100 Things

I saw this on Shyla's Blog. I thought this was such a neat idea, that I decided to do it too. The one's I've done are in green, the one's I haven't are in black...

Go ahead and copy it to your blog too, just be sure to give credit where credit is due :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band. (And yes I did play--eventually...)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (If Disney World Counts, than I have been there!!)
8. Held a praying mantis. (I think I've touched one, but technically I do not think I held it).
9. Climbed a mountain (If going on our fourth year hike counts, then yes, if not, well, I need to get into shape and climb Timp).
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea--does it count if it was from an airplane?
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (does scrappin' count?)
15. Adopted a child (we sponsored a child for the Caveteam class when I was a senior...)
16. Had food poisoning (not a major case, but I am sure I have had a number of minor cases...I honestly think everyone has to some extent or another--this is according to the food safety courses I have taken...)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (does smothering James with a pillow count--oh wait, you did not read that)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you weren't ill--that's what I did my whole Sophomore year of HS
24. Built a snow fort--we got these cool brick maker things when we were kids, but I wasn't very good at it... so my fort wasn't exactly very big
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping--haven't gone TPing either
27. Ran a marathon--I could barely run a 5k
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset--my favorite was staying up all night with my best friend, Lucy, to watch the sunrise, we were like 10 or 11, it was great
31. Hit a home run--maybe not in a real game, but a pick-up style game, and on video games
32. Been on a cruise--it was a cruise of a bay, on a paddle boat, by Corpus Christi, counting
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language--took French through school, wish I could remember it
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing--tried rack wall's, I suck, but I suppose you could count Vedawoo or my cousin's property in the same area, I climbed around on rock formations there, I'm counting that!
40. Seen Michelangelo's David--in a a book and on TV
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt--this one is truly sad to me, hel-lo, I was born and raised in Wyoming and I have never been to Yellowstone, total bummer (and with the current level of geothermal activity--it may go up at any moment)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant--benefits of being the restaurant manager :)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight--I think I may have done this as a kid when we camped at the lake
46. Been transported in an ambulance--I was not the patient, but I rode to the hospital in the ambulance with Brandon, I think Bob drove my car, shh don't tell, he didn't have his license yet
47. Had your portrait painted--I had my portrait drawn in pastels when I was three
48. Gone deep sea fishing--my name is also the name of a deep sea fish (Bonita)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling--used my brother mask and snorkel in the swimming pool where we used to live
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud--this was one of my favorite pastimes as a kid, making mud pies, obviously a precursor to my cake decorating abilities
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie--it was only a movie we made for youth conference on the Mormon pioneers, but it was still a movie!
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason--James did this all through HS (when we still lived in Laramie), I always had fresh flowers, guess he thought he did it enough back then, of course now, I'd probably rather have scrap stuff
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter--flown in a small plane
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt--helped tie a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job--thanks for rubbing salt in that wound--stupid Cabela's anyway
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book--I've been published in a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car--had several "brand new to me cars" but mom and dad bought Susie brand new when I was real little
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible--not sure I could get through the begats, but I have read the Book of Mormon all the way through
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life--depending on how you look at it, but I believe yes I have
90. Sat on a jury--yay Grand Jury--people just do NOT know what they are missing
91. Met someone famous--even have my photo with a few and have some autographs
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake--not the most fun thing in the world, the mud is really squishy and it smells bad
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone--my first one wasn't like Zack Morris' phone on Saved By The Bell but it was the next size down
99. Been stung by a bee--in the middle of my back-ow
100. Read an entire book in one day--several

Makes me wonder what else I could add, or what else I have missed in life... I'll have to think about that one.

Until Next time...

WOO HOO! Go Utes!!

So last night the Mountain West Conference was heard, loud and clear, after the Runnin' Utes made their way into NCAA football history by beating the Crimson Tide of Alabama.

Alabama had been the number one team for most of the Fall 2008 college football season, and they were defeated by the Florida Gators (who play the Oklahoma Schooners on January 8, 2009 in the BCS Championship Bowl Game). Thus Alabama was slated for the Sugar Bowl to face Utah.

I honestly believe Alabama thought they had the game in the bag and were honestly surprised when they realized that Utah had showed up to play. Holy Crap for them... Utah scored thee TDs with PATs for a score of 21 to 0 before 'bama could even respond with a measly field goal. It was an excellent game and it proved to eeryone that the MWC needs to honestly be included in the BCS. Now if anyone with any say so, actually chooses to notice that Utah did good andshined a light on the MWC, well, that is another story. But, if after the BCS champ game, Utah isn't recognized as one of the top three teams in the nation, well, I think there is going to be some real heartburn around these parts.

I know many of the statements have been, Utah should be considered the #1 team in the nation, because of their 13-0 season. Only time will tell...

So for any of you who care, I just had to brag, I think it is awesome that Utah put those hicks in their place (now I only didn;t call them rednecks cause well, I am a redneck too, hence the hicks).

Any for anyone else that cares, my mini Sugar Bowl party, with jambalaya and a croquembouche was delicious. And fun to do...

Until Next time...

Episcoplalian Midnight Mass

So last night, James and I trekked up to Foothill Boulevard to attend Midnight Mass at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City.

The reason we chose to do this is because James used to attend Midnight Mass with his parents as a child. He wanted to share some of his family history with me.

It was a very beautiful experience, and while I may not be of the Episcopal religion, I was very moved by the service and I myself could feel the Spirit as we were all there to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I was touched by the sermon offered by the Rev. R. Micheal Mayor. His message was a beautiful message reminding all that God is there, for us and with us, and that He love us. It was during this message that I was truly touched by the Holy Ghost, as I was reminded that Heavenly Father does truly love me, and so does the Savior and that I am forgiven as I repent. It was such a beautiful thing to be reminded of on such a wonderful occasion of Christmas.

So thank you to my sweet husband for having the desire to take me to the service. Thank you to the All Saints Church for opening their hearts and doors to all in celebration of the Savior's birth. Thank you to the Rev. Mayor for offering such a beautiful sermon, reminding us that God loves us and is with us. Thank you to Mom and Dad for staying with Foster. Thanks be to Heavenly Father for sending his Son, Jesus Christ into the world for the benefit of all.

May everyone be blessed to know God's love and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

This is my prayer on this Christmas Day, 2008, Amen.

If I ever read my blogs.... I'd know...

That my friend tagged me (and here I thought no one ever tagged me...) on her blog (clear back on October 30...) so since I finally did see it, I am doing it... YAY

5 Reasons to Make My Life More Interesting...

What are 5 things on my to do list today?
1. take James to the doctor to find out what is wrong
2. take Foster for a walk
3. go to VFW Christmas party/dinner
4. find out my work schedule for the next two weeks
5. let James switch me onto his Gold Gym account

What are my 5 favorite snacks?
1. french fries
2. chocolate
3. dr. pepper
4. cheeseburgers
5. amooretto ice cream from Maggie Moos

What 5 things I would do if I were a millionaire?
1. pay off bills for me and J, mom and Jim, Bob and T, Grandma and Grandpa, J's parents
2. get a big house we could all live in, with separate parts for each family, but a big central gathering place
3. get my dream car, a '57 Chevy Bel Air convertible
4. adopt or do in vitro, to have kids
5. help causes I believe in

5 places I have lived:
1. Mills, WY
2. Laramie, WY
3. American Fork, UT
4. Casper, WY
5. American Fork, UT

5 jobs I have had:
1. event coordinator for Archiver's (a scrapbook store)
2. restaurant manager for Cabela's (they are evil!!!) and for Dairy Queen
3. teacher assistant at a high school
4. community service supervisor
5. cake decorating instructor

5 people I tag:
1. Shyla
2. Keera
3. Susie
4. Mom
5. Teresa--for heavens' sake--start a blog already ;)

If you gross out easily, don't keep reading...

Below I am going to post a photo of James' legs. Before the photo, I will talk about what has been going on. If you gross out easily, don't look at the photo.

On Friday, November 29, James got out of the hospital. On Tuesday, December 2, he came home from work with a swollen, right ankle. As he sat and worked on homework, his foot and lower part of his calf on the same leg also swelled up. It was extremely painful for him to walk or even stand.

On Wednesday, December 3, he had a follow-up appointment with the CF Clinic following his hospital stay, during that appointment, they looked at his ankle and made arrangements for James to go over to the dermatology clinic.

In the derm clinic, they moved him to a second part of the derm clinic and made several attempts to drain non-existent fluid from his ankle. All this did was put him into even more pain than he had already been in, as well as poke six or seven holes in his ankle. (During this doctor visit, I was at Grand Jury. I had rode the bus and Trax up to the courthouse, James had texted me from the hospital to tell me he was still there. When I was done with GJ, I texted him to tell him, but he as still waiting, so he asked me to ride Trax up there. It is a good thing I did, because I ended up driving home). After the unsuccessful drain attempt, they wheeled him over to radiology, to take x-rays, and then I wheeled him to the outpatient labs, so they could draw blood. Then we headed home. Mind you, he is in a wheelchair, because he really could not walk, the pain was far too great.

He rested when we got home (of course the scrounged up pain pill really helped). Mom rented crutches for him to sort of get around. That night I remember he was almost crying because of the pain, not cool.

Thursday, after having it up all night (while sleeping) he was able to hobble around some. He went to work. That night when he got home, not only was his right ankle/foot/leg swollen, but so was his left. When he took his shoes and socks off, his feet kind of exploded with swelling, they were huge and red, not pretty.

Friday, after sleeping and having his feet elevated, the swelling had gone down some and he went to work. This was also his birthday. He left work an hour early and when I got home, he, mom and I went up to the Festival of Trees. (We were going to have gone Wednesday, but spending half the day at the hospital and then mom and I were planning on going to RS Enrichment, it didn't leave enough time). I had called and found out that there were wheelchairs available, so we went up. After taking 20 minutes to get from 106th South to the South Towne Expo Center (it should take like five minutes, or less) I went in to retrieve the wheelchair. I got him in it and luckily, someone did pull out of a space, so we got a close handicapped space. While we went around looking at the trees and displays, I would notice James wince and the pain spread across his face. He was hurting, even though he wasn't walking. After we got through everything, we stopped for dinner at Village Inn. The photo below was taken after we got home. I was ready to take him to the ER then.

He insisted we wait to go to the ER until after work on Saturday. So, when he got home, we went over to the hospital. They looked at his legs and took some more blood. They basically said they did not know what was wrong and sent us home. They said it could be vasculitis or something else, but there really was nothing they could do for it. We came home and he hung out with his legs up.

Sunday, he slept most of the day and didn't do much. On Monday, he got up, went to work, and came home and did not take his hoes off until way later because he needed to work on his schoolwork and he did not want his swelling to slow him down. Tuesday, when he came home, he took his shoes off, let his feet swell more than they already had and put ice packs on them while they were up.

That brings us to today, Wednesday, December 10. We went up for his follow-up appointment with dermatology. After three doctors came in with us, this is what we found out. They think he may have developed a type of rheumatoid arthritis that about 10% of CF patients develop. This arthritis can cause swelling in the legs and what is called stasis dermatitis (the red coloring with the swelling). There isn't much they can really do and his right foot has gotten better looking, but it still doesn't seem right and stuff. He has had some fever with all of this but e basically has to let it run its course. Thy did prescribe a steroid cream to put on it as well as some compress socks. Oh, yay... I told him he was just jealous cause I had arthritis and he wanted it too. He said I was contagious and to keep y cooties, I told his carpal tunnel was next...

Anyway, here is the photo, like I said, gross...




Until next time...

An Unhappy Alumnus

So I went to Utah Valley State College (UVSC), which is now, Utah Valley University (UVU).

Therefore I am an alumnus of the college/university. And what do colleges and universities want from their alumni, donations, money, cold, hard cash.

At this point, if I had any potential money to give them, I would not and here is why...

An employee of the university is being poorly treated by his/her superiors. This is affecting his/her work, home life, personal well-being, etc. The largest issue I see is that said superior is not qualified for the position he/she fills and he/she was put into the position "illegally" --that is the position was not advertised in accordance with hiring guidelines for the college/university.

So if you understood any of that because I do not wish to use names or relationships, etc to identify individuals, I commend you. Let's just suffice it to say that some people need some extra prayers and such.

Until next time...

Code Name--Mediots

So tonight on the news, they related a story about the Secret Service Code Names for the President Elect and his family as well as the Vice-President elect and his wife. James is watching this snippet and asking, "what the hell?" Why would they announce this? So as part of the report, the anchor says that code names are no longer kept secret and are a part of public record because of the difficulty to break through and eavesdrop on encrypted transmissions, etc. But he thinks that maybe they reported the names, but are really using other ones?

If you go to this link from the Washington Post, you can read more about it... Or see this link for an NBC version out of Alabama.

Anyway you look at it, Renegade, Renaissance, Radiance, Rosebud, Celtic, and Capri are taken nicknames for the next four to eight years, oh did I say nicknames, I meant code names...

Until next time....

Oh yeah...the title for this entry, take media + idiots=mediots