December 29, 2006 - Serena
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures are up!
We had a great time back in La Crosse. The day of December 24th, we met some of my friends from high school for lunch at Fayzee's.
We spent Christmas Eve with my parents, sister, and Grandparents Underdahl, and then with Scott's parents, brothers, and Grandparents Von Ruden.
On Christmas Day, we went out for brunch to the Three Rivers Lodge with my family. Later, we went to Scott's Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Paul's home to spend the day with the Galstad side of the family. We also went out to the Mullaney's house for a bit, but I don't have any pictures of that.
December 27, 2006 - Scott
Tip: If you are shaving your face and your nose itches, don't use the razor to scratch it.
December 22, 2006 - Serena
Odessa had her two month well baby visit today. She's topping the scales at 11 pounds, 4 ounces with her chubby little tree trunk legs. Odessa is now 23.5 inches long, too.
Unfortuately for us all, today Odessa had to get three shots. She turned beet red and cried the saddest cry we've ever heard. Scott and I started to tear up, too. At least she was easily comforted when I picked her up.
Since her immunizations, she's been a little sleepy and febrile, but very sweet. She's taken little naps with both Scott and me. Right now we are listening to our Slim Jim tape from my parents. "Oh, Nikolina!"
December 15, 2006 - Serena
Today marks seven years that Scott and I have been together. I remember back to December 15, 2000 when we were celebrating our first anniversary. I was finishing my first and only semester at the College of St. Benedict and Scott was at UW-Madison. I never would have thought that six years later we'd both be living in Madison with a beautiful daughter after having spent two years in Alaska.
To celebrate, here's a picture of us from the first summer we were dating. Yes, that's the Triple Shine wash at the Car Wash across from KFC in La Crosse.
December 15, 2006 - Scott
As expected, there was significant aurora last night. Unfortunately, here in Madison, there was also significant cloud cover. I could see the lights dancing behind the clouds. I saw red color brighter than I had seen before. I can only imagine how nice it would have looked if the sky was clear. With continued activity and another X-flare from the sun, we may get another chance. Here are three pictures from last night.
December 13, 2006 - Scott
Here are some pictures of Odessa. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some pictures of aurora and/or Geminids.
December 12, 2006 - Scott
I got a parking ticket yesterday.
I don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, but I assume this parking ticket is like any other, and I owe the city of Madison $30. Well. There is one problem with this ticket.
I got the ticket for parking in my underground parking space. The one that has my apartment number spray painted in front of it. The one that I pay $20 a month to use. And the one for which I have a permit prominently displayed in my rear window as instructed.
So, this Christmas, while we gather with family and exchange gifts and smiles, let us also remember how lucky we are. Because as we drown ourselves in holiday cheer, there are others out there who are not as fortunate. For example, this Christmas, somewhere in Madison a blind parking violation enforcer will sit, perhaps alone save for his or her seeing eye dog, wondering just what a decorated Christmas tree looks like.
Edit: That wasn't very politically correct, was it?
December 5, 2006 - Scott
It has come to my attention that a former coworker of Serena's basically thinks I'm a paragon of awesome. I think that's what she said. Those were probably her exact words. Tracy, I have to say, you were always my favorite of Serena's coworkers. Tracy. What a beautiful name. Let me ask you, how do you feel now that I, by writing about you here, have made you famous?
In other news, there was an X-flare today on the sun, the first since September of 2005. It won't affect Earth, but hopefully in a few days the sunspot will continue to be active as it turns to face us a bit more.
Odessa has been more talkative lately, but she is also becoming more difficult to deal with. At night time, usually starting at 8pm now, she is more frequently becoming inconsolable. It usually passes at around midnight.
Lastly, it is syzygy time. This weekend, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter will be closely aligned. I'm totally going to check that out.
November 30, 2006 - Scott
This page has gotten to be a bit too long. At some point, probably around the end of the year, I'm going to move a bunch of this crap. The 'ridiculous things' link, which I never really bothered to link to any pages, has been there as more of a placeholder for the upcoming re-emergence of an Old Stuff page. That's right, shortly this website will be far less ridiculous. So if you want to read any of that trash you should do it now. Or three weeks from now. But if you wait like, say, five weeks, you are totally out of luck. Or lucky. Depending on how you view it.
Also, I've uploaded a few pictures from our drive from Alaska to Wisconsin. It was a very long drive, slightly longer than our initial trip in the other direction, because Serena requested that we stop in Edmonton to go to the largest mall in North America.
The total driving on the way back was just a bit over 4500 miles, which we did in roughly six days, including one day of approximately 1400 miles. That day sucked. Of the 24 hours, 22 was spent driving while the other 2 were spent being detained (including a visit to a concrete interrogation room) at the border.
Saw a lot of moose, caribou, elk, and our first deer in years on the drive. We also saw a black bear. We had good weather for most of the drive, save for our stay in Edmonton where we witnessed our first thunderstorm since moving away.
Edmonton is a a neat place. That mall there sucked, but the city is fun. Confusing roads, though. By chance, there was some festival thing going on there the weekend we happened to be in town, so we checked that out. We also found our first(and only) international geocache in Edmonton.
While driving through the night somewhere in Manitoba, I looked to my left(north) and was quite surprised to see aurora hanging very prominently in the sky. I stopped the car to get a look and try to photograph it. However, I had shipped my 'aurora' lens home already so I only had a slow wide angle lens to work with. Plus I apparently didn't notice the tree right in front of me. And the aurora started to go away the second I got out of the car. On top of all of this, some idiot pilot had the audacity to fly a plane through my shot, which you can see below.
Anyway we made it to Wisconsin. Things I have noticed since moving back: Alaska is much cooler than Wisconsin.
Here are the pictures:
November 27, 2006 - Scott
Odessa finally puked on herself. It's about time. Of course, she also got my shirt, the couch, the pillow, and the carpet. But that's okay.
November 19, 2006 - Scott
Cloudy skies prevented us from viewing the Leonids last night. Anyway, here are a few Odessa pictures. Also, today she is one month old.
November 13, 2006 - Serena
This weekend Odessa met her Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Underdahl, Great Aunt Pam, and Great Uncle Jerry for the first time. Everybody came to Madison to celebrate Aunt Emily's college graduation this coming December. We went out to the Madison Club for supper on Saturday and then to The Edgewater for brunch on Sunday. It was a very nice time. I brought my camera, but forgot to take pictures. If I get copies of some, I will post them here.
November 13, 2006 - Scott
I have created a page for Odessa's photographs. You can find it as a specific gallery on the Images page, or by clicking here.
A few days ago I caught the slightest of glimpses of aurora from my balcony, thanks to a solar wind stream from a coronal hole. It was the first time I saw aurora since driving through Manitoba as we headed to Wisconsin.
Anyway, I will probably post all my aurora pictures up into a gallery at some point, too.
November 8, 2006 - Serena
Today we took Odessa to the zoo. She liked it as much as she liked voting yesterday. And by that I mean she slept through the whole thing again.
November 8, 2006 - Scott
Early in the morning on Thursday, Odessa will be three weeks old already. Spending time with her, we have gotten to know her a little bit.
Odessa's favorite activity is eating. When not eating, she spends her time either sleeping or crying, or else a bothersome combination of the two. Nothing bothers her except for an empty stomach. Yucky diapers, getting too hot, messy face, spitting up on herself, loud noises, nothing else seems to cause her any distress.
Her eyes appear to be turning blue, but no one knows how they will end up. She has a fondness for urinating on me. And spitting up on me. If you are changing her diapers and there happens to be some #2 in there, make sure you hold her feet at all times. If you fail to do this, she will stomp her feet in the mess and then happily flail about placing fecal footprints all over everything, including you. Sorry for the graphic imagery there, but 'fecal footprints' was too good to pass up.
She can lift her head up when she wants to, and, if calm, she will follow objects with her eyes. She can roll over on her own, and can propel herself a short distance by pushing with her feet. She has begun to vocalize at times, though it is still uncommon. They are our first hints at what her voice sounds like.
Most nights at around 9pm she is fussy. It can be hard to figure out just what in the world she wants at this time. This lasts up to around midnight or 1am usually. Other than these times, she is usually very easy to get along with.
I created a song for her called 'Everything You Got Good, You Got From Me'. It's got some lines in it like:
"Odessa I know that you are great,
You've me, not your mother, to thank,
My child, how smart I know you will be,
Because your father is me,"
Etc. You get the idea. I am pretty sure Serena isn't terribly fond of the song, though I can't fathom why. She should appreciate a father who wants to sing to his daughter. Also, I'm working on another song called 'If You Have to Pick Someone to Love, Pick Me(Not Her)'. It's not quite finished yet.
Here are a two pictures from a couple days ago. If she isn't swaddled, she moves around a lot while sleeping, often placing her hands above her head. I think she is dreaming that she is a moose.
November 7, 2006 - Serena
Odessa's first election day today. She went in to vote with her Daddy and slept through the whole thing.
November 4, 2006 - Serena
Odessa had her 2 week doctor's visit yesterday. She was a very well behaved baby for all the nurses and the doctor and waited to start crying up a storm until the appointment was over. She weighed 8 pounds and 2 ounces and appears perfectly healthy. We're not surprised she's gained over a pound in less than 2 weeks... she eats like a horse.
October 31, 2006 - Serena
Happy Halloween! Today Scott took some pictures of Odessa in her Halloween outfit from Grandma Von Ruden.
October 30, 2006 - Scott
A couple nights ago I went out to see if I could get a better image of Comet SWAN with a better lens and maybe less light pollution. Though, the lens I wanted to use was only marginally more appropriate. The comet was slightly fainter this time, but still easy to spot, right near the constellation Hercules.
However, the nearly first quarter moon, mixed with the high humidity which even produced fog, didn't help things. I was waiting for the moon to set to get a better shot, but then my batteries ran out. So, the few images I did get weren't much better than the other ones. But at least I labeled more in this one, so that should make it worth it.
Hercules is outlined, and globular cluster M13 is labeled. It contains several hundred thousand stars, and is around 25,000 light years away. It is actually about 145 light years across, which is pretty neat when you think about how small it looks.
Also, I think comets are awesome.
October 26, 2006 - Scott
I had been aware of Comet SWAN's existence for a few weeks. It had a magnitude of roughly 6.5 and, though this may be hard to believe, I didn't really feel all that compelled to go and find it.
However, yesterday I learned that it had unexpectedly brightened to around a 4.5, which makes it visible to the naked eye. After hearing that, I basically had no choice but to go out. Seriously. It was like the Heavens were gift wrapping it for me. I really had no choice in the matter.
Anyway, I found it right away. It glowed green in the sky, though I couldn't make out the tail on my own. I figure I was still too close to Madison and the light pollution plus the humidity was to blame.
I did attempt to take a picture of it, however I really didn't have the right lens with me. Also, novice astrophotography lesson #1: The more you zoom, the more apparent star trails become. So, my pictures kind of suck. And by kind of, I mean totally. Though, a very faint tail can be seen on the photograph.
If it is nice tonight, which it isn't supposed to be, I intend to try again with a better lens and more darkness.
October 25, 2006 - Scott
Here are some more pictures of Odessa. We think some of these are pretty good.
October 25, 2006 - Scott
I have been thinking about things lately. A week ago today, at around 2pm, Serena called to inform me of
her strong contractions. Twelve hours after that, we met Odessa. And since then, I've been thinking.
While Serena was pregnant, I prayed for our child and her mother to be healthy. That's all I cared about, and I
really cared about it. I hoped and hoped that whatever happened, they would be healthy. And
she appears to be so. With all that can go wrong, with all of the intricacies and complexities of the
human body, it seems to be a miracle that she is healthy. She's technically not lucky, since most babies
are born healthy, but... still, she's lucky. And even beyond health, she has no idea how lucky she is.
Basically what I've been thinking about is just how good a mother she has. While still pregnant, Serena
would confide in me that she was afraid she wouldn't love her baby. She was afraid that she wouldn't be
able to talk to the baby, that she wouldn't know what to say. And then there was me: I had no problem
talking to the baby, I spent her entire pregnancy yapping at her belly. She found it difficult to talk to
the baby as I did, and was concerned that she wouldn't connect with her child when she was out either.
When we got to the hospital, things moved so quickly. We never got set in. All the things that we
learned in our birth classes to deal with contractions and such in the early phase of labor were of no
use. She began pushing shortly after we got there.
My wife is a complainer. She complains about pretty much everything, as she will readily admit. It is
something we make jokes about. She's kind of a big baby. She is also very sensitive to pain.
She pushed for three hours and forty minutes, with no pain medicine at all. She is normally a quiet
person (I'm speaking about volume, here. Don't make the mistake of thinking I am suggesting she doesn't
speak much. Goodness, if only.). She's never even yelled at me. It was very difficult to watch her
scream with pain, and there was nothing I could do to make it easier on her. Here I was, the dopey
husband, relegated to feeding her ice chips and rubbing her skin with cool washcloths. I felt pretty
useless.
Despite how much it hurt her, she was so determined to meet her baby that she just pushed and pushed and
pushed. She never took a break. Even after her contraction ended, she would still be pushing. And the
rhythm of her contractions gave her no rest. They came, like clockwork, every two and a half minutes, and
each one lasted about a minute and thirty seconds, leaving her roughly a single minute of rest in between.
Even as she tore her skin (suffering third degree tears), still with no pain medicine, she kept pushing.
I really don't think I would have had the determination or willpower to be able to do what she did. The
baby finally came out, and the doctor plopped her right on her mother's belly. Serena scooped the
vernix-lathered baby in her arms, held her, and instantly became a mom.
Even after everything she went through, all she could think about was how to comfort the baby. "It's all
right, it's all right," she would say, followed by an understanding "I know, I know, me too. Me too."
Her fears about not being able to connect with her daughter were, of course, unfounded. She immediately
bonded with her baby. It was quite moving to watch.
Speaking of moving, even after the baby came out I was pretty useless. All I could do was cry and shake,
for around two hours. But I will never forget what it was like to watch Serena hold her for the first
time.
And then, four days later, she goes back to school. I know that all she wants to do is to stay at home
and cuddle the baby all day. I know it was very hard for her to go back. But she did it, and she
complained about it far less than I expected. This is because, as she later told me, that she is doing
this for Odessa.
Yesterday she was at school from 8:30am to 5:30pm, including a three hour lab. She didn't have to go back
that soon, she was certainly under no pressure from me. A lot of people expressed shock that she was back
at it so fast, but I am not shocked. One thing about her, and both of us, is that we really believe we
can do anything we want, even if other people might not understand or agree.
I dropped out of college, which, contrary to what many people might be thinking, was not the easy road
out. It was the hardest decision I have made, and I know that I am thought poorly of for this choice by
many. But I thought it was the right choice, and I made it. Serena and I decided to have a small, casual
wedding, outdoors, outside of the Church, and we wanted no reception of any kind. This caused a lot of
problems which hurt her, especially with her parents, but we did not give in. We decided to move to
Alaska, though this would cause us much emotional and financial hardship. It ended up being more
rewarding than either of us can express.
So when she says she wants to be a pharmacist and have a baby, I know that there's going to be nothing
that will get in her way. It is not surprising to me that she is already back at school. I am making
sure that she is not overextending herself. I drop her off at her classes and limit how much she can
carry in her backpack. At her request, I will make her lunches. At home, I will keep the apartment
clean, keep all of us fed, and will do any unpleasant task regarding our new baby. Even doing this, it
would be delusional to claim that our workloads are anywhere near equal.
Serena is a complainer. But she is also hard working, the toughest person I know, and the most loving person
I know. I wonder if Odessa will ever understand just how lucky she is to have her.
October 23, 2006 - Scott
Here are some pictures from her first bath at home.
October 22, 2006 - Serena
Odessa Denali Von Ruden was born October19, 2006 at 02:21 AM in Madison, Wisconsin. She weighed 7 pounds, 8.5 ounces and was 19 inches long. We went into the hospital at 7:20 PM with contractions every 4-5 minutes and by 10:40 PM I was fully dilated and had started to push. I pushed 3 hours and 40 minutes but was finally rewarded with a beautiful baby girl. It was very hard. I had no pain medicine during this time, and afterward the doctors had to stitch me up because I had third degree lacerations. She was very covered in vernix, this gross cheesy stuff, much more than most babies. Even so, I held her right after she was born right on my belly for a long time. Even though it was really hard, it was completely worth it.
We took her home yesterday and despite the difficulties of being a new parent, have been immensely enjoying getting to know our new daughter. She is the light of our lives. I love her more than I ever thought possible.
October 22, 2006 - Scott
In response to Serena's previous post: The baby came out. I'll let the one who did all the hard work in that regard write about it here as she sees fit, she deserves to tell it her way. For now, here are some photographs of baby Odessa.
October 13, 2006 - Serena
Yesterday we spent about 3 1/2 hours at the hospital in OB Triage. I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes, but they weren't especially strong and thus weren't really doing anything. After waiting around for what seemed like forever, the resident, Dr. Skariah, decided to send us home. I am to return to the hospital when the contractions get strong enough "to take my breath away." Gee, that sounds like fun.
In other news, I am now more certain than ever that this baby is just not coming out. Ever.
October 6, 2006 - Scott
I've added some 'Ridiculous Things'. The link at the top of the page with the same name will work now. Well, at least sometimes it will. I'm too lazy to go and change them all at the moment. Also, for your own wellbeing you should probably not read any of that stuff.
October 5, 2006 - Serena
Today the baby is 37 weeks gestation, which essentially means she is full-term. We had an appointment with our OB doc yesterday and learned that I am 3-4 cm dilated and 80-85% effaced, and the baby is already at 0 station. I kind of feel like she's just going to fall out while I'm walking to classes or something.
But on the other hand, I also feel like she's never going to come out. We are so excited to meet her, but it still seems surreal to me, at least.
We went back to La Crosse for Oktoberfest last weekend which was a lot of fun. We got to spend sometime with the Sturms and the Von Rudens. I sat with my family and the Arndts for the whole Maple Leaf Parade, which I haven't done in a very long time. And Paula threw a great baby shower on Sunday. Scott's aunts and a couple of cousins were there, as well as my mom and Britt. I had a great time.
So we're just waiting for Baby Dillweed to make her debut... and hoping she doesn't choose during or right before a midterm or a lab.
September 28, 2006 - Scott
I added a collection of Alaska Wildflowers to the Images page. Towards the end of May 2006 I started feeling compelled to learn all the plants, flowers, and animals of Alaska. While interested in learning all of them, I was mostly focused on flowers and birds. I started taking pictures of all of them, which I would later identify. I began getting pretty good at knowing the more common stuff, but then we had to leave. There is a pretty good chance I will try to learn the Wisconsin things at some point too.
September 22, 2006 - Serena
I have a new favorite restaurant. Yesterday, my friend Debbie introduced me to The Flattop Grill when she suggested it for lunch.
This place is amazing. It is a make-your-own stir fry restaurant. Today, I took Scott there. He loved it, too.
For $6.99, you fill a bowl with rice, noodles, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Then you choose one or more sauces and ladle that on your already heaping bowl. Next, you choose if you'd like chicken, beef, pork, or a combination and place what you'd like in a separate bowl. Finally, you can add chow mein noodles, peanuts, garlic, etc., and hand your bowls to the chef. You can also specify if you want the stir fry to be served as a salad or as a soup, or if you'd like to add shrimp or tofu.
The chef cooks your meal on a large flat grill and then several minutes later the server brings it to your table. It's so delicious.
September 22, 2006 - Scott
Thanks to my Aunt Shirley, I became interested in raising a monarch butterfly from a caterpillar. We searched the milkweed plants in a park near our apartment, and as we were about to give up Serena spotted one in a plant I had just finished checking. I guess I missed it.
Anyway, we took it home, named it Guillermo(Gil for short). We put it in a bucket with some sticks leaned against the side and milkweed leaves. A few days later, it climbed a stick and began its chrysalis.
And last Wednesday, out came Wilma. That was her name after I realized it was actually a her. She took her time moving about. I think she was cold, so I moved her in the sunlight. After a couple hours she was stumbling around, practicing flying. Shortly after that, she was gone.
September 21, 2006 - Scott
Succumbing to the pleas of my mother, I am slowly adding the old images back up. Trying to do a little every day. We'll see how long that lasts. It's more tedious than trying to find a football team in Minnesota. Okay, so the Packers suck. But I can, and will, still make fun of the Vikings.
Speaking of football, Serena and I went to last weekend's Packers/Saints game at Lambeau. We had really cool seats up in those club box things. Very neat spot to watch the game from. It started off really well, and had its highlights, but the Packers unfortunately lost.
Serena is 35 weeks pregnant today, we have a baby class thing tonight, and a tour of the St. Mary's birthing center on Sunday.
September 15, 2006 - Serena
Ok, not to be outdone, I needed to write something here and add to the about page, too.
My life now consists of being driven to school, walking slowly to classes, squeezing into little desks, and lots and lots of studying before being picked up. That and getting odd stares from my fellow classmates, most of whom are at least 5 years younger. Who would think 24 would feel so old?
I'm huge and getting even more so. I moan and groan when I move and find it difficult to bend over. I seem to be almost constantly kicked and punched from the inside and I'm always hungry. I want the baby here already.
September 15, 2006 - Scott
Who else is getting excited for the Governor's debate tonight?
This weekend we are going to go to the Packers vs. Saints game along with, and thanks to, Serena's parents.
Also, some of the other pages are slowly starting to come about. The about page now has some stuff, and I've even added a lengthy treatise on why I dropped out of college for those people who care about such things.
September 14, 2006 - Scott
We went to a Brewers game last Sunday at Miller Park. It was a (rare) good game. Dave Bush threw a complete game shutout, while Mike Rivera and Tony Awesomenino hit home runs.
But even better than all that stuff is that our section won free frozen pizzas.
September 11, 2006 - Scott
So now that aurora is not so within my reach, I need something new. Thank you, lightning. Lightning is one thing I missed. There is very little of it near Anchorage. In the time we were there, we never saw one real thunderstorm. Since we've been back, we've seen a handful. And now I am going to try and photograph it. The problem with this is that I have no idea how to do it. But I'm trying.
Last Friday night I looked out the balcony and caught a flash in the sky. So Serena and I loaded up the car and drove off real quick to see if we could find a spot to observe and attempt to photograph the lightning. We didn't drive too far and found a spot right off of Highway 14. I mostly managed to screw things up, but I did take one picture that looks decent. Hopefully I will learn how to do this a bit better.
September 10, 2006 - Scott
Hi.
The old www.vonrudens.com website is gone. There will be a new website here which will be sort of similar to the old one. In the meantime, please no head exploding if you encounter links that don't do anything. I will now proceed to go on at length about some pretty boring things.
The old website is gone for a few reasons. First, it had served its purpose. It was designed to be a way for our family and friends to keep up to date with the things that were happening with us while we were so many miles away. It was a way for us to share our Alaskan experiences with you. Now, we are no longer in Alaska, and the site as it was seemed unnecessary.
Second, I designed the page rather sloppily, using notepad to construct a monstrosity of html tables and scattered css. I did not like the layout or the labor involved with updating it. Too many links, too many pages to be moved at the end of the month, and too many things to do for just one stupid little update. Pain in the rear. The new website will seem extremely simple in comparison. And that's just how I want it to be.
Third, I had bad organization and my directories were crazy. I didn't plan well enough for how the site was going to grow and I had conformity issues everywhere. It sucked.
This new site will mainly have photographs of things. We will eventually move all of our old Alaska photos here. Unless we don't when we realize how tedious that will be. There will be short updates of news and things as well, but I have no idea how frequent they will be. I am betting that Serena will want to completely load the page with pictures of our kid. And I may be more inclined to post ridiculous things from time to time. Also, seriously, no head exploding.
Bye.