Blah Blah Blah

So, as I’ve said before I’m apparently not very good at this. It’s not that I don’t have anything I want to say. It just, sometimes after staring at a computer screen for 10 hours, coming home and staring at another one is just too much. My iTouch has allowed me to keep up with things like Facebook and Twitter and email. It’s small and easy to use compared to dragging out the two ton laptop and suffering hot flashes as it blows hot air on my leg, not to mention it’s currently dying a slow and miserable death and it gets mad that I want it to keep working when it clearly does not want to work anymore. But it’s one thing to type a quick message and another to type out a whole blog post on that iTouch. My fingers are too fat and I have to backspace way too often.

Then there’s the question that honestly does anyone care that much about what I have to say that I should burden them with my thoughts? Though obviously no one HAS to read anything I say, and I figure that if you don’t want to “hear” it, you won’t read it. But still, I’m really not that interesting. I bore myself to tears quite regularly, so why should I presume that anyone else would be interested? Then there’s the fact that often I really don’t know what to say. There can be a lot going on, but not a lot I want to talk about. Or a lot I want to talk about, but not a lot that I should. So there is my very long thought process on why I don’t post very much. But, believe it or not, this isn’t the point of this post.

So, 2009 ended. On New Year’s Eve my brother and a friend of ours had a conversation at length about it being the end of the decade. In just about every way except culturally we still have another year before the end of the decade. But culturally we recognize 2010 as the beginning of a new decade instead of the last year of the old one. But either way I see 2010 as the beginning of a whole new chapter in my life, on several levels. I’ve been in some kind of weird retrospective since we started 2010. I don’t think I really even thought much about it until I started to read everyone else’s blogs on the year past and the years ahead, and that brought me to the point of considering where I have been and where I’d like to go with my life over the next year and next decade. So, yes, this is the obligatory “good bye old year, hello new year post. Except, as I’ve gone over what I’d like to say in my head, I think I’ll be breaking this down into two posts. One in reflection and one of what I’m looking forward to. I’m pretty long winded, as you can probably tell from the longest intro ever, so you can probably see the need for two different posts.

So, first the end of the “decade”. Ten years ago I was 20 years old. And oh so much younger than I thought I was at the time. But then again, I think that’s the case for pretty much every 20 year old. I was fresh off the plane from spending four months living in London. Probably still my biggest adventure to date, and I’m sad I haven’t had the chance to relive or top it since. Also an experience I really should go into much more detail about in a future post. Let’s just say for now, it was pretty life changing. I was also fresh out of Bible College. Another experience that deserve more attention in s future post.

Over the last ten years, I’ve made new friends and lost some, rekindled old friendships, solidified others. I worked a terrible job at a Travelodge, began a love-hate relationship working for Mervyn’s. Was fired. Began a temporary, part time student job as a GS-1 for the federal government, and moved myself up to a permanent, full-time position that I could easily turn into a career if I choose to. Spent five years getting my AA degree (actually one AS and two AA degrees, and a few certificates) and another two getting my BA. I met and married my husband who had changed me and my life more than I could have ever anticipated. I added a whole new family to my life and bought a house, pretty much guaranteeing that we’re gonna be in the I.E. for a while. And I turned 30.

It had most definitely been a decade of growing, changing and learning. One of my goals in life is to never be satisfied with who I am. I hope that I am always looking for ways that I can grow and expand myself. I look back on the past decade and I do feel that I achieved that. Though I think I still could have done better. I achieved a lot of goals, but not all of them. But not achieving them also means that I have goals still ahead of me to achieve. I remember wondering where I was gonna be in life when 2010 came around. The idea of it actually being 2010 was just so inconceivable. It still is. Part of me feels like life none of this has happened and one day I’ll wake up and be a teenager again. Taking a look around me now, I’m not exactly where I thought I would be 10 years ago, but I know I’m where I’m supposed to be. Just farther down the same path. Closer to whatever destination I’m headed towards. When I think back on all that’s happened over the last 10 years it makes me pretty curious to see what lies ahead.

Ok, I think since I prattle on way too much 2009 will get a post to itself. Man, I talk a lot. So stay tuned for Part 2. Oh yeah, so I decided to move my blog. I figured now would be as good a time as any. So if you feel like following along, I’m gonna beposting here from now on.

UPDATE: My parents got me a laptop for Christmas, so now I don’t have the slow computer excuse anymore.

On Sunday my brother turned 27 and today my dad turns 65. These are two of the greatest men in my life. I am so lucky to have both of them. They fill my life with smiles and laughs and great conversation and insite. And I am a better person for having both of them in my life. I seriously don't know what I'd do without them.

Happy Birthday!!!!!

So I'm terrible with this blogging thing apparently. I know I posted that we started escrow. Well, little over two weeks ago escrow closed and we got the new keys to our new home. I absolutely love this house. I could tell that through the whole process I had been holding back on getting attached to the house in case we lost it for some reason, but now we are all moved in and its all ours.

Chris and I took off a few days (the end of one week and the beginning of the next) to prepare to move, actually move and unpack and clean the old house. We got a lot accomplished in those days. There is still a ton yet to do, but we have 30 years to do it. :)

I have to say how incredibly blessed and lucky we feel about all of this. As stressful as it was, looking back it really was so easy comparatively speaking. We applied for a home loan in July and moved into our new house by November. In this market, I think that's pretty amazing. Our house was the second of 18 houses that we bid on and the one we both wanted the most. It took almost two months to find out if we were approved or not. Once we entered escrow at an agreed upon price, the appraisal came in at a pretty good amount lower. Because this was a short sale, there was a pretty good chance that the selling bank could back out because the price was too low. But thankfully they agreed to the lower price. I just look back at the whole process with amazement in how smoothly this worked out. I truly believe that God had his hand in this from beginning to end.

It was bitter sweet saying good by to our old house. We are really going to miss that place. It was perfect for us to start out our lives together. It had a great yard that Roxy was able to enjoy in her last few months. I also hosted my friend Leslie's baby shower and she hosted her SIL's bridal shower in that backyard. Some other memorable events were my graduation/30th B-day party, my MIL's surprise B-day party, Father's day celebrations, Christmas parties, New Years Eve parties, It's where we spent our last night with our Roxy Monster, where we made Bart part of our family and I know a bunch of other things that I can't remember right now. It was a great house. It also had the cutest address ever. I know it's hard to imagine a cute address, but if there ever was one, that house had it.

So ok, here are the links to the pics

Packing up and moving out of the old place.

The new house the day we got the keys.

So I realized that its been a while since I posted here and even longer since I updated on my little life. So this is a update post.

~ First of all I just want to thank everyone who donated anything to the Jewelyn Memorial Fund and a huge thank you to everyone that has prayed or kept Jewelyn, Phil and Gabrielle in their thoughts. Her memorial was last week. It was absolutely beautiful and fit Jewelyn perfectly. This is a website that has been set up that can keep you updated on Phil and Gabrielle's story. If you have a chance, please stop by and take a minute to get to know the family. http://4jewelyn.onedaywewill.net/

~ As far as my life is concerned, not much is happening. October has been a weird month. Partly because of Jewelyn, partly because the weather has just been freakin weird. Its not as weird to not be in school as I thought it would be. But I am definitely looking at my options for Grad school. I feel I need to get back before I completely loose all desire.

~ We started escrow on a new house this month, so that's been pretty big. And stressful. But in the end it looks like it may all work out. Escrow is supposed to close by the end of the week, so keep fingers crossed. We are pretty excited and started packing this week.

I don't know what else really to talk about. Not much has been happening. Which is fine. I'm sure I'll be posting some more as we get into the move and stuff.
 

 

Gabrielle is home!! She came home Wednesday with her father and both are doing well. She was deprived of some oxygen during birth and was having seizures for a little while. An MRI showed that there is some brain damage to her lower brain, but they will not know the extent of the damage until she begins to develop. There are high hopes that a newborn's brain can heal itself pretty well and any damage will be minimal. But the good news is that daddy and daughter are finally home together. Here are some pictures of the beautiful girl.

I cannot send out enough thank you's to everyone out there that has donated money or formula/diaper checks to the Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Foundation. The outpouring of support has been nothing short of amazing. All money raised for the foundation is going directly to Phil and Gabriella to offset some of their expenses. Jewelyn did not have life insurance and Phil will most likely have to take some extended leave from his job as a high school teacher to get used to his new daughter. We are also receiving hundreds of cards and letters that are being passed to Phil. He is very grateful and amazed at all the support he's received.

If you still want to send something here is the information:

To mail donations (checks can be made out to The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund), formula checks, diaper coupons, or gift cards, send to:

The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 235971
Encinitas, CA 92023-5971

To send packages (FedEx, UPS, etc.), mail to:

Brandi Futrell
c/o The Jewelyn Okamoto Memorial Fund
14928 S. Maple Avenue
Gardena, CA 90248

To contribute via PayPal, that email address is 4jewelyn@gmail.com.

And as always thank you most of all for keeping this family in your prayers and thoughts. The next few months and years will bring some hard challenges for both Phil and Gabriella. We are working to set up a blog that will have more updates and information so you can follow their story. I'll post the link as soon as its up and running. 
 

***Updated with some more info***

As many of you know, my dear friend, Jewelyn, passed away on Sunday, September 27th due to an amniotic fluid embolism, just hours after giving birth to her first child, Gabrielle.

Gabrielle is doing well and will be released from the NICU this week.

Jewelyn's husband, Philip, is going to need all the help he can get over the coming months and years.

Almost five years ago while planning my wedding I stumbled upon a message board on a wedding site with a bunch of gals also planning their weddings. It instantly became an addiction and I was soon visiting and chatting with my fellow brides on a daily basis. One of the gals I became so very lucky to know was Jewelyn. Long before I even met her in person, I knew she was special. She always had such a great sense of humor and compassion. She was a kindergarten teacher and loved each and every one of her kids. I remember her posting about her wedding and what things went wrong, but it was ok, because she had married the love of her life, Phil.

We all stayed on the boards after our weddings and talked daily as things went along. I cried for her when she has a miscarriage last year and I was so thrilled to hear when she got pregnant again. She spent the last nine months so very excited to be a mother and to hold her beautiful baby.

Yesterday Jewelyn had an emergency C-section and suffered from amniotic embolism and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. She lost all brain activity and was taken off life support at 11:30 this morning.

Words don't even come close to describing how tragic this whole this is. I can't stop thinking about how just Friday we were all wishing her luck with her delivery and waiting to here the announcement that baby Gabriella was here. I can't stop thinking how Jewels never even got the chance to see or hold her baby girl or that Gabby will never know her mother or how amazing she was. I can't even imagine what her husband is feeling today. The mix of thousands of emotions and thoughts that must be pouring through his mind. I can't stop thinking about how totally unfair this is.

Jewelyn was one of those people that I wish everyone could have known. She had a huge heart and always saw the best in everyone. I will miss you so much Jewels.

A Paypal account has been set up for Jewelyn's family with the email address 4jewelyn@gmail.com. I know babies can be expensive and Phil will probably have to take a good amount of time off of work to deal with the new baby and his grief. If you can donate anything 100% of the funds will go to Jewelyn's family. If you can't afford to give any money we will also be holding a yard sale next Saturday, and all of the proceeds will go to Jewelyn's family, so if you would rather donate some things to the sale, please contact me. ladydot42@gmail.com.

At the very least, I ask that you please keep Jewelyn's family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Text message conversation with Chris today:
 
Chris: Wanna go to the show for me tomorrow (the booth that his company has at the Sand Sport Show)
 
Me: Don’t know if I’d be much good
 
Chris: You’d be fine.
 
Me: Sure. :/
 
Chris: You just have to stand there and look cute.
 
Me: :) Uh huh. And what would you be doing while I’m doing your work?
 
Chris: Xbox
 
Me: Right. Sounds totally fair.
 
Chris: Ya, I’m ok with it.
 
Me: You ok with not having any backrubs or sex for a month?
 
Chris: No, I’m not ok with that.
 
Me: Than I guess you better go tomorrow then, huh?
 
Chris: Ya.
 

This is seriously hilarious. Even funnier if love love Ikea:

http://www.ikeaheights.com/

Filmed entirely at the Burbank Ikea without the store knowing.

Fall is here. I know that it doesn’t “officially” start for a few more days, but starting Monday, there was the definite change in the air signaling that summer would really not last forever. It makes me sad. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I hate the fall. I don’t know what it is about fall, but overall I just don’t like it at all. Of course this year will be different, and I feel a bit lost going into this season knowing my evenings are as wide open and they are in the summer. At the same time I find myself missing school. It’s strange because I didn’t think I would.

All in all it was a good summer. Here are some highlights I’d like to remember about this summer:

~ Chris and I have discovered Sushi. This is something I never thought in a million years that we would do. Neither of us was big on the whole “raw fish” idea. I tried Sushi once years ago. It was store bought California rolls from Albertsons, and I was trying to have an open mind about it, but it tasted funny and that was it for me. Then a couple of years ago, while on our honeymoon, Chris and I ordered Seared Ahi Tuna, unaware that it was mostly raw, until it arrived. At the time we were feeling rather adventurous, having just taken the big plunge less than 24 hours earlier and in a really expensive restaurant, tried it and discovered that it was the best stuff on earth. So whenever we were out to a restaurant that offered it as an appetizer, we were all over it. So this summer, when my brother came home from Iraq, his first food request was for Sushi. My parents had already found a Sushi place that they were eating at weekly (this in itself is pretty shocking, more because my mom eats sushi, my dad has eaten it for years, having frequently traveled to Japan), and since my brother had just come off the plane, we couldn’t not go, so we went and ordered what little cooked food they offered. But then through lots of coaching and teasing we tried it and it was yummy. So yummy in fact that I crave it for weeks afterwards when we have it. We don’t go weekly like my parents, but we do go every few weeks, and it really is so good.

~We started looking for a house. We had planned to do this when I finished school. And it has been one wild ride so far. We have walked through dozens and dozens of houses, placed about 17 offers and still we wait and see. I’m sure I’ll still talk a lot about this in further posts, so let me just talk about this from another angle. As hard and stressful and annoying as this all has been, I feel it has really brought Chris and I closer. We are opposites in so many respects, and so often we do our own thing and occasionally the other will tag along in support, but this is the first real big thing that we’ve done together as a team. I know that may sound strange. But what has been so cool about it is how well we work together as a team. I found that we are more alike and think more alike than I had realized. Chris has just been such an amazing partner and we’ve been on the same page throughout all of this, so far, which is so awesome. People warned me that we’d disagree and fight, and its true there have been minor discussions over stuff so little I can’t remember, or usually over a miscommunication, but I overall Chris has been the only part of the process that I’m enjoying.

~TV! Suddenly having my evenings open has allowed me to watch TV again. We spent most of it watching the SyFy channel, because we’re geeks. Warehouse 13 and Eureka became the main entertainment for the summer and of course I happily caught up on The Office episodes I missed, because I love that show so much. J And our most favorite sow, the one we can’t miss, Wipeout. We just can’t get enough of watching people fall flat on their faces time and time again. Seriously one of the best shows ever to be on TV. I’m gonna miss it in the off season.

So, it has been a good summer. As we head into another season hopefully we’ll come out of this next one with a house. I need to do some purging and get rid of a bunch of crap I don’t want moving with us, so I believe a yard sale is in our near future. I’m going to spend it enjoying the time off. I’m excited that I’ll be able to do things like bake without waiting for Christmas break.

So long to another summer.