Uh....Hello?

Testing....testing....

Is this thing on?

I don't know if I dare post. I could have earlier today and then argued against it because I'm going away all weekend and don't have any pictures or energy anyway. What's fun about that? But then, my addiction to this awesomely fast internet connection got the juices flowing and here I am, it's nearly eleven o'clock at night, scrawling out a few meaningless nothings.

Well, we're here! I love our place, love the clubhouse with the fabulous pools and mineral sitz bath, love my location, loving having my sister nearby, love this little computer cubby corner that is going to help control my internet urges yet keep me focused when I do get a chance to surf and read. I feel content.

Leaving was hard but not killer. I know the great people I left will be great people I will love my entire life. I'm kind of excited to have more blogs to read from people I have a strong/real-life connection to in order to support my case for blogging. I've always said it's the best way to keep in touch. Pictures, done on your own time, available to comment...it's the perfect set-up.

We left Wednesday night at about 7:00 pm. I left about 45 minutes before Jay because he had to go back to the hospital to read some mammograms (total bureaucratic/federal government mess. Something about a certain amount of numbers before a certain date or something like that. He actually parked our 26 foot Penske truck on the street and ran in to read 20 mamms. Funny). Due to his heavy load (we filled that thing to the brim!), I was able to go faster and got to Dillon at about 1:30 am. He didn't roll in until about 3:30. Luckily, the only room left was the gigantic family suite with an entire living room/kitchen and two separate bedrooms. I slept in the big bedroom with the boys with two queen beds and he slept in the single bedroom so that he could sleep in. We weren't in any hurry to get back on the road so we didn't start again until 11:00.

Again, I drove ahead of him but this time he had Seth and Sam with him and I only had Henry. Oh...Henry got totally sick on Wednesday as I was trying to get all the last things packed and finished. He had a high fever and was lethargic and wouldn't you know it....all he needed and wanted to be held by me, which was the absolute last thing I was actually able to do right then. Tylenol with Codeine was a necessity and he was drugged on it for the next two days. It actually made traveling easier because he was so out of it or asleep the entire time. But, he was legitimately sick. I wouldn't have kept dosing him out of convenience. Truth!

Getting into town turned into a total disaster. I'm going to spare the details because it is long and painful and my therapist has told me to let it go (imagining my happy place), but suffice to say, there were no keys to get in, 95 degree heat, rush hour traffic and a sick little tyke. Luckily, I have a freakishly strange memory and happened to remember (although not on the first try...more like the 100th - so it could have been and much more likely was, grace) the code to the lock box. We got in!

Jay's brother, Clark, came to help us out and Sarah had organized a posse from her singles ward to help us unload and everything was off the truck in less than an hour. I ordered a bunch of pizzas to feed the crew and then they all happily went swimming at the clubhouse. So easy to please! Jay, Seth and Sam left the next day for the cattle drive-in with Grandpa and Grandma and Henry and I were left with boxes and fatigue. I didn't do anything Friday. I kept falling asleep! I think I fell asleep four different times that day. Pretty pathetic.

Saturday, I unloaded the kitchen and boys bedroom. I really was starting to feel bored and grumpy with my circumstance. Sarah mocked me for my dependence on technology but I really didn't enjoy not knowing what was going on in the world (I read the news online), what was going on with SYTYCD (Sarah saved the day later on by letting me go to one of her friend's condos who had recorded it....total mood lifter) and with my family and friends. I only had my cell phone, which isn't my favorite thing. It's small and I have to press it to my ear to hear well but the battery gets hot so my cheek gets hot. It definitely does not get me to my happy place, no matter how great the conversation might be rocking.

Sunday, I went to Sarah's singles ward and Henry was, of course, the only child. Man...when that natural buffer of family noise is absent (singles wards are really, really quiet), even happy sounds from Henry had my stomach in knots. I went home, tried to unpack some more but felt like everything was just OUT by then.

Monday, I kicked it up a notch and really made some progress. Boxes were flattened and taken out, I vacuumed, made beds and wiped down all the counter tops. Finally, I felt a smidgen of homeyness and that our new home wasn't this complete disaster. Doing that really helped. That, and having my three boys get home! Henry immediately remembered his more fun brothers and left my side for the first time in four days.

Tuesday felt like summer. We went swimming in the pool, made our first real meal in our gluten free kitchen with our new pots and pans. It was fun!

And today....we are back in the current decade. Yes, it's easier to get things done without the distractions of internet and t.v. Yes, I could live without it and the time away was actually completely necessary or I might still have 80 boxes in my house. But...I like it this way a whole lot better.

Until Sunday!

No Time to Blog

It's killing me! I just came to get updates and don't have time to individually comment on all of your fabulousness but collectively, you are all fabulous.

I don't know if this will be my signing-off blog. I hope not. I have some pictures I'd like to add that will seem less necessary in a week. Just know, for now, I'm knee deep in clutter and boxes, but have lots of hope that we will pull it all together. Actually, we don't have a choice. We will pull it all together!

If it is my last post here, then the next time I'll be checking in is in a week. Comcast can't get me set up until the 27th. I'm all for turning off the phone, shutting off the t.v. when it comes to camping or outdoors, but inside a home, well....it's almost barbaric!

First day of summer here and it's been great. Out of necessity, my boys have been in the backyard nearly all day, except for a swimming party that Seth's first grade teacher has. So it's been swings and soccer and swimming here today...perfect. Now, if mom and dad could just get in on the action.

This week is not going to be my favorite week ever.

Book Review #4 - My Name Is Asher Lev

Written over a week ago....

I had never heard of the author Chaim Potok. I seem to be in the vast minority. Especially among readers, which I had kind of hoped I was. But when things like this happen, I'm reminded that I'm really not. My sister, Jen, lent me this book to read and I walked around it for several months. Finally, last week, I picked it up and started.

It wasn't a page turner at all. I could put it down easily and, to be truthful, I didn't even like this book until about 3/4 of the way into it. Now, I emphatically say that it is one of the best books I have ever read.

There is so much to say about this book. Throughout my entire reading of it, I kept thinking the book was about "this" or "that", only to be surprised by realizing the subject matter went far deeper. At first I thought it was about an art prodigy; that a difficult path is taken when your child is special or gifted.

It kind of is.

Then I thought it was about the pain and awkwardness of being a religious Jew right after the second world war.

Again, kind of.

Then I thought it was like The Namesake and the struggle between parents and children and different generations.

Getting closer.

Ultimately, I think this book is about perception. What is honoring your father and mother and what is following your dream? What is tradition and what is truth? What is the better choice? What is the better life? Whose point of view matters?

I experienced a lot of frustration while reading this. First of all, this book is about so many things that I either know nothing about or that don't interest me. For instance, Asher Lev is a art prodigy. As he is the main character, art - its history and technique - is a frequent subject matter. I know very little about art. It was hard for me to respond to Asher Lev's need to draw and paint. As a person without any particular passion, I had to take his word for it that for him, drawing and painting wasn't a hobby, or something he liked to do, but that it was who he was, an insatiable need that controlled him. That sort of passion would probably cause problems in any family but when you are a Hasidic Jew and the son of an important emissary of the Rebbe (I'm thinking kind of like a prophet) whose life work is to create safe places to teach the Torah to religious Jews throughout Europe, that passion tears apart a family.

My second frustration is probably apparent by now. I know very little about Judaism. There is a no apologizes approach to Potok's description of Jewish life. Obviously a Jew himself, he doesn't write for the goyim (are you frustrated? That's the Jewish term for the Gentile. Yeah...I know. I had to learn it all too).

It's not easy to read. There is a noticeable lack of emotion written about such an emotionally charged situation. Short, perfunctory sentences that made me feel as frustrated with the situation as I felt Asher Lev did with his father who did not get art. By the end of the book, I could appreciate it for the technique that it was. Asher Lev was the narrator and we experienced the story through Asher Lev. That containment of emotion, the abrupt conclusion of dialogue with his parents...that was his existence.

It all builds up to this pinnacle of frustration, this burst of emotion that brings the most hurt to his parents although that is what his art is about...his hurt, his mother's hurt, his father's hurt. I actually cried through this part. I rarely cry. It's that good.

I feel like I'm leaving out huge chunks of what I took away from reading this. I can't believe some people got to read this as part of their high school literature. This is the kind of story that needs to be discussed and broken down. I'm jealous of people who had that chance. I hate reading great literature like this and my only outlet is a poorly written summary on my blog. Even if someone read it now, and we discussed it, those initial raw emotions are gone. THAT is what I feel I missed out on.

So...now I am more learned. I know about Chaim Potok. I feel like I just graduated to another level as a reader. Who else don't I know about????

Gifts and A Date

Poor Jay only has two times of celebration a year. His birthday and father's day are always the same week. Our anniversary and Christmas are always the same week. I tend to follow Costco's creed and believe bigger is better when it comes to gifts so usually combine the two so I can give something with some oomph.

Now, throw in a big residency graduation and I sort of lose control. Remember faulty A/C fiasco last week? Well, had that not happened, and we not shuffled money around, I would never have believed it possible to give Jay the kind of gift I wanted to. Something that really made an exclamation point at the end of this all. I got some advise from friends, and went ahead and surprised Jay with this.

We're not opening it until we move. But...what fun it'll be then, eh?

He's never asked for one. Never even said he wanted one. But what guy doesn't, right? I'll spare you the details of me getting it at Costco, by myself, with Sam and Henry. Thank goodness I have good hips! The boys and I lugged it downstairs to surprise him and he loved it! I'm so glad. The rest of the night was spent celebrating with BBQ ribs and a gluten free cake decorated with peanut butter m&ms. We get fancy here!

Don't look! No greens, blues, reds, or orange...but our meal had a lot of browns!

Hey, it was a party.

I'm no Amberlicious. Look at the melted frosting from all the heat of the burning candles!

33 Candles really lights up a cake! The boys were impressed he managed to blow it out with one breath.

Last week, Jason and Andrea called me and told me their idea for a graduation gift forJay. They had an XM radio that they weren't using as they replaced it when they put in a new DVD player in their suburban. They wanted to install the receiver in Jay's truck! If you read the 100's list I made for Jay, you know he needs continuous noise! Their idea was perfect. I called Jay and made up a story about Jason needingto borrow his truck for some stuff. Jay about fell over himself trying to be helpful and "sure, sure, sure"ed them that of course, they could borrow it. Jason drove to the hospital and picked up Jay's truck and left his own vehicle, a very nice SUV, for Jay to drive home. He took the truck to an install place and had the new system set up.

Jay had NO idea about any of this, so when Jason and Andrea stopped by later in the evening to switch cars, they acted like something had happened to the truck while they were borrowing it. Jason asked Jay if he'd come outside to look at something in the truck that "fell out" and when Jay looked inside, he saw the new XM radio. It was one of the best surprises I've been in on. Thanks Jason and Andrea!

Significantly ups the joy of riding in the truck!

Jay got lots of other great gifts for his birthday. Nice cards and gift money from his family, gluten free chips from Chad and KariAnn and a NASCAR book from the boys. I bought it for them at Costco and you wouldn't believe the license it gives people to talk to you. "NASCAR huh? Cool." "Ooooh, Can I look at that?" It was like they wanted to whip out the hot dogs and beer right in the store. Comrades I'm not sure I want to have. But, I'm mellowing. And, darn it all, I'm learning a heck of a lot about NASCAR in the process.

I received this fantastic blogger's cookbook from Elizabeth in the mail. It is awesome! Some of you ladies are some pretty fancy schmancy cooks, though! Really, I can't wait to try some of these salads. Most of them, Jay can eat, and they look good too! Elizabeth, I know a lot of work went into those and I absolutely love it. Thank you!

Can't wait to try it!

The start of our date. Not super smart since I was actually driving here.

Seth has been wanting a Mommy/Son date for forever, and I promised him we'd have one when Jay's evenings freed up. Last night seemed the perfect time to do it, so we headed to Hangar 57, a pizza place where his class went on a field trip last week. We arrived at 5:30 and the place was pretty dead. Because it was a date, and I wanted the night to be just so, I gave him four quarters to play the video games. Two of them got eaten by the machines! Can you believe it? Unfortunately, they were the only quarters I had.

We ordered a medium pizza - half pepperoni, half canadian bacon/green pepper/red onion. A decent thin crust medium pizza that was very, very delicious.

See the Karaoke sign? Oh what fun could have been had!

Uh-oh...what's that? A huge projection screen showing the Spurs/Cavalier game? Seth is immediately distracted. There is like a super chip in his brain, that when sports are on, all other functioning is limited. Whatever, I'm fine with it.

So I eat. And Seth eats. We talk a little. Then a bunch of his friends come in celebrating a baseball season. Literally, about 20 kids in all (siblings included) and at least five of them are other first graders Seth knows from class and school. He leaves the table to watch them play the video games and I eat some more. It's good pizza! Seth had already finished his half of the pizza. That kid can put it down!

There was no competing with this!

Cute little waitress wearing her camo uniform (get it...Hangar 57? Fighter planes?) walks over and sees our empty pizza tray.

"Oh! You guys were hungry! I guess you don't need a box!"

Totally unnecessary comment. Nothing endearing, funny, encouraging, helpful about it. Running along the same lines would be comments like, "Another refill? You're drinking it faster than I can fill it!" or "You obviously liked your dinner!" Ever gotten any of those? Or are you a more delicate eater than I am?

It was still fun, even with the comment, and Seth can't wait for our next date. I'm going to make sure there aren't any TV's at the next place, though!

Em-MOE-ee

Big sister, Emily, holding brand new me!

Emily and Jay share a birthday. And I do the whole cleaving thing that's recommended, so Emily usually gets a bum rap from me. But, she's is such a fantastic person, that, even though it's a day late, my birthday joy for her is equally heartfelt.

Of all my siblings, Emily is the most shy. Believe me, she let me know more than once, that a birthday blog about her was not necessary. Not doing one was pretty much out of the question, but I did realize while thinking about what to write, that I really do have the least amount of history with her. And less history means way less pictures. She graduated and left home when I finished sixth grade and I think I got my first camera in Jr. high!

That doesn't translate into any decrease in closeness, however. I would say Emily and I are very close. Even though she's north of the border now, we still instant message every day AND rumor has it that she now has free long distance. I have a feeling we'll be talking a lot more. She's always been the best on the phone. A conversation over an hour isn't out of the norm when talking to her!

What I love most about Emily is her friendship. She is a great friend. She knows how to be a girlfriend. A little food, a little fun, a lot of conversation...and always laughter. She is my oldest sister, and the only one I didn't have any college experience with, and for that reason, I think it took us the longest to find our own adult relationship. In fact, my memories of her when she lived at home and how I view her as a person now, are completely different.

Singing during Family Home Evening.

I thought she looked so cool with these glasses. I can't even remember if the were real though. I don't think you wear glasses now, do you? Oh...and nice bubble!:)

Growing up, Emily was my idol. She is very talented when it comes to hair and could braid it, rag curl it, perm it, and eventually color it at home. I even let her help me with my hair on my wedding day but she burned my head with the curling iron. She is absolutely beautiful and I always wanted to look like her. I wanted her clothes. (Unfortunately, I followed her down the path of jeans with no back pockets. Yikes...what was the name of that brand?) I wanted to wear make-up just like her (I was too young, but did experiment with the unfortunate midnight blue eyeliner and color mascara from her make-up bag)

You can't really see it but she always wore this exotic dark midnight blue eyeliner. She also did a lot of hair experiments with me. I think in an attempt to copy her, once again, I cut my own bangs. You can see the results. Those aren't wisps. That's the actual length.

Funny, but as I was looking for old pictures of her, my strongest emotion came from what she was wearing. I remember all of her clothes because I would dress up in them.

Ah...the black velvet dress. This was one of my favorites.

The big white prom dress? All my friends and I coveted it's fluffy elegance (I so wish I had access to the pictures).

I love her shy smile that her son Connor now wears. I love her love of exotic food. I love her strong sense of family and effort to stay close even though she has fewer opportunities than the rest of us to physically see each other. I love her savvy online ways. I love her sense of adventure by having exchange students live with her and experience being part of her family. I love how she is always willing to help a friend, whether it's through a message board, or letting someone who is pregnant come and use her new bathtub.

She is more interested in homeopathy than anyone else in our family... cloth diapers and herbal remedies, but isn't a freak about it. Her interest has brought a lot of knowledge to the rest of us who would never have sought out information about any of that stuff.

I chose Erasure as the mood music because I vividly remember her coming home from her first year of college and introducing me to this sound! What is this electronic dance fabulousness? It opened up a whole new world for me! That and the fact that a store called the GAP existed. She is a great mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend. I hope you had a fabulous birthday! Love you!

JAY DAY!!

Happy Birthday to my absolute favorite person in the whole wide world! Today, my darling man turns 33! When the 100 lists started, I remember thinking it would be funny to do them for our spouses. See what was different on them. And, what a perfect opportunity to try out my experiment on Jay Day! In my eyes, he's three times as cool as anyone I've ever met, which would already create a list of 99. And everyone needs one to grow on!

Here's 100 things about Jay - Lucy style:

1. He was born in a small town in Colorado.
   
   Standing in front of the house he spent his first four years in.
   
2. He's the fifth of seven children.
3. He has three brothers and three sisters.
4. He grew up helping his dad on their ranch. Lots of knowledge about hay and cows and all that useful stuff.
5. He has green eyes. He used to think they were brown. Infact, his driver's license says brown. I always shake my head about this. Yes...there are flecks....but, babe, they are GREEN!
6. He has a think about noses. It's the first thing he notices about people.
7. He has wonderful parents who completely support him.
   
   
8. He used to have a crush on Kate Jackson from Charlie's Angels.
   
9. He served a mission in the Dominican Republic.
10. He majored in Spanish.
11. Speaking Spanish comes in very handy in Denver. Not so much up here in the pacific northwest.
12. When he monologues in spanish (because, who doesn't????) he uses this funny, deep voice like a host of a big mexican t.v. show. He can't help it.
13. Jay is a great runner.
    
14. He won the Colorado state championship in the 1600 both his junior and senior year of high school.
    
    
15. His personal best in the mile is 4:16.
16. He has run two marathons...I think he did the first one so he had something cool to put on his med school application!
    
    
17. One day, he wants to do one of those crazy ultimate endurance races. Insane.
18. He grew a beard once. I like him better without it.
    
19. He constantly threatens to grow a moustache. I threaten something in return.
20. Jay is a poet. It's why he likes lyrics so much.
21. He has a great "folk" singer voice. It's smooth and light.
    
22. He proposed by writing me a song and singing it to me.
23. Jay always has a passion. They come and go and he's developed some cool hobbies over the years.
24. Obviously running is one.
25. As is playing chess.
26. And woodworking. He's made a toybox, a sandbox, a picnic table, a garden, a handcart, a jewelry box, two marble runs (one really elaborate), lots of little toys, and a frame for a poem he wrote for his dad.
    
27. He learned to snowboard five years ago.
28. He loves talk radio.
29. He's not materialistic, at all, but can enjoy something nice.
    
30. He would never object to me buying something. Unless it is for him.
31. He loves GPS. He runs with one on a special watch and ocassionaly takes us all geocaching.
32. He can castrate and brand a calf.
33. He can drive a tractor.
    
34. He needs background noise (music, t.v. talk radio).
    
35. He immediately changes the radio from FM to AM if he gets in the van.
    
36. I think his dream job would have been teaching Spanish and coaching the cross country and track teams at a high school. But, now his dream job is being a Radiologist. Phew.
37. He has thick, naturally wavy hair.
38. He has the worst toe nails. They cause him great pain.
    
39. He has to wear a belt. He can't stand the look of pants without a belt.
40. One of my first gifts to him was a nice, thick leather belt. I had to get rid of the braided one.
41. I love to shop for jay. His passions always make it easy to find the "perfect" gift.
    
42. He used to love playing golf. I think he'll pick it up again when we can afford to play it.
    
43. He's an incredible story teller.
44. The boys all prefer a "dad" story to us reading from a book. His stories enthrall them.
45. He knows how to work hard.
46. He's learning to play hard.
47. Watching Extreme Home Makeover brings tears to his eyes.
    
48. He loves scouting.
49. He really regrets not getting his Eagle. Especially at Court of Honors when he doesn't get to go up in the special circle.
50. He still remembers all the knots, though, which fascinates me.
51. He has hiked over 10 14,000 ft. peaks.
52. He gets motion sickness.
53. His feet are always cold.
    
54. He has to read in bed before he goes to sleep. Never for very long but it has to be done.
    
55. He doesn't like leftovers.
    
56. His favorite meal is ham and cheesy potatoes. I still need to figure out how to make cheesy potatoes without the "creams of" soups that contain wheat.
    
57. He learned to play the trombone in Jr. High and took it back up a couple of years ago. Trombone solos excite him.
58. He likes logic puzzles.
    
59. He loves the t.v. show The Office.
60. He likes to get out his guitar every so often and play Bob Dylan.
61. He likes to sing in the shower. 8 times out of 10 it's 50 ways to leave your lover by Paul Simon. Hmmmmm.
62. He would love to be able to break dance. Oh...sorry. I mean, be better at it. He's got the robot down.
63. He can't dance without sticking his tongue out and putting his hands out, palms down.
    
64. He once felt the urge to do the above mentioned dance while holding two jars of chokecherry syrup. They broke when he dropped them.
    
65. He wants a nick name. Something like Smoke.
    
66. He wants to be a Navy Seal.
67. The trouble is he isn't exactly a "strong" swimmer.
68. His played on a championship ultimate frisbee intermural team at BYU.
    
69. He could care less how I decorate the house. Although, he has mentioned some concern about all my yellow.
70. He cares a lot about his hair but gives himself haircuts. But once the hair product is in...DO NOT TOUCH!
71. It makes him physically ill to spend a lot of money at once. Big purchases, like furniture, vehicles, electronics, etc. are hard for him.
72. He led the way for our cash budget lifestyle.
73. It started with him buying his 95 Dodge truck because he could pay cash for it. He unworldliness impressed me. I would have wanted something nicer.
    
74. He hates throwing things away.
    
75. I've been busted for throwing his things away for him.
76. His sleep number is 65. He used to change it nightly hoping he could go harder (I think he thought it was more manly.)
77. He really likes popcorn.
78. And sunflower seeds.
    
79. He chews on plastic things. It used to bother me but I've let it go.
80. His greatest passion is his family.
81. He is Seth and Sam's favorite person in the world.
    
    I think I still have an edge with Henry.
82. He doesn't enjoy getting older. I think he still wishes he was 16.
83. His favorite team is the Denver Broncos.
84. He thinks John Elway is the greatest quarterback to have ever played the game and gets huffy when ESPN mentions Brett Favre.
85. He doesn't keep in touch with old friends.
86. He doesn't really keep in touch with anyone. I blame it on poor phone skills.
    
87. He is very competitive.
88. He's a perfectionist.
89. He hates letting anybody down.
90. He used to hate renting clothes at the temple. I guess the pant sizes are never the same from pant to pant. One time, he came into the room wearing the tightest white pants I've ever seen. I couldn't stop giggling the entire time. He has his own pants now.
91. He doesn't thrill seek. No bungee jumping, sky diving, fast car driving for him.
92. He often pretends he's in a marching band and trys to walk without moving his head.
93. He always kisses me goodbye in the morning.
    
94. He won't let me throw away his cowboy shirt, even though it's hideous.
    
95. He misses eating pizza and sandwiches.
96. He is so dang smart. Whether it's about the gospel, medicine, or any of his hobbies, he remembers what he learns.
97. He almost always lets me have my way.
98. Whenever he opens a jar that's tough to open, he always says, "It's a good thing it went when it did."
99. He loves music. It's his current passion. Itunes.
100. He makes me laugh.

It's also my sister Emily's birthday. Don't worry....she gets tomorrow! Happy birthday, sis!

Graduation Ceremony....kind of...

Dad's back and we're all loving it!

I have never enjoyed the "graduation" ceremony that the residency program does for it's senior residents. I'd say it's more of a dinner party with a brief mention that two of them are now done with this five year program. O.K...thanks for coming.

I always hoped it would be somewhat better by the time Jay finished and in a way, it was. It was held in the same country club where it is held every year, and the layout and food was exactly the same from previous years. What was different, was that I was emotionally involved this time, had some good friends there to support Jay, and my boys to watch and make sure were behaving themselves. All in all...it was a hit.

The main difference from other graduation ceremonies is that they don't get a "degree" when they finish their residency. They get a certificate from the program or hospital but it's nothing like getting hooded with their doctors of medicine at the completion of med school. THAT is a big deal. But, in some ways, most ways, I think, residency is even harder than medical school. All the call, all the learning of independence, all the mandatory hours -- it can be brutal. I know some programs make a bigger deal at the end.

Jay's program is small. There are only two radiology residents accepted each year. We've absolutely loved it and it was definitely the best place for us to be and the place we wanted to be. But, with only two residents going out, it doesn't make sense, financially or logistically, to put on an elaborate ceremony. So, they rent out a country club, have a grand buffet (yummy) and then present the residents with their certificates, a gift card for somewhere (Jay got one for REI), a nice wind golf shirt with the hospital's logo and then let each of them talk for a few minutes. Then it's over.

Sammy was a star. I was so impressed that a four year old could be so well behaved.

Jay told me several weeks ago that he really wanted our boys to be there. I cringed. Love, love my boys, but managing them at a buffet in a country club where there would be no other children didn't sound like the night I'd imagined. I could see in his eyes that it was important to him, though, so compromised by having Seth and Sam come and getting a sitter for wild Henry. Then we had practice dinners all week. I realized a major failing of not having regular sit down dinners as a family is that they don't have really good table manners ingrained when you need them to be. They've always been great at restaurants but there they have color crayons and booklets and usually some crackers or bread to munch on. And a booth where Jay and I can lock them in by sitting on the outside.

Each night, I pointed out what needed to improve ("Quieter voice, Sammy. Get your knees down, Seth. Don't pick up your salad with your fingers, Sammy. Somebody get Henry off the top of his highchair before he falls off.") Then, I pulled out my ace. Bribing them with a NASCAR toy we found at Wal-Mart last week. By the week's end, they were as excited about their performance as I was.

We skipped the cocktail hour. We've learned by experience it's not all that exciting to mingle with ten other people for an hour. We got there right as they were playing the xylophone indicating that dinner was ready. Perfect. I loaded the boys plates up with more than they could possibly eat and then went back and loaded up with yummy fruit, really good veggies (why can good restaurants make vegetables better than my main courses. Delicious!) and the best salmon I've ever had.

Our dinner table. Just like the cruise - except for the younglings.

Even Jay found something to eat. They had prime rib, which Jay said was really good. I happen to not like bloody meat.

Jay invited Jason and Andrea and Chad and KariAnn because they really have been like our family these last five years. As we were going through the buffet, memories of our cruise came flooding back (if you've ever been on a cruise, eating is seriously half of the trip) and the nostalgia started seeping in. Jason and Andrea did the coolest thing for Jay which I'll post about later. It was a very cool surprise. I can't believe we are going to be "long-distance friends" in a little over a week. We have GOT to stop adding to our list. You'd think we'd be used to it by now, but it still stinks. We all sat together at a round table and the boys did wonderfully. People either didn't notice they were there, because they were so well behaved, or commented on how good they were being. NASCAR mission accomplished.

After dinner, the program director started the program, but she's only been the program director for six months, so turned it over the the man who Jay and the other resident, Marc, really had as a mentor for the past five years.

Dr. Murray with Jay and Marc. I love how far apart everyone is. Classic man behavior.

He didn't talk for long, but what he said was heartfelt and had a lot of meaning to Jay. He said they've had some incredible residents throughout the years he's been involved with the program but Jay and Marc, they were the best. He told the other residents who were there that they had big shoes to fill. Then he presented each of them with their certificates and gifts, presented Jay with his chief resident plaque, and turned the time over to them.

I made how many schedules and went to how many extra meetings and all I got was this lousy plaque? Kidding. It's beautiful and it was thoughtful to give him something. Being chief is kind of a thankless job. WAY more glamorous on the TV shows.

Jay with his framed certificate.

Jay spoke first. He is a sensitive soul, which is my absolute favorite thing about him, but hates getting emotional in front of people he wouldn't normally let see that side of him. He struggled, especially when he mentioned the boys and me, but made his way through it, thanking everyone for helping him and being the diplomatic, good guy that he is.

Thanking everyone. He's so handsome. I love this guy.

Who doesn't love the "Awwww" moment when two fine young boys run up to congratulate their daddy?

Afterwards, I let the boys go around picking all the confetti off the tables (it kept them occupied) and chatted with some of the other people there. It was a good night and I think it was a important milestone for Jay to go through.

Jason, Andrea, me, Jay, KariAnn and Chad. We've had some great memories!

Of course, he still has to go back to work on Monday. How retarded is that? Thanks for the good times and hard work! We'll always remember you!

Oh...hi again. Didn't we just send you off?

He'll work until the 20th. Then we load and haul.

Tomorrow, it's back to Wal-Mart for the prizes. It's Jay's birthday. It's Emily's birthday. I've got my entire house to pack up. It's going to be a busy week.

The Big Day

Today was it! Jay took his test in Kentucky and is on his way home! He's not especially known for his stellar phone skills, so he didn't really talk about the test. It was too soon afterwards and too raw. But, anyway you look at it, it...is....OVER! Yee-haw!

However, he is now experiencing trouble getting home. I guess there is some nasty wind in Denver, where he connects, so his flight is late getting to Louisville, and will be late leaving, meaning he might not make his connection in Denver which is the last flight of the day back home. I so, so, so hope he doesn't have to stay the night in the airport. His brother lives in Denver, so if he does, I'm sure he'd call them. It's on Frontier, which was the airline we flew when we went to Texas last year and ended up having to fly to Cincinnati to catch a plane to Portland to rent a car to get to Seattle to pick up our kids who were being watched by Jon and Tara. We swore never again, but we are still suckers for any kind of deal. Darn you, Frontier and your low prices!

I pray he gets home safely. I can't wait for this new exciting, no-big-upcoming-oral-exam existence that we are about to discover.

And, I found this on my doorstep when I returned home from errands today.

How delightful!

Have you ever seen something so refreshingly pretty and healthy? Kelly, Kelly, Kelly....thank you. You are some kind of wonderful.

SPT - My Favorite Color

This week's challenge was to show off our favorite color.

my son often asks, "what's your favorite color?" and i usually say "green!" no, "blue!" "what did i say the last time you asked?" i had the occasion to *dress up* my guest room this week, and found myself drawn to the purples. maybe I'm not sure what my favorite color is. so, I'm setting out this weekend to find out.

i plan to take a little tour around my house, photographing my favorite things, my favorite clothes, my favorite sights around town. I'm hoping a trend will reveal itself. who knows? maybe when asked what my favorite color is, i will soon be able to answer, without hesitation, "cerulean!" or "manganese!"

so, hey, "what's your favorite color?"


I am not one to have favorites. But a favorite color, I do have.

Brown.

I think when I was younger, my favorite color was whatever the color of my favorite outfit was. But I fell in love with brown when I truly embraced my eye color.


Who wants brown eyes as a child? Um...I don't look like a barbie! Or that cute girl on the cartoon! I wanted blue eyes. The popular, cute girls always seem to have blue eyes, don't they? I remember hating that mine looked like mud. Or poop (shhhh....if my kids know I'm using this word, they'll remind me that we need to be sitting on the toilet to say it - it's how I manage the ever-present fascination with boys and potty talk).

But my eyes are now my favorite feature about myself. I love how dark they are and that most people can't distinguish my pupil from my iris.

Of course, I wish the wrinkles weren't there....but, alas, they are.
Sorry...it's kind of freaky if you stare at it too long. Oooooh.....remember that scene during Man From Snowy River? When the horse was stomping on Jim and the zoomed in on the horse's eye on a still frame three times? THAT's what I just thought of!

My bridesmaid dresses were all brown. And that was back in the day of the burgundy/forest green rage. I had vision!

I love brown! I love it's warmth and earthiness. I love it's neutrality and that it can make a bold statement.

And the fact that chocolate is brown doesn't hurt either!

Answered Prayers

I know I go on and on about all the irks and catastrophes that seem to come with occupancy of this particular house, but this last one with the A/C was really a heart wrencher. Actually, when it happened on Friday, I wasn't even as upset as I expected I would be. I have no idea why, but I handled it really well (if I do say so myself).

Until this morning. I really thought that there was no way the buyers wouldn't go for our plan of going halfsies on the new A/C. Just think about it. They get a brand new unit for half the cost. They seemed like good folks and it really didn't cross my mind that they wouldn't agree. Well, I guess crossed my mind, but I had no angst. I guess you could say I knew it would work out.

My realtor called me this morning and told me that the buyers would not agree to pay half and expected the A/C for the house to be in "good working order" when they moved in. She told me not to replace it but to just get it running since they were unwilling to go in on it with us. I made several phone calls to repairmen explaining the situation and was told that the cost of repair (condensor fan and compressor) would be a big job and the parts, labor and time would be close to their estimate for a completely new unit.

I was ticked! I had been planning on leaving a nice candle and card for the new owners with a schmaltzy "wishing you joy in your first home" note and get the carpets professionally cleaned on our way out but NO MORE! They are going to be lucky to see vacuum lines! I had one more company coming over this morning to give me a bid but remembered Sammy had an eye appointment so called to reschedule. The dispatcher told me that he was almost there so I waited for a few more minutes to see if he could do it really fast.

When he got here, I actually recognized him from coming to service our A/C last year. Bryan from Hurliman Heating and Air. Nice guy. I told him with every ounce of exasperation I could muster our situation. Then he asked, "Do you want me to see if I can just fix it?"

"If you can, and it's cheaper, then please do! But if you do an estimate, be as bare bones with it as you can," I replied.

He told me that he didn't much like Sturm and found that they often recommended replacement when things could be repaired. The thing that frustrates me more than anything is that I don't know the difference. In my la-la land that I think should exist, I think we should all rely on each other and use each others' talents. You need me to sing at your daughter's horseback riding instructor's funeral? I'm your girl! Have an X-Ray that needs interpreting? Call Jay! You know how to make pretty jewelry? Thanks, I need a necklace!

When my A/C breaks, I call someone who knows how to fix it. I don't know how to do it. I don't even think I should know how to do it. We can't all know how to do everything. There's self-sufficiency and then there's being in a crappy mood for half your life as you slowly and without talent, try and fix, mend, do everything yourself. But there's got to be trust. I have to trust the A/C guy so that when he tells me that it needs to be replaced, and I DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER, then I actually need to replace it.

Back to Bryan, he called me as I was leaving Sammy's eye appointment (which went super fabulous.) to say that he replaced the compressor and my A/C is running perfectly. Seriously? Total cost? $230. I could have kissed him. It's probably a good thing I was away from the house because I just might have.

Talk about an answer to prayer. His competence, honesty, and being-a-good-person saved us over $2,000! I called our realtor and she wooped it up on the phone with me. What a day. The funny thing is, from a different perspective, like if I had called the competent company first, I probably would have been annoyed and flustered at the $230 cost since we weren't expecting any repairs on the A/C. Personally, I honestly think it was a lesson for me. I've become a little jaded in the last six months when it comes to the service industry. Maybe, I needed to be reminded that goodness surrounds me and that when we all team up, we make the world go round.

So, hooray for Hurliman Heating and Air! I went to Costco and bought a humongous chocolate cake, wrote a thank-you note and took a $50 tip to Bryan. I talked to his boss and told him about his wonderful employee and left the building with everyone in smiles. I hope I restored some of their faith in the joy of service and to stay honest.


As for this poor man, who seems to be in the wrong line of work, he couldn't be more wrong.

Some Like It Hot

...but I don't. Unfortunately, for the past three days, I haven't had a choice.

Two and a half weeks until move day. Two and a half weeks. So, so unlucky.

We have to replace our A/C unit for the house. It's completely broken. It hasn't worked great the last few years but it did the job. Last year, we had to add freon two different times. We knew it was on its last legs but thought we could get out of here without it being our problem. It's just old. The buyers knew it, we knew it...but it worked. Until Friday, that is.

Of course, this is the first time the temperature hit the 90s this year. And, of course, it also had to be the weekend where we could do nothing about it just to truly make this all stink (I mean that literally. We are sweating here!). Tomorrow, I need our realtor to talk to the buyers and see if they are willing to pay for half of it. I think it's fair. If we had put in a new unit before we sold our house, we would have reflected that in the advertising and in the listing price. Legally, though, we can't simply do nothing. I asked. We weren't seriously considering doing nothing but wondered what would happen if we just left it. I guess they could take us to small claims court. But we would never do that. They are a nice couple and after the home inspection, when the inspector couldn't inspect the A/C unit because it was too cold, they didn't list it as necessary to be re-inspected as any kind of contingency. They assumed it worked and signed the agreement in good faith. We want to do the right thing here. But, it's also going to cost us about $3,000! Sigh.

To cope, we've been avoiding our house. Mostly the upstairs where the temperature right now is 90 degrees!

Our thermostat in the upstairs hallway. Just a mere half hour ago. I think it's now hotter inside than outside.

It's about 75 or 80 in the basement, which is tolerable. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to go to the lake with our friends. Of course, I didn't have my camera to share the memories. I may have subliminally forgotten because swimsuits, pictures and myself aren't a happy mix. But we had a blast and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. The water was smooth, there wasn't any wind, and it was hot so the kids all wanted to swim and tube without any coaxing. Good times. I feel like it was our first and last hurrah of the summer. I don't expect much boating action in Utah. It has been good to hook up with fun friends! We'll be on the prowl in a few weeks!

Today, we hunkered downstairs until it started to get hot, then we went to the hospital where Jay was studying to have dinner in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, today, Le Cafe had poor choices for entrees for me to chose from and Jay can't get anything but the salad anymore. Our days of living it up in the cafeteria are over. Cutting ties, everywhere I go, it seems. Then we hung out in the resident room until the boys started destroying things.

Jay is not known for his organization or neatness. But when he's busy and stressed, it gets even worse. This is his desk in the resident room.

Jay running through some questions on a study disc.

Seth's always interested in learning whatever Jay knows.

A close up of something with contrast in it. Blood vessels around the pelvis, I'm pretty sure. (He told me...I can't actually read the thing.)

Seth answering some study questions. He got that one right! ( Of course, it was true false. But he was still pretty excited.)

Then I just started taking pictures of everyone. Henry loves my sunglasses. Which works for everyone until he breaks them.

And finally one of Sammy who created some sort of battle with all of the pens he could find in the room.

We'll find out tomorrow how long this is going to last. Hopefully, we can get the new A/C installed this week and work it out with the buyers.

Thinking cool thoughts. A nice snowy mountain... some ice cubes in a drink...a bowl of ice cream.

O.K. Now I'm just hungry.