jeswise22

 I've been journaling on Deviantart. Go see me there! I love you all and miss you! I'm just wicked-busy!
http://jeswise.deviantart.com/

Long time no see, LJ. Talk about busy- I've been the Queen of Stress lately.  On the bright side, this morning brings some happy news! Kevin passed his promotion tests and we found out today that he will be a Staff Sergeant! I am very proud! Yay!

 Well I’ve finally found some time to blog. Things have been busy, but that seems like how it always is; everyone is always tired and busy. Aside from that, I’m doing okay, I have a few days that I don’t have anything huge planned, and then starting on the 1st, I have huge activities planned until school starts up again. Friends visiting, a wedding that I’m doing the florals for (and being a bride’s maid/planner/best friend), and then my parents want me to drive to California before school starts, and then it’s back to school. 

 

Starting tomorrow until the middle of September, the hubby and I will be on alert for PCS orders. (Non-military translation: for the next 45 days we might get told by the Air Force that we are moving.) It’s still up in the air, and I don’t really know our chances of getting chosen, but if we do get orders, it will be to Italy! That part is very cool. I will have to pick up Italian, but after Pashto, I think a romance language will be cake. I know enough French to get by if we go there, and they’re all a bit similar.

 

The State Fair is going on right now. It looks pretty exciting. The hubby did some volunteering at the gate selling tickets on a few days, and he says it looks fun. Tuesday is “Military Day” so I think we’re going then.

 

I got an application in the mail from the local museum for “Art Fest” That would be quite fun to participate in. It is a big art show in October that I hopefully could sell some things at. The “Art in the Parks” display was fun, but the crowd was minimal and I only made one sale for a measly amount of money. (I did get some fun visitors though!)

 

The application deadline is September 1 for the new show, hopefully I will be able to manage something. I have to have a pretty good assortment of products to get going! Maybe I should go work on that rather than blogging? 

Well the parents left town yesterday. Who knew a 4 day visit could take so much out of me! We did a lot, I was really surprised at how much stuff I wanted to show them. I never thought of Minot and a place that had so much to do that we couldn't fit it all in in 4 days. We probably could have if they were younger and I was healthier! 
They took The Boy, and they're gone now. The house is surprisingly lonely now. Not much has really changed, but the atmosphere is different. Does that make sense?

So now the day goes on. I don't know quite what to do about it. 

Well, it is officially less than one week before my parents get here. *stress* 
We are trying to have as much of the remodeling done as we can, so we've been busy. Very busy. Bleh.

On top of that, my art-show is less than a week away as well. (Parents are coming up to see it.) So in the midst of laying tile and painting walls, I am trying to pump out some decent art! Ahhh! Oh well, we shall see how it goes. 

I'll post more of an update soon. :) 

FROM THE MINOT DAILY NEWS:

 POSTED: July 7, 2009

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Article Photos

Dan Feldner/MDN • 

Senior Airman Kevin Sanders holds Wally the cat at his home in Minot Thursday afternoon. Sanders left his childhood home in Van Vleck, Texas, to enter college and join the Air Force several years ago and had to leave Wally behind. Sanders found Wally still hanging around when he went back to visit family in Texas in May.

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There are many stories about pets who have traveled thousands of miles to be reunited with their owners, using their unerring sense of direction to take them back home against incredible odds. Wally the cat took a different approach when he was separated from his owner, however.

Instead of sniffing his way back home, Wally heeded the advice given to children when they become lost - he stayed put, and let the rescue come to him.

Wally, a black tabby, is the beloved pet of Senior Airman Kevin Sanders, who lives in Minot with his wife Jesica and has been in the Air Force for 2 1/2 years. Sanders grew up in Van Vleck, Texas, which is two hours south of Houston, close to the coast.

Sanders has had Wally since he was young and the bond between the two never faded, even after he moved away around five years ago to start college and pursue a career in the Air Force.

"Wally's about 12 years old, I guess. We got him when I was still in junior high, and you know, I kind of grew up with him. I went to college and the Air Force and came home every now and again and he was always around," Sanders said. "He was always kind of an outside cat."

After Sanders' mother passed away Jan. 12, 2007, his stepfather moved to Arizona nine months later and eventually sold the home in Texas. Sanders was in the Air Force at the time, so Wally was left with the home's new owners.

"I hadn't gone back after the funeral until ... May of '09," Sanders said. "My brother had been back once, and he said he thought he saw him there, but he wasn't sure, because he ran away."

Sanders' father moved back to the area in December to help take care of Sanders' grandparents, so he went back with his wife in May to visit.

Sanders drove his wife past the house because she had never seen it before, and she snapped a picture before they stopped to take a closer look. Although they didn't know it at the time, Wally can actually be seen in that picture. There were three cats in the yard, and after getting close enough to make them out, Sanders couldn't believe his luck.

"When we went to the house, he was sitting out front," Sanders said. "I looked at him and I called his name, and he meowed and walked right up to me."

"He hopped out of the car and he said, 'Wally, is that you?'" said Jesica Sanders. "And the cat meowed and comes over and he was petting him. It was so cute. It was so cute. I had tears."

She said some neighbors who recognized Sanders came into the yard told him Wally had never left, and was always there waiting for somebody to come get him.

"I thought that was really cute that the neighbors said, 'He's never left the yard,'" Jesica said.

Needless to say, finding Wally at his old home was the furthest thing from Kevin's mind at the time.

"My brother had said he might be there, but I hadn't expected him to be there because he was old when I left for college. So it was pretty cool finding him down there," he said. "It was really unexpected, and then the fact that he recognized me after like five years of being gone was pretty cool, too.

"Because I hadn't been to the house much at all after I graduated high school and went off to college. And then I came home for, you know, a couple months here and there in the summer, but really I was only home for maybe four or five months over a course of 2 1/2 years before I joined the Air Force."

The home's current owners, Jimmy and Annie McCouley, weren't home at the time, so the Sanders left a note on the door that morning with their phone number. The McCouleys called back later that evening and invited the Sanders over.

"Not only did they have the cat, but they had a bunch of Kevin's stuff, like probably six big boxes worth of his mom's stuff that the stepdad just didn't take," Jesica said. "(They took) decorations right off the wall and crystal vases, stuff that, you know, normal people, less honest people, would never have said, 'This giant crystal vase is your mom's. Please take it.'"

Jesica said the McCouleys went through the whole house room by room taking things off of tables and walls and giving them to Kevin because they belonged to his mother. Glassware, several expensive vases and some nativity sets were just a few of the things the McCouleys had kept all those years and gladly returned.

"They just didn't touch or mess with (the items) because they said they knew that it meant something to him," Jesica said.

"They were really great people," Kevin added.

Now that he's back with the Sanders in Minot, Wally is doing quite well. Jesica said he loves to be petted by everyone, but there is one person whose lap always takes top priority.

"He's happy, he loves to be petted. And I can be petting him, and if Kevin walks into the room, he'll go over to him. He still loves Kevin more than anyone," Jesica said, noting that not everything has stayed the same with Wally. "He never wants to go outside. He'd been outside that whole time. He never even sits at the door. He's just so happy to have a soft place to sleep."

While Wally has had to adjust to a new place to live in Minot, he has also had to adjust to new roommates because the Sanders have four other animals - Iniko, a male two-year-old Bengal cat; Kisses, a female 1 1/2-year-old stray tabby; Seth, a male three-year-old German shepherd mix; and Mena, a female six-month-old German shepherd.

"We had some dogs when I was growing up, and a lot of neighborhood cats, and he was living with two cats down there when we found him, so he's used to being around other animals," Kevin said. "It really took him maybe two, three weeks to get adjusted, which is not bad for an old cat. He's doing really well."

Jesica said the addition of Wally to their growing family was a complete surprise, but one they welcome with open arms.

"We did not intend to have this many, but they're like kids, they just happen sometimes," she said.

"Especially Wally," Kevin added.

Yesterday sucked. REALLY sucked.
In order...

#1 Woke up crying because I was in so much pain.
#2 Truck got broken into sometime in the night and my wallet, phone and iPod were stolen.
#3 Got a call that Kevin's grandma (that we just visited) has days to live.
#4 Water pipe started leaking in the basement.
#5 Got a call, that the horse is not doing very well.

I REALLY didn't want to wake up this morning. :(

  Here's "my" horses. The paint is the one that has the owie-foot. As you can see, even when I am working with the other horse, he has to be right by me. He is SO SWEET!

 This is the paint. I really like him. (Name is Caspian, btw) He just LOVES to be petted. He will sit like this all day and let me pet him.

That is all for now, I am having a bad Fibro-Flare and can barely move, but I needed to get my pictures up. (Photos courtesy of my little brother's iPhone. I can't believe the quality!)

 I got three horses yesterday- kind of. It’s a bit of a long story, but sometimes those are the best ones to read. Right? Well, I think so. I’ll try to make it as exciting as possible...

 

A good friend of mine was hosting a multi-party garage sale at her garage at her art studio in the city next to where I live. (This is the same woman that I paint with and whenever I mention “the Studio” this is the place.)

Due to a very unfortunate turn of events, the woman that had most of the stuff there couldn’t make it and was going to send a friend to be in charge of her stuff. Well, hours passed and the friend never showed. We had pretty much given up on her.

 

Enter Ms. J stage right.

 

Ms. J comes in and apologized for being late and quite dirty, but her neighbor’s horse- which she cares for and lets live on her land- had been severely injured and she has been with him all morning trying to help him. 

 

Instantly, my ears perk! I grew up with horses, and I spend many-a-year as a veterinary technician. 

 

She goes on the explain that she thought his leg was broken and she didn’t know what to do, and she was going to have the vet come shoot him. (We have a very old-school large animal vet up here.) She continued to say that she isn’t sure though, and was freaking out.

 

Without hesitation, I tell Ms. J to take me to the horse. I get in her car and we are off. (This is one really cool thing to me, btw, because I would never get in a car with a complete stranger usually, but I didn’t even hesitate in Burlington, ND, because people up here ROCK.)

 

So, we pull up, and there is a wonderful paint horse- that looks quite like one of my old horses so I am instantly in love- and his hind leg is pretty bloody. I snap into vet-tech mode and clean it up and get to looking for a break. 

 

Very happily, I didn’t find a break, but he lacerated it pretty good, and had obviously stressed it badly. It looked like he had been wrapped up in wire. :( Poor baby.

 

Clean+dress+bandage+penicillin shot = Jesica saves the day. Yay me!

 

The owner of the horse and Ms. J were thrilled. They obviously knew what a vet visit would have cost them, because they were trying to figure out how to pay me. Now, I’m not one to take money from people when it’s obvious that they don’t have it, and a better solution is available... 

 

So! I told them that I would take care of them if I could ride. Apparently this is JUST what they needed, because they were tremendously happy about this. It just seems that they need someone around with a little horse sense and veterinary knowledge for emergencies such as this one and they weren’t quite sure how to find someone. They were so happy that I was dropped into their laps! 

 

So I said that I would be down regularly, and they said that the horses are as good as mine if I take care of them. This is a PERFECT deal for me, because I have been craving horses for SO LONG, but I obviously can’t afford them, and would have nowhere to keep them. So now they will pay for it all and I just have to do the care part, which has always been fun for me! Heck, I grew up doing it. It’s what I do for fun.

 

I guess this is another situation of “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” What they see as work and veterinary expenses, I see as fun and practice for my vet-tech skills. I can’t believe how perfect the situation is.

 

I called Kevin and he came down, and while I was getting the horses cleaned up, medicated and set up in a safer paddock (with no wire!) he actually got to ride for a little. He was in Heaven. I am in Heaven.

 

So, that is how I kind of got horses yesterday. Pictures are coming soon! I have to go back today and re-bandage, so I am going to get pictures of everyone. :) Yay!

 

Their names are Caspian, Napolian and Rakhla.

What a week. We have gotten a lot done around here, which is good because I have several deadlines coming up. So, let me highlight and explain some of the more important goings on.

 

1. We went fishing at Lake Sakakawea (suh-kah-kuh-way-yuh, NOT Sack-uh-juh-wee-uh). It was awesome. We rented a boat from the base and we had an awesome time. What was the highlight of the trip, you ask? Oh, that would have been me, jumping out of the boat and catching a fish with my BARE HANDS. Boo-yeah. There were tons, and I mean TONS of carp in the shallows, and I literally snuck up on them and was grabbing them with my hands. Most of them slipped away after I picked them up, but it was still incredible fun. :)

 

2. I quit my job at the florist shop. Remember in my last post that I had mentioned that a lot of people quit that job and I didn’t know why... Well I found out, and I quit too. She’s just downright dishonest. She lies to customers. (i.e. She was asking me to limit my knowledge of certain plants so I only had “positive” things to say to customers, and when I informed her that I already was aware, from my years as a Vet-Tech, that her ‘top-selling’ plant was poisonous to cats, she said, and I quote, “I don’t want that repeated in my shop, and since it’s my shop it’s kind of a dictatorship and I get to decide what is and isn’t said, and I just don’t want it repeated.” Personally, to me, that is crossing an ethical boundary that I’m just not willing to cross. Combine that with one of the MOST CONDESCENDING attitudes I’ve run into in a long time (including my military days) and it’s a recipe for employees quitting. Go figure.

 

3. We have been working on the house some more. We are trying to get it done before my parents get here in a month! Ahh! It’s actually starting to look like a house again. We still have a few more projects to get done, but we’re getting close

 

4. I’ve gotten some painting done... not the boring, house painting kind, but the actual art kind. I’ve been working on some other art things as well, but I got a really cool painting done today. Go check it out on my DeviantArt account. :) Look Here!

I think that sums up the most of it. Bleh. We'll see how things turn out from here.

$^*& @$$ )*(*!&^$*(_(*$&^$#^^&%^&}{“>’!~!+   Ahem. Excuse my outburst. I just wrote a gigantic entry with a whole lot of pictures and links, and somehow I hit the delete key at the wrong time and no amount of ‘undo’ and ‘restore draft’ is bringing it back. I have done something like that before, and I had learned to write my entry in a word-processor, but somewhere I forgot the lesson I learned and had to have a reminder. It is always the big ones. Why couldn’t it have reminded me on a little entry? Yes, you are right, probably because the lesson wouldn’t have stuck. Hrmph- you are always right, darn you!

 

Okay, so, starting over with my update:

 

Hubby and I just got back from Texas. Not so much of a vacation as a catch up and family visiting time. He has not been back since his mother’s funeral two years ago- and he hadn’t been to her grave site yet. Even worse, his grandmother on his mother’s side just passed away earlier this year, so we REALLY needed to go down and pay some respects and enjoy the company of his living relatives. 

 

Despite going down for less-than-fun reasons, we did manage to squeeze in some fun where we could, mainly fishing, but we also took a day to go to the Houston Zoo. Another day we went to the “Matagorda County Birding and Nature Center” which his mom helped found. There were a few markers and tributes to her that we came across. That was great. We also spend some time in his hometown, visited the little local museum- that his mom also helped with- and a few days we met up with his best friend and his wife, which was fun.

 

The fishing was probably the most fun that we had. Everyone down there had “creek-houses” on the various canals. His Late Grandmother’s Husband, B had one on the “Intercostal Canal” (I had no idea what it was until this trip) and his other side of the family had one on Caney Creek, that feeds into the Intercostal. They are all brackish water, so we could catch shrimp, crabs in the crab traps, and then follow up with a freshwater trout, then a saltwater trout or redfish. We ate so much shrimp and crab I’m sure if we were to go out and buy that much seafood we’d be spending $150 a night. It was so neat to clean crabs on the dock and then just walk inside and start them boiling. 

 

Probably the most lasting part of the trip is Wally. Let me explain: Wally is Kevin and his brother’s cat that they got 10 years ago and grew up with. Kevin has been away from his old house for three years now, and after his mother passed away it was (abandoned by his step father) sold. Kevin wanted me to at least see the place while I was there, so we drove by for him to show me where he spent his childhood.  

When we drove by, lo-and-behold there was Wally. He was hanging out on the front porch. He knew Kevin immediately and came up and meowed and let us pet him. He was very sweet. 

The neighbors that knew Kevin came over and told him that the cat stays in the yard and has just been waiting around for him to come home. 

 

I thought it was incredibly touching. I told Kevin we could take him home if he wanted, so Kev set up a meeting with the people that bought the house. We went over, and not only did they send Wally with us with their blessing, but they had TONS of stuff that his stepfather had just left behind and never cared to send for... a lot of Kevin’s mother’s things that were VERY sentimental to Kevin. So we came home with a cat, and had SEVERAL boxes of important things shipped to the house. 

 

So now we’re home and need a vacation from our vacation! The weather has been beautiful here though, so that’s great. I got out in the garden the past few days and it’s actually starting to look like people live here. Yay! Also, I found my favorite plant at the garden store. It’s a ground cover and my grandfather had it in all his flower beds. It makes me happy. 

The remodel is inching along, though we are beyond worn out, so it’s not taking any leaps or bounds. 

 

Project for next weekend: Burlington city-wide garage sale. I will be taking TONS of stuff to my friend Donna’s building out there. (Behind the Idle Hour for you NoDaks) Hopefully I can sell some of the big things like the furniture and such. We shall see.

 

Other than all that.... um...

Oh! I started my new job last Friday. It seems like it will be just what I’m looking for. It’s at a flower shop, and the most I work will be 5 hours a day, if that. It’s nice and I get to play with flowers all day. So far so good, however, I have been warned by the other employee and a lot of community members that the owner will drive me bonkers, and she has had more people quit than they can remember. Oh boy...

:D

 

( PICTURE TIME! )

 

Husband brought home my favorite flowers today. The card said, "April showers bring May flowers... and so do I!" 

Happy May. 


He's the best. I love him.

 I finally found some time that I can journal a little bit. I guess it’s a bit subjective, however, because the time I “found” is 1:00AM. I decided it was time to take a break because my fingers are red, swollen and shaking... so I need to chill for a while. Explanation: Kev is working night shifts, I can’t give details, but it’s no fun and it’s more than twice the hours a normal person works. It sucks and he’s sleep deprived. He also is continuing to work this shift the whole weekend... leaving me alone at the house. I want to get a lot done while he’s at work so he doesn’t stress about not being able to help, and he doesn’t come home to a “honey-do” list as long as my leg when this crazy shiftwork ends.

The house is STILL under construction. We are waiting on the hardware store to get our countertops in, and then the finishing touches on the kitchen can start happening, but we’re at a bit of a stopping point until the tiles come in. 

SO, in a brilliant (and successful) attempt to drive myself completely mad, I have also been organizing the attic and basement storage room. I have been transferring boxes, sorting boxes, building shelves, taking apart desks, relocating box after box after box.... and finals at school are coming up in 2 weeks.

My blood pressure is through the roof right now... my fingers are actually frighteningly swollen. If they don’t right themselves by morning, I guess I should see a doctor. On the bright side, I think I got all the really incredibly lifting and building out of the way today... I think all that is left is mild building and lifting tomorrow.

I am making an attempt to stay on top of my art as well, but it is not really finding itself a priority right now with so much going on around the house. Oh well. Hopefully things will settle down. (I always say that, but they never do.)

 

I hope everyone is doing okay.

Thanks for reading. 

:)

I really intended on posting something real today, but I can't think of anything. :)

Well it's coming along. Thanks mostly to the husband and our friend's slave-labor. It is starting to look rather awesome. I am really excited!!

...I never could quite get the hang of Thursdays.

10 points to anyone who knows the origins of that phrase.


So, on this particular Thursday....

I want to go back to bed and wake up tomorrow.

Husband left for work on time(ish) and left me to sleep in, ahhh.... but ten minutes later he shows back up at the house and gets into the "emergency" bag and grabs the tow-strap. Oh great. One of his co-workers called him and is stuck in the snow. Did I mention the huge blizzard that rolled into town? No? Oh, yeah, and the entire state of ND is in a presidential-declared state of emergency. Woo hoo.

So after hubby and stranded co-worker make it in to work, one of my friends calls me. Since the state of emergency has taken two of our Minot AFB helicopters to Bismarck, we are short manned, and he had to go into work- leaving his wife, my other friend- stranded and drugged at the dentist. Poor thing. 
Of course, I tell him I can go get her... no problem...

Until my car gets stuck in my own driveway. 

My husband came down from work and rescued me... but it only went down hill from there. On the bright side I got my friend from the dentist and she's home safely... but today officially goes on my shit list.
I really don't want to talk about the rest of it. :( 

Anyone that is bored and wants to help is welcome to come over. My back is killing me. Stupid bruised spine.
Stupid LJ is turning my picture sideways. I can't fix it. It's not on my computer sideways. Oh well. Here it is so far:

 Well....

How things change in a few days. Eh?

I had planned to be in California about now, but instead, I am sitting in my office at home, in extreme pain, the smell of freshly cut wood drifting through the house... Yes, you got that all right. We'll start from the beginning. Oh dear. 

 

Thursday, March 5. The Boy wants to move home. Husband and I agree it would be better, since he seems to be suffering depression and needs something to change in life. When all else fails, Mommy and Daddy fix all. 

 

Friday, March 6. We begin looking for a truck topper so we can pack more efficiently, take the dogs and have a ‘bed in the bed’ for resting during the road trip. The truck only seats 2, so it is a must for all 3 of us to go.

 

Saturday, March 7. No toppers in the paper will fit our truck. Begin calling around for new. No dice. Road trip is a week away. By chance, one of the secretaries at the places we’ve been calling has a brother with a topper that might fit. She will have him call.

 

Sunday, March 8. The Boy gets cold feet and decided to start being a more productive member of the household in an attempt to show Husband and I that he is capable of pulling his weight and thus we would want him to stay. No call on topper. 

 

Monday, March 9. Happy Anniversary. Husband and I have officially had two love-filled-years together. How do we celebrate? Taxes. We filed our taxes with the tax office on base, and have been promised a lovely return by the 20th. A tantalizingly lovely return. Plans start to unfold over our one and only bottle of LaVita we’ve been saving for today. Still no call on topper. Road trip is looking on the rocks.

 

Tuesday, March 10. The Boy confesses that he wants to stay. Guy with topper calls back and it will fit our truck. Road trip is uncertain, so we buy it for future topper needs, just in case. Husband and I sit and discuss rules with The Boy on how things will have to change if he wants to stay, and how we are going to help him get out of his depression. He needs a day to think on it. 

 

Wednesday, March 11. The Boy decides to stay. Rules are agreed upon. 

Shower at least ever other day (yes, it’s an issue)

Keep your room mostly clean

Sleep on a schedule that you are awake before noon

Eat at least one “real” meal a day (He currently subsists on reces cups, coke and ramen noodles. In that order.)

Come to the Y with us, on our dime, at least once a week.

 

Trip is cancelled. Plans begin for spending tax return wisely. Kitchen floor plans are drafted and the thought of redoing it and the roof are rolling. Menard’s (local hardware place) works up an estimate. It looks doable. We discuss.

 

Thursday, March 12. A mind bogglingly better floor plan leaps from Husband’s head and finds itself onto paper. Menard’s works up an estimate. It is amazing. We must do it. We decide to go to the Y and spend some adrenaline before we jump in and spend money. We ask The Boy, per our agreement, to come with us. Trouble begins. The Boy does not want to come: violation 1 of our agreement. The Boy is still sleeping: violation 2 of our agreement. Being mostly humor driven people, Husband and I decide the most effective way to rouse said agreement-violator is by the whacking of “boffers” unto him. (A “boffer” for those that aren’t geeky enough to know, is a pcv pip, wrapped in padding, and then duct tape to produce a padded sword to have “safe” sword fights with friends.) The Boy, having his own weapons turned against him does not take kindly and rolls over and groans. He refuses to get out of bed. Step two on the “how to wake your lazy brother” handbook says tickle. So I hop on his bed and proceed to tickle. This ends disastrously. I take a full force blow to my spine on L-5, L-6, and L-7 (vertebrae). I am floored. I can’t believe my brother could hit that hard, let alone during a play tickle fight. We attempt to reason with him but he becomes belligerent. We do not know what to do. When all else fails, Mommy and Daddy fix all. So.... I call my dad. That’s right. I’m taddling on my 20 year old brother because he’s acting like a child. Dad proceeds to yell at him, also to no avail. He’s as stubborn as a toddler. (In my opinion, he needs a spanking.) The rules aren’t really that hard are they? He locks himself in his room about the time that Husband and I realize how serious my back injury is. I call the base for an Urgent Care Appointment, and Husband goes and rips The Boy a new one and lays down the LAW, either follow the rules, or get out, today.

 

Friday, March 13. The Boy decides to follow the rules. Money spending on the kitchen project begins. Cabinets are ordered. Flooring is picked out. I go to the urgent care clinic and discover that I have been given a spinal bruise that is inducing muscle spasms. Great. I can’t lift over 3 pounds for several weeks, and I have to take muscle relaxers. Boo.

 

Saturday March 14. Pre-destruction walk though with minor poking holes in walls and marking off beams. 

 

Sunday, March 15. The ceiling in the basement is demolished. Duct work and pipes are assessed and much banging commences. 

 

Monday, March 16. Today. Several pieces of furniture are move to the shed. The back walkway gets de-iced. Husband, in an attempt to break a gate lose from the ice smashes his finger that immediately turns purple and swells. I call for another urgent care appointment. In the meantime I bandage his finger the way I would have done a dog back in my vet-tech days and he continues his demolition of the flooring in the kitchen and two walls.

Doctor confirms that he did, indeed, break the finger. Husband is thrilled because it’s his very first broken bone. He walks out smiling and the nurses don’t quite understand.

Back to Menard’s to get more supplies. Flooring is on an incredible sale. We’ll be able to do it all for the same price. Sweet. 

 

So... that brings us up to current, and explains why I am not in California, and why I am sitting in pain in a house that smells of fresh cut wood. 

 

Thanks for reading!

Ugh, my vacation got cancelled. I was REALLY looking forward to getting to see my friends and family. And eating sushi in California. Boo.
I'll have to figure something else out.
Instead we're going to spend spring break fixing the house and maybe redoing the kitchen. Oh boy. This is a big project. 

Eek



So... here's a fun little meme from my friend:
100 Truths!

1. Last beverage: Milk
2. Last phone call: Dad
3. Last text message: Husband
4. Last song you listened to: The Early Dawn by Jerry Reed
5. Last time you cried: Monday

SIX HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Ever dated someone twice: Yes...ish... 
2. Been cheated on: Uh yeah. Destroyed a friendship too. 
3. Kissed or hooked up with someone and regretted it: YES
5. Been depressed: Yes
6. Been drunk and threw up: Only in the style of Roman Emperors.

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
Orange, Pink, Red, Green

HAVE YOU:
1. Made new friends: Uh... yeah.
2. Fallen out of love: Nope. I've only been in love once and I married him!
3. Laughed until you cried: Two Words: Muddy Buddies.
4. Met someone who changed you: Oh yeah. 
5. Found out who your true friends were: Squee!
6. Found out someone was talking about you: Who hasn't.
7. Kissed anyone on your MySpace/Facebook friends list: Probably.
8. How many people on your MySpace/Facebook friends list do you know in real life: All of them. That's the point.
9. How many kids do you want to have: I'll just borrow.
10. Do you have any pets: 4!
11. Do you want to change your name: Not really.
12. What did you do for your last birthday: Got my husband back from the Middle East!
13. What time did you wake up today: Too Early.
14. What were you doing at midnight last night: Trying to sleep.
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Getting a VACATION!
16. Last time you saw your father: December. :( I miss my daddy.
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: Money = More.
18. What are you listening to right now: My hubby playing video games in the other room.
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Um... I don't know. Probably.
23. Whats getting on your nerves right now: Fibromyalgia. Pun intended.
24. Most visited webpage: DeviantArt

1. Whats your name: Jesica
2. Nicknames: Jeswise
3. Relationship status: Married!
4. Zodiac sign: Aquarius
5. Male or female: Female
6. Elementary: Kaysville/Columbia Elementry
7. Middle: Kaysville Jr. High
8. High school: Davis High
9. Eye color: Hazel
10. Hair color: Red (but it's fake!)
11. Long or short hair: Longish
16. Height: 5'4ish
17. Do you have a crush on someone?: My hubby is so cute!
19. Piercings: Yes
20. Tattoos: Nope
21. Righty or lefty: Righty

FIRSTS :
22 First surgery: Sinusitis
23. First piercing: Earlobes
24. First best friend: Brook Smart
26. First sport you joined: Soccer
27. First pet: AJ
28. First vacation: DisneyWorld/Seaworld! Age 3 Woot for Disney!
29. First concert: Um... dunno
30. First crush: Can't remember

RIGHT NOW:
49. Eating: Ice cream!
50. Drinking: Nope
52. I'm about to: draw
53. Listening to: isn't this the same as # 18
55. Waiting for: Spring Break

YOUR FUTURE :
58. Want kids?: Nope.
59. Get Married?: Already am!
60. Careers in mind?: Art.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
68. Lips or eyes: Eyes
69. Hugs or kisses: Hugs if I had to chose
70. Shorter or taller: taller
71. Older or younger: Older
72. Romantic or spontaneous: Romantic
73. Nice stomach or nice arms: Arms all the way
74. Sensitive or loud: Uh, I'm going sensitive
75. Hook up or relationship: Relationship
77. Trouble maker or hesitant: Trouble Maker

HAVE YOU EVER :
78. Kissed a stranger: Yes
79. Drank hard liquor: Yes
80. Lost glasses/contacts: YES
81. Sex on first date: Nope
82. Broken someones heart: Oh yes
83. Had your own heart broken: Yup
85. Been arrested: Nope
86. Turned someone down: All the time
87. Cried when someone died: Of course
88. Liked a friend that is a girl: Just one

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself: When I can
90. Miracles: Yes
91. Love at first sight: Like you wouldn't believe
92. Heaven: Yes
93. Santa Claus: Yes
95. Kiss on the first date: if it goes well
96. Angels: In a way

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
97. Is there one person you want to be with right now: Yes
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time: Tehe
100. Posting this as 100 truths: Just for my bestest friend.

Well I've sure had a lot to keep my busy over the last little while. I really should be in bed right now, but hey, who needs sleep. Oh, right me. I'll see how that goes here in a minute. 

 

So! Hubby and I joined the Y. A little cliche' I know, but considering where I live, I think it was a good move. We've only been 3 times, but it's been really fun every time. They have a three and a half story rock climbing wall. That's my favorite part. Wall climbing is the only form of exhaustive exercise that I enjoy. I'll be huffing and puffing by the time I reach the top, but I never get bored of it and never think, "Ugh, exercise sucks” while I’m doing it. It makes me REALLY sore afterwards though, so we’ve taken to soaking in the hot tub for 15 minutes after we climb. It’s working out pretty well I think. The facility here is HUGE as well. It is easily the biggest facility I have EVER been to. Apparently, the rock wall is also the tallest in the Dakotas too. That’s kind of cool.

 

http://www.ymcaminot.org/climbingwall.htm The pictures only show the bottom half, you really can’t get a grip on how tall it is until you’re there.
We took Danny (nephew) swimming tonight and I am TIRED! We had fun though. :D

Other than the Y, we’ve also joined the gun club... that’s kind of old news. I think I posted a video of me shooting a while ago, didn’t I? It’s going well though, in case you were wondering. I am starting to get better. I might just get back into the swing of it here soon. Oh! I’ve decided to start bringing my brass home too. A lot of people will pick up their brass (spent shell case that pops out of the gun after you’ve fired it in case you didn’t know) and they will buy gun powder and lead and refill their bullets. It’s called reloading, go figure, but that’s not why I’m picking mine up. I realized that brass is a little bit expensive, and I’ve already paid for the crap (ammo is SO expensive) I might as well take it home, and I decided that I can melt it down and make sculptures or even jewelry with it. There is a whole unexplored art-realm there for me to play with. 

 

The Boy (brother) has decided to move home now that Kevin is back from deployment and his presence is no longer needed. Kev and I are going to drive him and his stuff to California over my spring break. It’s a long trip, and there won’t be time for me to stop in Utah for more than a night to see my family and friends, so I’m going to at least try to orchestrate a dinner out with my bestest friend from HS, I am really excited to see her. ;)

 

School is going okay. Midterms look good, I am not getting a 4.0 thanks to my b***ard art teacher. He is the harshest, meanest, most condescending demoralizing instructor I’ve ever met, which is weird, because he’s a really nice person, and he’s nice to talk to, but he’s just MEAN when he grades your art, and not just with the letter either, but with his comments. He makes people cry- really he does. So I have a B+ in there, I’m going to attempt to kiss ass and do some crap art (he’ll love it, he’s all about weird abstract stuff that takes no talent) and hopefully I can bring my grade up a bit. I ACED my last art history test though. (Thank you Valerie for forcing me to go) I got 98%, which is fine by me. 

 

Bleh. It’s bed time for sure now. Keep an eye out for more art from me soon. I’ll post some of the stuff we’ve been working on in class so everyone can see my terrible B+ artwork. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!