Taking the day off

Lexie doesn't have school today, so she asked if she could come to work with me. Luckily, I work at a school where this is very much accepted. She went to work with me a couple of times last year, & several of the other aides have had their younger kids there on days they didn't have school.

She wants to be a vampire for Halloween, but since I have been working on bridesmaid dresses I haven't even worked on her costume yet. She has been very good about it & said, that's ok, I'll just find stuff around the house & I can still be a vampire. So I gave her 2 options. She could go to work with me, OR, I could get a substitute & we could stay home & watch movies while I made her costume. She actually had to think about it! In my head I was saying pick stay home, pick stay home! I really wanted to take the day off. She picked stay home.

So today we are going to take Tanner to school & then go to the store to get some fabric for a cape. She has black clothes, so this should be easy. Of course, the stores costumes are all 50% off now, so maybe we will just see what we can find to buy, if it's about the same as the fabric would be. Then I will just work on bridesmaid dresses instead. This is going to be a fun day either way.

Finale

This weekend was the end of color guard. They left last Thursday for St George, UT (thursday & friday) & Las Vegas (saturday). They got home yesterday afternoon.

I don't know even at this point how they did in St George. The competition in Las Vegas is BOA (bands of America). There were even schools from California & Oklahoma there. Morgan called us Saturday night to tell us they were in the finals, so they still had one more competition that night. Last year Sky View placed 10th there, which they only give 10 places. This year they placed 6th!!!!! She was so excited about this we didn't hear about St George. I don't have any video of this competition since we weren't able to attend, but I will be posting other video soon. (I'm not as up on this as my sister , who has already posted a video of my daughters band.) Morgan informed us last night that there is try outs for winter guard, I think she said Thursday, and that she thinks she is going to try out. What is winter guard?!!! Where do they perform? How much is this going to cost? Maybe this weekend wasn't the end after all.

Life and Death

It is interesting how life, or death, works sometimes.

We got a call Sunday afternoon during dinner from Wynn's mom, Elaine. Her brother in law, Lloyd Ashcraft, had passed away. He was married to her sister Velma. He got sick a few weeks ago, I'm not sure what it was, but I know he needed a tracheotomy. Maybe he had been sick longer than that, but I don't know. I'll have to find out. Though it was expected, it is still tough. We had stayed at their (Uncle Lloyd & Aunt Velma's) house in St. George a few times. They are two of the most loving generous people I know. They moved back to California a couple of years ago. Since Wynn's parents are neither doing well, Dean just getting out of the hospital himself, they won't be able to make it to the funeral. I know they wish they could be there, as do we all, but it just hasn't worked out for any of us to go. They are all in our prayers & we know he is in a better, happier, more peaceful place. We love you Uncle Lloyd.

For the life part...Nolan's (Wynn's brother) oldest daughter (Kelsee Garcia) just had her first baby Sunday around midnight. (They were married last year, August of 2007. ) I'm sure Uncle Lloyd was there to usher Harlee Mae into her new life. She was 21 1/2" long & 9 lbs 6.5 oz. She is adorable with chubby cheeks & black curly hair. I'm just glad none of my babies were that big, I feel for Kelsee but I hear she did great. She will be such a great & cute mom. This is great grandbaby number 10 I do believe, unless I've miscounted. Nolan & Trudy's 2nd grandbaby is due in January. We are the only ones not grandparents yet, but with my first just getting married, we can wait for a while.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday & my sister always does the best posts for birthdays. So just click here to see pictures of my mom.

As my sister said, I don't remember her sitting down very much, unless she had a migraine or was reading. I agree with my sister that we all got a love of reading from her. It has now been passed on to all but 2 of my children. The others I have to tell to put the book down & do something else. Of course, hours can pass while I'm reading & I don't even know it. Thanks for that love of reading Mom. Maybe that's why I love being a reading aide, to pass that love of reading on to other children.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

Making progress a little at a time

But, progress is progress, right? I guess I should say what I'm talking about.

A couple of years ago, about 2 1/2 actually, I gained a lot of weight with no explanation. I worked out, counted calories, tried to do everything we are supposed to do to lose the weight. I gained more. The doctors did all the tests they could to figure out what the cause was. There was nothing, everything came back normal because being severely anemic doesn't cause weight gain. We just figured my work outs weren't as affective because of it. For some reason having no red blood cells makes you really tired with no energy. Go figure. I also was border line high blood pressure which I had never been before. Anyway, we (us & doctors) decided to do a hysterectomy the week before Christmas last year & we figured we'd go from there. And we have. Here is a nutshell of what has gone on since then.

It takes a while to gain your energy back after this surgery, not that I had any to begin with, but by February the blood pressure hadn't gone down & neither had the weight. It was either lose the weight somehow or go on blood pressure pills forever. I started going to Curves at 5:30 am Mon, Wed & Fri every week to try to get the weight off. In March the blood pressure still hadn't gone down, so I started the pills. I started walking 5 miles at 5:30 am every Tues, Thurs & Sat as well. The blood pressure started going down. The weight started to fluctuate. I went off the pills in July. Woohoo! The weight continued to fluctuate. My husband started weight watchers at work, so I started counting points with him. The weight started coming off, then stalled again. You've seen those commercials with this is how he loses weight, this is how I lose weight? Ya, they're true. His just started coming right off no problem. Well, he has had a couple of weeks that weren't as good. Since school started, I haven't been able to do my walks much, if at all, it's too dark in the morning before the girls leave for school & then I have to be getting Tanner & myself ready to leave for the school. After school it's all the mom stuff that gets done. I went on my walk again yesterday and it felt good. I'm going to figure out how to get them in anyway. Today I had a weigh & measure day at Curves, they do them once a month. I lost 1 1/2 pounds & 1 1/2 inches (combined over all) in the last month. So WOOHOO!!! It is a little at a time, not as fast as I would like, you know, 2 pounds a week, but it is going in the right direction. At least it didn't stay the same or, Heaven forbid, go up! Finally. That is a total of 10 1/2 pounds since February.

I still have a ways to go, but I know I will make it. Not by the goal date I originally had, but I will make it. I have the wedding in 5 weeks that gives me incentive. Those dresses have to not only fit, but I want to look good in them. Vain? Probably. But I've worked hard for it.

Having time off?

Since I work for an elementary school in Utah, I have the next 3 days off. Thursday & Friday, Oct. 16th & 17th, all schools in Utah are out for what is called UEA. I can never remember what that stands for, but I think it is Utah Education Association. I'm probably wrong and someone who actually knows, please correct me. Anyway, the schools are out for these 2 days. Our school saw fit to have teacher prep time for parent teacher conference next week, so we get today off too for that. I am perfectly fine with that. A 5 day weekend.

I was planning on just doing what I should have been doing last Saturday, hot chocolate, book, movie, but I received the fabric and patterns for my girls bridesmaid dresses, so I figured this would be a great time to do those instead, while watching movies or the many recorded shows on the dvr of course. But now I am sick. I have had more colds already this year than I had all last year put together. I don't know what the deal is. They seem to be more than just the average colds for some reason. They really knock me out. Yesterday Wynn went to the store before he left for work (he leaves the house at 4:30 am for work) to get me some Dayquil so I could make it through my day. Have I mentioned I have a great husband. I am truly spoiled. He knew I had a meeting with our Americorps supervisor, regular 5 hours of reading groups, and after work, training for the new reading aide substitutes. Then I came home and literally crashed on my bed! I don't know what time I woke up, took some Nyquil & went back to bed. I'm feeling a bit better this morning, thanks to more Dayquil already, but know that by night I'll be worn out. And this is what my 5 days off are going to be....

Today I am working on the first of 3 bridesmaid dresses for the wedding. I know I need to get them done now so I'm not stressing at the last minute. Tomorrow, more sewing and we are going to order the flowers. I can't wait to see what she has picked. I haven't seen any pictures of her choices yet. Then home to more sewing. Friday & Saturday will be more sewing & hopefully, if not done, very close to it. I was looking forward to getting these done, but really do want to just sleep. With the medicine, hopefully I will feel well enough to do this, otherwise it will have to wait until next week when I only have a half day Thursday & all of Friday off, but I'd rather get done now. Less stress that way knowing it's done. This is what God created Dayquil for after all. Isn't it?

It's a corduroys & sweater kind of day

Doesn't everybody know it is a 'put on your corduroys and warm sweater and curl up with hot chocolate and a good book or movie' kind of day?

Yesterday Gary, my 18 year old, had to go to Gardiner,Montana for work. That means driving a truck, pulling a loaded trailer. It was ok part of the way, then he hit the snow storm. He got to West Yellowstone where he went through last time, but this time they wouldn't let him because he was pulling a trailer. He had to turn around & go through Bozeman & Livingston to get there, adding another 1 1/2 to 2 hours each way to the trip. When he got there, he had to unload so he could head back. It got nasty on the return trip & he found himself sliding sideways down the road, WITH 4 wheel drive, three times. Fun as it is, but with a trailer? He said he had never seen so many accidents on one stretch of road in his life, and he grew up in Wyoming! The interstate by Evanston is notorious for winter accidents. He drove out of the storm, made it home safely & didn't even ding the truck or trailer & never went off the road. That's why he's their driver. Not good on mom's nerves however. But he did keep in contact with me letting me know where he was, how he was doing & what the weather was doing. I think it was as much for his piece of mind as mine.

Morgan, my 14 year old, is performing in Pocatello at the Holt Arena at ISU. I just carpooled her & 4 other of the colorguard girls up to the high school to catch the bus. It has been blowing hard all night & as I dropped them off, it started snowing. By the time I got home, it was bigger flakes. It is now snowing sideways. If it keeps up, we will have a blizzard. Now I have another child on the freeway in a snow storm today. I can't wait until she calls me to let me know they are back & I can go get them, tonight, at 7:00, or whenever. It's going to be a long wait if this weather keeps up.

Lexie, my 11 year old, is going to perform with the Vistauns (high school drill team) for the half time at football on Oct 23rd. They are practicing today at the high school. I get to go watch at 1:30. Maybe that will help keep my mind off traveling children.

Like I said, don't I know it's a 'put on your corduroys and warm sweater and curl up with hot chocolate and a good book or movie' kind of day? Probably not since I will be driving in the weather to get there. And I do have on the corduroys and warm sweater anyway.

Aging isn't always fun

We all think we're going to be young forever. We're invincible. We grow up, get married, have kids & think they are going to be little...forever. Then the next thing we know, they are grown up & getting married, having kids of their own, and yet, we still feel that we are young, and the cycle just repeats and repeats for each generation. We look in the mirror and wonder who that old person is staring back at us. So watching friends, family, loved ones age, isn't easy. Of course, we are the ONLY one who isn't aging. We're not like all of our high school and college friends that have seemed to start looking so old.
Wynn's dad, Dean, got sick the end of last week. The way I understand it, he just got sick in the afternoon or evening, started not feeling well and throwing up. Elaine, Wynn's mom, called Wynn's sisters. They live nearby to them and help take care of them daily. She explained what was going on & they said to call the ambulance and get him to the hospital. She did. They did emergency surgery and removed his gall bladder. Wynn, Andy & Gary went down to Ogden to see him in the hospital Saturday. He was back to his regular self, teasing the nurses & feeling pretty good.
Our mortal bodies just don't seem to agree with our heavenly spirits, or mind, that refuses to grow older. The spirit feels like we're still 20, but the mortal parts are letting us know the warranty has expired. Time to get new, or just get rid of, various parts, some still needed and others that we wonder why we ever had them to begin with. We're glad that we have the technology to do such spur of the moment things to save us from further suffering. We are grateful Dean was able to pull through so quickly despite his malfunctioning gall bladder. Looks like he will be around a while still to wonder who the person is staring back at him from the mirror, because in his 80's, he still feels like he should be 20 you know.

Enter to win a handbag

There is a new site opening up. Click here to enter. These handbags are to die for. I have been looking for a new handbag that had 'ME' written all over it & have come up with nothing. These so do that very thing!

I did it!!!

I changed the background for October! All by myself! Well, ok, not ALL by myself, but it only took 2 emails to my sister. First email--how do I do it, the second email was a panic attack in the middle of changing it. No one was home for me to ask a question, & luckily, she answered right back. I'm always afraid I am going to do something irreversible that is going to cause countless hours for someone to fix. I told you, I am computer illiterate. But I did it & I think I can remember for next time. It was painless & actually just as easy as she told me it was going to be. Thanks T, you are a life saver (or blog background changing saver anyway).

Now I'm just not sure about all of the text colors on here. I don't know if I am just being critical because I did it or if they just need to be darker, or completely different or.....

I still need to download some pictures from my camera for a couple of blogs I needed to do already. And, yes, I know I need to add your birthday photo Drew. It's all coming. Don't know if I can handle another panic attack trying to download from my camera by myself today. We'll see if somebody gets home soon to supervise.