Unknown Blessings

One of the things I like about the blogworld is how you can link up to millions of other people's worlds...for instance, the other night while checking out Ria's blog I randomly linked to Bonnie's where I randomly linked to Pruses, where I randomly linked to one of my new favorites...jodyferlaak.blogspot.com --- I was having one of those weeks where the pity party for the crappy things I feel I've had to endure in my life was overtaking my spirits... and I started reading her blog whereby she has the same theory that she's one of those people who things happen to that never seem to happen to everyone else... kinda like wearing a sign in life that says "bad things just naturally happen to me so stay away". So, you can imagine my feverish read of her entries, until I came to the one where she lost her daughter in a freak accident. This entry then randomly lead me to one of the most touching, moving writings I've ever read. Every family needs to read this... A Letter to My Daughter... written as the April 11th entry on audreycaroline.blogspot.com. You can't help but be brought to tears, especially when putting your little fragments of a crappy life in comparison to the overwhelming grief, and why's of life these women have endured. The way they both have allowed their crosses to bear to be shaped into great blessings is truly inspiring. I needed to read those that night to remind me it's all about thinking and realizing that God is in total control no matter what....to chastise me that I don't do enough of it. It's a way of letting go that I don't do enough of. It's a way of your total being surrendering and just accepting and looking at it all as a blessing and finding the good in it no matter how horrific, that I certainly don't do enough of. I challenge you to read both of these blogs.... see where you measure up.

Giveaway!

to all you "Bachelor" fans...check out the tv clip where they show matt placing the ring on his "pick"...it's a dead giveaway when you look at her nails... no polish! when you check out the final 3 contestants, 2 of them always maintain polished, manicured nails... his choice appears to have simple, plain, unpolished, manicured nails.... hummmm... makes it pretty easy to figure out who he marries!

UH-OHhhhhhhh.....

I guess I need to be fired as a babysitter...Not having been around a 16 month old for almost 4 yrs. I had forgotten what can happen when Grandma turns her back for a second --- I went to the fridge to get Elliott a drink and when I turned back around the Big E had grabbed my styrofoam cup of coffee off the dining room table and was giggling as he was tipping it upside down and creating a waterfall onto the floor.....good thing it was just lukewarm! He is toooo cute as he just stood there going "uh=ohhhhhh".

Sick of it....

Richard put the tulips out in the whiskey barrels last week when it was 70 degrees out... and this is what they looked like when I woke up yesterday... the day of the neighborhood rummage sale.... you can barely see Richard trying to make a sale thru the snowflakes as I left for Buffalo. Needless to say, we'll have to try the sale again in July when if we're lucky, we'll get some more warm weather finally.

My, My how they've grown...

Departing from my normal boring Friday nights scouring the local Thrift Shops for a deal, I got to take the kids to the park, bring them home for a bath, and host their popcorn party! They sure have grown since I used to do this back when they were toddlers...and NOW they each eat their very own bag of micro popcorn rather than splitting a bag... none left for Grandma! I did manage to keep up with them though and last until the end of the movie after midnight!

Meeting the Twins....

I think Miss Kallie was puzzled when meeting her Great Auntie.... what cuties they both are! Congrats to the entire Nettestad clan!

What a difference...

a night and a strong southerly wind makes...go to bed with ice on the pond and wake up to waves... amazing!

Hey Ria....

Remember last week when you stayed here, that squirrel Richard warned me about that he found living in our garage? Well, he wants you to know you don't have to worry about your old mom living in "critterville" anymore...he has ousted Mr. Squirrel from his lovely woodpile home in the garage... however, we have now discovered that Mr. Squirrel just moved his residence over to the wood privacy wall at the end of the deck. On a warm day last week, we noticed nesting materials piled in front of a hole in the wood on that wall.... then yesterday, when there was a mega wind with driving freezing rain from the North, we noticed this! Mr. Squirrel is no dumb squirrel... He closed the door to his Palace by pulling his nesting material into his hole! Must be hibernating in there, snug and warm waiting for Richie to deliver him hot chocolate to his hotel room door.

Finally.....

A little bit of open water out front --- even more so across the lake near the tunnel. Still a covering of snow down below by the firepit though....With the forecast of 70 degrees by Thursday, by the time next week we should be looking at nothing but waves...

Wow....

So I'm home watching the Miss USA Pageant... and what's up with every single one of them having the same hair style... did you notice? what happened to the page-boy, or the flip, the wedge or being short and spikey? I guess what it takes is having long, curly hair, parted on the side either in blonde or brunette and of course having the longest legs and torso on the planet... whatever! It's gotta be Miss Oklahoma... whew!

Yes Doc,

I DO use the mug! Everyday at the clinic, we have our team huddle....which is basically our share time. We discuss the goals of the day, patients scheduled and how best to help them on their quest for health and wellness, and how we ourselves, can become more healthy, positive people. Doc is also big on the book "The 5 Languages of Love"...I've yet to read it, since I'm not a book reader! BUT I do know that one of her foremost languages of love, other than verbally telling me she loves me each week, is to give me gifts. Showering me with a little trinket of appreciation gives her as much joy as it does me. Most recently, I received this cute mug... and just wanted her to know that I do indeed use it for my morning coffee at home. The biggest thing I have enjoyed in my years of working at the clinic is the fact it's all positive energy.... even the days I come draggin' my "feeling sorry that I still have to have a job at age 55" self into work, I always leave huddle with a better, more "I'm glad I'm healthy enough to still work attitude"! I blog often about my bus driving adventures...but forget to get others enthusiastic for chiropractic...even though my own son has chosen chirpractic as his profession.

I ran across this at the clinic today and wanted to share it with my readers...(few, I know) BUT here goes.....Do you ever have these dangerous thoughts about YOUR health?

Maybe it will go away....Are you willing to risk that it won't ?

It comes and goes.....Why wait until it is a constant problem? (that one is totally my husband ) It's not that bad....Compared to what ?

I know what my problem is.... Then What is your solution? or...

I don't want to know (another husband one)...What you don't know CAN hurt you. What you do know can help you live a fuller life!
and the very best one...

I don't have any symptoms...Did you know that the first symptom in over 57% of heart disease is... a heart attack?

Don't let this kind of thinking put you and your health at risk!

I saw Marilu Henner on the Today Show this morning after driving bus... she was discussing her book "Wear your Life Well"... It sounded great...very informative.....I had no idea she was a writer, and have decided that even though I'm not a reader, I am going to buy myself that book. If you've heard of Erma Bombeck's "If I had my Life to Live Over Again" ideas one of mine would be telling my father to stop it when he taught me how to eat white corn syrup on top of my popcorn! ! I ate that one time in front of my grandkids with a spoon and they kept telling me "Grandma it's popcorn, not cereal"! He certainly didn't do me any favors teaching me that delicasse, although it is a fond memory of mine.... and I still expect popcorn balls at my sister's house each year for Christmas.

So Doc, thanks for the mug... and all the positive energy I get from you each day at the clinic...where we treat our patients with the certainty of real change, not merely symptom relief!

So Similar....

The longer I live in Chaska the more amazed I am at how much it reminds me of Pelican Rapids. When looking for a place to live here prior to my actual move, I pretty much had my choice of suburbs in the western half. Richard lived in Minnetonka, but was willing to relocate anywhere from Maple Grove, Plymouth, Wayzata, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Chanhassen, Chaska, Savage or Shakopee....so on weekends we would drive the burbs looking for places to live. Of course, I wanted somewhere on a lake :-) which eventually led us to Hazeltine Shores Townhouses in Chaska. I knew nothing about the town... other than it was home to the famous Hazeltine Golf Course. Now 3 yrs. later I laugh at the many things that are almost exactly like home. We have a church with a clock tower that chimes on the hour like Faith Church in PR, we have an exact replica of the post office, we have a Wells Fargo on the corner of one of the only two stoplights in our downtown... just like PR. We have a VFW on the other corner and a city park very similar to PR's...even our library looks alot like Pelicans.....and our clinic totally reminds me of Dave's old chiropractic clinic right on Main Street....but the strangest thing is we have a swimming hole right in downtown where the city kids swim in the summer..just like they used to at home. Then last week I saw this.... and I just cracked up... we even have people that store their boats all winter long right along side their garage and give them names like "Big Wally"... just like you see out on good old Lake Lida! Looks like I ended up right where I was supposed to be without even knowing it.