Memories of Me...

I saw this on Dustin's blog... It looked like fun!

Here are the directions...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

**Keep it clean, Dust!**

Our 4th of July!

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE the 4th of July! I love the BBQs, the fireworks, that gatherings with friends and family... I just love it! I grew up in a town that celebrated the 4th in a major way, and I think that has just stuck with me through the years.

Here in Ohio, we have what is called "Red, White and Boom". It takes place in downtown Columbus right on the river and It's by far the most AMAZING fireworks display I have ever seen!! Every year, our friend Dave has a big BBQ at his house and then we all caravan downtown to find a seat for the show. This year it rained most of the day, so we weren't sure we were going to get to see the fireworks or not. But at about 8:30pm the rain quit... and we jumped in our cars!

This is what we got to see...

It really is a breathtaking display... I look forward to it ever year!!

I saw the following posted on my friend Jeff's blog, so I thought I would share it here (Hope you don't mind, Jeff!). I think it is a great reminder of what the 4th of July stands for.

I Am the Nation

I was born on July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence is my birth certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in my veins, because I offered freedom to the oppressed. To many things, and many people. I am the nation.

I am 213 million living souls-and the ghost of millions who have lived and died for me.

I am Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. I stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world. I am Washington, Jefferson and Patrick Henry I am John Paul Jones, the Green Mountain Boys and Davy Crockett. I am Lee and Grant and Abe Lincoln.

I remember the Alamo, the Maine and Pearl Harbor. When freedom called I answered and stayed until it was over, over there. I left my heroic dead in Flanders Fields, on the rock of Corregidor, on the bleak slopes of Korea, in the steaming jungle of Vietnam and on the sands of Iraq.

I am the Brooklyn Bridge, the wheat lands of Kansas and the granite hills of Vermont. I am the coalfields of the Virginias and Pennsylvania, the fertile lands of the West, the Golden Gate and the Grand Canyon. I am Independence Hall, the Monitor and the Merrimac.

I am big. I sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific - my arms reach out to embrace Alaska and Hawaii - 3 million square miles throbbing with industry. I am more than 5 million farms. I am forest, field, mountain and desert. I am quiet villages-and cities that never sleep.

You can look at me and see Ben Franklin walking down the streets of Philadelphia with his breadloaf under his arm. You can see Betsy Ross with her needle. You can see the lights of Christmas, and hear the strains of "Auld Lang Syne" as the calendar turns.

I am Babe Ruth and the World Series. I am 110,000 schools and colleges, and 330,000 churches where my people worship God as they think best. I am a ballot dropped in a box, the roar of a crowd in a stadium and the voice of a choir in a cathedral. I am an editorial in a newspaper and a letter to a Congressman.

I am Eli Whitney and Stephen Foster. I am Tom Edison, Albert Einstein and Billy Graham. I am Horace Greeley, Will Rogers and the Wright brothers. I am George Washington Carver, Jonas Salk, and Martin Luther King.

I am Longfellow, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman and Thomas Paine.

Yes, I am the nation, and these are the things that I am. I was conceived in freedom and, God willing, in freedom I will spend the rest of my days. May I possess always the integrity, the courage and the strength to keep myself unshackled, to remain a citadel of freedom and a beacon of hope to the world.

This is my wish, my goal, my prayer in this year of 1976-two hundred years after I was born.

I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A SAFE AND HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Tag...

TAG

I...

I am: SOOOO happy to be back in Ohio! 11 hours in a car is rough!!
I think: Um... No I don't.
I know: That I have the most amazing boyfriend in the world!
I want: Steve to come home from Dayton... I haven't seen him for a week!
I have: To un-pack. YUCK!!
I wish: I knew what my future had in store for me... kinda.
I hate: Spiders. I seriously have no idea why they were ever invented!
I miss: Dust-a-roonie! We need to get together again SOON!!!!
I fear: Losing someone that I love.
I feel: Like I've finally figured out who I am.
I hear: Cookie snoring. She's had a long day.
I smell: Rain.
I crave: Diet Coke.
I search: For my remote control...
I wonder: Where I'm going to be in 5 years.
I regret: Some of the not-so-smart decisions I have made.
I love: Steve!
I care: About what people think of me... probably too much.
I always: Have to have lip stuff!
I am not: A very good kickball player.
I believe: That everything happens for a reason.
I dance: At weddings!... A LOT!!!
I sing: In the car all the time!
I dont always: Do what I'm supposed to, when I'm supposed to. I'm the world's greatest procrastinator.
I fight: The tumor that has taken up residence in my brain.
I write: Letters to people that I never send.
I lose: Sun glasses... ALL THE TIME!
I win: Rarely. But I'm a kick-a$$ loser!! :o)
I never: Thought I would be where I am today.
I listen: To any type of music other than rap.
I can usually be found: At work, or hanging out with Steve and the Monster.
I am scared: Of heights. I prefer my feet planted on the ground.
I need: To be better about staying in contact with my friends.
I am happy that: I only have one more day until I see Steve!
I tag: Anyone reading this who wants to play along!

Ahhhh.... (that's a sigh of relief)

Once again... It's time for a road trip to Kansas. And once again... It was also time for me to have bloodwork done. I hate having it done right before I go on vacation... I worry about the results until the Dr.s office calls me... and if the news is less than great, then it can really put a damper on things.

I had been putting off getting it done for a few days... I am SOOO good at talking myself out of things! But on Wednesday, I finally bit the bullet and drove to the hospital. I figured it would be better to know if anything had changed, one way or the other, than to worry about having to come home and still get it all done. I wanted it out of the way!

Donna (Dr. C's nurse) called me on Thursday afternoon to let me know that my prolactin level has dropped to 54.2!! It's still about double where it should be, but my meds are working for now, and I'm not complaining one bit! I can't even tell you what a relief it was to hear that number come out of her mouth... I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Cookie and Steve BOTH got big hugs after that phone call!

Anyways... That's the latest update on me! Cookie and I are off to Kansas this weekend to visit Uncle Roland on the farm... I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT!!! I'm sure I'll have plenty of pics to post when I get home!

I hope everyone is well. HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Geocaching!!

A Perfect Day for Treasure Hunting...

This past Thursday, Steve, Cookie and I spent the day outside in the absolutely GORGEOUS weather treasure hungting. Ok... so technically... it's called "geocaching"... but I like treasure hunting better. We had such a good time... and we had some great finds!!

I had been reading online about geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com/) and since Steve and I both like the outdoors, I thought it was something we might enjoy. It's alot like treasure hunting in that you need a "treasure" map (lat/long coordinates are provided on the website), and you kinda need to know what your looking for. Basically... all you need is a GPS unit, a pair of gloves, some bug spray, and some cheap little trinkets to trade. Once you find the "cache" using your GPS unit, you log the time/date you found it, and also what items you traded.

For example... We set out with a list of 5 caches that we wanted to find. The first one was located about a half mile from my place and was titled "Ball Exchange" ... so we knew we need to take some kind of ball with us to trade. We entered the lat/long coordinates into the GPS, and realized that the cache was located somewhere behind the local library. We parked and the library and followed a paved walkway back into a small wooded park area. Once we got to where our GPS unit told us we needed to be, we started looking around. Steve saw a large tree and figured it had to be somewhere around there. Turs out... He was right! He found the cache down inside the trunk of the tree, and it had been covered by a large piece of tree bark.

I wasn't about to stick my hands down inside that tree... I DON'T DO BUGS!!! (This is where the gloves and bug spray will come in handy.) Steve had no problems with it though. Once we got the medium sized plastic container out and opened it up, we knew exactly what they meant by "Ball Exchange". Inside, we found a pen and small notebook to write in, and a bunch of different balls to choose from. We took out a squishy ball that we thought Cookie might enjoy playing with, and we put our small bouncy ball inside. We wrote down our names, the date and time, and what items were traded. I was SO excited to have our first find!!!

We did this 4 more times that day and only had one cache that we could not find. We looked and looked for that one, but the only thing we came up with were a bazillion mosquitos. We figured we'd just move on and try that particular one again another day. Throughout our day... we found all kinds of little treasures, enjoyed exploring our local parks, and just had an all-around great time!

If any of you are outdoorsy people and this sounds like something you might like to try, check out http://www.geocaching.com/ . You do have to create an account in order to get the coordinates to the caches listed, but it's free. You can enter your zipcode and find pages and pages of caches in your area. I have already looked up Steve's zipcode, my parents' zipcode, and also my brother's zipcode, and I was amazed at the number of these things that are out there! They are all over the world!!

If the weather clears up a bit tomorrow, we're going to head back out to see what we can find... I'M HOOKED!!!