Grateful Friday

I’m pretty much always grateful for Fridays, but today I’m grateful for a certain little lady in my life.

Last night I spent the evening with my lovely daughter Emma. It was her Date Night, and after a tough day for her, getting out for some one-on-one fun was perfect timing.

She’s on a sushi kick these days, and I’m totally down with that. We grabbed some yummy rolls at our favorite sushi restaurant (she out-ate me and we ordered more than Greg and I ever do!). We followed it up with the cute movie, Chimpanzee.

As a parent, I know that I’m supposed to be the teacher to my kids.  But Emma is such an amazing example to me. She is quick to help out, even before I have a chance to ask. She has a tender heart, whether it’s the death of an animal in a movie, or if she sees someone hurting, she takes on that pain and will do whatever she can to comfort them. Her feelings can also easily be hurt if someone is unkind. Her ability to forgive is amazing… she will say “sorry” even if she’s done nothing wrong, just to bring peace and closure to a situation. If someone has been unkind, she will always accept an apology and truly let go. If someone is feeling sad or left out, she will take upon herself to put her arm around that person and be a good friend.

This little girl is so incredibly beautiful to me. Her smile, her laugh, her pure heart. What a wonderful blessing she has been in my life. Not only am I lucky to have her as my daughter, but I’m lucky to know and love her… a really, genuinely good person.

Here’s a high five and a fist bump to this awesome and amazing person we call Emma. YOU ROCK!

It’s Gotta Go Wednesday

***I wrote this the other day, but it decided that it didn’t want to post***

I can’t say that I love messes, but I get them. They happen. And I usually don’t get mad when they occur. What DOES bother me is when the messer doesn’t clean it up.

How hard is it to clean up spilled milk or lemonade? Or throw away a used Kleenex or paper towel? It must be pretty damn tough, because it often doesn’t happen around this house.

Some days it’s not a big deal. As I walk through our home, I pick up after everyone as needed. But after I’ve put in 6-8 hours in the yard, and come inside to a garbage tornado… let’s just say it’s gotta go.

Weekend Balance

The past month has been Kid Month, meaning that we’ve had our kids A LOT (like 25 out of 30 nights). It brings me back to the per-divorce days when we had kids EVERY night. As if! ;).

While it’s been great, it does limit us when it comes to tackling projects around the house. So this past weekend, which was the first in 4, we decided to grab the child-free reigns and hit some stuff head-on.

First on the list… Cooper’s pinewood derby car. Ahhh, a right of passage in every cub scouts life, which ends up being a time-consuming and confusing process for dads (and moms) around the globe. The instructions state that the boys should have a hand in designing their cars, and that this is not a competition for dads. That very well may be, but how they expect a 8 or 9 year old to make a pinewood derby car is beyond me. Between Greg and I, it was a struggle. Cooper did help with the sanding and design of the car, but the rest was left up to us. After many hours, many un-cub scout friendly words, and lots of paint and glue, his car was complete. It’s name is Flash. Here it is before we put the weights in the bottom, added the decals and attached the wheels (I’ll show a photo of it complete after the competition tomorrow night). Notice the silver ends that fade into the blue body. And you can’t miss the hand painted lightning bolt. Whoever painted this car must be pretty awesome ;).

With yesterdays beautiful weather, I was itching to get some yard work done. We headed to Home Depot to purchase a new lawnmower and get some mulch to freshen up the beds. While Greg mowed and edged, I began my work in the dirt. Getting rid of the dead plant matter and laying down some new bark makes all of the difference! I still have the largest bed to finish, but getting the majority of it done is making me really eager to pull out all of our outdoor furniture so I can enjoy these warm days. I can’t wait to do my pots and plant the garden as well, but I’m thinking that there may be one more snow storm in our future, so hopefully I’ll be able to wait a few weeks.

Yes, our weekend was filled with work, but it also entailed a lot of fun! Friday night we got together with a group of friends for dinner and some bowling. I officially suck at it, but had a blast! It’s rare that anything can keep me up until 1 am, but hanging out with this group was entertaining enough to pull it off.

Saturday night we celebrated the b-day of our friend Dave by bbq’ing at their house. Great food and company definitely was a welcomed break from the days earlier derby woes.

These kinds of weekends are some of my favorite. Wonderful weather, working and having plenty to show for it coupled with plenty of play. It definitely was a great balance!

 

Sittin’

When your bff asks you to babysit her dog for a week, you say yes.

This not quite 1 year old miniature something (I think he’s a Dachshund) is very cute, and has a sweet personality. He’s great with the kids, friendly, and is a pretty good dog. But he has 1 really annoying habit.

This lil’ bastard barks. He barks at Jake (my dog) and Pheobe(my cat), a lot. He barks at the neighbors dog. He barks when he plays. He barks when he wants to come inside. He barks when he wants to go outside. He barks when he’s outside. He barks when when he’s happy, and he barks when he’s sad. He barks when blood is pumping through his veins.

The kids are having fun with this new little temporary addition to our household, but he’s definitely got little dog syndrome. If only there were a mute button for organic things (and now that I think about it, not a bad idea for humans as well). If Pheobe had fingers, I’m pretty sure she’d be counting the days on them for when Ziggy says farewell.

 

It’s Gotta Go Wednesday

Pharmacies… we’ve probably all had multiple experiences with these places. Throughout my adult life, I’ve used various pharmacies to fill prescriptions for me and my family.

Ideally, I’d like to drop off a the written prescription, have it filled, pay my money, and leave. However, a handful of times it seems like have to pass an oral exam, or am in an interrogation room when I go to get a prescription filled.

I remember when I decided I would never go back to a certain grocery store pharmacy after what I felt was a very unprofessional move. There were tons of people around, waiting for their meds, including me. When it was my turn, they called out my name AND the medicine I was getting. What the hell! It’s not like I was getting meth or something for an STD, but I also thought it was terribly unprofessional to let every other customer know what drug I was taking.

Then there was a time when I was filling a prescription for my son. At the counter, I seriously got the 3rd degree from the tech as to WHY my child was taking this adult drug. She wanted to know the dr’s diagnosis, his history, what purpose the doctor felt this certain drug would serve, etc. I understand that pharmacists job is to make sure there aren’t any possible interactions or dangers to a patient, and so some questions are natural. HOWEVER, this woman asking me why the doctor prescribed it, etc… I wanted to tell her that if his physician thought it was warranted, than really it was none of her damn business, which I essentially did (in a nice way).

I now get most of my prescriptions filled through an online pharmacy, which ends up being cheaper, and they contact my dr. directly if I need a refill or if there are any questions. LOVE IT! But when I need to get an antibiotic or something right away for one of the kids or something for myself, I will use the pharmacy at my local grocery store. I like the guy, but during a certain point in time when I was having some female “issues”, I got to hear all about his wife, her hysterectomy, and got quizzed the severity, consistency, etc of my hemorrhaging. It was awesome.

I’m not a terribly private person, and I don’t get embarrassed by functions of the human body. But I don’t really enjoy discussing these in depth with strangers because frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn if you’re curious or what your opinion is about what my doctor just prescribed.

Just give me my drugs and I’ll be on my way. Anything more, it’s gotta go.

A Dash of Easter

Better late than never, right? Let’s just blame my ongoing physical impairments on the delay, and leave it at that.

Want to SEE what Easter/Spring Break was like for us this year? Here ya’ go.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What a blast we had!

Any Day Now…

Physical therapy is supposed to make you feel better, right? Then why is my neck not only more stiff than it was yesterday, but now I have a horrible pain shooting down through my shoulder and arm. Uggg. So body, I’m ready to be “normal” again… any day now.

Good Things

If you read yesterdays post, you know that I hurt my neck. It’s been happening since I was 22 or so, and a few times per year, my neck goes nuts. It entails lots of pain not only in my neck but there is a bonus… it shoots between my shoulders. There is also my inability to turn my head, or really move it much at all (sorry to all of the drivers I cut off… checking my blind spot is a tricky thing during these “episodes”).

Unfortunately it’s been a pretty busy week for me, so the rest me and my neck wanted just wasn’t happening. Yesterday afternoon I started feeling unwell. It started with a headache, which often accompanies the neck crap. By 5 p.m., I was in full migraine mode. I don’t get migraines a lot, but man, I don’t miss them. I developed nausea and a general feeling of wishing I was unconscious by 6 p.m. And then I started freaking out because… I was supposed be at the Utah State Capitol by 8:30 a.m. the next morning to accept a grant for the awesome charity I work with.

Utah Autism Give (AUG) is the great organization that I am a part of (founded by one of the most awesomeist and bestus women in the world, Leeann Whiffen), and the Autism Counsel of Utah generously awarded our little charity $1,000 this year. YAHOO! Leeann was going to be out of town, so she asked me if I could be there when they presented.

Last night I sent Leeann a text, letting her know that I was pretty sure I was going to die, and what if I couldn’t make it the next day? She told me to not worry about if I couldn’t. When I got her response, I was resolved to make it no matter what. Luckily this morning when I woke up, my neck was still hatin’ it but I felt fine otherwise.

What a wonderful opportunity to be able to sit in this large room packed with so many people… parents, grandparents, educators, doctors, and other professionals who are so dedicated to helping improve the lives of those with autism and their families. I felt honored to be a part of this group, and the energy I felt in this room will help keep me going when many of the avenues I go down to try and raise money for our amazing charity doesn’t lead anywhere (other than me frustrated).

Life if crazy. I know what it feels like to have a full plate and more portions on the way. I know what it’s like to feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. That being said, get involved! Whether it’s a cause that personally affects you, your family, or friends. Or maybe you’ve seen a news story or read an article that moved you. Just find somewhere or something where there is a need, and get involved. Got no money? No problem! Sometimes just a few hours of your time a month can help! Got money but no time? You’re needed too. Don’t know what to donate your time or money too? UAG is an incredibly wonderful place to start (I can give you info. if you’re interested).

I can say from personal experience that every time I do something for someone else without any expectations and unconditionally, I am better for it. It makes me happier, more empathetic, more mindful, and more appreciative of the health of me and my family.

I guess what I’m trying to say is… Just do something!

It’s Gotta Go Wednesday

It would be really nice if my body and my brain would communicate a little better. Maybe then my stupid neck wouldn’t have “gone out” (which is what I call it because I can’t remember the term of what is really happening when this occurs). Because if my body knew what a busy week and weekend I have, it would have never tried to pull this crap… unless my body hates me and is somewhat of a masochist.

I really will post pictures from last weeks trip down south. But I must use all of my will power to get out of bed all robot style and without actually moving or rotating my head at all, and then head to the dentist. This whole “hey mind, look what I can do” trick my body is playing, NOT COOL. And it’s gotta go.

Grateful Thursday

Not that this is going to be a weekly thing, but I always feel the need to offset my Wednesday posts with something a little more positive. Hopefully you’ve come to realize that I’m making a little fun of myself with the weekly posts… complaining about things that are funny albeit annoying. But mostly I’m bringing to light that really, my life is pretty dang good. The “bad” really isn’t too bad. And a lot of it is just about entertaining and making you laugh.

I mentioned my trip to Santa Barbara a few weeks ago. What I didn’t tell you was the details of why I went. OK, the gist of it: I’m on (or I was… this was my last term) the board of a foundation named after my grandparents. They were philanthropists, and my family is following suit.

For the 3rd year in a row, I put forth a proposal for charity of which I am also on the board (I’m one of 3 Board of Directors, which is a title that makes me laugh). Anyway, since this was my last year on my family’s board, I figured it was my real best shot at getting some money for my other organization. I asked, and once again, they delivered.

I know that not everyone loves giving this organization, but because they see how passionate I am, and just because I am part of the family, the have been generous. I was elated when I was able to get $5,000 this year… and a total of $20,000 over the past 3 years!

Serving on the board of my family’s foundation has been a great experience (and not only because of the free vacations). I’d like to think that not only have I learned about the internal organization and working parts of a foundation, but it’s taught me about the struggles of others. Last but not least, it’s taught me about giving, and what a little compassion AND money can do.

I’m also thankful to (still) be on the board of the organization in which I’ve donated much of my time and have fought to raise money for. Even with all of my faults, I know I have made a positive contribution and difference in this world. And for all that I’ve done or given, it’s given back to me 10 fold.