Adventures of the Hill Family

Phantom!

2011-03-18T09:49:00.003-05:00

I've just posted the preview video of the production of Phantom that I got a part in. :) If you watch the video there's a bit that has a little boy crying in the middle of the floor and then you hear some people singing "Vierge Marie save me," etc....I'm part of that group. There's actually a part a few minutes before that in the show that is a quartet of ladies singing that by themselves, and I'm one of them. I guess you can tell that I got a part in that show that I auditioned for. I didn't get the job that I interviewed for, but oh well. I interviewed yesterday for another job at the library as a full time Customer Service Assistant, so hopefully I'll know the outcome of that by the end of next week or beginning of the week after. I was the first interview and they are going to have them until next Thursday.
Anyway, other than the show and work, Rex and I haven't been up to much. I was excited to have last night at home. We open tonight and the other cast got to do the preview performance while my cast has opening night. By the way, every show they do at this theater is double cast so the actors don't have to dedicate themselves to the show for 6 performances a week for 6 weeks. It's quite nice!

Phantom at Artisan.mp4

2011-03-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Results #2

2011-01-12T12:04:00.002-06:00

When I got up this morning, I was really hoping that I would find out what the results of my biopsy were. From there, we would be able to decide what needs to be done, whether it is continue on medication or surgery or whatnot. Well, I got to my appointment this morning and when the doctor came in, he got on his computer to see what was going on. He then spent a couple of minutes reading what was on the screen, and I knew that the results wouldn't be good. When he finally started to talk, he said that the results came back exactly the same as before. Mostly normal cells, but some atypical cells as well. Then we started talking about my options. Basically, I could go ahead and have surgery to have the lump (and possibly my thyroid) removed, or I can have another biopsy to see if this time it will be conclusive. I opted for the third biopsy because I don't want to have surgery unless it is absolutely necessary. So I get to wait until April 12 so I can make sure my thyroid is healed from the second biopsy because if you do it right away it can skew the results. After April 12, I'll have to wait another 3 weeks so I can get the results again.
On the bright side, the doctor said that since I got the exact same results this time that the lab isn't going to charge me. I don't know if that is going to apply to the entire procedure or just the lab results, but either way I'm saving several hundred dollars. I also lost 2 pounds since my last appointment 3 weeks ago and my blood pressure was 112/72. So that's good anyway.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-04T16:15:00.003-06:00

So it's a new year, and I guess I should update with what's been going on here. The weekend before Christmas, Rex and I went to visit my family in Arkansas. We spent a lot of time with the family, which was nice because we don't get to do that very often because of living 6 hours away and work schedules being crazy. For Christmas Eve, we spent the evening with Rex's family eating pizza and having a white elephant gift exchange. It was good times.

I got my second biopsy done about two weeks ago, and now I am just waiting on the results. It went better than the first time because I knew what to expect. Also, my lump didn't get inflamed this time, so that's good. But it still wasn't much fun. Something about getting a needle repeatedly stuck in my neck just kinda makes me woozy. Thankfully, my friend Valarie was able to drive me to my appointment. Otherwise, I would not have been able to drive from being all shaky and stuff. So, to sum up, it was better than the first time, but not as much fun as having the flu. Hopefully this time when I get the results they'll be able to tell me what it is instead of just normal/abnormal.

Rex and I are now getting ready to go to our first Mavericks game of the season. We discovered that eBay is definitely the way to go for cheap good tickets! We think we'll use it more often.

Another month, another apartment

2010-12-09T18:51:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a while since I've posted, oops! A lot has happened since August 19. My brother and his wife are pregnant, so hooray for them! I've started eating less and exercising more and lost 20 pounds and over 15 inches, so hooray for me! I've interviewed for and not gotten a full-time position at the library I work at, so hooray for the person who got it and boo for me! Rex's job stopped paying health insurance so in order for us to keep it we have to pay an extra $300/month and my bills for the biopsy are coming in so we moved into a smaller apartment in the same complex in order to save money, so hooray for that! We just moved a week ago on the 3rd, and I've been working on getting the place in order and unpacked and everything, but then I got sick on Sunday and am just now getting over it. I sang in a production of the Messiah (well, the highlights since the entire production is very long and we had limited time and resources) and lost my voice after the first performance so I didn't get to sing in the second one. It's funny, I usually get sick and then lose my voice, but this time I lost my voice and then got sick. It's been a very strange sickness, completely backwards. Anyway, that's what's been going on here in a nutshell. :)

Thyroid lump scare

2010-08-19T10:19:00.001-05:00

As some of you may know, I found a lump on my throat over Memorial Day weekend. I went to the doctor, and I was sent to get an ultrasound done. It turns out the lump was in my thyroid, so I was sent to an endocrinologist to see what it was. Six weeks later (July 26) I had my first appointment with the endocrinologist. He told me that I have a complex cystic nodule in my thyroid, and he wanted to do a Fine Needle Aspiration biopsy on it on August 4. So I went back for the biopsy a week later and was told I'd get the results back in three weeks, and that I would have some pain and tenderness for a few days. Two weeks later (this past Monday), I was still having a lot of pain and it seemed like the lump had gotten bigger and it was giving me a perpetual sore throat and I could feel it when I swallowed, so I called the doctor to see if that was normal. He said it wasn't and to come in that day so they could see what was going on. I got there and the doctor examined it and said that it was just inflamed, which can happen when you get several needles stuck into your neck. He also said they got the biopsy results back early and that most of the cells were benign, but there were a few atypical cells in there, so they want me to come back in 4 months and do another biopsy. Even though all of my thyroid levels are normal, they're going to put me on thyroid medication to try to shrink the lump. So hooray for no cancer right now, not so hooray for having to get another biopsy done.

Update

2010-07-26T10:58:00.002-05:00

I got an ultrasound done on my neck to see where the lump was. Turns out, it's on/in my thyroid. Today is the day that I have my initial appointment with the endocrinologist to see what's what. I've been doing really well not thinking about it or worrying. Until last night and today. It feels like the lump has gotten smaller, but that could just be my wishful thinking. I guess we'll see for sure today. If they even do anything about it today. It's just the first appointment.

Worrisome

2010-06-03T15:57:00.003-05:00

I found a lump on my neck last week, so I went to the doctor yesterday to see what it was. The doctor couldn't tell if it is on my thyroid or lymph node, but doubts that it's my lymph node because I'm not otherwise sick. She sent me to get a sonogram on the lump to see if it's on the thyroid or not. If it is on the thyroid, I'll have to get a biopsy done on it because the lump is 2-2 1/2 cm diameter right now. If it isn't, I'll have to get a CAT scan on my neck to see exactly what it is. I was told that I'd get the results yesterday afternoon or this morning at the latest. I still haven't heard from the doctor's office, even though I have called several times and they keep telling me that they're leaving notes for the nurse to call me back, but so far nothing. I'm almost to the point where I will drive to the doctor's office and tell them I'm not leaving until they let me know which of the two tests I'll have to have next. I don't know which one I want it to be. I don't know what to do. I'm really upset because I don't know what's going to happen or what is wrong with me. I have some symptoms of hypothyroidism, including brittle nails and weight gain, but that could also be me just not exercising for a while. Rex has given me a blessing, so I've calmed down a lot, but I'm afraid that if I get to work tonight without hearing anything, then I'll be a basketcase all night. I haven't been able to sleep or eat well because I'm so worried. This really stinks.

Grandpa's Interview

2010-05-25T12:54:00.003-05:00

I was going through old drawers getting ready to move and I found the interview I did with Grandpa for my college Western Civilization class. Since there are quite a few of his descendants on here, I thought I'd post it for you guys.

Oral History Interview
Kathryn Pearce
Western Civilization to 1660
Dr. Smith
November 8, 2002

I sat down on Sunday afternoon to play cards with my grandfather, Gilbert Earl Culwell. I also asked him a few questions about his life. He was born on October 24, 1923 in West Helena, Arkansas in Phillips County. He is the third of nine children. He has four brothers and four sisters. One brother was killed in World War II, and one sister died just six days after she was born. He was married on January 26, 1950 to my grandmother, Beverly Carol Munson.

I asked my grandfather where he grew up. He said he grew up all over the countryside, mostly in Arkansas. He was born in West Memphis, and they moved to wherever his father could get work. They would stay for a few months, and then go back to West Helena. Not long after they moved back to West Helena they moved to Star Mountain in Searcy Count up in the mountains. They lived there for a while and went back to West Helena. From there they moved back up there and bought one hundred and sixty acres, maybe only eighty though. He couldn't remember. They bought a farm and built a log house, lived there happily ever after until they ran out of money, and then they moved back to West Helena. They then moved to Cypurt for a while. They moved around a lot. His daddy had a real good job in West Helena and every time they would run out of money they would go back and his dad would save up his money so they could go someplace else. They would sharecrop and plant a couple of vegetables and if the crop failed they would move to another farm. He went to a birthday party once for kids his age and they had the same number of boys and girls there. The girls made aprons out of sackcloth or whatever else they could find and the boys would hem the girls' aprons for them. He said that must have been exciting. He played baseball for his school, and one time they played Marvel which was their biggest school rival. He remembered that their team had uniforms and gloves. He played third base and got three outs for his team, which was very unusual in those days. two of them were pop-ups that came to him and the other was someone thrown out. From there they went to Dyess, Arkansas. He had two siblings born there in Mississippi County. He had just finished eighth grade when they left Dyess and he said that his parents had decided that he had done all he needed to do and he needed to quit school and get a job. They moved to Hector and went to the Civilian Conservation Corps for a coupld of years and after that he went into the army for a coupld of years. He got out of the army and his folks still lived in Hector. He got a job at the coal mine in Hiawatha for three years. He met his future wife, Beverly Carol Munson and she proposed to him and they hopped into a 1939 Ford and went up into the mountain passes in Russelville and got married. They moved back to Hector and lived there for a while and then moved to Little Rock, then to North Little Rock, then to Chicago for a year. He went back to school and worked in a machine shop. He became a heating and air conditioning expert, but not too expert, he guesses though. They moved back to North Little Rock and they lived happily ever after there and in Little Rock for the rest of their lives. They had three children, Carol, Carla, and Alan.

I asked him when he saw and rode in his first automobile, and he said that he and Bevvy bought a car before they got married, then he remembered that his father had had a pickup truck. He bought a car, but he didn't get it until they got away. he said that when they were moving around from Searcy County back to West Helena they moved in a Model T Ford.
I asked him when he saw his first airplane and he said that they didn't have airplanes back in those days, but when he lived in Dyess President Roosevelt's wife came to town and flew in on an airplane. His first airplane ride was in 1984 to California to visit my family and to go to Disneyland. He didn't describe the flight to me though.
I asked him when he heard his first radio, what influence it had on his community, and what the most popular programs were. He said that the first one they owned was up at Hector, a batter-operated one. He can remember when the battery would be weak his father would be listening to the Lone Ranger and everybody would have to be quiet. He said that the influence didn't matter. He lived out in the country outside of Hector and the population was only a little more than three hundred people. The popular programs were mostly comedians like George Burns and Gracie Allen. For his dad he guesses it was the Lone Ranger. "Who was that masked man? Of that was the Lone Ranger!" He said that Ma Perkins, the Shadow, Hit Parade, there was a lot of 'em. They also had serial type stuff on there, like the soap operas today. He said he couldn't stand to listen to them.

I asked him what his social life was like when he was my age and he said that it was real exciting. Before that time there were CCC activities. They went to the movies a lot. Every Saturday there would be another chapter. They'd have a cartoon and a new reel and a serial like a cliffhanger and then a movie. Westerns were real popular like Roy Rogers.
I asked his what his opinions were of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Hoover, JFK, and Martin Luther King, Jr. were and he said that President Roosevelt was real popular with him and his family. He had a short hitch in the NYA and a longer hitch in the CCC and his father worked for the WPA. He could drive all over up in the country were you could see rock bridges and stuff that they had built. He said that he did not even remember President Hoover, but he can remember stories about how some of the farmers didn't like him. They would bite into an apple and start cussing Hoover because there would be a worm in the apple. He said that they liked John F Kennedy. He also said that Martin Luther King, Jr. was famous for some people, but he didn't think too much for him. Some people think he did a lot for the world, but he thinks that George Washington Carver did more for the country than him.

I asked him about his reaction to the events surrounding December 7, 1941 and what effect Pearl Harbor had on his life. He said that he was shocked like everybody was shocked and surprised and stuff and since he was already in uniform he would have a head start on other people not in it yet. He met one fellow in Little Rock, he thinks he was a colonel in the army, and while he was in the CCC's he was an army officer stationed in Little Rock and asked him if he knew Charlie real well and said that he knew him well from the first war.
I asked what he thought when he heard that the first man had walked on the moon, and he said that he thought they just made up that story and that nobody could walk on the moon.
I asked him what influence air-conditioning had on his life and the community and he said "What's air-conditioning?" as a joke. He then said that they got it when they were living in North Little Rock so that his daughter Carla wouldn't barf all over the floor. They even got a tax break on it because it was for medical reasons. He then said that they really got it to keep him cool during the day because he worked at night. He knew a man at his work that used to sleep by the window with a wet cloth on him and a fan blowing on him and that was his air-conditioning. He said that when he was growing up nobody had air-conditioning but the wealthy people.
I asked him what piece of technology most influenced his life and he said the auto. That made it so he and his family could get around better. Back in the old days they had to move by one or two horse power. He remembers one time they were moving in cold weather and the first trip everybody went and took stuff and the second trip it was just him and his daddy. His daddy was walking and he was riding in the cart and he started complaining about how cold it was and his daddy said to get out and walk and it would warm him up. They got to an old wooden bridge and the horse could see cracks in it and didn't want to go over it, so they put a blindfold over its eyes. He was only five or six at the time and he remembers it was a very long move without an auto.

His advice for young people today was that young people should go to school and pay attention so they can choose a good profession. He also said that they should make good friends that inspire you to do good instead of all the cruddy things that are out there today.
I also asked him what the schools were like when he was little. He said that he didn't go very high, but they was kinda like they are now. Country schools are a little different than they was in Dyess. Dyess was pretty modern. They had some cars and sometimes people would trade in a cow for a car. They didn't have bathrooms inside either. They had to take a path out to the outhouses.

I asked him how he celebrated Christmas and he said that he did just like we do now. They normally did not get a Christmas tree unless they was living in an area where they could just go out and chop one down. They mostly received a handful of raisins and an orange, but sometimes when his folks had extra money they would get a shirt or a pair of shoes. Also, they would bake a cake or something for a treat.

He said that the cost of living has gone up a little bit. It costs more to live now than it did in those days. In the old days, around hog-killing time when it got cold enough to keep the meat outside because they didn't have a fridge a couple of families would get together and kill a couple of animals and they would share vegetables and cream and meat.
I asked him when he had his first telephone and he said they did not have one until they lived on Parker Street in North Little Rock in 1955. He thinks that his folks got a telephone in Hector. They didn't get electricity until the 1940s, and didn't have indoor plumbing until much later. They would also skin and eat their fresh meat before it went bad because they didn't have a refrigerator.

He got his first television set when he was living in Chicago when it first came out in 1951 and then they moved back to Little Rock and they didn't get a signal. They didn't have any channels and then when the city did get it they had VHF and the city had UHF so they had to get a converter. My grandfather didn't want to get one so he made a bookcase out of the old television and didn't get another one until they moved into the house he and my grandmother are living in today. He told me a story about how when he was throwing away the picture tube from the old television set he had it in a 55 gallon drum and one of the neighbors came up to him and told him he couldn't throw away the tube like that because it was still good and so after the neighbor left my grandfather took a big pipe and threw it in the barrel and made the tube implode. There was a big "Boom" and the neighbors came running out to see what had happened and my grandfather acted like he didn't know.

My grandfather has had a very interesting life. I am very happy that I was able to interview him and discover all of the events that have happened in his life. I am thankful that my grandfather is still alive so that I will be able to get to know him a little bit better from now on.

Long time no see....

2010-05-25T12:35:00.002-05:00

It's been a ridiculously long time since I have posted on here. Things are going pretty well for us. When I last posted, we had just found out that Rex's car was needing a lot of repairs that we couldn't afford. We decided it would be best to sell that car and buy a new one, so we took his car to Carmax and they gave us a pretty good price for a car that needed that many repairs. They sold us a car and when we took it to the bank to get financing through them, the bank told us that they had sold it to us for $2000 more than it was worth and they couldn't finance it. So we took it back to Carmax and the bank found us a car dealership that gave us an even better deal on a brand new car. So we are now the proud owners of a 2009 Chevy Cobalt named Leo. I drive the new car and Rex drives my old car since I do more driving than he does.
We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family this year, which was fun. I've only made it back to Arkansas once since Christmas because having four jobs between the two of us makes travel difficult. We are going on a cruise to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico in two weeks, so we're really excited about that. Rex will be going SCUBA diving with his family, but I am not a strong swimmer so I will stick to snorkelling. :) I will also be working the two Junior weeks of band camp this year, so I will be in Arkansas for that too.
While I am at the second week of camp, Rex will be moving all of our stuff into a new apartment! We're very excited about this, especially since the new apartment doesn't have a pet deposit for cats or a monthly pet rent. We decided to move because we wanted to upgrade to a two-bedroom so we will have more space. The cats need a room of their own! Anyway, we talked to our apartment complex about upgrading, but they said we'd have to pay a $200 transfer fee, we'd only get $250 of our $1K pet deposit back, and we'd still have to pay a new pet deposit of $250/cat, and our monthly pet rent was going to go up from $5 per cat per month to $20 per cat per month. We started looking for new apartments right away, and found some really nice ones. We wanted to stay within the ward we're in now, but our new place is too good of a deal to pass up. We're sad to be leaving our current ward, but I'm sure the new one will be just as nice. We're starting to get ready for the move, going through stuff and getting rid of things we don't need or want anymore. Hooray for moving!
I mentioned that we currently have 4 jobs between the two of us. Rex has started a part time job with a new company called Lonestar Health. Basically he goes to people's houses and cooks dinner for them, teaching them about health and nutrition. It's been fun getting started, and we're going to cook a show for my family while we're in Arkansas next week for Memorial Day.
I think I've got everything caught up now. I'll try to post more often!

Freak of the Week- Katy style

2009-10-14T10:24:00.001-05:00

Up until today, life has been pretty awesome for Rex and me. Then today happened. I took my husband's car in to the shop this morning to get the window fixed because it keeps falling down. I also asked them to take a look at the car and make sure it's still all good. Here's the break down:
1) Upper and lower intake gasket combination-$734.10
2) Outer tie rod ends and alignment- $248.15
3) Engine oil pan gasket-$536.04
4) Transmission oil pan gasket and filter- $165.69
5) Brake line flush- $99.95
6) Window regulator and motor- $404.29
Total: $2188.22
When I got the news I held it together while I was on the phone with the repair shop guy, but as soon as I hung up I started crying and called my mom. She was able to calm me down a little bit, but I'm still freaking out quite a bit. What newly married couple has that kind of extra money laying around? Other than celebrities, which we aren't (even though I think we're awesome enough to be famous, but I wouldn't want all that attention. Just the money). So my day is shaping up to be the day from hell. I have to work tonight too, which I don't know how I'll get through without breaking down crying again like I have every few minutes since I got the call. The worst is that I can't talk to Rex about it because he's at work and can't have his phone so I have to wait until 3 when he gets off. It's better that he has these last few hours not to worry. I'm going to have to sub every day and then go to work at the library straight after. I'm going to be so exhausted, it makes me tired just to think of it. I just want to go back to bed and pretend like today never happened.

Boston and Birthday (very lengthy)

2009-08-15T10:02:00.003-05:00

It's been a very eventful month for us here in the Hill household. I went to Boston to visit my sister for a few days a couple of weeks ago. The travelling part was a bit crazy. My flight to Houston to connect to Boston was late (the plane didn't pull up to the gate until 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave), making me almost miss my connecting flight. I got to the gate right as they were doing the final boarding call. Then, we were at the runway and we were about to take off when the captain came on and said that due to weather in Boston we'd be delayed by an hour. So we went back to the area rght before the runway and waited our hour, then when we were about to take off again, they said that a thunderstorm was moving into Houston and we'd have to go back to the gate. So we headed back to the gate, but right when we got there the captain said that we'd been cleared for takeoff! Crazyness....anyway, we got to Boston a little over an hour late, but thankfully I had gotten in contact with my sister so she knew and didn't have to wait at the airport for a long long time.
On Monday we went whale watching in the Atlantic Ocean. We saw so many whales, and they acted like they were trained at SeaWorld. There was one baby whale that kept jumping out of the water and waving its fins at us, and its mama came up to the boat to make sure her baby was safe. :) After the whale watching, we went on a Duck Tour, which is an amphibious vehicle that took us on a tour of the city, then it turned into a boat and we went on the Charles River, where my sister got to drive it a little bit. After the Duck Tour, we went to FHE and did yoga. It was so hot in there that I slipped and fell on my butt three times, but I just laughed it off and got right back up.
Tuesday we went walking around downtown Boston, around the Boston Common area. We went to the Boston Public Library and I drooled over how beautiful it was. We also went to the Boston Public Garden and took a Swan Boat tour. That's basically a paddle boat, but a very big one with rows of benches and one guy at the back pedalling and steering the whole thing. Tuesday night we went to Walden Pond and went swimming. The water was so clear that even in the dark I could see everything! It was so beautiful!
Wednesday, we went sailing with one of me sister's friends. She and I got to help sail the boat and everything, including raising and lowering the sail and pulling various ropes to make sure we were going in the right direction. After we went sailing we went to a Finnish sauna that was about an hour outside of Boston. We would sit in the 180+ degree heat and humidity for a couple of minutes, then go outside and jump into the lake (which was very cold, although my sister will try to tell it differently), and then repeat the whole process several times. The last time we were in the sauna we used this lemon mint salt scrub which made it bearable to sit in the heat because it cooled us off a lot, but when we jumped into the lake again it was so cold that I couldn't breathe for a minute. But it all worked out all right in the end. :)
Thursday morning we went to the Temple for a session before I had to go catch my plane to go home. We got to the airport at about 2 for my 3:30 flight. I tried to check in electronically, but the flight was delayed so it wouldn't let me. So I had to get in the long long long long line to check in. It turns out that everyone who was in that line was also on the flight I was on, so there were a few people who missed that flight. It didn't help that there were only 2 people checking people in, and one of those people was only checking in first class passengers. Eventually 3 or 4o more people came out and helped with check in so it went much faster, but I still didn't get to check in and through security until about 3:30. I got through security and luckily my gate was close because as I went through they were calling for Passenger Hill to board the plane because it was about to leave. The rest of the trip was very uneventful. On the flight from Newark to Dallas I was sitting next to a student from the school district I substitute for, so that was interesting.
Anyway, fast forward to the past few days. On Wednesday we drove out to my parents' house for my birthday dinner. As we were driving through Dallas, I had the feeling that I should get my tires checked because it's been over two years that I've owned that car and I have never done anything with the tires. Well, when we got to White Hall I missed my turn so I had to get on the highway. There was a really weird sound as we were driving on the highway, but we thought that maybe it was just the road. But when I got on my exit, it became very apparent that it was my tire. It went very flat and had lots of holes in it. I'm not sure exactly how that happened, but oh well. We were only a mile from my parents' house, so they came to help us. Before they got there I was looking for my hazard lights, but I couldn't find the button to activiate them. Then a police car pulled up and asked what we were doing. I told the nice lady cop that I had a flat and couldnt' find my hazard light button, so she pulled up behind my car and turned her lights on and put a spotlight on our car so we could see. Then my parents got there and turned their hazards on, and then another cop came up and turned his lights on too. It looked like we were in trouble, so that was funny. :) The next morning we were planning on getting to the tire store right when they opened, but my spare tire went flat on the way to get a new tire, so we aired it back up and continued on our way. Then when we got to the store, the spare was low again. Anyway, to make a long story short (too late), I had to get 4 brand new tires for my birthday. Hooray. Thankfully, my parents bought two of the tires so we didn't have to spend $400 all at once.
Later on Thursday, we went up to Little Rock for my birthday dinner. A few of my friends were able to come, most of my family was there, and Rex's aunt and uncle that are on their mission and are serving in my grandma's ward were also there. It was lots of fun! Lots of laughter and loudness took place. :) Yesterday (my actual birthday) we got up and drove back to Dallas in time to go to birthday dinner at Chili's with Rex's family. That was really nice because all of his sisters were there with their families (except for the brother-in-law that is a police officer and was working the Rangers game) and one of my friends from work was also able to come.
All in all, I had a great birthday, and have had a great summer!

Summer Adventures

2009-07-17T22:51:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe it's been almost a year already. Sunday will be one year for Rex and me, and I love him so much more every day. We are going to celebrate tomorrow after he gets off work. I think we're going to go out to eat. We already got a cake to eat in case the top of our wedding cake didn't survive the year of being frozen. It's the same type of cake that I had a year ago, so hopefully it will all be wonderful!
Rex recently got his schedule changed at work so now he has Thursday and Friday off, and he works from 7 am-3pm. We get to spend so much time together now! It's awesome. We've been just hanging out at the house for the most part. We've gone over to the cousins' house a few times to go swimming, but we mostly just stay home and watch movies. I also just started my new position at the library so I get to spend a lot more time at home now. I'm going to visit my sister in Boston in a 9 days, and I can't wait! I'm looking forward to spending some time with her.
Today Rex and I went over to the cousins' house. We were going to go get some lunch before going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Rex noticed that there was a flat tire on his car. We tried to get the car to a flat area (they live on a hill), but the tire came completely off the rim. So we decided to try to change the tire anyway. Rex got our jack out and had the car almost all the way up when the car rolled back a little and the jack broke. Not just slipped. Broke. As in, can't ever be used for jacking things up ever again. So then Uncle Walter came out and was helping us and brought out a hydraulic jack for us to use and a brick to put behind the tire so it wouldn't roll again. We had it almost all the way up (again) and all of a sudden the jack just collapsed and broke. Again. We decided to give it one more try (Uncle Walter has an insane amount of jacks in his garage) before just giving up. Luckily, the two (2) jacks that we were using were able to support the car and not break and they were able to get the spare tire on. Where was I and what was I doing during all this, you ask? I was sitting on the grass in the shade being moral support and playing Sudoku on my Zune that Rex got for me for our anniversary. :) It's really nice. I should post some pictures soon. Anyway, after we got the spare on we went back to the apartment and traded cars so we could have one that the tire wouldn't fall off whilst we were driving. Never fear, we made it to see the movie in plenty of time. It was my second time to see it and everyone else we went with's first time. I was a nerd and went to the midnight showing. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone there who was dressed up. Other than the people who work there and had to be dressed up. The guy taking my ticket was wearing the sorting hat. He declared me Gryffindor, just so you know.
In other news, I am on my last month of prescription allergy meds, so I decided I was going to give not taking any for a few days a try to see how I did. I failed miserably. I now am trying to fight off a sinus infection that resulted from the horrible horrible allergies that I still have even though it's July and most Spring allergies are over by now. I shall be going to the doctor to get a renewal of my prescription next week. :)

Summer '09

2009-07-07T18:40:00.002-05:00

I went to work at band camp for two weeks as a dorm mom. That was pretty fun. I missed Rex like crazy, though. The only thing that would have made it better is if he was there with me. :) I got to hang out with old friends, make new ones, see my family, all that fun stuff. I am currently missing Senior week of BC, but I'm trying to talk Rex into going to see the concerts with me tomorrow night. We'll see....
I got a new position at the library. I am currently a clerk, which means I do all the manual labor and such and only get paid $.20 more than minimum wage. I got the news at the end of Jr 2 week of BC that I got the job that I interviewed for right before I left. I will be starting as a Customer Service Assistant (or CSA) on Monday, July 13! That means that I will do the checking in of books and get yelled at by patrons who don't know how to return items by their due date, but I'll be making over twice as much money and only working half as many hours. I'll only be working 9.5 hours a week, but I'll make approximately $20 more on each paycheck. Good deal? I think so!
Rex and I went up to OK to his family's property for Independence Day. It was all right. I got bitten by chiggers on the first day so I spent a good bit of my time doped up on Benadryl. I love Rex's family most of the time, but sometimes they can be a little too......Republican. If that makes any sense. Or maybe it's not that they can be Republican, it's that they are severly anti-anything else. And I'm also don't really have anything to talk to them about since they mostly want to sit around and bash Obama and say how crappy a job he is doing in the White House. He hasn't even had 6 months yet, people! Give him a break. He's doing the best job he can with what he was given. But anyway, we're back now and I think I'll let Rex go by himself up to OK unless his parents and sisters are going to be there the whole time we'll be there.
That's about all that's going on with us.

We're off to see the Wizard...

2009-05-12T16:48:00.002-05:00

I don't know why that title popped into my head. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. :)
I'm happy that I seem to have gotten over whatever was sickening me. I don't know what it was, but Rex got a little of it this past weekend. He seems to be doing better now.
So there is some construction on the road in front of our apartment complex. This construction has caused one of the two exits to be closed. This has caused several people to think that they can exit through the entrance, even though we have all received several notices not to do that. This has caused me to be rather annoyed at those people, which has led me to roll down my window as I am going in the entrance and passing these idiots and tell them that they are idiots and that they are trying to go out entrance and the exit is on the other side of the complex. That makes Rex rather distressed because he thinks that one day one of those people is going to turn around and follow me back to the apartment and stab me or something. Well, I have decided that instead of vocalizing my displeasure at idiots who don't know how to read I shall simply go to the other entrance if I see someone waiting to leave. Yes, it will add a couple of minutes to my getting home, but it will make my husband happier since I won't be antagonizing strangers. :) Hey, at least I say something when they annoy me instead of just keeping it inside and whining about it.
On a side note, there's only about 2 1/2 weeks left of school! Which means only 3 more Sundays that I have to work (until next school year). :):):) I'm excited about summer vacation, as always. It's going to be a bit different this year because I will still have a job that I have to go to, but it's only going to be 2 days a week. :) I have also confirmed my working band camp for at least the first two weeks! I'm very excited about being home for 2 weeks and seeing my old friends. :)
Today is a great day.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T10:01:00.003-05:00

All I can say is thank Heavenly Father for Priesthood blessings. I was very sick on Sunday, but thanks to a blessing given to me by my husband I have gotten much better. Still a little tired/weak, but I'm not dead yet! I can dance and I can sing. I am not dead yet, I can do the Highland thing. Lol....little Spamalot reference there for ya.
Anyway, I'm having a couple of friends over for a Cinco de Mayo girls' night. Fajitas and girly movies, anyone?

Not that I'm usually paranoid....

2009-05-03T22:38:00.002-05:00

...but I seem to have a few flu-like symptoms. I've been excessively tired, sore throat, cough, headache, fever, achy, and stomach issues. And there is a confirmed case of H1N1 (also known as swine flu) at the school district I sub for. Yeah. I'm going to the doctor first thing tomorrow morning. I can't believe I slept for 5 hours today after sleeping 9 hours last night. Thankfully I have a priesthood holder in my home and he was able to give me a blessing today at church (for the 10 minutes we were there). I know everything will be fine, I just want to go make sure.

Updates and News

2009-04-21T16:54:00.002-05:00

I've been sick for nearly a month. I've had a horrible cough that sounds like I've been smoking a pack a day for 20+ years, and then I can't breathe after I'm done. I went to the doctor today and she said that it's my allergies and Claritin isn't working anymore. So I got a shot for immediate relief, Allegra, and and inhaler and pills to relieve the coughing/breathing symptoms. It's a relief to finally know what's been wrong with me for so long. I also stopped by the local health food store and got some herbal tea and local honey so hopefully that will help even more with the stupid allergies. :)
Rex and I celebrated his 27th birthday yesterday. We both took the day off and just spent the day together. It was so nice to spend time with my husband for once! We capped the day with going over to his cousins' house for the Mavericks/Spurs game and birthday cake. The Mavs lost, but oh well. We'll see how the next two games in Dallas go. :)
There are only 5 weeks of school left, and one of those weeks will be taken up with TAKS testing. I'll be subbing as much as possible until school is out. I'm still waiting to hear from the Band Camp people again because I was asked several weeks ago to work, but haven't heard anything again. I would love to work, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get off for the weeks necessary to work them. But we'll see. There's not a whole lot I can do about it right now anyway, so why worry, right? I've been trying not to worry about things I can't do anything about. I'll let you know how that goes. :)

Howdy Strangers

2009-03-31T17:32:00.002-05:00

I know it's my own fault for being a stranger. It's been forever since I've posted anything, so here's what's been going on:
-Rex and I celebrated our 7 month and 8 month anniversaries, as well as Valentine's Day. His birthday is in a little less than 3 weeks so I guess I should find something that will be a surprise to him, since he helped pick out his mp3 player. For the record, it's a black 16G Zune with waves and "the Rexy" engraved on the back. I've been working on putting some of his music on it so he won't have a lot of set-up to do for it.
-I have been sick 4 times since I last posted. I have had: 1) the flu, 2) strep throat, 3) food poisoning, and 4) a cold. That's what I have right now. I know I get sick a lot, but this has just been ridiculous. I also pulled my right thigh muscle a few weeks ago, making it more difficult to keep on the workout routine I've had for myself. In fact, today is the first time I've worked out since I hurt myself. I'm hoping I don't regret it later. I'm putting ice on it. :)
-I've been subbing for a band director at a middle school for the past several days. I'm very excited about this, especially yesterday and today. I actually got to work with the kids instead of just sitting and reading all day like I did last week. The director who is sick was planning on being gone for 2 weeks, but it looks like she'll be back next week. I'm really getting to be known at that school. :)
-I've pretty much decided that next year I will probably be subbing again. Rex and I have been married for nearly a year now and we want to start trying for kids in another year or so. I don't want to get a band directing job just to quit a year later because I'm starting my family. But it's still a little up in the air because it's not guaranteed that we'll even get pregnant right away, so it could possibly be longer that I would be working. We'll see. I do like having a day off whenever I want/need it.
-Rex is turning the big 2-7 on April 20. We don't have any plans as of yet, other than both of us having a day off together. That will be nice. :)
-We went to UT for Spring Break, and I met Rex's grandparents and went skiing for the first time. It's funny that we've been married for nearly 9 months and I'm jsut now meeting them, but oh well. They were very nice. Skiing was horrible at first, but then I took a class and it got a lot better. I stuck to the bunny slopes and Rex stayed with me except when I made him go do the harder runs so he would have fun too. He said he was having fun being with me, but I know he wanted to go out too. I'm so selfless! Or something. :)
-I have been called to the position of Ward Music Chairperson and Choir Director. I'm excited about this calling, because it's one I've never had before. I've gotten my parents' ward choir ready for Stake choir, but that's about it. My choral expertise is a little lacking, but I do know quite a bit about music so hopefully that will make up for it. I just have to decide which of my other callings I want not to have any longer.
I can't think of a whole lot else we've been doing. Just working working working for the most part. I'm looking forward to the days when Rex and I both will be off of work and get to spend time to gether. Marriage is great, the cats are cuddly and cute, and work is good. Life is awesome.

Spring is coming....

2009-02-10T18:30:00.002-06:00

I can tell because my allergies are starting to go crazy. I know I'm being whiny, but I'm feeling like crap right now. It's so much fun having a headache for two days in a row and nothing I take for it (that doesn't knock me out) works, including Pamprin, which is one of the best OTC pain-killers out there. I also now have a fever of 99.3 degrees. That's not that high for most people, but my normal body temp is around 97.4 so it's like a 100+ fever for most other people. It's also really fun to always be on the look-out for nosebleeds because the pollen or something irritates the insides of my nose so much that it will randomly start bleeding while I'm in the middle of something. Such as this past Saturday when I was trying to put a cart together to shelve some books and all of a sudden my face was covered in blood. Hooray!
Anyway, I've been so busy with work this past month. I've managed to find time to hang out with some of my new friends from the library and squeeze in some QT with the husband. It stinks that we don't get to see each other very much because of our work schedules, but it will get better eventually. I'm looking forward to that day. :)

Better late than never!

2009-01-12T20:18:00.002-06:00

So it's been almost a month since I've posted on here. I guess that there hasn't been too much exciting stuff happening here. Or something. Anyway, this is what we've been up to:
We drove down to AR to visit the family (mine) the weekend before Christmas. Good times were had, lots of crazy cat lady stuff was given to me, good food was eaten--it was a pretty typical Christmas. :)
We had to get up insanely early to drive back to DFW for church on the 21st. We made it just in time for the extra practice we squeezed in before Sacrament meeting. Anyway, right after church I went to work, then got off from there and we went to Rex's family's Christmas party. That was tons of fun with good food and a White Elephant gift exchange.
After getting some much-needed sleep we spent Christmas morning at our apartment before Rex went to work. We exchanged presents: I gave him all 4 seasons of House and tickets to a Mavs game (this Saturday!!!) and he gave me a beautiful necklace and a new leather jacket. :) Then he went to work and I went to his sister's house for Christmas dinner there.
It was around this time that I came down with a pretty nasty cold. It's been around 3 weeks and it's still dragging its feet about going away. Blech. At least I haven't lost my voice this go-around. That's happy, anyway. :)
I'm reading the Harry Potter books again. It's amazing that I can catch things that I've never caught before when I re-read something. I'm on the 6th book and I can't wait to read the 7th book again!
Ummm....I went to my work New Year's Eve party. That was pretty fun and interesting....there were several people who were partaking (including my boss at the library), but a lot more who were not. We chose to leave right after midnight so we wouldn't encounter crazy drunk people on the road.
I celebrated New Year's Day by going to see Twilight for the 3rd time. I went with 3 of my friends from the library and then we came over to my apartment afterwards and just hung out and watched Mamma Mia! and sat around having girl time. That is definitely a tradition worth keeping around! I'm excited to be making friends at work and at church. It makes the evenings when Rex is at work much more enjoyable when I'm spending time with friends instead of all alone with the cats. :)
Since then, it's just been work and church and trying to get over this silly cold. So yeah.....nothing too exciting. Just life as usual.

Hairiness

2008-12-15T18:21:00.002-06:00

I have discovered a very addicting game. I seriously spend hours playing this game when I'm waiting on Rex to get home from work.
http://www.addictinggames.com/pandasmahjongsolitaire.html
I finished all of the Christmas shopping today. Now I just have to wrap the presents for the Family Christmas party that's going on Sunday night and then I'm completely done. Hooray!
There's not a whole lot going on. I didn't have a job today so I went and got my hair did. I'm a brunette again!
The cats wanted to have their pictures on here, so here ya go (as well as a picture of my new hair):

Crystal wanted to be on the Interwebs.

Jake always has to be in the middle of everything.

Lizzie is just plain cute!

Hooray for dark hair!

Christmastime is here!

2008-12-08T23:15:00.004-06:00

This is a closeup of the decorations around the railing. Yes, those are handmade bows.

The view of the railing from inside our apartment.

I was trying to take a closeup of the icicle lights, but it turned out really neat and blurry.

Parking lot view of our apartment's balcony.

Our tiny Christmas tree that hopefully the cats won't knock over this year.

Rex and I decided to decorate a little bit for Christmas last night, so I went to Walmart today to get the lights and such. It took me forever to decide exactly what I wanted to do, and then to find everything I wanted to do it. I think it turned out rather well though. :)
Last week was pretty boring for me, as not too many teacher like to take off the week after a major holiday that they get several days off for. If I did get a call to sub for someone, it was approximately 30 minutes before I would need to be there. So I did not work for BISD last week. I did enjoy getting back to work at the library. The children's librarians were all very excited to see me back. One even told me that when I'm not there everything goes to pot. That made me happy to feel like I'm contributing.
I'm working a half day tomorrow at a high school, and then I get to go see Twilight again with a friend from work. Life is good.

Ridonculousness

2008-12-02T22:15:00.002-06:00

Tonight on the news there was a story about a school bus driver spanking a child. The news interviewed the child and the kid admitted to bullying another student and when the bus driver tried to verbally warn him, he asked what the driver was going to do about it and continued with bullying the other student. Then the bus driver had enough and went back there and spanked him. Then the kid started mouthing back and continued taunting the other child and the bus driver and the driver had enough and started chasing him around the bus. The news showed the video of the incident. What really fires me up is that the bus driver is going to get fired for this. Why??? What else can the driver do? They are required by law to stop bullying, but when this driver tried the child refused and continued bullying and taunted the driver as well. Finally the bus driver lost their temper. I know that the bus driver should not have spanked the child, but that child obviously needed it. The child said in his interview that he did it just to see what the bus driver would do. It drives me insane that this kid is going to get away with this! He probably won't even be kicked off the bus, which is definitely the LEAST that should happen for punishment. This kid needs to be taught a lesson, but there isn't going to be one. All this kid knows is that he won: the bus driver will no longer have a job. I was talking about the incident to Rex and he said that the kid probably will grow up to be a horrible person and probably already talks back to his parents. I told him that I know he does from my own personal experience in today's classrooms. The kids who will talk back to their teachers are the ones who talk back to their parents. The kids who are good in class are good for their parents. I can only think of one exception where the kid was good for me but bad for their parents, and that was because the kid liked me as a teacher. This kind of crap really makes me question whether I want to go back to regular teaching after this year's break. There are more and more children like this kid in the classroom. That is why so many teachers are quitting and there is a shortage of good teachers out there. There are so many of us who just get sick of all the crap and don't want to put up with it any more, so they go back to school and get their degree in business or something and get a boring office job, but at least you don't have kids yelling in your face and asking what you're going to do about it.
I have some serious decision-making to do. Right now I'm still wanting to be a band director, but the more stories I see like that in the news and the more bad experiences I have subbing....well...it makes me question my choices.

Getting ready for Turkey Day

2008-11-26T19:56:00.002-06:00

So I don't get to be an aunt on my side of the family quite yet. :( Sad day. I don't really know what else to say, so....
I saw Twilight at the midnight showing with most of my female in-laws last week. It was AWESOME. I'm definitely going to go see it again, and take Rex with me this time. :) The only downside of it was since I didn't get much sleep Thursday night (only about 3 hours) I ended up getting sick. Boo sick! I'm getting better though. I think I could go for a walk. I don't want to go on the cart!
My job for Thanksgiving at the in-laws is to make mashed potatoes and apple pie. So I spent a while tonight after I got off work slicing up some apples for my wonderful caramel apple pie and a regular apple pie for those silly people who don't like nuts.
While I was slicing up apples and such, I watched "The Turn of the Screw." I have no idea why I don't understand what is going on in that story. I read it in high school and didn't get it. I read it in college and didn't get it. I've looked it up online and didn't get it. Now I've watched the movie and I still don't get it. I must be stupid or something. Surely it isn't that hard to understand, but I just have some kind of mental block when it comes to that story. Kind of like when I was in high school in Chemistry I and for a long time I didn't understand one concept. Luckily, it clicked right before it was time to take the test on that bit. It's a good thing I've never had to take a test over this story.
Anyway, I'm going to end tonight by saying a few things that I'm thankful for to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving. Or something.
I'm thankful to have such a wonderful family that I love and I know they love me too.
I'm thankful to have in-laws that I get along with so well (other than election time).
I'm thankful for my pets. They are the best cats ever in the whole wide world.
I'm thankful to live in a free country, instead of in the Middle East. That would suck.
I'm thankful finally to have a job so Rex and I can have some extra money for the holidays, and then we can pay stuff off more quickly.
I'm thankful to be a member of the Lord's church, and for all the blessings that come with it.
I'm thankful to have a home of our own (well, an apartment that we rent....but we don't have to share it with anyone).
I'm thankful for all the opportunities I've had in my life to meet all the really fun and interesting people that have crossed my path.
And finally, I'm so very thankful for my husband. He is the kindest, sweetest, most caring and gentle man I've ever met. I love him so much, and I can't believe my good luck to have found him. I have no idea what I did to deserve such a wonderful man, but I'm glad I did it!
I'm sure there are many more things that I just can't think of right now, but I have to go stir the applesauce.

Exciting news

2008-11-18T11:12:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I got an interesting email. In it were several pictures of cute cats who were saying such things as "I love it when Daddy Comes Home," "Guess what? You're going to be a daddy!" and "Like Father, Like Son." From that, I guessed that the person who sent it to me is going to have a baby! I'm not going to divulge who it is yet(no, it's definitely not me), because not all the members of this family know about the pregnancy yet. But congratulations!
Also, I just got a phone call from a second grade teacher at an elementary school that I have never subbed at yet asking if I can sub for her on Thursday. It's so cool that my name is already getting out there as a good substitute and people want me to come sub for them! Hooray! I wonder how she got my name and phone number though....but oh well! It's all good that I'm earning a good reputation. :)
And Thursday night is the Twilight premier! Well, technically Friday at midnight, but you know what I mean. I'm going with most of my female in-laws, so it'll be a great family bonding activity.
Rex is doing good, by the way. We're both just working and keeping busy in general. :)

Enough is enough

2008-11-11T18:08:00.001-06:00

I don't live in California, and quite frankly, I'm glad right now. I have many friends who are homosexual (c'mon, I went to a liberal arts school as a music major...it was bound to happen!). I know that in 2004's election I voted for gay marriage. I don't know how I would have voted this year if I did live in CA because I'm conflicted majorly on the issue. On the one hand, I am a firm believer in my church, which does not support gay marriage. On the other hand, I don't want to tell other people what they can and can not do. I think it's kind of unreasonable to allow straight couples to marry and divorce like it's going out of style and then not allow gays the same privilege. I think there should either be WAY stricter regulations on marriage (like there being a limit to how many times a person could marry and get divorced) or gays should be allowed to get married and divorced like the rest of us "normal" (yeah right, like any of us are really normal) people. Anyway, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say other than the fact that people are protesting against my faith is kind of ridiculous. Yes, the Mormon church did heavily support Prop. 8. Yes, they did ask for volunteers to do a grassroots campaign. But it's kind of silly to focus on my church and forget the other institutions that did the same thing. What about the Catholics? What about the Knights of Columbus? What about the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America? What about the many many other organizations that also supported Propositon 8?
I think it's kind of hypocritical to call the Mormons a faith of hate and to picket our churches, temples, and other places of importance to us. I have read some of the backlash from the gay community and the hate coming from them right now is so heated. So we are full of hate, but it's ok for you to hate us? Come on now. It's not as if it was Mormons alone who passed that proposition. California doesn't even make the top 10 in states with the highest percent of the population being Mormon. As of 1990 (sorry, I couldn't find anything more recent but I doubt it's changed that much) the Mormon percentage was a whopping 1.79%. Yeah.....compare that to the 53% of votes that made Proposition 8 pass.
So anyway, I don't care if you picket against my church as long as you're not only protesting us. Focus on some of the other people too, please. Sharing is good for everyone!

Peer pressure isn't always a bad thing

2008-11-10T08:31:00.003-06:00

So I've decided to give in to the pressurings of the family (well, they haven't really been pressuring me...I just wanted one too! I mean, everybody's doing it.) and get one of these fancy-schmancy blogspot thingies. :) I already have my blog on myspace, but it seems that people who don't want a myspace account want to know what's goin on with me too. Who knew?
Anyway, in 9 days Rex and I will have been married for four months. It's crazy! Sometimes it feels like we just got married yesterday, and other times it feels like so much longer. I love spending time with him (even though lately we only get to see each other when he gets home at night and on weekend evenings) and we always have something to talk about. lately it's been a lot of political stuff, but that's definitely subsiding since the election has been over for almost a week now. I still haven't found courage to go visit his family, but hopefully I'll be brave soon. They really are quite nice, for Republicans. most of the time. :)
For those of you who are unaware, I am a former band director-turned substitute teacher/librarian. It's not particularly a matter of choice that I am no onger a band director, it's just I did this little thing called getting married during the summer and that kinda preoccupied me for about a month there when I should have been looking for a job. But I still get to spend more time with Rex than I would if I were a band director this year. It's nice having my Friday nights free. Anyway, hopefully this whole substituting thing will get my foot in the door well enough for BISD to hire me as a band director for the upcoming school year. Rex is working at Jack in the Box Distribution Center in the warehouse and we're hoping that he will get a schedule that allows us to spend more time together. We're trying to get stuff paid off so that we can save money for him to go to culinary school. He is such a wonderful cook! I love it when he cooks dinner for me on the weekends.
I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors in this blog posting....our cat Jake has decided that I don't really need to see the computer monitor as long as I can see the keyboard.