It's a boy!

Meet our new kitty. He doesn't have a name yet. He was one of those infamous "free cats." We got him from one of the rescue organizations MSB Shakopee works with. They, like many shelters, have more cats than they know what to do with. Many of you know I've been waiting for the right orange kitty to need my home. Well, he is it! He is such a laid back cat! His personality is a stark contrast to Emmitt. A significant difference is new kitty loves to be cuddled and petted and have his belly rubbed, any time! If you try to touch Emmitt when he doesn't want attention, he will bite. Anyway, feel free to throw out some name suggestions. We are trying to find a name that suits him. He is a big kitty, but very laid back, likes attention and is even a little needy sometimes. He is tolerant of most things. He doesn't pay much attention to Emmitt and his attitude. He is a good kitty.

It's been how long?

Dear blog reader,

I'm sorry I have fallen off the face of the earth in the last 3 months. Let's see, in that time we prepped and sold our home in Cottage Grove and moved to Waconia. Nick finished classroom studies and has started rotations. I finished a crazy quarter and have started the next one. We took a little time off to visit New Ulm, MN and the Schell Brewery where we sampled a few beers and found some we like. We also saw Herman the German. Good times. This past week my dad's oldest brother passed away very unexpectedly. It made me very glad we are living so close to family.

The end of the quater

Winter quarter is finally over! Graduation was tonight. I have all of my final grades entered. I am ready for a week off. Of course, that week off only means I wont be at school three days next week. I plan to be there 1 or 2 days getting next quarter ready. I am teaching 5 courses and taking a class. Yeah, a little scary. Of the 5, I have taught 2 of them before. There are two sections of the same course, and the last one, I'll wing it!

So with my next few days off I will be doing some Relay work. We still have lots to do. Let me know if you can help. Don't forget to visit my website and make your tax deductible donation. Click here.

I will also be working on cleaning the house. With this past quarter being as hectic as it was, the house is in disarray. I don't like it. I plan to remedy this.

So, if you left messages or sent emails that I never responded to, I am sorry, and please try again. :D

I'm off to bed. First on the To-do list: Sleep in.

Week 7

This week is week 7 of our quarter. This quarter I am teaching 5 classes. Last quarter I taught 3. I really am enjoying teaching. Currently we are just 2 weeks away from the AVMA (our accrediting body) coming for a site visit to review our accreditation. This means that we are very busy trying to make sure "all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed." This also means the stress level has kicked up a whole lot more notches. I was a little bit stressed just with classes and getting lessons planned and papers graded. This has added a whole new level.

Last weekend we drove to Michigan to meet our newest Niece, Abel. We had the honor of attending and celebrating her baptism with much of the family. We got to see Nick's brother and family from Texas, including our nephew, Nick's parents, Nick's sister (Bel's mom) and family and her in-laws. The Grunklee family is a great family.

The trip was great, but a lot of driving in a few short days. We left Friday am, drove 11 1/2 hours to make it to Bay City around 8pm local time. We left Sunday and drove to Valpo Indiana where my cousin, Heidi lives. Amy, Heidi's sister, was also there. It was fun to have dinner and visit with them and catch some of the olympics. Monday morning we headed out and arrived home about 4pm. It was a fast trip with lots of driving, but the weather was good and we got to see a lot of family. :D
Here is a picture of me and Bel.

WA Frost

Tonight Nick and I celebrated the fourth anniversary of our engagement. To date this is the one anniversary/holiday that we consistently celebrate on the date. As is the tradition we went to WA Frost for dinner. The Moonen Christmas was today as well, so we skipped some of that eating and ducked out for dinner, then returned. Due to the cold, I didn't even suggest we visit Rice Park, which is where Nick actually proposed. It was a fantastic dinner as usual.

Nick had the Pork Belly. Basically that is a cut of pork from the same area as bacon, so it is a fairly fatty piece of meat. He liked it. I had the Venison. It was awesome! It was med-rare and I could cut it with a butter knife. Yummy! We also had the 3 cheese platter, which is tradition. We always let our server pick the three (and yes we like Blue cheese) and have never been disappointed.

I love that they have some "mini desserts." Basically they have desserts that take about 4 bites. Perfect to get the creme brulee with out having to eat a huge dessert.

Pictures to follow