I'm all made of hinges...

....But they don't all bend!
This week has been a week of relief and healing, literally. I have been feeling kind of down lately because I have felt like my body is aging way too fast - everything is breaking down! My issues have been pain in my wrists and my feet. I don't write to complain, so here's the upside: Its not as bad as I thought!
I went to the doctor last week for the wrist pain, I thought maybe it was carpal tunnel. Luckily, after the doctor had a look, he told me that I have something much more fixable. It's called Dequervains Tenosynovitis. Sounds scary, but it just means repetitive strain thumb pain. I think it is a result of typing, texting, and crocheting (I think its mostly from crocheting too much over the Christmas break..oops). So, my doctor gave me two thumb/wrist splints (one for each hand) that I get to wear day and night for the next 3 weeks! Lucky me! I'm being sarcastic, but I really am grateful that it isn't as bad as it could have been. I also went in to see a podiatrist for some foot pain. I am glad that I finally went in, because it was very helpful and enlightening. My feet have been the biggest source of pain and resistance to do much physical activity for the past couple years, and I thought that maybe I'd just have to live with it. So, bad news: my doctor told me that I most definitely have flat feet, but the good news is that I can get custom orthotics, that will improve everything.
I am so grateful to say that because of BYU insurance, I can get those custom orthotics for my feet- one pair especially made for dress shoes (thank goodness, because that's all I wear) and one pair for sports shoes (so now I can be active again), at an extremely low cost ($60 per pair, as opposed to $360). I only wish I would have known about this option sooner, because my feet unfortunately have some irreversible damage, including bunions and other bone structure changes, and its pretty constantly painful.

Lesson learned: don't put off taking care of your body - its not worth the pain, and you are worth the money spent on your comfort and health.

California and Crafts

Richard just spent the past weekend in Merced,CA, scouting out the area that he will be working in this upcoming summer. While it was hard for me to let him go for a couple days, I was able to fill up my "alone" time with family time! It was so nice - I just went over and babysat Gabe, then spent the night at R&BJ's. When I woke up, Rochelle and I started doing crafts - I gave our clock a makeover, and posted pictures on our new crafting blog. Check it out here! We've been having so much fun, getting together almost every week to make cool stuff. Our main objective is to come up with new ways of making classy things, spending as little money as possible (preferably none). Also, when we get enough courage, we want to branch out and try COOKING new things...yikes! Anyway, feel free to check our blog out, post comments, follow us, etc. And let me know if you have any cool ideas and want to contribute, or that you wouldn't mind us trying! :) Here's our actual blog URL: www.homesweethomebodies.blogspot.com

So, I'll just tell you a little about Richard's trip to CA (he can write more later if he wants). As much as I was bummed about him leaving me home without him, I am really glad that he went, it seemed to be a really good trip. Overall, he had really good impressions of the area, and of the managers there. They seemed to be really supportive and anxious to help the team out, which of course is very encouraging. What I'm most excited about is the fact that we'll be living within 60 or so miles of Yosemite National Park, so we'll be able to visit it a few times this summer!

p.s. so here's my plug: If you are interested, or you know of anyone who might be interested in selling pest control this summer, Richard is looking for people to be on his team. It is going to be a really good year, and Clark is an awesome company (Not to mention the awesome team leaders, Richard & Max). Let me know if you are interested, and I can give you more info!

Hello Helloooo!

Hello friends and family!
its been awhile since we last wrote! We have just been getting back into the swing of things, with the start of the new semester and all. Here's an update of our past few weeks:
We had a GREAT break, despite our last-minute change in plans. We had been planning on going to PA for Christmas, but when we got to the airport we found out that they had just canceled our flight due to some major snow storms in the DC area. Luckily, we were able to switch all our tickets around and flew to Oregon the next day. Whew! What a relief! We were so grateful for the help of our families to make that work, and that we were able to maximize the time with the families! This past Christmas was one of my favorites, here's a few reasons why:
- being home for christmas with the whole family for the first time (minus Tayler). It was so fun to just hang out with the family.
- being home for my birthday, and doing our tradition of going out to lunch, and watching a movie (claim jumper - yum!- and "Julie and Julia")
- talking to tayler on the phone when he called- it was so good to hear his voice, and hear how upbeat he is. I am so proud of him and how hard he is working.
- Watching Gabe open up presents - he was A-DORABLE!
- being there for the annual Arave Family Sing-along was wonderful. It always makes Christmas feel like Christmas for me.

The day after Christmas, we flew out to PA, and spent the next week with Richard's family. We had a great time there, with them. Some highlights:
- Second Christmas (the siblings decided to wait to open the majority of their presents until we got there)
- Girls' day out - shopping was so fun!
- Snow day! - we woke up to a fun day of snow, and went outside for lots of sled racing, snowball fights and playing
- Philadelphia - so cool! We got to see Constitution hall (where the constitution was signed), and the Liberty Bell. That was pretty neat.
- Day with the parents - Richard's parents took us out to lunch at a really yummy italian restaurant, and then took us to the DC temple with them. We really enjoyed our time visiting and doing that with them.
- CHILI'S restaurant TWICE! Oh my...I was so happy. We went there for dinner once with the whole family, and then there for dessert with the parents and Diana. Can you guess what we all ordered?! Three words: Molten. Chocolate. cake. OH MY... so good. if you haven't had it, you should.

On that delicious note, I'm signing out for now!