Asphalt, Metal, Composite? What’s Your Favorite Shingle?

I am not talking about the roofing for our new home.

Heck,
we don’t even have a bid on construction yet.
(We get the first bid tomorrow 2/01)
It’s a little soon to be deciding asphalt over composite.

I’m talking about the kind that is more commonly known as
”Herpes zoster”

What the….?

Herpes zoster is the other name for a medical condition known as
SHINGLES!

Which is the newest diagnosis I received today.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

This morning when I woke up, I still wasn’t feeling great, and that surprised me.
I thought I’d have a little relief since I took my antibiotics as prescribed.
Surely, some of the swelling should have gone down.
Some of the pain should have decreased.
Maybe the redness of my face mountains wouldn’t be so vibrant….

It didn’t happen.
As a matter of fact, as I slept, a new face mountain erupted.
This time on my chin.
I was still in the same amount of pain.
Swelling was as big as ever.

Also, I was awoken at about 5 am by a weird sensation.
I felt things moving inside my face!!
The sensation – kind of a tingly feeling – would start in the middle of one of my sores,
and trickle down my face.
Or it would start in the swollen area and inch its way across my cheek bone.
Sometimes it just felt like a hair was brushing across my face… or a tiny spider walking across my skin.

YUCK!

After I ate breakfast, I discovered another sore.
This time on my tongue. In the back of my throat.
And more on my lips.
And the tip of my tongue.

And I began to worry.
Really worry.

Thankfully, there was time in the doctor’s schedule for me to come back.
He was just as concerned as yesterday.
Probably a little more.
And he was still as confused.
He grabbed a colleague and had this man come look at my face, in my ear.
Then I had TWO confused faces staring at me.
Talking about me like I wasn’t in the room.

Finally, a decision was made.
It was time to get aggressive.
Send Betty to the hospital for a CAT Scan, CBC.
Worst case scenario would be possible hospital admittance for IV hook-up of antibiotics.
Best case scenario, have an ENT doctor review my scan and get a diagnosis from that.
We were all voting for the Best Case.

I have never had a CAT Scan before.
Yuck.
I hear it’s better than an MRI, and I guess it is.
But I sometimes get motion sick and sure enough,
as the table was moving back and forth in that little circle of imaging technology,
I had to just close my eyes and hold on.
And I was certain I wet my pants when the contrast dye started working itself through me.
Thankfully, I didn’t.

To make a long day and a long story short:
There were no large masses or growths in my jaw.
That’s GOOD NEWS!

Off to the ENT I went.
He walked into the room, took one look at my face, looked in my ear and rambled off
slkjdasglajeialfdkjadf.

Yep. That’s exactly what I heard him say.
But then he spoke in people speak and said,
”Betty, my dear Betty, you have shingles of the inner ear.”

Maybe not that familiar, but you get the gist.

I HAVE SHINGLES!

While that may be a devastating diagnosis
and I’m certainly not happy about it,
I’m happy to have a diagnosis.

I will start a nice cocktail of medicines to aid in my recovery.
I feel like an 80 year old woman:
I have shingles (not the usual disease of a 25 year old…. )
And I have to get a days-of-the-week pill case to help me remember what
medicines I have to take each day.
Next week I buy the support hose and the blue hair tint.

But the best news is that I will get better.
The sores and “blistering rash” will go away.
My 3rd and 4th chins will disappear.
I’ll be able to hear again.
And my mouth won’t hurt so much when I try to smile.
That’s the best news of all!

Cancer, A Leper & Mumps. Oh My!

What do you do when you wake up and you find large lumps on your neck,
in your glands under your ear?

Do you immediately start planning your funeral,
because
LUMPS + NECK =
Almost certain death by a highly incurable form of aggressive cancer?

And after you get past the shock of your impending doom, you look in the mirror
and gasp when you see

LARGE BUMPS GROWING ON YOUR FACE
THAT YOU THOUGHT WERE ZITS WHEN YOU WENT TO BED LAST NIGHT,
BUT IN THE LIGHT OF THE MORNING, YOU REALIZE THEY
HAVE GROWN EXPONENTIALLY
AND IN NO WAY RESEMBLE A PIMPLE ANY MORE.

Well, of course, you start packing your bags.
You know you’re being sent to the Isle of Lepers.
Never to return.

So, you sit down and put your face in your hand
overwhelmed by your looming demise,
when you pick up the phone to call your mommy.

After describing your symptoms, she calms you down.
Of course it’s not cancer.
Those are GLANDS not LYMPH NODES!

Whew!

She has no explanation for the mountains on your face,
but she has an explanation for the swollen glands.

MUMPS

“But Mom, didn’t you immunize me when I was a kid?”

“I don’t know! Maybe I did? I wasn’t immunized. I’ve never had them.
But I think you ought to go to the doctor.”

“I’m waaaay ahead of you, Mom. My appointment is tomorrow.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok. My week wasn’t really as dramatic as all that.
But I was quite concerned as I’ve watched my neck and face grow and swell.

And the pain?

Holy Hell.
(Sorry. Heck just doesn’t cut it.)

The whole right side of my face and neck is throbbing and pulsing.
And tingling.

So I went to the doctor.
He took a look at me and started asking questions.
As I answered, I watched his face.
I watched the concern growing.
I watched confusion deepening.
I heard him say,
”I’m not gonna lie. I’m very worried about you.
No. It’s not cancer.
No. It’s not leprosy.
No. It’s not the mumps.
No. You’re not dying.
I really don’t know what it is.”

He kept pushing and prodding.
He had me bite down on a tongue depressor
and apologized when I yelled out in pain.

He told me that I have a
HORRIBLE INFECTION in the gland that lies under your ear.
The Parotid Gland to be exact.

His diagnosis:
Parotitis
But he doesn’t sound totally convinced as he says it.

He prescribes the strongest antibiotic he can think of.
I have to make a follow-up appointment for day after tomorrow.
If it’s not better, I have to have an emergency appointment with an
Ear/Nose/Throat doctor.

Here’s the kicker.
I actually feel ok.
Except the right side of my face.
The rest of me is doing great!
I don’t have a fever (go figure!)
I’m not contagious.
I have no restrictions on my activities.

Here’s the freaky part:
(this could get gross)
There are times I can actually feel the infection moving under my skin.

HOLY COW!!

And the mountains on my face tingle and itch.
It’s like they have a life of their own.
Sometimes I think this could happen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU1MAokrrUk

He said I could take
”Vitamin I” (ibuprofen)
for the pain, which does help.
In the meantime, I’m taking my antibiotics as prescribed.
And praying.
This will get better.
I will be able to travel to Flatlandia to visit Flynn this weekend.
My face will un-swell.
And the mountains will become flat and leave the
Valley of Betty.

And all of this will happen magically
TONIGHT
while I sleep!

Here you go!
(self-portrait from my iPhone. It’s the best I could do.)
The mountain by my mouth is obviously the largest.
The one on my upper cheek is still growing.
And I’ve got a new one on my temple

Can you see the lump under my jaw?
Not to be confused with my waddle.
My cheek at the back of my face is also swollen.
You can’t see my ear area which also is enlarged.
Yes, even my EAR is swollen.
SAY WHAT?!?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P.S. I promise I’m ok. I just have never had anything like this happen before. The doctor said is rare but not unheard of. I know I’ll be okay. And live to tell another dramatic story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m going to make a long post even longer, but I’d like to end on a funny note.
Scooter asked me today how I was feeling.
(He’s a considerate boy.)
And I said,
”Well, I’m not going to die.”

This is his response:

”Mom,
We’re all dying.
Every day we wake up,
we’re one day closer to death.”

I can’t make this stuff up. He really said that.

Johnny “Scooter” Cash

If you know my son,
you know what a
HUGE
M.J. fan he is.

If you’re a fan too, you know exactly who I’m talking about.
Of course you know who M.J. is!
For the less literate, (or more musically well rounded)
I’ll just tell you that M.J. is non other than
Michael Jackson.

Scooter used to take dance lessons.
He started at age 3 and danced until the end of kindergarten.
He wasn’t the only boy in his class.
At one point there were FOUR boys in the class with him!
Oh yes.
We were very progressive mothers in this ultra conservative town of Zion.

However,
when classes went from being a
“creative movement”
type of class
to a more
”traditional ballet”
(i.e. plies, fouette, glissade, etc.)
type of class,
the brakes were applied and classes for the boys skidded to a halt.
It was just too “girly” for their tastes.
(We tried to recruit more boys to have an all boy’s hip-hop class, but weren’t successful.
People around here are very resistant to putting boys in a dance class!)

Anyway….. I digress….
Scooter’s very last dance recital’s theme was non other than
MICHAEL JACKSON!

All the dances were choreographed to MJ or J5 or J.J. (Janet Jackson) songs.

(this dance was to Rockin’ Robin ^^)

(I have no clue what this dance was! ^^)

So, through his dance class, the boy was introduced to the musical stylings of M.J.
And the boy became a fan.
A HUGE fan!

And then, the biggest tragedy of Scooter’s short life,
M.J. died.
It was seriously, the month after recital.
Scooter was devastated and his obsessive fandom grew bigger.

° We listened to MJ on the iPod
° We bought MJ books
(disclaimer … all MJ books had to be approved by a parental unit!)
° He acquired an MJ calendar
° Scooter learned how to moonwalk
° A rhinestone glove came to reside in Scooter’s bedroom
and was worn outside of the home on numerous occasions
° Finally a CD was purchased so we could turn off the iPod and give mom a break!
° During soccer season, Flynn was trying to motivate our young player and bribed him.
Scooter was told that if he kicked a goal, Dad would take him to the store and buy
him an MJ Video.
Sure enough, Scooter actually scored a goal that night,
All the other parents chuckled when Scooter came running, at top speed, off the field yelling,
”Dad did you see that? Now you have to buy me a Michael Jackson video!”
° You get the picture, right?

So, this obsession went on for… 3.5 years.
Approximately.

Until…

One day….

The Man in Black
came on the iPod.

Immediately, the boy was entranced.
° The deep bass voice.
° That silly song about “A Boy Named Sue”
° (GASP!) A man that swears in music
° The deep bass voice
° A singer that was a “manly man”
° Interestingly enough, he can’t stand to listen to June Carter Cash!

All of a sudden, Johnny Cash was the main request when we were traveling down the interstate.
And then, Santa put a Johnny Cash CD in Scooter’s stocking.
After that, all bets were off.

Michael WHO?!?!?

(Time for a funny “Scooterism” story insert:
One day, Scooter’s best friend Bulls Eye was over playing.
They always get along and respect each other’s differences in opinions and tastes.
It’s really a great friendship!
Well, Scooter really wanted to share his love for JC
so he brought his CD player down to the living room and very excitedly turned on
his new CD.
At first, Bulls Eye was receptive.
But after a minute or two, he finally said,
”Ummmm…. this is gross!”
So then Scooter turned off the music,
had Bulls Eye sit down on a chair,
and started to read to him out of a new book he’d just gotten!
Poor Bull’s Eye!
Scooter really loves sharing things he’s passionate about!
I can’t wait for him to be a missionary!)

Back to our regularly scheduled blog:

Scooter now listens exclusively to The Man In Black.
He takes the CD player into the bathroom and blares it while he’s showering.
Flynn gave Scooter his (very) old iPod Touch and 90% of the music is JC,
so he carries it around the house listening.
(In case you’re wondering, the other 10% of the music is
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Ray Stevens.
There is NO MJ on his iPod!!
I’m still trying to figure this kid out.)
He listens to the CD or the iPod as he goes to sleep at night.
I’m not kidding or exaggerating when I say that one night he put
”Ring of Fire”
on repeat and that blasted (insert fave swear word here) song
played for an hour before I realized
it was on repeat.
If I have a song running through my head in quiet times, it’s
”Ring of Fire.”
(Are YOU singing it now?)

I had to video Scooter when we were driving to visit Flynn one weekend recently.
It was just too great of a moment to miss.
I’m going to share it with you today.
And yes, Scooter would be mad.
Today.
But hopefully, he’ll appreciate it in a few years.

(Yes, I lied at the end! I was videoing him! He gets mad at me!
But some of these spontaneous moments need to be captured and preserved.
And I would never get them if he knew I was videoing.)

Instagram

I love Instagram!

Love

LOVE

LOVE

Instagram!

I can’t convey the depths of the love I feel for that app.

I love it even more now that I have an iPhone that takes
much better pictures than my old, dumb DROID X.

Here are some of my favorite pics that I put on Instagram.
(Some also went onto FB… but not all pics make it to FB. I like to keep the two medias separate.)

A Pick-Me-Up

Ok….

Enough with Debbie Downer. I can’t leave such a “BLAH” post sitting on my blog, all alone for the next month. We need to perk it up just a bit around here!

Does this work?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?!?!?

The architect finished the plans for our house!!
This is the front and back view of the Craftsman Style house we hope to build in the coming months.
♫ (See? I used the “H” word!) ♫

I’m trying not to get too anxious about it.
But the architect worked real hard on it,
we gave him a lot of ideas and (I think) were very patient and
FINALLY
we believe we’ve got a great house designed that will be enjoyable to live in.

So, yes, we
HOPE
that things come together in the next couple weeks
so that we can break ground on our new home by March.

Please,
CROSS YOUR FINGERS, TOES, EYES, LEGS (WHATEVER CROSSES)
SAY A PRAYER
LIGHT A CANDLE
PUT A PIN IN THE VOO DOO DOLL
RUB THE RABBIT’S FOOT
WHATEVER YOU DO FOR LUCK….
that this will work out in our favor.
PLEASE?!?

Is Hope Shining Brightly Before Me?

That line in the Hymn We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet has always made me smile. There’s an old joke running around in church circles about an overly pregnant church chorister named Hope leading this song in sacrament meeting and the line “and we know that deliverance is nigh” made the entire congregation burst out laughing.

I have struggled writing a post about Hope.

I struggle with being too personal, trying to remember this is not exactly a private space and some of my thoughts should be recorded in my journal instead of here where any random Joe could read what I’m thinking. But then again, I don’t want to turn my blog into a Christmas letter where I portray everything as peachy and hunky dory, like we live in a world where there is only rainbows and sunsets and balloons, because… LIFE ISN’T LIKE THAT!

So here goes. I’ve decided to give a Reader’s Digest condensed version.

2012 was a stinky year. It was AWFUL! Nothing worked out the way we hoped, the way we wanted, or the way we dreamed it should. We felt like we were following our heart and had inspiration in all the decisions we made, and yet, every time we decided to move forward in something…

BAM!!!

We ran into a brick wall.

And I can tell you, that after that many disappointments and heartbreaks, a person starts protecting their feelings.

In my case, that lovely lady named HOPE, standing in front of the congregation singing about deliverance, walked to the back door and left.

Yep. Hope was gone and absent from my life. She left and didn’t leave a forwarding address or phone number.

Anytime someone would mention the future or a dream or a plan, I might agree with it outwardly, but deep down I’d scoff. I stopped believing that anything good would happen. I stopped planning for the future.

For me, a naturally optimistic person, that’s huge.

Then one day in Relief Society, the president gave a lesson about The Abundant Life. (What is an “Abundant Life?” The answer is in John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”)

She asked me to participate in the lesson by reading several quotes. I believe this woman was inspired. I believe that I needed to read those quotes out loud, because I needed to pay attention in class that day. (I’m known to zone out frequently in class.) This woman was also inspired the next day to drop by my house and catch me at one of my lowest points. When she saw my eyes and nose swollen from hours of crying, she ran home and brought me back a copy of the lesson, so I could have it to refer back to.

As I have continued to attend church and try to pay attention more in my classes and really listen, I have learned more about faith. I have learned that without Hope you cannot have faith (Moroni 10:20). I have learned that Heavenly Father really does love me and my family and even though things are really hard, we can get through them.

And Hope has started maneuvering her way back into my life. She’s coming slowly…. like molasses slow … but I realized today, for the first time in months that I look forward to the future and I could actually see something working in our favor!

As I read the Relief Society lesson left to me by that caring president, different quotes affect me differently at different times. But the quotes that stand out the most are about attitude:

“Jesus’ teachings help us to have a correct view of life and our circumstances. Sometimes the solution is not to change our circumstances, but to change our attitude about that circumstance and its difficulties so that we see more clearly our opportunities for more [abundance]” – Spencer W. Kimball

“So much in life depends on our attitude. The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference. To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment.” – President Thomas S. Monson

Have things finally worked out for me and my family? No they  haven’t. But today we think we may have found an answer to long asked for prayer. Do I have hope that this is the solution to our problem? Hmmmm…. that’s an interesting question. I want to have hope. I want to believe that things will improve for us. I want that light at the end of the tunnel to be shining brightly, offering deliverance, but I still have to proceed with caution. Hope is knocking at the door.

(One more quote sent to me by my dear sister who has been a rock for me through this year.)

“In this sad world of ours sorrow comes to all and it often comes with bitter agony. Perfect relief is not possible except with time. You cannot now believe that you will ever feel better. But this is not true. You are sure to be happy again. Knowing this, and truly believe it will make you less miserable now. I have had enough experience to make this statement.” – Abraham Lincoln

Disclaimer: I don’t claim to own all the stock in suffering. I know and understand that there are people out in the world whose problems are far worse than mine. I haven’t lost a child, my marriage is strong, my family is healthy. Thankfully, I never lost the ability to recognize the blessings I do have, and I have many. I began keeping a gratitude journal several months ago to help remind me of these facts.

Rundown on the Lowdown

Good heavens! Remember when I used to blog?

WHAT HAPPENED?!?

Oh yeah. Life.

WHAM!
Bam!
SLAM!!
(can you hear the echo in a blog?)

So much has happened since I last posted.
How can I write about it and make it interesting?

Blah, blah, blah, blah.
Belle and Beast found out what flavor of baby their having..

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!
Belle and Beast KNOW the gender and I’m just talking about it for the first time here?

Oh man, please forgive me!
We are definitely excited!
I’ve been sooooo tired. And soooooo busy.
But those are terrible excuses for not writing.
So,
YES!
Belle and Beast are having a……

Beautiful
Bouncing
Baby BOY!!!

We had a fun
”Gender Reveal Party”
the day they had the ultra sound.
They averted their eyes during that
“all important time” of the sonogram and the ultra sound tech put the picture
of the bitty parts in an envelope and sealed it up.
Belle and Beast brought the envelope home
UNOPENED
and gave it to me.

So, YES!
I (Granny) was the first to know what they are having!
Cool for me, eh?

I baked cupcakes with a blue center,
and frosted them pink and blue.

Later that evening,
after an agonizingly LONG day of waiting
they fed each other a cupcake to reveal the center.
They were pretty excited.
I’d love to tell you the name they’ve chosen, but I can’t.
Me and my privacy issues.
But hey, maybe I’ll run into you sometime,
or we’re friends on Facebook
or
Instagram
and you’ll find out there.

Let’s see?
What else is going on?

Blah, blah, blah, blah.
I started working.

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!

I know! I know!
That’s BIG NEWS too!
After all, I haven’t worked outside of the home since Scooter was born.
Ahem…. for those that are counting…
that’s
10 YEARS!

And can I say it’s kicking my trash?

Oh my heavens!

I only work 3 days a week:
Tues, Wed. & Thur.
It’s supposed to be from 8:30 to 3:00.
Nice and easy.
NOT!

Why?
Because I work in a stinkin’
CHOCOLATE FACTORY
during the
CHRISTMAS SEASON!

It’s really an easy, no-brainer job.
All I do is take the chocolates off a conveyor belt and put it them in a box and move them
into the cooler
(àla Lucy and Ethel: ”SPEED IT UP A LITTLE!”)

Very easy.
In theory.
But really, there’s more to the job than
just grabbing chocolates off a belt.
We do chocolate covered:

*Cinnamon Bears (OH MY HEAVENS!!)
*Pretzels (TO DIE FOR!)
*Gummy Bears (I still don’t understand these)

and those come off the conveyor belt like
GREASED LIGHTNING!
I can’t keep up!

And then I get to weighandpackageandwatchchocolatelevelsinthemelters
andkeepthingspickedupandsometimesIgettoputthechocolatesONtheconveyorbelt
andwrapchocolateboxesandpackageothercandiesandsprinklechocolatesprinklesonpiecesoffudge
andhelpputthesignsonTurtlecandies ….
standing on my feet for a minimum of 6 hours a day
with no breaks.

Today?
It was 8.5 hours.
(Granted it was unusual for us to go that long.)

I’M SO TIRED!!

Let’s see?
What else is going on?

Blah, blah, blah, blah
WE think we finally found a bank who will give us a
construction loan
without requiring our first and last child and first grandchild as a down payment!

WAIT!!
Rewind!
WHAT?!?!

I know!
Crazy huh!

That’s what’s been the major hold-up on our move for so long.
We’ve been to bank after bank after bank bank after bank after bank bank after bank after bank
for a construction loan
and each time they say,
“SURE! WE’D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A LOAN!
YOU MORE THAN QUALIFY!
BUT WE REQUIRE
20% DOWN PAYMENT!”
(Cue screeching tires sound effect)

Ummmm…. that’s a ton of cash!
Which we don’t have.

We were at the end.
No hope.
No more options.
No prebuilt houses available.
No way to build.

Brick walls hurt when you run into them!

This was our last hope.
Without going into details that makes this story even longer,
Flynn was directed to a private mortgage company that agreed to give us a construction loan for only
3.5% down!

We feel like it’s a miracle.
We have that amount of cash.
We’ll have to have a smaller house than we wanted.
And it won’t be as nice as we wanted.
But it will have 4 walls, a floor and a roof.
And we can live in it together
AS A FAMILY!!

And that I can live with!

(This is a lot of ground I’ve covered tonight. I hope you’re not too bored!)

Big Wheels Keep on Turning

I’ve got driving on my mind.
I am driving about 1800 miles a month as I drive between Zion and Flatlandia.
That’s a lot of miles and a lot of road time.
Driving this much doesn’t mean I’m becoming an expert on “road manners”
but I have learned (I think) how to be a better, more courteous driver.

I add this list not to preach, but to give people something to think about as they are driving
down the road.
Are you thinking about the other cars/travelers out there?
Or are you just thinking about your destination; about how hungry you are; or that you have to go to the bathroom?
I want to encourage people get out of your bubble and pay attention to your surroundings!

(Okay, it DOES sound like I’m preaching.)

TWO LANE HIGHWAY TRAVEL

1) When you’re traveling with a group of people, PLEASE make sure that you’ve at least two car lengths between each car.
In my experience, groups that travel together travel more slowly and for some reason,
think they have to stay right on each other’s bumper. It seems that they’re afraid someone will get lost if they allow space between each car.
Let me say you WON’T get lost! And you make it virtually impossible for
people who travel faster to pass and get around.
For example: Last weekend I got behind a U-haul truck that was traveling 60 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Attached to the truck was a trailer on which was the family’s mini-van.
Immediately behind the moving truck was the wife driving the family’s pick up truck, packed to the rim.
The wife was only 2 seconds behind her husband, who was driving the moving truck.
He happened to be right behind a semi with only 2 second between them.
That’s the equivalent of about 5 vehicles that I had to pass.
Because, realistically, if the speed limit is 70, that is what I will drive.
Getting stuck behind such slow moving vehicles is not fun when I still have 5 hours left of my journey.

I fully believe that these people have the right to drive that speed if that’s where they feel comfortable.
They had their life’s possessions in those vehicles and I can appreciate their caution.
However, not allowing space for me to pass them one at a time was unsafe.
I had to wait until there was a fairly straight part of the road and floored it.
I ended up going about 90 mph to get around all three vehicles,
which was incredibly unsafe.
And it could have been avoided, if they had paid attention to the road around them.
They were in the middle of Montana.
There was no where for them to get lost.
ALLOW THE SPACE!!

2) What about the people who drive super slow and then, as you move to pass them, speed up?
When you’re on a two lane highway, you want to minimize the time you spend in the left lane.
But when the person you’re passing all of a sudden decides he wants to drag race,
that’s unfair and unsafe.

(These next items pertain to highway and interstate travel)
3) USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL!!*
It was installed in your car for a reason.
The reason the person felt like they had to speed up when I passed them in #2 was because they
weren’t using their cruise control.
They had gotten tired, and had slacked off on their speed, and when I started passing,
they realized they were traveling slower than they wanted, so they sped up.
If you use your cruise control, this is not a problem.
Your speed stays constant.
You’re not always playing speed-up pass/slow-down get passed with the neighboring car.
(Or the person in #2 just liked being in the first of the line and was ticked that I was passing.)
*It is unsafe to use cruise control on slick or wet roads.

4) Flashing your bright lights at an oncoming car
Sadly, I do a lot of night driving through mountains that have high deer/elk/moose populations.
When I’m driving in the dark, I always slow down and I use my bright lights to
illuminate the road to (hopefully) help me see any 4 legged friends who are standing on the roadside.
I try to be extremely cautious because I want to avoid a collision if at all possible.
When I have a car approaching me, I do my best to remember to dim my
headlights at the appropriate time.
But sometimes, I forget.
I appreciate it when the oncoming vehicle will give a slight tap to flash their lights which reminds me to dim mine.
I don’t appreciate it when the oncoming car puts up with my brights for as long as they can, then turn their
headlights on bright and don’t turn them off.
It’s like they want to teach me a lesson. A tit-for-tat moment.
What good is it if we’re BOTH blinded?
I know these people aren’t in my car and they can’t hear me say,
”Oh! I’m sorry!” as I realize my headlights have blinded them.
But that slight reminder when they flash their lights is safer for both of us.
I can dim mine immediately and then we BOTH have better vision of the roadway in front of us!

Interstate Driving
5) Driving in the Left Lane
The Interstate has a minimum of 2 lanes going in each direction. The right lane is for driving. The left lane is for passing.
Feel free to drive in the left lane if traffic is light.
Frequently there are grooves in the right lane due to the heavy amount of traffic that is traveling down that side.
Grooves are hard to drive in.
BUT…. when a car is approaching and is faster than you are, please pull over to the right lane
and let them pass you on the left.
That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
That’s the law of the road.

6) Passing highway patrol
Ok. This is a touchy/risky subject.
What do you do when you’ve got highway patrol “pacing cars” on the interstate?
If he’s driving 75 mph, then you’d be crazy to pass him/her.
But what if he’s only driving 60 or 65?
He’s obviously under the speed limit. Why can’t you pass him while driving the speed limit?
So, you’ve got a long line of cars who are dying to drive the actual speed limit but are unsure if they can pass.
I’m not a lawyer or a police officer, but I have passed a highway patrol who was driving
under the speed and I wasn’t pulled over.
Honestly, I think it’s okay.
What do you think?

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

It must sound like I’m a speed demon on the highways.
I’m really not. I drive the speed limit and up to 5 mph over,
which I believe is legal in most states.
I haven’t had a speeding ticket in over 20 years (knock on wood).
And the only car accident I’ve been in was when I was a Junior in High School.
The only animals I’ve hit have been birds and (one ground squirrel who ran under my tire on a dirt road)
I try to be a safe courteous driver.
I’m not perfect.
Sometimes I get bored and I find that I’ve zoned out.
I hate when I do that and I work hard at staying alert.
I listen to (and sing along with) a lot of music and have long conversations with Scooter (books put me to sleep).

And now that winter is fast approaching
(Zion received 7 inches of new snow today!)



I’m even more worried about the driving that we’ll be doing this winter!
I just hope that we can stay safe on the roads until we’re living together again and we can
stay off the highways/interstate for a week or two!

(As a side note, we’ve spent over $11,000 on gas so far this year! OUCH!)

Betty’s Pensieve Blog

I think it’s time I unloaded a few random things that have been floating through the dark abyss in the center of my cranium.

I wish I had a Pensieve, like Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books.
I could take my thoughts out, keep them safely swirling around in a big bowl when I don’t need them,
and pull them out one by one as the need arises.
But since my name is Betty, not Dumbledore, and I’m about as magical as my computer mouse,
I’ll have to stick to using my blog as my Pensieve.

Here’s what I’d put in it today:

My beloved neighbor, Jillwanna, left me!
She moved away.
Far, far away.
Okay, she only moved 5 miles out of town, but that means she’s not my next door neighbor anymore!
It breaks my heart because – you know – I was the one that was supposed to move!
As Scooter said, “Mom, don’t you know that Jillwanna has been my next door neighbor
MY WHOLE LIFE?”
We have a lot of history!
I cried when they left and I still miss them terribly.
*sigh*
I hope the new neighbors
(who seem very nice, BTW)
don’t mind if I need to borrow a pint or two of sour cream; or 1/2 dozen eggs; or use their oven all day on Christmas Eve; or load their freezer full of baked goods or yell from my window to theirs; or…..

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I feel like I’m going blind!!
All my life I’ve prided myself on my GREAT vision!
I mean, what are the odds that I have NEVER needed glasses, when both my parents wear glasses?
All my siblings have needed some sort of vision correction at some point in their lives.
And me, well, I was sitting here all prideful at the fact that I can read the
teeny tiny printing on that label,
– or –
see that license plate on the car 1/2 mile ahead.
Up close or far away – I had it covered!
Can you imagine my absolute and utter HORROR
when, at the store the other day, I picked up an unfamiliar item,
and turned it over to see what the directions for use were
I COULDN’T READ THE LABEL!!!
I held it at arm’s length…
I couldn’t read it!
I pulled it up close…
I couldn’t read it.
I strained my eyes and tried with all the might I could muster…
I COULDN’T READ THE DARNED THING!!
I had to put the item back on the shelf, still not knowing what it was.

Getting old stinks.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

I have lived in Zion for a long time.
And I have followed the blog of a fellow Zionite for a couple years.
But we have never met… until last week!
Tauna at Garden of Egan is a FUN person.
She’s married to her LOVE – Howie.
She is a mother and grandmother to some wonderful human beings.
She raises chickens and cats – in the same yard!
She is a candy maker extraordinaire, decorator to die for and
compassionate ER nurse.
I knew I would like her and I looked for her in all the stores around town.
But we never crossed paths.
One morning last week I popped into the ER
(wearing my walking clothes, hair barely brushed and no make-up on)
where I was going to pick up some things from a friend who works there.
When my friend came out the door, Tauna came with her!
It was so fun to meet her!
She gave me a hug and it was just like old friends being reunited.
(She was so sweet and didn’t cringe at my unruly appearance.)

Later that week, at the Farmer’s Market,
lo and behold, I saw her again!
This time we had more time to chit chat.
I think I found a soul sister.
We share so many similarities in our life.

I am thrilled to have finally met Tauna.
She’s so nice and beautiful and I can tell that she also has a
BEAUTIFUL HEART!!

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Tomorrow (October 16) is a red-letter day in our house.
First (and most important) it’s officially
GENDER REVEAL DAY.
Yes, the day that Belle and Beast find out what flavor of baby they’re having.
Their doctor’s appointment is at 9 am.
They have agreed to close their eyes at a certain point during the sonogram
and have the technician write down the gender on a card and SEAL it in an envelope.
They have promised not to peek.
Then they will bring the envelope home to me,
(the most beautiful grandmother :-) )
and I will make a batch of cupcakes in the correct color
pink or blue
that will be served at a
Gender Reveal Party
for family and a couple close friends later that evening.

(Pictures and information will be forthcoming!)

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

The second – but not quite as exciting -- thing that happens tomorrow
is the arrival of our much anticipated
iPhone 5’s.
{Happy Dance} {Happy Dance}.
18 months ago, I brought home my first ‘smart phone’, which was a Droid X.
I chose the Droid over the iPhone because…
well….
I felt like I had paid enough money to the iGods:
iTunes
iPod
iPod Touch
iPad
are all devices that are used by our family.
Seriously, it’s a little disturbing, so I felt like sharing the wealth a little bit.
I have to say that within the week, I regretted my choice.
I didn’t like the Droid at all.
I wished that I had an iPhone in my hand instead.
I had 30 days to trade the Droid in, but I held out hope that I would change my mind.
I thought that maybe I didn’t like it because I wasn’t used to it yet.
I realized on Day 31 that my mind wasn’t going to change… AT ALL…
and that I was stuck with this phone for two full years.

And then, (cue the heavenly choir singing “Hallelujah”) I received a notice that I didn’t have
to wait the full term to upgrade.
Tears of joy filled my eyes.

Flynn was just as excited.
He had an iPhone when he worked in Mordor, but had to turn it in when his employment ended.
So he went back to a basic cell phone.
Just a phone that makes phone calls and texts.
(Remember what those are?)

When we found out that we could upgrade, we started saving our money.
And, on October 5, when the upgrade time finally arrived,
I called my Verizon provider and said,
”GET ME MY iPHONE 5!!”
The helpful man on the other end of the phone said,
”YES MA’AM! They will be here on October 26.”
and I told him I loved him. ♥ ♥

The iGods have forgiven my Droid weakness and shipped my phone here faster than expected.
It’s in transit and expected to be delivered tomorrow afternoon by 4:30.

I may be in the middle of baking pink or blue cupcakes, but I will put that handmixer down
and head over to the Verizon store.
And then I will officially be… COOL.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

And that is what I will put in my Pensieve today.
Now there is some available room for more frivolous thinking.

The End

In my last post I talked about all the adventures we’ve been on this year.

Of all the roads we’ve traveled.

And, if you remember, there was ONE ROAD to the south that we hadn’t driven down yet.
Just that ONE ROAD that was calling our names…

We finally answered that call.
Scooter was on break from school,
you know, the annual
POTATO VACATION,
so he and I traveled to Flatlandia to spend our week there.

The first part of the week was spent trying to work out
how to fit more pieces into our life puzzle:

* We looked at a lot we’re in the process of purchasing
* Interviewed two possible builders
* Dropped financial records off at the bank for the construction loan
* Finally settled on a house plan that we BOTH like

Yes, we definitely feel like we’re moving forward in a positive way.
Our fingers are staying crossed that things will start falling into place
and we can break ground
SOON
on this house we want to build!

We got all that done EARLY so we could spend the weekend
PLAYING.

{Have you noticed that’s what we do on the weekends? WE PLAY!!}

So,we loaded up the car,
pointed it in a SOUTHWARD direction
and put the pedal to the metal.
(Metaphorically speaking, of course.)

Scooter was very excited about this adventure’s destination.
He has been there once before in his life,
but it has been 8 years ago.
Too long ago to remember.
Even for a kid who seems to have an almost photographic memory.

He talked almost non-stop the entire 4 hours of the drive.
Ok. Nothing new there. But he was so happy to be going.

As we approached our destination, his excitement levels were hard to contain.
He was bouncing up and down in his seat.
He was looking out the window, right and left, not knowing when he’d see it.
His voice was getting louder.
He was saying things like,
“I mean, it just has to be SPECTACULAR!”
”The unparalleled beauty of this place will be astounding.”
{ok. I don’t think he actually said the second statement, but it was very similar to it.}

And then we came around the corner.
And he saw it….

He saw THIS….

and I think at that moment,
he felt that his life was complete.
He exclaimed in delight.
He used words that I can’t remember.
Big adjectives that only a kid that belongs to the
”Nerd Herd”
would think of using.

And he was happy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My boy is also a conservationist.
He is adamant about preserving National Parks and Monuments.
He earned his Junior Ranger badge for YNP last year and is intent on earning
as many badges as he can.
But it’s not just earning the badges that he wants to do.
He believes, with all his heart, that when he wears that badge,
it’s his DUTY
to take care of the place he’s in.
He feels compelled to make sure that people respect the area.
He cleans up trash.
He educates himself.
He protects the natural environment by not picking wild flowers,
by staying on designated trails and pathways,
by staying away from wildlife and refraining from feeding them.
And, most importantly,
by following ALL THE RULES that he is aware of.

Look at his serious face as Ranger Stephanie gives him the
Swearing In Ceremony for the Junior Ranger Program at Mt. Rushmore.
(I didn’t know she’d do it, otherwise I would have been more prepared and gotten more pictures of
the solemn moment.)

We enjoyed our time at Mt. Rushmore.
It was cold.
FREEZING cold.
And, being the kind of mommy that plans ahead, (ahem…)
I made sure we all had winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves.
NOT!!

For the 29° {nighttime temps,}
we were bundled up in
a) one hoodie
b) one jacket
c) cotton knit gloves
(which we bought at Walmart on our way out of town)
Brrrrr…..

We LOVED the Black Hills.
It’s such a beautiful area!
We are anxious to explore that area a little more.
We want to spend more time there.
Who knew that South Dakota could have such pretty landscape?
What a pleasant surprise!

But, there was ONE MORE PLACE we wanted to take Scooter to.
Another beautiful landmark that we visited on that same journey 8 years ago.
So, we got back in the car for another few hour’s drive.

I was driving.
Because that’s what I do.
I get car sick, very easily, and it’s just better for me to be behind the wheel.

However, I was ready to turn the driving over to Flynn when we came over a hill
and around a corner and we saw this:

Both Flynn and Scooter
made such loud exclamations of
Awe,
Joy,
Wonder,
Delight
that they scared the daylights out of me and I almost wrecked the car.
(I didn’t see the initial view of Devil’s Tower, because I was too busy
WATCHING THE ROAD!)

We arrived five minutes before the Ranger Station closed so luckily Scooter was able to get the
booklet and information he needed for his Junior Ranger Badge.
No swearing in here, though, because he hadn’t officially completed everything he
needed.
We promised the Ranger that we’d complete it and she gave us the badge.

The rest of the time here was spent walking around the base of this great monolith.
As well as ogling the crazy brave souls that we saw climbing straight up the walls.
(My cousin is a rock climber. I actually find it completely fascinating.
I hope that he comes here to climb some day! It would be fun to come watch him!)

^^This is as far up as my intrepid
explorers dared to climb.^^

It was with sadness that we turned the car back toward Flatlandia.
We’re always sad when our adventures have to come to an end.
However, it was a super weekend!
We made plenty of Memories, which was our goal.