Breaking the long silence

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since Thanksgiving. Here's a much abbreviated rundown of what's been going on since I last blogged:

-- My parents came to Utah for a visit in October.

-- Mom went to the ER with shortness of breath and elevated bp the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Testing showed an aneurysm under her aortic arch. Logan doesn't have the facilities to handle this, so she was referred to McKay Dee hospital in Ogden.

-- Mom's new cardiologist did an angiogram in early December and got a better sense of what treatment options are. He scheduled an appointment for mid-January to recheck and see what mom had decided to do: have surgery in Utah, or go back to CA, get a second opinion, and line up surgery there.

-- Additional episodes of shortness of breath and high bp kept mom and dad in Utah for the duration. I spent Christmas with them in Logan, camping out in the ancestral home and making Christmas dinner (and other meals) without an oven or microwave.

-- Spent a few days with youngest stepdaughter Jessica during her Christmas visit (during which she turned 18!)

-- Saw True Grit with Mike on NYE.

-- Dealt with computer glitches at the office, with my laptop, new desktop, and my slow, old, lumbering iPhone. Upgraded and finally got all my data onto the new phone.

-- Recreationally perused some real estate close to WSU and scheduled some appointments to see the promising ones IRL.

-- Spent three Saturdays in January touring properties with varying prices and levels of appeal. One 1957 rambler had an entirely pink kitchen--including the built-in OVEN. Others looked good on paper but didn't deliver in person (including one rental that could have been on an episode of Clean House or Hoarders).

-- Wrote an offer late last Saturday night for a spectacular home on Ogden's east bench, slightly closer to WSU, but not walking distance. Now trying to juggle the offer and listing our current home with the demands of Mike's semester and my symposium schedule.

-- Feeling some about the house's size--4100 square feet is an obscene amount of space for two people. But its other features--hot tub, energy efficiency, large yard, fabulous kitchen, and the amazing SOLARIUM (where I picture spending much time during the winters)--made it too good to pass up.

-- We went to church at what would be our new ward if all goes well. The people were warm and friendly--spoke to us, asked if we were new/moving in, made efforts to include us. It was quite a contrast from our current ward, where no one spoke to us until RS/PH meeting for the first THREE SUNDAYS we attended.

-- Mom has an appointment with her cardiologist and the surgeon next week. We should know soon when her surgery will be scheduled. They're hoping to go in via groin to place the stent rather than go in via chest. The aneurysm is close to another artery which will need to be bypassed a couple of days before the stent goes in. Hoping it all goes smoothly!

-- And while all this is going on, I'm planning regional symposiums in Northern California, the Midwest, Washington DC, and getting a head start on SLC 2011. Just had my opening keynote speaker confirm today: Colleen McDannell!

-- Oh, and I'm also going to be assisting Mike with the Monday night class he's taking over for an ill colleague. He should hear soon about his promotion to full professor AND department chair. Nice work, honey!

Yeah, it's been a busy few months. But now you're pretty much all caught up!