New Project

So, for Christmas I received the Worldwide Ward Cookbook. Honestly, I couldn't be more thrilled. I love to cook and I'm so excited to have a whole new collection of recipes to work on.

While at work this week I was discussing this new acquisition of mine with my good friend Jill, and she told me that she had the book as well. We decided that we need to try every recipe in the book. So, we made a plan to choose at least 2 recipes every week to try out. And, in the spirit of Julie & Julia, I decided we should keep a blog about it. You can check it out here.

Enjoy!

Another One Gone

Well, my friends, another Christmas has come and nearly gone. I must say, it was a good one. While some of our family members were missing (We love you Elder Hatch!) we still had a great time just being together as a family.

So, to finish out the year here are 9 sort of important things that happened in 2009:

1. Curious George got laid off from South Valley. After a 6 week job search, they hired him back.
2. We decided to stay put for another year and re-signed our lease.
3. Pippi successfully planned and pulled off a surprise 30th birthday party for George
4. Pippi took her first (but definitely not last) trip to The Big Apple and fell in love.
5. Our living room ceiling caved in... and didn't get fixed for nearly a month.
6. George got laid off again, but started a new (and infinitely better) job the next week.
7. George ended up with a herniated disk in his back. So far the cortisone shot seems to be doing the trick to fix it.
8. We both got hooked on Glee and are anxiously awaiting it's return in April.
9. Pippi has started doing her own pedicures. (Sigh)

So, there you have it. A few important, and not so important things, that happened in 2009. Hope it treated all of you just as well.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Good People

I like knowing where I come from. I love hearing about my roots, hearing stories about my ancestors, and knowing who I am in relation to them.

Curious George and I attend the ward that my dad grew up in. There are a lot of "old-timers" in the ward that know my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, etc. A few of them know who I belong to, so to speak, but more of them don't.

Today one sister in the ward, who is quite familiar with my family, came up after sacrament meeting to chat with George and I. She introduced herself (I already knew who she was) and asked if we'd been able to attend a party they'd thrown for the young marrieds in the ward. I introduced myself back, and told her what family I belonged to. She grabbed my hand and said, "Oh, look at you. I can see it now, you have the Hatch eyes and dimples!" She then proceeded to tell me a story about my family that brought a tear to my eye. She said:

"When we were still a young family, I found out that my newborn baby had a blood clot pressing on his optic nerve. We took him to the hospital and were informed that he would need surgery. I would be required to stay with him, because the doctor felt that he wouldn't survive if I weren't there to nurse him and be by his bedside. Well, when your grandparents heard about this I got a call from your grandma. She told me to drop off my kids with some clothes and their sleeping bags and they could stay as long as they needed to. I knew she had a full house already, and that she was busy with both she and your grandpa working full time. I protested, but she insisted. She kept my kids for 5 days and allowed me to be with my baby in the hospital. I just want you to know that you come from a wonderful family."

We both wiped a tear away and I thanked her for sharing her story with me.

In this season of Christmas and giving I am amazed at the love and generosity I see all around me. I am grateful to my friends and family for giving me such a great example of Christlike love and charity. I am proud to be a part of such a giving, caring, and loving family and I hope that I can carry on the legacy that has been laid down before me.

Back to the Future

Well, the verdict is in: Curious George has a severely herniated disk at the L5-S1 level.

After receiving the run-around from the doctor (4 phone calls to even get the MA on the phone) we finally got the MRI taken care of. We figured we'd just take the disk with the images on it with us when we went to the Spine Institute this week. Well, lo and behold, Dr. Wood himself called Steve on Monday with the news. I believe that the exact wording was, "I took a look at your MRI and found a pretty severe herniation. I'm going to call Dr. Rich, who is a neurosurgeon, and turn your case over to him."

Alright. Neurosurgeon. Yikes.

Ok, let me back up. We're getting answers. We've been told to keep our appointment at the Spine Institute just as a second opinion. Apparently, Dr. Rich is going to take a look at the images and give us a call next week. It looks like my hopes of getting this taken care of before the end of the year are in vain.

So, let me just sum this up by sharing my gratitude for a few things:
1. Health insurance. Even if we don't get this taken care of by the end of the year, we've still got insurance to help foot the bill.
2. Money in savings. It will be nice to have a back up for the possible tough times ahead.
3. Good jobs for both of us. We'll both be able to get the time off we need to take care of whatever needs to be done.
4. Talented medical professionals. I'm glad George will be getting the help he needs so he can begin to heal and return to a normal life.

I'm grateful for so much in this season, but these are just a few things at the forefront of my mind today.

Sock it to Me

I have a thing for socks. The only time I wear solid color socks is to the gym. At work I tend to match my socks to my scrubs in color. Pattern is a whole different issue. Anyway, considering that my name comes from the movie Pippi Longstocking, I've decided to change the title of my blog. Also, for just a hint of privacy protection (without full-on taking my blog private) I will, from here on out, be referring to myself as Pippi. And keeping in the theme of childhood books/movies I will be referring to my husband as Curious George, or George for short.
I'll still post pictures, stories from our lives, and all of the goodness you've come to expect from this blog. I'm just going to exercise a bit more discretion in sharing the nitty gritty of our lives.

Thank you, come again!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I'm so happy it finally snowed. For some reason, I feel like the cold is more tolerable if there's snow on the ground. Plus, as "TAMN" as this might sound: I love sweaters and boots. Really, I do. I'm even considering doing something that I thought I'd never do. That's right, I'm shopping for skinny jeans to wear under my boots. Yikes. Anyway, now that I've got that out of the way I'm going to rant and rave a little bit. Stop reading now if you don't want to see my negativity.

I love the cold, but I don't love what it does to my husband. He already has bone and joint issues, and the cold just makes them worse. Around the time it got really cold (right after Thanksgiving) his back got really bad. We think it's a herniated disk causing some sciatic nerve pain down his leg and his right foot to go numb. I sent him to a doctor last month for back pain. They took x-rays and ran some blood work, but those tests didn't show anything. Anyway, the doctor told Steve that if the pain got worse to call him and they'd set up an MRI. So, last week we called. When we didn't hear back we called again. We finally got someone on the phone and they told us they'd set up the appointment and call us back. After 3 days of hearing nothing we called again. Again, we were told that they'd call us back. Finally, 3 hours later, we get a phone call saying that they've set up an MRI appointment. Did we get any further instructions than that? Nope. Just "show up". I'm not sure I want him to go. I think they'll do the MRI and we'll never hear back from his doctor. So, I'm currently "doctor shopping" at TOSH for him to see if we can find an orthopedic specialist that won't jerk us around.

Speaking of being jerked around: I hate FedEx. On Black Friday I took advantage of an online sale (half off clearance, $25 off any order of $75 or more, and free shipping). I completed my order, and over the subsequent days I followed my package's progress on the FedEx tracking website. Well, the following Tuesday Steve and I were both at home. I was napping and he was watching a little tv. When I woke up from my nap I checked on the package again to see that it had been delivered at 3 pm. I opened the door to check, and lo and behold, no package. I decided to give them 24 hours to prove me wrong. Well, the next day, still no package. I called the customer service line and they said that they'd send the driver out to talk with me the next day. So, the driver shows up. First of all, he hardly spoke any English at all. I know, I shouldn't judge, but if you work in a customer service profession you should be able to communicate with your customers. Anyway, he very rudely told me, "Ask them." Pointing to the front door of the neighbors across the hall. Then he walked away. Well, considering I was in my sweats, I sent Steve over to ask the neighbors. They hadn't seen the package.
I called FedEx again the next day and was told that if the driver had checked in with me it was no longer FedEx's problem, and I'd have to call Torrid and see if I could get a refund from them. Really, FedEx? It's my problem that you lost my package? You really think Torrid is going to give me a refund on a package that you show has been delivered? I don't think so. I think that you are delusional, rude, and horrible to your customers. Never again will I choose to ship with you.

So, basically, the last two weeks have consisted of:
1. A lot of unanswered questions.
2. Horrible customer service.
3. Rude people

Happy freaking December.