New Year Update

Sorry for the long break. Not much has changed around here. I'm still looking for a job, and Sans is doing well at his.

We had a nice Christmas, we were actually able to make it out of the house that day and get all the way to Vancouver to spend it with my family. We had a little trouble making it through the neighborhoods, but we got there. We had so much snow – it lasted almost two weeks. Sans was hardly even able to make it to work, even though were aren't that far away. We were able to make it out on day in the middle, when the snow melted a bit, so we could finish out Christmas shopping – but we had to walk, there was no way to drive. The snow was beautiful, but we didn't like being stuck in the house for that long. It was SO cold. A couple nights (and days) it got down to the teens. Christmas day, when we were at mom's house, we saw it snow – flakes like baseballs! That was the last sticking snow. It melted within the next couple of days, and we haven't had any snow for longer than a few hours since.

This our courtyard during the worst of the snow

Our little car was so covered - we couldn't even get to it, though

The baseball sized snowflakes on Christmas (you can't really see it in this pic)

New Years was lovely. We spent the Eve with my mom and Greg, and went by a bar that a friend works at to say hi, and then home to watch the ball drop. It was lovely to spend it the people that we love. Neither one of us have made resolutions... too many things to feel bad about if we don't follow through. But we are trying so hard – the unemployment rate is just going up and up and up. Especially around here. I have had a ton of leads, but I don't get calls back. We have the problem of trying to choose between rent, food, meds, utilities. And I have been quite the budgeter. It's hard, but we have found ways to make it work. So far.

I had to go see my endocrinologist a couple of weeks ago. She was awesome. I hadn't been taking my blood sugar because I couldn't afford the test strips. I explained it to her, and she was totally understanding. She handed off a bunch of sample of test strips and let me know that any time I am short on funds, to call her and they will probably have the meds that I need. They can hand some off to me. We talked about babies, and diabetes related stuff – dizziness, dry, cracky feet. She told me that sometimes, lotion isn't enough to keep your feet from getting calluses – she actually suggested Crisco! We laughed so hard. I have had terrible calluses in my big toes since I was a kid. I am really embarrassed by this, but I hate wearing shoes. I have what I like to call claustrophobia of the feet. I feel like I can't move my toes and that my feet are suffocating if I have any kind of shoes or slippers on. I know, it's weird. So, I get the calluses. So, Sans is still rubbing my legs at night, but he has added checking my feet for cuts, scrapes, and numbness, as well as putting lotion (not Crisco) on my feet. He's awesome.

We finished our Diabetes classes near the end of January (a couple of them were canceled because of the snow at the end of December). I really feel that we both learned a ton from them. The people were nice, the instructors were great, and I was able to find out answers to a lot of questions that I didn't even know that I had, not to mention the fact that I was able to help out other people with things that I was informed on. I have a lot more knowledge about what I need to look for and it made me a little more confident in my cooking and what is healthy vs. not healthy for me. And Sans is a huge help in reminding me to take care of everything.

We met my future Step-sister and her baby in the middle of January. She is so AWESOME! I have always wanted siblings of my own, and she is a great sister. Sans and I both loved hanging out with her and her sweet daughter. Mom threw a tea in her honor, and it was really fun getting to know her and just talking – it was almost like we had been friends for years. It was very easy. I could see why my mom adored her so much. Now, I just have to meet my future step-brother. Mom and Greg are getting married in August. They are so cute and excited. I am trying to help them with all their plans – I even have put a website together for them. They have already ordered their rings, and they sound gorgeous. I love seeing mom so happy, I haven't seen her smile so much in so long, all the twinkles in her eyes have come back and she just looks radiant. It's so awesome!

Unfortunately, we did have some bad news in the last couple of weeks. Sans' mom called when he was at work one day because his grandfather acquired pneumonia. He was already in a home for Alzheimer patients. I had to find a way to get a hold of Sans to let him know that they were pretty sure that his Grandpa wasn't going to make it through the week. And sadly, he didn't. He passed away the next morning. Sans couldn't get the time off of work and we couldn't afford to drive out to Montana for the funeral. But we spent that week together and he told me all kinds of stories about his grandpa. My mom and I believe death can result in some beautiful things – the spirit will turn to something to remind us of them. The day that Sans' Grandfather passed, our Gardenia that had been threatening to bloom for months had it's first full bloom. It was beautiful and the smell was heavenly. It's still going strong.

Our one and only bloom on our Gardenia.

Valentine's Day was sweet in our house. I spent all day whipping up goodies. I made homemade sandwich cookies for Sans to take to work. I guess they were like Oreo's, but the reviews said they were so much better. I am now more popular than Sans at his job! For dinner, I made beef stroganoff, and caesar salad. And then I made Gooey Chocolate cakes for dessert. It was quite a hit! Sans was late home, and I was worried that the dinner was going to be ready before he came home. It turned out that he was out trying to find me a giant card. It was so sweet. He even changed his shirt so he would look nice for dinner. I had brought out Trivial Pursuit to play. He won – barely, and we had the best time. It was really nice to just have some “us” time. Usually we just turn on the TV and kick back, but it was nice to just be able to hang out and giggle.

My giant card

Even though we are having money problems, and job issues.... we are still terribly happy. We realize that we are lucky to have each other and that we still can manage to make each other laugh. All the time. And every day, we love each other more. Valentine's was just an excuse to spend some time together and be romantic. But we make sure that every day we make the other one KNOW that we love each other.

I guess that's all for now. Take care and I hope you all had a great New Year and that everything is working out for you this year!

And to make you smile, here is Mario!