Saturday, March 28, 2009

Come on Down

Jacob bought a new game for his Wii the other day. Oddly enough, he chose The Price is Right. It has turned out to be very entertaining, and has on it all of the same games that are played on the television show, including the Grocery Game, Switcheroo, and Plinko, just to name a few. Jacob is learning the actual retail prices (without going over) of many, many items, from shampoo to furniture to luxury vehicles. If he ever ventures to southern California after he turns 18, he should definitely try to get on The Price is Right. Jim's nephew, Bobby, had tickets to TPIR many years ago, and was one of the first people called up to "contestant's row" during the show's taping that day. He never did make it onto the stage with Bob Barker, but came home from the west coast with lots of weird consolation prizes, like tile, a recessed light, and a shower nozzle. And, while we're on the subject of game shows, my sister-in-law, Jean, had her 15 minutes of fame on Wheel of Fortune about 10 or 15 years ago. Somewhere we have tapes (yes, VCR tapes) of both Bobby's and Jean's celebrity moments. If I had any idea of how to post them here, I would!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Smoke and Die?

My mother-in-law, Bev, has not been feeling well lately. She has the same complaints as always, but has been expressing them more frequently the past few weeks. Her doctor examined her today, and verified that her oxygen level is dangerously low - 89%. Unfortunately, Bev will only use her oxygen when she sleeps at night because it interferes with her chain smoking during the day. Since she has end-stage emphysema, her feet are swollen due to the fact that her blood is no longer circulating freely. Her breathing is labored and her legs & back are in constant pain. Her doctor prescribed oxygen 24 hours a day and insisted that she quit smoking immediately. Bev always feels quite a bit better and her memory is somewhat sharper when she uses her oxygen, but she would rather smoke than feel good. I know that smoking is highly addictive, but, really, if your doctor told you to quit smoking or die, what would you do? I am going to query every smoker I know to find out if Bev is more the exception or the rule.

Now, since Bev won't quit smoking, I wish that she would at least use her oxygen a bit more often. When Jim and I stopped by to visit her last weekend, we opened the door to her room and thick smoke poured out as if there was a fire smoldering in there! Seriously. I stood in her doorway and chatted from there because it was honestly that bad - one hundred times worse than any bowling alley! Bev made it clear years ago, and she has reiterated again and again to everyone who will listen, including her doctor, that she will never, ever quit smoking no matter what happens. But it is difficult, particularly for Jim, to sit and watch Bev self-destruct. I think that he has accepted the fact, though, that if her Alzheimer's doesn't kill her soon, her lack of oxygen will.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Helmet Shopping

I'm sure most of you have heard the news of actress Natasha Richardson's skiing accident. She fell down during a ski lesson on a beginner slope in Quebec, and two days later she was dead. Being a skier, a lot of the story did not make sense to me until the details began emerging recently. Initially, the news reports said that Natasha took a slight spill on the flat part of a bunny hill, but got up and appeared fine. Her ski instructor, however, immediately called the ski patrol over to have her examined. While out skiing, I see people fall constantly, yet I have never seen the ski patrol summoned to check on anyone. I figured that Natasha must have hit her head fairly hard for her instructor to be so concerned. As it turns out - and I only learned this today - she actually lost consciousness for a brief time. That would definitely be troubling, and now it makes sense that everyone, except Natasha apparently, was so worried. The head of the trauma team at Montreal's largest hospital also said today that it was most likely Quebec's lack of a survival helicopter that led to the delay in treatment that turned out to be fatal in this case. Ugh.

There is a lot of debate swirling around about the use of helmets while skiing. Adam and Jacob wear them, but Jim and I never have. We have noticed more and more helmets on skiers and boarders this past year, though, especially out west. Studies have shown that helmet-wearers are not necessarily immune to head injuries, but below certain speeds, helmets are certainly beneficial. Regardless of any statistics, I plan to buy myself a helmet for skiing, and I'm sure that Jim will want one, too. I bet they are on sale now, since it is the end of the ski season, so hopefully we can find some good deals.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Squirrel Banquet

The other day, Jim was in the front yard preparing to go for a run. He excitedly came back into the house asking for the camera. Apparently, there was a squirrel on our roof, and while that in itself is not very thrilling, Jim said that it was eating an ear of corn. Jacob and I scurried outside to have a look, and we had to agree that it was a weird sight. The squirrel kept munching on the cob for a long time until it eventually slipped out of the critter's little paws and rolled into our backyard. I was never curious enough to go see if the corn was still out there, or if the squirrel had perhaps retrieved it and carried it away. Now where in the world did this ear of corn come from anyway? March is not exactly harvest season in Michigan. I can't even find corn on the cob at the grocery store this time of year.

Dinner.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Anniversary

Today Jim and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary. Well, we didn't really celebrate in any way, shape, or form, but this was the big day nevertheless. No one, outside of Adam and Jacob, remembered that it was our anniversary, and that is fine with me. In fact, we had been awake for about a half hour this morning when Jim suddenly blurted out, "Oh, hey, happy anniversary." I was only slightly embarrassed that I had forgotten to say it first! We are quite the romantics!

At 8:30 a.m., we drove to U of M because Adam was receiving an award at the "Student Leaders and Honors Brunch." (And what don't the folks in Ann Arbor understand about the word brunch? A combo breakfast-lunch should not be held at 9 a.m. That is breakfast time. Brunch should be served at 10:30 a.m. at the very earliest.) Anyway, Adam won the 2009 "Distinguished Achievement Award" in the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences department. Besides some polite applause, lots of congratulatory handshakes, and much praise from those at the brunch, he did receive a monetary stipend as well. Hooray - his 4.0 is beginning to pay off.

Last night, Jim and I did something that we have not done in a very long time. We took some free movie passes that we had and went out to see a show. I think the last time the two of us have sat in a theater together was at least three or four years ago. I have seen movies with Nancy, and Jim has taken Jacob to a few shows recently, but somehow we never manage to get out together. We went to see Slumdog Millionaire and I loved it! Jim wasn't quite as crazy about it as I was, but he did describe it as "ok." Next time I'll let him pick the show. I wonder what flicks will be out in 2013.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Oink

I went to the doctor this afternoon for my annual blood pressure/cholesterol check-up. My blood pressure was pretty good considering it is always a smidge higher in the presence of medical professionals than it is at home. My cholesterol level was awesome - hooray for simvastatin, a true wonder drug! All of my other bloodwork fell within acceptable ranges as well.

Then the nurse weighed me.

I was certain that something must have been wrong with their fancy, new digital scale. Seriously. My weight had gone up 10 pounds since my appointment last year. TEN POUNDS! Hideous for someone who has actually been exercising and eating less than usual. Ugh! So now I have to exercise even more and eat even less. Double ugh! My WWND diet has obviously not worked very well lately, so I think I will have to revamp it and go from there.

Guess I won't be purchasing that celebratory Pi Day pie on Saturday after all.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Pi Day

This upcoming Saturday is Pi Day. Get it - 3.14? There is actually a Pi Day website (http://www.piday.org) where they have an official countdown clock, Pi Day ecards, Pi ties, shirts, buttons, and more. I had no idea that there were so many math nerds, er, enthusiasts, in the world. Personally, I find this all a bit strange, but, then, some of the things I enjoy may seem odd to others. Anyway, I don't see Pi Day as ever taking off and becoming a really popular holiday or anything. But, people evidently do celebrate it, and when I mentioned it to Adam, he knew all about Pi Day. All I know is that talking about Pi so much is making me hungry. I wish I had a nice chocolate cream right about now! Maybe I will buy a pie on Saturday to mark the occasion.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Utah Pictures

Here are some photos from our trip to Utah. We were lucky enough to get our condo at the ski resort for a very reasonable "last minute" price. It was just steps to the gondola, which enabled us to come and go as we pleased. It was very convenient to have dry clothes, extra gloves, and food & drink close by while skiing. It was also handy not having to lug all of our equipment too far while tromping around in our clunky ski boots. Needless to say, we loved our condo!

Jacob standing on our balcony.

The gondola loading area as seen from our condo.

These are definitely Rocky Mountains!

We stopped by the Great Salt Lake. It was stinky.

A bobsled at the Olympic Park.

There were lots of runs with cliff-like drop-offs on the side.

Other trails ambled nicely through the trees.

Jacob demonstrated the roominess of his first class seat on our flight home.
Jim made that black smudge on the bulkhead wall, Jake later cleaned it off.