Guess who my clerk is?

Rick couldn't resist the money. Who could, $8 an hour!!
Actually I think we will have an enjoyable day, new experience, and being politically active.

Election March 4

Texas' Primary Election will be March 4. Soon after I moved to Texas I signed up to be a member of the Travis County Republican Party and started receiving invitations to their weekly party events and action alerts. Early last week I got an email notice saying they really needed election judges and please respond affirmatively. I thought, oh, well I'm new here, never done that before, don't need to start now. Then on Fri I received an email, they really, really need election judges so I called and said I would do it, altho I didn't have a clue what an election judge did.

This morning I got a phone call, the man from the Republican headquarters in Austin said thanks for volunteering, here's what we need. I listened and agreed with all I would need to do, go to 4 hours training, and then I would be the main person at a particular precinct that would ask do you live in Travis county, your party, name, check them in and direct them to the voting machine. Oh, and I need to know stuff in case someone has a question I need to be familiar with the manual to answer correctly, but if I don't know, I'll have a number to call to get an answer. Ok, I'm a little nervous and said I would rather be an alternate judge and he said, yeah, but we aren't getting enough people for you to do that. OK. I get all the info from him I need and he says someone from the office of voters or something would call.

Next I get a call from the director of voters or something or other. He starts giving me more info, I need to go early and pick up some stuff, get everything ready at the precinct, take stuff back to somebody, and oh, also I need to hire my own clerk. Ahhhh. Each party will have there a judge, alternate judge, and a clerk. So I spent some time on the phone trying to get someone to be my clerk. Part of the problem is most of my ward is in Williamson County, and I live in Travis County and the people I know, outside of my neighbors, are church members.

Everyone has their reason (excuse) why they can't help. I wish I had had an excuse for not helping.
I'm quite nervous, but I'm sure it will turn out ok. I hope.

Sunshine and warmth

It is getting warmer and warmer and nicer and nicer outside here.
We were at Home Depot yesterday and they had some plants out. It got me excited to out and planting. I'm not going to do a garden. It just wasn't worth it last year; too hot and cost too much in water.
I am excited to be outside more, so is Rick.

Occlusion specialist

Yesterday I saw Dr. Peppard again. My jaws are still not settling into a place and holding that place. I do think they are close to doing it.

Last night my ears started ringing loudly - I thought it was going to drive me insane. Rick and I were in the bedroom, he was talking to the kids on the phone and the talking was upsetting my ears, even tho he wasn't talking loud. I finally had to just leave until he quit talking to everyone. So I always get worried when that happens and think, oh no, now the high volume is back. Even when I was trying to sleep they were loud. But I woke up this morning and the volume had gone back down, not quite to the low buzz, but getting there.

Rick is also dealing with ringing ears, and sometimes his are so loud he hears it over everything. So I don't like to act like I'm the only one suffering from something. Many people have health issues way worse than mine.

The doc did say he was going to change my splint to one that will start to open my mouth wider. He wants to wait until I come home at the end of April because he doesn't want me to be gone when I start something new and not be able to go into his office. Neither do I. It just can't make my ears worse, that's all I know.

Walking outside

The northeast coast is just getting hammered with snow and storms. So nice to be in Texas!!
I'm walking outside again, the weather is nice.
I feel so much better when I walk and get some exercise. My goal is to walk at least 1 hour every day.

The Tale of the Cinnamon Rolls

Yikes. The YW in our ward were having a fund raiser Valentine's Dinner and asked for donations of desserts. I said I would make a pan of cinnamon rolls. I didn't have a good recipe so on Tues I experimented and came up with a really good recipe, which I made on Fri and took over to the church. My Ktech mixer had died when I tried it on Tues, so I just kneaded them by hand, and found it enjoyable; I have read other bakers that said they found a satisfaction in the kneading by hand. They were easy and fun to make, and since I didn't get to eat any, I was craving a cinny roll - yesterday I made them - and ate 2 - this morning I added up the calories and discovered one was 500 cal - so YIKES!!

Must blog, must blog, must blog...

...even tho I can't think of anything to blog about.

Well here's something:
I got a recommendation from Patsy, Rick's AA, for an eye doc, went there today for an exam. He was a squirrely guy about my age. Odd comments, singing low, tapping a rhythm with fingers, humming while he was looking at computer about my eyes. Didn't answer my questions, instead directed it back to me to answer. Office staff was quite nice.

With dentist Slysh in Pa, I actively didn't like his staff, rude little 20 somethings, not polite, attitude of the northeast coast, but I did like him. I should have changed, but he was recommended also.
And the resulting disaster happened.

In Indiana, the kids' pediatrician was just ok, didn't like or dislike, but I was always going to change to someone better because of a few mistakes he made. I didn't since the kids really only saw him for school physicals (mistakes: Paige's pink eye, when he didn't tell us to throw out the infected contacts and get new ones so the pink eye kept getting reinfected ((actually I should have figured that one out)), and Chris' shoulder blade, hurt when he was in the 6th grade and 4wheeling with Rende and start to tumble over a ravine, both of then grabbed a bush to save themselves, then got in poison ivy, but anyway the doc x-rayed the wrong one or something or other, and something with Scott about the preliminaries for another finger skin graft that he missed). I should have found someone better but I didn't. But they did all live so all's well that ends well.

In NC I kept looking for a good dentist and didn't find one.

So, what I'm asking myself is: should I find another eye doc or stay with this one? I'm leaning towards getting someone else, asking for more recommendations.

As I have learned with my teeth, jaws, it is essential to have the best doc. Really, really like Dr Peppard.

Don't like Dr King, Internist. I need to move on for my physical this year.

Cold, colder, coldest

Ok, I'm tired of winter. Our weather has been all over the place. 30s and 40s, then high 70s. I haven't been able to walk outside for a week because it has been too cold. I also can't think of anything to write so this will be short.

The Day of Infamy

It was one year ago today that my ears started ringing and have not quit since. My jaws twisted for the last time on Feb 5, the day before. I now understand better what was happening. Oh, how I wish I could go back to when I decided to have the crown put on!! But if I could decide on my worst decisions of life and go back and correct them, I'm not sure that is the point I would choose to return to.

Occlusion specialist

Just got back from another adjustment. He said that my jaw muscles are still trying to find their place within my mouth for the correct bite. He plots on a graph chart each visit to see where they are. I have been wearing it for 4 months (seems longer) and still all over the place. But he did say that the neurological somethings between my brain and jaw muscles have to be broken and new pathways formed for my jaw muscles to settle, and I have had a lifetime of it being wrong (I've heard all this before).

But this time I didn't experience the loud squeal like I did 2 weeks ago, so that's good. I have mouth exercises that I have to do, and so I'm going to be very diligent about doing them.

And that's that.

Poor, poor, poor Broncos

The guys were excited about Super Bowl Sunday, since the Broncos were in it. Sad to say they got badly stomped by the Seattle Seahawks. I didn't watch any of it, but 3/4 of the way thro Rick turned off the tv, came into the bedroom and said I can't watch this anymore.

Peyton Manning has had a great career, was/is a great quarterback, but perhaps his day is over. He is also, and more important, just a great person. We got his autograph about 14 years ago in the Indy airport. He was just starting his NFL career, if I remember correctly what Rick said.

Mourning thro out Bronco land.

Bookcase

I have run out of space on all my bookcases, but especially the misc one (I also have a political bookcase, a religious bookcase, and a paperback novel/good literature bookcase).
I went to 4-5 furniture stores and found wooden bookcases to suit my needs from $700 to $1500, but really didn't want to spend that much money. Don't know what our house will need for bookcases when we move (in 4-5 years).

Today Rick and I went to Ikea and found organizing shelves in a solid unit (once we put it together) for $200 that we both really like.

We're both happy with this new bookcase (at least we will be when it's put together and organized with books).