Merry Christmas

We had a nice Christmas. We usually open presents on Christmas morning, but this year, I was scheduled to work 0630-1130 and Dave and Kristen were going to Manti for Christmas, so we did the present thing on Christmas Eve. When I planned for that, I had forgotten that I was working 1300-1900 on Christmas Eve, so Tori and Dana were stuck making dinner. They did a nice job and it all tasted good. After dinner, we opened presents and it was so fun to see how excited KC was. For a four month old, he really got into grabbing the paper and ribbons. And he was so curious about the presents. He saw things he wanted and would wave his arms and legs until we gave them to him. We got him a johnny jump up thing, they aren't called that anymore, and he would put one foot on the floor and would turn around. He liked having the power to move independently of anyone helping him. I think that play thing will be his favorite. Plus, he burped while he was in it, so maybe it can become an automatic burper, too.
Everyone seemed pleased with their gifts. I have been so excited about what I was getting everyone this year. Tori likes the coat and sweater I got for her, Dave and Kristen both seemed excited about the dishwasher, Dana liked the slippers and automatic adjusting wrench, and Mike liked the money. Mike put a Krups Espresso maker on his list, so I ran out and got that for him. Then, because he didn't think we would get that for him, he used the Christmas money he got from his work and got himself an espresso maker. When we found that out, I discussed it with him and since he didn't have any other "big" gift ideas on his list, I just gave him cash. He seems pretty happy about that. He is almost finished with his Associate Degree in General Ed and I think he will finish it this winter semester. Then, we will see what he wants to do. He has been talking to the school counselor about possible careers and he asked me about Nurse Practitioners. That would be ironic, if he became a nurse and Tori went to Med school and became a doctor.
We went to see "Valkyrie" last night. It was good and told a story that I hadn't heard of before. That Tom Cruise is easy on the eyes and he can act, too. Next I want to see "Australia" I am having a senior moment and can't remember the name of the actor in that one, but he's easy on the eyes, too.
I worked every day last week, at least 4 hrs. and am really ready for a vacation to Oregon. I am at work today and work again tomorrow and then off to Oregon for a few days. Yay!!! The Utes play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2nd. I hope they beat Alabama and start getting the national respect they deserve. We'll see. GO UTES!!!

Christmas is coming!

The past few years I have gotten less and less enthusiastic about Christmas. I loved Christmas when I was a kid and not just because of the presents. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas we would get together with the Jenks' family and usually the Williamson's, too. We would have Thanksgiving at one house and everyone would bring food. It was fun to get together and eat and listen to the adults talk about stuff and play games with the other kids. On Christmas Eve we would get together at one of the houses, usually the Jenks's house and have dinner and a Family Home Evening program, around the Nativity. Vivian Williamson and I would take turns playing the piano and leading our families in Christmas hymns and someone would read out of the Bible and then we would all pile into the Williamson's big van and go caroling to people in our ward. I loved that! Kevin Jenks, Vivian and I would usually sit in the back and talk until we got to the next house. Kev, Viv and I are all about the same age and we were teenagers at the time. There was some flirting going on, too, which made it more fun. I have the best memories of those dinners and programs. I remember practicing "Far, far away, on Judea's Plains" until I was ready to scream, but I didn't want to mess up when everyone was singing. Anyway, I wanted to institute something like that in my family, but most of our friends and neighbors, both in Calif and here in Utah, had other plans and family with which to visit. So, I don't think my kids have any memories like that. It's too bad. For a few years, when the kids were younger, we would go to Oregon or Northern Calif, to visit the Schapper cousins for New Years and would bang pots with spoons for noise makers at midnight, but now several of the cousins and one of my kids are married, so we don't all get together very often. But, this year, I decided to try harder to get the spirit and I think I am doing better than last year. I still don't have the tree all decorated, but it's up and there are lights on the outside trees. I am going to do my baking and candy making tomorrow and give most of it away as neighbor gifts. We have good neighbors, even crabby old Russ Wood is a good neighbor, some of the time.
My foot is still sore and stiff sometimes, but is doing better overall. My knee creaks, but usually doesn't hurt. My hip is still sore at night and wakes me up with the burning, but it, too is getting better. I think this next year will be much better physically for me than 2008 was. 2007 was a good year physically, too, with the Wasatch Back race and being involved with Young Women and the Opera. Hopefully, I will be involved with the opera again. I think I am going to audition for the Symphony Chorus, so that if I don't get anymore operas, I will least have that performance experience to look forward to. TTFN

I am at work and am pretty tired right now. But....Ta Daaa! I had my heel injected and it doesn't hurt nearly as much. I can walk! Last Sunday, I actually went for a walk before Church. It was so nice. It's amazing to me how quickly you can revert back to normal when whatever the problem is gets resolved. Well, I need to get back to work.

Cemetery thoughts

I often drive past the Sunset Gardens cemetery on my way to feed Cloud.  It's interesting to observe what goes on there.  

There is one site that is about a year old that has been sad to watch.  I am guessing it is the grave site  of a baby because there have been a lot of toys, balloons and such put on that grave.  I first noticed it because there was always some new items on the grave site.  Most of the graves are decorated around holidays, but this one was always decorated.  A few times I saw some people at the grave site.  Then recently, in October, I saw a #1 balloon tied to some toys at the grave site, so I am guessing that baby  is a year old now.  Actually, over the past few months, the items have decreased, which in a way makes me happy for the parents, because maybe they are pregnant again or have other things taking up their time and easing their sorrow.  There was a rawness to their grief when there were new toys and flowers there every week, or even every few days.  I don't know who they are, of course, but it is reassuring that the passage of time seems to heal wounds.  

Then there is another site that I have noticed, not so much because of the site, but because about once a week there are several women sitting at the grave site.  I noticed it the most in the warmer months and they are there either Tuesday or Wednesday evenings.  But the other week, even when it was cold and dark, I noticed some cars parked there and some women sitting, on lawn chairs, in a semi circle, at the site.  I am guessing that this must have been a close group of women who used to get together every week and now that one of them is gone, they get together at her grave site and continue their times together.  

TTFN

More health news

I saw Dr. Davis yesterday and he says I am fine! He doesn't think I need a body scan, but says that if Dr. Miner wants it and I want it, it's reasonable to do. So, once again, I am a cancer survivor. I don't identify myself as such, because I didn't have to go through any treatment, but I count my blessings when I think about it. Maybe the cancer came from growing up about 2 miles from a nuclear plant. Hmmmmm.......it would be interesting to see if others who grew up in that neighborhood have had cancer problems. A friend asked me if I am scared about it. I'm not. I told Dr. Davis that either I am rolling around in denial, or it's not something to be frightened about. He said I should not be scared or worried, because they are finding that about 7% of people who have autopsies have microscopic papillary carcinoma of the the thyroid, but that's not what they died from. That's reassuring. I figure my heart will get me in the end, but not for a long time, I hope.
Speaking of heart problems, here I am, eating an omelet with ham and cheese and drinking a coke for breakfast. What ever happenen to the vegan diet? I have gotten really lax about that, but I heard Charlie Gibson's news report the other day that Americans account for 30% of the heart problems in the WORLD! The people who eat mainly a fresh fruit, fresh vegetable diet are the least likely to have heart problems. Even the tofu eaters don't do as well as the vegans. Tori and I need to have a "come to Jesus" meeting about our diets. She is much better than I am. But after I finish my omelet. LOL

One week later

My neck is healing well. The scar is going to be small, I can tell. The bruising is almost gone, but there is still some swelling. Last week, when I came back to work, I worked almost too much and was pretty tired by the end of the week. Also, I had a little scare on Wednesday. I had worked at IMC on Tuesday and we had a busy day. Then, Wednesday morning, while I was getting ready for work, my neck started hurting, just twinges. But it hadn't done that before, so I was concerned. When I got to work, my "other mothers" all thought it looked swollen and told me to go to the dr. They worked me in at the office but he felt that it wasn't getting infected or more swollen. I didn't think it was more swollen, but was concerned about the pain and was relieved that he didn't think it was getting inflammed or infected. Since then, I have been putting a warm pack on it at night to speed up the absorption of the bruising and it is doing well.
Last Sunday was KC's blessing. It was a beautiful day and we had a picnic outside after the blessing. David did a good job with the blessing. I think it is hard to give a blessing to a baby, because you have so much you want for them in their life, so it's hard to limit what to include in the blessing. Kristin's family came up from So. Utah, or rather Central Utah. That was so nice of them to do that. Both of her grandparents were there, along with her mom, dad, Alyse and an aunt and uncle. And of course her sisters. Jeanie came also, which was so nice. It's wonderful when family gets together at these special times in your life. I just wish Mike had come. I don't think he understands how important it is to be involved in family things.
I get to baby sit KC tonight after work. Yahooo! I really like hanging out with him. He is so cute and is starting to smile at things. Dave and Kris have a cycling class tonight and again on Thursday, so I will be the baby sitter again then. I won't be able to baby sit each Tues and Thurs, but I like to help when I can.
Tomorrow night is the opera! Tori and I are going to see "Madama Butterfly" I love that opera and wish I could have been in it. But maybe next time. Besides, I wouldn't have had the operation on my thyroid if I had been in the opera, so this was best.
I am not sure about the thyroid cancer. I see the surgeon tomorrow and will discuss some options with him. I also see Dr. Miner in Nov. but I want to be scheduled for the body scan by then. It's a little worrisome, but not much.
The weather is changing. I like it when it is windy and cloudy. It reminds me of growing up in Eureka and also it is how I imagine England and Scotland to be, like in Wuthering Heights. I would like to visit there someday. Hope I can. TTFN

Thyroid surgery

Last Tuesday, I fell among cutthroats!  I had the left half of my thyroid removed.  Wahooo!!!  It's all gone!  No more thyroid surgery for me.  It has been hanging over my head for 6 years, since I had the right half of my thyroid removed.  I almost died with post operative complications, so I approached this surgery with a little trepidation.  But I had a wonderful surgeon and he has been so careful with me, based on the complications from last time.  It went as smooth as possible and I didn't even lose my voice, not even for a day!  Again, there was a tiny bit of cancer in the thyroid and we need to decide what to do about that, but no rush.  I am bruised and swollen, but I feel pretty good and have had remarkably little pain.  I just took some photos of myself, so that the bruising is documented.  I usually look pretty good in pictures, but I don't look good in these.  So, I am only posting one of them.  Ignore the wrinkles and bags under my eyes.  But you can see the bruising and the incision.  Dr. Davis removed the old scar, so that I will just have one long one and I hope it is thin.

This year, I planned on having some veins in my legs fixed.  I ended up having knee arthroscopy and thyroid surgery.  I still need the vein work done, but that is scheduled for next January.  I am really ready to have a few years of being really healthy and normal again.  I still have issues with my left hip, but I am so tired of it that I think I will just "will" it away.  Can you do that?  Call it the power of positive thinking or whatever, but I am just not going to let it slow me down anymore.  

I think that I didn't get called for "Madame Butterfly" opera for a reason.  If I had been involved with that opera, I wouldn't have had the thyroid surgery until after the first of the year or maybe not until February.  Because I didn't get called for "Butterfly", I decided to go ahead and have the surgery, in case I lost my voice for awhile.  Opening night is this Saturday and they start rehearsing for the next opera in November.  I hope I get called for that one, because I will be ready to go.  I would have loved to be in another Puccini opera, but it was important to get the thyroid thing done.  I sure hope Susanne will call me.  She is the chorus mistress and the Queen of my opera world. 

Okay, now I am starting to whine.  Enough of that.  Tori had a high school symphony performance tonight and she had a solo.  She sounded so perfect and is really proud of her performance, as she should be.  It was beautiful.  TTFN

The Scooter Saga

When I finally pass the scooter driving test, I am going to go out and party.  As I mentioned before, the first time I tried the test, I "dropped" the scooter.  That means I fell over.  Then Mike helped me with some of my problems with the scooter and I practiced and was able to pass the course.  This was done on a Sunday evening with no witnesses, but I passed.  So, today, with a tester watching, I didn't do quite so well.  He told me that I was psyching myself out and helped me with that, but to pass the test, you have to score 90% or above.  I got 89%.  So, I am now scheduled for October 16th, but I don't want to wait that long. They told me to call in the morning of the day I want to try again to see if there were any cancellations and they could work me in.  I want to get this done before my thyroid surgery, which is October 7th.  Plus I want to get it done before the weather gets bad.  I asked the lady at the desk at the DMV how many times I can fail the test before they tell me that I have to sell my scooter.  She didn't really have an answer for me.  But she said that some people have to take it 4 times.  I hope I am not one of those people.  I watched another guy take the driving test after me and he failed too.  He was freaking out over the rapid stop part of the test.  I don't have any trouble mentally with that part.  I am thinking it is as much mental as it is skill.  I guess we all have our little crosses to bear.  

Here I sit, waiting for my last testing patient. So far, she is 10 minutes late. But I am testing her for being post dates, so maybe she has delivered. That would be okay with me. I think God is trying to tell me that I need to lose weight. I already know that, but I think He is trying to show me. Since I have started doing more testing, I have noticed how many overweight pregnant women there are. I mean REALLY overweight. Like 100 lbs or more. I am really starting to get grossed out having to do what I have to do with the ultrasound machine to get the test. I am tired of having to be up to my elbows, literally, covered in aquasonic gel, trying to get a picture of the baby's head or heart beating. I won't describe any more, but it is getting gross. I try hard to not show it on my face and I really hope I am successful in that, but in my head, sometimes I just want to scream, "Stop eating!!!!!! Get more exercise!!!!! You are putting your life in danger and your baby's life too.!!!!!" Last week I was trying to adjust the monitor on a really large woman and she was crying because she was hurting and wanted the baby out. Her father said, "Why don't I go to the cafeteria and get you some food?" I suspect that has been the way she has always been comforted, either by her parents or by herself. Of course, she is an insulin diabetic. Most of these women keep themselves really clean, but some don't and when you lift the covers to adjust the monitors...... Whew!! It can make me nauseated. I wonder how they got pregnant in the first place.
Well, enough. I found out that my last patient already delivered, so I am off.

Another day in the neighborhood

Yesterday, we had to put down one of our chickens. She had not been acting quite right for awhile, but when I saw her yesterday, she could barely stand up and had blood on her backside. Tori and I decided that she was too sick to save, so we took her to see Dr. Orr. He is such a nice man and we credit him with saving Scooter's life. Anyway, he said that she was badly fly struck and also had a mass in her abdomen the size of a baseball. I felt it when I lifted her up to see if she could stand and I hadn't felt it last Saturday when I thought she wasn't acting right. Dr. Orr said that he thought he might be able to save her for awhile longer, but we decided that she looked so miserable that it wasn't worth the effort (and expense). As it was, it cost me $128 to euthanize her and dispose of her body. That's an expensive chicken. So now we are down to 6 girls. Dot, Arwen, Nefertiti and Buffy are the older ones, Osiris is a year younger and then Blackberry is a couple of years younger. She has spent nearly the entire summer brooding, which means she is crabby and not laying eggs. I can understand why farmers never seem to know what the life expectancy of a chicken is. I suspect when they stop laying very much, they get eaten.


Yesterday, KC came over to visit Grandma. Dave and Kristen came, too, to pick up Dave's new cell phone. KC was more awake than I had ever seen him before. He was very interested in looking around and didn't want to snuggle or lay down. He liked to touch the kitty, who let him. Ketza is a good cat. He just layed next to KC and purred.


I am excited for the weekend. I have worked everyday since last Monday and I desperately need a day off. My hip and feet get so achy when I am on them that many days in a row.


This is the list of stuff I want to do tomorrow. Tell me if you think I am dreaming. I am on call 7 amto 11 am. Super Saturday is from 9-12. I need to go grocery shopping, especially at the Farmer's Market, where I need to get a couple of boxes of peaches to can. I need to make applesauce with the two boxes of apples sitting in my kitchen. I also need to get more apples to make more applesauce. I want to see a movie at the dollar theater before it goes away. I want to go to Monet to Picasso because Sunday is the last day it is here. I need to pull everything out of the garden next to the driveway and plant bulbs there. I need to ride Cloud. The table is being delivered sometime tomorrow, so I need to get the dining room ready for that. And last but not least, I want to have a nice dinner on Sunday with the new dining table, so I need to get ready for that. Do you think I will get it all done? Oh, and I need to tow my car down to Tunex because it won't start. I think I need more days off.

New News

 

A new day is coming for me.  The past 2 weeks or so have been really hard for me.  I won't go into it all, but I will mention some things.  

First, 2 weeks ago last Thursday, I went for my driving test for my motorcycle license.  I failed the test when I fell over on my brand new scooter.  I wasn't hurt, unless you count my pride, and a few scratches on my new scooter.  But my confidence was destroyed.  I started thinking that I was an old fool, trying to ride a 250 cc scooter at my age.  Then a few days later was the first home game for the Utes.  Tori and I walked from Dave and Kristen's apt. down to the stadium, probably 2 miles or more.  Then we walked up to the 51st row to our seats.  I thought I did pretty well for the first really long walk on my knee since the surgery.  But walking home was another thing.  I am sure it was 4 miles back and the longer I walked the slower I walked.  I was in so much pain in my left hip and my lower back that finally I had to lay down on the lawn by the side of the road.  Tori was very patient with me, never complaining about how slow I was.  When we finally got to the apt. complex, I was turned around and lost and would have never made it if it hadn't been for Tori knowing the way.  When we got to Dave's, he sort of barked at us for ringing the bell so late.  He didn't know how much pain I was in and how depressed I was, thinking that just a year ago, none of this was a problem.  I sat in his bathroom and cried, feeling very sorry for myself and wondering if I need to get a rocking chair and sit on the porch.  When I had gathered some strength, Tori and I drove home, but I cried most of the way.  That night I took Motrin, Percocet and Ambien because I was in such pain all over and didn't think I could sleep.  I felt better the next day and have actually felt better on my knee since then.  I still don't have enough strength in my quads, but the flexibility in my knee seems improved.  

Another thing that has been weighing very heavy on my mind is the problem with the neighbor horse.  Cloud is my horse and Maia is the horse sharing corral space with Cloud.  Her owner, whom I will call Robert, is very hard to "live" with.  There are a myriad of things that I don't like about him, but the one thing that is bugging me the most these days is his laziness.  He rarely comes over to see Maia, only shovels her manure once a week (if we are lucky) and never offers to take the garbage can full of the horse manure out to the street on garbage night.  And he never cleans out the water trough and refills it.  These are rather heavy chores and since his horse is there, it would be nice and equitable if he did the chores 50% of the time.  He pays the landlady to feed his horse, doesn't clean up after the horse, rarely rides her and doesn't spend anytime working her on the ground.  I could understand it a little more if he worked at a job, but he is on "disability", so he doesn't have a job, which means some of my taxes go to support him and then I still have to do the manual labor.  Lately, Maia has been cribbing on the wooden divider between the two stalls.  Cribbing is when  horse chews and eats the wood, destroying fences, posts, etc.  I finally bought some stuff to paint on the fence, but it didn't slow her down.  I spent 3 hours one day, with my drill/screwdriver and some deck screws, trying to shore up the boards where she was chewing them apart.  No sign of Robert, either to see the damage his horse was doing or to do anything about it.  Finally, I texted him, complaining about the filthy bandages the vet had left in the corral when he came to change Maia's leg bandage.  Robert, of course, didn't know anything about it (because he never comes over to see his horse) and then left messages on my phone all weekend, wanting to talk to me.  After about a week, I returned his call, only to have him say that he knows Maia is chewing down the divider and he will "get on it" this weekend.  That was last weekend.  No Robert.  I was so mad today when I fed Cloud that I started thinking about where else I could board her.  

This evening, I rode my scooter to the DMV riding course and practiced on the motorcycle  test course and I think I can now pass the test.  Thanks to Mike, who spent an evening helping me to gain control of my bike and listening to me complain about how I couldn't do it.  I now have a lot more confidence and control on the scooter when I am going slow.  Then, I went over to feed the girls and found that the landlord had taken down the remnants of the wooden divider and put up a metal panel, which is basically a section of metal bars used in fencing.  I cannot express the relief and joy at that problem being solved.  It will be interesting to see how many days go by before Robert comes by and sees the solution provided to him.  And the lovely thing is that I can't think of a reason that I need to speak to Robert on the phone for a long time.  

So, my life is making a turn around.  Things are looking up and the best part is that I am regaining some of the confidence in myself that I had lost.  It is hard to think of yourself in the same way when your mobility is diminished.  I told my Physical Therapist that I feel old these days.  I have never felt that way before, at least not to this depth.  But it looks like maybe this was just a big bump in the road and that I am coming up the other side.  

Yesterday was my grandson's one month birthday.  I am now going to attempt to put some pictures of him on this blog site.  Here goes......I am a retard.  I can't figure out what I did with the pictures.  But they are pictures of K.C., mostly. I don't know how that  picture of bicyclists got in there.  I don't know how to add the pictures later in the text.  I will work on this later.  Sue

Practicing with photos

These  are 2 pictures of the house in Heber  that my Aunt Alta and Uncle Joe lived more than 50 yrs. ago.  It's impressive that it is still standing and it looks like the "new" owners have updated the siding and roof, but basically, it looks the same.  It's weird, because I dream about being in this house a lot, but back when I was a little girl or when I was in college.  I would get a ride down to Heber at Thanksgiving time from Rexburg and stay with "Grandma and Grandpa". I remember sleeping in Alta's bed and she had flannel sheets on the bed.  Being from the coast, I had never even heard of flannel sheets and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  It's funny what you remember.  I sometimes think about asking if I could look in the house, but I don't want my memories to be altered by how it is now.  So, I just look at it from the outside sometimes when I am in Heber.  

I am practicing  putting photos on my blog site, so that tomorrow, I can put the photos of  KC on the site.  He is so cute.  I just want to hold him and play with him, but I am going to control myself for a few days and let Kristen and Dave have a chance to settle into a routine.  It makes me baby hungry like I haven't been for years.  No one told me that part of being a grandma.  

He's here!

He's here, he's big (9 lbs, 22 in) and he's cute.  K.C. was born on Aug 14 at 0041, exactly a week late, just like his daddy.  More later.  Sue

stuff and nonsense

I am at work, so this may be really a short post. Tori and I have both finished "Breaking Dawn", or as I called it, "That d*%#n vampire book" after staying up until 1:15 a.m., reading it, when I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. It was good, but I think she left it open for another one, if she wants to take that on. Now, Dana is reading it.
I don't have time right now to talk about my opinion of "Mamma Mia", but mostly I really liked it. I will post my thoughts on that tomorrow, when I have a day off from work.
Poor Cloud. I don't think she has been out of the corral for at least 3 wks, maybe longer. That isn't right, but it has been so hot during the day and I have been busy with work. Tomorrow, I am going to ride her, so I hope she behaves herself.
Tori and I are having a big garage sale this weekend. I hope we make tons of money and sell everything. Mostly I hope we sell everything. Once I have decided I don't want something, then I really want it gone. I just don't have the vehicle to take the big stuff to D.I. if it doesn't sell. I guess I can call them for a pick-up.
It was cooler the past couple of nights and yesterday, I thought I could detect a tiny hint of fall in the air. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if we had a really long autumn, but it will heat up again I'm sure.
Gotta go for now.

In the Heat of the NIght

It is so freaking hot these days and nights.  A fan helps, but so would a drop in temperature of about 10 degrees.  I was talking to a friend today who just got back from vacation.  She and her hubby went to Calif and she said it was cold.  I was actually jealous.  She needed a jacket in Monterey.  It sounds delightful.  

We have been overdosing our chix.  They were supposed to get a pill once a day, but I am certain the girl at the Vet's office said twice a day.  Blackberry's comb is wilted over to the side, which is not normal for her.  At first I suspected the heat was just making it wilt, like a plant.  Then I read the bottle of pills and it said one pill per chicken per day.  So, they got double dosed on Saturday and Sunday. I suppose we are lucky they haven't died or something, but we will follow the dosing instructions from here on out.  I don't know if too much Baytril will make a chicken's comb wilt, but it might.  Oh well, at least the e. coli is going away, I hope.  

news

Our chickens are sick.  One of them died the week after Father's Day.  The others are skinny, so we assumed that they had a parasite, but after having their stools (that's chicken poo) examined, the vet told us that they have E. Coli.  Now, because humans have e. Coli in their intestines, I just assumed everyone had it, but I guess not.  I am told that dogs don't have it either.  I asked Tori if she had been using the backyard as a  potty and she gave me a weird look.  Speaking of weird looks, Tori was the gatherer of chicken poo for the vet.  She wore rubber gloves that almost came up to her elbows, and had several zip-lock baggies with plastic forks to do the gathering and storing of the the poo.  It was quite a sight to see.  So now Tori has to give them antibiotic pills twice a day.  A couple of the girls just peck the pills and take them, but a few of them are suspicious and we have to hide the pills in bread or grapes.  One of the girls got greedy and ate two loaded grapes before Tori could stop her.  I just hope that they get over this and get to feeling better.  They are still laying eggs, but I hate seeing them so thin.  I don't think the hot weather is helping them either.  

I had one of my recurring dreams the other night.  It's the one where I realize that I never got married and don't have any children.  In my dream, I have been so busy with my work that I haven't been dating for years and am really out of practice.  My friends keep telling me that I need to go out more.  The main feeling with that dream is that I am really lonely.  Usually, as I am waking up, I realize that I did get married and had children, but the loneliness sort of hangs on for a few days.  Dreams are weird things.  

I am supposed to be reading "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis for bookclub, but today I bought "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" and I am looking forward to starting that tonight.  The heat is wearing me out.  It's too hot to do anything outside, like yard work or riding, and it's very tempting to just nap all day.  That's no good either.  

I have a new crush.  His name is Mark Cavendish and he is 23 yrs. old, from the Isle of Man, and won 4 stages of the Tour de France.  He is so cute and seems really smart about his bike career.  He already rode in the Giro de Italia this summer and is  on the Olympic team, but I don't know for which country.  I assume for the UK, but he is currently on the US Team Columbia in the Tour.  They need to make a poster of him with his bike.  I would buy it and hang it in Tori's room.  LOL.  It would be weird to hang it in my room, but okay in my 17 y.o. daughter's room.  He just went pro last year, which is what Mike is trying to do, probably next year.  And he is only a year older than Mike, so it gives me hope that Mike could make it.  It would be so exciting to have a pro racer for a son.  I love going to Mike's races, especially when he does well.  I am so proud of what Mike has accomplished with his racing.  

My new book is calling me, so off  I go!

What time is it?

After going back and reading my post on insomnia, I realized that my time stamp didn't make sense with what I was saying.  I had originally set my time stamp to be Rarotonga time, but I realized that it is a little obscure for most of my friends.  So, I changed it to my time zone.  Originally, I had set it at Rarotongan time because that was a really cool place I visited once and it was like setting the time at "island time".  But, since I am the only one who knew that, then I decided to change it back to reality time.  Yuck!  

A working fool

Here I am again at work. I am not going to whine, I am not going to whine....I have lots of plans for tomorrow, but mostly I am going to rest. (I will not whine....) I was thinking the other day about how much my life has changed since the dreaded thyroid surgery. Before I had that surgery and the subsequent emergency surgery, I planned on someday trying out for the opera, but never got to it. Then, when I had no voice to speak of (LOL) for 2 mos. afterwards, I realized how precious my voice was to me. I promised myself that if I got it back, I would audition and pursue the opera thing until I got it. And now, 6 years later, I am starting my third season with the opera. I got to thinking about my challenges with my knee and being told not to run anymore. I remember last year, when I was prepping for the Wasatch Back and feeling the awakening of the lean, strong woman inside of me. I really liked that feeling, however brief it was. Of course, I was looking forward to reviving her this past winter and spring, but the knee problems stopped that. I have been encouraged by my dr. to ride a bike for knee flexibility and exercise, and he also, very diplomatically, suggested that my knee would last longer if I could lose a few lbs. I immediately snapped back at him that I was planning on doing that this spring, but the knee thing stopped those plans. He quickly agreed, so as not to make me mad. But since then, I have been thinking about getting a bike. Money is, of course, an issue. And the last time I sat on Dana's bike seat, the pain was discouraging. The other day, I sat on Tori's bike seat and realized that it might be doable (is that a word?). So, I have been mulling this around in my head....Could I find the lean, strong woman in my body by biking? I think I might. I am afraid of looking like a fool until I get used to riding, but I suspect I looked like a fool at first when I started running again. I ran a lot at night, after dark, so that no one could see me. I am not sure I would want to ride a bike after dark, but maybe early in the morning. Hmmm...... Sue

I am back to work, starting last Thursday. My knee was surprised to be walked upon so much, but did okay with some stretching exercises that evening. The people at Physical Therapy sure know how to find your weaknesses. And then they give you exercises to strengthen you. My problem, and I am sure I am not alone, is that I don't seem to be able to find the time to do the exercises. The stretching exercises are the best to decrease the swelling, but I really need to do the strengthening exercises. I don't know how my legs got so weak. Gripe, gripe, gripe.
I have revived an old hobby. I am going to start doing counted cross-stitch again. I used to do it almost non-stop, but then I got tired of it. Now, after doing crocheting until my eyes are crossed and knitting until my fingers are sore, I am going to do some cross-stitch projects. I wish I could inspire Tori to do some of those kinds of projects. She liked doing the knitted caps that she made, so hopefully I can get her interested in cross-stitch. TTFN Sue

Our Yellowstone trip

We just got back from Yellowstone, a day earlier than planned.  I am so glad to be home.  Yellowstone is amazing, but that was a really bad camping experience.  Because of the bear issue, we couldn't leave anything related to food outside.  I pride myself in keeping a clean campsite; dishes washed and drying, food put away in boxes and coolers, tidy tent, etc., but up there, you can't leave anything out that has touched food, so no table cloth, no toiletries, no dishes drying, etc.  All we could leave out was fuel sources, so propane lamps were ok, and chairs.  The camp stove had to be put away whenever we weren't in camp.  It was like setting up camp everytime you came back to camp and then taking it all down when you went to bed or left to do sightseeing.  We literally lived out of our cars.  ANd the mosquitos, oh my gosh.  I haven't seen mosquitos like that.  Even with deep woods repellant all over my face and hands, they would dive bomb my face.  I have bites along my part in my hair, in my hair along my neck and on my ears.  I even have some that they did through my socks.  I was too hot to wear my hooded sweatshirt, so I was constantly fighting them off.  They were fierce, even in the middle of the day.  It was hot during the day and cold at night.  We were quite close to the bathroom, but not close enough.  I sort of had a breakdown on Sunday, after sitting in the Old Faithful Lodge for about 5 hours, cell phone dead, camera battery dead, couldn't find the car, trying to drink enough but not succeeding.  I was so exhausted from poor sleep for 2 nights and it was so crowded with tourists and hot.  They don't air condition the buildings up there.  There was no where to nap except in the car and it was too hot to sit in the car and I couldn't find it anyway.I walked, or rather stumbled, around the parking lot 3 times, crying and looking for the Prius.  You can't believe how many silver cars there are in the world.  Dana and Tori were off sightseeing, but with a dead cell phone I couldn't get in contact with them.  My knee was stiff and achy and the only thing I had to read was a *%#@!! book about Yellowstone that had supplemental CD's and DVD's, but I didn't have a CD player (couldn't find the car) or a computer to watch the DVD's.  Note to reader, they don't sell newspapers or magazines in the Gift shops at Old Faithful Inn or Lodge.  Only stuff about Yellowstone.  I finally literally stumbled across the Prius, so I dug out the Newsweek that I had already read and re-read about Cindy McCain.  I think that saved my sanity, at least for the moment.  When we finally got back to camp, I told Dana and Tori that I was going home the next day and was trying to sort out which pots and pans and food they would need and what I could take home in my car.  Finally, they told me to go to bed.  They offered me some dinner, but my headache was SO bad that I wasn't hungry.  I just tried to sleep, but that was hard too, because I worried about making it to the bathroom.  Anyway, the next morning, Dana booked us a cabin at Mammoth Hot Springs and we drove up there, stopping along the way to look at stuff and take pictures.  When we got there, the cabin wasn't quite ready, so D and T went sight seeing and I laid on the lawn in the shade of a tree and rested.  When the cabin was ready, I walked in and thought I was in heaven.  2 beds, a shower, toilet and sink and windows with screens to keep out the mosquitos.  And on top of that, it had a cute porch looking out onto a lawn where little ground squirrels were playing.  I almost started crying again.  It was so beautiful and peaceful.  The next day, we did some more sightseeing along the way home and got home last night at midnight.  

Several things that I learned:  1-I can't camp at Yellowstone ever again.  I like Richardson Grove camping.  2-I need some sort of camp cot, because getting up off the ground in a tent is too hard.  3-I now have more understanding of homeless people.  I have heard that the biggest problems are chronic fatigue and feeling demoralized because you are dirty and smell bad and can't do anything about it. At least on my "homeless day" at Old Faithful Lodge, I had some money, so I could eat and I had showered just that morning, so I looked presentable, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't think straight and so sweaty that I know I smelled bad.  Given another day or two of that life, I would have looked like a homeless woman. 4- I will save money to stay at Mammoth Hot Springs cabins again.  The one we had, B7, was delightful and I told Dana that if I had a radio, I could stay there for a long time.  I could learn to live without TV, but I need a radio to know what the news is.  So there it is.  Now I am home with tons of chores to do and starting back at work tomorrow.  

a shorter post

Today Tori and I went riding.  My knee did fine with it. Yesterday I did most of the exercises that I am supposed to do daily.  My knee is more flexible than it has been in months.  I think the physical therapist just may know what he is talking about.  I still have numbness on the outside of my knee and it feels really creepy when I bump or touch it.  Several members of the WB2008 team sent congratulatory emails to the others on the team.  It was a great experience and it was nice to get the thank you emails.  

   My new favorite song is "Lux Aurumque" by Eric Whitacre.  It is on the album "To the Edge of Space" and is beautiful.  Sue

The Wasatch Back, etc

Well, it's over for this year!  The Wasatch Back Relay was this weekend and it went really well.  Our team actually had 12 members, the last one being signed up on Thursday night.  Nothing like living on faith or whatever.  We had resigned ourselves to having only 11 runners and one person would have to run 6 legs instead of 3 legs.  But at the last minute, Ronell found a runner!  Thank goodness for him.  He also found a van to rent for a really good price, better than  the AAA rate that I found at Hertz.  I think everyone on our team had a good time.  They seemed to be very happy when they came over the finish line.  I will post some pictures when I get them.  I was so proud of them.  I volunteered in 2 first aid stations.  The first one was at Morgan City Park, from 4:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  It was not too hot, and not busy for the first aid person (me). so it was fun.  Dana came with me and we read and I did sudoku and chatted with some cute neighborhood kids who were at the park.  The boy's name is Caden and he is 8 yrs. old.  His little dog is Pooh Bear.  His friend is Cheyenne and she is 4 yrs. old.  Caden was very patient with Cheyenne and she and Pooh Bear tagged along with him.  He was very chatty and also played frisbee with some of the other volunteer guys who were there.  I helped him with the words to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"  He couldn't remember the "Up above the world so high" line.  He says he sings to Pooh Bear at night to  put her to sleep.  Dana had a small bag of cashews and the kids said that they would like some peanuts, too, so we shared with them.  Cheyenne said she REALLY likes those peanuts and her grandpa has that kind of peanuts, too.  Pooh Bear liked the cashew/peanuts, too.  She is a Jack Russell, but is brown and black instead of white and brown.  Anyway, they were really cute kids and made an otherwise boring 5 hours more entertaining.  After we were finished there and had eaten at the Fazoli's food venue, we drove on to South Summit High School, in Kamas.  I was scheduled to do first aid there at 0530-1030, the next morning.  Our plan was to sleep in a tent there on the lawn until time to go on duty.  When we got the to high school, there was no one there.  The school was locked and there wasn't much lawn to camp on, except in front of the school.  Also, most importantly, there were no portapotties or bathrooms available.  I found out later that the volunteers didn't come until about midnight and the first runners didn't get there until about 0300.  So we decided to drive on to Heber and find a motel.  The Holiday Inn was all full, the Rodeway only had one smoking room available and Mac's Motel (under new management) looked seedy.  We asked the guy at the Rodeway if there were any other motels in town and he suggested the Danish Viking Inn.  (I think he was trying to get even with us for not taking his smoking room)  So, we drove to the D.V.I.  It said it was AAA approved, but on closer examination, the middle A was crossed out.  There was a tiny swimming pool, but it had only a little water in the bottom and there were reeds growing in it.   But I digress.  When we got there, the woman at the counter was signing up another guy.  We were crossing our fingers that she wasn't giving away the last room.  Lucky us. She had two rooms left.  102 didn't have air conditioning and the shower didn't work, but the cable did.  Oh and it was a smoking room, but since the shower hadn't worked for awhile, it probably didn't smell too bad.  Room 108 had air and the shower worked, but the cable was out.  She suggested that we could watch TV in 102 and then walk over to 108 to sleep and shower.  She also said that she wouldn't charge us full price even for the two rooms.  At first she said it would be $30, but then she tore up that card and only charged us $25 ($31.95 with tax).  Since we had planned on sleeping on the ground anyway, we decided this was an upgrade for us.  She also told us that she is the head housekeeper there and her brother is the manager, but he has 2 broken feet and so she is helping him out at the desk.  About her attire.  She was young, maybe 22 yrs old and has a two year old daughter.  She was wearing a tank top, and a push up bra.  Envision her bosoms being high and almost popping out of the tank top.  At first I watched the men in the office to see where they were looking.  You guessed it.  Later, I mentioned that she was a bosomy woman and Dana said, "She has jugs."  I laughed because he usually doesn't talk like that.  But she was so friendly and chatty and nice, that I couldn't be critical of her.  She said that she wants to be a nurse, too, someday, but right now, it's hard with her two year old.  I think she was pregnant, too.  Dana took pictures of the room and I will post them, too.  We slept in our sleeping bags on the bed, using our own pillows.  Since we had to get up by 0430, we didn't shower and just went to bed.  When we got back to the high school in Kamas, I mostly saw people with blisters.  One guy was covered in hives and itching, so I gave him Benadryl and suggested he shower to wash off whatever pollen he had gotten into.  Another girl had the same problem, but had already taken benadryl and was starting to get a little better.  One lady asked for ginger for an upset stomach, but I didn't have it.  One guy asked for talcum powder for chafing, but I didn't have that either.  A couple of people needed their knees wrapped and all I had was 2 inch Ace wrap, but I did the best I could.  It was an adventure, but I may do it again next year.  It was fun, too.  

Well, this is long, but it was an eventful weekend.  Dane and Jamie got married on Saturday and we couldn't go because of the race, but went to their reception last evening.  It was a fun reception, with Dane playing the guitar and singing to Jamie and then later he played the drums with the band.  He is good at drums.  We all danced and had fun.  Brian is so proud of his boys.  You can see it in his face.  They are good kids, all of them.  Shelley was crying when she was doing the Mother/Son dance with Dane.  The song was sweet, something about "I was  the first one to hold you"  It made me want to cry, too.  Holly was planning on attending the ceremony, but her recommend was expired.  If I had known, I would have lent mine to her.  Is that legal???  ;)

Insomnia

I hate insomnia!  All of my problems look gigantic at 12:43 a.m.  Right now I am freaking out about the Wasatch Back Team.  We still only have 8 registered runners and the race starts in 4 days and about 8 hours.  Everyone says they want to be on the team, but they don't follow through. What's up with that, people????  Is this a problem unique to our team????  I am sure K wants to totally wash her hands on this, but since somehow she got roped into  co-managing this team, she is stuck.  I wish D would be more proactive and help her.  Well, at least I am not worrying about the mess in my attic.  That's usually what I focus on when I am having insomnia.  I need to find the off switch for my brain.  Usually if I go somewhere else to sleep, like the couch, I can relax and go to sleep, but we have out of town company this weekend and all the alternate sleeping places are taken.  Maybe if I read "John Adams"......

Update

I had my surgery a week ago, last Friday.  I was so nervous about everything, but mostly about the anesthesia.  I have had Brian Waterfall do my anesthesia for both of my most recent surgeries, so I was a little nervous about having my life in the hands of a stranger.  But Dr. McAllister came highly recommended from my friend Steve and it was fine.  I know Dr. McAllister's brother, who does some anesthesia at the Women Center at AVH, so we had something to talk about.  TOSH really had this surgery thing down to a fine science.  I met my circulating nurse before the surgery, so that was nice.  Her name is Max and she took good care of me.  When I woke up in the recovery room, the back of my knee was really hurting, as if it had been hyperextended for a long time, but I knew it had been bent.  They were really good to address my pain and within the hour, I was comfortable.  I now have three little scars on my knee and it is  swollen and a little stiff.  I drove yesterday for the first time, which was great.  Driving is easy, but getting in and out of the car is slow.  My knee is still stiff and doesn't bend as much as it used to, but the Physical Therapist, Joel, is taking care of that.  It hurts to do the exercises he gave me, but I can already tell a difference in both mobility and strength.  Now that I can get up and around, my recovery is starting to feel more like having a vacation from work.  Last weekend, when I couldn't get up much and I needed Percocet and ice on my knee, I got so bored with TV and knitting that I thought I would go crazy.  That's why I mopped the kitchen floor on Monday.  Everyone thinks I am crazy, but standing still and moving my arms with the mop wasn't a hard thing to do.  Since then, I have gotten a ton of flowers and vegies to plant, so Tori and I will be doing that this weekend.  I will supervise and plant the pots and Tori will do the kneeling and shoveling.  

We had a little incident on Tuesday.  A Husky dog jumped our fence by the Woods yard and chased our chickens and actually bit Arwen.  She was in shock when we found her, hiding by the fence.  I took her inside and comforted her and she finally started acting more normal.  When we found her, she was limp, wheezing and cyanotic.  I thought she might die from shock in my arms, but she seems fine now.  There were so many piles of feathers in the backyard that I was surprised that she and Osiris had any feathers left on their bodies.  When we first went out there, after Dana had chased the dog away, Blackberry was in the pine tree (smart girl), Dot, Nefertiti, Chic, Buffy and Chicken Little were hiding in under the ivy on the side of the house.  They can really get down under the ivy if they need to.  We couldn't find Osiris, but she showed up in a little while.  I suspect she was hiding under the chicken house, but we couldn't see her.  We called Animal Control and they actually found the dog, still running loose, about a mile away.  They followed it home, where it jumped a 6 ft. fence into it's backyard.  So, they picked it up.  It is a nice dog and wasn't doing anything that doesn't come natural to it, as far as hunting.  The officer said that because he saw it running loose and jumping the fence, the owners will have a pretty high fine.  Also, it has to be quarantined for 10 days, and will cost about $30 to pay for that.  We decided to press charges of animal attacking animal, not to add to their fees, but to let them know that their dog had come a long way from home and had gotten into mischief.  We discussed it and decided that if Lacey had gotten out and caused some damage, we would want to know about it.  I hope they will figure out how to keep him confined in their backyard.  We also added to our fence to make it higher, to protect both the neighbors from our fierce chickens and to protect the girls from jumping dogs.  

Oh, back to my knee.  No more running for me, ever.  Unless I want a knee replacement in a few years.  So, I guess I will take up hiking and biking.  It has been a bit of a paradigm shift for me this week, along with some minor grieving for my lost youth.  :(

My So-Called Life

The trip to Oregon was good and restful for my knee.  However, it is not right yet and I now have an appt. with a knee specialist.  The injection went okay and it improved the knee, but it still isn't right, so I am not running the Wasatch Back this year.  I will volunteer for our team and plan on next year.  

I am singing with the Utah Symphony Chorus and the Symphony tomorrow night and Saturday night.  We are presenting "Carmina Burana" and it is going to be good.  Keith Lockhart is an interesting person to observe.  He is very passionate about music.  He is also an odd mixture of intensity and goofiness.  The audience doesn't see the goofy side of him.  We have been in rehearsal nightly this week and my voice is tired.  I think I may have a no talking day tomorrow, to rest for the concert.  I have been fighting a cold this week, and I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the antioxidants and the Airborne drinks have helped. 

I am looking forward to having my knee normal again someday, so that I can start running or even just walking again.  It hurts to walk more that about 50 ft.  Not good.  Sue

I am getting discouraged. Last December, my right knee was hurting and popping, so I went to a sports orthopedic dr and he put me on Motrin and it got mostly better. But lately, it has been hurting and popping more and more. Now it feels swollen and really hurts sometimes. And I can't run on it. All the prep for the RACE is draining away as time passes and I can't run. I started on Motrin again, but it isn't helping much. I finally got an appt. to have it injected on April 16th. I am so bummed. I also found out that 4 members of the race team have dropped out, so essentially, we don't have a team anymore. I REALLY want to run the WB. I am going to Oregon later this week, so maybe it will be better there. I don't know why I think this, but maybe something magic will happen and I will be able to run there. Sue

Good week

This had been a pretty good week.  First, Daylight Savings started.  I don't particularly like the time change, but I love having it light later in the evening.  The weather has been pretty good, too.  I rode Cloud a few days ago and it was actually warm.  I have done pretty good with my race prep, too.  I haven't done cross-training on the rest/cross-train days, but I have run on the running days.  And since I discovered Mapmyrun.com, I have really had some fun figuring out how far I ran, etc.  My goal is to run without stopping for a mile consistently, then, to start speeding up my time.  

On Wednesday night, we went to La Cenerentola (Cinderalla) at the Opera.  It was very good and some of the staging was amazing.  There was a scene where everyone was moving in slow motion, but singing really fast.  One of the men even fell off of the table in slow motion!  It was pretty amazing.  Then, I got an email from Susanne earlier this week, inviting me to sing with the Symphony Chorus in April.  They are doing Carmina Burana, which is really a cool chorale piece, with the Symphony.  Rehearsals start next week.  It will be really fun to do.  Enough for now, I need to go running.  Sue

Bad week

Last weekend, Dana and I spent a couple of nights at Zermatt.  We had free meal passes and, boy, did we take advantage of them.  I ate like a carnivore!  I felt yucky, but it was so hard not to eat everything in sight.  That must be what it is like on cruises, when you can eat anytime, night or day.  Anyway, I also was on some medication for my trigger thumb and it really messed up my thinking about food and it raised my blood pressure to 170/100.  But, now I am back to normal, and my bp is normal again, too.  But, I haven't been running since Saturday.  I ran a  1/2 mile from Zermatt to the Wasatch State Park and back, in a driving wind and snow.  But that was the last time I have run and I am having a hard time getting motivated.  I work tomorrow, so I will not be able to run after work because I am singing in a talent show after work, so Saturday will be my next day to run, after today.  So, off I go, to run now.  Sue

Here Comes the Sun

Today looked like a beautiful day.  I say "looked like" because I was indoors, at work.  As I walked outside from the cafeteria to the Women Center, I thought how 25 yrs ago, I would have been "laying out" in the sun on a day like today.  Even if it isn't really warm, as long as you lay flat, you are out of the breeze and you can get warm.  I remember one day, a long time ago, when I went skiing in the morning and laid out in the sun in the afternoon.  You gotta love spring in Utah.  I don't work tomorrow, so I will be out in the sun, running and riding Cloud.  

Today, the worst air in the whole country was along the Wasatch Front.  It's lovely when we make the national news.  :(  I just got back from running at the gym and my feet feel like pancakes and I am tired.  I will be glad when the weather is better so that I can run outside.  Mike is in Calif this week and I am really jealous.  He is in the Bay Area, doing some training for his job.  LUCKY!  

prepping for the race

Last week, I said that I would cross train on the days between running, but then I didn't do it.  This week, so far, I ran on Monday and lifted weights this evening.  I usually start at pretty low weights when I haven't lifted for awhile, but tonight, I kept thinking about how hard it was to do the race last year, so I lifted heavier weights in order to get in shape faster and also to practice doing the really hard task and not shrinking back from it.  

One of the many things that I learned about myself last summer is that I am a determined person.  Once I say I will do something, I don't often back out.  My dad used to tell me that I was the most stubborn person he knew.  The way he said it, I knew it was bad to be stubborn.  But I remember one time that my mom told me that it can be good to be stubborn, if you are being stubborn about something good.  Like, stubbornly refusing to smoke or drink.  That changed a lot for me.  

Last year at the race, I stubbornly vowed to myself that I would finish it, no matter what.  That was the only thing that carried me over the finish line.  This year, my goal is to finish, but to be in better shape along the way.  The team last year was so nice about how much I walked and I really appreciated their kindness.  Last year, when I was prepping for the race all winter and spring, my goal was to finish and my fear of looking ridiculous drove me to get out and run.  This year, it's my fear of my back hurting like it did last year, along with increasing my personal best, that is driving me to get ready for this race.

I don't know why it is so hard to go running, but it is.  Inertia is a powerful force.  I guess it is a universal truth that it's human nature to do the easiest thing, which for me is sitting and watching TV.  So when I set a goal to follow the training schedule and then I actually do it, I feel stronger mentally as well as physically.  That success builds upon itself, so it becomes easier to go the next time.  It also helps me when Tori encourages me and goes with me.  I really appreciate her help that way.  I am sure there are life lessons to be learned by going through this process.  

Well, enough for tonight.  It's time to go to bed.  Thanks for posting comments, those of you who have.  Matt, you creeped me out a little, thinking that people are watching me.  LOL  :)

Hmmmm....., I am still not feeling the love. Either no one is reading, or you all are so shy and retireing that you don't want to say anything.
So, I was going to crosstrain yesterday, but I had such a stressful day and then I had to vote and then go feed the horses, that it was 8:40 by the time I got home and the gym closes at 9:00. I personally think it is a pretty good excuse for why I didn't go and lift weights. Tonight, I have to run on the treadmill after work, no matter what. Either that, or I have to run outside and it's too cold to do that. TTFN

Running

Today, I went to the gym to run on the treadmill.  I have never "run" on a treadmill before, but I have logged a lot of miles walking on one.  It is different as opposed to running outside on the sidewalk.  

Okay, I need to have a little rant here.  Why is it that people don't walk, push strollers, walk dogs or jog on the sidewalk?  I get it in the winter when the sidewalks are icy, but what's up with women walking early in the morning, 4-5 abreast, in the street?  I have to swerve around them when I am making my mad dash to work at 6:55 a.m.. And people, if you love your baby, use the sidewalk when you are strolling the baby.  

Okay, now I feel a little better.  So, the training begins.  Last year, on the crosstrain/rest days on the training schedule, I would rest.  This year, I am going to go to the gym and lift weights at least some of the days.  I think I will do better with the back pain problem that I had last year if I have more core strength.  

I need people to make comments if you are reading my posts, even if you just say Hi.  I am feeling a little lonely here.  ;)

Next on my agenda

Now that the opera is over and I have had a week to recuperate and (like Tori says) get my normal life back, I need to start prepping for the Wasatch Back.  Our team is "Nuts and Bolts", because some of us are nuts to run that far (me) and others are really good runners and are strong.  I saw a lady running this morning and she had a rather large caboose.  I started to say something to Tori (we were in the car, going over to feed the horses) and then I realized that at least she is out there, starting.  I haven't gotten there yet.  So, I kept my mouth shut and admired her courage.  I like to run in the evening, when it is dark, so that no one can really see me.  

Today was Pres. Hinckley's funeral.  It was sad, but also really interesting to contemplate his amazing life.  He gave all of us some goals to shoot for.  

Let's try this again

We spend a lot of time fooling around in the green room.  Intense card games, sitting and watching TV, reading books and talking.  Just no eating.  There is a cardinal rule about not eating in costume.  Tim is in the white shirt, Stephan is the other guy, Lisa is in the blue dress and Rhea (Stephan's wife) is in the tan dress.  

Here are some of my friends, posing in the hall by the dressing rooms.    I don't know why this is printing in underline and I don't know why it posted this picture twice.  I still have some bugs to work out.
Some of the women dressed as choir boys.  Paula was one of those lucky girls.
Here I am with the two other nuns.  The nice thing about being a nun is no wig.  But the costume is a little restrictive to open your mouth to sing.  Ann is the shortest nun and Lori is the middle nun.

So enjoy the photos and I will get better at posting pictures.  Sue

I haven't worked out all the bugs yet

Hmmm.... I am not sure how to fix this, but this is me, the nun and David Marshall, the Cardinal, in "Tosca"  

I did it!

After much cursing under my breath and out loud, I think I have downloaded a photo of Cloud.  The picture was taken over a week ago, but since it keeps snowing, she looks just like this today, too.  When I have more time, I will download some pictures of my buddies in the opera cast.  ;)

I am going to try to down load some photos, but no one is here to help me, so I am going to give it a go myself.  Wish me luck.  If you see pix, then I was successful. If not, then I am somewhere in my house, swearing under my breath about how hard these electronic devices are to use.  ;)

More news

I have taken some photos, but haven't learned how to post the pix yet. The opera is sooooooo fun. Last night was the second of the five performances. I wish we could do more performances, but it is costly to do that. And, the Symphony only does 2 performances of most of their concerts, so I guess 5 is pretty good. My name is messed up in the program. They combined Ruth Rogers and Sue Sohm into Sue Rogers. There is no such person, but I am half there. Also, the super titles weren't working for Act I on opening night, so people couldn't understand the plot set up. Sorry about that. Well, since I am at work and my patient is getting ready to deliver, I gotta go for now. ;)

It is so freaking cold here!  It was about 15 last night and I think it is only about 22 now.  I worry about the chickens in our backyard having trouble with being too cold.  Tori and I considered moving them in to the garage last night, but then there is the mess.  Poor things.  I blanketed Cloud, my horse, yesterday.  I have a hard time sleeping at night in my warm bed if I think she is freezing.  Actually, I think she prefers not to be blanketed, because whenever I approach her with the blanket in my hands, she walks away from me.  But I sleep better knowing she is warmer.

On Monday night, at rehearsal, both the main male characters were out with food poisoning.  Last night, the guy who plays Scarpia was back, but "Mario" was still out with sickness.  I found out that they had gone out together to a restaurant.  There needs to be rules about the principals eating together at the same restaurant.  We don't have understudies, so it's kind of scary when they get sick.  Tonight is our first dress rehearsal with the orchestra.  Dave and Kristen will be there.  It is more fun for me when I know I have "people" in the audience.  Tomorrow night we have another dress rehearsal with high school kids that they bus in from out of this valley.  I don't know where the high schools are, but they are always an enthusiastic crowd.  

I wore my nun costume for the first time on Monday.  It is hot and heavy.  I kept having trouble with the wimple ( I think that is what it's called).  The weight of the black veil kept pulling the white part back on my head.  Plus, the stage hands have the backstage heaters going full blast to heat up the stage and it's really hot in that outfit.  It fits rather tight on my face, so when I open my mouth to sing, it is a little constrictive.  I figured out how to use my camera, so I will take pictures tonight and post them.  TTFN

first things first

First, I would need to figure out how to use my digital camera.  That is one of my goals for this week.  

I was reading an article about how to be a good blogger and one of the suggestions is to figure out what kind of a blog I want this to be.  I am not sure, so for now I will talk about what I am thinking about and what's going on in my life.  I suspect that it will change as my life changes, ie., when I am prepping for the Wasatch Back, it will be about that and when I am involved in an opera, like I am now, it will be about that.  

Last night at rehearsal, they told us that we had tonight off.  Yay!!!  The chorus's role is quite small with this opera, so the pressure has been less than the last two that I have done.  "Grapes of Wrath" had a huge chorus part and we were on stage a lot.  "The Flying Dutchman", was hard because of the German, plus the Chorus role was pretty significant, but Tosca is mostly about the 3 main characters; Scarpia, Tosca and Mario.  

The article also mentioned that no one wants to know what I had for lunch, so I won't say what I had for dinner (breakfast cereal and soy milk).  

I will post photos some time this week and then when I have some from the Opera.  TTFN

Tosca

Yesterday I  started in Hell Week, although it is really Hell Week and a half.  We rehearse every evening from yesterday until opening night on Jan. 19th, with the exception of this Sunday and next Friday. It's a lot of work, but this is my favorite part.  I love being in the theater and working on the stage.  

I "started" running last Saturday again, but haven't run since then.  I am not an early morning runner and like to run in the evening, but these days don't have the time.  Today, I am going to run for 15 min., which is my beginner time, but I also have to get the Christmas tree down, go grocery shopping and spend some time with the horses.  And rehearsal starts at 6:00 p.m. tonight.  So, I need to get going.  

Okay, I really am talking to myself.  In Rarotonga, it is Tuesday, so to figure out what time I posted, just add 3 hrs.  The date thing doesn't reflect the date in Rarotonga. 

More chatter from me.

I have listed the time of my postings as Rarotonga time, because I have been there and wish I could go there again. I also like pink, so I chose a pink template.  If you want to figure out what time I really posted, add 3 hrs to the time and subtract a day.  ;)

I have no idea what I am doing!

This is my first time to have a blogsite, so I don't know what I am doing.  I recently got a digital camera and haven't even read the instructions on how to use it.  I am trying to enter the 21st century, but at heart, I am a 20th century girl.  I suspect I am writing to myself anyway.  I have a few goals for 2008, so maybe I will post them.  I am planning on running the Wasatch Back Relay again this year and so I am starting to prep for that.  I also want to develop more friends, which is way out of my comfort zone.  That's partly why I am starting a blog site.  I also want to get out of debt this year.  I have been working on that one for several years and this might be the year when I finally make it.  So, if anyone wants to share their goals for this year or tell me how to use my camera, then post a comment.  Sue