Stressed

Couple days ago, I went to my oncologist to check out a rapid-growing lump I found on my upper left leg. He didn't like the looks of the tumor and wanted to send it in to determine whether or not my cancer had returned. He wanted to see me on Wednesday of that same week since he thought he'd have the lab work back by that time. Trouble was, that I was scheduled to have my deposition with the attorney's from First American Title, the Fortune 300 world-wide company that is suing me. I thought about postponing my deposition, but I realized that if the biopsy came back positive, then, I'd have to deal with cancer treatments AND a deposition and I could just proceed and get it over with. I was really stressed about the whole situation and my first emotion was; "how am I going to handle all this?". Then my attitude progressed to "okay, I just need to understand and accept that Wednesday is just going to suck, but there is only 24 hours in the day and one way or another the day will end". Then, I woke up Tuesday morning with a new outlook; "Why couldn't the day be fantastic? I can plan to knock my deposition out of the park and say everything I needed to say (because after all, I'm NOT guilty of the things they accuse me of) and then go to Dr. Jolles and get wonderful news that the tumor is benign." So that's what I went with. My attorney had done a bit of prep with me to prepare for the deposition and frankly, she and my boss were quite worried about me. I had had a couple of breakdowns in their office and felt really bad about how an innocent little thing like cleaning out my hard drive had resulted in a bunch of legal bills for my new company etc. First American spent a lot of time and money treating me like a number when I worked there and now they are spending a lot of time and money making me feel like I did something wrong. Anyway, the day of the deposition came, I went with my attorney over to the other counsel office and began the video taped question and answer session. At the first break, my attorney and Mike went with me into a conference room that we had used all week to compose ourselves and regroup to prepare for more questions. When we walked in, my attorney made the comment; "it's like she had a brain transplant". I raised my eyebrows and she said; "you're doing fantastic, don't get cocky, but everything I want you to say, you are saying. Good job". So, after 8 grueling hours of the question and answer session, I finished up and got in the car to head to Dr. Jolles' office. When I got there, they put me in a room, the doctor came in and said the results came back and everything is benign. Yay! It ended up being a great day! I'm grateful for the feeling I had and the blessing I received from my husband that helped me remain calm and do what needed to be done. I did notice during a break of the deposition, that I had a fantastic view, so I snapped a pic. Nice to have such a beautiful reminder of what's really important while enduring this most stressful of days.

Blood Moon

What is a blood moon? "The term is scoffed at by astronomers, but it has come to mean the combination of a super moon – when the moon’s orbit is closest to the Earth and appears up to 8% bigger – and a full lunar eclipse, when the Earth’s shadow obscures the moon. On Sunday night it resulted in spectacular views of a coppery disc in the sky. “Blood moon” is not a scientific term. It began to be used in connection with Biblical prophesies, but has come to be used to describe the reddish hue seen on a super moon during a lunar eclipse. To astronomers, the event was a “super moon, harvest moon, tetrad, lunar eclipse." We got a couple of good pictures, but I included one from the interest too since my camera tripod was broken and I had a hard time getting a picture without it being blurry. Pretty cool!

The Living Planet Aquarium

Trace's love for all things sea life has never ceased to diminish, so when we had a chance to purchase a season pass for our local aquarium at a discounted price, we jumped on it. Since then, Trace and Kevin have gone several times while I'm at work, we've gone as a family, we just try to get there about once a month and every time Trace loves it!

Got to see the otters on this sunny day!

"Dad! Look!"

They have a play area that cost extra if you don't have a membership, so we had never been there before.
It was a lot of fun for Trace, he loved it!

The poison dart frogs were finally out on exhibit. They've been preparing their case during our last few visits, it's finally done now and has lots of cool looking frogs!

Trace telling other kids about the electric eel.

Office Lunch

One of the nice things we get to do at our new company is have an office lunch paid by the company if we meet our prior months goals. I really like the girls I work with now and hope we'll be a successful team in the coming years.

Left to Right: Claire Drew, Diane Mouser, Liz Cole, Mcinsy Brown and Megan Tolman-Hansen

Tamara and Adam's Wedding Day

After several different locations and lots of different dates, Tamara and Adam finally decided on the date of their big day. They started off wanting to be married in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, then they moved farther South to Logan, Utah then switched to Park City and finally settled on a location that I recommended in downtown Salt Lake City. They checked the dates available and ended up going with Saturday, September 5th, on Labor Day weekend. It worked out well since a huge number of Adam's family live out of town and they were able to get away from work and other obligations and make it a truly special time for all. They chose to be married in the "Salt Lake Hardware Building" and Tamara asked me to be her maid of honor. I was surprised that she chose me, I was honored to have the opportunity but surprised she didn't choose one of her friends. We spent the weeks leading up to the big day working on decorations for the reception and I think we went to Michaels craft store about thirty times by the time all was said and done. I bought a total of four dresses hoping to find one that would work to appear in front of all those people. Two pairs of shoes. New suit for Kevin and Trace (his even had a bow tie!). We went through three cake decorators, two cake toppers. Two hairstylists and makeup artists. Tamara found a dress, it was pretty and in her budget, so she bought it. Then, at the very next stop, she found THE dress. Of course, it was double the price, so the debate began. We laughed because she went into the dress hunting adventure saying that she wanted no lace and not a lot of detail. Well, the dress that she really liked was a sleeveless nude, with a lace overlay and tons of intricate detail. Thankfully, Tamara and Mom told Nanny about the dress and Nanny agreed to pay for the dress. Such a nice gesture! The bad news was that Eric was in such bad health that his doctor wouldn't let them come out for the wedding, so Nanny and Granddad had to rely on photos to experience the day. Adam's family came in town about a week before the big day and they all gathered in a huge house in Park City that they rented for the events. We got invited up to the Park City house for a dinner the night before and got to meet his Mom, Step-Dad, Father, Step-Mom, Step-sister, Sister, Brother-in-law and little nephew. His Uncle and Aunt even made their way here from Iceland! While said Uncle was sitting outside near the fire pit smoking a cigar, I found my young son outside informing the poor man that smoking is dangerous and "it will kill you". Making friends, that's what the Carrells do. The same night, Trace met Adam's sister's 4 year old son named "Reed". Despite the difference in age, those two got along great! The day of, their local bishop conducted the ceremony and Dad got to walk her down the isle. They said their "I do's" and then they broke out the cheese and wine for the guests to enjoy while we went outside for family photos. Then the bride and groom came in and there were toasts made by Dad, Adam's Mom and Dad, the best man, me and the wedding couple. My toast was emotional for me and I forgot half of what I wanted to say, but I made it through. Then the music started and the dancing began. Trace and I danced together and Reed and Trace danced/ran around for several of the songs. At the end of the night, the newlyweds left with a sparkler send-off and headed to their hotel with Brinkley. When all was said and done, I think everyone had a great time and most importantly, the bride and groom seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Love this cake and topper! The top layer was carrot cake and the bottom layer chocolate. Yum!

Adam's Dad, Step Mom and Step Sister Susie

Adam's sister Lindsay, Grant and young Reed

Adam and his Mom, Janet

Adam's Mom and Step Dad

Trace and Reed torturing Grant

As part of the décor, we hung some printed photos and posters of their "bridal/groom" shots. They were taken at the state capital building and simply breathtaking!

 

This is the picture they sent from their hotel after the reception. Looks like a happy couple!

I posted this picture afterward with the caption: "Final count, 52 bobby pins!" I got tons of compliments on my hair that night. It was really cool, but something I could never do myself.