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18 January, 2006
Happy new year!

I became an aunt in October 2005! Congratulations to Kristina and Ron!

I didn't plan on making any new year's resolutions, but I thought of one after the fact: To get back in touch with old friends, both online and in real life. I've already connected with a few, and I'm still working on others.

If you've stumbled on my webpages because you once knew me, please contact me! I'd love to hear from you. You'll find my email at the bottom of this page. You can also send me a message via one of the services below. Don't forget to tell me who you are, otherwise I'm going to assume you are a weirdo.

16 March, 2005
It's been a few months since I've updated. Check out the newest addition to july15.com: Jonas and Julia's Outdoor Adventures! Sounds corny, I know. It is a little something I threw together in the last few days to document some of our excursions in the outdoors. We're determined to be more outdoorsy in 2005 -- perhaps this will keep us motivated to do so!

Not too long ago, we purchased our first ever digital camera. Woohoo! But don't get too excited -- it's a very low-end model: Nikon Coolpix 2200. It's very cute and fits in the palm of my hand or in my jacket pocket. The convenience of digital photography grew more and more appealing as geocaching began to take us into scenic or otherwise interesting areas, but we didn't want to spend a ton of money on a camera that would undoubtedly get dirty and/or beat up on the way. This one is great for web publishing, but the film camera is still our first choice for archival photos.

Last Friday several of my co-workers and I received CPR and defibrillator training. The local fire department is donating the defibrillator kit to the library, so of course the staff need to be trained on how to use it should an emergency arise. The training was kind of fun, although of course it's hard not to feel self-conscious when you're screaming, "Baby, baby, are you okay??" to a tiny doll in front of your co-workers. We were trained on adults, children and infants.

I had to get a new keyboard recently, as my "W" key would intermittently stop working. The new one I picked up is not as "clicky" as I'd like, but I'm getting used to it.

After compiling a list of our biggest priorities with money in the upcoming months, it looks like we're not going to take our usual 2-week vacation this summer in favor of several smaller extended weekend getaways most likely within Minnesota. I'd love to hit some of the hiking trails on the North Shore, perhaps even a couple legs of the Superior Hiking Trail.

I can't wait until spring when it will warm up a little! ...But I'm not looking forward to tick season...

09 December, 2004
I am having a hard time being convinced that it's December already. It just doesn't seem right. Some good news: At work we finally have a new LTA on board to join me. I am looking forward to once again having someone to share my duties with! Speaking of work, I came across two pictures of me taken several years ago at our old building. One in particular is kind of silly, so I am going to scan them for the photo page. (Side note: My scanner seems to be on the fritz, so I'll have to scan them at work on Saturday instead.)

Jonas and I went out geocaching last weekend, and I can completely understand why some folks say this is their favorite time of year for the sport. Sure, it's a little chilly, but so many of the potentially irritating bits are absent: underbrush, overhead foliage affecting the GPSr's accuracy, heat, walking into spiderwebs, and most of all: MOSQUITOES! We bundled up and had a great time. Sadly, our GPSr seems to be defective. Every so often all of the buttons on the left side go dead. However, if given a few good smacks, they usually start working again. I think we'll ultimately have to send it in for exchange.

Just 3 days until my birthday! Just barely on the right side of 30. Next year it all starts to go downhill.

In other anniversary-type news, a few weeks ago marked my 10-year anniversary with online talkers/MUDs. As near as I can figure, November 17, 1994 was the day that would change my life forever (I'd only been using email prior to that). Naturally, this anniversary came and went and I didn't notice. Ah, well.

30 September, 2004
First off, I've got to say that my 10-year class reunion was a blast. Call my life unexciting if you want, but I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. It was amazing how many people attended -- just amazing.

Jonas and I flew to Boston in August, where we rented a car and tripped around New England and Maritime Canada. We camped in our tent the first ten nights, then that was enough sleeping outdoors and we did hotels and B&Bs the remaining seven nights. Some things I especially enjoyed were Acadia National Park in Maine, a lobster boat tour in Nova Scotia, geocaching on Prince Edward Island, visiting Brownville, Maine (where my great-great-grandfather's family lived for generations before migrating to Minnesota in the mid-1800s), New Hampshire's White Mountains, and all kinds of things in Boston, including an exceptional restaurant, Taberna de Haro.

In household news, we completed our very first home improvement project as homeowners last weekend when we spackled, sanded and painted the inside of the garage. Since it was our first project and we are both relatively inexperienced, the garage seemed like a good place to begin in case we screwed up -- after all, it's just the garage. It looks pretty good. We couldn't be bothered to touch up all of the lines from the sheetrock taping so you can still see those, but we'll put up shelves so they get lost in the background -- and again, it's just the garage. Now I'm looking forward to trying my hand at some other painting projects -- perhaps a bathroom next.

09 August, 2004
Just 11 days until vacation! Woohoo! It turned out that a trip to Sweden wasn't going to work since we hadn't begun planning far enough in advance. Instead, we're heading to New England. A few days on Cape Cod, then a drive up into Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Swinging back around on the return trip we'll drive through New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island, before spending the final weekend in Boston. I can't wait!!

This summer has been super busy. Last month Jonas and I celebrated our 5th(!) wedding anniversary with the purchase of a GPS receiver. Since then, we have been geocaching fiends! So far, we have found 70 caches and made some daytrips to Stillwater, Lanesboro and Mankato, snagging caches in those areas as well as around the Twin Cities. The library where I work has been closed since the end of June and we are finally having our Grand Opening this Thursday -- it has been a wild 7 weeks but I think we are ready. As I mentioned, we are leaving for New England next Friday through Labor Day, and then also next month my 10-year high school reunion is taking place. Should be fun?!

07 May, 2004
Welcome to my brand spanking newly redesigned webpages! I had the mushroom theme for close to 5 years, and it was well and truly time for a change.

It's hard to believe it's already May. We've been in the house for nearly nine months now. I wasn't sure at first if our newly-sod grass made it through the winter, but it's perked up nicely. There are a couple of dry patches that we are going to fill in so that it's all uniform. Neither of our two oak saplings made it, so we'll have to get those replanted.

This summer ought to be fun, but we're going to try super hard not to spend too much in order to be able to go to Sweden in September. Although Jonas has visited at least once each year, it's been four years since we've been able to go together. *fingers crossed* My 10-year high school class reunion should also be this summer, but I haven't heard any details yet.

Updated 18 January, 2006 ...