A Year of Change

Good morning..and it is a good morning.  After the drive up to Peak Pain and Surgery Medical Center we got checked in.  I didn’t want an IV, but the Nurse said it was policy now just in case my blood pressure dropped too low and they needed to get fluids in quickly.  When I told the doctor that I didn’t want any sedation he said he would have the anesthesiologist ready incase I changed my mind.  I went in at about 2:30 and maybe would have changed my mind about sedation had I fully understood this procedure. I thought it would be 8 bee stings followed by 8 stronger stings and then a bit of pressure. It was actually 8 bee stings followed by 4 needles inserted between the bone one at a time, wiggled into the correct positions, pushed in one or two more times for good measure and left in place until all 4 were in between the bones.  Next, he inserted needles into the receptor needles and administered the first medicine to all four sites…it felt like hot pressure. That took 25-30 minutes and then it was on to the next side.  They asked if I was okay or if I wanted the sedation, but at that point I said I would just cowgirl up.  The doc said he had people do this with no sedation before, but it was at most two injections per side.  Seriously…I rock!! When the injections were all done they had me move from the surgery table to the gurney..I was so dizzy that I asked if they didn’t accidentally (or on purpose) give me something in my IV…of course they didn’t, but the doc did say that this was the first time he had done 4 injections on each side and that could make me a bit dizzy….My sweet husband came in to the recovery room bearing yummy food…turkey wraps, cookies and water.  I thought I needed to use the restroom, but upon hearing that the nurse would need to accompany me, I changed my mind.  Did I mention what a wonderful man the Mister is…driving me to and from…hunting and gathering food….and taking all around superb care of me.  I did ask if he was ready to trade me in for a new model…he replied no.  Thank God!

Anyway, we made it home about 5:30 and I was still feeling a bit loopy but I think better. I returned to normal activity like dinner as they told me to. We all made it to bed around 8:30 or 9. I woke up around 1am and thought my head was going to burst but after some aspirin and some prayers, finally fell back asleep. Of course I did manage to accidentally wake the mister. This morning I feel better although I still have a headache but it is much better than it was. I’m keeping a pain diary per the doctor’s instructions and need to send it to him and call for my next appointment. Hopefully this is the start of my recovery. Time to make breakfast so here’s the mister…

Good morning, I was awaken this morning by a big wet kiss, not from the misses but from Mojo the malamute who somehow broke out of his pen and came upstairs to wake me. Soon the whole house was up as I jumped out of bed to see if he peed on our blankets as he likes to mark wherever the misses is sleeping. You see, he thinks he’s married to her, not me!

Yesterday we sent off 4 tax returns and extensions. We finally figured it all out as this year with the addition of the Bocelli portion of our Company, we now have to file in NY, NJ, CA in addition to CO and our Federal return. At least the Company is going to pay for all the additional taxes for me and the other officers, which is great news!

On another note, I took one of my shotguns yesterday morning and traded it straight across (actually got $87 back) for a new in the box youth shotgun for the oldest kiddo. I hadn’t planned on this but one of my friends called and said he just got in 2 of these which come with 2 wood stocks that are different sizes so you can swap them out as he grows. Since I have enough shotguns anyhow (you can only shoot one at a time), I jumped at the chance to get this for him. It’s important that you get a gun that fits younger shooters when they’re just starting out. He and I are both excited and hope to break it in this weekend. I’m actually more excited than him, and he’s pretty excited.

Mom’s making smoothies (we need to go grocery shopping) and bagel bites for breakfast for the boys. The oldest one has a field trip today up to the Hiwan Homestead near Evergreen which is some kind of historical spot from the 1800’s. He’s quite excited.

Time to run as the kids are bouncing all over the house, it’s a wonder I don’t have headaches too. The girls at the surgery center were really nice as was the doctor. It was much more state of the art than where she had been before. You do get what you pay for, no question.

Time to go, I have 18 minutes to take a shower and get the kids to school, have a great day and keep your fingers crossed for the misses, God Bless.

That’s right, we finally received word yesterday morning that the misses procedure was approved so today we’ll head out for the hour drive to the mountains for a 2 o’clock appointment. We’re praying that she gets some relief.

Now before I go on, no comments from yesterday??? You have to admit that the Obama football post was right on. I guess I’m past the point where I think that supporters of him are nuts. I have to say, now don’t take offense, that if you that support him, you are actually brainwashed, which means it’s not your fault. You see, there’s no other rational explanation. I’ll stop now so I don’t break up the family, enough said.

This morning the misses has two appointments with the workman comp doctors and then we’ll leave a bit after noon. The boys are doing great, studying hard, playing hard and living and loving life. We’ve started a new chore regiment around here giving the boys more responsibility in helping keep the house in order. We’re easing them into it as no way we can just implement a whole slew of chores on day one. We’ll keep you posted.

Today is tax day and yesterday we just sent in out 2010 return. It seems when our accountant e-filed last October 15th (the day you file if you’ve filed an extension) , there was some glitch with the system and we were finally notified about a week ago that our return didn’t go through. Great, huh. Well we sent it certified mail yesterday and paid an additional $1724 on line. We do have the electronic signature showing we did file last October so hopefully they’ll waive any penalties but they of course won’t do this until after they process everything. We’ll never see this money back as they’ll just apply it to future payments, super. As for today, we file extensions like we do every year. This is good as this year we have to file 5 state returns for both us personally and for our own corporation. Then we also have to file a federal return. This means 11 tax returns for us this year, how’s that for bureaucracy, you’d think we’re Apple or something. I think we need a few more government regulations.

Alright, I feel myself getting pissed off and heading into politics. Do you know what it costs to prepare 11 returns? About $7000 if you’re wondering, and it’s all due to new regs put in by our lovely President and crack democratic senate, thanks a freakin lot!

I gotta go, time to head to the gym and get this out of my head. Pray for the misses to get some relief today, that’s all we really care about. Take care and God Bless,

Time whizzes by, it’a almost May! The month of Spring flowers (April showers bring May flowers) , the misses birthday, fishing and camping season and the end of school and beginning of summer. Hard to believe it. Uncle T will start his Christmas shopping soon!

We loaded up the boys and Ben the neighbor kid and headed out to Morrison for breakfast yesterday am about 9:30am. After a drive through Red Rocks Amphitheater on the way home, we made it here around 11:30 and the kids were off to play. In the afternoon we made a quick trip to Costco for dishwasher soap and aluminum foil. After finding a few other “must haves” we were out the door with $400 worth of stuff. It doesn’t take much to spend a few hundred dollars at Costco.

Uncle T gave me a heads up yesterday about a celebrity football draft that is below. I’m only posting the Chicago portion where our President is the guest “picker” for the team, since he’s from Chicago. I think it’s quite telling as it falls right in line with his philosophy. Check it out.

 Chicago Bears: Many Players (Listed Below) 
(By Barack Obama, U.S. President)

Usually in the NFL Draft, a team can only take one player per pick. This is how it’s always been. But I’ve proposed an 800-page bill that will change that. Since no one will read an 800-page bill, I suspect it’ll pass in Congress.

Here’s the breakdown: I believe the successful teams in the NFL like the Packers, Patriots and Giants need to be penalized. They are just winning too much, and they’re not giving others a chance. The Packers, Patriots, Giants and other teams of that ilk will hand over picks to a governing panel that I will oversee. We will then redistribute picks accordingly. For instance, we’ll take the 12 picks from the playoff squads and hand one to the Rams, one to the Colts and one to the Vikings. The other nine picks will be given to the Bears.

If you recognize this model, it’s the same as our tax system. We justly penalize people who are working hard, and we make the brainwashed public think that the tax dollars are going to the poor, when in reality, they are going to the government’s special interests. This is a great system, so it will work in the NFL. The Bears are my special interest, so just look at what they will be doing with all of the tax doll- I mean picks:

– Kendall Wright, WR
– Cordy Glenn, G/OT
– Whitney Mercilus, DE
– Jonathan Martin, OT
– Stephen Hill, WR
– Nick Perry, DE
– Dre Kirkpatrick, CB
– Devon Still, DT
– Coby Fleener, TE
– Stephon Gilmore, CB

With my new, great system, the Bears can add 10 outstanding prospects to the roster with their nine extra picks. It’s a good thing no one reads 800-page bills. Oh, and don’t tell anyone, but it was hard to fill space in this 800-page bill because I only really needed three pages, so I packed most of it with advertisements.

Funny how there’s truth in humor. I really like the part about “it’s an 800 page bill so no one will read it”. Pretty spot on.

Have a great day and a great week. Hopefully we’ll be getting the misses some relief tomorrow. if they do not approve the procedure, I’m at the point where i think we’ll be getting a lawyer. I hate to do that as it’ll shut everything down for a bit but I’m not going to stand for endless stonewalling of doctor prescribed treatments. We’ll keep you posted.

Yup, we made it to soccer by 8:45ish and the game started at 9am. The youngest played probably the best game of his life. He didn’t score yesterday but his relentless pursuit of the ball and dribbling up and down the length of the field, in and out and around opposing players, was nothing short of stunning. We were so proud of him.

Next we made it home and the boys headed out to play while I ran some errands and Mom took a rest. Soon it was 1pm and we needed to head downtown for the instant challenge portion of the Destination Imagination State Finals. Of course, at the misses urging, we were early. It was at the Auraria Campus of Metro State College downtown. Once they were called in, it was over within 10 minutes. We loaded up and headed home for 2 hours and then would be driving back down for their 8 minute challenge. As soon as we arrived home, I suggested the misses go lay down and she was out like a light within 5 minutes. 90 minutes passed quickly and I woke her to head back down. We, of course, were early again, so we watched a couple other teams. Then our kids were up. The youngest did really really well despite the team leaders daughter bossing everyone around and ultimately violating one of the rules. I’m not sure where they placed as we didn’t stick around but rather chose to head home. We should find out today.

The rest of the evening was made up of us throwing together some leftovers and finally giving in and ordering up some asian food from down the street. We’re all bloated like beached whales this morning from all the salt and msg but it sure was good.

There’s a light coating of snow on the grass this morning but that’s about it. We need the moisture so no one is complaining. I’d like to clean up the basement and/or garage today and we have to get some decon as we have a mouse somewhere in the garage.

The youngest and his friend (who spent the night) just came down and the misses soon followed. Her head is the same but I had to ask anyhow. Hopefully we’ll get the approval from workmans comp in time for her Tuesday appointment.

We might try to get a hike in today or something outside before the boys head off to swim team at 4pm. Then it’ll be time to wind down for the weekend (they go fast!) and get ready for another week.

Take care, have a great day and week and God Bless,

Today we have soccer at 9am and then the State Championship D.I. competition downtown in the afternoon from about 2 until 6 or 7pm, uggh. Oh well that’s what being parents is all about. Going here and there for this and that.

The misses is still in pain (what’s new) and we’re planning on going up to the doctor in the mountains on Tuesday for some relief. The only hitch is whether or not workmans comp approves the procedure by then. If not, they say they can’t get her in for another week. The misses left another message yesterday appealing for help from the adjuster so hopefully they’ll get the paperwork done. Maybe they think the misses likes getting neck injections or something and that she’s trying to scam them in some way. It’s very frustrating to say the least.

It’s now 6am and everyone is sleeping. I’m going to get some exercise in (what’s new) as I can’t go a day without it. Snow is on the way but that’s ok as they had hail near Sacramento and the whole midwest is on some kind of super storm warning that was announced 24 hours ago which only happens in the most extreme circumstances. They say they fear some really bad tornado’s are going to form. I told the misses if we lived there, we’d pack up the kids and get out of town. I don’t know how those people live in Oklahoma and Kansas and in “tornado ally”. We just wouldn’t do it. Then again maybe lots of them would like to leave but just can’t. It’s not so easy to just say “we’re going to move”.

Guess I’ll run now so I can get a head start on everything before the misses and kiddo’s get up. Hope everyone has a great weekend, take care and God Bless.

I landed back in Denver yesterday around 10:10am after a quick 2 day trip to the Big Apple. The misses was home nursing her never ending headache and the boys were at school. I unpacked my suitcase and headed downstairs to pay some bills and get some computer work done. This morning I have a Bocelli presentation for the Colorado team at 9am and then need to head to Boulder for a meeting.

It was a bit stormy yesterday with a little rain but nothing like the day before from what I’m told. The next few days are supposed to be a mix of rain and snow which is too bad since it’s the weekend.

The oldest is playing away on his new alto recorder and has already amassed a number of colored ribbons for passing level after level. Of course this means non-stop playing around here but at least the alto is a much lower pitch than the first model he had. It’s hard to believe but the boys have something like 6 weeks of school left and then it’s summer.

Both boys were working the neighborhood hard selling an assortment of flowers, candy and candles to raise money for the school. The youngest went to all the neighbors and at dinner told us he was going to let one of the neighbors use one of our checks since he didn’t have his checkbook. We quickly explained why that wouldn’t work! They’re both up to about $75 or $100 each and Uncle T is going to take the oldest ones form to the bank next week. That’s a bit of an advantage so we’ll have to assign Grandma to the youngest. I’m sure we or he will be calling each and everyone of you this weekend as well! It’s good they’re so excited to do something to help the school when it doesn’t directly benefit them. Mom has already bought something and now I’m getting the full press. In fact, I’m telling him right now how much each of you will buy from him to deflect the $24 worth of flower bulbs he’s pressuring me to buy. He’s quite the salesman, wonder where he gets that?

Not much else going on so time to run to the gym before the kids get up and we all get going. Hope you all are well and have some fun plans for the weekend. Take care and God Bless,

Good morning.  I am a little late posting this morning because the youngest beat me to the computer.  I got the boys off to school after a quick breakfast.  The oldest slept in until 7:30….he was up until almost 10p.m. Yikes!!

Yesterday while  I was spreading mulch handful by handful, the thunder started rolling in.  I had to stop and listen a few times to make sure I wasn’t hearing things.  As I was making dinner the tornado warnings were posted on the television…along with the “take cover” announcement.  The warnings were for an area east of us and there was no moisture with the thunder at our house.  I was having trouble falling asleep last night.  Just as I was about to drift off, the thunder rolled back in at about triple the decimals as the thunder of the afternoon.  The sound was accompanied by quite the light show and a nominal amount of rain and hail.  I ran to the window to see the show and of course my “midnight brain” took over and I was debating whether or not to grab the kiddos and dogs and head down to the basement.  I turned on the television to see if there were any warnings since the storm was so loud I had doubts about hearing storm sirens if there were any.  Nothing on T.V….that did not ease my mind one bit…..especially after the debacle of the reverse 911 calls during the recent fires here in Colorado.  Anyway, I listened at the open window, breathed in the fresh misty air and waited for the storm to pass.  I climbed back in bed close to 1:00a.m. wide awake of course.

This morning there are leaves and an assortment of tree droppings all over the walkway and the new mulch…good news though…we fertilized the lawn yesterday and turned on the sprinklers, so the grass is well watered, as are the flowers and shrubs.

As we were pulling into school for drop off this morning we heard an awful noise coming from the right front tire…ugg!!  It sounded like a flat and I was dreading having to change a tire at school.  The oldest jumped out after we stopped and told me we had a flat tire…crap…the youngest said, “yep”.  Then the youngest turned back, bent down and pulled out a cottonwood stick from the wheel well and said, “Oh mom, the tire isn’t flat…it’s just a stick”.  Whew!!!  Seriously dodged a bullet on that one.

LOL just called, so I am off to give the dog a shot.

Have a great day and God Bless,

LLF

Good morning everyone.  The air is crisp, the birds are chirping and the sky is overcast with spring colors. The boys and I slept in until 7, so we missed the sunrise.  We all needed the extra sleep since we stayed up late.

We picked up the oldest’s friend Jennifer from school yesterday at her Mom”s request. Jennifer’s step dad broke his leg on Monday and her mom was taking him to a specialist…..I brought the crew home for a bite to eat and then we were off to soccer for the youngest.  After that Jen’s mom met us at our house and I took the oldest over to another friend’s with his bike in tow for a late play date.  At the youngest’s sincere request I headed up the street to pick up steamed dumplings and chicken satay. The oldest went out to dinner with his friend and the youngest played with the neighbor at our house.  Good times for kiddos.

The boys don’t have school today because of the budget cuts forced on public schools.    All teachers and faculty have to take  day without pay to save money in order to keep the classrooms at 25-30 kids per teacher (that is already too many children for 1 teacher) otherwise the classroom size could climb to 30-45 children.  It is unbelievable to me that with all of the education chatter from both parties teachers in public schools are still underpaid and undervalued.  The teachers already took pay cuts last year to keep the class sizes smaller this year…next they will be asked to donate their time.  We have such great, caring teachers at our school.  We are quite fortunate…I know not all schools have such invested teachers.  Anyway, the Furlough is why the munchkins are out of school today.

The youngest has D.I practice from 9-noon.  The State competition is Saturday…so is soccer…fortunately not at the same time.  After D.I. today I am taking them to a movie…thank you again Grandma Annette for the gift cards.  We will do some homework, have a bite to eat and go to bed early.

The Mister returns from New York tomorrow morning…hopefully it is a successful trip.

Take care…God bless,

LLF

Ok, first off, was that article not there again yesterday??? It’s not showing up now but was there when I posted the post yesterday, hmm. I guess I’ll have to re-write it myself instead of cutting and pasting.

This morning I’m off to New York for a quick 48 hour trip. That means I’ll be home Thursday am around 10am. Yesterday the boys were back at school and half way through the day we received a call form the oldest asking if we could bring $20 to school as he passed all 27 songs and graduated to the alto recorder. He’s worked so hard and is the only person in his class to move up to the larger alto flute like thing. The whole family supports him but the non stop playing of various songs can drive you up a wall. Next up the youngest one will start and we’ll have a band here at the house.

Right after school Mom wanted some black mulch for her garden and when she’s got something in her head, there’s no stopping her. So off we went to Lowe’s for 5 bags of mulch. By dinner time, those were all gone, spread over a small portion of the garden. I did a quick calculation and I think she’ll need about 20 more bags. Thankfully they’re only about $3 each. Oh well, that’ll keep her busy for the next day or two.

The youngest went to d.i. after school and then we rushed home so he could go to martial arts with his friend as it was buddy day. By 6:15 we all sat down for a dinner of pasta (we eat a lot of pasta) and then it was back outside until around 7:30. The youngest one finally got the new sheets he wanted for his bed as he says his flannel ones are itchy. By 9 we were all tucked in and now at 5:23 everyone is still sleeping. Time for me to run s I have an 8:30 flight.

Take care and God Bless. Oh by the way, I received something I ordered in the mail yesterday and wouldn’t you know it, inside the envelope was a free bible! I don’t know if you guys buy much through the mail but I’m seeing more and more of this. Companies are including things like free bibles or copies of the U.S. Constitution. Good for them, just thought I’d pass that on.

Have a great few days and enjoy the misses posts.

It was warm yesterday, somewhere in the mid 70’s. We woke up pretty early and made it to church for the 8am service. The boys sat through the sermon with us as the kids programs are not available on Easter. They did pretty well compared to what I remember I was like as a kid. It was a good sermon and the place was packed!

We arrived home around 9:10 and the boys and I quickly changed clothes and jumped in the car to run to the store to get Mom and Grandma some flowers. When we arrived back home the boys and their keen eyes spotted some colored eggs around the yard. It was all I could do to keep them inside until Mom got back from giving that annoying freakin little dog his morning shot. (we’re getting really tired of the misses having to go down the street every morning and night to give the dog a shot!) As soon as she showed up, the hunt was on. With the determination of a finally trained bird dog, they both searched out 24 eggs in a matter of minutes. Next is was off to Grandmas’s where another 24 eggs were stashed around the yard along with 2 baskets, one for each boy. That took a little longer but they were still quick. Oh yea, in between they had a quick egg hunt at the neighbor’s house as well.

Then it was off to play while we began to prepare the big feast. Uncle T called and said to keep an eye on Grandma as she wasn’t feeling too good. It turns out about 20 minutes before lunch she called to tell me to come get the food she prepared but she wouldn’t be making it as she didn’t feel to well and was just going to take a rest. Of course we were all disappointed but if she wasn’t feeling well, it is what it is. So the boys and us, joined by Ben the neighbor kid, sat down to eat ham, garlic mashed potato’s, cucumber salad, deviled eggs, french toast and assorted condiments for lunch. We joked that it takes a few hours to get lunch ready and an hour to clean up but only about 15 minutes to eat! Anyhow it was a good meal and we have enough food leftover for weeks.

The boys spent the rest of the day playing outside until around 7pm. The day included some time in the hot tub, football, building and playing in their secret fort down by the creek and a little bit of time on video games. All in all they had a fun busy day.

The misses head has been pounding again ever since the doctor manipulated it to find the source of her pain. We don’t get to go for more injections until a week from tomorrow so it’ll be a rough week. Hopefully next week will bring some sustained real relief.

In closing, here’s that article I was trying to insert last week. After you read it, it’s pretty hard not to agree with most of it. As I said, we’re pro choice but the rest of it is pretty spot on. What kind of  country have we become, does anyone think we’re actually headed in the right direction? Read it and decide for yourself.

Enough said, take care and God Bless you all,