Butter Spray

I know the point of butter spray is to lightly "butter" your food without adding unwanted calories. My question is, since there are no calories in said butter spray, does it really matter how many sprays I use? My popcorn tastes WAY better when I douse it with butter spray, and it's still got to be better than dumping real butter on it, right?! I just need SOMETHING that tastes like a treat right now. Not that I am on a flawless diet. I can't seem to get through one day without screwing up, and I can't seem to drop the 7 pounds I've gained since quitting my formal program. Maybe I just shouldn't have quit?

Rain

It's raining here in the usually sunny city of Colorado Springs. I believe they estimate that we have about 300 days of sunshine each year. I wouldn't doubt it, either. It's truly beautiful here. So it's really okay when you have an afternoon sprinkle or the occasional downpour, like right now. Sure, it's been raining and hailing for the last hour and it's June, but today was a beautiful day in the 80s. Can I really complain? It's nowhere near as formidable as WI.

Ah, WI...again my home in just 3 1/2 weeks. I know there's some really nice things about the state, but they really do have some nasty rainstorms. I happened to encounter one of the worst I've seen last year when we were on vacation there. Unfortunately I was viewing it from the tiny enclosure of our van as I desperately tried to drive back to the farm from my sister's house. Note, I drove into the storm. I never would have left in it the way it was.

The TV stations were flashing weather alerts at the bottom of the screen, so I thought it would be smart to get going before the rain came. Alas, I did not make it back to Bob's parents' before it came rushing on. The wind was so strong I could barely stay on the road. The rain fell so thickly I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me. Stoplights and city buildings might have made things a little better, but I was on a deserted county road, praying for dear life harder than I have ever prayed before, and that's saying something!

I finally made it to an intersection with a gas station and pulled over, literally shaking. I called Bob and let him know what was going on and that I would not be heading out again until things settled down a bit. While I did have to drive through rain to make it back, it lightened up enough to feel somewhat safe.

Honestly, this was one of the most terrifying experiences I can remember. (I've been hit head-on by a drunk driver, but I don't remember a thing!) Anytime it starts raining and I'm out now, I get nervous. Maybe I sound like a wimp, but I have never felt so small and helpless in my life. I don't want to experience that again, not here, not in WI. I will definitely be more careful about going out in rain in the future. Thank God I have a caring husband who was willing to go pick up my daughter from church tonight, or I'd be driving in this madness right now. I pray they make it home safely!

Sayin Goodbye

So I have reached the beginning of the end—I met with two friends today for the last time before I leave. It was good to visit with them but sad to think that this is it. I still vacillate between sadness and hope, grief and expectation. At least I am experiencing both and not just depressed all of the time.

I finally feel like I have some clear direction and planning as to our last weeks. I am making some clear cut decisions on packing, etc. That is freeing and empowering. I finish work on the 15th, which is a Friday. I am sure we'll do some projects that Saturday. Sunday is Father's Day, so I told Bob I would make him homemade eggrolls and teriyaki chicken kabobs. Maddie will have her birthday sleepover on Monday, and I will take the girls out to mini-golf and have frozen yogurt. Tuesday morning, I will make them a nice birthday breakfast. That night we'll celebrate her birthday as a family with dinner and cake. Then it's time to get to work.

Wednesday gives me one week until the truck arrives. I will pack—everything. There will be no more cooking. There is no more school or work, just packing. I will go from room to room and clear them out in their entirety. There will be no holds barred. We pack our daily stuff in suitcases, and the rest goes in boxes.

Another Week Down

I made it through another week of work—just 2 to go. Tomorrow's project is painting Garrett's room. I'd like to get an early start on it since I have a hair appointment at 2:15 pm, but I don't see that happening. Somehow getting Garrett to clean his room and get outlet covers, etc. off the wall tonight (after 8 pm) or early tomorrow morning just seems unreasonable! I suppose the later we get going, the more they will have to finish without me. That's a tradeoff. Of course, that's assuming they will finish it without me...

Crunch Time

We are officially one month away from our moving date. We have three large rooms to paint, along with many other small projects, and that all has to be done before we can have pictures taken of the house so we can have it listed. Pictures should be taken 2-3 weeks before we move, so our house can be listed as a rental. Plus, the house must be clean for the pictures.

Did I mention that I still only have 24 hours each day, and I do need to sleep close to a 1/3 of those? I also work until June 15 and am wishing I would have set my final date a bit earlier.
And I really haven't even put much thought towards packing. that will come after the repairs and the pictures. Plus, I will have 1 1/2 weeks with nothing to do but pack. I think I can handle that.

I don't want to stress about this, but I do feel the weight upon me. I am hoping my stomach stays calm and can handle this. This morning, I was freaking out about what to wear, and it really had very little to do with my choice of clothing. My diet is sporadic at best, and I am holding onto the loss I managed by a thread. It's really too bad I couldn't learn that whole not-eating coping mechanism for stress.

One month. In some ways, it's so little time—time to fix, to clean, to pack, to say goodbye—and in other ways, it's so much time—time to feel stressed until we leave. I feel like, once we get to WI, we can finally relax. Of course, we'll have to unpack, get settled in, figure out work and school and church and...yeah, I really shouldn't let my mind go there. One thing at a time.

More Dinnertime Laughs

We're eating dinner tonight, talking about Domo.  Obie was naming each of us. Bob was the Dragon Domo. I go tto be the Pretty Princess Domo. I think Garrett was a Ghost Domo. Maddie wanted to know what she was, so Obie said, "You're just a harmless beast."

The Man

So we're talking together about the boys and girls in our house. Obie stated that there's 3 boys. I responded by affirming that I have my man and my two boys, to which Obie asked, "Am I the man?"

Refreshed

We went on a wonderful mini vacation as a family this past weekend. We drove out to Black canyon, about 5 hours west of here, to view the most breathtaking cliffs I have ever seen. We did a little hiking around there and then drove to our hotel in Montrose for the night.

The next morning, we drove back to Cotopaxi for our rafting trip. It was a little breezy when we arrived, and it started to rain. However, it cleared up by the time we headed out. We had a blast on the river. As Obie says, our favorite part was "the waves" (the rapids). We even splurged and bought all of the pictures that they took of us on the river. We spent the night at another hotel and leisurely drove back home the next morning.

It wasn't long, and it wasn't perfect, but the change of pace and recreational activities were exactly what I needed. And I think our family needed the time together bonding as well. It's been a rough few months, and we've got some busy weeks ahead of us. I hope this will hold us and keep us strong as we move forward.

A Good FB Post

You never know how popular you are until you place a good post on Facebook. What is my amazing post, you ask? Well, I dropped the bomb about our moving back to WI. We received a pretty positive response, although a few here are mourning our move. And really, this is part of my new effort to embrace the move and see the positive side of it.

I am now viewing this change as my ticket to re-write my life. What do I want to do with life? How do I want to spend my free time? Who do I want to hang out with? To be brutally honest, I currently have few friends and little interests besides work and school. I have no hobbies, unless you include my compulsive loom knitting effort to use up all my current yarn collection before we move. I have some people I like but no one I speak to or hang out with more than a couple times each month.

I am still in the process of contemplating who I want to become in my "new" life in WI. I am looking for work, which could determine a lot of my path. I would really like to score some writing jobs from home, but I don't feel very qualified to do so. Part of my interest is to be writing in general, which is partially why I am writing this post right now. I figure, the more I practice and get used to writing on a regular basis, the more likely I am to feel confident with my writing abilities and get scooped up for some freelance writing telecommuting.

While I have been feeling a little weary about how long I have left in school until I can actually use my degree, I do feel like God is giving me some direction as to what area in counseling I would like to pursue. I am developing a heart for crisis pregnancies, especially with teen mothers. There's a program through a school in Kenosha that serves teen moms, helping them through their pregnancy and teaching them how to be good mothers while helping them finishing their high school diplomas. I am really hoping that I can do my internship with them and possibly start a job with them in the future.

As for the rest of what to expect, I don't know yet. I am open to possibilities. I would like to get involved with music and hope to start learning more on my bass from Gordon. If I could work with the band at GLC, that would be great. I'd also like to get plugged into a small group right away so we can develop some Christian friendships with other couples.

As far a health matters, we're going to have a pool and a gym at our disposal when we move, so that seems like a given. I am currently on a "Slow-Carb Diet" on my own and seem to be doing well. I would love to be down to my goal weight before we leave CO. We'll see. I plan to continue eating better when we move. We're not taking much food with us, if any, so I will be starting with a clean slate with groceries. That should be kind of fun, if not a little expensive right off the bat.

We can't forget that we will be closer than we've been in years to family and old friends, so that alone should keep us busy, at least initially. Really, it will be a good thing to reconnect like that, and it is a primary goal in our moving that we be closer to family to be more available. How that all plays out, we shall see.

More Dinnertime Conservations

So tonight we're eating Chinese after a hard day's work around the house, and Obie busts out with the comment,"Daddy is not Santa. Santa is fat, and he's a stalker."

A Look on the Inside

So I finally had my endoscopy today.  What a ride that was, although I haven't quite exited the park yet.

I couldn't eat after midnight last night, so I had eaten some almonds and peanut butter around 10 pm.  I was willing to stay up until 12, but Bob and I were both falling asleep before 11. 

So this morning I was allowed to drink clear liquids until 9:30 am.  My goal was to drink as much water as possible to keep me hydrated for the FOUR hours I had to go without.  I started out well, drinking 16 oz and some grapefruit protein drink.  I had to go to a different doctor's appointment at 7:45, so I grabbed a refill of water and the rest of my grapefruit drink and drove to my appointment.

I finished up there by 8:25 am, so I headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  I finished my drink and left nothing but ice in my water cup.  I ran into the store, but as often is the case, it took a little longer than I expected.  I got back out to the car to head home, and I had less than 10 minutes before 9:30 am!  I sucked up what had melted from the ice and started driving home.  How many stoplights can you hit on the way home when you're in a hurry?!  Pretty much all of them...

I started chewing the ice at the lights.  I was getting desperate.  I turned onto my street at 9:27 am...and my phone rang.  Ack!  It was the doctor's office with lab results.  I really wanted to hear the results, but I really wanted to get into my house and drink some more water!  I got off the phone with her at 9:30, after I had been drinking 16 oz while talking on the phone.  I quickly refilled my glass and sucked it down as fast as I could.

The next hour and a half went by uneventfully, and I started work.  I tried not to think about my daughter gulping down water or my son running upstairs for another snack.  At 12:22 pm, I got a call on my phone.  It's the surgery center, and they're asking me to come in early.  Okay...

So I finish up work.  Bob comes home.  We head off for the center.  We wait around for about an hour before it gets underway, with the usual paperwork, blue gown, IV, etc.  They take me away, situate me, and without even counting backwards, I am heading into the blank yellow room...

Waking up is never fun, but at least the anesthesiologist was kind enough to give me anti-nausea medicine before I went into my "deep sleep."  I could barely keep my eyes open, but they were sitting me up and shoving a can of juice in my hand.  I drowsily put my shirt back on, and they went and told Bob to pull the car around.  The nurse helped my wobble my way to the door, helped me into the car, and homeward we went.  I felt a little like they were running late to lunch, but there was another guy in there who still had not awakened.

Bob drove me home 4 1/2 hours ago, and I still feel a little groggy in the head.  I still can't quite swallow right, and I still have a lot of gurgling in my stomach.  But there's good news—everything looks normal.  In fact, I saw pictures for myself.  They literally sent us home with 8 pictures of the inside of my esophagus, etc.  It's surprisingly clean and cool-looking, in a weird, science-y kind of way.  They've declared my having a severe case of acid reflux.  This is a good thing, but it seems a bit crazy to think that my horrible abdominal pain is just acid reflux.  For now, I am back on my meds...and my lab rat diet plan.  I'll tell you about that later.

Dinnertime Conversation

Tonight we're sitting at the dining room table, and our cat Sugar was sitting in the window.  He kept turning his head toward our conversation with a pensive look on his furry little face.  We were taking turns interpreting the looks when Obie chimed in with the following suggestion:

Sugie (pronounced, "Shoogie," with the "oo"s like in "book") says,

 "Are you making hot tea, because I like hot tea."

What was he thinking?!

So Obie announced tonight that he would be getting a tattoo, and this is what it would read:

Ghostes are not real, but sometimes pirates have to kill zombies and ghostes.

Note: I know how to spell ghosts.  it's just that's how he says it.  And really, is the spelling of ghosts my greatest worry here?

Out of the mouths of Babes

My three children have each said some great things over the years that I knew I should write down.  Did I?  of course not.  Stupid me.  Well, the last one has prompted me to get writing these down before they don't say funny things anymore.  (I'm pretty much out of luck on the older two.)  Here's today's best:

Obie learned a new song at church this morning.  He started singing it to me:

Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!

And then he sang the reply:

Crazy, the Lord!

Another one he pulled on me a few months back but was quite memorable, even though it's actually a quote from a cartoon:

Smell my barbarian pits!

My Hilarious Son

So we got a little nostalgic with our Netflix choice tonight and decided to watch a few episodes of Woody the Woodpecker.  This was Obie's first exposure to this new character.  As he talked about him while getting ready for bed, he referred to him as "Woody the Pecker."