Never Stop, don't stop, can't stop.....

That's how I live my life. That's what runs through my mind everyday. There are just not enough hours in the day. I know I just had surgery, but I cannot just sit down people! It is starting to tick me off that people want me to lay around for weeks after a simple gallbladder surgery. Yes, I know I look like i am eight months pregnant with my swelled belly, but my feet and hands still work fine! Besides the normal 7-3 job, there are always dishes to be washed, laundry to be done, meals to prepare(or a drive-thru to go through), kids to bath, dress, play with , love and discipline, husbands to keep happy, bills to pay, yadayadayada.......need I go on? My daily commute is my time. That's when I gather my thoughts, when I pray, when I breathe. I don't stop because if I stop I might not ever get going again! My brain/body does not know what to do when it is not stressed or involved in some type of drama. Stillness is awkward and unsettling to me. So thank you to all the people who worry about me, but this is who I am. I am not saying its the smart way to be or the most ideal, but it is how I cope with life! Maybe it's my ego, I guess I should pray about that. I like being involved in things. I like doing things for other people. I like being needed and useful. I want to be a good worker for the Lord and to provide for my family. Don't get me wrong I have my own pity parties often, but I try not to complain about life because I know this one is not permanent. Complaining and groaning never makes me feel better, but doing something, doing anything does. Love you all!

Trying to be better
Karri

At home!

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you for your prayers! The surgery went great and I am at home now. I just ate some soup and for the first time in a month I didn't feel like I was gonna throw up after eating. WOOOHOOO!! Sorry this is such a short post, the pain meds are making the words run together! Thanks again everyone, I love you all! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Karri

Bad week!

This has been the worst week and it's only Tuesday! You all know what happened yesterday (see post from Mon.). Then today I had to go for an ultrasound of my abdomen cause I've been feeling nauseous every time I eat. I thought it was just stress, but they found bunches of gallstones! So now I have to have the ole gallbladder out. If I keep having parts taken out, I'm gonna be an empty shell! The appendix, the uterus and ovaries, and now the gallbladder! Honestly, I am really tired of having surgery! It always seems to happen right before the holidays too. Anyway, I assume it will be sometime next week when this transpires. I'm waiting to get in to see the surgeon, but the family doc says it needs to be done asap. What a bummer! Ya'll please all say some prayers for me this week. It's extremely hard juggling my work schedule with Jason's practices and games on a normal day. So, to have the holidays and now surgery thrown in the mix..... I just need a lot of prayer! Mom and Jr. were always there for me when things like this came up in the past. They always watched the kids, and of course, mom always kept us fed, and coddled me. There's nothing like some momma lovin' when your sick! Man, I miss them so much! Oh well, I guess it could be worse. At least it's just my gallbladder and won't have me down too long (God willing). Thanks in advance for your prayers. I love you all more than yall will ever know!

Karri

Lost my everlovin mind!

Seriously, I have lost my mind! I told you guys a couple of weeks ago about me wearing my pants backwards all day. At least I could blame that on the cold medicine. I got to work this morning and not only did I forget my bra, but I only shaved one leg! @!%*#
Just commit me now. Really, its not like I have perky little breasts either. I mean they sag and tend to hang out under my arm pits, how did I forget my bra? I think I know how the one leg shaving thing happened. Long story short, in the middle of my shower this morning, there was an episode between the 3 y.o. and the 4 y.o. and a very sharp knife! No one got hurt, but needless to say I lost my train of thought. (Apparently for the rest of the day!) Ohhhhh, there's never a dull moment! Hope you all can enjoy a laugh at my expense!! Love to all!

The Crazy Lady
Karri

PS- Just so you know.....sports tape works great at hoisting "the girls" up! Good thing I had some Macguyver tools at work!

Basketball Season and Elections

Well, b-ball season is in full-swing now. Football ended on thursday before Halloween and the first b-ball game was the following monday. No rest for the weary! While I do love sports, being a coach's wife is sometimes very frustrating. I call myself a single parent during ball seasons! Since Jason helps with football and basketball we usually don't get to see him until sometime from May to August. The 7th and 8th grade boys are doing great though. They beat valley head monday night pretty badly, but lost to NSM by a narrow margin tonight. I just want to say how proud I am of my husband, the coach. Even though we don't get a lot of family time, I know he is setting an example for dozens of boys coming into manhood. I always observe the other teams' coaches, how they act during the games, how they act toward officials, and most importantly how they treat their players. Jason is not a screamer, he doesn't cuss, he really even rarely gets mad. If he ever gets a technical, it'll be a miracle! It seems even when he gets on the officials they tend to ignore him :(( His philosophy for the boys is if they don't know it before they get to the game, they are not going to learn it by being screamed at in the middle of game. I have heard several comments from parents in the stands saying they wished he would be more aggressive, but I think aggression only breeds more aggression. Athletes should focus on fundamentals of a game and be confident in their skills, not plowing through a game because they are getting yelled at! Jason respects his players, and I hope they respect him in return, I know I do! It's one thing to have a God fearing/loving husband, but it's a true blessing to have a husband who tries to spread that love and truely cares about the youth of our community.
On an unrelated note, I am so glad the elections are over. I didn't realize how much energy and effort I had been putting into this election. I really struggled over this one! There was so much mudslinging and lies going around, I was spending hours at night trying to find out the truth about each candidate. Obama has won, and I am satisfied with that. I would've been satisfied with McCain too. I am not trying to be complacent about it, but I think that God has a plan for this country (good or bad, I don't know) and apparently Obama is going to lead that plan. So, I will pray for him and the other leaders in Congress, and most importantly I will pray that the people that make up this nation will stop worrying about who is on the right and who is on the left and just live for God. Every one makes mistakes, the president elect has made some major ones, and I'm sure his presidency won't be a perfect one (what presidency has been?). But, God and our nation have given him a chance to prove himself, so I think I should do the same. I was thinking about our pledge of allegiance and how I hope that we really can be that one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Ok, I'm done with my rant for the day! Stay tuned for more rants, raves, and the crazy stuff that goes on around my house!

Peace, love, and sanity to all!
Karri

Brooke's Get To Know You Game!

Brooke's Game!
I love this! Please pass it on. It's a great way to learn something you didn't know about someone. Here is the list from Brooke's blog. Copy & highlight the ones you have done.Have fun!!

1. Swam with wild dolphin
2. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
3. Been inside a Pyramid
4. Held a tarantula
5. Taken a candle lit bath-my own little get away from the kids
6. Said I love you and meant it
7. Hugged a Tree-the big oak in our backyard before we had to cut it down
8. Bungee jumped
9. Visited Paris
10. Watched a lightening storm at sea
11. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
12. Seen the Northern Lights
13. Gone to a huge sports game—Go Braves!!!
14. Walked the stairs to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
15. Grown and eaten your own vegetables-i love home grown tomatoes!
16. Touched an iceberg
17. Slept under the stars-not on purpose- oh the college years
18. Changed a baby’s diaper-too many to count
19. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
20. Watched a meteor shower
21. Gotten drunk on champagne
22. Given more than you can afford to charity
23. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
24. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment-during psych nursing clinicals- laughing around paranoid schizophrenics is not a good idea
25. Had a food fight- nearly put out a fellow nurses eye with a grape
26. Bet on a winning horse
27. Asked out a stranger- that's how i met my husband of 13 years, I highly recommend it.
28. Had a snowball fight
29. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can- does screaming at my kids count?
30. Held a lamb
31. Seen a total eclipse
32. Ridden a rollercoaster
33. Hit a home run
34. Danced like a fool, not caring who watched
35. Adopted an accent for an entire day
36. Actually felt happy about your life, even for a moment
37. Had two hard drives for your computer
38. Visited all 50 states
39. Taken care of someone who was too drunk- those college years again!
40. Had amazing Friends--have the best friends I've ever had right now
41. Danced with a Stranger in a foreign country
42. Watched wild whales
43. Stolen a sign
44. Hitchhiked in Europe
45. Taken a road-trip
46. Gone rock climbing
47. Midnight walk on the beach
48. Gone sky diving
49. Visited Ireland
50. Been heartbroken longer than you were in love
51. In a restaurant sat at a stranger’s table and ate with them- gotta love Ichiban
52. Visited Japan
53. Milked a cow-sweet Bessie!
54. Alphabetized your CDs-and my soups, veggies, fruits, and spices-yes I'm OCD
55. Pretended to be a superhero
56. Sung karaoke -badly, but yes
57. Lounged around in bed all day-pre kids
58. Posed nude in front of strangers-not necessarily posed......also prekids-when you have plastic surgery, they sometimes have you stand nude while they draw on you.
59. Gone scuba diving
60. Kissed in the rain
61. Played in the mud-have you met my son??
62. Played in the rain
63. Gone to a drive-in theater
64. Visited the Great Wall of China
65. Started a business
66. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken- a wonderful four times, when I fell in love with God,my husband, and my kids ( i'm sure they will break my heart when they get older).
67. Toured ancient sites
68. Taken a martial arts class
69. Played a computer game for more than 6 hours straight
70. Gotten married
71. Been in a movie
72. Crashed a party
73. Gotten divorced
74. Gone without food for 5 days -have you seen my butt? NO
75. Made cookies from scratch
76. Won first prize in a costume contest
77. Ridden a gondola in Venice
78. Gotten a tattoo-three, looking for number four
79. Rafted the Snake River
80. Been on television news program as an “expert”
81. Got flowers for no reason
82. Performed on a stage
83. Been to Las Vegas
84. Recorded Music
85. Eaten shark
86. Had a one-night stand
87. Gone to Thailand
88. Bought a house
89. Been in a combat zone--does working in trauma operating rooms count? Or living in a house with two toddlers?
90. Buried one/both of your parents- buried both of them in April of this year-still cry almost every day
91. Been on a cruise ship
92. Spoken more than one language fluently
93. Performed in Rocky Horror
94. Raised children -trying my best, not so good at it
95. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour-that's how i ended up with tatoo number three
96. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
97. Picked up and moved to another city-was a travel nurse-lived in several cities for six months at a time
98. Walked on the Golden Gate Bridge-yep, lived in San Fransico as a travel nurse
99. Sang loudly in the car and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
100. Had plastic surgery-need much much more
101. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have
102. Wrote articles for a large publication
103. Lost over 100 lbs
104. Held someone while they were having a flashback
105. Piloted an airplane
106. Petted a stingray-and a shark
107. Broken someone’s heart
108. Helped an animal give birth-sweet Bessie again
109. Won money on a TV game show
110. Broken a bone
111. Gone on an African safari-with Diego
112. Had a body part below the neck pierced
113. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol-i'm a pretty good shot if I do say so myself
114. Eaten mushrooms gathered in the wild
115. Ridden a horse
116. Had major surgery
117. Had a snake as a pet-ewww no
118. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
119. Slept for more than 30 hours over 48 consecutive hours- gotta love IV sedation
120. Visited more foreign countries than US States
121. Visited all 7 continents
122. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
123. Eaten Kangaroo meat
124. Eaten sushi
125. Had your picture in the paper
126. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
127. Gone back to school-almost finished with my Master's in Nursing!
128. Parasailed
129. Petted a cockroach
130. Eaten fried green tomatoes-yummy
131. Read the Illiad-twice
132. Selected one important author who you missed school to read
133. Killed and prepared an animal for eating-sweet bessie again (just kidding)
134. Skipped all of your school reunions
135. Communicated with someone without sharing a common language
136. Been elected to public office
137. Written your own computer language
138. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream-right now!!!!
139. Had to put someone you love in hospice care-Granny Willoughby
140. Build your own PC from parts
141. Sold your own artwork to someone that didn’t know it was yours
142. Had a booth in a street fair
143. Dyed your hair-tooooo many times
144. Been a DJ
145. Shaved your head
146. Caused a car accident
147. Saved someone’s life-I'm an operating nurse-it's what i do.

So there's my answers. Any suprises in there to anyone?

Love to All

Karri