I'm back!

Let me start by saying I haven't blogged in a long time...a long long time. So if this is no good...well...deal with it. :) I hope to blog more often (which you either like or dread seeing) since I usually get super sentimental during the holidays...so: my normal sentimental and quirky self + pregnancy emotions = you're guess is as good as mine!

Ahh, Cities 97 Sampler release day...thank you for finally being here!

This day is one my my personal holidays. I take the day off to wake up by 5:45am to sit in the cold/wind/rain/snow near the side of a Target building all for a cd. I've learned a lot over the years about how to prep for this day. My first Sampler morning I got out to the Eden Prairie Target store about 45 minutes before the store opened deciding to go on a whim. Other than wearing maybe another layer and a hat I didn't prep any more than a usual work morning. The line was long and I was freezing (How come my adorable Mary Jane shoes were not keeping me warm?! But thank God I looked great...). Phf, I was cursing myself for being such an idiot and thinking, 'I'm in line now, I'm not getting out. This cd had better be good.' And it was. I've gone back every year (now in Shakopee) with many more layers, being overly prepared (you'd think I was preparing for the Hunger Games...) and being generally quite comfortable.

But the cd is not the only thing that I go for...in fact in all reality it's not even the main thing. It is the perfect reflection time for me. I'm an extrovert and enjoy being with others, but not always socializing with others. If you leave me at home I am usually snuggling my cats, creating and then dominating a task list, or going out of my mind wondering what I should do and how I can make an excuse to go to a store just to be with other people. I don't relax well alone. The Sampler mornings force me to just sit and be. I have nothing else to do while sitting there - it's too cold to do anything else! And while I'm not alone, I'm not really focused on socializing and am more focused on my own thoughts. I reflect on the past year: the joys, the heartache, the hope. I pray. I thank God for all of the people I have in my life. I think about my loved ones in heaven and miss them so terribly. ...and I occasionally think about how crazy I am for waking up early for a cd. But all in all, the time prepares my heart/spirit/soul for the holidays, and this sacred time calms me so completely. It's one of the days of the year that I am the most at peace.

I have a collection of seven cd's now from my consecutive years of participating in the Sampler release mornings. Every time I listen to them I feel the peace. Peace. Something that is often hard to find in a busy life.

Best thing is my day isn't over yet. I have a freaking awesome day off planned. I write this as I am curled up in a warm blanket in my basement with the fireplace on listening to my Sampler 27 cd while drinking a small non-fat mocha half the chocolate and light whip. I plan to then take a nap then my Pops is coming down for lunch a lunch date with me! After that who knows where the day will take me! Maybe I'll be snuggling my cats, creating and then dominating a task list, or going out of my mind wondering what I should do and how I can make an excuse to go to a store just to be with other people... :)

Wishing you feelings of peace at the start of this holiday season!

Until next time,
Coffee, Cats, and Wine (Dr. Pepper (gotta love pregnancy cravings!) :)

My "30" Stats!

Oh boy, get ready everyone! This is either going to be the most interesting or least interesting post you've read of mine!

In celebration of my 30th b-day I thought I would post 30 useless and random facts about yours truly! 

1. I have never eaten at KFC.
2. I've written two fan letters in my life. One to Prince William and one to Anthony Tolliver. Prince William wrote back (ok, ok...his secretary did), Anthony Tolliver did not...
3. I have three grey hairs (that I can see) and I love them!
4. My favorite movie is Twister (duh)
5. In high school my tire literally fall off my car...apparently those things need air ;)
6. Many dislike brussels sprouts, but they are my absolute favorite veggie...or maybe it's spinach...oh, but I love artichoke!...ok, apparently I need to work on narrowing favorite veggies down.
7. I'm not afraid of little furry fellas like mice, moles, voles, etc. 
8. Every time I pass an animal killed on the side of the road I pray for it's soul. 
9. 'Jeepers', 'irk', and 'oh for crying in the mud' are all a regular part of my vocab. I'm an old soul. 
10. Movies that jump time, like the Time Travelers Wife, confuse the hell outta me...What? Is that the current him or the past/future him? What time period are we in now? *mind. blown.*
11. I have a couple things on my bucket list, but the ones that I'm looking forward to checking off the most are becoming a trained weather spotter and hopefully hearing Mumford & Sons at the Red Rock Amphitheater in CO. Ah...someday :)
12. Tiny Tim and Robin (Kermit the Frogs nephew) all annoy me something fierce! 
13. I've never seen The Sound of Music or Annie in full...actually, add Annie to the list of characters that annoy me.
14. My elbows are double jointed. 
15. I like symmetry and for things to have their place.
16. I enjoy talking like Lou Nanne. Oh, ya know...da hockey guy!
17. Taking the little breather tabs off of coffee cup tops is a must. It's a quirk!
18. I love car washes and think they (usually) smell so good so I blast the air and take deep breaths! The tri color smells so fruity! 
19. I, unlike most people, usually consider gross body stuff so interesting. Seriously, I don't have a queasy stomach. When I had my emergency appendectomy I asked the surgeon if he would save my appendix so I could see it. He did. And it was pure awesome. He even took pictures and gave them too me! Bless his heart!  
20. I like watching sports where you can see easily the players faces, like basketball and swimming vs. football or hockey, because I like to see people's emotions. 
21. Definitely is a word that's spelling gets me every time...
22. After it rains, I watch for worms who've come up from the ground and are on streets/sidewalks and I pick them up and plop them in safer locations. I call it the "Save the Worms Brigade" and have been doing it since elementary school.
23. Shh! I snitch lilacs while on walks :) 
24. I believe that all of the people, animals, and critters who have gone before and whose lives one has touched will be waiting at the pearly gates to welcome them to Heaven! With Jesus of course :)
25. I have over 80 nail polishes. Yes. 80. My grandma (Larson) counted them all with me the last time I saw her before she died. She also proceeded to tell every one at the facility she lived at my number of nail polishes after I painted her nails. It's one of my favorite memories!
26. Currently, I'm a "regular" the Eden Prairie Starbucks, Eden Prairie Old Chicago, and Shakopee Badger Hill Brewery...meaning someone (or multiple people) at each place recognize me. :) Clearly, I'm a big deal folks...
27. You wanna make me bawl? Let's watch The Cure. 
28. I'll take the sound of an organ over a piano any day.
29. Still, to this day, I'm terrified of E.T....that finger haunts me *shudder*
30. I love me some free stuff. Like pens, notepads, jar openers, yard sticks...or chip clips!! So naturally the MN State Fair and professional conferences are exciting ;)

Welp, that's it. That's the list at this point in time! While there are a ton of other things that make me, "me", there is only so much that I can list before I fear that I will bore ya'll to death...which I may have already done!

I'm excited and ready for my 30's! A new decade! A new adventure! Here's to the 20's and the life lessons that were learned - and cheers to to my 30's! I'm ready!

So, this here in history (ha!) is the last blog post of my 20's!

Until next time when I'm 30....

Coffee, Cats, and Wine and I'll Be Fine

Spring is officially here!

Oh. Folks, this is big! If you know me at all you know what an exciting time of year is coming up for me. One word: Twister. Here is my season opener Twister watching criteria:

1) Has rained for the first time...
2) April 1st...
3) Which ever comes first

...considering it's snowing right now I'm not feeling super confident in rain at the moment...I digress...

I've started my rigorous Twister brain exercises. Yep, they are a real thing...and totally legit. IMDb.com is a starter for me. Ya know, gettin' the ol' tootsies wet after a long cold winter off from watching Twister to remind myself of the bloopers and misc/random facts. Then I move on to the online tests. You know what I'm talkin' about: those tacky classy online quizzes made by God-only-knows-who...they are hardly a challenge for this Twister fanatic.

BTW, in case you were curious (or wanting to plan a birthday get away for me *wink wink*) visiting the Twister museum in Wakita, OK is on my bucket list...

...moving on...

Lot's of exciting stuff is happening! I love spring! Friends/family's bellies are going to be popping soon, friends/family's (that are farther along) babies are going to be popping out, weddings are happening!...all good stuff! I'm hoping that Spring will bring some wonderful events to Eric and my life too!

And then there's my birthday that's coming up soon! A big one! The big 3-0. I'm jazzed! Some are scared for this milestone birthday, but I'm excited! I hear 30's are wonderful years of new-found love for yourself and confidence in yourself. All the crap of the 20's is behind you and you are who you are. I already feel comfortable with who I am, but dang...feeling more comfortable and confident would be great too! Dirty 30 - bring it on!

After a seriously exhausting past week, Eric and I had a busy and fun weekend. We celebrated my Godson's birthday this Saturday afternoon, then headed to a comedy show featuring the Common Man, a KFAN radio personality that Eric quotes all. the time. Thankfully, I think he's pretty funny so the constant quotes are entertaining. Anywho, the comedy show was fun! Sunday morning was filled first with coffee at home before church. I love waking up earlier than needed to relax and have coffee on a Sunday morning before heading to church. It gets my head and heart ready for hearing what I need to hear. Later, I headed to one of my best friends baby showers for some celebrating and had a wonderful time. Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by my grandparents grave site, curled up in my 'weather emergency' blanket, and sat with their memory for a while. I'll be heading to my other grandparents grave sites soon too for an early Spring visit. I miss them all so much...

Ok, lighter subject. Who's watching March Madness?! Love it. College basketball is so much fun to watch. I'm not someone who closely follows college basketball..well any sport really...but, every year Eric and I create our own brackets with one bet: winner takes the loser to Dairy Queen! We're ALL winners in that deal!

I wish you joy in these final days of March, friends! I'm off to paint my nails...

Until next time,

Coffee, Cats, and Wine and I'll be fine!

Crocheting, Cat Show, and Voles...Oh My!

Whoa. Nelly. Let me tell you about my week folks, cause the life of Jenna got cray cray this week.

If you are expecting a "we took an unexpected trip to Vegas, then quit our jobs to travel around Europe and plan to live off the land in some undiscovered area!!!"....well, you're going to be dissapointed.

1) I learned to CROCHET!!! Yeah. CROCHET!! My wonderfully talented friend, Jessica, has taught me how to crochet my very first scarf. And guess what, folks? ...this gets good... it's an infinity scarf!! Yeah, I'm just that talented right off the bat :) Ok, ok...you all know me too well, as does Jess, who made me take a video of what to do so that when I got stuck I could watch it and re-teach myself. Which I have to admit I've watched numerous times. "Winning!"...puleeeeez, Charlie Sheen...more like "Learning!"

2) I went to a CAT SHOW!!! (right about now is when I bet most are sensing an 80 year old woman theme') Eric had planned this date for me only telling me "It's something that you'll really like" Naturally, I say "winery?!" when he said "no" my next guess was "cat show?!" (folks, my blog is called Coffee, Cats, and Wine and I'll be Fine...cat show should be a surprise to no one!) Oh man. It was SO much fun! As a crazy cat lady I can totally say this. Crazy cat people are strange. And I TOTALLY belonged! Deluxe cat carriers were lined up and down the rows and decorated with tinsel, colorful cloth, and plush cat beds. As if that wasn't enough, they judged cats (though all were winners in my book). Big ones, little ones, fluffy ones, bare ones, meek ones, ones with attitude...all were there! They even had a coffee cart there, so I had my coffee and my cats...if only I had my wine. I coulda died right then n' there a happy cat lady.

 

3) I saved a sweet little vole today! Not familiar with a vole?

There he is! Well, not actually the vole that I saved (p.s. I named him Victor), but a picture of one for your viewing pleasure. Except, I should note Victor was a little less plump and a tish smaller. I should get another patch on my Animal Lover sash for sure. Here's the story: As I am walking into work today, I see a furry little thing running in circles in the parking lot on the main drag. While others are walking away scared from it, I, of course, walk towards it to see what's going on and to help the fella out. As it is running around my feet, going in circles, clearly not able to see I started to become a little panicked not knowing what to do with him. He looks adorable, but I shouldn't pick him up...though it pains me not to (but don't worry, I didn't). The fella's going to get run over though if I don't so something! Then, I am approached by a coworker who tells me it's likely a blind little mole (though now I know it was a vole) who lost his way. Naturally, I start to tear up because it's just so cute and sad and I know I have to do something. So, I scurry inside and get a box (of course telling my coworker how much of an animal lover I am and my NEED to do something) and head back out. As I am trying to get the vole into the box I am instead seeming to scare him towards the dip in the sidewalk towards the building main doors. A nice fella who also works in our building (bless his heart) seemed to accept my explanation of being an animal lover (and wasn't too weirded out) and helped me scoot him to the side of the building where he at least got into the rocky area and (hopefully) found a nice grassy or snowy area to live happily ever after.

...God should not put sweet furry things that need help in my path. Or maybe that's why he does... I've saved a baby snapping turtle and many woolly bears in my work's parking lot before too.

I swear I'm the voted Queen of the Furry Animal Kingdom.

Ok, Well, that's about enough excitement for one week, folks. I'm spent.

So until next time,
Coffee, Cats, and Wine and I'll be Fine :)

New Year's Intentions

I don’t know about you all, but I am happy to see 2014 come to a close. It was just an off year for me. We all have them. I’m tacking it as that in the record books.

As usual, I’m blogging my New Year’s post from a local coffee shop – this time Caribou Coffee – enjoying a northern lite, dark chocolate mocha, no whip. Gotta love those holiday gift cards!

Instead of blogging about resolutions I’d prefer to call them intentions. The word “resolution” just feels too formal and “final” for me this year. Saying resolutions already makes me feel like I am going to mess up (which I’m trying to not beat myself up over if I do – see below). I instead have created some very simple intentions for me. Unlike my list from last year (which I look back on now and a.) feel went on a tish too long!, and b.) clearly had some high hopes…) I have created only two intentions for my 2015.

1. Be more kind to myself. I often have high expectations for myself – normally this is a good thing! – though I give myself a hard time in instances that really don’t warrant it. I need to cut myself some slack.
2. Be more present in my own life. “All I really gotta do is live and die, but I’m in a hurry and don’t know why” – well said Alabama! I plan to take more deep breathes and just enjoy the moment, even the stressful ones, because that is life – and life is beautiful!

2014 had its highs, and also its lows. Unfortunately, I feel like my sight tended to focus on the negatives and I put pressure on myself to feel certain ways which only got me down more. For example: October, November, and December are three of my favorite months. This year, these months lacked the sparkle they usually have for me and I started to wonder what was wrong with me – because certainly something was wrong with me to not feel the sparkle. Ugh, Jenna. So much to learn about life. Some days, months, years will be good, some may be not so good – but don’t beat yourself up over it, homie!

A large stressor of the past chunk of months has been Eric and my journey in trying to start a family. We’ve been trying for 17 months. Even just typing it out looks exhausting. I fully believe that there is a reason that this has not happened yet and that God has some plans that I am just not aware of, but the journey still feels long and unfair. I have faith in what plans the Lord has for us...I just wish I knew them. It’s been hard not having my Grandma Hjort around during this journey as well. She’s the only one who could give me the perfect Bible verse or say the words that I need to hear – which I know in my heart, but can’t seem to form into a sentence for my mind to make sense of. 

As I mentioned, the baby thing has weighed on me for a while. And I let it. I let it affect me month-after-month and become an excuse for another glass of wine (cause heck – why not drink while ya can!), another treat (cause dang that emotional eating feels good sometimes), or my reason to be short (with people, not in height) and moody. In my intention to be more kind to myself, I need to recognize where these feelings are coming from and find some healthier options – although we alllllllll know that wine has some really good health benefits! :)

 

…Yes, yes, Sue (my high school swimming coach and health ed teacher). I hear you! “Everything in moderation!” Gosh I miss swimming…

…I digress…

Another stressor that I have learned from this year is that I need to talk more about me. Now don’t freak out, ya’ll – I’m not going to go all crazy and talk non-stop about my life. What I mean is that I realized that I haven’t been honest with people that care about me in how I am doing. I’ve struggled this year, and tried to cover it up all along the way not being open about what I’ve been having a tough year and seizing the opportunity when someone asks, “how are you?” to talk about it (appropriately of course, I’m not going to drop bomb shells on anyone while in the line at Cub or through friendly girl conversation in the bathroom). And in all reality, I thankfully don’t have any bombshells to drop, anyway. Me not talking about me and my feelings is an annoyance of my trade, I feel. As a social worker I talk with others about how they are doing – you don’t talk about yourself and redirect conversation if questions are asked about you. Unfortunately, to some extent, I feel like I may have been putting that in my personal life too. 

Some things I would like to try this year to help me be more kind to myself and more present in my life are: taking deeper breathes, trying yoga, talking more about how I am doing and recognize that people care, trying meditation, stopping to look around, paying attention to feelings in the moment, and finding quotes that are meaningful and identify with me and the message I need (so you may see more of them in my social media outlets and this blog, heads up!)

Oh, 2015. I have an honest feeling that you will be better than the years past, and I am so glad for that!

I wish you all abundant love, joy and peace in this new year! 

Until next time,

Coffee, cats, and wine and I’ll be fine :)

*sigh* October (and a touch of November) Goodness!

October spoils me big time. In one month I get to celebrate some of my favorite people. It starts with my mom's birthday, then goes to my dad's birthday, then following is my parents anniversary, then following that is Eric's birthday! YAY! But this year packed an additional punch, my best friends (Erica) wedding later in the month! Oh October, you and all things pumpkin (besides Pumpkin Spice Lattes - ish.) are so good to me!

The birthdays were all wonderful, but Erica's wedding was the the extra fizzle to the end of my October. Oh what a day! The female love of my life got married and I could not be more happy in celebrating with old friends and new friends!

 

As if all of that wasn't enough goodness, Erica's wedding festivities also allowed an opportunity for me to visit Winona, MN not once, but TWICE within a two week period. I mean come on: Winona. After seeing my BFF. In the Fall. Twice. My heart could not have been happier! ... Well, I guess it could have been if I hadn't stepped in dog poop while in the park during my first visit, but that's just details :)

 

I'm going to tag on a little November goodness to this blog post also in saying that Eric and I celebrated his 30th birthday big this year with a trip to Las Vegas! Vegas, baby! We did a lot of walking around checking out the Strip and casino hopping to check out the sports books (which I actually found to be quite interesting and fun!) and saw one show while there - get this - it was a animal comedy theater. TOTALLY up our alleys! I got to see cats, dogs, some rats, a goose, and a goat doing cute little tricks in a room of either 8 yr olds or 80 yr olds...it was great!!

 

I swear the last three months of the year is the time when I feel more invigorated, excited, and alive. November is my month of thankfulness. I reflect on the year, my relationships, and loved ones who are no longer with me though have taught me so much. Each year I stand in line at the butt crack o' dawn to get a Cities97 Sampler cd that has some pretty darn good music, but more importantly supports area non-profits. While standing in the cold I give thanks for all that I have previously mentioned and that I have a roof over my head that keeps me warm.

We all have our issues, but we are lucky folks, you and I. And I give thanks for you. 

Until next time,

Coffee, Cats, and Wine and I'll be Fine

Why I Walk to End Alzheimer's

Sure, I work for the Alzheimer's Association, but what's behind my participation in the Walk to End Alzheimer's? Here's my story. 

I started college knowing I wanted to be a social worker. I was not interested in the aging field of social work. Kids...I wanted to work with kids! I had so many wonderful memories and experiences from being active in my church youth group and youth ministry I wanted to continue this path and work with kids. Through the Winona State Social Work program we were asked to go outside of our comfort zone and do a field experience with a population that we didn't think we wanted to work with. I chose to volunteer in an assisted living and nursing facility with older adults. The experience changed my life.

On a weekly basis, I would visit residents to talk and engage in activities. I quickly realized that working with older adults was my calling. One of the units I was asked to visit was the memory care. I can honestly say I loved every unit experience that I had, however the memory care unit became my favorite. I found that memory loss intrigued and fascinated me. How quickly a conversation can be forgotten, or redirected - sometimes easily...sometimes not. How the same story never got old. How every time I was a new person coming to visit, or at best, someone that they recognized and knew was friendly. I learned so much and easily began to treasure my time with the residents of the unit because it was so much more meaningful to me than just a field experience. They shared their life experiences with me, and I was humbled to be the friendly visitor in their lives. 

 

I went on to do my practicum senior year in a hospital. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, there were not the multitude of moments that left my mind to question or my heart to swell quite like my time working in the nursing facility. I quickly realized that working with older adults was my calling.

I graduated and later got a in a nursing facility memory care unit. I was back in my element...a world that I somehow understand so well. My heart misses the residents on the unit because you got to know them all so well - and their families! After what seemed like only a short period of time, the needs of the social work department sent me to short term rehab. But my heart was on the memory care unit and I was often asked or offering to assist as needed. After a couple years of scheduling conflicts I was able to participate in my first Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk (renamed to the current Walk to End Alzheimer's). After walking the planned course with my then co-workers and crossing the finish line, I had the distinct feeling that I wanted to work for the Alzheimer's Association...the feeling was honestly so strong the thought "dream job" came to my mind. I wanted to be a part of the fight against memory loss! A couple months later an opening with the Alzheimer's Association came up...

...And here I am. Months away from my 4th anniversary with the Alzheimer's Association. I talk daily with people on our 24/7 Helpline and in care consultations with people affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementia's. People diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia's themselves, caregivers, care partners, family members, neighbors, friends, community members, nurses, doctors, students...answering questions, educating about the disease and providing support and suggestions for how to reduce stress and find community resources. There is no question or need that is off limits. To me my job is so much more than a job. I leave every day from work knowing that I made a difference in someones life in the work that I do, but even larger, in the work that the Alzheimer's Association does. 

So, going back to my question of why do I Walk? I Walk for family members and friends. I Walk for the thousands of individuals and families that I have worked with in the past, and I Walk for the ones I will in the future. I Walk with a cause. I Walk with a fight. I Walk with a passion. I Walk to End Alzheimer's.

Donate to my Walk to End Alzheimer's page (http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2014/MN-Minnesota-NorthDakota?px=6164590&pg=personal&fr_id=5206) to help advance the Alzheimer's Association's care, support and research efforts, which helps us move closer to a world without Alzheimer's disease.