November Recap

Just four and a half weeks till 2009. Can it be so?

Ben - Started his block of research rotations. I was really looking forward to these. So far his schedule has been worse than previous non-research rotations. I thought research meant more regular hours and a little autonomy. It's turning out to be research and writing on top of clinic, call and academics. I'm not complaining, just a little disappointed.

And it was bound to happen. Or not. But Ben was the doc for one of his former high school classmates. I can't say who or what for because I don't know (him telling me and me telling you would be a major HIPAA violation).

He did have Thanksgiving weekend off which was good, and which we spent the actual day with the Nelson's who we first met back east and who took it upon themselves to make the majority of what was a very very delicious meal.

The last few days of November were spent leveling ground and hefting brick for our retaining wall. I thought this might be a good time to chat and catch up but this type of work is not compatible with conversing.


Avery - Decided that she would like to learn to play the violin. Of all the horrible sounding instruments while you're learning to play, this could be the worst. She will not be learning how to play the violin. At least not at my house.

Update - turns out she actually doesn't need to take lessons because she says she already knows how to play. She just needs a violin. This is her answer to most things I ask her about. Avery, Would you like to take gymnastics? I already know how. Dance ?- same. Karate ?- Black belt.

Obviously confidence is not an issue.

What is an issue however, are her never ending thoughts. On multiple occasions recently she has expressed near physical pain over her brain not "turning off". Mostly at night, she has a problem with churning thoughts and wants to know how to stop thinking.


Miles - Likes skateboarding, pumpkin pie and "tractor-trucks pushing trees".


Me - I am enjoying fall and the Christmas music station with no commercial interruption, cinnamon pinecones and chocolate-peppermint soymilk (I'm not vegan and not lactose intolerant, just love this stuff. With real whipped cream on top of course). I never felt that I missed out on the holiday feeling in Hawaii but it's feeling kinds cozy here in the Northwest (not permanent, just cozy).

November brought happy news and sad news.

The sad news is the loss of a friend who many of us knew, loved and served during our time together in Maryland. Holly Schrader battled quickly degenerative MS. A former college soccer player, wife and mother, when we met 5 years ago she was just recently wheelchair bound and determined to walk again. Many of us watched helplessly, but while trying to help, as the disease took over a very spunky, athletic young lady who tried very hard to have a normal life in a very unfair, debilitating situation. I can't believe that her life is over so quickly, yet for her relief and that of her family I am grateful that she didn't have to continue on with life as she recently knew it. Many times I tried to put myself in the place of Holly or of her spouse, coming up bitterly short of their pain I'm sure, but it sure does make my challenges seem insignificant.

The good news is that two of my cousins (on different sides of the family) had baby girls this month so I would like to welcome Paiton and Mollee Sue to the world!


And we got to see old friends and fellow TU Tiger swimmers Kyle and Lisa and their four cuties when they visited Seattle.

Oh yes - And Tarah and Amy joined the ranks of bloggers. Yay.

Black Friday 2008

I have only done the Black Friday shopping thing one other time. In 2005 Walmart had hooded Jerzees sweatshirts for $6.99 and I went to get one for Ben. It wasn't so bad and no one got trampled to death that year but I'm pretty sure there was an altercation in electronics and the cops came.

Now that I have two kids, getting up early to go shopping alone seems like a pretty fair trade-off. Plus I needed to check out some of the the big-ticket items (appliances) for our house in person.

So fueled by a piece of chocolate chip pecan pie (and a sliver of pumpkin) I decided to brave the crowds and see if I could find any deals.

I left my house at 4:47am, realizing that venturing out in to the dark of morning is a rare occurrence for me but a daily obligation for Ben. I am overcome with appreciation. But I must focus on my mission. First stop - Sporting Goods store. Why? Because they are giving out gift certificates to the first 200 customers. I wait in line and score some free frosted gingerbread from Starbucks employees that are out spreading cheer. I am guest 199. I get a $5 gift card. I realize that there is nothing at that store that I want besides something for free (although next year I want a generator). I leave.

I head straight for the mall. Specifically Sears. I want to check out the Kenmore HE front-loading washer/dryer combo for $599. Why is everyone trying to find a close parking spot in a packed parking lot where people obviously just got there. You got up at 4:30 to go shopping people, what's so painful about walking across a parking lot? Enter Sears, decide I don't really want a front loader. I want a HE top loader with no agitator. They are not on sale. I get sucked into a special presentation and "free" gift. I waste 15 minutes listening to a spiel on the Euro-Cleaner (made in the USA). I leave with a free microfiber cloth for cleaning camera lenses or glasses.

Next stop Ann Taylor Loft. I was here two days ago to check out their 40% all sale items. The salesgal told me that they might have another 20% of the 40% off items on Friday and to bring back my unwashed, unworn items and they would give me the difference. I do so and pick up another shirt as well. I get .97 back. While trying on the shirt I see myself in the mirror for the first time that day. Black Friday does not look good on me. I head straight to the Benefit counter at Macy's for some Erase Paste. I look a little better. Maybe good enough to step foot in a Nordstrom.

I head to Nordstrom, on my way out of Macy's I get a free Cranergy drink that Ocean Spray is handing out. I was getting thirsty. I get to Nordstrom at the other end of the mall. They don't open until 8am. They don't want us "door-busting" kind to enter their halls scavenging for deals. This is why my sister is sleeping in. I head back to Macy's for another Cranergy drink.

It's 6:50. I leave the mall and head for Circuit City. I need to replace the kids DVD player for the 5th time in two years. Thank goodness grandpa had the wisdom to get the protection plan on that item. I wait in line for 15 minutes while the lady in front of me tells me all about the movie Water Horse and asks multiple salespeople if they have that movie in stock. They direct her to the bulk bins. She doesn't want to lose her place in line. I can't guarantee her that I can hold her place so I say nothing. The exchange costs me $3.48 (darn that high WA state tax). I go next door to Toys R Us. Water Horse lady told me that they had some good deals. They do. But they are not worth standing in the very very extremely long line that winds through the entire store.

7:20am - I am done shopping. Total damage: $2.51

It's a miracle.

My eldest child actually wore shoes. Not only did she wear shoes but she wore jeans and let me put her hair in a ponytail. Okay, I forced her and she only obeyed humored me until we got home from the park when she immediately ripped the rubberband from her hair and put on her plaid dress/uniform.


She prefers to dress like every day is Easter Sunday...in the tropics (as evidenced below - the picture was taken November 10th - 50 F). It is a struggle we have daily.


But Amy reminded me in a comment that it may merely be a case of "like mother, like daughter", in which I might just have to let her be who she is. An extremely warm-blooded creature with a penchant for flip-flops. I'm sure my choice of footwear (and wearing shorts when it snowed) was disappointing at times to my parents - although I don't recall it being a big deal. I know it displeased my grandmother (right gma?). But really, I wasn't cold. And maybe, just maybe, Abes isn't either.

Turkey Trot 10K

I entered the base's Turkey Trot and during a momentary lapse of judgement or perhaps overconfidence in my current level of fitness I checked the box next to the 10K instead of my usual 5K preference. I think I may have only ever done one other 10K, and now I remember why I don't usually run that far. It hurts. And although 6.2 miles doesn't sound all that long, it is. Especially if you are more of the sprinter variety and don't know a thing about pacing yourself. At about mile two I was regretting my decision. Instead of just kicking in that last mile, I had a whole nother 5K to run. :(

Like a real runner I was trying not to use my iPod but had it safely tucked into my sportsbra, along with my car key, in case I needed it. I eventually put it on but I was already so tired that I couldn't find a song that could pump me up (not even Eminem - who has helped me through the pain of two labors - could help me), but I had to leave it on because the alternative was to listen to myself sucking wind.

This was nothing like the turkey trots in middle school. Or maybe I'm just not the turkey trotter I once was.

On a positive note - the weather was a gorgeous 42 degrees - see Mt. Rainer below. And even though the race was free, they used the ChampionChip timing system, they had great finish line treats (thanks to REI and some other local sponsors), a goody bag with a t-shirt, cd, a koozie (you know - a can-insulator) with a caveman on it and some weird white towel thing that you might find in a hospital surgery room.

And thank you Melissa for watching my kids so I could punish myself.

-

-Time: 54:... (haven't seen an official time yet and was too tired to make note of the large clock at the finish line.

Friends.

One of the great things about the military sending you all over is making new friends and meeting up with old friends in new places. We really hit the old friends made new again jackpot with our latest move. It's fun to meet new additions to families and amazing to see those we knew as toddlers and itty bitty babies all grown up! Some of you may recongnize some of our friends below:

From Hawaii we were lucky to have Eden (left), Kinley and Mya (right) join us in the Pacific Northwest.

Those we last knew on the East Coast include:

Aubrey, Lincoln(left) and Baby Jace (below)

Olivia (right) and the twins - Tenison and Henry (below)

Addyson and Kaitlin.

Zoe, Fischer and Bronwyn (as a mummy, a very cute mummy).

I'm kicking myself for not getting a better picture of the Spackman kids - Lila (pink jacket) and Jude (red striped polo).

(Above) Damaris and Baby Sam.

Some of the gals - April, Sarah and Melissa.

Talking Points

As is generally the case when moving into (or out of) a ward, we were asked to speak in church this Sunday*. Most of the time the bishopric has a topic in mind for the meeting. This time we were given free reign. Considering they don't know us that well, that was pretty...surprising, foolish, kind? Armed with a litany of talks from the previous General Conference we searched for inspiration. Ben found his quickly and settled on exploring the virtue of charity - as in giving of what we have to others charity. He had his thoughts arranged and ready to be delivered in a matter of hours. Meanwhile I had worked all week to pull something together and for hours the night before and still had nothing cohesive. I set my alarm for 5am and thought I could use the peace and quiet of the morning (translation - my kids would be asleep) to focus. With a racing mind I couldn't sleep when it came to me - I could give a talk I had given before. I jumped up and searched for a file on the computer that might give me rest. Sure enough, I had two to choose from. I settled on a version of the final talk given in our ward in Maryland - I updated it with a few new quotes, tweaked it here and there and it was good to go.

We gave our talks and after church someone gave the obligatory "thanks for your talk today" compliment. She followed it up with a "as often as you move you should file that one away to give again"

(Smile, laugh)

I'll think about it.


---

*Avery gave a talk in Primary last week. Her topic - We are all children of our Heavenly Father. She drew a picture of the Earth, complete with outer-space, she sang "Jesus Loves the Little Children" (you know - the probably politically incorrect - "red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight"), and said a few words about how He wants us to be happy because he made us and that we should be kind to each other. It was a brilliant 45 seconds.

Tree Guy

Born and bred in the wilds of Alaska (okay, I'm not sure exactly where in Alaska, but it's all wild right?), this guy is about as rugged as they come. With nothing but spurs and a cable anchoring him to the tree, he cuts off substantial limbs and throws them down like nothing. Referring to his men on the ground as 'girls', he cut our trees down in thirds and as the top portion would come down he would be left swaying on what was remaining. Yikes.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have a crush on anyone who can do what he does (you should see his forearms, really). No, you're not going to come to find one day that I've run off with the tree guy, but my respect runs deep. If you had seen him up in those giant 100ft+ fir trees working his chainsaw magic yours would too. As it turns out, he is afraid of heights.

--

Video posted here.

44th

October Recap.

Ben - Without a doubt the highlight of the month/year for him was a well-deserved trip to Aspen (which in my head is pronounced with a whisper and a dramatic wave of the hand As-pen - since it's such a fancy place. (I'm sure that aside doesn't go over very well in print...as is frequently a problem when trying to communicate my thoughts into written word. Bear with me.)) Back to As-pen. I don't think they ever made it into the actual town, but Carbondale just doesn't have the same ring to it. He met up with his dad and brother Kit for five days of fly-fishing. I guess it was fun.

I know this isn't the greatest picture, but I just noticed that the same sweater that Ben wears to church every week is the same one he was wearing while fishing. You gotta love that guy. Excuse me, while I go put that one through the wash.

I know some of you are still waiting for more info on his tanning escapades. I am still searching for an important piece of evidence regarding that, and he's not helping. In fact, he has erased some of what I had prepared. However, he was flattered that pictures were requested.

Miles - Spent most of the month singing Happy Birthday to himself and blowing out pretend candles. Since I realized he was really getting a kick out of the whole birthday party concept- presents, cake etc., I felt like I couldn't deny him the chance to have a party, even though I hadn't been planning on giving him one. I also realize how unfair this is considering his sister had quite a bash for her 1st and 3rd bdays. So some last minute scrambling and an awesome cake idea from here resulted in a fun gathering with a group of friends who had been East-coasters with us for a time. The best part is that now Miles has boy toys all his own. Hooray!

As for the discussion about when the terrible twos actually start, I would like to weigh in with them starting at 18 months. How long they last is another conversation altogether.


Avery - Is continuing her motivational speaking tour. Next stop - a playground near you. Taking a giant step toward televangelist missionary, A. has been overheard preaching the Gospel to misfits at the park. After a recent altercation where a little girl had slapped another girl and threatened to kick another in the stomach, she led the girl to a spot under the slide and proceeded to tell her about the great plan of happiness, including excerpts of the creation story and the good news of the birth of the Savior. I had to climb some playground equipment to try to get a good listen but I heard her telling her followers that Jesus was born as a tiny baby in a place like this (under the slide among the woodchips?) and that we are all God's children. After that they emerged as friends.

In the car I told A. how nice that was of her to work things out instead of retaliating. She told me, "well at first I told her I was going to punch her in the face, but then I had to show her love". Oh.

Me - I enjoyed my week alone with the kids while Ben was gone - it was pretty much like any other week except that I don't have to make dinner or do as much laundry. This left me time to watch a movie. It's been a long time since I've watched a movie and an even longer time since I have actually enjoyed one. But I really liked Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Amy Adams (who plays a naughty version of her Enchanted character in this film). Two thumbs up. The rest of my month was spent fretting about the state of the economy, reading up on politics and making lists. I don't suppose anyone is interested in my current stock picks, but I've identified some that I would snatch up if I had some discretionary funds.

In more interesting news, WE STARTED ON OUR HOUSE! Well, we started clearing trees anyhow. We had hoped to start in October and we were thinking early October but the 31st is October just the same. I have been trying to compile our experiences and am making a separate blog so that we can have a record of our adventure. Anyone is welcome to check it out but I'm going to make it private so that we don't have to spare any detail. Let me know if you want access, I'll just need your email address if I don't already have it. If you are a regular lurker on this blog and don't want to be left out of the fun, reveal yourself and once I perform a background check you can have access too ;) (as a part-time lurker myself, I know nothing is worse than being locked out of a blog).