Busy busy busy

In the last week and a half, I have bought a car, applied for a Norwegian student residence permit, booked flights to and from Oslo, and applied for credits that won't charge me foreign transaction fees. I'm slowly checking things off my to-do list before leaving for the Milwaukee area next Tuesday. While much of my time recently has been spent researching things about Norway and studying abroad, I decided today to take a little time off from that. I have over two months this summer that I will be spending in the Milwaukee area, which offers plenty to do! I think it'll be a good idea for me to write down some of the things I'm finding now; that way, when I'm looking for something to do, I can just check back to my list!

Milwaukee Summer Bucket list

• Hike the Seven Bridges Trail in Grant Park
• Go to Mass in the Basilica of St. Josephat. 
• Go to a Brewers game
• Milwaukee Art Museum (free on the first Thursday of the month)
• Bastille Days - Maybe do the 5k? 
• Walk the length of the Milwaukee River Walk
• Take a Jelly Belly tour
• Visit Cave of the Mounds

I'll probably post this list somewhere else where I can keep adding to it/checking things off, but here's a good start!

I know the sun will rise!

I realize it's been a while since I last posted an update about my life. A lot has happened, so I will be brief about each. Spring semester at UW-Madison is well underway; at the end of the month, I have 4 midterms in 4 days. That being said, however, I'm managing to stay afloat much better this semester. Classes are difficult, but my base level of happiness and peace is leaps ahead of where it was in the fall. Winter is dragging on and on, although the high of 40 today brings much needed relief from the cold!

This morning, I bought my subscription to Coaching Actuaries, a website designed to give us actuaries the best chance of passing the actuarial exams. I used their services for Exam P and was very pleased with the result, so I've decided to use it again for Exam MLC, which is now 69 days away! I'm a little nervous, but I'm also hoping that I will be studying little by little to avoid the awful stress when my countdown reaches single digits.

This Thursday marks the 4 year anniversary of Natalie Bolin's death. Natalie was a swimming teammate of mine in high school, who died in a car accident involving 3 other swimming teammates. It's an emotional time, although also an inspiring one. Natalie's motto was I know the sun will rise. I've been striving to apply that mindset to my daily life. Natalie's birthday was also in February, on the 27th. This would have been her 21st birthday, so my home swim team hosts a memorial swim in which swimmers complete 21 repetitions of some distance. I didn't go to the event this year, although yesterday I swam 21x100's on my own. It was a tough workout, considering I have not been staying in shape as much as I'd like to, but I finished it! It was thrilling to finish in honor of Natalie.

Finally, my other big news is that I'm planning to study abroad next fall! I have almost completed my application, and will be submitting it shortly. My finalized list (at least for now) of top choices is:

1. Oslo, Norway
2. Vienna, Austria
3. Copenhagen, Denmark

To say that I'm excited would be to understate my enthusiasm. Not many of my close friends at school know about it yet, because I wanted to wait until it was finalized. Regardless, the friends that do know about it are excited with me!

I should probably be getting back to studying, so goodbye for now! Prayers for God's will in my adventures next fall, as well as all those who are affected by/remembering Natalie this week would be greatly appreciated! May the sun keep shining down on all of you. :)

-T

Home at last!

Devil's Tower - Wyoming

Whew – six action-packed days later, and I'm still alive to tell about them! Monday afternoon, we went to Devil’s Tower, which was once again, awe-inspiring. A rich Native American site, it was full of natural beauty and cultural history. We even spotted a pair of people while they were climbing it – both a terrifying and inspiring feat. After Devil’s Tower, we started our journey into Montana.

Ziplining across the Gallatin River!

After driving across much of Montana, we arrived late at night to Belgrade, Montana. Then, it was up bright and early for our adventure zip lining and whitewater rafting. I would be lying if I claimed I had no trepidation about the event, and as you can see in the first picture, climbing the bridge to the first zip line platform took a lot of determination to just not look down. My father, who is afraid of heights, had opted out of the zip lining adventure and gone fly fishing instead. I thought about joining him, but I'm so glad that I did not; within a second of stepping off the platform and soaring through the air, I fell in love. Our guides were both phenomenal and the other group we were with – a group from Chicago – was also a blast to be around. Too soon, we had soared over the Gallatin River and it was over. We went and picked my dad up from the fly fishing site and headed back to the company’s headquarters, where we would eat lunch before embarking on our whitewater rafting trip. The rafting trip, too, was a blast, exhilarating, and led by a guide who knew exactly what he was doing. For anyone going out west, my family and I all highly recommend Montana Whitewater Rafting Company ( Yellowstonezip.com ). In addition to zip lining, fly fishing and whitewater rafting, they also offer horseback riding – so there’s surely something everyone would enjoy.

We had a fairly low-key Tuesday night, although I did go for a 2 mile run. Sadly, I’m now about 95% sure that I have shin splints in my left leg, so I'm going to have to put the running on hold. This was the most disappointing part of the trip so far, but I'm trying to just not let myself think about it. I’ll have to find some other form of exercise to finish out the summer!

A hot spring in Yellowstone National Park

Wednesday was our day trip through Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. After making a little detour into Idaho so I could check off another state, we entered Yellowstone through the West Yellowstone Entrance. I found the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Lower Falls to be absolutely spectacular – and of course, Old Faithful was neat, too. Yellowstone is full of geysers and hot springs, all against a backdrop of mountains, rivers, and prairies. One geyser, Steamboat Geyser, is the tallest active geyser in the world. It’s highly unpredictable, however, as intervals between eruptions have varied from 4 days to 50 years. So, seeing this erupt is an incredibly rare event. No, we didn't see it erupt, but 7 days before we were there, it did erupt for the first time in 8 years! A different couple that we talked to had come to Yellowstone 8 years ago, and missed the eruption by 4 days. I don't think they had heard that they had missed it by less than a week this time – and we surely weren't going to be the family to break the news to them!

Old Faithful Geyser erupting in Yellowstone
National Park.

Unfortunately, we saw hardly any wildlife – the lone sighting of anything was on our way out of the park when we spotted a mule deer alongside the road. After stopping for a family picture by the Yellowstone National Park entrance sign, we drove through the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway to get to Grand Tetons National Park. We managed to be driving along these magnificent mountains right during sunset, providing a beautiful, scenic end to our day.

Thursday, we have begun the journey back home, driving through Nebraska (woohoo, another state!) to Custer State park in South Dakota. There, we finally saw bison! That afternoon, we stopped at Wall Drug, as it is obviously a staple for any trip out west. Finally, we began our final leg of our journey, driving to Rochester, the Niagara Cave, and then finally home. In Rochester, my family met up with two of my close friends from college for lunch. It was a special treat to see them - only 3 weeks until we are in Madison! Niagara Cave was also neat - and a wrong turn took us about a block into Iowa, bringing my state count to 25 of 50! 

Today has been fairly low-key, as the majority of the day was spent at a soccer referee recertification class. The adventures will soon begin again, however, as tomorrow I'm headed to West Allis for the Wisconsin State Fair!

-Theresa

Into the Wild, Wild West

We’re only two days into our adventure and I’ve already been amazed countless times! I’ll back up a little bit, however, because even the days leading up to our road trip were eventful.

Shark plane at EAA Airventure - Oshkosh, WI

Friday, after a somewhat awful day of work (long story short, it was frustrating, involved some quickly blinked-away tears, and left me feeling awful about my bosses paying me for the summer when I feel like I’ve not lived up to my bosses’ expectations), I headed to EAA with a friend who had free tickets. For anyone who doesn’t know, EAA Airventure is a weeklong airplane convention held in Oshkosh, WI. Oshkosh – typically a city of about 65,000 – is teeming with 800,000 to 1,000,000 aviation enthusiasts. For that week, this regional airport has the busiest airport control tower in the world. It’s pretty crazy! Anyway, we watched a bit of the airshow, and wandered around the grounds for a while. We even saw a plane painted as a shark!

Saturday, we took a day trip to Point Beach State Forest on the shore of Lake Michigan. Every year, we have an mini family reunion at the campsite with my mom’s side of the family. Usually we camp for a few nights with everyone, but because of our impending week-long trip this year we only went for the day. My brother and I even braved 68ºF water to frolic in the waves of Lake Michigan.

Soon, we were back home and gearing up for our early-morning departure. As is typical for me, I slept hardly at all – wasting time on the computer and watching TV. I didn't even have to finish packing, because believe it or not, I was already finished! (NOT typical of me.) When 5:00 rolled around, therefore, I was crabby. I did manage to fall asleep for a few hours on the road, waking up just in time for the Amish Bakery outside of Rochester, MN.

Badlands National Park - SD

Our first real attraction was a scenic drive through the Badlands in South Dakota. It was truly an incredible sight – something that is difficult to accurately describe through words. We got to venture out a bit onto some of the rock formations, which let me confront my fear of heights a bit. Every bend in the road would reveal yet another jaw-dropping view. It’s a great reminder of the beauty God is capable of creating in all nooks and crannies of this Earth.

At this point, since it hasn't come up yet, I should also mention that our family vacation happens to coincide with a huge motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. On our entire trip through Minnesota and South Dakota, we were traveling with tons of packs of motorcycles – everywhere we stopped, from the Amish Bakery to roadside scenic vantage points, we've been surrounded by bikers. Once we arrived to Keystone, South Dakota, home of Mount Rushmore, the congregation of motorcycles was larger than I've ever witnessed in my life. In reality, however, it’s been fun to talk to some of these people we meet while sightseeing, as they come from all over the country and some have some pretty cool stories. One couple was on their honeymoon, while another cyclist at our hotel was spotted with a kitten. Apparently, 100 miles into their trip, they discovered that one of their kittens had snuck into their trailer and was along for the ride. In Sturgis this week, there will be approximately 600,000 bikers and at least one kitten. J

Mt. Rushmore - Keystone, SD

That brings me to today. This morning we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial, an in-progress counterpart to Mount Rushmore (which, by the way, was awesome last night – perhaps the best part was the segment honoring veterans at the lighting ceremony when at least 60 people announced their name and branch of service. I’m not ashamed to admit I teared up!). Anyway, to be honest, Crazy Horse was a cool sight to see, but it was overpriced and we didn't even get to see any pieces of mountain blown away! After that slightly disappointing stop, we headed onward to Jewel Cave National Monument. Although the cave tour we wanted to take was sold out, we traversed a two mile hike to the original cave entrance, found by horseback riders years ago. It was an interesting little hike, although much of the scenery was a bit – disappointing. The forest that originally would have surrounded the trail was the victim of a wildfire, leaving miles of charred trunks and twigs. Regardless, it was good exercise!

Now, we’re on our way to Devil’s Tower – I’m sure the rest of the week will be equally as adventurous. Tomorrow is our zip lining and whitewater rafting adventure – so hopefully I’ll survive the day to tell you all about it. (I’m doing my best not to think about it because I’m DETERMINED not to chicken out.)

I know I’m certainly being inspired by the ever-changing landscapes around me – just when I think that nothing can top the sight I’ve just seen, we go over a hill and my jaw drops again. I’ll check back in later in the week – until then, I hope you’re enjoying God’s beauty around you, whether that involves visiting national parks and monuments or just smiling at a stranger passing on the sidewalk.

-T

Another family vacation is on the horizon!

Although I thought that the end of soccer season/nights spent reffing would leave me with more than enough free time, I've once again managed to fill it up quickly! Tomorrow night is dinner and hanging out with a couple friends, Thursday night is dinner with two close friends and their boyfriends, and on Friday afternoon, we leave to go camping as a family - the start of a week-long adventure! Meanwhile, I'm still working about 6 hours Monday-Friday as a wannabe programmer - although both yesterday and today I've worked 30 to 45 minutes extra. I'm extremely happy to report, however, that things do seem to be starting to click! I've been able to program a little bit on my own, and often the problems that I'm unable to solve take my bosses a while to figure out, too! I'm still not thinking this is the career path I want in life, but I have begrudgingly started to admit that there are moments where solving a programming problem can be almost.. fun! Since I will be off next week, I'm down to only 2.5 weeks left to work, which is hard to believe!

I'm also happy to report that I've been back on track with my running. Two weeks ago, I logged 13 miles, last week was 15, and this week I've already run 8.5! To reach my goal of 100 by the time I go back to school, I have about 48 left to go. I'm determined, and barring any injury or other unexpected circumstance, I think I'll be able to reach that goal!

I've also started teaching myself how to play piano again. That project started toward the end of my junior year of high school, and continued with a Class II piano solo at Solo/Ensemble my senior year. Last summer and this past fall I didn't make time to keep practicing, and it wasn't until I discovered the grand piano in the basement of my dorm spring semester that I realized how much I actually missed it. Again, though, by the end of the semester and the beginning of the summer, practicing was not a priority, and much of the progress I had made on my latest "goal song" seemed to be lost. This had a bit of a snowball effect, as I was dreading discovering how much I had fallen behind and therefore just never started. Two weeks ago, however, I started up again and I'm thrilled with how quickly I'm falling back into the swing of it! In case you're curious, my goal song is "God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes. For someone who has only made her way through John Thompson's First Grade Piano Book (for those of you unfamiliar with this - the EASY, beginning stuff), this song is certainly a challenge. It's one of my favorite songs, though, and there a few certain close friends of mine with whom it holds certain significance, so the idea of being able to play it for them helps give me motivation to get through the frustrating times. Here's a link to a similar piano version as I am learning (although mine is slightly easier). Dave Barnes - God Gave Me You (Piano Cover) And if you aren't familiar with the original song, definitely check it out, as it is absolutely wonderful! Dave Barnes - God Gave Me You (Original).

Later this week, I'll post more about our upcoming family adventure out west. For now, I'm extremely excited to spend time with friends in the next few days here!

God bless!
-Theresa

Yet another adventure!

Well, I just got home from yet another weekend away from home (I think this is the 4th one in a row). This time, I was in Minnesota with my college girlfriends. It was a blast! The two Wisconsinites of the group road-tripped to Rochester on Friday night after work. Despite almost being hit by a train, we made it and spent the night there..and even unexpectedly got to see another friend then!

Saturday, we had planned to go tubing, but due to inclement weather, settled on an indoor picnic in Bloomington before heading to the Mall of America. We walked around a bit, went on the log ride, and ate a delicious dinner at Twin City Grill. We headed to the hotel, swam for a bit, then played imaginiff. Of course, our group's staple activity is Truth or Dare (which usually just ends up being Truth or Truth), so we played that as well.

Sunday, we went out to lunch in a cute little cafe (with free soft-serve ice cream!) and then went paddle boating in a small park located in a business zone of Bloomington. The time to leave came all too soon, and us Wisconsinites headed home. Exhausted, I arrived to my house at almost exactly 9:00, and then it was back to work today.

Although the weekend was fabulous, it just made me miss being at school with all of my friends even more. Hopefully, the next month and a half will go quickly!

Home at Last!

Whew! After a week full of adventures, I am finally home. Quite a bit happened over the last seven days, so I'll give a fair warning that this is likely to be a long post!

Pond Number 1

My family and I left at 2:30 in the morning last Saturday on our journey to northwestern New York. My uncle lives on 60 acres of land in the finger lakes region, on a hill that gives a gorgeous view of upstate New York's beauty. He has 4 man-made ponds on his property filled with fish, surrounded by hammocks and forestry. He also owns several golf carts for riding through the trails he has created on his property. Truly, the serenity of his home is indescribable in words.

Pond Number 2

Pond Number 3

Old Montreal

I, however, am not one to just stay serene for very long. Therefore, on Sunday and Monday, I journeyed up to Canada with my dad to visit an old friend of his from work. We spent the majority of our time at a cottage in the mountains north of Montreal. Again, the beauty is difficult to put into words. Most excitingly, I learned how to waterski!! I was told that I was a natural, although I personally thought it was difficult and required intense balance and concentration. The best phrase I have to describe my experience is terrifyingly awesome, and it was definitely a highlight of my trip. On the way back to New York from Canada, my dad and I drove through old Montreal. Being Canada Day, the place was PACKED with highly patriotic Canadians. Although I didn't have a chance to see as much of the city as I would have liked, the slow-moving traffic allowed me to take in at least some of the scenery from old Montreal!

A large family means LOTS of food and drink!

The second half of the week was spent at my Uncle's, culminating with our family reunion on July 4th. About 35 people showed up for the Flood Family Fun Festival & Fryout Frolic on the Fourth (FFFF&FFF) - and that's only PART of my family. Truthfully, it was slightly overwhelming, but also absolutely wonderful to see family that I haven't seen for years. Our family reunions are slightly carnival-ish, usually with a balloon toss, chocolate pudding eating contest, and tons and tons of prizes! Although the chocolate pudding was absent this year, the fun was not.

Thursday night, the Fourth of July, my sister and I decided to drive into the nearby town in search of fireworks. We didn't know exactly where we were going, which always is the preface for a good adventure - but the adventure we had this time was a bit more than we expected. We found ourselves stuck behind a parked car on the highway, with no way to get around. What made this situation even more frightening was the fact that a small brawl had erupted around our car. There was blood, fighting, swearing - I was extraordinarily thankful we were in our car, although since we were surrounded by angry people, we were definitely not in the safest place. Thankfully, the majority of the people from the opposing "groups" were trying to calm down the aggressive members, and when one of these calmer individuals finally moved the car off to the side of the road, we wasted no time leaving the scene and driving back to the serenity typical to the area. Although a bit shaken up, neither my sister nor I, nor the car, were injured in the slightest. That will surely be a story that will be shared at Flood Family Reunions for years to come.

Finally, I left with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece Friday morning. We took a mini-detour to see Niagara Falls (where we almost ran out of gas - but thankfully, made it to the gas station just in time!), then began the journey back to Wisconsin. We spent the night in Ohio and on Saturday finally crossed back over the Wisconsin border. I spent the afternoon at my sister's house, waiting for my parents and brother to pick me up and take me home (they had stayed an extra day and left Saturday morning instead of Friday morning). A few disney movies later, they arrived, and just after midnight Saturday night, we pulled into our driveway!

It was an exciting week, indeed, and plans for my next adventure are already being made. As a little side note, I decided today to lead a freshman Bible Study with two other girls from my Christian organization (Cru) next year! I'm both excited and nervous, but I have no doubt that I've committed to an experience that will help me grow in my faith while helping other people at my wonderful university do the same.

God Bless America!
-Theresa

Something Big is in the Works!

They always say things happen when you least expect them...I'm going to change that and say that good things happen when you finally give up your control and let God take control. All of the plans I kept creating for myself this summer kept falling through. Finally, I gave up control. I prayed for God to reveal his plan for me. For me, relinquishing control over anything.. from my evening to my summer...is something I struggle with. 

I did my best, though, and I'm happy to say that I just finished a phone interview for a Christian summer camp counselor position! I think the interview went well, but they have to receive two more of my references before they can contact me about my position. If I'm offered the position, I'd be starting at the end of next week - which doesn't give me much time! I'm praying for the grace to give my summer to God, however, and I'm excited to see what he has in store for me. 

All of my friends have been super supportive of me, which is reassuring. Three of my closest friends have said to me what I've come to realize as one of the most reassuring phrases: "I'm proud of you." I'm still slightly terrified at the idea of giving my summer up to spend it with people I've never met before, but knowing that my friends are behind me is helping me to boost my confidence. 

Regardless, now this is out of my hands (although in reality, it probably has always been out of my hands) - and I'm praying for God to give me courage and peace no matter what the outcome is! By the time you hear from me again, I believe I'll have made a decision!

Until then, I leave you with the simple suggestion of not being afraid to let something unexpected happen!

Adventure is Out There

It is only my sixth day home for the summer, and I'm already incredibly restless. Since the summer after eighth grade, I've worked close to full time hours each summer, between various part-time jobs and reffing soccer. Then suddenly, this summer I have one week of full-time hours with only a few measly nights of reffing each week for the other three months of summer. I've been really down about this, complaining to friends I know can't help, being irritable, and quite simply, just bored.

The first week of July, there'll be the trip out to New York for the family reunion, and hopefully a weekend or two will be spent with my college girls, but other than that I'm stuck in my own little world. I'm doing my best to trust that God has a plan for me this summer - and in fact, there's a small possibility I will be able to do something directly related to ministry for God later this summer. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, so more will come on that later if something does develop.

Regardless, whether I travel around the world or stay within a 50 mile radius of home sweet home, I'm ready to make the best of the situation I have.

And, as a little side note, within a day of me complaining/praying of boredom, God brought a little stressful excitement into my life through a chance encounter with a boy. I do not expect anything at all to come of this, but it served as a good reminder that God's in control, and He has great things in store for me.

Adventure is out there - whether "there" is just outside the front door, or a plane ride away.

In New York, a few summers back - hopefully one of the adventures that will take place in the next few months!

Oh! I almost forgot! I have a running goal of 200 miles this summer. So far: 4.3

Toodeloo! -Theresa