Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cameras, Clots, and Cars


I thought I would just sit down and blog - but it wasn't so easy. I wanted to include this picture of the infamous mud pit up at camp. That's David, there, in the middle. But then my desktop suddenly decided it no longer wished to recognize my new camera.

After being on the phone quite awhile with a Samsung tech, she suggested that I just use the camera on my laptop, which does recognize my camera. And this was after I had just downloaded Windows Photo Gallery for my desktop. Grrr...

So, it took a little bit of work, but I finally have a picture and I can begin blogging on my desktop, rather than my laptop, which is my preference. But it's a hassle now that I have to first download the pics on my laptop, save the post, and then re-open on my desktop. I know there has to be a way to force my desktop to recognize my camera, but I don't know what it is. But anyway, enough of that!

I think everyone has heard, but for posterity's sake, if nothing else - Will was involved in his first car accident last Tuesday. We're still not sure if he was at fault or not. He swears up and down that the light was green when he checked and I believe him. He is a good driver. But he ended up getting hit by an older Vietnamese couple who don't speak English. Will was so rattled by the event that he blurted out to the police officer that the light must have been yellow instead of green when he looked and therefore, he would have run a red light. So, he got a $200 ticket. I don't know yet if we're just going to pay it or go to the court date. Will was just devastated by the whole thing. And I felt so horrible, too. Not only do I have to worry about the financial end of things (our insurance premiums, for one!) but I hurt because he hurts. He worked so hard for that car and was so proud of it.

However, the car may be fixable. The night of the accident Paul was sure that it was totaled (we only carried liability on it). But after looking at it some more and then talking to the guy at the garage where it was towed to he is wondering now if he might be able to repair it. But he's been on call this week and hasn't had time to look. Speaking of the garage, though...the night of the accident we were told that there was a $3 per day parking fee there. Fine. So, last Wed. night Paul borrowed a trailer from his work and went and got the car. It was $15 a day to park it there! So, with the towing and parking fee and a $20 "paperwork" fee, we had to fork out $132 to get Will's car back.

Oh, speaking of cars... the new Pixar "Cars" movie is out. The boys have the original one and we all enjoyed it. But I'm hearing quite a bit of feedback now from my friends on Facebook that this sequel is one to avoid. Apparently, it's just a piece of propaganda, with a "big oil is bad" and "alternative energy is good" message. I'm sorry, but my kids are not going to watch it. They get enough indoctrination in the world, as it is, but I'm not going to allow it to happen under my watch - or with my money (what little there is left of it). We watched this documentary Sun. night at church called "Agenda." We had seen it previously in our SS class a few weeks ago. It was put out by an either current or former Idaho legislator. I can't remember his name. But the film is very eye-opening. It's about communism and the inroads it has made into the United States. Even things like the women's' movement of the 1970s was based in communism. I had no idea! It's an excellent film - I would highly recommend its viewing.

My dad is in the hospital. He was rushed there by ambulance yesterday because a CAT scan showed that he had two blood clots in his lungs. Kind of scary, esp. with our family history of strokes. But he's doing better today. They have found a 3rd clot in his leg - probably the source of the two that got to his lungs. However, they're letting him move around, which surprises me and they may let him go home tomorrow. He's having to give himself heparin-like shots in his stomach. And I guess he's going to be on a stronger anti-coagulant drug for 6 months, too. When my mom developed a blood clot in her lung after her pacemaker surgery in '97, they didn't let her off the bed. But this must be something different. It's times like this that I get frustrated that I don't live closer. I would love to be able to drop everything and run to the hospital or to be able to bring over meals - or anything! My mom sent an email to me yesterday afternoon but I didn't get it until last night when I got home around 9. So that put me a bit of a concerned tizzy. I was on the phone with her until around 10 and then I just could not fall asleep after all that! It was a blood clot that went to my brain on Oct. 30, 2007. As a result, blood clots tend to scare me! But I was able to talk to Dad this afternoon and he sounded very good. So I guess all is well - ??? They are running some tests, trying to see if a determining factor can be found for the cause of the clots. But we won't know those results for another week.

Last Sat. I was up at 6am (a horrible time to be awake, by the way) and loaded all 4 boys into the van. The tricky part was that I had to put the younger 3 in church clothes and then hope that they would last through breakfast and lunch in the van. I had to drop Will off at camp, which is 2+ hours away. Then, we turned around and drove back to Indianola, where we had a wedding to attend. That's the one that I didn't think I was going to get to go to. But Will suggested that I could drop him off at camp early and he could go out with some friends who were also working until it was time for him to report to work. It was a damp, cool day - probably not what the bride had envisioned when she started planning her June wedding!

It was a really different wedding from what I'm used to. I've been to many nice weddings and I've been to somewhat tacky ones (groomsmen in shirt sleeves, a boombox on stage for the wedding music, etc). But I can honestly say I had never been to a cowboy wedding before!

The groom was a young man in our church and I really don't know the bride. But I think I know her a little better now! Both were only 19 last weekend - awfully young. But, if the couple is spiritually mature and the groom is able to support a wife and any little kidlets that might surprise them -- why not? It wasn't like Paul and I were a whole lot older. He had just turned 22 when we get married and I was a month away from that birthday. And we both still had a lo-o-ot of growing up to do! Which we did - together.

But anyway. Apparently the bride likes horses. I mean - really likes horses. The entry way was decorated with a saddle and the church platform had 3 more! There was also a rustic, wood-burned sign as you walked in that said, "Will you marry me?" Wonder if that's how the groom proposed? Now I did like this: The sign-in table was covered with an old quilt. I love things like that - so pretty and country-like. The bride's flowers were yellow daisies. Oh, she also had two big wagon wheels up on the church platform, too, decorated with daisies. That was kind of cute. The bridesmaids wore dark blue gowns. I don't know - if it were me, I probably would have dressed them in gingham. And maybe the groomsmen should have worn cowboy hats. But then they'd be in church and you're not supposed to wear hats in church, I don't think. The pews were decorated with hanging mason jars with pretend candles in them. Oh, and when the pastor (the groom's brother) was marrying them he was illustrating the concept of the woman being the "weaker vessel." He said, "It's like this. You, Jake, (the groom) are a pair of work boots - all dusty and muddy. But your bride here - she's your Sunday boots that are all polished and nice!" I wanted to laugh out loud!

To each his own and I would never begrudge someone their cowboy wedding if that's what they like and is a true reflection of them. Personally, I am a little more traditional and prefer a bit of elegance when it comes to weddings, but that doesn't matter. I am thinking, too, that the older I get, the more fuddy-duddier I am getting in my thinking and I always promised myself I wouldn't do that! When my own kids get married I am going to keep my lips totally zipped and if they want to march down the aisle dressed like Star Wars characters I will not breathe a word. I may blog about it at length, but my kids will never know what they just did to their poor mother! I'll just be happy that they found somebody willing to marry them!

It may be a bit of struggle with Sam. I tried to point out to him the other day the importance of not chewing with one's mouth open. With his mouthful of food, he informed me that "I wike to eat this way!" and totally refused to close his mouth. Yeah, marrying that one off may be a bit of a struggle...

This was the same day that he ate EIGHT chicken nuggets at McDonalds. Yes, I know what I've said about those things and I would still argue that they really do not constitute food. However, when you're in a hurry and on a budget and trying to meet the desires of several short, demanding people, it's easy to let your ideals slip. But still - eight? I don't think I can even do that and my stomach has to be at least 4 times the size of a 3 year old's!

Oh, my last little bit of news. Well, it's not really news. But anyway, we ordered Paul's new wedding ring last week, finally. This is his 3rd wedding ring. I sure hope it's the last one. It's supposed to be "unscratchable" so we'll see. It's just a basic, shiny, white-gold band - no diamonds like his last one. But since he tends to be hard on his rings, that's just as well, I guess. He said now that he has his new ring the women can quit throwing themselves at him. Let's hope so!

It's going to be a hot one tomorrow and Friday. They said it will feel like 108 out. I plan to hunker down in my air conditioned house all day! I don't have any plans to go anywhere and am hoping to get a lot done. I thought about taking the boys to the pool, but it will be so crowded. Besides, we're going in a week with a bunch of moms from church. We can wait. As long as I have air conditioning, I'm happy! And it will be a treat to have a day where I don't have to go anywhere, either. Paul is on call this week so I imagine that I will not see much of him for the next couple of days. That's ok - he needs to earn money for our upcoming vacation!

Better get supper out of the oven...

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