Since my last post....

I haven't been very good about posting so lot has happened since my last post, seeing as I haven't posted in about two years...so I'm just going to post some of the major events.

Holi Festival of Colors

This last Saturday I went to the Festival of Colors. Every year it takes place at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork.

The festival celebrates the arrival of spring but also is a celebration of the death of Pootna, a mythological creature in the Hare Krishna religion.This year was my second year going. I went last year but got there late so I missed the throwing of the colors. I didn't get much color but it was still fun. This year we planned so we could get there in time to buy colors and be there when they threw them. We parked at the Spanish Fork fairgrounds and walked about 2 miles to the temple. We were there in time for the celebration at 4pm. It was a BLAST!!! I loved learning about the culture, singing and dancing, forgetting my worries and just having fun! Except when the guy body surfing fell on my head and I just about passed out.

If you click this link it will go to a You Tube video of the throwing that I was at. On the video, at 21 seconds, there is a place in the huge crowd that throws colors, I am in the middle of that color. You get pelted in the face, in the ears, eyes, mouth, EVERYWHERE! You definitely get paint in your mouth and it's not the best taste but it's all worth it.

Here are some pictures I took from BEFORE the big throwing

Triton, Garrett, Matt, Garrett's girlfriend (forgot her name), and Trevor

Triton

Garrett and Triton

My cousins Jessica and Erin and their friend Emily


Garrett


Erin and Emily


My cousin Jessica



This is AFTER the big throwing

From L-R: Me (my shirt was once white), Jackie, Alyssa, and one of there friends.


My cousin Hayley and her boyfriend Keate got there late so they just thew the color at each other. My good friend Alyssa in the background.

New Job

I started my new job almost a month ago and I absolutely LOVE it! I haven't had a job since October of last year. I applied to Carmen B. Pingree (school for children with Autism) three times within a years time and finally got it on the third try.

The first time, I applied and observed the kids and was told to call the next week to schedule an interview because the lead teacher wasn't there that week. When I called they told me that they had just put on a hiring freeze and to keep calling.

The second time, about three months ago, I had an interview set up and was hopeful. I had the last interview spot of the last day. As I was driving to the school what seems to happen? Car trouble! I was fifteen minutes late and the interviewing teacher was already gone. I was so bummed.

This last time, Wednesday, I got a call from someone I know that works there asking me if I was still looking for a job. She told me that they needed three assistant teachers in the classroom she works in and to call the school to set up an interview if I was interested. So of coarse I called and made an appointment for the next day. I went to the interview fairly confident and was told I would hear back from her the next day if I got the job. Not three hours later I received a call telling me I got the job if I was still interested. I started the following Monday and have been working there since.

I love my job, I love teaching, working and having fun with the kids. There are some kids in my class that don't talk and some that you can't even tell they have Autism. Most days I feel I am working at a preschool, not an Autism preschool. They are all just kids to me, they all have their own fun personality. Don't get me wrong, it's hard and stressful at times and there is a lot of multitasking, but it is all worth it. I LOVE it!

Update

I don't think anyone reads this but I'm going to write as if someone does. As I wrote before, I was in a rear end accident on Jan. 4th. Now about a week ago I went to the doctors to get checked out again because my back and neck were still hurting. The doctor prescribed me an anti inflammatory, a muscle relaxant and told me I need to go to physical therapy. The next day I called the insurance adjuster of the lady that rear ended us to let them know that they would be receiving a medical bill for my doctors visit and that I had to start physical therapy so they would be paying for that as well. But when I called and told them that, they said that they thought they had made it clear that it was only a one time settlement. They told me that they were upset that I didn't understand that and that I can send in the bills but that does not mean they will pay for them. That is when I decided to call an attorney that I know and find out what he thinks. He told me not to take the $500 and that he will be getting me more and is going to make sure they pay for all of my medical.

Now I am going to physical therapy 3 times a week. The physical therapist figured out that not only is my back and neck strained, I also have three ribs out of place. One is one my left side up by my collar bone, the other is on my left side by my collar bone and the last is one of my middle ribs on my left side. He has tried to put them back into place but they are to inflamed so we will just have to keep icing them and taking the medicine.

Say what?

So I was in an accident on the 4th of January. Triton and I were in his truck, a Ford Ranger, stopped at a stop sign in a parking lot when we were rear ended by a Subaru Outback. The lady had to be going at least 25-30 mph because we were pushed over 10 ft out. Triton was fine and the lady was fine but my neck and back hurt so the police said they could call an ambulance to take me to the hospital to get checked out or I could go my self but that I needed to go. So once the cop left my mom followed us to Triton's house and then took me to the ER. We got there at midnight and didn't get out till 2:30 am. They took 9 x-rays and determined that my back and neck are strained.

Now, 2 weeks later, I still have pain every-other day in my neck, and have pain in my back every day, dull aches with stabbing pain thrown in once in a while. The lady's insurance said they are going to pay for all my medical and sending me a $500 check for pain and suffering. I'm thinking "Great! I could use $500!" but most people I have been talking to are telling me that they are just trying to pay me off and that I should get a lawyer. They tell me I should get more money because I am still in pain and I could still be in pain for a while. On the other hand people are saying I don't need a lawyer because $500 is plenty. I am also being told I need to go to the doctor again to get checked out again before I get the checked cashed in case there is something that didn't show up at the ER, so I won't have to pay for it. Yes, I am going to go to the doctor.

What do you think about getting a lawyer?

Stress!

I am SO stressed! I do enjoy Christmas but this year has been hard seeing as I have been out of a job since the middle of October and have very little money, very little. This year at least half of my gifts to others were either from eBay or were homemade. Now that Christmas is here, I am a little less stressed. But now I have to find a job asap and save all the money that I can for May. The other day I was told by one of my visiting teachers that the preschool she works at (Head Start) is hiring. So now I have filled out my application and just need to write a resume, which I have never done. Oh, how money causes stress. I have learned that when I am stressed I get picture-happy and take a lot of pictures. Most of them are of whatever is around me and random things and are pointless but I take them anyway. I have many, many, many other things that are causing me much more stress but I am sure I have bored you enough. Thank you for taking your time to read my nonsense rambling and putting up with my random links.

Would you want to know?

If someone close to you was going to die would you want to know? I have thought about this many times within the last month and a half seeing as there has been two deaths and one hospital visit in my family.

First. My grandpa (my mom's dad) was diagnosed about a year ago with Alzheimer’s and also with Dementia with Lewy Bodies, Lewy Body Dementia. Lewy Body is like Parkinson's, it can result in rigid muscles, slowed movement and tremors. He went down hill very fast. At one point my grandma had such a hard time taking care of him she put him in a home for those with Alzheimer's. He was only there for about 6 months because of money issues. He came home the end of September. I think he was happy being back home with my grandma and decided it was ok to go because once he was home he got worse every day. When he got home he was feeding himself, walking, and talking, though not always coherently. It got to where we had to help him walk, feed him soft foods, and if he said something, it was mumbling. Tuesday, October 12Th we were told he was going to go within the next 3 days and that he was what they call "actively dying". Actively dying is when you can literally watch them die, skin changes color, eyes sink back, veins get dark...etc. I was lucky enough to see him 4 hours before he passed. I held his hand and said my goodbyes. He died at 4:30 AM on October 14Th. This is a time I am glad I knew he was going because I got to say goodbye and I really needed that with my Grandpa.

Second. The same day my grandpa died, my dad went to the ER because he was having chest pains. They thought he was having a heart attack and admitted him into the heart and lung center and the Intermountain Hospital. After doing an angiogram, an echocardiogram and many Many MANY other tests, they told us he didn't have a heart attack but he had fluid in the sack around his heart and if he would have waited 3-4 more hours he most likely would have had a heart attack and died because the pressure from the fluid would have stopped his heart. They put a catheter in the sack around his heart and drained all the fluid. Even after doing all the tests they don't know what caused the fluid. They said it could have been from a virus but that is still a guess. After keeping him in the ICU for a couple days and doing more tests, they put him in a regular room until they let him leave on Saturday (October 17Th).

Last. My cousin Laura and her husband Nick were starting their own little family. She was due New Years day. When they found out they were having a girl they named her Jamie Elizabeth. Laura's sister Lisa told me I had to take a ton of pictures of Jamie and send them to her because she was leaving October 14Th for the MTC and wouldn't be here to see Jamie. We were all so excited. Nick would wake up for work and talk to Jamie and wake her up then would leave for work leaving Laura unable to go back to sleep with Jamie moving all around. They had the baby shower November 7Th and loved everything they got. The next day Laura was having contractions so Nick took her to the doctor and when they checked Jamie she had no heart beat. When they delivered her there was no fluid in the amniotic sack and the umbilical cord got smaller and smaller the closer it was to Jamie. The smallest part was as thick as a pencil. They aren't sure why there was no fluid or why the umbilical cord was the way it was. They had Jamie cremated and the memorial is still to come.

Would you want to know if you were going to lose a loved one? Would it make any different whether it was a grandparent, a parent, or a child?