I Haven't Forgotten About You Blog

No, I haven't forgotten....just haven't been too inspired to post anything in the last 18 months. I hope to change that.

Joy

Photo obtained from here.

Joy comes in many forms and in the last 4 days we have been witness to two. The first being the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, now known the world over as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I have to admit I was interested but not so ensconced it was all I could think about until the day of the wedding. We had a small viewing party watching a recording of the big event. My friends, Mary and Jennifer, brought over some homemade scones and English tea and we watched the spectacle in awe. It was beautiful and everything a wedding should be: two people in love, gorgeous wedding gown, happy spectators, lush surroundings and music that sounded like it came from the heavens. The joy around the world was undeniable and we all couldn't help but feel it.

We had our second viewing of the wedding at our shop aka The Singalodeon, last night so our children could bear witness to this momentous occasion in history. After the kiss on the balcony was sealed we turned off the recording. Our TV just so happened to be on FOX News with Geraldo Rivera and a breaking news headline that read: Osama bin Laden is Dead. Anita and I looked at each other with blank looks on our faces and we both screamed out "What!?!"

The next hour was spent sitting in shock watching the news. Osama bin Laden? Dead? America has been trying to get this al-Quaida/ Taliban leader for years, even before his horrific attacks on 9/11. This was wonderful joyous news though in a completely different sense. Amercians came out in droves at both the White House and where the Twin Towers stood in celebration of the demise of this awful man.

Two different occassions. Two different senses of joy. Two moments in history.


Photo obtained from here.

Oh, The Irony

So I just updated the songs I can't get out of my head and I realized that they are mostly upbeat dance club songs. I have no motivation to move yet the songs I like right now are all about going to the club, dancing the night away and have a great time. Interesting....

NO-tivation

I have renamed motivation "NO-tivation" as I have none, even as I look around at the piles of things that are stacked high and the to-do lists swarming in my mind are plenty - it's not enough to get me out of this funk. I don't know why I feel so heavy, barely able to move. I'm not sick, just really tired and not excited about anything. I shouldn't be depressed but I think I might be.....or maybe I'm just really really really bored. This grey dreary weather is mostly to blame. Yesterday it was sunny and a little bit warm. I embraced the day and actually smiled. I got out the yard tools and worked for a bout 30 minutes before I pooped out and had to call it a day. I was hoping the new found enthusiasm would carry itself for at least 24 hours but it didn't. Like the wind up flashlight that holds a charge for about 15 minutes that is about as long as I lasted. So I sit here, staring at the computer trying to muster up enough energy to do something.....anything.

Happy "Spongebob" Valentine's Day!

Annabelle made her Valentine box shaped like Spongebob Squarepants. The Valentine's go through his mouth. She was very excited about the design and crafted the box all by herself -with help from Dad and his box knife.

I remember Valentine's parties at school all too well, back then we could pick and choose who we sent Valentine's to and now I feel terrible for not giving them out to everybody.

Hope your Valentine's day is wonderful. We are celebrating with a lovely fish stick dinner by candlelight. Oooooh.....

If You Give Molly a Pooper Scooper

If you give Molly a pooper scooper she's going to go outside and clean up after her dog. While she's out in the yard she'll notice that the tomato plants have frozen and are in need of being taken to the yard recycling. While she's tearing out the tomato plants she glances up and sees that the telephone line to the neighbors house is a lot lower. Upon investigation she sees that the Elderberry tree has grown over the wire and is weighing it down. She then goes over to the elderberry tree and trims the branches. While picking up the branches she pulls up a weed in the 3 seasons garden. One weed leads to three, ten and twenty weeds. While she tkaes the weeds down to the side of the road she discovers that the wheelbarrow has a hard time getting through the tall grass. She grabs the lawn mower and begins to mow the yeard. The lawnmower wheel rolls over a turd that was buried in the tall grass. Where did Molly set down that pooper scooper?

Nate Update

It's already been two months gone since "The Incident" or "The Stroke" or whatever it is you'd like to call it. Since that time we've been constantly reminded of the miracle that occured. Nate's recovery has been an interesting one. We were coached on what steps to take for his physical recovery but no one really talked us through the mental recovery. That has been the hardest. Everything is starting to mellow out now but in the weeks prior Nate was found to be goofing around one minute and extremely somber the next. He still needs his 12 hours of rest in any given time frame of the day. Since naps have been hard to come by he usually sacks out around 8 pm and wakes up very reluctantly at 7:15 am.

One other thing we realized is that the doctors warned against Nate drinking beer but they never specified why. Now we all know how much Nate loves his beer but unfortunately he learned on two seperate occasions that blood thinners and Coumadin do not a match made in heaven make. To put it nicely, Nate becomes a mischievious little devil and then doesn't remember anything once the beer buzz subsides. I remember it all too well and don't appreciate being the one to apologize for his behavior nor do I enjoy babysitting a 37 year old. I have since put forth an alcohol ban on poor Tro. Thankfully, he has agreed and has adjusted his drink palete to include O' Douls and Coors Cutter.

We are both seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as catching up with Don's Plumbing work. Nate has noticed that the doctor bills are going to be the easy thing to take care of as it's the plumbing bills we've gotten behind on that are a titch worrisome. We're working hard though to get caught up on it all.

So that's about it. Sometimes I forget that this thing even happened or maybe it's because I want to push it out of my mind, then we'll come across someone who didn't know the story and we find ourselves reliving it again through the retelling.

I need to make the appointment to see the neurologist in Boise in November, this will consist of another CT scan. Poor Nate, I'm sure we'll need to worry about what all this radiation has done to his body at some point but that's for another time. I'm so glad he's doing well and that he is here. He is too.

Summer 2010

I've been so incredibly lame about blogging. Life has been busy but there hasn't really been any big news. Then our world was rocked on Saturday, July 24 when Nate suffered a stroke. His story is told on the Caring Bridge website. I've been placing his updates there as well as the Caring Bridge site. I've also sent an enormous amount of texts an phone calls. I should paste the journal entries here as well but I think that would be overkill.

We feel so blessed to be surrounded by so much love and the St. Alphonsus staff is incredible.

It's Happening Again

Yikes! Only 5 posts this year after I swore I'd write more????? I have to say I have not been motivated to do much this year. I think I may be putting too much pressure on myself to go all out in every aspect of my life and when I don't attain a certain goal I give up on everything. So now my new mantra is "baby steps and little bites". Let's see how well this works out.

Pants on the Ground

Before I go further I want to share with you this video clip from American Idol where this guy auditioned with an original song called "Pants on the Ground" . Now I am going to share with you all, because I have no shame and am full of humility, my own personal 'pants on the ground' story.

We went to the movie Avatar this afternoon. It is a long one, clocking in at just under 3 hours. About halfway through the film my tummy decided to not feel well so I alleviated the discomfort my unbuttoning my button and unzipping my pants. I completely forgot I did this as I became so engrossed in the movie and the battle scenes. When it was finished something didn't feel right but I didn't clue in to what that was. We gathered our things, walked down the stairs of the theater and got to the door when I realized my pants were falling off of me. There was a crowd of people behind me so I couldn't just stop and adjust myself. We walked out of the theater and I'm doing all I can to keep my pants up, while holding my pop, jacket, purse and popcorn. It was hilarious! I did my best to conceal my problem while giggling the whole time. Josie and Annabelle were yelling at me to tell them what was so funny but I couldn't just blurt out that my pants were falling off of me. I finally made it to the car and told them what just happened. They had a good laugh then serenaded me with the "Pants on the Ground" song.

Quote of the Day

I came up to Nate with the nose hair tweezers as he could almost braid his. He looked at me scared and said, "I don't want to cry right now, I just put my contacts in."

Foiled Again!

I should know from the past 10 years to not fully activate New Year's Resolutions until February. My reasoning? We usually spend January sick and it throws me off for the remaining 11 months. I lose all of my momentum and then don't want to do anything until the following January.

This happened to us again for the beginning of 2010. I was so excited to start feeling quasi-normal after surgery. I was going to get back into the gym and then.....Josie and Annabelle came down with the stomach flu which kept them out of school for a week. I was able to start the Wii Fit program and made my come-back to the gym and then I got hit with strep throat. I've been out for 7 days now. I'm super tired from sleepless nights and have no motivation to even get out of PJ's.

So I'm resolving to start my resolutions in February from now on so that should thwart getting foiled in January.

2010 Resolution #1

Facebook Less......Blog More

In 2008 I wrote 75 entries and in 2009 after signing up for FB I only blogged 37 times. Ouch! My goal is to write on our blog 80 times! The entries might be boring, lame, mundane and pointless but I'm going to do it!!!!

2 down and 78 more to go.

Funny Quotes by Josie

Josie was in the middle of reading one of her stories she'd written in English class when mid-sentence she says, "What Mom, is my breath burning your eyes?" I asked her what in the world that meant and she said, "Well, I was in the middle of reading this and you started squinching your eyes. I thought maybe my breath was burning them."

This morning, I informed Josie that my friend Jeannine would be spending the night tomorrow night after we scrapbook late at the office.
"Well, that's weird." She says.
"Why?" I asked her.
"I didn't know that old people could have sleepovers. I just thought that was a kid thing."

A Preview of Coming Attractions????

This morning - the day before my 37th birthday, no less - I woke up with huge bags under my eyes. I've woken with dark circles under them but never bags. And we're not talking about a cute little clutch either, folks. We're talking a big-ass suitcase that will cost an extra $50 because it's over the weight limit.

Is this a preview of things to come for my body? My girls parts took a dump in 2009 so what's going to fall apart, blow up, and/ or drag south this year???? I can't wait...........

The Recovery - 4 Weeks Later

I was thinking that by now, four weeks after surgery, I would be feeling fantastic, have tons of energy, no longer be bloated, and have a wonderfully calm personality. Well, four weeks later and I feel.....exactly the same. I'm getting so frustrated at this point. I know the doctor said that it takes a full 6 weeks to recover but I should at least be feeling better, shouldn't I?

My Not So Magical Adventure

I am blogging from room 220 inside Gritman Medical Center. I had my hysterectomy surgery on Tuesday and everything went really well and I felt great afterwards. I was getting pampered and on a steady dose of good drugs. It's now day three and I feel like crap. I no longer get the star treatment. Maybe it's the nurses way of weaning me off of their care and making me want to go home. Now instead of back and foot massages they're making me get up and walk around every hour. How dare they! haha!

I've certainly appreciated all of the well wishes, flowers and visits and my mom, Nate and girls have been enjoying the meals that have been brought to them. We're surrounded by love and community. As Ms. Martha Stewart says, "That's a good thing."

Recovering

4 weeks ago we were on a flight to the Happiest Place on Earth. We've all finally recovered our sleep after that amount of time. Looking back on our trip, I've likened family vacations to labor and delivery. While you're in it, it is a whirlwind of emotions, some physical pain and quite a bit of screaming and yelling but after time it's remembered as the most blessed event in a lifetime. I was hoping that going on this trip would help satiate my appetite for Disneyworld but it's actually only whetted it. We can't wait to go back and do it again!

Last Day - October 5

I was up at 7 but I let everyone sleep in so I could start getting a start on the packing. Awwwww! I put a pretty big dent in the piles and about that time the family started to stir. We had a lot of meal credits left due to Annabelle's illness so we wanted to use some of them for breakfast. We finally got moving toward Hollywood Studios around 10:30 and were hoping that would give us some time to enjoy a few of our favorite attractions before heading to Epcot for our 1:45 lunch reservation in Norway.

It was another hot day and we noticed the humidity was quite high. Nate and I were both glistening by the tme we hit the park entrance and not in the beautiful way that Edward Cullin does. We went straight toward Toy Story Mania but that had a huge wait and the Fast Passes were booked until 5 pm. We noticed we were by the Prince Caspian -Voyage to Narnia so we decided to check that out as we handn't yet. That was the lamest attraction ever. It was just a glorified movie trailer. Don't even waste your time on that one. We wanted to see the Little Mermaid show but one had just started and we didn't ant to wait for 30 minutes for the next one to begin. Our next stop was the Rock n Roller Coaster and that too had a lengthy wait so we grabbed fast passes for that but we couldn't get on it until 12:45. We headed over to the Tower of Terror and were able to enjoy that one twice in a row. There wasn't really any time to try and find something else to experience so we just sat in the shade by the R n R until we could use our passes. At this time the girls were eyeballing the temporary tattoo station so we indulged their wild fanatsies and let them get body art for our last day. We rode the rollercoaster and ralized that we had about 45 minutes to get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot. So we decided to take the fastest way possible........by boat.

We actually did arrive at Epcot at 1:40 so we ran like we did a few nights ago and made it to Akershus in Norway by 1:55. We were really sweaty and drippy by now as it had started to rain a tad. Nate found a beer stand, of course so quenched his thirst by grabbing a 20 ouncer.

A little back story on Akershus, it is a Princess Character meal, we didn't tell Nate this at all as the girls thought it would be really fun for their daddy to meet all of those beautiful princesses. Nate had no clue even though there ere little girls dressed up as Disney princesses as far as the eye could see. He even read the little banner in front of the place that said we'd e dining among royalty. It wasn't until he ordered his beer when the bartender said, "Say hi to the princesses for me." did he realize what he was in for. I didn't realize that they took our family's photo with Belle at the beginning and that picture is priceless as we are completely drenched in sweat and totally shiny. Nate got a huge kick out of the experience and the girls were thrilled to have gotten the autographs and photos of themselves with Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White and Ariel. The princesses were perfect ladies and we had fun conversations with them. Cinderella asked thegirls if they had any princes and if they didn't then losing a glass slipper usually helps. Ariel asked them which sea they came from. Snow White talked in her high pitched Snow White voice. It was great. The food was alright but the atmopshere and knowing we didn't have to stand in a long line for each of the princesses was so well worth the money we didn't pay because we were on the free Disney dining plan. We definitely recommend the place for sure.

After lunch we rode Maelstrom once again. Josie loved that ride! We then walked to Soarin' to get a fast pass then on to a few attractions we didn't get to while wating for Soarin'. It started to storm a bit but the rain was evaporating before it hit the ground. We finally did Soarin' and then made our wa to World Showcase for the rest of the evening until fireworks.

Epcot has a new interactive attraction featuring Kim Possible. It is glorified geocaching and we loved it! Each girl got a mission and a 'Kimmunicator' - like a cell phone- they had to follow the prompts and do what the thing told them. Annabelle's first mission was in Mexico and she had to follow clues on her phone. They would show her a picture and she would have to find out where that was in the land. When she got there she had to point the thing at something like a picture or a sculpture and then that thing would do something special. She also did a mission in Germany and that was fun because she went to this display case of beer steins and then they sang for her. Josie had a mission in Norway and she and Nate said that one took forever. It was great fun and like geocaching it was great in that you noticed things or went into shops that you otherwise would've looked over. After our mission Josie finally found a face painting stand. She's wanted to get her face painted for days now so we let her do that despite being 2 hours away from bedtime.
We found a spot to view the fireworks near Japan and waited for the show. Again, IllumiNatins is amazin. Nate and I got goosebumps it was so good. When the show was over we slowly left the park and took everything in.

We did stop at a gift shop to by souvenirs. Nothing like waiting for the last minute to do so. This was nice as the corwds had disappated and we were able to get an actual seat on the way "home." When we arived at our resort we checked out, arranged for luggage pick up and went back to the room to shower and pack the rest of the way. Nate and Josie went swimming one last time, grabbed dinner with the last of our meal credits and we were finally in bed by 12:30 am. We slept with the bathroom light on to treat our sleep as a nap because the alarm was going off at 2:30 am.

We are now in the airport and waiting to board our plane. Thinking about our vacation we ha some tense moments but the memories will lways be happy positive and full of Disney magic. We can't wait to go back!

ATTRACTIONS
Chronicles of Narnia - It's a crummy commercial
Tower of Terror X 2
Rock n Roller Coaster
Maelstrom
Test Track
Seas with Nemo and Friends
Living with the Land
Spaceship Earth
Ellen's Energy Adventure
Spaceship Earth
Soarin - We noticed that this wa our first attraction and our last
Kim Possible
Soarin'

Typhoon Lagoon - October 4

Annabelle woke up this morning with so much energy and in much better spirits. This made us all so happy. We got ready to spend the day at Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. We knew right when we got there that we were going to love this place. It's so tropical and kitschy. We found a nice quiet shady place to drop our belongings. Our first stop was the Crush n Gusher slides that shoot you up, down and around. Then we went to the wave pool which the girls absolutely loved and spent a majority of their day there. Nate and I rather liked the lazy river. We realized that Typhoon Lagoon was one of our favorite places so far just for the fact that there was no time pressure to be at show, turn in a fast pass ticket or to be at a completely different place in the park. We could just hang out and enjoy ourselves.

The water park closed at 5 pm and we went back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our dinner reservations at Boma at 8pm. Nate and I wanted to get a caricature done of the girls before we left but the artist at our hotel was already busy doing a portrait so we were pleasantly surprised to find one at the Animal Kingdom Lodge who was just wrapping up with a customer. He was very nice and the picture turned out very cute. It's of the girls fighting which is something they have been very good at this trip. While one was posing we'd go with the other one to look at the animals. The Animal Kingdom Lodge has a huge wildlife preserve on property so you can view zebras, giraffes, flamingos and other animals up close. It's very impressive.

Boma is a buffet that serves African-type cuisine. I sampled all of it and it was very good. Annabelle, of course, only wanted the mac and cheese. She was starting to burn out from being outside in the sun all day.

Over dinner we contemplated going to the Magic Kingdom one last time as it was open until 1 am. We ha to go to a park anyway as Disney transportation doesn't go from resort to resort. We decided to go for it. We arrived there at 9:30 and couldn't believe the crowd size. It was much more busy than it had been on Thursday. We still managed to make a few rides but were perplexed as to why there was a 40 minute wait for the Peter Pan ride at 11 pm!

We finished off our evening with a Dole Whip from Aloha Isle. We decided we'd do our best to get up early to hit Hollywood Studios one last time with the afternoon spent at Epcot. Upon arrival into our "suite" the girls thought it would be fun to imitate their art and had a huge fight in our room so as of now we're all sleeping in and packing our bags INSTEAD of going to Hollywood Studios. How is it that can they can be so good one minute and the next just blow up?

It's 1:30 am now and I'm thinking of all the things that need to get done for the return trip home. We haven't even done any souvenier shopping. ACK!!!!! *frustration squiggle*

ATTRACTIONS
Everything at Typhoon Lagoon
Haunted Mansion
Hall of Presidents
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Philharmagic

INJURIES
*Sore feet from the rough ground at Typhoon Lagoon
*Sunburns from the day at the water park - apparently I should've been better at reapplying but you should've seen all the poor lobster bastards we encountered there our small burns have nothing on those red guys


WHAT I'VE LEARNED
*Lazy rivers get you away from reality and then the fighting children will bring you right back to it
* I am thankful that we stayed at the cheap resort as we were hardly in our room. However, I do think it's a great idea to tour the other ones to see what you're missing out on. They are amazing!