Old, blind, deaf and delusional

So most of you know I work with veterans.  They crack me up.  Some are mean and crass, but most are sweet and very cute.  (Those are the ones that remind me of my grandpa).  

This one guy never fails to make me laugh.  I try to picture him younger and I think he is the guy who had HORRIBLE pick-up lines.   (Currently in his 80's, is going deaf, and is a wee bit forgetful.)  He can however, remember my name and compliment me each and every day.  

Most of you know that I am not the primping type.  I value my sleep.  I value it SO much that I will shower at night, set my clothes out on the floor next to the bed, make my lunch, and set out my keys by my purse.  This is not an OCD thing...it is a SURVIVAL tactic.  I despise mornings and when the alarm goes off at 4:40 AM I always think bad words and snooze AT LEAST once.  I literally roll out of bed (with my eyes closed), grab clothes off the floor, stumble into the bathroom and turn on the smallest light possible.  From there, I dress with my eyes closed and proceed to get ready.  It takes me less than 10 minutes most mornings and that is mostly because I stumble around in the bathroom half a sleep.  Some days I've put my scrubs on inside out (some of my scrubs are not reversible) and it is very obvious to others that I did not look in the mirror before leaving the house.  

So when this cute 80 something year old says things like, "you are so beautiful" and "your husband is a lucky man".  I have a hard time not laughing out loud.  Tuesday this week was his best/worst comment to date.  He said, "God sure must have known what he was doing when he made you."  Part of me thought:  CREEPY.  The other part of me took over and just laughed out loud!  I laughed so hard that I started to cry and almost wet my pants (because I had already drank my morning Diet Mt. Dew and a protein shake).  So as I continued to laugh (while everyone else in the unit is staring) the cute old man just looks at me like I've lost my mind and proceeds to reassure me that I am in fact beautiful.  

Isn't it nice to be old, blind, deaf, and delusional??

No wonder "church ball" gets a bad rap

So along with the normal sports our church offers (i.e. basketball, volleyball, baseball), our stake also has coed dodgeball.  


The sign-ups went around a couple weeks ago.  I thought it sounded really fun and a great way for us to get to know our neighbors a little better.  Plus an added bonus, you could play on the same team as your spouse.  So I signed us up.  


Let me preface this with the following:  I am VERY competitive when I know I'm good at something.  However, when I know I suck...I really don't care.  It's the way my mind has to operate to make it okay to loose.  :)  I planned on going and just LAUGHING.  Winning is great, but really??  Me and dodgeball?  Eye hand coordination is not my forte.  


Alan thought I was little mean signing us up to play when his still kind-of gimpy.  Post shoulder, knee, and wrist surgery.  LOL!  


So, I'm sure many of you have seen the movie Dodgeball, right?  Well if not, it is all about a competition surrounding dodgeball.  The people in the movie eat, breath, and live dodgeball.  My favorite quote, "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball."  

Ben Stiller in "Dodgeball".

  
Well, we arrived at our first game and heard the LONG spill about the "rules".  Right.  The whistle blows and we begin.  Our team has never practiced before nor had we even met some of the people on our team.  The OTHER team reminds me of the movie Dodgeball...eat, breath, live the game.  I swear they had regular practices.  Lame. 


Anywho, the game proceeds and we suck.  However, being a "church" function, we expect the other team to go out when they are hit.  Call it ethics.  Well, that didn't happen.  Also, it seemed that the other team found joy in throwing the ball as hard and as fast as they could at people.  I got slammed in the face with one ball...so did many others.  


So at the end of one of the games (best 2 out of 3), one of our team members starts talking a little trash to the other team.  Someone else talks back.  And then it happens.  The guy from our team, (let's just call him Mike), rolls his shoulders back, puffs out his chest, and struts up to the "line".  Words were said regarding their lack of ethics and sportsmanship.  AND WHABAM!  Mike straight arm shoves the punk on the other team.  (Did I mention the bishop of our ward is on our team???)  All the guys from our team are instantly swarming Mike and the guy from the other guy.  (Al said he flanked Mike's back to make sure no one "jumped" him from the back.  LOL!)  


Needless to say, our team got a technical foul and Mike was thrown out of the game.  Bishop was a little frazzled.  He had to be pulled out of the next game to be talked to by the lady in charge (who was the ref for our game and a MEMBER of the team we were playing...conflict of interest???  I think so.)  


Anyway, sheer drama.  I loved it and laughed SO hard!!  No wonder church ball gets such a bad rap.  

I can see clearly now...

I had laser eye surgery (PRK) on January 6th.  I was sick of wearing glasses and contacts.  So I went for it!  I only had one eye done.  


The first couple days hurt like crazy.  I had to wear this awesome guard so I wouldn't rub my eye.  Admit it...I look pretty sweet.  

I'm just glad that I can see and that the painful part is OVER!  It is awesome to just get up and go to work without having to find my glasses (which I always lost).  My glasses looked like they had been through a war with all the scratches and splatters (don't ask of what).   


I think I may have to reward myself with a new pair of Oakley sunglasses.  :)

High Powered Math

Snowmobiles

+

Deep Powder

+

Me

=

Damage

This is the damage I did to myself over Christmas break.  I went snowmobiling at the cabin with my family and rode one of my dad's machines.  There was TONS of new heavy snow and we were side hilling it and I couldn't keep the machine from heading towards a fence.  I decided to jump really hard on the right running board with both feet and "try" to pull the machine on it's side.  On about the second jump, I missed the running board and slammed my thigh on the the metal teeth of the board.  Being the ever so bright girl that I am, I continued to hold onto the machine b/c I didn't want to wreck it.  Needless to say it hurt and this picture is actually a week old.  


I successfully avoided hitting the fence...my dad said to me "why didn't you just let go??"  Well, now, that would have been smart....

Cabin 2010 Christmas

Christmas at the cabin is always a great time.  This year, I had to work December 24, 26, 27.  So we headed up to my parent's cabin in Island Park after I finished work on the 27th.  We always arrive to the cabin either REALLY late at night or WAY early in the morning (depending on your view of it).  It seems like that is the way we do things.  It is our tradition...make my family ride out in the middle of the night to help us snowmobile in.  Oh well...they haven't complained yet. 

This year was no different; we arrived around 1AM (I think).  It was too late (but better than other years when we have arrived at 2 and 3AM).  


It was a cold week...I'm talking REALLY cold.  -20 degrees with wind cold.  

Ellie with snowmobile gear on.  I think the only time she went out was on the way on arrival and departure.

Regardless, we had a grand time!  We snowmobiled it up, ate WAY too much, played lego rock band, and had plenty of naps.  

Digging people out.

Ash looks guilty...she was stuck pretty good.

I guess I can't talk...I got stuck too.

Christmas Day 2010

Sleep in.....check.


Open presents....check.


Go snowmobiling....check.

We had wide open spaces to ourselves and played it up! Strawberry was great!!  Hardly anyone was out and about.  


Best of all, Alan's knee tolerated it!  Woo-hoo!  Now I just need to get him back to where he can snow ski! (probably not this season).  


Love days like this!  

Late for Church

So we were late for church today...

I was too busy secretly taping my husband's music abilities and made up Christmas carols.  

(don't worry...he stays in the shower)  :)




I had the TV on a digital radio station that plays Christmas music.  I had it turned up pretty loud so I could hear it over the blow dryer and suddenly Al started to sing like a crooner/opera man.  

I had to run and get the camera to record it.  I must say, it is pretty priceless.

He started to catch on when I asked him to keep singing. 


I'm sure many of you are wondering if he knows I posted these...and the answer is yes, after much coaxing.