I have found something new to love about daylight savings. When you work overnight, 3:00 comes one minute after 1:59! Suddenly, I am nearly half way done with my shift, which is so nice because I slept only like 45 min this afternoon. Insomnia, you ask? No, just fun - it was a great day, why sleep through it?

When I say "fun", I really mean lunch with Adam, tanning, washing my windows (hello, sun!), spending time with Katie, going to church... Oh, I also went to the MIA and saw the limited time New Guinea exhibit. That was great.

What I love about the art I saw today was that it was so beautiful & functional. Drums, paddles, shields, bowls. Most of the aesthetic appeal was also functional to some extent- connecting ones self to nature, ancestors, a certain task (often war or hunting). I loved that they carved their bowls shallow, with beautiful swirls and curls in the bottom, so they could hang them on the wall and display art in between uses. Yes, why can't bowls be art? I also loved that when they carved designs in their battle shields, they incorporated their familial history in the art as another means of protection. I mean, if you had a great warrior in your family, might as well bring along his/her spirit when you go to war, right?

Anyway, it seems that I have an important decision to make: who would I want to carve out of wood and perch at the top of my shield?

Ok, these are my more "less distantly related" options:

Mom: She's feisty - I wouldn't want to see what would happen should someone threaten her family or home. And she'd look good doing it, which is important in my cultural context.
Dad: He's a protector, too - and always seems to know what's right. Hm, I might need his level head in battle. And, he's a craftsman, which would come in handy when assembling said shield.
Grandpas: Both in the army, both skilled craftsmen. Yes, with their help I could make weapons and then actually know how to use them. And, I think with Grandpa Harms's help I'd be a fair and honorable warrior, which would be important should I ever want the privilege of being perched on top of someone else's shield (it is never too soon to think about these things, you know).
Grandmas: Fearless, these ladies. Ha, and we can't forget about the time Grandma Brown marched over to that girl after school and punched her for making fun of her new yellow coat. Yeah, it might be wise for me to tap into some of that spirit, should I need it.

Look at that, what a well equipped & useful group of ancestors I have. Ok, I think I might be ready.

Last week I started in my new volunteer role at a free healthcare clinic in the area. I was nervous to make the commitment, but that melted away and let my true excitement take over as the night went on. I really had a great time and I can't wait to go back!

I will probably blog about this clinic again - about the patients, the other nurses, the cute 1950's exam tables that probably have more stories to tell than the 1970's decor - but, I'm really excited to write about something else I experienced that first night.

First, I should explain that our governor is proposing that just a tremendous portion of the state's healthcare budget (including MnCare) get cut by nearly $500 million. In response to this proposition, a group of more socially convicted legislators in our area set out to see what sort of affect that would have on our local hospitals and health clinics. While this clinic does not receive funding from the government, it does function as a public health provider in a pretty flawless way. This guy came just to kind of check out what we do and how... who we see and why... etc etc. And, I'm assuming how cutting federal funding will compromise our ability to offer care as it will bring more and more people to our doors.

Well, of course, the director of our clinics came with and asked me to share with this man why I decided to volunteer with this organization. This is when I got really excited - I was able to share with someone (who maybe cared at least a little bit?) why I do what I do and what motivates me. The funny thing is - I actually feel like he was listening! We eventually got to talking about the hospital I work for, since it is one of the hospitals that will get hit hardest with this upcoming budget cut, & I was able to articulate to him why the children we see are unique and special and what budget cuts would do to the care they receive and the quality of life they are therefore able to enjoy (or not enjoy). This is a serious issue, and I actually felt like he understood it. These proposed budget cuts will save the state a large chunk o' change, but will cost the hospitals even more (I think the cuts are to save the state about $500m and will cost hospitals about $700m). Providers will be less able to refer patients to specialists, provide "elective" surgeries (is quality of life elective?), and offer patient resources that can actually help prevent health issues in the first place.

Ok, wait, I didn't really want this blog to get political, because I realize there are going to be people who see the government as not responsible for these things... I understand that there are always many sides to an issue. My point, really, is just to say how excited I was to advocate for my kids! Their little faces are hidden behind the politics of it all and I so appreciated this guys interested. Even if he was just pretending to care - we were all excited to share with someone about the things that give us life. And that is to care of the people who might otherwise be forgotten. Simple as that.

Please don't take that from me, Pawlenty.

ok, no seriously, not trying to be political :-)

Tennessee

I was able to secure a(nother) trip to TN this week and spend time with Ariel and Henrik!! We played, cooked, went on walks, and just generally enjoyed each others company... face to face!!! Boy do I love them.... (oh, and funny how I came away with zero pics of Ariel and I! Whoops!)

You can't see them, but he's sportin' the new shoes Auntie Ashlee brought for him!

There they are! So cute!!

Bath time! I can't remember if this is before or after he "shot" himself in the face :-)

Henrik, the cherub

What kind of auntie would I be if I didn't give a few face smooshing kisses every once in a while?!

Play time!

Outfit #47 (he goes through more clothes in one day than me!)

What a sweet boy!

Where are my sweet potatoes?!

I so wish I could see this new little family more often, but I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have to visit them. I hope I can make it down there again soon!

I woke up today only to find that I had 6 missed calls on my cell phone! Of course, I went into panic mode, assuming only that something must be wrong if I had so many missed calls from the same person. But, to my delight, I listened to the first voicemail and found Mark, the boyfriend of my good friend Kelly, on the other end. He had called "just to tell me" that he had plans to propose to her tonight (!!) and was wondering if I could meet up with them and some other friends and family for a celebration get-together later that evening. Ummm... of course!!

As I was driving over, I began to think of all the things I appreciate about them as individuals and as a couple. In general, I am so overly blessed by my friends - they are indeed people of integrity, ambition, spirit, and - hello! - are so much fun. So, as Kelly always says, I spent the evening "drinking the drinks and laughing the laughs" with a very happy group. It was a smile-y night, to say the least.

I need to keep better tally of what makes me laugh.

Seriously, people, life is funny.

Time to Travel

Well, I have actually followed through on some of my goals for 2009. Not only have I signed up for a PALS certification class, which is more about my professional development, I have created an account on expedia.com and secured two trips that will take place over the next two months. A road trip may be in the works for the end of March (fingers-crossed), and expedia might be getting more of my paycheck come April.

So far we've got...
TN Feb
Cabo March
NYC? April

Any suggestions for May?

Another goal of mine was to get more involved in my community (via nursing?) and I am hoping to start orientation at a free clinic this Tuesday. We'll see what happens with this one - work is picking up and that might make my schedule a bit tougher to work with. No, actually, I should make this a priority. People need help and I don't need to spend all my days off sitting around. Or going on vacation.

Correction from last post:
A friend came to me and said, "I don't get your last post, you know success isn't defined by all that other stuff". Yes, I do. I don't know if I made my point very clear, or if it was just lost. So, to be clear: I know that success isn't measured through possessions, jobs, degrees, awards, etc, etc. But, I kind of feel this pressure "in the real world" to prove myself. And in the "world" proving yourself is often done through showing off these tokens of success. While I do not want to buy into that superficial approach to life, I was feeling a bit weak to it. The blog was sort of a self pep-talk.

Moving on...

I saw Revolutionary Road yesterday and I want to TALK ABOUT IT SO BADLY!!! So, people, hurry up and go see it so I can blog about it and externalize all my thoughts. I feel like it is a movie I need to learn from & I certainly can't do that by holding all my thoughts in! So, go... seriously, do it now. For yourself... and a little bit for me :-)