Welcome to the Twin Cities...and the North Shore of Lake Superior

Since arriving in the Twin Cities I have been getting to know the area. The best part is that I have made a friend Melissa who is more than willing to join me for most of the endeavor. I have taken a few pictures, but sorry I am not in them (it is difficult to take a picture of myself with my large camera).

The pictures are all out of order, but I will captioned details for those who are interested.

The gate of a house down the street from me on 3rd Ave.
St.Paul's cathedral in St. Paul. It was beautiful and they were holding mass. I have a picture of the inside, but it is blurry. :(
Melissa my exploring buddy from my ward. Putting her feet in the Mississippi River. I told her it was a must. She was skeptical, but went along. We saw boats and the rowing team.

Below is the view down my street towards Minneapolis (north).
Lake Superior from the northwest corner. The water is very cold. I learned that if all of the water in Lake Superior were flooding the North and South Americas they would all be covered in 1 foot of water. That is a lot of water.

My feet in the Mississippi River.
Gooseberry Middle Falls. I went hiking this weekend on the North shore of Lake Superior and we went along Gooseberry River. The water looks like rootbeer.
On 3rd Ave looking right at Minneapolis, it was a Sunday walk.
St. Paul while sitting on the side of the Mississippi River...check out the rowing team.
A different fall at Gooseberry...not sure which one. Maybe upper falls.
Another view of St. Paul's cathedral.
Me on the side of the Mississippi River.

Sad Moment

My bed frame was dropped off and put together this afternoon. Yeah! Sad realization is that the pictures that mom and I spent a long time hanging...with lots of difficulty are too low.

The Wedge

Yesterday I had a discovery a Co-op grocery store, The Wedge. So today I decided to officially try it out. I had an unusual find, yellow raspberries. I decided that they were a must buy out of curiosity. They taste just like regular raspberries if anyone wants to know. Yummy!

Blah

Everyday here has been really good. This evening is my first blah night...yuck! I feel really tired although I got plenty of sleep time last night. I am going to attempt to get plenty of sleep again tonight and I will see if it goes better.

The job is going well so far. I still have to much to learn and I am trying to learn as quickly as I can. The kids are the cutest! The people that I work with have been extremely kind and helpful. Off to bed I go to reinvest myself in greatness.

FYI: Will and Sara I got the Ironman and certificate in the mail today. Perfect day for a pick me up treat! Thanks

Daily Junk

I joined the YWCA in Minneapolis to swim and bike daily.  It has been great!  I utilized the facilities daily last week.  I also checked out the local Farmers Market this weekend...there was one across the street from the YWCA.  I have spent a lot of time driving around and figuring out the area.  I even took the local transit to work one day, but decided that it was going to take too much time daily.  I wish I had the patience for it though.  I have not had a lot of time to hang out at my apartment, but it feels nice and relaxing when I am there.  So far things are going well.

Church

Church has been great here in Minneapolis! Everyone has been very kind inviting my to activities almost every night.  We even went to a birthday movie for me on Saturday and am celebrating my birthday with another group on Tuesday night.

I have already gotten a calling: Relief Society Instructor.  There is no dilly-dallying around in the ward.  They don't even have my records yet and I am teaching next week.  Hhhhmmm. Does that mean that they are desperate?

The Job

I have gotten settled in and the job is going well. I have completed my first week as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. I have really enjoyed it so far, although it is not as exciting and busy as the emergency room. I spent so time in the outpatient clinic, the pediatric ICU, the pediatric ward, and in the cath lab. I went to the OR to spend some time there, but as the surgeon was starting surgery on a little boy he had to stop because he found and abscess in the boy's skin as he was making the initial incision...so I am supposed to be watching him tomorrow. The first week was mostly getting computer codes, learning computer systems, getting my name badge, sitting in meetings. The day starts bright and early tomorrow, but I am very excited! I hope that all continues well.

Pottery

This week I located a pottery studio called Fired Up Studio and became a member.  I was going to just take some classes, but after going on a tour and talking with some individuals who were in the studio I decided that the classes were not as advanced as I needed.  They did tell me that there are workshops that I could attend that would be a better fit for my needs.  I have 24/7 access to the building so that I can go and work whenever I have time.  I am very excited!  I finally have some time to do the things that I love.