Sunday, March 29, 2009
New Calling
So it seems like just a few weeks ago we were blogging about a new calling. If you don't remember, Christine and I were called as activities committee co-chairs back in November. But things move kinda quickly in our ward, and now we have new callings. Well, I have a new calling. Christine's new calling is yet to be known. They released the two of us from the activities committee today. My new calling is ward executive secretary. I am not too sure what all it entails - but from conversations so far - it means lots of meetings and lots of phone calls. So if you have trouble getting ahold of me - I am probably in a meeting or talking on the phone. I tend to wonder about a calling when the previous calling holder comes up right after the meeting and hands everything over to you and looks relieved. The bishop even called me his sacrificial lamb jokingly. I am not too worried yet. I am the type that tends to roll with the punches and I am sure I can do well in this calling.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Babysitting
Yesterday we had two boys come over to our house for a few hours. The older boy, Dallin, was in the Primary class that we taught last year. We offered to entertain him and his brother Gabriel for a few hours because his family is moving, and I knew it would be easier for their parents if they were out of the way. I wasn't really sure if we had enough things around the house to entertain two energetic young boys, but I needn't have worried.
They spent most of the time playing with the pieces of a few of our games. They liked the Scrabble tiles because they could practice identifying letters and spelling words. Then they played with all of the trains from our game Ticket to Ride. They also played with the tiles from Rummikub. Dallin is pretty good with his numbers and letters, so he was thoroughly entertained.
Gabriel lost interest a little, so I brought out my box of stuffed pandas and buried him in them.
They also enjoyed playing with our video rockers. They got a kick out of tipping them over. Here's a video of Gabriel playing with one of the chairs. (He didn't know I was taking a video instead of a picture, so at the end he's asking me when I'm going to his picture.)
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Allergy Update
For those of you who may be wondering, I thought I should update you on my weird allergic reactions.
We never did figure out what I was allergic to. During the week after I last blogged, several days would go by symptom free, and then I would get a slight case of hives (usually on my legs) that only lasted for about 30 min. This happened about three times, but it was minor enough that I decided not to take any medicine. I wanted to see if they would go away on their own.
And they did! Hooray! I've now been symptom free for over a week, and I'm fairly confident that it will stay that way.
So I guess whatever it was finally got out of my system. Weird. At least it gave me something interesting to blog about.
We never did figure out what I was allergic to. During the week after I last blogged, several days would go by symptom free, and then I would get a slight case of hives (usually on my legs) that only lasted for about 30 min. This happened about three times, but it was minor enough that I decided not to take any medicine. I wanted to see if they would go away on their own.
And they did! Hooray! I've now been symptom free for over a week, and I'm fairly confident that it will stay that way.
So I guess whatever it was finally got out of my system. Weird. At least it gave me something interesting to blog about.
Happy Pi Day!
For those of you who didn't know, Saturday was Pi Day. And no, I did not misspell Pi. March 14th is 3/14, the first three digits of pi (3.14159...). Because it fell on a Saturday this year, I got to celebrate it twice: once with my students on Friday, and then again with Jeff on Saturday.
On Friday I put together a short hands-on activity for my students to explore pi. I brought in several round objects (like a container of salt and a soup can), and they had to measure the circumference and diameter of each object and then compute the ratio of circumference/diameter. For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, this is the definition of pi. I think it's really cool that you always get the same number when you divide a circle's circumference by it's diameter, no matter how big or small the circle is. Of course, the girls didn't always get 3.14, but we discussed how this was due to our inaccurate measuring tools (string and rulers).
The girls had a lot of fun with the activity. They were really energetic and competitive, because those who finished first got to eat first. Earlier that week, I took a poll for which kinds of pies the girls would like me to buy, and then I went and bought them on Friday afternoon, right before our activity. They were sitting out on the counter as an incentive for them to do the activity. It was a hit.
On Saturday Jeff and I made a banana cream pie. I had some graham crackers in the cupboard, so I decided to make a graham cracker crust rather than buy one. It was pretty easy. I've included the recipe at the end of the blog if anyone would like to use it.
I used a special pi pan that a former math teacher gave me as a wedding gift:
Here's Jeff crushing up the graham crackers:
Here's me pressing the crust into the pan:
And here's me pouring the banana pudding into the crust:
Funny story: the first time Jeff and I tried to make banana cream pie (I think it was for pi day last year, actually), we added the normal amount of milk to the pudding mixture. We missed the instructions on the box that tell you to decrease the amount of milk when you're using it for pie filling. The result wasn't banana cream pie - it was more like banana cream glop. Thankfully, we learned from our mistake and didn't repeat it this year.
Recipe for Graham Cracker Crust
1 2/3 c. crushed graham crackers (7-8 full size crackers)
1/4 c. sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie pan. If you are making a pudding pie, you don't need to bake it. If you are making a pie that you bake, you would bake it beforehand, but I didn't write down that part of the directions because I didn't need it - sorry. (You can Google it.)
On Friday I put together a short hands-on activity for my students to explore pi. I brought in several round objects (like a container of salt and a soup can), and they had to measure the circumference and diameter of each object and then compute the ratio of circumference/diameter. For those of you who didn't know or may have forgotten, this is the definition of pi. I think it's really cool that you always get the same number when you divide a circle's circumference by it's diameter, no matter how big or small the circle is. Of course, the girls didn't always get 3.14, but we discussed how this was due to our inaccurate measuring tools (string and rulers).
The girls had a lot of fun with the activity. They were really energetic and competitive, because those who finished first got to eat first. Earlier that week, I took a poll for which kinds of pies the girls would like me to buy, and then I went and bought them on Friday afternoon, right before our activity. They were sitting out on the counter as an incentive for them to do the activity. It was a hit.
On Saturday Jeff and I made a banana cream pie. I had some graham crackers in the cupboard, so I decided to make a graham cracker crust rather than buy one. It was pretty easy. I've included the recipe at the end of the blog if anyone would like to use it.
I used a special pi pan that a former math teacher gave me as a wedding gift:
Here's Jeff crushing up the graham crackers:
Here's me pressing the crust into the pan:
And here's me pouring the banana pudding into the crust:
Funny story: the first time Jeff and I tried to make banana cream pie (I think it was for pi day last year, actually), we added the normal amount of milk to the pudding mixture. We missed the instructions on the box that tell you to decrease the amount of milk when you're using it for pie filling. The result wasn't banana cream pie - it was more like banana cream glop. Thankfully, we learned from our mistake and didn't repeat it this year.
Recipe for Graham Cracker Crust
1 2/3 c. crushed graham crackers (7-8 full size crackers)
1/4 c. sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie pan. If you are making a pudding pie, you don't need to bake it. If you are making a pie that you bake, you would bake it beforehand, but I didn't write down that part of the directions because I didn't need it - sorry. (You can Google it.)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Mysterious Allergic Reaction
For those of you who don't know, this is the second time in my entire life that I've had an allergic reaction. The first time was back when I was 12 or so, and it remains a mystery (I had swelling and a rash for an hour or two for several evenings in a row, and we never did discover the cause).
Well, it seems I'm never to know what is ailing me. This second bout of allergies was much worse than the first. It started off two weeks ago, on Tuesday. At first I just had some minor itching, and I just thought my skin was dry, but I broke out in full-blown hives that evening. Jeff was kind enough to go to the store and buy me some Benadryl cream, which helped to relieve the itching.
When I woke up the next morning with slightly swollen hands and minor hives, I decided to go ahead and go to work. Well, my feet ended up swelling up shortly after I got to work, which made walking pretty painful. Fortunately, our girls were going on a field trip that day, so I was able to stay back and off of my feet. I'm so grateful that my feet swelled up early - if I'd gone on the field trip, I would have been miserable!
As it was, I suffered with my swollen feet (and a funny "old woman" shuffle to match) for another two days. That was definately the worst symptom I had.
When I woke up with swollen lips on Thursday in addition to my other symptoms, I decided to stay home from work and go see a doctor. The visit wasn't very helpful - they took a blood sample (which didn't tell us anything) and gave me something a little stronger than Benadryl. I discovered that antihistamines really do make you sleepy. It was weird to sleep for several extra hours when I felt fine, except for the itching and swelling.
I was feeling ok enough to go to work on Friday. It was a teacher work day, so I was able to stay off my feet again, which was nice.
I continued to suffer with my hives over the weekend (mostly in the evenings), until I finally went to the store on Monday and got some Zyrtec. I took some Monday night and was able to enjoy a symptom-free night of slumber. When Tuesday and Wednesday passed with no hives, I was beginning to feel that it was finally behind me, since Zyrtec is supposed to last for 24 hours.
But, alas, the mystery continued. On Wednesday evening the hives came back, so I took another pill. I was fine on Thursday and Friday, and again hoped that I was ok, but then - like clockwork - I started getting itchy again on Friday evening.
So, if this pattern continues, my hives may come back tonight. I wish they would just GO AWAY!!! Or, I wish that we could figure out what was causing them.
For those of you that are wondering, Jeff and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out the source of my allergies. We haven't used new soap, detergent, shampoo, lotion, etc. recently. I also haven't eaten any unusual foods. Over that first weekend we did about 6 loads of laundry and changed our air filter (in case I had developed a dust allergy - and it needed to be changed anyway). We've come up with theories ranging from me being allergic to Jeff (since I had the worst symptoms at night) to hormones to my library book (maybe there was a mysterious substance on it?). Let me tell you, we've thought of practically everything, except what it is, of course.
If my hives do come back tonight, I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow and see if I could take some kind of test to determine what I'm allergic to. So let's just hope they don't come back and I can chalk up this experience to another mysterious allergic reaction that hopefully won't resurface for another decade or two.
Well, it seems I'm never to know what is ailing me. This second bout of allergies was much worse than the first. It started off two weeks ago, on Tuesday. At first I just had some minor itching, and I just thought my skin was dry, but I broke out in full-blown hives that evening. Jeff was kind enough to go to the store and buy me some Benadryl cream, which helped to relieve the itching.
When I woke up the next morning with slightly swollen hands and minor hives, I decided to go ahead and go to work. Well, my feet ended up swelling up shortly after I got to work, which made walking pretty painful. Fortunately, our girls were going on a field trip that day, so I was able to stay back and off of my feet. I'm so grateful that my feet swelled up early - if I'd gone on the field trip, I would have been miserable!
As it was, I suffered with my swollen feet (and a funny "old woman" shuffle to match) for another two days. That was definately the worst symptom I had.
When I woke up with swollen lips on Thursday in addition to my other symptoms, I decided to stay home from work and go see a doctor. The visit wasn't very helpful - they took a blood sample (which didn't tell us anything) and gave me something a little stronger than Benadryl. I discovered that antihistamines really do make you sleepy. It was weird to sleep for several extra hours when I felt fine, except for the itching and swelling.
I was feeling ok enough to go to work on Friday. It was a teacher work day, so I was able to stay off my feet again, which was nice.
I continued to suffer with my hives over the weekend (mostly in the evenings), until I finally went to the store on Monday and got some Zyrtec. I took some Monday night and was able to enjoy a symptom-free night of slumber. When Tuesday and Wednesday passed with no hives, I was beginning to feel that it was finally behind me, since Zyrtec is supposed to last for 24 hours.
But, alas, the mystery continued. On Wednesday evening the hives came back, so I took another pill. I was fine on Thursday and Friday, and again hoped that I was ok, but then - like clockwork - I started getting itchy again on Friday evening.
So, if this pattern continues, my hives may come back tonight. I wish they would just GO AWAY!!! Or, I wish that we could figure out what was causing them.
For those of you that are wondering, Jeff and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out the source of my allergies. We haven't used new soap, detergent, shampoo, lotion, etc. recently. I also haven't eaten any unusual foods. Over that first weekend we did about 6 loads of laundry and changed our air filter (in case I had developed a dust allergy - and it needed to be changed anyway). We've come up with theories ranging from me being allergic to Jeff (since I had the worst symptoms at night) to hormones to my library book (maybe there was a mysterious substance on it?). Let me tell you, we've thought of practically everything, except what it is, of course.
If my hives do come back tonight, I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow and see if I could take some kind of test to determine what I'm allergic to. So let's just hope they don't come back and I can chalk up this experience to another mysterious allergic reaction that hopefully won't resurface for another decade or two.
What I do...
So most of you who read this may already know what I do for a living, but for those of you who don't and those of you who do I thought I would show you a bit of what I do for work. I have a very fun job. I get to invent stuff and create stuff that people use in the hospital and homecare markets. I work for a company called Maxtec. It is a company that's biggest selling products are oxygen sensors and analyzers. They are used in hospitals and in home care. They also have a variety of industrial applications including scuba and nitrogen tire filling. (Air is about 20.9% oxygen and the rest is nitrogen and trace amounts of other gases, so by knowing the oxygen in the air you can know how much nitrogen is in the air.) So here a few pictures of our oxygen analyzer products.
One of my first projects at Maxtec was helping with the documentation and implementing a new product onto our manufacturing floor. This product is called the MaxVenturi. It is designed to draw in air in the room (filtered) using a stream of oxygen. This product delivers a high flow of gas to the patient and the amount of oxygen can be increased as needed. This device is particularly useful in old hospitals where medical grade air is not provided in the hospital. From what I have heard, there are lots of hospitals outside the US that don't have piped air in their hospital.
One of my most recent projects, (and I would also say one of my favorite products) is called the SmartStack IV stand. In hospitals IV poles and equipment stands when not being used are kept in closets. Usually these closets get very full - sometimes so full that some hospitals will sacrifice hospital rooms/beds so that they have room for all the equipment. Well, the engineering team designed an IV pole that stacks like a shopping cart. The amount of space is saves is rediculous. We put 24 of our IV poles next to 24 regular IV poles and ours took 1/3 of the space! I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have a patent with my name on it - the SmartStack is that device. Below are some pictures showing how they fit together.
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