Last night I was sitting on the couch next to my wife reading when my cell phone rang at 9:31 p.m. It was my Dad. Not out of the ordinary for him to call me on a Sunday evening. I had not spoken with him for most of the week, life is busy. I figured he was calling to check in on the family.
The conversation started out with the normal greetings and how are people doing type questions. And then Dad's tone changed a bit and I realized that something was up. He told me that he had Mom in the hospital again.
Mom has not been feeling well for the last few weeks. Really it goes back to June 1st when Dad called to tell me that Mom was in the hospital and had been since very early in the morning. She woke up with pain in her back. Twelve hours later and a whole lot of tests, it was discovered that mom has an enlarged heart and was in congestive heart failure. Her heart rhythms were out of whack and she was in critical condition. She spent most of a week in ICU while the doctors worked to get things back to normal.
Three weeks ago, Dad had Mom in the hospital again for severe abdominal pain. she had a CT Scan and a few other tests that did not find a real cause for the pain other than some possible diverticulitis and another minor issue. She was referred to another physician. He sent her home with some medicine and to check her wallet at the front desk.
Back she was again last night not feeling well and suffering from abdominal pain still, a fever and an elevated white count. During the course of the tests, Mom's Coumadin INR was found to be at nine. Pretty high by any standard. When I arrived at the ER, they were preparing to admit Mom to the medical floor. She needed some plasma transfusions to help bring her levels down (I don't know if they gave her anything else along with the plasma). Mom's blood was tested again before the plasma was administered and the INR was 10.5 (going the wrong direction).
Dad and I waited until they had started the first transfusion before we headed home for some rest. I got home around 1 a.m.
Around 6 a.m. when they were about to start the third bag of plasma, Mom had a reaction and started to shiver and shake. The nurses covered Mom with a lot of blankets trying to keep her warm. They stopped the transfusions and actually found that the INR had come down to a normal level. Mom was monitored for the rest of the morning and afternoon and was allowed to go home around 5pm.
I called Dad tonight and he reports that Mom is feeling a ton better and actually at some pudding, soup, and crackers for dinner. That is more than she has eaten in the last three weeks. I am glad to hear she is feeling better.
I am headed to bed early tonight!
Monday, October 29, 2007
A Great Book!
I finished reading a very good book today. I am not much of a book reviewer, so I am including a link to a friend's blog. Todd is the one who recommended the book, at least I read his blog and became interested in the book.
If you read my previous post, you know I love to cook. If you have seen me, you know I love to eat. There were many quotes in the book worthy of remembering and mention but my favorite was from Big Russ. "You gotta eat."
You gotta eat, so you may as well eat things you like. I love salads and fruit and vegetables. I also happen to love just about anything deep fried and greasy. I know smoking is bad for you, but one of my passions is to sit in my backyard close to my smoker and stoke the fire with soaked hickory chips and chunks. There is not a food that I love more than a smoky, tender, slow cooked piece of pork or beef. I am sure the blackened parts that have been charred are bad for you, but they taste oh so good. You gotta eat!
If you read my previous post, you know I love to cook. If you have seen me, you know I love to eat. There were many quotes in the book worthy of remembering and mention but my favorite was from Big Russ. "You gotta eat."
You gotta eat, so you may as well eat things you like. I love salads and fruit and vegetables. I also happen to love just about anything deep fried and greasy. I know smoking is bad for you, but one of my passions is to sit in my backyard close to my smoker and stoke the fire with soaked hickory chips and chunks. There is not a food that I love more than a smoky, tender, slow cooked piece of pork or beef. I am sure the blackened parts that have been charred are bad for you, but they taste oh so good. You gotta eat!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Chili and Barbecue
Tonight we went to our Ward "Trunk or Treat" party. It was very well attended and the kids had a great time. They came home with tons of candy for mom and dad!
Part of the party included the annual chili, trunk decoration, costume, and dessert contests. I was a judge for the trunk decoration division along with the other members of the Young Men's Presidency. It was actually pretty easy. Not too many people decorated their trunks.
This is probably my favorite Ward party each year. This year was extra special since I won one of the four categories for chili, "tastiest." What I did was find a recipe on the Internet that looked interesting and made it. Here is the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-Ricks/Detail.aspx to the recipe.
The thing that caught my attention was that the recipe uses chocolate as one of the ingredients. I was surprise by how much the chocolate added to the flavor. As I told people what the secret ingredient was, they were all surprised and maybe even shocked that someone would use chocolate to make chili. Really there was not that much chocolate, only two ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate, but it made the difference!
I really like the allrecipes website. I have found many recipes here that have been really well received by my test tasting gallery for which I am really appreciative. I have a great family that love to eat and I am happy to feed them. Cooking brings me a certain satisfaction, and immediate return on investment that I can't get anywhere else.
For example, I love to see people's reaction when they get that first bite of tenderly smoked brisket and/or pulled pork. If I had the money to quit my job and buy the necessary equipment, I would open a barbecue joint in a heart beat. I have this dream of taking an old gas station, garage, rundown building or whatever other old place I could find and turning it into a hole in the wall dive where people come to eat succulent, tender, slow cooked brisket, pork ribs, and pulled pork. Add my families potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue beans, and a few other choices of side dishes and I think I have the "recipe" for success.
I kinda want one of those out of the way places that people would go to just because the food is that good, not because the place is pretty. Where people would not have to pay an arm and a leg just to eat great food and would waddle away full and feel like they got a great value as well as a great meal. A place that would become a family tradition, a weekly or even more often trek to get the best food around. Am I asking for too much? I hope I don't sound prideful or conceited. I just love to cook and barbecue is my favorite. I love the time it takes to make perfection happen, throwing the wood on the fire and keeping the heat going at a constant temperature...low and slow. The smell that emanates from the smoker and the scent of my clothes after tending the fire all day. I am sure my wife does not appreciate the smell though. A small price to pay, she loves the food as well.
The only thing I have to come up with still is my own signature sauce. There are a few commercial sauces that I am partial to. Sweet Baby Rays and KC Masterpiece are two of my favorites. Recently I watched a show on PBS that was sort of a quest to find the best barbecue sauce. One of the tested brands was one I had not heard of before is Aurthur Bryant's. I understand this sauce is more of a vinegar flavor sauce rather than a sweet sauce. I am eager to get some ordered and try it out. If anyone wants to order some in, I will cook up a smoky slab of beef to go along with it.
As for a sauce for the pork, I make a North Carolina sauce based on one that I got out of a book by Steven Raichlen. The sauce is a bit like the one you can slather on the delicious pulled pork at Sugar House Barbecue in Salt Lake City, Utah. My sauce needs some work but it is getting there.
I have got to stop! I am sitting here drooling on the keyboard, fearing I will be electrocuted, and have also made myself really hungry. Now I've gotta go find something to eat.
Part of the party included the annual chili, trunk decoration, costume, and dessert contests. I was a judge for the trunk decoration division along with the other members of the Young Men's Presidency. It was actually pretty easy. Not too many people decorated their trunks.
This is probably my favorite Ward party each year. This year was extra special since I won one of the four categories for chili, "tastiest." What I did was find a recipe on the Internet that looked interesting and made it. Here is the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-Ricks/Detail.aspx to the recipe.
The thing that caught my attention was that the recipe uses chocolate as one of the ingredients. I was surprise by how much the chocolate added to the flavor. As I told people what the secret ingredient was, they were all surprised and maybe even shocked that someone would use chocolate to make chili. Really there was not that much chocolate, only two ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate, but it made the difference!
I really like the allrecipes website. I have found many recipes here that have been really well received by my test tasting gallery for which I am really appreciative. I have a great family that love to eat and I am happy to feed them. Cooking brings me a certain satisfaction, and immediate return on investment that I can't get anywhere else.
For example, I love to see people's reaction when they get that first bite of tenderly smoked brisket and/or pulled pork. If I had the money to quit my job and buy the necessary equipment, I would open a barbecue joint in a heart beat. I have this dream of taking an old gas station, garage, rundown building or whatever other old place I could find and turning it into a hole in the wall dive where people come to eat succulent, tender, slow cooked brisket, pork ribs, and pulled pork. Add my families potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue beans, and a few other choices of side dishes and I think I have the "recipe" for success.
I kinda want one of those out of the way places that people would go to just because the food is that good, not because the place is pretty. Where people would not have to pay an arm and a leg just to eat great food and would waddle away full and feel like they got a great value as well as a great meal. A place that would become a family tradition, a weekly or even more often trek to get the best food around. Am I asking for too much? I hope I don't sound prideful or conceited. I just love to cook and barbecue is my favorite. I love the time it takes to make perfection happen, throwing the wood on the fire and keeping the heat going at a constant temperature...low and slow. The smell that emanates from the smoker and the scent of my clothes after tending the fire all day. I am sure my wife does not appreciate the smell though. A small price to pay, she loves the food as well.
The only thing I have to come up with still is my own signature sauce. There are a few commercial sauces that I am partial to. Sweet Baby Rays and KC Masterpiece are two of my favorites. Recently I watched a show on PBS that was sort of a quest to find the best barbecue sauce. One of the tested brands was one I had not heard of before is Aurthur Bryant's. I understand this sauce is more of a vinegar flavor sauce rather than a sweet sauce. I am eager to get some ordered and try it out. If anyone wants to order some in, I will cook up a smoky slab of beef to go along with it.
As for a sauce for the pork, I make a North Carolina sauce based on one that I got out of a book by Steven Raichlen. The sauce is a bit like the one you can slather on the delicious pulled pork at Sugar House Barbecue in Salt Lake City, Utah. My sauce needs some work but it is getting there.
I have got to stop! I am sitting here drooling on the keyboard, fearing I will be electrocuted, and have also made myself really hungry. Now I've gotta go find something to eat.
My Tummy Won't Stay Up and Baseball
At first look, you may think the title is referring to my protruding belly...it is not. Marni and I were relaxing on the bed, making comments to Adam who was playing a game on the computer in our room, talking to himself, while we were answering his comments, though he was oblivious to our comments. Melanie and Carolyn came bounding in and jumped on the bed and joined us. So much for relaxing!
After a few minutes of tickling the girls and them getting me back, Carolyn all of the sudden says, "my tummy won't stay up. It keeps going down." She said this while she was bouncing away, happy as can be. Then she noticed that the pillow cases are not on the pillows (they are in the wash with the sheets). She said, "where are your pillow cushions? I can't feel them."
With Carolyn, it is a laugh a minute. She always has something funny to say, that leaves you asking where it came from.
That reminds me of a time I was out with my dad and Adam. We were looking at model homes. My parents were getting ready to build a new home here in Utah. We happened to be in an Ivory Homes neighborhood in Layton, UT, just off of Highway 193. We were in the upstairs of a spec home and Adam looked out the back window and spotted a fire station on Church Street. Out of the blue he turns to me and says, "I know what the job is. We need to go to the fire station and see the fire trucks." At that time in his life, he wanted to be a fire man, police man, ambulance driver, and a cow boy. He even kept his horses in on Corado.
Those days are gone. Now his world revolves around baseball. Of course it is World Series time so the T.V. is tuned to Fox for each game and we are transformed into fans of whatever team Adam wants to win this year. In just a few days, we will go into the long dark and dreary season between the end of the current baseball season and the start of spring training. Don't worry, baseball is not done for Adam. He will spend the next few months playing MLB Baseball on the computer. When he gets tired of that, as if that could ever happen, Adam will then head outside to throw balls against the house and play a pickup game of front yard baseball if he can round up at least one other person crazy enough to be out in the cold. The crazy thing is that Adam does not care what the weather or temperature is outside. It could be 10 below outside and Adam can still be out found outside throwing a baseball. I am waiting for the stucco to fall off of the front of the house from being hit so many times.
After a few minutes of tickling the girls and them getting me back, Carolyn all of the sudden says, "my tummy won't stay up. It keeps going down." She said this while she was bouncing away, happy as can be. Then she noticed that the pillow cases are not on the pillows (they are in the wash with the sheets). She said, "where are your pillow cushions? I can't feel them."
With Carolyn, it is a laugh a minute. She always has something funny to say, that leaves you asking where it came from.
That reminds me of a time I was out with my dad and Adam. We were looking at model homes. My parents were getting ready to build a new home here in Utah. We happened to be in an Ivory Homes neighborhood in Layton, UT, just off of Highway 193. We were in the upstairs of a spec home and Adam looked out the back window and spotted a fire station on Church Street. Out of the blue he turns to me and says, "I know what the job is. We need to go to the fire station and see the fire trucks." At that time in his life, he wanted to be a fire man, police man, ambulance driver, and a cow boy. He even kept his horses in on Corado.
Those days are gone. Now his world revolves around baseball. Of course it is World Series time so the T.V. is tuned to Fox for each game and we are transformed into fans of whatever team Adam wants to win this year. In just a few days, we will go into the long dark and dreary season between the end of the current baseball season and the start of spring training. Don't worry, baseball is not done for Adam. He will spend the next few months playing MLB Baseball on the computer. When he gets tired of that, as if that could ever happen, Adam will then head outside to throw balls against the house and play a pickup game of front yard baseball if he can round up at least one other person crazy enough to be out in the cold. The crazy thing is that Adam does not care what the weather or temperature is outside. It could be 10 below outside and Adam can still be out found outside throwing a baseball. I am waiting for the stucco to fall off of the front of the house from being hit so many times.
Friday, October 26, 2007
A visit with the Great Grandparents
Monday night we had Family Home Evening with Marni's Grandparents. We sat around and talked about what life was like for Grandma and Grandpa growing up. We sang them some songs and had a great time.
I am not sure why I have been so blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. I could never on my own have put together a better family to be a part of.
Friday, October 5, 2007
3 Year Old's Wisdom
I wanted to blog this before I forgot. We were having dinner at my parent's house last Sunday. My 3 year old daughter, Carolyn, came in and asked my wife to take her to the bathroom. While Carolyn was sitting on the throne doing her business she looked up at my wife and said, "when something flies over my head, I dunk."
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