Getting better

I've been thinking of this song so much lately.

Back when the Beatles were touring, Ringo got sick, and they had to use a replacement drummer for some of their shows. Fans were worried that the new drummer might actually end up replacing Ringo. The new drummer, what's-his-name, got a lot of criticism and hostile treatment because of this. One day in rehearsals, the guys asked what's-his-name how he was doing, and he replied, "It's getting better." This song is based on his response.


I like the song because I think it describes me pretty well lately. I am okay if I don't try to move or stand or go anywhere. A couple of times in the last week, I tried to leave the house because I thought I was well enough. The first time, I started bleeding internally a lot; the second time, I got a pain in my back where my kidney is that hasn't quite gone away yet. Hurt me twice... shame on me. Learned my lesson? Hopefully. If I stay still and laying down, I usually feel okay, which is deceptive because I start to wonder if maybe I've gotten better. But every time I get up it hurts bad enough that I realize it was a bad idea. I never thought I could be this invalid.

So I'm not entirely okay... but some things are getting better:
1. As I've learned, the Family Medical Leave Act protects me from losing my job if I'm out for being sick, so I'm not allowed to worry about that anymore (according to my sister). I discussed the situation with my boss, and we're going to see how I'm doing the week after I get the stint out to see if I can make it back in.

2. Michael finished his last final on Thursday morning. So he's been able to take care of me a lot, and will even wake up out of a deep sleep if I tell him that I need help. He's also on his Christmas vacation this weekend, and doesn't have to return to work until next Thursday night, woo hoo!

3. Since I stopped taking the antibiotic a few days ago, I haven't been as nauseous anymore. That is a huge improvement. My appetite has returned and everything digestive is getting much better.

4. I am really looking forward to Christmas. I get to see a lot of my family and we get to eat yummy food.

So: it's getting better. I've made it through a whole week with this blasted stint in, and next Tuesday I get to have it taken out. I haven't seen the stone come out yet, but it's still got a lot of time to get moving.

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!

Surgery blues

The doctor didn't get the stone. It turns out that the stone is smaller than we thought, and when the doctor saw it in the tube, it actually floated away, back up into my kidney before he could get it. He said that the tube connecting my kidney to my bladder (the ureter) is really small and tight, and even though the stone was small, the tube was so tight that it couldn't make it into my bladder. So he put a stint in, which is enlarging my ureter tube, so that hopefully it's easy for the stone to float down into my bladder and then finally out. He says that he usually leaves in stints for a few days, but he wants to leave mine in for two weeks to give the stone a good chance of getting out. I have an appointment for Dec 30th to get it out.

This has been incredibly frustrating and painful. I can feel the stint in my body. It causes a lot of discomfort and makes me sick to my stomach. Most people can't do anything until they get their stint out, but my job at the library can't spare me for all of the time that the stint will be in, and I have to figure out some way to get in to work so that I don't lose my job. The stress of that coupled with feeling constantly sick and having crazy pain whenever I have to go to the bathroom makes everyday pretty hellish.

Everyone is being really sweet and trying to call to see how I'm doing, and it's so nice to know that you care. But most of the time I feel like crying when I hear the phone ring, so sorry if you haven't talked with me in awhile. Michael will be done with finals tomorrow, and then has a few days off of work, so hopefully that will help make things a little less tight around here. I hope everyone is having a good holiday season. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Another Update

I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow (Monday) morning. They don't know yet if they will take out both stones or just the one that's stuck close to my bladder. My urologist will x-ray me before the surgery and make the decision then.
I've managed to stay out of the ER so far this weekend. It's not painful to take a deep breath anymore, so I think my lungs are doing better. Also we found an anti-nausea patch that Doug used after his surgeries, and it has been working really well with me. Not being so nauseated or throwing up often, I've been able to keep more water down, so that is helping with my dehydration.
They will probably release me from the hospital as early as Monday afternoon. Michael has a final project due tomorrow, so he won't come to the hospital with me. My mom is taking work off to take me there and drive me home afterward, so if anyone is wondering how the procedure went, you can give her a call.

If Pandora had kidney stones...

I got home from ER visit #4 at about 4:00am this morning. ER visit #3 was due to pretty bad dehydration, and ER visit #4 was uncontrollable unfathomable pain (again).

So here is what's wrong with me.

- I still have the kidney stone. It's still stuck in the exact same spot it was stuck in last Saturday night. I thought it had passed yesterday because I started feeling so good and so relieved (right around 11:30 am), so I told the urologist yesterday that I thought it had moved into my bladder (a good thing) when in fact, it hadn't. So he pretty much dismissed me and told me to come back next week.
- I have a second kidney stone. On my other kidney. I found that out at the urologist's yesterday, and I can't express how horrible that information was. It's stuck well up on my kidney, and it's the same size (about 4 mg or ml or whatever the measurement is). No one is really worrying about that one right now except for me, which bugs me.
- I am still dehydrated. Anything I consume sits like a fiery stone in my stomach, and drinking is the most painful thing for me to consume. I'm trying a plan b approach, which is real broth-y soups. Not creamy soups, or potato-y soups. Brothy soups. It's fluids that don't make me as sick as straight water or juice, and at least there's some nutritional value, too.
- I haven't had a bowel movement for a week now. So 'constipation' is on my list of afflictions. And it can actually cause just as much pain and trouble as the kidney stone, but the doctor told me that it's not the priority right now, the kidney stone is the most important thing. And if I can get hydrated better, that should help.
- The lower part of my lungs are collapsed/collapsing. Being on all of the pain meds that I have been on, my breathing has been very shallow since Saturday, and also if I inflate my lungs completely, it makes my side ache where the kidney is. Each time I go into the ER, they keep putting me on oxygen because I'm not getting enough, so I have to try to breathe as deeply as possible (even while sleeping - how?) so that I can get them to open back up.
- I have borderline pneumonia. I guess they noticed a small infection starting last night when I went into the ER again, and now I have to take antibiotics for the next week to counterbalance that. I don't really know where this one came from... on top of everything else it's starting to get ridiculous.

One good thing is that my ER doctor last night called the urologist and told him that the stone had in fact not moved at all, and I was in extreme pain. The urologist told him that he could get me in for a procedure on Monday... but we're going to see if we can try to get him to push it to today. In one way, waiting until Monday could be a good thing, because it gives the stone more time to come out on its own, which would be the best thing, but at the same time I'm taking heavy pain meds every two hours, and I really don't want to keep that up for another three days. Plus having a stone stuck there for so long is not good either.

People are being really wonderful trying to help me as they can and offer comfort. I really appreciate it. Talking on the phone is painful and difficult with my lungs they way they are and my brain addled from the pain meds, so I'm sorry if I can't answer each phone call, but I'll do my best to keep you updated. I feel bad for Michael, he is working graveyard shifts, sleeping during the days, and trying to prepare for finals and projects that are due next week. On top of that he has had to add making sure I take my pain meds at the right time, driving me to the ER and doctor's appointments, and trying to keep the house clean for all of the other caregivers coming by. I took a picture of him with my cell phone while we were waiting for the urologist yesterday:

Thanks again to everyone and I'll try to keep you updated as best I can.

Update

People say that kidney stones cause the worst pain anyone can ever feel in their entire life, childbirth included. So far, I haven't noticed any difference from this statement. One funny remark that I keep getting is that now that I've had a kidney stone - childbirth should be a breeze! Really? I think they're trying to be comforting... but I don't think childbirth is going to be any easier just because I've felt worse pain.

I had to go back to the ER yesterday. I was down to two pain-killers left, so I waited as long as I possibly could just to see how bad the pain was still, and I made it 5 hours before the pain was so bad that it made me cry. At the ER they did another x-ray, and the stone is in exactly the same spot that it was on Saturday night. It's just about to drop into the bladder, but hasn't made it there. The doctor prescribed me a pill to relax those muscles, and hopefully they will relax enough to move the stone into the bladder finally.

They said that if I still haven't passed the stone by tomorrow, that I need to contact a urologist to have it removed surgically. In the meantime, I'm supposed to consume over a gallon of fluids a day, but that's hard when I keep throwing up and have extreme nausea. Anything I consume sits like a painful, firey rock in my stomach, and I've been getting killer headaches despite all of the painkillers I've been on.

Basically, my left foot feels great, so I'm focusing all of my concentration on that because it's the only thing that isn't going through hell in my body. People have expressed concern about me going in for surgery to get this removed, but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes for this to be over. You want to stick that into what hole? Go for it. Just do whatever you need to do. Hopefully this won't last much longer.

Maybe I should start a running tab at the Emergency Room?

I spent Saturday night in the Emergency Room, for the second time this season.

Earlier that evening, I thought I had a bladder infection. My sister took me to an Urgent Care by my house so that I could get some antibiotics. While I was there, I experienced the worst pain I've ever felt in my side. I walked out to the lobby and laid down right on the floor and couldn't move. Finally a doctor came and examined me - he told me that he thought I had a kidney stone. He said they didn't have the equipment to take care of me - I was in so much pain that he said I needed to go to the Emergency Room.

My poor sister drove me there, screaming and clutching at her shoulder the whole time. Finally we got to the ER, and I walked up to the window, sobbing and moaning, and they actually told me to fill out a form. I handed the form to my sister and went to lay down on a bench and writhe and cry until she was done. There was a man sitting in the waiting room who just looked at me in horror. The nurses came out and told me they were getting a room ready for me - they were having a busy night, so they pulled me into their little office to start taking my blood pressure. The pain got so bad that I had to throw up - I've never thrown up just from pain before. I caught a glance from the man in the waiting room again - he could see me through the window, and was even more horrified than before. I felt bad for him.

They finally got me into a room that was lined with supplies - nurses kept coming in during my whole visit to get gauze, ice, stints, etc. We kept joking that they put me in the supply closet, but that was probably close to the truth. They were trying to get a blood sample, and couldn't find my vein. The nurse kept digging the needle through my arm, and I didn't care at all, I just wanted him to do what he had to do to make the pain stop. Finally they got the blood sample and then put an IV in my arm and gave me morphine ... four times. By the third morphine shot, everywhere in my body felt great, except for that one spot in my side that burned like the sun. So they gave me morphine #4. Then they took me in for a cat scan, and saw that it was a kidney stone. They said it was 4 millimeters in size, just small enough for me to "pass" by myself. Great. During the cat scan I had to breathe in and hold it, and that started the pain going again. They gave me a new drug, something that started with D, so that I could leave the hospital. They left the IV plug thing in my arm, in case I needed to come back within 24 hours. They took me in a wheelchair to the car, and I thought that the last pain-killer they gave me would last awhile, but getting in the car was enough to make me scream for the first few minutes of the drive until I could push the seat back almost flat.

I've been on heavy painkillers since then. Sunday morning we had a scare where we thought I'd need to go to the ER again, but after a call to the hospital, they suggested that I supplement the pills they gave me with 800 mg of ibuprofen. They said that if I couldn't keep the pills down or if the pain was unmanageable, that I should come back in. I did okay for the rest of the day, and we took out the IV plug last night. But this morning I've started throwing up again, and I can't stand for longer than it takes to run to the bathroom. I still haven't passed the stone, and they said it could take days to come out. A lot of people have told me that kidney stone pain is worse than having a baby. I didn't think it was possible, but this does hurt more than my miscarriage 6 weeks ago.

I may have to go back to the ER later today if I don't improve. Wish me luck.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving Michael and I went to my sister's house in Spanish Fork. She has this new beautiful house and this new beautiful kitchen, with TWO ovens. Two. I'm told it's called a "double oven," but whatever, there's two ovens in there.

I took one look at those babies and said, "We're so coming here for Thanksgiving." And it all sort of fell into place. Each family coming made something, and it was all delicious! (I brought pumpkin pie - one normal and one dairy-free! so proud).

One of my sisters had planned after-dinner games, which were so fun. My favorite game was one where she read accomplishments that someone in the family had done over the past year, and we all had to guess who had done it. It was a really cool way to get caught up on the amazing things people have done this year.


By the way, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post or has sent me an encouraging email lately (in regards to this). I made a book of remembrance because I didn't know what to do with the ultrasound picture, and I put all of the sweet things you said in there. Thanks for being there for us.

I can't help it...

I would be 12 weeks along today.

I keep looking online to see what progress the baby would have made each week. I can't stop. At 10 weeks it nearly broke my heart. At 11 weeks I thought, "No. It's not supposed to be this way." But I still looked. Today I would have been 12 weeks along. But instead tomorrow marks 4 weeks since I miscarried. I hate it that a whole month separates me from my baby now instead of just weeks or days. It sounds like such a long time when I think about it objectively. But it seems like it's been half as long, and I don't really notice time passing.

I had a friend tell me the other day, "You'll be fine."

I can see what he was saying. Life goes on, I'll get pregnant again, etc. But at the same time, I don't think I'll ever be the same again. I'm certainly not the same person that I was. And it's funny that I see other people moving on with their lives, and I'm trying to move on with mine, too, but I'm not really going anywhere. I'm just holding my breath.

I wonder if other people think I should be getting over this by now, and I feel embarrassed. It's strange how much this has changed me. I didn't think that anything could have this much power over my life. A pregnancy? And only 8 weeks? Can it really be that powerful? I guess it is. I know I'll get better. But in the meantime we're just waiting for that to happen.

Picking Apples

About a month ago I went picking apples with some friends.
I've never done it before, but I thought it was a nice introduction to fall.

New November

That last post is so depressing, I have to add another one to push it down. I'm starting to ease myself back into normal life, though it's sort of lame to do things like normal when things feel so different now. I was at the library on Saturday and was sort of chagrined to see "The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy" had come in on hold for me. Actually, it looks like a cute book, just bad timing, eh?

The only physical symptom that I have left over is just feeling very tired most of the time, but otherwise my body is almost back to normal. It's very very odd. When I was pregnant, the sickness came on gradually and I didn't take it very seriously. But now that it suddenly went away, I realize how sick I actually was. (For instance, a sip of water made me incredibly nauseous, and turning on a light in the bathroom actually made me throw up once). So maybe I can make a better game plan for next time, stay away from bathrooms, that kind of thing.

Anyway, happy voting tomorrow. To quote my Dad, "You noticed, I didn't say how to vote. That would be "O" so naughty."

A time to every purpose

A lot of you know already by now but I thought I'd put a post up because I know a few of you read my blog that I haven't spoken to.

Last weekend I miscarried very suddenly. On Thursday night I had a very small problem-indicator, and thought it was probably nothing, but I called my doctor on Friday and they told me they wanted me to come in just so we could make sure and so I wouldn't have to worry over the weekend. I went in and the doctor did an ultrasound, and we didn't see a heartbeat. He measured the baby and there hadn't been very much growth since the last time I had an ultrasound, so we were very sure that it was over. We talked about what options I had for getting the baby out, but he told me to come back the following week and we'd make a plan.

Friday night so many people came and offered support and love and it was a great comfort to us. Much to my surprise, at about 3:00am Saturday morning I woke up with horrible cramps that were actually the beginning of labor. My doctor had told me that I would be able to pass it at home, but by 4:00am I was in so much pain that Michael took me to the hospital. When we got there they gave me lots of pain-killers, and the ER doctor assisted in easing the "blood clot" out. They did an ultrasound to make sure that there wasn't any remaining tissue and then they had me go home.

Everything happened very suddenly: I found out there was a problem on Friday afternoon, and 14 hours later my baby wasn't even inside of me anymore. I have actually felt lucky that I had the chance to see my doctor on Friday afternoon to learn the news and have some time to think about it before everything happened at 3:00am. I've been on lots of painkillers since I left the hospital, as my body is still shedding the uteran lining and cramps are killing me, but we're hoping that by the end of the week I'll be having less pain and I can do more physically.

One thing I want people to know for sure is that I don't regret at all telling people that I was pregnant so early. I think it would have been such a waste to not celebrate this baby's life for the short time that it was here, and we have felt so much support from those close to us in these past few days. Also, I'm perfectly fine with answering people's questions and talking about what happened; I really would rather not pretend like this didn't happen, and at least for me it has been therapeutic to talk about it. Many thanks to all our friends and family who have been so supportive. We are so grateful for all of the prayers said on our behalf, and have felt overwhelming comfort and love from them.

omg 8 weeks

I never thought I would make it, but it's finally here! After two week 7s, Hurrah!

Week 7... again.

Thursday marked week 7 for me, for a second time.

Last week I thought I was week 7. But when I went to the doctor on Monday, he measured the baby to get the exact due date (and alternatively, exactly how far along I was). He said, "Oh. Well we thought you were 7 weeks and 4 days along. But it actually looks like you're 6 weeks and 4 days along..."

As per the rule, he measured twice (but didn't even cut once, thank goodness), and it was confirmed: 6 weeks 4 days. So I get to re-live week 7. Hurrah.

My thoughts so far: week 7 sucks.

Our blob

I have a blob! And hopefully that blob will turn into a baby. It's still a bit early to tell people, but mostly family read this blog, and I will probably just end up telling people whether it works out or not. Anyway, this was taken yesterday, and I like to think that my baby is lifting up a little flapper to wave and say, "Hi, Mommy!"

The baby is the little white bean-area inside the dark black area. When the doctor showed it to me, there was a little area inside of the white bean that went black-white, black-white, black-white, black-white! So cool!

I'm due the first week of June next year if everything works out.

A fair is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord

I hope you all know what that title is from.

Michael and I went to the fair this weekend!



My favorite thing about the fair? Funnel cake. It's the best.

We also saw this fabulous sculpture made entirely out of butter:



And we rode the ferris wheel!




Sometimes it's fun to just pretend you're young and silly and like the fair is probably the biggest thing you will do all year. All in all, I think we were only there for a couple of hours. But it was really fun, and reminded me of being little and going to fairs in California.

My sister likes to bite things in my photos.

As you can see here, and here.

And even a wedding dress and white gloves are no match to stop her voracious personality:



My thoughts? I like it. It says, "Just because I look like a princess doesn't mean that I have to act like one." Very liberating.

Waaa

At our Opening Ceremonies party, my nephew Austin saw the guys on TV doing martial arts. So he started kicking out his legs and spinning around and doing his own version. We tried to catch some of it on camera.

August o'plenty to do

This is a really busy month. Let's look at weekends.

August 2nd

Not only has Breaking Dawn just come out last night (automatically my weekend is booked), but we have the reception of a good friend in eastern Utah. He's actually been married for 2 weeks, but this is their "Utah" reception. So the groom wants to have a campout with friends afterward, which is an excellent idea. It does make for a late night, though.

August 8th

Michael and I have our biennial Opening Ceremonies party. This year's party included an Olympics trivia game with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and runner-up prizes. We also had a delightful gathering of international foods: chips & salsa (Mexico), éclairs (France), egg rolls (China), pizza bagel bites (Italy), and pretzels (Germany).

August 16th

The Gilroy family has booked a cabin hidden away in Heber from Wednesday to Sunday this weekend. Our plans include several trips to and from the cabin and work, but the majority of Saturday and Sunday we were able to spend away from it all (I don't know if you can classify close proximity with 12 children under 12 "away from it all," but I'm not sure what would be more appropriate. Maybe "into it all"?). At any rate, it was really fun and on Saturday night we even got to have a fancy dinner (adults only) to celebrate my mom's birthday (the 14th).

August 23rd
This weekend has an explosion of places-to-be and things-to-do. Friday night my sister is getting sealed in the temple, then Saturday is the (giant) birthday party of my two nieces, a yearly staff party for the library, and another birthday celebration for my sister-in-law. Naturally, this is on top of 12 hours of work (for Breanne) spread over Friday and Saturday. Family trumps staff parties, so I won't be going to that affair, but everything else is a go.

August 30th
Woe of woes, I had to cancel my plans to have wisdom teeth removed this weekend, due to my sister's wedding reception happening on Saturday. I don't know about you, but I like to be coherent and not drooling for these important family functions, as well as able to chew the steak at her lovely reception restaurant choice.

Don't be dismayed, my dental plans will be rescheduled for September, along with all of the other things we weren't able to cover on the weekends this month.

Now, everyone wants a re-cap of the cabin trip, right?
Here we go!

Look at this little cutie waving goodbye. You know, some kids aren't down with the canoe. This girl was totally stoked. She called, "Bye, Mom!!" and then ignored us.

There they go.

Ahh, roughing it. There's nothing like getting out into the wilderness and getting in touch with nature. Very zen.

Okay, to give these kids some credit, they did partake in some roughing of it. This is after their long hike. They'll start smiling once they're done with those sandwiches.

Ahh, Nikki, thank you for this. Now I can add it to the other one in my collection:

And the piece de resistance:

I don't even remember why you were doing this. But thank you.

Pioneer Day

I'm so glad that as a culture we've decided to celebrate the Pioneers' incredible sacrifice with explosives. We got to hang out with Carrie and Dennis and Chris and Camille and Ian on Pioneer Day. I asked Chris to take some sparklers and make cool shapes in front of the camera. But I realized as I was photographing all this, that it was kind of hilarious watching him waving his arms around like a ribbon dancer. So I secretly took some videos. Some hilarious videos.

Happy Birthday!

Michael's birthday was on Monday. Here's how it went:
Michael came home from work in the morning, and instead of going to bed, decided that he wanted to take care of some things, so he got to bed around noon. But he also really wanted to see Batman. I was sick with a cold that I didn't know was turning into bronchitis, so we decided that if we did anything, it would have to be low-key. Michael woke up at 3:30, and we saw the movie around 5, which gave us a little time to come home and eat before he had to leave for work again around 8:30.

With him only on 3 1/2 hours of sleep, and me on the verge of the plague, the movie was totally awesome but a little strenuous. So we will have to re-celebrate this weekend with family. I did manage to get a piece of yummy chocolate cake for him (did you know Walmart sells cake by the slice?), so we had some semblance of a birthday.

When faced with temptation...

The other day I walked into the bedroom and saw Michael's feet sticking out from the covers. I had to take a picture. It's hilarious. You'd think the bedcovers weren't big enough to cover all of him at once.

By the way, I am not a nice wife and don't lovingly pull the covers over his feet. I tickle them, one at a time, and in his sleepiness he pulls one under the covers, and I move to the other foot, which he pulls under the covers while putting the other one back out, which I start to tickle again... it goes on like this.

He works hard for the money

Michael got a job with the Provo City Police Department! Yay!

It's full time and has benefits, so we're pretty stoked. He's going to be doing clerical work (not arresting bad guys). The catch is that he is working graveyard shifts from Thursday to Sunday night, though it's actually a good thing because he'll have time to finish his last classes in the fall (don't worry, they're in the evenings so he should have time to sleep in the mornings/afternoons).

He trains on Monday and Tuesday, and he starts his graveyards next Thursday night! I am relieved and happy and grateful!

Maui, June 2008

I just spent a lot of time on a big post about our vacation in Maui. It's on my personal blog, though, so you can see it here. Aloha.
(By the way, it's very long, so if you just want to look at the pictures, that's okay)

Meant for Each Other

Michael brought home a bunch of photos of himself when he was little. I love them! He is adorable. I found this one of him in second grade, and he's got the goofiest silliest smile that I had to run and find my second grade photo and put it with his. Who knew that we would end up with each other? If I was in Michael's classes, I would have definitely had a crush on him.

Does Anybody Read This Thing?

Sometimes I wonder as I post on here - is anybody out there?

Well we are doing good. We went to dinner on Saturday night with Carrie and Dennis and Nile (and Ben - Shari's boyfriend?)- it was great! I was amazed at that restaurant... I ordered an enchilada and some rice and it was just $4.50. Good price!

We are anxious to go to Hawaii (June 3rd - it is getting closer..... I can almost feel it now). I went shopping on Friday to try to find a new swim suit and some good clothes for the heat... and it was a bit depressing. So: I'm making more of an effort to eat healthier and less. I'm reading a book called In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and basically the motto is: Eat Food, Not a Lot, Mostly Plants. And I totally agree. In my family especially, there seems to be a whirlwind of speculation and extrapolation on what is good to eat (these opinions seem to change from time to time and lessen my faith in their dependability). But essentially, I think that motto is a good one. So I'm trying to eat smaller portions and meals that mostly grew out of the ground.

My sister is basically of the same mind and has made me a wonderful little cookbook of recipes that are just that (low in or not including any flour, dairy, or meat, as she is allergic to flour and dairy and triest to eat as little meat as possible). It's great! Last night was our first dinner: beans and franks, yum! Michael and I are lucky to have married each other - our tastes are very similar (though I still consider it a bit tragic that he doesn't like Tuna... it narrows our dinner options). We both love beans and franks though, and they were fantastic in Jacque's tangy recipe! I'll post it later if anyone wants it (if anyone reads this hehe).

I don't think I'll look much better in time for Maui, but I'm glad I'm starting to do something! We bought groceries on Saturday night, and the lady at the check-out stand was telling me that she lost 200lbs! I asked her how long it took her, and she said 4 years. How amazing! And what patience she must have had. I think that's a big part of it: to take it slow and go down naturally. Michael is really cool about everything and very supportive. It's great to have someone cheering me on, but in an un-pushy way.

Wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all of the mothers in our lives out there!

This week Breanne was hoping to get her wisdom teeth out (for free) for a research study, but unfortunately at the last minute her heart was sending out electrical impulses slightly too fast. It's not a health problem, they told me it could happen from a short night of sleep or stress. So... too bad. We'll see what other opportunities are down the road.

Michael is doing good at school and work. On Friday we got to see Speed Racer which Michael thought was really fun! We are loving the summer movies.

It snowed last night - Welcome to May in Utah

Can you believe it? The first day of May and it's freezing outside. My tulips perked up when the sun hit them, though (they were droopy when I first looked out the window).

Well, I'm not getting the Museum job that I've been waiting to hear about for months, so that's a bummer. Now we've got to move on with other plans. I'm considering working full-time at my brother's office, but they just hired a full-time someone, so I've got to bide my time and wait for another opportunity. Working at the library is okay, but it's starting to wear on me. I don't think I could do it as a permanent career choice.

Michael started his new semester in school (Spring term), and surprise! His class got canceled the day before it was supposed to start. So he had to scramble and change his schedule so that he could get a new class at the last minute. So after this class, he has three classes left, which he'll do in the Fall and then he'll be done in December. Yay!

Hooray - Michael is done with finals!

No more school!... for a week. It was a crazy weekend, that's for sure. We went to see "Forbidden Kingdom" last night - that movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. It was really awesome when it wasn't awful. It was like a really cheezy movie with really amazing fight scenes in it. I'm not much of an action-movie type of girl, but I loved those fight scenes.

We are both excited for "Speed Racer" to come out. We ordered the old 1967 cartoon from Netflix - which I also love!

While Michael's busy relaxing after finals, I've been reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. I'm right in the middle of it - it's all I can think about! It's really long, which is unusual for me. I usually read shorter young adult books, so I've had to pace myself and be patient with it. But it's so worth it. Michael's already read it, so he keeps coming up to me and saying, "what part are you on now??" and then giving me a knowing look when I tell him.

We can't wait for the awesome summer movies!

Excited

Breanne suggested that we do a blog so that family can see what we're up to, and I thought it was a really good idea. I'm excited to let people know what we're up to and how we're doing. HURRAY for the cyber age!

Our Blog

Hey everybody. We thought we'd start a blog and keep it updated with what's going on with us. That way, you can see what we're up to if you like. We should get busy so we can put some stuff on here!

-Breanne and Michael