A Little Shaky

Our morning started out exciting, to say the least. At approximately 4:30 this morning, Andy and I woke up to a very shaky house. If you've never experienced it, it's quite an odd feeling to have the ground and all objects around you just shake. I've only experienced an earthquake one other time and that was a couple of years ago. This one lasted what seemed like forever...I think it was about 40 seconds. We got up out of bed and were confused about earthquake safety protocol. Our dishes were rattling and the earth continued to shake. It was finally over and we investigated for damage. Our house is fine, our dishes are fine, we are fine. We immediately got on the internet to find earthquake safety protocol and then looked to see what the richter scale showed: 5.2 there were at least 6 aftershocks, the biggest of which measured 4.5. So, life's a little shaky now, but we're getting through it.

live news during the earthquake

My Happy Birthday

I arrived at work fairly happy about the cupcake and candle that Andy had given me this morning (along with the 'happy birthday' song). When I got to my desk at work I found a large chocolate cake -with homemade frosting-, a gift, and a card signed by my co-workers. It was really wonderful. Even Dr. Ed wrote something nice...I found out later he was really proud of what he came up with, and I think it's good advice.

For those who can't read the doctor's handwriting:
"These intervals between birthdays will start to get shorter -seems like it. But savor them for they're finite." ~Dr. Ed

The love from the whole group was wonderful, and my lunch date with Andy was absolutely lovely and just fun. I can't believe how blessed I am with all I have. I remain in awe of God's goodness.

Homeward Bound

so, I've been training (if that's what you call it) for 2 months for a 5k run that was supposed to happen in Vincennes today. It was called "Just for the Health of It". A good goal, and I had bettered my time so that I would come in some where in the middle of all the people...not last. But then, this week they announced and requested that the ECHO employees participate in a 5k run/walk for homelessness. I mentioned it to Andy and let him know that it was the same day as the one in Vincennes. His thought was that I should participate in the Homeward Bound 5k since it was in town and benefiting people in our community. So, we solicited family and co-workers, and then headed off today. I was concerned about showing up since yesterday was a sick-day for me from work. My manager did come, but she just laughed at me for showing up. It was freezing cold...the wind-chill making temperatures somewhere in the 30's. (They are forcasting snow showers this evening.) So, I got my t-shirt, and was prepared to run. I noticed only after the "thank-you for coming, let's walk to stop homelessness" comment, that most people were planning to walk. There were a few people running -but they weren't part of the group. So, I walked...I'd been working on walking speed too since I knew that I couldn't run the entire 5k. So, I ended up near the front of the group. There were some boys that really wanted to race, so at the end I raced them to the end. I came in 3rd overall, but it wasn't a really motivated walking or running group. My time was good, but I don't think they were completely accurate in the distance. Who knows? It was mostly fun (except for freezing) and I'm sure I'll do it again sometime :) --oh, and there was this one part where I did this amazing "jump over the dog" trick while running. I'm sure people will be laughing about it for quite some time.

icky, but loved

so, I have an illness that I can't deny. My throat is sore, my head hurts, my ears hurt, my eyes hurt, I have a nasty sounding cough, and I have no voice. I think I've been fighting it since Sunday, but yesterday it really started getting the better of me. I love that at work they care so much about me. I called in today (thankfully I've been there long enough to have some paid sick-days). This afternoon one of the nurses called to ask me what I was allergic to and then what medicine I wanted. Dr. Ed was worried about me after hearing my cough...he wants to prevent it from becoming worse. I feel much more cared about at the ECHO clinic than I ever did at the hospital. It seemed at the hospital they wanted me to come to work if I was dying and did very little to aid in getting me better. It just makes me love my job and the people that I work with even more. I hope that I'm not sick all weekend long, but at least it would be a good time to rest up. I'm loving the spring temperature and the feeling that bright and shiny things are on the way. My scrapbooking and furniture dreaming has begun again, and I'm excited about color. I'm also excited about chicken sandwiches and datenight with my husband :)

Exciting Fatigue

I feel so tired I almost wonder if there isn't something medically wrong with me, but I think it's just lack of good sleep and the busyness of life. I was blessed to have Good Friday off. I spent the day shopping to make Easter baskets for Andy's family. It was fun, and really just wonderful. The day was nice and sunny and I was doing something that I wanted to with very little time constraint.
Friday night I went to this fantastic Murder Mystery birthday party for an 11 year old girl. Their family is amazing, and absolutely lots of fun to be with. I was one of the 8 girls she invited. I played the part of the Maid...I appeared to be quite guilty, but in the end it was the limosine driver :)
Saturday morning we woke up quite early to drive to Belmont. We got there, did some scavenger hunts, and had fun eating and talking with everyone. We left about 8pm to come back to Evansville and then attended our church's Sonrise service. There was a small drama done to hopefully impact our thoughts of The Resurrection.
Monday started the week over at work. For some reason, this week seems awfully long and less than fun. Tuesday I was able to use my sign language with one of my patients which was really cool...I hope I get to do that more. And then today is only Wednesday. Saturday we head north...the main event is a wedding, but I'm mostly excited about seeing family. I'm also a little bummed that we'll have to leave so quickly...which I think will make for another tiring week. I must be becoming a real adult since I just want to hang out at home and clean... :) I miss our families and I just wish we could hang out for 3 or 4 days in Anderson. That would be great right now. So far, neither of us have vacation until August. That seems forever away.

What's more romantic than cookies?

I just thought that I should update with what I've been up to. I've only got one more class left with sign language...and for that class we have to go out (with the rest of the students and teacher) to a restaurant, order our food, and coverse with everyone using only sign language and no voice. Even when ordering our food. It's an interesting challenge, but I think it will be okay. It's kind of funny, because after sign class I find myself thinking in "sign".
Also, I'm only 3 weeks away from the end of my probationary period at work. Things seem to be going well, and I love the diversity of things that I see there. I actually think that I give more injections at the clinic than I did in the hospital...but I could be wrong. I love the people that I work with, and I hope that I keep loving the job.
Andy and I have been calling every moment that we have together "dates" since we don't have much time to spend together. This past weekend, we were blessed with a bit of a car ride together. We were in Bloomfield to celebrate Niah's first birthday. She's adorable, and she loves me...which is wonderful. It was great to see her eat cake for the first time and how her eyes just looked excited when she realized that her mom was going to let her dig in :)
It snowed again last week, and I (for one) hope that it's very near an end. It was cool to get snow days for work, but I'm ready for happy spring days to arrive. I think it's just around the corner, and my whole body is happy about it.

Happy Birthday -sign language style :)

just a little message for Morgan, and just a little bit of what I've been learning in my class. I only have 2 more weeks of class left. I feel like I've only just started really learning things. I'm not sure when or if they will offer a second class. I'm seriously considering sign choir...I think that might be more fun :)