The Whole Wide World

I couldn't resist making my own map after my sister-in-law posted hers.



visited 22 states (44%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Actually, there are probably a few that I forgot because I visited them when I was so young that I don't remember.  So, I will just have to go again someday.

As for countries, here is how it looks for me:


visited 13 states (5.77%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Of course, this map is deceiving because it appears as if I have traveled to every US State (obviously, I have not), and extensively through Canada (have not).  And it's so small you can't tell which European countries I have visited (UK, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland).  

I have a ways to go.

Prone Time

While recovering from my illness, I have had quite a bit of "prone time," and therefore, time to read.  You can find out what I read, and some of my thoughts, over at my other blog.... Alice Reviews Media.



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My Super-Sick Adventure

Here is what has been going on with me lately.  If you aren't interested in "The Whole Story", you can skip to the "abridged version" at the end.  :)

THE WHOLE STORY
A couple of weeks ago I was having symptoms of a UTI over the weekend.  On Monday morning I called the doctor and they got me in that day.  I was given Bactrim (standard anti-biotic for UTI's) to treat the infection and told to come back at the end of the week to follow up. 

By Thursday I had finished the Bactrim but instead of feeling better I was feeling worse.... I still had all the symptoms plus severe "flank pain."  I thought it might be a kidney stone. 

On Friday I returned to the doctor and she said, "Since the anti-biotic didn't help, I think it might be a kidney stone.  We need more tests."  So they sent me out for blood work (cultures, which take a few days) and a CT scan to check for more kidney stones, etc.  She said a kidney stone can cause a blockage leading to a kidney infection.  This worried me.  This was Friday afternoon and I was feeling a bit better, thinking I had probably passed a kidney stone and was on the "up and up."  (Kidney stones can cause the same symptoms as a UTI, plus pain.)

I felt pretty good on Saturday but by evening I had a high fever/violent shivering, severe head ache, nausea and low back pain, which continued all day Sunday.  In my mind I was thinking, "I must have a kidney infection.  I have to go back to the doctor on Monday morning."

On Monday morning I realized it was a holiday (Memorial Day) and the doctor's office was closed, so I asked Jay to take me to Urgent Care.  The doctor there diagnosed a kidney infection and I was immediately put on IV anti-biotics.  Over an hour later I still had a high fever and had not responded as they expected me to.  The doctor came back in and said, "You are really sick and we have done all we are equipped to do.  We are sending you to the hospital.  Right now.  In an ambulance."  I was a little freaked out, but mostly just so sick that I didn't care what they did to me... I just wanted to get better.  Fast! 

I arrived in the ER and heard the paramedic say to the admitting nurse, "They are worried about Sepsis."  I know that term and that freaked me out even more.  I spent the next couple of hours in the ER getting poked and prodded, and was given a nice dose of Valium and Morphine that made me feel pretty darn good for a little while. 

I spent the rest of the week at Banner Gateway Medical Center (great hospital) where they pumped me full of fluids (I was quite dehydrated) until I was so swollen I couldn't make a fist, several different kind of IV anti-biotics (and lactobacillus to combat those), phosphates (?) and magnesium to get my levels back to normal, morphine and percocet for the headaches, Zofran for the nausea, and Tylenol for the high fevers.  They did several more CT scans, drew blood several times a day (from my pathetic/difficult veins) and became frustrated when my fevers did not abate and my white blood cell count didn't go back to normal.  And worried when a CT scan showed on a spot on my kidney that looked like an absess that would need to be drained by inserting a giant needle into my side!  Ouch!  Thank goodness further tests showed it was JUST a spot of infection.  Whew!

They called in the infectious disease specialist (what a character!  Dr. House anyone?) who asked a million seemingly random questions about my health, history, and life-style, plus examined, poked and prodded.  I was officially diagnosed with Pyelonephritis (kidney infection), pre-sepsis, anemia, and.... pneumonia.  Yes, pneumonia, which apparently was a result of some of the extra IV fluids entering my lungs.  They altered my medicines to target the pneumonia as well and called it good.  (I kept telling all the doctors and nurses that I was having trouble breathing and I was wheezing.  They said thing like, "Well, I listened to your lungs and they are clear.  It's probably just post-nasal drip/stress/anxiety, etc."  Yeah, right.) 

I finally got to go home on Saturday with my arms looking like they belonged to a heroine addict, 10 more days worth of oral anti-biotics (levaquin), and zofran for the continued nausea, and they told me to stay hydrated and expect to feel like garbage for a couple more weeks.  Great.  Thank goodness I'm feeling much better today... I even drove to the doctor!  The nausea and light-headedness are gone, as are the headaches, and....unfortunately, I got my appetite back.  Darn. 

Now they have to figure out why I'm anemic, I have to follow up with a urologist, and probably have a colonoscopy.  I feel like I have aged 10 years in 2 weeks. 

A word of advice.... DON'T GET SICK! 

FUNNY MOMENTS
During the ambulance ride, the paramedic asked, "Are you normally fair skinned?"  I replied (through my chattering teeth), "Yes, why?"  He replied, "Well, you are really pale and I just wanted to make sure that is normal for you or if there is something else going on."  I almost laughed.  Yes, I am fair-skinned, but I think I was probably extra pale considering what was going on in my body.

Dr. Oommen, the infectious disease specialist, after doing a preliminary evaluation left the room to check out my test results/charts.  A few minutes later he opened the door and poked his head and said, "Do you have any hobbies?"  I almost laughed out loud.  Was he making conversation?  I was surprised and confused and couldn't think of anything, though I know I have hobbies, so I didn't respond immediately.  He must have noticed I was confused, so she said, "You know, like hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, mountain climbing...."  Then I did laugh.  "Uh, no," I said.  "Nothing like that." 

"Do you do anything outdoors?" 
I said, "Well, I jog." 
"Have you ever had valley fever?"
"Not that I know of."
"Have you had a cold?"
"No, not lately."
"Has anyone in your household been sick recently?"
"No."
"Have you been in a wind storm?"
(By this time the curiosity was about to kill me.) "No, why?"
"Oh, well, you have pneumonia." 
(This is how you break it to me?)  "Huh?"
"Apparently it's just because of all the extra fluids... some got in your lungs."
"So, now what?"
"Oh, I'm just changing one of your anti-biotics to one that will target pneumonia too." 
"Pneumonia!  I've been wheezing and no one would believe me!"
"Well, I believe you.  See you tomorrow."  And he shut the door. 


ABRIDGED VERSION
- I got a UTI and was given Bactrim for it (pretty standard for a UTI).
- The infection happened to be resistant to Bactrim.
- The UTI turned into a kidney infection.
- I spent 6 days in the hospital, got pneumonia on top of the infection, and almost got sepsis.
- I'm home now and mostly recovered.  I think.
- Being sick sucks.

Random stuff from May

The kids had their last day of school.  It was a crazy few weeks.  I helped put together 3 quilts for some ladies who retired after being at the school for many years, and my amazing cousin made these gorgeous cakes in their honor!

Among other things, they had 50's Day at school.  These are the costumes we threw together at the last minute (Collin thought he was too "mature" to dress up). 

Jay helped Jack build a bike from old parts, like he did for Collin a few months ago....

Jay and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with an amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris....

Jay made this wonderful shed to protect our bikes....

 

My mom rescued 2 abandoned baby birds from a tree in her yard.  They didn't have any feathers at first, but they grew fast.  My parents went out of town for several days and recruited us to "bird sit."  It was a lot of work, feeding them by hand constantly throughout the day (bits of wet whole wheat bread), but it was quite an adventure for the kids.

They have since flown off to join the rest of the birds in the neighborhood.  Whew!

 Oh, and in April my kids enjoyed a fun day at the zoo with their cousins.

 Petting the sting rays was definitely one of the highlights.

So, that's May (and some of April) in a nutshell.

Collin's 12th Birthday

Collin had some friends over to celebrate his 12th birthday.  (I can't believe he is so "old."  It's scary.)  I made pizza and they ate a bunch of other junk too, and, of course, cake and ice cream.  They also played basketball and tag, watched a movie outside in the backyard, and played frisbee with a pizza that I accidentally forgot about on the grill.  It was black, and they thought it was hilarious.  That's 12-year-old boys for you.  This was a few days before his birthday.

On his actual birthday, both sets of grandparents dropped by with money (the most exciting gift at this age), and my parents also brought a candy gram.

 

But the following Sunday was the best of all.... Jay ordained Collin a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.  Both his grandfathers also participated.  He is named after both of these great men.  Collin is such a good boy and we are very proud of him.

Liz's post about our girls' weekend was perfect (and she remembered her camera) so I don't really have anything to add except for a few more photos from my mom.

Digging into my incredible slice of Viking cake here

Enjoying the beautiful weather and Seaport Village

A sidewalk artist's stacked-stone designs... amazing!

 It was a perfectly fun weekend.  I can't wait to do it again!

April

Yikes. I have been very absent from my blog this month.  Hmm.... let's see what's been going on...

I was in charge of our ward (church congregation) Talent Show. It was a ton of work, but it turned out great. Everything ran very smoothly because I did a lot of advance planning and had lots of good helpers. We had a wide variety of talents, such as vocal, violin, piano, guitar, clarinet, trumpet, cello, dance/tumbling, comedy, ballroom dance, etc. It was a lot of fun, and even though it was a lot of work I hope it becomes a tradition! Mary sang a solo... she was so nervous beforehand but she was very well prepared so that when she actually got up to perform she said she wasn't nervous at all, and she did a great job.

Collin was assigned to give a talk in Primary (the program for children at church)... his last since he turns 12 soon and will "graduate."  I decided he was old enough to do it on his own, but I told him I would help him if he needed it.  I told him the assigned topic and sent him off the work on it.  Later I asked if he had worked on it, thinking he hadn't.  He said, "Yes, I'm done."  I didn't believe him so I said, "Let's hear it."  He had typed it up and printed it out.  He read it to me and I was shocked.  It was perfect.  I was very proud of him.

The rest of the month kept us busy with a science project for school, "Back-to-the 80's" Family Fun Night at the school (you should have seen me with my big hair and blue eye shadow!), babysitting my sister's darling baby while she was out of town (including a trip to the zoo), attending several baptisms, as well as the usual homework, piano lessons/practicing, chores, etc.  AND my kids enjoyed playing with their cousins visiting from Utah!

Last week I had a little vacation.  My mom and my oldest sister drove to San Diego to spend a few days with my youngest sister.  It was delightful!  We spent several days just talking, eating yummy food, talking, shopping, talking, watching chick-flicks, talking, and laughing.  The only thing that would have made it more fun is if ALL my sisters and sisters-in-law had been there too.  Maybe next time....  Thanks for being such a great hostess Liz!  Thank you San Diego for having perfect weather for us!  And thank you Jay for holding down the fort while I was gone!  I forgot to bring a camera so I have no photos, but when Liz or my mom send me some I will post more about the trip.

Yesterday, on Easter morning Jay and the kids and I took roses to the cemetery to put on my sister Charity's grave.  We sang songs about Christ and talked about how we are so grateful that because of Jesus Christ we will see her again.  I miss her.  We had a lovely Easter program at church, and had dinner with my parents and siblings and their families.  I am so grateful for my wonderful family.

Today is Charity's birthday, so I went to the cemetery again with my parents and two of my sisters.  We talked about special experiences, cried and hugged.  Again I wished that all of my siblings could have been there.  (Why do you have to live far away?) 

Even though I have been neglecting this blog lately (not on purpose), I have been posting to my other blog this month.  I guess I should give them equal time.  As pathetic as I am of late, I even got a mention from fabulous I Heart Mesa!

Dayton's Legs

Our nephew Spencer is featured in this video from "Mormon Messages." He is a sweet kid.

Field Trip to the Zoo

On Tuesday I chased 5 first-graders around the Phoenix Zoo chaperoned Jack's class field trip. 

 

Thankfully it was a gorgeous day, and I was only assigned 5 kids in  my group (including Jack), only one of which would be considered somewhat "difficult."  It was very fun. 

I enjoy being with my kids and getting to know the other kids in their school.

 The Phoenix Zoo is large and the exhibits are very spread-out, but I think we saw everything in the few hours we were there, which means we were all exhausted.  The kids were about to fall asleep on the bus ride back to school!

 Elephants are always interesting.

 But Monkey Village is always the favorite.  You walk right into their habitat and the monkeys are close enough to touch.  (This monkey was literally right over my head... this is not zoomed or cropped.)  They seem so cute and cuddly, but I imagine they probably aren't.

 The kids were dying to get to the tiger, but naturally he was just lying around being lazy and didn't do anything impressive.

 Ditto for the lions.  What a bunch of lazy bones!  :)

Mowing the Lawn

Since the day Collin was born, Jay looked forward to Collin being able to mow the lawn so he could sit back and relax.  Collin, for his part, also eagerly awaited the day... from the time he could reach the lawn mower handle he would walk along with Jay pretending he was helping (it made me nervous). 

By the time Collin turned 10 he was mowing the lawn by himself, without ever complaining about it (even during the super hot summer), and doing quite a good job of it.  (Jay still does the edging though.)  But now it seems he is looking forward to passing the torch to Jack.

This was the scene in our backyard last Saturday as Collin carefully instructed Jack on the finer points of lawn-mowing technique.  (Jack did not look unhappy.  In fact, he tried very hard to suppress a grin.)  I love it when Collin gets all serious about teaching his younger siblings stuff.  It makes me proud.

"Flipback" Books

Since I love to read (and I love books), I'm very intrigued by this. 

And this is how I feel about books. 

Jay's Birthday

Yesterday was Jay's birthday.  We celebrated on Saturday by going to dinner and then to see I Am Number Four.  (Jay's choice..... go here to read what I thought of it.)  This is what he wanted me to make for his birthday cake.... a recipe from an advertisement in a magazine!  Oh brother. 

Actually, it turned out pretty good.

That was Saturday.

Yesterday (Sunday, his actual birthday) I made him his favorite breakfast, Eggs Benedict.  And for dinner, his favorite meal....
- Rib Eye steak, rubbed with butter and seasonings
- Red potatoes, boiled and buttered, with garlic salt and parlsey
- Salad of red leaf lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons and Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette

I made him another cake, which we took to his parents' house to share with the rest of his family.  I made this Strawberry Cake (adapted from Paula Deen)....

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 (3 oz.) box strawberry instant jello
• 1 (16 oz.) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed and pureed
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup water

Combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water; beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into 2 round cake pans (prepared), and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

I layered the cake with this filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 large box banana cream pudding
2 c. milk

Beat cream cheese; add pudding and milk and beat until smooth and thick.  Spread half of mixture on top of first layer of cake.  Add second cake layer and top with remaining pudding mixture.  Frost the whole thing with 8 oz. Cool Whip, and top with fresh strawberries.

It was yummy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY!

Want to see what I gave him?  Go here and here.  He loves them both.  I think I did pretty good this year.

Spring Break - Day 3 - Chase Field Tour

Yesterday we went on a tour of Chase Field. I had no idea what to expect, but it was really fun. It was very informative (and humorous at times), and we got to see a bunch of cool stuff. We didn't get to actually go in the players' clubhouse, but they showed us a video tour of it... looks awesome. (I imagine they don't want a bunch of people going through their private and very expensive stuff... I don't blame them.) We did go in the visiting team's areas... boring in comparison.

We visited one of the suites, but that wasn't a big deal for me because Jay and I once attended a Diamondback's game as guests in the owner's suite. I have to say it was pretty darn cool. (There's another whole funny story behind that experience.) Being in the dugout was fun... a very unique perspective.

The private pool area is where I would love to watch a game... it's $3500 for 35 people... you get the pool and spa to yourselves, which is level with the field, plush seats with an amazing view (and a row of bleachers if you'd rather watch that way), private dressing rooms/restrooms, lifeguards, premium reserved parking, D-Backs souvenir towels, and it's fully catered. Not bad for a hundred bucks a person. It's still available for a few games... anyone want to go in on it with me? :)

Spring Break - Days 1 and 2

We aren't being as exciting as last year, but Jay took a few days off for Spring Break this year, so we are enjoying some fun time together as a family.... and trying to keep the kids from getting too bored and driving each other crazy. 

Yesterday, we took a bike ride to our local library, which is a little over 2 miles away.  We took a picnic lunch and ate it at the park next to the library, then picked up some books.  Jay's bike ended up with a flat tire so we left him and Jack there (since Jack is the slowest rider) and I came back with the car to bring them home.  Small snag.  But it was still fun.  Later we watched "Fantastic Mr. Fox" for the first time.  We laughed.  Our new word is "cuss."  And we keep doing the whistle-whistle-click-click thing.  It's not old yet.

Today Jay and I left the kids at home for a while and had lunch at Chelsea's Kitchen.  Yum!  Then we headed to Last Chance... I scored a sweet pair of Steven Madden pumps for $20, and some super cute flats for $10. Later, after a game of Carcassone with Jay and Jack, we all rode our bikes to the local QT for slushies and snacks.  We are loving the great weather, so we are racking up the bike-riding-miles!

We have something fun planned for tomorrow.  At least I hope it will be fun.  I will let you know.

Red Carpet

Here is our "red carpet" photo from the award's ceremony.  I wish that I had had time to lose 20 pounds and get something new to wear (I didn't know what the attire was until I was actually getting dressed for the evening and Jay said, "Oh yeah, you are supposed to dress formal."  Ugh!), but here it is anyway.