Utah before the sickness

Until I got sick, the Utah trip had been kind of fun (enjoyable, but I still would have rather been home). I went with a girl from work who was the first accountant actually hired for this region. In the beginning it was just the 2 of us on the team. Now only 3 years later, our team has around 13 people on it. Because I work at a satellite location, I don’t spend much time with the team so it is nice to be around and work with other people at times. We didn’t get nearly enough sleep while on the trip (which may have contributed to my getting sick). Sunday afternoon we flew into Salt Lake City and, after checking into our hotel (which was not creepy like the last one), drove immediately to the store in Park City. This is a ski town and you can see the ski jump from the 2002 Olympics when you drive into town. It's a very pretty location. We helped out at that store, ate dinner, and I didn’t get to bed until around midnight. Once we pulled into the hotel parking lot, my teammate noticed that she didn’t need to turn the car lights off. We’re not sure, but we think we may have driven from Park City back to our hotel in Salt Lake City (probably close to 25 miles) without the lights on…around 11:30! This is entirely possible because we were both so tired. I was so delirious that I just started laughing with tears running down my cheeks. Even the next day while recounting this to M, I still was laughing so hard I was crying. After working at 2 stores each, we met up for dinner Monday night and then went back to the hotel to work. I had another late night.

Then Tuesday, the sickness began. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Utah before, two other folks from my team were there as well. One girl had 6 laptops and a projector with her to aid in training the folks at the stores there. While she was there, all 6 laptops and the projector were stolen. The guy who was there stayed an extra day to go snow boarding. He ended up breaking his wrist. Here’s to good ole’ Utah.

So sick

I had to go to Utah again for work Sunday through Tuesday. This is not usually a big deal, but this was during my close week. I have a week 1 (which is my close week – generally busy), week 2, week 3, and week 4. Then we start all over again. This schedule gives us 13 periods to close rather than 12 months. It stinks! Almost every holiday falls during week 1. Anyway, I was going to be gone to Utah to help two stores with their first close. On top of that, once I got home I needed to close the 5 stores I normally close as well as 2 more that I picked up this period. Add to that the 2 stores in Utah I was helping, and I had a total of 7 stores to close and 2 to help with the beginning of their close. It was all overwhelming, but I was taking it in stride…until Tuesday morning. Around 9 am, I decided that I must have the flu. I’m not positive that’s what it was, but it sure felt like it (in addition to getting sick, I was also cold, shaky, sweaty, achy, just all around yucky). There’s nothing like being sick away from home. I was miserable. I got sick (and I think you know what I mean when I say “I got sick”) 4 times in Utah – 2 times at one store I was working at, once at the gas station on my way to the airport, and once at the airport. I was almost crying each time because I felt so bad and didn't know if I should just get a hotel room for one more night or go home. Three times I made it to the bathroom – which wasn’t fun because it was a public bathroom where little girls were asking their mothers what was going on in the other stall – and can’t those public bathrooms be gross anyway? Unfortunately, at the airport where I was catching an earlier flight home, I didn’t make it to a bathroom so I got sick in the trash can next to the jet way. If I hadn’t been feeling so miserable, I would have been embarrassed. I was terrified that I would get sick on the airplane so I prayed the entire flight that I would not. I was so thankful that I didn’t have to go into that tiny bathroom to get sick while in the air. I am sure the other passengers were thankful as well…at least they would be if they saw me before boarding the plane (which I am convinced many did). I am also thankful for the passenger who switched seats with me so I could be on the aisle seat of the last row right next to the bathroom. He got seat 5E in return…sorry for the middle seat pal. Once home, I had to drive an hour and a half home from the airport. I got home around 7:45 pm Tuesday and slept until 11 am Wednesday. I got up for bits of time Wednesday but pretty much slept all day. So that left Thursday and Friday to close my 7 stores. Yippie. Let me just say that I did not give 110% this time around…unless you give me some kind of credit for going out of town and being sick. I am SO glad it is Friday and I can continue to rest this weekend as well as get away from work.

Titus 2

I joined a Titus 2 team. It is a mentoring program for women in the church. I thought it would be good for me for many reasons…1) I could get to know more women within the church, 2) I could learn from older women in the church, and 3) I could be in the word with other women. I have 4 people on my team – the mentor (L) and 3 other ladies (T, B, and K). We had a tea on Saturday to meet our teams. Out of the entire church, there were only 11 women at this tea. I was shocked! We attend a pretty big church so it made me a little sad that only 11 people were interested in this opportunity. If my experience is good, I will have to recommend it to others for next year. Anyway, we will be meeting once per month (unless the group decides to meet more often) for a meal, Bible study, and prayer. I am excited about my group. This is what I know so far. I am the only one without children (L has two grown children and grandkids, T has two children under 2, B has four children 6 and under, and K has 8 children – 4 are biological and 4 are adopted). I would love to spend a day at K’s house to see how she does it all. I think that sounds exciting...hectic, but exciting. Only two of us work outside the home.

We will be meeting the second week of April for the first time. I am really looking forward to it. I'll try to update you on how it is going.

St Patrick's Day Party

We had people from M's work over last night for a St. Patrick's Day party. Only 4 couples and their kiddos showed up, but we had a great time. The guys played foosball and poker while the ladies just visited. It was really nice to get to know some of the ladies better. I thought I made lots of food, but we made it through most of it (and thankfully there aren't many leftovers).
*pepper poppers
*taquitos
*cream cheese with blueberry jalapeno preserves
*Asian noodle salad
*apple turnovers
*pigs in a blanket
*veggies with ranch (carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, and radishes)
*punch - 7 Up with lime sherbet
*3 kinds of Irish cheese
*potato skins

After having a couple of days in the 50s and 60s last week, it snowed Friday and Saturday. I took this picture before I went to work on Friday. It was mostly melted by the time our party started on Saturday. Then it started snowing again during our party. I'm ready for Spring (although I guess this is Spring in Colorado)

Mother-in-law Update

I received this email early last week but keep forgetting to share it with you. Below is an update on my Mother-in-law's health. Thank you for praying and please continue to do so.

"Just a short note to let you know what is going on. In the past week, we have had a significant development that gives us much hope. My numbers for platelet and Hemaglobin have been rising which is a very good sign. This could be the first sign that the chemo is begining to shrink the tumors in the bones. While it is still early, there really is no other explanation. I see my oncologist on Thursday, and I am sure she is going to be very excited. I am feeling very well. I have good energy. Keep praying that the chemo is doing the trick and that soon I will be able to skip some of the transfusions. I bet this week Wed I am able to skip the first one as my numbers before transfusion this week on Monday were nearly as high as the limit set for the transfusions. I will keep you posted and keep praying for good results."

She was able to skip a blood transfusion last week. She has been receiving a blood transfusion every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday basically since Christmas so this is a big deal. I haven't heard anything since this update.

Chuckit Flying Squirrel

This toy is genius (as is the Kong). I bought this toy a couple of weeks ago but quickly forgot about it because the weather outside was not very nice. Yesterday I remembered it so we took it on our walk. For once I also thought to take my camera. It was a BEAUTIFUL day - 60 degrees and sunny. Since Max still likes to chew so much, this toy is only going to be taken outside so he can chase it. Yesterday we took him out for a shorter amount of time than normal, and he was completely pooped afterward. I am lovin' this!

Here are some pictures of our walk. I am having a hard time getting up in the morning now that it's dark again, but I am really enjoying the evenings when it is light for so much longer. This is great weather for afternoon and evening walks.

Wing Nuts

I am sure you have seen a wing nut before. We made a run to Home Depot last Saturday to buy one...and thankfully bought several while we were there. Max has a water bowl in his crate that is anchored on by a wing nut. The bolt this wing nut is attached to is at least an inch and a half long. Oh no!! Somehow, Max got the wing nut off the bolt last week while I was out of town. And after yesterday he has now done this twice. How in the world did he get them separated? The bolt is not stripped so I think he would have had to unscrew the nut from the bolt. We have not been able to find those two wing nuts so we can only assume Max ate them. That can't be good, can it? Thankfully, the wing nuts are not too big so they shouldn't be painful to pass. We are trying to figure out how we can leave Max at home without leaving him in his crate. I don't know that this is a good idea since he's only 6 months old. Today I left him with his normal water bowl (the one that generally sits on the bathroom floor with his food bowl). We'll see if he knocked it over or left it alone today.