The start of another crazy week

This week is going to be nuts. Tonight, Rachael had dance class and then my brother and his family came over to celebrate Brandon's birthday. He turned 6 on Saturday. They were only here for a short time, but that is OK. I am so tired just from all of the stuff I have been trying to get done today. I did a ton of laundry, got some of the kitchen cleaned, got my disability application complete and ran a bunch of errands. We had to go pick up some supplies for the cross over tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night, we have a cub scout cross over. Andrew will become a Webelos 2. Jeremy gets to cross into Tiger cubs. He is so excited. He has wanted to be a Cub Scout since he turned 6 on January. During the day tomorrow, Andrew has a dentist appointment and I have to go get Rachael some black tights for her dance show on Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesday, Rachael has to be at dress rehearsal from 5:30 to 9pm. She will miss YW, but that is unavoidable. Andrew is going to have to miss church scouts (it is confusing, don't ask LOL) because Stan has to be at the Stake center for his stewardship interview with the Stake President. During the day on Wednesday, I have weight watchers in the morning, then a GYN appointment in the afternoon. I am hoping to have a good WW meeting. Last week, I had gained 3.4 pounds, which was not surprising considering all the junk I ate and the multiple BBQ trips we made while my dad was here.

Thursday and Friday we have Rachael's end of year demo. Stan and the boys will go on Thursday, but not Friday. On Friday, they have a Father/Son campout for church. The boys look forward to this every year. We thought it was going to be next weekend. The Elder's Quorum is in charge of breakfast on Saturday. Rachael is not worried about them missing the demo on Friday since they saw some of these dances at her VIR show a few weeks ago.

Since they will be at the camp-out on Saturday, I get to go down to San Antonio with Rachael on Saturday. I figure since we are going to go down anyway, I'll fill the van with as many of the VIR girls as I can. I am most worried about the trip home. I will have lots of them in the car to keep me awake though, so I don't have to worry about falling asleep on the way home. I know I am going to be dead tired though.

With the crazy schedule of the week, I decided we were not going to do school work on Friday. Instead, I am going to take the kids to see Prince Caspian at the theater. We took the boys to see Ironman on Saturday. They asked if we were going to see Prince Caspian that day. Rachael would have been so mad if we had seen that without her, especially since she is the only one that has read all of the books. My MIL might go with us if she feels up to it. She gets stronger and stronger all the time.

So, there was my boring post summarizing my not so boring week.

Up to my ears in BBQ

My dad is here from Idaho. They just don't have great BBQ in Idaho. Texas has some of the best BBQ in the country. Whenever he comes down, we always go out for BBQ. We used to always go to Salt Lick. About 2 years ago, we introduced him to Rudy's. They are both great BBQ, just different styles. Rudy's sauce is spicy and Salt Lick's is sweet. On Monday, we went to Salt Lick. We had to roll out of there. They have an all you can eat family style dinner. This morning, I was talking to my dad about making dinner for everyone since it is his last night here. He offered to take us to Rudy's so I didn't have to cook. BBQ twice is one week is hard on a body without a gall bladder. It was so worth it though. I love BBQ. My dad leaves tomorrow and I will really miss him.

Ramblings

This may truly be ramblings too. I could not sleep last night and so I have only had about 4 hours of sleep today. Please forgive me if I ramble.

Rachael's dance show went really well. The bio-boards got all done in time for the show and they were a big hit. Tasha loved her book and several other mom's want the info on ordering one for themselves. Rachael danced so well. My dad is here from Idaho and got to see her dance. He always seems to enjoy watching her dance. Aashlie and Jessica got to come. They don't always get to come to her shows. Aashlie was going to figure out a way to go even if she had to pay for herself. Amira and Andy also went. On the way home, Andrew and Jeremy rode with grandpa. In the van, I had Rachael, Amira, Aashlie, Jessica and Andy. WOW, it was loud in the car. Andy and Amira constantly pick on each other.

On Sunday, I made chicken Parmesan with pasta and marinara. Margie and the kids came over for dinner. I figured if I had several dinners for everyone at my house, then my dad wouldn't feel like he was having to chose between the 2 places. Bryon didn't tell me he had to work on Sunday. When I told him Dad was coming, he told me he was off on Sunday and Monday. His schedule got changed around but he didn't let me know it did. That is pretty typical of my brother.

Last night, we all went to the Salt Lick for dinner. It had been years since I had been there. I forgot how good it is. The last few times my dad was here, we went to Rudy's. They are both some of the best BBQ I have every had, but they are just a little different. Rudy's is spicy and Salt Lick is sweet. I do like the sides at Rudy's better though. I love their cream corn. I was so full after dinner last night. I don't know how my brother walked out of there. He ate about 10 times what I did. I do have to be a little careful when eating BBQ though. My body doesn't always like it since I don't have a gallbladder.

Busy life

Now that May is almost here, life is going to get crazy. You would think that things would not be so nuts since we homeschool. We don't have the end of school stuff. Yet, we do. Rachael's dance troupe is getting ready to do their spring show. Their show will be on Saturday. They have tech rehearsal all week. They will rehearse from 6pm to 10pm Monday through Thursday this week. On Saturday, they have to be at St. Stephen's at 4:30. This is just for Visions in Rhythm, her pre-apprentice dance company. Then, her regular academy classes will start having rehearsal for their end of year demo. After the end of year demo, then she has a performance in San Antonio with RPM Tap Ensemble on the 24th.

In between all of this dance stuff, we will start having a lot more practices for Savior of the World. She is actually going to miss one practice because of the RMP show. They will be blocking the second act at that rehearsal. She is at least familiar with blocking so she should catch on pretty fast. Yesterday, she went to the first practice for the women's ensemble for the play. I can start to see the youth being more and more excited about the play. They are starting to have more practice sessions. I think it is seeming more real to them. It is more than just these Wednesday night practices of all of this complicated music. I'm glad that there has been less complaining about the music. It has helped that they had practice with the choir director for the entire stake so they could get some of their questions answered. Some of the girls were having trouble with how high some of the music was, but I was instructed to teach them a certain part. It was not in my power to teach them something different. There was also complaints that the orchestra was going to play with the CD and not just be a full orchestra on their own. Again, this was not within my power to change as I was not in charge of the orchestra. This decision was based on the recommendation of the General Authorities in Salt Lake. Who am I to argue with General Authorities? I haven't heard as many complaints, so I am glad of that. I really hope that they are feeling the spirit behind this play. This play is an inspired work. I feel so honored that I can be a part of this play. I hope each youth feels as fortunate.

On Friday, Stan and the boys went camping. They had to come home though. We got a bad storm through Austin. Stan was going to stay, but he and the boys were the last ones there except the pack leader. The pack leader couldn't leave them because it was on base so he had to stay. Stan and the boys ended up coming home so that Mr. Lloyd could come home. We seem to have bad luck with camp outs this year. One has been canceled for a bad storm. It was suppose to be nice for the next one, but it turned very cold and the boys got their Polar Bear patch. The boys did get to ride around in a Hum-V before they went home. This is the real thing. These are nothing like the Hummers you can buy at the dealers. The helmets were required during the ride. They boys said they felt like bobble head dolls. The helmets weigh over 4 pounds each.

American Idol

I know a lot of people blog about AI. I figured I would join the crowd. This past week on AI was one of my favorite themes ever. I have never understood when Simon would say something was a Broadway performance and mean it in a negative way. Those Broadway songs are so much harder than the pop songs they want these guys to sing. Andrew Lloyd Weber is such an amazing composer. I love Broadway plays. I have never seen one in real life though. I have only seen the versions they put out on DVD. We have just never had the money to go to the real thing, even when they come to Austin. We definitely don't have the money to go to New York City.

My favorites on American Idol have changed as the season progressed. I have always liked David Cook, but he wasn't my favorite. In the beginning, it was a toss up between Brook and Carly. Carly started to really pull ahead of Brook though. I like Brook when she is singing the Carly Simon, ballad type songs. I felt bad for her when she had to start over. She sounded so shaky at first, but then pulled it together. She is the "Vote for the Worst" candidate, so I think that saved her. I really don't agree with the whole "vote for the worst" thing, but that is a whole different post. Carly does really well with the big, powerhouse rock songs like Heart. I love Heart. I am still shocked that Carly went home this week. I think she will get a recording contract.

David A has a really pure, beautiful voice. He has good control over it and stays on tune really well. He is boring though. Sorry David A. All of his songs start to sound the same. The only song that really stood out for me this year was "Imagine". I can't remember anything else he sang this season. He is "forgettable" like Simon likes to say.

Seyesha is just kind of there. I think she really did shine this week and I think she could have a great career on Broadway.

Jason Castro. He has just got to go. His voice is just so so. He was HORRIBLE this week. I hate his dreads too. The only thing I can say is he has nice eyes. His attitude this week of "I don't care about your opinion Andrew Lloyd Weber" was such a turn off. I just can't believe he wasn't voted off. I understand he is a big favorite amongst the teenagers. My DD BFF loves him.

David Cook is my favorite right now. He can sing anything. There are times when he is a little "pitchy", but that happens to almost everyone. As he gets better and works with voice coaches, he will improve. I was worried when it was Dolly week, but he amazed me. I was worried again with Mariah Carey week, but he did awesome. He has a really good range and a really strong voice. He is not a one trick pony. He brings something unique to every song he sings.

My prediction is that it will come down to the 2 Davids in the finale. I am hoping that David Cook will win, but it could easily be either one. David A has a huge following.

So, there you have it. American Idol according to Patricia. I am such the expert. HAHAHA!

Walk-Aide

I have a foot drop on the right due to MS. I have been wearing an AFO for over a year to prevent my foot from dragging when I walk. Yesterday, I had an appointment to try out a Walk-Aide.
I was so excited about trying this out. Because of my AFO, I have to buy 2 pairs of shoes as the AFO is about 2 sizes larger than my normal shoe size. The back of it is wider too. It is so hard to find a shoe that will fit over the AFO. When I do find one, I have to find a matching shoe in my regular size. That can be really hard. Dress shoes are the hardest to fit. I have one pair of tennis shoes that I wear almost every day. I have 2 pairs of dress shoes. How many women do you know that only have 3 pairs of shoes. I bought a pair of sandals that are adjustable so they fit over the AFO, but they end up pinching my foot after I walk in them. That is dangerous for me as I don't feel my foot very well so I can't always tell when things are pinching.

Anyway, I had an appointment yesterday to try this new device. It didn't work for me. The problem is that I had too much swelling to my leg to get a good signal to the nerve. I have struggled with swelling to my right foot and leg since the foot drop developed. The muscles don't work right, so they don't pump out excess fluid. I cried all the way home. I so wanted to get rid of my AFO. I stopped at the medical supply store and picked up some compression hose. I wore one all day yesterday. I had no swelling last night when I went to bed. The tech wasn't sure if she could put the electrode under a stocking though. I am hoping that I can get the swelling to stay down enough to get the walk-aide to work. Once I am using it, that means the muscles will work better and then they will pump out the excess fluid on their own.

My friend, Corrine, tagged me a few days ago. I can't think what to do for this tag. I'll think about it some more and then answer it. I have just been a little bit frustrated this week so I can't think of anything to write. It doesn't help that I have been really down on myself about not staying on program with weight watchers. I need to get back on track. I wonder if I lost more weight if the Walk-Aide would work better.

Still Alive

I wanted to make a quick post to say I am still alive. It has been over a week since I posted. My original goal was to blog here twice a week. I have kind of bit off more than I can chew. Rachael's dance team, Visions in Rhythm (VIR), is having their year end show on May 3rd. In the lobby, they post a bio board that has bios for all of the dancers. I am doing those bios. I am making digital scrapbooking layouts and then I am going to post them on a science fair board. Rachael is going to paint the board so it isn't just plain white. I am going to make the layouts into a book for Tasha, the director of VIR. I want to have it professionally printing and hard bound so it will last longer. In order to have time to get it printed, I need to have them submitted to the company by Monday. The problem is that I don't have all of the of the bios from the dancers. I have 6 out of 14 bios. My best friend is going to try to get all of the bios from the girls at practice today. We won't be there. Rachael is excused from practice today as she told Tasha in the beginning that she could not do Sunday practices.

I really hope Cyndi is able to get those bios from the last 6. I really want to do this for Tasha. She has really helped Rachael this year. She has always loved dance. There was a time that she wanted to dance every day of the week. After a while of being treated like a second class citizen at Jackie's, she lost that desire to dance so much. She still loved it, but I could tell she needed a break. Now, she is back to having that love for dance like she used to. It helped that she had one year in which she only had dance one day a week. She kind of had a break from things. She was able to rejuvenate. Now, she is ready to dance almost every day again. She takes about 11 hours of dance classes per week. She is so excited about this year end show.

Here is one of the layouts I will be displaying on the bio board. I didn't want to display one of the bios as some of the parents may not want their kids pictures on the internet. You can't really see faces in these pictures. They were taken during dance class. The name of their show is "M brought to you by the letter T". I put an "M" and a "T" in every layout. That is why there is a random "M" and "T" in this layout. I don't have any credits for this layout. I didn't keep track of the products I used since I wasn't going to upload them to a gallery.