Another Story Time

What time is it? 

4:30

It's not late

Naw

Naw

It's Early

Early

I miss the 90s.

Actually it's 3:16.  I woke up around 12:30 for a trip to the bathroom and just couldn't fall back to sleep.  I am normally a very sound sleeper, but when I get disturbed I have a really, really hard time getting sleep to come around again.

Since it's the middle of the night and there is nothing to do I'm here on my blog. Rambling about nothing.

Let's see, what should I tell y'all about this time.... Oh, I've got it.

I'm going to tell you about the time I got pneumonia (Holy Cow I spelled it right on my first try!)


When I was about 10 my parents took us on a great winter vacation to some kind of hotel/lodge.  I don't think it was a ski resort but I remember we went tubing.  What I do know is that the hotel had an indoor heated pool and hot tub.  We got a big kick out of that and I think we spent more time in that pool than anywhere else.  My sister and I especially had fun in the hot tub, going under water and playing with the jets.

About a day and a half into our vacation I started feeling sick.  Really sick.  I started running a fever and I was hot enough that my parents decided we'd better go to the hospital.  As we were leaving the hotel we happened to pass by the hot tub and for the first time since we got there it wasn't running.  It was nasty.  There was some kind of green film on top of the water.  I don't remember it, but I've heard the story. My mom says it looked like pond scum or algae.  If she'd seen it first she never would have let us in that thing.

When we got to the hospital after a torturous car ride I had the pleasure of having my ears scraped out and trying to stand still for X-Rays while I was freezing and weak. Turns out I had an infection in both ears and full-blown pneumonia.  I was given a prescription and my mom filled it there in the hospital.  I had to take one of the pills right away, so she got me over to a water fountain and I took it.

I got about four steps from the fountain before I 'unswallowed' all over my little brother.  He was about four years old at the time and had a beloved Care Bear, Grumpy.  I covered this poor boy from head to toe in sick and all he did was stand there, bottom lip quivering and said the words that would soon become family legend,

"She trew up on Drumpy!" (My Joey sounds a lot like Dan did at that age!)

He didn't care at all that he had just been covered in vomit, his only concern was for his precious Grumpy.  Sweet kid.  My poor dad had to take my little brother into the Mens room to try to somehow hose him off while my mom took me into the Ladies to clean me up.  I don't remember how they cleaned him up, but I think having vacation clothes in the car probably helped.

When we finally got home I was put to bed.  The next bit of my memory is really hazy. I had a waterbed at that time and I remember that every time I rolled over or moved the waves made me nauseated.  I also remember feeling so thirsty but the only thing I could hold down was ice water.  If it wasn't absolutely freezing cold I couldn't stomach it.  I was so in and out of reality that I would pick up the cup next to my bed thinking it was just a few minutes old when really it had been filled hours before.  I'd take a huge gulp of lukewarm water and that would start the fireworks all over again.

When I finally started feeling better I asked what day it was.  My mom told me it was Wednesday, so I thought I'd been out of it for three days, since I'd gone to the hospital on a Saturday.  Apparently it was Wednesday of the next week.  There is a whole week of my life that I have absolutely no memory of.  My fourth grade class even made me a Get Well Soon card, but I don't remember seeing it.  I heard about it when I got back to school.

My lungs have never been the same since then.  I've been told I have permanent damage from the pneumonia.  I'm not sure exactly what that means, other than I get winded a little more easily.  I was never a very athletic kid, so it didn't matter much.

There you have it, the story of how I single handed-ly ruined a great family get-away. You've got to admit, I really did the job thoroughly! I not only puked on my brother, I'm pretty sure I gave my sister a phobia of hot tubs.  I don't know how long it took her to get over that.  Yep, when I ruin a vacation I do it with flair!


Well, it's 4:06 now.  I'm still wide awake but I think I'm going to try to go back to bed.  I've still got a couple hours before I have to get the kids up.  Maybe I can get a little sleep.  Good night!

Little Parrot

My three year old (nearly four) is quite the little parrot.  He will be paying attention to something else completely and just grab one word from a conversation or TV and repeat it. Over and over.  Obviously I have to be careful what I say. Not that I'm bad, but I do tend to use mild expletives. "Crap" is the worst but I also use "Shoot", "Stinkin'", "Freakin'", and "Darn" pretty regularly.

Today I learned that I have to watch the other things I say just as carefully.

First, a little background.  I don't often drink soft drinks, especially carbonated ones.  I have problems with my gal bladder and carbonation makes it worse, I'm also very sensitive to high fructose corn syrup.  However, when I feel a migraine coming I know that having a Dr. Pepper (the only kind of soda I like) will help get rid of the problem before it gets too bad.  I always get a fountain drink because they are cheaper and the ice helps dilute it a little.  The largest I ever get is 32 ounces.  Any bigger and I get in trouble.

Today was one of those days where I needed a Dr. Pepper.  I could feel the migraine coming on and I need to get stuff done today.  There is a Sinclair gas station down the road from us that not only has the best Dr. Pepper fountain (something about their mix makes it really good, I swear) but they also have a drive-thru so I don't have to unload Joey just for a drink.  The people who work there are also really nice and we go there a lot.

Those who know me know that I like to tease.  In my family and Eric's family teasing is kind of a sign of affection.  We only tease the people we like. If we don't tease you then you should feel left out.  Good natured ribbing is par for the course.  I also tend to tease my friends and people I feel comfortable with.  Sometimes if I'm in a good mood random strangers will also get this treatment.  What can I say, I'm a crazy person.

On to the subject of this post.

I dropped the big kids off at school and hit the grocery store.  I felt the migraine coming on so I decided to hit the gas station on my way home and get my Dr. Pepper fix.

After the attendant handed me my drink we had to wait a few seconds for my receipt to print so I told him they had the best Dr. Pepper.  Teasing him I said, "You guys put crack in the mix, don't you? Just to get people to keep coming back."

He laughed at me and played along basically saying, "Yeah, you caught us.  It's all that crack."

We laughed a little and I pulled away.  Two seconds later Joey pipes up from the back seat:

"Whas twack?"
"Why dere twack in you dotter pepber?"
"Why dey put twack in you dotter pepber?"

Crap.

I explained that crack is a bad drug and that I was just joking about it being in my Dr. Pepper. I'm hoping he forgets all about it soon. Fingers crossed!

Just so you all know.  If you hear my son talking about my soda being laced with drugs.  I promise, I do not now nor will I ever consume illegal substances!

I guess if that's the worst thing my kid learns from me I'm still doing okay!

Dog Park

We went to the dog park after school today.  The weather was perfect for it and there were a ton of dogs there. Of course, I forgot my camera!  I charged up the battery yesterday and forgot to put it back in my bag.  D'oh!

We had lots of fun.  There were a bunch of puppies there today.  A five month old Rottweiler that I just wanted to squeeze, an adorable eight month old Labrador/Australian Mix, and a very hyper nine month old Golden that kept knocking my kids down.  So stinking cute. They were all so soft, especially the Rottie. Gotta love that puppy softness! They definitely made me glad I don't have a puppy though!  They had way more energy than I'd be able to handle.

One lady came and brought her Husky/Malamute mix and German Shepherd.  The Husky mix looked just like a wolf.  He was gorgeous and huge!  He was just a big sweetheart and a total wimp.  It was so cute!  Joshua kept trying to play with him but he was just scaring the pants of the poor dog.  Josh would yell his name and go running after him like we do with Leela, but the poor Husky was just scared and would run away from Josh with his tail tucked between his legs.  Josh eventually figured out that if he threw a ball then he could get the dog to play.

Leela doesn't really play much at the dog park.  She does run around and get some exercise though, and that's what's important.  She likes playing with other dogs but they have to really bug her to get her to play with them.  It takes her a while to warm up to it.  She especially likes playing with little dogs.  She likes to chase them down and then chew on their ears. Not hard, she doesn't hurt anybody, just playfully.  Some of the little dogs actually like it.  It's funny, the ones who like it will get all slobbery.  Then when it dries their fur stands up like spikes.  It's so gross. I'm just glad Leela doesn't get slobbered on.  It's a lot easier to bathe a little dog than it is to wash a beast like her.

Here are a few pictures that Joshua and Bethy took back in November.  I'll try to remember my camera tomorrow and get some new shots.

Middle Child

I spent some time this afternoon outside watching my eight year old, Joshua, do tricks on the new scooter he got from Santa. The light was going but I did manage to get a couple of pictures.

Here's a shot of one of his tricks.  He calls it the "I Gotta Go". 

Yup, that's my boy!

Sister Friend

I spent hours last night chatting online with my cousin Shanon.  Lots of fun.  She's technically my cousin, you know, biologically and all that.  In reality though she's much more to me.

When I was a teenager Shanon came to live with us and we went to High School together.  Shanon is three years older than me, she was a Senior while I was a lowly Sophomore.  She welcomed me into her group of friends and made my whole High School experience so much better.

Since we weren't exactly sisters but cousin seemed too distant to fully explain the relationship, Shanon came up with the term "Sister-Friend".  That pretty much sums it up.

Even though Shanon is older than me I've always felt like the Big Sister.  It's just my personality.  I like to take care of people.  I worry, fret, mother, and if we're being perfectly honest, probably smother people too. It's just how I am.

I'm actually trying to convince Shanon to move here.  Not only since I think she'd like it here and my town is just amazing.  I really, honestly just miss her.  My sister-in-laws are awesome, they really are, they're just too normal.  I need the color in my life that only Shanon can bring and my kids are seriously lacking in the 'Crazy Aunt' department.  My little sister Heidi's kids get Crazy Aunt in spades.  Not only do they have me, they've also got my sister's best friend Kim.  My kids are pathetically neglected in comparison.  Crazy Mom they've got, Crazy Aunt they lack.  (By the way, I too have a Crazy Aunt.  When we tell crazy relative stories I always win because of her.  For those relatives who are reading:  I'm not talking about Jeanne, Joanne, or Kitty.  Although you all are pretty nuts...)

And now, since she'd have to be here in person in order to murder me with her bare hands, I present embarrassing pictures from High School!!

Summer 1995 at Disneyland.  Left to right: Shanon, Heidi, Me, and our little brother Daniel.

Shanon and I in the Fall  of 1995.  She was blessed with adorable freckles and dimples.  I just got zits.

We were paragons of style.

New Glasses

I ordered new glasses today!  Whoo Hoo!  Two pairs of regular glasses and one pair of sunglasses.  All for under $12 each.

How is this possible you ask?  I'll tell you my little secret.

Zenni Optical.

They are brilliant.  It's like buying glasses wholesale. I go into any glasses store at the mall, try on a bunch of different frames, decide which ones I like, then come home and find them online for a fraction of the price.  What would normally cost me $250 after insurance turns into $15 including shipping. No insurance needed. I can even try the glasses on an uploaded picture of myself to make sure they fit my face correctly.

I first ordered glasses from Zenni in May 2010.  I'd just gone to the eye doctor at Lens Crafters and purchases a pair of glasses there.  After my insurance the glasses cost me something like $210.  I don't have any special prescription or lens needs, but I did have them add the non-reflective coating.  Then as an experiment, and because our HSA would pay for it, Eric and I decided to order some frames from Zenni and compare the two.  I didn't order the exact same pair but it was the exact same prescription.

Eric has a really strong prescription in his glasses.  In order to not have heavy Coke-bottle glasses he has to have the really expensive, light weight lenses in his frames.   His one pair of glasses at Lens Crafters was $325.  After insurance.  

When we placed our 2010 order with Zenni we bought one pair of regular glasses and two pairs of sunglasses for me, and one pair of sunglasses with the more expensive lenses for Eric.  Our total including shipping was less than $99.  Four pairs of glasses for under a hundred bucks.  After spending nearly $500 at the glasses store in the mall. I was already impressed.

It did take us longer than expected to get our frames.  The website told us 2-4 weeks and we didn't get ours until just after the four week mark.  I was starting to get worried. They did eventually come though and they were worth the wait.

The pair I got from Zenni were meant to be spare glasses.  The ones I got from Lens Crafters were supposed to be my grown-up, everyday glasses.  Six months after I got my 'grown-up' glasses, they broke.  A year later the 'fun' pair are still going strong. They've lost a few of the gems at the temple but are otherwise stellar.

I've heard that some people have a problem with Zenni frames not being the correct prescription.  Personally I haven't had a problem.  The Zenni glasses are exactly the same to look through as the ones from Lens Crafters.  Eric says the same thing. Oh yeah, I can also take my Zenni frames into any local glasses store and they'll do free adjustments to fit them for free.

Since everything went so well with our last order we decided to go ahead and try again. Eric priced some glasses for himself at Lens Crafters for $250 (after insurance.)  We found a pair that look exactly the same on Zenni for less than $40.  That includes his expensive lenses and the anti-reflective coating.  I ordered another three pairs, this time two regular glasses and one pair of sunglasses.  Zenni changed their prices a little and the frames I chose were even less expensive than last time.  We ordered four pairs of glasses: one pair with anti-reflective and more expensive lenses, one pair with the sunglass tint, and two regular pairs with anti-reflective coating.  All for less than $89. They're running a special right now where you get free shipping on orders over $50, so we saved $4.95.

Even if you don't wear prescription glasses I recommend you check these guys out. Less than $17 for a pair of sunglasses is pretty awesome.  I know how easy it is to lose and scratch up sunglasses, for this price you could have a whole wardrobe of shades!

According to the website we should get our glasses in 7-14 days.  Experience tells me it'll probably be closer to a month.  As soon as the box comes in I'll model my glasses and post pictures!

Happy 2012!!

Happy New Year everybody!  I hope you all had lots of fun last night!  I stayed up with my two oldest kids watching Netflix and playing on my laptop.  I just happened to notice that it said 12:00 on my computer and just sort of told the kids, "Hey guys, it's Midnight.  Happy New Year."  They were a little disappointed that we didn't watch the ball drop, so I guess I'll have to tune into that next year.

I don't make New Year Resolutions.  I know myself well enough to know that I won't keep them.  I have enough problems with guilt, I don't need to add to it.  I'm also not superstitious about the New Year.  I like traditions about starting things fresh, so I do try to start the year off with a clean house.  I just don't think it feels like a new year.  I prefer Chinese New Year.  At least that happens closer to Spring.  Then it really feels like things are starting over.  Right now everything in Nature is still hibernating.  There isn't anything fresh.  Nothing feels new.  I like to celebrate New Year traditions near Easter.  That's when I really feel like shaking off the old and welcoming the new. Especially since I've been living here in Northern Utah.  By Easter things are (usually) starting to bud and the weather is warming up.  Watching the world wake up and come back to life is a great motivation for me.  Midwinter just makes me want to curl up with a book and a cup of peppermint tea.  Winter makes me feel like hibernation is really the best idea, I'm not exactly motivated toward action.

So there it is.  Today is basically a regular day.  Eric let me sleep in really late and I've been spending the rest of the day working on some housework.  We skipped church since Eric is still fighting this stomach bug that won't let go and everybody else was up so late.  Pretty boring.

I do have a goal for 2012.  Not a resolution, just a goal.  I want to be better about updating my blog than I had been in 2011.  I really got started posting regularly around my birthday in October, so this isn't a recent goal.

Dressember really helped me.  I had to not only get dressed up but part of the challenge was to post your outfit on your blog every day.  Now that Dressember is over I'm looking for more blog challenges like that.  If anybody has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

I'm not just doing this blog to entertain my few readers.  If I am entertaining then it's a bonus.  Writing in this blog is a lot like journaling for me.  I can post how I'm feeling and what I'm doing and learn some things about myself.  When I keep up with my blog I seem to do a lot better emotionally.  My meds can only do so much to help with my depression.  Any other tools I can keep in my arsenal really make the war easier to fight.

Speaking of which, if you happen to notice that I haven't posted in a while that's probably a sign that I'm having a hard time.  Dropping me a little note would go a long way to help.  When I get depressed it's hard for me to ask for help.  Sometimes I don't even realize how bad things are getting until I'm already buried.  Having a little wake-up call can help me stop digging myself into a hole while I'm still able to climb out.

Wow, got a little dark there didn't it!  Sorry about that.  I hope I didn't kill your New Year's 'buzz'.  I really do wish all of you a stupendous 2012! If there is anything I can do to help you with your resolutions, just let me know.  I am a great listener and I love to motivate people!