I Am So Lucky!

Today I am thankful for the beautiful weather in Baltimore and for my job that allows me to travel. I am so lucky to have a job I love!

Most of the other Administrative Assistants in the School of Business do not get to travel. The American Bar Association provides trainings for many of the reports I have to write, so i am lucky enough to be able to attend the various trainings. Since starting at UVU, I have been lucky enough to travel to Dallas, Chicago (twice!), Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, and now Baltimore.

The travel is not the only reason I love my job. The School of Business had a reputation on campus for being the best school to work for. Everyone is very friendly and easy to work and get along with. I am lucky to work in a department that is really good about showing their appreciation for the things I do. It's so nice not just to love my job, but to love the people I work with too!

Giving Thanks!

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to care for my dear father. He was such a good example and provider for our family as I was growing up. I am truly blessed to now be able to care for him.

Attitude of Gratitude...

Maybe it's because November is the month of Thanksgiving, or maybe it's because the year is drawing to a close, but right about this time each year I begin realizing all the blessings I have. I decided this year to show my gratitude with a daily post of "thanks giving."

Today I am thankful to have had such a wonderful mother! She was an awesome example, always happy, friendly to all, loved her family, and knew her Heavenly Father!

I’ll Love You Forever

Dad has been living in Utah for 2 1/2 years now, and the last year and half have been with us. Having dad in our home has really not changed our daily routines to much...besides the fact that Eli now stays home with dad. When we go out now, if dad is not coming with us, we just have to make sure someone is home with dad. And if dad is coming with us it takes longer to get ready and get going, plus dad's walking has slowed down considerably...I didn't really think that was possible...so getting dad even from the house to the car and then the car to the appointment takes at least an extra 10 to 15 minutes. I feel bad, because there are times when we are hurrying out for a quick trip to the bank or store & we sneak so dad doesn't ask to come along. I know he loves getting out, so I try to take him for rides or to walk around WalMart pretty regularly, but sometimes he doesn't get to come.

For the longest time the effects of the dementia have been slow, but lately dad's memory seems to be becoming worse at a faster pace. It's gotten to be that I can almost set my watch by the level of dad's confusion. It starts at about 7:20 p.m. every evening. He starts with, "So what's our status?" or "What time is someone going to take me home?" We explain that we are home, and he lives here with us. The next question is usually something to the effect of "Does my family know I'm here?" to which we explain that we are his family and that all the other family members also know where dad is and have even been here to visit him. That usually helps him for a bit, but typically less than 5 minutes later the routine starts over. It breaks my heart to see dad so confused, and about the third or fourth time he asks, he’ll say “I know you’ve told me this, but I just can’t remember…” I have to admit, it gets really tiring! But as frustrated as I get on the inside, I try not to let it show because I am sure dad is just as, if not more, frustrated.

Lately, at about 9:30 p.m., to help reduce the confusion, I will take him to his room and help him start getting ready for bed. I’ll get his dentures ready to soak, while he starts to change, then I’ll just sit in his recliner and we “visit” while he is getting his jammies on. In his room, with all his pictures and plaques, dad is not so lost. And I have to admit, growing up dad and I did not “visit” too often. Not that we had a bad relationship or anything…I was just closer to mom. Now, I take advantage of our chances to “visit,” which is usually looking through his pictures and having him tell me who all these people are, or me asking questions about when he was younger.

So last night as we were going through the routine, I thought of the cycle of life and the children’s book I’ll Love You Forever and how we are living that story…then this morning when I checked in on facebook, my friend had posted the following video that sums it up perfectly.

Pain In The Neck...

Two years ago I had carpel tunnel surgery on my right wrist. At the time I was also having pain in my left wrist & knew that I would eventually need the same surgery on it too. The pain in my left wrist went away, so I waited on the second surgery. A few months ago the pain started up again, so I called to make a doctor's appointment. My doctor is really busy and hard to get in to see, so a lot of times they try to get you to see the PA, but I knew Eli and I were going on our cruise, so I took an appointment that was six weeks away.

We got back to town on May 14th and my appointment was on the 16th. I explained to the doctor that I thought I now had carpal tunnel in my left wrist, but that the pain was different this time. When I explained which fingers were numb, Dr. Curzon questioned the fact that my pinkie finger was numb because the carpal tunnel nerve does not affect the pinkie. He then asked if I'd been having any pain in my neck. I told him that back in September when I went to visit my sister I had slept wrong the first night and woke up with a kink in my neck, but the pain has never really gone away. He then explained that when there is a pinched nerve in the neck it affects the nerves in the pinkie. I went away from the appointment with two more appointments...one for an x-ray of my neck and one for a nerve conductivity test. YAY...not! Those nerve conductivity tests hurt!

Radiology at Central Utah Medical Center takes walk in appointments, so I went right from the doctor's office to CUMC for the x-ray. The nerve conductivity test was scheduled for Thursday, the 19th. On Wednesday, Dr. Curzon's nurse called to say they had the results of the x-ray back and it did show signs of deterioration probably caused by arthritis, so they wanted me to get an MRI also. I scheduled it for Thursday after the nerve test...Then I waited...

Dr. C had said to call his office if I did not hear from him within three days after the tests. I waited until Wednesday of the next week and didn't get any calls, so Thursday morning I called the doctor. He had taken a few extra days off since the following Monday was Memorial Day...I hate waiting!

Tuesday as I was walking in the door from work the phone started ringing, so I answered it. It was Dr. Curzon on the phone. He said the MRI showed deterioration in my C3, C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae with slight damage to the C7 also. He used a bunch of medical terminology, but basically said that arthritis was encroaching on the nerves and leaving them less room, but the nerve was not actually pinched...No wonder I've had a pain in my neck! He gave me some options. Physical Therapy was least invasive, but with the amount of deterioration I have it would not be enough. An x-ray guided epidural injection of cortisone was the next option, then two different types of surgery. The first not being as aggressive as the second, but with the number of vertebrae involved I may not be a good candidate for the "simple" surgery. I don't really want any surgery! Dr. C suggested I go for the injection and also have a consultation with the clinic that does the first type of surgery. If the injection works I can either cancel the consult or go and see if it is an option for down the road when the pain returns.

Today I went for the injection. The radiologist that performed the injection told me it would hurt at first and I may not feel any relief for a few days. OUCH! It felt like there was some huge person sitting on my back! Now my whole body aches like I have the flu...let's hope I feel better tomorrow!

Do You See What I See?

Eli and I put a new TV on layaway a while back and when we went to pick it up we brought Connor along in case Eli needed help lifting it. When we got to the counter to make our final payment we were informed that our TV had been sold! While Eli and I were waiting to talk to a manager about a solution, I told Connor to go look at recliners and see if they had any that matched our couches. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I referred to the couches as red, wine, or burgundy colored. To which Connor replied, "You mean our couches aren't brown?"

Duh! I forgot that Connor was colorblind for reds and greens!

Actually both Connor and Tanner are colorblind. I guess it's just easy to forget, because it doesn't keep them from living a "normal" life. Since that incident though, I have been more aware of reds and greens when I see them and start to wonder how what I am seeing would be viewed by my boys. Thanks to this website I can get an idea of how the world looks through the eyes of my two boys.

When I see this:

Connor & Tanner see this:

WOW! What a contrast to what I see! It gives me a whole new appreciation for being able see all the colors of the rainbow!

Happy Anniversary Baby...

I am lucky to be able to do a bit of traveling in my job & usually get the opportunity to attend one, maybe two conferences a year and in October I had the chance to go to Indianapolis, IN. On the second day of the conference, as a colleague and I were getting on the elevator to go to our next meeting, my cell phone rang. It was Eli and he had just one question for me, "Have you used up all your vacation time visiting Suzy?" I let him know that I still had about three weeks worth of vacation time because I was able to use sick leave when I visited Suzy and didn't think any more of the conversation. You see, Eli was trying to surprise me by booking a Hawaiian cruise for our 20th anniversary which was coming in May. When he hung up the phone after talking to me he explained to the boys what he was up too, and Tanner told him he would never be able to keep the secret.

Well...Tanner was right! After booking the cruise, Eli was having so much fun looking at the different excursions and things there were to do on the different islands that he had to share his excitement with me.

In November while we were down at Norm & Toni's for Thanksgiving, we made arrangements to have dad spend the two weeks during the cruise with them. Then we started booking our excursions and dreaming about fun it was going to be.

The cruise was booked with Princess Cruise Line and the ship that was home for two weeks was the Golden Princess. We boarded at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27th and headed for Hawaii at about 5:30. It takes the ship 4 1/2 days to get to Hawaii, but we had plenty to do during that time. There were workshops, movies, games and street entertainment during the day and wonderful meals and shows in the evenings.

For our dinner option we chose "Open Dining", which meant we could go to dinner any time after 5:30 and would be seated with other couples at the same table. What a wonderful opportunity to meet some great people! It was kind of fun to then run into them at other functions later. There were two of the couples we ended up running into pretty regularly...Dick & Lee from Gulf Shores, Alabama and Rusty & Cheryl from Mesa, Arizona. Not only was it fun getting to know them, but both couples were great examples to us as good Christians. They are all very active volunteering...it actually made Eli and I excited to put a few more years behind us and be able to devote more time in service to the Lord and others.

The first port we visited was in Hilo on the big island. While we were there it was cloudy and cool, but we didn't mind because the excursion we had planned was a hike through the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Onomea Bay. Some of the climbs were kinda steep and I don't think we would have enjoyed it as much if the weather had been hot and sunny. The gardens are a museum of living plants on 40-acres. It was wonderful to hike the nature trails meandering through a true tropical rainforest, crossing bubbling streams, passing several beautiful waterfalls and winding down to the beautiful ocean vistas along the rugged Pacific coast.

That evening while we dined and slept, the ship sailed for Honolulu on the island of Oahu. We knew we would be there the whole day, so Eli & I had gone online a reserved tickets & a shuttle to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the other side of the island in Laie. One of the shuttle stops we could choose was at Aloha Tower, which is right by the pier where we were to dock, so we chose it. We got off the ship at 8:30 and didn't need to be at our shuttle stop until 10:00, so we decided we would find the hotel where the shuttle was scheduled to stop then get some breakfast. As we were walking toward Aloha Tower we came upon some cabbies and stopped to ask how far the hotel was...turns out it is nowhere near Aloha Tower, but was 2 1/2 miles away. We figured we could walk it, but the cabbie then told us that it's a $12 ride to the hotel or a $100 ride to the PCC if we miss the shuttle. We opted for the cab ride over, then found breakfast near the hotel. The shuttle was about 10 minutes early and as we were waiting for other passengers we told the bus driver about how messed up the online directions had been, then asked if he thought we would be able to get back to Pier 2 by 10:30 that night. Right then he got on the phone & called dispatch to get permission to make a stop at the pier before going to his first stop. YAY! Now we could go and have fun and not worry about being late for the ship!

The PCC was so much fun. I had been there in 1979 the summer after I graduated, but Eli had never been before. Learning the traditions and beliefs of all the Polynesian cultures was fun...seeing the pride that the people in the shows had for their culture was heartwarming. The shows in the villages were all very entertaining. Then we attended a luau with lots of tasty food and entertainment.

We were invited up to the stage with everyone else that was celebrating an anniversary because they said they had a gift...the gift was an anniversary dance!

After dinner we got to have a backstage tour before the big show began. How interesting to see all that goes in to putting on their production "Ha: Breath of Life" It was like a roadshow on steroids!

The evening sky after the show was absolutely gorgeous!

We had a few late passengers on the bus going back & were a little worried when the bus that was chartered by Princess for cruise members (we saved $200 by booking separately) left 10 minutes before us, but our wonderful bus driver Moe was able to make up the time & we arrived at the pier at the same time...Good thing! Princess will leave you if you are late getting back from an excursion that was not booked through them.

After such a busy day we went right to bed and woke up in Nawiliwili on Kaua'i.

We did a little shopping in the morning and then went snorkeling at noon. WOW! It was all so BEAUTIFUL! The colors of the fish were so vibrant, and there were so many different kinds in the little cove where we were. We also saw some sea turtles that had come in to the rocks to feed.

Our tour guide also caught an octopus, which I opted not to hold!

We had so much fun snorkeling that we have decided to get our own gear and make it a new hobby.

That night while we slept the ship sailed for Lahaina on Maui.

We signed up to go on a submarine tour while in Lahaina. A boat took us out to where the submarine was submerged. When it surfaced we traded places with the people from the previous tour. The seating on the sub was arranged in a way that each person had their own port hole to look out. We went down to 194 ft. below sea level. It was fun to do, but the fish weren't nearly as beautiful as the ones we saw snorkeling. The fish are so far from sunlight that all their beautiful colors look grey. The only color we could see that deep was yellow. We did get to see a shark though...it was too fast to get a picture.

My picture of the yellow fish didn't turn out, so this is from the Atlantis website.

Four islands in four days! It was so much fun though. The islands are all so different from each other that visting each one brought new scenery, vegetation and weather.

The four days from Hawaii to Encinada were very relaxing! The ship docked in Encinada for 1/2 a day before returning to Las Angeles...it needed to dock in a foreign port in order to run the casino. After being so busy with all our excursions, it was nice to relax. One of the perks that Princess offers is having breakfast brought to your stateroom every morning, but on the way back we chose to sleep in instead. We spent lazy days visiting with the friends we made and there was still plenty of entertainment in the evenings.

There were a few more formal evenings on the ship. It was a lot of fun to get dressed up and have our pictures taken.

Rusty & Cheryl Foster

It just so happened that one of the formal nights was on our new friend Rusty's 65th birthday and another was on he and his wife Cheryl's 45th wedding anniversary and we were lucky enough to celebrate with them. The last night of the cruise was our 20th anniversary, so even though it wasn't a formal night they got dressed up with us to celebrate. What a fun evening enjoying the company of our new friends!

Michelle & Eli, Robert & Janet, Rusty & Cheryl

Lee & Dick

What a wonderful way to celebrate 20 years together!

It's funny...at our wedding reception someone told me, "Congratulations! We just hope it lasts!" I wasn't sure whether to say thanks or what. Anyway, it hasn't always been easy. We have started down several roads and found we needed to go back to the beginning and start again, but we are truly best friends and there is no one else I would rather be going through this life with as my eternal partner!