Summer break has been pretty good so far. I've been on one vacation already and I will be heading up to someplace along the North Shore on Sunday, June 27. Ed and I have remained friends since we split up and now that he is no longer engaged to be married he is going with me.
No, we are not getting back together...I love him dearly as a friend but thats it.
I love to go to the beach at Knife River Marina. I get up early in the morning and head down there and usually have the whole beach to myself.
Thats where I try to rid the sad, bad feelings from my mind...write 'em in the sand and watch the waves wash 'em away. Its always a 'soul soother' for me. My soul needs some soothing...big time! Here is part of the reason....
Katie will be going to the hospital on July 7th to be induced. The baby isn't growing like it should and the doc is a bit worried/very concerned. The baby, a boy, is smaller than he should be at this time. Her original due date was August then after several ultra sounds the due date was moved to July 29. Anyway, it looks like she will give birth to a 4 lb baby although the doc hopes he is at least 5 lbs by then. I don't know if the doc has an explanation for what is happening...if its from past drug use or if it may have happened no matter what. Either way, I guess I will be a grandma for a few days...until he is taken home with his adoptive family. I'm sure he will remain in the hospital for a while. Even though she is not keeping him its a hard thing to deal with in many ways...for her and for me. I think back to Kerry and Greyson...2 babies that were a part of my life for such a short time and now another. Don't get me wrong, I am not feeling sorry for myself....just expressing some thoughts. New pain always seems to bring back the old pain...I have learned to deal with it and also know that it never goes away completely. Hence the writing in the sand. I will need a big honking stick.
Deb
Jun 27, 2009
Jun 23, 2009
*Joey's 'Pal'
It was really nice to visit Ron, Tia and the boys...we had them all to ourselves and were able to do a lot of catching up. Joey is full of energy and exuberance! He is the cutest little guy and reminds me of Ron when he was that age.
Joey has an 'interesting' relationship with a chihuahua that lives down the street. Let me explain.....Joey had been walking around the neighborhood; doing what I am not sure. He hadn't been gone very long when he came running back into Ron & Tia's backyard. He grabbed his bike helmet, put it on and then armed himself with his squirt gun. I heard him say something about a dog but I didn't catch all of it so I asked him what he said. His reply "I'm going to kill someones dog". I guess the dog had run towards him barking. I can't remember if I told Ron or if he heard it but he dutifully followed Joey down the street. They went down there but the dog apparently didn't react at that time or it didn't see them. I walked out to the street to see them both coming back. Ron stopped to talk to me and Joey rode a few feet further, turned around and headed right back to..yep, you guessed it...the dogs house. OK...so now you can pretty well figure out what happened next. The dog saw Joey and ran after him but this time it did not stop....it chased him down the street, past Ron's house to the other end of the block. Thank goodness they live in a cul-de-sac!!! Unfortunately by this time I had left the scene but I heard the commotion coming from the street. I could hear Joey yelling and a dog yapping...you know how those little dogs sound. Ron informed us that Joey came speeding down the street with the dog in hot pursuit. He was screaming "Dad, help me!" Ron said Joey's legs were just a pumpin' those pedals and with the momentum the bike was moving back and forth sideways...(know what I mean by that?) Ron couldn't understand why his dog didn't come to the rescue but Tia had told her to "stay" for fear that their dog would make a snack out of that chihuahua. Later on Joey told Ron "You're my dad...why didn't you help me?" or was it "...You're supposed to help me". maybe it was "....Why were you laughing at me".
Ron will have to correct any misinformation here or add something I may have missed. Joey makes me think of Dennis the Menace. No, Joey is not a menace but Dennis always seemed to get into little incidents and could never stop moving.
Luke is getting big and he is adorable. He didn't seem to mind the two strangers that came to see him.
The visit was great and I would never have been able to go if it weren't for Mom & Don. I had just started summer vacation and Mom didn't want to fly alone so she took me with her. Don had to stay home for work. It was wonderful to smell the cedar trees and see the mountains. If I had driven out there I would have come home with a trunk load of Mother Nature's cast-offs.
Deb
Joey has an 'interesting' relationship with a chihuahua that lives down the street. Let me explain.....Joey had been walking around the neighborhood; doing what I am not sure. He hadn't been gone very long when he came running back into Ron & Tia's backyard. He grabbed his bike helmet, put it on and then armed himself with his squirt gun. I heard him say something about a dog but I didn't catch all of it so I asked him what he said. His reply "I'm going to kill someones dog". I guess the dog had run towards him barking. I can't remember if I told Ron or if he heard it but he dutifully followed Joey down the street. They went down there but the dog apparently didn't react at that time or it didn't see them. I walked out to the street to see them both coming back. Ron stopped to talk to me and Joey rode a few feet further, turned around and headed right back to..yep, you guessed it...the dogs house. OK...so now you can pretty well figure out what happened next. The dog saw Joey and ran after him but this time it did not stop....it chased him down the street, past Ron's house to the other end of the block. Thank goodness they live in a cul-de-sac!!! Unfortunately by this time I had left the scene but I heard the commotion coming from the street. I could hear Joey yelling and a dog yapping...you know how those little dogs sound. Ron informed us that Joey came speeding down the street with the dog in hot pursuit. He was screaming "Dad, help me!" Ron said Joey's legs were just a pumpin' those pedals and with the momentum the bike was moving back and forth sideways...(know what I mean by that?) Ron couldn't understand why his dog didn't come to the rescue but Tia had told her to "stay" for fear that their dog would make a snack out of that chihuahua. Later on Joey told Ron "You're my dad...why didn't you help me?" or was it "...You're supposed to help me". maybe it was "....Why were you laughing at me".
Ron will have to correct any misinformation here or add something I may have missed. Joey makes me think of Dennis the Menace. No, Joey is not a menace but Dennis always seemed to get into little incidents and could never stop moving.
Luke is getting big and he is adorable. He didn't seem to mind the two strangers that came to see him.
The visit was great and I would never have been able to go if it weren't for Mom & Don. I had just started summer vacation and Mom didn't want to fly alone so she took me with her. Don had to stay home for work. It was wonderful to smell the cedar trees and see the mountains. If I had driven out there I would have come home with a trunk load of Mother Nature's cast-offs.
Deb
Jun 13, 2009
*Back in Minnesota
We're back! Had a great time with Ron & Tia and the boys. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there. Beautiful state and great smells...I couldn't get enough of smelling the cedar! I posted all the pix on the family bucket. I made a folder...when you get to photo bucket, look to the left at albums and click on the one that says Washington 2009. I'll tell more later...I just wanted to get the pics posted as soon as possible!
Deb
Deb
Jun 11, 2009
AHOY!
So this is Jessie! I am in the CzechRepublic, i ahve been for almost two weeks and have two and a half months to go! So 'hello' in Czech is 'Ahoy!' Just like the pirates!
Teen challenge started in a basement in New York 50 years ago, and is now in almost 70 countries. It's aimed at people with addictions like drugs and alcohol. I am here to work with them for the summer. Things are going good! I'm staying in a little town about thirty minutes to Prauge called černuc. (chair-newts.) This is where the woman's house is, which has ten women of all ages (19-51) and two interns, me and another american girl, living in it. Dude, all ten of those girls share one bedroom and one bathroom. Luckily, my roomie and i haave two girls in a room and bathroom to split between us two. We work all day in a town called Postovice, (post- oh- vits). It's really cool, the center is kinda set up like a ranch, the buildings are an old monestary from the 11th century. Since then it's been a farm, a furniture warehouse, and now a Teen Challenge center. They've done an amazing job restoring all of the buildings while keeping the old, original stone intact. Everyone helps everyone out. The girls (and I) do all of the laundry every day. Tehy also peel aaalllll of the potatos used fo reach meal and clean all of the bathrooms and kitchen each night. I get to bounce around from job to job, filling in where I'm needed. The boys do all of the manual labor... of course... and run a pallete shop to make some money. I am slo expected to conform to the rules of the program with the girls. So about half of my clothes are not allowed, i had to take all of my piercings out, and am not allowed to show my tattoos. It's like I'm in the program. Joy, eh? (dad... i need to tell you something... i'm in rehab.)
I also get to work with the girls one on one, counseling kinda stuff. Which is weird, becuase we need a translator. and the translator girl could just say what I'm saying wihtout me saying it... if that makes sense. The girls are a blast, I am learning Czech! I spent a week here with no one else that spoke engligh, i thought i was going insane, but I'm still alive. no worries. I read Twilight twice and watched Xmen 2 about four times the first wek before my roomate got here. Who is... unique. We are opposites. We went shopping in PRAUGE (!!!!!!!) last night, and she got excited over one of those weird stores filled with dorky teacher clothes. HAHA.
Prauge is amazing. I've been there a few times, but got to go shopping for the first time last night. I got a hot pink leather jacket for 20 bucks! awesome! It's a beautiful city, but there is graffitti EVERYWHERE. it's kinda cool at times, adds character i'd say. But they have adds for 'neon club' which is a strip joint spraypainted everywhere. Cheap advertising i guess.
We 'hit the streets' the other night to talk to junkies abou their lives and God. I watched one guy role joints for about fifteen minutes as he listened and asked questions about God. I also witnessed one guy whip out a bong and start puffing away. And one guy even shot up as we were talking to them. This is all happening on the sidewalk too! Right out in the open! the law about any kind of drugs in Prauge says 'a little is ok'. No joke, they don't have a set amount on what 'a little' is. drugs are bad. Well, Czech is the second most athiest country in the world to Turkey, and now i can see why. Drugs and alcohol are widely accepted here. You can buy alcohol when you!re 18 here, and it's widely availible. No such thing as a liquor store, there're more booye in a gas station than gas. It's so sad to see and my heart goes out to these people. Needless to say, the day that we walked and witnessed downtown... I lost my appetite.
All in all my trip has been awesome. Stressful at times, dull at times, mostly fun, and mostly exciting. I keep telling myself it's an adventure. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the 'send Jessie to Czech' cause, I will keep you as updated as i can!
xoxo
Jessie
Teen challenge started in a basement in New York 50 years ago, and is now in almost 70 countries. It's aimed at people with addictions like drugs and alcohol. I am here to work with them for the summer. Things are going good! I'm staying in a little town about thirty minutes to Prauge called černuc. (chair-newts.) This is where the woman's house is, which has ten women of all ages (19-51) and two interns, me and another american girl, living in it. Dude, all ten of those girls share one bedroom and one bathroom. Luckily, my roomie and i haave two girls in a room and bathroom to split between us two. We work all day in a town called Postovice, (post- oh- vits). It's really cool, the center is kinda set up like a ranch, the buildings are an old monestary from the 11th century. Since then it's been a farm, a furniture warehouse, and now a Teen Challenge center. They've done an amazing job restoring all of the buildings while keeping the old, original stone intact. Everyone helps everyone out. The girls (and I) do all of the laundry every day. Tehy also peel aaalllll of the potatos used fo reach meal and clean all of the bathrooms and kitchen each night. I get to bounce around from job to job, filling in where I'm needed. The boys do all of the manual labor... of course... and run a pallete shop to make some money. I am slo expected to conform to the rules of the program with the girls. So about half of my clothes are not allowed, i had to take all of my piercings out, and am not allowed to show my tattoos. It's like I'm in the program. Joy, eh? (dad... i need to tell you something... i'm in rehab.)
I also get to work with the girls one on one, counseling kinda stuff. Which is weird, becuase we need a translator. and the translator girl could just say what I'm saying wihtout me saying it... if that makes sense. The girls are a blast, I am learning Czech! I spent a week here with no one else that spoke engligh, i thought i was going insane, but I'm still alive. no worries. I read Twilight twice and watched Xmen 2 about four times the first wek before my roomate got here. Who is... unique. We are opposites. We went shopping in PRAUGE (!!!!!!!) last night, and she got excited over one of those weird stores filled with dorky teacher clothes. HAHA.
Prauge is amazing. I've been there a few times, but got to go shopping for the first time last night. I got a hot pink leather jacket for 20 bucks! awesome! It's a beautiful city, but there is graffitti EVERYWHERE. it's kinda cool at times, adds character i'd say. But they have adds for 'neon club' which is a strip joint spraypainted everywhere. Cheap advertising i guess.
We 'hit the streets' the other night to talk to junkies abou their lives and God. I watched one guy role joints for about fifteen minutes as he listened and asked questions about God. I also witnessed one guy whip out a bong and start puffing away. And one guy even shot up as we were talking to them. This is all happening on the sidewalk too! Right out in the open! the law about any kind of drugs in Prauge says 'a little is ok'. No joke, they don't have a set amount on what 'a little' is. drugs are bad. Well, Czech is the second most athiest country in the world to Turkey, and now i can see why. Drugs and alcohol are widely accepted here. You can buy alcohol when you!re 18 here, and it's widely availible. No such thing as a liquor store, there're more booye in a gas station than gas. It's so sad to see and my heart goes out to these people. Needless to say, the day that we walked and witnessed downtown... I lost my appetite.
All in all my trip has been awesome. Stressful at times, dull at times, mostly fun, and mostly exciting. I keep telling myself it's an adventure. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the 'send Jessie to Czech' cause, I will keep you as updated as i can!
xoxo
Jessie
Jun 5, 2009
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