Jefferson City

Saturday I headed to Jefferson City to do some shopping for a couple of weddings I have to go to this fall. While I was in town I decided to drive through downtown and see the capital building. Jefferson City has a very pretty downtown, lots of older looking buildings. It also sits on a hill which makes it visible from a little ways away in all directions. I took a couple of pictures of the capital building because I thought it was pretty. I had a nice day - got most of my shopping accomplished which was good. I have been trying to stay busy lately, the loneliness is starting to sink in. If I am not busy I tend to get a little depressed...it's hard to be patient and wait for God to provide friends. Luckily tomorrow is Monday so I will head back to work and be around people. The work week is always good, it is just the weekends that I struggle with (I never thought I'd say that about weekends) :).

Bass Pro Shops - OOOOHHH MY GOSH!

Well this look on Ruthie's face pretty much sums up our emotions as we drove into the Bass Pro Shops headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. We decided to take a little road trip on Sunday afternoon to Springfield. We went primarily to check out the mall, which was actually quite a disappointment when you are spoiled with the shopping opportunities in St. Louis, like Ruthie is. As we were leaving the mall I suggested that if we have time maybe it would be neat to stop and see what the Bass Pro store in Springfield was like. I had heard that it was pretty impressive, but nothing prepared me for this! Dad, Brent, and I had gone to the one in Detroit and I thought that it was huge! This one in Springfield had to have been about 3 times the size of the store in Detroit! :) All Ruthie and I could get out of our mouths when we first saw it was "oooohhhh mmmyyyyyy goooossshhh!" We had never seen anything like it. Inside the store there were TONS of dead animals, some which were pretty impressive (like the bear Ruthie and I were tickling). Ruthie was most impressed with the fact that there was a McDonalds inside - like father, like daughter I suppose! :) I'm not really sure why we never took a picture of her standing by the McDonalds! There was also a nice restaurant, a great arcade where Ruthie, Mark, and I all took our best shot with the rifles. There were fish all sorts of fish swimming in ponds and aquariums. Ruthie thought she'd be really sweet and donate some change to Bass Pro Shops and through some change in one of the ponds - then later read a sign asking people to save their fish by not throwing foreign objects into the ponds! I guess the trout tend to eat the foreign objects which in turn causes digestive problems normally resulting in death! So her act of kindness turned out to be a death sentence for the some lonely trout. I was pretty impressed with the catfish we saw in one of the aquariums. It look like it was the size of a baby whale. I could have sworn it was a robotic catfish because I have never seen a fish that big! There was a Wildlife museum along with the Bass Pro Shop, which we didn't have time to go see, but I look forward to going again sometime. So all in all our Sunday turned out to be pretty could, even though the mall was a complete let-down.

saturday excursion

Ziggy and I went on a road trip this afternoon. We decided to venture out and see some sights along the Ozark Scenic Riverways. We saw both the Current and Jack Fork Rivers. It ended up being pretty fun. Along the Current River we were able to hike down a trail, walk across the Current River, and then hike back to Pulltite Spring. The water from the spring was extremely cold. As we were crossing the Current River the water began to get really cold the closer we got to the where the spring ran into the river. There was also an old cabin that was on the trail back to the spring. After that we got back into the car and headed out on a gravel road that is owned by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation. It led us through a forest and out into a field where we saw three deer and about six turkeys running around. We continued on the trail and it dead ended at one of the rivers. There was a neat little deserted area that looked perfect for a picnic or even some rugged camping. It will be nice when I have someone to do those kinds of things with. I really enjoy spending time outdoors, but don't feel like it would be very smart to do on my own. Our road trip was pretty fun, other than Ziggy getting car sick on the way back home! The roads we had to drive on were very curvy and I think it made him a little sick! I'll just have to remember not to feed him before we venture out again! :)

armadillos in missouri?

WARNING: THIS BLOG MAY CONTAIN A PICTURE THAT COULD BE DISTURBING TO SOME...VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!! :)

I posted this picture mainly because I think my parents were disappointed that they couldn't see the armadillo picture I took. I was pretty shocked to be driving down the road by my house when this guy crossed in front of me. From a ways down the road I thought that it was an opossum. Once I got a bit closer (and slowed down) I realized it was actually an armadillo. I was pretty shocked because I didn't realize that armadillos lived in Missouri. The following week I was driving down the same road when I noticed a bump near the curb. As I got closer I realized
my armadillo friend didn't make it back to the other side of the road. I decided I better take a
picture of it because no one in Indiana believed that I had actually seen a real armadillo crossing the road in Missouri...I finally had proof that armadillos do, or at least did live in Missouri. I found out a few days later that actually there are quite a few armadillos in Missouri and that they cause quite a problem for farmers. They dig holes in the fields and can destroy a lot of the crops. So I guess in this case some farmer is probably pretty happy that this guy didn't make it back across the road!

unexpected journeys

Yesterday I saw three patients who were battling to live life the best they could. One man had Parkinson's, a woman had Alzheimers, and another man was plagued with both Parkinson's and Alzheimers. It was so sad to see what had become of them. I personally had never met them before, but could only imagine what it must have been like for them and their loved ones to see them gradually decline. It reminded me of how unpredictable life really is. None of us know how our life will turn out. Some of us may die young and unexpected, others of us may life a long healthy life and pass away quietly in our sleep, yet still others may come to the end of our lives having gradually declined and deteriorated due to an awful illness/disease. I think of my grandma who lived a good 80+ years of her life very happy, alert, and healthy - who is now having to just sit and wait as her mind and body get worse and worse by the day. It has been painful for us to sit and watch her decline - remembering how happy she was for so long. It has been hard for me to see, as her granddaughter, yet I can't imagine what that would be like to watch as a spouse. One of my patients had to have his wife bring him in and fill out all of his paperwork because his Parkinson's had gotten so bad that he couldn't write and even had trouble walking. I was just amazed by the love she must have for him and how hard it must be for her to watch his condition worsen. I hope someday that if I ever have to experience any of this first hand that I can have the kind of love for my husband that this woman had. Even with all the tolls this disease has to have taken on both of them, her love was still so evident in everything she did for him and how she looked at him.

TGIF!

I am so thankful it is Friday! For some reason this week has just been dragging on. I generally don't have to work on Fridays, but today I had to go into work. Luckily I didn't have to do anything (other than having Dr. Moorkamp clean my teeth). It always feels so good to have your teeth cleaned!

I also visited my new physician - who was very nice. I have been having some weird tingling on my left arm and leg - but so far it looks like I am just fine. We are going to continue to monitor it, but she thinks it just may have to do with my job. I have to keep my arm cocked in certain positions for long periods of time and so we think I may have just pinched a nerve or something. (so don't worry about me anymore mom! Dr. Moorkamp made sure to look after me and actually called to schedule the appointment for me! :) )

I am going to go get my hair cut today as well! I am so bad about getting my hair cut on a schedule. It think it has been since March that I had it cut...oops! I don't think I am going to do anything too drastic, just a trim...if I change my mind I'll be sure to post a picture of it!

Linda (the dental assistant) invited me to go bowling with her tonight. She is quite the bowler, so I'm a little intimidated, but it should be fun. She has a daughter who is around my age that lives in Montana, so I think she enjoys having me around so she can feel as though she has someone to look after. I am actually very well looked after here in Rolla - I've got Dr. Moorkamp, his wife Carol, and Linda all making sure that I don't feel "parentless". It is nice knowing that if I ever need anything I have plenty of people to call.

I'm not sure what else I will do this weekend, if the weather is nice I may take Ziggy swimming at this small lake about 10 minutes away. He really likes the water, so we play fetch with this neat "ball on a string" type thing that floats. I have been very impressed with him lately - he has gotten a lot better about listening to me and staying with me when we go outside. I think it is pretty impressive seeing that he is only about 10 months old. Last weekend we went to the lake and I didn't have to keep him on a leash (even with all the butterflies that were tempting him!) Whenever he would have one fly in front of his face he would get distracted, but as soon as I said his name he would shake his head and proceed on his original course to retrieve his toy from the lake. For a hunting dog like him I'd say that is a pretty big achievement. Any sort of animal/insect is normally quite a distraction for him! :) We also have been taking short walks around the block without his leash and for the most part he follows right by my side (except when he sees a bunny rabbit, then his gets low to the ground and does like a army crawl type move to try to sneak up on it!) The poor dog has such a strong instinct to hunt...I really probably should train him to hunt with me! I'm sure he would really enjoy it.

Well anyway, enough rambling about my baby - I really must get ready for my hair appointment.

blogging...what has the world come to??

well, i decided to finally give into this whole blog thing. it really probably is the best way to keep in touch with everyone. i will try my best to update it often, but i can't make any guarantees. (okay, who am i kidding...i really don't do much but sit in front of my computer all evening after work, so i'm sure i'll have no trouble updating my blog!)

ziggy and i haven't done much today - this is his usual evening pose:


we did go to the laundry mat - which was hopefully my final visit to one. i don't know why, but those places just really gross me out. the thought of washing my clothes in the same washing machine that other people have had their dirty underwear in just makes me feel nauseated!

the weather was a lot cooler today, so i let ziggy tag along in the car while i ran my errands after work. he really enjoys the car rides...it doesn't get much better than hanging your head out the car window and having your ears flop in the wind! :)

tomorrow i hope to go sign up for a membership to the rec center. i am hoping to take a yoga class a couple evenings a week starting in september. we'll have to see how it goes. it would be nice to meet some more people that live in rolla. maybe, just maybe i'll make a friend! :)