Texas Choral Directors Association - TCDA

This past weekend I went to San Antonio, TX for the Texas Choral Directors Association Convention.  I was invited to this convention to conduct a piece of music, nominated by my conducting teacher at school, Dr. Allen Hightower.  I was also selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship from TCDA for school.

My experiences this past weekend were plentiful!  I got to work with two great conducting coaches, Dr. Jerry McCoy from University of North Texas and Dr. Richard Bjella from Texas Tech University.  Also, I met many choir teachers and made great connections with them.

At the convention, John Rutter was asked to come and do 2 workshops on his music.  If you don't know John Rutter.....well, you're crazy!  He is a very famous composer from the UK.  He has worked with many of the best choirs, voices, conductors, and other composers throughout his lifetime.  We got time to sightread some of his music and hear his stories of life.

Friday night I received my scholarship from Bob Horton, past president of TCDA and also our camp manager for the choir camps we did at SHSU this summer (the ones I worked).  Bob and I have become great friends!  In the scholarship speech he wrote, he quoted one of my teacher's recommendations, saying that I was "the most mature student he has ever taught" and quoted my essay I submitted saying "that music has always been my passion.  I want to inspire others as I have been inspired."  It was truly touching!!

Here are some of my pics from my adventures!!

Me on the Riverwalk

 Me and my high school choir director, Margaret Miller...she treated me to lunch one day

 

Me and Rick Bjella, my conducting coach
Not pictured....Carl Braden, my fabulous accompanist!!

Me and Bob Horton

John Rutter presenting at one of his workshops

Me conducting my piece, Sinner Man (fast paced men's piece)

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Oh yeah.......

REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!!!

RAGBRAI 2010

The RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa)
started this past week sponsored by the Des Moines Register newspaper.

On Monday, over 10,000 bicycles were within a few miles of Pomeroy.
We did see "quite a few" visit the town's restaurant, museums and bar.

Below is a photo of the hoard of bicycles leaving Storm Lake early on Monday morning,
on their way to spend the night camping in Algona.

For more info about this annual event see the following website - http://ragbrai.com/

Hotel la Kuklenz

Here is a funny email I got from Jill & Josh on their recent visit to our house:
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Dear Management of Hotel la Kuklenz,

After several stays at this marvelous resort\bed & breakfast, I am writing this letter sadly with disappointment during our last stay. Starting with what seemed to be security issues when we first arrived, it was hard to make a fun filled weekend when safety has been called into question. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the weekend. Upon finely getting to sleep (with a knife in hand) we awoke to no sounds or smells of breakfast brewing in the kitchen like in past visits. We were dually disappointed when forced to go to the store and purchase our own doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. After eating such an unhealthy meal we thought we would enjoy a nice day by the pool. But when we walked outside we found the yard overrun with weeds and the pool full of yellow algae. Luckily we are young, ambitious guests so we took some time from our relaxing weekend to weed the area, scrub the pool, and after some coaxing from a member of the hotel staff (over the phone) we even went and bought chlorine tablets for the pool. After an eventful morning, it was time for lunch so we grilled our lunch, not even comparable to Chef Doug’s creations. Now that we had regained our energy, we were able to enjoy the afternoon by the pool and a movie in the new entertainment room... we must say the new TV is a big hit and things started to feel like old times. Sunday it was back to disappointment when we awoke to no breakfast (again) and soon realized WE were responsible for clean up and prepping the hotel for its next guests! Overall the place was in great condition, excluding the pool.

We would like to say thanks for the invitation and hopefully our next visit will live up to our previous expectations.

P.S. You need a new dryer!

Josh & Jill

Where, Oh Where, is Debbie?

Sunday afternoon, Mom and I went to Humboldt to see Debbie one last time before I head back to Texas. We went to the group home and knocked on her door. No answer! But another resident told us she was working a booth at the Humboldt County fairgrounds.

We left and went to Hardees for lunch. Called Debbie again. No answer! Then we proceeded to the fairgrounds. We checked all the food buildings, the carnival area, the bingo hall and many of the other buildings (Horticulture, FHA/FFA, vendor buildings). No Debbie!

Ok, Plan B - We went to Pamida to get a few items and then we'd get some ice cream at the Dairy Queen before leaving town. After shopping in Pamida, mom thought she saw someone on a bike go around the HyVee store. We headed over towards HyVee...WALAA!!!

THERE'S DEBBIE!!!

We almost had to run her over to get her attention. We told her we were going for ice cream and she jumped at the chance for ice cream and pop. So we visited and she told us some "good ones".
You'll have to ask for the stories!

Below are some photos from the Humboldt County Fair.

Wood carving in progress.

Isn't he cute?

I even got to see a tractor pull Doug!

A kiddie tractor pull, that is!

Visiting the other Janssen Family

Last night we were headed to a birthday party at David & Linda's; but we decided to stop at Martin & Mary's to see Kelsey's new pony. Martin & Mary were already home from the birthday party, so we stopped and visited a while.

Kelsey and her new pony, Daisy.

Kelsey and Daisy

Tammy and Kelsey

Ihnen Family Reunion

Today, we went to Elberts Park in Pocahontas and visited with many relatives on my dad's mother's side of the family (IHNEN). This is a photo of Martha Ihnen's relatives at the reunion potluck event.

Pictured in this photo: Wilbert Janssen, Dorothy Janssen, Mary Janssen, Courtney Janssen,
Martin Janssen, Tammy Janssen, Kelsey Janssen & me.

Click here for the link to all the reunion photos.

Mom's appt with the urologist

Today, mom went to see the urologist.
Her urinalysis was clear (no sign of infection - Hip Hip Hooray!)
They tested her kidney function (creatinine level). Her level today was 1.3
The normal range for females is 0.5 - 1.1
In the doctor's office, last week her creatinine level was 2.0
In the hospital it was 1.7

Her kidneys are functioning just outside the normal values. Severe kidney function would have a lab value >= 10; requirig dialysis or kidney transplantation. She is a long way off from that. If she continues her maintenance dose of antibiotics, along with proper hydration (at least one dose of citrus juice per day - like cranberry or orange juice) along with frequent urination breaks this should alleviate the possibility of a severe bacterial infection.

TCDA Scholarship

Jackie called me yesterday and told me she was notified that she is the receipient of one of the six 2010 Student Scholarships of $1,000.

Jackie will be awarded the scholarship at the TCDA convention in San Antonio later this month.
(July 28 - July 31) Jackie has previously been selected as one of 18 college students in Texas to study under one of the guest conductors and then perform a piece for the convention floor.

In addition, she was awarded $200 towards her travel expenses to this upcoming event.

Congratulations Jackie!

For more information on TCDA - Click here

MOM Update

Dad & I went with mom to her doctor appt with her primary care physician.

I monopolized a bunch of his time. He has decided to stop her fluid pill (HCTZ) and have me monitor her blood pressure. He also has started her on something for depression (Zoloft) and increased her Clonozepam to 1.0mg for her anxiety.

She had some labwork done today. Checking her potassium level, to see if she needs any potassium supplements. No results on that yet. Tomorrow we will go to Wally World and pick up her new meds.

A followup appt with the urologist is next Monday, July 19th.
A 2 week follow-up appt is scheduled with the primary care physician on Tuesday, July 27th to see how all the medication changes are working out.

I will be staying for a couple more weeks, until her follow-up appt.
Doug will be leaving for a trip to the Domican Republic, flying out of DSM. That way he will return to DSM and at that time we should be able to start our drive back south.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Home Again, Home Again

Well it sounds like mom will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

We will be working on a family plan, to see if we can keep mom out of the hospital for a while.

ICU Day 2 - Tuesday, July 6th

11:00 am: I spoke with the ICU RN. Mom has returned from having her CT Scan. There were no abnormal findings. The bowels, pancreas and all other organs are all in tact. They have discontinued her dopamine and her blood pressure has remained up. Currently is 140/80.
They believe she had a severe case of dehydration and that the white blood cells and red blood cells were so thick & concentrated that they were abnormal. All of the labs have been repeated for a second time and have remained closer to normal.

She has been moved from ICU to the Med/Surg floor and is currently in Room #271
The main phone number for the hospital is: 515-573-3101
Here is a link to send a Cheer Card
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7:30am: I spoke with the RN this morning. Mom's blood pressure, during the night was about 80/50. They did give mom some medicine in the middle of the night, to raise her blood pressure. The blood pressure at 6:20am was 117/61. This also increased her urine output. Her labs this morning were better, but he said they are running fluids in her wide open and that the blood is so diluted that the test results are not really accurate.

She is scheduled to have her abdominal CT scan at 9:30am and if there is something emergent, we will know right away. If not it could be up to six hours before we have the results.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers and phone calls.

ICU - RN Update

I just spoke with the ICU/CCU nurse assigned to mom until 7am. He states mom has sepsis, an acute inflammation throughout her entire body. She is currently on Vancomycin. They have had trouble starting a second IV line, so she will have a PIC line inserted tomorrow morning. She will also have an abdominal CT scan to find the source of her infection. They are thinking it is either the bowels or the pancreas.

The Chest xray that was done earlier in the day was clear, no pneumonia; but signs of acute respiratory distress. She has a sinus infection and a urinary tract infection. Additional tests recently ordered were blood cultures, urine cultures, pancreatic enzymes,heart enzymes and serum lactate. Her serum lactate was 3.8. If the serum lactate is over 2, then the major organs (lungs, brain, kidneys, liver and heart) are shutting down.

The nursing staff goal for tonight is to keep an eye on her blood pressure. It is currently 107/61 and her heart rate is 82. He said not to be alarmed if they have to give her something during the night to keep her blood pressure up.

Mom Admitted to ICU

Just wanted to let you know that the doctor states mom has two types of infection going on. One is a bladder/kidney infection. The other infection is unknown. She currently has an elevated white blood cell count (WBC). Her WBC is 28,300 - Normal is 4,500-10,000.

She has been admitted to ICU and they will run some blood cultures to get a better handle on her condition.

She has had 2 bags of IV solution and her friend, Norma, states her color is better and she is talking (bossing Willie around)..that's a good sign. They did start a second IV line, in case the current access point, shuts down. A chest xray has been done, no results yet. She's getting ready to get a catheter put in so the nursing staff can monitor her urine output.

Her pulse is still very weak, averaging about 40 beats per minute.

I plan on calling the ICU floor and speaking to mom's nurse, after she has more tests and is settled on the floor.

More news later.
To send Cheer Cards:http://www.trmc.org/send-a-card.cfm

Trinity Regional Medical Center
802 Kenyon Road
ICU - Room 4
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
1-515-573-3101

Another Trip to the Hospital

My mom has still been sick.

Dad called around lunch time and said she was sick. Vomiting, stomach ache, diarrhea and cold/clammy skin. Other friends had been sick with the flu. I told him to watch for signs and symptoms of dehydration and that she should be seen if she got weaker/sicker.

Later in the day, he called back to say she was even weaker and could not stand. He called over a family friend to help get her dressed as he was going to take her to the hospital. She collapsed at the door. Dad called 911 and the ambulance came. They started an IV and oxygen and took her to Fort Dodge's Trinity Regional Hospital.

I don't know any more than that at this time. Your prayers are requested at this time for healing.

Rockin' Around the Clock today

Monday morning, Josh came downstairs in his work clothes and told Jill "I thought we were going to be doing rock today". So Doug & Josh researched who to rent a truck from (Lowes, Home Depot or Uhaul).

Before Photo

Josh hauling rock, after all it was HIS idea!
1 yard of rock in the Uhaul trailer

After Photo

1 yard of pea rock: $66.00
1 day rental of Uhaul trailer: $29.95
Doug & Josh's hard work: Priceless

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July America!
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!" 2 Cor. 3:17.

Jackie, Karl, Jill & Josh were here for the weekend.

Saturday, we did a family "secret - covert" project for the Kuklenz Christmas party scheduled to be here in December of 2010.
That's right we are thinking of Christmas in July!!

Today, we went to church and then had brunch.

The girls went to the Allen Premium Outlet Center for some shopping therapy.

Karl got a driving lesson in the mustang in preparation for the delivery of his Camaro later this month. Doug mowed the yard and then Josh & Doug trimmed the palm trees.

Tonight it's hamburgers on the grill, with corn on the cob, baked beans, watermelon and homemade coleslaw.
Carrot cake, chocolate pie or ice cream for dessert.

Hope you all get to enjoy some fireworks in your community!

Hurricane Alex

Texas is spared a direct hit from Hurricane Alex as it came ashore in Northeast Mexico. The rain bands are now moving into Texas. According to the weather reports here, we are expected to see isolated, scattered thunderstorms from Thursday through Sunday. The main threat as the hurricane begins to fall apart over land, is tornadoes which could last a day or two according to hurricane center meterologist Chris Landsea.

Hurricane Alex has now been downgraded to a Category 2 Tropical Storm upon landfall with sustained winds of 105 mph in Mexico and 66 mph winds in near Brownsville,TX.