This and That

Gramma had us up for dinner this week. That was nice. Great Aunt Eva stopped by... I don't know Eva all that well, but it sure was fun to listen to some of her stories. She made a comment regarding the recent chemo she has been going through, and it stuck with me.

She was talking about how some days are hard and the somewhat direct quote was "Life's a battle. Everyday you wake up and you have to smile- smile until you make it."

Brian and Jean were there also. I think I've seen more of my aunts and uncles from MN this year then in the past few combined. I've said it before, but it really is nice to get to know them as an *adult*.

I fell asleep one night recently stressing about my numbers at work. The thing is, I really like my job. I'm just afraid that it's going to get slow, I won't make my numbers and then I won't have a choice but to find a new job. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm thinking ahead. Glass half-empty kind of thinking.

Anyway, I was trying to decide what I would want to do if I didn't do what I do. (Haha). So I started thinking about the jobs I have held and enjoyed, along with the pastimes I enjoy.

In a perfect world, I would love to take candid shots for money. Go to birthday parties, weddings, graduations, etc and take those pictures that capture the little moments. That's something that I enjoy trying to do- capture the pictures that show emotion. I wouldn't want to do formal posed shots, but I'd love to do the behind the scenes deal. Of course, I'd have to take a photography class or two. And compete with the many other photographers up here. But I would enjoy it.

For now, I like my job and I made it through another month.

An Update

On my car. It will be fixed on Thursday. Turns out it was the throttle position sensor, not the mass air flow one... No word on the price yet. So I'm crossing my fingers!

A Picture

For Sharyn... I was inspired by this page. She took the sketch from Valerie.



The flash wasn't working with me today. So that's the best shot I have!

And as a side note- the ribbon on the page? I cut the hanger straps out of a new sweater I bought... Worked perfectly.

Like Grandma...

I hate doing dishes. I wonder if I get this from my mom's mother? Is it possible that something like that could be passed down? I just remember being at Grandpa and Grandma's and hearing her talk about not liking to do dishes.

This is going through my head as I read blogs instead of doing my dishes... I usually try to tell myself that I can come to the computer after emptying out the sink. That's not working tonight. Although, if I had a dishwasher, it wouldn't be such a chore. Someday.

We fixed it!

Oh... Maybe not... Yep, that's how it went today. Aaron (once again, being the wonderful bf he is) brought my car to have that sensor replaced. So the mechanics took out the old one, put in the new. And... didn't fix the problem. Back in went the old part and we are at square one again. I just want my car back.

For those who are interested. Megan (Kristin and EJ's) and Aaron (Janet and Pete's) had a baby boy on Tueday. Travis Joseph. All went well and baby and mother are back home today!

Bad news, good news

My wonderful boyfriend lent me his truck and took my car to the shop today. So, the problem is a tiny little sensor... As in the mass air flow sensor needs to be replaced. Not a huge deal.

Or so I thought. Then, I was informed that because my car is foreign, that itty bitty part could cost me $500. Wow. Luckily, Aaron knows a thing or two about dealing with car mechanics. So they found me a used one that will work. And that will cut the cost way down.

Who knew foreign car parts were so expensive?

Picture Share

I picked up more of my pictures that I had developed....

An old church on the Island

My Man

A side of a bridge that you don't normally see

Love this picture

He was so excited to try fly fishing

I walked around and enjoyed the scenery

And one more of the Breakies from the other night.

Car troubles

Got off of work early today. We have had a few slow days... That doesn't look good for us. The month got off to a really good start. We were hoping that it would keep up. I'm not going to stress yet. Or I'm trying not to. Hopefully it picks up.

Construction started on the bridge. That'll make driving around here a little more interesting.

Speaking of driving- My car is rev-ing when I start it. Aaron's going to look at it tonight and if he can't fix it I will bring it in tomorrow. I hope that he can fix it. I hate car issues. Not to mention the fact that I have no idea about anything to do with cars. And everytime I have to bring mine somewhere I'm afraid I act like the typical girl mechanics seem to think we are. Sigh. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Garbage Day

Today is my day off... And I'm getting things done. Laundry, grocery shopping etc. Finally picked up a new toilet seat so I won't fall off everytime I go to sit on the thing. You'd think it wouldn't have taken me so long to buy a new one. Except the only time I ever thought about needing one was when the seat was sliding off the toilet...

I've also been going through all of the old papers and things I have stockpiled around here. I'm really trying to get rid of those things that I "might need someday." Like the paper I wrote on the Mayans in 5th grade. Or that math test that I got an A on in 6th.

It feels good to fill my garbage bag.

I'm going to Gramma and Grampa's tonight. Gramma invited me for supper. Definitely looking forward to that. Maybe the waves will be big there also.

Yesterday

September 11th was yesterday (eta. two days ago, now that it's past mid-night!) and I have read quite a few nice posts about the date and remembering it. I wanted to write something, but the only thing that comes to mind is to just say Thank you.

Thank you to everyone who serves our country. Thank you to all of those who stand and fight so people have the freedom to complain about the war here. (Ironic, don't you think?) Thank you for having the courage to defend our country.

That said, the weather here was fitting for remembering 9-11-01.

Aaron and I went out to the breakies. I took some pictures with my digital. I'm not too happy with them. But I will post anyway!

Past Weekend

It was really nice to be able to go to the wedding this weekend. Kara came with me and we had an enjoyable conversation both ways. Sometimes the rides end up being one of the nicest parts, with being able to visit!

The wedding was beautiful. I didn't have my camera with me, so no pictures. But it was still fun to be there. I was able to visit with some of my Dad's family who I haven't seen in quite awhile. And in case I forget, they all said to say hello!

And the city girl that is in me was quite glad to have the chance to go shopping! I was able to check some things off my list that I have been needing for work. So, on top of it being a mini-vacation, it was also a productive trip.

Now I'll be staying around here for awhile. And that's okay too. I found a great deal online and purchased 6 alphabet stamp sets, a set of 30+ stickers, five different ink pads and another set of stickers all for $25... That came in today, so I am looking forward to playing! As I said before I am a lurker on other blogs and I have been really inspired lately but I haven't had the time to try new pages for my scrapbook. Maybe now I will!

Heading Out

For the wedding this weekend... And I was thinking about how Brad, Craig and I used to hang out when we were younger. Somewhere along the line Brad and I had decided that we would help each other find a girl/boy friend. That never did quite happen, and Brad managed to pick out a wonderful girl all on his own!

Congratulations to the two of you! And welcome to the family Larissa!

Go Figure

Of course, after my last post on how much I love fall and the cool weather it became hot again...

Hot enough to swim in Lake Superior the last two nights.

What do you do?

I love fall

The first day of school for so many people was today... I remember always being excited for the first day of school. I kinda was wishing that I had decided to go back. Or rather, that I had gotten my act together to take some classes.

Only problem is, I want to take a photography class. And I would love to take a Finnish class. But I can't quite figure out how that would relate to my job, so that they would pay for it...

Fall always seems like a time for new beginnings. Maybe that's because of the start of school, the new year... New classes, new teachers, etc. Of course, I haven't been to school in a few years now but it always has that effect on me. I love fall, it is my favorite season.

Love the crisp air. The colors. The weather. The stormy skies. The cider mills (one of the few things I really miss from home)... Even cold, rainy days.
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Aaron and I went out to Will and Lori's tonight. Saw the new baby there. She's tiny (6 lbs 7 oz). Baby's are so precious. It seems you always forget how small they are until you see a newborn.

We were up in the Harbor this weekend also. His family goes camping up there every Labor Day weekend. It was fun to be there and to visit. I think we saw my family more this summer than we saw his. Funny how that works, you make time to see the out-of-towners but always figure that you'll see the ones who live here without making plans.

It was nice to have the day off yesterday. I cleaned house. I'm lucky enough to have a boyfriend who will help me with that. So we finished that early in the day and spent the evening with his family. Brett and Shelby were picking out clothes to wear for the first day of school.

Kinda put me in the mood to go shopping. Even if I'm not going back to school I can get new clothes for the fall right?