Projects

I meant to post a long time ago some sort of explanation for this picture of aprons. I'm just getting to it now. My good friend Tarimisu gave her kids a cute little play kitchen for Christmas and wanted to also give her kids aprons. In response to her plea for help, Boss and I agreed to see what we could do. So while at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving, that was one of the many projects we worked on--aprons for her three kids, plus Schmoo, BigZ, MJ, and Sam (and one for myself). I hadn't really planned on making all those aprons, but they were cute, and Schmoo was so excited about his... I kind of plan on making more for other nieces and nephews, but I'm nervous about getting them the right size without having a kid in front of me to be my model. Here's a picture of me working on Schmoo's apron.

My trip to Mom and Dad's for Christmas was less project filled than Thanksgiving. Instead, I came home and got working on some things--like shower curtains. When I lived by myself in my basement apartment in Minnesota, I made a shower curtain, complete with cute bows. However, in putting on the cute bows, I didn't think about the fact that I was putting on 8 bows, and most shower curtains have 12 holes for the rings (and thus 12 rings). And then there was the issue that having the bows tied around the rod wasn't very slide-y. For these reasons Marty has let that be my shower curtain and has only had a liner in his shower.



Recently I decided that I'd rather his bathroom have the green shower curtain so that I could get a purple one for my bathroom, and yesterday I found fabric that I liked on the discount table at Wal-Mart. The transformation of the green shower curtain was fairly easy. I did have to learn how to make button holes, but that was the hardest part. And now, the cute bows are gone, and Marty is quite happy with the shower curtain that attaches to his current rings. Today he even commented on how it really gave the bathroom a warmer feel. The button hole technique worked so well on the old shower curtain that I used it again on my new one. And for about $5 plus labor, I have a new pretty shower curtain.

Merry Christmas!

A word of apology and explanation: So, this year I got some Christmas cards out, but basically, if you are related to me (not via Marty), you didn’t get a card. (OK, Wood and Woodine got a card, but that’s because I figured it was high time I sent their wedding card I’ve had for them since June, and as long as I was sending that, I should throw in a Christmas card). I’m sorry. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like you if you didn’t get a card from me. Here is my online Christmas card for all of you who didn’t get one….


This year has been an unforgettable one. Full of trials and tears, but also with blessings, miracles, and hope. I have witnessed the tender mercies of the Lord. He is my strength and salvation. I have felt His peace even in times of pain and sorrow. I like Christmas for the reminder to reflect and re-focus on Christ. May you all know the Peace, Spirit, and Love of Christ this Christmas and throughout your lives.

I love you!

Santa's Little Helpers?

I've been meaning to post more about Cher for awhile now, but, well, I got distracted.

We've had Cher for a couple months now, and she just makes me laugh. One night about a month ago she was banging around in Marty's bathroom. (Marty's bathroom has pretty much been her home base since we got her--that's where her litter box is). The noises that I was hearing were strange enough that I finally went to check on her. She was running around using the bathtub as her play arena. She was doing laps around the inside of the tub. Then she'd climb up onto the ledge just to slide down the shower curtain.

She's less fond of the tub when there's water in it. Or rather, she's still just as fascinated by it, but she's less fond of being in it.

Cher also really likes the toilet--especially the flush. This morning when I got out of bed, Cher immediately ran to the toilet and looked over the edge of the seat in anticipation.

Cher is quite an acrobat. We first noticed it as she played in Marty's closet. She'd walk along the hangers, and even get up to the top shelf to knock down Marty's sweaters. She seems to think that the ironing board is her princess throne. And sometimes, just for fun, she'll show me how good she is at walking up and down the slanted iron legs, or even along the dowels on our chairs and barstools. The back corner on the floor of my closet is her "Bugs Bunny Hideout." It used to worry me how she liked to hang out back there. But after checking about 50 times to make sure she wasn't eating my shoes or worse, I've decided she just likes the dark coziness of it.

I love the interplay between Cher and Razor. For the most part they're friends. Mostly. They'll have wrestling matches all over the house. One of my favorite moves is when Cher hides behind something when she knows that Razor is going to walk by, and then she'll pounce out legs spread eagle. (Maybe someday I'll capture this on film. It cracks me up!)

Razor's not completely convinced that she likes Cher. For example, if she thinks I'm giving Cher too much attention and her not enough, she'll do whatever she can to position herself between me and Cher. If Cher plays too much with any of Razor's toys, all of a sudden that toy becomes the only toy Razor's interested in. Who cares about the whole bin of other toys? And when Razor's trying to sleep, she'll let off a low, steady growl if Cher gets within about 6 inches of her.

So, there's the update. We like Cher. She's fun and makes me laugh.

Breathe

I feel like I've been given a reprieve. At least for now, the anvil that has been sitting on my chest has been lifted. And I can breathe. just a little. easier. Maybe that anvil has just been raised a few inches and will fall again. But while I can, I will just appreciate the fresh air.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Thanksgiving

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...

I think I was about 10 when I first heard these words being quoted and talked about by my older siblings. I remember thinking that it all sounded rather ridiculous--how could it be the best of times and also be the worst of times, etc? What foolishness!

But now I get it.

This year has probably been the hardest of my life. And at the same time there's so much to be thankful for--to list a few: the miracles that I've witnessed, those who have been my support, my knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me as an individual and a Savior who understands and can heal my pains.

So this year Thanksgiving has been especially meaningful to me.

Thanks for putting my thoughts so well, Mr. Dickens.

A Preview

On Hold

Ugh.

A few months back I posted on trying to get reimbursed for Marty's glasses. Well, guess what.

I'm still trying.

Quick recap: In August I mailed in the claim. In September when I called to follow up on it, there was no record of it. Oh, but I should have submitted it through NC, not MD.

New stuff: I mailed the claim into NC. And when I tried to follow up on it, surprise, surprise, still no record of it. And then I got a denial from the group that covers our vision benefits--it was denied because it's not covered--by our VISION benefits. But it IS covered by our MEDICAL benefits. It seems someone saw that it was for glasses and thought they'd go ahead and forward it. Except they shouldn't have.

And then I made another phone call. I spoke to a nice person name CaramelApple. She said, "Hey, why don't you fax that stuff on to me, and I'll take care of it."

So I faxed it.

I even called to verify that the fax was received. It was.

And then I waited some more before calling again. STILL. NO. RECORD. OF. THIS. CLAIM. This time I talked to Ms. TatorTot. She told me to re-fax it to her. I tried. The fax failed twice. So I called to verify that I had the right fax number. I was given another number, and it failed twice too. So I faxed it ATTN: Ms. TatorTot to the same number CaramelApple had given me because Ms. TatorTot had mentioned that CaramelApple worked just a few aisles away and that she was the only Ms. TatorTot that worked there. Finally the fax worked.

But not exactly right.

But first, I got another DENIAL from the vision benefits group.

I called to check on the status of my last fax, and their record in the computer (which I'm sure is getting lengthy for me) indicated that Ms. TatorTot was still waiting on the fax. So I was given yet another fax number for her. Fax went through.

And this time, for good measure I also faxed it to our case manager, who technically isn't supposed to do this stuff, but I've discovered that she can help make things happen.

And then I called to confirm that Ms. TatorTot had received it.

I sat on hold. I talked to someone who put me on hold. I talked to someone else who put me on hold. Then I talked to SodaPop, who happens to be Ms. TatorTot's supervisor. She gave me Ms. TatorTot's personal fax number (not a number I'd been given) and her own personal fax number. She said she herself would work on it and even apologized for how much trouble this is being.

Tomorrow I plan to call to make sure at least one of today's four faxes got received and is being processed. And hopefully not being forwarded to the vision group.

Art

I had a great weekend. It was Veteran's day, so I had Friday off. Nice!

I went to lunch with a friend of mine and she started to tell me her plan to learn to paint and then give all of her relatives paintings for Christmas this year.

This talk of painting reminded me of the Monet exhibit currently at the NC Art Museum. So since neither of us had any prior plans for the afternoon, that's where we went. We walked around the grounds, we looked at some of the permanent collection, and then it was time for Monet.

One of the neatest pieces in the regular collection was a recreation of The Mona Lisa's face, upside down, and out of spools of thread. The upside down part made much more sense as I approached the work because another part of the piece was a sphere, which inverted the image when you looked into it, so there she was staring out at you and right side up.

I thought it was interesting that for the permanent collection pieces, I felt like I got more out of the experience by reading the accompanying blurbs. But with the Monet collection I enjoyed it most when I just experienced the art viscerally.

On Saturday I took a little road trip up to Richmond, Virginia. And as it happened, I ended up at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I really liked this gallery. I like that it was a neat building in and of itself, not just because it houses neat stuff. There was a room of Faberge (and Fauxberge) pieces. There was a room highlighting the artistry of silversmiths--with beautifully intricate and very polished and shiny serving trays, teapots, candelabras, etc. Their highlighted temporary exhibit was called "Speed" and included pieces that expressed speed and motion in the work (paintings of roads, dancing sculptures, etc.).

There was also a room where you go to do some hands on things (this was related to the silver collection). You could do rubbings. Or mix and match parts of magnetic versions of the tea sets they had on display--put the base from one dish with the bowl of another with the spout or lid or handle or whatever of another. I like museums that not only have great things on display to look at, but give you a chance to be a part of it too--to do.

I didn't get a chance to see everything. In fact, I felt like I was just getting started when they started roping off rooms--they were gently letting us know that it was 5 and they were closing.

Now here's another great thing about both of these museums--they are free! Mostly. The Monet Exhibit here in NC wasn't. But it is to see their permanent collections. And the VMFA while technically free, they ask for donations to allow it to remain free. But it's well worth their suggested $5 donation. It's worth more than that even. And I didn't even get to see everything. I definitely want to get back to both of them to finish what I started.

So there you go.

Without further ado

OK, so here's the recipe for Seven Layer Cookies:

Melt 1 stick of butter in 9x13 pan and mix with 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Pat into crust on bottom of pan. (layers 1 and 2)
Sprinkle on:
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, layer 3)
1 cup chocolate chips (layer 4)
1 cup butterscotch chips (layer 5)
1 1/2 cups coconut (layer 6)
Drizzle with 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (layer 7).

Bake 350 degrees, 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Hey M, J is hungry and would like you to make some of these and overnight them to him. OK?

Craftier than Burnt Toast

With the suggestion of a Stash Reduction Contest and the allure of bonus points, how could I resist? My projects so far:

We recently got our stuff out of storage in Arizona. However, not quite everything made it. This platter came back missing a screw and washers. Not so useful that way.

I took a trip to the hardware store, and found what I needed. They didn't have plastic washers like I wanted, but they did have little plastic discs that I could turn into washers. Plate fixed for under $4. Points: it cost a little money, but not too bad. And now it's good as new. 20 points for this.

For those who have been to my apartment, you might have noticed something in that first picture. That's right. My dining room table no longer belongs to the computer. In fact, my table even gets place mats these days. This aspect of apartment organization was made possible by our downstairs neighbor who moved out. He gave us a desk, which relieved the table of that task. We still don't really eat at the table, but at least it looks better. 5 points.

This little Indian purse of mine has been kicking around for years. But the stitching had come completely out and the ties were no where to be found. Last night I decided it was finally time to do something. First I got out the leather cleaner. Then the sewing stuff. My thumb and forefinger are still sore from working the needle through the tough leather. The ties were a little tricky. I rummaged around the house for a bit and settled on the shoelace from one of the hiking boots that returned from Arizona but fit neither Marty nor I. Perfect! I would give myself 20 points for this, but I feel a little bad that when I give Good Will the boots, one of them will be missing a shoelace. So I'll just take 15 for this one.

And finally, today's project was to do something in that spare bedroom of ours. Photos. When I started we had a disorganized mass of pictures that took up two plastic bins plus a whole other box.
It took me a lot longer than I thought it would. My last camera was an APS one, so I had about 30 film thinggers. I was very excited when I discovered that I could actually identify (at least by year and location) what each roll contained. As for the pictures themselves: I did a presort--pictures that others in the family might be more interested in, high school and before, trash, and semi-recent (OK, this category extended back about 7 or so years). After the presort my main focus was on the semi-recent group. I organized them chronologically and put 300 of my favorites into an album that we got as a wedding present but that has remained empty until today. The rest fit nicely into just one plastic bin and a photo box. (Strange how much it helps to throw away the pictures that are just bad). Oh, for those who might be interested, I was thinking that I'd bring the pictures in the "pictures that others in the family might be more interested in" category with me to Thanksgiving and Christmas (I have a bunch of Pooka and Harvey's wedding reception, and both Ree's and Boss's high school graduations as well as many, many more). The total cost: free. I got to use both the photo box and the album in the functions for which they were made, and as a bonus, it freed up a plastic bin. Plus, I had a good time reminiscing. Points: at the start of the day I thought this would be a 20 point project. It got bigger than I thought I would. In the end I'd say it was a 50 pointer. But, I've lost one of the film canisters from one of the rolls of film from our wedding, so minus 5 for letting the photo situation get to this point in the first place.

Total point this post: I don't know. You go back and add it up! :)

A hypothetical...

If I spend the day alternately munching on candy and carrots, do they cancel out?

Here's hoping!

Still Turning

My ward has been going through some major reorganizing. A few weeks ago we got a new Relief Society presidency, today it was the Primary and Sunday School's turn. And with my bishop and his wife leaving on a mission in 60 days (but they're not counting!), we know that's coming soon too. Even though I just got a new calling (primary teacher for 8 and 9 year olds) when I was released from being librarian, I got reshuffled today too. I'm now the Relief Society secretary.

When I brought it to the attention of my primary class what the changes meant for them, I thought they might start a riot. And the outgoing presidency said that if they weren't released themselves, they'd be throwing punches. It's nice to feel wanted. And while I'm excited for my new calling, I'm sad to leave my valiant 9 kids.

Memory Triggers

This might not look like much, but it's a pan of yummy goodness, aka Seven Layer Cookies. I've always been a fan of these cookies. But I only got the recipe when I was out visiting Taffy a couple years ago. And even though I've had the recipe for a couple of years, this is my first time making them. I've just never had chocolate chips and coconut and sweetened condensed milk and the other 4 layers all together at the same time until tonight (when I went to the store to specifically get the 7 layers).

As I worked on these I thought about that visit to San Diego. And making snow flakes with Taffy's girls. And going to the Wild Animal Park. And just what a good time that was.

Also tonight Marty and I watched The Incredibles. My associations with that include Carolioness' date and how cute Nagol looks as Jack Jack. And when I watched it for the first time with Ree and Schmoo. I thought about Schmoo's character tutorial beforehand.

"This is Frozone. And this is Mr. Incredible."
"Oh. Is this Mrs. Incredible?"
"No. That's Elastigirl, or you can call her Helen. And this is Dash. This is Jack. I don't remember her name [Edna]...."

Oh yeah, and when I was bringing my groceries in I thought about how when Boss and I lived together and did our grocery shopping, it didn't matter how much stuff we had, we'd try with all of our might to get it all inside in one trip.

One night. Just four hours. What kind of memory triggers do ya'll have?

Fall Fun

Last weekend we went to a "Pig Picking" which is apparently an Autumn tradition around here. The highlight of it was the Pinewood Derby. As you can probably tell from the flyer, it was not your normal Pinewood Derby. The winning car had a battery-operated propeller. But the second place car was the real surprise. It was a "Rock"et Car made by duct taping a garden rock to the 30 year old Pinewood Derby car that the owner had made as a cub scout.

So, my family and friends... what would your car be like?

Another Day, Another Drama

Ugh! Today was an interesting day. And by interesting I mean a day where you feel like you are watching a train wreck and trying not to get caught completely in the middle of it.

I know I shouldn't have to say this, but if you use email, don't be dumb. It's that easy. Don't be dumb. If you are going to use email to vent about an individual, don't cc that very individual on a later email in the same series without removing the offending emails. It might stir up some problems.

And I don't want to deal with those problems.

So don't be dumb.

Oh, and have a good weekend.

Our New Arrival

This is Cher. Marty adopted her a week ago. In the past week we've made quite a bit of progress in getting to know each other. She no longer hisses 85% of the time she sees me. And she doesn't run away and hide the other 15% of the time. She has actually become pretty playful with us (she's been jumping from one knee to the other as I type).

Razor, however, hasn't fully adjusted to the new member of our family. Razor's still hoping that if she ignores Cher's existence long enough, Cher will go away for good. Cher on the other hand is trying to get to know Razor a little better. We'll see how the next couple of weeks go.

Dinner-prep multi-tasking gone wrong

A new twist on "Beep! Beep! Beep!"

About the evacuation

Thanks for the concern. We were not evacuated. We live about 20 miles from the Raleigh suburb that was affected. Hopefully we don't find out later down the road that the evacuation radius should have been bigger. We're fine and haven't noticed any strange chlorine smells in the air. :)

Once upon a Valentine's day

An activity one February in the Young Single Adults group in Minnesota was making each other Valentines. We had markers, construction paper, printer paper, glue, stickers, and WWF and Power Puff Girl grade school Valentines. Anyway, I've been going through some things lately and I happened upon this one:

Sonnet, sweet sonnet:
You make me truly want to be
For I question not my existence when you're next to me
You're poetry in motion, and I'm spinning hopelessly...
Yours truly,
Enchanted

Oh yeah, and it's got a rose drawn on it and each line starts with a heart shaped bullet-point. And it was sealed with a heart sticker. It cracks me up. It cracked me up when I got it too. It occured to me tonight that maybe it wasn't meant to be utterly hilarious. But then again, maybe it was.

Hope

Hope--1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

Today I have hope. And for now, that is enough.

The Best Boss You Could Have

See this picture? It’s a picture of me and my sister Boss. Looks like we’re having a good time, doesn’t it? Bet you wish you knew what we were doing. Oh look!
There’s another picture of me and Boss (and Carolioness), again, clearly having a good time. That’s just the way it is with Boss. Her laugh and her smile are contagious, and you can’t help but have fun with her.

There are so many fun things we could have been doing—like thrift store shopping, going for a W with Malcom, driving across the country, cooking with Julia, or just having sister time. One year when I was in graduate school I visited Carolioness and Boss for Spring Break. Our list of things to do during that week included: manicures, eating at the Mayan, hiking to Donut Falls, IHOP, 50 ¢ Tuesday, Krispy Kreme donuts, sitcom night, Pizza Pipeline, and Richard III. Clearly we had no intention of starving while I was there. While we didn’t actually do everything that we had on our list, the list didn’t include things that we did get done--like kidnapping Coach’s pillow or being “Charlie’s Snow Angels.”

Another time I needed a break from Rochester and I had some time to kill, I called Boss and we came up with a brilliant plan—a last minute trip to Utah. Boss thought it would be fun to keep my arrival a secret. But that was a hard secret to keep. She told me that she had a hard time not saying, “When Peanut gets here…” And Carolioness was really beginning to wonder about Boss’s strange and secretive behavior. But Boss was right—it was fun to be a surprise.

Even when she’s not there in person, she’ll package up her fun and send it in a box. For my graduation from BYU I got a package featuring “FUNNY STUFF to wear on your head…(and other black toga accessories).” It’s hard to describe just how great this package was. Here’s what it had in it (among other things): a patriotic BYU umbrella hat, a yellow duck, sidewalk chalk, and assorted candy jewelry. I know, it might not sound that great, but believe you me, it was AWESOME. Another care package came from Boss when B, Carolioness, and I moved into a new apartment together. This package contained Long Hair Diana and her Hip Girl friend, Shelly (she’s super cool!) (And she had feet too!) and a scary votive candle holder with three witches (which I still have), but NOT seventeen hairy monkeys. She’d make millions if she marketed her “fun in a box"!

Not only is Boss fun, she’s also incredibly loving and caring. Once when I was having a rough time in Rochester, she drove 200 miles with Sam, who was only a few months old, to pick me up and take me to Iowa City to get away for the weekend. Oh yeah, and she had to drive me back at the end of the weekend too! And again, just this past year, when I needed her to take care of me, she dropped everything (except Sam, he came too, again). She came and made food. She walked Razor. She entertained herself (and Sam) while I went to work. It didn’t matter that she was about to move and had any number of things to take care of at home. She was there for me. She always is.

Boss has also been a great source of advice for me throughout the years. Back in the summer of ’99, when I was so confused about whether to go to vet school and scared to admit what I was feeling to anyone, I called Boss. She listened. She didn’t tell me what to do, but she helped me figure it out. Pretty much any time I’ve had any kind of dilemma—no matter how major or miniscule—Boss has been my go-to woman. Quite simply, she rocks!

Twice I’ve had the opportunity to help Boss move. Once as she was moving from Knoxville to Utah and again when she moved to Iowa City. I really enjoyed these trips with her. I liked the one-on-one time together. On the drive to Iowa City Boss drove the truck while I managed the radio and navigating. Occasionally I needed a gentle reminder to attend to my duties, “Um, do you like this song?”

In short, Boss is one of my favorite people. She’s funny, smart, loving, beautiful, and the epitome of everything I’d like to be. Did you notice the sparkle in her eye in that first picture? That’s not just a trick of the camera. She’s wonderful and she sparkles—inside and out!

Mom once said that I had a “difficult” adolescence. And in retrospect, yep, I did. Perhaps the clearest evidence of this was my rocky relationship with Boss. Fortunately adolescence doesn’t last forever—cuz I would have really blown it. I’m so grateful to have Boss as my sister and friend.

I love you Boss! Happy Birthday!

---

P.S. I've been fighting with Blogger for awhile now about getting pictures into this post. Finally I've at least got these ones in. There are a couple more I was hoping to include. But rather than letting that hold up this post any longer, I'll try to add them later or put them in a new post.

Stress Anyone?

I'm the kind of girl who writes notes to herself on post-its. Or any other random little piece of paper. Sometimes the notes are phone numbers. Or recipes. Or books to read. Or ward events. Anything really. Marty is always trying to get rid of my little notes--to get rid of the clutter. In fact, when we got married, my "address book/phone directory" was a lot of such little notes stuck in a little plastic container. He pushed me to go digital and save them as outlook contacts. These days, I'll go to outlook, look up the information I want, write it on a little piece of paper, keep the piece of paper around awhile (until I'm sure I'm done with the information), and then dispose of it.

Anyway. I was going through things and trying to get rid of little pieces of paper. I found some notes from a seminar I attended on stress and dealing with the unexpected in life. I thought I'd share the few thoughts I'd written down:

Life has no guarantees. But we do have choices. Anything can happen--how do we deal with that? The best option that we all have been given is living.

Two weapons to get through the uncertainties of life: 1) Love; 2) Forgiveness.

Yes, life is stressful, but don't let that rob you of the beauty of life. Stress is part of life--neither good nor bad. You need it.

Getting used to it

When I first got married I wasn't used to wearing rings. It took me awhile to get used to sleeping with my ring on. I'd wake up ringless and have vague recollections of hurling my ring across the room in the middle of the night. Eventually I stopped throwing it in the night and began putting it under my pillow, or even better, putting it in the windowsill.

I guess I've finally gotten used to sleeping with my ring on. Last night I went to bed with it on a chain around my neck (I'd put it there to work out and just left it). This morning at work I noticed that I was wearing my ring--on my finger. I was not wearing my necklace. My necklace is still MIA. It's not in the windowsill or under my pillow. I'm hoping I find it somewhere around my bed in the next couple days.

Oh, Canada!

This past weekend I went to a conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Fortunately I wasn't stuck in an auditorium all day, every day--I had some time to enjoy the scenery. The first two photos are in Banff, and the last ones are at Lake Louise.

The Scientific Method

I sat today and watched from afar as a group of scientists attempted to open a sliding glass door out to a patio. Scientist #1 approached the door and tugged on the handle. It didn't open. Scientist #1 tugged harder on the door handle. This time the door moved, but it still didn't open. Scientist #1 recruited a collaborator--Scientist #2. Scientist #2 suggested a change in approach--try a different sliding door. More tugging. The door sort of jumped, but wasn't going to open. Scientist #3 volunteered her help and discovered the bar in the track of the door. At last, success! The glass door was open. If only they could have figured out the screen door as well. In the end, they changed their minds about how badly they wanted to go out onto the patio.

At one of the talks I attended this weekend, an experiment was discussed in which mice are placed on a plexiglass wall that is about 4mm wide. Their ability to traverse the wall is assessed (sort of like a mouse balance beam). One mouse was so good on this wall it could support itself on the wall with just its hind legs while at the same time grooming itself. The speaker noted that this experiment doesn't work for mice under 3 months old. I guess the young mice aren't into parlor tricks. When placed on the wall, they simply jump off.

I shouldn't complain...

For the most part, my health insurance has been wonderful. And I sort of feel bad about getting so irritated at the hiccups that have happened. But I'm frustrated.

The very first bill I received related to Marty's accident was the ambulance bill. I quickly filled in the information they would need to submit it to the insurance company and sent it back. That was over three months ago. About three weeks ago, I again received that bill. And another the next week too. It had been denied by the insurance company. Sort of. My insurance is out of Maryland. But I don't live in Maryland, so all claims first go through their counterpart in North Carolina before going on to my insurance company (this is important later too). It got denied by North Carolina, so it never made it on the radar of Maryland. And the reason it got denied...they said Marty wasn't covered on my policy. (Tricky of me to get him covered by the time he got to the hospital). Turns out the ambulance company had mis-entered Marty's birthdate in their database. Fortunately, this has mostly been taken care of and I can go on ignoring the bills they may continue to send.

Next issue. We have good medical benefits, but we actually don't have dental coverage--except if it's as a result of an accident. Which all of Marty's dental visits have been. Except one time I guess someone filing the claim forgot to explicitly say this, so that claim got denied too. Again, fortunately this is being resolved between the provider and insurance company.

But here's the thing that's really bothering me today. Nearly 2 months ago Marty got new glasses. Again, not something that would normally be covered on our policy, except in the case of accidents. We didn't realize it would be covered until after we'd already paid for them, I filed a claim. That was over a month ago. Yesterday I called to check on the status of that claim. No record of it. Oh yeah, and I was supposed to submit it to North Carolina, not Maryland. I was told that maybe I should go back to where we got the glasses and see if they would go ahead and submit it for me since he'd looked up and found that they are a "participating provider"--it might go through faster that way. So I went back. No doing. Apparently the doctor is a particpating provider, but the actual glasses-selling people are not. Today I worked on figuring out where I need to send this claim if I'm supposed to submit it to North Carolina (because of course no one I spoke to yesterday could tell me that). I managed to get hung up on about 3 times by their automated system, and then when I got a real person, I had to be transfered 3 times and explain the situation that many times before anyone could even tell me where I need to send the darn claim. (Fortunately I had copies of the original claim and receipt that vanished). And now I suppose I'll wait another 6-8 weeks before it can actually get processed by North Carolina and sent on to Maryland for them to send me a check--unless of course it gets lost again. Or denied.

The Science Fair

When I was in 9th grade I was in a class in which we had to do a science fair project. It was something that most of the other students were familiar with because they'd done them throughout the years. But I was new to the school and to science fair projects. I understood the the scientific method, but I didn't understand the need to decorate a backboard to mount my experimental design and results on. And then there was something that I needed called an abstract--I'd never heard of that.

In 10th grade, for extra credit, I did another science fair project. Dad and I made rubies. It was cool--actually, hot. We put our mix of green and white powders into a furnace at 1700 degrees (Dad, was it F or C?) and got out reddish/pink disks. I was more familiar with how the whole thing worked, but I still thought it was a little hokey.

Little did I know that I'd be doing science fair projects for years to come. Yep. This weekend I'm going to a conference. And I'm presenting a poster, which is very much like a science fair project, except that they give me a bulletin board instead of needing to provide my own backboard. Strangely enough, the whole poster-making process is now something I really enjoy doing. Maybe it's because the places I get to present my posters are cooler than the science fair ever was. I never went to Long Island, or Chicago, or Canada for the science fair.

Two in the bed

A Book Report on Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit is this stupid book
About this stupid rabbit who steals
Vegetables from other peoples' gardens

One of the books for my book club this month was Life of Pi. It's one that I didn't really know much about before I read it, but even so had been on my mental reading list for awhile because I heard it was good. I read a good bit of it on my way up to Connecticut last week, and finished it while I was there*. And after I finished it I digested, chewed on it awile. This week I started it again from the beginning so I could pick up on things I might have missed the first time around. It's gotten me thinking about human-nature, animal instinct, God, religion, survival, life, and trials. I'm excited for my book club in a couple days because I want to hear what other people have to say about it.

So, go on. Get to your library. Check it out. Read it.

* Don't worry, I still had something to read on the way home. I read an abridged version of Les Miserables aloud to Marty as he drove. I'd also recommend this book.

The name of the rabbit was Peter.

...205, 206, 207!

Highlights of my trip up north

Shana already posted about some of the things we did when I was there last weekend, but I wanted to add some of my own favorites...

On that half-mile walk home that seemed so long, I told Hunter that I remembered the day he was born and finding out that he was born. I also told him that I was his first baby-sitter when I watched him for a couple hours so that Shana could go to the temple. That was when he was maybe 10-14 days old. Shana added the detail of the fact that she even remembers what Hunter was wearing that day--and that it's an outfit they still have and that each of his brothers have worn as well.

Noah, Denver and I spent some time in the backyard making obstacle courses for each other--"run around those three trees, run up the slide, slide down the ladder, sit on each swing, a door will appear, go through the door, run behind the pee tree, and back here." Here's something about Razor, she's really good at walking on paths, and if I pick up the pace and run in such an environment, she's delighted and will follow my lead. However, while she enjoys running around in an open field, she has never seen any purpose for me to do so, and when I do, her response is to chase me, barking and nipping at my ankles (and she only does this to me). Anyway, that was an added obstacle for the courses that I ran, and Noah and Denver sure got a kick out of it. (And on the parts where I was on the playground equipment or otherwise inaccessable, she'd lie in wait to pounce on the next straight-away.

I loved how the boys laughed and laughed when I told them that I have a special blanket. I'm a grown up--grown-ups don't have special blankets--that's just silly!

Caleb wasn't real sure what to think of me at first. But I unknowingly took something to better my luck with him--silky pajama pants. There were a couple of times when he felt the silkiness and would begin his snugging and thumb-sucking process.

On the way home from church I told Mark that he sure has a cute wife and boys. Shana responded with "Sonnet, your brother's hot." And then I asked if she wanted me to see if he wanted to go out with her. The boys were a little confused at this back and forth at first. Then they got it--sort of.

When Sunday night came and I told Denver that Marty was on his way to their house, Denver was disappointed. Not that Denver had anything against Marty per se, but because his arrival meant I'd be leaving soon.

I had a real good time. It's always a pleasure being "Aunt Sonnet." I wish I could have similar weekends more often.

"Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft"

Driving through Virginia last week, I saw these signs a number of times. Before I got home and did a little research about how this works, I let my imagination run wild.

I imagined helicopters or airplanes pulling over offending vehicles. Or catching the cars in their tractor beam. And for those who are REALLY speeding--a zap with the photon torpedoes.

More car troubles

Yesterday as I was driving home from work, the trip got bumpy quite suddenly. I looked in my rear view mirror in time to see the tread that that was no longer a part of my rear tire. I pulled over (incidentally, it was almost the same place where I ran out of gas). A nice man in the car behind me who had noticed my troubles also pulled over to make sure I was OK. And I was. But I called Marty to come help me out anyway. Before Marty got there, a Highway Patrolman also pulled over, flashing lights and all. He changed the tire for me. Unfortunately, my spare was a little flat. I tried to get air at a gas station kind of on my way home, but the air machine was out of order. So I drove home nice and slow, irritating the people in the cars behind me as I plugged along. I made it.

Today I took the other car to work. It seems to like me better.

A day of spoiling

One of my favorite parts of this weekend was eating ice cream cake, sitting in my pajamas, soaking my feet, and watching Faerie Tale Theatre, all at once.

What we plan on teaching our kids

A few nights ago we were out for a stroll around the lake. We were on one of the boardwalks over the water when Razor started throwing a fit. There were a couple familes of ducks with about 10 ducklings in the water beside the walk. I told Razor to stop barking at them because she was scaring the babies. Marty said it was OK because it was the "ugly ducks"* that she was barking at.

"That's a terrible life lesson. Do you want our kids to learn that?"

"To bark at ugly ducks? Yeah, that's OK."

If Razor doesn't teach them, Michael has already volunteered.


*

Up

It's late and I'm still up. Marty's sleeping, and Razor's sitting somewhere in the dark not too far away. I just heard her sigh--exasperated that I'm not sleeping, and that means she can't either. I'm tired. But not sleepy. I've tried lying in bed pretending, but I got antsy so I finished the chapter in the book I was reading before Marty turned out the light (hooray for my headlamp! :) ).

And now I'm a little bugged with myself. I had a doctor's appointment this week and he asked how I'm sleeping. "Fine," I answered. Marty asked me about that later because I haven't exactly been sleeping fine. I wasn't trying to lie to my doctor or keep him from helping me--I just wasn't thinking when I answered. And since then I've been sleeping even less fine.

Hmmph.

A bit of business

Boss and I were talking the other day and I was named travel coordinator for travels involved for the upcoming wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Lion. Basically, we figured we could/should coordinate rides from the airport (or car rentals). So, send me your itineraries, OK?

The week in retrospect

Late one night Razor and I were walking outside as I talked with Marty's mom on the phone. We were still in our complex, but a few buildings away. I noticed a car drive by slowly and then stop. I looked over and the driver waved at me. I waved back and continued with my conversation. The car stayed around. I looked over again, and the driver had rolled down his window and said something. I got close enough to see what he wanted.

"Actually, I wanted to get your phone number. I'd like to get to know you better."

"Um, no thanks!"

Razor and I continued on our way.

*********************

Marty had a doctor's appointment earlier this week. We were taken to the exam room and the technician began asking about Marty's medications. I told her what he's on. Regarding one of them she asked how many pills he's taking per day. I explained that it's not pills but a liquid suspension and then went on to tell the concentration and how much he was taking per day.

"Right. So, how many pills does he take per day?"

*********************

I went to work this afternoon, and on my way home the low fuel light came on. I decided not to press my luck.

Flirting with E

For the past few days I've been living on the edge. Mercilessly flirting with the "E" on my car's gas guage. Today we took the flirtatious relationship to the next level.

I was on my way home from work when the car suddenly lost power and instead of going 65, I was coasting. I tried to quickly and safely cross the four lanes of traffic to get to the side of the road all while losing speed. Yikes.

But I made it.

A few minutes later my visiting teacher and her husband rescued me with a few gallons of gas.

My silly flirtation with the "E" is over. "E" is dumped. I like "F" much better.

No place hops like Sonic

Most of my family is presently enroute to Utah. They're headed to family reunion. I love family reunion, and I'm a little bummed that I can't be there this year. On top of that, I'm a little lonely because Marty has been visiting his family this week. He comes home tomorrow.

But this post is not going to be about me feeling sorry for myself.

Tonight I got a phone call. My caller ID said it was from my sister Daisy. But when I answered the phone I quickly knew that it was not Daisy I was talking to. My nephew Sam was on the phone (being coached to say "hi"). Before too long he needed no coaching and was babbling away. I'm not really sure all of what he said. I caught the words Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa, but he said much more than that. I may have accidentally agreed to give him a '65 Mustang convertible for his 16th birthday. If so, I hope he forgets that piece of information sometime in the next 14 years.

There were a couple of times in the conversation when I heard people in the background asking if they could talk on the phone. No deal. Then the line went dead. I got a call back a few minutes later. Sam wasn't done with our conversation. So we talked about letters and numbers and Sam laughed and laughed.

Finally Dad was given the phone. He explained that they had talked about stopping at Sonic for dinner. I guess Sam got really excited at the mention of Sonic because he thought they were talking about me. And while they couldn't transport me out there to join them for dinner, they could let Sam give me a call.

Thanks Sam. You made my day.

A blog by any other name...

Would it smell as sweet? And what do blogs smell like anyway?

Any suggestions for a new name for this blog?

How many times have I tried to turn this truck around?

Back when I lived in the dorms, Boss, Mark, Taffy, and I would get together for family dinner. Often we'd eat in the Cannon Center. One time the Wilson Phillips song "Release Me" came on. Mark began to sing along--sort of. There was a one word substitution -- "truck" in place of "love," followed by "I don't wanna give up but I just knocked your roof on the ground."

(I'm not sure, but this may have been one of the occasions that milk spewed forth from the Boss's nose.)

Anyway, it was funny. Trust me. It also might help if you imagine an 18-wheeler doing a million point turn in a small residential street and knocking houses over. See? Told you it was funny.

Today when I was told that I'm going to be released from my calling as ward librarian, that's what I thought of--turning the truck around.

Appointments and Disappointments

We’ve been pretty busy lately.

It's been the best of times and the worst of times…. Marty is still recovering wonderfully. Last week he got his jaw unwired (Hooray!), but that ice cream cone will still have to wait awhile (Boohoo!). One of the nurses who worked with him last week had been a part of his surgical team when he first entered the hospital. She was amazed at how good he is looking and how much progress he’s made.

We spent much of today in the hospital for a procedure. We hoped it would be easy and no big deal. And that’s what it was supposed to be. But, oh, the pain! It made us both cry. I wish I could take all of his pain away. Marty’s been reading Harry Potter books lately. I wish I knew a magical spell that I could use to heal Marty. But it takes time. One thing I can do is pray. So that’s what I do. I know that we both have been blessed tremendously so far. (Thank you all for your prayers too!)

Here’s a funny story. The other night I popped some popcorn for me to munch on during a movie. But I haven’t learned how to make a batch of popcorn that’s the right size for just me to eat, so I had a lot left when I was done. Later as we were all in bed for the night I noticed that Razor started moving around. I thought she was going to snuggle in closer or ask to get under the covers, but instead I heard her plop off the bed. A few minutes later I heard some noises that let me know exactly what she was up to. Eating popcorn! The funniest thing was that when I went to the living room and caught her she tried to look all innocent. Sure she had a little pile of popcorn at her feet incriminating her, but she left the bowl on the coffee table looking untouched! Little Stinker.

Feminist?

Michael accused me of using a nuclear approach of addressing issues on my mind in my last post. So, I’m going to attempt to address at least one of those topics in a little more depth.

Feminism. For a long time I didn’t self-identify as a feminist. Not to say that I was anti-feminist. I just didn’t feel too connected to the image I had of feminists. I expected equal treatment for myself and other women, but somehow the label didn’t seem to fit me.

It still makes me mad when I think about my college professor who told me that being a woman was all I had going for me and my chances of getting into vet school. The issues of children, and how many, and stay at home motherhood, or not have been ones that I’ve defended either choice—as just that, a choice, and a personal one at that. And there are some issues that I just can’t seem to get worked up about (this just doesn’t induce “seething rage” in me).

So anyway. My recent musings on feminism have stemmed from reading a few feminist themed books. I think it sort of startled me when I realized that that was indeed what these books were, and so I began to reassess my self-identification. And what I’ve come up with is that yes, I’m a feminist, in this sense of feminism.

And related to Pooka’s comment, the part of one of these books that I disliked most was the part where the authors were indicating that being in relationships with men was a hindrance to feminine spiritual enlightenment.

It kind of reminds me of an experience I had a few months ago. I was at church working in the library, and someone asked me where I work. I told him and his response was, “Oh, you're one of those environmentalists…” And quickly I said, “No, I’m biomedical researcher.” I thought about that afterward—I don’t hate the environment. I like trees. I like animals. And yet I was very quick to not be categorized as “one of those environmentalists.”

Thoughts of the week:

It is perhaps misrepresentation to tell your hair stylist that you know how to use a round brush and hair dryer to style your hair when what that really that means is that you have run a brush through your hair and every once in a while you’ll wave a hairdryer over your head in a frantic attempt to dry your hair in under 2 seconds. Fortunately, even with my lack of styling skills Marty is still nice enough to tell me it looks gorgeous.

I’m enjoying our baby birds. The nest gets pretty noisy when it’s supper time. And I can see three little beaks sticking out above the edge of the nest—reaching for more, trying to maneuver to get the advantage.

Lots more thoughts. But they haven’t composed themselves into proper structures to be able to convey in a blog post. General topics have been things like feminism, perfection, spirituality, summer, family, Razor, and healing. Feel free to comment on any of these even though I haven’t said anything. :)

New Summer Look

After months of wanting one and thinking about getting one, I finally went and got a haircut. Marty likes it. I think I mostly do. But I also know that the chances of me ever duplicating what she did with the style are slim to none. So, here it is.
















Also, when Boss was here we did our nails a couple times. It was fun. After she left I got a little French manicure kit, and I like how my nails turned out (see the picture I took in the mirror). Now I wish I had a sister here again so we could do another manicure night. :) (of course, others besides sisters are welcome to come for manicures too.)

Progress

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours

It has been really fun having Boss and Sam here to visit this past week.

One of the things I’ve liked is watching Sam and Razor develop a relationship with each other. The first night that Sam was here it was kind of comical to see their antics. Each was jealous of any attention that was being given to the other. Razor was on my lap. Sam decided he needed to be on my lap too. Razor decided my lap was too crowded for her tastes, and left to seek affection from Boss. Sam had a sudden need to be held by his mommy. Razor returned to me. And round and round it went.

It didn’t take long for us to realize some of the other things that Sam and Razor have in common: 1) they are short; 2) they like walks around the lake or running around in the yard; 3) neither is a big fan of my vacuum cleaner; 4) it can be traumatic when their respective moms go into the bathroom without them and shut the door; 5) they like some of the same foods—dog kibble is OK, but peanut butter is better, and suckers are even better than that; 6) they are both cute as buttons; 7) they both sometimes get into things that they shouldn’t.

It didn’t really take them long to form a sort of alliance. After all, Sam isn’t a big fan of being messy, and Razor is very much a fan of helping Sam clean up a little—especially if it’s food that’s making the mess. Razor has learned that she shouldn’t wander too far away when Sam is eating—she wouldn’t want to miss the call for a clean-up crew. The other night Sam wasn’t showing much interest in his dinner. Not too long later I noticed that most of his food was gone. “Great, I guess he decided to eat,” I thought. Not too long after that I noticed that his plate was even cleaner—as if it had been licked clean. That’s when the pieces fit together in my head. Razor apparently didn’t want to see Sam’s perfectly good food go to waste.

We'll miss Sam and Boss. (And, yes, Sam, you and your mom and dad can come visit your Aunt Sunny, Uncle Jim, and our dog Raisin again sometime—anytime!)

New Arrivals

Yesterday evening I noticed that Mama Bird was not on her nest, so I thought I'd check on the progress of the eggs. This is what I found. I looked again today and it looks like the others have hatched as well. It's pretty fun. Froga-lee asked what kind of birds they are, but I'm afraid I don't know. They are kind of small and brown. For all of the biology classes I've taken, I've never taken any specifically on ornithology. (Does anyone else who was here and saw them know better than I do?)

Secret

Sometimes when I'm at work I'll wear headphones and listen to music. Sometimes I just wear the headphones. No music. Shhh. Don't tell.

Photos

Over the past few weeks my camera has been accumulating pictures. But I wasn't really sure how to get them from the camera to the computer. Tonight I tried, and it turns out it was really easy. So here are a few to share.













Some of the fun things to see when we walk around the lake.














Harvey and his family sent us a plant. Daisy put it outside, and soon we had birds building a nest in it. You can see 2 eggs in the picture. Marty says there are now 4 eggs in the nest.














Are my sisters cute or what?














The reason Razor was sad to see Mom and Dad leave--Dad took his keys with him.

Tumbling Thoughts

A month ago my life changed. And in the month since, I have felt encircled in the arms of God's love. I have seen miracles nearly every day in Marty's progress. So many people have done so much for us. So much kindness and love. So many prayers offered on our behalf.

One of the things that I am most grateful for is that when my mind and heart are troubled it doesn't take long for new thoughts to start tumbling through my head. And I can find peace.

Here are some of those tumbling thoughts that have helped me:

"Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

"Our Savior’s love
Shines like the sun with perfect light,
As from above
It breaks thru clouds of strife.
Lighting our way,
It leads us back into his sight,
Where we may stay
To share eternal life."
Edward L. Hart

"Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
the distant scene--one step enough for me."
John Henry Newman


"Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

"Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below."
Katharina von Schlegel, trans. by Jane Borthwick

Homecoming

Tomorrow Marty will come home from the hospital. He’s been in the rehab portion of the hospital for about a week now, and has been doing really well. Earlier this week Marty told Mom, Dad, and I that he was getting 100% on all of his therapy tasks. I joked that he would be graduating from rehab summa cum laude. Overachiever. It’ll be nice to have him back home. :)

Sibling Silly Poll

The results of the sibling poll are in. Eight of nine believe that Dad is sillier than Mom, and 1 thinks Mom is sillier than Dad. As the results were being acquired, Dad was most often the one claiming that the individual conducting the poll was biasing the answers. But you should have heard the fuss that Mom made when her single vote came in! :)

The question also arose—who do our spouses think is sillier?

So, let’s continue this discussion. Friends, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., are your parents silly? Who is sillier? Any other thoughts on silliness?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the silliest one of all?

Prank Calls

The other day as I entered Marty’s room, he had the room phone in his hand and was dialing. He saw me, hung up, and stood up to greet me. Who was he calling? Me. Now, it didn’t occur to me until later to wonder just what the next step would have been had I not walked in the door. What kind of phone conversations does someone with his jaw wired shut have?

Does it really matter? Maybe he’s not calling to say something. Maybe he’s calling to hear something—me talking. And that didn’t seem so odd at all. In fact, it was cute. So that night I told him that if he wanted to call me, he could anytime. And the next night I wrote down my work and home numbers just in case. Today while I was at work, my phone rang. Caller ID said it was the hospital. I answered. Didn’t hear anything on the line and hung up (figuring it was somehow the voicemail that I had just hung up with). A minute later, the phone rang again. Again, the hospital.

Hello?

(breathing noises)

Marty, is that you?

(more breathing noises)

I love you.

(three distinct breathing noises)

And so it continued for a minute or so with me mostly just rambling until he hung up and the line was dead.

He called again in the afternoon. I got a little smarter and suggested that 2 taps or whatevers meant yes, 1 meant no, and of course, we knew what 3 meant. Again I was rambling on for awhile when there were three long and loud sounds from the pushing of phone buttons, as if to say, “Hey, why are you ignoring me? I have something important to say!” He’d been giving three taps, but I just wasn’t paying attention.

Note to self: Conversations still go two ways—even when you’re on the phone with someone who can’t talk, you still need to listen!

Hooding

Saturday was my graduation ceremony. I didn't make it. But Christie Sue and John posted a banner in my apartment proclaiming "Congratulations Dr. Sonnet!" Later that day Marty's mom asked if they had also hooded me. I joked, "If hooding me means they put a pillowcase over my head and then punched me, yes. They did."

ps. They didn't really do that.

I scream, you scream

Christie Sue and John left yesterday morning. Razor noticed them packing their suitcases, and each time one of them would take a trip of stuff to the car, she’d cry at the door. We said goodbye at the car, and I think Razor would have been perfectly happy to hop in the car and go with them. As it was, it took some persuasion to get her back upstairs to the apartment. And then after they left she wanted to go outside again, I think to find them. She immediately ran to the space where their car had been. She sniffed around, checked out some of the nearby sidewalks ( just in case they betrayed her and had snuck off to a different apartment), and rechecked the parking space.

When I first told Marty about his card from Razor, he got very excited. And then I had to tell him that I’d left it at home accidentally. He shook his finger at me as if to say, “Shame on you!” Fortunately I remembered it the next day. He really liked the card. And he wrote “I haven’t seen our puppy in a few days. :(” Yesterday I remedied that. On my first visit to the hospital I took Razor along too. She waited in the car for awhile, and I arranged with Marty’s nurse for him to go outside on the grounds. Razor was a little unsure of the whole thing. She’s apparently not a big fan of wheelchairs. But she was very good. And Marty definitely liked having her around. I think we’ll be doing that again soon.

Also, yesterday I gave Marty a haircut. I was telling Marty that it looked OK, but he probably wouldn’t ever want me to give him a haircut again as I wasn’t very adept with the clippers. He pointed out that unlike other haircuts he’s gotten, this one was free.

Over the past couple days before I’ve left the hospital I’ve asked Marty if there’s anything he needs or wants me to bring him. His answer is pretty consistent: Ice cream, specifically an ice cream cone. I’ve promised him that as soon as he’s allowed to have ice cream, I will get him as much as he wants. And in case I forget, he’ll keep reminding me that’s what he wants.

A few steps on a long journey

Without a doubt my life these days is very different than it was a month ago. But it’s also very different than it was just over two weeks ago.

This week I’ve noticed pity and sadness in people's eyes when they come to visit Marty and their visit is filled by me using gauze pads to wipe up and catch what Marty coughs out of his trach tube. And I get it. This hospital scene stands in such stark contrast to their own memories of Marty. And in that sense, yes, it’s pitiful and sad.

But what I see is Marty’s progress. No, he’s not the Marty of a month ago, but he’s not the Marty of two weeks ago either. He has come a long way from that night in the emergency room when I asked the surgeon if he’d be OK and was told, “I don’t know.” He’s no longer in critical care. He knows me. He sees me. He loves me. He smiles. He walks. He’s stubborn. He lets me know what’s on his mind. And, as of yesterday, he pees without a foley catheter. I know this might not sound like too much. But for me, it is all miraculous, and I’m thankful for it all—even if it means I sometimes get the not-so-glamorous job of catching what Marty coughs up.

Other news: Sue, John, and Razor had craft time today. Here’s what they made.



Also, I think Razor has a crush on John. It’s funny to watch her maneuver to be the center of John’s attention. And I think Razor would be in heaven if John would let her lick him continuously. But alas, at some point he says, “That’s enough.”

Message Waiting?

My phone has apparently decided to start screening calls for me. I thought it odd when someone mentioned leaving me a message that I'd never gotten. So I decided to check my voicemail even though it hadn't told me that I had any messages.

"You have thirteen new messages."

Huh!? It seems my phone has been keeping all of the messages I've been receiving for the past 4 days a secret. So, if you called and left a message, but I never called you back or even acknowledged your call, sorry.

Tonight I took Marty a spiral notebook. We wrote some love notes back and forth. And then we watched Wheel of Fortune.

A Few Lists

Things I'm Grateful for Today:

1. I'm grateful for morphine to take away Marty's physical pain.
2. I'm grateful that the doctor decided that we could go ahead with the power of attorney paperwork and that I now have that taken care of.
3. I'm grateful for a nice and understanding boss.


Things I miss about Marty:

1. I miss phone calls or emails from Marty during the day at work.
2. I miss carpooling together.
3. I miss deciding on dinner and making it together.
4. I miss watching Wheel of Fortune together.
5. I miss family walks around the lake.
6. I miss getting talked into going to get ice cream at 10pm.


Things I still enjoy on a regular basis:

1. Looking into Marty's beautiful blue eyes.
2. Being wrapped up in Marty's arms.
3. Running my fingers through Marty's hair.
4. Exchanging three squeezes.

A good day!

Today was a good day. Marty is doing well. This morning he patted his bed, and I asked if he wanted me to sit on the bed with him. I indicated the bottom of the bed. He shook his head “no” and patted his lap. So into his lap I got. He put his arms around me and rested his cheek against mine. We sat like that for a few minutes. It was perfect.

He is using his whiteboard. Once, I was in the hall as he and his mom were talking and using the whiteboard. I came in the room and said something like, “Oh, what are you writing?” Marty pulled the board close to him as if to let me know that it was between him and his mom and none of my business. So cute!

It broke my heart and made me want to cry to see tears fall from his eyes a couple of times as he was having procedures done. One of the most draining (for him) but also exciting parts of the day was when the physical therapist came and we helped him get up out of bed to walk around the halls a bit. He did very well.

Tomorrow he is scheduled for the next stage of surgery. I’m glad about that because throughout the week as I’ve seen his improvements I’ve been eager for the doctors to schedule this.

On the homefront, I’m glad to have Caroline, John, and Sue here. They’ve done a good job of taking care of me this week—whether helping with my laundry, driving me around, making me eat, taking care of Razor, giving me hugs, all of it. Yesterday, Sue and I were asked if we are twins. So, in the course of one week, I’ve been asked if I’m the twin of Anne Marie, Caroline, and Sue. That’s fun.

Who needs a new blog when this one ain't broke?

This morning when I got to the hospital Marty was out of his bed and in a chair. Yesterday was his first time being in the chair. I think he likes it as a nice change from lying in bed all day. He’s been restrained for much of his time, whether in bed or the chair just to keep him from pulling at all the various tubing he has. This morning his nurse released his hand restraints while I was there so that I could more easily hold his hand. He was able to adjust his chair to be reclined or upright as he wanted. He was pretty interactive with me. Answering questions with nods, etc, and he was being pretty expressive with his hands as well. Yesterday we were holding hands and he was changing his grip. I jokingly asked if he wanted to thumb wrestle, and I suggested that this might be my chance to win. He shrugged his shoulders as if to tell me, “Maybe. But I doubt it.”

This afternoon Marty was moved out of intensive care. I have mixed feelings about it. I’m overjoyed that Marty is progressing enough in his recovery to be out of the ICU. But I miss the one on one care he got there. Both Marty and I have gotten a little frustrated at my inability to understand what he’s trying to communicate with me. I’m trying to get better at knowing what he may be wanting or needing. Tonight I got a small dry erase board to see if that would help us. We’ll see how that works for us tomorrow.

Everyday I see progress. Everyday small miracles.

Three Squeezes

One of my earliest memories is of Mom squeezing my hand three times and knowing that it meant “I love you!” It was like a secret code--and I knew how to crack it.

Over the years that code has occasionally been manifested in alternative ways. In college when Caroline and I had a thin wall dividing our bedrooms, our nightly routine involved knocks on the wall. Knock, knock….knock, knock, knock. “Good night. I love you!” If Caroline was in bed and too far away to knock, she’d shout her reply.

I shared the code with Marty around the time we got married, and since then it has become a part of our daily communication with each other. Again, we’ve adapted the code to us. It doesn’t need to be a hand squeeze—three pokes in the arm with a finger does just as well in conveying the meaning.

Over the past few days, I have felt an abundance of love. It’s like everyone I know is sending those three squeezes from where ever they are. The love and support I have received from everyone has been amazing! Thank you! Thank you for the prayers and the phone calls and hugs and tears—all of it. I have needed it and continue to need it.

As I’ve sat by Marty’s side I’ve attempted to pass everyone’s love on to him. I squeeze his hand many, many times—almost always in multiples of three. I cried tears of joy when he began giving me three squeezes back.

****************

It has been suggested that I might start a new, private blog where I post updates of Marty’s status and progress. Any thoughts?

Monday Sampling

Let’s say you were asked to write a short essay (we’ll call it an “abstract”). Say it was supposed to be on some of your after-school activities. So you decide to write about riding your bike and walking your dog, and you address each of these with a few sentences of support. Probably you wouldn’t want to end your little essay like this “I enjoy the things I do after school like riding my bike, eating slugs, and walking my dog.” Would you?

I’m in a book club! We met for the first time last week. It was fun. I like the chance it gives me to get to know some of the women in my ward a little better. Our book for next month is Mere Christianity. I’m excited about that since that has been on my “to read” list for a long time, but I haven’t gotten to it yet.

Tonight as I drove home, I drove fast and with the music loud. In actuality it was rush hour, and you can’t really go all that fast during rush hour. But I wanted to drive fast. The loud music was really the first radio station not playing commercials, which happened to be the Christian rock station. So I was singing “I can only imagine”—loudly (for those not familiar with that song, it’s sort of along the theme of “I wonder when he comes again” but with a bass line, if that helps). By the time I got home I had driven and sung my frustrations out. Turns out it was loud and fast enough.

Lately we have been enjoying Firefly, a television series that aired on the Sci-Fi channel and is now on DVD. Also, we watched the movie Serenity, which is sort of a sequel to the series. I think some of y’all would also enjoy this series and movie.

There were three in the bed...

I’m not really sure, but I think that Razor may be spending part of the day while she’s home alone reading my blog. This is surprising to me for a number of reasons. 1) I didn’t think she knew how to read. 2) The computer has never really interested her, at least while we are home. 3) She has never left any comments. 4) I was pretty sure she spent the entire day sleeping.

But I really think she must have read this post in particular. Because a few nights ago she decided to sleep on the edge of the bed instead of between Marty and I. This sort of worked, except then she was the one falling off the bed in the night. And then she’d cry until I woke up enough to invite her back on the bed (I trained her to not get on furniture unless she’s invited, and she’s translated that to the bed too). The next night, again, she was sleeping on the outside—until I got too hot and crowded in the middle and left the bed for the couch. Razor followed me to the couch and slept at my feet (she is afterall a Mama's girl). But the next night, that was good. That night, she slept at my feet in bed (see schematic, also, notice my new pjs). And all three of us had plenty of room and no one fell off!

Clearly, she read my blog and was using her little doggie problem solving skills to help Mama sleep at night.

Mmmmm. Half & Half—Good! (and other stuff)

The other day I got some strawberries. And then I happened to noticed that the half & half was on sale. Hmmm. I like strawberries and half & half. It didn’t take Marty and I long to decide that nearly everything tastes yummy with half and half. My strawberries, yum. Marty’s coffee, yum. Added in combination with milk to instant pudding, yum, yum, yum. By the time we’d finished that quart it seemed that half & half was a staple in our diets.

Next yummy thing. I was remembering the Sunday night popcorn tradition that had its heyday in the Williamsville era. Soon I was thinking about peanut butter popcorn. But mom didn’t have the recipe. I consulted the wisdom of the Internet, and found a recipe that seemed OK. Last night I tried it. Good! So for those who are interested: ½ c. sugar, ½ c. light corn syrup, ½ c. creamy peanut butter, 1 tsp. vanilla. In a saucepan heat sugar, corn syrup and peanut butter until smooth and close to boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over 6 c. popped popcorn. Enjoy! No, it’s not really a healthy snack, but it’s yummy.

Finally, this has nothing to do with food. For those who were at the Burton, OH Henrichsen Christmas Holiday, you may remember the boxes I gave to the kids. For those who weren’t there—Here’s what I did: for each niece and nephew who was there I had a little plastic treasure box with his or her name on it. To fill the boxes I spent a lot of time in the dollar store. A few months ago I got this thank you note. I thought it was too cute not to share. (Zac got a cd computer game as part of his treasure box gift.)