Nelson Family Christmas

So, I was originally supposed to work today (after a two week long vacation) but instead I was mandated, and I probably won't have to work at all today, so I decided to catch up on my blogging from this weekend.

On Monday, December 26th John and I headed from Minnesota to Brookings to celebrate Christmas with John's extended family. We had soup and munchies for lunch, and then we opened presents.

Tuesday we took the day off from Christmas and cleaned the house and caught up on laundry. It was nice to have a day to ourselves.

Wednesday we went out to Jim and Barb's for Christmas. We had lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and cheesecake. It was delicious. Then of course it was time for presents again. We announced our pregnancy the same way to John's family, and they were all very excited as well.

It was an awesome Holiday Season, and we still have New Years to celebrate! I'm ready to grab my sparkling grape juice and welcome in 2012!

Christmas in Minnesota

John and I headed to Minnesota to celebrate Christmas on December 23rd. The 23rd was actually my mom's 50th Birthday so we celebrated with family and friends at the Frontier Bar. It was a pretty good turn out and it was nice to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen in a long time.


On Christmas Eve, John, Dad, and I made cashew cookies because I wanted to bring some to the Nelson Family Christmas. Then we opened presents with my parents, brother, and sister. We had my parents open a Grandparents book, which was our announcement to our family that we are expecting a baby in July. It was nice to finally share the news with the family. I have known since about week 3, and now I am 13 weeks pregnant. That is a long time to keep a secret!

After opening presents, we headed to Janel and Tim's to eat and hang out. At around 6pm we headed to Fairfax to watch the Christmas Program. Afterwards it was back to Tim and Janel's for more eating and mingling.

Christmas Day we went to church in the morning, and visited with people we hadn't seen in awhile. After church we headed to Mark and Kathy's to celebrate Christmas with my mom's side. It was nice to see everyone and hang out for a while. And my mom was busy blabbing to everyone that she was going to be a grandma, she was really excited.

We had a really good Christmas in Minnesota, it just went by way too quickly. We were so busy going from one place to another, that the weekend flew by. But it was a good holiday get-together, and now everyone knows that we are expecting a little one in July.

Happy Holidays!!

Christmas!

John and I opened presents last night because we will be in Minnesota for Christmas. I think we did a pretty good job.

John got me a Kitchen Aid standing mixer, which I absolutely love. I just had a cheaper hand held mixer, so it's a treat to finally have a nice mixer to cook and bake with. He also got me pajama pants, a book light, and a couple books by my favorite authors.

I got John a Shop Vac (hey, he wanted it), a coffee thermos, starbucks gift card, sweatshirt, travel coffee mug, a movie, LED flashlight, and a remote control helicopter (he wanted that too).

We both had a fun night opening gifts and can't believe Christmas is almost here! Merry Christmas too you all!

Catching up

Holy Moly, it has been 2 months since I last blogged. I don't know how the time has gotten away from me. However, in my defense I have been busy and have had some medical stuff going on. I will get into that later. I will touch on the highlights from the last couple months.

Halloween- Well I had to work Halloween Night, so I handed out candy to the little kids until about 6:15pm and then headed to work. We had around 30 kids come to our house, not too many, but enough.

Thanksgiving- Again I had to work. I actually worked Thursday-Sunday of that weekend, so needless to say I didn't celebrate the holiday in any fun way.

At the end of November, I had a routine eye appointment with my Optometrist. Well, it turned out that my optic nerve was swollen, meaning there was a bunch of pressure in my head putting pressure on my optic nerve. The Optometrist referred me to a neurologist, who examined me and then had me have an MRI of my brain to see what was going on.

I did not expect any of this after a routine eye exam. Let me tell you, having an MRI is not really a fun procedure. It's loud, crowded, and a little scary. I am glad I am not claustrophobic because I don't know if I would have been able to do it. But anyway, the MRI came back completely normal, no brain tumors or any other scary things, which was both good news and bad news. It meant that my brain looked good, but meant they would still need to do more tests.

I was also referred to a Ophthalmologist who took pictures of the back of eye to look at my optic nerve and to measure the pressure in my eyes. He basically told me the same thing as my Optometrist, which was that I had severe papillary edema.

My Neurologist was guessing that it was a "pseudo tumor " which means that my brain acts like a tumor is there, when really there is nothing abnormal. They don't really know why it happens. Anyway, the neurologist had to perform a spinal tap to diagnose and relieve the pressure. When she tapped me (which wasn't very fun) my pressure was 51, and normal is around 8. So there was a ton of extra pressure on my optic nerve, which if it gets bad enough can cause permanent eye damage. Yeah, pretty scary stuff.

During the spinal tap, she removed about 4 tubes of cerebrospinal fluid, which is a very high volume. This would relieve the pressure for about a day or two since the body just makes more cerebrospinal fluid. In order to treat the pseudo tumor, they put me on a diuretic to help slow the making of cerebrospinal fluid.

So there it is, my life for the last couple months. Like I said, it's been pretty crazy. Along with the diuretic, they are monitoring me pretty closely with every 2 weeks appointments with the Ophthalmologist. I never imagined having such a unique medical situation. However, I am finally feeling good, and at my last eye appointment they said the swelling was mildly better, so it's on it's way.

In other news, I accepted a new nursing position at Avera. I am going to work in the Recovery Room, which is where patients go immediately following surgery. It will be patients of all ages and of all surgeries. It will be 8 hour shifts which will be a nice change. One weekend every 6 weeks and one holiday per year. There won't be any night shifts, except for being on call, and every time I come in on-call it's time and a half. I am really looking forward to this new opportunity, but I will miss all my Ortho co-workers!

Sorry for the wordy post, but I had a lot to catch up on. I can't say my life is not interesting. Thanks for reading!

Halloween

I like the Halloween Holiday. I like decorating, and someday it's going to be fun to dress my kids up in cute Halloween costumes. I also traditionally watch the movie Hocus Pocus every Halloween. This movie is corny, and was made back in 1994, but it's just a tradition that I have, and that I will share with my kids someday.

I also am looking forward to handing out candy this year for trick or treaters. Last year we lived in a locked apartment complex, so we didn't really have a chance to hand out candy. This year we are looking forward to it. I have to work a night shift, so I can't help out with it too much, but hopefully there will be some kids to the house before I have to leave.

In the spirit of Halloween we did put up a little bit of decoration to hopefully welcome some trick-or-treaters.

Favorite New Fall Show

I really enjoy when new fall TV shows start. There always seems to be one that grabs my attention. This fall, my favorite new show is Revenge on ABC. This show is basically a guilty pleasure. It is about a girl who moves to the Hamptons and her whole purpose is to get revenge on the people who wrongly put her dad in prison.

I don't know why I like it so much, I think it's the wonderful dresses/outfits that the characters get to wear as well as a storyline that keep my interested. I have always like  Emily Van Camp as an actress as well. So if you are looking for a guilty pleasure show, try this one. It on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm central time.

Harvest Time!

For the last couple years, John and I have gone to Minnesota to help with the fall harvest. And by that, I mean we chisel plow or chop stalks for a few hours. I thoroughly enjoy driving tractor, so I really don't look at it as work. I enjoy the feeling of helping with harvest, and I get to it while listening to the radio and enjoying the fall season!

This year was especially fun because my dad bought a new tractor that has GPS in it. It is amazing! I chisel plowed with this tractor and the only time I actually had to drive was on the turns. As long as you are going in a straight path, the GPS will literally allow the tractor to drive itself. It is amazing how far technology has come in the last few years. Here are some pics of the inside of the tractor and the GPS.

Like I said, it's pretty fancy. I spent pretty much all day Saturday chisel plowing and I plowed an entire field, I think Dad said it was about 80 acres. Anyway, call me crazy but I enjoyed it. This was my view for most of Saturday.

While I was chisel plowing, John was chopping stalks all day. So, on Sunday we switched, I chopped and John chisel plowed. We got a lot of tillage done for my Dad and brother, and I think they appreciated it. We only had a couple break downs over the weekend, and I mainly just watched while the repairs were made. What can I say, I am a city girl now! John and I had a great weekend on the farm!

On a side note, my family is now completely done with harvest, and we also enjoyed some of my mom's cooking while at home. And here is the new tractor from the outside. John Deere!

Fall!

I love the fall season. The crisp morning air, the changing colors, and of course the harvest season. The trees in our backyard are changing colors, and it is really beautiful!

Happy Fall :)

An end to a long season...

Today is the last game for the Minnesota Twins this season. Needless to say, it was a disappointing year for the Twins. As of now their record is 62-99. Ouch. This is the worst season they have had for probably 10 years. They won the Central Division last season, and this season they finish 37 games below .500. That is quite a change. While injuries caused a lot of problems this season, the Twins just seemed to never find their groove.

My husband and I do not have cable (you wouldn't believe how many crazy looks we get for that one) so I have honestly only watched a couple Twins games this year. I did attend one game at Target Field as well. I guess I am glad I didn't waste much time this year watching them play. I am still a Twins fan, but it is hard watching a team struggle so bad.

Anyway, their last game is tonight. I hope they can win their last game of the year and end the season on a positive note to build on next season. So, for one more time this year, Let's Go Twins!

Salsa!

Well, John and I successfully canned salsa for the first time. We went out to John's parents' farm and his mom guided us through our first canning experience. It really went quite well. John and I have been picking our tomatoes for the last few weeks and freezing them until we had time to can.

It only took a couple hours to do the whole process. We ended up with 14 jars of salsa, and I anticipate we will make another batch sometime this late fall/early winter. I had a great time canning, and this salsa is going to take great in the middle of winter. We have already discussed possibly making applesauce or lefsa soon. My mom would be so proud!

Sidewalk Arts Festival

This past Saturday, John and I attended the Sidewalk Arts Festival, held in downtown Sioux Falls. It was a gorgeous day, and we didn't have much for plans, so we decided to check it out. This is only a one day event, so there were a ton of people out and about checking out the booths.

There were about 225 booths in total stretched out over 3 blocks. There were also food vendors and some street entertainment going on. It was fun to walk around and see some interesting things. There was a lot of pottery, furniture, and pictures. John and I had fun looking (well, I had fun looking anyway) but nothing really caught our eye. We spent a good hour looking around and just ended up getting some Soup Mixes from "The Soup Lady from Nebraska". Apparently they are a big deal. We ate the chicken wild rice one last night, and it was rather delicious!

I guess that they have this event every year in downtown Sioux Falls, so I imagine we will check it out again in the future. It was fun and interesting, but the items are pretty expensive. However, I like to window shop, and I had a good time.

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I finally got around to reading The Help this last week. I had heard about it, and I have been wanting to ready it for probably about a month now, but just never got around to it. I was in Target the other day, and finally bought it.

I really enjoyed this book. It is definitely similar to the Harper Lee book To Kill A Mocking Bird, in that it takes place in the South and addresses racial issues that are happening at that time. This is Stockett's first novel but you wouldn't know it by reading the book. It took me about four days to finish the book, and that's mainly because we were busy this past weekend.

I'm not really sure what I liked best about the book. I enjoyed learning more about what the relationship was like between white women and their black maids back in the 1960s. I could feel myself cheering for these women to come out on top and make a difference. Their courage was amazing to me, especially Miss Skeeter because she had the most to lose.

It's hard for me to explain why I like a book, or put in my own thoughts, so I thought I would answer some of the "book club" questions that were in the end of the book because they brought up some interesting points.

1. Do you think racism is inherent or taught?

I think this is a very good question. I think racism is taught. When kids are little, they don't care what color someone's skin is, they learn to love people according to they way they are treated. This book is a good example. Mae Mobly, a white child,  loves Aibileen, her black maid, and even calls her "momma" because Aibileen loves her and takes good care of her. However, once Mae Mobly goes to school her teachers tell her how much better white people are. Also, at home Mae Mobly gets yelled at by her mother for using Aibileen's bathroom, because black people are "diseased". I really believe that racism is taught to future generations through both words and actions. Unfortunately, there are still racist people, and it will probably always exist to a certain degree.

2.  Do you think that one can be a good mother, and at the same time, a deeply flawed person?

This question is asking about Hilly. Hilly is an interesting character because she is probably the best mother out of all the white characters in the book, but she is also the meanest character. She shows nothing but love and affection for her children, but completely shuns  Skeeter from her life once she finds out about  Skeeter getting involved with civil rights. I do believe that Hilly is a deeply flawed person, but I don't think that she can be a good mother at the same time. Sure she shows those children love and takes care of them, but what types of morals and belief systems is she teaching her children. What would she have done if one of her children had become friends with a black child? Being a mother is more than just taking care of your childrens' physical needs. I just don't believe that Hilly could have raised her children to be good, kind-hearted people, actions do speak louder than words. 

3. Who was your favorite character, and why?


I really enjoyed all the main characters (Minny, Skeeter, and Aibileen) but I would have to say Skeeter is my favorite. I'm not picking her because she's white, I am picking her because I feel like she decided what she wanted, she went after it, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She wanted to try and help black maids by making the nation aware of how terrible their working conditions are and how little they get paid. She decided to do this by writing a book based on interviews with the maids.

Skeeter had little to gain and a lot to lose by writing this book. She ended up being outcasted by all of her friends (and eventually the entire town), she gave up an engagement to a man she loved, and she lost her job working on a newsletter for the League. She also wrote the book anonymously, so she didn't get any public credit for all of her hard work. She risked a lot to help the maids try to improve their living situation.

I am just impressed with how much courage Skeeter had. I mean in was the 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. All the women who worked on the book risked a lot to try and improve their lives. It is people like these that helped form the Civil Rights Movement and bring equality for all.


I guess I just really enjoyed this book. I have always been impressed by people like Martin Luther Kind Jr, Rosa Parks, and Abraham Lincoln, who are willing to fight for what they believe is right, no matter the consequences. I like to think that if I had been around in the 1960s I would have been one of those people advocating for blacks' rights. I maybe wouldn't have been a public figure, but I would have been trying to find any way to help that I could. It make me feel ashamed to think about how white people treated black people back in the 1960s, but I am proud of how far America has come.

Books like The Help remind us of our history, but they also remind us that even the most ordinary people have the ability to do extraordinary things when they put all their effort into doing the right thing.

I highly recommend this book. I also plan to see the movie sometime in the near future, I have heard it is very good. Thanks for reading my thoughts and ideas on this book, and feel free to share your own!

Another Purchase

Well, nobody every said that being a homeowner didn't involve needing to buy things. I feel like that is all we have done these last few months. Most of the items are pretty fun to buy, like new furniture and decorative items for the house. However, John and I bought a snowblower a few days ago.

Apparently August/September is a good time to buy a snowblower because the prices only go up after that. We headed to Ideal Yardware and picked out a snowblower that would work for us. It is sort of depressing though, because I do not want to think about going outside to blow snow at 6:00 am before heading to work. I am cold just thinking about it. But we will survive. The joys of Midwestern winters! Neither John or I have ever used a walk-behind snowblower, so this will be interesting!

Here is our new Ariens Snowblower.

10 Year Anniversary of 9/11

I cannot believe it has been ten years since 9/11. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I was 14 years old and I was a freshman in high school. We completed out first class of the day, and I was in homeroom at around 9:00 am. I can't remember if there was an announcement, but we turned on the TV and saw that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At the time, I really didn't know what the World Trade Center was, but I knew something was obviously wrong.

I really did not understand the importance of what happened at the time. Homeroom ended ten minutes later, and we all continued on for the rest of the school day. I remember thinking that maybe it was just an accident or something. However, once I got home literally every TV channel was reporting on the events that happened that day. I didn't know anything about the Pentagon or Shanksville, PA until I got home and listened to all the news.

This was the first attack on America that I had ever lived through, and I remember being scared. I just didn't know what to expect. Were we heading toward WWIII? Would we retaliate? Are we safe? As scary as those next couple days were, I remember how comforting it was to see Americans united and face the aftermath of the attack. The heroic acts of many Americans helped remind me what this country stands for, and if we come together we can face anything.

Now, ten years later we remember all those people lost on 9/11. We remember the rescue workers who risked their own lives to save others. We remember the courage of those aboard flight 93. We remember the families who lost someone on that terrible day. We remember all those who gave their lives during this War on Terrorism. We will always remember, but we also look to the future. We look forward to a time when there can be peace and all those serving over seas can come home. As long as Americans remain united, we can face anything that tomorrow brings.

God Bless America!

Vikings and Twins Game

This last weekend was a blast. John's family and John and I went to the cities to see both a Vikings and a Twins game. We booked the trip through the radio station WNAX and took a coach bus to the cities. We left Sioux Falls at 8:30 in the morning and made the 4 hour journey to Minneapolis.

We got to the cities early enough that we could walk around Mall of America for a couple hours. I don't mind the mall, but two hours there is enough, especially after being on a bus all morning. We checked into the hotel next, and spent about an hour there relaxing a little. Then it was time to leave for the Metrodome.

The Vikings were playing a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys. It was a pretty fun game. It was nice to see Donovan McNabb in a Vikings jersey and throw a few good passes. The second half of the game got a little boring as all the second-string players were in. But we all had a good time at the game!

We got back to our hotel room at around 11:30 pm, and pretty much went to sleep almost immediately. The next morning we ate a continental breakfast and then headed to Target Field at 11:00 am. The Twins played the Detroit Tigers and had lost 7 in a row. They have had an injury-plagued season and there will be no postseason for them this year. However, we had perfect weather for the game and we got to see the Twins win 11-4.

It was a long drive back to Sioux Falls after the game. We watched the movie "Invincible" which helped pass some of the time. It was a great weekend, although Monday came way too fast!

"Toys" Book Review

As I have mentioned several times, I am a pretty big James Patterson fan. I have read probably 90% of his books (and he has written a lot of books). Most recently, I went to the Sioux Falls Public Library and I checked out the book "Toys" by James Patterson. I read the book flap, and decided that this book was going to be a little different than a usual James Patterson book.

Usually a James Patterson book is centered on detectives solving murders, but this book is a scientific genre based in the future. In the book, it is the year 2061, and humans came very close to destroying the world (basically along the lines of Global Warming) so these genetically engineered Elites saved the world from being destroyed. The Elites are smarter, faster, and stronger than humans and are basically in control of the world. The Elites run the government, law enforcement, and most businesses. However. the Elites still need humans to invent items and perform domestic duties such as cooking and cleaning.

Now, I am not going to describe the entire book to you, but what happens is the Elites try to extinguish the human race, and of course the humans fight back. There are many more twists and turns in the book, but basically that is the underlying story.

A couple chapters in, I wasn't really feeling this book. I am not a huge fan of scientific books set in the future. However I really enjoyed this book and let me tell you why.

1. It reminded me that humans can be amazing in times of need. Lately all we ever hear in the news is bad things happening. People being killed, robbing banks/gas stations, or showing other signs of hatred. It was refreshing to be reminded that humans can be inspiring, creative, compassionate, and united when called upon.

2. The book was suspenseful.  I couldn't put the book down, anxious to know what was going to happen next. The ending is fairly predictable, but there are many unpredictable steps along the way. That is James Patterson writing at it's finest.

3. It touched on technology and how it can be a bad thing if not used properly. It discussed how people can become so obsessed with items or "toys". Sometimes people become obsessed with needing the newest "toy" that they lose perspective on more basic things. I agree completely. Don't get me wrong, I love my smart phone and my laptop, and I use the internet constantly. However, there is a joy is being able to disengage ourselves from these things, and take joy in the simple things in life.

If you are looking for a good book, that is a little different from what you are used to reading, think about giving "Toys" a try. You won't be disappointed.