Here's where I was this weekend

Here is who I was with...

Here is what we were doing...

I got the opportunity to spend the weekend with Teresa Tapp and 20 of her students, filming a special documentary for PBS!  We all got together in Dania Beach, FL (N. Miami) at a fancy hotel and then headed over to the TV studios.

Thursday afternoon was "interview day" for those of us who were there.  I got to interview with the Producer, Maya - she was incredible.  She had obviously researched my story (thyroid issues) and asked great questions to lead me right into the answers she was looking for.  It will be interesting to see if any of it makes the "final cut".  But either way, it was a great experience!  

Before and after the interviews we all hung out in the makeup room - Teresa and some of her staff, and a few of us participating.  It was such fun to just sit there and chat with people I've only met (for the most part) on the forums! Teresa is always so genuine and personable.  We sat together and chatted for nearly 2 hours about... everything!  Horses, kids, makeup, you name it.  (She has a mare who is now 25 years old and so we discussed "aging horse issues"...)

After they were all finished, Grant's Mom (he's the head honcho, as long as she isn't around...) came in and suggested they were finished and we might want to leave...  (I think she was kicking us out - we were having a WONDERFUL time and were probably a little loud...  grin)

This is my friend "Blessed Mama", Trisch.  She is a homeschool Mama (to 9).  We had such a great time chatting!  The final evening I took her and my roommate, Margaret to the beach.  (And I didn't even run them over!  Thanks for the warning Dad!)  Margaret and I had such fun staying up WAY too late every night gabbing.  Even AFTER lights out. 

Margaret & Trisch at the beach

More later - you have got to see the $25,000 poster!

Tuesday

We are having a great time having Rod home...  Jim graduated from school and headed home on Friday, but has a "new girlfriend" so we aren't seeing a whole lot of him lately...  Kyle has been covering for a co-worker whose Mom passed away, so he's been going in to work 6 days a week and opening instead of closing.  Today is his last day of that.  I've been teaching in Boynton, but I'm home now...


Monday was a FULL day for Rod and I.  Started up at the vet's with Fuzzy, Kyle's puppy.  He is suffering from heart failure - poor little guy.  He's only 7 years old, but the vet thinks he was born with a defect.  Put him on 2 more medicines which will help his liver and heart function.  Will improve his quality of life, but likely shorten it as well.  Hank said he expects 6 months to as much as a year.  But that was the prognosis without the medicine as well, so if he can have a GOOD 6 months, that's better than the way he is now.  He gets very short of breath, can't run with the others, can't go on walks with us anymore and can hardly get up the step into the house.  Hank said he should have significantly more energy and feel better within 2 days so we'll see...  The vet is up in Merritt Island, so we stopped in Cocoa on the way home and visited with Tim and George.  They are doing well... the stop is staying steady.  With the rising fuel prices, people are pulling out their bikes and scooters and getting them worked on so they can ride them again.  At least it keeps Scott busy!


After we dropped Fuzzy at the house we went into town with Jim - took him to my office to fax all his school papers to KLLM.  Hoping to hear good news back from them today... Keeping fingers crossed.  He left from there to go to the beach / river with his girlfriend and Rod and I headed over to Walgreens to fill Fuzzy's prescription.


Rod is so funny.  As we were leaving Walgreens - walking through the card department he said "well, Happy Valentines Day.  Do you want me to get you a card or do you just want to stand here and read a couple?"  I laughed about that all day long!!!!  (We are NOT Hallmark Holiday people...)  Across the street to the bank to make a deposit and then back to Walgreens to pick up the medicine.  Then off to the eye doctor.  His pressure is holding at 13 and the doctor was pleased.  She said that was her goal - so now he just goes in every 3 months to make sure it is holding steady.  What a blessing!!!!


After Kyle got home we went for a nice long walk in the woods and then headed over to Cocoa to send in Rod's paperwork on his last trip, (has to go up on a special machine you can only find at a truck stop - we don't have a truck stop around here...) and then to Orlando to his post office box to get his mail.  There was a little mexican place next door so we went in for a burrito.  It was really good!  Kyle and I jabbered all the way home.  Rod took a nap in the backseat.


This morning we went out for breakfast (Waffle House - a tradition) and then fueled up and stopped at the feed store to get hay.  Home to unload and then Rod taught me how to start the giant 4-wheeler and drag the pasture.  It was hard work!!!!  I was surprised how tired my arms were - but very proud of myself.  Nice to know I can do it myself now!


We came in and Rod took a little nap - while I checked my email etc.  His back was a little sore today, so he has been laying on one of my rice bags (as a heating pad).  He's awake now and feeling better, so we are going to the grocery store.

Happy Valentines (early)

Want a cute idea for Valentines Day?  Shamelessly stolen from another website I can’t for the life of me find again…

My assistant handled Activity Day Girls for me this week while I was in Ft. Lauderdale.  They made rice krispie square kisses!  You make the rice krispies, colored with red food coloring to get a nice little pink.  Then pack them into a large kitchen funnel. (sprayed with a little cooking spray so you can get them back out!)  Then wrap each with a little foil and stick a little paper with a cute saying.  She said she took pictures once they were wrapped, but it didn’t save on her phone… 

Anyhow – cute!  The girls had a good time making (and eating) them.

Oh wait, HERE’s the website!  http://rootsandwingsco.blogspot.com/2009/02/day-10-rice-krispy-treats-as-kiss.html

Rod update:

He is now in FLORIDA!  Just about even with me, but on the wrong coast.  Heading south to Arcadia – should be there in another hour or so.  Then once they unload him, he can head east!!! 

Thursday, right?

I’m at work today.

I know… I’m supposed to be home, basking in the glow of my darling husband.  But he’s stuck in Atlanta.  Poor guy!  He was all ready to head home – had a load for Florida and everything!  But the truck in front of him flung a rock and broke his windshield.  Which ground all Florida-bound movement to a halt.  Luckily he was near his “home” terminal so was able to do all his laundry and take a shower for free!  (Like he couldn’t have done that when he got home, but you gotta look for the silver lining, right?)

They finally got his windshield fixed this morning, but it has to cure for 2-3 hours before he can start driving again.  Which means he was  “in detention” for 24 hours (and so he gets paid…)  So it’s not ALL bad, right? 

Meanwhile, I got up EARLY yesterday morning (yah, Froze, I know, “my” early is not actually early…)  I was up at 5 and gone by 5:45 heading south to Ft. Lauderdale to meet with the honchos from home office about the new curriculum.  The plan was to get there for an 8:00 breakfast.  But some poor soul on the highway got into an accident and it caused everyone to do stop-and-go for 25 minutes.  (despite being pulled over to the side of the road, not in ANYBODY’s way, or even being all the interesting to look at!!!!!)  So… Instead of pulling into the hotel parking lot at 7:59 as predicted by my faithful GPS, I pulled in at 8:25. 

Wandered down to the table and visited with the folks there until just after 9:00 when we headed up to the room to begin deliberations.  It’s always fun to get a bunch of people together with no clear direction or understanding of what is expected and hope to come out of the room 8 hours later with a useable product.  I don’t know how successful we were, but the 3 of us sitting at our end of the room had a great time “work shopping” and comparing notes about the different strategies we use to teach various concepts.  I felt like I learned a TON!  And I was gratified to see they brought the manual from the agonizing class I went to in Pensacola last year and were using lots of the information from that experience.  I also brought the Review manual I’ve been teaching from for the last few years.  Emily (from home office) was pleased to know I use it LOTS (as evidenced by the state it’s in, as well as all the notes I have made over time…)  (She wrote it...)  She referred back to it often and seemed to take note of the changes I had made.

We had a great lunch downstairs (HQ FORBADE her from having a “working” lunch…) and then back up to finish up.  I think she got lots of material.  Looking forward to seeing the results.  Some of the instructors were hesitant about participating… feels a little like working yourself out of a job.  I imagine the horse and buggy guys felt like that when the new automobile folks came in asking them to help them create a new chassis…  But you gotta embrace change.  It’s coming either way… might as well get onboard…

Another senseless slowdown on the highway on the way home, adding another 30+ minutes to the drive.  But I got home just before 8:00 (I think) so it was all good.  Kyle and I ate a little dinner, watched a little TV and then headed off to bed.  One of his co-workers lost her Mom this week, so he’s covering for her which means opening at 7:15 and getting off at 4:15.  Quite a change for the guy who generally doesn’t get UP until 7:40 and goes in at 9!  He’s NOT loving it, but it will be over soon.

Jim update:  Today is the last day of testing.  He is doing STELLAR!  Can’t wait to get out there on the road with a trainer and start actually making a little money.  (during training they get a flat rate regardless of the miles they drive… but something is better than NOTHING!)  We are super proud of him and can’t wait for him to team up with his Dad!

Rod Update:  Still waiting………………  Snowed in Atlanta last night.  Can’t wait to head south!  (but it’s rainy and chilly today… not much better than where he is…)

BUMMER!

I know…  You’re not supposed to laugh at the misfortune of others… but sometimes you just can’t help it. 

Friday night after school ended and all my students left (10:00) I was tidying my classroom before leaving, when one of my ladies came back in looking distraught. 

I asked what the problem was, imagining her car wouldn’t start or some such thing.

Nope. 

She was in the restroom.  Used the facilities.  Washed her hands.  Dried her hands.  Picked up her purse and her keys.  As she was leaving, she reached over to flush.

And her keys slipped out of her hand.

It was like a Jr. High School swirly.  Down they went.

Gone.  

In an instant.  

Never to be seen again. 

Perhaps eaten by one of those infamous gators that live in the sewer in South Florida.

I didn’t laugh out loud. 

I’m quite proud of myself.

But I’m grinning now!

Rod update...  He is sitting in Missouri (again) waiting for them to load his truck - sometime between now and 8:00 tonight.  Then it's off to Atlanta!  At least that's in the correct quadrant!

FOG

Woke up this morning to lots and lots and lots of FOG.  Wet, thick, gooey fog.  Everything was coated with a layer of wet.  Not just slightly damp but dripping wet.  As I walked out to the barn to feed the horses, the first thing I noticed as I approached were all the spider webs!  And I immediately rejoiced!  They were beautiful, sure, but now they were also VISIBLE!  Nothing beats starting a day like walking smack dab into a spider web and wondering if Charlotte was still out admiring her work.

They were EVERYWHERE!  Once the horses were happily munching, I wandered back to the house (would love to say I dashed, but wearing plastic barn clogs, walking slowly and carefully was the preferred method of transportation… wet plastic is SLICK!) to get my camera.  Made me late for work, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share.

Rod Update:  Driving on dry, clear roads!  Should be in Bolingbrook, IL in another hour or so and then picking up a load just a short 25 miles away and heading west to Kansas.  WEST?  Don’t they know he’s supposed to be in FLORIDA on Wednesday?  You know.  EAST and SOUTH?  Sigh.

Another Rod Update:  After all our joking about Eufala….  He FELL this morning in his parking lot.  Didn’t hurt anything (but his pride) and was able to laugh about it.  Thank goodness!!!!  (otherwise I would have felt SUPER guilty!)  (And I was able to say… Aaaawwwww, Eufala????)  Yah.  You can tell I love him with all my heart.

EXCITED!!!

I’m so excited, I might burst!  But it’s a SECRET!!!!

I got selected for something that is quite an honor and was TOTALLY unexpected!  (In fact, I’m trying to figure out how on earth I got selected!)  It will involve a little bit of travel, again, but just here in Florida.  So no flying or sneaking in family visits.  (darn) 

Can’t wait until I can spill the beans!  (And you probably won’t be nearly as impressed as I am…) but it’s still EXCITING!

Rod Update:  He’s in Vinita, OK – heading north to Rolla, MO.  He said the roads are better now – he can actually see asphalt!  It took him nearly 4 hours to drive 90+ miles this morning.  I guess Oklahoma wasn’t as prepared / used to this sort of weather.  But Missouri has a good handle on it.  He’s seeing snowplows on the highway again…  Then another 350+ miles tomorrow to get to his final destination, Bolingbrook, IL.  (Just south of Chicago)  He already has his next destination – somewhere in Pennsylvania!  And then (hopefully) south!  He’s supposed to be home on Wednesday…  We’ll see.

ROD UPDATE

He's stopped for the night.  Managed to get to a little Love's Truck Stop in a town called Eufala, OK.  It was his scheduled fuel stop.  Calling ahead, all the truckstops further up the road are filled up - no parking available.  And once you cross into Missouri - all the highways are shut down.

So.... Eufala, OK it is.

Let the fun begin!

Rod - I'm getting out of my truck to fuel up now.

Me - Ok, don't Eufala!

LOL  (we're so mature!) 

SPRING (?)

The ground hog didn’t see his shadow – which means spring is just around the corner.  Yah, right.  As the mid-west is in the middle of the worst blizzard in decades.  (I think it was fixed – if they had said 6 more weeks of this stuff, there might have been an uprising!) 

My poor darling husband just barely made it to Anna, TX last night – one of the thousands of truckers huddled at rest areas and truck stops.  I was on the phone with him while he Howard Cosel-ed the experience.  “Ooooooh, ooooh, oooh, aaah.  He was sliding right into that other car but saved it at the last second.  No wait!  Don’t…. argh.”  It was entertaining!  (and nerve wracking!!!)  The road was covered with a layer of ice and the smaller vehicles were really having a terrible time.  Weighing 75,000 pounds and having good snow tires probably gave him a little bit of an advantage.  Not to mention his own personal guardian angel who I’m certain was carrying him over the slippery stuff.

Meanwhile, I woke up this morning to a GLORIOUS Florida morning.  69 degrees.  Light breeze.  And a yard FULL of a flock of robins.  I’ve lived here 30 years and still when I see the first robin I yell SPRING!!!  They were so pretty – all over the yard, searching for breakfast bugs and chirping away.  I tried to take a picture, but couldn’t get close enough for it to be more than black dots on the grass. 

I let the dogs out and Bison (lab) and Ozzie (jack russell) immediately went to the power pole where there was a squirrel hanging head down part way up the pole.  The dogs crouched into hunting mode – the squirrel would inch down, the dogs would inch closer, the squirrel would inch down, the dogs would inch closer, and then Duke (greyhound and dumb as a rock) would RUN into the middle and chase the squirrel back up the pole, turn around and run back to me with the world’s biggest doggie grin.  What a doof.

Update - The sky is clear in Anna, TX, so Rod is cautiously getting on the road.  He’s headed to I-44 in Missouri, which is currently closed.  But it’s still nearly 200 miles away… here’s hoping the road between is clear.  He said there were cars on the road and other truckers leaving so he’s cautiously optimistic.  The President of KLLM sent out a message yesterday telling them to find a safe place and pull OFF.  Already had one truck jack-knife.  Although the customers want/need their loads, they aren’t going to get there any faster if it ends up in a ditch.  Good to know the company is looking out for these guys.

Meanwhile, Jim is (hopefully) driving in St. Augustine and Jacksonville today.  He was supposed to do his first “real traffic” drive on Monday, but one trainer was out sick and the other was at the doctor… this flu is really taking a toll!

Kyle’s leg is feeling much better and he had a GREAT day at work yesterday.  Everybody was happy and upbeat, the weather was great for washing cars – it’s awful trying to wash cars in the rain and cold.

I’m feeling MUCH better – and should get back to work. 

Missing In Action

I’ve been missing in action for a couple of days.  (ok, longer than a couple…) 

I’ve been a little busy.  And a little sick.  But I’m better now.  Still busy, but not sick!

First – Jim has finished his first week at National Training Institute up in Green Cove Springs (near Jacksonville) and is well on his way to being a trucker!  He’s (naturally) the star of the class, spending lots of time helping his fellow students on the finer points.  He is really enjoying it – but looking forward to getting out there on the road and making some money.  (although I’ll bet he’s glad to not be out there this week!  Oooh, the weather!!!!)

Which brings us to Rod.  He was in Brownsville, TX over the weekend.  Enjoying 95 degree weather, wearing shorts and cooking up some beef patties on his George Foreman so he’ll have enough food to get him home.  Now he’s heading north.  Currently driving under clear blue skies, but that is likely to change by the time he gets into middle Oklahoma.  And then it’s snow all the way to Chicago where he’s headed.  Actually a little south of Chicago – Bollingbrook, IL.  Right into the teeth of the blizzard.  Remember him in your prayers.  He is supposed to deliver on Thursday, so has a little padding if he needs to pull off for a day or so.  His company is pretty good to work with – they REALLY don’t want the drivers taking risks, so if the weather is awful, they would rather you find a rest area or truck stop and hunker down until its safe again.  Good to know they don’t think they are the postal service.  (How long has it been since the postal service actually USED that motto???)

Kyle, meanwhile, has a mysteriously sore knee suddenly.  Sunday in Sacrament Meeting to be exact.  It started to hurt, got better, got worse, got better…  We walked in the woods on Saturday for a couple of hours but it wasn’t bothering him when we got home.  By the end of the day, his knee was really bothering him, but he has Mondays off, so we decided to “wait and see”.  I worked for 5 hours and then came home early.  He said it felt fine, so we went for another walk.  It was a little off when we got back, but not bad.  But again by the end of the evening he was really limping on his way to bed.  This morning he said it was ok again – so we’ll see how the day goes.  Might need to see a doc…  Good thing he has GREAT health insurance through his job.  (MUCH better than mine!)

Fuzzy (Kyle’s dog) has an enlarged heart, enlarged liver and water in the lungs.  He’s been on a diuretic for a couple of weeks, but I’m not seeing much change.  Poor little guy really coughs and coughs and just doesn’t have the bounce and energy he usually has.  Called the vet this morning – the pharmacy gave us the wrong dosage – so he’s only been taking half the amount they wanted him on.  We’ll get him on the right dose tonight and see what that does for him.  He’s our FAVORITE dog of all the 4 (shhh, the others will get jealous) so we are anxious to see him getting better.

I started Tuesday with a SUPER sore throat.  Like hot knives in your throat kind of sore.  Stopped at the health food store and picked up some Oil of Oregano (in the middle of a tornado warning – I was like the only person on the road!) and took a mega dose of that and D3, some extra C and gallons and gallons of water.  Wednesday I woke up to no sore throat, but a slightly itchy right ear.  As the day went by, my nose was running like a faucet!  (Found out Oil of Oregano, OoO, helps thin muscus along with being antiviral, anti-inflammatory, etc…)  Decided to not go to Activity Day so as not to infect the girls.  Thursday it had moved into my lungs.  I was really worried about teaching my 4-day class starting Friday, but when I got up that morning, I was feeling GREAT!  Unfortunately, I only had 2 students show up for school, so ended up cancelling anyway.

Had a lovely, relaxing Saturday.  Kyle had to work and Jim was still in Jacksonville, so I stayed in bed until nearly noon – just watching cooking shows and staying warm.  When Kyle got home we went for a nice walk in the woods and then had some dinner.

Sunday was church – we had the 5^th Sunday combined on self-reliance.  Some good information.  Our local credit union CEO is in our ward and he mentioned that they make $30million each year on OVER DRAFT FEES!  Incredible!!!!  It’s one thing to have a budget, but even more important to have a realistic budget!  And then follow it!

I already told you about Monday…  (Grin)  My boss (teaching) just called and said they are making some MAJOR changes related to the trips I’ve been making to Jacksonville and Pensacola lately.  They are looking at combining the 40-hour online class and a live 4-6 hour “cram course” to see if they can help people pass their state exam in a shorter time.  They want me to meet with the company trainer and a few other instructors down in Ft Lauderdale on Tuesday and Wednesday to come up with the curriculum!  Quite an honor!  Except Rod is coming home on Wednesday!  So I’ll drive down on Tuesday morning (or more likely Monday evening) help them out Tuesday and Wed morning and then I’ll leave Wed afternoon so I can get home to see my darling husband!

Rod comes home on the 9^th, an eye doc appt on the 10^th, then Jim graduates on the 11^th and should be home sometime that afternoon/evening.  But I have to head to Boynton to teach that evening.  I don’t get home until Sunday evening – we aren’t sure how long Rod will be in town.  Supposed to be until the 14^th but you never know when they can get him a load out.

Like I said…  BUSY!  Thank goodness my “day job” has flexible hours and is really good about working with me when I need time off for these special projects.

Aaaaaah, it’s a good life!