Goonie Adventurer’s tales

Today I am supposed to behave myself and stay down, which is REALLY hard to do when I feel fine.  So, why do I need to stay down, you ask? Well, I reply, yesterday afternoon, I had a crown put on a tooth AND another one pulled out.  So I find myself holding my mouth in funny positions subconsciously baby-ing it and praying my jaw doesn't lock into that place!  As long as I don't bend forward too low, causing pressure to build up with that motion, I can pretty much get around.  I'm sitting at the computer right now because I can feel myself getting a little tired.  I've been working on laundry this morning, thanking the Lord that the level of our mattress is at my waist so I can do it standing up. Later this morning after a couple of rousing round of 4 deck spider solitaire, I plan to watch "Jane Eyre" which I've never seen before.  I am a sucker of Jane Austen-type movies, and save them for special occasions because nobody else in my family likes them.  Wouldn't you agree that being forced down deserves some special treatment??

On another subject, with our tax return this year we have been able to get caught up on a few project that we've been putting off and putting off and putting off.  One of which is the mattress I mentioned above.  We FINALLY got new ones! Yeah!  We have been on the same mattress since we got married, which is coming up on 18 years this summer.  Ahhhhh....sweet sleep.  I *love* the new mattress and am sleeping deeper and feeliing much more rested in the mornings.

Another thing that Chris was able to do was finish our back patio!  Woo Hoo!!  When we bought the house almost 2 years ago, we had a little patch of grass about 16x20 or so that Chris quickly got tired of dragging a lawnmower back to mow.  He had to either go through the house with the mower or go through our side gate and then through a tight pool area & gate to get back there.  So since the kids have out-grown little lawn toys, I thougth, hey, let's dig it up and brick the whole thing over so we can have more room to stretch out!  Well, now it's done...what do you think?

 

Now I can't wait to have friends over for BBQing and hanging out!  It just feels so good to have these big projects taken care of.  If you're in the neighborhood, stop in and say hi! 

I know, I know, it's been over a month since I've posted.  Life just seemed to ramp up a bit due to a couple of things and blogging has taken a back seat.  Quite honestly, I probably wouldn't be blogging right now except for the fact that I'm in our dining room keeping an eye on my darling daughter and her boyfriend snuggle together while watching a movie.  So, Mom is just making sure no other funny business goes on.  So far, so good.

So, two things have entered my life to make it a bit busier: bookkeeping and Facebook.  First, the bookkeeping.  You may recall I've said on occasion, NO MORE!  Well, my pastor came to me and pleaded with me to help him out, promising that I could do things my way.  He suggested that my talents would better serve the church in the office instead of the platform singing on worship team.  Two years ago those would be fightin' words, but now, I'm acutally OK with it.  I've gotten the worship leading bug out of my system, and while I enjoy the stage, I don't live and breathe it any more.  So, with that in mind, it would almost be a sin not to help him out if I've got the knowledge and know-how to help him where he needs it most.

Second, is Facebook.  I have to admit, I was a skeptic, but now I'm hooked.  I've made 'friends' with family, cousins, long-lost friends, and co-workers.  I've got friends all over the world, across the US, and some right on my street.  When tragedy struck in Oregon last week, I was able to keep tabs on what was going on.  It's just cool stuff like that that I've been able to see and do.

One other thing that's new in my schedule is the hospital changed my work hours from 2 12 hour shifts to 3 8 hour shifts, so I'm there now 3 days a week.  I don't mind really, I have more energy at the end of the day, and it's not like I'm trying to work my schedule around school like the other girls.

In other news, this week my kids are on spring break, so they are at home.  Last Friday, we got to go to San Diego to see my sister who happened to be in town, and it was SO nice to see her.  I really have missed my friends and family back in Oregon a lot.  Sea World was fun, but a bit overpriced in my humble opinion.  I look forward to going back some day, hopefully with better maps.  I'm not sure what I was or was not thinking not going with a bona fide map, but I only took mapquest directions from our house to the motel to Sea World, and that just wasn't enough.  So, I tore out (gasp!) the maps in the phone book in the motel room and that worked some to get us around.  I must say that for a novice to the roads in SD, the signage is very poor, but we made do. 

You are now up-to-date on our going's on.  Have a nice spring break wherever you are!

My son, Mark, is almost 11 years old, and lately, I've stated to see glimpses of the man he will become.  He is growing taller, his foot is bigger than mine, and he can figure riddles out better than I can.  One day last week, we were all in the car driving home, and Mark proceeds to tell us about an opportunity he had to use a pass and skip a math assignment.  He told us that he he decided that that wasn't in his best interest because if he skipped doing the assignment, he wouldn't know the material for the upcoming test, so he didn't use the pass.  WOW!  My husband and I just looked at each other in wonder and told him what a great decision he had made. 

I also went on a field trip with his class last Friday to the Junior Achievement BizTown, where the 5th graders get to put into practice the economics that they've learned in class, and "run" a town for a day.  There are stores of all kinds that the kids run such as a State Farm agency, Wells Fargo bank, a print shop, a cable company, Papa John's restaurant, etc.  Mark was a "sales manager" for a UPS store, and I was so proud of him as he sold stamps to his classmates, deposited his "paycheck" into his bank account, and chose how to spend his savings.  All of the kids really warmed up to the responsibility and had a great time.

As a Mom, it's so hard to see them grow into each new phase, but so exciting to see how they continue to develop.  I am so proud of him, but of course, I already said that, huh? 

Chris got home on New Year's Day, yeah!!  The thing is, ever since, I have felt VERY unmotivated to do much of anything.  Being solely responsible for the household, getting the kids to do their chores & homework, run errands, do the bookkeeping, working, shopping for Christmas, getting ready for our own trip to Galveston, prepping Sarah for her trip to San Diego...you see how pooped I am!  I don't want to cook, I don't want to clean, I just want to sleep, and let someone, anyone do stuff around the house.  Even now, though I am recovering from part 2 of a root canal, I am sitting in front of the computer numbing out my mind playing Mahjongg tiles and Spider solitaire (the 4 deck kind, of course).  I stretch, and think I should go and check the mail, and I think, "oh, maybe in a little while."  It's not that I feel blah, I just feel SO lazy! 

Work has been especially busy lately, too.  So, that's tiring me out, too.  I work 12 hour shifts, and when you are on the go, and "on" your game all day, coming home you feel a little like mush for brains.  I really do like what I do, in fact I asked for a busier floor to work on, because I don't like being bored doing monotonous things all day long.  And believe me, being in the business of people is not boring.  Just yesterday, one person had a stress test and was fine, so they went home.  Another thought they had chest pain, but ended up having raging gastritis due to the oral chemo he was on; he went home with something like Nexium.  Then another lady was in for what I can't remember, but late in the day her heart rate accelerated and she starting hyperventilating a little, turns out it looks like she had a pulmonary embolus, and she was whisked downstairs to the CCU within minutes.  Kudos to Becky the nurse for noticing what was going on!  So, that's a snippet of a typical day at work.

I have to tell you the funniest story from work that actually happened a couple of months ago, but now is a good a time as any to tell you(--keep in mind, I work on the cardiac unit with most people in for chest pain...)  There was a much older lady in the room across from my desk, and early in the day, she had a strange reaction to her meds, getting out of bed and was confused, so the nurse gave her something like Ativan (a mild tranquilizer), and she ended up snowed all day long!  So, a couple of hours later, radiology wanted to do a test and the transporter tried to rouse her to go downstairs.  He was unable to, so he recruited the nurses help.  They are both in her room now shouting at her to get her attention, and then they start doing a sternal rub.  If you don't know, a knuckle rub to the sternum (your breastbone in the middle of your chest) is one of the most painful things you can experience, which is why medical personnel use it sometimes to get your attention, it usually works quickly.  So, back to the story, the nurse starts doing a sternal rub on the patient, and she starts moaning, "ooo, I'm having chest pain!"  Boy, did we have a good laugh over that one!

On another happy, note, the AZ Cardinals are playing a home game on Sunday, and it looks like we'll get to go!  Of course, remember, it'll be to sell beer, soda, kettlecorn and peanuts, but, hey, I'll be there!  Go Cards! 

On September 12, 2008, Hurricane Ike (category 3) hit Galveston Island off the Coast of Texas.  On October 28, my husband, left our home in AZ to go there to repair/remodel two apartments that were damaged by the 3 feet of flooding by sea water.  It has been an incredible journey for all of us to experience.  Us, to keep the home-fires burning, and Chris to be a part of Hurricane recovery, and all of it will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

The week before Christmas, the kids and I were privileged to fly back there to see Chris for a few days since we missed him so much and we were going to be separated for Christmas, so this was the second best alternative.  Plus, we wanted to see what "Dad" was working on and see for ourselves the condition of the island.  Upon arrival at night time, this was one of the first things I saw...

 

 

I thought, wow, some kind of prices!  Must be Island pricing...Chris, said, look closer... and I saw a gas station frozen in time, where there was a fence up around it and the pumps were gone.  A chilling sight.  (here are pictures during the daytime...note the boat next to the station in one of the pics)

 

 

While it's been 3 months since the hurricane, there is still a FEMA office in the local community center, bulldozers moving sand and debris around, and people starting to get their lives back.  You will see billboards advertising legal services for the "right" insurance claims, signs on businesses declaring if their open or not, and cruise ships starting to come back and dock near the historic downtown "Strand" area.  But, still there is so much damage to be dealt with:

 

 

Having never been near such a disaster, it was an incredibly moving experience for me, and I believe my children as well.  Sarah took lots of video with her phone, and there was a lot of murmurs of "wow" and "look at that!" and such as we drove past various points of damage. 

If you have had a roof over your head, if you've had a warm place to sleep, if you've had food on the table this year, thank God.  There are so many others that have had their lives torn apart by much more than the economy, and they need our prayers.

PS--Happy Birthday Charmagne!

Mark had his first band concert tonight!  He was very nervous, but did a great job!  Here is a video for you (keep in mind these are 5th graders playing together for the first time...)

Oops, the third video down is not of Mark, but Sarah's marching band, sorry! 

 

 

Anyway, in other news, I'm just about done with my Christmas cards, I've plans to make my Christmas candy this weekend, the tree is up, and we're counting the days till we leave for Texas next week to see Chris.  We miss him SO much! 

 

Tomorrow, I'm taking the kids to see the Singing Christmas Tree @ Phoenix First Assembly of God.  I went there to see their show something like 20 years ago.  I was in a similar production myself a time or two, and they're always fun to see.  Sunday will be a blessed "down" day, with nothing on the calendar except maybe Christmas shopping at the mall.

I hope your holidays are going well!

I've been doing some baking recently with pumpkin being in season and holiday parties to go to.  I went to a party last night where there was a bake-off for bragging rights for the year, and I brought a triple-layered peanut butter brownie dessert that was scrumptious!  (Alas, I was beaten out by chocolate covered cookie dough balls)  While I was making the brownies, Sarah and some friends were over and I overheard one of the boys say that it always smells good at our house.  High praise indeed from a teenage boy!!  I just smiled.  Then, I made some pumpkin bread on a promise to Sarah since I didn't make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. (I made a pecan pie that day), and the house was filled with a delicious pumpkin/cinnamon/clove scent that would make your knees go weak.  Poor Duke, he was giving me this baleful look that said, "You're seriously going to cook like this and NOT give me a bite?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????" 

Next on the agenda to cook are my yearly candies that Sarah has already been begging me for:  rocky-road fudge and milk and while (respectively) chocolate peppermint bark.

Don't you wish you were here??  Merry Christmas!

Well, as you can see, I haven't posted for quite a while!  I've been single-parenting while my husband is off in Galveston rebuilding a couple of apartments that were flooded during Hurricane Ike.  Pleae pray for the people of Galveston, their city looks like a war zone and their vouchers for lodging at local hotels expire this weekend, and many will be turned out into the streets unless something happens.

So since he's been gone, I've been a busy little bee working and keeping up with the kids!  Mark got an award for PERSERVERANCE  at the quarterly Pride Assembly at school:

Then, Sarah's marching band, the Barry Goldwater Pride Regiment, made it to the State Marching Band Compeittion, where they performed to a Superior rating:

 

 

It was a lot of fun being with the kids, and they did a great job!  Their next adventure will be to play at the Holiday Bowl in San Diego

between Christmas and New Years.  You might even see them on TV?!

Here is a video of their last song:

 

 

 

 

Then...my darling daughter turned 15!!!  Since her birthday was on a Monday, we had a nice family dinner at my Aunt's house.  The next day was Veteran's Day, and the kids had no school, so we scheduled her party for that day.  We took them to a local roller skating rink where they had a blast, and my house wasn't trashed by a bunch of teenagers.  Everybody wins!

The weekend after that, our church hosted a craft bazaar that was a blast!  I just love browsing the homemade, kitschy stuff, spending too much money!  Since I was on the planning committee, in charge of vendor relations/placement/cash management, I had a bit of a personal investment, but that also left me able to roam throughout during the day and soak everything in:

The weekend after the Harmony Bazaar, my darling husband got to come home for a visit!  It was SOOOO good to see him!  It was hard to believe that he'd been gone 3 1/2 weeks already!  The time seems to be flying by, but I must say that the week before he came home was the hardest.  It was weird having him home, it was like having a out of town guest, trying to do fun things over the weekend to make the most of our time together.  Duke, our puggle, was fairly whining with glee to see Chris.  It has been easier than you would think to be apart.  For one thing, we had been spending too much time together earlier in the year when we were both unemployed, which led to a lot of arguing.  Not good.  So, since absence makes the heart grow fonder, this short separation has been good for us.  It is always good to evaluate yourself and your mate and remember what brought you together in the first place (even if your memory is  a bit fuzzy after 17 years!)

So, you ask, were you together for Thanksgiving?  Sadly, no.  The airfare prices were so much better before the holiday, that we chose to make the sacrifice.  Thankfully, I didn't have to work Thanksgiving, so the kids weren't alone.  What we DID do, was take my Grandpa out to lunch since my Aunt was out of town.  He was so grateful to be with us and always tells me what beautiful children I have.  He truly epitomizes what Thanksgiving is all about.  After that, we were invited to go to a friend's house and partake of their dinner.  I took my Aunt's recipe for spinach salad with homemade balsamic dressing, and it was a hit!  Thanks, Ali!

As I look to December, Christmas in AZ is somewhat of an oxymoron.  Sunshine and Santa just doesn't seem right somehow, and I feel like I'm going through the motions.  I had Chris put up the Christmas lights outside before he left in October, but can't stand the people who light up before Thanksgiving, so I just turned the timer on today.  This month will see parties with friends, Christmas plays, and holiday band concerts with both kids.  I feel blessed that we will end the year still in our house, even though it could have been very different with the way things have been this year.  The most important thing is that we are bound together in love, in God, and there's nothing more I can ask for.

I just got off the phone with Frontier Airlines/Barclay's Visa company.  I am so angry I am trembling.  I signed up for one of their visa cards over the summer because they were not affiliated with Chase Bank, because you cannot do balance transfers between two different visa cards if they are both from a Chase Bank.  So, I thought, go with a card that is outside of the Chase conglomerate:  Frontier!  What happened though was I submitted my payment online on Oct 10 with a statement due date of 10/13.  My bank didn't deliver the payment until the 15th, so Frontier slaps me with a late fee AND charges me 20.99% finance charge.  I was supposed to have no interest for 6 months.  So, I called Froniter this morning to ask that they take the APR off my card because it was my bank's fault for the late payment, not mine.  No dice.  They took off the late fee, but they maintain that I paid my bill late, so sad, too bad.  Whatever happened to customer service?  I shudder to think of what would happen if we really ended up with a Socialist society where the government was in charge of these type of things.  God help us all.

For the last two weeks, we have been preparing our family for my husband to leave town to work in Galveston, TX.  As a residential remodeler, he was asked by a friend to go there to repair the hurricane damage, and the pay was too good not to send him off.  I tell ya, it is weird shopping to help him “move” out.  The plan is for him to be gone at least 4 weeks, but as long as 8, so we outfitted him with a coffee maker, microwave, his own printer to go with our laptop, let alone all the things we share like toothpaste, shampoo, towels, plates, bowls, silverware and the like.  We’ve never been separated more than 10 days before, so we don’t quite know what to expect with this type of separation.  To quote our son, “we sad to see him go, but glad he’s going to make money.”

 

In the meantime, we’ve been busy with several marching band events for Sarah.  They’ve all been great fun, but we’re getting ready for the busyness to be over.  Only 3 more weeks!  Last Saturday, Sarah’s school hosted a marching band festival where the bands perform and hope for a rating or ranking good enough to qualify for the state competition.  We had 30 bands from all over the state of AZ come, and it lasted ALL DAY long.  Chris and I signed up to help with a concessions stand where we offered a menu to delight a teenager…pizza, hotdogs, and nachos.  Can I say that kids LOVE to eat!  We were busy all day serving it up, and if it weren’t for a 4 hour break we got in the afternoon, we would have been at the stand from 8am -11pm.  Our whole family basically collapsed when we got home.  Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time at the festival, but we weren’t totally prepared for the onslaught of hungry teenagers!

 

Looking ahead for this week, I am really looking forward to Thursday!  No plans, just a day to chill after a busy week.  Maybe a day to break open a new puzzle?  We’ll see!