Wow.

grocery clerk (looking at the bagger)---"OK Mr. Unibomber. Can you help her out to the car?"

bagger (wearing a black hoodie)---"Yep."

me (as we were headed out to the car)---"LOL. She called you the unibomber. How do you like that?"

bagger (looking very confused)---"Yeah. What's that?"

me (picking up my jaw and pushing back my popped out eyeballs)---"You don't know who the unibomber is???????????"

bagger---"No and she keeps calling me that!?!"


Wow. It's real. It's really for real. I'm 33 and that must mean that I'm OLD!!??!! Yep. This happened to me today and I'm still utterly SHOCKED!!!! Who doesn't know who the unibomber is??!!??

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

Our FIRST Pinewood Derby...

I do not remember ever going to any of my brother's "derby's" growing up so I was absolutely clueless when it came to ANY of this. Thank goodness Trevor stepped in and handled this! Carter had so much fun "building" his car with his Dad (even though Trevor did it all) Carter loved every minute of it!
I know that "winning" this event was the grand scheme of things, but for that smile right there on Carter's face, it was all worth "losing" it!!! (we didn't really lose lose but we certainly did not win!)

Anyway, I was so surprised at how much anxiety this brought me! I was so worried that so much emphasis had been put on "winning" and I did not want Carter to be disappointed! I made sure that we stressed "the having fun" part of this. In the end, I should not have even worried. Carter got so excited just by "racing his car" and his excitement made me giggle...really it did!

GOOD JOB Carter!!! You did AWESOME!!!
xoxoxo

ps....kindra may not come next year since she was bored out of her mind! lol

Yep. It's Still Comes Naturally!

though this machine looks straight off of the "silence of the lambs" set, it really is not that complicated. i don't even need or use that back/neck rest part of it. it literally has 2 tethers that go under my butt and thigh area, a knee rest area to lock them in place, and a button that i push to mechanically lift me up. it takes 5 seconds and is the best time spent that i use all day. lol. seriously. but i do have to laugh at all of the "protective" padding that they have all around it. i know that it's a safety feature but still. lol or "hannibal lecter called and he want's his device back" lol


ps....dear machine. i love, love, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you!!!! (but not as much as i love my kids but i'll be honest. it's pretty close!) and i had almost given up on ever having you become part of the family but no worries...i'll still welcome you with open arms!
xoxoxo

Parlez Vous Anglais???

So way too funny. One of my besties and I are planning on doing this at the end of the Summer. But of course I always have to phone them to make sure that they will allow me to participate using my hand-cycle. So I jumped on the phone and their initial voice message answered....speaking French. Riiiiight. Quebec. French. Ok....I can do this. I mean it's only been almost 20 yrs since my "French Immersion Classes" when I lived in Toronto. When I hear it spoken, I can understand so when she said "Pour Administration le choix est numero quatre" (I know...I'm spelling it and saying it wrong but humor me! LOL), I chose number 4. A woman answered and I said "Vous Parlez Anglais?" (do you speak English) She then said "Je parle Francais est tu comprend?" (if I speak French can you understand) Um. Um. Sure. Here we go.....And I began. The best part was that as soon as she began to speak, French mode set into my brain and the words just came! I mean, I'm sure I slaughtered the pronunciation and I'm sure I made some mistakes but we totally carried on an understood conversation! I hung up with a total smile on my face. I seriously love that I have that "French language memory bank" in my brain! Waaaahooooo. I can still say that I speak "Franglais"!!!

so i must say. it's been a good week. a great week, really. i'm always so surprised at some of the things that happen or at least at the random times that they do. and lately at the times when i don't feel "i'm doing what i should be doing" or "not doing certain aspects of my life as well as i could be". but then these random things happen and i'm brought back to the realization that i'm not alone and that my hard work is paying off.

but let's be honest. it's not always sunshine and rainbows in my world, though that's what it may seem. i was talking to one of my girls the other night and she informed me that she vicariously lives through me. what?!? why?!? i quickly informed her that no. i would honestly trade it in in a heartbeat for normal. for a healthy and loving marriage. for someone who is as real and honest as i am. for my best-friend to be there right along side me with everything, both the good and the bad. for someone that i could depend on no matter what. for someone else who is finally "in charge". (though the question still is in my brain...could the dominate kt really let someone else be in charge? hmmmm....tbd)

"don't get me wrong" i said. "i love my life. i know that i have it great and that we get to play and that i get to do things that most don't but it gets lonely at times. i look at friends who are married and who are honest about it and i long for that."

and then we talked about the good stuff that stays in the vault. LOL

now that was also after a day of listening to this or to "imogen heap" which are the songs that you should listen to when you are happily giddy and in love. not when you have been thinking about how much your life sucks cause you don't have your best-friend here to listen to it with. LOL!

anyway, no my life does not suck. it really is perfect for me. it is and the love life? it's only when i THINK-THINK about it or i see my friends cute hubbys or when i see my guy friends acting all in love. but it is what it is and forcing it will NEVER work and DWELLING on it won't get it here any faster. i am just sick of going out with guys that seem to always let me down! (again another question. do i have too high of expectations? possibly. again...tbd)

which is when another friend of mine just said it point blank.

"thank goodness for these tender mercies to help you make it through the garbage."

EXACTLY.

so that's the key. concentrating on the positives, not the negatives but don't forget. i am human! so cut me some slack to those who are thinking "waaaaa waaaaa waaaaa" :)

here's another positive. literally for the past 7 yrs, i have been fighting with every insurance company possible to allow me to have my own "standing frame" at my house. lol standing? what's that. but really and the thought of forking out $6000 kills me. i think that i'll rig something up myself but that never happens. anyway, tuesday afternoon, i got a phone call asking me for my address to deliver my standing frame.

"wait. what? what? WHAT?"

so yes. my medical equipment hooook up totally came through and it came!!!! it was so funny because i forget that my kids have never seen me stand up. i forget that their memories are not like mine. they were laughing so hard with excitement which made me giggle but the best thing was what carter said....

"mom. mom!?! you're really tall. so you weren't lying. you really did play. you really were a basketball player!?!"

"uhhhhhhh. YEAH! what? you think that i was lying this whole time?!?"

way too perfect. way too perfect carter, coming from you.

anyway. life goes on. i know that it will all work out. i'm lucky because it always does work out. i just forget sometimes, lol, and need to vent. i'm random and randomly great things happen for me. remember? tender mercies.....

Ascend---A Humanitarian Alliance

Through some more of those random events that luckily get to happen to me, I have become friends with this guy. He has been working a lot with the Ascend Alliance organization already and now I get to too! The best part is that not only will we be presenting and speaking at their annual gala but we'll be going...YES GOING to Peru on one of their Humanitarian Expeditions!!! I am dying with excitement to go and serve! Never in a million years would I have thought that this Summer I would be in Peru. I warned them that the first day we arrive, I will probably be a balling wreck. I mean, heck, I cry at "The Biggest Loser" and "Extreme Home Makeover" so I can only imagine?!? But I know that I will fall in love with the people that we will be serving and love doing anything that I can to help them improve their way of life! What a humbling experience it will be. I can't wait! Funny too that my brother will also be in Peru during that same time since that is where he will be serving an LDS mission. We won't be together but I'm so excited that we'll get to experience some of the same things! Again, how random is that?!? For me this is another example of being in the right place, at the right time and following your gut!

I'm trying to also tie in together some additional work here with The Utah Hand-Cycle team and am always looking for sponsors. Please let me know if you know of anyone that would be interested or if you have any ideas that I could use. Thanks!!!

ps...i made reno a promise that i would explain why he's growing a beard. one of his "boys" is currently going through chemo and so they have "made an arrangement" and NO. he is not letting himself go. (did you know? people actually care and write about his grooming habits?!? what the???)