Easter weekend, Saturday

 I was up and feeling good early Saturday morning. While making my plans for the day Audrey & Hannah got up and helped me make a slide show for the song they were going to help our Primary sing on Sunday. It was they  perfect way for them to learn and practice the song, and I learned a new skill. Then we talked about the cake walk and they, with Avonlea, headed to the backyard to set it all up. 

Grandpa, who had slept in till after 8 (what?), finally got up and they headed to the store for groceries and prizes for the cake walk. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, making our traditional Easter cake, hard-boiled eggs and ham & potato dinner. 18 month old Nori was my partner as she stood by the kitchen Alexa  begging for it to play songs from Wish and Bluey. 

The cake walk was wonderful, and I hope to post some of the pictures that I am counting on my kids sharing with me. (I think I am taking less pictures this year). 

We also went to our tried-and-true FDR school for an Easter Egg hunt. 

After eating dinner the Last family headed home as Ross' family was getting into town for their family Easter. I started "tweeking" my talk I was to give in church on Sunday, and realized I didn't have near as much prepared as I thought I had. And so, because Reggie & I had agreed to watch the kids so Hillary & Andrew could go out, Reggie took over and watched "Zombies 2" on the Disney channel with the older 3 as Hillary & Andrew had put the younger 2 to bed already. Cracked me up!

I also tried to make the sides for our Easter Dinner for the next day, while writing my talk. I ended up crashing on the couch at 2:30 and getting up at 6:30. It was all worth it.

Easter Weekend, Friday

 Our Dobbins & Last families came to visit on Easter weekend. On Friday, in the afternoon, Hillary & her kids met me at my school for a "Spring Fling" fair fundraiser. We had some time before it started and so walked around in the on again, off again rain. The kids wore their rain boots and had fun splashing in the puddles. Eli borrowed a basketball from my room and we shot hoops and practiced his defense. By the time the fair started in the multi-purpose room I was shocked at how crowded it was. I thought that because of the rain hardly anyone would show. 

Hillary left the older 3 with me as it was too much for the little ones. We bought our tickets and walked around and did a couple of things. Best of all, in my opinion, is that each bought a sparkly bag filled with origami shapes that I had seen the 7th graders working on for weeks. I thought they were making cranes, like me, but they made all kinds of different shapes. I loved supporting their work. And I loved feeling such a sense of community.

One thing we didn't do, though the kids wanted to, was the cake walk. It was just so crowded and hard to get a spot. So, we realized that with 16 of us at home we could make our own cake walk for Saturday. We headed home with those plans in mind.

That evening our friends Chris & Sabrina came over and everybody just hang out: playing games, eating misc. stuff for dinner, watching movies and tv, and going (not me, too tired) for a midnight Taco Bell run. I was happily exhausted and went to bed knowing that we had an even bigger Saturday & Sunday ahead of us.

on the other hand . . . .

 In reference to my "Bad Guy" post, I can't ignore the sentiments of this song that started my morning playlist as I got ready for work. Still trying, as I assume most people are. 

Green

 Well, Spring officially started this week while I was in bed. Now It's Friday and I am on the mend and ready to give life another try. Yesterday I sat in a camping chair in my backyard and soaked in all this goodness. 

Last week I made this green "bread" for Saint Patrick's Day. It's actually a cake mix made with pistachio pudding. I made another box of the pudding to go on top. It was pretty yummy.

There's about another week left in March and I am grateful for my things to look forward to, including Easter on the last day. Easter is a season of Hope and I plan to drink all of that in too.

My Hero

 Well, as Reggie sat in a small chair next to me in the ER last night, while they put in my IV, I had lots of memories of us 30 something years ago in the same situation during our pregnancies. We made it home around 2 am and now he's at Kaiser getting my Zofran and other prescriptions. He was supposed to leave for a business trip tomorrow but we agree that I can't take care of myself right now, so he's staying. In between getting me food when I can hold it down and a bowl for when I can't, and keeping track of what medicine's I've had when, I can hear him working hard on remodeling one of the bathrooms. 

He is my hero. 

Part of me wants to cry sad tears for being so sick, but part of me is crying happy tears for being so blessed with and by this husband of mine. (The picture below is from when we were expecting baby #3).

My round 2 with Covid

 I feel so sick that if I hadn't just tested positive for Covid I would be flabbergasted. Something about knowing what's going on makes it a little easier to take this ride again.

Last time I had Covid was October 2020, before the vaccine, but I don't remember it being so bad. I wonder if that's because I was taking care of my Mom as she also had it, and so I didn't notice my own symptoms as much. On Saturday afternoon I was surprised that the Excedrin was not helping my headache - usually it works wonders. My body was also a little more achey than usual. Then all of a sudden, Sunday evening, everything hurt: my head, ears, throat, nose and every inch of my body it seems. I went to bed with the chills, but also felt too hot at the same time, and this morning I feel queasy and faint.

I've emailed work and will be calling later to see what the protocol is these days - if I go back when I'm feeling better or if I have to stay out for a certain amount of time.

But - like I said, knowing what this is has me mentally feeling better, I guess because I know it's temporary. I anticipate physically feeling a little better each day, and hope to do non-physical chores around here when I can. I already had my scrapbooking stuff out, so I hope to finish off the 2023 pictures.

ps - well, Excedrin is my wonder drug for headaches, but I guess Ibuprofen is my wonder drug for Covid aches. I took some this morning and what a difference! Just like Kenny Chesney says "Everything is going to be alright".

Anniversary Plans

 Reggie and I were married 37 years ago. That means it was 40 years ago that we were at the theatre watching the original Ghostbusters. I remember feeling emotional because it was the weekend or so before Reggie moved to New York to live for 2 years, serving a mission for our church. Therefore, the  most romantic thing we could think of doing for this anniversary was to go see the newest Ghostbusters coming to theaters next week. However, it turns out Reggie will be out of town. So, our plan B turned out absolutely wonderful this weekend.

Thursday, after work we went to dinner and a movie - "Arthur The King", which we really enjoyed.

Friday we got up early to drop Samantha off at work and headed across the Bay to Muir Woods, at sunrise. It was so fun and peaceful and wonderful.

I love the "sunspots" in these pictures.

After our walk in the woods we went for some really good BBQ, and then to Baker Beach. I've heard of this beach in the city but never been. What a view and what an incredibly clear day!

We pulled our beach chairs out of the car and set up on the sand. We figured it must have been a spring break as the beach was full of children and teenagers. As I sat with my feet in the sand and my eyes closed I drank in all the sounds and felt good to be taking my place in this moment of time. Like the teenagers playing volleyball, I've had my time to be young. Now it's my time to be almost old, which is ok. It's good to be alive and it's great to be doing this life with Reggie Hanaike.

(Yes, of course I have a song running through my mind! Don't know if I've shared it before, but it belongs with this post either way.)

 

The Last's February visit

 Because we live 4 hours away from each other we don't see the Last's as often as I'd like. I really appreciate that they are happy to face the drive to come visit several times throughout the year. They love the city, the beach, and us! We love them so much and are grateful for the visits.

Our generous Samantha treated us all to frozen custard.

thanks to my Samoan upbringing

 I don't know if I am the only who does this, but sometimes I need to put little notes in my view to remind myself of what I want to do. Sometimes it is so natural to act and react in ways that I regret, so these notes are helpful. Yet, I don't necessarily want others to know. Therefore, a solution I am trying is to write these notes in a different language (and still have in a somewhat discreet place). 

So I thought I would try writing these things in Samoan. It is a language I grew up hearing and have always thought it would be fun to learn anyway. 

So, check this one out that I am happy to share!

She's a Bad Guy

(disclaimer, this is one of those posts that has been very therapeutic for me to write)

 A few years ago I worked with a pre-teen girl who loved Billie Eilish. Though Billie Eilish is not my cup of tea, I do like some of the song "Bad Guy". And not even the lyrics so much, because some are suggestive, but the tune, and the memories of playing cards and doing puzzles and listening to music with this girl - things we did in our class to just help these kids fight their depression and want to stay alive. That is why I have liked the song Bad Guy" (and I still need to see the animated movie of the same name "Bad Guys").

On a related note, I guess something I've been learning for a while is that it's impossible to go through life without having contention. I like to think I try my best to be Christlike, but that doesn't mean I will always get along and agree with everyone, or make everyone feel good. In fact, some people might just down right not like me. I try to do self reflection and take constructive criticism, and figure out what I should do differently. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I am right and sometimes I am wrong. 

But, recently I was telling one of my kids that, though they are known for being very sweet and a peacemaker, they are also not just a victim. Sometimes they give as good as they get. And sometimes they are even the instigator. And, I've realized I wouldn't have it any other way for them or for any of my kids, or for me.

So, maybe I am just going to accept that in myself too. That doesn't mean I will stop trying all the good things, and I will hopeful recognize and change course when I am wrong.  But I am not going to "beat myself up" or obsess anymore if someone thinks of me as "The Bad Guy". 

Hello Spring!

 (Seems that lately every one of my posts has a song included. Music is powerful. It's one of my life-lines.)

I shared the above song, and these thoughts on facebook yesterday:

Ok, I'm calling it even though it's a few weeks away - HAPPY SPRING! Here is my music to clean, organize, and de-clutter by this beautiful Saturday - I love it's whole '60s vibe. Have a great one everybody!

And it was a great Saturday. I think cleaning the basement, with the doors open, and cleaning the backyard is my favorite chore. Something about natural light and fresh air is inspirational. And organizing stuff like camping chairs makes me feel excited for the fun possibilities ahead. It's left me feeling hopeful. To top it all off, today being Sunday I have saved a a more peaceful and fun job - going through pictures and scrapbooking.

my tennis racket and keeping-on

 For a while now I've been going through every inch of this house, trying to get rid of things we don't need  or use anymore. In some ways this has felt very good. In other ways it has been hard. I am learning more and more that you can't keep everything that has emotional value. 

But, I was pretty surprised when, last weekend, while cleaning the basement, the one thing I started to cry about was my tennis racket. (Thank goodness I was alone ha ha!) I guess that's because accepting that I won't be using it anymore means accepting the limitations of my ailing body. Hitting the tennis ball means swiftly moving your legs backwards and forwards and from side to side. I'm afraid I will be courting a twisted knee at this point in my arthritic life if I keep doing that. I have always loved playing sports - from kickball in grade school to Volleyball throughout my life. I am realizing I might have also played soccer, tennis and badminton, cause it's just so fun. Even though I was never on a team for those sports I enjoy just getting out there and playing around. 

So anyway, all is still well. I am happy for what I still can do, and I've got a lot of years ahead of me to enjoy being alive. (I love this series of Grandma drawings. I'm still going to find ways to play with the kids! Maybe I'll take up fishing?)

and ps - I've said before, I knew arthritis was in my future because it is runs through my family. Another thing that has hit my mother and both my sisters is Thyroid issues. I've been lucky that my thyroid eye disease is at bay, but my doctor has suggested that after one more blood test, if my body still needs medicine to keep my thyroid under control, then it will be time to kill it! Ah, that sounds so terrible! It involves drinking a radioactive drink, keeping my distance from other people for a weekend, letting my thyroid levels tank, and then finding just the right level of a different, much safer medicine that I can comfortably and safely live on the rest of my life. I smiled when the doctor mentioned this medicine because I remember my Mom being on it for years. Thank you Mom for your bravery and example of just doing what you've got to do to keep on going!