Only 7 more hours...

I go in for my wisdom-teethectomy today at 3:00pm (yikes) and am feeling a little bit shaky, a little bit nervous about it. It will be a relief to have it all over with, I just fear a rough recovery. The thought of having 4 gaping holes in my mouth doesn't sound so good, especially when trying to eat.

Speaking of eating, I can't eat 8 hours before the surgery so Lori and I met at IHOP this morning at 6:00am. We both ended up being early and were at the door saying "open, open" at 5:47am! What in the world? They didn't even open until 6:00am. Good grief. We loaded up with a hearty breakfast (the most I've eaten since last Friday) so hopefully I'll be okay until I can eat again (whenever that may be). Lori has a job interview in Salt Lake at 9:00 this morning, but was really kind to suggest and follow through with this early-morning breakfast scheme. I probably wouldn't have eaten anything if we hadn't done this.

I failed to post a picture last week of the good mail Michelle A. hand-delivered to me when we met for lunch. She brought me some Canadian goodies (the Moose Droppings were eaten right away and all by me). Thanks Michelle!

I got my first good mail from my old BYU friend Sarah this week. She sent me this really nice Monet card full of nice words, along with a load of tasty milk chocolate (my favorite). I was in the pits of despair when I received her package so I couldn't eat any of it, but was definitely happy to receive some good mail. Thanks Sarah!

I also received this cute thank you card from Miss Fancy, Sista#2 herself. Thanks Janae!

I also got this wickedly cute card (if I do say so myself) from Sista #5 Anna on the same day. Thanks Anna!


This is what the desk next to my bed looks like these days. Even though I've been miserable and spending large amounts of time in bed, this scene still makes me happy. I love to see the good mail (which Randy delivered to me while I was praying for death on Tuesday). Good times. Sarah also sent me this great Ralph Waldo Emerson quote (leaning on the lamp in the picture) which I failed to include in the picture of the good mail she sent.


Today is Whitney's last day of school. The "dance festival" was yesterday morning so I spent an hour standing in the hot sun, feeling dizzy and weepy (because of my meds) waiting for her to do her dance. She wasn't very enthusiastic (remember the Not So Holly Jolly Christmas performance?). I'm glad school is almost over, I'm sick of running back and forth to the school everyday and am looking forward to having no schedule for awhile.

P.S. Amie needs help with her RS lesson this week, read her post today and weigh in okay?

Happy Birthday Amy S.!!

**I've got nothing to say.**

Return of the Interim Blogger

Howdy folks. Yes, it is I, the famous I.B. reporting to you live from sunny American Fork. Jill asked me to give you all a quick update on her wisdom teeth situation as she slowly curls into a fetal position on our bed. Though to be honest, slipping into the cozy at 5:20pm sounds pretty good--too bad it has to be spoiled by throbbing, will-sapping pain.

Last night she seemed to have a nice respite from the agony--long enough to eat some tasty mashed potatoes (minimal chewing) from Chili's takeout and enjoy a couple episodes of "On the Lot." Have you seen this show? It's like American Idol for directors and film makers. Last night their assignment was to create a 60 second comedy short. They had to come up with an idea, write it, direct it, and edit it. There were some very cool results. The final winner gets a million deal with DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg. That's a pretty sweet prize.

Back to the mind-splitting torture. So earlier today she was feeling better so she ventured out to Seven Peaks water park with Landon and Whitney to celebrate Jessica's (Amie's daughter) birthday. She made it about halfway through the event when the pain returned with extreme prejudice. A few calls later and she was filling out paperwork in the oral surgeons office. No, she didn't get them removed today. But she does have an appointment for Thursday afternoon. The doctor said her teeth are infected and wrote her a prescription for antibiotics--which I am picking up at 6:00pm. It's 5:30pm now and I am squeezing this in until I have to leave for Walgreens. Hopefully the meds will do their thing. It's so sad to see your wife whimper.

Sorry this isn't longer, but I type slowly and I need to take dinner orders before heading out the door. If Jill is still not up to snuff tomorrow, the I.B. may strike again...

Memorial Day Bbq

I didn't think I was going to be up for the family festivities today, but decided to brave it. I'm glad I did because even though my teeth still hurt, it ended up being a fun day with some quality laughing, good food (the little that I could eat) and it was nice to be out doing something. We drove out to freakin Eagle Mountain to my parents' house for a barbecue and to celebrate my niece Tess' 5th birthday. The kids were super excited to get to play with "the cousins" again (we just had game night last Friday) and to play in the water in the backyard.


It ended up being insanely windy (Eagle Mountain is ALWAYS windy) and overcast so we thought the kids would only last about 5 minutes in the water, but surprisingly they stayed out there for an hour or so. Sure their lips were purple when they were finished, but their persistence was admirable. Tess even conquered her fear of the wind!

{Lori is bent over laughing in this picture}

Lori had planned a bunch of games involving the kids partnering up with one of the adults. This proved to be quite hilarious (Lori laughed hardest of all and has the best laugh ever, which proved entertaining for the rest of us). Because of my ailing status I got to be the judge for the events. These included croquet with the child giving directions to the blindfolded adult, water balloon baseball, the dizzy run, and a relay race.


We used scarves for blindfolds and eventually for warmth because the wind was blowing so hard and the sun had gone into hiding. (I of course loved not being too hot for once!) I thought it was so funny that Whitney went from swimming for an hour to wearing my mom's winter coat and a scarf.


The best feature of my parents' house (which is for sale by the way) is the awesome covered porch on the back of the house. It's like another room of the house, but has screens all the way around so we can be outside, but not really. We hung out there around the table the rest of the time, which was thoroughly enjoyable. I had to lean back and close my eyes and try to find my happy place a few times to cope with the pain, but overall it was great.


I'm planning on calling the oral surgeon first thing tomorrow morning, and am so grateful that Lori is available to help out with the kids (her Beauty School drop out status has definitely benefited me). I don't want to miss Whitney's field day or dance festival at school and I haven't taken care of her teacher's gift yet, but since I'm not functioning all that well anyway I might as well get my wisdom teeth out and be done with it right? I don't know why I didn't need to get these out back in high school when my tolerance for pain was much higher, I feel like such a wuss now.

**What did you do today?
Are you more of a wuss as you get older?**

Sunday Thought...kind of

My internet has been down since 2:00am (yes, I was still up) until this evening, hence the lack of a Sunday thoughts post until 9:30pm. I stayed home from church today (fortunately it wasn't my week to teach) and cacked out in bed all reading Angle of Repose. I must say the combination of a stress-free day in bed with a favorite book and pain medication isn't too shabby. My tooth still hurts and the pain definitely comes in waves, but the meds are helping me rest and are getting me through. What a relief. (No, I did NOT draw the illustration for my last post, I found it online.) Kelly's offer to fly to Oregon to have her husband help me out is quite generous, though how sad would it be to meet her for the first time while in great pain and with a swollen face? Crazy.


So here is my thought for today.

"What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be. No person can study this divine personality, can accept his teachings without becoming conscious of an uplifting and refining influence within himself." --David O. McKay

**Thoughts?**

Coming to a mailbox near you!

My big face...


Barb sent me a sheet of personalized postage stamps with my picture on them! I think this is an incredibly clever and thoughtful good mail gift, but have to laugh at the thought of my face floating through the postal system. So don't be afraid if you open your mailbox and see me staring back at you. Thanks Barb!! (Click on picture to enlarge it and read her sweet message.)
I got this nice thank you note from Jenny D. today for the good mail labels I sent her. Thanks Jenny!


In other news I've been suicidal over my pulsing wisdom tooth today. I don't know what happened but last night the pain went from manageable (with ibuprofen) to unbearable. Of course it's Memorial Day weekend so an emergency wisdom toothectomy isn't possible, plus next Tuesday and Wednesday are the last two fun-filled days of school for Whitney and I can't afford to be out of commission, so that means Thursday morning after Whitney's early-out last day of school is the first chance I'll have to be put out of my misery.


I have NEVER felt pain like this before and can only compare it to labor contractions! That seems a bit extreme, but it seems to wax and wane in intensity and is making me wish for death (so that sounds like labor right?). Fortunately after much phone tag with Kristi, her husband was able to call me in a prescription for something a bit stronger to get me through the next few days. What a relief and a miracle! Randy went and picked it up for me and then I slept for 4 hours! I have hope that I can survive. Thank you Jeff and Kristi!!!!

**What do you think of Barb's idea?
Have you ever been suicidal because of pain?**

Generosity, Victory & Disappointment

Yesterday was a rough, PMS-filled day for me. I think the combination of the PMS and negotiating my way out of working out yesterday (in the name of sleep) was foolish and a recipe for disaster. I felt groggy and irritable all day. I'm finally figuring out that I feel better with 6 hours of sleep and a workout than I do with 8 hours of sleep and no workout. Ideally I'd have 8 hours of sleep AND a workout, but let's not get crazy that means I'd have to be in bed by 10:00pm.

Anyway, I was trudging through my afternoon when I got a mysterious package in the mail. The return address was for a ribbon company in Illinois. I was intrigued and excited. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and saw all these beautiful spools of ribbon, in the same colors I had just discovered I was lacking after last week's ribbon organizing fest with Jessica.

Heather S. must have gotten online immediately after reading my Friday post. What a generous and thoughtful thing to do. Thank you Heather!!

I got this beautiful post card from Michelle today. No, it didn't hurt or make me long to be in Paris with her at all. (Note sarcasm here.) Thanks Michelle, keep them coming okay?

Last week Tasha sent me this amusing and thoughtful good mail package. In her note she referred to it as "Dorky Mail" rather than good mail, but I beg to differ. These are maxi-pad type things that stick on the forehead when a migraine is coming on. I've never seen these before, but I will definitely try them out next time I get one. Thanks for thinking of me Tasha!

Lisa sent me this nice note full of kind words. It's always a relief to hear from someone after meeting them for the first time, it's reassuring to know it wasn't a total let down meeting me. (The return address got smeared when the kids got the envelope wet @$!&%.

Chanel sent me this nice thank you note for the good mail I had recently sent her.

Last night was the Pinewood Derby for Pack Meeting (why do I dread Pack Meeting so much?). Landon decided to spike his hair for the night (yikes!) but he won the overall derby!

Here is a blurry (in a good way) shot of his car getting first place (the flames Randy painted look cool). It was surprisingly exciting to watch his car win.

They had a high-tech system with timed finishes and a screen with the boys' names and times on it. It was impressive considering how scouts usually goes, though they did start like 20 minutes late!

Whitney wanted to get in on the action so Randy had gotten her a car while I was in Paris. He didn't put weights on the bottom of her car, so it wasn't a speedy thing and didn't even make it across the finish line one of the two times she got to race it (after the official races were over). She cried, but was quickly consoled when the cookie table was revealed. (Go figure!)

I had to leave the Pinewood Derby after the first 3 races so that I could meet up with Jenn and company to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 up in Sandy at Jordan Commons theater. I was pretty excited to see the movie on opening night, but was a little bummed that Randy couldn't go with me (or Lori or Adam) so I just met up with Jenn, her husband and her siblings. I ended up being pretty disappointed in the movie because it was soooo long (2 hours 48 minutes) and had too many battles and special effects and not enough story line or Jack Sparrow goodness. It was still fun to see and I'm thankful that Jenn shared one of her prized tickets with me.

**What do you think??**

Good Day Photos

Here are the photos from my fun day out.

I met Michell A. and her girls for lunch at Cafe Pierpont in Salt Lake. We were there for 2 hours and never ran out of things to talk about. Her girls did great (though they kept her busy).

We had some seriously bad photos taken my one of the restaurant employees, so we snapped this self-portrait outside. This is much better, but I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have a normal chin and neck $%%@#!


The temple always looks beautiful, but it was particularly nice to see it in the spring like this. I love all the trees and flowers on the grounds, it's like paradise.

Roses are in bloom all over the place right now and it smells heavenly. There were lots of beautiful roses on the Temple Grounds, this is just one of them.


This is my attempt at a self-portrait with the temple in the background. I felt very self-conscious taking this picture and just wanted to hurry and finish before the old people sitting on the benches nearby thought I was crazy.


There was an area outside the temple grounds with tables and chairs like this. There were business people eating their lunches out there, people enjoying the beauty of the grounds, and me loving it there.


I sat at the table and wrote a Just Because note. It was breezy and beautiful sitting there, I could have stayed there all day.

Whitney with her treats after her game...that's the best part of the whole thing for her.

Landon standing next to a 4 year-old little girl who plays on his team and Whitney's team.


Amy totally spoiled us with all the great food she prepared. She got three kinds of tasty cheese, baguettes, ham, bacon, spinach, apple salad and all sorts of great panini fixins.


Amy got these cupcakes from a French Bakery in Salt Lake. They were sooooo good. She split them all in half so we just got a little taste (torture). The vanilla one was especially intoxicating to Jenn and I, so much so that we didn't want to drink anything because we wanted the taste to linger for as long as possible.


We hung out in Amy's awesome scrapbook room while she downloaded all our Paris pictures onto her computer. I'm so excited to have them all on cd.

**Has Kristi inspired you to be
a tourist in your own town?
Thoughts??**

Oh so weary...

It's almost midnight and I'm just getting home from my busy day of fun, so I'm too tired to blog about my day but didn't want to go to bed without posting a little something. Here's my day in bullet point format.

• Early morning power walk
• Brief phone call with Michelle (finally)
  
• Got Whitney to school 10 minutes late!!
• Lori came over to watch the kids
• Lunch at Cafe Pierpont with Michelle A. and her daughters
• Walked around Temple Square taking photos of flowers and the temple (being a tourist in my own town like Kristi!)
• Home for a nap (delicious)
• Kids baseball games (it was windy and freezing!)
• Book club dinner and reminiscing night at Amy's, we also downloaded all our Paris photos onto her computer so she can compile them all on discs for us. We had awesome Panini's for dinner and tasty cupcakes from a French Bakery in Salt Lake. (We missed Michelle though.)
• Super tired now and keep re-evaluating my schedule for tomorrow so that I can sleep more. Working out should be nonnegotiable, but I want more than 6 hours of sleep!

**How was your day?**

I'm off...

To meet Michelle A. in Salt Lake for lunch, how about that? I'll report back later. Good times.

Friendship--SPT

{Blurry basket of goodness from Michelle}

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have a rather idealistic view of friendship and tend to commit to my friends for life. It's a matter of pride (uh-oh) with me that I have lots of friends because it means I know how to be a friend.

"Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families."
--Anonymous

I think the Lord has blessed me with good friends throughout my life to compensate for the closeness my family sometimes lacks and as a way of comforting me through many, many moves while I was growing up. (I don't mean this as an insult to my family, I'm just saying that friendship fills in the gaps.)

{Betsy and I before homecoming 1987}

"A friend is someone who understands your past,
believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are."
--Anonymous

I have friends who I have known for a very long time and we have grown and changed together. There's something to be said for old friendships and a history together; it's comforting even though they know about my past immaturities and faults (and we went through really big hair together) .

{Kristi, Michelle and I June 24, 1991}

"Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."
--Anais Nin

All of my friends have different talents and strengths that I admire and want to emulate. There are whole sides of myself that I never knew existed until they were brought out by my friends. Michelle and Kristi are two prime examples of this, both are super talented and have a way of making me want to be more than I am.

{Amy's self-timer picture in Paris}

"Perhaps the most delightful friendships are those in
which there is much agreement, much disputation,
and yet more personal liking."
--George Eliot

This aspect of friendship has taken me years to enjoy because I used to feel threatened (and sometimes still do) when someone disagrees with me or doesn't like something I really love. I remember when my family moved to Michigan from California the summer before I started 8th grade, I used to daydream about the best friend I was going to have. I wished her last name would start with an "M" like mine did so our lockers would be next to each other, I wished she'd live down the street from me, I wanted her to like all the things I liked and to basically be just like me. I now know this would have been suffocating and annoying because I get sick of myself sometimes. Now I can enjoy the differences in my friends, because ultimately we have enough respect and love for each other that I don't feel threatened anymore. (Phew!)

"Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance."
--Rabindranath Tagore

Blogging has opened up a whole new world of friendships like nothing I've ever experienced before. I feel close and involved with many of your lives even though I've never personally met you or have maybe met you once. It's kind of bizarre if you think about it, but since blogging allows us to cut through the crap and see each others' hearts, we're able to discard much of the judgment we would have fallen victim to if we met each other in another setting. What a gift this is!

**How do you feel about friendship?**

Happy Birthday to Anna!!

Currently..

Since I'm at a loss for what to blog about today and since everyone seems to be on a blogging hiatus I'm making up my list of things that I'm thinking about and feeling as of today.


Currently...


I am loving
The cooler weather and fantastic breeze.
Staying home today.
Listening to John Adams on my iPod.

I wish
I could teleport to Paris and hang out with Michelle.
I could retain more of what I read.
I was more consistently happy with myself and others.


I dislike
Weeding.
Having to come up with something for dinner.
People trying to portray themselves as something they're not.


Results of most recent Blog Quizzes taken
Apparently I'm most like Callie on Grey's Anatomy.
I'm most like a sneaker (no surprise there).
I'm most like Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.


Favorites at home
My scrapbook room and computer.
Reading on my bed.
Enjoying the flowers in our yard.


Thinking About
Going visiting teaching this week.
How much my fillings are bothering me.
How fast time goes.


Craving
A real lunch, preferably Cafe Rio.
Chocolate Mousse.
Some good mail.

**What about you??**