You're Making Me Ill

Hi. I have been sick for the past week or so. After the surgery, I got a cold, so I have been hacking my lungs out for a couple of weeks. I worked all of 11 hours last pay period, so I have NO MORE PTO. Boo. I wish I could have called in again today, but I can't take off any more time. It's a good thing that we get a few extra hours for the holiday, or I'd probably be in the negative again. Definitely moins efficace.

I got our Christmas cards today. They aren't as cute as I was hoping for, but I'm going to send them anyway. I'm hoping to get them out this week, but no guarantees. If you have moved recently, please send me your address! Otherwise, you'll get the e-version. Sorry.

Thanksgiving was nice. It was sad that Rachael wasn't there, but things went okay. The house was actually fairly calm, since Benji was usually the only toddler wreaking havoc. Noah and Phoebe were there for part of it, and Noah wasn't too happy with Benji. Ben would try to take whatever Noah was looking at or playing with, and Noah would hit him. But then Noah would kiss him and say, "Sorry, Benji." I took the two of them on a little walk to Ellis Elementary school to play for a little while, and they were so cute. Neither of them went down the slides, but they had fun getting out while the sun was shining. On the way back, Noah had stooped down to look at something on the sidewalk. I asked him what it was, and he said "Helicopters" (the tree seeds that have little wings to float). That's a big word for such a little guy. He's so dang smart! It's hard not to compare the two boys. Benji is slightly bigger than Noah, but Noah has him beat in pretty much every other aspect of life. Even so, they get along (usually) and have fun together. I love that they are little buddies. ***** Okay, it has been a few days since I started this post, and I need to publish it. I have been working on a Heritage Makers book for Allen's mom, and it has pretty much consumed all of my spare time. My living room is really suffering for it, too. BTW--it's not very wise to get out one's Christmas stuff when you can't finish putting it all up and when you have a precocious toddler. Here's hoping I can get our tree figured out tomorrow!

2 a.m. and . . . I'm Still Awake

Yesterday we went to see Dave & Lexy's new house in Layton. It's gorgeous! It has a ton of space, and it's very homey. I love it, and I'm so happy for them! It's right on a small reservoir. We took some family pictures so I could get our Christmas cards done. This is not the picture I used, but it shows the beautiful view behind their house. **Yes, this is my current hair color, but the red is fading so fast, I think it will be brown sooner than later. After the housewarming get-together, I went to see "New Moon" with Sarah and her friend Candice. It was okay; definitely better than the first, but you have to have read it to understand what's going on. In any case, I think Peggy's review sums it up pretty well. I went to Walmart after that, then came home. I got to bed about 3a.m. (why do I do this to myself?!), and I woke up about 9:30a.m. I finished my primary stuff, but I didn't make it to choir practice. Yes, I still sang with them, despite the cough and the splints and stuffiness and lack of practice. I'm pretty proud of myself for that. Anyway, church was fine. Primary was a bit chaotic, but I think it went pretty well. I was teaching them "For The Beauty Of The Earth," and I taped a bunch of stuff on the chalkboard to represent lyrics from the song and things we can be grateful for. I had a bunch of leaves cut out from construction paper, and I had the kids write what they were grateful for on the leaves, then I had them come tape them onto a tree trunk. Note to self: don't use double-stick tape on the chalk board. No bueno. Anyway, when we got home, Benji wasn't acting very tired (no nap), so we stayed up. Allen made stir-fry for dinner, and we watched "Ratatouille." Around 7 p.m., Benji started acting really tired. Then we realized that he was falling asleep standing up. Too funny. Anyway, after that, we just put him to bed, then I kept working on Christmas stuff (our cards are done and should arrive from VistaPrint in the next few days! Woo!). Benji started whining about 11 p.m., and he decided to wake up. So I put him in the bath and did his bedtime routine, and thankfully he's asleep now. I should be too. Happy Thanksgiving week! Yay!

Oh, Misery

I haven't written since the procedure because I have been so miserable. Wait. Let me back up. Remember my first fall back in September? Well, after about 10 doctor's visits, it was decided that I would benefit from a septoplasty. I had a deviated septum before, but after the fall, it became significantly worse. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but man--it sucks. I had Dr. Nicholls for anesthesia. He was great. Dr. Cole was great, too, though I hardly saw him. I saw Sandy for a couple of seconds before I went to sleep, and I was glad she was my scrub. I have no idea who my circulating nurse was; I don't even remember talking to her. It took a couple of tries for the pre-op nurse to get my i.v. started, but they were running (mostly) on time, so we didn't have to wait too long. When I got on the operating table, it hit me--it's WAY different being the one operated on. The last thing I remember is taking some deep breaths through the mask, then waking up in the recovery room (Jim did his job well!). Recovery was fine, until the local anesthetic wore off. They gave me fentanyl, which was wonderful. They gave me percocet to go home on, which is nice--better than lortab, in any case. I have been alternating the percocet with ibuprofen to try and keep on top of the pain. Plus, I got a cold on top of all the nose stuff, so I'm not bleeding from my nose anymore, I'm just trying to keep the snot and the coughing under control. Blech. I have a ton of packing in my nose, and some kind of latex stent or something. I'd really like to blow my nose. And breathe through it. And not keep a drip pad taped underneath it. But I signed up for it, so I have no one but myself to blame. Dr. Cole said that, when it's all done, I'll be able to 'park a jet in there.' Uh, somewhat comforting, and a little disturbing. I hope it helps with the snoring and stuff, even if it sucks right now. We decided to go to Logan so we could have some extra help with Benji. Mom has been a godsend, chasing after him, feeding him, changing him, etc., while I snooze. I have been sleeping in Dad's la-z-boy for the most part. It's pretty comfortable, but I miss sleeping on my side with pillows tucked all around me. I miss my bed. I miss my shower. I miss my husband (he went back to SLC last night, and I stayed here). I miss my car, although I shouldn't drive since I'm still on narcotics. I forget how blessed I am. It's always good to be reminded of the good things you have. Like the ability to breathe through one's nose.

The Places You Will Be From

I need some inspiration for today's entry. Prompt #1: Could you stay in bed all day and think? Yes, I think I could. That's one thing I really miss about being single--getting to sleep whenever I wanted; not having to get up and clean up after other people . . . I love sleeping. I don't sleep enough, because I'm such a night-owl (it's pretty rare that I get to bed before 2am). If I could, I would sleep 10 hours per night. I'm thinking we need a memory foam mattress . . . one of those 12" thick numbers. I love our 2" topper, but I could go for a bit more cush and support. *someday* Prompt #2 Do you have recurring dreams? What are they about? Not really, but I do dream about places I have never seen, and I keep going back to them. I have dreamed about a certain house with hidden rooms and passageways several times. Sometimes I have déjà vu, and when I see something, I realize that I dreamed about it. It's pretty weird. Okay, it does happen a lot in surgery, when I get the distinct feeling that I have done something before, but it happens outside as well. :o) Prompt #3 10 places I have lived, in order: Okay. Here's the deal. Before my mission, I lived in a lot of different apartments. I also moved back home to Logan a few times, so those times don't count in this list. Most of my apartments were in Salt Lake City, but in different quartiers thereof. I'll try to put all of my roommates here too. 1-Van Cott Dormitory at the University of Utah (Summer 1997). Those dorms have since been torn down. Melissa was my roomie, though she was rarely there. 2-Foothill Place; Angela, Kristi, and Shelly (school year 97-98). ***I moved home to Logan for the summer of 1998. That was an interesting summer . . . I'll write more about that later. 3-Ashton Avenue; my sister Rachael, Anona, Kristin & Katrina (school year 98-99). After Rachael & Anona moved out, some other girls moved in, but I cannot remember their names. I moved out shortly thereafter. 4-10th East, near Salt Lake Regional (Summer 1999); I lived with Shauna for a few months here. That was a great ward, with some really cute guys. 5-2nd Avenue; Carla, Tiesha (for a couple of weeks) and Ilona (school year 99-2000). ***I moved home for a few weeks before I left on my mission. 6-Missionary Training Center in Provo (June 2000-August 2000). I'll write about my companions later too. 7-North Las Vegas, Nevada (I had to wait for my visa from August-October 2000) 8-Brussels, Belgium (October 2000-February 2001) 9-Liège, Belgium (February-April 2001) 10-Nivelles, Belgium (April-August 2001) 11-Metz, France (August 2001-January 2002) Okay, so I wrote 11. Sue me. Metz (Lorraine) was my last area in my mission, and I came home in January 2002. I lived in Logan until December 2002, when I moved back to SLC. Yes, I have lived a lot of places. Post-mission info to come. Fine. I'll just write them now so they are all in the same place. **total unrelated side note--there is a guy in our apartment complex who is fixing his truck. That's fine, but good grief--do you really need to rev your engine at 1:00am? Seriously? 12-Davenshire Lane--I lived with Rachael & Rebecca (and Dad) for a few months; I think I moved out in May 2003. 13-Murray (May 2003-August 2003). Sarah Sheffield was technically my roommate, but we hardly ever saw each other. 14-3rd Avenue (August 2003-August 2004?). This was when I first lived with Bonnie-babes. 15-Sugar House (August 2004-August 2005). I lived with Bonnie in Jannette's house until I got married. I'm not sure what the grand total for roommates is, since I don't remember some names and don't really consider them as official roomies. I do hope this helps my sister Sarah feel better--I do think I have moved more than you!

That's All

I went to choir practice today. I have been trying to go more often (although I'm late pretty much every time . . .), and I'm realizing how much I miss singing with a group. I should find a community choir to join; it would also bolster my 'resume' if/when I apply for the MoTabs again. Don't worry, it won't be for a few years, I'm sure. In any case, when I go to choir, it leaves Allen to get Benji ready by himself. I admit I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to getting him dressed, but when they showed up today, I was a bit surprised. Allen put him in one of his summer one-piece outfits with some too-small pants over the top. It was kinda funny. Also, Allen won't touch his hair, so he had half of it sticking up. I'm trying to let it grow out so his crazy cowlick will eventually fall over, but now he just looks sloppy. What do you do? Benji has finally adapted to daylight savings. What a horrible thing to do to a child! It screws them up! Last week he woke up at 10am one day and 6am the next. Now that it's getting dark so early, he wants to go to bed earlier and get up later, but sometimes he won't take a nap, or it's a late nap so he's up late . . . it's a conundrum, especially with church during prime nap-time. Thankfully it's only for a couple more months. I don't particularly enjoy 9am church, but it will be much better for him. Benji is getting so big, it blows me away. He is starting to sleep on his stomach instead of with his bum in the air (although I do find him like that sometimes), and he doesn't fit sideways in his crib anymore. He'll still get himself that way, but his legs stick through the slots. He also likes to lie on his stomach in the bathtub, like he's swimming, and now he won't get out of the tub until all the water is gone. He has started gagging himself on purpose, too. I don't get it! He'll try to stick both hands into his mouth and he'll start retching. Such a funny kid.

We'll Have Halloween On Christmas

November is National Blog Posting Month. The idea is to get you into the habit of blogging every day. I obviously haven't done that, but I will try to blog a bit more often. I have been pretty preoccupied with photo editing and such, so I don't have a lot to say that doesn't reiterate how tired I am and how I'm annoyed with Allen and how my house is a mess. As such, I need a prompt to talk about something more interesting. Writing Prompt for 1 November: Your first Halloween (or the first Halloween of someone in your household). What did you do? What did you go as? I honestly don't remember my first Halloween. I don't really remember anything from Provo (I was born there, and we lived there until I was 2 1/2). I remember bits and pieces from Panguitch (we lived there until I was 10, then we moved to Logan), like the glow-in-the-dark bags, wearing The Pumpkin one year, wearing a pink slinky dress another year, although I don't remember what I was while wearing that dress. We would walk all over town (usually in the snow, decked out in coats and moon-boots), we accepted apples from strangers, etc. We never put a lot of emphasis on Halloween in my family, and I don't feel like I missed out on much. I'm pretty sure I never went trick-or-treating in Logan, but my long-term memory isn't very good. I hope Benji will get to read about his celebrations. We didn't do a lot for Halloween either, although we did do more this year than we did last year. I borrowed several costumes from my friend Benji Rideout (no, my Benji was not named after him!), who is an anesthesiologist whom I work with. He has three boys and a closet full of costumes, so my Benji has been a pumpkin, a puppy, Elmo, and an alligator this year. I don't have a picture of him in Elmo gear--I should put it on him and take a picture because it was so cute. But the alligator was fun, and I hope that Miss Mia got some use out of the pumpkin (I'd like to see some pictures of your girls in full pumpkin get-up, Beck!). We went to Logan for Halloween--that's when I took all of the pictures of the Sortors. We went to the Trunk-or-Treat at my parent's ward, which was fun. I got a Domo shirt for Allen, and I went as Flo, the Progressive Insurance girl. I love her! She cracks me up! I had some hair issues, and I wasn't going to cut bangs. Oh well--it worked. I wasn't very fond of the shade my hair turned out (Feria's "Brilliant Bordeaux" was more of a pinkish, blondish brown . . . now I like pink, but not so much in my hair). So I got it done at Paul Mitchell--The School. It's really dark, and pretty darn red, but I like it. It's a very rich mahogany. Pictures to come. Anyway, I hope you all had a good Halloween. On to Thanksgiving!

From October 2009

Girls, Girls, Girls

Okay, not much time here, but this is a preview of some of the cute pictures I took of the Sortor family on Saturday. More to come.