Changes

So I'm sure you've heard the idea that the only constant thing in life is change. Well, I can tell you for a fact that it's true. I've seen it manifested in my life many times. You can be going along at a nice steady pace only to realize the road ahead is curving whether you're ready for it or not. That just means you need to grab onto the wheel and proceed with caution, especially if the curve is an especially sharp one. Sometimes it's a series of small turns all in a row, but the funny thing is that no matter where the road takes you, when you turn to look back, you can't see what you've left behind. There's a definite message to that: move on with your life.

You can remember the past, hopefully with joy and perhaps a little sorrow, but also with the knowledge that you learned from where you came and are eagerly anticipating the future, no matter how many curves the road may hold.

Okay faithful blog readers--I realize that I have managed to wax philosophical, and I hope it's not too much. I tried to keep my philosophizing at a minimum. I am just thinking about recent events in my life and how certain things are changing, some as I type this. I believe in the importance of change since it helps me to grow and stretch my wings. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it immediately; it just means I have to learn to deal, which is sometimes easier said than done. But never fear because I will be fine.

Memorial Day Hike

So sometimes although I have the best intentions to post something, I don't always get around to it as quickly as I'd like to. Such is the case with this post (and let's be honest--most of the posts from this month). I meant to write it either Monday or yesterday and then I got busy and didn't have time. Oh well! It's still valid no matter when I post it, unless it's six months later or something and then it's not timely in any way shape or form. . . :)

Monday was Memorial Day, as I'm certain all of you are well aware. In my last post I expressed concern about the forecast since a group of friends, including both myself and Speak, were planning to go on a hike. To our surprise and delight, Monday dawned sunny and beautiful--perfect weather for an outdoor activity. Yay!

My friend who planned the hike (again, I don't have a good pseudonym for him so he'll just have to remain nameless for now) had decided on a trail that would be a good beginner's hike, at my request. However, it didn't quite work out the way we had planned since the road to the top of the canyon was still closed. That meant our 5-mile hike would turn into a 14-mile hike instead.

Since most of us didn't want to spend all day hiking, we decided to take a different trail. It was shorter, only 1.5 miles, but we climbed 1,200 feet. Most everyone else did great with it, but since I'm a slacker recently and haven't been going to the gym, it was harder for me than I'd like to admit. In fact, for part of the hills, I had my own personal jet engine that helped push me up the incline. I appreciated the assistance but hoped my jet engine still enjoyed himself too. What a trooper! I had a great time, and the view was beautiful. Here's some pictures. Enjoy!!

Here's Yuri and Heidi at a viewpoint along the whole way.

The whole group, sans me of course since I was taking the picture. :)

Our fearless leader (and I changed the font blue just for him since I'm 95 percent sure he wouldn't approve of the pink, since it's too girly.)

Here's the viewpoint. Isn't it beautiful?

Finally, here's me with the viewpoint from the other side with me in it of course.

Spring Rain

Last night I had the lovely and wonderful experience of going to sleep listening to the sound of the rain. Can I just tell you that is one of my favorite sounds, and smells, in the whole world?! I find it so relaxing. Rain just seems to cleanse as it falls. It also freshens the air, and especially at this time of year, you know about the new growth it's helping foster. Since I sure do love flowers and green trees, I know the rain is essential. It also doesn't hurt the desert environment in which I live.

The only problem is the timing of the rain. Unfortunately, it has the capacity to mess up plans you've made, particularly those that involve being outside. Tomorrow's Memorial Day activity with a group of friends involves a significant chunk of outside time, so it'll be a bummer if the rain continues. I'm hoping for the best, but I guess we'll have to see. Speak and I were trying to come up with some alternate activities just in case our activity gets rained out, but pretty much we got nothin'.

Here's to hoping the clouds go away long enough tomorrow for us to enjoy a lovely outside activity. If not, it's back to the drawing board to see what we can figure out.

The Dark Horse Rides Again

Don't you just love those movies or books where the person nobody thinks has much potential suddenly ends up performing feats that seemed impossible only pages or minutes before? I've always loved those types of stories. I think it's the strength of the human spirit twist that appeals to me.

Tonight I saw one for real when Kris Allen was crowned the 2009 American Idol!!!

In case you can't tell from the 10 exclamations in the last sentence, I'm pretty pumped about it! Kris has sneaked up on everybody to take the crown right out from under Adam Lambert, who seemed like a shoe-in to win for most of the season. I couldn't be more delighted about Kris' victory because not only is he a talented vocalist and performer, he's also quite attractive. Nothing like a little eye candy to make the performance that much more enjoyable. :) Have no fear though--I'm just enjoying the view because Kris is very much married to a cute little blonde that they show every week.

I was delighted with his victory because I think he genuinely deserves it, and I sure love to root for the underdog. I must confess that I totally thought Adam had the competition in the bag, but I was wrong and couldn't be happier about that. I also got so tired of Paula telling Danny Gokey every week "See you in the finals" when I didn't necessarily think he was headed in that direction or if he was that he deserved it. And I loved the look on Kris' face last week when Ryan Seacrest told him that he was in the finals--he was genuinely shocked. Tonight after he won Ryan was asking him what he thought, and he couldn't even praise himself because he was talking so much about how talented everyone, particularly Adam, was. I'm sure he was still pretty astounded at the results too, so I can't blame him for being speechless.

I think, like last year's David Cook, Kris is going to do well. His bluesy singing style (and let's be honest--sexy looks) is going to appeal to the masses. His wife better keep a tight hold on him; not that he would do anything bad, but I'm just sayin'. He's a class act--the real deal. Not that Adam wouldn't be too if he won, but I'm just so incredibly impressed with Kris.

Like millions of other people around the United States let me say an official congratulations to our 2009 American Idol Kris Allen!!

On the road again

As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend I went to Idaho for my sister's graduation. I was so happy to be a part of such a significant event in her life, but I wasn't excited about the six hour drive to and from Nampa. With my 9-year-old nephew from BC to my parents' house and then having my parents join me from their house to Nampa, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The company sure was nice! When I got tired whilst I was stuck in traffic on the way to pick up my nephew, I called the Bibliophile and had a lovely chat with her, which helped with my fatigue.

The point of this post is a slight rant against Idaho drivers. Now, I admit that I am a born and bred Idahoan myself. I took driver's ed there and felt I received a wonderful education. The only problem with Idaho drivers (well the ones I encountered this weekend anyway) is that they tend to be poky. . . I can say that because my own father is an Idaho driver through and through and, well, he is poky, sometimes ultra poky, but I love him anyway. And in terrible weather conditions, be it snow or a severe thunderstorm, there's nobody else I'd rather ride with.

I have now been living in Utah for four years and I'm afraid I've become somewhat of a Utah driver. I'm still a safe driver, but I do like to go fast, or at least the speed limit. :) I was super irritated on the way to graduation Saturday because these poky Idaho drivers do not understand the idea that the far left lane is the fast lane. I was in a hurry to get to graduation and every time I turned around (or I guess in my case changed lanes), I was stuck behind a slow driver! And these weren't just going slow, they were going under the speed limit. It was really frustrating. My dad was quite amused by this and kept laughing at me. I guess it was good he did so because it helped me regain my cool.

Anyway, lest you think I'm anti-Idaho or something I should clarify: I very much love my home state and the people in it, including the slow drivers, except when I'm stressed and in a hurry. Then I learn the true meaning of the word patience. . .

So proud I can hardly stand it!!

Oh man! I am surely the slacker child of the world where my blog is concerned this month! Shame on me! The bad thing is I have several entries I'd like to put in here but then they pile up, and it seems I don't get the chance to write them. Uh-oh! I will do my best to catch myself up right now.

So this last weekend I had the opportunity to do something very special: I went to Boise to see my older sister graduate from college. This doesn't sound like the most extraordinary thing in the world except it's been a long road for her strewn with various challenges. After 7 long years attending school, working full-time (she's been the breadwinner in her house for over a year because her husband has been too sick to work) and still mothering two boys, she finally graduated!! Wa-hoo!!!

Here is a picture of the two of us with me being excited about her diploma, or rather the diploma case anyway. :)

When we walked into the Taco Bell Arena on the Boise State University campus last Saturday, "Pomp and Circumstance" was playing since the graduates were marching in. Yes, we were late, but this is my family we're talking about so you should expect us to be late. :) I felt like such a baby because I seriously almost started bawling my eyes out because I was so proud of my sister! I managed to keep it under control though and had the fun task of keeping her two sons entertained throughout the ceremony. Yup, that was really fun. After she got her diploma (case), I gave up and took them outside, as you can see here. Here's the kids in front of the Taco Bell Arena and then having a little fun in front of the Boise State Bronco. Go BSU!! (That's for my younger brother who happens to love BSU.)

I was just reflecting on all the sacrifices she's made to get to the point where she's at, and it touches me to see her achieve this important milestone. It also put me in mind of my own college graduation four years ago. It's hard to believe that it's been that long already, but time passes quickly when you're a working woman who tries to keep a social life on the side and may have delved into the world of freelancing. . . . :) Here's a picture of my parents with our graduate. You go girl!! There might also be one of us having a little fun in front of the BSU Bronco. I just wish it was closer so you could see the expressions on our faces, but oh well.

Sometimes all I can do is say, "Ugh!"

I was talking to a good friend of mine recently (and I still don't have a good pseudonym for him so he'll just have to remain nameless in my blog for the time being) and he was talking about how sucky it is to have emotions sometimes. He was jokingly advocating how much better if would be if we didn't have any emotions at all.

While I agree that sometimes I hate it when I'm feeling something and don't exactly understand why (or would rather not feel), I still wouldn't want to ever be entirely without emotions. I enjoy my humanity thank you very much! But I can see his point--that sometimes it's hard to deal with what you're feeling, and when it gets to be too much, sometimes you wish you didn't have to feel it at all.

Now I don't have to deal with anything as terrible as what he's been through, but sometimes I find myself in some type of funk that I can't seem to get out of. It frustrates me to not understand what I'm feeling and, more importantly, to pull myself out of it. Today was just such a day for me.

It wasn't that I had a bad day or anything; on the contrary, it was a pretty good day. I was quite productive at work, and tonight I was able to finish a project that I needed to do, but my problem was that I felt so emotional the whole day. It's uncomfortable to feel like you're going to burst into tears at any moment for no good reason. I guess it could've had to do with the fact that I took my car in to get the oil changed today expecting to spend only $40 and ended up spending almost $200 instead. Ouch! Or it could've been that my Alleymates are all out the rest of this week so it was rather lonely at work (although it meant I was more productive since I had less distractions, but mostly they're welcome distractions anyway). Or it could've been residual effects from the unreasonably long day I had on Tuesday or even that I'm technically still recovering from being sick. Honestly, I can't say for sure what my deal was, but I was sure frustrated at feeling that way for no good reason.

Ugh! Stinkin' emotions! Here's to hoping my funk is gone tomorrow so I can go back to being Happy Tammy once again. And I get to see my fam again this weekend so that's something to be excited about anyway. :)

A Special Visit to the Hospital

Wow! Welcome back to me! It's pretty much been forever since I've posted anything here and to anyone who faithfully reads my blog, I apologize. The only excuse I have is being sick (which meant I didn't feel like writing) and then just plain being busy. Yes, I am finally feeling better, and I heard it from a doctor's lips on Thursday--I did NOT have swine flu, which I was pretty sure of anyway, but I felt so validated when he told me that!

Anyway, I meant to write this post Monday night, but I stayed up too late talking to Smirk and Speak. Last night I was working until a ridiculous hour of the night, and by the time I got home, I wasn't up to posting in my blog. I might write a separate entry about that though.

Moving right along. The whole point of this post is that I wanted to share my experience from Monday night. Anyone who knows me well probably also knows about my sweet n' sassy niece who has a serious heart condition. She hasn't been doing well at all lately and had actually requested to be put in the hospital. To put this into perspective, she hates the hospital so the fact that she was requesting to be put in is a testament to how horrible she's been feeling.

Anyway, my sister and her husband brought my niece up to PCMC on Monday. She spent most of the day in the clinic having all kinds of tests before they finally admitted her overnight for observation after reducing the dose on one of her meds.

I was surprised on Monday when my other sister, who lives a short distance away, asked if I would be around that night because she wanted to bring her three kids up here so they could visit their cousin in the hospital. I was surprised for several reasons but said I'd be around, so up she came. Of course with small children, it gets a little crazy, but I was so happy to have them. Honestly, having them come up made what would have been a very hard thing into something more bearable. My two sisters and I enjoyed visiting for awhile, the kids had fun seeing each other, and even though he'd never admit it, I'm sure my brother-in-law was happy to see us too. Being the queen of pictures that I am, I have a few I'd like to share here. Sorry about the length of this post--sometimes I just have a lot to say, but I'll stop now so I can post the pictures.

Here's Trellie (with the shades) and the Bumblebee (my nickname for her) on the way to the hospital.

Mr. Gamer teases his younger sister.

Ahhh-- cousinly love and the three girls have a party on the bed. Okay not really, but they did all climb up there. Check the sassy look Trellie is giving me!
Entertaining our patient.
Check out my beautiful sisters. They're so great!

Blown out of proportion perhaps?

Okay, so anybody who doesn't have their head buried in the sand should have heard at least something about the swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, that's had health officials all over the world in such a panic in the last few weeks. I, too, care about this potential health hazard and have no interest in catching it. Whether it's like the regular flu or not, I would rather not end up running around acting like a pig rolling in the mud or something. (Isn't that a symptom of the swine flu? Oh wait--it's really not. Sorry, I'm making light of something I shouldn't. I'll stop now.)

What I don't like about this scare is some of the spiral affect it has, i.e. that if you're sick with something, people jump to conclusions too quickly. When I didn't feel well yesterday and ended up coming home from work early because I felt so terrible, the first thing my colleagues said, some in jest others in all seriousness, was, "Is it the swine flu?"

Two of those people were saying it with sarcasm, and I was amused. I pretend coughed on them (I would never cough on someone intentionally even if they did claim to want to be infected by whatever bug I had) and joked about the health scare my "disease" was going to cause in our workplace. Then I told another friend who gave me a horrified look and suggested I had swine flu. I wish I could say she was joking, but she was actually serious. And she has said something about it to me not once but twice today already! Unless the virus has mutated to the point that it is now airborne (perish the very thought of that!) so someone can get it from being exposed to the elements, there's no way that's what sickness is currently afflicting me.

It just so happens that I was in Idaho this weekend for some key family events (namely a baby blessing and baptism). One of my sisters and my nephew were both pretty sick with a nasty cold. Unfortunately, I was in close proximity to both of them and am 99 percent sure I ended up catching whatever they had. It's a natural consequence of being in the near vicinity of someone who is sick with a contagious virus. My nephew got sick after getting thoroughly chilled from playing soccer in the rain last week. He's the one who was the sicker of the two, and my illness more closely mirrors his, so, again, unless you can now get the swine flu from being exposed to the elements, I don't have it! And that's final!

Cute Kidisms

Way back when I started my blog in November, I had an entry where I put cute quotes from my nieces and nephews. I was intending to make it a regular thing, but that hasn't happened. However, I've heard a couple of the kids say funny things this weekened which I have to share with you, so here goes.

"Mommy, you're not ugly. Just your hair is ugly." - 7-year-old Spencer trying to comfort his mother when she commented on her scary morning hair.

"My mommy tells everybody my eyes are blue, but they're actually green."
"My mommy gives me happy medicine, and it makes me go to sleep." - 3-year-old Alyssa to the lady cutting her brother's hair. (Oh the honestly of children although her eyes really are blue so I don't know why she thinks they're green.)

"Are we finished with church yet?" - 3-year-old Alyssa after sitting through her cousin's baptism and his sister's blessing on Saturday.