Two good legs

Crutches.....I despise them.

But what other choice do you have when you don't have two good legs?

I have been thinking the last few days of all the things I have taken for granted. Crutches make you realize these things really fast. Here's my list for today:

1. Independence - I have none. Say I want a Diet Coke. I used to be able to get in the car, drive to Sonic and get one, and come home and enjoy! Now, I can get in the car with a lot of effort, I can drive to Sonic, and I can go through the drive thru and get one. Then I drive home. Here lies the problem. I have my diet coke, but how do I get it in the house with crutches? So I either spend the day in the car, sipping away, or resign myself to the fact that there will be no diet coke. I have tried carrying it in my teeth, somewhat works, but is not easy!

2. A clean house - I used to moan and groan when it was time to clean the house. Now I would give anything to be able to clean the kitchen and bathrooms, run the vacuum, and dust. And the laundry? I would have to invent some sort of basket or sled to pull the clothes behind me as I crutch to the laundry room. Ain't happening.

3. Eating when hungry - With two good legs, I was able to go to the kitchen and get food whenever I was hungry. I can still get to the kitchen, but it's hard to get stuff out of the fridge, get to the pantry for the bread and stand to make a sandwich. One day it took me 20 minutes to get a bowl of cereal. Sometimes it's easier to just starve or wait for the hubby to get home to feed me.

4. Baths - With two good legs, I used to love my baths. My tub was my happy place. Now, it's just a chore. Every time I get in, I am praying I will be able to get back out. Yesterday I took a bath with a spider. It fell down from the ceiling while I was in the tub. With two good legs, I would have been able to hop right out, but I couldn't. I was flailing my arms and leg, screaming because I was bathing with a spider. I finally got out, caught the spider, flushed it and then had to rest to get the energy to get back in and wash my hair.

5. Keys - My car has a remote key, meaning you don't have to put the key in the ignition, it just has to be in your purse or in your pocket. Since being on crutches, I don't carry my purse anymore. Too hard, so I put my keys in my pocket. This morning, I needed to run an errand. I loaded up my belongings in a grocery bag and headed out the door to my car. I got all situated in the car and tada, no key. GRRRRRRR!!! Now with two good legs, I would have just ran back in and grabbed my keys. Instead I sat there for 10 minutes cooling down from my workout getting to the car in the first place. Then I gimped back in and got my keys and gimped back into the car. Something that should have taken 2 minutes took 20.

6. Toilet paper - With two good legs if you run out of toilet paper you just run downstairs to where it is stored and get more. Not me! When I ran out of toilet paper, I had to get to the stairs, sit on my behind and slide down the stairs while holding my crutches. I'm 34 years old....not 4, but here I am going down the stairs like a little kid. I then crutch to the storage room, grab the toilet paper and attempt to throw it down the hall. Once I reach the toilet paper I begin my routine of "kick the TP and then crutch to it" repeated many times. Once I reach the stairs, I grab the TP and throw it up the stairs as hard as I can, hoping it doesn't roll right back down to me. Lucky for me, it stayed. I then proceed to crawl up the stairs dragging my crutches behind me. Once I reach the top, I begin the "kick the TP and then crutch to it" routine again. Finally I reach the bathroom with the TP. And mind you, while all this was happening, I had to go to the bathroom!

That's it for today. More to come! Next time you have to do any of these things, be grateful for two good legs!

My foot is ready for Halloween!

It's been two weeks since the surgery. I went back to the doctor for a re-cast today because all the swelling had gone down and my foot was sliding all over the place and my heel kept hitting the back of the cast. OWWWWWEEEEEEEE! The nurse cut my old cast off, and I took one look at it and got slightly light headed. I don't know what I expected, but it really wasn't this. The back of my leg looks like Frankenstein! No wonder it hurts so bad still.

No more red cast. I am now officially purple. I decided it was time for a color change and purple is Halloweenish, right? Too bad the color doesn't transition to Thanksgiving very well. The count down is on! 2 weeks down, 6 more to go. I can't wait for November 30th to come....and then comes the next phase....the boot!

Stay tuned. I have some awesome stories about life on crutches to be posted soon!

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A "family" outing

Alton had the day off today and we wanted to do something fun.  We grabbed the nieces, Libby and London and decided to head to The Living Planet Aquarium.  This was the first time any of us had been to the aquarium.  I highly suggest it.  We had a lot of fun, and the girls were amazed at all the different "nemo's".

London looking at all the "nemo's"

Petting the stingray's.  Me and the girls were too chicken!  Alton was brave.

This picture has nothing to do with the aquarium, but I thought it was cute.  Before we left the girls got out the "toy stash".  London has more fun with the storage bin, then with the toys!

We had a good day.  After the aquarium, we went for a gourmet lunch at McD's.  How can that not make your day complete??

Blast from the Past

The other day I was going through one of my many bins full of pictures.  I was looking for a specific picture.  I never found the picture I was looking for, but I did find a ton of other ones. Here is a blast from my past.  The next post will be a blast of Alton's past!  I'm sure he will be so excited when I post pictures of his childhood!  

Me and my cousin Paige at our great grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.  I think our mom's made the dresses!  

Yes, I did used to wear pink jammies.  No more though!  Pink is so not my color...

Me and Paige again.  I think we were camping up the canyon.

I loved my grilled cheese.  I still love my grilled cheese!  

Here's the proof.  I DID play with dolls when I was little.  Christmas of 1978.

Wearing my dad's cowboy boots.  I still remember my dad always wearing these boots.

Pink and lace!

Wow, look at that hot outfit!

I like my phones...even at 2 years old.

My 1st birthday party.  I spent my 1st birthday in the hospital, so this was after I got home...hence the drugged look on my face, I guess!  

Freedom Run

I am still a bit behind in my postings. My goal is to get caught up this week!  On July 4th, I did the Freedom Run with some good friends.  We had a great time, and our families were at the finish line cheering us on.  My friend Lareen is a marathon runner and so she pushes us (more then we would like), but it's a good thing to have her there.  She is a good sport to run with us.  

Crossing the finish line.

After the race

Girls Camp 2009!

I'm a little late at posting this....considering camp was 3 weeks ago, but I can finally say, I am recovered. :)  I have been the camp director for the last 3 years.  This year is my final year and so I decided to go out with a BANG!  We got permission from the bishopric to go to Moab and raft the Colorado River.  A high adventure camp was what we wanted the girls to experience...and it turned out a little more high adventure then I wanted, but everyone came home alive and in one piece.  

We arrived on Wednesday and after setting up camp we let the girls have a free day.  We had crafts and games and the campground had a pond that they could swim in.  On Thursday we woke up and did a day long trip on the river.  The river was higher then they thought it would be and so the rapid were a bit more intense then we expected.  We did have one boat capsize...luckily it was full of mostly leaders, but it did have two little timid 12 year olds in it. We did have one leader get wacked in the face with the oar as she went overboard and had a swollen nose and a couple black eyes for a few days.  

After we arrived back at camp after the river trip....a huge storm rolled in and it poured.  We had a huge tent that all the girls were sleeping in, and it leaked.   After $150 in tarps and $30 at the laundromat, everyone was happy and dry again. 

My boat on the river.  I was on the safe boat, meaning we were the first boat through the rapids so that when other boats came through, if they flipped we were there to pull the people out of the water..this also mean that we didn't hit the big rapids. This picture is of the small rapids....and looking at the picture, they look big to me.

I am know to the girls as the "water nymph".  I am the one that starts the water fight every year.  I'm the one that gets drenched...along with my partner in crime, the YW president Lareen.  It helps to be good friends with the YW president when you are the camp director.  It makes my life so much easier to have her on my side with planning camp, and also with the practical jokes and water fights.  I started the above water fight with buckets of water and hoses. No one stayed dry.  I even picked up my assistant camp director and carried her into the fight because she was determined to stay dry.  I also started an egg fight...not a good idea when it's hot outside...but at least we had showers!

The girls had a great time.  I love this calling and am sad that it's over.  Even though it's a lot of hard work, it's so worth it!  

Results from Saturday's weigh in

I got an email from AF City tonight with the results of Saturday's weigh in.  I didn't make the top 15.  I came in at number 16.  I was one pound off!  I am a little disappointed, but just came off a tough month and so I'm happy with it.  25 lbs in 3 months.  I can't complain.  Another 37 pounds to reach my goal.  

Biggest Loser Update

Today was another weigh in for the Biggest Loser.  I lost another 5 lbs for a total of 24.8 since the competition began.  I was pretty happy with it considering it's been a tough month.  I will find out on Tuesday if I made the top 15!

Yellowstone

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of Yellowstone.  We had an okay trip, all things considered.  Alton was sick the whole time and someone backed into our Durango and mashed it up, so it wasn't the best trip we have ever been on.  Here are some random pictures. We were lucky enough to see a bear and two cubs.  That was pretty exciting.  Also we saw lots of baby buffalo.  

Running with Angels 5K

On Saturday I did my first 5K.  It was the Running with Angels 5K at Thanksgiving Point.  I did it with my friends Lareen and Kathleen.  We missed our other friends Teddi and Jenny who were out of town.  We had a lot of fun and even beat our goal.  We wanted to finish in 50 minutes and we finished in 46:25.  

Here we are before the race.  

They releases a bunch of doves and that was our signal to begin.

There were about 1200 people in this race.  It was kind of a mad house at times. 

We ran past waterfalls.

We ran through flower gardens.

We ran past fountains.

Me and Lareen reaching the finish line.  

Me, Kathleen, Pam Hansen and Lareen.  Pam wrote the book "Running with Angels"

Next on the list is the Freedom Run 5K on July 4th!

11 years!

11 years ago today we were married in the Mt Timpanogos  temple.  It was a beautiful day! Happy Anniversary to my amazing husband.  Thanks for all you do for me and for your unconditional love!  I love you!