Some like it hot

If you break your neck, you can't control your internal temperature. It just is. If it's hot, I'll get hot. If it's cold, I'll get cold. And once I'm one way, it takes forever to warm up or cool off. It's been almost 7 years, and it's gotten considerably better. The first summer was the worse by far - my mom would drive me to doctors visits and such in the car and I'd have the heat turned up FULL BLAST. In the SUMMER. Every so often, she'd softly ask if she could just crack the window just a tiny bit. I'd cry.

My poor mom.

And now, it's 'my poor husband.' Though it's nothing like it was, I still need extreme temperatures to help me regulate my body. I usually ride around in a pretty warm car in the winter, which doesn't sound so bad, but Whit usually sweats before we reach our destination.

So we were riding home from my in-laws house Sunday night and we had two of my husband's nieces with us - Vivian and Naomi. They were being super cute and Naomi was asking Whit questions like, What is your favorite color? Favorite tree? Favorite animal? Then she asks, "Where is the hottest place you've ever been?"

This little 7-year-old has moved around the country quite a bit and so after Whit answered "Brazil," he asked her the same question, to which she replied: This car.

My poor nieces.

CD Pictures

I'm so excited - Covenant Communications called me last Fall and wanted to publish one of my firesides on CD. I recorded it in December (thanks West Bountiful!) and now it's being released in April! Holy cow. They designed the cover and are putting a picture of me next to my bio on the inside - but it's cool because Covenant agreed to let people vote on which picture to use next to my bio - so pick a good one for me, k!

Here are the pictures:

Yellow
Pink and Green

Blue and Yellow

Blue and White 2

Blue and White 1

Old

I'm not sure what it is about me that makes people think I'm older than I am. I haven't gone wrinkly or gray or anything, but for some reason people seem to always think I'm someone's mom. And not just any someone like a cute little baby - no, they think I'm a mom to older kids like teens.

I went to Logan with a friend (a FRIEND) of mine to apply for her scholarship there and someone asked if I was her mom.She's 18. I was 27.

I was at a service event in Murray with a 14-year-old and someone asked if she was "mine."

I was with a 17-year-old and someone asked if he was my son.

Ack!

But the winner happened last night - again in Logan - when I was waiting to speak at a fireside. Someone was being welcoming and friendly and chatting with me, and then asked who I knew there. I told her the name of the Young Women president because she was the only person who I knew (she was the one who invited me and coordinated the event) and the nice, friendly, welcoming lady then asked me if I was the Young Women president's MOM!

The Young Women President has 4 kids, so this nice lady basically asked me if I was someone's GRANDMOTHER!

Double Ack!

I felt bad for the lady who even asked me because she felt super bad! It's got to feel like asking someone if they're pregnant and they aren't - though, nothing could be that bad...

I once asked a lady when she was due and she wasn't even pregnant - I still feel terrible! Now I won't even mention it, even if it's blatantly obvious that someone is pregnant. I'd rather seem quietly disinterested than out loud rude, I think.

The Car Story

My car was stolen right before Christmas! It was CRAZY! I mean, who steals someone's car? And not just MY car that's specially adapted, but anyone's car?

They only had it for a couple days and then the police found it - the thieves didn't even take off the Ms. Wheelchair Utah magnet from the door. I thought they were dumb, but the policeman said they are just "young gangster thugs" who "just don't care about anything - even if they get caught." I think that is so, so sad. I wonder where their mothers are.

I don't really consider myself disabled, or special, or needy, or special-needs, or whatever. But everyone went bonkers at the thought that someone would have stolen a little disabled girls' car. I was bombarded with news people doing stories, filming, and taking pictures. It made for a very lively holiday.

I was in the newspapers three times - twice on the front page - I was on TV 5 times (the KSL thing was broken up into segments), my phone and email went crazy, as did my facebook (thanks everyone!), and some man called and wants to fly Whit and me to Hawaii. Whew!

These are the links for the news stories:
KSL News
ABC News

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

I especially love the ABC 4 version. They made it seem like they were with me all day and night, even though they were only there a few minutes. I don't even know the lady who stopped to congratulate my car - she's my mom's neighbor's daughter :) She was very nice, though. I hope that she thinks it's as funny as I do! We're pretty much best friends now.

The police didn't catch who stole the car because they fled the scene after being pulled over. The canine cop and his dog chased down one guy and the dog held him, but he claims to not know the other two people and only paid them to give him a ride. Oh well. We found a bunch of rap CDs in the car - with people's NAMES on them! Why would you put your full name on a mix CD anyway? We also found brass knuckles! So the police definitely have a lot to work with.

One thing we didn't find was the treats in the car, so hopefully the robbers ate them and gave away the calendars as gifts. That would make me happy :) I think they at least opened the treats because we found one squished between the seats.

I think I need a vacation from this vacation.

Leave me a comment/question if I left anything else out :)

Floor Cookies

here is the picture Whit took from the day I was in between speeches trying to make cookies and I fell off my wheelchair and continued to bake.

boo-boos

I spoke at the Valley Mental Hospital today for the patients there and I got some major insights into "disability." The patients there look normal, just like us, but their disabilities are much more paralyzing than mine are. They don't have what they call "casserole" disabilities, like when someone brings you and your family a dinner casserole because you're having a hard time.

They don't get the sympathy from other people for their struggles. Just like anyone with any kind of unseen challenge doesn't.

I don't think anyone should dwell on their disability or require sympathy for it, but maybe if we each offered it willingly, without being asked, each of us would get a little unsolicited hug and kiss for our invisible, but very felt, boo-boos.

Reason #649: Forced Lingering

Why it's cool to be in a wheelchair reason # 649: Forced Lingering

I helped clean the church today and I spent my hour cleaning fingerprints off the doors. Well, eight doors anyway. I work soooo sloooowly, it takes me a while just to reposition to be at the right angle in my wheelchair just to wipe off a tiny smudge, but as I'm positioning, I see more smudges, so I slowly reposition again...and again...and...

I'm pretty sure that those eight doors have never been so clean (from the doorknobs down).

So I'm not fast, but I'm very thorough.