Shutting off the AC!?!?!?!

Sleeping in... well almost. We had to get up at 8 to eat breakfast (with the cost of food we can not afford to miss our continental breakfast!) The fan helped the AC out immensely and since we were so tired from walking and going to bed later, we thought we would sleep some more. We woke up at 1 to discover the AC was not working anymore, so we decided to get out of the room and find out the problem. The guy at the front desk informed us the AC is shut off from 10-3 everyday since no one is in the hotel room (as he pointed at all of the keys behind them.) We have to turn in our key everytime we leave the hotel. I guess that is another incentive to get up early.... So we headed to our bus stop (we are getting better at getting around.) We were on the bus and waiting for our stop, just after the door closed at this one stop Corey said that we should get off on that stop sometime... I decided to look closer and realized that was our stop! So we got off at the next one. For lunch we ate outside a little cafe on the street in front of St. Peters... I had pizza and Corey had lasagna (umm... it was good.) And as a side note, they only take Visa. This credit card stuff can get to be annoying (it is nice to get the best exchange rate and know they are being honest... but most places do not take Discover.) Being that close we headed to St. Peters for the rest of the afternoon. It seemed that the lines in front of the Basilica were pretty short... until we got closer and realized that now everyone has to go through a metal detector to get in. (Guess the "War of Terrorism" has streched all the way to the Vatican!) The metal detector was kind of funny though. People were beeping and the guy on the other end with the wand kept talking on his cell phone (seems that is a favorite passtime of the police around here!) The bag check guy was also looking up several times as the bags wizzed through the machine. Inside we checked out the church; new things have been added since I have been there last. Corey got to see his first Incorruptible... we also went to the Basilica museum (I do not think I have ever seen so much gold and diamonds in one place!) After that we took the bus back to the internet place to do some homework (for Corey). We saw some people riding bicycles that managed to stay ahead of the bus (granted we were making stops and stuck in traffic sometimes... but it was kind of funny.) For dinner we found a little restaurant across the street. We shared Bruschettà and I had a ham & cheese Calzone. Corey ordered "what those people are eating". He found out afterwards that it was Swordfish... I think the side was eggplant and tomatoes. He thought it was very good (I tried the Swordfish and tomatoes... but not the eggplant!)

Hard Rock, Roman Forum & Dinner Cruise

Today was a much wiser day for us (we did learn a few things...) We had a two day pass for a "Hop-on" "Hop-off" Tour. Yesterday we went around once, and today we did the tourist thing of getting off. So far we have managed to eat at Mc Donalds and the Hard Rock! It helped us feel better (we needed a few comfort foods while we were adjusting!) For a few hours today we felt like we were back in America as we listen to music videos at the Hard Rock and got to see an English Menu! The waiters even spoke to us in English... wow, it felt great. We have not been in many churches yet as we went to the stops on our tour that were not easily accessible via the Metro (we are trying to keep things as easy as possible in the future so as to not get lost again.) This included the "Skeleton" Church (or I think more properly referred to as the Capuchian church). We also spent time at the Trevi Fountain and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (it is a huge monument... sometimes refered to as the Typewritter monument or better know as Victor Emanuel II.) We checked out the museum and saw some pretty awesome sites. From there we went to the Roman Forum (which is much bigger than it was 7 years ago... they have exavated quite a large area). We saw the place were Peter and Paul were in chains (and then escaped.) Next we went by the Coliseum, and then got back on the bus to head to find the Internet place from yesterday (we have been to three different ones to try and decide which one will work best.) This is the only one with PowerPoint... but it is in Italian! We shall see how much Corey and I can remember from using our English version (thank goodness I have also done my share of those!) It is better than nothing. We also picked up a small fan... this AC just does not cut it. The temp is 35 degrees C... not sure what that is in F, except it was 26C in Los Angelas today. It sprinkled off and on, and the breeze helped it out a little. The dinner cruise was also interesting. We sat by a couple from Mexico who were also on their Honeymoon (and also thought Rome to be very confusing. Imagine that!) It was a four course meal, which was fine (but nothing we would make again at home... or order at a restaurant). We saw homeless people on the banks of the River sleeping in tents under the bridges, and grafiti all over the walls of the embankment. There was also some carnival going on so we saw some tents and people playing games. It was ok, but not exactly what we were envisioning. Corey even thought the boat was scraping the bottom of the river a few times, but we did not get stuck. Getting home was another great adventure. We were a little braver, and did make it. However, we were a little off on our bus stop, and then managed to get on a bus that parked for 20 minutes. That was interesting since we did not have a clue where we were! We got back about 12:30 am... and decided that tomorrow would be a day to take it easy, and sleep in!

Eternal City...

We made it! After way too many hours of traveling (and missing night in the time zone change), we slept the rest of Tuesday to wake to an interesting city. We are both feeling out of place as we try to maneuver a foreign city with a definate language barrier! We have now become those annoying people who do not know the language. We have found the roads to be quite challenging, and even getting back to the hotel the first time very difficult (despite having two maps... which were both a little confusing!) I think tomorrow will be a better day! Even trying to post this is a challenge as we are in an internet place, all the words on the screen are in Italian... and the keys are a little different then what I am used to (I am glad that I check my email and blog site enough at home that I know my way around the sites!) Once we figure out the rules and a few norms of this place we will be fine. A little more sleep might be nice also. What does not kill us will make a stronger, right? We are scheduled for an audience with Pope Benedict on September 5th... so please continue to keep us in your prayers that all will go well. Due to many technical difficulties I am not sure I will be able to post very often or to post any pictures until we get home.

OmniPod

One of the things I love about Camp is the chance to hang out with Endocrinologists, Fellows, Residents, Med Students, Diabetes Educators and Reps from different Pump Companies. It gives me a chance to get the inside scoop on what is going on in the world of diabetes (as well as their opinions... all of which are different!) This week I got to try out an OmniPod (www.omnipod.com) for a few days. It is a "cordless" insulin pump. There are some really cool things about it (like not being attached to a device, & always being connected.) Some downs sides is that it is easy to forget the programming part of the pump & the pod is larger than than the insertion site of a regular pump. The OmniPod also holds only 200 units of insulin when a few other pumps hold over 300. The insertion part was really nice (it didn't hurt at all!) The pod is programmed to give a set amount of insulin all the time (even without the handheld device in range... & then when you want to change that program or take more insulin one just needs to have the device within a foot of the Pod.) The Pod deactivates after 72 hours (with an extra 8 hour window) for safety... so people can't wear their sites longer than recommended. The large size of the adhesive is suppose to keep it from coming off... however I had to remove mine after two days because the adhesive pulled off enough that the tubing kinked. I could probably fix that problem with placing a tegaderm under the site for more stability (that is what I did with my first pump.) The OmniPod has been out for two years on the East Coast & is just now spreading across the US, they are still a small companies (& most employees have diabetes). Comparred to MiniMed which is huge & has the largest market share of pump wearers.

How did I like it? I thought it was a cool idea. It was nice to not have my pump around my waist or deal with tubing (while changing, going to the bathroom, showering, etc.) On the flip side the Pod could be a challenge to hide under some clothing, & should an individual need more than 200 units in 3 days, it could get expensive. The OmniPod is about $1,000 up front with the sensors costing about $340 a month... compared to a traditional pump being over $6,000 with monthly supplies in $100's. Over a period of four years (which the warranty for all pumps) the expensive is suppose to even out... with the costs being more spread out throughout the life of the pump instead of all up front. The Pod is water proof, but the handheld device is not. My Deltec insulin pump right now is waterproof (www.cozmore.com) ... but none of the others on the market are. OmniPod is hoping in the future to have the cannula on one end dispensing insulin and a sensor on the other monitoring interstitial fluid for a continuous blood sugar feedback. Both would be controlled with the cordless monitor. Sounds kind of cool to me. However, in diabetes language it could be right around the corner... or forever away. As Dr. Mike would say "five years" means they don't have a clue and it could be many years! With so many companies competing to come out on top and have the next best thing... the technology used to treat diabetes is exploding (which is great for us with diabetes!)

The other cool thing around camp is the sensor that goes with the MiniMed pump. A few of the docs are wearing it... some who love it, & some who have tried it & think it will take more time to get perfected. Almost all of the pump companies are working on having sensors to go with their pumps (some are in FDA approval & some have not gotten that far yet.) In a few years I am sure that the selection of products will be much more sophisticated than now. The other issue is that most insurance companies are not willing to pay for the sensors at this time (those that are paying... their customers are wearing the sensors, and really liking them.) The two companies that have sensors are MiniMed (www.minimed.com) and DexCom (www.dexcom.com) . Two nights ago it was kind of funny as Molly's sensor kept going off (she was low), but know one really knew who's pump or sensor it was (since a few of us were trying out different pumps that we were used to, & Molly just got her sensor!) By the time my warrenty runs out on this pump (a year from October) there should be a much better selection. I would think that a few more companies will be on board with the sensors and the ones that are out will be more perfected.

Dr. Mike has been a Peds Endocrinologist at the IDC for years (I think this might be his 30th year at camp), as he is getting closer to retirement it is very interesting to get his perspective on things. He made the comment that the more we find out about Chronic Illnesses (like Diabetes) the more we realize just how complex they are. That perhaps our idea of two types of diabetes will very soon be replaced with the concept that each individual has a much different disease (we can no longer do one regimen fits all...) This is already happening at the forefront of diabetes. Unfortunately we still have many doctors who are living in the dark ages...

Session 2 Needlepoint...

I had the trailblazers girls again this week. We got to go on our overnight on Tuesday this week instead of Thursday!

I met Morgan Rohr last week in the health office when she was a CIT (and I couldn't resist asking if she might be related to the Rohrs in Brainerd.) I was surprised when she said Steph was her aunt! It is such a small world. Well, the world got smaller when I was assigned to her Trailblazers this week. She is an awesome kid... & I have enjoyed hanging out with her & her cabin group. She texted her mom to let her know she ran into me... and it turns out her brother is staying at the Heinze's this week (Steph and her husband). It is all kind of funny to me. Morgan thought I looked familiar... turns out she remembers me from taking pics at Steph & Loren's wedding!

So our granola melted & looked pretty nasty! Morgan thought it looked like a turd, but it tasted pretty good. The girls were a little reluctant to try it, but that just meant more for us.

This was our little village in the woods. We had 10 tents out by the horses. It was kind of neat because they weren't visible from outside the woods... you had to walk in a ways to see them. Everything was still wet from the rain that we have been getting, so the trail staff brought out dry logs and fire starters (which were great!) It started to rain after two of three cabins had their food done. Luckily it didn't rain for long (we were able to finish the food for the last group.)

The rainbow afterwards was pretty cool though!

Washington State...

Here are a few pictures from trail last night. I was the nurse for the trailblazer girls and we spent the night on the beach. Two of the counselors and I slept out under the stars. It was beautiful... but I was unable to get any good night pics without my tripod. First week of Camp will be finished tomorrow, and Corey will be going home. I however, have one more week of camp left before we head to Europe.

It appears that we will be headed to Washington State for our first assignment (starting September 24th). We have to finish up on the details, and the contract isn't signed yet... however, it will be shortly. The city is Puyallup, Washington. The city Website is: http://www.cityofpuyallup.org/ Their population is 33,011 people. It is located at the foot of Mount Rainier in Pudget Sound, about 10 miles East of Tacoma, 20 miles North of Olympia & 35 miles South of Seattle. I will be working at Good Samaritan Hospital 12 hour evening shifts (11-11:30). The hospital is a not-for-profit, 225 bed JCAHO certified facility with over 300 physicians. If you are curious their website is : http://www.goodsamhealth.org/

We will keep you updated! Take care.

Camp Needlepoint

Here we are at my beloved Camp Needlepoint! It is the first of two weeks, & we are celebrating 50 years of camping with diabetes. I think that is awesome... we have a couple hundred campers each week, most of which are on insulin pumps. The kids range in age from 8-17, & do a variety of activities. (Swimming, sailing, cannoeing trips, kayaking, horseback riding, rock climbing... & the list goes on.) I am here for two weeks as part of the medical staff, & Corey is here the first week. He is a counselor for the trailblazers! He is in charge of ten (10 & 11 yr old) boys, along with his two co-counselors Shampoo & Levi! I think they have their work cut out for them. For those who have heard of the treacherous "Beach Path"... Corey having fully experienced it, now believes that I wasn't just being a complainer when I said it was tough to go up! It is definatly one of those things that one must experience first hand to understand.

Opening campfire found Corey somehow the center of the Trailblazer counselors' skit (he said they told him to do as he was told, as he they were a little challenged at getting organized). I missed half of it as the medical staff was a little slow at getting to campfire (we couldn't decide what to do either.) He was working on his spitting for the skit (I think he was just pretending!) That is about all I can figure out (I don't remember the whole skit though... since most of the time they seem to recycle the same ones every year.)

They were however more prepared then us... on the way to the front, a little surprised (& unprepared Medical Staff) decided on Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer... since we never get to sing Christmas songs at camp! It went over pretty good. Not sure if the kids really liked Rudolph... or if we got away with it because of who we were.

Here they are getting ready for a rowdy all camp game of Capture the Flag. Corey's cabin was on the blue team (as you can tell by the face paint). The real chaos didn't start until later when the Major Thunderstorms and Straight Line winds came through camp. I had the "privilege" of being the one to spend the night in the Medical Center... & hence greet everyone in the basement of the dining hall when the Sirens went off. A few male counselors got chosen to entertain the campers in the large room that felt like a sauna (my glasses fogged up when I walked in!) Finally a little after midnight the campers went back to their cabin...

07.07.07

Here we are at our one month anniversary, and I thought I would share with you a few stats surrounding the craziness of 07.07.07!

We had a few 7's (some intentional and some not...)

• diamonds in my engagement ring
• people in our Bridal Party
• children in the Wells family (those who brought up the gifts)
• parents and grandparents present
• 7 items for dinner (Chinese Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli with Cashews, Corn, Rolls, Wedding Cake & Beverages!)

Those who were there may have remembered it as being hot... but perhaps you didn't know that we broke the record high at 97 degrees! The low was 57 & the average was 77.

The knot.com estimated that a typical wedding weekend in July has 12,000 couples getting married, the once in a lifetime 07.07.07 found over 38,000 couple tying the knot (three times the normal amount!) Which turned out to be the biggest day ever in wedding history. Last year on July 8th, 12,226 couples walked down the isle.

In Las Vegas Wedding Chapels were opening up at 6am and extending hours to 11:59 to accommodate the mass numbers... a few resorts were hosting 77 weddings that day (3 times their normal amount.) The Clark County marriage bureau (Las Vegas) issued over 1,600 licenses on Friday (4 times the normal amount)... and people braved the 114 degree temperatures waiting in line to get hitched. The Garden of Love was scheduled to marry 400 couples, while a Little White Wedding Chapel was said to host over 500!

At many 6 flags amusement parks 7 lucky winners got married at 7am on their favorite rides (putting the total to over 100), while Wal-Mart hosted 7 couples at their local Garden Center (all expenses paid) & 77 couples got married at the Phoenix zoo...

By June, there was over 20,500 Google hits for the term"777 Wedding", and the popularity even inspired merchandise specifically for that date.

We also have the privilege of sharing an anniversary with the Brothertons (Corey was their Ring bearer 23 years ago!)

Reasons that "7" is such a lucky or popular number:

• 7 days in a week... God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th
• 7 Natural & 7 Modern Wonders of the World
• The walls of Jericho fell after 7 days
• 7-7-7 is the top slot machine jackpot
• Three 7's add up to 21 in Black Jack
• In numerology 7 is filled with mysticism & thought to be the most significant number
• 7 notes on a musical scale
• In Catholicism 7 deadly sins, 7 virtues & 7 sacraments
• In Judaism the bride circles her groom 7 times & they feast for 7 days
• In the Bible it means finalization, completion & represents a covenant
• In Hinduism the 7 chakras of the body & 7 sages in mythology
• Both the bible (507 x's) & the Torah predominately mention 7
• 7-7 is the day of the annual Lovers festival in Japan
• In Chinese 7 represents "togetherness"
• Japanese mythology has 7 Gods which personify earthly happiness
• In Islam 7 is a sacred portion, symbolized infinity & they believe in 7 levels of heaven
• Budah was said to have taken 7 sacred steps at birth
• Ancient Rome was built on 7 hills
• Explorers traveled the 7 seas
• 7 continents
• Ancient Babylonians celebrated 7 planets
• 7 is the definitive number on Cherokee cosmology
• Ancient Egyptians believed 7 symbolized eternal life
• 7 oxen pulled the sun across the earth in early Scandinavian lore
• 7 candles lit at Kwanzaa
• 7 rings were given to the Dwarf Lords in "Lord of the Rings"
• 7 colors in the rainbow
• 7 old Testament Patriarchs
• 7 requests in the Lord's Prayer
• 7 demons cast out of Mary Magdalene
• Book of Revelation refers to the 7th seal, the 7th son & seven heads of the beast
• The big dipper has 7 stars
• 7 is a sign of perfection
• Jesus said we must forgive not 7 times, but 70 times 7 times
  

The number of towels we received... 28 (7x4!)

I suppose we could have gone to Vegas & had the "Seven Ways of Wonderment" Package from the Ritz Carlton in Lake Las Vegas... it included a deluxe room, seven hours of spa treatment for two, a seven-course meal & a tour of Hoover Dam - one of the Seven Wonders - for $7,707. Or we could have gone with a Ritz Carlton "Lucky No. 7" Package in New York - for $77,777 (It included a reception for 77, a 7-tiered wedding cake, 7 Tiffany Diamonds & a 7 night Honeymoon at any Ritz Carlton in the world.) But at last I wouldn't have traded the chance to share our day with all of our family and friends. Hope this provided you with a few laughs...

I am off for now and trying to get ready for our Honeymoon departure on August 27th! Looking at our itinerary I think we will be in "seventh heaven" on a much needed vacation :)

Oh, & the price of gas that day was also very high... at $3.09.9 a gallon (sorry, no 7's).

Our Cake

Oh, Yes... our beloved Cake. My husband is a lifetime fan of Star Wars (& I also enjoy it, although I don't claim to even begin to know as much as he does!) I wanted something different, & as I thought about it... I thought why not Star Wars? We talked about it & I told Corey if he could find two appropriate figurines for the top we could do it. Anakin & Padme were ruled out (since Anakin becomes Darth Vader), so the next step was finding Hans & Leia. We looked for awhile... & during one of our routine Target visits we found the Galactic Heroes Death Star Escape Pack (every visit to a Target includes a trip to the toy department to check out Star Wars figurines... I guess that is what I get for marrying a former Toy Store Department Manager!) The next step was finding a design. I spent several hours on the Internet, I would have thought I could have better luck finding ideas. Finally, we met with Theresa Stroot, & she said she was game to try just about anything, but recommended trying to do a background from the movies. So I went back to the drawing board & designed the cake myself.

The background is supposed to be the hallways of the Death Star (for those who do not know, that is the Space Station that was created by the Empire to destroy planets.) In Episode IV, the Rebel fighters go to the Death Star to destroy it & save Princess Leia. The set up for the cake has C3PO & RD-D2 on the bottom in the hanger. The next level up is Chewbacca & Luke coming around a corner to face a Stormtrooper & an Empire Droid (R2-Q5). On the next tier one finds Darth Vader fighting with Obi Wan Kenobi...

...& finally Hans saving his beloved Leia! Sounds like a perfect ending to me.

It tasted great too! The two side cakes also had figurines on them. One had the Jedi vs. the Sith pack, while the other one had Darth Vader & the Bounty Hunters. When it was all finished & I was looking at our figurines I realized we had 3 Darth Vaders! I guess if what they say is true that all good things come in three... perhaps we should be worried! For now the figurines seem to be doing a great job guarding the guest bedroom...

Wedding Pictures

Here are four of our over 1,000 wedding pictures. (I can only post that many in one blog entry.) If you would like you can go the link below to view about 350 that my brother put on the web for us. In the chance that you may have been present and have some digital images that you could share with us we would greatly appreciate it! We know that we are missing some pictures (such as the Pinata and my uncle Leo's arrival), as well as having many different angles so we can choose the best pictures to print. Enjoy! -Laura
Here is the link: http://ahaa.smugmug.com/gallery/3194218#175960848
Password: 7707

Parents of the Bride: Steve & Iris Shively
Grandparents of the Bride: Bill & Rita Nelson
Mother of the Groom: Diane Oeltjenbruns
Grandparents of the Groom: Milton & Gerri Oeltjenbruns

Maid of Honor: Martha Shively (Sister of Bride)
Bridesmaids: Maggie Nelson (Cousin of Bride)
Gretchen Amigon (Sister of Bride)
Flower Girl: Marina Amigon (Niece of Bride)
Best Man: Phil Gallien (Friend of Groom)
Groomsmen: Troy Schilling (Friend of Groom)
Kurt Fruth (Friend of Groom)
Ushers: Isaac Ray (Friend of Bride)
Matt Harris (Cousin of Groom)

A single Step...

So here we are… at the beginning of the greatest journey of our lives. We have been married four weeks, I have just finished working at St. Joseph’s Medical Center (after over 6 years)… and next week we head to Camp Needlepoint (my camp from childhood for kids with diabetes). Corey will be a counselor first week, and I am staying both weeks (as part of the medical staff). We are headed to Europe for our Honeymoon two days after camp is complete. After Rome and Berlin we will be home for a few days to catch a wedding… and then off to traveling nursing. We still do not know our exact destination, only that we are going! (God is in charge of the details… he is so much better at it then me anyways.) I know some think we are crazy, but sometimes the best way to learn to trust God, is to let go completely (and Lord knows I need to practice with this letting go and complete trust thing!) As I am trying desperately to get the house in order before departure, I am also dealing with the challenge of how to stay connected to those who are staying behind. To the many friends, co-workers and family members who have pleaded with me to keep in touch… to let them know how it is going (and of course to send pictures!)… here is my attempt. I do not know how well it will go, but that it will go. If you are looking for thoughts from my better half on this blog site, chances are it won’t happen. But if you are looking for updates and photos, I will keep you informed! I hope you enjoy, and until next time… take care. God Bless, Laura