I am finally all caught up! I got really behind in my Sports Illustrated magazines at the end of 2011. Another of my resolutions is to keep up with them each week this year. There were a lot of really good stories in these issues...I even kept the issues so I could blog about my favorites (Now we'll see if I can find them all!).
November 21, 2011 - Hey Sixteen: Lexi Thompson
I absolutely loved this article...and I'm cheering for this girl. My favorite quote of her from the article: "I want to be sporty and cool. I'm never going to be skinny like a model, and that's fine. I like being portrayed as athletic. If people want to call me powerful, that's great!" Such awesome self esteem!
November 28, 2011 - Sport in America: In My Tribe
This article was great. I think the TV series will be really interesting and look forward to reading more stories like this in the magazine too.
December 5, 2011 - Straight Outta Compton
I can't imagine how it must feel to live in an area like this. His parents are phenomenal. It's also great to read a story about an awesome high school athlete who's also an excellent student. I loved reading that his favorite song is Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts. Good luck to you, Kitam Hamm.
December 12, 2011
Sportsman of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski and Sportswoman of the Year: Pat Summitt
Excellent article about two very deserving coaches.
The Education of Walter Iooss Jr.
Great, great article about one of SI's best photographers.
January 9, 2012 - The Sandusky Effect
So sad, understandable, but sad. Overall, I really love Phil Taylor's columns and am so glad he replaced my old favorite, Rick Reilly, as full time back-pager.
January 30, 2012 - Joe Paterno 1926-2012
Of course, there were lots of articles about Joe Paterno and the Sandusky scandal throughout the issues I read...and this one was a good ending for Paterno. "It doesn't matter what people think of me," he said. "I've lived my life. I just hope the truth comes out. And I hope the victims find peace."
Now, I can finally start reading the books my husband has been nagging me to read since Christmas...as long as I keep up on my Sports Illustrateds when they come in the mail!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Update on Mom
Mom's surgery went absolutely fabulously last week. I guess one of the PAs told her that she was the model patient for this surgery. We got to the hospital about 5 AM on Tuesday and left about 5 PM...long day! Dad nominated me to be the spokesperson so I was the one who took the calls from the OR nurse...I was a little anxious each time the phone rang...but everything went great!
We first saw Mom early Tuesday afternoon. She was still intubated (had a breathing tube) and very sedated. Once we saw her and met her nurse, we went to get lunch. By the time we got back, the breathing tube was out and she was alert but in lots of pain. She actually had tears in her eyes, she hurt so much. We left after a few minutes and as we walked out, Dad had tears in his eyes and said "She must hurt so much." That was probably the hardest part of the day. We saw her a couple of more times before we left...each time she was in pain, but each time she stayed awake and talked to us a little bit more.
We didn't make it back to the hospital until almost 9 AM on Wednesday morning...and Mom was sitting up in the chair wondering where we were! She was still in quite a bit of pain and was pretty dizzy when she stood up...but she was doing great. Mom and Dad sent me back to Chicago Wednesday afternoon...and it was so hard to leave them! She transferred out of the ICU to the regular unit later that day and was discharged home on Friday.
She's gotten better and better each day since...up and doing a little more, eating better, and having less pain. She is such a trooper. Oh, and Dad says he's doing a good job playing caretaker too...Mom gave him As yesterday and today. Keep it up, Dad! I love you both!
We first saw Mom early Tuesday afternoon. She was still intubated (had a breathing tube) and very sedated. Once we saw her and met her nurse, we went to get lunch. By the time we got back, the breathing tube was out and she was alert but in lots of pain. She actually had tears in her eyes, she hurt so much. We left after a few minutes and as we walked out, Dad had tears in his eyes and said "She must hurt so much." That was probably the hardest part of the day. We saw her a couple of more times before we left...each time she was in pain, but each time she stayed awake and talked to us a little bit more.
We didn't make it back to the hospital until almost 9 AM on Wednesday morning...and Mom was sitting up in the chair wondering where we were! She was still in quite a bit of pain and was pretty dizzy when she stood up...but she was doing great. Mom and Dad sent me back to Chicago Wednesday afternoon...and it was so hard to leave them! She transferred out of the ICU to the regular unit later that day and was discharged home on Friday.
She's gotten better and better each day since...up and doing a little more, eating better, and having less pain. She is such a trooper. Oh, and Dad says he's doing a good job playing caretaker too...Mom gave him As yesterday and today. Keep it up, Dad! I love you both!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Mom
My mom, my friend, my hero is having surgery on Tuesday. Her mitral valve prolapse got worse in the last year and a half and now she needs a mitral valve repair. I'm a nurse, a nurse practitioner. I understand all that's going on, most of what's going to happen. But I'm still scared, maybe even more scared than the average daughter would be. I know the risks, I've seen the patients who've had complications. Those were my patients, they weren't my mom. The surgeon told us that she'll still be intubated the first time we see her after surgery. I've seen intubated patients, but they weren't my mom.
I'm scared. But, I'm praying for the surgeon's hands to be steady, for the nurses' hands to be healing. I'm praying I can be strong for my mom and my dad. And, I'm praying all goes well and that Mom recovers quickly. I love you, Mom.
I'm scared. But, I'm praying for the surgeon's hands to be steady, for the nurses' hands to be healing. I'm praying I can be strong for my mom and my dad. And, I'm praying all goes well and that Mom recovers quickly. I love you, Mom.
New year, new resolutions
1. Keep exercising. I was doing great until I started working full time again last September. I've just been doing OK since then. I went in for my annual exam a couple weeks ago and my doctor told me to try to do 3 hours of cardio every week. So, that's my new goal. I cheated a little this week and counted last Sunday through today...3 hours and 10 minutes on the elliptical plus 1 hour of yoga. Need to keep it going!
2. Eat more vegetables. The only other recommendation from my doctor was to eat more veggies. I haven't really made a conscious effort to do this yet. I like veggies...but I just don't always make them. We had chili for supper tonight which was packed full of beans and green peppers...so I definitely got my fill tonight...but need to do it everyday.
3. Enjoy the moment. Too often I find myself looking to the future, thinking about the next great thing that life will bring. I need to take a step back to the present and enjoy it too...not that I don't physically enjoy the present but that I need to mentally enjoy it too without thinking about what comes next so much.
So, these are the three things I'm going to work on this year. Just being a better me, that's all. :)
2. Eat more vegetables. The only other recommendation from my doctor was to eat more veggies. I haven't really made a conscious effort to do this yet. I like veggies...but I just don't always make them. We had chili for supper tonight which was packed full of beans and green peppers...so I definitely got my fill tonight...but need to do it everyday.
3. Enjoy the moment. Too often I find myself looking to the future, thinking about the next great thing that life will bring. I need to take a step back to the present and enjoy it too...not that I don't physically enjoy the present but that I need to mentally enjoy it too without thinking about what comes next so much.
So, these are the three things I'm going to work on this year. Just being a better me, that's all. :)
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| Thoroughly enjoying the snow |
BFF
I got to see my best friend, Jamine, on my way back from the funeral last Saturday. We spent almost 3 hours eating and (mostly) chatting at Panera. It's always so good to see her. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing friend...where we can pick right up where we left off even if we haven't seen each other in awhile.
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| A pic of us from a few years back...2004-2005 in Madison. Oh, the memories! |
RIP Timmer
My cousin Tim died unexpectedly almost exactly two weeks ago today. It was a horrible accident, one witnessed by quite a few of my family members. He was only 34 years old. My heart aches for his family, especially his mom, his sisters, his brothers-in-law, and his nieces and nephews...his uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. But mostly, I hope those closest to him find solace.
RIP Timmer, the guy with the easy smile and big heart.
RIP Timmer, the guy with the easy smile and big heart.
Idaho Trip
2012 started out with a trip out to Idaho with John's family to visit John's uncle, aunt, and cousins and ski at Sun Valley. We had a really great time...even with the colds that eventually hit all of us.
After skiing at Sun Valley for 4 days, we drove back to Boise to spend the weekend with John's uncle, aunt, and cousins. They had Saturday all planned out for us...first, lessons at the shooting range, then dinner downtown Boise, and finally, a minor league hockey game. It was a fun day!
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| View of Sun Valley from Seattle Ridge |
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| All of us after lunch on Day 2 |
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| Ben and I on the gondola |
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| Annie, John, and Natalie on the gondola |
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| I look like a natural, right? Haha. |
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| Down to just the "kids" on the last day...another beautiful one! |
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| John and I at lunch at Seattle Ridge |
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| Another gorgeous day! |
After skiing at Sun Valley for 4 days, we drove back to Boise to spend the weekend with John's uncle, aunt, and cousins. They had Saturday all planned out for us...first, lessons at the shooting range, then dinner downtown Boise, and finally, a minor league hockey game. It was a fun day!
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| Steve instructing me on the 22 auto pistol. |
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| John shooting the AR15-22 rifle. Turns out his skills aren't just in video games. |
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| Natalie shooting the AR15-223 rifle. Quite the sharpshooter! |
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| The whole gang at the shooting range |
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| Ha! Little Miss Journey being silly with her Dippin' Dots at the hockey game. |
Monday, January 16, 2012
23 and 1/2 hours
A friend posted this on her blog (How Do You Live a Health Life?) today and I just had to repost. It's definitely worth the watch...and has inspired me to really try to stick to it! I think I do a pretty good job of getting up and moving, of not sitting/lying down for 23 and 1/2 hours a day...but I could definitely exercise more.
Lazy New Year's Eve
We were very lazy this New Year's Eve. We spent the day getting packed for our trip to Idaho (we flew out on New Year's Day) and didn't really put together anything ahead of time. We had some food left that needed to be cooked before we left so we just stayed home, ate a delicious dinner, watched Tangled (Awesome movie, by the way!), had a fun drink, and watched the Navy Pier fireworks from our living room window. It was a great night, just me and my man, bringing in the new year together.
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| All the cars on Lake Shore Drive trying to watch the fireworks. |
The holidays
We were definitely busy this holiday season...but were fortunate to be able to spend time with both of our families. We stopped in Madison for dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin on our way to Cochrane. It was so great to see them again...and the place they took us to was so neat!
We spent the day before Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve with my family. Mom and I played lots of Scrabble and cribbage...and we all played a little four-handed cribbage and sheepshead. Grandma came down to celebrate Christmas Eve with us...and Mom, John, and I went to Midnight Mass. Such a great holiday!
We left Cochrane on Christmas morning and drove to Oshkosh to celebrate with John's family. It was the first time that we had absolutely perfect roads...which made for a very non-stressful drive! The day was topped off with a Packer win over the Bears...and some Words with Friends with Natalie and friends. While in Oshkosh we were able to have breakfast with Mark and KJ. It was great to see them again too! We stuck around to celebrate Kathy's 59th birthday the day after Christmas and enjoyed a yummy beef stroganoff dinner.
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| Quivey's Grove, Madison WI |
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| Hoping for a white Christmas...but it didn't happen. |
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| A neighbor carved this in another neighbor's yard. Pretty legit. |
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| Table all set. |
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| Mom and Em |
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| Dad and Mom |
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| Grandma and Em |
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| Em and John |
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| The Rohrer's: John, Em, Grandma, Mom, and Dad |
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| An absolutely gorgeous Christmas morning. |
End of 2011 recap
Well, I didn't get to catch up on this blog the other week...but I will try to do so tonight/this week...and then post more regularly in 2012! Here's what I missed from the end of 2011:
1. I ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon with my friend Angie on October 29th. It was a fun race but didn't go as well as I had hoped...but definitely not too poorly either. I finished in 2:09:23 and averaged a 9:53 pace. I was 1299/3030 overall, 681/1965 females, and 165/433 females age 25-29. I definitely didn't train as completely as I had for my first one in April...and I had some technical difficulties during the run as well. While I was a little disappointed, it was definitely a great accomplishment!
2. John and I traveled back home to Cochrane on the weekend of November 5th for my childhood friend Shara's wedding. It was fun to see old friends again...and to be home for a weekend. The photo booth was especially hilarious! Congratulations, Shara and George!
3. I celebrated my 28th birthday! John surprised me with a bouquet of flowers...so sweet! He said he wanted to get me a giant cookie but they didn't have any birthday ones so he settled on flowers. We also went out to The Italian Village restaurant...so yummy! I just love the ambiance at that place...it's like you're in a little village...so cute.
4. We went to the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival parade and fireworks. The parade was cute (Mickey, Minnie and friends were there!) but it was a little slow (not quite like Disney parades). The fireworks were really awesome though. They were right down by the river so the reverberations off the buildings were very intense. Later that night there were fireworks off Navy Pier too...bonus!
5. John suggested that we try to eat at the Walnut Room at Macy's on State Street. We went on a Monday night in late November and walked right in. They don't take reservations and on the weekends, the waits can be up to 4 hours long! It was so pretty and festive...a great evening!
6. The first weekend in December I met my aunts and (some of) my girl cousins on my mom's side for a shopping weekend...but first I spent a night with my best friend Jamine and her husband. We had a great time chatting...and a delicious dinner at the Great Dane. I had a great time shopping and spending time with my aunts and cousins too...and I finally got to meet the newest (at that time) addition to the family, Audrey Larissa, who was born in September. Such a sweet little girl! It was so fun to reconnect with the family again.
7. I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas decorations throughout the city...and my own too! I made a couple of batches of Christmas cookies too...and now have student requests for more at other times of the year.
8. I went to my first work holiday party...and first ugly Christmas sweater party! I'm so to have found Chamberlain. I truly love my job and work with a fabulous team of people!
9. John's family came to visit and to celebrate Natalie's 18th birthday...and her acceptance at UW-Madison! For the last few years, we've all met in Chicago for Natalie's birthday...and to visit the Christkindlmarket. This year they all came to us and we had a great weekend! We walked a TON on Saturday...to Macy's, the Christkindlmarket, up Michigan Ave to Water Tower Place, to dinner at Wildfire, and back to Macy's and our apartment. Sunday we had a delicious breakfast at Wildberry (yup, all about the "wilds") and then spent the day at the Shedd Aquarium.
1. I ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon with my friend Angie on October 29th. It was a fun race but didn't go as well as I had hoped...but definitely not too poorly either. I finished in 2:09:23 and averaged a 9:53 pace. I was 1299/3030 overall, 681/1965 females, and 165/433 females age 25-29. I definitely didn't train as completely as I had for my first one in April...and I had some technical difficulties during the run as well. While I was a little disappointed, it was definitely a great accomplishment!
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| Ang and I in our Badgers cheerleader costumes before the race. |
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| Ang and I with our cheerleaders, Angie's aunts and mom...thanks for coming, ladies! |
2. John and I traveled back home to Cochrane on the weekend of November 5th for my childhood friend Shara's wedding. It was fun to see old friends again...and to be home for a weekend. The photo booth was especially hilarious! Congratulations, Shara and George!
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| The table decorations...and Dad and John. |
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| Angie, Jamine, and Emily...three great friends since 4th grade! |
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| John, Jamine, and Brandon...Jamine had to jump in so it wasn't just a man picture. |
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| Mom and Dad |
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| John and I |
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| John, Brandon, Jamine, and I in the photo booth...such fun! |
3. I celebrated my 28th birthday! John surprised me with a bouquet of flowers...so sweet! He said he wanted to get me a giant cookie but they didn't have any birthday ones so he settled on flowers. We also went out to The Italian Village restaurant...so yummy! I just love the ambiance at that place...it's like you're in a little village...so cute.
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| My birthday dinner at The Italian Village |
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| My lovely husband |
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| The flowers John gave me for my birthday. |
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| Such beautiful flowers! |
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| A gorgeous rose |
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| All my birthday cards...so much love! |
4. We went to the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival parade and fireworks. The parade was cute (Mickey, Minnie and friends were there!) but it was a little slow (not quite like Disney parades). The fireworks were really awesome though. They were right down by the river so the reverberations off the buildings were very intense. Later that night there were fireworks off Navy Pier too...bonus!
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| There were SO many people! |
5. John suggested that we try to eat at the Walnut Room at Macy's on State Street. We went on a Monday night in late November and walked right in. They don't take reservations and on the weekends, the waits can be up to 4 hours long! It was so pretty and festive...a great evening!
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| The trees in the Walnut Room. |
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| Lakeshore East trees all lit up. |
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| The decorations on our street. |
6. The first weekend in December I met my aunts and (some of) my girl cousins on my mom's side for a shopping weekend...but first I spent a night with my best friend Jamine and her husband. We had a great time chatting...and a delicious dinner at the Great Dane. I had a great time shopping and spending time with my aunts and cousins too...and I finally got to meet the newest (at that time) addition to the family, Audrey Larissa, who was born in September. Such a sweet little girl! It was so fun to reconnect with the family again.
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| Mom and her sisters, Joy, Bev, Jeri, and Joan |
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| Aunts Bev, Joan, and Jer sharing an umbrella. |
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| Jamie, Jill, Chelsey, Krystal, Aunt Joy, and Mom |
7. I thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas decorations throughout the city...and my own too! I made a couple of batches of Christmas cookies too...and now have student requests for more at other times of the year.
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| The Wrigley Building, my favorite this year! |
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| The first snowfall. |
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| Christmas trees at Water Tower Place. |
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| Baking cookies |
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| John's favorite, peanut butter kisses |
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| My favorite to decorate and eat! |
8. I went to my first work holiday party...and first ugly Christmas sweater party! I'm so to have found Chamberlain. I truly love my job and work with a fabulous team of people!
9. John's family came to visit and to celebrate Natalie's 18th birthday...and her acceptance at UW-Madison! For the last few years, we've all met in Chicago for Natalie's birthday...and to visit the Christkindlmarket. This year they all came to us and we had a great weekend! We walked a TON on Saturday...to Macy's, the Christkindlmarket, up Michigan Ave to Water Tower Place, to dinner at Wildfire, and back to Macy's and our apartment. Sunday we had a delicious breakfast at Wildberry (yup, all about the "wilds") and then spent the day at the Shedd Aquarium.
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| The "kids" at Macy's: Ben, Annie, Natalie, John, and Em |
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| Annie and I at the Christkindlmarket |
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| Holiday Fantasea show at the Shedd |
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