huh?

Me + No Sunday Nap = Dead on Monday

***

My kids are chasing each other around yelling, "You dirty little hippy!" I don't know what that's about, but I gotta go bake.

***

HAPPY BIRFDAY, COUSIN DAVE!

Mediocrity

My SIL posted about "things I suck at"--which is about my first three years of this blog for me: being pregnant, handling disorder, using power tools, dealing with people who have vastly different values than I do, math, typing, maintaining a decent weight, dealing with obstructed breathing, confrontation, patience...ALL THINGS I SUCK AT!

Right now the thing I suck at most is personal grooming. I am in the throes of busy momhood, and I am the poster girl for Letting Yourself Go. Part of me cares, but part of me cares more about my family life and THEIR grooming and cuteness. Don't get me wrong--I am still good about hygeine. I smell decent, my nails are ALWAYS cut and polished, my teeth are brushed at least twice a day, etc. etc. But I rarely "do" my hair (it requires a blow-out after each shampoo). I usually get up, put on yoga pants and a t-shirt and a headband, telling myself that AFTER I exercise and AFTER I get teh house clean, I will freshen up and put on an "outfit."

You've probably guessed that the sweaty chores never end. The yoga pants and Tshirts never get changed. The makeup bag gathers dust. I DO apply vitamin E oil to the lashes and I swear by clinique city block after the morning face wash--at least it evens the skin tone and provides sunblock. That's gotta count for something, right?

The thing is, I do a decent job at a LOT of things, but I excell at pretty much nothing. I am undisciplined in a lot of ways and that's why I can't sight read or sew or bake well. Or, like the Innocence Mission song, "I know nothing about so many, too many things..."

The Day That Kicked My Tail

So we got to the Museum of the Rockies at about 10:45am, just in time to watch a planetarium show about Hubble Telescope images. The kids liked learning about star birth and star nurseries as well as "old stars that blow up and make shapes with their gas clouds", also known as Super Novas.

The new main exhibit is about Pirates and treasure, so the kids got to watch clips of Goonies, control an underwater video camera by remote, use metal detectors in a big sand box to find stuff, put on a pirate puppet show, play a treasure hunting game, measure their weight in gold (James is worth $378, 000 and I am over 2 million--yikes) and other fun little activities. Of course we went to see our old friends the dinosaurs and played in the discovery room a little bit.

Heidi on a treasure hunt
James at the puppet theatre

All three kids put on a puppet show for me.

**

Upstairs there is still an exhitbit of shepherding in Paradise Valley, so I snuck a few pix for y'all. All of the photos are just gorgeous. I really, really love them...

Sorry about the glare, but this is a sheep herding family living in their covered wagon, playing guitar in 1939!

Modern Shepherd--this pose reminds me of all those "Good Shepherd" paintings of Christ.

***
After the museum, we had a few errands at Costco and Target (for upcoming baby shower, Rich's bday, Fathers Day). I was so DAWG TARD when I finally loaded up my brood and headed home at 3pm, I thought I would fall asleep at the wheel! Luckily, my coughing kept me awake! ;) I was driving Rich's hybrid, which was quite a contrast to my regular daily errand-running. I expressed the oddness on facebook like this: I had a moment today--I usually drive around in my van listening to talk radio (we don't get music here) and that's kinda 'my life.' But today I got to take our little hybrid, which has an ipod dock, so I had a moment at a stoplight singing along to Tigerlily where I thought, "this is kind of opposite of my daily grind--big van, conservative radio vs. tiny hybrid, hippy rock..." and yet still so very Me. Weird.

I was fortunate enough to have help making dinner (and some thawed beef strips), so Chef Addie and I threw this together (click to enlarge):

***

I got a little run down, so Rich gave me the day off from the ranch today and I am instead doing Primary stuff and housework ALL BY MYSELF. Yay. Gotta go change loads, so TTFN.

It's Already Friday...

...that wasn't so bad! We are settling into our summer groove here at Casa Melin. This week flew by quickly, as I am sure the whole summer will. We started out the week with a little orientation, setting up summer rules and chores:

The kids have done really well, they got all their points, so guess where we're going today?

We get to use our Dinosaur Museum membership!

I didn't take many pix this week beacuse most of the time I was doing work or pushing a stroller, but here are some pictures of James and Heidi yesterday:

Weeding was the chore of the day!

Happy Helpers!

Here are all three kids playing on the stairs this morning (taken over the kitchen half wall). Last night we got home from the temple at 10:30, so they were all asleep. Grandma said they were angels, so we're off to visit Big Mike and the rest of the dinos in Bozo.

Livingston Promo Video (ignore the excruciating music)

Sabbath Night

I slept pretty much all day today (I still made meals for my family and got the girls ready for church). It was much needed, and I am feeling better than yesterday with much less coughing (the coughing was getting way out of hand because I pulled muscles just under my sterum and around my back last night and it was horrifically painful to cough!). I am sad I missed church today because (a) we got a new bishopric (b) our new dentist and his family moved in--I missed FOUR new Primary kids today (c) it's my turn for Sharing Time and I was so excited (I still am) to do this month's theme. Debbie covered for me and did a wonderful job, I am sure, but I wish I'd been there.


I am catching up with blogs tonight taking a leisurely stroll down my blog roll, cyber-visiting far-away friends. THIS post might be the cutest thing I have ever seen. Seriously. Click on it. You'll be so glad you did.

Need to rotate some powdered milk? Make some cheese with Beloved Heidi (or "Big Heidi" as she's called by "Little Heidi").

Even though I feel a bit steam rolled, mostly I feel blessed. All it takes is an evening with my family and a few cyber-visits to realize there are a lot of really great people in my life. Some of the coolest are right here in my house with me. I am so glad I have the kind of kids and husband who can crack me up, who are fun to be with, who like crab rangoon and Peach Crystal Light for Sunday night dinner.

Economic Enlightenment

Numbers give me a headache, so being a grown up has its challenges for me. Being an informed grown up is even worse. But my financial-whiz-kid/ mission-pal, Steve Mackay (aka Daddy Mac) is always posting educational bits on facebook from his Manhattan Office of Financial Wizardry that help me to understand what-in-the-BELL is going on with the economy. This weekend's offering was espceially helpful for a novice like me (it didn't even give me a headache!). It's from THIS blog by Harvard Econ Professor, Greg Mankiw.

***

My favorite textbok covers business cycle theory toward the end of the book (the last four chapters) precisely because that theory is controversial. I believe it is better to introduce students to economics with topics about which there is more of a professional consensus. In chapter two of the book, I include a table of propositions to which most economists subscribe, based on various polls of the profession. Here is the list, together with the percentage of economists who agree:

A ceiling on rents reduces the quantity and quality of housing available. (93%)
Tariffs and import quotas usually reduce general economic welfare. (93%)
Flexible and floating exchange rates offer an effective international monetary arrangement. (90%)
Fiscal policy (e.g., tax cut and/or government expenditure increase) has a significant stimulative impact on a less than fully employed economy. (90%)
The United States should not restrict employers from outsourcing work to foreign countries. (90%)
The United States should eliminate agricultural subsidies. (85%)
Local and state governments should eliminate subsidies to professional sports franchises. (85%)
If the federal budget is to be balanced, it should be done over the business cycle rather than yearly. (85%)
The gap between Social Security funds and expenditures will become unsustainably large within the next fifty years if current policies remain unchanged. (85%)
Cash payments increase the welfare of recipients to a greater degree than do transfers-in-kind of equal cash value. (84%)
A large federal budget deficit has an adverse effect on the economy. (83%)
A minimum wage increases unemployment among young and unskilled workers. (79%)
The government should restructure the welfare system along the lines of a “negative income tax.” (79%)
Effluent taxes and marketable pollution permits represent a better approach to pollution control than imposition of pollution ceilings. (78%)

If we could get the American public to endorse all these propositions, I am sure their leaders would quickly follow, and public policy would be much improved. That is why economics education is so important.

***

Well put. Of course, that's why he works at Harvard. I don't understand how people can be tricked into ignoring FACTS in favor of politics. I like economics (and yes, even NUMBERS, in this context) because there are hard facts and a couple of centuries of evidence upon which to build theories. Of course theories take off in all directions and can become mind-boggling (did you see "A Beautiful Mind?" YIKES), but basic principles like these can help us so much in day-to-day decision making (and voting). Thanks for all the insight, Mac. Keep it coming!

PS: Here is another guy who helps me make sense of the world. Love him.

Check Us Out

We just posted our 40th family video on vimeo!

Untitled from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

Around the House

Here's what Heidi's room looks like now:

Heidi's Room, June 4th from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

New covers on the throw pillows...
Shiny but fun, no?

Poor overburdened craft table

Crazy, burry pictures that Heidi took of Me & Addie cooking dinner Monday night.

Wednesday Musings

Not much to say; busy week. Makin' homemade pizza for dinner, just got back from a 3 mile walk in the spring mugginess. Good times. I need to take pix of Heidi's room done. Not much else on my mind besides housework. And THIS <--thoughts? More later...

About the Yard...

The Snow-on-the-Mountain os taking over, just as the nursery warned us it would. This is along the front of the house--notice that the 15-inch solarlights are being engulfed.

This is our side yard, as you come in the gate from the front yard. Note the fun swings, the playplace under the deck, and the little box of marigolds that Addie grew from seeds in her first grade classroom.

This is our OTHER sideyard as seen from the backyard. It's a vegetable garden and it better grow! Look at our sweet little transplanted seedlings! Those are little yellow onions, a hungarian pepper bush, and space for two tomato plants there at the front (which gets the most sun). The tall middle ones are green beans, yellow squash, carrots, and in the back are buttercrunch lettuce and collard greens (which we will eat as baby greens in salads rather than Carolina style--boiled with bacon grease:)). We have cilantro and dill sprouting in boxes, but I think we will grow a little in here, too, just for fun.

These are my containers--the contain flowers and herbs (greek oregano, sweet basil, mint, lemon basil, lavender, cilantro, and dill).

The twigs we planted four years ago are finally looking like trees, getting their white aspen bark and fuller, rounder leaves that are so pretty fluttering in the famous Livingston Wind! (note the tidy rock bed from which they rise...I placed those rocks over mended weed blocker by hand last weekend!! The next thing I need to do is divide thos tulip bulbs).

***

That's all. I am working at the hotel tonight, again (so I am going to miss your call, Sam--but yes, we're all well and happy, thanks for asking). We hope the cruisers are home safe from Alaska! Have a great week, everybody!

"On one morning in the month of May...

...when all the birds were singing/ I saw a lovely maiden stray/ Across the fields at break of day/ She softly sung her roundele/The tide flows in and the tide flows out/ twice ev'ryday returning"

I been singin' that song in my head...May has been lovely. I have three posts (at least) floating around in my head and things have slowed down a bit at the hotel (my first night working since September). First, I have been editing some 2007 fotos and I really need to do a post about the beauty of Paradise Valley & my town...we've got some great pix!

Secondly, my little sis called me in tears on Tuesday, crying because--even after emergency gall bladder surgery--she is still have intense abdominal pain. She said she felt stupid for crying because she was crying more out of frustration than pain. I TOTALLY understood what she was saying! I just wanted to write this paragraph to (belatedly) empathize with Jill. Even though I have felt pretty good for almost a whole month (aside from the horrid second-degree sunburn I got in Cali, but that's another story for another day, after I get the after-effects examined), I remember clearly breaking down a few weeks after my surgery. My scar was healing, but I felt total exhaustion and deep muscle pains much like two years earlier before I even had a diagnosis or treatment. I felt furious at the possiblity that the past 2 years had been in vain and I was back where I started. I know I was sitting in the bathroom and the girls had called from the family room asking if we could do some activity together and I had to say, "No, mommy's way too tired. I have to go to bed, but you can come snuggle me" for the millionth time. It hurt to pick up my pajamas, and as I put them on, I just started BAWLING. I think that was the first time I ever let myself COMPREHEND what it means to have a chronic, incureable disease. For a little minute I let myself think, "What if I feel like this forever?" It was a terrible thought. But almost as quickly I remembered how many people live happy lives with so much more affliction than I have known, so my sadness was short-lived. But I get it, Jill, I really do. Of course I am grateful for the health I do have, but I think not feeling well enough to play with my kids is the number one thing that gets to me. I HATE it. I am so grateful for the month of health I have enjoyed...and it's MAY...what beautiful timing! I hope you are better soon, dear sis, and able to enjoy your new crib! You gotta weed that giant garden! Grow me some pumpkins and zucchini!

Another thing is this: I know Heavenly Father loves the children of the Livingston Ward Primary. Wanna know how I know this? Because I see His hand working to make our Primary better for their sakes almost everyday. And when I am thoroughly exhausted (as I have been for 9 consecutive days), I am quickened just enough to accomplish what needs to be done for Primary. And when I am out of good ideas, He enlightens me, sends flashes of insight, and helps our whole presidency be TOTALLY awesome when we may have been only partially awesome. When a Primary child has been absent for a while, they will be on my mind and in my prayers, and WITHOUT FAIL, I will cross paths with that child (or his parents) within days. This has nothing to do with me; it has everything to do with those children being precious to Him. And I love them, too.

So. Tomorrow is our big quarterly Primary activity and officially putting in the garden. Somewhere in there, I am going to take a nap, I swear. If I don't, I am going to keel over. So tomorrow or Sunday I will check in, post some old Paradise Valley pix and some new ones of our doin's. What are YOU gonna do to ring out May?

Painting

I hate painting with a passion, but I love redecorating (see last May?). In an ideal world, I go to the home improvement store to buy the paint, then pick up a painter on my way out of the parking lot! Or I make my little sister do it.

Anyway, when Heidi was sad a few weeks ago because her room was "not pretty" and painted with "boy colors", I sat down with her and a Benjamin Moore book and chose some new colors. Today I forced myself to gitter done...

Welcome to Heidi's Room...

She's our elephant/all things-animal-girl, so any decorating scheme has to include the pachyderms (this one was lovingly stitched by Gramma Becky).

BEFORE:
This is Heidi reading on her bed last week. Note the festive elephants, hung to distract her from the drab beige walls.

You can barely see the circus-ish duvet cover, which was our inspiration for the new room.

AFTER:



***

One of the things I have been meaning to do is make some art for her walls. I bought these canvasses at a Michael's sidewalk sale about 14 months ago, intending to make a jungle triptych.


I finally did it (with Addie's help) last night...

#1


#2

#3

Here they are all together...

We will probably hang them this way.

And we'll put the dear elephants back up, too.

***

Also,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MATTY!

We really miss you. Hope its been a great day!

A Glimpse of Memorial Day

First Thing in the Morning... As I made breakfast this morning, the kids were playing "Elephants." In the course of my cooking, Heidi's largest elephant, Big Rose, gave birth to four babies! Then Addie asked if she could take this elephant family photo--this is around 9am.

About an hour later we were all working on the yard and I took this video of my little daredevil, Heidi, and Addie and James, too, frolicking in our front yard. Good Times!

Memorial Day 2009 from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

***

Happy Memorial Day

Singin' In The Rain...

It's been a pretty busy week. I walked at least 3 miles 4/6 days, worked on the yard every day, created a 15-page pre-school year book from a cd of 500 pictures, gave a lesson in poetry (including a workbook) to 9 Activity Day girls, cooked dinner 5/6 nights, AND kept the kids alive and the house clean...or presentable, anyway. I said lots of prayers for my poor nephew, Gabriel, who broke--yes, BROKE--his ankle last week and had surgery Wednesday. I squeezed in watching (on DVR) GLEE (loved it!) and the Idol finale (best one yet), and today I spoke in sacrament meeting with our high councilor. The topic was broad--Testimony-- and I mostly used this talk by Henry Eyring and this talk by Richard G. Scott. I got unexpectedly emotional when I spoke about preparing our children for the trials they will surely face. I love this quote from Elder Eyring:

"We have the greatest opportunity with the young. The best time to teach is early, while children are still immune to the temptations of their mortal enemy and long before the words of truth may be harder for them to hear in the noise of their personal struggles. ...The question should not be whether we are too tired to prepare to teach doctrine or whether it would be better to draw a child closer by just having fun or whether the child is beginning to think that we preach too much. The question must be, 'With so little time and so few opportunities, what words of doctrine from me will fortify them against the attacks on their faith which are sure to come?' The words you speak today may be the ones they remember. And today will soon be gone."

For some reason, it just sends chills down my spine. I try to be inspired rather than discouraged by all the teaching time I have squandered already. And I try to be grateful that I have a husband who is committed to Family Night and teaching our children-- I know a lot of women don't really have that support.

Anyway, I am ready for a little holiday tomorrow. We plan to spend it working on our yard and on the tree house at the ranch...maybe we will fit in a tiny bit of relaxation. Speaking of relaxation, I am excited to hear about my grandparents' Alaskan cruise. They are so brave! They left Thursday for a 10-day adventure with Aunt Marti & Uncle Ralph. I hope they have a marvellous time.

It's raining right now, so I hope it help what we have planted so far, and won't hinder our progress tomorrow. I'll try to take some photos. They won't be spectacular because most everything is a seed or seedling (and I froze three tomato plants and some marigolds on Wednesday night, dang it!).

I am off to visit teach mi amigas Jen & Debbie tonight with my comp, Krista J. It'll be fun. More tomorrow, I hope...

A Case of the Mondays (ack)

I don't have much to say today. I think I am having allergies (except I had chills on saturday night--is that allergies?) I don't know, my bod is nuts, but I'm alright. We are putting in our tiny home veg garden today (as opposed to the huge ranch one where we planted potatoes with Grandma on Saturday). Fun.

My half sis, Rhonda, found me on facebook the other day. I was so happy to hear from her, and surprised that our daughters could be twins. Check this out:

James swears this picture is Heidi...it's cute. I hope I get to see these cute girls sometimes soon.

I'm off to Ace Hardware with James now...CU later.

Just My Ex

At a recent gathering of girlfriends, the topic of ex-boyfriends came up. It was amusing to hear some of the stories (which were mostly new to me), but I also noticed something odd about myself in the convo. I just don't see my "exes" as exes, I guess. Or my definition is off. Or something. Because I really couldn't jump in and bag on anyone I used to date (with a few looming exceptions). For the most part I have been surrounded by good, interesting people all my dating life, I still consider them friends and I am super glad about that (although I am aware the feeling is not always mutual) . Am I happy about every choice he or I made in the course of the relationship? Uh, no. But do I have regrets? Not really.

I read THIS lovely post by Jessica which made me think, "Aha! This is probably why I don't have any hard feelings!" (thanks, Jess) I fully subscribe to The Chemistry Theory and I think that's why I am able to value the experiment and move on. Even the two boys I almost married--EVERYONE, even my family, expects there to be some bad blood there, but there just isn't. I loved them both very much, very truly, but I think it just wasn't the right chemistry for a marriage. In both cases, we had strong, golden friendships outside of the 'romantic' relationships--a chemical reaction good for, say, creative endeavors, roadtrips, emotional support, shelter, late night slurpee runs after dates with other people, etc.--but not for bringing out the very best in each other or building a family life or --heaven help us--constant companionship. But with both of them, the 'romantic' part was only a tiny percentage (like a total of 6 months out of 10 years? Ha!) of the whole relationship.

I don't think this says anything negative about me or the other person involved. I think it says something negative about the hypthesis and the experiment, and thank heaven we didn't see that through to nuclear meltdown stage. And when I think of each boy I ever loved, or even just liked for a while, the positive experiences--or let's just say the lessons learned [the "data collected" in the chemistry model] and the fun had--FAAAAR outweigh the hard times or difficult endings. And in each period of reflection and sorting through the aftermath, I grew and improved and was prepared to recognize the perfect reaction between Richard and me. I believe if I had met him even ONE MONTH earlier, I wouldn't have been ready. Shudder to think...

Anyway, I was thinking of all these things I've learned and tried to pinpoint my lessons/ memories with each S.O., starting in junior high, all the way up to my 29th birthday. Here goes, off the top of my head:

B1- I learned a ton about what boys like, and how careful I must be when entrusted with a heart.
B2- I learned that when he gives you green mnm's, a boy likes you. It's good to have older friends to drive you around. Do not break up at Christmas time. I also learned how to really stay friends when the lovey stuff doesn't work out, because I think we're still friends (right, B?). Also, I think that was the first time I experienced The Trauma Diet, where I tend to lose10-20lbs with even the slightest emotional distress. This side effect turned out to be great for rebounding with gorgeous-but-not-so-smart skaters.
A1-I learned about deep smit and karma. I learned what it feels like to be cherished, to be showered with tiny gifts from the heart (setting a hard-to-beat standard for later boyfriends). I learned about letting music define moments, and therefore Dire Straits, New Order, Suzanne Vega, The Alarm, and Talking Heads can all bring back the tiniest details of A1 to this day, like the smell of his breath, the soap he used before the stake dance, the feel of sand on my back in the tunnel, etc. Darn that music.
R- I caught a glimpse of how nuts I could be ("contain the crazy"), how much my religion was part of me and what it meant to me, and also to act on a crush if the opportunity arises because you might just be pleasantly surprised that the boy you and your friends drooled over all last year kind of likes you back and is WAY too shy to ever do anything about it on his own. I also learned from R to avoid the Greyhound Bus and that U2 can be as romantic as anything (especially live at Sun Devil Stadium on The Joshua Tree Tour).
K (aka Tex)- Oh, my dear Tex, may he rest in peace. I feel I can write more openly here because he is gone, but wow, what I learned from him. I learned that love cannot heal everything. I learned what I was going to need from a life-long love. With Tex, I came to fully realize my weakness for what I termed "the troubled genius" ("So just ignore my weakness for boys in noisy bands/ They always have too much to say, they always need a hand"-voice of the beehive). He was brilliant and so sweet, but so troubled. God only knows what happened to that boy's brain chemistry. I loved him like a brother more than a girlfriend, and I hated to see the world so hard on him. I have blogged before how the lyrics to Don Maclean's "Vincent" remind me of him, and they still do: "And when no hope was left in sight/ On that starry, starry night/ You took your life as lovers often do/ But I could have told you, Vincent/ This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you." Even when we were done, I planned for him to always be a part of my life--to enjoy his art and music, his sense of humor. I am genuinely sad that Richard and my children don't know him.
A2- Carpe Diem (who cares if one of you is leaving for college in a month? LIVE DEEP!). If you truly love your friend, you can ignore his faults, forgive his mistakes and adore all his goodness. He may not truly love you back. Don't burn your bridges because a person can become a recurring theme in your life. Let the music sink in; don't fight the soundtrack of your life ["In Your Eyes" wafted through a window in Durham, NC while I was working as a missionary, and the memory of A2 came back so strong I had to sit down. Sit Down, people. Now THAT is having your world rocked]. Be a a sign-seeker and pattern-finder. You can totally genuinely love someone while knowing you should never be married. When you know you should never be married, don't try to get married.

***

I know that I wrote a piece like this for my first blog on bluechair ("To All The Boys I've Loved Before"), but the feelings are deeper and yet more mellow now, and I know so much better now how meticulously I was prepared and refined for the life I have today. So for everyone who went through the refining process with me, thank you. And I am sorry for any pain I cause in my ignorance. I really do hope everyone is as happy as I am. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful life.

Wellness

I went to see both of my docs in the past 2 days and it's ALL GOOD NEWS. On Thursday morning, Dr. Reid went over all my labs with me then scheduled me for another check up in 3 months (mostly for TSH and blood sugar, just to be sure we have really achieved balance--and actually it will be nearly 4 months because dear Dr. Reid is going to PAKISTAN for the month of August! I hope she makes it home!). On Friday morning, Richard and I drove to Billings to see Dr. Sorli, my endocrinologist. He basically went over my recovery, the numbers, and how to maintain my health (especially about building muscle, getting about an hour or so of slow, steady exercise everyday to maintain healthy insulin levels and hormonal balance). To celebrate, Richad and I made a Date of the trip. First we had lunch at HuHot Mongolian Grill (so healthy AND delish), then did a temple session (and when we came out, the spring rain clouds had disappeared and the spring sun was blazing brilliantly--so awesome), then bought a gardening hat at Big K, then saw "Angels and Demons." On the road to and fro we listened to David Sedaris on ipod audiobook and got a good laugh. Another great day!

Here are the numbers for the record [with the ideal/maximum in brackets]:
blood pressure: 124/74 [120/80]

blood sugar: 85 [100] A1c 5.9 [6.0]

total cholesterol: 148 [220]

trig: 163 [200]

hdl: 34 [40] [I need to raise this with Omega 3 supplements]
ldl: 81 [<120]>

thyroid-TSH: 1.31 [.3-3.0], FT4: 1.0 [.7-2.0]

YAY! Our active lifestyle resumes tomorrow as we head down the valley to clean up the Shorthill Cemetery and work at the ranch. Have a great weekend!

So Anyway...

My sunburn has officially gone from Grody Gooey Blister mode to Crusty Peeling mode, which is itchy and slightly less gross. Everso slightly.

I walked about 3 miles today with the bike stroller...went up and down the hill to tenth street and back, thentook Heidi to school, visited Addie at her school, then met Daddy at the office and went to lunch. Good day, but I am tired.

I am having a newsfast, I just realized. I go through these cycles where I am totally into all kinds of news and debates and stuff, and then I hibernate. I am in hibernation mode, mostly because I am kinda sick-n-tired of the marriage debate, celebrities being mouthy/ lame/ irresponsible/ condescending, etc., I don't get Comedy Central, Glenn Beck has been a bit clownish, etc...so I don't have much to talk about on that front.

All is well here. We just had a quick FHE (a game of Book of Mormon cards, where Korihor is the Old Maid) and french bread pizza (no clean up). I may let the creative juices flow and scrapbook some little albums for the kids to remember our Cali trip last week. Or I may fall asleep in 20 minutes. Who knows...I'm wild-n-crazy like that. I updated the blog archives for the benefit of long-lost facebook friends just now joining the story already in progress. Click on the right for my new Blog FAQ links. Fun.