New Addition

Brandon and I went to get a Jamba Juice today. In front of Artic Circle there in Draper there was a guy selling puppies. I told Brandon to stop I just wanted to see. He wouldn't because he wanted to go visit his sister. He told me to go back in the other car. So I figured I would just come upstairs and stay in for the night. But as we got home I kept thinking about the little glimpse of the puppy I saw and wanted to see more.

So I drove back to see the puppy and he was absolutely adorable. The guy told me he was a Bugg. I guess that is a Boston Terrier and Pugg mix. His face is all smushed and he grunts like a pig. I couldn't just walk away. So I called Brandon to see what he thought about getting another dog. Brandon thought it was a good idea it would give Daisy a companion. So we bought the dog.

Afterward I was pretty stressed thinking ok what did we get ourselves into. A new dog to potty train. When we got him home Daisy was excited at first. The new puppy is a little to rambunctious right now and like to chew and bite at everything Daisy included. Now she is timid of him. Hopefully they start to get along soon. And hopefully we didn't just make a mistake. Although he is really really cute!

Duke

Daisy & Duke

Graduation

Daisy graduated her intermediate class today. In two weeks she goes into the advanced class. She has gotten so good at minding. Well most the time anyway. Brandon and I think that it is so much nicer having a trained dog. Sometimes she has her moments where she wont listen to ya. But most the time you don't have to worry about it. I would definitely recommend for anyone that has a dog to take it to Petsmart training. I don't know how the other trainers work but Robyn is awesome. She is really great with the dogs and Daisy has a blast. It is defiantly worth it to have a trained dog.

Ignore the graduation cap on me. Brandon wouldn't do it this time since he did the last time.

This class was so much better than the last intermediate we had. The other dogs were friendlier as were their owners.

Dogs: (left to right) Sadie, Daisy, Hallie

Don't know the the owners names....

Loss

I believe I have delt with my fare share of loss. You would think I would have become used to it by now. But loss is a hard thing to get over. Especially the loss of children. Those that are to young to be taken away from us. Those that you figure have yet to truly live. Those that in such a short time become to mean so much to you.

I had first hand experience of loosing a child. Not my own but my niece. That was extremly hard. Then not long after my niece passed away my cousins little boy died from a brain tumor. I have always wondered why some live and some don't. My other cousin had a tumor when he was 11. Now he is 18 and just graduated High School in California.

Brandon's cousin has also lost two children. I could not imagine having to go through the death of a child twice. It seems so unfair.

Recently.....

My cousin Lavon and her husband Sean got married not to long ago. Right after they got married she became pregnant. I was happy for her. At that time I had heard of so many of my cousins pregnant with children. It was kind of bittersweet for me. (I may not have the details correct.) She was due this month sometime I am not sure of the exact date. She went into the hospital May 16, 2009. She was upset because she could no longer feel her baby move. The hospital did an ultrasound and did not hear a heartbeat. They immediately induced her into labor and Launa Mae Allred was born May 17, 2009 2:50 AM. She was not breathing. The text I got said she was born perfect.

Brandon had been talking to my mom and he told me what had happened. I was upset for my cousin. We have lost so many loved ones in our family 3 of which have been children. My mom later sent me a text with a picture of the baby and she looked perfectly healthy. I didn't understand, the text had confused me. She was born just over 6lbs. She looked alive to me. I called my mom all confused and said wait a minute is she alive or not? I don't get it. She said no and I was heartbroken, for my cousin for myself for anyone that has dealt with loosing someone way to early. It is hard to lose any loved one, but those that are taken away from you way to soon, that makes it so much harder to deal with. I am trying to understand the reasons, but with each loss it is getting harder.

I wish my cousin all the love and understanding she can get from this tragedy. And want her to know that I love her and I am always here. I love you Vonnie.

Launa Mae Allred

May 17, 2009 - May 17, 2009

Cameron Mckay Birch

September 8, 2000 - February 12, 2006

Alexis Marie Parry

January 4, 2004 - September 23, 2005

E-Bay

Friday I heard an add on the radio that e-bay will be having a career fair on Monday. I thought, "OK I can go to it or just apply online." I have been looking into starting at e-bay for awhile now. They have good insurance that starts right away and my current job sucks!

So Monday after work I remembered about the career fair and thought okay do I have time to get ready to go. I didn't shower that morning, my hair was in a pony tail, glasses, no makeup and wearing so so clothing because there is absolutely no point in dressing up at my current job. So I am trying to decide if I have the time to get ready and head over there being as it was after 5 PM and they career fair was only until 6. I decided to go for it. I did a half shower without washing my hair which then became staticky. I curled it and hair sprayed the heck out of it so that it would be somewhat tame. Put on a skirt half way shaved my legs (up to my calf's). I know this is gross but I hadn't shaved because of the pain in my back and how hard it is to move my left one. I figure as long as I am not wearing shorts or a swimsuit then I can go a week or so. Anyway back to he story. I was finally walking out the door at 35 after. I was quite impressed with myself.

When I got to e-bay they had a ton of people around and were doing initial interviews to see if you had the qualifications and flexibility to work for them. I passed that round so after the the fourth I go back and do a skills test. If I pass that then I will go in for another interview.

I am actually pretty scared about thinking of starting a new job. Even though my job isn't a great one I still have some kind of security with them. I have been there 2 years. I know they could probably fire me at any moment. I just don't see that happening, but who knows. I just am scared to quit something that is semi secure and go for something that is not. Especially with today's job market.

Oh well I still don't know yet what will happen. I guess if they offer me the job Brandon and I have some serious talking to do.

Elitch Gardens

Well Elitch was sure an interesting experience. Once again we got a late start. When we finally got there we had about 5 hours to go through the rides. We weren't quite sure if that would give everyone enough time to ride the rides, but it ended up being enough. Elitch is not as big as Lagoon and not nearly as fun.

I didn't ride many of the rides because of my back and I didn't want to take the chance to screw it up even more. So my mom and I took Shaylee along on the little or less traumatic rides they had. It was fun watching her go on them and enjoy them. I was able to go on the Tea Cups, Tilt A Whirl and Merry Go Round. I would have to say the funnest was the Tilt A Whirl. We got to go on that one twice. The first time Shaylee had a ball the second I went with Brandon and he proved how old he was getting. Got sick and didn't want to ride anything.

When we first got there they were closing down all the rides because of lightning. Eventually it started down pouring. People move quick when they are getting drenched. My mom Shaylee and I took shelter on the Tea Cups until it stopped raining. Brandon and Laura were off somewhere else. But the rain made it nice. It wasn't so hot and a lot of people left.


While we were waiting in line for this Ghost ride there were some teeny boppers in front of us. They couldn't have been more than 13 years old and two of them kept making out with each other. I was thinking hell you guys aren't even old enough to know what to do with sex, quit making out. Well so they get in the car in front of my mom and Shaylee a few minutes later no more cars came. After about 10 minutes security came and a bunch of members from management. After another 5 minutes they bring the three teeny boppers out and start questioning them. 5 minutes after that I finally asked the management team if this was an extremely long ride or if it had been stopped. They told me they had to stop it because of the kids. I guess they decided to jump out of the ride. So they had to shut it down so that they wouldn't get electrocuted and that they now had to wait for maintenance to reset it. Finally after about 30 minutes of my mom and Shaylee being stuck on the ride they came out. Shaylee was like I was on that ride forever lets not do it again. I can't believe how inconsiderate some people are. I have come to realize though that in public places like these people just do their thing and if your in the way your fault. At least those kids got escorted to the office to contact their parents. It was kinda funny watching their faces change as they got the stupid scared out of them. To bad it hadn't happened earlier.


Brandon and Laura had some fun experiences they walked up a ton of stairs to go to this roller coaster. When they got there Brandon said it wasn't worth it. "We get to the top, get in the roller coaster go around a loop, I get sick, then the ride stops. We weren't able to get out because some guys basketball rolled onto the track so we sat there for 10 minutes." He also said, "The guys came by to check the restraints and asked if I had my seat belt on. I said, 'no' I figured it wasn't necessary my fat ass barely fit in he seat it was like a suction cup I wasn't going anywhere. So they put the seat belt on then the restraint. The restraint was fine at first but after the first loop it tightened up and we were hunched down and scrunched like sardines." Then they had the nice long walk back down the stairs. Both Brandon and Laura said they wouldn't do that ride again. They also went on a roller coaster where they said the walk to that one took forever. They said you go up some stairs pass a few vending machines, take a turn walk up some more stairs pass some more vending machines then walk a ways more to the front of the line.

Brandon and Laura on the Mind Teaser.. It took them forever to finally find the line to it.

I think that is mostly what Elitch was. Long walk ways with very few rides. They had some roller coasters but the other rides couldn't compare to Lagoon. It was a good thing we only had 5 hours there. I couldn't imagine having to spend the entire day at the place.

The ride Brandon wanted to go on after the Mind Teaser to settle his stomach. Laura wasn't having any of it so they went in search of another roller coaster and Shaylee and Mom decided to ride.


Shaylee and another little girl she met while riding the kiddie rides. Shaylee was to scared to ride the roller coaster a second time. Also the seats were wet from the rain and she didn't like her pants soaked.

Fishy Fishy

We finally made it to the Denver Aquarium. I think we had a few false starts. We started to head up there the one day, but by the time everyone got ready it was around 5 PM. (we always seemed to get a late start.) At 5 the rush hour in Denver is terrible. It is much worse than here in Utah. We got off the freeway around 6:15 and decided we would just try another time. The place closes at 9 and it wouldn't have given us enough time to actually enjoy it.

The next day we got a better start. We left around 3. We still hit rush hour but ended up getting to the Aquarium a little after 4. It was pretty cool. Although when I went there the first time it was called Ocean's Journey and was much better. They had piranhas and sharks and jelly fish. They had a Tiger. They also simulated flash floods and what a wave looks like under the ocean. Shaylee was scared of getting to close to the glass. She thought the fish would come get her.
Laura and I fed the sting ray's. That was kinda weird. You have to stick these fish tails in between your knuckles and make a fist. The heads stay up and you put your fist against the wall and the sting rays come up and take the fish. The first time I wasn't to prepared and got my fist in the mouth of the ray. It didn't really hurt just startled me. The teeth scrapped against my hand.. After that I was a little more skittish and let the fish go before the ray could get to close.

After the tour of the Aquarium we decided to stay for dinner. We were seated next to a tank and were able to watch the scuba diver come in and feed the fish. The food wasn't that great. We ordered some shrimp crab stuff and no one seemed to like it. Luckily the waiter took it off the bill. The food was way to expensive for the quality. But it was an experience and we all had fun.

SCUBA DIVERS

Shaylee

Laura and Shaylee with the Eels. Shaylee was scared they would get her.

Mom and Laura

Shaylee and Brandon in front of the Coral Reef. It was Beautiful!!

Brandon and I in front of the Sea Horses.

The Colors were so gorgeous. To bad the didn't show as well in the picture!

UP

So we all went out to dinner last night. Went to Outback it was pretty good. We decided to go there since we had to drop my cousin off at work. She also was our waitress. Which would kind of stink for her but was excellent for us.

Anyway afterward we decided we were going to go see a movie. Laura had been wanting to see Up for quite some time. Since we had Shaylee with us we figured it would be a good movie for her. One that she could actually sit through.

Brandon left half way through the movie. Him leaving woke my mom up for her nap and she went after Brandon to see what he was doing. Shaylee started snoring. Laura and I were the only ones left actually watching the movie. Finally after about 20 mins I decided to get up and try to find Brandon and my mom. My mom was standing in the hall way and Brandon was standing in line to get some popcorn. We got our treats went back to the movie and finished watching it. Sad thing is there really wasn't anything that we missed. It was the 3D version so you had to wear the glasses or the movie would be all blurry.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that the movie wasn't all that great. I know others who thought it was good and cute. It just wasn't something my family enjoyed all that much.

Colorado

So Brandon and I are going to Colorado next week. I am so looking forward to getting away just for the fun of it. Brandon and I are both pretty anxious to get out of here on Monday. I am sure it is going to be a loooong day. Not only do we both have to work a full day we decided to leave that night so we could spend more time in Colorado. Kind of crazy I know, but worth it!!

Trying to get work off was a joke. Brandon was actually able to get days in a row to go so it was up to me to get some time off. YEAH that went over well. You would think I asked for a month off straight. I originally just asked for Wed and Fri. Thur is my regular day off so I didn't think 2 days would be a huge deal. But, I should have known better. Then when I went back and asked for Tuesday as well. WOW!!! It is absolutely hilarious how ridiculous my boss can be. Sometimes he even amazes me. Which at this point is pretty hard to do.

Oh well I got the time and we are finally going. Hopefully this time Brandon will get to see Pikes Peak. He has been wanting to go there forever! Hope the weather is good!

Sugery

Well I would say that it has been forever since I last blogged. Things have been pretty hectic around here. Not to mention I forgot what my sign in information was. That was a challenge. Tried the many different e-mail addresses between Brandon and I to figure out which one it was.. Sheesh.

This post will be a long one. Sorry in advance.

Anyway, I have a herniated disc in my back. This happened back in April 2006. Back then the Dr. had given me a few different types of shots to help with the pain and make it manageable. The shots worked with the back pain, but with the herniation it was pinching my sciatic nerve. This caused major pain down my left leg. Along with the pain their was weakness and it felt like my leg and foot were constantly under immense amounts of pressure.

The first shot is a steroid epidural. For anyone that has had children those epidural needles are friggin huge. Well this one was no different. But they had to be extremely careful on how they injected me. They were going right into the spinal column but not far enough to hit the spinal chord (which could in turn cause paralysis.) So they entered the needle then took an x-ray, then they would tap the needle further, take another x-ray this went on for about 20 mins until they were in the position they needed to be in to inject the steroid.

The other shot that they administered to me went directly into my sciatica. That hurt like hell. I felt like it was on fire while they were electrocuting me. My whole body jerked. The Dr. mentioned that if the second shot didn't help I was looking at a possible surgery. At this time I told them it wasn't an option as I was getting married in 2 months. That shot worked for about a month. I was able to talk my Dr. into giving that second shot (the one in my Sciatica) to me again. Finally after having 3 different shots it seemed to help and I was extremely grateful.

Back in 2007 the shots began to ware off and I went back in to see what else they could do. The Dr. sent me for an MRI. Well it turns out that I couldn't do the MRI because I had stents put into my kidneys because they were severely infected. I was admitted into the hospital with Toxic shock (different story for a different day.)

After the kidney episode I didn't want anything to do with hospitals or Dr's so I never went back to get the MRI. I dealt with the pain which at that point was just another part of my life.

However, just recently I started to have major pains in my back and the constant pressure in my leg became more pronounced and my muscles started to spasm. I made an appointment to go see the Dr. A week before my appointment I went to work. Driving the car was so painful by the time I got to work I was in tears. (I have established earlier how much of an ass my boss is) When I got there he looked at me and asked if I was fine. I said I wasn't then he walked off without another word unless it was to come and tell me to do something. By 10 AM I could hardly move, so I called Brandon who was in between shifts at work and he had to come and get me. My boss wasn't to happy about being left alone at work and actually having to do something. Brandon took me to the ER and the Nurse Practitioner that was in charge looked at me said it was muscle spasms and told me to try to get into the Dr. sooner. She also said she would give me some prescriptions (which would not have lasted through the weekend) and that I could go home. I am not one that likes to take medication, but with the pain I was in I knew that 3 days of Rx's weren't going to do much. Not to mention some kind of relief right then would have been nice I wanted to be knocked out I didn't want to feel anything. I was begging Brandon to do something so that I wouldn't hurt. He was at a loss on what to do when my mom showed up. She was able to get the nurse to finally give me some morphine to help with the pain. She wasn't able to get my Dr. to see me any sooner than Thursday so she pulled some strings and got me right into see a pain specialist.

The pain specialist tried to give me one of the epidural shots but my vertebrae are bone on bone and he wasn't able to get the needle in. He then told me he was going to give me a nerve block (the one in my Sciatica). By this time I was like I don't give a damn which shot you give me I will deal with being electrocuted if this pain will just go away. He gave me the shot (which hasn't helped) and ordered a MRI.

I went to my original Dr. after the MRI and it showed that the herniation has become so severe it is crushing my Sciatica. Which explains the extreme pressure in my leg. The Dr. then told me he wanted to schedule surgery within 1-2 weeks. I got really sick at having to think about going through surgery. I scheduled an appointment 3 weeks later which was the 1st week in May. I told him I wanted to wait and not have surgery. He was not happy and was adamant because of the damage that is being done to my leg. He told me that the damage my be irreversible the longer I wait. My leg is drooping and does not have the strength that my right one has. It goes between numbness and spasms and feeling like it is on fire while at the same time it feels like the pressure is enough to break the bones. The nerve is creating the muscle weakness which is causing the spasms which are worse than having a charlie horse and last for at least 10 mins at a time. Causing the muscles to constantly be sore and weak.

Two weeks ago while I was at work my back started to spasm really bad while I was walking into my office. I barely made it to my chair to sit down before I couldn't move again. I told my boss I needed to go home as soon as I could move. I then scheduled an appointment with a different Dr. At this time I figured that the only thing I could do was having the surgery my one Dr. was pressuring me into.

I was so scared to go to the other Dr. to hear what he had to say. In the span of a month my back and leg became really bad I thought I would have to have surgery. It is a very scary thought thinking about any operation let alone one on my back... the surgery also wouldn't give me any guarantees that it would fix the problem. I could also have issues when I get older that will most likely cause more surgery and the kicker... this surgery, as with any other surgery on your back as the potential to leave me paralyzed.

I made Brandon go with me to the other Dr. I didn't want to hear the news on my own, because I figured I was so worn down I would probably loose it if the other Dr. agreed and I needed surgery right away. The Dr. thinks at this time I need surgery, but he wouldn't suggest it. I was kind of confused. He said surgery would possibly be the quickest way to ease the pain, but not an option he wants me to go with. He told me to deal with the shots and other medications for as long as possible. Told me to try to loose some weight which would consist of basically just dieting as he doesn't think exercising will help with my back just aggravate it more if I were to handle the pain of it at all. He told me that I was young enough and it could possibly heal itself because the body does wonderous things.

It was a great relief to finally have the pressure of needing surgery off my mind. Now its just having to deal with the spasms and pain which are becoming even more a part of my life. I can not wait until this is over and I don't have the pain..... that is something that I look forward to. I don't remember what it was like before this, living with out it.

What Would You Say?

I heard this song the other night and just wanted to share the words. I have been in a reflective mood tonight.

 

What if the moment came and you knew your life was down to minutes?

A lighters flame was all you had to see.

And you found a pen and a torn up piece of paper

And a note was all you could leave?

 

13 men fell trapped in a mine in West Virginia

Only one made it out alive.

But their love lives on in the words

"I cannot wait to see you on the other side."

 

What would you say?

What would you say?

In the lines on a page from the life that you made

Could you write it with no regrets?

Would you know in yourself you gave somebody else

All the love that you had inside right down to your last breath?

 

Would you tell your momma

"Thank you for the way you loved me.

"Daddy don't cry, everything's going to be okay!"

Would you tell your little boy,

"you'd be watching him from up in heaven?

You'll never miss one game!"

 

What would you say?

What would you say?

In the lines on a page from the life that you made

Could you write it with no regrets?

Would you know in yourself you gave somebody else

All the love that you had inside right down to your last breath?

 

Ohhh

What would you say?

In the lines on a page from the life that you made

Could you write it with no regrets?

Would you know in yourself you gave somebody else

All the love that you had inside right down to your last breath?

What if the moment came?

And you knew your life was down to minutes?

Can I put a hit on my Boss?

Alright back to my job.. I HATE IT!!! Okay that was pretty blunt and negative, but I really can not stand my job anymore.

I used to really enjoy going to work and who I worked for. But it has gotten beyond ridiculous. I can not wait for the day that I can quit. Right now I am just hanging on for the insurance. Once I no longer need that then I am done!!

My boss is a major jerk! He is the type that loves to live off of drama. Doesn't matter if there is no drama he will create it. He lies and manipulates and blames others for everything. He will not do anything for himself. All the work that is supposed to be done gets passed along. In all reality I am the manager of that place getting paid crap to do so. If someone needs to be disciplined its Tiffany you need to do this. If they need to be fired Tiffany do this. Yet if they are hiring my advice and input does not matter.. Hence all the disciplining and firing that needs to be done. If his boss wants a report its Tiffany do this. What you don't see or hear is him saying.... "Do the work.. e-mail it to me.... I will e-mail it to my boss and take all the credit.... If I do something on my own and its wrong then I will figure out some way to blame you."

I am always incompetent, can't do anything right. Never show up and if I do I either am always leaving early or showing up late. I would really like to know how he can figure this out when I am there before him and most the time leave after he does.

I am tired of being the door mat, getting all the blame and doing all the work. He yells and swears and no matter what you do you always fall short. So I have decided to stick it out for the insurance and then I am quiting. I am thinking I may take my 2 weeks of vacation find me a job and then come back give my 2 weeks notice.... maybe.... and then be done with the whole mess.

I am not a conceited person, but because I do it all around there I can not wait to quit so that the place goes down! Wonder who he will find to blame next.

This is the absolutely funniest thing I have seen. I think it is because I can relate to it so closely.