My dad is out of ICU now and into a regular room. Yea! He is progressing a lot faster than the doctors expected. I do think that it helps that he has doctor and nurses that work with him non-stop. He can also understand what they are saying to him.
It also helps that there isn't any "down time" here. The nurses are always around to answer questions, doctors come in when paged and PT everyday including Sundays.
This is a huge difference than what they are used to in L.A. so I think that my dad isn't having such a hard time here. Most other times that he has been in the hospital, three days is the limit that he can take before cussing everyone out. He has been in the hospital here for seven days now and is still saying, "Please" and "Thank you".
I have been trying to get my parents to move out here for years now... after this experience, I think that they will be here just as soon as my grandmother's house sells. :)
Kat and her best friends...
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Surgery or No Surgery?
Wednesday morning after much debate and lots and lots of tests, my dad was scheduled for surgery at 12pm. I got Katherine ready to go to school and I went over to the hospital to be with my mom and dad.
The nurse came into the room at about 10:30am and said that they were going to do one more x-ray at 12pm before surgery. They knew that there was a blockage on the left side but didn't know exactly where. We were not sure which type of x-ray that they were going to do so we asked the nurse if it was going to be the hour and half test or just a regular x-ray. Turns out, it was just a quick x-ray and we would find out the results within the hour.
Right before 1pm, we got the news that my dad was going to surgery. There were two nurses ready to take him down to pre-op. That really hit quick! In less than 10 minutes from hearing that he was going to have surgery, we were in the elevator going down to the pre-op room.
My dad was scheduled for surgery at about 3pm. I had to make other arrangements to have Katherine picked up from school since we were told that the surgery would take anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half. There were two nurses getting my dad ready and the doctors came in to answer any and all questions.
They weren't too sure where the blockage was but they had an idea. It was about 3:30pm by the time we were done asking questions and my dad was wheeled into surgery.
My mom and I waited. We joked to pass the time. At about 4:45pm, the surgery was over and the doctor came out to let us know how my dad was doing. He said that the blockage was from scar tissue but it was really thick so they just couldn't take that off, they had to take off about 2 inches of my dad's small intestine.
It would take my dad about 3 to 5 days to recover and everything would be back to normal except that at the end of surgery, he had very shallow breathing. That was to be expected due to the pneumonia. The doctor had my dad spend the night in ICU while he was on the ventilator.
According the the ICU nurse, my dad woke up fighting. He moved his right arm in which he hasn't moved since he had his first stroke in 2005. So, they sedated him for the night.
When my mom called the ICU this morning (Thursday), they said that they wanted to get him off of the ventilator but slowly. By about 11am, they had him off of the ventilator and he was able to talk.
All of his vitals are up and he is spending one more night in ICU as long as things go well tonight. The doctor will make the decision if he will move to a regular room tomorrow.
So, all is going well and it is just a waiting game. He is still being very nice and not cussing anyone out yet. Not too sure when that side of my dad will appear. :)
The nurse came into the room at about 10:30am and said that they were going to do one more x-ray at 12pm before surgery. They knew that there was a blockage on the left side but didn't know exactly where. We were not sure which type of x-ray that they were going to do so we asked the nurse if it was going to be the hour and half test or just a regular x-ray. Turns out, it was just a quick x-ray and we would find out the results within the hour.
Right before 1pm, we got the news that my dad was going to surgery. There were two nurses ready to take him down to pre-op. That really hit quick! In less than 10 minutes from hearing that he was going to have surgery, we were in the elevator going down to the pre-op room.
My dad was scheduled for surgery at about 3pm. I had to make other arrangements to have Katherine picked up from school since we were told that the surgery would take anywhere from one hour to an hour and a half. There were two nurses getting my dad ready and the doctors came in to answer any and all questions.
They weren't too sure where the blockage was but they had an idea. It was about 3:30pm by the time we were done asking questions and my dad was wheeled into surgery.
My mom and I waited. We joked to pass the time. At about 4:45pm, the surgery was over and the doctor came out to let us know how my dad was doing. He said that the blockage was from scar tissue but it was really thick so they just couldn't take that off, they had to take off about 2 inches of my dad's small intestine.
It would take my dad about 3 to 5 days to recover and everything would be back to normal except that at the end of surgery, he had very shallow breathing. That was to be expected due to the pneumonia. The doctor had my dad spend the night in ICU while he was on the ventilator.
According the the ICU nurse, my dad woke up fighting. He moved his right arm in which he hasn't moved since he had his first stroke in 2005. So, they sedated him for the night.
When my mom called the ICU this morning (Thursday), they said that they wanted to get him off of the ventilator but slowly. By about 11am, they had him off of the ventilator and he was able to talk.
All of his vitals are up and he is spending one more night in ICU as long as things go well tonight. The doctor will make the decision if he will move to a regular room tomorrow.
So, all is going well and it is just a waiting game. He is still being very nice and not cussing anyone out yet. Not too sure when that side of my dad will appear. :)
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Update...
So, my dad went into the hospital at 4:30am on Christmas morning. The doctors at John C. Lincoln hospital have been working with him non-stop since he arrived. They still don't have a conclusive solution as to where the blockage is.
The day after he was admitted, they continued to preform more tests on him. They also had physical therapy come in and work with him as well as let him sit in his wheelchair for a few hours. Nice that he didn't have to stay in bed the entire time.
Monday, they did a live culture test of his gall bladder. It was a two hour test making sure that his gall bladder is preforming properly. He had to have this tests because in previous tests, it showed that his gall bladder had sludge. We had a great nurse explain the procedure of the test and why he needed this test.
On Tuesday, he was given three of the same tests at different times of the day. Each test lasted about an hour and a half and they followed the dye from his nose down to finding where the blockage is. The doctors believe that the blockage is due from having his appendix out about 20 years ago. He built up a bunch of scar tissue with a flap. They think that the flap is closing off the small intestine.
With today being Wednesday, we will find out if he will need surgery or not.
The worst thing about this whole entire process is the fact that my dad hasn't been able to eat since December 23rd. He did have Christmas Eve dinner with us but it didn't stay down. Glad to hear that it wasn't my cooking. LOL.
Anyway... it was because of the blockage. He can't even keep little bits of water down either. He poor man must be starving. I am sure when he is all done with this, he will have a nice taco dinner with a huge glass of milk.
The day after he was admitted, they continued to preform more tests on him. They also had physical therapy come in and work with him as well as let him sit in his wheelchair for a few hours. Nice that he didn't have to stay in bed the entire time.
Monday, they did a live culture test of his gall bladder. It was a two hour test making sure that his gall bladder is preforming properly. He had to have this tests because in previous tests, it showed that his gall bladder had sludge. We had a great nurse explain the procedure of the test and why he needed this test.
On Tuesday, he was given three of the same tests at different times of the day. Each test lasted about an hour and a half and they followed the dye from his nose down to finding where the blockage is. The doctors believe that the blockage is due from having his appendix out about 20 years ago. He built up a bunch of scar tissue with a flap. They think that the flap is closing off the small intestine.
With today being Wednesday, we will find out if he will need surgery or not.
The worst thing about this whole entire process is the fact that my dad hasn't been able to eat since December 23rd. He did have Christmas Eve dinner with us but it didn't stay down. Glad to hear that it wasn't my cooking. LOL.
Anyway... it was because of the blockage. He can't even keep little bits of water down either. He poor man must be starving. I am sure when he is all done with this, he will have a nice taco dinner with a huge glass of milk.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas
We were able to celebrate Christmas with both sets of grandparents as well as David, Heidi, Dylan and Ryan. Katherine had so much fun running around with the two boys... "Follow me Boys!".
We had our famous roast beef dinner on Christmas Eve and opened family presents. Boy, that was a whirlwind! I am not sure who gave Katherine what but she was so excited to open up the presents. She was also such a great hostess by handing out presents to all of the grandparents. Katherine would also take presents over to daddy and open the presents together.
We got Katherine to bed at about 10pm and she was OUT!! Brett and I relaxed after a crazy night and then Santa came. At about 3:30pm, the phone rang. It was my mom and we were on our way to the hospital with my dad.
They started to do tests on him immediately ~ CAT Scan, X-Ray's, Blood work, etc...
At about 7:15am, my cell phone rang and it was Katherine saying, "Merry Christmas, Mama!". Oh, that really lifted me up. I also was on the phone with her when she walked out into the living room and saw her new Pink Bike from Santa. All she was point... she was in shock! Then, she asked if the presents were for her.
Even though I wasn't with her, I was able to hear everything and my wonderful husband recorded it all so I was able to watch it as well. It brought tears to my eyes.
At about 9am, my mom was told that my dad was going to be admitted to the hospital. So, I was able to go home and take a shower and spend a little time with Katherine and Brett. We opened the rest of the presents from Santa and Katherine has had such a fun time. She loved opening all of her presents, handing out presents and playing with her cousins.
Katherine and I took Brett to the airport at about 3pm and said good bye to him. He will be gone for about a week for work but she will have grandma here to play with.
We won't have any news with my dad until probably Monday. As of right now, he is cooperating which is really unusual. He went to the hospital in an ambulance with out a fight, and was happy to do all of the tests. I also just had a nurse call me to say how nice he is. Yea! Hopefully this will help his recovery.
Instead of ham for dinner tonight, it will just be Katherine and I until my mom returns from the hospital. We are going to have mac n' cheese and pizza for dinner.
I am thinking that we need to move Christmas to the middle of June since the past 5 out of 6 Christmas' have been celebrated at the hospitals. As nice as the nurses and doctors are, maybe if we have Christmas in June... it will just be our family. :)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Ms. BJ Update
I dropped Ms. BJ off this morning at 7:30am. It was hard to walk away but I knew that she was in good hands. There was another dog in the waiting room awaiting surgery as well. He was a big dog and when he turned around, I saw that he had a lump the size of a baseball on his neck.
When his mother left him the the tech, she had tears in her eyes. I started to have tears in my eyes as well as I felt really sad for that mother. I am hoping for the best outcome for her and her pup.
I gave BJ lots and lots of hugs and then the tech came out to go over the surgery and took BJ to the back.
It was about 1pm and Brett called to see how little Ms. BJ was doing. She was just on her way in and they said that they would call when she was done. My phone rang at 1:43pm and my heart sank. It was the vet saying the BJ was out of surgery and she did great. We could go pick her up at 3pm.
Ahhh... relief. Now, I just had to wait until I could go pick her up. I did my filing and when I reached the end, it was 3pm.
I walked into the office and was taken away into another room. The tech went over all of BJ's post op procedures and then went to get BJ. The tech said, "She will be a little groggy". The door opened and BJ ran right in. The tech was surprised how alert BJ was as it wasn't normal to be so alert. Yea!! She is okay.
So, you can hardly see what the surgery for her eye lid. The only give away is the fact that they had to shave the hair below her eye, other than that, she looks just fine.
She is a little groggy but Lucky is the happiest to see her. He has given her her space and curled right up next to her while she took a little nap.
Yea!! I am happy that all worked out in the end. Now it's time to start our Christmas celebration.
When his mother left him the the tech, she had tears in her eyes. I started to have tears in my eyes as well as I felt really sad for that mother. I am hoping for the best outcome for her and her pup.
I gave BJ lots and lots of hugs and then the tech came out to go over the surgery and took BJ to the back.
It was about 1pm and Brett called to see how little Ms. BJ was doing. She was just on her way in and they said that they would call when she was done. My phone rang at 1:43pm and my heart sank. It was the vet saying the BJ was out of surgery and she did great. We could go pick her up at 3pm.
Ahhh... relief. Now, I just had to wait until I could go pick her up. I did my filing and when I reached the end, it was 3pm.
I walked into the office and was taken away into another room. The tech went over all of BJ's post op procedures and then went to get BJ. The tech said, "She will be a little groggy". The door opened and BJ ran right in. The tech was surprised how alert BJ was as it wasn't normal to be so alert. Yea!! She is okay.
So, you can hardly see what the surgery for her eye lid. The only give away is the fact that they had to shave the hair below her eye, other than that, she looks just fine.
She is a little groggy but Lucky is the happiest to see her. He has given her her space and curled right up next to her while she took a little nap.
Yea!! I am happy that all worked out in the end. Now it's time to start our Christmas celebration.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Ms. BJ
Our "first" child is going in to have surgery tomorrow. She has a lump on her eye lid. It doesn't look like it bothers her but it is best to have it removed.
I know that she will be okay but it's the idea that she is going under. The lump needs to be removed so that it doesn't pop and have blood in her eye or worse, cancer and us not knowing it.
So, come 7:30am, I will be dropping her off at the vet. I am not sure how Lucky will take this. He and I will cuddle all morning until we hear that we can pick BJ up.
Santa's Visit
Little Ms. Katherine cannot wait for Santa to visit. We have had the house decorated since before Thanksgiving and we just got our tree. It dries out pretty quick here in the desert so we wait as long as we can so that it isn't completely dead Christmas day.
Katherine's number one item on her list to Santa is a pink bike. She has been asking for one for awhile now and I know that she will be very happy when he brings one to her.
We had a grand time decorating the tree. She would hand me the ornaments and would tell me where we should put them on the tree. The tree came out very pretty.
I had a friend over the other night and we got all of our wrapping done. It was awesome. She came over, brought her presents, some wrapping paper and away we wrapped. We used each others paper so that we didn't need to go out and buy new paper.
So, now that the tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped... it's just waiting. Katherine can recognize the presents with her name on them and keeps wanting to open them.
We have family coming in this week. First, Grandma and Grandpa T come in on Wednesday, David, Heidi, Dylan and Ryan arrive on Thursday and my parents will be here on Friday. It is going to be full house on Christmas morning when we open presents.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
December 1st
Wow! It is December already! This is going to be Katherine's first real Christmas that she remembers. She is the one that has been asking to listen to the Christmas music, put up the decorations and got upset because the outside lights were not up. That really lit a fire to get those lights up A.S.A.P.!
I am so excited to share this holiday with her. It has been a favorite holiday in my family and it is awesome that I can pass it down to her.
We have started to make plans for Christmas and my parents are going to be able to make it out. It is a lot to ask of them, especially my dad in his condition. We are going to have a blast, though!
Brett's brother and his family, as well as Brett's parents, will also be joining us. Katherine cannot wait until her cousins, Dylan and Ryan, come to visit her. She keeps asking daily when they will be here. I am really happy that she has the opportunity to see and play with her cousins. I have four first cousins and until just recently, I hadn't seen any of them for about twenty years. And there is one that I had never met in person but met up with on Facebook ~ which is really neat.
We are going to have a pretty full house on Christmas but I cannot wait. We are going to have a ham dinner on Christmas Eve and then my killer Roast beef on Christmas day. Since little Katherine loves Christmas lights so much, we have also started to make plans to take a limo ride around the valley to see the Christmas lights.
Another awesome way to see the lights is by air so I am sure that we will go for a night flight as well. We are also going to take a trip to the snow. Katherine keeps asking about snow so we are going to take a little day trip up to Flagstaff so that she can play in the snow. We will probably get her a little saucer, since she keeps wanting to go sledding.
So... the stockings are hung, the Christmas music is played throughout the day and night, the decorations are out and the outside lights are up. It is Christmas time!
I am so excited to share this holiday with her. It has been a favorite holiday in my family and it is awesome that I can pass it down to her.
We have started to make plans for Christmas and my parents are going to be able to make it out. It is a lot to ask of them, especially my dad in his condition. We are going to have a blast, though!
Brett's brother and his family, as well as Brett's parents, will also be joining us. Katherine cannot wait until her cousins, Dylan and Ryan, come to visit her. She keeps asking daily when they will be here. I am really happy that she has the opportunity to see and play with her cousins. I have four first cousins and until just recently, I hadn't seen any of them for about twenty years. And there is one that I had never met in person but met up with on Facebook ~ which is really neat.
We are going to have a pretty full house on Christmas but I cannot wait. We are going to have a ham dinner on Christmas Eve and then my killer Roast beef on Christmas day. Since little Katherine loves Christmas lights so much, we have also started to make plans to take a limo ride around the valley to see the Christmas lights.
Another awesome way to see the lights is by air so I am sure that we will go for a night flight as well. We are also going to take a trip to the snow. Katherine keeps asking about snow so we are going to take a little day trip up to Flagstaff so that she can play in the snow. We will probably get her a little saucer, since she keeps wanting to go sledding.
So... the stockings are hung, the Christmas music is played throughout the day and night, the decorations are out and the outside lights are up. It is Christmas time!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Cowgirl Katherine
Grandma and Grandpa Tossell came over and had Thanksgiving dinner with us. Grandma Sherrie went to stay a few nights with her sister, Susie so Katherine had Grandpa Gary all to herself!
He wanted to go buy some new cowboy boots for himself. The minute that we walked into the store, Katherine found a new pair of boots, a new hat and a little horse. All of course... PINK!!
How could you say No?
He wanted to go buy some new cowboy boots for himself. The minute that we walked into the store, Katherine found a new pair of boots, a new hat and a little horse. All of course... PINK!!
How could you say No?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
My Holiday Goal
Does anyone have any goals for the holidays? Mine is to be able to fly my mom and dad out for Christmas.
When my dad was 59 years old, he had his first big stroke. He has had two more since and a countless number of mini strokes in the past 5 years. The first stroke left him paralyzed on his right side and with each stroke, his short-term memory less and less.
Christmas is my dad’s absolute favorite time of the year. With the immeasurable number of hospital visits, their move into a handicap accessible home, medical supplies, in home nurses, and my dad not having the ability to work anymore, my mom and dad have less and less money.
I am not sure how many more Christmas’ we will have left to celebrate with my dad as once you have had one stroke, you will keep having them until they eventually kill you.
So, my ultimate goal is to be able to fly them out to celebrate Christmas with the family. I am looking forward to seeing my daughter to see the joy in her grandfather’s eyes at Christmas time.
I would like to accomplish my goal by being a successful Chocolatier at my in home Chocolate Tasting Parties.
So with the school year underway, the sport season in full swing and the holiday rush lurking around the corner… get the girls together for a night out. Celebrate the joy of chocolate while indulging on chocolate treats and drinks.
So, that is my holiday goal. Does anyone else have a goal?
When my dad was 59 years old, he had his first big stroke. He has had two more since and a countless number of mini strokes in the past 5 years. The first stroke left him paralyzed on his right side and with each stroke, his short-term memory less and less.
Christmas is my dad’s absolute favorite time of the year. With the immeasurable number of hospital visits, their move into a handicap accessible home, medical supplies, in home nurses, and my dad not having the ability to work anymore, my mom and dad have less and less money.
I am not sure how many more Christmas’ we will have left to celebrate with my dad as once you have had one stroke, you will keep having them until they eventually kill you.
So, my ultimate goal is to be able to fly them out to celebrate Christmas with the family. I am looking forward to seeing my daughter to see the joy in her grandfather’s eyes at Christmas time.
I would like to accomplish my goal by being a successful Chocolatier at my in home Chocolate Tasting Parties.
So with the school year underway, the sport season in full swing and the holiday rush lurking around the corner… get the girls together for a night out. Celebrate the joy of chocolate while indulging on chocolate treats and drinks.
So, that is my holiday goal. Does anyone else have a goal?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
It's Been Awhile...
Oh, I cannot believe how long it has been since I last wrote. Many, many things have been going on...
I have had some very successful chocolate parties. So I think that is where a lot of my time is being spent. I am doing awesome in California but would love for it to take off here in Arizona. I know in due time it will. For now though, I am keeping busy in CA which has been nice because I have been able to see my mom and dad.
Tinkerbell left Katherine her Halloween costume. We had one busy weekend. Friday night we went to her school to attend a little carnival. On Saturday afternoon we packed up the truck with two dogs, one little girl and two adults and went to the Halloween celebration at the vet's office. Katherine won cutest costume. Sunday night we went Trick or Treating with the twins across the street. Katherine wasn't done Trick or Treating until her bag was full. She handed it to me when we got home that night and she has yet to ask for a piece of candy. :)
I finally got my car out of the shop for the hail damage. Total cost: $9,700. Crazy, I know. It took over 4 weeks to repair and now it needs to go back in for some touch ups as well as ANOTHER recall. This time the breaks. I used to love Toyotas... now not so much. I just found out that the Smart Key isn't so smart. The battery died and left me stranded. Not fun at all.
We spent a few days out in California while Brett had to work. It was nice to see everyone but I really don't miss the weather out there. Cold and humid. I have learned that if I am cold, my personality becomes cold.
We made it to Disneyland one last time before our passes expire. I thought that it would be the perfect time to go with Halloween done and finished and Veteran's Day the following weekend but that was crazy thinking. When we left the park at 9pm, the trams were still full of people getting on to go into the park. Gone are the days that you could just "walk" on the rides. We still had a fun day, though.
Still don't have a office job. I went to a employment agency and not too sure about them. I had to take a test for Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Since my last two jobs were pretty much Excel, I wasn't too worried about that until I started the test. It was impossible. I asked the lady about it who gave me the test and she replied, "It is an intermediate test. You should be fine". But after I finished all of the tests, she said, "I gave you the proficient level. I am sorry. Do you wan to retake the test?". So, I did the test again and did awesome on it but still no leads from them.
I had an interview with an Event Management company. The largest one out here in Phoenix for and Admin position. Only down side of that position is that you are expected to work Saturdays. That will be a little hard for me since Brett really doesn't have a schedule and if he gets called out on a Saturday, it would be hard to find someone that could watch Katherine all day and through some of the night.
So, in a nutshell... that is what has been going on.
Hopefully I won't fall so far behind going forward.
I have had some very successful chocolate parties. So I think that is where a lot of my time is being spent. I am doing awesome in California but would love for it to take off here in Arizona. I know in due time it will. For now though, I am keeping busy in CA which has been nice because I have been able to see my mom and dad.
Tinkerbell left Katherine her Halloween costume. We had one busy weekend. Friday night we went to her school to attend a little carnival. On Saturday afternoon we packed up the truck with two dogs, one little girl and two adults and went to the Halloween celebration at the vet's office. Katherine won cutest costume. Sunday night we went Trick or Treating with the twins across the street. Katherine wasn't done Trick or Treating until her bag was full. She handed it to me when we got home that night and she has yet to ask for a piece of candy. :)
I finally got my car out of the shop for the hail damage. Total cost: $9,700. Crazy, I know. It took over 4 weeks to repair and now it needs to go back in for some touch ups as well as ANOTHER recall. This time the breaks. I used to love Toyotas... now not so much. I just found out that the Smart Key isn't so smart. The battery died and left me stranded. Not fun at all.
We spent a few days out in California while Brett had to work. It was nice to see everyone but I really don't miss the weather out there. Cold and humid. I have learned that if I am cold, my personality becomes cold.
We made it to Disneyland one last time before our passes expire. I thought that it would be the perfect time to go with Halloween done and finished and Veteran's Day the following weekend but that was crazy thinking. When we left the park at 9pm, the trams were still full of people getting on to go into the park. Gone are the days that you could just "walk" on the rides. We still had a fun day, though.
Still don't have a office job. I went to a employment agency and not too sure about them. I had to take a test for Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Since my last two jobs were pretty much Excel, I wasn't too worried about that until I started the test. It was impossible. I asked the lady about it who gave me the test and she replied, "It is an intermediate test. You should be fine". But after I finished all of the tests, she said, "I gave you the proficient level. I am sorry. Do you wan to retake the test?". So, I did the test again and did awesome on it but still no leads from them.
I had an interview with an Event Management company. The largest one out here in Phoenix for and Admin position. Only down side of that position is that you are expected to work Saturdays. That will be a little hard for me since Brett really doesn't have a schedule and if he gets called out on a Saturday, it would be hard to find someone that could watch Katherine all day and through some of the night.
So, in a nutshell... that is what has been going on.
Hopefully I won't fall so far behind going forward.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
When It Rains, It Pours...
It was nice to have weather under a 100* this past week. I finally got to pull out some long pants and put them on. Oh, it felt good... up until the hail storm!
As I was driving to get a little lunch at SubWay, I heard on the radio that we were going to be hit with a huge storm and to get off of the streets. I had a plan... get lunch, get a pedi, drop the books off at the library and go to the grocery store. They are all right next to each other.
So, I ordered my sandwich, ate half and the rain started. The drops were HUGE! Right after that, the pea size hail started, then the wind. Finally, the golf ball and even some baseball size hail started to come down along with the roof tiles right on my car. It was one tile right after another along with all of the hail. All I could do was sit and watch the hail and the tiles come crashing down. I did learn though, that my car had an alarm. Every time a roof tile hit it, the alarm went off.
When the storm as done, I assessed the damage and it didn't look too bad. Boy, was I wrong... about $9000 in damage wrong!
I moved my car from the parking space in which the tiles were hitting it to another and went in for a pedicure. Just as I sat down... another hail storm. This one wasn't as bad. Just pea size hail.
I tried to relax during my pedicure but it wasn't easy. I knew that the damage was bad since most of the store signs were ripped off of the roof, trees were ripped right out of the ground and one lady walked into the shop with half of her roof rack that was torn off of her car. It was finally sunny when I was done with my pedicure and I walked out to my car.
Oh my gosh! It looked like someone took a baseball bat to it. The entire roof, drivers side (top to bottom), trunk and hood had dents. Then, as I was on the phone with my insurance, I noticed that the passenger side mirror was completely cracked. The windshield had a little crack as well. Other cars in the parking lot looked just as bad but their windshields looked like someone took a baseball bat to them.
This was a very ugly storm.
I called my insurance and it will be repaired, I just had to take it to the body shop for the estimate. As I was driving to the body shop, it started to rain again. This time I noticed that my windshield wipers were broken. Not the blades... the actual wipers.
When the owner took a look at my car, he said that the hail damage on my car was the worst that he had ever seen. It took him over an hour to write up an estimate ~ $9000+.
We were supposed to get another storm today but it didn't turn out that bad. Just a little rain. I guess that L.A. has more rain today so I am going to wait until Monday before I take it to the body shop. I have to get a new roof, trunk, hood, the entire drivers side needs to be redone, new windshield and new side mirror. Not sure how long it will take to fix.
So, that is the bad news.
On a lighter note:
I have four chocolate parties already booked for October and one lady wanting to become a chocolatier. It is a great time to get into this now since there are only 40 or so Chocolatiers here in the entire state of Arizona. Also, Katherine has a new teacher and she really likes her.
So, yes... when it rains, it pours here but we are going to get through it just like we do with everything else. Brett is also due home on Saturday. Yea! We made it through 3 weeks. Katherine has really missed her daddy. Skype has made things a bit easier but she is on the count down now when daddy comes home.
That is the update. I will fill in more detail about the car when I get it.
As I was driving to get a little lunch at SubWay, I heard on the radio that we were going to be hit with a huge storm and to get off of the streets. I had a plan... get lunch, get a pedi, drop the books off at the library and go to the grocery store. They are all right next to each other.
So, I ordered my sandwich, ate half and the rain started. The drops were HUGE! Right after that, the pea size hail started, then the wind. Finally, the golf ball and even some baseball size hail started to come down along with the roof tiles right on my car. It was one tile right after another along with all of the hail. All I could do was sit and watch the hail and the tiles come crashing down. I did learn though, that my car had an alarm. Every time a roof tile hit it, the alarm went off.
When the storm as done, I assessed the damage and it didn't look too bad. Boy, was I wrong... about $9000 in damage wrong!
I moved my car from the parking space in which the tiles were hitting it to another and went in for a pedicure. Just as I sat down... another hail storm. This one wasn't as bad. Just pea size hail.
I tried to relax during my pedicure but it wasn't easy. I knew that the damage was bad since most of the store signs were ripped off of the roof, trees were ripped right out of the ground and one lady walked into the shop with half of her roof rack that was torn off of her car. It was finally sunny when I was done with my pedicure and I walked out to my car.
Oh my gosh! It looked like someone took a baseball bat to it. The entire roof, drivers side (top to bottom), trunk and hood had dents. Then, as I was on the phone with my insurance, I noticed that the passenger side mirror was completely cracked. The windshield had a little crack as well. Other cars in the parking lot looked just as bad but their windshields looked like someone took a baseball bat to them.
This was a very ugly storm.
I called my insurance and it will be repaired, I just had to take it to the body shop for the estimate. As I was driving to the body shop, it started to rain again. This time I noticed that my windshield wipers were broken. Not the blades... the actual wipers.
When the owner took a look at my car, he said that the hail damage on my car was the worst that he had ever seen. It took him over an hour to write up an estimate ~ $9000+.
We were supposed to get another storm today but it didn't turn out that bad. Just a little rain. I guess that L.A. has more rain today so I am going to wait until Monday before I take it to the body shop. I have to get a new roof, trunk, hood, the entire drivers side needs to be redone, new windshield and new side mirror. Not sure how long it will take to fix.
So, that is the bad news.
On a lighter note:
I have four chocolate parties already booked for October and one lady wanting to become a chocolatier. It is a great time to get into this now since there are only 40 or so Chocolatiers here in the entire state of Arizona. Also, Katherine has a new teacher and she really likes her.
So, yes... when it rains, it pours here but we are going to get through it just like we do with everything else. Brett is also due home on Saturday. Yea! We made it through 3 weeks. Katherine has really missed her daddy. Skype has made things a bit easier but she is on the count down now when daddy comes home.
That is the update. I will fill in more detail about the car when I get it.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Bad Week
I am so glad that we are onto a new week. Last week was one of those weeks where I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and go back to bed ~ each day.
I know that we are going to have a better week this week. I just spent about a half of an hour spilling my heart out on how horrible the past week was but that won't make it any better. So, I erased it.
The one incident that I am hoping that will get better is Katherine's teacher. Katherine has been in school for about 4 months now. Her teacher was awesome. She took Katherine in under her wing and we got to the point that Katherine wanted to go to school. Katherine was asking when she got to go back. Yea! It was a win until last Thursday. Ms. Cynthia is no longer there. I am not sure what happened but I can only guess that a parent complained. I don't know what they could complain about because she was such a great teacher. Her class was in order in the students loved her.
From my experience, there are a lot of kids out there without boundaries. Kids that get away with anything because their parents don't discipline them. When I say "discipline", I am saying, teaching the child right from wrong and having respect for others. Not only adults but other children too. Yes, I know that they are only 3 but kids can and do respect other kids when they are taught to.
So, I am just guessing since it was such an abrupt exit, that there was an altercation between teacher and student. I am really sad to see Ms. Cynthia go and I really hope that the parent of the child is happy. It was the right thing for their child but the wrong decision for so many others. We have gone back to square one with Katherine not wanting to go to school. She cries every morning now and it breaks my heart. One positive, Katherine is happy to see her friends.
I am also not happy with the teacher that they have in the classroom right now until the new teacher comes. I walked into the room to pick up Katherine today and it was absolute chaos. Kids were screaming and crying. There was another parent picking up their child and the child had scratch marks all over his face. The teachers reaction, "Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention that to you. I am not sure what happened but I think the other kid just wanted the toy that your boy had". Huh? And that is okay? That never happened when Ms. Cynthia was there. I know things will get better. This is just a transition ~ for everybody.
I want to wish Ms. Cynthia the best. You will be missed (A LOT). I am hoping that the new teacher will be just as understanding.
On the job front:
Still no job. I keep sending out my resumes and filling out applications on line. I am sure that something will hit. In the mean time, I also have three chocolate parties booked for the month of October now. Woo Hoo! I think that I may have two more. So, I may not have a Monday - Friday job right now but may have found a way for a supplement income.
Finally:
Only two more weeks until Brett is back in the country. He has been traveling all over. It is nice that we set up Skype so that Katherine can see and talk to him. That has made it a bit easier. Every night though, she asks if we can go pick daddy up at the airport tomorrow. When that tomorrow comes, she will be one happy little girl. She really misses her daddy.
So... this week has started off much better and I look forward to it getting even better.
My Little School Girl
I know that we are going to have a better week this week. I just spent about a half of an hour spilling my heart out on how horrible the past week was but that won't make it any better. So, I erased it.
The one incident that I am hoping that will get better is Katherine's teacher. Katherine has been in school for about 4 months now. Her teacher was awesome. She took Katherine in under her wing and we got to the point that Katherine wanted to go to school. Katherine was asking when she got to go back. Yea! It was a win until last Thursday. Ms. Cynthia is no longer there. I am not sure what happened but I can only guess that a parent complained. I don't know what they could complain about because she was such a great teacher. Her class was in order in the students loved her.
From my experience, there are a lot of kids out there without boundaries. Kids that get away with anything because their parents don't discipline them. When I say "discipline", I am saying, teaching the child right from wrong and having respect for others. Not only adults but other children too. Yes, I know that they are only 3 but kids can and do respect other kids when they are taught to.
So, I am just guessing since it was such an abrupt exit, that there was an altercation between teacher and student. I am really sad to see Ms. Cynthia go and I really hope that the parent of the child is happy. It was the right thing for their child but the wrong decision for so many others. We have gone back to square one with Katherine not wanting to go to school. She cries every morning now and it breaks my heart. One positive, Katherine is happy to see her friends.
I am also not happy with the teacher that they have in the classroom right now until the new teacher comes. I walked into the room to pick up Katherine today and it was absolute chaos. Kids were screaming and crying. There was another parent picking up their child and the child had scratch marks all over his face. The teachers reaction, "Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention that to you. I am not sure what happened but I think the other kid just wanted the toy that your boy had". Huh? And that is okay? That never happened when Ms. Cynthia was there. I know things will get better. This is just a transition ~ for everybody.
I want to wish Ms. Cynthia the best. You will be missed (A LOT). I am hoping that the new teacher will be just as understanding.
On the job front:
Still no job. I keep sending out my resumes and filling out applications on line. I am sure that something will hit. In the mean time, I also have three chocolate parties booked for the month of October now. Woo Hoo! I think that I may have two more. So, I may not have a Monday - Friday job right now but may have found a way for a supplement income.
Finally:
Only two more weeks until Brett is back in the country. He has been traveling all over. It is nice that we set up Skype so that Katherine can see and talk to him. That has made it a bit easier. Every night though, she asks if we can go pick daddy up at the airport tomorrow. When that tomorrow comes, she will be one happy little girl. She really misses her daddy.
So... this week has started off much better and I look forward to it getting even better.
My Little School Girl
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cooking Update
I would like to give a little update on my cooking adventure...
It is going well. I am doing much better than I expected. Even Brett is happy with my cooking. He loves his food and has high expectations especially with his job. When he is at work, he is able to go out to a nice restaurants and have outstanding food.
Each week, I look at making five meals ~ one familiar one such as tacos or spaghetti, one vegetarian, and a couple of meat meals. I have also been very creative with the sides as well. Katherine's favorite veggie is broccoli so I have gotten really good at steaming it (without over steaming).
This has given me more confidence so I have been trying a few harder recipes. Ones that take a little more prep and cook time but they turn out the most tasty.
It is funny, though... Each time I give Katherine her meal, she says, "Mac n' Cheese, please". I tell her that she needs to eat one bite before she can have Mac n' Cheese. I haven't once made her Mac n' Cheese because she has liked all of my meals as well.
So... that is a quick update. I feel very successful at my attempt to learn how to cook. It isn't as hard as I made it out to be. I just need to make sure that I read the entire recipe before starting to make the meal. :)
It is going well. I am doing much better than I expected. Even Brett is happy with my cooking. He loves his food and has high expectations especially with his job. When he is at work, he is able to go out to a nice restaurants and have outstanding food.
Each week, I look at making five meals ~ one familiar one such as tacos or spaghetti, one vegetarian, and a couple of meat meals. I have also been very creative with the sides as well. Katherine's favorite veggie is broccoli so I have gotten really good at steaming it (without over steaming).
This has given me more confidence so I have been trying a few harder recipes. Ones that take a little more prep and cook time but they turn out the most tasty.
It is funny, though... Each time I give Katherine her meal, she says, "Mac n' Cheese, please". I tell her that she needs to eat one bite before she can have Mac n' Cheese. I haven't once made her Mac n' Cheese because she has liked all of my meals as well.
So... that is a quick update. I feel very successful at my attempt to learn how to cook. It isn't as hard as I made it out to be. I just need to make sure that I read the entire recipe before starting to make the meal. :)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
I Didn't Get The Job
I finally heard today that I didn't get the job that I interviewed for. As I have previously said, I am honored to have been chosen for the interview considering they have about a 100 applicants per posting and only interview 3 to 5 people. That puts me in the top 95%.
After hearing the job description at the interview, I was questioning if I really would accept the job if I was offered the position. As time went on, I don't think that the position was for me. When I received the call this morning stating that they had chosen another person, I was okay but also hurt. It's hard not to take it personally. After all, I was an Executive Administrative Assistant with over 7 years of experience. I was also a flight attendant that within my short time amount of time, I think that I experienced more emergencies and emergency landings (one on my IOE) than Brett has ever experienced. I was also a Wedding Coordinator with over 300 weddings under my belt as well as running my own branch in banking by the time I was 25. Let's also not forget the Mickey Mouse was my boss at one time as well. I have the experience so why wasn't I chosen? That is the answer that I will never know. What I do know is this...
After going to Katherine's Back To School Night tonight, I am so proud of her. I am so proud of us. She has come so far in such a short time. Yes, we have had our challenges with her starting school but after hearing all of the positive compliments about how wonderful she is doing, a mother cannot help but blush. I heard from other parents that they couldn't believe how smart she was. Then, it was awesome to hear from the teachers to hear how brilliant Katherine is and how well she has adapted.
I will never know why I didn't get the job that I interviewed for but I do know I have a little girl that doesn't judge me on my work experience. She and I work together and together we make an awesome team.
After hearing the job description at the interview, I was questioning if I really would accept the job if I was offered the position. As time went on, I don't think that the position was for me. When I received the call this morning stating that they had chosen another person, I was okay but also hurt. It's hard not to take it personally. After all, I was an Executive Administrative Assistant with over 7 years of experience. I was also a flight attendant that within my short time amount of time, I think that I experienced more emergencies and emergency landings (one on my IOE) than Brett has ever experienced. I was also a Wedding Coordinator with over 300 weddings under my belt as well as running my own branch in banking by the time I was 25. Let's also not forget the Mickey Mouse was my boss at one time as well. I have the experience so why wasn't I chosen? That is the answer that I will never know. What I do know is this...
After going to Katherine's Back To School Night tonight, I am so proud of her. I am so proud of us. She has come so far in such a short time. Yes, we have had our challenges with her starting school but after hearing all of the positive compliments about how wonderful she is doing, a mother cannot help but blush. I heard from other parents that they couldn't believe how smart she was. Then, it was awesome to hear from the teachers to hear how brilliant Katherine is and how well she has adapted.
I will never know why I didn't get the job that I interviewed for but I do know I have a little girl that doesn't judge me on my work experience. She and I work together and together we make an awesome team.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Missing her Friends
I know that Katherine is missing her Disney friends. We will need to make a trip soon.
Some Oldies but Goodies...
So with my free time, I am finally catching up on my scrapbooking. Actually, I have pretty much this year done so I have started from where I left off about 3 years ago. I guess I should back up a bit... When Katherine was first born and a few months after that, I scrapped one page per day. It was really easy since babies sleep and sleep and sleep... I can tell about the time that Katherine became mobile because that was about the time that I stopped.
Here is Katherine at 3 Months:
She still makes this face when she is in trouble.
Her first nap in her crib ~ August 7, 2007
Starting to really smile!
Katherine and Ms. BJ
Katherine's first flight in the 210
Here is Katherine at 3 Months:
She still makes this face when she is in trouble.
Her first nap in her crib ~ August 7, 2007
Starting to really smile!
Katherine and Ms. BJ
Katherine's first flight in the 210
Friday, September 3, 2010
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Dove Chocolates vs. Tupperware
I signed up with Tupperware when we moved to Palm Desert thinking that I would meet more people. Not so. I had great success selling Tupperware products when I first signed up. I couldn't get many parties, though. I heard the same excuse over and over, "I don't need anymore Tupperware" or "I have been to enough parties and I don't want to host one". It was a bit hard since I put a lot of time and effort as well as money into this adventure.
When we moved back to Phoenix, I really didn't put any time into Tupperware and has kind of gone off to the waste side. I still love the product and have a lot of it but it's tough to get turned down time and time again.
Finding it hard to get an interview for a job, I looked on line for other options. When I found Dove Chocolates and talked to Brett about it... he wasn't so "gung ho" for it. I think partly because he loves chocolate and the other part because he saw how hard I worked for Tupperware and it didn't go anywhere. I have a totally different feeling for this company, than Tupperware. Tupperware has been around for the past 50 years and it is well like but can be a bit on the expensive side.
The more that I talk to my friends about this, the more positive feedback I am receiving than when I was selling Tupperware. They are excited for me and even have a few that will book a party with me who wouldn't when I was selling Tupperware.
Doing the research before I signed up as a Chocolatier, I found that there are only 30 Chocolatiers here in Arizona. Wow! Only 30 in a space that is larger than the L.A. basin. I think that this can be a great opportunity for me and for my family! I can hopefully make some extra money that we can use to pay down some debt and start to put some money away for a family vacation.
I cannot wait to get my kit to get started. I am going to have to hide the chocolate from my husband because I can see it now... I get to a party and there are teeth marks in the chocolate bars. :)
With the holiday seasons coming up, Dove Chocolates have some amazing deals. They also really take care of their hosts not to mention, they don't take advantage of shipping costs like Tupperware does.
Below is my personal website. Go check it out and let me know what you think.
www.aloveofchocoate.com
When we moved back to Phoenix, I really didn't put any time into Tupperware and has kind of gone off to the waste side. I still love the product and have a lot of it but it's tough to get turned down time and time again.
Finding it hard to get an interview for a job, I looked on line for other options. When I found Dove Chocolates and talked to Brett about it... he wasn't so "gung ho" for it. I think partly because he loves chocolate and the other part because he saw how hard I worked for Tupperware and it didn't go anywhere. I have a totally different feeling for this company, than Tupperware. Tupperware has been around for the past 50 years and it is well like but can be a bit on the expensive side.
The more that I talk to my friends about this, the more positive feedback I am receiving than when I was selling Tupperware. They are excited for me and even have a few that will book a party with me who wouldn't when I was selling Tupperware.
Doing the research before I signed up as a Chocolatier, I found that there are only 30 Chocolatiers here in Arizona. Wow! Only 30 in a space that is larger than the L.A. basin. I think that this can be a great opportunity for me and for my family! I can hopefully make some extra money that we can use to pay down some debt and start to put some money away for a family vacation.
I cannot wait to get my kit to get started. I am going to have to hide the chocolate from my husband because I can see it now... I get to a party and there are teeth marks in the chocolate bars. :)
With the holiday seasons coming up, Dove Chocolates have some amazing deals. They also really take care of their hosts not to mention, they don't take advantage of shipping costs like Tupperware does.
Below is my personal website. Go check it out and let me know what you think.
www.aloveofchocoate.com
Interview
As many know, I have not had great luck in finding a job. I finally got a interview! Woo Hoo!! It's for a receptionist position with the Paradise Valley School District. Receptionist... it is a step down from my previous job (outside the home) but at least it's a interview. I had to take a typing, math and spelling test before I was even considered. I graduated from UNLV, took Calculus and the "math test" that I had to take for this position almost killed me. It was a 45 minute test ~ addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Oh my gosh!! The addition part wasn't so bad. Just adding several groups of numbers with decimals. Then subtraction... same as addition but subtraction. Those two sections took awhile to complete because calculators were not allowed. I finally made it to the multiplication part with about 25 minutes left for the test. I didn't do so well in this section. Yes, it had decimals and I bombed it. What didn't make sense though, I did awesome with the division. Oh, I forgot to mention... long division with decimals. Something that I haven't done since I was probably in the 8th grade. When we finished, we got our scores. Oh, I was so ashamed... but the lady giving the test said that I did great! She said the median score was in the low 50's and I got close to a 70 score. Again, not sure how I did so bad in multiplication but great in the division section... don't you need multiplication with division?
The other two sections weren't so hard... typing and spelling. Well, I did a lot better with spelling than I thought because I am really horrible at spelling. I guess I got lucky on that one. The typing test wasn't so bad either because at least now I know how many words that I can type. Again, I am well above average. Not so bad considering I have been out of the work force for over 3 1/2 years.
At the end of the test, I told the lady that was giving the test that I understood the reasoning of the testing but if this was for an admin position, why didn't they test on the knowledge of Word or Excel? She understood my question and didn't really have an answer.
Anyway... I am honored to have this interview as it was told to us during the testing process that they have about a 100 applicants per posting and they interview between 3 to 5 people per posting. So, yea for me! I made it in the top 95%.
Oh my gosh!! The addition part wasn't so bad. Just adding several groups of numbers with decimals. Then subtraction... same as addition but subtraction. Those two sections took awhile to complete because calculators were not allowed. I finally made it to the multiplication part with about 25 minutes left for the test. I didn't do so well in this section. Yes, it had decimals and I bombed it. What didn't make sense though, I did awesome with the division. Oh, I forgot to mention... long division with decimals. Something that I haven't done since I was probably in the 8th grade. When we finished, we got our scores. Oh, I was so ashamed... but the lady giving the test said that I did great! She said the median score was in the low 50's and I got close to a 70 score. Again, not sure how I did so bad in multiplication but great in the division section... don't you need multiplication with division?
The other two sections weren't so hard... typing and spelling. Well, I did a lot better with spelling than I thought because I am really horrible at spelling. I guess I got lucky on that one. The typing test wasn't so bad either because at least now I know how many words that I can type. Again, I am well above average. Not so bad considering I have been out of the work force for over 3 1/2 years.
At the end of the test, I told the lady that was giving the test that I understood the reasoning of the testing but if this was for an admin position, why didn't they test on the knowledge of Word or Excel? She understood my question and didn't really have an answer.
Anyway... I am honored to have this interview as it was told to us during the testing process that they have about a 100 applicants per posting and they interview between 3 to 5 people per posting. So, yea for me! I made it in the top 95%.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Mini Golf
I cut Katherine's naps out when she was about 2 1/2 because she would stay up until about 10:30 - 11pm each night. Now she goes to bed at 7pm and wakes up at 7am. At first I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do but after all of the research that I did, kids just need to have between 11 and 12 hours of sleep. It doesn't matter if they get that amount of sleep, if it is in one stretch or with a nap plus night time.
They are aware at school that Katherine does not get a nap at home. She does have quiet time and for the most part the school does not give her a nap. There have been a few occasional times that she did fall asleep during nap time but yesterday was an exception. The school has nap time (quiet time) between the hours of 1pm and 3pm. After that it's snack time. I guess Katherine fell asleep at 2:40pm and slept for an hour.
When the teacher told me that Katherine took a late nap yesterday, my eyes got huge. I just thought, Oh My Gosh! She is going to be up FOREVER!!
I looked up Pump It Up to see if they had a Family Night. Of course not! That was last Friday. Hummm, what to do now?!? Brett said that he would take her swimming. Then, I had an idea... Mini Golf.
We had a blast! I also "learned" a few new rules that little Ms. Katherine made up:
1. Hit the ball as many times as you need to.
2. When that doesn't work, pick the ball up and move it next to the hole.
3. Sit down next to the ball and knock the ball into the hole.
4. Don't keep score.
At the last hole, the pink ball when into the hole and it didn't come out. Trying to explain to a three year old that we were done after 18 holes, wasn't so easy. Luckily she has Brett's ADD, so her attention was focused on something inside.
All in all, we had a great time. We came home and did our "night time routine" and Katherine went down without a fuss.
It was a fun Family Night and with the weather cooling off, we maybe back. I was surprised how cheap it was. Of course they get you with the arcade inside. :)
Tall Tower
When Katherine's great grandfather came to the United States from Iceland, he worked in a hotel as a bell man. He worked his way up to owning a few hotels and passed the "genes" onto his sons. Each of them own their own hotels as well as share one.
Katherine loves hotels. She calls them Tall Towers. I am not sure where the name came from but Tall Towers have to include a elevator and a swimming pool. If they do not have those two items, they are not hotels. Don't ask why because I cannot get an answer either.
A few days ago, she wanted to play with her building blocks with Brett. She wanted to build a Tall Tower. Hotels are in her blood. Who knows... one day she may own her own hotel. And yes, it will have it a elevator for her and her guests as well as a heated pool.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Bowling
Katherine is an great bowler on the Wii so when we took her bowling for the first time, I wasn't sure how well she would do. She did AWESOME!! She bowled a 117!!
Katherine was invited to Brooksie's 6th birthday party and knew that we were going to go bowling. This was her type of game... new shoes and a pink ball. I don't think that she could have asked for anything more. She got three spares on one STRIKE!!
Woo Hoo!!
At the end of the game, Katherine even received her first trophy. She had to sleep with it that night. It is now sitting on her shelf and she keeps asking when we can go bowling again. I am sure that we will go back soon, it would be a fun family event. I am just not sure if I am ready for a three year old to kick my behind in bowling. :)
Sunday, August 15, 2010
My New Challenge
I have a new challenge for myself... learning to cook. I can't find a job if my life depended on it, I can't even volunteer my time ~ none of the charities have called me back. I guess they have enough volunteers with the Disneyland's Give A Day - Get A Day. So, I am going to learn how to cook a real meal.
I have started reading the basics and a blog about cooking. In the blog, I can guess that the lady writing is about my age and she has trouble just like me in cooking. She stated it well...
"My discomfort in my new role was due, in part, to the fact that it did seem so housewifey. But I was also intimidated by the kitchen. I had never seen it as my domain. It was, it seems to me, a uniquely Generation X moment. We Gen-X women are perhaps one of the first generations whose mothers didn’t teach us to cook.
While I was growing up, my own mother had worked hard running our family’s business and was often busy volunteering with civic groups. When she got home, she didn’t have a lot of energy for cooking. Though she’s always been a fantastic baker, cooking didn’t interest her. It wasn’t necessarily a feminist statement, as it was for a lot of baby-boomer women; it was just a fact of life. Mom couldn’t see the logic in slaving to prepare a meal for three that would disappear in less than 20 minutes. And so we ate meatloaf and spaghetti, Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper; we ate pizza out every Friday night."
My dad did most of the cooking in our house growing up and we ate a lot of meat a potatoes ~ which included corn in every meal. I don't eat much corn today and I still do not like potatoes. My mom could cook a meal when she wanted too and it was usually outstanding. Growing up, I didn't want to have anything to do with the kitchen because whenever I did try to help, I usually burnt whatever I was trying to cook. I didn't have very good luck.
When Brett and I started to host parties, I got really good at making appetizers. That worked out well because everyone would fill up on those and wouldn't eat much of the actual meal which usually just so-so. There are a few other cooking items that I do pretty well with... turkey, roast beef, tacos and spaghetti. That is about it. Oh, I do make a mean pulled pork in the slow cooker.
I am really tired of eating pretty much the same thing week after week and I don't want to spend the money on Dream Dinners or going out anymore. I am going to learn how to cook. It is an agreement that I have made with myself and I am not going to get frustrated trying.
My Plan:
I will watch a few T.V. shows, use the internet and just try. If I don't succeed, then I will try again. Cooking isn't hard, I just need to break the barrier down that I have built up about it.
So, I will keep you updated on my journey to learning how to cook.
I have started reading the basics and a blog about cooking. In the blog, I can guess that the lady writing is about my age and she has trouble just like me in cooking. She stated it well...
"My discomfort in my new role was due, in part, to the fact that it did seem so housewifey. But I was also intimidated by the kitchen. I had never seen it as my domain. It was, it seems to me, a uniquely Generation X moment. We Gen-X women are perhaps one of the first generations whose mothers didn’t teach us to cook.
While I was growing up, my own mother had worked hard running our family’s business and was often busy volunteering with civic groups. When she got home, she didn’t have a lot of energy for cooking. Though she’s always been a fantastic baker, cooking didn’t interest her. It wasn’t necessarily a feminist statement, as it was for a lot of baby-boomer women; it was just a fact of life. Mom couldn’t see the logic in slaving to prepare a meal for three that would disappear in less than 20 minutes. And so we ate meatloaf and spaghetti, Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper; we ate pizza out every Friday night."
My dad did most of the cooking in our house growing up and we ate a lot of meat a potatoes ~ which included corn in every meal. I don't eat much corn today and I still do not like potatoes. My mom could cook a meal when she wanted too and it was usually outstanding. Growing up, I didn't want to have anything to do with the kitchen because whenever I did try to help, I usually burnt whatever I was trying to cook. I didn't have very good luck.
When Brett and I started to host parties, I got really good at making appetizers. That worked out well because everyone would fill up on those and wouldn't eat much of the actual meal which usually just so-so. There are a few other cooking items that I do pretty well with... turkey, roast beef, tacos and spaghetti. That is about it. Oh, I do make a mean pulled pork in the slow cooker.
I am really tired of eating pretty much the same thing week after week and I don't want to spend the money on Dream Dinners or going out anymore. I am going to learn how to cook. It is an agreement that I have made with myself and I am not going to get frustrated trying.
My Plan:
I will watch a few T.V. shows, use the internet and just try. If I don't succeed, then I will try again. Cooking isn't hard, I just need to break the barrier down that I have built up about it.
So, I will keep you updated on my journey to learning how to cook.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ms. BJ & Lucky Dog
When the movie Marley & Me came out, I wanted to see it but didn't because I heard that it was really sad. Well, I finally saw it today and I don't think that I would have been able to watch the movie in the movie theater. It just hit so close to home.
In the beginning, Jennifer Aniston's character, miscarried at 10 weeks ~ the same time that I did before I got pregnant with Katherine. It was the same scenario... excited to be pregnant, go to the doctor only to find out that there wasn't a heartbeat. The only difference was that Jennifer had her husband with her and mine was stuck with a mechanical on a small island near Spain. So, I was by myself hearing the news.
When I got home though, I had BJ. She comforted me through the night and the next two days until Brett got home and took me to the hospital for a D&C. I was devastated. It took a year for me to get pregnant in the first place and now we couldn't even try to get pregnant again until all of the pregnancy hormones were out of my body. I had a partial molar pregnancy. Which means an empty egg was fertilized and my body still thought that it was pregnant. So, I got to go have blood drawn every week for the next 8 weeks ~ not fun.
Little BJ was my rock. She was always there for me when I need a hug or a good cry. It's the unconditional love that dogs give to us. It's amazing.
So... we got through that and low and behold the next time that we "tried", I was pregnant. Throughout my entire pregnancy, little BJ was there for me. I had a really tough time but she was my rock. Crazy as it sounds, she never once jumped up on me (she jumps up on everyone because she is so excited even though she did go to puppy training to train her not to do it) while I was pregnant. I read that dogs can hear the baby's heartbeat.
Thirty five weeks later, little Katherine arrived. We weren't sure how BJ was going to take it since she was our first "baby". She took to it well. BJ is Katherine's "puppy mama". She would not let anyone get in between her and Katherine.
When Katherine was about 6 months old, we walked into PetSmart. There in a corner was a yellow lab giving Brett "puppy dog eyes". We knew that if we ever got another dog, it would have to be a male do. BJ is very much an alpha female.
So, here is this dog waiting to be adopted. If he wasn't going to be adopted that day, he was going to be euthanized. Just as we were going to ask about him, another family took him out of the cage and started walking with him. We thought that our chances were shot. I was kind of happy because I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring a full grown dog into our home with a 6 month old baby. Was that the right thing to do?
Then, the family put the dog back into the cage and walked away. It was a sign for us. We took him out and he was the sweetest dog. So, I ran up to the ATM (they only accepted cash) and we came home with a dog.
We introduced BJ and Lucky (his new name since he was to be euthanized) in our backyard, as much of neutral grounds that we could. They played and played and played. It was a match made in heaven. As for my concern for Katherine... turns out Lucky is her dog. He would sleep next to her crib and she could take anything out of his mouth.
The only problem with Lucky is that he likes to go out on self guided tours. Not so much anymore but when we first got him, he didn't have any tags and somehow got outside and wandered. We have a huge community and our home sits up right against the desert so I thought that there wasn't any hope. I was wrong. Someone saw us search for a dog and they found him. That kept happening time and time again. Every time he got out, we were Lucky to find him.
He has since not tried to escape so much. We think that the poor dog was abused before and so that was his way out and that is all he knew. Now he knows love and knows that it is okay to cuddle.
So, back to Marley & Me... I cried my eyes out. We have the two best dogs in the world that have nothing but love to share and I know that if and when something happens to them, it will be the hardest day in the world for the family. They have brought so much joy and laughter into our lives and it is something that we will never forget.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monkey Boy
We celebrated Katherine's first birthday at the Phoenix Zoo. In her goodie bag, they gave her a stuffed monkey. She loved that monkey!! She couldn't go to sleep without him and he got all of the hugs and kisses that he ever wanted.
Being afraid of what would happen if by chance one day, monkey boy gets lost... so we bought a second one. While on a trip to Phoenix (we were living in PSP), we made a stop at the Phoenix Zoo. I picked up one that looked exactly like monkey boy. When we got home, I put it away so that she wouldn't see it.
The only problem with our plan was that the new monkey boy looked really new and the other one looked well used... slobber, kisses, well washed, etc. Anyway, my plan was to wash the new monkey boy to get it looking like the old one but I never got to it.
When we moved back to Phoenix, I packed up the entire house and tried to keep the new monkey boy a secret. That all worked until we unpacked... Katherine saw the new monkey boy and picked him up immediately.
My first thought was, Oh No! But, she held onto him like it was no big deal. Now she has what she calls the "New Monkey Boy" and the "Dirty Monkey Boy". She sleeps with both and gives them both the same amount of love. Both of them travel with us and I am hoping that neither is lost ~ not sure what I would do then.
As usual... it always works out in the end.
Being afraid of what would happen if by chance one day, monkey boy gets lost... so we bought a second one. While on a trip to Phoenix (we were living in PSP), we made a stop at the Phoenix Zoo. I picked up one that looked exactly like monkey boy. When we got home, I put it away so that she wouldn't see it.
The only problem with our plan was that the new monkey boy looked really new and the other one looked well used... slobber, kisses, well washed, etc. Anyway, my plan was to wash the new monkey boy to get it looking like the old one but I never got to it.
When we moved back to Phoenix, I packed up the entire house and tried to keep the new monkey boy a secret. That all worked until we unpacked... Katherine saw the new monkey boy and picked him up immediately.
My first thought was, Oh No! But, she held onto him like it was no big deal. Now she has what she calls the "New Monkey Boy" and the "Dirty Monkey Boy". She sleeps with both and gives them both the same amount of love. Both of them travel with us and I am hoping that neither is lost ~ not sure what I would do then.
As usual... it always works out in the end.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Long Beach
For the first six months of Brett's new job, he will be in Long Beach a lot. It has been a bit warm here in Phoenix so Katherine and I joined him on this trip. We stayed on Brett's parents boat and had a fun time.
Katherine loves horses so we decided to take her to Medieval Times for dinner one night. It was a blast! While we were on our way, Katherine kept saying, "Hurry daddy, we need to get there before the castle closes". It was cute the first few times but... then she fell asleep.
When we finally got there, we walked around and saw the horses. She named all of them Ariel (not sure if you can tell who her favorite princess is). We were on the Green Team and our knight was the bad guy. Katherine had a lot of fun cheering for him ~ I think she was cheering the loudest!! All of us had a grand time and she didn't take her crown off until we got home.
We also went to the Pacific Aquarium. At least this time we didn't have to run around looking for Nemo. We got to enjoy and look at all of the fish, sea lions, crabs, lobsters, sharks, etc. As much as we could... I am not sure what is the best day to go there. We have been on a Wednesday morning and it is just as busy as it is on a Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, we had a fun time!!
Katherine was able to do her favorite activity there, pet the sea stars and the rays.
Finally, I think that Katherine's ultimate favorite part of the trip was going out in the dingy. She loved driving it. Although, when she did drive it, we went in circles. It really didn't matter, though because we had a blast being there.
All in all, all us had a great time. We had really nice weather and got to see family and friends that we haven't seen in awhile. I am looking forward to going out there again but right now if feels good to be home.
Last but not least..
Looking for fish.
Katherine loves horses so we decided to take her to Medieval Times for dinner one night. It was a blast! While we were on our way, Katherine kept saying, "Hurry daddy, we need to get there before the castle closes". It was cute the first few times but... then she fell asleep.
When we finally got there, we walked around and saw the horses. She named all of them Ariel (not sure if you can tell who her favorite princess is). We were on the Green Team and our knight was the bad guy. Katherine had a lot of fun cheering for him ~ I think she was cheering the loudest!! All of us had a grand time and she didn't take her crown off until we got home.
We also went to the Pacific Aquarium. At least this time we didn't have to run around looking for Nemo. We got to enjoy and look at all of the fish, sea lions, crabs, lobsters, sharks, etc. As much as we could... I am not sure what is the best day to go there. We have been on a Wednesday morning and it is just as busy as it is on a Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, we had a fun time!!
Katherine was able to do her favorite activity there, pet the sea stars and the rays.
Finally, I think that Katherine's ultimate favorite part of the trip was going out in the dingy. She loved driving it. Although, when she did drive it, we went in circles. It really didn't matter, though because we had a blast being there.
All in all, all us had a great time. We had really nice weather and got to see family and friends that we haven't seen in awhile. I am looking forward to going out there again but right now if feels good to be home.
Last but not least..
Looking for fish.
Did I Make The Right Decision?
From the time that I was born until now, my mom has been a working mom except for the short time that we lived in New Jersey. She is an amazing mom. Even working full time, she made the time to make it to all of the PTA meetings, assemblies, doctor appointments, and daily gymnastics practices.
The short time that she did spend at home with us, it was incredible. We played games, she helped out with my brownie troop, she made our Halloween costumes and also made a playhouse for us out of our moving boxes.
Being a little girl and seeing this, I always thought that if I were to have children, I would want to stay at home. As I got older, I changed my decision after seeing how successful my mother was at her job, that I would want to be like her ~ a working mom.
When Brett and I finally made the decision to have children, we decided that I would stay at home during my maternity leave and then go back to work. As many of you know, pregnancy and I didn’t get along ~ it just wasn’t for me. At the end of a tough 35 weeks, we had our healthy, beautiful daughter, Katherine Anne.
As my maternity leave ended, I went back to work. I had a very understanding boss that allowed me to work from home and when I needed to go into the office, I was able to bring Katherine. This worked out until Katherine was about six months old. At that time she was mobile and I wanted to stay at home with her.
Making the decision to stay at home with Katherine was the best decision that I could have ever made. We had good days, great days and some not so awesome days. At the end of the day, I do not regret my decision.
As time went on, we moved to the Palm Springs area when Katherine was 14 months old and I enrolled Katherine in gymnastics and swimming. From those activities, we made some good friends and through those friends, we made even more friends.
We went to play dates, hosted play dates, went on tours, met up with friends for lunches and dinners, Disneyland, Sea World, had fun parties and became closer to our friends. As much as we loved being with our friends out in Palm Springs, we were missing our house out in Phoenix. It was a very tough decision but when Katherine was three, we made the choice to move back to Phoenix.
Katherine had a very hard transition… different house, new room and missing her friends. She kept begging to go to school so I toured many different schools. I finally found the right school for her.
The first week of preschool, Katherine couldn’t wait to go. She was so excited and had a fun time ~ singing, dancing and doing artwork. Then week two came around and she didn’t want to go back. It was tough as a mom seeing her cry when I dropped her off. I would call the school to make sure that she was okay. After a little crying, she was fine and played with her new friends. I called my friend Tami to see if I made the right decision in putting Katherine in school and she said that everything Katherine was doing was completely normal.
I had to step back and look at the situation… she stayed at home with me for the past three years. For many of the days and weeks, it was just Katherine and I considering Brett was gone a lot for work.
Katherine was used to staying with me every day, all day long and here I was changing her environment and then changing our daily routine. I had to be patient and know that it she would adjust and it was going to be a good thing for her.
So once she became accustomed to the change, I started to look for a job. Being successful in the past, I didn’t think that it would be that hard to look and find a job. Boy, was I wrong. As of right now, I have sent out at least 35 resumes, if not more, for executive admin (a previous position), admin, receptionist, part time work and even temp work. Nothing. I even call to volunteer my time and I still haven’t received a call back for that one either.
So here I sit without any call backs. Oh, I did have one call back from the school district but I have to take a typing test, math test and spelling test (not sure why spelling, spell check ~ duh) even before being considered for an interview. They also requested more paperwork from me. I got all of the paperwork together, put it in a manila folder with my name on it and got all dressed up and took it down to the office.
While waiting to turn in the required paperwork before taking my tests, I overheard the receptionist on the phone with someone. She said, “We have about a 100 applicants per posted position and we interview only 3 people. Sometimes we interview 5”. Wow!! I have a 3-5% chance at being called for an interview!
This is a little frustrating for me but I am sure something will come up. Right?
So here I sit… no job and Katherine isn’t happy when I drop her off at school (she stops crying when I leave so I think it’s a ploy). Driving away, I cannot help to think if I made the right decision to stay home with her ~ out of work for 3 years and she is used to being with me all day, everyday.
At the end of the day, I know that I did make the right decision for us. I will never get back those three years and I have enjoyed every bit of them (even the hard days). She is my little buddy and the right opportunity will come along at the right time. As before, I just need to be patient.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Roller Skating
I was looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon and I stumbled upon a roller skating rink giving lessons to kids for $5. Brett was home for the day so we decided to check it out.
It took about 45 minutes to get there and then Brett and I needed to buy socks. I thought that it was just for kids but the sign said "Kids $5 and Parents Free". Woo Hoo!! Although, I cannot tell you the last time that I was on roller skates. I am sure that the last time I was on anything that rolled, it at least 15 years ago or even longer.
Anyway... we walked into the place and it was like we were back in the 80's. It was pretty cool ~ the huge disco ball hanging from the wall and the 80's music on the horrible sound system, the snack bar, painted walls, arcade games... We got our skates and I don't think that they have changed those since the 80's either. The shoe strings were ripped and they were very well used skates.
I got Katherine's skates on her and Brett took her out on the rink. I finished putting mine on and Wow... it had been awhile. It took a little time to get used to them again but the feeling came back. I guess it was like riding a bike... once you learn, you will always know how to do it.
Katherine did great! At first, she fell a bit but then she got the hang of it. It was a ton of fun and a very different way to spend our Saturday.
Later that night, there were muscles a bit sore that probably haven't been used since the last time I skated. I am not sure if we will go back but it was a great experience.
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