Update on Sam

I received this last week:

This week Sam moved out of the Surgical ICU and into the Neurological Care Unit. He now has feeling down to his wrists. His breathing has also improved. He's still on oxygen, but not having to use a ventilator. And, because he doesn't have a ventilator, he is able to eat (although he's not too thrilled about hospital food). On Tuesday Sam said, "Ashley, I'm not going to be a cripple. I'm going to walk again."

And this one is from yesterday:

Sam has recently been moved to the new Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. He will begin his first day of rehab tomorrow. He will be there for at least 3 months.

Also, the website www.donateforsam.org has been redone and his wife, Ashley, is posting updates there on his progress.
Thanks everyone for all of your prayers and support!!

Erich = Diva

My child has lost it. Last week he started throwing temper tantrums. Where do they learn this stuff?? If he doesn't get his way or totally out of the blue he'll do one of two things: 1) scream sitting in place or 2) scream sprawled out face down on the floor.

I've decided that either the terrible twos have started early or that colic is setting in late. Either way, I have no idea how to stop it. I walk away, he flips, I tell him to come over, he flips. I pick him up, he's happy as a clam. My system isn't working.

There is one caveat however, possibly a beacon of hope. He was sick. He threw up twice on Sunday and once on Monday night (either that or I had a nightmare from 2:30 - 5:30 am). I'm hoping he's just feeling yucky these couple weeks and next week I'll have my little bubble back. And that he hasn't learned new effective ways to make mama miserable!

Donate for Sam

Below is an email I just sent out to everyone on my email list. I'm hoping that posting it on my blog will encourage more support. Thank you everyone so much for you prayers and donations!!

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Dear Family and Friends,

I just found out that a friend of mine, Sam, was paralyzed in a serious snowboarding accident. This hits very close to home because he's the little brother of my best friend growing up. My own little brother and I used to spend practically every day at their house and I still think of Sam as the bright, fun and conscientious kid I grew up with. His wife just had a baby and unfortunately, at the time of the accident, he wasn't insured. So you can see that this news is devastating.

Please, take the time to read the attached email and visit the website his wonderful friends set up for him: www.donateforsam.org. Please keep Sam and his family in your hearts and in your prayers, and if there is any way you can help them by making a donation, I know it would mean the world to them and to me.

My love and thanks to you all,

Melissa

---------- Forwarded message ----------

Dear Family and Friends,

A year and half ago we moved into our new home in Pleasant Grove, Utah. At that time Blair's foster brother and best friend, Sam Harrison, and his wife, Ashley, moved into our basement apartment. Since that day, we've pretty much been one big happy family. They love our kids like their own, and we love them more than words could ever express. It would honestly be hard to imagine our lives without them in it.

Six weeks ago, Sam and Ashley were happier than we've ever seen, as they gave birth to their first son, Benjamin Alexander. Although Benji arrived three weeks early, he is as happy and healthy as can be.

Now, the reason for my email. This past Saturday night, Sam, was in a
horrible snowboarding accident while night skiing at Brighton ski resort.
He unintentionally hit a jump that threw him up in the air; he flipped
around landing on his head breaking his neck in three places & paralyzing him from the shoulders down.

Sam finished working in December and is currently enrolled in night school at BYU. They were in the process of deciding what to do as far as health insurance went for him; therefore, Sam does not have medical coverage at this time. As you can imagine, the financial strain would be overwhelming even if he had had insurance.

Our hearts ache for our dear friends; we haven't slept in days trying to
comprehend how quickly one's life can change in such an unexpected, short amount of time. If there is anything you can spare for this family it would be truly appreciated. We have set up a non-profit organization and website with Sam's story and photos. You may visit the site at
www.donateforsam.org. Donations can also be made to any Zions Bank to the account name: Sam Harrison Donation. All information is posted on the website.

Please keep the Harrison Family in your prayers.

Love, Holly & Blair Hasler

P.S. Please circulate this email; post it on your blog, tell your friends.
Every little bit will help. Once again, www.donateforsam.org

The Prince of Darkness

While working at the spa a couple weeks ago, I made a quick stop at the front desk. Suddenly one of my coworkers turned to me and spa-screamed “That’s Ozzy Osborne!” I quickly scanned the lobby but I only saw a large black man in street clothes and a lady with long black hair wearing a robe.

Assuming the girl didn’t know what she was talking about (seriously, not to stereotype, but do Hispanics even listen to heavy metal?), I told her that’s not Ozzy, that’s a big black guy! On second glance, however, I realized that standing next to him wasn’t just an ugly old lady, that was the Prince of Darkness himself! He looked just like himself, too, glasses and all. I think it was the robe that threw me off at first – the reason why I diverted my eyes so quickly. If I could choose which celebrity I would like to have standing 15 feet from me in a bathrobe, it probably wouldn’t be Ozzy, but heck, it’s still cool!

Apparently his highness performed at the Verizon Center that night with Rob Zombie, and was suffering from the flu. He was so sick, he was drinking tea onstage and spraying his throat after every song. That must have been his motivation to visit our little spa. We didn’t seem to help him out much, though. What a trooper!

Still feeling the butterflies, after all these years

January 2nd marked Marc & my 4 year wedding anniversary. To celebrate, we stuffed our faces with a 5 course meal at a schmanzy restaurant in Las Vegas (effectively shattering about 5 different new years resolutions). As we raised our non-alcoholic pomegranate spritzers to praise our achievement, my husband gave the greatest toast ever.

"Here's to four more years of wedded bliss!" he beamed.

The toast seemed to lack something in the realm of "eternal happiness". But although it seemed silly at first, I suppose when you're dealing with as much love and elation as we do, our blissful state can seem a tad mind-boggling. And if want to keep our feet on the ground, we may need to contemplate our rapture in shorter intervals. Good thinking, Hun.

the proposal

I've Been Duped

A long time ago, I wanted to be a star and appeared in a pilot for a TV show. Before anyone gets impressed, let me set the record straight. My venture into the spotlight was not the glorious 15 minutes I'd hoped for. The show's producer approached me at a club (I know, red flag!) and I agreed to the gig thinking I'd be some sort of background dancer. When I showed up however, the "producer/director/writer" (yeah, ego much?) shoved me in front of the camera and said something to the effect of: "Okay, now talk about what we're doing, what the show is about and be charming!" Off the cuff and no rehearsals. Ever. Let's just say it took a while for me to stop staring at the camera lights like a frightened deer, and it took several more takes for me to stop saying “um...”.

So here's the premise: I was co-host with this other guy, let’s call him "Kelly", a pretty metro-sexual type who sold himself as a 'seasoned actor'. We would trek around town, hitting Salt Lake’s hot night spots and telling all the folks at home how sensational they were. To make a long story short, the producer was an inexperienced, egocentric control freak, his crew quit and the pilot didn't pick up. I really didn't mind too much. The finished product turned out pretty choppy and although I wasn't the worst actor in the crew, my performance was definitely rough. So no, you will never, ever see it.

I only tell this story to give you an idea of why I completely flipped this summer when I casually flipped on the TV before bed and caught the very beginning of a home improvement show on HGTV. The host had just finished telling the lovely couple about the dazzling improvements he had planned. He then turned to introduce his team of professionals and HERE is where all of my assumptions about home improvement shows were shattered. I KNEW CONTRACTOR #1! There was Kelly, his normally perfect hair slightly tussled, and dressed down from his collared shirt and Kenneth Cole shoes to faded jeans and a tool belt. As I watched him deliver his lines and smile while he slammed the hammer, I was beside myself. I always thought the people on screen actually did the construction, but this man was not the do-it-yourself type. I suppose I should have known better, but truth was, I'd been duped. Obviously, the "contractors" were pretty boys who were simply fed lines and filmed pounding a couple nails while the REAL men got to it next door. So now I wonder, who are those real guys that do the dirty work and why aren't THEY on camera? Because they're old, don't bleach their teeth or blow dry their hair? Sounds to me like an episode of This Old House… Okay, so even I wouldn't watch that, but I still don’t like the pretense, fellas.

cute, Cute, CUTE!

So I've been spending Marc's hard-earned money on shoes for Erich. I found this super cute site and ohmygawsh, you HAVE to check out my latest aquisitions:

Rileyroos Sportie in "Wahoo" and "Butterscotch"

They are freakin' awesome. And even cuter in real life - if you can even believe it! Seriously, since I got them in the mail last week, Little E has worn these puppies everywhere. And they're more than just fashionable, when he wears them he can actually stand on his own for up to 15 seconds! Woo-hoo! (Bare-footed he still tries to walk tippytoed.) Also, just for fun I got a couple of these. Holy crap, my kid is so cute!

Gotta Love Lefties

If he keeps pulling off his left sock

does that mean he's left-handed?

wishful thinking...

A Little Peace'll Cost Ya

100 : Approximate # of times Jäger had the runs in the last 3 days

6 : # of times he didn't make it past the threshold

$210 : Ridiculous amount spent on the veterinarian visit

$140 : Cost of one BadA** Jäger-can't-get-into-this-mother trash can (which, by the way looks AMAZING in our kitchen and increased the value of our home by an estimated 2%)

The price of a good nights sleep and coming home to poop-free floors : Priceless. Or $350. I still can't decide.

Not a “Housewife”: a “Woman on Vacation”

So am I the world’s most undependable blogger or what? At least you can’t say I didn’t warn you all I would take another hiatus someday… Suddenly, though I feel the need to express myself more, and I’m pretty sure it’s a direct result of recently switching my day job from a full-time Rubber to a full-time Mudder. (Hey, it almost rhymes.)

I love being home. I have a theory that some women need to spend most of their time around the home and some need to spend most of it doing anything else. My sister and I are perfect examples of this. She’s home with her 3 month old and losing her mind. She loves one on one time with her little boy but the down time is killing her. She actually said to me: “I mean, how many more drawers can I organize before losing my mind?!” I told her to get a dog or write a blog. She decided she’ll try to start a business.

On the other hand, I have every minute of my day planned to maximize my home time. This does NOT mean I’m lazy, People. I still work Saturdays - to keep life interesting and the hotel discounts coming – I’m taking a 5 credit German class, and I keep up on chores and errands. (Okay, okay, so I called a maid. But I do run the errands.) I just love to be at home. I leave for class at the last possible second and come home right after. I run with the dog so he’ll sleep and cuddle with me while I do my homework. I run errands with Erich while he naps so I can let him crawl around my feet while I clean. I fold laundry in front of the TV because I want to watch TV curled on the couch without feeling guilty (so what if it takes twice as long :P). And best of all, I get to see and catch up with friends. I can go out to lunch, chat online, pop over to the neighbors, make phone calls, etc. I didn’t notice how anti-social I used to be while I was working. My worn out line was: “Oh, I can’t, I have to work.” Not anymore! And although I do plan on going back to work or school again, it may be from home and will certainly be on my own terms.. because this freedom deal is addictive. *

*Of course, behind every woman with freedom is a man without it, so this post is dedicated to my Sugar Daddy. Ich liebe dich, Husband, esq.