Hello friends~
I am running a little behind lately. I started off with really good intentions for this school quarter...but I have managed to have more on my plate than I anticipated. I have a PowerPoint project due in 4 weeks and it has to be done on something business related while completing a large list of requirements that I will be graded on, i.e. embedding a hyperlink, changing a gradient fill, adding a chart or graph...etc.... ugh! I struggled with this until, with the help of Mark and two of my classmates, I have come up with creating it on packing for business travel. Something I have/had a lot of experience with in my former work life. Combined with this quarter's business math, keyboarding, English, PowerPoint and outlook classes...it's been crazy. Adding to that, I have enrolled in my gym's 6 week Biggest Loser Challenge. Logging the food, getting in 5 workouts a week, and going to school....crazy!
Some catching up from January....there was some wacky weather that came thru the Pacific Northwest last month. And that resulted in us getting outta Dodge before the major part hit and heading over to the Bitterroot Valley to check up on M's folks. Because of M's schedule, we didn't get a chance to get over there for Turkey wknd or Christmas, so we were due. And it turned out to be a blessing were went over when we did, so that we could accompany EC Roberts to the appointment with the heart surgeon the next day. Based on the angiogram (sp?) he had 3-possible 4 blocked arteries. The surgeon wanted to get him on the schedule sooner rather than later. He ended up scheduling him for 2 weeks out (Feb 1). So after getting some things in order back there and rallying the troops to line up some back-up for E during his recovery time, we came back home and made plans for M to fly back there for the surgery. While we were out of town we had Mandy at the house dog sitting the girls when the power went out for a couple of days. It was Friday when I got the call that she was at a coffee shop charging up her phone, power was still out and she didn't know what to do and didn't have word on an ETA for it to come back. So I made the decision to have her take the girls to the kennel for the weekend so she could at least get back to her warm apartment.
Fast forward to Jan 31 and we found out that E developed an UTI and surgery had to be postponed. M made the trip anyway, and came back next day and jumped right back into work. Only to receive a call Friday before last, for a special request for him to come up to AK to work. They needed him to do a little damage control. He packed a bag in a mad rush, in the dark, because the power went out that afternoon for a couple of hours. The good news was that it came back on that night so he could at least take a shower before leaving the next morning.
M was in Dutch for a week, came home for 36 hours and flew back over to the Bitterroot for the rescheduled surgery, yesterday, 2/14. How ironic huh?, heart surgery on Valentine's Day? =) Good news all around, surgery went well, and he was up to receiving visitors today. M is on his way back tonight and I am on my way to the gym to get a cardio work-out in before I have to pick him up.
Never a dull moment in the Valley of Maples.
