A Lot to Say...

Well, I've been busy, what with not working and all, and I have seriously neglected this blog. Here's what I've been up to:

Our friends Amanda and Janelle came to visit for Memorial Day weekend. We had a lovely time and of course I took no photos. I've been meaning to post these pictures, however. I didn't take them, and she didn't do it here, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show everyone how INSANE she is.

Apparently, she went rattle snake hunting, which is basically finding snakes, pinning them with a stick, and then picking them up. She thought this was fun. She is crazy. (Not to mention, she took her 10-year-old niece with her.) I guess there's just not that much to do in Tulsa, 'manda?

Amanda wearing a snake as a hat - The snake is pinned, now to pick it up
The craziest thing I've ever see Amanda do

I've also attended Marc & Ashley's wedding reception in Seattle, which included a nice time in downtown Seattle with Brad & Noelle, and Matt & Cristin. Of course, again, I took no pictures of Matt & Cristin. I did get these, though, of the rest of us! (Cristin, will you send me copies of all the pictures you took?)

Noelle meets Hannah Montana! - Brad & Noelle at the Pike Place Fish Market
Brad at the First Starbucks Ever - Brad & Noelle
Martin & Betsy - Martin, dreaming about the yacht we will never own

Then Martin and I went to Tijuana, Mexico, on another AMOR Ministries trip to build a house. (Our first trip was in February of this year.) We had a great time! I can't even begin to relate how satisfying it is to build a house for a family.

Click on any of the photos to see the whole set. We had so much fun, but worked so hard. I'm still digging cement out of my ears.

On the trip, however, Martin started feeling a familiar pain in his eye. Martin had a case of iritis about a year ago, which was hugely painful and scary. At that time, we were told that one case of iritis is no big deal, but if you get it twice, it can be a sign of an auto-immune issue, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. To make things more complicated, when I lost my job and we switched from a group plan to our own individual plan on BCBS AZ, he had to sign a waiver for both his chest and his eye as "pre-existing conditions" which would not be covered, at all.

Well, in Mexico, on Saturday, all of a sudden Martin started feeling the same pain in his (other) eye. We weren't sure if it was all the dust, sweat and sunblock that was in all our eyes just irritating it, or if the iritis had come back in his other eye. He was OK on Sunday and Monday, but by Tuesday morning it was so bad he stayed all day in our darkened bedroom. He finally got in to the doctor this morning, and they confirmed that he does have a severe case of inflammation in the eye. He's got steroid drops and other drops that keep his eye dilated, and a follow-up appointment on Friday. He also has to get an appointment with his PCP for blood tests to rule out any other things (lupus, RA, even TB). There's a 60% chance that there's nothing else.

He's got a video shoot on Saturday, editing all next week, then another video shoot the next Saturday. They have already prepaid him for this job and he can't not do it - there are many other personnel involved in the shoot that are depending on him. Right now, his right eye (his shooting eye) is completely clouded and so sensitive to light he just stays in our room. He obviously can't do the shoot on Saturday (in this current condition), so he needs immediate improvement.

Martin in his Bat-Cave (click on image to read notes) - What it REALLY looks like in there

On top of that, although we're doing OK financially with both of us at home, a huge medical ordeal that our insurance won't cover puts us on shaky ground. Please pray for favor with our insurance company, as we work to see what they will cover in spite of this waiver, and wisdom to know whom to ask for help.

Not to mention that we just paid $95 for more meds for JT, because of his own eye issues. Just think, when we got this puppy, I told Martin if we had vet bills over $100 we would just put the dog down. JT doesn't know how close to death he was. :) Oh, I am so kidding: it will break my heart to have to do that. I love his silly little furry butt. (He's looking like Spaceman Spiff in his collar. Check him out.)

Poor little guy doesn't fit through the doggy door with his big collar

And finally, I've been greatly amused by this comic:

Probably because the "dead squirrel" comment reminds me of my family's endless amusement with roadkill. Don't ask. We're weird.

Update [7/16/08]: Martin's eye is getting much better. He's been taking steroid drops and the inflammation has greatly decreased. He has a follow-up appointment in September for the blood work, but that seems like more of a formality than an urgency. We're still looking into our insurance issues, but the good news is that the ophthalmologist gives a 50% discount to his cash customers.

Where Have I Been?

When Shannon tells you you're shannoning, you know it's got to be true. Well, I have good reasons, people.

On May 16, um, shall we say my "employment status" changed. You can call to get the full story. Anyway, Martin and I decided that I've been wanting to work from home for a long time, and we're taking this opportunity to make that a reality.

The following weekend Janelle and Amanda came to visit. We also had a freak cold snap - it was rainy and in the 70s on Memorial Day weekend, when it had been 109° just days before! We had a lovely time with the ladies, and we were sad to see them go. (I'll post pictures whenever Janelle gets around to sending them to me.)

On Memorial Day, we threw a last-minute party, the perfect party if I do say so myself. No RSVP, very little set-up, everyone brought their own meat and a side to share, and they came and went all day. We had a great time with everyone who showed up, and it only took 30 minutes to clean up after! Of course, the weather returned to normal and it was warm and sunny and Martin burned his head.

All the while, we've been working on the impending E3 move. This next weekend, June 8, we'll be meeting on Sunday mornings (currently we're on Sunday evenings) in a movie theater. I'm very excited about the change, but it has been tons of work to get all the stuff organized, signage designed and printed, postcards, web updates, etc.

Not to mention that we went to Nashville for a friend's wedding. (Lisa Shaker's daughter and Dan's sister, for those of you who are wondering.) We arrived at 2:15 PM on Friday, the wedding was at 6:30 PM that night, then the reception, then we flew out the next afternoon at 3:05 PM. We were literally on the ground 24 hours and 50 minutes. Martin edited a quick preview video for a party to be held Saturday night, on Saturday morning, and we were exporting and burning the DVD in the car on the way to the airport. He did a fantastic job, by the way - it was a candlelight ceremony, which makes it very difficult to do video! You should see the final project... it's gorgeous.

So, needless to say, I've been busy. And when you're working from home, there's no "off" time. I feel like I work more hours now than I ever did before. (And then, just when I'm feeling successful, Martin asks, "But how much of that is paid work?" and I realize how much free work I do. Oh, well, treasures in heaven, right?)

What a Weekend!

• When I got home Friday night, Martin surprised me with a super-clean house. He hired some help (Alinea) and it was sparklin'! So great.
  
• Friday night we had dinner with friends that turned into a great game of Taboo. My team won! Woo-hoo!
  
• Saturday morning, inspired by my newly cleaned house, I did a lot of spring cleaning and about 8 loads of laundry. We also bought a new comforter for our bed - I love it, M hates it - and some great laundry room accessories.
• Saturday afternoon, Martin and I did a photo shoot with Emily. We had so much fun! Check out a couple of the photos here.
• Sunday, Martin and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. It doesn't seem like 6 years have passed! Thanks to everyone for the cards.
  
• Sunday night, church was awesome! Brad shared some really challenging thoughts on communion. Great quote: "The church is the only organization created for the benefit of its non-members." Check it out here!
• After church, we had dinner and a meeting about our next AMOR trip to Mexico in July. (We went in February to Rocky Point.) Anyone want to go with us this time?

What a great weekend. What did you do this weekend?

The Weather and Other Ramblings

We haven't quite hit our summer stride yet, but it's been consistently in the high 80s to 90s for the past few weeks. I hear that we're looking to pass 100° next week.

What's hilarious is that I'm sitting here in my office, wearing a light sweater over a tank top, with my space heater blasting. The other residents of the office are on a drastically different temperature setting than I am, always. They have the front door open and the AC on.

This office never gets below 72, and ironically I think it's colder inside during the summer months than it is in the winter. (I use "winter" loosely here, as we usually stay in the 40-60° range, and it doesn't last very long.) On my lunch break, I usually go sit somewhere in the sun in my car, and warm up.

I'm also cold at home, where I cuddle up in a huge fleece blanket when Martin turns on the air. Last night, I was finally comfortable in our bedroom, and Martin was literally sweating. I know this is a common imbalance in marriage, but I think we're even more out of sync than most couples.

That's why I love AZ. It's hot most of the time, and whenever I'm freezing inside, I can go outside and warm up.

So why am I going to Seattle this weekend?

Friday Few Showers High 51°F Low 39°F Precip: 30% Wind: SSW at 6 mph UV Index: 4 Moderate Humidity: 71% Sunrise: 6:01 AM Sunset: 8:14 PM Occasional showers possible. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the upper 30s.

Saturday Mostly Cloudy High 63°F Low 46°F Precip: 10% Wind: SE at 7 mph UV Index: 4 Moderate Humidity: 66% Sunrise: 6:00 AM Sunset: 8:15 PM close More clouds than sun. Highs in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.

I'm going to freeze!!!

I'm flying out Friday morning to attend a Father/Daughter event with Nick. I'm coming home Sunday morning, so it will be a very short trip. I'm also flying standby, so I'm going to try to pack light (no liquids!) and carry on. I'll have to borrow warm clothing, which is fine, because I don't own much!

Janelle finally sent me more pictures from Analise's party.

They are great examples of:

1. Why iPhones aren't called iCameras.
2. How pictures sometimes aren't worth 1000 words.
3. How great it is to get together with friends that make you feel like you've never been apart.

Amor

Martin and I are leaving tomorrow morning on a short missions trip down to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. There are 8 people from E3 going with us, and we're teaming up with another church in the area for a total group of about 25. The missions trip is organized by Amor Ministries.

We'll be building a small house for a family that desperately needs it.

House Building Timeline

Day One: Pour the foundation. This will involve setting the forms and mixing cement. And then mixing some more cement. And then, you guessed it, some more. At the end of the day, aside from sore muscles, you will hopefully have poured the foundation, which will cure overnight in order to start the walls on day two.

Day Two: Build the walls. If you are building a typical 11'x22' home, you will build seven walls with room for one outside door and two windows. You will also begin work on the two roof sections during this day and may or may not get to placing paper on the roof.

Day Three: Wrap the house. After completing the wood frame of the house, you will wrap the frame and get it ready for stucco. This involves one layer of tar paper, one layer of bailing wire, and one layer of chicken wire, stretched flat. Your team will also work on completing the roof and installing doors, windows, and trim in order to be able to start stucco the next day.

Day Four: Complete the stucco. This process is similar to the foundation, but a little easier due to the fact that you are not mixing rocks with your cement this time. Day four involves mixing, troweling, and smoothing two coats of stucco to complete your home!

I'm sure, as is our usual, we will not take any pictures and so you'll have to make do with the photos that are posted on the ministry's website. (Click the photo to the right for more pictures of this awesome love-in-action work.)

We'll be back home Monday night.

UPDATE: We did get one photo from the trip. (Thanks, Sara.) This was the baño available to us at the work site (the family's home). More to follow, I'm sure!

In Ensenada

How Was the Cruise?

We had a great time on our cruise. We had a lousy time on our cruise. It's all about perspective.

For what we paid, it was really a lot of fun and we enjoyed ourselves. We won $300 at bingo. However, most of the food was less than mediocre, the bathroom had an awful chemical stench that no amount of air freshener could cover, and most everything we did was less than we expected.

Next time, if there is a next time, we will go with friends, not go on that ship, and maybe switch cruise lines.


We did get a lovely JT-sized sombrero which he hates. But he looks so cute in it!

EDIT: Terri - as usual, there are no pictures. We took 18 shots of Martin at "La Bufadora" - one of the things that was less than expected - and that is it. Most of those are of him, 10 other people, and a small spray of water because our camera takes so long to take the picture. There were several photos taken of us on the ship, but none of them were worth the $10+ per photo to purchase. We really are awful at documenting our trips, unless you're there to take pictures of us.

Games

If you have known me for any length of time, you know I like to play games. Any kind of board or card game, really. Not so excited about video games, although I can play Tetris for hours.

Sidenote: Now it's been said that I'm competitive, but it's really a misperception. I like to trash talk, for the sake of the talking of trash. And I don't care what rules we play by, but I do like to know the rules and then play by the rules we agreed on. (This comes from growing up with my little brother, who always cheated at games. He stole money if he was the banker in Monopoly. He lied when I hit his battleships. He's grown up to be a respectable adult, and I don't think he's extended his cheating into real life, but I still watch his hands when we play cards. And now someone else in my life does the same... but more on that later.) In the end, though, I don't really care if we win or lose (but like everyone, I prefer winning), but it's the playing of the game that I love.

In the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to play games on three occasions, and it's been so much fun. I played Balderdash with a large group (I would recommend a smaller group: it took FOREVER to get through one round!) and learned the words aprosexia, bathetic, and prunella. Truly, my life has been enriched. Of course, the last person you'd expect to cheat, Brad, was cheating in the last few rounds. At least he was man enough to admit it. Although I'm not sure how we all missed that he was looking up the words on the computer in front of us. So, Brad, when I tell you that you're just like a brother to me, what I mean is, you cheat just like my brother.

Then, we had an impromptu get-together and ended up playing one of my top 3 favorite games: Cranium. When we lived in Tulsa, Martin and I played this game so often that we actually knew most of the answers on the cards. It's been a while, and I think they've got new cards, because I only recognized one card, and it was a song I had to hum, so it didn't matter that I knew what it was. This game is so much fun, and you always end up laughing at someone's humming skills or acting skills or drawing skills. Especially when someone is doing a Sensosketch (which is like a Pictionary card - you have to draw a picture and have your teammates guess the word, except you have to do it with your eyes closed!) and his teammate doesn't realize he has his eyes closed, and says, "Dude, you draw like a retard!" Or when the person you're trying to imitate is Joe Friday, and your teammates have already guessed "Friday", and you say, "My first name is like, 'a cup of (blank)'", and your teammate yells out, "Tea Friday!"

A few nights ago, we got together with David & Emily and ended up playing DVD Trivial Pursuit. It's a slightly dumbed-downed version of the original game, but they still beat us by a huge margin. However, the last question (that we played anyway... we called the game for time and there was no chance of a last-minute rally for the Leeuwners) from the DVD played a tune and you had to identify the boy band. This was the song: (at least I think it was, which is kind of the point). David guessed *NSYNC, and I jokingly said, "How do you know it wasn't Backstreet Boys?" Turns out, it was the Backstreet Boys! I laughed, because I really didn't know either way, and said, "I don't know these boy bands. All I know is Justin Timberlake was in *NSYNC and Nick Lachey was in Backstreet Boys." Apparently, I don't even know that. David (how does he know so much about boy bands?) pointed out that Nick Lachey was in 98°. I had to look it up in wikipedia just to see who was in Backstreet Boys. (No one who's done anything since, I guess.) And I still can't name a single *NSYNC song! (Upon consulting the wiki... I see Bye Bye Bye. How could I forget that song?!) Anyhow, the point is... for all their records, promotions, videos, merchandise and hype, we still can't tell them apart. Or maybe the lesson is that if you're not a 13-year-old little girl, there's no way your brain can hold such useless information.

Whatever the game, I just love to play with friends. It's such a great way to get to know someone better, and makes great memories!

Happy New Year

Be safe! See you next year!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's 52nd birthday. And I'm going to see her tonight! I leave right after work today to fly to Seattle for a whole week.
I can't wait to see my family.

After two weeks of being alone (busy, busy, busy, with lots of friends, but alone), it will be nice to stop all the frenzied activity and just kick back with some of my favorite people.

We'll be driving up to Silver Star Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, to spend the week in my uncle's ski house. They just got 10" of snow, so it should be fun... and freezing. Good thing there's a hot tub!

And then Sunday, I get to see my best friend Christi who just moved back to Oregon to start her practice. I can't wait to see her!

I dropped JT off at Christi's sister's house in Chandler last night. She's going to be watching him all week. I called her this morning, and he didn't give them any problems going to sleep last night (he was worn out from playing with their puppy), but he pooped on the carpet. Twice. Way to represent the family, JT. I'm really going to owe Tim & Michelle a big one.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

November

I can't believe it's November. Where has this year gone?

Well, it's still month-end, the absolute busiest time of my month, but I couldn't resist posting this picture of our nephew Parker.

JT and I had a fun time at Mark & Terri's Halloween party last night. He was dressed as a moose, which lasted all of 15 minutes. Later, my puppy peed on me. Yeah, that's right. I sleep so soundly that I didn't hear him when he got up and started getting fidgety, so he relieved himself in my bed at 2 AM. I woke up in a cold puddle and had to put all our bedding in the washer and crash on the couch for the rest of the night.

Good times, good times. I need a nap.

Happy Halloween!

Please be safe as you go out and celebrate Satan's holiday. Don't overdose on candy!

Update

I just got a call from the other driver's insurance adjuster. I'm so mad right now.

He said that my story didn't match the other driver's story, so they weren't accepting any liability. I asked him, what didn't match? He said that I said that I was moving in the aisle and the other driver backed into me, and he said that he was fully backed out and I hit him. I said, I never said he hit me! I said that he was backing out and I hit him.

Whatever.

Anyway, it's now in my insurance company's hands. I've got an appointment next week to go have the damage evaluated, including photos that will help determine what actually happened. We're going to have my insurance company pay to fix it, less our deductible, and then get reimbursed if and when our insurance company can prove what happened.

It's not even so much that they don't want to accept any liability. It's the insurance adjustor's attitude ~ he basically said, I'm just calling to tell you that we don't believe you. I said, aren't you going to investigate any more? And he said, I don't know what else there is to investigate. No one ever looked at my car. If you look at it, you can see the impact was completely on the side of my vehicle. My tire exploded! No one contacted the witness.

I am glad to have our insurance agent working on my behalf at least.

I was in an accident tonight, right as I was leaving work. I was exiting the Starbucks drive-through, came around the corner, and BAM! There was a car backing out. I didn't see him, he didn't see me, I hardly had time to brake before I hit him.

My knight in shining armor drove over an hour in awful traffic to come make sure I was OK and to change my tire, which blew up in the collision.

My insurance company says it was the other guy's fault, so I'm hoping this won't cost me much more than a couple hours and the hassle of getting my car fixed. Again.

Very Distracted...

This week, I've been distracted.

I've been on myspace about every 3 minutes, and I started a facebook account because my brother is on there. (Anyone else on facebook? Seriously, what does it mean to "poke" someone?)

So, sorry for the lack of posts. If you're on any of the other sites, or Flickr, add me as a friend! I am a social butterfly.


And belated congrats to Scott & Amanda:
Welcome, Alex!

My South-Afri-Canadi-American

Face painting at our 4th of July bash.

For reference:

SURPRISE! Martin's 28th Birthday Party

A La Iman

I've been meaning to update, but it's been really busy the past few weeks.

With a nod to Iman (who is having a baby boy - congratulations to you and Karen!), here's a Shotgun Blog.

101 Ways to Lock Yourself Out of Your Room
Our Memorial Day "Romance Weekend" getaway (with several other couples from the church) was wonderful. We stayed at Sky Ranch Lodge, which was a nice place to stay with a group. I wouldn't have enjoyed it so much if it were just the two of us.
The major complaint I have with the Lodge is that there are too many ways to accidentally lock yourself out of your room. There's a front door, with a deadbolt that can be locked from the inside by turning the bolt, and the handle has a push-button to lock. The first time we left the room, we pushed the button and pulled the door shut behind us, checking to make sure it was locked. When we came back, our key wouldn't work in the door. Apparently, there's no way to not lock your front door. The push-button lock is a secondary measure to ensure that housekeeping won't disturb you. If you push it, the normal keys to your room don't work. The maintenance guy said, "Yeah, this happens all the time," which made me wonder: why didn't they warn us at the front desk? The next time we left, we made double-sure to not push the lock on the front door, but we had locked the deadbolt and left out the back patio door (which did not have a keyhole for re-entry). Apparently, the room key only opens the handle -- the deadbolt lock is another key. Both times we had to track down maintenance, wait for him to come, verify the problem, call the office, go back to the office to get the right key out of the safe, and then let us in. It was very frustrating, and seemed very simple to fix: key both the deadbolt and the doorknob to the same key, and warn us about the "do not disturb" button.
The first time we went to Sedona, we enjoyed the scenery, but were really bored. This time, with a group, we had way more fun, although all we really did was eat, swim and hang out. One night, we did drive a very long, long way to go bowling, which was a lot of fun, even if we spent more time driving than bowling!

Adios, Amigos
Tuesday night, we went to dinner with our friends Nate & Lori. They're moving to Austin, TX, and we were saying our goodbyes. They will be missed, and more so if Lori doesn't regularly update her blog with pictures of the kids! We wish them the best and hope to see them again soon.

Work, Work, Work
We took Tuesday off, and our summer hours at work are in effect, so Friday was a half day. I had 2-1/2 days to do all of month end, which includes creating over 175 invoices and all of our monthly financial reports. I worked until past 7:00P on Thursday and left around 1:30P on Friday, but I got it all done! Why is it you always have to work twice as hard before and three times as hard after a vacation? It's almost not worth it...

Paging Dr. Davis
I am really looking forward to when my best friend from college will be visiting me! She's getting here on June 16, and staying for several days. She's just finished medical school, and is on her way back to Oregon to start her practice. We've got big plans to relax by the pool and go shopping, not to mention going salsa dancing and float the Salt River.

We're Back

Martin and I returned from our surprise trip to Tampa to see Brian & Rachel. (We didn't post about it because Rachel reads my blog!)

With plane delays, severe turbulence and detours, we didn't get home until 2:15 am. I am soooooo sleepy. Thank God for coffee!!!

Work is busy, busy, busy (our computer network is not working and I've had to restart my computer -- the server -- several times). I've got Bunco tonight, too! And about 18 hours of recorded TV to catch up on...

When I get a minute, I'll post more pictures and details.


This picture was taken on my camera phone at Indian Rocks beach in Clearwater.