Rest and Recovery

When I got back to work Tuesday, I found that they had installed new phones for everyone.  I LOVE them.  They have cameras attached so when we call someone who has the same phone (everyone in our department and some in other departments too), we are doing facetime.  It is hilarious.  Quite a few people don't like them and you can close the camera, but I have told those calling me that if they want the answer to their question, they have to turn them on.  Surprisingly, they've all done it and it is hilarious!  I've had people come up to me since saying they've heard I make everyone use the cameras.  We've gotten good laughs about it.

I got in a little racquetball on Wednesday, but then Thursday had to spend my evening in traffic school.  They took the scared straight approach and showed a bunch of videos from Europe because those have different ratings and can be more graphic than what is acceptable in the states.  Let's just say anyone in the same car as me now must have their seatbelt on because I refuse to be made a vegetable for the rest of my life thanks to the flying body in the car smacking into me!  I went to the De Roest's afterward and played games with them.  Leslie's family was there too for awhile.

Friday, I had to drive the van pool again.  I mentioned to them that I thought it was ironic that the person who had spent the evening before in traffic school had to be the driver, but they just said that meant I should be the best driver that day.  Amy and I played racquetball and then watched more VM.

She came over again on Saturday and as my new awesome blue wax had arrived in the mail from Amazon, we waxed our nostrils.  Best stuff ever!  It works so well and she even allowed me to do hers.  We ran all over town after that:  I cashed checks and then took the money to the De Roests, we went to the full-service car wash, had a late lunch at Los Hermanos in Provo, went to the BYU creamery for ranch dressing for her siblings, etc.  Then more VM of course.  We're trying to finish this last season so we can finally watch the movie!

Grandma tried lining me up with an 18 yr old boy in our ward at Church today.  He'd offered to help her to the car and she thought he was so tall and good-looking that he had to be older.  She didn't believe me...loudly...when I told her he was too young.  I went with the De Roests up the canyon for dinner.  I hadn't realized it was Jason's last evening so I'm glad I went!  We barbequed and played games again.

Jake Rhett De Roest

Last Tuesday after Sarah's wedding, reception, and my speeding ticket, I just climbed in to bed exhausted mentally and physically.  Then I got this text:

                    "Oh T.  You are about his [Marcel's] best friend.  Jake just died.

                    He hung himself.  I am sorry to have to tell you.  But go help them."

Needless to say I jumped back out of bed and got dressed, grabbed Lori and headed to De Roest's new home in Cedar Hills.  We had to go around the stretcher on the front walkway to get in to the home and the police were still all there.  Edna had been suffering from kidney stones for two days and was still in pain.  Thankfully Joseph was there with Lisa along with Chance and Mike Hatch.  We sat with them for awhile while the police were interviewing and then I got up and did dishes, and then went upstairs to be with Edna.  We folded laundry in the guest room while they moved by us to remove Jake's body.  Linda Judd came as the police were finishing up and I got all the information from them for Edna because she wasn't processing it too well.  I wrote it all down and put it on their fridge so they'd have it.  Their new bishop (who was only called a month ago) stopped by.  He ended up giving Edna and Marcel a blessing.  I had just been shaking when we first arrived while sitting there from the shock, but it went away as I started moving around trying to help.

I made the mistake of going in to work the next morning after just a few hours of sleep.  I cried.  Multiple times.  In front of different co-workers.  Amy Morby called me and asked where I was because Edna thought I was going to be by to go to the mortuary with them.  I had made arrangements for Linda to be the one to go for that, but after Amy said again that Edna thought I'd be there, I said I was on my way.  After crying one more time in front of my boss as I asked to leave, I headed straight there.  I helped Edna and Amy go through pictures for a video for Jake's funeral, looked for his social security card, cleaned his room and fixed the shelves in his closet that had broken (difficult moment!), picked up lunch, went with De Roests and Linda to the mortuary and planned the services, wrote Jake's obituary, picked out his casket, etc.  I also got information for Marcel and Edna on life insurance, called back and forth with the old ward's bishop and Relief Society president and the new ward's bishop and Relief Society president, arranged the luncheon for after the funeral, called and scheduled the stake center, got ahold of President Woahn to see if he could conduct the graveside service, and ran interference for the De Roests with all the family members contacting them.  Dean Cook drove up that afternoon and stayed until the evening.  President Woahn stopped by and ended up giving Marcel another blessing.  That really seemed to be the turning point between feelings of despair changing to hope.  He talked about the family members that were there to greet Jake on the other side, spoke about grief being natural but that guilt isn't and went into reasons on why Marcel and Edna shouldn't feel guilty.  He also blessed their home and cast out any evil spirits or feelings that may have entered there.  He said many other things and it was probably one of the most beautiful prayers I've ever heard.  After he left, we sat and reminisced with Dean and shared memories of his son Thomas and Jake.  Nola Call arrived and others came and went.  We actually were able to laugh as much as we were crying and I even plucked Edna and Marcel's eyebrows while we were all sitting there.  Lori brought by dinner and I stayed as late as I could before having to go home and catch up on sleep.  I definitely had a no-sleep and crying headache by the time I went to bed!  I tried describing the day to a coworker later and all I could say was that it was the best worst day.  So hard, but good at the same time thanks to the blessing.  Ann said later in the week that you could feel the spirit in the home and I know it was thanks to what President Woahn said.

I went in to work on Thursday and was able to keep it together this time and not cry in front of so many people.  Amy and I were working on quite a few of the funeral plans still, getting pall bearers, planning the life sketch, musical number, video, and prayers.  I still had calls going back and forth with the two different wards arranging the luncheon.  Jason had arrived at about 1:30 that morning so he was there to help with some of the different things going on.  I went to the De Roests after work again to help Amy with the life sketch.  She had written a huge part of it earlier that morning and did a really good job with it.  Merlyn and Jeannine came over bringing almost an entire kitchen of food, and Mady was able to come over too.  We played some games with her to finish up the day.

Friday was another work day, followed up with going to De Roests again.  I had made more calls all day and it was actually pretty restful going there.  We played games again into the wee hours (1 a.m.! Thanks to Marcel taking a three hour nap until about 8 p.m.  He finally caught up on some of the sleep he missed.)  Saturday was the Strawberry Days parade.  I got up just to see the start of it since Karen's husband Jeff Allred was one of the grand marshals and their family was in the parade.  Amy Felix came by and I left with her to go to a late lunch and to watch some VM.  We also went and picked up a huge plant basket for the funeral.  Last Tuesday was a bad day for Amy too.  Her bank was robbed by three men armed with a gun, tasers, and pepper spray.  They had everyone get down on the floor but her and made her go with them to the tills until they found out she couldn't help them.  Fortunately a teller spoke up and they made her open the till instead of Amy.  Her work made her speak with a therapist after for the trauma.  I headed to the De Roests again that evening.  Jenica was able to fly into town and Marcel picked her up from the airport.  Jason was at the rodeo with Joseph's kids, Amy, and Shaylee.  Those of us there finished plans again and then played more games. It helped to keep things lighter for Marcel and Edna I think.

Sunday there were more visitors at the De Roests.  Murray and Kathy Murdock came, Bishop and Sister Cook, Dana and Deborah, etc.  One of the visitors who came by offered to pay to upgrade Jake's casket.  When I saw them again the next day at the mortuary I lost it and really started crying when I hugged the wife, knowing what they'd done.  It was the casket we'd looked at earlier but couldn't afford so we'd gone with a cheaper model.  It was really nice of them and unexpected.  I painted Edna and Amy's toe nails that evening so they'd look nice and feel good for the funeral.

Monday all the plans came together.  I stopped by the police station to pay my ticket and register for traffic school then headed to the mortuary.  We were able to get the video playing and arranged the flowers and plants that were arriving and put the pictures out.  I had made the programs for Jake and had them to pass out at the grave.  Lots of family and friends came by.  Even some of Marcel's side.  Everyone didn't really leave after either so that when we gathered for the family prayer, they all just crowded closer and joined in before we headed over to the cemetery.  Jenny brought her violin and played prelude music while everyone gathered at the cemetery.  Amy did great on the life sketch and when they opened it up for remembrances, I went up and read the memories Jodie had sent me of Jake.  The luncheon went well too.  Lots of people had given me cards for the De Roests or money so after the luncheon I went to the bank then home to change and put everything together.  Jason called and wondered where I was (I think they got used to me being by each day), so I headed up there and they opened all the cards they were given and we played a couple of games.  It ended up being another best worst day.

Sarah's Surprise

Sarah was planning to be married on June 17 regardless of if her sealing cancellation and Micah's Autry's clearance went through.  By Mondy, the 16th, they had pretty much given up and had decided to be married civilly at the Springville Art Museum where the reception was to be held.  I hadn't given up yet though so after numerous calls back and forth, we finally found out about noon on Monday that the cancellation and clearance had been approved!  There was quite a bit of a scramble then because all the temples are closed on Monday so she couldn't schedule the sealing.  I'm friends with the recorder and called him at home and I scheduled the sealing.  We got the OFP to fax the letter directly to the temple, and I arranged for the recorder to issue Micah's LOR after talking to his bishop.  Deborah and Sarah scrambled to make picnic lunches for those who would be there Tuesday and a two hour drive later, we were there and got to see Sarah and Micah be sealed!  It really was more hectic than it sounds...poor Sarah!  But it was really nice and she looked beautiful in her wedding dress.

The rain held off until the drive home, so it was coming down in sheets by the time we all headed to the reception in Springville that evening.  While waiting for the people I knew to arrive at the reception, I looked through the art exhibits and found this painting which really spoke to me.  Guess you have to know me to understand the significance of the mask.

He loved the windows between rooms.

This kid was handing out kisses like crazy!

It ended up being a great day for Sarah.  Her family kept hugging and kissing me saying thanks for the help and her dad handed me a bouquet of roses after the reception.  If only that feeling had carried on instead of ending at the speeding ticket on the way home...

Father's Day Weekend

I have this unfortunate habit of waking up early in the mornings still when I don't have to thanks to programing from my regular schedule.  Saturday was no exception, but I managed to fall back asleep after awhile.  That made it really difficult to get up and ready to meet Melissa for racquetball, but I did.  Immediately after I took out the garbages, delivered mail across the street that had come to my box, weeded for two and a half hours, visited grandma, went to a temple session, cleaned, and baked cookies.  I need another Saturday.

Grandma didn't make it up for Church today, so I sat with Dana's family.  When the Primary kids went up to sing for Father's Day, Jeffrey and Bailey winked at me.  It was pretty cute.  Lori made us dinner and grandma made it to that.  We got to enjoy more of the awesome Cheesecake Factory carrot cake cheesecake that Lori had made and talk with dad to wish him a happy Father's Day.

Book Club

Last night we had another of our book clubs.  We met at Kneader's in Lindon and talked (briefly) about the book, and extensively on everything else.  Lori and Shauna had to head out, but Karen, Deborah, and I stayed to keep talking...and one thing led to another...until I didn't get home until 9 p.m.  We started at 5:45 p.m.  Can't say I am not plugged in now to everything that's going on!

I always have such high hopes about getting to bed early.  I was ready though and in bed by 9:30!  That still doesn't give me eight hours of sleep before I have to get up, but it would be a huge help to my system.  Nobody else seems to go to bed at that time though.  Six texts from three different people and a phone call later, I ended up getting out of bed, dressed again, and to my door because someone was bringing over treats for me.  Can't complain about this toffee, but asleep at 10:30 p.m. with a 5:00 a.m. wakeup time is not enough!

Blood pressure this morning?  A whopping 89/55.  Surprisingly, and not counting any intestinal issues, I feel fine.  I think it's so low from exercising so much and weight loss.  Who knew?!!

Tan Lines

I drove to work on Monday so I could go swimming after at Brittany's again.  I. Love. That. Pool!  It is the perfect length to do laps - long enough to push you, short enough that the pause to take a breath, turn, and go back the other way is enough of a rest that one can keep swimming nonstop the whole time.  Since we're swimming while the sun is out, I'm starting to brown nicely all over and starting to get tan lines.  We had dinner afterward and I had a long chat with Brittany's dad, Craig.  He would be great at the Rome Italy Temple!  They had me spend the night so I wouldn't have to drive home late only to turn around and come back the next morning for work.  It was lovely to be able to wake up in the morning after the time I usually leave for the commute!

I've been tired playing racquetball last night (Melissa) and tonight (Amy).  I'm guessing it's having to do with me limiting my calories again so I don't have as much energy.  I still pushed myself playing for some wins - such great exercise!  And this allowed me to enjoy Taco Amigo's season of fresh strawberry shakes with Amy afterward.  We needed a little something to top off VM!

One of my Samoan friends from work has taken the week off for a staycation.  She wanted me to meet her dog Sole, who she talks about frequently, so I went with her sister (who also works at the Church) over to City Creek for a bit of a picnic lunch.  That mammoth dog really does have the personality of a cat!  He was pretty funny.  Lazying out in the sun made me SO tired though.  I considered a nap that afternoon in the bathroom antechamber but pushed through....

 

Nancy is the receptionist at work and is such a fun personality and character. We were twinners.

I talked her in to an infamous "neckie" that we could send to Sarah Mayfield.
Sarah's response? "You are my favorite people ever!"

 

My rose battle wounds...but don't they look nice in full bloom?

Photo from Sarah's engagement party.

Skydiving Extravaganza!

Melissa Cook (a GA secretary in the Temple Department) has a birthday this week and wanted to celebrate by going skydiving.  Sounded like a good excuse for me to celebrate with her!  I met her and her husband, AJ, at the airport in Ogden to go.  I kept waiting to be scared, but the experience felt a little surreal and I never actually got nervous.  No sailor words even popped out of my mouth unexpectedly when making the jump from the plane.  =D

I took a non-drowsy Dramamine before going and on the plane ride up, was able to look out the windows on both sides of the small plane and not get sick.  I finally asked if that was how other people felt when traveling - actually being able to enjoy the experience.  We flew up over the mountain range and saw Pineview Reservoir and Snowbasin and then circled back out over Ogden.  George, my instructor and tandem jumper, had already belted us together and given me instructions so he scooted us down the bench seat we were straddling to the open door.  He held on to the bar overhead while I crouched in front of him with my toes hanging over the sill and he counted one, two, go (moving us forward on one, back on two, then out on go).  I'd agreed to doing a backflip out of the plane so on go I tucked my head back to the curve of George's neck and shoulder and arched my back and he flipped us out backward so we could see the belly of the plane before coming around and facing the ground.  George tapped my shoulders meaning I could relax from the arch and we went for the free fall.  That was the best part and I had to keep swallowing to pop my ears because of the rapid altitude change.  The fall is only about 40 seconds until we are at 5,000 ft of elevation and then he pulled the parachute.  All the belts on me cinched up tight which was a little uncomfortable, but he released the bottom belts so I dropped a little lower from him and we glided down.  Doing turns with the canopy up had me feeling I could get motion sick if we kept it up so when he asked if I wanted to do some tight spirals I said no.  He had me take over the canopy and I got to direct us and that made the momentary sickness go away since I knew which directions I was turning us.  He took over for the landing and I didn't pull my legs up far enough so we landed awkwardly, but it didn't hurt and George landed on his feet.  Melissa came down after us so I got to see her come in for a smooth landing.  I would have turned around and gone directly back up again!  Fun!  In fact, it felt a little like a ride at Disneyland, so maybe that played in to the not scary feeling.

Amy came over Saturday and Sunday so we could finish up season two of Veronica Mars.  We're getting so close to being able to watch the cult movie!  She made homemade English toffee which tasted authentic and delicious.  I may need to get that recipe.

Success!

- Beat Melissa two out of three racquetball games on Wednesday?  Check

- Secured one of my favorite GAs to speak at a stake auxiliary meeting in October?  Check

- Get to see Bob Dunford, SL Tpl recorder and survive his practical joke about the new SL Tpl president?  Check

- Beat Amy Felix in all four games of racquetball on Friday?  Check

Sounds like success to me!

Killing Me Off

Melissa and I decided that we did so well in our racquetball games on Monday (she hadn't eaten a quart of ice cream first so she had energy while we played this time) that we should treat ourselves to a movie afterward.  We went and saw Maleficent, and it was surprisingly good.  I didn't expect much from Angelina Jolie, but enjoyed it despite her.

We met for our Primary presidency meeting briefly this evening.  Kathleen Anderson wasn't there because her daughter, Emily, is in the hospital with spreading paralysis which they believe is Guillain-Barre syndrome and for which they've started to treat her.  After, I decided to tackle the yard work again and ended up with two overflowing wheelbarrows of weeds and rose bush trimmings.  It was another two hours worth and I think if I do another two hours tonight, I could be caught up and under control.  Seriously, this weeding is killing me off!  My arms look like I got in a fight with a possessed cat and the devil cat won.  Good news though is that when I put my physical activity in to my iPhone app that I use to track calories and exercise for the day, two hours of weeding burns more calories than an hour of casual racquetball!  Though, I don't think my games against Melissa can be counted as casual anymore...they're more at the competitive level if you ask me.  Not based on skill of course, but rather our hustle and volleys around the court.  =D

Weekend? What Weekend?!!

Friday I drove so I could head to the Avenues after work.  The pool is open again at Brittany's home association!  After 40 minutes of laps and this season's first episode of SYTYCD, we joined her mom's "girls party" that was being thrown in the East Wing of the house.  We had Cafe Rio and chatted.  Although I was invited for the sleepover, I headed out about 10 p.m. when the games were starting.

I made it casual Friday at work...after knowing the head bosses wouldn't be there...

Saturday was Beau's baptism in Lehi.  It took two hours because of the way their stake runs the baptisms, but the luncheon at Sarah's mom's house afterwards was really nice.  Good food, relaxing backyard location, we found out Deborah is 6 1/2 weeks pregnant, and got to meet Sarah's fiance, Micah.  Jon and Jenica with their group were even invited over.

Christian and Ari held hands during the baptism. So cute!

We had a good time on the swing.

That night we all got together again at Deborah's house for Sarah and Micah's engagement party.  I invited Edna and we went over to it together.  I tried to go out of my comfort zone and introduce myself and talk to all the different groups of people that were there and took my time doing it (three hours in fact).  Made it so I thought the party went well, but you'd have to talk to everyone else who went to get their take on it too.  Micah's sister works for a non-profit organization helping leper colonies in India.  They do volunteer trips there so I'll have to research it a little more to see if that is something I'm interested in doing...