or at least, I do in the back of my mind. Right now, I am thinking that is just going to have to be it. I'm not going to make any kind of move here. I just can't because I don't trust it.
New Years: no plans. no resolutions. no idea what I am going to do. I am kinda upset by this, but there is no alternative right now. I may just end up ignoring the whole celebration - but I have the next day off, so it seems kind of a shame to just waste the evening. Who knows? I may spontaneously come up with something spectacular.
In case nothing comes before then: Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I hope you have a rockin', romantic, or just plain fun New Year's Eve. May you all find a sweetheart to kiss to ring in the new decade!

'DoG SeeS GoD' Post Mortem AND Dakota is born!

My life for the past month is over :( Why haven't I been blogging? Because I've been busy :) Busy with theatre :D But now I am done :(
How did it all go?? Well, let me tell you (pictures included!) (If any one of the people who worked on this show are reading this, hope no one is offended, but it is the truth from my perspective)
Well, it was interesting. We overcame a lot, I mean, A LOT!
We got off to a bad start because the person who was basically the producer didn't know the show that well at all. She had seen scenes and knew the general idea, but hadn't completely read the script or done any kind of analysis at all. So, it came as a complete surprise to her that we would require more than $300. to do the show well. :S Here's a tip to future producers: do your research BEFORE starting something. Another bad thing: the production crew was less than good. Many of them were BRAND new to what they had signed on to do. This would not have been too much of a problem if they at least had (1) dedication and (2) the ability to ask questions. What really drove me crazy was that it was all amateur problems: not reading the script, not doing an analysis, but mostly it was not asking questions and not doing their jobs. Sorry, it just drove me crazy. Not to mention that we barely ever had every designer at any given production meeting.
Our Assistant Designer and Stage Manager were in the university show, so they were never at rehearsals. Both eventually lost their titles. The only ASM to ever show up after auditions was kinda surprised to learn that she became the SM and had to call the show. Bless her heart, she tried, but she had never done this before and had no idea what to do. Because the original SM wasn't on top of things at all, there was no paper tech or dry tech, so Tech week was TERRIBLE!
Don't even get me started on Props and Set :S Sound was not great because our original person who signed up to do both lights and sound decided a couple weeks into it that he was too busy to do both, and (surprise, surprise) didn't have the knowledge to do Sound Design. On one side I was glad he at least admitted it, but seriously, he couldn't have thought of that before? So, we got another sound designer - a guy who wasn't in school, so he had limited time availability. Mostly he did okay, but some of the sounds were all wrong, but since time was short, there was nothing we could do. Also: I had to turn to Barry for one of the sound cues, because even the new Sound guy didn't have the ability to do what we needed for the dance sequence. :S
But enough about the stressful side of things:
The cast was fantastic. PHENOMENAL! When we chose the cast, I made sure that no one could easily walk into the role. Everyone had potential, but no one found it too easy. They all worked hard and really latched on to the show and to the characters.
I don't know if I already mentioned this, but for this show I was able to contact the author. No kidding, I have his phone number in my phone right now. (not that I would call him out of the blue like that, but I'm just saying: it's there) He was SO amazing and kind. He offered to send me the unpublished version of the script, and if we liked it, he gave us permission to use it. So, use it we did, because Love it we DID! Both versions are great, but the unpublished version really put the cycle of bullying front and center and it made it all a little more complete.
How did the show go? Aside from some tech issues: INCREDIBLY WELL! We sold out pretty quickly both nights and all of the reactions were very positive. We got rave reviews from 2 of Bemidji's biggest theatre supporters and participants, and no one seemed to have any complaints at all.
This is one of the best experiences of my life in theatre - no kidding. Following are some of my favorite pictures from the process.

"You make me sick'

"Prick"

'The Hangover'

'High as a Kite'

mixing drinks at lunchtime

scars

'DoG SeeS GoD' official poster :D

'Nocturne'

'Fire is Bad'

'Dear CB...'

'Dear CB...'

Beethoven playing the piano

the actors focusing in

ALSO ...

Guess what?! I'm an aunt again! Stephanie had her baby! Dakota Paul Manikowski was 7 lbs 1oz, 20 inches long and in good health. Apparently he is a little fussy about eating, but other than that he is doing great, and so is new Mommy! I'll have more for you once I get to see him this weekend.

Christmas

Well it was an interesting one.

Chris, Steph, and I traveled up to Minnesota on the 18th. At first the trip didn't seem too long, but once we got into the Dakotas all I wanted to do was get home. But we had a couple of stops first. Finally I was dropped off in Crookston where Dad was reffing a couple games. I finally got to get some pictures of him working the court. But, that is not easy to do, so the pictures aren't the highest quality.

Got home to TRF and I was SO HAPPY! Being home is so pleasant. Took off to Bemidji the next day to meet up with some friends. Stayed a lot longer than I should have, but it was worth it. Seeing them did my soul some good.

The next couple of days were busy, busy with wrapping and baking. Those are quickly becoming my favorite parts of Christmas :) Tried to make a caramel apple struesel cheesecake, but it turned into what we're calling Caramel Apple Goo. Everyone liked it except me. Texture was too gooish. So I have to figure out how to solidify it and then we will be set.

Christmas was white. Really white. We had a blizzard. Nick and Amy and the kids made it up Christmas eve before it got too bad, but the rest of the family wasn't able to make it. So we had Amy's delicious breakfast pizza and smoothie Christmas breakfast, opened stockings, and had the kids open 1 gift each. Mom and Dad also got surprise gifts. Mom got a digital camera and Dad got a model of his first tractor. We played Wii and had dinner, and that was pretty much it. It didn't exactly feel like Christmas because no one opened a gift from me.

We decided to re-do family Christmas on Sunday. So we had a new dinner and opened all the gifts and did the gift exchange then. I'm proud to say that I think the Auntie gifts were a big hit with the kids. Especially Savanna's. We got her the American Girl Molly book collection and the Molly movie. I think she liked it :)

Took off back for Colorado on Tuesday early. HATED leaving. REALLY HATED it. But that is life. If it weren't for Sweeney Todd, I would have nothing to look forward to. So I am back now.

That is about it. Here are some pictures:

Dad in his Pre-Game/Time Out/Half Time stance.

Counting their time down the floor.

Back hussle!

Dancing with the cleaning supplies. Dad was having a lot of fun entertaining mom while he was vaccuuming with style.

Savanna sitting pretty with her gift from Santa (which was a BIG hit) MP3 happiness.

I don't know exactly what he was looking at, but I LOVE this picture of Matthew.

Three boys on the carpet that Santa got Jacob. They just love playing on these town carpets with their cars.

Chris started reading a book to Daniel and then Matthew decided to join them. So cute!

Been a While, huh?

Well, that is what happens when you have nothing to report.
But I do now, so here we go:

As most of you know, I have still been unable to find a job. I've pretty much run out of money and time. Bills are piling up and I'm pretty much having to default on all my student loans. On top of which, I also have been having some medical problems.

Bad news aside ....

I am now in Colorado with my sister. Mom, Dad, and I have been talking about the possibility for a while. Since there was nothing in Thief River, and I had to look for work in a town where I wouldn't have to worry about rent, and Steph needed some company with Chris gone for a while, we jumped on up and moved me out.

I arrived yesterday and today I am resting up, cleaning the apartment, doing some online searching, and getting myself settled in.

The trip was amazing. I left from Grand Forks and flew to Minneapolis (my first plane trip!!!), connected with another flight and arrived in Denver where Steph and miss Allie picked me up and took me "home." Despite the fact that I was borderline ill, I rather liked flying. Take off was a little hard on my stomache on the first flight, but soon I was in the pink and enjoying it all. Luckily, I was on a windowseat for that flight. It's obvious why Minnesota is called the land of 10,000 lakes. It is beautiful from the air. Patchwork fields with river seems. And the water, oh my, from the air, the water looked as if it was painted - literally, I could see brush strokes, but I am sure it was the cloud's reflections, but when the sun hit it, it turned into liquid silver and just sparkled. It was beautiful. The Minneapolis airport was nice, I wish I had more of a layover to wander around a little. The Denver airport seemed nice, but I didn't really pay too much attention as I was busy trying to figure out where I needed to pick up my bags and find Steph.

Colorado is pretty nice. I was a little disappointed in how brown everything is. The grass is DEAD here. Still, it's nice. Not bad weather, 40s-50s. And mountains. Holy Cow, Mountains! It's a really hilly region and off in the distance (it always there) are the mountains. Steph was not kidding when she said that mountains were not far. Literally, she has a view from her living room couch and balcony of Pikes Peak. It's amazing.
Her and Chris' apartment is really quite nice. The only thing that sucks is the stairs. There're not bad, just a pain for bringing in anything. Aside from that, it is great. I get a room to myself, and a bathroom connected to it too. They've got a big ass tv in the living room and a hell ton of dvds as well as an internet connection, thank god. Its not bad while it is just us girls here, but I have to confess that I am a little worried about when Chris gets back from training. He did say it was ok for me to be here for a while, but since he has been in non-communication training, he has no idea that I am here. I know he will be okay with it, and I know he is a nice guy, but you all know me, I get terribly shy with new people. Which means that Thanksgiving is going to be really awkward. Steph and Chris have at least 3 other people coming over, if not more, unless he is not back from training yet. So yeah, gotta break out of that shell quick. Although, sometimes it is not a problem at all, so lets hope my awkwardness takes a hike that day. I'm a little homesick. I had a dream last night about my Bemidji pals. It is just wierd knowing that I will not be able to see them for a while. And I don't even know how long. Oh well ... *gulp*

Back to the medical thing - don't worry, it is nothing too bad, at least for now. We decided since it wasn't that bad, that I could just wait until I got a job with health insurance. But, it is forcing me to get on a diet of sorts. Which I don't really have a big problem with. Mostly, it has been functioning as an appetite suppressant, which is great for me. But I have to cut back on dairy and foods with a lot of spice, flavor, and acid. Mexican and cheese are on a much limited intake. :( Bland is the thing suggested, and that kinda sucks. I like flavor, what can I say? Oh well, its helping me get on a healthier track.

I guess that is more than enough for now. I'll probably post again soon. Till then, tata!

I Have the Coolest Mom

Ok, so I have to write about this. My mom is amazing. As many of you may or may not know, I am currently stuck in Thief River Falls. Finding a job outside of the area is near impossible, and even finding one that is in the area is also proving challenging.
So, having money is a thing - or rather, lack of money. And being apart from all of my friends definately is taking its toll on me. For a shy person, I am rather social - so this seperation from friends, from theatre, is taking its toll on me. Mom and Dad, while they are not like me in this aspect, understand how I feel and are being really good about supporting me through this.
This weekend was supposed to be a lake day which my dear friend, Barry, was going to host. A couple old theatre buddies on a lake doing some outdoor things and camping. Wonderful! Problem enters: no money. No way I can go. I warned Mom that I might be cranky this weekend, and she asked me why. I explained.
Mom told me that I could go, and that she would chip in on gas. Then she got this brilliant idea about her state quarter collection. You see, Mom started collection these quarters to make about 4 sets to collect. She had recently come to the idea that this was a waste, as there were so many of these quarters that they would not really be collectible. So, she decided to give me the quarters to turn to cash so I could go.
So we counted and sorted these quarters and I took them to the bank. I got about $50 out of it. So, it was settled, I was going.
As it happens, the event was canceled. But that is beside the point.
The point is, she did that for me. She knew that this meant a lot to me, and she went the extra mile to make sure that I could have this weekend of fun. It doesn't even matter that it is not going to happen. I mean, it does a little, because that sucks, but it means so much more to me that Mom did that.
So, yeah. I have the coolest Mom.

Teej

Labor Day at Red Lake Falls

For Labor Day and for my brother Nick's birthday - happy 30th Nick! - we went to Red Lake Falls for a picnic. It was a pretty nice day for it. It was nice to see Nick, Amy, and the kids. Did a little walking around and played on the playgrounds. Got on a swing, something I haven't done in a while, and I remembered how much I miss it. I used to love swinging when I was little and in 3rd grade I was the champion swing jumper in my class. I tried to teach Daniel how to swing on his own, but either I am a bad teacher, or he is still too young to do it on his own because every 2 minutes he was asking me to get him going again. Between those 3 kids, I got my pusher workout.

Took some pictures and some of them turned out pretty good. I'll only post a few, but if you are interested in more you can check them out either on Facebook or my Photobucket account : mizmouse86

Don't have much more to add to that.

Savanna exploring in the water. She had her own island and decided that her name would be Miss Clam Looker because that is what her job would be.

Just a couple pics I took of this man who was fishing in the park. Thought they turned out kinda cool.

The views of the river from the bridge.

The bridge

The wooden beams of the bridge

Amy going 'round and 'round - weee!

Darling little Matthew: don't let the face decieve you, he's ornery.

Just a fencepost.

Old playground equiptment.