3.30.2007

It's Off!

My wedding ring has been stuck on my finger for about 2 years. I have tried at various times to remove it, sometimes quite strenuously, but have always been unsuccsessful. Sometimes it is so tight I can barely spin it around on my finger, and other times it is comfortable.

My fingers always swell when I am pregnant, and I have known for some time that it really must come off. Last night I could hardly sleep because the ring was so tight that the throbbing kept waking me up.

So, this afternoon we went to the EMS to see if they could cut if off. I thought cutting was the only option. But when we arrived, the woman there said "If you can take it, I can get it off." I decided to see if I could take it.

The male technicians were all very interested to learn how she did it. She had apparently removed the ring of a man a week ago and everyone was very impressed, but no one had seen her do it.

The retrieved some tracheostomy tape (umbilical tape is preferred, but it was unavailable), and some KY Jelly. She slid a strip of the tape under my ring, creating a handle to pull the ring with. Then she wrapped my finger VERY tightly with the tape to try to make it smaller than the ring. A liberal squirt of KY and the pulling/twisting commenced.

WOW, It was PAINFUL!

They pulled, twisted, pulled, twisted... A few times I had to have them stop so I could catch my breath and make sure that they weren't fileting my finger. It really, really hurt.

But, it is off!

My finger is still pretty swollen and painful, but I will sleep tonight. And the ring didn't have to be cut.

All in all, worth it.

And now, if anyone needs a ring removed, I know just what to do :)

3.28.2007

Ups and Downs

Mike arrived home this afternoon a little blue. He had been reflecting on the fact that he had just received this big promotion at work and no one in our family had congratulated him, we had not celebrated in any way, in fact, we were all pretty sad about it.

He was right. We got caught up in how we didn't want to move, didn't want months of separation, and all that there is to be done before he leaves. The fact that this is a great opportunity for him and in many ways a great blessing for us, just got ignored.

Well, we all quickly apologized and agreed that it was indeed an occasion that demanded to be celebrated!

So, we got all gussied up and went out for a really good dinner and spoke in a celebratory fashion.

Then we went to Home Depot to price out some of the improvements we are hoping to do.

THEN...while driving home on our bucolic country road...someone THREW A ROCK at the van and SHATTERED one of our side windows. Yep, shattered it.

Mike and Chance are back at the scene waiting for the police to come conduct what I suspect will be a futile search for the perpetrator/s, but at least we will have a police report if we need it for the insurance company.

So, a less-than-ideal cap to our evening of celebration.

3.23.2007

Pride

This was posted on the Patriarchs Wives email list today, and I thought I would share it here.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

I cheat you of your God-given destiny...because you demand your own way.

I cheat you of contentment...because you "deserve better than this."

I cheat you of knowledge...because you already know it all.

I cheat you of healing...because you're too full of me to forgive.

I cheat you of holiness...because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.

I cheat you of vision...becasue you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.

I cheat you of genuine friendship...because nobody's going to know the real you.

I cheat you of love...because real romance demands sacrifice.

I cheat you of greatness in heaven...because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.

I cheat you of God's glory...because I convince you to seek your own.

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.

You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you. Untrue.

God has so much for you, I admit. But don't worry... If you stick with me, you'll never know.

-Broadman & Holman

3.17.2007

Baby Names

Eli "I'm going to call the baby "Dude".

Hailey "What if it's a girl?"

Eli "No, it's a boy."

Hailey "What if we call it something else?"

Eli "You can, but I'm not!"

3.13.2007

Some Healthy-ish Recipes

I made a rhubarb compote this morning that was so good, I thought I would share it.

6 stalks rhubarb (about 3c)
2 in piece grated ginger
1/2 c maple syrup
2 TBS water

Put the ginger, syrup and water into a pan and heat on med heat about 5 min. Add sliced rhubarb, cover and simmer 10 minutes. That's it. I stirred it in to some FACE greek yogurt and it was sooo yummy. It would also be good on vanilla or plain yogurt. This made enough four about 4 servings.

Another recipe that I haven't tried but that looks really good is from Whole Foods.

Carrot Salad with Almond Butter Dressing

2 large carrots, peeled
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup creamy almond butter
1 TB fresh lime juice
11/2 TB tamari
1 tsp agave nectar
pinch red pepper flakes

Using a box grater, shred carrots and place in a large bowl. Add bell pepper, cilantro and raisins. In a small bowl whisk together almond butter, lime juice, tamari, agave and pepper flakes. Add dressing to carrot mixture and mix thoroughly. Allow to marinate for 1/2 hour and serve cold or at room temperature.

Can't wait to try it, doesn't it sound good!

Oh yea, I made a bread pudding type dish the other day that the kids and I just loved.

bread
eggs
milk
vanilla
apples

I buttered a 13x9 in dish. I used about 1 1/2 loaves of bread (not very big loaves) and 18 eggs (I was trying to use them up) and about 6c milk, 1 tbs vanilla and 3 apples.

Layer torn bread apples in the dish, begin and end with bread. Blend milk, eggs and vanilla and pour over casserole. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour - an hour and a half.

Enjoy!

I'm Back!

Wow, I've been gone a long time. It just got away from me I guess, and for a while I just didn't feel like I had anything to say.

For those who don't know me IRL, I'll give you a little recap to bring y'all up to date.

Let's see December and January were mostly taken up with morning (all day) sickness because WE ARE EXPECTING AGAIN! I also had quite a bit of trouble early on and spent a lot of time on bedrest consuming copious amounts of herbs. I am now 16 - 17 weeks and things are going well. It appears to be about time to find a midwife.

In early February we traveled to Ca for the wedding of Mike's neice. I flew out due to aforementioned "trouble" and Mike was taking the van and the kids and the dog meeting me at my parents home in AZ. He got as far as El Paso, where he stopped for the night. While my family slept in their hotel room, someone decided that they had greater need of our possessions than we did. Likely to run "undocumented workers" over the border. We lost MANY things. One of them was our digital camera, which has yet to be replaced. So, there is likely to be far fewer pictures posted on the blog for a while. My sweet puppy, Ellie Mae, was also in the van because the hotel did not allow pets.

And now it looks highly likely that we will have to leave Texas and return to CA. They are offering a pretty good promotion, and the job situation here has become highly unreliable.

The prospect of moving breaks our heart on so many levels I don't even know what to say about it. We are trusting God to direct our paths.

There, you're all caught up. Left out the flu and some other less than fun things, but those are the biggies.

So, what's going on in your neck of the woods?