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!