I finally rode my new bike a couple of evenings ago. It was a dark and freezing night...Mike was making adjustments to the gears and chain and stuff and then he suggested I ride it. It was so cold that I only rode past a couple of houses. I quickly realized that it is possible to forget some aspects of riding a bike. My balance is poor and jerky and I have trouble making u turns, like with my scooter. Maybe I will be able to pass the scooter test if I get better at bike riding. But the good news is that the bike seat is comfortable. Yay!!! Mike also showed me how to set up the trainer, so I am going to ride tonight. I felt okay after walking on the treadmill Thursday and doing some weightroom stuff.
Tonight they are replaying the Sugar Bowl on TV. I am planning on riding my bike for part of the game and then eating popcorn. That sounds good, don't you think?
These days I am feeling very overwhelmed by the amount of work I am doing. I am too tired to do anything else and that is a "sucky" life. I can't remember the last time I rode Cloud. I can't keep up with the housework, let alone do any extra projects that I want and need to do around the house. I am hoping that by getting into better shape, I will not be as profoundly fatigued after work and on my days off. I don't think it is a thyroid thing, because it's not that kind of fatigue. It's the swollen, achy leg fatigue that wipes me out and makes it so uncomfortable to walk. So, I am hopeful that it will get better. Otherwise, I am taking to my bed, like the Victorian ladies used to do. TTFN

Cemetary thoughts part 2

It was a little strange, but last Tuesday night, kind of late, about 9:45, I was driving past the cemetary after feeding the horses. I noticed 2 cars parked by the side of the road and as I went past, I could see 2 women, sitting in chairs, by the side of a grave. It was cold and very dark. Now I am getting curious, so I am going to have to notice which grave they sit at and read the headstone some day soon. That's devotion, to sit beside a grave in January in Utah. I will post when I figure out which grave it is.
My feet still hurt, even after the shot in my rt foot. I am scheduled to have work on the veins in both of my legs later this month and I hope it helps with the achiness in my legs. Mike has repaired his bike trainer and I am going to have him show me how to hook my bike up to it and start riding in the living room. If I could lose some weight, maybe my feet and legs wouldn't hurt so much, but it is hard to get psyched up to walk on the treadmill when my legs and feet burn all of the time. Maybe if I ride the trainer, I will get better circulation in my legs and that will help with them. I will keep you posted. TTFN

National Champs

I think the Utah Utes Football team should have been named #1 in the nation, but I guess we have to bow to the almighty BCS system and we are #2, behind Urban Meyer's Gators. I read an article in Wed. Salt Lake Tribune about the possiblity of Brian Johnson becoming the new offensive coach at the U. It is an interesting idea and he would be good. He always did better when he did his own thinking and didn't listen to Ludwig, or whatever his name was. Johnson is a leader and is cool under pressure. I also think the Ute Athletic Dept. should pay for the marching band to go to the Inauguration. There would be no question if the Football team had been invited to go shake the President's hand. The Athletic Dept. would have paid, no doubt. But at this point, it's up in the air. Dave is saying that they "probably" will go. I hope so. What an amazing opportunity to be at such a momentous event. I keep thinking back to how cool it was to go to the Olympics in 2002. Dave, Mike and I sort of kept pinching ourselves at how cool it was to be at the first event, even though it got snowed out. If Dave does get to go, I hope he takes LOTS of pictures and blogs about his experience. TTFN

Go Utes!

Wow!!!! How about those Utes??? That was an amazing game. We saw Dave about 5 times, a couple of times in the Pregame show, then several times in the half-time show. I was so proud of those football guys! They showed the country what they could do. We are in Oregon right now, and we watched the game at Dave and Shelley's. It was so fun to see the "Crazy Lady", Dave and all the Ute players. The announcers were even calling Louie Sakoda "King Louie", like we do in Utah. The look of disbelief on the Alabama players' and fans' faces was priceless. I am sure I will post some more, especially after I can talk to Dave and get his perspective. We did notice that in the 3rd quarter, the refs seemed to notice that the "wrong" team was winning and they did what they could to change the outcome, but the Utes were too good, even with the call giving the dead ball to the other team as a fumble, not calling an obvious face masking, and penalizing us for "excessive celebrating" when we intercepted a pass and our guy strutted a little bit. But the final score was 31-17, Utes. A perfect season!

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.