History in the Making

I was super busy this morning, banging out the last of my work that was due at noon (I just love deadlines, especially when the person who's supposed to give me my assignment craps out on me and it all falls in my lap the night before it's due and I wind up doing a stressful half-nighter/ half-morning crunch). I finished with the computer part of it around 9:30 or so, then carried my huge stack of paperwork to the couch where I could sit and sign it all while watching the tail-end of my favorite t.v show, The Today Show (don't ask me why, but I have to have my morning dose of it or I feel I'm missing something).

I turned on the telly to find John McCain standing to the right and slightly behind an attractive woman who was speaking with conviction and verve. I liked her instantly. Then it sank in: this was John McCain's VP running mate!

HOLY hoink, my peeps! We're going to have either a "black" President or a female VP. This election has spawned more YouTube videos than I can count. Someone out there reeeeeeeally doesn't like Obama.



John McCain's running mate, Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin, won me over in about 10 seconds. I went online to read everything I could find about her and then liked her even more. She's real, she's tough, she's fair, she's strong. She's one of "us."

Zoots, the World's Greatest Trumpet Player and Cookie Baker

Todd & I got Zane a drum set four Christmases ago. He took some lessons in Mesa, then continued in Virginia when we moved. When we came back to AZ, I never hooked him back up with lessons, so the drums have been mostly sitting in the garage for the past year and a half. Such a shame, because Zane was REALLY talented on the drums.

So this year, he decided to take band. I was so happy! The drums would finally be used again on a regular basis, right? Uh-uh. Zane decided to learn the trumpet.

Bryce thinks Zane's trumpeting is absolutely brilliant!

But his real skills lie in cookie making:

He's seriously giving Allie some competition!

Lunch Out, Bryce In

There's been lots going on, but nothing exciting or interesting. We had lunch out last weekend while the car's tires were being rotated. Wow, such news! Pttth.

Of course, I had to turn the camera around and get a pic of my TWILIGHT t-shirt. I am soooo itching for the movie release. Dork am I! Note: the Italian creme sodas at Carrabba's are YUMtastic! That's the one time I will drink calories...it's so worth it.

Allie, cute as always:

And a cute pic of Bryce at home, snacking in his fave spot (on the bar):

Fundraiser for Plane Crash Survivors

On the sidebar of my blog, I'm putting a "donate" button for a young couple (the Nielsons) who survived a plane crash recently (click here for article and picture of crash site). They are in medically induced comas with severe burns. The wife is burned the worst, about 80% of her body. The husband is around 30%. They are in the process of many surgeries, skin grafts, etc. They will be in a coma for probably months.

If you have any spare money lying around, even if it's just a dollar here and there, I implore you to help out. I cannot even fathom what their medical bills are going to amount to (I had 2 ER visits recently and will be paying those off for the next year and a half, so just imagine what theirs will be).

For updates on the couple's condition and how their kids are coping, go to http://cjanerun.com

PLEASE PRAY FOR THEM; their names are Stephanie and Christian Nielson.

I Don't Do Politics, but...

This post has been edited to say the following:

THANK YOU to my friends who really know me and let me be ME without imposing any bizarre analysis on me or twisting my words, or taking things the wrong way. You know me; you know my "kooky" personality and you know when I'm joking or when I'm being sarcastic. You don't get your shorts in a bunch if I say something "catty" because you know I'm kidding. You know "the real me." I guess that's what real friends are, huh?

Smooch!
s

Some People I've Met

I've met some people you may have heard of (and others you definitely haven't) that have left an impression on me in some way. This came to mind while starting my playlist for Halloween (we looooooooooooove Halloween in our house, already can't WAIT to do my Halloween blog). I ran across a few music tracks from Bella Morte. Here they are (the band, not the music tracks):

The singer, in the middle, is Andy Dean(e) with or without an "e" at the end, I can't remember. I met him at a little health food store in Charlottesville, VA called The Integral Yoga. His friend, also my friend, Bram was working there at the time (Bram died in 1995 of a self-inflicted gunshot; I'm so not going there). Bram and I were talking and he introduced me to Andy, who acted like I was not worthy of making his acquaintance. LOL! I thought he was so obnoxiously into himself! I didn't put them on my playlist; their music doesn't impress me much; maybe that's because I can't deal with the 'tude. I used to work with Andy's mom at Whole Foods, too.

Whole Foods was a great place to meet people. That's where I had my infamous encounter with Dave Matthews. That's him in the middle there:

We flirted shameslessly around Whole Foods then I sat in his car (a dirty old blue Ford wagon of some sort) and we talked for a few minutes. He later called me on my cell phone, but I was too busy to hang. Sorry, Dave!

I also met Sissy Spacek at Whole Foods. We were in the dairy aisle together; she was on the soy/rice milk side. Allie and Zane were 2 and 4. I stopped to chat with Sissy for a second and she said my kids were so adorable. Yeah, they were. They are. Ms. Spacek was very very sweet and gracious. I instantly liked her.

In 1987, my friend Jennifer, her sister Heather and I drove to New York to visit their other sister, Lynn. While there, we went to a conference at Chitaqua where there were former Soviet ambassadors and some US politicians, among them Mario Cuomo whom Jennifer and I LOVED. I was wearing my I heart NY t-shirt (once a dork, always a dork) and Mr. Cuomo noticed it and actually came right up to Jennifer and me and started chatting us up. We were 17 at the time. We begged him to run for President, but his answer: "I love New York too much." He would not trade NYC for the White House. I liked him even more having met him.

I've met bunches more "famous" peeps, but can't think of them right now. (Tina, do you remember who they were? I know I told you a bunch of them.)

Speaking of bad memory issues...I saw a doctor about it yesterday. I can't remember what he said, but he ordered some tests and I'll have the results in 2 weeks. Fun times.

Blast From the (Young and Skinny) Past

I blame my weight gain on my happy marriage. A guy I dated long ago had a little phrase for that: "fat and happy." In these pix, Todd and I had been married 4 months. We were house-sitting for his parents, who were on a mission in Chile and Ecuador.

Todd's birthday: note that trim jawline.

I could still fit into my Hello Kitty t-shirt! I had muscle tone in my arms! My gut (don't you love that pretty word?) didn't lap over itself. What?

Look at how little A & Z were!

Allie has loved chickens ever since we had a missionary who visited us regularly in 2002 whose last name was Chacon. Allie called him "Chicken." Todd, in his cuteness, brought home a couple of little chicks one day. Allie was ecstatic!

Zane was surgically attached to Todd back then:

Allie didn't have type 1 diabetes then. That's always the first thing I think about when I look at old pictures. Then I have to go cry.

The End of My Peaceful Existence

Todd was out back tonight working on the backyard, so I decided to go hang out, too. I perused the perimeter of the fence and saw a widow web in the northeast corner, and so went to get a flashlight. Todd killed the widow, then found another and killed that one, too. I found two more babies further down the fence and drowned them with Odo Ban and Simple Green. I continued along the length of the fence until I came to the far opposite end and shined the light in that corner. To my horror I saw one of these... (go see it! i'm not putting that freakishly scary picture on my blog!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Skorpion_fg01.jpg

For the past year and a half, I've been living with the belief that we didn't have scorpions in our happy little section of the desert. My comfortable little lie came completely undone in that moment and my life changed forever. This was the end of my peaceful existence.

I froze. I began to shake. All I could do was stand there shrieking/howling/squealing "Scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion scorpion," until Todd walked casually over.

He took my flashlight and I took several steps backward. I started bawling...really bawling, crying my heart out. Loudly. (The neighbors no longer have to wonder if I'm a nut; they now have their confirmation).

The scorp evaded Todd's attempts at squishing him and darted into a crevice in the block wall of the fence. Damn crevices to Hell! At that point, I retreated to the house in a state of despair. Allie was on the computer and I approached her, sobbing, to tell her the bad news.

She laughed at me.

I called Amy to tell her the bad news, still crying. She tried so hard not to laugh at me.

It is so not funny.

Twilight Movie Early Release!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Where will you be on November 21st? I will be at the theatre!

I was so disappointed to hear that Harry Potter's latest movie release was being moved to July of 2009, but then I found out that because of that open slot, Twilight's going to open then instead of December 12th!

WHOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

HA!

PRE-ORDER your TICKETS at http://www.movietickets.com and you will get a free download of Bella's Lullabye from the soundtrack!

I am soooo looking forward to November! Cool weather will finally come, Thanksgiving (one of the best holidays ever!), cool weather, a four-day weekend, did I mention cool weather? And now TWILIGHT to top it all off.

Let's just pretend I'm not 38, k?

Ward Campout

This weekend was our ward campout, past Payson. At an elevation of over 6,000 feet, the weather was unspeakably mild and a wonderful break from all things August: heat, humidity, misery.... You should definitely read Allie's version of the campout, which is hysterically funny. Click here for it.




Bryce stopped in the middle of a pretty little stream to have a snack....


Zane's fave thing was the rope swing....

And mine was the flora....

I loved the indigo colored polka dotted beetles...very cool!

Girl of My Dreams

Some of you have read the rough beginnings of my autobiographical book. All who've read it have encouraged me to continue, to finally finish it. Since the only way I can seem to put words down these days is on a blog, I'm going to do it there. It's going to be set to PRIVATE because I don't want the whole world to read it in it's unfinished form, so if you want access to it, send me your email address via a "comment" at the bottom of this post (you know, where it says _ holla'd back). I won't publish the comment...will keep your email address private. Or just email me if you know it.

Chupacabra Revealed

Sweet! Now I can sleep at night. Mystery solved. Well, sort of.

We May Love Glucagon But We Love EMTs More!

Is it really morning and did we really make it through the night? Was it all just a nightmare? Nope, I have the pictures to prove it. (And just so you know, I took the pix to lighten the mood. Allie was in the very capable hands of the emergency workers and she joked that at least she'd have something to blog about, so of course, I grabbed the camera).

Allie comes out from her room about 10 o'clock last night and is totally freaked out. She tells me she thinks she just accidentally took 30 units of Novolog instead of 30 units of Lantus (Lantus is a slow-acting insulin that lasts for 24 hours and Novolog is a fast-acting insulin taken with meals). My mind froze in time when she said that, just for a second or two. Then it quickly contemplated the enormity of that statement. 30 units of fast-acting insulin. Oops. Major oops. This was bound to be a repeat of L's extreme low I had just been part of Saturday morning. Or worse. Much worse.

In order for Allie to pretty much not die from this, we would have to feed her...are you ready for this? 420 carbs. How does a normal person eat 420 carbs in a meal, especially when they've had 3 meals today already? (Just as a comparison, Allie normally take 4-6 units of insulin per meal, on average). Well, Allie realized immediately that there was no way that was going to happen. She was shaking and crying and saying she didn't want to die. She told me to call 911. I obeyed immediately. In the meantime, she sucked down 4 Capri Suns while I called the doc. Doc said just keep feeding her and wait for the ambulance. I didn't think her stomach could hold enough; I kept the Glucagon kit in sight. I was so scared, but kept telling Allie everything would be totally okay.

The EMT's/paramedics arrived so quickly. I love and adore them (thank you, Rural Metro, Southwest Ambulance, and the Sheriff's Office! We love you!). They calmed us down by telling us that if necessary, they would put sugar directly into Allie's bloodstream. That relaxed me incredibly, but my brain could still not think properly. I'm usually good with this sort of thing, but 30 units of Novolog pushed me over the top. I knew we were in for a very long night. (Al finally went to sleep around 1, and I stayed up 'til 2 to continue checking her sugar, which dropped another 100 points by then, but then slowed way down. I got up at 6 to check again and of course, can't go back to sleep...another zombie day...fun.)

I really need to take a more careful stock of what's in our pantry at all times. The EMT's wanted me to get some protein in with her carbs and told me to put some peanut butter on the bagel I had given her. I rummaged in the pantry and the fridge, but no peanut butter, just almond butter which had been sitting for forever and needed stirring. As I struggled to get the almond butter to an edible consistency, I muttered, "Am I the only mom in America without peanut butter? Almond butter? What am I, a hippie?" The EMT's laughed. Laughing is good. If they could laugh, then everything was going to be okay.

Once we felt (and the EMT's felt) that we were out of danger, all the emergency workers left and Allie continued to eat. I lay on the couch and tried to wake myself up from this nightmare. I really thought I could for a minute or two. Then I realized this nightmare is our reality; it's our day-to-day life. It's Allie's reality for the rest of her life unless someone finds that cure.

Saturday Snow?

Saturday, a new marketplace near us hauled in 20 tons of snow and I really wanted Bryce to see snow, so we all drove over. We met our friend Gina and her kids. Unfortunately, the line to have a turn in the snow was about a mile long and it was humid and 100 degrees. We were just not going to stand in that line.

Bryce got to hang out on a fire truck, though. Super cool!

Then we grabbed lunch at the best Italian deli ever (LaSpada's) and took it to our house to chow down. I tried to grab a pic of my friend G and her daughter, but they BOTH tried to duck out! (Like mother like daughter, I guess). But HAHA I have a wide angle lens, so they couldn't fully escape.

Allie went home with G, so later I got to hang at G's house. I LOVE hanging with G!

Later that night, Todd and I took Bryce for a walk. This is how he chose to seat himself for the entire journey:

It was a fun day, after the trauma of the morning when my friend Amy's sister had an EXTREME low blood sugar and seizures. I went over to sit and give support...I will probably write more about that on our type 1 diabetes blog, but for now, my mind is still in shock from the event. Amy's sis is okay, though.

Did Somebody Summon Me?

I admit it. I am a major fan of John Leguizamo. Have been crushing on him for years. Years. He's flipping hIlarIoUs! Have you seen his show, Freak? NO?! Holy cow, go see it on YouTube. For now, enjoy this clip from The Pest.



And you have to admit, his performance as Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet was epic:

Happy A1C Day!

Allie LOVES having her picture taken; can't you tell?

Today Al had her quarterly endo appointment. If you remember from her last one (in May) I was completely distraught because her A1C was dangerously high (it was 9.7--ouch!--and should be in the 7's or even better, the 6's, in order to avoid damage to her kidneys, eyes and heart. A little education: the A1C test measures the "average" blood glucose level over a 3-month period. It does that by measuring the amount of sugar stuck to a dead blood cell--they live about 3 months). Her A1C as of today is down to 8.2--a good drop from 9.7! We were happy, but will feel better when she gets it back down to the happy 7's.

One, two, ready...GO!

Be Carefull (Fraud Alert!)

Yes, I know the title is misspelled. It was taken directly from the subject line of an email I received last week. It cracked me up so thoroughly that I had to put it on here. You know those emails saying you've won a gazillion dollars in an overseas lottery, or that a rich widow needs your help obtaining her inheritance, blah blah blah? I love those! I usually respond telling them I've sent their email along to the FBI, CIA, and any other agency I can think of. The email below just completely took the cake, though. I can't wait to think up a response to send to this one:

"Those People you are dealing with are fake.I am Susan Walter, I am a US citizen, 39years. I reside here in Houston Texas. My residential address is asfollows.#503 Madison Ave. Apt York,Houston Texas, United States.I am one of those that executed a contract in Nigeria years ago and they refused to pay me, I had paid over$70,000 trying to get my payment all to no avail. So I decided to travel down to Nigeria with all my contractdocuments.And I was directed to meet Barr. Mat Oto, who is the member of CONTRACT AWARD COMMITTEE, and Icontacted him and he explained everything to me. He said that those contacting us through emails are fake.Then he took me to the paying bank, which is Zenith Bank, and I am the happiest woman on this earthbecause I have received my contract funds of $4.2Million USD.Moreover, Barr. Mat Oto showed me the full information of those that have not received their payment; and Isaw your email, your contract amount, your phone number etc.This is what you have to do now. You have to contact him direct on this information below.Name;: Barr Mat OtoEmail: ; http://us.mc332.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=barr.mat_oto@live.comphone number +234-803324556789Address: 13, Zion Street, Ikeja Lagos NigeriaYou really have to stop your dealing with those contacting you, because they will dry you up until you havenothing to eat. The only money I paid was just $1,200 for IRS, which you know. So you have to take note ofthat.I can give you my number here in the state if you care for it.ThankMrs. Susan Walter,http://us.mc332.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=s.walterrr@gmail.com "

BAH HAHAHAHAHA! Is that hilarious or what?

I Got Mine! Did You Get Yours?!

I was trying sooooooooo hard to be nonchalant about today's release of Breaking Dawn. Continually told myself I didn't care whether I got a copy today, or had to wait 8 days for the next shipment (why is it always 8 days, anyway?).

Went to bed last night toying with the idea of leaving at 23:45 to get a copy, then sleep decided against it.

Woke up this morning thinking I might end up regretting not going out last night, so I left around 6:15 for Wally World (Wal Mart for those of you not familiar). As I get nearer to the store, I start to panic a little, thinking now I've really missed out. I park and hurry into the store.

As I walk, trying to be oh-so-casual, toward the books, I spot 3 women, each with a copy held securly to their chests. I see a near empty table. I begin to run and shout in a frenzied excitement, "Are there any left?!"

There are 2 copies left, each with warped covers. I choose the one that's a bit less warped than it's sister and sigh in relief. I head to the back of the store to grab a chocolate soy milk and slowly make my way back up to the registers.

As I pass by the table where the books were parked, I notice the last one was gone and there was a girl in her late teens looking rather forlorn.

"They're all gone," I tell her. She sees my copy tucked protectively under my arm and her face falls into a defeated pout.

I am victorious!

I am a dork!

If Edward doesn't bite Bella I'm going to be really disappointed!