Weeds

Its too cold and windy to do anything about it, but my backyard is loaded with weeds. I'm really thinking seriously about digging it all up and putting gravel down. We're going to build my elevated garden box this week to plant my sad indoor plantings.

My brother in law is at it again and sent me a link for his new video on you tube and I have attached it.

Class is finished

I made it thru my second week of class. Today was the last day. Hooray! I had a really good teacher and I learned alot. But I'm glad its done. Between the dialysis, my shift at the temple today, and class, I'm beat.

I am so grateful. The Lord has really watched over us. We're still making it. Steve had his interview today, but we won't know anything for a week or two. My disability starts tomorrow and it will make things alot easier.

I love my husband. There have been nearly 16 years with many challenges. But his sweet nature and loving concern has made it all worth it. He's always been there for my kids without question. I do love him much.

Video of Steve's brother

Steve's brother lives in Idaho and is quite talented. He made a video of him singing and I've attached the video. Its really quite good.



Just finished dialysis and it went well. I'm surviving the 6:00 a.m. thing and finding it nice to still have a full day. Thanks Dyann for the suggestion.

Inside Out

I got up this morning, ate a bowl of cereal, and rushed to change my clothes to get to my hair appointment. Heidi always does a great job and I always look forward to my appointment. Last week when my son had surgery, I came home and forgot my appointment. I thought then she must really think I'm dingy. Well today I proved it. When I got home from my appointment, I looked in the mirror and realized my t-shirt was on inside out!

Several years ago on a BYU broadcast I saw Lucille Johnson speak. She spoke of a time she had a speaking assignment at a womens conference and because she was late and on a phone call, her husband rushed her out of the door. As she was walking into the conference the women were asking her if she was ok. After she got up and spoke and the conference finished, she got in the car and pulled down the visor and saw her reflection in the mirror. She screamed. She teases her hair and it was still all teased up. She had never combed it out. I know younger adults will probably not get the picture, but some of the older will. Although my embarrasment will not match hers at that moment, it was still bad enough.

Steve has a couple of job interviews today. My daughter's gone on another BYU trip to Hawaii. Lucky girl.

Last night I ironed Steve's shirts. I haven't ironed a shirt in nearly 40 years. I was so ambitious I even ironed a tablecloth that Steve's mom used to use. Its been tucked in a drawer for nearly ten years. The most significant thing about this was that I had the energy to do so. If anyone fears dialysis, don't. It makes such a difference in the way you feel.

A Really Good Day

My sister came to Dallas today to see me. She flew to Texas to help her brother-in-law and sister-in-law pack and they drove her up to spend the afternoon here. We had a wonderful visit and I was so grateful to spend time with her.

We fixed a nice dinner and my son and his wife came over to eat with us. We had a really nice time and it was good that they all got to see each other.

A Whole New Day

A whole day today to do what I want. I'm so grateful. No dialysis. No errands. Just time to do with as I want and need. What a blessing.

A little chilly here, but I did manage to get the dogs out for a walk this morning.

Gabby's back

We nearly lost one of our pups last week. Gabby started throwing up and became dehydrated and shut down. I took her to her vet and after a few days they sent her home. She's been very weak and mostly nonresponsive. The last two days she's been bouncing back. Today she was completely back. Yeah! I hope she stays with us for a while longer. She's nearly 14 so I know she's old, but she's been with us since she was a puppy.

I got back from dialysis and took them for a walk and she's did amazingly well.

One more day under the belt. Monday my dialysis starts at 6 a.m.- yikes.

Gratitude

I went to the temple this morning and worked at the family file desk. On the way back, I stopped by a friend of Steve's house to see him. He was doing some electrical work over there. They had a huge amount of patterned concrete work. I couldn't help but think how beautiful it looked and went into the backyard to see the driveway and the work done on it. The lady of the house had nothing to do but complain about the work that had been done. Several years ago her flooring company had put flooring in our house. It was strange to hear her complain and go on about the very feelings I had about the work done in our house on our tile. All these years later I still have grout in places on my floor I can't get out. Anyway, it brought me to think about how I need to be grateful for the things I have and not focus on the negatives.



So I'm attaching a picture of beginning plants I started in the house. I'm going to be curious to see how it works once they're planted outside.



My sister did me a huge thing today. She sent me a sizable check. Totally unrequested. I was so surprised and called her. She just knew that we're struggling and wanted to help. At Christmas we had a surprise on our front porch. Someone had secret santa'd us with gift cards from WalMart and Albertsons. My feelings were similar in both actions. Totally grateful.

Back to school!

I started a class last night at the local junior college. Its only for two weeks, but its four hours three nights a week for two weeks. I came home exhausted! I'm taking a Quickbooks class. Trying to prepare for what may be the eventuality. Jobs are not showing up for Steve and since he's 60, I don't think he'll want a job working on the roads. So, we need to find our own path and it may mean putting him back in business for himself.

Anyway, it felt good to be learning again.

I planted seeds in a indoor planterbox for a garden . . . they're growing I just hope they'll produce once they're outside. The squash looks really good. The zucchini looks really god, but the plantings that came from the tomato seeds look really strange.

Stephen

My son was rear ended back in March at a stoplight and has suffered with pain since. He's had multiple injections, gone through physical therapy, has amassed a huge amount of medical bills, his injuries have affected him at work and emotionally. This morning they did another procedure burning the nerves in his back. I hope this takes care of his pain level. He's only 35.

My daughter takes off next week to Hawaii for work. I'm happy for her. She works so hard and tries to do the right. I'm glad she has opportunities to do things I've never had.

Update

Just got back from dialysis. It went well and my dry weight was down to 85.8. This is good. I think I must be losing some weight because I've not been eating near as much.

I see so many different people in dialysis at various stages of life. There are many who are elderly and to me, exercise a great deal of courage to be coming at that stage in life. One comes in a wheelchair and her husband sits with her the entire time she's there. Another one has struggled because her access hasn't done well by her.

The center is filling up fast. So fast they're having to add another shift and that moves my time to 6:00 a.m. Good thing its close to home. Maybe I'll get to sleep. I've not been able to so far. There's always the possibility . . .

I'm trying to keep up with putting a thought for the day down on my blog. Hopefully, someone somewhere will find inspiration in them.

Yeah ... my sister called and she is coming in town this weekend to see me. She is so wonderful. I'm glad to claim her as my sis.

Did some indexing tonight on the Arkansas marriage records for new family search. They take longer to do than some of the others. I keep hoping to run across some of my family in the process. So far, no luck though.

I'm so grateful to my Savior for watching over me and carrying me through so far. I hope to keep the faith and trust in him in all things. Thank you for each new day.

Happy Valentine's Day

Wow . . . the year is really moving onward.

Its been a busy, but good week. My energy level is improving.

We found out this week that our oldest pup is on her way out. Gabby has been with us since she was a baby and is now approaching 14. She got really ill this week and we took her to the vet and her kidneys and liver are failing. She's on meds, but we don't know for how long. She has little interest in anything right now but sleeping. She has always been my favorite.

Off to my day! Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Thursday

It was a good day today. I went to the temple and worked at the family file desk this morning. I came home and walked the dogs, cleaned the kitchen and cooked dinner.

Nice quiet evening.

I got a disk in on Independence County Arkansas on genealogy. I was disappointed though it didn't have near enough information for the cost. I also got a book on doing research with Google.

I'm going to call a branch president tomorrow in Batesville and see if there's anyone in his ward I could hire to do a little research for me.

Another Tuesday

It was a good day. I did alot of research on Independence County, Arkansas. Took Gabby to the groomer, did laundry, and took Benson for a walk.

Watched some tv and now I'm heading to bed.

I've spent alot of time trying to figure out the business of customizing my blog, but haven't got very far with it. I'll get there.

Dialysis tomorrow.

Pepe and Me

My daughter's dog and me.

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Originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/gabben/