A BLIZZARD WARNING?

Lately, the snow has been on the LARGE side, in amounts if you haven't seen! It was so nice and warm and all of a sudden we got all of this snow at once! It couldn't come slowly and let us get ready, it just all came down at once! Although it looks so pretty, it's very cold out there, and the driving conditions is something everybody should be looking out for. Everywhere in the news that you look they're talking about the snowy and icy conditions. Everybody should always be prepared when traveling long distances and should always carry a blanket, food, and water with them in case they get stranded somehow. I definitely would not want to be stranded in a cold car in the middle of this! They said 12 to 20 inches and my goodness a lot of places did end up getting close to that. The news also says we will be getting more in the next couple of days. They haven't said that we will be getting a ton more, but a little is still a lot when you already have a bunch! While they all say that snowmobile rs, skiers, and snowboarders will love this, it's not the best for the average person id have to say! I guess you have to get used to it, living in Wisconsin. I kind of find it funny that the people who live here seem to complain about the snow the most. We should be the ones used to it by now. Every year come this time we get snow, and every year around this time people are unhappy about it! Get used to it folks, it's not going to change! For me, I don't mind the snow, I just hate driving in the dang stuff! I'm so paranoid when it comes to sliding around. Honestly, I don't trust myself driving in it, as well as many others! Hopefully everybody stays warm!

Tips for the Holidays!

As you know, Christmas is coming up soon! Many people get anxious and worried about the holidays because there is so much to do and so much to plan! But do not fright, there are many tips that have been out lately to help! A few of the tips I have seen that have been running around lately is to plan ahead. Theres no need to be making plans a week before Christmas is here. Also, always plan for extra food. If you have a big family, you never know how much one will eat or not eat that day. Its always better to have  more than less. Another thing to remember is that you don't need to spend a TON of money on every single person. A little for everyone is alright too. Remember, Christmas is mainly about family and friends, not who gets the most and best presents. Another thing to do is re-use! You don't have to buy a bunch of bags to put Christmas presents in, reuse the ones from the year before. It will save you a lot of money if you keep saving them. Get all of your shopping done early, it's better to not be running around the last week before and trying to find last minute things. During Christmas, another tip is to not over-eat too much and try to get some healthy foods in your meal! It will make everybody feel better in the end. Enjoy your Christmas, and spend it with those you love !

In the News

Lately it seems as though teenagers are looking for attention of some sort. It's sad when in just a few months you here of 3 bomb/shooting threats in schools. For instance there was a shooting threat in a distant school where the person who was holding people hostage ended up shooting himself but nobody else. Another instance is at Western Technical College where there was a bomb threat writtin in the boys bathroom. The third instance this month was a student brought a gun to school at Onalaska High, yet nobody was hurt in the last two.  It makes you wonder what goes through peoples minds when they do these kinds of things. Threatening to put others in harm has severe consequences. One thing I hate are the excuses and rumors that go on with these sorts of things. An example is with the gun that was found in a students backpack at Onalaska High. Many different things were said about this like that the kid forgot to take it out of his backpack from when he went hunting. I dont think many people would forget to take a gun AND the bullets out of their backpack after hunting. Most dont carry that in a backpack when they are going hunting and it just doesnt seem right. Another example of something that was said was that the kid brought it to school to show his friend. Now to me, I think that every single person in a High School would know that it is illegal to bring a gun and ammunition to school. I dont think he would need to bring it to school to show his friend. I'm 100% sure he could have shown his friend at his own home or somewhere else. It makes you not know what to believe which makes it hard to put a punishment on certain people. Also, something needs to be done so that people aren't shooting themselves in school too. You would think somebody would see the signs before it actually happens. Writing threats in bathrooms is very immature as well. It costs money to have the police dept. and everybody else go through and search and put their lives in danger if there actually is a threat. I just dont understand what goes through their heads, I dont think I ever will...

What's New...

It's sad when you have to say that when you hear in the news that somebody being charged with another DUI is nothing new. You're always hearing more and more about people getting in accidents because somebody decides to drive intoxicated. It's worse knowing that most of the ones who get severely hurt are the people who didn't do anything, the ones that are victims of the drunk driver. I've seen a few more of these stories lately. I don't think that people who get caught driving drunk should get as many chances as they do. Even getting caught 3 times is enough. If you get caught driving drunk 2 times, you should get your liscense taken away and do jail time. Its wrong for the government to let people get away with so many DUI's and not do as much as they possibly can about it. It's hurting innocent people and I believe that more should be done. Seeing more of these in the news lately makes me wonder why they don't do anything about it. Theres no reason not to. It angers me greatly that people walk away with a little slap on the wrist, and then go and do it over and over again with no severe consequences.

There is no reason that innocent people should have to deal with the consequences of drunk drivers.  They're a danger to every person out on the road. Not only to people out on the road, but also the families that have to deal with the trauma of losing somebody because of a drunk driving accident.

Labor Day Weekend

Everyone wants to think that they will be able to have a fun weekend on holidays, right? Well for me , Labor Day weekend was not as successful as I was hoping. Of course I had to work that weekend and my hours pretty much took up my whole day. My family isn't big in doing many things for holidays because we all live far away so none of them came up either. Most of my family lives in the Green Bay, Oregon, and Janesville area. My parents, sisters, and grandparents on my dads side are the only ones that live in the La Crosse area. It's hard getting everybody together, and it is kind of a bummer! Hopefully during the next holiday weekend I won't have to work and it will be much more eventful!

Trials Of Life.

Sitting in the hospital waiting room, not getting much from news on what’s going on in the critical condition that he’s in. It’s day 4 in the hospital, and you try to keep your hopes up that all will go well. Your family is surrounding you and everyone is trying to cope with what’s going on. You’re all talking about the past and things that are now going on in all of your lives. But we all know that deep inside everyone is wondering if things could have been different if he would have gone to more check-ups, or if the hospital would have made the right decision in surgery.

                My grandpa has always been a strong one. Not one to sit around and do nothing. Whenever he was bored he would drive over to our house to see if my dad had anything he needed help with. He always wanted to be doing work…but maybe he pushed himself too far.  Going into the hospital one day for a check-up because he had been short on breath for about a year, and leaving with a scheduled date for heart surgery. You’d think you could trust doctors, but maybe they don’t make the right decisions at all times. My grandpa went into surgery that day to have a stent put in his heart because of clogged arteries. Little did we know that Franciscan Skemp discovered mid surgery that they needed three stents but they didn’t have the technology to do it.  He should have been flown to Gunderson or Mayo for this surgery, but Skemp thought they could ‘pull it off’. Without telling the family what they were doing, they just went on and did it. After quite some time, a nervous looking doctor came out, stating, “We’ve had a problem.” Thinking of the worst, my grandma asked what had happened. The doctors stated that my grandpa had a heart-attack during the surgery and his heart was so weak that it could not beat on its own in the condition that he was in. Franciscan Skemp didn’t have the technology to do any other type of surgery on his heart to help him and had him on respirators and a balloon pump keeping him alive. None of us knew what would come next.

                As we sat day by day waiting for him to get better, we had no news of improvement. Seeing him in his room was one of the most horrible things I had ever seen. He wasn’t aware of anything that was going on. Hooked up to many machines with a mask on his face scared all of the younger cousins…it was hard to watch. You never understand the true meaning of being weak and not having any power until you see the ones you loved in the ICU not knowing what’s going on. Restless nights kept us awake as we couldn’t sleep knowing what was going on.  On the 4^th day, the pastor from our church came into the waiting room to say a prayer. To tell you the truth I am not one that goes to church very often but you never know what can happen. The most surprising thing came out of the pastor’s visit…it struck us to the heart. Not a minute after the pastor had said “Amen”, the doctor came in and said “We have good news.” The news was that my grandpa’s heart had slowly started beating on his own and they lowered the amount that the balloon pump was helping. He was slowly getting better! With relief on all of our faces we shared a moment of happiness and tears. The look on the pastor’s face was astonished. It was like he couldn’t believe what just happened. It was truly a miracle.

                After a few days of my grandpa getting stronger and better, he was moved out of the Intensive Care Unit. A couple more days after this he was already home, attending therapy regularly of course. He’s getting stronger and stronger and hopefully will be at his best potential soon. He already thinks he can do whatever he wants again, which is the number 1 reason we all have to keep an eye on him! As patients we put a lot of faith in our doctors. Sometimes that is warranted; unfortunately, sometimes it is not. It makes you wonder if you really can believe in something, and with a blink of an eye, have it come true.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Relaxation.

Relaxation....we all need it, dont we? With all the stresses of life I love to be able to just hang out with a good friend and reminisce. That's definately what today was about. So much homework, drama with friends, and a lot of work has been done this week! I had a much needed day at the bluff with a best friend. I love the scenery and I love being able to go places where you can just look all around you and not have a worry in the world. Hard to believe that a place so simple can do that, but for me it seems to work. We hiked a trail and sat on the rock edge for a few hours while evening set. Its so relaxing up there, words can't describe it. I absolutely love going anywhere where the setting is very chill and you can see the world around you. Any type of scenery is nice. So what do you do to relax yourself? Maybe im the only one...doubtful though! Friends are all you really need in life, besides the other essentials. I dont know where I'd be without them. Is it even possible to live life without a friend? In other words, today was a good day :)