The ever living; never dying...

In every marriage or even friendship I'm sure that there is just something that drives you practically insane. Maybe it is a word they use over and over or the way that they drive. But let me tell you that all those things would be great over 'the shirt'.
The shirt... He knows I don't like it which is probably why he wears it.

The History of 'The Shirt'

Age: Over 7 years, definite age undetermined.

Description: Button up collar blue vertical stripped shirt with a mix of white and a shiny cream stripe. A mixed breed from a polo, grandpa shirt, and a nice business attire button up shirt. The material is like the thin shirts that old grandpas where. HOW DO YOU PULL OFF A SHIRT THAT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO WEAR IN THE FIRST PLACE??? Is it casual? Is it formal? Is it made for humans?

Legacy: Jared bought this shirt on his mission... at a second hand store (making for an undetermined age) in Spain for.... 25 CENTS! It has followed him from Spain, back to Utah then to Kentucky and for the occasional trip to Honduras. It is like his best friend. He LOVES that shirt. It has stains on it and who knows what else. Washing might not help, but how would I know... I have never washed it. Jared will wear it and then hang it up again... maybe in fear that if I wash it, it might just disappear.
Like it sometimes does when I find it laying around...

It may live to see the end of the world at the rate it is going

The ever living... Never dying...

THE SHIRT

A Young Missionary in Spain
with the newly purchased old shirt

In Honduras atleast 7 years later with the shirt

The shirt... Yesterday.

It was a Wicked and Wild Wind

Hurricane Ike (or as Jared and I call it Ikus) left its path of destruction in Louisville. Sunday was a peaceful morning (like 6:00am) but quickly changed into a whirlwind of a storm. Power went out on Sunday at about 1:30pm just to be followed by gusting winds that were recorded up to 75mph. It was CRAZY windy and I can admit to being slightly scared by the noises the wind made against out home. But we were safe.

It finally calmed down at about 7pm that night. Jared and I went outside to check on our house because earlier that day we watched our neighbors house behind us have 2 panels ripped off of it.

Luckily our house was spared from any damage other than a plastic shutter halfway coming off and a little gutter thing coming off. No big deal compared to some events that happened… like our neighbor to the front of us. A bunch of side paneling came off of their house and no one was even home. So Sad.

Neighbors Home

A walk the next day (still without power) and we saw just the damage around our block… roofs and shingles GONE, side panels gone, trees toppled over, ect ect. Lots of wind damage. That day we also tried to drive to a couple stores to find that we cannot get out of our neighborhood without going the back way… 2 miles around. WHY? Because of a HUGE tree toppled over the power lines and onto the road. There were snapped power lines everywhere. We are guessing that it is the source of No power. I wish I had a picture... but there were so many snapped live wires... I decided against it.

Tuesday and we are still without power and so we went to Barnes and Noble to spend half the day and charge our computers and well just to waste time. While there Jared looked up on the internet an article that said… 75% of Louisville’s power is out, and it will take an estimated 2 weeks to get it all restored. YIKES! To add insult to injury… Jared decided to call the electric company and make sure the knew that our power line was down and found that NOT ONE PERSON had reported it. Everyone had assumed someone else had. OH ME, OH MY. Last of the list… I think so. (I’m so glad we just bought that grill!)

We are doing fine so far. The nights are cool and we have our little cooler for our meats. We also have many wonderful people in the ward that are offering their homes to us for whatever we may need.

At the moment I am just happy nothing too horrible has happened to our home. Just no power. I can live with that!



UPDATE!!!!


As of 6:10 AM Friday Morning September 19th 2008 We have POWER! Yesterday we took a walk down the street to see if the company was working on the lines and it turns out... THEY WERE THERE... many trucks!

Earlier Thursday we drove up to the disaster site and an electric man was standing there making sure no one tried to touch the wires... um DUH. But he said it would take 5 teams atleast 24 hours to clean it all up. YIKES... I guess though last night there was 10 teams! lol. Thank you LG&E.

Really fast...

Hello all!

Just as a really fast update...

Firstly Jared is doing great. Today began as one of the 'not so great days' but has quickly changed into yet another good day(Thanks to those wonderful drugs we keep on hand). Jared is healing and getting bored, especially at night. He has a hard time sleeping (no help from our lovely neighbors that run their generators all night long) and it drives him CRAZY.

We still have no power. I have a post I wrote up on my other computer about that story and I would post it now but on our trip to Barnes and Noble to steal Internet and electricity I forgot my computer. Jared DID call the electric company Tuesday and found... NO ONE had reported the power line being down or power being out. I mean SERIOUSLY! I guess it is a lesson in NEVER ASSUMING. With such a paranoid neighborhood we have I would have thought the electric company would be sick of the same report... but no. LOL
Luckily yesterday and today we saw some company trucks there... so maybe by tomorrow night???

And, I think that is pretty much it. Not too much to report. Jared usually keeps me busy as a chauffeur as we go and do LOTS of errands I never knew existed but it is fun having my husband around. I love it, I just wish it wasn't because of recent events.

So there you are. HOPEFULLY we will have power soon and I will get to post that blog I wrote in the next couple days, so keep checking back.

The Tale of the Terrible Tumor

In all trials and tribulations we have found ourselves to be very blessed. So many things happen that we cannot predict the outcome, but we are so lucky to have the beliefs we do to carry us through all of the tough character shaping trials.

Well, we were fine and dandy a couple of weeks ago. Just hanging out in Kentucky doing our own thing. I just started going to school at University of Louisville and started applying for a part-time job while Jared worked hard, long hours at work everyday. And very slowly things started coming up that were not so great.
Jared started sharing with me the painful headaches that he would wake up with, and the dizziness he would have all day, the incoordination with his movements; writing, signing, and anything with his hands, and his slurred speech.
All that was wrong was blamed on being the new intern in his Residency. Nothing too serious was ever emphasized. It was all just shrugged off as nothing. I did not know how serious the symptoms were UNTIL we would go on walks and Jared would get so dizzy that we would have to stop and sit until he was sure he would not fall over. That scared me... So as I had done before I urged him to go to the doctor. The hardest thing I have ever done.... Getting a Dr. to see the Dr. BLAH. But finally Jared went to the doctor but the nurse practitioner just blew off all the symptoms and told Jared to take some advil and excedrin.
LUCKLY she called back to follow up (which I must say is amazing because I have NEVER known anyone to call back and follow up) It really saved Jared's life. The REAL doctor saw him and got worried so he ordered an MRI. Jared thought it was going to be a waste of 2000 bucks but it was the best ever spent.
They found the tumor and admitted Jared to the hospital right away. Turns out part of his brain was herniating through the small hole in where the spinal cord goes... a potentially deadly problem. We stayed at the hospital that night and in the morning they let him go because the steroids kept the swelling down.

Jared's MRI

Before the surgery... We kept things happy and fun... like by putting duck magnates on our ears. LOL. We're nerds!

The surgery was scheduled for Tuesday at noon, but the doctor was tied up and the surgery was pushed off to 3:30pm on Tuesday. It was a stressful time, but Jared's parents were there and Mary and his aunt and uncle too. It was a great support group, but I was STILL so nervous. The surgery was supposed to be 6 hours long, but it went really really REALLY well and took only about 3 and 1/2 hours.
BUT, It took until 10pm that night for us to see him for 2 minutes and then to be shuffled to wait outside of the ICU for Jared. FINALLY, I got to see my lovely hubby. Can't say that he was very happy, but I can't blame him for that.

In the hospital

For weak tummies look away... Jareds Lovely Incision

So being a Doctor he was the WORST patient for the nurses. (He just knows to much) But he recovered very fast and was transferred to the TCU (kinda like a transitional Intensive Care Unit) that afternoon. SO AMAZING. Then one night in the TCU and lots of visitors later Jared was allowed to go home!!! They predicted he would be home in 5 days, but he beat them with just 2! It really was very VERY amazing!

Going Home!

I love having Jared home. He needs help with a lot of little things that we take for granted in every day life, and is still dizzy, and has a lot of pain, but he has been a very good sport.
We appreciate all of the love and help and prayers that everyone has given to us. The meals were wonderful. The lawn care. The notes of love and encouragement is all so great.

Get Kicking Soon Cookies!

On the funny(er) side of this, Jared decided to shave off all the hair on his head. They (surgeon) only had to shave off some of the hair around where they drilled into his scull, but Jared wanted it all gone. "makes it less obvious" he says. So today the hair was shaved. I think it looks pretty good, but I love Jared not matter how he looks or anything that happens.

I would put one of the many nicknames I could have for Jared here, but he has not allowed it.
(personally I like the Dalai Lama. hee hee)

Overall, everything has turned out so well. They got all the tumor, we are avoiding infection, Jared is getting better and more energy, the tumor is most likely benign and when his hair does grow back most the scar will be hid.
Thank you to everyone again for food, prayers, cards, cookies, love, concern, encouragement, and thoughts. We are doing well. We are blessed. So very blessed. This is just a bump in the road and it has brought us closer together as a family. We are very blessed with a merciful Father in Heaven. We love you all!

A Week in Summary. By Jenny Armstrong

Hello again! The flood has long gone and I told myself that I would blog more often but, well, baby steps... atleast it is still August.
It really does seem that everyday I have been thinking... mmmm I should blog this, but everyday I find it never gets done. So this is an attempt to blog MOST of what I wanted to say. Not all just for reasons of things get lost in my head somewhere and I don't remember them.

Last Saturday a good friend of Jared and I, Mary, (We call her our Louisville mother; and she LOVES it. lol.) She offered to have me over to teach me how to decorate cakes while Jared was on call. When I got there the kitchen was going at full speed. It was amazing how well she cooks cakes and decorates them. She took classes on cake decorating twice and now is taking a wedding cake class. I have to say... Pretty cool.
We got right to it... right after a stop at Wendys. She taught me the beginners level things which may sound easy for the advanced group but for us BEGINNERS it was just right. I learned how to weave and how to do those shell thingys. It was fun. She already had the cake made for me and so I got to go right to it. I think you can tell who the cake is for...

I'm so proud of my CAKE! And it looks so good!All of this talk of cake.... I find myself sitting now blogging while eating cake. My weakness. Now I have always believed that a good breakfast (low in sugar) is the best. BUT there are two things that will replace ANY meal. Chocolate cake and brownies. MMMmmmmmmmm so good. I remember the good old days of "G-toe" ing and baking chocolate cake at 3 in the morning for breakfast while playing little mermaid over and over and over, but that is another story; one you may never be told. (Unless you are Claudia and already KNOW the story. HA!)

SO, on Sunday we went to our new ward. Although because of Jared's schedule this week we only stayed for sacrament, we did meed some nice people. Jared met and conveniently and accidently sat next to a guy he has seen in the ER before. Turns out he is a ER resident here. His wife and I talked a little and she asked how residency was going. It was just nice to meet wives in the ward that are going through roughly the same thing; instead of hearing a man complain of working 60 hours. (Jared and I just laughed when we heard that one.) Overall the ward looks good and I am excited to go again.

Chocolate cake for dinner....

And the week goes on. :)

Tuesday. ugh. Tuesday my classes start. Which I am HAPPY for but I am DEFINITELY not at BYU anymore. WOW. I did not realize how 'goodie too shoes' it made me. I walk around thinking... "against dress code.... against language code.... graffiti.... grass needing to be mowed... grass needing to be watered.... trash.... too radical of a hairstyle.... WAY too short of shorts I NEVER wanted to see that!" or something like that... basically it is a little bit, outrageously different. :) Oh and gay teachers... thats new.
Overall it was good. I have to park about a mile from campus so I take the bus to campus every morning. I figure it is the safest way. And I kinda enjoy the time to myself to veg or whatever my mind does.
OH yes, this was the famous day of "Hello... Good-bye" scheduling. Let me explain.

This week Jared has had a RIDICULOUS schedule. On call every other night. blah. Totally against all rules in more that one way. It all started.... Saturday. Gone all day and most of the night. I saw him when he crawled into bed at 11 and then left at 11:30 and then saw him again at 11:30 in the morning (luckly church is at 1 pm) So then he sleeps we go to church ... then home to sleep ect. Monday he left at 5:30am the next time I saw him... late that night crawling into bed, JUST to be paged a little later and leave. Tuesday (the day of "Hello good-bye" scheduling) by this time I'm wanting to know if I am still married or I'm imagining it, not really but still.... I like to see my husband sometimes...
So Jared gets to come home at noon if he was working all day and then night the day before. Well I have to leave at about noon for class. I stayed home and waited for him to come so we could say hi and hug and then say good-bye because I had to leave. I was horribly late for my class but it was worth the embarrassment.
Then right before I got home he had to leave for a Journal Club thing he has to go to. BUT that night we FINALLY met and talked for a little and then hit the sack.
Wednesday was much better and we actually had dinner together! But tonight he is on-call yet again! Hours this week... I think we are going for a record of 120+ hours of work. (Yes that is equivalent to 3 full time jobs) BLAH! I wish they would give him a little break. Just to let him sleep. Good Gravy! I feel like they are taking years off of his life by doing this to him... gah.
Ok sorry... that was my venting moment. Moving on...

Chocolate cake for dinner.... JUST KIDDING! That was only once!

Wednesday was boring. We can just skip that day.

Thursday (or today... the day I am writing all of this)
I went again to school, and learned of my black gay woman oral communication teacher... VERY UNIQUE category I have to say, BUT she's a cool person and great teacher. (i'm so glad that in todays conversation I decided NOT to say how wrong I felt gay marriage was... that was right before she told us she was gay. PHEW.
Yes, I am a suck up. And I dont want to burn any bridge that will be handing out grades.

Overall class is annoying because yet again it is freshman classes, and you can just tell, but for the most part all good. lol... you can always tell the freshman when the complain about 80 dollar books. HAHAHA.

The yucky class of the semester: History 102.
Maybe it was the way class started. "What is a Revolution?" Or the way I cant hear the teachers quiet boring voice as it blends with the noise of the air conditioner. Or the way he is soooo opinonated that any opinion opposing his is transformed into his. Or maybe because I simply because history is not my forte. whatever it is. It is the 'yucky' class of the semester.

SO. That is all there is of this summary. I will try even MORE better to blog more. :)

The Flood has Come.

The flood came for the ants. We had a minor incident with our new house. I guess you could say that we 'broke it in'.

It was a peaceful day much had been accomplish as far as unpacking and cleaning ect ect... WELLLLL I put in a load of dirty clothes just as Jared walked in the door. EARLY. On a Monday. Which means we get to have FHE! So dinner was fixed and cleaned up and enjoyed. When we walked into the other room. The family/living room had an inch of water on it, and our room and bathroom, and closet, and pantry and hallway and laundry room. Source of the water I wished was tears or the fountain of youth coming to find us, but no. It was our Lovely washer. It decided to fill with water, and fill, and fill until it was filling the laundry room and family room and master bedroom and hallway and bathroom and closet. So in a panic Jared and I started sweeping out water and made a dash to the oh so conveniently located Lowes down the street and got yet another rug dr. to suck up the water in a seemingly futile attempt at saving our carpet. And the next morning we rented some carpet blowers that seemed to really finish off the job and get everything dry.

So our family home evening turned into a interesting night.
But Jared is just so awesome. He had a great attitude the entire time (although I know he was tired) and we counted our blessings.
1. Jared was Home. I dont know what I would have done if it would have been a on-call night.
2. We have another washer on the way, and it was given to us!
3. It was an awesome way to get to do something different
and finally
4. It all turned out good and there was an awesome sunset!

Oh and to conclude the beginning 'hook' We found (after our little flood) this colony of ants living in our carpets because they crawled up onto the baseboard to try to save themselves. The bug spray did not help them live though.

Our New Home and the moving process

Hooray!!! We have a home. But golly there is a butt load of stuff that has to be done (other than moving). All the utilities have been turned on which is very nice because I found that although the electric man came on tuesday the air conditioner will not REALLY work until the water man turns on our water. BLAH. But everything is going well and dandy. We had the exterminator man come and kill all of our bugs (and I'm glad we did) There were a TON of dead bug carcasses on the floor when I walked in. But that is a good thing. The killer did the job.

I have pretty much gotten everything moved (that I can) with my car. Except essentials (shampoo, soap, clothes, food, ect) I am surprised at how well I can stuff my car. It all come from the old days when I used to organize my moms shopping cart so it would fit more. (Mom I know you remember and I know you are laughing... Jared laughs too.) What can I say... I'm just OCD about things. Another example, just today moving one of the last 'official loads' into the house and there are boxes and bags and junk everywhere, but oh not in the closet. I had to organize ALL of Jareds ties in order of color. Blacks/darks, then yellow, red, blue and sliver. I guess it will just haunt me where ever I go. (I wish i would have gotten a picture of it... I really am proud!)

I did however take some pictures of the inside and out of our home just for your pleasure. Please excuse the messy yard (it is on the list of things to do this week. It has not had any attention for over a month.) AND excuse all of the boxes of junk. (Jared says that I have a ton of stuff... but after packing for him and me... I HAVE to STRONGLY disagree.) Love you Jared!


The outside of our home.
And our mailbox! No more little apartment square for mail.



The Living/Family room with our fire place we will probably never burn. lol.
Hall to the front door. I love the windows



The (messy) kitchen. I promise it is all organized now!

The view from upstairs





Just as an update... I started on this blog two days ago. Since that time, the kitchen is ready for use, we have trash service and electric and gas. I also cleaned the carpets (lets just say they were NASTY.) -I rented a rug doctor and when I was going to dump out the dirty water I thought that they must put those little black dots in the bucket to make the water turn a dirty color... surely that could not have come from the floors I walk on. So I put clean water in the dirty water bucket to test to see if it was the company trying to trick you into thinking... Wow this thing really works, while they secretly fill up all the buckets with bits of coal. Well, that theory is now out the door. My floors really where that dirty, they rug doctor people arnt tricking me into customer satisfaction, and I would recommend the thing to anyone. Cause people, If i can to it. I KNOW you can. -

And the rest of yesterday was spend as follows.
3 hours pulling weeds (i think I am half way done ... no I'm being serious YUCK)
2 hours putting together a much appreciated umbrella holder coat rack. Thanks to Hannah. (I HATED putting that thing together. It was the hardest thing i have EVER done. I would have settled with the hot dog toaster thing. HAHA)

The day Yesterday ended with a loving husband giving me a massage and then drugging me up so I would sleep. We will see what today and tomorrow have to offer! I will keep you updated.