guv•ǝrn•mǝnt'skāp•ing

def: the act of using the federal government's first-time homebuyer's kickback to pay a landscaping company to install a sprinkling system and cover one's yard with top soil, sod, tree/shrub beds, raised garden beds, curbing and the such.

before:

after: 

firelight

i haven't read a single twilight book.  i'm not really interested in vampires or moody teenagers.  i have, however, found a really great saga called firelight.  it's so good, they went straight to the movies, without writing a book for its base.  it makes me wish i had a frankenstein for a husband--he seems really chivalrous and like he'd take care of me really well.  i guess i wouldn't be able to light candles for a romantic evening at home, but a girl can always sacrifice candlelight to get a perfect frankenstein husband, right?!  here's a preview:

mmmmmmmmmm!!

housewarming party!  complete with gourmet buffet and a self-guided scavenger hunt.  we had a blast yesterday--and if you missed it, you missed out on more than just calories from the buffet!  i divided the baking into three batches i completed over the last week, and was setting up the table until the very last minute.  david left about an hour and a half before the party was to begin to make copies of the scavenger hunt, and when he left the kitchen was a wreck.  when he got back, the table looked like this:  

he said, "have you ever wanted to start a catering business?!"  i very definitely told him no...it would then be a 

J-O-B 

instead of being 

F-U-N...

thank you, david, for doing ALL the cleaning whilst i baked away, and for being a husband i have so much fun with!  

PS- we have a TON of treats leftover...swing by any time for a plateful of goodies!

operator error

i got up thursday (my day off work) with a long list of to-dos.  i start the shower and after 5 minutes of running, there is still no steam.  i plunge my hand into the shower and pull it out again...ice cold.  i thought i'd give it 20-30 minutes for some hot water to kick in.  no go.  i call david:

"so, we don't have any hot water."

"yeah, i took a cold shower last night, but i thought it was because the washing machine and dishwasher were running at the same time."

"what do we do?"

"i don't know."

"is it the heater?"

"maybe."

"how do you fix a hot water heater?"

"i don't know."

"do you call HVAC?  a plumber?"

"i don't know."

"ok....i guess i'll take care of it."

i am frustrated that now, in addition to my list of stuff to get done that day, i have to also add hot water heater to the list.  i think, 'should we own a home if we don't know how to fix it?...this is ridiculous!'  david calls a few minutes later and suggests i look at the pilot light.  it's out.  i read the directions on how to re-light it:

step 1.  turn everything off and make sure the tank is full of water and the lines are flushed of gas.

i am already envisioning the house (and myself) exploding whilst i attempt to light the darn thing.  wait a minute--i have a dad who is a professional home inspector!  he can fix anything!...or at least be a witness via the phone in case everything goes south...

i call my dad and he first refers me to 4c.29 of his book (the section on water heaters).  i see a page with diagrams and plumbing parts i know nothing about.  he asks me if i have a sediment trap, like the one in the diagram.  i love how every single pipe looks exactly alike...

after we confirm all the parts are in place, he walks me through the steps to re-light the pilot, assuring me the whole way he will call utah's 911 line directly if he hears any sort of explosion.  i try to light the pilot at least 50 times and see no spark to speak of and no flame to speak of.  my dad tells me to call our builder.  i do, and the builder says he'll send the plumber right out.  

two hours later, david comes home for a lunch break and also tries to light the pilot without success. 

three hours after that (about 430pm), the plumber still hasn't shown up.  i call our builder back and get his voicemail right away.  "hi, builder, it's me again at _______...i know i told you before our pilot light was out on the heater, but i don't know if i was clear: we have zero hot water.  i am just wondering what the status is on your plumber coming by, and i'd like to know if we should plan on showering at the gym tomorrow, or if we can shower in our own home."  he calls me right back and says he's going out of town, but he gives me the plumber's name and number.  i call the plumber, and he says he'll be out in about an hour.  

when he shows up he lights the pilot in a matter of seconds...

i call my dad back and he says, "sounds like operator error to me!"

i took a hot bath that night.

football and conversation

david came home the other day saying he knew why guys liked football.  it has nothing to do with pig skin or muscles or face painting.  it's conversation.  it's the communication in the break room, the topic during lunch, the weekend get-together.  it's how and what men communicate about.  according to david, women have gossip, shopping, tv shows, and their kids; men have football.  men use so few words in conversation, it's nice to fall back on football.  david doesn't watch football.  i have a husband who would rather watch saturday morning cartoons than a football game.  i am not a football widow.  while he's delivering boxes, he'll always run into guys asking him what he thought about the game, or the pass, or the so-an-so player.  he simply responds, "i don't keep up with football."  without fail, he says the response is always a look of panic (translation: "what do i talk about now?!"), and then silence with a blank stare (translation: "oh well, i guess the conversation is over.").  

my problem is although i am a woman, i don't fit into any of the "female conversation" categories listed above.  i am at an utter loss when it comes to small talk.  i am not in any circle to speak of, so nix the gossip; i shop when i need something, and hate it for recreation; the only tv i like is what david calls my "death shows" (csi, murder mysteries, medical mysteries, etc.)...can you imagine a dinner conversation in that topic?!...and we don't have any kids.  i am awful at small talk and very often feel very awkward in conversations, even if you're a long-time friend.  

maybe i should take up football.

H1N1 vacation: day 1

my symptoms (heavy chest, cough, low grade fever) started last wednesday.  thursday is my day off from the pediatric office, and when i woke up, i was fairly certain i had the flu (although never did it cross my mind i had THE flu).  in addition to coughing and a fever, i was now achy, slightly dizzy, had a headache, sore throat, etc.  i slept for about 14 hours, and then called my office manager to ask for friday off, as well, thinking i could use the rest of the weekend to feel better and start work again on monday.  per office protocol, she had me come down to the office for a rapid influenza test.  we have obviously had lots of kids coming in with the same symptoms, and a co-worker of mine and i started with the symptoms on the same day...suspicious, no?  the rapid flu test was negative, but they still wanted me to go to the hospital for an H1N1 PCR test.  this test basically magnifies your dna (taken from a nasal secretion specimen) and looks for any interferences or manipulations, which a virus would do.

because of our insurance, we have to go to a certain hospital to stay in the network, so although my office is right next to utah valley hospital, i drove up to north orem to go to the timpanogos hospital.  after registering, sitting there with a mask on, feeling like an infected amoeba, i finally get back to the outpatient lab and the techs tell me they don't do this lab on an outpatient basis, only on inpatients.  so i have to go all the way back down to provo, re-register, wait some more, etc. etc.  my office manager also wanted me to start tamiflu, regardless of the results.  if the test ended up being negative, i would go back to work on monday.  if it were positive, office policy stipulates the employee taking 7 working days off.  results came in on friday: positive for H1N1.  another office policy: get all family members who have had contact to also begin tamiflu, as a prophylactic measure.  so david is also taking tamiflu.  we've been really lucky; the number one side effect is nausea and vomiting.  we haven't had any of that.  

we were going to have our housewarming on saturday, which obviously got postponed.  the weekend mainly consisted of a lot of sleeping, coughing, and sleeping some more.  with the tamiflu, it really isn't that bad--it feels like a cold on steroids.  my biggest symptom is fatigue, and then the residual coughing (which will linger for another 2 weeks or so), other than that, i seem to be fine.  so i get this whole week off, and i am feeling perfectly fine this morning, after 12 hours of sleep.  today, vacation day 1, i will do some ironing that desperately needs to be done, and put away two baskets of laundry we did over the weekend.  that'll probably be it for energy, and the rest of the day will be reading or movie-watching.  i've go another 4 days of this--any movie suggestions?      

some of the goings on

we've been in our house for 5 or 6 weeks now, and every week we've had projects to complete.  last week it was turning a cherry-red stained computer table/hutch into this:

a couple weeks before that it was fixing these:
we ordered the blinds from a company based in colorado, but the shipment actually came from new jersey.  we don't think these blinds were manufactured very well--9 out of the 11 we ordered had fallen apart in shipping.  david was getting so frustrated trying to install them!  he called the guy and we were going to mail them back, but that would mean another 4 weeks minimum without privacy, so david decided to figure out how they work and rebuild them.  i'm glad someone in this family has a mechanical mind!  so in a few short hours, david rebuilt our blinds and finished installing them!  

next project:  using my brand-spanking new sewing machine (thanks mom!!) to cover these--so gross (they came with the couch/love seat set)
with this:
seriously the easiest pattern ever!  ikea had an "envelope pillow" pattern--all you do is overlap the sides and sew!  and it uses probably 1/2 yard (the pattern calls for 20"in width by 60" in length).
and turning 12 yards of fabric
into drapes!  we spent a whole saturday two weeks ago driving all over utah county and salt lake trying to find curtains we liked, and couldn't find anything.  we even went to joann's to look at their drape fabric when they were having a 50% off sale, thinking i would just sew some up really quick.  we found 3 patterns we liked, but they'd have to special order it, and the total came to over $350, even with the sale!  no thanks!  we ended up at ikea and found this fabric we loved ($7.99/yard), and a ready-made set of drapes, as well.  we left very satisfied. 

we also drilled holes into our cabinets to instal knobs and  pulls.  so much nicer!
oh, and last but not least, i got these installed, too.  i snapped this from the torture seat while i was waiting for the orthodontist to come back...i really am smiling here.  they'll be gone in 12-18 months.  until then, i am eating apple sauce and mashed potatoes, and feel like i am talking with rocks in my mouth...or on my teeth...

snow. on timp. in august.

catch up

hello fan club.  i'm finally taking a minute to catch up and post a few photos from our life.  i wish i had a reason for procrastinating posting on the blog...you know, like we went on a month-long vacation backpacking europe, or that we'd gotten stuck climbing the jungfrau and one of those dogs carrying a barrel of (hot chocolate?) around their necks had to come rescue us, or even that i've been photo journaling our summer and have a million things to post.  unfortunately not the case.  the truth is that the summer flew by without us seeing much of it.  the last day i remember is sometime in april before i started commuting to salt lake.  after that it's been a blur of books on cd (for the commute), a couple of bike rides (one of which i had to literally go and dunk myself in utah lake to cool off), making a video with kids we teach at church (they had us rolling we were laughing so hard!--maybe we'll post it here later), and two more super huge changes (more on that later).  for now...let's go back to the 4th of july:

 

bob and eddie came down for the weekend and we went up to sundance to ride the ski lift up the mountain and get a view of the valley(s) from the top.  it was a gorgeous day for hiking and riding lifts!

that evening we went to the stadium of fire for the 4th of july show.  david's been wanting to go every year we've lived here, and this year we decided to do it.  he found four tickets off ksl and we saw shedaisy (is that how you spell it?), the jonas brothers, and an amazing fireworks display.  dad is wearing his glenn beck shirt.  glenn hosted the concert and all dad wanted to do was shake his hand and get his autograph.  maybe next time.  i'm not a personal glenn fan, but i'd stand in line with dad to make him happy:.)

awwww.


some are more patriotic than others.

some of the fire.

in other news, i am in the midst of changing jobs (again)...this year has certainly been an interesting job escapade.  i am going back to the pediatric company i worked for before, just a different office.  i'm joining their triage team and will be doing health promotion projects for the office.  let's just say i've learned a lot about myself and i'm excited to keep moving forward.  we are also in the process of closing on a house.  we will be moving at the end of the month, provided everything up until closing goes smoothly.  the house is just a few blocks south from where we are now, so not much of a lifestyle change there.  and the best news is i can bike to work starting on the 24th.  no more i-15!

anniversary #5 and birthday #29

phew! we've had two very busy weekends in a row--last weekend we celebrated our 5th anniversary by going to moab, utah. david drove down friday morning so he could get a mountain bike ride in, and i drove down friday night after i got off work. friday was a beautiful, sunny, hot moab day, but saturday was overcast and sort of chilly. david got a really great photo of the canyon on friday, but all the photos from saturday are grey because of the clouds. when i got to the campgrounds, david had an anniversary dinner cooked over a fire waiting for me--very thoughtful.  we laughed a lot thinking about the five years we've been married--years 3-5 seemed to have passed so quickly we don't remember where they went.  one thing is certain, however: we are the best match for each other, and have helped each other grow and learn so much.  we love being together. 
the weather may have been disappointing, but we actually picked a great weekend to hike around arches national park--it was the one weekend a year for free admission!  

this is on the climb up to the delicate arch.  david likes this photo because he thinks it's "humanistically dramatic, with me looking into the distance at the dangerous path ahead, contemplating my mortality"...i was really just excited to get a water break once we got to the top.   

these are random hikers getting their family christmas photo under the arch.  i'm putting this one on our blog so you can see the ratio of the arch to a human.  it's huge--and amazing to sit at its bottom and realize it was caused by water and wind erosion over tens/hundreds of thousands of years.  we were hiking across what was once a river bed!

this is a view of the arch from the backside, a view that i think shows the erosion a little better than the typical front view.

i love the red rock desert landscape.  the park was a very unique localization of this type of terrain.

for my birthday, i decided to take myself on a 75-mile bike ride, although it didn't start out that way.  david had registered through the ups team to join the ms ride in logan, ut.  this was a charitable event in which all proceeds would go to multiple sclerosis research.  the plan was to drive to logan, stay the night with my friend cindy friday night, and david would do the 100-mile ride saturday morning while i went to the mall with cindy for pedicures and some shopping.  i'd take pictures of david at the start and finish line, and then we'd go home.  friday evening as david was leaving work, he called me to ask if i'd like to participate on the team; someone had dropped out.  i said sure, and planned on doing the 40-mile ride (there was a 40-mile, 75-mile, and 100-mile ride option)... 


friday night we drove through a huge thunderstorm on the way up to logan, and we were hoping we wouldn't be riding in that kind of weather on saturday...
cindy made me a beautiful fruit bowl for my birthday and she and her husband and two adorable boys sang happy birthday.

saturday morning before heading out on the ride.  david is excited for the 100-mile ride, and i'm feeling somewhat anxious about the 40-mile ride i'd planned on--david does huge rides all the time, but the most david and i have ever ridden together is 30 miles, with a 4-5 mile climb, and that took about 2 1/2 hours.

here's the whole ups team, minus one guy who showed up late.  

there were thousands of people participating in this ride--the logan fairgrounds were covered with tents, radio djs, advertising, etc.  it was pretty fun to be a part of that energy.  they started the riders in waves of about 50; david started in the 3rd wave, and i was in the 6th wave.  when we left for the lineup, we kissed and told each other good luck and to be safe.  david thought he would do his 100 mile ride in 4 1/2-5 hours, and as i would ride 40 miles in about 2-2 1/2 hours, i carried the keys in my bike pouch and didn't carry my phone.  

riding the bike was awesome.  i made it to the 40-mile split point in 1 hour 30 mins and felt great, so i decided to keep going for the 75 mile ride.  i knew if i ate consistently and maintained a good cadence and heart rate, i'd be able to finish strong.  sure, i got passed a lot, but i stuck with every goal i made for myself along the way, and i passed some riders, too!  and i finished, which was an awesome feeling.  david finished in his estimated time, and saw that i wasn't there, and didn't have keys to get into the car, so he was pretty nervous that something had happened to me, or that i'd seriously bonked and was walking somewhere in the fields of utah/idaho.  it never even crossed his mind that i'd kept riding to do the 75-mile ride.  so when i crossed the finish line all smiles, and shouting, "david i did it!", he thought i was referring to the 40 mile ride.  when i told him i did the 75-mile ride, his jaw dropped!  that was the highlight of my day.  

overall stats:  
david rode 100 miles in 4 hours 20 mins

burned 7060 calories

i rode 75 miles in 5 hours

burned 4300 calories

don't worry--we replaced all those calories by eating dinner at tucanos!!  and the only thing sore today is my sunburn.

the poll answer

of the six voters we got, 50% were right!  i don't know if you were guessing, or if you'd seen the article, but good job!  here's the link to the article saying that cats really are dumb...

quote of the day

"If we know their limits we won't expect too much of them, which in turn is important for their welfare. I am not trying to say [they] are stupid, just they are different. We are so anthropomorphic we can't see the world through their eyes."

in a recent article, an expert made the above statement.  i substituted [they] for who/what the expert was referring to.  cast your vote...answer will be posted in a week.

ches certified

i am a certified health education specialist--i found out today i passed the ches exam i took in april.  this is the national certification that accredits community health education majors.  this is an exam i paid to take, prayed to pass, and now that i have passed, i get to accrue 75 continuing education credits over the next 5 years and pay to renew my certification.  this makes me laugh for two reasons:

1. when i tell people i graduated in community health education, i get a confused look and they ask, "what does that mean?", or, "so, that focuses in...?", or, "so, is that like a nurse?"  in the most general of definitions, a community health major focuses on preventing disease and promoting health within a community.  typical occupational settings include a public health department, workplace wellness programs, hospital health education outreach programs, etc.  in a health department, for example, the health educator would visit middle schools or elementary schools teaching about tobacco prevention, std education, or promoting gold medal school dietary lunch programs.  within a hospital, the health educator would educate patients, families, or community members about cancers, diabetes, or healthy lifestyle choices.  
2. now that i am ches certified, and tell people i am a certified health education specialist, i am sure i will get confused looks again.  in the most general of definitions, a ches is a professional who designs, conducts, and evaluates activities and or programs that help improve the health of a community. 

in case anything i wrote above sounded like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, just remember this:

HEALTH + NERD = CHES

the best part of being blonde part II

the best part of being blonde when you graduate with a b.s. in community health...

• everyone comes to visit, and your employer lets you off early to celebrate.
  

•  the wolverine is very chivalrous and holds your balloons for you 
  

• everyone is happy and smiling even though it's cold and rainy instead of being sunny, warm, and cloudless on may 1st
• the university gives you a medal for maintaining a 3.9 GPA.  brunettes didn't get one.  even if they had a good GPA.
  

• you're easy to spot in the crowds because you're hair "glows".  notice everyone else had to actually call their loved ones in the audience because they couldn't find them.  not me.

• because you won the "husband lottery", he was loving, supportive, attentive, and proud of you throughout the entire schooling process.  yes, it was a process.

just in case you haven't laughed yet today...

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

a bird in hand AND two in the bush

this should be the last post regarding my lovely job-finding escapades.  namely because i have one now.  a really good one.  last night david said, "congratulations on finding this job, michal." i reminded both of us i had nothing to do with it--i didn't find this job, it found me!

so i need to tell a little history.  two weeks ago, i interviewed at a pediatric office for a medical assistant position, and had a phone interview with labcorp for a phlebotomist position.  both interviews went extremely well and i was sure my job search would end with one of these two positions.  the pediatric office was a 25-30 mile commute, and the labcorp position would be closer to home.  so commute and wage were my top concerns, and whichever offered the better deal would be the job i'd take.

at the end of my phone interview, the hr rep at labcorp said the area supervisor would get in contact with me for a personal interview in the next week or so.  the pediatric office was the same company i've been with, but a different office in the valley.  the office manager offered to have me "sub" with their office until her decision was final; she really needed the help, and i needed zero training.  i left the interview saying i'd love to sub, and to let me know which days she'd need me.  two days after my labcorp phone interview, i left a message with the area supervisor.  a week passed, and i didn't hear anything.  last tuesday i emailed the pediatric office manager to see if she still needed a sub.  i also left another message with labcorp.  still no answer from labcorp, and i didn't hear back from the pediatric office until friday evening.  the office manager said she'd love to have a sub, but the job was mine if i wanted it and i could start monday.  she had been waiting to hear from me about how the other (labcorp) interview process was going (she was very sympathetic to my not wanting to commute 30 miles if i had another offer closer).  since she'd emailed me so late, office hours were over and i couldn't reach her directly.  so i emailed her back hoping she'd get my message first thing monday morning.  

i prayed for guidance from the Lord, and here was my final decision: by monday 9am i was going to call labcorp, talk with the hr rep.  if they could guarantee me an interview this week, i'd sub at the pediatric office until i could see where labcorp was going.  if they couldn't guarantee me an interview this week, i would request they pull my name from the interview process, and i'd start full-time at the pediatric office on tuesday.  i would make my calls at 9 and know what i would be doing with the job situation by 930.  period.  i went to bed sunday night feeling very excited.

monday morning rolled around and my phone rang at 8am.  it was the director of education from fortis college, a new tech school in murray.  after introductions, she said, "i'm sorry i'm calling you so early; i was going to wait until this afternoon, but i felt so impressed i needed to call you now.  your resume has come to my attention, and i want to offer you the position of part-time medical assistant instructor, and in 6 weeks when student volume picks up, i want you to be our medical program chair in addition to teaching."  !!!  i was speechless!  this is my dream job, right here, packaged and ready to go for me, being offered to me sight unseen.  i couldn't have been offered a more perfectly tailored position!  i couldn't believe it.  we talked for a while longer, and i had to ask, "you know, i am really sorry to ask these things over the phone, but today was my decision day for two other jobs i've been interviewing with.  before i add this one to the mix, i need to know what the commute is like, and what the wage would be."  she completely understood.  she actually lives near me, so she could give me very specific directions and commute times to the campus.  and let's just say the starting wage was enough to get me to drive up there for an interview at 11 the same day.  

the first thing i asked her when i sat down for the interview was how she had received my resume.  i had no recollection applying for this position, and had never heard of fortis college before she called me.  she said she honestly didn't know where it came from.  fortis college is a part of education affiliates, a network of private post-secondary schools.  she said they had sent a call out wondering if anyone knew of a candidate for this position they needed to fill.  she said my resume came across her blackberry late friday night, and she was so excited about it she wanted to call me on saturday, but thought that would be unprofessional.  so she waited until monday, but couldn't wait until the afternoon (and, might i add, called one hour before my self-imposed deadline).  i was amazed!  in december i had interviewed with techskills institute, an online post-secondary program, but i don't know if they are a part of the education affiliates network.  the interview i had with them went very well, but i ended up turning down the job because it was part-time with no chance of going full-time, and the wage wasn't enough to make me want to commute to salt lake.  that's the only place i can think of that would be a potential source for my resume being sent to her.  

i spent two hours there on monday, getting all my questions answered, looking at syllabi and curriculae, texts, getting a tour of the classrooms and labs.  today i went back to do a teaching demo (passed), and spent about 3-4 hours filling out paperwork.  so i'm officially a medical assistant instructor!  the rest of this week i'll finish training, and classes start on monday.  this campus offers medical assistant certificates and associates, medical office billing, medical office adminstration, dental assistant certificates, dental hygienist degrees, rn degrees, paralegal certificates, and has an hvacr program.  this campus just opened in january/february to get employees, and the very first classes start next monday.  classes go in 6-week increments (they call them modules), so they are hoping by the next module, june 1, i should be full-time (with a salary raise and everything!), but definitely by july 13.  

i am still in shock as i'm sitting here writing this.  when i started this career search last october, i had set very high wage requirements, and refused to settle for anything less.  i thought i was better than the jobs out there.  slowly, over the months, i have been whittled away, and made sufficiently humble.  i was ready to accept any job that wasn't a "college graduate" job, and that offered less than what i was making before i went back to school.  i think i had to become completely reliant on the Lord to remind me He does know our needs very intimately, and He is involved with the details of our lives and wants us to succeed.  He wants us to move forward and be happy.  david and i were discussing this wonderful blessing tonight, and he made the point, "the Lord promises us a blessing, then makes us wait for it, and after we've worked so hard by our own efforts, and seemingly failed, He sends us the promises in full and more--so we know it came from Him--so we know He is the source of our strength".

God's sense of humor

matching socks

when i was in elementary school i ran for student body secretary.  i want to say i was in third grade, but i really don't remember.  i also don't remember why i wanted to run; i wasn't a very outgoing person, i had zero secretarial experience, and i wasn't a popular kid (and we all know student body stuff is for the "it" crowd, right?).  my mom helped me write my little speech--i think it was composed of answering questions prepared by the teachers.  in answer to a question about organization, my mom suggested i give the example of how i sort, wash, and fold all my laundry on my own.  i thought this was silly, but i couldn't think of any other example.  the day of the speeches, the candidates went to the library and gave speeches in front of a camera--they were taped and played the next day for the rest of the students.  shy and embarrassed little me clammed up even more in front of the camera.  when it came time to give my laundry example i felt myself turning bright red and i couldn't look at the camera.  the next day we all gathered in the pod to watch the videos so the students could vote on their picks.  i didn't watch myself when i popped up on the screen.  suffice it to say i did not become the secretary.

i interviewed today for office manager of utah valley pediatrics provo office.  the interview went from bad to worse.  i felt myself clamming up, the words echoed and rattled around my head, and they made no sense when i could finally mumble an answer.  i felt like i had laundry answers all over again.  

"so, tell me a challenge you had and how you overcame it."  

mind blank.  mind repeating question.  mind counting clock ticking.  

"well, once i had to prioritize loads of laundry and decide if i should do darks or lights first..."  

"give me an example in the last 7 days that you had to multi-task; how did it go?"  

"hello..i vacuum, do laundry, mop floors, and clean the bathroom all at the same time, while entertaining the birds..."  

half-way through the interview, the administrator sat back in his chair, gave me a head to toe wary look, and asked, "so what is it you want to do?"  i sort of crumpled, took a deep breath, and said, "gee, i guess i thought working as a medical assistant for 8 years and graduating with a bachelor's in community health while maintaining a 3.9 gpa would qualify me for something.  oh, but i need to warn you, i don't match socks anymore--i just throw them in the drawer and find the match later when i need it."  i guess that final sock comment clarified things for both of us...

6pm is not the new 6am

i tried to make 6pm my new morning time...i slept (fitfully) during the day, went to a 6pm spinning class at the rec center, stayed up at night, and spent two nights at my job.  i left a resignation letter on my supervisor's desk wednesday morning after i clocked out.  i have never left a job after only two days, and i feel kind of like a schmutz.  there were lots of reasons to leave, but it all comes down to the job just not being a good fit, and i unfortunately didn't know that until after i'd started it.  so i'm on the job market again... 

i am so grateful to have david--a supportive, loving husband who sticks by me and my decisions, who works so hard to provide for us, and who offers me the luxury of time to find the right job. 

a bird in hand is better than two in the bush

after five long, depressing months of searching for a full-time job as a college grad, i am going to start work on monday as a lead developmentalist at the utah state developmental center.  david said, "thanks for getting a job this week."  ha ha.  i will supervise two teams of developmentalists who work directly with physically and mentally handicapped adults, and if one of my team members calls in sick or no shows, i fill in for them.  the twist: my work week is friday through tuesday with wed/thurs off, and i work graveyards, from 930pm-630am.  last time i worked nights, i swore i would never work another graveyard...never say never, right?!  

the job search narrowed down to this position and an office manager position with utah valley pediatrics, the company i've been with for the last 3 1/2 years.  the position was for another office in the valley, not the one i've been at.  i was obviously hoping for a day job, and when i emailed the head administrator about being offered a position with another company, but that i was still interested in the office manager position, he emailed back saying, "a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush."  that made things pretty clear to me...it isn't like he said, "good things come to those who wait..."  

so i guess i have my bird in my hand.  it isn't the prettiest bird, or the biggest bird, but it'll get the job done, and i think it will be challenging but also rewarding.  tonight marks my attempt to flip my schedule upside down and sleep from 1030am-5pm...i'm off to find a sleeping mask.  do you think bath and body works carries that item?...

sorry, we need a male...

3-4 weeks ago i applied for a mentor position at a residential treatment center for teenage boys. i called the following week to check my status, and was told they had no current openings. today someone from the center called me.  here is how the conversation went down:

ring, ring.

me: "hello?"

him: "hi.  is, um, i'm looking for, is it...michael combs?"  (why don't people see two o's in the last name and pronounce it coombs?)

me: "yes, i'm michal."

him: "oh.  you?"

me: "yes."

him: "you're michael?"

me: "yes."

{pause}

him: "oh.  well, this is bob* from telos, and i'm looking here at your application....but, um, we need a male, and i thought you were..."

me: "that's ok, i get that a lot."

him: "so, are you a nurse?"

me: "i've worked as a medical assistant for the past eight years, and i recently graduated with my bachelor's in community health education."

him: "oh, really?  you know, you should apply when we have openings within our medical department."

me: "ok."

him: "ok.  well, thanks."

me: "ok.  thanks for your time."

maybe i should start attaching photos with the resumes i send out?

*name has been changed to protect the man who mispronounced my name and thought i was male.

a little bit nostalgic...

my older brother is a nostalgic pack rat who found some old family videos...

triage central

the favorite part of my job at the pediatric office is definitely the triage phone calls.  well, i love working with the kids, too, but i work the after-hours shifts--nights and weekends--with sick kids who don't want to be there getting their throats swabbed or getting a shot or getting stitches.  i love the triage calls because the parents are calling in with questions they need addressed right away.  i love educating people, and what's more, i love seeing the education applied--i know what i recommend to the parents is going to be applied as soon as we hang up the phone.  it feels great to know you are useful.    

i have also had some very interesting calls over the years, which has been very entertaining and some very eyebrow-raising.  let's see...i think this is definitely my number one call:  history: 4 days prior to the call, the family had been vacationing in st. george.  the child fell and hit her head, splitting open a small gash on the top of her head.  the mother-in-law suggested the mom simply braid the child's hair to close the laceration.  the mother complied.  4 days later...the night the mom called our office, she was bathing the girls and was taking the braids out to wash the child's hair and noticed a bad smell.  she was wondering what to do.  .....   ......   ................ok.....i had a million questions running through my head!  first and foremost "doesn't st. george have an instacare or an er they could have gone to?"  anyway, we ended up bringing her in to look at her scalp and check for an infection (too late for staples at this point).   the child was fine, but for future reference, a foul smell coming from an untreated wound is a bad sign.  i also love constipation questions because they always directly correlate with nutrition.  "what's the child's diet like?"  i ask.  "oh, you know, she won't eat anything except for chicken nuggets, french fries and chocolate milk."  the mom replies.  "ok, so no fruits or vegetables, fiber?" i hint.   "well, i just said she gets french fries."  personal soapbox: french fries are not vegetables.  period.  and what do you mean by the child "won't eat anything" except for chicken nuggets, etc.?!  YOU are the parent, YOU are the one in charge!  (all y'all out there with kids are probably laughing at me at this point because naive childless me believes the parents are the ones in charge.  ha!)

last night a very worried dad called in because his 8-month old had swallowed a candy foil wrapper.  i was mortified when he explained he tried to get the wrapper out by inducing vomiting by sticking his finger down the infant's throat.  he couldn't see anything, but he thought he could feel it, so he tried to dig it out with his finger.  ok, don't stick a finger down your throat (bulemia 101), or anyone else's for that matter...especially an 8-month old infant.  cpr/heimlich rule #1: never sweep the throat unless you can actually see the object you're sweeping for, otherwise you may end up lodging the object further.  future reference:   

the concern about swallowing something other than food (well, this could happen with food, as well) is that it would get inhaled rather than swallowed, go down the windpipe and in the worst case scenario, end up in a lung and cause an infection.  it could also get lodged at the windpipe entrance, which would cause wheezing, difficulty breathing, etc.  a friend of mine did have her 12-month old taken in for swallowing a penny, and ended up having it surgically removed from the windpipe.  each case is different.  in this case, the child was in no distress, breathing fine, no wheezing, no gagging (other than when the father's finger was down her throat).  she had literally swallowed the foil.  i spent 10 minutes reassuring the father it had gone down her esophagus, into her stomach, and it would be excreted with the stool in the next 3-4 days.  at the end of our 10 minute conversation he said, "well, i guess i have to believe you."  i said, "this is your first child, isn't it?"  "yes."  "and this is the first time she's swallowed anything other than food, isn't it?"  "yes."  "trust me, this won't be the last.  she is fine.  it will pass with the stool."  "ok.  i guess i have to trust you.  but i'm worried about the foil cutting her intestines now."  it took another 5 minutes to convince him she would not sustain any injuries from the candy foil on its way out of her system.

so this post is dedicated to all you parents out there who may need a triage boost.  i'm here for you!  give me a buzz!  the most important thing you can remember is to take a step back and ask more questions.  as a parent you get scared and alarmed with the first symptom you see.  remember to breathe, step back, and objectively look for more evidence that would make that symptom more concerning.  here is a list of home health books i own, use, and love--may this help you in your triage attempts--and give me a call for an immediate need!

1.  the complete family medical guide, by dr. warwick carter--defines every condition in layman's terms and has pictures.

2.  caring for your baby and young child: birth to age 5, by the american academy of pediatrics (they also have age 5-12, teenager, baby's first year, guide to your child's symptoms, etc. etc.)--i love this because it not only has triage/symptom questions, but they address behavioral and developmental issues, as well.

3.  columbia university children's medical guide, by drs. caddle, mccord, and valman--i love this because it has photos and illustrations of every triage symptom and question known to man.  it also has step-by-step triage charts for you to use!  if your child has symptoms a and b, move to step 2, if not, move to step 3.  very easy to use.

4.  take care of yourself, by drs. vickery and fries--same concept as the book above with the triage charts, but no photos, only drawn illustrations.  but there is a section on infant choking!

and if you're a nerd like me, you'll probably enjoy having illustrated medical dictionaries on hand, too, like dorland's or taber's.  

  

crescat scientia article

here's the link for the other paper i had published:

click on the one entitled

"legally free, socially imprisoned: the new south and the black slave".

herb watch

thanks, dad, for the super herb garden so we can have fresh green stuff in our gourmet meals!!  we are currently watching for oregano, chives, genovese basil, epazote, thyme, parsley, and sage...yum!!

david is apple

You Are Apple Green

You are almost super-humanly upbeat. You have a very positive energy that surrounds you. And while you are happy go lucky, you're also charmingly assertive. You get what you want, even if you have to persuade those against you to see things your way. Reflective and thoughtful, you know yourself well - and you know that you want out of life.

What Color Green Are You?

michal is olive

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

blog-a-thon

i took a hiatus from blogging for a couple of months.  right around halloween my semester became very busy...it was my last semester of school, i was finishing up my two internship projects, applying for jobs, finishing research papers, and illustrating a book for a friend.  phew!  let me go back...

yes, folks, i am now a graduate.  i now have a bachelor's of science in community health education from utah valley university.  uvu only has one walk a year, so even though i am an official graduate, i'll walk in the spring.  this is a big deal for me--i graduated from high school ten and a half years ago, and although i have had many wonderful life experiences and lessons, i never thought a formal education was on my list of things to do.  i just didn't see myself capable of finishing something like a bachelor's.  now i am ready to go on for a master's!  i loved my experience at uvu, loved my health classes, maintained a 3.9 gpa, and loved writing research!  

i had two papers published in undergraduate journals, which was a super-big highlight for me.  the journals are being put online through the school's digital library collection, so here's the link for one paper entitled "mrsa and society: the sociology of biomedicine and illness", which was printed in the journal for behavioral studies.  the other paper entitled "legally free, socially imprisoned: the new south and the black slave" (printed in the journal of history) is not posted yet.  i'll attach the link when it is available.    

the other exciting link is for the book i illustrated.  it's a little children's story about an elephant learning his trunk really is valuable.  my friend's mother told them stories when they were little, and my friend wrote it down for her, asked me to illustrate them and had it printed through an online self-publishing service at blurb.com.  this is the first book, and there are two more to come.  

anyway, now that things have calmed down, i can take an hour or two and post photos from the last few months...enjoy the blog-a-thon!

    

christmas village

this is the only evidence i have of us making gingerbread houses.  there may have been more made, but i don't remember, and i don't have any other photos.  this was in 1985.  it was time to make some more!  i have a christmas cookbook i just love--and it had a recipe for not just a gingerbread house, but a gingerbread village!  i decided this was how i was going to spend my christmas day, and david was going to join me!  first order of business: after baking the gingerbread, cut out the house shapes and decorate the fronts.  the one below even has icicles hanging off the facade!

here's the secret to the village...it isn't a whole house, just the fronts!  ingenious!!
a couple more views of the village, complete with a pond, shrubbery, and a village gate.

beth goes on vacation

my mom is a busy bee--always anxiously engaged in many projects, work, and church activities.  she needed a break!  she came out to visit the week before christmas for some relaxing fun, but every day with mom was still packed full and busy!  maybe next time we can all go to a deserted island and make mom learn how to just sit and relax (wink, wink).  mom came with us to our early morning spinning class, and did the work out videos with me at home.  we spent one afternoon walking around the body worlds exhibit, which was simply fascinating. 

we went to our ward christmas party and were in charge of an activity table.  thanks to mom's experience and brains, i think we had the best table there!  we made a shooting star ornament and put a sticker on it with a poem about the star and baby Jesus being born.  

a festive mama helping out.
the lady on the right is holding up her ornament--you can see how it hangs down real cute-like;.)
on another day mom and i adventured up into the mountains for some snowshoeing.  we had a snow storm every other day while she was here, which really made mom happy.  the snow in the canyon was almost a foot and a half, but the trail was packed down fairly well, so snowshoeing was pretty easy going. 
we hiked up a trail in south fork canyon, which was so beautiful in the snow.
the following photos are examples the mother-daughter photos i have.  i decided it was time for an update, so i scheduled a mother-daughter photo shoot for one afternoon.  mom and i got all gussied up and went in for some fun.  the photographer was fun to work with, and made me laugh...he said he did mother-daughter shoots a lot, but "never with a daughter this old".  ha!  after he realized what he'd said, he backtracked by saying the shoots are typically with infants and newborns.  oh well, 28 years too late...anyway, here's the link if you'd like to check out our photos.  

birthday boy

requested birthday dinner: homemade tomato soup and a tuna melt.  

current panini press: two cast iron skillets stacked on top of each other

birthday presents: books, movies, candy...who could ask for anything more?

not this happy birthday boy!

thanksgiving in montana

 

david got the friday after thanksgiving off last minute, so we drove up to montana for thanksgiving with the coombs family! we left late wednesday night after david got home from work, and drove about half-way to rexburg to spend the night with ryan and rachael hagge (and their two adorable kiddos). ryan baptized david when he was 17, and he's always been a great friend. i just love rachael--she's inspiring, full of hope and faith, and is everything good rolled into one person. she's just amazing! give us another five years or so, and we think we'll be "neighbors"--they're planning on moving back to alturas, ca, and david and i are planning on moving to medford, or, just across the ca border. hang on, hagges--we're planning on having lots of temple dates and weekend biking trips!
a couple of the hagge boys and john (hagge dad)--a super family!
bob, eddie, david, and me out for a morning breakfast at perkins.  we loved seeing all the coombs family.  thanksgiving day was actually pretty warm for montana--lots of sun, no snow, and little wind.  yay for a nice  holiday!
thanksgiving dinner (bob--on the couch on the right--is getting ready for a post-turkey nap...hee hee)
catching up with cousins
dessert time!  yum!

allen family visit

in october my cousin, jen, and her beautiful family came to utah for a friend/family visit.  we had a fun evening of catching up, eating a super dinner, and having some good laughs about our childhood memories.  reminiscing definitely gets funnier the older you get!  
jen is a creative master with food and decorations (check this out for some of her christmas amazingness), and has a gift for making things magical and fun.  i love that about her!!  it was great catching up!    
my new favorite photo--i'm so in love!  david's so handsome!  mushy, mushy...now for some fun:
every summer we spent a couple of weeks at my grandparent's and cousin's house (they live down the road from each other).  jen and i grew up roller skating along their road and singing camp songs, swimming in their pool, making pickles and canning with my aunt, going to girls camp, and always making some sort of craft.  one summer we made pig houses (instead of doll houses), and the next summer we had a pig wedding!  there was always a cousin dramatic theater, as well--twists on fairy tales, productions of our own creation, and always costumes galore from my grandma's basement.  the photo above is actually at our house (1988), and i think we're dancing along to a raffi record.  i know i was dressed up as a frog for the "frogs jumping off a log" song, but i have no idea what christian was dressed up as...but isn't he buff?! 
this was at bethany beach the summer of 1986--the whole family took a vacation together.  there was actually a hurricane that year.  i remember we all went outside to feel what it'd be like to be in the middle of the storm--ouch...sand hurts!  my aunt was pregnant at the time with our youngest cousin, and she got stuck in the sand when the waves rushed up.  emily was afraid of swimming when she was little, and we all said it was because aunt donna got stuck in the sand during the hurricane.  on the back of this photo i have written--in my six-year old handwriting--that we were talking about becoming famous actresses.  i don't remember that...maybe jen can vouch for that conversation?  
1984 on the front porch
double pig wedding

the happy pig couple

the best we could come up with...

the photos were taken at our ward's trunk-or-treat activity; david came right from work and dressed up as a ups man, and i dressed up as his...box.  as boring as this is, i think it's actually an improvement over last year's last-minute efforts...  

the quality isn't that great--we're still trying to figure out our camera's best photo-taking ability at night and in the dark, so i tried to doctor them up on our computer, and this was the best i could do.  anyway, i am sooooo super impressed by all those creative moms and wives that come up with great costumes, either through sewing or piecing things together at home.  being a decorative wife isn't something i do...i love to cook and bake, so i usually do a special meal on a holiday, but things like making pumpkin-shaped pancakes, decorating with leaves and gourds, and even pumpkin carving escape me...anyway, i liked the box costume a lot!      

this pretty much sums it up for me

official photos

notice all the riders david left in the dust behind him...

can you tell he's clipping along at 35mph?

slim jim hottie pants and the tale of the 1 day, 3 state, 206 mile ride

here is our hero, slim jim hottie pants himself (you have my permission to whistle):

our hero is wearing spandex from head to toe because it's aerodynamic.  being aerodynamic is very important when one is cycling in a race.  especially lotoja.  lotoja is a bike race from logan, ut to jackson hole, wy.  it's sponsored by the huntsman cancer society, and all proceeds go to cancer research.  david was invited to join this race by our spinning instructor.  she and the night class spinning instructor had entered the race as a relay team, but our instructor found out she was expecting a baby.  that meant no go on lotoja.  recognizing david for the strong climber he is, she invited him to take her place on the relay team.  david thought it over very quickly and said yes, and asked me to be his support car.  i thought it over very quickly and also said yes.  we marked saturday, september 6th on our calendars as a very special day.   
we drove up to logan on friday night after david got home from work.  never had i packed so much for an overnight trip!  we had a food bag, a bike gear bag, a bike tool bag, the overnight bathroom bag, sleeping bags, pillows, and ruth rode with us, so we had all of that x3.  we stayed at one of my friend's (who fortuitously moved to logan earlier this year), while ruth and david hit the sacks early, i stayed up talking to cindy.  we were at the starting line by 615am (our start time was 634), with ruth taking the first leg from logan, ut to preston, id.  we would meet at the support team area, they would switch the timing chip, and david would be off to ride legs 2-4, first from preston, id to montpilier, id.  in montpilier we would meet him at the support area, trade bottles, fill his pockets with food, and then drive off and meet him in alpine, wy, where they would switch the chip again, and ruth would finish the last two legs from alpine, wy to jackson hole, wy.  they would each ride about 100 miles, ruth doing all the flats, and david doing all the climbs.  david's total was about 96 miles, with 50-ish being uphill climbing.  he estimated it would take him 6hrs to do his legs of the race.  that was the plan...here's what actually happened:    
we decided to have some fun...after ruth took off from logan, we stopped to get breakfast.  both of our pants were falling down, so we made hillbilly belts from bungie cords david had in the car.
isn't our support car cute?!  we made it to preston and waited for ruth to come in.  we found her, david was ready to take off, they switched the chip, and we were ready to go--next meeting place, monpilier, id.  david hit the road about 815 or so, and we hit the road around 830.
ok, so here's where it got interesting. the cars ride on different roads from the bikes for probably 50-65% of the race. the support cars are kind of blindly driving off to the meet points, hoping they get there for their riders in time.  from preston to montpilier, the cars wove through farmer's fields on a gravel country road.  there were a ton of cars mecca-ing to the next town, lots of dust, and it was slow-going.  the race is supposed to text the support team's cell phone when the rider passes a certain point entering the meet zone, but the text messages weren't working properly.  along the way we stopped to use the little girl's room and get some sandwiches.  we made it to montpilier by 11am.   
here's the crossing line in montpilier, where we thought we were waiting for david.  as soon as we got to montpilier we asked the officials if rider 9501 had crossed yet.  they said they had no record of this rider.  so we waited.  and waited.  and waited.  we asked the officials a total of 4-5 times to find our racer, and they had no record of him crossing the line.  around 1230 (4 1/2 hours after david left preston), we were extremely worried something had happened.  david is a strong rider, and there was no way he would have taken over 3 hours to make that trek.  then we heard there was an accident with lots of bikes down.  we more urgently asked the officials to find our rider.  they asked us if we had received a text.  at this point in the race i didn't know we were supposed to gets texts about our rider's location, i was told we would be called if something went wrong.  so...i didn't have my phone on me...so i ran back to the car, found my phone, and found a text message.  david had actually crossed the montpilier line at 1021am, 40 minutes before we'd even reached the town!!  that means david did the first leg (including a 20 something mile climb) in just over 2 hours.  that is amazing!!  now here's my question: if we had received a text on time, wouldn't the officials have had a record of david when we asked them?  here's my other question: we were in the car at 1021, and my phone did not go off to let me know i'd gotten a text.  maybe it beeped when we were at subway buying sandwiches?  maybe it came through much later, when we'd already reached montpilier and i'd left it in the car.  either way, i felt incredibly guilty, and like i was the worst support crew in the world.  

anyway, we'd been sitting in montpilier for a total of 2 1/2 hours after david had crossed the line--and at this point we had no idea where he was.  he could have been on the road to afton, or in afton already, waiting to switch the chip with ruth, or he could see his awful support crew not meeting him again in afton and deciding to continue on to alpine.  there were "neutral" feed zones along the way where riders could fill up on water, gatorade, food, and energy packets, so we knew he'd be ok on that end of things.  but we weren't sure if we should drive to afton to find david, or drive straight to alpine to meet him there.  we decided to try afton first, since we hadn't gotten a text about that crossing line, yet.  the official told us it would take us about 45 minutes to drive to afton.  ruth knew it would take longer--along this leg of the race the car route and the bike route meet up and ride on the same road into afton.  we were stuck in traffic with all the other support cars trying to get to their riders while also trying to merge into car and bike traffic.  there was quite a car line.  

ok...speeding, passing cars, giving the riders the road, stressing out over david...and not having cell phone reception.  somewhere between idaho and wyoming in the black hole of the american wild west we lost cell phone reception.  so there we were stressing out again--what if david makes it to afton and we don't know because the text doesn't come through, will he stay there, go on?  once we made it maybe 3-5 miles outside of afton, david's cell phone went off with a message, and then mine.  it was david calling and his message on both of our phones went like this, "hey, i'm in afton, i hope i see you soon."  no number came through on my cell phone, and no time when i'd missed the call.  great.  so when did david get to afton?  was he going to stay there?  would he keep going if he waits over a certain time?  is he now on his way to alpine?  was he already in alpine?  oh, man.  i think only female readers would understand the stress i was under as his failing support crew.  male brains just don't race like female brains do, stressing out over all the possibilities.  anyway, we finally made it to afton AND FOUND DAVID!  the first thing i said to david was, "david, i love you and i am so sorry!"  and started to cry from the stress and relief.  the first thing david said was, "michal, i know exactly what happened, don't worry about it, and don't feel bad--i was having the time of my life out there and i love you!"  so here he is, after his 96-mile-with-50-ish-uphill-miles leg.  doesn't he look awesome?!!  david gave ruth the timing chip, she took off, and david told me his side of the story along our drive. click here for the race map.
here are some random riders in star valley while david and i were driving from afton to alpine.  ok, so david took off around 815 or so from preston.  he began the first climb feeling amazing, riding the strongest he's ever ridden.  you start the race in waves so you'll theoretically stay with your group, but david was climbing with the cat3 guys (the official licensed professional riders).  he also began passing the recreational racers.  hundreds of them.  on the uphill climb.  he joined a group riding in a huge 100-person peleton, like in the tour de france, and he was clipping along very comfortably between 30-35 mph.  in a huge group like that it's easy to go fast without putting much effort into it.  a race official came along and broke up the peleton into their subgroups (cat 1, 2, 3, relay racers, etc), and david hooked on to a cat2 or 3 group.  they were riding along in a paceline, each one taking turns being the leader at the front of the line for a few minutes, then falling to the back, and rotating to the front again.  this was david's first time riding this strong, with such good riders, and in such a professional paceline.  he said he finally felt like he belonged somewhere in this sport!  by the third climb david said he was gritting his teeth and feeling the climb, but he made it to the top, and then spent about 10 or 15 minutes at the feed station refueling.  he did his whole 96 mile leg in 5 hours and 5 minutes--yes, i'll say that again--5 hours and 5 minutes!!!, and was waiting for us in afton for about 30-45 minutes, the timing chip ticking away all the while.  he knew he'd ridden well, and he was done with his leg, and he was going to wait for ruth to finish it out.    
david was nursing his crampy leg in the car in alpine when i met ruth at the feed station.  she's the one in the light blue jersey on the right.  from there we headed to jackson hole!
the finish line!  we waited about an hour for ruth to come in.  she hit her peak and energy crashed about 20 miles outside of jackson hole.  but the trooper brought it in to the finish line!

here they are--the two-person relay team wonders!  they finished in a total of 12 1/2 hours, finishing in one day, crossing three state lines, and completing 206 miles!!  yay team!!  as we were driving away through jackson trying to find a place to eat, there were still riders coming in, some stopped on the side of the road to install lights on their bikes so they could keep riding in the pitch black 8-9pm night!  crazy!!  (and very unsafe!!)  we also drove back to orem that night...ruth and i both crashed in the car after eating dinner, so david was left to drive home all by himself.  we arrived at 2am.  we had stake conference on sunday, and after the 2 hour session came home and slept the rest of the day!  

ok, so here's what we learned for next year:

1. david's anaerobic threshold is great, but he really needs to train his aerobic threshold.

2. david is going to register as a licensed rider, starting in category 5.

3. david is going to train all year to do the race solo.

4. michal is going to make david ride with his cell phone and tire tools and extra tubes (this year david took off his utility pouch because he wanted to weigh less...michal was very mad at david, especially when they saw all the other experienced riders with their utility pouches).

5. michal is going to drive straight from logan to montpilier.  david won't need a support crew after just 30-35 flat miles from logan to preston, and he'll be able to ride straight through.  after montpilier the next meeting point will be alpine, then the finish line.

6. we won't need a "food bag".  david said there was soooo much food at all the neutral feed stations that all we need to pack is extra bottles to switch out because it's faster than filling them up every time.

7. try to get the friday before the race off work so we can drive to logan earlier, and get more sleep the night before the race.  

8. stay the night in jackson hole.  it was way too much driving home the same day as the race.   

the plan was to leap frog david along the road to get some really good photos of him...that plan obviously didn't happen.  the race took professional photos along the route, so we'll get some of david and post them once they come in. 

too much of a good thing is wonderful

welcome to our vacation album!  we spent a week at the casa del mar resort in la romana, dominican republic.  this was david's first time out of the country, my mango fix, and a much needed doing-nothing-on-a-beach for both of us.  eddie, david's mom, joined us on vacation, and we had a super time relaxing together!

our flights there were all great, and it began raining while we were in puerto rico on a layover waiting to fly to the d.r.  the rain stopped momentarily while we were going through customs in the d.r., but as soon as we stepped foot on the resort it came down in buckets...and then the wind began.  after escaping to our room we turned on the weather channel and learned were were in the middle of tropical storm fay.  before we left my mom had warned us a storm was coming, but i told her not to rain on my parade--if i didn't know about rain, my beach would stay perfectly sunlit!  ahh, ignorance is bliss.  according to the weather channel, it was supposed to stay cloudy and rainy for the next three days.  we unpacked and then sat in bed watching seinfeld re-runs in spanish.  i was imagining returning to the states looking as white as when i'd left it, getting wet while walking in the rain instead of in the ocean, and spending hour after hour watching tv instead of fish.  i was not a happy camper.  but we woke up the next morning and voila--sun, ocean waves, humidity, and more sun!!  let the vacation begin!! 

on sunday david and i grabbed a taxi and ventured in to the city of la romana for church.  i wish i'd taken a photo of the building.  it reminded me of brasil--the wall around the building, barbed wire, grates on the windows, etc.  and the people were just as warm as brasilians.  the spanish on the island is "lazy"--i had a hard time understanding it and translating into "portunol"--a mix between purtuguesa e espanola.  it was a fun outing, and we're glad we went. 

(photos are in no particular order)  here's the clear water.  nothing like the brown atlantic of delaware and bethany beaches where i went growing up.  we spent a lot of time snorkeling and saw not only a ton of fish, but 2 octipus (octipi?), a family of squid, eels, stingrays, and clams.  the water was churned up from fay, but there were times of the day (probably coinciding with the tide) where the water was clearer. 
we went on a day trip to a neighboring island, catalina.  these were little boats on the beach before we boarded our speedboat to take us to catalina.  we also did a pit stop on a river boat and a little village on a hill.  the village is actually a resort, and was originally built as a movie set!  
i love those modern art paintings of shades of greys and blues striped across the canvas.  i don't think i captured the same feeling here with this photo, but i tried.
the view from our resort alcove.  i love the white boats on the water.
you know you're somewhere good when you see palm trees around you!
david and eddie snorkeling the morning of our last day there.  they wanted to try and see one more octipus.
here's the view while we were kyaking.  
eddie found this spot for a beautiful photo.  this is at the city/set from our day trip.  i know it doesn't seem like it, but we both have pretty good tans at this point:.)
eddie overlooking the river from the city/set.
on the boat ready to leave catalina island.

overall i'd say our vacation was a hit.  we did a lot of reading, snorkeling, sitting on the beach, and enjoying the sun.  our ride home wasn't as smooth as the ride there.  our flight leaving the d.r. was delayed about 2 hours, so we missed all our subsequent connections.  we were supposed to have arrived home friday night at 1130, making it in time for the triathlon saturday morning.  fate would have it otherwise.  once we finally made it to puerto rico, we got re-routed to bwi and dulles.  the earliest flight coming back to utah would land at 10am on saturday.  so we flew from puerto rico to bwi, got a shuttle to dulles, and my mom picked us up at 2am so we could sleep at her place before catching our flight to slc the next morning at 745.  my dad was visiting byu for education week (and stayed at our place while we were gone--thanks for taking care of our birds, dad!), so he picked us up on saturday and we visited until he left for his flight around 230.  

we were really disappointed that we missed the tri, but really glad to have finally made it home.  now we are spending this week "reacclimating" to life. 

2nd place citizen standing

david participated in the sundance hill climb yesterday!  this is a race for licensed cyclists competing for a cash prize, as well as recreational riders classified as "citizen riders".  david has worked really hard this year to get in shape, and getting back on his road bike has been his favorite part.

the race began at the entrance to sundance canyon, right off the highway, and the riders climbed a total of 8.2 miles and 2,800 vertical feet of elevation to the top.  david completed the climb in his best time of 55 minutes.  he won a 2nd place medal for his age category (recreational riders don't get cash prizes).

there were a couple of official teams racing--it was really neat to see them in matching jerseys and riding shorts--and they all had shaved their legs!!  david felt left out as one of the only guys without shaved legs.    

my little brother: an amendment requested by my mom

my mom commented to me by email* i didn't post enough photos of me with my little brother in my post about my brothers.  "don't you remember you were like his little mother?"  she asked.  i doubt jon erik checks our blog (i know, it is pretty lame), but here's an amendment post just for him!

jon erik was born 5 days before i turned 3.  my mom had him at home, in her bedroom in our townhouse on _____ way in ______ virginia**.  christian and i were present for the whole labor.  my grandparents were there and kept shuttling christian and me to the bathroom to wash our feet because there was newspaper all over the bedroom floor.  my mom was so focused during the whole labor--my dad made me go over and rub her leg in support and love, but i remember feeling very embarrassed to do so as i was a very, very, very shy child.  but i did, and i don't think my mom noticed--she was too busy breathing (she has since told me she does remember me sucking my thumb and giving her support).  as far as my almost-three-year-old memory goes, the whole labor was pretty quick, and i remember feeling like we were a part of something exciting and special (i think due to that experience my parents never had to field a "where do babies come from" question).  i was so amazed with the whole process and loved my little brother the minute he made an appearance into the world.  the midwife cleaned him up and wrapped him in a blanket and put a sock hat on his head.  the first thing i did was give him a kiss on his head.  christian told me i shouldn't do that because i might hurt him.  i immediately dubbed jon erik my pseudo baby and as my mom said, i became his little mother.  we did everything together growing up.    
while christian was at school, jon erik and i played school at home.  i think this was actually when i was in am kindergarten, but after i got home i taught jon erik everything i learned that morning.  this must have been a "music day" when we made our very own guitars and strummed like rock stars.  i have always loved jon erik's sense of individual fashion--he was born with this fashion gene and always put things together no one else would think of.  here's an example:  duck suspenders and flannel plaid.  in the summer it was a bathing suit and the 80s moon snow boots.    
here we are in the early spring or fall of 84, i think.  my mom always kept my hair cut really short growing up (to help diffuse the confusion that i was in fact a girl with a boys name?...just kidding...i LOVE my name--maybe some day i'll devote an entire post to my name...wouldn't that be exciting?)--this was the first time i could put my hair up in pigtails.  there i am, holding on to jon erik like always.   
in our spare time we played dress ups.  jon erik was a good sport--from barrettes to shoes.
after the townhouse we moved into a house with a long private drive that was perfect for playing on.  we shared the drive with our nextdoor neighbors, whose part of the drive went up a tiny hill/incline.  the neighbor girls had the coolest 80s toys (my little ponies, strawberry shortcake big wheels, frogger mini-arcade game, he-man and she-ra toys, glo-worms, light bright, etc)--jon erik and i loved taking the big wheel out for a spin.  he'd latch on to me like a sloth and we'd start at the neighbor's garage at the top of this incline, and see how far we could go down the hill without pedaling.  ahhh, those were the days.  

* the irony of this is that my mom doesn't believe in blogs--she thinks it makes it easier for terrorists and stalkers to find us.  maybe i should privatize the blog?  i don't know...i don't think i have enough presence in the world to make the bad guys want to find me.  

**mom called and told me i shouldn't put places and names on here.  so i deleted them.

happy 4th

david and i had our four year anniversary on june 19th, but the 4th of july weekend was our first free weekend to do something fun to celebrate it.  we had a gift certificate to the blue boar inn in midway burning a hole in our pockets, so we spent it in style.  friday night we had a very fancy dinner at the inn, went to the midway memorial hill to watch the fireworks, and then back to the inn for cream puffs and a fancy room for the night.  the next morning we got up early for a hot air balloon ride over heber valley.  our digital camera's batteries died in the middle of the fireworks, so we had to use a disposable camera for our balloon ride.  i picked up a "highly versatile" camera, thinking  it would cover all lighting, indoor/outdoor, etc....david later told me "versatile" is the marketing way of saying "not specialized in anything"...in other words, the photos are grainy, and obviously not digital.  ha! oh well!

stretching out the balloon to get it ready to inflate.  we had a total of 10 people riding in the basket!  the pilot brought his wife and two kids, a couple that were friends of the pilot, another couple going for the ride, and us.  

inflating the balloon with a fan to get it open enough to add the gas.





up in the air!  david and i are both kind of iffy when it comes to heights, but the ride was so smooth, and the pilot so competent we felt safe.  pilot's tip: look out, not down.



while we were floating over the valley the pilot told us the history of ballooning.  it started in the mid-18th century with a duck, a sheep, and a rooster.  scientists at that time weren't sure if there was oxygen 50 feet straight up, so they decided to test the first official balloon flight with these three unfortunate guinea pigs.  fortunately, they survived, and the ballooning continued.  here we are at around 1,000 feet! (and still breathing)




here we are coming in for the landing.  you can see our shadow over the buildings.  it was interesting--we would float one way at one altitude, and another way at another altitude.  the pilot definitely knew what he was doing, and we landed exactly where he had planned.



getting the balloon dropped down to he ground, and getting the air out of it.  it's called "milking" the balloon.

this was definitely a great way to spend an anniversary!  we are very excited for our plans over the next year and feel very blessed to be working together to move forward.  we love our life together!

surprise trip to baltimore

this is my favorite photograph of my grandfather.  it was taken at my wedding in 2004.  my grandpa turned 80 a couple of weeks ago and decided to throw an outdoor bbq to celebrate with friends and family.  my two brothers and i flew in especially for the party--and especially for a surprise!  my grandparents weren't expecting us to come, and were so surprised when they saw all three of us get out of the car in front of their house.  don't you love surprises like that?!


laughing with my brothers: good.  

the three of us scrunching in the back of a truck: bad.

humidity: bad.

the whole family eating breakfast together: good.

my mom always being the photographer and not being in photos with us: bad.

eating at golden corral: questionable....

seeing cousins after 5 years: good.

spending 2 nights and 3 days without my husband: bad (that's the first time we've spent time apart in our 4 years of marriage, and neither of us enjoyed it at all!)

humidity: bad.

making egg salad for the party: good.

finding a double yoke: even better!  double good luck, right?!  (see how excited i am below)

watching jon erik do tricks on dad dad's scooter: good.

watching jon erik do tricks on dad dad's scooter in a snorkling mask: hilarious.

watching jon erik do tricks on dad dad's scooter in an old 80s short short swimsuit: bad.

party time!!  crab soup, salads, fruit, hamburgers and hot dogs, pies: good.

styling my hair and wearing make up in the humidity: bad.

humidity: bad.

here's the closest we've gotten to a family reunion in a long time!  the whole family above and just the cousins with our grandparents below. 



taking a dip in the cool, refreshing pool: good.

humidity: bad.

getting the cake ready: good.





we got to spend time with my mom and dad, too, which was nice.  jon erik and i flew in on friday and had dinner with our dad.  christian felt left out (he flew in on a redeye the next morning) so we scheduled another time to see our dad: early sunday morning for breakfast.  it was great for all three of us to be together and spend individual time with our parents; it had been a year and a half since we'd all gotten together.   
me and my mom: good.

humidity: bad.  that isn't sunshine in the background, that's humidity.  yuck.


the trip was a smashing success, and we had a blast!  i have to say, it's much easier for me to acclimate to a dry climate than a humid one, although i grew up on the humid east coast!  i don't see myself voluntarily living in a humid climate again.  i also don't see myself voluntarily going on vacation without david--we've been spoiled in being together and love our time together.  next time he's coming with me--even if he has to be squished into my carry on bag.

cupcakes and croquet

i celebrated my birthday a couple of weeks ago with a good group of friends at the park.  we had some good snacks--watermelon, cupcakes, chocolate fondue for strawberries, and chex mix--and a good game of croquet.  i'd never played croquet before, but now i'm hooked.  

the week before my birthday i'd finished my crazy 15 credits in 7 weeks semester with straight a's (i was not expecting an a out of epidemiology, but it came true--what a nice birthday gift!), and the week of my birthday i spent with no commitments.  it was very nice!  i couldn't have asked for a better birthday week than one of no commitments!  

blood brothers

meet christian and jon erik, my brothers.  i didn't grow up with sisters to teach me how to do girly stuff like hair or make up and shave my legs, and there was no sister talk about boys and dates, and no sister's shoulder to cry on about being made fun of or called names because i had a boy name...but did i feel like i missed out on anything? nope! i grew up with two awesome brothers who taught me survival (and my mom taught me the other girl stuff). with one brother older and one younger, i fell comfortably into the middle of brother adventures and being-the-only-girl-so-i-get-a-different-sort-of-attention.  i have to say, after all the debates, bets, and challenges, i am fairly certain i am my mom's favorite child, simply because i am her only daughter (being blonde probably helps, too).  exploring and "getting into scrapes" was much more fun than being girly, let's say dating was a learning experience for me (there were no brothers to beat up the first kiss--i think they didn't want to think about their sister dating anyone, so they stayed out of that picture)--most boy/girl talk was christian asking me what girls meant when they said abc or did xyz, and i got called my fair share of names at home (i eventually learned crying just wasn't worth it). we made it through an unstable childhood of every-other-weekend visits and holidays, an emotional adolescence of growing up too fast, and now we're exploring adulthood within cell-phone reach of each other.





this is halloween, 1983. this is what we look like when mom's in charge of costumes--a clown and a mouse. i won first place for funniest costume from the herndon parks and recreation center where we paraded around. here we are 20 years later, halloween 2003, what we look like when we are in charge of our costumes. christian agreed to display his svelte legs dressed up in my waitressing outfit from when i worked at baby's, a 50s diner, and i was a bunch of grapes.  i don't remember any awards that year.  our favorite halloween activity was playing black jack or poker with our halloween candy. christian and i aren't dressed up in swim gear for halloween, but i love this photo all the same--it says 'just try and take out this brother-sister team'!



one thing i will never understand is how jon erik grew to be bigger, taller, buffer, scarier, and in-the-marines-ier than all of us. he was such a cute little brother!





we were the best of friends growing up. our birthdays are 5 days apart (and 3 years), so we always celebrated them together as though we were twins.  jon erik and i always teamed up against christian for everything (christian was always the conniving bad guy). even so, we rarely defeated christian's tricky wilyness. jon erik was so sweet and innocent. i remember tricking him once into believing i was running out of oxygen, and i couldn't breathe. of course he wanted to help me so i told him to go get me leaves from a plant that i could more deeply inhale the oxygen from. ahhh, the sweet little boy complied. i dare say he wouldn't fall for that now. he's been to iraq and back twice with the marines, works with marine machinery, and holds marine guns. yeah, i don't think i'll be tricking that little guy anymore.





my heroes. jon erik saved me from boredom growing up, and christian was always my fall-back date (halloween parties, weddings, office parties). christian is quite the dancer. he's made up a number of his own moves and makes us all laugh (i'm sure that's what wooed robin--my wonderful *sister*-in-law).

this was jon erik's favorite napping spot--on the bookshelf next to the world book encylopedias. 

don't you love this sign?!  we made a fort in the woods behind our dad's house one weekend and there were a couple of boys who wanted to take it from us.  so we declared an all-out war on them.  the only problem was that they lived there and we were there only every other weekend, so in the end i think they did end up with the fort.

i love the fashion.  one of the best parts of having an older brother is that i got all his hand-me-downs...i'm glad that phase didn't last very long.

this is a great photo, too.  jon erik looks very 007 daniel craig and christian looks like he just got married.  it's few and far between we get to hang out anymore--we grow up and lives take us elsewhere.  i love looking through our photo albums and remembering the good old times.  these are two guys i will fiercely defend until the end.  i know, i know, you guys don't need to tell me--i'm your favorite sister. 

seven-sector call-out

last week i was called a "seven-sector call-out".  i wasn't sure what my reaction should be, as this was coming from an older, married man (the husband of a woman i visit teach).  i sort of laughed and asked him for a definition.  he said, "essentially, it means your beauty stands out across galaxies."  wow!  i can live with that!  i've never thought of myself as particularly pretty, especially galaxy pretty, but this new title was sort of growing on me.  i very politely told him he was sweet, and that i would make david herald my every entrance with said title.  when i got home i told david he was married to a seven-sector call-out, and that he should feel like the luckiest guy on earth--no--across galaxies!  

we decided to google the term, and found some interesting results.  this is apparently a title thrown around by sci-fi-ites, trekkies, and galaxy beings with names like zelgadis, sylphiel, and langelin.  then i did an image search.  check this out for some of the "galatically hot women" of star trek...believe me, i was not visiting teaching in that silver number (fifth one down on the left).  after viewing a few more images of the star trek babes, i decided beauty was in the eye of the beholder...

health and safety day at ups

ups had their health and safety awareness fair yesterday, and as david is on the committee, we thought we should make an appearance.  here was one of the signs hanging up in the plant.  it made me laugh because i've met (and...(cough, cough)...treated) a few boxes that look like very unwelcome guests of honor.

this guy might be able to handle this box on his own if he were lifting with his knees instead of his back.  you know, get stuff in the power zone...
here's where david clocks in every day.  the board to the right of him is filled with pictures of drivers and trucks who weren't safe while on the job.  there were some pretty bad wrecks posted on the board!  there were also stats from the day and week before to motivate all the drivers to reach their best potential of saving the world one box at a time.

here's where david takes his "coffee" break.  i think david is really pushing the hot cocoa button.
here's the flame truck.  this is what they drive around during parades.  wouldn't you feel pretty special delivering boxes in this thing?!  i know i would.  i suggested the committee should use this truck as incentive to get guys to drive safer.  you know, let the safest driver from one month drive it around for deliveries on the first day on the next month, and so on.  david looked at me and started laughing.  he said that would be a punishment; the truck has over 700,000 miles on it, it's unreliable, it's small and wouldn't fit the box load for delivery no matter how light the load that day.  so then i suggested they make it the punishment truck for the least safe driver.  we'll see what happens after the next safety meeting! 

all about the birds

david hates these kind of posts because "it's not like the birds are our kids, michal!"...but a few of you have been asking about our birds, so i thought it'd be fun to do some bird hollywood videos.  i had posted a video with tumnus earlier in the month, but when i listened to it i realized you couldn't hear tumnus at all.  so i got some new film...i hope y'all enjoy our little birds!   

this is lucy's favorite perch in the bathroom.  when we take a shower, or if i'm in there doing my hair and make up, she loves to get in the corner and nap.  it's like pavlav's effect--when the bathroom fan goes on, she goes in the corner to sleep.  she also has a very sweet disposition.  she's still in the baby mode where she'll puff up her feathers and look super cute. when i was sick a few months ago i had gone into the bedroom to sleep and left the birds out in the kitchen area on their cage.  i fell asleep with one hand under my head.  when i woke up i found lucy sitting on the pillow next to my head and one little claw holding one finger, like she was saying, "it's ok, i'm here."  we keep their wings clipped, now, so she had made quite the trek from her cage to our bedroom in order to be with me.  such a sweet bird.  

tumnus, on the other hand, is a brat.  he'll squawk until he gets what he wants.  he likes to squawk during the entire shower.  either that or pass the time blowing his beak.  he has this really weird habit, like he's trying to blow his "nose."  he's always been like that.  when i took him to the vet i asked her if his sinuses were impacted, and she said he was completely clear, and the blowing thing is just his way of interacting with the world.  we've noticed he'll "blow" more when david and i are laughing (like it's his way of joining in on the fun and laughter), or when we are blowing our noses.  he'll give his own little blow if he sees us grab a tissue.  i've tried to capture it on film, but it's really quiet.  i also caught some bath time.

bio sheet

a teacher passed out this bio sheet in class today so she could get to know us. it's from one of the american express ads you see in magazines, where they interview mega famous stars about personal details. so here i go fan club...what would you write to your fan club?

• my name michal coombs.
• childhood ambition i wanted to be a famous writer whose pieces of authored art (poetry and prose) would be required reading in high school english classes and subjected to analytical papers, discussion groups, and highlighted in barnes & noble as a classic.
• fondest memory i loved going to my grandparent's every summer and making lunch meat sandwiches. this doesn't sound very spectacular, i know, but it was a treat to open the fridge and have a choice of 5 different lunch meats, 3 different cheeses, ice berg lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, and my choice of rye, pumpernickel, or white bread (these were all items absent from my childhood home). i loved the smell of lunch meat, produce, and bread. like i said before, it was a treat, odd as that sounds.
• soundtrack npr.
• retreat ocean.
• wildest dream living internationally as an ex-pat.
• proudest moment seeing my dad look so proud and pleased of me on my wedding day; finishing 3rd place for my age group in my first triathlon; getting an a- in chemistry two years after failing it; having a 3.92 gpa.
• biggest challenge not feeling inferior to everyone when i walk into a room.
• if i won a million dollars 1st- school loans, 2nd-travel, 3rd-invest/save.
• alarm clock 530am.
• first job 14 years old-bagel cafe, food prep (followed by burger king, wendy's, weis markets, nanny in italy, page "polisher" at a yearbook publishing plant, waitress at baby's, telemarketer, waitress at the york inn and restaurant, italian teacher at the community college of baltimore county, temp secretary, medical assistant at generations family prcatice, medical assistant at dr. call's (rheumatologist), medical assistant at utah valley pediatrics).
• the one job i would be willing to do without pay mother.
• indulgence sleeping in.
• last cool purchase art in florence, oregon.
• favorite movie i prefer books.
• inspiration starting over every day.
• perfect day sunny, warm, good book/outdoor activity, my husband.
• most important thing in my life husband.
• my life is well.

why rice and beans is my favorite protein

o meu brasil: september 2001-april 2003.

here's the brasilian national anthem--scroll down to the bottom and play the "lyric" button to listen to while reading this entry. it makes me get teary-eyed.

this month is the 5-year mark since i've been home from brasil, where i served an lds mission. i can't believe it's been 5 years already! i served in the sao paulo interlagos mission--the city was divided into 4 regions: north, south, east, and interlagos (the western corner). i served in 4 areas (itapeva, varginha, cotia, and ibiuna), had 6 companions (missionaries always travel in twos, called a companionship), had three nametags, learned some of the greatest lessons of my life in a short 18 months, and fell in love with the portuguese language and brasilian culture. i had one american companion for a short 6 weeks; all the rest were brasilian, which is what i wanted--if i was with a brasilian companion i would be fully immersed in the language, culture, and idiosyncrasies and learn faster. i was actually very surprised to have been called to serve in brasil. to serve a mission, you fill out a few papers, mail them in to church headquarters, and 3-4 weeks later a big white envelope is mailed back, telling you where you're going to go. one form you fill out describes your education, languages, places lived, etc. by that point in my life, i had lived in italy, learned italian, and taught it as a night course for the community college of baltimore county. i was pretty set on returning to italy for a mission. but i had other things to learn, and wouldn't have learned them in any other arena--brasil was perfect for me!

a missionary is supposed to wear his/her nametag at all times. the first one i received with my mission packet was for "elder markanich", because my first name is michal. i phoned the church mission office and they told me to get a new nametag at the training center in brasil. so my second nametag correctly said "sister markanich". my third nametag was in tribute to my nickname i gained down there, "sister loira" (pronounced loy-rah). in portuguese loira means blond/fair. my hair is very blond, and only gets blonder in the sun. by the end of my mission my hair was practically white. i had an elder buddy who was serving in the office when i ended my mission, and he agreed to make me a new sister loira nametag for my farewell interview with the mission president, and to wear home.
i left two weeks after 9/11 (i was very worried i would be postponed or sent somewhere else to serve my mission), and spent 2 months in the "centro de treinamento missionario"--the training center for missionaries in sao paulo. it was a very long two months of intense language learning and how-to-be-a-missionary learning.























i was "stationed" in itapeva for an unusual 9 months. itapeva is in the "interior"--into the western countryside and out of the city. i guess you typically stay in an area 4-5 months before being "transferred," or moved to another area, with another companion. transfers happened every 6 weeks, and if you were being transferred you and your companion went to the city center, met up with your new companion, and moved to your new area. some moves were definitely more emotional than others. so in itapeva, i was with my brasilian trainer, sister martins (pronounced mar-cheens) for 5 months. she went home and sister stubbs (american) and i were companions for 6 weeks. at that point i was going to be transferred somewhere else, they just didn't know where. so i got to the city, and they ended up sending me back to itapeva to train sister alves. after about 3 1/2 months i was finally, officially transferred from itapeva to varginha--right in the heart of the city.






















i loved varginha from the start. it was near the city center and was busy, bustling, lights and music at night, street vendors with grilled corn, coconut drinks, and "sanduiches", smiles everywhere. by far, varginha was my favorite area and i had a great companion--sister leite (pronounced lay-chee). by this point my portuguese was good enough people thought i was a brasilian from the south (germans settled in the south, so it wasn't unusual to find blond haired, fair-skinned brasilians down there). i had a good time telling them i was from "virginia", which was located just up north. sister leite and i were there for 5 months, and then we were both transferred and the area was closed to sister missionaries due to safety concerns.





















sister santos and i "re-opened" granja viana, located near cotia, for sister missionaries. sisters hadn't been there for a while. everyone in brasil loves missionaries, but they especially love sister missionaries, so we got a very nice welcome. it was just 2 weeks before christmas, and the ward was very welcoming. this area actually had a ward, not just a branch, and they were so excited to have two sets of missionaries--elders and sisters. i had more of a culture shock going to this area than entering brasil for the first time. varginha was a very poor area where mostly everyone left at 4am to catch a bus for their jobs as maids. granja viana was the area where people employed the maids. huge, gated communities with huge american houses. there was a walmart-like shopping center right down the road from our apartment, which was a huge shock, after having grocery shopped in small corner stores for the last 12-15 months. there was a poorer section to our area, too, and i felt more comfortable there.















i thought i was going to end my mission in granja viana, but there was a surprise transfer for me--with only 5 weeks left, i was sent to ibiuna to be with sister carvalho (pronounced car-vall-yoh). it was kind of an odd situation--i was kind of an odd sister out. we were together for 2 weeks, and then sister tua'one was coming to join us, whom sister carvalho was going to train. a senior couple, elder and sister nelson, were also joining us, and i was supposed to work with them to teach them portuguese, and "train" them. so while they learned rudimentary portuguese the first 3 weeks of their mission, i re-learned english the last 3 weeks of mine. ibiuna was back out in the country, and it was nice to see the rolling hills again and fresh air.


so what have i been doing since i've been home? i worked at a family practice back in virginia when i got home (they "saved" my position for me) until i moved out to utah to be with david so we could date in person; david and i got married june 19, 2004; i worked at a rheumatology office for 3 years in orem; i have worked at a pediatric office for the last 3 years (i worked at both offices for about a year 1/2); i will graduate with my bs in community health in december 2008 (finally--my ten-year bachelor!). that's about it. my portuguese is a little rusty. i still read my book of mormon in portuguese, but that's all. i miss rice and beans (i can't seem to make it quite like it was in brasil); pao de queijo; peruas stuffed beyond a legal limit; sun; putting -inho on the end of words (it's a suffix tacked on when you want express something is very cute, or very small, or the poor little thing, etc.)--bonitinho, baixinho, tadinho, etc.; hanging my clothes in the sun to dry; speaking, thinking, breathing portuguese.
thanks for being a little nostalgic with me!

tagged

ok, so jenny tagged me.  here's what i am supposed to do:

1. grab the nearest book 

2. turn to page 123

3. find the 5th sentence

4. post said sentence on your blog

so, i have three books here by the computer: 1. the bluest eye by toni morrison, 2. bless me, ultima by rudolfo anaya, and medical anthropology in ecological perspective by mcelroy & townsend.  i think the 3rd book is the most interesting, and here's what pg 123 line 5 has to say:

"The practice of cannibalism of dead relatives at funerals among the fore of paupa new guinea, which began around 1910, turned out to be maladaptive due to the chance introduction of a pathogen that contaminated the tissues consumed by women at these funerals."  

the tally is in: hotels are more comfortable than yurts

so we survived our road trip--super long and super fun road trip.  quick recap: 

number of cities we stopped in overnight: 7 (reno nv, brookings or, florence or, newport or, seattle wa, butte mt, billings mt)

estimated number of miles we drove: 2, 925

estimated amount spent on gas: $409.50

number of nights in a yurt: 1

number of meals cooked while camping: 2

number of hotels stayed in: 4

number of days we had sunshine: 3 or 4 out of 8

number of books on cd we listened to while driving: 3 (bless me, ultima; the golden compass; the subtle knife)

number of sand dollars beachcombed: 7

ok, enough of that--let's get to the photos!

this was in crescent city, or, when we first reached the coast.  we had just come out of the winding roads through the redwoods and were carsick, and this was the best place to pull over.  we smelled the salty sea air, the ocean wind on our faces, felt the sea mist--it was perfect!  the first thing we did was run to the ocean, david plunged his hand in the water and we licked the water residue to make sure it really was the salty ocean and not just a really big lake we'd driven to.  off-season for swimming, but it was fun to walk along the beach with the ocean wind at our backs.
here's the long-awaited for yurt.  outside and inside photos.  our first stop along the coast: brookings, or.  as far as camping goes, this is the most comfortable i've been.  the campground was just up the hill from the beach--maybe a 2 minute walk.  as you can see, the yurt came fully equipped with lights, a space heater, a futon, bunk beds, a couple chairs, and a table.  the showers and toilets were located in the "community outhouse" area about 50 yards away from our yurt.  don't worry, there was a girl and boy side, and everything was very private.  david could even do the dishes in the shower the next morning without fear of being seen or intruded on!  the park attendant told us further north near coos bay there were deluxe yurts!--kitchen area, toilet, and shower all included in the yurt.  we were excited to try one of those out, but by the time we got to the park it was raining cats and dogs, it was super wet and cold, and the campground only had regular yurts available.  we decided it was too wet to cook and camp (i know...whimps!), so we kept on driving to florence, or. and stayed in a bed and breakfast.


this is cape blanco lighthouse.  it was on the road between brookings and florence.  this photo doesn't do justice--it was raining so hard and the wind was at least 50-70mph, so the rain came at us sideways and felt like bullets!  we could hardly push open the car doors to get out of the car.  david jumped straight up into the air and landed about 2 feet in front of where he had originally jumped from--all from the wind. 
driftwood on the florence beach.  well, more like a drifttree.  we loved florence, or.  we weren't even planning on staying there, but we ended up having a much better vacation because we didn't stick with our plans and went where the rain blew us.  florence is a little artist alcove, has the best beachcombing beach, the nicest folks, and the best seafood restaurant anywhere!  we stayed at a cute little bed & breakfast, and the owner suggested we eat dinner at the waterfront depot.  the atmosphere is amazing--it feels like a quaint, intimate living room, has a new york city buzz about it, the most amazing menu, and prices that can't be beat.  we had an appetizer, soup and salad (the most amazing clam chowder ever--i need to master that recipe!), main entrees, shared a dessert, and the bill was $40.  the most expensive thing on the menu was the surf 'n turf at $13.50.  they obviously make their money from the drinks at the bar; as we don't drink, we escaped with a pretty good bill!  if you ever go near the state of oregon, you HAVE to go to the waterfront depot--it's worth the drive from whichever part of oregon you are in. 
this is outside the sea lion caves between florence and newport.  one of our bright, sunny days, as you can see.  so we're standing above the cave right now.  you pay to ride an elevator down 250 ft, right into the heart of the cave, and listen to all the sea lions down on the rocks.  it was amazing!  there was a skeleton found in the early 1800s by an explorer; the sea lion skeleton isn't dated, but they've obviously been coming to this cave for a long time.

this is the view from the cave looking outside.  i couldn't get over how rough and frothy the ocean is along this rocky coast.  i am used to the east coast beaches of delaware and maryland--long stretches of golden sand, brownish greenish waves with a couple crests before rolling into the beach.  on this coast, the waves crashed while still 100 yards away from the beach, and kept right on crashing, creating an ocean of rough white waves.  
the next three photos are of the tidal pools in newport, or beach.  we went beachcombing during negative tide, and so we could go really far out along the rocks and look for starfish and other marine life.  ironically, much of what we found in the tidal pools was the exact same marine life on display in the oregon coast aquarium in newport!




these photos are in the aquarium.  in the above photo we are standing in a real live prehistoric shark jaw.  the guy taking the photo said to look scared, but he took so long taking it that david looks like he's just kind of laughing at me and i look like i'm searching for cavities.  below is an example of the original diving hats!  

we finally made it to seattle!  christian and robin took us on a spectacular night tour of the city, as we arrived fairly late, and we think we got the best view of the city this way!  we loved seeing the lights across the bay.
this is the troll who guards the bridge.  he's smashing a car in his left hand.

the next morning they took us to the market--it was sooo cool to walk up and down the old brick roads and see all the fresh fruit, smell the flowers, look at jams and chocolates, watch the cheesemakers (photo below), and eat freshly fried doughnuts.  seattle is a very busy city!  it's sort of like the busyness of new york, the tiny roads of europe, the eclectic beatnik feel from the 60s all rolled into one city with major roads and bridges and water all intertwined.  




from seattle we traveled on to billings to see david's family.  i don't know why i didn't pull my camera out in mt, but the fruit stands in seattle is where our photos stop.  

on the road to billings we finished the golden compass and began the subtle knife, the first two books in the dark materials trilogy.  philip pullman presents interesting concepts, but neither of us felt attacked as christians.  i thought his ideas were very similar to madeleine l'engle, whose works i devoured as an adolescent.  overall, they were very intriguing and it kept us awake while we were driving.  

in billings we had a bbq with all the cousins and aunts and uncles, and it was great to catch up with everyone.  we also drove all around town looking at potential neighborhoods we'd like to live in when we move there, and found out msu-b has potential to accept david as an in-state student to finish his bachelor's, which is promising news.  we still need to call and get specific information, but we feel very hopeful about being able to move in the next 12-18 months.  we're excited to keep moving forward!!    

yurt dream come true

in my other life i was a dreamer, i wasn't very grounded, and when i grew up i wanted to be a nomadic pastoralist in kyrgyzstan. what most intrigued me about this profession was living in a yurt.
here i am, 10years later, and my dream is coming true!! david and i are taking a pretty big road trip, and we are going to be sleeping in yurts along the way. we are leaving saturday after i get off work and we're heading west--yep, that's right--toward the coast! once we get in the sight and smell of salty ocean air we're going to head north along the oregon coast. we plan on packing our camping stove, sleeping bags, and non-perishable food, and we'll sleep in yurts conveniently located 1/4 of a mile from the beach in various state parks along the way. during the day we will beach comb, whale watch, take a tour of the tillamook cheese factory, and eventually make it up to seattle, to visit my brother and sister-in-law. after a seafood fest in seattle we'll make the 12-hr trek to billings, mt to visit david's parents for a couple of days.
i can't believe all the good things we're getting next week--the ocean, seafood, family, and yurts!!

WHAT?!

definitely the weirdest headline i've seen this week! how do you miss that one?!

inspiration

there is a family in our church who has had a very touching experience. their son and daughter-in-law had a baby a few weeks ago with many health issues. they knew he would enter this life with these issues and chose to go full-term and offer him life (however short) rather than abort early on. check out their blog to learn more about their experience and how they relied on God to understand this experience, and the knowledge that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings eternal families.

what's your super power?

i've recently discovered my own, personal incredible super power. even though i was born with this power, i had no idea of its potency, much less its presence in my life, until david pointed it out a few weeks ago. now i see it everywhere i go. it's almost become a curse. here are some photos of me growing up; let's see if you spy my super power:

in the top photo i am 13 months old, in the bottom probably 3 or 4. i think my super power is much more visible in the bottom photo, simply because there is an obvious glowing difference between me and the rest of my family. the unbelieving might blame genetics. here are a couple more examples, then you can tell me if you agree with genetics or super power:


the top photo is from when i was a nanny in italy. i spent every day watching the kids on the beach. the sun definitely adds strength to my super power. as you can see in the middle photo of christian and me, however, the sun doesn't work in the same way, even on blood relations. this photo was taken after christian had gotten back from his lds mission to italy, where he'd spent time walking around in the sun all day every day. i, meanwhile, had been home from italy for about 9months, and was living in central pa at the time. my power was still outshining his. the last photo on the bottom is of my two brothers and me, taken maybe a week after i'd gotten home from my lds mission to brasil. it is so obvious here i think you have guessed it by now: i am blond. super blond. i have never colored, dyed, or even so much as highlighted my hair. the sun does that for me. i guess you could say i am like superman in that respect: i draw my strength from the sun.
i guess i never noticed this power before because it's what i've always had and always lived with. here's when this power was drawn to my attention: a few weeks ago david asked me to bring his work shoes to red wing to get them waterproofed for him. so after class i drove to the store and asked the guy to waterproof the boots. he gave them back to me in a box, all gelled up and ready to go. i thanked him for being so kind and went on with my day. when david got home and saw his boots super-gelled waterproofed, sitting in a box, we had a conversation that went something along these lines:
"he did this because you're blond!" david exclaimed.
i looked at him incredulously, "what? he's a really nice guy, david. i think he was just doing his job. i said thank you."
"he's never given me a box before! and these are like, super-gelled waterproofed! he's never done this nice of a job for me. it's because you're blond. this always happens!" he complained. this isn't the first time david has made this complaint. he often says "it's because you're blond", but i typically brush off the comment because i have no idea why he can't accept people simply being courteous or doing their job.
"what are you talking about?! i think you're acting a little insecure. there are a lot of other blond connotations out there, you know, none of which have to do with getting a good waterproofing job as far as i know. give me some more proof, then maybe i'll believe you."
david then proceeded to list a number of occurrences in which he saw my super power in action:

• whenever we go to a fast food restaurant, we always stand in line next to each other so we can order together. i usually order first, and rather than turning their attention to david, the cashier person (usually male) always then states the amount due. he doesn't even look at david; it's like he isn't even present. david has to interject and order for himself.
• david says guys are always looking at me when we go jogging together; i don't notice--i'm focused on breathing. he always thinks guys are hitting on me, too. i think they are just trying to strike up conversation.
  
• i was in line at the grocery store doing a produce run, so the conveyer belt was full of fruits and veggies. the guy in the line behind me was doing some "fit" promo, i think. he had about 15 "fit" bowls with fit-in strainers and the "fit" fruit and veggie wash. he starting talking to me about eating well and complimented me on my food choices. he then offered to give me a "fit" fruit and veggie washing kit for free. after my skeptical looks he explained there were no strings attached, and he put one in my cart and told the cashier lady to charge him for it.
• i always made really good tips as a waitress, got a lot of stares, and even got asked out once. would this have happened had i been brunette?
  
• when i was in italy and brasil i constantly got whistled and stared at. i was using the pay phone in italy once when a random guy walked up to me and told me i had stars in my eyes. i think he'd had a little too much vino...
• when i worked as david's runner over christmas, i got called honey, babe, gal, and was whistled, winked, and stared at.
• i was on my deathbed sick with the flu a couple weeks ago, and when i returned to school i was still coughing a little bit. i was sitting in the lunchroom, reading my textbook before class, and started to cough a little bit. no big deal. i happened to be sitting next to the cashier guys. one guy completely stopped traffic, literally knelt on one knee as though he was about to propose, wrapped an arm around the back of my chair and very earnestly asked if i was ok. he didn't leave until i'd explained i'd been sick, but i was fine now.
  

anyway, as david listed more and more items i realized i have been getting preferential treatment nearly my entire life--and i haven't even noticed it until now! this got me thinking: do i have a 3.9gpa because i'm blond and the majority of my professors have been male? have i always gotten the job on the spot because i'm blond and not because of my resume? i usually befriend guys before girls because they're easier to talk to...do i have friends only because i'm blond? did david marry me because i'm blond? after i posed this concern to him, david assured me that although he may have become my pen pal because i was blond, he married me because he'd fallen in love with me. phew.
so david thinks i have a super power that gives us more opportunities than if i were brunette or redhead. but even after all the examples he listed, i still have to put my two cents in. i mean, if you're blond, you also have the blond curse. all you natural blonds out there know what i'm talking about. when we wear make-up, we look natural. without make-up, we look dead. then there's the "blonds have more fun" stigma, and the "dumb blond" stigma. do people always envision greek goddesses as blond? i've always pictured athena as brunette, and aphrodite with flowing red tresses. i bet all the brunettes and redheads out there picture blond princesses in fairy tales.
if i've ever made anyone do something due to my power, i sincerely apologize. it was completely unwittingly. now that i am aware of this super power, i will definitely try to keep its effects to a minimum. i mean, i certainly don't want to go through life thinking it's just my hair and not me that's making a difference!

P.S. david has a super power, too (he was jealous i didn't include this earlier). legend has it he was getting his physical to begin working as a driver for ups. part of the exam included an eye test. the proctor asked him to stand behind a predetermined line and read the smallest line of letters possible. david cheerily responded, "ok, i'll read line 8." (who knows if it really was line 8, he can't remember, we just put that number in there to further the plot) the proctor disbelievingly replied, "what line?" you see, even though she was standing right next to it, she couldn't even see a line 8 with her simple 20/20 vision. david then proceeded to read without hesitation, backwards and forwards, every letter of the line perfectly. you see, folks, he has been gifted with 20/13 vision. genetics or super power? you decide.

rocca my world

we were first introduced to mo rocca while doing saturday morning errands and listening to npr's "wait wait...don't tell me!" radio gameshow program where you can win carl kassel's voice on your answering machine (!). mo was one of the commentators and we laughed every time. he has a dry, matter-of-fact way of stating the comically obvious.

we next saw him on food network's iron chef as a judge. as always, the amusingly dry comments, which seemed even funnier in this arena because he isn't a "foodie" like the rest of the judges are. he definitely made the show a little quirkier, which is an improvement.

we then met mo in person at uvsc last wednesday!! he came to little old uvsc (most likely on a connecting flight from somewhere to somewhere), and made us all laugh with how to be an expert in any field you so choose. a little political discussion on the presidential candidates was thrown in for good measure. david and i stood in line for a book signing after the program, and we were both very impressed by how approachable he is. neither of us have ever met a celebrity before, so we don't know how they really act, but mo seemed genuinely interested in talking with the people who were getting their books signed. he didn't seem like he was in a hurry, or thought it was annoying or boring. he gladly had girls kiss him on the cheek while taking pictures, shook hands, and personalized each book. way to go mo!

gordon b. hinckley

i remember hearing president kimball's scratchy voice; i don't actually remember much of president benson; president hunter served as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for such a short time.  i was 14 when president hinckley was sustained as president of the church.  but i was 17 when i knew for myself that he was, indeed, a prophet of God. 

 

i didn't want to go to college right after high school, and when i asked what i was supposed to do, the Lord told me to go to italy.  i contacted a family i had babysat for in virginia (they moved to italy for the dad's work), and they arranged for me to be a nanny for an italian family.  the first few weeks i was there were very difficult.  i was 17, had left home for the first time by going to a foreign country, didn't speak but a handful of italian words, and i felt incredibly alone.  i went to church, a small branch in la spezia, and during the relief society hour these feelings were magnified.  i didn't understand most of the language, and it was so exhausting trying to pick out the five words i knew.  the teacher wrote a scripture on the board and i looked it up.  it was doctrine & covenants 121:45-46.  i read it in english and began to get teary-eyed.  it made reference to having confidence in God, and having the constant companionship and comfort of the holy ghost--two things i felt like i needed very much at that point in time.  i looked up from reading the scripture and the teacher held up a picture of president hinckley.  

i remember president hinckley's eyes.  they were clear blue, warm, smiling, and extended that confidence and comfort i so desperately needed.  his eyes were the eyes of a prophet of God, i knew at that point.  since that moment his eyes and words have always been a source of great strength, revelation, direction, and confidence for me.  from him, i found progress and joy in temple work, energy and vision on my mission in brasil, and love and peace within our home every six months during general conference.    

president hinckley died last night in his home with his family at his bedside.  i imagine it was very peaceful, and that he felt confidence and comfort entering into the Lord's rest.  i imagine his eyes resting on Jesus the Christ on the other side of the veil, and that, somehow, offers me great confidence that my eyes will rest on Him, as well.  i hail president hinckley as a great prophet of God, and one who honored the Lord Jesus Christ with his heart, words, and actions.  

cross country tour

to celebrate the new year (and a day off!) david and i broke out the cross country skis.  we went to a little park up in south fork canyon and tromped off into the woods along a "groomed" trail.  groomed meaning others had been there before to cut through the 3 1/2 feet of snow, but as you can see in the first photo, that's about all that's been there.  we forgot our camera, so i took a few photos with our phone--i know, i know, it isn't national geographic or audobon, or anything, but they'll have to do. 

the trail was an uphill climb nearly the whole way, so it was quite a bit of work, but it was well worth it to have a chance to go through the winter wonderland and see so many wonderful sights.  i think i enjoyed getting back to the car the most--as going into the woods was nearly all uphill, leaving the woods was nearly all downhill!  now, i've never downhill skied before, and i don't expect to in this life for fear of breaking everything in my body and in those around me, so going downhill on cross country skis was quite the trip!  i tried a few little hills myself, with david waiting for me at the bottom to act as my brakes.  we then had the great idea to go downhill together!  i hugged david from behind, putting one ski-donned foot between his and the other on the outside, and clung on for dear life as he navigated us through a downhill torrent of trees, bridges, and streams whizzing by.  it was really quite fun!  i yopped a few times, we got a lot of grins from onlookers on their way up, and fell just a handful of times.  we made it to the car in one piece with just a few bruises.  definitely worth it! 

saving the world one box at a time: a recap of the week

number of days i was excited to work as a runner: 1
number of days i stuck to my exercise routine: 1.5
number of days i did the dishes and cleaned our house: 0
number of cities we worked in: 5 (orem, payson, spanish fork, cedar hills, pleasant grove)
number of trucks we worked in: 5 (3 different budget rentals, 2 different ups trucks)
number of snowstorms we delivered in: 1 (yeah--the storm with ice pellets whipping at you with 20mph winds)
number of times i bit the dust (ice): 1 (boy was that painful!)
number of times we got stuck in the snow: 1 (david was backing down a driveway and accidentally went off the driveway a little bit, which got us stuck on an incline before dropping off into a shallow ravine...we tried shoving weeds and our jackets under the tires to get us out, but that got us further stuck...good thing the owner of the house got home and let us use his chains to get out!)
number of milligrams of medication: 4320 (3000mg ibuprofen, 1320mg aleve)
number of times i had to catch myself from saying a bad word: mmm....probably 15-20
number of times i emphatically said "i hate boxes!": 1 (but i thought it a lot more than that!)
number of a's i got last semester: 5 (an a in all my classes!--my gpa raised from 3.85 to 3.91!)
number of dogs i encountered: 3 (all were nice)
number of times i washed the clothes i wore all week: 0 (don't worry, i did change my socks and underwear every day)
number of showers i took: 9-10
number of blisters: 2
number of boxes delivered and doors knocked on: no clue
number of times i will willingly and happily run for ups again: 0

don't let anyone tell you being a ups driver is exciting and fun and an easy job! i've learned firsthand what david goes through on a daily basis--at the end of it all, i have two things to say: 1. i am never doing it again, 2. whatever david wants, david gets. if i can make his life that much easier, i'm going to.

*amendment: david and i make a really good team, and we work really well together. we like each other and love each other, so we love to do things together. although i may not have completely enjoyed being a runner, i loved being able to hang out with david and work together.

mr. and mrs. ups

my semester ended last week, and this week i'm on call at the pediatric office just friday night and saturday morning. so david suggested i be his "runner" this week, and i agreed. i mean, how many wives get to go to work with their husbands in a ups truck?! to give some quick background: around christmastime the package volume seriously increases. to help the drivers be more efficient, ups hires part time driver "helpers", or runners, during this peak season. the runner's responsibility is to run the packages to the doors while the drivers prepare the other packages to go. it really expedites the process quite a bit. i've run with david for 3 days, and i have learned so much! so here it is--the complete inside look at the day of a ups driver.

first off, let me say my husband works so hard to provide for us. i mean, i always appreciated him and knew he worked hard, but let me reiterate, david works so hard. i have walked (somewhat) in his shoes, and i understand more about his job now. my love for him has exponentially increased, and i have a much deeper appreciation for all he does for us.

day 1: david and i worked out of a budget truck because there were more packages than there were ups trucks. ups rented nearly the entire budget fleet for the month of december. i started out dressing in many layers. i wore my running leggings, then jeans, and a long-sleeved shirt, a short-sleeved shirt, then my coat liner, then a ups brown jacket. i also had gloves, a scarf and hat, thick socks, and new water-proof shoes. david picked me up at 10am and by 11 i had stripped down to just jeans, the short-sleeved shirt and the ups jacket, and my hat. (david was nice enough to lock me up in the back of the budget truck to take off my leggings while he kept watch.) i've been having issues with my knees since the last triathlon i did at the end of august, so my knees were beginning to bother me by 1130, were seriously hurting by 2, and were debilitating by 4. i made david drop me off at home while he continued the route. i had cindy (my friend who conveniently happens to be a massage therapist) give me a pressure-point massage, to loosen up any tight tendons or muscles around my knees, which helped me feel better.

day 2: we had a real ups truck! i felt so much more official. david said it was a really, really good truck, too. it had only 5,000 miles on it, was a diesel, and was an automatic. the ride was pretty smooth. i also brought the ibuprofen with me to help out, but even after 1800mg, i was still hobbling and in tears because of the pain at the end of the day. we finished our route around 6 and then went to help another driver, so we got home around 8pm. we don't have a tub, just a standing shower, so i stood there with hot water on my knees, then crashed on the couch with a couple of ice bags. as david puts it, he carried the limp, zombie-like me to bed around 9pm. i slept for 10hours, but it only felt like 3.
here's the beginning of the day with the truck fully loaded:

here's my seat--a pull down seat nailed to the wall. my feet literally hung down the truck steps, but i was high enough up that my feet didn't touch the steps. we always kept my door open because it was faster to run in and out of the door that way, so the view for me was the asphalt rushing by.



here's david running a package for me because my knees couldn't do it. doesn't he look awesome?! here's me running towards the end of day 2--see me wincing?


day 3: we started out the day in a budget truck again, but then they brought a ups truck out to us and we reloaded the packages on that truck and kept going. our truck today was a little older, with 357,000 miles on it. it was also a gasoline manual, which david said are much harder to drive. i also brought prescription-strength ibuprofen with me, and had 1600mg. i was in pain, but not in tears, so i looked at that as an improvement. we also finished delivering 197 packages around 430, averaging 40 stops per hour, which is pretty good, according to david. it was overall a very light day for the whole plant. this year's peak doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as last year--i remember david didn't get home before 9pm last year.

ok, so i've learned a few things:
1. i've packed lunches for us, and lots of water, but i come home craving sugar. your body uses every glucose molecule and glycogen storage from every square inch of your body, so that even though we've eaten sandwiches, apples, granola bars, carrot sticks--all i am really wanting is a bag of oreos with a glass of whole milk. i know now why david comes home asking for "snacks," and when i tell him to have a healthy snack, it just doesn't cut it.
2. i know why david has huge callouses on the sides of his big toes. after day 2 i had football-sized blisters on my toes, and i am sure they will become callouses by the end of the week. today i got smarter and bought the "corn cushions" at walmart before we started delivering, which helped me feel a lot better.
3. staying warm is not an issue. nor is food. you don't really cool down unless you slow down, and slowing down is out of the question. we could squeeze in bites of food here and there, but your body is so hyped up on adrenaline and getting the job done that you just really aren't that hungry. but always have water nearby!
4. if you work in some sort of retail store and a ups guy comes in for you to sign his little diad verifying you received the boxes, will you please take the 2 seconds away from the customer you're helping and sign the dumb thing?! the customer wants you to hold their hand and walk them to the exact aisle or shelf looking for the item they desire, and that takes way too much time. i've asked the customers, they don't mind, trust me. they know ups guys are in a hurry, why don't you, retail people?!
5. while signing the diad, please just write your name. no drawings of trees, hearts, kitty cats, dogs. just your name. fast.
6. avon ladies, will you please go to wherever you need to go to to pick up your boxes of avon magazines instead of shipping 10 17-pound boxes through ups and making the ups people carry them across your frosty driveway and into your carport? honestly.
7. please do not gawk, stare, whistle or wink at, or call the blonde ups runner babe, honey, gal, dear, etc. i'm doing a job, just like the rest of the people dressed in brown. thank you. (although i must tell this story, as it's pretty amusing. when we went to help the other driver, we took about 15 packages off his truck to deliver for him. we were passing the boxes from truck to truck and the other driver said, "hey, david, does your wife know you're running with someone this cute?" we all had a good laugh when i told him my secret identity.)
8. do not call us the "chocolate santas".
9. why in the world would you order a 50-pound microwave in the mail? just go to target or walmart!
10. before calling and complaining to ups that you never received your package even though it's been listed as delivered, please search the entire premises. that includes your closet. today david had a follow-up ticket on a house that complained they never received their package. when david got there, the old lady told him she had forgotten she had indeed received her package, had brought it into her house, put it in her closet, and then draped towels all over it. she'd ordered another package from the store, so we had to take back the one she'd stored in her closet. thanks.
11. i love automatic opening doors. they are a great help when carrying 3 boxes at a time. i also love people who are courteous enough to hold the doors open for you. that really makes my day.
12. sometimes the computer is wrong. the computer told us to deliver a package at a certain address. david tried to find it, but here's where that house would have been: maybe the cows ordered something off qvc?

well, i've got two days left hanging out with david and running for him. wish me luck!

welcome to adulthood

david's 26th birthday was on tuesday (dec 4th)--he's officially an adult (isn't 25 the cut off for young adults?)! chris and jenny's little girl leah turned 2 on sunday dec 2nd, so we had a mini-celebration together for the both of them! they fixed us a wonderful post-thanksgiving dinner and we had pies and cheesecake for dessert. it was a fun evening! then for david's real birthday he requested a birthday breakfast for dinner, so i made pumpkin pancakes, grilled sausage patties, eggs over easy, grapefruit, and soy milk. yum yum.
then time for the presents! this year was pretty fun--chris and jenny got him a pedometer for work, his mom and dad got the mountain bike derailer he's been drooling over, and i gave him a painting by arnold friberg he's been admiring (it was over 50% off on black friday!!!!!--so i splurged!!). even tumnus got into opening presents! the minute he saw wrapping paper he knew just what to do with it.
i love david so much and feel lucky to have him be a part of my life. we have so much fun together--we make a good team! now he can't make that much fun of me for being older--welcome to being an adult, babe!

induction to nerd-dom

when i was 4 my mom borrowed this packet of beginner readers material so i could learn how to read (this was before hooked on phonics). i was so excited to sit down and do all the exercises. mom and i used to write "poems" together.

my favorite computer game when i was little was "reader rabbit"--on the old original apple with the 5x5 screen and green monitor.

i was extremely shy through elementary, middle, and most of high school, and always kept my nose in a book so i didn't have to talk to people.

i love learning the "how" and "why" behind the "what"--i've spent hours thinking about one chemistry concept, or studying one anatomical/physiological function (like muscle contraction) until i fully understand it and can describe it in full detail to someone else.

small talk is my kryptonite. i am at such a loss for words in groups of people that i'll start talking about a book i'm reading (which normally includes some sort of genetic, anatomic, or scientific theme); i get so enthusiastic about it that i am oblivious to the lack of interaction by those around me. david has tapped me during dinner parties to make me stop.

this past semester i wrote a research paper on mrsa (methecillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), and got really down into the genetic nitty-gritty of how this staph strand developed. i was completely fascinated--when anyone asked me about my paper i'd automatically jump into how antibiotics work to inhibit bacterial growth, thus resolving an infection, and how bacteria implement amazingly sophisticated resistance mechanisms to counteract antibiotics, and how staph imported a distant gene called the mecA gene to stop methicillin-binding capacity......

some of you might think, "sure, that's just michal being ambitious, or precocious, or just a little quirky." i call it being a nerd. yes, i am a nerd. and tonight, i was inducted with 199 other proud nerds into nerd-dom. i was invited to become a member of phi theta kappa--the honor society for junior colleges. (utah valley state college may be a junior college now, but july 2008 it will become utah valley university!) to be a a part of this honor society, you need to maintain a 3.5gpa or higher throughout a certain number of credits. to be honest, i don't know what my gpa is...and i'm never quite sure of my credit number...anyway, david made it just in time from work (!!) and he took some photos of me being inducted. i'll get a certificate and lapel pin in the mail...yay!

the 35-year climb

my dad came to visit us the weekend before thanksgiving! we had a really great visit in little utah valley.
i picked my dad up at the airport in salt lake and we spent the morning/afternoon walking around temple square. the last time dad had done that was 32 years ago when he was in slc as a missionary--they were given only 30 minutes to hit the major sites. there are many more buildings now than then, so we spent more than 30 mins. two of my favorite parts are both in the conference center--first, i love the arnold friberg painting room. all the original oils that have been reproduced in the book of mormon are hanging in the conference center--you see so much more detail in the originals. my other favorite part is the roof tour of the conference center--you are above the city and see the entire valley.



dad asked to climb the "y" mountain. as missionaries at the mtc, they were allowed to climb to the "y", but dad never made it up (his companion was...a very healthy eater, and could only make it half-way). so we helped dad fulfill his wish and complete the longest climb of his life! we also got him hooked on the show "heroes"--we watched four or five episodes from season 1 while he was out here. in his own words, "it's weird but good!" thanks for coming out, dad, we had a great time!

the perfect pair

david is finishing his bs in accounting online through the university of phoenix. he is in his first math/accounting course right now (all the previous courses having been the managerial/ethical classes), and realized math is his language. the format of all classes is to do your work and then post answers as a discussion site for all classmates. he got up this morning to do an assignment before work and noticed everyone in the class had posted their frustrations at their inability to figure out the answer. the question went something along the lines of $60,000 being invested, and in two interest accounts, one earning 16% and the other 25%, and $6060 was earned, so how much was put into each account...i think david's going to have to recheck this question and make sure i wrote it correctly. david read the question, called it a "simple algebra equation", and posted his answer within two minutes. a guy wrote back to david saying "you're the man! how did you figure it out?!" david later told me "it feels good to be called "the man" every once and a while."

i am taking an intro to anatomy/physiology class this semester as a pre-req to my community health major. today, rather than being in class, my professor decided to instead post an exam. he did not announce this in class on monday. in fact, he said, "if i don't show up on wednesday and friday, you don't have to stick around in class." he did not mention an exam. did he have it in the usual testing center? did he make 100+ copies for each class member to take a copy home and read over it carefully? he decided to post in behind the (locked) glass case in the anatomy hallway, where we normally look for test/quiz keys post-exam. one copy for 100+ students to look off of while standing in the hallway. i was one of the lucky ones who decided to stick around in the classroom and use it as a quiet place to study. a girl came running in about 30 mins after "class" was supposed to start and told us there was an exam posted and going on right now. it's due a week from now, it's completely open book, note, friend, etc. however, for those of you who keep up with our blog, you've seen examples of his test questions. he doesn't go by the book all the time. he goes by his own anatomic rules. a large group of confused students (20+) were standing by the glass case, and a couple of them were shouting out the answers for everyone to write down. i did not stick around. open book or not, the class average on tests and exams is a 30%. so i went back later to find a small group of 2-3 students logically going through each question. i joined their discussion and apparently wowed them, because the comment i got was, "you know all the big words--you know more than i do about this subject." i really liked that comment. it was nice to hear i knew all the big words.

when i told david this he said, "we make the best pair--imagine, "the man" who knows all the big words!!" indestructible.

everyone loves a convert

david spoke in church a couple weeks ago, on the given topic of "the restoration and the atonement". our popularity has skyrocketed. before david spoke in church not very many people knew us (we've attended this ward and lived in this apartment for over a year), and those who did know us looked at us as "the renters", one of the few young, impermanent couples in the ward. we don't have any children, so i don't really hang out with the other women my age (we are one of two young couples without a baby), or go to "mommy group" activities. maybe it was all my own mind--you know, thinking that's what people thought of us...but boy, after david spoke, we have received 3 dinner invitations, 2 people asked for a copy of his talk, he received compliment after compliment and handshake after handshake, and we are now greeted by name in the halls at church. what can i say, everyone loves a convert. i am posting david's talk because he basically told his conversion story, and it's an incredible story. it makes you want to rip out your scriptures, pray in gratitude, and be a missionary all over again. it makes you realize what the purpose of life is and that truth really does exist. enjoy!!


I grew up in Billings Montana. I am an only child. Both of my parents worked growing up trying to make ends meet. So I was a latchkey kid. I did not grow up active in a religion. My upbringing was almost completely absent of religion. I can never remember having had a conversation that even referred to religion growing up. My parents love the outdoors and we would go camping, canoeing, fishing, and horseback riding on the weekends in the Montana rocky-mountains. But by the time I was fourteen I started thinking about religion and philosophy. I wanted to know what was true. I had heard people talk about religion and even went to church a few times when I had stayed the night with friends who had parents that made us go. But what I heard people tell me about religion never seemed right to me. The primary issue for me was the Nature of God. Most of the people I talked to told me God was a perfect being incomprehensible and so remote from what I knew and understood that I could not understand God. The more I heard the more frustrated I became. One night I had become so frustrated trying to figure religion out that I decided to find out for myself by going to the source. I had seen copy of the bible downstairs in a box with some books and decided to find out what it said. I waited until my parents were asleep then went and found the bible. The copy that I found said on the cover “Christ’s Words in Red”. It seemed to me that the publisher would put the most important things in red so I found the first section that had red type in it and began reading Matthew. I only read a few chapters when I came to the following passage:
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water
: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven,
saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:15-17)
I was reading the bible in faith that I would find out the truth about Christianity. What I learned was that God and Jesus were two separate beings. Jesus was down in the water being baptized and clearly a voice from heaven, God, declared his son in who He was well pleased. Without knowing the words to describe it, or what it was, I had received a revelation prompted by the Spirit. But unknown to me the knowledge of the true nature of God was already on the Earth and known by millions.
In 1820 there was a farm boy the same age I was, named Joseph Smith, faced with similar challenges that I had. He grew up in a home where the entire family worked hard farming. His family was active in religion. His father loved God and the scriptures and his mom attended a Presbyterian faith. Joseph grew up in a time when religion and philosophy were sweeping through America. It was the duty of every individual to align themselves with some school of belief. Joseph would attend meetings and talk to individuals but could never settle for himself the question of which church was the true one. Just like I discovered in Billings, Joseph discovered in upstate New York that every church was declaring itself to be the true church but every church had disputing points of doctrine. Because they disagreed in so many ways they all couldn’t be true. Joseph also turned to the scriptures and read a verse in James that states:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 3:5)
This scripture had a profound affect on Joseph. He read the bible with the faith that he would direction to his search. What he received was the instruction to pray and he had the full confidence that he would receive an answer. In the spring in 1820 he went to a grove just outside of his home and he began to pray verbally for the first time in his life and asked which church he should join. As he was praying a pillar of light appeared over his head and gradually descended until it fell upon him. Once upon him he saw two people descending that stood above him. One of them spoke and called him by name and said pointing to the other, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” In an instant the restoration had begun. With the appearance of God and his Son Jesus Christ Joseph knew the true nature of God. They were separate beings perfectly united in purpose.
Joseph was now armed with truth the true nature of God and had received personal instruction. Much like Joseph Smith in my search for the truth I was now armed with a single point of doctrine, God and Jesus were separate beings. I shortly discovered another problem with Christianity that would further aid me in my search. This question I wouldn’t get an answer to for several more years. The question went like this. God is perfectly merciful and just. The mission of the Savior is the salvation of mankind. The vast majority of people that have lived on the earth throughout the millennia have not been Christians. What does a merciful and just God do for them? For me this is a primary point of any religion because it really is dealing with most of mankind.
I asked this question to many people and the responses break down into three groups.
1)I don’t know. From this answer I drew that if they didn’t know they obviously weren’t the true church. It is kind of a big problem after all and there should be at least something said on it.
2) They are automatically saved through grace. There are two problems with this one. I knew enough about Christianity to know that there was a heaven and hell. And the reality is that there are people that are Hindu that are good and there are people that are Hindu that are bad and both shouldn’t automatically be given salvation. While that is truly merciful, it is in no way just.
3) They are automatically damned. The problem I had with this answer is why they are damned. They are damned because they didn’t know. Why didn’t they know? In most cases it was because they weren’t told. Who didn’t tell them? The Christians didn’t tell them. Thus both the nonbelievers are damned and the believers are damned because they didn’t tell the nonbelievers.
I would ask my two questions over and over and would never get a satisfactory response. I became frustrated with Christianity and religion in general. The kids who I knew that were active in faith did it like other kids did sports. It seemed like if you weren’t cool enough to be on a team or club there was another club that would take anyone called youth groups and church. I didn’t want to join a club I wanted the truth. Joseph described the time after having had the first visitation and I would add that it is a fairly accurate description of myself as well. He said that he:

frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed
The weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature;
Which I am sorry to say led me into divers temptations, offensive
In the sight of God. (Joseph Smith History 1:28)
It was several years before he would receive any more information. And when he did he was repeatedly warned of temptation. He was also told of the Book of Mormon and that it contained the “fullness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants.” The period between the first vision and Joseph Smith receiving the Book of Mormon was a refining time. It allowed him to grow up and repent.
In Billings Mt I had a similar time. I don’t remember exactly when or how it happened but a time came that I resolved to do better. I started doing the things that I knew were right and I stopped doing the things that I knew were wrong. For a year I lived the best that I knew how. Then both of my parents had problems. My Mom almost died from cancer, my Dad had complete thyroid failure, and they both lost their jobs. My parents decided that a change was due and my Dad took a job in Alturas, CA. I think it is interesting to note that right before we left Billings it was announced that a temple was going to be built. I could not understand why everyone was really really mad that the Muslims were building a temple in Billings. I’m sure they were saying Mormons but I was hearing Muslims. The term Mormons was not even a part of my vocabulary. I had never heard of Mormons or temples or the Book of Mormon. I had never heard of Provo Utah or Brigham Young University. The only thing I knew about Salt Lake City is that there was a really big salt lake there cleverly named ‘The Great Salt Lake’. We moved to Alturas halfway through my junior year of high school.
The school that I attended in Billings had about 2500 students. The town that I moved to in California had about 3,000 people total population. The nearest Wal-Mart was 3hrs away and the nearest stoplight was an hour and a half away. There was only a small branch of the church there but it didn’t matter. I was prepared for the gospel. After a couple of months in Alturas I became friends with a few kids that were members of the church. They realized that religion was important to me and invited me to seminary. Imagine a 17 year old being asked to get up at 6am and go and study scriptures for an hour and then go to high school. I loved it.
After a couple of weeks of attending seminary I was invited to go to church on Sunday. I enjoyed the meeting and one of the young men came up after the first hour and said ‘I hear you have some questions about religion’. I said that I did in fact have a couple of questions. He invited me to a room just outside of the main room where church was held. We entered the small room and sat down. As soon as I had formed my two questions to ask him the spirit came into the room and I knew the answers he would be giving were right.
I asked him first about the nature of God. He explained what is called the Godhead, the perfect union between three people Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Each has a mission within the godhead and plays a role but they are not physically the same being. Next I asked him my question about those that never hear about the Jesus Christ. He explained a doctrine that is truly unique to Latter-Day Saints. The idea is that there are saving ordinances that are required for salvation with baptism being the primary one. When someone lives and dies without being baptized with the proper authority someone still alive can do vicarious work for them in one of the temples even though they have already passed away. Also, there is temporary place prepared for spirits who pass away where the gospel is being actively taught and everyone who has ever lived is given a merciful and just opportunity to accept or reject it.
I knew that I had felt the spirit when my friend told me his answers to my questions. I began meeting with the full-time missionaries and every word they said was a new idea that opened up the spiritual world for me. The missionaries then asked me to be baptized and join the church but I told them I would think about it. I was lying in bed and questioned the idea of baptism. I knew that I had felt the spirit and had found the true church. I then had to decide what to do with that truth. Embracing a foreign faith is not something to be taken lightly or that is easy. But I knew it was true and chose to live the gospel with all of my heart.
I had committed to be baptized but that baptism would not have been possible had it not been for Joseph Smith. In 1829 Joseph Smith was working on translating the Book of Mormon with his assistant Oliver Cowdery when he came across a passage that told of the necessity of being baptized. Joseph wanted to be baptized in the true church. But this wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible because no one on earth had the authority to baptize. He prayed for instruction on being baptized and was visited by John the Baptist, the same person that I had read about that had baptized Jesus Christ. John laid his hands on Joseph and Oliver and gave them the Aaronic priesthood which:
Holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and
Of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion
For the remission of sins. (Joseph Smith History 1:69)
Now having the authority, Joseph baptized Oliver Cowdery his assistant and Oliver then baptized Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith understood the nature of God. He had been given care over sacred scripture that contained the fullness of the gospel. He had been given the priesthood and the authority to baptize. The restoration was well under way. I also understood the nature of good and had a copy of the Book of Mormon and had been baptized and received the priesthood. But it is a mistake to think of the restoration or conversion as an event with a beginning and end. What a tragedy it would have been had Joseph stopped after being baptized or had the church stopped with his death in Carthage. Had I stopped after being baptized I would never have received my endowments, served a mission, and been sealed in the temple to my beautiful wife.
The restoration of the true church began with a fourteen-year old boy’s faithful prayer. But it has not ended. New revelation is being given and there is a living prophet today. My conversion began when I read the bible in faith looking for answers. But it has not ended, I learn more about the gospel and my testimony grows constantly. The message of the restoration is that it is once again possible for man to be reconciled with God. The authority to act in the name of God, the priesthood, is on the earth again. With priesthood ordinances we receive the blessings of the atonement that our Savior performed on our behalf. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

costume party

we had a little dress up halloween bash--david was a ghostbuster and i was a girl slimer (i know, i know...maybe that's why i don't have more friends...), and then we had everyone from darth to supergirl attend our party. baby yoda won the best costume trophy, and the little butterfly fairy beat the brains out of our frankenstein pinata. this was the first year i wasn't on call at the pediatric office, so it was really fun dressing up and having an evening of eating chocolate with friends!

the luckiest wife

i have a husband who has a heart of gold, who loves every meal i've ever made (except the bad ones), who tells me playing scrabble or battleship or settlers is about companionship, not competition, who laughs with (at?) me during my blonde moments, who plays ocean music at night for me because he knows i hate living land-locked, who takes interest in my interests by reading every book i've recommended to him, who always hugs me first thing in the morning, after work, and before bed, who makes brownies better than i do, who does all the dirty jobs around the house (especially cleaning up the bird poop), who would rather hang out with me than "the guys", who helped me break in the new kitchen aid (thanks, mom mom!) by making mint chocolate ganache cookies, who supported my triathlon goal last year by buying me a road bike (oh yeah, you need a bike to compete...), and the next year, learned how to swim so we could do the tri together! it was the share-a-smile mini triathlon at the end of august. check him out!! david finished the 400m swim, 10 mile bike, and 5k run in 1 hour 3 minutes. my knee gave out before i even started the run, so i hobbled across at 1 hour 23 minutes, i think.

test anxiety

i have test anxiety. this means my brain freezes and locks up on sometimes very simple questions, sometimes hard questions, and other times my brain gets overloaded by the multiple choice options, creating a feeling of certain doom. i am ultimately left incapable of thinking reasonably and logically. a few years ago i would walk into the testing center and literally start to itch and have to remind myself to breathe slowly and deeply. over the years i have tried to learn and employ many different testing strategies as a crutch. i really feel like i have come a long way. although i don't itch anymore, i still have the same brain, which locks up somewhat regularly.
this semester i am taking zoology 1090, intro to anatomy and physiology. this same course was required for my medical assistant program, and i am always reading something that includes medical terminology/anatomy, so this subject isn't new for me. and it's a subject i really enjoy--i really love learning about the human body, how it fits together and how things work. i have this class three times a week, and then i study 9-10hours outside of class. i'm mainly a visual learner, so i take notes in colors, highlight the text as i read, and draw pictures/diagrams if needed. i really feel like i have a good handle on this material...until quiz and test time. this professor is infamous for insanely hard questions.
here are the scores so far: quiz 1, 10 questions multiple choice: class average 4/10, i scored 5/10; quiz 2, 27 questions fill in the blank: class average 2/10, i scored 7/10; exam 1, 50 questions multiple choice, class average 38%, high 68%, low 18%, i scored 58% (i have never been so happy for a 58% before!). so here are some examples of test questions (answers at the end)--maybe y'all can help me feel better and let me know it isn't my ridiculous brain, but really dr. shively...and if these are easy for you, please let me know what i can do differently--give me another test-taking suggestion!!

1. an individual has _____ somatic systems and _____visceral systems
a. 7-5
b. 4-7
c. 7-4
d. 5-7
e. 12-4
f. 12-5

2. which nucleotide is not involved in transcription?
a. a
b. c
c. g
d. t
e. u
f. if all of the above are involved in transcription, choose this response

3. which of the following is not one of the 4 major subdivisions of the cell cycle?
a. g1
b. s
c. interphase
d. mitosis
e. if each of the above represents one of the 4 major subdivisions of the cell cycle, choose this response

4.which skeleton function is least important?
a. storage of calcium and phosphates
b. storage of adipose
c. locomotion
d. protection
e. body shape
f. hemopoiesis

5.how are membranous epithelium and glandular epithelium alike?
a. bother are vascular
b. both are holocrine
c. both are highly regenerative
d. both can be unicellular
e. none of the above
f. more than one of the above

6. how are osteoblasts and chondroblasts different?
a. one manufactures collagen and one does not
b. one is involved in ossification and one is not
c. one is associated with bones and one is not
d. one secreted ground substance and one does not
e. they aren't different, they are just different names for the same cell
f. they are different but a correct difference is not listed above

7. most bones develop by
a. intracartilagenous and endochondral ossification
b. endochondral ossification (only)
c. ossification of a fibrocartilagenous model
d. more than one of the above
e. none of the above

8. bicarbonate (hco3-) is not
a. a molecule
b. an ion
c. a compound
d. found in the body
e. a hydrocarbon

9. what kind of muscle tissue is found in the organs of the skeletal system?
a. cardiac muscle tissue
b. smooth muscle tissue
c. skeletal muscle tissue
d. voluntary muscle tissue
e. striated muscle tissue
f. more than one of the above

10. what name is applied to the joints located between the proximal phalanges and the bones just proximal to them?
(sorry, this one was a fill in the blank)

11. how many bones are in one human hand?
(another fill in the blank)

12. muscle a flexes a joint that muscle b extends. muscle c flexes this same joint and antagonizes an additional action of muscle b. from this, one can logically conclude that
a. a and c are multiactioned
b. a can synergize b
c. a and c are antagonists
d. a, b, and c are multiactioned
e. b and c are multiactioned
f. none of the above can be concluded

13. form a polymer of 10 glucose subunits (c6h12o6) by dehydration synthesis. this polymer would contain _____ atoms
a. 3
b. 240
c. 30
d. 213
e. some other number

ANSWERS (i'm including explanations in case you are curious. and i'm writing everything by memory--what i've learned, i'm not consulting a book at all. this is what happens to me! i can sit down and talk to you about everything i'm learning, but in front of a test my brain freezes!!):

1. c 7-4. i answered a 7-5 because in class we were taught there are 12 systems total (dr. shively doesn't lump anything together, so although the book lists 11 systems, he taught us 12)--integumentary, muscular, skeletal, nervous, lymphatic, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, urinary, male reproductive, female reproductive. in order to be classified as visceral, that system must have all 3 of the following characteristics: 1. tubular in design/shape, 2. 1+ openings to the outside, and 3. lined by mucous membrane. in class we starred respiratory, digestive, urinary, male repro and female repro as visceral. he didn't lump it together then...apparently he lumped together the reproductive systems for the test.

2. f all are involved in transcription. i got this one correct, but after thinking a looooong time about it. transcription is basically dna inside the nucleus of a cell copying itself to mrna, which then goes outside the cell to create amino acid polypeptide chains. dna uses a-t, c-g as the complimentary base pairing, while rna uses a-u, c-g. seems pretty straight forward, right? well, i lingered on this one because i was trying to think how dr. shively would define transcription. if he defined it according to how i just defined it above, then all the nucleotides would be involved. if he defined it as *just* mrna doing its thing, then "t"-thymaine wouldn't be involved because rna uses "u"-uracil in its place. anyway, i aired on the side of the general definition.

3. c interphase. i think i answered e. now that i'm reading that questions outside of the testing center, i can easily name the 4 subdivisions--prophase, anaphase, metaphase, and telophase. according to this picture, g1 and s are parts of interphase.

4. b storage of adipose. i debated between that and the one i ended up putting, e, body shape. here was my thought process: well, the body stores adipose elsewhere, so it doesn't have to be in the bones, but if it isn't in the bones when the body needs it, you're in trouble...and people can still live without a perfect body shape, although it can be sometimes debilitating, and i guess some babies do die when they are born without certain skeletal shape...but isn't adipose needed to cushion bones also, and help store fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, which ultimately aid in bone formation and growth?...

5. c both are highly regenerative. well, i knew this, and then i thought, hey, in order to be classified as highly regenerative, it needs to also be highly vascular--it needs blood, oxygen and nutrients in order to regenerate. so i went with f.

6. f they are different, but a correct difference is not listed above. i got this one correct! osteoblasts are the beginning bone cells and chondroblasts the cartilage beginner cells, but most bones use cartilage to form through a process called endochondral calcification.

7. e none of the above. i answered d, more than one of the above. ok, so according to the osteoblast/chondroblast explanation above, i felt like i knew what was going on here. it was a question on the fill-in-the-blank quiz "most bones begin their development with what kind of ossification?" endochondral ossification. i got it correct on that quiz. cells also add to bones by creating sheets and attaching to the bone--this process is intramembranous ossification. so i figured it was a few of the processes he'd listed. guess not.

8. e a hydrocarbon. i got stuck on molecule vs. compound. i always mix up the definitions. david once tried to describe it to me as a fruit smoothie--a molecule is a fruit smoothie made of 1+ strawberries, whereas a compound is a smoothie made of strawberries and bananas and maybe even blueberries. a compound can be a molecule, too, but a molecule can't be a compound...

9. b smooth. so the organs of the skeletal system are bones. bones only have smooth muscle tissue inside of them (smooth muscle tissue is present with any blood/vessel formation)

10. metacarpophlangeal joint or metatarsophalangeal joint, as he didn't specify the phalanges of the hand or foot. so this is the spot where your fingers meet up with the bones in your hand, it's the little knob at the base of the finger (or toe). i totally pictured it--i knew exactly which joint he was talking about, and i called it a simple hinge joint--simple because only 2 bones are articulating, and hinge because that's the action it makes. i asked him about this one and he said i was right, but he asked for the NAME, not the TYPE of the joint.

11. 29 bones in the human hand. i wrote 19. here was my thought process: well, he's asking for the hand here, and this is dr. shively, so i don't want to lump things together, so i'm not going to add the carpals because that's the wrist, and the textbook even specified "bones of the wrist and hand", so i counted 5 metacarpals, 12 phalynx bones, and 2 thumb bones. surprise! according to dr. shively, always listen to him, not the book. the wrist is one section of the hand, just as metacarpals and phalanges are. so there are 8 carpals, 5 metacarpals, 12 phalynx bones, 2 thumb bones, and--oh yeah! 2 sesamoid bones that happen to grow and form IF you are a heavy duty football player or exercise a lot. 2 extra sesamoid bones grow in each carpal area of the hand and tarsal area of the foot to act as buffers as muscles and tendons rub over the bones. fyi: the adult human body has 206 bones, unless you are in dr. shively's class, then it has 214 because of the extra 8 sesamoid bones in the hands and feet that no one ever counts because not every body has them

12. e b and c are multiactioned. this was really lucky, i think. i drew a picture on my scrap paper i brought with me into the testing center, and hoped my drawing was done correctly...

13. d 213. i answered b, 240. dehydration synthesis is the process of binding polymers together--in the process you remove water molecules. so i was debating 213 and 240, and decided to go with 240 because even though it's removing h2o, the atoms are stil present, just in another form. i guess he did say specifically "**this polymer** would contain _____ atoms". but i still don't get his subtraction. you start with 240 and then 10 h2o molecules would be 30, and 240-30=210...does anyone have the answer? oh, and btw, dr. shively never lectured on dehydration synthesis, and there's a one-line definition in the text, nor was it a part of any of the study guides he gave us.

anyway, enough complaining! i ought to get back to studying!

proof

for those of you who already know that i am blond in every sense of the word (i have never colored my hair) you don't need to read this entry. for those of you who would like to get a good laugh by reading some proof, read on.
so about a month ago i had a run in with the curb and a lamp post with no other vehicle than our new car. it really only scratched the paint, no real body damage. i just got around to going to a body shop for an estimate, and then called the insurance for their estimate. they sent eddie to look at our car and compare estimates. we agreed eddie would drive to our house and then he would follow me to the ups plant, where the car was currently parked. here's the chronological order of events:
1. eddie pulls up in our driveway and calls me to let me know he is here.
2. i run out of the house, grabbing the cell, the copy of martin's body shop estimate, and my wallet.
3. i go and shake eddie's hand, hand him the copy (patting myself on the back because i am so responsible), and say, "all right, follow me..."
4. i then realize i don't have my keys. in either hand or any pockets.
5. i look at eddie in desperation.
6. i think vickie (our landlord, we rent a section of their house) will have a key i can use to get back inside.
7. there's a note on vickie's garage door to "conway"--"i'm gone, but the garage door is open, get to work!"
8. i think, "maybe the garage door is open to michal, too, not just conway..." alas, it is locked. i can't go inside and try to find the key myself.
9. maybe cindy is home (more renters in another section of the house), i run down and knock on their door. she is home (!), and i beg her to take me on a fieldtrip so eddie can see david's car, parked at the ups plant. she agrees with a smile and we pack up baby alex.
10. eddie follows us to ups, does a photo shoot, prints up his estimate, and cuts us a check.
11. we drive home and vickie is now home.
12. i knock on vickie's door and she immediately knows why i am there (this isn't the first time i've locked myself out). she hands me a few keys to try (they aren't labeled and we can never remember which one is for our apartment because they all look alike).
13. simultaneously: vickie's phone rings and she answers it; i remember i didn't lock their side of the laundry room, i think i can cut through to our apartment quicker through there. i mouth to her what i'm going to do and she nods in understanding. explanation: we rent an upstairs portion of the house (see apt #3); our side of the house connects to their side of the house through the walkway laundry room. there are 4 slide locks, two on each door, one on the laundry room side, and one on the house side.
14. i run upstairs and, to my relief, their side of the laundry room opens.
15. i step into the laundry room and close the door behind me. i didn't bother to turn the light on because i figured in two steps i'll be home anyway.
16. i take two steps to our laundry room door. the handle turns and i push. the door does not open. i may not have locked their sliding lock, but our sliding lock was locked on our house side.
17. i went back to their door to just go back down through vickie's house. while their sliding lock was unlocked, their handle was locked.
18. i was stuck in a 5'x7' area in the dark.
19. first item of business: find the light switch.

no music, just lyrics

david and i rented music & lyrics the other night...we weren't very impressed. it was very flat. we thought the best part was the spoof 80s music video in the beginning. from there it went downhill--the story never really picked up, and never made you really care about the characters enough to understand their idiosyncrasies, or how and why there was a "love" story in the end.
anyway, i thought it'd be fun to post some of my own lyrics. once upon a time i was artistic and poetic, and a friend from high school asked me to write some lyrics for his band. i dutifully handed them off to him. last i heard, he was studying guitar at university of the arts in pa, and was trying out as a guitarist in jewel's band. so if these lyrics ever get somewhere else, remember where you heard them first! imagine this being sung by one of those indie rock voices--

"she's once more"

she's waitin for you to come round once again
walkin through the triangle with the trapeze man
crossin the tightrope wearin the wind in her seaweed tresses
swingin low and followin that chariot
to carry her home
and catch her sins
as she lies beneath the fallen elephant slums

standin on the edge again
no more lies in no more cans
wearin the ring and fakin the smile
and she's once more
once more

and will you trace your nude harmony once more
play me in your littered chords once more
with or without
deliberate intentions
bearded or blushed inspections
braided or removed impressions once more
ruby red and white stops signs
in the kaleidescope of circus colors no more
in this white suburbia
and she's once more

standin on the edge again
no more lies in no more cans
wearin the ring and fakin the smile
and she's once more
yeah, and she's once more

csi: georgia

i love csi las vegas. i love the terminology, the cases, the characters. most of all i love that evidence speaks for itself, and leaves trails and facts you can't dispute. looks like union city, georgia has their own hard working csi crew! good thing we have crime labs watching out for all those cops, trying to prevent heart disease and hypertension due to sodium overdose.

mount timpanogos conquered

david and a friend, dustin, hiked mt. timp saturday morning. it was a huge production even getting to this point. david first started talking about going alone, which i utterly refused. then i made him over pack--a first-aid kit, enough food to last them 3+ meals, water to make them look like camels, extra socks, etc. they left at 330am, thinking it'd take them 11-12 hours to do the whole hike, and they'd be back in the afternoon to still have some of the day left. i was excited to have a productive day at home doing saturday chores and some reading for school. i received a photo message on my phone at 7am, a picture from somewhere along timp, i thought. i texted david, "are you at the top?" he wrote back "3.5hrs". i thought that meant they still had 3.5 hrs left to go until getting to the top...then about 10am david called and said, "we're on our way home." "you mean you're walking down now?" "no, i mean we're in the car, we'll be home in 20 minutes." what?! i haven't even showered yet! when david told me 3.5hrs, that's how long it took them to get to the top, and then they raced down to the bottom. turns out dustin is a better hiking buddy for david than i am--they made it up to the top of timp and back down in 6 1/2 hours. that's quite a pace, if you ask me. they'd have had to roll me down the mountain had i gone with them...some things sure are better left to the conquering boys.

vacation of the year

we took a week off mid-august for our vacation this year, and as soon as we got back life kicked right back into gear...so i am just now posting photos from our great adventure. my mom came out and we hit the road from the petrified lava fields in idaho to yellowstone park and then the grand teton valley. we drove all the scenic routes, stayed in all the places with the most scenic views, and took all the most scenic hikes. i had a hard time keeping up with mom, she and her little walking stick were bookin' it while little ol' me was lagging behind every corner. and i was also the only one who ever seemed to be hungry! every time i turned around i was ready for a meal--all that calorie-expending hiking really took it out of me. i'm such a whimp...
we loved driving through that country--the air is so crisp and clean. we did run in to fires in yellowstone, the east gates were closed, and the air was really hazy and smoky. we stayed outside the north entrance to yellowstone (in cook city), and when we woke up one morning there was ash on our cars, as though a fire had been burning right there. the wind had actually carried it all that way. anyway, the outdoors quality was really different from utah--the air cleaner and clearer, no valley smog or inversion. when we did finally make it back into utah david and i gave each other a look that said, "what are we doing here? why aren't we living in montana yet?!" another interesting note--the worse drivers i have ever met are utah drivers. i feel safer on the beltway in dc. we had great driving time and road/traffic conditions the entire trip, until we crossed the idaho/utah border. as soon as we did the air was heavy and thick and hot again, and within minutes we passed two really bad crash scenes with paramedics.





we even got to see montana mom and dad, christian and robin, daniel and met his wife amanda, and ryan, rachel, and bethany! it was great to have spent time with family and friends--we really wish we could have spent more time with everyone. vacations are always a good time to remind us what really matters and how to live life! thanks for all the great views, shopping sprees, and cowboy hats!!

the "stand-in"

i was hired at utah valley pediatrics 2 years ago as the "after-hours nurse." there are 7 drs in the on-call group, 4 of which are from the office i am employed at. so when any of those 4 are on-call, i work the clinic shift with them. during the day, each dr normally has 2 nurses that work with him or her. i was offered a full-time position over the summer to work with a dr. who only had one nurse. so i rearranged my school schedule so i could work full-time. about 4 wks ago, the office announced they were going to a 1.5nurse/dr. ratio...they wanted to have me be the "stand-in" for the main nurse if she went on vacation, got sick, etc.

the result: i've had a lot of time at home the past couple of weeks. i've been a little nostalgic and i've been going through all my journals and old high school things my mom mailed out to me. high school was such an odd time--i am sure everyone will agree with me. "stand-ins" in high school were not allowed...can you picture a cheerleader saying, "omg, ashley's sick! like, michal, can you stand in for her today and like, um, hang out with us?" i don't think so. things were so very defined and labeled! you had to belong somewhere and belong there with intensity!

so, in looking back over my journals and high school memories...i was a heavy-duty aesthetic artist wanna-be!! one side of me is looking back and laughing at how emotionally intense i believed everything to be. the other side of me feels a little...the word is better put in portuguese--saudade (pronounced sow-dah-gee). the best translation would be nostalgia, but the word in english doesn't quite give the whole gut feeling of the word in portuguese. anyway, the older i've gotten, and the more concrete i've become in myself, the more logistic and analytical i've become...somewhat utilitarian, grounded. i sort of miss that side of me that was so intensely dedicated to reserving one day a week as my "art day," or carrying a spare notebook in my back pocket to write poetry, or drinking in a post-impressionist painting and feeling its influence in my own work. i am much more interested in non-fiction, health issues, and life maps. so are we just stand-ins during different points in our own lives, until we are (as my mom calls it) crystallized?
(from a poetry notebook my senior year):

what if i were a van gogh

what if i were a van gogh
and
had a million different
repetitions lines staccato blanks
and
shreds pieces patches
quilted, intertwined sewn
and
expanded stretched taut sallied
from
ingenious strokes laid
without much thought
fitting defining resting
without much foe
a million different
shades and stains and
stains and sallows and
sallows and shards
charcoaled and unbelievably
stark

girls and cats in the lap lane

i really don't understand why girls have to get so defensive and personal when it comes to sports. david and i went to the rec center to swim some laps for our tri training. we started out swimming in the same lane until a girl joined us, then david went to another lane (he isn't fast enough yet to swim with 3+ people in the lane, although he has come a very long way in the 4-5 wks he's been swimming!!) so i'm swimming along, doing my freestyle 1200m, and the girl who joined our lane was doing freestyle with her arms but breaststroke with her legs...i'd never seen this before, and she was going pretty slow.

ok, just to quickly go over the courtesy rules for lane swimming with 2+ swimmers: you always stay on the right side of the blue tile line on the bottom of the pool. you swim down the right side of the lane, and when you reach the wall and turn around, you swim down the other right side of the lane, so you're swimming in sort of a circle. if someone is swimming at a faster pace than you, and you feel then touch your toe while swimming, that's usually a polite indication to a. slow down your pace even more so that person can easily pass you, or b. when you reach the wall, wait a few seconds so the faster person can pass you at the wall. this gets real fun when there are 4+ people in the lane. i've had a few head-on collisions. so anyway, this is nothing against any other swimmer, saying they aren't good enough or aren't fast enough--it's not personal, it's just common lap lane etiquette.

so this girl was doing a cross between two stroke styles, and her pace was slower than mine. there were a few times i tagged her foot and attempted to pass her. every time i sped up to pass, she sped up, too. she would match her speed with mine, make her legs swing out bigger so they were nearly kicking me, and her hands were getting close enough to my face to rip off my goggles. so i would get right back behind her, slow my pace, and just try to pass her at the wall. there was even one time i sat at the wall until she was 1/3 of the way down the lane, then i kicked off and started swimming again...this was not even enough of a time lapse to keep her in front of me. i still tagged her foot to let me pass. she wouldn't have it. then another lady joined our lane. so in addition to trying to pass this cat of a girl, i now would have to watch out for oncoming traffic as i was trying to pass. i finally sprinted my last full lap, swam side by side with the cat for probably 25m, we both reached the wall at the same time, she looked over at me with a look of death, and i kicked off like there was no tomorrow to make sure i would keep her behind me. when i finished david asked what was going on--why couldn't i pass her? he could see i was keeping a faster pace than her, and every time i tried to pass, i just didn't. i explained the whole thing, which he thought was crazy. he told me while he was resting in between laps he saw she was behind me and must have hit my foot, so she stood up in the lane, threw her arms out, and looked around as if to say, "what's going on here?!" i don't know what was going on.

needless to say, i got a great workout. i really hope we have all boys--i can't handle catty girls who take things personally...

a week in the life of rats with wings

7 days ago you would have found david and me looking at each other in disbelief as we named each ruined item that made it look like we owned rats instead of sweet little parrots. after we got to a fairly pricey #5 on the list, we decided it was time to sell our birds. they were very loving, but also destructive. we couldn't take it anymore--the poop, chewing, throwing tantrums and squawking for an hour straight--it was time to sell them. this was a hard decision to come to--these little guys are just over a year old, we got both of them 3 or 4 months after they'd hatched at the breeder's, so we were essentially the only family they knew. parrots live to be 30+ years old, and a move can be traumatic for them, causing them to "pluck"--they will literally tear our every feather they can reach with their beaks due to the stress and depression. we thought if we could sell them together, some of that stress would be reduced. when we went out of town last summer we had them stay with a friend of mine for a week. they were certainly glad to see us, but they didn't pluck any feathers. good sign.
5days ago you would have found a posting for "two conures with cage" on ksl.com. we attached great photos and listed their "special skills"--tumnus will wave for a peanut, and lucy imitates whistles. we had a lot of viewers, but no buyers.
3 days ago you would have heard parrots squawking like cats as their wings were getting clipped by the vet. i took them to see dr. yeoma because a. we had to get their wings clipped before selling them, and b. we wanted to make sure everything was ok to sell them. she first asked me what type of diet they are on, water, bathing, toys, etc. i told her their main diet is the zupreem conure pellets, but whenever we have fresh fruit we always slice some up for them, and they love yogurt, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese. she said it's ok to give them plain rice, pasta, beans, and steamed veggies, too. i told her we take apart their cage once a month to clean in out, and we rotate their toys once a month, so they don't get bored. despite this, they chew on everything--our clothes, the screens, books, frames, etc. she smiled and said there really wasn't anything we could do about that, that's just how parrots interact with their environment. but the wing clipping should help. i also told her we'd "potty trained" our birds to an extent--when we got them out of their cage in the morning, when we got home from work, and before bed, we hold them over the trash can and say, "spit spot," and they know to do their business. but all the in between time, they fly all over and poop all over, and we were tired of living with bird poop every where. she was amazed we had trained them that far and said there really isn't anything to do about that, either. but the wing clipping should help. so then came the wing clipping...it's just like getting your hair cut--it doesn't hurt the birds at all. but the way lucy screeched, you would have thought we were cutting her head off. it made feel like the moms do when i give their babies vaccinations. tumnus took it pretty well. when we got them, tumnus's wings were fully clipped, it took a full 9-10 months for his wings to grow out where he could race lucy up and down the house hallways. but lucy's wings had never been properly clipped, she'd always been able to fly. so this was a pretty dramatic change. i told the vet we were planning on selling them, together, and asked if she had any advice we could implement to help them avoid stressors. she said. "oh, i would be so sad to see these birds leave your home! you take such good care of them! but if you sell them together, they should be fine." all these "what-if" scenarios ran through my mind--what if the new owners don't take them out of their cage enough? what if the new owners don't cuddle under the covers with them? who else knows lucy's special scratching spot under her wings? who else other than david would talk to tumnus at the end of the day? who else would let the birds bathe in their sink, feed them leftover yogurt on a spoon, or leftover mac&cheese out of the pot?



so, 3 days ago, you would have found me scrubbing every inch of our house so we could gauge the location and frequency of bird poop with two birds who now had their wings clipped. you would also have found two very sedate birds after their visit to the vet. they didn't chew on anything, didn't squawk unnecessarily, no pooping in all the wrong places. they sat on the perch we put them on and stayed there until we moved them to another perch. lucy didn't respond to the special whistle we do with her, and tumnus didn't demand to get in the sink for a bath when i was doing dishes. i was starting to feel like we had clipped their souls, not just their wings! the difference was night and day--we had good birds again! they knew right away they couldn't fly. they tried a few times, but then gave up. it was like their wings had given them special powers--they could fly anywhere, poop anywhere, and chew on anything, simply because they had wings. once those were gone, their special powers disappeared, too. i went and got them new toys and treats because i thought they were stressed out.
2 days ago you would have found our birds still very docile, but starting to chirp again, and wanting to bathe in the sink again. but their special powers were still missing. they were very good little parrots. david called to ask how they were doing. he suggested we take them off ksl. and so we did. tumnus and lucy are still ours, and as long as we can keep their wings clipped, we think things will work out. so, when we have visitors, there will be no more flying to the door to scare them, no more flying over the visitor's head to see how close they can get, there will be no more chewing on anything other than a toy, and no more pooping on anything other than a paper towel. visitors, you are once again welcome without fear!!

as feirias

in portuguese that means vacations. our vacations have been few and far between, but fun. we are trying to get into the position where we can take consistent, tropical vacations and have (virgin) strawberry daqueris every day!

spring of 2005 we went back east to see my family. my dad lives in one town, my mom in another, my grandparents and cousins in yet another, and a high school friend about 4hrs away by car. we visited everyone we could within the driving radius, and it proved to be more tiring than a vacation! it was great to see everyone, though. we also spent more time at the smithsoneans in downtown dc. david took lots and lots and lots of photos of the rocks. looking back through the roll there were two photos of the world's largest squid, but the rest were just rocks. the little geologist. my mom was "reffing" high school girls lacrosse, so we watched her games--don't you love her little white legs?!

july of 2006 we both miraculously had the 4th of july weekend off, so we visited david's parents camped up in the mountains near alturas, ca. we hiked up to lake patterson (what a hike!--it looked like we were on the top of the world!), and his parents rode the horses along the trails. it was just so quiet and peaceful up in the mountains--no fireworks or drunken parties to ring in the holiday. i really enjoyed the peace. i remember july 4, 1998: i was nannying for an italian family taking their summer vacation at the beach and galavanting about the country after graduating from high school (while the rest of my friends were going off to college), and i felt so isolated and lonely. about 11 o'clock that night fireworks started going off in the little street outside of the beach house! i looked outside my window and loved hearing, feeling, seeing, and smelling the fireworks. they were actually celbrating an italian holiday, but the fireworks made me feel close to my american roots.

being a ups driver has its perks, but also some downs. one of the big downs: no one in the plant is allowed to take time off between thanksgiving and new years. the package flow is too big that time of year. that translates to not being able to leave utah valley and go to either montana to see david's family, or virginia to see my family. on one hand, we like being independent and being able to spend the holidays with just us, but on the other hand, it would be really, really fun to be able to spend it with our families. last christmas i decided to take david out for a little "weekend holiday"--i found a bed and breakfast outside of salt lake city, got tickets for a movie, and made reservations for a nice dinner. the b&b ended up being someone's house they rented rooms out of...we got the "blue room"...this entailed a blue shag carpet, fake satin blue sheets and a fake velvet comforter on the...oval...bed, and that healthy, musty, grandma's attic smell that comes with old houses. oo la la.

this past christmas, christian and robin got married in arizona, and david begged and pleaded to get a week off for the wedding (and extra vacation time for us!). his managers couldn't let him know if he could have the time off until the week before we were about to leave--we'd already gotten the tickets and were hoping everything would work out. as it was, i ended up flying down there a day before david. that was the first time i'd seen everyone in my family since our spring visit 2 1/2 years ago, so i really enjoyed it! after the wedding we spent another few days seeing cacti in arizona.

artsy fartsy

i have always enjoyed the arts, and in the past 2 years i have explored a few new art projects. bookmaking was my first new project. two christmases ago i made books/journals for everyone. it was a very ambitious idea and i don't know how it entered my brain...at the time i was working two jobs, so finding the time to hand make journals was near impossible. but they all got finished. i've also made a few "baby books" for friends as gifts when they had their babies. this year i tried my hand at scrapbooking. i wanted our wedding photos in a nice album, and, being the perfectionist i am, every page had to be wonderful. by the end i was thinking, "enough wedding! no more photos!" that took a loooooong time...i am very impressed with folks who scrapbook their entire lives or children's lives...i don't think i would be that patient.

last semester i also took an oil painting class, which was supposed to be my creative outlet from chemistry and biology...it ended up keeping me busier than the other two classes! it was the first time i'd used oils, and i really enjoyed the medium. i'd always used acrylics in the past. i'd like to eventually learn watercolors--that's a medium that scares me a little. with oils and acrylics, you paint layer on layer, with watercolors, you have to think about what not to paint. so my final project in that painting class was painted on a 5'x4 1/2' canvas--not by my own choice, mind you!! i missed the week we built our own frames and stretched canvases, so when i got back, my teacher said i was too far behind to stretch my own canvas--she gave me one from a previous semester the student had never come to pick up. we took his canvas off the ambitiously large frame and restretched my own canvas. i painted a photo christian had taken in murano, italy. i could have sworn it was a photo of porto venere, as i have a very similar photo, so i was telling everyone it was porto venere...it wasn't until after the semester that i emailed my brother a picture of the painting and he told me it was murano...how embarassing! so, for the record...

by the way, christian, i still think you need to become a photojournalist--you have a great eye and write hilarious columns! imagine all the things you'd be able to photograph and write about as a ups driver!! wink wink

rats with wings

mr. tumnus, a jenday conure parrot, joined our household march 2006. lucy, a yellow-sided green-cheeked conure, came may 2006. unlike most birds, the conure species don't have specific male/female feather markings, so we actually don't know if tumnus is a mr. or a ms. and lucy could very well be "lucio". the only way to be sure would be a dna test...they are different enough species that they aren't going to mate, even if one is male and the other female. they can be very sweet birds--tumnus likes to cuddle with you before bed time (he'll lay on your stomach under the covers), lucy likes to do chores with you--the laundry, dishes, cooking, etc. they have their own personalities and preferences--tumnus loves to take a lukewarm bath in the kitchen sink; lucy won't go near water unless it's ice cold and there's a source of running water somewhere--tumnus loves carbs; lucy loves cheese; tumnus is a very good "pirate parrot"--he'll sit on your shoulder and be content for hours; lucy is so hyperactive she's everywhere and into everything. they don't talk, yet. lucy does imitate a whistle we taught her, and tumnus will wave for a peanut, but no "hello's".
we let their flight wings grow out (they were clipped when we bought them from the pet store), and now we are regretting it. we call them our little rats with wings. they fly everywhere and chew on everything. we have "bird clothes"--clothes we don't mind getting chewed to shreds, and "public clothes"--clothes we wear only outside the house. lucy liked "playing" scrabble with us so much our scrabble letters got chewed up. i got a new, deluxe turntable board for my birthday (thanks, mom and christian--your b&n gift certificates!)--this one is only coming out after the birds are in bed with the cage locked. if we leave our books out, they chew the edges. we have dubbed lucy the "toemonger"--if you walk around barefoot, she thinks your toes are something she must attack, and attack with vigor. we are considering selling them...we'll see. it's sad to think about selling the pet that has known only you since it hatched...

in the mean time, in between time...

so what do we do all day?!...when we first got married i was in school full-time and working part-time at a rheumatology office, and david was working full-time at stock building supply, delivering building materials to construction sites. i got burned out and we decided i would start working full-time at the rheumatology office and david would go back to school full-time and not work. after about 6 months of that we realized we needed more income, so i picked up a second, part-time job working the night and weekend after-hours clinics at a pediatric office. then david got a part-time job as a pre-loader at ups--the am shift (from 4-8am...christmastime it was 1-930am...). then over the summer he decided to pick up a full-time job bookkeeping for an electrician, in addition to his 3am call. after seeing each other once every 3 days we decided we needed to make some changes. so david took a semester off and started driving full-time for ups (did you know they can order short shorts, long shorts, and then mormon-length shorts?!), and i quit my full-time job, kept my part-time job, and went back to school full-time. so right now david is driving full-time and enrolled in university of phoenix online, completing his bs in accounting. i am in school full-time getting my bs in community health and working part-time at the pediatric office. we are both getting straight a's so far. david would eventually like to get either an mba with an emphasis in accounting, or an mpa with an emphasis in hospital administration, and i would eventually like to complete a 2-yr pa program.

so when we aren't working our little brains out, we go camping, hiking, biking...we like being outdoors with each other. we try to pick up one "new hobby" per year, to keep life interesting. last year i decided to pick up triathlons (swim, bike, run)! i did two "mini" tris--one in kanab, and one here in orem, the share-a-smile triathlon. the usual tri distance is 800-meter swim, 20-mile bike, and 10k run. the sprint distance (these mini-tris) is exactly half of that--400meter swim, 10mi bike, and 5k run. at kanab i actually placed 3rd for my age group, finishing in 1hr20mins, and in orem i placed 5th, finishing 1hr3mins. david and i are going to do the share-a-smile tri together this year, and my goal is to finish "sub-60"--under 60mins.
we are also bookworms and somewhat nerdy, so scrabble is a fav past-time. on our best board we both scored over 340. at our first apt we had a little "neighborhood garden"--we had everything from canteloupe and honey dew to zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers. we were very proud of our little garden and boy was it big and green! we sadly left it behind when we moved.

what you've all been waiting for...

the new car!!! david's 1995 pontiac bonneville with 200,000 miles on it finally bit the dust. it's been slowly dying over the last year: overheating, things falling out of the engine while he's driving, heat and ac problems, windows unable to roll down...etc. etc. etc. david really did his research to find a good car--practical (for me) and fun (for him), and narrowed down the search to 2-3 different cars. one day he was assigned to do a route that included a car dealership, and he saw it--our new baby. it's a 2005 subaru impreza sport wagon. david's favorite feature is the hood scoop and the turbo that kicks in when you're in 2nd gear. he took a few more photos of the "special" features he wanted to post online.....

how we began

david and i very randomly became penpals april 2001. i had moved to baltimore the summer of 2000 and became very depressed. i wrote an email to an address i made up--i just wanted to vent. this email address ended up belonging to a guy named joel. we wrote back and forth a few times, to let him know my life was getting better, but our correspondence gradually tapered off.

meanwhile...david was living in california working for a year to save money to serve a mission for the lds church. he happened to be home for a 20 minute lunch break and got online to check his email. ryan, david's friend, was at college and happened to get online and instant message david to say hello. while they were sending instant messages, another friend from high school, karly, also happened to get online and join the conversation. while the three of them were talking, joel randomly got online and asked to join the im conversation. fyi: key point to this story is that this is the first and only time ryan and david talked online since high school--this 20 minute window. this was also the only time ryan and david had spoken with karly since high school, and neither of them have spoken with her since that day. so, joel was in a band and was trying to sell cds. david