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?