Time is just flying by

Well it has been another very long time since my last update. We are still doing well here. After all the cool thing that my aunt made me while she was here, i decided to take a quilting class and the local quilt shop. I have always loved to have homemade things from family and friends, and now I can start making them!! t has been a really great experience and my good friend, Steph is there with me, so we are learning together!! Dan had been hunting for the last few weeks. He and Steve Best spent a weekend at the farm in October and did some pheasant hunting and a lot of beer drinking. Then opening day of deer season, Dan went with dad. Needless to say, an hour after deer season opened, they both had their deer. We are enjoying the jerky, sausage and slim jims!!

That's all for now!!

It has been awhile!!

OK, well I have fallen behind and stopped updating this. I am going to try to get better. We have had a busy summer and I can't believe that we experienced our first snow this morning. This summer was full, but we also were able to spends some time away. In August, Dan and I went to Minnesota to visit Jim, Dan's brother. We took in a couple of Twins games and spent time with Jim, his girlfriend Lisa and her daughter Allie. We had a great time and enjoyed our time away. Part of August and most of September, my aunt and uncle from Oregon came to visit. We had a BLAST, like we always do!! It was so fun to have them around and we miss them when they leave. They are off to continue their new adventure of full time travelers. We can't wait till they move to ND!! Neil seemed to really find his true calling as a farmer!! He just has to ride the steer on the farm yet and then we will call him a true cowboy!!!

In September, we made the trip to Indiana for Dan's brother Charles' wedding!! We had a blast and the wedding was beautiful!! We spent the first night in Indianapolis, just the two of us!! We ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe and played in an arcade for 3 hours. We had the best time together. Then is was off to Bloomington for rehersal and the wedding. The day turned out to be great and we had such a great time. On Sunday we went back to Indianapolis for the night and decided we needed to visit the zoo. We got there just in time to see a dolphin show, which was amazing. I think they are the most amazing creatures on earth. We really had a great time.

Dan is doing well with his job. He was promoted to E6 in July and has been working hard. I made a change in jobs in August. I am still at Stark County Social Services, but I am working with the elderly and disabled. it was a hard transition, but I am enjoying it and I am finally relaxing!! We have officially been living in Dickinson together for a year now and we are enjoying every minute together!! I will try to update more often!!

Planting the garden...

So, I decided that since we have a garden spot at the house here, I will try my hand at a garden. I have grown up watching my mom & dad plant gardens, but never really took a huge interest in it. My grandma Klein also planted gardens, but her style was a little different that my mom and dad's!! So last Thursday, Dan borrowed a tiller and did the garden spot. The dogs loved it and decided that it was their new play area. Dan and I talked about needing to get something to go across so the dogs could not come in. Dan decided to go and find something before we planted. I love Dan dearly and when it comed to hunting, fishing, hockey or Twins Baseball, he has the knowledge. When it comes to around the house things, he is sometimes clueless!! I should have know that this may be a difficult task for him after it took his 3 hours, and 3 doorknobs, to change the locks on 2 of the doors at the house!! So Dan came home very proud of himself the he only paid $14 to get a fence to go across the garden. I walked out to the back yard and find that he got this wire landscaping fence that is about a foot high. Now lets take a look at the two types of dogs that we have, Trigger is a 96 LB Lab and Mattie is a schnauzer that has the attitude of " I do what I want". needless to say it took about 2 minutes for them to get over the fence!! Oh well, he tried!! We will be putting something a Little better in this week!!
So I ended up planting the garden on Saturday morning. I combined a little of how my mom and dad do it and a little how Grandma did it!! Mom and dad measure everything out and do everything according to the package. Grandma had better things to do and would just throw all the seed in the garden and let it all co-habitat!!! Well I made the rows, but then just threw the seed in the rows and covered it up!! I had other things to do also!! The tanning bed was calling my name and I could hear in the distance that Maurice's was having a big sale, so the priorities were set!! We we will see how things go, I will keep you posted on how the garden works!!

New adventures in the future!

I will be changing positions at Stark County Social Services. I am currently working 20 hours in 2 of the elementary schools, which I will keep. The other part of my job is called Family Group Decision Making (FGDM) which is through a contract with the Village Family Services in Bismarck. That is the part that I will be happy to be done with. Since it was funded through a Bush Grant, our funding would run out in October. They did work with the Department of Human Services and the legislature this year, but they did not pass the bill with FGDM in it. That in turn means that they are cutting my program, the end of June. I am excited to be moving on. I know that it is a good program, but it is a hard sell in a community where people don't want others to know their business. Dickinson has that small town feel, with some big town amenities. My contract will end on June 30th.
My new adventure will be Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) or sometimes referred to elder care. I am very excited to be taking this on. I truly think I will enjoy working with the elderly and those who can remain in their homes with assistance. I think it will be a rewarding job and will keep me busy. I am very excited to broaden my horizons, there is so much a person can do with a Social work degree and I am fortunate to have done a lot of it. There are so many different funding sources for the elderly and it will be great to learn all of them, since we will someday have elderly parents!! I will try to keep this updated to let you know how the transition is going!!
Oh and 1 more thing, I got a new to me car. We decided that we had enough with the Rendevous. It spent way too much time in the shop and was not dependable for me. We bought a 2008 silver Grand Prix. It is a sporty little thing and something that I have wanted for years. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I now have one!! We were so glad to be done with the Rendevous, it was a piece of shit!!!
Ta Ta for now!!

A long time...

OK, so I am getting really bad at this, but I will try to keep it more up to date.

We have had a lot happen as always. We finally sold our house in Lincoln. It was such a relief for us. We are finally feeling like Dickinson is home. We still really enjoy it down here and are very thankful for all of our great friends that we have met. Dan has been working hard with recruiting and is doing a great job. He is on track right now and continues to work more kids. My position at Stark County will be going through some changes. I am currently working 20 hours a week for the Village Family Services in Bismarck, but that contract will be ending on June 30th and will not be renewed. The legislature cut the funding for the program, so that eliminates my position. Right now, my boss is looking at restructuring things in order for me to pick up another 20 hours in a different program. It is looking like it will possibly be in HCBS(elder care). I am excited for a new adventure, I am needing something a little more challenging than what I am doing. I will continue with the school piece, which will be great. I will keep you posted at to what is going on.
We have a few projects that we will be doing this summer. I want to take the wall paper down in our kitchen and I would like to paint the outside of the house. I know everyone will miss the fruit and flower wall paper, but I will keep a little piece to remind us of how lovely the kitchen was!!
We brought Trigger down last weekend and he is doing great! He is adjusting very well and has found his spot to lay in the backyard. It has rained a couple of days so he has been stuck in the garage, but Mattie keeps him company and loves to be with him. It has been an adjustment for me though. Mattie was always inside with me in the evenings and now she spends her time out with Trigger. Oh well, I just spend more time outside now!!
That is about it for now. I will really try to keep this updated more!!

Update on us!

Sorry it has been awhile since I updated this thing. Work has been super busy for Dan and myself. Dan has been working really hard to get kids in and it is paying off. He went to Fargo last week and enlisted 2 and this week he is working on another prior services guy. Dan has been putting in long hours at the office, so we value the little time that we get together.
Work for me has been picking up very steadily. I guess the long winter is getting to everyone!! I am still enjoying my job, even though it can be very trying at times. I was asked to look at moving up into a Child Protection position here at Stark County, but I am not sure if that is really what I would want to do. It is better pay, but more stress too!!
Two weekends ago, I went back to Lincoln and, with the help of mom & dad, cleaned the house. We did the carpets and wiped out everything. We are still waiting for a possible offer on the house, but we are hoping with spring coming, it will go!!
Last weekend we just went back Friday afternoon and came home Saturday. It was mom's birthday, so we took her out to eat and then to the Bobcat's hockey game. I am sure it was just what she wanted to do on her day!! Oh well, it was a good time!!
Saturday night we went out with Friends from here. We had a blast. After we went out to supper, we went to our house and played games and had more to drink!! Unfortunately, I had a little too much and a few of the girls took very good care of me!! A person doesn't realize that once you get older, it takes 2 days to recover from all the drinking!! I think I learned my lesson, but I am sure it will probably happen again in this lifetime!! It is the damn Morgan Diets that get me every time. I guess I shouldn't poor too much in my glass and then take a few drinks of it before I pour in the Diet Coke!! I think I learned that from my aunt, Sissy!! Or maybe she learned that from me?? Not sure on that one!!
Everything else is going good. Dan is going to Grand Forks this weekend for Sioux hockey playoffs with his good friend Steve. I am excited for him to go and have a good time, he deserves it!! I am still pondering what I am going to do, I will probably just go and visit mom & dad. That is it for us now, we hope everyone is staying warm!!

A year of Bliss??

I know it is a week late, but I thought I would look back at our first year of marriage. I never thought our first year would be so crazy...
It all started on our honeymoon. We went to the cities for a few days just to relax and for Dan to get locked out of our hotel room in his underwear at 2am. It was this very trip that my wonderful husband let me know that there was a position opening up in Dickinson for recruiting. We talked a lot and made the decision that Dan would accept the position and I would continue to work in Bismarck. I think we thought that it would be just a short time until he got back to Bismarck. In march, just 2 weeks after our wedding, Dan went to Salt Lake City Utah to Camp Williamsfor 2 and a half weeks. Once he was back, we spent the next couple of weeks figuring out how this Dickinson thing would work. Starting in April, Dan would leave on Monday morning and come home on Friday night. During the summer he would come home Monday night to play softball too. It was working O.K. but not what we pictured our first year of marriage.
So starting in July I looked for a job in Dickinson. It was frustrating at the beginning, with no job openings. People were so nice and were keeping their ears open and I was urged to apply for a Child Protection position at the County. I did and then was able to apply for a school social worker position. I interviewed for the full time school position on August 26th. I did not get that position because Kim, my coworker now, moved into that position. That in turn opened up my current position. I interviewed on August 25th and was offered the job on August 26th. I was officially done with PATH on September 15th and made the trip to Dickinson to start on September 16th.
I moved just a few things to the studio apartment that Dan had been renting for the last few months. It was close quarters with only having 1 room total. It made for some trying times, but we made it through. During the first month of work, we decided to buy an older home here since we had not sold the house in Lincoln. After a long drawn out process with the bank, we were approved and closed on the house on November 21st. We moved the things that we needed the next couple of weekends and tried to make it a home. We also listed our house with a Realtor in November to try and sell it. Then came the holidays and we really did not get to enjoy them. It was a rush and we were very stressed with all that was going on. Dan took a few days and went to the cities and I came back to work.
As we approached our 1 year anniversary, we decided to have all of our things moved down to Dickinson. We spent the day of our anniversary going to lunch and then I left for Dickinson while Dan stayed back and waited for the movers. They officially moved everything down to Dickinson on February 19th. We still have the house for sale in Lincoln, but we finally feel settled.
It has been a bumpy ride the first year, but I think it has really made us a closer couple. We are able to talk through things and work things out and I think that we go through things just to make us stronger. This is not how we pictured our first year of marriage, but it just goes to show that we are never in control of our fate.

Snow Day!!

I just want to start out by saying the weather man was wrong...Again!! On Monday, there was a winter storm warning for the central part of ND, not Dickinson. Starting Monday late afternoon, after a day of rain, it started to snow, A LOT!! By the time I got home from work at 5, the streets were getting icy. Dan and I watched it as it continued to snow all night, it is amazing what you do when you don't have cable!! By Tuesday morning, there was a large amount of snow. When I got out to start my car, the snow was up to my mid calf. I couldn't believe it. School was the first to be canceled, which sucks because Tuesday is one of my days in the schools. Just as I got my car cleaned off and ready to take off, my supervisor called to let me know that we were closed until 1pm!! It was a half Snow day!! If you know anything about Government agencies, they NEVER close, so I knew it was bad out. After shoveling the extremely heavy snow (rained all day and then started to snow) Mattie talked me into a morning nap!! I wasn't lazy all morning, I did get up and make lasagna for supper. At about 11, my supervisor called to let me know that we would be closed for the rest of the day!! WOOHOO!!! Although I was a little bored, I was still excited to be off. I decided that I would make good use of my time and bake, just like my momma would do on snow days!! I made cupcakes for Valentine's day! I had so much fun spending the day in the kitchen!! Oh no, I have turned into my mom!! We ended up getting close to 10 inches of snow. I will welcome another snow day anytime!!

Finally will live in one house!

We are finally seeing the end of living in 2 places!! We have not sold the house yet, but there have been several couples that have walked through in the last couple of weeks, so we are hopeful. This weekend we went home and packed and sorted. We had a load just dedicated to donation. It is amazing how much junk that I have accumulated over the last couple of years. We were able to pack Dan's pickup and my car and bring that back to Dickinson. The movers will be going to the house today to determine how long it will talk them and what day they will actually be bringing our things down to Dickinson. It will definitely be next week though. We are very excited to have our furniture and belongings in one place. We are very tired of living out of bags and suitcases!! We plan to go back again next weekend to pack more and then Dan will stay in Bismarck until they have everything packed and are ready to come back to Dickinson. I plan to take a few days off so we cane get everything situated and put together. We are also excited to have cable hooked up in Dickinson, finally!! It has been fine with only having a few channels, we seem to spend more time together watching TV than when we have cable!! I am not too excited to watch the fishing, hunting, history or Military channel!! I guess Dan is not that excited to watch Lifetime or E! either!! Oh well, it will just be nice to have a few choices!!
We did have time to enjoy a hockey game while we were back in Bismarck too. Dan is pretty worried that the Bobcats are going away due to financial troubles so we had to go and support them on Saturday. I don't know what Dan will do if there are no more Bobcats games!!!

A Great Weekend!

Dan and I had a wonderful weekend with friends. We spent Friday evening and Saturday morning at a conference called "Laugh Your Way to a better Marriage". It was wonderful. The first night I had such a stomach ache from laughing!! The presenter really said what it is like in marriage! We went with 2 other couples from Dickinson and really had fun spending time with them too. Dan and I plan to make it an annual thing to go to this. We were fortunate enough to have it paid for through the Guards so it did not cost us a thing to go to it. It is nice to go to things like that, it really makes you think about your marriage and what you could do different to be a better spouse.
Saturday night we went to the Bobcats game. Dan's brother Jim came with us and spent the night out at the house. It is always fun to have Jim around, we miss him!!
On Sunday, of course we had to get our game faces on!! We came back to Dickinson and went to Steph and Brady's house for the party. We had a blast watching the commercials and talking about the conference!! Mattie loves to go to Steph and Brady's because the have Milo who is a schnauzer also! He is Mattie's boyfriend and they play until they drop!! Mattie was so tired this morning that she didn't want to get up. I finally had to push her outside so she would go potty before Dan and I left for work!! She had a busy weekend too!!
It was a great weekend of spending time with Friends and with each other.

It's the little things

The weeks seem to just fly by, I can't believe that this weekend is already February!! Dan and I had a super busy week last week and barely spent any time together. This week is looking better!! I traveled to Carrington Friday morning at the ass crack of dawn for a lovely all day meeting. I am just curious who's idea it was to have 20 people travel to the middle of the state in the dead of winter. Unfortunately I was not able to filter what I said and let everyone know that is was a STUPID idea to have a bunch of people travel in the dead of winter. I did accomplish one thing though, we are meeting in June this next year!! After that wonderful adventure, I made it back to Lincoln and spent the weekend. Dan came home Friday, he had drill this weekend in Biso. Saturday I was able to spend time with grandpa (the forever pessimist) and Grandma (the forever optimist). I guess it is true that opposites attract!! I was also able to get my hairs cut, but I think my hairstylist(who is Prego) is losing it!!! She did a different cut this time and it got a little short. I knew it was getting short when she got the electric razor our for the back!!! Oh well, my hair grows fast!
On Sunday, I spent time with some friends and went to lunch at Ground Round. I miss that place, I used to be a regular there!! I also got to go to the Bridal Show with them and really had a good time. I love wedding stuff!! It got me excited to get going on wedding pics!! While I was at the bridal show, my friends mom pulled me aside and asked me if mom would be willing to do the cake. They already had it booked with another lady, but just felt that it was meant to be that my mom did the cake. Dad already is doing the pics, so she thought it just felt right for mom to do the cake! She caught me off guard, but was so heartfelt about it. I called mom and she was open, so she is doing the cake now!! We are so excited to be a part of their special day!!
This week is looking good for us. Dan and I will be going to a conference called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage". We are going with 2 other couples from Dickinson and it is in Bismarck. We are looking forward to some time together!! That is about it, hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!

Life seems to slip away

Business as usual!! Last weekend we went to Bismarck to spend time with family and friends. Friday night Dan and I went to the movie Mall Cop. It was really good!! Saturday we met up with some friends and went to the Bobcats hockey game and out for some drinks. On Sunday, mom highlighted my hair and then we spent some time with Dan's parents that evening. I ended up having to work on Monday, but Dan had off. He got a lot of things done that needed to be done around the house. It is looking like we will be having an open house this weekend, so keep you fingers crossed that someone will want the house. We will officially be moving everything out of the house the week of February 9th. I am SO excited that we will actually live in just one place!! I an beginning to hate my suitcase!!

Last night I was able to catch up with a friend and help her with some wedding things. It is so fun to help her and she is SO appreciative. Dad did their engagement pictures and she was so impressed with them. It is good to hear that our hard work pays off. We are so excited to do their wedding. It is not very often that you run across a couple that is so thankful for what you do. Dad has come so far with photography and his work is just gorgeous!! She went to the wedding show last weekend in Bismarck and she made the comment that our work is better than most that were there. That really makes a person feel good!! I love doing wedding stuff, as long as it is not my wedding!! Next time I am eloping!! (Just Kidding, no next time!!!)

Mom has been working her butt off with school and is hoping to be done this Spring. I have to give her praise that she got a 100% on her final math test!!! Way to go , Mom!! I knew you could do it!! Keep up the good work!!

Not much new...

Dan and I stayed in Dickinson this last weekend. It was nice to just relax and not have to drive so much. Mom and dad came down to see us and see where we work and play. We spent Saturday driving around and eating!! When they first got here, they went to work chopping ice. We had a big ice storm on Thursday and Friday. After all the ice, mom and dad had to pick up ice melt since there was none in Dickinson!! We worked to get most of the ice off. After that Dan came home from drill and we went to JD's barbecue and had great food. We took mom and dad around town and showed them were we work and then of course to the mall. Mom had to check out Christopher & Banks!! We had a great day with them and they are welcome back anytime!! Max got to come to Dickinson too, so Mattie was so excited!!
Sunday was just a lazy day for Mattie and me. Dan went to work in the afternoon, so we took a little nap and watched our 3 channels!! This week is a slow week for me and Dan. It is looking like we will both be in town most of the week. After this week, I have more traveling to do and I am sure Dan will be busy. Hope all is well and you are all welcome to come visit anytime!!

It's a New Year!!

Happy New Year!! I sure brought it in with a bang, I was sleeping and heavily medicated!! I spent the early hours of the evening hanging with the walk in clinic doctor. It would have been worth while if he was cute, but no such luck!! I ended up with walking pneumonia. Much to my husbands excitement, we spent another hour waiting for my prescription. Unfortunately, I went home and crashed on the couch and Dan had to bring in the new year without me. So New Years was not a big hit in Dan's book, but there will be another one next year, so lets shoot for a better time then!! Dan's birthday was New Years day, which was just as crappy as the night before for Dan. I had all I could do to go to lunch with mom and dad and then supper with Dan's mom and dad. I felt bad that I couldn't even talk, but I think that it was just one of many marvelous gifts that I gave to my husband!! For some odd reason, he didn't mind that I did not have a voice!! The weekend was pretty uneventful, I slept most of it and Dan did everything in his power to stay away from me! (I hope someone tells him that I was NOT contagious!) If I had to narrow it down to one thing that I have learned about my wonderful husband, it is that he has no sympathy for me being sick and he will do anything in his power to stay away from me so he does not get infected!! He is a work in progress and I hope that he never gets really sick because he will be the worst patient ever!!!
We came back to Dickinson early Sunday to get things put back together at the house. We took the Christmas stuff down and finally got things looking like a home again. We plan to stay in Dickinson for the next couple of weekends and get some things around the house done here. I know you are all wondering about how Mattie is, and I am happy to say she is just as spoiled as ever and seems to get into everything! She will be graduating to actual dog food starting this week, so we are hitting some big milestones in her life. I guess it is time to get the baby book out again and document all of her success!! Just Kidding!! That is all that is going on now, I will keep you posted about the change to dog food!!
~Heather