Where we've been Hyden

2012-01-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

I am not usually someone who likes to listen to music while I run. I really prefer to have a clear head and be free from distractions so that I can spend my time praying while I run. However, this week I was working on Sunday, consquentky couldn't attend church. I was craving me some praise and worship music. So I plugged my ipod into my ears and headed out. The first song on the playlist is one of my favorite Mandissa songs. Mandissa is this beautiful black woman with an incredible voice. I hope in pray that when I reach heaven I will wake up with black skin. I am convinced that if I can be morphed into a black woman, then I will be able to sing and dance like my heart really desires to. For now I have to settle for being a tone deaf white woman who dances like a white Baptist woman, aka, I can't sing or dance, no matter how hard I pretend.

Now Mandissa, she can sing and dance, again I am convinced it is because of her luscious chocolate colored skin! She was belting out the most beautiful words...."He is with you"....then she would sing about a number of places God shows up for you. One place is He is with you in the ICU. This line hit a chord with me. My bro-in-law's dad is facing some pretty major surgery soon and will undoubtedly end up in the ICU. I can't help and think about his wife Leanna (usually ICU patients are gorked out and don't know what is going on, while the family members carry all the burden at the bedside). I know she knows that God will be with her, even in the ICU, but I feel a real since of urgency to pray that she would know without a doubt that God will be with her as she watches her husband face this battle. I have a ton of respect for Leanna, she truly lives out her marriage covenant: In sickness and in health. I would have run away years ago, but she remains faithful.

A family from our church lived and breathed God being with them through a recent ICU stay. I love the F family. The F family is raising two sons. They are the kind of boys that I want my girls to hang out with. In fact, my very first memories of F son #1 was him bringing a bouquet of flowers to the Bible study babysitter woman. Yep, Mom F trains her sons to love and respect women and that is exactly the kind of boys I want my girls to be around. Anyhoo Mr F showed up in the ED when I was working and his diagnosis was SERIOUS, at any moment it could have turned for the worst. So for a whole week my thoughts and prayers were consumed by the F family...and I mean consumed. I get that way sometimes, I just can't let go of a plea or concern until God shows victory. God showed up and Mr F is safe at home raising those wonderful boys yet again!

Praise Jesus for Mr F's recovery I am going to get up and dance around like a white woman!!!

Brent's New House

2012-01-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

For over a year our dear brother (in law) has dragged us all over North Park looking at potential houses to buy. In total his family must have looked at a minimum of 117 houses. None fit the bill of what he was looking for....until sweet little 4077 Wilson Street came along. It is the best looking house on the block with plenty of charm and character. It already feels like home. There are the happy sounds of children playing on the school playground across the street. People walk up and down the sidewalk walking to the local shops and markets. It is central and close to all the things that Brent loves best: his church, people in need and us!

We had a great Christmas Eve dinner in his home with a surprise visit (you never know who will show up when Brent is around) from Ken Anderson. He sang at my wedding. It has been a few years since we have seen him and it was great to catch up. Ken was happy to use his photography skills to get us some great shots out in front of the house.

Final Product

2012-01-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a present Kenzie and I made for some friends. See tutorial below.

Succulent Wreath Tutorial

2012-01-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Using your 40% off coupon buy a set of wire wreaths from Joann's. Buy a big bag of Spaggman (sp?) moss from the local Home Depot. Fill the moss bag with water to get the moss good and wet. Spread the moss in the bottom of one wire frame.

Here is a sampling of the succulent cuttings Kenzie and I gathered from our back bank. I was scared of the potential snakes, so she did most of the work while I barked out orders of which plants I wanted. We both managed to avert any snake bites. Kenzie was bitten by a few needles from the cactus.

Leave cuttings out 24 hours or so to form a callus on the ends. Stems should be cut so there will adequate "stemmage" to stuff in wreath.

Next layer potting soil on top of moist moss.

Layer moss on top of potting soil.

Place another wire wreath on top. Using floral wire wrap and pack wreaths very tightly.

Finished wrapped wreath. Now go search through your husband's tools for his most treasured screwdriver. You will use the screwdriver to make holes in you moss/soil to stick stems in.

Stick stems in and design to your liking.

La Mesa Rec Ballet

2012-01-05T15:15:00.001-08:00

The girls have been busy at the bar all Fall long...every once and awhile I want to join them at the bar for a good stretch, but I have a tweenager, and a mother doing ballet would be forbidden.

The girls worked with a local high school student doing her community service hours to create a one dance recital. This sweet high school student raised money selling candy for the kids tutus. I did not let my girls buy candy from her, just slipped her some money. My girls will probably end up being closet eaters in therapy.

Faith was THRILLED to make her dancing debut! Kenzie was all smiles as always. Dr A's daughter was even in on the act. I didn't even realize his daughter was in class with my girls until the day of the "show". I was so pleased to watch him interact with his family. Not only is he an outstanding cardiologist, he's a great family man!

Love Them

2012-01-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

I sure do love these girls.

I did not get a Christmas card, letter, or blog post out this year. If I had this is the picture I would have included. It was taken the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

I cannot believe that Faith is nearly 12...really she will be only turning 3 years old on her Leap Day birthday. Kenzie is 9 1/2 and is as sweet as can be.

I try and keep them in a little bubble of innocence as much as I can, however Robb bought them a Wii for Christmas and G-ma bought them Just Dance 3, so now their brains have turned into mush from all the video game playing and their dance moves resemble Katy Perry and the likes (I am not even sure who Katy Perry is).

PS The perfect eyebrows are courtesy of Faith. She has some mad eyebrow plucking skills. She does kenzie's too, she might do yours as well (if they need plucking).

Mom and Sugie

2012-01-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Aren't my mom and her dog Sugie beautiful?

Doggie Dude and Curt are pretty decent looking too, but neither one stay still long enough to get a clear picture.

We recently had Sugie over for a play date. She had an injury while she was at our house, a punctured cornea. Mom says that despite the fact that she got injured on my watch, Curt will let her come back over to play again. I'll be sure they wrap her in bubble wrap before bringing her by to play.

2011-12-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

One was grumpy, one looked like she was here, but really was in space, and two had tears.

I never could get grumpy one to cheer up. She has a strong sense on entitlement and thought that she should have health care coverage without having to do any of the leg work to get it. I run into this alot. People with chronic disease who are mad at the fact that they can't get their meds or see a doctor. These resources ARE available to them, they just are too lazy to jump through all the hoops to get the care they need. If I hear one more smoker tell me that their medicines are too expensive I think I will scream...their meds cost much less than what they spend on their cigarettes!!!!

The other one was in space, or wherever her dementia led her too. The problem was that at one point in her life she had a beautiful face lift and tattooed makeup done. She looks YEARS younger than her age. Add to the fact that she could kind of cover up her confusion, it was really difficult for me to be able make sense of what I was seeing versus what was really going on beneath the surface. I guess that is one of the down sides of plastic surgery. If you have really good work done to disguise your age, you may not get all the help you need because people will have a hard time believing that you are an old lady under all that beauty.

One had tears because she had just recently found her son dead on her couch. He had been on disability for years for depression and a work injury. We see a lot of that, then he just died. She described her son as perfect model citizen, who was honest and kind, and perfect. She must have used the word perfect to describe her son at least a dozen times. She also described his recliner that he sat in all day watching his HUGE TV. Somehow to me that doesn't seem like a perfect son, but to her he was, so I listened and wiped her tears.

The other was crying because of memories from the past. Sometimes I almost think alcoholism can be justified. With tearsstreaming down his face he shared his story with me. Drafted in his country's army one year shy of completing his degree to be a doctor; he spent the rest of his career in the army, never getting to do what he truly wanted to do in life. He says he smelled the terrible smell of death, a smell he will never forget. He says he saw so many horrible things. He was careful to tell me that he never killed anyone, he was too afraid of what his God would do to him had he killed another human being. His heart was broken from the evil that he witnessed for so long. He was able to come to the US ten years ago and has drowned his sorrows in alcohol and cigarettes. His family stands by him. All of his children have finished college, one is a practicing lawyer. This man attends church weekly and credits Christ for his life, he could not wait to be released so that he could go straight to church, but I fear he'll go straight for the vodka after services.

Duplicity

2011-12-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

A few of the same issues keep rearing their ugly heads in my life. Sometimes I wish I could just learn my lesson from an issue and then move on and be done with it. My study of the book of James has hit me hard....and I am only one chapter in. It is amazing how the same scriptures can speak fresh to you each time you study them.

In the grand scheme of life I do not have "trials" like others have trials. The things that I am currently "persevering" right now are irrelevant in comparison to what other are going through, I recognize that. For me, however, these few issues that keep rearing their ugly heads are truly robbing me of maturity. Did you know that the Greek word for trials and pirates are linked? Just as pirates are robbers of our joy, trials can be too!

So what I am going through? It all boils down to this word duplicity. Knowing in my head the right thing, yet my heart and actions do match. The arena that this comes up in most often is in the context of my work. I struggle with the leadership that is over me. I could go on and on listed the million of things I would do differently or the things I see that are wrong with what the leadership are doing, but that is the root of my issue. I do verbalize these things aloud to my co-workers. I am exactly what Colossians says not to be: A gossiper and a slanderer. Herein lies my duplicity. I know this is wrong, I do not start my day intending to behave this way, but somehow, ten hours into my shift I am

So what I am to do? Ask for wisdom from the God who gives generously without finding fault. "In an honest life a time comes when a person gets sick of duplicity" That is me. It truly came to a head when I was totally disgusted with my actions at work on Friday AND Saturday, then I read this line in my Bible study work on Sunday morning. I can no longer respect my double minded/double souled self in this matter. My heart is deceptive. Beth Moore paints this picture of two chambers of our hearts split off from one another, beating like competing drums. As a cardiac nurse, this speaks directly to me. In order to have an effective pump, the heart must beat synchronously. The two ventricles must squeeze at their respective time, with precision, otherwise the heart will fail. This is me, knowing how I act, yet blatantly disobeying. I am not in synchrony; instead I am a great example of "two-heartedness"

Instead I desperately want to have an "undivided loyalty" to lead a godly life. I want to quit the duplicity...."quit backstroking towards God one minute and dog-paddling for the world the next".

I ask for wisdom in this area. I ask that I will be single minded, wholehearted. James states that a double minded man is unstable. If that word isn't a scary description, I don't know what is. I do not want to be an unstable person. Uck, that is actually the last thing I want to be. So how long am I going to waver between this duplicity and whole heartedness...regarding the issue at work and other issues at home? How long am I going to waver back and forth between what I truly believe is right and yet act against anyways?

Thanksgiving Potluck

2011-11-26T14:42:00.000-08:00

My contribution to the workplace Thanksgiving potluck

Diguised, as homemade.

Just couldn't make myself cook for my co-workers. First off I am NOT a fan of potlucks. I am sort of a food snob and have certain food standards. A quirk of mine. Also, I do a lot of cooking for my family, so I really didn't want to put the extra time in for co-workers (sounds awful, I know, but it is the truth). Lastly, when I do cook for potlucks it always ends up costing me a ton of money that I would rather not spend on food for co-workers, because the stuff they bring is never what I want to eat.

Bottom line 1 hour buying a prepping, 1 hour cooking, and 20 bucks saved, by buying 1.99 cranberry sauce and putting it a pretty bowl!

A Word on Aging

2011-11-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

I don't want to look like this when I am old. I am trying to take care of my skin now, so that it will be nice when I age. However, I admire this woman of age still strutting her stuff out on the beach, I'll be doing that! Enjoying life!

When I age I want to spend time with my family....I guess I want to spend time on the beach with my family. While I am out there on the beach with my family (with my skin protected) I want to be enjoying the moment, not complaining about how I would raise my kids different or about how my hemorrhoids are irritated by the sand in my suit.

I want to give my children and grandchildren gifts that they want, not gifts their parents want them to have. Something they wouldn't have thought of buying themselves. However, knowing me I will probably give a totally practical gift.

Yep, this Grandma is not stressing out about filling her pill container, fighting with younger people in the grocery store line, or grumbling about how others don't do things her way. She is flexible. She has a smile. She is not worrying herself into a tizzy.

Here's another Grandma. She is a hard worker. She has no time to sit around and rot in a recliner, she's got people to cook for and things to do....all with a smile!

A here's another one, doing his thing with a smile!

I have lots of opportunities in my line of work to get to know the elderly. This semester I am taking a class that focuses on the elderly and resources that they have (or do not have) available to them. I also have three grandparents that I am in regular contact with. While I am no expert on the subject. I have had my share of encounters with the elderly; enough encounters to know how I want to spend my time on this earth differently. While I tease and (dream) about looking great throughout life, I think a smile on the face and a great attitude have far more value. Hard times will come, there will be chronic illness to deal with, my body will fail, I will get lonely; but I can't let that all turn me into a grump, a complainer, or a crotchedty old bag!

Reading Rockstar

2011-11-21T15:01:00.000-08:00

I love the fact that my girls like to spend time togther. Here they are all set up in Faith's room doing their reading. Sometimes Kenzie doesn't feel like reading so Faith will read aloud to her. They take good care of each other.

Taylor Swift came to my house on Halloween!

She brought a sweet looking ghost!

I've Been Gone

2011-11-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

After my research project focus group and a 62 page paper that was simply dreadful to complete, I have not wanted to go near a computer. Instead, I took the first flight outta here to my favorite spot on earth. I layed by the pool for three days straight, only getting up to cool off in the water. I am feeling a bit more recharged, but still not inspired enough to post.

(c)

2011-10-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

Wuuuuu whoooo....I can officially call myself:
Rachel K Hyden RN BSN MSN(c) CNS(c) ANP(c) NE(c)....a ridiculous amount of letters!
simply means nothing other than I still have work to do, but have advanced far enough in the program to put those (c)'s after my degree in progress!

Project Update

2011-10-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Hooray! SDSU IRB approved my project!
I've scheduled a date Oct 28th to get my focus group of 6-10 nurses together. So far three people have signed up and others have shown interest. Please pray that I get the full amount to sign up and then show up on Oct 28th. Please also pray that I do not experience any technical difficulties on Oct 28th. I would hate for that to distract from the purpose of the project.
Here's my video that I am going to show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BdwEeMCerQ

After showing the video I will have 7 questions to ask the group. I will record their discussion.
Those are the next steps! Please pray it all goes off without a hitch and really makes a difference in how the other nurses feel about treating the Iraqi refugees....

My New Morning Cocktail

2011-10-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

It is much better than it looks....really

Label on Kefir states:

"WARNING daily doses of Kefir results in extreme bloating, gas, acne and stool that feels like pine cones coming out"

So far I have not experienced the acne or the pine cones, but definite bloating and gas.

End of an Era

2011-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

...Hyden household has purged the remaining evidence that my girls ever loved princesses

Ballroom Dance

2011-10-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

This is obviously not Kenzie's favorite dance style...she endured and Robb got it all on film!

Kenzie looks so mad in this video, the boy was lucky she didn't kick him in the whoo whoos...

DISCLAIMER: I would have never paired the ballet tights with foot holes with the sandals, my girl did that on her own.

The Workplace Fridge

2011-10-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

The computers at work were down for most of the day yesterday...which meant I didn't spend half my day staring into a computer screen checking boxes...which meant I not only had more time for patient care, but also had time to clean out the employee fridge.

Two week old Asian Chicken Salad anyone?

(Yes, that haze around the edge is mold)

Athletic@60

2011-10-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jenna nearly killed me by roping me into the AFC half marathon in Aug. I really should have trained for it, but I didn't. Since the half I have been a bit more motivated to be more consistent with my running, but I am having trouble pushing myself over the 35-40 min hump.
There are humps you have to overcome in running. If you can make it to running one mile straight, then three miles is an easy next hump to overcome. After three the six mile hump is next. If you can do six, then ten is easy...etc. For me, if I can push through the 35 min mark, than 50 mins becomes my norm. I am a slow plodder, so I don't cover very much mileage in that 50 mins, but I really feel like I get a good work out in.
I have also been stretching. My neck and shoulders get so tight from sitting at the computer. Stretching seems to help. It is hard to be diligent at stretching so I signed up for a free trial session at yogaglo.com. The session was Ok, but wasn't for me...too New Ageish. I'll just stick to stretching on my own.
I have also been trying to do calisthenics in my backyard after my run. Nothing major, just 5 mins or so of squats, lunges, push ups and the like. I have a long way to go.
Reminders to myself:
Consistency is the key
Push yourself just a bit further than you thought was possible
Take the time to stretch...get off the couch during commercials and stretch!
Hydrate with water...not caffeine
Do not eat half your sister's birthday cake and then expect your thighs NOT to rub together

Center for Digitalstorytelling, Berkeley

2011-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I am still waiting on the review board approval from SDSU for my project, which gives me time to work on my "intervention" piece of my project. I went to the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, CA where I had a life changing experience creating my piece and being with 11 others from around the world who were there to create their special piece as well.

This is Joe Lambert founder of the Center for Digital Storytelling picking his nose! He'd be OK with that, he's that kind of a guy. He's incredible really. He really set the stage for our group to do some amazing work. He and his colleague Rob Kershaw mentored us through the whole "PROcess" (that's Canadian for process)....Rob is Canadian and PROnounced things way different, so did the guys from New Zealand, the Minnesotan, and gal form Madison....loved it! We were all so different, there for different reasons, and had varying stories, yet we were able to bond so quickly because each of our stories had to do with connections...I could go on and on about that thought, but I'll spare you. I will say that I have never felt more accepted and nurtured during a creative PROcess than at the Center for Digital Storytelling. (After writing professional nursing pieces for three years with very technical writing it was refreshing to write what I wanted to write, not what fit the formula for an "A" paper.)

Masses of technology made this PROcess happen...all without a glitch! When does that happen when you are working with technology? These guys know what they are doing!

I think I may want one of these in the future.

Here I am...after three days of work, I am finished (aka worn out, spent....and completed the project), I've exported and I am ready to watch my 11 fellow cohort's creations... I went through a whole box of tissues.

My camera takes horrible indoor pictures, but I took them anyways because I wanted to remember. I wanted to remember other things about Berkeley as well, but would have stuck out like a sore thumb if I would have pulled out my camera.

What I did not capture:

The man in a blue bathrobe pushing an empty baby stroller across the street.

The chain smoking homeless gentleman who would pose for pictures for food.

The other set of homeless men passing a joint between them while holding a sign that read "Hope you do well on your midterms, God bless"

The protesting UC Berkeley students....protesting tuition hikes...I almost joined them, my tuition has doubled in the time I have joined grad school.

The beautiful old Victorian buildings...full of charm

Every morsel I ate...the food was INCREDIBLE!

Mackenzie's Musings

2011-09-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

What is it? A wing perhaps?

Looks like it could be another wing...

What's up with that mouth?

A fairy vampire? What?!! Isn't this my sweet Mackenzie who loves all things fairies, now she has turned her love for fairies into vampires? Aghh!

No Title

2011-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

Faith accepted to a new school

Faith was sick

Picked out school uniforms for new school

Started new school a bit under the weather

Went to ballet

Went to back to school night

Faith did not sleep well

Faith did not want to miss second day of new school

Mom loaded her up on meds

Faith dropped off at school not feeling 100%

Faith had a loss of consciousnes

911 called

Faith is OK

Mommy is wracked with guilt and so sorry for not keeping Faith home

Faith drinking lots of fluids

Celebrated 68th wedding anniversary with grandparents

Visited with mom

Went to an 8 hour wedding in 3 hour shoes

Did not get to stay for cake

Felt terrible for my bro in law who is not married

Shamelessly played match maker at church

Homework

Faith still with horrible cough

Sent her to school again armed with a box of See's for the teachers

Worried sick about how she is doing

Feel like a parent just sending their kid to kindergarten for the first time

Ran with me cell phone turned on

Made snack for Bible study

It was a flop

Did 4 loads of laundry

Now have to think of another snack

Do not want to go away from home

Why are snacks part of Bible study?

Procrastinating from doing school work

That's what I've been up to

Athletic at 60

2011-09-14T22:10:00.000-07:00

At 60 I want to be able to do this....My favorite catalog is Athleta. I have a few things from them, mostly stuff I've found on clearance. However once I paid full price for a pair of their flip flops....LOVED them, for all of two months until a raccoon in McCall Idaho stole one, I digress that story has nothing to do with this post...

However, here's a pic of me in Idaho (2009), w/o the cute flip flops...in a cute Athleta suit....

<> Anyways, why do I love Athelta so much, and what is the point of this post? Everytime I get the catalog I get inspired. Currently I am inspired to trim down. I naturally have an athletic build, but lately I have been building more back side and muffin top than muscle, so I would like to....in the midst of everything else, try and tone up, trim down and get a bit more muscle in the middle section.

All summer I have been struggling with my food portions and changing shape. The real kicker was a couple of weeks ago and then another kicker occured today. A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with a 59 year old woman who is severely out of shape. I have known this woman most of my life (not you mom) and I was so upset to hear how limiting her life has become because she has let herself fall apart. Then today while pumping gas I watched another woman in her mid to late 50's get in and out of the car, pay for her gas and pump the gas. It took the woman twice as long to do everything, every movement required so much effort.
I don't want to be that way. I want to be like my 60 yr old co worker MJ who runs Lake Murray or hikes Cowles Mtn 5 days a week. She is full of energy and can work harder on a 12 hour shift than most nurses half her age. She has abs and legs any woman would dream of, but she works at it. She is disciplined, as a result she is as active as ever. Nothing stops her.

I want to be active. I do not want to watch my functions melt away because of a lack of discipline. Plus gravity will soon be setting in and since I don't see plastic surgery in my future I must do everything I can to defy it so I can look good in my bikini when I am in my 60's!!!

So what is my plan? I don't know exactly, but I have felt for some time that I have wanted to blog my journey into a healthier, more athletic state. I am not sure that all my reader(s) would care or approve (aka, "you look fine the way you are") so that has kept me from moving forward, but gosh darn it it's my blog and I guess that means I can post whatever I want? Right?? Join me....

School Project Update

2011-09-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

After 315 emails I received IRB approval at my place of employment for my project. As of this morning I emailed my proposal to SDSU's IRB for their review/approval. I think I actually may have one foot on the bridge.

Next week I fly to Berkeley for my first big girl trip on my own to work on the digital storytelling piece of my project. I hope to put together the whole piece in the three day time period I will be gone. In the meantime I need to collect some photos, write a story and pick out some music for my project. I've got quite a bit of prep work to do before next Wednesday.

I remember when I crossed this actual bridge a few months ago. It was very wobbly. I felt very insecure on it. While Robb and the girls were running back and forth on it, I was holding on for dear life. It was a very vulnerable experience. So far this project has been much the same. My writing and ideas have had much critique, this has left me very vulnerable. The whole impact of my project centers around the digital storytelling piece I am to put together next week...more vulnerability...holding on to railings each step of the way.

Hair Woes

2011-09-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I did a dreadful thing....I cheated on my hair dresser of 10 years.

I decided to try something/someone new. I told the gal to go all dark, cover the highlights. I was dark. After a month of being dark I wanted to be blonde again. So I strayed again and went to someone new. Turns out highlights were not this new gal's strength. I turned brassy. I went to her 2 days after the highlights for a "fix". It was a terrible fix. So I grovelled back to Michelle Pennings, best colorist in all of San Diego County, my first and only true hair dresser. Michelle fixed me and dutifully warned me I would have "a chemical layering effect" aka breakage from all the stress I put my hair under. Fast forward a year, now I am trying to grow out all color and go back to my God given roots. Truly He knows what color looks best on me, right? (If my God given turns out to be gray, you betcha I'll be going back to bottle, that's why God created hair color, right?)

The problem is....take a look at the picture above...this was in May, you can only guess what the root growth looks like now. What is a girl to do? Should I shave my head bald? I ALMOST grabbed the clippers and did it today. Michelle, bless her heart, said if I get tired of the trailer trash look I can have a toner put on, but I fear more chemicals will lead to more damaged hair.

HELP! Between the chemical layering effect and the roots I fear the worst is ahead!

Personal Assistants

2011-09-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

Every one needs a personal assistant, and I have two! Here they are whipping up a batch of preztels for my snack! Personal assistants are good for making coffee, taking out the trash, unloading the dishwasher, rubbing feet, and giving good night kisses. I pay them well....3 bucks a week!

Let the School Year Start

2011-08-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

My kids have anally (is that a word?) labeled their snacks. I would never have bought these snacks, they are courteous of my Grandma. After Kenzie packed a bowl of rice crispies smothered in honey for lunch for the first day of school I immediately loaded the kids in the car and headed to Smart and Final for 130 dollars worth of healthy snacks/lunch foods.

First day of 6th and 4th grade....aren't they beautiful?

Nice third position....made her take three dance classes a week this summer....she is thrilled school is starting so she can cut back on dance classes...

This one is exempt from forced dance classes, but chooses to do ballet anyway. She is forced to clean the toilets and unload the dreaded dishwasher.

School has been in session for a week now. I did not want to send them back. We had such a wonderful summer together. It was hard to send them back into the "world" and out my little bubble I have created for them at home. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for Kenzie, Kenzie already stayed home from school sick one day. When her fever broke we headed out to do some hard work together...grocery shopping and Starbucks. Since she is my sous chef I really need her assistance and input grocery shopping. I think I am going to keep her out of school every Monday so she can help me plan meals together over a Starbucks pastry and drink!

Mexico

2011-08-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

The dirtiest kid in Mexico

Here's the jobsite. Three houses went up on this small cul de sac. Our site was the first on the left. Those old garage doors are the shack that Roberto Gomez took down the night before we arrived. Those garage doors housed his family of six. They had very few personal belongings, but did have running water on the site and a shelter for a toilet. Our group of 25 were on the jobsite by 8 AM, mixed (by hand) a concrete slab, and poured it by 1 oclock. Meanwhile the cutting and framing for the walls occured. We left the jobsite in the early evening, went back to camp, then got up for more the next day. On the second day we put up the walls and roof. Roofed the roof with tar paper and put on the trim work, installed 2 windows and two doors, then wrapped the house with wire. The follwoing Saturday another group arrived to stucco the house for the Gomez family. Roberto Gomez was humbled and cried we when handed him over the keys to his new home. The Gomez's do not yet know Jesus, but I have a sneakin' suspicision one day he will hold Bible studies in his house.

I had a lot of personal growth on this trip. I will spare you the details, but I was so thankful to have been able to spend the time with teh pastor of my youth, and glean a fresh understanding of myself from him.

Kenzie building her own house. She sat down and worked on this for the good part of an hour. When I finally asked what she was building, she said "A house for you, Momma".

The cleanest kid in Mexico. I have no idea how she did it. She worked just as hard as the rest of us, but had very little dirt on her. The rest of us were covered!

I leave you with a bit of plumber's crack!

Surf Camp

2011-08-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Kenzie digging for crabs at surf camp....this is what I paid the big money for, so she could dig dirt...get out there and show your mom how you surf girl...you can dig in the dirt when it is free...

Oh, OK, I'll go surf, let me grab my board and consult with my friend about the waves...

Yep, the waves were good....I got up several times....never when the camera was watching...and I now want my own board ASAP!

PS Faith went to sailing camp and now knows how to sail....anyone want to sail to Australia with her? While Kenzie wants a board, Faith wants a boat....I don't think so.

What Faith has Been Doing

2011-08-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Faith has been super busy making her sister scrumptious snacks served under the umbrella.

I LOVE this picture of Faith, even though it is out of focus. Here Kenzie is whipping up a batch of french toast, Kenzie must have said something to make Faith laugh at the exact moment I snapped the picture. Faith can be such a serious child, I love it when she lets loose a bit.

While Robb was out of town I discovered a dead mouse in our garage. I am not the sort of girl who handles dead rodents, so I called in a pro who has no fear.

Yes this is a discarded surgical tool, brought home by Faith's father.....just think at one time this tool took out someone's appendix through their belly button......just kidding this one was never used.

And here is Faith working hard in Mexico, I think Hope is telling her, "Good Effort Faith!" Hope used to be on a soccer team and shouted random encouraging lines all weekend. I don't even think Hope realized she was doing it, however, Faith soaked it all up. She loves hanging out with the older girls on these Mexico trips. She really did give a good effort, she shoveled her fair share of cement and hammered her fair share of nails. Way to go Faith, Good Effort!!

What Kenzie has Been Doing

2011-08-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Kenzie has been busy battling foot troubles. In the matter of a three day span she had an ingrown toenail, blister and bee sting on the same foot. I performed minor surgery without anesthesia on the ingrown toenail, told her to suck it up regarding the blister, and applied ice to the bee sting. All is good now, and I truly believe she is a hardier girl for it!

Here are her eyes in all their beauty!

Here's a picture that captures her personality!

...and here she is dog tired from being walked by Sugie!

What Robb has Been Doing

2011-08-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

While I have been lounging around this summer, Robb has ridden from here to New York City on his bike. (PS He found this bike lying on the side of the road, when he asked a nearby homeowner if he could have it the homeowner said he could, but that it was broken. This did not deter Robb, he packed in the back of the car anyways. Turns out the only thing wrong with this bike was that it needed a new double A battery! It has been riding smooth for two years now.) I digressed. Robb has been unable to run this summer due to two stress fractures in his foot. We think the fractures were due to those crazy shoes he is wearing in the picture...so besides the fact they are super ugly, do not buy any for yourself.

How does Robb manage to bike for two hours everyday? He watches all sorts of stuff on his TV on the deck while he rides! This was a present to himself.

Here is what Robb does best...build/fix things. Who knew he was such a handy man? This guy can do anything! Yes, he is an excellent nurse and runs the OR with no trouble, but where he really excels is in using his hands. This summer he spent a week with his brother and a team of college students in Jamaica hauling maul (concrete) in 90% humidity. They had a hard, but rewarding trip. I am so glad he was able to go and serve the Lord in Jamaica. After he was home for two weeks we left for a long weekend in Mexico. Again, he worked hard in the heat without complaint.

This was the first trip that I decided that I would bring both of my pillows. I have a treasured "side sleeping pillow" that makes me sleep like a baby. I figured if I brought my regular pillow and my side sleeping pillow on our Mexico trip then tent camping would be more tolerable. Guess what Robb forgot? His pillow. The first night I was a kind and gracious wife and shared one of my pillows, the second night he had to use Faith's dirty sweatshirt as a pillow. I woke up with a back and head ache. I think God was punishing me for not sharing!

What I've Been Doing

2011-08-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the summer I kept thinking I wanted a desk and office space for all my school junk. Last year I sat my rear in the corner of my couch and piled papers and my laptop all over my sectional. Since my family had to sit on the floor while I spread out my work, and since I wore a hole the size of my rear in the couch I decided something drastic needed to be done. I started searching for desks and ideas online, then I came up with more thrifty idea. I hucked the old dinosaur of a computer out of our existing computer cabinet, dusted out a year's worth of dust, threw away papers that had been in the cabinet since Kenzie's birth and moved in. My favorite interior designer, Faith, picked out all my accessories at our new favorite store, Marshall's. I love my new space!

Early in July I set out to work on my proposal for my Master's project. I got it all typed up, all 24 pages worth, and turned into my professor. She read through it and had a ton of suggestions to make it a better, stronger proposal, I cried, called my mother for words of encouragement, rewrote the proposal, and resubmitted it. I got my professor's approval and now my proposal sits in the hands of the hospital review board. After that it has to go before SDSU's review board, then, if approved I can move forward. If I was smart I'd start working on preparing my digital storytelling piece that I will show as part of my final project, but I am not so smart and I have been playing instead.

Remember that wonderful link to the iced coffee recipe from PW. Well, after drinking a gallon of iced coffee per day, I decided that I should forgo making the magic brew for awhile. However, Robb put in a request this afternoon that I whip up another batch, I just might!

This is really what I have been doing, and why I haven't posted in several weeks. I have rediscovered the library! I have been reading through 3-4 books a week and not getting out of bed until 10 AM!

Robb

2011-07-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Robb comtemplates the meaning of rushing waterfalls...

He is great when we need a dry place to put our things...

He looks great from the backside...

Two New Favorites

2011-07-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is not my picture, but something similar appears on my nightstand every morning. I have discovered Pioneer Woman's iced coffee. The recipe calls for a large amount of coffee 1lb to two gallons of water, so at my bff Les's suggestion I halved the recipe 1/2lb of coffee to one gallon of water. It is the ONLY way to make iced coffee. Come on over, I always have a pitcher in the fridge.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

My new favorite snack is Trader Joe's wheat crackers with Henry's artichoke hummus. It is to die for. The hummus has such good flavor and is only 50 calories a serving. Kind of reminds me of a healthy version of artichoke dip. Got to to try it!

PS I am plugging away at my proposal for school. One more section and a proofread and I'll be ready to hand it in!

PPS I just paid for school, then got a notice tuition is going up 12%....ughhh!! Praying my scholarship money comes through.

Birthday Bash at the Beach

2011-07-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

My Mom turned older this week, however she looks younger than she did this time last year! She just looks better and better each year. I hope I look as beautiful as she does when I am old like her.

(Mom reads my blog and I am hoping for brownie points for calling her beautiful, she'll probably deduct all the brownie points for calling her old though)

PS I took a close up of my sister's thigh, but her darling niece (Faith) deleted it when she found it on the camera. She quickly chastised me for being so mean to my sister. Faith loves her Auntie Sarah

Speaking of brownies, for Mom's birthday bash we ate brownies, three types of cookies and five bags of chips. My mom sure knows how to whip up a balanced meal...all the major food groups Salty and Sweet!

Isn't she sweet?

Tough Weekend

2011-07-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had one of those weekend stretches of work where you just want to come home, kiss your husband and get on your knees and thank God for a healthy family.

A young mom with three kids of her own, one of who is disabled because of a traumatic birth decided to have gastric bypass surgery two months ago. Poor thing has had complication after complication ever since. To top it off she was admitted by the least competent physician at our hospital. We nurses fought for the past five days to make sure this poor woman got the care she needed and deserved. She will never know how hard we worked on her behalf, or how terribly wrong things could have gone had we not advocated on her behalf.

Another young mom of three kids was admitted and was showing signs of a heart attack, yet her risk factors for a heart attack were obsolete. It was all a mystery until the cardiologist went in to take a peek at what was going on. What he found was a lethal shredding of her main coronary artery. They worked on her for several hours with a large team of doctors. Unbeknownst to the patient, family, or physicians there were three of us nurses who stopped cold in doing our own work and pleaded for God's mercy and hand to be upon this woman's heart and the physicians' hands. In the end she was OK.

Another case was a worn out fifty some year old. Worn out from years of hard work, alcohol, meth, and a hard life on the edge. He really didn't need to be hospitalized for the condition that he came in with. What he really needed was some food and sleep. The physician caring for him kept making up excuses as to why the man's hospital stay needed to be extended, and we nurses did not argue the point. From the time I saw him on Friday until yesterday, with sleep, hydration and food this man looked like a new person. His eyes were clear and hopeful. He will undoubtedly go back to his lifestyle, but for these five days his body knew rest and his heart felt the love from the nurses who cared for him.

I wanted to come home and kiss these ones too, are they not the cutest things you have ever seen?

So I'll leave you with this picture of Kenzie picking her nose and a couple thoughts:

Selfishly take care of you and this body you have been given

Selflessly take care of your family and loved ones

Make the most of ever opportunity to take care of the strangers in your midst,

the ones who may never know you or of your kind acts.

Wedgies

2011-07-06T15:30:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate when your suit does this?

Getting Started

2011-07-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Supposedly I am on summer break from school. However, if I want next semester to go smoothly there is a large project that I must start this summer. The project is a year long commitment to an evidenced based change project. I have picked my topic, gathered a ton of research, read a ton of research, organized my working space, met with two advisors, and now I must start writing the proposal for the project. This proposal will be submitted to my faculty advisor, SDSU and Grossmont Hospital. If the proposal is approved I can move forward, if not I have to rework the proposal and resubmit.

This proposal is the first real step in undertaking the project. The proposal is where all my ideas in my head match up with the research, then every detail of the project must be described. At the moment the task is overwhelming. I want to do everything except get started.

Below is a picture of a bridge. I am this side of the "bridge" right now. This year long process will require many steps to cross the bridge to get to the other side of completion. I wish I was on that other side right now. I wish it was all behind me. I am just starting out and the task seems daunting.

My goal is to have most, 90% of my proposal written by next Monday night. If I can get it all down I will be one small step closer to the other side of the bridge.

HOME!!!!

2011-07-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

My kids are HOME!!! After being gone a week at Indian Hills Bible Camp, my kids are home!!! I missed them terribly! They came home filthy, but I'll take them anyways! They are happy to be home, happy to be clean, but had a BLAST at camp!

Faith continues to surprise me. She made several new friends, went on the zip line, and loved the BMX track. She even helped one of her new friends learn how to ride a bike. Faith got a special gold star camper award for treating another girl like Jesus would. What an honor. Faith says when she works at camp when she is older her camp name is going to be "Skittles"!

Kenzie came home with a scraped knee, a month's worth of mud caked on her beautiful face, and some teary eyes when she met mine. What a sweet girl. She says when she works at camp her camp name is going to be "Giggles"! I think that is a very fitting name.

They have come home with new songs in their hearts with lyrics ranging from..."rock the mullet"....to..."Name Above All Names"....to...."do the Bieber"!!! This particular camp emphasizes loving Jesus through compassion for others and service to others. I am so thankful my kids had the opportunity to learn and grow in these areas!

If You Give A Kid A Camera

2011-06-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

If you give a kid a camera, you may get a nice picture of you and your husband, both sporting hat hair...

...or you may get a picture of grandma's behind...

....or sister's behind...

...or everyone who is waiting for the Farmer's Market to open's behind!

Not so Fabulous

2011-06-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

There were free hula lessons in the lobby of our resort. I thought the girls would love it! They didn't. I tried to get them to particpate by trying the hula myself. Faith stole my camera and got some not so fabulous pics of me. Please notice the size 0 hula dance instructor in the gray dress. I had to send Robb away, because she was a VERY sexy hula instructor!

I am trying my best here to keep up with the kids. Mine are hiding in the back corner snickering at me.

Not only are they snickering at me, they are also using the wide lens on my camera.

Isn't this a pretty shot of a graceful hula dancer?!

That's it! My kids are FIRED at taking pictures! See if I ever take them to free hula lessons again!

FABuLOUS Darling

2011-06-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Faith found a bunch of fallen plumeria and decorated her hair! Doesn't it look FABuLOUS?

Here is a FABuLOUS poolside pose!

Here is a FABuLOUS pose for all her fans!

Saga on the Hammock

2011-06-23T19:22:00.000-07:00

Two little girls sleeping soundly on a hammock in Hawaii

One decides to tickle the other

They both go flying

and fall with a giggle....

Look What I Made

2011-06-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

Months ago they had an article in paper on how to make your own succulent wreaths. I gave it a try. These wreaths can go anywhere from 40-60 bucks already made. Mine only cost me 5 bucks and a nearly broken finger from a very bad fall while searching for succulents to steal in my neighborhood. I love them!

A Day of Joy

2011-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Mom, when are we going to Nona's house?", I mumbled impatiently.

"In a few minutes.", she answered.

10 minutes later....

"Nona!" I called out. "Can we see the brand new puppies?" asked my sister.

"Sure, come right in!" She joyfully answered.

We walked in and saw the cute wee puppies. They were so adorable. After that we ate a delicious lunch of PB & J. We said goodbye and drove off. That was the best day ever because we saw the coolest puppies in the world.

Kenzie, 3 rd grade

My Best Friend

2011-06-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I bet I have the best friend in the big, enormous, huge universe. Do you know who it is? It is Ella! We've been friends for almost all of our life. We have been friends before preschool.

Did you know that we are alike in many ways? First, we both love to do gymnastics. Also, we love love to swim and stand on the boogie board. And finally we both collect bouncie balls.

Ella and I are also different. First of all I like my pizza with ranch and she doesn't. Also she has brown eyes and I have blue eyes. Lastly, Ella is really fast at running and I am not.

I think Ella and I will be best friends for EVER!

Kenzie, 3rd grade

Happy Birthday

2011-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the birthday girl with her favorite sister.

Here is the beautiful birthday girl...what a joy she is...

Weekend of Dance

2011-06-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Faith has been working hard at school this past 10 weeks, the fifth grade class were learning the art of ballroom dance. Last Friday the class gave a recital for the parents. Faith was mortified and hated every minute of the attention being drawn to her. However, she did a fantastic job and looked so beautiful.

Here is Kenzie and her modern dance group. They performed at the Saville Theatre this past weekend and their performance was mindblowing....simply beautiful.

Here the dance group hard at work with Mr Spencer.

Where de go?

2011-06-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the worldest two coolest dogs...would love to show you a picture of their front side, but they don't hold still long enough to take a picture!

Another Before

2011-06-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

After the girls cried (literally) to Grandma, Robb was forbidden by his mother to wear these pants to pick up the girls from school.

This is going to take awhile to put up each brick one at time, but Robb will save 30,000 dollars by doing this himself.

My New Do

2011-06-02T13:11:00.001-07:00

I have decided not to color my hair. In an effort to help the grow out process, my stylist/miracle worker, put a few foils right at my part and bang line. The result was perfect and I am so pleased. I can't wait to find out what my real hair color is. If my real hair color is grey, I will be going back to the bleached look!

Please notice Robb's completed handy work in the background.

Clowns

2011-06-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

With my long blogging absence I know you have missed these two beautiful faces...

This and That

2011-06-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

We have new neighbor girls. I yelled at them and grounded them from coming to my house because they kept picking all my flowers. This is their apology letter, and gift (yes, more picked flowers from my yard). I let them come back.

I got tired of the red wall in my kitchen so "I" (Robb) painted it the color of a popcorn ball. It is very bright and cheery. I found this great round table on overstock. com with 3 dollar shipping, can't beat that! At the time I took this picture I had grown weary of putting the table and chairs together so there is one missing chair. I saved it for Robb to finish up, he was thrilled!

This is a rare picture of Faith smiling while holding her guitar. I love to hear her play, but it is a rare occsasion when she will let someone watch.

Peek a boo Mackenzie! Notice her nightstand? I made that!!! I used real power tools to build it!

Before

2011-06-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

In the midst of my past semester our renters moved out and "we" (i.e.; I had the idea and Robb did the work) gutted this 1962 kitchen. The cabinets were broken down and disgusting. The new knobs I added a couple years back could not hide the falling apart cabinets, besides the kitchen did not have a dishwasher or adequate pantry room.

The whole process of redoing a kitchen, painting, carpeting and working on landscaping was nearly enough to put anyone over the top, but add on taking care of a family, working and going to school it was impossible. So thanks to Robb!!! He flipped the rental this time all on his own. I was available for decorator consultation and critique, but he got this house flipped and rented in 3 weeks time!!!

After

2011-06-02T13:06:00.000-07:00

...and this is the "after", what I neglected to show was the "in between"...aside from seeing Robb in holey pants, you would have also seen him scratching his head trying to read the Ikea instructions for cabinets, written in Swedish!

The kitchen turned out beautifully and has a lot more cabinet space, a dishwasher, and a really cool sink!

Blubbering Mess

2011-02-27T15:02:00.001-08:00

Today I was a blubbering mess at church. My heart has been heavy for my friends the VanBibbers for several months. David has cancer, it is pretty serious. His wife, Julie and I became friends a few years back at Gateway Church. When I describe Julie, I always describe her as being one of the sweetest people I know, right up there with Amie Butler. Those of you who do not know Amie, know that this is a high compliment!

I have prayed fervently for David and Julie, but I have been at a loss as to what I can physically do for them. It was so easy when my friend Lisa was going through cancer. She lived right next door and when I would make a Costco run, I would pick up her list as well. Or if I had extra dinner, I always shared. I helped with the school carpool and babysitting while she was at appointments. If she was up to it, we would just sit and talk for a couple hours while the kids played. I was right next door so it was so easy.

Today's message at church was on how to motivate yourself. Somehow Pastor Sam was able to weave in that the essence of getting yourself motivated was trusting in the Lord for the circumstances at hand and having hope in those circumstances. Often times when we have a lack of motivation it is due to having to face something we do not want to have to face. Something like a friend with cancer. A husband with cancer. Being a person with cancer. How do you even get yourself out of bed in the morning when you know you have to face something like cancer treatment, especially when you have a beautiful wife and three small children.? How do you, as a wife get out of the bed in the morning when you are faced with the reality of your husband's immortality? How do you, as a friend, get out of bed in the morning when you know there is nothing you can do to make the situation go away? You trust in the Lord, that is all we can do in times like this. Trust in His plan for us. That is my hope, Julie's hope, and David's hope.

So here's to crying it out and blubbering about the tough times, then choosing to get out of bed to face the day because we have chosen to out our hope in the Lord.

I love you VanBibber Family!!!

My Valentine

2011-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

The Night My World Stopped

2011-02-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

There is this girl that I love more than life. She leaves me crazy pictures like the one above on my camera to find. Her name is Faith. My world stopped briefly the other night when I was faced with the reality that my kids are not my own. At any point God can choose to take them from me. I am so glad He has allowed them to enrich my life.

Mackenzie is a terrible sleep walker, at least she used to be prior to getting her tonsils out. It is not uncommon for Robb and I to be awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of her crashing around the house. Although she has not done any sleep walking since her surgery, she has been sick this past week, so when we heard the first crash in the bathroom at 11:09 Thursday night, Robb and I didn't think much of it. Then the toilet flushed and hands got washed. It was then I knew it was Faith in the bathroom. Kenzie doesn't wash her hands in the middle of the night, but my rule following child Faith does.

Immediately after the hand washing we heard a loud THUD! something was seriously wrong. Robb and I both flew out of bed. He got to the bathroom before I did. The door to the bathroom was partially open, blocked by Robb and Faith both on the floor. Faith was as white as a ghost with her eyes rolled back. She was unresponsive to verbal stimuli or shaking. Robb didn't panic (or faint as he is prone to doing in times like these). I screamed as if I just saw the most horrifying thing ever. It was then my world stopped. I truly believed that I had lost her. I ran for the phone and called 911. "We have an 11 year old girl who has an altered level of consciousness I need an ambulance NOW!" I rattled off my address quickly, while Robb stayed with Faith in the bathroom. Finally she started to rouse, she was still lethargic and ghostly white, but Robb was able to get her on her feet and lead her back to bed. In bed she moaned and drifted in and out for awhile until she finally came to. By that time I was off the phone with 911 and the paramedics were in route.

Once she came to, and her color returned, we were able to get the full story of what happened to her. She hadn't been feeling well all day, skipped lunch, took a nap after school, but did eat dinner. She hadn't gone big potty in several days, but had just gone, and strained, prior to the incident. I figured she probably vasovagaled on the toilet and then again after getting up. When I told her the ambulance was coming and that she would be going to the hospital, she shot up in bed and stated, "No I am NOT!, Mother I am FINE!". She was right, she really was fine.

Shortly thereafter, seemed like 5 hours at the time, 3 giant firemen came barging into her room with all their rescue gear. We explained to them what had happened, they took her vitals and hooked her up to the monitor briefly, they agreed that it was probably a vasovagal episode that caused her syncopy (passing out). We were chastised for not telling them we were nurses after the fact, they would have preferred knowing that up front! They wanted to take her in, but we signed AMA papers instead and kept her home. She was clearly back to her baseline and just wanted to be able to go back to sleep so that she could be rested for school the next day. They were having a talent show the next day at school and there was no way she wanted to miss it! Crazy girl went from nearly dead to going to school in a matter of 8 short hours. She has been completely fine since. I believe this was just an isolated incident.

I have stocked up on beans and fiber one bars, hoping to keep her a little more regular!!!

Darcy Padilla | The Julie Project

2011-01-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

Powerful link! Darcy Padilla The Julie Project

Something Funny

2011-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

I had a terribly defeating weekend at work. I gave it 110% and it was never enough...so instead of whining and moaning I am going to share my favorite memory from this past Christmas:

A conversation during Christmas dinner at Ben and Joyce's:

Grandma: Oh Faith, we forgot to choose which China to use for Christmas dinner ahead of time, so Grandma chose this one. What do you think? Did I make a good choice?
Faith: Yes Grandma you made a good choice, it looks good with the table cloth.
Me: What do you think Kenzie, do you like the China Grandma chose?
Kenzie: I really don't care about the China, I'm just here for the food.
Brent and Aunt Dot: Laughing hysterically!

That's my girl!

Bikram Yoga...Hot as H#LL

2011-01-23T21:48:00.000-08:00

After sleeping most of Christmas break I have finally been feeling rested enough to resume my usual exercise routine. I have enjoyed a couple great spin work outs, lift classes, a long hike around the back of Cowles mtn, and my usual running routes around our neighborhood. I was feeling the desire to try something new. One morning last week I had a wild hair and looked up Bikram yoga on the Internet. Much to my surprise there was studio nearby my house with a class that started within the hour. Even better, the studio offered a student discount, 12 bucks for 90 mins of Bikram yoga. I pulled together a workout outfit that looked yoga-ish and headed out the door. Almost as an afterthought I grabbed a small water bottle and a hand towel.

I am really not a yoga person. When we used to have fancy cable I would sometimes do a yoga program that came on Fit TV. I loved all the stretching. I follow another runner's blog and she writes about how her weekly Bikram yoga class is so wonderful. I am always up for something new when it comes to fitness, so it really isn't too out of character that I would try something like this.

I just didn't really know what I was getting myself into! I paid my 12 bucks, and was given the world's thickest beach towel at the front desk. I had to leave my shoes in the lobby and then was instructed to go to the locker room. I stored my things and noticed all the half naked people sitting outside the studio doors. I thought it was sort of odd that with only 5 minutes until the class was to start that everyone was sitting outside of the studio. I also thought it was odd that nearly all the half naked people had 2 gallon jugs of iced water sitting next to them. I knew Bikram yoga was supposed to be hot, but really did they need to be half naked and have enough water to last a week in the desert? I didn't think so.

I wanted to get in and stretch a bit, I was nervous to start something new and figured checking out the studio and the stretching would work out my nerves. With 5 minutes until class was to begin, I opened the Bikram yoga studio door. I made it all of 30 seconds, long enough to lay my thick beach towel out and sit down. It was HOT in there. Intense dry heat. Did I mention it was hot? Stifling. I could hardly breathe. I started to panic, what did I get myself into? I wondered if they would give me my money back. I turned to the woman on the mat next to me, looked her straight in the face with my fear filled eyes, and said "I didn't know what I was getting myself into, I can't do it." She was polite and plainly stated that everyone thinks the room is hot, but it is just mind over matter and if you have a strong mind then you can do this class. Well apparently a little challenge is all I need. My pride went before me and I decided to stick the class out whether I was dying or not.

Ninety minutes of pure torture. Since it was so hot my muscles moved like wet noodles and I was able to contort them in all kinds of inhumane poses. I watched the clock every 3 minutes and time has never gone by more slowly. Did I mention the class was ninety minutes in a room that was 105 degrees with 40% humidity?

Immediately my over sized beach towel wet with so much of my sweat that I briefly considered wringing it out and drinking straight from it. My cute yoga-ish outfit turned out to be a terrible choice, because it did nothing but soak up sweat. There was no wicking action! Now I know why all the others were half dressed.

Did I mention the others? They were yoga freaks! Yoga tattoos! Yoga crazy breathing. Yoga crazy muscles. Yoga crazy contortions! Crazy.

Just when I thought I would not be able to take it anymore the instructor turned the AC on. I thought, "Oooh maybe this is the cool down and we are finally going to quit." Nope, the AC stayed on all of 12 seconds before she turned it off again. Apparently the room had gotten too hot and she did a little adjustment. We still had 30 more minutes to go.

Needless to say I made it through. Nearly died, but made it. As the class ended you were invited to lie on your towel as long as you wanted in order to relax. There was no relaxing for me I high jumped right out of that sweat factory and ran into the refreshing lobby. The instructor asked me how many classes I had taken. I told her this was my first one, she looked mildly disappointed that I had the stamina to survive the whole 90 mins. I think the instructors get extra points if they make you quit the class early!

I tried my best for the rest of the day to rehydrate, but just couldn't seem to get enough liquids. I finally crashed at 3pm and had to lie down for a nap. I made a quick run to 7-11 for a Coke (I rarely drink soda) to perk me up.

It has been a few days now. My muscles still have a nice soreness in them. I still feel limber and stretched and find myself wondering if I was just imagining all the heat and maybe, just maybe, I might need to try the class again?

Sweetness

2011-01-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

I met a woman this weekend. She can hardly remember her name, much less anything else about her life, situation, or surroundings. They say that Alzheimer's is the worst because your family members never have the chance to say goodbye, they just slowly slip away from all reality. This sweet woman, despite the fact that she is so disorientated, can hum every hymn in a hymnal. Her precious daughter sits with her, hymnal in hand, turning from page to page humming different songs, pulling them from her mother's distorted memory, yet the songs came out perfectly from this confused brain. The woman is easily agitated, but the one thing that will calm her down is to start humming a tune from the hymnal. The woman will hum right along with you, all the while, calming herself down. I find it remarkable that she can remember nothing else except for her name and the tunes to the hymns. Listening to her was pure sweetness. It brought tears to my eyes to think of how much Jesus must treasure her tunes. To remember nothing else, but to cling to the truth of those songs....Amazing Grace, hummed over and over and over again, like it was all that mattered in this life.
I am going to try this when I get agitated or frustrated. I am going to try humming as a distraction. Humming hymns is a far better way to handle agitation than my usual mumbling and grumbling.
Every once and awhile someone will cross my path and change my way of thinking. The woman I met this weekend did just that for me.

While on Vacation From School

2011-01-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Took 56 hours worth of naps
Slept a total of 10 hours each night
Called in sick to work 2 times
Read 7 novels
Talked for 72 hours straight with my best friend in Kansas
Cleaned out 12 bags of junk from our closets
Mopped up 15 piles of dog vomit (outside)
Kissed Kenzie 100,000 times
Embrassed Faith 50,000 times
Got 2 massages
Failed and have bought 1 drink out
Sat next to a 400 lb man on a plane
Cooked for my family 20 times
Logged in at least 70 miles
Complained about my broken washer 176 times
Nagged my mother about exercising 27 times

Pre Christmas Posting

2010-12-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

I am feeling lost after spending the last 6 months buried under a mound of work. The burden has been lifted for 5 weeks and I have no idea what to do with myself. I even took a couple "mental health" days from work hoping this would help, but no avail. I am as lost as ever.
I have briefly contemplating spending my time doing the things I have put off for 6 months:

Cleaning under and behind the fridge...stuff is growing there I know it!

Organizing the garage

Deep cleaning the house

Pulling out some crafting stuff to work on

Making up lost time spent with my girls

Cooking

Working out like a mad dog

Organize the hall closet

Clean out my overflowing purse

However I have done none of the above. I did manage to start and finish a 565 page book, stay in my jammies for a full 24 hours, snuggle on the couch into the wee hours of the night with my girls while watching Food Network, and complete 2009's photobook. Totally unproductive....however, I feel more relaxed now than I have in 6 months. Maybe behind the fridge will get cleaned this summer?

Convicted Waster

2010-12-10T11:30:00.001-08:00

I've been convicted on how wasteful we are, this is what came out of our fridge and straight into the trash. Disgusting, isn't it? Especially when you think of the millions of people starving around the world today. Just think of the money that was spent on these things that could have been spent on others.

Spending money has been on my mind lately. It is easy to nickel and dime yourself. One of the ways I do this is to spend money on drinks. I love iced tea out, drinks from Starbucks, or the coffee cart at work. I could easily spend 2 dollars here, 4 dollars there, etc and before I know it I've spent 90 dollars in one month on drinks. It finally hit me a couple weeks ago when I handed over my card to pay 2.45 on a venti iced tea (with no sweetener please....oh how I miss saying those words). The price had gone up (again). I decided right then and there no more of my money will be spent on drinks out. That iced tea probably cost them 10 cents to make! My money can go to something other than drinks out. It has not been an easy decision, but one I am going to stick to.

Sadly, I emptied out more wasted food from my fridge yesterday. I am not sure how to tackle that waste. Maybe I'll send it to my cousin Libeth, she can't stand to see food wasted and will eat it up...so will my brother in law and mother in law...Maybe I should have them all over for leftovers once a week???!!!

Tricks and Tonsils

2010-12-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie is super flexible...almost oddly so. When she was three years old she spread out in the splits in the middle of the grocery store aisle. Up until that point I has no idea someone could spread that way.

Kenzie also has (had) 3+ tonsils. Though she hardly ever had a sore throat, she had crazy dreams, apneic periods when she slept, LOUD snoring, and sleep walking. This is a picture of her tonsils before having them removed by Dr Pransky at Children's Hospital a couple days prior to Thanksgiving. She recovered well and enjoyed her Thanksgiving meal with no difficulties. Good news is that she is sleeping a TON better. Her breathing at night is so much better. We also found out she has severe allergies to dust and dust mites...and moderate allergies to cats. This is too bad because I have not dusted my house since before summer school began and we have a cat that loves to curl up around the neck of all people who are allergic to cats. If you are not allergic to cats, my cat will not even come out and visit you, however if you have cat allergies, he knows and will not leave you alone until he has made you miserable. This must have been why our cat insisted sleeping curled around Mackenzie's neck every night. Needless to say we put a stop to that. Thank goodness for Faith, she has taken on sole responsibility for keeping all dust and cats out of Kenzie's room. She was present when the doctor gave all the allergy instructions and she has made it her personal mission to follow the doctor's orders to a tee.

Yep, this girl's got talent!

Caught on Camera

2010-12-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

I found these pictures on my camera today...somebody has been caught!

Budding Photographer or Monkey?

2010-11-14T14:35:00.000-08:00

Resolved

2010-11-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

I bought myself a new running shirt for my birthday. The other day I went for a run to try out my new shirt. The shirt has some cute rouching in the front and I thought it would look cuter if I wasn't all flattened out from my sports bra, so I added a couple (OK 4) of the boobie pads that I had literally ripped out of a bathing suit late summer and I stuffed them into my sports bra. I was hoping for a more rounded look.

(Why? I have no idea, I was just going on a run around the neighborhood. Women do strange things like this all the time right??? I'm not the only one, right???....)

Five minutes into my run I was miserable. Those pads were terribly itchy and UNCOMFORTABLE. Suddenly I remembered why I had ripped them out of my bathing suit the summer before. Mid-stride I reached into my sports bra and yanked out all four pads. I was hoping to find an open trash can on the curb near by. I found one, but it was located smack dab in front of a panoramic window. I did not want the owners of the house to come out yelling at me so I kept running without ditching the pads. Wouldn't you know it there was not one other trash can out on the street for the entire four miles? For four miles I held the pads stuffed in my fists. The only good part is that they were really great for wiping the sweat and snot off my upper lip. Ever since I started using Nair on my upper lip I no longer have hair to repel the sweat.

This is sort of of topic, but too sweet not to share. I started using Nair on my upper lip because an 80 some year old patient of mine recommended it. She was anxious to be discharged one day. When I asked her why she was in such a hurry, it was because she had to get over to her girlfriend's house right away. Apparently her girlfriend's husband had just passed away and my patient wanted to help her get ready for going to the funeral. This included helping her girlfriend get rid of her mustache using Nair. I've been a fan of the stuff ever since...except that my upper lip gets sweaty when I run.

I've digressed, back on topic...

here's me with the pads out...in hindsight, I look just fine without them.....

Here are the stupid itchy things, in the trash, where they belong!

Growing in our Yard

2010-11-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here is a sampling of what is growing in our yard, thanks to Faith and Mackenzie...

Halloween

2010-11-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

Carb loading for the big race for candy

A rare picture of Faith showing her teeth in a picture, isn't she beautiful?

Not so sure about this guy, he's cute though!

Birthday breakfast with Grandma Knight, Sarah and Jo-Jo...

Project Update

2010-11-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

Here's an update on our house project. Robb has been busy! The deck turned out beautiful and now he is on to finish the back of the house.

Hard Worker

2010-10-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

Starting his next project....bricking and siding the house. This is the before picture. I will post the after picture two years from now. It is a BIG project!
Cross training for New York City Marathon

Can you say sweaty?....kind of looks like something else???

I'm Back

2010-10-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

My husband and children are still alive....

P.S. Rare picture of Robb in the water, he only gets in the water twice per year.
...and I am still alive
(Photo courtesy of Kenzie Grace Photography....I will gladly hire her out, seems as if everyone has their own photography business lately.)

...and my photography skills need some fine tuning, do you think Faith looks constipated in this picture? I am so glad she is not old enough to read blogs yet. If she read this post she may not talk to me for a month for my constipation comment.

In fact, I am surprised she is talking all to me at all anyway . The other night around 11:00pm she got up to use the bathroom. I have been having a bit of a bout with sporadic insomnia and was wide awake. I decided to slip into her bed while she was in the bathroom. I thought it would be a fun surprise for her to return from the bathroom to find her mother snuggled up in her bed. For some reason when she returned from the bathroom she decided to flip on the bright light in her room. When she saw the outline of me under her covers she started SCREAMING uncontrollably. She thought a monster was in her bed! Do I really look that bad? She screamed for five minutes straight. Robb yelled out in the middle of his sleep...."Rachel you will go straight to H*LL for torturing your children this way." I better work on being a better mom.

Why...

2010-08-12T16:34:00.000-07:00

Some of you may ask why I love Cabo, aside from the man in the yellow daisy dukes (see post below). Here is a reason why I love Cabo! Where else can you get something that looks (and is) so delicous delivered in such formal fashion for so cheap?

I want to be here now...sipping on yummy coffee, and eating that delicious perfectly ripe fruit!

Why I Love Cabo

2010-08-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't tell all 3 of you readers (plus all of China...they are the ones leaving all the comments I cannot get rid of) that Robb and I ventured to Cabo again last May. We listened to the exact same timeshare presentation that we have now listened to 4 times. Each time we have pleasantly said "No" to their fabulous timeshare offers and collected our $200 food voucher on the way out. We eat off this 200 bucks for the whole five days! I think they are on to us, because the guy looked at us sternly and said, "This will be the last time we let you listen to our offers." Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Anyways this was a guy at the resort. I tried my best to get a better picture, but I couldn't. If you look closely you will notice his fluorescent yellow "shorts"...I am being generous when I say shorts. They were more like Daisy Dukes. When he was out of the water he walked around in his fluorescent daisy dukes, an unbuttoned collared white shirt, bright gold chain, and that obnoxious excuse for a cowboy hat. Priceless poolside entertainment. Surprisingly the girl he was with was super normal looking!

Here he is commenting on the huge bird swimming by.

Guess they don't have those dem birds where he is from.

A Lesson in Humility

2010-07-28T07:16:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday's sermon was on redemption. Pastor recycled one of his older sermons and retold it. The story of redemption is one that needs to be taught and heard over and over again. Jesus is our redeemer and He has redeemed us from much. That redemption comes with a set of responsibilities. While I admit to all this, my mind sort of wandered here and there throughout the sermon, it wasn't particularly hitting home for me.
After the sermon was complete we had our offertory song. At our church we do not usually have an altar call, and in all my years of attending I have never seen anyone come to the altar and kneel without a specific invitation to do so. No invitation was given, but a clearly broken man from the back of the church came forward during offertory song knelt and prayed, visibly shaking. Pastor Mark wrapped his arms around this short squatty man and prayed with him. When the song ended this man rose, it was then that I could see his face, he had Downs Syndrome. It all started to click. He knew he was in need of redemption and he did not care who was watching him, or what others might be thinking. He humbly knelt before his Father, the only one who could redeem him. Another thought came to my mind as I watched him, of all of us in that church he probably needed redemption the least. I mean, have you ever met a person with Downs Syndrome that wasn't innocent and tender hearted? Yet here I was still in my seat, and my sins are far greater than his. It was just so beautiful, a real picture of humility, probably something I'll never forget. Jesus was certainly please with this man's tender heart, and humility to kneel when no one else was.

More Family Photos

2010-07-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

This was mine...it was delicious

This is Kenzie smiling behind her hand...

This is Robb joining in...

I caught Faith!

Family Photos

2010-07-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Faith being silly, Kenzie nursing yet another bee sting.

I like this look...

Indian Hills Camp

2010-07-16T18:48:00.000-07:00

These are the before pictures....before the dust consumed my children. They left us for 6 days and survived. I barely survived. I missed them a ton....I did not miss their laundry, cooking requirements, or crumbs.

New Dew

2010-07-16T18:47:00.000-07:00

Missions

2010-07-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a pic of Faith and Robb's Mission Model. His version was much better than my attempt.

Here we are this past weekend visiting the Mission in SLO. Faith taught us all about the history of the missions. We counted well over 100 El Camino Real Bells on the way up the 101.

Blackmail Photos

2010-07-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

Every parent should take blackmail photos such as these!

I am sure they will come in handy one day!

Fair Fun

2010-06-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

Dinner and dessert at the fair. The deep fried butter is like a churro filled with butter. If you want the recipe I'm sure the Pioneer Woman will be posting it soon!

Appropriatey named Heart Attack Cafe

Mackenzie riding a (not-so) real live horse. The top is not something I would normally let her go out in. She was performing at the fair and the top was part of her costume. Let me just say her costume covered 90% more than the gothic bellydancers who preformed right before her. Gothic bellydancing...I should have taken a video there is just no way to describe it!

I think I may need to cut back on the teeth whitening. kenzie is doing her signature move and Faith is giving the camera a rare smile...must be because her dad was behind the lens, she likes him.

PS Does anyone know why all of China leaves comments on my blog, or how I can stop them?

This year

2010-06-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

This year I saw this nifty thing he is going to make me.

Last year

2010-06-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

Last year at the fair, I saw this and wanted Robb to make it for me. He did and mine looks 10x better than this one. I have all kinds of annuals in it and lots of purple lobelia.

Happenings 5

2010-06-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

My sister is going to not be pleased, but I think her legs look great. Looks like Sarah is giving Mom a lecture and Mom is quietly pondering (and eyeing the potato chips on the nearby table) Sarah's words.

A tweenager doing goofy things....don't tell her friends please. It's embrassing.

Happy Birthday to you...you look like a monkey and smell like one too!

...that is what Nona and Faith were singing!

Happenings 4

2010-06-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Usually a pack of three girls means fighting and bickering. This pack does nothing but tickle and giggle. Sweet girls!!!

Sweet Haylie. My girls sure love their cousin Haylie! They do a lot of giggling too.

He's not giggling.....yet!

These two girls are way to serious and focused to giggle!

Happenings 3

2010-06-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Faith climbing out of the car....

while Kenzie drives.

Kenzie and Cassidy. Who knew an almost 8th grader would have so much fun at an 8 year birthday party? I won't tell her text-messaging friends that she was playing Barbies too!

Fierce!

Happenings 2

2010-06-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a birthday this week. Mackenzie turned 8!!!

I pay good money to send her to gymnastics.

Gymnastics is her favorite thing to do on earth. Kind of hard to guess that by the look on her face, huh?

Snuck a picture of Faith....don't tell her, I'll get one of those dredded "MOOOOOOmmmm"

Happenings

2010-06-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Here we are waiting for a fantastic show at Sea World...the lady in pink beside us smelled of dirty undergarments...

They asked me to show off my skills during the performance. I was happy to oblige, but was quite sore the next day. I also ended up with a funky tan line on my face.

God was showing off agian when He designed this flower. Magnificent!

Field Trip girls. Here are the stairs that you would have to lug dirty laundry up and down, if you lived at the Mission in the 1800's. Praising God for my Maytag washer in my garage.

Hair do

2010-05-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Faith working her magic on Kenzie's mane.

Looks beautiful!

(Check out those earrings on that little girl...what kind of mother lets such a young girl wear such big earrings???)

Bottles For India

2010-05-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite bunch of kids in all of India. The girls have been dispersed, but the boys remain. They have recently had land donated to them, in order to keep the land they must register it in their name and build a wall around the property...to the tune of 2000 US dollars.

Thank you Craigslist...you made it easy for me to get 15 bucks for this bike...

20 bucks for this rug

and 15 bucks for this foot stool
Diamonds Ltd gave me 78 bucks for old jewelry from old boyfriends and litter bugs donated 5.90 worth of BFI...Bottles for India. The girls and I scouted the neighborhood for three days straight and collected 5.90 worth of recycleable cans and bottle.

Our grand total will be donated to Jesus Mission and their new land. Praise God for the blessings He has allowed in my life, so that others may be blessed in return. If you want to help out you can: sell junk on craigslist (or I'll do it for you), donate uncrushed cans/bottles, or throw a can/bottle out your car window while in my neighborhood. Faith will spot it and Kenzie will fetch it!

Budget...out the window

2010-03-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

First it was the purchase of a comfy new sectional...mine is light green with floral pillows!
Then an irresistable deal on a trip to Cabo....I know again?...but we LOVE it there!

Then photos taken by Deb Schwedhelm that I could not resist (see previous post for link to this photographer's fantastic site).

Then a little shopping spree on the sale rack of athleta.com (I want everything on this site).

In January I told Robb I would get on board with the budget. Up until January I was in charge of the spending and he made it all work. In January I told him I was ready to help him make it all work by sticking to a budget. I did FANTASTIC in January and Februaury, even with the bathroom remodel going on. I did not do so fantastic in March. I made some big purchases. So needless to say I am happy for April 1 st to come. A clean slate. A new month to stick to the budget. Since there are only 12 more hours in March, and technically everything I spend in the next 12 hours goes to the already blown budget on March, I think I'll head out to Costco and buy a bike, and a few more things that are necessarily on "the list"! Even more deadly, I have been browsing through the Pottery Barn catalog! I need help...perhaps if I had been allowed to eat sugar/desserts this past month all this would not have happened....(update on Lent, I have done pretty good. I have a had a couple scones, 2 hershey kisses and one bear claw in the last 40 days. I have passed up countless temptations, and overall I am super proud of myself! I would never have thought this was possible. I am even considering continuing this after Easter day. I am planning to blow it completely on Easter, and then maybe start up again? Still praying)

Here's to blowing the budget in March and sticking to it in April!

P.S. Robb worked two 24 hour shifts last week, in addition to his regular work schedule, and I have put in a few extra hours this month, so all the expense are covered, we (I) just didn't stick to what we set out to spend.

P.P.S Justification, I know!

2010-03-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we were "models" for a photography retreat. Cut a paste the link to see some of our pictures. You can also follow the link to deb's blog for a few more good ones of the girls. These two photographers (Deb and Leah) are the real deal...true artists. I am so thankful to be photgraphed by them.

http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/blog/2010/3/23/the-wallflowers.html#comments

Trying to Have Fun

2010-03-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I dragged Robb to a street fair in Rolando. Yes, dragged (you should have heard the whining). Robb would be perfectly happy to never leave the house. Well, that is not entirely true. He likes to go to two places: Paneras and Einsteins. Other than those two places, he is perfectly content never to leave home. In fact, if Home Depot did free delivery he would probably NEVER leave the house. I am good for Robb. I drag him out of the house. I make him interact with people. Once I even dragged him to India...and he actually liked it.

We took our neighbor Cassidy. She is in the 7th grade, we must be cool, because she still likes to hang out with us. Faith and Cassidy chose this ride to go on. Mackenzie chose a lame looking inflatable obstacle course.

Cassidy really wanted to go on this. Cassidy did not have the million bucks necessary to bribe Faith to go on this, so Cassidy had to settle for the swing thing.

This is Mackenzie near tears for choosing the lame obstacle course that turned out to last all of 22 seconds and was no fun at all. I had a soft moment and bought all the kids another round of tickets for the swing thing. I really surprised myself. Normally I would have lectured Mackenzie about making wise choices or something like that.

Shortly after we arrived home a red cow ended up on our lawn. We had to pay to have it removed and gladly dropped off at a friend's house around the corner. They, too, had to pay to get it removed! What a great youth group fundraiser idea!

When we dropped the red cow off at the Butlers we were able to see their new kitchen. I fell in love. Faith was "speechless"...."I couldn't take my eyes off of it." Her house was spotless and she had blooming flowers in her pots. I came home to a messy house (Sundays are that way around here) and dead flowers in my pots. Sarah motivated me to get my act together! I pulled the house together and today we headed to Lowes to replant some of our dying flowers. I was thankful for Sarah's inspiration.

Like Robb needs someone to drag him out of the house, I need someone to spur me on to get stuff done.

Blogger's (Writer's) Block

2010-03-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my absence. I have been experiencing blogger's block.

Hired Help

2010-03-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

I hired a photographer to capture the bathroom remodel at each step.

Look at the great action shot she got of Robb tossing the toilet wax ring in the air. That is some high tech photography skill at its finest!

The innards of my future toilet, leaned up against the bed that I sleep on.

Close up of toilet innards.

Let me know if you are interested in hiring my photographer for your next home project. She is especially great at taking pictures of toilets. I have more sample pictures of the toilet if you are interested in seeing more of her work.