Friday, January 25, 2013
Convalescing at the Cabin
I love Martin Luther King Day because it always pleasantly catches me by surprise. That wonderful bank holiday, perfectly placed between New Years and Valentines. It helps to make January a little less dismal. And since it's only been 3 weeks since the last cabin party... why not! Me and my bags of frozen peas needed a change of scenery. Anna had a great time playing with her daddy and all her cousins. The sledding hill was super fast (so I was told) and the 40-degree temps and blue sky were an automatic pick-me-up. Bevan refused to tow me up the hill in a giant tube so I had to watch from the greenhouse. Ah, come on! I was astounded how long kids can spend playing in the snow. Paige was going on 6 hours (with a short lunch break)! I guess they never run out of energy. I focused on my gaming ability and won more board games than usual (maybe it's because James wasn't there). Nora graciously volunteered to take Anna back to West Jordan for the rest of the week so I could focus all my energy on... doing nothing. It was one of the nicest things ever done for me!!! Don't we love family?! Thanks Nora! It really has helped. My knee is improving every day and I even stopped the pain meds. 6 weeks? Let's cut it down to 4, shall we? Get me up that sledding hill!
Bevan took some great pictures for me.
The ski socks actually stayed on her hands this time!!!
Here's some good lookin' Mair boys!
Accidents Happen
I've had several requests to explain what really happened last week. Ugh. It's not like I don't have the TIME, because lately I have plenty of TIME, unfortunately. So here it goes...
Last Thursday started out as one of the best ski days ever! It was warm, it was sunny, it was the perfect place to be! Bevan met up with me and Paul and took a couple runs. We were over in the Empire/ Lady Morgan area on a just-opened groomed run called Magnet. I wasn't too interested in Magnet, but the fine, deep powder on skier's right. It was glorious! I love skiing aspen trees and I'm usually pretty good at it! Toward the bottom of our run, I was unaware of the man-made snow that had blown into the trees, turning the fluffy powder to cement. Well, I couldn't maneuver the turn and smacked my knee against an aspen. Ouch! I tumbled onto Magnet, right in front of Bevan, and tried to wait out the pain. It wasn't sharp pain, just throbbing. Like an idiot, I passed up patrol's help and got back into my skis. My second sign of trouble was when I couldn't put any weight on my right leg, which made for an interesting one-legged ski to the bottom of the lift. Third sign of trouble was when I sat on the lift which made my knee bend. I might have howled a little. By the time we made it to the top, I swallowed my pride, scooted over to the patrol shack, and asked for a ride to the lodge. They strapped me to a toboggan and hauled me down. How humiliating! Fortunately Bevan had parked at the lodge and Paul drove my sorry carcass to the clinic. I was quickly referred to the Park City Hospital's orthopedic center where an MRI confirmed a cracked tibia plateau (kinda' bad) and meniscus stress (not that bad). I was thankful it wasn't my ligaments. That can be annoying. So now what?
No skiing
No driving
No walking
6 weeks
hinged brace
crutches
compression stockings
bags of frozen peas
Well, at least winter is a more tolerable time to be stuck inside than other seasons. Anyone need some passes? I've asked Bevan to cut down that aspen this summer. He says they're not allowed to cut down anything "healthy" unless it's in the way. Hello? It WAS in the way! Here's a few low-quality pictures for your enjoyment.
Before:
After:
Last Thursday started out as one of the best ski days ever! It was warm, it was sunny, it was the perfect place to be! Bevan met up with me and Paul and took a couple runs. We were over in the Empire/ Lady Morgan area on a just-opened groomed run called Magnet. I wasn't too interested in Magnet, but the fine, deep powder on skier's right. It was glorious! I love skiing aspen trees and I'm usually pretty good at it! Toward the bottom of our run, I was unaware of the man-made snow that had blown into the trees, turning the fluffy powder to cement. Well, I couldn't maneuver the turn and smacked my knee against an aspen. Ouch! I tumbled onto Magnet, right in front of Bevan, and tried to wait out the pain. It wasn't sharp pain, just throbbing. Like an idiot, I passed up patrol's help and got back into my skis. My second sign of trouble was when I couldn't put any weight on my right leg, which made for an interesting one-legged ski to the bottom of the lift. Third sign of trouble was when I sat on the lift which made my knee bend. I might have howled a little. By the time we made it to the top, I swallowed my pride, scooted over to the patrol shack, and asked for a ride to the lodge. They strapped me to a toboggan and hauled me down. How humiliating! Fortunately Bevan had parked at the lodge and Paul drove my sorry carcass to the clinic. I was quickly referred to the Park City Hospital's orthopedic center where an MRI confirmed a cracked tibia plateau (kinda' bad) and meniscus stress (not that bad). I was thankful it wasn't my ligaments. That can be annoying. So now what?
No skiing
No driving
No walking
6 weeks
hinged brace
crutches
compression stockings
bags of frozen peas
Well, at least winter is a more tolerable time to be stuck inside than other seasons. Anyone need some passes? I've asked Bevan to cut down that aspen this summer. He says they're not allowed to cut down anything "healthy" unless it's in the way. Hello? It WAS in the way! Here's a few low-quality pictures for your enjoyment.
Before:
After:
Sunday, January 13, 2013
I like shoveling snow!
I am not ashamed to admit it! Maybe it's because I spent so many winters doing it for money. Maybe it's because our driveway is only 30 feet long. Maybe it's the cold air on my sweaty face. Maybe it's exercise with a PURPOSE! When it snows overnight, Bevan leaves super early for Deer Valley, so I get to shovel when I get up. I can't doddle because my gracious neighbors will come by with their plow if I'm not quick enough. They think I'm crazy when I decline their help. I tell them my doctor encourages exercise (mostly true).
Anna always wants to help, but still has problems keeping her mittens on. She even managed to rip off the ski socks I had going up her arms! What?! I finally got fed up with her crying to me when her hands got cold, so I took her inside, turned on the cartoons, told her to watch while I finished up shoveling, and PRAYED that nothing would get destroyed! She must have understood me (or really didn't want to go outside anymore) because she was good! It was a miracle!
Now we have the cleanest driveway on the street! I think I need to get a life!
Anna always wants to help, but still has problems keeping her mittens on. She even managed to rip off the ski socks I had going up her arms! What?! I finally got fed up with her crying to me when her hands got cold, so I took her inside, turned on the cartoons, told her to watch while I finished up shoveling, and PRAYED that nothing would get destroyed! She must have understood me (or really didn't want to go outside anymore) because she was good! It was a miracle!
Now we have the cleanest driveway on the street! I think I need to get a life!
Friday, January 11, 2013
Dad's Retirement Weekend Extravaganza!
A great way to start 2013 is with... another party!!! Dad officially retired from UTA on Friday Jan. 4th. It was such a shindig, Sharon decided to "pop in" from Maryland for it. Yeah!!! We all met together as a huge family to ride his final bus that afternoon. I felt bad for those 2 real passengers on the bus that had to deal with all of us. Anna, being Anna, wouldn't sit still for longer than 10 seconds. She had to try EVERY seat and hold onto EVERY pole.
There's a happy Chuck!
My pictures of the bus ride itself didn't turn out well.
If you want to see the mob shot, click HERE!
"Remember kids, if you miss the bus... keep walking!"
Anna: "Not on my watch!"
The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to get a hold of some balloons for the party that night. Did you know there's a helium shortage?! It was nuts! We all had dinner in the banquet room at Golden Corral. It was good ol' party with lots of food and lots of kids. We all had to share a memory, and while I briefly mentioned having to haul my wedding dress home on a UTA bus, I mostly kept with how Dad always did what he loved, even if it never made him a millionaire. I can heavily relate to that, with Bevan working in the ski industry, doing what he loves. We'll never be rich, but darn it, we're having a lot of fun!
I was able to kidnap Sharon and baby Conrad to Midway. We had big plans to ski the next day with Nora, and when EVER do we go to bed early the night before?! Mom and Dad showed up nice and early the next day, ready to watch the babies, while we had some good sister-bonding time. I was surprised how warm it was on the mountain! It's probably the only good thing about inversions, it makes the upper elevations warmer than usual. We had a good time and ended on a good note: nobody got hurt.
Sharon's plane was leaving Monday afternoon, so we had time to go see Les Miserables! Such a terrible story to such great music! I was able to count Anne Hathaway's nose hairs and realized we should've sat further back in the theater. I had a terrible headache by the end. After some quick In 'N Out we headed for the airport. What a weekend!
If you want to see the mob shot, click HERE!
Anna: "Not on my watch!"
The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to get a hold of some balloons for the party that night. Did you know there's a helium shortage?! It was nuts! We all had dinner in the banquet room at Golden Corral. It was good ol' party with lots of food and lots of kids. We all had to share a memory, and while I briefly mentioned having to haul my wedding dress home on a UTA bus, I mostly kept with how Dad always did what he loved, even if it never made him a millionaire. I can heavily relate to that, with Bevan working in the ski industry, doing what he loves. We'll never be rich, but darn it, we're having a lot of fun!
I was able to kidnap Sharon and baby Conrad to Midway. We had big plans to ski the next day with Nora, and when EVER do we go to bed early the night before?! Mom and Dad showed up nice and early the next day, ready to watch the babies, while we had some good sister-bonding time. I was surprised how warm it was on the mountain! It's probably the only good thing about inversions, it makes the upper elevations warmer than usual. We had a good time and ended on a good note: nobody got hurt.
Sharon's plane was leaving Monday afternoon, so we had time to go see Les Miserables! Such a terrible story to such great music! I was able to count Anne Hathaway's nose hairs and realized we should've sat further back in the theater. I had a terrible headache by the end. After some quick In 'N Out we headed for the airport. What a weekend!
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