Artwork

2009 is upon us. New resolutions and goals are made and determination rises like yeasty bread. I have not seen much of Anna lately, nor played with her, despite our holiday break, because I was busy preparing for a test. Two roads diverged, and we both seemingly took separate paths. I wanted you to get a glimpse of what we see on our paths. One path leads to beauty, the other to...I'll let you decide. So Friday night, I'm in the medical school, walking down the hallway. The lights are off, except for a few guide lights which cast a yellow, cadaverish glow on the floor. To compound my loneliness of a night studying hormones and prostate cancer, I looked up on the wall to see the artwork of Andreas Vesalius (this bottom piece on the left). But the grass in always greener on the other side of the hill, and that's where Anna's path has led. She has spent the last couple days painting and I wanted to post her artwork before she could protest. None of this is for sale so don't ask...

Beleza

In class I learned the most accurate predictor of falls for the elderly is a previous history of falls. I never learned when someone should start documenting such falls. So, to err on the side of safety, and to avoid possible future litigation, I think it right to report the beginning of my wife's fall history. Enter with me into our pre-dawn bedroom three days ago. The window was open and a chill was in the room. There we were, with blankets over our bodies, praying to start the day, looking like two bears foraging for berries who were probably fast asleep, and therefore, motionless. When Anna finished her prayer, she got up to get ready for her 12 hour shift and I continued to pray/sleep in my bear-crouch. All of the sudden I heard a thud and looked over to see Anna lying motionless on the ground, right next to my closet. I jumped over to her and asked her if she was okay and it tooka good five seconds for her to respond. In classic Anna style, the first response from her was a long laugh. This was the first time I had actually seen someone faint and it was just like the movies. And so begins Anna's medical history of falls. Technically, fainting is outside the scope of a fall, but it still should be noted. Anna is the little engine that could. She goes, goes, and goes. I don't know many people who can work three straight 13.5 hour shifts in the hospital and still have as much energy for life as she

Go! Ok! Go!

This weekend was a fun one with the parents/in-laws. I was able to ride the El Tour de Tucson (no editing this post Anna :) with my Dad and Anna spent the day with Mom, shopping. The best part of the day was our convergence with half of the LDS Saints in Tucson to Rusty's Family Restaurant and Sport's Grille to watch the Utah-BYU game. I polled the members and found most simply opened the phone book looking for a descent place and were attracted to the "family" part of the title. Yes, there still was beer, neon lights, and waitresses that must freeze their tushes off every shift because of their lack of attire. But all eyes were focused on the game and our chicken smothered in teriyaki and pineapple. The Tour was great, long but great. The best motivation came with five miles left of the 109 mile race with a sign that read, verbatim: "Go, OK, Go!" It was so inspiring. It made me think of the scene when William Wallace rallies his troops to face Edward "Longshanks" in Braveheart: "And dying in your beds, years from now, what would you give for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and face your enemies and say, 'you may take our lives, but you'll never take our freedom!." Go, Ok, Go! No, of course my biggest inspiration was my own Anna Montana! It was a fun weekend. Always is when you can ditch the books and play a little. Another highlight of the day was Anna's awesome Minestrone. If you haven't tried it, ask for it the next time you spend an evening with her. Scrumptious.

OK, OK!

So 100% of the people we've asked have known exactly who she is and have been incredulous at the idea of anyone not knowing! Then, to add insult to injury, the book I'm reading (which takes place in Afghanistan!) talks about her and what a big deal she is. I guess I need to broaden my education of world news further than the Yahoo headlines!
Speaking of education...I finally made a (hopefully) official decision about nursing school! The last year and a half has been a roller coaster of trying to find what I want and what can actually happen. But last week I got a call from the program at my hospital offering a place in their program starting in January. It's a quick 14 month program with a job guaranteed at the end. I'm THRILLED! scared out of my mind, but thrilled. Thanks to Spence for being so dang patient with the roller coaster... Nurses (and all students out there) if you have any advice about getting back after an 18 month sabbatical, I'm open!

In a time of polls we offer..."The Poll"

In a friendly exchange on the way home from Stake Conference with Anna I mentioned something about Margaret Thatcher. The conversation continued and we ended up with a bet that the next person we saw would not know who she was when asked about her. Of course, the next two people we asked knew, and responded with a slight "do you think I'm stupid?" roll of the eyes.
So Anna and I are interested. Do you know this lady?

"I'm never hungry after I eat"

It's funny how the brain works, or forgets to work, when fatugue sets in. Makes you feel like a pumpkin with no brains. This blog is titled with my favorite quote of the week I heard after a conversation with my esposa while walking home one dark, late night. But, she has a husband who can make anyone's brain self-destruct. Take Friday. Anna's first official day back at school to attend orientation for her the Nursing Degree. After a sweet morning, the afternoon quickly lost it's momentum when I arrived an hour late to pick her up. Following that, we drove to a place where she could complete her drug test. It was a hot, hot day and Anna was already dehydrated and suffering from the onset of a cold. But, I parked in the wrong parking lot and had to move. Only, the car wouldn't start. Dead battery. So we agreed to rendevouz after her drug test as soon as I could arrange to get a jump. Luckily I did, but she was still in line for her drug test. So I drove to Autozone to pick up a battery. After 15 minutes of awesome customer service, I finally was ready to roll. But then I remembered I gave the credit card to Anna so she could pay for the test. And the supervisor on shift at Autozone wouldn't let me leave collateral if I could leave with the battery. But 10 seconds before I knew this, my last words to Anna before her phone died while she called me from the drug test site were: "I'll come pick you up." So, Anna began the long trek home, and so did I, two miles behind her. I jogged a bit and we met at our doorstep where we collapsed on our bed. This story doesn't read as well as it played out, but it was a fun afternoon! Then we took off to the Hall's home in Mesa to spend the night in prep for Anna's first half-marathon!! It was in Phoenix, on another hot, hot day, and she did awesome!!!!!!! Battling a cold, a nasty race course, and the hot sun, she stormed through Phoenix like a bat out of our last blog. And this was the first time she has ever run longer than 10 miles. Plus she has a crazy job as a patient tech that leaves her with less than half a week to train. What a champ!!!

Tucson Fall

Fall is my favorite season. Everything about it is so comfortable and cozy. Not to mention fall food is my favorite. I was a little nervous about fall this year, seeing as Tucson doesn't exactly have seasons. HOwever, it's turned out to be one of my favorite falls yet as we've discovered "fall stuff" in Tucson. For example, the bats. There's a bridge by our apartment that for some reason becomes the home of hundreds of thousands of bats in the fall. If you go to the bridge at sunset, they all swarm out at once and fly away. It was so creepy and halloween-ish!


Fall in Tucson has also come to mean

*we can bear to have the oven on and cook again. We've made some really good things, if I may say, but my favorite were our donuts...mmmhmmm.

*windy days

*camping trips (as Spence talked about in the last post)

*General Conference!!! it's not particular to Tucson, but it means so much to have that connection to the church when I sometimes feel so displaced from it down here. Wasn't it awesome?!

*canooing in Thatcher (well, and being in Thatcher period!)

*cheap apples, and thus apple pie, apple cake, caramel apples, apple-cheese sandwiches, applesauce, apple crisp, apple cider, lunch apples, marshmallow-chocolate-apples, etc etc etc.

*high school football games....not as super seniors as you may think, but as Spencer's brother, Jake's fan club. And it wasn't just any high school football game. It was the homecoming in Thatcher, where all the families in the city gather for the big game. The stands were filled with little 7 year olds whose hair was died Thatcher High green, coaches I mean dads, and 30-40 year alums. I love football games. And I love Thatcher.

*orchard picking, which I'd never done before. If things don't work out for nursing school, I will definitely grow my own orchard and cook pies all day, just like Annie, this lady whose orchard we visited.


Anyway...it's been a really fun fall, even without red leaves or chilly nights. Even in Tucson, it's still my favorite season!
And please let us know any fun fall traditions you have that could be done in a warm desert--we'd love to try more!