I obviously haven't been blogging.

I obviously haven't been blogging so what HAVE I been doing?

In February my Mom came up from California to hit the St. George Parade of Homes with me. Funny name. The people parade, not the homes, but whatever. We decided to start with the house the furthest (farthest?) from mine. Of course that is the one at which I chose to lock my keys in the car. With the car running. Yes, really. Poor Steve. He was working 10-12 hour days, six days a week, at that time... and having a nap at that particular moment - which was rudely interrupted by an hour long rescue mission. We all make mistakes like this once a decade, or so, right? I locked myself out of the house a week later. Long story that I will skip but, yes, I had to pull Steve away from work to rescue me. Fortunately I am really good at laughing at myself. He's getting pretty good at laughing at me, too.

In March Steve and I made the one hour drive to Zion to do a two hour hike. It was one of those hikes that require a hiker's guide that gives directions like "hike up this gully and turn slightly left after the burned tree then continue up the confluence to the boulder with a protrusion that looks like a cupcake". We were prepared for it: wearing our hiking boots and the ugliest shorts we own. After successfully finding the 'hidden' arch and returning to our vehicle, Steve says "let's just go to Flagstaff, Arizona". I say something along the lines of "sure, why not" because Steve always says stuff like that but we never really do it. A few hours later I'm at Target, in Flagstaff, looking for a toothbrush, underwear, and something less horrifying than the ugliest shorts I own, to wear to dinner. We purchased what we needed, had a lovely evening, and made plans to visit trendy Sedona, AZ, the next day. Morning brought a surprise for Steve when he discovered he'd grabbed the size small undies off the shelf instead of the requisite size large. Fortunately, we have both learned to laugh at him, too.

April was about children. Well, adults, but OUR children.

Round one: Steve's girls. New York City. Getting there was a nightmare starting with a missed flight, a day long stint in the airport waiting for the next flight, and endless circling of JFK waiting for a window of opportunity to land. This could be an incredibly long story (you know I could make it one, right?) but I'll rein it in and just say this: Delta airlines was responsible for us missing our flight then charged us $50 apiece to reschedule. Grrr. We had three great days with Brooke and Emily, Ro and Mike: eating, playing Wii, catching Susan Sarandon in a Broadway play. Our return flight boarded right on time. We then sat on the tarmac for THREE hours. Add that to the five hour flight. That equals eight hours without food because they ran out in the first few rows. May I just say GRRRR again? It's a good thing the part of vacation that fell between the rotten start and the maddening end was well worth it!

Round two: My girls and their boys. St. George, Utah. Wii Golf and coloring Easter eggs. Hiking amongst the red rocks at Pioneer park. Good Times. Well, except for poor Max (Katie's beau) who had a stomach disturbance/fever thing going on. You just had to feel bad for him: there's nothing quite like visiting the girlfriend's mom when you'd rather crawl under a rock. Two points to Max for toughing it out.

Now it's May. I went to Ogden to attend graduation at Weber State University. TWO graduates. Katie recieved her Bachelor of Integrated Studies. Mike collected his Master of Business Administration. Seriously, how proud am I? The girls and I spent an afternoon wandering through antique shops. Fun, right? Yeah, right up until I realized that a lot of stuff in the shops is stuff I had as a kid. Ouch. Then again, when they found an old Bonneville High yearbook, with photos of their aunt and uncle in it, the amusement factor went way up. Why is getting old so much funnier when it's somebody else and not me?


So, that's what I've been doing instead of blogging. It may not seem terribly exciting to YOU, but through my eyes it has been a happy spring. Now comes summer. In St. George that means 100-plus degree temperatures pretty much every day. Close the doors. Lower the blinds. It's time to hide until fall.

Hitting my Year, 2 months early

This week it has suddenly occurred to me that I feel better. A Lot better.

After heart surgery in April I felt much better than I had for the 10 months or so before that which is when my body was in the process of shutting down because of the tumor in my heart. That being said, I still didn't feel "good".

But now, I Do! It's hard to even put a finger on because I not only feel better, I feel different. Younger. Stronger. Somehow, more alive. I am first now realizing how really sick I was, and not just for the last 18 months, but probably for 5-10 years before that.

I was told it takes a full year to really feel better after this surgery. There are still issues such as a minor cough that won't quite go away and a scar that itches to the point of insanity. Little stuff. But 10 months in, I have turned the corner from "I'm feeling okay" to "I feel great!".

If I had more family around here I'd throw a party. A one year anniversary, 2 months early, party. I sure feel like celebrating!

Why I work where I do

When I first moved to St. George in 2006 I found a job working in the front office for a local dentist. I liked it there. I thought I was doing a good job, and was told I was doing a great job. And then, after 4 months, I got fired. No warning. Nada. To this day, I don't know why. So I went on unemployment and started looking for work. Again.

My vehicle of choice for job hunting is the Utah Job Service web site. One day I got a call from an employer who's ad had not interested me. Apparently at Job Service's website, employers can see who clicked on their ad and read their resumes. Who Knew?

The job was for a chiropractic office putting heat and muscle stimulation on the patients. Since they'd called me I felt that I needed to go ahead and apply to keep good faith with the state agency paying my unemployment benefits.

The manager wanted me to come down right then, if possible. I was in jeans, doing housework. Told her I needed time to clean up and she said not to worry about that, just come on down. So down I went. Had a pleasant interview. Came away pretty sure I was going to get this job and pretty dang sure I didn't want it. Yup. She called the next day and the job was mine. I figured, what the heck, I'll take the job and earn a few bucks while I look for something I actually want to do.

I've been with Gunn Chiropractic for 2 1/2 years now. Here's the thing. The people who work in this office are the best. Dr Gunn, Josh, is the kind of boss you all want, but probably don't have. He treats us well. He trusts us to do our jobs so he steps back and lets us do them. No nagging, no badgering. And he's a genuinely nice person. Treats his patients' physical needs and listens to their emotional ones. And jokes around with us. My kind of boss.

Our office manager, Nancy, is one of the kindest souls I have ever known. She would give me the shirt off her back if I needed it. And go without herself. She is a world-class listener. The patients, and those of us who work with her, know that she genuinely cares about our problems - and would fix them if it were in her power to do so.

Hannah, who now does patient care while I do insurance billing, is nothing short of amazing. She has this knack of making whichever patient she is with feel like they are the single-most important person on the planet. They adore her. Me too, Me too! I don't think Hannah knows how to complain about anything. Nice is not a nice enough word.

We four are of four different generations. And yet, somehow, it really seems to work. I think our patients recieve top-notch care on every level. We are an old-fashioned, extra-mile, type of outfit. We take our jobs seriously and try to do them well. We work hard but we have so much fun while we're doing it, it is not uncommon to laugh until we hurt.

So, officially, my job is insurance billing. Insurance companies are of the Devil. They exist to aggravate me, I know they do. I cannot say that I love the job that I do. But I can say that I love the people I do it with so much that I can't imagine working anywhere else.