I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, especially after Lent and how things went with that particular challenge. I started out looking to get rid of the junk in my life, from my home, my body, and my mind. The results were pretty great, really. I got rid of things in my home that had been weighing me down, and I got rid of things that I never should’ve been putting in my body to begin with. I got rid of computer games and found less back pain. Since Lent, I haven’t been as diligent and it shows. My weight has crept back up, which isn’t really the whole point, for me, but it’s an indication that things aren’t quite right.
Further, as you well know, I’m exhausted all the time and WAY too busy to enjoy my life. In sorting out my craft room , I realized that I miss working on those creative pursuits. But I fill my days with other things—facebook games, TV, PTA, and church things…..laundry and all my insane to-dos that are never done. I’m going a million miles an hour and not enjoying much of it. I don’t let myself have any down time, and I spend entirely too much time in front of this machine, while life just cruises on by.
So, the word for this summer is wellness. I’m still fleshing out what that means in my life, but I know some things. First, I must, must, MUST do something creative every day. It can be as simple as creating something new and different for dinner or solving a problem, but I’m fueled by those moments. I love to write. I love to read. I love to scrapbook and sew. I miss those things and I’m going to add them back into my life. It’s not selfish to pursue them. That’s the lie I’m struggling with at the moment, and the one that just might be the hardest to overcome. I don’t know where I got the idea that doing things I enjoy is selfish, but there it is. Somehow, somewhere I learned that, if I’m enjoying something, I’m shirking some other duty. The words aren’t quite right to convey the feeling, but it’s there. I feel guilty if I’m doing something I enjoy, like I shouldn’t be doing it. I’m going to have to give that some more thought.
I need to start with some basic things. I want to eat breakfast. I want to move my body. Well, okay, so maybe I don’t want to move my body so much, but I do want to feel good, and I feel good when I’m doing something active….or at least I feel good later. I want to take my supplements. I’m not sure when or how this one fell by the wayside, but it did and my body isn’t happy about it. I’m finding I get more hot flashes in the middle of the night at certain hormonal times….those were controlled by herbal supplements before. And heaven knows I have enough trouble sleeping as it is!
Why is it so easy to break good habits? Why is it so hard to break bad ones? Why is it so hard to establish those good habits in the first place?
Wellness also means spiritual disciplines for me…..that can be anything from yoga to writing to reading the Bible. God speaks to me in those quiet times and I love those moments. Those moments are essential for my well-being and there just aren’t enough of them in my life.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Coincidence?
I'm PMSing.
I'm also surrounded by idiots!
I don't think one has anything to do with the other.
I'm also surrounded by idiots!
I don't think one has anything to do with the other.
Friday, June 17, 2011
And still more
(this feels a bit like cheating, but typing it all out would feel like repeating myself so....)
From May 17:
Per the enclosed article [note: I sent him an article about the preacher predicting the end of the world on May 21], if you get this letter, well, the world didn’t end. If you don’t get the letter, well, I hope I’ll be meeting you on the other side.
Shannon was confirmed on Sunday, so she’s now a full member of the United Methodist church and has voting rights in our local congregation. We’ve got a big meeting tonight, voting on whether or not to become a Reconciling Congregation, supporting the ability of gay/lesbian/transgendered persons to marry in the congregation and/or hold positions of authority, including being ordained as ministers. As you can imagine, this issue is dividing the denomination across the country, with some churches adamantly opposed to it, while others are in full support. Our particular church will probably pass it, though we won’t be at the meeting because the kids have a concert at school. Sadly, our denomination has come out with conflicting statements on the subject, saying that such behaviors are “incompatible with Christian teaching,” while also trying to uphold the dignity of all human beings. Because the church is made up of human beings, it is inherently flawed, and therefore, some have used the “incompatible” clause as a means to be mean and nasty to folks. As you can tell, I’m a bit in the middle, though leaning decidedly left. We have a couple of gay couples in our congregation and it doesn’t seem that strange to me. I come back to God as love and therefore we are called, above all, to love one another. It is not up to me, by any stretch, to decide if they (or anyone) are going up or down, kwim? But I also don’t like the way the issue is dividing the congregation and the denomination, creating such hostility. I don’t think God wants that either. *sigh*
So that was a bit heavy, wasn’t it?!
Mom and Dad did come for the confirmation, as did the Outlaws. It went as well as can be expected. MIL wasn’t horrible, though she’s just an odd duck. And she appears to be dealing with some short-term memory issues. She asked my parents three times in an afternoon where they’re living now.
Other conversations were just as amusing.
Me: Mom, here’s this great article I saved about local gluten-free stuff, including a website that reviews gluten-free food.
Mom: That’ll be a handy site
Me: Yep
MIL: I’ve got some gluten-free stuff at my house. How’s the flavor of that stuff? Do you think I could eat it?
Me: It’s hit and miss, but you could try it (thinking “WTH? Why would she have GF food? We haven’t been there in AGES”)
Conversation continues, including a mention of local bakeries that do big GF cakes for weddings, graduations, etc.
Mom, putting the paper on the sofa: Great article, Erica. Lots of great information.
MIL picks up the paper a few minutes later. Erica? Did you see this article on gluten-free foods?
Hello? Was she even there for the last 10 minutes? She actively participated in the conversation, so it’s not like she just walked in and randomly picked up the paper.
FIL seems to be having some issues too, but not as obvious or repetitive as MIL’s. Your family was over (and they went to church with us too), plus all the grandparents, for a total of 14 people in my kitchen for dinner. Your dad helped me make his “world famous” uber-simple noodles…..the ones with olive oil, garlic, basil, and parmesan cheese. So, after the meal, and your family’s departure for your grandparents’ party up north, the Outlaws started asking questions. I’d told them that we were going to have dinner in the mid-afternoon after the Pickett people got home from church that ended at 2:00. What church? They already went to church. No, they came for Shannon and then went to their ward. They’re Mormon? Yep (remember, MIL thinks that ya’ll are the root of all evil in her life). From MIL: But they’re such nice people! And FIL: But Marcus was confirmed today (yes, he said “MarcUs” and Marcos wasn’t even AT church—he thought 9:00 am was way too early). Um, no. He’s got a brother in the mission field, “my” missionary son that I got to talk to on Mother’s Day. Oh.
Not 20 minutes later, we had the same conversation all over again, including FIL *insisting* that MarcUs was confirmed at my church. LOL!
MIL still can’t get her head around the gluten-free thing. Some of that, I think, is her own ignorance, in spite of watching “The Doctors” religiously on TV (it’s a daytime talk show), and some of that is because she doesn’t see us very often. And this is a new-fangled disease that wasn’t around back in the day. She kept asking if Shannon could have gluten if it was cooked. And she had a hard time with the reasoning behind keeping Shannon’s peanut butter, jam, margarine and the like separated (I’ve got it marked with red masking tape). But she respected it. Or not. I really didn’t give her many opportunities not to. I put Shannon’s butter right in front of her, for instance, and it stayed there through the whole meal.
I contrast that with my parents asking carefully about things, including which toaster they can use, and your dad, who used a gluten-y spoon to wipe the garlic off the garlic-smoosher and immediately told me so that I wouldn’t use it for the garlic for Shannon. When I contrast the two, I really can’t tell if it’s a lack of experience or a lack of give-a-darn with my MIL, kwim?
One of Bruce’s nieces is getting married in August. I don’t know if any of us will be going to the wedding, though we’ll probably try to at least send Bruce. This niece has struggled with mental issues most of her life, OCD tendencies and the like, and she’s been finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is on a good combination of meds. She seems to be doing well, holding down a job, living with her boyfriend in Minnesota. They’ve been together at least 2 years. But MIL is convinced that the marriage won’t last. I think she’s been listening to the family members who’ve said for years that Niece’s problems were all because she didn’t have enough discipline/consequences as a child. These same family members predict gloom and doom for this poor child all the time, selling her short and poo-poohing any accomplishment. MAKES ME CRAZY! I hate it when people do that to other people. Like deciding that Marcos, with his struggles in school, will never be successful at anything. Sure, he’ll struggle with school, but he’s got other strengths that I think will serve him well. Niece is the same way.
Speaking of Marcos, he and Tristan built some shelves for the shed in your yard and Marcos was SO proud! I think he’d do really well at some kind of hands-on field like carpentry or plumbing or even cooking. He’s just got to find his niche.
Tristan developed strep over the weekend. He had insulin pump issues so his sugar got really high, and then he got a headache and sore throat, followed by a fever. He didn’t go to church with us, and he didn’t really participate in the meal afterwards either. MIL was convinced he was dying and his horrible parents weren’t doing anything about it (I was waiting it out…if I rush them to the doctor every time they get a fever, well, I might as well move in!). My mom thought he had a migraine and offered us some of her prescription migraine meds. Um, NO! Sunday night we decided to take him to Urgent Care, since the fever was creeping back up and we could tell his tonsils were swollen (he was talking like he had a huge gumball in his mouth) and the test came back positive. We got home around 11:30 and all the grandparents were still up. MIL said “she couldn’t sleep until she knew he was okay,” and my mom just worries about this stuff. So he stayed home from school yesterday, the mandatory 24-hour “quarantine” to keep it from spreading, and he was back to wrestling with Bruce last night.
Bruce called his parents to make sure they got home okay. MIL first insisted they’d called, but there was no record of that on any of our phones. Then she grilled Bruce again about Tristan and he repeated the same info we’d given her Sunday night and Monday morning. *sigh*
From May 18 [mundane and boring, but here it is]:
I had a lovely visitor today, from Murray’s finest. I was hoping it was about my break in and them telling me that they’d found my camera or the GPS. Nope. It seems that they were getting repeated hang-up 911 calls from a cell phone that they’d traced back to my house. Um? Say what?! So, I polled the kids, checked all the phones, and nothing. The calls were coming from an “unregistered” phone, meaning one that currently did not have actual service. And, they’d traced the *signal,* not the number, to within 0 meters of my house. I thought they only did that on TV! The officer was very nice, and said that the important thing was that everyone was okay and we didn’t need any emergency services.
Today, at work, I got a call from Shannon at school. She was in tears, poor thing. Her insulin pump had run out of insulin and she didn’t have all the supplies she needed at school so she was very upset. It really wasn’t a big deal, honestly, and I don’t know why she was in tears over it. She didn’t really know either! So, I took off and got her the things she needed and she went off to class. I’ll never completely understand teenagers, even when I was one!
I was right about our church. They voted to become a Reconciling Congregation. I hope it doesn’t create more division.
We got the house mostly put back together after a weekend of a zillion visitors. The trailer came down yesterday, after a fortuitous break in the weather that allowed it to dry out. I’m waiting for sunny skies to wash the sheets as I like to dry them outside on the clothesline.
The kids had a concert last night, both orchestra (Shannon) and symphonic band (Tristan), plus a couple of songs combining the two. It was really good. It’s been a long road to get here, going to concerts from the time they were in elementary school, squeaking along on stage! But they’ve all made such progress and it’s wonderful to hear and enjoy.
May 20, 2011
This “Rapture” stuff has gone viral! It’s really funny. One of the local news stations put a “Just in Case They’re Right” forecast up, with just a temperature for Saturday, and nothing for that night or the rest of next week…..it’s just an empty graphic! Too funny! There’s also a FaceBook event titled “Post-Rapture Looting,” for those who are left behind. The comments are hilarious! Talk of attending if they’re not too hung over from the pre-rapture partying, lists of things they’ve got their eyes on (houses, furniture, cars). It’s gotten pretty ridiculous. What do these people do when it doesn’t happen? This guy is absolutely positive that *now* is the time. His followers believe it too. What do you do when you’ve staked your whole life on something like this? I know! I’ll send some fresh-faced Mormon boys over there!
Talked to my friend whose inlaws were killed. She’d called the state police for one reason or another and spoke to one of the responding officers. Well, on her way to Boise, she was pulled over for speeding….by the same officer! He took her to where they had the car and let her remove their personal belongings from it. She said it was really hard, but she was glad she did it and not her husband because it would’ve been that much more difficult for him. She seems to be doing all right, but I worry. I don’t think she’s getting much sleep.
It’s raining. Again. Some more. Forever. Maybe the rapture isn’t such a bad idea? I’m sick sick SICK of the rain! This morning, we had a thunderstorm that shook the rafters and landed Alana in bed with us. I was a little surprised we didn’t have all 3 kids plus the dogs up there with us! The back yard looks like a jungle and I may never get to use my clothes line. The garden seems okay, but we haven’t been able to spray the apples. It’s pointless to do it until the rain lets up a bit or the spray just gets washed away, but we need to do it before the blossoms close up completely to keep the worms out (the worms form in the seed/center of the apple and eat their way out). It could be a banner crop of apples this year…..full of worms! *sigh*
From May 17:
Per the enclosed article [note: I sent him an article about the preacher predicting the end of the world on May 21], if you get this letter, well, the world didn’t end. If you don’t get the letter, well, I hope I’ll be meeting you on the other side.
Shannon was confirmed on Sunday, so she’s now a full member of the United Methodist church and has voting rights in our local congregation. We’ve got a big meeting tonight, voting on whether or not to become a Reconciling Congregation, supporting the ability of gay/lesbian/transgendered persons to marry in the congregation and/or hold positions of authority, including being ordained as ministers. As you can imagine, this issue is dividing the denomination across the country, with some churches adamantly opposed to it, while others are in full support. Our particular church will probably pass it, though we won’t be at the meeting because the kids have a concert at school. Sadly, our denomination has come out with conflicting statements on the subject, saying that such behaviors are “incompatible with Christian teaching,” while also trying to uphold the dignity of all human beings. Because the church is made up of human beings, it is inherently flawed, and therefore, some have used the “incompatible” clause as a means to be mean and nasty to folks. As you can tell, I’m a bit in the middle, though leaning decidedly left. We have a couple of gay couples in our congregation and it doesn’t seem that strange to me. I come back to God as love and therefore we are called, above all, to love one another. It is not up to me, by any stretch, to decide if they (or anyone) are going up or down, kwim? But I also don’t like the way the issue is dividing the congregation and the denomination, creating such hostility. I don’t think God wants that either. *sigh*
So that was a bit heavy, wasn’t it?!
Mom and Dad did come for the confirmation, as did the Outlaws. It went as well as can be expected. MIL wasn’t horrible, though she’s just an odd duck. And she appears to be dealing with some short-term memory issues. She asked my parents three times in an afternoon where they’re living now.
Other conversations were just as amusing.
Me: Mom, here’s this great article I saved about local gluten-free stuff, including a website that reviews gluten-free food.
Mom: That’ll be a handy site
Me: Yep
MIL: I’ve got some gluten-free stuff at my house. How’s the flavor of that stuff? Do you think I could eat it?
Me: It’s hit and miss, but you could try it (thinking “WTH? Why would she have GF food? We haven’t been there in AGES”)
Conversation continues, including a mention of local bakeries that do big GF cakes for weddings, graduations, etc.
Mom, putting the paper on the sofa: Great article, Erica. Lots of great information.
MIL picks up the paper a few minutes later. Erica? Did you see this article on gluten-free foods?
Hello? Was she even there for the last 10 minutes? She actively participated in the conversation, so it’s not like she just walked in and randomly picked up the paper.
FIL seems to be having some issues too, but not as obvious or repetitive as MIL’s. Your family was over (and they went to church with us too), plus all the grandparents, for a total of 14 people in my kitchen for dinner. Your dad helped me make his “world famous” uber-simple noodles…..the ones with olive oil, garlic, basil, and parmesan cheese. So, after the meal, and your family’s departure for your grandparents’ party up north, the Outlaws started asking questions. I’d told them that we were going to have dinner in the mid-afternoon after the Pickett people got home from church that ended at 2:00. What church? They already went to church. No, they came for Shannon and then went to their ward. They’re Mormon? Yep (remember, MIL thinks that ya’ll are the root of all evil in her life). From MIL: But they’re such nice people! And FIL: But Marcus was confirmed today (yes, he said “MarcUs” and Marcos wasn’t even AT church—he thought 9:00 am was way too early). Um, no. He’s got a brother in the mission field, “my” missionary son that I got to talk to on Mother’s Day. Oh.
Not 20 minutes later, we had the same conversation all over again, including FIL *insisting* that MarcUs was confirmed at my church. LOL!
MIL still can’t get her head around the gluten-free thing. Some of that, I think, is her own ignorance, in spite of watching “The Doctors” religiously on TV (it’s a daytime talk show), and some of that is because she doesn’t see us very often. And this is a new-fangled disease that wasn’t around back in the day. She kept asking if Shannon could have gluten if it was cooked. And she had a hard time with the reasoning behind keeping Shannon’s peanut butter, jam, margarine and the like separated (I’ve got it marked with red masking tape). But she respected it. Or not. I really didn’t give her many opportunities not to. I put Shannon’s butter right in front of her, for instance, and it stayed there through the whole meal.
I contrast that with my parents asking carefully about things, including which toaster they can use, and your dad, who used a gluten-y spoon to wipe the garlic off the garlic-smoosher and immediately told me so that I wouldn’t use it for the garlic for Shannon. When I contrast the two, I really can’t tell if it’s a lack of experience or a lack of give-a-darn with my MIL, kwim?
One of Bruce’s nieces is getting married in August. I don’t know if any of us will be going to the wedding, though we’ll probably try to at least send Bruce. This niece has struggled with mental issues most of her life, OCD tendencies and the like, and she’s been finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is on a good combination of meds. She seems to be doing well, holding down a job, living with her boyfriend in Minnesota. They’ve been together at least 2 years. But MIL is convinced that the marriage won’t last. I think she’s been listening to the family members who’ve said for years that Niece’s problems were all because she didn’t have enough discipline/consequences as a child. These same family members predict gloom and doom for this poor child all the time, selling her short and poo-poohing any accomplishment. MAKES ME CRAZY! I hate it when people do that to other people. Like deciding that Marcos, with his struggles in school, will never be successful at anything. Sure, he’ll struggle with school, but he’s got other strengths that I think will serve him well. Niece is the same way.
Speaking of Marcos, he and Tristan built some shelves for the shed in your yard and Marcos was SO proud! I think he’d do really well at some kind of hands-on field like carpentry or plumbing or even cooking. He’s just got to find his niche.
Tristan developed strep over the weekend. He had insulin pump issues so his sugar got really high, and then he got a headache and sore throat, followed by a fever. He didn’t go to church with us, and he didn’t really participate in the meal afterwards either. MIL was convinced he was dying and his horrible parents weren’t doing anything about it (I was waiting it out…if I rush them to the doctor every time they get a fever, well, I might as well move in!). My mom thought he had a migraine and offered us some of her prescription migraine meds. Um, NO! Sunday night we decided to take him to Urgent Care, since the fever was creeping back up and we could tell his tonsils were swollen (he was talking like he had a huge gumball in his mouth) and the test came back positive. We got home around 11:30 and all the grandparents were still up. MIL said “she couldn’t sleep until she knew he was okay,” and my mom just worries about this stuff. So he stayed home from school yesterday, the mandatory 24-hour “quarantine” to keep it from spreading, and he was back to wrestling with Bruce last night.
Bruce called his parents to make sure they got home okay. MIL first insisted they’d called, but there was no record of that on any of our phones. Then she grilled Bruce again about Tristan and he repeated the same info we’d given her Sunday night and Monday morning. *sigh*
From May 18 [mundane and boring, but here it is]:
I had a lovely visitor today, from Murray’s finest. I was hoping it was about my break in and them telling me that they’d found my camera or the GPS. Nope. It seems that they were getting repeated hang-up 911 calls from a cell phone that they’d traced back to my house. Um? Say what?! So, I polled the kids, checked all the phones, and nothing. The calls were coming from an “unregistered” phone, meaning one that currently did not have actual service. And, they’d traced the *signal,* not the number, to within 0 meters of my house. I thought they only did that on TV! The officer was very nice, and said that the important thing was that everyone was okay and we didn’t need any emergency services.
Today, at work, I got a call from Shannon at school. She was in tears, poor thing. Her insulin pump had run out of insulin and she didn’t have all the supplies she needed at school so she was very upset. It really wasn’t a big deal, honestly, and I don’t know why she was in tears over it. She didn’t really know either! So, I took off and got her the things she needed and she went off to class. I’ll never completely understand teenagers, even when I was one!
I was right about our church. They voted to become a Reconciling Congregation. I hope it doesn’t create more division.
We got the house mostly put back together after a weekend of a zillion visitors. The trailer came down yesterday, after a fortuitous break in the weather that allowed it to dry out. I’m waiting for sunny skies to wash the sheets as I like to dry them outside on the clothesline.
The kids had a concert last night, both orchestra (Shannon) and symphonic band (Tristan), plus a couple of songs combining the two. It was really good. It’s been a long road to get here, going to concerts from the time they were in elementary school, squeaking along on stage! But they’ve all made such progress and it’s wonderful to hear and enjoy.
May 20, 2011
This “Rapture” stuff has gone viral! It’s really funny. One of the local news stations put a “Just in Case They’re Right” forecast up, with just a temperature for Saturday, and nothing for that night or the rest of next week…..it’s just an empty graphic! Too funny! There’s also a FaceBook event titled “Post-Rapture Looting,” for those who are left behind. The comments are hilarious! Talk of attending if they’re not too hung over from the pre-rapture partying, lists of things they’ve got their eyes on (houses, furniture, cars). It’s gotten pretty ridiculous. What do these people do when it doesn’t happen? This guy is absolutely positive that *now* is the time. His followers believe it too. What do you do when you’ve staked your whole life on something like this? I know! I’ll send some fresh-faced Mormon boys over there!
Talked to my friend whose inlaws were killed. She’d called the state police for one reason or another and spoke to one of the responding officers. Well, on her way to Boise, she was pulled over for speeding….by the same officer! He took her to where they had the car and let her remove their personal belongings from it. She said it was really hard, but she was glad she did it and not her husband because it would’ve been that much more difficult for him. She seems to be doing all right, but I worry. I don’t think she’s getting much sleep.
It’s raining. Again. Some more. Forever. Maybe the rapture isn’t such a bad idea? I’m sick sick SICK of the rain! This morning, we had a thunderstorm that shook the rafters and landed Alana in bed with us. I was a little surprised we didn’t have all 3 kids plus the dogs up there with us! The back yard looks like a jungle and I may never get to use my clothes line. The garden seems okay, but we haven’t been able to spray the apples. It’s pointless to do it until the rain lets up a bit or the spray just gets washed away, but we need to do it before the blossoms close up completely to keep the worms out (the worms form in the seed/center of the apple and eat their way out). It could be a banner crop of apples this year…..full of worms! *sigh*
More excerpts
From May 11:
Lent….I lost 7 pounds, so I’m going back to the no junk food rule. I did find other things to eat to satisfy that salty-crunchy craving, and really I felt good. Since I’ve been eating junk again, my tummy is a bit unhappy with me (that’s probably more than you wanted to know) and I’ve gained back a couple of pounds. I wasn’t in it to lose weight, but it was kinda fun to realize that my clothes were a bit looser. And, really, we’ve got lots of things to do this summer, and I want to be in shape for the hiking and such that we’ll be doing.
I also gave up computer games, and I noticed after a few weeks, that my back had mostly stopped hurting. Guess what? Yep, that back pain is back now that I’m playing again. Not to mention, the competitive side of me is thinking all sorts of not-so-nice things about the **&#(# who keeps beating me at Zuma Blitz on FaceBook. So, after today’s tournament ends (like right now), in which she, yet again, beat me, I’m done. It’s not good for my time management, my back, or my spirit. I don’t like that gal anyway, but I don’t need to dwell on it every day as I try to beat her into oblivion….figuratively speaking, of course.
Shannon’s confirmation is next weekend. I think I might have mentioned that once or twice. The Outlaws are coming, and now my parents may be coming too. I can’t decide how I feel about that. I feel like I’ve had to cajole and coerce them into coming for this, like they don’t really want to be here. It’ll be a quick trip, and they’ll be staying in the trailer for part of the time. I’ve got 6 bedrooms, but only 2 extra beds and MIL is not able to handle the trailer at all. Mom understands, and is willing to do whatever, but I still wish it was my parents inside the house. Wonder if they’ll bring me some wine if I ask nicely?
After church, during coffee hour, there’s a reception in the gym and I need to make some gluten-free cupcakes for Shannon since she won’t be able to eat any of the Costco cake they’re getting. Then, I’m planning a celebratory meal after church, around 2:30 or so
Melany (my sis) is coming in June. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that once or twice too. We were talking today and simultaneously surfing the web looking at things to do when she’s here. She’s SO excited! I wish I didn’t have so much going on between now and then so I could get excited too. We’re planning to go to the Mayan for her and my niece’s birthdays (they share a b-day), plus the zoo, a Bees game, and Lagoon. Today I mentioned Joe’s Crab Shack and now she wants to do that too. I’ll have to check and see if they’ve got a good gluten-free menu for Shannon, or it could just be Melany and I for lunch.
Last weekend was nuts, and so was the weekend before. Shannon had a sleepover with a gal from church on Friday night. Mom is a bit high-strung, but it was cute, and I think if the girls develop a stronger relationship, mom’ll settle down. She mentioned that she didn’t have any guns in the house, but she did have some alcohol. I told her, as long as she wasn’t serving it to the girls, it didn’t bother me none. She was concerned about movie ratings and the like too. Like I said, I think once she realizes that I’m okay and we’ve got the same basic values, it’ll be good.
Tristan had a soccer game Saturday morning. I guess the other team got there an hour early to practice, and at game time, we only had 4 players, so they thought they had it made. Eventually, we got our 7 people there (and no more), but no coach. Our guys coached themselves, taking turns as defenders or forwards so they could rest when needed, etc, since they didn’t have any subs. Our team wound up winning 10-0. It was painful to watch, and at one point, the ref told one of our players that he couldn’t score anymore.
Then we went to an orientation for Shannon’s activity for next weekend. She’s going up to the National Ability Center in Park City with a group called “Kids Rock the World” and it’s all for kids with diabetes. They’ve got a ropes course, including one way up high, and several rock walls, plus a couple of guest speakers to help teens feel empowered. So we went to this lunch and orientation for that. While there, the girls each won a certificate to go up to Park City Mountain Resort and do the fun summer stuff—zip line, alpine slide, alpine coaster and a couple other things. It’s worth $60 each! But, Alana’s too small to do the zip line, though I’m sure she’d love it. So we’re going to use those while Melany is here. I’ll keep my eyes open for deals on tickets….I get all kinds of notifications on FaceBook and into my email about such things.
This weekend was also the Bell Ringer’s semi-annual rummage sale. This is their main fundraiser for their tour, and they raised over $9,000! There was some really cool stuff, including some antique German cameras, silver, a NASCAR collection, furniture, kitchenware, and more. And, of course, there’s a lot of junk too. I got a lot of jewelry and some books, plus a few other things. I’m always amazed at the number of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books that show up. I think people die and their heirs donate all of the stuff they don’t know what to do with to us. I don’t know if anyone ever buys those books. I found a few by my favorite authors, plus one called How to Murder Your Mother-In-Law. I can’t decide if I should be reading it next weekend or not. I probably shouldn’t, though MIL’s eye sight has gotten so bad that I don’t think she’ll be able to tell. Bruce, however, will know, and so will my mother. Probably NOT a good idea.
Mother’s Day. The kids made me lunch in bed, which was nice. Then I watched a bunch of TV (catching up on things I’ve recorded), while I clipped coupons and finalized my grocery list. I came home from the store to find a bouquet of tulips on my counter, courtesy of my girls and my front yard. We had a London broil that Bruce bought at Dream Dinners, but we weren’t sure if it was gluten free, so Shannon wound up begging for leftovers from your parents. I tell ya, I’ve got the best neighbors.
So yesterday I cleaned out the main floor bathroom. I don’t know why, but that bathroom gets so much stuff just dumped into it. A few weeks ago, Tristan told me that we needed antibiotic ointment, so I bought some. Turns out, there were *4* tubes in there, not counting the new one still in the box! The kids haven’t used insulin pens for their shots in months, and yet, I found at least 30 used pen needles. Yuck! We had 4 partially used sharps containers, from various trips and such. One of them was full, so I capped it and tossed it, but the other ones are all about half full. I found 6 blood glucose meters, too, including several that we’ve never used! That’s on top of the 8 or more in box in the basement that are still in their original packages. See, meter companies will give you a meter for free because they want you to use theirs and buy their test strips…..the strips are $1.00 each…..and a type 1 diabetic will use anywhere from 4-8 in a day. Sneaky marketing, eh? Know anyone who needs a meter? LOL!
I gotta tell ya, though. It feels good to get all that cleaned out and organized. I’m hoping it will stay that way, at least for a few weeks. I know, I know…..who am I kidding?!
The latest “discussion” with the kids is about wet towels left in heaps on their bedroom floors. I’m considering rationing out their towels, only allowing them 1-2 towels per week. Then, if their towel is in a wet smelly mess on their floor when they need it, well maybe they’ll learn to hang it up! No amount of yelling or scolding is working, so maybe some real life consequences would help? Humor me, k?
The weather is finally improving, ever so slowly. I just *might* get out the summer clothes this week, if I have time with all the craziness going on getting ready for the Inlaws and Outlaws. I need to change the sheets on my bed, but I just can’t bring myself to put the flannel ones on there…..again. And the cotton sheets are packed away, waiting for me to do the Bi-Annual Bedding Changeover and washing. I like to take everything off the beds, down to the mattress covers and wash it all, blankets, pillows, everything. Then we put away the flannel sheets and heavy comforters, open all the windows, and hang everything out to dry in the beautiful spring sunshine….that is hiding this year!
I got a look at Tristan’s itinerary for his tour. He’s going to be a busy child, alternating with total boredom with hours on the bus. They’re apparently going to an Atlanta Braves game, plus stopping in DC to visit some of the monuments and museums. The choir will be playing at Bruce’s sister’s church in the DC area. Aunt Martha (Bruce’s oldest sister) won’t be there, but her husband is hosting some of the kids, including Tristan. A couple more aunts live in the area, along with several cousins, so they’ll all go hear him play and see him for the first time since 2004 for most of them. I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing, honestly. It’s the longest he’s ever been away from home, especially without us, and it’s the furthest he’s ever gone too. However, the folks organizing it all have a pretty good system, and I’m sure he’ll be just fine. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
May 12:
I just got word that my friend, Mary Ellen, whom I’ve known since Jr. High (no, I’m not telling you how many years that is…..), her inlaws were killed in a head-on collision north of McCall, ID. It was a bad, bad accident, and looking at the photos online is really hard. Mary Ellen was close to them, they were awesome grandparents to her boys, etc. It’s all so terribly tragic. I’m having a hard time being so far away. If I were there, I’d clean her bathroom, watch her boys, take care of her pets, fill her freezer with food, and so on, but I’m here! The distance makes it so hard! I’ve put together a little care package with snacks and such so she’ll hopefully remember to eat, plus some yummy chocolates and a GC to Papa Murphy’s pizza, and I’m praying, of course, but it seems like so little in the face of such heart break!
Lent….I lost 7 pounds, so I’m going back to the no junk food rule. I did find other things to eat to satisfy that salty-crunchy craving, and really I felt good. Since I’ve been eating junk again, my tummy is a bit unhappy with me (that’s probably more than you wanted to know) and I’ve gained back a couple of pounds. I wasn’t in it to lose weight, but it was kinda fun to realize that my clothes were a bit looser. And, really, we’ve got lots of things to do this summer, and I want to be in shape for the hiking and such that we’ll be doing.
I also gave up computer games, and I noticed after a few weeks, that my back had mostly stopped hurting. Guess what? Yep, that back pain is back now that I’m playing again. Not to mention, the competitive side of me is thinking all sorts of not-so-nice things about the **&#(# who keeps beating me at Zuma Blitz on FaceBook. So, after today’s tournament ends (like right now), in which she, yet again, beat me, I’m done. It’s not good for my time management, my back, or my spirit. I don’t like that gal anyway, but I don’t need to dwell on it every day as I try to beat her into oblivion….figuratively speaking, of course.
Shannon’s confirmation is next weekend. I think I might have mentioned that once or twice. The Outlaws are coming, and now my parents may be coming too. I can’t decide how I feel about that. I feel like I’ve had to cajole and coerce them into coming for this, like they don’t really want to be here. It’ll be a quick trip, and they’ll be staying in the trailer for part of the time. I’ve got 6 bedrooms, but only 2 extra beds and MIL is not able to handle the trailer at all. Mom understands, and is willing to do whatever, but I still wish it was my parents inside the house. Wonder if they’ll bring me some wine if I ask nicely?
After church, during coffee hour, there’s a reception in the gym and I need to make some gluten-free cupcakes for Shannon since she won’t be able to eat any of the Costco cake they’re getting. Then, I’m planning a celebratory meal after church, around 2:30 or so
Melany (my sis) is coming in June. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that once or twice too. We were talking today and simultaneously surfing the web looking at things to do when she’s here. She’s SO excited! I wish I didn’t have so much going on between now and then so I could get excited too. We’re planning to go to the Mayan for her and my niece’s birthdays (they share a b-day), plus the zoo, a Bees game, and Lagoon. Today I mentioned Joe’s Crab Shack and now she wants to do that too. I’ll have to check and see if they’ve got a good gluten-free menu for Shannon, or it could just be Melany and I for lunch.
Last weekend was nuts, and so was the weekend before. Shannon had a sleepover with a gal from church on Friday night. Mom is a bit high-strung, but it was cute, and I think if the girls develop a stronger relationship, mom’ll settle down. She mentioned that she didn’t have any guns in the house, but she did have some alcohol. I told her, as long as she wasn’t serving it to the girls, it didn’t bother me none. She was concerned about movie ratings and the like too. Like I said, I think once she realizes that I’m okay and we’ve got the same basic values, it’ll be good.
Tristan had a soccer game Saturday morning. I guess the other team got there an hour early to practice, and at game time, we only had 4 players, so they thought they had it made. Eventually, we got our 7 people there (and no more), but no coach. Our guys coached themselves, taking turns as defenders or forwards so they could rest when needed, etc, since they didn’t have any subs. Our team wound up winning 10-0. It was painful to watch, and at one point, the ref told one of our players that he couldn’t score anymore.
Then we went to an orientation for Shannon’s activity for next weekend. She’s going up to the National Ability Center in Park City with a group called “Kids Rock the World” and it’s all for kids with diabetes. They’ve got a ropes course, including one way up high, and several rock walls, plus a couple of guest speakers to help teens feel empowered. So we went to this lunch and orientation for that. While there, the girls each won a certificate to go up to Park City Mountain Resort and do the fun summer stuff—zip line, alpine slide, alpine coaster and a couple other things. It’s worth $60 each! But, Alana’s too small to do the zip line, though I’m sure she’d love it. So we’re going to use those while Melany is here. I’ll keep my eyes open for deals on tickets….I get all kinds of notifications on FaceBook and into my email about such things.
This weekend was also the Bell Ringer’s semi-annual rummage sale. This is their main fundraiser for their tour, and they raised over $9,000! There was some really cool stuff, including some antique German cameras, silver, a NASCAR collection, furniture, kitchenware, and more. And, of course, there’s a lot of junk too. I got a lot of jewelry and some books, plus a few other things. I’m always amazed at the number of Reader’s Digest Condensed Books that show up. I think people die and their heirs donate all of the stuff they don’t know what to do with to us. I don’t know if anyone ever buys those books. I found a few by my favorite authors, plus one called How to Murder Your Mother-In-Law. I can’t decide if I should be reading it next weekend or not. I probably shouldn’t, though MIL’s eye sight has gotten so bad that I don’t think she’ll be able to tell. Bruce, however, will know, and so will my mother. Probably NOT a good idea.
Mother’s Day. The kids made me lunch in bed, which was nice. Then I watched a bunch of TV (catching up on things I’ve recorded), while I clipped coupons and finalized my grocery list. I came home from the store to find a bouquet of tulips on my counter, courtesy of my girls and my front yard. We had a London broil that Bruce bought at Dream Dinners, but we weren’t sure if it was gluten free, so Shannon wound up begging for leftovers from your parents. I tell ya, I’ve got the best neighbors.
So yesterday I cleaned out the main floor bathroom. I don’t know why, but that bathroom gets so much stuff just dumped into it. A few weeks ago, Tristan told me that we needed antibiotic ointment, so I bought some. Turns out, there were *4* tubes in there, not counting the new one still in the box! The kids haven’t used insulin pens for their shots in months, and yet, I found at least 30 used pen needles. Yuck! We had 4 partially used sharps containers, from various trips and such. One of them was full, so I capped it and tossed it, but the other ones are all about half full. I found 6 blood glucose meters, too, including several that we’ve never used! That’s on top of the 8 or more in box in the basement that are still in their original packages. See, meter companies will give you a meter for free because they want you to use theirs and buy their test strips…..the strips are $1.00 each…..and a type 1 diabetic will use anywhere from 4-8 in a day. Sneaky marketing, eh? Know anyone who needs a meter? LOL!
I gotta tell ya, though. It feels good to get all that cleaned out and organized. I’m hoping it will stay that way, at least for a few weeks. I know, I know…..who am I kidding?!
The latest “discussion” with the kids is about wet towels left in heaps on their bedroom floors. I’m considering rationing out their towels, only allowing them 1-2 towels per week. Then, if their towel is in a wet smelly mess on their floor when they need it, well maybe they’ll learn to hang it up! No amount of yelling or scolding is working, so maybe some real life consequences would help? Humor me, k?
The weather is finally improving, ever so slowly. I just *might* get out the summer clothes this week, if I have time with all the craziness going on getting ready for the Inlaws and Outlaws. I need to change the sheets on my bed, but I just can’t bring myself to put the flannel ones on there…..again. And the cotton sheets are packed away, waiting for me to do the Bi-Annual Bedding Changeover and washing. I like to take everything off the beds, down to the mattress covers and wash it all, blankets, pillows, everything. Then we put away the flannel sheets and heavy comforters, open all the windows, and hang everything out to dry in the beautiful spring sunshine….that is hiding this year!
I got a look at Tristan’s itinerary for his tour. He’s going to be a busy child, alternating with total boredom with hours on the bus. They’re apparently going to an Atlanta Braves game, plus stopping in DC to visit some of the monuments and museums. The choir will be playing at Bruce’s sister’s church in the DC area. Aunt Martha (Bruce’s oldest sister) won’t be there, but her husband is hosting some of the kids, including Tristan. A couple more aunts live in the area, along with several cousins, so they’ll all go hear him play and see him for the first time since 2004 for most of them. I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing, honestly. It’s the longest he’s ever been away from home, especially without us, and it’s the furthest he’s ever gone too. However, the folks organizing it all have a pretty good system, and I’m sure he’ll be just fine. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
May 12:
I just got word that my friend, Mary Ellen, whom I’ve known since Jr. High (no, I’m not telling you how many years that is…..), her inlaws were killed in a head-on collision north of McCall, ID. It was a bad, bad accident, and looking at the photos online is really hard. Mary Ellen was close to them, they were awesome grandparents to her boys, etc. It’s all so terribly tragic. I’m having a hard time being so far away. If I were there, I’d clean her bathroom, watch her boys, take care of her pets, fill her freezer with food, and so on, but I’m here! The distance makes it so hard! I’ve put together a little care package with snacks and such so she’ll hopefully remember to eat, plus some yummy chocolates and a GC to Papa Murphy’s pizza, and I’m praying, of course, but it seems like so little in the face of such heart break!
It's been awhile, hasn't it.....
There's a lot to catch up on, and I know I'll never get there, so I'm going to pull some excerpts from letters I've been writing to my neighbor who's on his LDS mission in Argentina. I type these letters at various places while my kids do their thing--music lessons, ice skating, that sort of thing.....
From a letter dated April 12:
Alana turned 9 last week. I can hardly believe it. The day we brought her home from the hospital, I wore a sundress. It was that summer-like. This year, it’s still snowing from time to time. Really, really, REALLY ready for warmer, sunnier weather. The photos of her opening her presents were still on my stolen camera, so those are gone forever. Tristan suggested that they re-wrap the presents and re-create it, but it wouldn’t work. We had her birthday party at Classic Fun Center down in Sandy, where the kids got to skate, play in the inflatable bouncers, shoot at each other in the Blast Zone, and play laser tag. They had a good time, and I got great pictures from that. Alana opted for chocolate cheesecake for her cake, so I totally cheated. I bought an Oreo crust and filled it with cheesecake filling that you can buy in a tub. Then we shaved a chocolate bar on the top to make it pretty. So easy and she loved it!
I’ve given away more stuff, including several boxes of books. Bruce looked at me really funny and asked if I was feeling all right….I was giving away books, and I bought Velveeta! A couple of friends came and helped me get started in one of my craft rooms. It’s really fun to work with other people. “Erica, are you really going to patch those pants?” “And what project is that for?” It made the decision-making process much easier, and it’s always nice to have company when working on stuff like that.
So, in my discouragement, I was pretty down. National Scrapbook Day is this coming weekend, and I’ve only got 3-4 people coming. It’s been FOREVER since I’ve had such low attendance at one of my big scrapbooking weekend things. I’ve had as many as 18 people there in the past. The leads from the Expo aren’t panning out real well just yet, plus the stolen CM money, and I’m struggling some. However, I have to tell you, I got a phone call out of the blue from a woman who needs supplies, including a new album and pages and such. I have no idea where she got my name and number, but I love those kind of phone calls! I think God’s trying to reassure me a bit. Or I could be reading way too much into it, but I’ll take the little things. (Note today: This same woman has now "opted out" of my emails. Our last exchange was a bit odd with her questioning why she had to pay shipping when I had the things here.....because *I* had to pay shipping to get them here)
From April 26
National Scrapbook Day worked out just fine. I had one gal cancel at the last minute, and another sign up, so I had 4 people there. While the bigger events are good for my bottom line, this was very relaxing. My profit margin is smaller with smaller groups, but I made up for it by making lots of things from scratch, including the meatballs for the meatball subs (I probably would do those for a big group too because Shannon eats them too and store-bought are generally not gluten-free).
Easter was great. Tristan had to be at church at o’dark thirty because the bells were playing at all 3 services, starting at 7:30 am. The music is always amazing, with the beautiful hymns of praise. I just love it. We all wore our Easter bonnets in support of our minister who’s still battling ovarian cancer. I found the girls’ hats at the dollar store, and mine at Ross. Then I decorated them with ribbons and flowers, plus butterflies and birds for the girls. Lots of fun, though I’m sporting a nasty burn from the tip of the glue gun on my finger.
The rest of the day was so relaxing since we didn’t have to be anywhere else ALL DAY. I know! Stop the presses! We did NOT drive back across town a dozen times for various kid-related activities. We watched the movies that the Easter Bunny brought (Voyage of the Dawn Treader, based on the CS Lewis book, and the 7th Harry Potter), had a turkey dinner, and just enjoyed a relaxing day. We get so few of those anymore and I hate it.
Bruce’s paycheck was shorted a week’s pay. His manager put 4.9 hours rather than 44.9 hours. Ouch! They got it straightened out, but when he asked if they could go ahead and pay him now rather than adding the hours to his next check, the payroll department got a bit snotty, like they’re doing him some big favor (“one-time courtesy”). Say what? It’s not like Bruce did anything wrong, so why are they acting like they’re helping him out of a jam? Hopefully, it won’t happen again, so this “one-time courtesy” will truly be a one-time thing. In the meantime, we’re hanging in there. We’ve got overdraft protection for just such events, so all our bills are being paid…..just with a bit of interest.
I subbed a couple of days this week; once in first grade and once in 6th. I really need to remember to wear jeans when I’m doing 1st grade. We were planting grass, so I had a 50 lb bag of soil, plus a bag of grass seed, and we’re filling these tiny cut-off milk cartons. We were able to do it without too much mess, but it still made me nervous. It’s funny….this is a class I’ve had several times before (it’s Miss Pace—Alana’s former 1st grade teacher), so I know them pretty well. Some of them drive me completely insane, but when the art teacher started to pick on them a bit, it got my back up. She just isn’t very nice! Great art ideas, but not nice to the kids.
Dad spent a night in the hospital last week. He had a bit of a cardiac incident. His heart was racing and wouldn’t slow down. When they got to the ER, it was about 170 beats/minute, which is not safe at all! When your heart beats that fast, you start potentially throwing blood clots that can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or pulmonary embolism…none of which are good for you. They gave him some medicine and that slowed his heart down too much, down to like 30. So they gave him something else……which made him dizzy or something, so they kept him overnight just to be sure his heart would behave itself. He’s supposed to see the cardiologist this week, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he needs a pacemaker in the near future.
Got this in an email from Bruce, titled “Blame it on Microsoft”
• INSTALLING SPRING...
███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.
Installation failed. Please try again.
404 error: Season not found.
Season "Spring" cannot be located.
...The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable in Utah.
Please try again.
Funny, huh? The weather is nice today, but it’s not supposed to last. We’re supposed to get more snow tomorrow and a nighttime low of less than 30! Brrrr!!!
From a letter dated April 12:
Alana turned 9 last week. I can hardly believe it. The day we brought her home from the hospital, I wore a sundress. It was that summer-like. This year, it’s still snowing from time to time. Really, really, REALLY ready for warmer, sunnier weather. The photos of her opening her presents were still on my stolen camera, so those are gone forever. Tristan suggested that they re-wrap the presents and re-create it, but it wouldn’t work. We had her birthday party at Classic Fun Center down in Sandy, where the kids got to skate, play in the inflatable bouncers, shoot at each other in the Blast Zone, and play laser tag. They had a good time, and I got great pictures from that. Alana opted for chocolate cheesecake for her cake, so I totally cheated. I bought an Oreo crust and filled it with cheesecake filling that you can buy in a tub. Then we shaved a chocolate bar on the top to make it pretty. So easy and she loved it!
I’ve given away more stuff, including several boxes of books. Bruce looked at me really funny and asked if I was feeling all right….I was giving away books, and I bought Velveeta! A couple of friends came and helped me get started in one of my craft rooms. It’s really fun to work with other people. “Erica, are you really going to patch those pants?” “And what project is that for?” It made the decision-making process much easier, and it’s always nice to have company when working on stuff like that.
So, in my discouragement, I was pretty down. National Scrapbook Day is this coming weekend, and I’ve only got 3-4 people coming. It’s been FOREVER since I’ve had such low attendance at one of my big scrapbooking weekend things. I’ve had as many as 18 people there in the past. The leads from the Expo aren’t panning out real well just yet, plus the stolen CM money, and I’m struggling some. However, I have to tell you, I got a phone call out of the blue from a woman who needs supplies, including a new album and pages and such. I have no idea where she got my name and number, but I love those kind of phone calls! I think God’s trying to reassure me a bit. Or I could be reading way too much into it, but I’ll take the little things. (Note today: This same woman has now "opted out" of my emails. Our last exchange was a bit odd with her questioning why she had to pay shipping when I had the things here.....because *I* had to pay shipping to get them here)
From April 26
National Scrapbook Day worked out just fine. I had one gal cancel at the last minute, and another sign up, so I had 4 people there. While the bigger events are good for my bottom line, this was very relaxing. My profit margin is smaller with smaller groups, but I made up for it by making lots of things from scratch, including the meatballs for the meatball subs (I probably would do those for a big group too because Shannon eats them too and store-bought are generally not gluten-free).
Easter was great. Tristan had to be at church at o’dark thirty because the bells were playing at all 3 services, starting at 7:30 am. The music is always amazing, with the beautiful hymns of praise. I just love it. We all wore our Easter bonnets in support of our minister who’s still battling ovarian cancer. I found the girls’ hats at the dollar store, and mine at Ross. Then I decorated them with ribbons and flowers, plus butterflies and birds for the girls. Lots of fun, though I’m sporting a nasty burn from the tip of the glue gun on my finger.
The rest of the day was so relaxing since we didn’t have to be anywhere else ALL DAY. I know! Stop the presses! We did NOT drive back across town a dozen times for various kid-related activities. We watched the movies that the Easter Bunny brought (Voyage of the Dawn Treader, based on the CS Lewis book, and the 7th Harry Potter), had a turkey dinner, and just enjoyed a relaxing day. We get so few of those anymore and I hate it.
Bruce’s paycheck was shorted a week’s pay. His manager put 4.9 hours rather than 44.9 hours. Ouch! They got it straightened out, but when he asked if they could go ahead and pay him now rather than adding the hours to his next check, the payroll department got a bit snotty, like they’re doing him some big favor (“one-time courtesy”). Say what? It’s not like Bruce did anything wrong, so why are they acting like they’re helping him out of a jam? Hopefully, it won’t happen again, so this “one-time courtesy” will truly be a one-time thing. In the meantime, we’re hanging in there. We’ve got overdraft protection for just such events, so all our bills are being paid…..just with a bit of interest.
I subbed a couple of days this week; once in first grade and once in 6th. I really need to remember to wear jeans when I’m doing 1st grade. We were planting grass, so I had a 50 lb bag of soil, plus a bag of grass seed, and we’re filling these tiny cut-off milk cartons. We were able to do it without too much mess, but it still made me nervous. It’s funny….this is a class I’ve had several times before (it’s Miss Pace—Alana’s former 1st grade teacher), so I know them pretty well. Some of them drive me completely insane, but when the art teacher started to pick on them a bit, it got my back up. She just isn’t very nice! Great art ideas, but not nice to the kids.
Dad spent a night in the hospital last week. He had a bit of a cardiac incident. His heart was racing and wouldn’t slow down. When they got to the ER, it was about 170 beats/minute, which is not safe at all! When your heart beats that fast, you start potentially throwing blood clots that can lead to a heart attack, stroke, or pulmonary embolism…none of which are good for you. They gave him some medicine and that slowed his heart down too much, down to like 30. So they gave him something else……which made him dizzy or something, so they kept him overnight just to be sure his heart would behave itself. He’s supposed to see the cardiologist this week, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he needs a pacemaker in the near future.
Got this in an email from Bruce, titled “Blame it on Microsoft”
• INSTALLING SPRING...
███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.
Installation failed. Please try again.
404 error: Season not found.
Season "Spring" cannot be located.
...The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable in Utah.
Please try again.
Funny, huh? The weather is nice today, but it’s not supposed to last. We’re supposed to get more snow tomorrow and a nighttime low of less than 30! Brrrr!!!
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