Happy Easter

I wish I could acually have a relaxing vacation, but I never do. I always wind up trying to do a ton of stuff with never enough time, and plans going awry at all possible times. But this time, it was actually pretty good. We had a great time, not too much stress or freaking-out. Except for the fact that I was pulled over by ISP a bit north of Blackfoot. Have I mentioned how much cops scare me? Well they do. In Logan, you can (and do) get pulled over for a burned-out license-plate light. You can also get arrested for same. One of my absolute biggest fears is to literally rot in the county jail because nobody knows I'm there and I'm too bloody poor to make bail. But the ISP officer merely wanted to know why my license plate wasn't bolted to the front of my car. I pointed out my plate hanging out on my dashboard, in full view of anyone, had he cared to make a cursory examination, and informed him that the holes in the license plate do not match the mounting holes on my car. My prior license plate (same number, but to get more money out of Idaho drivers, they make you replace your plates every seven years whether you need to or not) did have matching holes because I had asked one of the guys I worked with at the cabinet shop to drill me some extra holes. I never bothered to actually attach the plate, but I conveniently left out that part of the story. I'm not stupid! He let me go, told me to get it attached ASAP. I've owned this car 3 years and this is the first time I've been stopped for not having my front plate actually attached to the car. Hmmmm. So we arrived in Rexburg about 45 minutes later and continued with our evening.

As soon as we walked in the house, my mom shoved an envelope at me. Inside was the new tags for my license plate. That was one of the things I needed to get done this weekend, and she had already done it. I love presents, but simple acts of service mean so much to me. I'm really grateful for her doing that, because that was one less thing I had to get done on Friday. The second thing I did when I got home was call my friend JN. She was one of my walking buddies when I lived in Rexburg. I called her up and asked if she wanted to go for a walk. She very cautiously asked me, "Where are you?" I said, "Down the road a piece." She laughed and we went walking at 7:30. We used to do three miles around the park, but it had been a very long time since I had walked, plus it was getting dark and cold, so we only went 1.5 miles.

Friday, DD and I both had dental appointments. We have to go back in May. I need a filling, they are watching a possibly nerve-damaged tooth of hers. A funny coincidence: while in the waiting room, I saw my friend KM's daughter. I asked if her mom was in the back, she said yes. So when KM was done and came out, we had a quick chat and she went on with the rest of her day. As she is another of my walking buddies, we made a date to go walking about 5pm. As it happened, her day went to hell so we didn't go. Her life is always full of family-induced Drama, none of which she brings upon herself. Went to the bank to talk to them, went and got my driver's license renewed. The DMV does not take credit/debit cards, only cash/check. Bizarre. After that, I took DD out to MB's for another haircut. As it was sunny and breezy, we went outside so nobody would have to sweep the kitchen floor. Since everything was already out, I asked for a trim too. Just tiny bits were removed, but it vastly improved what my hair does, so I am happy! Came back to town and ran more errands, then waited for my brother and his entourage to show up for dinner. My nephew will be 5 in July, and he is so incredibly cute and funny. I had found him a Squidward over-the-door hook at the dollar store, and I took a chance that he would like it. He loves "PongeBob ParePants" but there was only Squidward. I needn't have worried; he loved it. He carried it around with him all evening. I took my Lexapro at 6pm, and promptly at 9 I went to bed. I just disappeared and nobody knew where I had gone. The meds do that to me. I just have this overwhelming urge to sleep and it's no good to try to fight it. I woke at 1am, used the "little room" and went back to bed.

I slept until 8am, but woke with a horrible shooting pain in my back. I tried all sorts of things to make it feel better: ibuprofen, hot shower, a Nikken magnet (courtesy of my mom), BioFreeze. Nothing worked. I was in huge amounts of pain the whole entire day. But I went about my business anyway. I went to the library and got some knitting books, and a few others. Ran a few more errands. Another walking buddy BF called and said she would come by the house about 3pm. I had planned my day so that I would be home at 3pm, but she called me at 2:40 and said she was at the house already. I finished picking up milk and getting gas, and arrived home at 3 on the dot! We had a good visit, as we always do. Then it was egg-dyeing time! Three dozen eggs later, we cleaned up and finished fixing dinner. My mom had made my favourite thing: beef roast with smashed potatoes and gravy, and baby carrots. Actually, I was the one who made the potatoes. In my best Richard Nixon voice: "I'm not a cook." But I can make really really good smashed potatoes. As you can see, I don't allow pain to intrude on my daily routine, but I actually cried a couple of times. I am quite accustomed to fairly severe daily pain, but I don't do so well with spasms. I actually had to ask my mom to help me get my pajamas on so I could go to bed. She found a Nikken mattress pad and put it on the bed. I also took 4 ibuprofen right before I went to bed. I slept better, and woke up this morning a bit stiff in that area, but with much less pain. Not sure if it was the mattress pad, the ibuprofen, the rest, the BioFreeze, or a combination.

This morning we went to church. 1st Ward was split about six months ago, and I had forgotten that they had changed meeting times with the new year. So we went at 8:45am to go to church. I walked in and didn't recognize anybody in Relief Society, except the lady playing the piano. I sat down anyway, and saw three other ladies I knew. Apparently we attended 8th Ward on accident! But it was okay anyway. Next month I want to go to 1st Ward though. I know more people there. Got on the road at 4pm, but stopped to take a few photos. Stopped twice on the road, and made a detour in town to drop off library books. Arrived home at 7:15 pm. Whew!