The last couple of weeks...

So I've been typing out the events that have occured over last couple of weeks far too many times, so I thought I'd put the details in one central location that I can just point people to so they can read up. I'm pretty exhausted all the time these days, so I'm not as interested in typing this all out over and over again anymore.

Now just a warning...if any of the people mentioned stumble upon this...nothing that I've said is meant to be bad mouthing ANYONE. I don't blame anyone else for situations that they find themselves in. I just want to clearly explain the situtations that I've been facing. Also...please ignore grammar. I normally care...but my emotions have taken over my brain...so I don't care at the moment.

Matt's had problems with his back for years. He had surgery in 2006, and has been on pain meds ever since. Of course, being on the same stuff...it doesn't work as well anymore. He finally had another operation in April which was suppsoed to help. Nope. The pain kept getting worse and worse...literally by the day. I had SO many problems trying to get his medications the way that they were prescribed...it was like pulling teeth to be able to get more when we were following what was on the bottle religiously.

He had an appointment with his surgeon on June 1. More than a month after having another MRI, and 3 weeks after I contacted them letting them know that his legs kept giving out when he tried to walk. During that 3 weeks, he couldn't even roll over in bed without pain. If he were to be able to finally fall asleep...he would wake up if he accidentally moved at all in his sleep. Pretty frustrating, and irritating that they wouldn't move up his appointment.

So June 1st...we go in. The dr can immediately see how much pain he is in, and sets surgery for that Friday (June 5). I had taken the day off of work on the 1st because he had 2 appointments that day. That is the only PTO I had saved up from the time I took after his last operation (and putting together time I missed for his other appointments). So I worked Tuesday...trying to make up extra hours so that I would be able to miss work on Friday (or possibly work just half day). Around 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, I got a call from Matt letting me know that they moved his surgery to Wednesday. So now...not only do I have to figure out PTO for Friday...but Wednesday and Thursday, too. I talked with my manager and was able to work a few things out. I had a bunch of stuff to hurry and finish up before being out the rest of the week. 5:30 I got a call from Matt's mom asking me if I was almost home. She felt that Matt needed to go to the ER. I dropped everything and rushed home, grabbed my laptop and we took off to the ER, knowing that he'd be in for surgery the following morning.

They kept him in the hospital overnight for pain management, which didn't seem to help a whole lot. He was having problems with surges of pain that would shoot through his back. It got to the point where he could feel them coming...I joked around that they were like contractions. They gave him what they could...but it was really just to get him through until surgery.

They came to get him for surgery at 11:00 in the morning. My parents came to be with me, and we hung out in the waiting room. They said that once the operation started, it would be about an hour and a half. Around 1:45, the dr. came out to let me know that everything went perfectly, and that he should be awake in about another hour and a half or two hours. He had already been admitted the night before, so we were able to go up to his room to wait.

4:00 came, and we hadn't heard. Around 4:15, I went out to ask a nurse, and she let me know that they were giving him a shot of something that should help him wake up so he should be out in about another half an hour. around 5:15, a nurse came in to let me know that he wouldn't be coming back to this room, he would be going to ICU or PCU because the drugs from the ER the night before seemed to have just been lingering in his system, and they all hit him at once causing an overdose. They let me know that if he was going to ICU, that I would only be able to be with him for 10 mintues every 2 hours. Yeah, that didn't work for me. Luckily, they put him in PCU so I was able to stay with him. All the while...I still hadn't been able to see him. I was freaking out the whole time...I just wanted to see him. They finally brought him in at almost 7:30. He was out of it most of the night.

We made it through Thursday, but he was in a lot of pain. They, understandably, wanted to be careful with pain meds until everything was stable. He was also dealing with difficulty breathing, so he had a mask on which drove him crazy. I was just happy that it seemed he would be ok. Thursday night they took him back to the regular floor, and pushed him to do Physical Therapy. I left the hospital to quickly run to the store to grab a couple of things (I hadn't brought any change of clothes or anything to take care of myself when I ran out the door!). I figured it was good timing, because I couldn't bear to watch him in that much pain while they pushed him. He apparently *really* pushed himself.

Friday morning, the dr let me know that he would be going home on Saturday. After seeing how Thursday went, I didn't see how this would be possible! He was not doing well at all. He did pull a complete 180 on Friday, though...and by the time Saturday morning came around...he was ready to go home. He was in TONS of pain...but his breathing and everything was stable enough for him to go home.

We got home, and our bed had been moved upstairs. We were sleeping in the basement. His mom thought that it would be easier for us to be on the main floor so that he wouldn't have to go up and down stairs for anything. This is SO true...and that was very helpful. The only problem is...the mattress, itself, is all that had been moved. As soona s we got home from the hospital, I had to run downstairs and grab sheets and stuff to make the bed. I then had to start slowly lugging everything up the stairs to try to make him comfortable. At the same time, they had already brought the 3 kids back (we have them for the first 2 week stay of the summer) so I was trying to figure out food and everything for them. I was exhausted.

I forgot to mention, the rest of the family had been moving out the weekend before, so most of the furniture, food, everything had been taken. Luckily, the previous Monday I had done a HUGE shopping trip so that we would have food for while the kids were here. When we got home from said shopping trip, Gavin had gone missing. Long story, he has some trauma issues to deal with...but he was afraid because we were gone too long. He eventually came home, but there was another major freak-out for half an hour to 45 minutes. Back to talking about the house...there wasn't a single room that was really ready for us to take over, though, so nothing else was ready. I've since been trying to put things together so I have what I need to do basic things like cook and clean. I still have to somehow figure out how to get my furniture, etc here. My family (which is usually GREAT for helping) is scattered all over at the moment, and all kidns of busy. I can't ask his family, because they all have their own stuff going on. I'm just stuck.

Back to Saturday, I went to pick up Matt's prescriptions, and there was one that the pharmacy didn't have...so I had to drive out to another pharmacy to get it. On the way back from there...Matt's car broke down. Did I mention that my car was already broken?? They brakes are horrible...and I had been trying to take the car in *forever* before the surgery...there was just never a good time.

So here we are with another broken down car (this one not even starting...so it's sitting on the side of the road). Luckily, a guy drove by and saw Tyliegh attempting to push the car (she's *tiny* but we didn't really have any other choice to try to get it off the road). The guy stopped, and luckily he wasn't creepy and there were a few things about him that made me feel better (I know still not perfect...but I didn't feel like we had a choice) so he drove us home. Later that night, my parents tried to help out, but there wasn't much they could do. Yesterday, Matt's dad and brother tried to tow it with a chain...but there wasn't anything for them to hook the chain to...so there the car sat.

This morning, I got the kids up and got them breakfast, got Matt his drugs (and set him up for the rest of the day in case I didn't make it back), and came down to Les Schwab to get my brakes taken care of. I called to have someone tow Matt's car (which they can't do until I can get back up to the car to leave a key), and arranged to have it fixed. How? I'm not sure. I just found out that my car is going to cost $700. I'm afraid to hear what his will end up being. Not to mention...my car will take the better part of the day. No one is available to come get me or take me anywhere...so I've now been sitting at Les Schwab for over 3 hours just waiting. I know I have a couple of hours left, too. I called the kids to make sure that they could get lunch together. I've been on the phone all morning getting power, gas, etc all changed over to my name for the house.

I took today off so that I could be at home and make sure that I could get everything set up for everything to run smoothly while I worked the rest of the week. Now I haven't even been able to be at home. I know Matt isn't doing well, because he's just watching everying that I had to do...and he feels useless because he can't do anything while being stuck in bed. This makes me feel like I can't tell him anything, because he's already stressing out. I just want him to feel better.

Oh! I got so caught up in Matt's back stuff that I didn't even get the chance to mention the condo. So I finally signed with a realtor to sell my condo. One of my brother's friends. He understood that the condo wouldn't be my first priority. It was my understanding that he was waiting for me to email him some pictures of the condo before even listing it. He called me the Friday before all this started (May 30) to let me know that he had shown it to aboout 4 - 5 people now, and that it would probably sell better if I could get all of the clutter out. Uhm...WHEN?!?!? and WHAT?!?!? I didn't even know he would be showing it! I would have NEVER agreed to ANYONE seeing it the way that it was!!! *sigh* So with the help of my parents and Julie & Roger, we took 3 carloads down to the house. We then went back, and with the help of Julie & Roger and Jen & Casey, we were able to fill up my car and Roger's car again, and took those 2 loads down. I then found out that the realtor called my brother on Sunday and told him that he needed to "get his sister to clean her condo". Excuse me?!? What right does he have at ALL mentioning ANYTHING to my brother?? Not to mention...again...I didn't even KNOW that he was showing it to people! Luckily, my brother called my mom and told her instead of telling me, directly. I would have lost it. Too much going on already (and at that time...all that was going on was getting ready for the surgery on Friday!)

So...craziness. Here I sit still...waiting for my car. Knowing that there's SO much that still needs to be done at home...and nothing I can do about it. Knowing that I have SO MUCH time to make up at work...and there's nothing that I can do about it from here right now. I just feel stuck and like I'm just wasting time. It's driving me crazy.

So really?? I'm just done. I can't take ANY more. (I finally got out of Les Schwab after almost 4 hours...and it's now 11:52 at night and I'm trying to make myself go to sleep because I *have* to work tomorrow!)

I just don't understand

There are some things I just don't understand, and I'm convinced that I never will.

I took Friday off to hang out with Matt and one of his old Army buddies who stayed with us for a few days. It was really nice to sleep in and everything, but we didn't really get out to do anything until that night. We did finally make it to see Terminator Salvation then to dinner. Because we didn't get out until late, we got home after the kids had gotten there. We walked down to the basement, and this is what we had come home to:

Now, many people have tried to warn me about Matt's ex-wife. I've been told over and over again about how the kids are raised at her house, and I do see a lot of her (and her husband's) influence on them...especially on Gavin. He came home with the first earring a couple of months ago, and after the first weekend here with the earring he didn't wear it again. He got made fun of by most of the people in the house. Earlier this week, Tyliegh came over to work on some school projects with me and the boys came with her. All of a sudden, Gavin had 2 earrings instead of just the one...and both boys had the pink hair *shakes head*. I asked how long it's supposed to last (hoping to hear it was some spray in stuff or a kool-aid job) and found that it'll last 6 weeks. Seriously, HOW is this a good idea in ANY mother's mind for 9 and 11 year old boys?!? Tyliegh has a pink streak, too, but I didn't get a picture. I'll have to work on that tomorrow.

Of course, we discussed the need for it to be fixed. We were discussing whether we should opt for more dye or a buzz, and decided that a buzz would be more appropriate. The boys were reluctant, of course, but we have found that bribery works. With Halo 3 for Gavin and Sims Castaway for the Wii for Owen, we were able to convince them to let me buzz them. I'm not going to lie, it was kinda fun for me. I know it's pretty difficult to mess up a buzzing so it's really no big deal, but it was the first time I've ever done it.

One more before shot:

Then off to work:

In the end, they both still had pink splotches, and we're still deciding how to handle that...but this is at least better than it was.

They're happy on the inside....really...

I think one of the things that bothers me the most is remembering conversations with my mom regarding her "problem kids" that she taught. In describing some of them, I remember her mentioning earrings and erratic hair (mohawks, etc). I remember thinking that I couldn't believe that some parents would do that to their kids at such a young age. Never in my life did I think that my kids would be facing the same things. Those weren't the things that made the kids out to be "problem kids" but the parents who would allow their children to make such unnecessary changes to their appearances at such a young age seemed to be the same parents who would raise their children in ways that would lead them to troubled behavior. These kids do have a tough life, and aren't living under the best of circumstances. They do already identify with this stereotype and their mother doesn't really take responsibility. I just hope that I can be enough of an influence and example to help them out before it's really too late.

2 years down

I can't believe the day almost ended before I realized it. It's one of the most important decisions I have ever made, and has become overtaken so much of my daily life...that I haven't been paying much attention to when it all began.

2 years ago I had my gastric bypass. It's amazing to see how much life has changed...how much *I* have changed. I definitely would not still be in the same place without it. Many people call it "the easy way out". My response to that is that "almost guaranteed" and "easy" are not the same thing. Anyone who has been around me after my stomach randomly decides it doesn't like something knows it's not easy. Matt always asks me if it's worth it. It's a trade. I traded the difficulty that being overweight brought to my life for other inconveniences and pain. For me, it was the best trade I could ever have made. I had already done everything that I could before making that trade. Of course it would have been better had "eating less and exercising more" been the easy answer. Most people who know me know how much I love to be active and how little I really did eat. I actually end up eating a LOT more these days (which isn't a good thing...something I need to work on). I can only eat a small amount at a time...but there are times when even just half an hour after getting "stuffed" I'm actually hungry again. This, of course, wouldn't happen if I ate the way that I "should" but I'm working on it.

So here I am...2 years later...and 180 lbs lighter. We all know I hate showing it...but for the sake of showing how far I've come...here are my before, 1 year ago, and today photos:

I am participating in Walk Now for Autism

Please join me in my fight to make a difference in the lives of the more than 1 million Americans living with autism today.

I am participating in Walk Now for Autism to help find a cure for autism. Autism is the second most common developmental disorder in the United States affecting one in every 150 children born today. Despite some promising discoveries, the cause of autism is unknown and a cure does not exist. Research is crucial. Every 20 minutes another child is diagnosed with autism. Not only must we find ways to improve the quality of life for children and adults with autism, but we also must find a cure, and soon.

Walk Now for Autism is our chance to make a difference in the fight against autism by raising money for autism research and heightening public awareness. Please join me in my fight as I raise money to help fund essential research. You can donate to Walk Now for Autism and/or join my team online using the links at the bottom of this page. Donations can also be mailed to Autism Speaks using the donation form located on my page or send me a check made out to Autism Speaks.

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Thank you for taking an important step in the fight against autism.

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I'm NOT dreaming of a white April!

I know, it's been too long. Things have been just crazy!





Speaking of crazy...the purpose of my post today is to whine. Now in checking my calendar, I see that it's April. The kids are home because it's SPRING Break. There have been little snow/rain storms here and there over the last couple of weeks, but nothing has really stayed. Imagine my surprise when I get up and ready for the day and look out the window and see this:

That's just NOT right. I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door to find that I couldn't get out of the driveway. In APRIL. So, I called in to let my boss know that I would try again later, then came back to my room. I then, of course, had to grab my camera and go back to take some pictures :-)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v138/cocomo78/April09/snow/

Breast Cancer Awareness

I promise, a "real" update will be coming soon...relatively. In the meantime...

I know that most of our lives have been affected by someone that we know who either survived or lost their fight with breast cancer. I was recently recruited to donate a basket of goods for people to bid on at a fundraiser. I'm looking to make the "filler" at the bottom of my basket a little more meaningful.

One of my random hobbies includes making various candy wrappers (I know, it doesn't sound terribly exciting...but I love it!) This is where you all come in :-)

I'm looking for names and/or messages that I can include on wrappers for Hershey's miniatures and Hershey's kisses to fill up the bottom of the basket. Please either respond to this note (keeping in mind that responding is public) or send me an email with names of or messages for survivors or those who battled the disease. If you know of anyone else who might be interested in contributing, please feel free to have them email me at coleenscandles@gmail.com.
Thank you all for any help you can give!

Headless Groom?

No, this post isn't about MY groom being headless...I just needed to vent. Far be it from me to post a negative eBay experience, but gah! Seriously?!? I don't understand some people!

For those of you who were able to attend my wedding (or just looked at the photos), you may have noticed the beautiful 8" LLadro of a bride and groom that my friend sent from New York. Now you all know how Lladros are in our family...so I'll skip that part. My mom saw it and fell in love with it. I was able to find one on eBay ending the next day, and ended up winning it for $46 (plus $6 shipping...so $52 total). YAY!! I won it, paid for it...we're good to go.

Fast forward about a week. I stop at my condo to get my mail, and have a 7"x7"x6" box waiting for me. Strange, I can't think of anything that I ordered that would be this size. I look at the return address...and the name sounds vaguely familiar. I start thinking it's the person I won the Lladro from...but that's impossible, right? A 7x7x6 box for an 8" Lladro? No....

Sure enough, I open the box and see a packing slip from my PayPal payment for the Lladro. *blink* It's in the box diagonally. Well...if the seller was somehow able to pack it well enough and have it still fit diagonally...I guess that works. I start unwrapping the brown paper that is around it. Paper. Not bubble wrap...not styrofoam...paper.

I got down to one layer of a bubble wrap style bag (where half of the bubbles are deflated) and I start to hear a clinking sound. Uhm...that's not good. No...really...when I got the Lladro out of the bag, the groom's head was missing. It was, of course, found at the bottom of the deflated bubble wrap. Hrm.

So I email the seller...inquiring about the 7x7x6 box for an 8" Lladro...knowing that surely she must have suspected that something could happen with a packing job like that. I feel that I was extremely nice in the email considering the words that I WANTED to use to ask about it. The response I got back? On Christmas??

"I am so sorry to hear that it broke. I often ship things that size in a 7x7x6 box, as it fits perfect on an angle and I always wrap it well, as I did. Since you did not take the optional insurance, I'm sorry I can not do anything about it. So sorry....."

*blink* seriously?!? So...I can start selling things...and if you don't purchase the $2.00 insurance then it doesn't really matter how well I pack the item to ship. I just don't understand what goes through some people's minds. I was also surprised to find that she stated that she often ships things in that size box. In reviewing her feedback, I see that she has sold a lot of high end items....but none that were breakable. I can understand shipping an 8 inch purse in a smaller box...but a Lladro??

Ok, I'm done. It's sad, my first post after so long really should have been about my wedding, or Christmas...but sometimes it just takes something THIS confusing to get you riled up enough to type it all out :-)

Where are we now? I sent her a reply letting her know that lack of insurance would be a good enough excuse if it appeared that the package had been mishandled by the USPS, but where the box was barely bent? If I had purchased insurance, the USPS wouldn't cover damage for an item that is poorly packed anyway. Luckily I paid with PayPal, so I'm covered either way. I just hope that she'll be willing to work something out before I have to go that route. I don't want to be the icky mean-spirited buyer...but in this case? I'm trying to be ok with at least expecting the seller to be fair :-)

Wedding news!

For those of you who haven't heard yet...a wedding date has been set. A lot of things are finally falling into place. It's so crazy to think that things are moving along so quickly. Matt and I will be getting married on December 19. That's just 31 days away for those of you who are counting (ok, maybe that's just me, hehe). I'm SO excited, but there is still so much to do!!

This does mean that I'm looking for addresses for announcements :-) Send them to me via email at coco_J_20@yahoo.com.

There has been a LOT going on, but I'm not sure what else there really is to say at the moment...so I'll just leave you with some pictures. For those of you on Facebook...these will, of course, be repeats:

Pictures from my Grandpa Hanson's graveside service

Pictures from celebrating Tyliegh's birthday last weekend

Last new Twilight Trailer!!

The last trailer for Twilight before it comes out next month was released last night. YAYAYAYAYAY!!!! For those of you who haven't been able to see it...you can love me now :-)

Clicky here to watch!!

(Just to give you fair warning...it takes *forever* to load...but it's DEFINITELY worth it :-) )

*watches again*

*and again*

Me? Obsessed? No...

*twitch*

Last day home

Today is officially my last weekday home before going back to work. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! After my foot surgery, I spent a lot of my time drugged up and sleeping. I got sick a lot from the pain meds...and would sleep some more. Next thing I knew, it was time for my tonsils to come out. The time to get to that came WAY too quickly. I can honestly say...I would rather go through the operation where they broke most of my bones and fused them all back together multiple times again before having my tonsils out again. Of the 10 operations I've had, that was the worst. Thank goodness that's only done once!!

It seemed to take FOREVER for my tonsils to heal, and they're still working on it. I still get pains in my ears at night and in the morning. It also still hurts when I yawn (and Rhonda, no more making fun of my "*yawn*OWWWW's"! Hopefully all of that will finish going away over the next couple of days. I *really* need to get back into a normal sleeping, then getting up for the day and doing stuff routine. We'll see how that goes, hehe.

Because today is my last non-work weekday, I'm going to try to get some stuff done. I'll be heading over to my condo to clean & box stuff up, I want to get to the store to buy labels so I can make my basket testers for my Scentsy stuff (Seriously?!? *anyone* want to have a party?!? I'm giving away a free warmer for anyone who does! *sigh*), and I need to do some laundry and clean up my room that I've been staying in at my parents' house. Just SO much to do, and it feels like no time to do it, hehe.

For now, I'll share my pictures from our trip to St. George from last weekend. I didn't get to take many photos, but there are a few at least:

Here ya go if you didn't catch them on Facebook :-).

Can't Sleep

So here it is...6:00am on a SATURDAY, AND I'm on "vacation"...and I'm awake because of pain. *sigh* I'm getting sick of this crap. My throat should be better by now!! It's finally working on it...but seriously...ridiculous. I'm supposed to go back to work on Wednesday. I really hope that I'm better enough to be on the phone all day by then. I'm really over being home all day (although I still have TONS that I need to get done while I'm at home...it doesn't really get done anyway because I don't have the concentration). I also *really* need to get back to my full pay *sigh*. I can't take not having enough money anymore. Luckily I have my parents watching out for me, and they have been helping me out...but I can only ask so much there. Blah. I'm just over it all. I can't wait to just be better, and back to work, and back to my "normal" life (as normal as it was anyway, hehe).

I'm also tired of waking up at odd hours and not being able to get back to sleep. Matt & I are in St. George for the weekend visiting Todd & Rhonda, so I already have the "not my own bed" factor against me. Then I realized that there is no humidifier (which I've been depending on since I had my tonsils out), and I'm waking up at exactly the 4 hour mark from taking my last drugs for pain. The last little bit I've been able to get away with sleeping a little longer to put the pain off, but apparently not today. I hope this doesn't keep up, because I didn't bring enough drugs with me!

This ramble is brought to you by Lortab and my inability to sleep. Thank you.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

So, I'm *really* close to hitting a goal with my Scentsy stuff for the month. I hate to advertise it here...but as my title suggests...desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm giving 20% off of everything in the catalog for one day only. Everyone that I have introduced to these products have absolutely fallen in love with them, and they make GREAT gifts!

What's great about this, is that those of you who are out of state? It's only a 10% charge for shipping, which means that it's still a great discount! I know most of you aren't interested, but I have to at least try to see if I can hit these numbers.

You can read more here.

Victory is mine!!

So tonight while I was in the bathroom, I decided to pull the scale out of the tub long enough to weigh myself. It's not healthy AT ALL but I haven't really been eating because of the pain from my tonsils. What I saw on the scale was a shock in and of itself, but I'll get to that in a minute.

After weighing myself, I shook the scale a bit and listened for the spider. I could hear him last night, so I figured after shaking him a bit he would need to readjust himself somehow. I didn't hear anything. Could he be gone? I couldn't be sure, so back into the bathtub for the scale.

When I went to return the scale to the bathtub...I noticed something in the drain...



Either he had come out, or I had made yet another spider discovery. We all know which theory I'm choosing to believe! I immediately sprayed the drain with hairspray, then turns on the water and let it run for a full 10 minutes. In case that wasn't enough, I also closed the drain so he couldn't come back up.

Like I said...victory is mine!!

It's mine in another way, as well :-) I'm trying to not be *too* happy because I know I'll go back up after I start eating again...but my scale tonight said...

*drumroll*

149!! *gasp* I NEVER in my life thought that I would see the numbers "1" and "4" together as the first 2 numbers on my scale! I know there are a lot of you skinny minnies who read this who are thinking, "Man, I'd kill myself if I got to 149 other than through pregnancy"...but seriously?!? Never in my wildest dreams...so...YAY!!!

Spiders

UGH! I hate spiders. I'm not like the people who can't kill them on their own or anything...but I just hate them. Whenever I let one live...I wake up the next day with a spider bite. Just gah.

Now for those of you who have attempted to watch a movie at my parents' house in the last few years, you know about the little spider that Todd & I found while my parents were out of town years ago. He had somehow gotten between the screens, and couldn't find his way out. He decided to die in the middle of the screen. When we watch tv, it'll end up on people's faces, and in food, and we always have to explain the spider.


Here's our little friend. I should name him or something.



The week before last, I was walking into the family room after grabbing one of Jen's fabulous no bake cookies. When I took a bite, a piece fell. It was dark, and I bent down to try to scoop up the dark spot on the kitchen floor. Instead of a piece of cookie, I was shocked when the SPIDER started scurrying away. I jumped a mile and ran (*laugh* that would have been a site since I can barely walk) to the other room to get a shoe to kill it. Grossness.

I told my mom about it, and she of course laughed at me. The next night, however, I had just finished my ritual gargling with salt water for my tonsils and was on my way back to the family room...and what do you know? A couple of feet away from the first night...there was ANOTHER yucky hairy spider. I jumped again, and grabbed a shoe and killed it. Blah. Luckily, my dad has one of those things that you plug into the wall and it keeps spiders away. I had him plug it in so that theoretically it will work for the family room and kitchen.

So imagine my surprise when tonight, I go into the bathroom and I'm doing my thing, and I look down to see spider legs sticking out of the hole on my scale where you turn the dial to set it! I immediately picked up the scale and tried to shake the stupid thing out. Of course it didn't come out, so I have a spider just waiting to come bite me.

This is where he was trying to come out...

but he wasn't there later when I had my camera.

I went in to tell my mom about it, and was asking about the little plug in thing. I wasn't sure if it actually killed spiders, or just repelled them. My dad mentioned that it just repels them. Crap. I asked my mom if I plugged it in the bathroom, what the chances would be of the spider turning suicidal since it can't seem to get out.

So I went in a few hours later...and the little wheel with the numbers was moving. Nice. I then saw little spider legs sticking up. *shudder*


So as if scales aren't evil enough, I have a spider living in mine. I promptly put the scale in the bathtub so the ugly little thing would have one more obstacle before it could get away and find me!

Gah. Stupid spiders!

Still recovering

So in the midst of my excitement, I'm still trying to recover. I'm having a very difficult time staying down, though. I keep wanting to get up and do *something*. Generally anything I can find. At the moment, I'm fighting the urge to put together my cheap Ikea computer chair that I bought *forever* ago. I've been getting up and putting things away and organizing little things in my old room at my parents' house for the last few days. I need to learn to at least obsess over stuff I can do on the computer while sitting down rather than the things I have to sit down to do.

Ok, I'm going to put the chair together then go to bed. 9am church in Lehi. Blah. I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes from my last post :-) I'm really excited...and I'm sure I'll be even more excited when we start to put things together. I was talking with my mom about reception type stuff tonight. It's really odd to think about. It still doesn't feel real.

Ok, here I come chair. Then bed. Night :-)

Yes, that is what it looks like. Last night, Matt took me to dinner and asked me to marry him. As you can see, I said yes. We don't have any details down (like a date or anything). Right now we have little mini-goals we're focusing on first, then we'll set a date. We just decided that it's silly for us not to be engaged when we know we're going to get married. He already had the ring, and he would rather it be on my finger than sitting in a box in his room, hehe.

We went to The Melting Pot for dinner (and we all know how I love The Melting Pot). I was actually sick, which was REALLY sad with so much yummy food in front of me. I was just leaning over against him because I was trying to decide if I needed to throw up, and he started talking about how much he loves me and how lucky he is to have me *insert the appropriate "awwww's" here*. I'll spare you all the rest, but he went on and pulled out the ring and said, "I know we've talked about it already, but I still need an answer" and asked me.

So there's your quick rundown to catch up with me :-) I also had my surgery last week and I have pictures and everything from that, but I'll work on that post later. Now, I had to get pictures of the ring put up beause the family that lives far away (or those that are traveling...like my parents) wanted to see the ring. I figure it's a good time to just get the "announcement" done and over with at the same time.

I don't have many pictures of us together, so this will have to do for now:



Also, here's a link to the picture of all of us from Lagoon for those who haven't seen it on Facebook.

Surgery Day

So...today is surgery day. It's almost 2am...and where am I? Oh, at work. I've been here for HOURS and haven't managed to do what I need to. I have issues letting go...so I'm avoiding. I need to get on the ball, though. It's only 7.5 hours until I have to be there, and 9 hours until surgery time. Yikes! I'm really not excited. I'm just anxious. I know this won't be even close to as bad as prior surgeries...but I'm still anxious. I think it's ok to be anxious when you know that you'll be waking up with pins sticking out of your toes :-P. On to happier stuff...

Saturday my work had a Lagoon day for our Summer picnic. I took Matt and his kids with me. Even with only hitting like 5 or 6 rides, almost passing out, the whining, and the pain...I had a lot of fun :-)

We went to Pioneer Village and did one of those Outlaw pictures (which I'm sure I'll post later when I get home). I was a little reluctant because...well...it appeared to be a family picture, which we're not yet. The kids loved it, though...and made sure to take it around to show everyone at Matt's house when we got home.

I ran into Alisha Rios (Jones...Linda Rae's daughter) at Lagoon, too. I hadn't seen her in years, so it was a LOT of fun to chat with her for a bit :-) We were able to exchange numbers again, and will hopefully keep in better touch.

We went on the skyscraper, which was hilarious as Matt & 2 of the kids are afraid of heights. This wasn't too bad until we got stopped right at the very top while they were letting people off. I had Tyleigh on one side just holding onto me for dear life...Owen on the other who started holding onto me as soon as he saw Tyleigh do it (I guess once he saw that I was ok with it?), and Matt getting after Gavin who kept wanting to spin us while we were so high, hehe. It was entertaining if nothing else :-) I also had the privelege of taking Tyleigh on her first (and possibly last) roller coaster ride. She chose Jet Star 2, thinking that it wouldn't be that bad. As we got closer and closer to the front of the line, she was holding onto me tighter and tighter. I had to keep reassuring her that with this ride, I would be directly behind her (she'd almost be in my lap) and the seatbelt would be directly over her holding her in. I felt horrible about halfway through as she was screaming for dear life, saying that she wanted it to stop. Poor girl. She can now say that she went on one, though!

That's when the kids started to get cranky (the boys were upset that they hadn't been able to go on the ride with Tyleigh and I), so we decided it was time to leave. I smoothed things over with the kids by letting them see my Guitar Hero for my Nintendo DS and by letting them play with the pictures that we had received on cd from Pioneer Village. Overall, they all still say that they had a good time, and "can't wait to go again next year if my work does it again!"

Ok. I'm really going to get this work stuff done so I can get out of here for the next month and a half!!

Shameless Scentsy Plug

So I just saw that one of my friends mentioned a Scentsy party that one of her other friends was having. Made me kinda sad that I hadn't told this friend sooner that *I* sell them, too!! I'm really not a salesperson, so I don't generally mention it. I would, however, like for those of you DO like this kind of stuff to have the chance to take advantage of the cheapness :-) So...I decided to do a quick post so everyone can have a chance to get the best and yummiest smelling candles ever for the cheapest price you'll probably ever see!

For more details, see my Scentsy site here!

These candles are wickless and burn using a 25 watt bulb. It's great for those of you with kids, because the wax doesn't get hot enough to burn them if they somehow happen to get to it. There's no yucky soot in the air from the flame, and the the way the yummy smells can fill up the house is amazing! Not to mention, the warmers are just cute!!

I also have all kinds of capabilites for out of town/out of state parties. If any of you out of state would like to host a party, please let me know. I would LOVE to send you the scents!

Ok, I'm done. I just wanted to make sure that I let you guys know! I won't push anyone, but I might end up keeping you all informed a bit :-)

Stupid broken toe

Sadly, it looks like the 5k is a no go for me :-( I'm *really* disappointed as I was looking forward to proving to myself that I could do it. It just doesn't make a lot of sense to do it with a broken toe (or the breathing problems, or worse ankle problems that came up...but the broken toe did it). I kept hoping that I'd start feeling better enough that I could justify it. Sadly...it seems to be getting worse. The other days I could at least wear some of my normal shoes. Today? I had to resort to my wannabe crocs. Blah. I hate that pain can control me like this. The good thing is that it saves me over $100 in gas. The bad thing is that Rhonda had planned a candle party because I was coming down...and now I won't even be there to do it. Luckily she's fully capable of handling it on her own...but it doesn't make me feel any better. Blah. I'm sick of this crap.

Quick Update...

So I guess a quick update is in order now that I've had my dr. appointment and a few other things have taken place.

It turns out that I'll be having 2 operations over the next 6 weeks here. Talk about crazy! On August 25 I'll be put under for yet another operation on my foot. They'll be cutting away a bone on the side of my foot, cutting out a wedge of bone from my big toe so it'll sit straight, then they'll cut away the ligaments that are holding my other toes in place. I then get pins yet again to try to keep them in place while they heal. They'll also cut into the top of my foot and cut down the stupid bone spur that I found while snorkeling. Blah. This should be a LOT easier than the other operations I've had on my feet, and it sounds like I don't even have to have a cast. Just a walking boot. YAY! I can hope :-)

On September 16 I'll have my tonsils out. I swear, aren't I too old for that?? What's funny is that years ago I asked a dr. about it (as they've always kinda been in the way for me) and he kept talking about how unnecessary it was. Turns out...he was wrong! We'll see how that goes. I'm just not excited.

The rest of the week and weekend has been pretty crazy. Matt's family had a reading party carnival thing yesterday, so I helped man the wheel (which we borrowed from Rob & Chris, of course!). It was a LOT of fun, but I'm exhausted. (If you didn't see the pictures on Facebook, you can see them here).

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy...so I'll update when I can!

Oh yeah!! I forgot to mention...I have my 5k coming up on Saturday, right?? One by one...I'm getting knocked down. I had a very lenient goal of making it in under an hour. As I went on with training...I started to lose hope that I would be able to do it. Still planning the 5k, though. I then started having problems with my breathing. I got some inhaler things...and moved on. I then started having problems with my ankles. Got some braces (which I think made it worse) but decided to move on. But a sprained toe?!?!? Come on!! Enough is enough!! (because I'm horrible, I'll be taking a picture of the lovely bruises to post later...lol). I sprained my toe last night after the carnival thing while climbing over kids in their basement where they had all settled in for a movie. I'm STILL going to do the 5k. I don't care if it takes me 2 hours!! I'm VERY sad that this is becoming more and more of a reality *sigh* I was REALLY hoping to be able to stick to under an hour. I know how slow that sounds to many of you, anyway...but blah.