Phooey

I thought selling stock was supposed to be a good thing. Huh.

Not when the government gets half of it.

What a crock.

I'm peeved.

Whatever. Grrrr.

Paradise... here I come!!!

These are photos of Oahu. Can't wait to go. I love the islands. Looking forward to this trip is what will help me keep my sanity. It's so hard to be apart again. And the 3 hour time difference is really hard especially when I go to bed early. Leaves us no time to talk.

I get up at 6am.... so it is 3 am where George is. When I eat lunch at 11:00, he is working. I get off work and he is getting back from lunch. I go to bed at 7 or 8 and he's still working!

It's going to get worse in a couple weeks when we change our clocks ahead one hour. Then we will be 4 hours apart because Hawaii doesn't change their clocks.

Well, being depressed is taking it's toll on me. I just eat and sleep. So I am getting fat again.

This weekend I will consume everything that is a temptation to me to the point that I will never want it again.... and then I start my diet on Tuesday.

And it's time to pull out the exercise dvds again.

And start tanning. I always feel so much better when I tan.

Hehehe when George sees me again... he's not going to recognize me. :-)

Three letters that spark fear.......

This Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we have an FDA audit. They always cause a bit of a panic because our company depends on FDA approval for our products. We do the best we can and we really try hard to comply to everything we need to. And we usually pass just fine. But it always makes everybody a bit tense and cranky and stressed out when it's coming up.

You never know if you are going to get a "nice" auditor or a "picky" one.

There are rules we have to follow in our conversations with auditors. And some of those rules are really difficult to remember. Especially when you're nervous and you're trying to make a good impression. You tend to "chat" and that's not a good thing.

Hopefully it all goes well. I have confidence it will.

Georgie is in Oahu. I haven't talked to him. He got in after I was already sound asleep. I imagine we'll get to talk tonight. Three hour time difference stinks. Three thousand miles apart stinks.

oh well.

ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Good news!

My "sister" had a brain scan and "Bob" (that's what she named her tumor) is GONE and no new tumors have taken up residence.

This is GREAT!!!!

Also.... her mammogram showed NO CHANGE from last year.

And her tumor markers in her blood work have dropped way down.

AND -- she got reinstated on her clinical trial chemo drug Iniparib.

All great news!!!

Thunder Snow. Glad to be alive....

Honestly, I'm thankful to be here today. Alive. Last night was the SCARIEST winter driving experience I ever had.

Karin and I went to the Jazz game, despite the fact that a storm of huge proportions was set to hit Utah at any moment. On our way to the game we saw lightning strike a power pole right near us. We almost turned around.

Maybe we should have.

But no, we were brave (or stupid?) and continued on to the game. Got there just before it started.

The tip off came and the Jazz were ahead by a few points against the Golden State Warriors when suddenly the lights in the arena went dim -- well, half of them went OUT. The game was halted and an announcement was made that there was a power outage.

The arena has back up generators, and while the light was dimmer than normal, it was still good for playing so the audience encouraged the game to go forward. It did... and the Jazz started slipping behind, but then they were tied at half time.

David sent me a text that the weather was turning bad so Karin and I left.

Good thing we left when we did.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!

Karin lives up on the mountain... so the weather was ten times worse up there. We made it to her place ok - only because SHE was driving. (Still a few scary moments for me). I got in my car and headed down the mountain.

The snow was coming down HARD. Blizzard conditions. I have only one headlight. And you cannot drive in blinding snow with highbeams. My windshield wipers kept freezing up. I have night blindness really bad. I have anxiety really bad.

I was frantically trying to find the turn that I needed to go down 4500 South. So I was crawling along Wasatch Blvd in this mess.

Suddenly out of nowhere I hit an island divider in the road and I thought "Huh, I don't remember ever seeing that before." I began to suspect I had missed my turn.

I had.

I kept going along Wasatch Blvd. And going.... and going.... and suddenly there were no lights.... no houses, no stores... no turn offs... the road narrowed and got winding.... and I started hyperventilating.

I knew I had gone too far. But there was no place to turn around! And I felt like I was heading UP not going down at all.

I prayed......... oh how I prayed. OOOOH how I prayed.

I finally realized I had to get myself turned around. But there was no place to do it. So I turned sideways right in the middle of the road. Then I panicked. My car had got stuck in my friend's driveway once when it had snowed and it took 3 of us and half an hour to get it unstuck.

I was alone. On this road. In PITCH black. No street lights. Nothing. And I could tell that I was on a cliff bank.

I was so afraid. If those wheels started spinning. I would be a gonner. There would be nobody there to push me out. It was just a two lane road.... very narrow.... and if any car came upon me I was blocking the whole road so it would have been very bad. I grabbed my phone and thought about calling Karin for help. But I didn't want her to come out again in this mess.

I thought about Brett, but he hadn't even made it home yet. There was no way he could come help me. Nope... It was me and Heavenly Father.

Thank the Lord.... (and I continue to thank Him).... my car turned around without a problem.

I found my turn and headed down the mountain.

The road goes down at a steep angle. I learned I have good brakes. I was able to take that road nice and slow.

But the wipers still kept freezing and I had to pull over several times to clean them off.

Some idiot cars behind me didn't like how slow I was going so they passed me and threw snow up in my face.

I made it home. I was shaking like a leaf. But I was alive. I was thankful.

Oh.... and the Jazz ended up losing anyway.

Aloha George

Well, I haven't seen my George for a couple weeks. He's been in Yuma, AZ. Yesterday the company called and they are sending him back to Hawaii for a "few months". This time to the island of Oahu.

So the good news is, they upped his wages. And if he is going to be spending months over there, then for sure I am getting another trip out of it.

But the bad news is......... I'm back to being alone for weeks on end.

I'm so depressed about that. I just cried myself to sleep last night. I feel like screaming at everybody.

Oh well. It's time to change my ways and lose some weight and start exercising and get myself back to the land of the living.

But first........ let me wallow in my self pity for a bit. I think I deserve it.

Oh... bless my dad...... he means well.....

I told my dad I wanted him to send me some photos of my mom because I don't have very many of her. He said ok.

I waited several weeks for him to get around to mailing it and it finally arrived yesterday.

I was so excited!


But.............. then.................... I opened the package and the photo he sent of mom is one I ALREADY HAVE.

And then he sent the following items and I have NO IDEA what he was thinking.....


A sympathy card sent to him when his mother died (back in the 80's) from people I don't know.

A 1982 christmas card sent to them from my Aunt Amanda and Uncle Dick.

A christmas card from Janet, David, Rachel and Jonathan.

Postcards from a trip to Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia.


Recommended immunization schedule for children in 1963.



I laughed................. then I cried....................

To-do List for My Weekend

One thing George is really good at, is cleaning up and organizing things. He has organized things so well here I can't find anything!


But a lot of stuff just needs to be sorted through and discarded, or stored. So that is what I am doing this weekend. I cleaned out the refrigerator today. Threw out almost everything. Cleaned out the cupboards and the "junk" drawer in the kitchen.

My next project is the home office.

Once George gets back, I think we should buy the closet organizer. We have a huge walk in closet, but a lot of space is wasted in it. I think this would utilize that space.

Anyhow.... de-junking is a nice stress reducer for me. And it's the best thing to do on a cold, gray, winters day when a storm is on the way.

The bishop of George's friend Tom has hired them to do a bunch of landscaping for them. The Bishop's daughter or son is getting married in April and they are going to have the reception in the back yard. George and Tom worked on Tom's yard two years ago and it's like a park. So the Bishop wanted them to do his also. That means George will be gone another week at least.

Oh well..... that's life. At least we talk several times a day. And I'm keeping busy here at the house.

Now.... where did I put my to-do list????

I am LONELY

George has been gone a week. Oh how I miss him. Forgive me for whining but I do miss him! Tonight is Friday and we have established Friday as our "date night" and he is out of town so..... I am all alone.....

I hate being alone.


He makes me laugh and we have such a great time together.


HURRY HOME GEORGIE!!!!!!!

Beat the Chill

MAN it's cold here! BELOW zero. So I made a big crockpot of my yummy chicken noodle soup to bring to work and sell for lunch. I also brought my grill and some sourdough bread and homemade garlic spread.

For the soup:

Beat 2 eggs with a little water (about 2 TB) and a dash of salt and about 1/8 tea of baking powder. Add 1 cup of flour and mix. Dough will be sticky. Stir in more flour (by hand) until dough is not sticky anymore and you can knead it. Then roll it with a rolling pin till it is VERY thin. This takes about a good 15 minutes of rolling, turn the dough, roll more, flip the dough, roll more.... Then take a knife or pizza cutter and cut into strips, then cut crosswise so you get smaller noodle size pieces. Let this dough SIT on the counter for about an hour.

Meanwhile:

In a large pot chop up

1 bunch of celery

2 large onions

1 pkg of baby carrots (I chop them up even though they are already tiny)

Cover with water, and add a pkg of Lipton Chicken Noodle Soup mix (in the packet). And one can of cream of chicken soup.

Bring to a boil, then turn to low, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.

If you need to add more water, do so, or add chicken broth. Turn the heat up to high and get it boiling. Then add the noodles and boil for 6 minutes, stirring often.

Turn heat down to low again and throw in about 3 cups of cooked chicken. (To make this easy, I bought a roasted chicken at the store and just pulled the meat off, cut it up and threw it in).

Add salt and pepper to taste and warm through.

YUM YUM

Tuesday thoughts.....

It's been so long since I could access this blog... I have forgotten how to write!

Many thoughts in my head these days. Certain numbers keep popping up EVERYWHERE the past year and this year... Those numbers are 2, 7, 27, 11. George and I see them in EVERYTHING, so much so, that we no longer consider it a coincidence because it happens nearly daily... and in the middle of the night.... We don't know what the numbers mean.... but we know we'll figure it out eventually.

Well, George already thinks he has it figured out. But I'm a bit more skeptical on some of his theories.

Two big trips planned for this year. (well, big for us). George hasn't met my dad yet so we are planning to go visit him when the weather gets warmer. (NO WAY am I heading to New England at this time of year. Been there, done that... and it took 3 days to unbury my rental car).

And George's mom turns 80 this year and I have not met her yet so I would like to do so... so we hope to get to see her.

I'd also really like to go see my "sister" who has cancer, but I'm not sure she's up for visitors, and so we'll hold off on that for a little bit.

My lunch catering business is in high demand. I may have to invest in some more cookware because right now I can only make enough for about 8 people and twice that many want my lunches. We did flautas, beans and rice for our first lunch and it sold out. Tomorrow I am bringing homemade chicken noodle soup and some garlic bread or rolls. (I make the noodles from scratch and they are sooooooooooo good).

Anyhow.... I think this year will be "prosperous" and I hope we save up enough to get into another place. We decided to move, but then everything just blocked our way, and after pondering about it, and discussing it... we decided that we needed to take our time to find the "right" place. We were in such a hurry to just up and leave.... and hasty decisions are never good ones. So we've slowed down... we're going to sell off some stuff, and keep looking and we'll know when the time is right and the location is right because it will all fall into place.

Meanwhile.... we ignore the neighbors as best as we can.