The Last Day Of October

It's almost the end of October. There's only about an hour left.

There were so many things I had wanted and planned to do during this month and most of them didn't take place. I wanted to:

• Go visit the kids in Utah;
• Go to Denver and spend the weekend to see the King Tut exhibition; and
• Get out and explore more of Wyoming before the snow and cold weather set in.

I did none of that. Instead:

• Joe got out of the hospital after being in there almost 2 1/2 weeks. (Hence the reason for not going to see the kids and the King Tut exhibit);
• Joe started going to dialysis three times a week - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays;
• We went on endless follow-up visits to doctors with every Friday revolving around something medically connected.

But, during this month:

• It was good to have Joe back home with me;
• I got my Christmas present early - a netbook;
• I got a new job at the oilfield - no more procurement now I'm a floating assistant to field and office personnel. So my job is different most every day and that's not boring.
• I ate Indian food at a new restaurant which opened in Casper;
• I finally bought a membership at Sam's Club;
• I met my new visiting teachers;
• I almost lost Aunt Rachel, but she's still with us;
• I called the ambulance to help me when Joe's blood sugar dropped to 39;
• A just released sister missionary brought her family by to meet us because she loves us;
• I made a BIG pot of chicken and dumplings and shared it with several people;
• I baked about 14 dozen Halloween cookies and gave them all away; and
• Said goodbye to Jim and Jeannette Munger who moved back to Florida. I will and do miss them.

I'm sure many more things happened, but this month has been a blur and it went by so fast. Here's hoping that tomorrow brings a more peaceful, fun and exciting month. (fingers crossed).

My Halloween Memories

I don't recall any pictures taken of me in costume. Hmmm... I don't recall any store bought costumes either. Mom always did a wonderful job of making sure we had wonderful costumes. I always wanted to be a fairy princess though.

Halloween was always such a fun time for me growing up. It was a time when Mom and Dad could send me and the rest of my siblings off all by ourselves with a time to return and didn't have to worry about us. Since we generally lived on or near a military base, it was considered safe. And, at that time in the world, there wasn't any reason to believe it shouldn't be safe. The news didn't report child kidnappings, objects planted in candy or anything else that could harm children. People even gave away home-baked items then and you took them.

I remember what was probably my last night of Trick or Treating. All of us kids left the house with our return time. Mom left instructions for us to not eat any of the candy until we returned home. We went by one house and I saw the lady put a packaged small pecan pie into our Halloween bags. I knew I wanted that and didn't want to share so upon our return home I went into the laundry room. Using only the light from the hallway, I found the pecan pie, opened it up very quietly and began eating it. Halfway through the pie, one of the kids discovered me and turned on the light. Then, much to my surprise and disguist, I discovered that my coveted and desired had mold growing on it. I made a fast dash to the bathroom to wash out my mouth and brush my teeth. I should have listened to Mom.

Bra Day

Yep, there is even a national Bra Day and that's tomorrow. Who knew? So in honor of that I would like to thank my friends and family for all their "support" throughout my life. Let's talk briefly about the "over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder" that holds the "ta-tas", the "jugs", the "girls", boobs, hooters, etc.

For those who are interested, I began wearing my first itsy-bitsy bra at the age of 12 and hated it then and still do. Who among us who wears a bra has actually got a bra that fits properly? Is that nodding heads that I hear along with the grumbles out there? I can safely say that out of the dozens of bras purchased and worn in my lifetime, few have properly ever fit like they should. At this point in my womanhood my body has shape shifted into almost every possible formation imaginable. My poor "girls", I apparently didn’t and don't appreciate them and still didn’t honor them with the right bra. I've had padded, underwire, back fasteners and front snaps. If I could, I'd never wear another bra! Eventually marriage and nursing baby altered my chest and my "girls" are mere shadows of their various former selves. I’m not being self deprecating, just honest.

I don't know how every other female learns about the fundamentals of tucking the "girls" into their bra, but I learned from watching my mother. I found out it's a very specialized routine.

It's time to buy a couple of other new bras cause if there was a contest for the "Ugliest and Most Worn Out Bra", I'd probably win. Unfortunately the size tag is frayed and faded and now I'll have to start all over trying to find the "perfect" bra. Oh boy! And, did I mention how much I hate the Victoria's Secret bra commercials?

There's so much more that could be written about bras and boobs, but I'll say no more...for now.

Nancy

Tomorrow is Nancy's birthday. You see, she's my younger sister. I used to call her my little sister and she still is weight wise. Realizing it is her birthday tomorrow, I spent some time (well, at least a couple of nano seconds) thinking about that. So as my present to her, I thought I'd write a few things about her. (In no particular order).

(On our way west to California to fly to Japan in 1965. Nancy, Susan, me and Jimmy in the front.)

Nancy had a nickname - Peanut. I never had a nickname other than my Grandmother McGhee calling me Caroline. Does that mean that your parents love someone more when they give one of their children a nickname?

Nancy was a hula dancer. She would perform on cue when requested by Mom to "dance" the hula and sing "Oh, Let The Sunshine In" for anyone who happened to stop by the house for coffee and brownies. It was nauseating and irritating for me - especially after performance 1,025.

At one of the Christensen's daughters birthday party in Japan. (That's me on the left front, Susan is behind me, Mom is in the middle back and Nancy is front right).

Nancy was always perfect. Good grades. Never gave anyone any trouble. I don't remember her ever getting a spanking unless it was because I'd forced her to do something wrong and then she got in trouble. Always did what she was supposed to do. Because Nancy was such a "goody two shoes", my only revenge was to terrorize her at night. Susan and I would crawl up on opposite sides of her bed and share the snot out of her. For some reason that still brings a smile to my face.

(After a day at the beauty shop here are four lovely ladies).

Nancy never lived on her own. Never shared an apartment with me, never moved away from home until she got married and never bought her own car. I remember when she ordered pizza and had it delivered to her home for the first time while Donald was away in the Navy.

(Donald, Nancy and Dale and Susan and me and Rudy LaMonaco one Sunday after church. Susan was married, Nancy was still dating Donald and I was dating Rudy at the time).

I taught Nancy how to cook her first Thanksgiving turkey. She and Donald were living in Tennessee and I went to visit them. I remember it was so cold that my door handle froze and there was icicles hanging from my side mirrors.

(This picture was taken shortly after Susan was engaged, if I remember).

Nancy used to take me on dates with her and Donald until they introduced me to Rudy LaMonaco. Now that was a good thing, but that's a whole nuther story.

Nancy asked me to be her Lamaze coach when she was expecting Helen. Donald was in Bermuda and would not make it back in time for the birth. I had tried for several years to get pregnant and she came to me one day and asked it I would be her coach. She said that maybe that way I would be able to experience and share in being a mother. What a kind and loving gesture that was for me. I remember getting the phone call to hurry to the hospital - she was in labor and I had to hurry the 45 miles to Moody AFB to get there. Nancy was like a wild animal. Though I did as I had been taught in Lamaze classes - offering ice chips, soothing her forehead with a cool washcloth, helping her hee-hee-who; hee-hee-who; hee-hee-who, she grabbed my hand and told me that if I touched her again she would break my fingers. I believed her and so I shifted my attention and watched the birth of Helen. What a wonderful experience that was for me, especially when they put her in my arms after wrapping her in a blanket.

(This picture was taken the day Corey was brought home from the hospital. Helen is helping Nancy hold him).

I took Nancy to Washington, D.C. so that she could apply for her marriage license to be married in the Washington Temple. That's the trip when Mom and Aunt Rachel came with us. Refer to blog dated March 8, 2010 entitled "It'll Be A Cold Day In Hell...

(Nancy, Mom and Aunt Rachel at the White House).

One of the most loving things that Nancy ever did was ask me to participate in the birth/death of Timothy. That was all written about in a previous blog so I won't write about it again. (See May 31, 2008 blog).

Happy birthday Nancy and many, many more. I love you.

Dress Like a Total Dork Day

Looking at this picture need I say more...?

(That's me, Susan, Jimmy and almost Nancy admiring our new little of Siamese kittens when we were living in Valdosta, Georgia. Picture circa 1970),

Celebrating Long Distance Day

When I found out that today was Long Distance Day it made me stop and think what a blessing the telephone is. Without it I would be unable to call the people I love. I would miss the phone calls that I have most everyday with my dad on my way to the car pool parking lot. During those phone calls we get the chance to catch up on what happened the day before. Long distance also affords me the opportunity to chat with Mom on those rare occasions when she is awake and lucid. I miss the long and detailed calls we used to have several times a day when living in Georgia.

With long distance I get to speak with my grandson who is now beginning to have real conversations with his Grandma Carol. I especially enjoy it when he "shows" me something through the telephone. I get the chance to speak with Corey and Nikki and share in the activities of their lives. With my cell phone, I get the opportunity to experience some of the fun events as they happen in the lives of the kids.

This one was entitled "Ah, the art of buggy surfing"...

This one is "I love ice cream"...

"Check out my new bed gmom and gpa"...

"Saturday With Daddy" . (Notice the sweatshirt).

"He's a regular Picasso"...

Long distance is a wonderful thing in that you can call old friends and family whether they are across the country or in another country. I remember when I used to think long and hard before making a long distance call as it was quite expensive to do so. Now days, we don't think twice about doing so. The longest long distance calls I've ever made were to and from England to the McLean's. (I almost married their son John. That is a whole nuther story).

I still remember the first phone number I ever had to memorize. I was in first grade and back in those days you learned your pone number just in case you ever got lost. It was PARK 35496 in Hampton, Virginia. The number was dialed on a telephone that looked similar to this...

When Joe and I first started dating, we would talk on the telephone for several hours each night. I can't even begin to remember what all we talked about for those hours on end! Ah, new love - it makes you crazy and non-sensible. Think of all the sleep I lost! And that was long distance time. I can't remember the exact amount of my cellphone bill after the first month because I definitely went over my monthly minutes, but I do remember it was very expensive!

The strangest long distance call I made was on top of a snowy mountain peak outside Laramie, Wyoming using a bag cell phone when Corey and I were on vacation. We had borrowed it from some friends so that we could keep in touch with Mom and Dad while we were on our trip and we would also be able to book motel rooms when we decided to stop for the night.

Anyway, I could go on and on about how long distance has affected by life, but won't.