My battle wound...

My first day without bandages. The doctor so kindly ripped them off today...what a guy! So, here I present my 3 times a charm surgical wound! I'm so happy to be here and able to show this off to ya'll.

I know...

Ok, I know a weird picture..but I just repotted my plant today in this beautiful new pot! I love it so I wanted to share it with you. I think this might be the longest I've kept a plant alive....

My lovely auntie...

How lucky am I to have such a wonderful aunt! She has stayed with me since I went into the hospital on July 21st, 2009....I appreciate everything she has done for me. I love her lots and lots!

Chillin' with great people,

Torie making her daughter take wonderful pictures of us! Hey look, she doesn't have a hat on...I think this is only the 2nd time I've ever seen her w/o one! I'm so lucky to have this awesome woman in my life! And notice no sling for me..I'm free from the sling..yahooooo!

Rockstar...

Me, being a weirdo and loving life!

This amazing woman!

Torie and I....words can't describe how thankful I am to have this woman in my life! She is amazing..she makes me laugh, cry and laugh some more. :)

My new good friends...

Torie, Harmonie and her little boy Jacob posing with me. Good times!

Enjoying..

Enjoying my time at Poor Richard's. My aunt Carol, Wendy, and shy Maggie just catching up and living life!

Chillin'

Jack and I chilling, I think he is waiting for more food, or ready to fall asleep.

My girl, Maggie!

Maggie being her cute self. I ask her what she wants for her birthday and she says "blue cake". I think her mom has that one covered so I will find her something blue. :) Maggie, is that a new haircut??

Hiding in the castle.

Cute kids playing in the castle at Poor Richard's! Yes, I know them. :)

Returning to the scene....

This morning I had another appointment and it went amazing! Everything is doing what it is supposed to be doing, so I am very thankful for that. After the doctor, I went to the YMCA for the first time since my accident. I have to say it was hard but good for me to go. I held it together the whole time :) I have wanted to go back and meet all the wonderful people that helped save my life and that were praying for me. Words cannot explain how I feel....I am blessed to have such great people around me. I even went up to the spinning room and needed to know what all happened there. Torie explained everything to me...I needed that! It may sound weird or scary..but I needed it for my own well-being. I get teary eyed now,just thinking of everything I went through and all the people and friends that got me through it all! I love you all!!!

Life!!!

I am a very lucky girl/woman to be alive today and I thank sooooo many people for helping me with that. It begins with Torie from the YMCA who is now a great friend. I am blessed. My family, mom, dad, and aunt Carol who came out here to be with me. I think they got me to wake up and notice their voices. I guess I followed my mom's voice when I was just coming out of it. Great friends that were there everyday or calling to make sure I was ok. Angie kept everyone updated on facebook as well as my farm! :)Wendy for bringing good food and being there everyday and Gina for bringing the sweets! :) I am sooo lucky and thank God every day for giving my life back to me and in full working order..no real memory loss..obviously just some short term stuff. It is coming back slowly but surely! I don't know what I would do without the wonderful, amazing and blessed people I have in my life. Thank you again ALL of you!

Loving camping.

We had a great time at 11 Mile Reservoir campground.

Do I know her....

Amy being a rock star while we are hiking. :)

My legs are too short.

It took me a while to get across this but I made it successfully! :)

Hiking and reading.

Amy and I went on a hike and laid in the sun and enjoyed a good book. What that book was...I honestly don't remember...due to recent circumstances. :)

Amy...

The view in the morning with Amy wrapped up to stay warm.

Looking out..

What I saw when I woke up one morning. Climbing up and enjoying the view!

Waking up..

Getting up in the morning and enjoying the beautiful morning!

Having fun...

Chillin' at ElevenMile.

Potter

Hard core "Potter" fans. We went to the 12:45AM show. It was great. Now, I want to see it in IMAX!

"Up"

I brought Maggie to see "Up", as you can see she is very into the movie! When it was over she was so sad because she wanted to watch it again..I felt so bad! I will take her again soon! I love this little girl. :)

Peace!

Just give it a chance....

Chillin with Angie!

Relaxing with my best friend at my parents house. We were watching Brenna crawl all over my mom. :)

MN fun.

Hanging out with Kale, Leif and Brenna! My MN kids!

Sprinkler fun!

Brenna and I playing in/on/ and behind the sprinkler. As you can imagine I was wet after this little extravaganza! Always having fun with the MN kids!

My best friend!

Angie and I relaxing at the Wooden pool party! I love this pic of us! Having a great time with kids and friends...who could ask for more? I am lucky to have such a great friend!

Keri's pool party.

Relaxing at my friend Keri's house. Tuesdays are play date at her house. I was fortunate to be home for one of these this summer. What a beautiful day out it was.

Fun with Rocks??

Brenna and Leif getting ready to get washed up, but first rocks are fun to play with. Why do kids need toys? They'd rather play with rocks and boxes. :)

Summer Time

Life the last few weeks.

So...no recent pictures, I know I am a slacker. I need to start taking my camera out with me more on the amazing hikes I have been doing. My friend Wendy and I went today to the back side of Red Rocks, a part I have never traveled, and it was beautiful. Note to self, bring camera more often.

I have been busy with keeping fit and I am proud to say I have lost 11.5 lbs. in the last month and a half. The bodybug has kept me accountable for sure. One of the best investments to date. I will keep plugging away and keep you up to date. It feels good for sure!!

The other thing that has been keeping me busy this summer is my RESEARCH PAPER! Yes, the last class for me to attain my Masters Degree and it is a doozy. As I sit here with all the books, articles and notebooks around me I think...I have a lot of work to do. It is too late to do anything now though...it's late. ;) Tomorrow is another day and I will get it done then. My first draft is due Friday..I hope to have it in by Thursday to enjoy the 4th of July weekend early. So, I will gradutate this August with a Masters in Curriculum and Intruction with an emphasis in Space/Science Education. What's next you ask? Well, my PhD someday of course. I think that I would like to try my hand at teaching college level courses someday. I need to make a dent in my loan payments before tackling that beast!

On a side note, I am in the process of finding out how to become a HOME OWNER! It is scary and exciting all at the same time. I thought I found the house for me but am having sencond thoughts. Everyone has opinions and I appreciate them all but there are so many to consider..what's a girl to do? So, I will take it slowly and what ever is supposed to be will be. Hopefully before the end of the year...that $8,000 tax credit would be nice.

So, here I go..off to bed..read New Moon...and get ready for spin class in the morning. Please think of me. I am not intimidated by many things but spin class is scary to me! I know I will survive.

Love you all and thanks for reading my blog!

He is alive in VEGAS!

We went to an impersonator show and Elvis was one of the performers. He was nice enough to pose with me after a few camera glitches. :)

Side shot.

The new do!

Benihana!

We had a nice dinner before our show. Benihana was awesome.

MGM

I can't wait to see this performance. I have made it a goal to see all the Cirque Du Soleil shows in Vegas. I have 2 down now. :) Ka was amazing!!!

In the theater.

Amy and I waiting for the Ka performance to begin. We got in trouble for having our picture taken....woops!

The Grand Canyon.

This is the view from the top of our adventure! Yes, I am going to hike down this. Good luck to me!

No bug glasses!

I had to remember to have my photos without my bug sunglasses on. This shot was a little bright so I had to improvise. It works.

Amy rolling down the canyon.

This is one of my favorite shots of Amy. She is so cool!

Loving vacation!

Taking a break from all the fun!

Stopping to enjoy the scenary.

What a beautiful morning. We started our hike at 7:30AM and what a good choice that was. :)

We found a friend.

Amy was going to go climb on some rocks for a photo and noticed some falling rocks. Looking up this is what we saw. Hello Mr. Ram.

Enjoying the view down..

What can I say?

Proof.

I made it down to the 3 mile resthouse! My quads hurt. Who said going down was easier??

I have to go where?

Yes, back up that beast!

I survived the Canyon!

I can barely stand up at this point! I can't believe I made it but what other choice did I have! It is one of the biggest things I have ever done physically...5 hours. I rock!

I am so cool!

Mixing it up for the viewers. :)

Look...

You can be 4 places at once! Here I am in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona! Amy made me do this as well as the crowd standing around.

Here we go!

My faithful sidekick, Amy. She is a great traveling partner!

Our first stop.

Our first stop after entering the Canyon. What a view. It is so much more than a big hole in the ground!

How grand...

A picturesque shot of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

Having a blast!

Just enjoying the Canyon!