Who needs health care reform? THIS GIRL!

I have been sick for almost 2 weeks now.  I have had this dry, hacky cough that produces nothing, I can't sleep, and off and on I feel achy and my joints hurt.  That last part isn't constant, it just seems like if I have a particularly heavy cough day, my joints ache.  I am not a fan of going to the doctor, mostly because I don't like paying for it, not because of any fear or dislike of doctors.

On Monday, after 9 days of this cough and broken sleep, I made a doctor's appointment.  After going over symptoms I have and those that I don't, my doctor made the determination that because I've had asthma due to allergies in the past, this is most likely what it is...WHAT??  Did I include wheezing or a barking sneeze in my symptoms?  No.  This wasn't even the doctor that determined I had asthma due to allergies...DUE TO CATS.  He prescribed me an albuterol inhaler to see if that decreased my cough.  Recommended I could take allergy medication to see if that helped too.  WHAT??  If that didn't help, to call back in a few days and we'd take the next step, maybe XRays.

The inhaler made my cough looser, DUH, but didn't decrease the frequency of cough, but it made me jittery as hell.  The OTC allergy medication I usually take made no noticable difference.  The next day, I suffered through work and shortly before lunch time, called and left a message for his nurse that it wasn't working.  She called me back 6 hours later (I give many props to her for being at work til 6:30) and said that the doctor was sending over a prescription for codeine cough syrup.  I've taken it before, and wasn't a fan, but number 1, who's going to argue with a nurse at 6:30pm and number 2, I was desperate for sleep.

After waiting 50 minutes at CVS (OMG - another blog post altogether), I went home with my laced cough syrup, dosed up and went to bed.  I woke up Wednesday and proceeded to make up for all the coughing I missed overnight.  My eyeballs were bulging and I'm sure there was a very prominent vein in my forehead.  I dosed up and went back to bed.  The medicine calls for a dose every 4 hours.  Every 3 hours, it wears off, and I cough my head off for the next hour.

This morning, I called the doctor's office at 7am.  Left a message for the nurse that I was really frustrated because I felt like the symptoms were being treated (SORT OF), but nothing was being done to fix (OR EVEN FIND OUT) what was wrong with me.   In addition, I woke up with one bloodshot, gummy eyeball.  I hacked through work all morning, and at 12:30, my lunch time, I called the doctor's office.  I asked the receptionist what their procedure was for these callbacks, and I was told that the morning calls are usually returned over lunch (I'm sorry, do you return calls on your lunch hour??  I certainly don't. )  At 2 pm, there was still no call back.  I called again, explained to the receptionist that I was really upset that I hadn't heard from anyone yet (like she cares) and she put me through to ANOTHER nurse.  I had to explain all over again, the symptoms I had, what meds I'd been taking and how I was really frustrated with this process.  She said she'd have to talk to my doctor and call me back.

At 3:15 (after a coincedental and disturbing phone call from an insured who had a cold for 2 weeks and when he finally went to the doctor found out he had fluid in his heart, it was damaged and only working at 30% capacity) the nurse called me back and told me that the doctor was going to send over a prescription for prednisone for me.  I pretty much said "thank you" and hung up.  I was so mad.  Prednisone?  Really?  You're still going for this allergy thing?  I don't think so.  I have no desire to take a steroid, especially when this guy has NO IDEA what's actually wrong with me.  I mean, I was mad anyway at the situation, then the fact that NO ONE is listening to me really pisses me off AND I'M PAYING FOR IT!!!!

So, I went back to my desk, looked up the number for another doctor and made another phone call.  I explained my situation, my symptoms and my frustration to this new receptionist.  You know what she said?  "We have an appointment available at 3:15 tomorrow, would you like that?"  I could've kissed her - although since I still have no idea what's wrong with me - I doubt she'd appreciate that.

Hopefully tomorrow, I'll have some answers, or at least a plan to figure something out and a doctor that I actually have confidence in.  Some sleep would be nice, too.  =)

Did you know?

Virginia is, apparently, for livers.

Necessity vs. Laziness

The other day, I read something about dry shampoo.  I was intrigued...

The thing I was reading was about a woman who worked from home, and if she got busy and didn't have time to shower before her husband got home, she'd dry shampoo her hair.  

Now, I am not the overly-fussy-about-my-hair type,  but my hair is fine and thin; with childbirth, got thinner still.  I am not one of those women who can go a day or three between washings, simply because it looks so greasy after a day.  Baseball hats are my friends on those early Saturday morning trips to WalMart.  So, I thought I would check it out.  

This is what I found:

It is basically canned powder...you spray it on your hair, brush it and the oil is absorbed...apparently.  I haven't tried it yet...but, as I was in the shower this morning - ACTUALLY shampooing my hair - I started thinking about this product.  

In the 1700s, men wore powdered wigs.  They were big, poofy, curly affairs; most often the powder was white and scented.  Women powdered their hair as well.  I do not know if this was fashion, or a way to hide the fact that baths were taken infrequently, most likely both.  Baths were difficult...hot water lugged up from kitchens to a bedchamber, poured into a metal hip bath.  The water cannot have been that warm after the long trip up the stairs, then being poured into a cold metal tub.  I doubt I would've bathed much either.  So, even after centuries of evolving fashion, indoor plumbing and hot water heaters, we are back to powdering our hair.  

There's a reason behind my lack of posting...

...My friend Mandy, of MCubed fame, who taught me everything I know about blogging, always said that no one wants to read about someone bitching...try to stay positive.  Well, we've had a couple of things come up recently that have rocked my world.  I have been totally focused on my family, coping with the changes and trying to figure out the best way to get a handle on what's been going on.  So, in order to follow her rules of an 8:1 postive to negative ratio, I took a few weeks off.  


Here is what's been going on....

Right after the holidays, Scott started feeling like his symptoms of depression were coming back and he was feeling very anxious about work again…He went in and talked to his regular doctor, and was prescribed well-butrin.  That helped for a few weeks, and in addition to the fact that he was taking that with a generic ativan for anxiety he thought it was helping.  A few weeks ago, Scott fell down our stairs.  It was the last 5 or 6 steps and it was just a muscle strain, but it scared him and we went to the dr.  His doc checked him out, and they talked about the medication.  The dr upped his dose of well-butrin.  After 4 days on the increased dose, Scott’s anxiety was out of control.  On January 27,  he was paralyzed about work, anxious and snappy at home, he was throwing up, crying and had the shakes.  He called the doctor’s office.  The doctor called work for him to excuse him because Scott couldn’t do it, and sent us to the ER to talk to a psychologist, Mark Bowser.  Mark did an assessment and once we started talking about Scott’s depression, the questions got really specific and everything he asked Scott answered “Yes.”  They went over the list of medications Scott has taken over the past 2 years and how they helped or didn’t help, as well as his reaction to them.  We also talked about his addiction to painkillers and his back surgeries.  He was medically excused from work for the remainder of the weekend. 

Basically, his reaction to the anti-depressants as well as his addictive personality pointed to a bi-polar diagnosis.  Bi-polar causes a chemical imbalance that is exaggerated by anti-depressants, simply because they’re affecting the wrong chemical.  The chemical they boost is what causes the “manic” behavior in a bi-polar person. There are different severities/types of bi-polar disorder.  One of which is Bi-polar II (two).  In this type, the mood swings are rapid, having several a day and the mania manifests itself more as high-anxiety, restlessness, inability to stay asleep, inability to concentrate and uncontrolled impulses (like chattiness, jumping from one subject or task to another, etc), all of which Scott has been struggling with.  To him, he couldn’t understand why he was feeling so depressed, then all of a sudden, usually in the evenings, he had this huge burst of energy and chattiness.  What Mark Bowser recommended was an out-patient “partial hospitalization” program.  This program is part of the hospital and deals with mental health and substance abuse problems.  It combines group therapy with counselors and one-on-one therapy with a psychiatrist.  Their emphasis is dealing with these issues without losing one’s dignity – it is during the day, no over-nights, lunch is provided and you get to wear your own clothes.    After leaving the ER, I called his General Manager, Bryce and explained the situation.  We weren’t sure when he’d be able to get into the treatment program, so Scott was rescheduled to work nights for the following week.  He started the out-patient program on Wednesday, Feb 2.  The bi-polar diagnosis was confirmed and he was prescribed lithium and lamictyl (excuse my spelling, I can barely remember the name, let alone how to spell it) to combat the swings. 

He attended the program three days the first week, going to work afterwards.  He was off that Friday night, which is the first chance we really got to see or talk to each other and he was feeling very positive about his treatment.  His psychiatrist suggested he take time off of work, and wrote a letter excusing him, but Scott felt like that would be detrimental to his career and his GM was on vacation. On Friday night, the medicine made him sleepy, so he was asleep on the couch soon after the kids were in bed.  On Saturday, he backslid quite a bit.  We were driving to lunch and to run some errands and he was irritable and snappy.  Scotty mentioned he saw “dogs standing on a wall” which sounded weird and funny.  I backed up, and went around the block to see them, because I wanted to see and for some reason, that set Scott off.  He thought it was so dangerous that I backed into a side street (we were already on a side street) to turn around to go around the block and the fact that we were going to look at dogs seemed utterly ridiculous.  He opened the car door, while I was driving, and as soon as I slowed down enough, he got out of the car and slammed the door.  I let him be, I didn’t turn around and go after him because I knew how irrational and upset he was and I didn’t want to make a scarier scene for the kids.  So, we went to eat.  I was in touch with Scott, texting him.  He said he was still too upset to come to lunch, but we should go ahead and do our errands.  The kids and I had lunch, made our two stops afterwards.  Our last stop was at Target.  While we were there, Scott said he wasn’t doing well.  I told him we’d finish up and come home.  When I got home, Chris was there with him.  I made sure it was ok for the kids to come in, and sent them upstairs to watch TV.  We talked about what was going on, and whatever clicked for him in the car, made all the “bad thoughts” to come back, and he was terribly upset.  He should’ve been getting ready to go to work.  Chris suggested he take a week off, he had the dr’s note to do so, and thought it was understandable and viable.  The thought of having to call Curt, the area director, almost set Scott into a fresh wave of hysterics.  Chris called him for Scott.  Explained what was going on, that there was a note excusing him, that he would take it unpaid, etc.  Chris came back in, said that Curt understood, would take care of the shifts and that Curt wanted Scott to call him the next day, Sunday to go over everything. 

Well, Sunday, Scott called Curt.  It was a very short conversation, Scott started explaining to him how he’d been trying to do the best he could under the circumstances, these things were really spinning out of control.  Curt told him that they had a business decision to make, they “let him take time off” this summer for his back surgery, and that they’re going to take him off the schedule. Scott asked what exactly that meant and Curt said, “We’re letting you go.”  Scott said he understood, and that he thought he should end the conversation.  Scott used the whole 12 week FMLA allotment for his back surgery, so from what I can tell, they haven't done anything illegal in firing him for medical reasons...

I spent that Sunday sort of in a funk…couldn’t really think about anything.  That night when I went to bed, all I could do was cry…so I went downstairs so I could really sob and get it all out.  Everything felt so overwhelming and I just didn’t know what to do or where to start doing it.  I’m pretty angry, but not at Scott...I'm angry at Chilis, at Scott's years of being misdiagnosed, at the time he's had to waste taking medication that's made him worse.   Scott finished his two days of treatment the following Monday and Tuesday, and afterwards on Tuesday, I was able to go in and talk to one of the counselors to answer questions I had, mainly about how to support him, and things to look out for in the future.


For the past two weeks, we've been pretty much just keeping our heads down, taking the steps we need to take in order to be okay.  Scott has filed for unemployment, has his fact-finding interview next week.  We elected to cash in his 401K, which isn't a hugely terrible amount, but we'll be able to eliminate most, if not all of the debt we currently have.  We've taken steps to eliminate our monthly bills, such as turning down the heat, lessening our grocery bills and I've started driving Scott's smaller, more gas-friendly vehicle to work.  Scott has been sending out his resume, applying for jobs, doing the laundry, and running the various errands that need to run.  I've been swinging between abject terror at being the sole breadwinner and elation at having a househusband - often feeling quite bipolar myself - but as we're settling in and making plans, I'm actually feeling ok.  Because one of the major sideeffects of Lithium is weight gain, and because I'm about 30 lbs overweight, we've cut calories and have been exercising.  Once the time changes, we will start walking as a family after dinner as well.  


We have quite a few silver linings here - Scott is able to adjust to his medications without the added anxiety of work and due to our decreased income, he now qualifies for assistance through our community services board for the therapy and counseling he'll need (our health insurance does not cover mental health, and with 2 incomes, we made too much money to qualify for help). We now have, for the time being at least, weekends off together and have been able to start going back to church.  With the 401K money, we'll be paying off medical bills we've been paying on for 2 years.  We have quit smoking  and drinking.  I should add more, you know, to make that ratio, but Scott just turned on an 80's movie and surprisingly, it's one I've never seen.  


I hope to be back on here more regularly now that we're settling into some sort of a routine, and we're all adjusting to this new "normal."  Thank you for taking the time to read this and I will keep you updated.  Here's to healthier living, an upturn in the job market and spring springing quickly!!

I'm bewitched!!

I've mentioned "Old Black Witch" several times now and how it's become one of Reina's favorite books.  This is my extremely well-loved copy.

 For those not in the know, this is the story of a mother and son who move to New England to buy an "old and warm and cosy" house to turn into a tearoom.  They end up with an old, musty, delapidated home that is inhabited by, you guessed it, an old black witch.  By the end of the story, OBW is helping out in the teahouse, making delicious blueberry pancakes.  Her magical recipe is on the back of the book, accompanied by the spell that must be repeated 3 times as you stir the blueberries into the batter.

The kids and I made these pancakes this morning.  I learned a couple things in the process:

1. I will never, ever, ever make pancakes from a mix again.  Homemade pancakes are so thick and dense and delicious and don't spread out all over the place.  

2. It's no newflash, but canned blueberries are a little unsatisfactory.  Especially considering just 5 short months ago, we were eating freshly picked blueberries in Maine.  I cannot imagine how good these pancakes will be up there.  Isn't everything better in Maine??!!??

3. Do not ever assume that your daughter will listen when you tell her not to touch the griddle because it's hot.  That's right.  Reina touched it to see if it was hot.  Poor thing.  She's ok, just a little blister on the pad of one finger, and I think the shock of it was worse than the pain.  

This is the single recipe....I recommend doubling it, then adding just a bit of blueberry juice for flavor and color. 

Here's the recipe from the book.  I doubled the recipe and it made 13 good-sized pancakes.

BEWITCHING BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

1 1/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 TBS granulated sugar

3/4 tsp salt 

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk

3 TBS oil

1/2 cup washed blueberries 

As you stir in the blueberries (this is the magic part) say three times:

Gobble dee gook

With a wooden spoon,

The laugh of a toad,

At the height of the moon!

Pour on a hot griddle and watch.  

I'm fairly certain that our pancakes were so good because we had Scotty saying the magic spell for us.  I wouldn't recommend skipping this step.  

OLD BLACK MONSTER

Last night, Reina and I were reading books and "Old Black Witch" has become our nightly favorite.  Afterwards, Reina wanted me to tell her a story.  This is what Reina and I came up with.  =)

Once upon a time, there was a big, scary monster who lived in a cave high on top of a mountain.  His name was Old Black Monster.  He loved to snack on little girls.  One day, he was terrorizing a small village, carrying all the little girls up to his mountain.  The townspeople were very sad, and called the best monster catcher they'd ever heard of to help them.  Her name was Princess Reina and she was the smartest, prettiest, bestest monster catcher in the whole wide world.

She arrived at the village and asked the villagers what was going on.  They told her that all the little girls of the village were gone, taken and eaten by Old Black Monster and that he lived at the top of the tallest, darkest, smelliest mountain, Poop Mountain.  So, Princess Reina started climbing the mountain carrying a big cage and a long rope.  The villagers were very worried about her.

When she got to the top of the mountain, she found a nice smooth spot, set up the cage and climbed inside. She was using herself as bait!  Then, she started calling the monster, "Old Black Monster, come out here!  I have a nice tasty treat for you!  Oh, Monster, come out here."  After a few minutes of calling, the monster finally came out.  He grinned excitedly when he saw the beautiful Princess Reina.  He opened the door of the cage, climbed inside and was just about to grab Reina when she pulled the rope, slammed the door behind the monster and escaped from a small, secret trapdoor in the back of the cage.

The monster was very sad.  He immediately started crying and moaning.  "Stop making all that racket,"  Reina said.  "You are a very mean monster.  You made all the people in the village very sad.   It isn't nice to take little girls away!"  Old Black Monster continued crying.  "I'm very sorry to make them sad.  I didn't mean to.  I just wanted someone to play with!" he sobbed.  Reina was outraged, "Play with?  SOMEONE TO EAT, YOU MEAN!"

Old Black Monster immediately stopped crying and looked up in shock.  "To eat??  I didn't eat those little girls.  The only thing I eat is SPAGHETTI!!!" he said with a wail.  Reina stopped walking, turned around and gave the monster a stern look.  "Spaghetti?  You mean you didn't eat those little girls?  Why did you take them?  Where are they?"

"They're living in my castle in the cave," the monster replied.  "We have tea parties, play dress up and put on make-up.  I'm so lonely up here on Poop Mountain all by myself, so I took the girls so I would have someone to play with."

Reina had a wonderful idea.  She let Old Black Monster out of the cage, told him to go and get the girls, and that she would meet him back at this very spot in a few minutes.  She ran down the mountain to the village and told them all the good news.  She also told them her idea, which of course, the villagers agreed to.  As Reina and the villagers climbed back up the mountain, they saw Old Black Monster and all the little girls coming down.  Everyone was very happy to be back together, and the parents remarked on how beautiful the girls looked in their fancy dresses and makeup.

Reina said, "Old Black Monster, the villagers thank you for taking such good care of their daughters and each family has volunteered to make spaghetti for you every night.  Every afternoon, you may play with the children, have your spaghetti and no one will ever be sad or scared or hungry again."

Everyone was happy, and thanked the beautiful, smart, wonderful Princess Reina for bringing the little girls home and Old Black Monster never had to climb back up that old Poop Mountain again.

The end.


P.S.  I just showed Reina the picture above and said, "Reina, look it's Old Black Monster."  She said, "No it isn't.  That's a cactus!"  hahahahahahahah

....and the winter doldrums are upon us...

I'm picturing you all clicking on the bookmark on your web browser (because I KNOW you have my blog bookmarked) and giving a huge gasp of surprise that you're finding a blog post....FINALLY!!!  TA---DAAAAA!!!!

No, I'm not dead.  No, I haven't been kidnapped by aliens.  No, my children haven't gagged me and tied me up in the bathroom (although they've been close a time or two) and no, I haven't given up on this darn thing.  The problem is that this is a crappy, crappy time of year.  As happy as I was to see the holidays go, my motivation went with them.  

There hasn't been anything drastic going on in the last 3 weeks, so I'm going to fill you in on all the booooring stuff I've been doing and what monotonous stuff has been going on in my life.   I mean, besides the 2 near-miss snows (damn you weather channel for getting me all excited), the hoopla over the astrological signs (not actually) changing, the fact that I quit smoking (again, I know, I know...) and that we got Jax neutered.  

AREN'T YOU GLAD YOU BOOKMARKED ME????  Darn tootin'!

I've been watching a lot, I mean,  A LOT of television.  I remember when I was younger thinking that I couldn't wait to be an adult so that I could eat dessert before dinner and I could watch all the television that I wanted to.  Well, most nights, the dessert was in proper order but I certainly watched a lot of TV.  

Remember me posting about Dexter and how we added Showtime to continue watching?  Well, we still have Showtime, and even though Dexter is over, I've successfully watched the entire first season of "The Big C" starring Laura Linney and Scott and I have both watched the whole first and three-quarters of the second season of "Nurse Jackie."  Now, for my disclaimer, I am a dyed-in-the-wool HBO fan.  I truly am. But, I have to say that I am very impressed with the Showtime shows.    (Aside: Big Love, I have not been neglecting you...I'm waiting so I can watch a bunch in a row, because I am extremely spoiled right now.) 

We've also watched several movies over the last few weeks.  And, I think I should become a movie reviewer.  That's an option for another blogpost though.  =)  

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time:    Great movie, great actors.  Even if you didn't play the video game (which I didn't) or don't know anything about the plot, I highly recommend it.  Jake Gylenhaal does a great job, as does Ben Kingsley.  The movie is beautiful, the plot is unique, has a great twist at the end (literally and figuratively!) and is highly entertaining.

The Social Network:    You have to take this movie with a grain of salt...like most "based on a true story" movies, it is a MOVIE.   Everyone who made it is trying to make money, and boring doesn't make money.  I do not think that Mark Zuckerberg is exactly as portrayed, but Jesse Eisenberg was very believable and likeable, believe it or not.  And honestly, who doesn't love Justin Timberlake, I mean, really?  

Tangled:    A great spin on an old fairy tale.  We took the kids to see this in the movie theater and it was everything I expected it to be.  I loved this movie and I cannot wait to buy it for Reina.  Funny for adults (in a Disney way, not in a sexual-innuendo-laden-Dreamworks way) and funny for the kids.  Maximus the horse stole the show and in true "Me" fashion, I spent the last 6 minutes crying my eyes out.  Damn you, Disney movies!!!!

The Road:    Now, I would not recommend this movie for a date night, a cuddle night, or any night that you're feeling slightly optimistic.  It is a bleak, dark, tough movie set in post-apocalyptic America.  We don't know what happened to cause this situation, but you don't really need to know.  Viggo Mortensen, whom I love, does a great job portrayed a dirty, emaciated, grieving, ill man just trying to give some optimism to his son.  The world has become dangerous and vicious and he will do  everything in his power to protect his child.  While not visually stunning, it is a beautiful movie, believe it or not.  

HAHAH!  Now, we have The Crazies:    This kind of movie is my guilty pleasure.  It's cheesy and campy without any real redeeming qualities other than the fact that you can get lost in the story; yet, you're never in danger of falling off the edge of your seat.  I do love Radha Mitchell (of "Pitch Black" fame) and Timothy Olyphant is pretty easy on the eyes.  If you're not into gratuitous blood and guts, don't bother with it.

The Town:    My, oh my.  How much did I love this movie??  It's got one heckuvan ensemble cast including Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner (be still, oh my heart) as well as Blake Lively and Chris Cooper.  I also saw this a day or two before Pete Postlethwaite died, so that made it even more poignant in my mind.  This movie, set in East Boston, is like Good Will Hunting on steroids. Automatic handguns and bank robberies take the place of witty zingers and math equations, but it is very good.  I would definitely recommend this movie and I really wish Jeremy Renner would've won a Golden Globe for his role in this. 

I've also been, shockingly enough, spent some time online trying to find new, mindless diversions.  One of which has been www.stumbleupon.com  This site asks you to pick categories of things you are interested in, then you start stumbling.  It brings random websites, pictures, blogs, whatever, to you, based on the categories you've chosen.  You can then choose to like (thumbs up) or dislike (thumbs down) each one.  The more liking or disliking you do, the more the site learns what you want, and your stumbles become increasingly more interesting.  

I've also read a few books...

"Inside of a Dog" is written by Alexandra Horowitz, who is a cognitive behavior specializing in dog behavior.  You can read about it here for excerpts and reviews.  I would recommend it for any dog person.  It's different from Cesar Milan and all his dog-whispering because it's about her studies of dogs and how they interact with us, each other and their world at their level.  It's amusing, insightful and sweet.  Plus, there isn't all this crap about "pack behavior." 

"Cleopatra's Daughter" by Michelle Moran was a I-LITERALLY-CANNOT-PUT-THIS-BOOK-DOWN type of book.  It was pretty much made for me.  Not only am I crazy about historical fiction, but this told the story about Cleopatra and Marc Anthony's three surviving children and what happened to them after their parents' death, and how they were treated by Caesar Octavian after he took them to Rome.  Very good!  Michelle Moran's website is here

The other book is a lot less intellectual....I went to the bookstore looking for three things: the fattest book I could find that I hadn't already read, that wasn't a classic and had to grab me in chapter one.  That book was "Winter Rose" by Jennifer Donnelly.  Set in 1900 England, about a young woman who has just finished medical school to become a doctor and how her ideals war with her social position and demands.  A guilty pleasure read, but definitely kept the pages turning. 

Speaking of books, the kids and I spent one whole evening reading books.  After their bath, they got to pick out 3 books each and I picked 3 out, and we took turns reading.  We had so much fun.  My favorite part was reading "Old Black Witch" to them.  They were mesmerized by the witch living in the teahouse and how she turned the bad guys into toads.  My copy of the book is so battered and worn, I was afraid it was going to fall apart, and both kids were disappointed I wouldn't let either of them take it to bed with them.  I also read "Tikki Tikki Tembo" and "Cranberry Thanksgiving" to them.  All three were favorites of mine when I was little and I got a huge kick out of seeing their reactions to them.  

And, re-reading this doesn't really look like I've been all that bored or unmotivated, does it?  Especially considering that all I had to do to put this up was prop my feet up, look up a few pictures and write.  Maybe I'll do this more often....I wouldn't want you to waste a perfectly good bookmark, now would I?

   

iPhone withdrawal win!!!

For the last 4 years or so, I've been a hard-core iPhone addict.  I got the original 2G when it came out, and about 2 years or so ago, upgraded to the 3G.  I didn't get the upgrade after that, because I was happy with what I had, and I passed on the iPhone4 as well.  Then, Scott got the iPhone4, which is super-fast, has a great(er)-ish camera, better video, more personalization and better graphics.  I realized all of a sudden, that it shouldn't take 20 seconds for texts to open.  I started feeling really impatient and petulant about my slow, laggy iPhone.  Wah.  Poor me!


 The phone I had before the iPhone was a Samsung, red, with a big screen (or what passed for big at the time) and was a decent phone.  My favorite thing about it was the noises that it made when you pressed the buttons.

Taken 1/3/11

It also comes with these cool frames for when you take cutesy pictures of your children.  It's been sitting in a drawer for the past 4 years.

Taken 1/3/11 in the shower.  hah!

Well, I got a wild hair, and figured since I was sooooo unhappy with my iPhone, that'd I'd save us some money, switch to an old-fashioned cell phone.  I'd delete the data package, and unlimited texting.  I'd just have a phone.  Luckily, I had the foresight to try it out for a few days before changing my plan.


Well, I thought I could do it...I really did...if only it weren't for having to press "6" 3 times to get an "O" then waiting 2 seconds to push the "6" 2 times to get an "N" in order to type the word "ON"

66 666  7777444777 777 33 33 33 33  2266622!!!**  

What a pain in the ass texting is with that kind of phone.  I lasted 48 hours and about 17 text messages before deciding that the 20 seconds I wait for texting to open, I definitely make up for when actually typing the words!!!  

Phew!  That was a close one.  One plus side to that 48 hours is that I discovered some super cute pictures of a very chunky Reina, and a sweet 3 year old Scott on that old phone.  Of course, there is no way to upload them to my computer, so I spent another 20 minutes texting the pictures to Scott, along with a text that once I switched the SIM card, could he please send them back to me so I could save them to my (awesome, wonderful, spectacular) iPhone.  So, here they are...the fattest, cutest sweetest baby and her awesome, funny, tall big brother, thanks to my "old-fashioned" cell phone.

Damn, I'm going to miss those cool sounds when you push the buttons!!!!




**NO SIRREEEE BOB!!! 

Here's to the new decade!!

A lot of people think about their lives in 10 year segments...usually moving from their 20s into their 30s, 30s into their 40s...while I was excited about turning 30, it seems like the new decade starting is a good time to reflect on the last 10 years of my life...what a decade it's been!!

11 years ago (tomorrow, in fact) I met Scott at Buffalo Wild Wings.  If I had known then what would happen in the next ten years, I never would've believed I could be so lucky.  Thankfully, I know how lucky I am and am grateful for that day.  

In 2001, Scott and I moved in together.  It started with a drawer, and without any huge discussions or angst, became the beginning of our lives together.  We got a cat, had great friends, we worked a lot, and drank a lot of beer.  We got engaged at Christmas time.  

In 02, we were still working, drinking, but planning a wedding at the same time. 

We were married in 2003, Scotty was born in 2004.  We lived in a small apartment, didn't have any money, but we got through it.  

In 2005, I started working for Rockingham Group, we moved into a slightly larger, but still small apartment, had a little bit more money, bought a kid-friendly vehicle, and  realized we were going to need something more...our family wasn't finished growing yet.  

In 2006, we bought our home, Scotty had his first trip to Nags Head, Reina was born, we made new friends in our new neighborhood.  This was also the year that we said goodbye to our good friend, Jason Aholtz.  

2007 was a hard year...I lost one of the best friends I've ever had.  Mo was by far, the most kind-hearted, giving, honest and caring person I've known.  I will miss her as long as I live.   I also left RG to work for one of their agents and continue to be grateful for the Echards for hiring me!

In 2008, we got Annie - the best dog in the whole world.  We became accustomed to cleaning up dog hair and pee.  

In 2009, Scotty started Kindergarten and we met new neighbors who introduced us to the greatest invention of the century...STUMP!

This last year has been amazing-we had some hard times - Scott had his 3rd back surgery after being in an incredible amount of pain, and was out of work for 3 months.  But, it's been good too...my kids are great - they have incredible brains, personalities and senses of humors.  

We added our last member of the family - Jax, who was incredibly sick as a puppy, but is, as of last week, is off meds and doing very well.   

Of course, there is too much to include everything in one post, but we've been lucky to make new friends, reconnect with old ones we lost touch with...we've discovered new music, new love and met many new milestones.  There have been vacations, weddings, births, baptisms, and funerals as well as concerts, parties, movies, cook-outs, tickle sessions and cuddling.  

I don't know how the next 10 years will compare - but, I know they will not be dull nor boring.  My wish for myself, my family and all of you is that the blessings will continue, health will be good and fun will be had.  Happy New Year and Decade, everyone!  oxoxo

This week in the Yelverton household...

It's been a fairly quiet week here...a few cool things happened...

Scott and I dragged ourselves out of bed for the Lunar Eclipse Monday night/Tuesday morning.  It was a pretty cool thing to see.

Before:

We took this picture at about 10:30pm Monday night.  It was a full, BRILLIANT moon.  There weren't any clouds close by and we had high hopes for the eclipse!



And in full eclipse:

 We set our alarm to get up around 2:30am.  We went out, and it had clouded up a little, but the first glimpse up in the sky took my breath away - and it wasn't just because of the cold.  To see the moon looking like this was admittedly eerie!  I could totally understand why ancient people would take celestial events as omens.  We only got a clear view for a few minutes before the cloud banks rolled around.  But, what a view it was!!!  It was also cool knowing that his particular lunar eclipse happened on the Winter Solstice - that won't happen again for hundreds of years.  It's also cool knowing that from here on out, the days will be getting longer and we are that much closer to spring, warm weather, flip-flops, coolers of beer and STUMP!!!  YAY!

Reina and Scott also put on some pretty funny dance/singing performances for us on Tuesday night.  The videos were taken right after their baths, and, well...I'll just let you see for yourselves.

In this first one, Reina found something in her shoe...wait for the dramatic crescendo at the end...

In this one, Scotty and Reina perform a duet, with a special guest appearance...

(Excuse my cough at the very beginning...still trying to get rid of the crud)

She gets a bit dizzy here...and Scotty is hanging out in the curtains waiting for his big break...

HAHAHAHAHAH!!  Hope this makes you laugh as much as it does me.  And I hope everyone has a very happy, safe and joyful Christmas.  Hug your family, your babies and enjoy every crazed minute of this holiday!!!

Elf on the Shelf meet God the Mad Scientist *Mwahahaha*

This morning, Scott got up to go to work.  I was sort of half awake and heard him get in the shower.  After he made it downstairs, I jolted awake and realized that I forgot to move Pointy, our elf on the shelf. 

If you've never heard of "Elf on the Shelf" how it works is that each Christmas season, your elf (which you get to name yourself) comes to your house along with the decorations.  It spends the day watching your behavior.  Every night, after you go to bed, using elf magic, your elf flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa who was naughty and who was nice.  The next morning, he hides in a new place.  If he comes in contact with human hands, he loses his magic and will not be able to fly home.  

Needless to say, I forgot.  I heard Scotty's voice downstairs, so I thought I'd text Scott and let him know.  Maybe he could move him if Scotty hadn't noticed yet.  This is what I got back and my succinct response: 

I laid awake wondering how I would talk to Scotty about why Pointy didn't move last night.  What questions would he have?  How could I explain WHY I was moving Pointy in the first place.  Now, my kid is really smart, I mean REALLY... I figured if he asked, I would explain to him about how Pointy is just a representation of the actual elf who comes to our house to make sure the kids are good...or maybe, I would tell him that its a representation of how Santa keeps an eye on kids, that Pointy is a daily reminder to be good.  Oh, I know, I thought to myself...I could use God to help explain it...we never SEE God, but we know he's there, we talk to him, he talks and acts through us.  Scotty went to a fairly God-fearing pre-school, I thought he'd understand that. 

Then my stream of consciousness took over

That got me thinking about God, and how we view God, it made me think of a conversation Scott and I had about how to reconcile God (the unseen) and Science (the seen) - It's quite simple really, God is the ultimate Scientist.  I mean, how can he NOT be???  He created humans to have fingerprints!!  How cool are they?  Not only do the swirls on your fingers distinguish you from every other person on the planet, they help you keep from dropping wet glasses as you put them in the dishwasher.  Not a day goes by that I don't give thanks for my fingerprints.  

Our eyelids are AMAZING!!!  They have soft, moist edges that match up perfectly and create a seal to keep out almost everything...how could these things not be a product of the smartest, most ingenious inventor ever? 

AND...God gave us the ability to MAKE PEOPLE!  A female baby has all the eggs she's ever going to have...even though she won't need them for many years, there they are, just waiting to become something else.  

Then I thought about...what if God wasn't just a scientist, but a mad scientist??  It's not quite the matrix, but what if we're all robots, some experiment that worked...how genius is that??  He created things that are thinking, breathing, replicating, and when they (we) get worn out, or damaged, we die.  Over time, his little creatures figured out ways to extend life, heal some of the damage that may incur.  And when we do die, we even figured out how to dispose of ourselves.  If that isn't proof of a divine being, I don't know what is.   

And you know what, Scotty didn't even ask about Pointy.  SMH.