Canoe Trip

No these are not my pictures. I got mine back on Saturday and have yet to scan them in. I decided to play it safe again and just take my old Vivitar SLR, so I had to wait for the film to come back. My friend Aur sent me copies of her pictures though so here you go.

Cala, Rachel, me and Aur.
The first place we stopped to swim at. This cliff was pretty huge and many of the guys and some of the girls went up to jump off. I would have but I wasn't supposed to swim with my biopsies and I figured jumping off cliffs was out of the question.

Our fearless leaders.

me, Aur and Helen.

Yes that is Cala lounging around in the front of that canoe.

I Was Thinking...

A few weeks ago at Bible study we had a question and answer to follow our talks on why we should get married. A friend and I were quite distracted during this session. As 25 year old women, we know why we should get married, so we took to writing notes to each other about the topic. She came up with a bright idea brought on by the statement that women need to make sure they look available, i.e. not spending too much time with one specific guy friend, so that guys won't be afraid to pursue you. Now that is not exactly in perfect words what was said but the gist of it. Her idea was to make sandwich boards, I suggested tee shirts, that say Available For Marriage. Just to make sure no guy who would want to pursue is mistaken. This past week and a half I decided along with that shirt I need one that says available for marriage but not to you.

How about some background. I have been donating plasma. The center is in the middle of town. This can lead to some interesting characters coming in, not to mention you get paid, so those who need an easy dollar are there. So I try to dress down a little and keep my nose in a book. Generally this works. Well I happened to catch the eye of one of the guys who works there. That didn't really bother me, he would just call me beautiful and cause me to blush, harmless. Last week I go in and as I have my nose in my book I can see someone walking by and he says don't I know you, aren't you a nurse or something. I totally ignore it and read on. He then gets called to the donor floor, I keep reading. They then call me to the donor floor and what bed would be available other than the one next to him. ARRRGGG! I keep my nose in the book. He says hey, hey, I was trying to get acquainted with you earlier. I nod and dive back into the book, hoping he gets the point. Nope he doesn't he then asks if I am married or have a boyfriend. I don't want to lie so I say no and read again. He asks if I am a student or what I do. I say I am a student, giving general answers. He asks my name and tells me his. They hook me up to the machine and the lady who is doing so gives me a good diversion for a few minutes. Then it is back to Mr. man. This guy is clueless. He then asks if he could take me out, I said I am sorry no. He then asks if it is because he is black. I said no. He then asks if he is just not my type and I tell him yes. The man has got to be at least 40! He could be my father, I want to tell him. Again I start reading. He then says I made him sad. I tell him I am sorry. So then he proceeds to try to bribe me into a date. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! He says he is about to make this money and needs someone to take out to eat for some seafood and then buy some clothes for you know spend this money on, I know good and well the most he is making is $35. I said I am sorry I can't help you out.

I see the guy who works there walk back about two times and I try to make eye contact with a desperate look on my face but he is on some sort of mission and doesn't notice my desperate looks. The guy still doesn't stop he tells me he may look a little rough right now, but he cleans up good. He puts on his nice Sunday suit and looks real good. I just smile say I am sorry no. I go back to reading. He continues to try and pester me, half the time I just ignore it. Then he finally says I see you are trying to read I will let you. So wait you just now see that I am trying to read, as if my nose has not been planted in this book, other than when you pestered me. I sigh, smile and read on.

So this week, the guy who works there takes my file from a girl who is trying to process me and says he will take care of me. I joked that he is kidnapping my file. He asked how I was doing. I said ok but told him when I needed him he wasn't there. I said I was being hit on by a 40 year old, and he walked by me and I was trying to make eye contact so he could help me out. He said next time just tell the phlebotomist to come and get him and he will do everything to come to me. I said ok, you need to check on me more often. He then asked if he could take me out, I told him I did not know him. He said I will, and left it alone. He then checked on me twice while I was back there.

I Am a Man of Science

Lately I have been donating, well more selling my body to science. About a month ago I started donating plasma again, which pays pretty well and you are helping other people, and you can donate up to twice a week, so you end up helping more people. Seeing that I am borderline anemic, I can't donate whole blood. Ironically I learned this when I did donate blood and kept getting declined after the first few times of donating.

About a month ago two of my faculty completed a Diabetes II study here at UAMS and were telling me I should do it too, since it was an easy way to get $175. So once school was out I contacted our research center and set a date. So two weeks ago I went in. The first day you go in after an 8 hour fast. They draw your blood to get your fasting blood glucose, then they draw it a few more times over 30 minutes. Then you have to drink bottle of liquid glucose in 2 minutes. Then they draw your blood every 20 or so minutes for 2 hours. While you are waiting for the next draw they take you into another room and do a body scan. This gives you your bone density, body fat percentage and lean body mass. Pretty interesting. Some of the blood samples they take for all different labs. A few days later they emailed me all my lab values and they are all perfectly in range. Calcium, potassium and all. My glucose testing went perfectly, I started at a 75 and ended at 75, which is perfect. I qualified for the study. So we scheduled my next appointment. That appointment I had to fast for 12 hours prior. I got there put on some shorts and was put in a hospital bed. They put IVs in both arms and soon the doctor came in to describe the procedure to me. They would be taking a fat and a muscle biopsy. So they set up their sterile field and prepped me. They asked if I had any questions and if I was ok. First they prepped my stomach for the fat biopsy. Then they pulled out the huge needle filled with lidocaine and started numbing my tummy, as he continued that part of my stomach felt heavier and heavier. He pulled out the scalpel and asked if I could feel that. I told him I did not even feel the pressure. He made a small half-inch incision. He held pressure on it then they took out the biopsy tool that looked like this. The bottom one is what they put in, the other two are what go inside the bottom one to actually cut the tissue.

Attached to the instrument is tubing that attaches to a HUGE syringe. The scrub nurse holds the syringe and pulls and closes the plunger to suck the tissue in. So they took about 15 samples of my fat. I told them they could have as much as they wanted. They kept asking if I was ok, or if I wanted my head lowered so I could not see as much. I told them the only thing that would be better, would be if I had a mirror so I could see all that they were doing. After that he held a lot of pressure on it to stop the bleeding then covered it with steri-strips, gauze and then the pressure bandage. Then it was on to the muscle biopsy. They changed out their gloves to maintain sterility and got my leg positioned correctly. Then it was on to prepping me. He told me once they had passed the fascia and hit the muscle it may spasm and cramp. So he started with the lidocaine and sure enough once he hit that muscle my leg twitched. He made the same size incision, except it went down to the muscle. Then it was on to the biopsy. The first one he took had some fat and muscle. So he deadened me some more and made the incision a little deeper. And went in a little deeper. He did the biopsy and when he pulled that sucker out, I felt something, that was not very comfortable. It wasn't really painful, it is hard to explain. So that was a good enough sample that he said he was done. Then he put a lot of pressure to stop bleeding and my thigh cramped up. So he also massaged the muscle and that helped. Then he bandaged that all up. Then he explained all the post-op care and asked if I had any questions. Then it was on to 3 hours of taking my blood. I was able to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 during this time though. After all that shock my body just wanted to go to sleep. After that they fed me lunch and I was on my way. Later that day I went and did some shopping for my sister's birthday and my leg did not want to. I was limping and ready to just go home and lay down.

The next day we went to float the Buffalo. It was a calm and easy trip but I don't think my body wanted me to do that after a biopsy. I did cover the wounds with Opsite, basically a transparent waterproof patch. They did ok. When I went to bed they got their revenge. The steri-strip on my tummy decided to come off, so the wound opened and I had about 4 blood stains on my bedding and some on my pjs when I got up. I reapplied a steristrip and got ready for church. After Sunday school we found my friend who is a recent nursing graduate, and had her fix me up. I had to put pressure to stop the bleeding some and that made me sick to my stomach and woozy. I have had to change those steristrips too many times, but the wounds are healing as they should be.

Here are my pressure bandages.

Here are the steristrips covering the wounds.

This one was taken right before the Buffalo trip, so it is pre-bloody mess.

Crott's Twins

Wednesday the 6th the Crott's twins were born. Carson James and Brady John. A little while after delivery Brady was taken to NICU with some fluid in his lungs.

Here I am with Carson. He looks like a doll.

Rachel and Carson

Emmie being quite mischievous.

Logan really wanted to hold Carson before he left.

While we were visiting they brought Brady in, they then told Jeff and Judy that he would be staying with her now. He would not have to go back to the NICU. Judy was totally overjoyed.

She told us we could feel free to pass Carson around but she wanted to hold onto Brady.

Carson and Brady

Candy and Carson. Candy proceeded to go into labor the next day which was her due date. Now little Ty has come into the world.

Momma and her babies

Brady getting the once over. These boys tend to squeak more than cry. They are so cute. We are so glad that they are here and healthy.

Oh My Car

If it is not one thing it is another. No I have been blessed with my car. I have not had any major fixes and that is normal with Toyota's, that is why I chose it. It's just those little things add up. Like 2 weeks ago my friend was finally able to find and fix a small leak around my windshield. It was making a mess and a horrible muggy smell after the rain. I am so grateful for his servant's heart, I did make him a big batch of his favorite cookies. This week the problem's were two-fold. First on Monday my inside door handle felt like it was coming unattached to the lever that actually opens the door. Then Tuesday on the way home from Bible study I went to open the door and it had unattached I could pull the handle but the door did not open. I had to laugh. Rachel came around and let me out. This morning was the greatest. When I bought the car the main key I received actually had the alarm on the key itself. It worked for like a week and then died. So I tried new batteries and they worked for like a day and died. I could deal with manually locking and unlocking my car, so I have been. I also noticed that the actual key part that goes in the ignition was a little turned. I figured that would be ok for a while but I should eventually get it fixed. About a few months ago the alarm part was beginning to crack around where it attaches to the key. I figured I was ok... That was until I tried to start my car this morning. I put the key in turned it and CRACK off came the plastic alarm piece and the key part was in the ignition. Providentially enough was sticking out so I could turn it and drive to work. Looks like I will be calling about a new key today. I do have 2 spares at home that I can use while they order me a new one. DEEP BREATH and sigh. Life is good.

Whirlwind of Life

So my life from now until oh July 1st is going to be in almost constant motion. I have been busy working on my sister's bridesmaid dress and almost have it completed, tonight will be the finishing touches on the zipper and finishing touches on the lining and hemming it. I still will probably have to take it in some more as she loses more weight before the wedding, but that is simple. After I finish that tonight I will have to get started on Rachel's Shaver's bridesmaid dress. I have her lining cut out and I want to sew that to see if it fits before I cut out the actual dress material.
Tomorrow we are going to Outback steakhouse to celebrate Rachel's birthday. After we eat we will head back to our house for movies, games, and cake.
Saturday morning we will be getting up to go to the Buffalo and float it with IFO. So I expect we will come back exhausted.
Sunday after church we have a picnic lunch for the students who just graduated high school, to introduce them to 222. So I will have no nap on Sunday. You have no idea how marvelous it was this Sunday to nap until I woke up on my own. I had no alarm set because we had our spring concert that morning and that was the official end of choir for this semester. Sunday is Rachel's actual birthday so we will bring cake to Care Group to celebrate with them.
Monday we have Weight Watchers, yes I joined the band wagon. I was trying to follow it at home, but I was cheating and not honestly counting my points so I kept going back and forth from losing to gaining. I think knowing I have to weigh in every week and that I am paying for this motivates me even more.
Tuesday we have Bible study.
Wednesday and Thursday I will spend all afternoon and evening sewing.
Friday Rachel and I are taking Hailey up to Missouri to pick up her car that she bought. Saturday I will be sewing once again.
Sunday is Father's day, since we are orphans we have been invited over to the Sombke's house for a belated birthday lunch for Rachel.
Monday I will probably be finishing Rachel's dress.
Tuesday I will start the packing and preparing for travel.
Wednesday will be last ditch efforts to get it all together.
Thursday at about 4:30 am we will be heading off in Rachel's car to the great state of Maine. I will be driving from LR to somewhere in Virginia. I told Rachel I will start out with a BIG mug of coffee and when I finish that I will have to reach back for a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew and drink those until we reach Virginia, where Rachel will take over driving and I will SLEEP. If we leave at 4:30 and make short minimal stops we should arrive at about 1 am or 1:30 am. I can't wait we only have two more weeks until we are home again. The only obligation we have while up there will be our cousin Holly's wedding the 23rd. I am so excited.

She loves me not, she loves me!

Oh the internal balance of a 4 year old little girl. This weekend I was asked to babysit my favorite kids.

Upon entering I found that Hanna was sound asleep on the couch. Her mom said she had a busy day and was not surprised that she had knocked out on the couch.
She said I could wake her if I wanted, but knowing the emotional crisis's that might be awoken with her, I decided to let her sleep. She woke up right before they left, and looked anything but happy to see me.

So I just let her be. Armon and I got situated at the table with our ravioli, salad and watermelon and started eating. Hanna started crying and calling for her mom.

I asked her if she wanted to eat and she growled at me. So Armon and I kept on eating and talking. When we finished Hanna was ready to eat.

She told me she wanted all of the watermelon to eat. I told her there was a whole watermelon cut up and she would not be able to. I told her if she finished the watermelon on her plate I would be happy to get her more.

She did finish it and so I asked if she wanted more and she growled yes. So I got her some more and she ate that all too.

Armon got out his gameboy and was playing so I rinsed the dishes. Then went into the living room as Hanna finished.

After she ate I cautiously asked her about her day, her mom had told me she had a great time. She excitedly told me about horse-back riding and proceeded to hug on me.

Ahh my sweet little Hanna that loves me is back. She asked me to paint her nails, so we put on a pretty shade of pink.

I remember I used to be the only one she would allow to hold her and love her. If I was seated she was in my lap, she did not stand for me holding other children. She told me she remembered when I used to take care of her as a baby.

Later as we sat on the couch, Hanna looked at me and said "You need a man." Ouch kid that was a low blow. I laughed and said oh I do. She told me assuredly that I did.

Wow kids really do say the darnedest things. I think she may have overheard her mom talking about that.

Every once and a while she asks me if there is a man in my life, and back when there was she would ask if it was serious. I think they really want me to get married.

We played and decided to watch a movie.

I figured half-way through we would pause it and get ready for bed, so after I would read their story and they would go right to bed, since it would be a while past their normal bedtime. She even crawled over and laid in my lap for some of the movie.

While they were supposed to be getting ready I walked into her room to find her laying on the floor on her stomach with her feet kicked up behind her, with her makeup case and new mirror in front of her busy applying eyeshadow and blush. I wish I had my camera in hand to capture that adorable moment.

Now Hanna can be quite a stinker when it comes to bedtime. But I figured if she stayed up a little while later than her bedtime she might be a little more tired and go down easier. I

was shocked that after they got ready and were going back to watch the end of the movie that she declared she just wanted to go to bed and not watch it. Armon still wanted to watch it so she decided she would fall asleep on the couch.

Not like a normal person would fall asleep on the couch but rather on the back where Armon had been laying before. I told her I did not think she could fall asleep up there, then left it alone. She didn't even get up there. She ended up staying up through the movie.

She asked Armon as we were getting ready to read if she could sleep with him. He told her ok as long as she stopped kissing him. He even let her bring in her nightlight, althogh it tends to bother him. She went back and forth from kissing me to him. After the story and goodnight hugs. I closed his door.

figured that I would not hear the patter of Hanna's little feet because she was sleeping with Armon. Normally she only gets out of bed when she is alone in her room.

But a few minutes later I heard the door creak and her little feet pattering and her little head peak around the corner. I went up and saw her pillow in hand and she told me she was going to sleep in her room. I was shocked but I helped her into bed and turned out the light and she was off to sleep.

Maybe it runs in the family

Most noteable injuries in my family have occured to me. Rachel has me beat hands down on most colorful, large single injury on the body.

She was climbing on cabinets at work and while getting down caught her leg on one of the open cabinet doors, it scraped off some skin and tore open a vein or artery. OUCH!

We should have put a ruler up to it.