CNN Story

As some of you may know, my brother-in-law has been diagnosed with a very rare form of terminal cancer. They have decided that it would be best if they moved closer to his family in Utah so that they can have the support network they need for the kids and for my sister, Crystal. He is going through chemotherapy now and will need to recover before he can be transferred to a hospital in Utah and they (Matt and Crystal) can be with the kids.

The appartment complex where they live in Texas is making things more difficult by applying many fees for breaking their lease early. The story was covered by a local network in Texas and is now being aired nationally on CNN.

If you would like to leave a comment of support for the family or to get updates on how Matt is doing please go to matthewbudge.blogspot.com.

- Charity

ABC's

A--ADVOCATE FOR: Learning. There is so much to learn and so much that can be done with that knowledge for good. Our brains are amazing. I recently read a book called A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers by V.S. Ramachandran that talks about the brain/consciousness... as I said, amazing.

B--BEST FEATURE: My hands. I could have been a hand model. I got my dad's long hands and my mom's beautifully shaped nails.

C--COULD DO WITHOUT: Red tape. It's a sad commentary on society that we need so much paperwork to ensure people will be honest and do what is right.

D--DREAMS AND DESIRES: I'd like to make a difference in the lives of others. Specifically, I want my children to feel loved and secure. I love medicine and the body, science, learning, and serving so I'd like to be a doctor of some kind but I must admit that being a mom (the best I can be) is looming a lot closer on the horizon and is the dream I am currently working to make a reality.

E--ESSENTIAL ITEMS: My bag. It can hold most anything. Books, first aid kits, sheet music, keys, phone, gum, yarn, lotion, books, file folders, sunglasses.... did I mention books?

F--FAVORITE PAST TIME: Reading, learning new things, sharing what I've learned with someone who I just know will get a kick out of it.

G--GOOD AT: Multi-tasking.

H--HAVE NEVER TRIED: Bungie-jumping. I thought about it and was about to fork over the fee at an amusement park six years ago but then my wallet was stolen and the choice was taken out of my hands. At this point, it has lost it's appeal. Maybe when I'm sixty.

I--IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I'd hire an accountant and pray really hard that I did the right thing with it. I'm not up to that kind of responsibility... yet.;)

J--JUNKIE FOR: Fruit. Pineapples, citrus, mangoes, grapes.... I've been known to eat a whole pineapple for breakfast and clean out a box of mangoes. I just really like them. My body likes them too because I've never had all the side effects people say I should have. Besides, it's sort of fun to see peoples' faces screw up when they watch me eat my lemons.:)

K--KINDRED SPIRIT: Emily. She is awesome in the true sense of the word.

L--LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I can do a perfect back flip off a diving board.

M--MEMORABLE MOMENT: Daddy doing doughnuts in the GTO in the church parking lot with the top down and us kids in the back. Good times.

N--NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Eat Jaca . I couldn't even if I tried, it makes me gag just thinking about it.

O--OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: New York Super Chunk Fudge ice cream (Ben and Jerry's). There are many good memories tied to this very indulgent, very caloric treat.

Q--QUOTE: Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance - Daddy

R--REASON TO SMILE: Daniel.

S--SORRY ABOUT: Not keeping in contact with friends as well as I would like. I don't even know where some of my people are anymore but I still remember them and miss them.

T--TAG SOME FRIENDS: Christie and Jen

U--UNINTERESTED IN: Shopping. I've been incredibly spoiled to have sisters/brothers who I could get clothes, etc. from when we were growing up and I'm also very tightfisted when it comes to money. (except for on very rare occassions) I don't mind so much when it's a group activity with family/friends but I'd rather go to the library if I'm going somewhere by myself. They have free books and lots of them.

V--VERY SCARED OF: Crocodiles or alligators, same thing as far as I'm concerned. Prehistoric predators who don't seem to blink. Have you ever seen one of them up close? Brrr....... shiver.

W--WORST HABIT: Interupting people. I always feel terrible about it and for some reason I still have a hard time not doing it.

X--X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: I think my mom's couch would have to be it. She knows how to tuck you in just right, how to play with my hair, and she always seems to know exactly what I need, be it food or quiet or whatever. A priceless vacation spot.

Y--YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: I don't know. I didn't get much into the cultural pot growing up and am just now learning some of the icons that I was oblivious to (thanks to my ever patient co-worker Reed).

Z--ZODIAC SIGN: Cancer. It's such a negative word word but then a crab is not much better.

Spring is here.

Here is me taking out the trash.

Charity is doing really well in our final days of not having any dependents on our tax return. We have been cleaning up the house and taking it easy. We are giving our well-used pillows a heart-felt victory lap before we say goodbye to our sleep. We have packed our "go bag" for the hospital, which has just enough stuff in it to carry us over until I can come back home and get whatever we missed. I have begun to getting teary-eyed looking at the babies on the magazine covers at the doctor's office. It must be time for baby.

So, what am I thinking as a soon-to-be-father? Well, I am thinking that the baby is lucky to have a very healthy, extremely beautiful, and eruditiously smart woman for a mother. OK, I made "eruditiously" up, but that just goes to show that words cannot describe how great I think Charity is.

I have not really thought much about what baby will do when he grows up. I have no expectations for him being a star athlete, president, or national hero... yet. Instead, I have been dreaming of the small moments I will have with him over the course of the next few years. Here are a few that make my heart melt:

• Holding him at 3:00 am in the morning as he drifts off to sleep
• Hearing him laugh as he discovers how to run around in a circle
• Seeing his eyes widen at the site of an animal he has never seen before
• Watching him mash his birthday cake in his little fist as he tries to take a bite
• Helping him on his homework
• Teaching him how to draw and paint
• Tucking him into his bed after reading in the Scriptures
  
• Taking him to the park to ride on the swings
• Seeing his smile as I walk in the room
  

Anyways, I can go on, but these are the little moments that I am looking forward to with lots and lots of anticipation. These are the truly gratifying moments in a prideful father's life, aren't they?

Easter Morning

We are so blessed.
We took the time to watch the sun rise and ponder on our Saviour's atonement and resurrection. What a beautiful morning and what a wonderful way to begin a very special day. We know that God lives. We know that Jesus died for us and was resurrected. We know that because of this we can overcome the trials in this life and one day return to His presence to be with our family and friends.

Bed Head

My nights have been rather rough recently. Each morning I awake to realize that, yes, another day has finally arrived, I am still in pain, uncomfortable, large, and that I must once again get up, but this time to stay up. This morning I stumbled to the bathroom to see myself with the worst 'bed head' I believe I have ever had; a testament to the night I had had.

I thought it was hilarious and woke Daniel to take a picture of the masterpiece I had created. After all, this kind of hair deserves to be recorded for posterity to remember and giggle at. He groggily took the pictures and fell quickly back asleep for the few precious minutes he had left before he, too, must get up.




Amazing, isn't it? It just goes to show what kind of night I had.

If I ever need a good Halloween hairdo I think I know how to get it now.:)

Bulk Cereal Strikes Back

I decided to try to make my lemons into lemonade, or in this case, my 10 lbs of cardboard marshmallow puffs into rice crispy treats. My expectations for this endeavor were low, but nonetheless, I decided to make a double batch anyway. I thought, "If I ruin it, oh well. I have a tons left anyway." But just in case, I decided to add some chocolate and peanut butter. After mixing it up, this is what I got:


In honor of my sister-in-law, Charity and I decided to call this recipe, "Caprolite Crispies." As you can tell, the chocolate parts of the treat kind of oozed around and discolored the non-chocolate parts of the treat. It definitely looked questionable at this point.

Notice how the original pink marshmallows neither melted or became disfigured. This leads me to believe that Bulk Foods, who sold me this cereal, really shouldn't call these things marshmallows. To me, a marshmallow only has to meet one of two criteria. They either have to dissolve in and color your milk or melt, tan, or basically do something when heated. Based on this test, these pink "marshmallows" fail on both counts. The treated marshmallows were virtually indistinguishable from their non-treated counterparts. That just isn't natural.

But I digress. As I was saying, my expectations for this concoction were rather low. I incised a square, crinkled my olfactories, and took a hesitant bite. To my utter amazement, this desert transcended the masses of mere mediocre munchies to perhaps become the best rice crispy treat I have ever had. No lie. But I have to admit that it was the chocolate and peanut that put this treat over the top, not the Bulk Cereal. Nevertheless, it is important to note that I have won the greater battle. Charity herself has said, and I quote, "This is something I would have gotten hyper over as a kid." Maybe I'll buy another 10 lbs. of this stuff.... just kidding.

Speaking of kids, OK on a completely unrelated note, Porter Shehab in the Ward just gave us bunch of hand-me down clothes for baby. Among those was this tiny diaper cover swim suit. It is only slightly smaller than the Speedo's I had to wear back on the swim team.

Anyway, we thought they looked really cute. Ah those were the *ahem* good old days...

Request for Support

I am writing because I want you to know what is going on in my family and to ask that you support me and my family.

Last month my brother-in-law, Matt Budge, went in for what was thought to be gallstones. The scan revealed that he had multiple tumors in his liver that were the real cause of the pain he had been experiencing. The doctors said that treatment could wait until after they had gone on the family vacation they have been planning for years. They got back last week and he collapsed soon after. They started chemotherapy on Thursday and are watching him to see if he can stand more therapy next week. The hard numbers are that at the least he has a few weeks, 50% of people tend to make it 5 months, and only 5% of people make it 12 months with his diagnosis. He has been admitted to the hospital to stay.

I wish that I could be there for my sister, Crystal, and the kids but because I am so near my due date I cannot travel. Instead, I have decided to do what I can from here by setting up a website for them. The intent is to post how he and his family are doing, to provide a medium where others can share encouragement and love to the family, and to provide a convenient way for donations to reach the family.

Please visit matthewbudge.blogspot.com to post your encouragement and support for the family. Also, your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated.

Thank you.

Old Projects

Some projects take longer than others to get done.... but they do get done eventually! All it takes is time on your hands and an inability to focus on tasks that really need to be done.

Three years ago I put together some simple blanket tops for my girls in Young Womens to tie as a service project for a local rest home and hospital. They did a great job tieing them and I was able to finish binding most of them so that we could deliver them the following week. However, there was one that got away. I found it in my craft box a few months ago.

While not much 'quilting' went into this blanket, I am, nonetheless, very proud that I finally finished it. I also like to think of my girls in YW who made me a baby blanket, even though we didn't know it at the time.

There must needs be an opposition in all things...

Life is rather interesting. There are so many things that are good that are happening alongside so many things that are not so good. The question is how best to react. It is easy to focus on the bad things and become depressed. At the same time, there are many good things to be happy about and focus on. It is a schizophrenic world. I have been thinking on this for awhile now (and I imagine that the way life goes I will continue thinking on it) and it has called to my mind a scripture in the Book of Mormon. The Nephites have just reunited with their brothers who have been gone for many years and have just heard all that has happened during their separation. They seem to feel what I am trying to express.

"…For they knew not what to think; for when they beheld those that had been delivered out of bondage they were filled with exceedingly great joy. And again, when they thought of their brethren who had been slain by the Lamanites they were filled with sorrow, and even shed many tears of sorrow. And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God. And again, when they thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with pain and anguish for the welfare of their souls.” Mosiah 25:8-11

I do not comprehend all that is to be learned but I do think I have recognized something. To be grateful for all that is good and to sorrow for all that is truly worth sorrowing for is not so easy. To have hearts willing to go through those ups and downs as they did is a great gift. I believe that a key to their success is that they knew who to give thanks to and what was truly important.

Truly, life is interesting.

A break from routine...

I was able to fall asleep before Daniel last night AND sleep through the night. Granted it was only for hour and a half stretches at a time but it was so much better than my recent nightly routine. What is my usual routine you ask? I'd be more than happy to elaborate.

THE THIRD TRIMESTER ROUTINE:

We usually read our scriptures, say our prayers, and are in bed by about 10pm. Sometime about a minute (okay, 5 minutes) later Daniel starts to snore softly, indicating that he has once again abandoned himself to sleep. "Lucky," I think to myself and quell any justified feelings of envy. I then try to settle into a more comfortable position (Happily, I have many pillows to assist me with this endeavor) and manage to nod off around midnight. Unfortunately, it's right around then that I must get up for one of the many nightly stumbles to the restroom. I settle back into bed, take about 30 minutes to find another temporary comfortable position, nod off, and awake around 2am to repeat the process. I am sure that I think too much and this doesn't help the situation. After my 2am trip I usually start running things through my head. I think about the baby, the birth, my family, work, the laundry that needs doing, how the lipid levels in my cerebrospinal fluid are adjusting to my new circadian rhythm and other minutia not worth mentioning. After which ruminations I make another stumble to the restroom, come back and settle in to sleep for another hour before waking up to wait for the alarm clock to go off. Ironically, I usually fall asleep about two minutes before it goes off, groggily turn it off, and collapse into real sleep for another 30 minutes, only to awaken panicked that I will not make it to work in time. I shake Daniel awake, we say our morning prayers and a new day begins.

Valentine's Followup

This is a bit too rich for me, so I will be brief. Here are some images from our ward's Valentine's Day dance. I don't know what I am looking at in this picture. Maybe I am wondering how I got stuck inside a glittery heart with velvet lining. Cooties....As you may have noticed, Charity has cut her hair since this picture:
Nonetheless, I would have the same expression on my face if she had cut it before this picture ;). It's hard to believe it, but Charity is 7 and a half months pregnant in this picture!

Public Service Announcement

Yellow Cake mix with lemon extract liberally sprinkled on top before baking does not equal Lemon Cake Mix. Also, to avoid compounding the error, DO NOT mix lime gelatin and lemon pudding to pour and freeze on top of the cake. If you decide to go ahead and make this dessert anyway, your husband's head will involuntarily twist to the side, his eyes will squeeze shut, and a quiver will run through his entire body every time he hits an especially tart part of this intense dessert.

Coincidence that Mr. Yuck is the same color as this dessert? I think not!

Bernina and Illustrator (or More Tools for the Engineer)

I have been neglecting my Hindi studies for the last couple weeks as I focused on a most absorbing project. My sister, Sarah, is expecting a little girl in May and I have been thinking on what type of design her blanket will be.

I discovered that Illustrator has the capability to allow me to design patterns, to scale them 1:1, and to then play with the color schemes. This is amazing! I measured our crib and calculated how big I wanted Sarah's baby's blanket to be to fit her crib and future toddler bed. I then calculated how big each piece would have to be with a quarter inch seam allowance. Then I was able to decide on the colors that the quilt would be. I have never been able to put so much foresight into my quilting projects and this was very empowering. (usually my design changes as I make it and the end product is different than the imagined initial product.) In addition to being really cool, the calculations and planning meant that I could plan how to cut my fabric to minimize waste.


Daniel and I took a trip to Michael's and I got my first cutting board, rotary cutter, and pin cushion. We got the fabric from WalMart. (Have I mentioned that I love the counter space in our new apartment?)


I received a Bernina Series 810 as my Christmas present this past year (Thank you, Mama!) and I threaded it up with the appropriate thread for the project. (Daniel was impressed at how the spool will automatically fill from the commercial spool. Good design.)


I was very careful to make all the points required and even took the time to iron the back. It is such a good feeling to know that the back looks just as good as the front.


Then commenced piecing...


And more piecing....


I went over to Tauna's house (my friend and Primary President) to baste it together. She let me use the frame that her great grandmother used to make quilts in her day. So now my quilt has used some old tools too in its creation. (Thank you, Tauna!)


The quilting is the most intimidating part for me so it took me a couple days to nerve up to starting it. Daniel was very good about letting me leave the sewing machine in place on the table until I had worked up the courage.


I've always had trouble keeping the back from bunching up when I quilt and with careful planning, was able to avoid it this time.


Last of all, the binding needed doing. This time I pinned it up and tried my hand at machine sewing the binding in place. It turned out decent but I think my hand sewing is a little neater. Probably because I have more practice at it.:)


Ta-daa! Finished!




This has been a lot of fun. I have loved learning new things, using new tools, and making what I actually planned to make. I have also really enjoyed thinking of my niece using it.

Short and to the Point

While I cannot change or control many things in my life, I find great comfort in the fact that I can get my hair cut when everything else seems to be out of control. Yay for small victories... Next stop, new shoes.;)

Photoshop Fun

I have been thinking about getting my hair cut for some time now and thanks to Photoshop I was able to 'try-on' a couple of different styles. It's amazing what you can do with only a few tools in that program. (and slightly horrifying) Maybe next time I'll add makeup ....