Friday, January 30, 2009

NOTEWORTHY SHOW IN SACRAMENTO


Finally, the time is here. Noteworthy is coming to Sacramento. Friday, March 13th at 7:00 p.m. at Sheldon High School Performing Arts Center. We are so excited. Tickets are on sale at http://www.noteworthyladies.com/. We would love to see you there and bring a friend or two or three. Here are a couple of links to some videos so you can get a small taste of how talented these girls are and it is even better live:



Also, if anyone would like to help get the word out I have posters and flyers. Just let me know and I will get some to you. We really want to get as many people their as possible.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

25 Random Facts about Me

I copyed this from my facebook but thought it would be fun to put here for those of you who do not follow facebook. I would love to hear 25 random facts about you if you would like to take the challenge. It is a fun way to get to know each other.

1. I broke both my arms in kindergarten when I fell off the swing. It is a really funny story you should ask me about it sometime.
2. I love musicals. Yes, I love it when people randomly start singing and dancing.
3. I burp alot. I have passed this amazing talent on to my 3 girls and the smallest one burps the loudest.
4. I love piano music and wish I could play.
5. I hate having dirty hands, which is probably why I am not a fan of camping.
6. I do not like water being thrown in my face...it makes me very, very angry.
7. I love cotton candy and french fries.
8. I really like candles especially ones that smell like cinnamon.
9. One of my favorite things is new socks...if I were rich i would wear a new pair everyday.
10. I love reading...it is one of my favorite things to do. Curl up under a warm blanket and do nothing all day but read, with new socks on of course, a perfect day.
11. I wish I could sing...I like to sing but really am not any good.
12. When I was 10 I fell off my pony and dislocated my elbow...the most painful experience of my life.
13. I love the smell of hay.
14. I like to people watch and then talk to my best friend Connie about the funny ones!
15. I started a musical theatre company for youth with my friend and we are now in our 6th
16. I went to BYU-I when it was Ricks College.
17. I want to learn how to use my new Nikon D-70.
18. At my high school there were racial riots and I had to hide under a table in the cafeteria to avoid being hit by a chair. You see we couldn't escape out the cafeteria doors because they were blocked so we had no choice but to fight or hide. I hid...yes I am a chicken.
19. I love teenagers. I really like working with them. I would much rather work with teens then little kids.
20. In the last 3 years I have become an ardent fan of acapella music. Especially a group called Noteworthy. Who just happen to be the 2007 world champions of collegiate acapella.
21. I am lactose intolerant.
22. I like to watch reality TV.
23. I love to listen to the sound of waves crashing on the beach.
24. I go to wal-mart at least once a week and I prefer it over target.
25. I have just wasted a really long time doing this...when I should be doing something productive like cleaning my house.

P.S. I am putting a plug in for my daughter Courtney's blog. She just posted a really great post and you should go read it. Her blog is listed on the side under my favorite blogs "snap, crackle, pop". Check it out.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Diane Helen De Lucia Jensen


Born September 20, 1934 in Oakland to Nicholas and Helen De Lucia, Diane passed away at home, in Rancho Cordova on Jan 17, 2009 at age 74. She devoted her life to her family, her church, sewing, painting, teaching dance, and directing theatrical productions. Of note, Diane choreographed for the Elk Grove Strauss Festival for many years. Lovingly cared for during her long illness by her husband Willis Boyd Jensen, she also leaves children Marcia Harris, Michael Jensen, Stephen Jensen, Caryn Stapp, Sarah Blair, Rachelle Anderson, Jared Jensen and their spouses, 34 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, her sisters Susan Rosenquist and Marian Brown, and brother Thomas De Lucia. She is preceded in death by her parents and brothers Nicholas and Andrew De Lucia. Services will be held Friday, Jan 23 at 11 am at the LDS Church, 2400 Cordova Lane, Rancho Cordova. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer's Association.

Diane was a great inspiration to me. She was a great example of what a great LDS women should be. I was blessed to have her as my mother in-law. I miss her and look forward to the day when I can see her again and thank her for all she has done for me.

I have received many kind words from so many of you. Those words have brought comfort and peace. I have posted a copy of one the really shows what kind of person Diane was...


I was sad to hear of the passing away of Sister Jensen today. She had a life long positive impact on my life. When Rancho Cordova was still a part of the Fair Oaks Stake and I was 16 yrs young she invited me to be in the dance festival for that year. I was so shy that when my mom would drop me off at the Fair Oaks Stake Center I would wait until she left and then walk up to the Circle K. I did that for about a month. When Sister Jensen found out, she came to my house to teach me the steps. It was because of her that I went on to do the dance festivals and stake plays that I enjoyed doing so much. I know that there are many other people, including my 2 younger brothers, who were blessed because of her.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Ciara


Thought it was about time I updated the blog on Ciara's JRA (juvenile rhuematoid arthritis). She had an appt. Friday with her rhuematologist. She see's him about once a month. She had some bloodwork done and it showed that her liver enzymes and her sed rate were elevated which is not good and that she is a little anemic. The sed rate lets the Dr know how much inflammation there is going on in her body so when it goes up then he knows that the JRV is getting worse which Ciara was telling him that she felt worse and that she has been experiencing lots of stomach pain. The liver enzyme is telling him basically that her liver is not at all happy with the medication she is taking and something needs to change because you do not want to have elevated liver enzymes or at least not as high as Ciara's are.

And I just want to say here that Dr. Stobie is great. He gives Ciara the most complete examine everytime we come and never makes us feel like we need to hurry along. Are appts generally last 45 min to an hour.


Anyway, so Dr. Stobie wants to figure out which medicine is causing her liver to be so unhappy and changed her off of Clinoril and put her on a new NSAID Relefen. Hopefully, this change will also help with the stomach pain. Relefen is not as hard on the stomach as Clinoril. She will continue with the methotrexate once a week which really dosen't seem to be doing much and is not causing any of the side effects accept mouth sores which is good. And the mouth sores are just a few and it dosen't help that she has braces. Ciara goes back in 4 weeks to see if the change in meds will help the liver enzymes go down and also how she is feeling. If the liver stays the same then she will probably have to go off the methotrexate if they go down then he will increase the amount of metho she is taking and he also will probably start her on a new med that you may have heard about from TV Enbrel. This is a really good med for JRV but Ciara would have to give herself a shot twice a week which believe me she is not happy about but Dr really wants to get her JRV to stop progressing and hopefully decrease. Apparently Enbrel is very, very expensive in the thoughsands of dollars range. Dr asked what kind of insurance we had and we are very blessed to have amazing health coverage. Dr even said "well make sure your husband doesen't quit that job". Yes, I am very grateful for a husband who gets up at 3 every morning to go to work so we can have this amazing health insurance.

So, we are now just waiting for the next 3 weeks to pass to see what it going to happen. Ciara is still a real trooper who never complains, gets up at 5 every morning for seminary (because she is so slow in the mornings it takes her a good hour and 20 mins to get ready) and she has only missed 3 days so far this year and one of those was because we were out of town. I am also blessed to be her Mom.

Hope you are all having a great day, week, month etc. Love to hear from you.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

SADD

Does anyone else get that blue, down, no energy, motivation feeling when the weather is like this (overcast, foggy not sunshine for days, weeks at a time)? I have it bad ....I hate feeling this way and even though I know the cause and that I feel this way every January I still feel this way. Anyway, below are a few pictures of my sunshine and what can make me happy and smile anytime.



























Tuesday, January 6, 2009

New Look

So, I have been trying to figure out how to get a "cute" blog and I think I finally did it. Hope you enjoy the new look.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy New Year 2009

These are the picture of our new shower. It is so nice to have a nice new shower!










I just can't believe that it is 2009 already. I swear it was just Jan. 2008 about 3 months ago. Do you remember when you were young and it seemed that time moved so slow. I remember thinking Christmas would never ever come and now it seems like it comes every 3 months. Time is flying by and I don't like it! Now that I want it to go slow it speeds up...I am never happy.

Our New Year's Eve was not so spectacular but fun. We spent the evening with family playing games and eating (of course). Do we ever gather without food? (I am pretty sure the answer to that is no) Then we had to leave before the new year because we had to pick up Ciara and friends from the dance. Ciara went to the dance up at Mormon Center, I think she had fun but not sure how much. Ciara was really not feeling well. She has been having lots of stomach pain and joint aches and pains. I am worried that she may be developing an ulcer from her meds. And unfortunately her rhemetologist is out of town until the very end of Jan. I am thinking we will probably have to go in to her peditrician for a check if the stomach pain does not get better.
Courtney and Katie started the new semester today. Katie reports that so far her classes are fine. She has moved into her new apartment and seems to like it. Her new Bishop came over for a visit last night and she really likes him. So hopefully, this semester will be better than last and she will finally feel like this is where she is supposed to be. Courtney, only had two classes today and she only made it to one. She is still having lots, and lots of dizzyness and nausea. Lots of snow today so she decided to miss one of her classes. Hopefully, tomorrow will go better she has classes from 9 to 3. She got the bill for her ER visit today, are you ready for this....$13,649. Yeah, thats right I said thirteen thousand six hundred and forty nine dollars. And that does include the ambulance ride or the cat scan. So, no wonder our health insurance rates are so high. She was never even admitted.

David has a project and report due Wed on ancient egyptians. His project is to cook something the egyptians ate. So, tonight we made pita bread or something like it and some candy that is as david says the ancient egyptian version of rice krispies. It is sesame seeds with honey. I am not a fan of honey but if you are it is probably tastee.







































And we finally got christmas all put away! Yipee, it is fun to decorate for christmas but never quite as fun to take it down and put it away but I am glad to have my house back to normal. It always looks so empty though with all the christmas stuff gone. And this is just a picture of my naked, dead christmas tree. It looks so sad.







Ciara and friends just hanging out over christmas vacation.
Hope you all have a wonderful year full of family, friends and food.