i think i missed my calling...
i'm back! well, back from burley...i get to be on the internet again before i go, yippee!! i just wanted to give an update about my recent trip for the farm bureau young farmers and ranchers conference. first, let me just reiterate (sp?) the fact that God has a sense of humor. go back 6 years, or even fewer...who would've though adriane would've gone to/enjoyed and young farmers and ranchers conference? yeah, well, it's part of my life now:) it's weird and funny though... anyway. we got to go on a tour of mccain's potato plant and got to see how they process potatoes into french fries. it's crazy how much goes into it. this plant provides fries for chili's as well as for RED ROBIN!!! there was one room that stunk sooooooooooo bad i couldn't breathe for fear of dry heaving. i felt bad, but i couldn't help it. everytime i thought i'm going to be strong and would breathe out my nose i quickly plugged my nose and gave my self a don't do it pep talk. overall, it was cool. then we went to gossner's cheese factory. honestly, it kind of made me rethink eating cheese. parts of the process grossed my out. like when he talked about injecting the molds of milk with bacteria and putting it in a warm environment to encourage growth. yuck. however, the good part about the factory was the fact they make ice cream. there's a woman who works four 12 hour days a week making ice cream. why can't i do that?!? we got a sample of ice cream at the end and it was AMAZING. they got 1st place in idaho for best ice cream last year. i would love to be an ice cream taster...where do i sign up for that???

bon vonage...
the cruise is finally here (well, we leave sunday, but this is my last internet for 1 1/2 weeks). though it'll have some bittersweet moments because the reason we're going is because of the inheritance from my grandparents, it'll be fun to be WARM and hang out as a family. grandma and grandpa will be happy we're doing something fun. we'll actually be on the boat on the anniversary of grandpa's death (tuesday), and i think it's the perfect place to be. when mercyme sings "i can only imagine" there will definitely be some strong emotions, but i'm okay with that. i think it'll help with the grieving process for all of us. i will definitely have some stories when i get back and lots of pics that i'll post on myspace. hope you all stay warm and cozy...i'll try and soak up some sun for you:)

my favorite specimen...
conrad is my favorite specimen. yes, that's a weird thing to call your hubby, i know, but let me explain. the whole freak-out thing with the possible tumor, etc., turned out to be a false alarm. in a nutshell-----the doctor says that though he's never seen it in all his years of practice, the abnormality is normal for conrad. no, this doesn't mean he's going to pay the MRI bill (darnit!), however, he does want to take more pics of conrad's eyes so he can use them educationally with others who specialize in eyes. therefore, conrad has become a specimen. what an endearing term:) thanks for your prayers... now it's time to go spend the rest of my sunday afternoon with my favorite specimen:)

crazy day...
i keep thinking, i need to blog about this, or that, or something else but have been lazy, and i also attribute my lack of participation to no internet at my house. i am behind in the times!! anyway...this is blog-worthy and i am staying at my parents' tonight so i can take mom to follow-up visit in salt lake city tomorrow so i have access to the internet.

so it started out a normal day (don't they all?). i went to spinning before work and got to work at 8, expecting to leave around 4:30 and head to the chiro and then to pilates. conrad came to poky to do some errands, meet rod for lunch, and go to dentist and eye doctor. this is where the fun started. i got a call during the day from him and tried to call him back a few times. when we finally talked to each other, he told me that the walmart opto. made an emergency appointment with an opthamologist because "something doesn't look right". i wanted to go with him and gloria (my kindred-spirit co-worker) said "just go!" so i left and went to meet conrad at the hospital for the visit. in a nutshell, something looks "odd" for lack of a better term. the optical nerve is swollen, and he's worried because conrad's so young and "has a lot to lose" if something serious was wrong. the two doctors talked to us and wanted to get an MRI done. not tuesday morning when the imaging place had an opening, but TONIGHT! it's so crazy. he says it could just be how conrad was made (conrad hasn't been to eye doctor in probably 7-8 years, so this "odd-ness" could be normal for him...), or worst case-a tumor. okay, that's a scary word. we left that office to go eat at subway before our MRI appt. while we were eating, we started discussing the "worst case scenario". conrad says, "well, i can't die, or all the prophecies we got on sunday night were a lie." so matter of fact, my man is:) we got some amazing words spoken over us by darren lindley and the team, and i'm thinking that God wasn't lying!!! so we head to the MRI (yes, i bawled in subway before we left...public crying is NOT my favorite thing.). the secretary was mean. but the tech was nice. my dad came and sat with me for about the last 20 minutes while conrad was in there. he's so thoughtful like that...i didn't even know he was coming...just looked up from my fitness mag and he walked in carrying a powerade option to hydrate me:) the good news--they didn't see anything worth calling the on-call radiologist about and it will be looked at tomorrow a.m. please pray that we get more good news. i'd rather spend a lot of money on a "nothing to worry about" diagnosis than actually have something be wrong. i'm so in love with conrad and am so joyful everyday knowing i get to share my life with such an amazing man:) God totally blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.