#2970 the three of us together again

He did it!

It took MT 39 days to hike the Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango. He started on Sunday, 13 July and officially finished on Wednesday 20 August. He took five "zero days" which are days when he was in a town resupplying, doing laundry, eating real food, and sleeping in a bed. Such luxuries. His brother picked him and brought him home yesterday afternoon, and you know, I cried a little. Kevin said it was the most emotion he has ever seen from me. I'm pretty sure he wasn't telling the whole truth because I have known him a long time - like longer than I've known his brother, the dude I married!

MT lost a good 22 lbs on trail. He's not a big guy to begin with, but his tummy was definitely smaller than when he left. This morning he put on a button front shirt that he hadn't worn for awhile and it fit him very well. He looks good. His beard is a little thicker than when he left, and he is very tan on his arms and face.

He said he had a marvelous time. It helped that he found a person to hike with, a Swedish woman named Emily who called him Uncle Marty. He is a social man, and walking alone was tough for him, so I am glad that he found someone to hike with. 

For now, MT says he will do day hikes in the Wasatch Mountains here in Utah. He's not saying he'll never do another through-hike, but he said he doesn't think he would want to be gone that long if he did another one. We'll see LOL

T is improving bit by bit. He seems to be staying awake a little longer and is walking more upright. We took the bandage off his back, and the cut is maybe a couple of inches long. He says his calf still aches, so I worry about permanent damage there. He will not have home physical therapy after all, since he is able to walk up and down the stairs and is progressing with his recovery. He will have outpatient PT, though. I want him to regain his posture and walk without that walker. Only a physical therapist is going to get him to do that, and I say that as someone who has had three bouts of PT (two knees and a shoulder.) Physical therapists get your body right again.

For me, now that MT is home and T is on the mend, I am focused on my upcoming vacation! Candice dropped off the paperwork packed with the air and hotel information as well as verifications for transfers. The cruise documents should be coming next week. Candice supplies hard copies, and all the information is also on the app she works on. Candice does a great job of putting our vacations together. Whether it is me and Lizzie or me and MT, we always want extra stuff. She still says we are her favorite clients, though! MT and I have been using her services for nearly 20 years. She gets us.

I'm a little bummed out because I haven't taken the time to draw or paint this week. I doodle a little something daily, but it's not the same. It's fun, but not quite as satisfying. Here's hoping that next week has a little more art and a lot less angst. 

Have a great week! 

#2969 three things: a week later, coming home, and the end of my concert season

THREE THINGS

1. One week later. T had surgery on the herniated disc a week ago yesterday, so today marks one week since he has been home. He is doing a good job managing the pain, and I see him moving around better every day and doing the little exercises the doctor told him to do at home. He'll start outpatient physical therapy after the follow-up appointment with the surgeon. That appointment is scheduled for Sept. 4. Tonight we will take the bandage off his back. I feel a morbid curiosity about it. 

2. MT is coming home. Yesterday, Aug 20, 39 days from when he started walking from Denver, MT reached Durango, CO. He said he is happy he did it and happy to be done with it, too, and that he is looking forward to coming home. He has been away from home so much this year that I kind of worry about him being bored and unhappy. I think he'll be fine for a month or so, and then? Hopefully he will be content. I am looking forward to his being home. I haven't minded his not being here except for the past week or so. That whole business with T was stressful and maybe it would have been nice to have MT around for moral support. However, MT was on the trail and I took care of stuff as best I could, so that's that. I am really happy for MT and proud of him for completing the hike. 483 miles walked in 39 days is no small thing. Good for him!

3. My RBG concert season is over. Last week I was scheduled to work a concert on Wednesday, the day of T's surgery, so obviously I let the volunteer office know I wouldn't be able to work. I had the last show on my schedule this coming Monday, the 25th, but I backed out of that one, too. I wasn't sure when MT was going to be home, and I don't like to leave T alone for too long. It all works out because MT will be home on Saturday or maybe Sunday, and I'll be glad to stay home Monday night to hang out with him and hear some new stories and look at his photos. I worked 10 shows this year, and I think that's a good number. It's the number I had in mind at the start of the concert season. I've already achieved my goal of getting 101 volunteer hours this summer. I still have a few shifts left to work, but I'm ready to wind down. 

 

#2968 48 hours

 

 HEADS UP: THIS IS A LONG POST.

When I wrote here a week ago, I was all excited about the fun, musical week ahead. There was some music, but there was also a wild 48 hour span that flipped everything around. Let me tell you about it.

On Tuesday afternoon I took T to a physical therapist. He couldn't seem to stand up straight, saying it hurt in his right calf when he tried to stand up. He also said his right foot was numb and that his toes tingled. Looking at him, you would think something was wrong with his back since he was all hunched over like Quasimodo, but he said his back didn't hurt. 

After an evaluation, the physical therapist advised us to go to the ER and ask the doctor to check for nerve damage. She wasn't sure what was causing it, but suspected something in the back that was pinching the nerve that goes down the leg. This is the beginning of the 48 wild hours. It was 5:30 pm.

We went directly to the emergency room in our neighborhood. It is linked to St. Marks Hospital, and it has most of the testing machines that are in the big ER in the hospital. Dr. Olesky was on duty that night, and after we told him what the physical therapist said, he ordered blood work, an ultrasound on the hip, x-rays of the calf and a CT scan of the spine. The CT scan was difficult for T because he couldn't straighten his back to lie flat. It was quite painful and he returned to the room in tears with the apologetic radiology technician. A bit later, another radiology tech came in and said he had an idea about how to get the scan without having T lie flat, so they tried it. T came back teary and apologetic for having yelled at the tech, to which the man replied, "It's okay. I've heard worse." The tech told me that he thought he was able to get an image of the spine, and that the doctor would talk to us soon.

The ultrasound technician came to the room to do the test, and I stepped out in the hallway. Dr. Olesky found me there and let me know that the CT scan showed a bulging disc in T's back, and he was waiting for the surgeon at the hospital to call him back to verify what he'd seen and to make a plan for fixing the problem.

When I got back in the room with T, I didn't say anything. T was getting restless, and he was in a lot of pain from all the poking and prodding that had been happening. We'd been in the ER for a few hours by that point, and T was ready to go home. That's when Dr. Olesky came in with the news that T had a bulging disc in his spine and would be taken to St. Marks by ambulance and that he would have surgery to remove the hernia the next day, probably in the morning. The ambulance came about 20 minutes later and T was whisked away to the hospital. I went home to feed the dogs and get some clothes and chargers for T, then I drove up to the hospital, which is about 20 minutes away from our house on the east side of the city. I got there around 10:30 pm.

T seemed a little dazed by how quickly everything was happening, but he was also in a cloud of pain-killers so he felt more calm. I got him situated, talked to the nurse about what was going to happen, and left the hospital around 11:45 pm. I slept poorly. I was freaking out a bit, but there was nothing for it. This was all happening, and I was going to cope and figure it out as best I could.

I was back at the hospital by 7am, and the surgeon, Dr. Sikora, came to see us by 7:30. He told T there was a big bulging disc in his back that was severely pinching the nerves on the right side of his leg that was causing the pain in the calf and the numbness in the feet. He said it needed to be removed immediately to stop any further nerve damage, and that he was concerned there may be permanent damage already done. The surgery was scheduled for 5:00 pm, but he would try to get him in earlier. 

T went back to sleep, and I decided I would stay at the hospital all day. A local coffee place, Grounds for Coffee, had a shop on the main floor, so I figured I'd need at least one coffee to get the day going. I met Dr. Sikora in the hall and we had a good chat while we walked to our respective elevators. He told me it was going to be a great day and T would be better soon. 

Around 2:15 T was taken to surgery. Dr. Sikora called around 4:00 to say the surgery was successful. He had removed a "massive" hernia from T's back and he was confident that T would have a good recovery and the pain would be gone from his leg. The hernia was about the size of a pink pearl eraser - around four centimeters, about an inch and a half. We do have a pic of the hernia itself, but I won't post it, because it's ugly and gave me a nightmare. 

 

T got back to his room around 5:15. He was groggy, of course, but laying fully horizontally on the bed which was something I hadn't seen in a few weeks. Dr. Sikora came in to check on T and show us the photo of the hernia - now a part of T's medical record - and to tell us that T would spend the night in the hospital and be released the next day.  T was hungry since he hadn't eaten for a at least 24 hours, so I got him some food from McDonalds and I went home around 9:30.

I was back at the hospital by 7am. Ally, Dr. Sikora's PA came around 7:15 to check on T and gave us information about going home and what happens next. T will have at-home physical therapy for a couple of weeks, then outpatient PT. Dr. Sikora came in a bit later to make sure all was well and said he'd see us in a couple of weeks in his office for a follow up. A physical therapist came in to get T up and moving. He walked down the long hallway using a walker to the PT room where he got to practice going up and down stairs. 

He was released from the hospital around 1pm, and we got home at 1:30. The dogs were super-excited to see him and took a little time to calm down. They wanted to lay by him while he was sitting on the couch, but T didn't like to have them close to his leg or back. Eventually everyone settled down. I went to the pharmacy to pick up the meds and to get a walker (I'm not sure why we didn't get one at the hospital, something about insurance.) I got home with the meds and the walker around 5:30, and that was the end of the weird 48 hours. 

Not to say that the time after 5:30 on Thursday hasn't been odd. It's low-key awful to see your 27 year old son using a walker, knowing he has a big incision in his back where the surgeon cut through tissue and muscle to get to the thing that shouldn't have been there. Overall, I'd say T is doing well. He is more upright, although not completely straight yet. He's taking full steps with the walker instead of shuffling with little steps. He's getting up and down the stairs well, and I watch him carefully when he's on the stairs. I've asked him not to go up and down without me or someone (Jordyn) around. 

So there you go. It's been a wild week! I had already planned a quiet weekend, and I haven't done much (except for that Chris Stapleton concert last night!) I've been napping and taking it easy, and I'm starting to feel more calm and relaxed. 

Surely there will be more stories about T's recovery, but that's all for now. MT is doing great on the Colorado Trail and was upset about what was happening here at home, although there wasn't anything he could do or could have done about it anyway. MT will likely be home a week from today

#2961 3 things: Sunday family version

This pic is an oldie but a goodie from back in 2020. That's Mac photobombing our family portrait, back when she was an only dog.

Tonight I wanted to take a quick minute to update y'all on the three of us.

1. MT. He has been out on the Colorado Trail for eight days now and has covered 102.4 miles with no off days. He did go off-trail on Thursday afternoon to spend the night in the town of Fairplay. He wanted a shower and to wash some clothes, and he was back on-trail the next day. Tomorrow will be a "zero day," a day of rest, zero time on trail. He is in the town of Frisco at a hotel. When I talked to him tonight, he was appreciating the comfort of a bed and air conditioning. He feels good, is pleased with his progress, and is happy to be doing the hike. Here is a pic he posted on Facebook tonight:

MT on the Colorado Trail

2. T. Right now, the youngest member of the family is the least mobile. T has a deep bruise in his right quad muscle. On Thursday he was in so much pain, his whole body was quivering and he could hardly put weight on the leg. I took him to the ER where he was diagnosed with this deep bruise. The only cure for it is to mitigate the pain with a layering of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, heat/ice, and rest. He's been doing the resting, but hasn't been as diligent about the other parts. Today when I got home from RBGA (Red Butte Garden and Arboretum), he was in tears from the pain. He was scheduled to go back to work at FedEx tomorrow, but there's no way he could do the job. We went back to the ER and the doctor extended his order for T to have until July 24 off. This evening I have been monitoring his heat/ice schedule, making sure he has his meds and plenty of hydrating liquids, and encouraged him to take a shower which cooled his body and his temper. He is more calm now, but still in pain.

3. Me. I am doing okay. I have decided to cancel my trip to CA to visit Mom and Lizzie this week because I feel that it will be better for me to stay home with T, especially as he is having such a hard time walking. I'm bummed, for sure. I was looking forward to seeing my fav women. I just didn't feel right about leaving T. 

So there you have it. MT is having his turn at living his best life. T is experiencing physical pain for maybe the first time, and I am just plugging along. Hopefully I will have a good update on T for you on Wednesday or Thursday. 

Have a great week! 

#2888 three things: spring, taste buds, and happy birthday

 1. Happy Spring! The warmer temperatures and pleasant breezes are welcome in my life. I am delighted by the budding leaves at the tippy-top of my maple trees, the spring bulbs that are peaking out of the ground and showing their wee flowers, and even the extra few minutes of daylight in the evenings. I'm not a big fan of daylight savings time; in the summer, I don't enjoy going to bed when the sun is still in the sky at 9:30 pm, but right now it is fine because the sun goes down around 7:30 or so. 

We were in northern California over the weekend, and it was beautiful there. Trees and flowers were blooming all over the place, and temperatures in the low-to-mid 70s. It was glorious! There is a big magnolia tree in the front yard of the house, and it was an explosion of pink blossoms. 

2. Changing tastes. I read or heard somewhere that a person's tastes in food change every seven years or so. I totally believe this, although I'm less clear on the time frame. There are a couple of examples of this in my life: I didn't eat avocados until I was 50 or so, and now I can't get enough of them. Also, as recently as a year ago, I couldn't seem to go a day without a Diet Coke, and now I don't even like the taste of cola. Who would have thunk it? I think my tastes may be changing again, because right now, all I want to eat is salad and I have a deep yearning to eat roasted vegetables, which is completely out of character for me, an avowed carnivore. I see videos of Mediterranean diet recipes featuring a lot of roasted veg and I find myself thinking, "Damn, that looks good." I don't see myself turning vegan or vegetarian, but I think I'm going to have to explore some new recipes. (I think I just heard my mom fall over in shock.)

3. Happy birthday, T! Yesterday was my son's 26th birthday. He's having a bit of a rough time, struggling with some depression in general and birthday blues in particular. 26 is kind of a big deal, since the government says he can no longer be on my insurance. (He does have insurance that we got through the exchange.) I worry about him, though. He's in a rut, and doesn't seem to know how to get out of it, and it is sad for me to see him feeling sad. He may be a man(child), but he's still my boy.

#2841 weekend wrap-up

On Friday and Saturday, MT went to Idaho to visit his folks and siblings. All four of the brothers and sister were together for the first time in awhile, so I'm glad he got to spend a little time with all of them. I had self-care Saturday yesterday, and it was pretty great. I had it booked and planned for awhile, so I would have been doing things whether MT was here or not. 

On Saturday, I got my hair cut. I probably got an inch of hair chopped off. It was starting to look frizzy and bushy, so I was glad for the change. It feels good. I also had my eyebrows groomed. They were getting bushy, too, and now they look pleasant.  In between appointments, I had a nice breakfast at Beans & Brews with a good coffee and a brekkie sandwich. I read for a little while, and it was damn pleasant.

In the afternoon, I played with the dogs outside. It was sunny though a little chilly. I haven't been taking the dogs for walks because Stella freaks out and barks the whole time. She would rather play frisbee in the yard than go for a walk. I'd like to take Mac and Harley walking, but it's hard to leave Stella behind, even though she doesn't really want to go. I think she gets FOMO (fear of missing out.) Instead of walking, we play in the back yard. Sometimes Mac will play with a ball, but mostly Mac and Harley "hunt" for kibbles. I toss kibbles out in the grass, kinda like chicken feed, and the girls sniff out the kibbles and gobble them up. Meanwhile, Stella runs after the frisbee. She could care less about the kibbles. I threw one to her; it hit her between the eyes and bounced off her face. She didn't even bat an eye, just kept looking at me and her frisbee. It's not an ideal situation, but it is where we are right now. MT still takes the dogs for a walk in the morning. Sometimes he will leave Stella at home because she's a brat. He told me the other day that she slipped right out of her collar. She kept walking along with them, but they turned around and came home early. 

When I got tired of throwing the frisbee, I sat on the deck. We got a different toy for Stella to fetch. Mac and Harley chased each other around and wrestled on the grass. It felt so good to get a little sunshine on my face! Stella liked it, too. 

Most of the day, I read and puttered around the house. I napped, too. All good.

Today, Sunday, is T's 25th birthday. I think he has had a good day. He got some groovy gifts, and we had a dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant called Carmine's. 

Jordyn and T

birthday dinner!

Here's a couple of art things I did this week. Jill must be in a bird mood, because both prompts involved birds. The first one was to draw an owl. Here's mine; I think he is cute and fluffy-looking.

The prompt we had for today was to draw a bird with the non-dominant hand. I opted for an easy design, which I also painted with my left hand.

The  funny thing about it is that I don't think this bird would look that different if I drew and painted him with my right hand. hahahaha  Naïve art, indeed.

Have a wonderful week!

#2694 Saturday with Sandy

I didn't sleep very well last night. It was warm in my room, and with the dogs on the bed, it was extra snug. Mac often curls up between our pillows, then she gets hot and pants. Her panting is so strong, it feels like the whole bed is vibrating, you know, like those Magic Finger beds back in the day. Today MT got tired of Mac panting in his ear - at least he gets the front end, if you know what I mean - and he pushed her over on me. That caused me to wake up, then I couldn't get back to sleep. I would doze off, then wake up again, and that happened over and over. I believe it is known as "fitful sleeping."  Around 6:00, I took the dogs downstairs for their breakfast, then I sat on the couch with a book. I read for about an hour, then slowly, I found myself lying down on the couch, and the next thing I know, I was snoring merrily. When I woke up, I thought it was around 9:30, but it was 10:30!  So much for going to that 10:30 Zumba class this morning.

It seemed like coffee was the right thing to do, so I got dressed and prepared myself for the day. I hit the Starbucks, and that iced mocha really hit the spot! I took some papers over to the accountant so he could finish up our tax prep, then stopped by Old Navy to see if there was anything that needed to go on vacation with me. There was! I got some cute pointy-toed flats, a couple of tops, and a pair of leggings. I need to try everything on and make sure it will work. I think it will, and I was happy with my purchases. I scurried home to participate in book club. It was our first discussion on our current book, The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. I find that the first discussion of our books is kind of slow, since we are just getting acquainted with the characters and the plot. There seems to be a lot of "what do you think is going to happen next?" questions. 

When book club was finished, I went to the mall. It is T's birthday, and he wanted cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. I also went to Eddie Bauer to see if there was anything there that needed to go on vacation. I found a t-shirt I liked. It was just a plain old cotton t-shirt in a cute color. It was $40. I couldn't do it. $40 for a cotton t-shirt? No thanks. 

Cheesecake slices secured, I came home to find T on a FaceTime call with his pals. When he was done with the call, I asked him where he would like to go for dinner. His first response? Firehouse Subs. Why? Because he gets a free sandwich on his birthday. I told him I'd be happy to buy him dinner and that he didn't have to get a free sandwich. We ended up at the Midvale location of The Pie Pizzeria. Here is T's birthday pic:

Yes, the smile is as fake as the glasses, but I'll take what I can get. It was fun to have dinner out with my menfolk. The pizza was delicious, too. 

After dinner, we dropped T off at his pal's house where they were going to have a little birthday celebration with him. They even got him a cake! We will have cheesecake together tomorrow, and I'll make some food I know T will like, too.

I'm looking forward to crawling into my bed. The temperature is dropping as a cold front is coming in. There's a cold wind out of the south and 100% chance of snow tomorrow. Wouldn't it be great if it is the last snow of the season? I don't know about that, but it is the last snow on the forecast for at least the next nine days. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2605 Saturday with Sandy

Today has been packed full of stuff. 

I started the day by walking the dogs at the park. MT stayed home this morning, so I took the girls out by myself. Usually it takes us about 28 minutes to walk a mile because there is lots of stopping for sniffing. Today we moved right along and we did a mile in 24 minutes. Harley only pulled hard for about the first seven minutes, then she settled into regular pulling. By the time we were near the car, she was pretty much walking right beside me. Mac pulls, too, but not as hard. What’s annoying about Mac is that she darts. What I mean by that is that she will see something and start toward it. I tell her no, and she walks with me for a step or two, then darts back to what she was looking at. The darting really messes with that left shoulder since I usually hold Mac’s leash in the left hand. She doesn’t dart all the time, like Harley pulls all the time, and that’s why I hold Mac on the left. 

Anyway…

MT and I went to pick T up this morning from residential treatment. The doggos were really excited to see T when we got home, and he was equally delighted to see them. T will spend tonight at home, and tomorrow he moves into the sober living place.  He is spending time with some friends this evening. I don’t really pray, but I am offering up all my thoughts that he is taking care of himself. I think he is. I hope he is.

This afternoon, MT and I went to a movie. MT wanted to see a documentary called The Alpinist.  Many scenes in this movie - like ALL the climbing scenes - sparked my anxiety. The anxiety took many forms today: throat-constricting, eye-watering, sweaty palms, breath-holding, covering the eyes, feeling the extreme need to stop watching and leave the room. Sometimes I just had to close my eyes and breathe through it. The subject of the film, Marc-Andre Leclerc, climbs giant mountain walls without a rope. Not only that, he typically climbs mixed surface faces, meaning the wall might be partially covered with ice and snow. My main question during the movie was “How does he get back down?” They don’t really address that issue very much, until the end of the movie. Overall, I didn’t really like the film, mostly because it made me so uncomfortable. The popcorn was excellent, though.

Right now I am watching the Utah - BYU football game. It’s crazy to know that this is the 101st time these two teams have played each other. It is a tremendous rivalry. It is half-time and BYU is up 16 - 7. Might be BYU’s year, but I hope not. Go Utes!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2524 my son is 23

Today is Friday. I have to keep reminding myself because I took a vacation day from work, but it feels like a Saturday because I did Saturday things. But it's Friday. That's cool.

I took a vacation day because it is T's birthday. I feel kinda lucky because we hung out together during most of the daylight hours. Usually he is asleep during the day because he's kind of a vampire. Today he was up early because what he wanted for his birthday was a ticket to the Hive Music Festival. There were some technical difficulties with the ticket seller's site, and I ended up paying a bit more than I wanted, but I persevered and got the ticket. I'm not going to this two day festival, although I am jealous about T seeing Post Malone again. 

In the afternoon, we went to Soulstice Day Spa and got pampered. I got maintenance on my wooly eyebrows and a delightful pedicure. T got a gentleman's manicure and a pedicure. He liked it! Fun fact: the young woman who gave T his mani/pedi was a friend of his from high school!

My pedicure felt so good. I've been trying to take care of my feet over the year, but nothing feels as good as someone else taking care of you. I chose a purple color for my polish. Looks so good and even more importantly, it felt good. 

After the spa appointment, we went over to Barnes and Noble. I looked, but couldn't find anything I really wanted to buy. T hasn't been much of a reader since junior high, probably, so I was excited that he was excited about finding some books. I think he bought six books. I hope he reads them. 

For T's birthday dinner, he wanted Italian food and chose Buca di Beppo. I picked up our order from the downtown location. The menu: Caesar salad, prosciutto-stuffed chicken breast (MT's choice), and fettuccini alfredo. For dessert we had cannoli. It was a filling meal. There are leftovers for tomorrow's (or Sunday's) lunch.  T loves pasta. 

Overall it was a fun day. I think T had a good time, too, and got to do what he wanted. He's home tonight, but is planning to hang out with friends tomorrow to celebrate his birthday. 

Have a great weekend!

#2347 time flies

 My baby is 22 years old. 

Happy birthday T. I love you with all my heart.

#2016 no words

My son celebrated his 20th birthday today.

He's 20 years old. 

When? How? What? I... Uh...

Sigh

#1841 happy birthday T!

My son is celebrating his 19th birthday today! I saw him a little bit this morning and this evening when he came home to have some birthday cake. He's been hanging out with his friends, which is the right thing to do when you're 19.

I was just thinking that I didn't even take a picture of him this morning. I always take a photo of him on his birthday.

Sigh...

Where has the time gone? How could he be 19 already?

Here's hoping his 19th year is better than his 18th year has been.

#1831 throwback Thursday - jumbotron madness

The photo above is  of T and his friend Hagen in the suite at the Jazz game back in March 2012. They are jumping around and having a blast, which is why they are blurry.

The picture itself isn't very great, but it reminds me of what happened during this moment.

Like most sports arenas, there is a big jumbo-tron that hangs above the court. During time-outs, cameras pan the crowd and show fans on the big screen who are dancing or who look like they are having fun. The thing is that fans in the suites rarely show up on the big screen.

Except on this night, Hagen and T were on the jumbo-tron. They were so energetic and manic that they would not be denied and somehow a camera found them and they had their 15 seconds of glory on the big screen at the game. They were so incredibly excited and out of their minds. I wish I had filmed them on the screen, but it happened so fast, all I could get were a couple of photos of their excitement.

T is quiet and mellow. Hagen totally drove this adventure and opportunity. That kid was fueled up on soda and dessert cart. I believe he is clutching a Coca-Cola in this photo. I apologized to his mom when I took him home that night because he was still buzzing. It was very fun to see them get so hyped.

Good times!

#1783 a good start

Happy November everyone! I mostly took last week off from writing because I couldn't convince myself to take the time to write. I think I'm ready to write every day this month though. Happy NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month, of course.)

I have a couple of posts already in mind, one that includes some fresh autumn photos of Red Butte Garden, but I'll save that one so I can tell you a happy story.

My son T has been talking about going to the Mac Miller concert, but he hadn't purchased a ticket because he was low on funds and to his credit, he didn't ask me to buy the ticket for him. Last night as I was driving home, I was listening to the radio, flipping through the stations listening for a song I could sing along with when I got to one of our local rap stations. The DJ said he was giving away meet and greet passes for Mac Miller. I thought I would listen and try to win. Several songs were played and then the DJ talked to someone who won because they heard a Mac Miller song and called in. Problem for me: I don't know Mac's music.

About that time I pulled into my driveway and formulated my plan. I shouted hello to my husband and ran upstairs to my room. (T was at work, so he couldn't listen to the radio and try to win.) I fired up Twitter and started tweeting at the radio station. I tweeted things like:

Hey U92, how about hooking me up with a meet and greet pass for Mac Miller?

The station tweeted back at me that there would be six chances to win in the 7:00 hour.  To which I tweeted:

I'm listening but I don't know Mac's music. I want to win to earn major "Mom Points"

They liked my tweets, but didn't offer anything up. Until I heard the DJ say that it was time to call in for Mac Miller meet and greet passes. I had the number programmed into my phone and I feverishly pushed Call. Busy. Call. Busy. Call. Busy. Call. Busy. You get the idea. That all happened 16 times. On the 17th time, the phone rang. And rang. And rang.

By this time, MT had made his way up the stairs to see what I was doing. That was when U92 answered the phone. The DJ asked me if I wanted Mac Miller meet and greet passes. I kind of squealed and acted the fool, but I got the passes! I gave them T's name which they put on the list and told me the meet and greet was for T plus one. Also, he got a pair of tickets to the show!

About that time, I was feeling like pretty much the best mom in the world.

I texted T to let him know that he was going to have to miss class today so he could meet Mac Miller. He called me about a second later to verify that I wasn't messing with him. He sounded happy and shocked and amazed and grateful.

I tweeted at the radio station to say thanks. They tweeted back at me that they appreciate my listening and that my son has a great mom. Awww!

T's plus one was his BFF Trent. They went over to the radio station and met Mac Miller today. The station had a photographer there to commemorate the event and they put the photos on Facebook. Here's Trent and Mac and T:

T is the one on the right in the black sweatshirt. That smile lets me know that the effort and time I spent trying to get that pass was worth every second.

Right about now the guys should be at the venue getting ready to have lots of fun listening to live music. I hope he has a great time!

What an awesome start to the month!

~~~~~~

I've added some new entries to my 2016 Reading List page. Check out my thoughts on the books I've read this year!

#1781 throwback Thursday - jumping

October 2009

We used to have a trampoline in the back yard when T was younger. T loved to go out and jump on the trampoline, and so did Osi. Osi liked to stretch out on the tramp and lay in the sun, and when she got too hot, she would lie down on the grass under the tramp. T was a good jumper. I don't really remember him doing flips and stuff, but I'm sure he did. He liked to jump high. It was funny to watch him double bounce the dog.

I just noticed that this photo looks like T is jumping off the fence, but it's just an illusion. Funny though!

I loved taking photos of T and Osi on the trampoline. I have lots of these kinds of photos.

#1744 throwback Thursday - Utah football

Happy September! Today was awesome because not only is it the first day of one of my favorite months of the year, but it was also the first day of the college football season! Tonight the University of Utah Utes played the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds here in Salt Lake City. I'm happy to say the Utes dominated - or at least blew the T-birds out 24-0. Like I said, the first game of the season and the Utes have some stuff to work on, but they got the result against the Thunderbirds, so it's good. I was happy to be watching football from the cozy comfort of my couch.




Check out this throwback pic:

I think this photo is from the very first Utah game that T and I ever went to, taken in November 2005.  Tonight he attended the game as a member of the Mighty Utah Student Section, the MUSS.

Sorta cool, isn't it?

Catch ya tomorrow!

#1727 three things: politics, the man-child and weight loss struggles

Three things:

1. Oops! I didn't write last night because I was watching the Democratic National Convention. Last week I watched the Republican National Convention. I think it's important to know what both sides are saying in order to make a very important decision. I follow so many different news sources on Facebook and Twitter, it's kind of overwhelming. I also follow both Trump and Clinton and I recently added Gary Johnson to my Twitter feed. Johnson is the Libertarian candidate for the presidency.

Of course I didn't get to see Donald Trump's speech last Thursday since I was watching James Taylor sing in concert, but I did read the whole speech the next day.

I'm watching the DNC right now too and I wanted to write before Clinton gives her acceptance speech, so here I am.

2. T is on his way to visit his grandparents in California. He's 18 now; this may be the last summer visit since he's big now. I'm glad that he will have a chance to spend a few days with my parents. I'm glad that he agreed to go. I wasn't sure if he would go because he is very close with his friends (as most of us are at 18). One of the things I love about T is his kind heart and his loyalty to his friends and family. He's a good kid.

What will MT and I do while T is in California? Nothing much different than we do when he is here, really. T spends so much time away from home - at work or with his pals - that MT and I have become used to hanging out with together, just the two of us. It's the circle of life, isn't it? MT and I were together for many years before T was born. It was just the two of us for a long time. Then we had T and he became the focus of our life, maybe too much so if you ask T. That's what happens when you're an only child, I think. You get the full, complete and undivided attention of your parents which can be good and bad I guess.

For me, the transition of T from a child to a young man has been difficult. I have always tried to keep my own interests and hobbies but T's success and growth was my number one priority. He and I did lots of things together and as he has grown up and away a little, it's been hard on me, even though it is how we raised him. Of course I expect him to grow up and be a strong independent man, but between you and me, I miss my little boy. :)

3. I'm struggling with my weight loss journey. I am on such a yo-yo pattern right now. I lost about two and a half pounds a couple of weeks ago, then I gained half a pound the next week and gained another pound and a half last week. I just seem to flex my willpower muscle. I've been exercising regularly but I've also been eating without much thought most days. I try to plan my meals and track them with my WW app and sometimes I am good at it and follow my plan but lots of times I cave into my cravings. I regularly let what I want right now get in the way of what I want.

Last week while I was sitting in the WW meeting, I thought a lot about quitting the program (again). I just don't know if I can do it. I want to lose the weight, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to do it. Sigh. There, I've said it. I don't think of myself as a quitter so it's hard to even think this way. I just don't know how to turn myself around anymore.

Okay that's all I've tonight. I'm worn out. See ya tomorrow.

#1706 three things: exercise, disappointment and liars (unrelated topics!)

Here are the three things on my mind today:

1. Exercise. When I got home tonight I did a Jillian Michael's workout video. The workout is only 30 minutes long, but it's intense. I was sweating like crazy, dripping on my yoga mat. Yes, I worked hard at it, but it's also very warm here. I didn't get a lot of steps from the yoga workout, but I did take a walk today during a break at work. 8,000 steps today? Done.

2. Bummed. I found out tonight that T did not get a scholarship from my work. Was his application not good? Do we make too much money for them to give assistance? I don't know. I'm disappointed, though. No matter what our taxes from last year say, we can use the help to pay for school. It will all work out.

3. They all lie. The big national news today is that the FBI had a press conference in which they talked about Hillary Clinton's stupid use of a personal email server over which she recklessly sent Top Secret and Classified level emails. The FBI also talked about how they couldn't find evidence of Clinton being stupid and reckless in a manner meant to do harm to the country. Of course she lied about the emails and Benghazi.  Everyone covers their ass. She is not the only politician or want-to-be politician that lies. They all lie.  The beauty of America is that you get to decide whose lies you can live with when you cast your ballot in November.  Are either of the presumptive candidates great? No. No they are not. I don't think I would care to have either of them over to my home for dinner but the good news is that having either of them over for dinner is something I'll almost certainly never be faced with. Trying to be the President of the United States is a hideous proposition. Half the people are gonna like you and half the people are going to think you're a giant asshole. All we can do until the election is sort through all the words the media on both sides puts out there and decide what you can live with and realize that even though you cast your vote, the electoral college will decide who runs the country anyway.

Sorry to be such a downer tonight! I'll try to do better tomorrow :)

#1695 T at NSO

MT and I are hanging out by ourselves tonight. Actually, that fact isn't too unusual; T has been enjoying the summer and hangs out with his friends most nights. What makes tonight different is that T is spending the night up at the university as he goes through freshman orientation. It's a two day event that started this morning and goes through tomorrow afternoon. It includes an overnight stay in the dorm.

I was looking at the agenda of the orientation and it seems pretty cool. The new students were split into small groups with an orientation leader. They'll get to figure out what college they will attend and even sign up for classes. There are a lot of other topics that will be discussed also.

It's impressive that the university invests so much time and attention into the new students and helping them get on the right path. I certainly didn't go through anything like the new student orientation when I was starting college. Since college is so expensive these days, any help a student can get to figure out what is what is really helpful.

What an exciting time for T. I hope he is excited, too.

#1683 graduation day!

Today was marked the culmination of T's public school career. He walked across the stage at the Huntsman Center this afternoon and received his high school diploma. It was a fantastic family day. Both sets of T's grandparents were here to celebrate as well as his aunt Lizzie.

After the ceremony we came back to our house and had a little celebration with lots of food and laughter and toasts and love.

As I was driving T to the arena for the graduation, I had a flashback to his first ever day of kindergarten. He was so small and had such a huge backpack. And now he's a high school graduate. I knew this day would come, but the reality is kind of intense.