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Taking The Plunge!

Well, this week Justin and I also became engaged! Whoa! YES! Here are photos of  Justin standing in front of an old railway stop sign and then of the flooding of the Missouri that was happening from all the rain going on that week.  And the three below are of us, post taking-The-Plunge, the benches where we took The Plunge, and of me showing off my new bling-bling.  It's and beautiful silver and turquoise ring.  So much love, 

Adriana Vanbianchi

Bike Trip Extravaganza

It has been real nice having this week of school off and we have been planning a trip for a long time.  We rode the Katy Trail which is an old railroad track that has been converted into a 260 mile bike path.  There are small, very rural towns to stop in along the way for camping and food supplies.  But it all feels really rural, and with the heat, and fine misty humid rain, we felt like we were riding through the rain forest of Central America.  We saw tons of wildlife, birds, frogs, turtles, rabbits, snakes, found morels, it was highly successful. 

Relaxation Time

Yes! Class is over for ten days.  1/3 of Paramedic school complete!  It was 94 degrees here today and felt...so...good.  We made dinner and took beers down to the Grand Basin in Forest Park and threw the Frisbee for Scout to cool everyone off.  Tourists and families gathered to watch the incredible dog acrobatics. And when people ask if she is friendly we say "no" which is absolutely true and as long as Scout is focused on the Frisbee no one gets barked at.   

Winters over and it feels like my muscles are relaxing.

Hasta Pronto

Adriana

Long Time No Write

It's officially hot here today and that feels wonderful.  It's the last week of the first quarter of class.  Meaning, we are having finals and that THEN it is vacation time.  I cannot wait and am actually trying to get our finals done early for MORE vacation time SOONER.  But now that feels like a lot of cramming.  We are planning of riding the Katy Trail across Missouri.  Justin got a new bike and it will be a celebration ride and I am so excited to get out of town and get some heat on the body.

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  Also, above is a photo of the St Louis Marathon that happened on Sunday.  This photo was taken before the race so I look fresh and dry and it's about 6:30am.  Okay, so I had high hopes of running it in 3:30...but that didn't happen.  In the end, I was just glad I finished it.  It was under 4 hours, barely.  The day of the marathon was pretty wet, rainy and I felt like I was coming down with something.  But I listened to music, let the excitement of the event pull me through and it always feels so, so good to finish.  I am still at the never-do-a-marathon-again stage as my body puts itself back into working order.  But I would love to run a trail event, or the Great Wall of China.  But imagine being soaking wet, sore, hungry and cold and the first thing you do when you get back to the house  from the race is sit in an ice cold bath to try to mitigate the muscle soreness...those moments in the ice bath were terrible.   

Take care and I miss you all.  Back to the real reason I am sitting here and the desk...homework.

Books I have read since arriving here is STL

The Hobbit

Marley and Me

Paramedic Care, Book 2 

Daily Coyote

I am now reading

Feeling Good

Medical Terminology

Paramedic Care Book 1

The World According to Garp

Below is a picture of our room a month ago.  This captures the feeling of a job that will never finish.  That of scraping wallpaper off the walls.

And here is our room this afternoon.  Notice the black head of hair relaxing and the big ears enjoying a few privileged seconds on the bed.  It's 70+ degrees today for the third day in a row and it feels good.  Feels like vacation and like breathing space and relaxation.

Good Friday Morning!  Mine is going well.  It's been sunny here, sunny enough to run in just a sports-bra and get some vitamin D.  Scout has been benched from runs because a piece of her rough pad on her paw is missing...maybe from glass or salt on the streets.  But I just threw the tennis ball for a while and now she is relaxing next to me.  

Highlights of the Week

First, and foremost, Justin and I went to a Chuck Berry concert.  Chuck Berry is from St Louis and although he is 87, he still plays a concert once a month at a venue around the corner from the house called Blueberry Hill.  He has played over 100 times there and still puts on an awesome show.  The crowd was excited, especially the people standing next to us who had flown in from Georgia for the night to see the show.  Chuck Berry came out at 10pm sharp (he won't come on stage before 10) with his son, an electric piano, base guitarist, and a drummer carrying a backpack stuffed with drum sticks.  Chuck wore a sailors cap, a sequined blue shirt, and had a red electric guitar.

Chuck Berry and Charlie Berry

I know, the pictures are blurry but I didn't want the flash to go off during the concert.  He played a surprising number of songs that I new, but never knew who played them.  And he danced, told jokes, and came in just a half a beat late or sometimes just went "hmmmmmlaladola..." when he forgot a verse to his song.  It was a fun, St Louis night, with a dress, boots, and good-lookin' date!

Other highlights include long and more regimented runs (the marathon is in 8 weeks), warm weather, letters in my P.O. Box, good books, planning a spring break trip to the Smokey Mountains, studying at the coffee shops, phone calls to and from friends, working at the Emergency Room with nurses who don't mind teaching you how to give shots and administer medications, feeling good with Justin, and looking forward to spending the weekend out at his Dads place in the Ozarks.