Grandma Karen

Sunday, May 28, 2017 -- Devin and I had just taken the sacrament at church and I could feel my phone buzzing.  When I looked at the phone it was my dad.  A- Dad isn’t supposed to have any service.  B- Dad knows that I have church at 11:00.  Something must be wrong.  I stepped out and my dad informed me that grandma is back at the hospital and they think she had a heart attack.  WHAT?!  How did they find out before me? I’m the one that’s home??  The family had driven out to Howe and they got a text from my grandma’s neighbor saying that she was in the hospital.  (My grandma’s husband, my mom’s dad, was killed in Howe in a farming accident along with my mom’s older brother.  They go up there when the go to Birch Creek to visit the site where he was killed) Mom and dad couldn’t get ahold of my Uncle Jared (he was still in church) so they called us.  I pulled Devin out of church and we drove down to try and find her.  When I got there, I met grandma’s neighbor.  From what I could understand, they thought she had a heart attack or a clot in her lungs.  I have to be honest with you.  I was not impressed with the hospital in Brigham.  They kept my grandma in the CT room and just kept her there for the 4-5 hours we were at the hospital.  They would come in and take machinery out to use on other patients.  No, they weren’t full.

Anyways, so I finally get ahold of my uncle and they decided that they’re going to send her to Ogden Regional.  She has fluid around her heart that’s not supposed to be there.  Mom decides that she and dad are going to come home early from camping.  I stayed with grandma until they could transfer her to Ogden, and then Jared met her there.  This has been quite the long ordeal for my grandma.  She’s been in so much pain.  Sunday when mom and dad got home, they went down to Ogden.  Long story short, her aorta was twice the size that it was supposed to be, which made the cell walls very thin.  They even thought that she had a dissection (tear) in the aorta.  If it tore anymore, she’d be dead in 60 seconds.  At 11:30 PM my mom calls me and tells me that they are flying grandma down to the UofU.  They spent all day on Monday trying to rule things out and doing all sorts of tests.  They’ve done so many CT scans that they’ve said her kidneys aren’t going to be well at all.  She’ll most likely be on dialysis. 

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - they think they found the problem.  She has a hematoma on her heart (where the vessels connect to the heart) that was caused when she fell on Friday.  The blood has pooled in the sac around her heart and it was pooling into her aorta as well.  They put a needle and a catheter in her chest to drain it. In doing this, they hoped that it would help the function of her kidneys.

May 31, 2017, grandma had open heart surgery.  They scheduled it for 9:00, but sometime between when my mom left and the morning she was going in for surgery, she had two mini strokes.  They were able to still go through with the surgery.  They replaced her aorta and did a bypass.  So far so good.  It’s so hard to see someone you love so much, in so much pain.  She couldn’t have a lot of pain medicine, if not any at all, at the beginning of this process because there was so much unknown. 

June 1, 2017 I got a text from my mom.  It read “mom is having some struggles with her heart and kidneys and they are going to put her in a machine that gives her heart and kidneys constant flow of blood and fluid.  I would consider her in critical condition.  The heart isn’t’ pumping right and blood is pooling in her right ventricle.  The machine will do it for her.  She’s not coherent.  She opened her eyes barely when I called her name, but that was just once.  It’s sad to see all the things hooked up to her.” She said that when they would say "mom" sometimes she would open her eyes.  They've asked her to squeeze their hands and she just cant do it.  The nurse made her cough, in order to make her uncomfortable, by suctioning her airway.  That got her attention.  Then the nurse started tickle her feet to try and stimulate them and she opened her eyes and shook her head no! She did not like her feet to be tickled! Haha! Mom said the look on her face was hilarious! -- but there wasn't a whole lot of movement from her after that.

Friday I got to go with mom to see her.  I left work a little early in order to go.  I did not want to go.  Devin is the one who convinced me to go.  I did not want to see her that way! The last time I saw her, she could talk with me, and I got to give her a kiss before she went down to Ogden.  But my husband knew its what I needed to do.  When mom and I got down there, it was really weird for me.  I've never seen so many machines, hooked up to one person.  To be honest with you, I got nauseous.  I had to sit down because I legitimately felt like I was going to throw up.  It was so hard for me to see someone who helped take care of me growing up, and who I spent so much time with, not even be able to move.  She would respond more when we said "mom" or "Karen".  But she would not open her eyes when I would call her "grandma".  That broke my heart.  I cried.  I spend a lot of weekends with my grandma.  I would go down every weekend in order to help her mow her lawn, grocery shop, clean her house.  I went on many mini trips in the semi with her.  The thought of her being gone has been so hard for me.  My sweet, sweet husband, has to keep reminding me to think of how good she is doing. 

Saturday, June 3, 2017 nothing has really happened.  No one from my side of the family went down.  The 4th is my dads birthday and he was flying out to Detroit so we had a little birthday party for him early.  The docs said that she is progressing more, its just going to take time for her brain to catch up.

Today, June 4th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!) Mom and Allie went down.  She is moving a little bit more.  she wiggled her toes and when my mom asked if she was awake she shook her head "no".  She then asked, "Are you sleepy?" and she nodded yes.  Mom asked her if she was in pain, but she fell asleep before she could answer.  She is still not very alert, but this is still usually when she is sleeping.  Their goals for today was to wean her off of the medications that are helping her heart contract in order to see if her heart can pump ok by itself.  My mom asked her if she could squeeze her hand, and with her left side, she couldn't.  But mom asked her to squeeze with her right hand, and she did a little bit.  It was something so small, that was so good.  I'm so proud of her.

I know that God has a plan for her.  I will try to write another post when I know a little bit more, but as of right now I know that my family is very grateful for the prayers, thoughts, texts and phone calls that have been made on my grandmothers behalf.  She is strong woman.  The strongest I know.  I am blessed to have her as my grandma.

Memorial Day, 2017

Our Memorial Day weekend started on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.  When we got home from work, D had to go up to Drylake to do some fencing.  While he was gone, I made homemade lasagna!  I really have enjoyed the warmer weather.  With the warmer weather, comes longer nights.  Dev is up at the farm most nights, so in return, I get to stay home and make a nice meal.  Downside? – we don’t eat until like 8:00PM or even 9:00PM.  That can be a little bit rough sometimes, but the food makes up for it.  While my lasagna was cooking, mom and dad brought over the puppies!! My mom and dad left on Thursday to go camping up at Birch Creek.  I haven’t been to Birch Creek in a couple of years, but where we just bought a house, and we went to Jackson the week before, we decided this year we better sit it out.  Since D and I stayed home, mom and dad asked if we could dog sit while they were gone.  Uhh….sure?  NINE dogs people.  NINE.

Our family golden retriever, Miga, had puppies back in April.  She had eight, but we lost one.  D and I had 7 puppies at our house, Miga, and my moms “escapoo”, Tallie.  When we were living in Mexico, we left Tallie down there with some friends for a couple of weeks when we came home to visit.  She’s never really been the same haha.  She was waaaay attached to my mom, so ever since mom left, she’s had some slight anxiety. 

The first night that the puppies where here, it POURED.  Oh my goodness.  I told Devin before it started to rain that it looked very eerie outside.  Almost like a hurricane.  I know, I know – we can’t have hurricanes in Utah.  BUT the clouds and wind were very ugly.  Then the rain came.  Boy did it come! I went running out to the kennel to make sure that the puppies were smart enough to go into their little house dad had made for them, and they were.  I was sopping wet.  When it finally quite raining, I ran back outside to make sure the puppies were ok and they were soaked.  Oh my goodness, I felt so bad! I called my dad crying, saying that they were just shaking so bad!  My dad is the sweetest man alive, so he says “I will come dry them off if it will help you sleep tonight.”  He did.  He put a towel over the door to kind of keep the puppy’s house dry.  When I came out that next morning the towel was so wet and heavy, the puppies couldn’t get in/out!

Thursday morning Miga was up bright and early! 6:00 to be exact.  D told her to be quite and thankfully she slept until about 6:30.  Mom and dad ended up keeping Tallie over night at their house, so they just dropped her off in my back yard on Thursday.
I worked through lunch that day, so I came home a little early.  Thankfully I did! When I got home, Tallie was out.  UGH.  I saw her over at my neighbor’s yard.  All I did really was clean up the yard and the puppy pen. 

The wonderful thing about Miga is she loves to play fetch!! She is just the best little fetcher.  Later that night, Ashlee, Misty and Taiya (Ashlee and Misty work with me – Taiya is Misty’s daughter) came to see the puppies.  Ashlee ate leftover lasagna with me and Devin.   Tallie slept inside for the first time.  It was a little rough! She’s used to being in moms bed with her and that was just not ok.  After the first night, she got a lot better and was pretty content in the hall way. 

Thursday night, Devin and I had a pipe break under our kitchen sink.  Friday I came home from work at like 1:00 so that the plumber could come and fix it.  I stayed home the rest of the day and did some cleaning.  Devin and I that night, went to see Guardians of the Galaxy VOL 2 with D’s family.  That was the second time that we’ve seen that movie, and we love it!!

Saturday I got up and fed the puppies, played fetch with Miga, enjoyed my little home.  Devin went up to the farm and was gone for most of the day.  I cleaned out between my trees that line my back fence.  I got some of them done, but it was a bigger project than what I thought! 

My grandma Karen called me Friday night, wanting me to wash her hair on Saturday.  I told her I’d be more than happy to.  She called me Saturday morning telling me she just got back from the hospital.  She fell Friday night and broke a part of her humorous bone.  She had washed her hair and bathed (with a broken arm) and said she was very uncomfortable all night long and decided that she should go in on Saturday morning.  I was so upset that she didn’t call me!!

Saturday night I made grilled pineapple honey barbecue chicken, grilled corn, grilled zucchini, grilled sliced of Italian bread with some rice.  It was sooo good!  I love grilling!!

Sunday morning Devin got up early to start a brisket in the smoker.  This is only the second time that we have used his smoker and we were dang excited! He kept it going how he was supposed to until we went to church at 11:00.

During church on Sunday, I got a phone call from my dad.  According to them, she had had a heart attack.  This event has turned big.  I've written another blog post, and you can find more about her situation on my next post.

Monday we enjoyed a day with Devin’s Grandma Shirley.  Monday morning we went and put flowers up on his great grandparents in Hyrum (grandma LaRee’s parents).  After we headed out to Newton.  We enjoyed a nice lunch with them.  Eating, talking, just having a good time.  I am so grateful for our ancestors and the sacrifices that they made and the memories that they leave behind.  May we all be forever grateful for them.

MOTHERS DAY

Sunday was Mother’s Day.  I have to be honest with you.  This is not my most favorite holiday.  I’m not a mom.  One day I hope to be.  In fact, I desperately want to be a mommy.  Over the last few years, I’ve kind of become bitter towards the holiday.  When you’re little and in elementary school, or sitting in your Sunday primary class, sure the holiday is fun – you’re making crafts, making treats, doing something different.  Now that I’m older though, I’ve brought on the thinking of “I shouldn’t need a designated holiday to celebrate my mom.”  That’s what I’ve been thinking the last couple of years.  Devin brought it to my attention that I should be grateful for the “designated day”. 

You’ve been given a day to celebrate your mom, for the days that you forget to.

Ok fine.  Maybe I’ll enjoy the holiday a little more when I am actually a mom.  When I stop and really think about it, attributes of a good mom are:  someone who nurtures, is kind, loving, gives you consequences that you will teach – even when you think she’s being mean, feeds you, plays with you, teaches you new things, etc.  I know that I am not physically a mom right now.  I have not birthed a child.  But in some ways, (and if anyone actually reads this, please don’t get your knickers in a freaking twist, I’m in no mood for knickers to be twisted) I am “a mom”.  By saying that, I mean that I am able to recognize some of those same attributes in myself. I have little siblings.  Four to be exact. I am sooo protective of them.  Earlier this year, Jason ate something, it got caught and he started to choke at school.  He actually had to go to an adult for help.  Well, Jason did not tell me about this event.  A couple of girls from my ward who know Jason, told me.  As soon as I found out I called him.  He knew exactly why I was calling.  He says "I didn't want you to know cause you'd get all freaked out and stuff.  Then you'll be calling the school to make sure that I'm okay.  For like a week!" -- haha! Needless to say, I am a little OVERprotective of them. Anyways--they learn from my mistakes.  I remember trying to teach all of them their colors.  I would use the colored lights on the Christmas tree and teach them the basic colors.  Mom and dad were always out working in the yard when I was growing up, or out with the horses.  I would cook dinner a lot of the times.  I’m also in nursery.  Our job as nursery leaders is to teach those little kiddies about our Savior Jesus Christ. 

All of those attributes that I listed, I got from my mom.  Everyone says that they have the best mom.  But really mine is the best.  She’s taught me so many things.  She’s taught me how to be kind and stick up for what I believe in.  She taught me how to cook and clean. (yes mom--I may not have been the cleanest person when I was little, but I’m doing much better! ;) She’s a good listener and helps me when I am feeling down.  She’s my best friend.

I was blessed to marry into a family with a mom who has those same attributes.  Devin’s mom has severe migraines and she suffers a lot from those.  I’ve never met someone who can put up with 3 boys, a migraine and still get everything done that she needs to get done. 

I’m really grateful for all the women in my life.  For my mom, mom-in-law, grandmas, aunts and my sister Megan.  I’m grateful for the example that they set for me.  I hope that everyone had a great Mother’s Day!

ADHD - the life of me!

Man – I’ve written a post about ADHD at least 100 times.  But it never comes out good.  Trying to make something that the world sees as bad, seem good, or normal..is tough!  When I was 6 years old, I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I am not ashamed.

I struggled during school.  My mind was always wandering.  I could never focus.  When I was first diagnosed with ADHD, my doctor put me on Adderall.  Man, worst decision of his life! It was awful.  It did not help me one bit.   I really can’t even explain what happened.  I would itch so bad that I would make scabs, which I would then pick, and repeat the process.  It would take forever for my scrapes and scratches to heal because all I would want to do is pick them.  When you’re in 3^rd and 4^th grade, other kids find that very, very weird.  I’d wear Band-Aids and it was embarrassing to me.

I don’t really remember how old I was when I switched to Concerta.  I will tell you one thing though.. that pill saved my freaking life.  It was beautiful.  I would take this pill that mom gave me, and I would focus.  I could understand what my teachers were telling me, I’d be able to look at mom and really understand (for the most part) what she was asking me to do.  I was on that until I was 18.  When we lived in Mexico, that pill was not very easy to get.  It was quite expensive.  I was on 54mg (the highest mg) and they only had 18mg.  HAHAHAHA like that would work.. well mom and dad talked to me one day and we decided that I should go off of it all together.  I’d been on medication for so long, that we didn’t know how it would affect me when I got older.  I went off Concerta (during my senior year—also, kind of a bad mistake) and I haven’t taken a pill for ADHD since. 

I would try and try to explain how I felt with ADHD and I could never find the right words for it.  But then today (May 2, 2017) I found this poem on Facebook.  I have NEVER read anything more accurate.  This was and sometimes still is my life. 

A.D.H.D

Take my hand and come with me,
I want to teach you about ADHD.
I need you to know, I want to explain,
I have a very different brain.
Sights, sounds, and thoughts collide.
What to do first? I can't decide.
Please understand I'm not to blame,
I just can't process things the same.
Take my hand and walk with me,
Let me show you about ADHD.
I try to behave; I want to be good,
But I sometimes forget to do as I should.
Walk with me and wear my shoes,
You'll see it’s not the way I'd choose.
I do know what I'm supposed to do,
But my brain is slow getting the message through.
Take my hand and talk with me,
I want to tell you about ADHD.
I rarely think before I talk,
I often run when I should walk.
It's hard to get my school work done,
My thoughts are outside having fun.
I never know just where to start,
I think with my feelings and see with my heart.
Take my hand and stand by me,
I need you to know about ADHD.
It's hard to explain but I want you to know,
I can't help letting my feelings show.
Sometimes I'm angry, jealous, or sad.
I feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and mad.
I can't concentrate and I lose all my stuff.
I try really hard but it's never enough.
Take my hand and learn with me,
We need to know more about ADHD.
I worry a lot about getting things wrong,
Everything I do takes twice as long.
Every day is exhausting for me...
Looking through the fog of ADHD.
I'm often so misunderstood,
I would change in a heartbeat if I could.
Take my hand and listen to me,
I want to share a secret about ADHD.
I want you to know there is more to me.
I'm not defined by it, you see.
I'm sensitive, kind and lots of fun.
I'm blamed for things I haven't done.
I'm the most loyal friend you'll ever know,
I just need a chance to let it show.
Take my hand and look at me,
Just forget about the ADHD.
I have real feelings just like you.
The love in my heart is just as true.
I may have a brain that can never rest,
But please understand I'm trying my best.
I want you to know, I need you to see,
I'm more than the label, I am still me!!!!
~Author Unknown

Going off of my Concerta was kind of hard.  Days that I forgot to take it, I could sleep all day long. (weird I know – and yes, I understand that the word HYPERactivity is included in ADHD..) I remember when we decided that I wouldn’t take any more pills for it, I slept during school.  I’ve talked about our program in Mexico called SWAS.  Well, my teachers in SWAS were the bomb.  I told them about my situation and for 2-3 days I took my blanket and pillow and I just slept in class. (I made sure all my other classes were up to date :) I mean.. technically I was at school!

Life after Concerta, but with ADHD hasn’t been too bad.  I was so dependent on my medication that I was slightly fearful that I would start acting hyper, and speak without thinking and that the kids in Mexico would have even more of a reason to think I was weird.  Surprisingly though, it’s been good for me.  It made me take control of my life.  There are some things that I can still see that are symptoms from ADHD.  I get focused on one thing and I can’t stop thinking about it.  Sometimes it gets to the point that it just absolutely drives D nuts.  Another thing I do is I get super hyper when I get excited.  I don’t know if I’ve talked about my squeal or not.  But when I get real happy I make this high pitched squeal.  When I feel my heart start to race and when I can start feeling hyper I know that I’ll probably be “squealy”  Haha..

Anyways, if someone mentions to you that they have ADHD or that their kid has ADHD, don’t turn them away.  We’re still human.  We’re more than just a label.  :)

Spring has sprung

Devin and I are fully aware that spring is here.  To most people, signs of spring usually include:

Melting snow

Budding trees/flowers

Bugs

Mud

Butterflies and birds

In the Fabricius household, signs that spring has sprung upon us are:

my personal favorite, CALVING!!

Farming at Dry Lake

Fixing fences

The first calf of the year was born on April 9, 2017.  She’s a little heifer.  835 was the lucky winner who got to enjoy birthing first this year.  She’s come along ways since last year.  Last year she gave birth to twins, and was one of the last ones to give birth.  (This year’s calf number should be 783)

Usually I name the first calf of the season. (Others too-especially if we become BFFs) I’ve been trying to think of a name for this cute little calf.  I’ve had Cleo, Ziva, Tank and Houdini.  I’m thinking that I am going to name this one Aggie.  I’ve always wanted to name an animal Aggie.  Utah State Aggies…agriculture.. cows.. makes sense to me!  When Miga (my parents dog) had puppies last year, I fell in love with one of the girls and I named her Aggie.  She went to the cutest man with some learning disabilities.  Devin has picked out a new name for when we get a dog..and I love it.  If that happens, there will definitely be a blog post to come :)

I seriously love calving season!! Being able to see this new life come into the world, just as the rest of the world is waking up from winter, is so neat to me!  I do absolutely hate it when we have to pull a calf.. ugh.  It makes me shiver just thinking about it. 

I remember one year I got home from work, Dev and I both went to do the rounds on checking for calves and I found one! Right in the middle of all the poop.  Go figure.  I had no idea where her mom was.  Devin found a little sled for me and then he went to go try and find who that little baby belonged to.  Calves are not like little human babies.  They are A LOT heavier! But D helped me load it onto the sled and I pulled that little cutie out to the field so she wouldn't be laying in all that poop.  It's kind of boring when you only have 1 or 2 calves that are born.  It really gets fun when you have like 10-15 little calves running all over the place.  They're usually pretty used to humans by now cause Jedd and Derik go and feed their mamas everyday, so you can sit and play with it and pet it.  The calves that are born in Dry Lake..man they are their own kind of breed.  They are the most skittish sons of guns you've ever seen in your life.  Good luck petting one of them! Still cute though. :)

Okay I have another story too.  There was this one time (I think it was the same year that I pulled a calf out on the sled) D and I had gotten home from a little mini vacation.  We decided that since it was so nice and pretty outside -- ok lets be honest-- I decided that since it was so nice and pretty outside, we should go and check for calves! Devin walks down there with me and he sees this black thing.  WHAAAAT?? Our cows are strictly RED angus cows.  Devin thought it was just some other animal.  He went down there and sure enough! There was a black calf with a white face.  Man he was the cutest thing ever.  We named him Blackie.  Apparently when we were breeding the cows the year before, our neighbor who has the other part of Dry Lake, his bull got out and bred one of Jedds cows.  Since his herd is a registered RED angus herd, we made him a steer and he was sold the next year with the other steers. 

One last cow story and then I'll stop talking about cows.  Our calves from 2016 - I made a BFF for life.  Her number is 647.  She's a heifer and I just love her.  Well I did when she was little.  Before she grew up to weigh probably 10x more than me, she would come and rub her head on my leg like it was a fence post.  She'd let me pet her..and love on her.  Until one day she picked me up off of the ground.  I had to stop playing with her because she was getting mighty large without her really knowing it.  I found her at the barn couple of days ago and sadly, she does not remember me.  Still one of the funnest calves I've ever dealt with.  Okay, enough about cows now! :)

Devin has started going to Dry Lake to help grandpa out with the farming.  It should be called Wet Lake for how much freaking water is in the lake this year.  Believe me, it ain’t dry!

I’m still working on our garden.  My dad came and tilled the ground for me.  I’m so blessed to have both our families close to us to help.  I am so grateful that spring has finally decided to make an entrance.  Looking at the weather for the next couple of days though, it could be a trick.  It’s supposed to be a little chilly next week, but hopefully winter is gone!! For now.. 

Last night Devin and I took a big step with our house.  WE MOWED OUR LAWN. We have a little push mower but decided that our lawn is waaaayyy too big for that nonsense.  I drove grandma and grandpa’s riding mower down to the house and got done a lot quicker than had we just mowed with the push mower!  I’m so excited that spring is here and I can’t wait to see what we will be able to do with our cute little house!!

S P R I N G

Hellllooo SPRING! Yesterday was the start of spring! (March 20th)  What a beautiful day it was.  I went to work without a jacket -- which is quite strange for me.  I'm usually wearing a jacket into June.  (Today is a different story.  It's supposed to storm - so I wore my winter coat! lol) Sometime last week Devin and I whipped out his portable grill that he got for graduation and grilled hamburgers.  We had some left over buns, so we grilled hotdogs last night and put it on a hamburger bun.  Saturday we bought a cute little bench to sit out on our front porch.  (I'm still working on the post about the house.  It might just be a picture post. :) We sat out on the porch while eating dinner and just watched the beauty and listened to the birdies.  Devin and I love going on walks during the summer.  Summer is our escape from life! Going up to Dry Lake (the family farm in Sardine Canyon) and farming, riding tractors and four wheelers, doing something with the cows, is just so relaxing to us.  Anyways.. back to real life here..

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!  Since yesterday was the first day of spring, D and I decided to do something with our garden.  It looked like a disaster.  The owners before us had two large rows of raspberries.  His wife got sick and he spent a lot of time last year taking care of her.  Because of that, the raspberries were a little bit neglected.  BUT WE SAVED THEM.  Ok, that's kind of over exaggerating.  They weren't THAT bad.  Just a little bad.  D and I have never had our own garden before, so we invited his grandparents over to help us do a little trimming.  His grandparents have a raspberry patch as big as one our rows.  Yes, I said one.  We decided that since usually grandma's raspberries take care of his whole family, our one row will be plenty.  So we trimmed them up nicely and will take the remaining row out another day.  It was such a beautiful night!

Grandpa had bought some clothes line wire for me to put on my clothes line ( I LOVE hanging up my sheets and towels) and I have a lilac tree that kind of blocks the clothes line pole and our dog run. We decided to keep on trimming!  What a beautiful night it was to do all of that yard work!

So grateful for the opportunity that D and I have to be able to try and grow our own garden.  We are very blessed with the land that we have and the ability to have a garden lot so near to our home. 

FEELING 23!

I feel old.  Yesterday I turned 23.  After your 13^th birthday or so, they really aren’t that big of a deal anymore.  I had a really great day though! My morning started off with me eating one of my favorite yogurts! It’s one of the Chobani Flip yogurts.  Almond Coco-Loco.  It’s soo delicious! Before D and I went to work, he gave me my birthday present.  THE STAR WARS SAGA! All six episodes.  I was so excited!! I love Star Wars.  So that was pretty fantastic.  I got to work and Ashlee (my coworker) made me carmalitas – no I cannot give you the recipe…mainly because she won’t give it to me. :(  Its classified!

About 1 oclock, Devin’s parents took me to Chilis.  I love their Caribbean Grilled Chicken Salad.  It is literally a taste of summer in your mouth.  It’s divine. 

I went back to work and the day went by pretty quickly! After work, Devin and I went to the house to paint. (FOR THE RECORD: I wanted to go and paint.  It was totally my choice to paint on my birthday.  I was just dying to see what our master room would look like with the trim finally finished) Our house is looking SO GOOD!  We’re planning on moving in on Saturday. (March 4^th)    

We were waiting for my siblings to get home from YM/YW’s before going to my parents house for a little “party”.  My mom made me my favorite birthday cake.  Funfetti! I have seriously had this cake every year since I was like 3 years old.  I just can’t break away from tradition.  She did however tell me that I needed to “grow up” *insert eye rolling emoji* so she added pudding to it.  Apparently pudding is “grown up” and “hardy”.  HAHA! After we ate my “grown up” and “hardy” cake, we opened some gifts.  Lindsie had everyone sign a card for me.  I keep every card that I get and it’s so fun for me to go back through and look at what people have written.  Mom and dad got me a new pair of capris, a new purse, and some face wash that I keep forgetting to get.. so mom just threw it in there for me.  Really, it’s the little things! Ha!  Allie and Sean got me a Hobby Lobby gift card.  I love that place.  Poor Devin when I start decorating the house..

Derik and Devin bought me an Air Fryer.  I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS MACHINE.  It’s like having fried food, but not in oil.  We are so excited to try it and see if we can have that “fried food” taste without the extra calories from oil!

I’m so grateful for everyone that took the time to wish me a Happy Birthday!  Dev spoiled me as always and I am enjoying getting older with him.