Michigan Football

One last post (hopefully) before I leave Panera for the night... MICHIGAN FOOTBALL STARTS TOMORROW!!

Michigan vs. Utah

I don't know if we will be able to catch it on TV out here (especially since we won't start cable till Tuesday), but I sure hope we can watch it. I am excited to see how the new coach works... GO BLUE!!

Obama in Monroe on Monday

How exciting. When I called my parents yesterday on the train ride back from LAX (yes, we did take a plane, train, bus and car all in the same day) my dad told me the news... OBAMA WILL BE AT HIS UNION HALL ON MONDAY!! How exciting!! I wish I would be able to be there (I am sure a lot of people wish they could, but apparently there are only 300 tickets). Anyway, my parents will both be there (I doubt I have mentioned this before, but if you didn't know, my daddy-o is the Business Agent for Local 671, which is where the little shin-dig will be held), so I told them to take plenty of pictures (so that I can report the news here too, hehe. Here is a link to the article that ran in the Toledo Blade about his trip.

Obama expected in Monroe on Monday


MONROE — A campaign visit by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has tentatively been schedule for Monday in Monroe.
The Illinois senator, who accepted his party’s nomination Thursday night in Denver, will be at the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Hall, Local 671, 309 Detroit Ave., for a 1 p.m. event.
It is believed that the Illinois senator will be coming from the Labor Day Parade in Detroit. He is also scheduled to appear at on Sunday at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library in downtown Toledo.

Film Developing?

I know, random question, but do you know of a cheap (but good quality) place to develop film? We had disposable cameras (don't worry, they were recycled) on the tables at the wedding and now have about 8 cameras to develop. :) Just thought I would see if anyone knew of a good deal anywhere (Target, etc).

Internet

HURRAY!! Ryan and I ordered Internet (and cable) today. They will be delivering our modem on Tuesday and then everything will be set up. Then we won't have to come to coffee shops and pilfer theirs :). Hopefully that means I will be able to start posting regularly again!

Wedding

The wedding was AWESOME!! The weather was beautiful. The day went off without a hitch (for the most part, hehe). Everyone really loved everything, even though it wasn't a traditional type wedding. Ryan and I really enjoyed ourselves and had a blast spending time with all of our family and friends. We are so thankful for everyone's generosity and love!! Drew will be getting pictures to us in 2-3 weeks, so after that I will be able to load them and let everyone look. Feel free to ask questions (about details if you are interested), but I figured I wouldn't go into everything right this second.

Bula!

Bula - which means HELLO or WELCOME in Fijian. :) We are back!! The honeymoon was amazing. We stayed 4 nights in Nadi (which is the largest of the Fijian islands) and then 4 nights on Taveuni (which is the garden island of the Fijian islands). I am uploading pictures (but doing it at Panera, so it is taking a long time to load them, so I may have to wait to do them all), so there will be about a thousand for you all to look at (I think Ryan has about 500 pictures and I have about 600). Both of the islands were great, but much different. The first place we stayed at was called First Landing Resort. It is where they say that the first Fijians landed in about 1500BC (hence the name First Landing :) ). It was on the island of Nadi and was about 30 minutes or so away from the international airport. We did some kayaking, but just mostly a lot of relaxing. We hung out by the pool, did a lot of reading, etc. It was absolutely beautiful there (which I hope you can tell from some of the pictures). While we were there we did some crab racing (we all chose a hermit crab and 'trained them' and tried to race them... our crab - Michael Phelps did NOT bring home another gold). We then flew over to Taveuni (on a small puddle jumper plane that held about 12 people, and YES we did have to get on a scale to get weighed before getting on the plane to make sure we would be able to take off and everything). We stayed at the resort called Paradise. It was amazing! Very different. It felt a lot more authentic (very small, only 10 places for people to stay, etc). We went snorkeling a lot (which means we have a bunch of under water pictures to load too), laid by the pool, went on a tour of some of the villages (like real tours, where we had to give gifts to the chief of the village so that we would be allowed to look around, etc). We had a ton of fun!! I did get food poisoning, which was real bad, but at least my WONDERFUL husband came through big time - hehe, welcome to marriage Ryan :). There is a ton of stuff to tell, but honestly I am running on Diet soda and can't really seem to think of it all yet (I think when I go through all of the pictures I will be able to put stories in the captions - but don't feel bad if you can't look through all 1000+ at once). Thanks for all of the prayers for safe travels and whatnot, it was AMAZING!!

Signing Off

I am signing off for the next couple weeks. Today at noon is my last day at work, so I won't have Internet regularly enough to be posting here. Tomorrow is full of rehearsal stuff, Saturday wedding stuff and then Monday we are heading to Fiji for 2 weeks... I will be back, fellow fans, come back to check in starting in September.

Please keep Ryan and I in your prayers over the couple weeks (with the wedding, traveling, starting new jobs, etc). Thank you all for your love and support!! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!

Results

I wanted to let my loyal fans, hehe, know that everything went okay with the colonoscopy yesterday morning. The 'preparation' was really the worst part. I have a bad gag reflex and was NOT expecting the solution that I had to drink to be the consistency of maple syrup (and taste like orange). Anyway, they took some biopsys while they were 'in there' and I have to go back to the doctor when I get back from Fiji to get the results and a prescription (if they do determine that it is IBS). I am glad it is done, thank you for the prayers, and hopefully I will NEVER have to do it again.

Bulldogs

Ryan saw this guy and had to get his photo with it up in San Clemente this past weekend.

Not feelin' so hot

I am not feeling so great today (so I will blame my lack of posts on that). I have been on an all clear liquid diet for over 24 hours now and am just really starting to drag... Since yesterday around 1pm all I have had is about a liter of Diet 7-up (I have about half the 2 liter left). I am trying to decide what I would like my first meal to be tomorrow after I get back from the hospital, but I am not even sure if I will feel like eating. I go in tomorrow morning at 7am (to start the check in process) and will hopefully be leaving the hospital by about 9 or 9:30. Ryan is off this week so he is driving me there and back, and of course waiting for me while I am in there (what a sweet fiancee, huh). I am taking the whole day off tomorrow, which means I won't have Internet, but once I get back to work on Thursday (for my last day) I will try and remember to post how everything went (but don't worry, it won't be graphic, at least I hope not :) ).

Apartment Pics

New pictures from this past weekend in the "New Apartment" album. Ryan is starting to move his stuff over, so we will start getting some more pictures. We put up a couple shelves in the bedroom and have the living room set up for the most part, so I thought I would post the pictures. Enjoy!!

Sunset Updates

I LOVE living in walking distance to the beach. Check out the updated 'Sunset' album... A bunch of pictures from Saturday and Sunday night... Sorry that some of the shots have people in them, but Oceanside is hopin' and it is hard to get an empty part of beach for yourself.

Candle for Tibet

All About CANDLE FOR TIBET

August 7th 2008 is the day before the opening ceremony of The Olympic Games in Beijing. On this day we aim to create the world's greatest LIGHT PROTEST, when at least 100 million people from all over the world will light a candle and say YES to freedom in Tibet!

All you are asked to do is to light a simple candle
on August 7th at 9 pm in your own time zone.

Light the Candle at your home, workplace or in a public place. Put the candle in your Window, or on your desk, or anywhere else where other people will see it and hopefully do the same.

Our light protest will be seen by billions on TV screens all over the world on the day the Beijing Olympics open. We are not against the Olymipcs or anything else for that matter, we stand for Freedom. Period.

Waste Free Lunches

I got a link to this website in an email update I get regularly. I thought it was a great resource to pass along, especially for those people that bring lunches, make their children lunches, etc. I switched from sandwich bags to a tupperware container for my sandwiches and pretzels, etc that I bring to work for lunch. Check out the website (and ideas) if you get a chance.


WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

As Americans we have come to depend on the many convenience products that are available to us, and nowhere is this more evident than in the school lunch room. Most parents pack lunch items in single-use plastic bags, aluminum foil, or wax paper, or they purchase single-serving items that come in their own disposable package. Admittedly, these products are extremely convenient, but what is the environmental cost to a country that relies so heavily on them? Landfills are full and overflowing. Incinerators pump contaminants into the air. Communities are battling over who will accept the nation's trash. We all enjoy these conveniences, but few of us are willing to allow new landfills and incinerators to be built in our own backyards.

Much of the trash we generate comes from the packaging on the food we buy, and lunch foods are no exception. In fact, it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.

http://www.wastefreelunches.org/

Oranges and Water

Some pictures I took yesterday that didn't make the photo of the day. I like how some of them focus on the behind oranges and some on the front oranges.

Oh Kwame

Judge Orders Detroit Mayor Jailed

DETROIT — Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick was taken to the county jail Thursday and will spend at least one night there for violating his bond.

Mr. Kilpatrick is fighting perjury and other felony charges, but has refused calls to resign. Judge Ronald Giles of the 36th District Court in Detroit ordered that he be jailed because of a visit he made on July 23 to Windsor, Ontario, on the opposite shore of the Detroit River.

The mayor’s lawyers sought an immediate appeal, but the circuit court judge who will take up the matter put off a hearing until Friday morning.

Mayor Kilpatrick apologized to Judge Giles for violating the terms of his bond, which required court approval for any travel outside of Michigan, and promised that he would not make such a mistake again. He also noted that he had asked his young sons to watch the hearing so they could see their father admit wrongdoing.

More of the article here.

Results

So yesterday afternoon I had to go back to the GI Specialist that did my Scope so that I could get my results. I waited for 15 minutes before I went back to a room (GRRRRR) and then waited another 20 minutes before the doctor came in. So when the doc came in she said that the biopsies and scope came back normal. She said that she is 98% sure that it is IBS, but she doesn't want to clump me in to it without checking to make sure I am slipping through the cracks of the other 2% - which means... DRUMROLL... Colonoscopy! HURRAY!! I had to schedule it for next Wednesday (yep, 3 days before the wedding). She said that if everything comes back okay she will put me on an antidepressant that is now used for IBS. So starting Monday afternoon I will start on an all clear liquid diet (veggie broth, apple juice, etc) and then Tuesday night I have to drink 2 liters of this... um... 'tasty' solution that will help me 'clean our my system'... (I am trying to phrase everything prettier). My mom said that when my dad went in they told him the results right there (in the recovery room), so I am hoping that I won't have to go back to the doctor but she will just be able to write me a prescription then... Ryan will be off all week next week so he will take me to the hospital (bright and early). I am going to check this morning if I have sick time left (so I can just take the whole day off), but if not he said he could hang out around here during the day (or go surf) and then drive me home after work. I'll keep you all up-to-date...

28%

I'm 28% of the way to my goal... Would you like to help??

Dear Friends,

Last year I participated in the AFSP's 2007 Out of the Darkness Community Walk and once this year's information was announced I made sure to be one of the first to sign up. I hope to raise even more funds for AFSP this year and hopefully with your help will be able to meet my higher goal.

I will be joining with thousands of people nationwide this fall to walk in AFSP's 2008 Out of the Darkness Community Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. I would appreciate any support that you give me for this worthwhile cause.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is at the forefront of research, education and prevention initiatives designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. With more than 32,000 lives lost each year in the U.S. and over one million worldwide, the importance of AFSP's mission has never been greater, nor our work more urgent.

I hope you will consider supporting my participation in this event. Any contribution will help the work of AFSP, and all donations are 100% tax deductible.

Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation please go to the AFSP Community Walk site here (http://www.outofthedarkness.org/) and search for my name(Carlee Padot) in the Participant field on the left hand side of the page. You can then click the "Support This Participant" button on the page.

Thank you for considering donating to this wonderful cause!

Carlee

Support Me!

Pearly Whites

One appointment down, one to go today... Dentist appointment went a-okay. They said everything was wonderful, beautiful, etc... Now I will have a bright, white smile in our wedding pics :)

Knight Hawks

I thought I was going to witness history... But alas, Ryan's rec team, The Knight Hawks, lost their first game of the season last night... I took some pictures though, check them out here.

Basketball

I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but last fall Ryan was on a Rec Basketball League. It was just for fun with the guys he lived with and some other friends. I may not have mentioned it because the guys lost every one of their games... Anyway, they signed up for the next session and their first game is tonight. Now that I live up that way I think I may stop by and watch. They moved down a level and hopefully will be able to win a couple games this round, but even if they don't, they still enjoy themselves. I will try to take some pictures :). Good luck Knight Hawks!

Appointments

Tomorrow I have some appointments. At 7:30am I have my dentist appointment. It should hopefully go smoothly. It is just my normal cleaning, which takes about 30-45 minutes (depending how on top of everything everyone is when I get in there, since I am the first appointment). At 4:00pm tomorrow afternoon I have to go in to get the results from my Scope that I had 2 weeks ago. I haven't gotten any sort of calls since I went in, so I am hoping that means nothing is really wrong and I can just get some medications to try and help my silly stomach. With these appointments going on tomorrow I might be lagging with the posts... Just a heads up.

Last Days

I had posted last week (or maybe the week before) that Ryan took a new job with Tilly's, as a graphic designer. His last day with Sole will be this Friday. It worked out nicely for him, so he will get all of his vacation time paid out to him in his last check. He will be starting with Tilly's when we get back from the honeymoon so he won't have to use any vacation for the honeymoon with them.

I gave my notice last Monday. When I told Jonna that I wasn't planning on coming back after the wedding she talked to Kyle (the president) to see if there was any way of keeping me. They did some brainstorming and came back to me with a few options (4 10s so that I would be driving the 50+ minute commute one less day a week, possibly giving me a slight raise, possibly filling up my tank with gas once a week to cover some of the travel costs, etc). She told me to discuss it all with Ryan and get back to them. With all of the moving and such I hadn't given it so much thought (but thought I knew what I was doing from the beginning). Yesterday I went to Jonna again and let her know that it wouldn't work out for me. Economically it would make more sense to do 4 10 hour days, but that would be put me out the house for 10 hours working, .5 hour lunch, and then 1.5-2 hours of travel time, which would put me at 12-12.5 hours. I think I would last about a week or so before getting super burnt out. So officially my last day here will be August 14th (I am taking a half day so that I can meet my family when they fly in for the wedding). I will get all of my vacation time cut to me as checks on my final day (which will be nice that I will be able to deposit it and everything before we head to Fiji).

It was a hard decision for both of us to make (we have been describing it as breaking up with someone and they had no idea it was coming), but I think it will be best for the future and our relationship. We both are looking forward to what the future holds and are so excited to start our lives together as a married couple.

Charlie Brown

Meet Charlie Brown, one of the doggies that live in our complex (the other one is Jessie Girl). He is very chill. I guess if we can't have a dog of our own it is nice to be able to still hang out with some.

Sunset

I am going to be trying to take sunset pictures (now that I live so close to the beach). I was at the beach on Friday waiting for Ryan and Brandon to get done surfing and snapped some shots. Check out the new album. Unfortunately the marine layer has been socking us in lately so the sunsets have been mostly clouds, but I like being able to see the rays come through the clouds.

Pictures

For some reason Blogger isn't letting me load any pictures right now (so you will have to wait until tomorrow for me to post all of my weekend Photos of the Day). Sorry about that my faithful viewers :) I have them on the computer, just can't get them to the website yet...

Busy

Sorry for the lack of posts today, but I have been fairly busy (with answering phones, re-resigning, etc). I promise to update everyone on what is going on with my life soon (it just might have to wait till tomorrow)... Hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend!!

North Coast Auction

North Coast has decided to do an auction to try and raise money for our weekend of service program that will be happening this fall. Check out all of the details here, but here is a little of the info:

WHAT IT IS: Starting August 1, hundreds of online auction items will be available for bidding. The auction will be offered in 3 separate rounds. ROUND I: August 1st 6AM – August 4 11:45PM; ROUND 2: August 5 12AM – August 8 11:45PM; ROUND 3: August 9 12AM – August 12 11:45PM. All bidding wars close midnight August 12. All profits from this auction will benefit the upcoming Weekend of Service on October 25 & 26, enabling us to purchase materials to complete the many community projects we aim to tackle.

Making a Difference!

On October 25 & 26, North Coast Church will once again close the doors during weekend services and send 6,000 attendees into the community to complete service projects of all shapes and sizes. From home renovation projects to school landscaping, our church will be tackling projects all over North County. We already perform over 1 service project per day throughout the year, but assembling such a large amount of people for two days allows us to do some amazing things! The 2007 Weekend of Service resulted in $1 million in parts and labor, spread out over 92 projects at 54 sites. We look forward to making a big impact this year too!

Long week

I am so glad that this week is almost over (only two more hours in the office). For some reason this week has felt like it has lasted at least TWICE as long as a normal week. It must have been all the moving, cleaning, etc that I have been doing the past few days... I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL and relaxing weekend (I know I need a little break, especially with the wedding coming in 2 WEEKS... uh oh :) ).

Shower Pics

Pictures from the office surprise bridal shower are now loaded. Check them out. Jonna was taking the pictures and writing down the gifts at the same time (which is why they are a little blurry, but you get the idea, right?).

Apartment Shots

I posted some pictures that I took last night of the new furniture in the new place. We are still organizing and unpacking and such, so it is still messy and not how we want everything exactly, but you will get the idea. Check out the progress we are making...