Seattle

So... a bit behind in posting this, but better late than never, right? :-)

For some reason, I've always wanted to go to Seattle. I don't know why, but I've wanted to, and so I put it on my 101 list. As time went by, I figured it wasn't going to happen. But Karen figured out a way to make it work--over Labor Day/my birthday weekend. And it was fantastic. Karen, Jenna, and I had a blast.

We left Thursday after work and arrived in Seattle really early Friday morning. (My birthday!) We stayed with some family friends' of Karen's on Capitol Hill. It was a beautiful house with a fantastic view and close to everything.

Once we got some sleep, we got going on Friday. We started out by going to Volunteer Park and exploring a bit and also checking out the gorgeous dahlia garden. After that, we went to Ballard Locks and wandered around Ballard a bit before going kayaking on the Puget Sound and kayaking through the Locks. Super cool.

We then got a bit more fancy and had dinner at Skycity Restaurant, which was a neat experience. A nice birthday splurge. And they even have a photographer that comes around and takes your photo and you get it e-mailed to you for free.

Saturday, we started out by going to Smith Tower. I took a seat in the Wishing Chair. Tradition is that a wishful single woman who sits in it will be married within the year... I'm looking forward to proving it wrong. (Or maybe I'm just not wishful enough.)

We then went on the Underground Tour, where we learned some really cool facts about Seattle. Pretty fun stuff. We wandered around Pikes Place Market and then went to Chihuly Garden and Glass. Most of my pictures didn't turn out that great, but I'm super proud of this one. (Not the one labelled Chihuly...that was another photographer they have that takes your picture and then e-mails it for free. I'm not that professional.)

Sunday, we went to a sacrament meeting with the people that we were staying with in a beautiful and unique chapel. I wish I had been able to explore more. We then visited the Seattle Temple grounds and then visited Discovery Park. We had a little picnic on the beach, and then napped on the grass near the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day. Oh. And we visited Bruce Lee's grave. Random, I know. But it was super close to where we were staying. And why not? :-) 

Monday, we woke up and drove home. Kind of a long drive. Especially when ALL of Oregon has a 65 mph speed limit.

But I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Even the crazy roads that made for crazy driving. So grateful for GPS that would give me a bit of warning to get over because a lane was about to end or I suddenly had to take a left exit, Seriously...it was nuts.

And with this trip, I crossed off 3 more things from my 101 list... buy dinner that's at least $50, take a trip every year in honor of my birthday, and go to Seattle. Woot!

101 list (and other) updates

I haven't blogged in a while... and I have lots of updating to do, apparently. With Karen leaving, we were fitting in a lot of fun things (along with some not-so-fun-things...like moving). But quite a few of the fun things we did had to do with my 101 list.

I've never been shooting, and I've wanted to. So my home teacher took me, Karen, and a couple of other friends to go shooting with him. I didn't actually break any of the clay pigeons, but I did come close a few times, apparently... even though I've never held a gun before.

We were supposed to go paintballing, but it didn't actually happen. Karen bought a Groupon for it, and when we went for our scheduled time, apparently it only paid for part of it and we would've had to pay a lot more money. So the group of us went and got crepes instead. But we tried. And Karen found a tiny paintball and smashed it on me. So... maybe I can count it?

Karen and I went to the Western Idaho Fair...and somehow managed to not get any pictures of the two of us. Whoops. (Though you can see lots of pictures of some things we did see at the fair at Karen's post about it.) But it was a lot of fun, wandering around, seeing the shows and animals and contests. And I did take a picture of a quilt that reminded me of my family. A missionary's mom had taken quotes from her e-mails and made it into a quilt. Super fun idea.

And because I haven't blogged about this 101 list item yet... I am getting laser hair removal. So... that's in process and I think it's helping. But I still have several treatments to go and hope to see even better results!

But other than 101 list stuff, we did lots of other fun things. Like go doing some aerial yoga, watching Merry Wives of Windsor at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, seeing Nickel Creek in concert at the Idaho Botanical Gardens, watching Paula Poundstone, going to the World Center Birds of Prey Museum and the Boise Aquarium, and floating the Boise River. Good times. :-)

But yes... I have officially moved. Just to the next town over. My commute is pretty much the same to both stores (I'm not right by a freeway entrance any more, which I miss). But the location is still good, I like the house I'm living in and my roommate (Jessica) seems really nice, plus she has a couple of super sweet cats. And I'll be in a new ward (we'll have to see how that plays out). Work is still keeping me busy, but I got a new boss recently and I really like her. I've been very fortunate to have great bosses. 

Sleep Study

I've been sleeping rather terribly lately. I can fall asleep just fine, and I'm getting 7-8 hours a sleep a night (on worknights, I generally go to bed between 10 and 11pm and wake up between 6 and 7am). However, I can't seem to stay asleep. I wake up at least 2-3 times a night (that I remember) and just feel pretty exhausted a lot of the time. And with the lack of sleep, my emotions get a bit haywire, and my brain sometimes just didn't seem to function.

I was thinking it was a bit problematic how tired I was (and how emotional I could get and how my brain didn't always want to work), but I figured I'd just talk to my doctor at my annual physical that was scheduled in July. I thought I could last until then. My mind changed when my alarm went off one day and I just wanted to cry (I really almost did). So I called my doctor to see if I could move up my annual physical, but apparently that truly has to be a year apart, so that wasn't possible. Then they tried to see if I could get in to see my doctor sooner, but she didn't have any availability in the next two weeks. Once I decided I needed to see a doctor, I didn't want to wait any longer, so they booked me at a different clinic with a different doctor (that was conveniently located closer to both my work and my house) that was still in the same health care system.

I went to the doctor and was really impressed with him. He talked to me for almost a half hour about my concerns and gathered information. Based on everything I said, he determined that it was possible that I had sleep apnea (I had thought that might be a possibility), so he arranged for me to do a sleep study. I also did some blood work (he wanted to rule out some other things), but that all came back normal.

I finally had the sleep study. I didn't entirely know what to expect, though I did a bit of research about it. I was doing a split-night sleep study, which means that they monitor my sleep for the first part of the night, and then if they detect signs of sleep apnea, they put a CPAP machine for the second half of the night and figure out the right pressure. But I went to the center, and I got ushered into what was basically a hotel room. I had a queen-sized bed (covered in a bunch of wires) and my own bathroom.

After I changed into my pajamas, my tech attached all the wires to me. I had wires on my legs, chest, face, and head, as well as two belts. As she attached all of that, I watched a video about sleep apnea, then I was able to watch Castle (they had a lot of channels...it was great). Once I was all hooked up to everything, I was able to just relax and do whatever.

I did try on a nose pillow CPAP machine, to see what it would be like if they did put it on me during the night. I was surprised how well I could breathe through it (as long as I didn't open my mouth). I sometimes struggle to breathe through my nose at night, but there wasn't an issue with the CPAP machine.

When I told my tech I was ready for bed, she added a few more sensors (a finger sensor, as well as a tube that went in my mouth and nose to monitor breathing). And then I went to bed.

I was a little apprehensive about being able to fall asleep with all the wires and things attached to me, but it really wasn't that hard. Unfortunately, I did wake up several times in the night, some because my tech had to come in and adjust things, and other times just on my own. My tech came in and told me around 1:30am that they hadn't seen any major signs of sleep apnea by that point, so they were just going to monitor me the rest of the night and not do the CPAP.

When I woke up the next morning, I was really frustrated and almost started crying. I felt like I slept worse than I normally did, and I still wasn't closer to getting any answers as to why. However,the sleep study did collect about 800 pages of data for the sleep physician to interpret and I would get the results in a few weeks.

Well... I got the results the brief results a few weeks ago, and met with a doctor a few days ago to go over the results. Apparently, I have mild obstructive sleep apnea. I had 9 instances of central sleep apnea and 60 times of hypopnea during the night. One frustrating line from the write-up of my study was that, "Given the mild nature of her sleep apnea it is unclear how much of her current symptoms and daytime sleepiness are a result of the sleep apnea." It is a bit frustrating to have paid a significant amount of money and still not be sure what direction to go. There are a few different ways I could possibly treat it, including getting an oral appliance or a CPAP machine. But they aren't sure what may work and they said it's possible that other issues may be at play (such as mental health issues or stress). I'm going to have to spend more money (which is fine), but I really want to make sure what I spend money on works. So... we'll see what I decide. I just really hope this isn't all in my head.

Tahoe and Other Adventures

For the Fourth of July, Karen and I ended up going to Tahoe. It was quite a drive (and not a super pretty one, if we're being honest), but we stayed semi-entertained listening to audiobooks and podcasts. But the time in Tahoe itself was great.

We drove up Thursday night and left Sunday, so we had two full days there, which was wonderful (especially since neither of us had to take any vacation time). Friday, we rode up the Heavenly Gondola, and then went even further up on a ski lift. The view was beautiful and it was so peaceful. At times, it felt like we were the only people in the world, since not a lot of people were up there. We later went to the beach, ate burgers at a restaurant, and then went back to the beach to watch the fireworks over the lake. Saturday, we hung out at the beach, got delicious sushi for dinner, and then played in the arcades of a couple of casinos. I wish the trip had been longer, but I'm very grateful that Karen made the trip happen. I had going to Tahoe on my 101 list, but once I moved to Boise, I figured I wouldn't pull it off. She convinced me that we could and we did! It was great.

In other news, Karen has decided she's moving away from Boise at the end of next month. It makes me sad and I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going to end up. But, as I'm trying to look for the positives in this situation, it is pushing us to do a lot of stuff we have never gotten around to doing together. Friday, we went out to eat at a yummy Italian restaurant that I had a Groupon for and then wandered around Warm Springs, looking at all the beautiful houses. And yesterday, we went swimming at the pond and then saw a double feature at the drive-in. We have a lot of things still to accomplish on the list, so I'm hoping we have a good last few weeks together. And I hope I figure out soon where I'm supposed to end up.

Home and Trusting in the Lord

A couple of weekends ago, I was able to go to Provo and see my parents one last time before they left to go to Brazil to serve for three years as mission president and companion. I was able to be in the presence of an apostle of the Lord as they were set apart, which was a really neat experience. It has been weird to come to terms that my parents aren't going to be around physically for the next few years. (Though I do hope to visit them at Christmas.) I must say, I am very grateful for technology... even though they're over 6000 miles away from me, it can seem like they're just still in California if I don't think too hard about it. I've already been able to talk to my mom on the phone, and I've been able to e-mail both my parents and get pretty fast responses. So even though they are much farther away physically than before, they certainly don't have to feel that far away if I need them. :-)

Anyways, with them being gone, and with some other random things going on in my life, I've been thinking a lot about home again. I ended up thinking about it even more when I realized that I hadn't printed out a particular old blog post and put it in my journal like I normally do. So I went to look it up and print it out. I almost laughed when I read through it and realized the topic and found that so much of it still resonated with me. (For reference, it was this blog post.)

Since I wrote that blog post, Boise really come to feel like home, in no small part due to my roommate, Karen. But with some things going on, and with Boise starting to feel a bit temporary again, I don't know how everything is going to play out. I hate being in limbo and I just wish I knew the answers now. But as my dad told me in an e-mail today:

I think that the Lord will make it clear for you and the way will open up.  Remember my trials with the opportunities that seemed to make so much sense, but never really happened even to the point of having us to have to pray for it?  None of it made sense at the time.  I had three CEOs wanting to hire me, but for one reason or another, in all three cases, things were "on hold"........even though they REALLY wanted me to start.

God knew what needed to happen.  I just had to be patient and hang in there.  I was clueless as to what was getting set up to happen.  But, God opened the way and now, here we are.

You have a ton of faith in Him.  He will help you move in the right direction.  Just stay committed to that and don't worry (I know............that is easy for me to say). 

So basically...I need to keep trusting in the Lord. No job opportunities worked out for my dad when by all reasonable accounts, they should have. So instead, he was able to work on a bunch of things he wanted to do (including opening up a pharmacy with my cousin) and now he's able to serve the Lord full-time. But trusting in the Lord is a constant battle for me. It's talked about in EVERY father's blessing I've gotten for at least the past couple of years and I guess it's a lesson I still need to learn. 

It will work out. It will. I just need to keep doing my part. And for now, that's continuing to make sure Boise is home for me (at least for now) and make sure I'm open to His promptings if things do need to change. For He truly knows best.

Two Weekends, Two Weddings, Two Trips to Utah

This weekend was the second weekend in a row that I was able to go to Utah to be at a wedding. Last weekend, it was my sister's wedding. It was a fun (though slightly exhausting day). But it was so wonderful to be surrounded by family all day and just feel the love that was there. And Aubrey made a beautiful bride.

This weekend, I came back down to Provo for Sara (my old roommate)'s wedding. It was another lovely day (though again, kind of exhausting) with another lovely bride.

Weddings all around!

Now I just need to drive back to Boise tomorrow, make it through another work week, then drive back down to Provo one more time... this time, for my parents being set apart before they leave on their mission. And then I think I'll be done with that drive for a while. :-)

Twin Falls, Hero, and a "New" Dress

Twin Falls
A couple weekends ago, Karen and I decided to get away from Boise for the day and headed to Twin Falls. It was lovely. We did a session at the Twin Falls temple, checked out Shoshone Falls and the Perrine Bridge, and visited her aunt and uncle in Gooding. I love little escapes.

Hero
Karen and I were out shopping and she asked if I wanted to make a stop at the Humane Society. I didn't see the harm (especially since we were wondering if a cat she had adopted previously that had run away had shown up). Unfortunately, that cat wasn't there, but there were some adorable kittens. And as soon as Karen realized one was a polydactyl, I knew we were coming home with a kitten. Meet Hero. He's adorable.

You see his little polydactyl paws, right? 

He makes this face a lot. Definitely likes his meowing. :-) But he also likes cuddling, so it's ok.

However, we're now outnumbered... just two people to three animals. But we're surviving so far.

Dress
My sister (Aubrey)'s wedding is coming up, and I was really struggling to find a dress. I don't look great in two of her wedding colors, and the third color is really hard to find right now, since it's more of a fall/winter color. Then I realized that I had a dress in my closet that my mom had given me that I had never worn, since I didn't like the color and it didn't flatter me at all. I heard about using Rit Dye to dye clothes and decided to give it a try. Look at this lovely (ha) before picture. See my not happy face? Understand why it's just been sitting in my closest for a couple of years?

Karen helped me to remove the belt loops for the sash (I couldn't find the seam to remove them myself... I'm not that talented in sewing yet) and then I used the washing machine method and mixed two different colors. I moved the sash up a bit (I look great in empire waists) and I had a totally new dress that I'm really looking forward to wearing at Aubrey's wedding! It's a bit lighter than I meant it to be, but I still really like it.

The side effect of using Rit Dye? I now want to dye lots of my clothes that are faded or that I don't wear as often as I could because I don't love the color it is right now. Hopefully I don't go too dye crazy...