Steamboat Springs Adventures

Moo-ving back to WI

2009-07-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

...and so is my blog! I can't be having SS Adventures in Madison!

http://moooovedbackhome.blogspot.com/

Mom and Dad will be here this afternoon; they're already in Denver. Packing up and heading back to the Midwest on Friday!

4 Days and Counting

2009-07-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

It is the beginning of the end, of my time in Steamboat. I had a going away party this weekend with some friends, and we had a lot of fun! Our original plan to grill and play kickball at the park was rained out.

A friends' son napping at the park before we got rained on

So, we ended up at my friend Courtney's house to grill and play games. What a blast! I went downtown with my friend Katie too.

Today, I met my friend Maggie and her boyfriend at the river to hang out.

The "Sea Wave"

Once again, weather foiled the plans, so we kickly headed into one of the nearby bar/restaurants to hide out for awhile. It was really nice to see Mags again before I go!

Hot Sulphur Springs - I can't believe it took me 1.5 years of smelling the rotten eggs and hadn't actually seen them until today!

1 day until Mom & Dad are here, 3 days until I'm done with work, and 4 days until we head back to Wisconsin!

Good News!

2009-07-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

I got the results of my latest MRI, and they're fantastic! The scan looks significantly better than my last one. The tumor is picking up less of the dye they inject in me. The part of the tumor that was picking up the dye was the part that was more worrisome, so this is very good! The tumor also has some water in it, which is consistent with tumor necrosis (meaning it's dying!).

All very good news :)

Moo-ving back to WI

2009-07-03T21:41:00.000-07:00

As most of you are well aware now, I am moving back to WI on the 17th. I'll be living in Madison with Nate. Mom and Dad are flying out on the 14th to help me pack up and head on out of the Yampa Valley. We'll be in Madison on the 18th.

There are definitely things I'll miss, and a few that I won't, but it's time for me to be closer to family and friends.

I had another MRI today, and for the fourth time in a row, I got ill when they injected the dye into me. Fun times. I'll find out what's going on in my brain on Monday. Hopefully everything is continuing to break down and die right. Unfortunately, I start my next round of chemo on Tuesday. Dr. Uhm decided to double my pills, so now I get lovely nausea and the anti-nausea meds don't seem to get rid of it.

On a good note, my hair is growing back, and you can barely see the bald spots anymore. I don't always have to wear a hat now!

I finished my first big project for my business: 180 wedding invitations for my friends' wedding. That was quite the task, but I was happy to do that for them. I also learned that I will not be working with Paper Source ever again. Check out my business blog for pictures.

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Red Rocks and RMNP

2009-06-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Nate came to visit for 6 days! We had several adventures; the first being me driving down to Denver to get him. I swear he is cursed when it comes to airports. Because of runway construction in Denver, his flight was delayed an hour, causing him to miss the connection to Steamboat. *Smacks hand on forehead*....

Now if I had been thinking, I would've packed my bags and we would've stayed at a hotel Wednesday night. However, I thought his bags had to go to Steamboat and that we had to come back. So, we got real familiar with I-70.

On Thursday, we drove back down to Denver for the Rise Against/Rancid concert at Red Rocks. Before the show we ate at a cool Mexican restaurant in Morrison, sat on the rooftop patio. Luckily, the rain held off and the concert was a blast! I was so thankful we had gotten a hotel for Thursday night. There's no way we could've driven back to Steamboat that night.

We drove back through Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Grand Lake. RMNP is so beautiful! It was great to see some elk and a moose too.

The never-ending rain in Steamboat foiled our hiking plans :( but we still had fun just hanging out. On Sunday, we went up to the hot springs. As we were driving up there, a wicked thunderstorm rolled in--lightning and thunder like crazy! Needless to say, we waited in the suburban until the storm rolled through before getting in the springs.

Nate took off Monday morning and actually made it back to Madison without any problems! Yay!

There's too many pictures to upload here, so follow this link to see the rest.

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1204846013/a=123328029_123328029/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Ta ta for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

3 Years Ago

2009-05-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, it was just like any other Saturday in college, except that I had to work. After work, I was in the Eau Claire Target and my mom called. Worst phone call of my life. I was too far away to make it to the hospital in time.

Grandma, I love you and I miss you.

Snorkeling

2009-05-13T17:29:00.001-07:00

Here are the underwater pictures from Nate's camera. I need to get mine developed yet!

This fish was scary. It had teeth; I swam away fast!

Caribbean Vacation

2009-05-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation, but I definitely didn't want to leave! Here's the recap:

Saturday: Somehow I managed to not hear my alarm, so I only had 20 minutes to get ready before the taxi came to pick me up at 4:20 am. Luckily, I had just about everything packed. I left the Hayden/Steamboat airport at 6:30 am. Then the fun began! I flew from Denver to Washington/Dulles (which is one of the worst airports I've been in). When I was on the plane to go from Dulles to San Juan, there was a security breach and we got to sit on the tarmack for awhile. So, by the time I got to San Juan, I had to really hurry to get to my gate, which was 2 concourses away. I got to St. Croix at 10:30 pm; Owen & Carol were there waiting for me and were surprised that I was alone.

This now brings us to our segment of "Why Delta Airlines Is Awful." Nate flew out of Milwaukee on Delta; however, his plane was late getting in, so he was behind schedule from the beginning. When they approached Atlanta, there was bad weather so they had to circle for 45 minutes. Because of this, Nate missed his connecting flight to San Juan. There were no more flights to San Juan that day, Nate got put up in a hotel and put on a flight at 8:30 am the next day. After hours of phone conversations with the airlines, Nate got his flight from San Juan to St. Croix rescheduled. Or so we thought...

Owen & Carol took me to Cottages by the Sea and helped me get all checked in.

Sunday: After our rental car was delivered at 10:00 am, I went to the restaurant next door to have some breakfast.

It's vacation, mimosas for breakfast!

Banana Rum Pancakes

Sitting on the beach

Owen & Carol came to pick me up from Cottages, and we went to the Country Club. At this point, I get a text from Nate in San Juan and it turns out that Delta is a bunch of morons. They didn't confirm Nate's flight from San Juan to St. Croix, so he couldn't get on the plane. Nate ended up running back and forth between the American and Delta and Cape Air counters, and by some luck, they got him onto a Cape Air flight. Owen, Carol, and I went to get Nate from the airport around 3:00. The strange thing is, Nate's luggage came in on the American flight that they wouldn't let him get on. Later that night we met Owen & Carol at Coconuts on the Beach for their steak night and a few drinks.

Monday: We spent Monday grocery shopping and just hanging out.

Mmmm Raspberry CruzanThere was an iguana just wandering around on the beach

Relaxing on the beach

Cheers!

Swimming and hanging on the beach (Don't mind my bald spots!)

Sunset from the patio

Nate grilling dinner, shrimp & steak kabobs

Tuesday:

This is our cottage on the right, Chart House

On Tuesday, we took our little Toyota Echo and went to Christiansted.

Standing on the boardwalk in Christiansted

We had to eat at this restaurant solely because of the name. It turns out that the food is rather good!

After lunch we walked around town and did some shopping. Then we got back to the car and started the drive out to Point Udall, the easternmost point in the U.S.

On the far east end of the island it's actually desert-like, cacti and everything

Monument at Point Udall

Coastline at Point Udall

Wednesday: We started out our day with a tour at the Cruzan Rum Distillery. It was actually pretty interesting, but the best part of the tour was the tasting at the end. You could have whatever you wanted and as much as you wanted! They just kept bringing the drinks. Our tour guide/bartender Pedro was pretty amusing.

After the rum factory, we went through the rainforest to the Domino Club. This is where the Beer Drinking Pigs live. Unfortunately there's only 2 pigs now; the last time we were there in '07 there was 4 pigs. We bought each pig a beer, and Nate fed them. I wasn't about to put my hands near those teeth!

While we were attempting to find Dragonfly Villa (the villa we stayed at in 2004), we played in the rainforest.

That night we had dinner at Owen & Carol's house with some of their friends and my cousin Paul's student Torrance (who is the chef at the restaurant next to Cottages). It got to be quite the late night, chatting on the deck!

Thursday: This was supposed to be our lounge on the beach day, but the weather decided not to cooperate.

We drove down to the Country Club, had a drink, and walked around the beach.

This is the Country Club

For dinner that night we grilled tuna steaks and made corn on the cob. It was delicious!

The flash was bright, I'm not drunk. We also had Rum Raisin ice cream for dessert. Yum!

While we were eating out on our patio, the geckos moved in. Smart little guys, they waited by the light to eat the bugs. After dinner, we met Owen & Carol at Coconuts on the Beach for a few drinks.

Friday: For our last day in St. Croix, Nate and I went to Christiansted to go snorkeling at Buck Island.

Off we go in the Big Beard Tours sailboat

Ok, so funny story: This is our captain Steve. Nate and I were talking to him and it turns out he's from Appleton, WI. Even funnier, I realized that he was the first mate when we went snorkeling in 2004.

Motor-sailing out to Buck Island

When we got to the island, we anchored on the beach first so we could practice snorkeling and make sure our gear worked okay. Nate and I were snorkeling, and then I saw a stingray. I panicked and went back to the beach at this point.

All done snorkeling (underwater pictures of the fish are yet to be developed)Rum Runners, my favorite restaurant on St. Croix. We had lunch here after snorkeling; we were starving!

Dining room/living room

Bedroom area

The bedroom and kitchen were one big room

Hanging out on the patio before going to the Caribbean Community Theatre play with Owen & Carol. The show was pretty good! Nate and I were laughing that they had a full bar at the theatre.

Saturday:

Nate and I were quite sad to have to leave. It was way too early as well, 5:00 am. Luckily on the way back neither of us had any flight or luggage troubles. However, there were two casualties; when Nate's rum was coming down the baggage claim conveyer belt two bottles broke. Tragic!

Overall, we had a great and much deserved vacation!

All My Bags Are Packed

2009-05-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

And I'm ready to go!

I leave for St. Croix tomorrow morning at 4:20 am. My first flight doesn't leave until 6:30 am, but the taxi likes to pick you up nice and early. Nate and I won't meet until 9:00 pm in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and our flight to St. Croix doesn't land until 10:30. Yea, that's right I'm going to be flying all day, 18 hours. My great aunt Carol and uncle Owen will pick us up from the airport and take us to Cottages by the Sea.

I.am.so.excited.

7 days of sleeping, eating, and RELAXING.

Finally, Hallelujah!

2009-04-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

S-l-e-e-p. I finally got some sleep. And I only had to get up twice. Hallelujah!

I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up the last time; it was 10:50.

And I could've slept more.

Hopefully this is a sign that the steroids are starting to chill out. I think my body is freaking out, though. I was so jittery all day today, which isn't very helpful when I'm trying to craft. Regardless, I still got some stuff made today that I can put up for sale at the Hayden Marketplace. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, so I'll have to work on the baby albums and the memory box after work this week.

And in 6 days... I'm going to be sitting on the beach, sipping something with Cruzan Rum in it.

Counting Down

2009-04-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well, my steroid dosage is down! 2 mg in the morning, 2 mg at night. It doesn't seem to be going fast enough though. The side effects are really driving me insane. I'm so warm all the time. I have my window wide open at work, and I just sit there and sweat pretty much all day. And then there's the weird, sporadic sleep pattern, even the Ambien doesn't seem to help much.

On Sunday, I'm down to just 2 mg in the morning. My MRI is Tuesday morning, and that will be my last day of the devil drugs. They'll be FedEx-ing my MRI to Dr. Uhm at the Mayo Clinic just to check it out and make sure everything's breaking down the way it should.

Now to figure out how to detox my body so I "unpuff." I'd really rather not have this huge belly and moon face while trying to wear a swimsuit and take pictures.

Speaking of swimsuit, NINE DAYS...NINE DAYS...NINE DAYS. I cannot wait to get on the beach and just relax and hang out with Nate. And I'm still so pumped about our free uprade to the nicer cottage! It is literally steps to the beach from Charthouse.

Well, that is all I know for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Nice Surprise

2009-04-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

I just got an e-mail this morning that we've been given a free upgrade to a different cottage! So, when you check out that link, we'll actually be staying in Charthouse.

Happy Little Surprise :)

On another note, today I'm starting to knock down my dosage of the drugs. Hallelujah!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Feeling Blah...

2009-04-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well the good news is that I talked to Dr. Uhm, and I now have a schedule to start tapering off of these devil drugs. So, on Monday I'll get to knock down the dosage a bit, and I'll be all done hopefully on the 28th. I'm supposed to stay on a small dosage until my next MRI, which I'm hoping to schedule on the 28th. This will give plenty of time for it to get Fed-Exed to Dr. Uhm at the Mayo Clinic, and be all good to go before Nate and I leave for vacation on May 2nd.

Vacation and off of these steroids cannot come soon enough.

Speaking of vacation, this is where we are staying, in the Coco Palm cottage: http://www.caribbeancottages.com/index.html

The cottage is in Frederiksted, which is just right down the hill from Owen & Carol. We're so excited to go!

Not much else in news. I've started really advertising for my business, and I will have some of my creations for sale very soon. Check out my business blog ;)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Closing Weekend

2009-04-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well it was good timing, just as my parents were getting through security at the airport, Nate was getting off the plane. So I had a lot of company over the last 10 days!

Nate and I just mostly hung out, but we did go skiing on Friday. It was quite warm out, so the snow was a little slushy, but we had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from our skiing adventures:

On the Christie Express Lift for one of our first runs. I needed a little run just to warm up!

View from the top On one of the easy runs. Oh who am I kidding, we only went on green runs because I am a chicken.

So... I put Nate on the plane this afternoon and now I'm alone again.

I finished my chemo for this month (first 5 days of the month on, 23 days off), and now I *should* be starting to taper off the steroids on Wednesday. I have to call my neurologist Dr. Uhm at the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday, and he's supposed to give me the schedule to start tapering off these devil drugs. While they do their job, I can't stand them! They make me a crazy person.

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Birthday Weekend

2009-04-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from my birthday

The flowers that Nate had delievered for me!
Out for my birthday dinner at Tequila's with my family and friends

Me and Lisa at Tequila's

What a Week!

2009-04-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Monday: I'm still sick, but manage to go to work somewhat. I don't think that the antibiotics have killed my sinus infection.

Tuesday-Thursday: I get to work, but I can't stand it for very long, so I manage to get in to see the PA that afternoon. Good thing I went! I got myself checked into the hospital and didn't get out until Thursday afternoon. Turns out it wasn't just a sinus infection (the constant throwing up might've been a clue). I got my head scanned, and my tumor is quite swollen from the radiation and breaking down. I guess when your head is swollen it makes you quite nauseated. I was also very dehydrated so getting an IV in was quite the time.

So... I got out of the hospital around noon-ish on Thursday and now I'm back on the steroid that I loooooooove so much. However, they've gotta control the swelling in my head until it goes down more. And, I'm not pleased about this either, I'm doing the pill-form chemo again. Dr. Uhm wants to be on the safe side.

On a good note, my company flew my parents out here! That was such a nice surprise! So Mom & Dad are here until Wednesday. They'll fly out on the same plane that Nate is flying in on!

Friday: Happy Birthday to Me! After an early morning doctor appointment with the oncologist...My friends Chris and Lisa organized this whole birthday party for me at Tequila's, one of my fave restaurants! I wasn't expecting so many people to show up, but there was 20-25 people there at one point or another. It was really great to see everyone and have everyone there! Thank you!

Saturday-Sunday: I've just been hanging out with Mom & Dad the past couple days. Nothing too exciting ;) I feel just fine, starting to feel "normal" again.. I'm just waiting for the awful steroid side effects to start up again. At least I got the doctors to agree to start tapering me down though.

That's all for now!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Slowly, But Maybe Surely...

2009-03-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

I seem to be gettting better. Between the antibiotics and z-pack, something seems to be working. Having a little trouble with exhaustion, but I'm working on it.

I'm just a little frustrated with life right now. My hours at work got cut to 32/week (all hourly employees), so that puts me in a bit of a crunch. But, I guess I'll have to make it work somehow, and with a little help (thank you Mom & Dad!).

It's kind of hard being alone again. I got really used to being around my family and Nate. Luckily, Nate will be here on the 8th for a couple days.

Not much else new, almost my birthday.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Stupid Immune System

2009-03-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

Because of the radiation, my immune system is shot. I managed to get a sinus infection somewhere between Madison and Steamboat. Gotta love the airport germ factories. So, I'm just trying to get better between laying on the couch and attempting to go to work sometimes. I feel pretty good in the middle of the day, it's just the mornings and the nights when my sinuses just throb.

Come on antibiotics!

It's good to be back in Steamboat, though! But kind of weird being alone again. I got kind of used to being around people all the time, and now I'm only around people when I'm at work really.

After a bunch of days of 60 degree weather, we're getting snowed on again. Which is good for the slopes, I guess they were getting kinda slushy. I was supposed to go skiing this past weekend, but sinus infection got in the way. So, I'm just hoping to be better by closing weekend so I can ski with Nate.

That's all for now!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Back in the 'Boat

2009-03-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hello from beautiful Steamboat Springs!

I am back to my apartment and back to work. It's nice getting back into the swing of things. I'm starting to feel better too.

Here's a few things from week 6 and last week:

Last Day! Treatment is over :)
Ringing the bell to signal that I completed my radiation

I donated A FOOT of hair to Locks of Love. My hair was just getting too thin to be that long.

Here's the new cut

Nate and I spent a lovely afternoon and evening on State Street in Madison.

We went to the Comedy Club and laughed our butts off! I definitely want to do that again.

Not much else is new, just trying to get back to life.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

I'm Still Alive

2009-03-06T10:14:00.001-08:00

I promise, I'm still alive!

I have been at home in Somerset, and now I'm in Madison with Nate. I'll be flying back to Steamboat tomorrow afternoon.

More on my last week and everything when I get back!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

And the Countdown is On!

2009-02-24T18:47:00.000-08:00

Three more days! Three more days!

La la la la la la! *does a happy dance*

It is almost done. Thank God. I'm just about ready to hit my breaking point. Six weeks is a lot to ask out of a person.

Three more days!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. I'm so thankful Nate is here for the rest of the week with me. And I'm excited to see everyone for the early April Birthday party on Saturday!

Week 5: Radiation Vacation

2009-02-20T16:20:00.000-08:00

This week drug on and on... and on. I couldn't wait for it to be Friday. When you want time to pass quickly, of course it doesn't. I just get so dang bored! I have things to do, but not enough energy to do them. But, one more week to go!! Just five more treatments, and I'm home free.

Grandpa came to deliver my chemo drugs this morning because my insurance company can't be easy. No... 'course not, it's health insurance! Instead of letting the specialty pharmacy at Mayo fill my prescription for the rest of my chemo drugs, they had to route it through some US Specialty Care crap and mail them to me. I had originally thought I was going home this weekend before I went to Madison, so I had them mailed there, thus the need for a delivery. So thank you, Grandpa :)

Grandpa came bearing gifts as well from Mom & Dad. More flowers :D

And then Nate came to pick me up, all the way from Madison. And he has to work tonight. Poor guy is going to be so sleep deprived. He really is the best!!

I'm so excited for tomorrow night. I'll be heading to Milwaukee to hang out with some of my girlfriends, potlucking it and going downtown to see a band. Should be a blast!

Now I just need to get through the next week. Luckily, Nate has some days off and can be with my for my final treatments.

That's all for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

P.S. Nate and I got our plane tickets booked this week for St. Croix, USVI. It is time for a REAL vacation! C'mon May 2nd!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T19:28:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Nate got me roses :) On our way to dinner at Sole Sapori in Mount Horeb
Dinner was absolutely delicious! If you're ever in Mount Horeb, definitely go to Sole Sapori!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Week 4: Radiation Vacation

2009-02-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

Coming to you from Madison, WI... I'm just chilling here by myself while Nate is at work (gotta love the night shift).

4 Things for the End of Week 4:

1) I got stabbed again. I hate blood draws. I really, really do.

2) I'm 2/3 of the way done. It's almost over!

3) I'm losing tons of hair. And today I found a spot that is starting to bald. Ugh...

4) I got four pretty Alstromeria's from Mom & Dad this morning.

Ta ta!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Week 3: Radiation Vacation

2009-02-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

... is not much of a vacation, lately.

I'm tired almost all of the time, and don't feel quite right. About two or three hours after treatment, I pretty much have to take a nap if I plan to function at all for the rest of the day. This then, of course, messes up my night time sleeping schedule. In the past two weeks, I don't think I've slept a whole night through. Dr. Uhm gave me some AmbienCR today, so we'll give that a shot and see if it helps.

I survived the first of many blood draws last Tuesday. Only a little hyperventilating and face spasms.

I was more than happy to take off Friday morning after treatment to go home and meet Nate there. That night we went out to dinner at Mama Maria's (YUM!) with my cousin Sasha, her husband Jason, and of course my favorite little guy Owen. He was pretty humorous throughout dinner, and it was really nice just to hang out!

Saturday, Nate took me to Treasure Island for my FIRST casino experience. It went quite well for me! I won $77 on slot machines. That's good enough for me :) After a stop in Roberts to see friends and little Ms. Lyla, we spent the night in River Falls hanging out with Nate's friends.

My hair is falling out my the handfulls, but there aren't any definite bald spots yet, so I'm not really sure where all the hair is coming from!

I definitely was not ready to come back to Rochester on Monday. I'm getting really sick of having to be here. And we're only 1/2 way done.... bleh.

Early Valentine's Flowers from Dad

Ta ta for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Week 3: Hair Loss

2009-02-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

I think my hair started falling out. My hand came away with more than just the normal shedding this morning while I was getting ready. And my head really itches, like the doctors said it would before the hair falls out.

*Pout*

Here's a few pictures of my room at the Hope Lodge.

And now I'm going to take a cat nap in the sun.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Week 2: Radiation Vacation

2009-02-04T08:16:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad each got me a rose. Two roses for two weeks done!

Nothing really to report for Week 2, just 1/3 of the way done. No new side effects have surfaced, and I haven't lost any hair yet. Although I did find out where the bald spots are going to be: 3 on the top of my head, 1 on the left, and 2 on the back right. So... that means I'm going to be investing in some hats and head scarves, unless by some fluke I can have a real cute comb over. Ha ha ha.

Nate was here Wednesday-Friday, and we went back to Somerset for the weekend. After Nate went back to Madison for work, I spent the weekend playing with my pretty Cricut and making Valentine's cards. I even talked Mom into going to Archiver's and Michael's with me!

Onto Week 3, almost half way done!

Ta ta :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Radiation Vacation: Week 1

2009-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posting! Treatment has been taking more energy out of me than I expected.

So, Week 1...

I couldn't get into the Hope Lodge right away, so Nate and I stayed at a hotel across the street from the lodge until Wednesday.

Getting ready to head to the subway for my first radiation treatment

Say goodbye hair, some of you will be missing very shortly :( The doctor said during the 3rd or 4th week is when hair usually starts falling out. I'm trying to prep myself for 6 new bald spots.

This is what my mask does to my face after treatment. Cute, right? I get to walk around like this for an hour or so until it goes away.

Everything went fine on the first day, pretty tired, and I was only a little nauseated. I thought I could handle it... boy was I wrong! Tuesday night was probably the worst night of my life; I'll spare you the details, but ugh... think worst nausea of your life. As my mom said, it sounds like morning sickness. Great, so I get to feel like that again someday?!

Anyways, The whole mess could've been avoided if my insurance company wasn't the spawn of satan. They decided to take their sweet time approving my chemo drugs (which has a pretty powerful anti-nausea drug with it), so much so that my neurologist had to write them a pretty strong letter. Oi.. health insurance, what a pain in the butt! I was so weak and pathetic on Wednesday that Nate had to wheelchair me--yes that's right, WHEELCHAIR me--through the subway to treatment. I was such an invalid, and I still felt pretty terrible. Luckily, I was meeting with the doctor that day and got some other anti-nausea meds. My prescription for the chemo drugs was finally filled on Wednesday too. Now every night, I get to choke down 6 pills of various sizes. Fun times, right?

The waiting list appears to move pretty quickly at the Hope Lodge. On Monday, I was 9th of the list, and by Wednesday afternoon, I was getting checked in. Of course at this point, all I wanted to do was lay down and die still. The tour of the place seemed to take forever. Finally, we got up to my room and the lady had mercy on me. I almost immediately crawled into bed with all of my clothes on while Nate moved all of my stuff in (Thank you so much!!). I was in a coma for the next four hours. It was a little disorienting to wake up in a strange place with it completely dark.

After I finally got my drugs, the rest of the week went just fine. The Hope Lodge is super nice. For some reason, I got a handicap accessible room, so I even have a bench to sit down in the shower. I've got an extra bed in here, so if anyone feels like coming to visit and stay the night, I've got room! Mom, Dad, and Grandpa came to get me Friday morning after treatment. I spent the weekend at home, with my butt permanently glued to the couch reading the 3rd and 4th Twilight books. With the exception of going to my Aunt Rosie's to see a bunch of family and to my cousin Sasha's. I also played with my favorite toy the Cricut on Sunday (see business blog for my crafty project!)

Owen in the hood!

Overall, the first week went pretty well. I could've definitely done without the amazing guttural pyrotechnics, but I survived.

*Breaks into song* "I will survive, as long as I know how to live..."

Haha, just kidding :)

That's enough for now I guess. Already started Week 2! I'll get some pictures up here of my room once I get it straightened out again.

Ta ta!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Radiation Vacation

2009-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

I am still alive.

I'm just so exhausted and nauseated. I'll post more later about the first couple days of treatment.

Come anti-nausea drugs, start working!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

I'm Baaaaack!

2009-01-17T12:45:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

Once again, I'm back on Wisconsin soil. Tomorrow Nate and I will head to Rochester tomorrow and get this radiation vacation on the road!

Ta ta for now :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Because I'm Bored...

2009-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:00

And I don't have anything new or exciting to tell you.

Oh, except one thing. I'm hooked on a new (to me) series! I know I'm a little late on this bandwagon, but I was on Harry Potter at first too...but I love Twilight! You know how I love my books :) And thanks to my friends Jim, Steph, Dave, Bridgit, and the cute lil baby Logan... I shall be able to read all four of them during radiation vacation.

Now back to my boredom...

Things you’ve done: bold

Things you want to do: italics

Things you haven’t done and don’t want to do: plain

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band (If middle/high school band counts)
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world (I really want to! More so for Epcot, Universal, etc.)
8. climbed a mountain (I live in the Rockies!)

9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped (no way!! over my dead body)
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea (water + lightning = no thanks)
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty

18. grown your own vegetables (I want to have my own garden again so bad. Look at what your influence has done, Mom & Grandma!)
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked (Yea, that sounds like a good way to die)
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagra falls in person

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen michaelangelo’s david in person
41. sung karaoke (only in a group)
42. seen old faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance (I'll pass on this one thank you!)
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling (Snorkelling only, St. Croix here we come!)
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud (Oh, the days of mud wars in Grandma's garden)
54. gone to a drive-in movie
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business (Check me out! http://dragonflydesignsbykrj.blogspot.com)
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason

64. donated blood (The only reason someone is taking my blood is for very necessary medical purposes)
65. gone sky diving (I'll need someone to push me out the door and pull my shoot)
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter (I'd prefer to ride along)
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone (Who breaks a pinky finger, honestly)
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating (Every November, for most of my life)
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous (Yes! Josh Hartnett)

92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one (Love you, Grandma)
94. had a baby (Someday!)
95. seen the alamo in person
96. swum in the great salt lake
97. been involved in a lawsuit

98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

By the looks of this, I really need to travel and visit some places! Namely, Europe :) It'd be really nice to see some of the famous American landmarks too.

I leave my beautiful Steamboat (temporarily!) on Friday afternoon, and land in Madison on Friday night. Nate and I will be heading to Rochester Sunday afternoon/night...almost time for radiation vacation!

Ta ta for now.

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Snow

2009-01-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

...And it just keeps on coming! We've had 28 inches in the past 3 days, and we're set to have more on the way. Total for the season is at 179 inches of Champagne Powder!

This is what I brushed off my car Wednesday morning (that's only 12 hours of accumulation!)

RIP Fancy

2009-01-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Fancy Fish :(

My poor little fish passed away the day after I left for Christmas. I knew she was fading fast that Friday night, and probably wouldn't make it through to the next night. My friend Lisa found her the next morning and flushed her to Fishie Heaven.

Sad.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone :)

I spoke with my neurologist Dr. Uhm yesterday. He had a chat with Dr. Schomberg (radiation oncologist) about the plan, and decided that we should do some chemo concurrently with my radiation. Calm down people...it's just the pill form chemo, and it won't make my hair fall out--believe me, I had a heart attack the first time he said that to me too! Because that's what I'm most concerned about, of course ;)

Nate and I celebrated one year last night with a FABULOUS dinner at the Capital Grille in downtown Milwaukee. Seriously, best meal I've ever had in my life and best steak ever! It was such a fun night :)

Stuffed with delicious steak and lobstah!
Very good wine! Castello del Poggio (Moscato d'Asti)
Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Christmas

2008-12-26T18:21:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone :) Hope you're all having a lovely holiday season.

Me and Bri at the Davis Christmas
My cousin Brandon's youngest Brooklyn. She's just so dang cute!

Merry Christmas Fat Kitty! Pumpkin wasn't too cooperative for taking a picture by the tree.

Nate showing off one of his presents

Me starting to open my presents

First Christmas Together :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Radiation Vacation

2008-12-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone :)

My appointment at Mayo went just fine. And we have a plan!

Hanging out in the hotel room Sunday night before my appointment on Monday

Radiation Vacation will begin on January 19th at 1:15 pm. We had to do some pre-treatment stuff while we were there. They made a mold of my face and put sensors on the mask, then ran me through the CT Scan. We will use the mask and the CT Scan to line me up for treatment; I'll have to be strapped into the mask every day for treatment. It's the craziest looking thing! I'll have to get a picture of it sometime.

Otherwise, not much new (besides the steroid effects not having worn off yet, grrrr!). I'm at home in Somerset for a few days, and will head back to Madison on Christmas night to be with Nate.

Ta ta!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

I'm Off!

2008-12-20T03:26:00.000-08:00

The Alpine Taxi picks me up in 50 minutes to take me to the Hayden Airport. If everything goes alright (and it had better!), I'll be in Madison this afternoon.

See some of you soon!

*Update*

I made it to Denver just fine, early even. Good job airport snow plow drivers!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Less Than 24 Hours

2008-12-19T13:00:00.000-08:00

In less than 24 hours, I will be on a plane to Madison! Now the weather just has to cooperate; I only have an hour in between landing in Denver and taking off for Madison. That does not leave anytime for errors. The good news, though, is that there doesn't appear to be any big storms heading for Steamboat or Hayden. *Fingers Crossed*

I land in Madison at 1:30, and then on Sunday begins the crazy holiday driving everywhere!

My appointment with Dr. Schomberg (radiation oncologist) is Monday at 11:30. We should have a more concrete plan for radiation vacation then!

Ta ta! :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Sweet Freedom

2008-12-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

Good Morning Everyone! (Please ignore the chipmunk cheeks)

Free at last, free at last, Lord Almighty, free at last! Hahaha :) I'm so glad to be done with the Decadron. I'm actually starting to feel more normal again.

I survived getting my staples removed. Actually, it didn't even hurt! The PA who did it told me it was probably going to burn, so I layed down... now I feel silly. It took like 2 minutes and was virtually painless. Of course I kept my staples ;) I can see a future for them on a scrapbook page.

Now I'm just looking forward to 5:00!! :D And the wine was delicious.

Last One

2008-12-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

This morning I took my last DevilDecadron! Goodbye steroids :) And tomorrow at 5:00 pm I will be having a large glass of half price wine and $1 appetizers with my friend Lisa to celebrate my FREEDOM. One month and one day of those awful steroids--it is definitely time to be done.

We shall see how long it takes my body to right itself again. Come on!

Other than that, I go to the clinic to get my staples removed tomorrow morning at 10:30. Two of my co-workers took a look at them today, since I haven't been able to see them for myself, and said that the incision looks like it's healing really well. It's been itching like crazy, so I figured it was healing ok. I'm just a little worried that the staple removal is going to hurt :-s. Nothing a Percocet can't fix, right?.. just kidding, just kidding. I couldn't drive myself or go back to work then. Accounting on Percocet--it could be fun ;)

Dr. Orton called me today! He was my doctor when I spent the night at the hospital after finding the tumor. He called just to see how I was doing and what became of everything, and he's going to stop by my staple removal appointment tomorrow. What a sweet, old man!

It's a beautiful, blue-sky day in Steamboat with fresh Champagne Powder snow :)

Ta ta!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

One Month Ago Today

2008-12-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

New winner in the "This is the most consecutive sleep I've had in a month" contest: 7.5 hours!

With the help of two Ambien and being exhausted from scrapbooking Christmas presents all day yesterday, I actually slept for 7.5 hours straight, no waking up at all. I feel excellent :) Today and tomorrow are my last two days of the Devil Decadron, and then I am free. FREE! Now, if we can just get these appetite cravings and chipmunk cheeks to go away...

On a side note, it started snowing last night around dinner, and it hasn't stopped. We're under a winter storm warning until dinner time tonight. I love how the Weather Channel website gives the percent chance of snow. Today's percentage: 90%. Gee, do you think so?! We've gotten 10 inches of snow in the past 24 hours mid-mountain (I'm not sure how much we've gotten in town, but it's enough!). The ski industry is rejoicing, and I am cursing how much snow I'm going to have to brush off the suburban tomorrow morning.

View from my balcony

It's crazy to think that one month ago today, at this exact time, I was sitting in the doctor's office at Yampa Valley Medical Center. I was going through all of my symptoms and medical history to begin sorting out what the heck could be causing me to have a two-month headache. This is the point when Jennifer Sliney, PA, decided that we needed to rule out the two big things first: eyes and brain. And sure enough, brain it is! So much has happened in the past month; it's all been one big whirlwind. I don't know how I would've made it through all of this without the immense support from family, friends, and co-workers. Thank you for everything :)

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Finally!

2008-12-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

After missing the phone call from my neurologist on Monday (I was in a 2.5 hour meeting for work), we've been playing phone tag all week. I had finally had it today. I understand that he is busy, but I really need to get my appointments on the 22nd because Nate and I will already be in southern MN the day before. Save some driving anyways!

So, I think I talked to just about every person I could in the neurology, neurosurgery, and radiation oncology departments... but I am victorious! I meet with Dr. Schomberg, my radiation oncologist, on the 22nd at 11:30 am. From there, we will start to plan my radiation vacation.

If you want something done, keep calling and harrassing them, I guess ;)

*Update*:

My neurologist and I finally connected tonight. He didn't tell me anything new really, but agreed that radiation is definitely the route we should pursue. It was nice just to talk and go over everything again. I think he figured out that I went over his head and made the appointment myself, hehe ;)

Glorious :)

2008-12-12T06:53:00.000-08:00

That is what 6 hours of consecutive sleep make me feel like: g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s! I am ecstatic to be almost done with this god-awful steroid. In fact, I will be celebrating my freedom next Tuesday with a 1/2 price glass of wine and $1 appetizers with my friend Lisa after work. There is a countdown, and no I am not kidding! :D

No more brain news as of late. I have been playing phone tag with my neurologist all week, trying to set-up an appointment with him and Dr. Schomberg over Christmas to plan my radiation vacation.

I talked to Lucinda, Dr. Parney's nurse, this morning--I had a few questions from post-op. She told me that I should have my staples removed on Monday or Tuesday. So, on Tuesday at 10:30 am my head will once again be metal free!

That's all to report today!

Thank you for your continued support :) It means the world to me!

Love Always,

Kaitlin

Grrr-eat News!!

2008-12-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

Dr. Parney, my neurosurgeon, called today to give me the final pathology report. Grr-eat news!!

The biopsy results show that I have a type of tumor called a glioma, specifically an low grade astrocytoma. From the Mayo Clinic website, "astrocytomas are the most common glioma, and can occur in most parts of the brain. Astrocytomas originate from cells called astrocytes (star-shaped glial cells). People can develop astrocytomas at any age, though they are more common in adults." So at least I have a pretty shaped tumor, right? ;)

Tumors are graded on a scale of one to four, one being the most benign. Grade one tumors are not commonly found in adults, and they haved graded my tumor as a TWO. So I'm basically as low as I can get on the tumor scale! There were a few small areas in the middle of the tumor that had picked up the dye during my MRI's, and biopsy showed that these areas might be leaning more towards grade three. However, it is not enough to bump my tumor grade up.

This is the best possible diagnosis I could've gotten! If I have to have a tumor, at least it's where it is and what it is :)

So, Dr. Parney said that we could just let it be and monitor it with MRI's, or we could be more proactive and go the radiation route. I choose to get this thing out of my head!

Dr. Uhm, my neurologist, will be contacting me to set-up an appointment with him and also with Dr. Schomberg, the radiation oncologist, while I am back in WI for Christmas. From there, we will formulate a plan for my radiation vacation.

Yay! :D

Back to Work!

2008-12-08T05:50:00.000-08:00

It's kind of odd to say, but I'm a little excited to go back to work. But, I'm a creature of habit, and work is "normal." I could use a little normal!

Also, I just wanted to shamelessly self promote a bit. On the right side of this page I added a link for my business blog. Check it out! :D

Thank you everyone for your continued support and prayers. Love you guys :)

Sleep

2008-12-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

For the first time in 24 days, I slept for more than 3 consecutive hours. Five and half hours of sleep in a row never felt so good :)

That is all.

And I'm Back :)

2008-12-06T00:18:00.000-08:00

After sitting on the tarmack de-icing for forty minutes in Minneapolis, I had to make a run for it in the Denver airport! Thirty four gates later, I made it just in time to catch my flight to Steamboat. Phew!

And I'm back in the 'Boat with all the pretty snow on the slopes. And seven shiny staples in my head!

Back to Steamboat

2008-12-05T09:19:00.001-08:00

I'm heading back to Steamboat tonight. Nate and I will be leaving for the airport around 4:00 pm, out of Minneapolis/St. Paul, and I should be back to Steamboat by 10:00 pm.

It was so nice to be home, but I feel like I need to get back to as much normal as I can. Back to my apartment, my routine, and heck.. even work!

I'm feeling just awesome, and just waiting on the pathology results now.

Thank you everyone for the continued support! :)

I Have Clean Hair!

2008-12-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

Finally leaving St. Mary's Hospital

Leaving the hospital with the world's best boyfriend

Mom and Dad got me some pretty flowers upon my arrival home :)

My favorite little guy Owen and my cousin Sasha came to visit me last night :) Grandpa also visited.

I HAVE CLEAN HAIR! These might be the best four words in the English language. Well, at least today they are! Nate and I had an adventure in bandage removal and hair washing yesterday. One more step towards feeling normal again. In a preemptive strike, I took some Percocet before we started, just in case. But it actually went very well; there was only one little lightheaded point where I had to sit down. But we’re all good now!

(I’ve got a picture of my Frankenstein wound if anyone wants to see it, but I figured I wouldn’t post it in interest of not gagging everyone out).

To recap my release from the hospital:
Everything seemed to take FOREVER! Dr. Parney was supposed to talk with me between 8:00 am and 10:00 am; however, that kept getting pushed back. I don’t know how many movies Nate and I watched, just sitting there waiting. In the meantime, they kept giving me antibiotics and slowly unhooking all the cords and IV’s coming out of me. All of my nurses were really great, especially Jenika who was with me through the entire night.

… except my last nurse, Cheryl. We shall talk about Cheryl in a little bit.

All of the Mayo staff was really wonderful, but the waiting was just killing us. Mom, Dad, Bri, Nate, and I did a lot of waiting around yesterday morning. I did have two visitors while I was waiting to get discharged! (Thank you Mark and Cindy, it was wonderful to see you both). Eventually, the family took off to take the little sister back to college, and Nate and I waited it out.

Tick tock, tick tock, just waiting on Dr. Parney. I had questions I needed answered, and he wasn’t going to release me without talking to me of course. Dr. Parney is an excellent neurosurgeon, and everything went perfectly.

Now let’s go back to Cheryl: why does the last person I deal with at Mayo have to be her? Up until this point, everyone had been so wonderful, and then I get this twit. I was little upset with her because I just flat out don’t do well with needles, so I cover my face when she’s removing my IV’s. I don’t need to see that, but she proceeds to make fun of me for doing it. By this point, I just want to leave the hospital , and there’s no reason she needs to make fun of me for having a fear of needles. We shall come back to her again.

Finally, 1:00 pm Dr. Parney and his RN Lucinda come to talk to Nate and I, and I get my answers.

So this is what I know:

I went into the OR at 11:30 am, and from there it took about an hour and a half to get me set-up for surgery. They had to attach a frame to my head (which is why I have two little screw marks in my forehead) for the stereotactic biopsy. They made a 2 inch incision in my skin, and a 1 centimeter hole in my skull. It turns out that I will have this hole in my skull for the rest of my life. Dr. Parney said that some scar tissue may fill in, but I will always have a little hole.
The surgery itself took about an hour. They took 8 little pieces from the tumor, which are currently with pathology to determine exactly what type of tumor I have. Dr. Parney said that my tumor appears to have developed in my brain; it did not spread from somewhere else. Also, that it appears to be fibrous, which tends to mean slow-growing. Both of these are good! The broad name for the tumor is a glioma. It is the most common type. There are a broad range of specific types of gliomas, and we will need final pathology to determine exactly what type of tumor I have. A glioma can be benign or malignant, either way my treatment path is looking at radiation. The specific type of glioma will determine my specific radiation therapy. We’re hoping for final pathology results within a couple days.

Now back to my release:
After speaking with Dr. Parney and getting everything all squared away with my prescriptions—or so we thought—I can finally get dressed and out of that lovely hospital gown. They insisted upon wheeling me down to the pharmacy to pick-up my prescriptions. Once we get to the pharmacy, we realize that somehow Cheryl has managed to screw this up. So, back upstairs we go to the 8th floor to get it all straightened out. I swear this woman should not be working at Mayo. Finally, we get someone to write me the correct prescription and get back downstairs to wait for half an hour. By this point, Nate and I are less than pleased. We finally managed to get out of that nut house at 3:00 pm.

It never felt so good to walk into my parent’s house and take a bath. Two days of laying in a hospital bed is a bit much, especially when I felt just fine. It is good to be home. I am starting to feel like a normal person again. Now, if I could just start sleeping through the night… but with slowly weaning off the steroid, that should help!

It took me until last night to grasp this.

For me, what was a calm, almost timeless procedure was really a long process for everyone else involved. I was talking with Nate last night about the 5 hours that I don’t have any concept of, and it all makes me very thankful and filled with gratitude for everyone’s support. My parents, my sister, Nate, and Nate’s dad all sat in that waiting room for hours, just waiting on me, waiting to hear news that I was okay. And I’m not forgetting people that I know were elsewhere, waiting on the same news.

And it’s a peculiar feeling that I have right now. I am just eternally grateful for family and friends, and the tremendous support that I have been shown.

I’m not quite sure how to thank everyone, or to put it more eloquently, but know that I mean it with all of my heart.

Love you all.

Good Morning Everyone!

2008-12-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

I am up and moving around!

Dinner last night consisted of all liquids: chicken broth, tea, grape juice, and raspberry sherbert. They just wanted to make sure I didn't get all nauseated, which was completely fine me. Whatever drug they gave me to help the anesthesia worked! I have not felt sick at all!

After Mom, Dad, and Bri headed back over to the hotel last night, Nate and I just hung out for awhile. That amazing man actually slept on a reclining chair next to me the whole night. I just don't know what I'd do without him. : )

I didn't get a terrible lot of sleep, but I did at least get some. The night went just fine. I was up every couple hours, for one reason or another. They gave me some Tylenol pretty early in the night, just a little pain where my incision was. Sometime around 3:00 or 4:00 am the incision started to throb pretty good, and there was no way I was going to get any sleep. So, they gave me some Percocet to swallow and injected my IV with Fentanyl. Talk about instant relief! I'm sure it has worn off by now, and the incision only hurts a little bit, but that is to be expected!

My release order is already signed, and I'm just waiting to talk to Dr. Parney. Everything went so fast yesterday. What seemed like two seconds for me, was more like 4 hours for everyone else. The doctor should be coming to visit within an hour or two. I have a lot of questions about what went on.

After that, I should be free to go. Well, as soon as they pull these last two IV's outta me. They were holding off just in case I needed another round of antibiotics. I'm just happy to have the arterial line removed this morning, so I can move about freely.

It's going to be a couple days until we have some pathology results on the tumor. When I have more information on that, I'll be sure to update everyone! They said I can remove the bandage when I get home, and then I will have to figure out how to cover it up with the rest of my hair!

Nate went back to the hotel and got everything packed up, and my parents & sister should be heading back over here shortly. We'll all be heading to Somerset then, and I'll be flying out of Minneapolis/St. Paul on Friday night.

And now, thank God.. it is time for some real breakfast!

And I Feel Awesome!

2008-12-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

Well I made it, and I feel just great. I had fully expected to be pretty comatose yet today, but surgery went very well.

Waiting in pre-op. Luckily, they only had to put one IV in me while I was awake. And that was a little traumatic for me! I took a Lorazepam and squeezed Nate's hand really hard! But, at least they could use this one to put me asleep before the put the other IV in later.

They gav me some really sexy tights to wear to help with circulation and blood clots.

Luckily, while we waited for over 3 hours in pre-op there were some movies to watch.

Just watching "Dan in Real Life"

Smooshin' the smister :)

And chillin' with my man :) Who has been absolutely incredible through all of this. He's even sleeping on a crappy reclining chair in my room tonight, despite the fact there's a comfy hotel bed across the street.
And it's finally time to go see the anesthesiologist and get this show on the road!

Everything happened so fast! I was laying down in the pre-op and the next thing I knew I was getting wheeled into the OR. They have the best blankets in there, so warm and cuddly :) They started giving me drugs in my one IV to knock me out... and that is all I remember. I've been told that set-up took a little while, and that the surgery itself took an hour. When I woke up in the recovery room, I actually felt very good. They had given me some drugs to help with the nausea, since I have had anesthetic/nausea issues in the past. After laying there for a little bit, they asked if I was ready to see my family.. and then started one of the most bizarre experiences of my life.

I no longer have any shame. Between the big burly male RN, the skinny white boy, and 3 female RN's, I thought I had been hog-tied. I had more hands on my body than I have ever had: unhooking cords, adding new cords, new robes, sponge bath, unhooked IV's, etc. I have no idea what they all did to me.

It was a completely whirlwind. And just like that, they whisked me up to my private room 8D. I think they might have fixed me up a little more after that, but mostly I was just excited to see mom, dad, Bri, and Nate walk in :) We chatted for a little bit, and then I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. So, I took a lil nap with my fuzzy stuffed animal that Nate bought for me :D while they went to grab a bite to eat.

In the meantime, they got me feeling like a normal person again. It's a wonder what a ponytail holder and a toothbrush can do for you.

I allowed a picture to be taken after this point.

Me with the best guy ever :)

Bri wasn't feelin' so hot with the hospital smells and all the tubes coming out of her sister ;)

Smisters :)

Yes, yes I am a dork. It's not quite "the face"--you know what I mean Sash, but it'll have to do for now!

My hair... my poor sad hair. Luckily, it can be covered, but dang that's a lot of hair! The bandage is realy making it look worse than it actually is.

My neurosurgeon Dr. Parney stopped by briefly a couple hours ago, to check on me and make sure I'm doing all fine neurologically. I don't know how many times I've had to follow the fingers, wiggle my toes, squeeze hands, and tell them my full name and birthday. Haha!

Because everything happened so fast, I asked Dr. Parney if we could talk tomorrow and just go through the procedure step-by-step so I can make some notes and get some questions answered.

Preliminary pathology didn't tell us a whole lot. It is a tumor; they are calling it a glioma. The tumor originated in my brain, it hasn't spread from somewhere else--which is good! We're hoping for some pathology results tomorrow, aiming for Friday I believe. After tomorrow I hope to have some more information.

I'm not sure what time I will be getting released yet, but we will be heading to Somserset after I get discharged.

Thank you for everyone's support, and for those who even came to visit me!

D-Day!

2008-12-02T04:39:00.000-08:00

I figure one last post before I'll shut my computer down.

I get admitted at 7:30 am, and then I have no idea what's going on from there time-wise. I'll meet with the anesthesiologist, and then surgery itself is supposed to take an hour.

From there I will be in recovery for a couple hours, and then they will move me to my room in Intensive Care to monitor me for the night. They say I'll be up and moving around on Wednesday.

I've got a mass text set up to let everyone know when I have to relinquish my phone. From that point, any questions will be answered to the best of his abilities by Nate. I don't know what I'd do without him.

So, with that being said... I should be conscious enough tomorrow to at least get some form of "I'm ok" out, and we'll move on from there!

Love you everyone!

And The Time Is...

2008-12-01T18:22:00.001-08:00

I will be reporting to St. Mary's Hospital at 7:30 am tomorrow. From there, I am not sure of the timeline.

Time to get this show on the road!

Chilling in the Hotel Room

2008-12-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

Nate and I took off this morning about 7:30 am from Madison to make the journey to the Mayo Clinic.
We had to liven up the drive... 3.5 hours of flat farmland is so boring! Being dorks is what we do best :)

We actually arrived to St. Mary's a little early, so they got us in a moving pretty quickly. My MRI was set for 12:00 pm. I think I was done and changed back into my clothes by 12:45 pm. Once again they had to shoot me up with some dye for contrast... I took a Lorazepam and layed down before that needle went anywhere near my arm. However, I'm getting better with needles! Never thought I'd see the day.

Before they did the MRI, they had to hook-up some electrode patches. Two of these patches required having a little hair shaved :( Luckily they are small and can't see them at all. Unfortunately, I've got these little black dots on my face that I get to walk around with for the rest of the day! This is me pouting about the hair loss. I guess I'll just have to add the BIG chunk to the envelope tomorrow. And by big, I mean 2 inches. That is way too much hair for me!

So now, we're just chilling in the hotel room across the street from St. Mary's Hospital. It's the Staybridge Suites, and oh my gosh! I think this is possibly one of the nicest rooms I have ever stayed in!

Threre's even a dishwasher and refrigerator!We couldn't believe how nice this room is!

Mom, Dad, and Bri are currently on their way here. After 8:15pm tonight, I can call to find out what time I'm scheduled to be admitted and start pre-op.

That's all I know for now!

Thank you everyone for the continued supports, prayers, well-wishes, good vibes, etc!

Putting Up The Tree

2008-11-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

Stringing up the lights on the little tree Ain't she cute? :)

Nate's going to do some more decorating yet, but we had a little fun!

Our First Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

Nate and I spent our first Thanksgiving together :) Albeit we didn't eat until 10:30 pm because Nate had to work a second shift... oh the life of a cop! But it was still delicious. It was my first time making Turkey Dinner, and I felt the need to document some of the delicious steps :)

The Turkey & The Brining:

Jessica gave me this wonderful idea that I should brine the turkey breast. I will never not do this. Oh-my-so-moist! .... However, they were not completely and properly brined due to lack of proper-sized kitchen equipement. Ahem, Nate! So I imagine if they were done correctly, they would be even better. A theory I shall have to test next year...

The Best Dessert On Earth: Raspberry Pretzel Dessert

Normally I only get this dessert once a year at Christmas because I DEMAND it :) And momma complies! However, Nate doesn't eat pumpkin pie.. or pumpkin anything for that matter, so here it is.

The Cranberries:

None of that Ocean Spray out of the can crap! And now I have an integral part to a Thanksgiving dinner leftovers recipe that I've been wanting to use for three years (Herbed Turkey & Waffles).

The Stuffing:

Which for this year, we will call a disaster. It started off well, but... ended in a huge quantity and not quite the right flavor. Good thing Nate likes it because he's going to be eating it for the next 2 weeks!

The Whole Meal:

Ta da!

Turkey deliciously brined and moist.

Scalloped Corn--thank you cousin Sasha. I think the leftovers are almost gone already!

Apple & Onion Stuffing

Aunt Rosie's Mashed Potatoes--these I tweaked a bit. Add some garlic, add some cheese, and turn them into twice-baked potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Yes, we're real klassy like that. And yes that is sparkling juice; the steroids do not allow me to have alcohol. Wine... :( Literally, I whine :(

One More Appointment Down

2008-11-28T13:46:00.001-08:00

Yes, it is 5:15 am. Excuse the look on my face and the puffy, chipmunk cheeks the steroids have given me.

Not much to report today. Nate and I had to journey back over to Mayo for pre-op physical. Everything went very smooth; we were early and they got us out of there quick and easy. Just some routine stuff.

I managed to survive getting my blood drawn (Needles are #2 fear on the "Oh My Gd I want to die list"). So thank you sweet, sweet anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam!

They gave us a little information on what I need to do Monday night and where to check in for admissions on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, we'll all be headed down to Mayo again. My appointment for the MRI brain mapping is at 1:00 pm. And from there we'll be in Rochester for a couple days.

That is all I know for now!

And now it is time to relax with mom, dad, Bri, and Nate in Madison.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today is a great day to be thankful for wonderful family and friends.

So, thank you everyone for the continued support/wishes/thoughts/prayers/etc!

And We Have a Plan!

2008-11-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

Albeit, it's a rather fast moving one... but here it is.

After meeting with the neurologist, neurosurgeon, and radiation oncologist yesterday--it was a LONG day--I'm going to be getting biopsied on Tuesday.They are calling it a "low grade tumor." The doctors are saying it is a slow growing tumor; they think it might have been there for years. The tumor isn't really inhibiting me. I don't have any "neurological symptoms." It appears as though the tumor has been slowly growing for quite some time, as the area around the tumor has just kinda made room for it without causing any problems.

We don't know exactly what it is yet, hence the biopsy. What we do know is that they will not be surgically removing it. It is too far inside of my brain and too risky to actually try to remove it. Once it has been biopsied and pathology has determined exactly what it is, then we can decide on a course of action. It looks like I'll be heading towards 6 weeks of radiation to erradicate the tumor.

Here is my schedule for the next week or so:

Friday 11/28
9:45 am Pre-op Physical

Monday 12/1
11:45 am MRI
They're going to be putting stickers on my head and running me through the MRI while Dr. Parney, the neurosurgeon, uses a wand to specifically map out my brain. He will use this map for the biopsy on Tuesday.

Mom, Dad, Bri, Nate, and I will be at a hotel Monday night, as I need to be at St. Mary's hospital fairly early Tuesday morning.

Tuesday 12/2
6:30 am-ish Pre-op Stuff
At some point on Tuesday, I will be getting biopsied. It is called a stereotactic biopsy. Dr. Parney will drill into the back of my head, up and above my right ear. He will then insert a hollow needle to take pieces of the tumor, which will be sent to pathology for preliminary results. The surgery itself should take about an hour. I will spend the night in intensive care, and if all goes well will be up and walking around the next day, discharged probably Wednesday night. After that, we'll all be in Somerset

Final pathology results will take a couple days before they can completely determine what it is we're dealing with. When these results are in, I will meet with my neurologist Dr. Uhm to determine our course of action.

...here's the kicker. Neither of the doctors believe that the tumor is causing my headaches. So, good thing I had a 2 month headache, otherwise it could've been a long time before we ever would have found this tumor.

I'm flying back to Colorado on Friday the 5th. And we'll just have to see how everything goes!

And I'm Off!

2008-11-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

The taxi will be picking me up at 4:10 am, and my flight out of Hayden is at 6:15 am. I'll be landing in Madison at 1:30 pm.

Nate and I will be heading to the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday morning, where we'll meet my parents and Nate's mom & sister. It's going to be a loonnnnnnnnnng day of appointments, but by the end of the day I hope to have a few more answers. And possibly a plan of attack!

I'll try to send out a mass text, call, etc. to reach as many people as I can once I have some news.

Thank you everyone for the support!

Mayo Clinic Appointments

2008-11-18T21:30:00.000-08:00

Just talked to the Mayo Clinic:

Wednesday 26th
1:00 pm meeting with neurologist
3:00 pm meeting with neurosurgeon

They scheduled me with the radiation oncologist, just in case, at 4:00 pm. So it may get cancelled. Here's hoping on that one, or I really am going to have a break down about losing my hair!

Fun stuff, right? ;)

Brain Update

2008-11-17T19:55:00.000-08:00

So here's my latest news:

I saw the neurosurgeon for like 15 minutes. I guess it was more of a formality, which I did not know. Apparently, Dr. Orton had just wanted me to see him so I could get a referral elsewhere. Dr. Turner, the neurosurgeon, immediately said that I should go to the University of Colorado (better diagnostic imaging and biopsy experience/equipment); I asked if I could go to Mayo, and he said of course and that Dr. Orton had said that I was from that area.

So, Mayo is supposed to be calling me tomorrow to schedule an appointment either for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and then we'll figure it out. I'll be needing to get a biopsy I guess, and it's sounding like it's gotta come out.

But leave it to the specialist to finally call it what it is. "Deep brain tumor." Alright, thank you for someone finally telling me what it is. He thinks it's cystic (fluid in there) from what he could tell on the MRI. He also said that he doesn't think it's aggressive because if it was, being the size that it is, I'd be doing worse. But I'm peachy keen, in regards to motor skills, reflexes, etc. It's just the headaches and the little black spot. So.... that's good news!

And, that's about all I know. I should know tomorrow when my appointment with Mayo is!

P.S. My friend Lisa is a rockstar! She drove my butt all the way down to Fort Collins today and has been keepin' an eye on me :) Love her!

Why I've Had a Headache for 2 Months

2008-11-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

A lil background, I've had a constant headache for about 2 months now. About a month ago, I got a little black floating speck in my right eye. I've also gotten the first 3 migraines of my life during this time. I've tried everything to think of what could be causing it: watching what I eat, how I sit at work, getting my spine and neck realigned.. everything. And nothing had been helping!! So, finally I got talked (rather scared) into going to the doctor. I had an appointment Friday morning with a physician's assistant, and we talked about what could be triggering these headaches. In order to rule out some major issues, she sent me to the ophthamologist and to get an MRI. At 3:30, I went to the ophthamologist and everything was perfect; the floaters were normal.

At 4:30 I went to get an MRI. They got me all ran through and when they pulled me out the MRI tech told me that the radiologist wanted to insert some dye into me to get some contrast on something. So, I immediately freaked out because needles are one of my biggest fears. But thank you nice MRI lady. I managed to survive. They ran me through the machine again, and then I waited while my PA and my new doctor, Dr. Orton, went to talk to the radiologist. The dreaded waiting...

My PA and Dr. Orton came out to talk to me. Turns out I have a 4 cm by 2.5 cm mass on my thalamus in my brain. This is what has been causing the headaches and the visual disturbance. At first I started freaking out and almost crying. They decided to admit me to the hospital for the night so I wouldn't be alone in my apartment and so they could run some labs and give me some drugs. But I quickly discovered that being a smartass and joking around with the doctors and nurses was a good coping mechanism for a worrywart like me.

This is what I know:

1) Before getting an MRI, don't be a smartass to your mother and jokingly tell her that you're getting an MRI just to make sure you don't have a brain tumor something. It will come back to bite you!

2) Being a smartass and joking around with the doctors/nurses is a very good coping mechanism. I'm a crazy worrier by nature, so if I wasn't being a smartass, they'd have me a in straight jacket.

3) Take advangtage of being in the hospital. Gotta love the apple juice and orange sherbert. I also love how you can raise the head end of the bed, makes it perfect for watching TV. That is all I did Friday night!

3) Decadron is some glorious stuff. I woke up Friday morning feeling better than I have in two months. It's an anti-inflammatory to get the swelling down around the mass. Only downside is that it has steroids in it and they're giving me hot flashes and jacked my pulse up to 92 bmp.

4) I got blood drawn and I didn't die. I did, however, put the blankets over my head so that I couldn't see. They came in and drew blood about 5 am, and I warned the girl it would not go well. Thankfully, she was very good and there was not digging around. Took like 3 minutes tops, thank God! And I think the Lorazepam was helping me not freak out.

5) I got to the see the MRI and I've actually got a CD with the images because I need to bring them to the neurosurgeon. The mass is smooth, which I'm told is generally the case in malignant masses. It is about 1 inch by 2 inches in my thalamus. I"m just thankful it's not on my cerebrum or anything.

6) I'm going to the neurosurgeon on Monday at 9am. My friend Lisa is driving me down to Fort Collins, so I won't be alone. And then we'll find out from there. He may end up referring me on to somewhere else, possibly Mayo. Which would be ideal, IF I need to have surgery. I'm hoping the Decadron can reduce the mass enough, and then maybe some other medication can take care of it. Anything's possible right now.

That's all I know for now. Any questions feel free to ask!

Halloween

2008-11-03T19:17:00.001-08:00

Wilmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

More of the S Word

2008-10-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

Exhibit A:

Tuesday morning, view from my deck at work

Bleh :(

Afternoon aftermath

At least the sunset was pretty

Exhibit B:

This is what I woke up to Wednesday morning. I was not prepared to to brush snow off my car.

Even worse...

There really are more mountains behind there. You just can't see them because of the snow!

Yes, this is how hard it was snow. Big fluffy flakes.

And the afternoon aftermath

The S Word

2008-10-18T23:25:00.001-07:00

When I left Steamboat to go to Craig last Sunday, it was a nice sunshiney day, and that's the way it was in Craig too. On my drive back, though, this is what I could see happening in Steamboat. The S word... snow!! I am not ready for snow yet.

I was pleased to find that it wasn't snowing in town, only on the peaks. It's not time yet. I need more fall!

Six Fabulous Fall Days

2008-10-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful time with Nate :)

After our fondue dinner at Cafe Diva.

We were on a walk downtown to have dinner at Mambo Italiano. It was actually blue skies and sunny! Crazy how the picture turned out!

Almost downtown, walking along the river.

We attempted to hike the Devil's Causeway. This was one of the resevoir lakes on the way up to the trailhead.

And this is the reason why we didn't make up it to the Causeway. It started snowing on us!!

Thanks to the weather again, we didn't get to hike to the falls at Fish Creek. So instead we drank wine and carved pumpkins!

It's Fall!

2008-09-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have a pumpkin. The leaves are changing. The air smells crisp. The mornings and nights are cold. Yep, it's fall!

Spring Creek Hike

2008-09-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my friend/co-worker Lisa and I hiked the Spring Creek Trail. What a beautiful fall day in the 'Boat!

Spring Creek at the start of the trail
The hill we climbed up

There were raspberries all along the trail!!

I am a berry fiend :) haha!

Bear poop! Someone coming down from the trail told us there was a bear in the area.

View of one of the peaks

Our stopping point, we didn't know how much further the top was and had to get to a volleyball game!

Whirlwind Weekend

2008-09-13T21:06:00.001-07:00

It was so nice to go visit Nate! I took a long Labor Day weekend, and it happened to work out that Nate had a few days off... so, we got to go home-home! We met each other's parents, friends, played with babies... it was great :) Busier than heck though!

Out in River Falls with Nate's friends

How cute is he?!

Nate playing paddy-cake with Owen

Us with Nate's friends' daughter Lyla (aka Owen's future girlfriend haha)

The Family Comes to Visit...

2008-07-11T21:58:00.001-07:00

The family came to visit over the Fourth of July weekend.

Bri & me in the gondola to the top of Thunderhead Peak

Dad & Mom in the gondola

On the little nature trail at the top of Thunderhead Peak

All cowgirl-ed up for the Cowboy Roundup Days Rodeo

On the hike up to the second falls at Fish Creek

Finally at the second falls

There were a bunch of pretty wild flowers along the trail. I didn't even realize that Dad & Bri were in the background 'til later on.

The newest addition to my apartment: a pretty, sassy lil betta named Fancy. I am officially a crazy fish lady ;)

Beautiful Weekend

2008-06-22T16:46:00.001-07:00

Nate came to visit again! It was a lovely weekend, perfect weather (low 80's, slight breeze, no humidity). We had a few adventures: to the top of the gondola and to Fish Creek Falls.

Thunderhead Peak (top of the gondola), Sleeping giant is over Nate's left shoulder

We decided to have a drink on the deck at Stoker's (restaurant at the top of the gondola). It was such a nice day just sitting up there in the sun with the great view. And I, of course, didn't think that we were in the sun that long and ended up with some oddly shaped sunburn lol. I should just coat myself in the 70 spf anytime I'm going to be in the sun I guess!

Fish Creek Falls: the water was rushing so fast! Standing on the bridge, we were getting kind of splashed. I was up there last weekend, and it wasn't nearly as bad. I guess a lot of the snow has been melting!

June 11th

2008-06-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

June 11th.

That is all.

Fish Tail

2008-04-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got out and did some real fishing...well...it was more like catching where we were at, but it was still fishing!

Thursday night, I went with Scott out to the Storm Mountain Ranch (private water). I caught two 6 inch brook trout (one pictured below), one 18 inch rainbow, two 20 inch rainbows, and...the biggest fish of my life: a 23 or 24 inch rainbow (pictured below).

Scott managed to pull out a 30 inch rainbow. That thing was HUGE! It ended up blizzarding on us during the walk back. I'm talking like little ice balls pelting you in the face and just wicked wind. So, if anyone saw us walking back, they would've just laughed. We both had our hoods up, pulled around our faces, fishing pole in one hand, and walking backwards. Brrrrr!!

Friday night we went out again at the ranch. And this time out of one pond I pulled a 20-ish inch rainbow (below), an 8 inch brook trout, and a 13 inch rainbow. This was all within about 5 casts. But you should've seen the monster that I *almost* landed on my first cast. It was even bigger than the one from Thursday night; Scott saw it too. I was so sad when I almost had it to the bank, and the dang fish unhooked itself!! Still a fun night though :) And cold as you can see!

Best.Weekend.Ever

2008-04-16T17:35:00.001-07:00

I had the best.weekend.ever! As some of you already know, Nate came to visit me this past weekend after not having seen each other in 3 months.

Friday night was a little frustrating, driving down to Denver and running into a whiteout blizzard 1/2 way, going 10 mph through switchbacks. It took me 4 hours to get to the airport, park, and get inside to meet Nate at the baggage claim. We didn't get home 'til 1:30 am, but the whole ride back was great just being able to talk in person.

Saturday, I showed him around town, gave him the grand tour of Steamboat, and we saw the movie "21"--which is excellent by the way and really makes you want to go to Vegas!

Sunday we met two of my friends, Scott and Bridget, for lunch, and then bummed around the apartment for a while. That night we went walking downtown by the river; it was such a nice day: sunny, warm...perfect. After dinner at Tequila's, my fave Mexican restaurant here, and a couple of margaritas (might I recommend the blackberry margaritas--delish!), we drove up to the natural hot springs. The sun was just setting as we were getting up there, so picturesque. It was so incredible. Clear skies, bright stars, perfect weather, relaxing in the hot springs. I think it was probably the best night of my life.

My Place

2008-03-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of my apartment

My favorite part: walk-in closet

I Apologize

2008-03-02T13:02:00.001-08:00

I have been just terrible in keeping this up! Although nothing terribly exciting has happened lately. Just a lot of work! I've made pretty good progress in assuming the role of Controller, done a few things that I was freaked out about having to do! (dealing with a disgruntled owner, signing my name on IRS forms, etc).

Not a whole lot new in my life, been hanging out with friends on the weekends a lot. I went salsa dancing with my friend Maggie (a fellow Stoutie!) and that was a blast. Otherwise, nothing spectacular....besides the mountain views of course! Here are two pictures from sunset on the day of the lunar eclipse (yes, that's the moon coming up over the mountains and sorry the pics are bad, cell phone pics)

Concert and Snowmobiling

2008-02-02T13:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so a week late, but here are the pictures from the Country in the Rockies concert last Friday. It was pretty much the best concert I've ever been to. I got there early, so I got a seat in the row right behind all the reserved seats (which was about 15 rows from the stage!).

Lucy Angel

Blue County

Darryl Worley

Montgomery Gentry

At the end of the concert, all of the acts came out on stage and sang "Sweet Home Alabama" together, which of course got turned into "Sweet Home Colorado!"

Last Sunday I got to go snowmobiling in the mountains of Routt National Forest with my friend Blaine. I was under the impression that I was just riding along (especially since I've never driven a snowmobile before!), but when we got up there, he pulled out two sleds. My first thought was, "Oh my God, I'm going to die!" But...after about 5 minutes, I felt totally comfortable. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done! And I do believe that I get to go out again sometime soon!

Starting the climb

I was in utter awe when I saw this view. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!!

I definitely stayed at the bottom, there was no climbing for me!

Apparently the top of this peak is the highest you can go in the area we were in (near Bear's Ears). Needless to say, I stayed put and watched Blaine go up, and then watched some other guy start to roll down!!

This was one of the best weekends of my life!!

Correction

2008-01-24T17:36:00.001-08:00

Trick Pony will also be at the concert tomorrow night. Even better! I.AM.SO.EXCITED!

Another Week Half Done

2008-01-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

Well I officially start the other part of my job tomorrow. From here on out with will be working Thursday afternoons and all day Fridays at Resort Group (company headquarters). So that should be exciting; I'm looking forward to using an accounting system that I actually am familiar with!

Also, the concert is Friday night!! Montgomery Gentry, Blue County, and Darryl Worley here I come. Plus, my friend Scott works for one of the companies sponsering it, so he might be able to get me into the VIP section!

Here are some pictures from today. They were taken with my cell phone, so they're not the greatest quality.

Outside my office window around lunch time

Sunset in Steamboat

Been Awhile...

2008-01-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Well I suppose it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been super busy!! Work is going very well, and it's very challenging. I felt all official today when I got to fill out the forms for the state and local sales tax, and sign my name and title--"Controller." If for some reason, anyone needs to get a hold of me during work (I do have my cell on me always though) here is my contact info:

(970) 879-7654 ext. 101

kaitlin@crs-steamboat.com (please no forwards to this address!)

Also, here is my actual address:

1380 Athens Plaza
Beta #3
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487

The weather has been great here. People thought it was cold today when it was -10. I just laughed, it doesn't feel nearly as cold here as it would in WI. Plus it helps that the sun comes out here more often :)

That's all for now folks!

Beautiful

2008-01-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

And while the Pack is kicking butt in the blizzard, this is what I'm looking at. After 3 or 4 straight days of snow. So pretty...

One Week

2008-01-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

I made it through my first week of work! And I REALLY enjoyed sleeping in this morning. When I finally rolled out of bed, I had a few errands to run this morning before THE GAME. So while I was out and about, I snapped some pictures.

River that runs through town

(compare to sunset picture at the right, that was only 2 months ago!)

Near Howelsen Park and the rodeo grounds

Howelsen Park Ski Area

Howelsen again, when I decide to learn how to ski again, I think this is where I'll start!

Main street towards Hayden (where the airport is)

Mainstreet towards my apartment and Rabbit Ears Pass

Ahhh, blue skies decided to peek out today!

So snowy :)

Could barely see the ski area!

10:00 this morning when I rolled out of bed!

When I got back from running errands, I couldn't get into my apartment. The biggest fox squirrel I had ever seen was sitting outside my door! But I couldn't get my camera out in time to get a pic of him. He leaves in the tree next to my door I think. So, I had to wait at the bottom of the stairs for him to come down, haha!

It's game time! Go pack go!! :)

I Made Friends Today

2008-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Yep, I made some Steamboat friends today. A guy that I met out here over Thanksgiving (yep, the one that grandpa asked for his number, still embarassed about that) invited me out to have a drink after work with some people. Turns out, everyone one of them lives in the same cluster of apartments as me, and they have volleyball games in the summer by our apartment complex. So I'll definitely be playing! But it was nice to hang out with some people my age. Don't get me wrong, I love the ladies I work with, but they've got kids that are the same age as me.

Anyways, we got the stuff to balance at work today, so that made me happy! And I made some friends, so good day all together.

I Am Victorious!

2008-01-08T20:14:00.001-08:00

I did it! It only took me a day and a half, but I finally got that bank rec to balance out. My first "project" at work, a success! Now it's on to the November bank rec, hopefully it doesn't take me a day and a 1/2 this time!

I've slowly been unpacking. It was a little hectic this morning trying to figure out which box my shoes were in, so I thought it might be a good idea to unpack a little more!

That's all for now :)

First Full-Time Day of Work

2008-01-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Well, no pictures today...because I was inside at my job all day! It went very well, although it's definitely going to be challenging, but I'd be angry if it wasn't! I spent all day doing a bank reconciliation for the month of October, and still it didn't balance out. Frustrating that the people who worked there before me didn't do things correctly the first time, so it takes some investigating to figure out what happened to certain things! I still love it though.

So, now I'm just sitting on my couch, basking in the glory that I don't have any homework to do and I don't have to go to a part-time job. I'm celebrating my night with a glass of my favorite wine, Marco Negri...mmmmm!

P.S. I'm totally pumped for January 25th! Montgomery Gentry, Darryl Worley, and Blue County...in concert...in Steamboat...for $35. Can you say awesome!

39 Degrees and Snowing

2008-01-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

As promised, more pictures!!

View from my parking lot Hello everyone!

Antelope outside of Laramie, WY

Blizzardy drive just into CO from WY Coming down into Steamboat on Hwy 40 from Rabbit Ears Pass Outside of my apartment building A few ski runs Getting ready to do some shopping downtown Ahhh, beautiful!

My First Morning

2008-01-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Dad and I woke up this morning to 9 inches of fresh snow!! Here is the western view from my balcony.

We're going to be heading downtown later to check out some of the shops on mainstreet and some other places to get a few things I need for the apartment.

More pictures later!

I Have Arrived!

2008-01-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well I made it, I did it, I'm here. One thousand miles away from home starting a real person job and living alone for the very first time. I'm excited to be here, but feeling very overwhelmed by my job. But it's gotta get easier, right?!

So I decided to start this blog to share my adventures and pictures!