Lent, Day 29

Long day at work today, 11 hours. It was a 14-page paper. I still have 6 pages left to proof & finish. We didn't even get the first page out until 1 p.m. Almost 2 hours behind schedule.

Just one little thing & then I'm headed to bed. I got a phone call from someone in Malad wanting to know if it was too late to get an obituary in. The obituary page was done. I said no, because the policy is that we try to get an obituary in. I gave the woman the options, she could do a death notice for free, or she could do a full obituary with picture & it is $4.50 a column inch. She said she would give the woman's daughter the information. A little while later, I got a call from the woman's daughter. She said that the Malad paper doesn't come out until Thursday & her mother's funeral was Wednesday. She decided to do a death notice. That was a relief to me, we were already waiting for Mondell Nash's obituary & picture from Webb Funeral Home. We weren't sure if we were going to have enough room for another obituary.

I finally went to lunch at the Subway. I had debated about going to Stokes grocery store & grabbing a small deli sandwich. But I decided Subway sounded better. I was hungry & thought a 6-inch sandwich with extra toppings sounded better than a 3-inch plain meat & cheese sandwich. But I had also decided I wouldn't do a full meal, cuz I just wanted a soda refill. You have to buy the full meal of 20-ounce drink & either cookies or chips to get cookies at a reduced price. I said I learned another new thing today. The lady that waited on me was new, at least someone I'd never seen before. She asked what the first new thing I learned was. I told her the Malad paper comes out on Thursday. She asked if I was from Malad. I said no, & asked if she was from Malad. She said yes. I said I work for the Preston paper & we had got a death notice from Malad. She wanted to know who died. I told her Rula Thomas. She said she knew her, she'd worked for her. She knew she'd been in the hospital. She wanted to go see her & she didn't want to. So she'd sent her a dozen pink roses for Valentine's Day. I was able to tell her the funeral & viewing information. She said she'd heard she had cancer. I said no, the daughter said they didn't know what it was. I'd asked what the cause of death was because sometimes they put what the person died from in the obituary.

I thought how interesting that was. I usually don't go nattering on about publication dates & spouting information about obituaries to total strangers. But this woman may have got the information too late to pay her respects because our paper doesn't come out until Wednesday. If she works at the Subway during the day, she would have missed the Tuesday evening viewing & Wednesday funeral.

Potato fiasco

Don-Mike had another name for this, it kind of rhymed with potato. I repeated it, tickled with the words, saying I was going to use it as the name of my blog entry tonight. Now, of course, I can't remember it. I hate the short term memory loss. This will bug me for a while, what was that word?

Don & I take turns cooking dinner on Sunday. Don fixes lasagna 0n the first Sunday of the month & it has come to be known as Lasagna Sunday. So, when I was planning menus for March I saw there were 5 Sundays. If we continued to fix dinner every other week, lasagna would no longer be served on the first Sunday. So, I had a scathingly brilliant idea. Don-Mike could fix dinner on the fifth Sunday! I also had an alternate plan. We could have potluck, where everyone would pitch in with something, or we could have a potluck potato bar.

Don-Mike thought about it a while & decided he would take the 5th Sunday challenge. He thought about it, planned it & shopped for it. Funeral potatoes was the main dish of his meal. I went shopping with him & we did not get any potatoes. Why get potatoes? We had a 50 lb. bag of potatoes in the cellar that had never been opened. He went down today to get the potatoes & they were soft & sprouted. They were in 3 feet of water. The sump pump had not been plugged in. None of us had even thought it had been warm enough for the cellar to flood like it does every year.

I suggested dropping back & punting, but he had planned on fixing "funeral potatoes" for dinner today for a month. I told him the closest open grocery store was Logan. I could drive down & get some. He suggested I ride down with him.

Only the big box stores are open in Logan, Wal-Mart, Smith's & Albertson's. We went to Wal-Mart. Don-Mike got potatoes & I got bread, milk & some frozen burritos. The frozen burritos were to appease Nick. He had a huge melt down today after I got home from church. He came to the front room door with 2 cans of tuna that I had bought last night for Don's tuna noodle casserole tomorrow night & asked if he could have them. Don said no, it was for supper tomorrow night.

He put them back & then came looking for a fight. He said we NEVER have food in the house. I told him we have food in the house. He could have the d***d tuna. He was raging by then. He said he didn't like just opening a can of vegetables or fruit or tomatoes. He wants to open something to eat & not have to fix it. All we have in the house is INGREDIENTS. He doesn't want to have to MAKE something to eat, he just wants to get something to eat.

I went out & there was no bread in the bread box. I went to the freezer & almost had heart failure. I couldn't find any bread. Then the box of ramen noodles was empty, but hadn't been thrown away. The last egg had been used last night, but no one had told me there was not another dozen in the extra fridge. All the milk we had was in the fridge in the kitchen, there was not another gallon in the other fridge. He was right, there was no food in the house.

Then I started raging. My usual response is "Your lack of planning is NOT my emergency!" Well, today, it was my emergency. I could have got the milk, bread, potatoes & either more ramen noodles, spaghetti-os (sp-os), frozen pizza or burritos here in town & not have to run clear to Logan. But we knew there were potatoes in the cellar. We just didn't check on them yesterday to find that they had gone bad. I had asked as I left for the grocery store last night, "What do we need?" knowing the closest open grocery store on Sunday is 25 miles away.

Don-Mike's meal turned out delicious. It was nice to have someone else fix the meal & do the planning. He fixed enough for everyone to fill up. They are such hearty eaters, many times there is not enough to fill them up. No one went away hungry. I gorged myself. We have punch every Sunday. Since the diabetes diagnosis, they give me water to drink, instead of punch. Last week Don-Mike suggested I buy some Crystal Lite so I can have punch too. I said the water was great.

I'm still tryng for an 11:30 bedtime. Last night I went to bed at midnight, but was up this morning at 7:15. I have to copy the ward bulletin every month on Fast Sunday

Lent, Day 28

Notice there is a new section on my blog. I put it right at the top so it would be noticeable.

The most exciting entry there is The Preston Citizen. I've worked there for almost 12 years. I've tried to get a website for most of those 12 years. I was browsing through my blogs. Since I changed the layout, I can't see who has updated lately. It had been a while since I checked Preston Idaho Digital News. I love that blog. The latest entry was new website in Preston & had a URL for The Citizen. So, I copied, pasted & entered. There it was!!! I've heard Kelly talking about a web site, but nothing's ever been said.

I need to get dressed, go to the pharmacy before it closes & take the mail basket over to Mother's & sort. I'm still here, wasting time. Can you say I am depressed? I am. I just want to sleep my life away.

I got to bed about midnight last night. This morning I woke up & Don was still in bed. He's always going to bed so late & never gets a chance to sleep in. So, I knew if I got up, he'd get up. So, I laid there & went back to sleep. The next time I woke up, he was still in bed. I laid there some more. Finally he got up, about 9:15, but I went back to sleep. Then Nick came through the hallway. I woke up, or maybe I was awake, anyway, he came in, apologized for waking me up. We talked for a minute & I went back to sleep. I finally got up about 10:30.

Lent, Day 27

Today was a better day, healthwise. I was awake at 9 a.m. I got to work about 11 a.m. There was a memo on our type tray saying that the corporation is tightening their belt & we may be facing some layoffs, telling us that March is "ugly."

I didn't get to bed last night until 12:30. Started trying to get to bed about 11. I told Don this is one of the hardest things I've ever tried to do, get to bed at a certain time. But I've always been very persistent. I had an online friend tell me that I remind her of a dog with a bone. I latch on & won't let go, LOL.

"I will persist until I succeed," Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

Lent, Day 26

Must be day 26. Today wasn't a very good day. I have a tooth ache still. I couldn't remember whether I took any ibuprofen, so I didn't take anymore, sigh. I wanted to go take a nap, but I remembered someone said, "People die in bed." Not sure who said it, but I decided not to go take a nap, because I always feel cruddy when I wake up. Besides I needed to go over to Mother's.

About 4 p.m., I put my fleece jacket on. I sat in the rocking chair to put my snow boots on. I sat there because I really didn't feel like going anywhere. I was playing around with a fleece headband. I thought it would make a really great eye shade for sleeping, but I put it on my head & the next thing I knew, Don was walking through the door. He asked me if I had been out to feed the dog because I had a fleece jacket on, my boots & a fleece headband on. I was confused. No, I hadn't been anywhere. I finally woke up fully about 6 & realized I still had the fleece headband on. I asked him if that's why he was wondering if I'd been out to feed the dog.

I went over to Mother's to get the canned food I had left there. It was too late to do any calling on credit cards or the mortgage.

She said she had been discharged from home health & she was sad. I think it has done her a world of good, not only to have the physical therapy but to have other people coming into the home. Medicare won't pay anymore. I wonder how much it costs out of pocket.

Bedtime last night was midnight, straight up. I woke up this morning at 9:30. Finally crawled out of bed at 10. Looks like tonight will be midnight again.

Lent, Day 25

Don's listening to Three Dog Night's Joy to the World & other songs. He just found out today they are the group that is coming to the Cache Valley Cruise In this year over the 4th of July weekend. I WANT to go this year. He doesn't think the tickets will be as expensive as they were last year for Styx. Tickets go on sale this weekend.

The blog entry on the little boy voted out of class really bothered me. The whole thing bothered me, but I read comments after the news articles. I was up til 2 a.m., trying to work through it. One thing that bothered me was the comment someone made about children being resilient & forgetting it.

I remember an incident that happened to me in 2nd grade. I was playing outside during recess & I got muddy. Mrs. Elnora Magleby made me stand in front of the class & told them what a bad girl I was. She wouldn't let me take my coat off. It was red wool coat & would have needed to be dry cleaned. I had to drink my milk in front of the class & then she sent me home. She also told the class that I shouldn't have been playing with the boys. I recently told Bob Merrill, a co-worker, that teacher is the one that gave me panic disorder. He said I was probably not the only one she had scarred for life.

If children are so resilient, why did it take almost half a century for me to finally work through that incident? Maybe I don't want an answer on that. As Kelly (Mickelsen, publisher) would say, "RaNae, you left yourself wide open."

Anyway, to bed at 2 a.m., Don woke me up at 10 to 7 this morning because I needed to go get Zach Kent for school. I left a little after 7, but had to stop & get gas before I could run clear over to Dayton. I pulled in the driveway, just a little before 7:30. Eddie came out to tell me that Zach just barely woke up, he'd be out in a couple of minutes. I picked him up from school at 1:30. I said I was sure his stomach was imploding because he hadn't had any breakfast. He said his dad hadn't given him any lunch money, so he hadn't had any lunch either. He didn't know what imploding was. I asked him what exploding was & then explained that implode was just the opposite. His stomach was sucking itself inside out. Nick uses that term when he's starved. I think it's pretty clever.

I came home & went right back to bed. The next thing I knew it was 10:30 & Don-Mike was waking me up. We had our visiting teacher coming at 10:30 & he asked if I was going to be there for her. I assured him I was. I got up, but couldn't make the bed because the cats were all around me. The bed never did get totally made today, just part of the covers pulled up.

It snowed most of the day today. It was so heavy & wet that as I sat & watched it come down this evening, I commented if the snow were rain, it would be pouring.

I don't know how many inches it snowed today, but it was several inches. A power pole was smoldering up at the top of our street at the highway. The boys called on their way over to Mother's to tell us to hurry & turn off the computers. So, we turned off all 3 of the computers, plus the 2 network computers & sat here for over a half hour waiting for the power to go out. Nick called at 9:10, finally at 9:47 p.m., the power went off. It was off for about 15 minutes & came back on. They came back about an hour later & said most of the town was without lights, but our side of State Street was back on.

Lent, Day 24

Ok, here it is 11:36 already. I got on BlogSpot to make my update & saw that a blog that I follow, Surviving Crazy, had a new entry. Then I followed a link that bothered her & I've been reading news stories & comments on this. I must say it has really bothered me also as Nick has Asperger's Syndrome. I'll give you the link to the blog entry that upset us both.

I made it to bed by midnight last night, well, not quite midnight, several minutes before & was awake at 8:45 a.m. Even so, I was late to work, sigh. I had a phone call that put me behind. I almost didn't answer it, but was afraid maybe it was bad news.

Lent, Day 23

Just another manic Monday. It's almost bedtime. I went to bed last night at 2. I foolishly picked up an Anne Perry book to "look" at. The next time I surfaced, it was 1:45 a.m. I woke up at 8. I'm tired, I pulled a 10 hour day today. Just as I was leaving work tonight, before I shut the computer down, I checked the email, don't know if that was a smart idea. Ron Smellie (mortician) had sent a death notice. I saved that page until the very last. I was worried about Junior Miss, so I actually saved Junior Miss, which was on the same document as the obituaries, until last. Got some good corrections from the ladies that do Junior Miss though.

I left a note for Rod & Bob (editors) about the death notice & will try to get in there as close to 9 as I can in the morning to make that change. The kicker on the front page has a picture & page to an article that was pulled.

I told Jim Anderson about the sibling party at Juniper Take Out on the first Saturday in May. He offered their "party" house. I told him to talk to Donna & I'd bring it up with Mother.

Fourth Sunday in March

Not sure which Sunday in Lent this is, 4th or 5th, but I know it's the fourth Sunday in March. It was my turn to cook Sunday dinner & Don's week to teach the Elder's Quorum lesson.

The fourth Sunday lesson in our ward was on Celestial Marriage, a talk given by Elder Russell M. Nelson, an LDS apostle, in October's (2008) General Conference. I'm in the library, so don't get to hear these lessons, but Don & I discuss them. It was an interesting lesson. I wish I'd been in Relief Society to hear Shannon Knapp teach it.

We have a couple of nieces that have live-in boyfriends & another niece lived with her husband before they got married. It makes me sad. Elder Nelson likens marriage to shopping. He called cheating shoplifting. In talking about cohabiting, I said it's more like renting, than shoplifting. The couple is not ready to take on ownership.

Spent a long time getting to sleep last night. It was a hard night. Another work day tomorrow. Don says it's supposed to snow tonight.

It rained in the night. I washed my car yesterday because I park under a couple of trees & my car is always covered with bird poop. This morning, it didn't even look like it had been washed. I knew it had because I got a new crack in the windshield yesterday in the car wash. A rock chip spread on the passenger side. On the driver's side a crack that has been slowly inching out into my line of vision, took a turn & is now spreading up. Our deductible is so high, that I just need to save money to pay to have it replaced.

Our health insurance deductible is $4,000 per year. At least the car insurance deductible isn't that high.

Lent, Day 22 continued

Back from supper & watering the dog. It's getting warm & we're going to have to get something bigger to water the dog in or water him 2-3 times a day.

Back to the back or green door. When we got cats, we had to devise a way to keep the cats from pushing the door open & coming in, so we just put the sugar bucket in front of the door. It's a green pickle bucket & holds about 25 lb. of sugar. When it's full, it holds the door closed enough that the cats can't get in.

A few months ago, Nick had a rage & slammed out the green door & broke the window. I don't remember if there was a door on the "porch" or not. Anyway, he got in his pickup, gunned it, dug up holes in the new driveway & backed right into the pine tree. I told him that I've always been afraid that he'd wrap his vehicle around a tree, but never expected it to be in my own front yard.

Don trimmed the pine tree so there are no ragged edges & it seems to be healing. This was last fall, I remember because Nick wanted to sell his pickup for $2,800. When he backed into the pine tree, it bent the bumper in. This is a 1969 Chevy pickup & those vehicles were made out of steel. It takes a lot to bend them.

These are the pictures I took of the deer with my cell phone, which is why they are blurry. There are 3 deer there. In the first picture there are 2 deer together, closest to the tree. In the second picture, there are still 2 deer together, closest to the tree.

A car came by & some boys, about 10 years old, decided to chase the deer. The third picture is in front of the Hatch House with only 2 deer in flight. Actually all three are there. One took off to the right of the little adobe cabin & one is on the left between the Hatch House & the cabin. The third is the one in front of the Hatch House.

This is in Franklin, the oldest permanent settlement in Idaho, in the historic part of town. My Grandpa Porter, my mother's father, had an Aunt Bess who lived in the Hatch House. Actually all this picture shows is an addition to the house. She used to make the hill billies from Cub River wipe their feet before they could come into her house. Maybe they even had to take their shoes off. I can't remember the story. It depends on the day as to whether Mother can remember it or not.

I remember Grandpa used to tell me that he had an Aunt Bess who talked just like ordinary folk until she had a daughter go to college. Then she started reading the dictionary so she could use high-falutin' words. He'd tell me that because he said I used too big of words.

I always thought it was funny, because I love to read the dictionary. For my 18th birthday my mom gave me my very own dictionary. I used to read with it in the chair next to me. Actually, I read with her dictionary in the chair next to me & it was falling apart, so she bought me my own dictionary, which is also falling apart.

Lent, Day 22

We're waiting for Don-Mike to get off work so we can go to Pizza Villa for supper. For once, Nick wants to eat in & not do take-out. He wants to take Nana with us too.

I just barely got around to sending the pics of the deer I took last week in Franklin. I have time now that it's not so late. I took 3 of them.

About 45 years ago, maybe longer, I broke the door knob on the back door. Actually, I didn't break it, but I was instrumental in it being broken. I think it must have been longer, because I don't think I was 12, but younger. A group of neighbor kids were playing. I don't remember what we were playing, but I was being chased by an older boy & I ran in the house & locked the door so he couldn't get in. Well, we're tusseling over the door & the knob broke. My mother was so angry, she sat ME on a chair in time out. Brent Christensen, the neighbor boy, didn't get yelled at or even sent home. I think they all went home though because Mother was so angry.

The door has never latched since. That was okay though, because even though that was the wooden door into the house, that door was never locked. My dad had built an enclosed porch on & that was where the clothes washer & dryer has resided ever since. The "back" door was a metal storm door. So, for almost 50 years, we've not had a real back door. In summer the storm door had a screen in & in the winter it had glass.

To be continued ....... Don-Mike is home, Nick wants to eat NOW!!

Lent, Day 21

I always wonder what day of Lent I'm on, but it looks like 21. And I could not believe the time when I checked it, 11:15 p.m. I hadn't even read the update on Baby Jonah & since he had such a wild day, I had to share it with Don, then Don-Mike came home, for just a few minutes. He had to close tonight, & open in the morning & he was tired, so he didn't stay. He didn't even sit down, just leaned against the front door, walked back to say hi to Nick & left.

Last night I was ready to go to bed at 11:30! Don has not been feeling well, this cold has been kicking his butt, & he went to bed at 11:15. Part of his bedtime routine is putting the cats to bed. He told me he didn't know where Brackin & Marsha were, but the other cats were in the laundry room. So, I turned off the computer to go to bed & there was Sammy & Priscilla laying in the chairs in the front room. I took the flashlight & looked all over the house for Brackin & Marsha. No luck. I found out why 2 of the 3 cats were back in the house. Don had forgot to push the sugar bucket up against the door to the laundry room. Sammy & Prissy are the 2 heaviest cats. I did not want to pick them up, but knew I had to. So, I carried them one at a time to the door. Closed it & pushed the bucket up against it. Went to the front door & called the 2 missing cats. No luck. I sat down & waited a few minutes & went back to the door. Still no luck, I took my meds & checked again. Finally, here came Brackin, running up on the porch & right into the house. He stopped at the cat dishes & then went to the laundry room door & waited to be let out.

We have a cat door built into the outside wall of the laundry room, but we lock it at night because the cat next door is a mean cat & savages our cats, especially at night. Well, Miss Marsha Lu still did not come. I was fuming. These stupid cats don't even know their curfew! Finally, at 5 minutes to 12 here comes Miss Marsha waltzing in. She sleeps on our bed. She was not ready to go to bed, but once I had all 5 of my cats in, I turned out the light, locked the door & went to bed. At 1 o'clock, Don makes some noise which either woke me up or startled me out of a stupor, picks Marsha up & puts her outside. He said she'd been wanting out ever since she came in. How he knew that, I don't know, he was definitely asleep when I went to bed at midnight.

I slept until 10 this morning. So, I guess, if I require 10 hours of sleep & have to be to work by 9 a.m., I'm going to have to adjust this bedtime thing to give me the 10 hours of sleep I need & make it so I can wake up & make it to work by 9 a.m. Does that mean I have to be in bed by 10?? I like to stay up & say good night to Don-Mike. He stops by on his way home from work & he's been working long days ever since Big J's reopened.

Mother seemed very confused today. I know she didn't have her hearing aid in, but I had to repeat things a lot & then she got the story wrong. I asked her if she wanted fruit & she snapped & said she didn't want any soup.

I asked her about doing a siblings party this year. It's her year to host it & she said she didn't want to. I've been doing some thinking about this & checked with Juniper Take Out in Logan. They have a nice banquet room that is free & doesn't have to be reserved very far in advance. Their dinners are quite reasonable too, so we could ask the siblings to pay for their own meals. She said she didn't think they'd go for it. Luana came over & I asked her. She said she thought that sounded like a good idea. She & Merl used to go there sometimes after a temple trip.

I called & talked to Maxine & she said she thought that sounded like a good idea & we tentatively scheduled May 2, a Saturday. I told her to pencil it in. I want it near the first of the month because everyone is on Social Security. I know that everyone's checks come at different times, but I thought the first of the month might be a good idea. So, I guess I'll put some more feelers out & then send out invitations. I say 2 out of 6 is pretty good odds. Maxine said she'd talk to Onda.

Both Luana & Maxine wondered about Dorin & Lucy going that far & I said maybe we could invite Nonavee to take them & Vaudis. Maxine worried about Luana & I said we'd take her.

I asked Maxine about the Porter Reunion last summer & she said that Onda's & Donna's families got together, but they'd been doing that all their lives, & not to feel hurt. It definitely wasn't a "family" reunion.

If I remember, I'll tell the story of why the door between the kitchen & laundry room does not latch, LOL.

Lent, Day 20

Thursday, March 19, spring officially begins tomorrow!!! It feels like it has been a long time coming. Don says it will snow again Sunday night.

After reading that there was a Porter family reunion last summer, I was really bummed. Don & I were going to bed at the same time, 11:30, can you believe it? I was still ranting about it. I said they had a reunion & who didn't get invited??? Don said, trying to lighten the mood, "Sammy." Sammy is our yellow cat. I thought Don had taken all the cats out & so I'm looking around trying to see Sammy. "Sammy?" I asked puzzled. "Ya, Sammy didn't get invited to the reunion," Don said. I did not think it was funny.

I had a hard time getting to sleep. I thought of a lot of reunions where things didn't go well. Like the time that Miranda kicked Nickolas when he was down & knocked him flat on his face in the parking lot, the year of the water balloons. Some ones windshield got broken from those water balloons & the kids were getting splashed, yet when Nick threw one of their balloons back & it broke & splashed, she kicked him.

I remembered Uncle Woodrow saying that year that we needed to stop having family reunions, every one's family is getting so big they didn't need one for the extended family. Well, ok, my mom has one living child, 2 grandchildren & a family reunion for us is every Sunday at the dinner table. I would like for my kids to have a sense of family, yet with Asperger's & my panic disorder, reunions are hard.

Of course, there was the Taylor reunion where Don-Mike was trying to help set things out for the buffet & Don's Aunt JoAnn chastised him. I haven't been back to a Taylor reunion since & that was over 10 years ago.

When I finally did get to sleep, I slept the clock around & didn't wake up until 11:44. Don must have had a rough night too, because all the covers, except mine were on the floor on his side of the bed.

When I went to the grocery store tonight I bought more Western Family TheraFlu. I'm taking it again tonight. It's funny, it's the "daytime" formula, but it sure knocks me out. I sleep so good.

Oh, & I even worked on decluttering today, wonder of wonders. In my last foray into decluttering the end of the bed, I wondered what was in the knee hole of the vanity & decided to look. Some of Don's mother's fragile china & dishes wrapped in towels. Nick had ordered something online & it came in a small box with peanuts, which, of course, just got dropped BY the garbage in the front room. I took the box in & started digging in the knee hole & brought out a bowl that just fit perfectly in the box with the peanuts around it.

Of course, then I thought of all the things I could do today, which wasn't scheduled & since I had slept half the day away & then spent 2-3 hours on the internet, it was already 3 p.m. I couldn't believe it was so late. I took Mother's mail over to her, sorted it, went to the grocery store, fed the dog, fixed supper & it was dark.

But, I am making progress on my bedtime, it's about time though, I've been at this almost 3 weeks.

I'm going to have to schedule my time, instead of spending hours on my boards.

Time flies ...

when you're having fun. I decided my blog list was getting rather long & so was my archive list. So, I've spent the last hour or so doing some housekeeping. Not often I do housekeeping, but computer housekeeping doesn't bother me. I could spend hours computer housekeeping, which I do, & we live in squalor.

I was bummed when I found that Alashandra had wrecked her car, but even more so when I found out she was on her way to the Porter Family Reunion the last weekend of June 2008 & we weren't even invited. Always wondered if the rest of the family thought we were part of the family. I wonder who hosted it & where it was at? It's Mother's turn to have the reunion this year, guess we'll just let it go & let them have their own reunion.

I don't know Loraine's sons-in-laws names, so I had to do some reading. Found out that Alashandra's husband is Matt & Morgan's is Mitch. I only know Tanya's husband because I faithfully read Baby Jonah's blog. Sometimes I check it twice a day. Morgan's blog is private, so I haven't even tried signing up for it.

I left some blog names cuz I like them. Em's Blog is my cousin Edmond. I remember his dad calling him Em.

I had to laugh when I was talking to my friend Janene on the phone the other night. She said she remembers my blog name as Do-Re-Mi. I love it. I told her that works. Almost wish I had thought of it myself. When Don & I got our first email address we named it radon. We thought we were really clever. Nick thought it up, RaDon. Well, guess what? It says ray-don & is an explosive gas. The boys were always laughing at the ads of ridding your house of radon. They said they didn't want to get rid of their parents, LOL. I always said I was explosive, but only when set off :D

PDD-NOS is pervasive development disorder, not otherwise specified. Nick is on the autistic spectrum, the reason I have that bookmarked, but it hasn't been updated for quite a while & I don't know that diet is going to help with Asperger's syndrome anyway.

Lent, Day 19

Can you believe it? It's 8:50 p.m. Facebook & Shockwave both have new layouts. Two favorite sites on one day changed drastically. I don't know if I can handle it.

Only one doctor's visit today too, guess I'll have to go update Mother's Caring Bridge site. Nick went over to Mother's this morning & Don-Mike was still asleep. Nick didn't stay long, but he came home & after I was awake awhile, he came & sat on the bed & visited with me for quite a while. I shared several funny stories about Mother & Daddy & we laughed. I told him about Don-Mike coming in & waking me up this morning.

Me, sound asleep, & Don-Mike, don't know what he did to wake me up, kneeling on the bed looking down at me. I said, "Oh, Eddie, what are you doing?" Don-Mike: "Eddie?" Me: "Oh, Nick? What've you got in your eye?" Don-Mike: "My eye?" Me: "Oh, Don-Mike, umm, never mind." By then I was coherent enough to realize it was Don-Mike & he just had his glasses on. What I had seen was the white nose piece on his glasses & I couldn't figure out what that white thing was on his face. I had been completely & soundly asleep.

I had taken some Western Family cold & flu daytime formula lemon "stuff," that you mix in hot water. It is supposed to compare with TheraFlu. I went to bed, like 11:30 or just a few minutes past. I didn't fall immediately into a sound, dreamless sleep, but once I could breathe through my nose, I did fall asleep. It wasn't dreamless either, when I woke up, staring into Don-Mike's face, my butt was cold & I was all tangled up in my covers with my butt hanging out in the cold. I had Prissy right next to me, practically breathing in my face, & Marsha on my feet. I think it was about 9:30 this morning.

The lemon stuff said not to take it if you have 1) high blood pressure, 2) diabetes, 3) thyroid disease, 4) heart disease, 5) low sodium diet & umm, one more that applies to men only, trouble peeing because of prostate. Well, I only had 2 of the 5 things, high blood pressure & diabetes, so I decided to take it. I remember thinking that Mother couldn't take it because she has 4 of the 5 things, she doesn't have diabetes.

I'm going to take it again tonight, unless Don takes it. There is only one packet left. I didn't use any more Zicam because it said you could only take it 3 days in a row. The lemon stuff worked better anyway. It helped with the fever.

Today when I went over to pick up Mother to take her to Logan, I asked her what she had for lunch today in her home-delivered meal. She said, "Salty soup." I said you're not supposed to have salt. She said she didn't eat it. I asked what it had in it besides salt. She said she thought it was supposed to be chicken noodle soup. When I got home, I looked at it & I think it was supposed to be chicken chow mein. The noodles were soggy chow mein noodles. There was some dry ones in a plastic baggie.

She said she was going to mix in the soup that Don had taken over to her last night. I was looking at the soup & started laughing. I said that you're supposed to put a potato in your soup if you've made it too salty. That's what she had last night was potato soup.

Lent, Day 18

Last night Don told me, "Well, it's official. I have the cold everyone's had." Well, tonight I can say the same thing. I have the fever to go along with the cough & stuffy nose. Of course, it didn't help that I didn't get to bed until almost 3 a.m. I found an advance copy of The Wednesday Letters in a box at work yesterday. I've looked in that box before, hoping to find one. I could never find a stopping place, so I just read until I was finished.

Today was DUP & I hacked & coughed. I had a Fisherman's Friend cough lozenge in my purse, so I took that out & used it. Yuck, it sure made the refreshments taste bad. I was naughty, I hadn't had a meal all day & was STARVED, so I ate all that sugar. Easter egg chocolates, frappe, cake with yummy pistachio frosting, sigh.

Anyway, I took a nap after DUP on Mother's couch. It was so HOT, I was sweating. Now, I just know that it was the "crud." I'll take my evening meds, some ibuprofen & probably another Fisherman's Friend, **shudder*** & head to bed - early.

Lent, Day 17

I hope I'm numbering these days right. Monday, March 16. I had a pretty good day at work except I got a migraine with a visual disturbance. I was lucky in that my blue fleece jacket was in the car. I've been carrying the ibuprofen around in a pocket of that jacket. So, I took some & had to wait about 15-20 minutes for it take effect. I finished the paper at 5:04, that is a record. I said I was nervous, afraid I'd missed something.

Ok, here it is 10:15 & I was going to type up my DUP minutes for tomorrow, but I couldn't find the book. Mother says I need to leave my book over to her house.

Let's see, since Sunday is not technically part of Lent, I didn't go to bed til 12:30. I took some ibuprofen & used some Zicam before I went to bed, so at least I didn't suffer for an hour before I got up & took it. I just suffered for 20-25 minutes before I went to sleep. I woke up at 7 this morning, but then went back to sleep & didn't wake up til Nick woke me up at 10 to 9. Don was supposed to wake me up, but he got up late.

Beware the Ides of March

Hmmmm, good advice! Did we have a roaring good time this morning. I got up, was ready to go to church, went out & there was no Sunday paper. I LOVE my Sunday paper. It is what Don & I do every Sunday in the library. Read the paper. Eddie said he gave it to his dad. I blew up. He told me I told him he could give it to his dad. Then Nick roared in & yelled & hollered. I said nothing after that. What could I say? I said, fine, I'd buy one. I muttered quite a bit. I have told Eddie he could give the paper to his dad AFTER we've read it. On weekends, Friday & Saturday, Don doesn't look at the paper. I do. I don't mind sharing the paper with Steve, but I want to read it first.

I was so angry, I ran over the curb turning off our street onto the highway, I got to Ransom's Country Store, a convenience store, & ran into the curb. Grrrrr!!! It cost $1.25 for the Sunday paper & I had already paid for my month's subscription. I was so ready to bitch slap someone.

At church, I found someone had thrown away the hymnbooks for the Spanish Branch last week. Don & I are shocked. Don said he really thought racism was a thing of the past in the valley. I'm going, this is right in our own midst. It's like when someone has burglarized your home or car or you've had a burglary in your apartment building, you feel violated. Don told the bishopric & we hope that they bring it up in a meeting or something, but I'm sure nothing will be said.

When I got home from church, Nick & Eddie were gone. I asked Don where they were & he said they had gone over to Don-Mike's. When Eddie & Nick came home, they acted like nothing had happened before we left for church.

It was Don's turn to cook Sunday dinner today, so I went over when dinner was ready. I clean Mother's hearing aids & change the batteries, fill her med boxes (yes, boxes), clean her CPAP machine & just hang out with her on Sunday evenings. I didn't clean her CPAP mask or machine today, she hasn't used it all week, grrr. I didn't bother with her right hearing aid either, she doesn't use it.

When I came home from Mother's, I went in to Nick's room & told him that I have told Eddie many times that I don't mind sharing my paper with his dad, just let me read it first.

I got to bed about 11:45 last night, I had a sinus headache, stuffy nose & sore throat & struggled going to sleep. I finally got up at 12:30, took some ibuprofen, used some Zicam & went back to bed, slept until 11:30 this morning when DH woke me up.

I'll take that combination before I go to bed tonight. But I think I'd better have Don wake me up when he leaves for work in the morning, so I don't sleep in & get to work late.

Lent, Day 16

Saturday, 10:46 p.m. I can't remember what time I got to bed last night. I turned the computer off at 11:30, so it was probably close to midnight by the time I took my meds, folded & hung up my clothes in trying to find the bed. I do know I woke up at 9:02 this morning, sat up in bed & kept dozing off. I had taken off the CPAP mask & turned the machine off, but the next thing I knew, Don was bringing my cell phone in at 10:30 telling me Debbie was on the phone. The only Debbie I know is the lady that works in the church library with us every other Sunday & I knew it wasn't her Sunday, I knew that even waking up, how I don't know. It was Kim, calling me to tell me to disregard her voice message.

I didn't do my Saturday routine of filling med boxes. Nick hasn't gone to bed yet, but he'll soon be coming & asking where his evening meds are. I hope I have enough to fill the med boxes through the weekend for both of us.

Oh, today I went to Franklin to the egg farm to get eggs. Mother wanted to ride with me. On the way back through Franklin we drove past the relic hall & Mother said there were 2 deer on the relic hall lawn. I asked if they were real deer. Around here people put out wire deer for Christmas & a lot of Christmas decorations are still out. She said they looked like real deer to her. So I flipped a U-ie, & sure enough, there were 3 deer. I tried to get some pictures of them with my cell phone, & I did, but not very good ones.

I told her she wasn't blind enough that she couldn't see deer. She's always been good at spotting wild life. When we lived over in Rich County, Utah, she'd say there were some antelope or some deer & I would have totally missed them. One time, still in Woodruff (Utah), I was taking the boys trick or treating & hit a deer. The boys saw it coming but didn't say a word. I hit the deer & promptly had hysterics. I was only going 5-10 mph so I didn't kill it, I hope.

I'll try to remember to download the pictures before 11 p.m. tomorrow & post them.

Lent, Day 15

Gotta hurry on this if I'm going to be in bed in 15 minutes. Don-Mike just got home from work. He brought his supper with him. It smells good. I woke up in the night Wednesday hungry. Yet today I didn't eat until 5:30. By then I was so hungry, I almost ate my fingers. I had a hamburger at Burger King. I went to visit Mother & had some toast & tea with Mother. She still doesn't feel well, so I fixed her some tea. Anyone try pomegranate tea? Then I came home a little after 8 & Don had supper ready & I had 2 helpings. And now Don-Mike's supper smells good.

Bedtime last night was midnight, & then at 20 after 12 I remembered I hadn't put omeprazole in either med boxes, Don's or Nick's. So, I got up & put it in the boxes. Neither one of them would have known where to look nor even know that omeprazole is generic for prilosec. This morning Nick came in & woke me up to ask what the weird pill was in his med box. Yet, if it wasn't there, he would have come in & woke me up asking where his "one pill" was & I would be supposed to translate that into prilosec.

I had to charge the prilosec this afternoon at Preston Drug. It was only a couple of dollars more than at Wal-Mart though AND I could charge it.

I got up this morning, finally, at 10. Not sure when Nick came in, a little after 8 I think.

Lent, Day 14

I was reading testimonials & emails from the inbox on my FlyLady email account. I have an email account just for FlyLady. Anyway, one of the subject lines caught my eye & I decided to read it instead of filing it somewhere. "Fighting Fatigue." That's what I do ALL the time.

Last night I was ready to turn out the light & go to bed at 11:30. I had done everything I needed to be in bed by 11:30 for the first time since I started this, but ... you knew there was a "but" didn't you? Sammy was laying in front of my pillow. He came in hurt tonight, he could barely limp. Brackin was down further, but both cats were on my side of the bed & I hated to move them. Finally, I scooted Sammy over a little bit & crawled in bed. I covered Sammy & moved my legs around Brackin. They both were purring, but I wasn't very comfortable. Finally, I put the CPAP mask on & went to sleep. I woke up when Don came to bed. He puts the cats in the laundry room when he goes to bed. So, I knew I could stretch out & be comfortable. I woke up at 9:35 again this morning. I got up after 10. What is this with 9:35??

Back to the FlyLady email on fighting fatigue. A FlyBaby from Pennsylvania had written in explaining Lent & she said:

My Lenten commitment this year is also related to FLYing. I've been doing part of your system but not all of it. I finally realized that the biggest hindrance for me is fatigue. I've never really committed to an evening routine, I stay up too late (my "me" time), and I'm always tired. I know my body, and my family, deserve better. You've said time and time again how important the evening routine is, but some of us are just stubborn, I guess.

So, for Lent I'm giving up going to bed late. And I'll build my evening routine (in babysteps!)

I guess I need to see what a FlyLady evening routine is. I obviously have one, don't we all? Mine just isn't written down.

Don-Mike came by on his way home. He had driven Nan's Am, his Trans Am, to work today & came over to say good-night & get his Mustang. He parks Nan's Am here, out by the old garage, & the Mustang is garaged at his house. When he bought the Trans Am I said it must be a keeper, it has a name. He bought it from a lady named Nannette & it was already named.

Lent, Day 13

Nick said he went to bed at 3 a.m. last night. He was thoroughly enjoying his new X-box. Now tonight, it was early again, 9:30. Don-Mike went home at 10 & as he was leaving he told me not to forget the mail, LOL. I have mail spread all over the bed. I'm trying to find the mortgage bill. It's past due, but they sold our account & I can't find it, grrr. I'm also trying to find the Discover bill. I tried to buy some prilosec today for Nick & Don & the card was denied at 2 different places, another grrr.

I told Don I'd just throw the mail back in the basket. Actually, I ought to take a couple of manila envelopes & put some of the stuff I have sorted out in the envelopes. I have a pile of "junk" mail too, that should be put through the shredder &/or thrown away.

Last night I went to bed at 11:45, Don followed me 5 minutes later. He never goes to bed that early. This morning I woke up at 9:35 & didn't get up til 10.

Dr. Broadbent's assistant hasn't called with my test results from last Wednesday. I took Mother down to have her protime taken & the INR level is still 2.3. Therapeutic is 2.5-3.5.

Lent, Day 12

Last night I got to bed at 11:45, but I laid there awake for quite a while. I've been trying to do this biofeedback that Vicki, job-share partner, told me about. I'm getting pretty good at visualizing being in the swing in the front yard on a hot summer day, feeling the hot, silky dirt between my toes. I love that feeling. I don't like the feel of coarse grains of sand between my toes. I go to bed most nights with my feet & hands cold, so this helps me warm up.

I didn't get up until after 9 this morning. Remember, I'm supposed to be to work at 9 on Monday & Tuesday, sigh. I got to work at 9:55 today & I left at 11:55. Tuesday morning isn't so pressing, but Monday is.

Don-Mike came in at quarter to 12 to ask me what I thought of Nick's latest idea. This has been a pretty painless mission mode. Nick wanted a specific kind of X-box & he wanted it modified, but he didn't want to modify it himself for fear he would screw up. He looked on the internet & found a guy in West Jordan that modifies this particular model of X-box for $40. He called me & asked me what I thought. I said he ought to call the guy; $40 is certainly a lot cheaper than having to buy all the stuff & then ruin the console. So, I told Don-Mike I had encouraged him to call the dude in SLC.

Don-Mike said it was too cold for him to do any work on the house, so he was thinking about taking him. I said I wanted to go. We had some lunch & I called the guy to see if we were making a wild goose chase. He said he'd work us in. I told him we'd be there about 3. We left at 1 & made it to the gas station he told us to meet at by 3:05. Don-Mike drove his '06 Mustang.

It took about an hour and a half to do it, but Nick said the guy had to format his computer. Don-Mike & I sat in the car in the driveway & Nick was in the house with him. From the X-box dude, we went to see Frances Hatch. I had bought her some sugar-free candy for Valentine's Day & never sent it. Frances was the boys' day care provider when they were little & we lived in Bountiful.

We visited with her about an hour. Nick said as we left her house it was worth the trip just to see Frances. I have always thought that the move from Bountiful & tearing him away from Frances was the second stressor that brought bipolar on for him.

Don-Mike said he was glad to see that she lives in such a nice house. The railroad relocated her when they took her house and an acre of land in Woods Cross. He said he was always afraid that they had stuck her in a bad house & bad part of town. So, it was nice to see for ourselves that she lives in a nice home in a nice neighborhood.

I slept almost all the way back. I wanted to go to Chuck-A-Rama, but Nick didn't feel like it. He's had a sinus infection. Anyway, when I found out that Chuck-A-Rama had been voted down, I went to sleep, just past the 24th Street exit in Ogden.

We ate at Big J's in Richmond. Don, bless his heart, went over & heated some homemade soup up for Mother, stopped at the grocery store & bought some deli chicken for his own supper, then came home & fed the dog!! W00t!! W00t!! What a man!!!

Lent, Day 11

To bed last night at 1 o'clock. I'm getting discouraged with this project.

Nick woke me up at 9:05 this morning. He wanted something for a runny nose. I wasn't sure what I could give him that wouldn't cause havoc with his meds. But, we had some Contac for a runny nose & gave him that. This afternoon he called me at work. He was hungry & wanted to know what he could eat & when he could have the Contac again. He didn't know where to look for dosing instructions. I told him to come up to The Citizen & I'd give him some money. He never came. When Don got home I asked him to check the dosing instructions: every 6 hours. Nick forgot to take the pills Don gave him. So, after he ate supper, he took the Contac, plus his normal night meds, buspar, topamax, abilify & metformin. I sure hope they don't react together & he's ok. He went to bed at 8.

Even though I got up at 9:05, I was to work by 9:25, which included stopping at the Conoco & getting my daily refill, 44 oz. of diet Mt. Dew.

So, it is 11:16 DST & the computer is going off. It's another work day tomorrow.

Second Sunday of Lent

Last night I turned off the light at 11:59, but I got up at 11:40 this morning. It wasn't really 12 hours of sleep because of Daylight Savings Time. I truly didn't plan on sleeping the morning away. I was going to put the roast on with the sauce, carrots & onion. Don got dressed & went to church so he could be at the library before the Whitney 1st Ward librarians locked the door. It was Debbie's weekend off from work, so she was there too.

Today has been a hard day for me. I got up late & all I had time to do was put the roast in the crockpot with some water before I went to church. After church I went down to feed the dog & couldn't reach the water pan. It was too far into the shed. I picked up my bags of food & went over to fix dinner. When I got over there I didn't have the recipe & some other stuff, so I came back & got that. The second time over I noticed the clock on the wall needed a new battery. I also discovered I didn't have ginger, soy sauce or other necessities that I needed to fix dinner, sigh. So, I called Don & asked him to bring it over. I figured by the time I ran back & forth all day picking up stuff I needed, we'd never eat. I'm surprised I was able to pull everything together so we could eat on time. With Don's help, I did.

I've had a hard enough time trying to make it to bed by 11:30 for the past 2 and a half weeks, then Daylight Savings Time comes along & according to our bodies it is still 10:30, grrr, but I will try to make it to bed by midnight (11 p.m. according to my body's clock). Tomorrow's a work day & I HAVE to be there by 9 a.m.

Lent, Day 10

Ok, gotta hurry if I'm gonna be in bed by 11:30. Don tells me with Daylight Savings Time, I'm gonna lose an hour of sleep. Now, if you've been following this blog, you'll notice I average about 9 hours of sleep a night. I think depression is the big culprit, but like I told Don, it could be the anemia rearing it's ugly head or the hypokalemia. I vote depression, tears have been awfully close lately.

Of course, if I'm just going to the church library & not to Sacrament Meeting, I don't have to be there until noon, so losing the hour of sleep will be no biggie.

Last night I didn't get to bed until midnight. I turned the light off at 12:03 & woke up this morning at 9:35. It took me half an hour to finally win a game of Spider Solitaire last night, eeeek. Ok, today I've played my game of Spider Solitaire & won. I've done my Shockwave daily games & even been to the grocery store for dinner tomorrow. I cook. We're having Teriyaki Pot Roast.

Nick had a tire shred on him this afternoon when he was coming back from Dave Shields' salvage yard. Luckily it was on 7th South & not out on HWY 91. Don told me Nick was down in front of Rosie's, at least that's what I heard. I wracked my brain trying to think of a Rosie that lived on our street. Then he told me Rumsey's. Ohhhhhh, I know where Rumsey's live, LOL. Anyway, they went back in the back yard to see if we happened to have a tire of the right size laying around. Don fed & watered the dog while he was back there. What a man!

Of course, there was not a tire of the right size, so they went down to Cornish & bought a used tire from Best Tire. Don took some pretty pictures with his phone from Best Tire, but I'm not going to take the time to upload any of them to the blog tonight. If I remember, I'll do it tomorrow. I did add some photos to Facebook.

Sheila paid it forward

Don-Mike brought the mail in today & I had a big manila envelope from Sheila Coburn, a cousin. She had posted a blog entry on paying it forward on her blog. The first 3 comments on the entry get a handmade gift from the blogger. I was the first comment on her entry. I copied her entry & posted it on my own blog here as Pay It Forward. I haven't received any comments on my entry, so I guess I won't have to pay anything forward.

The contents of the big manila envelope felt like a book. So I hurriedly ripped it open & it was!!! A blank book!! It's a composition book that has a pretty heart design on the cover & a lovely brass heart on the front. How'd you know I love blank books, Sheila?

This note came with it:

Thanks for playing "pay it forward" on my blog. This will be kind of fun.

I hope you enjoy the little journal/notebook. I am a very avid fan of writitng in a journal. I am not sure that my posterity will ever really enjoy them but I do love to write and I also find it therapeutic!!!

Thanks for playing along.

Love Sheila

I love blank books, but I lose them regularly. I will try very hard to keep track of this one. Thank you very much.

Lent, Day 9

Mother worries me. I worry me. I got to bed about 12:30 last night & woke up about 9.

I was sitting at the computer this morning & got another visual disturbance, I hurried & took 4 ibuprofen, hoping to ward off the migraine. The visual disturbance just would not go away. It was worse than it's been for years. I called Vicki, my job-share partner, at The Citizen & told her I was going back to bed. She told me to try visualizing my hands in hot dishwater. It's part of biofeedback. I tried, but fell asleep thinking of the warm bath I had taken the other day, hoping that would help with both my cold hands AND feet. I guess the ibuprofen helped because I slept about an hour & the headache, though it's still there, did not get as bad as yesterday or a couple of weeks ago. I was able to go into work.

I had forgotten to back up this week's issue of the paper. I noticed it when I put the flash drive in to back up today's work & wondered why the March 4 issue was empty, duh!! It's a good thing the computer didn't crash this week. I did have it on the hard drive, but not backed up.

I went to take my night meds & noticed I had not taken last night's meds. I said maybe that's why I had the migraine this morning. Nick said yesterday's migraine is prolly why I forgot last night's meds.

I was telling Mother how excited I was about getting a replacement fluorescent light over the stove & she said she didn't remember a light over the stove. I told her she's the one that asked for it & the boys had installed it for her. She said she wished there was one over the stove where she's at.

I had told her about my project for Lent, but she didn't remember it. She told me I need to get to bed earlier, then I wouldn't be getting these headaches. So, I told her again about giving up late nights for Lent. I explained Lent, & told her that one theory is that Christ had lain in the tomb for 40 hours. She said, "I thought He was only there for 36 hours." Ok, she remembered that part of our discussion.

She forgot to give me the note from the home health aide when she slipped & stubbed her toe in the tub on Monday. She gave it to me tonight. I guess she remembered when Betty, the home health nurse came.

Ok, it's 11:17 p.m. I am going to try to get to bed by 11:30. One game of Spider Solitaire shouldn't take me more than 15 minutes. I've already taken part of night time meds, done my Shockwave games & so maybe tonight I'll be successful.

Lent, Day 8

Thursdays are supposed to be my day. I had plans, big plans to pay bills, declutter & sew. Ummm, the best-laid plans of mice & men often go awry. Robert Burns sure had that right, even women's plans go awry, LOL.

I was sitting at the computer in my nightclothes this morning, working on Mother's bills when she called. She wanted the bath bench so she could take a bath. The home health aide was there, but Mother didn't think she could get down in the tub. I had not taken the bath bench over for a couple of reasons. One is that it was filthy, we've been using it for a shelf to put over the heat vent in the bathroom & we put the garbage can on top of it & a couple of other things, so I didn't want to lose that. Another thing is that the home health aides have been promising to bring in a bath bench & I thought it would be better than the one we have. It is metal & cold on your bum when you sit on it. It isn't wide enough for me. Mother's lost so much weight though, that I'm sure she had no trouble sitting between the handles. Mother bought it for Daddy & he was so tiny & frail, he had no trouble sitting between the handles.

I jumped & ran. I didn't even bother getting dressed. Then while I was still there, Arlene Wanner called. She couldn't remember Dr. Otrusinik's nurses name. He has 2, but I told her the names of the girls that were in the office yesterday. Arlene was coming out from having her protime taken, while we were waiting to have Mother's taken. She said she was bad, she'd write little notes on envelopes & then lose them. I told her I had a little book she could have. I'd come right home & take it over to her. Nick called on my cell phone while I was talking to Arlene on Mother's landline.

Nick was bored & wanted to go for a "little" ride. I told him I had promised Arlene I'd go over & I did. We programmed her cell phone so she can have one-touch dialing. Mother had told Arlene that I had programmed her cell phone so that she could just push one number & call people.

Anyway, Nick & I decided we'd see how far we could get up Logan Canyon. But first we had lunch at Big J's, paid the storage bill & then went to Logan & bought an adjustable bath stool for Mother. We got to the top of Logan Sinks & got stuck just off the road heading into the parking lot to the restrooms. The road had been slushy, but we still needed that restroom. He walked back into the restroom because we couldn't get into the parking lot. I didn't think I could make it that far. He backed onto the highway, flipped a U-ie & headed on out of there.

We stopped at Wal*Mart for the bathroom for me. I got a huge round pan for Mufasa from the pet dept. The dripper pan that Lynette had brought with him from Glendale is almost as flat as a pancake. The clerk asked me if I was going to bake a cake. Awfully big cake. I said no I was going to feed a dog. She said they just used a pie tin for their dog. I said that I'd been using a dripper pan, but the dog weighed almost 200 lb., & had stepped on it so many times, it wasn't holding food. I started getting a migraine in Wal*Mart, so I bought some ibuprofen as well.

Don met us after work & we went to Lynn's Audio & to Lowe's. I sat in the car, but Nick & Don went in. They bought a fluorescent light for over the stove, came home & Don changed the light & cleaned the cover. Nick used alcohol to take the dirt & grease off the fixture. OMG, I can see. I've been asking for a light for that fixture for months. Don-Mike turned it on & was so surprised. He said he was blinded by the light, LOL.

I had told Mother we'd go to Relief Society tonight if she felt like it. I called her to tell her I didn't feel like going, but she didn't answer the phone, either phone. So I got in the car & drove over to see if she was ok & to tell her I didn't feel like going. She was back getting ready to go. Even though she didn't feel like going, she had decided she'd go. I felt guilty that I didn't feel like going. I don't dare tell her I have a migraine. I told her when I had the last one. Arlene told me she is worried that I have another brain tumor. So, I just told her I thought I'd had too much sugar today. I probably have, but it was the migraine that did me in.

I got to bed at 1 again last night. I turned the computer off at 11:55. I woke up at 8:35 this morning & wrote myself a note, filled both sides of a 3x5 card of things I was going to do today. I had such grandiose plans & I lost the card. I wish I knew where I had put it.

Lent, Day 7

OK, I've been at this Lent thing for 8 days, counting Sunday. Still haven't been successful at either one of my goals, but I keep trying.

Report on "doctor day" in the city. I woke up at 9:35 & finally drug myself out of bed at 10, only because I wanted to tell Don-Mike something before he left. I was in bed by 12:15 last night, but couldn't seem to get to sleep. I was still awake at 1.

My appt. for the mammogram was at 1:30, but I had remembered 1 & had set my cell phone calendar for 1. We left a little after 11, & so we had plenty of time to eat. We ate at Golden Corral. I didn't have any trouble with "restaurant syndrome" aka IBS like I usually do. I was careful what I ate though. The spinach & Brussels sprouts looked so good, but that's all I did was look. I took the hydrocodone while we were eating. I wanted to be sure & have it in my system for the mammogram.

At the lab they took 3 vials of blood. I barely felt the prick & there isn't a bruise to show either.

Next on to the Radiology Dept. for the mammogram. I am certainly grateful for the pain meds. I was feeling no pain, actually I did, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been without the pain medication. I am so grateful that Don took the time off from work today to drive us. My boobs are sore tonight. I'm thinking of taking another pain pill, but think I'll settle for ibuprofen.

There are no films of the right breast for either February or October 2007. I said I didn't think they took any of the right side in October because there was another lump in the left breast & they wanted to see what it was. She checked & the records showed they hadn't done the right breast in October. I said all of my surgeries had been done right there at Cache Valley Specialty Hospital, except the one where they implanted 22 needles in my left breast at Ogden Regional. I still have some of those scars. The films should either be at Dr. (Lee) Broadbent's office or at the hospital. I didn't remember taking any films to Ogden.

All I had to do was change gowns from the little cape-like thing to the full hospital gown for the chest x-rays right there in the Radiology Dept. Two x-rays, full & side views. So, now we wait for the results.

Mother & Don sat out in the waiting room while I had all this done. It only took an hour & 10 minutes. Since we were already at the Specialty Hospital, I checked with Dr. (Jeffrey) Bennion's office, the ear, nose & throat specialist that comes to Preston, to see if I could get a copy of Nick's sleep study from Idaho Falls, but since Nick is 21, I can't without a signed consent form from him.

On to the Regional Medical Arts Building at Logan Regional Hospital for Mother's protime. The INR level is 2.3, too thick again. How it can fluctuate from high to low in just a matter of days still amazes me. She did not feel good this morning & tonight when I went over to check on her, she came from the bathroom crying.

She thinks she broke her toe getting out of the bathtub Monday. She slipped. She has a bath mat, I don't know if it was in the tub or not. We saw a shower stool at Cache Valley Oxygen today when we stopped there to check on black crocs. She said the home health aide said she'd be sure they brought a shower bench tomorrow. I should have just bought it, but I didn't have enough money to do it.

I didn't take her to Instacare because they can't really do much besides x-ray it to see if she really did break it & then tape the toes together. She already has pain medication for the pain in her back & hips.

It is 11:40 & I'm not going to update Mother's Caring Bridge site tonight. I've done most of the reporting right here. I can just copy & paste tomorrow.

I slept almost all the way home from the doctor's & I'm still tired.

Lent, Day 6

So far, I haven't succeeded in either one of my goals for Lent. This is harder than I ever imagined it to be. I got to bed at 12:20 last night & up at 8:40 this morning. But I will persist. Blogging about it makes me write it down & acknowledge I'm not succeeding.

I wasn't as tired this morning as I have been, but I started taking the potassium pills again. They are so big they're hard to swallow so I take them with apple sauce. Someone has discovered the apple sauce & is helping me eat it. It's ok, we just go through apple sauce faster, LOL. Mother keeps telling me that we have the cellar full of bottled apple sauce & why don't I eat that. I've told her I really don't want to eat food that is older than my boys. Actually, the boys remember helping make it, so I guess it's not as old as I think it is.

It reminds me of a series of books I read called The Tripod Trilogy, only there is 4 books in the trilogy, LOL. These boys were going through a supermarket, but didn't know what it was & couldn't figure out what the cans were. The cans & stuff was 100 years old.

Tomorrow is the day for the chest x-ray, mammogram & blood test. I am definitely not looking forward to it. Don took the day off to take Mother & I to Logan to our "doctor day." The mammograms hurt so bad that I take hydrocodone for them. I hope I remember to take the paperwork for it.

Mother had a mammogram recently at Logan Regional & she said it didn't hurt at all. OMG, how would it be? She has had 8 breast surgeries. I've almost caught up with her. Hers were always benign, so I thought mine would be too. She started having them in the 1960s.

I got some of the towels picked up this afternoon & washed. It looks like there is another whole washer load to do.

Lent, Day 5

One of my obsessions is online word search puzzles. I had trouble with a clue tonight, 1994 Disney movie. So, I clicked for a hint, L, K. I could've kicked myself. Lion King, Mufasa! Of course! We rolled our car up Logan Canyon that March because I HAD TO HAVE The Lion King on the first day it was released on video. The weather was fine in Rich County, Utah, but as we started up the mountain it was snowing. The roads were snow covered, but they had just sanded a corner & it was slushy. We hit the slush, spun out of control & rolled down the hill. It was right at the top of the Logan Sinks.

I learned my lesson. I no longer have to have a video the first day it is out. Now, Harry Potter books are another story. I've never had to drive very far to get one though.

I got to bed at midnight last night & woke up at 8:35 this morning. It took me a half hour to get up. Nick asked me how I was, I said I was tired. He said I need to wake up earlier. I said it didn't matter what time I woke up or got up, I am always tired. I woke up early on Sunday & drug myself out of bed. All day I wanted to lay down & take a nap. Nick laid down to take a nap the other night & woke up at 2 a.m. Saturday I got up late & was still tired. Maybe we'll find an answer when I have my blood test on Wednesday.

I had a bad start to my morning. I finally got up at 9:05 & went to work. I got up to the railroad tracks & turned onto the highway going into town (northwest) & saw a big orange tabby cat cowering in the gutter on the southwest side of the highway. He looked me in the eye. I thought it might be Sammy, but I was sure I had seen him just before I left home. I turned around & went back, parked behind the cat with my flashers on. I got out & it started hissing at me & trying to run. It's back leg was all bloody & dragging. It ran out into the highway & here's cars & trucks coming. I found that if I didn't approach it, it wouldn't try to run. Big county dump trucks would slow down & just drive by, I was so upset. I could see the cat running under one of them & getting killed right in front of my eyes. I stood my ground though, they were going to have to kill me to get to the stupid cat.

A man came along in a pickup, pulled up behind me & grabbed some leather gloves & pulled those on. I had a flash of sanity. What was I doing trying to approach a scared injured cat with no gloves, no place to put it if I did catch it? He asked me if it was my cat. I told him no & he told me to get in my car & go. I said I was going to take him to the vet. He said he would. He chased the cat off the highway into Saxton's used car lot, where the A&W used to be, if that means anything to anybody. I swung north onto First East, turned west onto Third South to see if I could see the cat & what the man was doing. I couldn't see the cat, but the man was talking to Doug Saxton. They probably thought I hit the cat. If he did catch the cat, he probably took it to the vet & had it euthanized.

I thought I'd come home tonight & see the cat dead on the highway, trying to cross the highway again to get home.

It reminded me of the time when Don's mom hit a truck that had dropped it's transmission in the middle of the freeway in Ogden. She was out in the middle of the freeway directing traffic. I asked her why she was doing that & she said nobody was going to hit her car. When the police came, they called an ambulance & had her taken to McKay-Dee Hospital. She gave them mine & Don's phone number & Don-Mike answered the phone. I took the phone & they said it was the Utah Highway Patrol & my MIL Ruth Bartholomew, or something like that, was in the hospital. I said I didn't believe it was really the UHP because my MIL's name was not Ruth in the first place nor was it Bartholomew. I was ready to hang up on them, but I heard the dispatcher talking to the UHP, saying I said my MIL's name was not Ruth & I was pronouncing the last name differently. So, I asked what kind of car she was driving. I had to concede it was my MIL when I heard the UHP saying she was driving a blue Pontiac Phoenix with Idaho 2B 314 license plates.

When I got off the phone Don-Mike said they asked for Don or RaNae. He said he could have talked to them, his name was Don. I told him I was glad he let me talk to them.

I almost had a 12 hour day today, probably more like 11 hours. I got there after 9 & left before 9.

Before I could get dressed I had to pick up the mess that I've been trying to declutter since Wednesday. It has been in front of the middle of the vanity & I piled it in front of the vanity drawers last week. So, in order to get to my underwear drawer, I piled everything back on the bed, sigh.

When I went into the bathroom this morning to get dressed, every towel on the shelf had been pulled off & was piled in a wet heap in front of the toilet. The clothes I had draped on the side of the tub last night to put on this morning were at the bottom of the heap. Nick had taken a bath. This happens EVERY time he takes a bath. I will be so glad to get the new part of the house finished & he can take a shower. I don't know that the number of towels he uses will diminish, but ......

I draped the clothes back on the tub along with most of the towels. I dread going in the bathroom tonight, I haven't been there yet. I KNOW they will still be there. If someone hasn't already tossed them into the tub, I will. I have to work again in the morning so I won't get them in the washer & the towels will lay there & mildew.

First Sunday in Lent

Ok, Sundays do not count as part of the 40 days of Lent. Why? Is Sunday a free day? I'll still report on my progress or lack of.

Last night I got to bed at midnight. I woke up at 7:05, & finally forced myself out of bed at 7:30. It's Fast Sunday, the first Sunday of the month & so therefore the ward bulletin had to be copied & collated. I didn't do it yesterday & they wanted it first thing this morning. I finished it at 8:30 & put the stack of bulletins in the chair outside the clerk's office.

I checked today at church & they were there when they were needed.

Decluttering, ummm, nope. It didn't happen, sigh.

Pay It Forward

I saw this on my Cousin Sheila's blog. This is how it works.....

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this entry will receive a handmade gift from me sometime during this calendar year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch ... You knew there would be, didn't you? Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift (anything) for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway! Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.

When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.