Vacation to Michigan 2008...Continued!

On Monday, we decided to go to the lake for a swim. Here are Ben (further away) and Noah...





And here is the view from shore. We did get a little rain that day, but nothing to worry much about.




Here is the "beach area." See the wonderful picnic tables (not sprayed with gang graffiti!) and some of the playground areas they have for the kids.





Here are Julie and Megan, playing and posing for pictures...




And here are Julie and Megan putting sand on their arms. I don't know why, but it seemed to work for them...



And more fun in/with the sand...






On Tuesday, we decided to head to northern Michigan, to go to Mackinac Island!! Yay!! On the way, we stopped in a little town called Millington, MI, and found this smiley water tower.



My nephew Jason took the picture of the water tower above. He went to these train tracks to take it. He loves trains, so I took a picture of him on the track. Happily, no trains were coming.




Can you believe this is a freeway? I love all the trees, and the green! We're on the road again up north!


This next smiley face water tower is part of my heritage. My sister swallowed lye when she was three, and we spent a year and a half driving from northern Michigan to Ann Arbor, Michigan, every other week. We would stay for a week at a time, so that Heidi could have her throat dilated (they had to replace her throat with part of her colon, and it kept wanting to close). When we would see this smiley face water tower, we would know we were in West Branch, MI and it was time to stop for lunch at Render's Restaurant, which I don't think is there any more.



Since we were in West Branch, we did stop for lunch on this trip, too, but we went to Burger King. Here are Heidi and I (she's the cool-looking one in the sunglasses).



After our long-ish drive, we stopped at Alden, MI, the town where I grew up. It is much more touristy now than it was back then, but it is still home. This is a railroad museum we stopped at so that Jason could see the museum and the partial train that is there. From left to right, we have Jason, Julie, Caitlin, Megan and Noah. Ben is standing, leaning his head on his arms.




Here are the kids on the back of the caboose: (left to right again) Jason,
Caitlin, Julie Noah, Ben, and Megan.


This is the lake I grew up swimming in, Torch Lake. It is beautiful! Can you see the different shades of blue in the water? It's like that all the time. Some days it is perfectly still and mirror-like. Other days it is frozen over and covered with fishing shanties.





Alas, my arms are tired and my chest hurts again, so more tomorrow. I'll bet you didn't think this would be the longest story in the history of the world, did you? :)

Oops...

I said I would post more about the vacation today, but I did not post. I found out Monday that I have pneumonia, and today I woke up feeling more awful than yesterday, so I napped and barfed and took medicine most of the day. It was SUPER!!

So, that's my excuse for not posting more pics. I will post more as soon as I can, though.

Vacation 2008! We're back!

We are back, and we had a great time! Here is a picture story of our vacation (or at least part of it)...

This is Ben & Julie outside our house at 3:55 a.m., waiting for the Super Shuttle to pick us up. They have a lot of energy for that hour of the morning!



Here is the first airplane they would ride on...a Southwest airplane with pointy-uppy wings! Here it is about 5:00 a.m., and they are loading the plane. Why are they loading the plane? Because they are Southwest, and unlike other airlines, they actually offer free soft drinks, coffee & tea as well as a bunch of snacks that you can choose from. Once in the air, the flight attendants actually come around and hand out activity books for all the kids! Southwest rocks!



Here are Ben & Julie on the plane. I think this is the plane we transferred to in Chicago.




And here is our rented minivan! I reserved this van two or three weeks in advance, but when we got there, there was some major golf event in town (Detroit), so they didn't have enough cars to go around. This reminded me of a Seinfeld episode. I, however, was really quite tired by this point, so I didn't do the whole Seinfeld routine, even though I wanted to. Eventually, Thrifty Car Rental called Dollar car rental and got me a van. And because I decided to wait politely for 1/2 hour, the agent gave me a free tank of gas, and really good directions to my sister's house (well, not her house, but her exit). It was a silver Chrysler Town & Country. It held 7 people, but we had 8 people in it for most of the week. It held up rather well and got amazing mileage!



The first night, we took all the kids (my sister has 4, I have 2) for ice cream cones. We were tired, so after that we pretty much went to bed. I had my own room with its own digital cable and a really comfy bed. Pretty awesome!

When I stay with people, I always buy groceries, because I figure I'm there eating with them, and I should help out. With that in mind, my sister and I went to buy groceries on Sunday. This was our first stop...




This is a Meijer store, as you can see. Back when I was a kid, my mom used to shop here. This is quite similar to a Wal-Mart Supercenter now, but back then, there wasn't really a store near us that had clothes, groceries, auto parts, sporting goods, housewares, etc; except Meijer. They also have an ice cream shop inside, where you can get a hand-dipped ice cream cone. Obviously I like that about it, too.

Once inside the store, I knew I would find one of my favorite things...Faygo Pop! Yes, it is pop. It's on the label. Faygo Pop. There are amazing flavors, like peach, blue raspberry, rock-n-rye, orange, 60/40 (grapefruit/lemon-lime), black cherry, cream soda, and on and on. Good stuff. You should go to Michigan and buy some!




Here are Julie (my daughter) and Noah (my nephew) playing "basketball."




And Julie on the trampoline...


And the campfire we had Sunday night. To give you an idea of the scale, the fire pit is at least 8 feet across...this is a BIG fire!




And here are Heidi (my sister, on the right) and I (with the half-mast eyes...must've been tired!) enjoying the fire.



Here is Noah the pyromaniac, wet from some water game or something, and worshiping the flame of the citronella torch!



Here are pyromaniacs Noah and Ben, lighting twigs in the citronella torch, because it is Michigan and not Arizona, so even if they drop the twig, the entire state will not go up in flames. In fact, they did drop a few, and because there is actual moisture in the air, and at this time of night, on the ground in the form of dew, there was no problem.



And here is Julie the pyromaniac, also lighting twigs. Her cousin Megan was there, and I could've sworn she was in this picture, but I guess not.


And here is the reason the fire went out so quickly...my nephews Jason (the older one) and Noah thought they'd see how big they could get the fire if they put this wooden box on it. My sister is in the background saying "uhh...guys...I don't know...




I will post more pictures and info tomorrow.

Vacation 2008!

On Saturday, me and the best kiddos on the planet


















will be traversing a little bit of the planet...we're going to Michigan, my homeland and where my sister lives. Tony has to stay home and work :( but we will try to have fun anyway.


Our plane leaves at 6:00 a.m. so that means getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get to the airport on time. Hopefully, we can all nap on the plane, except the kids have never flown before, so they will be excited. We will actually end up a little north of the heart in the picture above, just to the west of the white bloop that's over the heart.

While we are there, guess what will be in season??





Yesssss...sweet corn!! I am one of two people in my house who will eat corn on the cob, and I love it. And my sister loves it, and so do her seven kids...so I can buy, and eat, fresh sweet corn that is actually in season! And guess what else will be in season??




Bingo! Tomatoes! When I was a kid, we used to eat tomatoes like apples...they were so good, warmed from the sun.

And, finally, I can have another (few) Faygo Pop! Have you heard of Faygo Pop? It is the best pop in the world!








Besides eating fabulous vegetables, we will be doing other things. We will visit:











Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, this huge place that is full of Christmas decorations. The picture doesn't do the size of the place justice. The white building on the right is the Christmas Chapel. Here's a link to Bronner's...it is a really fun place.


We may be going to a waterpark in the same town as Bronner's, but we aren't sure yet. I can't find any pictures of it, but I'm sure I'll have some (if we go there) when I come back.

There is a remote possibility that we will go to an amusement park, Michigan's Adventure, and an even more remote possibility that we'll visit Mackinac Island, but that is a 3-4 hour drive each way. Although my sister will be there...we can gab and stay awake on the drive back, right??

Our kids will also spend a lot of time playing together, I would think. My kids hardly ever get to see these cousins, so I'm sure they'll have a lot to talk about.

I will post pictures when I get back! Have a good week, and keep your powder and your pants dry! (1,000 magic points if you can tell me what movie that line is from. Are the points redeemable, you ask? No. But you will have the thrill of knowing that you know stuff.)

Rain

I live in the desert. As you probably know, deserts are hot and dry, except when they are cold and dry, in the "winter." But we don't really get winter here.

But tonight, the wind started to blow, and raindrops started coming down...big raindrops. That was an hour ago, and it is still raining. Blowing and raining. Blowing rain down our air conditioning tubes, and through the return into our hallway, and down the pipe for our water heater (a gas one). But it doesn't matter. Because it's raining in the desert!

Rain so hard that it's difficult to see the houses across the alley. Rain that turns our roof into the home of a bunch of waterfalls, waterfalls that, if found in the mountains on a hike would be considered fairly sizeable.

Rain, washing the pollution out of the air (for a minute). Rain, pounding on our roof with its soothing rhythm, luring me to sleep even as I type. It's washing our yard, our cars, our driveway. I love water. I was raised in Michigan, so am used to water in all its forms; ice, snow, rain, lakes, humidity. This kind of weather takes me home for a little bit, to when I was a kid and we'd stand under the eaves of our house, when it rained in the summer, laughing, twirling, splashing. I haven't seen rain like this here in probably 20 years!

What a beautiful night!

Dad

Oh, yeah...I forgot to tell you about my dad. He and my mom flew home from Michigan on Saturday, despite his swollen feet and ankles that kept him from walking (they brought him from the plane in a wheelchair). The customer assistance folks at Southwest Airlines are fabulous...my mom has trouble walking very far, so I had two parents in wheelchairs, but one guy stayed with me until we got to baggage claim, got their luggage, carried it while pushing my dad all the way to my car, and helped them both into the car. You don't get much better than that. Fly Southwest...they rock!





Anyway, dad really was pretty sick. My sister had called me after she took them to the airport, and both she and her husband were crying because they had never seen him look so bad. We took him home and he climbed into bed under a heating blanket-in summer! He went to the doctor today, and they need to run some tests and take some X-rays of a spot on his lung. He was a smoker for 40 years...so if you pray, could you pray that those tests come back negative, and that his doctor here will be able to help him? Thanks.

The Last Uphill Push

It is finally all coming together for Tony the Husband's book.






It is due tomorrow, and he is writing, writing, writing as I type this. The hikes were all finished and written about, but he needed to edit them and go over them and make sure they were good (you know how writers are). So he has been doing that while I do my homework (which I am 90% done with, two days early-wonder if I'm sick??)

He has worked really hard on this and I'm very proud of him. He has been very happy while writing this...I really think he will be a professional author someday soon. Then he can give up this whole "work" thing, and just do what he likes.

In other "The Last Uphill Push" news, the move for my office is almost complete. The other half of our company moved this past weekend. Now we all work in this building:


My boss is getting punchy. The landlord at the "other" building is being quite a poop and not telling her everything that needs to be done until the last minute. Nice.

A person has to believe in something...I believe I'm going to bed. Have a good day, all!

It wasn't that bad...

I did go to work on Sunday, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I did not move stacks of boxes. I stopped at Starbucks, and there was a Pei Wei in the same building! So I got me some mad good food and some iced tea instead of coffee, it was a better day. Pei Wei has amazing healing powers...see here for proof.

I went in Monday, and was grouchy as a bear, which I think prompted them to offer me today as a day off. Which I wisely took. 'Cause I was/am tired!

And now, I'm off to sleep again! Hopefully I'll have more interesting posts later this week! More interesting-less whining!! What a goal!!

My Dad/Fun at work

Well, now they think my dad has pneumonia, not necessarily a heart problem. So, if you prayed, it worked! Thanks VERY much. :)

Our company is moving...have I whined about that yet? Yeah. I think so, too. Yesterday I worked 13 hours without a dinner break. Nice, huh? And, I worked moving piles of boxes from wherever the idiot movers dropped them to where they belonged, and then to where my boss thought they should be. My feet and my back are STILL killing me, even after 12 hours of sleep/rest and pain relievers. I'm supposed to go back in today. If I do, I WILL NOT move any more piles of boxes. They may get a workman's comp claim as it is, if the back pain doesn't improve.

I am not going in for very long today. AND I'm stopping for Starbucks on the way. Sorry I'm cranky today...apparently my new goal is to try and kill myself every weekend (remember the hike last weekend?). I will try to be cheerier later.

My Dad

Hello,

My dad is currently in the hospital, in Michigan. He lives here, with my mom, but they are in Michigan visiting my sister. He had a lot of chest pain and couldn't get his breath. At first they thought it was (this may be wrong...) atrial fibrillation, which means that the top two chambers of the heart are not beating in the proper rhythm. Later, they said he definitely has pneumonia, but that they are still going to check his heart anyway, just to be sure.

If anyone reading this prays, would you please pray that my dad would be okay?

Thanks. I'm off to play online games and get my mind off this.

Adventures in Hiking

My wonderful husband is writing a book on hikes in the Tonto National Forest, which I believe I have already shamelessly plugged here. He is currently on an 8-day blitzkrieg wherein he will finish seven hikes in the 8 days. Well, that was his plan anyway. I may have loused it up.

He started hiking on Wednesday of last week. Over the weekend, Tony wanted me to get a hotel room near where he's hiking (up by Payson), so that he could have a shower and a bed for a night. Ben, the wonder son, had also been hiking with him. Did I mention my fabulous son hiked 36 miles in three days with my husband? In pool shoes? 'Cause that's all we can get him to wear? And yeah, he did great. The hotel meetup would be an opportunity for Tony to bring Ben back, because although Ben is a fantastic hiker, he is 11 and eventually gets tired, unlike his oddly energetic father.

About a month ago, Tony mentioned a hike that he would really like me to do with him while he was on this series of hikes. Over the weekend, he kept telling me that this would be an easy hike. On Sunday, though, I was driving him to the trailhead because I was not planning to do this hike. My ankle was hurting and it seemed a stupid idea to hike on it. So we get to the trailhead, and Tony is putting together his camera, his notebook, his GPS thing, his water, etc. He finishes, and says "why don't you just walk a little way with me?" "Okay," I say, like an idiot. "That might be nice." So I put on the extra Camelback water-holder thingy, and we start off.

It's a lovely little trail. We're actually walking by people's backyards, and through pine trees and over cute little washes. I had stretched out my foot/ankle a bit, and it wasn't even hurting at all. So, on we go. We're talking, and having a great time, and I'm glad I came along.

We come to a hill, which is part of a mountain, of course; this being Arizona. But I am determined to be a good sport and not be a whiner, so I shut up and keep hiking all the way up the hill. Then, we walk by this beautiful (from a distance) cow pond. Up close, it's got green moldy looking stuff in it, but it's still kind of pretty. We walk up another hill, and it's not so bad either. My foot/ankle still doesn't hurt. We go on, and I'm getting slower and slower. Pretty soon I stop and look back, and we've been climbing upward, very gradually, for what looks like about a mile. Well, that explains why I'm tired! That, and there's no air up there because of the elevation.

So now, Tony pulls out his map and explains that we're getting into trouble, because we're getting behind schedule (ya think!?!). We're also short on water, he explains, because he underestimated the difficulty of this hike. But, I really want to be a good sport and be supportive. We proceed up the rest of the hill, as fast as I can make it.

The next part of the hike cannot be adequately explained with human words. We had to basically scale a cliff using very, VERY steep switchbacks on the "trail." NOW my ankle hurts. All the way down to my little toe! And Tony starts looking back, looking worried, about when we're going to be done with this hike. On the way down, I begin to lose my cool. I say, "so, this is an easy hike?" Tony says yes. I say, "Really? What is considered difficult? A vertical rock face with no ropes?" I know this kind of sarcasm doesn't help anything (except it makes me feel better).

After a long, arduous journey, during which I hear Tony scream in frustration with my slowness, I get to the bottom of the cliff. Tony had lent me his hiking stick, thinking, I guess, that it would make me faster. But to no avail. I get to the bottom and I'm totally frustrated with it, because it keeps getting stuck in the catclaw and tripping me up. I am in tears from pain and frustration, and I ever-so-kindly (NOT!) ask "How in the world can you think this is an easy hike?!? Have you not met me??? Do you not know anything about me after 20 years of marriage???!)

At this point, Tony has recovered his cool. He gently, even kindly explains to me that we are REALLY behind now, and that this has become a rescue situation because we have to get me with my bad ankle out of the forest before dark. Suddenly I thought, "eez, chill, Spike. My foot hurt and I was frustrated, but there's no need to be dramatic (yeah...right. 'Cause I wasn't, eh?)

He explains that this trail "probably" junctions with the other trail in just a little ways, and that there is a spring nearby. The spring is great news, because during out little jaunt down the completely vertical rock face with no ropes (okay, I may be exaggerating just a LITTLE bit),we are OUT of water. And not even halfway through the hike. He explains that he really needs to get to the car so that he can come back and get me, and if I can make my way even a little bit toward the road, he will come and find me (remember the line from the movie whose name I can't remember, "Whatever occurs, stay alive. I WILL find you." Yeah. He was scared, and going into husband fix-it mode. He says, "If you get lost, stop. Blow this whistle, and I will find you. You want to look at the compass every now and then, and make sure you're heading north-ish. Go to the junction, turn right, and follow trail 51. Stay on that until you get to trail 48, and then I can get you in the car. But if you can't get that far, I'll find you."

I'm thinking his stumbling (or perhaps jogging, apparently, based on his speed through the trail so far) through the dark to find me is not a good idea, so after he leaves I rest a bit. I get up and start walking, and come to the trail junction in no time. I turn right, check the compass, and start walking, when I hear rustling behind me. It's Tony. He found the spring! He filled both our Camelbacks! Yay! I tell him to go on, and I hike along. The thing is, when I'm not hiking with him, I'm doing much better. I think because I'm not trying to keep up with anybody; I'm just doing my own thing. It's much easier. I do get confused a few times because the trail crosses the river bottom nine million times, and each time it does I have to re-locate the trail. Happily, he has made several cairns for my dumb self to use to find the trail. He also has the hiking stick, and the hiking stick makes a funny-looking, ant-hill-esque divot in the ground. I also can see footprints, and they're next to the ant-hill-esque thing, so whenever I find those I know I'm on the right track.

Along the way I hear more rustling, and I figure it's Tony coming back for his lame, wimpy wife. But I look at where the rustling is, and there is a GINORMOUS set of antlers rubbing against the brush above me (by at least 30 feet, so not to worry; no danger). I'm momentarily freaked out, but I go on. After a few more river crossings, I'm walking along and see something in the distance. Aha! It must be Tony, right? Nope. More deer. These are on the other side of the river bottom from me, but they, too, are GINORMOUS! They are eating their dinner on the slope, and they look up as they see me, but they don't run. We have a nice chat, and I pee in the woods, because by now my water is gone again, and I move on.

Shortly after this, I see something waving in the distance. I get to it, and it's a note from Tony. It says:

          YOU MADE IT!
          I LOVE YOU!!
Take this with you when you see it
So I know you've made it this far.


So, I got to the end of the friggin' trail. He is delighted I made it to the end and he doesn't have to bumble through the forest with a flashlight to find me. He brought Gatorade, and Cherry Coke. Cherry Coke was the first gift he ever gave me-we met at college, and my birthday is in September. We both had jobs on campus, but no one had been paid yet. He knew I like Cherry Coke, and bought me a bottle for my birthday. It's always special when he gets it for me.

In the car, on the way back to his next trailhead, I say, "Okay, so I'm great at crafting with the kids, and knitting, and crocheting. I'm fabulous at tetherball, I bake fantastic cookies, and I can walk really well. But I don't think hiking is really my sport." He agreed.

We have dinner, and I drive home.

The End.

Adventures in Furniture shopping...and other random observations

There is a preponderance of mushrooms. In all kinds of those "Lean-Cuisine-y" meals, apparently, which are cheap and okay for lunch at work, mushrooms spell fabulous. We went to Olive Garden the other night...mushrooms everywhere. There were lots of pasta dishes that sounded wonderful, except, as I read the description...yep. Mushrooms.

Okay, now, let's review. Mushrooms are fungus. They grow in dark, smelly places. They're gray, for goodness' sake! How can anything gray be considered food? They have a horrible, rubbery texture, almost as bad as raw oyster. Eew! Note to cooks of "Lean-Cuisine-y" foods and restaurant chefs: Go ahead, put mushrooms in some things. But they are not needed everywhere! They look and taste like dirt! Wet, smelly dirt that is made up of...well...I think we all know what. Eew!

I finished yet another class in the long, long, LONG, pondering, winding, annoying path that is school. I got an A. It was one of the cooler classes; I will say that.

My office is moving. I never, EVER want to work in an office that has to change addresses again. What. A. Stinkin. Horrible. Mess. My boss is completely stressed out at all moments. Great fun. Yeah.

We got the couch from the post below. I went to IKEA on Saturday, with my 11- and 9-year-old children. I saw a dresser perfect for the 9-year-old, who is our daughter, and who has used the same, falling apart, beat up, hand-me-down dresser for 6 of her nine years. I have no objection to hand-me-downs; I love them. But, when they are falling apart, it's time for them to go to the big furniture store in the sky.

So, anyway, I found a great dresser at IKEA that, judging by its weight, should outlast her grandchildren. Now, IKEA has signs everywhere saying that customers shouldn't hurt themselves; just ask, they say, and they'll be happy to help load things. Because you have to take everything, including couches, beds, and dressers, through the checkout. They have no little tags you can take to the front, like Toys R Us. So, I asked my son to go find one of these helpful associates to help me load the two boxes of dresser onto my nifty wheely cart. He was wearing Heelys, and needed to burn off energy. So off he goes. Time passes. More time passes. He comes back alone. He says no one will listen to him. I know, I should have gone myself, so I and the kids work together to get the two boxes of dresser onto the wheely cart. Then I go off in search of a rocking chair and the couch. While pushing the cart with the two boxes of dresser.

Did I mention that on IKEA carts, all of the wheels turn all directions. You know how the front wheels of a grocery cart go all directions so you can turn corners? ALL the wheels do this. Which probably makes the chore of taking a dresser through a checkout line lighter. But, it kills my back, because I have to keep the cart from spinning off in 67 different directions while I push it through the aisles looking for the rocking chair. Because I can't find a helpful IKEA employee to ask the location of said rocking chair. Ouch.

I eventually find the rocking chair. I'm really tired at this point, but I'm near the checkout, and I see (no kidding) a stack of the couch we want. In the middle of the aisle. Like a stack of canned peaches at the grocery store. Each on its own, pre-loaded wheely cart. Right near the register. Sweet! I go get the couch cover (it comes with a slipcover, which can be changed out when the couch needs to recover from my dogs). I say to the kids; we're going to have to do a tandem thing here, where I take the first cart to the cash register while you guys stay with the couch, then I'll come back and...no, wait. We won't get in the same line then, and I have to pay for both carts. Hmm...I know! I'll ask a helpful IKEA staff member. Except after 10 minutes, I can't get the attention of any of them. Hmm...

"Hey, Ben. Do you think you can push the dresser cart to the register?" I swear, they didn't look far away. And Ben is 11. So, "Sure I can, Mom! No problem" (grows two feet taller with pride in being asked to do something big and helpful). The poor, helpful boy wrestles the cart through tiny aisleways (I think they crowd more things in, closer to the registers, so they can laugh as customers try to wrangle couches through the stacks. It's probably good stress relief for the cashiers) to the line, only to have his idiot mother figure out that it's a self checkout. Yah. That's happening. I'm going to check out a couch myself. Sure.

So, we back up, and hey! Here come two IKEA male staff members. They should be able to help, right? "Hi, could you..." "Excuse me," they say as they step over the dresser cart, completely ignoring the plight of the idiot and her wonderful children. Sigh. We back out, turn around, and head down to one of the TWO checkouts with cashiers. With an absolutely packed store, and all kinds of checkout counters, they have TWO cashiers. We wait, angling our carts so people can walk through the aisle behind us, which IKEA has stacked with planter baskets, Lingonberry preserves, and gravy mix. I kid you not. And I like Lingonberry preserves. Really. I had it with a meal I got at the IKEA cafe during an earlier visit and it's good. Kind of similar to cranberry sauce. But I digress...

Some "helpful" staff member asks the woman behind me to please move further into the checkout line, so people can walk through (to the other cashier). Except she can't, because if you remember, I have A COUCH that I have to check out, through the cash register. She tells the staff member to get real, or open another checkout. I love her! :)

We check out, after the cashier and I have to lift the couch and flip it over so we can find the price. But, things start to turn around at this point. Not only is the cashier incredibly helpful and kind, but when we push the giant carts over to the home delivery area, across the store from where we were, we find out that they can deliver the next day! Which they do. And it is beautiful. And comfortable. And almost worth the trip to IKEA! :)

I had a migraine today. :( First in a couple months. But, after I threw up (does the sun HAVE to be so stinkin' bright when I have a migraine?) and attached and turned on the nifty pain-relief device the pain doctor gave me, when I went after my last migraine, called a TENS unit, and went back to sleep, I started to feel better. My boss called at 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m., and at noon. My co-worker called at 12:30, and I decided the heck with it, got up, got ready (slowly; I still wasn't feeling great) and went in for four hours. With Vernors ginger ale, to keep me from throwing up more. It's gone now. Good machine!

I found plane tickets I can pretty much afford for our trip to Michigan this August. Tony the husband isn't going; but the kids and I are. I just need a rental car and I'm all set. I am living for the vacation this year, because I am sick of being in an office that is moving.

Did I tell you my husband is writing a book? Well, he is, and now he is finishing his book. He is doing a total of seven hikes between now and a week from Friday. The fun never ends here. :) If you want a sneak preview (or to pre-order), here is the linky to Day and Overnight Hikes in the Tonto National Forest

I hear the author is a really cool guy.

In other news...hmm...I guess it's 11:04 and I'm tired. Here's a shout out to Lauren- you're in my prayers tomorrow. I know you will soon be stressing about much better things to stress about, like weddings and damask and hot pink. Have you decided on nail polish? :)

Memorial Day

I hope your Memorial Day Weekend was good. I certainly needed the break from work! I got to do something exciting this weekend...pick out new living room furniture! We went to Ikea and here is what we picked out:

The Sofa

The Loveseat

The Storage Thingy/Footstool/Coffee Table

I know...it's all beige. But it will look nice on the sage green walls in our living room, and I plan to accessorize (pillows, blankies, etc.) in denim and cranberry red...I think. I'm excited to see how it will all look together. I'll post pics when it's done.

I wish I were 9 again...

Happy Mother's Day, all you moms! And all of you who have moms! I hope you had a fabulous day. I know I did.

At the end of the fabulous day, I was talking with Julia, my 9-year-old daughter. As you may know, I'm in school, and we were talking about my school. She asked if I would ever graduate. I told her that yes, next year I will. I asked her if she would feel better if I were not in school, and she said, "well, yeah...kind of." She asked me if I wanted to quit, and I said that sometimes I do, but if I do, I will have a harder time getting a good job.

She said, "You could always make lemonade. And sell it, in the park, on hot sunny days. And when it's cold, you could make hot chocolate."

Sounds good to me, kiddo...if only! :)

Sunday Dinner

So, what do you do for Sunday Dinner? Do you cook a big meal?

I knew a family who, on Sundays, had leftovers. It was kind of a clean-out-the-fridge meal, first come, first served. My mother-in-law's family did a variation of this, where they would have leftovers and popcorn. My mom made dinner every night, most of the time. We've been known to have cereal and toast, or some other form of breakfast like pancakes or french toast. Sometimes I'll do something yummy in the crock pot, but I usually do that stuff during the week (in the winter, 'cause I live in Arizona!)

What about breakfast? Any special Sunday breakfast traditions?

Reevaluating

I should tell you first that I tend to be kind of a flake. For instance, I haven't made it to church in several weeks. I'm in the choir, so I have a definite reason to go, but I haven't gone. I went today, and I'm so glad. Because...

a) it always makes me feel better
b) I saw people I hadn't seen at church in awhile, and that felt good
c) the sermon was great

I've had migraines for about 10 years. They just showed up one day, uninvited and certainly unwelcome, but there they were. I used to get them pretty infrequently, but lately I've had one about 3-4 times a month. Not good.

The one I had last week began on Tuesday mid-day, and didn't quit until sometime Friday. I missed some work on Thursday, because the pain had gotten so bad that all I could do was pace. I couldn't sit at my desk, couldn't think of looking at a computer, etc. I left about 2:00 that day, and took a nap. The nap helped, but the pain was still there when I had to go get two teeth filled (I know...I'm a dentist's dream!) . But I went, and had a different dentist, who was fabulous. I didn't even feel the novocaine shot (they numb me before the shot with that gel, so I can't feel the needle going in, but can always feel the novocaine leaving the needle and entering my mouth). He did a great job. I came home and for the first time since all this pain started Tuesday, I felt like being awake and with the family. So I was. Like I said, during the night Friday most of the pain left, and I woke up okay on Friday.

I told you that story to tell you this one...during the time I was in pain, I came to a realization. I need to refocus my attitude and my way of living and even my way of being. That kind of pain is a wake-up call, and I need to fix it. So when I got to church today, I noticed the topic was reevaluating. And I began to think...if I would just STOP worrying! If I would just leave the worrying to God, who really is the only one who can handle it, I would be better. I am seriously neglecting the creative part of my life. I have been going to choir practice only when I can comfortably fit it in, and as I mentioned, I haven't been to church in weeks. That stifles the singing part of my creativity (as well as worship and learning about God-also not good). I haven't played my clarinet in years. I want to learn to sew and haven't even tried that (since 4th grade, when I was in 4-H). I want to make a painting, and haven't done that, either.

What have I been doing? Well, I always say homework, but I don't think that's true. I do some homework, but not enough to completely stifle the rest of my life. I have been sleeping a lot (when I have migraines), so maybe that's some of it. I watch too much TV. I work a lot, and worry about work. And I do stuff with the kids, which I'm not giving up! :)

But, if I reevaluate. What if I reevaluate my level of stress about work. Hmm...can worrying do anything? No. Can worrying change anything? No. I know this in my head, but it's hard to get my heart to buy into it. What if I reevaluate my commitment to church and to choir? That seems like a good place for me to be. What if I reevaluate my homework, and do a little every night instead of a bunch on the weekend? If I can get myself to actually do these things, it may help. It may also alleviate a bunch of my stress and help keep me from getting migraines.

And that would be good. I think I'll give it a try. I'll let you know how I am doing.

Campaigns

I was going to tell you a story about my boss, but with all the lawsuits nowadays I'd better not, for fear I'll be sued and they'll take my 2005 Chevy Malibu. With power windows.

So, at this place where my friend works (I'm not telling you which friend), there's a need for a project to be done. At first it needed to be done by Wednesday afternoon. Then suddenly, yesterday at 3:30, my friend (the random one) tells me that she heard it was due TODAY at noon. Well, by golly, she didn't have enough time to finish the huge project (23 single-spaced pages put into a spreadsheet) by noon TODAY, so my friend, who is not a morning person, got up at 5:00 this morning (if you knew my friend, you would know how early that really is, and how s/he doesn't normally get up anywhere near this time), and she was at work at 6:00. A. Stinkin' M. After being at school until 10:30 last night. And she's old! And she was working her heart out on this spreadsheet.

About 9:00 this morning, she heard that the project wouldn't be due until SOMETIME NEXT WEEK. That's right, sports fans...not noon today, but NEXT STINKIN' WEEK!!

Her boss is campaigning for boss of the year 2008. For sure. Totally.


I am once again campaigning for mother-of-the-year 2008. I brought my kids home from school today because their grandma, who usually picks them up, forgot to. I know...I don't know. So I leave work at 3:00 and race to the school. Meanwhile, school let out at 2 STINKIN': 30! 2:30! I'd write that in capital letters for emphasis if I could, but then it would look like @:#)! and you might not understand. So anyway, I get them, and they're okay, and we head home, because at this point I'm not going back to work. And we get home and I said to my darling kiddos, "let's have a little free time until 5:00, and then I'll make dinner and you guys can pick up your rooms.

I took my shoes off, and sat down on my bed to watch HGTV for a second, and then I woke up and it was 6:00! Again, I'd emphasize with capital letters, but, you know the drill, ^:))! and then you're confused. Nobody wants that. We had cereal for dinner. I am not worthy to even watch Carol Brady on TV. I shouldn't even be in the same room if Carol is on the T.V.

So for the minute and a half that I was conscious after I sat on my bed, I noticed a commercial for Playtex bras. Have you ever noticed that Playtex sells both bras and baby bottles? I had not noticed that consciously until tonight. Anywhoo, I'm watching this woman in her underwear, and she actually describes herself as "stacked." Whaa??? Seriously????? SEEERRIOUSLY???????? We can say "stacked" on T. V. at 4:00 in the afternoon? If even my husband mentioned my stacked-ness I probably couldn't be held responsible for my actions...

In other news, I've had 2 full cups of coffee, a large Mountain Dew, and a large Coke (full-strength) today. And I'm still tired.

But I missed you, and wanted to write and share my joy and rapture at the world. So, Hi!

:)

Toothy Tuesday

Ow. Remember when I told you I broke my tooth eating ice cream (I'm specially talented!)? I got the crown on today. Ow. Did I mention, ow?

See, I don't know what the dentist was doing in my mouth for an hour and a half last Tuesday, but it took for-stinkin'-ever and I was so sick of the little sucky machine that gets the slobber (saliva, for you technical types) out of the way, and the drilling, and I even saw smoke (I am not making this up). But the point is, he was in there for A LONG, LONG TIME and the bill was over $500, so I figured he had done a root canal before putting the temporary thingy on.

Nope.

So I get there today, and as I'm driving there (again, NOT making this up) my tooth starts to get "sensitive." Not any rip-roaring pain (though I have given birth so I may not be the best judge of rip-roaring pain for all reading this), but kind of a nagging, little, uh-oh pain. But I get into the "chair of magic and wonder" and Heidi the assistant lady, takes off the temporary thing with the little metal hook-looking thing, and although not the same as childbirth, the result was definitely an "OW." Kind of like metal-on-tooth-nerve pain. Really, not crippling, but very uncomfortable, and, like I said, OW. Which I said. So she apologizes as she proceeds to "just clean up around the tooth a little," which prompts more OW.

I was uncomfortable with her messing around in my mouth for a couple of reasons...OW, of course, and also because I told the following joke and she didn't get it:

Me: Knock, knock.
Heidi: Who's there?
Me: Control Freak-Now you say "Control freak who?"

Please tell me that at least one person gets that joke. But Heidi didn't. And she was all giggly that she didn't get it. And that bothered me, a little. Not that I'm all brilliant; I'm not. But I did get this one. Anyway...

So, Heidi tries on the crown and takes it off about seven times, and each time there is that little shock of nerve pain. And then she gets nervous and calls in the dentist (who was going to put it on anyway). To be fair, they did offer me novocaine several times, but they also said they typically don't need it to put a crown on. I should have taken it. I didn't. I'm not crazy about the shot. But it would have been a better choice. See, last time I had this done it didn't hurt. It was a little tender, but nothing like today. But last time, they did a root canal. This time, apparently, they didn't.

So what the heck was he doing in there for an hour and a half?? It should have been some drilling (of course, I did have the novocaine last week...I'm not crazy!) to smooth out the broken tooth and put the cap on so I can get out of the chair. Not 90 minutes of drilling, water, sucky machine, air-blower-thingy-machine, etc. I still had nerves in my tooth! No wonder it hurt!

So, I drove home after a long process of trying the crown on seventeen more times and drilling it down (outside my mouth) in between, and flossing until he could get the floss through...which he finally did, and the nerve pain stopped. I drove home in rush-hour traffic (and boy, was I in a good mood!) and took 3 Excedrin to deal with the "hey, everyone! Let's play with Penny's teeth!" pain, and it went away shortly thereafter. I had ramen for dinner-not much chewing involved. Now the tooth feels almost normal; a little odd perhaps, but it's not fully cemented for six hours, so...about 12:45 this morning I should be all set! Too bad I'll be asleep and will miss it!

Lesson learned: When they offer you novocaine, say Yes!

Note to pop (soda, Coke, fizzy water) Companies

Hi, there. It's me. One of your not-so-big fans. I like pop (soda, Coke, fizzy water) fine, and, by the way, it's pop. Soda is something you bake with. Fizzy water sounds like something gone wrong in a bad lab experiment. Pop. It's the name. But I digress...

In case you haven't noticed, Pop companies...you stopped selling pop in glass bottles. In, like, 1989! Why, then, must you advertise people drinking from glass pop bottles? They're gone. Well, they're still here in a very limited, very small, very expensive way. But a six-pack of pop in a carton? With 16.9 oz bottles? Not happening.

If you were still cool, pop companies, we could still buy glass bottles. See, glass recycles, just like plastic. Of course, we don't need oil to make glass, or at least not as much oil as we need to make plastic. I know it's not a totally "green" option because the weight of the glass requires more energy to transport, and glass is breakable, yadda, yadda. I still like my pop out of a glass bottle better. Mountain Dew doesn't smell the same in plastic. It's not as citrus-y. Cherry Coke doesn't smell as good, either.

So, that's my request. Bring back glass bottles! Or at least stop making us wish for them with your commercials. Please. Thanks.

I'm still alive!

Yes, I am still alive...thanks for asking! What? You didn't ask? Oh, well. Too bad. You know now, anyway.

I haven't much time, because it's late and I'm old and tired. And allergic, and sneezing constantly. It's a blast, really.

In news of late:

-My new shoes I bought via mail-order arrived today. They're actual Birkenstocks, and they're actually almost cute, somehow. They are currently on my feet, even with me being in my nightie, and they are comfy right out of the box!

-I took my kids and a friend of theirs to see Disney On Ice: Finding Nemo, or whatever the actual name was. It was a lot of fun! We were in the 10th row, because my husband worked the show and got some sort of discount pass. I figured we'd be in the nosebleeds up near the roof, but we weren't.

-I forgot to buy a ticket for myself when I took the kids to see DOI: FN, so the nice man with the flashlight let the dotty old lady (me) and her kids sit two rows up, where there were actually 4 seats together. They let me wait until intermission to buy the fourth ticket, and actually said I didn't have to pay, but I felt guilty (it's what I do) and paid anyway.

-Do you know how much it costs for 4 ice creams and 4 water bottles at DOI: FN? $40. Yes, $40. Holy Tad Award!!

-I somehow managed to break my tooth on a soggy almond that was in the ice cream at DOI: FN. I have no idea how, but tomorrow I will be having this repaired to the tune of $500. Holy Tad Award again!!

-My 9 year old daughter lost two teeth recently...what is up with teeth in our house??

-I have now officially worked at my current job for two years. My anniversary was April 10. I have not spazzed out and smacked anyone in all that time! Yay, me!!

-I actually have a decent teacher for my current class at school. I like him very much. This is what the last 2 classes have been missing: actual teachers who are not morons!

-I have stopped pushing myself to get A's in school. If I pass, I'm happy. It is much less stressful.

-I am currently craving Beef-A-Roni...either that, or "Mini-mini-mini-ravi-oli-oli-oli-oli (for those of you who grew up in the 80's, and remember the kids sitting around the table singing that). Not the healthiest option, but certainly tasty, and something one can eat with a broken tooth (It's a molar, so I don't look like a refugee from Deliverance).

-My husband wants to go camping this weekend. I'm not so into it now, but I never am when I'm in school. I always love it once we get there. We'll see. If I go, I'll try to remember the camera and take pics!

-Have a good night, all! I'm off to watch Keanu Reeves in Parenthood (yes, he is much more awesome in other movies, but that's what's currently in my DVD playah!