Monday, February 15, 2010
Don & I Just Celebrated 20 years
of knowing each other!! It was 20 years ago on February 13th that we met on a blind date!! I can't believe it!!
I think I did fall off the face of the earth...
Well, not really but blogging just hasn't been a priority to me for the past several months. My last posting was back in September 2009 and at the beginning of October, we had to pull Katie out of school for almost 3 weeks. We had experienced nothing but problems after she transferred schools last March and it ranged from her not getting her medicine or not getting the correct dosage on at least 15 different occasions to her getting slapped repeatedly by an aggressive student... and finally the last straw was her coming home with a black eye. We hired an attorney, not to sue the school system, but to help us know what Katie's rights are because of her multiple special needs and complex situation. It took 3 weeks to have her placed at a new school and she's now at Rocky Hill Elementary and things are back to normal. It was difficult because Katie has been in the Knox County School system since she was 3. She went to Ft. Sanders for 2 1/2 years before going to Kindergarten (through mid-year 3rd grade) at Cedar Bluff Elementary. For all that time... preschool through half-way through the 3rd grade we NEVER had one complaint. She had the BEST teachers, the best staff working with her and her school experiences were wonderful. And seemingly, that is how it is again. We still miss Cedar Bluff but Rocky Hill is a good fit. Now we have 1 1/2 year to dread middle school.
Also in October, we had to move Gran into Reflections, which is the Alzheimer's unit at Victorian Square. That was very hard to do. She made the move very well but until the past couple of visits, it was hard on us. We have to enter and exit the unit strategically because there are residents who try to escape. It just makes visits harder sometimes because the other residents are much more "involved" than they were when she was upstairs. There have been visits in the past months where she didn't recognize me at first and she doesn't know my name anymore... or Katie's or Don's. She remembers Dad's usually... but her memory from the 30's - 50's is usually pretty sharp. She's been in and out of the hospital numerous times for pneumonia, pancreatitis, hallucinations, etc. I guess that is just how it will be for the rest of her life now. Thank goodness she gets such good care at Victorian Square and thank goodness for VA Benefits that help us to afford her living there.
Don has been very busy!! I think after 2 years, I've finally learned to share the office. That was an adjustment. I couldn't imagine having been through the past several months without him. He's such a rock!!! It is nice to see him so happy and LOVE what he does. He's made a lot of great friends and he loves working from home except when he's filming an event. He's gotten so good at it. He continues to donate time for STAR and he's also going to donate some time this Spring to The Wellness Community... which is a cancer survivor organization. He's also started doing legal video depositions. He stays really busy and I've been helping him with editing some.
My dad has been here numerous times with Marilyn. Mainly because of Gran. He has now had 3 PET scans that have come back clear. He's had numerous growths and suspicious places removed that have come back benign. He has truly been given a gift of time. The odds that he would have survived 1 year when he got his diagnosis of Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma in March 2008 were less than 5%. Even his oncologist tells him every visit that he needs to never take one day for granted!!
We really hit a rough spell in December with Katie. She had a huge growth spurt and her meds got completely out of whack. She is now 4'6" and weighs 104 pounds. She wears a ladies size 7 1/2-8 shoe (we can share now) and she wears a juniors size 7. I had to take her shopping last weekend for a training bra! SHE'S 10 YEARS OLD, y'all!! Crazy! But, we took her off the Adderall ADHD medicine because of the stimulant in it... she had been on it for several years and it finally got to the point where it was causing her to have violent, long lasting rage episodes. She's now on a new ADHD medication, Intuniv and she's been on it since December 17 and I feel like we have Katie back!! The change over was hard... her sleep, or lack there of, became worse than ever... but in the past week, she has finally been sleeping almost through the night. Fingers crossed... mood is stable and sleep is better so hopefully we are almost there.
I continue to love spending time with my precious Lakota. The horrible weather the past couple of months has limited that time. I went to go see him this past Saturday. The sun came out, it was 37 degrees and I thought I'd at least get to spend more than an hour with him. What I didn't check before heading out to the farm was the wind chill... I didn't get to stay very long. He's so smart and such a good horse. He's fully grown now and about 16.3. That's big!! I never would have gotten him had I known he was going to get that big... so I'm glad I didn't know. Belle was only 14.2... so it's a huge difference.
Last week was the year anniversary of me loosing Belle. I don't think I really realized how much of an impact loosing her had on me until last week. I love Lakota and he's been great... and is great! But, he's not Belle. Lakota is a "mud lover"... he's a gelding and he's strong and self-assured. He rolls in the mud and gets filthy. Belle was a "foofy horse"... I think because she was skittish and always low horse on the totem pole... she never rolled or laid on the ground so she never was filthy. I guess I will always miss her. I had such a connection with her. But, I have also developed quite a connection with Lakota. I can do ground work with him and he totally responds to my body language and energy. It's an amazing feeling to control a 1200 pound animal... or at least direct him and him respond. He's a horse... I never have complete control over him.
That's about it I guess. At least, it's enough for this catch up. Oh, except I've really gotten into Digital Scrapbooking. I've take a few online classes at Little Light Studio and Jessica Sprague and that coupled with the Photoshop CS classes I've taken at UT, I really have gotten into it. The cool thing about it is, I can do it anywhere. I can sit and watch a movie with Katie and do two pages. I had resisted it for so long because of the fact that I'm always on my computer for work and scrapbooking with "real" supplies got me off my computer... but it had gotten to where I wasn't scrapbooking hardly ever. I'm going to upload some pages that I'm fixing to send to a printer. We will see when I get the pages back and they are all flat and not three dimensional with embellishments if I like it as much!
More later... and hopefully it wont be 4 months. Oh, and in my next posting, I'll talk about Boomer!
Also in October, we had to move Gran into Reflections, which is the Alzheimer's unit at Victorian Square. That was very hard to do. She made the move very well but until the past couple of visits, it was hard on us. We have to enter and exit the unit strategically because there are residents who try to escape. It just makes visits harder sometimes because the other residents are much more "involved" than they were when she was upstairs. There have been visits in the past months where she didn't recognize me at first and she doesn't know my name anymore... or Katie's or Don's. She remembers Dad's usually... but her memory from the 30's - 50's is usually pretty sharp. She's been in and out of the hospital numerous times for pneumonia, pancreatitis, hallucinations, etc. I guess that is just how it will be for the rest of her life now. Thank goodness she gets such good care at Victorian Square and thank goodness for VA Benefits that help us to afford her living there.
Don has been very busy!! I think after 2 years, I've finally learned to share the office. That was an adjustment. I couldn't imagine having been through the past several months without him. He's such a rock!!! It is nice to see him so happy and LOVE what he does. He's made a lot of great friends and he loves working from home except when he's filming an event. He's gotten so good at it. He continues to donate time for STAR and he's also going to donate some time this Spring to The Wellness Community... which is a cancer survivor organization. He's also started doing legal video depositions. He stays really busy and I've been helping him with editing some.
My dad has been here numerous times with Marilyn. Mainly because of Gran. He has now had 3 PET scans that have come back clear. He's had numerous growths and suspicious places removed that have come back benign. He has truly been given a gift of time. The odds that he would have survived 1 year when he got his diagnosis of Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma in March 2008 were less than 5%. Even his oncologist tells him every visit that he needs to never take one day for granted!!
We really hit a rough spell in December with Katie. She had a huge growth spurt and her meds got completely out of whack. She is now 4'6" and weighs 104 pounds. She wears a ladies size 7 1/2-8 shoe (we can share now) and she wears a juniors size 7. I had to take her shopping last weekend for a training bra! SHE'S 10 YEARS OLD, y'all!! Crazy! But, we took her off the Adderall ADHD medicine because of the stimulant in it... she had been on it for several years and it finally got to the point where it was causing her to have violent, long lasting rage episodes. She's now on a new ADHD medication, Intuniv and she's been on it since December 17 and I feel like we have Katie back!! The change over was hard... her sleep, or lack there of, became worse than ever... but in the past week, she has finally been sleeping almost through the night. Fingers crossed... mood is stable and sleep is better so hopefully we are almost there.
I continue to love spending time with my precious Lakota. The horrible weather the past couple of months has limited that time. I went to go see him this past Saturday. The sun came out, it was 37 degrees and I thought I'd at least get to spend more than an hour with him. What I didn't check before heading out to the farm was the wind chill... I didn't get to stay very long. He's so smart and such a good horse. He's fully grown now and about 16.3. That's big!! I never would have gotten him had I known he was going to get that big... so I'm glad I didn't know. Belle was only 14.2... so it's a huge difference.
Last week was the year anniversary of me loosing Belle. I don't think I really realized how much of an impact loosing her had on me until last week. I love Lakota and he's been great... and is great! But, he's not Belle. Lakota is a "mud lover"... he's a gelding and he's strong and self-assured. He rolls in the mud and gets filthy. Belle was a "foofy horse"... I think because she was skittish and always low horse on the totem pole... she never rolled or laid on the ground so she never was filthy. I guess I will always miss her. I had such a connection with her. But, I have also developed quite a connection with Lakota. I can do ground work with him and he totally responds to my body language and energy. It's an amazing feeling to control a 1200 pound animal... or at least direct him and him respond. He's a horse... I never have complete control over him.
That's about it I guess. At least, it's enough for this catch up. Oh, except I've really gotten into Digital Scrapbooking. I've take a few online classes at Little Light Studio and Jessica Sprague and that coupled with the Photoshop CS classes I've taken at UT, I really have gotten into it. The cool thing about it is, I can do it anywhere. I can sit and watch a movie with Katie and do two pages. I had resisted it for so long because of the fact that I'm always on my computer for work and scrapbooking with "real" supplies got me off my computer... but it had gotten to where I wasn't scrapbooking hardly ever. I'm going to upload some pages that I'm fixing to send to a printer. We will see when I get the pages back and they are all flat and not three dimensional with embellishments if I like it as much!
More later... and hopefully it wont be 4 months. Oh, and in my next posting, I'll talk about Boomer!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Travel Trauma
Whew!! We just got back from Florida and boy, what a trip!! Don has been planning it for months - we went down for the WEVA Expo 2009. WEVA is Wedding & Event Videographer's Association. We went down Friday night and spent Saturday and Sunday with Dad and Marilyn in St. Augustine and then Katie stayed with them Sunday night - Wednesday afternoon. I took classes with Don. He mainly did editing and composition type classes and I mainly did business management and marketing... especially focused on Social Media Marketing since I've gotten completely hooked on Facebook, Twitter and blogs... I wanted to help Don understand how he could best utilize Social Media.
I've said this two or three times in the past month and it's starting to worry me a little... but I really am starting to feel older!!
We always travel GREAT together as a family but this trip was just HARD! The trip down was fairly uneventful except we didn't get in to Dad's until after midnight.
We had a great time with Dad and Marilyn over the weekend... even though there were typical Florida showers, we got in some great ocean time!! It was great seeing my dad so much stronger than he was last year at this time. Last year, the waves knocked him over and he could barely stand 5 minutes in the ocean. He was much better this year!
Don and I were excited about WEVA but we were also excited about having a few nights - just us!! We get that occasionally when we are at Mom's - Katie will stay with Mom and MomMom and we stay in a hotel but it's usually just one or two nights. This was going to be THREE nights! :)
WEVA was great, we got a lot out of most all the classes and both of us have come home with our minds spinning with ideas. Katie did great with Dad and Marilyn and we met close to Daytona on Wednesday, which was half way and picked Katie up and had lunch.
We did enjoy the first two nights of it being just us but by Tuesday night, we were looking forward to having Katie back.
Well, two things made me feel pretty old this past week. First, like overnight, I need bi-focals. All of a sudden, I can't read close up with my glasses. It was so frustrating being in these big classes and taking notes and using my laptop but also needing to see the screen at the front. So, I need to call Monday morning and make an appointment.
The other thing that made me feel old... coming home!! First of all, as great as the trip was, I was SO READY to come home! I missed our bed, even though we were in a brand new Hilton with a nice cushy bed. I missed Hogan and Brinkley! I missed Lakota! I missed my friends! I just missed home!
Second, the trip home was hard! We got to the airport, returned our rental car and when we were checking our luggage, somehow, even though I had not done ONE BIT of shopping, my suitcase gained 10 pounds!! How is that possible? So, Allegiant Air was nice enough to not turn me and my suitcase away but they did charge us $50 for taking my now marked "HEAVY" suitcase.
We got through security with no problem, boarded the plane with no problem... seemed like a typical trip home... until we sat, and sat, and sat.... the plane started getting warmer and warmer. The stewardesses kept trying to get people on the right side of the plane to keep their shades down on their windows.... hotter and hotter. Maintenance men coming on and off the plane... the pilot announcing that there were discrepancies and that they were trying to get an air conditioner hose out to the plane. Hotter and hotter... we were just about to make them let us off the plane because of the fact that Katie can't handle extreme heat when the air conditioner hose arrived.
After almost an hour of this, the pilot finally announces that they can't fix the discrepancies and the plane wasn't worthy of flight and so we were going to have deplane and board a spare. Like my Facebook and Twitter friends pointed out, basically the plane was broken... but at least they realized it before we were airborne.
Well, all of this put us getting home 2 1/2 hours late... which compared to stories you hear on the news is really not that big of a deal. But, Don had a rehearsal to get to and we get to baggage claim and again... it's a waiting game. We waited for over 30 minutes before our luggage ever started coming down the baggage thingy.
We finally get our luggage and we head to the parking garage and something is wrong with the elevators. The sensor that normally senses when a person or object is in the elevator doorway was broken. People and luggage were almost getting eaten by the elevators.
I turn to Don and say "What else could possibly go wrong"... :) Don't ever say that.
We get to the exit, Don inserts the ticket to the un-manned machine to pay for our parking by credit card and the machine eats our ticket. Meanwhile... a line of cars has developed behind us.
We finally got an attendant who fixed us up and we were on our way and my lips were sealed. Don literally dropped Katie and I off at home and kept going and made it to his rehearsal in a ball cap and jean shorts. Something, he never would ordinarily do... but at least he made it.
The good news in all of that... the staff at Allegiant, the passengers, the people at the airport... everyone was very pleasant. I never got frustrated but man... all the travel trauma wore me out!!
I've said this two or three times in the past month and it's starting to worry me a little... but I really am starting to feel older!!
We always travel GREAT together as a family but this trip was just HARD! The trip down was fairly uneventful except we didn't get in to Dad's until after midnight.
We had a great time with Dad and Marilyn over the weekend... even though there were typical Florida showers, we got in some great ocean time!! It was great seeing my dad so much stronger than he was last year at this time. Last year, the waves knocked him over and he could barely stand 5 minutes in the ocean. He was much better this year!
Don and I were excited about WEVA but we were also excited about having a few nights - just us!! We get that occasionally when we are at Mom's - Katie will stay with Mom and MomMom and we stay in a hotel but it's usually just one or two nights. This was going to be THREE nights! :)
WEVA was great, we got a lot out of most all the classes and both of us have come home with our minds spinning with ideas. Katie did great with Dad and Marilyn and we met close to Daytona on Wednesday, which was half way and picked Katie up and had lunch.
We did enjoy the first two nights of it being just us but by Tuesday night, we were looking forward to having Katie back.
Well, two things made me feel pretty old this past week. First, like overnight, I need bi-focals. All of a sudden, I can't read close up with my glasses. It was so frustrating being in these big classes and taking notes and using my laptop but also needing to see the screen at the front. So, I need to call Monday morning and make an appointment.
The other thing that made me feel old... coming home!! First of all, as great as the trip was, I was SO READY to come home! I missed our bed, even though we were in a brand new Hilton with a nice cushy bed. I missed Hogan and Brinkley! I missed Lakota! I missed my friends! I just missed home!
Second, the trip home was hard! We got to the airport, returned our rental car and when we were checking our luggage, somehow, even though I had not done ONE BIT of shopping, my suitcase gained 10 pounds!! How is that possible? So, Allegiant Air was nice enough to not turn me and my suitcase away but they did charge us $50 for taking my now marked "HEAVY" suitcase.
We got through security with no problem, boarded the plane with no problem... seemed like a typical trip home... until we sat, and sat, and sat.... the plane started getting warmer and warmer. The stewardesses kept trying to get people on the right side of the plane to keep their shades down on their windows.... hotter and hotter. Maintenance men coming on and off the plane... the pilot announcing that there were discrepancies and that they were trying to get an air conditioner hose out to the plane. Hotter and hotter... we were just about to make them let us off the plane because of the fact that Katie can't handle extreme heat when the air conditioner hose arrived.
After almost an hour of this, the pilot finally announces that they can't fix the discrepancies and the plane wasn't worthy of flight and so we were going to have deplane and board a spare. Like my Facebook and Twitter friends pointed out, basically the plane was broken... but at least they realized it before we were airborne.
Well, all of this put us getting home 2 1/2 hours late... which compared to stories you hear on the news is really not that big of a deal. But, Don had a rehearsal to get to and we get to baggage claim and again... it's a waiting game. We waited for over 30 minutes before our luggage ever started coming down the baggage thingy.
We finally get our luggage and we head to the parking garage and something is wrong with the elevators. The sensor that normally senses when a person or object is in the elevator doorway was broken. People and luggage were almost getting eaten by the elevators.
I turn to Don and say "What else could possibly go wrong"... :) Don't ever say that.
We get to the exit, Don inserts the ticket to the un-manned machine to pay for our parking by credit card and the machine eats our ticket. Meanwhile... a line of cars has developed behind us.
We finally got an attendant who fixed us up and we were on our way and my lips were sealed. Don literally dropped Katie and I off at home and kept going and made it to his rehearsal in a ball cap and jean shorts. Something, he never would ordinarily do... but at least he made it.
The good news in all of that... the staff at Allegiant, the passengers, the people at the airport... everyone was very pleasant. I never got frustrated but man... all the travel trauma wore me out!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
So proud of my little horse gal!
Katie has been practicing all summer for the STAR Horse Show Party... It wasn't a party but she kept calling it that. Well, it finally arrived today and she was so excited. She found out yesterday that she wasn't going to get to ride RB, her normal horse but that she'd be riding a horse named Breeze. She was a little frazzled by that at first because Katie is a lot like me... she connects with horses and doesn't just hop on their backs.
But, she got all dressed up in her pink cowgirl boots, braids with pink ribbons (thank you so much Lisa!) and we set off for the show. Lisa went with us and I'm so glad she did! It was a special day and I've not gotten to spend much time with her in the past couple of months so it was great for her to be a part of today!!
We got there and it was hot... not terribly but Katie doesn't have a normal "temp gauge" and she was in jeans, boots and a helmet... but she seemed to do really well. And, there was a lot of waiting and Katie was very patient. So grown up!!
Anyway, she won three ribbons. She won 2nd place in the obstacle course, 3rd place in futures and 3rd place in equitation.
She was so excited!! I think the photo says it all!!
This particular volunteer had never worked with Katie before but she was just fantastic!! Such a vibrant personality and just thrilled for Katie!!
Katie has already had me show her on the calendar approximately when the next horse show will be so we could count down how many weeks she has to practice for the next show.
She actually decided that she really liked Breeze, even though she she's sad to learn that RB is 24 years old and probably fixin' to retire. Wish we had that farm already for him to retire to... he's an incredibly sweet horse.
Don had a wedding today... well it actually just turned out to be a wedding reception because the venue wouldn't allow videography. So, he was able to go after all... we'd been worried he would miss it!!
Such a happy day!! Hope everyone had a happy Saturday as well!!
But, she got all dressed up in her pink cowgirl boots, braids with pink ribbons (thank you so much Lisa!) and we set off for the show. Lisa went with us and I'm so glad she did! It was a special day and I've not gotten to spend much time with her in the past couple of months so it was great for her to be a part of today!!
We got there and it was hot... not terribly but Katie doesn't have a normal "temp gauge" and she was in jeans, boots and a helmet... but she seemed to do really well. And, there was a lot of waiting and Katie was very patient. So grown up!!
Anyway, she won three ribbons. She won 2nd place in the obstacle course, 3rd place in futures and 3rd place in equitation.
She was so excited!! I think the photo says it all!!
This particular volunteer had never worked with Katie before but she was just fantastic!! Such a vibrant personality and just thrilled for Katie!!
Katie has already had me show her on the calendar approximately when the next horse show will be so we could count down how many weeks she has to practice for the next show.
She actually decided that she really liked Breeze, even though she she's sad to learn that RB is 24 years old and probably fixin' to retire. Wish we had that farm already for him to retire to... he's an incredibly sweet horse.
Don had a wedding today... well it actually just turned out to be a wedding reception because the venue wouldn't allow videography. So, he was able to go after all... we'd been worried he would miss it!!
Such a happy day!! Hope everyone had a happy Saturday as well!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A Wedding Photographer I'm Not
So you know I photographed Mary's wedding a few weeks ago. Mary is a good friend, she was my first horse trainer and it was her farm that we had Sunny for over two years and Belle for a year. I so enjoyed being a part of her special day and trying to capture it.
However, there was so much I wanted to do - artistic shots with the rings, her boots, the dress and I didn't get any of that. Things moved too fast and I was shooting by myself. I was disappointed... I felt like all I really got were "snapshot" type photographs but it was my gift to her and she wasn't even going to hire a photographer so hopefully, she will be happy with the photos.
I think I'll stick to horses, children and location family portraits.
Mary and Shay make a wonderful couple and seem to really be in tune with one another!! I'm wishing them MANY years that are full of laughter, love, fun and joy!!
However, there was so much I wanted to do - artistic shots with the rings, her boots, the dress and I didn't get any of that. Things moved too fast and I was shooting by myself. I was disappointed... I felt like all I really got were "snapshot" type photographs but it was my gift to her and she wasn't even going to hire a photographer so hopefully, she will be happy with the photos.
I think I'll stick to horses, children and location family portraits.
Mary and Shay make a wonderful couple and seem to really be in tune with one another!! I'm wishing them MANY years that are full of laughter, love, fun and joy!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Very Low Key 4th & More Bookings
We were suppose to go to NC this past weekend and we were all looking forward to it so much! My cousin is home for good from Kuwait and I was looking forward to some time with her and Katie couldn't wait to see Sarah!
Well, of course, Katie got sick on Wednesday night! We were suppose to go on Friday. So, we've postponed until the end of the month... only we will have to go mid-week because Don's got weddings and I've got horse shows.
So, since we stayed home, we had a very low key 4th. Katie felt yucky most of the weekend so Don and I just used this weekend to try and get caught up. Don had five weddings, a recital and a training video and I had to finish up my last horse show and Mary's wedding.
I truly don't know how Don does what he does and enjoys it. I have so much more respect for the hard work he puts into a wedding after photographing Mary's. I care greatly for Mary and I very much enjoyed being a part of her special day... but a wedding photographer I'm not!! It's a lot of stress and you can't get a shot a second time. I should have had someone help me... most "wedding photographers" do have several photographers. I did the best I could.
I've gotten several more bookings for photographing more horse shows. I booked four on Friday and another today. I'm loving it so much!!
Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!!
Well, of course, Katie got sick on Wednesday night! We were suppose to go on Friday. So, we've postponed until the end of the month... only we will have to go mid-week because Don's got weddings and I've got horse shows.
So, since we stayed home, we had a very low key 4th. Katie felt yucky most of the weekend so Don and I just used this weekend to try and get caught up. Don had five weddings, a recital and a training video and I had to finish up my last horse show and Mary's wedding.
I truly don't know how Don does what he does and enjoys it. I have so much more respect for the hard work he puts into a wedding after photographing Mary's. I care greatly for Mary and I very much enjoyed being a part of her special day... but a wedding photographer I'm not!! It's a lot of stress and you can't get a shot a second time. I should have had someone help me... most "wedding photographers" do have several photographers. I did the best I could.
I've gotten several more bookings for photographing more horse shows. I booked four on Friday and another today. I'm loving it so much!!
Hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th!!
It's my favorite holiday!! There is usually no "pressure" with gifts and cooking huge meals! There is sun, swimming, fireworks, usually relaxed time with family and friends... Maybe Christmas and Thanksgiving WOULD be better in Florida by the ocean or pool....
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. (July 4th, 1776)
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. (July 4th, 1776)
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