Friday, December 30, 2011

Holiday! Revised



1/6/12
Good golly time flies when you're busy!  Sorry it's taken so long to finish this post.  I still haven't gotten the pictures I took with my camera to load!  Gonna try re-posting them tonight when I get home.  Our trip was amazing!  The drive home was uneventful, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We had lunch in Parker with Thom & Judy at one of our favorite little chinese places.  It's odd that our favorite food places are scattered around the western states.  Speaking of which here's a couple fun pics from our stop at our favorite spot in vegas Top of the World at Stratosphere.


We've had a grand time here in the desert, and since I've been having so much fun I've neglected my blog.  I have however been taking lots of pictures so the majority of this post will be those & I will follow later with some of the adventures we've been having.

We arrived Christmas eve and enjoyed our visions of sugar plums from our cozy camper & good times with friends.  I missed being home in Cache Valley for the regular green carpet and home made bbq hurrah, but this year things just weren't meant to work out that way.  There were about 21 of us gathered from our eclectic desert group, most of whom were family of one of the couples who all came to their Mom & Dad’s “house” for the holiday.  The food was varied, plentiful, and delicious!  Judy was kind enough to share the photo's she took with me since I didn't have my camera charged & rolling yet.

I spent my first morning here lolling in the sun, reading & generally enjoying myself.  Scott ran into town and did condensed tour of the vendors.  It has been AWESOME having the bikes with us!  So much freedom to run wherever we want whenever we want without having to beg a ride (not that there’s not always someone offering to accommodate us) or roll the whole rig. Parking is SO much easier.  I’ve had a lot of fun wandering, shopping here is NOTHING like anywhere else.  Here are a few snaps of random things that caught my eye.
Itty bitty Trailer!
We drove out into the desert to look at property and also to find the cheese curd guy.  He’s in Brenda this year & the food’s better than ever! 

It’s late, my computer’s running out of battery, and I’m having trouble posting the pictures.  If this posts without them then please be patient!  I’ll try again to make it work on my home computer. 
Happy New Year!
~m

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Snow

Yesterday we had christmas type snow all day long.  It was beautiful, peaceful & pleasant...unless you had to drive in it...which I did, but oh well.

I've developed a lovely combination of tickly itchy throat and nerve pain that spikes every time I cough.  You can imagine my joy.  Can't decide if it's some sort of drug side effect, left over irritation from the tube they shoved down my throat in the surgery or what.  I do know it's darn annoying.

Mom's been busy taking care of Glenn.  His ankle fusion went well, but he developed an abscess on the ball of his foot.  That too has been taken care of and is healing, so hopefully he can be boring for the holidays.

I go in for another MRI Friday.  This one will take 3 hours...yay.  But they're giving me anti anxiety meds so I hope to get through it without becoming any more insane.

I'm nearly done with my holiday shopping, just 1 trip to cabellas & I'll be done.  Can't complain to much about that.

Live long & prosper.
~m

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Happy Holidays!

The season is well upon us, and life is full of distractions.  Went shopping with my Hillyard girls yesterday.  We've sort of created a tradition of going to park city, staying at the hampton inn, eating at Ruby Tuesday, & spending a whole day at the outlets.  This was our third...or possibly 4th...year & it was just as much fun as it always is.  I upgraded us to a suite (it was only 20 bucks more) and was very happy I had.  We had tons more space, another bed, and a fireplace!  I especially enjoyed the swimming pool this year.  It is so nice to be able to move & exercise without tremendous pain.  I rarely go shopping just for fun, and this annual trip with the girls is one of my favorite holiday treats.  This year I came home with fuzzy purple boots, feather earrings, and a purple purse, along with a pile of other things that are gifts.  My wallet is a bit grumpy, but I haven't been overcome with any buyers remorse so I'm calling it a success.

So the spine guy walked into my exam room with a very enthusiastic "You have a HUGE disc herniation!"  Not exactly good news but it was rather novel to have a doctor start right off by validating my complaint & offering solutions.  I've had so much experience with doctors treating my like a liar, or some sort of drug seeking addict, that this was rather refreshing.  Turns out that they didn't get a look at my whole spine when they did the MRI just the lumbar, so I'll be going in for another round in the bangy tube in order to get scans of the rest of my spine.  Not really excited about that, but I am interested to see what he says about the rest of my spine once he's seen it.  In January I'll be having corrective surgery to clean out the disc material that's pressing on my spinal cord.  It won't entirely eliminate my pain, but should do wonders for the nerve pain in my legs.  He says I'll likely need another surgery down the road to fuse my L5 & S1 vertebrae but feels that I'm awfully young to give up the mobility I'll loose with that surgery yet.  As long as I can manage the back pain I'm going to put that off as long as possible.

I had a bit of infection develop at one of the incisions from my gal bladder surgery.  Who on earth decided that putting an incision inside your belly button was a good idea?!?  I don't think it is.  The damn thing got infected, it's near impossible to keep a bandage on it, & I haven't been able to wear anything with a waistband that sits at my natural waist for 3 weeks.  Doc Preciado put me on antibiotics and then I promptly came up with a nasty 24 hour flu bug that nearly killed me.  But I seem to be doing better now, and the infection seems to be gone, just waiting for the wound to finish healing up.  I still sleep A LOT and have next to no energy, but even that is improving slowly. 

Scott started a low carb diet this week & I am so proud of him!  His self control & motivation are impressive to witness.  Especially with me having carbs in my diet still.  He's a very considerate & patient man.

We're getting ready for the holidays & starting to plan details for our annual winter vacation in Quartzsite.  This year we are taking the garage trailer & motorcycles.  Should be quite a bit of fun & rather useful to have them.

Speaking of the Q trip, now would be an excellent time to start making packing lists & put together a menu.  I believe I'll go do that now.

Live long & prosper.
~m

Monday, November 28, 2011

Quik Update

Recovering from the surgery has been slower than I'd like & I've been doing a whole lot of sleeping.  But I am feeling better every day, and am almost back to normal.

Scott & I went to Wendover for Thanksgiving (I know it's a strange thing to do).  Went to a Joe Nichols concert Saturday night, with ear plugs due to the incredible decibel level.  Played dominos, spoiled Oscar, slept in, ate good food, read, relaxed, won a tiny bit of cash at the spinny slots.  It was enjoyable.

This afternoon I have an appointment with a spine specialist.  I'm both dreading and excited.  I really hope that he's able to see from my MRI what's going on and come up with some sort of treatment or at least pain management plan for me.  Haven't been to a spine Doc in 7 years.

Times up, gotta go.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I have created AMAZING

Home made microwave popcorn with brownsugarcayenegingercinnamon seasoning.Amazing!  Started off with this recipe and did a heavy butter to olive oil popping fluid, then seasoned right after popping.  AMAZING.

Doing my best to distract myself from the subtext of this week.  Went for blood work tonight, as usual they had to stab more than once to find a vein, and it went very slowly after that.  I really hate my veins!

Bring on Friday!
~m

Friday, November 4, 2011

Arches was amazing

Our Halloween getaway was a success.  We spent the first night sitting on the roof of the camper (this is now traditional when camping at Dead Horse cuz the view is so much better from up there) bundled in blankets with our toes tucked into the interior of the camper where it was warm.  The stars were amazing.  We did a bit of touristing in Canyon Lands Sunday, cooked french toast at one of the overlooks, visited my favorite store in Moab where I spent more money than I should have (just as I planned to).  Halloween day we had a campfire (excellent hardwood) & roasted biscuits.  I made raspberry honey butter which immediately set up like rock when I took it outside.  With our little propane heater warming our backsides, & the fire warming our frontsides it was a comfortable pleasant evening.

The drive home was a little scary.  Our tradition of traveling over soldier summit in the worst possible weather  went just like it always does.  Fortunately we were not one of the vehicles to end that day upside down in the ditch.

I got little crafting done this trip, but did do quite a bit of reading.  That's always a pleasure.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Strange

Tonight as I was climbing out of the now winterized camper with Oscar's kibble bag (shoulda grabed it 2 days ago before it was so cold & dark in there), I was heralded by a rather distressed Meow.  Being the well trained Meowess that my kritters have trained me to be I went into full on code fuschia (that's between copasetic purple & worry red).  When I reached the ground I saw a familiar looking brown tabby.  Sider is a brown tabby.   Said kittah was unhappy, wanted attention, and though needy very distant.  Much like Sider when he knows he isn't supposed to be outside & isn't excited about staying out or being in trouble for getting out.  So I sat down, coaxed the kittah to me (not hard if you get kittah speak & offer unqualified loves).  & then despite minor objection captured the cat whom I  thought was Sider & carried it's not entirely squirming self to the front door.  Where I was greeted by Sider...on the inside of the glass waiting for me.  HUH?!?  I then sat down, interviewed the kitty in my arms, & discovered that it was not at all one of my cats.  Just a docile, unhappy, needy newcomer.  I'm calling him/her (daylight will tell) Outie.  Since Sider abandoned the prefix of his name when he moved inside, and this new cat is so much like him but cannot come inside.  Outie has something serious going on with his/her eyes.  I'm hoping steady food, a warm place to sleep & people who give a sh*t will improve his/her odds.  Real glad Sider was at the door or I'd have turned Outie loose inside without realizing he/she was an impersonator.  Really don't want to contaminate my sheltered spoiled indoor babies with scary germs.  So I hauled Royla's outside house out of the back yard (her new people have gotten their sh*t together and didnt' have to abandon her back to me, so she's still a happy girl in her new home YAY) set it up on the porch and Outie seems quite pleased with the offering.  I always say things happen for a reason, and who else would have accidentally snuggled, cared about & had a ready built shelter available along with some spare affection & general give a sh*t for this animal?  Outie can't come in (Sider already has us running at 150% capacity prolly forever), but that doesn't stop me from helping.  Tonight he/she has a full tummy & a warm place to sleep.  Tomorrow I'll research antibiotics.

Having surgery next week.  Trying not to freak out about it.  Supposed to be an in an out thing without an overnight stay in the hospital.  I really hope so.  Realizing that some of the pain I've been blaming on my back for years has actually been my gal bladder.  Hopefully that means I'm much happier without it.

Gonna go tuck myself in and begin the wondering of how I'll do without ibuprofen for a week...do they have support groups for that?
~m

Monday, October 24, 2011

Mellow Weekend

Scott's back was paining him, and we had no commitments so we stayed home & I did a little cooking.  The kitties (including Oscar) quite enjoyed the mellow time.  The neighbor's dog found his way into our back yard... twice (there is a pile of rocks next to the fence now).  He was quite fascinated by the kitties who ware all sunbathing next to the sliding glass door, and they were quite anxious to have him removed from what they consider THEIR territory.

Today I get to go in for an MRI, not my favorite thing. But it puts me one step closer to seeing a specialist about my back.  I keep reminding myself that's a good thing.  I'm a bit anxious about the MRI itself.  The bangy tube is not a calm or happy place & it's awfully crowded & noisy in there.  This too shall pass, & it will be valuable to know where exactly I am as far as the existing damage in there.  I'm off to begin my happy thoughts & perhaps take a few happy pills to get me through it.

Live long & prosper.
~m

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Nothing much of interest

Still trying to get insurance to cover the right rx to manage my bp.  As always the office staff of West Jordan Medical are a frustrating disappointment.  Met with a surgeon & scheduled my gall bladder surgery for the middle of November.  Hopefully we're able to get me onto the popper drugs by then so my bp is less of a risk. 

Last night while we were watching mythbusters I noticed someone moving around in our back yard.  When we went to the door to investigate we found an officer & K9.  Apparently some idiot ran from the cops nearby & they were searching to make sure they hadn't bedded down in our yard.  There were lights and cop cars around for a couple hours, but we heard nothing more about it.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Temporary Disabled Employee Motorcycle Parking.

Them- "Now this is for your pontiac."
Me~"Yes, but let's make sure it's for the right one, because I have two."
-"Well this is for the employee one."
~"They're both employee."
-"The disabled one"
~"They're both disabled"
-"I better look at your registration again"
paperwork changes hands,
-"This says Mauren, we have this vehicle under Mari Brown"
~"yes when they set up my employee info they put me in under the name I go by.  My license says Mauren"
-"I'm going to need to see your id"
I hand them back my license (they had it moments ago to photocopy with my disabled permit)
-"This has to be changed in the computer so that it matches the tag"
~"O...K.....?"
I'm handed back my  ID & registration.
~"I also commute on my motorcycle & need to make sure I won't be ticketed for parking that in the disabled parking."
(I knew this one was gonna be a brain twister for them)
-"uh......" walks around cubicle to next desk...."are motorcycles allowed to park in disabled stalls?"
eventually supervisor walks out hands on hips "you're not going to be able to use this tag on a motorcycle."
after a long pause, & in a very calm voice ~"ok, well I need to be able to ride my bike to work, & by state law you're required to accommodate..."
supervisor "Don't rip my head off!"
I know they've found a way to honor Scott's permit though they don't like doing it, so I didn't give up, just waited for them the admit there were options.
-"We'll just have to link this to your car permit."
~mouth shut still waiting
supervisor walks behind counter to watch over shoulder of person doing my paperwork
-"now this is for the honda?"
~"yes, it's for the silverwing"
-"The honda?"
supervisor begins glaring
~"Ok, I know this is confusing, at my residence there are two college employee's both of whom are disabled, both of whom drive a pontiac car, and a honda bike."
-"I need to see your registration & id"
.....
and it was just as fabulous as that all the way through.  I was eventually able to exit their office with the correct paperwork (I hope) & the supervisor reminding me that IF I ever drive Scott's car to work I will be ticketed unless I bring his registration into their office first so that it can be listed under MY disabled tag also.

I'm fairly certain that either Scott or I is going to wind up with some sort of ticket in the near future simply because of all the crisscrossing & information changing they were doing in the computer.

Seriously, this is your JOB, you get paid to do this (prolly get paid quite a bit too).  It may suck, you prolly get to deal with some really pissy people who don't want to pay for their tickets.  That's not me, I'm here patiently trying to insure that I don't get a ticket. DUH!  Yes you have never handled this particular situation before, I'm willing to bring you whatever paperwork you need (within reason) to process this.  State law requires you to come up with some way of processing it.  I am not going to disappear because you're grumpy & I make your life inconvenient.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Happy Saturday

Today has been a great day.  Scott & I wandered Ikea looking for inspiration.  We had several good ideas while we were there, and once we're done paying off my hospital bill we'll begin renovations (we've come to the conclusion that this is the only "real" house we're ever going to own & we might as well make it more comfortable for the time we're here.

I'm having a grand struggle with our insurance to get them to cover the right meds to manage my blood pressure.  My blood work keeps coming back with questionable who knows whats, and things are randomly confusing & frustrating in turns.

Hoping for an uneventful, at home, productive day tomorrow.  Wish me luck.
~m

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Settling In

So my new job is sort of awesome.  I'm the receptionist for the academic advisors in the health science department.  It's a whole lot of details to absorb all at once, but not more than I can handle.  It's been a little surreal switching over to my new schedule and location since it all happened so fast.  Turns out I'm working with a bunch of folk who already know and love my dear mother-in-law Lynn.

This weekend we're camping back at Downata, and my curse has come through yet again.  The folks who were supposed to camp with us (Mike & Lisa from NY) had something else come up & can't make it.  So I called  Mom, she & Glenn have a conflict & can't come....I even posted a plea on facebook & no one is interested.   It's really a shame Thom & Judy's rig is so big since they're gonna be nearby in Idaho.  But the site is only 30' long and it would be a giant hassle for them.  Maybe I'll find some nice stranger to sell it to since I can't get a refund at this point.

Happy Labor Day!
~m

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Movin' On

Yesterday I had an interview at the West Jordan Campus of the community college.  Today they hired me!  Yippee Skippeeeee!   I'm kinda excited to have a REAL job after 2 years of  Tulip Tree limbo.  Not that I haven't loved my job there, but there is so little method to balance the madness it can be very stressful & hard to keep positive.

My new job as a secretary for the academic advising department is gonna be a big change.  My first obstacle will be being vertical and chipper by 9am every morning.  I may have to teach myself to drink coffee *ick*.  They're in a bit of a hurry to get me into position & trained, so I'm starting Monday.  That makes tomorrow my last day at the flower shop...not that I'm really quitting, just not gonna be there every day like I'm used to.  I know I'm gonna miss it, but I am SO excited to be moving on in the world.

Better go scrounge up something that resembles dinner.

Live long & prosper!
~m


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Fun at the County Fair

Scott & I went north for the Cache County fair.  It was epoch.

We camped Thursday at my Grandparents place & had a great time remembering & enjoying what they worked so hard to build all those years.  It was good for my soul to just soak in the home feelings and be there.  Mom & Jack-jack stopped in on their walk, got to watch the family cars come & go lust like my Grandparents always did, and sat on the lawn in the moonlight smelling Grandma's rose garden.  As relaxing goes it was pretty grand.

Friday we visited Mom & Jack-jack for a bit, Mom & I made navy blue cane armatures for her work, Scott was patient, Jacky put on his best cute & destructive act.  Then we all went down to watch the horse show & wander the fairgrounds.  Without ever being the rodeo queen, horseman, or ffa projecteer I have somehow spent more years than not at the county fair with my family.  It's all good memories, and I had a TON of fun this year too.   We watched Kelc rock her horse show winning self, and then stuck around for the rodeo queen transformation. Since our camper wasn't raising eyebrows we stayed where we were and had a pretty decent night there at the fairgrounds.  Saturday we got to watch Eric's girlfriend Josie show on her beautiful horse Pepper.  I had a lot of fun watching the show & having someone to cheer for.  Not to mention having my FAVORITE snow cone purveyor within walking distance (alas, they had no apple syrup with them).

Saturday night Kelc was in the rodeo again, and my AWESOME Auntie Leisa brought two horses for her so that I got a chance to ride one for a bit.  It's been a VERY long time since I've been on a horse.  I enjoyed all 20 minutes of it, I'm VERY GRATEFUL that Baby Doll is a patient horse, & I was very glad that I quit at 20 minutes.

We stayed the next two nights at the Christensen's place where we took turns snuggling & spoiling Sambo the adorable black barn cat who thinks our camper is HER's whenever it's there.  Sunday I went to the horse races in Mallad with Leisa, Kelcee, Angie, Mike, & Austin.  I have never been to the horse races before, so going with family and hearing all their memories about horse racing with Uncle John & Grandpa was quite a bit of fun.  I also caught a pretty awesome but not painful sunburn.

Monday we visited pepperige farm for cookies and crackers, then Lower's for MEAT then came home, & begged forgivness with the kitties.

Since then we've done not much of interest.

I got a phone call  from Tracy at South Fork (campground) turns out the canyon boss' from last year, who's 'unique' style of management made life there so impossible, worked their same magic this year at cemetary point & most of their employee's walked out on them the week before the 24th.  They were fired.  I have to admit I did a bit of celebrating.  Too bad all those nice folks had to be tortured though.

I've not touched on everything I have to update on, but it's late, and my thoughts are scattering.  More soon.
~m


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Locked my keys in the car....again.

Wish I wasn't quite so good at that.  But I guess as these things go locking my keys in the car isn't the worst habit I could have.  Fortunately I have a AAA card and a patient husband.   Anyhow today my lock out was at the pet store in Bountiful where I got Oscar.  During my wait I discovered that his favorite toys are not manufactured anymore, that there are birds stranger than him...but just barely, and that my pets are spoiled.  Gotta get myself back to a normal work schedule just to pay for the toys and kibble I bought while waiting.  & I still had to come home & order the scratcher refills online.  Spazz's favorite place to lay is on top of her scratching toy,  she often sleeps face down there.  I'm certain that the catnip embedded in the cardboard center has something to do with it.  Recently I flipped the cardboard over making her favorite toy EVEN BETTER!  They've all been taking turns attacking it and sharpening their claws.  However today when we came home it looked like this:

I believe the intended message is quite clear.  Fresh nip, & new stuffing is required.


Gonna go play with Oscar for a bit, and then go empty the elk meat out of the camper freezer so we have room for food in there.  Then bed, I'm all sorts of tired.
Nite nite.
~m

My brush with the silent killer.

So my eyes have been buggin me a little & my glasses are VERY scratched, and I found awesome purple contacts online that would make an awesome addition to my halloween costume.  I set up an appointment with my  usual optical guy & went in for an exam.  He saw some bleeding in the back of both eyes...so we walked over to the pharmacy and checked my blood pressure.  253/147......so we checked it again....the same....so he called the ER & I called Scott for a ride.  They took all kinds of pictures and scans of my head & heart to make sure I didn't have bleeding of the brain or damage from the pressure being so high.  After four hours in ER they checked me into the hospital overnight.  Turns out I should have noticed symptoms like headaches & pressure in my chest.  I get similar symptoms from my back pain, so who knows how long I've been having them & not noticing.  They got me down out of the scary zone into the still be careful & worry about it a bit zone & let me go home.  My vision's still a bit screwy ( couldn't tell blue from purple the other day), and I'm hella tired.  But otherwise I feel exactly the same as I did last week and the week before.

So now I take the little pills, and check my bp daily.  Guess I better get used to it cuz this is gonna be my life.  Not really surprised that I have hypertension, all of my grandparents were treated for it, and Dad fought his for years.  I'm just real lucky that I didn't have a stroke or something while we were off on our own camping.  I sent the eye doctor flowers, & I'll be back to see him in a few months when my bp's under control & my eyes are back to normal.  I've made an appointment to see the guy who Scott's been going to for his physicals, and from there I guess I'll set up appointments with a spine doc & all the other doctors I've been avoiding for the last 6 years.  Might as well, pretty sure the bill for my hospital visit is gonna get us to our out of pocket maximum.

Spazz is reminding me that when I sat down I promised her I would order refills for her scratcher toy.  Better go do that before she takes it out on my pillow.

Live long & prosper.
~m

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

You can never go back.

But you can try to recreate....sometimes.  While we were at the Preston rodeo last weekend Scott & I somehow managed to avoid the rodeo food stand that was producing some really tasty looking/smelling food.  I had actually planned on that being our dinner, but with one thing and another we somehow ended up eating lunchables in the camper at midnight (the pizza ones are kinda gross btw).

So last night I went to the grocery store & bought burger patties, shredded lettuce, a sweet onion, vine tomato, the good $2 bacon, etc.  Tonight we feasted.  It may not have been quite the same as the Lion's stand rodeo burgers, but we'll be eating them again tomorrow cuz they were REALLY good.  I cooked the onions down in cast iron, seasoned the patties, browned them on medium heat, threw on some of the onions, and a slice of sharp cheddar, warmed the bun on the pan for a few, then we each topped our own burger from the "topping bar".  It ain't health food, but it sure was delish.

Today one of our familiar customers complemented me about letting my hair go back to "normal".  NO WAY!  So I came home & broke out the purple dye.  I am back to my "natural" color.  Sorry world, the Mari is not what most people would expect.  Those who have known me more than 5 minutes see how purple (or red, or blue) is really me.  Though that same customer was very proud of spending 22,000 on a new car....so he obviously is NOT sane!

Yesterday I caught the schwan's guy at the neighbors' house and asked him to come by my with itialian ice cups (they're pretty dang amazing).  When he came to the door he was surprised that he'd never met me because he's seen my scooter around quite a bit.  I had to laugh because I've been a bad biker and left the silver wing parked quite a bit lately.  Guess a purple fairy helmet and a purple scooter with fuzzy dice is just memorable.

My car came down with a fresh case of gremlins yesterday & I was real glad the rain was clearing because I had to ride the scooter.  It turned out to be a great day for riding, and I'm all sorts of sore from enjoying it.  Might even pester Scotty into fixing my fork seals so I can do more riding soon.  I can definitely feel that things aren't quite right in the stearing/suspension department.

Last night I booked reservations for camping Arches, Dead horse & a couple other places before snow flies...possibly after.  We're getting better and better at packing and going without too much stress. Not that we don't want to kill each other at times, it is an awfully small camper after all.

Gotta go help clean up the kitchen so we can make burgers again tomorrow.
Live long & prosper.
~m

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Great Weekend!

Just got home from a really great trip.  Spent Thursday with the Christensens prepping for and attending the Famous Preston Night Rodeo, where my darling Kelcee was Jr. Queen.  I can now add horse hair extensions to my resume...I have no idea where that will ever be an asset, but I've done it!

We camped in their farmyard, and then I spent Friday helping Mum finish the details and set up for a USU event.  She turned plain ol' table clothes into AWESOME plaid ones.

Then we loaded up Mum's camper and we all went to Downata Hot springs for two nights.  We lucked out on parking spots & weather.  The willow tree between our two rigs was plenty to block the light drizzle that kept misting us, and with Glenn's truck parked against the road we had our own private world in the crowded campground.  Mom & I swam for a couple hours Saturday, and the 4 of us (6 if you count Oscar & Jackie) had a lovely visit without having to cower indoors with the air conditioning.

Scott had a spectacular fall last night (it happens when you only have one leg, and mostly we're just amazed by all the things he DOES do without falling)  He's black and blue & quite sore in spots, but seems otherwise undamaged.  Oscar did more tumbling than Scott this trip.  Poor little guy had at least 4 cage tumbles, 1 of which involved his whole cage coming apart in the company of wild farm cats.  But other than a larger than usual grump, and frequent use of his favorite swear words, he's fine.

I'm headed into a high stress couple weeks at work, and really hoping for an escape weekend to camp somewhere fun for a few days & forget the drama.  Going all of June without camping nearly killed me.

I'm off now to watch some of the tv we recorded while we were gone.
Live long & prosper.
~m

Friday, July 15, 2011

Allergies!

Don't know why, but this year my allergies are killin' me!  I cough for an hour after I get up every morning.  Bless whoever came up with 12 hour psudafed, and curse the idiots who made it so that you have to stand in line at the pharmacy to get it.

They're redesigning the intersection at 45th & Redwood.  So all night long there are rumblings, boomings, & scraping noises.  Since I'm a very light sleeper & we usually leave the bedroom window open to pull in cool air from the swamp cooler; this is not ideal.  Also every time we go ANYWHERE we get to play the lane closure game.

July is our big camping month (stayed home all of June).  We're going to camp Sunrise (logan canyon) this weekend for the Murray family reunion (Glenn's crew).  Should be an interesting time.  We're taking the tow along trailer this time without the bikes.  It sure is nice to have the extra space.  I love my camper, but it is TINY.

Our next adventure will be the famous Preston Night Rodeo.  My darling cousin Kelcee took Jr. Queen on the queening contest & we're gonna go watch her ride.  Also there will be swimming!  We're gonna finish off that trip at Downata Hot Springs.  I have good memories of there from my childhood & it makes it a clear shot home on I-15.

I'd better get going & finish packing up the camper.
Live Long & Prosper
~m

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

All a Blur

Life's been pretty crazy lately, and I've been lazy about posting.  Thankfully Judy's good at guilting me, so I'm back.  Let's see...

Did a wedding for my 2nd cousin up in cache valley last week.  Lime green & hot pink.  Turned out great.  Really wish I'd gotten pictures!  But I took off before the setup was finished in order to get myself to camp.

We camped at Willows with the Whitmans (Mike & Lisa).  It was great!  Mike cooked, we shared campfires, played in the river, spent the afternoons chasing the shade & visiting.  It was a well needed rest.

Now we're home, the kitties have forgiven, and Oscar's been taken down a notch since his wing trimming.  He's a much better baby when he can't fly.

Other than all that, life's pretty boring.  Same list different day. Life's not too bad.
Live Long & Prosper!
~m

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Summer

Been reconstructing dried funeral flowers at work.  It is possibly one of the most fussy, icky jobs i get assigned.  I've scrubbed and scrubbed & still keep finding grains of silica sand under my nails, in my hair etc.  Yick!  Finally finished them this afternoon.  I'm not a fan of dried arrangements, but it's what the customer ordered, so we do them.

Sider has a new trick where he snuggles with Yahzi or Spazz in their favorite resting spot instead of finding his own place.  So far both of them are putting up with him, but as the weather gets warmer I expect one of them will whap him for it.

My brain cells have jellied in the heat, I'm having trouble stringing thoughts together.  Sorry.
~m

Monday, June 6, 2011

Been Busy

My week evaporated!  Tuesday was major catch up time, Wed was chaotic topped off with a graceless fall, Thurs was a haze of pain and ibuprofen, and Friday was devoted to Matt & Sara's wedding flowers.  Saturday was their wedding & Sunday was recovery time.

Mom came down to help me out with the flowers and stayed over to help with the wedding day details.  Thanks to her help I was able to get everything I needed done and still have time to enjoy the event.  Even though she did guilt me into doing my hair & wearing makeup.

Matt & Sara are a cute couple, & years ago I told him I'd do their wedding flowers.  Little did he know that he'd ever get married again, and little did I know that it would take so long to actually happen.  But good things are worth waiting for, and I think they're gonna settle in nicely as old married folk.

Today was slow at work, so I was able to leave early (I rarely have trouble getting my 20 hours in a week and so don't mind at all when things are slow) and run errands.  I got everything I needed, as well as 3 bags of starbursts which I didn't need but were on sale & I will enjoy them (2 are experimental flavors).  After that I came home and attempted to diagnose our satellite tuner/dish problem.  I thought I had identified the problem, and after attempting to fix it 1st with a rope, then with a demo saw, discovered that the real solution is a ratchet.  *I hope*.  I've gotten out, climbed, and put away the ladder 4 times today.  Hopefully tomorrow 5 is the charm.  Have I mentioned that I HATE ladders?  But they are useful.

Oscar is working on sentences.  He keeps stringing together words he knows to express complex ideas.  It's often entertaining and very clever of him.  I'm sure few but me think the bird asking for "kibble-breakfast- too-right now" and then when I scoop kibble & turn to walk away demand "I want-breakfast" is cute & entertaining.  But I think it is.  He's also angry at & jealous of Sider.  Jumped off my shoulder onto the cat perch in order to chase him today.  Guess it's time to trim his wings and take his ego down a notch.  He also objects highly to the noise from tuning the satellite.  He's a moody little beast to say the least.

Wow, just looked at the clock, it's late & I've got chores to finish before bed. 
Nite all!
~m

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Not Broken Anymore!?!

Don't know why but the login bar for blogger has been unavailable on my computer for a couple weeks.  Dunno why, but logging on while at mom's this weekend somehow changed things and I'm back!  There's prolly a serious technical issue behind it all, but as long as it's done pissing me off I'm willing to forgive and forget.

Scott just asked "Is that your blog I hear?" he was trying to chatter to me and I was distracted with key clicks.  Yes! and I've missed it.  So here's the short story of pertinent details since my b-day.

We went to Lava, stayed at AuraSomaLava next door to Randy, Ashlee, Chuck, Penny, Steve, Susan, Max, Zoey, & Tessa (the last 3 are dogs). It was a lot of fun, mostly relaxing and good times....
other than....The weather; Off & On hail, rain, thunder, high wind; the resort's hot pool was out of order from the flooding,  the STUPID people at the state hot pools who confiscated Scott's crutches while we were swimming "because we didn't want kids to mess with them" and then expected him to HOP to the office to collect them (they yelled at me and nearly didn't let me collect them for him); and then my back being generally pissy whole time. 
We did have an exceptional motorcycle virgin transport adventure, and then carpeted the trailer with little hassle and discomfort while we were there.  We biked around a bit, I broke in my shiny new helmet, & found the RIGHT fairy sticker for it.

Earlier this week I wandered around at Lowe's and found some perennials I just had to have.  We planted them along with the sprinkler set we bought just before I went camp-hostining 2 years ago and everything went on hold.  We now have lilacs, russian sage, verbena...& I love it!

This weekend Scott was feeling a bit put out from all the coming and going we've done lately.  So I went north to create 19 carnation puppies with mom.  We started with 17 white puppies and 2 pink ones (the supplier was out of white).  They were real cute, but then we tried out the JFF flower dye, and they got even cuter!  We made one of every color, and a few custom colored pups. 



Spending the weekend with Mom was nice.  It's been a long time since I got to do something other than be a florist for Memorial Day.  We talked, did silly daily details, and just sleeping in my old room with the familiar sounds of rain on the roof was plain ol' pleasant.

Yesterday while I was enjoying peaceful time with Mom & Glenn (I think I've talked her into letting him have a Shnorkie *Shnouzer-Yorkie* pup), Scott somehow managed to throw his back out (please note it was was not part of  my demanding wife weekend adventures).  So today I split my pleasant though rainy memorial time with guilt and came home to fetch ibuprofen and massage soar muscles.  Not to consider the kittah and
Birdah guilt!

Good thing The Christensen Ranchette is my other home to go to.  I visited there last night and was summarily accosted by Sambo the the lil' black kittah (we met back a christmas & he remembers me).  While we were negotiating tummy skritches Eric & Josie brought Poco the new Yorkie-Shitzu pup home.  Needless to say Poco & I are now buddies.  I am a soft touch.  I anyone ever doubts this send a helpless furry critter to snuggle me.  They always win.

So I'm back, I'm behind, I'm hoping that tomorrow when I want to update the login bar is still there.  Wish me luck!
~m

Monday, May 16, 2011

Another Year Older

So I turned 29, didn't notice any difference.  I think I'll stop here.  29 from now on. 

Saturday Scott & I took off for Park City, and did NOTHING.  It was grandly lazy, and quite enjoyable.  In fact it was so grandly lazy that I have nothing to report except watching some crazy tv show about a man who tames "cats from hell" by teaching their people not to have screwed up expectations.  Go figure, on our night away from home without our "children" we watched a show about being better cat parents.

Today I woke up early, spent some quality time with Oscar (we sang), and did yoga with the cats (it lends a whole new layer of complexity to the experience).  It wasn't at all a bad way to start the day & I'm hoping
to make time for more of the same soon.

This weekend we're hauling the cycles, trailer, and camper to Lava to recreate with some of our chosen family.  Every year the Ashlee & Randy come home from their big trip full of  joy & it's always right between or right on Mother's Day or Memorial Day.  This year it's smack between them & we jumped at the chance to go with.  They're renting a cabin & we're taking our rig (I'm feeling pretty satisfied about bringing my own bed & kitchen along).  Both of their parents are gonna be there, and they're some of my favorite folks.  There's much fun and relaxation planned.

Wednesday I get to hang out with 2 of my favorite girls Ashlee & Emily.  Should be a great visit.  Yay for girl time!

Gotta get out there and finish cooking dinner (yes, we eat late, get over it).

Live long & prosper.
~m

Monday, May 9, 2011

It's gonna be interesting.

I'm not sure that things at work can or will improve, but I'm learning not to let it get to me.  I'm also learning to hand unreasonable expectations back.  I really hope things settle down and work out.  But I'm done worrying, analyzing, and sharing about that.  Thanks for the awesome advice & moral support I've gotten lately.

Spring is definitely here, and once the flood threat goes down I think we're all gonna enjoy this summer.  The other day a mama duck and her 12 ducklings cruised right past the door at work.  She was so determined & they were all in such a hurry I just had to chase after them and snap a pic.
 
 Yesterday on our way home from petsmart (the kitties were starving & Sider didn't have a harness to go to the vet on Wed) we saw a family of goslings that were just as cute.  Gotta love baby animals.

Wednesday is vet day.  We shall load all the children into the camper (it's much easier than trying to keep unhappy kitties in carriers or the car) and visit their least favorite person.  She's really a pretty good vet, as long as we don't buy into all the expenditures she 'recommends'. I anticipate that Yahzi's ears will be dirty (they always are since Shadow isn't here to sit on his head and groom them anymore), Spazz will HATE the nose drops and make much noise about her abusers.  Sider's a new adventure, I hope he's better behaved than Royla (who's other mom hasn't contacted me in  a month & I'm letting that be, since I believe a tenative home with her in her new place is much better than being an outdoor cat at mine).  Based on last nights grooming experience I have high hopes for Sider.  He thought that having his belly combed was some sort of awesome game, as long as he got to claw hold my toes and threaten biting while it happened.

I recently posted a BUNCH of my camping photo's on facebook, they're all awesome but I specifically want to share this one here.  I've talked about my moose, and he's a beautiful animal who I really enjoyed watching.  Here's my Moosle photo.  He came through Willows every Wednesday like clockwork.  But I didn't get a good photo of him until I quit AL&L and camped a weekend at South Fork.  Go figure.


And these other two are from Antelope Island last week.  I think the rabbit's half as big as the coyote.

Happy spring y'all.
~m

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Meow.

Just in case anyone still reads this silly blog.
I've somehow been overflowing with stress and negative the last few weeks.  Pretty sure I know the source.  I'm doing what I can and very thankful to Scott who is an excellent example/counselor when it comes to shedding stress dumped on you by others.  I am learning many techniques & finding what can work for me (I'm not nearly as good at it as him).

Let's see, the cars had a pitty party, I believe I've mentioned that.  The Hillyards had floral tribute funeral flower day for Kim.  It was a beautiful (if cold) day and it is always amazing how working on something that intensely personal & just being together is just comforting to the heart at a time like that.  I burned up all of my upright time getting the tributes done & working what I needed to in order to get the time off I needed, so I missed the funeral.  I felt horrible, still do, but I'm hoping that everyone understands when I say if I had to choose between the flower day when I'm useful & involved or the funeral day when I sit on the sidelines and mostly just feel useless.  I'd choose the flower day every time.   Not that I wouldn't rather be to both.  But if I only get one, I'm glad it was when I could DO!

I spent a full weekend forcing myself not to aggravate my spine, mostly kitty time.  We put a bit o' effort into repairing and researching cars, I rode my bike a bit &WASHED IT! 

This weekend we hauled ourselves to Antelope Island where we camped next to a bunch of cub scouts who set up their tents while wearing bicycle helmets, and had next to no respect for boundaries.  Their tents started blowing away around 11:30pm and we felt they were much better neighbors after that.  Also there was just enough snow to make it an adventure.

The tulips, grape hyacinth, and daffodils in my yard are out.  I LOVE bulbs.  One of these days I'm going to haul off and plant a whole plethora of mixed bulbs just for the fun of watching them come up.

Which brings us current to today.  Work is gearing up for Mother's day.  Today has been on the calendar as a day I needed off for a month plus.  Yesterday I was informed that me being gone was a major inconvenience (too bad they couldn't say that a month ago when they approved the time off).  So I dropped my plans shuffled everything and went to work early.  With absolutely no acknowledgment of my efforts, and a miserable environment to work in.  Needless to say I did not have a great day.  But when I got home I was able to spend a bit of time with a very clever & cuddly Oscar, spend some time with Scott in the back yard mowing our ridiculous lawn.  Both things I've been guiting myself about.  I've since managed to break the microwave, research it's repair, and absorb the mandatory quantity of Spazz drool for one night.  So yay.  Prolly gonna have a whole week like that and be expected to be thankful for it, don't that sound like fun?

Let's see, Scott & Kirk are planning to tear apart the transmission of his car in our garage this weekend, Mom's putting together commencement flowers and favors, and Health Days is on my birthday so I'm planning a rain compatible celebration.  That's a fairly condensed explanation of the last few weeks, and I make no promises of an update until after M-day. 

Live Long & Prosper.
~m

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Back to ...."normal"?

Prolly tonight is not the best moment for me to update.  I just spent 2 hours at an absolutely futile, time wasting, frustrating UPFA shop stroll.  My mood is far from positive, or pleasant.  Work was nuts, the weather's blehk & not likely to improve in time to go camping this weekend.  That's a whole lot of negative...Sorry.  Definitely not the best time for an update.  But the cherry on top of my mood was the guilt for not updating.  I can't win!  I've nearly deleted this twice now, but I just can't take that extra pile of uck.  So I'll post this much, apologize for my mood, and then go snuggle a kitty.

Please forgive me.  This day won, where's my white flag?
~m

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Last Post for a Bit

My cousin Kim died this weekend.  Her funeral and viewings are in Cache valley & Idaho this week, so I'll be hopping about taking care of floral details and attending the funeral.  It's not gonna be low stress, but this is what we do.  Hopefully it's the last funeral for a while.

I'm exhausted & tomorrow's a long day.
Light & Love
~m

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Beautiful Weather

Today feels like spring.  Scott & I sat in the sunshine to eat lunch.  Spazz campaigned to have the front door open, and Sider talked me into opening the bedroom blinds & window so that he can watch his birds (a pair small birds has built a nest in the ivy right next to the window).

Things are winding up to be a busy week.  I've got a wedding consultation for Scott's brother, reception flowers for the Emmers, and a Hillyard funeral.  I know it doesn't sound like much, and if it wasn't all for folks I love it wouldn't be half as stressful.  I keep crisscrossing details in my head.  Should get a bit better tomorrow after I've got the wedding written down.

I'm not crying about the funeral yet.  Kim's been so sick for so long, I know that an important part of my life is empty...but I'm not to the crying stage yet.  I'm so happy & relieved for her.  She's been so strong & brave for so long.  I'm sure she's happy to be done.  We're gonna miss her smile, and quiet humor.  Ah, there's a tear.  Perhaps I am to the crying stage after all.

I think I'll go open the screens and let some of this fabulous weather blow through the house.
Light & Love,
~m

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Not at all Boring

When Scott got in his car to go to work this morning he discovered that the transmission was shot.  Matt was the last one to drive it (he brought it back last night) and says there were no symptoms.  So Scott parked his car back in the driveway & took the truck to work. 

My personal theory is that the pontiacs missed each other while Scott's was visiting Matt's house & decided to remind us how much we depend on them. Because....

Today when I got to work I had the option of going or staying (it was a slow day for orders).   So I ran a few errands and then decided to wander north & visit with Judy & Thom before they head north.  Things were uneventful until I got off the freeway in Kaysville.  My car was acting strangely & though I was able to get it off the road and parked in a safe place it was VERY clear that something was wrong.  So I called Scott, we did some remote diagnostics, and I took a walk to the conveniently nearby auto parts store.  I topped off the transmission fluid, and either that or the time sitting had the car acting decent so I went ahead & headed for the RV place to visit.  On the way there the battery light (the warning light on the dash that is bright RED and looks like a battery) came on, so I called Scott again & we guessed that it could be any one of several things involving the alternator.  I planned a back street way home & was just fine until traffic forced me onto the freeway...which was also fine....but at 3500 S. I decided to get off the freeway & take familiar side roads home.  That was a really good call, since the car began behaving strangely as i exited, and stalled completely a few blocks later.  Scott was on the phone with me when it stalled, & based on the symptoms brought the trailer battery, a cargo strap & his very capable self to the rescue.  I really wish I'd gotten a photo of his solution before he took it back apart.  He jumper cabled the trailer battery to my car battery, tied the trailer battery down with the cargo strap, tied the hood closed around the trailer battery, and then drove the car home (as quickly as possible before the trailer battery drained). 

So now I'm home & safe.  The pontiacs are parked next to each other equally useless.  His with an unknown solution pending, mine with the battery charger running (in hopes of salvaging the battery, though it's lifespan has certainly been shortened) and a plan to swap out the alternator.

So yay, not at all boring.  I've had my share of stress for a while thanks.  Hopefully both cars can be repaired without too much expense & soon.  I'm just VERY glad that both places I had to pull over were safe, & that at the end of the day I'm home & we think we know what's wrong.

So today I have several shiny things:
The daffodils that are blooming under my bedroom window.
Cargo Straps

My amazing husband who knows how to fix stuff & is willing to put a bit of effort into making things work in order to save us money.  Today could have been a VERY expensive one if he hadn't been willing to figure things out.


May things be delightfully boring for us all.
~m

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Too Long

Life's been perty crazy.  Scott's had the same bug I had, works been nuts....there's lots of excuses.  Anyhow, I haven't been anywhere or done anything exciting.  Scott's started putting the mo-cy trailer back together, Mathew's getting married, I'm supposed to be working less hours...not much else of mention.

Here's my shiny.

Friday, April 8, 2011

sick & tired of being sick and tired

I feel like this week has been about 40 days long.  Just today was at least 400 hours.  This bug just doesn't end.  Mom says it's going around Cache Valley too.  Blehk!

Anyhow, tonight my shiny thing is one of my favorite cure all solutions.  It's not only delicious, it's helpful.
Not much else worth reporting, haven't left the house in 2 days, hoping I can work tomorrow without pissing Adda off with my cough....
Oh, another shiny thing, Scott found out that in July our insurance policy will be changing so that a co pay is no longer required on a preventative visit.  In response to this delightfully sense making development I am considering a major alteration in my anti doctor going policy.  The mandatory $20+ bucks out of my pocket every time I cross their doorstep has been my primary complaint.  Also, if I can get a rx for my over the counter allergy pills the insurance will cover them now also.  That's $20 a month in savings right there...

Alright,  I've finished my soda, and taken ANOTHER cold pill.  Hopefully this time when I lay down my head doesn't immediately pressurize.  Wish me luck!
~m

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

This is the Cough that Never Ends...Yes it goes on & on.....

I've caught hell at work the last two days for coughing & sneezing (as though I could help it).  By the time I get home I'm too tired (and more than a little frustrated) to do more than take another cold pill and climb into bed.  So today I am staying home with Oscar & doing my best to get the rest of this crud outa my lungs.  Oscar thinks it's a fine idea & keeps trying to mimic the coughing sound.  I'm trying to find the humor in that, I really am.

So I'm three days behind on sharing my happy things.  Let's see...
1- my tropicana rose bush is budding out thicker than ever so YAY I didn't kill it with the mega pruning. I should get a bunch of delish raspberry scented blooms before too long.
2- I've got no less than 3 camping trips in the works for this summer, mostly close to home, but all fun.  I think we're gonna try camping Zions for my birthday, might be crowded, but we've had some great recommendations for out of the way boondocking places & neither of us minds an adventure knowing that anywhere we can park we have our own bed etc in the back of the truck...cant' decide rather to take the bikes and trailer with us or not.
3- .......well that's today's isn't it....I suppose the shiny thing about today would be kitties.  They're awfully adorable when they set their minds to it.

Gotta go find some sort of lunch so that I can take another pill.
Live Long & Prosper.
~m

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sharing is good, sharing germs is BAD.

I've come down with Byron's cold bug.  It's not at all fun.  So today the best thing in the whole world is menthol Kleenexes.

Had to skip my visit with Thom & Judy today :(  Hopefully we get to visit later in the week when I'm not toxic.

Time for another cold pill.
~m

I'm still awake, so it still counts!

As a concerned an responsible pet parent I have talked to my cats about catnip.  They consume responsibly, and never drive after....LOL.
This is Royla  2 summers ago, that's FRESH catnip on the floor, and yes her pupils are VERY dilated.

Tonight I brought the cat shelter into the house & dosed it liberally with catnip.  My hope is that when, hopefully IF Royla get's here it smells familiar, and also like nip.  Her other mom is dragging her feet, and that's ok with me.  My worst fear is that Royla can't handle being outside here, and takes off to find her other people who have moved and are a hundred miles away besides.  Spazz loves nip & is waiting until I'm not watching to check out the shelter, Sider thinks it's pretty cool, and I think Yahz is waiting  to see if he fits.

Happy Weekend!
~m

Friday, April 1, 2011

Glad this weeks over.

Not an awful week, not the best.  But T&J are in town for the weekend, so I have high hopes of a good visit.

I had a frazzling day, and so am wimping out on a real blog post.  Hopefully I feel much more enthusiastic & energetic tomorrow.

Here's my shiny things for yesterday & today.

Love 'em or hate 'em, almost everybody feels strongly about them.  I'm one of the lovers.

Speaker Pillows!  I LOVE MINE.  Either a subliminal sleep track or an audio book is just right to send me off to sleep.


and now I will go snuggle with Yahzi while I blink at the TV.

Live Long & Prosper.
~m

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Howard Keel is AMAZING

Here's for yesterday, I got distracted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJLCKhcZ7uo

Also, my dvd player bit the dust.  I have ordered the $27 replacement...hope that turns out to be a good decision.

Off to work now, also to call my mother I meant to do that all day yesterday.
~m

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

All things Bright & Beautiful

I've given in a bit too much to my personal gray cloud lately.  Pain does that to me.  So in an effort to shift my focus toward brighter better things I'm going to try posting a picture, song, or link here every day that isn't depressing.  Perhaps even a silly thing. I'll try to fit in a bit of my regular blog  along the way, but if all you get is a pic, you'll know it's all I was up for.

So here's today:
Kelcee & Leisa, two of my favorite people.  Kelcee is a real life Rodeo Princess (has been since before she could walk), and Leisa is one of my one of a kind aunts.  She helped raise me and always encouraged my love of animals.
So for an update, my back's still out, but with the aid of my cane I was able to do a full day at work without faceplanting or screaming.  The stress there has hopefully climaxed & will back off...they're not my details to share, but I can say that the same problem that had me tied in knots back in December came to a sudden head at work.  But that problem source is now banned from visiting, so things should be better.

Thom & Judy should be coming through town this weekend, it seems like I haven't seen them in forever.  They've both been under the weather so I'm hoping they leave their germs in AZ and only bring their wonderful selves up here.

G'nite all.
~m

Monday, March 28, 2011

oh dear

I was rather more correct about grumpy muscles than I knew.  Yesterday I got up and began my morning routine, only to realize that there was going to be nothing routine about my day....my back was severely out & sending screaming nerve pain down my leg....up my back....and at times into my head.  Once I got myself back onto the bed Scott brought me a book, a ginger ale, my heat pad, and a bottle of ibuprofen.  That is where i stayed most of the day.  When he returned from helping Matt move several hours later he helped me relocate to the couch.  I spent the remainder of the day there-being VERY careful about how I moved.  Today I am a little better, but couldn't bend enough to put jeans on & so decided it might be best if I stayed home from work.  There are just too many familiar things lately that remind me of how my back was before I went down for the count years ago.  I can't/won't be home bound again.  Besides, my wheelchair is being put to better use by Lynn.  I need to change something in order to stop pushing myself into the ground.  I've cut back my home & hobbies to nearly nothing...so I'm looking at cutting down what I can do for work.  That's really frustrating since I love my job & I'm nervous about giving any of it up.  But in previous times when I had this sort of pain & was getting sick as often as I have been the next thing was days long migraines.  I can't go there.  So I'll make whatever changes I need to.  Including going to the doctor.

I'd better go find some lunch and another pill.
Live Long & Prosper
~m

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Cat House

So Royla's coming back....it's not shiny, & I've done everything I can...so I'm accepting it and moving on.  Last night her people informed me that they haven't found another option.  So I'll be bringing her home soon to be an outdoor cat here.  Last night I did a bunch of research & drew up blueprints and a shopping list.  Today I cut back my favorite rose bush to make space for an outdoor cat shelter (I will not be doing any more pruning this year cuz it killed my back).  We went to the hardware & pet stores, and my AMAZING husband helped me build the shelter.  It's turning out quite nicely & I'll post pictures soon (I already took a few but can't sit here long enough to load and post them.  I'm off to research heat options & then stretch out my grumpy muscles on the couch.  Happy Saturday!
~m

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Crisp Fail

Today was an odd sort of in-between day.  Work was slow, the nerve pain in my leg & back was ridiculous, and I had a bunch of errands to run.  Also, I was forced to acknowledge that at least 2 pairs of my jeans were no longer work place appropriate (I have a horrible habit of storing a knife in my back pocket when my hands get full).  Fortunately, I could do what little work I needed to do while sitting on the floor stretching the spasm, I got a circular with a great coupon from Fashion Bug, and I had that credit card in my purse.  So I got everything I needed done, found pants I don't hate at the store (as well as Tshirts I don't hate), got to the grocery store for cabbage (to go with corned beef tomorrow) and dinner makins for tonight, and even bought apples to make a crisp.  Which failed.

I was planning to use our mandoline slicer for 'wafer thin' slices.  FAIL.  The mandoline is MISSING. As in neither Scott or I can find it.  Not in the camper, not in any of the cupboards, not on any of the shelves....just gone.  Neither of us can remember where or for what we last used it either....so it will likely show up someplace really strange when we're not looking for it.  In the meantime I've pretty much decided to replace it with a little nicer one & put that one in the camper when it surfaces.  Yes, we're the kind of freaks who would make room in our teeny tiny camper for a mandoline (it's lightweight & absolutely necessary for about 4 of our favorite dishes).

Anyhow, I finally abandoned hope of slicing my apples on the mandoline & used my not insignificant, but not nearly as uniform knife skills.  Other than downsizing Betty Crocker's apple crisp recipe I followed the directions exactly...& failed!  Crunchy sour apples in some bites & mushy sweet in others.  Fortunately a bad apple crisp is still way better than a lot of other things.  Especially a la mode.  I've just buttered the top crust & re-baked  the remaining crisp...shouldn't make it any worse, and might make it amazing.  I'm hoping.  OMG, just realized I completely left out the cinnamon & nutmeg...lol...still doesn't explain the texture issues, & I'm actually surprised I didn't notice it in the flavor.  LOL.  Guess I'll be making crisp again soon with all the right stuff.

You now see how strange my day was & how off I've been lately.  Not pouting, I found clothes I don't hate, made food that didn't suck & was sorta healthy, and didn't hate this day.
Hope y'all can say the same or (hopefully) better.
-m

Monday, March 14, 2011

Found my rainbow.

When I logged on just now I was here to do one thing; delete my blog.  And in the last 60 seconds I've laughed, cried, and for now changed my mind.  I guess I should start by stating that my bad day started around 2am last night and has only gone downhill.  I've gone from angry to disgusted, to numb & back several times over.  I don't want to go into details, and it's not any specific thing or person, it's just everything.  I think I just hit bottom & bounced hard. I only started to feel at all better when the tears started rolling.

While I was looking for the right place to begin the process of deleting I was notified that I had one comment waiting to be published.  Since I haven't posted lately, and what posts I've made have been mostly whiny I was surprised. Marnie, thanks.  Your comment helped me remember why I blog.  I had to go back and re-read my post to remember what it was about.  Remembering that good day helped center me.   Writing out my thoughts sometimes helps me focus on the positive.

Gotta go do something  mindless that doesn't involve pain for a bit now.
~m

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Quick

No real solutions to the Royla problem.  I'm still trying to motivate them to do the right thing.  IF she comes here she will have to be an outside cat & that's gonna be really confusing for her.  She lived inside with us for 2 years while I found her a home & then again for 4 months before Mel & Mike convinced me to let them adopt her.  She's had a much rougher history than she deserves.  I am literally being forced to choose between my children.  For me that's what my pets are.  Sadly the pet I'd be happiest to put outside right now is OSCAR.  He's a little BEAST!  Unpredictable, cute one second & then biting holes in me the next.  He screamed into my ear Sunday (while snuggling & cooing) triggering the worst migraine I've had in years. I'm doing research, modifying our habits & trying to figure out what has him so off kilter.  Hope it changes soon.

Fran's going to a trade show this weekend, so I'll be working extra hours & covering the bases while she's gone.  It's prolly gonna be a long weekend.
~m

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Out of the Blue

Tonight I got a message from Royla's mom.  She's moving & can't keep her, want's to know if I "want her back".  What the hell am I supposed to say?!?  We do not have room in our home for another cat, but I'll be damned (Mom I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to use heck & darn right now) if I'll let her go to a shelter & be euthanized.  She is a good cat who never asked more from the world than a safe place to sleep and someone to love.  I've done my best for her twice now and apparently failed.  These people BEGGED me to let them have her when I wasn't sure I wanted to let her go.  Now they're giving her till April 1st. 

It is just SO depressing.  I'm MAD, and heart broken, and I don't know what to do other than try to inspire this person to find some kind of solution and offer to be the last ditch option even though I know it's gonna be a mess if I do.  I can NOT condemn her, it's just not in me, and despite letting her go to what I thought was a secure home I still LOVE her.

Don't know what to do, I'm physically sick about this one.
~m

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Bright Day

I feel the need to atone a bit for my recent posts.  I have not been in any sort of great mood.  But today I am!

Scott's been thinking about purchasing a motorcycle trailer that we can tow behind our camp rig.  We've talked and dreamed & supposed (as we both enjoy doing).  He's way better than me at making "maybe" possible, and then following through.  I can talk 9 kinds of maybe, and wouldn't it, and perhaps, but I'm really good at deciding to hold off on that.  The few times I've jumped right in (and at least once convinced him that it was the right thing) we've both been happier for it, so I should just learn that that's part of us and go along.  He's good at making the things we want happen.

A few nights ago he brought up having a garage trailer to tow along with our retirement rig (which we're both enjoying shopping for).  Then he pointed out that having that same trailer to tow along now would be a great way to get our motorcycles to the neat places we camp (since we've both been forced to acknowledge that we can't do the sort of all bike road trips we'd LOVE to take on).  We've been some awesome places (Quartzsite being one of them) where having the motorcycles to go wander on would just be a delight.  In the process of that wondering I proposed that the same trailer would also be a shade/rainy day relaxing space for us beyond the 4' limits of our camper (which we still love, but not as much on days when we're both stuck indoors).  In my head that conversation ended on a sweet dream. 

Apparently in Scott's mind it ended on a "Make it happen" note.  So he did.  Today we both played hooky (with permission) and spent the day taking care of our "children" (you know; Lance & Dodge).  He found an amazing deal on KSL this morning and when he called the deal didn't sound too good to be true, so we climbed into the truck for a ride to Eureka.  As impulsive tag alongs go (for me) it was memorable.  We had a pleasant visit & ride together & as we neared our destination I had the treat of seeing a Gold Eagle scavenging a dear carcass on the roadside.  My only regret is that I didn't process what I was seeing in time to point it out to Scott.

We met some kindred spirits who live in Eureka & who were selling the right "needs a bit o' work" trailer.  Spent an hour with them observing, inspecting, testing & then buying & cleaning out the trailer.  Had a bit of an adventure getting it home (we're planning to completely replace the wiring anyhow so this will be our last no lights adventure).   We're being cautious to make too many plans right away.  We'll first repair the essentials (wiring, bodywork, tie downs for the bikes), then take on other projects as they become necessary.  Mostly we plan to set up tie downs and use bungees.  It doesn't need to be perfect to begin with.  I'm a little freaked out to be moving closer to our retirement (I really do like where we are) but I'm quite excited about this new part of our adventure.

Tonight we as we stood in the driveway supposing and sweeping cement dust out of the trailer it felt right.  Not brand new, not more than we could afford, not too much work, don't have to feel bad if it gets scratched...just right.  This trailer will serve us well, and help us have fun.

Today was a good day.

My Daddy's been on my mind a lot lately.  We haven't had a talk that I can remember, but I sure do feel like he's been around.  Perhaps it's the projects, it always seems like he's here helping whenever I take on a little bit more than I can handle.  His 'figure it out' mentality is one of the things I'm very glad to have inherited.  But mostly I just recognize the head pats;  Every now & then I get that awesome rumbly hug sensation.  It's nice.

Gonna sign off now & go help Scott snuggle Spazzy.  She's shedding and can't get enough grooming type attention.

-m

Monday, February 28, 2011

Another 4am

Sleep continues to evade me.  I do not like this sam I am!

Also my mother reads my blog & she thinks whaInging is a swear (cuz she couldn't possibly have meant damn or shit).  For my mother I apologize, I can not however promise not to repeat the sentiment.  I write like I talk, bad spelling, improper grammar & all.  On occasion when I feel strongly I am not opposed to an expletive or two.  Part of the package deal.

This day was pretty futile.  What vertical time I got ended up being supremely painful & in the end rather futile.  I accept this and hope for a better day tomorrow.  This pinched nerve does not like: streching, walking, laying down, sitting, driving, standing, sleeping, moving, staying still, breathing......and before anyone brings it up NO I have not & am not going to the doctor.  (That's a capitol period btw)

Gonna go take a benadryl an asprin and maybe a soma now.  Along with a LOT of water so that I actually wake up when Oscar starts yelling good morning in a couple hours.

Live long & prosper.
-m

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Can't Sleep

Ever since we got home from Quartzsite I've had a pinched nerve that puts a hitch in my gate.  Most times it's an annoyance, sometimes it's painful, at least once it's caused me to faceplant.  I've developed a HUGE appreciation for my electric hot pad.  Tonight it's WHAiNGING!!!!!!  I know that's not a word & I don't care.  It conveys the intent.  I hate to post when I'm less than my best *cause I'll whine*  but I'm up & thinking, and VERY happy to distract myself.

Scott & I are full of thoughts about our retirement strategy ever since the RV show.  It's a constant thought process but some very large points of interest were brought to our attention.  I'm pretty sure we're a salesman's nightmare cuz we're years away from buying & we're OVER researching.  When the time comes we will sell the house, CONSOLIDATE, and move forward with minimal trepidation.  In the meantime we shall dither grandly & ask too many questions.  But since neither of us is at all fond of buying new, and we could end up retiring any time now (dependent on how hard either of us is willing to work while we're retired) knowing what's on the market, and what we like is of value.  I personally don't see either of us pulling up stakes for several years.  We both like our jobs & don't completely hate where we live.  Between now & then we shall CAMP!

Thanks to this twinge in my leg/back & a nasty bug I've been pretty miserable lately.  Missed 2 days of work this week I hate losing the money (damn all of you lucky shits who have paid sick leave!!!)  but I hate pain worse.  Fran & I are still trying to figure out how to tell each other that we're making the other one miserable by being miserable.  It's just too codependent of a relationship not to effect each other.  We come up with a new way to say "I love you, but you're making me hate life" every week.  Guess that's a lot healthier, and probably not as professional as most places.  It seems to work for us.  We have mastered the hand sanitizer/disinfectant ritual that seems to keep us from making each other ill.  If only we could teach all the other people who invade our space to also respect our ritual.

Tomorrow Scott and I are either (1) piecing together Oscar's BIG cage (2) replacing the fuse & putting miles on my car so it can pass inspection (3) (and since it's now almost 4am most likely) Not putting on pants (other than pjs).  All of these options sound amazing to me in comparison to how I spent valentines & the weekend after (ill).  Also I found a recipe tonight for buttermilk waffles that have cheese baked into the crust.  Y'all know how I feel about burnt cheese.

Live long & prosper
-m