The "F" Bomb

A little rant...

Today while I was at work, I decide to take a mini break and check my facebook page.  I play a mean game of scrabble (ongoing) with a good family friend, and I like to check in every once in a while to see if its my move.

Anyway, when I logged on to my account the first thing that caught my eye was in the news feed: my niece Jennah wrote a really nasty little note to my niece Holly (her younger sister) in which she called Holly the f-word.

Now, maybe its my age catching up to me, but I have to admit I almost fainted... she's only 14 using language like that!  Whoa!  I think I finally understand when my mother used to say things like, "Your grandfather would just die if he hear you talk like that."  I didn't drop the "F" bomb until I was at least a senior in high school, and maybe not even until college- or if I did it was rare, and I don't remember ever calling someone a "F".

I called Jennah up and told her to remove the comment/post it immediately.  That is just not something you write in a public forum, let alone say to your not-quite-12-year-old sister at the age of 14.

She's a good girl and she removed it immediately without even trying to plead her case.  She's much better behaved than I was in that way... I always pleaded my case, even when I know I'm wrong (I should have been a lawyer!)

I actually remember sitting in a car with my older brother John (the girls' dad), and using the word "$h!t."  I remember the lecture I got from my big brother.  Oy!  It lasted forever, and it went something along the lines of, "Nice girls don't use language like that."

Maybe I'm a hypocrite for getting so upset with Jennah... I have to admit, that I talk like a sailor now.  I drop that word all the time and I hate it.  It sounds so unintelligent and crass, and frankly, I'm better than that.  I suddenly feel guilty for possibly passing on my foul mouth to my very impressionable nieces whom I love!

Plus yesterday, when I got home from work, I let Linus into the front yard with me while I checked the mail.  He loves the front yard where he rarely gets to go, plus I do this from time to time (more often lately) to remind passersby that we not only have a security system, but we have a dog as well.

Bad idea...

Linus saw a skateboarder cruising down the street and took off faster than I have ever seen him move into traffic to bark at the feet of the boarder.  Besides almost killing himself, he came close to causing a huge accident on our busy street.  I screamed his name, cars honked loudly, but he somehow made it across the street and got to the skateboarder... Barking away.

The little jerk skateboarder got off his/her (I honestly couldn't tell- yesterday I thought it was a girl, but today I saw the same kid and thought it was a boy) skateboard and started yelling obscenities at me and kicking Linus.  Combined with the honking vehicles on the street, I was trying very hard to keep my cool.  But then the little SOB said something nasty that I don't remember, and kicked Linus one more time for good measure (apparently) and I lost it.

I started yelling back with equally foul language and I fiery vigor that I rarely get worked into.  The skateboarder took off scared at something I said.  I was in such a frenzy with everything going on I seriously don't remember much other than the "F" word being used.  It was awful.  I felt awful about it even as it was happening.

When I finally got Linus back into the yard and then into the house scolding him sternly for his reckless and flat out unacceptable behavior my blood was really pumping.  I hate getting so worked up, because it kind of stays in me for a while and I get edgy and- well, the best way to describe it is the New Yorker in me comes out in full force, and she is not nice.  She is hard and angry.

Sunday, David and I went and saw the movie Midnight in Paris at the indie movie theater the Flicks, and I think that movie, combined with the above stated events has really got me to thinking, what's happened to me?  To everyone?  Why have we let our vast English language get so small and uncouth?
   
Is it because time moves faster these days?  Technology is ahead of linguistics, perhaps?  Did we behave better as a society 10 years ago?  20?  30?  Spell-check, Twitter and texting have certainly done nothing for our vocabulary or our ability to spell.

Why is everyone so angry all the time these days?  I say angry, because there has to be a reason people use language like that in every day conversations, I mean they aren't nice words and usually they're used to spout an angry point of view (i.e. you F---, F-ing A--Hole!, F--- You!)  I also can't believe high school and college age kids would scream curse words like that at a total stranger- an adult no less- like that person did at me.  And yet, I stooped to their level and screamed them right back.

My mother was horrified when I told her.

How do you feel about the "F" word?

Well, this little incident with Jennah has certainly woken me up today.  I need to call and thank her.  I'm lucky to have such wonderful nieces and nephews to teach me these things- especially before I have kids of my own!  From today forward I am going to find as many other words to explain things as possible... no more swearing.  It's too easy and it just sounds ignorant.

Me and my beautiful nieces- Gabby, Hannah, Kaitlin, Holly, Jennah, and Moriah at my wedding

Who could possibly want to kick this sweet boy?

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the one year anniversary of our wedded bliss...

I love you more every day Mr. David J. Lopez!

All photos by Krakora Studios

Ship Drawings...

Does it get any cuter than this?!  

Needless to say, his booth was one of the most popular at the Saturday Market this week!

Frustration... Can I have a Reset Button, please?!

The last post I titled "Frustration" was about David.  Since then, David's knee is all fixed and he's even riding his bike something like 16 miles a day to and from work.  What can I say... He's a stud.

This "Frustration" post is about me.  I'm frustrated.  I've never thought of myself as a sickly person.  In fact, I'd actually go so far as to say that I'm healthier than 90% of the American public.  I admit I'm not a vegan or on a raw diet or even close to being the healthiest person in the world, but I eat well... I rarely, if ever, go to fast food restaurants or eat things like donuts... if I eat pizza its gluten-free and vegetarian!  I only drink occasionally, I've never smoked cigarettes or used tobacco products, I exercise, I take my vitamins and supplements, I even go to acupuncture.  I have a solid spiritual foundation and excellent interpersonal relationships including many friends and a fantastic, wonderful, all I could ever ask for husband, and a great job.  I'm also well read and love to learn new things... all of which are supposed to equal a happy, healthy life, right?

That said, I feel like I'm always dealing with something.  Asthma as a child, then scalp psoriasis in my teens, then the colossal ulcerative colitis started in my 20s, and now kidney stones!  Really?!  I have this 3mm stone that the doctors keep telling me is going to pass on its own, and NOTHING YET.  I gotta say, I'm really SICK AND TIRED of peeing through a strainer!

Today I decided I needed more knowledge about all of this, so I went onto the American Kidney Fund's website and did a little research.  This is what I found:

Who gets kidney stones?

Anyone can form a kidney stone, but you may be more likely to have one if you:

• Are male (NOT ME)
• Are Caucasian (ME)
• Are very overweight (NOT ME)
• Have had kidney infections (NOT ME)
• Have a family member with kidney stones (ME- My Dad)
• Have had kidney stones before (NOT ME)
• Eat a lot of animal protein (such as meat and eggs) (NOT ME)
• Do not drink enough liquids (NOT ME)

Other conditions and medicines can also put you at more risk for kidney stones. (ME) ... 
I found this:

People with ulcerative colitis have a higher than normal risk for kidney stones.

How can I prevent future kidney stones?

If you have had kidney stones before, you are more likely to have kidney stones again.  To help keep stones from forming, try to:

• Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day (yesterday I drank twelve 16oz glasses of water and I drink at least a 32 oz bottle of water at work each day plus more at home... I think I'm good here)
• Eat less salt (sodium), meat and eggs (I do like salt, but I don't eat much meat or eggs)
• Find out what type of stone you have 
• Ask your doctor for a urine test 
• Talk to your doctor about your medicines and other tests for kidney stones

Do NOT reduce the calcium in your diet without talking to your doctor first!  Studies show that limiting calcium in your diet may not stop kidney stones from forming and may harm your bones.

The furnace repairman came by the house today and I told him about my stone.  He said he gets them all the time and to take shots of Apple Cider Vinegar throughout the day.  I tried it once so far.  Why not, right?!  Nothing yet, but here's hoping!  If anyone has any other suggestions as to what else I should do to get this stone to move more quickly through my system, please drop me a line!  I'm all ears.

What I'd really like to know though, is there a "Reset" button on our bodies somewhere that no one has told me about?  Like when my internet just stops functioning correctly, and all we have to do is unplug it for 10 seconds and then plug it back in and, Viola!  It works!  I'd like to push my "Reset" button now please!  Can someone tell me where it is, PLEASE?

I can hardly remember the days pre-colitis when I could "hold it" if I had to or when I didn't know where every bathroom was the minute I walked into a place or when I still got embarrassed about evening using a public toilet to poo- it was so much more dainty and feminine of me.  Those were the  days... I miss those days... I was such a trooper back then... I was up for anything and everything...

God, I wish I hadn't taken them for granted like I know I did.

Security

I can't believe I haven't posted about this sooner...

After a rash of burglaries and a 6 time rapist on the loose in the neighborhood, David and I decided to get a security system.

We weren't actually bothered by the news (after all we do live in Boise, ID) until I personally witnessed a man lurking in front of our house and when I went to snap a photo of him, he off and disappeared...

Sadly, this is all I was able to get of the guy.

And then the next day I was running very late to work and this non-desrcript white van with no back seats drove up and parked in front of the house.  When the driver noticed me in the window she got this startled look on her face and drove off like a bat out of hell.  Unfortunately this time I wasn't quick enough to get a picture or the license number.

After speaking with law enforcement and the neighbors, we realized that both the neighbors have had things stolen in the past few weeks, that's when we took serious notice.  It's not that we have anything valuable to protect, but there is something about having your belongings gone through- your private space violated- the potential for something horrible to happen...

I also just saw the movie "Felon" with Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, have you seen it?  My boss told me about it.  It's about a man (Stephen Dorff) who is convicted of manslaughter after a guy breaks into his house through his child's bedroom window.  The guy (Dorff) chases the thief out of the house swinging a baseball bat and accidently hits the guy too hard in the head and the thief dies, the guy goes to prison for accidently killing the thief while trying to protect his wife and child.

The rest of the story is about the injustices he faces in prison as he just tries to keep his head down and not get killed.  It's a fabulous movie, but it certainly makes me question the justice system in America.  Shouldn't we be allowed to protect our own homes from people trying to do us harm?  Check it out on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1117385/

Anyway, back to our new home security.  Well, a few days ago a man knocks on our door with an ADT shirt on.  Apparently the company was doing a few installs in the area so they sent their sales team out to knock on doors. We let the guy in cautiously (and called ADT and the Better Business Bureau to verify who the guy was).  David is much more suspicious than I am- which is frankly a good thing and has served us well.  He's a great protector for our family :)

By the end of the evening we were owners of an ADT home security system... with the works.  Ain't nobody breaking into our house without getting caught!  I took the liberty of putting stickers in all the key windows and a sign in back yard and one in front that let's everyone know we mean business.  I admit, I went a little overboard and David asked if I was trying to decorate with all the ADT stickers, but hey, no one can say they weren't warned!

...And this is only about half of the stickers and signs I posted... :)

Rollin' with the Stones...

Kidney Stones that is.  My dad gets them all the time, and I never quite grasped the pain he was in until about 4 a.m. on Sunday morning.

O.M.G.

It felt like someone punched me in the back, no wait the front, no... the back again... was someone playing ping pong in my gut?  Or as the nurses referred to it, my "right flank."

Poor David.  I woke him up to tell him I was in pain, and that I didn't want to go to the hospital around 4:30am.  Then about an hour later, after trying to rest in every possible position, on the bed, the couch, and even the floor in both bathrooms, I woke him back up and told him he had to take me to the hospital.

I somehow calmed myself on the car ride over to the hospital to the point where David turned to me and asked me if it was really necessary?  "Yes. It. Is. Necessary," I spat.  I could barely breathe!

The nurses admitted me immediately, got me hooked up to an IV (I've got the marks to prove it, thank you, to the male nurse with plumber hands) and shot me full of morphine... Ah, sweet morphine!

Only, it didn't quite have the effect I was going for.  It only dulled the sharpness... but the pain was still there.  I felt like Lady Macbeth wanting to yell at the nurses- "Out, damned spot! Out, I say!"  That last bit was a combination of the Morphine and having just been at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival... As a side note, the production of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" was very good, I was very sad and embarrassed to leave during the intermission due to pain in my gut... but then, lately, what's new?

They sent me for a CAT Scan.  And when I came back they pumped me full of more morphine... Ah sweet morphine!  There you are... it finally kicked in!

It was right when I was just drifting into a beautiful morphine induced slumber that the doctor came in... "You have a kidney stone. It's 3mm in size, and you're just going to have to pee it out, so we'll send you home with some pills to manage the pain, some pills to help you pee, and some pills for the nausea that the other pills will make you feel."

(Thick sarcasm) Lovely.

Great.  They took out the IV and sent us on our merry way.  I slept ALL DAY Sunday.  Minus an hour here and an hour there.  I was out cold.  Any time I woke up I was nauseated or trying to go pee, which was more like dribbling... tinkle tinkle tinkle.  So I figured I'd just try to sleep the stone out of my body.

In the evening I ate some food and drank the juice that David brought home.  That was a mistake!  I vomited all night long.  All night long and all morning long.  Until 9am or so, when my doctor's office finally opened and I called them in desperate need for help!

They said they were sorry I felt so bad, but that they couldn't really do anything for me and they sent me back into the ER.  Obviously they'd (the ER) given me something that wasn't sitting right in my gut, and I was also clearly dehydrated.

So I spent from 9:30 this morning until 3 or 3:30 this afternoon strapped to a hospital gurney wearing an ever so fashionable hospital gown, getting poked and prodded and told nothing much... only that they had pumped me full of two liters of saline and that they were changing my nausea meds and I still had to go home and pee in the strainer and look for gold- I mean a kidney stone... Oy!

I am headed to bed now.  Please wake me when its all over!

Home Sweet Home... or Swimming through the Midwestern Humidity

Hello All!

Last week I visited the Midwest on a whirlwind tour of family, friends, more family, more friends, and then more family again.  It's always nice to "Go Home," and no matter how old I get or how much my life has changed, I must admit that I simply love driving up my parents driveway and walking into the house I grew up in.  The familiarity of everything is so inexorable- the way the light hits in the sky, the smells, the sounds, everything feels so right.  This place will always have a piece of my heart.

Sunset over Lake Wisconsin from my parents house

That said, Holy Humidity Batman!  OMG!  I stepped off the plane last Tuesday into 95+ degree weather plus something like 80% humidity.  I thought I was going to die a slow miserable sweaty and smelly death. Ugh!  Thankfully, when I met my dad for lunch as his golf club, we ate indoors in the nice comfortable air conditioning.  When I left Boise that morning, it was cool and raining, so I was wearing jeans, a shirt, a jacket, and a scarf, and I forgot to pack shorts!  Dad took pity on me and he sent me into the pro-shop at the club bought me some shorts and a t-shirt.

I was able to see a bunch of friends from both Lodi and Madison while I was home... unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures like I had planned to while I was with them.  But, I must say, my girlfriend Stacy is the cutest pregnant lady ever!  And Nicci's sweet baby girl Magnolia (Maggie) made my ovaries hurt - I just love her.  I could have held her for hours and hours... can I have one just like that?!

Driving Through WI

On Thursday I drove down to Dubuque, IA (in the rain with no windshield wipers- thank you Enterprise-Rent-a-Car) to see David's sister Marlee and her family.  Marlee has become one of my closest friends and I was really excited to spend some time with her and her family.  Their home is absolutely lovely, and Dubuque is at its most beautiful at this time of year.  Peonies were in bloom everywhere, and everything was lush and green.  My nephews Carson and Walker were out of school, so I was able to spend some quality time with them which was fun.  They are boys through and through, that's for sure!  It's fun to be around all the commotion.

Marlee and David got us tickets to see the band Chicago at the River Festival that was going on in town.  I did remember to snap some pictures there...

My beautiful sister-in-law Marlee and her handsome husband David Tart

You know you're in the mid-west when...

You can't really tell, but this guy is wearing a Boise State hat.... Bronco fans everywhere!

I felt like I was going to see Sarah Palin around every corner!  The band Foghat opened for Chicago and unfortunately we all wanted to shoot ourselves by they were done.  They were mostly just loud.  If you don't remember Foghat, they are a one-hit-wonder band who did the song Slow Ride (http://www.foghat.com/).  Chicago didn't come on until 9:30.  We stayed for most of the show, but by around 10:45 it started to rain and we got out of there just in time for the heavens to open up.

The next day, Marlee and I drove to Chicago and did some shopping at the mall in Schaumburg, IL.... They have a Nordstrom which is all I need :)  It was really fun.  Marlee is a fantastic shopper, and we both got a few cute things.  I told her she has to come out and help me go through my closet to get rid of things and put together a yard sale and go shopping on the money we make from it.  I love the idea of having a personal shopper!

My original reason for making the trip to the midwest was to go to my friend Maren Baker's wedding.  So, after shopping, Marlee and I ran to our hotel, quickly got dressed, and then fought our way through traffic to get to the ceremony.  It was lovely.  Maren was a spectacularly beautiful bride, and I was happy to see she and her husband Matt so in love.  It was an honor to be included.  We sat at a great table, and I of course proceeded to get into a fight with the gentleman next to me about the merits (and in my mind demerits) of the BCS, and why a playoff is necessary in college football.  Luckily we ended on good terms, I think mostly because he was shocked to be having this argument with a woman!  Marlee and I didn't stay too long into the night.  I was exhausted by ten, and we went back to the hotel and climbed into bed... I was out like a light the minute my head hit the pillow.

The  bride dancing with her Daddy

Sunday morning Marlee and I parted in Rockford, IL and I drove back up to Madison to join my father and my three brothers and my sister in the Father-son/Father-daughter Golf Tournament at our dad's club.  I am happy to report that my dad and I won the 9 Hole Father-Daughter Division!  AND my dad dad and my brother John won the Father-Son 18 Hole Division!  My dad was able to take home 2 of the 8 trophies they gave out.  Go Dad!  My sister and I both actually played amazingly well considering we pick up a golf club once a year at best.  Dad says its that "natural Manchester talent"... I think it may have just been luck.  Anyway, it was really fun- I love all of my in-laws, but it was especially nice to have time some alone time with Dad and his kids.

Left to right: Anabel, Morgan, Katie, Dad, Chet, John 

Winners of the 9 Hole Father-Daughter Tournament

Monday we all left.  Katie and John's flights were delayed twice, so we all got to have lunch together.  Thank God for my friend Ann Daily who let me use her computer to fix a work thing in the middle of all the commotion!  I was then bumped from my flight to the later one and Morgan and I left within a half hour of each other, which allowed us to have a good chat while we waited.  All in all, it was a great trip and I'm looking forward to next year!

I'll say it again, there's nothing quite like going home!