Amber

Apparently every year there is a Polar Bear Plunge at Shawnee Mission Park. It is a fund raiser for the Kansas Special Olympics. As such, our department is a sponsor of the event, and our department has a team. Somehow I managed to convince myself that it would be a good idea to join said team for the 2012 plunge at the end of January.

So, I am going to jump into freezing cold lake water on January 28 2012. I have a fund raising page (hint, hint). I was told that a “perk” of being a sponsoring team is that we get to go in first…. I was also told that there have been some years that they have to get a back-hoe to break the ice on the lake.

FirstGiving - My fundraising page.

While there have been quite a few new things in our lives lately, I feel that I must share one of the coolest ones now. We have been thinking about getting a cat for a long time. It has been a year since Bea passed and while a rabbit is cool, we were ready for something a little more self-reliant. Our fourth anniversary is this Thursday and we never know what to get each other (I think I already got the best gift ever…my wonderful husband). So we decided to get a cat. Well…actually two cats.

The story started out with a really sweet four year old Siamese cat named Arnold that I saw at PetSmart in the adoption center. I waited too long to see if we could start the adoption process with us. He was already in a process with someone else when I called. I was kinda bummed about it. Aaron started looking at pet finder for a Persian, a breed he (and I) have always liked. I have been working odd hours and he has been at home all day by himself. He showed me pictures of the two he like the best (he even posted the link on facebook). I told him that I liked them too and with that I either went to bed or to work (I don’t remember at this point). Anyway the next time I consciously see him he tells me that he pre-applied for adoption for one of the cats. The agency we were going through  had a special of adopt one and the 2nd is half off the adoption fee. I mentioned that it wouldn’t be that much more to have two and that they could keep each other company when we are both gone. So a few days and a bit of money later we are now the proud staff members to two Doll-faced Persian cats.

This is Londo Tippy Yossarian Rigel Lamble, aka Buddy. He is two years old. He likes dark places and the window sill and is scared of the squeaky mouse toy.

This is Pumpkin. She is 1 1/2 years old. She likes cat nip, cat treats and I think she is plotting to take over the world.

So its only about 5 months late, but here is briefly my 2009 in review. It was a busy year and I still can’t believe it is over (even if we are three days into May 2010).

January was a big month for me. I got a new boss, moved to a new house (a rental) and started driving 100 miles to class four days a week. The transition to a new boss went better than I thought it would, and I gained new responsibilities out of it which helped me enjoy my job a bit more. The nice thing about the drive to Hays for classes  was that I could talk to my family several hours every week. I did enjoy getting back to classes. If we had all the money we could want, I think Aaron and I would both be happy being students for the next ten years. So many subjects I want to learn more about…sigh.

Anyway, spring went by rather quickly. Before I knew it, it was summer. My mom’s birthday is only 4 days after my own, so I decided as a birthday present to her (and myself) I flew back to Indiana for her birthday weekend. She had no idea. I called my dad about it and we decided that they should go camping that weekend so she couldn’t guess what was going on. My brother Kyle picked me up from the airport and dad took my mom out on a drive around the campground in  their rented golf cart. I was hiding in the camper when they got back. I will never forget the look on my mom’s face when I said “hi mom.” Classic.  As all good times do, it was soon over and I came back to Colby. The rest of the summer was spent trying to survive work, summer storms, and the unending battle with weeds and grasshoppers. Our back yard grass has the ability to grow morning-stars. I think the bottom of my feet still have scars.

The fall came around and I went back to driving to days, but only three days a week. I do miss going to class. The fall was rather uneventful. Aaron went back to teaching classes and I was going to class and working about 35 hours a week.

The winter was much the same. We went to Kansas City and Indiana for Christmas. Its always nice to see family. I think living way out here has really taught me to value my time with family when I get the chance.

And now it seems we are at the brink of our next great adventure. While it may not have arrived at the best of times, I believe it will work out in the end. My only small selfish regret in all of this is that I will not get to have my garden this year and probably for several more years. On the plus side, this will force me to really get rid of junk I don’t need!

As some of you may know, I am not particularly satisfied with my current employment as a secretary in a law enforcement facility. This is not surprising as it has nothing to do with what I went to school for (not to mention 8 hours in a room with a computer and no window). And while my choice of study during my years at KSU were very interesting and enjoyable…the practicality of it is now questionable in the current economy and our living situation. So, I have decided to pursue my other choice of career…teaching. I can take a program through Fort Hays State University called Transition to Teaching designed for people who already have a Bachelor’s degree and want to change careers. They analyzed my transcript and determined that I was lacking about 20 hours in Biology before I can complete their program. So I am currently taking Principles of Microbiology and Human Anatomy and Physiology online through the local community college. Needless to say, they have been kind of easy. My labs are all on computer programs. I’s actually kind of cool. The remaining 10 hours I need will probably be taken at FHSU. This spring (if I am accepted) I plan on taking Genetics and Ecology on campus. I also plan on keeping my current employment. I have briefly discussed my plans with the incoming sheriff and he seems willing to work with me on my schedule. So I will probably be driving to Hays 3 days a week and working at least 32 hours a week. The remaining class I need is Evolution. Needless to say that is a hard class to find in Kansas. FHSU does offer it in the fall semester of odd numbered years. So as luck would have it, I can take it this coming fall. So I guess that sets my plans back a year or so, but at least I am getting there. Oh, one more thing about the T2T program is that I can get my credits to count towards a Masters. I guess when I complete it (and its all online) I will only be 14 hours away from a Masters in Education (whatever that means).

In other news….so the election was pretty awesome. Well, I had a rather boring day myself. I took my civil duty to the next level by working as a poll worker on election day. LONGEST DAY EVER. I was in Brewster, KS. We had 220-ish people show up to vote there over 12 hours. And apparently that was a record turn out.  How I ended up there was basically an act of desperation by the county clerks office. They could not find another registered democrat that was willing to work it. So, I agreed. I would probably do it again if they needed me. Long live democracy.

I have glasses. I had been getting headaches a lot. The eye doctor said that while I have 20/20 vision, I have an astigmatism. Apparently I need to wear glasses while I am working with computers, under florescent lights, reading, etc. But I don’t have to wear them all the time or when I am driving. Its really hard to get used to.

I am still playing WOW. Getting excited about the new expansion, but I haven’t actually finished the last one. I do have 1 level 70 hunter, 1 level 63 warrior, and 1 level 63 warlock (and a few other low level characters). I know Aaron is getting pretty pumped for it. I only hope his computer holds out for it…

Hello!

I find that writing on this blog is somewhat like trying to write to a friend you haven’t talked to in quite some time, one is just not sure of where to start. So, hopefully, you will forgive me for any clumsy and inarticulate thoughts.

I recently celebrated by 24th birthday. It was a nice quite birthday, as it was on a Monday. I recieved some rather wonderful gifts. One of which, a cool red iPod shuffle (along with some nice soaps and lotions) from Paul and Libby, I am using right now. This will come in handy with the gym membership Aaron and I got at the end of May.

I also recieved some very cool Pottery Barn plates with a leafy-fern design on them from Rachel. We have a friend coming up this weekend, so perhaps I will break them in on some company! Also from my sister-in-law, a very nice smelling fragrance diffuser from Pottery Barn.

Last, but not least, the things from my husband: The Sims 2, The Indiana Jones Collection, 2 sets of flowers, 2 new plant hangers, and a very comfy down-alternative mattress pad. He also took me out to dinner. We were going to go to Montana Mikes, but it was closed on Mondays. So we went to the newest Mexican restaurant in town.

Thank you all so much for your very generous and wonderful gifts.

In 2 weeks we will be on a new adventure: Washington D.C. I am pretty excited about it. We are flying out of KC for Baltimore-Washington International Airport on June 21st. We won’t fly back until June 27th. It seems like we will be there for a long time, but I know we won’t get to see everything on our list.

Since Aaron covered pretty much everything, all I have left to post for my first one is the 8 interesting things about myself.

1.  I am the eldest of four children and the only girl. My younger brothers are ages 20, 10, and 9. They all live in Indiana, so I don’t get to see them as much as I would like to. My youngest brothers seem to be growing up so fast.

2. One of my goals in life is to become a naturalist or some form of outdoor educator. I had an internship with the Missouri Department of Conservation doing just that, but my career plans have been put on a temporary hold, as Northwestern Kansas is lacking in nature center.

3. I like to cook and bake. In fact I just made Banana Nut Bread the other night.

4. The first time I ever saw “real mountains” was last week on our honeymoon. I was pretty excited. We went up Pikes Peak which is over 14,000 feet tall. Unfortunately it was really cloudy when we went up, so we couldn’t really see anything other than the rocks at the top. At Rocky Mountain National Park we drove up Trail Ridge Road. It was very crowded and kind of scary, but it took us up to 12,000 feet.

5.  I have been to only 2 other countries, Canada and Mexico. I would really like to go to New Zealand (thanks to Lord of the Rings…) and Europe to see castles and other sorts of cool ruins. Of course I would love to go to all of the different continents if I could. Traveling is one of the things that I would really love to do if money were no object.

6. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, I am a bit of a nerd…I really like Science fiction and some fantasy (like Lord of the Rings). When I was in middle school I was really (and I mean REALLY) into Star Trek. Little did I know that this would eventually lead to attracting a husband. I had always figured it would do the opposite, but who am I to complain?

7.  I have really curly hair and so does Aaron…so if we had kids they, according to Aaron, would look like hobbits. Just hopefully minus the hairy feet.

8. Here is a mix of bits of info: I grew up most of my life on a dairy farm. I was home schooled through the middle school years (conveniently hiding the whole Star Trek thing). In high school I was very active doing Drama club, FFA, Spell Bowl, NHS, Literary magazine, Student council and ended up being student council president my senior year.  In college I was not as active. I just mostly played (crappy, as Aaron calls them) video games, watching movies, and finding Aaron.

Well, thus ends my first post. Hopefully it wasn’t too dull.