Did you know...
...that I cut 4 inches off my hair last weekend on a whim? It's now to my chin in the front and shorter in the back.
...that Steve and I are making homemade pizza tonight and I'm so excited to eat so many sauteed mushrooms that about 1/3 of them will actually make it on my side of the pizza?
...the Colorado Avalanche is my favorite professional hockey team?
...Vancouver Canuck's are my least favorite team? Technically, the Avalanche's hated rivals, the Detroit Red Wings should be, but I can't help it.
...I got a cheap-o bubble gum dispense as a white elephant gift at my office Christmas party? It's on my desk and I put salted peanuts in it.
...I also have 2 mugs of candy on my desk? One is Miss Chatterbox and contains Kisses, the other is Miss Sunshine and holds Skittles. Steve gave me the mugs.
...I'm going to school for a Masters of Taxation? It's the only such program in the state of Utah.
...I recently went to San Antonio with Steve? You should if you read the blog regularly. :)
...we're planning a trip in May and may go to Disney World? I've never been to Florida - it's the big selling point as I'm not really big on amusement parks.
...I'm slowly losing the weight I put on at Christmas? I'm down 4 lbs!
...yellow is my current favorite color? It's so friendly and sunny and hopeful.
...I miss my mom? Luckily, she's coming for a visit in February!!!
...I'm currently suffering from seasonal depression? No sunshine for weeks on end does that to me. (And possibly lingering effects from a miscarriage???)
...I have a greyhound named Sadie? She's a crazy, wonderful, silly dog who always makes me feel loved when I get home from work. She is at the door even before Steve to welcome me home.
...I love mushrooms sauteed in butter? Mmmm. I can't wait for dinner tonight!
...I'm a Ute, a Thunderbird, and a Wildcat? Someday, I'll probably add to that list.
...I want to be a professor when I grow up? Most likely an Accounting professor, but maybe Economics.
...that we're planning on going to a Denver Broncos game this fall? They used to be my least favorite team, until they signed Peyton Manning, my football crush. Now I cheer for them because I want him to do well. Yes, Steve knows and doesn't care. He's a good man.
...I used to like the 49ers until the coach was a big, fat jerk to Alex Smith (a fellow Ute alumnus). That said, I can't cheer for Ray Lewis and the Ravens, so I guess I hope the 49ers win the Super Bowl this Sunday. Lesser of two evils, I guess.
...my husband is cheering for the Cowboys this weekend? He doesn't believe in cheering for any other football team. That's loyalty, people.
...I've never owned a pair of cowboy boots? Are they comfortable? They don't look comfy, but I wouldn't know since I've never even worn a pair. Maybe someday...if we move to Texas?
...that as I saute sliced mushrooms I'll also be dipping raw mushrooms in ranch and popping them in my mouth? Mmmmm. Good thing it's time to go home, so I can eat me some mushrooms!!
Have a good evening, everyone!!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Early last November, as the days grew shorter and the weather turned colder, I announced to Steve that we needed to take a winter trip to somewhere warm. We had initially set aside the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday weekend as a time to go to Denver to see the Avalanche play (our favorite professional hockey team), but sadly, the players and owners couldn't resolve their differences in time for the season's start, and we weren't sure there was even going to be a hockey season this year. Since we couldn't count on being able to see a hockey game, I reasoned that we should instead spend the weekend in a place that would most likely be warmer than Utah in January.
We threw around a few possibilities over the ensuing weeks before finally choosing San Antonio, TX. I've never been to Texas, so I could add it to my list of States I've Visited. Steve went to basic training at a base nearby, so he had been to San Antonio before, but it had been over 22 years and he didn't really remember a lot about it. We looked at the average temperatures in San Antonio in January and the mid-60s looked very appealing. By mid-December, we had our flights and hotel room booked. Texas, here we come!
My work had a "retreat" (i.e. party) Friday afternoon with lunch, bowling, and billiards. We could leave at any time, so I got home around 3pm, and Steve had already cleaned the house, taken Sadie to the kennel, and put our suitcase in the car. We were ready...and yet our flight didn't leave until 8pm, so we had to wait around for a couple hours before we headed south to the airport. We arrived in good time, took the shuttle from the economy parking lot to the airport, checked our bag, went through security, and then discovered that our flight was delayed by just over an hour. Not happy, but with weather being what it's been lately, we weren't too upset...until we discovered that our flight was delayed to poor scheduling of the flight crew. We ended up waiting over 2 hours for them to fly in from Kansas because someone hadn't scheduled them properly in order to get a flight crew to us in time. Steve swears we'll never fly that airline again (Delta).
Our delayed flight and the hour time change meant that we arrived in San Antonio just before 2am local time. I hadn't slept at all on the flight and was exhausted (and a little cranky). Fortunately, retrieving our bag from the luggage claim, finding a taxi, driving to the hotel, and checking in took just under 30 minutes (wow!), so we were snug in our room by 2:30am.
We slept until 10am and really took it easy getting ready that morning. I even took a relaxing bath, something I never do. I had given myself permission to not leave the hotel until noon (or later if need be) so I didn't feel rushed to get out sight-seeing right away. Steve thinks it's weird that I had to give myself permission to take it easy...I don't think it's weird, but it is a little sad. Something to work on.
When we woke up and opened the curtains in our 11th floor room, the entire outside wall being a window, we looked right at the famed Alamo. It was a block away from our hotel and we had a wonderful view of it! When we checked in, the hotel clerk had apologized that he didn't have a room facing the river walk to give us, but we were more than thrilled to be facing the Alamo.
At noon, we finally left our hotel room and went looking for food. We were both starving. We walked both sides of the part of the river walk that opened up behind our hotel (it was a wonderful location!) before choosing a BBQ joint called The Country Line (maybe The County Line??). It served us delicious, succulent, tender bbq brisket with yummy mashed potatoes and creamy, crispy coleslaw. As we ate, we saw numerous plates of beef ribs pass by our tables and swore that someday we'd go back and order a plate of them. They were so big they could have passed for dinosaur ribs a la The Flintstones. Mmmmm. Being stuffed, we couldn't get dessert at that time, but a few hours later, after doing some sightseeing, we returned for it. I ordered a delicious peach cobbler with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and Steve got a huge piece of pecan pie, also with ice cream. If we hadn't sworn not to eat at the same place twice (for a meal), we might have eaten there every meal we had in San Antonio. It was good.
After lunch, we walked to the Alamo. I was surprised that we didn't have to pay to go inside, especially since it's the hottest tourist attraction in town. The grounds were lovely and peaceful. I wondered if we were there at a low-peak time, since there weren't as many tourists as I would have expected. I was grateful for the lack of crowds and really enjoyed touring the site. Afterward, we walked the river walk some more before seeing a spot where we could buy tickets for the water boat tour. We lucked into getting tickets just in time and didn't have to wait at all before the boat took off. Our guide was very humorous and knowledgeable and the 45 minutes flew by. We learned a lot about the area, including his favorite spots along the river walk to eat and get a drink. Based on his guidance, we later chose to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant after taking a long nap in our room and taking a short excursion to the wax museum.
I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was a good choice. Our primary focus was the guacamole the waiter makes right in front of you - our tour guide said it was fantastic and we agreed! We would go back there and just order two helpings of the guacamole - a spicy one for Steve and the normal one for me. The dinner bread, slices of french baguette, was also exceptional, but the rest of our meal wasn't as wonderful though still tasty. After walking off a bit of our dinner and exploring more of the river walk, we had ice cream at a little creamery. The river walk was incredibly crowded and we thanked our habit of eating earlier than the typical night crowd. We didn't have to wait at all to be seated for dinner, but as we left, we heard the hostess telling someone that the wait was at least an hour and a half. It was the same all along the river walk, which prevented us from getting a nice dessert, but we were happy with our ice cream (I had mango, Steve had an odd concoction that was kind of vanilla and kind of chocolate but didn't taste fully like either). We didn't really know what to do after dinner. We walked around our hotel but couldn't find anything that interested us. Most of the night-time entertainment seemed geared for drinking, which we don't do, so we ended up back in our room, watching movies on tv and reading. Neither of us minded, we're home-bodies at heart and were both pretty tired.
Before retiring for the night, we placed a room service request on our doorknob, ordering breakfast for the next morning around 8am. It was pricey, but we loved the idea of waking up Sunday morning and having breakfast in bed without having to go anywhere to get it. Unfortunately, something went wrong and we never got our breakfast! I had hopped in the shower at 8:15, hoping it would be delivered by the time I got out, but it wasn't. I finished getting ready and by 9:00 we still hadn't received our breakfasts, so we went to the front desk and let them know. They assured us they would make sure we weren't charged, which was nice, but now we had to figure out where to go for food. The was an Einstein's bagel shop in our hotel lobby, so we opted for it. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and wasn't impressed. I ate a few bites and let Steve have the rest. Instead, I ate a chocolate chip cookie. Not a good idea, as it later turned out.
We grabbed a taxi and had the driver take us to the zoo, about a 10-minute drive from our hotel. We walked around for 2 hours before realizing we hadn't seen any of the "big" animals. We'd seen lots of lizards, monkeys, birds, and such (oh and a couple way-cute bears), but where were the elephants, lions, tigers, etc??? We looked at our map and realized we had somehow missed the turn-off to get to these animals. Even with the aid of a map, we still had some difficulty finding where to go, and I got cranky. I probably would have been better if I had had food in my tummy, but I didn't. Steve is such a patient man. And, to my credit, I quickly realized I was being cranky and worked hard not to be. It helped that after an overcast morning, the sun was finally peeking through the disappearing clouds and sunshine really cheers me up. We finally found where to go and saw 2 huge hippopotami (sp?), elephants, zebras, an emu, tiger, lion, kangaroos, a rhino, and other animals. It was a cool zoo and we enjoyed seeing it. Fortunately, our taxi driver had given us his cell phone to call when we needed a ride back in since there wasn't another taxi to be seen at the zoo. Within 10 minutes of our call, he had picked us up. Very nice guy.
Steve quickly fed me lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the river walk. I chose poorly and ate an underseasoned taco salad that didn't have enough protein in it to keep me full long. Ah well. After lunch, we hopped a ride on the double-decker bus tour. It was one of those hop-on, hop-off deals that allows you to get on and off the tour buses as many times as you'd like throughout the day. We started by taking the full 40-minute tour around the city so we could decide where we wanted to get off. One of my favorite moments of the trip came while waiting for the bus to start the tour. We sat on the top deck and the sun shone on us in all its glory. I closed my eyes and basked in the warmth of the day. It was wonderful. Aaahhh. I had to put on my jacket once the bus started, though, because it got kind of chilly driving around. On the second go around, Steve and I got off at the Governor's Palace, a quaint building that had been renovated in the 1930's to look like it had around the time of the Alamo battle. It was interesting. We then walked the couple blocks to El Mercado, the Market, which houses all sorts of shops selling all sorts of items, though mostly touristy souvenir type stuff. The only souvenirs I planned on buying were a magnet and a t-shirt. I bought the magnet at the Alamo and the shirt at the airport. Neither of us are big souvenir people, so our money was safe at the market, except for a large ice-cream cone that Steve bought me, it was yummy! It was neat to see all the wares, though, and we stopped once to watch a street artist drawing caricatures of his patrons. We caught the bus again at the market and stayed on until the Tower of the Americas, although I really wanted to get off at King Williams street to see the huge historic homes. I knew it wasn't something Steve really wanted to do, and it would entail lots more walking and a long time, so I said we didn't have to. We had hoped that the bus would go down the street but it makes sense that they weren't allowed. I wouldn't want a bunch of tour buses going up and down my street all day either. Maybe the next time we go back we'll walk down it. Instead, we got off to see the Tower of the Americas, similar to the Space Needle in Seattle. The area around it had been designed for the 1968 Worlds Fair but it looked a little sad now, maybe because it's winter and nothing was blooming? It still looked cool, though, and we enjoyed the view from the top of the tower. Instead of hopping back on the bus, we decided to walk back to our hotel since it was only a few blocks away. We walked along a part of the river walk that we had seen by boat but hadn't walked yet. It was quiet and nice.
I was feeling kind of light-headed, usually a symptom of not enough calories and protein, so I really wanted to eat steak for dinner. We looked at a couple places as we walked along until finally choosing Saltgrass Steakhouse. I ordered a beautiful ribeye steak with fries and a house salad. Everything tasted marvelous, and I felt much better with some good food in me. Both of us were too full for dessert, so we walked around a bit. We were pleasantly surprised that the river walk was a lot less crowded and finally remembered that it was Sunday evening. We decided to go on the boat tour again since we didn't have anything else we wanted to do, it was fairly inexpensive, and it would be different touring it at night and with a different guide. I'm glad we did it because we did learn new things and it was fun seeing everything at night all lit up. And, our guide won brownie points with me when he found out we are Utah Utes fans and he said he thought it was horrible for Alex Smith to lose his starting QB job just for getting hurt when he'd been doing a good job before that. I couldn't agree more!! This time on the tour, when we got to the part of the river walk that goes by the Riverside Mall, Steve noticed the Official Dallas Cowboys store inside the mall. He's a huge fan, so we made plans to go the next day before heading to the airport. I had also spotted a Starbucks, so we decided to go there for breakfast before going to the Cowboys store.
After the tour, we stopped at a fancy Italian restaurant for dessert. We both ordered a slice of their chocolate mousse cake. It was pretty darn good, but I still think my mom makes the best chocolate cake in the world. We ordered milk to go with it, which was good because the cake was rich and decadant. Tired and feet-weary from all the walking we'd done during the day, we headed back to our room for tv watching, a bath (for me), and book reading before falling asleep.
Monday morning, we woke up and walked to the mall. We arrived just before 9am, an hour before the stores opened, so we had breakfast at Starbucks (a croissant and carmel apple cider for me, orange juice and cinnamon roll for Steve) then walked around looking at all the stores until the Cowboys store opened. Steve very, very rarely splurges on himself. He's a lot better at spoiling me. So, I made sure he bought whatever he wanted, regardless of price. He bought lots of good stuff and I was proud of him for treating himself for once. He felt a little guilty, though, despite me telling him not to, and insisted that I could buy whatever I wanted in the store. I didn't. Nothing sang to me. Nope, I lied. I just remembered that I bought a simple black t-shirt with San Antonio, TX stictched in pink on the front. So, I guess I ended up with two San Antonio t-shirts (since I bought another one at the airport later). He kept trying to get me to buy earrings, jackets, and stuff but for once I wasn't in the buying mood. C'est la vie.
We walked back to our room, made sure we had packed everything, then checked out of the hotel and grabbed a taxi to the airport. We arrived early, so relaxed and read near our gate. This time, our flight departed on schedule and the plane set down in Salt Lake City right around 4pm local time. It was a little depressing to see the haze and the snow, but it felt good to be home. Our dog was still at the kennel and wasn't scheduled to be picked up until the next day (today), so we enjoyed our last night by ourselves and not having to walk Sadie in the cold at night.
I thought it would be hard coming back to the cold and didn't really look forward to it. However, it's been easier than I thought. It's still way too cold but I feel like the small break from it makes bearing it just a bit easier. Like how sometimes a lunch break makes the afternoon work go better, smoother. We're thinking that we might take a winter trip to a warm locale every year. We'd like to go back to San Antonio (seriously, I'd go back just for the guacamole at the restaurant we ate at Saturday night!), but it would also be fun to explore new places. We'll see how things go. I'm just really glad we went.
Now it's time for us to start planning what other destinations we want to visit this year! We're thinking about a long trip in May and maybe another one, shorter, in the summer with my mom. Any suggestions of fun places to go? Where would you like to go on a vacation if money/kids/time-off weren't considerations?
We threw around a few possibilities over the ensuing weeks before finally choosing San Antonio, TX. I've never been to Texas, so I could add it to my list of States I've Visited. Steve went to basic training at a base nearby, so he had been to San Antonio before, but it had been over 22 years and he didn't really remember a lot about it. We looked at the average temperatures in San Antonio in January and the mid-60s looked very appealing. By mid-December, we had our flights and hotel room booked. Texas, here we come!
My work had a "retreat" (i.e. party) Friday afternoon with lunch, bowling, and billiards. We could leave at any time, so I got home around 3pm, and Steve had already cleaned the house, taken Sadie to the kennel, and put our suitcase in the car. We were ready...and yet our flight didn't leave until 8pm, so we had to wait around for a couple hours before we headed south to the airport. We arrived in good time, took the shuttle from the economy parking lot to the airport, checked our bag, went through security, and then discovered that our flight was delayed by just over an hour. Not happy, but with weather being what it's been lately, we weren't too upset...until we discovered that our flight was delayed to poor scheduling of the flight crew. We ended up waiting over 2 hours for them to fly in from Kansas because someone hadn't scheduled them properly in order to get a flight crew to us in time. Steve swears we'll never fly that airline again (Delta).
Our delayed flight and the hour time change meant that we arrived in San Antonio just before 2am local time. I hadn't slept at all on the flight and was exhausted (and a little cranky). Fortunately, retrieving our bag from the luggage claim, finding a taxi, driving to the hotel, and checking in took just under 30 minutes (wow!), so we were snug in our room by 2:30am.
We slept until 10am and really took it easy getting ready that morning. I even took a relaxing bath, something I never do. I had given myself permission to not leave the hotel until noon (or later if need be) so I didn't feel rushed to get out sight-seeing right away. Steve thinks it's weird that I had to give myself permission to take it easy...I don't think it's weird, but it is a little sad. Something to work on.
When we woke up and opened the curtains in our 11th floor room, the entire outside wall being a window, we looked right at the famed Alamo. It was a block away from our hotel and we had a wonderful view of it! When we checked in, the hotel clerk had apologized that he didn't have a room facing the river walk to give us, but we were more than thrilled to be facing the Alamo.
At noon, we finally left our hotel room and went looking for food. We were both starving. We walked both sides of the part of the river walk that opened up behind our hotel (it was a wonderful location!) before choosing a BBQ joint called The Country Line (maybe The County Line??). It served us delicious, succulent, tender bbq brisket with yummy mashed potatoes and creamy, crispy coleslaw. As we ate, we saw numerous plates of beef ribs pass by our tables and swore that someday we'd go back and order a plate of them. They were so big they could have passed for dinosaur ribs a la The Flintstones. Mmmmm. Being stuffed, we couldn't get dessert at that time, but a few hours later, after doing some sightseeing, we returned for it. I ordered a delicious peach cobbler with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream and Steve got a huge piece of pecan pie, also with ice cream. If we hadn't sworn not to eat at the same place twice (for a meal), we might have eaten there every meal we had in San Antonio. It was good.
After lunch, we walked to the Alamo. I was surprised that we didn't have to pay to go inside, especially since it's the hottest tourist attraction in town. The grounds were lovely and peaceful. I wondered if we were there at a low-peak time, since there weren't as many tourists as I would have expected. I was grateful for the lack of crowds and really enjoyed touring the site. Afterward, we walked the river walk some more before seeing a spot where we could buy tickets for the water boat tour. We lucked into getting tickets just in time and didn't have to wait at all before the boat took off. Our guide was very humorous and knowledgeable and the 45 minutes flew by. We learned a lot about the area, including his favorite spots along the river walk to eat and get a drink. Based on his guidance, we later chose to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant after taking a long nap in our room and taking a short excursion to the wax museum.
I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was a good choice. Our primary focus was the guacamole the waiter makes right in front of you - our tour guide said it was fantastic and we agreed! We would go back there and just order two helpings of the guacamole - a spicy one for Steve and the normal one for me. The dinner bread, slices of french baguette, was also exceptional, but the rest of our meal wasn't as wonderful though still tasty. After walking off a bit of our dinner and exploring more of the river walk, we had ice cream at a little creamery. The river walk was incredibly crowded and we thanked our habit of eating earlier than the typical night crowd. We didn't have to wait at all to be seated for dinner, but as we left, we heard the hostess telling someone that the wait was at least an hour and a half. It was the same all along the river walk, which prevented us from getting a nice dessert, but we were happy with our ice cream (I had mango, Steve had an odd concoction that was kind of vanilla and kind of chocolate but didn't taste fully like either). We didn't really know what to do after dinner. We walked around our hotel but couldn't find anything that interested us. Most of the night-time entertainment seemed geared for drinking, which we don't do, so we ended up back in our room, watching movies on tv and reading. Neither of us minded, we're home-bodies at heart and were both pretty tired.
Before retiring for the night, we placed a room service request on our doorknob, ordering breakfast for the next morning around 8am. It was pricey, but we loved the idea of waking up Sunday morning and having breakfast in bed without having to go anywhere to get it. Unfortunately, something went wrong and we never got our breakfast! I had hopped in the shower at 8:15, hoping it would be delivered by the time I got out, but it wasn't. I finished getting ready and by 9:00 we still hadn't received our breakfasts, so we went to the front desk and let them know. They assured us they would make sure we weren't charged, which was nice, but now we had to figure out where to go for food. The was an Einstein's bagel shop in our hotel lobby, so we opted for it. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and wasn't impressed. I ate a few bites and let Steve have the rest. Instead, I ate a chocolate chip cookie. Not a good idea, as it later turned out.
We grabbed a taxi and had the driver take us to the zoo, about a 10-minute drive from our hotel. We walked around for 2 hours before realizing we hadn't seen any of the "big" animals. We'd seen lots of lizards, monkeys, birds, and such (oh and a couple way-cute bears), but where were the elephants, lions, tigers, etc??? We looked at our map and realized we had somehow missed the turn-off to get to these animals. Even with the aid of a map, we still had some difficulty finding where to go, and I got cranky. I probably would have been better if I had had food in my tummy, but I didn't. Steve is such a patient man. And, to my credit, I quickly realized I was being cranky and worked hard not to be. It helped that after an overcast morning, the sun was finally peeking through the disappearing clouds and sunshine really cheers me up. We finally found where to go and saw 2 huge hippopotami (sp?), elephants, zebras, an emu, tiger, lion, kangaroos, a rhino, and other animals. It was a cool zoo and we enjoyed seeing it. Fortunately, our taxi driver had given us his cell phone to call when we needed a ride back in since there wasn't another taxi to be seen at the zoo. Within 10 minutes of our call, he had picked us up. Very nice guy.
Steve quickly fed me lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the river walk. I chose poorly and ate an underseasoned taco salad that didn't have enough protein in it to keep me full long. Ah well. After lunch, we hopped a ride on the double-decker bus tour. It was one of those hop-on, hop-off deals that allows you to get on and off the tour buses as many times as you'd like throughout the day. We started by taking the full 40-minute tour around the city so we could decide where we wanted to get off. One of my favorite moments of the trip came while waiting for the bus to start the tour. We sat on the top deck and the sun shone on us in all its glory. I closed my eyes and basked in the warmth of the day. It was wonderful. Aaahhh. I had to put on my jacket once the bus started, though, because it got kind of chilly driving around. On the second go around, Steve and I got off at the Governor's Palace, a quaint building that had been renovated in the 1930's to look like it had around the time of the Alamo battle. It was interesting. We then walked the couple blocks to El Mercado, the Market, which houses all sorts of shops selling all sorts of items, though mostly touristy souvenir type stuff. The only souvenirs I planned on buying were a magnet and a t-shirt. I bought the magnet at the Alamo and the shirt at the airport. Neither of us are big souvenir people, so our money was safe at the market, except for a large ice-cream cone that Steve bought me, it was yummy! It was neat to see all the wares, though, and we stopped once to watch a street artist drawing caricatures of his patrons. We caught the bus again at the market and stayed on until the Tower of the Americas, although I really wanted to get off at King Williams street to see the huge historic homes. I knew it wasn't something Steve really wanted to do, and it would entail lots more walking and a long time, so I said we didn't have to. We had hoped that the bus would go down the street but it makes sense that they weren't allowed. I wouldn't want a bunch of tour buses going up and down my street all day either. Maybe the next time we go back we'll walk down it. Instead, we got off to see the Tower of the Americas, similar to the Space Needle in Seattle. The area around it had been designed for the 1968 Worlds Fair but it looked a little sad now, maybe because it's winter and nothing was blooming? It still looked cool, though, and we enjoyed the view from the top of the tower. Instead of hopping back on the bus, we decided to walk back to our hotel since it was only a few blocks away. We walked along a part of the river walk that we had seen by boat but hadn't walked yet. It was quiet and nice.
I was feeling kind of light-headed, usually a symptom of not enough calories and protein, so I really wanted to eat steak for dinner. We looked at a couple places as we walked along until finally choosing Saltgrass Steakhouse. I ordered a beautiful ribeye steak with fries and a house salad. Everything tasted marvelous, and I felt much better with some good food in me. Both of us were too full for dessert, so we walked around a bit. We were pleasantly surprised that the river walk was a lot less crowded and finally remembered that it was Sunday evening. We decided to go on the boat tour again since we didn't have anything else we wanted to do, it was fairly inexpensive, and it would be different touring it at night and with a different guide. I'm glad we did it because we did learn new things and it was fun seeing everything at night all lit up. And, our guide won brownie points with me when he found out we are Utah Utes fans and he said he thought it was horrible for Alex Smith to lose his starting QB job just for getting hurt when he'd been doing a good job before that. I couldn't agree more!! This time on the tour, when we got to the part of the river walk that goes by the Riverside Mall, Steve noticed the Official Dallas Cowboys store inside the mall. He's a huge fan, so we made plans to go the next day before heading to the airport. I had also spotted a Starbucks, so we decided to go there for breakfast before going to the Cowboys store.
After the tour, we stopped at a fancy Italian restaurant for dessert. We both ordered a slice of their chocolate mousse cake. It was pretty darn good, but I still think my mom makes the best chocolate cake in the world. We ordered milk to go with it, which was good because the cake was rich and decadant. Tired and feet-weary from all the walking we'd done during the day, we headed back to our room for tv watching, a bath (for me), and book reading before falling asleep.
Monday morning, we woke up and walked to the mall. We arrived just before 9am, an hour before the stores opened, so we had breakfast at Starbucks (a croissant and carmel apple cider for me, orange juice and cinnamon roll for Steve) then walked around looking at all the stores until the Cowboys store opened. Steve very, very rarely splurges on himself. He's a lot better at spoiling me. So, I made sure he bought whatever he wanted, regardless of price. He bought lots of good stuff and I was proud of him for treating himself for once. He felt a little guilty, though, despite me telling him not to, and insisted that I could buy whatever I wanted in the store. I didn't. Nothing sang to me. Nope, I lied. I just remembered that I bought a simple black t-shirt with San Antonio, TX stictched in pink on the front. So, I guess I ended up with two San Antonio t-shirts (since I bought another one at the airport later). He kept trying to get me to buy earrings, jackets, and stuff but for once I wasn't in the buying mood. C'est la vie.
We walked back to our room, made sure we had packed everything, then checked out of the hotel and grabbed a taxi to the airport. We arrived early, so relaxed and read near our gate. This time, our flight departed on schedule and the plane set down in Salt Lake City right around 4pm local time. It was a little depressing to see the haze and the snow, but it felt good to be home. Our dog was still at the kennel and wasn't scheduled to be picked up until the next day (today), so we enjoyed our last night by ourselves and not having to walk Sadie in the cold at night.
I thought it would be hard coming back to the cold and didn't really look forward to it. However, it's been easier than I thought. It's still way too cold but I feel like the small break from it makes bearing it just a bit easier. Like how sometimes a lunch break makes the afternoon work go better, smoother. We're thinking that we might take a winter trip to a warm locale every year. We'd like to go back to San Antonio (seriously, I'd go back just for the guacamole at the restaurant we ate at Saturday night!), but it would also be fun to explore new places. We'll see how things go. I'm just really glad we went.
Now it's time for us to start planning what other destinations we want to visit this year! We're thinking about a long trip in May and maybe another one, shorter, in the summer with my mom. Any suggestions of fun places to go? Where would you like to go on a vacation if money/kids/time-off weren't considerations?
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
The Red Coals of Sadness
I wrote this post just a few days after I miscarried. Writing it acted as a release valve for all the pain and sorrow I felt but felt too raw and exposed to actually publish it. Now, a month later, I feel okay about sharing it. I'm not changing a word of it, not even re-reading it so I don't get tempted to edit it, but I am finishing it. When I wrote it, we still didn't have the official results saying I'd miscarried. I didn't finish it that day because I had hoped to receive the call giving me the results at any time. It didn't happen until days later, and by then I didn't feel like writing any more about it.
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Imagine the perfect camp fire for roasting marshmallows - there aren't many flames, just searingly-hot coals; concentrated pockets of heat.
That's how the sadness deep in my soul feels. Not a raging fire that looks intense but isn't really as hot as you'd expect. No, my sadness isn't easy to see, it's buried under partially-consumed logs; red-hot coals that slowly, quietly burning with an intense heat.
I've never felt such sadness. It's unexpected and, like a hot brand, will leave a permanent mark on my spirit. Like a brand, it will heal, I have complete faith in that, but I also know I will never be the same.
Last Wednesday, I stopped feeling sick. I read a few sources that said not to worry if you're not feeling morning/day/night sickness but to be glad you're one of the lucky ones. So, I didn't worry.
Friday morning, while walking around the track during my "wellness time", I started to feel a pain very similar to menstrual cramps...except I shouldn't be getting my period because I was pregnant. I walked slower thinking maybe I was overdoing the exercise.
When I returned to my office, I went to the bathroom and found blood on my underclothes. Even then, I didn't panic. The nurse at the base, the nurse in the health center, and several articles online had all said to call my doctor if I ever experienced pain or bleeding. Well, I didn't have a doctor yet, I would be referred to one the following Monday after the pregnancy orientation on base, so I called Steve. He said he'd call the base to see what we should do and would call me back.
While waiting for his call, I told my coworker what was happening and he said it had happened to his wife during their second pregnancy and all ended up fine, but he agreed that I should see a doctor right away just to be sure.
Steve called back. The base nurse said to go to the nearest ER since we didn't have an OB doctor yet. He was coming to pick me up.
We spent just over three hours in the ER; I had blood drawn to test my HCG level (the pregnancy hormone), a pelvic exam to see if my cervix was closed (it was, and the doctor was glad so it must have been a good thing), and an ultrasound. The end results were that the baby was too small at that time to determine if its heart was beating but the egg sac was present and looked good and my HCG level was where it should be for how far along I was. The ultrasound had discovered a ruptured cyst on an ovary, which explained the cramping and blood loss. Since they couldn't say for sure that the baby was still good, they told us to go back on base on Monday to have my HCG level tested again. If the level went down, it would mean I'd miscarred. If it was the same or higher, the pregnancy was still good. The nurse was very optimistic, sure that the pregnancy would continue and the little baby inside of me would be fine. They sent us home and put me on bed rest for the weekend.
It was a long weekend. I usually pack a lot of activities into our weekends, so it was kind of hard, but kind of nice, to not be able to do anything. I managed to do some homework Saturday morning, but the rest of the day was lazy and restful. My spirits were pretty good, mostly because of a loving husband who always makes me feel better.
Sunday, I awoke to a gray day and my spirits were just as gray, if not more so. I stayed in bed until noon because I felt an overwhelming sadness I didn't want to explain to Steve in case it made the situation more real. I read a silly but entertaining book but would occassionally have to stop reading because I had the sudden urge to break down crying. My body sensed something I couldn't know for sure. Eventually, I joined Steve in the living room where we played games on the wii, watched movies and football, and just enjoyed being together. He kept asking if I was okay, so I knew I wasn't hiding my feelings as well as I'd hoped. I told him I was worried and sad and then he'd hold me close and say all sorts of nice things.
Just before bed, I used the bathroom, and something came out on the toilet paper wad. Something that wasn't a blood clot; there had been a few of those throughout the weekend. I knew what it was but had Steve come in to look so he could give his opinion. He knew too. It was the egg sac. I had miscarried.
That night will be one I will remember. The pain and sadness were unlike anything I'd ever felt and hope to never feel again. However, I will also always remember the closeness I felt with Steve. We were parents who had lost their unborn baby before it was even identifiable as a baby, and that bond strengthened our love for each other immeasurably. I sobbed and he held me tight. We talked of our disappointment and sadness and hopes for the future and our love for each other. It was immensely bitter but twinged with sweetness.
The next morning, we had our appointment on base to get my HCG levels retested. Before sending us to the lab for me to get my blood drawn yet again, the doctor said he'd call later that morning with the results. To keep my mind busy while we waited, I made an appointment to get an eye exam and contacts fitting for that morning. I've been wearing glasses for 6 months because I didn't have a prescription for contacts. Following the appointment, we went home and waited.
Midway through our dog walk, I decided I didn't want to wait any more and called the base clinic. I was then told that they wouldn't have the results for up to 72 hours!!! I told them they were wrong and that the doctor had said he'd call me before noon. The nurse told me the doctor was wrong. The type of HCG test that he'd ordered had to be sent off base so it took awhile to get the results. I hung up the phone and lost it. Again, Steve just held me tight as I sobbed. Even though I pretty much knew I had miscarried, until I got the official results, there was this tiny glimmer of hope that we were wrong. That hope scared me.
Steve suggested we go somewhere else to get the test done again, somewhere that could get the result back in a couple hours instead of a couple days. I thought about it while we finished our walk, but in the end said no. I had spent too much time in the last week at the doctor, too many pokes in my arm, too much time in waiting rooms. Since we were already pretty sure what had happened, we'd just go with that and wait until the base called with the results.
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We ended up not finding out the results for almost a week. A week of not being 100% sure, a week of hope regardless of being fairly sure that the pregnancy had ended. We finally went back to the ER to get a new HCG test since we found out after another call to the base that the test I had on base might take another week to get the results! The lab at the hospital had the results in 20 minutes. The miscarriage was confirmed. It was a relief to finally have the results and I felt we could finally start to heal.
Through it all, I have been grateful for my faith in God, for the love of my wonderful husband, and for the support and kindness of my family and friends. A month later, and I'm still amazed by how much the miscarriage affects me, the sense of loss that I still feel. I don't spend hours upon hours crying (thankfully) and can carry on like normal, but I feel the difference. I'm so thankful for the healing powers of time and for father's blessings that offer hope and guidance. And, whenever I feel down, I find peace in the arms of the man that I plan to love forever.
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Imagine the perfect camp fire for roasting marshmallows - there aren't many flames, just searingly-hot coals; concentrated pockets of heat.
That's how the sadness deep in my soul feels. Not a raging fire that looks intense but isn't really as hot as you'd expect. No, my sadness isn't easy to see, it's buried under partially-consumed logs; red-hot coals that slowly, quietly burning with an intense heat.
I've never felt such sadness. It's unexpected and, like a hot brand, will leave a permanent mark on my spirit. Like a brand, it will heal, I have complete faith in that, but I also know I will never be the same.
Last Wednesday, I stopped feeling sick. I read a few sources that said not to worry if you're not feeling morning/day/night sickness but to be glad you're one of the lucky ones. So, I didn't worry.
Friday morning, while walking around the track during my "wellness time", I started to feel a pain very similar to menstrual cramps...except I shouldn't be getting my period because I was pregnant. I walked slower thinking maybe I was overdoing the exercise.
When I returned to my office, I went to the bathroom and found blood on my underclothes. Even then, I didn't panic. The nurse at the base, the nurse in the health center, and several articles online had all said to call my doctor if I ever experienced pain or bleeding. Well, I didn't have a doctor yet, I would be referred to one the following Monday after the pregnancy orientation on base, so I called Steve. He said he'd call the base to see what we should do and would call me back.
While waiting for his call, I told my coworker what was happening and he said it had happened to his wife during their second pregnancy and all ended up fine, but he agreed that I should see a doctor right away just to be sure.
Steve called back. The base nurse said to go to the nearest ER since we didn't have an OB doctor yet. He was coming to pick me up.
We spent just over three hours in the ER; I had blood drawn to test my HCG level (the pregnancy hormone), a pelvic exam to see if my cervix was closed (it was, and the doctor was glad so it must have been a good thing), and an ultrasound. The end results were that the baby was too small at that time to determine if its heart was beating but the egg sac was present and looked good and my HCG level was where it should be for how far along I was. The ultrasound had discovered a ruptured cyst on an ovary, which explained the cramping and blood loss. Since they couldn't say for sure that the baby was still good, they told us to go back on base on Monday to have my HCG level tested again. If the level went down, it would mean I'd miscarred. If it was the same or higher, the pregnancy was still good. The nurse was very optimistic, sure that the pregnancy would continue and the little baby inside of me would be fine. They sent us home and put me on bed rest for the weekend.
It was a long weekend. I usually pack a lot of activities into our weekends, so it was kind of hard, but kind of nice, to not be able to do anything. I managed to do some homework Saturday morning, but the rest of the day was lazy and restful. My spirits were pretty good, mostly because of a loving husband who always makes me feel better.
Sunday, I awoke to a gray day and my spirits were just as gray, if not more so. I stayed in bed until noon because I felt an overwhelming sadness I didn't want to explain to Steve in case it made the situation more real. I read a silly but entertaining book but would occassionally have to stop reading because I had the sudden urge to break down crying. My body sensed something I couldn't know for sure. Eventually, I joined Steve in the living room where we played games on the wii, watched movies and football, and just enjoyed being together. He kept asking if I was okay, so I knew I wasn't hiding my feelings as well as I'd hoped. I told him I was worried and sad and then he'd hold me close and say all sorts of nice things.
Just before bed, I used the bathroom, and something came out on the toilet paper wad. Something that wasn't a blood clot; there had been a few of those throughout the weekend. I knew what it was but had Steve come in to look so he could give his opinion. He knew too. It was the egg sac. I had miscarried.
That night will be one I will remember. The pain and sadness were unlike anything I'd ever felt and hope to never feel again. However, I will also always remember the closeness I felt with Steve. We were parents who had lost their unborn baby before it was even identifiable as a baby, and that bond strengthened our love for each other immeasurably. I sobbed and he held me tight. We talked of our disappointment and sadness and hopes for the future and our love for each other. It was immensely bitter but twinged with sweetness.
The next morning, we had our appointment on base to get my HCG levels retested. Before sending us to the lab for me to get my blood drawn yet again, the doctor said he'd call later that morning with the results. To keep my mind busy while we waited, I made an appointment to get an eye exam and contacts fitting for that morning. I've been wearing glasses for 6 months because I didn't have a prescription for contacts. Following the appointment, we went home and waited.
Midway through our dog walk, I decided I didn't want to wait any more and called the base clinic. I was then told that they wouldn't have the results for up to 72 hours!!! I told them they were wrong and that the doctor had said he'd call me before noon. The nurse told me the doctor was wrong. The type of HCG test that he'd ordered had to be sent off base so it took awhile to get the results. I hung up the phone and lost it. Again, Steve just held me tight as I sobbed. Even though I pretty much knew I had miscarried, until I got the official results, there was this tiny glimmer of hope that we were wrong. That hope scared me.
Steve suggested we go somewhere else to get the test done again, somewhere that could get the result back in a couple hours instead of a couple days. I thought about it while we finished our walk, but in the end said no. I had spent too much time in the last week at the doctor, too many pokes in my arm, too much time in waiting rooms. Since we were already pretty sure what had happened, we'd just go with that and wait until the base called with the results.
***********************************************************
We ended up not finding out the results for almost a week. A week of not being 100% sure, a week of hope regardless of being fairly sure that the pregnancy had ended. We finally went back to the ER to get a new HCG test since we found out after another call to the base that the test I had on base might take another week to get the results! The lab at the hospital had the results in 20 minutes. The miscarriage was confirmed. It was a relief to finally have the results and I felt we could finally start to heal.
Through it all, I have been grateful for my faith in God, for the love of my wonderful husband, and for the support and kindness of my family and friends. A month later, and I'm still amazed by how much the miscarriage affects me, the sense of loss that I still feel. I don't spend hours upon hours crying (thankfully) and can carry on like normal, but I feel the difference. I'm so thankful for the healing powers of time and for father's blessings that offer hope and guidance. And, whenever I feel down, I find peace in the arms of the man that I plan to love forever.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Christmas 2012
Sitting in my office the day after Christmas, sipping pumkin spiced hot cocoa given to me by a coworker, snow falling heavily outside, I felt very grateful for the very merry Christmas I had this year.
Steve and I have now been together for three years and have established a holiday schedule that we plan to live by unless things change drastically (i.e. we have a kid, we lose our jobs, we change our minds, etc.): one year we'll go somewhere vacation-y for Christmas, the next year we'll stay at home just him and me and anyone we invite to spend it with us, and the third year we'll spend the holiday with family.
This was the year we spent Christmas with family. We drove to Cedar City last Friday afternoon, December 21st, and arrived in the evening early enough to go to dinner with my mom. I didn't have a great dining experience as my steak wasn't cooked properly, but it was fun to sit and chat with my mom and plan the weekend's festivities. My brother Jason and his family arrived shortly after we returned to Mom's house and we all stayed up way to late playing games, talking, and laughing.
Saturday morning, Jason, Rachel, Robbie, Steve, and I met Dad, Paula, and Macey for breakfast at the Main Street Diner. Dad was running behind so the rest of us stopped off at Lin's market to say hi to my brother Corey and his wife who were helping one of my brother's high school students earn money for a trip to Italy this summer by selling hot chocolate. We bought s few cups to help out and chatted until Dad arrived at the diner. I felt so content sitting aorund the large table in the diner. I was seated across from my dad with my hubby next to me and my brother down the table and thought how lucky I am to have such great men in my life. My dad hasn't always been perfect but he's trying hard to make up for his mistakes. My brothers aren't perfect either, but they're good men and I love them a lot. My husband IS perfect and I love him the most. We were the loud table in the diner but the other people must have had the Christmas spirit as no one seemed to mind. That or they all were getting a kick out of my nephew Robbie singing loudly while in the restroom. He's such a ham!
After breakfast, Steve went ice fishing with Corey and his son Porter, Jason and Rachel finished Christmas shopping, while Mom and I entertained Robbie until they returned. We then went grocery shopping for finishing touches to our multiple holiday meals. Later, everyone met at mom's where we played games and ate dinner. My friends Carrie and Wendy stopped by and it was wonderful to chat with them and catch up with what's been going on in their lives. I hadn't seen Wendy since before she left on her mission, so it was great to see her again finally! And, Carrie had such happy news to tell that it made my heart happy. Hoping for the best for both of them! Once again, I stayed up much later than usual but had a fabulous time.
Sunday morning, Mom, Jason, Rachel, Robbie, and I went to Mom's church. Mom thought I should have invited Steve, but he's been to church with me a few times lately and I know his limits. It would have been nice to have him there but I just appreciate that he's gone with me for the family events in the past. Mom's ward put on a nice meeting filled with beautiful musical numbers and two really good talks. Afterward, I got to see my old roommate Andrea and her 7-month old daughter who is absolutely gorgeous! I chatted with Andrea and my friend Kyle who is now in that ward, too, for awhile before Mom and I headed home for lunch. Mom stayed home while the rest of us, including my brother Kevin and his family, went to Corey's house for games and snacks. That evening, we all went to Mom's work, one of the local high schools, where we had Kevin's wife's family join us for dinner; two types of soup, chips, and veggies. Then the kids acted out the Christmas story while Kevin read it out of the Bible, interspersed with us singing Christmas carols. The whole time, my dog Sadie roamed freely, trying to get someone to pet her. Mom had worked hard on this evening and she did a great job - it turned out great! We said goodbye to Jenny's family then headed back to Mom's house for more games and food. And yes, we stayed up way too late once again.
Christmas Eve, we woke up to snow. Cedar had received quite a bit of snow before the weekend so this snowfall just added to it. We'd definitely be having a white Christmas and I was happy about it! Steve and I went up to Dad's house at 10am along with Corey and Jason and their families. We played games, chatted with Paula's daughters, ate lunch, and opened presents. For a few years now, Dad and Paula give us money around Thanksgiving and have us buy our own presents then give what we bought to them to wrap and put under their tree. Then we unwrap them while at their house. It works out quite nicely because we always get what we want/need and they don't have to buy for a million people. This year, they bought suprise gifts for us to go along with the present we bought using their money - a set of kitchen knives for each of the ladies (I was so excited because they're sharp AND colorful!) and a pocketknife for each of the guys. Steve and I had used their money to buy us a waffle maker, a breadmaker, a fire-proof file holder, and new bathroom towels. It was fun to hang out at Dad's and I was really glad to be able to have a good long chat with my step-sister Lindsey. Oh, and Macey gave me a necklace with an Eiffle tower pendant. It's sparkly and pretty.
We left Dad's and returned to Mom's around 5pm and Kevin and his family arrived shortly after we pulled in to her house...actually, shortly after we pulled in, leashed our dog and took her out for a walk in the blowing, cold snow! We ate dinner, played games, and opened the gifts us siblings had bought for each other (we rotate who we buy for each year) and the gifts Mom had bought the grandkids and that the aunts and uncles had bought for the kids. Corey and Kevin and their families left around 9, and Rachel and Jason decided to go visit her brother and his family for a little bit even though Robbie was in bed, so Steve and I had a little quiet time with Mom finally. It's Steve and mine's tradition to open our stockings on Christmas Eve and we had bought Mom a stocking filled with silly little gifts and chocolates, so the three of us opened our stockings while everyone else was gone. Steve certainly knows what makes me tick - he gave me LOTS of chocolate! And other stuff, too. When Rachel and Jason returned, they put up Robbies gifts from Santa and then we played Mormon bridge. We finally went to bed just before midnight - we had to get to bed before Santa passed us by!
I can never sleep Christmas Eve night. I'm always too excited. I had hoped to sleep better this time since I'd been staying up so late and waking up so early, but it didn't help. I went to sleep fairly easily but when Steve got up to go to the bathroom, I woke up and never really fell back to sleep. I kept hoping Jason would poke his kid a few times so Robbie would wake up early and we could get up and open presents, but that didn't happen until 6:45am! Rachel later told me they had talked loudly to wake him up since he was sleeping like a log. I told her next time to poke him but I don't think she'll try it. He finally came into our room to "wake" us up and we finally got to go out to the living room to see what Santa had brought us. I enjoyed Robbie's excitment for his new Spiderman bike and his total blunt disappointment in the Star Wars men that he "already had" until his mom reminded him that one was broken and the other was lost, then he liked them. We opened our presents and Steve and I had just a couple presents left when Corey and Audree showed up. I had started preparing two quiches before opening presents, and when they arrived I finished them up and put them in the oven to bake while we finished. We had all held off opening our presents from my mom until then, so we opened them before breakfast. Mom gave us a bread maker! I had no idea she was going to get one for us! The one she gave us is nicer than the one we bought, so we'll keep it and return the other one for a deep fryer and something else. Steve bought me a couple puzzles, Pioneer Woman's cookbook, gloves and earmuffs, two mugs, electronic Catch Phrase, and a nice croquet set. I bought him cologne, ESPN 30 and 30 DVDs, a computer game, an electric razor, and clothes (two shirts, pj pants, and a sweater). Jason and Rachel gave us two new games - Logo and Monopoly cards - and a book full of pictures of Robbie. All in all, a good haul for both of us.
We ate breakfast and played a game or two before we packed up and loaded our car. Then we all headed out to Corey's house to see what they had received from Santa and each other. Then Steve, Sadie, and I hit the road and returned to our lovely home in Riverdale. The roads were dry and clear and we made it home in less than 4 hours! We noticed IHOP was open, so after we unloaded the car, we went there for dinner. We had eaten there last year for Christmas Eve and I had been surprised by how good the pot roast dinner was, so I ordered it again. It wasn't as good. In fact, it was like eating a tv dinner and was what I had expected last year. Steve confirmed that it wasn't just that my expectations were too high after last year, it really wasn't as good as last year. Ah well. It filled my empty tummy and I didn't have to clean up afterward. We went home, walked the dog, then settled in with popcorn to watch Hercule Poirot on Netflix. We went to bed early.
It was a great Christmas. Not just because I ate lots of good food and received lots of good presents, of course. It was wonderful to spend so much time with my family and to see people that I don't get to see very often. My step-sister Lindsey and I had such a sweet conversation about miscarriages and pregnancies. I haven't always been close to my step-sisters but I'm glad we have a good relationship. My step-sister Karli was at Dad's briefly, so I got to see her cute little daughter Kendri for the first time in a year. She's grown a lot. It was also great to see Carrie, Wendy, Andrea, and Kyle, and I wish I could have seen more of my dear Cedar friends while I was there.
I also love seeing my husband interact with my family. I could not have married a man who fits better with my family than Steve. He's different than them in many ways but fits as if he has always been a part of us. Every day, I thank God for blessing me with Steve. He truly is my best friend, and though he isn't particularly religious, he constantly embodies everything church teaches - goodness, faith, patience, hope, love, kindness, generosity.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and that 2013 brings us all happiness, love, and laughter!
Steve and I have now been together for three years and have established a holiday schedule that we plan to live by unless things change drastically (i.e. we have a kid, we lose our jobs, we change our minds, etc.): one year we'll go somewhere vacation-y for Christmas, the next year we'll stay at home just him and me and anyone we invite to spend it with us, and the third year we'll spend the holiday with family.
This was the year we spent Christmas with family. We drove to Cedar City last Friday afternoon, December 21st, and arrived in the evening early enough to go to dinner with my mom. I didn't have a great dining experience as my steak wasn't cooked properly, but it was fun to sit and chat with my mom and plan the weekend's festivities. My brother Jason and his family arrived shortly after we returned to Mom's house and we all stayed up way to late playing games, talking, and laughing.
Saturday morning, Jason, Rachel, Robbie, Steve, and I met Dad, Paula, and Macey for breakfast at the Main Street Diner. Dad was running behind so the rest of us stopped off at Lin's market to say hi to my brother Corey and his wife who were helping one of my brother's high school students earn money for a trip to Italy this summer by selling hot chocolate. We bought s few cups to help out and chatted until Dad arrived at the diner. I felt so content sitting aorund the large table in the diner. I was seated across from my dad with my hubby next to me and my brother down the table and thought how lucky I am to have such great men in my life. My dad hasn't always been perfect but he's trying hard to make up for his mistakes. My brothers aren't perfect either, but they're good men and I love them a lot. My husband IS perfect and I love him the most. We were the loud table in the diner but the other people must have had the Christmas spirit as no one seemed to mind. That or they all were getting a kick out of my nephew Robbie singing loudly while in the restroom. He's such a ham!
After breakfast, Steve went ice fishing with Corey and his son Porter, Jason and Rachel finished Christmas shopping, while Mom and I entertained Robbie until they returned. We then went grocery shopping for finishing touches to our multiple holiday meals. Later, everyone met at mom's where we played games and ate dinner. My friends Carrie and Wendy stopped by and it was wonderful to chat with them and catch up with what's been going on in their lives. I hadn't seen Wendy since before she left on her mission, so it was great to see her again finally! And, Carrie had such happy news to tell that it made my heart happy. Hoping for the best for both of them! Once again, I stayed up much later than usual but had a fabulous time.
Sunday morning, Mom, Jason, Rachel, Robbie, and I went to Mom's church. Mom thought I should have invited Steve, but he's been to church with me a few times lately and I know his limits. It would have been nice to have him there but I just appreciate that he's gone with me for the family events in the past. Mom's ward put on a nice meeting filled with beautiful musical numbers and two really good talks. Afterward, I got to see my old roommate Andrea and her 7-month old daughter who is absolutely gorgeous! I chatted with Andrea and my friend Kyle who is now in that ward, too, for awhile before Mom and I headed home for lunch. Mom stayed home while the rest of us, including my brother Kevin and his family, went to Corey's house for games and snacks. That evening, we all went to Mom's work, one of the local high schools, where we had Kevin's wife's family join us for dinner; two types of soup, chips, and veggies. Then the kids acted out the Christmas story while Kevin read it out of the Bible, interspersed with us singing Christmas carols. The whole time, my dog Sadie roamed freely, trying to get someone to pet her. Mom had worked hard on this evening and she did a great job - it turned out great! We said goodbye to Jenny's family then headed back to Mom's house for more games and food. And yes, we stayed up way too late once again.
Christmas Eve, we woke up to snow. Cedar had received quite a bit of snow before the weekend so this snowfall just added to it. We'd definitely be having a white Christmas and I was happy about it! Steve and I went up to Dad's house at 10am along with Corey and Jason and their families. We played games, chatted with Paula's daughters, ate lunch, and opened presents. For a few years now, Dad and Paula give us money around Thanksgiving and have us buy our own presents then give what we bought to them to wrap and put under their tree. Then we unwrap them while at their house. It works out quite nicely because we always get what we want/need and they don't have to buy for a million people. This year, they bought suprise gifts for us to go along with the present we bought using their money - a set of kitchen knives for each of the ladies (I was so excited because they're sharp AND colorful!) and a pocketknife for each of the guys. Steve and I had used their money to buy us a waffle maker, a breadmaker, a fire-proof file holder, and new bathroom towels. It was fun to hang out at Dad's and I was really glad to be able to have a good long chat with my step-sister Lindsey. Oh, and Macey gave me a necklace with an Eiffle tower pendant. It's sparkly and pretty.
We left Dad's and returned to Mom's around 5pm and Kevin and his family arrived shortly after we pulled in to her house...actually, shortly after we pulled in, leashed our dog and took her out for a walk in the blowing, cold snow! We ate dinner, played games, and opened the gifts us siblings had bought for each other (we rotate who we buy for each year) and the gifts Mom had bought the grandkids and that the aunts and uncles had bought for the kids. Corey and Kevin and their families left around 9, and Rachel and Jason decided to go visit her brother and his family for a little bit even though Robbie was in bed, so Steve and I had a little quiet time with Mom finally. It's Steve and mine's tradition to open our stockings on Christmas Eve and we had bought Mom a stocking filled with silly little gifts and chocolates, so the three of us opened our stockings while everyone else was gone. Steve certainly knows what makes me tick - he gave me LOTS of chocolate! And other stuff, too. When Rachel and Jason returned, they put up Robbies gifts from Santa and then we played Mormon bridge. We finally went to bed just before midnight - we had to get to bed before Santa passed us by!
I can never sleep Christmas Eve night. I'm always too excited. I had hoped to sleep better this time since I'd been staying up so late and waking up so early, but it didn't help. I went to sleep fairly easily but when Steve got up to go to the bathroom, I woke up and never really fell back to sleep. I kept hoping Jason would poke his kid a few times so Robbie would wake up early and we could get up and open presents, but that didn't happen until 6:45am! Rachel later told me they had talked loudly to wake him up since he was sleeping like a log. I told her next time to poke him but I don't think she'll try it. He finally came into our room to "wake" us up and we finally got to go out to the living room to see what Santa had brought us. I enjoyed Robbie's excitment for his new Spiderman bike and his total blunt disappointment in the Star Wars men that he "already had" until his mom reminded him that one was broken and the other was lost, then he liked them. We opened our presents and Steve and I had just a couple presents left when Corey and Audree showed up. I had started preparing two quiches before opening presents, and when they arrived I finished them up and put them in the oven to bake while we finished. We had all held off opening our presents from my mom until then, so we opened them before breakfast. Mom gave us a bread maker! I had no idea she was going to get one for us! The one she gave us is nicer than the one we bought, so we'll keep it and return the other one for a deep fryer and something else. Steve bought me a couple puzzles, Pioneer Woman's cookbook, gloves and earmuffs, two mugs, electronic Catch Phrase, and a nice croquet set. I bought him cologne, ESPN 30 and 30 DVDs, a computer game, an electric razor, and clothes (two shirts, pj pants, and a sweater). Jason and Rachel gave us two new games - Logo and Monopoly cards - and a book full of pictures of Robbie. All in all, a good haul for both of us.
We ate breakfast and played a game or two before we packed up and loaded our car. Then we all headed out to Corey's house to see what they had received from Santa and each other. Then Steve, Sadie, and I hit the road and returned to our lovely home in Riverdale. The roads were dry and clear and we made it home in less than 4 hours! We noticed IHOP was open, so after we unloaded the car, we went there for dinner. We had eaten there last year for Christmas Eve and I had been surprised by how good the pot roast dinner was, so I ordered it again. It wasn't as good. In fact, it was like eating a tv dinner and was what I had expected last year. Steve confirmed that it wasn't just that my expectations were too high after last year, it really wasn't as good as last year. Ah well. It filled my empty tummy and I didn't have to clean up afterward. We went home, walked the dog, then settled in with popcorn to watch Hercule Poirot on Netflix. We went to bed early.
It was a great Christmas. Not just because I ate lots of good food and received lots of good presents, of course. It was wonderful to spend so much time with my family and to see people that I don't get to see very often. My step-sister Lindsey and I had such a sweet conversation about miscarriages and pregnancies. I haven't always been close to my step-sisters but I'm glad we have a good relationship. My step-sister Karli was at Dad's briefly, so I got to see her cute little daughter Kendri for the first time in a year. She's grown a lot. It was also great to see Carrie, Wendy, Andrea, and Kyle, and I wish I could have seen more of my dear Cedar friends while I was there.
I also love seeing my husband interact with my family. I could not have married a man who fits better with my family than Steve. He's different than them in many ways but fits as if he has always been a part of us. Every day, I thank God for blessing me with Steve. He truly is my best friend, and though he isn't particularly religious, he constantly embodies everything church teaches - goodness, faith, patience, hope, love, kindness, generosity.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and that 2013 brings us all happiness, love, and laughter!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Story of How I Learned I'm Pregnant
This morning, I had a doctor appointment on base. I had scheduled it a few weeks ago, weeks before I thought I could be pregnant. I had planned to renew my birth control...hahaha. Instead, they confirmed what two at-home tests and the student health center had said - I'm pregnant.
I had been feeling quesy for quite awhile before taking the at-home pregnancy test. At first, I thought I had caught the flu but I never threw up and kept feeling quesy day after day. Then I read a blog post from a friend who is pregnant, and she said that her first clue to being pregnant again was feeling sea sick. That's what I felt like - sea sick! Could I be pregnant, too? Surely it was too soon to be feeling sick, right? Didn't that start after a month or so? I knew I couldn't be a month into pregnancy.
I told Steve about my suspicions. If he was a praying man, I bet he would have spent hours on his knees praying that I simply had a long-running, light-weight case of the flu. I looked online to see how early one could take an at-home pregnancy test and decided upon a certain day on which to take it if I wasn't feeling better by then. Two weeks I waited. I still felt quesy but often forgot about it since I wasn't vomiting and was kind of getting used to it. However, there were times that I felt really bad. The day before the day I had chosen to take the test, I felt pretty sick to my stomach. I texted Steve and asked him to buy my a pregnancy test. There was a long pause before he said ok. Maybe he was saying a mental prayer??
The next morning, I woke up and peed on the stick. I hopped in the shower, wondering if my life was about to change. When I got out of the shower and looked at the stick and the picture on the box that tells you what the symbols on the stick mean, I could hardly believe it. It's one thing to wonder if you're pregnant; it's a whole different ball game to have a white, plastic stick tell you that you most likely are. I went into the bedroom and woke up Steve. It took him a bit to focus. He handled the news better than I had hoped for, but I could tell he wasn't overjoyed. Poor guy. What a way to wake up.
I used to work as a part-time student employee in the university's student health center and knew that they gave free pregnancy tests that were more reliable than the at-home tests, which are pretty reliable. So, I decided to take a visit there that day at lunch to get a second opinion. It turned out positive as well and I was given an approximate due date. All the ladies at the center were ecstatic that I was pregnant and I began to catch a little of their enthusiasm. I called Steve and let him know and he apologized for not being more enthusiastic that morning, he had been sleepy and surprised. He said lots of sweet things and I felt much, much better. Though still pretty freaked out.
We decided to wait until the day before Thanksgiving to tell anyone. That way I could tell my mom in person since she was spending the holiday at our home. It was really hard, though, because my whole family was getting together the weekend before to go to my youngest brother's baby's blessing. We had thought about telling everyone then but didn't want to take away from their event. Imagine our surprise and hapiness when my younger brother and his wife announced that they are expecting a baby! She is due in June, so just a few weeks before me! Steve was so impressed that I managed to keep our secret after that. It wasn't too hard because I wanted to let them enjoy the moment of telling everyone. I am super excited that Rachel and I will be pregnant together and that our kids will be so close in age - along with their cousin Kason who will be less than a year older.
My mom's reaction to the news that I'm pregnant was priceless and totally worth the wait. We put a card and pacifier on her bed. The card said that we're having a baby and gave the due date. She always puts her bags and things away in the guest room as soon as she gets to our house. She went upstairs and was so excited when she came back down. The whole time she was with us, she kept saying how excited she is. She's so happy to be getting more grandkids! Once she knew, we started making phone calls and sending out texts and emails. For some reason, the text that I sent out to my brothers and cousins didn't go out, so they didn't hear about it as soon as I would have liked. Then, I posted it on facebook. I don't always love facebook, but it sure is a good way to get information spread to the people I care about!
The nurse on base got me registered for their two-hour pregnancy class. After the class, I'll be referred to an off-base OB for the duration of my pregnancy. Fortunately, we know a couple people who have had babies in this area and have received great recommendation of OBs that work with the military's insurance.
Is eight months really long enough to prepare for such a life-changing event?? Holy cow!!
I had been feeling quesy for quite awhile before taking the at-home pregnancy test. At first, I thought I had caught the flu but I never threw up and kept feeling quesy day after day. Then I read a blog post from a friend who is pregnant, and she said that her first clue to being pregnant again was feeling sea sick. That's what I felt like - sea sick! Could I be pregnant, too? Surely it was too soon to be feeling sick, right? Didn't that start after a month or so? I knew I couldn't be a month into pregnancy.
I told Steve about my suspicions. If he was a praying man, I bet he would have spent hours on his knees praying that I simply had a long-running, light-weight case of the flu. I looked online to see how early one could take an at-home pregnancy test and decided upon a certain day on which to take it if I wasn't feeling better by then. Two weeks I waited. I still felt quesy but often forgot about it since I wasn't vomiting and was kind of getting used to it. However, there were times that I felt really bad. The day before the day I had chosen to take the test, I felt pretty sick to my stomach. I texted Steve and asked him to buy my a pregnancy test. There was a long pause before he said ok. Maybe he was saying a mental prayer??
The next morning, I woke up and peed on the stick. I hopped in the shower, wondering if my life was about to change. When I got out of the shower and looked at the stick and the picture on the box that tells you what the symbols on the stick mean, I could hardly believe it. It's one thing to wonder if you're pregnant; it's a whole different ball game to have a white, plastic stick tell you that you most likely are. I went into the bedroom and woke up Steve. It took him a bit to focus. He handled the news better than I had hoped for, but I could tell he wasn't overjoyed. Poor guy. What a way to wake up.
I used to work as a part-time student employee in the university's student health center and knew that they gave free pregnancy tests that were more reliable than the at-home tests, which are pretty reliable. So, I decided to take a visit there that day at lunch to get a second opinion. It turned out positive as well and I was given an approximate due date. All the ladies at the center were ecstatic that I was pregnant and I began to catch a little of their enthusiasm. I called Steve and let him know and he apologized for not being more enthusiastic that morning, he had been sleepy and surprised. He said lots of sweet things and I felt much, much better. Though still pretty freaked out.
We decided to wait until the day before Thanksgiving to tell anyone. That way I could tell my mom in person since she was spending the holiday at our home. It was really hard, though, because my whole family was getting together the weekend before to go to my youngest brother's baby's blessing. We had thought about telling everyone then but didn't want to take away from their event. Imagine our surprise and hapiness when my younger brother and his wife announced that they are expecting a baby! She is due in June, so just a few weeks before me! Steve was so impressed that I managed to keep our secret after that. It wasn't too hard because I wanted to let them enjoy the moment of telling everyone. I am super excited that Rachel and I will be pregnant together and that our kids will be so close in age - along with their cousin Kason who will be less than a year older.
My mom's reaction to the news that I'm pregnant was priceless and totally worth the wait. We put a card and pacifier on her bed. The card said that we're having a baby and gave the due date. She always puts her bags and things away in the guest room as soon as she gets to our house. She went upstairs and was so excited when she came back down. The whole time she was with us, she kept saying how excited she is. She's so happy to be getting more grandkids! Once she knew, we started making phone calls and sending out texts and emails. For some reason, the text that I sent out to my brothers and cousins didn't go out, so they didn't hear about it as soon as I would have liked. Then, I posted it on facebook. I don't always love facebook, but it sure is a good way to get information spread to the people I care about!
The nurse on base got me registered for their two-hour pregnancy class. After the class, I'll be referred to an off-base OB for the duration of my pregnancy. Fortunately, we know a couple people who have had babies in this area and have received great recommendation of OBs that work with the military's insurance.
Is eight months really long enough to prepare for such a life-changing event?? Holy cow!!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
October Update
I realized yesterday that I forgot to do a September update. I've been busy. And I forgot. It's amazing what you can forget when you're not paying attention. I decided to write my October Update since it's close enough to the end of the month and because I'm at work with nothing to do but study for my upcoming International Accounting test. (yuck)
So, here we go.
Surgery. I'm pretty much fully recovered from my June tummy tuck. It amazes me that it took so long to feel so close to 100% better. I'm not 100% better. I will consider myself 100% better when I no longer have any tightness around my stomach. It's almost gone and a lot of the time I forget it's there, which is a good indication that it's not as bad as it was OR that humans really do get accustumed to just about anything. I'm going with the former. Another good sign of improvement is my increased stomach muscle strength. I'm able to do sit-ups by myself as long as my feet are tucked under something, usually my sofa. I'm gradually increasing the number of sit-ups I do every night and find I'm able to go faster than when I started. The area around my belly button is still numb but that area is decreasing in size slowly.
I'm still loving the effects of the surgery. I've never enjoyed wearing pants so much! I'm really glad I did it; however, I think I'm done with plastic surgery. My breasts, upper arms, and thighs still have a lot of excess skin, but I can live with them. My body isn't perfect, but I don't need it to be. I'm okay with how I look...at least most of the time. :)
Work. When I interviewed for this job, I asked about the workload. I was told that it was enough to keep me pretty busy all the time but not so much that I'd feel a lot of stress to get things done. I was very happy since I like to be busy and productive. Three months into the job, I've pretty much figured out all the things I'm supposed to do and do them all too efficiently. The things that are supposed to take me all month to do, I finish earlier. It's a good thing, except that it leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I'm hoping to pick up duties to supplement my current work load.
On the whole, I really enjoy my job. The people with whom I work are pretty terrific, especially those in the same building as my office. There are a couple people that annoy me but luckily I don't have to deal with them on a daily basis. And, in fact, I like them as people, but their silly office politics drive me batty. One of them is always forgetting that she doesn't have to do my job any more...she took over for a long time before they hired me and found she really likes it and doesn't want to give it up. Ah well. It's a good job and I'm glad to have it...most of the time.
School. I will be so happy when this semester ends! I know that one shouldn't wish away time, but it will really be good to get this semester finished. My classes this semester, International Accounting and Advanced Financial Reporting, had such potential to be really good, but the professors aren't teaching the material. It's kind of frustrating. After talking to several other Masters students last week, I decided to change from the Masters of Accounting program to the Masters of Tax program. It's not a very significant change except that the professors who teach the tax classes are better professors. I've had one before and loved his teaching style. The other is the favorite professor in the Accounting department because he is such a good teacher. So, I'll get better instruction and will still get a degree that will get me where I want to go - a PhD program. I'm struggling to balance full-time work with two Masters classes and a husband, but I'm making it work. I like my job, I like being in school, and I love my husband, but all three together stresses me out (although Steve is such a help, as I'll write below). I'm constantly fighting off the urge to quit school or work, reminding myself that it will be worth it if I perservere. Someday, I'll be doing what I want (teaching Accounting at a university), but in the meantime, I try to be grateful to be where I am instead of where I've been in the past (that job I hated in Salt Lake!).
Journaling. Still isn't happening. It's sad. My journal is now by my bed but I still neglect it. I really would like to record the events of my life more frequently. I need to figure out how I'm going to get back into the habit.
Exercising. Weber State has a Wellness Pays program that pays employees for doing healthy things. One of the things is a twelve-week exercise program. All I have to do is record when I exercise and after 12 weeks turn in the record and receive $20 on my next paycheck. I exercise any way, so I'm getting paid to do what I already do! I'm almost done with my 12 weeks and have only missed three days of exercising the whole time. Yay! Two of those days I was sick and the other day was a day I had class at night and didn't make it to the gym during the day. Mondays and Wednesdays are the nights I have class and so can't go walking with Steve and Sadie in the evening. Weber State allows employees 3 hours of paid "wellness time" every week, so I use that time to walk around the indoor track at the gym on the days I have class. I used to also walk Sadie every morning, but our family life has changed in such a way that I don't do that any more. I don't record the mileage any more, just the amount of time, so next year I'm going to make a goal that reflects that.
Steve. We found out the 16th of this month that Steve will be retired from the Air Force as of December 1, 2012! He had applied for early retirement for various reasons but we didn't think we'd find out as soon as we did or that it would be so soon. When he first decided to retire early, I was a little stressed, but not any more. It helps that I have a full-time job now. Even though it doesn't pay a lot, combined with his retirement, we'll be okay. In fact, we'll be making about what we're used to having to spend, since we are used to putting a healthy chunk of our income in savings. We won't be able to save as much until Steve gets another job, but at least we'll be able to pay all our bills and pretty much live like we're accustomed. Overall, it's a really good thing Steve is retiring. He's put in 22 years and has really earned this retirement. Whatever he ends up doing, I just hope it's something he enjoys.
Like I said, we found out on the 16th and the 18th was his last day of work since he has so much leave accrued. He has had to go on base a few times to do out-processing stuff, but mostly he's been at home. I'm constantly reminded of what a great man I married. Now that I'm working full-time, going to class, and having tons of homework, Steve has really stepped up to help around the house. He had stepped up before he retired, but since staying home all day, he's been even more helpful. Every weekend, while I'm in the Study doing homework, he's downstairs cleaning the house. Now he's even started taking over the cooking duties! Thank heavens for Pinterest and simple but delicious recipes! He gets a little bored, but mostly he's happy to be retired. He knows of some jobs on base that will be opening soon and has tons of contacts on base that will help him get a civilian job, so I'm pretty confident he'll get a job sooner or later. Until then, I'm just glad he's happy.
Other. We've been pretty busy lately. Lots of fun things happening. We've gone to a couple WSU football and volleyball games and a play called Charm. As a staff member, I get two tickets to lots of activities for free. It makes date nights easy to plan and very inexpensive. One night this month, my department at work had a dinner and bowling activity for all of us who had volunteered for the Tech Expo we hosted on campus. Steve and I decided to go to support my work and ended up having a blast. They had really tasty bbq brisket and chicken with corn bread, beans, and peach cobbler! After dinner, we played a few games of bowling and I actually did better than usual. Then we played billiards...I'm horrible at billiards. We played twice and I won once because he hit the 8 ball in when he shouldn't. It was a lot of fun. This next month, we'll be going to more games on campus, especially since basketball is starting. And, there's another play! We're active Wildcats.
Last Friday, we went with my cousin Cassie to Laughing Stock, a comedy improv group that we used to go to every cousins weekend. Before Laughing Stock, we ate dinner at a Lebanese restaurant then had cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory...so overpriced but so yummy! Steve was such a good sport, listening to us babble incessantly. It was fun seeing Cassie and great to get back to Laughing Stock.
Sunday, Steve and I went to my nephew's Primary program in Sandy. It was the first time Steve has ever been to church with me (he's only ever been to family baptisms and a funeral with me), so I explained what to expect in Sacrament Meeting as we drove the hour to my brother's church house. My nephew, who is 4, was a hoot to watch during the program. He sings with such gusto and earnestness and is such a ham at times. Afterward, we had lunch at their house and played for a little bit. I'm glad to have family close by and will be sad if they end up moving away like they're hoping to.
October was a good month. I loved that it stayed warm most of the month and the fall colors were beautiful, as always. Last week, when the snow storm blew in and dropped a couple inches of snow, I realized that I'm so not ready for winter and the cold! I keep trying to convince Steve that we should move to a tropical island/country now that he's retired. There are places we could live like kings on his retirement alone! So far, I haven't convinced him, so I guess we'll stay put...for now.
Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you have a safe, fun holiday! I'll be dressing up as a bee again and may post a picture if I manage to take one.
So, here we go.
Surgery. I'm pretty much fully recovered from my June tummy tuck. It amazes me that it took so long to feel so close to 100% better. I'm not 100% better. I will consider myself 100% better when I no longer have any tightness around my stomach. It's almost gone and a lot of the time I forget it's there, which is a good indication that it's not as bad as it was OR that humans really do get accustumed to just about anything. I'm going with the former. Another good sign of improvement is my increased stomach muscle strength. I'm able to do sit-ups by myself as long as my feet are tucked under something, usually my sofa. I'm gradually increasing the number of sit-ups I do every night and find I'm able to go faster than when I started. The area around my belly button is still numb but that area is decreasing in size slowly.
I'm still loving the effects of the surgery. I've never enjoyed wearing pants so much! I'm really glad I did it; however, I think I'm done with plastic surgery. My breasts, upper arms, and thighs still have a lot of excess skin, but I can live with them. My body isn't perfect, but I don't need it to be. I'm okay with how I look...at least most of the time. :)
Work. When I interviewed for this job, I asked about the workload. I was told that it was enough to keep me pretty busy all the time but not so much that I'd feel a lot of stress to get things done. I was very happy since I like to be busy and productive. Three months into the job, I've pretty much figured out all the things I'm supposed to do and do them all too efficiently. The things that are supposed to take me all month to do, I finish earlier. It's a good thing, except that it leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. I'm hoping to pick up duties to supplement my current work load.
On the whole, I really enjoy my job. The people with whom I work are pretty terrific, especially those in the same building as my office. There are a couple people that annoy me but luckily I don't have to deal with them on a daily basis. And, in fact, I like them as people, but their silly office politics drive me batty. One of them is always forgetting that she doesn't have to do my job any more...she took over for a long time before they hired me and found she really likes it and doesn't want to give it up. Ah well. It's a good job and I'm glad to have it...most of the time.
School. I will be so happy when this semester ends! I know that one shouldn't wish away time, but it will really be good to get this semester finished. My classes this semester, International Accounting and Advanced Financial Reporting, had such potential to be really good, but the professors aren't teaching the material. It's kind of frustrating. After talking to several other Masters students last week, I decided to change from the Masters of Accounting program to the Masters of Tax program. It's not a very significant change except that the professors who teach the tax classes are better professors. I've had one before and loved his teaching style. The other is the favorite professor in the Accounting department because he is such a good teacher. So, I'll get better instruction and will still get a degree that will get me where I want to go - a PhD program. I'm struggling to balance full-time work with two Masters classes and a husband, but I'm making it work. I like my job, I like being in school, and I love my husband, but all three together stresses me out (although Steve is such a help, as I'll write below). I'm constantly fighting off the urge to quit school or work, reminding myself that it will be worth it if I perservere. Someday, I'll be doing what I want (teaching Accounting at a university), but in the meantime, I try to be grateful to be where I am instead of where I've been in the past (that job I hated in Salt Lake!).
Journaling. Still isn't happening. It's sad. My journal is now by my bed but I still neglect it. I really would like to record the events of my life more frequently. I need to figure out how I'm going to get back into the habit.
Exercising. Weber State has a Wellness Pays program that pays employees for doing healthy things. One of the things is a twelve-week exercise program. All I have to do is record when I exercise and after 12 weeks turn in the record and receive $20 on my next paycheck. I exercise any way, so I'm getting paid to do what I already do! I'm almost done with my 12 weeks and have only missed three days of exercising the whole time. Yay! Two of those days I was sick and the other day was a day I had class at night and didn't make it to the gym during the day. Mondays and Wednesdays are the nights I have class and so can't go walking with Steve and Sadie in the evening. Weber State allows employees 3 hours of paid "wellness time" every week, so I use that time to walk around the indoor track at the gym on the days I have class. I used to also walk Sadie every morning, but our family life has changed in such a way that I don't do that any more. I don't record the mileage any more, just the amount of time, so next year I'm going to make a goal that reflects that.
Steve. We found out the 16th of this month that Steve will be retired from the Air Force as of December 1, 2012! He had applied for early retirement for various reasons but we didn't think we'd find out as soon as we did or that it would be so soon. When he first decided to retire early, I was a little stressed, but not any more. It helps that I have a full-time job now. Even though it doesn't pay a lot, combined with his retirement, we'll be okay. In fact, we'll be making about what we're used to having to spend, since we are used to putting a healthy chunk of our income in savings. We won't be able to save as much until Steve gets another job, but at least we'll be able to pay all our bills and pretty much live like we're accustomed. Overall, it's a really good thing Steve is retiring. He's put in 22 years and has really earned this retirement. Whatever he ends up doing, I just hope it's something he enjoys.
Like I said, we found out on the 16th and the 18th was his last day of work since he has so much leave accrued. He has had to go on base a few times to do out-processing stuff, but mostly he's been at home. I'm constantly reminded of what a great man I married. Now that I'm working full-time, going to class, and having tons of homework, Steve has really stepped up to help around the house. He had stepped up before he retired, but since staying home all day, he's been even more helpful. Every weekend, while I'm in the Study doing homework, he's downstairs cleaning the house. Now he's even started taking over the cooking duties! Thank heavens for Pinterest and simple but delicious recipes! He gets a little bored, but mostly he's happy to be retired. He knows of some jobs on base that will be opening soon and has tons of contacts on base that will help him get a civilian job, so I'm pretty confident he'll get a job sooner or later. Until then, I'm just glad he's happy.
Other. We've been pretty busy lately. Lots of fun things happening. We've gone to a couple WSU football and volleyball games and a play called Charm. As a staff member, I get two tickets to lots of activities for free. It makes date nights easy to plan and very inexpensive. One night this month, my department at work had a dinner and bowling activity for all of us who had volunteered for the Tech Expo we hosted on campus. Steve and I decided to go to support my work and ended up having a blast. They had really tasty bbq brisket and chicken with corn bread, beans, and peach cobbler! After dinner, we played a few games of bowling and I actually did better than usual. Then we played billiards...I'm horrible at billiards. We played twice and I won once because he hit the 8 ball in when he shouldn't. It was a lot of fun. This next month, we'll be going to more games on campus, especially since basketball is starting. And, there's another play! We're active Wildcats.
Last Friday, we went with my cousin Cassie to Laughing Stock, a comedy improv group that we used to go to every cousins weekend. Before Laughing Stock, we ate dinner at a Lebanese restaurant then had cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory...so overpriced but so yummy! Steve was such a good sport, listening to us babble incessantly. It was fun seeing Cassie and great to get back to Laughing Stock.
Sunday, Steve and I went to my nephew's Primary program in Sandy. It was the first time Steve has ever been to church with me (he's only ever been to family baptisms and a funeral with me), so I explained what to expect in Sacrament Meeting as we drove the hour to my brother's church house. My nephew, who is 4, was a hoot to watch during the program. He sings with such gusto and earnestness and is such a ham at times. Afterward, we had lunch at their house and played for a little bit. I'm glad to have family close by and will be sad if they end up moving away like they're hoping to.
October was a good month. I loved that it stayed warm most of the month and the fall colors were beautiful, as always. Last week, when the snow storm blew in and dropped a couple inches of snow, I realized that I'm so not ready for winter and the cold! I keep trying to convince Steve that we should move to a tropical island/country now that he's retired. There are places we could live like kings on his retirement alone! So far, I haven't convinced him, so I guess we'll stay put...for now.
Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you have a safe, fun holiday! I'll be dressing up as a bee again and may post a picture if I manage to take one.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Trending with Julie
Do you tend to get hooked on things, almost to the exclusions of other things?
I certainly do. I've had a pysch eval, before my lapband surgery, and OCD was ruled out, so I know it's most likely a normal tendancy that most people have to varying degrees. Luckily, my degree is Economics.
And Accounting.
Anyhoo, this post is dedicated to the Trends in my life right now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy these things.
1. Chocolate Chip Cookies. I've always enjoyed a good cookie, regardless of the flavor. This Spring, needing something sweet to eat, not wanting to go buy anything and not having a lot of ingredients, I made peanut butter cookies - the only recipe for which I had all the ingredients. I really enjoyed baking and eating them, so I decided to buy some chocolate chips and try baking them. Well, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies practically every week (or every other week, depending on how long a batch lasted) this Summer. On our cruise to Alaska, I fell in love with these little, crunchy chocolate chip cookies and ate a few dozen probably. Now that I'm working full time and going to school, I don't bake cookies as much as I did, but I still make them sometimes and I certainly eat them whenever I can.
2. Salad. I liked salad before my lap band surgery but didn't really eat it that often. After my surgery, though, lettuce was a big problem for me. It got stuck and created a horrible blockage that usually ended in an unpleasant scenario. So, I stopped eating lettuce. I'd pick it off hamburgers and sandwiches, would let Steve eat my house salads at restaurants, and we never bought lettuce. I'm not sure when I started taking a few bites of salad before turning it over to Steve, but it started happening more frequently. Recently, I've been on a real big salad kick. We've started buying heads of lettuce and lots of veggies/cheese/ham to put in the salad. I like mine with ranch, Steve likes noncreamy dressings. I'm eating a salad right now. It's delish. After my tummy tuck, I had my band almost completely emptied due to complications. I've had it filled again, but it's a lot looser than it was pre-tummy tuck, so as long as I eat slowly and carefully, I don't have any unpleasant endings.
3. Belts. Pre-tummy tuck, I never used a belt. They got in the way and were sometimes quite uncomfortable. Now, however, most of my pants, including those I have bought since losing my tummy, are too loose and fall down too low if I'm belt-less. So, I hardly ever go without a belt. I only have a couple, so I'm itching to go shopping to buy some new ones!
4. Yellow. I paint my toe nails, and sometimes my finger nails, yellow and love it! It's such a fun, friendly color. I also painted our sitting room yellow and it really makes me happy to sit in there with a good book or puzzle or just to take a nap. I'm hoping to paint more rooms in our house different shades of yellow. For years, I've been looking for a yellow necklace. It would give a burst of color to an outfit, but I haven't found one I like yet...there's not a lot out there, unfortunately. At work, we have door signs that we put outside our doors to say why we're aren't in our office (Lunch, Meeting, Errands, Sick, Vacation, etc.). Mine are yellow. I chose them. They are cute.
5. Puzzles. I haven't done one since I started working, but my fingers are itching to start a new one. I'd only be able to work on it on Sundays - my self-imposed day off from homework (unless I was unable to do homework on Saturday due to plans that couldn't be scheduled for another time). Puzzles are fun. They make my mind work but in a relaxing way. And, when you're finished, you have something pretty to look at that you "created".
6. Pinterest. I am a huge recipe collector. I have magazines and books full of recipes, some that I'll never make but that look yummy or interesting. I like Pinterest because I can peruse tons of recipes and not spend a dime. I've made many recipes that I found on Pinterest, and also discovered a food blog that I really like, Chef-in-Training. Her recipes aren't complex or time-consuming, and Steve and I have enjoyed almost every one. So far, my favorites of hers are the Greek Chicken Gyros and the Chicken Fajita soup. Oh! And the Chinese Chicken Salad! I could have eaten it every meal for a week, it was soooo good!!
7. Glasses. Eye glasses to be precise. For the last couple months, I've worn glasses instead of contacts because of a contacts prescription that I didn't like. It was the brand of contacts; they made my eyes hurt. The store wouldn't substitute the brand I normally buy because it wasn't on the doctor's prescription. I didn't have time to go back to the doctor, so I returned the contacts and am just wearing my glasses. Luckily, I like my glasses. My eyes feel better than they have in a long time - the doctor told me I've been wearing contacts too long every day and he could see a slight indention in my eye ball because of it! The things I dislike about wearing glasses is 1) smudges - I get them all the time, b) inclement weather - I either take them off and can't see or wear them and still can't see, c) they get in the way when snuggling with Steve, and 4) I can't wear sunglasses while wearing my glasses. Still, it's fun to have a new look.
8. Milk in the A.M. Lately, I take a glass of milk with me to work every morning. I've always liked milk but rarely drank it pure, usually I prefer it with chocolate syrup mixed up with it. I'm not sure why I started drinking milk with my breakfast, but I started running behind while getting ready, so I started taking my glass to go. And, it isn't just any glass out of my cupboard. It has to be one of the three red glasses from my grandmother's kitchen or one of the three red, plastic, cheap glasses we bought for when small children come over for dinner. These are my milk glasses. I don't take even a little sip of the milk until I'm seated at my desk. Sometimes I will have eaten breakfast, other times (most frequent) I eat breakfast at my desk as well. Milk. It does a body good.
9. Gym Time. Speaking of something that does a body good, I've been going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Weber State allows employees 3 hours of release time to do wellness-type activities. These 3 hours are paid for and don't need to be made up by skipping lunch or staying late. I had chosen to do yoga 3 hours a week, but it didn't work out. My stomach hurt too much and the room was so hot I almost fainted the first day. So, now I go to the gym and walk/sometimes jog around the track and do a little weight training. It's a nice break in the day and is especially nice since 2 of the three gym days are days I have class in the evening and so can't go for our nightly walks with Sadie. I've noticed the weight creeping up on me (see number 1 on this list!) so this time at the gym could prove to be very useful in keeping it where I want it to be.
That's a good enough list for now, I think. Now you know what I've been liking nowadays. What's been trending with YOU?
I certainly do. I've had a pysch eval, before my lapband surgery, and OCD was ruled out, so I know it's most likely a normal tendancy that most people have to varying degrees. Luckily, my degree is Economics.
And Accounting.
Anyhoo, this post is dedicated to the Trends in my life right now. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy these things.
1. Chocolate Chip Cookies. I've always enjoyed a good cookie, regardless of the flavor. This Spring, needing something sweet to eat, not wanting to go buy anything and not having a lot of ingredients, I made peanut butter cookies - the only recipe for which I had all the ingredients. I really enjoyed baking and eating them, so I decided to buy some chocolate chips and try baking them. Well, I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies practically every week (or every other week, depending on how long a batch lasted) this Summer. On our cruise to Alaska, I fell in love with these little, crunchy chocolate chip cookies and ate a few dozen probably. Now that I'm working full time and going to school, I don't bake cookies as much as I did, but I still make them sometimes and I certainly eat them whenever I can.
2. Salad. I liked salad before my lap band surgery but didn't really eat it that often. After my surgery, though, lettuce was a big problem for me. It got stuck and created a horrible blockage that usually ended in an unpleasant scenario. So, I stopped eating lettuce. I'd pick it off hamburgers and sandwiches, would let Steve eat my house salads at restaurants, and we never bought lettuce. I'm not sure when I started taking a few bites of salad before turning it over to Steve, but it started happening more frequently. Recently, I've been on a real big salad kick. We've started buying heads of lettuce and lots of veggies/cheese/ham to put in the salad. I like mine with ranch, Steve likes noncreamy dressings. I'm eating a salad right now. It's delish. After my tummy tuck, I had my band almost completely emptied due to complications. I've had it filled again, but it's a lot looser than it was pre-tummy tuck, so as long as I eat slowly and carefully, I don't have any unpleasant endings.
3. Belts. Pre-tummy tuck, I never used a belt. They got in the way and were sometimes quite uncomfortable. Now, however, most of my pants, including those I have bought since losing my tummy, are too loose and fall down too low if I'm belt-less. So, I hardly ever go without a belt. I only have a couple, so I'm itching to go shopping to buy some new ones!
4. Yellow. I paint my toe nails, and sometimes my finger nails, yellow and love it! It's such a fun, friendly color. I also painted our sitting room yellow and it really makes me happy to sit in there with a good book or puzzle or just to take a nap. I'm hoping to paint more rooms in our house different shades of yellow. For years, I've been looking for a yellow necklace. It would give a burst of color to an outfit, but I haven't found one I like yet...there's not a lot out there, unfortunately. At work, we have door signs that we put outside our doors to say why we're aren't in our office (Lunch, Meeting, Errands, Sick, Vacation, etc.). Mine are yellow. I chose them. They are cute.
5. Puzzles. I haven't done one since I started working, but my fingers are itching to start a new one. I'd only be able to work on it on Sundays - my self-imposed day off from homework (unless I was unable to do homework on Saturday due to plans that couldn't be scheduled for another time). Puzzles are fun. They make my mind work but in a relaxing way. And, when you're finished, you have something pretty to look at that you "created".
6. Pinterest. I am a huge recipe collector. I have magazines and books full of recipes, some that I'll never make but that look yummy or interesting. I like Pinterest because I can peruse tons of recipes and not spend a dime. I've made many recipes that I found on Pinterest, and also discovered a food blog that I really like, Chef-in-Training. Her recipes aren't complex or time-consuming, and Steve and I have enjoyed almost every one. So far, my favorites of hers are the Greek Chicken Gyros and the Chicken Fajita soup. Oh! And the Chinese Chicken Salad! I could have eaten it every meal for a week, it was soooo good!!
7. Glasses. Eye glasses to be precise. For the last couple months, I've worn glasses instead of contacts because of a contacts prescription that I didn't like. It was the brand of contacts; they made my eyes hurt. The store wouldn't substitute the brand I normally buy because it wasn't on the doctor's prescription. I didn't have time to go back to the doctor, so I returned the contacts and am just wearing my glasses. Luckily, I like my glasses. My eyes feel better than they have in a long time - the doctor told me I've been wearing contacts too long every day and he could see a slight indention in my eye ball because of it! The things I dislike about wearing glasses is 1) smudges - I get them all the time, b) inclement weather - I either take them off and can't see or wear them and still can't see, c) they get in the way when snuggling with Steve, and 4) I can't wear sunglasses while wearing my glasses. Still, it's fun to have a new look.
8. Milk in the A.M. Lately, I take a glass of milk with me to work every morning. I've always liked milk but rarely drank it pure, usually I prefer it with chocolate syrup mixed up with it. I'm not sure why I started drinking milk with my breakfast, but I started running behind while getting ready, so I started taking my glass to go. And, it isn't just any glass out of my cupboard. It has to be one of the three red glasses from my grandmother's kitchen or one of the three red, plastic, cheap glasses we bought for when small children come over for dinner. These are my milk glasses. I don't take even a little sip of the milk until I'm seated at my desk. Sometimes I will have eaten breakfast, other times (most frequent) I eat breakfast at my desk as well. Milk. It does a body good.
9. Gym Time. Speaking of something that does a body good, I've been going to the gym 2-3 times a week. Weber State allows employees 3 hours of release time to do wellness-type activities. These 3 hours are paid for and don't need to be made up by skipping lunch or staying late. I had chosen to do yoga 3 hours a week, but it didn't work out. My stomach hurt too much and the room was so hot I almost fainted the first day. So, now I go to the gym and walk/sometimes jog around the track and do a little weight training. It's a nice break in the day and is especially nice since 2 of the three gym days are days I have class in the evening and so can't go for our nightly walks with Sadie. I've noticed the weight creeping up on me (see number 1 on this list!) so this time at the gym could prove to be very useful in keeping it where I want it to be.
That's a good enough list for now, I think. Now you know what I've been liking nowadays. What's been trending with YOU?
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