A proud homeowner!

I am buying a house!!!

Here it is!!! It is a split level home built in 1981, 4 bedrooms with a huge back yard and 3 minutes from work- can I just say how excited I am! It is beautiful!
The back of the house with a porch and patio...My shed and fenced in back yard....
More pictures to follow!

An afternoon on the water.

Angie and I spent the afternoon fishing- we didn't catch anything, but we sure had a good time!

Tripod

Sadly, my dog had a little mishap. He was jumping off the back of the bed, like he does every night, and accidentally caught his leg between the baseboard and the mattress, but the rest of his body went forward, shattering his knee. I took him to the vet the next day and she said they couldn't do anything about it and our only option was to amputate the leg. So, I decided it was better to have no leg than a limp leg and went ahead with the surgery.

He spent the night at this clinic with an IV.

But now, a week later, he is running all over the place! Just yesterday, he ran 4 miles with me! He runs up the stairs, down the stairs, chases birds, pulls me along when we go for walks- if you didn't know better, you would think it was the same dog- I am so proud of him and happy that he is doing so well.

Wyoming...

Here are a few of the Wyoming pictures- more to come later!

Wyoming...

In Wyoming on a cattle drive- pictures up soon!!!

10 Mile Soldier Field Run

To recover from a long, lethargic Iowa winter, I entered a 10 mile run in Chicago and have been training for it. I met my parents in Chicago and they came to see me run- in the distance in Soldier field- a huge stadium- we started and ended there. mom and dadmy aunt and uncle were also there Here are the runners coming in- my cousin, Chris ran with me -we are in the back somewhere.

Inside the stadium- when we ran in there were people all over!

Chris and I at the end- we ran 10 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes- so a little over a 10 minute mile- strong and steady was my goal- as we nurses like to say: GOAL MET!!!

Take the plunge!

Angie and I took the boat out and my dog came with us- here we are in the truck with him in the back. Our boatMy dog could be a really good swimmer, that is if he would actually take the plunge. I throw sticks into the water for him and he will only get them if he can still have his feet on the sand. He will stretch, but let the stick go if he has to swim to get it. So... we put him to the test. We got in the boat and left him on the shore. He was not happy.

Then, we came close to the shore and had him walk out to us. We slowly moved away and he kept coming closer and closer...Until he jumped into the water and swam toward us! I cannot tell you how proud of a mommy I was! My baby was swimming!!! I was so excited. So, that day, he swam the length of the lake at least 3 time.

Angie

Me with my happy dog!

aaahhhh... this is summer....

Picnic

Jess and I went on a picnic today! We went out to the lake and she brought her brand new puppy, Nala! She is 9 weeks old and ooh soo cute! She is a golden retriever and gets along with my dog very well. We had a picnic and all kinds of good food.

Chicken salad with crackers, spring noodle salad, potato salad, and watermelon with peach tea to drink....

My doggie being good.

Me with Nala

Taking our dogs to fetch sticks in the water- I am so excited to have found something that will wear my dog out!!!

Floating Docks

This morning, AJ, Jess and I decided to go out to a lake and spend a leisurely morning, so we packed a breakfast of cake, strawberries, cream, and hot tea. We found a beautiful secluded dock and settled into a routine of throwing sticks for our puppies while listening to AJ play his guitar.
The, we realized that the dock we were on was only connected to the dock AJ was no by a very thin string. I mentioned, "wouldn't it be exciting to float away..." My brother took my words seriously, slipped the string off and gave us a farewell push! So, off we floated!!!

I must admit, it was rather fun, so while we were out there, we watched our dogs swim in the lake, and drank hot tea.

And, lucky for us, we jut happened to have the food.

Eventually, we decided to start toward the shore, so Jess got a stick and started pushing us. I

told her she could be Tom Sewer and I could be Huck Fin! Nala, Jess's puppy!

Then, we took a walk and found this beautiful bridge and staircase.

Hana with Nala.

Hana's appartment

For those of you who have never seen my apartment, here are a few photos!
This is my living room... desk area...

Directly across from my couch are my huge closet doors.

... which house my entertainment center. This I particularly like because I can close it off and the TV is not the center of the room.
Down the hall is the bathroom....

My bedroom...

vanity

And painting area. . .
And my dog on the floor.

The sun setting out my window.

I have a kitchen, but it is never clean, but if and when it gets clean, I'll let you see pictures of that as well!

A spring picnic

This week, I spent the day with a friend and we had a picnic! It was a beautiful spring day and we had a lovely time.

I also got a new stove! My life is complete . . . I can once again bake!

My first batch of white chocolate chip / coconut / oat meal cookies!

Planting Season

Planting season in Iowa is huge. Partly because we are a farming community but also because almost everyone puts in a garden in their yard. I am joining a friend this summer and will help her with the weeding, harvesting, etc. in her yard.

But, I my planting bug was not satisfied and living in a 3rd floor apartment, my options are limited. So, I decided to plant flowers on my ledge- outside my windows- here is the visual.

the plants and containers...

Here they are on the ledge - they fit quite nicely.

... and around the corner...
This is the view from the ground- you can just see a few of their heads peaking out, but imagine what it will look like in summer- all full and cascading down the side of the ledge in vibrant colors- this is one of my hana ideas that you just have to trust me on- I'll keep you updated.

anybody know how to get the dish down?

Birthday!!!

My birthday was on the 5th- so Angie took me out on a picnic!
the pooch.

The blooming trees are beautiful!

Later, we made me a birthday cake and, of course, licked all the frosting I could!

That evening, AJ and Angie took me out to eat and then to a movie. I will celebrate more with my parents when they come in June, I am going to milk this one for all it's worth!