T.M.I. Warning: "Female Issues"

I had my annual physical and all that stuff this week. I've got good news and bad news.

Iron levels=fine. Good news.
Cholesterol = 212. Bad news. Cut down on fatty foods.
Arthritis screen= negative. Good news.
Triglycerides= high. Bad news. Cut down on sugar.
Thyroid= normal. Good.
Pap smear=inflamed. Bad news. Retest in 6months. (I've seen this before!)
Blood count= good.
Weight= like I'm going to tell YOU! Hit the gym!
I'm post-menopausal= Good news.

In case you didn't get that last item, and I had to ask twice, I'm through the change! According to the websites I've queried:

"There are many things to love about being post-menopausal. There is a light at the end of the tunnel of heavy bleeding and hot flashes. No more Kotex pads or Tampax! No more worry about pregnancy. Most women find their voice and have no qualms about raising it. This does not happen overnight of course, and for many women it takes time to stop feeling bad about speaking up — but they realize they have nothing to lose and much to gain!"

So, as much as I love seeing that light at the end of THAT tunnel, I was more curious about the finding their voice statement. Today, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Jim and I were driving and I pointed in the direction he needed to turn. You must know that he hates when I do that, and I really don't do it to irritate him, I do it so we won't miss the turn. After I pointed, he explained that he WAS going to turn there. I simply said, "I think I have missed my calling in life, I should have been a GPS!" He agreed and said "I should tell people I've had a GPS for 28 years!" We laughed and I said "You know, one of the avantages of being postmenopausal is that I may just find my voice." (Smile) I'm sure he's really looking forward to that!

S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D.

Doc says I seem to have a lot of symptoms of stress. Without getting into all that, I thought is might be worthwhile to spell out things I just could be stressed about.

Started a new job that I just don't quite have down yet.
Two adult children living at home and the changes that brings.
Real estate search; trying to find/move into a new house.
Exercising, then pain OR not exercising, then guilt.
Staying on track with the kids school work and grades.
Slipping and sliding on roads for weeks at a time.
Expectations of others.
Dealing with crazy mood swings.

Stressed? Maybe....

Date Night

Jim and I had a fabulous date last night, thanks to the generous folks at CRU. Several weeks ago Jim spoke at CRU and was given a thank-you gift. It was a gift certificate to Looies Down Under, a somewhat posh restaurant in downtown Bozeman.

This is what I ordered...

Seabass filet rolled in black sesame seeds, sautéed and served on a bed of carmelized bananas, topped with sliced mangoes and a soy, lime, fresh ginger sauce. Oh, and the orchid was edible, but who needs to eat flowers when you've got all this? There was also a very unnecessary side of garlic mashed potatoes, but I'm sure you've all seen those before!

On A Mission

Yesterday we looked at two houses.
Tomorrow we look at one.
Who knows how many we'll find to look at this week.
There just has to be one out there.

Enough is Enough

After months and months, we are officially tired of waiting on Bank of America to let us know if they will let us buy the house. We have told our realtor to let them know. That means we are back to square one. Blch! So, if anyone knows of a home for sale in Bozeman, let us know. We'll be the ones with the exasperated look on our faces!

Christmas Report #4: To Ski or Not to Ski

They say you should really find something to do during these long Montana winters. Last winter we were just too busy acclimating to trek up the mountain. Well, I guess we're not too busy this winter. At least some of us.

Emily went with Jim for a Ski In Three package. Three lessons. Three rentals. Three lift tickets. For a darn good price. I guess they think you'll get you hooked. Emily liked it fine, but didn't seem oh! so crazy about it. She still has two more lessons to go, so maybe she will fall in love.

Doug too David one day to Bridger. Doug snowboarded and David skied. David definitely loves it!

And look at that view!

Christmas Report #3: And then there were grandchildren!

Bailey and Caden certainly got a lot of love while in Montana!

Bailey walking our dog, Duke!

Bailey opening the blanket I made her for Christmas.

We loved having the pitter patter of little feet at Christmas!

Christmas Report #2: Not A Lot of Words, Just A Lot of Pictures!

Christmas Day was wonderful at the Keena home.

The stockings were on on the staircase with care! Notice the mattresses on the living room floor. Some of the kids slept in the living room on Christmas Eve.

We may be crazy, but we got David a drum set for Christmas. Or as I like to call it a "Build-A-Drum Set".
We all gathered in the living room, making Dave wait downstairs until all cameras were on! I hope you can see his face! It was great!

And speaking of faces, yes, those are tears you see in Grace's eyes! She got a cell phone for Christmas. Jim had given out her phone number to her friends (and they really did keep the secret!) so that when Grace turned on her phone she had dozens of text messages waiting! What a treat!

Jim and I got a set of Smittens. The perfect mittens for holding hands during these cold Montana winters!

Christa and Jason had created these name posters for each family. They took the photos, then mounted them. We love it!

Jim had a surprise for the fam on Christmas afternoon. We loaded the cars and headed to a sheep farm! You'll have to look real close to see the sheep in this photo!

And this was one shot of the beautiful winter scenery!



Christa, our own collector of sheep, got to feed the lambs.

Craig and Gretchen treated us all buggy rides, on this buggy built by Gretchen!

After the trip to the sheep farm we went home to enjoy a wonderful Christmas dinner that was capped off with this delicacy! My grandmother's Applesauce Cake a la mode with apple-pie filling on top!

Stay tuned for more Christmas photos!