Reindeer poop smells just like any other...

It has been a very difficult time getting into the spirit of Christmas this year (did I mention that already?).  It is easy to be gay and count you blessings when life isn't hurling smoking hot chestnuts at your noggin.  What about the years when everywhere you turn it seems like you are stepping in another pile of poo?  Then Christmas comes along and it turns out that reindeer poop smells just like regular poop.

Mr. Bear Slipper's mother is back in the hospital.  She was having some problems this morning and wasn't feeling well.  She ended up being checked into the hospital and could be there for a week or more if she needs surgery.  There is a little bit of back story to this... In August of 2007 Mother Bear Slippers got very ill while on a seaside vacation to celebrate her birthday with her husband.  This illness turned into a marathon hospital stay that devastated her family and stretched to nearly a year (honestly, it felt longer).  Miraculously, medical science has come far enough that a person no longer requires a pancreas to live and once she was out of the hospital she merely required insulin injections and digestive enzyme pills to survive.  Perhaps F. Bear Slippers deluded herself into thinking that Mother Bear Slippers was completely out of the woods.  You see, Mr. Bear Slippers is close to his mother and watching him as he tried to comfort her (even spending nights by her side), for so long was devastating to me.  I wanted so much to be able to make everything better, and I felt utterly useless.  At several points I was preparing my self for the devastation that would be caused by her death.  Frankly, to this day I feel that her survival was a miracle.  Some how she pulled through it and eventually, she was home.  

Maybe I tried to minimize her health problems because it would be too difficult to deal with more illness.  I mean, it isn't like Mother Bear Slippers is a little old lady.  She is a spry woman that could barely be considered outside of middle-age.  I want to see her as invulnerable and healthy, but I suppose it is not as I thought.  It is very sad that of all the days she needed to go to the hospital it would be on Christmas Eve, though I don't think that it would really be any easier if it had been April 4th, or June 29th.  But when it is already difficult to catch that holiday cheer, this makes it even more troublesome.  I am wondering how Mr. Bear Slippers is going to handle it.  He is a tough guy who is well prepared for pretty much anything that life has to throw at him, but his mom seems push a button with him.  For the moment, I will continue to pray that Mother Bear Slippers gets better very quickly and that she will not require surgery.  I also pray for perspective to be able to remember the sacrifices of my Savior in order to ease the burden that I carry.  Some people feel that prayer is silly, but I find great solace in it and I do feel like it helps.  

So, there you have it.  Christmas in the Bear Slippers house is cracking up to be a doozy.

But on the upside, Baby Bear Slippers got a DNA experiment kit (complete with three speed centrifuge) which I am very much looking forward to helping her with.  I received a kit to grow carnivorous plants which should be fun.  I saw it at Toys R Us when we were looking for gifts for a friend's birthday party and I really wanted it.  Baby Bear Slippers went back with her dad later and bought it for me with her own money.  Isn't that sweet?  I know that I am blessed.  I just hope that Mother Bear Slippers comes out of this problem healthier than ever.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

F. Bear Slippers.

Visions of Sugar Plums danced in their heads...

It is Christmas time in the Bear Slippers' house, can you feel it?  One of my favorite things is decorating the Christmas Tree and listening to Christmas music.  As I listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "O Holy Night" this afternoon on the way home from work, my heart felt light and the season felt real.  It has been difficult to get into the spirit of the season for me this year.  The stress of Mr. Bear Slippers finishing up at the newspaper and getting into both of the University of Washington's business schools (I am still so excited about that) and then getting my test results back and finding out that my doctor's initial diagnosis was correct has been overwhelming.  But, if there is ever a time to heal and feel loved, it is Christmas.  So I am going to take you on a little tour of my Christmas Tree.  I collect a wide variety of Christmas ornaments, namely ones that are unusual and full of quirky character (like Fuzzy Bear Slippers herself).

Here is my tree:

I have a little tree because we don't have the floor space to properly display a big tree, but I put it on an end table so it looks tall and then I drape the table in green velvet and gold brocade.  I love my star on top, though it was nearly impossible to get a proper image of it.  The camera doesn't really pick up the sparkle of the glitter.

Here is Wonder Woman:

Please note the detail in her golden lasso.  She is ready to kick some butt.  Right next to her is an ornament of her invisible jet, but alas, you can't see it, because, well, it's invisible.

When she isn't doing invisible jet setting, she likes to roll like this:

And here is her Justice League pal Kal-el (aka Superman):

 

And last but not least (for tonight anyway), Uncle Bob Bear Slippers.  He is visiting from Kodiak.

And there you have it.  Christmas in the Bear Slippers household.  I hope that everyone else is enjoying the season too.  It never seems to last as long as it did when I was a kid.

Happy Holidays.

F. Bear Slippers

In God We Trust...

I have had a really crummy day today.  And I mean REALLY crummy.  Like, so crummy that I have to break my rules on using the word "like" at the beginning of a sentence AND using all caps for emphasis.

This year has not exactly been the bright shining star that I might have hoped for at the beginning of the year.  If I had known what I know now I would have made resolutions along the lines of, "Don't leave the house. Ever." Or possibly, "Hide from authority figures."  Needless to say, I do not have the gift of premonition, nor do I have the technology for time travel, so I am pretty much stuck with the year that I have had.

Some good things have come out of my trials this year.  First, I love Mr. Bear Slippers more than I ever have (if that is at all possible).  He and I have really been through the wringer this year.  Interesting fact:  Did you know that a "wringer" refers to an old fashioned clothes dryer in which you cranked your clothes between two rollers?  It would wring out the water.  So when you imagine us going through the wringer, picture this:

Yes, our wringer came with the dutiful housewife in an apron too.

Anyway, I found out today that I likely have a medical condition that is going to follow me throughout my life, and it was sort of the icing on my proverbial cake.  It seemed fitting in a way that a year that has been so rough should end on this note.  I am wondering what exactly it is that Heavenly Father would like for me to take out of this year.  Clearly whatever the lesson is, I am not learning it.  But at the same time, I got a wonderful little reminder of how precious his tender mercies can be.  On the way home from picking up Baby Bear Slippers from her grandmother, I asked Mr. Bear Slippers if he might not pick up my prescriptions later as he was going out anyway and they weren't supposed to be done for another half hour.  Just as I finished asking him, my phone rang and it was the pharmacy calling to let me know that my prescriptions were ready.  As I hung up the phone, Baby Bear Slippers piped up from the backseat, "Heavenly Father did that for you mom!"  Mr. Bear Slippers and I got a much needed laugh that God saw fit to help me out in my time of need, and we engaged in a nice round of morbid humor.  I must say, morbid humor is my favorite kind and I always make jokes to lighten the mood, even if it is my own problem that I am laughing at.  As we pulled into the pharmacy parking lot, the spot right in front of the doors was available and I pointed out to Mr. Bear Slippers that "Heavenly Father did that for him."

I think that sometimes the help that is offered may not be the help that we would like to have.  In this case, I would much rather that I never had to deal with this problem.  But at the same time, everyone has stuff that they have to deal with and I am grateful that I am not so jaded that I can't see when the Lord is giving me the little lift that I need, when I need it.  In this case, I was so blessed to have my daughter in the backseat offering the perspective that only a child could have the clarity of mind and spirit to see under the circumstances.(She doesn't even know that I am having a problem.)  But when I needed that little reminder that my Father in Heaven loves me, my baby girl was there to deliver.  He can't make my problems go away, or at the very least he shouldn't, but he does have the power to ease my suffering.

Having this perspective was a lovely thing in a time of need, and when I got home and pulled out my bright and shiny new orange pill bottle to read the directions (Take With Food), I remembered that Oreos count as food.  Also, when I dropped the first pill into my hand, it was my favorite shade of blue.  Clearly a case of kismet.  Perhaps the greatest gift the Lord gave me was not the prescription being ready a half hour early, or even the parking spot in the front of the pharmacy.  Tonight, the gifts that I am most grateful for are Mr. and Baby Bear Slippers.

Baby Bear Slippers on her 8th birthday.

La Cucaracha...

Today several co-workers and I celebrated one of their birthday parties at a Mexican restaurant called "Cactus" in Madison Park.  The restaurant was delightful!  We started out eating some delicious fry bread and a really tasty salsa.  I am usually very tentative about eating salsa in new restaurants as I do not hold up well to spicy foods.  Gratefully the salsa was very mild, but incredibly flavorful.  They also had a fresh guacamole that was to die for.  I ordered their chicken fajitas which were pretty good, though I prefer my fajitas with a lot of caramelized onions and green peppers and there were only onions (and not nearly enough of them).  After lunch our waiter brought a flan with a candle in it for my co-worker which we all shared.  Well, okay.  I ate 2/3 of it...  But two of them didn't like flan, one of them only took a couple of bites and the birthday girl probably didn't want to look like a pig wolfing down flan.  You know, like I did.:/  Anyway, it was the best flan I have ever had, and I didn't even know that I like flan!  Also, they have a Quesadilla with BACON.  BACON!  Can you believe it?  It is like someone took all of the things I like and threw in something special for Mr. Bear Slippers!  (Honestly, I have never met anyone who love bacon as much as Mr. Bear Slippers.  He is currently working out the logistics of rendering a patty made entirely of bacon to put on his burgers.  I kid you not.  He saw it on the Food Network and never looked back.)   So, there you have it.  Any day that I find a new restaurant that I like is a good day.  Also, this place was just around the corner from a a French restaurant I ate at once about 4 years ago with some friends.  I loved the food and had a wonderful time, but I couldn't remember where it was!  Turns out it is called The Madison Park Cafe, and it is in... You guessed it!  Madison Park!  So this day was doubly successful! 

So, if you are in the Seattle area and looking for a good place to eat, I can recommend Cactus (not to pricey either), or The Madison Park Cafe (pricier).  A caveat on The Madison Park Cafe though... When we were there several of the people at our table ordered coffee after dinner.  It was late in the evening and they asked for decaf.  We happened to be sitting in the back of the restaurant next to the espresso machine and coffee maker and watched one of the waiters dump the coffee from the regular pot into the decaf pot and proceed to fill several people's cups at other tables.  A little disturbed, we asked our waiter about it and he confided that they only serve decaf, but that people can't tell the difference.  When people ask for regular, they just put the decaf in the a regular pot.  How funny is that?

I still recommend them though.  I remember having a squash soup that was incredible.

F. Bear Slippers

To infinity, and beyond!

Have you ever had to sit through a business meeting that seemed like it would last forever? I had to sit through one today, and in honor of said meeting, I would like to post my top ten favorite things about long meetings:

10. My rear end gets a break from sitting in my regular chair… By sitting in one less comfortable.

9. I get to do my Kegel exercises while holding in my pee for 2 ½ hours.

8. Making whirlpools with my water bottle.

7. Pretending to listen to people I pretend to like, whilst pretending to care about whatever it is they might be saying. In short, I get an opportunity to work on my multitasking skills! That baby is going on the resume!

6. Having an opportunity to sit and ponder the mysteries of space and time.

5. Thinking about how black holes are made, and how they relate to the mysteries of space and time.

4. Contemplating cheese. (Oh come on, you can’t tell me you have never done it.)

3. Wondering if ghosts are real, and if they aren’t then how do I explain all of the weird stuff that happens on Ghost Hunters. (Seriously, did you see the one with the ghostly figure in the heat spectrum reader???)

2. Wondering if putting garlic around my bed will keep the ghosts from getting me while I sleep tonight. Vampires are dead and ghosts are dead too, so it should work, right?

And my number one favorite thing about sitting in long meetings:

1. All the cupcakes I can eat!

F. Bear Slippers

In the fastlane to nowhere...

Well, my first day of blogging has gotten off to an auspicious start.  I fell asleep on the bus on my way home from work, and woke up just as the bus was leaving the freeway.  I thought, "Oh, thank goodness I woke up in time!"  Then proceeded to get off the bus at the wrong park and ride. :\

You see, I usually get off at this park and ride, but this morning I was running early and I decided to park at the one just a bit closer to my house that I usually have to blast by so that I can get a couple of lights between me and the bus.  That will teach me to leave early I guess.  Anyway, I was very grateful that I got off at the park and ride BEFORE the one I parked at, because several buses go between the two and I only had to wait about five minutes for a different bus to come by that took me to my car.  And, on the up side, it gave me something to write about in this blog!

Also, some very good news... Mr. Bear Slippers got into the University of Washington!  We have been waiting with bated breath for the letter and it came yesterday!  Congratulations Mr. Bear Slippers!  Our family is going to have to do some switching of allegiances, as we used to route for the Cougs in the Apple Cup (Mr. Bear Slippers' sister's alma mater).  Now, the Bear Slippers family is all about the Huskies!  It's okay though, I look good in purple.

Ahhhhh, life is good in the B.S. house. 

F. Bear Slippers

Welcome to the jungle...

This is my first blog, and I am so tempted to sit down and spend the next six hours typing out my life story, which will certainly bore people to death and will likely crash just after I have finished typing it, but before I have saved it.  So instead, let me introduce myself, I am Fuzzy Bear Slippers and I live in the Seattle Area.  I am married to a wonderful man (Mr. Bear Slippers) and we have a beautiful daughter (Baby Bear Slippers).  I am a working mother and I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with my family as I would like.  Therefore it makes perfect sense that I would create one more thing for myself to do that will take me away from my family.  I’m a genius!

I am very quirky and love the unusual.  I love science fiction and I am not ashamed of it.  I grew up watching Star Trek with my dad and now my daughter watches all of those things with me.  My favorite show of all time is probably Stargate SG-1, and I have every episode on DVD.  I love the theatre, opera, ballet, Broadway… You name it, I love it!  Mr. Bear Slippers loves the opera and ballet too, though I would probably have to drag him to a Broadway show.

Last but not least, I love Sasquatch.  And yes, I believe he is real.

F. Bear Slippers