Erica

I got my pictures all uploaed. I thought I had them all resized but it turns out I don’t. So they are big. You can look at them if you want now, or you can wait until I resize them.

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I had a long post all typed out and ready to go, but I lost it. Long story, I was relying on a weak wireless signal to do the job. Won’t make that mistake again! Anyway, there is a lot to catch up on so lets get started.

The kids already started school! Taylor started on the 12th of August. She is in 8th grade this year. She is going to the Mid-High which is 8th and 9th grade students. She said the school is super crowded and one of the teachers told us the other day that there are 2500 kids in that school alone. The busses are a joke. Taylor said they are sitting 3-4 kids per seat. She has to ride the bus in the mornings until next week, and my mom picks her up and brings her home on her way home from work. Other than that, she is really liking school so far. We’ll see how much she likes it in a couple of months.

Zack started school on the 18th of August. He loves it already. The only drawback to this year is they are starting an hour later and of course getting out an hour later. Last year school was from 8 am to 3 pm. This year it is 9am to 4 pm. That makes for crazy afternoons when Zack has soccer practice. Practice is from 5:30 to 6:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays, and cub scouts on Mondays from 7pm to 8pm. Crazy times but it’s fun and keeps us out of trouble.

Jeff is officially an old man. His birthday was Aug. 23rd. He had an eye appt. the day before and found out he needs bifocals. He is very lucky considering he has had great vision most of his life. He wears reading glasses now but will need some prescription glasses since one eye is worse than the other. For Jeff’s birthday, he really wanted to go camping so his brother Andre and I were in cahoots to make it happen. On Saturday I told Jeff I had to go to work and snuck off to get all our camping gear. We have never gone camping as a family so this was a great new experience for us. We left Saturday afternoon and came home Sunday afternoon. It rained hard Saturday night so we hid out in the tent and played cards. It was a lot of fun, even though Zack almost ruined my camera by spilling a drink all over it. That dang kid can’t stay still to save his life! Because of that, a lot of my pictures were taken on my phone and the quality is terrible. I’m really disappointed about that because I had some great shots. Anyway, we will definately be going again as soon as we can. Zack had a blast and Taylor said she didn’t have any fun at all. Whatever, next time we’ll just leave her with grandma.

I start working from home this weekend. I brought home my laptop and all the stuff I would need to make sure everything worked correctly. It does! It takes a while for some things to load but once that is done I’m good to go. I am really excited to do this and I hope it goes well.

Dad, you can tell Brian he was right and thank you very much. We got a letter in the mail this weekend about the instrument cluster in the Tahoe. They have raised the warranty to 7 years 70,000 miles to fix it, so I have an appointment on Tuesday to get it fixed. For those that don’t know, the instrument cluster in my 2005 Chevy Tahoe is going out. The speedometer doesn’t work all  the time the rpm gauge started going out the other day. I have been driving with it like that in hopes that a recall would be out soon. It is expensive to fix and happened of course after our warranty was expired. No worries though, I haven’t got a ticket and I try to stay with the flow of traffic so I don’t get in trouble. I’m excited to get that fixed so I’ll know how fast I’m really going.

I’m going to attempt to get some pictures in a picture album from this weekend posted. We’ll see what happens!

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I got some very exciting news at work yesterday. The company I work for is doing a pilot program for work at home. It is a one month trial and if it works it could be permanent. A couple of weeks ago about 25 of us were pulled into a meeting with upper management. They could only pick 10 people to start so they gave us all the information we would need to make that decision, and the requirements we would have to work at home.  Then they said they could only take employees who had been with the company for 2 years or longer. Well, I started with the temp agency exactly 2 years ago Sept. 1 but they were going from permanent hire date which meant I was disqualified by 4 months.

Yesterday one of upper management asked me to come and see her. I had never been called into the office, so I was a little nervous and trying to think if there was anything I had done that would require me having to have a conversation with her. She told me that one of the people that was part of the program was no longer able to participate and wanted to know if I would like to. Heck yeah!! So, starting Sept. 1st I will be working from home. I really hope this works out, and I am so grateful to work for a company that really rewards their employees for good work.

We have a meeting tomorrow to go over more stuff. Lots of requirements! For those that don’t know, I work for a medical insurance company so I deal with protected health information all day long. I have to have a room that I can lock and other good stuff like that. So that is all I will say about that, other than I am really excited to be part of this.

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Jeff thought he would be cute and give me quite a scare on Monday. He woke up early Monday morning with stomach pains. He thought he just needed a laxative because of our diet, but he was in some pain. I left for work and he leaves about 30 minutes after me. I was at work for about 45 minutes when I get a text from a co-worker of his that says “Jeff is going to the hospital by ambulance, call me for details.” I don’t think I could have shut my computer down any faster and had my supervisor clock me out and I was out the door. I called Freddy (who text me) and he said Jeff was doubled over in pain so bad they called an ambulance to come and get him. He said, “Erica, he looks really bad. His blood pressure was like 157 over 98 and he’s sweating really bad. The paramedics are loading him up now to take him to the hospital.”  I beat him to the hospital so while I was waiting I called his mom to let her know what was happening, crying, trying not to be hysterical. They let me wait for him out in the ambulance bay, and I’m not sure if he even remembers me being there. They got him and and over to the bed in the e.r. and here come the slowest nurses ever (well it seemed like it to me). The paramedics had given him morphine but it was wearing off and he needed more pain medicine. The nurse had to draw some blood first from the i.v. that the paramedics did. She was slow and she kept digging around in his arm. He said at that point he didn’t know what hurt worse. The pain was in the lower right abdomen region, radiating around to the small of his back. We thought appendicitis for sure.

The doctor came in all calm and cool and I’m freaking out and Jeff is in pain. They finally gave him more pain meds and the doctor is feeling around, and after a few questions tells us, “You have a kidney stone.” What? Really? He ordered a ct scan and about 10 minutes later they came and got him and had him back in no time. More drugs and he was passed out cold until the doctor came in again and said yes for sure that’s what it is. It was almost to his bladder and was about 3 mm in size. They gave him a prescription for more pain meds and off we went home. Overall, even though I thought they were going way to slow we were at the hospital from about 7 in the morning and we were home by noon. I guess we got lucky they weren’t that busy so early in the morning.

Poor Jeff was in lots of pain so he got lots of pampering and lots of sleep. He passed the stone the next afternoon and instantly felt much better. He said he feels like he gave birth. He spent the rest of the night sleeping off the effects of the pain meds. Now his stomach as been upset for the past couple of days but overall he feels much much better. I told him he is never allowed to scare me like that again. Ever. He just laughed and gave me a hug.

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Ok so it’s been awhile, I know. Lots of things have happened, not so interesting maybe but whatever. Let’s start with Fathers Day. We drove up to the top of the Sandia Mountains for the day. You can see the crest from our house, there are all kinds of towers up there. There is also a ski resort and the tram which takes you to a very nice restaraunt called High Finance. We have never rode the tram in all the years we have lived here. One of these days we will. Anyway, back on track here….we had a great time and I have pictures to prove it. It’s a beautiful drive up there and only takes about an hour from our house. Jeff loves it up there. I think it’s because of all the towers and all things electrical. I will post pics later, I haven’t felt like taking the time to get them in an album yet.

We stayed home for the 4th of July. I worked that morning. I usually have it off but they offered us double overtime plus regular holiday pay so I showed up for 6 hours. If they offer that for other holidays I will most likely take them up on it again. Besides we don’t do anything until the afternoon so why not? We had a nice bbq and when it was time for the city fireworks we climbed on top of our roof and watched them. We have a great view up there. The only downside is there are a lot of trees around us and they are growing quickly so before much longer our view will be gone and we will have to find another fun way to watch fireworks without being in the middle of tons of people. Jeff wants to drive to the top of the crest and watch them from there. I don’t know if they allow people up there that late at night but we will definately be checking into that. We would have quite the show. After the city fireworks we lit our own. A couple of our neighbors came out and oohhed and aahhed with us. My brother in law and his girlfriend also came over with a friend of hers from work and his kids. We had a lot of fun, but no pictures to prove it.

If you notice, I added another page to my blog. Jeff, Taylor and I are starting a diet and excerise plan on Monday. You can read more about it there if you want. I figure if I post it, it will give me more motivation.

We are headed to the dump today to unload the neighbors trailer so we can fill it up again. My apricot tree in the backyard is full of apricots. We have started picking them but have sooooo much more to go. It kills me that they are like 4 dollars a pound at the grocery store and I’m begging people to take them so they don’t go bad. I’ll take a picture of the branches so you can see how full they are. It’s crazy.

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The prosthetic leg story as promised! So on my old team the guy that sat in front of me has a prosthetic leg. I had wanted to ask him about it, but didn’t because of compliance issues and HIPPA regulations (just covering my butt here). Well Friday, he came in to work late which is unusual for him and he was wearing shorts showing his leg. Since I was moving to my new team I had to ask him what happened to his leg. You know the old saying “Curiosity killed that cat”? Well, curiosity was killing Erica. So I asked him. It was from a birth defect when his mom was pregnant with him and he lost his leg at a very early age. He said he didn’t learn to walk until he was 5 because the prosthetics they gave him were too difficult for him to walk with. His leg is gone from just below the knee.

Well, he decided to tell me why he was late. He said he was at Albertsons getting some groceries with his girlfriend when his fake leg which is made out of titanium steel broke on him. Down to the floor he went, and everyone that saw was freaking out. They were freaking out because at first look, he just broke a real leg and his bone is sticking out like a compound fracture. You wouldn’t know because he normally wears jeans so you can’t see it. Well, he is laughing and the other customers are looking at him in disbelief because they think he should be in terrible pain. He got up and everything was ok. I guess he showed them what happened before someone called an ambulance for him. He said the one had Friday was a spare he has and that he breaks them all the time. He said the last time it happened he was at the flea market and many more people saw that one. I can’t imagine what I would have done if I was one of those customers that had witnessed the breaking of the leg. He is a good sport and has a great attitude about it!

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So our lives are pretty boring. The last few weeks in a nutshell…. My stepdaughter Casie was here for about a week. We really enjoy when she visits and we wish she could stay longer. Jeff gets so sad when she leaves. Logan flew back to Oklahoma to spend the summer with her dad. This is the first time we have flown her and it was well worth the money (less than a tank of gas for her dad and I). We will most likely let her fly from now on.   And the people who work for Southwest Airlines are fantastic!

I got a promotion at work. More money and more work, what was I thinking? I moved all my stuff today to my new team, new supervisor and new desk. It was really sad for me to go because the people I left today are like family to me. But I am excited and nervous all at the same time for my new job. I’m also “buddying” a new training class for the next couple of weeks. What that means is they pull some of the best from the floor and have them help train people that are just coming out of training. This is the second time I have done this and I love it. I have learned so much from my trainees.

Other than that, life is pretty boring. The kids are out of school and have been since May 21 or something like that. Jeff is working, working, working, just like always. So am I. They put a ridiculous amount of overtime on all of us because our inventory is incredibly high.  I pretty much live at work now and will until I get my overtime done. 

Just a footnote to my dad and tech support. The link to my blog still goes to my old blog on both of your pages :)  And don’t let me forget to tell you about the story of the guy I work with and his prosthetic leg. It is great, but I’ll tell you when I feel like writing more.

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This is where my middle daughter Logan gets to go about every 6 months. She goes here because this is the part of the University of New Mexico Childrens Hospital which deals with orthopaedic patients. Logan has scoliosis, bad enough that she has been braced since she was 8 years old and she is now 11. She will be braced until a year after she hits puberty or until the doctor says she can be out of it for good. Doctors start bracing when the spine is at a 20 degree curve. I forgot to ask what her curve was today but I believe the last time we were here it was at 26 degrees. She likes coming because she gets out of school for the day. The hospital is in Albuquerque but by the time we get down there and get everything done it eats up most of the day.

We start by checking in and waiting. Then they take her back to take all her vitals. Then we get to go to xray where they take a front view and a side view. This is the xray machine they use. It’s not the typical one you would usually see. The ladies that work here are very nice. They show Logan how everything works and let her watch as her xray was uploaded onto the computer. Next we are taken to her room where we wait (and wait) for the doctor. She was getting mad at me because I was taking so many pictures… ha ha! Her doctor is very nice, but he is also a very busy man. He is the only doctor at this hospital (that I am aware of) that does spine clinics. Clinics are every Thursday morning and they are hard to get in. You have to make appointments a few months in advance to get in. This is also a teaching hospital so he always has someone tagging along. They usually don’t say anything, just observe.  

Here is a picture of her xrays. The one on the left is the one they took today and the one on the right was taken the last time we were here.  There isn’t much change which means her brace is working which is great news. Her doctor is doing a study on bracing right now (Logan doesn’t qualify since she is already braced) to see if they really do any good. He said in her case with really no change he would keep her in it for sure. The only thing he did notice is the top portion is turning more and when she bends over her hump on the top right side of her back is becoming more prominent. He said it didn’t show in the xray though. All in all, it was a good visit.We’ll be back in 6 months for another check-up. 

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Harley was our 4 year old yellow Labrador mix. We had 2 dogs, one was Harley and the other is Duke who is a collie, blue heeler mix. Today I had to go down to animal control to surrender Harley. That dang dog, he is a fantastic family dog, great with kids, great with other animals, but he just doesn’t want to stay in the yard. He got out again on Friday and animal control picked him up but didn’t bother to call us until yesterday to let us know they had him. He is microchipped, so when we didn’t hear from animal control or the microchip company we figured the worst and left it at that. Jeff and I both let out a sigh of relief when we found out they had him. We decided that this was it, we can’t keep bailing him out of doggy jail. We have done everything we possibly can to keep him in the yard but nothing worked.

We first started with an invisible fence. When he would get too close to his barriers, the collar he would wear would start beeping so he would know to back off. If he got too close it would shock him. That worked for a little while until he figured out when the batteries died in his collar and off he would go. We put cattle grade chicken wire against the back of our fence because he was knocking boards out of the fence and getting out. That dog wold pull holes in the wire and still get out. So, Jeff got farm grade electric fence and ran that all along the fence in the back yard. Harley was still getting out. We caught him jumping up to the retaining wall that surrounds our yard, so we got lattice and nailed it into the retaining wall. He is still getting out. We can’t chain him up. We tried that one time and he barked all day long. When we got home we had all kinds of nasty messages on our machine. So when he got out this last time and animal control got him, we decided it was just best to let him go. He needs a home in the country with wide open spaces.

It’s been a tough decision and a very sad day around here. We’ve had Harley for 3 years now and we’ve just run out of options to keep him contained. We have spent over a $1000 dollars to keep him in and we just don’t have anymore to give. I pray he finds a good home with a loving family that can give him what we weren’t able to. I love that dog very much and I am heartbroken that we had to let him go. The tears are starting again so I need to finish this. I never thought it would be this hard to give him up, but it is tearing me up inside.

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Soccer that is. Logan had her last game yesterday down in the South Valley of Albuquerque which meant about a 45 min. drive from the house. They tied the game at 2 and the girls were happy about that since they didn’t lose. Her team has really improved since they started last Sept. During the fall season they had one win and the rest were losses, and pretty bad losses. This spring season they have had one win, three losses and four ties. We’ll take that! Zackery’s last regular season game was yesterday as well. They lost, again. Bad. again. Poor guys, they try so hard. I think they have won 2 games this season. They will be playing in tournaments next weekend. Three games for them and then we are done until fall season.

Taylor’s birthday is this Friday, yikes! She will officially be a teenager. She likes to think she already is ha ha. She wants to go to Cliffs Amusement Park (which is like a small Lagoon, or a really small Six Flags) or Hinkle Family Fun Center which is one of those places that like to bleed parents dry of all their money. For the money, Cliffs is a better deal, so we’ll probably do that the first weekend in May since we have soccer tournaments the weekend of her birthday. 

The weather has been so beautiful! We have all taken out the shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. The only draw back has been the dang wind. Hopefully it will finally calm down some soon, then it will just be hot. We haven’t hooked up the swamp cooler yet, maybe next weekend?

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