So many updates....

Greetings gangsters! I have some free time--Olivia is in bed and the boys are over at Robb's house helping to move furniture out (Robb and Vera sold their twinhome and need to be out in a few days).

I haven't blogged for a while so I don't have anything clever to say but I wanted to share random bits of news from my world.

1. We are building a deck! It is almost done, actually, and it is fabulous! We plan to have lots of gatherings this summer. We'll have to sit on the floor for now--I just can't figure out what my seating plan should be.

2. I had a colonoscopy a few weeks ago to see if there was a cause for my digestive "issues". The good news is that I don't have Crohn's or IBS. The bad news is that they found a precancerous polyp, which I definitely was not expecting. It sounds scarier than it is--the polyp (which they removed) had the potential to become cancerous at some point. Doesn't mean it will but it doesn't mean it won't. So now I have to have another one in 3 years to make sure there aren't more. I felt like a total loser in the waiting room--I was a good 25 years younger than everyone else there. The procedure was no big deal; kind of interesting, actually. The prep beforehand was TERRIBLE--totally started throwing up in the midst of everything and felt like death. So now I know that the digestive problems I have been having are directly related to no longer having a gallbladder and those problems will persist for the rest of my life. Thankfully, things have gotten a lot better since I stopped breastfeeding. Why, I do not know, but I am thankful for the small change. So enough of this gross topic.

3. The Louwsma/Olson/Towey family went camping this weekend! We weathered some pretty ferocious thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon but came out no worse for the wear. A bit muddy but fine. Somehow Ethan managed to sleep through the whole thing. This is the kid that hears a snowplow and FREAKS OUT. Yet he managed to sleep through a very loud thunder and hail storm while in a pop top camper? Mind boggling. Baby Sister was not a fan of the storm at all. Thankfully, the storm was so loud that it drowned out the sound of her screaming. :) Overall though the trip was very fun and many thanks to Jimbo for taking care of everything!

4. We put our kitchen project on hold. For those of you that don't know, we were planning a major redo of our kitchen. I was feeling really indecisive and apprehensive about it, which is not a good thing. So we pulled the plug on it and both Jay and I felt a huge wave of relief wash over us. That definitely told us we made the right choice. We still want to do something to the kitchen but we're exploring some new (and slightly crazy) ideas. Basically, I want to relocate the kitchen to our current family room. Yes, I know. I'm nuts. But I've spoken with a contractor about it and he seems to think it isn't crazy at all. I think it helps that there is already plumbing behind the walls in the family room. Anyway, I'll let you know how it all pans out.

5. I was a working mother last week! I was actually out of town on business. :) Makes me laugh to say that. Jimbo took me up to Fond-du-Lac Tribal Community College in Cloquet. We led a two-day StrengthsFinder Workshop for the staff there. It was SO FUN. I've been involved in this StrengthsFinder stuff for about a year now and I just love it. It doesn't even feel like work--isn't that the best kind of work? Anyway, I didn't totally humiliate myself and I think he might ask me to come along again someday. I totally got my people fix and really enjoyed contributing in a different way than normal. I'd like to make this into something more but I'm still trying to figure out how to do it. Do I get certified through Gallup? Do I get a coaching certification? I don't know yet. But I do know for once in my life, I feel like I am really good at something and have the potential for greatness. Those of you that know me well know that those words don't usually come out of my mouth regarding myself. So I am excited and encouraged and hoping that I don't drop the ball like normal. :)

That's all folks! Peace out.