Where did December go?? (Not to mention the rest of 2008)

I'm sitting here on Dec. 28, 2008 wondering how I missed most of the month of December. I remember my cousin Becky's wedding Dec. 6. Then there was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and suddenly there are only a handful of days left in the month. I had big plans for December! Oh well ... what is the old saying ... the best laid plans of mice and men?

I did do a few things in December. I finally went through the rest of the pictures from my Paris trip. Oh, and in the process, Becky's husband John saw my blog post and said, "Umm ... I like the title, but you know that you spelled c'est la vie wrong, right?" I obviously didn't know I had it wrong, but thanks, John. Now I do and I think I'll just leave it. It kind of typifies me trying to communicate while in France. With four years of Spanish and two years of French on my junior high and high school transcripts, I had a bit of trouble picking phrases to use while in France. A nice stranger would say something simple to me and my response would come out in half Spanish, half French. An even bigger issue was me trying to figure out in my muddled brain which half was the French and which the Spanish. Oh well. Maybe in 2009 I'll brush up on one of the languages ... maybe.

One of my favorite things in Paris was finding the best hot chocolate. The best cup we found was at Cafe Panis just across the street from Notre Dame.

I definitely did not miss out on Christmas. I discovered a few years ago that Christmas with the kids is a whole lot more fun than Christmas with all adults. For the past couple of years, I've spent the night with my sister Wendy's family so I can witness the Christmas morning magic with her kids.

My nephew Kade is at the perfect age for Christmas morning. He ran around handing everyone packages to open and patiently watched until he couldn't stand it anymore and had to open one of his own. And, he loves me.

To my happy surprise, I got a fantastic pair of beautiful shoes for Christmas! Ok ... fine ... yes ... I did purchase the shoes myself ... and yes ... I did wrap them in my favorite paper with a pretty bow ... and then I put To: Carol-Lyn From: Santa on the tag. Sometimes the Christmas magic we make for ourselves is pretty darn good, too. You have to admit, that's a convincing "look of surprise."

When December is all said and done, I think that the beginning and the end were so good that the blur of the 15 days in between is probably a good thing.

Once I arrived in Paris, I met up with my friends, Jeff and Amanda. Amanda was excited to get out and see the town. After a quick shower and change of clothes, I was ready to see Paris for the first time, too.

Amanda and I had the most fabulous day! We rode the metro into Paris and then just started walking. We saw most of the major highlights today: Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and a lot more that is a bit hazy since I'm running on about 3 hours of in flight sleep. We had the perfect Paris lunch in a little bistro. The highlight was the hot chocolate.

Amanda did a fantastic job of navigating the city. We only got a little lost for a minute on a street full of "Sex Shops".

One of three rose windows on Notre Dame.

Me in front of Notre Dame in my pink coat and grey hat that I will probably be wearing in every picture from this trip because it's only about 35 degrees this weekend.

The Eiffel Tower was so impressive. Before seeing it in person, I had always wondered what the big deal was and why people have such an emotional tie to it. But after spending some time there, it makes sense. It's a magical place.

We definitely did not do justice to the Louvre, but in an hour, we saw Amanda's three Must Sees: The Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory. One of the most stunning things was seeing the glass pyramid lit up with the historic Louvre in the background.

Se la vie!

There's an old adage that says something like the best things in life are the hardest to comeby. Maybe it isn't an old adage, but if it isn't, it should be!

A few weeks ago, I planned a trip to Paris on a whim. Yes, probably crazy, but it sounded fun and I've never been. So with a few emails and phone calls, I had three other friends reeled in and Thanksgiving in Paris was booked. It all sounded fantastic, and -- in theory-- should have gone like clockwork. The plan was for Tiffany and I to leave Wednesday afternoon on the direct flight from Salt Lake to Paris. That was such a fantastic plan. Until it unraveled.

It was smooth sailing for Tiffany and I on Wednesday afternoon. We made it to the airport on time. There was no security line to slow us down. We found fabulous reading materials and candy in the bookshop. And, when we were seated on the plane, they gave us cute little Delta eyemasks for the long, overnight flight.

We settled in to our seats and waited for the plane to head out for the runway ... and we waited ... and we waited ... and we waited somemore. After two hours, Delta made it official. Our flight was cancelled because of a "broken alternative power source" (I have no idea what it does, but it sounds important, so I guess I'm glad they figured it out before we were over the Atlantic).

So, the long and the short of it ... instead of leaving for Paris Wednesday, arriving Thursday and then leaving for home Monday, I ended up leaving for Paris Thursday and arriving in the wee hours of Friday morning. Without Tiffany. Yup, Tiffany decided the abbreviated trip just wasn't worth the stress, so I came on my own.

Luckily my flights (that is plural -- so much for direct from SLC to Paris) went smoothly and I navigated public transportation all the way to the hotel on my own without incedent. At least without any incedents that I will admit to.

More to come on my Paris adventure ...

Sometimes I'm still surprised

I feel like I've been around the block a few times and generally, I'm not surprised by much. But it seems like no matter how many times I go to North Carolina to see Joanna, something will catch me off guard.


Last week I flew into Raleigh Tuesday morning and went staight to UNC-Chapel Hill hospital, where JoJo was spending some quality time with some very scratchy hospital sheets. She was admitted the day before because post surgery, she hadn't had much success keeping solid foods down and was having abdominal pain. By the time I got there, the abdominal pain issue was under control, but the solid foods were still untested. JoJo was pretty scared to eat because everytime she tried, the nausea would creep up.


After a few hours of coaxing, Nurse Jessica said she would order JoJo a lunch tray and if she could just slowly work her way through some of the food and keep it down, we could go home. Going home was sounding pretty good at that point, so JoJo agreed and we waited for the lunch tray to arrive.


The lunch tray looked innocent at first. A drink, a red jello of some sort, a corn muffin and a covered plate. I lifted the cover and actually had to take a step back in shock and disbelief. The recomended meal for someone making the conversion to solids after 8 days of a liquid diet was fried chicken and collard greens.




Luckily, the story has a happy ending that doesn't involve the regurgitation of anything green. Nurse Jessica had also requested a plain baked potato. JoJo was able to make her way through about half of the potato without any trouble and we were out of the hospital within a few hours.

JoJo update

I talked to Joanna last night. She sounds miserable, but who wouldn't after having a kidney removed??

She said they told her she's doing well and she told them she wants better drugs.

Selfless acts

I have a friend who has always been one of those people who would do anything for someone she loves. Joanna is the type of friend that sees a situation full of difficulties and immediately finds a way to help. She may not solve the core problem, but her attention always seems to be focues on what SHE can do to be the most effective in the situation.

Joanna's introduction to my family happened in the middle of preparations for my sisiter Bethany's wedding. Joanna and I walked in the door after driving from North Carolina with everything she owned shoved into the back of her Volvo to find a typical scene at the Rutherford/Jardine house: Chaos. Bethany's wedding was only a couple of days away and in typical family form, there was a month's worth of work being accomplished in 48 hours. Joanna introduced herself to my mom and then, without even missing a beat, stepped in and took over the ironing of about 100 chair covers. By the end of the day, Larry's new name for her was established: Number Ten (referring to her being the long-lost tenth child in our blended family).

Over the years, this is the Joanna I've come to know and love and call best friend. But nothing she has done can compare with what she is about to do tomorrow. In the early hours of the morning, Joanna will be wheeled in to surgery at the University of North Carolina to donate her kidney to a friend.

My selfish heart's first response to the news was, "You've got to be kidding me! What if one of your kids needs a kidney ... what if I need your kidney?!" Over the past few months, JoJo reassured me serveral times that she feels like this is what Heavenly Father wants her to do. She's sure if she's willing to do this and somewhere down the road someone closer to her than her kidney recipient needs something, it will all work out. Where did she find that faith?

I've been praying for Joanna this week and can honestly say that she is the most selfless person I know at this moment. I know she'll read this and roll her eyes at me and remind me of all the things she's done that could be called selfish, but I'm thinking the kidney is pretty much going to put her in the black for a real long time.

So, if you have a minute or two on Tuesday, please say a prayer for Joanna and the lucky recipient of her kidney.

The simple things

Sometimes it is the simple things that make me smile big.

Last Saturday morning Brianne called me at 8:30 dreaming of "delicious homemade onion rings and guacamole." Now those two things don't usually go together, especially not at 8:30 in the morning. But just hearing the excitement in Brianne's voice made me smile.

Brianne and Brandon came to Utah to go to the BYU game (a birthday present for Brandon) and Brianne and Leslee planned a BBQ for after the game.

In honor of both Brianne and I being in Utah on the same day, we pulled out all the stops and whipped up amazing (if I do say so myself) beer-batter onion rings and guacamole to go along with Brandon's amazing hamburgers and hot dogs.

Brianne, I'll make delicious onion rings with you any day!