I want to start out by thanking everyone who read my last post and then through the blog, facebook, or phone opened up to me about their stories. I can't tell you how many people told me that they had gone through a miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, or similar thing. It taught me that many more people than we realize are going through hard things like this but we are sure that we are alone in our experiences because a lot of people don't talk about it.
I know that everyone's experiences are different, but I want to tell you how much comfort and support I felt after posting that last blog. Hearing other people's struggles, journeys, and stories helped me feel so much strength, knowing that other's were dealing with or had dealt with and gotten through hard situations. I think we can all learn from each other's experiences, whether for future issues we will personally deal with, or for a loved one or acquaintance who goes through something similar and we want to be able to help and support them and empathize with them.
A few people have asked me what kinds of things would have been comforting and helpful for me while I was going through it, such as what to say. It made me remember a time several years ago when a good friend called me up to tell me she'd had a miscarriage and I could tell she was really struggling with it and longing for some comforting words and understanding from me, and I remember feeling at such a loss to know what to say. I'm sure everyone's different, but now that I've gone through it myself, here are a few things that personally would have been helpful (or not) when this was happening. If you have more/different ideas, I'd love for you to post them in a comment.
TALKING TO A WOMAN WHO'S HAD A MISCARRIAGE
DON'T try to downplay the situation in any way.
"Good thing you weren't farther along."
"At least you know you can get pregnant and can have future babies."
"Is this the first time you've had a miscarriage? Oh, well my aunt had 4 miscarriages."
DON'T try to offer theories or ask for possible explanations as to why this happened.
"Do you think it's because you were on fertility drugs?"
"Why do you think this happened?"
"Everything happens for a reason."
DO acknowledge that this must be hard/scary/painful, and allow them to "be real" with you.
"I'm so sorry! What a tragic loss!"
"How awful; it sucks that this happened!"
"It seems like you are being super brave and going through this with such grace, but it's ok if you're not. You're allowed to be a mess if you want."
DO offer support and a desire to empathize and be a listening ear.
"I've never dealt with that, but I want to understand what you're going through if you're up to talking about it."
"I know you might want to be alone right now, but as soon as you don't want to be alone, I'll be here."
You can also help by bringing over dinner or offering to help out with something. Just be sensitive to the situation. There were some points when I didn't want to leave the house or couldn't, due to the physical process, so having someone be willing to go to the store for me would've been awesome. Yet other times I was wishing to not be alone and wanted a distraction, so when a friend got me out of the house to take me to a movie, it was such a welcome and appreciated thing.
As I mentioned in my last post, it's also important to be mindful of the husband; they go through their own healing process, but allowing them the chance to talk about it and what they're dealing with is helpful too.
This article is pretty good too, if you want some more insights as to what you can say or do:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/seleni-institute/what-not-to-say-after-miscarriage-or-child-loss_b_5635438.html
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
In which I describe my ectopic pregnancy: sorry for the intense post
Hello, World (er... the 2 people left who may read my blog again after a 2-year hiatus),
Yes it's been a long time. I'm not sure why. I think I started to get depressed when I realized half my blog posts were about cats. But then a friend texted me to say they wanted to see more cat pics and I decided, hey why not embrace the reality of my life. So here I am.
In all honesty, I think I was fine writing about my cats because I knew it was a temporary thing; that alas, someday, I'd be able to talk about my (human) babies instead, so I was fine pretending to be a crazy cat lady. But here I am, two years later, realizing that life is never how you expect it to turn out.
I definitely did not expect to struggle with fertility issues (does anyone?). Nor deal with an ectopic pregnancy. I know I've told some people about my experience, but I feel like it is important for me to talk about it publicly because when I was going through it, I was only consoled by talking to other people who had gone through it. And there weren't that many accounts out there online, but the experiences I did read about were a huge strength for me.
Joe and I got pregnant last August. It was really exciting to us because we were coming up on almost a year of trying without success to get pregnant, and the year mark is when you get the delightful term of "infertile" awarded to you. (For those who want to know, the problem is on my end; I have a hormone imbalance and don't ovulate on my own but was able to get pregnant while on Clomid).
I can't describe how it felt to be pregnant; it surprised me how immediately I felt attached to the idea of my future baby, and on so many levels. Physically, I knew I was pregnant just days into it and already started to marvel at how my body was changing. Emotionally, I felt such excitement and terror, etc. Because Joe and I had been planning on this for several years now, everything felt so right and like it was all falling into place. The timing seemed perfect, and we were so thrilled.
If I'm protesting to be honest in this post, I actually need to back up a bit and admit something. I haven't always wanted babies. Wanting babies isn't something that has come naturally to me. It's not that I don't like babies or that I'm a super intense career person or something and think they'll get in the way of a job or ambitions or something. But I've had some irrational fears of being pregnant and giving birth. My mom had some rough pregnancies and I had heard all her horror stories, so maybe that is part of it, but only part. I guess I always felt a bit out of the secret female loop of other women who were dying to have babies. I know I want kids, to have like, posterity and such, but I feel like I was not given the "natural" female instinct to want babies. I do feel like I'm a nurturing person. And I think and hope I'll make a good mom. But getting the desire to have kids has definitely been a long (3+ year) struggle for me, full of praying, pondering, and researching. I think that's another reason I did not expect to have problems getting pregnant. I figured that once I finally got up the guts to want children, God would be so relieved that he'd send them along in a snap. (I even had a dream one time that because I waited so long to have kids, when I finally did get pregnant, God sent me twins as payback.) Ok guilt resolved for admitting that. Back to my miscarriage:
Joe had a business trip to Germany in September and I had decided months earlier to go along with him. But two nights before we were supposed to leave, I started bleeding (I was 6 weeks pregnant at this point). I tried not to over-react but knew inside this was a really bad sign. I went in to the doctor the next morning and they ran all sorts of tests. They weren't able to give me tons of answers and weren't sure of what exactly was going on, but strongly advised me to not travel. It was sad and hard, but an easy decision to stay home, though hard to be without Joe. After more tests and over several days, the doctor thought it was an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't know a lot about what that was at the time. But basically, it means that the baby itself is probably fine, but is growing in the wrong place. It's sometimes called a tubal pregnancy because the fetus starts growing in a fallopian tube instead of the uterus. It can be scary because it can rupture the fallopian tube (which obviously negatively affects future fertility), leading to dangerous bleeding for the mom. There are super rare occasions when the baby can still be carried full term and delivered. Like 3 people ever. But usually the baby needs to be aborted for the life of the mom. This was a big blow to find out. In a matter of days, I had gone from being so excited and planning on a future with my baby, and excited to go back to Europe on a vacation, to losing the chance to go on my trip and knowing that I would be losing my baby. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears. I hadn't even told my parents that I was pregnant yet, so that was a pretty rough phone call to make to tell them in the same breath that they would have been but now again aren't going to have a new grandbaby.
I was also terrified of what would come next: I was advised to either surgery to have the fetus removed (similar to a D&C but a bit more risky since it could rupture fallopian), or to take methotrexate, which is basically used in abortions or as a form of chemotherapy in high doses. Both options terrified me. And it appeared that my body could already tell something was wrong, so I decided to wait a bit to see if I would just miscarry on my own. That is what ultimately ended up happening, which was a huge blessing for me because in the end, the fact that I miscarried mostly on my own absolved the possibility of rupturing my fallopian, which especially concerned my future fertility. I also felt such relief that I had started bleeding before I left on my trip and that I was advised not to go, because the next few weeks were hellish, and I can't imagine trying to miscarry a baby anywhere but in my own home.
Ok now I'm going to get real and describe some stuff that may be unpleasant. Because I literally had no idea what having a miscarriage was like before I experienced it myself. Granted, my experience was very possibly more intense since it was an ectopic situation. But either way, I feel like everyone needs to hear more details about the physical and emotional experience of miscarriage.
Emotionally, I felt so much grief and inexplicable sadness. I wasn't myself and I felt so much irrational sadness and self pity. I didn't tell many people about it while it was happening because I didn't want to talk about it. I felt like no one could understand what I was going through. I was in a pretty dark place. I think I must've been having some postpartum depression, which I didn't even realize was a thing for a miscarriage. A friend gave me some good advice and told me to just allow myself to really cry as long and hard as I needed to and allow myself to grieve. It was only once I was able to do that that I really feel like my body was able to miscarry what it needed to; like once I emotionally/spiritually told my body it was ok to let go of the baby. Luckily, I feel like I only dealt with the depression for a couple weeks. And even in the darkest moments of it, I felt love and support and comfort from God and loved ones who I knew were praying for me, and I'm so grateful for that.
Physically, I bled ("bled" being a loose term for all the "material" that came out of me) and cramped for weeks. Like, I have pretty severe menstrual cramps normally, but those were nothing compared to this. I'm sure if you've given birth, you've experienced cramps (contractions) of this level, but otherwise, there is nothing I can think to compare it to. People don't understand that you have real contractions when you are having a miscarriage. Your body basically births the tissue and fetus, but it is by yourself, with no drugs, on the "comfort" of your toilet. Granted, I haven't birthed a live baby yet, and I'm sure that is more intense, but that is also a shorter experience; a matter of a day or two. Miscarrying my baby took weeks. After a couple of weeks, it stopped. But after going in to the doctor, they told me all the tissue was still not gone and that I would need to proceed with the drug or surgery. I opted for the drug, and with it came another two weeks of intense cramping and bleeding. There were days when I would just live on the toilet because it was a joke to try to get anything else done or focus on anything else. Other days, the bleeding wasn't as bad, but the cramping was so severe, that I would literally watch one movie right after the other to distract myself from the pain because the moment a movie would end, I would be conscious of the pain immediately. Ibuprofen and Tylenol helped, but I wasn't given anything stronger. I remember on two separate occasions, I had gone back to work and was sitting at my desk when the most intense pain I've ever felt struck so hard and fast that I couldn't breathe or speak. I couldn't even breathe enough to tell anyone what was happening, I just left and drove myself home (which was probably not the best idea, but I only live 5 minutes from my work). It felt as though my body was being squeezed through a 6-inch tube.
The bottom line is that I think people need to stop thinking of miscarriage as a solitary event. Like, when someone says they had a miscarriage, I think people imagine that it was like, an event that took an hour or two on the toilet and then it was done. I mean, maybe that is the case for some? But that definitely wasn't my experience. It was a painful, long, arduous, and devastating experience that I cringe to think that I used to not take seriously or fully empathize or understand the weight of when I heard about it prior to my experience.
I also want to let you know that it can be very sad and devastating to the husband as well. And in some ways is worse for them because they don't know what to do or how to comfort the woman. And though they may feel just as depressed and the same feelings of loss as the woman, they don't usually receive the sympathy that the woman does. I think Joe struggled with it a lot, and I know it was hard for him to watch me go through this and not know what to do for me. He felt so bad for the pain I was going through, and he dealt with some depression over the situation himself. It was so out of his control, which is a really frustrating feeling.
Even after this was all over, for months afterward, it was really difficult to hear about other people getting pregnant or having babies, especially when that type of thing is plastered all over Facebook. But I didn't want to play the sore loser or person who couldn't be happy for other people due to being so consumed by my own grief. But there were definitely days that I wanted to delete my social media accounts or throw my computer across the room. Putting on an excited face for people when they announced their pregnancies was a true test, and I fear I didn't always succeed.
I finally feel, 6 months after the fact, that I am "over it," as much as one can be, anyway. I don't feel constant depression or bitterness. I feel hope that I'll be able to get pregnant again and deliver a baby to full term. I'm grateful that I was only 6 weeks along, because I'm sure miscarriage would be far worse later into the process. I'm grateful to know that I can endure something like this. In some aspects, it makes me feel stronger and braver for when I will actually (hopefully) deliver a live baby. I feel like if I could go through this, I can go through that. I feel more in touch with my body and listening to its needs and confident in my ability to do that. I feel grateful for the family and friends that were so patient and understanding toward me, even when they didn't know what to do or say, especially Joe, and Kara, who was on her mission but who I felt literally mourn for me, thousands of miles away. I feel wonder at the amazing miracle that is the creation of a baby, when so many things can potentially go wrong; I marvel that it ever works all right and that our species continues to perpetuate in spite of the crazy process that is conception, pregnancy, and delivery. I hate that I had to go through this experience to be forced to be more understanding and sympathetic to other women who have gone through similar things, but am grateful for that increased humility and understanding. I'm grateful for the way it brought me closer to God, realizing how dependent on Him I am for my life and every good thing in it.
Sorry for the intensity of this post. But I hope it helps someone better understand and be more sympathetic to those who go through miscarriage or postpartum, or that hearing my story will help someone else going through this not feel so alone.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Yes it's been a long time. I'm not sure why. I think I started to get depressed when I realized half my blog posts were about cats. But then a friend texted me to say they wanted to see more cat pics and I decided, hey why not embrace the reality of my life. So here I am.
In all honesty, I think I was fine writing about my cats because I knew it was a temporary thing; that alas, someday, I'd be able to talk about my (human) babies instead, so I was fine pretending to be a crazy cat lady. But here I am, two years later, realizing that life is never how you expect it to turn out.
I definitely did not expect to struggle with fertility issues (does anyone?). Nor deal with an ectopic pregnancy. I know I've told some people about my experience, but I feel like it is important for me to talk about it publicly because when I was going through it, I was only consoled by talking to other people who had gone through it. And there weren't that many accounts out there online, but the experiences I did read about were a huge strength for me.
Joe and I got pregnant last August. It was really exciting to us because we were coming up on almost a year of trying without success to get pregnant, and the year mark is when you get the delightful term of "infertile" awarded to you. (For those who want to know, the problem is on my end; I have a hormone imbalance and don't ovulate on my own but was able to get pregnant while on Clomid).
I can't describe how it felt to be pregnant; it surprised me how immediately I felt attached to the idea of my future baby, and on so many levels. Physically, I knew I was pregnant just days into it and already started to marvel at how my body was changing. Emotionally, I felt such excitement and terror, etc. Because Joe and I had been planning on this for several years now, everything felt so right and like it was all falling into place. The timing seemed perfect, and we were so thrilled.
If I'm protesting to be honest in this post, I actually need to back up a bit and admit something. I haven't always wanted babies. Wanting babies isn't something that has come naturally to me. It's not that I don't like babies or that I'm a super intense career person or something and think they'll get in the way of a job or ambitions or something. But I've had some irrational fears of being pregnant and giving birth. My mom had some rough pregnancies and I had heard all her horror stories, so maybe that is part of it, but only part. I guess I always felt a bit out of the secret female loop of other women who were dying to have babies. I know I want kids, to have like, posterity and such, but I feel like I was not given the "natural" female instinct to want babies. I do feel like I'm a nurturing person. And I think and hope I'll make a good mom. But getting the desire to have kids has definitely been a long (3+ year) struggle for me, full of praying, pondering, and researching. I think that's another reason I did not expect to have problems getting pregnant. I figured that once I finally got up the guts to want children, God would be so relieved that he'd send them along in a snap. (I even had a dream one time that because I waited so long to have kids, when I finally did get pregnant, God sent me twins as payback.) Ok guilt resolved for admitting that. Back to my miscarriage:
Joe had a business trip to Germany in September and I had decided months earlier to go along with him. But two nights before we were supposed to leave, I started bleeding (I was 6 weeks pregnant at this point). I tried not to over-react but knew inside this was a really bad sign. I went in to the doctor the next morning and they ran all sorts of tests. They weren't able to give me tons of answers and weren't sure of what exactly was going on, but strongly advised me to not travel. It was sad and hard, but an easy decision to stay home, though hard to be without Joe. After more tests and over several days, the doctor thought it was an ectopic pregnancy. I didn't know a lot about what that was at the time. But basically, it means that the baby itself is probably fine, but is growing in the wrong place. It's sometimes called a tubal pregnancy because the fetus starts growing in a fallopian tube instead of the uterus. It can be scary because it can rupture the fallopian tube (which obviously negatively affects future fertility), leading to dangerous bleeding for the mom. There are super rare occasions when the baby can still be carried full term and delivered. Like 3 people ever. But usually the baby needs to be aborted for the life of the mom. This was a big blow to find out. In a matter of days, I had gone from being so excited and planning on a future with my baby, and excited to go back to Europe on a vacation, to losing the chance to go on my trip and knowing that I would be losing my baby. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears. I hadn't even told my parents that I was pregnant yet, so that was a pretty rough phone call to make to tell them in the same breath that they would have been but now again aren't going to have a new grandbaby.
I was also terrified of what would come next: I was advised to either surgery to have the fetus removed (similar to a D&C but a bit more risky since it could rupture fallopian), or to take methotrexate, which is basically used in abortions or as a form of chemotherapy in high doses. Both options terrified me. And it appeared that my body could already tell something was wrong, so I decided to wait a bit to see if I would just miscarry on my own. That is what ultimately ended up happening, which was a huge blessing for me because in the end, the fact that I miscarried mostly on my own absolved the possibility of rupturing my fallopian, which especially concerned my future fertility. I also felt such relief that I had started bleeding before I left on my trip and that I was advised not to go, because the next few weeks were hellish, and I can't imagine trying to miscarry a baby anywhere but in my own home.
Ok now I'm going to get real and describe some stuff that may be unpleasant. Because I literally had no idea what having a miscarriage was like before I experienced it myself. Granted, my experience was very possibly more intense since it was an ectopic situation. But either way, I feel like everyone needs to hear more details about the physical and emotional experience of miscarriage.
Emotionally, I felt so much grief and inexplicable sadness. I wasn't myself and I felt so much irrational sadness and self pity. I didn't tell many people about it while it was happening because I didn't want to talk about it. I felt like no one could understand what I was going through. I was in a pretty dark place. I think I must've been having some postpartum depression, which I didn't even realize was a thing for a miscarriage. A friend gave me some good advice and told me to just allow myself to really cry as long and hard as I needed to and allow myself to grieve. It was only once I was able to do that that I really feel like my body was able to miscarry what it needed to; like once I emotionally/spiritually told my body it was ok to let go of the baby. Luckily, I feel like I only dealt with the depression for a couple weeks. And even in the darkest moments of it, I felt love and support and comfort from God and loved ones who I knew were praying for me, and I'm so grateful for that.
Physically, I bled ("bled" being a loose term for all the "material" that came out of me) and cramped for weeks. Like, I have pretty severe menstrual cramps normally, but those were nothing compared to this. I'm sure if you've given birth, you've experienced cramps (contractions) of this level, but otherwise, there is nothing I can think to compare it to. People don't understand that you have real contractions when you are having a miscarriage. Your body basically births the tissue and fetus, but it is by yourself, with no drugs, on the "comfort" of your toilet. Granted, I haven't birthed a live baby yet, and I'm sure that is more intense, but that is also a shorter experience; a matter of a day or two. Miscarrying my baby took weeks. After a couple of weeks, it stopped. But after going in to the doctor, they told me all the tissue was still not gone and that I would need to proceed with the drug or surgery. I opted for the drug, and with it came another two weeks of intense cramping and bleeding. There were days when I would just live on the toilet because it was a joke to try to get anything else done or focus on anything else. Other days, the bleeding wasn't as bad, but the cramping was so severe, that I would literally watch one movie right after the other to distract myself from the pain because the moment a movie would end, I would be conscious of the pain immediately. Ibuprofen and Tylenol helped, but I wasn't given anything stronger. I remember on two separate occasions, I had gone back to work and was sitting at my desk when the most intense pain I've ever felt struck so hard and fast that I couldn't breathe or speak. I couldn't even breathe enough to tell anyone what was happening, I just left and drove myself home (which was probably not the best idea, but I only live 5 minutes from my work). It felt as though my body was being squeezed through a 6-inch tube.
The bottom line is that I think people need to stop thinking of miscarriage as a solitary event. Like, when someone says they had a miscarriage, I think people imagine that it was like, an event that took an hour or two on the toilet and then it was done. I mean, maybe that is the case for some? But that definitely wasn't my experience. It was a painful, long, arduous, and devastating experience that I cringe to think that I used to not take seriously or fully empathize or understand the weight of when I heard about it prior to my experience.
I also want to let you know that it can be very sad and devastating to the husband as well. And in some ways is worse for them because they don't know what to do or how to comfort the woman. And though they may feel just as depressed and the same feelings of loss as the woman, they don't usually receive the sympathy that the woman does. I think Joe struggled with it a lot, and I know it was hard for him to watch me go through this and not know what to do for me. He felt so bad for the pain I was going through, and he dealt with some depression over the situation himself. It was so out of his control, which is a really frustrating feeling.
Even after this was all over, for months afterward, it was really difficult to hear about other people getting pregnant or having babies, especially when that type of thing is plastered all over Facebook. But I didn't want to play the sore loser or person who couldn't be happy for other people due to being so consumed by my own grief. But there were definitely days that I wanted to delete my social media accounts or throw my computer across the room. Putting on an excited face for people when they announced their pregnancies was a true test, and I fear I didn't always succeed.
I finally feel, 6 months after the fact, that I am "over it," as much as one can be, anyway. I don't feel constant depression or bitterness. I feel hope that I'll be able to get pregnant again and deliver a baby to full term. I'm grateful that I was only 6 weeks along, because I'm sure miscarriage would be far worse later into the process. I'm grateful to know that I can endure something like this. In some aspects, it makes me feel stronger and braver for when I will actually (hopefully) deliver a live baby. I feel like if I could go through this, I can go through that. I feel more in touch with my body and listening to its needs and confident in my ability to do that. I feel grateful for the family and friends that were so patient and understanding toward me, even when they didn't know what to do or say, especially Joe, and Kara, who was on her mission but who I felt literally mourn for me, thousands of miles away. I feel wonder at the amazing miracle that is the creation of a baby, when so many things can potentially go wrong; I marvel that it ever works all right and that our species continues to perpetuate in spite of the crazy process that is conception, pregnancy, and delivery. I hate that I had to go through this experience to be forced to be more understanding and sympathetic to other women who have gone through similar things, but am grateful for that increased humility and understanding. I'm grateful for the way it brought me closer to God, realizing how dependent on Him I am for my life and every good thing in it.
Sorry for the intensity of this post. But I hope it helps someone better understand and be more sympathetic to those who go through miscarriage or postpartum, or that hearing my story will help someone else going through this not feel so alone.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
I saw thee weep—the big bright tear*
at another cat post.
UGH. I HATE THAT IT WAS MY DESIRE TO DO ANOTHER CAT PICTURE POST THAT BROUGHT ME BACK TO THE BLOG. Sorry for the dry spell. And sorry I'm a crazy cat lady.
So, after we got Keats, it was only a month or two before we realized that despite his adorableness, his bipolar hyperactive psychosis was going to drive us crazy. So we did the only logical thing there is to do when you have one crazy cat... get a second cat. And ever since we got Byron, it has helped calm Keats down a bit.
Byron is the complete opposite of Keats. He has great talent; great passion; a distaste for society and social institutions; a lack of respect for rank and privilege (although possessing both); being thwarted in love by social constraint or death; rebellion; exile; an unsavory secret past; arrogance; overconfidence or lack of foresight; and, ultimately, a self-destructive manner.
Oh. Sorry. I was mixing up my cat Byron with the "Byronic Hero." But who could blame me with their remarkable similarities. Ehem. Byron my cat is the complete opposite of Keats. He is fat, orange, fluffy, calm, sleepy, dirty, purr-y, needy, whiny, asthmatic, declawed, ungraceful, wimpy, innocent, and lazy. His favorite pastimes include sleeping, munching on Kleenex, rolling around on his back, purring, meowing, hiding from Keats, and going outside. He'll paw at the back door for minutes at a time, until we let him outside. Then, he'll paw at the front door to come back in. At which point, he'll walk across the living room, to the back door, and paw at it to go right back out. And who could blame him; he is the constant victim of Keats's obsessive compulsive cleaning/murdering habits:
EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT B
... I could put more, but you get the idea.
*http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/lbyron/bl-lbyron-isawthee.htm
UGH. I HATE THAT IT WAS MY DESIRE TO DO ANOTHER CAT PICTURE POST THAT BROUGHT ME BACK TO THE BLOG. Sorry for the dry spell. And sorry I'm a crazy cat lady.
So, after we got Keats, it was only a month or two before we realized that despite his adorableness, his bipolar hyperactive psychosis was going to drive us crazy. So we did the only logical thing there is to do when you have one crazy cat... get a second cat. And ever since we got Byron, it has helped calm Keats down a bit.
Byron is the complete opposite of Keats. He has great talent; great passion; a distaste for society and social institutions; a lack of respect for rank and privilege (although possessing both); being thwarted in love by social constraint or death; rebellion; exile; an unsavory secret past; arrogance; overconfidence or lack of foresight; and, ultimately, a self-destructive manner.
Oh. Sorry. I was mixing up my cat Byron with the "Byronic Hero." But who could blame me with their remarkable similarities. Ehem. Byron my cat is the complete opposite of Keats. He is fat, orange, fluffy, calm, sleepy, dirty, purr-y, needy, whiny, asthmatic, declawed, ungraceful, wimpy, innocent, and lazy. His favorite pastimes include sleeping, munching on Kleenex, rolling around on his back, purring, meowing, hiding from Keats, and going outside. He'll paw at the back door for minutes at a time, until we let him outside. Then, he'll paw at the front door to come back in. At which point, he'll walk across the living room, to the back door, and paw at it to go right back out. And who could blame him; he is the constant victim of Keats's obsessive compulsive cleaning/murdering habits:
EXHIBIT A
Cautious and Chionophobic Cats
Byron likes to purr. It's almost like that's just how he breathes. Like, he only purrs on the out-breath. He even purrs in his sleep.
Midnight snack
Hello, sir. Lord Byron at your service
His choice of beds are, at times, questionable...
...but always serene.
His fur color is remarkably well-suited to backyard stealth and camouflage. Well, if you're colorblind.
Behold, Lord Byron; sovereign of both yard and closet. Bow before his majesty.
*http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/lbyron/bl-lbyron-isawthee.htm
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Dance Pray Love
Happy 2013!
I've decided to "publicly" post some of my New Year's resolutions in the hopes that it will help me be more accountable.
1. In an effort to read the whole Book of Mormon by April, it's my goal to read about 4.5 pages a day.
2. Say my personal prayers every day. No exceptions! :)
3. Because I can't seem to face running outside in this miserably cold and inversiony weather, take advantage of my new Christmas present from Joe and play Just Dance on my Wii for at least 30 min. a day. Yeah!
4. Be more patient with Keats and stop visibly favoring Byron. It's hard though.
5. Be more outgoing in my new ward and fool people into becoming my friends. With candy and affection.
6. Be better at showing my appreciation for things people do for me. And call my mom more just because.
Although I've never read the book or seen the movie "Eat Pray Love," it seemed to generally be a good and catchy motto to help me remember my priorities everyday. (With a bit of a adaptation, since "eating" isn't something I need to work into my goals, and "Starve Pray Love" wasn't as optimistic sounding.)
I've decided to "publicly" post some of my New Year's resolutions in the hopes that it will help me be more accountable.
1. In an effort to read the whole Book of Mormon by April, it's my goal to read about 4.5 pages a day.
2. Say my personal prayers every day. No exceptions! :)
3. Because I can't seem to face running outside in this miserably cold and inversiony weather, take advantage of my new Christmas present from Joe and play Just Dance on my Wii for at least 30 min. a day. Yeah!
4. Be more patient with Keats and stop visibly favoring Byron. It's hard though.
5. Be more outgoing in my new ward and fool people into becoming my friends. With candy and affection.
6. Be better at showing my appreciation for things people do for me. And call my mom more just because.
Although I've never read the book or seen the movie "Eat Pray Love," it seemed to generally be a good and catchy motto to help me remember my priorities everyday. (With a bit of a adaptation, since "eating" isn't something I need to work into my goals, and "Starve Pray Love" wasn't as optimistic sounding.)
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
A day in the life of a cat
I know, I know. The speed of my transformation into a cat lady is appalling. Just think what awesome picture posts I'll have when I have human kids, though!
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| Why aren't you paying attention to me? Maybe if I sit up here you'll be forced to look at me. |
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| Hmm. That didn't work. Let's try this. Look what I can do! |
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| Muwahahahah! It worked! Attention at last!!!! Wait, no, don't do that! That tickles! |
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| Hah! I told you I could jump up here to the third shelf! Um... can you help me get down now? |
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| Yes!!! They forget to close the toilet lid! AT LAAAAAAAST! That fresh-filled-twice-daily filtered water in my bowl is GROSS! |
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| Okay you can close the lid now! |
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| What? |
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| They'll never find me here! |
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| What is this curious white stuff? I must kill it. |
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| ERMERGERHD! It's a SCHTICK! |
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| Hey, guys! I took care of that pesky paper towel roll for you! |
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| ...MUST... GET... ICE CUBE! |
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| ...MUST... GET... WHATEVER'S AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS! |
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| Bow down to me, plebeian humans. |
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| Time for another nap. |
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Halloween Party!
On the Saturday before Halloween, it was fun for us to have a bunch of our friends over, who hadn't yet seen our house. We had a costume contest, pumpkin carving, taco soup eating, and movie watching ("Coraline"). Here's some pics:
Let's see. In other news, my sister-in-law Keren had her baby this past week! His name is Roman James. He's so cute! I love him.
Also, a bunch of my coworkers talked me into running a 10k with them in Moab in December, so we have been training for that the past couple of weeks. It's actually worked out perfectly because we run right after work, like at 5 p.m. so I don't have to wake up early, or come home from work and then instead of relaxing, trying to work up the motivation to go running. So it's been great for me.
And, as promised, here are some pictures of our house! I'll post more as I get rooms "done." :)
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| Kristi as Prof. Trelawny |
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| Holly and Russell as the bullies from "Arthur" |
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| Joe and me as Shaggy and Velma |
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| Tom and Lauren as Bert and Mary Poppins |
Let's see. In other news, my sister-in-law Keren had her baby this past week! His name is Roman James. He's so cute! I love him.
Also, a bunch of my coworkers talked me into running a 10k with them in Moab in December, so we have been training for that the past couple of weeks. It's actually worked out perfectly because we run right after work, like at 5 p.m. so I don't have to wake up early, or come home from work and then instead of relaxing, trying to work up the motivation to go running. So it's been great for me.
And, as promised, here are some pictures of our house! I'll post more as I get rooms "done." :)
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| It's a twin home. The neighbor's side starts where the tree is on the left. |
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| Kitchen |
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| Eating area |
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Keats the (Krazy) Kitty
I didn't feel like I had anything to blog about for a long time, but now I have so many cat stories to share, it's crazy! Yes, that's right. CAT STORIES. Joe and I are now the proud owners of one Keats Hellion Chambers. He is an adorable one-year-old gray, black, and white tabby cat that we adopted last week. We already had the name picked out (well, the Keats part) because I've wanted a dog since forever and we decided we would get a Bassett Hound. Joe suggested that we name future doggy "Byron" and I was like, "Oh, like Lord Byron, the British Romantic poet?" And he's like, "No, Byron the Bassett Hound from Looney Toons." But either way, we both loved the name idea. Well Joe has wanted to get a cat as much as I have wanted to get a dog, and after doing some research, we realized that if you want a cat and a dog, you need to get them both fairly young and get the cat first. So we got a cat for Joe's birthday! And named him Keats, after British Romantic poet, John Keats.
So yes, Keats is adorable and I am so in love with him. But he's a bit psycho. Joe and I keep reassuring ourselves that he's still a kitten and is adjusting to his new environment. Like his favorite pastime activities are to pounce on anything that moves (especially toes and fingers), sink his teeth into squishy things (especially hands, feet, and steak), and challenge the garbage can to a duel. I don't want to get too carried away with cat stories... so I'll limit myself to three:
1) Joe and I were upstairs when we heard lots of commotion and thumping from downstairs. Joe went downstairs to investigate only to find that kitty, after many unspoken challenges to the kitchen garbage can, had finally pounced on top of it and fell in (because it has the flap lid that opens into it when pushed on) and was stuck inside, in need of rescuing.
2) I had just reheated my leftover Texas Roadhouse steak from the night before to have for lunch. I set it on the counter, and then ran outside for literally 30 seconds! When I came back, Keats had jumped up on the counter, grabbed the steak, and pulled it onto the floor and was devouring it.
3) I hear this is pretty common, but Keats seems to love to drink water from anywhere except his water bowl, even though I keep him in constant supply of clean, cool, and fresh water. Toilets, bathtubs, sinks, human cups, puddles on the floor, etc.
So he's a bit bipolar, hyperactive, and bitey, but I'm sure he'll get better. And he's so cute that I can never be annoyed at him for long. But the saying is definitely true that you don't train a cat, a cat trains you. I've learned that before we leave for work in the morning to close all the bathroom doors, hide the garbage can in the pantry, and put the paper towel roll up on top of the fridge.
In other news, the reason we were able to even get a cat is because we now OWN A HOUSE! It was a long, stressful process to get this short sale house (which had 2 mortgages on it, complicating everything even more because we had to work with 2 banks that owned the house), but now that we are here, it was so worth it! It is about 1600 sg. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, a 2-car garage, and a huge yard! We love having a garage and newer place than any of our apartments; we're a little overwhelmed by the yard though. Thanks to Joe's parents for help on the loan and to my parents for letting us live in their basement for 2 months! And everyone who helped us move! We are pretty much moved in. The first thing I did with my homeowner freedom was to paint a wall in the living room! Lauren, Kara, Mom, and Joe all helped me paint an accent wall dark teal. I'm really pleased with how it looks. I want to eventually paint the master bedroom, but all in good time. I will definitely post some pictures of the house soon. i just want to finish things up a bit more first.
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| Keats playing with the garbage can |
So yes, Keats is adorable and I am so in love with him. But he's a bit psycho. Joe and I keep reassuring ourselves that he's still a kitten and is adjusting to his new environment. Like his favorite pastime activities are to pounce on anything that moves (especially toes and fingers), sink his teeth into squishy things (especially hands, feet, and steak), and challenge the garbage can to a duel. I don't want to get too carried away with cat stories... so I'll limit myself to three:
1) Joe and I were upstairs when we heard lots of commotion and thumping from downstairs. Joe went downstairs to investigate only to find that kitty, after many unspoken challenges to the kitchen garbage can, had finally pounced on top of it and fell in (because it has the flap lid that opens into it when pushed on) and was stuck inside, in need of rescuing.
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| Keats attacking, and consequently falling into, the garbage can |
2) I had just reheated my leftover Texas Roadhouse steak from the night before to have for lunch. I set it on the counter, and then ran outside for literally 30 seconds! When I came back, Keats had jumped up on the counter, grabbed the steak, and pulled it onto the floor and was devouring it.
3) I hear this is pretty common, but Keats seems to love to drink water from anywhere except his water bowl, even though I keep him in constant supply of clean, cool, and fresh water. Toilets, bathtubs, sinks, human cups, puddles on the floor, etc.
So he's a bit bipolar, hyperactive, and bitey, but I'm sure he'll get better. And he's so cute that I can never be annoyed at him for long. But the saying is definitely true that you don't train a cat, a cat trains you. I've learned that before we leave for work in the morning to close all the bathroom doors, hide the garbage can in the pantry, and put the paper towel roll up on top of the fridge.
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| Keats all tuckered out after losing to the garbage can |
In other news, the reason we were able to even get a cat is because we now OWN A HOUSE! It was a long, stressful process to get this short sale house (which had 2 mortgages on it, complicating everything even more because we had to work with 2 banks that owned the house), but now that we are here, it was so worth it! It is about 1600 sg. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, a 2-car garage, and a huge yard! We love having a garage and newer place than any of our apartments; we're a little overwhelmed by the yard though. Thanks to Joe's parents for help on the loan and to my parents for letting us live in their basement for 2 months! And everyone who helped us move! We are pretty much moved in. The first thing I did with my homeowner freedom was to paint a wall in the living room! Lauren, Kara, Mom, and Joe all helped me paint an accent wall dark teal. I'm really pleased with how it looks. I want to eventually paint the master bedroom, but all in good time. I will definitely post some pictures of the house soon. i just want to finish things up a bit more first.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Mexican Riviera Cruise
I am finally blogging about our cruise last month--I was waiting for some pictures, but I will have to make do with what I have found so far because I need to write about the trip before I forget everything!
So we left Sunday, Feb. 5 and got back on the 12th, so it was a week. This was kind of our raincheck honeymoon cruise, because we had planned to go right after we got married but it fell through. So now, 2 1/2 years later, we got to go! Thanks Mom and Dad Chambers!
We flew to Los Angeles where Lizzi picked us up from the airport and took us the cruise ship in Long Beach--the Carnival Splendor. We boarded and had to wait a couple hours for our room to be ready, but while waiting, I took in the general splendor. I got really excited when we got on because the big lounge/bar area we entered into was all pink and glitzy with colored LED lights every square inch on the walls. I thought it was an awesome theme room! Well, little did I know that that... was just the whole theme of the ship. Everything was pink and purple and gaudy! It was almost nauseating! But cool :) Oh except our room. Our room was coral and seafoam. So, much more classy. :) Anyway, Sunday we just kinda wandered around. There were 12 decks and about 4000 people on board (including 1200 crew!).
Monday we were at sea all day. We went to a meet the captain seminar where they also told us about the highlights of the cruise and detailed all the different excursion possibilities. That evening was a formal dinner so we got all snazzy and had wonderful food at our dining room: the Black Pearl Restaurant. Joe read a lot and I got caught up on some stuff for work that I needed to get out of the way.
Tuesday was my birthday and we arrived at Cabo san Lucas. It was GORGEOUS! We saw Los Arcos as we were approaching the shore and it reminded me of the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. We went ashore using "tender" transport boats and wandered around the shops a bit. We then hired a local to take us to Lover's Beach so we could do a bit of swimming and snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling, so I was a bit anxious and wimpy at first, but after some patience from Joe, I finally got the hang of it. It was so cool! There was vibrant violet seaweed and neon yellow and black fish. The water was so salty though and I got pretty exhausted after a bit. I definitely had a good nap on the beach. We headed back to the boat in the late afternoon. That night after dinner, we went to a comedy show and it was lots of fun.
Wednesday we were in Cabo again, but the weather was really stormy and chilly and they didn't let a lot of people go to shore because it was so choppy for the tender boats to travel in. Joe and I stayed on shore and relaxed. I finally got a chance to read The Book Thief. Joe had gotten it for me for Christmas last year and it had been on my "to read" list forever. It was not at all what I was expecting, but I liked it a lot! I also discovered the onboard gym and the plethora of ellipticals within. We checked out and spent some time at the pool and the hot tub. That night, we went to the five star onboard restaurant--Pinnacle Steakhouse. We decided to splurge one night as a break from the normal dining room and to celebrate my birthday. It was FANTASTIC. I had this amazing creamed spinach, filet mignon and lobster that was truly the most amazing thing I think I have ever eaten. Joe had a delicious steak. He had cheesecake and I had this incredible chocolate dessert. We were very glad we had splurged. We had brought a couple DVDs with us and watched on on Joe's laptop in our room, though I fell asleep like half and hour in.
Thursday landed us in Puerto Vallarta. We had decided beforehand that we were going to go on an all day long excursion called the Sea Safari. There were about 20 of us and our tour guide took us on a motor boat to a little town called Quimixto that was only accessible by boat. We walked around and then went on horseback to reach a little secluded waterfall. Joe jumped off a mini cliff into the pool at the bottom and swam a bit. I was not brave enough. I did eat some chips a salsa from the little restaurant at the waterfall while I watched Joe be brave. We headed back to the boat where we rode for a bit and then stopped at a little inlet to snorkel. Again, I was amazed at the amazingly varied and bright colored fish. We got on the boat again for about 20 minutes until we reached a private beach where they had a spread of food including the yummiest beans and rice we have ever had. There were hammocks and we just hung out and lounged there for a couple hours. We then got back on the motor boat and saw some dolphins and humpback whales on our way back to the cruise ship! It was so cool--there were like 20 dolphins in a group that we got to see.
Friday we were back at sea to head back. The water was pretty rough all day and I got a bit seasick. It was another formal dinner night and then afterward we went to another comedy show.
Saturday was another rocky day at sea. There was a couples show that we went to, kind of like the newlywed game, but for all couples. That was funny to watch.
Sunday we woke up and got packed and headed off, though we were actually some of the last ones off the boat because Lizzi couldn't pick us up till a bit later. She then drove us back to the airport and we were on our way home again.
All in all, it was super fun and very relaxing. We ate, slept, read, and relaxed a lot and it was fun to spend so much time together.
So we left Sunday, Feb. 5 and got back on the 12th, so it was a week. This was kind of our raincheck honeymoon cruise, because we had planned to go right after we got married but it fell through. So now, 2 1/2 years later, we got to go! Thanks Mom and Dad Chambers!
We flew to Los Angeles where Lizzi picked us up from the airport and took us the cruise ship in Long Beach--the Carnival Splendor. We boarded and had to wait a couple hours for our room to be ready, but while waiting, I took in the general splendor. I got really excited when we got on because the big lounge/bar area we entered into was all pink and glitzy with colored LED lights every square inch on the walls. I thought it was an awesome theme room! Well, little did I know that that... was just the whole theme of the ship. Everything was pink and purple and gaudy! It was almost nauseating! But cool :) Oh except our room. Our room was coral and seafoam. So, much more classy. :) Anyway, Sunday we just kinda wandered around. There were 12 decks and about 4000 people on board (including 1200 crew!).Monday we were at sea all day. We went to a meet the captain seminar where they also told us about the highlights of the cruise and detailed all the different excursion possibilities. That evening was a formal dinner so we got all snazzy and had wonderful food at our dining room: the Black Pearl Restaurant. Joe read a lot and I got caught up on some stuff for work that I needed to get out of the way.
Tuesday was my birthday and we arrived at Cabo san Lucas. It was GORGEOUS! We saw Los Arcos as we were approaching the shore and it reminded me of the movie, The Count of Monte Cristo. We went ashore using "tender" transport boats and wandered around the shops a bit. We then hired a local to take us to Lover's Beach so we could do a bit of swimming and snorkeling. It was my first time snorkeling, so I was a bit anxious and wimpy at first, but after some patience from Joe, I finally got the hang of it. It was so cool! There was vibrant violet seaweed and neon yellow and black fish. The water was so salty though and I got pretty exhausted after a bit. I definitely had a good nap on the beach. We headed back to the boat in the late afternoon. That night after dinner, we went to a comedy show and it was lots of fun.
Wednesday we were in Cabo again, but the weather was really stormy and chilly and they didn't let a lot of people go to shore because it was so choppy for the tender boats to travel in. Joe and I stayed on shore and relaxed. I finally got a chance to read The Book Thief. Joe had gotten it for me for Christmas last year and it had been on my "to read" list forever. It was not at all what I was expecting, but I liked it a lot! I also discovered the onboard gym and the plethora of ellipticals within. We checked out and spent some time at the pool and the hot tub. That night, we went to the five star onboard restaurant--Pinnacle Steakhouse. We decided to splurge one night as a break from the normal dining room and to celebrate my birthday. It was FANTASTIC. I had this amazing creamed spinach, filet mignon and lobster that was truly the most amazing thing I think I have ever eaten. Joe had a delicious steak. He had cheesecake and I had this incredible chocolate dessert. We were very glad we had splurged. We had brought a couple DVDs with us and watched on on Joe's laptop in our room, though I fell asleep like half and hour in.
Thursday landed us in Puerto Vallarta. We had decided beforehand that we were going to go on an all day long excursion called the Sea Safari. There were about 20 of us and our tour guide took us on a motor boat to a little town called Quimixto that was only accessible by boat. We walked around and then went on horseback to reach a little secluded waterfall. Joe jumped off a mini cliff into the pool at the bottom and swam a bit. I was not brave enough. I did eat some chips a salsa from the little restaurant at the waterfall while I watched Joe be brave. We headed back to the boat where we rode for a bit and then stopped at a little inlet to snorkel. Again, I was amazed at the amazingly varied and bright colored fish. We got on the boat again for about 20 minutes until we reached a private beach where they had a spread of food including the yummiest beans and rice we have ever had. There were hammocks and we just hung out and lounged there for a couple hours. We then got back on the motor boat and saw some dolphins and humpback whales on our way back to the cruise ship! It was so cool--there were like 20 dolphins in a group that we got to see.
Friday we were back at sea to head back. The water was pretty rough all day and I got a bit seasick. It was another formal dinner night and then afterward we went to another comedy show.
Saturday was another rocky day at sea. There was a couples show that we went to, kind of like the newlywed game, but for all couples. That was funny to watch.
Sunday we woke up and got packed and headed off, though we were actually some of the last ones off the boat because Lizzi couldn't pick us up till a bit later. She then drove us back to the airport and we were on our way home again.
All in all, it was super fun and very relaxing. We ate, slept, read, and relaxed a lot and it was fun to spend so much time together.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
I'm finally graduated!
Sorry for such a long delay since my last post. Fall semester was kind of a marathon, but now I’m done! I am officially a college grad. I will be walking in April, but I already have my diploma and everything. Just for the final record, I got a bachelor of art in English and a minor in editing—I know I changed majors several times and you have probably had a hard time keeping track J It’s been a long road since I started in 2006 and was majoring in nutritional science. Then chemistry happened and I switched to dietetics. Then… chemistry happened again and I switched to English teaching. Then marriage happened and I switched to just English. Then I took an elective English credit called modern English usage, which I LOVED and found out it was part of the editing minor, hence adding my minor. So 5½ years later… I’m done!
Life post school is interesting. I actually thought I would have more time on my hands, with just a part-time job and no school, but I’ve managed to stay surprisingly busy. I am loving my job still—I work as a book editor at Cedar Fort, Inc. in Springville and it’s my dream job. I am actually working more like 32 hours/week instead of the 20 I started out doing. There is just so much to do and my projects keep me busy and are varied. I get to do anything from copyediting to proofing to doing the page layout, and I’ve worked on all different types of books including cookbooks, young adult fiction, LDS nonfiction, a language-learning book, and a business how-to book. My favorite book I’ve edited so far is a young adult fantasy/paranormal book that I’m recommending to everyone. It’s called “Fractured Light” and it’s by Rachel McClellan. It should have come out last week sometime (Feb. 8?). Sorry, that’s my pitch for the month. I am hoping a full time position will open up soon, and I’ve also applied to and organization called Teach for America. It is quite competitive, but if I get through the lengthy application process, I will be a teacher in a low-income school district for two years. I will get paid a teacher’s salary and I will get certified to teach through them. I know it would be challenging, but I think it would be a great experience for me too. Teaching junior high English is one of those life goals that I need to cross off my list before I can feel good about settling into a career in editing. I applied to the Las Vegas Corps because that is one of the closest places to go (there aren’t any available places in Utah) and Joe is familiar with the area, since he served his mission there. It’s not guaranteed they’ll send me there, but they do try to give you your first choice. Other places I listed to go are Detroit, Baltimore, Seattle, and Denver (if I remember right). I’ll keep you updated. My hobbies include keeping up with TV shows “Parenthood” and “White Collar.” I know what you’re thinking. But I find that reading for pleasure has lost its appeal as a past time activity. It’s about the last thing I want to do when I get home from work because I read all day! I’m looking for some new hobbies. Any ideas? I’ve already tried knitting and crocheting. Apparently you have to have something called “hand-eye” coordination to do well in those things. This has also ruled out playing video games and most sports.
If I’ve managed to stay what I call “busy,” Joe has been a Tasmanian devil. He is in two bands (his own, Winters Run, in which he writes the music and is the guitarist, and Enden, a friend’s band, in which he plays bass). He has 1-2 practices a week/per band. He is still working full time at Power Innovations as a electrical engineering technician, but he is also auditing some refresher pilot classes at UVU in the evening, to keep up with that. He has been itching to fly. He still builds guitars in “all his spare time.” He also continues to work on his book he is writing. And speaking of his bands, he has a gig this Friday at Muse Music in Provo at 8 p.m. Both his bands will be playing that night—that’s right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to come see Joe play both his guitar in one band, and his bass in the other, back to back!
Life post school is interesting. I actually thought I would have more time on my hands, with just a part-time job and no school, but I’ve managed to stay surprisingly busy. I am loving my job still—I work as a book editor at Cedar Fort, Inc. in Springville and it’s my dream job. I am actually working more like 32 hours/week instead of the 20 I started out doing. There is just so much to do and my projects keep me busy and are varied. I get to do anything from copyediting to proofing to doing the page layout, and I’ve worked on all different types of books including cookbooks, young adult fiction, LDS nonfiction, a language-learning book, and a business how-to book. My favorite book I’ve edited so far is a young adult fantasy/paranormal book that I’m recommending to everyone. It’s called “Fractured Light” and it’s by Rachel McClellan. It should have come out last week sometime (Feb. 8?). Sorry, that’s my pitch for the month. I am hoping a full time position will open up soon, and I’ve also applied to and organization called Teach for America. It is quite competitive, but if I get through the lengthy application process, I will be a teacher in a low-income school district for two years. I will get paid a teacher’s salary and I will get certified to teach through them. I know it would be challenging, but I think it would be a great experience for me too. Teaching junior high English is one of those life goals that I need to cross off my list before I can feel good about settling into a career in editing. I applied to the Las Vegas Corps because that is one of the closest places to go (there aren’t any available places in Utah) and Joe is familiar with the area, since he served his mission there. It’s not guaranteed they’ll send me there, but they do try to give you your first choice. Other places I listed to go are Detroit, Baltimore, Seattle, and Denver (if I remember right). I’ll keep you updated. My hobbies include keeping up with TV shows “Parenthood” and “White Collar.” I know what you’re thinking. But I find that reading for pleasure has lost its appeal as a past time activity. It’s about the last thing I want to do when I get home from work because I read all day! I’m looking for some new hobbies. Any ideas? I’ve already tried knitting and crocheting. Apparently you have to have something called “hand-eye” coordination to do well in those things. This has also ruled out playing video games and most sports.
If I’ve managed to stay what I call “busy,” Joe has been a Tasmanian devil. He is in two bands (his own, Winters Run, in which he writes the music and is the guitarist, and Enden, a friend’s band, in which he plays bass). He has 1-2 practices a week/per band. He is still working full time at Power Innovations as a electrical engineering technician, but he is also auditing some refresher pilot classes at UVU in the evening, to keep up with that. He has been itching to fly. He still builds guitars in “all his spare time.” He also continues to work on his book he is writing. And speaking of his bands, he has a gig this Friday at Muse Music in Provo at 8 p.m. Both his bands will be playing that night—that’s right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to come see Joe play both his guitar in one band, and his bass in the other, back to back!
Still waiting to hear back about Joe and the Army. At this point, we just kinda want to know, one way or the other, so we can progress forward with something. We have backup plans, but it’s hard to move on until we officially rule out Plan A. Oh well. We are content with what we are doing right now and trying to be patient. Next post I will write about our cruise to Mexico! I had to catch you all up to speed before I wrote about that though! Till then! Thanks for reading!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
End of Summer Musings
Hello world. It's been a while.
What a whirlwind of a summer. Since I last wrote, Joe and I have both just working tons, and taking a few random trips. We went to California (L.A.) at the end of July to visit Joe's sisters: Liz, and Rebecca and her family. We had a blast. We visited the Getty museum, the Griffeth Observatory, and Malibu beach.
We also ate some great sea food and did a lot of nothing. It was great and very relaxing. Liz was kind to take us around LA and see the sights (and drive-- LA drivers are CRASY-GO-NUTS!).
This trip was especially nice to get away from the move we were in the middle of-- that's right, folks, Joe and I officially moved out of the Branbury (after 6 years for Joe). Because we couldn't move in to our new 4-plex until the 1st of August, but had to be out of our Branbury apt by the 22nd of July, my parents were nice enough to let us stay with them for a week.
Now we are all moved in to our new place and loving it. It feels like a palace in size compared to our first place--it's actually almost twice the square footage (our Branbury apt. was about 500 sq. ft.). We are also loving the extra storage, 2nd bedroom, and covered parking.
Other story of the week, which it pains me to tell: Joe and I were up for phone upgrades so we decided to join the world and get smart phones. Well, after having mine for all of 2 days, I put it through the washer accidentally when I washed the sheets on our bed, not realizing I had left my phone on the bed when I woke up. To make a long story short, after trying every trick on the internet to try to dry it out, it was ruined. We went ahead and added the warranty, since we were still within 14 days of purchase, but now we will have to pay the monthly warranty fee and the deductible, so... I am rethinking how smart it is for me, Emily-- clumsy and ditsy at times-- to be responsible enough for a smart phone. Right now I'm just using my old phone again.
I'm back in school for my last semester until I graduate- yay! I'm taking my capstone English major class, which I chose the literature of the Brontё family (Patrick, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell), as well as my last general ed class (second half of humanities), a poetry class, the Bible as literature, and a history and criticism of rhetoric class. So-- lot's of fun classes!
Also, I officially worked my last day at Charlotte Russe yesterday- it was bittersweet. It feels good to move on, but I've literally worked there for almost four years and made a lot of friends and memories. So n
o more weekends or late nights working! Or holidays! I love it. I only work 20 hours/week at Cedar Fort (oh, yes I don't know that I mentioned on here that my internship hired me!) and it is around my classes, so I have a much more regular schedule.
No update on the Army yet :( But Joe has been busy building guitars. You heard me right.
Life is good and we feel really blessed. Love you all!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Summer Fun
HELLOOOO!
So I finished my spring class (book publishing) so now my days are filled with working (still at CR) and. . . da da da: my internship! The first week was a bit rough. I went in for my first day and took an editing test and read through the their style guide and stuff. So when I went in the second day, I assumed I would be doing more orientation stuff. Well. . . instead, there was a fat manuscript on my desk to source check, along with a box filled with seven three-inch thick binders filled with photocopied sources. So, source checking isn't the most glamorous of jobs within the realm of editing, but someone needs to do it, and as an intern, I was overjoyed at having a project of my own to be in charge of. Well, unfortunately, before I could even start source checking, I had to make sense of all the sources. They weren't in any sort of order, so I spent pretty much the whole day alphabetizing the hundreds of articles by author or editor last names. Also, about 2/3 of the the cited sources were not even in the binders, so I had to make note of all the missing sources and carefully go through the bibliography. Even though it took me about a week, it was rewarding every time I found an error and could fix it. Because it was so time-consuming and tedious, if I hadn't done it, I don't know that it would have gotten done as thoroughly. Besides, after that, all the editors felt so bad for me that I had to do that, that they have given me really fun projects since then. I've proofread a few Christmas books (yes--that's how far in advance they are going through the editing process), I proofread a kindle version of a cupcake cookbook, and now I am doing the page layout design for a book on business strategy and I've been put in charge of it so that I am the one collaborating with the author. It's pretty fun and exciting. My favorite aspect of editing/publishing is the ambassador role between author and publishing house. It's a lot of collaboration, compromise, and negotiation. Fun fun fun.
A couple of weeks ago, Joe and I went on a weekend camping trip with Brittany and Kenton. Joe and I had seen a list on Yahoo or something of "the ten places every kid should visit in the U.S."
So, between us, we had been to all of them (thanks, Moms and Dads!) except Craters of the Moon national monument. And whattaya know- it is only in Idaho! So we decided to be spontaneous and go check it out one weekend. It was truly awesome! Except the weather, which was super windy and rainy the first day (making my dutch oven meal plans rather difficult!), but cleared up by our second day there. We checked out these tube caves that had been formed by lava on the surface cooling and hardening first, while the lave beneath kept flowing out, forming hollow caves. There were just these huge mounds of black sand from the volcano cones, and then lots of jagged black rocks everywhere. It was really surreal scenery. It truly looks like you are on another planet (or the moon), and we read that astronauts used to go there to learn about volcano craters and other geological features found on both there and on the moon.
I taught our primary class (4 and 5 year olds) for the first time this past Sunday. They are hilarious and adorable. There are just 3 girls. They talk SO much. They love to talk about their families and how awesome/terrible their parents were in the past couple days, current favorite toys, who they played with yesterday, and how they are going into preschool/kindergarten soon.
For the fourth of July weekend, Joe and I went to my parents for a BBQ on Sunday and then Joe's parents Monday evening. We drove to see Keren and Nik's new house in Weber and in anticipation of watching fireworks from. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes got the best of us, but we got to see tons of fireworks on the drive home to Provo-- more than I've ever seen on Independence day, most likely due to the now legalized aerial fireworks in Utah. But we also go to meet Keren and Nik's new dog, Oscar, a dachshund! He is so cute and it makes me want a dog so bad!!!
Kara is at Brighton, being counselor Chinook and having so much fun! It makes me nostalgic for being up there, and I really miss hanging out with her during the week. But I think I will go up for devotional one of these weeks.
I wanted to post some pictures with this, but I can't find our camera at the moment, so... hopefully I'll put some up soon
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Curious Incident of the Ravens at Mid-day-time
HeLLLOOOO, Spring. Nice to see you. You make me so happy inside.
This past weekend, Joe and I got to go on a really fun camping/hiking/jeeping trip with my Uncle Dave, Cousin-in-law Mark, his 7-year-old son Caleb, Tom, and Lauren.
We left Wednesday night in Stella with Tom and Lauren in the back, while White Trash heroically carried Dave, Mark, Caleb, and seven peoples'-worth of gear. We got to Canyonlands (about 5 hours southeast of Provo) around midnight and therefore just set up our sleeping bags out under the stars. Which would have been awesome, except that it was 43 degrees. I didn't sleep too well because Joe and I had brilliantly decided to zip our sleeping bags together because then we could snuggle and be warmer, right? Well actually, it just made it so that we couldn't utilize the mummy bag feature of draw-stringing the top tightly around your head to keep cold air from coming in. The next morning warmed up real nice though and Joe made his famous Chambers' McMuffins (which don't, in fact, have anything to do with muffins. Or Mc.) of sausage, egg, and cheese on a hamburger bun for everyone. Next, we headed toward Elephant Hill with one goal in mind: TO FULFILL MY LIFE-LONG DREAM OF DRIVING STELLA OVER IT. Or at least that's been my dream since I got Stella 15 months ago. Well I am happy to report that my mission was accomplished (I only stalled like >4 times. Way less). And Lauren didn't die. Win-Win.
We then set up our campsite at Devil's Kitchen and went exploring in the rocks and cliffs nearby. I am always so amazed at the view, every time I go. It is so surreal and pictures just don't do it justice.
Well, when we got back from our little exploring adventure, there was stuff scattered all around. Lauren's bag was all opened up and spilled out on the ground, the paper towel roll was peppered with holes, and, alas, the 7 lb. bag of Black Forest gummy bears was being FEASTED UPON BY A MURDER OF RAVENS! I think "murder" is the term used to describe a quantity of crows, but it is fitting here. Even though we thought we had adequately sealed up all our food, it seems we neglected to read the posters at the visitors center which warned of ravens being very aggressive and able to unzip bags and knock lids off trash cans to find food. It was a sad, sad moment and the gummy bears were sorely missed.
I made taco soup adapted from Pika's dutch oven recipe for dinner and it was a big hit, although I later regretted putting so many chili beans in...
Friday, we jeeped over to the joint and hiked from there to Druid arch. It ended up being an eleven mile hike and I was exhausted afterward, but it was beautiful. For dinner, Dave cooked up canned soup buffet. It's amazing how hungry you get camping and I'm pretty sure we finished most of them off.
Saturday we went on a short hike and then jeeped over to the confluence (where the Green River joins the Colorado River), and then saw newspaper rock on our way out of the national park. The 5 hour drive home wasn't bad at all, as the weather was overcast and a bit rainy. Driving home in an un-air-conditioned car mid-day in the sun would not have been fun.
Overall, it was a really fun trip, and it was so fun to take Joe there and hang out with Tom and Lauren, Mark, Dave, and Caleb.
Yay for camping!
Yay for Stella going over Elephant Hill!
Yay for the rat poison we injected into gummy bears and left for the ravens!
Ok just kidding about that last one... we forgot to bring rat poison so there's no way we could've done that. Only imagined it fondly.
Peace.
This past weekend, Joe and I got to go on a really fun camping/hiking/jeeping trip with my Uncle Dave, Cousin-in-law Mark, his 7-year-old son Caleb, Tom, and Lauren.
We left Wednesday night in Stella with Tom and Lauren in the back, while White Trash heroically carried Dave, Mark, Caleb, and seven peoples'-worth of gear. We got to Canyonlands (about 5 hours southeast of Provo) around midnight and therefore just set up our sleeping bags out under the stars. Which would have been awesome, except that it was 43 degrees. I didn't sleep too well because Joe and I had brilliantly decided to zip our sleeping bags together because then we could snuggle and be warmer, right? Well actually, it just made it so that we couldn't utilize the mummy bag feature of draw-stringing the top tightly around your head to keep cold air from coming in. The next morning warmed up real nice though and Joe made his famous Chambers' McMuffins (which don't, in fact, have anything to do with muffins. Or Mc.) of sausage, egg, and cheese on a hamburger bun for everyone. Next, we headed toward Elephant Hill with one goal in mind: TO FULFILL MY LIFE-LONG DREAM OF DRIVING STELLA OVER IT. Or at least that's been my dream since I got Stella 15 months ago. Well I am happy to report that my mission was accomplished (I only stalled like >4 times. Way less). And Lauren didn't die. Win-Win.
We then set up our campsite at Devil's Kitchen and went exploring in the rocks and cliffs nearby. I am always so amazed at the view, every time I go. It is so surreal and pictures just don't do it justice.
Well, when we got back from our little exploring adventure, there was stuff scattered all around. Lauren's bag was all opened up and spilled out on the ground, the paper towel roll was peppered with holes, and, alas, the 7 lb. bag of Black Forest gummy bears was being FEASTED UPON BY A MURDER OF RAVENS! I think "murder" is the term used to describe a quantity of crows, but it is fitting here. Even though we thought we had adequately sealed up all our food, it seems we neglected to read the posters at the visitors center which warned of ravens being very aggressive and able to unzip bags and knock lids off trash cans to find food. It was a sad, sad moment and the gummy bears were sorely missed.
I made taco soup adapted from Pika's dutch oven recipe for dinner and it was a big hit, although I later regretted putting so many chili beans in...
Friday, we jeeped over to the joint and hiked from there to Druid arch. It ended up being an eleven mile hike and I was exhausted afterward, but it was beautiful. For dinner, Dave cooked up canned soup buffet. It's amazing how hungry you get camping and I'm pretty sure we finished most of them off.
Saturday we went on a short hike and then jeeped over to the confluence (where the Green River joins the Colorado River), and then saw newspaper rock on our way out of the national park. The 5 hour drive home wasn't bad at all, as the weather was overcast and a bit rainy. Driving home in an un-air-conditioned car mid-day in the sun would not have been fun.
Overall, it was a really fun trip, and it was so fun to take Joe there and hang out with Tom and Lauren, Mark, Dave, and Caleb.
Yay for camping!
Yay for Stella going over Elephant Hill!
Yay for the rat poison we injected into gummy bears and left for the ravens!
Ok just kidding about that last one... we forgot to bring rat poison so there's no way we could've done that. Only imagined it fondly.
Peace.
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