So much has happened in the past month

My goodness, so many things have happened since I posted last. I found out I am going to be a great-aunt and a Grandma again, my mother almost died, my sisters and I had a little "reunion", sitting around Mom's bed, watching her sleep and counting her respiratory rate. She is doing better, but it's only a matter of time. I got to really think about what it will be like when she is gone and I will miss being able to pick up the phone and calling her. Although, right now I can't really do that either. She is pretty weak and talking tires her out. Plus, I always seem to call when she is sleeping. I will miss her when she goes, but she has lived a long and good life and she wants to go.
Dave and Kristen are having a GIRL!!! I am so excited for them. KC is so cute and he will be a good big brother. We had a nice Easter today and Mike even came. It was really nice having all of my children here at once.
I work tomorrow, so this is a short note. Gotta get my beauty sleep.

This and that

I am supposed to be at church right now, but here I sit. I worked almost every day this past week and on my day off, I had a staff meeting at IMC, so not really a day off. I have today off, and not again until this Wednesday. It seems like I work a lot, but I am getting more 8 hour shifts, so I am not as exhausted at the end of those days. I need to do laundry and clean house and figure out grocery shopping, but instead, I am going to get ready for church and go, in a few minutes. I went to choir practice and I really don't like ward choirs. I have opera friends who feel the same way, so I don't think I am unique in this. I hate singing schleppy songs in a schleppy way. Our current director is a school teacher, so I thought she might be better than the last director, but, bless her heart, she is too intimidated to really get down and make us sing well. The best ward choir I ever was in was in San Ramon, with Randy Favero as the director. He was fun, but made us sing well. He really wanted a professional sound and we worked hard to achieve that. It didn't hurt that he was really easy on the eyes, either. But it was his passion for the music that made the difference. Oh well, I guess that kind of experience is rare in the church, where it is a volunteer organization.
I am tired of the wintery weather. Every few days we have a nice day, but then it turns cold and gray again. We need the snow, but I am ready for it to fall in the mountains and let us have some spring. The daffodils and tulips seem to think spring is coming, so I need to have hope, too.

Today

Today was our Stake R.S. Education Day. The speaker was C. Terry Warner and he had some interesting things to say. I can't remember everything, but one thing that he talked about was seeing with our spiritual eyes. He believes that when we see with our spiritual eyes, we are truly seeing reality. Instead of reality being something base and degraded, or sad and jaded, he believes that reality is what we would see if we always used our spiritual eyes. It's an interesting way of thinking and sort of a paradigm shift to polar opposites. I will have to think on this idea more and try to use it in my relationships.

And so it goes...

I am back to work now. It's good to get out of the house, but I hate having to get up so early. Taking 3 wks. off to recuperate after my knee surgery was good, but I had a minor life crisis during that time and had a lot of time to think and ponder on the meaning of the universe (lol). Although I seem to have found some peace, it's good to be more busy. Now I am left to wonder about my sanity. Oh well.

My mom was in the hospital for a couple of days. I don't think she will be with us much longer. I had this feeling really hit me a few months ago and I sort of had a panic attack, but now it seems okay. I am so glad she was able to come and stay with us at Christmas. KC started to warm up to her by the time she left. It think it's going to be hard to lose my Mom, but she has wanted to go for several years and now I understand that more. I will miss being able to pick up the phone and talk to her.

I am listening to "Carmen" right now and it just makes me smile, to remember how much FUN that opera was to do. What an amazing experience it is to be in the opera. Plus, having Mike in this one made it all the more amazing. I still pinch myself sometimes, to be sure I am really having this as part of my life. I think I appreciate it more as an older person than if I had done it when I was younger. I envy the young people in the cast, but I don't know if they appreciate their youth, and all that goes along with that. Fabulous voices, beauty, ease in movement, beautiful bodies. Oh to be young again. Maybe in the next life.

It's now almost midnight, so I am heading off to bed and maybe pleasant dreams.

Post knee surgery tan

So, I had the knee surgery last Friday, 3 days ago. I took a bath for the first time,although I have been keeping clean, so no groans from the peanut gallery, and I tried to scrub the betadine prep off of my leg. Dr. Cooley seems to have a testimony of betadine. I can't get it all off, so one leg is a blotchy orange and the other is quite white. So, in order to even them up a little, I put self tanner on my right leg. Now it has that stinky smell to it. It felt good to soak awhile, but I was careful to not submerge my left knee. Not too difficult in our short tub. I hope my knee heals fast and I can get into PT pretty quick. Because I have been sore since lat October/early November, I am really ready to be healed. I had originally set a goal not to have surgery in 2010, but now my goal is to only have this surgery in 2010 and no head injuries or other hospitalizations. Of course, the thyroid check looms on the horizon, sometime this summer, but hopefully it will come back negative. I hope so.

Gotta love KC

Tonight, Dave, Kristen and KC were over for dinner. Afterwards, KC and I were sitting on the couch, reading books. Mostly KC was talking about Cucks (trucks). Several of his books are about cars and trucks. Then, I said, Give me a hug. He gave me a big kiss. You gotta love those open mouth, drooly kisses that 16 month olds give you. There's nothing like them. This was the first time he has done that and he's so darn cute.

I love the Opera

I think I have posted under that title before, but it's true. We start rehearsing in the theater tonight and I am so excited. I still need to really get the words to some of the songs down, but I know all of it. It's just learning the order and the context of the songs to the acting that needs some work. Mike is a "super" and it's been so fun to have him along for the ride. I think it's helped our relationship, too. It will be fun to see him in his pink tights and purple knee length pants and cape. I think he is costumed more fancy than I am. Oh well. My knee is hanging in there. It was so sore after the PA injected it, but the chart says that he only did a partial injection, so I think I was low on fluid in my knee, which is why it felt like bone on bone when I walked. I suspect I have built up synovial fluid and the motrin is helping a lot. I needed a Percocet last night, but I had been at work for 12 hours and we ran the fight scene 4 times at rehearsal, so it was sore and twingy. Today I am working only 8 hours and will be able to be off of my leg for about an hour before I have to go downtown, so it should be okay.
I am also trying to get Christmas put away and organized for next year, but that's mostly going on in my head. I make plans, but when I get home, I am too tired to attempt to implement my ideas, but it will happen. I am hiring a handyman to help finish projects around the house. His name is Mike Sohm and I expect he will be good.