Update

Ken is healing, but it's a slow process. It looks like he's going to have to push back his internship that was supposed to start next week, or maybe even put it off until May - after graduation. That means I'd have to go back to work full-time after my maternity leave . . . which makes my boss excited, but not me.

Meanwhile, Ken can't stand or put pressure on his right leg for more than a few minutes, and with 9 weeks left until the baby comes, I'm finding that I don't have the energy or desire to do much either. It's like the lame caring for the lame.

Good news - if Ken does postpone his internship, at least I won't have to worry about him not being in town when Wazel comes. Gotta look for the silver lining somewhere in this cloud :)

Adventures in Utah

For Christmas, Ken and I headed to UT. The first adventure was getting there. We were originally planning on leaving Flagstaff on Tuesday, but due to a winter storm that was forecasted to blow through Flagstaff and most of the state of Utah. So, Ken and I quickly changed our plans. I left work early on Monday and we headed out of town, getting to Hyde Park around 1:30am - tired but happy we had avoided the storm. I tried not to plan too many adventures for our week, and our schedule worked out just about as planned . . . but not quite (more on that to come). We did a session at the Logan temple - I haven't been there for 15 years, so that was cool.

Then that night, Ken and I met up with friends to watch the Utah State Aggies play Weber State in basketball. I love watching the Aggies play, and watching them with friends, and watching them win was even better.

Thanks Kathryn, Mike, and Carol for joining us at the game.

My mom had Ken and I sleep in my old bedroom. Not much has changed - there are still 2 single beds in the room, with the same comforter covers they've had for years. The adventure of trying to fit in one single bed just didn't work out, so we slept in separate beds for the week. Frankly, I was afraid one of us would get pushed out during the night :)

When I originally told my Mom that we were coming for Christmas, she warned me that they wouldn't be putting up a tree. They hadn't done a tree for years because it was just too much work. I teased them about being a Scrooge, but re-assured them that no tree at Christmas was fine with me. It wasn't like it was Wazel's first Christmas or anything. Well, when we got to my parent's home, we found that they had put up this little artificial tree - just for me. Thanks Mom and Dad for going above and beyond the norm.

And the biggest adventure of the week, was taking Ken to the Emergency Room on Christmas Eve. Turns out, he has a blood clot that goes the length of his right leg. Pretty scary. Thank goodness we caught it before it broke apart and went to his lungs. Now he's on blood thinners, elevating his leg, and patiently waiting for the pain to go away and the blood clot to adhere to the vessle wall and slowly re-absorb into the blood stream.

Hopefully all will be well soon, but for now, we've got a lot of unknowns . . . and the adventures continue.

It's a Date

It's great having my husband home. We went on a cheap date the other night (and I say, a cheap date is better than no date). We went to the Little America hotel to see the lights.

The lights are mostly LED type lights - pretty cool.

This coat makes me look bigger than I really am, but that's okay . . . it's just all baby :)

And the best part was the $.50 ice cream cones afterward. I should have taken a picture of those too - I mean, the ice cream cones are huge - what a bargain for $.50.

Random Pictures

Ken loves eating "greens". I've never been a fan of eating greens, but I've eaten more of them since we've been married. Yesterday he came grocery shopping with me - he picked out the vegetables - and was so proud of the giant bunch of Swiss Chard that he had picked out. It was actually quite yummy after it had been sauteed in soy sauce and garlic.

I am at 28 weeks (almost 29) and to quote my boss, am "finally starting to look pregnant". I can't believe I only have 12 weeks or less to go - that just doesn't sound like much time. We're slowly gathering/ accumulating stuff - thanks to our friends, Amber and Andy, we now have a car seat and stroller. Thanks guys - we miss you already!

Random Thoughts

* The bathroom is a work in progress. Every day I come home from work to find that some work has been done. I'm hoping that it gets finished by the end of this next week. And the good news is that since it is the Maintenance man that lives above us, the condo complex is paying for the repairs and we didn't have to deal with insurance or anything "fun" like that.

* The co-worker that told me a few months ago that I was really getting big (when I was barely showing), told me yesterday that I have started "waddling" when I walk.

* Ken is home for 3 weeks!

* Christmas shopping is done . . . now it's time to start the baking, but since Ken is home, and enjoys baking, he can help with that.

* I have a cold, and have been carrying around a roll of toilet paper with me everywhere. I wonder how long it will take me to go through the whole roll?

* My replacement at work was fired yesterday, due to being unable to do the necessary tasks. Now the fun of training starts all over again when a new person is hired.

* I love getting Christmas cards, especially the ones that have letters inside telling me all about what the person/family has done. I feel kind of bad that I'm not doing Christmas cards this year, but I knew I just didn't have time or money for that this year. Merry Christmas everyone!

I Love the Snow . . .

. . . I just don't like to drive in it.

On Monday, it snowed here in Flagstaff. Approx. 18" to be exact. And then the wind blew all night - resulting in lovely drifts and ice frozen to the car. I didn't take a picture of the car covered with frozen snow or a picture of me digging my car out with a cookie sheet (we don't own a shovel), but I did take a few other random pictures (mostly for Ken's benefit since he is in Phoenix and missing all the fun). Before I left work on Monday, one of my co-workers volunteered another one of my co-workers to help me put chains on my tires. I took him up on the offer, but the funny part was that I ended up doing it while he watched, because he'd never done those kind of chains before and I had. Thanks Les Schwab for easy tire chains!

This picture, taken just outside of our condo, doesn't accurately reflect the huge amount of snow, but it's the best I could do on my way to work.

This picture, however, of my co-worker's car, gives a little better representation of the huge amount of snow that fell. She left her car at work on Monday night and had fun digging it out on Tuesday afternoon.

It's a big parking lot, but it's still a lot of snow - see how it's almost up to the top of the light post? Crazy!

It's supposed to snow again on Thursday - Saturday, but hopefully it won't be so much in such a short amount of time.

It's Never as Easy as it Seems

Ken has a mantra: "It's never as easy as it seems". This is usually said when in the middle of some home improvement or other such project. He says it so often, that I've teased him about putting it on his headstone.

Yesterday morning while I was getting ready for work, I could hear a dripping sound in our bathroom. I figured I just hadn't turned off the faucet tight enough, so I gave them a good tightening. A few minutes later, I can still hear it; perplexed, I start searching more intently and discover that there is water dripping out of the ceiling. Never a good sign. It's still early, so I wait about 20 min, until I know that the guy upstairs is just about out the door to head to work (if I haven't previously mentioned it - Larry is the maintenance guy of our complex.), and then I head upstairs to tell Larry about the leak apparently coming from his house. He tells me that he has a crack in his bathtub, and he had just taken a shower. Supposedly, the tub repair man had told Larry that he could use the tub, and that it wouldn't leak down below - hhm?

Larry comes downstairs, looks at the leak, and determines that they'll have to cut a small square of ceiling out - about 5x5, replace it, paint it, and it will be as good as new. But they'll get that all done while I'm at work. I give him a key, and head to work.

At 6pm, I come home to find Larry greeting me at the door - again, not a good sign. He explains that the water damage was worse than he thought. Did I mention that less than 1/4 cup of water had actually dripped through the ceiling? We walk into the bathroom and I find this:

A close up of where the water was actually coming out.

And along the top by the shower head - where no water was coming out.

And my favorite - this gaping hole on the opposite side of the shower. Apparently water can travel quite a distance.

Larry came this morning to get a key so that they could finish fixing everything, and determined that things were still wet and they'd have to wait until Monday to fix it. And so, "It's never as easy as it seems." and hopefully all will be well on Monday night when I get home from work.

By the way, should I have been excited that life gave me something to blog about . . . even if it wasn't such a good thing?

Honest Scrap Award

One of my "blogger" friends, Brenda, awarded me the Honest Scrap Award. In pleasant surprise, I accept and will pass it along to other bloggers who will be named later.

There are rules to this deal. They are as follows:

1. Present this award to 4 others whose blogs you find brilliant in content and/or design or those who have encouraged you.

2. Tell those people that have been awarded the HONEST SCRAP AWARD and inform them of these guidelines in receiving the award.

3. Share “10 honest things” about yourself.

So, here I go: 10 "honest" things about myself.

1. I hate to drive, but I don't know if I could ever give it up and rely entirely on public transportation. Perhaps a chauffeur would be the answer?

2. I tell Ken that I'll be happy to move anywhere we have to when he gets a job - but am I really being honest with him and/or myself?

3. I am too blunt and am afraid that I often offend people.

4. I'm excited to be a mom, but worry about the transition from working outside of the home to working inside the home.

5. I have discovered during this pregnancy that I am quite vain about my looks and size. Hopefully one or the other will return to normal after the baby comes ;)

6. I have learned to enjoy cooking and secretly think it would be fun to have my own cooking show.

7. I hate crowds and think that is one reason I have never had a desire to visit China.

8. Ice cream and candy are my weakness, and I would probably eat much more of it if I had more money, and if I wasn't so vain about my size (see #5).

9. Someday I think it would be fun to get a paying gig to be a back-up singer.

10. I'm afraid my children will never know my parents, due to their age.

And now to name 4 other "Honest Scrappers":

Amber

Robin

Tera

Nancy

Congratulations ladies!

My Saturday Project

I happily spent the majority of today piecing together Wazel's baby quilt . . . and I only had to unpick one time. Now for the hard part - quilting it. I'm hoping I can figure out an easy pattern that I can quilt on the sewing machine. And by the way - it's 3 shades of purple not purple and blue as the picture looks.

Much to be Thankful For

* Ken - I am grateful for his love and support, especially when he is away from home. It's tough being away from Ken, but then it makes us appreciate the time we do have together.

* Wazel - What a gift to have this opportunity to be parents, and to know that the baby is healthy and developing normally.

* My job - In this rough economy, I am grateful to have a job. I am also grateful for employers who allow me to have a flexible schedule and who changed my wage from salary to hourly so that I could earn more money by working overtime.

* Friends and family - I am thankful for advice, shared learning moments, encouragement, and love.

* Money to meet our needs

* Health and strength

* The Gospel of Jesus Christ - I know my Savior lives and I am grateful for His gifts to me. I know that the scriptures (both ancient and modern) are the word of God and I am grateful that I have them as resources to use in my life.

Sleepless in Flagstaff

I can't sleep. I used to sleep great: 8+ hours every night, no interuptions. Now - I can't sleep. I wake up multiple times a night to use the bathroom and then I can't go back to sleep. I'm so tired, but my mind wakes up and I think of all the things I need to do. Which, by the way, lately I don't seem to have enough time to get everything done. I really would love 3-day weekends. 2 days to get things done, and Sunday for the "day of rest". I've learned that if I'm still awake after an hour, it's better to just get up and do something (like play on the internet - because the internet connection works great at 3am or 5am) - then go back to bed. Or, if it's close enough to morning, I just get up and get ready for work. The office is surprisingly quiet at 7am and I'm able to get a lot done with no interuptions.

Things I'm currently thinking about:

* Did I spend too much money at the candle party? Ken says no, but I think I'm being too practical.

* When am I going to find time to mop the floors? Or better yet - when can I make myself mop the floors?

* Baby stuff - choosing a pediatrician, baby registry, finding room in this tiny house for all the baby stuff

* What color of thread should I use to start piecing my quilt together? And how am I going to finish the quilt once it's all pieced together? Am I going to get the quilt finished before the baby arrives?

* Should I do Christmas cards this year or just skip out on them all together?

* Seriously - where are we going to put all the baby stuff?

* Is Ken going to be able to attend birthing classes with me?

* Can I make the 9 hour drive to UT without stopping every hour to use the bathroom?

* How fast can Ken drive from Phoenix to Flagstaff if the baby decides to come early?

Okay, I'm starting to feel hungry and sleepy - time to grab a snack and head back to bed. Hopefully I can sleep for a few more hours.

Training my Replacement

I've been at my job for a little over 2 years. The first 9 months were painfully boring, and I wondered many times if I had taken the right job. Eventually my job responsibilities changed, and for the last year or so, I have enjoyed what I do. I might even be a bit proud of all that I accomplish. 4 months ago, I told my employers that I was pregnant, and in effect, gave them my 9-month's notice. It seems surreal - I've worked for 15 years, and now the end is in sight.

So, now that I've given y'all some background information, I'll proceed with the rest of the story. My boss thought that it would be a good idea to hire my replacement now, get them trained, and then assign me to a different set of tasks and responsibilities, for the remainder of my months until I have the baby. Which in effect means I will most likely spend the last few months of my job exactly how I started it - bored out of my mind. But I digress. My replacement started two weeks ago. He'll be doing a bit more accounting tasks than I was, but he'll need to know everything I did in that department. He seems like a nice guy, but I thought I was going to either kill myself and/or him in the training process because he was so slow at accomplishing a task. I discovered that he learns better reading instructions rather than listening and taking notes. So the next week, I spent my training time writing detailed notes for tasks that I do. It seemed time consuming, but it allowed me to actually accomplish more without having to spend so much one-on-one time with the new guy, and I think it may have been better for him as well. I guess we'll see.

Now the kicker - I can't wait to stop working, but I'm having a hard time giving up my projects and assignments to the new guy. It was much easier when I left Portland, because I wasn't going to be around to watch how my replacement there handled things. But now, I'm going to be around for a few more months and will be there to see the projects fail and/or succeed. Hopefully they succeed, but I'm afraid to watch ;)

Random pictures & thoughts

Halloween at SWAN Rehab - the clinic where Ken is doing his current internship. My husband - once a rocker, always a rocker.

Week 22 - photo of "Wazel". Wazel is the pet name we're calling our baby girl for now. We decided that we're not sharing our baby name ideas until the name is on the birth certificate.

Pregnant picture of me - week 24. I wore a maternity top to emphasize my belly - otherwise, I don't look pregnant, just bulky.

As a follow-up to my last blog, a few comments on my likes and dislikes of being pregnant:

Dislikes in no particular order:

* Baby induced acne

* Back-pain, leg cramps

* 10 weeks of morning sickness

* Baby induced insomnia

* Having to buy maternity clothes, with no money to buy them and no hangers to hang them on

Likes:

* Feeling the baby move

* Getting pregnant so easily

* Being blessed with this great gift - I can't wait to be a Mom

The Norm?

A few of my friends and co-workers have commented on how much they loved being pregnant, and have asked me if I am loving it. Hhm? I don't think so. I'm certainly not hating it, but loving being pregnant seems a bit much. It's definitely an interesting experience, but love? So it got me to wondering, how many of you out there "loved" being pregnant?

And lately, since I'm finally starting to look pregnant, I've been getting a lot of comments like, "you sure are getting big". Really? Do people really say that to pregnant women? Have I said that to pregnant women? I sure hope not, because I find it hard to deal with. I know I'm gaining weight for a good reason, but you might as well just say what my boss said to me the other day to get my attention, "hey, fattie". Yes, he seriously said that, and no, he wasn't trying to be mean, just funny. Thankfully, I didn't think he was talking to me, so I kept walking, and later he told me what he had said. Maybe I'm just sensitive?

Truth Revealed

The day has come that you've all been waiting for. Okay, maybe you haven't been waiting for it, but I have. When I was 12 weeks along in my pregnancy, I had an ultrasound. The ultrasound tech told us the baby was a girl, but she also told us NOT to paint the nursery for a girl, because it was really too early to tell. Not that we have a nursery to paint anyway . . . unless you can call the walk-in closet a nursery - and we're not painting our closet. So, we waited, and wondered, and today we discovered that the tech was right - it is a girl!

I wish I had pictures to share - not that there were any really good ones anyway. I mean, the tech was actually doing her job (measuring everything, etc), so we only got 1 or 2 decent pictures worth posting, but my computer can't read the disk, so we'll all have to wait until this weekend when Ken comes home with the laptop and we'll try it then. In the meantime, just imagine a mini-me. I think she has my nose and Ken's legs :)

Same ol' thing

I like consistency. I like knowing what to expect. I like things planned. My brother used to tease me that I planned my spontaneity - and he was right. I don't do well with change, unless I've had months to prepare.

Until I discovered my wheat allergy, I ate the same thing for breakfast almost every morning. A slice of toast, with peanut butter, and a glass of milk. I loved having a sandwich every day for lunch - plain bread or bagel with cheese . . . toasted was preferable, but if no toaster was available, microwaved was an acceptable alternative.

After I discovered my wheat allergy, I struggled with breakfast foods - cereal was boring, and for some reason did not fill me like my simple slice of toast. I eventually found an acceptable non-wheat bread, and have been eating that every morning since.

Morning sickness shook up my routine, but after morning sickness was past, I got back into my comfortable rut of eating toast every morning. However, the baby inside of me craves protein. Toast just does not cut it every morning, so I've taken to eating 2 eggs with my toast. Sometimes I scramble them and sometimes I hard-boil them, but I have them every morning. And ya know what? I'm getting bored of eating eggs every morning. I'm still fine with the toast, but can anyone suggest protein alternatives for breakfast? (keeping in mind that I can not eat lunch/ dinner foods in the morning)

Coming Home

Ken is coming home today! He's been gone for 8 weeks . . . 8 very LOOONNGG weeks. One of my co-workers told me that that 8 weeks had gone by fast - maybe to her, but not to me. I missed Ken. I missed him A LOT. I am grateful for the week I was able to spend with him, and for being able to talk on the phone every night, but it's been 5 weeks since I've seen him and I can't wait to see him again.

However, the bad part is that he'll be home for less than 24 hours before he has to leave again. This time he'll be heading to Phoenix, for his next two internships. Phoenix isn't so bad - he'll be in the same state, only 2 hours away, and he'll be home every weekend. I think I can handle that - it's not ideal, but it's better than not seeing him at all.

10 hours and counting . . .

Finally Finished

After 10+ years of having a project on my to-do list, the project is finally finished. In the last 8 weeks, I have torn apart 3 scrapbooks that were on those icky magnetic pages (which was turning everything yellow), and re-assembled the pages on acid-free paper. It always feels good to cross things off the "to-do" list, but it feels especially nice when it's been on the list for so long.

I did it!

I went shopping on Monday and was persistent in my pursuit of maternity clothes. I tried on over 15 pieces of clothes and it paid off. I found a few shirts and a dress . . . it's not a lot, and now I have to buy shoes to go with the dress, but overall, I'm satisfied. It will hold me over for a few more weeks until I'm in Phoenix, where I'll shop for a few more things.

Special thanks goes to my friends, Ben & Jerry, for helping me get over my discouragement this past weekend . . . and just maybe, they helped me fit into the maternity clothes better :)

Distaste for Clothes Shopping

I can count on one hand the times in my life when I have tolerated clothes shopping: 1- when I was young and it wasn't my money that was being spent and 2- when I was single and rich and I could afford to shop at Nordstrom - letting them do the work for me and all I had to do was pay the bill.

But those days are gone, and I am back to disliking shopping for clothes. The reasons for my dislike vary: I either have no money, no time, no fashion sense or no trust in the little fashion sense I have, no luck in finding what I'm specifically looking for, nothing that fits, or any combination of the above.

My dislike for shopping has been front and center in my life in the last month or so as I have struggled to find clothes that will fit my growing pregnant body. I see other pregnant women in town, and they're all wearing clothes, so I assume it shouldn't be too difficult to find something for me to wear. However, when I go into stores to shop, it becomes a struggle. Perhaps the stores don't have a maternity section, so I wander through the regular sections, hoping I will find something that will work. Some stores have maternity sections, with 5-6 items to choose from, with 2-3 styles, just in different colors. I try to go with an open mind. I even try on items that I think are ugly, hoping that they'll look okay on me. But no luck!

I have come to a few conclusions: Pregnant women in Flagstaff must buy their clothes somewhere other than Flagstaff. Most pregnant women must always be hot, even in the winter, because it's next to impossible to find shirts with long sleeves. Most pregnant women must have a figure that can accommodate the current style of clothes - my body does not. I am used to form fitting clothes, and feel like I'm wearing a giant's clothes when I try on the clothes I am finding (even the non-maternity ones).

Ken says I should just wear whatever fits, regardless of style, color, or whether or not it's appropriate for the workplace. He says I should just say "hey, I'm pregnant, this is all that will fit". Maybe he's right. I'll stop being so proud. So, if you see me wearing ugly, mis-fitting clothes, please just smile and nod and know that I think it's as ugly and mis-fitting as you do.

Sample sizes and half-used items

I hate clutter. And as much as I like to be prepared and have things on hand, I dislike having too many small bits and pieces of things around the house or my office. For example: I have 1 blue pen and 1 red pen in my office. I use the pens until they run out of ink, and then I get another pen. I've always been this way - just ask Kat. Ken has an almost endless supply of pencils in our house - most of them sharpened and all about the same length. It makes me want to use them all up so that we only have 1 pencil - or at least not 15+ in the same condition.

In the bathroom, I have a bunch of sample sizes of lotion, toothpaste, contact solution, etc. Although these come in handy for traveling, I don't think it is necessary to have so many of each item. I also have products that I have been given as gifts - candles, more lotions, foot cream, etc. They're all half-used . . . and taking up much needed space in my cupboards and shelves. I am currently doing my best, at the moment, to use up these items so that I can thrown the empty packages away - yeah! I love to throw things away!

Some day I'll probably regret that I no longer have a surplus of small and misc. items, but for now, I am happily using up and throwing away.

Just to say "hi"

4 months down, 5 months to go . . . the baby wanted to stop in and say hi.

Wrong Number

Since we've been married, Ken and I have had separate phone numbers. We've always lived somewhere where we didn't have a land line, but we each had a cell phone, and everyone knew which number to call. When we moved to Flagstaff, we kept our 2 Portland numbers, and tried to communicate to everyone which number went to which person. It has seemed to work well, and we've only had a few issues when people have called the wrong number . . . that is, until recently.

I'm not sure what has happened lately, but for the last 6 weeks that Ken has been in Portland, he has gotten an abnormal amount of calls for me on his cell phone. Some times the calls are from people who don't know my number, but often they are from people who have called me on my phone previously, and who I assumed had my number. Ken has been great about forwarding the messages to my phone, but I hate missing calls, and I really hate having to call people back - I'd much rather just answer the call and deal with it right then and there. It's also stressful, because the messages are often time sensitive, and I don't get the message until too late. So this whole phone thing is driving me crazy!

Okay - done venting. Blaming my short temper on the pregnancy hormones. I thought about posting my phone number here for all to see, but I'm not that crazy - who knows who's reading this blog :0 Maybe I'll just stop returning phone calls and see if that makes me feel better ;)

Repeat Occurrences

A month or so ago, I wrote about the lack of courtesy of my neighbor's (Larry) friends; see post. Well, last night it happened again. The friend comes over, and starts talking to Larry from the sidewalk, rather than walking 20 yards to his door. I immediately decide I have to say something; I can't let this inconsiderate act continue. But in those split seconds, I wonder what I can say. What would be appropriate? What I really want to say is "Please be quiet" or "can't you walk up the stairs to his door?" or "shut up". But can I/ should I really say that?

Right then, the friend says "hey, where are we going to eat dinner tonight?" and I, from inside my house, say "I don't know, where do you want to go?". It catches the guy off guard. He looked embarrassed for half a second. And then he just continues talking to Larry as if nothing had happened. At first I was shocked that he continued, when he obviously realized that I could hear every word. But later when I was telling Ken about it, Ken said the guy probably just thought I was joking. Yeah - Ken was probably right. I should have been more direct. I should have said what I really wanted to say. I'm thinking I may have another opportunity before winter comes, (when the behavior stops), and if I do, I'm going to be direct and honest . . . I think!

Random Thoughts

* I'm not sure what is worse - putting fitted sheets on beds or trying to fold them for storage.

* I'd much rather sweep than vacuum (I miss Ken - he always does the vacuuming).

* I'm starting to look pregnant, but now I feel fat, rather than pregnant.

* I love autumn, and love watching the leaves turn colors.

* I have determined that some people enjoy complaining, rather than actually doing something to fix the problem.

* Can you believe that the cash price for having a baby is $5600 in Flagstaff and only $1900 in Phoenix?

* I have been craving sugar lately, and find it difficult not to put the entire candy aisle in my cart.

* I love the evening session of Stake Conference - the Spirit always seems to be stronger there.

* I am now on the "K's" in my cd listening.

Travel pet peeves

While on my travels back and forth to Portland, I re-discovered pet peeves I have of traveling, especially relating to air travel. In no particular order:

* Loud talkers - This is especially annoying on the airplane, as you're in a tight space with no where to go.

* Expensive airport food - Again, there is no where else to go, so it's either pay $8 for a yogurt parfait or starve. I was shocked to find that a fruit cup at Portland's airport Starbucks was actually more expensive than LAX's airport Starbucks. The only thing I could figure was that the fruit came from California, and was therefore cheaper?

* Delayed flights - This one isn't so bad when you're traveling with someone else, but when you're on your own, it's a bummer because you have no one to talk to and no one to watch your luggage while you use the bathroom or want to take a short walk.

* Cell phone users - I don't mind cell phone users in general - I am one, after all. However, it always makes me wonder what is so important that people have to pull out their cell phones the minute it is okay to do so when the plane lands. Even if you've got someone waiting in the "cell phone waiting zone", they'll still have plenty of time to get to the curb if you call them from inside the airport terminal, rather than from the airplane.

There is 1 perk of traveling and being stuck in an airport for endless hours, and that would be People Watching. I love to watch people, and due to "loud talkers", you often don't have to wonder what kind of person they are - you can usually find out just by being in the same general area.

Fieldtrips

On Friday, Ken and I went tip-toeing through the tulips . . . okay, so it's not tulip season here, so we actually went to the Dahlia fields. It's free to "tip-toe", so we enjoyed our stroll through the endless varieties and colors of dahlias.

And on Saturday, we did my favorite field trip - the Oregon Coast. Our first stop was Cannon Beach, where we stopped to play with the sailor . . .

and took a walk on the beach . . . I don't care what the weather is like, I love the beach!

And then we drove along Hwy 101 down the coast, stopping along the way for scenic shots, and ending up at one of the happiest places on the coast . . . the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Ice cream, squeeky cheese, and smoked cheese - oh my! We were tempted to try the 38 Flavor Tour of Ice Cream, but I just couldn't get myself to spend $27 for ice cream . . . besides, I can't imagine how long it would have taken us to eat all of that ice cream.
Sadly, my vacation has come to an end, so Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it's off to Flagstaff I go. I'll say good-bye, try not to cry, just 5 more weeks to go-oh!

Things I love about Portland

Since Saturday, I've been in Portland visiting Ken - and loving every minute of it. Besides the obvious of being with Ken, I decided to list some of the other reasons I love Portland.

* Picking blackberries for FREE - they grow wild everywhere around here, which can be a problem if you don't maintain your yard, but otherwise, it's a great bonus.

* Making blackberry pie from above mentioned FREE blackberries - Yummy! (And better still, Ken made it without my help and it turned out wonderful.)

* Not having to pump your own gas - as I always used to say "Oregon is a full-service state".

* Eating all the wheat products I want - gotta love the lower elevation (less gain, less pain)

* The rain - it rained for the first 2-3 days of my trip, but I didn't care.

* Roses - amazingly the roses are still in bloom here . . . maybe that is why they call it the City of Roses.

* The ocean - I've been "ocean deprived" for 2 years, and am looking forward to going on Saturday to see the sea. (Hopefully pictures to follow)

* Friends and family in the area - I've spent the week visiting friends and family and past co-workers, feeling the love and getting caught up on everyone's lives.

* A beautiful temple close by, and being able to go with Ken . . . and because it was so close, once again on my own.

Old stomping grounds

For the last few years, every time Ken sees a pond in someone's yard, he says "I miss my pond", which is quickly followed by, "I wonder what it looks like now." Four years ago, Ken sold his house with his beloved pond when we got married. I have promised Ken that someday, we'll have another pond - we just need land to put it on. Now that Ken is in Portland on his internship, I told him he should drive by his old house and peak in the backyard to check out the pond that he spent so many hours digging, planting, and maintaining. Tonight, Ken and I decided to drive by his old house and take a peek.

The new owner of the house was outside with her daughter, so Ken introduced ourselves and told her why we were there. Amazingly, not only did the lady chat with us, but she also invited us in to check out the house and backyard. I thought that was way above and beyond politeness. I wondered if I would be willing to do the same. The house has been well maintained, but the pond - well - it could use some tender loving care. It wasn't bad, but it did need some attention. Admittedly, the lady who bought the house, is a single-mother, with a now 5 year old daughter, so I'm sure taking care of a pond is probably fairly low on her list of priorities. I think Ken took it fairly well, but I wonder if I would do so well seeing something I had created looking a little worse for wear.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for their comments about "Labor and Delivery". There is obviously lots to think about and consider, and your comments made me aware of different things I need to ask and think about. Thank goodness time is on my side :)

Labor and Delivery

I got a question for y'all, but let me set up the situation first. I have health insurance, but I have a $5000 deductible (horrible, huh?). And I find out that baby delivery, hospital stay, etc. is not covered initially, but is covered once the deductible is met. My Dr. told us that here in Flagstaff, the average cost of delivery is about $6600, which means I have to pay all of the deductible before anything else is paid. Ken and I thought we'd talk to the billing dept. here and offer to pay cash up front if we could get a discount, but our Dr. told us they probably wouldn't help us, seeing that they are the only hospital around for miles, and can charge whatever rate they want. My Dr's suggestion: Have the baby in Phoenix. There are plenty of hospitals there, and she was certain we could cut a deal at at least one of them. The only problem - Phoenix is 2 hours away, on a good traffic day. She says - that's no problem for the first baby. But I'm not so sure.

I'm not looking for scary stories, but practical comments. Is it feasible to drive 2 hours to have the baby in Phoenix? How soon would you want to drive back to Flagstaff after having the baby? Is it worth it to save a few thousand dollars?

Neighbors

I've always wanted to be the type of neighbor that welcomes move-ins into the neighborhood with a fresh batch of cookies . . . but, alas, I am not that type of neighbor. The condos around us are finally starting to sell, and we've had quite a few neighbors move in. I made Ken come with me to meet the first set - Jon and Ann ( I can never get their names straight though - I always call them Jan and Bob - but at least we don't see them often enough for me to make this mistake to them in person.)

Then we had neighbors move in next door - but I had just started getting sick, and I barely felt inclined to talk to people I knew, let alone be overly-friendly and meet the new neighbors next door. So instead of meeting the neighbors, Ken and I sit at home and try to figure out their story. What do they do for work? Who REALLY lives in the condo? It's taken us a few months, but we have guessed that our next door neighbor works nights, presumably at the hospital, and lives by herself, but frequently has friends over. Now that I think about it, it's probably pretty creepy that we have "guessed" that much about her, without meeting her. I'd really like to formally meet her, but how do you introduce yourself to someone you've seen come/go for 3 months? Any ideas?

We have other neighbors too. There is the family in the next building over that has matching cars - not just the same make, but same model AND same color - weird! Then there is the "group" of people in the 3-bedroom condo on the other side of us. I have yet to figure out who REALLY lives there, but at least one of the "visitors" is a police officer on the K-9 unit (unless he got the shirt at Goodwill or something). Ya know, I think Ken and I might be disappointed when we actually "meet" our neighbors, because then we won't be able to make up stories about them anymore. I wonder what kind of stories they've concocted about Ken and I? Or maybe we're the only ones that "play" this game?

The Sound of Silence

Ken left last Thurs. for an 8-week internship in Portland. That leaves me home by myself. Unlike some people, I hate being home alone. I get bored with no one to talk to, and I really dislike the sound of silence. One thing I've found to avoid the sound of silence is to play music often. Ken has a huge collection of cd's. Around the beginning of the year, give or take a month, I suggested to Ken that we should listen to all of our cd's - from A (ABBA) - Y (Yoakam). We agreed that if we had more than 1 cd of an artist, that we would only listen to one of them, so as to not bore or irritate the other, if said artist was not our favorite. We did pretty good for awhile, but Ken soon tired of this method - sometimes the artist/ cd we were on, just wasn't the style he was in the mood to listen to. I, however, found it very interesting to listen to groups that I had never heard before. With Ken being gone, I decided to start where we had left off - with the "H's". Some cds I have started, and couldn't finish; some I haven't even put in the cd player, based on the cd cover; and others I have completely enjoyed. He's been gone 6 days now, and I am currently on the "J's". Who knows where I'll be in 8 weeks, but at least it won't be silent.

When Ken left, he took our laptop, and left me with the desktop computer. The desktop computer is hit and miss (mostly miss) when connecting to the internet, which is very frustrating to someone like me - an internet junkie. I need my daily dose of e-mail, Facebook, and reading blogs. The day Ken left, I spent 45 min. just trying to get the Yahoo home page to load, without success. I was also without a cellphone that day, which combined with the lack of internet, left me feeling a bit pioneer-ish. I felt so isolated and silenced by the lack of technology. I finally found success by moving the computer onto the floor, in front of the sliding glass door, facing the wireless antenna outside. It's not pretty, but it works.

And then there is the lack of silence around my home. We live in a condo, otherwise known as a renovated apartment complex. Most of the time, it's not too bad, but occasionally there are occurrences that really get me irritated, ie. no bikes on our patio. We have a neighbor upstairs - Larry. Nice guy, lives by himself, doesn't make much noise, except for when one of his favorite classic rock songs is on the radio/ cd, and then he plays it so loudly, I don't need my radio on. Since this is a fairly random occurrence, I've never complained - at least not to him :) However, he also has friends that drop by to visit him, and their lack of silence drives me crazy. Apparently they are incredibly lazy, lack phones, and common courtesy. When they come to visit, they don't call or go up to his door and knock; no, they yell from the sidewalk, or even worse, from their car parked out front. Seriously? I've never seen such behavior before. I have yet to challenge their lack of silence, but I'm mentally preparing myself for an encounter in the future.

Photo Shoot

Yesterday Ken and I went to Phoenix to see our baby. 3-D ultrasounds are awesome. The baby is only 2 1/2 inches long, but it was amazing to see so much detail. What a relief to find out that the baby is growing and developing normally.

Limericks

My dad loves limericks. At one time, my dad worked as a Safety Hazard Analysist. He discovered a hazard at work, regarding a vacuum cleaner and made up this limerick to warn others of the hazard.

There was a technician named Bill

Who sucked up a flammable spill.

The static excited,

The vapor ignited,

and Bill is now in the hill.

My friends Kathryn and Mike used to leave "Deep Thoughts" on our message board at our house when they came to visit. So my dad made up a limerick about deep thoughts.

There was a man of deep thought.

The cells of his brain he wrought.

So deep did he think,

His brain did shrink,

So what he thought he forgot.

And my dad has passed on his love of limericks to me and my siblings. One year when most of us were home for Christmas, we came up with a new message for our parent's answering machine.

The Thornleys can't come to the phone.

Perhaps they're not at home.

They wish to receive,

The message you leave,

So start speaking right after the tone.

The other day I decided to try my hand at writing a limerick, and this is what I came up with.

There once was a town in A-Z,

Where living was quaint and easy.

Ken is almost through school,

Sharon has a job - and that's cool,

And now they're expecting a baby*.

*Editor's note - The baby is due Mar. 2

3 Men, a Lady and a Mountain

For months, I have been planning for, exercising for, and getting excited for hiking Mt. Humphries - the tallest peak in Arizona. On Saturday, Aug. 8, my husband, Ken, my brother, Paul, my friend, Amber and her husband, Andy all hiked Mt. Humphries without me. I have discovered that sometimes things don't work out like we planned and prepared for. I was super disappointed, but decided that if I couldn't do the hike, I'd at least make it easier for Amber and Andy to do so. So I ended up staying home and babysitting Kylee (their very cute almost 1-year old - sorry, I don't have a picture).

The start of the hike: 7:40am

2/3 the way up the mountain, at the "saddle" - between Agassiz & Mt. Humphries.

Starting up the "saddle" to get to the top.

One of the few pictures of Ken (since we was taking the pictures).

They made it - 4 hours to the top (Andy, Amber, Paul, and Ken).

Heading back down.

2 1/2 hours back to the trailhead. Four tired, but successful hikers can now cross off "Hike tallest peak in AZ" off their To-Do list.

P.S. Blogging about someone else's adventures isn't as exciting as blogging about your own, but sometimes that too has to be done :) Thanks Brenda for reminding me that I haven't posted anything lately.