Rock the Amp II

Last week, His Boy Elroy played at Rock the Amp II, not to be confused with Rock the Amp (the original). Click here to read about the genesis of last year's terrific charity event. So it seems that a local band totally ripped off, er "borrowed" the whole concept of Rock the Amp from His Boy Elroy and decided to repeat the concert this year with nary a "please" for HBE's permission to use the logo, the name, the concept. And they were kind?? enough to ask HBE to play at Rock the Amp II. Of course, the answer was yes since all of the proceeds from the concert will go to the sweet children of the Boys and Girls Club of Utah. Sometimes you just have to smile and bite your tongue in order to help in the better cause. And that's really okay. Good job, boys!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Just to update you on my recovery, I'm doing dandy! Much better than I expected I would at this point. And I'm buying into the theory that laughter and a positive attitude play a ginormous role in one's physical health/recovery.

The positive attitude portion of that equation stems from my belief that I was truly blessed to not have had the stuffing knocked out of my thick skull by that big old boulder that crunched only my collar bone instead. The accident could have been so much worse! I'm feeling really, really lucky, blessed, watched over, etc., etc.

The laughter part of the equation began the minute I stepped foot into our house when I returned home after my surgery at 11:30 p.m. I guess my kids decided to be proactive in getting me in the groove of hilarity and fun. Allow me to set the stage. When I came in still a little groggy from the anesthesia, Mariachi-type music was blaring on the stereo, this awesome and huge blue sign was hung up, and Christian came into the room right on cue with a swagger and a Clint Eastwood attitude of, "I'm good, I'm bad, but I ain't ugly." So random. So unexpected. And so funny. Yep. I'm in good hands, people.













!Si, Senor Chrisitan!

?Que pasa, dude?

Veni, Vidi, Vici!

They came, they played, they conquered! The American Fork Steel Days Battle of the Bands declared The Jay Wride Eclectic Show (just one of the bands that Sean aka Mr. Music is a member of) the winner of the battle! The band received $250 (yeah! finally a gig that pays!) and the awesome opportunity to play at "The Big Show" the following night on an enormous stage with a fabulous sound system. The band played brilliantly there as well, especially the bass player. That bass player is an awesome musical genius! Keep your eye on that one because you'll be hearing big things from that guy!

Hey, At Least It Rhymes . . .

I received these lovely get-well flowers from some very nice folks. Obviously the florist receiving the order must have something of a serious wax blockage problem in her ear. At least she got the first letter of my first name right. Give that woman two points! And the flowers were truly lovely. So I'm not here to complain. Surprisingly, the card doesn't go down the road that approximately 65% of the mail addressed to me travels, to wit: Mr. Deon Sagers. Ahhh. You Tiffanys and Brittanys and Stephanies have life so easy.

Yes, I'm Easily Amused

So I finally learned of the HI-larious videos on Youtube generating an insane amount of traffic and a boatload of free publicity (brilliant marketing, BTW) for a company called Blendtec. The "Will It Blend?" videos have apparently been around for a couple of years (where have I been?), but I only recently read in the newspaper about their latest video in which they blend the new iPhone 3G in a blender. Gasp! Gobs of techies are pulling out their hair over that one. Of course, after reading about the video, I just had to check it out. If you haven't already done so, you must too. Pretty darn funny. Funnier (more funny?) still if you watch a bunch of the other videos as well, showing the spiffy Blendtec blender whirring up Chuck Norris, pork 'n beans still in the can, glow sticks, Cheez Whiz, marbles, magnets, golf balls. And I'm assuming these guys get paid real American dollars to act like adolescent boys having their way with their mothers' small appliances. It is rather tempting though. Let's see. Hmmm. I wonder what would happen if I blended our neighbor's chihu . . . no! no! NO! Anyway, click here for a bit of mindless entertainment. Oh yeah, remember, "Don't try this at home!"

Kumbaya My Lord, Kumbaya

During that fateful Fourth of July outing to Sundance (see previous post), something just tickled my funny bone, and I made a fool of myself in order to snap a picture of it. A middle-aged foursome was riding the lift down the mountain (good idea!!!), while proudly singing the national anthem for all to hear, complete with accoustic guitar accompaniment. I'd bet my bottom dollar that at least one of those women was wearing Birkenstocks while munching on organic granola with chai seeds, and if the gentleman was able, he would have grown his graying hair into a little pony tail down his back. I kept looking around for Joan Baez or Bob Dylan to pop out at any moment asking us to all hold hands in a circle and sway in the wind right there on that ol' mountain top. It was a Euell Gibbons moment to be sure.

Fourth of July Fireworks

Did you see any Fourth of July fireworks that looked anything like this? I did too, except my Fourth of July fireworks went off inside of my noggin as I took a horrible fall while hiking up at Sundance during the afternoon of the Fourth and ended up in surgery. Ow.

The day started off on a lovely note as we drove down to Provo and watched Christian march in the parade with his totally awesome American Fork Marching Band.

We then decided to meet up at Sundance with Ashley, Jordan and Ashley's friend Christine who was visiting from Colorado. Riding the ski lift up the mountain was so much fun, and the views were gorgeous. The plan was for the kids to hike over to Stewart Falls and then down the mountain while Dave and I made the return trip via the ski lift so we could hurry home to get a jump start on the big dinner we had planned for everyone. As it turns out, the mountain air was so enticing that Dave and I decided to do the hike along with the kids.

That's when it happened. The trail was very overgrown with bushes and roots and was fairly steep and slippery in places. I managed to catch one of my feet in a tangle of roots, and as I put my other foot out to catch myself, that foot too got caught in the roots so my body just fell straight forward like a tree being chopped down in the forest. Without my hands out to catch myself my head hit the ground first (fireworks!!!), and then my shoulder hit a big pointy rock (mega fireworks!!!). Ow, ow, ow. I couldn't move for many minutes. I remember Sean saying that I should get up because caterpillars were getting all over me. Yuck. I still couldn't get up. When I finally managed to sit up I was instantly nauseous. My hand reached up to my shoulder area, and I felt a very sharp pokey thing nearly jutting out of my skin, something akin to a pencil poking through a Kleenex. Oh my. I knew I was in big trouble then. While I was trying very hard not to be sick, everyone kept saying that I really needed to get down the mountain. It was at least a mile down. What to do? Christian sacrificed his shirt for a make-shift sling, and we crept down that mountain as carefully as could be. I kept thinking that I was going to have to go to the hospital for sure. I was guessing that bones poking out of the skin won't just go away on their own. Darn. I was right.

In the emergency room, the doctor told me that on a scale of one to ten, my clavical break was a ten and that a specialist was being called in. Tears. Fear. Dread. Surgery was highly recommended. SURGERY! I was not expecting that. At all. More tears. I got a second opinion from a highly respected surgeon who lives in my neighborhood. He too most definitely recommended surgery. Without it I would run the risk of that bone poking through even more, loss of movement, diminished range of motion, infection, pain, pain, pain. After that reassurance, I was up for the surgery the next day. (Well, sorta. Still not without a lot of resistance on my part).

To cut to the chase, the surgery to put in a nifty plate and a bunch of screws went without a hitch. I am now on day five and am virtually pain free except for the residual bruising and sprains on my ribs, shoulder and neck. I can even type. See? And I feel so blessed. So very blessed. What if my head had hit that rock instead of my shoulder? I can't even think about that possibility. I thank my Heavenly Father for my life and my health. And my family who has been so concerned and kind. And for my friends and neighbors who have overwhelmed me with treats, dinners, flowers, good wishes, offers to help. I am so very blessed. I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for watching over me and for surrounding me with people who have prayed for me, cared for me, loved me. I feel very indebted, and did I say very blessed? That I am.

(Here's just a small sampling of the many, many good wishes that have been sent my way . . .)

Thank you everyone!

Bon Appettit!

Chef Christian really, really loves to brew up some crazy kooky concoctions for himself in the kitchen, with very unorthodox sandwiches being his specialty. Today was no exception, although this one is extremely tame compared to some of his recent combinations. He has been known to use big hunks of raw carrots, Kit Kat Bars, M&Ms, Toaster Strudel, icing, the neighbor's hamster, paired with other really weird stuff that should never ever go together like ham and Capn' Crunch. So the recipe for today's offering follows.

Two pieces of French bread pan seared in olive oil and a touch of sesame oil

One fried egg

A mess of peanut Thai noodles

Yum, yum. Bon Appettit Christian! It's aaaalllllll yours.