Bleeding Purple All Year Round

Everyone knows that I graduated from UNI, hailing purple and gold. Now I have another reason to put on the color purple and support a cause. Recently, I started a position at the Alzheimer's Association. I have been privileged to work daily towards a cause I strongly believe in. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. If you have not been touched by this disease, most likely, it will only be a matter of time. There are currently 5.2 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease, and one person develops this disease every 71 seconds.

As you know, Grandpa Durnil passed away last April from Alzheimer's disease. He had fought through the early stages of the disease forgetting where he would put his keys, how to use a toothbrush or if he had already taken a pill where Grandma would kindly remind him that he had not and still needed to. Being the family that we were we found a way to incorporate humor and do what we could. He would still refer to me as babe but I did not feel as certain that he actually knew who I was or knew what he meant to me. Alzheimer's not only takes the memories of the person with the disease but it has taken away memories we could have had with Grandpa if he would have been able to communicate with us through those last years, months and moments.

On Tuesday, January 27th, I will be participating in the Alzheimer’s Association VOICE the VISION Rally taking place at Crossroads Shopping Center in Waterloo. I’m asking my friends, family, colleagues and everyone I can think of to ask for a donation to help fund the full mission of the Alzheimer’s Association that will serve to support vital research, education, support and advocacy. My personal fundraising goal is $300.00. Any amount would be extremely helpful. Whether it’s
$5, $10, $50, or another amount, as I said, any contribution would be so appreciated.

If you are able, you can make a donation directly online by going to the following web page (just copy and paste it into your browser)http://voicethevision.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=296496&u=296496-241438336

If you want to make a donation but would prefer not to do it online, just let me know and I will make sure that you receive by mail, a pledge form with a return envelope, to make the process as easy as possible for you.

As a grandchild of someone who had this disease, I felt helpless, I could not be a direct caregiver but this is what I can do, support the vision of a world without this disease. Thank you for all of your support now and always!

November Catch Up

I have decided once again to update the blog. I know I need to create a couple of posts to make up for the past couple of months but not too fear, I have a New Year's resolution to post after something happens not two months later. We will see how long it will hold up. Needless to say it has been a busy time of year for us. It seemed like a whirlwind began right after Thanksgiving.

We with a few of our friends, cheered on the UNI Panthers as they fought for the national title. The game we saw was a last second nailbitter where they pulled it off. Unfortunately, they weren't so lucky in the next game. Ah, there's always next year! Before the game we thought it was a 'great idea' to hang out and put together a little tailgate like you do when it is NICE outside. Our chili and apple cider remained cold and we weren't throwing a ball around for too long. It was more like we were creating our own huddle to stay warm.




Another exciting thing that happened in November was a limo ride. Grandma had never been in a limo so we squished as many people as possible in one car and tried to keep a secret. Derek and Jamee told her that they wanted to take her out for lunch so they said they would pick her up. She was pretty surprised when the driver came to the door and said here is your ride. She was a little more surprised when she opened the car door and saw how many people could fit into that thing. We hope we pulled a good one on you Grandma. Love you!

Our Anniversary

This past Sunday was our first wedding anniversary so we made a weekend out of it. Saturday we went to the UNI football game (who currently is ranked #2 in the nation) with our friends and family which was quite excited but the panthers pulled it off. Sunday we did nothing but relax. We wanted to have a little date night but unfortunately Sundays are not the best days to get dressed up and go out to dinner. Instead, last night we went out to dinner at CU and came out stuffed. Ryan got me a dozen roses that I had to post because I have not seen any so large and so beautiful.

I can’t believe how fast time flies. A year ago we were married, to be honest I can’t remember all of the details about the day (I think you get in that wedding daze) but I do remember that I could not stop smiling. To know that I got to spend the rest of my life with Ryan was all that I needed. I still have to pinch myself every once in a while.

Ry – you are the best that I could ask for. You are strong, intelligent, caring and have a sense of humor and personality that everyone gravitates towards (not to mention handsome but I need not state the obvious). You have been my rock and will continue to be. I love you and I am not surprised that this year has been better than I imagined.

Go Panthers!!

After this weekend's 24-13 victory over Iowa State, I thought it would be appropriate to post the pictures of the first UNI game of the season. This was the last time we could spend time with Derek before he embarked on his journey to Minnesota. We had a blast and the panthers looked pretty good. The dome had a good crowd (which made the temperature rise) and it was a fun thing to do on a Thursday night. We definitely prefer football outdoors in the 'elements' but we cannot pass up a night cheering for the kitty cats!!