January 2022

 

Whew ... feels like a LOT happened in January. Basketball is in full swing, Covid continues complicating everything and, well check out the collage/video and details of the days from January 2022.

• Starting off the year with Family ... The Grandparents came over for games on New Year's Eve, and there were more of the kids than  expected (Keaton and Colton usually have plans, but everyone loved having them here). Played Progressive Rummy and Pirate (Grandpa won!) and managed to stay awake until midnight ... then it was time for bed. New Year's Day there was the traditional pastry wreath on the Blackham side. Clayton even made a cinnamon version (no almond per nut allergies) and it was really yummy too.
• Working Where? As I don't drive freeways, and Grayson works in Davis County ... well, there was a "kinda like a date" tour and I finally got a peek so I can picture where Grayson spends so much of his time working so hard. Keaton finished up his temporary time at Nike and is back to working just one job, but is adding some school (starting up the electrical classes).
• Home Improvement and Oven Issues ... the oven stopped heating up. Maybe I burned out the unit with all my sourdough? We were without the oven portion (stovetop was fine) working for a week while it was diagnosed and repaired (I had four sourdough loaves ready to bake ... so I borrowed a neighbor's oven!) The oven seems to bake a little hotter now, still figuring it out. Grayson had also had the pantry scheduled for an overhaul. The original installation date had to be pushed (contractors had Covid) but we're very happy with the finished product. Honestly, a lot of the improvement was just going through everything and only putting half of the things back, but the adjustable shelves and storage are nice.
• Skin Stuff ... Coop has been dealing with eczema on his hands for a few months now. After trying everything over-the-counter we made an appointment with the dermatologist. A prescription seemed to improve things for a bit, but then has been getting worse again, so we'll need to follow up on more treatment there. Skin issues do run in the family.
• Married Mingles ... L&S and C&K had a couple get-togethers, at a newly opened FunPlex and then a celebration for Sol's birthday (22, Keaton was there for that too). Glad L&S got over Covid in time to partay.
• Covid Complications ... Covid is still here, and impacting as much as ever! I'd picked up a couple of the home quick tests to have on hand, just in case (after C&K had it in November) and Landon asked if he could use one when Sol spiked a fever. It was positive, and it was later confirmed as correct, and Landon got sick too. Cooper got sick around the same time ... I put off using my last test as he was pretty much home for several days regardless (he's always online for school anyway, but Jordan School District moved online Jan 19-21 which meant he didn't have his cleaning shifts at the elementary). When I got some extra tests (some additional tests came more quickly than originally indicated, I found some at the local Smiths Pharmacy and then got the government ones in the mail too) Coop took a test, and it was negative, and no one else in our family seemed to get sick, so our immediate household still seems to have lucked out (knock on wood). The grandparents came down with Covid about this same time.
• Utah Driver's License Division ... I went twice in one week! First with Cooper, getting him a Utah ID (while we continue to work on getting him more comfortable with driving). Being 18 and "adult" now, he needed something official for identification. Then Colton was finally able to find a moment to fit in his driving test, passed it and he is now officially licensed to drive. Callahan hasn't needed his Dodge Charger, so now that's what Colton is driving (lucky kid! But the timing of the car/license worked out well ...)
• Jen goes Boom ... Sunday, Jan23 as the day was winding down and I was cleaning up the kitchen, I blacked out. Woke up in an ambulance and spent several hours in the ER. Staples in the head but happy to get home and rest. It has really impacted my step count! (read more about it HERE). 

... and of course, basketball! Pre-region wrapped up (West Jordan swept Murray/Grandma Margie's Alma Mater, Jen dared try the drive to Westlake, where WJ got demolished) then the official season started up. Cal and Keaton came to the Copper Hills game (their Alma Mater). Some of the schools streams games, so I was able to watch via video after my accident. We also hosted a team dinner (parents take turns, Thursday Jan 20 was a busy day with the oven repair, Colton's license, the homemade pizza for the JV team ~ 10 boys and one coach, then pantry prep for that installation the following morning! Whew, glad that was all before the big boom and no Covid complications!)  Cooper totally surprised me by saying he had signed up for "Junior Jazz" (which is really "SENIOR Jazz" literally, as the kids are all seniors. Keaton had turned to rec ball back in his day and had fun). Coop is playing with his same buddies from his elementary/middle school days. I went to his first game (Jan8/Hunter High School) then didn't feel like attempting the drive to Magna for the second one, but will hopefully hit some of the ones still coming up.

I think that recaps January ... Here's the 1 Second Every Day video.

Jen Fell Down and Broke Her Crown

 

It was January 23 ... a usual Sunday, nothing out of the ordinary. We'd had a family breakfast. I'd baked bread and delivered it to a few families. Gray had made a yummy dinner. I was doing some kitchen cleanup, and I did feel a little off. The next thing I remember was waking up in an ambulance and feeling more than a little off. I was taken to the ER for some tests and staples in my head. 

I've passed out a couple times before in my life, and both times I felt it coming on. This happened so fast and without any warning, I must have just dropped and hit my head on the way down. Head wounds can bleed, and apparently there was blood (both from my head, and I bit my tongue). Cooper had been in the family room just off the kitchen and heard the thud. Generally, when I drop something and Cooper is close by I'll jokingly say "Cooper, don't drop things" ... and when such a rejoinder didn't come, he came to investigate. So he was the one who found me, bleeding and unconscious, and possibly having a seizure. The rest of the family was around, so Gray, Keaton and Colton all came when he called out. 

At the ER, they did a CT scan and EKG. I had thrown up before leaving the house, in the ambulance, and the nausea was continuing in the emergency room, despite several anti-nausea medications. The world was spinning at the slightest movement. Grayson and Keaton had come and were sitting with me in the emergency room. My dad came and sat in the waiting room too, but with Covid protocols they weren't letting additional people in (Mom was home ... positive for Covid, Dad had just recovered). It was a long night. The fall happened around 9:30, so much of this was happening when we would have been home asleep. 

The scans didn't show anything of concern (no brain bleed) and I could have been discharged around 2:00 am ... except that I still didn't feel like I could move. Any attempt and I'd be hit with a spinning world and nausea again. Despite the discomfort of an ER "bed" I slept some ... which is more than Gray and Keaton were able to do in the chairs in the room. Keaton ran home to gather some clothes (what I'd been wearing had been cut away) and around 5:30 I figured I'd push through - I just wanted to be in my own bed. Wheeled out to the waiting car, barf bag in hand, we made it home.

Despite the mess my head was in (blood and vomit in my hair) I went straight to bed and slept for about nine hours (they'd taken my Fitbit off at the hospital, but my Oura ring tracker was still on and provided some data). I then got up and showered (Gray had installed two handles in the shower, and had pulled out the shower bench from Cal's broken foot days), then threw up again, and went back to bed and slept until the next morning.

All the family took Monday off from school and work. It had been a long night for everyone. Landon and Sol and Cal and Kate had come over to the house to stay with Colton and Cooper while we were at the ER.  Tuesday, it was back to normal for everyone but Grayson. He worked from home for a few days, making sure I was okay, and getting Cooper to/from work. Colton had JUST gotten his license (seriously, just a couple days before) so that was one less uber service needed - as I didn't get back to driving for a couple of weeks.

I took it slow for the recovery, just resting and watching a few shows, listening to my audiobooks (my ears were bothering me a little). I got back to bread making. After a couple weeks, we went back to the ER to get the staples out.  Back to driving. I tried a walk on the treadmill. Back to Zumba on Valentine's Day. Pretty much back to normal ... still get a single slow spin as I move from a vertical to a horizontal position.

Now for the bills ... Ambulance ride was just over $2,400 for the 12 mile ride. The ER billing is around $28,000. I'd always thought I was such a good deal for insurance companies, as I very rarely went to any appointments. Time to collect now. Waiting to see how the insurance handles it all. 

Home Improvements During the Pandemic

Here's a little look at the repairs/renovations and rearranging done 2020 and 2021.

As Covid hit and people were home more, home improvement projects were pretty common. Stores like Home Depot and Lowes were always crazy busy. We ended up with some pandemic projects, but the catalyst was Callahan, not Covid ...

Callahan was getting married. This meant he was moving out. As he packed up his room (he and Kate had bought a cute little house in Kearns), he took his big basketball frame (a Copper Hills basketball jersey given to him when he graduated) off the wall, there was a big black mold spot, and water damage that had been hidden. The kitchen sink was right above, and one of the pipes had sprung a large leak. Grayson ripped out the all the yucky drywall, repaired the pipe and made sure it got dried out and disinfected. 

You are likely familiar with the children's story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" right? Home improvement projects are like that. You start with one thing, and it leads to another (check out "A Plethora of Projects and a Pair of Parodies" on the Westra blog). The drywall was replaced, and then the wall would need paint. While just the one wall needed to be painted, why not paint the whole room? If we are hiring painters, let's have them do the entire basement. Where do you stop painting? Best to just continue all the way upstairs, right? With the fresh paint, the old carpet looks awful, so let's look into new carpet as well. Then how about some new lights (handy to have a couple electricians in the family!)

Keaton said goodbye to his room upstairs, and moved into Callahan's old bedroom. New carpet and paint, and it's cooler, more private, completely dark with new curtains (the upstairs room was never completely dark). His bulletin board made the move, but wasn't recreated with everything on it, so I grabbed a picture to preserve it as it had been. The upstairs room became the "school" room. We pulled the corner desk out of storage for Cooper, and pulled Colton's desk in too. Double desks, and plenty of dedicated school space, which was a good thing, as both boys were online at this point.

Prepping everything for paint and carpet was a lot of work. All the walls needed to be bare for paint, all the floors for carpet. The gym became the storage spot (no paint or carpet in there) for lots of things, and it was a time to purge. Scrapbooking supplies, books, toys, games, clothes ... we ended up replacing Colton's desk for something smaller, getting rid of the old entertainment unit, the basketball shot game. Offered some thing to friends, neighbors, had to make appointments for DI donation drop-offs (and sometimes they were booked out for weeks!) 

While we were switching things up, Colton's old twin bed got shipped out and he got a full, Cooper a queen. Keaton had purchased his own "purple" mattress a while back. We ended up moving the dresser from Coop's room to Colton's, so while Colton stayed put, there was some rearranging and a bit of a new feel for him as well. You can check out the great Room Rearrange of 2017 to get a glimpse of some of the past presentations and purges!.You can even look back to when the front room was the Noah Nursery when the boys were babies. The boys keep growing up, and things keep changing.

Upstairs, we didn't do any new flooring (yet), but did have the walls and the ceiling painted in the kitchen, front room, school room and hallway. So again, everything had to be pulled off the walls, all the furniture moved to the center of the room. My den didn't get any paint, but moving Colton's desk out of it into the new "school" room let me rearrange and set up a sewing spot. The office switch set-up from 2017 has been working out well.

I also repositioned our recycling (that took some getting used to as we'd go to the old spot out of habit), and made the coat closet a "cleaning closet" (and some extra storage for Grayson's gadgets). There was an old intercom system and phone plug that I just took off and covered up with cute Etsy crafts (the gadget there is a "Brilliant" light switch - high tech stuff, given to Gray as a perk of the job). Got a new, BIG clock (we'd lost our cute little apple clock in the great earthquake of March2020). We'd had a few big pictures/art around... they haven't made it back on the walls yet, not sure if they will. 

Downstairs ...

We had the ping pong table ... a birthday gift for me back in 2011. It's gotten a lot of use, off and on, over the years. It could be folded up, as could the basketball shot game (Christmas 2019). We kept the ping pong table, but the basketball shot was given away. There was some talk of getting rid of the arcade games, but they are unique. The old entertainment center ... it was gone. We had a little miscommunication and both Grayson and Keaton ordered a new set-up, and both were delivered on the same day, about an hour apart. I was a bit confused. We were able to return one. We hadn't really planned on upgrading the "video game" television, but the upstairs tv died. We bought a replacement while contacting the company, who ended up replacing the defective one, which left us with an extra. The basement room is much less cluttered now. We debated some sort of seating, but as ping pong has been happening a lot, we simply got two wheeled chairs that can be moved out of the way when anyone wants to play (ping pong that is, the chairs wheeled back in when one wants to play Xbox or Playstation). It was pretty funny how many ping pong balls we found stuck behind the entertainment center when we moved it.

Paint and carpet weren't the only upgrades ...

When Cal and Kate got married, I asked if they'd be interested in our washer/dryer set rather than buying some themselves. Being a frugal couple, they were. We got a brand new set. Our fridge (the old one we moved downstairs when we got a new one for the kitchen) wasn't working well, but we'd grown dependent on the extra space - so new fridge for the basement. Not pictured ... but we replaced the microwave as well. We weren't sure how long a repair would take (with Covid and supply chain issues) - Grayson was able to get a new one and Keaton installed it. We did need to have the dishwasher repaired (October 2020, and the oven early in 2022, dang appliances!) At the end of 2021, we noticed our water heater was leaking. We were able to get that replaced quickly (perks of Grayson being in the construction business with lots of connections). My elliptical had issues, and we looked at new ones, but ended up finding the needed part and Grayson got it up and running again. 

Grayson's garage got new garage door openers ... snazzy ones without the box on the garage ceiling.

That's a pretty complete recap of the renovations, rearranging and repairs.  

Next up? The pantry ...