It's past time for another update on our lives, so here goes:
Medication status first, as usual. The highest dose always wears me out, and as I've been at the highest dose for three weeks now, I've been rather worn out (thus not getting to this email). Three weeks! Yes, I did say three weeks! I held 98.6 for three weeks, and I anticipate my doctor telling me I'm done with this crazy medication. I'm currently on my way back down in dosage strength, and should be able to quit when I reach zero. Yeah! Once I've been off of it for awhile then we check my thyroid levels and see if I really do have hypothyroid. If so, I will need to take T4 for life, as that is not cureable. This time though, it should actually work and make me feel better.
We went to Washington State for Christmas, and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Mark's family and mine. We got to see lots of relatives, relax, play games, and cook up a storm.
Mark's job duties have slowed down over the last few months, leaving him with occaisional bouts of project time at home. He has had lots of fun making speaker stands, windchime paddles, name plates, and helping Trevor make little wooden animals. It got cold enough in the garage that he hunted down a way to insulate it, and has saved us some on our heating bill, as a warmer garage makes for a warmer bedroom above the garage.
Hello again!
It's now been at least two weeks since I started this email. I've been sick and glued to the couch for two weeks. Started with the flu, which just opened me up for catching a cold, and that moved into bronchitis. I'm just now feeling better, and starting to interact with the world again.
Anyway, on to happier things.
Medication status: I've been to the doctor, and I am almost done with this stuff. I' ll probably be done in the next week. As I said above, I will see her again three weeks after, and we'll test my blood to see where I'm at. Other than the last two weeks, my energy level has been pretty darn good, I've felt warm, and clear headed. I think it worked! Even if I am cured, I'm not supposed to feel 100% till I've been off it for awhile, so it can only get better from here!
Spring is coming to Utah, and I am soooooooo glad! I love the snow, but this year was rediculous! We had a record winter in that we matched the usual amount of snow for the entire season by January. The rest of January and all of February were just bonus. Well, at least we won't have to worry about drought this summer! Anyway, I'm so happy to be thinking about spring! We've even opened the back door and let in the fresh air a few times. Mark has ordered us some retractable screens for the back door so that we can enjoy that fresh air without the bugs coming in. I attended a Relief Society class about square foot gardening, and I'm excited to try my hand at it. I think I'll be planting lettuce, green onions, carrots, and potatoes this year. We'll see how that goes, and I may do corn and miniature pumpkins next year. And, yes, this will fit in my tiny backyard, and still leave room for the BBQ, the patio tables and chairs, and the occaisonal game of in-ground chess. That's the beauty of square foot gardening. It fits in a very small area!
To combat the slowdown in his duties, Mark has taken on "a part time job" within GE. What a blessing this job has been for him! He now has his regular Field Engineer duties, and as he has time, he is handling Customer Support calls as well, and learning the tools available there. This fills his time, but also gives him some of the much needed "Experience within GE" that can typically only be gained through time. He is learning so much in these extra duties that he wishes he had known earlier that he may suggest to his superiors that all Field Engineers should spend some time in this Customer Support posisition.
Nicolette's voice lessons are going very well, and she is learning much. We haven't been to see the horses, as it has just been too cold. She has been reading Harry Potter voraciously, and working to understand her math homework. I LOVE that they are teaching kids algebra concepts early on, so they don't get confused in high school. She has discovered that if she does her math homework on her own, she frequently gets it wrong, whereas if she does it near me, and we talk about the concepts, she understands it better, and then when she turns it in to me to check, she frequently has most of it correct. I'm so happy to share my love of math with her.
Trevor is still just as smart as ever, and tends to whip right through his homework. So fast though, that he gets sent back to redo his handwriting. He hates that. We've been playing Tetris on the X-Box, and he's quite good. We think we may have finally been referred to a good local guitar teacher, but haven't met her yet. For a physical activity for all of us, we are looking into a Jujitsu school that just opened 5 minutes away, and Trevor is quite excited about it. He has always wanted to learn a martial art, and Jujitsu is one that Mark had learned when he was younger.
As for me, some of you know that I've been looking into opening a used children's clothing franchise here in Saratoga Springs. After much study and prayer, I've adjusted that idea, and am now looking at purchasing an existing franchise in Provo. A new one was going to stretch me too far, in too many areas, for too long before becoming stable. An existing store is already stable, so I just get to grow it. My next steps are to talk with the current store owner and get the store's financial info, talk more with a friend of mine who purchased an existing store from the same owner, start the process of acquiring the bank loan, and find a financial advisor who can look over the purchase contract with me and help to decide how I want my company set up. Wow, that's a lot of stuff that I've never done before!
Sometime in the last couple months I finished painting Trevor's farm room, and I've attached pics of it. I painted all of it except the animals and tractors. They are fabric dipped in starch, and attached to the wall. He loves it!I hope life is going well for all of you!
Love,
Kitty
