So in the past week, I've had two interviews. First one at Control4, which was all due to the lovely Kateka. It went really well, and I actually have another interview via phone set up for Monday. Which is really too bad because I suck at phone interviews. Horribly. Either way, my second interview was with The Ready Store, which was set up through an old friend from 1800Contacts. It was very random and spur of the moment. I saw her at 6:30 Thursday night, and then Friday at 12, I had an interview. Thursday afternoon Stampin' Up! called, and alas, I had an interview for this Wednesday. So, even though all summer I didn't hear one single word about a job, now that school is almost back in, I've got three interviews. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense. But I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities, and can't wait to figure things out. I know that I was all psyched about being the PE teacher, which I really am/was, but after everything that happened with my legs and spending all that money, it was kind of a wake up call as to why insurance is so important. So my priorities have had to shift slightly.
I can't lie either, at this moment in my life, I'm embracing change. I've been at the same job for a few years now, with a little break while I went to school. I've been out of school for over a year now. Justin is still going, but that also means he's working, going to school, and free time is spent doing homework. Which, I appreciate everything that he is doing to provide for me. I love Justin. He is such a hard worker, and he has the most amazing goals which he is completely able to achieve. I'm so proud of his ambition, and his focus, and control. He is so motivated and he knows just what he wants. It really is such a comfort to know that I'll be with him for eternity.
Moving on in the weekend. Saturday was rough. A word that I can't even say ruined everything. I found out my aunt (my dad's sister) has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Looking it up, the first line reads "Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease or CJD (pronounced /ˈkrɔɪtsfɛlt ˈjɑːkoʊb/,[1] "KROITS-felt YA-kob") is a degenerative neurological disorder (brain disease) that is incurable and invariably fatal." So that gives you an idea as to what my Saturday was like. I think the hardest thing is knowing what my aunt will have to go through. She's already forgetting things, she's started tripping, and it's just the beginning. For some reason, their family has been hit HARD with trials. My uncle died when I was just little. Then my cousin's wife died in her sleep, leaving him with just a little baby girl, and this was years ago. But then my cousin died 3 years ago. Leaving his daughter with her step-mom and grandparents. She's now in her 20s, but that doesn't make it any easier. Now my aunt has been given 2-6 months left to live. Sometimes you just have to wonder how much one family can take. And the things I mentioned are just PART of their trials. It blows my mind. I know that Heavenly Father only gives us as much as we can handle, but it doesn't make it any easier to comprehend. So there have been a lot of tears. A lot of prayers. Not only for my aunt, but for my grandparents. They've already lost one child, I'm not sure how they'll take losing another. For my dad, and his sisters. I can't imagine the pain these next few months will bring for them all. For my cousins, and what they'll have to endure. So instead of me praying about jobs, and what not, I'm now praying for comfort, love, and understanding.
I had a friend post asking about happiness, and what it was. I can honestly say that the thing that makes me most happy is my family. They can make me the most crazy, the most angry, and they can make me laugh the hardest. But without a doubt, they make me the happiest.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Things are MUCH better, thank you!
Even though I had the worst weekend ever, things started looking up almost instantly. But how could they not? Anything is better than pink eye and poison ivy. This last weekend we went to Justin's parents cabin, and spent the night there. Saturday was really fun. We went kayaking! At first I was a little nervous, because the area where we pushed off from had a lot of trees and bushes and what not in the water, and I had all these horrible images of tipping over and having to swim in it. But it worked out. So we went for a little ride just around the trees and bushes. At one point, we turned a corner and this HUGE bird took off going "AHHH!!!! AHHH!!!!" And it nearly gave me a heart attack, because I started to think if the bird turned on me, I was going to have to beat it with my oar, which would then lead to me tipping over... but alas, all was well. Then Shane did a little fishing. Then Justin noticed some freaking ginormous crawdads. So naturally, they started to fish for them. Once they got one, Justin decides to eat it. So he pulled out his little camp stove, and throws it on. Yucko. But he ate it. We had to go home a little earlier than normal because we still had to go grocery shopping and birthday gift shopping. So we left around 4, and got our to-do list out of the way.
Sunday morning, I started babysitting for the lady who lives behind us. They have 4 kids. So that was an adventure. It really wasn't that bad. Eli (the little 2 year old boy) was SO easy to watch. He didn't cry ever. He went down for naps like a champ. He went to bed at 7:45 like a champ. And all in all, it was a good experience. Justin would come over and hang out with me and the kids. Eli loves Dora, and Justin would sit and watch it with him. It was adorable. Kind of funny because Justin rarely does that with his own nieces and nephew. But this was a bit different of a situation. We finished babysitting Tuesday night, and I have to admit, there were some serious learning experiences in that time. Both on parenting, picking battles, and how to handle things. I hope I remember!
So, a couple of weeks ago, I had told Justin that I wanted to do something that was just us. We've been doing a lot of family stuff lately, which I love, but it's summer, and I don't want to miss my chance to hang with just my husband.
So. What did we decide to do? Go backpacking! I was super excited. We invited some of our friends to come, and got all ready. Well. There must have been something lost in translation, because when I told Justin I wanted to go somewhere 'easy' he heard 'moderately hard'. I'd never been backpacking. Sooo.... little bit of a rough start. 3 miles straight up hill. What the face. Definitely wasn't ready for that. This was a trip I think I needed to prepare for. And didn't. So, we stopped a few times so as to catch our breath, and to let the old man running up pass us. Yeah.
2.5 hours later, we found our camping spot. It was a nice little spot next to the creek. There was a full moon, so right in the middle of the night, it felt like there was a spotlight on us. It was dang bright. And from what we thought, there was going to be a meteor shower, but alas, the moon was too bright to see anything. The next morning, we decided to forgo the hike up the rest of the mountain, and just started home after breakfast and cleaning up. We walked up to the lake, which was pretty. On our way back to get our stuff, Justin and I stumbled across some moose. Which kind of scared me. Two big moose, that were looking right at us. Little intimidating.
Now I'm sore, and my sleeping schedule has been thrown off. But the latter is because when we got home Justin and I took a 3 hour naps. Oops.
Sunday morning, I started babysitting for the lady who lives behind us. They have 4 kids. So that was an adventure. It really wasn't that bad. Eli (the little 2 year old boy) was SO easy to watch. He didn't cry ever. He went down for naps like a champ. He went to bed at 7:45 like a champ. And all in all, it was a good experience. Justin would come over and hang out with me and the kids. Eli loves Dora, and Justin would sit and watch it with him. It was adorable. Kind of funny because Justin rarely does that with his own nieces and nephew. But this was a bit different of a situation. We finished babysitting Tuesday night, and I have to admit, there were some serious learning experiences in that time. Both on parenting, picking battles, and how to handle things. I hope I remember!
So, a couple of weeks ago, I had told Justin that I wanted to do something that was just us. We've been doing a lot of family stuff lately, which I love, but it's summer, and I don't want to miss my chance to hang with just my husband.
So. What did we decide to do? Go backpacking! I was super excited. We invited some of our friends to come, and got all ready. Well. There must have been something lost in translation, because when I told Justin I wanted to go somewhere 'easy' he heard 'moderately hard'. I'd never been backpacking. Sooo.... little bit of a rough start. 3 miles straight up hill. What the face. Definitely wasn't ready for that. This was a trip I think I needed to prepare for. And didn't. So, we stopped a few times so as to catch our breath, and to let the old man running up pass us. Yeah.
2.5 hours later, we found our camping spot. It was a nice little spot next to the creek. There was a full moon, so right in the middle of the night, it felt like there was a spotlight on us. It was dang bright. And from what we thought, there was going to be a meteor shower, but alas, the moon was too bright to see anything. The next morning, we decided to forgo the hike up the rest of the mountain, and just started home after breakfast and cleaning up. We walked up to the lake, which was pretty. On our way back to get our stuff, Justin and I stumbled across some moose. Which kind of scared me. Two big moose, that were looking right at us. Little intimidating.
Now I'm sore, and my sleeping schedule has been thrown off. But the latter is because when we got home Justin and I took a 3 hour naps. Oops.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Recap of the worst weekend ever.
So, like I said. I had pink eye. It started Thursday morning, and hit full on Friday morning. When I woke up, I thought Justin had punched me in the eye during the night. My eye was watering like crazy, so I got up at 5 and started to wipe it off and what not. Justin, my brother Jess, and I were all planning on going camping from Friday to Saturday and dig for trilobites, geodes, and go to Topaz Mountain. I wasn't sure if I should go with or not (I didn't know at the time that I had pink eye) so I had Justin give me a blessing, in which something was said about doctors and I took that as a "don't go, you need to check this out" sign.
They left, and my brother in law Adam took me to my parents so that my mom could drive me to the insta-care. When I got there it was roughly 7:00 AM so I went to sleep in their spare bedroom, and my mom woke me up at 10, and off to the insta-care we went. We went to the Riverton Hospital which was completely empty. We got right in, and he told me it was pink eye. I'd left my contacts in for too long, and he said one probably just got irritated, and I didn't leave it alone, so that's probably why it happened. Anyway. He prescribed me some eye drops, and told me I couldn't put my contacts in until my eye was completely healed. Mind you, my prescription for contacts is roughly -4.00, and my glasses are from my sophomore year in high school which puts my prescription at like a -1.00. So, my glasses help me see a few inches further than what I see without any help. I got my prescription filled, and went home. The eye drops left the WORST taste in my mouth, so as soon as I took them, I'd eat to mask the taste. Awesome, huh?
Onto my 'flat warts'. So, like I said, I have these all over my leg. When I had Dr. Forsha look at them a couple weeks ago, he was all "Oh yep! Those are flat warts. You probably have dozens of them" which I do, and I don't find amusing. So, they did some experiment with ointment on my hip, and then Thursday they put the dpcp (the ointment) on my warts. Well, they got red and itchy. Then Friday night they started to blister. Then more started blistering. And the itch continued on. Finally Saturday afternoon, after sending a picture of my leg to my parents, my mom called me and told me to call the doctor. So I did.
Me: Hi this is Tracee Larson, I have flat warts all over my leg.
Dr. Forsha: Oh yes yes, I remember you.
Me: Well, they're starting to blister up, is that normal?
Dr. Forsha: Oh well, no. Basically what we're doing is a controlled allergic reaction, so it's like putting liquid poison ivy/oak on your leg. The concentration must have been a little high. Are the blisters twice the size of the warts?
Me: More, at least 3-5 times bigger.
Dr. Forsha: Hmm. Well, why don't you call me tomorrow, and if it's still this way, I'll call in a prescription for Prednizone.
Me: Okay, thanks.
Dr. Forsha: -click-
So, Friday night I didn't get much sleep what with all the itching and eye business. And with Justin gone, I just sat and watched TV all day. I had to move the lazy boy like a foot away from the TV so I could watch it without getting a headache. Then Saturday night was about the same, but with Justin home. I just laid in bed and tried not to itch. So Sunday rolls around and I call Dr. Forsha back, and he calls in the prescription to help the itching.
So, we go to Wal Mart to pick it up, and the guy at the pharmacy asks if I've ever taken it before. I've had hives before, but I don't remember. So I say no. He goes on to tell me that it can give me an upset stomach so it's better to eat when I take them (yay, more eating) and that I'll have 5 days of taking 3 pills, then 5 days of 2 pills, and then 5 days of 1. Woo. Then, he looks at Justin and says, "Now, this can cause moodiness."
Um, hello? I have pink eye, and itchy blisters all over my leg, and I can't see a damn thing. I'm already moody.
So Justin and I laugh about that. But I do have to admit, the prednizone is doing a fine job, and most the itchiness is gone. Hallelujah!
Going back to my dermatologist appointment with Dr. Forsha on Thursday, I was told to call back 3-5 days later to let the office know about my reaction. So that's what I did. I talked to the phone nurse, who says she's going to call in my prescription for me to pick up tomorrow (Wednesday) and she'll call me back to let me know. So I wait, and a couple of hours later, she calls and says, "Well, the Doctor decided that since your reaction was so severe, we're going to put you on a different cream that you put on once a day. It's called somethingIcan'tremember and it'll be in a box of 24 packets. Can you pick that up tomorrow at the Riverton Wal Mart?" Which I respond with, yes, thanks, blah blah blah.
Wednesday morning, I go to Wal Mart.
Me: My doctor called in a prescription for me yesterday. My name is Tracee Larson
Lady: Okay, just a moment.
Lady: Um, okay. Do you have insurance?
Me: No, I don't.
Lady: Oh, well this is $600 dollars.
Me: Okay. Well, I'm going to have to talk to them. Sorry!
-I turn and walk away so as not to freak out at the poor lady just doing her job-
Awesome. I call the dermatologist office back, and guess what? They're all out to lunch. For a full hour. Once I finally get someone, I'm transferred to the phone nurse, and naturally, I get her voicemail. So I leave a message about how the prescription was $600, and that's not going to work for me so we need to figure something else out. Another couple of hours later, she calls back saying that they don't have a licensed doctor in the office, so she'll have to call me tomorrow. Which is now today.
I called the office earlier today, but no one answered. Go figure. Then to my surprise, the phone nurse calls me back.
Phone Nurse: Is this Tracee?
Me: Yes it is.
PN: Hi this is so-and-so from South Valley Dermatology, and I've talked to one of our doctors, and we've decided to go with a cream that you can apply to your leg 3 times a day. It's all purely samples provided from the manufacturer.
Me: So I won't have to pay anything?
PN: That's right.
Me: Thanks, because I don't have insurance, and I can't afford much more.
PN: I'm so sorry. We keep it here in the office, so is there anyway you could come here and pick it up? The problem is we're going to lunch soon and won't be back until 1:30.
Me: That should be just fine.
PN: Okay, it's kept in the fridge, so we'll have it ready for you.
Me: Okay, thanks.
So, la-de-da-de-da 1:15 rolls around, and I head over. I go in, and ask for the prescription for Tracee Larson, and the girl (who I assume is new can't find it. So I mention that it's in the fridge, and she goes and looks there, and still can't find it. Then a nurse practitioner whatever comes and asks what it's for, and I say my leg. Luckily, she finds it. When she hands it to me, I asked her to just look at my leg really quick, because I just have some questions, which she is fine with. When I roll up my pant leg, guess what reaction I get? "Good heavens girlfriend!" 1- I am not your girlfriend. 2- your office did this to me!
So I ask about scarring, how long it will take to heal, etc. I get the answers I expect. Not the ones I want to hear, but I expect them nonetheless.
So needless to say, at this point I'm satisfied.
But then, and I feel this encompasses my whole experience with this dumb office... When I go out to my car, I jump in and start the car, throw it into reverse just as someone pulls in next to me. Well, I wait patiently for this 50-something lady to get out of the passenger side. She opens the door, and BAM. She hits my jeep with the door. WHAT THE! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! She makes a little "Oh no!" face, and continues on her way. Just leaves. Doesn't even make sure there isn't anything there. No 'I'm so sorry I'm an idiot and can't control the stupid car door' just nothing.
I'm past the point of handling anything more this week. So if you need me, I'll be curled up in bed sleeping until Sunday morning.
They left, and my brother in law Adam took me to my parents so that my mom could drive me to the insta-care. When I got there it was roughly 7:00 AM so I went to sleep in their spare bedroom, and my mom woke me up at 10, and off to the insta-care we went. We went to the Riverton Hospital which was completely empty. We got right in, and he told me it was pink eye. I'd left my contacts in for too long, and he said one probably just got irritated, and I didn't leave it alone, so that's probably why it happened. Anyway. He prescribed me some eye drops, and told me I couldn't put my contacts in until my eye was completely healed. Mind you, my prescription for contacts is roughly -4.00, and my glasses are from my sophomore year in high school which puts my prescription at like a -1.00. So, my glasses help me see a few inches further than what I see without any help. I got my prescription filled, and went home. The eye drops left the WORST taste in my mouth, so as soon as I took them, I'd eat to mask the taste. Awesome, huh?
Onto my 'flat warts'. So, like I said, I have these all over my leg. When I had Dr. Forsha look at them a couple weeks ago, he was all "Oh yep! Those are flat warts. You probably have dozens of them" which I do, and I don't find amusing. So, they did some experiment with ointment on my hip, and then Thursday they put the dpcp (the ointment) on my warts. Well, they got red and itchy. Then Friday night they started to blister. Then more started blistering. And the itch continued on. Finally Saturday afternoon, after sending a picture of my leg to my parents, my mom called me and told me to call the doctor. So I did.
Me: Hi this is Tracee Larson, I have flat warts all over my leg.
Dr. Forsha: Oh yes yes, I remember you.
Me: Well, they're starting to blister up, is that normal?
Dr. Forsha: Oh well, no. Basically what we're doing is a controlled allergic reaction, so it's like putting liquid poison ivy/oak on your leg. The concentration must have been a little high. Are the blisters twice the size of the warts?
Me: More, at least 3-5 times bigger.
Dr. Forsha: Hmm. Well, why don't you call me tomorrow, and if it's still this way, I'll call in a prescription for Prednizone.
Me: Okay, thanks.
Dr. Forsha: -click-
So, Friday night I didn't get much sleep what with all the itching and eye business. And with Justin gone, I just sat and watched TV all day. I had to move the lazy boy like a foot away from the TV so I could watch it without getting a headache. Then Saturday night was about the same, but with Justin home. I just laid in bed and tried not to itch. So Sunday rolls around and I call Dr. Forsha back, and he calls in the prescription to help the itching.
So, we go to Wal Mart to pick it up, and the guy at the pharmacy asks if I've ever taken it before. I've had hives before, but I don't remember. So I say no. He goes on to tell me that it can give me an upset stomach so it's better to eat when I take them (yay, more eating) and that I'll have 5 days of taking 3 pills, then 5 days of 2 pills, and then 5 days of 1. Woo. Then, he looks at Justin and says, "Now, this can cause moodiness."
Um, hello? I have pink eye, and itchy blisters all over my leg, and I can't see a damn thing. I'm already moody.
So Justin and I laugh about that. But I do have to admit, the prednizone is doing a fine job, and most the itchiness is gone. Hallelujah!
Going back to my dermatologist appointment with Dr. Forsha on Thursday, I was told to call back 3-5 days later to let the office know about my reaction. So that's what I did. I talked to the phone nurse, who says she's going to call in my prescription for me to pick up tomorrow (Wednesday) and she'll call me back to let me know. So I wait, and a couple of hours later, she calls and says, "Well, the Doctor decided that since your reaction was so severe, we're going to put you on a different cream that you put on once a day. It's called somethingIcan'tremember and it'll be in a box of 24 packets. Can you pick that up tomorrow at the Riverton Wal Mart?" Which I respond with, yes, thanks, blah blah blah.
Wednesday morning, I go to Wal Mart.
Me: My doctor called in a prescription for me yesterday. My name is Tracee Larson
Lady: Okay, just a moment.
Lady: Um, okay. Do you have insurance?
Me: No, I don't.
Lady: Oh, well this is $600 dollars.
Me: Okay. Well, I'm going to have to talk to them. Sorry!
-I turn and walk away so as not to freak out at the poor lady just doing her job-
Awesome. I call the dermatologist office back, and guess what? They're all out to lunch. For a full hour. Once I finally get someone, I'm transferred to the phone nurse, and naturally, I get her voicemail. So I leave a message about how the prescription was $600, and that's not going to work for me so we need to figure something else out. Another couple of hours later, she calls back saying that they don't have a licensed doctor in the office, so she'll have to call me tomorrow. Which is now today.
I called the office earlier today, but no one answered. Go figure. Then to my surprise, the phone nurse calls me back.
Phone Nurse: Is this Tracee?
Me: Yes it is.
PN: Hi this is so-and-so from South Valley Dermatology, and I've talked to one of our doctors, and we've decided to go with a cream that you can apply to your leg 3 times a day. It's all purely samples provided from the manufacturer.
Me: So I won't have to pay anything?
PN: That's right.
Me: Thanks, because I don't have insurance, and I can't afford much more.
PN: I'm so sorry. We keep it here in the office, so is there anyway you could come here and pick it up? The problem is we're going to lunch soon and won't be back until 1:30.
Me: That should be just fine.
PN: Okay, it's kept in the fridge, so we'll have it ready for you.
Me: Okay, thanks.
So, la-de-da-de-da 1:15 rolls around, and I head over. I go in, and ask for the prescription for Tracee Larson, and the girl (who I assume is new can't find it. So I mention that it's in the fridge, and she goes and looks there, and still can't find it. Then a nurse practitioner whatever comes and asks what it's for, and I say my leg. Luckily, she finds it. When she hands it to me, I asked her to just look at my leg really quick, because I just have some questions, which she is fine with. When I roll up my pant leg, guess what reaction I get? "Good heavens girlfriend!" 1- I am not your girlfriend. 2- your office did this to me!
So I ask about scarring, how long it will take to heal, etc. I get the answers I expect. Not the ones I want to hear, but I expect them nonetheless.
So needless to say, at this point I'm satisfied.
But then, and I feel this encompasses my whole experience with this dumb office... When I go out to my car, I jump in and start the car, throw it into reverse just as someone pulls in next to me. Well, I wait patiently for this 50-something lady to get out of the passenger side. She opens the door, and BAM. She hits my jeep with the door. WHAT THE! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! She makes a little "Oh no!" face, and continues on her way. Just leaves. Doesn't even make sure there isn't anything there. No 'I'm so sorry I'm an idiot and can't control the stupid car door' just nothing.
I'm past the point of handling anything more this week. So if you need me, I'll be curled up in bed sleeping until Sunday morning.
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