My weekend was a flurry of activities, as usual.  I spent the majority of Thursday and Friday working from home and working on my management term paper.  The good news is, I have a good draft of my paper done (Hooray!) and I should be able to polish it tonight in class and it will be DONE.  My final is on Wednesday and we can use one page of notes, however, there's nothing said about how small of font the notes have to be.  My plan: 4 pt font and a magnifier (Vickie's idea).  Brilliant.  My teacher hasn't given us guidelines yet but it may be the same seven questions that were on my mid-term plus two more.  By the way, I got 100% on my mid-term.  YES!  Nine pages for seven questions so I better have gotten 100%!  The final doesn't have to be quite that long; I need to summarize my answers.  That may prove difficult since I tend to ramble on ;-)  No, no, I really do ramble on. 

Saturday, I helped Mom and Dad with yard work (mostly fertilizing - another speciality of mine) then I had a nice nap.  Saturday evening, I had a bridal shower to attend.  I usually avoid these like the plague but this shower was for my niece-to-be, Sara.  My sister Susie and I pooled our money and ideas and got a basket full of "goodies."  *snicker* 

The basket included two bottles of sparkling cider (she's expecting YAY), two wine glasses, four flavors of ice cream toppings, red hot sprinkles, decorative candy hearts, whipped cream, a vanilla candle, vanilla bubble bath, two flavors of emotion lotion (it heats up when you blow on it), and some Slumber Party goodies.   We gave her some massage oil, a Love Mitten, Between the Sheets linen spray, and Nympho Niagra (I could NOT resist *snortle*). Her sister saw to it that everyone knew what was all in the basket.  (click on photos to embiggen)

Then we put two "how to" books, one of which is one I swear by, "203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed" and the other was "The Perfect Orgasm." It embarrassed Sara but she was good about it and said she couldn't wait to tell my nephew Travis.  I told Sara and her sisters that I like the "302 Advanced Techniques for Driving a Man Wild in Bed" too but I'm not done reading it yet. Sara's sisters, Sara, and her mom were flipping through pages and giggling about things and they said they HAD to go out and buy them a copy.   

Susie and I also bought them an iPod docking station with speakers, but we'll give that to them for their wedding.  It goes along with the basket... to create the "mood."  As if they will need any help in that department... 

What was REALLY funny was my mom decided to attend this shower.  She attended another one a week ago that I couldn't, so I didn't think she'd go to this one.  Ooops.  The looks I got from my mom were classic.  Susie and I were laughing so hard about it.  While I was chatting with Sara's sisters about the books and the Slumber Party merchandise, Mom asked Susie, "where on earth did Karen get those books?!"  Susie told her "online, I think."  Then Mom said she was going to take my computer away from me.  Right.  ROFLMAO.  I thought for sure that I'd get a lecture on the way home but I didn't.  It was all in fun anyway... but those books will come in handy.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

1. It's a day for birthdays today. Not only is it my sister-in-law, Patti's and nephew, Trent's birthdays, it's also Monica'a and Teresa's birthday. Go over and wish them a VERY Gee-whizzable Happy Birthday!

2. I've become an Amazon Associate to help in supporting my Amazon.com buying habits and I've got an advert on my side bar. Earlier this week, I noticed the ad was for a book and the name caught my eye. How perfect is this? They even have a book that is all about poo! The irony goes on and on, doesn't it?!

3. Tuesday evening when I arrived home from work, I was greeted by two HUGE boxes on the garage stairs. My printer arrived and it is lovelier than I imagined it would be. I chose to set up and play with the pritner instead of going to bed early and catch up on some much needed sleep (I have my priorities!). The second box contained extra ink cartridges and four packages of photo paper (BONUSES for buying an extended warranty!). The eight ink cartridges which cost around $99 so that will be a killer when I need to buy it. I am keeping my other printer for basic printing and use this one exclusively for photos. I printed the photo of Mount Nebo (see Monday's post) in 13 x 9 paper and it looks awesome. Gee whizzeroony, I am a VERY happy camper!

4. Also on Tuesday evening, I also had a surprise on my bed. Gee whiz, no, it wasn't a man. *snicker* Mom left me a little gift in appreciation for all I did for her and Dad. She gave me some White chocolate Reeses' *drool* and the coolest slippers ever. I was so excited about them, I put them on right away and I looked at my feet in the mirror and said to myself, "You look quite fetching..." then I busted out laughing at myself. Then last night after my classes, I put the slippers on then posed for this photo and all I could think was, "Wow, dead sexay." I'm such a dork.

5. I am pretty much done with homework for my language class; I presented my paper Monday night. My teacher asked us what we wanted to do for the final and we're playing Jeopardy. How cool is that? I had a template at work of the game that works in PowerPoint. I took the template to class last night and loaded it on my teacher's laptop and she'll input the data that we supply (writing three questions each). Now I can focus on my management paper, paper presentation, and final. Two weeks left of this term; gee whiz I need a break.

I got home about 10:30pm last night and looked through my mail to see if there was anything critical (or interesting) I needed to open. About the third piece of mail, there was a letter with a photo of Mount Nebo (in Utah) that I took last fall and submitted it to a contest at Picture.Com. I was intrigued enough to open the envelope.

The first slip inside the envelope was an order form for a coffee table book with my photo in it. Wow. How exciting. I could hardly contain my excitement. *sarcastic tone* I wondered if, by entering the contest that it could have been a ploy to think of myself as famous. The next piece in the envelope was a letter stating that I was selected as a semi-finalist in the Nature Category in the International Open Amateur Photography Contest. That little tidbit made me smile (for real) at the possibility that even if I win $10, I would be happy about that.

Without further ado, here is the photo I entered:


Too bad I have to wait until Summer to find out if I'm a winner but how I'm feeling now, I'm already a winner. :-)

Today, I go back to my daily grind; back to work full time along with classes and all the fun *cough cough* that goes along with it.  This sounds odd for me to say but I'm looking forward to going to work full time again; it is more work being home and taking care of my parents.  Not that they're pains, there's just a lot to do.  My siblings helped where they could and I didn't have any more melt-downs. 

Last week, Mom's eye surgeon said her retina is healing well and she was released from her faced-down prison.  She still cannot see completely but her full sight should return in a month or two.  Dad is doing OK; although he's been sleeping a lot the last three days, which seems to be a cycle he goes through. 

My Rheumologist took pity on me and gave me cortisone shots in my hips again Tuesday morning and although I've still been in pain, it was mostly my fault for not behaving.  I kept finding fun things I wanted to do - anything other than staying in bed and working on my term papers and mid-term. 

Friday night at 9:30, I finished my mid-term and then Saturday night, I finished my Language term paper.  I haven't started on my Management term paper yet but I'll hopefully have an opportunity to work on it during the week on short breaks.   

I managed to get the money for the new dream toys I wanted and went shopping online!  My new scanner arrived and it's lovely and it fits just right on my desk.  My new printer should arrive tomorrow but my camera won't be released until July 10!  I was so bummed because I thought it was already on the market.  However, I still have it to look forward to in July.  I bought myself a new leather office chair and chair mat, a 8GB flash drive, 2GB camera memory card (all ready for the new camera), some DVDs that have been on my Wishlist for ages, some new dresses for summer, new summer PJs, and some items from my Cafe Press store for gifts and to see how the products turned out.  I probably went over board but, I figure I deserved to be spoiled. 

My plan for January is to get lasik surgery because I'm sick of glasses/contacts and if I don't do something now, I'll be blind in 10 years ;-).  I will get reimbursed through my medical flexible spending account then use the money to go to England in 2008 for my graduation present to myself.  *knock on wood* Hopefully it will all work out. 

Back to the Cafe Press store, I've had a lot of fun creating new products with my photos and collages.  Thank you to Vickie, Dawn, and Monica who have purchased some things; I appreciate you all!  

I've also had some fun playing with more photo toys.  Thanks to Shirl, I discovered Dumpr.net where I made circles from my flower photos.  I used Flickr Toys to make this collage. (click to embiggen).  Gee whiz, I have fun with toys!  I've used the circles for wall clocks on my Cafe Press page too. 

I suppose I have rambled enough for now... I better really get back to the grind and get ready for my day.  Have a great day!  *HUGS* to everyone! 

Another view; reflected

I wonder if I will ever get caught up with everyone after my life gets back to normal; whatever normal is!  I spend most of my day upstairs and away from my computer in my bedroom with internet connection.  My laptop doesn't have a wireless modem so I can't access the internet from it so I'm forced to do work when I'm not caring for my parents.  I'm not whining, I'm explaining why I haven't been able to visit anyone.  The little internet breaks I get, I spend answering email.  I miss everyone and I appreciate those of you who stop by every day more than I can say; you all help me keep my sanity.

Mom is doing better each day and therefore, Dad is too.  He hasn't threatened to run away again and I didn't think he did run away.  I haven't had any more melt-downs, thankfully! 

Dad had a great birthday Saturday and was pleased when I told him all the birthday wishes you all sent.  Mom and I took Dad to see the movie, Wild Hogs, which we all loved (Mom took her special mirror to watch the movie).  Dad said he missed a lot because he was laughing so hard, and I was too, but having seen it before, I was able to catch a lot of what I missed the first time.  In the evening, all my siblings and some of my nieces and nephews came over to eat pizza then have pie and ice cream.  We were all so tired from Saturday that Sunday was a really lazy day for all of us. 

My right hip is still hurting and I cannot stand it any more and will see my RA doc today at 10:00am.  My right knee and left hip are also hurting so I'm going to see if I can get three shots!  I'm a glutton for punishment but that is how desperate I am for pain relief!  I'm tired of living on pain pills and having a foggy head.  

I have two papers to write and a mid-term test to take this coming weekend but hopefully (fingers, toes, and eyes crossed) after that's done, my life will settle down.  Mom will see her eye surgeon this afternoon and whether the doc can see her retina will determine what will happen in the next two weeks.  The gas bubble in her eye is getting smaller and if he can see the retina to examine the state of the repair and if it is repaired, then she can return to normal activity at the end of the week.  She's more than ready to get back to normal because she's tired of seeing everyone's shoes, but she recognizes people by their shoes so that is entertaining! 

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for Monica's daughter's friend; she has a small fracture in her skull and was flown to Dallas in the wee hours of yesterday morning and will be kept there for another day or two. 

Monica left a voicemail for me late last night and I just woke up (2:45 am) to my phone beeping. She said her daughter, Julia's friend Daphne was hit by a car last night and they're not sure if she'll make it or not.  Monica asked that everyone keeps Daphne in your thoughts and prayers, as well as Julia.  I'm sure Monica could use some too.

 Thank you!

Gee whiz, not many gee whizes this week other than, gee whiz, things are a lot better and the road to Nutsville isn't so prounounced. Both Mom and Dad are behaving and since Mom is doing better, Dad isn't so anxious.

Imagine what these girls at the museum are thinking... gee whiz... This is yet another toy that Shirl directed me to for photos. This is the bouquet of flowers I bought my mom for her surgery and for Easter; Dutch tulips. Funny enough, I bought these at Wal-Mart on a 30-minute-escape-for sanity-from-the-house-to-buy-bananas scheme.



Gee whiz, it's my dad's 73rd birthday on Saturday. I've narrowed the menu down to pizza with siblings bringing salad and drinks. The theme: easy yet makes Dad happy. I bought him and Mom a combination gift for his birthday, Father's Day, and her Mother's Day: The full collection of Are You Being Served, an old Brittish comedy. The day will be a good day and I'm already thankful for having him here for another birthday.

Today marks the 8th anniversary of my sister-in-law's death due to complications of breast and brain cancer. She fought long, hard, and strong but her body gave out. I bought a cute wire and shiny stone butterfly garden accessory to take to her grave today and I'll take my parents along for the ride after it warms up some. If I could give Lisa a flower today, it would be this one, right out of Mom's garden.



Have a wonderful day!

I knew caring for my parents would be a lot of work, but I didn't imagine it would be as crazy as it's been.  I feel as if I took a one-way trip to Nutsville.  Don't get me wrong, it is an honor to care for them since they've always been so wonderful to care for me, but it's been a lot of hard work. 

Mom's surgery went well but she's been nauseated due to the anesthetic and her vision being "off."  She hasn't been able to sleep very well either so she's been miserable.  I finally talked her into trying some motion sickness meds last night and that did the trick.  She slept really well, thank goodness, so she had a better day today.  She's getting used to looking down and we joke about her identifying people by their shoes and that if she wants to go shopping, she will take care of the bottom shelves and I will take care of the top shelves.   

Dad has been nervous/anxious about Mom and that has made him feel unsettled and between all I had going (medication and meal schedules), it was tough to keep track of him.  Saturday afternoon, I thought he ran away and I freaked.  Earlier, he wanted to go for a walk but I told him he couldn't go alone.  He wanted his friend Ralph to take him but he wasn't home.  Dad headed out the door and I asked him to please, not go for a walk.  He responded, "I can go for a walk around my own back yard, can't I?"  Yeah, I guess he could!  About an hour later, I realized he didn't come in the house! 

I immediately went outside, looked around the yard and he wasn't there.  I looked around at the neighbor's houses and he wasn't there either.  I grabbed my car keys and drove around the block.  Ralph's wife, Betsy, was on her porch and I asked if she saw him but she didn't.  I finished driving around the block but didn't see him so I went home.  I sat in my car, crying, trying to think of what to do next.  A small voice told me to look in the spare bedroom (where he spends most his time) so I went in the house and there he was; in his recliner, happy as a clam.  I broke down crying and leaned against the door frame in relief and told him I lost him and thought he ran away.  He started to laugh (but felt SO bad I was crying) and told me he didn't have enough food to run away with. THEN I remembered that he did, in fact, come in the house because he asked me for my sisters phone number.  DUHHHH!  Mass hysterics because I forgot. 

I chalk it up to stress, utter exhaustion, and taking my meds late for three days.  I was so busy making sure they got their meds on time, I took my meds 2 - 3 hours late.  I didn't have any help either; my brothers and one sister came by for short "visits" but I didn't get any breaks.  I was still extremely upset and basically had a melt-down and called my oldest brother and told him I couldn't do it alone and needed some help - pronto.  He was working and couldn't do anything then my other brother called and he was working too - and I told him the same thing.  My sister Susie was due to arrive in about an hour and I think someone called her because she called and told (ordered me) to rest until she got there. 

Just as I sat down on my bed, my phone rang; it was Vickie.  She has a "feeling" to call me.  She had the pleasure of hearing me sob and whine and ended up making me laugh.  Thank you for that, my dear friend!!  I slept for about an hour then all was right with the world.

Sunday, Susie was a life-saver; she came over and she helped with dinner and clean-up duties and ordered me to take a nap.  She stayed most the afternoon and I had about three hours to myself.  I'm laughing about the whole melt-down now, thanks to my friends (thank you all!!!) as well as my dad.  Dad told me that he loses me and Mom at least ten times a day and I'm not alone.  :-)

The Easter Lily was there,
When our Savior rose.
A symbol of resurrection
And His enduring love for us.
KJR April 2006

1. Gee whiz, what else is new?  My mind is in the gutter.  Monday night during Management class, we were discussing leadership and what the differences in biological sex and genders were.  I sit by a great lady, A, (I know her from my Accounting classes) who has a sense of humor much like my own.   Lucky for us, Dr. O. is hard of hearing; he normally has both hearing aids in, but he has an infection in his right ear so he didn't hear a lot.  He instructed us to turn to page, *mumble, mumble* "69" and kept talking.  A and I looked at page 69 and it wasn't the chapter we were supposed to be in.  We asked each other, "Did he say page 69?  I know he said 69!"  The guy in front of us turned around and told us to turn to page 95.  OK... but what about 69?  Then we saw there was a study done in 1969.  Aha.  We giggled.  As we discussed the chapter, we found all sorts of names that we wondered if they did these studies on biological sex and gender because of their last names.  Here are a few that we giggled about:  Sack, Chertkoff (I'd hate to misprounounce that!), Long, Dedrick, Clemons, Tipton, Hornaday (I kid you not!!), and Hunt (was his first name Mike?  Inquiring minds want to know! But the reference did not say). 

2. Have you tried Lindt Lindor White Chocolate truffles?  Gee whiz, it's completely orgasmic for my mouth.  

3. I taught a chapter in my Language class Monday night.  I didn't stress over it; I had some purdy slides, my classmates are fun and cool and my teacher is a sweetheart (she was also my English and Art teacher).  True to form, I got tongue-tied a couple of times during the presentation but I actually did better when they asked me questions and I answered them.  The tongue twists were clean, thank heavens; unlike high school saying, "rubbers" instead of "robbers."  Gee whiz, that was embarrassing.

The chapter was on the stages of language development in a child which is something that I am interested in because of my niece, E.  Gross-motor skill and language development are on the same time table and since E has gross-motor skill developmental delays, she can't say too many words.  The special pre-school she attends has taught her some sign language to help her communicate.  I can see the correlation of the two; perhaps even dependent on each other and it interests me.  I'm thinking of writing my final paper on the developmental processes and what is done to correct it. 

E is in the photo below, for Wordless Wednesday; it fits since she doesn't use many words to communicate.  She had so much fun playing in the grass and was in her own little world. 

4.  I'm rambling... a clear sign that I am tired!  Gee whiz - I need sleep!

5. This morning is Mom's eye surgery (Vitrectomy) and I think we're set; we have to leave at 6am which is lovely when I didn't get home until 10:30 last night, but she's the first one on the schedule.  The doctor is confident she will get along great, as long as she keeps her face down.  Gee whiz, these next two to four weeks are going to be fun...

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Happy birthday to Christine!  I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

Speaking of Christine, she tagged me, and fortunately, this is a really easy one.  Just for her, I'll do it.  LOL 

List five things you are obsessed with, then tag five people to do the same.  I won't tag anyone, if you want to do it, feel free. 

Imagine, ME being obsessed with anything...

1. Photography

2. Cats

3. Mountains/Scenery/Flowers

4. Crystals/Angels/Fairies

5. Baseball

Hmmm... darn, only five.  I guess I can't list work and school then, huh?  Poo. 

I was going to title this post "Old Friends" but considering that the friend I'm referring to and myself both turned 40 this year, we're both sensitive to that word, "old."  Not that we feel old, but milestones are hard.  My childhood friend, Kass and I saw each other on Saturday for the first time in about 15 years.

In this photo (click to embiggen), we posed in one of those instant photo booths, I'm the lovely one in glasses doing the fishy face, Kass is on the right looking sexay, and the girl in the back is Heather, another friend.  This was taken on October 10, 1980; we were out of school for the Utah Education Association break and it was our friend Carol's birthday so we went downtown on the bus and goofed around.  This was the only photo I found but I know I have others. 

Kass is my sister, Susie's hairstylist and has been for years so we keep tabs on each other through Susie.  Saturday, Susie had an appointment with Kass and I went to the salon to see her.  She looks fabulous and is the same Kass as she's always been; fun, sweet, goofy (that IS a compliment, she's just like me that way), and great friend she always was.  It didn't seem like years had gone by, I felt as close to her as I did when we were in school.  

One of the first things she said to me was, "You still smell the same."  Hmmm... well, I've never heard that one before.  Aren't we supposed to say, "You haven't changed a bit?: or something like that?  We laughed so hard about that. I thought about it and remembered that I started wearing Obsession in high school, gathering all the little sample bottles I could find since it was new back then and they had little sample bottles.

Kass brought up some of the goofy stuff we used to do in summers, such as make "Handy Dandy Butt Wipes" for my neighbors whose children needed them.  The really funny thing is, we cut up garbage and plastic bags into squares then wrote "Handy Dandy Butt Wipes" on each square with magic marker.  After a while, we got tired of writing the whole thing out and wrote "HDBW" on each one.  We'd sleep outside in my backyard and we'd toilet paper my neighbors and staple the HDBW's to their fence and tape them to anything we could stick them on.  OK, this is all really embarrassing and it was mean, but.......... I'm sitting here cracking up about the silly things we did.

About 10 years ago, I discovered a cassette tape that wasn't labeled.  I popped it into my stereo and it was a bunch of farting and giggling.  Then I remembered what we did at one of our sleep-overs, we farted into the mic then would giggle.  Ohhh, if I could make a .wav file out of that.......... I think we were in 6th grade or maybe 7th grade.  Just to clear up the fact that girls don't fart... we do and apparently, Kass and I were quite proud of it. 

I was drove the little two-door Subaru that my parents let me use and occasionally, Kass and I would sluff school (shocking, I know).  There was one time that we sluffed and Kass was worried about whether her mom was out looking for her, so we drove past her house to see if her mom's car was in the driveway.  The funny (and idiotic) part was having her hide in the backseat wasn't good enough; she had to get into the trunk for a block or so.  I don't remember who decided the trunk was the best option but we were both blondes, so it's a toss-up!  The good news was, her mom's car was in the driveway and was not hunting her down. 

We had so many slumber parties and always had the best time.  I remember one year, for her birthday (I think!), she had a big slumber party with several friends.  The song YMCA by the Village People was big then and we danced around like them.  What I wouldn't give for a video of that... now, what Kass doesn't know (I forgot to tell her) that about five years ago at a Christmas party, I was hypnotized and I danced the YMCA dance and I do have it on DVD... it's locked away where no one will ever find it, that is until I die.  *snortle*

Kass and I have exchanged email addresses and she's got the URL to my blog (Hallooo Kass if you're reading this!) and we WILL keep in touch.  It's amazing how much I've missed her over the years and since seeing her, that piece of my heart that she had before, she has again. 

This is a photo that Susie took of Kass and me.  Kass said say, "Gee whiz" so I was cracking up.  Susie and I filled her in on the G-Wiz and she's thinking she needs one.  YES, another G-Wiz convert.  *snicker*

Today is the opening day of Major League Baseball; it's an exciting day for all baseball fans, including me.  I love the sexy Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves (thanks to Vickie introducing me to Tim Hudson and John Schmoltz).  I recently purchased the MLB Premium Package with the new mosaic feature so I can watch multiple games. 

As much as I enjoy watching the majors play, I would like to dedicate this post to my great-grandfather, Arthur C. Hancey, my grandfather, Herb Oswald, and my grand-uncle, Denzel Hancey.   The newspaper article to the right (click to embiggen) mentions Great-Grandpa Hancey watching these four Lundberg brothers climb through the Snake River Baseball League that he both played and managed for 38 years.  He was also the founder of the Farmer's Community League. 

Great-Grandpa Hancey began playing baseball in 1896 and in 1910 became the manager of the Milo and Osgood teams (both small towns in Idaho, just north of Idaho Falls).   

 He later was a member and chairman of the Idaho State Athletic Commission, which included all sports.  He moved to the Salt Lake City area during World War II for work and lived there two years before he died.  This article mentions all he did for sports in Idaho and at the end of the article, the son it mentions, was my grand-uncle Denzel "Denz" Hancey who managed baseball teams in the Magna, Utah area. 

Denz used to play on the leagues in Idaho when he was growing up and he was one of the best players, until he also moved to Utah and married and raised his family there.  

My Grandpa Oswald had a deep passion for baseball and used to play with Denz and against him on other teams.  Grandpa was also one of the best players and pitchers in the leagues.  I am disappointed I couldn't find any photos of them playing but Mom thinks my aunt has some photos and I imagine Denz's children have photos of him playing baseball. 

I have baseball in my blood, however, they were die-hard Yankee fans and I am not.  I imagine they're looking down on me from heaven wondering what happened to me.  *snortle*  But then again, the Yankees have changed a lot since they were alive and if I lived back then, I probably would have liked them too. 

Some of the fondest memories I have of my grandpa was watching baseball with him; he told me about the players and what their strengths and weaknesses were.  I don't remember specifics since I was young, but I remember how fun it was to watch baseball with grandpa.