March 2019

Honestly, I am glad that February is over.  February just seems to be a hard month, every year, no matter how hard we try, and no matter how many great things happen in February there just seems to be a heavy gloom over the entire family.  So, on the last day of February Kim and I headed up to the condo where Mike and Tammy met us.  Janis and Harper joined us the next day.

Mike, Tammy, Harper, Janis, me and Kim

Needless to say, it was fantastic to get together and to catch up.  Other than needing to fill in the gaps in our lives, it was just like old times.  We laughed and talked and talked and talked.  We played a couple of games (which Harper enjoyed even though he adamantly denied it), and we ate great food.  The guys all grilled incredible steaks, and Harper made the most amazing crepes (or Swedish roll-ups as his grandmother called them) along with pounds of bacon.  I made a short video with pictures from years past and we did a ton of reminiscing.  What a GREAT weekend!

Tuesday, March 5

SURPRISE!

Sometimes life throws a curveball - and you have to decide whether to make contact or duck.  A lot of nursing instructors have a 2nd, parttime job, not for the money so much as to keep their skills sharp, to keep up on current medical trends, and mostly because they love working with the patients.  I have thought and thought about going back to the hospital very parttime or getting some other part-time position to help me.  However, I don't like working in Labor and Delivery only once in a while, I feel that it is too easy to make mistakes if I'm not there consistently (although I REALLY miss those little babies!)  I have been thinking about doing some part-time teaching online just to give me more teaching experience, but honestly I'm not sure how much I really want to work every week.  So anyway, I haven't been actively looking, just keeping my ears open.  One position that has really piqued my interest is that of a traveling trainer.  When schools have students getting close to taking the NCLEX or state boards they often contract with an NCLEX test-taking specialist for a 3-4 day training.  These trainers spend 3-4 full days just reviewing material, giving test-taking strategies, and clues to help the students do well on the NCLEX.  My students are actually in the middle of this training right now with a trainer who is from New Mexico.  Well, the trainer and I spent a lot of time talking about what she does, and it sounds very exciting to me.  She told me that she would send me the link to apply for a position.

So, I looked up the site and read about the position.  The job entails traveling somewhere in the US at least 4 times a year to teach for 3-4 days.  At the top of the page, it said that this was an ongoing application process, in other words, people can just apply any time and then the company looks at applications when a need to hire someone occurs.  So, I sent in my application and didn't think any more about it.  This morning I got a huge surprise!  There was an email message as well as a voicemail on my phone asking me to respond.  We set up an interview for this afternoon and TA DA!  I was hired - just that quick!  I had to find someone to cover a couple of my classes, just this once, because I will have to travel in May and have to work around a trip to San Diego that I have already booked.  Wow!  I'm a little nervous because I am scheduled to head to Minnesota in April for training and to Illinois and Kansas (I think) in May to do the training.  I'm so excited to do the NCLEX training, but I will admit that I am just a little nervous about traveling alone everywhere.  It will be a grand adventure, but just a little scary.

The Herzogs invited us for a night of games and movies.  It is always so fun to get together with these guys.  Herzog's house is perfect for entertaining.  I'm so grateful that we are invited over there often.  This was the first time I have had a chance to talk with Jodi since her diagnosis and accident.  She is doing very well, but it is a slow recovery.  She still walks with a cane, but I'm very glad she was able to join us.  Funny story - at one point Janzen said that he would be willing to try ketchup on ice cream (who knows what is going on inside his brain) so the Moyles provided the ice cream and the Herzogs provided the ketchup.  The crazy guy actually ate it - ALL!  Fun times!

I was driving home on March 11 when Tasha called.  She explained that she had been having severe pain in her abdomen/side for several hours.  She suspected it was gas pains, but as she was describing it, I was pretty sure that it was appendicitis.  I advised her to see a doctor quickly.  She and Zane headed to the hospital and after several tests they confirmed the diagnosis of appendicitis and scheduled her for surgery the next morning.  Thank goodness for Kim, her next-door neighbor, and Zane's aunt Julie, they stepped in to take care of Ish while she was in the hospital.  The surgeon said that the appendix was not perforated, but it looked very "angry" which is doctor language for very inflamed, red, and on the verge of bursting.  Kim and I spent a worried night trying to decide if we should fly out to help her, but decided that it was very difficult for us to go at this time and Zane's mother, Joyce was able to go.  Joyce was a major help, but I believe that I made a big mistake in not going.  There is just something about having "mommy" there when you don't feel well.  I feel bad. 

Obviously this picture was taken after she started getting heavy-duty pain medication!

Poor little Kiaya,  she had a reaction to one of her vaccines where she ran a really high fever and got a big knot in her thigh, she also chose this time to cut 4 new teeth in a 10 day period of time.  I think this all weakened her immune system because she then started having some breathing difficulty.  Not horrible, but her breathing was very loud, her lungs were crackly, she had some mild substernal retractions, and her nose ran continuously.  We agreed with Shandra that it was time to take her into the doctor and the test came back positive for RSV.  The doctor put her on albuterol treatments as well as ordered a nasal vacuum to help keep her airway clear.  Needless to say, she HATED it, but it really helped.  Luckily she never got sick enough that we needed to hospitalize her, but no one had any fun for several days.  Fortunately she recovered quickly and now is good as new.

Shandra and I drove over to Cache Valley one Saturday afternoon to attend the wedding shower of Kim's niece, Alyssa. Afterwards we drove into Logan to have lunch a Juniper Inn.  It was very good!  And Kiaya got her first taste of grown-up food.  Fun times.

Happy birthday Kalel!  He is now 12 years old!  It is amazing how fast he has grown.  We decided that since his birthday was on a Sunday this year we would just invite cousins over for an afternoon of game-playing as well as some brownies and ice cream.  I think that a fun time was had by all, especially when one of his gifts was the game Speak Out.  We all tried to talk with big, plastic guards in our mouths.  It was fun, but guards were very uncomfortable. 

Kalel loves climbing in the tree outside our house.  He has gotten quite good at it!

Kalel absolutely adores his little sister, and she laughs with him more than she does with anyone else.  It is so wonderful to watch their relationship.  I certainly hope that it lasts!

Kiaya is now 8 months old!  She crawls everywhere and pulls herself up to a standing position all of the time.  She rarely sits.  She just got another tooth, her 5th in 3 weeks.  She now has three on the bottom and four on the top.  She hates to be still, she is curious about everything and loves to jump (with help of course).  She refused to take a pacifier until just a few weeks ago and now loves to have it to go to sleep.  She can clap and blow kisses and loves to lay her head on soft, stuffed animals.  She is certainly a joy to have around.

Audrey Becomes Famous!
I thought that I had had my 15 seconds of fame when I was included in a commercial for Eagle Gate College last year - that honestly was just a spur of the moment decision where I was thrown into a lab coat and pretended to show students how to assess a manikin.  There was no talking or interaction with the camera, but regardless I was shown for just a second on television.  Imagine my surprise this month when I was asked to accompany Todd Smith from marketing to do a spot on KSL Studio 5 with Brooke Walker!  I literally was a nervous wreck!  Luckily we were provided with the questions prior to the show.  I was told to be there at 12:15, of course, I got there early, and then they told us we wouldn't be on until almost 1:00 p.m.  Plenty of time to allow myself to worry myself crazy!  However, it was very interesting to see how everything works in the television world.  Brooke was very nice and easy to talk to.  The interview was actually very short and was over in no time.  It was recorded and set to air the following Monday.  Obviously, I called friends and family to have them watch and record my moment of fame.

The following week I was surprised by Todd asking me to do another television spot with Big Budah on Fox 13!  I didn't know at the time, but this was a live interview!  And, this time we didn't get the interview questions in advance, so we had to think on the fly!  Big Budah was great!  I really liked him.  He asked great questions and I think he made us look good.  Although I could totally pick apart the way I looked on screen, I have chosen instead to focus on the fact that I think that I did a good job.  I think that I sounded educated and answered the questions appropriately.  It was fun!  BUT, I hope that I am done with television.  I had my turn, and it was a great experience, but I'm ready to be done.

Here is the post I put on FaceBook:
**Be Prepared - Bragging Moment!**
I had the great opportunity to interview with Big Budda of Fox news today. I could pick myself apart for how I look, but I'm not going to. I'm just going to say that it was a great experience. I love where I work and I'm so glad to have the opportunity to tell the world.

March 30 was a very snowy Friday.  It mostly rained at our house, but at work there was tons of snow, and one of my coworkers said that she had a foot of snow at her house!  Crazy!  I'm really looking forward to warm weather.  I was freezing all day, and then my darling daughter, Tasha, sent me this adorable picture of Ish and his friend Summit.  Of course the boys are the cutest ever - but look at the background!  The water and sky are so blue, so wonderfully warm, I just about packed up and headed south when I saw it!

Today was fast Sunday and the testimonies which were shared all touched me.  It seems as there has been an exceptional number of people in the ward who have been struggling with severe health or other issues lately.  How grateful I am to each of them as they valiantly deal with tough things and yet keep strong and faithful.  They are all such great examples for me.