Fifteen Minutes of Delusion

Six Flags with Sixth Graders

2011-05-29T19:14:00.007-06:00

Alyssa's school went to Six Flags a couple of weeks ago, and I went along as a chaperone.

Because of Alyssa's special needs, and the large number of parent volunteers that went, we were a group of two.

We hooked up with a couple of other groups for most of the day.

Alyssa would not go get her picture taken with Tweety Bird and Daffy Duck.

She barely went over with Bugs Bunny.

They rode on the teacup ride.

And the Bucking Bronco ride.

And the Six Shooter swings. Shown in this picture are Alyssa, Alyssa, and Elissa. Yeah, it was fun keeping everyone straight.

The others all rode the recently rebuilt Texas Giant. During that half-hour, though, I sat in the train station with Alyssa laying over on my lap, asleep.

She wouldn't ride any of the big roller coasters or the Superman or Batman, but she did want her picture taken with the Batmobile.

I think I'll set one of my books at Six Flags. That way I can get a season pass, go back over and over again, and call it research.

2011-05-29T19:14:00.001-06:00

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T16:33:00.004-06:00

Just a quick post to share some pictures of the girls in their 2011 Easter dresses and new shoes. This is Alyssa's first set of heels (1.5") and she's doing quite well with them.

Some Pictures from the Weekend

2011-04-17T10:15:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

I had a book signing at Moon's LDS Bookstore in Dallas yesterday. This is my setup, with chocolate macadamia nuts, bookmarks, and paper airplanes that I fold for the kids. It was a great signing, although I didn't sell as many books as last time. Maybe it's because I wore the blue shirt instead of the red one.

Coming up next month, there will be a piece about me in the BYU-Hawaii eNewsletter, and they asked if we had a family picture. It's been a long, long time since we've had our picture made (that's how they say it here in Texas) so this was a good excuse for us to take some.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-04-03T12:35:00.009-06:00

One of our favorite books when the girls were young was Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, about a little bug who ate and ate and grew and grew until he became a beautiful butterfly.

Oops--did I just give away the ending?

Anyway, we've had our own very hungry caterpillar at the house this year--Alyssa. Take a look at this back-to-school photo of her with Anna, from just this past August.

Now compare that to this photo, taken one week ago.

Hmm. Maybe it's not so obvious, since Anna's wearing heels. Pardon me for one moment while I make the girls take another picture.

She's grown at least two inches; maybe even three. In fact, she's grown so much she's taken over a bunch of Anna's clothes.

Yes, our girls are growing up.

Testing, Testing. Is This Thing On?

2011-03-30T07:43:00.007-06:00

In case you hadn't noticed based on the bloggy silence, these last few months have been incredibly busy around here, and unfortunately this blog has taken a big hit. I really want to continue posting here, as it's a great way to keep in touch and share with everyone. No promises, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

There are two big changes in my life that have provided a major scarcity in free time.

The first is a change in my work responsibilities. I'm still a software engineer for Onyx Graphics in Utah, working from home. However, rather than just working on whatever the product manager gives me to do, I am the product manager in a way. Each of us driver developers now have a handful of device manufacturers that we are responsible for, both developing the code and managing the relationship.

One of the things this means is more work related travel. I took four work trips in all of 2010. I've already been on three this year, and will likely have some 20 or so by the time 2011 is over.

This is a big change, but on balance I think a very good one. I've long felt that being on-site with our partners returns a big benefit, and now we're going to try this in practice.

The other big change has been the publication of my novel, Bumpy Landings.

My book came out in January, and is doing pretty well. It's taking quite a bit of work to get the word out, but it's been a lot of fun, too. You can read about some of the many things I've been doing, including my launch party, blog tour, and promotional trip to Hawai'i, over on my writing blog.

I'll be doing a book signing at Pioneer Book in Orem, Utah, on Monday, April 4th, from 5:30-7:30. If you're in the area, stop by and say "Hi!"

WARNING! Teen In the House.

2010-09-12T15:21:00.002-06:00

Last weekend, our oldest child became a teenager.

The transition came without a lot of fanfare. There was, however, soup.

Only the birthday girl could get a way with asking for soup when it's 100 degrees outside.

There was cake, too.

Lemon cake with lemon icing.

Not quite the candle inferno her parents' birthdays cause, but she's getting there.

And, of course, presents.

Happy Birthday, Anna. We love you.

A Shirt With Magic And Aloha

2010-08-29T18:24:00.002-06:00

My blogging friend Crash is collecting fabric for a wonderful Magic Quilt project. The idea is to collect fabric that has a story attached, and make those magical swatches into a quilt. (Click here to find out what the quilts are for and why they are magic.)

This is the shirt and the story I decided to send in:

Given the circumstances, a trip to Hawaii seemed like a very selfish move. My wife was living half a continent away so she could get medical treatment, and my two young girls were finishing their last year of school in Utah before we were to sell the house and move away from our vital support network of family and friends.

Yet given the circumstances, a touch of selfishness was just what I needed. And twentieth high school reunions only come once in a lifetime. So with assurances from both heaven and earth that my loved ones would be well taken care of in my absence, I boarded a plane for Honolulu.

Near the top of my list was the task to find an Aloha shirt or two – a classy one like the kind I’d grown up with. After searching high and low, I found two.

My contribution to the Magic Quilt is one of them.

The months that followed this short, personal vacation were by far the toughest of my life. With any luck the future won’t hold any even remotely that hard.

My wife was sick, and had been for years. We didn’t know what was wrong, other than she had a list of symptoms as long as all of our arms, and the doctors couldn’t find anything in her battery of tests. Headaches, tremors, neuropathy, and brain fog joined fatigue, sensitivity to everyday chemicals, and drastic, unexplained weight loss. The best we could do was find costly, time-consuming band-aids that would slow the symptoms, but solid answers were few and far between.

My role in this adventure was to be Superman. Hold down a job, take care of two small children, help my wife find answers, and keep the family afloat. The only way I could see to do this was to sell our dream home, pay off our six-digit medical debt, and move our family to a Texas where my wife had found some promising treatments.

I wore this shirt as I packed the house, loaded the moving truck, and drove to Texas. I wore it to hundreds of appointments with dozens of different doctors. I wore it while trying desperately to provide two little girls a normal life amidst utterly insane circumstances. I wore it to writing conferences where I tried to find a little bit of normal for myself.

I wore it to the hospital where my wife lay dying of malnutrition, despite bottle after bottle of nutrients being pumped into her veins. I wore this shirt as I pleaded with heaven to spare her life – if not for me, then for our children.

And I wore it when those prayers were answered.

I wore it to the doctor who figured out why my wife couldn’t digest her food, and found the one enzyme that would work for her. I wore it to the doctor who diagnosed our whole family as having Lyme disease.

I wore it as I watched my wife gain dozens of pounds. I wore it as I helped her move home, and later join us on our first family vacation in years.

I wore it until the edges tattered and the seams ripped out and I couldn’t wear it any more.

I wore it until only the magic was left. The magic, and the Aloha.

And now I’m sending it to you, so the magic can help someone else.

God bless you.

Don Carey

Good-bye Summer - Hello, School

2010-08-23T17:32:00.007-06:00

We survived summer vacation. Woo!

Actually, Anna had a pretty good summer. Alyssa, on the other hand, contracted a serious case of boredom. She also had the munchies like crazy, and grew over an inch since April. Woah!

The girls both had end-of-summer swim parties for church, but I was only able to make it to the primary activity. I purposefully did not wear my swimsuit so as to encourage Alyssa to have some fun on her own, which she did - kind of. Actually, she just sweet talked other adults into helping her swim around. But I guess that's okay.

In honor of Back To School, we bought Anna an early birthday present - a desk for her to do her homework on. She was almost happy-tears excited.

This morning we had a pretty easy time of things. I've been getting up at 6:15 all summer so I can get in some outside chores and do some writing before I buckle down at the day job. Since the girls are both at schools that start on the same, later schedule, that was plenty early for Anna and I to go for a short run, the girls to get ready, and me get breakfast and lunches made.

We had family scripture study and got a few pictures taken.

Then it was off to the bus stop.

Anna's bus came about 10 minutes late. Alyssa's bus was about 10 minutes after that.

They both survived the first day back, and are looking forward to a great school year!

Alyssa Turns Eleven

2010-07-18T17:23:00.005-06:00

Alyssa turned eleven this past Monday. She wanted a "pink train" cake - but not just any pink train. She wanted Rosie, one of the Thomas engine friends.

In the past, I've done some fancy run sugar cakes. This year I copped out an bought a Rosie toy and put it on top.

I would hang my head in shame, but I'm over it now. Alyssa got an extra birthday toy, and I saved a couple hours of work.

Plus, we made her frosting pink with guava. Yum!

She got some more trains, and a some puzzles, and a Yathzee, Jr. game. It's pretty fun.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Fabulous News Report on Lyme

2010-07-12T20:33:00.005-06:00

Sharon Rose, of WCSH TV station in Portland, Maine just did a 4 part series on chronic lyme. I must say I think it's the best news coverage I've ever seen on chronic lyme. It's accurate, informative and interesting.

They interviewed 4 patients who told their stories. All sound familiar to me in one way or another. Even though each person with lyme experiences different symptoms, one lyme patient can nearly always identify another. I can identify with each of these patients in several ways. The 2nd lady they interviewed has lyme-induced chemical sensitivity. I think she did a superb job of clearly explaining how chemicals effect her.

Here's the link to the stories. On the left is an article. On the right are the 4 stories. The 1st one is at the bottom. Watch from the bottom up. Each is 4-6 minutes, so not too long.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/health/story.aspx?storyid=119882&catid=273

Sam Donta, the physician in the first segment, is one of a few Lyme Literate physicians in the United States. Lyme Literate physicians (LLMDs) know what the lyme bacteria and other tick borne co-infections are capable of and how to treat them.

I am so thankful LLMDs are here to help us. Their numbers are small but they repair thousands of lives. Healing from late stage or long term lyme disease is no small task. It is a long road and it is a blessing to have doctors who are dedicated to helping us heal.

Alyssa and the Pool Boy

2010-07-06T18:01:00.003-06:00

Part of our busy summer is to have Alyssa take swimming lessons. Alyssa has a love/terror relationship with the water, and we'd like to try and fix that.

A family across town offers lessons in their pool, and one of their options is five days of one-on-one instruction for a very good price. We signed up.

Here's Alyssa with James after her first lesson.

His main goal for the day was to get her to put her face in the water.

Her main goal for the day was to keep her face out of the water. Same thing today. Maybe tomorrow.

She is enjoying it, though, and I'm picking up some good games I can use with her to help her in the future as well.

The Big Two-Oh

2010-06-23T07:53:00.005-06:00

Twenty years ago today, Kara and I were married in the LDS Temple in Laie, Hawaii.

Happy Anniversary!

La'ie Friends Party

2010-06-15T09:22:00.008-06:00

I grew up in La'ie, a small town on the island of O'ahu in Hawaii. La'ie is home to BYU-Hawaii, sister campus to BYU in Utah, and this is one reason the populations of the two places are very interconnected. In fact, I think there are more of my friends from Hawaii living in Utah than there are still in Hawaii.

Whenever I visit family in Utah, I invariably run into people I knew in Hawaii, and we spend time catching up and talking about mutual friends. The conversation usually ends with, "We should try and get everyone together some time."

Well, this trip I decided to make it 'some time' and organize a get-together.

We planned for an evening at the park, but the weather was not in a cooperative state, so we moved to a nearby church building.

My sisters and I, along with our families, got the cultural hall in the church set up by five, and then waited. Three other people showed up.

I was a little disappointed in the turnout, as we had almost 100 people mark themselves as either Attending or Maybe on our Facebook event. But I knew the weather would be a factor. And I hoped that, in true Hawaiian Style, people would eventually trickle in as the evening progressed.

And that's just what happened. Beginning around 6:30, more and more people came until we had nearly two dozen friends, plus their families.

Most were friends of my sisters and I.

Near the end, Ka'au Alapa arrived with his beautiful and talented family. Once the music started, the party went from "fun" to "outstanding."

I even broke out my ukulele and sang a little. Ka'au has enough talent to make anyone sound good.

It was suggested more than once that this event become an annual affair. I think that would be great. Hopefully with a regular event, more and more people will be able to make it.

Everybody Jump!

2010-06-07T16:47:00.004-06:00

Each year, our school district does the Jumpin' Jamboree, a Special Olympics kind of event that Alyssa loves to attend.

Here she is with her high school student mentor.

And the big parade.

Alyssa even had her own cheering section. These kids gave up a special activity at the school to come and cheer for Alyssa.

She has a lot of fun every year.

Long Time, No Post

2010-05-16T16:15:00.015-06:00

Kara here -- attempting to fill in for Don and give a brief update on our family. It is has been very busy here the last few weeks. Don has been working extra hours on a new project of sorts. He is a "Census Man." So far, he seems to enjoy this new adventure. The people have been nice and to date, has only been bitten by one dog. Well, his pants were bitten, not him. Thank goodness!

I have also been keeping busy this month teaching others about Lyme Disease. I think the one thing I'd like my family and friends to understand about lyme and tick borne infections is they are real. They can change a person's life almost overnight. It could just as easily happen to you as it did me. Everyone is at risk. Visit LearnAboutLyme.com and California Lyme Disease Association to learn about Lyme today.

Anna had a band competition about two weeks ago. They got all 1's and runner-up to "Best in Class." Then, yesterday she performed a solo at the Solo and Ensemble Competition and received a '1' out of possible ranks of 1+, 1, 2 and 3. We are so proud of her. She did a fabulous job!

Here's a picture of her all dressed up in her band uniform tux holding Lillie. She just had to give her piggie some love!

Alyssa managed to catch a bad spring cold of sorts and is still coughing and sneezing. She was already having a tough go of it with the spring pollens. Even with her being a bit under the weather, she's still managed to keep up with her usual antics like making off with the camera.

Until next time . . . have a great week!

Lyme Disease Awareness: Kara's Story

2010-04-30T16:36:00.058-06:00

With May being Lyme Disease Awareness Month, I want to share my “story” in hopes that someone will benefit from it – either by letting you know you are not alone or by helping you or someone you love receive a correct diagnosis. I have divided it into chapters so if you need to take a break, you can easily find where you left off. Truthfully, this is only a small snapshot of what I went through.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Up until 1999, I was an active, busy young woman. I was happily married and had a beautiful daughter and another baby on the way. I loved being a mother. I also liked gardening, enjoyed nature and had fun inventing new recipes in the kitchen. Italian food was my favorite thing to make and, above all, eat! Well, that and sushi.

In December 1998 while I was pregnant with daughter #2, I caught some kind of virus or bacterial infection that was going around which turned into bronchitis. I went on antibiotics for it and afterward, never really felt like “myself.” I was tired and didn't have much stamina.

Baby girl #2 was born in July 1999 by c-section. After that, I felt even worse. I was so tired and weak. It took me about 6 weeks before I could stand up long enough to cook dinner. My doctor said he'd never seen anyone take this long to recover from a c-section. Eventually I got "better" and was functional. I remember being so tired all the time. I went to the doctor and had my thyroid checked. He told me it was fine. My baby was not a good sleeper and cried a lot. I also had a 22 month old daughter. She was a bundle of energy and never stopped except during her 3 hour afternoon nap.

In Feb 2000, we moved into a brand new home that we'd built. We were planning on staying there "forever." That first year we were all sick with something or other all the time. After about 9 months, my husband and girls were fine. They felt great. But I still struggled. It seemed like I was constantly sick with a cold or flu or something. Finally I found a practitioner (not a doctor) who told me I wasn't detoxing the chemicals from our new house properly. That was why I was sick. I began taking some vitamins and detox support and felt TONs better. I thought all would be well . . .

Chapter 2: The Search for Answers Begins

In early 2001 I started having brain fog. My thoughts would be all jumbled for short periods of time every week or so. My legs and lower back ached incredibly bad all the time. I took a lot of epsom salt and baking soda baths to help with the pain. I was exhausted no matter how much sleep I got and I'd wake up way too early in the morning. I also noticed my body couldn't regulate my temperature very well. I was comfortable at 74 degrees. At 75 or above I was very hot and sweating, and at 73 or below I was very cold and had to put on a sweater.

I went to a couple of doctors in search of answers. They ran blood work and found nothing out of the ordinary. Arrrgh. I was told I was too stressed because of my small children and needed to “slow down” and take more time for myself. Several offered me anti-depressants. I wasn't depressed so I passed.

As time went by, I noticed the supplements I'd been taking for chemical detox support gradually stopped working. They started causing the same symptoms they used to alleviate. What was going on? I was very confused by all of this. I started doing cold-pressed caster oil liver packs for detox support. They worked great! It relieved much of my pain and brain fog as long as I did one every day.

In July 2001 I went in for my OBGYN check up and the doctor found a 6” dermoid cyst in my left ovary. It wasn't there the year before. I had surgery to remove the ovary in Sept 2001 and recovered fairly quick. Once again, I believed my troubles were over.

In November I started having dizziness. By December it had progressed to vertigo off/on all day. At the end of December 2001, I had surgery again to repair an incisional hernia caused by the surgery in Sept. That was the last straw. When I woke up from that surgery, I was never the same again. I had vertigo 24/7, was utterly exhausted, had migraine headaches, muscle aches, muscle weakness, brain fog, etc. I could still function but just barely.

In 2002, I went to doctors and more doctors. They all ran tests. The results were always normal. I started doing a lot of research on my own but still couldn't come up with anything that fit the breadth of my symptoms.

I finally decided that all this craziness must be caused by old emotional baggage. No one else had any better ideas. So I found a fabulous practitioner who knew all kinds of energy balancing and techniques. He knew both eastern and western approaches. The emotional and energy work really did wonders for me. I dumped a lot of baggage from my childhood and generational things that had been imprinted on my DNA. Emotionally, I felt “free-er” that I ever had before.

But my physical health continued to decline and at a faster and faster pace.

Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens

In October 2003, my family came down with the flu. I caught it but didn't have any of the regular "flu symptoms." Instead, I started having tremors in my arms and hands, horrible anxiety, severe muscle pain and insomnia. This is on top of the vertigo, migraine headaches, muscle weakness, diarrhea, exhaustion, etc.

At the time, I went to my doctor and he said I was fine. Just too stressed and anxiety was the problem. He gave me some anti-anxiety medication and said to try some next time I couldn't sleep. And get rid of all my commitments, etc. Just relax, relax, relax. I told him I was meditating and relaxing all day to keep the tremors down. But if I even had 1 thought go through my mind, the tremors would start again. Obviously, he didn't believe me. He just kept saying I was too stressed. Well, I was tremoring like crazy. Of course I looked stressed.

A few nights later as I lay wide awake in my bed at 3 or 4:00 AM, shaking horribly and exhausted, my husband suggested I take one of the pills we got from the doctor. I was very hesitant. I didn't have a good feeling about it at all, but finally gave in. I took the little, red pill. Within 30 minutes I was shaking worse than ever before and, in addition, was crying and felt out of control emotionally. My husband took me to the ER and they gave me IV ativan, saying I was having an anxiety attack and sent me home. Looking back, I was having a huge allergy reaction to the medication.

I went back to my doctor and he didn't know what to do. I recall him saying it seemed like I was being poisoned by something. But he didn't know how to help me. He agreed I was very sick but I had no diagnosis. If I had one, he would admit me to the hospital. Without one, the best he could do was admit me to a mental hospital. We didn't feel good about that. Instead, he referred me to another doctor for chelation. But we couldn't do it because I was so sick.

This pattern of tremors, migraine headaches, muscle aches, exhaustion, nausea, weakness, vertigo, etc. continued through the winter. The only way I could stay sane was to take ativan. So, I stayed on it, but that turned out to be a really bad idea. Yes, it got rid of the anxiety but turned my adrenals upside down. The severity of my symptoms was sky rocketing and new symptoms were appearing daily. The nerves in my hands and feet began burn and hurt all the time. Soon, that graduated to burning nerves down both arms, legs and up into my head and face. I also started having diarrhea and lost weight at a tremendous pace.

Chapter 4: Sick and Sicker

In April 2004 I became totally dysfunctional. I could hardly get out of bed. It would take all my energy just to take a shower. I couldn't do anything. I was so brain foggy and weak I couldn't cook, clean, or take care of my children. I had to call my husband and have him instruct me over the phone how to get a glass of water for myself. I also remember distinctly calling him and asking him how to make a hard boiled egg for my, now, 4 year old special needs daughter #2 who was crying for an egg. I recall the instructions included things like where to find the pan, how to turn on the water faucet, which knob would turn on the correct burner, etc. I honestly thought I had lost my brain.

At this point, all I could do was manage to get to the bathroom and lay in bed all day. I could hardly make it the 30 feet out to the living room and then would have to sit or lay in the Lazy Boy for an hour or two before I could walk any further. I got about 1-2 hrs of sleep a night, had horrible anxiety, muscle pain, tremors, vertigo, nausea, headaches, tunnel vision, brain fog, burning in my hands, feet, head and face, weight loss, diarrhea, muscle weakness, and many other symptoms.

Mid-April, my Mom came to help me with the girls while my husband went out of town on business. She ended up staying for 7 months. During this time she took me to specialty clinics in California and Mexico. They didn't find anything wrong except candida overgrowth. My gut feeling said there was no way my horrible symptoms were caused by candida alone. No way. I'd been on an anti-candida diet for over a year and had studied a lot about it. The root cause was not candida.

After returning home, my Mom took care of my children, hauled me to doctors appointments, I.V. sessions, hyperbaric treatments, and cranial sacral work.

My IVs started out with just vitamin C and glutathione. They really helped calm my symptoms. Amazingly, the hyperbarics healed the nerves in my hands, feet, head and face. I still had a little tingling but the pain and burning was gone. I did about 50 dives.

My doctors were still clueless as to what was causing all this. They ordered a bone scan, ultrasound, MRIs and lots of blood work. Nothing.

Two separate doctors suspected Lyme and they ran the "regular western blots." They came back negative. Not one band. Well, no wonder -- my immune system was very weak by this point and wasn't able to fight anything.

I had lost 25 lbs -- and was thin to begin with.

Chapter 5: Some Answers and Progress

In July/August 2004, through the hand of God, I found a doctor who was confident I was being poisoned by our new house. He is a brilliant man. He was correct. Blood labs confirmed it. He helped me put air purifiers in place, water filters, and educated me on making my environment cleaner. He got me right in to see a GI doc who found my pancreas was no longer making digestive enzymes. OK, so 2 answers!

I started taking prescription pancreatic enzymes. My GI doctor assured me I'd be back up to my normal weight in no time. Despite taking the enzymes, I did not gain any weight. The doctor didn't know why. He did more tests and although my intestines looked good, he suspected Celiac Disease. Sure enough the blood tests checking for genetic markers for Celiac came back psitive. I also had an allergy to gluten. The doctor said he had seen this in a few cases and felt that my immune system was so compromised it could not launch an attack in my intestines. He told me to go off of gluten for the rest of my life. I did.

Simultaneously, I was going to two different Naturalpathic Doctors. The first, young and fresh out of medical school and determined to keep me alive although baffled at what was causing all of this. He is caring and dedicated to helping his patients. The second, a lady, experienced and confident. Also determined to get me well but equally baffled at the cause of my ever-growing multitude of symptoms.

The lady ND, (yes, all these doctors knew about each other) began giving me different IV meds to see if we could find something to help the headaches, brain swelling symptoms, pain, etc. I couldn't take any supplements orally at this point or I would have diarrhea. So she ordered a PICC line. We tried many things: nutritional I.V.s, IV homeopathics, and a couple of IV antibiotics. They all seemed to effect me horribly. Some worse than others. Finally, she tried IV Flagyl. I felt horrible for 3-4 days afterward and then would feel much better for 3-4 days. After that I would start going down hill again. She started giving me 1 bag of IV Flagyl a week and finally after about 4-5 weeks I had relief from my brain symptoms which included burning and pressure from swelling in the back of my head and brain stem as well as horrible spike headaches that moved all over the top of my head. YAY! I also felt calmer.

Although she found success with the Flagyl, that was all. And she had no idea why. She couldn't understand where all the IV nutrients were going and why I couldn't gain weight. I recall her words almost exactly, “If you are not well after all the things I've tried, you are not physically sick. This is all coming from your brain as miscommunication. I have done all I can to help you.”

Basically, she told me I was crazy. Either that or it was all in my head.

I asked her to call a doctor closer to my home and see if he would continue to administer the IV Flagyl and he agreed.

Starting in January 2005, my other Naturalpathic Doctor developed a detox IV to help my body dump the chemicals from my new house. It worked. Gradually, I became functional again. By March, I started sleeping. The brain fog went away. My tremors stopped. The was nausea gone. My muscle aches decreased. I had energy. YAY! So the chemical poisoning was a large piece of the puzzle.

Between the IV Flagyl and my detox IV, life was MUCH better. Hooray! Little did we know these things were helping with lyme and co-infections as well.

By September 2005, it became quite clear that I had developed a huge allergy for the IV Flagyl and could no longer tolerate it. I started to backslide.

Even though I had made significant progress, I was still sick. I couldn't gain weight even though I was taking the digestive enzyme and still had horrible anxiety as well as some muscle weakness. I was on a rotation diet but reacted to every food I ate. My weight dropped to 109 by fall 2005. I am 5' 7 ½” tall.

Chapter 6: TPN ~ IV Nutrition

At the suggestion of the doctor who diagnosed me with chemical poisoning, in Nov 2005 I came to Dallas, TX to see a specialist for chemical poisoning. He explained thhat I was a “universal reactor” meaning I was sensitive to pretty much everything: foods, pollens, molds, chemicals, and even my own hormones, neurotransmitter and nutrients that made up my body. By doing allergy testing, I learned that some reactions were a true allergy and others were caused by dysautonomia. He helped me design a rotation diet of foods I could tolerate with the help of food antigens (allergy shots). I also started antigens for molds. I returned home in Dec 2005.

At this time, the doctor administering the IV Flagyl started learning about Lyme Disease. He discovered that IV Flagyl was used to treat Lyme and after the huge success we'd had with it, he wanted to test me for it. He knew of a specialty lab in California that only did testing for Lyme. He had used this lab to help his diagnose a couple other “difficult cases.” Their tests came back positive for Lyme when the regular Western Blot did not. He ordered the tests mid January 2006.

My weight continued to drop. By early Feb 2006 I weighed 99 lbs. I came back to Dallas and the doctor there put me on TPN (total parenteral nutrition or IV nutrition) to heal my gut and finish detoxing the chemicals. That would calm down my immune system and my body would finish healing. He gave me an estimate I'd be on it for 6 months to 2 years. Most TPN patients have a central line catheter in their chest. Since I already had a PICC line in my arm, we opted to use that instead.

Near the end of February, I got a phone call from the doctor in Utah saying my Lyme test came back and it was positive for Lyme and Ehrlichia. He told me that when I got back to Utah, give him a call and we'd go to work on it. Well, he failed to explain what a HUGE role Lyme and co-infections were playing in my illness. Looking back, I wonder why I didn't research this further on my own. The “old me” would have. Well, I was just too sick. I could hardly walk let alone think.

After starting on the IV nutrition, I began to feel much better. I had energy and strength again. What a wonderful feeling! Very slowly, I began to feel better in other ways, too. My immune system seemed stronger and I could think better.

Although I was feeling better and gaining weight, it was very difficult being so far away from my family in Utah. Thankfully, Angel Flight pilots flew me back and forth from Dallas to Salt Lake City 4 times so I could have week long visits with my husband and daughters. I am so grateful for their willingness to donate their time, energy and aircraft to fly me home.

In September 2006, I had my first sepsis infection and was on very high powered IV antibiotics for 2 weeks. The infection was brought under control very quickly. I was allergic to the antibiotic so the doctor put me on an antigen for it. It kept me from reacting. The longer I was on the antibiotic, the better I felt. I hadn't felt this good in years – since I got pregnant with Alyssa in 1998. So much better in fact that I dreaded going off the antibiotic. I remember wishing I could stay on them long term. But that just wasn't possible. The doctor was able to keep me from reacting to it only by having me adjust my antigen every couple of days. By the end of the 14 days, I was highly reactive to it.

I felt good for about 6 weeks after the antibiotic was discontinued then gradually, began to feel sick again. Muscle pain returned as well as brain fog, fevers, anxiety, head pressure, muscle pain, etc.

By October 2006 our family had moved to Texas. We found a home and renovated it to be as chemical free as possible. It has all tile and wood floors and air and water filtration systems. In the kitchen, bathroom and closets, there is metal shelving in place of the standard cabinets and press board shelving.

I was still on IV nutrition and had to stay close to the clinic in Dallas so they could modify my it as necessary depending on lab work and how I was feeling. I was still taking antigens for pollens and molds, and doing sauna every day to stay “stable” in a very loose sense of the word. At this point I was functional but was VERY chemically sensitive and still could not eat and absorb nutrition. I felt unwell most of the time and a long list of symptoms continued. The IV did it's job when it came to detoxing the chemicals that were leftover from the new house poisoning and my immune system began to recover. So much in fact, that my sensitivities were worsening. This is typical when healing from a long term exposure. But why were my intestines still not functioning?

I had visited other doctors in hopes of finding out what the root cause of the malnutrition and inability to assimilate nutrition through my intestines but to no avail.

Chapter 7: It Just Can't Get Any Worse – or Can It?

Fast forward to June 2007, I had a bad sepsis infection, again, which this go around also included a large blood clot in my vein at the catheter insertion point. I had to have my PICC line pulled and was hospitalized while on high powered antibiotics. My doctor urged me to go ahead and eat and we'd keep an eye on things. Once again, my intestines could not assimilate nutrition from my food – enzymes or not. I slowly went down hill losing 1-2 pounds a week.

By December 2007 I was in worse shape than ever. I was down to 95 lbs. He started IV nutrition again. This time he ordered a central line catheter to be surgically inserted in my chest. The surgery went well but the surgeon only used local anesthesia. It is no fun being awake when something is being threaded through a muscle!

When he restarted the TPN, my body hated it -- and I mean HATED it. Even with an allergy shot for it, I couldn't tolerate it. My sensitivity to it escalated higher and higher every day. But what choice did I have? The TPN gave me horrible symptoms and such bad anxiety that my increased metabolic rate burned up the calories faster than I could assimilate them.

By this point I had come to a sort of "peace" that I might not survive. I wanted to live -- did NOT want to leave my husband as a single parent of 2 beautiful girls. One with special needs. But I was out of ideas. So was everyone else.

Chapter 8: The Lyme Connection

One day at church, my husband was talking with a lady who has Lyme Disease. She asked him some questions about me. Had I ever been tested for Lyme? He told her I had and the test was positive. She stressed that LYME and co-infections were the cause of all of this. It had devastated her life. She said my “cluster of symptoms” was very indicative of Lyme. She also explained that most doctors do not know about Lyme and how horrible it can be. It is the “great imitator” and can cause all kinds of symptoms in all parts of the body.

OK, so maybe we DID have all the answers. Just no one had explained these facts to us.

Our friend told us about the Igenex test and the CD-57. I had them done right away.

The test came back with 1 positive band and 2 weak positive bands. The PCR was positive! That meant they found the lyme spirochete in my blood. I also tested positive for Ehrlichia. My CD-57 was '7' which was very low. This is a test for the number of killer cells that directly attack lyme.

After discussing the results, my friend told me she was pretty sure I had lyme. She explained about lyme literate doctors (LLMDs) and how they are the best at treating tickborne infections. She suggested I get to one as quickly as possible. I had no clue how to find one. I was so sick I couldn't figure it out but had one thought: Since LLMDs often do IV antibiotics, I called my pharmacist at the infusion company that was making my IV nutrition. He gave me the name of a doctor who treated Lyme. I called his office right then and made an appointment.

As near as I can figure, my LLMD was doctor #32.

In January 2008, I walked into his office. All 90 lbs of me. I was on IV nutrition and carried my bottle around with me an a canvas bag. I was very weak and had a long list of symptoms. I was literally, on my “last leg.” With my test results, symptom list and history in hand I felt somewhat hopeful. But I didn't want to get too excited. All my other "leads" had been dead ends. What if this one was too?

He looked at my tests and symptom lists. Then looked at me and said, "I have no doubt you have late stage Lyme Disease. No doubt.”

I remember feeling relieved but overwhelmed at the same time. And still wondering if I would survive.

He spent a very long time with me going over my history and symptoms with a fine-tooth comb. It turned out that in addition to lyme, there was also ehrlichia, babesia, bartonella, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and mycoplasmas. I was way too sick to start treatment. My chances of surviving it were slim. I had to get my nutrition going first. My heart sank. How in the world was I going to do that?!

Fast forward to March 5, 2008. I had sepsis in my central line, and was down to 74 lbs. I was so weak and every fiber of my body hurt so bad it was torture to be alive. Thankfully, I didn't have tremors and could still sleep 5-6 hours a night. If you call getting up 2-3 times a night to change the bedding because of drenching night sweats, sleep.

I was admitted to the hospital. Not only did I have sepsis for the third time, my electrolyte levels and nutritional markers were dangerously low. They started IV antibiotics for the sepsis. By the third day, I began to improve. The internist I was assigned to hooked me up with a GI doc. She spent a lot of time by my bed going over all my labs. She felt she had the answer. All I needed was the digestive enzyme in a form that would dissolve in my acid-less stomach. That's it? REALLY?

So we started the chalky enzyme tablets and liquid oral nutrition. It worked! In 10 days I gained 18 lbs and was released from the hospital on March 28th. WHAT A MIRACLE! The problem with the enzymes the doctor gave me in Utah was that they were hard little pellets inside a capsule. When there's very little stomach acid, they can't dissolve and therefore, no digestion will happen.

Chapter 9: Finally Moving Ahead

With nutrition in hand, I went back to my LLMD in April 2008. He was thrilled and told me I needed 1 year of good nutrition before we could start treating Lyme. OK ... in the meantime we worked on balancing my thyroid, hormones, and vitamin D levels. And getting candida levels down in my gut. I still had lots of muscle pain, incredible fatigue and a laundry list of about 40 symptoms symptoms. Chemical sensitivity which includes food, pollen, mold, and chemical allergies being at the top of the list.

Basically, for a year, I focused on bringing up my thyroid, vitamin D and gaining weight. It worked. With the help of food antigens and a rotation diet, I gained way beyond my "regular weight" to 160 lbs. My fatigue and many other symptoms gradually went away. I still had muscle pain, headaches, severe chemical sensitivity, neck pain, medium-sized night sweats, anxiety, and about 20 more symptoms.

I'm not sure if you know much about chemical sensitivity, but it is truly nightmarish. Due to toxin overload and other factors, the immune system attacks pretty much everything: foods, pollens, molds, chemicals, and even the very hormones and nutrients in your own body.

In Feb 2009, it became very clear that I had to do something different to treat my allergies. My food and other sensitivities were getting worse instead of better. The antigens I had been taking for 3 years were not retraining my immune system as we'd hoped they would.

In April 2009, I started an allergy treatment called N.A.E.T. It rewires the body and immune system to respond appropriately to things again. It is working! I have terrible pollen allergies. They usually cause me to have sinus and ear infections as well as diarrhea, migraine headaches, nausea, anxiety, insomnia, fevers, muscle pain, and neuropathy. Thanks to NAET, I had my very first fall without one single ragweed symptom! That is a miracle!! We have also treated on infections so now my immune system responds appropriately by killing them instead of reacting to them or trying to store them as a toxin. Treating on various pollens, molds, neurotransmitters, cortisol, hormones, and peptides have allowed me to make huge progress in the last year. I am so excited! My immune and autonomic nervous systems still need a lot of re-training. This is being accomplished one step at a time.

Chapter 10: My Current Healing Adventure

In the fall of 2009, my LLMD said my body was strong enough to begin treating lyme and co-infections. I am seeing even more progress as my body is relieved of these infections that produce such a large amount of neurotoxins. Care is being taken to kill the infections slowly enough so my body can get rid of the toxic die off.

My residual muscle pain disappeared. Most of the anxiety has resolved. That is cause for celebration! I had often wondered if I would ever be free of it. Yes! I will be!! What a relief. Now, the only time I experience “jittery-ness” or “anxiety” is if I have a chemical or pollen exposure. I've also noticed that I can gain weight easier. Now, I don't need any extra weight, though. Ha! But it's always good to have a few extra pounds on board.

As of May 2010, I am still at the point where my home is the only place I can really 'be.' I can tolerate going into one grocery store and 3 doctors offices for short periods of time. That is it. Whenever I go out of the house, I have to wear a mask. I really cannot be around other people because of their detergents, fabric softeners, lotions, hair spray, shampoo, etc. I get very sick from those things. When I say very sick, I have brain inflammation, migraine headaches, muscle weakness, dizziness, tremors, swollen eyes, anxiety, swollen lips, blurred vision, muscle pain, etc. You get the idea. And I still don't have an antihistamine I can take reliably. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it makes things worse.

Overall, I am doing well. I have plenty of strength, energy and brain power to be wife, mother and friend again. With the help of my digestive enzyme, my body can digest food and maintain weight. I can sleep well and have little pain, although occasionally I do have headaches. My symptom list has gone from over 60 to about 12. I am very blessed! Truly, a miracle has happened.

Chapter 12: Reflections

Recently, after looking back over my old, original Lyme test from January 2006, we discovered I have more than one strain of borrelia: borrelia garinii and borrelia burgdorferi. Gosh, what a discovery that was!

My husband has also been diagnosed with lyme. Both of my daughters have congenital lyme.

I am not sure when or where I got Lyme Disease. My history strongly indicates that I got it within months of when my husband and I were married in 1990. He grew up in Nebraska and had tick bites there as a child. He's had knee and hip pain for as long as he can remember. He thought everyone felt that way.

But who knows? I grew up in Eastern Washington State and ticks were unheard of in my hometown area during my childhood. Then, I lived in Hawaii for 6 years, then in Texas for 4 and to Utah for 10. No clue. I probably had 600 mosquito bites while living in Hawaii and it can be transmitted that way.

All that matters is we finally know what is causing the craziness and I am healing. I thank the Lord each and every day for my life. Only through a miracle He brought to pass am I still here on earth. He sustained me through my darkest nights and carried me when I couldn't bear to go on any longer. Thank you to all of you who prayed on my behalf. I thank my dear husband for staying by my side through all the craziness. I thank my wonderful family for being there for me in so many ways. Thank you to the caring doctors who went many extra miles to help me because they believed I was truly physically ill even though they couldn't find out why.

Now, I see life through a different set of "eyes" than I did in the years prior to my health struggles. These eyes are focused clearly and can see what is important and what is not. It is the small and simple things that are really the most important.

Many Thanks to Angel Flight

2010-04-30T10:40:00.017-06:00

The last couple of weeks, I've been in the process of writing "my story" in preparation for May which is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. These many trips down memory lane have brought back both warm memories and painful ones. Today, I'd like to share with you some warm memories -- those when I was flown as a patient by Angel Flight.

Angel Flight is a nationwide service organization that provides non-emergency medical transportation in private aircraft. The pilots donate their time and aircraft to fly patients in need.

During one chapter of my "healing adventure" I was being treated by a doctor at a specialty clinic in Dallas, TX. I was on TPN (total parenteral nutrition or IV nutrition). I needed to stay fairly close to the clinic so they could adjust my IV depending on lab results and how I was feeling. At the time, our family was living in Utah. It was very difficult being separated from them during such a stressful time.
Traveling was very hard on me at the time. I could not fly on a regular airline due to my low immune system and severe chemical allergies. Not to mention the fact that our budget was beyond stretched due to medical expenses.

This is where Angel Flight came into the picture. Don and I are both involved with the organization and love it! Read more about that here.

Many heartfelt thanks go out to the Angel Flight Pilots who flew me back and forth from Salt Lake City, UT to Dallas, TX so I could see my family while I was in treatment and on TPN. You lifted my spirits and brought light into my life during a very difficult time. Thank you!

Lyme Disease Awareness Campaign

2010-04-05T10:12:00.009-06:00

As you know, myself, Don, Anna and Alyssa have chronic Lyme Disease. This disease is a very misunderstood, misdiagnosed and overlooked illness. In 2008, 35,198 cases were reported to the CDC (Center for Disease Control). Actual new cases are conservatively estimated at 422,000.

You can get Lyme in any state -- west coast, east coast, north, south and every state in between. It is everywhere. Ticks know no boundaries. Lyme is also found in many countries. It is on every continent except Antarctica. It is the fastest growing infectious disease in North America. There are more new cases of Lyme disease each year than there are of HIV, West Nile, Swine Flu, and Avian Flu combined.

My friend, Ashley, over at Lymenaide, has started a project to create a Nationwide Awareness Campaign for Lyme disease. Her brother, is filming a Public Service Announcement! I am so excited about it! It is time to get the word out about Lyme Disease. Knowledge is power and a vital part of getting diagnosed early and properly to avoid chronic lyme disease.

In order to bring this about, some funds must be raised. There are some production and distribution costs that need to be covered. Most donations are small, just a few dollars. They are adding up quickly! The goal is to raise about $5,000. All donations are kept track of on Ashley's website, here. When you donate, you will be acknowledged there too. Please help us spread awareness about Lyme Disease!

For all the different donation methods and options, please go to How to Donate.

Don and I are saving in order donate to the Paint May Lyme Green campaign. The public service announcement is a terrific way to get the word out about Lyme Disease and prevent others from getting this potentially disabling and horrible disease.

Thank you for helping us get the word out about Lyme Disease!

~Kara

Easter Dresses and McCall Ball

2010-03-28T19:55:00.003-06:00

Each year, my mother-in-law springs for new Easter dresses for the girls. When they were small, shopping for dresses was a lot of fun - pile them both in the car and hit a couple of shops at the mall.

Now that they are older - especially Anna - the trip has become a bit more complicated.

For one thing, Alyssa is still in girls sizes (just barely) while Anna is in misses, so they aren't in the same section of the store. One of them will always be bored, and bored is bad.

Yesterday I decided to take them out separately. I made Alyssa go with me during my regular grocery run, and we tacked on the mall. She was very excited to see the Easter Bunny. Fortunately, she didn't want to sit on his lap - just walk by and wave.

I found a dress for her at JCPenny, which was only our second stop. Whew!

Anna is not one for doing much shopping. It didn't require a headlock or bribe to get her into the truck this time, but I was starting to worry.

We also went to JCPenny, where she found a couple of dresses she really liked. Both were sleeveless, low-cut summer dresses, but Anna was prepared with an undershirt, which is how she planned to wear them.

The first didn't fit right through the straps, and the second wasn't in her size. So I went to the front of the store, where we had seen the same dress on a mannequin, and asked the helper guy what size that dress was. It was a 6, which is what we needed!

He tried getting the dress off of the dummy, but it wouldn't come. He finally ended up removing both arms and splitting the body at the torso before the dress would come off.

It's a good thing Anna was in the dressing room at the time, or I'm certain she'd have died from embarrassment.

Sadly, the dress was just a little too tight through the middle.

Our second stop was Belk, and after a little bit of searching, we found this bright, sunny yellow number.

Two pretty girls.

Then last night, Anna went to the Young Women's broadcast, and Alyssa and I went to the McCall Ball - a daddy-daughter dance at her school. We even danced a little bit.

Alyssa had a lot of friends tell her how pretty they thought her dress was.

Spring Break Dallas Trip

2010-03-28T19:31:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the girls were out of school for spring break. We were originally hoping for a trip to Utah, but that fell through. In the end, it's probably just as well, as the girls had a different activity pretty much every evening.

I decided to take a half day off of work and take them to Dallas on the one night they didn't have anything else planned. So we piled into the van and started driving east.

First stop: the Lego Store. Alyssa has really been into building with Legos lately, and since we'd never been I decided it would be a fun trip. They have this wall full of random Lego bits, and you can fill these little plastic bins with whatever fits. We got a lot of wheels - Lego wheels are the best.

They also have some bins where you can build your own mix and match Lego people. I was a little disappointed in the selection, but the girls had a great time, anyway. These dudes were maybe not as good of a value as the mix-n-match bins, though.

We found a store with a big Batman.

Then we went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill, followed by a trip to the American Girl store.

Alyssa has been big into caring for her babies lately, too, so this was a great trip for her.

Anna has pretty much outgrown American Girl. So have I.

Some other Spring Break activities included sleep-overs, backyard camp-outs, and a Young Women cookie dough making party.

It was fun having the girls home for the week. It was even more fun when they went back to school the next day.

Pi Day Weekly Update - 3.14

2010-03-14T18:38:00.004-06:00

Happy Pi day everyone. It's been a busy couple of weeks. I don't even remember half of what happened. Good thing I keep a digital calendar. Let's see now...

Since our last update, Alyssa has had a partial MRI of her jaw, which was ordered by her orthodontist. We meet with him tomorrow to figure out what it all means, but there are some teeth in places I'm not excited about - like horizontal near her sinus. Hmmm.

I don't have any update on my book yet - still waiting for a publication date and a title. I've been working on a book video during the time I was supposed to be writing. I think I have a good idea, but the actual execution is going to need a lot more work. And a title and release date.

I turned 42 this week which, according to Douglas Adams and his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, is the answer to the great question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Sadly, I don't feel nearly so enlightened as just older. I'll let you know if that changes.

For my birthday, Kara made me a lemon meringue pie. Can I just say - Yum-m-ee!

Last week, Alyssa had different dress-up days at school. On Friday, it was Famous Person day. I had no clue, so I sent a request out to facebook and the twitosphere, and got some pretty good suggestions. The one that fit both Alyssa's face and wardrobe was Eleanor Roosevelt. Thanks for the suggestion, Josi!

Today was Stake Conference, and Anna and I got drafted to be in the choir. Actually I got drafted, and volunteered my daughter. I told Alyssa that if there were enough seats with the choir she could sit by me, but if not she would need to sit with some friends. Well, it turns out there were plenty of choir seats left, but she was determined to sit with friends. We found a 14-year old she had bonded with, and she did great sitting with their family. She's good for others, after all.

Spring Break is this week, and it's packed! In addition to the orthodontist visit for Alyssa, Anna has a sleep-over tomorrow night. Then Tuesday I'm taking the girls to Dallas in the evening, using some birthday money to buy dinner, and then we'll head to the mall where they have an Apple Store and a Lego Store.

Wednesday night is Young Women and Activity Days for the girls. Thursday night both girls have been invited to a large backyard campout. Then it's Friday, and the week is over.

I'll let you know if I survive.

Oh, one other thing: I've been asked to participate in a group blog with a bunch of other Cedar Fort authors on the Writing Fortress. I'll be posting the third Monday of every month, and my first post is tomorrow. Check it out at http://cedarfortauthors.blogspot.com/.

That is all.

Weekly Roundup 2/28/09

2010-02-28T19:21:00.004-06:00

We had a great week - lots going on. It's almost too busy sometimes. But it's a good kind of busy.

Last Saturday, we went to a BYU-Hawaii Alumni reunion at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Plano. It took us 90 minutes to get there, but it's still a lot closer than Kaneohe. We had a good time and good food. The girls did okay with the food, although their favorite was the malasadas. Yeah, that sounds about right.

This weekend was really, really busy. It started on Friday night, when Anna went to the Valentine's Masquerade dance at the middle school, which was rescheduled after the big snow a couple of weeks ago.

She said only 10% of the attendees actually danced, and 90% of the kids practiced the fine art of wallflowering. Sounds about right for a bunch of 12- and 13-year olds.

Saturday morning, Alyssa and I went to Ft Worth for the Cowtown 5k race. It was all of 29 degrees when we left - brr! We dressed up nice and warm, though.

Compare that picture of Alyssa and I to this one of us at the same race, two years ago. She's really growing up! And no, Anna opted not to run this year.

We parked in the remote lot and took the bus, which for Aly was half of the fun.

Then we waited and waited in the cold for the race to start.

There were tons of runners despite the cold, and we ended up near the back of the group.

In fact we were so far back that we didn't get lost with everyone else - apparently the leaders took a wrong turn, and the rest of the runners followed along, ending up with a 2k race instead of 5k.

Alyssa's style could best be described as "pulse running" - she would run about 10 steps, and then walk 20, and then run again. No such thing as finding a pace with this one.

We finished - sort of. We ended up back at the finisher's square, although we didn't ever actually find the finish line. Oh, well.

When we got home, there was a message waiting for me - a friend of ours has season tickets to the Fort Worth Symphony, and couldn't use them. Would I like them?

I talked Anna into dressing up and going to the Bass Concert Hall with me. The seats we had were awesome, and the concert was fabulous.

All in all, it was a great week.

Weekly Roundup 2/16/10

2010-02-16T15:08:00.005-06:00

Okay - so it's been ten days since the last roundup. They have been busy days, and I'm doing good to get this update posted at all.

I traveled to Utah last week for work, and managed to have some fun while I was there. One of the things I did was go to the Devil's Food Cake book launch party for the lovely and talented Josi Kilpack. I talked my mom into going with me. You can read more details on my writer's blog. I'm giving away a copy of the book over there, so you'll want to check it out.
While I was driving on dry streets in Utah, Kara and the girls enjoyed a record-setting, school-closing snow storm.
They made cookies, too. Lots and lots and lots of cookies.
I went to the UVU Culinary Arts School Valentines Dinner with my dad and Candy. The dinner was great.
The next day, my nephew Nathan was baptized. I got a picture of most of the cousins. Plus one of me and Nathan.
Then on the way home, I ran into my friend Ron at the airport.
I had Monday off work, so I volunteered at Alyssa's school and had a blast! Since the schools were closed both Thursday and Friday last week, the Valentines parties got moved to yesterday.

Weekly Roundup 2/6/10

2010-02-07T17:04:00.005-06:00

It's been a great week. In addition to my publishing contract, here's what's been happening:

This should have been a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot - I took the test and applied to be a 2010 Census taker this summer. It's just part time short term, and hopefully will help us build up a little better savings buffer.
We've been making cookies like crazy for the girls to take in their lunch. Here they are frosting the chocolate cookies we made.
The girls both had friends in the local high school production of Oliver, so we went this past Friday. It was fun - even when the fog machine set off the fire alarm during the last scene.
I'll be traveling to Utah this week for work. Looking forward to seeing family and friends. It's going to be a bit of a whirlwind trip.
Pizza crust recipe - there have been several requests, so here it is:

1 package yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sald
2 tsp olive oil
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2-2 1/2 c all purpose flour
cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl. Add salt, olive oil, wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. Mix, adding remaining flour until dough cleans the side of the bowl.

Place in greased bowl, turning to grease top. raise until doubled.

Dust counter with cornmeal and roll dough to the size of the pizza pan, then lift onto pan. Top with sauce and meats, and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and add shredded cheese.

Have a great week, everyone - and Happy Pizza!

My Novel Has A Publisher!

2010-02-04T20:39:00.002-06:00

As those of you who are my Facebook friends already know, today I signed a contract to have my novel published by Cedar Fort Inc, a regional publisher based in Springville, Utah.

Wooo Hoooo!

And now the real work begins.

They actually made their offer based on the submission I sent in last September, yet I've spent the last three months or so revising and rewriting. The updated story is much stronger. It's also much longer - by about 40 pages, which is how many pages Cedar Fort wants me to cut.

So I've been working on going through and trimming out a bunch of stuff. Not fun. But I have a few ideas how to make it work.

Another thing they asked for is a new title. I guess The Flight of Na Pua Lei doesn't work for them. I've come up with a handful to give them, but I could really use your help - hence on my writing blog, the contest for this month is the title game. So far I have one suggestion - left as a comment on my Facebook blog simulcast. Now's your chance to score some chocolate - contest open through this Friday.

Thanks to all of you for following along and supporting me in this adventure. I can tell the fun is just beginning.

How Pizza Night Almost Burned Down the House

2010-01-31T19:57:00.006-06:00

Down in Austin, there's a restaurant called Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza. When Kara and I lived there, we just loved their pizza, and ever since we started our Friday night homemade pizza tradition, I've wanted to try my hand at one of these things.

I started by making the regular recipe of dough and dividing it nearly in half. I took the ball that was slightly larger and rolled it out to about 13 inches. I then laid the dough into a 9 inch pie plate.

I then put a layer of sliced ham on the crust.

Then a layer of sausage - I didn't have quite as much as I wanted, but it worked. (Funny side story: I made Anna brown the sausage. She was totally squeamish about the slimy, squishy stuff. I was so tempted to say "It's just a bunch of ground-up pig," but decided that would be counter productive.)

Next came the cheese. From a logistical standpoint, perhaps I used a little too much cheese, as it ran out the sides after the pizza was cut. However, from a flavor standpoint, can there ever really be such a thing as too much cheese?

Then came the top crust, rolled slightly smaller and laid on top. The edges were rolled together. There was too much overlap - the crust looks okay here, but really grew to be a bit too large by the time baking was done.

And finally, the pizza sauce with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese, and into the oven it went.

This is the part where I almost burned the house down - and it didn't have anything to do with the oven.

We don't use our microwave to cook things. If there's a controversy involving food preparation and electromagnetic energy pulses, we're right in the middle of it. So instead, we use it to store our oven mitts. It also functions as a range hood, a clock, and a second kitchen timer.

It was while attempting to make use of this last feature that the trouble began. I punched in the buttons for 25 minutes, but instead of beginning the timer, I hit the start button.

A minute or so later, there was smoke.

The oven mitts got hot - they really were hot pads now. Once we discovered what was going on, I took the whole stack out to the garage, where I noticed one set had melted together and continued to smoke rather heavily.

This is where unlucky could have turned to tragedy, but fortunately I had the presence of mind to take the smoldering mitts out and set them in the middle of the wet grass. The next morning, this is what I found:

Yikes - that could have happened in our garage filled with boxes. Not a good thing.

Still, we managed to get the smoke cleared from the house, and soon we were smelling the delicious Italian dinner instead of burnt polyester.

As for the pizza, it turned out very well. The leftovers aren't as easy to deal with as the traditional pizza, but still an overall success.

Weekly Roundup 1/24/10

2010-01-24T13:55:00.006-06:00

Here we go - the first in hopefully a long line of weekly round-up posts.

Alyssa has signed up for the school's Running Club. The group meets together after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to run. The goal of club members is to participate in the Cowtown Marathon's Kids 5K on February 27th. We did this race two years ago, and I ended up carrying Alyssa the last half of the course. I let her know that I would NOT be carrying her this year.
In preparation for the race, Alyssa got new shoes yesterday. These are the first tennis shoes in forever that don't have a cartoon character on them. (Okay, technically her last shoes had Hannah Montana on them, but I'm lumping her in with Dora and Tinkerbell.)
Anna's latest thing is on-line role playing, where she and a group of friends take turns writing a story, with each person writing a different character.
Kara has been a baking fiend, making a ton of different kinds of cookies. Mmm - yum.
My job is going well. I enjoy it, and they seem to appreciate the work I do. I guess that's what it's all about.
I've lost five pounds so far this month, thanks to (mostly) sticking to my diet and exercising three times a week with EA Sports Active for the Wii. Woo-hoo!
I expect to have some news concerning my book in the next week or two. Stay tuned!

So there it is - the first Weekly Roundup. Maybe I'll end these posts with a funny picture from somewhere around the internet . Something like this:

A New Blogging Strategy

2010-01-24T13:49:00.003-06:00

When I first started this blog back in the day, it was very much a tenuous link to sanity and reality. My life and situation have changed drastically since then, and the desperate need I felt to have some connection to the real world is now met in a number of other ways.

As a result, this blog has sadly diminished in its importance.

Yet I enjoy blogging, connecting with you, and sharing a little bit of our world. So to that end, I'm going to try a new blogging strategy.

I hereby institute the Weekly Roundup - a quick bullet-point rundown of the events of the previous week, scheduled to run each Sunday.

Major breaking events will still warrant their own post.

Feel free to let me know how this is working for you.

Dinner With Dad and Candy

2010-01-14T20:27:00.005-06:00

It's a good thing regular blogging wasn't one of my New Years resolutions, because, well, I've been a bit of a slacker.

But as with all of the resolutions that I am trying to keep (you know - diet, exercise, blah, blah, blah) I can't dwell on failures, but must keep moving forward!

Last month, my dad and step-mom drove through town and we got to spend a few hours with them. We met at Macaroni Grill, and had a great dinner with great conversation.

Alyssa and Candy had a great time coloring on the paper tablecloth.

Not exactly sure what's going on here.

This is by far my least flattering angle (please see diet and exercise listed above), but it's a good shot of Dad.

Even Kara was able to come - yay!

Then we all came back to the house for a quick tour and photo op.

There - that's the way to do it. I guess I just need to add Regular Blogging to my list of resolutions. I hope everyone is having a great 2010!

Christmas Dresses

2009-12-27T15:09:00.005-06:00

Here are the girls in their Christmas dresses for their 2009 portraits.

A Very Carey Christmas

2009-12-27T14:37:00.005-06:00

I hope your Christmas was safe, warm, and full of only happy surprises. Ours was.

My Christmas Eve started with a trip to the dentist - 7:00 am, to be precise. It's admittedly a strange way to start the season, and I hope to not make a habit of it. But there you go. They did a periodontal cleaning, so they numbed my whole mouth. Fortunately, yogurt in a tube can be eaten even with a numb mouth (as long as you have a good napkin).

I still had a bit of shopping to do - some for Christmas presents, some for the regular weekly needs, and some for Christmas Eve dinner. My first stop wasn't too bad, since it was 8:00 am. However, by the time I finished my errands at around 1:00, parking lots and checkout lines were cram-packed with people.

To top it off, Mother Nature decided to bless us with a white Christmas, and she was in full-force delivery mode. I drove home in some very heavy, blowing snow. Fortunately, the day before had been in the mid seventies, so there was no real danger of snow sticking to the roads. By mid-afternoon, the yard was covered. The girls desperately wanted to go out and play, but I convinced them that snow blowing horizontally at 35 miles per hour was best enjoyed from behind glass.

Our Christmas dinner tradition is to have the big, formal meal on Christmas Eve, and then munch on left-overs Christmas day, so that's what we did.

Throughout the evening, Alyssa would periodically ask, "Where's Santa," at which point she and I would go into the office and check out the Google Maps/NORAD Santa tracker. By the time Santa was headed from Brazil to Uruguay, we were able to get the kids to bed, and then I finished up the present wrapping. I managed to get most of the gifts taken care of during the previous week, leaving me just a half-dozen or so to wrap that night. We got to bed before midnight for the first time on a Christmas eve in many, many years.

Alyssa was up pretty much every hour, and around 4:00 Anna sent her in to our room. Fortunately she was willing to snuggle up and go back to sleep. I walked her into her room a while later, and then went back to sleep until about 8:00! Yes, it was our own little Christmas Miracle.

Part of the reason we were able to sleep in and take a leisurely morning was because the snow outside was even more exciting than the presents.

The girls played in the snow, and I made up a buffet of finger foods designed to replace breakfast and lunch. High in fruits, veggies, and protein, it worked like a charm - quick, easy, convenient, and not a single blood sugar crash all day!

One of the things I wanted to make was a sour cream dill dip. Our dill was in the garage, where it's been for the last few years. I brought it in and started sprinkling it into my bowl of sour cream. In addition to the dill weed, this jar had some dill seeds mixed in. I thought that was unusual, so I checked the label - it didn't mention seeds. So I took one of the seeds into the office, where I have a magnifying loupe, and on closer examination I found that the seed had legs.

I rinsed out the bowl and invented an oregano parmesan sour cream dip to take its place.

I won't bore you with a laundry list of our gifts, but I do want to show you the doll high-chair Santa brought for Alyssa. She absolutely loves it, and has spent hours playing with her babies in it. She even has me buckle it into the van so the babies have a car seat to sit in.

Thanks to all who sent cards and letters and gifts. We had a great Christmas, and hope you did, too.

The Piggy Saga

2009-12-22T08:30:00.005-06:00

This is a post far too long in the making, but it's time I get it up here for you to see.

As longtime readers of the blog will know, we here at the ranch are raising guinea pigs. It's a small operation, and with only little girl piggies it's destined to stay small.

We started out last year with Lillie and Duchess.

Then this summer, in a moment of tremendous weakness, I allowed Anna to get a third guinea pig named Mia (or Mina, as Alyssa calls her).

All was fine in piggy land until around Halloween, when Duchess got sick. Her little lymph glands grew to the size of large marbles, and after a course of antibiotics they still weren't reduced. About this same time, Lillie's glands started to swell as well.

So the vet lanced Duchess' glands and gave us a different antibiotic - enough for both Duchess and Lillie. The new antibiotic worked on the infection, but it also robbed the piggies of their appetites. Neither one would eat anything.

Despite our best efforts to nurse her back to health, Duchess passed away on November 30th, and Lillie had lost so much weight she seemed destined to follow.

Kara, however, was determined to keep Lillie alive. For two weeks, she made a mash of parsley, grass, and pellets, and fed this to Lillie with a syringe.

After a what seemed like forever, Lillie finally started eating a little on her own, and now her appetite for grass and dandelions has outstripped the ability of our December yard to produce. And she's gained back most of the weight she lost while being sick.

So, for now, all is well here on the guinea pig farm.

First Annual Carey Family Gingerbread House

2009-12-16T16:05:00.006-06:00

It was an epic holiday project two and a half weeks in the making!

Well, okay - maybe it wasn't really all that much. But it did manage to take two and a half weeks. However, the gingerbread house is now done, and bringing joy and laughter to all who see it.

Here's how it went down.

I mixed up our favorite gingerbread dough way back on November 29th, and then put it into the fridge to chill for two hours. Six days later, I took the dough out of the fridge, and rolled it out onto parchment paper.

I then cut out the five pieces that make up this modernist masterpiece and backed them to perfection.

After the pieces spent six days hardening, I put them together using nasty white frosting made from stale Crisco.

The unconventional design is so the finished product can live under glass.

Then the next day I attempted to move the house to its home on the cake plate, and it totally fell apart.

So the next time I put it together, it was on the cake plate itself. Then last night - finally! - I got the girls together and we decorated.

I mixed up a batch of thick run sugar (powdered sugar and water) and colored it green with some vegetable dyes we bought, and set Anna to work coloring the ice cream cone trees.

I piped on doors and windows, and then laid out the licorice sidewalk. Notice the marshmallow snowmen under the dome. We made those shortly after mixing up the dough. I especially like the little ET.

Then we took turns embellishing with candy canes, Sundrops, and jelly beans - all with natural colors, of course. Even the gummy worms and fruit slices are colored with fruit juice.

I bought enough candy to cover a small mansion, so there is a lot left over. In a fleeting moment of strength, I gave the bag to Kara and told her to hide it - I know I could never keep my hands off otherwise.

Then I made it "snow" on the roof and ground and landscaped with Anna's trees. Sadly there was only room for one snowman, but I think he looks sharp.

Since food smells can sometimes be a problem around here, I designed the house to fit under the cake plate. This will also have the added benefit of keeping the goodies free of dust, just in case we decide to eat the thing come New Years Day.

Fortuitous Forgetting and Santa Claus

2009-12-09T22:04:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday, I convinced Alyssa to go shopping with me by promising to take her to the mall to visit Santa. I was not exactly looking forward to standing in a long line, only to have her hide when the big moment came. But I was willing to try.

As Santa didn't get to the mall until 10:00, we made Wal-Mart our first stop, where we stocked up on groceries and pull-ups and children's Motrin - all the essentials. We also needed to return a video to the Redbox there in the store, but I realized that we'd forgotten it on the seat of the van.

No problem- we just loaded the groceries in the van and took the video back into the store.

By this time, it was getting pretty close to 10:00, and my hopes of making it to the mall a little early were not to be. However, as we walked back into the store, I noticed a sign that said Santa would be at Wal-Mart at 10:00 - and they were taking free pictures.

Now, "free" is one of my favorite things, and I felt pretty certain the line for Santa at Wal-Mart would not be anything like the one at the mall. Granted, Santa and the whole set-up were Wal-Mart quality, but you get what you pay for and I didn't want to pay an hour of my Saturday if I didn't have to just for someone with a real beard and actual boots.

So Alyssa agreed to see Santa at Wal-Mart, and sure enough there were only two other kids waiting. Alyssa hid from him at first, covering her eyes, but by the time the other kids were done she was willing to stand by him, hold his hand, and hand him the picture of the doll high chair we had printed out to give him.

And she even almost smiled in the free picture.

Honor Band Anna

2009-12-06T14:37:00.004-06:00

A couple of weekends ago, Anna spent nearly her entire Saturday with the rest of her band friends auditioning for a spot in one of the two All-Region Middle School Honor Bands. The region covers a pretty good chunk of the surrounding area, and includes probably a dozen middle and junior high schools.

Now, bear in mind that auditioning is not Anna's favorite thing. Add to that the way she aggressively guards Saturday time, and it becomes clear that the only way Anna would agree to do this audition was if it counted towards her grade.

Which it does.

So she did.

But despite not wanting to spend her Saturday auditioning, she made third chair in the second band, which was very exciting!

It also meant that she would have to give up another Saturday for rehearsals and the concert. Said Saturday was yesterday.

The combined bands practiced all day Friday - into the early evening - and then again Saturday morning, with the concert early Saturday afternoon.

She did a great job, despite feeling like a penguin in her band uniform. Congratulations, Anna!

Next concert, this Thursday evening. It's a busy baritone season.

Winter Arrives in North Texas

2009-12-02T08:26:00.006-06:00

I'm sure my friends and family in Utah and other points north will be tempted to mock us and our pitiful little snowfall, but when such a thing only happens once or twice a season - and the weatherman predicted rain - even a little snow is a big deal.

I decided to try and take a picture with the Christmas lights on - the lights I hung five days ago in short sleeves - but you'll have to click through to the larger image to see them. I was able to hang them from the ladder, without actually climbing on the roof. So, yay!

The girls were excited for the snow, and I'm excited to be working from home and not have to commute in the white stuff.

Is It Monday Yet?

2009-11-29T21:12:00.004-06:00

Oh, my goodness. What. A. Weekend.

In a good way, of course.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009 is winding to a close, and I am thoroughly exhausted. So much so that the thought of sitting on my bum all week writing computer code sounds like a bit of a vacation.

Kara, the girls, and I had a nice dinner here at home. A few weeks ago, we'd talked about taking a trip down to SeaWorld, but decided that would be just a bit too much, and would probably throw us off for the rest of the weekend.

Kara makes a wicked good turkey, and together we made our traditional honey pumpkin pie. (If there's enough interest, I'll have her post recipes.) I also made our famous eggnog ice cream (pour one quart eggnog into an ice cream freezer and say 'go.' That's it!) and baked a key lime pie recipe for my friend Josi (she writes culinary mysteries, and I'm lucky enough to be part of her test kitchen).

The girls helped quite a bit with making the other side dishes, which made the day fun. It was busy, but we spent some good, quality family time and had a great meal.

The rest of the weekend was work! The lawn got mowed, the bushes trimmed, Christmas lights were hung, shopping done (Christmas and grocery). We also had a family movie night and a family game night, and got a jump on our indoor Christmas decorating. The tree isn't up, but a bunch of other stuff is.

And this year, Alyssa and I decided to do a gingerbread house. This house is going to be a little different, as we're making one that will fit under our covered cake plate. This will keep the gingerbread smell from adding to allergy load, while keeping the candy and cookies free from dust. We got the dough made tonight, as well as a cardboard mock-up of the house so it will fit under the cake plate.

Watch this space for more details and photos as the project progresses, as well as the many back posts I need to write to catch you up on the significant events in our lives. I have at least three other topics listed in my notebook that are way past due!

My First Publishing Credential

2009-11-20T17:23:00.001-06:00

There's a new Christmas story collection available, and I'm part of it!

The book is called Stolen Christmas and it's a compilation of winning stories from the LDSPublisher blog annual Christmas story contest. These books are being sold for the very affordable amount of $7.99. You can't even buy a hardback bestseller from Wal-Mart for that price! To purchase your very own copy (or two or three), click here.

By Lds Publisher, Roger Bonner, Don Carey, Laura Craner, Joyce DiPastena, Sarah M. Eden, L. T. Elliot, Gussie Fick, Melanie Goldmund, M. Gray, Taegyn Hutchinson, Angie Lofthouse, Lori Nawyn, Tristi Pinkston, Brian C. Ricks, Sandra Sorenson, Janice Sperry, Christine Thackeray

What happens when you're so poor you have to steal your Christmas presents? Have you ever taken a punch in the face as your Christmas gift to the girl you love? Or saved Christmas while hunting were-weevils?

These award-winning Christmas stories are the best of the best from the LDS Publisher Christmas Story Contests. From Christmases past, to present, to future; from sweet and inspirational, to zany and delightful-there's a story for everyone in this eclectic collection.

Seventeen stories to celebrate the season, from Sarah M. Eden, Tristi Pinkston, Joyce DiPastena, Christine Thackeray, Don Carey, and more.

Review: Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story

2009-11-13T00:01:00.001-06:00

Recently, I received an email from my friend Tristi Pinkston, Senior Editor of the new Valor Publishing Group, asking if I would read and review Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story as part of its virtual book tour. The book was written by Utah Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff, and is the first title to be published by Valor.

I jumped at the chance to read and review this book, as I have heard a lot about it, and the story it tells marks a pivotal moment in the history of this great nation. Plus, I'm always happy to let someone send me a free book.

The complete description of this book can be found below, but in a nutshell, Dred Scott was a slave who took his fight for freedom all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Court's decision in the case of Scott vs. Sanford galvanized both sides in the slavery debate, and was referenced heavily in the successful presidential campaign of Abraham Lincoln.

Am I Not A Man? The Dred Scott Story is a very powerful book. It is a novelization of true events, and as such, some liberties were taken in inventing dialog and details, but the story itself comes straight out of history. Many of the facts surrounding slavery in the United States are unpleasant at best, and often downright brutal. Because of this, Am I Not A Man? can be difficult to read in places. This is no light-weight beach book.

However, the story of courage and determination -- from Dred Scott, his family, and his white benefactors -- is truly inspiring. While not strictly chronological, the book covers the whole of Dred's life, from his birth on the Blow plantation during a visit by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, to his death a few short years before the start of the Civil War.

Mr. Shurtleff does an excellent job of presenting the story of Dred Scott, both his trials and his triumphs. I must admit at first to being put off by some of the historical asides that pepper the narrative, but as the story progressed I found myself grateful for the context and background these asides provide.

Am I Not A Man: The Dred Scott Story arrived in bookstores on November 3rd, and will make a worthy addition to your reading list.

An illiterate slave, Dred Scott trusted in an all-white, slave-owning jury to declare him free. But after briefly experiencing the glory of freedom and manhood, a new state Supreme Court ordered the cold steel of the shackles to be closed again around his wrists and ankles. Falling to his knees, Dred cried, "Ain't I a man?" Dred answered his own question by rising and taking his fight to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dred ultimately lost his epic battle when the Chief Justice declared that a black man was so inferior that he had "no rights a white man was bound to respect."

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.

Dred Scott's inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

Used and Abandoned

2009-11-10T09:40:00.004-06:00

So Saturday, after I got the mud washed off of me and my tools, it was time for the weekly grocery shopping trip. I like taking one (but not both!) of the girls with me, as it's fun to have someone to talk to as I go from store to store. Neither one really likes going, though. However, I still ask anyway.

When I asked Alyssa if she wanted to go to Costco and get some samples, she said, "Park?"

I agreed that if she came with me, we could stop at the park (or in this case, the playground at her school).

While I pushed her on the swings, it occurred to me that I had forgotten the RedBox video, which needed to be returned. So we drove back home to get the movie.

Once we were there, Alyssa insisted that I leave her at home.

"Don't you want to go to Costco and get samples?"

"No! Me home." There was no convincing her otherwise, and I ran my errands all alone. She'd gotten her trip to the park, and nothing else mattered.

Used and abandoned by my own child.

When Check Valves Check Out

2009-11-09T14:23:00.006-06:00

We have at our house and aerobic septic system. This means that the water gets separated and processed and purified and pumped out through sprinklers in the back yard, while the yucky stuff stays behind in the tank. It's an efficient system, and works pretty well.

Except when it doesn't.

We've noticed that while one of the sprinklers has been spraying correctly, the other one has been sporadic, and recently stopped working all together. This triggered an alarm condition on the system, and we called the maintenance guy to come take a look.

He fixed a problem with the pump, and then went to look at the second sprinkler. Nothing was coming out, even though the pump was working and the first sprinkler was going great guns.

So he took the sprinkler head off. Nothing.

Assuming this must mean a rock or something was plugging the connection, he dug up the end of the pipe and cut it off.

Still nothing.

Since this fix-it guy charges big money per hour, and the problem was obviously in a piece of PVC pipe between two known points, I decided to tackle the rest of the job myself.

Armed with rubber gloves, several shovels and a pipe cutter, I found that the check valve - a little one-way flow regulator that keeps the water from running backwards - had turned into a no-way flow preventer.

So after a trip to Home Depot and $15 worth of bits, both sprinklers are as good as new.

Now if only the same could be said about my bending over and digging muscles. Oooh - ouch!

Halloween At Sea World - Seen and Heard

2009-11-01T19:36:00.008-06:00

The girls and I had a great time at Sea World yesterday. I will attempt to share the fun of the day in Seen and Heard format, with a Texted thrown in for good measure.

Seen: Anna watching cartoons on her computer instead of getting ready to go.
Heard: Dad - Anna, come on and get in the car. It's time to go.
Anna - But I haven't eaten breakfast yet!

Seen: Some kind of butterfly migration taking place near San Antonio and making a mess of our windshield.

Seen: Anna and Alyssa loving on each other while posing at the Trick or Treat Street props. (Sadly, Alyssa was too old to participate in the Trick or Treat Street.)

Seen: This guy, standing ten feet tall, wearing a glittery blue fish on his head, and giving me a great idea for a character in a future novel.

Seen: Alyssa absolutely refusing to pose with a mermaid.

Heard: Alyssa insisting on posing with this couple, and Anna being the one to refuse.

Seen and Heard: The Count, Elmo, and the gang. Alyssa loved this show even more than I expected. Anna was a good sport about it.

Seen: Dad carrying Alyssa through half of the Haunted Forest, which was in "Family Friendly" mode, meaning full daylight and without the actors who jump out and say "Boo!"

Heard: Alyssa - Yeah, me go spooky place again.
Dad - You want to go back to the Spooky Forest?
Alyssa - Yes.
Dad - No way. You were already freaked out before, and I had to carry you. Now it's dark and they have the people who jump out and scare you.
Alyssa - Yeah, me go!
(We didn't.)

Heard: Dad - Repeatedly nagging the girls to ride on a roller coaster with him.
Anna and Alyssa - No!

Seen: Dad bribing the girls with ice cream to sit and wait for him while he rides The Great White roller coaster.

Heard: Dad (On the first big drop) - Whoooooooo!
Alyssa (At a picnic table very near the roller coaster) - Dad?

Texted: Anna to Dad - Heard you screaming.
Dad to Anna - I was cheering.

Seen: Dad and Alyssa sitting outside a gift shop while Anna goes in to buy a post card. Anna then comes out and hands Dad a bag.
Heard: Anna - I don't want anyone to think I'm stealing this. (She hands over a previously-purchased nick-knack, while in her other hand is the as yet UN-purchased post card.)

Seen: A dad and his girls enjoying their Halloween. We hope you had a fun one, too!

The "Alternative" Halloween

2009-10-28T09:54:00.004-06:00

It all started last month when I noticed October 31st fell on a Saturday. I asked the girls if they would like to spend Halloween at Sea World, and they both jumped at the chance. We know they decorate the park and have special shows during October, so we thought this would be a lot of fun.

Plus, it would get us out of Trick-0r-Treats for the year. This is a good thing, because neither girl holds their sugar well. And besides, this still left the Trunk or Treat activity our church does every year for costumes and candy.

The bombshell came a couple of weeks ago, when it was announced that Trunk or Treat would be held the same night as Anna's band concert. "I'm not going to the concert," she announced.

"You're willing to fail band just to get a bunch of candy?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"I don't think so."

So this year, Halloween is going to be a little different around our house. We still brought down the old Imagewriter II box and unloaded the traditional decorations, but that's about it. We won't be buying candy or pumpkins. We're not even doing costumes this year which, after my recent dress-up post on my writer's blog, might make me a bit of a hypocrite.

But we'll still be celebrating Halloween, just in a different way, and with several thousand of our closest friends. Plus a few dozen marine mammals.

That's better than a whole pillowcase full of Tootsie Rolls and Hershey bars, right?

RIGHT?

Kara's Meme Answers

2009-10-18T21:06:00.002-06:00

Josi, Thank you for your kind words. You are an inspiration to us as well! I have some thoughts on who to tag. I'll pass on my suggestions to Don.

1. Where is your cell phone?....On the counter charging.

2. Your hair? ...... Thicker and curlier than ever.

3. Your mother? ...... Hopefully smiling.

4. Your father?..... cat lover.

5. Your favorite food? ...... Do I have to choose just one? cassava and yak, oh, and pumpkin pie!

6. Your dream last night?.... should've asked me when I woke up.

7. Your favorite drink?.... Since this is Texas, I have to answer Dr. Pepper. It's like the law or something.

8. Your dream/goal? .... For my family to be in perfect health and on our way to Italy.

9. What room are you in? ...... bedroom.

10. Your hobby? .... creating recipes for the family.

11. Your fear? ..... I will be stuck inside for the rest of my life!

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?... Financially secure and physically healthy.

13. Where were you last night?..... home, watching Halloweentown with my kiddos and hubby.

14. Something you aren't?..... a seamstress

15. Muffins? ..... Love, love, love 'em. Unfortunately my kids don't.

16. Wish list item? .... Cirrus SR-22.... same as Don's. They're like a flying sports car! Way fun to fly!!

17. Where did you grow up?...... Othello, WA

18. Last thing you did?...... Take an antigen for my digestive enzyme. :-)

19. What are you wearing? ...... Green shirt and a linen floral skirt.

20. Your TV? ..... 32 inch Sony, with the captioning turned on.

21. Your pets? ......... Guinea pigs Duchess, Lillie, and Mia. Also, Tucker the orange tabby tom cat who loves it when I bring him tuna.

22. Your friends? ...... Always been one to have just a few close friends. Been able to reconnect with many on FB. Also made a few new ones through blogs ... and a few more through doctor's offices.

23. Your life?...... a much better place to be the last 1 1/2 years.

24. Your mood? .... mostly happy.

25. Missing someone? ..... All the family in Washington and Utah.

26. Vehicle? ...... Faded red Chrystler mini-van with two missing hubcaps that I am so happy to have because I can sit in it AND be able to feel relaxed and breath. White Ford Ranger with a quarter-million miles that still smells a little like rubber. Both more than half-way through their second decade.

27. Something you're not wearing? ...... Shoes

28. Your favorite store? ....... Nordstrom.

29. Your favorite color? ...... it seems to change daily. Today, dark green.

30. When was the last time you laughed? ...... A few minutes ago when Alyssa planted a "tooth pastey" kiss on my nose.

31. Last time you cried? ..... This afternoon watching this video of one of my favorite songs.

32. Your best friend?...... Don is my best friend.

33. One place that I go over and over? ....... Oh, gee, what choices. The only place I go besides my doctors office's is Whole Foods.

34. One person who emails me regularly?....... Betsy

35. Favorite place to eat? ....... Carmellos in Ausin, TX. On the corner of 5th and Red River.

Bloggy Award and Meme

2009-10-18T18:54:00.004-06:00

Last week Kara and I were given this award by the lovely and talented Josi Kilpack, an amazing lady who has quickly become one of our favorite authors. I'm honored to consider Josi both a mentor and a friend, and I was tickled to get this award from her.

This is Josi and I at the 2009 Whitney Awards Gala.

Here's what she said about us:

Don & Kara—They joint blog, so it goes to both of them, but together, and apart, they are such examples of what life really is. They have some trials, big ones that I can’t imagine, and yet if you ever read their blog they have such joy in their lives, in each other, and in their two daughters. AND, despite their family focus and optimism amid trial, they are generous and motivated toward the accomplishment of their own goals and dreams. That is a very rare gift indeed.

Wow - that was great! Thank you, Josi.

This award comes with a meme, which I have completed below. (I'm still thinking of who to pass this award on to - I'm not particularly good at that kind of thing, although I really probably ought to be better. Maybe Kara has some suggestions...)

1. Where is your cell phone?.... In my pocket, where my thigh can press the buttons and disconnect my calls before they ring. I had a holster once, but once it was worn out enough to dump my phone all over town, I got rid of it and haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

2. Your hair? ...... Grayer and thinner than I ever wanted it to be. But it got cut this week, so it's not too long any more.

3. Your mother? ...... The sweetest woman you would care to meet.

4. Your father?..... Brilliant and funny.

5. Your favorite food? ...... Pizza

6. Your dream last night?.... Has been completely forgotten. Certainly not as interesting as the time I dreamed I was Kermit the Frog and got to host the Muppet Show.

7. Your favorite drink?.... Since this is Texas, I have to answer Dr. Pepper. It's like the law or something.

8. Your dream/goal? .... For my sweeties and I to be well and well off enough to do some traveling - preferably in our own little plane. Vroom!

9. What room are you in? ...... office.

10. Your hobby? .... Mostly writing at the moment, although I pick up my ukulele every once in a while.

11. Your fear? ..... Missing out on the good stuff in life.

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?... Financially secure and physically healthy.

13. Where were you last night?..... Since Anna went to the circus with a friend, I took Alyssa to her favorite place - The Ice Cream Shop (yes, that's the name). A little old drive in with very low overhead costs, serving great, inexpensive food. She got chocolate chip in a cup; I got a pineapple cone.

14. Something you aren't?..... Confident - although I've made great progress over the last dozen years.

15. Muffins? ..... I really liked the big ol' bran raisin muffins that came from Costco. I don't think they even make that flavor any more.

16. Wish list item? ...... Cirrus SR-22

17. Where did you grow up?...... Laie, HI

18. Last thing you did?...... Started making cookies - then found out the dough needs to refrigerate for an hour. Perfect for a blog break.

19. What are you wearing? ...... Kirkland Signature jeans (we go for the big labels around here) and one of the three non-Hawaiian casual shirts I own.

20. Your TV? ..... 32 inch Sony, with the captioning turned.

21. Your pets? ......... Duchess, Lilly, and Mia - the guinea pig troika. Also, Tucker the tom cat eats and sometimes sleeps in our garage.

22. Your friends? ...... Maintaining friendships during the last decade has been a real challenge. In the last few years, however, I've made a lot of great new friends and caught up with a ton of old ones, mostly through blogs and Facebook.

23. Your life?...... "an aggregate of hope and dispair; joy and pain; failure and (sometimes) success - all held together by a large helping of delusion."

24. Your mood? .... more hopeful than it's been in years.

25. Missing someone? ..... All the Utah and Washington family.

26. Vehicle? ...... Faded red Chrystler mini-van with two missing hubcaps, and a white Ford Ranger with a quarter-million miles. Both more than half-way through their second decade.

27. Something you're not wearing? ...... Shoes

28. Your favorite store? ....... It's not PetSmart, I can tell you that. Or Toys R Us. I'd have to say Ikea.

29. Your favorite color? ...... Purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? ...... A couple of hours ago, during AFV. Love that show!

31. Last time you cried? ..... A couple of weeks ago, looking through pictures of fun times before Kara got sick and the world turned upside down.

32. Your best friend?...... Kara is my best friend. Anna and Alyssa are tied for a close second.

33. One place that I go over and over? ....... This year, it's been Sea World in San Antonio - 4.5 hours away. I'm kind of looking forward to the season passes expiring on January 1.

34. One person who emails me regularly?....... David Farland. Okay, so it's actually a daily email newsletter. Still, it's regular.

35. Favorite place to eat? ....... It's been over a decade since I've been there, but my favorite place to eat is Mangia Pizza in Austin. Yum! I looked them up real quick, just to make sure they're still in business, and found that they've opened a location right across from the apartments where we used to live. It's probably a good thing that wasn't open when we were there - pizza every night!

A Few Recipes to Keep You Going

2009-10-12T08:09:00.010-06:00

Things have been happening here. Rain and temperatures are both falling, animal populations are shifting and changing, and seasonal decorations are finding their way out of the attic. We also got a nice blog award from our friend, Josi, and we'll be posting about that soon.

But first, a report on some of the fun things happening in the kitchen.

We have an old recipe, a new recipe, a blue recipe, and they're all borrowed. (It kinda works, right?)

Okay, here we go. First up, the old: Gingerbread.

This is an old favorite. We've been making these cookies for years. With the cooler weather, it's now gingerbread season, although in my opinion it's always gingerbread season.

In the interest of typing time, blog space, and giving proper credit, I'll go ahead and link to the recipe. We use the classic Betty Crocker recipe, which can be found here.

Next is the blue: Almond Blueberry Cookies.

These are some cookies Kara recently came up with. They have quickly become a favorite. They taste a lot like blueberry muffins. Yum! The recipe is on the Food Network site, and can be found here.

The new is: Soft Pretzels.

We got this recipe long ago from a friend of ours, Bette Hawley, in a ward cookbook. I've been itching to make soft pretzels for a long time now, and finally did it.

I decided to make sticks instead of twists for several reasons. First, they're easier, and I wanted to focus on the baking rather than the twisting. Second, sticks take up less room on the sheet, so I could bake the whole batch at once. And finally, each serving is smaller - so important when one's delusions involve trying to lose weight. Never mind that I ate six last night after they were done. Ahem.

Anyway, here's the recipe for the pretzels:

1 Tbsp. Yeast
1 1/3 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 c. flour
1 egg white + 1 Tbsp water

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add to remaining ingredients. Knead for 5 minutes. Let rise until double. Roll and shape. Brush with egg white and water mixture. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Mine went longer than the fifteen minutes, but I didn't time to see exactly how much longer. I got 20 sticks, each 40 grams of dough. (Yes, I weigh as I divide my dough. It's a nerd thing.)

Have a great week, and bake up something yummy!

Picture Day Fashionista

2009-09-30T07:03:00.004-06:00

Today is picture day at Alyssa's school. I set her out a nice outfit to wear. I guess she decided she didn't like the dark brown pants I'd chosen and picked a pair of her favorites instead.

I like to give her a fair amount of autonomy when it comes to dressing herself, but this was enough to bring out the parental veto.

Watch Out, Einstein Brothers!

2009-09-29T07:04:00.004-06:00

It's not my intention to turn this into a cooking blog - honest! But lately I've been experimenting in the kitchen, and it's where the excitement in our lives is coming from lately. (That, and the IRS asking for medical expense documentation, but that's not really fun excitement.)

I promise to have some good, non-kitchen posts later this week.

But, in the meantime - bagels!

We've been going through bagels at an alarming rate around here, serving them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, so I thought I'd try my hand at making them myself.

As I began Googling recipes, Kara told me that I needed to make sure and include the words "best" or "incredible" in my search terms, as that turns up superior recipes. Yeah, okay. I opted for "awesome," and came up with the recipe found here.

The trickiest part of making the bagels was getting them round and smooth. The recipe said to roll the dough into a log, and then join the ends together. After doing two bagels like that, I could see this approach wasn't going to work for me, and started just punching holes in the middle of a dough disk.

Bagels are boiled and then baked. They spent only about a minute in the water before moving to the baking sheet.

As you can see, one of the bagels made with the "roll a log and then stick the ends together" tactic failed to keep it together.

They don't look like store-bought bagels - they are very uneven on the outside - but inside they are the same fluffy, doughy goodness we've come to love.

Next time, I may just tray making asiago cheese bagels. Mmm - now that's good stuff.

Pizza Night With A Twist

2009-09-26T08:12:00.002-06:00

Well, pizza night with a fold, actually.

Last week I decided to do something different for our Friday night feast, and made calzones instead of pizza. I started by making the regular pizza dough, then divided it into two, rolled it out, and covered half of the dough with a mixture of ham, cheese, and sausage.

Then I folded over the dough and sealed the edges. I wanted to make sure nothing leaked out the edges, so kind of went a little overboard with the thickness of the seam. Next time I'll spread the filling closer to the edge.

Baked up to perfection - yum. Probably 25 minutes - I forget exactly.

Then I cut the calzones and served with a pizza dipping sauce (one can of tomato sauce and about a half tablespoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, basil, and oregano).

And root beer, of course. Friday night is also soda night at our house.

I took the second calzone and popped it in the freezer, along with the left-over sauce. Now we have an emergency freezer meal. Woohoo!

Spirit Day at the Middle School

2009-09-25T07:55:00.003-06:00

Today Anna dressed up for Spirit Day at the middle school, which is the only time she will wear orange.

I guess the reason it's Spirit Day is that school gets out at noon, and the teacher's are celebrating.

While waiting at the bus stop with Anna, I mentioned that the peace and quiet of my afternoon would be ruined by both girls coming home early.

In true Anna fashion, she said, "It's your own fault, you know. If you didn't make us go to school, you wouldn't have to worry about having any peace and quite to shatter."

Too true. Boarding school, anyone?

Audio Book GiveAWay

2009-09-25T07:53:00.002-06:00

I'm having an audio book Give*A*Way on my writing blog. You can see the post here.

I am giving away two audio books. One is Sandcastles by Luanne Rice, and the other is At the Water's Edge by the lovely and talented Annette Lyon, author, word nerd, and friend of the blog.

Go on over and enter - you'll be glad you did!

Alyssa Jumps and Eats an Odd Snack

2009-09-20T19:16:00.005-06:00

Alyssa has been trying to jump for years, but she's never quite made it off of the ground. They've worked on this with her in physical and occupational therapy, but she just hasn't had the leg strength. She'd bend her knees and spring up, but her feet never left the ground.

Earlier this year, she began jumping in the pool whenever we went swimming. It was her thing to do, and she did it a lot.

Then today, she called us excitedly to come watch her. Lo and behold, Alyssa can finally jump.

Maybe it was the high-powered snack she had me make this afternoon that finally allowed her to catch some air.

Yes, that's pickles and whipped cream. No, I didn't try it to see how it tasted. Yes, she ate it all.

Swirly Cookies and a Pizza Surprise

2009-09-14T08:44:00.005-06:00

I like making cookies for the girls to take in their lunches, and yesterday I decided to be a little bit creative and try my hand at chocolate swirl sugar cookies.

I started by making a double batch of sugar cookie dough. I took half of the dough out of the mixer and added cocoa to the remaining half.

I then rolled out the dough on the counter. I should have rolled it out onto parchment paper or plastic wrap, but that was one of the lessons learned.

If I had rolled the dough onto a movable surface, stacking the two rectangles of dough would have been a snap. But as it was, I had to cut the chocolate dough into squares and place it piece by piece on the white dough.

I then rolled the dough into a log or snake or worm or whatever you want to call it. This task would have also been easier if the dough were on plastic wrap, but I made it work.

After a few hours in the fridge, the dough was firm enough to cut into cookie sized slices. It had flattened under its own weight, but I have no problem with ovaloid cookies. We're easy around here.

Mmmm. The finished project. Chocolaty, but not too much so.

Then, since the creative juices were already flowing, I decided to do a stuffed crust on our pizza. That turned out really nice, too.

What fun things have you been doing in the kitchen?

And the Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down

2009-09-13T08:26:00.002-06:00

Growing up in La'ie, it was not uncommon to have day after day of constant rain - that's just the way it goes.

But I never saw that kind of rain in Utah, and here in Texas it's still pretty rare.

However, that's what the weather has been like for the last couple of days - rain, without a hint of sunshine. Makes me homesick.

The constant, heavy rain made for a very interesting day out running errands yesterday - especially since Alyssa needed new Sunday shoes, so I had her with me for most of my stops. Getting her in and out of the truck, I pretty much had to abandon all hope of staying dry. Fortunately, it's still a fairly warm rain, so it wasn't too bad.

In other news from the week, Anna had her first Young Women's meeting on Wednesday, and she really seemed to enjoy it. She's one of only two Beehives in the ward until December when her friend Claire turns twelve.

I got my book all polished up and ready for the next round of submissions. One publisher wanted the whole manuscript via e-mail, one wanted the first few chapters via snail mail, and one wanted a paper copy of the whole book. Unfortunately, the Post Office is now closed on Saturday, and the automatic postage machine doesn't provide the Media Mail option, and that's the only cost-effective way to send a 3.5 lb book. So that package will have to wait until tomorrow.

With my romantic LDS fiction title out on submission, I'm now ready to turn my attention back to my science fiction novel - and just in time to start attending a new science fiction writer's group. Anna and I went to our first meeting last night. You can read about it and the rest of my writing adventure on my writing blog at 90kwordsofdelusion.

Sapphires, Bowling, and some Luvdiscs

2009-09-06T09:38:00.007-06:00

Anna turned 12 on Friday. This is what it was all about.

Alyssa picked out a Michael Jackson CD for her. This was actually her second choice, but I felt pretty sure Anna would not be interested in Sponge Bob's Greatest Hits.

We also got her a cell phone and added her to our family plan. She's in enough activities with school and church now that we felt the time was right.

Her gifts also included some sapphire earrings,

and a double-sided blanket from Grandma Ruttan. One side is a coral reef,

and the other side has dolphins and orcas. Perfect.

For dinner she wanted German pancakes. We put whipped cream and candles on hers.

Then on Saturday, she had a little party. Her original plan was to go putt putt golfing, but the weather was rather unsettled so we opted for bowling instead.

Only two of Anna's three invited friends were able to make it, but they had a great time. These three girls get along really well, and it was fun watching them bowl.

There were a lot of gutter balls and interesting bowling techniques, including some that would have been better suited to the shot put.

After two and a half games (the alley had a Labor Day special where we could rent the lane for an hour) we came back to the house for cake, ice cream, and presents.

Anna wanted a Pokemon on her cake, and decided that the luvdisc was the easiest, cutest one. I have to agree. In putting this post together, I realized I didn't get a picture of the cake by itself. Oops. So I ran out and took a picture of the one remaining luvdisc. She'll probably join her partner later today.

Happy birthday, Anna!

August Dallas Adventure

2009-08-30T08:58:00.003-06:00

It seems like last year I was driving the 50 miles to Dallas at least twice a week, and often even more.

This year, I've managed to go for months without making the trip. So yesterday's Dallas drive was actually kind of a treat.

While Kara was living in the condos, we met a family with a set of twins right about Anna's age, and the kids really got along well. So when Kara found that Noah and Olivia were back in town (and bored out of their minds) we decided to plan a Saturday afternoon excursion.

I put the camera in the van, and managed to leave it there the whole afternoon. You'll have to settle for photos stolen from various sites around the internet.

Our first stop was the Rock Barrell, a rock and bead store.

Tons of rocks and minerals and fossils and beads.

Anna and Olivia were in heaven. Noah enjoyed it too, I think, but seemed ready to go when Alyssa finally ran out of interest.

We then went to the Galleria of Dallas - a huge shopping center on the north side of town. The large skating rink in the center is one of it's most distinguishing features, and it was quite a sight from four stories up.

Then the girls wanted to go to the American Girl store. Noah- not so much. So he and I hung out at the Sony Style store.

We had a good time, and I think Noah and Olivia were especially glad to get out and do something fun for the afternoon.

Back To School 2009

2009-08-24T08:11:00.006-06:00

It's finally here! The girls are gone! The house is quiet!

School year 09/10 has begun!

The girls got up pleasantly and dressed, and then sat down for a nutritious breakfast of toast and fruit. Alyssa was more interested in playing Lite-Brite.

Then it was time for pictures.

Both girls are just getting so big. Yeah, it's cliche, but it's true!

Notice the pre-dawn glow in the background. We are so jealous of all the back to school pictures where the sun is up high enough to cast shadows.

The bus garage said Alyssa's bus would arrive between 6:45 and 6:50, so she and I went outside to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Alyssa made the most of her waiting time by starting a rousing game of "Follow Me."

After a number of cement trucks, diesel pickups, and full size busses caused false alarms, Alyssa's bus finally arrived at 7:10.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Anna spent the morning watching Pokemon on TV. She was excited when she learned her bus would arrive after 8:00, so she could continue her summer Pokemon tradition.

Anna refused to stand on the step of the bus and wave to me, so an action shot was the best I could manage.

Due to a unanimous decision, the happy dance that occurred at home once the busses were gone was not photographed. However, it looked a lot like this.

Christmas Story Contest Entries

2009-08-23T07:13:00.004-06:00

The Christmas Story Contest at LDSPublisher is over. The Editor's Choice winners aren't announced yet, but neither one of us got the votes for the Reader's Choice. Still, we both got some nice comments, and had fun writing.

Here are the links to our stories:

A New End Of It, by Don.

Jaina's Christmas Magic, by Anna.

Given that Anna is not yet twelve, I think she did a fantastic job on her story.

School Supply Shopping, Part 2

2009-08-22T06:57:00.004-06:00

Thursday night, I went to the Middle School with Anna for her orientation and to pick up her schedule. She has all Pre-AP classes, which I like but she's not too excited about. She worries so much about not passing her classes, and yet all of her grades last year - even spelling - were in the 90s.

I need to learn this kid some relaxing skilz.

The biggest complaint about her schedule, though, is that all of her "fun" classes - science, band, and PE - are bunched up in the first three hours. Then it's language arts, social studies, and math. Although she likes math, so that shouldn't be too bad.

We also picked up her PE clothes, found her classrooms, and traded her ankle-height locker with a little kid who couldn't reach his on the top row. Then we decided to go to Wal-Mart and get her school supplies.

The PTO sells pre-packaged school supplies, which is convenient, easy, and, from what I've since confirmed, fairly expensive. The 7th grade bundle was being sold for $65. I was pretty sure we could do better.

This year's trip to Wal-Mart was very, very different. Last year, as I mentioned earlier, Anna was very upset if the list called for one brand or color or size or shape of an item, and we had to compromise due to availability. This year, she was upset when I tried to follow the list.

"That's stupid. I don't need eight of those. Just get four. What am I going to use these for? No - don't get me that." It was a very interesting experience, to say the least.

In the end, we skipped several things on the list, and got a few things that weren't, like a fancy accordian folder similar to one she used last year.

Our total supply bill came to just over $35. Granted, we didn't get everything exactly the way it was on the list, and we had to spend an hour wandering the aisles of Wal-Mart, and the self checkout made me prove I was over 18 so I could buy markers, but in the end I think it was a pretty good deal.

Plus, Wal-Mart sells ice cream, something the PTO just doesn't have.

Tucker Avoids The Vet - For Now

2009-08-21T08:34:00.005-06:00

Tucker boy is at it again. He needs an operation to curb his social life.

The trouble with Tucker is that he's not completely domesticated. He comes and goes at will, and really doesn't have much of a schedule. Sometimes he's around in the mornings, sometimes he's not. Sometimes we don't see him for days at a time. This means he's a hard kitty to make appointments for.

So the recent strategy is this: Get a big box, check the garage every morning, and if Tucker's there, put him in the box.

It was a good plan, and almost worked.

I found a great box in the attic. It's been there for a few years, but it was one of the few that hasn't been broken down. I brought it into the garage.

This morning, there was rain. And thunder and lightening. The perfect kind of day for a kitty to come inside. Which he did.

Now, Tucker likes to be petted. So all it took was a little bit of tuna and a few minutes of gentle petting before I made my move. Tucker wasn't happy when I picked him up, but he didn't try and get away until I started setting him down inside the box. But the box was big enough that he couldn't get hold of the top, and I managed to get him down inside with a minimum of damage to my person. Mission accomplished.

Then things went bad.

It seems that hot, humid attic air can sometimes cause box glue to degrade to the point that a strong, determined kitty can bust the seams clean open.

Nuts.

I figure it will be at least a week before Tucker will let me near enough to try again. It may even be much, much longer.

School Supply Shopping, Part 1

2009-08-19T20:01:00.004-06:00

We are now days away from the new school year, so shopping for school supplies has become a necessity. Based on last year's experience, I knew that I did not want to take both girls at the same time. No way!

Fortunately, tonight Anna has a sleepover at a friend's house, so it was the perfect opportunity to get our fifth-grader stocked up.

We headed out to Wal-Mart, and discovered very quickly that the big blue cardboard bins they set up in the aisle and filled with school supplies were no longer full. In fact, most of them were empty. For every item we found on our list, there were two we didn't find.

Fortunately, I know that there are other places in the store where school and office supplies can be found, so after a little bit of investigating and a few creative substitutions we were able to get all but two things on our list. One item we still need to get is a pack of red pens. The other item is something that, based on the description, I have no idea what it is. But I think it has grommets.

I promised Alyssa a trip to the park if she was good at the store, and fortunately there was just enough twilight left for a quick turn on the swings and slides before heading home.

School Supply Shopping, Part 2 comes on Saturday. Last year, Anna had a near meltdown every time I suggested even the slightest deviation from the list, so I'm steeling myself for a real adventure. Stay tuned.

A Place for Late Summer Christmas Cheer

2009-08-16T21:26:00.003-06:00

There's a Christmas Short Story contest going on over at LDSPublisher's blog, and both Anna and I have entered. Voting begins on Monday.

Go over and read the stories, and then vote for us. I can't tell you exactly which stories are ours, but mine is the good one and Anna's is the other good one.

Actually, I've been reading along as the stories were posted, and the quality of entries is quite good this year. We may win; we may not. But I know both of us had a lot of fun writing our stories.

So set the AC to 60, brew up some hot cocoa, enjoy some late summer Christmas cheer, and vote for the stories you like best.

The Correct Way to End the Summer

2009-08-16T09:33:00.005-06:00

What could possibly better than a late summer pool party?

How about two late summer pool parties, both on the same day!

The girls had a Primary swim activity yesterday morning, and a friend party in the afternoon. I (deludedly) planned on getting a lot of errands and chores done while they were swimming and bobbing and playing away.

Unfortunately, Alyssa's wire came loose from her braces, and I was called in early to do some emergency fix-it work. Why does this always happen on the weekend when the ortho's office is closed?

I'm sure half of the Primary kids were traumatized by the way she screamed bloody murder every time I got close to her wire with the nail clippers, but eventually - with the help of the party's hostess - we got the wire snipped, and that was that.

Fortunately, there were no problems the rest of the day. The girls had a great end-0f-summer Saturday, and despite it all I managed to get a few things done, too.

SeaWorld, Day 2

2009-08-09T19:16:00.005-06:00

One advantage of spending the night in San Antonio was that we were able to get to SeaWorld shortly after it opened without getting up at 4:00 am. Yeah, that was a really big bonus.

Tricia and Ella came with us on Saturday, and we had a great time. Early morning is all about rides, as the lines are short and sweet. We went on the Texas Splashdown as a group, since everyone could and would ride it.

After that, Anna played carnival games with the smaller girls while Tricia and I rode the Great White roller coaster. We went twice in a row, as there was next to nobody waiting. It was a very smooth ride - I liked it. Couldn't get Anna or Alyssa to try it, though.

Then Anna really wanted to ride on the Rio Loco again. I was dressed to stay dry (more or less) so opted not to go. Alyssa didn't want to either, and Ella was too little. So Anna and Tricia went together. They got soaked!

Alyssa, Ella and I played in the shade and waited.

We had a good time the rest of the day, watching the water ski show and seeing the horses, and then went to feed the dolphins. After all, SeaWorld is all about the fishes! Er, um, I mean the aquatic mammals.

By early afternoon, we were winding down fast. I didn't want to get home too late, so we were on the road by 4:00. But before we left, we went in to see the sharks and coral reef.

Anna felt it was important to video tape everything she could point the camera at.

Alyssa's interest was much simpler - "Sit down!"

We had a great time. I don't think we'll do SeaWorld passes again next year, but we'll probably go two or three more times before this year is over, so watch this space for more fun from the land of Shamu.

A SeaWorld Overnighter, Day 1

2009-08-09T09:14:00.006-06:00

Last Christmas when I bought our season passes for SeaWorld, my plan was to do a summertime overnighter in addition to the handful of day trips. That excursion happend this past weekend.

The girls and I drove down Friday, leaving around 7:30, which was much later than previous trips. I didn't have the energy to get up earlier, and one of the main reasons for doing an overnighter was to stay late at the park, so it was easy to justify a late departure.

I was pretty much a cranky grouch the whole drive, but fortunately the girls didn't agitate me, so I was in a decent mood once we got there. We spent the bulk of the day swimming in the Lost Lagoon, which made the very hot day much more pleasant.

The lazy river ride was our favorite, once we finally convinced Alyssa to get into the tube. She would not, would not, WOULD NOT try it, then once she did, she was hooked. (She's been like that since birth - we are constantly saying "Try, try, Baby 'Lyss.")

There was a shortage of tubes, but they also had life vests you could use. The extra-large green ones were hard to come by, so for a while I had a couple of small ones wrapped around my arms like water wings. That was fun until the lifeguard made me take them off. :-(

Anna did a couple of slides, and we took a turn in the wave pool. Alyssa said she wanted a nap, so I found a beach chair in the shade and laid it all the way back. I knew it was a long shot, but if anyone could take a nap at a water park, it was Alyssa.

It didn't work. (Look just below the tree - that's the non-napping Alyssa in blue.)

At dinner time, we left the water park and went to the van, where delicious ham and cheese sandwiches awaited us. I had the foresight to crack all of the windows before we went into the park, so with a stiff breeze and our wet swimsuits, it was actually pretty comfortable in the van while we ate.

The rest also rejuvinated us, and we went in to watch a couple of special evening shows and ride on the Rio Loco, which got us all totally wet - which was OK, as we were still in our swimsuits.

Once we were done, we drove across town to my step brother Craig's house, where we enjoyed the hospitality of he and his wife, Tricia and their daugter, Ella. My plan was originally to stay in a hotel, but since they live close by they offered to let us stay with them. I'm glad we did, as it was fun getting to know them better.

And besides, I don't know of any hotel chain that offers a kitten to play with.

Coming up: Day 2!

Where I Live, There Are Rainbows

2009-08-05T19:31:00.003-06:00

And life with the laughter of morning
And starry nights

Hawai'i rainbows mo' bettah, but we'll take what we can get.

This was a beautiful full rainbow with a strong double that unfortunately had mostly faded by the time we found the camera. Look directly above the water tower.

A Small Miracle? Maybe...

2009-08-02T09:13:00.004-06:00

I set out yesterday on what I feared was a fool's errand: secure a Texas State Inspection Sticker for our tired old minivan.

Despite her faded red paint and habit of blowing tires, I like our van. She's very practical, proven to be quite reliable (aside from the tire thing) and works perfect for Kara, not having any odd smells or significant air leaks. So even if money weren't the issue that it is, we would be really hard pressed to replace her.

Unfortunately, our van, bless her catalytic converter, has a bit of a smoking problem.

During the Spring Car Fix-up Extravaganza, we had the auto shop see what they could do about the smoke. The tech said this model van had an issue with oil leaking into the cylinders, and that's just the way it is.

We should probably get a second opinion one of these days. Maybe with our next tax refund.

Anyway, the problem seems to have gotten progressively worse, and I feared it would result in a failed emissions test and a repair bill that would wipe out our meager Sea World Summer Trip funds five times over.

So before heading to the inspection shop Saturday (along with half of east Parker County), I said a prayer that the van would pass.

When my turn finally came, they drove our trusty wheels onto the little testbed, hooked up the sensor to the tailpipe, and stepped on the gas.

Thick blue-white smoke poured out. As the speed increased, so did the smoke. People sitting on the bench out front hopped up and came into the shop. My heart sank - there was no way in the heavens or beneath that this van was going to pass the emissions test.

As the test proceeded, the smoke finally began to diminish, as the oil that had seeped into the crankcase burned off. Near the end of the test, the smoke was almost completely gone.

When the test was done, I noticed both techs standing in front of the test computer, shaking their heads and nervously tapping their feet. Something was terribly wrong.

The inspector dude came into the shop and told me he had some bad news. "The computer crashed just as the test was finishing," he said. "We'll have to run it again."

The second time through, there was still smoke. But less - much less. And it disappeared much more quickly this time. And at the end, the inspector dude got into the car and replaced the sticker!

We passed!

Now, I don't know what the initial test results were - I wasn't brave enough to ask. But the fact that the computer crashed after the first test, there was much less smoke the second time around, and we passed is good enough for me.

I'll happily accept it as the Miracle of the Van.

Alyssa Runs Amok with the Camera

2009-07-29T09:57:00.005-06:00

It seemed a simple enough request: "Alyssa, come here so we can take a picture of your braces for the blog."

We had a visit to the orthodontist yesterday, and everyone was quite pleased with the movement of Alyssa's teeth. And since we posted "before" pictures here, it seemed only fair that we show you the "after" as well.

But Alyssa had other ideas.

She took off and hid in my closet. I snapped this picture just as I opened the door.

Then she got into a tickle fight with her sister.

Then she wanted to see the pictures on the camera, so I let her. But once she had looked at them, she decided it was her turn to take some photos. She ran around the house, snapping pictures of everyone and everything.

We did finally get her to smile for the camera and show us how far her bottom teeth have moved.

Her teeth look great, don't you think?

Bits and Pieces

2009-07-23T09:41:00.004-06:00

Time for an update. Here are a few of the things that have happened since the last post:

1. Alyssa went to the eye doctor. Her eyes are getting better, but her lazy eye is still lazy. Patching doesn't seem to be helping much. Surgery is an option, but I doubt that will get the full 2/3 majority vote required.

2. Alyssa also had the wire come out of her braces yesterday, and it poked her in the cheek. Ouch. We managed to get it trimmed off. We're going back to the orthodontist on Tuesday.

3. I got an email back from the publisher I sent my book to. They liked it, but not enough to buy it. Read the whole story on my writing blog. I will be submitting it to more publishers soon.

4. After nearly five months at the shop, our microwave/vent finally got repaired. No wonder people just throw things away rather than getting them fixed.

5. Anna wore some of her new clothes this week. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to take her shopping this weekend, though. Here are the photos I promised in the last post.

Well Enough for a Do-List

2009-07-19T20:01:00.003-06:00

I used to be really big on to do lists. Still am, actually. But yesterday was the first time I had made one in quite a while. I simply haven't felt up to it.

Towards the end of our vacation, I started feeling a little off. I figured it was just the result of working hard and playing hard being away from home.

But when I got back to Texas, things didn't get better. In fact, they got worse - much worse.

I couldn't get enough sleep at night - I found it hard to wake up, even after ten hours of sleep. When I was awake, I didn't feel very good. Not necessarily tired, or dizzy, or depressed. Just off. Like someone had reached through time and space, taken a hold of my soul, and pulled it just out of sync with my body.

It was not a good feeling.

I worked hard at my job, and did the things that needed doing around the house, but I felt like I was just trying to fill in the hours before I could go back to bed.

I wasn't taking any new medications, so that wasn't it. In fact, while we were on vacation I quit taking the only med that made me feel bad, because I found something else to take its place. The medicine I quit gave me symptoms very similar to what I was feeling, which is why I was taking it only at night before I quit.

It turns out that going cold on that particular pill was a bad thing. I was experiencing withdrawals. As soon as I resumed taking even half a dose before bed, life turned around significantly. Hooray!

Which is how I ended up with enough energy to actually put together a to-do list yesterday, and even finish half of it.

I won't bore you with the details, except for one item - clothes shopping with Anna. I dreaded this activity, but decided to try to take it in little chunks. Fortunately, our first little chunk yesterday, which consisting of two stores, turned out really well.

I'll have her put on a fashion show so I can post pictures tomorrow. It's what I wanted to post about tonight, but she was busy doing other things. So I did this whole boring prescription drug withdrawal post instead.

Congratulations on making it to the end.

Alyssa and the Big One-Oh

2009-07-13T19:51:00.005-06:00

This weekend, it was Alyssa's turn to slip into double-digit territory. We had her tenth birthday party on Saturday, while the big day itself came on Sunday.

Alyssa and Anna were such good supervisors as I made the birthday cake.

Anna asked if she could run the party. I was quite glad to turn the reins over to her and let her be in charge. She made planned the theme (A Day on the Farm) planned the games, decorated, and put together the goody bags.

She recruited her friend Cassie to come and help.

We held the party at a nearby park, and had five of Alyssa's friends show up, plus a few parents and three of her aides from school.

They did an animal scavenger hunt, and played "Pin the Tail on the Pig."

Alyssa had a great time, and had a pretty good haul.

The cake turned out OK, although even by 10:00 am it was hot enough to melt the run sugar. Fortunately, there was also a breeze. In fact, it was so breezy that I almost didn't get the candles lit. How Kara managed to get a picture during the 3.5 seconds they were both lit is a mystery to me.

Then on Sunday we sang, opened presents and ate cake again.