I am putting a twist on the "7random" post that everyone is doing these days. Since it took so long to get to this post after being tagged by a million people, I am going to go all out and tell ya seven adventures I’ve had that were pretty scary at the time….
1. Once in the middle of winter when I was 16 years old, my friend Amy and I went out with our friends, Keith and Eric. She had a 12 am curfew and lived on the opposite side of the lake from where we happened to be and we only had about 5 minutes to make her curfew. We were near a boat launch and Keith got this great idea that we would "take a short cut" across the lake….in the car! I thought he was kidding until we found ourselves on the ice. We got about half way across the lake when the piece of crap car keith was driving got STUCK in the snow. Like majorly STUCK. It was freezing A$$ out, this was before the days of cell phones, and we were SOL. We tried rocking that dang car to get it unstuck, but no such luck. We walked around the lake, knocking on fish shacks to see if anyone was around to help us. No luck. We knew we were in trouble in more ways than one. About 30-45 minutes after we got out on the lake, a miracle happened. A huge truck happened to appear about 1/4 mile away…we were able to flag the fishermen who were driving it down and they somehow helped us get unstuck. We made it back to Amy’s house over an hour late, frozen to the bone. Thank GOD she had a huge hot tub that we could all warm up in. I have been terrified to drive out ont he ice ever since then. How stupid was that idea!!!?? Do you remember that Keith? I know you’re reading :)
2. Speaking of Keith, we used to hang out and get in all sorts of adventures together…. how about another time when we were 16…..the entire Sauer clan (that means all the aunts, uncles and cousins) stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown St Paul for a family get together. The weekend we were staying there also happned to be right before my 16th birthday and was taking place during the St Paul Winter Carnival, so my dad let me invite a few friends to come hang out at the hotel pool, etc. There were at least a million people staying in the hotel that weekend, including the entire Winter Carnival Royalty. To make a long story short, my friends Keith, Amy and Eric were sitting in the sauna and I was just about to go in the sauna too. Well keith was just messing around "pretending" he was going to punch the little glass window in the sauna door. Unfortunately he slipped on some water that was right in front of the door and put his fist right through, with me standing right in front of the door on the other side. Not only did Keith cut the fu*k out of his entire hand, I had pieces of glass embedded in my face and all over my chest and stomach and arms, each with trickles of blood flowing down my body. It must’ve looked really bad! I didn’t dare move for risk of cutting my feet up on the glass that was everywhere, so i stood there until help could come clean the glass up. The hotel managment thought I was one of the carnival princesses and was tring to find my "chaperone". Moral of that story…don’t ever even pretend to put your fist through a window because it really sucks when it happens!
3. One year while on spring break in Cancun, my friends Kim, Katy and Laura and I went on an excursion called the Jungle Tour. They put us on these old-school (like 20 years old) giant 2-person jetskis that we would drive across the ocean to a coral reef where we would then snorkle. So I am driving the machine and Kim is on the back of it with me. I had never driven one of these effin things before and it happened to be a very windy day and the swells were like 4 feet high. Every time we would gain speed we would crash into a wave and go all slow again. Well this was a pretty scary experience…..we were with a guided group, but ended up being very far behind the rest, to the point that we couldn’t see them anymore. So we are trying to catch up and I am holding on the the steering wheel for dear life because there was NO WAY I was trying to fall off in the middle of the ocean. So we hit the biggest wave ever and then the jetski suddenly stopped. I was like, omg kim, that was scary. Then I realized Kim was no longer behind me. OMG, where is KIM???? KIMMY!!! I am in the middle of the ocean, waves 4 feet high and I cannot see my best friend anywhere. The killswitch had been attached to her so when she fell off, the jetski killed. I was stuck and could not go anywhere, just bouncing in the waves looking for Kim, hoping I would find her before the hungry sharks did. I saw her head bouncing up and down about 50 yards away, but I could not paddle the large jetski in the waves with just my arms. It was terrifying for me, imagine how Kim felt! Finally I got to her. We ended up waiting on the jetski until the tour guide realized we were missing and had to come back looking for us. This incident has caused a deep fear of large waves and small boats for me. I haven’t ridden a jetski since and I will never again do so in the ocean.
4. One time in 7th grade Bradie and I had the day off of school. I had slept at her house the night before and in the morning since we had no school, we walked a block to my house so I could take a shower and get dressed, with the plans to hang out and enjoy our day off of school. Unfortunately when we got to my house, all the doors were locked and no one was home. So I did what we sometimes had to do in this situation….crawl through the basement window. I let Bradie in the front door and then jumped in the shower. 5 minutes later Bradie come in the bathroom and was like, "The police are here". But she says it in a non-dramatic way so I told her to shut up and get out of the bathroom! A few minutes later she comes back in and says, "I am serious, krissy! The police are here and they want to talk to you. So I quickly get dressed and find a couple fo officers standing in my house, letting me know the neighbors had called the police about a break-in. They needed to verify that I did indeed live there. Despite the fact that my picture was all over the house, they needed to call my parents, who were extremely hard to track down that day. My dad had just started a new job and I didn’t know how to get ahold of him. Finally they did and my dad verified I was indeed his daughter, that I was NOT skipping school. But the whole thing pretty much sucked. I don’t think I ever broke in that way again!
5. Another story with Bradie…. One night when I was in 8th grade my parents went out for the night to the Whitney Houston concert, so I had some of my girlfriends over….Jessie, Jenny, Andrea and Amy were already at my house and Bradie and Chelsea were walking on their way over from Bradie’s house. Before Bradie and Chelsea got to my house, there was a knock on my bedroom window. I looked out and no one was there. It wasn’t for about 5-10 minutes that Bradie and Chelsea showed up. I was like" Thanks for knocking on the window, real funny!" Bradie swore that she didn’t do it, but I didn’t believe her because she liked to prank me every once in awhile. So we were all hanging out for a few hours and then later Chelsea’s mom had to come pick her up. We were all sitting in the living room watching out the picture window for Cheslea’s mom, when out of the bush on the side of the house come two men wearing all black with black ski masks on. We screamed bloody murder and the men ran across the yard and scaled the fence. Amy’s dad was a sheriff so she called him right away and he came over in his squad. They combed the neighborhood but never found anyone. Luckily he stayed until my parents came home late that night. I was scared out of my mind for weeks!!! A few weeks later some weird creepy kid who lived in my neighborhood called me out of the blue and confessed that he had been watching me in my back yard on several occasions and that it was him and a friend that night.
6. One time back when I was in college I went camping with Lanee, Kim, Sonja, Danielle and a few other friends. We were at Willow River State Park in east central MN, a very secluded campground with very few other campers that weekend. There weren’t any bathroom facilities anywhere, just a water pump an an outhouse several hundred feet from our campsite. So late one night Lanee and I walked to the pump to brush our teeth before going to bed…it was pitch-black out and we had but a measley little flashlight with us. We had just finished at the waterpump when we heard movement in the woods right next to us and then we a flash of something white- something big….I screamed bloody murder and then ran as fast as I could back to the campsite, Lanee following me. I didn’t dare turn around to see what was chasing us, but I just knew it was either Bigfoot, a bear or worse…a psychopath who was lurking in the woods watching us (yes, I have a great imagination!). Some of the guys went to investigate and saw a large patch of grass that had been matted down from whatever creature (probably just a deer) had been laying there. I don’t know who was more scared, me or the deer, but its a miracle I didn’t PIMP!!!
7. Speaking of PIMP, I will admit about the last time it ever happened to me. I was a 7th grader and it was fall, so it was dark really early. A week or two earlier, Jacob Wetterling, a boy who lived about an hour and a half north of the Twin Cities, was abducted while walking down the street with his brother and friend. The thought of being kidnapped scared the crap outta me, and since they never found out who did it or ever found Jacob for that matter (still no word on him 18 years later), the kidnapper was still at large. I was walking home from Bradie’s house with my friend Tracy, when a car that was driving behind us suddenly started slowing down, then stopped behind us. As we walked a little further, the car would again move a little further then stop. After this happened halfway down the block, Tracy and I just KNEW that is was the kidnapper and that he was coming to get us. I was scared for my life as I ran through the backyards to get to my house. And yes, I PIMP I was so scared. Turns out our kidnapper was really just the evening newspaper delivery man, but he sure scared the piss out of me!!! Literally.
So there ya have it ;) A few random adventures in the life of kristi.
I hope you enjoyed that…it took forever to type! LOL
Does that count as two days worth of posts or what??!! Oh shoot, tomorrow is Thoughts for Thursday. I’ll be back!






















































































































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I’ll start it off. I wanted to put a list of books on the side of my blog like you have, and was wondering how to do it? Is it something that can be done on blogger? I don’t think this was the type of question you were thinking of, but hey, that’s me! I also wanted to know where you do your shopping? You always have the cutest clothes!
Posted by: Jessica | May 09, 2007 at 01:40 PM
Thanks for your questions, Jess. As for the books that are displayed on my sidebar, Typepad has templates that allow users to simply put in the ISBN # from Amazon and the image of the book, title and author info is automatically displayed. Not a Typepad user? No problemo…there is some html code that you can use to do the same thing (although it is a lot more work). This is the code: to link an image with a website: <a href="SiteURL"><img src="ImageURL" border="0"></a> (where SiteURL = the site you are connecting to, and ImageURL is the image file.)
Oh, and I do pretty much all my clothes shopping at Fashion Bug. I hate the mall so I avoid it whenever possible! I am not into name-brand fashion or spending a ton of $$ on clothes, so I buy what I think is cute and fits!!
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Posted by: Kirsten | May 09, 2007 at 04:29 PM
Thats a tough one, because I can envision myself living in many different places. As much as I want to travel and see the world, I don’t think I’d want to live outside the US. Well, Canada would be really cool too…preferably BC. You know, for most of my life I wanted to live in Tucson, AZ. I lived there for the winter during my senior year of college (98-99) and had a job lined up to teach special education in Nogales, AZ once I graduated. I absolutely loved AZ, but I had to come back to MN to graduate that spring. I had planned to move back to AZ at the end of the summer, but the closer it got to moving, the more reasons I had to stay right here in the Twin Cities!! Its a long story but I have never regretted my decision. At some point in the future I can see myself having dual-residences or moving somewhere on the west coast.
How many books do you read in a given month? Have you ever made a list of all the books you read in one year? Or the ones you plan on reading within a specific self-imposed period of time?
Posted by: Maria | May 10, 2007 at 02:26 AM
Hey Maria, great question about the books! I’ve maintained a reading log for about the last 8 years that I’ve been teaching. Our district has a 25-books-a-year reading campaign for all students and staff, so we are all encouraged to keep a log. For the past two years that I have been blogging, I have been able to keep a visual record right here on my site. I still love to read, but I have to admit that I don’t set time aside for it like I used to. I spend way more time on my laptop. I still average 2-3 books per month.
Oh and I got just one more, if you had to pick just one book as your all time favorite, which one would it be and why?
Posted by: Maria | May 10, 2007 at 02:29 AM
Not a fair question to ask a bookworm to pick just one book, so I’ll tell you a few of my favorites: Memoirs of a Geisha, Davinci Code, The Time Traveler’s Wife, and Tenth Circle. I also love Harry Potter :)
Totally Totally TOtally cool!! I’m copying this. Ok… my question… hmm…
1) If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
Posted by: Nicole Barczak | May 10, 2007 at 06:37 AM
I am not a person who dwells on the "could’ve been’s" or anything, but I seriously wonder if maybe I should’ve gone to college to do something other than teaching. I enjoy what I do for the most part and I believe I am pretty good at it, but it is more difficult than non-teachers could ever comprehend. I think I could be great at just about anything I wanted to do. Other than that, I am pretty satisfied with who I am and what I have done.
What’s your favorite kitchen gadget?
Posted by: Jennifer | May 10, 2007 at 08:33 AM
The toaster oven. We use ours almost daily, not just for toasting! Its a fabulous way to re-heat leftovers :) I can’t believe that some people still don’t have one?! I know that is more of an appliance, but I am not a gadgety-type of person in the kitchen
If money was NO object, what is the ONE thing you would like to do?
Posted by: Adrienne | May 10, 2007 at 08:33 AM
TRAVEL. I’d go to all the cool places I’ve seen, heard or read about.
Where do you find the time to do all this and still always look so pretty?
No, seriously, I’m busy but I ain’t pretty.
Posted by: simone | May 10, 2007 at 09:56 AM
Simone, you are so sweet for saying that I am pretty! Thank you :) The truth is that it takes me about 10 minutes to apply my makeup and approximately another 5-10 minutes to do my hair. Easy schmeasy
What are you doing this summer?
(hope I could ask two)
I am hoping I get called to teach summer school, but if not, I will need to find some type of job. I would also love to go on a trip….just got my passport last week!! My days are usually spent in the pool or out on the lake, nights dining out, going to concerts, etc. I am especially looking forward to not having to have knee surgery like I did last summer. Never take your mobility for granted!
Posted by: simone | May 10, 2007 at 09:58 AM
How did your TMJ and surgery manifest itself?
I got braces when I was 14 and once they started to straighten my teeth, we realized that I had a significant overbite. The options were to wear head-gear 24/7 for the next few years or have surgery to pull my lower jaw forward. The thought of looking like the chick wearing head-gear in Sixteen Candles made me opt for the surgery. It sucked, majorly. I had to have my mouth wired shut for weeks, so couldn’t eat anything that couldn’t be passed through a plastic syringe to the back of my mouth. I lost feeling in my lower lip and chin and to this day I am still numb and drool at times or get food on my face!!
Approximately how many LO do you do a month?
Boy, that all depends on the month! I have more time do work on layouts in the summer when I am only working part-time. On average, I would say 6 double-pagers.
Posted by: Oscar T. Grouch | May 10, 2007 at 03:28 PM
What inspired you to become a teacher?
Posted by: Rolana | May 10, 2007 at 08:51 PM
Up until the time I was 16, I had aspirations to become a Doctor (my mom planted the idea in my head on the day I was born and I let it grow for many years). Then during my junior year of high school I took a class working with severely challenged students in the special ed school that was attached to our high school. I enjoyed working with those kids so much, I volunteered for additional time every day. It was at that time that I decided I wanted to be a special ed teacher. I continued to work with behavioral/mentally challenged kids throughout high school and college, but it was the toughest job! (I actually have enough horror stories to write a book of my experiences, but I have tried to repress those memories). I decided I would get licensed to teach kids with learning disabilities instead of the severe kids. I taught for only one year before going back to get my Masters degree in Gifted Education. I prefer the smart ones :)
Would you like to have kids one day?
Posted by: Rolana | May 10, 2007 at 08:51 PM
Yes, but I can’t imagine being a teacher AND being a parent. Kids overstimulate me!!!!!
What is the one thing in the world that really irritates you?
Posted by: Rolana | May 10, 2007 at 08:53 PM
I don’t get irritated that easy, but I guess I am personally the most irritated when people lie. Oh, and I get irritated on the road quite easily!!!
What’s your favorite beauty product or secret that you’d like to share with your blog readers?
Posted by: Rolana | May 10, 2007 at 08:53 PM
Ummm, my only real beauty secret is make-up.
Do you eat cereal? And, if so, what’s your favorite kind? LOL But seriously, answer the question.
Posted by: LesleMora | May 10, 2007 at 11:12 PM
Yes I eat cereal…it is one of my favorite foods! If all else fails, cereal always hits the spot. I grew up on the non-sugar variety such as Cheerios, Kix, Crispix and Raisin Bran. My favorites today are Honey Bunches of Oats, Basic 4 and Frosted Flakes! I also like Captain Crunch Berries, but only buy those maybe once a year.
Oh, and I forgot to ask . . . How do you like my new blog name, casadelesle . com? I hope you like it, ‘cuz I’ve already bought it. =:-O
Posted by: LesleMora | May 10, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Very cool name, Lesle!!! Its great to have your own domain name :)
What store do you shop at the most? (For clothes)
Posted by: Julie | May 11, 2007 at 09:32 AM
Fashion Bug :)
Well, I wasn’t going to comment on this one until I had a really good question, but this one now comes to mind! When are you coming to Chicago for a visit? Don’t you like us??? It’s been a while since you were here! :)
Posted by: Dana | May 11, 2007 at 03:30 PM
Dana!! Yes we still like you, silly!!!! Since I don’t have much to do this summer, I can come to Chicago just about any time! I just have to talk to E and to Uncle and find out when it would be cool to come. Any special events I should plan around?
Can we do Sushi when I get home?? Oh and how ’bout this one….If you could have one super power, what would it be? (thats from Blake LOL)
Posted by: Jessie | May 15, 2007 at 12:03 PM
Jessie!!! 16 days and counting until you and the kids come home!!! Yes, we can go have sushi :) Bradie, Dana and I also want to plan a girls dinner to El Alamancer on the Wesssssssssssst Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiide in your honor. Maybe the 1st week of June if you feel settled enough ;)
If I could have any super power, I would want to be able to Teleport myself anywhere in the world instantaneously. I would have lunch in a different country every day of the year!!!
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That was fun :)