"New" Snow Blower

Last winter, Thomas and I had to scoop the snow from our large driveway. We had one scoop shovel, and it snowed a lot! Just before the big storm last year in February or March (I can't remember when it was), my dad called and asked if we wanted a snow blower. I asked "for free?" he said "Yep", I said "SOLD!" :) However, we didn't get the snow blower until this summer.

This past week, Thomas used the blower to clean the snow from the sidewalk & driveway. It looks much easier than scooping ... of course, I'm not the one using the snow blower, either.

Construction cont. 12/19-12/20 2007

Its beginning to look more like a wall. The curved wall that will separate the back office from the front reception area is coming together. The door to the PT/Reiki room is now framed in and the drywall is up on the front of the wall. The electrician, Travis, is doing the electrical work for us and he started dropping in the boxes & such for where the new power outlets are going to go. He finished his part on the backside of the wall on Thursday evening so now the construction guys can put the drywall up on the backside of the wall. :) Travis Mitchell owns 3 Points Electric. His office number is: 402-253-5224.

I am having so much fun watching this come together. The guys that are doing the work are awesome and even clean up after themselves so I don't have to! :)

This is Emilie. She has been working for me on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons (before Hapkido) for a while. However, she is moving away at the end of this month. :( The doorway behind her is going to be going into the new PT/Reiki room. The area behind this door now is the current acupuncture room.

This is the front of the curved wall. Its hard to show depth on a photo. :( The credenza up front is also taking shape.

This is the electrician, Travis, putting in the stuff for the new wiring.

Office Remodeling - Day 1 - Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007

Thanks to a great crew of guys, my office is getting remodeled. I currently have a lot of space that isn't being used, and soon I will be able to put the empty space to good use. I find it amusing that when I looked at the building that I am renting, I saw two usable rooms. One for the "front" and one for the "back" - the treatment room. I figured that would be enough for one doctor. Well, by the end of the first year, I realized that I needed another room for my acupuncture. So a friend of mine & I built a second room. NOW, I need more room - I'm getting busier! :) Its a great problem to have.

I met this crew through some current patients of mine. These patients were telling me about their family and said that their son has a construction company and would like to find a chiropractor to work on the crew. I said "Great, send them in!" So, I'm seeing the entire crew, and their families. They are wonderful people. If you are in the Plattsmouth / Omaha Metro area and need quality construction work done - call Martin & Sons Construction. John Killingsworth is the owner of Martin & Sons. His business number is: 402-943-9203. :)

This is a picture of John & Kyle starting to measure & apparently draw on my floor with a sharpie marker to outline the new wall that is going up to separate the reception area from the treatment rooms.

Here is a "before" & "after" of the beginning of the construction area. John Killingsworth (the owner of the construction business) has this "great plan" for my office. I think I know what he's doing, but I'll watch it unfold like everyone else.

The metal bars are metal studs. I'd never seen metal studs before, but they seem great to work with! This wall is actually curved toward the back of the office. In the center of the wall, John is building a credenza for our supplies. Oh, and he decided he didn't think my "L" shaped reception desk would fit with his design, so he's also going to build me a new reception desk for the front! So, my personal office will now get a new, fancy desk! :)

Keep checking back for construction updates. They can only work on Wednesdays since that is the only day of the week I'm closed. I'll try to update this every week that they do work!

Winter is Here

There are times that the weatherman is actually correct in predicting the weather. We were told yesterday that we were in for a snow/ice storm today, and the weatherman was right. They canceled school here, so Thomas is all happy that he's off today. I got up and got ready for work, only to find out that the roads are covered in ice....so I have today off as well. Here is what our area looks like.

This is the view from our back deck.

This is an evergreen tree in our front yard. If only we had put colored lights on it to make it more festive!

The shrub in front of our house is collecting some great icicles.


Of course, as I am getting ready for the holidays and getting gifts boxed & wrapped, Dartos has to help---with his own commentary on how one should treat a mighty cat! :) (this was taken a few days ago, but I thought I'd post it anyway!)

So, it appears that winter is here. It is currently snowing. I closed my office for at least the morning and will have to see about the afternoon. I did plan for a possible snow day and brought some work home...however, reading, drinking hot cocoa, and doing a whole lot of nothing sounds like a great plan today!

Thomas Shooting Area 3 - in Rolla, MO

Thomas has been doing competitive pistol shooting since last year, and is REALLY good at it. This year, he placed first in "B" Class in the Production* division of shooting at the Sectional Match that was at the Eastern Nebraska Gun Club in Louisville, NE in September. Here is a video of the Sectional Match. Note: I am doing the filming, so the filming is not the best!
This video is of stage 1 of the Sectional match. Thomas has all of the stages on the youtube site. Click here for the videos.


We then traveled to Rolla, MO in October for the Area 3 match. Area 3 is 6 states in the surrounding area with shooters who are really quite good at shooting. Again, he planned to shoot production class, but due to a very tiny alteration on his gun, he got bumped to Open** class about half way through the day. His chances of placing high up were gone at that time, but he still shot quite well, and had a great time. Here's the video -- again, I'm filming, so bear with me.




Since he had to pick a hobby that is EXPENSIVE, he got a shooting cart to carry his stuff. It looks a lot like the baby strollers made for runners, but it isn't, is for shooting supplies and gear. This is Thomas early in the morning on Sunday before shooting in Rolla.

* Production Division: the gun is pretty much just out of the box as you would purchase it in the store. No modifications, regular sights, only 10 rounds in the magazine.
** Open Division: pretty much any alteration you can think of, you can do. These are also called "Race Guns".

The Mighty Hunter & Huntress

Opening weekend of deer season .... take 3! This is the 3rd year that Thomas and I have traveled to my parents for opening weekend of deer season. With our schedules, we pretty much get one weekend to hunt, so this is it! The first year, I shot a deer at quite a distance, it fell down, got up & ran away. We didn't find it until the following weekend (okay, we went two weekends that year). Last year we went up and didn't even see a deer! So, we went up this weekend with high hopes for deer that we haven't gotten the past two years.

Saturday morning we went out before sunrise and didn't see much of anything. We saw a couple of deer, but nobody had a good shot. ... back to the house for lunch & a nap. We woke up and decided to head back out just before sunset. We went back out to my great-grandmother's place and stood along an area that has some trees along a shelter belt with a swampy area at the bottom --- a perfect place for deer. So, its getting darker and I hear something walking down below. I slowly move forward and down the hill (think Elmer Fudd stalking the wabbit here). Just as I get to the bottom I see a deer peek over the ravine. I slowly start bringing my rifle up to shoot her as she is watching me. In my head, the monologue runs "here we have the mighty huntress, stalking her prey, waiting for the critical moment...." I sight down the scope and shoot....I MISS! CRAP! I run forward just as I see 4 more deer head out. Thomas starts running down the ravine toward me as I go to chamber another round, only to find out ... my magazine had fallen out of my gun. CRAP again! I grab a shell and manually put it into the chamber and work the bolt. The deer were graciously waiting for me. I sight on another deer (now a LOT farther away).. I shoot & MISS! I shoot again, and miss again (I think). By this time Thomas has reached me and I'm a little frustrated. I look across the swampy area between two trees and see what I think is a log. I look through my scope and nope, its a deer! I sight in on it, gently press the trigger and....she goes down! YAY!! Thomas sees the other deer that I've missed on top of the other side of the ravine and takes a shot. We found my deer on the other side. She had apparently gotten up from where I shot her, walked about 30 feet, and died. We did find another blood trail but couldn't find any dead animal at the end.


Yep, I'm a little happy that I got her!

We decided to go back out Sunday morning so Thomas could get his deer. We went to the same ravine thinking they would be there again. We waited an hour or so and they didn't show so Thomas decided to walk the fence-line of the shelter belt. He gets all the way across and stops. (I'm following way behind in the pickup). He shoots ... and the deer goes down! ONE SHOT! Apparently there was another deer there as well, bigger than the one he shot, but we only had one permit each. However, we both got our deer this year and are happy about that. We will have deer meat this winter! :)


Note the "dead pose" of the deer -- the tongue is sticking out! :)

Trip to my parents

Thomas & I went to my parents this weekend for opening weekend of deer season. We got there Friday evening and returned home on Sunday. A month or so ago they "adopted" two little kitties. Being cat lovers, Thomas and I had to play with their little ones.

Here they are. They are named Mitzi and Buffy (I THINK Buffy is the brown one and Mitzi is the white/black one)


She loved to play with the string from my coat. :)



This was a favorite activity of both the kitty & Thomas. :)

Halloween Party 2007

Thomas & I host the annual Halloween party for our group of friends each year. This year, many of our friends could not be here. :( Those that did make it had a great time. We laughed so much all evening long. It was a good time. Of course there was much food to eat, drinks to drink, and fun to be had. People started rolling in around 7pm and the last guests left the following morning. We ate, talked, watched Thomas' shooting competition videos, and then moved downstairs to play cards -- and of course eyeball volleyball. Around midnight to 1am , most people were leaving but Dennis and Kara stayed over. The four of us stayed up until after 2:30 playing more cards. It was a great time!

Here are some pictures of the costumes.
Kara, in her dazzling Geisha costume.

Dennis, as V.

Gerry, being politically correct as always as "Afro Boy"

Andy, as the dreaded construction worker. We've been under relentless road construction here since late summer - I about threw him out just on principle. ;)

Todd -- the "Good Friend" (the arrow does go all the way thru)

Chris and Michelle - the Zoo Keepers for their little Tiger -Kevin.

Thomas as an eerie black presence. And me, a slave.

Our front porch was decorated with Pumpkins. We like the skull & skeletal hand!

Cool morning drive

As I was driving to work the other morning, I got to the end of our short lane and saw really cool fog over the cornfield. (yes, there is a cornfield in the middle of town.) So, I had to stop and take a picture of the fog...much to the chagrin of the cars behind me.

Sometimes you just have to slow down and appreciate nature. This is a picture of the fog taken through my windshield, thus the glare.

Happy Caturday!

I decided I needed to post some caturday pics. :)

Here's Thomas and Bengal. As Dartos is definitely MY cat, Bengal is definitely HIS cat!

Close up of the happy kitty's face. Bengal is such a sweet kitty. She is a little brain damaged. She is about 5 years old now, but still acts like a 6-month old kitten. She is the best lesson in "just be yourself and be happy right now." Some days when I'm down, I just sit and watch her and realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful reminder that life is okay, no matter what.



Not to be left out, Dartos wanted his picture taken today also! He stood up by my chair and "posed" for me. I like how the flash looks like flames in his eye! He's also a happy and cuddly kitty. He is NOT brain damaged, and is a very intelligent and graceful cat.

Laundry Day

I tend to do laundry on Saturdays. (exciting, I know) Its my day to tidy up the house, catch up on laundry, and such house-work as is needed. Last weekend, as I was sorting laundry, I noticed that I missed something in the laundry basket. :) I get so much help in my house.

This is Dartos, my male kitty who is definitely MY cat. He's pretty much around me whenever I'm at home.

Here's the view from the top. I was wondering how he was going to get out of the basket since the "floor" is a mesh floor about 2-3 inches from the regular floor. Dartos has a pretty good vertical jump, but I was thinking it would be difficult for him to get out. He, on the other hand, had no difficulty getting out and coming with me to the washer. Now, we find him in the bag or on the bottom floor "shelf" of this laundry separator all the time.

Vacation 2007 - Castle Rock, Colorado

After being in practice for a year and a half, I decided it was "safe" for me to leave my patients for a week and go on vacation. (Actually, many of my patients were telling me that I deserved a vacation, so I knew it was time to go.) There is an annual meeting of many martial arts enthusiasts that meet in Castle Rock each year, so we decided to check it out. There are a lot of wonderful and amazing people that get together in the small town and enjoy hanging out together, showing some different arts and skills, and simply having a good time. I met some wonderful people in Castle Rock this past summer.

While there is much fun and hilarity at the annual BBQ, there are also classes. One opportunity that Thomas participated in was that of fighting the "bullet man." The bullet man is based on the Model Mugging from years ago. The gentleman that donned the suit for us was amazing. He is a gentle soul who can be really scary when needed. :) Thomas did an amazing job of neutralizing the bullet man. Its a great demonstration of what Hapkido can do! :)


We also climbed Castle Rock while we were there. I'm happy to say that I'm in much better shape than I was for our honeymoon, so I didn't feel like I was going to die by the time I got to the top. (It is much closer to sea level than Estes Cone, however).

Here is Thomas doing his "king of the mountain" impression!


Here's me taking a bit of a break on a ledge in the rock. I decided that if I lived there, that would be the perfect place to take a book, some water, a healthy snack, and hide for an afternoon. The view is amazing, the air is clear, and the peace is blissful.

Mayor's Run 2007

Sometime in the early part of 2007, I got a little bug to run. I have an elliptical trainer at home and I enjoy running on that, but I decided to try running outside. Boy is it different than on the elliptical machine! However, with perseverance and dedication, I was able to run a couple of miles without dying. As a health care professional in our town, I have been advocating health and wellness. Along with this type of lifestyle, I encourage people to eat healthy foods and exercise. I decided to model this thinking by entering the annual Mayor's Run. There is a 2-mile run and a 5-mile run. I signed up for the 2 mile this year. Next year I'm hoping to be able to do the 5 mile. :) I'll admit I'm a little addicted to running. IT'S SO FUN!

The beginning of the race. There were over 70 people running and the weather was amazing!

The home stretch! I'm laughing because not only did I run the 2-mile race, I ran a little more than .75 miles too long! One of local policemen knows us and was pacing me on his bike. I asked him where the turn around was and he told me the wrong information! Instead of turning for the 2 mile race, I did the turn for the 5 mile! I ended up doing a little more than 2.75 miles that morning! Needless to say, I came in last for the 2-mile runners!

Prom 2007

Since Thomas teaches at the high school, we were asked to chaperone prom this past year. We had a great time! I bought a new dress, we went and found new jewelry, and Thomas bought be a beautiful garnet ring to match. We were quite dashing at the prom! Oh, and prom is much more fun now than it ever was in high school!
Here's me in my new dress.


Here's Thomas looking amazing as ever!

My Office

In January 2006, I opened my chiropractic office: LifeArts - Howard Chiropractic. As a student at Palmer, I doodled during a philosophy class (shocking, I know) and designed a rough draft of my logo. I shared it with Thomas and he refined it for me. It is a great illustrative comment on what my practice is all about.

(the logo looks better on a white background - click on the picture to get a better look)

My practice website is: http://lifearts.8k.com Feel free to check it out!

New Home, New Jobs

During our first year of marriage, Thomas taught high school in Plattsmouth. We lived a little over an hour away, so once we knew that his contract was going to be renewed, we looked for a new home. We found one in a little town called Cedar Creek. We have a wonderful home on 3 lots in a lake area. We have beautiful trees all around us, and our neighbors are not right out our window. We love it here. Its quiet (except for the trains that go through frequently). It is about 15 minutes from Plattsmouth, and it works out great for the both of us.

After we moved, I started planning to open my practice. Business space was sparse in Plattsmouth at that time, so it was about 6 months later that I finally opened my office. (I'll post about my office later).

Graduation

After the wedding and honeymoon, I returned to Davenport, Iowa to graduate from Palmer College of Chiropractic. I graduated in October 2004 with my Doctor of Chiropractic Degree. It was quite an accomplishment, and I was thrilled to be finished with the grueling program. My parents, in-laws, and brothers came to see me graduate. Thomas could not attend my graduation due to school commitments. :(

Here is my brother and I. Alan is also a chiropractor. He has a practice in Arkansas. At Palmer, if you have relatives that are chiropractors, they can participate in the graduation ceremony and hand you your diploma. Alan made the trip from Arkansas to give me my diploma.
(yep, my eyes are closed. I didn't get a pic of Alan and I with my eyes open.)

My parents also attended my graduation. This was their third time attending graduation at Palmer. All three of us children have graduated from Palmer.

Honeymoon

During the wedding planning, Thomas was planning the honeymoon. He wouldn't tell me where we were going, but promised I'd love it. He was right! He took me to Estes Park, Colorado. I had never been to Colorado before, and fell in love with it immediately. I was seriously like a little kid while we were driving in the mountains. I had the window rolled down with my head out the window looking up at the beautiful scenery. We stayed in an amazing Bed & Breakfast. We had our own cabin with a private bathroom and hot tub! We did lots of hiking and trail walking. Here are a couple of pics of us in the mountains.

This is me on the top of Estes Cone. I thought I was going to die from being out of shape and the fact that there is NO AIR up there. But once I was there, the view was amazing and I'd gladly do it again. :)

This is a picture of Thomas climbing a rock face. He had lived in Colorado during his undergraduate years and had done much more climbing that I had.

Our Wedding

I'll do a bit of "catching up" since I've deleted my previous attempt at a blog and am starting over. :)

On July 31, 2004, Thomas and I vowed to love and honor each other for the rest of our lives. The wedding was beautiful, as we had planned the entire ceremony together. We wrote our own vows, and I'm guessing there wasn't a dry eye in the church. Our reception was held that evening in a rented facility. We had a light dinner and a dance. Our wedding cake was unique as we had friends and family make the red velvet sheet cake that Thomas loves. The cake that we cut was simply a topper from a bakery. :) The photographer was a friend of mine from Iowa, and he did an excellent job of photographing everything. He gave us several CD's of the photos, so I have them forever.

So...here we are: