Hard to leave

I am not feeling very good today.  It started out okay.  I even had the pleasure of taking a friend out to lunch and a movie but as the day has progressed I have feeling kind of yucky.  My mouth is still hurting.  Is this normal??  It hurts to chew on my tooth so badly.  My head and even my back hurts. 

Okay I will stop being a baby and complain about my aches and pains.

I am getting really excited to go to Utah for my family outing.  Only one week away. When we return there will be only 2 weeks until we are off to Utah to live.  I still am having a hard time dealing with my emotions about it.  When we left Albuquerque I didn't really feel a strong sadness.  I did have one friend from Albuq. who I grew extremely close to and still miss and stay in touch with but I certainly didn't feel like I was leaving home when we moved from NM.  It is so different here in Rochester.  I LOVE it here and I LOVE the people I have grown close to and those that I have served with and those I have served.

I think this is going to be a very difficult move for me.  I am sure those reading this blog are going to get tired of me talking about this.  But it helps me to write my feelings down.

I am grateful for my friendships I have made along my journey.

Catching UP

It has been a while since I wrote in my blog.  Between girls camp and just getting through this weekend I haven't had a computer available or the time to sit down and write down some thoughts.

I have a couple of things that may be interesting/complain about today.

1.  I had the second half of my root canal done today.  It went fine.  The dentist (specialist) was very kind and gentle and I actually liked him ALOT.  My problem with the whole thing is this....I will be selling Elle in order to pay for the work done on this ONE tooth!  I have to pay $1200 to my original dentist (the one who opened up the tooth, worked on it, realized it was beyond his capabilities, closed it up, and then told me to go to a specialist)  I have to pay $1300 to my dentist today for the same tooth!  And now I have to return to the original dentist and pay another $1200 for him to put a crown on it!! 

Oh my gosh I think if anyone wants to make a million dollars that they should consider going into dentistry!!  It is costing me $3700 for one painful tooth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2.  When I got home I realized that I was starving and so decided to eat some left over soft shell taco.  My mouth was hurting, still numb and I wasn't feeling the best but I definitely was hungry.  I quickly put my cheese and meat on the shell warmed it up topped it off with some avocado and rolled it up.  As I was eating it I thought it smelled very funny and by the time I had about 3 bits left I decided to throw it away because I just didn't think it smelt right.  I went into the kitchen and looked at the pepper jack cheese.  (If you use pepper jack cheese you know it has all kinds of colors in it)  As I lifted it up to smell it I felt sick the smell was so bad.  As I looked closely I saw that it was all moldy with green ugly mold!!!!!!  Oh YUCK, I about threw up then and there.  I started crying to Elle and she came and gave me a big hug and told me I would be alright.  "Alright"....she didn't just eat the gross moldy cheese!  It took me a while to get over the sick feeling I had all afternoon (I know it was all in my head, but still I was sick!!)

3.  Girl's camp was a really great experience!  Elle was so excellent all week long.  I was so proud of her and her ability to go up to any girl in camp who looked like they needed a friend and just talk to her and make her feel like she was important!  She was happy and I just loved spending time with her and watching her as I see a huge transformation in her.  She even bore her testimony at the end of the week and it was so great as a mom to hear her testify that she knows her Savior loves her :)

4.  I have started the moving process!!!!  I called the movers today and they are scheduled to come pack up the house on July 25th and 26th.  They will be loading the truck on the 27th (WOW, I can't believe it)

I had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday and it was so sad to me to know that it may be my last time in Rochester feeding the sweet, sweet missionaries who serve in our ward.  I have a very close relationship with them and go out to teach with them about once a week.  I am going to miss that so much.  I love sharing my testimony and LOVE missionaries! 

I am grateful for modern dentistry procedures (can you imagine living in the early 1900's or earlier??? Now that would be painful!)

Girls Camp here I come!

I wanted to take a minute to write on my blog before I got to tired.  It is getting late.  I have had a million little RS things to do today because I have been out of town and today just happens to be one of those busy RS days.  I am leaving in the morning for girls camp, I will be gone for the whole week. 

I said yes to this assignment 5 months ago before I knew that I would be getting ready to move.  I now wish I knew how to say no.  I have not packed a single item and Elle and I will be leaving tomorrow.  I still have to find sleeping bags, bug spray (lots of bug spray), and other stuff to numerable to list here. 

This will be the 5th straight year that I have been asked to go to girls camp.  Each year they do it a little different.  I have gone from camping in tents in the high rocky mountains in NM with the fear of bears getting you in the middle of the night and waking to 35 degrees morning weather to camping in tents with torrential rain storms with the threat of tornadoes hitting the the middle of the night and having to usher 20 girls into a stinky bathroom shelter to wait out the storm.  Also the terrain is much different here in MN as compared to NM.  I have had wonderful experiences with girls as well as other leaders and have grown to love the stake I am a part of because of the friendships I have made outside my ward.  This year like last year we will be staying in cabins!!  I love staying in cabins, this is much better then tents.  This will be my last camp here in MN. 

Well I am off to prepare little treats for the lucky 2nd year campers I get to spend the next week with!!  Yippee :)

I am grateful for the experience of serving the wonderful young women especially my daughter Elle!

What a Week!

We got home late last night and I was so tired.  After the dogs attacked us I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

The last week was fun filled and tiring.  I have decided that it was such a great experience going outside the USA and experiencing something totally different but the sun and heat did me in. 

Saturday:  The first day we got there around 3 in the afternoon, we just relaxed, went out to dinner, it was excellent, I ordered grouper stuffed with shrimp and lobster).

Sunday:  The second day we laid out in the sun basically without any sunscreen.  (The sunscreen I brought from home we lathered on but it was expired and of no use).   Needless to say Scott and I burned.  Scott burned a lot.  But we enjoyed going out to dinner that night as we traveled into down town Cancun and I ate a Mexican shrimp dinner that was sooooo GOOD!

Monday:  The third day we went on a tour to the Mayan Runes.  This was the best day of the whole vacation.  It was so interesting and educational.   We had the most interesting tour guide who told me that when he his son-in-law ask him permission to marry his daughter he took him out to an empty field and shot his own two dogs.  He told his soon to be son-in-law that he didn't have a problem shooting him either if he ever did anything to his daughter that displeased him!  Needless to say he told us he has the best son-in-law EVER!  Hymie was our tour guides name and he was a character!!  We sat up front next to him on the van and so he talked mine and Scott's ear off the whole 2 hours to the runes and then again the entire 2 hours home!  We were very entertained :)  That night I can't remember what we ate but I know it was very good because every meal I ate in Cancun was good.

Tuesday:  The fourth day Scott and I slept in till about noon and then just got up and hung around the condo.  We were feeling much to sore from our burns to be out in the sun.  So we had a great day lounging around on the cool deck of our condo with the best view of the ocean and all those who were cooking themselves out in the sun.  We read, slept, and just chilled all day long.  That night we ventured to the down town area again looking for a place to eat.  We were told by a guy to go to a certain restaurant and we would find great food at great prices.  This was the most disappointing of all restaurants during our whole trip.  He feed us full of crap because it was not the best and the prices were very high.  That night I ate shrimp fajitas.

Wednesday:  The fifth day we hung out on the beach but mostly around the condo again and just piddled around that day.  We went to the movie that night and then ate at a restaurant that we found by the movie theater that was good.  Again I don't remember what we ordered but it was pretty good. 

Thursday:  The sixth day we enjoyed the beach and just relaxing.  By Tuesday we figured out what happened to our sun screen and had bought some that actually worked.  Our sun burns were still tender but we were venturing out on the beach a little more.  That night we had THE MOST EXCELLENT  MEAL OF THE WHOLE WEEK.  We took the bus into town and found this little dive looking place that Kevin had looked up on line.  It was well worth the 30 minute bus trip.  I ordered a steak it came with tortilla shells, guacamole and pico (it was just like a fajita almost).  The steak was so tender and flavorful it just melted in my mouth and on top of that it was cheap!! 

Friday:  The seventh and final day.  We rented wave runners and ventured out into the open ocean.  Scott and I rode together and Valeri and Kevin were together.  Scott was not very adapt to the wave runner and was having a difficult time getting the hang of it.  Within the first 3 minutes he had dumped us right into the ocean.  Oh my gosh!!  I thought a shark was going to get me.  I hate the feeling of not having a bottom below me (being able to touch the bottom with my feet).  I climbed back on and we started all over again.  Once Scott was able to feel more confident on it we were zooming around but it took a while.  Later that day Valeri and I got deep massages outside on the balcony of the hotel (Ann yours are so much better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), it was somewhat enjoyable but like I mentioned to Ann I have had better.  Still it was nice to relax and have someone massage your sunburned back and worry about the towel blowing off for everyone around me to enjoy the frontal view of my white body.  (I am kidding)  Actually now that it is over I am not sure how I feel about my massage.  Seriously it was not the most enjoyable because I couldn't relax totally because of my sunburn and the wind was blowing all around.  That night we went out to a very nice restaurant.  I enjoyed lobster!!  It was very good.  I also ate a key lime pie that was scrumptious.  The most interesting part of the night was the crocodiles that swam around right next to the restaurant (and me) as we ate outside next to the lagoon.  I had no idea that there were crocs in the area until the waiter told us that there were thousands of them that lived on that bay side of the island.  It gave me chills just thinking about it.

Saturday:  The eighth and last day.  Really it was not a day of vacation at all because we got up early and left for our flight home at 8:00 am.  our plane ride was uneventful and we had a layover in Atlanta GA.  We got home late last night and like I mentioned earlier we just fell into bed and called it a day.

I will always remember my first time out of the country.  It was a wonderful experience with great friends and an adventure I will cherish.  I hope I have many more experiences to look forward to!

I am grateful for my girls who I missed dearly.  They called and text me tons :)  I think they missed their mom lots!

first day

It is Sunday and I have been in Cancun for 24 hours now. It is so beautiful here. I know that that are many beautiful places around this great big world but as I look out over the azure ocean I find it hard to believe that this is what I get to look at for the next 6 days.
The weather is nice. It is hot and humid but nothing that I haven't experienced in Rochester and as I lay by the waters edge and get to feel the ocean breeze it is not so bad. The only thing that is wrong with the trip is the fact that I have become sunburned on my first day soaking up the sun. I used sunscreen I am not sure what happened. I even reapplied but I guess I should reapply more then once.

Tomorrow we are going to see some Myan rune's. I am very excited for this little excursion. I am going to lather on the sunscreen and wear a big rimmed hat and not let the sun touch my pink sore skin.
I am grateful to experience the ocean and this wonderful soft sand.

Bye, Bye Rochester and Hello Cancun

I am leaving in less then 10 hours to enjoy a week of sun and relaxation.  I hope my tooth feels better and that I can just soak up the rays and beauty of the ocean.

I still have to pack so I don't have time to write much.  I am going to try to blog on my tirp.  I hope it works.

I am grateful for the cool weather today.  It was so refreshing after a week of hot, hot, hot.

friendships a blessing forever

One day to go until I leave all the worries and obligations behind and enjoy the sun and people watching galore.  I am sure some people will be doing their own people watching my way...I am white as a ghost and will stick out like a sore thumb in Cancun but that is okay maybe when I get home I will have cooked a little and have some leather skin.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day.  I have been involved with a funeral in my ward and the funeral is tomorrow.  I haven't packed anything and I know when I talked to Scott he thought he would have me available to do last minute things for the trip.  I told him I was going to be busy most of the day with the funeral he wasn't very happy.  I just don't think he even realizes how much time being rs pres. really takes up.  Most of my behind the scene stuff takes place when he is gone and I don't mention to him every little thing I do.  I think most of the time being rs pres. is like a full time job.  I have the most amazing presidency that has supported me and helped me so much but even then much of what I do comes at odd times and requires confidentiality.  It has been such a blessing to serve as rs pres.  I have made some wonderful friendships.  Friendships that I would never have had the opportunity to develop without being in this calling.  That is what I am the most grateful for.  My life will be forever enriched because of the associations I have had with wonderful women.

Today I am grateful for the beautiful weather.  It was 70 degrees and right now as I am writing it is raining and watering my grass and flowers!

I love the dentist (NOT)

I had a very traumatic day.  I got up this morning at 7 am after my pain meds had worn off for the night.  My tooth once again kept me awake and I finally took half a vicodon and it didn't really make me feel like it should have.  Just barely took the edge off.  The first thing I did after mowing my lawn at 7 am (I didn't want to face the heat of the day mowing the lawn) I called the dentist to see if he could see me.  I stopped by at 10 am and he proceeded to tell me that I must have gotten some food stuck under my temporary crown.  I then preceded to tell him no, that unless he put some food under my crown because it has been hurting since he worked on it last week that it wasn't food.  He then told me to come back at 2 pm and he would numb it a little take off the crown and then clean it out for me.  I left feeling upset and defeated.   But when I returned I told him again that it was not food he decided to take an xray and found gas bubbles in my root which meant an infection.  He decided that a root canal needed to be done.  He numbed me up good and strong.  I was shaking so badly and felt like I was having an anxiety attack then I just started crying.  I had dark glasses on that the dentist has you wear so the bright light doesn't bother you.  Good thing because I cried for about 5 minutes before I finally got a hold of my emotions and then went through the procedure.  Now this is not the end of my story.  When he finished he told me it was so bad that he wanted me to go to a specialist and have it completed by someone else.  Oh my gosh I am worn out.  I am tired of being in pain.  I am tired of the dentist not believing me.  I am tired of hating the dentist.....but on the positive side I leave for Cancun in 3 days :)

I am so grateful for numbing medicine.  What would I do if I lived in the pioneer times????

Heat and Pain = unhappy (not really I am very happy :)

I just have a little bit of complaining to do. 

It is dang hot!  My van doesn't have air conditioning and Scott took the Durango up to the cities to park in the airport long term parking lot.  I have had a lot and I mean a lot of errands to run the last couple of days and it is almost diarrhea inducing heat out there driving around in the van. 

My tooth has been causing me SO much pain.  I went to the dentist last week and had it drilled, and drilled, and drilled some more.  I am suppose to get a crown put on it on Thurs. but I am afraid that he is going to have some more work to do on it because I think it is not suppose to hurt at this point.  I HATE IT.  Going to the dentist and having work done that is.  I woke up last night at 4 am with throbbing pain.  I had to take some pain medicine and then couldn't go back to sleep for another hour until the medicine kicked in.

Okay I got that off my chest. 

I am grateful for a cool air conditioned home!

I love Mondays

Monday is one of my favorite days of the week...but this hasn't always been the case.  I use to get a lot of anxiety on Sunday nights just thinking about what Monday would bring and it would almost cause me to wig out on Sunday nights.  I am not sure why that is.  I am trying to remember if it was during a time when I perhaps worked and Mondays just weren't enjoyable to me??  Maybe it was when I ran a daycare and I knew it would be a long hard week??  Maybe when all my kids were in school and had homework and assignments due it caused me anxiety??  Maybe it was when I suffered from depression and anxiety before I sought out help and I didn't really have a reason to be anxious and was anyways....All I know is I use to dislike Mondays.

Now I feel at peace and can actually deal with any day of the week without struggling with anxiety.  I now look forward to Mondays because usually Scott is home on that day before he has to leave and travel for a few days.  I also look forward to hearing from Tanner on Mondays!  I enjoy his letters so much.  Plus my Sundays are usually super busy with my calling and Mondays seem to be a little bit slower relief society day.  (Not always though!)  Any way no matter how busy Mondays are I look forward to them without any anxiety.  And I am grateful for that!

I am grateful for a great night out with the girls eating at Culver's, they always make me laugh!! Yummy raspberry concrete :)

Sunday

I love Sundays.  I had a very busy Sunday but a very wonderful day.  The best part of the day was attending a baptism of a very good friend's best friend.  I love baptisms.  I always feel the Spirit so strongly when I attend baptisms.  What a special experience it is to welcome new members into the church as a RS president. 

I am getting so excited to go to Cancun next week.  Oh my gosh!  I think I am going to pee my pants.

I am grateful for great friends that make me laugh.  Thanks for all the good times!   

So Boring but it is ME

I am feeling a bit tired tonight.  I have had a busy day beginning with taking Scott to the doc. because he hurt his back last week while he was in CA.  He has been in some sever pain and I finally talked him into calling the dr. and letting them assess the problem and get him a prescription to deal with it.  Why is it so hard for men to admit that they need a doc?   He feels so much better now he knows it is not a serious problem and the pain will go away with some TLC and medicine.  After the doc. we went out to breakfast and then home for some Elle time.  After Scott's medicine kicked in we all went to the movie ( XMen First Class, great movie) and after a few afternoon errands a trip to Sally's, Barnes and Noble and HyVee we are finally home.  I don't know why I feel so exhausted but I am. 

I realize this is extremely boring.  Wow I have a boring life.  I don't have anything exciting to blog about.

I am grateful for the yummy cherry lime aide I drank today, it was so good :)

Where is your happy place?

I have such a love hate feelings about today.  It started out rotten.  I had to go to the dentist to have some drilling done on a tooth that has a crack in it and has been bothering me for one year now.  I have blogged before about how much I hate going to the dentist.  Well today was no different.  Emma told me I should bit his finger but I didn't.  I did get to have one of those wonderful shots into my gums that left my mouth and throat numb.  But even though I couldn't feel any pain the sounds and pressure that come from a dentist applying a drill in your mouth and grinding away at my tooth really, really, really bother me.  It causes me much anxiety and distress.  I found myself asking the dentist not to talk to me  because I needed to concentrate on going to a happy place in my mind and try to do some breathing exercises to calm down and relax.  I find it is much like going through natural child birth when I am so anxious about something that I need to laterally take my mind and thoughts to a whole other sphere to make it through the stress.  Basically I only feel this way when I go to the dentist and when I am having medical procedures done that I know will cause distress like having blood drawn (I always get poked 3 or 4 times before they can get anything out and the wiggling they do with those needles does not feel good at all).  One time when I was really ill and going in to have a procedure that required me to be completely out they couldn't find a vein to use to give me the anesthesia and so after having 3 different people try all different places to dig into a vein this one very kind man found a vein in between my toes.  That experience required me to go very, very, very far away in order to be calm and collect.  So that was my opinion for today.

I have a few happy places.
1. the beach, nice a quiet no people around, weather is beautiful sunny 80 degrees and all you can hear is the sound of the crashing waves.  That s pure peace to me.
2. I love sitting on a rocking chair and rocking my babies.  One of the few happy places that I love
3. Laying in bed with Scott as he rubs my back and then my legs and even down to my feet

Now my apple for today is....Emma officially was accepted into the ILP program and she will be leaving for China at the end of Aug.  She will be there for 4 months teaching young kids English.  She is so dang excited and I think has a great amount of confidence in her ability in doing this on her own.  I am so proud of her and the choice to live somewhere else in the world while sharing her talents and blessing other peoples lives.  I think this will be a great blessing for her. 

Scott got home from Cal. today.  Most weeks he takes care of the hotels in Cal. but very soon he will be heading out to Hawaii.  I can't wait to get to Utah and get settled into our life and start taking trips with Scott :) 

So as you can see my day started out on the rocky side but has ended on the beautiful side with family, love, adventures, and snuggles!  The best :)

I am grateful for my little sleeping pill friend named ambeian.  He is going to help me sleep with out a worry at all tonight.  It helps calm a busy mind and allows me to just sleep nicely.

10 things....

I have been thinking about what I can write about today (I know that it seems as though I wrote this on Friday but actually it is 1:20 am on the early morning hours of Friday so I am still counting this as my Thursday blog.  I was busy with Elle today doing fun errands.  Buying makeup and getting our hair done and going to Wal Mart and stuff like that.  She told me she is not looking forward to going to girls camp and I asked her why not and she told me because there are no boys there.  I then got to help a friend out with her kids while she went to an appointment and then was busy with a presidency meeting then off to my friends house for a movie night!  I haven't had time to write anything at all today until now.

But I am not sure what to write about...I think I will do a grateful post and write 10 things that I am truly thankful for.

1.  My husband.  I miss him so much and wish I could kiss him right now.
2. My kids.  They are so challenging and keep me on my toes.  I love to be a mom and have been blessed with 3 wonderful kids to raise to adulthood :)
3. My health.  I know what it feels like to not have good health from past experiences and I see others around me in my calling struggle with health issues and I am so grateful that I have an able body and mind!
4. My freedom.  I really am grateful to be a woman living in the US during this time period.
5. My friends.  They lift me when I am feeling down and laugh with me when life is funny. 
6. My computer.  I love the technology that keeps me in touch with friends and family and Tanner!  What a blessing it is to be so connected with people far away.
7. Beauty.  I know it is in the eye of the beholder but a few things I find beautiful are:  sunsets, large old trees, blue skies, first snow fall, babies, and my girls.
8.  I am grateful for really good food.  I love food and some of my favorites are:  whip cream (homemade is the best) lobster and crab, homemade bread, concrete from Culver's, and chocolate covered strawberries.
9.  Babies.  I love babies and am grateful for the way they make me feel, which is happy.
10.  And finally I am grateful for my testimony in God the Eternal Father and Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.  My testimony leads to faith, faith leads to action, and action leads to joy. 

weird

When I tell people I am moving to Grantsville I can't believe I am even saying that word.  I am amazed each time I think about it.  I guess one thing this move has taught me is never say never.  If you asked me one year ago I would have laughed in your face if you suggested that I consider moving to Utah let alone Grantsville.

Definitely weird!

I had a great day with the missionaries today.  We went and taught a lady named Allison.  She asked me at the beginning of our visit to share my testimony.  It surprised me but I was more then happy to do it.  I love sharing my testimony.  I will miss going out with the missionaries when we move to Utah.  It just doesn't happen much in Grantsville.  In Rochester each of the 5 wards has an assigned set of missionaries just for that ward and their boundaries to cover 100,000 people.  In Granstville there are 2 stakes with 14 wards with a population of 8 thousand people or so.  I think my mom told me that there is one set of missionaries for each stake.  I will definitely miss being around missionaries and teaching with them.  It helps me to feel like I have a missionary connection with Tanner when I spend time with the missionaries.  I love to talk to them hear about their challenges, how they are feeling about their missions, missing their families and just the life of a missionary. 

I am grateful for the most beautiful day.  The weather was absolutely perfect :)

Last Day Of May!

Just a quickie post tonight.

I haven't heard from Tanner this week.  Because it was Memorial Day yesterday he was unable to go to a library and sent a letter.  It is hard when I have a week when I don't get to hear from Tanner. 

I am missing Scott right now.  Both the men in my life are gone and the girls are driving me crazy.  They are so loud.  they both try to talk over each other and it drives me batty sometimes.  I just need quiet and it is a hard commodity to come by in the Greer household sometimes.  The girls just get so overly excited. 

I am grateful for my swing i got for Mothers Day.  I got to go lay on it and swing while I listened to the trees  blowing in the wind.