must...have...more...space...bags...

So apparently you're supposed to have a vacuum with a hose attachment in order to use space bags, but I've found that a little bit of body weight and a good set of lungs do the trick.

Problem is the goodness of my set of lungs is questionable, so I feel like I'm going to have an asthma attack at any moment...

But I'm still thoroughly convinced that everything I own needs to be stored in one of these bad boys. Bedding, pillows, jackets, sweaters, the cat...

Everything.

Must have more space bags, and possibly a refill for my inhaler.

Hooray for vacation!

Ahh, vacation. I'm catching up on sleep, enjoying some quality apron time (that's what my boss calls it when she hears me telling everyone I can't stay late because I need to go home and cook dinner), and getting a bunch of other small projects done. I haven't cleaned the house, but hey, I'm on vacation right?

Today I spent a large portion of my day sorting through bills, filing stuff, that sort of thing. I filled out the paper work for reimbursement through my health savings account, printed return labels for a few things we're returning to amazon.com, found my passport (not that it's any good to me now that my name is changed) and checked Hayzeus's medical records to see when his next set of vaccinations are due.

I spent at least an hour writing a scathing letter to MGH's Emergency Department because their billing department is completely incompetent. In November of 2005 I went to the ED's Walk-in clinic for some symptomatic treatment of a respiratory infection. They billed my Dad's insurance in November of 2006, a full year later. Basically the insurance company denied the claim because it was over a year after the time of service and because I was no longer receiving benefits from the policy. So then, three months later in February of 2007, MGH decided to bill me for it. I called to find out why it took them 15 months to bill me and they told me it was because the opening of the new ED caused delays. Piss poor excuse in my book, so I told them I was absolutely not going to pay the bill, especially since my insurance would have covered it if they'd submitted the claim in a timely manner.

They kept sending me bills and I kept telling them I wasn't going to pay it. Then, in August, my bill had a mysterious payment made on it. I soon found out that my Mom had made a payment on her account and they'd credited it to mine because we had the same first and last name. I called them and told them it needed to be credited to her account and the next bill they sent me had the credit removed, stating it had been transferred over to account #XXXXXXXX. So not only had they failed to double check they were applying it to the right account in the first place, they also listed my Mom's account number on MY bill.

It turns out that account numbers associated with individual patients are considered Protected Health Information. Can anyone say HIPAA violation?

But the last straw came today when I called them about a different bill. When I hurt my back at work I went to the Express Care clinic at MGH's ED. While I was there I game them the forms from my employer authorizing them to treat me and informing them of our worker's comp insurance company's name, address, and claim number. Still, I recieved a bill in the mail for the services provided to me that day. So again, I called to tell them they had their heads up their asses and they simply proved my point by telling me they didn't have any record of the letter from my employer authorizing them to treat me nor did they have record of our worker's comp insurance company's name, address, and claim number. I told the lady on the phone that I'd provided all of that information at the time of service, but she kept asking me for it as if I had it in front of me but was trying to keep her in the dark.

So I spent a lot of time tracking down my old insurance information, asking my Dad to look for the Explanation of Benefit forms to go along with the November 2005 visit, researching HIPAA, and composing an extremely curt letter for MGH's Emergency billing department, which I plan on sending copies of to the CEO of MGH, the Better Business Bureau, JCAHO, and maybe even my state rep, just because I can. I don't even care if they all think I'm some crazy person so long as MGH writes off my bill from November of 2005.

I also went to the dentist today and had the first of three crowns put on. It's weird having a whole tooth where I used to have fragments of one, but I'm pretty jazzed about it. I'm also excited because Joe and I beefed up our health savings accounts to pay for all my crazy dental work (and other health expenses he and I will certainly accrue) so the expense won't seem as painful for us.

The day after tomorrow we're going to my Mom's for Christmas. I guess that's Saturday, but I don't really know what day of the week we're on right now so I'm taking Joe's word for it. Right now I think I'm going to go make a beef pot pie with the left overs from last night's pot roast (and gravy, which I recently learned how to make from Joe's Mom!).

Christmas Time's a coming...

I think we're almost ready for Christmas. At least I am...but Joe says he still has major shopping to do (for me) this weekend. Ever since Thanksgiving we've been avoiding WalMart and most other shopping holes like the plague because of the crowds the holidays bring. While I've been able to do the majority of our Christmas shopping online or at small local stores we've finally reached the point where we need to go shopping for non-Christmas items - stuff like toilet paper, shampoo, etc etc. So tomorrow I'm going to try to get that done before work (at like 7:30am). Then I have a handful of things to pick up at the grocery store after work, no big deal. On Saturday Joe and I are both getting our haircut at the place in the mall (our stylist works there, we love her) and while he's getting his done I'll snag the last two items we need and then I'll get mine cut and go home. Joe says he's going to need a couple hours to shop for me.

After shopping we'll head out to my Dad's for Christmas there. I'm hoping to be there by 2 or so, but realistically we won't make it until 3 or 4. After we're done shopping we still have wrapping to do and then we need to get everything together for our trip to Joe's parents house on Sunday. We're still debating on whether or not we'll come home after my Dad's house and then leave from here on Sunday or if we'll just stay down there and leave from good ol' Little Lake. It will probably depend on how prepared we are to leave, etc. etc. Plus, we should come home and pet the cat before we go to Grayling...he'll never forgive us if we don't.

Tonight I have one last Christmas craft project I need to finish up and hopefully I'll get to do a little wrapping too. We also have to make an appearance at a co-worker's Birthday dinner. I probably should have done some wrapping and stuff last night, but we relaxed, had some pizza, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3. So today, tomorrow, and Saturday will be action packed days...but what's Christmas without chaos, right? :)

Random Christmas Stuff

We put our tree up last weekend while Joe's sister and brother were here. Much to our surprise, HayZeus hasn't destroyed it yet. He's actually made himself a little lair underneath the branches. More often than not (assuming he's not running around the house like a madman) he can be found here:

We also acquired a china cabinet from my Mom and Steve last weekend. Joe put all of the nice glasses and such we got for the wedding on display in it:

Apparently the cat thinks he's one of the nice things we got for the wedding.
On Thursday I stayed up wayyyy too late to finish up my contributions for the cookie exchange at work. I'd regretted signing up the instant I put my name down, but it was too late to drop out so I sucked it up and made up some bags of assorted candies. I don't like making cookies...I don't mind making the dough and putting the first cookie sheet into the oven, but after that I get bored/tired/distracted and I usually end up burning half of them. I try to stick to candy and bars instead.

Unfortunately, by the time I was done with everything on Thursday I was throwing things and swearing a lot. Nothing ever goes right when you're overtired and trying to dip truffles into chocolate that just won't melt correctly. On the plus side of things, I think I'm nearly done with my Christmas confections - I have a batch of Chocolate Raspberry Crumb bars in the oven now and have two more bar recipes I want to try.

Last night was my work Christmas party. The dinner that management put on was fine I guess, although you could tell half the people in the room didn't want to be there. That was the half of the room I was on....along with all of the people that had attended Andy's Pre-Christmas Party Party. We all got together at his house beforehand and worked on a quarter barrel of Bud Light...I think there were about 25 of us there. Words cannot describe my hangover today, but we all had a great time.

We also spent some time yesterday at Joe's co-worker's house for a cookie decorating party. I spent over an hour decorating cookies, and these are all of the ones I made:

Yeah, over an hour on four cookies. This is why I don't make sugar cookies.

Anyway, back to the kitchen to finish up. Then I think I'm going to catch up on ANTM and Grey's via the internet. Toodles~

Baking Woes

On Sunday I started in on my Christmas baking/candy making. I got my ingredients organized, made a couple batches of fudge, and decided I'd finish out the night with a batch or two of Butter Brickle.

Try more like 4 batches...only one of which is edible.

For some reason or another, I was always under the impression that Butter Brickle was difficult to make. So until last year, I never made it. I also don't remember liking it as a kid - crunchy candies weren't my favorites, so I would usually just lick the chocolate off the top and slyly leave the rest on a napkin somewhere. But last year (or the year before?) I decided I would start making my Grandmother's recipe as part of my Christmas confections.

After making it for the first time last year I remember thinking how dumb I was for assuming it was difficult to make. The recipe has 5 ingredients, including the Hershey's bar melted on top! Combine sugar, water, and butter and cook until golden brown (hard crack stage), stirring constantly. Add pecans, put in pan. Rub Hershey bar on top when set but warm. Use wooden spoon and medium heat. So no big deal to make it this year, right?

Wrong.

Everything was going fine until I got to the almost golden brown stage (soft crack stage). Suddenly the butter started separating out and the sugar began to crystallize. By the time I added the pecans and put it in the pan it was a mess! Just a bunch of burnt sugar with butter standing on top. Gross.

So I did what anyone would do. I tossed it and tried again, figuring I'd stirred it too much or not enough or that I'd added something wrong, etc etc. But the same thing happened again.

And again.

At this point, I was in tears because I was so pissed that I'd messed up such an easy recipe. I'd called my Mom and asked for advice, I'd tried adjusting the heat, I'd read like the whole Joy of Cooking, I'd tried everything. I even broke out the candy thermometer, which I never do because I purposely don't make candy that requires one. And still, just burnt sugar with butter on top.

Finally, I started to scour the internet. No way was I going to quit. So I searched and read every candy site I could find. My first problem was that Butter Brickle is really a type of toffee, but once I found that out things were easier to look for and I finally found my answer.

Salt.

I'd picked up butter at the day before, and it was in a cooler with two types: salted and unsalted. I didn't think anything of it...just grabbed the two pounds I needed and went on my way. I'd picked up unsalted butter, which really should make much of a difference in most things....except candy.

Salt, I read, helps to stabilize the mixture, therefore keeping the butter from separating out and the sugar from crystallizing.

Simple chemistry.

I hate chemistry.

Perhaps more now than ever before.

Anyway, my fourth batch finally turned out. I'm certain Joe thought I was insane - crying, growling, yelling out the temp at different crack stages. Total lunatic.

So today I decided I would make another batch before work and a batch of peanut brittle, another easssssssy recipe.

The butter brickle is too soft and the cashew brittle is a watery mess.

I give up. Everyone's getting store bought candy and cookies this year.

The cat has gone bananas

Hayzeus is trying to eat a banana out of the fruit bowl.

I'm sorry, but that's totally fricken weird.

A Snowy Weekend

Over the past 48 hours or so we've gotten somewhere around 8-10 inches or more of snow. I'm loving it. I'm personally of the opinion that if everything is going to look dead and it's going to be cold and gloomy then it might as well be white! Plus, it's just not Christmas unless it's snowy outside. Here's what the trees near our parking lot look like now that it's stopped snowing

Snow puts me in a Christmasy mood, so I've been doing a lot of online shopping. I'm also getting the urge to bake, so I spent some time taking an inventory of the ingredients I have on hand as well as making a master list of everything I'll need. Then I cross checked them and made a grocery list. I've been slowly accumulating baking necessities over the last month or so, which is nice because now I won't have to endure the shock of buying everything at once.

I was also craving chocolate. No, that's not quite the way to put it....I REQUIRED chocolate (you ladies know what I mean). It's been months since I needed chocolate that bad, so I had to make some no-bake cookies, which are like all chocolate (otherwise I probably would have eaten an entire bag of chocolate chips). Not exactly on my diet, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

Mame and Steve got married this past Friday. Mame spent two weeks looking for a dress--buying many and returning all of them before finally settling on one that was soooo the opposite of a wedding dress. Unfortunately, this meant that I had to go shopping with her. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the quality time with Mame, but I'm not a shopper. Mame, on the other hand, has to touch everything in the store. So it's rather excruciating. I almost got my sister to take her, but in the end Missy guilt-tripped me into going along. It was a lot more tolerable with both of us there though. And like I said, quality time with Mom is a plus.

I took Friday off and Mame and I went to the cosmo school and got pedicures, which were good, especially considering they were only $10. Missy came over when she got off work at the hospital and Joe got home about 3 with Missy's boys in tow (he'd picked them up from daycare on his way home). Mame went home to get ready and we all gathered at the courthouse around 3:45. In attendance were: Myself, Joe, Mike, Laura, Missy, Timmy, Odin, Julie, Mame's Boss and her husband, another co-worker, Rick and Cheryl and Lax and Katy (practically aunts and uncles to me) and two couples that are close friends of Mame and Steve.

And so they got married at 4:00. I think the ceremony lasted about 4 minutes and I somehow got appointed the photographer, so I'll share a few:
Before the Ceremony (with the flowers and boutinere that I made for them)

Vows and Such

Rings:

At the restaurant afterwards:

Uber cute pic of Joe and Timmy at dinner



























(For those of you who haven't noticed, I intentionally refer to my mother by her first name. I do this for two reasons: first, to get revenge for my grandmother, who hates that my mom refers to her as Betty, and second, because I've found that she flat out doesn't respond to "mom," no matter how many times you say it, yell it, scream it, etc. etc. So it's not a respect thing. It's just more practical.)

Other than that, Joe and I did very little this weekend. I cleaned the house, read two Harry Potter books (I'm re-reading them all), and sat around in sweats. We've barely left the house really, and it's been wonderful.

In other news, Baxter has decided to restructure Biolife. The company finally figured out that the phlebotomists have the hardest job in the center and that we pretty much control everything from yeild to cost per liter and has thus decided to compensate us accordingly. They gave everyone in the center a raise and also decided to cross train everyone at the basic level for every job in the center. They renamed everyone Plasma Center Technicians (instead of Phlebotomist, Medical Historian, and Sample Prep Tech).

The main phlebotomy team was given a raise on top of the center wide increase and we're all training to become "Master Plasma Center Technicians" because we're all advanced trained in what is now being termed "plasma collections". Once totally trained, this will put us "Master Techs" at more than $4/hour than we all started at - most of the phlebs were given a pretty big bump in pay this week. Unfortunately, I didn't qualify for the first round of raises because I was already the highest paid phleb on the floor (except the few that are already cross trained, because they fell into the new middle position - Sr. Plasma Center Technician). I'm a little bitter about this because I was previously cross-trained (first time I worked there) and have been told for months that I would be retrained in that area, but it never happened. On the other hand, I should be a "Master" by the spring and will get a raise at annual compensation time in addition to the yearly COLA (cost of living adjustment).

In the end it's just a lot of title changing with new, significantly higher, pay ranges for the different titles. Still, it's kind of nice to know they they finally figured out that the success of a plasma center rests on the quality of the phlebotomists. We're no longer the Interrogators and the Bruisers (our old softball team names at the annual center game) because now we're all on the same team....but some of us rock way more than the rest. :)

Hooray for a short week!

It's a three day work week for me this week! The center is closed on Turkey Day, I took Friday off and I don't work Saturdays, so I've got a four day weekend. Score!

Interestingly enough, the only day we aren't celebrating Thanksgiving is on Thursday. Somehow I convinced nearly all my siblings to travel to Kenton to my Mom's house for dinner on Friday and we'll have dinner at my Dad's on Saturday. Most of them have in-laws to visit in Gwinn or Marquette, so this works out best for everyone. I think Joe and I are going to get together with a couple of his brothers that can't get home to see their families.

I'm actually pretty glad we're not eating dinner anywhere special until Friday, as I'm not entirely certain how much I'll be able to chew. I'm having some dental work done on Wednesday...something like 3 crowns, a filling, and something else that sounds unpleasant. I'm going to be at the dentist for 2 and a half hours and she didn't seem to think I'd be very interested in chewing for a while. I'm also not very interested in paying the bill, thank you. Yikes.

This is the first year that Joe and I haven't gone to see his parents for Thanksgiving, mostly because we thought they were going to be in South Dakota. While I wish we could have planned things to see both of our families, I haven't actually been home for Thanksgiving in a couple years. I think we managed to make it to my Dad's last year, but definitely not my Mom's. Plus, I think my Mom is really pleased we're all going to her house. We'd thought about going downstate the weekend after Thanksgiving, but my Mom is getting married that Friday so we had to trash that idea.

And then there's Christmas. I'm trying to get my family to make some decisions about Christmas, but I'm not expecting much. We just nailed down Thanksgiving plans on Friday even though I've been emailing everyone for over a month. We're really still struggling to set traditions since my parents got divorced. We used to all get together on Christmas Eve for the day, people coming and going as needed, then everyone went home so Santa could come and if you were available you came for dinner on Christmas night. Now no one seems to know where to go or when. We usually get together with Dad on the Saturday before or the Saturday after, which works out great, but it seems a little different every year with my Mom. I'm the only one that has to drive more than half an hour to see my in-laws, so it's difficult to get my siblings and parents to have the foresight to plan stuff more than a week ahead of time.

I've decided that this year I'm not going to make the same cookies I always do, mostly because I don't actually like either kind very much. Thus, I'm shopping for recipes. Suggestions welcome!

Alright, off to work.

Worker's Comp

On Monday, I feel at work. In the back of the center we keep all of softgoods (saline, anticoagulant, disposable sets, needles, plasma bags) stacked on pallets. At the end of a shift we have to restock our phlebotomy carts, as well as put back-up stock into bins so they are easy to grab when we use up everything on the donor floor. Unfortunately, our center wasn't really designed to handle the amount of donors we currently process. Thus, the softgood area is very overcrowded, with our boxes of stock stacked too high and wedged against each other. In addition to this problem, the pallets we use are not really safe. They have large divots in them, which are just perfect for say, someone's foot to slip into.

While I was stocking on Monday, these two problems came together. A large box I needed to use to stock our bins was pinned between two large stacks of solutions (saline and AC). In order to get the box out, I needed to get behind it, lift it to chest height, and push it over the boxes it was wedged between. While climbing over the box, my left foot slipped off the edge of the pallet and my right foot slid into one of the divots in the pallet, causing me to fall. The box broke my fall, but my left knee hit the corner of the box, causing me to twist a bit as I landed straddling a box that is about 2.5 feet wide. The stack of boxes behind kept me from falling backwards, but I still still essentially in the splits. My knee started to bruise immediately, so I put some ice on it and filled out an incident report.

On Tuesday, my back started to hurt. Truthfully, I figured it was PMS since that's how it usually starts for me (in hindsight, that was a pretty dumb assumption since it didn't really work out on the calendar). On Wednesday my left hip was hurting, and by Thursday morning my leg was tingly and it hurt to pull my knee to my chest and to rotate my hip outwards. I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep that night. I was a little bewildered - I've had back and hip problems for a majority of my life, but always on my right side, never my left. Finally, it dawned on me that this was probably because of my fall.

I went to work on Friday morning (I'd had Thursday off) and told them about my back. They immediately sent me to Occupational Health to be examined. I was pretty confident that nothing was seriously wrong, since my pain was muscular, but the pain was pretty intense. I'd been taking 800mg of Motrin and it wasn't touching it, so I was mostly looking for some pain relief and a chance to rest, since being at work only made me more miserable.

The doc at occupational health did an extremely quick (albeit pretty thorough) exam and said I'd strained my lumbar region, which I expected. He didn't however, address my hip pain or take any x-rays. He gave me a prescription for Cataflam, which I'd never heard of, and cleared me for work immediately. My shift for the day was over by the time I left the office, so I was able to go home, but I was going to have to work on Saturday. And after looking Cataflam up I discovered he'd basically given me Motrin, which I'd already told him wasn't doing anything for me. Still, I figured he was the doctor, so I followed his orders.

I probably should have called in on Saturday, but I'm stubborn and didn't think I should have to burn my sick time for a work-related injury. In addition to that, we were already significantly short staffed and I like my co-workers too much to strand them so short handed. By the end of my shift I knew that I'd made a mistake, as I was now having shooting pains in my back and the medication wasn't working on my pain. I informed management that I needed to go back to the doc, and since occupational health was closed they sent me to the ER.

The PA at the ER was extremely nice, but he did a horrible job of covering his surprise that I'd been released to work so quick, especially without x-rays or adequate pain control. So we took x-rays, which showed scoliosis but no fracture, and decided I'd strained not only my back but also my hip, probably worse than the doc at Occ. Health had though. He sent me home with Motrin for inflammation and anexsia for pain and wrote orders for a 1-2 days off work and light duty for a week after that. I'm supposed to return for a follow up in 10 days, sooner if I don't get better.

While I understand that these things happen in the workplace, I'm a little frustrated by it. 70% of our incident reports (according to the nurses) are related to the softgood area, and most of the phlebs have commented on how dangerous the new pallets are because of the divots. What bothers me is that I'm nearly certain that my injury, nor anyone else's incident, will change the way things are stocked in the back (because that's how our management rolls). But I'm also not very sure what I'm supposed to do about it, which is even more frustrating. It's not really my style to let these things slide.

Two Hours Later....

The Office is clean!!!


And as a bonus, a super cute pic of the furry one:

What is this, three in a week? Woah!

I think I'm going to try to update a little more often.

No, seriously this time!

Mostly I'm updating right now because I need to clean to house, so I figure if I put it off it will clean itself. Our landlords are coming today with their bank inspector, so I think it's time to clean up the office. Because, um, it's bad:

The Bath and Body works bag in the middle of the picture (by the pillows) contains my wedding dress, veil, and shoes, just stuffed in there. Yikes...don't tell my Mom.

On the plus side of things, they gave us a $5 gift certificate to Family Video for the inconvenience of the inspection. If our rent wasn't so high I would be sad to leave this place when our lease is up.

Another plus-Check out how awesome our bedroom is with our new sheets and duvet:Kitty likes it a lot, and I like it even more because his hair doesn't stick to it as bad and it's a lot easier to wash since it's a duvet. Plus it's a dream to sleep with! :)

In other news, it sounds like out photographer is almost done editing our wedding pics. She sent me a few teasers:
The middle one is the one I've been hoping for...all of the other shots I've posted so far have mostly (but not all) been the work of my sister-in-law Sara, and they are gorgeous! But I was lacking a great one of Joe and I looking at the camera...you know, your classic wedding photo. I'm excited to get a print of it to put in our wedding frame.

Also, we finally purchased a new vehicle. It is inevitable that my car will eventually die (although not soon enough for my liking) and my Dad and Teri offered us their Jeep Cherokee for a great price since they recently purchased a new car. We're both happy to have something with 4 wheel drive for the snowy days that Joe has to drive to Gwinn for work. Otherwise, I'll use it here in town, since I don't do much driving and the Impala gets better gas mileage. I would post a picture, but I'm too lazy to go take one. But since I know you're all dying to know, I will tell you that it's green and has a CD player (hey, those are the first questions I always ask).

Hmm. I guess that's it for now....time to clean the house. :( Tonight I'm making cookies or other baked good for the kiddie Halloween party at Joe's work tomorrow. Any ideas on some neat-o Halloween themed goodies? Shoot them my way!

Toodles!

Marital Bliss, etc etc

Ok, so now that I have that massive post about the wedding all set, I can update on everything that's happened since the wedding.

Our honeymoon was a blast. We took 400+ pictures and I'm working on posting them (along with all of the wedding pics) on a photo sharing site for everyone to see. I'll keep y'all updated.

We put an offer in on a house, but it got rejected and we refuse to pay any more than we offered, so we're back to looking.

This last weekend we finally had the time to open and put away our wedding presents. At least most of them...our second bedroom is a WRECK, but at least the rest of the house is finally clean. It's just the cat's room anyway!

I was offered and accepted a full time position at work, which makes me happy. I pretty much work full time now (I average 34 or so hours/week) but now I'm guaranteed 40 hours and only a few, if any Saturdays. Also, when I take vacation or sick time I get paid for 8 hours instead of 4. Score!

I have successfully written all of our thank you notes and sent almost all of them out (gotta buy more stamps). Joe helped too - he was the adhesion specialist (he licked the envelopes, put on the stamps, and attached the return address labels). I'm glad to have that done, although I must admit I really don't mind writing thank you notes.

I'm trying to get my family to start coordinating Holiday plans, which is proving to be difficult...ugh...

We were given a KitchenAid Countertop Mixer for the wedding. Thus, it seems like all I've done since the wedding is bake, which means I have a lot more cookies and a lot less room in my jeans....yikes.

I officially changed my name, but my bank just can't seem to wrap their minds around it. They want me to hyphenate SO bad. But I can't, because legally I'm not hyphenated. Plus I don't want to. And then they get mad at me when I call them to tell them my name is wrong on my debit card or statement..."well your name change card has a hyphen on it"...which I can guarantee I didn't put there. So I finally just had to convince them to skip any middle initials and put my first and last name ONLY on the card. And that still took two tries.

I started Christmas Shopping the other day, and I'm a little...wierded out by that. I mean, it's not even Halloween...but it will feel soooo good to have it done early...

I think we are going to go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight. I've never been before, and neither has Joe. Tomorrow we're going to a costume party. I'll post pics of our costumes.

OH! We found our camera, which had been missing since before the wedding. It was tucked in a gift bag in the second bedroom, perhaps from the bridal shower. I'm so glad we found it!

The Wedding

Hmm, I'm not even sure where to begin on this one topic (could be a long blog!). I guess the weekend officially started when I got out of work at 6 the Wednesday before the big day. When I got home, Joe was just arriving after picking up Erika, the first of my bridesmaids to get here. Then we picked up Kristy and Cason (MOH and Usher/recently engaged best friend and her fiance). Later that night/early Thursday morning Crystal arrived and our house was officially chaotic.

Thursday was a day of running errands: getting my engagement ring cleaned, my haircut, Kristy's hair cut, picking up the cake server from the engraver, gathering up the last minute supplies I needed for Joe's wedding gift, buying some beads for some jewelry items Kristy was going to make, that sort of thing. And everything went beautifully, until I realized that my flowers weren't here like they were supposed to be...

The plane our flowers were coming from California on hit a really bad storm. So bad, in fact, that the windshield of the plane cracked and it had to make an emergency landing. We found this out after many, many phone calls to the wholesaler and my friend Derek who works at UPS, and it eventually became clear that the flowers would not be arriving until Friday afternoon. Since the flowers were supposed to rest overnight before we arranged them, this was a problem, but the girls at the wholesaler assured me that it would be fine to arrange them Friday night after the rehearsal dinner. This was clearly not great news, but since I couldn't really do anything about it I decided it wasn't an issue. My Mom certainly thought it was (and in the end she was right), but I did what I could to calm her down and not let her freak me out.

Thursday night Becky, Fonsi, and Chris arrived, as did Brad (B. Man), Lauren (bridesmaid), Ruth (Joe's Mom), Teresa (best friend) and Kurt (Usher/cousin). I made a huge batch of spaghetti for everyone and we all ate and drank a couple (read: Mary had like 5, oops) glasses of wine (it was from a box, therefore weak) before Crystal kicked us out of the kitchen - she had a cake to bake!! So we all did the smartest thing we could think of - we went to the Third Base.
9 am Friday brought us our nail appointments, and about....930 am brought me a ridiculous hangover. I asked Missy (sister/Matron of Honor) to get me some orange juice, she brought me champagne. By the time my nails were done and my feet were pedicured I was ready for bed and possibly an IV. I was home for about 20 minutes before the flowers arrived though, so I was kicked back into action mode (arguably the best cure for a hangover, although it never seems that way at the time...). Kristy, Missy, Julie, Erika, and myself went to the hotel to get the flowers in water, after the super team of groomsmen hauled all of the decorations, flowers, luggage, and whatever else I asked them to take to the hotel. They were great!

We got the flowers in water, cut the stems (mostly Missy on that one), and peeled the outer later of petals off of the ones that needed it. We'd been in the hotel room for about 3 hours and it was TRASHED - it looked like the jungle book had puked on the floor. But we left it like that and went to the Church for rehearsal.

The rehearsal was pretty typical, minus these details: This was the first wedding the priest had done, so I basically ran the rehearsal. During the mock processional was the first time my Mother was informed that my sister was a bridesmaid. Teresa informed me that my Mother is now engaged. You know, run of the mill stuff.

After the rehearsal a lot of the bridal party went to the Landmark for a drink (resulting in a chunk of them being wasted at dinner), but Kristy and I went straight to the Villa. Honestly, I still don't know where my husband to be was at the time...which was pretty much the case until I walked down the aisle. Anyway, the rehearsal dinner was great - we ate pizza and salad and everyone got a chance to mingle. Perfect.Back at the hotel we started arranging the flowers. At least, most of us did. One of my bridesmaids was MIA (a theme for the weekend!) and a couple of other people that were supposed to be helping out didn't come through. It worked out though, because we had some unexpecteds show up - like my Aunt from Colorado, my Mom's friend Cindy (that I've known all my life, but met for the first time that Friday?), and a few other wanderers. Turns out that I'm either a)really bad at flower arranging or b) was too distracted to actually arrange them. Thank goodness for the Moms here...they slaved away all night.

Glenn came around 10 or so to put my hair into curlers, which is about the time that my Grandma showed up and told me I was too young to get married. Then there was a fiasco with the front desk being idiots, which I corrected while in my curlers and face mask (that was fun!) and eventually I went to bed. I think I slept for like....3 hours. Yeesh.In the morning we ordered bagels and Glenn came to do our hair. Mine was just how I wanted it, and I can't even tell you how great my sister's was! He also did my Moms and Kristy's. This happened at everyone was still scrambling to arrange flowers and as my sister-in-law Laura and niece Brooklynne slaved on the reception space. Suddenly it was time for me and bridesmaids to go for pictures and we realized we didn't have a way to get to pictures...so we called in Steve, Mom's fiance. He bussed us to the Cemetery for pics, which were a lot of fun (especially the ones where my bridesmaids somehow got me up on a tree branch without killing me).
Then is was back to the hotel for a break before the Church.

This is when things started to get sticky for me. Suddenly I couldn't remember my vows, my Mom was freaking out, and I wanted to take off my dress and sit quietly. So I did. And while I sat there, my bridesmaid stood 4 feet away talking about whether or not I was ok. Two of them were like..."wow, she's so calm"...and my sister took one took at me rocking on my heels and was like..."Yeah, not so much. Someone get her a drink"...and Kristy was already pouring me a glass of wine. Sister in law Sara (who was with us taking pictures-gorgeous ones!) ran to McDonalds to get us something to eat and then we again realized we had no way to get to the Church. So we drove ourselves...good idea for the bridesmaids maybe, bad idea for me.

I went to the wrong Church.

Kristy very calmly informed me that I was, in fact, at the wrong church and I pulled out the parking space I was working on parking in and carried on to the correct Church. Once at the Church, it felt like things were falling apart at the seams. The groomsmen didn't have their boutineers yet, so Lauren tried to pass them out, but gave the wrong ones to the wrong people...we didn't have any pins for the flowers...my hair was going flat on one side....one of my bridesmaids was being a real pain in the ass....my cousin (who was supposed to wrangle the flower people) was running late...and my Mom was missing...WITH MY DRESS. (It should be noted that she was probably late because she was arranging flowers til the last minute)

So I sat in the nursery of the Church with my Brother In Law Troy while we watch his 2 year old and our 3 year old nephew play. Sometimes I paced, sometimes I rocked on my heels, sometimes I just sat and took deep breaths, solaced by the fact that I knew Missy was somewhere on a cell phone screaming at my mother.

Literally 2 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start, my Mom could be seen running through the church with a very large pink bag (my dress). And so we were ready to start.

I was in such a hurry to get down the aisle that I really didn't wait for everyone to stand before I started. The ceremony was beautiful...Joe was as unprepared as I was when it came to stuff we were supposed to memorize, and I thought I was holding it together pretty well until HE started to cry, at which point I lost it. And the whole chuch "awwwww"ed when he pulled a kleenex out of his pocket for me. His vows were perfect, so much so that I had trouble reading mine, and I had a really hard time not leaning over and telling him all about all the things that had happened since I'd seen him last.

During one of the readings though, I did lean over and ask "Joe, did you bring the marriage license?" We sent my cousin Kurt to get it after the ceremony. :)

And then, before we knew it, we were pronounced husband and wife:

After that it was pictures, pictures, pictures. Then we took the limo to the beach and took more pictures. The reception was amazing...even my sister's drunken speech! :) The food was great, the cake was gorgeous and delicious ( I have no idea how to even begin thanking Crystal for that cake...it was so amazing!), and I danced until Joe dragged me from the floor. I was rather shocked when I started crying while dancing with my Dad, but the song he picked was great (and he sung parts of it to me!). My maid of honor followed me around all night with water, and Joe and I made sure we said hello to every person there. Finally, at the end of the night, Joe informed me that I was to meet him in our room in 15 minutes.

I went to my room and gathered up my stuff and stopped at the front desk for a key to our suite. And I would kill for a picture of me hold my train in one arm and dragging my suitcase with the other as I walked down the sidewalk to the annex of the hotel, where our room was.

Joe met me in the hallway, took my suitcase from me, and picked me up to carry me into the room (like in the movies!!). Inside the room there were no less than 50 candles lit, and the jacuzzi tub in the room was full and bubbling. I was speechless.

I think I've always had pretty high expectations when it came to the idea of my wedding and they were certainly met, if not exceeded. A few things went wrong here and there, which is unavoidable, but it was still the way I always wanted it. But what I finally figured out is this: while all the details make for great memories, the only thing that really matters is the person across from you when you say your vows. And I never could have expected to see such an amazing man standing there.

Getting it together

After a series of long, focused, deep breaths I finally think things are totally under control. And I haven't even gone to see my shrink yet! :)

Of course it's probably a bad idea for me to do the deep breathing thing right now, since I just filled the room with chemicals from the spray glitter I just shot my veil with....No matter though!

I had Friday off from work, so I spent the day sending out some emails to get a few things organized and trying to get the house picked up. Truthfully Joe and I never have a dirty house (because neither one of us can stand it) but it does occasionally get cluttered, which is just as bad in my book. So I did what I could to take care of that. Last night and tonight I concentrated on the "office" because it was trashed with everything from shower gifts (we've decided not to start using anything until after the wedding when we have everything) to wedding decorations to my bridal emergency kit.

What's a bridal emergency kit, you ask? Well, it's a collection of things that a bride might need on her big day. Things like:

• Hair pins and bobbie pins
• gum
• mints (because if I so much as think about popping my gum during the ceremony Joe might leave me at the altar)
  
• bottled water
• straws (so I don't mess up my lipstick while staying hydrated)
• granola bars (you never know when I'll get hungry)
• clear nail polish (for running panty hose...not that I'm going to wear those pain-in-the-ass things
• hair ties
• Tide (TM) stain pen
• cold medicine (non-drowsy)
• motrin
• safety pins
• tampons, etc
• lotion
• chapstick
• bandaids
• tums

Anyway, I have tamed the office. I even took some arts and crafts time to write all of our attendants' names on ribbons to tie on their champagne glasses and to make super-sweet reserved signs using left over invitation paper and a wax sealer. So it looks pretty good (well, right now there's an old sheet on the floor and my veil is hanging from the fan, but that's temporary).

I have at least one last WalMart run to make for a few random things and I'll need to get some groceries on Tuesday or Wednesday before the wedding so I can feed the people staying in our house. On Thursday I'm going to make spaghetti so that everyone that's in town won't have to go out to eat and all that. We have a white board keeping track of everyone's arrival....flight times, where they are staying, who's picking them up...the works.

Tomorrow Joe and I are going to tackle our bedroom, which is pretty cluttered (his help in contingent on his health...he is STILL sick). Then next weekend we'll super clean the house and make sure we have all of our bedding washed for the people staying here (we have a FULL house) and all that.

Today we picked up our wedding rings. I was going to have Joe's engraved with an Irish Gaelic saying, but he picked out a titanium ring, so that's out of the question. I do need to take our cake server to the engraver though. Joe purchased flasks for his groomsmen (minus his brother, who he is still shopping for) and he's going to have them engraved when they arrive. I got some super cute stuff for my bridesmaids, but I can't say what they are since some of them read my blog.

Tonight I organized all of our decorations into boxes. There is a specific box for the church and for the gift opening (not really decorations so much as napkins, cups, etc) and the ones for the reception are all labeled with the contents. I typed up some instructions for decorating - I've put Teresa and Julie in charge of decorating, but they are definitely going to need some help. I'll have to see what kind of bodies I can come up with.

This week I really only need to work on emailing everyone who's invited to the rehearsal dinner and getting together the wedding weekend itinerary. Oh, and figuring out how to get my Mom to show up on time to everything.... :) Just kidding Mom....I already have a plan for that! :)

Night!

Feeling Better

After a rough couple of days I'm feeling better, more relaxed, and less exhausted. Oddly enough, I think the trick was to take a break from everything I thought I needed to do.

On Monday and Tuesday this week I worked from 9:30 am to 6-ish pm, and when you're at work for the entire business day it's very difficult to get anything done. Pair that with feeling exhausted and it's no wonder I started to stress out!

On Wednesday I didn't have to be to work until 2, so I went for my final dress fitting and met with our photographer in the morning (I try to stay on Joe's sleep schedule no matter what time I work, so I tend to be pretty productive in the morning). Knowing that my dress is altered, paid for, etc was nice as was getting the details of pictures worked out. I love out photographer. She's totally laid back but very professional and seems to have a great sense of what kind of photos we want. I'm certain we'll be pleased with her work - plus she's about 1/3 of the cost of other photographers (because it's kind of a moonlighting thing for her).

I also made a doctor's appointment for next Friday. I'm not thrilled because it's with my previous psychiatrist at MGH, but she was the first available and I'm fairly certain she'll respect my wishes for meds. Unfortunately she has zero personality and tends to fall back onto older meds...but we'll see.

Wednesday night I decided that when I got home I was going to do nothing but relax and rest. So instead of organizing the reception decorations like I planned on doing or writing my vows like I need to do, I sat on the couch and watched a movie. Joe recently complained he needed to get to bed earlier...and then admitted that really he just needed me to shut up once we were in bed! So I told him to make a point to chat with me sometime before bed without the TV on or the computer on one of our laps. Apparently that was the trick, because when we went to bed I didn't keep him up talking....nor did I keep myself up thinking.

Today I felt great. I worked 7:30-1:30, which is one of my favorite shifts and ran a few errands once I got out (returned some wine glasses to WalMart, bought the mints and nuts for the tables at the reception, picked up the flowergirl's dress from the seamstress). Joe left work early today so we could go get a marriage license and then we went and looked at a house in the Harvey area. Unfortunately that's when the night went slightly downhill...because we came home and accidentally took a nap for 2+ hours.

This was probably best for Joe, who's been sick allllll week, but not so much for me. Now it's midnight and I'm AWAKE. I've decided to use the energy to be productive (after I'm done blogging) and make sure I'm sleeping by 130 so that when I get up tomorrow at 730 I'm still relatively well rested. Still, I might have to take a sleep aid.

But for now I'm going to go put my Proactiv Refining Mask on my face, a white strip on my teeth, and see what I can get accomplished in the next hour.

It was only a matter of time....

...before I started to stress out.

I'm not really sure why I'm stressing out (I mean besides the obvious getting married in 17 days thing). Things are falling into place just fine. I'm well organized, have most things ready to go, and have a boat load of willing, helpful people just a phone call away.

But my oh my am I stressed.

I'm still functioning well and all that, but not with the ease I crave. And I've been so easily pushed to the path to negative town lately. Like on Saturday when I had to defer a donor for 8 weeks because of a red blood cell loss....he was super upset because apparently we were his only source of income. Of course I feel horrible for him, but normally I can let it go. I'm still dwelling on it 5 days later and it makes me sad. When I feel like this all of the sadness in the world jumps up and slaps me in the face.


I've also felt pretty much exhausted for the past few days, but don't do so well with falling asleep. I'll be too tired to do anything productive so I'll go to bed...and be up for another hour thinking of things I could have gotten done that day. It takes everything I've got to keep me in bed instead of getting up and cleaning the house, running to WalMart, writing a to-do list, etc etc. So instead the house is a wreck, I write my to-do list in the morning, and try my hardest to relax at night. And occasionally take a benadryl to put me to sleep.

So it looks like I probably need to go to the doctor. Problem is I don't actually have a doctor (yes yes save me the lectures, I know). I don't have any urge to see any of the psychiatrists that MGH has to offer, I haven't found any others up here, and I'm not sure who's in my network insurance wise.

Oh, and on a side note...Joe's insurance with his new job is outstanding, with one minor defect - his mental health benefits are a joke. Ugh!

Guess I should probably stop typing and start making some phone calls.

blogging it up

Busy isn't even the word for how things have been lately. Yeesh.

Wedding plans are going well, although according to my checklist on theknot.com I'm like 80 items behind....whatever. As the date gets nearer I feel myself getting a little more anxious, but I still have a feeling that I have things under control. I guess I'll find out soon!

I've been having dreams about the wedding lately, and they're not good. I've been seeing groomsmen show up in camo and jeans, my hair look like a bee's nest, and some other interesting and disturbing things. Supposedly this is all normal, but it's still unsettling.

My dress was supposed to be in over a week ago and I haven't heard about it yet, so I'm going to call today. I need to go try it on so I can buy the stuff to wear under the dress...sooner the better. So far I have shoes, jewelry, veil, hairpiece, garter, and a bag. Kristy's mom made me a bag and garters and they're really pretty. Glenn and I are still working on my hairstyle, but we're planning on getting together sometime next week to try some stuff out.

In other news, Joe and looked at a house last week when we were in between bouts of the stomach flu. The house we saw is TRASHED. It looks like the people that lived there before got chased out of town or something. They left the fridge and chest freezer full of food (there hasn't been power to the house for months....YUCK), kids bikes in the yard, pictures on the wall, and the place was just filthy. Still, it has some serious potential. The place is structurally sound, but it needs lots of paint, new floor coverings, and I'd personally gut the bathroom. Right now we're looking into what it would cost money and time wise to do all that stuff. The house is extremely cheap - it's listed at least $40,000 less that similar (but cleaner) houses in the surrounding area are selling for right now. If we bought it, our mortgage payment + taxes + insurance + utilities would be less than we pay in rent right now. So we're thinking about it.

This and that

I love the mornings that I get to sit home and drink coffee before I have to get my day started. As much as I like getting out of work earlier in the day, I usually enjoy my afternoon shifts much, much more. Even though we're 10 times as busy in the evenings and I'd prefer to be home around 5 or 6 when Joe gets done, I really like the people I work with in the afternoons. Plus, we often form impromptu gatherings for after work. Last night we decided that we would all go out to Presque Isle and grill out once the center was closed (about 8pm). We had a great turnout and we were out there until about 10:30. It was a blast...I wish I would have brought my camera!

On days when I have an afternoon shift I usually have to be to work between 12 and 3, depending on my schedule. On those days I try to get up about the time Joe leaves for work (7:30ish or so) so I can get some things accomplished, like run errands, grab breakfast with a friend, clean the house, and so on. I also frequently see clients for the paramedical company during these times. It leaves me with a sense of accomplishment about my day. Today my task list is pretty small, but still significant.

The most important thing on my list for today is to find a dentist. I've had dental insurance for months, but I'm not a huge fan of the dentist. Plus, knowing that I need a significant amount of work isn't a great motivator. My childhood dentist is in the area and I could easily go to him, but I'm just not impressed with him. He did a root canal for me just before I moved to TC and that tooth cracked and broke off on Halloween last year. Also, I have so many cavities (mostly from when I was young) that my fillings are actually causing me to have more cavities because they provide crevices for bacteria and such to create more problems. My dentist in TC recommended I have inlays put on many of my teeth - basically they'll remove the fillings and place one solid piece over the top of my tooth, sort of like a crown but not around the whole tooth. In addition to that I need to crown the broken root canal tooth and I'm sure I'll have to look at options for one or two of my baby teeth, which is a whole other issue.

When you're born, you have both your baby and adult teeth in your skull, waiting to come in. I was born without 5 of my adult teeth, so those particular baby teeth never got replaced. One of them abscessed when I was 15, so I have a double porcelain bridge where it used to be in my mouth. I still have the other four, and while they are holding up, at least one of them is starting to decay at the gum line. So we'll have to problem solve for that one.

Before I was 16, my dental insurance wasn't too interested in covering all of these bridges and such because of my age. But I continued to see my dentist regularly from age 16-22, so I'm left wondering why he didn't suggest any of these solutions that the dentist in TC did. I had excellent insurance (my Dad works for the State) so they would have been nearly covered in full. This leads me to the conclusion that he either didn't know about these technologies or just didn't practice them. He is probably closed to retirement anyway.

So today I will find a dentist. I'm hoping to max out my coverage by the time Joe and I get married, then get added to his plan and max that out before they both reset next year. I plan on carrying both of our dental insurances until I'm done with all the work in there and then we'll drop one.

Also on my list of things to do today are the following: get the title of my car switched into my name (it's in my Mom's although I don't know why) so we can possibly trade it in for the truck we're buying, go to Alltel and discuss an issue with some incoming calls I've been having with my cellphone, catch up on my paramedical work, and possibly start the search for a psychiatrist here in Marquette. I'm not real excited about that last one - I've seen or worked with most of the shrinks up here and I don't like any of them, but I'd prefer to not manage my bipolar disorder through my primary care. She's a wonderful doctor, but she's not an expert. Sadly, my therapist retired while I was in TC, and while I'm not certain I need one right now I know I should probably look for a new one. *sigh*

Well, I'm off the to coffee pot and the rest of the day!

ugh.

I am sick.

I started feeling icky on Monday or Tuesday, but I thought I was experiencing seasonal allergies. I normally get allergies in the fall in the form of a scratchy throat, sneezing, and eventually the loss of my voice for a couple days. So when I started to get a sore throat Monday night I wasn't concerned. Tuesday brought some nasal congestion and Wednesday a dry, hacking cough. On Thursday my throat was wicked sore after work - just the sensation of air passing over it was painful. By Friday this has subsided a bit and my cough had become productive, so I figured I was on the upswing.

I was wrong. By the time I got to work my breathing was pressured and slightly painful, my pulse was in the 120's, and around 3:30 or 4 I spiked a fever of 101.7 (I'm sure I was a sight hooking myself up to the IVAC on the donor floor, but once I suspected a fever I knew I needed to confirm it and go home).

For the past week it's been in the high 80's in Marquette, which means our apartment is in the high 1000's. Still, when Joe got home he found me on the couch wrapped in a couple of blankets, still in my scrubs. The end table was covered in all of my sick-time necessities: sudafed, tylenol, a thermometer, cough medicine, kleenex, and propel, and my baby blanket was wrapped around my head to keep the light out because it hurt my eyes.

I don't deal with being sick very well.

I had to call into work this morning. I probably should have called in last night, but I always assume I'll have a miraculous recovery. I hate calling in sick. So much so that I had quite a few (most likely drug induced) dreams about it. Turns out I actually called in twice this morning because I couldn't decide if I'd dreamed that I called in or if I actually had.

I slept a lot today and have been feeling better in patches (right now is one of them). I woke up drenched in sweat around 4am, so I'm assuming that's when my fever finally broke. It's been under 100 ever since. I can't kick the headache or the cough and my body still feels like it's been hit by a truck, but I think I'm getting better. Based on the progression of my illness I'm guessing it's viral, but if I get another fever or am not feeling drastically better tomorrow I'll probably go to the doctor. For now it's fluids and rest though.

As I mentioned, I'm a huge baby when I'm sick. I'm whiny and pissy and not fun to be around. Joe has been doing a wonderful job taking care of me, which he attributes to the fact that (these are his words, not mine) the only time he gets to take care of me is when I'm sick because I'm always taking care of him when I'm not sick. It's very sweet of him to say that...but I know I'm a huge pain in the ass right now...so he gets some big time kudos. :)

Wedding stuff

As the weeks go by I've been picking away at all of the wedding plans we need to get into place. So far, here's what we've accomplished:

• I've chosen my dress and gotten measured for it.
• My bridesmaids have all been measured/ordered their dresses. As of right now I'm short a bridesmaid, but I'm not concerned about it.
• Joe has picked out the tuxedos for himself, my Dad, the groomsmen, our ushers, and his Dad (if his Dad chooses to wear one).
• We have booked a DJ and a photographer.
• The Ramada is booked for the reception and we've set aside rooms for our out of town guests. We'll also have the gift opening there on Sunday.
• Joe's sister has agreed to make our cake! (And Joe's brother's birthday cake).
• We've chosen the readings and Gospel for the ceremony.
• We've purchased various decorations and favors.
• The flowers are picked out and ready to order from www.2groses.com
• We've purchased the paper, envelopes, and other necessary items for the invitations.
• I've booked a hairdresser for myself and my bridesmaids.
• I've set a date for my bridal shower/bachelorette party (Aug. 24).

I'm sure we've gotten some other things accomplished, but here's what I know we need to get donw soon:

• Print, cut, assemble, and address the invitations
• Purchase postage
• Choose/ask ushers
• Choose a flower girl
• Arrange transportation for the day
• Nail down the details of the rehearsal dinner/bbq

We had a wedding planning session on Monday with some of the wonderful people at St. Paul's that are helping us through this process. Our ceremony plans are coming along well, but there are a few keys things we need here too:

• Confirm musicians
• Choose a few more pieces of music and corresponding performers.
• Ask a few people to be readers.
• Chose the specific language we'd like the presider to use
• Set up our pre-marital counseling

All in all I think things are going well, but there's still a lot to do. I guess I better get to it!

Grand Island Adventures

Traditionally Memorial Day Weekend is a weekend that my family camps. Half of them canoe down the Escanaba River and settle in Rock, MI and the other half settle in on Anderson Lake for the weekend. Last year Joe and I joined the crew at Anderson Lake and were planning on heading out to Rock this year, but it seems no one followed "tradition." For a number of reasons the Rock trip was canceled completely and the Anderson Lake faction changed locations to Little Lake, across the lake from our camp. This made Joe and I scratch our head a bit.

Because no one was going to be in Rock and neither of us wanted to go camping across the lake from camp, we decided to head out to Grand Island with Dad and Teri for the weekend. Grand Island is located just off of Munising in the UP (www.grandislandmi.com). It's approximately 23 square miles and it part of the Hiawatha National Forest. Most of the island is owned by the US Forest Service but there are a few chunks of privately owned land. Teri has a cabin on a piece of land that is on a 99 year lease from the USFS right on Echo Creek and also owns a small parcel on the "Thumb" of the island.

We were a bit rushed to get out the Munising to catch the hopper, but Joe did a wonderful job of getting us packed and ready to go while I was at work. Dad met us at Williams Landing and loaded our stuff into the "Ghost," which is an old utility truck they keep on the island for quick transport. It's about 4 miles from the landing to camp, so it's nice to not have to haul all of our stuff.

Once we got settled we decided to go fishing on Echo Lake, which is one of the largest beaver-made lakes in the world. Teri's Dad keeps a boat at the Echo Lake landing for fishing with a little 4 HP motor on it and my Dad told us to take their poles down and hop on in. When we were about 20 feet off the shore Joe informed me that he'd never actually operated an outboard motor, but soon got it started anyway. We motored about 3/4 of the way across the 1 mile long lake trolling the whole way. Joe asked if I wanted to keep trolling or if we should "risk turning off the motor." I told him to turn it off, as my Dad had assured us it would start up with some effort.

About 15 minutes later it started to rain and the wind had pushed us almost all the way to the north shore, so we decided to head back to camp. Joe began to work on getting the motor started and soon we realized that it wasn't going to start! So I said well, if we're going to be stuck out here, we might as well fish. Suddenly, I got a bite! Moments later we hauled the biggest fish I've ever caught into the boat - a northern pike! I was pumped, but Joe didn't seem that impressed. But it should be noted that it was raining, he hadn't had the chance to do much fishing, and I began singing a little song that went like this:

"I caught a great big fish, a great big fish, a great big fish! I caught a great big fish and you didn't catch anything!"

Hey, I was excited.

At this point we realized we might as well row the boat to the other side of the lake. The problem was we only had one oar. After about 10 minutes of me paddling and getting us nowhere, Joe took over and paddled us all the way back to shore stopping only when I said "Honey, get the net!" as I hauled in 2 more pike. (Note - I thought these fish were HUGE, but it turns out they were just over legal.). By the time we made it back to camp my Dad was super worried (He'd come down to the landing but couldn't see us, and while he knows I'm a strong swimmer he was concerned) and we'd missed dinner but we'd had a blast. We got something to eat and settled in to play some cards.

The highlight of the next day (other than the awesome breakfast we had) was digging for wild leeks. Leeks are a cousin of onions and they grow like crazy on the island. So we went off the find them, and boy did we ever! We went through the woods and found hundreds and hundreds of leek clumps like these:
So what you do it take a spade and dig up around the clump because if you try to pull them up they snap right off. The root system on these things is crazy. After filling two huge garbage bags with leek clumps we went back to camp to clean them up. When they've been cleaned they look like this:

Joe and I ended up with two big ziplock bags full of leeks - that's a TON! So far I've made about 1/3 of them into stock that I put in the freeze and made Tortellini Leek soup with another 1/3. The soup I made equates to about three meals for Joe and I, so I froze a bunch. Here's how I made the soup:

I sauteed the leeks and a little bit of onion in some butter. When they were caramelized I de-glazed the pan with some chicken brother and added some pepper. Then I added some baby spinach until it was well wilted as well as some crumbled bacon. I added more chicken brother and some water before adding fully cooked three cheese tortellini. To serve I topped it with asiago, Parmesan, and Romano cheese. It was awesome. I got the idea from Teri, who's an excellent cook.

Today I'm probably going to make Potato Leek soup in a similar way, but this will be a cream based soup. I also found a recipe for leek and wild mushroom wine sauce that's to be paired with Salmon. Yum!

Sunday night we played some card and sung songs by the campfire while Dad and Teri played the guitar and on Monday Joe and I took the four wheeler over the Trout Bay, which is were we camped last year after reading "The Face In The Rock" by Loren Grahm. It's the story of a famous Grand Island Chippewea and I highly recommend the book. Here are some pictures of Trout Bay from last year:
All in all we had a great weekend. We're hoping to make it back out there a couple more times this summer - once to camp on Trout Bay and once to hang out with Dad and Teri at the cabin. We're both in love with the island.