Happy New Years!

Hope it is full of wonderful events and funny moments! Doing it up north at the moment so if you are around give a call if not, Happy New Year where ever you are! Much love to you! CHEERS!

Linda K Mortensen Friends of Flowers
has been setup for all those who are interested in a donation area and who have been in contact from the Wee Man website.
Thank you so much!

Linda K Mortensen

Aug.9, 1959- Nov. 22, 2006

An Amazing Woman...

What does one write when you lose the light in your life, the love of your heart and the spirit in your soul...

Here are a few things I have put together...THANK YOU!

The Love of an Amazing and Caring Woman…

I just wanted to send out many thank you’s for the compassion and concern that I and my family have been shown over the last few days in the unexpected passing of my mother.

On Wednesday night, my mother was in a car accident and did not survive. Her spirit and her love of life will survive through all of those who she has met. I have been truly blessed with the greatest understanding of loving others before yourself because she showed that by making sure everyone else was taken care of first and through her selflessness so many great and wonderful things have happened in my life.

‘Her greatest passions in life were her children and her flowers. She was a friend to all and will always be remembered for her quick laugh and smile. She embraced life to the fullest and would go out of her way to see that others were taken care of. Her selflessness and compassion will be missed by all of those who had the luxury of meeting her.’

Thank you again for thinking about me and my family through this changing point in our life. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the things we have, accept the things we cannot change and to show compassion for those who need the extra support. The support of friends and family has been my thanksgiving this year and my family and I thank you so much for your compassion and are starting the steps of trying to accept the things we cannot change.

The wake is on Sunday 4-7 in Shell Lake, WI and the Funeral will be on Monday at 11am at Barronett Lutheran Church in Barronett, WI. She will then be buried in Sarona, WI. I am not sure when I will be back on campus or back to CA but know that I will be thinking of all of you. I will be in touch soon when I get back to CA.

Much Love and Respect,
Liz

This is my friend!!!

She is beautfiul and makes me happy and has been there for EVERYTHING!!! Just wanted to take this time and say THANK YOU and you rock my world and didn't we have fun that night!!! :)

Sorry it too me SOOOOOOOO LONG to write to all of you! Glad to hear things are going so well!!! Work has consumed me lately but I am going to try and make more time to post blogs and email everyone back!!!

Thinking of all of you!

Taking a page from my beautiful friend Parker,
I want to write about the things I am thankful for....
This could take awhile but I will write the basics for now...

My family, they are my rock and strength and

they make me SOOOOO Proud!!!

My sister! She is now an LPN and GETTING MARRIED

and I am just so excited and thankful that I am in her life so much!

My brother and his wife, they are my love and compassion

and give the meaning of friendship and caring a new level.

My little brother who makes me wish I was closer

home but makes me feel good to hear about how much

he is growing and changing and making the Mortensen name proud! :)

My Mom and Dad and Karla...They teach me new things

everyday and are always there when I call about questions

about my boys and what to do in the kitchen. They

have saved many meals for my boys.

My boys: they drive me to be better and make

me feel so full of life by all the energy they have and

the love they give to me through the little things they do.

THEY ROCK!!!

My best friend Missy: she knows how to make a

girl laugh herself silly when I think I AM having a bad day,

she always has something so dumb happen that

it makes me love her more because of it. HA!

My best friend Shannon, ugh! The stories lately

make me laugh and laugh and in a recent study they say

laughing is the best way to exercise so woowhoo to us!!!

An average kindergartner laughs 300 times a day, an

adult only 17. I am proud to say that Shannon

pushes us OVER AVERAGE!!!

The weather, I am so glad I live in a place where it

has seasons and the area is just beautiful!!! Fall

has come and the leaves are BEAUTIFUL!!

FOOTBALL: I like football. It makes me happy. :)

My partner in crime Godoy: What can I say? For

a boss he rocks and as a friend and partner he is the

best! He makes me want to be better at what I do.

Life

Miss you all and hope you can think of a few things you are thankful for! Happy Turkey month!

Happy Halloween!!!

Hello everyone! Just writing to say things are busy and the weather is getting cold but all is well. I am super busy but things are good and I am staying out of trouble.

Hope all is well in your world and things are going well!

Much love and talk w/you all soon!

MUAH!!!

The Wedding is OVER and all are well!!!

The bride and groom are happily married, the community center is cleaned and everyone has gone home. It was a great affair and everyone had a good time and nothing too wild and crazy occured! The wedding was beautiful and the colors were wonderful!

Thanks to everyone that donated so much of time and energy into it. I know my family appricates everyone who helped make this day so special. I will be posting pictures soon!

Much love!

Almost a MONTH later and here is an UPDATE!!!

Sorry my life is CRAZY at the moment and I have been working 6 days a week and when I am not working, I am sleeping for my 7 hours I have to myself a day.

My trip BACK to Ca was good and my mom rode out with me and that ROCKED!! We headed to Pebble Beach on the Monterey Peninsula and that was AMAZING!!! She got the chance to walk in the ocean and pick up shells and other rocks along the beach. Can't wait until she comes out again!!!

I will add some pictures of the time in the coast when I get them developed! The picture above is not my personal picture but one from the interent. This is the Hershey Kiss Mobile we saw along the way back to CA. It was pretty crazy to see it driving down the road!! You should have seen my mom trying to take pictures of it. Now that was just as funny!

That's it for now.

Hope all is well in your world and you find some time to enjoy the things you love and re-fill your spirit!!!

Talk w.you all soon!!!

I MADE IT!!!

Hello everyone!!!
Just wanted to let you all know I made it to Mpls
and had a very relaxing day of doing nothing. It was SO nice!
I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah, who rocks my world and made my trip go OH SO FASTER by driving most of the way while I slept so I could rock the rest of the trip out when I became solo. What a friend! My time at home is going to be full and crazy but I am shooting to soak up some sun while I am here and help with the wedding planning. GOODTIMES!!!
Hope all is well and talk w.you SOON!!!

I love the way Minneapolis looks at night! 1 Day to Go and

my FIRST Earthquake!


Yeah, I said Earthquake;

it was yesterday night at 8:06 pm and registered at a 4 on the scale. The epicenter, position on the surface of the earth where it starts, was 3 miles west of Glen Ellen, Hanna is 3 miles from Glen Ellen, so right down the road! How exciting! I was taking a friend to the airport and we were in a shop 2 miles on the other side of Hanna when all of the sudden the mirror on the wall started to shake and glasses started to clink together, just like a big truck was going by...

We looked at each other and thought it was strange that everything was moving and then the sales lady

said that that we just had an earthquake.

It wasn't scary at all. Just kind of weird and like a

train/truck rumbling outside the building.
Overall, it was not bad for my first experience.

A scale so you get an idea of the size of the quake...

Earthquake Magnitude Classification

0 - 3 Micro

3 - 3.9 Minor
4 - 4.9 Light
5 - 5.9 Moderate
6 - 6.9 Strong
7 - 7.9 Major

8 and higher Great

Ok...on to the main event...

Well it is almost here...Time for the rode trip home!!!

I am ready for a little R&R in Minneapolis and to get back to Children's World. I am excited to teach again and to see how much my children have grown! But the thing I am most excited about is being done at 6 everyday! :) It will be a change from my normal 12-14 hour days that end at 10:30pm. 9-6 is ideal at the moment, only if the real world work like that and paid you what you THINK you are worth! Don't get me wrong, I love Hanna and what I am doing but a raise would be nice with all the things I have going on and that lately every thing needs some money sent its way. To be rich and not worry about bills...the life of some people! Oh well, I think I am better off being happy and poor! It seems to work for me and I have so much fun being me!

Hope all is well and will talk w.you guys soon!!!

Have a great weekend!

Check out this site for more Earthquake info...

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/glossary.php#class

8 days and counting...

I have exactly 8 days until I take my car and drop 2,000 miles on it but it is going to be worth the trip! I am headed home and will be there for about 20 days so that should be exciting!

If you get the chance, drop me a line or call my cell if you are going to be around. During the day I will be teaching again until about 6pm everyday during the week or my trip would drive me crazy just sitting around! Otherwise, I am able to meet up and hang out! I am looking to spend some time soaking up the sun and sights of Minneapolis again and taking in the Wisco love and hanging with Zach again! Can't wait!

I hope everyone is doing well and you guys know how much I am thinking about you! Good luck to Jessica and Andy as they move into their new home, Heidi and Jeff as they try to locate all their belongings in the move, Holly as she gets ready to jet over and see Parker and Anna and Hal as they wrap up their travels. Miss you and thinking about you always!

Best wishes and talk w.you all soon!

Thank you for being my friend...

I have this amazing friend that has such a beautiful spirit and so much compassion and love for people that I am so lucky to have her in my life and to be able to call her my friend. She recently posted this scripture on her blog that I thought it stated what needs to be said. We need to be thankful for what we have and wait and good things will come with time!

THANK YOU SARAH!!!

You make me a better person knowing you and the compassion that you show people pushes me to be a better person and do all I can to let them know they matter to me and those around them.

"Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently." Romans 8:24-25

I SWAM with a Sea Lion!!!

It was SOOO amazing! I was out on my bodyboard and I saw something smooth and black drive under the water. First I FREAKED out and moved all the way back up to the shore and waited to see where it would could out...sharks you know...

Well anyways, I knew it wasn't a Great White since it was black but I still held back for half an hour before going out any deeper to hit the good waves and get away from the beach breakers...So, here I am hitting an awesome wave and when I jump off my board and turn around to head back out...OH WOW! A sea lion was catching the end of my wave and coming RIGHT AT ME!!! It was crazy and scary and then funny at the same time...after the wave broke he jumped on the next one. He rode several waves and swam in and out of the people in the water. It was great to see. He got like 2 feet from this one guy who didn't even notice he was in the water. And then the guy turned around and saw him and at first backed up and then realized that he was going to follow him so he moved closer to him and stuck his hand out...the the sea lion came up in the water and like barked at him so the guy just swam away and the sea lion moved on to the next person. It was great! He hung out for like an hour and a half catching wave after wave...What a way to spend my only day off! Come to California and hang out soon!

Cheers!

Hey guys! UGH! I am tired already and work is CRAZY!!! I need to learn to say no because 70hr weeks are making me tired and need of serious nap time! I love what I do and can't believe that I have already been here for ALMOST a whole year!!! This group of boys have been awesome and there is never a dull moment. It will be a year on September. 29th, WOW!!

I am trying to set some things up right now for the month of August at home so I will keep you guys posted on what my plans are. I am looking at teaching for the month and doubling up on income and help pay for my busy summer! Right now I am looking at 4088 miles round trip to drive home...So we will see! Hope all is well with all of you and I am signing off and going to bed! Later and best wishes! LAUGH!! Liz

P.S. I got this pic sent to me and I thought it was SO funny! Hope you like it!

Back to work....


HELLO!!!!

What a WONDERFUL time at home! I can't believe that 10 days are gone already!!! I am excited I got to see all of you and those I didn't, DON"T WORRY, I will be back and we can hang out then.

The time at home never seems long enough to see everyone put I am super excited to get back to normal and fly back out to CALI!!!

Life is crazy at times but it is wonderful to know I have friends like all of you!

What a weekend!!! Hope you all had a WONDERFUL 4th of July and I am sorry it has been sooooo long since I posted anything on this website...Here is a little look at what my time home was like! ENJOY!!!

OH!!! How I love the water!!! I just bought my Boogie Board and I am ready to ROCK!! The water is amazing and it is so relaxing to ride the waves and see the beauty all around! I have been lucky and had a WONDERFUL friend from Mpls come and test out the boards with me and have since fallen in love!! If you get the can to come out and play, lets rent you a board and hit the waves! Much love and catch the wave!!!

Catching a WAVE~~~

I know it has been some time since I have written but life is slightly crazy at the moment. It is never dull here and I seem to always be on the GO!

On Saturday, I headed to the ocean with my boys and actually went SWIMMING in the ocean for the first time! I have been wadding in the water plenty of times since I have been here and I also went in while in Ireland, but I have always been too scared to actually go past my knees and swim or even get close where I am might go under but on Saturday I finally DID IT!!!
It was SOOOOOOOOOOOO awesome!

One of my boys rented a boogie board and did some wave surfing and I did some body surfing and rode the waves, trying to stand up against the big waves was scary but so much fun as well. It was a great way to spend the start of memorial weekend! Some of the waves swelled to well over 6 feet tall so needless to say, I went under a couple of times. The water was so awesome, a little cold but you get used it after awhile! I loved just watching the wave’s crash and being amazed how they just roll and roll and how relaxing it is on the water!

I can't wait until some of you can make it out here and we can do it up at the beach and you get the chance to ride your own waves!

The thrill of the ocean is calling all inlanders!!!

Hope your holiday weekend was lovely and everything is good!
Cali LOVE!!!

Today the weather is on the cool side and

I am ready for the sun to come back out!

It is only about 71 today so it should start warming up soon.

I am not sure about summer plans yet but I will keep you all

posted as I figure out where I will be this summer and

when I will get a chance to visit with all of you.

If you know of anything going on this summer that I might want to attend let me know...such as Wedding plans for my bro and Adrienne,

birthday parties, 4th of July and Levi and Wendy's Wedding...

I am going to try and make this one! :)

What an amazing boat ride and view...

The Golden Gate Bridge at sun set.

Looking out into the ocean from under the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing! These pictures are from when Shannon came out here in November and we went on a really great boat ride of the Bay! These are just a few of the pictures I have that show the water and sun and life on the West Coast.

Watch for more coming soon!

What a weekend!

Last weekend I flew to Mpls, had a great time with everyone and saw Lindsey graduate! Then I flew back here on Sunday night and left for Reno on Tuesday to hang out with the Michael and Adrienne on the West coast! We hit up San Fran and went to the ROCK and it was a great trip! Working again and teaching and looking forward to a couple days of nothing! Hope all is well and I will talk w.you all soon! Much Love! Me

Warm weather coming your way!

Hello everyone, I am heading out to Mpls TOMORROW!

Can't wait to be home for a while so if you get the chance,

drop me a line or give me a ring!

Hope all is well today and I will talk w.you all later!

Today it is about 81 degrees!

Just wanted to share some pictures of Orca...

Orca spends most of his time laying out

and enjoys the sun.

He runs you over to get outside!

It is like camp all year round!

He is a regular west coast cat soaking up the sun!

King of the house and the boys love having him!

Today is Friday and I am ready to go home for a little R & R.

Lindsey graduates with her LPN and we are going

to meet up with friends in Minneapolis and enjoy

those I have missed talking to. If you get the chance,

come and hang out! Call my cell, I fly in May 10th to the 14th.

Happy Friday!!!

The waves roll in over the rocks...

This was a beautiful day at the beach and it was only February!

Any time I find a moment in my schedule I take the

50 minute drive to the ocean and just relax and enjoy.

It never gets old and I am amazed by the view every time.

Hello from the Ocean!

I wanted to share some of my recent pictures of a trip to the ocean...

I live less then an hour to this BEAUTIFUL spot and I am loving it!

The tide at Salmon Creek Beach in Bodega Bay, CA.

Bodega Bay off the Coast of Hwy 1 in Northern California

Sarah and I enjoying the sun and waves.

Sarah taking on the waves!

Good Morning Everyone!!!!


This is my new way of staying in touch with everyone and you can hear about what I am doing out here in beautiful California!! I will try and update this as much as possible and maybe you can create your own blog so I can also see what is going on in your world.

Hope all is well and keep on the look out for upcoming blogs about what I am up to!

Much love and Miss you all!!!


CHEERS!
Liz