#2386 weekend wrap-up

With a new puppy in the house, you can imagine that most of the weekend was spent bonding with our new little friend. She's very playful and surprisingly cuddly. She's a shadow. If she's hanging out with me, she'll follow me all around the house. If T is up and around, she'll follow him around. If we are both hanging out, she'll be in the middle where she can keep an eye on both of us. 

I hadn't gotten around to throwing away Osi's toys or her bed, and now I'm kind of glad I didn't. Mac loves them. She went right over to the bed and flopped down in it. Now most of her toys are in the bed and she plays with them all, chewing and yipping and rolling around. She likes to play tug-of-war. Just gotta beware of those sharp puppy teeth. 

She's just eight weeks old, still a baby, so she sleeps quite a bit. T and I are diligent about taking her outside when she wakes up and we've had minimal accidents. There have been a couple of times when she has stood by the back door and yipped, so I've let her out and she ran down the stairs to do her business. Her accidents have happened while she's been playing and just couldn't stop herself.

She's a cute little beastie.

In other news, I had to take T  to the Urgent Care. Yesterday morning he showed me his back and there was what looked like a skin tag but there was light pink skin around it, like an infection. This morning it looked worse, so off we went. The nurse practitioner put some freeze spray on the skin tag and clipped it off. We have some antibiotic cream to put on it (topical ointment) and he is on an antibiotics course for five days. It already looks better. He said it didn't hurt, but I was worried about an infection. 

Tomorrow I go back to the office for the full day. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit nervous. I have been in the office for a few hours at a time, but usually there aren't many other people in the department with me. Tomorrow there will be at least seven of us in the admin area. In Salt Lake County in the past week, from 23 May to 29 May, there have been 518 new cases, an average of about 74 cases a day. When I was home most of the time, I was aware but not too worried. Now that I will be out amongst people, I'm a little more concerned. I'll be okay. I've got a mask and I stay to myself for the most part anyway.

It's just so crazy that I first started working at home on March 17. The first day I recorded COVID-19 data in my journal was 24 March. In the US, there were just over 54K cases and 791 deaths. As of yesterday, there were 1.78 million cases and over 100K deaths. In Utah on 24 March there were just 298 cases and one death; as of yesterday, there are over 9,000 cases and 107 deaths. 5,000 of those Utah cases are in Salt Lake County, and 71 of the deaths. And yes, the Health Department tells us that the deaths are mostly elderly people of other conditions. I'm not really worried of dying from the virus so much as I am worried of getting sick. Scary times. 

Speaking of scary times,  I've been horrified and saddened by what is happening in the U.S. over the weekend. It is astonishing to watch the protests play out in nearly every major American city, including Salt Lake.  I am all for peaceful protests. The looting and setting fires and vandalism are not okay. There have been images of police joining the protesters and images of police being very violent as well. Same with the protesters. I hope all of this activity leads to positive change. I can't imagine what it would be like to be in fear because of the color of my skin. I can't imagine the anguish black mothers and wives are going through, knowing if something goes sideways, their son or husband could be killed. It's not right. 

Take care of yourselves. Be kind. Do the right thing. 

#2249 marvelous Monday memory

I think I  have found a theme for Monday...memories!

Tonight let's go back in time to August 2009. My mom and dad came to visit and we went out to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. This was before I knew that Red Butte Garden even existed! Thanksgiving Point is gorgeous. It differs from RBG in that TP is much more structured. There are definite different gardens there that feature structures. RBG is more natural and free-flowing. Both are beautiful and different from each other.

Thanksgiving Point is large. You can rent golf carts there to drive around. I haven't been there in several years and I'm sure the price has gone up quite a bit. We rented a golf cart for the afternoon and I drove Mom, Dad and T around. I hear you can rent segways there now too. I don't remember much from the day except that it was nice and we had fun. It was 10 years ago! Look how little T is.

August 2009 is also when this sweet pupper became one of our family.

Awwww.  She looks about the same, except bigger and her face has a lot more white hairs. She's always been kind of bad at sitting.

T was excited to get a puppy. They became pals in a hurry. He liked to take her for walks.

She got tired out pretty quick though.

When Osi was a puppy, she had to sleep in a kennel, but I would let her snuggle with T when he went to sleep.

I hope these photos made you smile. :)

#2088 RIP Mac Miller

rest in peace Mac Miller

This is the rapper Mac Miller. He died today of a drug overdose. Although I like rap music, I don't know Mac Miller's music. I know of him because T likes him and has seen him in concert a couple of times. I know that T considers Mac to be one of his rap idols.

Hearing about Miller's death today has shaken me in a way that I was not expecting. I have shed tears over it. I'm sad for T. I'm sad because Mac Miller was young and talented. I'm sad because drug addiction is so scary and brutal.


When I think of Mac Miller, I think back to an evening in late autumn 2016. Mac Miller was coming in concert to SLC. I don't remember if T had tickets to the show or not, but I know that he wanted to go. I think it was the day before the show and I was driving home, listening to the local hip hop radio station, U92. The radio host was talking about giving away tickets to a "meet and greet" with Mac Miller. I thought about how excited T would be to meet one of his favorite artists. T was at work, so I knew he'd have no chance to try to get the passes himself, so I made it my goal to get them for him.

I bombarded the station with calls and tweets. I explained that my son LOVED Mac Miller and he would be completely psyched to meet him. I told them that my son was at work, so he couldn't try to win the pass himself. I think the radio people were kind of amazed that a suburban mom would be listening to the hip hop station and trying to get passes for her son to meet Mac Miller. I think I kind of overwhelmed them because in the end, they gave me two passes for the meet and greet and if I remember right, a couple of tickets to the show.

T took his friend Trent to the meet and greet, and I think Trent went with him to the show also. I don't know how everything went down, but I do know that T got his picture taken with Mac and it is one of my favorite photos ever.

My apologies to Trent, who looked cute in the photo, but I'm focusing on T here. Look at his big, happy, cheesy grin. That's joy. It's true that Mac looks less-than-thrilled but he had probably been standing there for quite awhile. Still, I will always be grateful to Mac Miller for making T smile like that. I hadn't seen that smile for awhile leading up to this photo.

May you rest in peace Mac Miller. Thank you for the music.

#2020 three things: vacation, T and baseball

It seems like it's been awhile since there were three things. Here we go!

1. Vacation time (just not for me). A couple of my friends from work are going on vacation tomorrow. One friend is going to Cancun for a week with her family. Ahh Cancun sounds pretty great! The other friend is heading to France. I've never been there, but I'm pretty sure I would like to go there someday.

2, Tristan is home. He successfully completed his program and came home yesterday. I'm glad he is back and I'm hopeful that he will be happy and healthy.

3. Opening Day. Today was one of my favorite days of the year: opening day of the baseball season. There is something so right about Opening Day. It means that spring is here and summer is coming. I love baseball. I love the snap of the ball into the catcher's glove, the crack of the bat against the ball for a solid hit, the way the ball sails through the air from center field to the infield and the roar of the crowd for a double play or a home run. I spent the afternoon listening to the Padres game via the MBL Gameday app and it was wonderful. Even if I wasn't following each play, just hearing the rhythm of the call made me feel happy.

Talk to you on Saturday!

#2012 weekend wrap-up

T was home for the weekend. I picked him up yesterday morning and I just returned from taking him back to Provo.  I think the weekend went well. We thought of it as a "trial run" for when he gets home for good later this month. I was probably overprotective about the whole thing, but I did let him out of my sight a few times. He went out to lunch with some friends for a couple of hours. In the evening I dropped him off at another friend's house for a couple of hours, then went to pick him up. Why was I his chauffeur? His car needs to be repaired, inspected and registered. I haven't got around to that just yet, so I chose to drive him last night instead of letting him take my car. That was the overprotective part of me coming out. T stayed up later than I would have liked, but he was home and I understand that he was enjoying being on his computer and away from the lights out curfew at the RTC.

I had a hard time waking up this morning. The whole Spring Forward thing is weird and hard to adjust to at the beginning. Like right now, it's 7PM but I'm super-tired, even though at this time yesterday it was 6PM. But I know that when I wake up tomorrow around 5:45AM, my body will think it's 4:45AM. The nice thing, though, is that it is 7PM and there is still daylight. Of course in the morning it will seem like the middle of the dang night. <>

After I properly woke up, I cooked a couple of dishes for the week. I made a pasta dish, the Pioneer Woman's sour cream noodle bake. I have referred to it as a poor man's lasagna, but really it is more like a lazy woman's lasagna. It has a few of the lasagna ingredients, but it's much easier and faster to make. It tastes pretty good, too. The WW points value is spendy (15 SP) but I can work with it. Pasta is worth it to me.

I also made a spicy pork curry in the slow cooker. I've made it a few times before and it is also quick,  uncomplicated and delicious. Having food already made in the fridge makes life easy on the weeknights when I go to the gym. I like the idea of MT being able to eat nice food that he just has to warm up. I like to take it for lunch and then eat (or drink) a light meal after my workout. By drink I mean a Premier Protein Shake. It tastes like chocolate milk and with 30 grams of protein, it's filling. Okay, it doesn't taste that much like chocolate milk the first time you try it, but you get used to it. And it's only 2 SP, so score!

Overall this weekend was pretty mellow. I finished the book I was reading for #Ekpesbookclub. (See the 2018 Reading page for info.) I watched episode 7 of Queer Eye. One more episode to go. I don't want to finish it because then I will be done. I like the Fab 5! I haven't watched any movies so far this month. I've thought about it, but nothing catches my eye.

The upcoming week has lots of unusual things happening. At work, we have two interviews set up. We are looking for a new subcontracts person to join our team. We've only had one other applicant for the position. Unemployment here is very low and it's hard to find qualified people. Another thing at work this week will be our annual kick-off meeting. All the salaried personnel meet at an off-site location to hear a brief recap of the previous year, get a look at what is coming up and then we break into our functional groups for team-building, learning and discussion. Finally, at the end of the week, one of the engineers is making his annual St. Patrick's Day feast of corned beef and cabbage. The dud is a master. I tried to make corned beef one year and it was not delicious. Griff's corned beef is always tender and flavorful and amazing. Looking forward to it! On the personal side, the final meeting of #Ekpesbook club will happen tomorrow night, then on Tuesday MT and I get to go to the Jazz game! We haven't been for awhile and I'm excited. The team is doing well lately and I'm hoping they can make it into the playoffs. And this weekend, the NCAA men's basketball tourney starts. March Madness baby!

Hope y'all had a great weekend. Be safe, have fun and I'll catch up with you on Tuesday.

~~~~

If you are interested, I have finally updated the 2017 Reading Page. I read 59 books last year! The 2018 Reading page is up-to-date, too :)

#1994 learning about treatment

The past couple of days have been intense, emotional and fulfilling. The rehab center where T is getting treatment had their family program. The first day I went to the office here in SLC and met with 20 other parents of kids who are at the RTC. We learned about the therapy model used there (Dialetical Behavior Therapy) and some other scientific stuff. The emotional part came when we had a "parent process group" where we all sat in a circle, introduced ourselves and talked a bit about our kids. I was the first to cry (of course) but not the only one. Some of the other parent's stories were chilling and heartbreaking. I cried several times for others, too.

Today I got to go to Provo to the RTC and spend the whole day with T. It was a sample of their day, but modified for the parents of course. I attended the morning meeting which is run by the residents, not the staff. It's a time for the guys get the news headlines of the day and to talk about what's happening that day at the center. We had breakfast, we had a session in which we learned more about their daily routines and therapy in a little more detail. There was another lecture about what comes after residential treatment, lunch and then a smaller process group before T and I met with his therapist. Therapist Dave got us started, but T and I mostly talked it out through the hour and I think the conversation went well. I felt good about it, and I think T did too.

After that, both T and I were tuckered out and we went into his room where we both fell asleep, waking up just in time to go to dinner with the group. T was able to get a little extra time away, so we went to see the film "I, Tonya". Do you remember the Tonya Harding saga back in the '90s? There was a bit of skating, but most of the story was about Tonya's rise in the figure skating world and her abusive childhood and then marriage. Of course a big part of the film is spent on "the incident", that is the clubbing of Nancy Kerrigan's knee by Tonya's husband's associates.  The movie was funny and tragic. All the characters were well, characters. Holy schmoley. Were they for real?

I'll be headed back to Provo in the morning. T has "phased up" and earned a day pass, so he is coming home for the day. We have agreed to some limits, so I think everything will be okay. I sure did enjoy spending the day with T. It's the first time in awhile that he has been clear-eyed and thoughtful in his speech although still peppered with spicy language.

I'm off to bed. Osi woke me up at 4:30 this morning and I was unable to get back to sleep. It's been a long day. Happy February!

#1758 throwback Thursday: when they were little

Sometimes I know exactly what I want to do for throwback Thursday, and sometimes I have no idea. Today was a no idea kind of day, so I plugged in the external hard drive with the photos on it, I closed my eyes and I picked a year. I landed on 2009. I wanted to do a September photo, but I guess I didn't take any photos in September 2009, so I chose August. Lucky! August 2009 was the month that we brought Osi into our home. I found this photo and I knew it was the one to share. So cute!

#1741 that knee got worked

I am relieved that the Olympics are over. The Games were seriously cutting into my sleeping time. I couldn't tear myself away from them and I went to bed well after 11 pm every night. I'm not as young as I used to be and the lost hours of rest were taking a toll.

Last night I was in bed by 10 and asleep by 10:30. Sadly, I didn't stay asleep. I was having such terrible arthritis pain in my left knee that I couldn't get comfortable. The knee was extremely swollen: bending it hurt and having it straight hurt too. There was nothing for it. I took Aleve and ibuprofen and those two meds didn't even touch the pain. In the hospital you judge your pain on a 10 point scale with 10 being the highest level. Last night I was easily an eight creeping up to a nine.

I came by the pain honestly, though. Yesterday morning I went up to Red Butte Garden to do the bloom recording. There were four concerts up there last week, and the only free day was Tuesday, but I was beat from going to the concert on Monday, so Sunday was the day. I don't think I've ever been up there on a Sunday. There were quite a few families in the Children's Garden. There's a fun fountain for the kids to play in and it looked like everyone was having fun. When I was there, it was warm but not yet really hot, so it was pleasant. Yesterday was the day I saw the most hummingbirds in the garden. They were everywhere. My mom would have loved it!

T and I had made plans to explore the campus that afternoon, so he picked me up at the garden. After a quick lunch, we went to the campus. Our goal was to find all the buildings were he has class so he would at least be familiar with where he needs to go. We were certainly not the only people looking around. There were groups of students, singles and families walking around. It was a beautiful afternoon, but it was hot in the afternoon.

The campus of the University of Utah is quite large and on a big hill. We were down pretty much at the bottom of the hill near President's Circle looking for the building where his math class is, and then we trudged all the way back up the hill near the Huntsman Center to check out the last building. Most of his classes are pretty close together except for those two. He has those classes on Tuesday and Thursday and just 15 minutes to get from the one on lower campus to the one on upper campus. It won't be a problem for him. He's young and fit. For me, it was tiring and it took a damn sight longer than 15 minutes!

After we found the buildings, we drove around looking for parking lots he could use. We spent a couple of hours doing all that. I hope it was beneficial for him. He said he was glad that we took the time to do it. Of course he could have done it on his own, but I was glad to hang out with him and see where he would be spending his time.

It was during the drive home that my knee started to swell and kind of locked up. It was awful. My Fitbit said I had walked over 13,000 steps and climbed the equivalent of 39 staircases. So like I said, I came by the pain honestly.

Today it feels a lot better, but then again, I haven't done anything to aggravate it. I have an appointment to see Dr. F (the knee surgeon) on the 30th. I am expecting the knee to be drained and a cortisone shot administered. The thought of the joint replacement surgery, the recovery and the physical therapy is unappealing, but having this constant pain sucks too.

Well, this wasn't a very cheery post, was it? I bet most of the seven of you didn't even make it down this far in the post! It's ok. I'll do better next time :)

#1732 a new pillow and rethinking the Fitbit

For awhile now I have been having trouble sleeping. There are some nights when I feel really tired and I get in bed and my eyes just start to close when POP! They snap right back open and there's not getting them closed. I can think of a number of reasons why sometimes I don't get all the sleep I need, but I don't think I'll go through all of them here, but for sure there are "things".

After a particularly bad night, I texted my mom and sister to tell them my story and get a little sympathy, which they very kindly gave me. Then Mom suggested that I get a new pillow. It's true that I've had my pillow for awhile and it was a cheap one from Target. The pillow is all lumpy because I bunch it up and stuff it under my head and squeeze it and generally abuse it. It's flat in the middle and full of stuffing on the sides. Mom suggested a pillow from this place, Coop Home Goods so I checked it out.

$52.99 for a pillow? Are you kidding me? I think I paid $6 for my pillow from Target. Oh yeah. I know what that got me, but still. $53?!?! Fortunately, the Coop Home Goods pillow is sold from Amazon.com and I had a gift card from Amazon, so that pillow became my birthday present. Thanks Mia!

I got the pillow yesterday. I'd watched the video to learn the proper prepping technique, so I adjusted it and had it all ready for when it was bedtime last night. Here's what I know: it is a lot more puffy than my old $6 pillow. It squishes down, but when I change positions, it puffs right back up. It was a little smelly (memory foam-ish) but I put a little lavender oil on my hands and rubbed it on the pillow, so that was nice. I slept pretty well except that I kept trying to scrunch the pillow up like I did my old pillow but the new pillow was very resistant to my scrunching.

When my alarm went off, I woke up quickly and I thought I had slept pretty well. Then I looked at my Fitbit's analysis of my sleep and I was annoyed.

You see, I wear the Fitbit to sleep and it tells me when I went to sleep, when I woke up, how many times I was awake through the night and how many times I was "restless". I don't even know how it judges restlessness. By how many times I turn over or adjust my arms and/or legs? Whenever I am awake or restless, it takes minutes off my total sleep time. So last night it said I slept from 10:30 to around 6:00. That would be about seven and a half hours which is great for me. But with the awake time and the restless time, Fitbit said I only slept about six hours and fifteen minutes. Suddenly, I was tired.

To recap: I wake up and I feel good and rested. I think I have slept about seven and half hours. I'm happy. I sync my Fitbit. It says I woke up three times (I only remember waking up once) and that I was restless and that I slept 75 minutes less than I think I did. After learning that, I don't feel good and rested anymore. Solution: I'm not wearing the damn Fitbit to bed anymore!

I think I will be fine without it. I never slept with a watch before and my wrist can use the break. I like the Fitbit a whole bunch, but I think it is adding to my sleep neurosis. I'll let you know how it goes.

In other news, T is home from his visit to my parent's house. I picked him up yesterday evening. He ate dinner here at home and I haven't seen him since. He went to hang out with friends and stayed over there. Tonight he is at the Diplo concert downtown. I don't know if he's planning on coming home tonight or not. It's weird, but I'm getting used to it I guess.

You might be wondering what MT is up to now that he isn't spending all his time at the fixer. I'll tell you. He's looking for another house to purchase either as a rental or a flip and he has several contractor jobs lined up. He's been getting a lot of word-of-mouth business from a couple of other contractors that he has worked with and his clients seem to like what he is doing. I know that MT really likes it too. Maybe he has found his calling.

That's all I got for tonight! Time to get ready for bed. Look out pillow...here I come!

#1682 busy day

My mom, sister and I did a bunch of running around today and I'm tuckered out! We took Dad to dialysis and then we had to go to the store to pick up a few snacks for Dad to have during his treatment. We had purchased stuff last night, but the paperwork from the clinic said not to bring any food or drink. It's pretty ridiculous. He's there for about four hours. He's gonna need a little snack and a beverage during that time. The nurses at the clinic told us that we could bring the supplies.

By then it was time for us to have some lunch. We went downtown to Les Madeleines. It's a restaurant and bakery that has delicious sandwiches and pastries. We all had the Paris sandwich - very simple ham and cheese with butter on amazing French bread - then we outdid ourselves by having their signature pastry, the Kouign Amann, for dessert.

I'll just take a quick second to talk about the Kouign Amann. It features layers of soft, flaky buttery dough on the inside. The outside is crunchy with caramelized sugar. Every bite has an element of soft, crunchy, sweet and just slightly salty. It's a taste sensation. Even though this amazing treat is pretty easily available to me, I limit myself to a couple a year, if that, because I wouldn't want to spoil my taste for these incredible pastries due to over-familiarity. Plus I would weigh about 423 pounds if I went to Les Madeleines too often.

After lunch we zipped up to the University area to scout out parking and drop-off points for the graduation ceremony tomorrow. Have I mentioned that T is graduating from high school on Friday? Then it was back to South Jordan to pick up Dad. Lizzie and I took them to the hotel, then we came to my house. Lizzie chilled for a bit while I went to the grocery store for a couple of last minute items. I cooked dinner - simple pasta with meat sauce, salad and garlic bread - and that was pretty much it for me.

MT's parents are here from Idaho. My parents and sister are here from California. T has attended his last high school class. I guess it's time for the next step...graduation.

Big day tomorrow!

#1663 morning, afternoon and evening

Today has been pretty eventful. I started out at the gym doing a spinning class then I went straight to WW. The good news is that my pounds were down, I think .8, but the bad news was that our leader, Gina, won't be our leader anymore. Granted, we all knew she was temporary and that she was actively trying to find someone to take over our meetings, but I really like her and I wish she wasn't going. I got a little teary. The WW leader makes a big difference. Most of the leaders I've had have been nice ladies but they lacked verve and pep and enthusiasm. Before Gina, my favorite leader was Jackie and she's in my mom and dad's town! I asked Gina if our new leader was a clone of her, but she just laughed.

This afternoon was my first official day as a guide at Red Butte Garden. I get to be a docent in the Courtyard Garden for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoons. The sky was dark and cloudy and there was thunder and you could see the storm clouds move across the valley to the mountains where the Garden is. I did get to talk to some people and I even knew a flower's name and told some people who were wondering about the plant. Then it started to rain, so I went into the visitor's center and looked at the art work and sat down for awhile. I wasn't sure if I should leave or what, so I stayed. When it stopped raining I went back outside. Out there I wasn't sure whether to sit or roam around, so I did a little of both. I said hi to everyone who looked my way. One man asked how the garden got their wisteria to grow and bloom so beautifully. I don't know that kind of stuff. They are professional gardeners. Maybe it's the soil and the way the wisteria is planted and tended and the breezes are just right and the sun warms them just so. Probably the answer is something like the roots are facing south and have a northeasterly growing pattern. Seriously! Gardeners talk like that. 

Tonight is kind of weird. I'm alone and it's been awhile since I was home alone. MT went to Pocatello to attend the funeral of his cousin. T is at his senior prom. I have a couple of photos, but I don't want to post them until he sees them and says it's ok to share.

Actually I was kind of looking forward to my evening alone. I've watched the TV I wanted to watch without anyone sighing and saying, "Would you just choose between basketball or Ghost Adventures already?" or "Are you planning to watch another episode of Gilmore Girls?" Well, no one ever really says those things out loud, but I hear it in the sigh.

I decided I wanted to clean up the dishes in the sink and start the dishwasher when I was sure I heard a knock on the front door. It scared me. Of course I didn't answer it, but I creeped up to the door and peered out the peephole. I didn't see anyone. It made me jumpy though. Maybe I need to cut down on the Ghost Adventures when I'm home alone.

Now that my writing is done, I think I'll go back downstairs to watch another episode of Gilmore Girls. T has my car and I know they will be coming back here to change before going to a post prom party. I'll try to stay up until he gets home with my car. I hope they are having a great time. He and his date looked so beautiful and happy and excited. I admit...I got teary. Ugh. How embarrassing. I just couldn't help it. My baby looked so handsome in his tuxedo and his date was stunning. I'm pretty sure I've never looked that gorgeous EVER.

Gotta go. Stars Hollow is calling. :)

#1642 throwback Thursday: Saturday o'Fun

Back in 2006, MT had a job in which he worked the swing shift, so he would go to work in the late afternoon and return home sometime around or after midnight. When he got home, MT didn't go straight to because you usually don't go straight to bed when you finish work. You need time to unwind, maybe have a bite to eat and watch TV or a movie or something, so that's what he would do. Of course T and I would already be asleep, so it was a time of our not really interacting much with each other, except on the weekends.

On Saturday mornings, MT would want to sleep in, so T and I would go out on adventures that we called our "Saturday o'Fun". I would try to pick things for us to do that T would enjoy and that would get us out of the house for a few hours so MT could rest and then be civil to hang out with later in the day.

The photo I chose for this week's installment of Throwback Thursday is from March 2006. T and I went over to the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. We went to a restaurant that had a big video game room. Here T is doing a skiing game. His body posture looks a bit uncomfortable, but he seems very intent on the game. I remember we played a bunch of games including some intense air hockey, then we wandered around the aquarium for awhile and ended up by the dancing fountain.

I liked Saturday o'Fun. We did some cool stuff and I'm glad to have those memories of hanging out with my little boy.

#1630 happy birthday T

Today is basically a holiday at our house...it is T's birthday! It's not just any birthday either: he is 18 today.

MY BABY IS 18!

I felt super emotional about it this morning. I'm always a little emotional on his birthday. It was a big day in my life when he came into the world and I reflect on it. I had my doubts about whether I would have children just because I didn't think MT wanted kids. I guess at the point in our lives and marriage when I got pregnant, he was fine with having kids or not and he was glad to be having a child when I told him about it. Other children were not in the picture for us. I always joke that we achieved perfection on the first try, so why bother? There have been times when I think having a sibling for T would have been nice, but in the long run, I'm happy with the one I've got.

I think I felt so emotional because 18 is such a milestone age. I spent time thinking about whether I have done well by him as a mom. Have I taught him what he needs to know to move on in the world? Have I been too protective? Have I been too strict, too lax or just right? Have I instilled the importance of a strong work ethic? Have I encouraged him to find solutions to problems, to do the right thing, make good choices and how to be polite and respectful? The one thing I know I have taught him is the importance of doing well in school and getting after his homework every night. He's good about that stuff.

Time will tell, I suppose. You only get one chance to get it right with your kids and all any of us can hope for is that the kid knows how much he is loved and cherished and that we, the parents, tried to do right by him and that we did the best we could.

#1610 what happened this week

It's been a long week that had unusual things happen most of the days.

On Monday, there was a big management shake-up at work. It was surprising and a downer. The office was very quiet that day. I left work a little early to get over to T's school for help completing the federal financial aid forms (FAFSA). We didn't actually finish the forms because MT called to say that our taxes were done and since we need the taxes to complete the forms, I left the school to go to the accountant's office.

On Tuesday I had the MSHA (Mine Safety and Health Administration) refresher training for work. The training took place in Layton, which is about 40 minutes from my house. I left here around 6AM - the training started at 7AM and I wanted to stop at Starbucks (totally worth it!). The day was full of classes, most of which didn't directly apply to me since I work at the office and not at the mine. I still managed to learn some interesting things. I have to have MSHA certification in case I ever go out to one of the mines. I got home after 6PM and started making tacos for dinner. MT showed up a few minutes later with my nephew Chris and his wife Dedra. They were on their way to Africa, so they had dinner with us and MT drove them to the airport.

On Wednesday I was back in the office. It's the time of year when we start chomping at the bit to actually do some work. Winter is our slow season and I think everyone has pretty much filed every bit of paper from last year and cleaned up their work areas in preparation for this construction season. When I got home from work, I cooked dinner and watched TV. It was nice to sit and veg out a little.

On Thursday at work the little middle management team that I am on cooked lunch for our team plus about 20 extra folks who were attending a webinar over the lunch hour. We made carne asada tacos with all the fixings: guacamole, rice and beans, chips and salsa and all the toppings you could want. It was awesome. The weather was very nice so we were able to cook the carne asada steaks on the big grill outside. It's a bit of work, but it's fun and the people seem to really enjoy it! At home that night, T and I completed the FAFSA and sent it off to the Department of Education. Here's hoping that T gets a good financial aid package!

Today, Friday, was just kind of a long day. Have you noticed that when you are not very busy at work, the time just drags by? I have a project that I am working on and it is tedious and monotonous. I find myself getting up pretty frequently to get a glass of water or walk around. Speaking of walking, in our safety meeting this month, we were challenged to walk 20 consecutive minutes every day. There's a track out in the field behind the office that is beautifully paved and a quarter mile long. I've been walking every day (except on Tuesday when I was in MSHA class) with some friends. I set the timer for 20 minutes and we walk around and around until the timer goes off. The weather was lovely this week and I enjoyed getting outside for some fresh air and sunshine.

Tonight it is super quiet at my house. MT is reading downstairs. T is asleep - I wonder if he'll wake up at midnight and struggle to get up for work in the morning? I have been reading, too and now I'm thinking of going to bed, even though it's not even 8:30 yet. I'm so tired on Friday night!

It's a pretty simple, quiet life. I kind of like it that way :)

#1566 throwback Thursday

I took this picture ten years and one day ago - on 12/9/2005. That's little T peeking through the branches of the Christmas tree as he carefully and thoughtfully hangs the ornaments.

We haven't put our tree up yet this year. I wonder if we will at all, to be honest. T doesn't much care about it anymore since we won't even be home for Christmas. This weekend T and I will be visiting my family in Southern CA and I think MT is going to Idaho to help our nephew work on his house. Maybe I'll ask MT to put the tree up next week. I do like to have the tree up. It's fun to watch Christmas movies with the tree all lit up.

I'll let you know...

#1513 TBT football with T

As I was sitting on my comfy couch watching the Utes game on my big-ass TV tonight, I was grateful to be at home because the stadium was packed and it's kind of a hassle to get up there and back home. If you drive, parking is hard to come by and it takes a long time to get off the hill. If you take the train, they are always packed after the game and it's not that much fun to wait on the crowded platform.

It is fun to be at the game in person, though. There's always a lot of excitement and energy in the air. The Utah fans are really into the team. The MUSS - the Mighty Utah Student Section - has crazy amounts of energy and enthusiasm. The third down jump when the Utes are on defense is something to see and feel. It's like the whole place shakes when that section starts jumping.

Excitement levels around the U have been extra high since the Utes joined the Pac12 conference. I actually haven't been to a Utah game since they joined the Pac12 a few years ago. Huh. I've watched the games on TV, though.

Seeing the crowd on TV tonight got me thinking about the first Utah game I attended. I was able to get tickets through my work; I think they had purchased a block of seats for employees. I got a pair of tickets and took T with me. It was in 2007, so T was nine. I don't remember who the opponent was, but I do remember that it was pretty cold, but it was also November, so that makes sense. I'm pretty sure we rode the train and we left early, but we had fun.

#1499 the fixer upper: work on the master bath

It's been a few weeks since I have been to the fixer upper (or the FU as MT sometimes calls it), so I decided to drop by today to take a few photos. MT has been focusing on the the new master bath, or en suite as we like to call it. I think I've mentioned before that MT decided to move the bathroom to a completely different location and widen the bedroom itself. Where he is building the new bathroom, there used to be a wood-burning stove. He's taken that out and he removed the chimney flue today, so there was a hole in the roof. When I got there, he was covering up the hole.

See the light pouring in from the hole in the ceiling?

I didn't take a photo after the hole was covered because it was really dark in there. MT will be installing a window with obscured glass in the far wall there, by where the ladder is. I think it will look nice and let in some good light.

The en suite will not have a bathtub because there is a big jetted tub in the main bathroom. Instead, MT has framed in what will be a nice oversize shower.

Future shower in the en suite

Before all of the framing and dry-walling started, MT configured and installed the plumbing.

Plumbing lines in the future shower

 He also installed a light and a fan in the shower. I don't have photos of the light and fan, but I saw them with my own eyes and they work!

MT has put up some of the drywall in the new bathroom.

When I left, he and T were going to put sheet rock up on the ceiling. That is really a two-man job. Before T came in to help MT with the sheet rock, he was out pulling weeds.

T works with his dad sometimes, and this week, he got a job at a sandwich shop in our neighborhood! He is working part time and has had two shifts so far. He seems to like it and is motivated to make some money. It's his first real job. My baby is growing up :)

I was just looking through these photos and it strikes me that work-in-progress photos aren't very fun. What will be fun is when the project is all done and we can compare what it used to look like to the finished rooms. It's really such a huge project and MT, along with some help from T, is doing it all himself. Blows my mind every time.

Have a great weekend, all!

#1492 three things!

Three is the magic number, so it's time again for THREE THINGS!

T is back! He has returned home from his summer adventure in the San Francisco area where he spent a week with some friends. He didn't have too much to say to me about it except that he enjoyed himself and he liked San Francisco. I'm glad that he is home. I missed his face :)




A new treat from Trader Joe's.  Kelsie, Nicole and I made a trip to Trader Joe's at lunch today. In addition to the stuff I usually buy (Ak Mak crackers, Mandarin orange chicken, a bottle of marinara, jars of salsa, etc) I bought a bar of Swiss dark chocolate with whole hazelnuts. I had a square of it after lunch today and, oh! It was so good! It's 3 PP per square, but the flavor is so satisfying and wonderful that it will be worth it some days.

 

I changed some of my Fitbit goals. My mom posted a comment on yesterday's post about the Fitbit. She said she was scared to use it. I told her by text today not to be scared. The results might be a little embarrassing. I'm frequently embarrassed by my laziness when I look at the Fitbit stats. I told her she should wear her Fitbit for a week or so and take a look at her averages and set her goals just a bit above her average. I thought that was such fantastic advice that I changed some of my goals on the device! I've had my Fitbit for almost 2 months and thought I'd accomplished some of the standard goals, I was falling short a lot of times, too. I changed my step goal to 9,200 and my distance goal to 4 miles. I looked at my daily averages and set my goals accordingly. I want to have some success and not always feel like I'm falling short. When I can meet my goals consistently, I'll increase it. I think it's a good plan.

#1398 basketball watching and other stuff

Whoo. I just remembered I haven't written anything today, so I decided to take a few minutes away from basketball to say hi.

Hello!

I was happy and excited today by my 1 lb weight loss! I thought I'd have a gain because I ate out a lot this week. But...I did go to three classes at the gym and the nights I go to the gym I don't eat much when I get home because I'm so wiped out I can basically only manage a glass of milk and some toast.

T and I spent some time together this afternoon. We took care of his car. We had the oil changed and had it cleaned. I need to take my car over to the car wash. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

This evening MT and I watched the Runnin' Utes play against Georgetown in the NCAA tournament. Utes win!! On to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend! Yahoo!

Now I'm flipping back and forth between the Jazz game and the last NCAA game of the day between Notre Dame and Butler. It's been a good one.

#1378 March is a good month

Oh hello you lovely third month of the year!

March is one of my favorite months. The main reason is because my son was born in March, which automatically makes it a fantastic month. March is also the month of one of my most favorite sports events of the year, the NCAA men's basketball tournament, also known as March Madness. Typically March is when we start to see the end of winter here in Utah, although we have had an extremely mild winter, so I kind of expect Mother Nature to make up for her winter-y kindness with a blast of cold and snow this month. I hope not, though.

I don't have any big plans for the month. I'm finishing up my second travel class this week. The subject of this class is the cruise market and it has made me want to go on a cruise in the worst way! There are so many cruise options, from places to cruise, the type of ship to cruise on, length of the cruise, casual, fancy...you say what you want and it can probably be found. What I like about cruising the most is waking up at a new port every day. It's a great way to see many different places in a short time and travel comfortably doing it. MT says that he would be ok with going on another cruise, but I think he's just saying that. He really likes the way we've been vacationing the past few years which is staying in a condo.

Speaking of vacations, we have made a reservation for our family vacation this year:

YES! We are going to the Hawaiian islands! We're not even going until June, so I will have lots and lots of time to tell you about where we'll stay and what we'll do and all that kind of stuff and by the time we actually go, you will think that we have already been there :) I'll try to behave and not keep a countdown and not be completely annoying.