New Enfatuations

A few days ago Google came out with their own browser called Chrome. This was a little surprising since they had poured a lot of money into Firefox. I have been using it since. I am a big fan of Firefox. I love a lot of its features, especially the greasemonkey scripts. So when I started using Chrome I thought, "how simple - so behind the times." But the simplicity of it is what has won me over. It is simple in use, intuition, appearance, and performance. I will miss a few of the add-ons of Mozilla (I can always use Firefox if I really want them - like I love the Gmail redone interface), but they will most likely show up eventually. I haven't tested out how much memory this thing sucks, but I would guess less than both IE and FF. But that is just a guess.

Last week when McCain announced Sarah Palin would be his running mate, I was quite disappointed. It seemed very gimmicky and silly. And indeed so did most people - or at least the media. Last night I watched her speech. I have changed my mind. I was impressed with her speech, her ability to connect with the middle class (the true strength of our country), and her humor. I was moved by some of her speech (BTW - Mitt gave a good speech, too). I truly felt that she is someone who can represent the average American. Not a practiced politician. And that indeed is a change. She has the whole Laura Roslin thing going for her (from Battlestar Galactica - is McCain a fan?). And can you imagine a better president than Laura Roslin? And yes, McCain does have a little Tigh side to him. And when I had heard that her daughter is pregnant I too was quick to judge and think what a terrible example. But I have repented and actually now see that as a strength. She has family issues like us all. We can't be afraid to hide our mistakes - or the mistakes of our children. Repentance is possible - and happiness.

Should I judge her by one small speech? No. But I certainly am more open to her. I have become a small Sarah fan - and if I have, I imagine millions of others have, too. I think she actually might give McCain a chance. I'm still not big on McCain. I will try to watch his speech tonight. But I can say for the first time since this whole election process started, I am more enthusiastic about the future possibilities. I still think it nigh impossible to beat Obama. And I'm not so against him like many others. But I also am realistic that there are a lot of old, racist people that may still be living in the past. And honestly, I fear for his life if he wins. Let the race begin. So my two new enfatuations are Chrome and Sarah. =)

Some fun:
http://www.tighroslin.com/
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/2008/08/does-a-mccainpalin-ticket-tighroslin-battlestar-ti.html

Cardiologist Appt.

Jarek had an appointment today for his heart. The last appointment was 6 months ago, after we got back from Hong Kong. Today we had an echo and the technician was very nice and impressed with Jarek's knowledge of what was going on with his heart. She said that things looked good and then we waited for the doctor.

I really, really love this doctor. He is so amazing, wonderful and kind. I don't know how we lucked out with such a good cardiologist for Jarek. He is so warm and friendly and insists on giving hugs to all of us. He always asks about Bret and says he wishes Bret could make an appointment once in a while. He answers any questions we have and specifically asks Jarek if he understands what is going on with his heart and if Jarek has any questions for him. He is just so wonderful!

So, this appointment revealed that things were good. Everything is stable with his heart. He said that nothing has changed since May of 2006 (which is when he found the first minuscule traces of leakage) so he said we don't need to go back for a year!!!! I am so pleased and grateful the Jarek has been doing so well. It has been a great blessing and relief for us. Hopefully all will continue like this for many more years!

Patriarchal blessings

I decided to read Kathy's before she left. Then yesterday, Tom wanted to retype his so he could fit it into his scriptures, and bring it with him on his mission. So I read his, several times, as we helped him proof his typing. This morning, as I was putting his away into our metal box, I decided to take the time to read mine, Bret's, and Jacob's. I think I have told you before, mine is pretty short, basic, and uninteresting. BUT- all of yours are incredible! You have many blessings, gifts, warnings, and insights. Tom has a gift that I don't even know what it means, see D&C 46, (differences of administration). Bret has the gift of discernment listed several times over. Jacob is told to actively participate in family activities, and keep our family together, which he does, and did letting Kathy and Jacob Webb and and Tom live there and come over often. Bret also fulfills many of his suggestions to help and support family. Kathy, I think you got your romance part already! It is rewarding for me to see the blessings you guys have. I am a very blessed woman!

Gone Fishn'

Another fishing trip done, another bag of Trout to eat tomorrow:-) This time we bring pictures as proof. There were some stranger catches made during this exhibition including Cari's, when she reeled in half of the lake. Also, Nicole's first catch was indeed the biggest and put up an impressive fight. Hazel watched with a smile for 2 hours cried for a few minutes annoyed by her napless morning and then finally went to bed in my arms. It was really an excellent day for fishing as there was a slight breeze and it was partly cloudy. Pictures are posted below for the sole purpose of bragging rights and to stir up jealously in those living away from the holy land.

Surfing: Attempt 1

So first of all, I absolutely LOVE Hawaii. It just keeps getting better and better. I started classes yesterday and it was incredible because I had no idea how much I missed going to school. It felt so nice to wake up and get ready and then walk to class and know that you get to learn something. Well, I have already learned so much! I thought that Byu in provo was an international school! Oh my goodness I think I am like one of a handful of white girls in all of my classes. People are from all over and speak so many different languages! One of my teachers even wrote his name in Manderin and the crazy thing was that I was one of the only ones who couldn't read it. My teachers are all incredible and only one of them is white. I especially love my Hawaiin studies teacher, hes just getting over cancer but still so eager to teach and so full of life. Today in class, he played his little guitar and we sang all these beautiful songs in Hawaiin and I just couldnt help but sit there and think how amazingly blessed I am to be able to live here and have this Hawaiin culture become a part of my life because it has and will be for the rest of my life. I am even thinking of naming some of my kids cool Hawaiin names or Asian names because some of these people that I am meeting have the cutest names.

Anyways, yesterday I was at the beach all day because I got out of class at 10 and while I was waiting for Allie, one of my housemates to meet me there, this guy Kyle who has lived here his whole life came and sat next to me. I had met him earlier. We got to talking and I told him I wanted to learn how to surf so bad and he just happened to have his surf board with him so he was like alright lets do it right now. So I jumped at the opportunity and dove into the water which was incredible. It felt so good. He taught me some things and then eventually I found myself on the surf board, patteling to the shore on top of a pretty big wave with a HUGE smile on my face, but I completely nose bombed it as I tried to stand up. It was funny and just made me want to try again. He said though, that he wanted to give me his longer board tomorrow because theyre easier to learn on so he came over last night with a board and just gave it to us girls! So today Allie and I are going to have our second attempt at learning. I am determined to be a pro before you guys come out too! And last night when he came over he showed us how to break open a real coconut and told us all the cool stuff to do that most people don't even know about. So I am super excited. He's really nice and lives right down the road. We're actually going octopus hunting next week! And if Jimmy wants to, we're all planning on going on this hike to this waterfall on Monday.

This place is seriously incredible. There are so many fun things to do and good things to eat! I can not wait until you guys come because I will show you the best of hawaii! I was thinking about it before too and its going to be really hard to leave already. Im going to go home and be like, where is the beach? So, so far SOO good and I'll let you know when I actually ride a wave!

Running and Helping at School

I am trying to learn to run. I have never liked running my whole life, but figure it is a good way to get some good cardio exercise. Unlike most things I try my hand at, I knew I couldn't be proficient at this by just jumping in and going. Bret sent me an article from Life Hacker on how to start running. I am following the basic guidelines, but taking a little liberty with it. I have now been trying this program out for about three weeks, maybe four. Today I ran the furthest I have run so far. I am not running an 8 minute mile, by any stretch of the imagination, but I ran further than my last mark. I wasn't dying for breath after the first few hundred yards and my legs weren't trembling like crazy-mad afterward. I continued to walk another ten minutes after my run.

I know my progress is slow, but it feels so wonderful seeing progress in this goal. I even find that I am actually enjoying the feeling of running. I try to sprint the last little leg home as well. I have to admit, it is hard for me to get up at 5:30 in the morning, especially since I am not a morning person, but after I am up and going, I feel so refreshed and happy being outside in the beautiful morning. There is a silence at that time of day that leaves a lot of room for thought and contemplation and for ideas to strike your brain.

I also have been helping at school the last week and a half or so. I drop Enok off at this child care place (a whole other blog in and of itself) and help at the school two days a week. I worked with the first graders on Wednesday and thouroughly enjoyed my time there. I really get along well with all the first grade teachers and the kids at this age are so loving and sweet. They all want to hug you and be your best friend. I was doing testing for math and also reading with some of the children that are still struggling with sounding out words. I have to say I never stop being amazed at just how much growth and progress children get by having a mother that is involved in their education. I am gratefult that I have chosen to stay at home with my children and am able to teach them not only things pertaining to education, but confidence, kindness and responsibility. You can absolutely tell the children who have a mother involved in their lives and those that don't. Such a huge difference.

Anyhow, I get a lot of satisfaction out of being able to help at the school and be there for my children. And it is always a nice thing when kids come up to hug me and say, "you smell good Mrs. Wall.". I know that is silly, but that is one of the best compliments I can ever get cuz I am so obsessed with smells. ;)

Ensign article

Cari made me realize I hadn't read much of the August ensign, and I received the September one yesterday, so I read several of the articles as I enjoyed my granola with fresh raspberries picked from my garden, sitting out on the front porch.
I was inspired to let you all know how grateful I am for each one of you. I am grateful for the unity in our family, and how we love to be together, even though we are all so different.
I am grateful that you all know how to pray, where to go to find answers, and how to use the Spirit.
I am glad that every single Sunday, I just know you will be going to church and taking the sacrament. I don't need to even worry that you may just want to stay home. My friend Jean Marie still doesn't see how that works, as she stays home about every other week, and expects her kids to still go.
The one article said we can't just pick some sins to repent of, and keep others. All of you try so hard to be good, righteous people. I see other women with the heart ache of teen pregnancies, drug abuse, children divorcing and living at home, all caused by disobedience to the commandments. Thank you for giving me such peace of mind, and keeping those commandments that bring peace to your lives, your children's lives, and mine.
I love how you all strive to continue to educate yourself, formally and informally, by reading, keeping up with the news, what is going on in life, etc. I urge us all to take classes, continue to read, and increase our wisdom and knowledge. I plan on taking a class in 2009, even though I am not sure which one I will take. Keep reading the scriptures, and try to read one other church book a year. Tom plans on reading Jesus the Christ. That is such an awesome book!
Well, if this gets longer, no one will read it, so enough for now. I am just so proud of all of you!

Magic Bullet & Taking my own route

I have yet to blog about one of my new favorite products. It is a product that I have seen many times on TV and thought, "hey, I'd love that." But since I don't buy things on TV, I never considered really buying it. When Risa went off to good ole Korea (Sparkling!) she left us a few things that couldn't make the trip. One was her "Magic Bullet." Yes, this is the product that is a miniblender that you can blend things right in the cup and put a lid on it, etc. I started using it on day one and probably use it every day at least once. I absolutely love it. I think it is a big key to my getting back into regular weight as I now use it for snacks or meals and can have a great smoothie with fruits, etc. instead of whatever else I used to eat. My new favorite blend? I copied Jamba on this one. I mix banana, strawberries, milk, peanut butter and some granola or whole oats. It is a great breakfast! I'm not sure I would pay for one yet - I think they are pretty pricey, but maybe I would if Risa took it back. Next best thing to mix? Chocolate milk. Plain old Nesquick and milk blended is WAY better than mixing it with a spoon in a cup. I know it is hard to imagine, but it is. Then throw in some ice (not too much!) and you have one of the greatest drinks on the planet.

At work this week I attended one of the many boring trainings on how to be a better manager/be more motivated/adapt to change/etc. During the training we did an exercise that I had done before in another training where you try to find your way through a maze in the carpet. If you step on a wrong square, it buzzes. As a team you have to get through the maze one at a time and you can't talk. So we went through this process and after a while our team got stuck. It was obvious, to me, that there was a "fake" path to the right and it led nowhere. So in my mind we needed to find another path. When it got to my turn the team pointed and grunted to try and get me to follow the same path. But I disregarded their suggestions and chose a random path to the right. In the end I got a few spaces before I 'buzzed' and after that the entire team followed that path and within a minute we had achieved our goal (and beaten the other team we were competing against). Afterwards we discussed the exercise and one person mentioned how I had disregarded the advice of the team and gone on my own - and by doing so we had won. She used it as an example that we need people to disagree and not always go with the group. I thought about that a lot during the rest of the afternoon. Indeed, I am the type of person that is very independent and am willing to take my chances on things when I feel it is right, even if others disagree. And I think that has led me to success in my life. It often can bring you problems (like people think you are a rebel or disregard authority or whatever), but other times it can bring success. I felt good to be seen as that type of person - and though in my career right now it probably has been slightly negative, if I do stay with Pru that will eventually change. And if I leave, then I know it will bring me success wherever I go.

I have arrived

So im in hawaii. Which is by far the craziest thing i have ever done. Its alot different here with out jimmy and without just being on vacation. And its ALOT different than provo but i really feel like im going to fall in love with this place and part of me already has. First, my house is literally across the street from the beach and its a beach park so its really cute with picnic tables and stuff. It takes 1 minute to get there =) and Im looking at the ocean as we speak from my bedroom window. Second, the house is really cute and i have melon trees growing in my front yard along with red, pick, orange, plants everywhere. And the inside is nice too. The kitchen is beautiful and my room is bigger than my room in the elms and i have lots of space. The girls here are really nice too. None of them are hawaiin or polynesian though which surprises me. One is from AZ, two are from UT and the other one is from Wyoming. They all seem cool and im excited to meet my roommate because she doesnt get in till tomorrow. There is nothing around me though. The grocery store is about a 10 minute or more walk and that is about the closest thing to a place where you can actually buy something. I walked there and realized, how can I bring back everything I need so I actually went up to two girls who looked my age and asked if they could give me a ride! Something I would have never done before but desperate times calls for desperate measures! Turns out they were really cool and one of them was from Sweden and we got to talking and will probably meet up again. The people here are so calm and just go with the flow. I think I love this the most.

Campus, I heard is more like a 15 minute walk but I'll know for sure tomorrow because Im going with some of the girls to look around. All of them have been to school here already besides me and theyre all sophmores. Which is kinda nice in some ways because they know where everything is. But its weird to be the oldest. And of course I already have some sort of reputation because Im from NY. I swear people are almost scared of you when you tell them this. And you are atomatically cool. I think it's funny.

But even being a new yorker i guess when you walk places, its still not safe to go alone at night. The girls said there are a couple of gangs. And our house is right on the Kamehameha highway so cars are passing 24-7. Just walking to the grocery store I had guys saying things and honking. There is also not a defined side walk which is kinda strange but you have to go over some old bridges and their paths are pretty and fun to cross. The neighborhood around me is all small houses and its just kind of a messy atmosphere. People have stuff laying outside and parked outside and its not what you would call upscale but it's kind of comforting in its own way. I havent been in the water yet but tomorrow after I go up to campus I think Ill go. I want to spend as much time as possible outside and doing things which wont be a problem here. Plus the girls here are active ones so it should be alot of fun.

But the best thing is knowing that I get to see Jimmy in 3 days!! It makes every fear of mine and every complication just vanish but scared and nervous at the same time. I feel so young and silly because of the butterflies that already will not leave my stomach. K well I am gonna get going
But dont worry because Im here and safe and its HAWAII =)

No Regrets

Our home teachers stopped by yesterday. I was in the middle of making a huge batch of lemon chicken (yes, it was yummy) and Jacob was entertaining several of our friends, so the home teachers kept their visit short. They shared bits of the message from the August Ensign and then one of them read this line from that last paragraph of the message:
"May we live so that when the final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business..."

The concept of living with no regrets (or no serious regrets, to be more clear) always gives me food for thought. In my third year of college (so 5 years ago now), I met my friend Katie. She was a wild one. :-) She had lived through a tough life, by most standards, but she was doing pretty well. She was also three years into college, lived in my ward, and also could have cared less about dating at the time (my reason was Jacob, her's was emtional baggage). We spent a lot of time together and became fast friends.

There was one week on Sunday School when our bishop was teaching and he asked the class what long-term goals we had in life. Marriage, kids, job, etc. Then Katie raised her hand and said she wanted to live with no regrets. The bishop told her he thought that was an unrealistic goal and if we don't regret the things we do wrong, why would we ever repent of them? I don't remember what the rest of the discussion after that was - I stopped paying attention at that point and started thinking.

At this point in my life, I put a LOT of stock in what this bishop said, but in this case, I really wanted to side with Katie. When I get to the end of my life, I don't want to have any cause to complain about missed opportunities or to still be upset about something someone did years ago or to still be waiting for some big change in my life because then I'll be happy. I've come to realize since then that the difference of opinion between the bishop and Katie was probably more of a misunderstanding of definitions than an actual difference in intent. When Katie and I talked about it later, that certainly seemed to be the case to me.

Katie and I were very close while Jacob was on his mission, but the same time he got back, she moved to a different apartment complex in a different ward and we lost touch. We still emailed occasionally and called occasionally but we really didn't hang out much anymore. Incidentally, she was in the same ward as my sister, Nicole. Around the first Thanksgiving after Jacob and I got married, Nicole showed up at our door crying and shared the news that Katie had died in a car crash the night before on her way back to BYU from her parents' house in Washington. I went through the shock and the crying and the sadness but Jacob, being Jacob, soon had me laughing at all of the fun memories we had shared with Katie.

I still think about Katie a lot, especially around Thanksgiving time. I still miss her and the light and fun she brought into every conversation. I look forward to asking her someday if she reached her goal of living with no serious regrets. I think she did. Nicole and I talked about her that night and Nicole filled me in on some of the changes in Katie's life since I had spoke with her last. She had reconciled with her parents and was on very good terms with them for the first time in years. She had recently broken off her engagement, but even though it hurt, she was happy because she knew that marrying that guy wasn't the right thing. School was going well, she was healthy and happy in life. I don't think she had any serious regrets left at the end.

I just hope I can learn from Katie's example. We don't know how long we have on this earth - I think that was part of President Monson's message in the Ensign. We can't wait to live our lives. We need to do something good with the time and the talents that we have been given, and we need to start doing it now. I spent a lot of time yesterday thinking about my goals in life and what regrets would I have if my time here was soon over. I think I'm in a pretty good spot right now. The regrets I would have are pretty trivial and I've already started on getting those goals accomplished.

Honestly, the real reason I wrote this post is that when I was being all contemplative yesterday, Jacob thought I was upset with him. When I kept telling him that no, I wasn't, and no, I didn't want to talk about it, he got very curious. So the only way I was able to get him to give me time to think was to promise to blog about my thoughts today. Persistent little man, isn't he? :-) But I'm glad I wrote this all out. Things always seem to make more sense to me if I write them out. So I'm not trying to preach to anyone. If you want preaching, go read the Ensign article - it does a much better job than I do. I guess I really just wanted to share my joy at where my life is right now and my memories of my friend who I still miss and my re-iterated goal to live and be happy and do good now, and not wait for whatever I think the next big thing is before I start to enjoy the life I've been blessed with.

Family Reunion Picture

Thanks for coming and sharing this time together!

Vacations

I don't know if you guys are set on going to Powell every year yet. I, of course, will go wherever you guys go. I like the idea of going somewhere different every year, but always the same week.
I also like the idea of getting a cabin on a lake somewhere better than Powell. Dad says to just rent a house boat one time first and see if you like it, before you buy it. It may also be a good idea to talk to Patty about it.
There are also time shares that you can use with the houseboat, and then use it another year for a different vacation.
My sister is in some kind of one that is called Blue-green or something, and she has 2 weeks a year, but can go all over, like she paid for the condo in the Poconos, and had a vacation last year with all her kids at the Dells in Wisconsin.
I plan on being with you guys every year, where ever you live, although with the way dad and I act, you may not want to vacation with us every year!
I still want to go to Mexico, SanDiego, and Yellowstone, maybe.
Dad still wants to go to Alaska.
I am not a traveler, but I do seem to get to travel often!

The Olympics Rule

I'm not sure there is a great spectacle to watch on TV than the Olympics.
As a person who loves competition, sports and his country the Olympics
brings about the epitome of physical competition and love for your team
(country). I have always loved the Olympics for as far back as I can
remember - which really starts in the 1984 Olympics. And I have always
loved certain events more than others. I love gymnastics - women's
gymnastics. I don't think there is a more scarier sport to watch. One
small mistake can cost you a medal. When I watch gymnastics I feel like I
do in a suspenseful movie: with one hand covering my eyes. Too afraid to
watch yet too excited to look away. It is fantastic. But it is always
filled with heartbreak, too. The emotions can be so high and low. I
remember the man who fell a few years ago in his race and then had his
father walk him to the finish line (which Visa has reminded us so often
during this Olympics). I remember favorites of mine losing by small
margins. I cry with those that fail. And I cheer with those that win. I
will never forget the Olympics where Kerri Strug, as part of the
magnificent 7 in the 1996 Olympics, where she vaulted on a twisted ankle in
so much pain, but stuck the landing to win the Gold for the team. I cried
and yelled and cheered. I remember watching Carl Lewis and other great
American runners win the 100 meter dash so many times. I recall the Dream
Team in 1992 and watching the world bow in awe to the great American
ballers.

This year's Olympics have been even more special to me. I have a great
love for China. I know that many people continue to boycott the Olympics
and are upset that it is getting such attention due to China's human rights
record. But the people of China can not help that. They still love their
country and want to show off their grandiose history on the world stage.
From the amazing opening ceremonies it has been a beautiful display.
Perhaps not a real indication of what life in China really is, but a vision
of what it could be. And the games have been fascinating.

Night after night I have witnessed amazing competitions that have brought
tears: both of joy and pain. Michael Phelps is so amazing it defies words.
Watching the 4X100 relay when the US came back to beat France after it
looked like an impossibility was perhaps the greatest race of this century.
One Phelps then one his butterfly by 1/100 of a second after appearing to
have lost once again it was pandemonium. Seeing the US girls in gymnastics
stick it out for the silver after watching Alicia Sacramone fell twice.
And even now I can feel her pain and disappointment and wish I could just
give her a big hug. Watching the Americans take gold and silver in the
gymnastics all-around was great (though I would much rather have seen Shawn
win!). Watching Shawn Johnson have the best score on the floor exercise
until the final performer from Romania took the gold from her was
heartbreaking! Too see Mr. Lightning Bolt from Jamaica SHATTER the world
record to become the fastest man in history while looking like he was
strolling in park: amazing!

It has truly been an emotional and uplifting Olympics. I look forward to
this final week and hope that a few more of my favorites take gold. I've
become a huge fan of Misty Mays. I liked her last Olympics, but now I
think she is amazing. Kinda like Dara Torres. New heroes and heroines
have come forth and I hope our children are impacted by them. I think the
Olympics have come at a great time and has kindled some more nationalism
for the USA at a time that we need it. A few years ago Tevia and I had
decided to go to China during the Olympics. That plan got thrown off due
to our living in China: in fact, this time last year we were certain we
would be there since we'd be living in Hong Kong. In the end we missed it,
but I am determined to go to London in 2012.

On a different note Wii Fit has brought about a wonderful achievement for
me. Upon returning from HK Wii Fit clearly pointed out that I was above
normal in my weight and BMI. And though I found this shocking, I certainly
couldn't argue that I could use to lose a few pounds. Through motivation
of my Wii Fit trainer and weighing in, in just 2 months I now weigh less
than I have probably at any point in the last 5 years. My goal is to
continue to lose a few more pounds to get around my 'ideal' BMI (according
to Wii Fit) by Hawaii. This has felt wonderful and I feel younger, fitter,
and healthier.

LASIK

Random fact: The title of this post is in all caps not for emphasis, but because it's actually an acronym, so it should be in all caps.
Random fact: The smell of a laser burning one's eye is very similar to the smell of a newly lit match.
Random fact: If you are wearing eye shields and then lean over your 3 month old baby to say hello, she'll likely freak out and start crying because face it, you just look weird right now.

Yesterday was a momentous day for me. In case the extrapolation hasn't finished, I'll spell it out for you: I had LASIK done yesterday. Jacob first suggested I get LASIK not long after we got married. But the idea of any blade coming near my eye gave me serious shivers down my spine, and not the good kind. He's brought up about 4 times a year since we got married and since our third anniversary is in a few days, you can tell that it was becoming time to either do it, or get him to stop asking about it. Just so no one thinks he's being pushy about it, his reasons were to improve my quality of life and to, in the end, save money on my eye care.

With the way our current health insurance works, we had a large sum of money sitting around in our HSA flex account that needed spending eventually. And after having our expensive little princess in May, the whole family is 100% covered for the rest of the year, so we don't need to use the HSA money for things the insurance will cover. So, the time for LASIK was upon us. I still wasn't crazy about the whole blade on my eye thing ::shiver::, but as I started to research the latest with LASIK to see if I would even be a candidate (astigmatism and all), I found that they have a new bladeless LASIK. They use a different laser to cut the corneal flap and then use the other laser to actually reshape the eye tissue. So Jacob and I had the LASIK discussion again and I called the place that looked like it had the best prices. For most of the LASIK places, they'll give you a free screening, basically to tell you if you're a good candidate or not. I figured I could use the free appointment to see if I liked the place or not and keep looking if I had reservations.

About 3 weeks ago, I had an appointment at the Excel Eye Center in Provo. They were very nice and very professional and also having a summer sale! Made my decision easy at least. :) The end result of my screening was that I was a good candidate, but like everyone else, I needed to abstain from contacts for 2 weeks so they could get a more clear view of my cornea or something like that. So 2 weeks of glasses later, I went back for my final check-up prior to surgery. The doctor looked at my eyes. Then he looked again. Then he said "Hmm." (Alarms going off anyone??)

He told me he thought my optic nerve looked swollen and he wanted me to go see a retinal specialist to get his opinion. He also wanted me to have a field vision test as a secondary test to see if I had optic nerve edema. So off to the specialist I went and off to the field vision test I went. The result of the retinal specialist (besides everyone in the office thinking Hazel was so adorable) is that my optic nerves are more rounded than the average optic nerve, but he thought that was just my eye and not a problem. He did say that if he thought it was optic nerve edema, I'd be off to the hospital for a brain MRI. Joy. But things looked good, but we need to watch it over time to make sure that they are.

One thing the specialist did find is that I had a retinal tear, which apparently is very common in near-sighted eyes. So I talked it over with him and with the LASIK doctor and in about a month, I'll go back to the specialist to have another quick laser treatment to "spot-weld" (his words, not mind) that tear. (Another random fact, after Nicole and I put our brains together with Mom and Dad, we figured out why the specialist I saw looked so familiar: his family used to live in Mom and Dad's ward when Nicole was a Laurel. Small world, eh?)

Since the results of the specialist and the field vision test were good, LASIK was a go for yesterday morning. I had some serious problems sleeping the night before, though I wasn't consciously nervous or excited - I just couldn't sleep. Jacob didn't want me to be late, so we arrived 10 minutes early, which was early enough to watch the broadcast of the surgery on the guy that was going before me on the TV in the waiting area. I didn't look.

Then it was my turn. First, they put on a hair net (Jacob joked he was surprised they had one big enough to contain all my hair) and little booties on my feet. They swabbed my eyelids down with iodine (which was surprisingly soothing for my nerves), cleaned that off and gave me numbing drops. The doctor came in to mark "6 o'clock" on my eyes (apparently when we lay down, our eyes turn slightly out, so they have to mark to make sure they cut the flap in the correct place). After asking him if I should feel the marker stinging like that, I was giving several more rounds of numbing drops. They walked me into the operating room and had me lay down in a chair that strangely resembled a dentist's chair.

Suction cups on my eyes to hold them still while the first laser cut the flap, lots of pushing and prodding to get the flap to come up, holding my head still and that lovely burning smell as the laser did its job, and then some more pushing and prodding to get the flap to go back in place and we were done! The part I was actually dreading the most was the metal thing the put in the eye for the second laser to hold the eye open. Turns out that by that point, I could only see big gray patches and the light they told me to focus on to keep my eye relatively still, so I didn't even see it when they put it in. Then lots of instructions about my cornucopia of eye drops and what I could and couldn't do the rest of the day and we were done. The next several hours were pretty obnoxious. I was starting to be able to see, but looking at anything made my head hurt. I wanted to go to sleep, but the doctor suggested that I didn't. Eyes tend to move a lot during sleep, so he wanted me to stay awake all day to give the flap more time to reattach.

So I rocked in my glider rocker and kept reminding myself that I signed up for this. After my post-op appointment several hours after the surgery, I was feeling much better. I had also decided that ibuprofen was a good thing and had partaken liberally. And the doctor said everything looked great and that my vision was already 20/30, which did a lot to sooth my worries. So other than scaring Hazel when I looked at her with my eye shields on, it was a pretty uneventful day after that. I just relaxed and played some Wii and watched a movie with Jacob and our friends that had come over to keep me company. I have to sleep with the eye shields on for a week so I don't accidentally rub my eyes in my sleep and I still have lots of eye drops to keep using every day for a while, but my eye sight is still getting better. I'm sitting at my computer typing this, and I can clearly read the microwave clock from here, which is probably about 15-20 feet away. Considering how blind I was before, this is a huge improvement.

Jacob has asked several times if I still think he's handsome now that I can really see him, and of course, he is. :) Now that I don't have to wear the eye shields during the day, Hazel likes me again, though I think she's still trying to figure out where my glasses went. I'm still waiting for my contacts to start bugging me or something anti-climatic like that. It hasn't fully sunk in yet that I can see all on my own, but I'm sure it will soon. Technology's a pretty cool thing.

ugly little fleas

yes, it is true. I had fleas. It was the most disgusting thing that has happened to me this year.
shiver....
I was doing the person I visit teach a favor. They were out of town for 2 weeks, and they have 5 or 6 cats. Now, she knows I hate cats, since I go there once a month. She also knows I am allergic.
She just tells me to wash my hands.
shiver again.
So, her mother was cat-sitting last week, until Sunday. Then some guy dad works with and car pools with who lives by them, (her husband is in dad's carpool), was supposed to check on them until Tuesday, when he was going out of town.
My job was to go over on Thursday, and make sure their water was not dumped over, and make sure they had food in their bowls. She said I could scoop their litter boxes if I was so inclined, but I was not.
I hate cats
They keep these cats in their basement. He built a cage in the corner.
I did not even have to open the door and go in. ( it is a full size walk-in fenced-in area).
I opened the garage door, went in the dark, stinky basement, and looked at the water dish. They sell these contraptions that keep allowing water to slowly pour out for a few days, thus allowing cat people to leave their cats unattended for a while.
It had water, there was food, and the smell was horrible.
I walked out, closed the garage door, and was on my way to the mall.
I felt something on my legs as I was driving... the van.
I looked down, and there were little black things all over my feet and ankles, crawling and jumping around!
scream. almost swear. shivers and crying.
I pull the van to a stop in a motel parking lot on rt 9, jump out of the car, and brush them off.
I call my visit teaching companion, who has cats, and tell her my problem. She tells me she will call the vet. She is worried about the cats! I am worried about my body, my van, and my house!
I go to Target, and get a spray for fleas on carpets. I ask the pharmacist what to do, as there are now tiny red bites up to about my calves on both legs. I am continually looking down, shaking, and brushing off my arms and legs... ech!
She tells me to go home and jump in my pool, clothes and all.
I rush home, mad at every car in my way, wake up both kids who are sleeping on each couch, ask them to get me a swimsuit, and open the downstairs patio door.
I change as close to the door as my modesty would allow me, and run and jump into our frigid waters. (It has been cool here every night). It felt cleansing.
I threw my clothes in the washer, because it was my new top, and I didn't want to jump in the pool with it and have the chlorine ruin it. (black with red flowers)
I then took a long, hot shower.
I think I got all the little buggers off me.
I immediately put a flea and tick treatment on Daisy just in case, and I then went out and sprayed the heck out of the van!
I still can feel them crawling up my legs as I was driving. It was so disgusting!
I will never own a cat.
I feel so sorry for them. They get home this weekend. My friend said that they obviously have an infestation. There is no way they just multiplied to that many since Sunday. We called them on their cell to tell them, and left a message, as they are driving back from Washington state. They have not called us back.

The Three PiX

Okay, i haven't yet gotten the pix uploaded to a venue to share them so I figured I would post them here and you all can tell me if you even want them. They are pretty bad. Sorry that this year's picture isn't that swell. Mostly cuz I didn't want to have to fight anyone about looking nice, being still, minding their manners. Guess when I don't be pushy we don't get a great picture. I won't let that happen again. Sorry!!!!

Ohio & the Olympics

Can you squeeze a trip to Ohio in a couple of days with 3 kids and hours of flying and still have a good time? The answer appears to be yes. We woke up very early AZ time on Wednesday and headed to the airport for our quick trip to Cleveland. Tevia and Jarek were nervous that we would not make the flight, but we did - and so did our luggage, even though the First Class line was longer and less friendly than the regular line. That teaches me to try and take advantage of my Gold status.

The plane rides (via North Carolina) went without incident and the boys were great. Upon arrival in Cleveland we were wondering if family would be waiting for us. The answer was no, but that was okay. The clan had moved on to find a place to eat. We went to our rental car place and got a nice Chrysler Aspen which was fun to drive. We then headed off to Cedar Point while we listened to the rest of the clan fight and try and decide where to eat dinner. Apparently they couldn't find any place good. On our drive in I found several places that looked great, but in the end they chose a place called "East of Chicago" which is a pizza buffet place. It was great to see the family - even though honestly I'd have rather eaten McDonald's (yes, I was no big fan of East of Chicago).

We got our hotel rooms after that and felt the great feeling of seeing Cedar Point. It brought back so many memories. I love amusement parks and Cedar Point by far surpasses any other in terms of rides and thrills. After some chatting with fam we hit the sacks and awoke the next day ready for our day at the park.

We planned the day similar to my last trip out by heading to the Millennium Force first. We ran from the 'starting line' and Tevia was so proud that she could almost run the entire way. I was proud of her, too. Our running was a little thrown off by the fact that they wouldn't let Tevia on the ride with her backpack, so she had to go back and get a locker - but that didn't put us too far behind schedule. We then headed off to the Top Thrill Dragster, which is my favorite ride. We ended up waiting a little longer than usual for this as it wasn't working at 10AM when it opened. We stayed in line however and got our reward a little bit later. A funny story about our wait in line was that there was a guy fixing something on the track. After he got down we were all excited to see if it was now going to be fixed. Then all of the sudden some kid walks to where we are standing and flips some switch on a pole right next to us. I joke to the guy and say if I had known I just had to flip that switch I would have done it earlier. Then the ride worked! It was so funny. We eventually did find out it was not the 'on' switch for the ride (which is a good thing) but rather the switch for the camera.

Tevia and I then gathered our children and we did some rides with them. We ate lunch at Johnny Rockets and in the afternoon we found a fun place where the kids prospected some dirt and found arrowheads and gems. We took Jarek on his first 'big' rollercoaster which was the Iron Dragon. He was fairly nervous and was in the car with me. This is a suspended coaster that is fairly tame. There is a second hill to climb in part of the ride and to make it more scary I told Jarek that this was a huge hill and very scary. He got nervous and all of the sudden the coaster stopped. We got stuck! Jacob Wall then added to Jarek's state by wondering out loud if the coaster behind us was going to hit us. We eventually got unstuck, but Jarek was quite nervous and this ended his coaster riding for a few hours. But eventually we got him on the Gemini - and in the end that was his favorite ride.

The evening I spent with the two older boys. Tevia took Enok back to the hotel. We had fun on some of the kiddie rides and then headed back. That night Jacob, Cari, Tom and I played Thurns and Taxis in the lobby where I barely scored a few points. The poor start has not placed it on my list of game favorites. The next day we headed to Cleveland to eat lunch with my grandfather and the Uchman's. We then had a dinner afternoon at a park with my grandmother and the Uchman's. That was a lot of fun and Kathy Uchman did a great program where she gave each person a gift and made many of us laugh and cry. That night we stayed up late watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and then we left early Saturday to head back to PHX.

It was a fun, quick trip. But it reinforced the love I have for my family and confirmed that any sacrifice is worth being with them. This may be the last I see Kathy, my sis, for quite a while, so it was definitely worth that.

The trip home was great and we pretty much lazed around the weekend glued to the TV. I LOVE the Olympics and enjoy watching them. The first few days have been great - with the best being last night when the US men's swim team won the 4X100 freestyle against France. That may have been the best race I have ever watched. I screamed and jumped when they won. So my weekend was full of excitement and eyes of tears and pride.

Sunday was Jarek's birthday. I will post more on that another day. I am so thrilled to have had him in my life for 9 years now.

Mexico 2008

Tevia has blogged about mexico, and will most likely blog some more. But I thought I would give my perspective of the great trip and the last week.

The trip down to Rocky Point was fun. We stopped in Gila Bend and I got a "Tornado" from the gas station that was surprisingly delicious. The house we stayed at, which we had stayed at 2 years ago, was so nice and comfortable. I was surprised more construction hadn't taken place in the area - a testament to the slower economy the past couple of years. Without repeating much of what Tevia wrote, I will focus on my favorite parts.

The FOOD. Our last trip down we had a wonderful dinner at a chicken (pollo asado) place downtown. We were able to stop there again (called Pollo Lucas). Once again it did not disappoint. The outdoor (shaded with fans) seating and outstanding chicken made this another great highlight. I enjoy this restaurant so much and hope we get to go back many times. We also had other great food moments. We had some great carne asada tacos the first night from a stand on the street. Later that night we got some more tacos - this time some tacos al pastor (a marinated pork) which were amazing. We also found a great ice cream place (paletaria) with heavenly Mexican popsicles. We ended up eating here every night. Every one I tried was awesome, from the lime to the coconut to tasting Tevia's grosella. The trip there and back would have been worth the food alone.

The BEACH. I love beaches, and though this beach is not the white sand, crystal clear water we have grown to love in the caribbean, it is still a beach and was fun. The waves were great for body surfing and the water was actually almost too hot! I loved playing in the waves and seeing my kids play in the water.

The AQUARIUM. This small aquarium is so fun. Though it feels like it is in a garage and the dogfish was not quite so fun to tease this time (apparently he is old), I still loved feeding the turtles and sea lion and seeing the different fish.

The COMPANY. Our last trip was fun, but I felt that with a few less people and having Jacob and Millie there it made it even more fun. I am so glad they came down. It is also fun to be with other Spanish speakers (Jake and Tev's dad) while in Mexico. It was fun to spend time with everyone and the trip felt very "chill."

The only thing that wasn't so fun? Well, it wasn't an issue, but getting a flat tire in Mexico did raise the stress level for a little bit. After filling several times and seeing that it kept going flat Tevia's dad took things under control and took the tire off and replaced it with the spare and then with Tevia took it to a local tire shop and had them fix the tire for $5. He then replaced the tire and it all required no effort on my part. I was extremely grateful for this and how much he always just wants to help out. In the end it didn't cost us much in money or time or inconvenience.

Going back to work after vacation is never fun. It took a few days to get back into work. I have decided to try and wait it out a little at work as I am convinced we will see some big changes soon. If not, then I will hire a headhunter and move on. But for now I enjoy coming home on time every day and having a slightly different scope of responsibilities. It may not be fun or take the best advantage of my skills, but I can still bring value and do a good job and have an impact on the new system we are implementing.

3 Month Update

In case people were wondering, Hazel's officially 3 months old now, so I thought I write a little update in the few extra minutes I have today. I've posted some pictures at the end of this for your enjoyment.
Hazel is doing very well. She's found her lungs and lets us know at top volume (mine, not Jacob's top volume - so she still isn't that loud) whether she's happy or sad or mad. She still doesn't fuss much, as a general rule, but she has her days when she just wants to whine for most of the afternoon, which I'm told is normal for this age. She smiles a lot now, but just not when the camera's out. I think I managed to get a couple shots in the pictures below, but I actually took about 30. She messed around with rolling over a couple weeks ago and did it several times on her own but seems to have given up for now. Her newest fun thing is when she's on the floor to crumple up enough of her blanket underneath her so that she can have one or two hands on the carpet. Then she'll either spit-up all over the carpet or stroke it with her hands for a while. I'm sure her interest in rolling over will come back once she finishes figuring out what carpet is.
Her interest in textures expands to everything in life. She likes to grab her clothes, our clothes, her blankets, my hair, her toys and pretty much anything she can keep in her grip for longer than 2 seconds. She also likes to stroke the wall by her changing table when we change her diapers - it's very cute. She also really likes to hit things, just to see if she can get them to move. It's probably a good thing we only have fish at this point - I don't know how a dog would deal with that particular exploration technique. She gets the most results out of her toy bar on her bouncy seat, so that's her favorite thing to clobber at the moment.
She's eating tons and growing tons. By my estimate (based off her last doctor's appointment 1 month ago and the WiiFit measuring system) she's now at least 24 inches long and just over 12 pounds. She's tall, skinny little thing.
Speaking of the little angel, she's calling for her breakfast. I'm really excited for everyone to get to see/meet her next week and for us to get to see you too. :-)

bret told me to

okay, bret asked me to post a little note to let you know that I blogged a little about our mexico trip on my blog. I am pretty sure most of you notice this since Bret has my blog linked to his and you can easily see on the right hand side of the screen that I just posted. :) But for anyone who doesn't pay attention to the feed on the right, there is an installment of our mexico trip to read along with pictures. it only covers the first day, since I write too much, so you can skip the words and just look at the pix if you want to.

tevs

Must listen and Job info

This is a two part Email. First, if you haven't had a chance to listen to the lastest two podcasts you are really missing out. They are spectacular and really informative. the site is always http://www.internetsafetypodcast.com/ but please check out #15 and #16. You will not regret the time you spent.

On the job front, it looks like I will be accepting an offer tomorrow for Bloosky. They are a small company 50-100 employees and only a 10 minute commute. The job is basically a perfect match since they need an advanced database algorithms guy to do some serious rebuilding and maybe even some AI learning search nodes. They are pretty desperate and looks like they will make me a very good offer for the Provo area. I am considereing it tonight so that I have an answer for them tomorrow. I would have loved to land a job in PHX, but so far no interviews have surfaced. I figured Amazon might have pursued me, but it seems they were really only interested in tricking me into going to Washington. I'll probably post more detaisl tomorrow and whether I accepted the job.

Hey!

Look at me! I am on the blogger page. This is unusual. I actually went back a few days and read some of the recent blogs. I would have made comments there, but then who would ever know! So instead I think I will just slip in a couple comments here. Sorry for the break in efficiency and organization.

Dearest Kathy, I love you. You are beautiful inside and out. Jimmy is lucky for sure. I must agree with mom (for lots of good reasons that I will not go into) that your happiness in life will be a direct result of the choices that you make. You have made some wonderful choices and it brings you to this point in your life. With all the wonderful options and opportunities staring at you. If you continue to keep God's commandments and stay on his defined path, follow his prophets, and hold to that sure rod of iron. Then the Spirit will be your constant companion and eternal happiness your daily reward. It is a promise from God. Seems simple. It is! I wish I could figure it out. You know that I have great weaknesses. Silly stupid things that limit my happiness and opportunities. Please do not give up on me. I am trying to wipe out the bad. Mom has threatened to beat the @$%&8+ out of me and I think she means it this time. I am never going to get mad and go ballistic again! Ever! :-)

To set the record straight on the "Palmyra Tommy Experience" as it has come to be known. If..... well maybe I better leave it at that.

I am most impressed with my children. Most impressed indeed. Tickled pink. Totally topgallant. Completely satisfied. I can see very clearly how Karen has had such a great influence. I am so grateful for her being around these last 27 years. I am hoping that she continues to hang out. Lots of work left to do.

We had a great day with Tom in the temple. It was nice. I am so glad that he is going to be able to spend some temple time with his two brothers before the MTC experience begins. I know he is looking forward to this. Thanks so much to the brothers. They are the best.

Congratulations to Tom on his mission call. I think it is spectacular. If I would have known, 30 years ago (I am coming up on my 30 year mission call anniversary), that my youngest son was going to be called to serve in South America in Paraguay and learn their language and walk their streets, that thought would have been so sweet to me. It would have drowned me in peace. No explanation, but I am happy for you Tom and for me. Thanks for choosing to do it right.

Good luck to Jacob in his job search. All will be well. Hazel and Cari is all you really need, having a good job is just icing on the cake.

Thanks to Bret for being such an anchor to us all.

I have to go back to work! Love from Dad.

Tom and the temple

We had a wonderful evening. We arrived way early, so dad had to fork out $16. for ice cream at Hagaan Daus. We still had over an hour before we had to be there, so we went upstairs on to the 6th floor and read scriptures and talked. It was very relaxing. The Hettingers, Hawks, and Ketchesons also came. Tom seemed very prepared and handled everything well. I felt the spirit very strongly. I even learned a few more things. The temple president didn't let me in when he talked to Tom and dad, but I think that is normal.
The matron, Sister Frost, came upstairs and told Tom a wonderul story about the Paraguayan people, and one about David B. Haight, and told him to find it, print it in Spanish, memorize the additional parts she told him, and use it often on his mission. That was kind of cool. She also told us to rent the movie, "The Misson." Have any of you seen it? It is a sad story about the Paraguayan indians.
We tried to go out for pizza afterwards, and walked all the way to a place Bishop Hawks knows by where we park, but it was closed at 10! I didn't think anything in the city closed at 1o. So we ended up walking around looking for food, and found a dinky little Chinese place. I didn't like my lomein at all. They kicked us out as soon as we were done eating.
It is a wonderful feeling knowing all of you are temple worthy. It is amazing, and it is true.

We added another animal to our list of trapped. I still haven't gotten the other ground hog, and it walks around and near the trap every single day!

Hill Cumorah Pageant

We drove up to Palmyra on Saturday to see the pageant. Upper State NY sure is beautiful! It was a nice ride, except at one point a severe storm came through and I overreacted and got scared, and poor Tom was driving. He had to pull over, it was raining so hard.
The hotel was recommended by someone in our ward, and it was a one star. It was called the Finger Lakes Inn, and from the picture and description on the website, it sounded great. It wasn't, but we just had to sleep there from midnight till morning, so we had a laugh about it and moved on. For example, the 'continental breakfast' consisted of those tiny, white powder sugar donuts and coffee, and they were out of plates. The doors had real keys, and most didn't really close. The A/C didn't work, and we never did even see the pool. :)
We did get lost on the way from the hotel to the pageant, my fault, and dad got mad, but by pageant he had already said he was sorry.
The sad thing about the pageant are the anti-mormon protesters. They had bull horns, and as all these nice families walked all the way through the parking lot, they would say things like, "All of you Mormons are going to hell", and "all your good works won't save you", etc. I felt sorry for all the little kids having to hear stuff like that. The one guy kept saying, " no one has found one sword from all the wars you said there were here in NY, so Joseph Smith has lied to you all."
Crazy.
The pageant was nice. It rained before and after, but not during. They do a beautiful job. There is fire and rain and fighting and it all looks really cool.
On the way home, every New Yorker must have been on vacation, because the roads were just bumper to bumper; RVs, campers, bikes, jeeps, boats, cars, everything that could be on the road was, so it took awhile to get home.
We went to the Cananduiga ward for sacrament meeting, and Kathy's bishop from BYU was listed as one of the missionary couples serving there! Small world, she was excited. Unfortunately, we couldn't find him.
It was a fun weekend, for the most part. The kids might have a different story....

My early birthday present

Well, I got a nice gift certificate from Mom for finish line today and Cari had been discussing each getting running shoes so we got some! I was planning on getting my favorite A5 or A7 comfort adidas styles as I have always liked them. However finish line didn;t have them so I found myself checking out Nike instead. They didn't have the best Nike style either but they did have a few versions of the pegasus. Which was last year was Nike's top running show for pavement.

Now what makes this post interesting was I decided to try the Nike + running system that tracks your miles and time etc. I hate Apple, but I have to go buy a Nano because no other companies have cached in on this deal. Makes me sick giving this company more money, but anyways we are hoping Cari and I can share the ipod and that it can keep track of both of our running logs. Don't know yet if this will be the case.

So we will have fun tracking our running for the rest of the season and if anyone else wants in let us know. It is a little pricy, but you can buy the shoe sensor adapter($10) for any pair of shoes if you don't want to buy a pair of Nikes. The kit is only 30 bucks but you need a Ipod Nano to use it. We will let you know how effective it is and whether it is helping us with jogging. I figure any form of tracking like Wii Fit will actually get me outside running! Thanks again Mom for the present!

Americans driving less

http://snipurl.com/wsjdriveless

I was telling Tevia this week that I actually have noticed some changes in the way people drive due to high gas prices recently. The biggest change I noticed is how many more people are using the bus. I have worked at Prudential for 8 years and rarely saw anybody take the bus. Now I see groups of people leaving together to walk in the summer heat to the bus stop. The link above seems to prove that changes are coming.

I see this as a good thing. By watching the people just walk to the bus stop I see that more people are interacting. And not via text messaging or phone or Facebook or whatever. But actually talking to each other. I hope that this will bring back more sense of community and we can reach out to those around us. I hope we can focus less on the importance of being able to transport ourselves freely at any time and focus more on getting schedules and being home at a certain time. Wouldn’t it be great to see more people leaving work on time because they have to – otherwise they will miss their bus or carpool? This will force companies to think differently and hopefully get people to focus less on work and realize that real socialization should take place outside of your office.

4th of July Weekend

This last weekend we made our way up to Lakeside to visit Tevia’s parents. I had an extra day off of work so we were able to leave on Thursday after picking up Risa. The drive up was uneventful, but fun as we got some rain. Since I rarely see rain, it was nice to drive in it and I looked forward to being in a cooler climate for a few days.

Upon arrival we met Tevia’s parents at our favorite restaurant: La Casita. This was a great start to the weekend and I enjoyed my machaca chimichanga. We played “Ticket to Ride” several times while in Lakeside. This game was introduced to us by Jacob Webb while we were in UT last. We have played it a few times online with Jacob Wall and my parents, but we finally bought the game last week and were excited to play it. Jarek loves the game and wanted to play it anytime we had a free moment. I also enjoy the game, but have to admit I am not too good at it.

On the 4th we decided to do a BBQ in the afternoon and had some good burgers and hot dogs in the new gazebo at Maison Webb. In the evening we headed over to Show Low high school to see the fireworks. We had gone here a few years before and Jarek was very young and hated the fireworks and noise. This time it was Enok who didn’t like them. He spent the entire show with his head buried in Risa’s jacket. The show was nice with one exception. A few cars over there was a guy who was either completely drunk or stoned or both. After each big firework he would scream something at the top of his lungs. At times it was just a “yahoo” or something like that. But other times he would drop the F-bomb and say crude things about Iraq. Fortunately our kids were shielded behind a truck and so you couldn’t really hear the guy. It was only near the end (and after hearing the family by us complain about him) that I realized how close the guy was. I am amazed that the people around him just let him go on. This was a family show and this poor guy was so self-absorbed that he didn’t care what was going on around him. I’m glad my kids didn’t see/hear him. But I hope that if we had I would have had courage enough to go talk to him and his group and ask them to take care as there were kids around.

The weather was gorgeous and we spent plenty of time on the lawn playing badminton or golf or volleyball or just sitting around. Tevia’s father shot off rockets which the kids loved. On Saturday we went to a party where they roasted a pig. We didn’t get much of the pig, so afterwards we rewarded ourselves with a nice trip to Dairy Queen. Tevia and I shared a Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard; Jarek ordered a banana split. We enjoyed the treat and compared calories as there was a list of nutritional data right by our table. Though we didn’t have Wii Fit with us, it was still always in the back of our minds.

Sunday we went to church and afterwards ate some sandwiches on the homemade bread the boys and grandma had made. The drive home was awful. The usual 3.5 to 4 hours took over 5 due to traffic. The craziest part was I have no idea why traffic was so bad. It took us about 1 hour to go 14 miles or so at one point – and then all of the sudden traffic was great again. There was no wreck, no light, no nothing. Very odd. We dropped Risa off and prepared ourselves for Monday. Yeah Monday!

No words

Well as everyone knows I will be getting sealed in the laie temple in Hawaii on November 15, 2008 to James Cox (the sweetest guy in the world). I have wanted to blog about this for some time but they're really are no words to describe how I am feeling aka how happy I am. Even though Jimmy and I are so far apart I have never felt any kind of peace like this before in my life which is unusual for people with loved ones in Iraq because it truly is scary but I have no fear or doubt in my mind that this is right and part of God's beautiful plan for me. I also find myself feeling a remarkable sense of gratitude for my Heavenly Father, that he has given me this opportunity in my life and has given me the most incredible and noble person I have ever met to be with for all of eternity. Not every girl gets to get married in Hawaii to the best person ever, and live there for at least 2 years. I can only imagine what the next 2 years will shape us into.... probably beach bums and ocean fanatics as we will master all that we can like boating, surfing, windsurfing, kayaking, and so much more. I have such an adventurous time ahead of me! Anyways, this infinite amount of gratitude has also influenced me to read my scriptures a little longer each day and to lengthen my prayers with more meaningful and distinct conversation. This of course adds on to my happiness which is why they're really are no words to describe exactly how happy I am! I know that Jimmy will be a great husband and father and love getting lost thinking about our future. Even though we might not be the wealthiest family, I am sure that we will live life to the fullest and know that money means so much less than people think. Even I have gotten lost in the greediness of money but the more I study the scriptures and after living in a mansion daily at my nanny house the last year, being rich actually scares me. Anyways I am so glad that you can all come to my wedding. I know that by doing it in Hawaii it will cause it to be small and simple but that is the life that I want to live =). I love life and I love Jimmy. Its hard to believe that a person could feel so much for another soul and it only grows each day. I also love all of you and am so glad that you are my family and support me and Jimmy! So thanks!

Dates with my wife

For the past few weeks Tevia was kind enough to set up a recurring babysitter to come each Thursday (a habit she had gotten into the habit already due to her volleyball schedule while I was still in HK). This gave us the opportunity to go on a date every Thursday night. Our first date was a trip to the driving range where Tevia hit her first golf balls. I plan to slowly work her up to getting on a course some time this year. Each week has been fun and has truly helped us get closer as a couple. I feel this was particularly needed as we had spent so much time apart (yes, 3 months seems like a long time).

I am grateful for her willing to do this and get excited each week to go out with her. Last week we went for a hike and I absolutely loved just being with her on a surprisingly empty mountain overlooking our city of Phoenix and seeing the rain over most of the valley except where we were as my anti-rain power continues to gain strength.

Last night, though it was not a date, we went to see WALL-E for FHE. I don’t know why, but I have really been excited to see this movie. I didn’t really like Pixar’s last movie (Rat-a-whatever) and though I have loved their other movies, I never really was thrilled to see them in the theater. We loaded the kids and escaped the heat into the chilled theater with Risa in tow as well.

I found the movie wonderful and beautiful. I had read some reviews that said it was very “dark” and not really for kids, but I don’t think I would agree. It is a cute love story and one of the more touching love stories I’ve seen in recent years. I think in the first half of the movie there are probably only a handful of words spoken – and this was refreshing and showed that storytelling can happen even without words. I left with a gratitude in my heart for being married to my true love and having the ability to spend time with them on this beautiful Earth. I am very lucky.

Wii Fit

We have had Wii Fit for nearly 3 weeks now. I must admit that it has been
a welcome addition to our home. It is very interesting to see all of your
family members using a fitness tool daily - and for quite a bit of time.
Wii has made getting a little exercise fun and competitive and easy to do
from your front room. It is easy enough for kids to do and yet challenging
enough for adults to do and even feel sore. I find myself looking forward
to doing the Wii Fit and getting new Yoga poses and getting higher reps for
the strength training. I have seen myself struggle to do some of the
trainings at first and seen large improvements in my strength and stability
in just a few short weeks (e.g. the plank!). I have found my arms sore
from doing a pushup challenge and my abs sore from increasing my reps on
the V.

But the thing I find most interesting and best about the Wii Fit is it
motivates me in other areas, too. So not only am I doing some physical
exercise on the Wii (though you could argue limited), it inspires me to do
my other exercise and to eat better. I am motivated to get my BMI down and
get excited when it does. Though more recently I have been disappointed
when it goes up, it hasn't made me give up hope entirely. And the fact
that my whole family is doing it with me keeps me going, too.

Regarding the weighing in, I have found that on days I think my weight
(BMI) will go down, it tends to go up, and vice versa. I'm not sure why
this is. In the end my BMI hasn't really decreased much (overall) since I
started nearly 3 weeks ago. But I feel like I look better. My pants
"feel" better. I am convinced that my body carries a TON of water weight
or that our carpet gives varied readings to the Wii. I have found my
weight go up nearly 7 lbs in one day. And go down just as many another
day. And these are on "normal" days - not days I have fasted or eaten a
huge meal. Saturday my weight went down nearly 5 lbs from Friday. I am
convinced this is more due to the fact that I had helped someone in the
ward move and was stuck in hot truck sweating like crazy for a couple of
hours. By Monday it was all back.

And though this blog is meant to be a positive thing on the Wii, I do find
the whole BMI a little odd. According to the Wii (and I verified online)
for my height my ideal BMI and weight would be at around 155 lbs. I
haven't weighed that since before I got married. In fact, I find it hard
to believe that I am nearly 30 lbs overweight. Of course, that is just the
"ideal" weight and on certain days I do fall into the "normal" BMI category
(like last Saturday when I lost 5 pounds!). But I think I would look
pretty scrawny losing 30 pounds. But I agree that a good 10 - 15 lbs would
do me great and I continue working toward that goal. If anything, the Wii
has brought fitness to the front of our thoughts and done it in a positive
manner. I have never felt so motivated to eat right, work hard, and get in
shape. And I love the Yoga. Who knew I would love yoga? Nintendo, who is
smashing the competition over the past year, deserves all the money they
are getting. They have truly found a way to reach out to non-gamers and
provide innovating games that are fun and, dare I say, good for you. And
remember, this is the first game of this type. Other companies can now
perfect this and make fitness games that are even more fun/challenging. I
would venture to say that Wii Fitness is worth the purchase of a Wii alone.
We have had fun with it. And while my little Mii continues to have a
little round belly, I look forward to seeing it continue to shrink.

Books that changed my life

Several bloggers have recently posted their list of books that changed their lives. So I thought I would think of the books that had big impacts on my life. I'd love to get lists from others as well. Here are mine:

The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien. This book is one of the few that really transported me to a new world when I read it. I was pretty young when I first tackled this trilogy and I can remember the impact certain parts had on me. Gollum to this day brings back great memories of how I imagined him and the travels of Frodo. Obviously this book is more well-known now due to the movies. And though the movies were pretty good, they can't compare to this fantasy masterpiece.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rawlings. I enjoyed the first two books immensely, but it wasn't until I read the third in the series until I realized what a genius this author was. I couldn't put this book down. It renewed my love of reading for "fun."

Aliens - Alan Dean Foster. Odd, I know. But I picked this up at around age 12 or so at the public library (Milcreek Library in Utah) because I couldn't see the movie since it was R-rated. This book opened my eyes to a different style of more adult writing and immediately led to more of Mr. Foster's books including the Spellsinger series which began a true love of reading. I had read before this book, but I recall this book opening my eyes to the value of the library to find new books.

Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn. Being a huge Star Wars fan, this first book after the movies (now dubbed the Expanded Universe) was wonderfully written and sucked me back into a whole new galaxy of adventures. Though I have continued to read many of the Star Wars books through the years, none really have topped this first book/trilogy.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey. This book confirmed to me that the way I look at life is the best way to look at life. Whether Covey and I share a brain gene I am not sure, but whenever I read his books I feel that he thinks just like me. This book helped me to put into words habits that I had developed and made me truly focus more on important things - and not just urgent things.

Dune - Frank Herbert. I tried to read this book multiple times before I was able to actually finish it. I am glad I kept trying. This book, and its sequel Dune Messiah, emerged me into an entire political economy in a future of our species ages from now. This is one of the few books that I actually took notes and had to write down and look up words in the dictionary in order to even read it. Paul Atreides is still one of my favorite book heroes.

Book of Mormon - translated by Joseph Smith. Yes, this seems like a given, but since the other lists almost all contained the Bible, I thought I had to have a religious book that changed my life. And though I love the Bible and truly it has had an impact on my life, no book has had greater impact than the Book of Mormon. This is because I live my life according to a religion that is completely tied to the veracity of this book. My desire to pray and know for certain that this book is truly scripture from God led me to choices and a lifestyle that I continue today: a lifestyle vastly different from the majority of people. I feel that knowledge - and choice - has provided me with immense joy and happiness. Truly no book has had nearly as close an impact as this book.

There are so many other books that I have loved as I have read so many. Some honorable mentions:

Ender's Game, The Kiterunner, Interview with the Vampire, How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Book of Three, 1984, Pride and Prejudice, The Davinci Code.

Happy Birthday to Mom!!!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear mom
Happy Birthday to you!!!!

Sorry we can't all be there to celebrate this day with you. And I still haven't mailed your gift. My brain and body are separated by about two weeks in getting things done. Someday I will have to get them in sync with each other.

I just want you to know that we all love you and hope you have a wonderful day. You are an amazing woman that leads her family in strength, by example and with a loving hand. You have raised four wonderful children who are strong in their convictions and with testimonies bright and strong. A greater example of motherhood would be very hard to find indeed. Thank you so much for giving to Bret your devotion and love, even when your life was hard, and imbuing him so thoroughly with confidence and sense of worth, and purpose in this life. Because you taught him so well, my children will also benefit from that. Thank you and again, Happy, Happy Birthday.

Bored at work

Well, I guess i have to blog now, because as I was considering it, i accidentally hit enter and created an empty blog. Anyways, I'm just at work right now bored. I finished using my tester for a certain board type at about 10, and put in for maintenance to change to another board type. Well its currently 12:30, and I've already taken my lunch to waste time and for some reason they aren't here yet. I'm guessing none of them are in today. Oh, well, what a job eh?

So I just read Tevia's blog about the trip to Ut. Which must mean I had a buncha free time, seeing as how it was so long. But it sounds like you all had a really fun time. Staying home and working that week wasnt all that fun for me. So I'm jealous I didn't get to be there. I miss living there, it was a lot of fun.

Well, wow, a maintenance guy just showed up so I guess I get to work, ending my blog.

Classes over! Clean house

Well, classes are over and I finished all my projects. The last project is actually graded rather than pass fail, and I feel I did good enough on it to pass. So, what do you do when you finally get a second to breath in life? Well, I usually start by cleaning, then catch up on podcast stuff and eventually get back to waisting time playing games. Cari is at work, well kind of, she is working next to me on another new computer. We finished her new setup this morning and I think it is pretty good. She wants a better chair, so we will have to see about getting her a new one. This blog was really written for one purpose only and that was to put up a picture of our funny living room:-) I have to either rewire the house a little or get a very nice extension cord because my surge protectors are extremely unhappy with the setup and won't allow the blue ray player and a game to be played at the same time! Yeah, it's a pretty funny picture.

An Update

Here's some of the latest pictures of Hazel:



The last six weeks have been a blur. I can't believe it's been six weeks already! Answers to the common questions I've been getting from people:
I'm grateful for the sleep I am getting (about 3-5 hour blocks at night) but honestly, I could still do with more.
She's now almost 10 pounds, I won't know how long until her next doctor's appointment in two weeks, but she's definitely getting bigger.
She is a very good baby with a very good temperament. She doesn't often cry for no discernible reason. She's very content and very happy 95% of the time. I couldn't have asked for a better baby.
Yes, she sleeps in the crib now!! At least at night. She doesn't usually make it there during the day. Either she falls asleep in her swing or on the floor and if I try to move her, she's awake before we get to the crib, or she's in her car seat because we're out on the town. But the laundry basket was officially retired almost two weeks ago.
And yes, she wears more than just her diaper more often now. Mostly that's because Jacob and I are back to just our one car (we had his sister's car at our disposable for about a month until his parents drove it back to NY) and Hazel and I give him rides to and from campus and I don't take her outside unless she's clothed.

Jacob's almost done with spring term, which leaves him just his capstone project next term and then he's done!! I'm just a little excited. :-) No decisions have been made about where he'll work or where we'll live after he graduates, so we'll keep you posted. His classes this term are going well and all of the major projects are done. Just another couple little projects and a paper or two!

So we're doing well. I'm mentally preparing myself to start working again next week. At least I'm working part-time from home and can set my own hours. But it's still going to be a sizable chunk of time scheduled when I haven't really had much of anything scheduled for over two months now. I'm actually excited to start again, weird though that is. It will be nice to have something structured to do. Not that I couldn't have come up with structured things without work. Now that I'm thinking about how to budget out that time from my normal daily routine (which is never the same from day to day - surprise), I've got all these ideas of things I could fill my time with. But those can wait or can be weekend projects. But I should be able to work during Hazel's naps, so it should work out well. Wish me luck!

fly there, drive back

We are back, safe and sound! It was a wonderful trip! We were both blessed and lucky the entire trip, and except for a sore back, there were no problems at all, and I would do it again.
It is just more exciting to see the country little by little than by plane. The drive from Provo to Colorado Springs was awesome! What beautiful country! I will blog more tomorrow with details, but I have to say, it was great seeing you all! What fun! I love being with my kids and grandkids.

Paraguay, Asuncion

Well, mom and dads youngest boy finally has his mission call. They're running a little low on kids. Anyways, my mission call was sent last Friday, and arrived today, around 1:30ish. Kathy was here with me with Karen, and well, she was almost more excited than I was, and there was no way I would be not opening it until mom and dad got back. Anyways, before we opened it we did try and call them, unfortunately for them, they were in the temple at the time, and were unable to answer the phone. Anyways, I opened the call, and quickly found that I was going to the Paraguay Asuncion mission.
I am very excited and happy to have finally gotten my mission call. I can't wait to get out there, I know it'll be a great experience. One reason I know that is that I've had 2 brothers already serve missions and enjoy them and have great experiences. I want to thank you guys for being such good examples to me in my life, and good brothers.
So Tevia heard next and shortly after telling her, Bret called the house looking to talk to me, seeing as how he had heard the great news. Too bad for him though, I'll only be learning boring old Spanish and not Portuguese. Eventually I was able to get a hold of mom and dad also, and I talked to Jake too. Thanks guys for being excited for me.
I was really hoping to go foreign, and I got to, I think its great and I'm glad.

And for anyone who doesn't know and might be interested, Boomer also got his mission call, the same day as me. And he is going to the New Delhi, India mission, English speaking, and his mission president will be the Ricks Grandparents. A very interesting mission call.

I think thats it for what I imagine is the first actual blog I've written. Atleast I can't remember writing anytime before, except in comments.

Back in the USA

I'm back. How wonderful it is to be able to cuddle with the woman I love
every night before going to bed. How great it is to see my children play,
eat and have fun while I am right there to witness their ups and downs.
Since being back in the USA I wouldn't necessarily say that I have been
home much. The first weekend we headed up to Show Low to see Tevia's
family. We were going to go camping, but the snow we encountered on the
way up to their home made us think twice about spending the night in the
cold with our Arizona tent not built for cold weather. It was a fun
weekend with memories of La Casita food, BB guns, hobo dinners (we called
these tinfoil dinners when I was young) and a fun hike on the Mogollan rim.

We were back in Phoenix for just a couple of days before driving up to Utah
to visit the Jacobs. We split the drive in two on the way up. The first
night we stopped after about 5 hours of driving in Las Vegas. We stayed at
the Westin there and I was excited for Tevia to try their wonderful beds
and showers (think family, people, we had the kids with us - this was not a
honeymoon-type stay). We also headed over to the Bellagio to see the water
fountains - the same ones I had seen a few months earlier with Tom on our
way to UT. We enjoyed the fountains, but just making our way their and
back (about a block or two) was difficult as we tried hard to distract our
kids from looking at the filth posted to signs and in bins. And by filth I
mean porn. Vegas truly is a man's town - or perhaps more specifically a
single man's town (or men who want to pretend they are single) with low
morals. I am generalizing, of course, as we were just on the strip.
Perhaps outside of this small piece of town there is a wonderful,
family-friendly environment. But we didn't see it. We had also stopped on
the Hoover Dam for a few minutes to see the wonder of this man-made wonder.
Even cooler was the bridge they are attempting to build over the valley.

The next day we headed north and stopped briefly at Jacob Wall's home to
see Hazel and play some WiiFit before heading to Jacob Webb's home to spend
the night. We had so much fun at the Webb home as the weather was
fantastic and the backyard made for fun playing with the kids. Enok had a
lot of fun with Ellery (yikes - how do you spell that?). The weekend was
spent with my parents, the Walls and the Webbs. We had fun playing soccer,
eating Mexican food, eating BBQ (Webb made some great shrimp that night,
too), drinking apple beer, playing Wii, playing in rivers, losing shoes in
canals and seeing dinosaurs at the museum. We also visited our friends the
Fosters up in SLC and enjoyed laughing with them. It made me really miss
having friends here in Phoenix. Why can't everyone in UT move down here?
Tevia is pretty adamant that we will not be moving there. The main event
was Jacob's blessing of his new daughter Hazel Marie. He did a good job
and I think he may have even choked up a little during the blessing. This
would have proven to me that he is human - but we all know Cylons have
emotions too. We got to see a few family members (Grandpa Wall, Brooke and
Carol, Bonnie and Craig, Andy, etc.) for a brief period of time. It was an
overall wonderful trip.

Tuesday we headed back and this time drove straight through. We did stop
for an hour or so at a spot I had seen when Tommy and I drove up in the
winter. It is a place in the small piece of AZ between LV and St. George
along the Virgin River. At the time we passed it on I-15 it had looked
like a great place to camp and spend time with the family. Upon stopping
there on Tuesday I was happy to see that it was a wonderful place. We had
the small path and river all to ourselves that Tuesday morning. The river
was shallow and warm. The sand was soft and warm. It was ideal and a
great place for a quick stop. The boys loved playing in the water. I
loved the water and beautiful scenery. It certainly looked like an ideal
place for a "desert trip" type camping experience with some water.
Certainly not as remote (e.g. accessible by car) which could be good and/or
bad.

We got home safe and sound and still it seems too cold to swim in our pool.
How can it be June and not be warm enough to swim?? Seems odd. Global
warming is a scam. =)