I haven't posted in awhile, have I?
2011 has been a crazy year. It didn't start out that way, but it certainly ended that way!
Around April 4, the Suburban decided to die its final death while Meagan was driving it. I suppose we could have gotten the transmission replaced again, but the Suburban had 210,000 miles on it and was a gas guzzler, so it seemed like it was time to let it go.
After a couple of months of searching, we finally found and bought the perfect minivan. Yay! I finally talked David into getting a minivan, and he actually likes it. What I like about it the best? It takes half the gas the Suburban did. And when we took it in for its first oil change, that's all we had to pay for was an oil change. Wow. Not a single thing else.
The same week, I did a gall bladder/liver cleanse, that ended up being rather painful. Not long after, I decided to go to the doctor to see what was really going on inside me. I guess my gall bladder had enough miles on it, too.
After 2 months of filling out forms and begging for help, I finally got my gall bladder out. Man, abdominal surgery is painful. You'd think gall bladder surgery would be no big deal, but it was tough recovering from it. Between the pain and feeling loopy from the anesthesia, it took me a month to start feeling normal again. It's a good thing Mom and Dad and Sheri took care of me for a week or my recovery certainly would have taken longer. David and the kids did clean up the house while I was gone, though. I was impressed with that.
Oh, and I got to be in charge of the Ward pool party on mine and David's 23rd Anniversary. That was about 2 weeks after surgery. It could have been worse though, at least alot of people helped out. I wouldn't have picked that date if it were up to me, though.
Then we had the Ward Primary Sacrament Meeting Program on my Mom's birthday. I did choose that date, but only because I thought it would be easier to get it over with. And I thought most families would be home because school had already started and Labor Day wasn't until the next weekend. I was wrong. Next year we're doing the program mid-September. Live and learn.
About that time, Meagan and Zac decided they were for definitely getting married on Oct. 12 and they weren't going to change the date again. So we hurried and threw together a Bridal Shower and a wedding in about a month. Did I mention Meagan and I got to do all the corsages, boutonierres and bouquets? I might have enjoyed doing that if I'd had more time.
Meagan and Zac did get married and everything worked out OK. Poor Meagie was going to school, working full time (just for the weeks before the wedding, of course) and trying to put together a wedding all at the same time. It's a good thing she's young!
After I recovered from that, I decided the house needed to be cleaned out. We did get rid of lots of clutter, but I feel like a need a month off of work to finish. Like that's gonna happen.
Then, of course, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all seemed to squish together. The Primary did its second annual Nativity Program for the Ward Christmas Party. We could have practiced more, but it turned out all right. Several people told me how great it was, so it must have been all right. The good thing? I was not nearly as stressed about it this year as I was last year. Like Meagan told me last year: "Mom, they're little kids. No matter what happens, everyone will think it's cute." She's pretty wise, Meagan is. Thank goodness she and Zac visit often.
And now it's all over and done and I have to say: alot of good things happened, but I would not want to repeat this year - especially the whole gall bladder ordeal!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
A Blog Before Bath Time
This is gonna be quick!
I am so tired, tired, tired of my job. I know, I know, just go get a new job, right?
I am so tired, tired, tired of my job. I know, I know, just go get a new job, right?
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Post-Wedding Madness
Wow. It's been awhile since I last blogged. I thought my life would stop being crazy once the wedding was over. It's still crazy. But I am glad the wedding's over. Any time I see the word "bridal" now, I shudder.
We've been cleaning our house up before we look into re-financing it. I'm beginning to wonder if we're ever going to get done! Wish I could quit my job and focus on other stuff, but that's not gonna happen, is it?
I've been debating what I really need/want to keep and what I won't really care (in the long run) if I get rid of. David brought the movie "Cast Away" home from the library. After watching it again, I started wondering how much stuff I really need. But then I don't want to get rid of a bunch of stuff and then regret it - like half of my clothes. Then again, maybe I won't even miss them? Decisions, decisions.
David and I have been watching the X Factor this season. I don't know why I even care about it. I used to loathe reality tv. For some reason, Master Chef (I know, I don't even like Gordon Ramsey, he makes Simon Cowell look nice!) sucked me in to reality tv. Maybe it's just an escape?
So, from the beginning, I've liked Marcus Canty. Ever since he sang the Stevie Wonder song "I Wish." I love that song and Marcus sang it so well. And I've like Melanie Amaro. Those two have been my favorite all along. But taco-maker Josh was amazing last week. Sometimes I really have to wonder about song choices. Why didn't they have Marcus sing "Thriller" instead of "PYT" last night. And Drew singing "Billie Jean"? That was strange. The judges are all goofy and famous acts they have performing? I don't think I've liked any of them. Of course, I am old school and I have a hard time getting into some hip-hop and an even harder time getting into rap.
David is more into X Factor than I am now. We started voting a couple of weeks ago. Can you believe it? I know, but oddly, it doesn't take off much time from our tracfones. I sometimes wonder if our votes even really registered. Of course, David Jason says the whole thing is rigged from the start. I don't doubt it. The voting isn't very transparent, they don't post it on the internet and won't even reveal the rankings.
Jarom is asleep on the couch. That's what I feel like doing. Maybe not on the couch, but sleep sounds really good right now.
Amber went to Anime Club at the library yesterday and came home with about 20 buttons she'd made. They made shrinky-dinks, too, but apparently those didn't get all the way done.
Cameron is now a permanent sweeper at the elementary school, so he has a regular shift he works. So that's good. Jarom might apply for a job there. Cameron's going to take Calculus next semester, can you believe it?
Meagan and I went and bought her and Zac a used washer and dryer that were delivered last Saturday. The washer worked great. The dryer spun, but wouldn't warm up. Meagan called the company that sold us the set. They told her to check the lint vent, because it was probably clogged. Sure enough it was. I guess their dryer is working fine now. I haven't heard that it's not.
We've been cleaning our house up before we look into re-financing it. I'm beginning to wonder if we're ever going to get done! Wish I could quit my job and focus on other stuff, but that's not gonna happen, is it?
I've been debating what I really need/want to keep and what I won't really care (in the long run) if I get rid of. David brought the movie "Cast Away" home from the library. After watching it again, I started wondering how much stuff I really need. But then I don't want to get rid of a bunch of stuff and then regret it - like half of my clothes. Then again, maybe I won't even miss them? Decisions, decisions.
David and I have been watching the X Factor this season. I don't know why I even care about it. I used to loathe reality tv. For some reason, Master Chef (I know, I don't even like Gordon Ramsey, he makes Simon Cowell look nice!) sucked me in to reality tv. Maybe it's just an escape?
So, from the beginning, I've liked Marcus Canty. Ever since he sang the Stevie Wonder song "I Wish." I love that song and Marcus sang it so well. And I've like Melanie Amaro. Those two have been my favorite all along. But taco-maker Josh was amazing last week. Sometimes I really have to wonder about song choices. Why didn't they have Marcus sing "Thriller" instead of "PYT" last night. And Drew singing "Billie Jean"? That was strange. The judges are all goofy and famous acts they have performing? I don't think I've liked any of them. Of course, I am old school and I have a hard time getting into some hip-hop and an even harder time getting into rap.
David is more into X Factor than I am now. We started voting a couple of weeks ago. Can you believe it? I know, but oddly, it doesn't take off much time from our tracfones. I sometimes wonder if our votes even really registered. Of course, David Jason says the whole thing is rigged from the start. I don't doubt it. The voting isn't very transparent, they don't post it on the internet and won't even reveal the rankings.
Jarom is asleep on the couch. That's what I feel like doing. Maybe not on the couch, but sleep sounds really good right now.
Amber went to Anime Club at the library yesterday and came home with about 20 buttons she'd made. They made shrinky-dinks, too, but apparently those didn't get all the way done.
Cameron is now a permanent sweeper at the elementary school, so he has a regular shift he works. So that's good. Jarom might apply for a job there. Cameron's going to take Calculus next semester, can you believe it?
Meagan and I went and bought her and Zac a used washer and dryer that were delivered last Saturday. The washer worked great. The dryer spun, but wouldn't warm up. Meagan called the company that sold us the set. They told her to check the lint vent, because it was probably clogged. Sure enough it was. I guess their dryer is working fine now. I haven't heard that it's not.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Of Weddings and Cars and ERs
Apparently I was too busy in September to post anything. I can't imagine why that would be.
So, Meagan and Zac got married on Wednesday. It would have been alot less stressful if Meagan and I hadn't had to do the flowers on top of everything else. But we did them. I thought they turned out quite well thanks to the tutorials by the man in the orange shirt on youtube.
We did have a back up plan if Meagan's bouquet had turned out horribly ugly. There was an already made bridal bouquet with white roses and ivy at Michael's for $50 we would have bought. It's hard to believe that only a week ago Meagan, Zac and I were out shopping for silk flowers and trying to decide what on earth to get. We ended up buying most of the flowers at JoAnn's. I liked their flower selection better and most of their silk flowers were on sale.
We'd thought of having Michael's do the flowers, but what we wanted would have cost about $300. I called a few florists, too. The Flower Patch wanted $460. Can you believe that? Hyland Floral would have been about $210, which wasn't bad, but they needed 2 weeks advance notice to get all the flowers ordered in. Yeah, we didn't have 2 weeks. After having made 6 corsages, 10 boutonnieres (or was it 11?), 4 small bouquets and 1 large bouquet that I understand why they charge so much for flowers. It's alot of work!
The thing that made it all worth it was that the bridesmaids absolutely adored their bouquets. And the girl who dived for the toss bouquet and was excited when Meagan told her she got to keep it. I love gratitude. I can understand the scriptures where God says He loves a grateful person.
I spent most of the night before the wedding finishing flowers and making chicken salad. The chicken salad turned out pretty well, but if I had it to do again, I'd have someone else make it! And I wouldn't have bought nearly as much food. Jo told me about how much I'd need and I didn't believe her! Zac was excited that they got to take some of the extra rootbeer and ice cream home, though. At least we didn't spend a whole lot on the food. :)
Wednesday I spent almost all day running around: dropping Jarom off at school at 6:00 am, decorating, finishing the chicken salad, dragging Amber to Walmart to buy underclothing, wondering when Meagan would show up to the church so I could strap her into her corset and wedding dress, running back to the house for Meagan's bridal bouquet, greeting guests, making sure people got served food, cleaning up...
Thank goodness so many people helped or it never would have happened! I thought it turned out quite well. Quite a few people showed up, considering it was a school night and our ward had 3 other activities/meetings going on that night.
I thought I would have slept pretty well Wednesday night, but I tossed and turned most of the night. Wednesday morning I dragged myself out of bed and returned Meagan's wedding gown to the rental shop. The alterations lady was relieved to hear that Meagan hadn't thrown up in the dress. (She almost did at her alterations fitting!) I had to return the dress between 8:00 am and noon the day after the wedding. I thought I'd be there by 9:00. Try 11:30. I'm glad I had the extra time and I didn't have to be to work until 1:00 pm.
After that, I went to a Chevron and washed "Father of the Bride" off the back window of the Crown. When I was almost done, a teenage girl pulled up behind me to get gas. She climbed out of her jeep and realized she hadn't pulled far enough foward, so she got back in proceeded to ram into the back of the Crown. I was a little surprised. I've never had that happen before. She got out of her Jeep and apologized profusely. I examined the back of the Crown and couldn't find any damage. (It's a tough car!) As I pulled away, I realized that if she'd hit the car just a minute earlier, I could have been between the two cars when they collided. I thanked God profusely for my good fortune. Thank you, God - I still have both my legs!
I just happened to be at the Chevron right by Becky's, so I went over and talked to her for about an hour. Byron jumped on me periodically and jabbered about dolphins and letter crackers. He's so funny. He reminds me of Cameron of many years ago.
Thursday night I slept the best I had in a couple of months. What a relief! I think it's because the wedding was over and I'd returned the dress and it was all over and done with.
Yesterday was my long day at work. Meagan called me about 6:00-ish, stressed because David couldn't stand up or talk and could barely breathe. He was helping her and Zac move and someone was smoking a cigarette. I told her to call 9-1-1 if he couldn't talk. So she did. I finished making my last few phone calls then I headed to the ER.
As I was driving, I thought to myself, "Great, maybe I'll become a mother-in-law and a widow in the same week." Fortunately, I was wrong about the last part. By the time I got the the ER, David could talk again. Apparently someone in the library parking lot was smoking marajuana, then David went to the apartments and someone was smoking cigarettes and he couldn't handle all that smoke. Now he's wondering if it's safe for him to go to public places. He thinks a gas mask might work, but Jarom thinks he might be mistaken for a terrorist. Maybe a surgical mask? Then he could look like Michael Jackson - well, how MJ used to look.
This morning David, Cameron and I went to the 5th Annual Eagle Scout Breakfast. It was nice, but the only things I could eat were scrambled eggs and OJ. That's better than nothing, right? The servers looked at me a little weird when I asked for more eggs and told them that's all I was eating.
This afternoon, I got to see Meagie and Zac's apartment. It's not bad. They're in a one bedroom basement apartment with a small patio with a storage shed. They have washer and dryer hookups even if they don't have a washer and dryer yet. Meagan moved out the last of her stuff about 15 minutes ago and even vacuumed her old bedroom. She's been in that bedroom since she was 6! That's 14 years now. Wow. It'll be weird without her here.
Well, that's my excitement for the last week. I'm ready to go back to bed!
So, Meagan and Zac got married on Wednesday. It would have been alot less stressful if Meagan and I hadn't had to do the flowers on top of everything else. But we did them. I thought they turned out quite well thanks to the tutorials by the man in the orange shirt on youtube.
We did have a back up plan if Meagan's bouquet had turned out horribly ugly. There was an already made bridal bouquet with white roses and ivy at Michael's for $50 we would have bought. It's hard to believe that only a week ago Meagan, Zac and I were out shopping for silk flowers and trying to decide what on earth to get. We ended up buying most of the flowers at JoAnn's. I liked their flower selection better and most of their silk flowers were on sale.
We'd thought of having Michael's do the flowers, but what we wanted would have cost about $300. I called a few florists, too. The Flower Patch wanted $460. Can you believe that? Hyland Floral would have been about $210, which wasn't bad, but they needed 2 weeks advance notice to get all the flowers ordered in. Yeah, we didn't have 2 weeks. After having made 6 corsages, 10 boutonnieres (or was it 11?), 4 small bouquets and 1 large bouquet that I understand why they charge so much for flowers. It's alot of work!
The thing that made it all worth it was that the bridesmaids absolutely adored their bouquets. And the girl who dived for the toss bouquet and was excited when Meagan told her she got to keep it. I love gratitude. I can understand the scriptures where God says He loves a grateful person.
I spent most of the night before the wedding finishing flowers and making chicken salad. The chicken salad turned out pretty well, but if I had it to do again, I'd have someone else make it! And I wouldn't have bought nearly as much food. Jo told me about how much I'd need and I didn't believe her! Zac was excited that they got to take some of the extra rootbeer and ice cream home, though. At least we didn't spend a whole lot on the food. :)
Wednesday I spent almost all day running around: dropping Jarom off at school at 6:00 am, decorating, finishing the chicken salad, dragging Amber to Walmart to buy underclothing, wondering when Meagan would show up to the church so I could strap her into her corset and wedding dress, running back to the house for Meagan's bridal bouquet, greeting guests, making sure people got served food, cleaning up...
Thank goodness so many people helped or it never would have happened! I thought it turned out quite well. Quite a few people showed up, considering it was a school night and our ward had 3 other activities/meetings going on that night.
I thought I would have slept pretty well Wednesday night, but I tossed and turned most of the night. Wednesday morning I dragged myself out of bed and returned Meagan's wedding gown to the rental shop. The alterations lady was relieved to hear that Meagan hadn't thrown up in the dress. (She almost did at her alterations fitting!) I had to return the dress between 8:00 am and noon the day after the wedding. I thought I'd be there by 9:00. Try 11:30. I'm glad I had the extra time and I didn't have to be to work until 1:00 pm.
After that, I went to a Chevron and washed "Father of the Bride" off the back window of the Crown. When I was almost done, a teenage girl pulled up behind me to get gas. She climbed out of her jeep and realized she hadn't pulled far enough foward, so she got back in proceeded to ram into the back of the Crown. I was a little surprised. I've never had that happen before. She got out of her Jeep and apologized profusely. I examined the back of the Crown and couldn't find any damage. (It's a tough car!) As I pulled away, I realized that if she'd hit the car just a minute earlier, I could have been between the two cars when they collided. I thanked God profusely for my good fortune. Thank you, God - I still have both my legs!
I just happened to be at the Chevron right by Becky's, so I went over and talked to her for about an hour. Byron jumped on me periodically and jabbered about dolphins and letter crackers. He's so funny. He reminds me of Cameron of many years ago.
Thursday night I slept the best I had in a couple of months. What a relief! I think it's because the wedding was over and I'd returned the dress and it was all over and done with.
Yesterday was my long day at work. Meagan called me about 6:00-ish, stressed because David couldn't stand up or talk and could barely breathe. He was helping her and Zac move and someone was smoking a cigarette. I told her to call 9-1-1 if he couldn't talk. So she did. I finished making my last few phone calls then I headed to the ER.
As I was driving, I thought to myself, "Great, maybe I'll become a mother-in-law and a widow in the same week." Fortunately, I was wrong about the last part. By the time I got the the ER, David could talk again. Apparently someone in the library parking lot was smoking marajuana, then David went to the apartments and someone was smoking cigarettes and he couldn't handle all that smoke. Now he's wondering if it's safe for him to go to public places. He thinks a gas mask might work, but Jarom thinks he might be mistaken for a terrorist. Maybe a surgical mask? Then he could look like Michael Jackson - well, how MJ used to look.
This morning David, Cameron and I went to the 5th Annual Eagle Scout Breakfast. It was nice, but the only things I could eat were scrambled eggs and OJ. That's better than nothing, right? The servers looked at me a little weird when I asked for more eggs and told them that's all I was eating.
This afternoon, I got to see Meagie and Zac's apartment. It's not bad. They're in a one bedroom basement apartment with a small patio with a storage shed. They have washer and dryer hookups even if they don't have a washer and dryer yet. Meagan moved out the last of her stuff about 15 minutes ago and even vacuumed her old bedroom. She's been in that bedroom since she was 6! That's 14 years now. Wow. It'll be weird without her here.
Well, that's my excitement for the last week. I'm ready to go back to bed!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Cameron and Door-to-Door Salesmen
About a month ago I posted a sign on the inside of the front door directing everyone to tell door-to-door salesmen, "I'm sorry but we don't buy anything sold door-to-door," then shut the door. We already have a "No Solicitors" sign on the front door, but the salesmen don't read it, don't know what a solicitor is or just plain ignore it.
The day after I put up the notice, David knocked on the front door because he wanted to show us something in the front yard. The door was locked, like it usually is. Cameron answered the door and told his Dad, "I'm sorry but we don't buy anything sold door-to-door," then he shut the door. It was hilarious.
Last night just as David and I got home from delivering the last of Meagan and Zac's wedding invitations, we noticed Cameron was at the front door with a door-to-door salesman. David and I came in through the back door as Cameron was telling the salesman goodbye. I asked Cameron if he told the salesman we don't buy anything sold door-to-door. He told me, "Yes, I told him that, but I also asked him if he wanted a drink of water. He did, so I got him one." Cameron was still holding the cup he'd taken to the salesman.
Cameron is so thoughtful and sweet, how proud I am of him!
The day after I put up the notice, David knocked on the front door because he wanted to show us something in the front yard. The door was locked, like it usually is. Cameron answered the door and told his Dad, "I'm sorry but we don't buy anything sold door-to-door," then he shut the door. It was hilarious.
Last night just as David and I got home from delivering the last of Meagan and Zac's wedding invitations, we noticed Cameron was at the front door with a door-to-door salesman. David and I came in through the back door as Cameron was telling the salesman goodbye. I asked Cameron if he told the salesman we don't buy anything sold door-to-door. He told me, "Yes, I told him that, but I also asked him if he wanted a drink of water. He did, so I got him one." Cameron was still holding the cup he'd taken to the salesman.
Cameron is so thoughtful and sweet, how proud I am of him!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Back to School Again
Jarom and Amber start school today. Jarom's all alone in high school now since Cameron has graduated. Jarom's in 11th grade now. He's going to be in Jazz Band again this year. Maybe tomorrow we'll get to start getting up at 5:30 am again. We are so looking forward to it!
Amber is starting 8th grade. Amber is excited for art and French, they're her two favorite classes.
This summer we were in the kitchen and I looked at Amber and said, "Can you believe you're going to be in 8th grade this year?" She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Mom," in the tone of voice that meant she thought I was an idiot for thinking that she couldn't possibly be that old yet. Amber is officially a teenager now, attitude and all. Wait til she gets her own kids and they grow up much too fast.
Meagan and Cameron start SLCC on Wednesday. We have to go set up a checking account for Cameron and buy him a bus pass. Then Meagan is taking him to SLCC to get his OneCard and show him how the bus system works. I think she's taking him to buy his textbooks, too?
Today is Meagan's last day working in skate. They gave her tomorrow and Wednesday off, so she's got a day to get ready for school, then on the second day of school she starts her new job at HC. The first 6 weeks she'll be working full time because it's training, then she'll have a regular schedule of 8:00 to 12:30, from what I understand.
Meagan has found a car she wants to buy - a '95 Olds Cutlass Ciera with 101,000 miles on it. As soon as the owner gets a new title for it, I guess she'll have a car. The owner's daughter cleaned up his house after his wife died and now he can't find the title - he thinks his daughter threw it away. So, he's applied for another one and should get it the middle of this week.
Cameron has found a job as a substitute sweeper. I think all he has to do is finish filling out the paperwork, then wait for someone to need a substitute. After a month of being a substitute, he might get a permanent part time position. It's better than no job. He's applied about 20 places and hasn't heard back from any of them. Today would probably be a good day to call them all and check on his status with them. The sweeper job he got through a man who lives in our neighborhood. Jarom might start working as a sweeper, too.
The Primary Sacrament Meeting Program practice yesterday went quite well. If I could ever find out how much money we have left in the Primary budget, that would be great. I've been asking for months and haven't ever been given a print out or told any concrete figures. Apparently the church changed their financial software and no one knows where to find anything. I promised the Primary kids pizza at our last practice this coming Saturday. The Bishop approved me buying pizza, so I guess it will all work out somehow.
Now it's time for me to head out to work...fun, fun work. I worked almost 10 hours on Friday and still had to make 2 hours of phone calls from home on Saturday. Some of the patients I called were a little hesitant to answer the phone, until they realized who I was.
Amber is starting 8th grade. Amber is excited for art and French, they're her two favorite classes.
This summer we were in the kitchen and I looked at Amber and said, "Can you believe you're going to be in 8th grade this year?" She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, Mom," in the tone of voice that meant she thought I was an idiot for thinking that she couldn't possibly be that old yet. Amber is officially a teenager now, attitude and all. Wait til she gets her own kids and they grow up much too fast.
Meagan and Cameron start SLCC on Wednesday. We have to go set up a checking account for Cameron and buy him a bus pass. Then Meagan is taking him to SLCC to get his OneCard and show him how the bus system works. I think she's taking him to buy his textbooks, too?
Today is Meagan's last day working in skate. They gave her tomorrow and Wednesday off, so she's got a day to get ready for school, then on the second day of school she starts her new job at HC. The first 6 weeks she'll be working full time because it's training, then she'll have a regular schedule of 8:00 to 12:30, from what I understand.
Meagan has found a car she wants to buy - a '95 Olds Cutlass Ciera with 101,000 miles on it. As soon as the owner gets a new title for it, I guess she'll have a car. The owner's daughter cleaned up his house after his wife died and now he can't find the title - he thinks his daughter threw it away. So, he's applied for another one and should get it the middle of this week.
Cameron has found a job as a substitute sweeper. I think all he has to do is finish filling out the paperwork, then wait for someone to need a substitute. After a month of being a substitute, he might get a permanent part time position. It's better than no job. He's applied about 20 places and hasn't heard back from any of them. Today would probably be a good day to call them all and check on his status with them. The sweeper job he got through a man who lives in our neighborhood. Jarom might start working as a sweeper, too.
The Primary Sacrament Meeting Program practice yesterday went quite well. If I could ever find out how much money we have left in the Primary budget, that would be great. I've been asking for months and haven't ever been given a print out or told any concrete figures. Apparently the church changed their financial software and no one knows where to find anything. I promised the Primary kids pizza at our last practice this coming Saturday. The Bishop approved me buying pizza, so I guess it will all work out somehow.
Now it's time for me to head out to work...fun, fun work. I worked almost 10 hours on Friday and still had to make 2 hours of phone calls from home on Saturday. Some of the patients I called were a little hesitant to answer the phone, until they realized who I was.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Oh, the Drama!
Summer is almost over and I'm happy about that. Until it starts snowing. Then I'll realize I didn't spend enough time outside during the summer.
Most of my summer has been spent dealing with gallbladder issues. Thank goodness I've pretty much recovered from surgery. Still a bit tired, but I'm feeling better than I did before surgery and immediatley after. That surgery hurt way more than my nose surgery. I wasn't expecting that much pain. Thank goodness for ibuprofen!
Last week I got a letter in the mail from Davis County. I'm not sure how many people applied for the Children's Librarian job, but I came in 15th of all the applicants. That's not bad considering I've never worked at a library. Of course, having to have a bachelor's degree to even apply probably whittled down the field quite a bit.
Everyone had to take a test on "current general library knowlegdge." How do you study for a test like that? I spent 3 days memorizing the entire Dewey Decimal system. Guess how many Dewey Decimal questions were on the test? None. The upside? I bet I can find books in the library faster than most people now. In any case, I think I did pretty well on the test. The first question was: "The current governor of Utah is ______________________." I would have been embarrassed if I hadn't known that one!
I've decided I'm going to spend the next 2 months learning MS Office, then I'm going to apply for administrative assistant jobs. Or any other job that I'm qualified for, pays enough, has benefits and sounds fun. I don't want another boring job I dread going to. Two months from now, Meagan's wedding will be over and done with and I will have worked for Lorry while she's helping her daughter with her new baby - the baby is due the last part of September. I feel like I owe it to Lorry to work for her since she worked for me while I had my surgery and recovered.
Now I'm just trying to figure out how and when to break the news to Joe and Lorry that I'm leaving. I think I'll try the very valid angle that I need decent health insurance I can afford. My current job has no benefits.
Once I've settled into my fun, new job and gotten Cameron off on his mission, I'm going to start taking web design classes. I've wanted to be a web designer for the last 10 years now and I've found a place I can learn the skills I need for a reasonable price of $1800 dollars - less if I work for SLCC or someplace that will help pay for education.
Several years ago I went to an orientation for a web design school in Sugarhouse called PC Training West. They wanted $40,000 for 2 years. There was no way I could afford that. They're out of business now. Big surprise.
More drama? On August 6th, the Primary was in charge of our Ward's Summer Pool Party. Someone told me she could get some stuff for the party at a great price. I said "OK" and didn't think much of it until I priced the same items at CostCo. We could have saved $100! Ack! Luckily the items didn't make us go over budget. Now this person is not talking to me - even though she got paid the total amount she asked.
So, I've learned my lesson. Next time I'm in charge of a party, I'm buying EVERYTHING at CostCo. I'll have everyone on the committee figure out what we need, I'll go to CostCo and have them figure out the total price, then I'll have the Bishopric (or whoever) make a check out for the total amount. Way - less - Drama!
Even more drama? Apparently about $700 has come up missing from the change machine and vending machines over the last couple of weeks at Meagan's work. Meagan's one of 3 managers that has the keys, so all 3 managers are under investigation. If they don't figure out which of the 3 it is, all 3 get fired.
The good thing about this? They don't really suspect Meagan. The even better thing? Meagan got a job at Harland Clarke. She'll get paid better and I'm sure they'll treat her way better. Thank goodness!
I think that's enough drama for now. My next projects are helping Meagan find a good car in her price range and helping Cameron find a job.
Most of my summer has been spent dealing with gallbladder issues. Thank goodness I've pretty much recovered from surgery. Still a bit tired, but I'm feeling better than I did before surgery and immediatley after. That surgery hurt way more than my nose surgery. I wasn't expecting that much pain. Thank goodness for ibuprofen!
Last week I got a letter in the mail from Davis County. I'm not sure how many people applied for the Children's Librarian job, but I came in 15th of all the applicants. That's not bad considering I've never worked at a library. Of course, having to have a bachelor's degree to even apply probably whittled down the field quite a bit.
Everyone had to take a test on "current general library knowlegdge." How do you study for a test like that? I spent 3 days memorizing the entire Dewey Decimal system. Guess how many Dewey Decimal questions were on the test? None. The upside? I bet I can find books in the library faster than most people now. In any case, I think I did pretty well on the test. The first question was: "The current governor of Utah is ______________________." I would have been embarrassed if I hadn't known that one!
I've decided I'm going to spend the next 2 months learning MS Office, then I'm going to apply for administrative assistant jobs. Or any other job that I'm qualified for, pays enough, has benefits and sounds fun. I don't want another boring job I dread going to. Two months from now, Meagan's wedding will be over and done with and I will have worked for Lorry while she's helping her daughter with her new baby - the baby is due the last part of September. I feel like I owe it to Lorry to work for her since she worked for me while I had my surgery and recovered.
Now I'm just trying to figure out how and when to break the news to Joe and Lorry that I'm leaving. I think I'll try the very valid angle that I need decent health insurance I can afford. My current job has no benefits.
Once I've settled into my fun, new job and gotten Cameron off on his mission, I'm going to start taking web design classes. I've wanted to be a web designer for the last 10 years now and I've found a place I can learn the skills I need for a reasonable price of $1800 dollars - less if I work for SLCC or someplace that will help pay for education.
Several years ago I went to an orientation for a web design school in Sugarhouse called PC Training West. They wanted $40,000 for 2 years. There was no way I could afford that. They're out of business now. Big surprise.
More drama? On August 6th, the Primary was in charge of our Ward's Summer Pool Party. Someone told me she could get some stuff for the party at a great price. I said "OK" and didn't think much of it until I priced the same items at CostCo. We could have saved $100! Ack! Luckily the items didn't make us go over budget. Now this person is not talking to me - even though she got paid the total amount she asked.
So, I've learned my lesson. Next time I'm in charge of a party, I'm buying EVERYTHING at CostCo. I'll have everyone on the committee figure out what we need, I'll go to CostCo and have them figure out the total price, then I'll have the Bishopric (or whoever) make a check out for the total amount. Way - less - Drama!
Even more drama? Apparently about $700 has come up missing from the change machine and vending machines over the last couple of weeks at Meagan's work. Meagan's one of 3 managers that has the keys, so all 3 managers are under investigation. If they don't figure out which of the 3 it is, all 3 get fired.
The good thing about this? They don't really suspect Meagan. The even better thing? Meagan got a job at Harland Clarke. She'll get paid better and I'm sure they'll treat her way better. Thank goodness!
I think that's enough drama for now. My next projects are helping Meagan find a good car in her price range and helping Cameron find a job.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I Survived Surgery
Wow. Getting my insides cut up hurt more than I thought it would. I'm on the mend and mostly better, but I did not think it would be this tough.
I asked the surgeon if I could see my gall stones after they came out. She said, "No, they're a bio-hazard, but I'll try to remember to take pictures of them." I got 4 lovely full color photos of my gall bladder and stones. Even after doing the gall bladder cleanse in April where I got a couple hundred pea-sized and smaller stones out, I still had a gall bladder jammed full of stones. Big marble-sized stones with sharp edges. No wonder I hurt so much!
Fortunately, Mom and Dad let me stay at their house for 4 days while my pain, grogginess and nausea were at their worst. It was nice being there and being well taken care of. Mom and Sheri made sure I ate and Dad made sure I walked a little every day.
I think by the time I have my follow up visit, I'll be pretty much back to normal. By then it will have been 2 weeks and 1 day since my surgery.
I really, really don't want to go back to my yucky stressful job, though. If I didn't need the money, I would quit. Mom found a children's librarian job in the Clipper that sounds fun and pays $2.12 more/hour than I'm making now and more than likely has benefits. I'm totally applying next week.
Benefits would be nice. I probably wouldn't have to wait 2 months to have surgery, like I had to this time around. Thank goodness surgery finally happened! I have a feeling that once I recover, I'll feel 100% better than I did with a gall bladder and I'll be able to eat many more foods than I've been able to.
David brought me home yesterday and the house was pretty clean. David even cleaned out the bedroom and had each of the kids clean a room. I was impressed. I'm glad to be home now, with a few more days off before I have to go back to work.
I'm going to go take a nap now...
I asked the surgeon if I could see my gall stones after they came out. She said, "No, they're a bio-hazard, but I'll try to remember to take pictures of them." I got 4 lovely full color photos of my gall bladder and stones. Even after doing the gall bladder cleanse in April where I got a couple hundred pea-sized and smaller stones out, I still had a gall bladder jammed full of stones. Big marble-sized stones with sharp edges. No wonder I hurt so much!
Fortunately, Mom and Dad let me stay at their house for 4 days while my pain, grogginess and nausea were at their worst. It was nice being there and being well taken care of. Mom and Sheri made sure I ate and Dad made sure I walked a little every day.
I think by the time I have my follow up visit, I'll be pretty much back to normal. By then it will have been 2 weeks and 1 day since my surgery.
I really, really don't want to go back to my yucky stressful job, though. If I didn't need the money, I would quit. Mom found a children's librarian job in the Clipper that sounds fun and pays $2.12 more/hour than I'm making now and more than likely has benefits. I'm totally applying next week.
Benefits would be nice. I probably wouldn't have to wait 2 months to have surgery, like I had to this time around. Thank goodness surgery finally happened! I have a feeling that once I recover, I'll feel 100% better than I did with a gall bladder and I'll be able to eat many more foods than I've been able to.
David brought me home yesterday and the house was pretty clean. David even cleaned out the bedroom and had each of the kids clean a room. I was impressed. I'm glad to be home now, with a few more days off before I have to go back to work.
I'm going to go take a nap now...
Friday, July 15, 2011
What Everyone's Been Up To
I haven't done this in awhile, so I thought I would do it now.
David - mostly chatting to strange people around the world on facebook while playing several games at once. I think the person he chats with the most is a particularly entertaining transvestite in England. David and the kids cleaned up the driveway the other day so it no longer looks like a junkyard. We can actually pull the minivan all the way in the driveway now. He also vacuumed the living room yesterday before my very long Primary Presidency meeting. How nice of him!
Meagan - starting to get around to planning her wedding. I really haven't been into it. I gave her a budget of what we're willing to spend and told her if she doesn't have a car by the time she gets married, she only gets half of the money to spend on her wedding and the rest is going toward a car. She needs a car if she's going to be working odd hours!
Cameron - mowed the lawn yesterday - and I only had to ask him once! It looks so much better than it did. Cameron's also searching for a job. He's applied at the BSA Camps, Harland Clarke, WinCo, Smith's, ShopKo, Walmart and few other places I can't remember. He keeps calling Media One about a job at the newspaper, but no one has returned his calls. It's a tough time to be looking for a job right now - especially a first job. Cameron hasn't gotten a single return call. I keep telling him to go around to the fast food places and ask if they have any openings, like Meagan's friend Brianna did - she got a job at Taco Bell on the spot. But Cameron doesn't seem to want to do that. Right now Cameron's making snickerdoodles for his Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday.
Jarom - has spent most of the summer sleeping. I guess working so hard all year during school and getting up early for jazz band wore him out.
Amber - went to Oakcrest in June and just got back from our Stake's YW Camp today. She's been camping almost 2 weeks this summer. I'm glad I didn't get to go this year. YW Camp was exhausting the last few years I went! Amber's also been happily going to the library once or twice a week all summer long. She checks out very strange anime dvds and books.
Jetta - got most of her fur shaved off last week. She hardly puffs and pants at all now. We're all much happier about that. Without her fur, she's half the dog she used to be. Kailien noticed a tumor on Jetta's leg when she chopped off her fur. I didn't think much of it until she started gnawing on it. Then we got an immunization reminder in the mail, so Cameron and I dragged her to the vet. She needs to have surgery to remove the tumor and she also needs her teeth cleaned. The vet says she actually needs her teeth cleaned worse than she needs the tumor removed, but we only have to pay for anesthetic once, so it's a better deal if we get it done all at once. I told Jetta she has to wait til I recover from my surgery before she gets to have hers. She seems OK with that.
Thor - spends most of his time outside these days. Every once in awhile he comes inside and sleeps on a recliner in the cool of the basement, but most of the time he stares at me like I'm insane when I ask him if he wants to come in the house.
Me - well, that's mostly what I write about, isn't it? Mostly dealing with gall bladder stuff - getting registered for the hospital and all. Last Saturday David and I went to "Bye, Bye Birdie," a city Arts Council Musical. Lorry, who I work with, plays the Mayor's wife. Lorry is a bigger ham than I ever imagined. She's hilarious what with her fainting, her red polka dot underwear and her freaking out over a rock star. Silly. Her daughter, husband and grandson are in the musical, too. I was impressed with the quality of the singing, dancing and acting. Some of the lighting was a little dodgey, but it was opening weekend, so maybe they've worked it out by this weekend.
David - mostly chatting to strange people around the world on facebook while playing several games at once. I think the person he chats with the most is a particularly entertaining transvestite in England. David and the kids cleaned up the driveway the other day so it no longer looks like a junkyard. We can actually pull the minivan all the way in the driveway now. He also vacuumed the living room yesterday before my very long Primary Presidency meeting. How nice of him!
Meagan - starting to get around to planning her wedding. I really haven't been into it. I gave her a budget of what we're willing to spend and told her if she doesn't have a car by the time she gets married, she only gets half of the money to spend on her wedding and the rest is going toward a car. She needs a car if she's going to be working odd hours!
Cameron - mowed the lawn yesterday - and I only had to ask him once! It looks so much better than it did. Cameron's also searching for a job. He's applied at the BSA Camps, Harland Clarke, WinCo, Smith's, ShopKo, Walmart and few other places I can't remember. He keeps calling Media One about a job at the newspaper, but no one has returned his calls. It's a tough time to be looking for a job right now - especially a first job. Cameron hasn't gotten a single return call. I keep telling him to go around to the fast food places and ask if they have any openings, like Meagan's friend Brianna did - she got a job at Taco Bell on the spot. But Cameron doesn't seem to want to do that. Right now Cameron's making snickerdoodles for his Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday.
Jarom - has spent most of the summer sleeping. I guess working so hard all year during school and getting up early for jazz band wore him out.
Amber - went to Oakcrest in June and just got back from our Stake's YW Camp today. She's been camping almost 2 weeks this summer. I'm glad I didn't get to go this year. YW Camp was exhausting the last few years I went! Amber's also been happily going to the library once or twice a week all summer long. She checks out very strange anime dvds and books.
Jetta - got most of her fur shaved off last week. She hardly puffs and pants at all now. We're all much happier about that. Without her fur, she's half the dog she used to be. Kailien noticed a tumor on Jetta's leg when she chopped off her fur. I didn't think much of it until she started gnawing on it. Then we got an immunization reminder in the mail, so Cameron and I dragged her to the vet. She needs to have surgery to remove the tumor and she also needs her teeth cleaned. The vet says she actually needs her teeth cleaned worse than she needs the tumor removed, but we only have to pay for anesthetic once, so it's a better deal if we get it done all at once. I told Jetta she has to wait til I recover from my surgery before she gets to have hers. She seems OK with that.
Thor - spends most of his time outside these days. Every once in awhile he comes inside and sleeps on a recliner in the cool of the basement, but most of the time he stares at me like I'm insane when I ask him if he wants to come in the house.
Me - well, that's mostly what I write about, isn't it? Mostly dealing with gall bladder stuff - getting registered for the hospital and all. Last Saturday David and I went to "Bye, Bye Birdie," a city Arts Council Musical. Lorry, who I work with, plays the Mayor's wife. Lorry is a bigger ham than I ever imagined. She's hilarious what with her fainting, her red polka dot underwear and her freaking out over a rock star. Silly. Her daughter, husband and grandson are in the musical, too. I was impressed with the quality of the singing, dancing and acting. Some of the lighting was a little dodgey, but it was opening weekend, so maybe they've worked it out by this weekend.
Finally!
After almost 2 months of waiting, I finally got to see a General Surgeon Monday. PCN finally came through for me! Frighteningly, I couldn't get an appointment with a surgeon until PCN set it up for me. What do people with no insurance do? I guess they wait until something is life-threatening and go to the ER. I tried that, but the ER didn't think my problem was life threatening. My gall bladder problem certainly is quality of life threatening, but I guess that doesn't count in the ER.
I'm scheduled to get my gall bladder removed on Tuesday July 19. I am happy, happy, happy! Maybe right after the surgery I won't be, but in the long run I'm positive I will be. Maybe I'll even get to eat normal food again. Wouldn't that be awesome?!
In any case, once I recover I'm sure I won't be awake all hours of the night in so much pain I wish I could die. And that's a very, very good thing. Who knew a stone-filled gall bladder could be such a trouble maker?
Dr. Nolan told me gall bladder cleanses are a scary thought for a surgeon. "I'm sure lots of people do cleanses without any problem, but surgeons see the cleanses that go wrong. We see the people that end up in the ER with a stone stuck in their bile duct - and that can cause inflammation, jaundice or worse."
So, no, I won't be doing another gall bladder/liver cleanse. Not that kind, at least. If I do any, I'll be doing the more gentle kind, like Flor-essence. I'm hoping I get to see my stones before they get tossed. My sister Becky says they won't let you keep them because they're a bio-hazard. She didn't get to see her gall stones, but Dad did. Maybe I'll have David take a camera so he can take a picture of them if I'm too out of it to look at them. I want to see the little critters that have caused me so much pain...
When I did the cleanse in April I got some hard stones about the size of a pea that looked like little chunks of cement. I wonder how big my biggest stone is? Yeah, this is kind of gross, isn't it?
I'm scheduled to get my gall bladder removed on Tuesday July 19. I am happy, happy, happy! Maybe right after the surgery I won't be, but in the long run I'm positive I will be. Maybe I'll even get to eat normal food again. Wouldn't that be awesome?!
In any case, once I recover I'm sure I won't be awake all hours of the night in so much pain I wish I could die. And that's a very, very good thing. Who knew a stone-filled gall bladder could be such a trouble maker?
Dr. Nolan told me gall bladder cleanses are a scary thought for a surgeon. "I'm sure lots of people do cleanses without any problem, but surgeons see the cleanses that go wrong. We see the people that end up in the ER with a stone stuck in their bile duct - and that can cause inflammation, jaundice or worse."
So, no, I won't be doing another gall bladder/liver cleanse. Not that kind, at least. If I do any, I'll be doing the more gentle kind, like Flor-essence. I'm hoping I get to see my stones before they get tossed. My sister Becky says they won't let you keep them because they're a bio-hazard. She didn't get to see her gall stones, but Dad did. Maybe I'll have David take a camera so he can take a picture of them if I'm too out of it to look at them. I want to see the little critters that have caused me so much pain...
When I did the cleanse in April I got some hard stones about the size of a pea that looked like little chunks of cement. I wonder how big my biggest stone is? Yeah, this is kind of gross, isn't it?
Monday, July 04, 2011
Fourth of July in the Canyon
This morning we loaded the kids, the rubber raft and a cooler of food in the van and headed up Parley's to Smith-Morehouse. The van made it up Parley's and back just fine - yay!
When we got to the canyon, we drove around the lake, then up to the campground. The streams by the campground roared down the mountain so swollen they almost overflowed. Three or four campgrounds close to stream were blocked off with yellow caution tape and the road further up was closed. I don't think you could go to the trailhead we used to camp by.
We drove back down the bumpy dirt road to the lake and pumped up the rubber raft Mom and Dad bequeathed to us several years ago. This is the first time we've used it. Mom and Dad weren't sure the raft would inflate after all this time, so we bought a patch kit just in case. Despite our concerns, the raft proved seaworthy - not a single leak. The raft says it has a 650 pound capacity, but I think you'd have a tough time cramming more than two people in it. Comfortably, at least.
Jarom and Amber ventured out first. Amber was confused about paddling the oars, but she and Jarom made it back just fine. Cameron and Meagan went out next. Meagan sat so far back, she was in the middle of the raft. David didn't want to go out, so Cameron was nice and went out with me. I knelt most of the time. It's hard paddling while sitting down in a raft, especially with a lifevest on.
Sitting by the lake in a camp chair under the clear blue sky, surrounded by quaking aspen and emerald green pine trees with a gentle breeze blowing across the lake felt heavenly. Snow still capped several mountains in the distance. I heard that Snowbird's ski season closed today. What a beautiful day, though.
As we sat by the lake we munched on grapes, potato chips and baby carrots. When everyone had paddled enough, we squished all the air out of the raft and rolled it up. At 3:00, we headed up to the campgrounds to see if we could use one for a couple of hours. They campground hosts told us we could stay until 5:00. I guess it's a good thing we didn't wait 'til 5:00 to go to the campgrounds!
We found out you can use a campground for the day rate of $7 as early as you want as long as there's a camp site available, but you have to leave at 5:00 pm unless you're camping overnight. Overnight camping is $19 for 1 car. We might have camped overnight, but David's oxygen supplier no longer has vacationers. Not sure how we're going to go on vacation for longer than 12 hours... David may have to switch oxygen providers!
Once we chose a campsite, we lugged everything to the brown wooden picnic table and ate a late lunch of cold fried chicken, potato salad, strawberries and string cheese. During lunch we discovered we'd chosen the only vacant campsite with a damp firepit. An hour and a half and an entire book of matches later (from Caesar's Palace, no less!), we had a roaring fire. After the fire burned down, Meagan and Cameron discovered a triangle of logs that created a little oven that roasted marshmallows toasty brown all the way around.
At quarter to five, re-dowsed our lovely fire and packed up. Back at the lake we walked on the gravel road along back side of the lake. Cameron and Jarom hopped from boulder to boulder along the side of the road. Jarom found a gigantic ant he named "big executive ant" and snapped a photo of it. At the end of the road, thousands of gallons of water gushed down the cement spillway in a light brown waterfall.
Eventually, we meandered back down the road to Oakley. We stopped at the little convenience store planning to get drinks or ice cream, then I realized it was already 6:30 and we were starving. On the way up, we noticed a diner in Oakley made from a traincar, so we'd stop there - til I saw the prices. Something like $8 for a sandwich. We changed our minds and drove to Park City and ate a Wendy's.
I don't think the Park City (Kimball Junction? David claims it's Kimball Junction) Wendy's gets much action most evenings, at least not inside. They had 3 adults running the drive through and one rather flustered teenage boy running the counter. He did a pretty good job dealing with us all. I think it's the 6 of us ordering all at once that really threw him.
With our bellies full of tasty food, we raced down Parley's, seeing if we could get home before David ran out of oxygen. Actually, it wasn't that bad. If we'd taken the turn off to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for fireworks rather than going home, David's oxygen would have run out before the fireworks were over, but David still had about 1/2 hour of oxygen left when we got home. We made it home about 8:30 and by the time we unloaded everything, it was almost 9:00. David and I were tired, so we stayed home. I passed out on the bed not too long after 9:00.
I promised the kids we'd go to Grandma and Grandpa's on the 23rd for fireworks - unless I'm recovering from surgery. If that's the case, maybe just David and the kids will go. Unless I go to Mom and Dad's to recover from surgery - then I might already be there...
When we got to the canyon, we drove around the lake, then up to the campground. The streams by the campground roared down the mountain so swollen they almost overflowed. Three or four campgrounds close to stream were blocked off with yellow caution tape and the road further up was closed. I don't think you could go to the trailhead we used to camp by.
We drove back down the bumpy dirt road to the lake and pumped up the rubber raft Mom and Dad bequeathed to us several years ago. This is the first time we've used it. Mom and Dad weren't sure the raft would inflate after all this time, so we bought a patch kit just in case. Despite our concerns, the raft proved seaworthy - not a single leak. The raft says it has a 650 pound capacity, but I think you'd have a tough time cramming more than two people in it. Comfortably, at least.
Jarom and Amber ventured out first. Amber was confused about paddling the oars, but she and Jarom made it back just fine. Cameron and Meagan went out next. Meagan sat so far back, she was in the middle of the raft. David didn't want to go out, so Cameron was nice and went out with me. I knelt most of the time. It's hard paddling while sitting down in a raft, especially with a lifevest on.
Sitting by the lake in a camp chair under the clear blue sky, surrounded by quaking aspen and emerald green pine trees with a gentle breeze blowing across the lake felt heavenly. Snow still capped several mountains in the distance. I heard that Snowbird's ski season closed today. What a beautiful day, though.
As we sat by the lake we munched on grapes, potato chips and baby carrots. When everyone had paddled enough, we squished all the air out of the raft and rolled it up. At 3:00, we headed up to the campgrounds to see if we could use one for a couple of hours. They campground hosts told us we could stay until 5:00. I guess it's a good thing we didn't wait 'til 5:00 to go to the campgrounds!
We found out you can use a campground for the day rate of $7 as early as you want as long as there's a camp site available, but you have to leave at 5:00 pm unless you're camping overnight. Overnight camping is $19 for 1 car. We might have camped overnight, but David's oxygen supplier no longer has vacationers. Not sure how we're going to go on vacation for longer than 12 hours... David may have to switch oxygen providers!
Once we chose a campsite, we lugged everything to the brown wooden picnic table and ate a late lunch of cold fried chicken, potato salad, strawberries and string cheese. During lunch we discovered we'd chosen the only vacant campsite with a damp firepit. An hour and a half and an entire book of matches later (from Caesar's Palace, no less!), we had a roaring fire. After the fire burned down, Meagan and Cameron discovered a triangle of logs that created a little oven that roasted marshmallows toasty brown all the way around.
At quarter to five, re-dowsed our lovely fire and packed up. Back at the lake we walked on the gravel road along back side of the lake. Cameron and Jarom hopped from boulder to boulder along the side of the road. Jarom found a gigantic ant he named "big executive ant" and snapped a photo of it. At the end of the road, thousands of gallons of water gushed down the cement spillway in a light brown waterfall.
Eventually, we meandered back down the road to Oakley. We stopped at the little convenience store planning to get drinks or ice cream, then I realized it was already 6:30 and we were starving. On the way up, we noticed a diner in Oakley made from a traincar, so we'd stop there - til I saw the prices. Something like $8 for a sandwich. We changed our minds and drove to Park City and ate a Wendy's.
I don't think the Park City (Kimball Junction? David claims it's Kimball Junction) Wendy's gets much action most evenings, at least not inside. They had 3 adults running the drive through and one rather flustered teenage boy running the counter. He did a pretty good job dealing with us all. I think it's the 6 of us ordering all at once that really threw him.
With our bellies full of tasty food, we raced down Parley's, seeing if we could get home before David ran out of oxygen. Actually, it wasn't that bad. If we'd taken the turn off to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for fireworks rather than going home, David's oxygen would have run out before the fireworks were over, but David still had about 1/2 hour of oxygen left when we got home. We made it home about 8:30 and by the time we unloaded everything, it was almost 9:00. David and I were tired, so we stayed home. I passed out on the bed not too long after 9:00.
I promised the kids we'd go to Grandma and Grandpa's on the 23rd for fireworks - unless I'm recovering from surgery. If that's the case, maybe just David and the kids will go. Unless I go to Mom and Dad's to recover from surgery - then I might already be there...
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Just Tired
I'm exahausted. Meagan wants us to all go to West Fest tonight to search through the booths and watch the fireworks. That sounds fun, but I just want to finish getting Amber packed for camp and drop in bed and pass out until tomorrow morning!
Someday PCN is going to come through for me and I'm going to get my gall bladder out so I can actually eat fat again without being miserable. Or I'm going to switch jobs so I have insurance that will allow me to get my gall bladder out without all the red tape. Only problem is, I'm not sure I'm going to have enough energy to work full time until my gall bladder is taken care of and I can eat semi-normal food again.
On the plus side, David and the kids have been cleaning, cooking, washing dishes and fixing the car door so that when I come home from work I don't have to worry about all that other stuff. That makes me happy and relieved! On Thursday when I came home from work, David and Cameron were stuffing manicotti. I couldn't eat it, but the kids sure seemed to enjoy it - especially the manicotti with white sauce.
Also on the plus side, Greg at Mark Miller Toyota's service department told us that he got authorization so they'll pay for the airbag repair for our Sienna. Yay! Greg told us if we'd had to pay for the repair it would have cost $1,000, but they're covering it all under our 30 day warranty because it's a safety issue. Whew, that was close! David took the van in on Wednesday and they would have repaired it then, but they had to order in a part. So on Tuesday we'll take the van back in and it'll be all taken care of.
Meagan, Zac, Cameron, Jarom and Amber are heading off to West Fest and David and I are going to the dollar store for camp stuff. Then I'm going to bed and watching Harry Potter and not thinking about my guts.
Someday PCN is going to come through for me and I'm going to get my gall bladder out so I can actually eat fat again without being miserable. Or I'm going to switch jobs so I have insurance that will allow me to get my gall bladder out without all the red tape. Only problem is, I'm not sure I'm going to have enough energy to work full time until my gall bladder is taken care of and I can eat semi-normal food again.
On the plus side, David and the kids have been cleaning, cooking, washing dishes and fixing the car door so that when I come home from work I don't have to worry about all that other stuff. That makes me happy and relieved! On Thursday when I came home from work, David and Cameron were stuffing manicotti. I couldn't eat it, but the kids sure seemed to enjoy it - especially the manicotti with white sauce.
Also on the plus side, Greg at Mark Miller Toyota's service department told us that he got authorization so they'll pay for the airbag repair for our Sienna. Yay! Greg told us if we'd had to pay for the repair it would have cost $1,000, but they're covering it all under our 30 day warranty because it's a safety issue. Whew, that was close! David took the van in on Wednesday and they would have repaired it then, but they had to order in a part. So on Tuesday we'll take the van back in and it'll be all taken care of.
Meagan, Zac, Cameron, Jarom and Amber are heading off to West Fest and David and I are going to the dollar store for camp stuff. Then I'm going to bed and watching Harry Potter and not thinking about my guts.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Minivans & Cabers & Moving On
Well, we finally bought a minivan. Glory, Hallelujah! I'm so glad we don't have to shop for minivans anymore. It's tough to get a good minivan for a decent price in Utah.
After searching the entire valley and test driving 15 different minivans, David and I were down to 2 minivans - a white one at Mark Miller Toyota and a beige one at Smith Family Auto. We decided to take the white one to our mechanic, if Mark Miller Toyota would let us. Dealers are so weird about letting you take a car to your mechanic. I don't know why - if you want to take a car to your mechanic, you're probably pretty serious about wanting to buy it aren't you?
So David and Cameron took it to the mechanic - I had to work. The mechanic even checked the van's engine with his computer and said they hadn't tried to erase any codes, so that was good. I didn't know they could do that. The mechanic said it was great and if we didn't buy it, he would. Can't get much better of an endorsement than that, can you? So, we went through with it.
Man, Mark Miller is really tough to talk down on prices. I finally talked them down to $225 below the NADA price. They thought they were giving us a deal (or so they told us), but I knew better. It was a fair price, I was just hoping to get it a little lower. We just happened to buy the van on my birthday - totally unplanned, but we figured if we didn't move soon, someone else would buy the van, then we'd be out looking again - unless the beige van checked out OK with our mechanic. When David and I were almost done buying the van, another sales rep came up to me and said, "You just bought the van, I almost sold to someone else." So I guess we were right.
Two days after we bought our van we loaded everyone up in it and went to the Scottish Festival. They raised the price from $10/person to $15/person and didn't have a group rate anymore. David and I decided if admission goes up to $20/person, we're going to find some other way to entertain our family that weekend.
The Scottish Festival was fun and the weather was perfect - unusual for the Scottish Festival. Becky and Ray and Mom and Dad and David's sisters didn't go this year - in fact, the only family we saw there was Devon and Debra. I think Linda was there, too, but I didn't see her. The bagpipe bands played as energetically as ever and the Highland games were fun to watch. For some reason, only about half the usual vendors were there. It wasn't quite as crowded as usual, either - probably the higher admission prices, I'm guessing.
And I had a headache - probably because I was relieved to have gotten a van, finally? Well, that and I worked 11 hours the day before because we'd just moved to our new office and I had to sort everything out AND call everyone with their appointments. I like jobs with set coming and going times, not, you have to stay there til it's done cuz there's nobody else to do it if you don't.
So, now we've had the van for a week and a half and the driver's arm rest isn't catching like it should and the airbag light keeps flashing. Hopefully this is covered under the 30 day warranty Mark Miller included with the van. It still drives great and I still like the van, but at the same time, it's a little annoying. The good thing, though, in any case is we've still got a great mechanic that will make everything all right. I'm convinced of it. And that's a very good feeling to have.
Now, if I could just figure out the rest of my life...
I finally got all the paperwork filled out for my insurance so I can *hopefully* get my gallbladder out and start feeling better. And start eating fat again. After surgery, I'm going to give myself a couple of months to recuperate, then I think I'm going to go look for a different job. I plan on working full time so I can get benefits and have decent insurance so I won't have to go through this waiting game again if the kids or I should happen to need medical attention. Our insurance covers primary care doctor's visits, dental visits and eye exams, but that's about it. Better than nothing, but not by much if you should happen to need to go to a specialist or a hospital.
My current job is too stressful and has no benefits. I don't think it ever will. Plus, I don't like Medicare's new rules - they've made my used to be OK job almost unbearable. So, here's to greener pastures and less stressful jobs. I'm sure there's a better one out there, and this fall/winter, I'm going to find it!
Did I ever say that Cameron finally got his Eagle? His board of review was a couple of weeks ago and he passed that just fine. What a relief that he finally got his Eagle! He's also graduated from High School and the Institute of Technology at GTI. He did great!
Jarom got to play with the band at Cameron's graduation. Cameron and Jarom also had end of year concerts for band and chorus. It was fun going to those - even though I didn't get to stay for Cameron's concert because I had a class to go to. That was sad. It would have been fine, but they changed the concert night from Wednesday to Tuesday.
After graduation, we went to Millcreek Canyon and had a graduation party for Cameron. David and I made dutch oven chicken, which surprisingly turned out quite well for us not having made it in ages. From my count, 32 people showed up for the party.
Well, I think I'm going back to bed for awhile. G'night!
After searching the entire valley and test driving 15 different minivans, David and I were down to 2 minivans - a white one at Mark Miller Toyota and a beige one at Smith Family Auto. We decided to take the white one to our mechanic, if Mark Miller Toyota would let us. Dealers are so weird about letting you take a car to your mechanic. I don't know why - if you want to take a car to your mechanic, you're probably pretty serious about wanting to buy it aren't you?
So David and Cameron took it to the mechanic - I had to work. The mechanic even checked the van's engine with his computer and said they hadn't tried to erase any codes, so that was good. I didn't know they could do that. The mechanic said it was great and if we didn't buy it, he would. Can't get much better of an endorsement than that, can you? So, we went through with it.
Man, Mark Miller is really tough to talk down on prices. I finally talked them down to $225 below the NADA price. They thought they were giving us a deal (or so they told us), but I knew better. It was a fair price, I was just hoping to get it a little lower. We just happened to buy the van on my birthday - totally unplanned, but we figured if we didn't move soon, someone else would buy the van, then we'd be out looking again - unless the beige van checked out OK with our mechanic. When David and I were almost done buying the van, another sales rep came up to me and said, "You just bought the van, I almost sold to someone else." So I guess we were right.
Two days after we bought our van we loaded everyone up in it and went to the Scottish Festival. They raised the price from $10/person to $15/person and didn't have a group rate anymore. David and I decided if admission goes up to $20/person, we're going to find some other way to entertain our family that weekend.
The Scottish Festival was fun and the weather was perfect - unusual for the Scottish Festival. Becky and Ray and Mom and Dad and David's sisters didn't go this year - in fact, the only family we saw there was Devon and Debra. I think Linda was there, too, but I didn't see her. The bagpipe bands played as energetically as ever and the Highland games were fun to watch. For some reason, only about half the usual vendors were there. It wasn't quite as crowded as usual, either - probably the higher admission prices, I'm guessing.
And I had a headache - probably because I was relieved to have gotten a van, finally? Well, that and I worked 11 hours the day before because we'd just moved to our new office and I had to sort everything out AND call everyone with their appointments. I like jobs with set coming and going times, not, you have to stay there til it's done cuz there's nobody else to do it if you don't.
So, now we've had the van for a week and a half and the driver's arm rest isn't catching like it should and the airbag light keeps flashing. Hopefully this is covered under the 30 day warranty Mark Miller included with the van. It still drives great and I still like the van, but at the same time, it's a little annoying. The good thing, though, in any case is we've still got a great mechanic that will make everything all right. I'm convinced of it. And that's a very good feeling to have.
Now, if I could just figure out the rest of my life...
I finally got all the paperwork filled out for my insurance so I can *hopefully* get my gallbladder out and start feeling better. And start eating fat again. After surgery, I'm going to give myself a couple of months to recuperate, then I think I'm going to go look for a different job. I plan on working full time so I can get benefits and have decent insurance so I won't have to go through this waiting game again if the kids or I should happen to need medical attention. Our insurance covers primary care doctor's visits, dental visits and eye exams, but that's about it. Better than nothing, but not by much if you should happen to need to go to a specialist or a hospital.
My current job is too stressful and has no benefits. I don't think it ever will. Plus, I don't like Medicare's new rules - they've made my used to be OK job almost unbearable. So, here's to greener pastures and less stressful jobs. I'm sure there's a better one out there, and this fall/winter, I'm going to find it!
Did I ever say that Cameron finally got his Eagle? His board of review was a couple of weeks ago and he passed that just fine. What a relief that he finally got his Eagle! He's also graduated from High School and the Institute of Technology at GTI. He did great!
Jarom got to play with the band at Cameron's graduation. Cameron and Jarom also had end of year concerts for band and chorus. It was fun going to those - even though I didn't get to stay for Cameron's concert because I had a class to go to. That was sad. It would have been fine, but they changed the concert night from Wednesday to Tuesday.
After graduation, we went to Millcreek Canyon and had a graduation party for Cameron. David and I made dutch oven chicken, which surprisingly turned out quite well for us not having made it in ages. From my count, 32 people showed up for the party.
Well, I think I'm going back to bed for awhile. G'night!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Oh, the Gall!
Last Sunday my insides ached. I made it through Cameron's Seminary Graduation, but I asked Dad and David to give me a blessing. Dad gave me a very nice, comforting blessing that made me feel emotionally better, if not physically - at least not at first.
During the blessing I got the feeling that I needed to go see Dr. Nelson the following day. I normally avoid doctors, so that was a switch for me!
I called the doctor's office first thing Monday morning and I got in that afternoon. David was surprised because it usually takes him days if not weeks to get in. Dr. Nelson asked me a bunch of questions, had me get my blood drawn and set up an ultrasound appointment for Tuesday morning - because I didn't want to go another 4 hours without eating.
After my doctor appointment, I felt the best I have in years. My guts didn't hurt even a little. I remember thinking to myself: "This must be what it's like to feel normal."
Thursday morning Dr. Nelson's MA called and said all my bloodwork was normal (even though she couldn't tell me what tests they were!) and that my gallbladder is full of stones. So, Dr. Nelson wanted me to set up an appointment with a general surgeon. I called the general surgeon's office and the soonest appointment they had was next Tuesday. But, oh, neither of the surgeons in the office take my insurance. So, I called my insurance and they said if I got a referral from Dr. Nelson, they'd pay for the specialist visit.
That would have been OK, but I'd been in a ton of pain since about 2:00 am Thursday morning. I'd eaten some salad dressing and some somewhat greasy meatloaf the night before - I'll explain more about that later. I didn't know if I could wait til next Tuesday to see a doctor. So, I decided on the way home to have David take me to the ER. I would have driven myself, but then David would have been stuck at home for who knows how long without a car. By that point I was in so much pain I didn't care if I got to keep my gall bladder or not.
Two hours after I got into the ER, most of my pain had subsided. I guess that's good? The IV stuck in my arm hurt worse than my guts by that point. The good news was that no gallstones were stuck anywhere (other than my gallbladder!) and I didn't have an infection or blockage. So, the ER Dr told me to go home and eat a no fat diet ("Basically, if it tastes good, don't eat it. Even 1/2 teaspoon of ice cream is too much fat!") and see a surgeon next week.
Apparently when you eat fat the stomach signals to the gallbladder to squeeze out some bile so you can digest the fat. That's all good unless your gallbladder is full of stones. In that case, it's painful!
So, I've been on a no fat diet and I've felt really good, until today when I had one slice of 98% fat free turkey. I guess that 1 gram of fat was too much. Woo hoo - back to my no fat diet. At least it's a holiday tomorrow and I don't have to go to work.
Unfortunately the gallbladder cleanse I did a couple of months ago was too little, too late. Plus, did you know if you have calcified gallstones (which some of mine are), you shouldn't do a liver/gallbladder cleanse? Sheri did muscle test, surprisingly, I thought, that getting my gallbladder surgically removed would be best at this point. After Thursday, I'm OK with that.
The good thing, though, is now I know what's making me feel so awful and I know what to do about it - don't eat any fat until I get my gallbladder out! And knowing what to do to feel better makes me happy. :)
NOTE TO SELF: Eat every 2-3 hours. Did you know that waiting too long to eat can cause gallstones? Also - once I have my gb out, I need to remember to eat HEALTHY fats. A low or no-fat diet or the wrong fats can cause gallstones, too - but probably not over a 2 week period... which is when I hope to have my surgery at the latest.
During the blessing I got the feeling that I needed to go see Dr. Nelson the following day. I normally avoid doctors, so that was a switch for me!
I called the doctor's office first thing Monday morning and I got in that afternoon. David was surprised because it usually takes him days if not weeks to get in. Dr. Nelson asked me a bunch of questions, had me get my blood drawn and set up an ultrasound appointment for Tuesday morning - because I didn't want to go another 4 hours without eating.
After my doctor appointment, I felt the best I have in years. My guts didn't hurt even a little. I remember thinking to myself: "This must be what it's like to feel normal."
Thursday morning Dr. Nelson's MA called and said all my bloodwork was normal (even though she couldn't tell me what tests they were!) and that my gallbladder is full of stones. So, Dr. Nelson wanted me to set up an appointment with a general surgeon. I called the general surgeon's office and the soonest appointment they had was next Tuesday. But, oh, neither of the surgeons in the office take my insurance. So, I called my insurance and they said if I got a referral from Dr. Nelson, they'd pay for the specialist visit.
That would have been OK, but I'd been in a ton of pain since about 2:00 am Thursday morning. I'd eaten some salad dressing and some somewhat greasy meatloaf the night before - I'll explain more about that later. I didn't know if I could wait til next Tuesday to see a doctor. So, I decided on the way home to have David take me to the ER. I would have driven myself, but then David would have been stuck at home for who knows how long without a car. By that point I was in so much pain I didn't care if I got to keep my gall bladder or not.
Two hours after I got into the ER, most of my pain had subsided. I guess that's good? The IV stuck in my arm hurt worse than my guts by that point. The good news was that no gallstones were stuck anywhere (other than my gallbladder!) and I didn't have an infection or blockage. So, the ER Dr told me to go home and eat a no fat diet ("Basically, if it tastes good, don't eat it. Even 1/2 teaspoon of ice cream is too much fat!") and see a surgeon next week.
Apparently when you eat fat the stomach signals to the gallbladder to squeeze out some bile so you can digest the fat. That's all good unless your gallbladder is full of stones. In that case, it's painful!
So, I've been on a no fat diet and I've felt really good, until today when I had one slice of 98% fat free turkey. I guess that 1 gram of fat was too much. Woo hoo - back to my no fat diet. At least it's a holiday tomorrow and I don't have to go to work.
Unfortunately the gallbladder cleanse I did a couple of months ago was too little, too late. Plus, did you know if you have calcified gallstones (which some of mine are), you shouldn't do a liver/gallbladder cleanse? Sheri did muscle test, surprisingly, I thought, that getting my gallbladder surgically removed would be best at this point. After Thursday, I'm OK with that.
The good thing, though, is now I know what's making me feel so awful and I know what to do about it - don't eat any fat until I get my gallbladder out! And knowing what to do to feel better makes me happy. :)
NOTE TO SELF: Eat every 2-3 hours. Did you know that waiting too long to eat can cause gallstones? Also - once I have my gb out, I need to remember to eat HEALTHY fats. A low or no-fat diet or the wrong fats can cause gallstones, too - but probably not over a 2 week period... which is when I hope to have my surgery at the latest.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The School Year is Winding Down - and I'm Trying to as Well
I've been up half the night feeling bloated and icky. I think I need to start talking bitters or something. Or quit my job :) If only that were an option. My job is stressing me out. I told myself I was only going to do what I could do, then I was going to go home. Problem is, I'm pretty sure the work computer has a virus and it makes everything take 3 times longer than it should. Ack!
I think I'm going to tell Joe he either needs to get the computer fixed or I'm going to restore it to 3 months ago before we started having all these problems. And hope we don't lose any important files. It's getting riddikulus!
So... in happier news:
Cameron and Jarom had concerts on Tuesday night. I got to see Jarom's play with the band and jazz band. Mom and Dad even made it even though Cameron and Jarom only told them about it the night before. Right before the choirs started their concert, I had to leave to go to a class David and I are taking to try to figure out how to cut our food budget way back so we can afford to buy a minivan. David video recorded Cameron's songs, but I still haven't watched them yet.
Last night Jarom had another concert - the jazz band played two songs with the Madrigals. So, essentially, Jarom was in about ten minutes of an hour long concert. I liked "Lullaby of Broadway" and kept humming it after we got home. Jarom told me he hates playing that song because for the trumpets it's mostly just a bunch of random notes. Unfortunately the last twenty minutes of the concert was a Stephen Sondheim medley. Not a big fan. Probably because of a bad experience I had at Tandem doing a program for "Into the Woods." OK, not probably, totally.
At Jarom's concert, I was also successful in taking some of the world's worst photos ever. Sheri would be so proud.
David and Amber went to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser for YW Camp at the church yesterday while Jarom and I were at the concert. I donated a couple of plates of rice crispy treats (of course) and David and Amber came home with a bunch of gluteny things I couldn't eat - angel food cake, cinnamon rolls and brownies. Good thing I bought extra rice crispy treat stuff.
Today Amber is going to La Caille for dinner with her French class. She saved up $28 so she could go, which is pretty impressive for a twelve-year-old. We ended up paying half of it for her because we did the same thing for Cameron earlier this year, so Amber got to keep $14 to spend on something else.
Amber is doing her IP project presentation today. The school invited the parents to come, but Amber refuses to tell me what time her presentation is. Because she doesn't want me to go. Fine. She's probably afraid I'll make sure she does the power point with photos if I go. She's not very happy with me lately because I insist on her doing her homework and turning it in or she can't check out anything from the library. Poor Amber.
Meagan and I are both stressing out about the whole wedding thing. When is it going to happen and all that. I hope she puts it off until after she buys a car and we buy a minivan. I think I need some xanax...
I think I'm going to tell Joe he either needs to get the computer fixed or I'm going to restore it to 3 months ago before we started having all these problems. And hope we don't lose any important files. It's getting riddikulus!
So... in happier news:
Cameron and Jarom had concerts on Tuesday night. I got to see Jarom's play with the band and jazz band. Mom and Dad even made it even though Cameron and Jarom only told them about it the night before. Right before the choirs started their concert, I had to leave to go to a class David and I are taking to try to figure out how to cut our food budget way back so we can afford to buy a minivan. David video recorded Cameron's songs, but I still haven't watched them yet.
Last night Jarom had another concert - the jazz band played two songs with the Madrigals. So, essentially, Jarom was in about ten minutes of an hour long concert. I liked "Lullaby of Broadway" and kept humming it after we got home. Jarom told me he hates playing that song because for the trumpets it's mostly just a bunch of random notes. Unfortunately the last twenty minutes of the concert was a Stephen Sondheim medley. Not a big fan. Probably because of a bad experience I had at Tandem doing a program for "Into the Woods." OK, not probably, totally.
At Jarom's concert, I was also successful in taking some of the world's worst photos ever. Sheri would be so proud.
David and Amber went to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser for YW Camp at the church yesterday while Jarom and I were at the concert. I donated a couple of plates of rice crispy treats (of course) and David and Amber came home with a bunch of gluteny things I couldn't eat - angel food cake, cinnamon rolls and brownies. Good thing I bought extra rice crispy treat stuff.
Today Amber is going to La Caille for dinner with her French class. She saved up $28 so she could go, which is pretty impressive for a twelve-year-old. We ended up paying half of it for her because we did the same thing for Cameron earlier this year, so Amber got to keep $14 to spend on something else.
Amber is doing her IP project presentation today. The school invited the parents to come, but Amber refuses to tell me what time her presentation is. Because she doesn't want me to go. Fine. She's probably afraid I'll make sure she does the power point with photos if I go. She's not very happy with me lately because I insist on her doing her homework and turning it in or she can't check out anything from the library. Poor Amber.
Meagan and I are both stressing out about the whole wedding thing. When is it going to happen and all that. I hope she puts it off until after she buys a car and we buy a minivan. I think I need some xanax...
Friday, May 13, 2011
Getting Good Deals on Holiday Items
I saw this in Your Weekly Guide to Savings & Entertainment, so I thought I'd blog about it so I don't have to save the paper and actually remember where I put it. (Like that's gonna happen!)
Everyone knows holiday items are less expensive AFTER a holiday, but what are the best days to buy after a holiday? According to the article by Melea Johnson (of freebies2deals.com) retailers use the "3-3-2 Rule." Basically, that means:
- the first 3 days after the holiday items are 50% off
- the next 3 days they're 75% off
- the last 2 days they're 90% off
- after that, the stores clear off the shelves.
This holds true for major holidays. For minor holidays, mark downs usually occur faster.
So, now you know when to go shopping for holiday stuff. Of course, the best stuff usually disappears the first 3 days after the holiday, so it depends how long you want to hold out. I'm not one for shopping any more than I have to. I haven't tested this out (and probably never will!) but it is interesting to know.
Everyone knows holiday items are less expensive AFTER a holiday, but what are the best days to buy after a holiday? According to the article by Melea Johnson (of freebies2deals.com) retailers use the "3-3-2 Rule." Basically, that means:
- the first 3 days after the holiday items are 50% off
- the next 3 days they're 75% off
- the last 2 days they're 90% off
- after that, the stores clear off the shelves.
This holds true for major holidays. For minor holidays, mark downs usually occur faster.
So, now you know when to go shopping for holiday stuff. Of course, the best stuff usually disappears the first 3 days after the holiday, so it depends how long you want to hold out. I'm not one for shopping any more than I have to. I haven't tested this out (and probably never will!) but it is interesting to know.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
On Being a One Car Family
We've had at least 2 cars for so long that adjusting to having only one car has been interesting. But we're getting used to it. At least our one car is big enough to fit all of us. It's squishy, but it works - especially if we aren't going farther than a mile or two away from home.
If we want to take just one extra person, though, it doesn't work. We've tried to talk the kids into riding in the trunk - it's nice and roomy, right? - but none of them have taken us up on it. Just kidding. I wouldn't let anyone ride in the trunk anyway.
The interesting thing is how much money it has saved us in just the last couple of months. Our insurance has gone down $90/month. And yesterday we got the Chevron bill - usually it's $350/month. For last month? $140. Wow. That means we saved $300 last month. And that's not including not having a $200-$250/month car payment.
That said, I wish public transportation were better. I would probably ditch the car and take the bus/train to work. Which has gotten me to thinking that it might not be a bad idea if I got a job at Granger Medical Clinic. It's right on the bus line and probably a 5 minute bus ride from my home. And, I would be forced to walk to and from the bus, which would be good. Even though it was a pain to ride the bus to and from MSC a few years back, I did get more exercise!
We would still need at least one car, though. David can't walk very far - not even to the bus stop a couple of blocks away. Maybe if he took his walker and started out a half hour before the bus was due. Plus, not many busses run on the weekend. I can't imagine using the bus for grocery shopping. And taking the bus when it's dark out? Scary. Of course, even in daylight it can be scary, when you're stalked by psychotic men. But that would never happen, right?
I guess at least the trend is going toward busses and trains. The Trax hub in our part of town will be done this August, I think? Meagan and Zac are getting pretty good at navigating the bus/trax system.
That said, David and I are still planning on buying a minivan. Just probaly not til sometime this summer. The options I'd most like on the minivan? A tow hitch and a back-up camera. Unfortunately, not many minivans come with the back-up camera - and if they do, they're the way expensive minivans.
If we want to take just one extra person, though, it doesn't work. We've tried to talk the kids into riding in the trunk - it's nice and roomy, right? - but none of them have taken us up on it. Just kidding. I wouldn't let anyone ride in the trunk anyway.
The interesting thing is how much money it has saved us in just the last couple of months. Our insurance has gone down $90/month. And yesterday we got the Chevron bill - usually it's $350/month. For last month? $140. Wow. That means we saved $300 last month. And that's not including not having a $200-$250/month car payment.
That said, I wish public transportation were better. I would probably ditch the car and take the bus/train to work. Which has gotten me to thinking that it might not be a bad idea if I got a job at Granger Medical Clinic. It's right on the bus line and probably a 5 minute bus ride from my home. And, I would be forced to walk to and from the bus, which would be good. Even though it was a pain to ride the bus to and from MSC a few years back, I did get more exercise!
We would still need at least one car, though. David can't walk very far - not even to the bus stop a couple of blocks away. Maybe if he took his walker and started out a half hour before the bus was due. Plus, not many busses run on the weekend. I can't imagine using the bus for grocery shopping. And taking the bus when it's dark out? Scary. Of course, even in daylight it can be scary, when you're stalked by psychotic men. But that would never happen, right?
I guess at least the trend is going toward busses and trains. The Trax hub in our part of town will be done this August, I think? Meagan and Zac are getting pretty good at navigating the bus/trax system.
That said, David and I are still planning on buying a minivan. Just probaly not til sometime this summer. The options I'd most like on the minivan? A tow hitch and a back-up camera. Unfortunately, not many minivans come with the back-up camera - and if they do, they're the way expensive minivans.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
A Couple of You Tube Links
As Jarom, Amber and I were surfing the web, well youtube, really, we found a couple of things actually worth watching, here they are:
Top Secret Drum Corps Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2009
Honestly, it doesn't get really interesting until about 5:59, but the rest of it is pretty good, too. Except the cheesy narrator talking about all the drummers having day jobs and such.
Peep Microwave Disaster
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It made me think of Becky and her love of peeps. And Ghostbusters. I feel like I need some peeps... (I have to admit, the second time wasn't nearly as funny. I already knew what was going to happen.)
BTW, David and I are on hiatus from our minivan search. Looks like Tim Dahle Nissan is still trying to sell the salvaged minivan we almost bought. Even after we told them about it. They're still trying to sell it for above the top NADA price for a Sienna in excellent condition that's never been in a wreck. Figures. I feel like turning them into the BBB, but you can't get much lower than and "F," can you?
And, did I tell you about the minivan we test drove on Monday that smelled like it had a dead animal in it? Turns out they detailed it and rolled up all the windows before the upholstery and carpet dried completely. Mildew. Ewwww...
Top Secret Drum Corps Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2009
Honestly, it doesn't get really interesting until about 5:59, but the rest of it is pretty good, too. Except the cheesy narrator talking about all the drummers having day jobs and such.
Peep Microwave Disaster
I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It made me think of Becky and her love of peeps. And Ghostbusters. I feel like I need some peeps... (I have to admit, the second time wasn't nearly as funny. I already knew what was going to happen.)
BTW, David and I are on hiatus from our minivan search. Looks like Tim Dahle Nissan is still trying to sell the salvaged minivan we almost bought. Even after we told them about it. They're still trying to sell it for above the top NADA price for a Sienna in excellent condition that's never been in a wreck. Figures. I feel like turning them into the BBB, but you can't get much lower than and "F," can you?
And, did I tell you about the minivan we test drove on Monday that smelled like it had a dead animal in it? Turns out they detailed it and rolled up all the windows before the upholstery and carpet dried completely. Mildew. Ewwww...
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
All's Well that Ends Well
Last weekend was stressful, to say the least. After a week of researching minivans on the internet, David and I went out to test drive a few. With no intention of actually buying a minivan that day. We were just looking, that's all.
The first lot we went to was very low-key, no pressure. We test drove an '04 Odyssey and an '04 Sienna. David likes Odysseys better. I'm OK with either, but the seats in that Odyssey seemed very uncomfortable to me. And the interior was very, very light gray. I could just imagine it looking horrible all the time. The Sienna's seats were more comfortable and the interior slightly darker, but it had probably 20,000 more miles on it and was $2000 more.
The next lot we went to was little higher pressure, but they only had one Sienna and no Odysseys. The Sienna they had was an '03 and it had practically no legroom in the back. They must have redesigned the Sienna in '04 so it had more legroom.
The third lot we went to had a very nice '04 Sienna with 77,000 miles on it. David's not really crazy about Siennas, but somehow the salesmen twisted our arms into buying this one. They started out wanting $14,000 for it and we talked them down to $11,300. We did get a contingency that if our mechanic rejected it, we didn't have to buy it.
David drove the van home and I drove the Crown. I was too freaked out to drive it. I was happy, we've never had a car that nice before. We got home and wanted to take the kids on a test drive - see if they had enough legroom and all, since our 2 boys are almost 6 feet tall and the girls are not much shorter than I am. Meagan was at work, but Cameron and Amber came outside pretty quickly. Jarom had locked himself in the bathroom and didn't come out for another 20 minutes. Ah, teenagers.
Finally, we got everyone in the car and drove around a couple of blocks. Just after we got home and David was still sitting in the driver's seat with the engine idling, I looked over at the dashboard and noticed the check engine light was on. Great.
Then I went inside and was debating whether to pull a car fax on the car. But $30 a shot seemed pretty pricey. Fortunately, I found a free website (nicb.org) where I could look up the VIN number. What? The van was salvaged? It had been in a wreck last November? Great.
Then I looked up the car dealership on bbb.org. Guess what their rating was? An F. I could have sworn I looked up all the dealerships we were going to visit and they'd gotten a B+ or better. Not this one. Crap.
I didn't sleep very well Saturday night.
Sunday morning I got up early to go religion hopping with Cameron, Meagan and Becky. Not that I slept much Saturday night anyway. Becky was nice enough to chauffer us around town, since we only have one car and David needed it so he could give his High Council talk at 11:00.
Becky picked us up at about 7:30 and we drove to the Cathedral for Mass. It was as pretty as I remember it being when Meagan and I went there a couple of years ago. We had to leave Mass early because it dragged on and on. I thought mass was supposed to last only 1 hour? Maybe it was longer because it was Palm Sunday? We did each get a palm frond and we got holy water splashed on us. We sat on the bench directly in front of the ushers. I think they were annoyed we didn't know what was going on. We tried. The ushers did have nice singing voices, as did one of the priests. Becky and I think that must be a qualification to be a priest.
After that, we drove over to the Buddhist Temple, which was not very far away, just on the other side of the Salt Palace. When we disembarked from the car and walked around the corner, I smelled what I thought was smoke from a pipe. The temple looked traditional Japanese. I think Meagan said it was on Japan Street. Or something. We got there for the end of meditation, which didn't seem like meditation to me. More like an informal speech.
We sat near the back of the chapel (?) on one of several wooden benches. I was glad the seats were cushioned. Three large red and gold shrines lined the front wall. I liked the little golden chimes hanging from the roofs. Inside the shrines were pictures of people who I suppose are important in the Buddhist church?
After about 20 minutes of a cute, perky reverend, who must have grown up Catholic leading us in "meditation," Dharma school began. We attempted to sing along with their songs and repeat their chants and poems. They were all very lovely saying about peace and love and gratitude, so I was OK with repeating them. Most of it was in Japanese, but they had English translations in the book, so we knew what we were saying.
About the middle of the service, a jack-hammer started up outside. It was not terribly loud, just a little distracting. It reminded me of the yoga class I had where there was a karate class upstairs. The yoga instructor said something like, "The sounds around you will not distract you, you will focus on your breathing." I love yoga instructors. That's about the time I realized the smell was not pipe smoke, but incense. I could have done without the incense.
Near the end of the service, when everything was rather quiet, a big "bong" rang out through the room. I jumped. Then I realized it was the sound of "om." The next two times I was expecting the bong and I rather enjoyed the resonance of the sound.
After that, Becky drove us home. I got to show Becky the salvaged van in our driveway and how the check engine light was still coming on every time you started the car up. Sigh.
Then, we went to our own church and I wrangled Primary kids. I kept thinking about how weird it was to sort of be in charge at church after I'd been to other churches where I had little idea what was going on. Going to another church and having friendly people greet me always reminds me of how important it is to be friendly to people at my own church, whether I know them or not.
So, after stressing out about the stupid van all weekend, David and I took it to Autozone and Gines' around 7:00 am Monday morning to have it checked out. Yep, it had been in a wreck. Bad enough that the frame had to be welded back together and the driver's airbag had more than likely deployed. Gines' didn't even bother checking why the check engine light came on.
Somehow I made it through work, then David and I picked up my cousin John, a Hertz mechanic, to go to Tim Dahle Nissan with us, just in case they wouldn't take the van back. John knows Mark at Gines - they used to be in the same ward - Mark was John's bishop for awhile, so they teased each other and talked about Scouts.
Finally, after almost two days, we made it back to Tim Dahle. When David saw the salesman who sold us the car, he held out the keys to the van and said, "You can have it back." The salesman was stunned, but he got someone else who could help us (it was his second day on the sales floor, poor guy) - after about 15 minutes.
I was so relieved when the guy who did all the finance paperwork signed a form saying we were released from the contract. Whew. That was close. I'm glad that's over!
The first lot we went to was very low-key, no pressure. We test drove an '04 Odyssey and an '04 Sienna. David likes Odysseys better. I'm OK with either, but the seats in that Odyssey seemed very uncomfortable to me. And the interior was very, very light gray. I could just imagine it looking horrible all the time. The Sienna's seats were more comfortable and the interior slightly darker, but it had probably 20,000 more miles on it and was $2000 more.
The next lot we went to was little higher pressure, but they only had one Sienna and no Odysseys. The Sienna they had was an '03 and it had practically no legroom in the back. They must have redesigned the Sienna in '04 so it had more legroom.
The third lot we went to had a very nice '04 Sienna with 77,000 miles on it. David's not really crazy about Siennas, but somehow the salesmen twisted our arms into buying this one. They started out wanting $14,000 for it and we talked them down to $11,300. We did get a contingency that if our mechanic rejected it, we didn't have to buy it.
David drove the van home and I drove the Crown. I was too freaked out to drive it. I was happy, we've never had a car that nice before. We got home and wanted to take the kids on a test drive - see if they had enough legroom and all, since our 2 boys are almost 6 feet tall and the girls are not much shorter than I am. Meagan was at work, but Cameron and Amber came outside pretty quickly. Jarom had locked himself in the bathroom and didn't come out for another 20 minutes. Ah, teenagers.
Finally, we got everyone in the car and drove around a couple of blocks. Just after we got home and David was still sitting in the driver's seat with the engine idling, I looked over at the dashboard and noticed the check engine light was on. Great.
Then I went inside and was debating whether to pull a car fax on the car. But $30 a shot seemed pretty pricey. Fortunately, I found a free website (nicb.org) where I could look up the VIN number. What? The van was salvaged? It had been in a wreck last November? Great.
Then I looked up the car dealership on bbb.org. Guess what their rating was? An F. I could have sworn I looked up all the dealerships we were going to visit and they'd gotten a B+ or better. Not this one. Crap.
I didn't sleep very well Saturday night.
Sunday morning I got up early to go religion hopping with Cameron, Meagan and Becky. Not that I slept much Saturday night anyway. Becky was nice enough to chauffer us around town, since we only have one car and David needed it so he could give his High Council talk at 11:00.
Becky picked us up at about 7:30 and we drove to the Cathedral for Mass. It was as pretty as I remember it being when Meagan and I went there a couple of years ago. We had to leave Mass early because it dragged on and on. I thought mass was supposed to last only 1 hour? Maybe it was longer because it was Palm Sunday? We did each get a palm frond and we got holy water splashed on us. We sat on the bench directly in front of the ushers. I think they were annoyed we didn't know what was going on. We tried. The ushers did have nice singing voices, as did one of the priests. Becky and I think that must be a qualification to be a priest.
After that, we drove over to the Buddhist Temple, which was not very far away, just on the other side of the Salt Palace. When we disembarked from the car and walked around the corner, I smelled what I thought was smoke from a pipe. The temple looked traditional Japanese. I think Meagan said it was on Japan Street. Or something. We got there for the end of meditation, which didn't seem like meditation to me. More like an informal speech.
We sat near the back of the chapel (?) on one of several wooden benches. I was glad the seats were cushioned. Three large red and gold shrines lined the front wall. I liked the little golden chimes hanging from the roofs. Inside the shrines were pictures of people who I suppose are important in the Buddhist church?
After about 20 minutes of a cute, perky reverend, who must have grown up Catholic leading us in "meditation," Dharma school began. We attempted to sing along with their songs and repeat their chants and poems. They were all very lovely saying about peace and love and gratitude, so I was OK with repeating them. Most of it was in Japanese, but they had English translations in the book, so we knew what we were saying.
About the middle of the service, a jack-hammer started up outside. It was not terribly loud, just a little distracting. It reminded me of the yoga class I had where there was a karate class upstairs. The yoga instructor said something like, "The sounds around you will not distract you, you will focus on your breathing." I love yoga instructors. That's about the time I realized the smell was not pipe smoke, but incense. I could have done without the incense.
Near the end of the service, when everything was rather quiet, a big "bong" rang out through the room. I jumped. Then I realized it was the sound of "om." The next two times I was expecting the bong and I rather enjoyed the resonance of the sound.
After that, Becky drove us home. I got to show Becky the salvaged van in our driveway and how the check engine light was still coming on every time you started the car up. Sigh.
Then, we went to our own church and I wrangled Primary kids. I kept thinking about how weird it was to sort of be in charge at church after I'd been to other churches where I had little idea what was going on. Going to another church and having friendly people greet me always reminds me of how important it is to be friendly to people at my own church, whether I know them or not.
So, after stressing out about the stupid van all weekend, David and I took it to Autozone and Gines' around 7:00 am Monday morning to have it checked out. Yep, it had been in a wreck. Bad enough that the frame had to be welded back together and the driver's airbag had more than likely deployed. Gines' didn't even bother checking why the check engine light came on.
Somehow I made it through work, then David and I picked up my cousin John, a Hertz mechanic, to go to Tim Dahle Nissan with us, just in case they wouldn't take the van back. John knows Mark at Gines - they used to be in the same ward - Mark was John's bishop for awhile, so they teased each other and talked about Scouts.
Finally, after almost two days, we made it back to Tim Dahle. When David saw the salesman who sold us the car, he held out the keys to the van and said, "You can have it back." The salesman was stunned, but he got someone else who could help us (it was his second day on the sales floor, poor guy) - after about 15 minutes.
I was so relieved when the guy who did all the finance paperwork signed a form saying we were released from the contract. Whew. That was close. I'm glad that's over!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Taxes, Snow and Gall Bladders
I finally filed our taxes this week. I did as Becky advised and used Turbo Tax free file. It took about an hour and a half, which was longer than I thought it would since I'd already filled out the paper form. Turbo Tax came up with the same refund as I did - which makes me happy. I helped Meagan get most of her taxes done this morning, so she's just about set as well.
All in all, it was easier using Turbo Tax because I didn't have to find and fill out all the worksheets, sort through the tax tables or try to guess what did or didn't apply to me. Next year, I guess I'll just start out doing Turbo Tax. Especially since the IRS isn't sending out booklets anymore.
Sadly, we didn't go to Holi Fest with Becky this morning. But who wants to throw colored chalk to celebrate the beginning of Spring in snow and rain? Cameron was going to go on a bus with his Humanities class, but he couldn't remember when they were leaving. And he overslept, so he didn't go either.
This morning Joe called and wanted to know if David would come pick a padlock for him. It's the same padlock David picked for him a couple of months ago. Joe lost the keys again. He'd sold his scooter to a couple from Bountiful and the title was locked in a cupboard in the office. So, David and I went over.
Oddly enough, the couple who bought the scooter graduated from the same high school I did. And they know alot of the the same people I do. She was even a dental hygienist for Dr. Olson and worked (works?) with Lynnette. She's only 1 year older than me. How weird is that?
After that, David and I travelled all over the valley collecting stuff for my gall bladder/liver cleanse. I'm glad I'm doing the non-starving version of the cleanse. I don't think I could live on apple juice and water for 3 days - especially while I have to work. I convinced I'm going to feel way better after this cleanse. Otherwise I wouldn't bother with it!
Oh, I got an e-mail response from the AppleSeeds editor. She said she liked my Viking article idea and they would let me know in about a month if they can use it or not. So, we'll see. It will be several months before I know anything about the Kindergarten stories.
Well, I guess I'd better go. Meagan is waiting for me to help her finish her taxes. Woo hoo! Should be fun!
All in all, it was easier using Turbo Tax because I didn't have to find and fill out all the worksheets, sort through the tax tables or try to guess what did or didn't apply to me. Next year, I guess I'll just start out doing Turbo Tax. Especially since the IRS isn't sending out booklets anymore.
Sadly, we didn't go to Holi Fest with Becky this morning. But who wants to throw colored chalk to celebrate the beginning of Spring in snow and rain? Cameron was going to go on a bus with his Humanities class, but he couldn't remember when they were leaving. And he overslept, so he didn't go either.
This morning Joe called and wanted to know if David would come pick a padlock for him. It's the same padlock David picked for him a couple of months ago. Joe lost the keys again. He'd sold his scooter to a couple from Bountiful and the title was locked in a cupboard in the office. So, David and I went over.
Oddly enough, the couple who bought the scooter graduated from the same high school I did. And they know alot of the the same people I do. She was even a dental hygienist for Dr. Olson and worked (works?) with Lynnette. She's only 1 year older than me. How weird is that?
After that, David and I travelled all over the valley collecting stuff for my gall bladder/liver cleanse. I'm glad I'm doing the non-starving version of the cleanse. I don't think I could live on apple juice and water for 3 days - especially while I have to work. I convinced I'm going to feel way better after this cleanse. Otherwise I wouldn't bother with it!
Oh, I got an e-mail response from the AppleSeeds editor. She said she liked my Viking article idea and they would let me know in about a month if they can use it or not. So, we'll see. It will be several months before I know anything about the Kindergarten stories.
Well, I guess I'd better go. Meagan is waiting for me to help her finish her taxes. Woo hoo! Should be fun!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
This is going to be fast...
Famous last words.
Work is stressing me out. Medicare is changing the Part A rules on April 1 and I'm WAY stressed about it. It's going to make more work for me and I already have too much work to do. Ack!
Well, Jetta is standing by my side huffing and puffing and even growling because she needs to go outside, like NOW. So I guess this really IS going to be short!
Work is stressing me out. Medicare is changing the Part A rules on April 1 and I'm WAY stressed about it. It's going to make more work for me and I already have too much work to do. Ack!
Well, Jetta is standing by my side huffing and puffing and even growling because she needs to go outside, like NOW. So I guess this really IS going to be short!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Lone Post for February
Wow. I must have been busy in February. Or delinquent.
Today I submitted two stories to a kindergarten writing contest. One was about puddles and the other was about crayons. We'll see what comes of that. Now I need to finish the research on my Viking article and submit my query to Appleseeds. I've already decided that I'm depositing any money I earn on writing in to either Cameron or Jarom's missionary fund 'til they have enough money.
Cameron and I went to the community college campus to submit his scholarship application. Strangely, there was absolutely no line at the financial aid office. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Meagan and I have waited for hours in the financial aid line in the past. It took longer for me to park the car (parallel parking, bleck!) than it did to submit the scholarship application. Yay, that's done! And only 1 day before the final cut-off.
Next on my list is getting our taxes submitted. I figured them myself the first part of February, but I'm debating filing them online or having someone figure them for me - just so I know if I got them right or not. Last year I missed a $600 refund that the IRS caught, so they increased the amount of our check. I'm thinking if I pay someone $100 to catch a large refund (if the IRS isn't as thorough this year) it will probably be worth it. Now I'm just wondering who to take our taxes to. I guess I'd better decide soon.
Meagie's bf Zac got at job at the call center working with time shares. Sounds vaguely like my hotel call center job. I hope he enjoys it. :)
This weekend I spent 8 hours in Scout training. And a couple of hours in other meetings. Then I spent a few more hours collecting Primary news for the Ward Newsletter. Whew! It took longer than I thought it would, but I learned a lot of good information, so it was worth it.
I even called the women Meagan and I are supposed to be Visiting Teaching. I've been a bit of a slacker at VT. It took the RS President calling me and getting me to promise I'd at least call the women on the list to break me out of my complacency.
In the last month, I've been trying to decide whether I should change careers/go back to school/etc/etc. I'm still undecided. I'd love to learn how to be a web designer, but I'm not sure I want to spend that many hours away from home in the evening. Plus, financial aid won't cover that program. Something about it being too new. Decisions, decisions.
Last week I went to Mum and Dad's and hung out with them, Sheri, and David. Sheri, David and I danced to the MJ experience. Afterwards my knees hurt. MJ was sure limber! My knees kept popping and cracking the whole time I danced. How did MJ do it? He was older than me!
Our old dishwasher died and now we have a shiney new one from Sears. Good thing we waited for the President's Day Sale, we saved over $200! It's nice to have sparkling clean dishes now. David loads the dishwasher every day now - his back hurts too much for him to stand at the sink scrubbing dishes for more than a few minutes.
Today I submitted two stories to a kindergarten writing contest. One was about puddles and the other was about crayons. We'll see what comes of that. Now I need to finish the research on my Viking article and submit my query to Appleseeds. I've already decided that I'm depositing any money I earn on writing in to either Cameron or Jarom's missionary fund 'til they have enough money.
Cameron and I went to the community college campus to submit his scholarship application. Strangely, there was absolutely no line at the financial aid office. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. Meagan and I have waited for hours in the financial aid line in the past. It took longer for me to park the car (parallel parking, bleck!) than it did to submit the scholarship application. Yay, that's done! And only 1 day before the final cut-off.
Next on my list is getting our taxes submitted. I figured them myself the first part of February, but I'm debating filing them online or having someone figure them for me - just so I know if I got them right or not. Last year I missed a $600 refund that the IRS caught, so they increased the amount of our check. I'm thinking if I pay someone $100 to catch a large refund (if the IRS isn't as thorough this year) it will probably be worth it. Now I'm just wondering who to take our taxes to. I guess I'd better decide soon.
Meagie's bf Zac got at job at the call center working with time shares. Sounds vaguely like my hotel call center job. I hope he enjoys it. :)
This weekend I spent 8 hours in Scout training. And a couple of hours in other meetings. Then I spent a few more hours collecting Primary news for the Ward Newsletter. Whew! It took longer than I thought it would, but I learned a lot of good information, so it was worth it.
I even called the women Meagan and I are supposed to be Visiting Teaching. I've been a bit of a slacker at VT. It took the RS President calling me and getting me to promise I'd at least call the women on the list to break me out of my complacency.
In the last month, I've been trying to decide whether I should change careers/go back to school/etc/etc. I'm still undecided. I'd love to learn how to be a web designer, but I'm not sure I want to spend that many hours away from home in the evening. Plus, financial aid won't cover that program. Something about it being too new. Decisions, decisions.
Last week I went to Mum and Dad's and hung out with them, Sheri, and David. Sheri, David and I danced to the MJ experience. Afterwards my knees hurt. MJ was sure limber! My knees kept popping and cracking the whole time I danced. How did MJ do it? He was older than me!
Our old dishwasher died and now we have a shiney new one from Sears. Good thing we waited for the President's Day Sale, we saved over $200! It's nice to have sparkling clean dishes now. David loads the dishwasher every day now - his back hurts too much for him to stand at the sink scrubbing dishes for more than a few minutes.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Oooo...my sixth post in one month!
Not sure I've ever done that before. Now if only I could remember what I've done lately.
Thought about going back to school. I officially finished my ICL course. I should be getting my graduation certificate in the mail any time now.
What I mostly discovered from taking the ICL course is that I don't think I want to be a professional writer. It's stressful, time consuming and not very high-paying. :(
Well, David's here, so my blogging must end for the moment. Probably the month.
Thought about going back to school. I officially finished my ICL course. I should be getting my graduation certificate in the mail any time now.
What I mostly discovered from taking the ICL course is that I don't think I want to be a professional writer. It's stressful, time consuming and not very high-paying. :(
Well, David's here, so my blogging must end for the moment. Probably the month.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Math Books and Such
Cameron and David are off procuring the Math 1050 book Cameron needs this quarter. I found it on the web for half the new price, which is awesome after paying full price for his Math 1010 book last semester. No one at the high school who had Math 1050 last semester seems to be selling. Maybe they have younger siblings who may or may not be taking the same class next year? We're still not sure what math Jarom will be taking next year until he takes the placement test this spring, so we're holding on to the Math 1010 book for now. If we'd known Cameron would be taking it, I would have had Meagan hang on to hers.
Ah, college textbooks. I can't believe how expensive they are. I couldn't believe it when my new college math book cost $40 back in the 80's. Now new college math books cost $160. At least they include a solutions manual. I wish mine had. Maybe I would have done better in Calculus. Then again, maybe not. Calculus is mind-bending. I still don't know how Newton ever came up with it. I think he may have been slightly insane.
This weekend was not my best. I felt sick Friday. Saturday was a little better and I made it to yoga Saturday morning. It was not quite the nirvana it usually is, but it was nice. I even got quite a bit of house cleaning done for a change. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I'd complete four loads of laundry and the bedroom and kitchen were much cleaner.
Sunday morning I felt good. Then Sunday afternoon I just happened to eat some poisoned sunflower seeds that left me writhing in pain most of the night. OK, they weren't actually poisoned, just laced with MSG, which may as well be poison as far as I'm concerned.
Yesterday all I ate was a box of nut thins crackers, two slices of toast and a bunch of gatorade. Nothing else sounded good. I'm amazed I made it through 6 1/2 hours of work. After work, I stopped at Harmon's long enough to buy said crackers - and meet Amber and the Bahrs in the parking lot, much to our mutual surprise - especially Amber's. Then I came home and ate an entire box and passed out on the bed around 5:30 pm.
This morning when I woke up I felt lightheaded, weak and nauseous. Somehow I dropped the boys off at school, but I didn't make it to work. Tomorrow's gonna be a better day. And I'm going to read labels much more carefully.
The good thing about today is that I got to lay on the couch all day and read The Titan's Curse. And David cooked me a very tasty hamburger. Sometimes it's good to slow down and do nothing - even if it's forced on you!
Ah, college textbooks. I can't believe how expensive they are. I couldn't believe it when my new college math book cost $40 back in the 80's. Now new college math books cost $160. At least they include a solutions manual. I wish mine had. Maybe I would have done better in Calculus. Then again, maybe not. Calculus is mind-bending. I still don't know how Newton ever came up with it. I think he may have been slightly insane.
This weekend was not my best. I felt sick Friday. Saturday was a little better and I made it to yoga Saturday morning. It was not quite the nirvana it usually is, but it was nice. I even got quite a bit of house cleaning done for a change. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but I'd complete four loads of laundry and the bedroom and kitchen were much cleaner.
Sunday morning I felt good. Then Sunday afternoon I just happened to eat some poisoned sunflower seeds that left me writhing in pain most of the night. OK, they weren't actually poisoned, just laced with MSG, which may as well be poison as far as I'm concerned.
Yesterday all I ate was a box of nut thins crackers, two slices of toast and a bunch of gatorade. Nothing else sounded good. I'm amazed I made it through 6 1/2 hours of work. After work, I stopped at Harmon's long enough to buy said crackers - and meet Amber and the Bahrs in the parking lot, much to our mutual surprise - especially Amber's. Then I came home and ate an entire box and passed out on the bed around 5:30 pm.
This morning when I woke up I felt lightheaded, weak and nauseous. Somehow I dropped the boys off at school, but I didn't make it to work. Tomorrow's gonna be a better day. And I'm going to read labels much more carefully.
The good thing about today is that I got to lay on the couch all day and read The Titan's Curse. And David cooked me a very tasty hamburger. Sometimes it's good to slow down and do nothing - even if it's forced on you!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Feeling Better Today...
So, I've given up cheese - and all other dairy except butter, for some reason I'm OK with butter. I only had 1 small piece of dark Belgian chocolate yesterday (no American chocolate!). I'm feeling much better.
I've also made it priority to exercise every morning for about 45 minutes. I go downstairs, fire up the Wii and slide Just Dance 2 in the glowy blue slot. Fourty five minutes later I'm sweating and my insides are happy. Maybe not my knees, but at least my insides are! :)
And now for something completely different...
Friday I loaned Jarom my cell phone because he was going to the high school basketball game and to play his trumpet in the pep band. Cameron didn't want to stay for the game (no surprise there) and we needed to know when Jarom needed a ride home. Michael C gave Jarom a ride home, so he didn't need the cell phone after all.
The next morning, when I was conscious (and Jarom was not) I asked him for my phone back. He said he gave it to me last night when he got home. I didn't remember it. I looked everywhere - under the couch, under the couch cushions, in my purse and work bag, etc, etc, etc, - and couldn't find it. Sadness. I even made Jarom check his backpack, coat and jeans pockets. Nothing.
So, on Sunday, just when I've given up on finding my phone, I slide on my blue fuzzy bathrobe and slip my hand in the pocket. Guess what's there? My cell phone. I'm glad I didn't wash my bathrobe on Saturday like I was going to. Whew!
I've also made it priority to exercise every morning for about 45 minutes. I go downstairs, fire up the Wii and slide Just Dance 2 in the glowy blue slot. Fourty five minutes later I'm sweating and my insides are happy. Maybe not my knees, but at least my insides are! :)
And now for something completely different...
Friday I loaned Jarom my cell phone because he was going to the high school basketball game and to play his trumpet in the pep band. Cameron didn't want to stay for the game (no surprise there) and we needed to know when Jarom needed a ride home. Michael C gave Jarom a ride home, so he didn't need the cell phone after all.
The next morning, when I was conscious (and Jarom was not) I asked him for my phone back. He said he gave it to me last night when he got home. I didn't remember it. I looked everywhere - under the couch, under the couch cushions, in my purse and work bag, etc, etc, etc, - and couldn't find it. Sadness. I even made Jarom check his backpack, coat and jeans pockets. Nothing.
So, on Sunday, just when I've given up on finding my phone, I slide on my blue fuzzy bathrobe and slip my hand in the pocket. Guess what's there? My cell phone. I'm glad I didn't wash my bathrobe on Saturday like I was going to. Whew!
Friday, January 07, 2011
Friday
Work was long today. Fortunately Lorry came in and helpd me or I would have been at work until 9:00 tonight.
We got four new patients, I had to download and fax all the OT documents, set up a new OT, make sure patients got Evaled in time and try to keep everyone happy. And call patients with their schedules for next week. Calling with schedules is supposed to be my number one priority on Fridays, but sometimes it gets pushed to the back burner. Only problem is, it HAS to get done on Friday.
Lorry came in at 2:30 and I went to lunch - at Panda Express. While I was eating, I thought to myself, "I hate being in charge."
Panda doesn't normally make me feel ill, but today it did. Not overly ill, but enough that I'm curling up with the Rife machine now. Actually, now that I think about it, I was feeling sick before Panda. Hmmm...I've been eating too much cheese and chocolate - both are no-no's for me.
Sigh. Tomorrow's gotta be a better day. And if it's not, I'm going to stay in bed all day.
Except I really want to go to Saturday morning yoga. I really don't want to go to an all-day Scouting training meeting though. Or find a sub for the Valiant 9-10 class until a permanent teacher is called.
On the plus side, I've written 3 kindergarten stories for the ICL contest. And the deadline's not even until Feb. 28. And I met the 150 word limit. That's amazing for me! Now that I've mailed in my last assignment to my instructor, words seem to be flowing out of me. I even wrote a rough draft of a story for the Friend magazine tonight. Will I ever submit any of this stuff? Maybe...
We got four new patients, I had to download and fax all the OT documents, set up a new OT, make sure patients got Evaled in time and try to keep everyone happy. And call patients with their schedules for next week. Calling with schedules is supposed to be my number one priority on Fridays, but sometimes it gets pushed to the back burner. Only problem is, it HAS to get done on Friday.
Lorry came in at 2:30 and I went to lunch - at Panda Express. While I was eating, I thought to myself, "I hate being in charge."
Panda doesn't normally make me feel ill, but today it did. Not overly ill, but enough that I'm curling up with the Rife machine now. Actually, now that I think about it, I was feeling sick before Panda. Hmmm...I've been eating too much cheese and chocolate - both are no-no's for me.
Sigh. Tomorrow's gotta be a better day. And if it's not, I'm going to stay in bed all day.
Except I really want to go to Saturday morning yoga. I really don't want to go to an all-day Scouting training meeting though. Or find a sub for the Valiant 9-10 class until a permanent teacher is called.
On the plus side, I've written 3 kindergarten stories for the ICL contest. And the deadline's not even until Feb. 28. And I met the 150 word limit. That's amazing for me! Now that I've mailed in my last assignment to my instructor, words seem to be flowing out of me. I even wrote a rough draft of a story for the Friend magazine tonight. Will I ever submit any of this stuff? Maybe...
Thursday, January 06, 2011
WOW
Nope, it's not about World of Warcraft, but it is about video games.
Last year the only thing Jarom wanted for Christmas was the PS1 game Legend of Mana. The old one we had was scratched and didn't work. I bought it used from Amazon Marketplace for $37 dollars. It had a scratch on it and kept getting stuck during the intro. Somehow (after I already bought the game through Amazon!) I found out that a gaming store at the mall resurfaces video game discs for $5 a disc. I took our old LOM game in to be resurfaced. It looked brand new and worked perfectly. We never did take the "new" LOM in to get it resurfaced. I probably should have complained about the non-working game, but I never did...
This year Cameron wanted us to get Final Fantasy VIII resurfaced. I totally forgot until Christmas Eve morning. David and I took the game in, but only one guy at the shop is allowed to use the resurfacing machine. I guess because the machine costs like $3,000 or something, but still! The one guy was not there, so we'd have to leave the game and he'd resurface it when he came in. We could pick it up Sunday morning (the day AFTER Christmas). Well, we kind of wanted it for Christmas, so we didn't leave it. We still haven't taken it back in. :)
Today David told me we needed to get two games resurfaced. I was like, what? FF8 and what else? Oh, yeah the other copy of LOM. Then Jarom mentioned that LOM is now going for $300. For a used game! What?! I look it up on amazon.com and wow. He's right. Mostly. A used LOM game in is anywhere from $60 to $1000. Although I think the $1000 game is a typo. They're never going to sell that one.
How much is a brand new LOM game? Anywhere from $150 to $350. Wow. I can't believe someone would pay that much for an old video game. Wow!
Last year the only thing Jarom wanted for Christmas was the PS1 game Legend of Mana. The old one we had was scratched and didn't work. I bought it used from Amazon Marketplace for $37 dollars. It had a scratch on it and kept getting stuck during the intro. Somehow (after I already bought the game through Amazon!) I found out that a gaming store at the mall resurfaces video game discs for $5 a disc. I took our old LOM game in to be resurfaced. It looked brand new and worked perfectly. We never did take the "new" LOM in to get it resurfaced. I probably should have complained about the non-working game, but I never did...
This year Cameron wanted us to get Final Fantasy VIII resurfaced. I totally forgot until Christmas Eve morning. David and I took the game in, but only one guy at the shop is allowed to use the resurfacing machine. I guess because the machine costs like $3,000 or something, but still! The one guy was not there, so we'd have to leave the game and he'd resurface it when he came in. We could pick it up Sunday morning (the day AFTER Christmas). Well, we kind of wanted it for Christmas, so we didn't leave it. We still haven't taken it back in. :)
Today David told me we needed to get two games resurfaced. I was like, what? FF8 and what else? Oh, yeah the other copy of LOM. Then Jarom mentioned that LOM is now going for $300. For a used game! What?! I look it up on amazon.com and wow. He's right. Mostly. A used LOM game in is anywhere from $60 to $1000. Although I think the $1000 game is a typo. They're never going to sell that one.
How much is a brand new LOM game? Anywhere from $150 to $350. Wow. I can't believe someone would pay that much for an old video game. Wow!
Monday, January 03, 2011
2010 in Review
Ok, Becky, I did it. You inspired me. Mine isn't as concise as yours, but oh well.
January - Banished Thor’s kennels from the TV room and started exercising again. Thor still tooth-crafting boxes. Meagan dating Jason. David recovering from the pneumonia and strep. Cameron considering attending BYU in animation for college. Jarom created a UK game “Kingdom to Kingdom” for history. Amber wrote: "Now I guess I'll go make some carrot peels and eat them" at the end of her English paper. My ICL instructor liked my second assignment (“West Valley Christmas Parade”), which surprised me.
February – We all had colds in February. That could explain my lack of blogging. Mailed in my 3rd ICL assignment (“Timber!”). Watched the Olympics almost every night - mostly snowboarding and ski jumping. David and I blew a $75 Market Street Grill gift certificate on one meal. Meagan took anatomy the first time. Cameron signed up for his last year of high school, Jarom his first and Amber junior high.
March – Brother David decided to join the Navy. Jarom was Crusader of the Month. David, Cameron, Jarom and I went to the temple. Meagan, Becky and Amber went rollerskating. Amber fell down five times and resolved to never rollerskate again. Jarom job-shadowed Steve and was sad when it ended - unlike Cameron's job-shadow a couple of years ago. Going to Mrs. Bean’s writing group and loving it. My ICL instructor said my third assignment was brilliant and ready to send out to magazines. That freaked me out. Still haven't submitted it to any magazines. Dragged my family to the dollar movies to see “The Blind Side” - which they ended up enjoying. Amber read “To Kill a Mockingbird” just for fun.
April – Jarom got his braces off and said his teeth feel fake because they’re too smooth. Amber sang and Jarom played his trumpet at Heart of Hunter. I changed my work schedule in hopes that I wouldn’t get so exhausted. Unfortunately it didn’t work. Becky made me a cd with a Tiny Tim song on it and drove my family crazy playing it over and over again. After researching and struggling for hours and hours, finally finished ICL assignment four ("The Mystery of the Ivory Lance") and mailed it in.
May – Amber attempted to recreate a solar eclipse with a racquetball. Meagan got whiplash when an errant white SUV crashed into the Crown. My little part-time job turned into an almost full-time job - it was so busy I had to stop going to the writing group. *sniff!* Lorry started working in the office with me – Yay! Jarom exhibited 3 drawings in the school Spring Art Show. A woodpecker moved into the apple tree in the backyard. At the Quest End of Year Program, Mrs. Silletto predicted that Jarom would grow up to be “the screamingest infomercial announcer on TV.”
June – Amber’s last elementary school choir concert after five years. Jarom and Amber earned several scholastic awards at school. David took me and the kids to Chinese Gourmet for my birthday. Thor peed on David’s side of the bed and David still loves him. Cameron took the ACT the day of the Scottish Festival. Cameron and I made it for three hours of the festival and missed the caber toss and the massed bands, but not the rain. The woodpecker had three tiny babies. Thor patrolled the apple tree incessantly.
July – Mom and Dad’s 50th Wedding Anniversary - big fun party, with lots of semi-squishy strawberries from Costco and a huge chocolate splatter mess on the Relief Society’s pretty white table cloths. Saw lots of people I hadn’t seen in ages. Cameron and Jarom marched with the junior high marching band in several parades. Went to David's wild cousin’s wedding at Rocky Mountain Raceway. Cameron and Jarom had a blast at EFY in Sandy. Brother David decided not to join the Navy.
August – David and I celebrated 22 years of marriage by going to Chuck-a-Rama for dinner. Went to cousin Jenny’s wedding. Pretty sure I’d never met her before – she was born and grew up in Virginia. Jarom started Jazz Band, which means getting up at 5:30 am every other morning. Meagan started going out with Zac. Got drenched in a monsoon running from Smith’s to my car with a bag of grapes. Thor killed our woodpecker. Sadness.
September – Our computer monitor thought it was a geiger counter, complete with annoying noises. Put up with megalithic old monitor for a month. Got addicted to City of Wonder for two weeks. Stayed up all night one Thursday reading “Hunger Games.” Dislodged the lint monster from our bathroom drain. Stayed up until 2 am forcing Amber to finish her Utah ABC book. David and I suffered from temporary insanity and signed up for Monavie. I liked the juice, but it was too expensive...
October – Finished and mailed in my 6th ICL assignment – Cha-Cha-Cha. Started taking yoga classes again. Jarom and Cameron biked 25 miles with John Newsome. Amber cut up a pair of her levi’s to make a zombie costume. Without asking me first, of course. Sheri and Dad discovered a computer Rife machine program and my guts are happier than they've been in years!
November – Mom had hip surgery - her second major surgery of the year. Because major surgery is so much fun. David typing his Xant book into the computer. Meagan taking Anatomy for the second time. And still dating Zac. Jarom drawing elaborate dragon pictures for his friends. Amber banished from library until she gets her grades up. Whole family except Meagan went to Stake Temple day - she had to work. I got “promoted” from Primary Secretary to Primary President. Our electricity went out for 14 hours my first Sunday as Primary President. Is that a sign? Went to TITP on Black Friday - four hours of heavy labor for Cameron’s Eagle Project. Went back the next day because it was so much fun!
December – Survived Primary Nativity Play at the Ward Christmas Party, my first full month as Primary President, mailing in my 7th and final ICL assignment, several snowstorms and Christmas. Thinking maybe writing professionally is not my thing - it stresses me out. Maybe writing for fun is better. Addicted to Just Dance 2. Avoided WinCo on Jarom’s birthday and didn’t get stranded. Maybe because I have a cell phone now? The Bahr’s celebrated New Year’s Eve with us playing Scattergories, Just Dance 2 and Nerf Dart War. And we ate seven layer dip, crab cheese ball and Martinelli’s.
Now I'm going to bed like I should have two hours ago! Good night!
(No, I don't usually go to bed at 8:15, although that might not be a bad idea. I actually finished this and posted it for the final time at 11:45!)
January - Banished Thor’s kennels from the TV room and started exercising again. Thor still tooth-crafting boxes. Meagan dating Jason. David recovering from the pneumonia and strep. Cameron considering attending BYU in animation for college. Jarom created a UK game “Kingdom to Kingdom” for history. Amber wrote: "Now I guess I'll go make some carrot peels and eat them" at the end of her English paper. My ICL instructor liked my second assignment (“West Valley Christmas Parade”), which surprised me.
February – We all had colds in February. That could explain my lack of blogging. Mailed in my 3rd ICL assignment (“Timber!”). Watched the Olympics almost every night - mostly snowboarding and ski jumping. David and I blew a $75 Market Street Grill gift certificate on one meal. Meagan took anatomy the first time. Cameron signed up for his last year of high school, Jarom his first and Amber junior high.
March – Brother David decided to join the Navy. Jarom was Crusader of the Month. David, Cameron, Jarom and I went to the temple. Meagan, Becky and Amber went rollerskating. Amber fell down five times and resolved to never rollerskate again. Jarom job-shadowed Steve and was sad when it ended - unlike Cameron's job-shadow a couple of years ago. Going to Mrs. Bean’s writing group and loving it. My ICL instructor said my third assignment was brilliant and ready to send out to magazines. That freaked me out. Still haven't submitted it to any magazines. Dragged my family to the dollar movies to see “The Blind Side” - which they ended up enjoying. Amber read “To Kill a Mockingbird” just for fun.
April – Jarom got his braces off and said his teeth feel fake because they’re too smooth. Amber sang and Jarom played his trumpet at Heart of Hunter. I changed my work schedule in hopes that I wouldn’t get so exhausted. Unfortunately it didn’t work. Becky made me a cd with a Tiny Tim song on it and drove my family crazy playing it over and over again. After researching and struggling for hours and hours, finally finished ICL assignment four ("The Mystery of the Ivory Lance") and mailed it in.
May – Amber attempted to recreate a solar eclipse with a racquetball. Meagan got whiplash when an errant white SUV crashed into the Crown. My little part-time job turned into an almost full-time job - it was so busy I had to stop going to the writing group. *sniff!* Lorry started working in the office with me – Yay! Jarom exhibited 3 drawings in the school Spring Art Show. A woodpecker moved into the apple tree in the backyard. At the Quest End of Year Program, Mrs. Silletto predicted that Jarom would grow up to be “the screamingest infomercial announcer on TV.”
June – Amber’s last elementary school choir concert after five years. Jarom and Amber earned several scholastic awards at school. David took me and the kids to Chinese Gourmet for my birthday. Thor peed on David’s side of the bed and David still loves him. Cameron took the ACT the day of the Scottish Festival. Cameron and I made it for three hours of the festival and missed the caber toss and the massed bands, but not the rain. The woodpecker had three tiny babies. Thor patrolled the apple tree incessantly.
July – Mom and Dad’s 50th Wedding Anniversary - big fun party, with lots of semi-squishy strawberries from Costco and a huge chocolate splatter mess on the Relief Society’s pretty white table cloths. Saw lots of people I hadn’t seen in ages. Cameron and Jarom marched with the junior high marching band in several parades. Went to David's wild cousin’s wedding at Rocky Mountain Raceway. Cameron and Jarom had a blast at EFY in Sandy. Brother David decided not to join the Navy.
August – David and I celebrated 22 years of marriage by going to Chuck-a-Rama for dinner. Went to cousin Jenny’s wedding. Pretty sure I’d never met her before – she was born and grew up in Virginia. Jarom started Jazz Band, which means getting up at 5:30 am every other morning. Meagan started going out with Zac. Got drenched in a monsoon running from Smith’s to my car with a bag of grapes. Thor killed our woodpecker. Sadness.
September – Our computer monitor thought it was a geiger counter, complete with annoying noises. Put up with megalithic old monitor for a month. Got addicted to City of Wonder for two weeks. Stayed up all night one Thursday reading “Hunger Games.” Dislodged the lint monster from our bathroom drain. Stayed up until 2 am forcing Amber to finish her Utah ABC book. David and I suffered from temporary insanity and signed up for Monavie. I liked the juice, but it was too expensive...
October – Finished and mailed in my 6th ICL assignment – Cha-Cha-Cha. Started taking yoga classes again. Jarom and Cameron biked 25 miles with John Newsome. Amber cut up a pair of her levi’s to make a zombie costume. Without asking me first, of course. Sheri and Dad discovered a computer Rife machine program and my guts are happier than they've been in years!
November – Mom had hip surgery - her second major surgery of the year. Because major surgery is so much fun. David typing his Xant book into the computer. Meagan taking Anatomy for the second time. And still dating Zac. Jarom drawing elaborate dragon pictures for his friends. Amber banished from library until she gets her grades up. Whole family except Meagan went to Stake Temple day - she had to work. I got “promoted” from Primary Secretary to Primary President. Our electricity went out for 14 hours my first Sunday as Primary President. Is that a sign? Went to TITP on Black Friday - four hours of heavy labor for Cameron’s Eagle Project. Went back the next day because it was so much fun!
December – Survived Primary Nativity Play at the Ward Christmas Party, my first full month as Primary President, mailing in my 7th and final ICL assignment, several snowstorms and Christmas. Thinking maybe writing professionally is not my thing - it stresses me out. Maybe writing for fun is better. Addicted to Just Dance 2. Avoided WinCo on Jarom’s birthday and didn’t get stranded. Maybe because I have a cell phone now? The Bahr’s celebrated New Year’s Eve with us playing Scattergories, Just Dance 2 and Nerf Dart War. And we ate seven layer dip, crab cheese ball and Martinelli’s.
Now I'm going to bed like I should have two hours ago! Good night!
(No, I don't usually go to bed at 8:15, although that might not be a bad idea. I actually finished this and posted it for the final time at 11:45!)
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