*Monday Memos*

*MONDAY MEMOS*

   

 (If pictures are too small, just click to enlarge) 
Weekly recap of my rather crazy, insane, but fun and rewarding life!

dear monday, 

History was made today as every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dressed in white temple clothing, posed for an iconic photograph in the Rome Italy Temple Visitors' Center in Rome, Italy on Monday, March 11, 2019. 
You can read more about that HERE.  And here are the wives of these men.  I admire them all, but especially the fourth one in from the left (Lesa).  She is a dear friend and I have adored her for years when I first became acquainted with her in AMI.  She is the most humble woman and so talented at everything she does.  She was so kind to send me a text when she heard about all that happened with me and said she was going to come and take me to lunch soon.  

This morning I got my PT done early and out of the way.  I have really been working my extension hard.  The only bad thing is, my knee really hurts all the time lately.  I hope that is good news and that means it's helping.  I will be so glad when I am done with it all.  

I found out Sarah posted a video for the E channel for International Women's Day. She partnered with E to talk about a strong woman in her life that inspires her and she choose me!  I was so humbled and surprised.   She said the kindest things and made me cry when I listened to it.  She talked about all I have been through recently and that I have stayed positive and am always smiling and that I have the best outlook on life.  She said that I ran the Boston Marathon and that I am an amazing mother and about the cancer and that I just finished radiation and that I am still the happiest woman ever and that there isn't anyone she can think of that inspires her to be a better woman than me.  WOW!  I had no idea she even did this until someone brought it up at a family party.  I felt so bad because it was so nice!  Not all true...but so nice!!!  This is a screen shot of it.  It won't let me download it.  She is so sweet.  I hope she knows how much I admire her as well.  She has been through a lot as well in her life and is just the sweetest and kindest person.  Not to mention beautiful.

I was grateful I had a day off from having to go anywhere.  Sometimes I think I am able to just get back into my old life, but then my body lets me know in no uncertain terms that it still needs a lot of rest.  I have learned that healing the body takes a lot of energy.  A lot.  I have so much on my to do list already and I am starting to feel a bit overwhelmed.  But most of them are things that if I don't get done, then, oh well.  Putting away Valentine's decors and putting up Easter decors, getting Dave's mom a birthday present (no easy feat), catching up this blog, catching up photos, cleaning the playroom, cleaning my bathroom, cleaning basically every stinkin' thing in this house!  It has been three months without my regular cleaning and everything has basically atrophied.  I open a drawer or cupboard and just cringe.  I keep up on that stuff on the daily and so when it goes for months without that, it is pretty frustrating.  I have learned I am the ONLY one that keeps up on that.  And despite my trying to drill it into everyone's little heads, they still don't put things back where they go. It's going to take a while to get things back to where they were.  I wish I had the stamina and energy to be able to do it more.  It will come. More patience. 

A cute friend (Sharon) left a nice card and a necklace on the porch.  The saying on the necklace is one of my running mantras.  She Believed She Could and So She Did.  I love that.  I have used that mantra through this experience as well.  

dear tuesday, today Dave was off.  He played pickleball for a while this morning. It was a really nice sunny day.  It felt like spring.  I had my physical therapy at 11:15 this morning.  There was quite the excitement today because a lady completely collapsed and fell and hit her head.  They think her blood sugar was low.  Luckily, she will be okay.  All of the therapists were gathered around her and tried to help her. Rob was completely calm.  That's how Dave would have been.  I admire people that can stay calm in emergency situations.  

My therapy went well.  My extension finally moved to a six!  Yay!  My leg has just felt a lot better that way as far as getting to where it needs to be.  It has been hurting a lot more though.  I think that is a good sign because I have been working it pretty hard.  My flexion was a 141.  That is good too.  The fun station was not fun, but necessary.  I really hate that thing. I keep joking it is going to come up missing one day.  

I met Dave at Old Grist for lunch.  I had a salad.  And of course, I got a mint brownie to take home.  I shouldn't have, but did. I didn't eat it though.  We also got a sugar cookie and I did eat part of that.  I went to Walmart to get some bags for a St. Pat's treat for my Sista lunch on Friday and I ended up spending over $100.  Not on the treat, just on stuff that we needed.  Haha  I was in there for a very long time.  My body was hurting pretty bad.  I should have got in one of the electric chair things.  But I have been trying to do some form of exercise each day. I signed up for a virtual race and in order to get the medal I have to be active for 21 days in the month.  Seems so easy peasy, but it's not.  I hope I can actually reach my goal. That means to walk at least 15 minutes for those 21 days. Today I counted PT as one day and Walmart as two or three because I was in there for a good hour.  I did stop and chat with Julie H. about her cancer.  She didn't have to take the chemo pills.  I came home and was so ready to get off my leg, but I had to carry everything in and put it all away.  I always forget I have to do all that after.  It's amazing how much harder things can become that used to be so easy.  I took so much for granted.  I was able to rest for a while.  Dave had meetings.  McKay got home from his spring break trip.  Grateful he made it home safely.  I listened to a podcast about this instagrammer who was hit by a car (The Allyson Show).  It was very interesting to listen to her talk about the things she learned from it because they were so similar to what I have been learning after the snowmobile crash and the cancer and being down so long. 

dear wednesday,  today I didn't have to go anywhere.  It seems odd that I am even able to say that again after three months of basically not going anywhere but Dr. appointments.  Life is definitely getting back to normal, slowly, but surely.  And I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I am grateful I am able to function once again, but I am not sure I am ready to get back into the rat race quite yet.  The down time has actually been a good thing and has taught me a lot.  One thing I have learned is to stop rushing all the time.  Since I am no longer able to rush (unless I want another broken leg or worse), I have been forced to slow down, and there is nothing wrong with taking your time.  Even just leaving the house....I used to rush.  That is when dumb things happen. It's not worth the few seconds you save. I had a women's online conference that I listened to for part of the day.  It is called The I Am Mom Summit.  The Eyres were the keynote speakers as well as Jordan Page and I am fan of both of them and so I was interested. The best part of all is it is free and you have 10 days to listen to all the speakers.  Most of their presentations are only 20 minutes and so that is nice too.  I learned a lot.  Most of them were on motherhood, marriage, productivity, healthy eating, essential oils, etc.  It is continued tomorrow as well.  Here is a screen shot from one of the presentations:

I cleaned the playroom while I listened to some.  It has gotten a little out of control without my constant cleaning and organizing of it.  I also put away the Valentine's decors and got out the Easter ones.  I got up on a chair to put some stuff on a shelf and almost fell!  Not good.  I have to be so careful because I don't have my muscles or strength back in my legs and I am not able to do what I used to be able to do.  Life is very different that's for sure.  I am not as strong as the old me, but I have made huge leaps of progress since all this craziness happened.

Dave brought home the Prolea shot for me. HOLY!  That was THEE most painful shot hands down, I have ever had and that includes the nuclear medicine shot I had to have before my surgery in my breast. OUCH!  This was worse.  And...I have to have it every six months.  Yowza!  It was a large needle and he gave it to me in my arm which doesn't have much fat and so that is why it was so awful I guess.  Dave Coleman had a heart attack last night and I gave Julie a ride to her car she had to leave at the hospital. It snowed today.  McKay was here and I even saw Bryce for a bit.  

dear thursday, today I continued watching the "I am Mom Summit".  It is so sweet to be able to listen to fantastic speakers at my own pace and leisure and for free!   I have 10 days until they go off line.  What I wouldn't have given for something like that when I had little ones and it was so hard to leave them to become more educated.  Life is pretty amazing! 

Today is pi day.  I made a pie to celebrate.  I have wanted to try a banoffee pie for a while and so I decided to make that. I made two so I could take one to Dave's parents.   It was pretty tasty! 

 Sky, Sarah, and Carson showed up unexpectedly. Sky had an appointment in Logan and so they grabbed Carson early from school.  We had fun.  No one seemed to really indulge in the pie, mainly because it's so rich.  You can only eat a tiny bit.  I put together my St. Patrick day treats for my Sista lunch tomorrow.  It is a churro treat. I tried to dye the marshmallows green. I should have just left them white and let the cereal and other green things be the green.  Oh well.  It was still yummy!

Recipes:

https://www.thecountrycook.net/easy-no-bake-banoffee-pie/
https://athriftymom.com/chewy-churro-bars/

dear friday, it has been THREE MONTHS today since my accident happened!  Wow!  If you told me three months ago that I would still be unable to walk on March 15th, I would have cried!  There is no way I thought I would still be struggling to get my regular life back.  Or, if I was told that, I would have thought it would be due to the cancer, NOT the accident.   But, as amazing as our bodies are, they do take their sweet time healing (at least when you are 57! haha).  I had a big day today and I got up early and got ready and headed to my PT. 

Good thing I caught myself before I went anywhere! Wasn't the first time and I'm sure won't be the last!  For some reason I always seem to do this in March or on my birthday!  LOL

This was last year at my Sista St. Pat's lunch.  I also have one of me at lunch with Susan Andersen at our birthday lunch where I wore two different flip flops.

Rob was out of town and so Darin was my therapist.  He's a nice guy.  I took advantage of having someone else and so asked him his opinion on a lot of things.  He told me I really need to be putting in at least 60 minutes a day on my extension so those muscles will stretch and not immediately pop back.  He said it takes that long each day.  He told me to imagine them as a rubber band and the more you stretch it the more stretched out it becomes and then eventually stay like that.  I already spend almost two hours a day on my PT at home.  But, I need to increase it if I want to get this dang leg back.  I changed my clothes in my car and then headed to the Sista St. Pat's lunch at Rainbow Garden's Greenery.  I was the second one there.  Calene beat me.  Then Shelley, Dawn, Carla, and Chris all arrived. Robin, Kim, and Jody never showed up even though we waited. They all RSVP'd they were coming.  But the six of us had a good time. We took photos and then shopped a bit.  

We had a blast!

A couple of our past invites. I don't think I ever added them on here so...........

I could tell my leg was done and so I headed out. I wanted to go visit my parents on my way home, but decided I better just get home and get off my leg for a bit.  McKay was still here.  Bryce too for a bit.  Dave and McKay went fishing to Box Elder Creek. McKay actually caught a trout.  I worked on my Social Books since they sent me a buy one get one free. However, after I finished them I realized I got majorly ripped off. They have gone up in price.  Quite a bit.  But, I have to keep doing them. I have one for each year since 2009 when I started Facebook.  They are kind of like a scrapbook of photos, life events, happenings, and basically a journal of my life.  So, it's worth the cost. I am so frustrated with myself that I haven't printed my blog into a book form yet, but I am anticipating that will take hours and hours and not sure when to do it. I could have got that done while I have been laid up, but my leg wouldn't allow me to sit that long.  Sigh...so I am feeling pretty bummed about that, but frankly, I didn't have the energy I needed to do them.  Maybe now if I can find a sale, then I can get them done.  

I was totally and completely beat when I headed up to bed, but couldn't wind down and sleep.  I think sometimes I get too tired to rest. Makes no sense, but I think it's a thing.

dear saturday,  today I started out not feeling well in the morning.  I didn't sleep well at all and that really makes a huge difference in how I feel. My leg has really been extra sore and it's kind of frustrating me.  I got up and got my PT in early.  I am not sure what I would do without my heating pad!  McKay was home and we had a good chat before he had to go into work.  Then my mom called and asked me if I wanted to meet them at Maddox's Drive In.  That was the motivation I needed to kick me in the pants and get back into a regular day.  Otherwise, I might have been tempted to just gel all day.  I was feeling more emotionally unwell than physically. Things were starting to overwhelm me again. But, on a good note that hasn't happened for a while.  It used to be a regular occurrence and so I choose to focus on the fact that it is now rare.  And I am very grateful for that!  Hanging out with my parents always cheers me up as well.  I met them there.  They had already ordered for me. I just had some soup.  It was fun to catch up since I haven't seen them in quite a while.  I then went to Shopko to find Dave's mom a bday gift.   They are closing which I am pretty sad about and so everything is on sale.  I ended up calling Dave to head over to check out some of the sales.  I was there for over an hour and I was really feeling it. It is so bizarre to me that I get so exhausted just walking around a store. I use the cart as a walker, but my leg still starts hating me.  We got a few things.  

Yep, that's my car.  The one with a handicap sticker. I certainly never anticipate that!

We came home and Taylor was here.  I couldn't decide what to do about St. Pat's dinner because no one was really going to be here tonight except Taylor.  And probably no one tomorrow night since we have Dave's mom's party at Karen's at 2:30 tomorrow.  Sigh.  That's okay I guess because I am not sure I can pull off a big production anyway.  Taylor wants Shepherd's pie and so I decided I can make that and use some green French bread and call it good. I doubt I will even get out my green tableware.  But, I guess I have to be okay with that.  I am not up to snuff and I have to be able to accept that and let the "regular" tradition slide this year.  I usually have a very hard time with letting traditions go, but when you can't, you just can't.  I felt radiation tired today, but I know it's from lack of sleep and emotional worry.  My main worry now is first of all the fact that it's been three months and I still don't have my extension back yet, and second, that my ankle and foot still go purple and red as soon as I remove my compression sock.  Not good.  I worry it might be the venous insufficiency Dave has mentioned.  That would really suck.  Bad. I need another miracle.  I think what might be happening is now that I am a bit more mobile, I feel guilty resting even though my body still needs lots of rest, and I haven't been keeping it elevated. I am struggling being able to just accept that fact and be okay with it.  I feel like I am being lazy if I am still laying in bed (my chair) a lot.  It's kind of like after you have a baby and you look pretty good coming home from the hospital so everyone thinks that means you are capable of your regular routine and have the stamina you did.  I remember those days.  I am feeling that same kind of pressure now.  But the one putting the pressure on me is really me.  Sky, Sarah, and Carson arrived.  Carson spent a lot of time making me "presents" when he got here. He loves his newly organized craft tote.  

There are always shenanigans going on around here!

 We have seen a lot of the deer herd this year.  

 So much fun watching these "family members". 

We had our "green" dinner but it was not anything like it usually is, but that's okay. And only because Dave made the shepherd's pie.   I did do the potatoes on top.  He has taken over all the cooking.  Not complaints here!  :D  I just don't have the energy right now to do it how I usually do.  

  It was still green and it was still fun.  Better than nothing right?!  

And of course, I had to die the butter green!

Sarah's post

dear sunday, 

Happy St. Catrick's Day!  I mean St. Patrick's Day!  Today I got up on time to get to church.  Everyone else was late though.  It was ward conference and so Dave spoke.  He did a good job.  I didn't have to teach Primary today because the stake leaders taught. I went to SS with Dave.  We went to the high council room.  Sister Olsen taught the lesson and she is a really good teacher.  Interestingly enough the lesson was on miracles and faith.  It was really good.  Janet was also in there and I kept looking at her because we both have been talking about all this so much. I really didn't want to comment but I felt like I needed to at one point.  I can't really remember what I said, but it was something about how we need to work through the fear so we can have total faith and how we need to get to a point where we can put it all on the alter and turn it over to Him and just let it go and let God.  I said that we have no control anyway and ultimately His will is what will come to pass so we might as well release it and allow it to be.  I also talked about how gratitude can bring about miracles and how HF truly blesses us when we show our gratitude to Him no matter what we are going through.  There were a lot of people commenting that were dealing with or have dealt with hard stuff and there were a lot of tears. It was a good class.

 More shenanigans

I made Shamrock Jello Jigglers and green Jello.  

We didn't have a lot of time before we had to head to Karen's but Carson and I watched part of Moana.  It is a great show. I did my PT while we watched.  Taylor joined us for a bit.  We headed to Kaysville for Dave's mom's bday party.  On the way I saw this:

Now most people would say this is just a coincidence, BUT with all the times that things like this have happened to me when I am dealing with hard things, I KNOW it was a direct message sent to me.  NOt only did it say LVUJO.... yes, "Jo", BUT it also had the Hunstman Cancer Center as part of the license plate.  Yeah, I have no doubt that was a another one of those love notes from heaven.

I took green shamrock Jello jigglers and some Jello with whipped cream on top.
Mmm... I also took green French bread.  It was all so pretty.  All the food was pretty much green.  

We had lots of good food.  And cake and ice cream. Kevin and Tori drove all the way for it and turned around and drove all the way back home to Boise.  

This little green Leprechaun in magically delicious!

We didn't leave until pretty late. I believe this was the longest I have been out since the accident besides Disney on Ice. Sky came up and thanked me for being so patient while him and Barry and Dave talked about a business thing.  I was totally fine with it but I was pretty tired. 

 It felt soooooooo good to go upstairs when we got home and just get in my chair with my heating pad.  I love my heating pad!  Wish it was portable!  hah 

dear random,
Why is journaling is such a powerful tool? It allows you to process and integrate your experiences, and begin applying what you’re learning into your life. If you’re not learning through experiences, then you’re repeating the past and not transforming.

 “I’m here, I’m healthy, I’m running, I’m grateful”.

‎Tony Garcia‎ to Boston Marathon Training

With Boston now only a few weeks away, I am reminded of lessons I learned from my previous races. I share them again today.

I hope they help as you prepare for your race. I hope they help as you face your next challenge. I hope they help make a difference in your day.

1. Always have a Plan B

2. The time you had is more precious than the time you finished

3. Goodness and kindness still exist and they always win. Always

4. No matter how much you believe is owed you, take only what is yours

5. There are times, pain becomes a companion to everyone. Others know what you are going through

6. One man's hill is another man's mountain. Do not judge the climb of another

7. Walking is still a way forward

8. No matter the distance, it must be traversed a single footstep at a time

9. Miracles can be accomplished when you truly believe

10. Despite the cheering crowd, you will always hear your own voice. Choose words of faith

11. Weakness and strength are not choices. The choice is what you do when you are filled with one.

12. Fast and slow are terms of comparison, if the journey is yours alone, they are never needed

13. When you feel like quitting, it comes down to finding a single reason to continue

14. Daring to believe is the greatest risk of all. Take the risk

15. Each side of the hill presents its own challenges

16. You are likely to encounter obstacles you did not prepare for. Remember lesson 1

17. Sooner or later, your heart becomes visible. Capture that moment.

18. Worry of the distant hills steals beauty from the valley. Stay present.

19. Conditions change. So must you

20. The road, to anywhere worth going, is rarely straight

21. Heartbreak is never, ever the end of the journey

22. There are no guarantees, only promises you try to keep to yourself

23. Walls are created out of fear and lack of imagination. Imagine no barriers

24. When everyone is watching, you might as well dance

25. Express gratitude. Say "thank you", offer a high five, give a kiss, smile. It may not change you. But it will change them.

26. When it gets difficult, the solution is usually simple. Breathe and keep moving.

26.2 Every moment led you here. The challenging and the life-changing. The forgettable and the unforgettable. The painfully beautiful and the beautifully painful. Embrace them all. ~G

#lessons
#💙💛

********************************************************************************************************************

I heard this song and I really liked the lyrics:

Cole Swindell - You Should Be Here (Official Music Video) - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8WlCqZPTeg

Lyrics

It's perfect outside its like god let me dial up the weather
Got the whole crew here, I ain't seen some of them in forever
It's one of those never forget it, better stop and take it in kinda scenes
Everything's just right yeah except for one thing

You should be here, standing with your arm around me here
Cutting up, cracking a cold beer
Saying cheers, hey y'all it's sure been a good year
It's one of those moments, that's got your name written all over it
And you know that if I had just one wish it'd
Be that you didn't have to miss this
You should be here

You'd be taking way too many pictures on your phone
Showing them off to everybody that you know back home
And even some you don't yeah
They say now you're in a better place
And I would be too if I could see your face

You should be here, standing with your arm around me here
Cutting up, cracking a cold beer
Saying cheers, hey y'all it's sure been a good year
It's one of those moments, that's got your name written all over it
And you know that if I had just one wish 
It'd be that you didn't have to miss this
Aw you should be here

You'd be loving this, you'd be freaking out, you'd be smiling, yeah
I know you'd be all about what's going on right here right now
God I wish somehow you could be here

Oh you should be here

Yeah this is one of those moments that's got your name written all over it 
And you know that if I have just one wish it'd be that you didn't have to miss this
Aw you should be here
You should be here

dear quotes,