This was so crazy

I've pretty much had the craziest experience ever today!! Joel and I were driving on the interstate on our way to a town about an hour away. As I was looking out the window, I noticed a green SUV pulled off to the side. The driver's side door was open, and something was laying on the ground right next to the car. As we got closer, I realized it was a woman!! So I yelled, "STOP THE CAR!!!!!" And Joel pulled over. As soon as the car stopped. I jumped out of the car and sprinted over to the green SUV. The woman was laying on the ground. Her eyes were closed. I called to her. She didn't respond. I gently shook her, and nothing happened. When Joel got to where I was, he was already on the phone with 911. Aparently we weren't the first to call 911. Several others had called 911 as they drove by her, yet nobody had stopped. We checked for a pulse, and we checked to see if she was breathing. She was breathing and had a pulse as well. We rolled the woman onto her side, and propped up her head. Then we prayed for her. She began shivering. So I climbed into her car, found a blanket, and covered her. Suddenly she cried out, "WAIT!!" We began talking to her, but she went back into the unconscience state that we had found her in. Joel had her head propped up against his knee. So I began to walk around check the area for any clues to what had happened. There were skid marks behind her car. Her hazard lights were on. The tires were all inflated. There was no body damage to the car. The car key was laying on the floorboard of the driver's side. Inside the car she had a couple bags of luggage. Everything was neatly arranged. Everything seemed to be normal. It looked like she had skidded to stop, opened the door, and fallen out of the car. Suddenly she opened her eyes, looked straight at me with a paniced look in her eyes, and cried out, "CALL MY HUSBAND!" and then returned to an unconcious state. Joel and I switched places. I took the woman's head on my lap. Joel searched her car and found a cell phone. He tried calling a number, but without any luck. No area codes were entered into her phone and she was from out of the state. So Joel ran to our car, pulled out a blanket from the trunk of our car, and placed it underneath the woman's head. Just then her cell phone rang. I answered it. It was her husband. I introduced myself, and informed him of what had happened. It was hard to do. On top of that, I had so much adrenaline rushing through me, I had a difficult time trying to get my thoughts out in a logical order, AND trying to keep the husband calm. I took his information and stayed on the phone with him, relaying all the information I knew. We asked for a medical history. She had none that he was aware of. While I was on the phone with him, another couple from our town had pulled over as well, and assited us. Finally the EMTs came. Joel and I relayed all the information we could. I gathered her bag, purse, and cell phone and loaded it into the ambulance. The EMTs loaded her onto the strecher and put her in the ambulance. I offered to drive the woman's SUV to the hospital, but someone else ended up driving it back since they were on their way back into town. The EMTs thanked us, and drove away. So Joel and I got back in our car, and continued on our way.

This was seriously one of the craziest situations I have ever experienced. I had so much adrenaline rushing through me I had a difficult time thinking things through. I am CPR certified, but I had a difficult time recalling what I had learned. After this incident, I am highly motivated to refresh my CPR knowledge now. I think that the woman will be fine. I'm going to try and see if I can visit her this evening if we get back in town in time. The strange thing about the story was that when I talked to her husband, I told him she was in a green SUV, but he said she was supposed to be driving a blue pickup. Weird.

***UPDATE***So Joel and I went to visit her in the hospital this evening. Two of her friends were there with her. Physically, nothing is wrong with her. She's ok. But emotionally she is not ok. They believe that she's had a mental breakdown. She's not able to speak anymore. Her eyes had a dead look in them; they displayed no emotion whatsoever. She was in a state of confusion. The more we began to talk to her two friends, the more the story began to unfold. This woman was in an abusive relationship (with her husband). Her husband was leaving for Europe today. She was supposed to be going to Sherman, TX, however when we found her, she was heading the opposite way, and for those of you who know where we live, it's quite far from Sherman. After we relayed all the information with her friends, her friends realized that she was running away from this relationship. And from what I understand, since she was running away, she was driving her own car, the green SUV, instead of driving her husband's blue pickup, like her husband thought she was driving. She must have been in the midst of a mental breakdown while she was driving, quickly pulled over, and fell out of the car, unconcious. Pray for her, you guys. My heart goes out to her.

Sleepless

I didn't sleep very well last night. In fact, I hardly slept at all. I've spent the majority of the day in a sleep deprived state. Last night Joel was sick. He was also running a fever. And he was delirious. I was extremely tired, but Joel kept tossing and turning, sighing, and groaning. At one point during the night, he would moaning-sigh every time he exhaled. This went on for about 5 or 10 minutes. Finally I told him to cut it out (I'm so nice, right?). He didn't even realize that he had been doing that. lol. Then early this morning, the alarm clock went off at like 5: 20. For some reason Joel could NOT figure out how to put the alarm on snooze. So I did it for him. And then again when it went off, and probably two more times. Finally I told him he needed to do it himself, but he claimed that he didn't know how. So I turned on the light and showed him. He said, "I knew THAT! But it doesn't have a red button!!" (what the heck?) Later he told me that he was thinking the alarm clock had a big, round, red button you had to push (like the Staple's EASY button or the buttons you push at the gas stations to turn off the gas in an emergency). It was weird. He was in a state of delirium. Totally irrational. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep last night. I had to take a nap today in order to be able to teach piano lessons adequately this evening.

A spontaneous trip

I've spent part of this weekend moping. Yes, I have been feeling sorry for myself. Joel will be going on a 6-day business trip very soon. And I will not be joining him. I actually wrote a blog a couple of days ago (but later deleted it because it was so pitiful) about why I was so distraught over the situation. To sum it up, here are my reasons to sulk:

1. I have no friends my close to my age in my small town of 2800.
2. I work at home (which can be lonely sometimes).
3. We have no mall or Walmart, or even a decent movie theater to keep myself entertained.
4. I DON'T EVEN HAVE A DOG ANYMORE TO KEEP ME COMPANY!!!

Sad. Yes, I know. Don't you guys all feel sorry for me? Good. So anyways, I've decided to go and visit my parents while Joel is on his business trip. Hopefully my mom will buy me lots and lots of things. Like new clothes. (I have a personal conviction that you are never too old for your parents to buy you new things, especially clothes). So now my heart is content. And I just want you guys to know that. The End.

we found her.

This morning our landlord called and told us they found Sachi. Unfortunately, she was dead. Our landlord's wife and a couple of their boys were checking on something on their ranch about a mile south of where we live and they found Sachi. She had been caught in a baited poacher's trap; a trap to catch foxes and coyotes. Sachi was caught in the poacher's trap for FIVE weeks!!! The poacher was very irresponsible....and heartless too. So Joel and I went out there this morning with our landlord, and the game warden. The sheriff had been there too. It turns out that this was very serious business. Someone had been poaching on their land, and had killed a pet in the process. The poacher hung a deer's leg along with cat's carcass from a tree with the cord of a curling iron. The trap was nailed to the tree. It was one of those metal traps with the jaws that snap shut. Sachi had only been caught by two of her toes on her hind foot. Our landlord filed a report. The game warden took pictures. The sheriff and the game warden will be talking to the people who live in the area. If they actually catch the poacher who set the trap, the poacher will be in serious trouble. So after all the pictures had been taken, Joel and my landlord released Sachi from the trap. I can't believe she was only caught by her toes! She didn't starve to death, and she hadn't been shot. We had some cold weather at the time she turned up missing, so she probably froze to death. The weather has been fairly cold until the last couple of days, which is probably why she hadn't decomposed very much yet. So we took our dog home this morning and buried her nearby. It was sad, but it actually helped me to see her again (even though she was dead) because it gave me closure. And to tell you the truth, I actually feel better knowing what happened to my cute little dog. She was constantly getting into trouble, and eventually her curiosity got the best of her. It was a terrible way to die. I'm glad that we had her for the year that we did. We loved her so much!

I thought this day would never come

So I have really exciting news for you guys. No, we're not pregnant. (That always seems to be the first thought people think when a married couple says, "I have exciting news.") But Joel is finally going to graduate!!! I'm so excited. Joel and I went to college at the same time (Fall of 1998), but he was a little less motivated to graduate on time. As a result Joel has been in college for 9 years. Yes, nine years. It's hard to believe. Every semester since Spring '05 has been his "last semester". But something would always come up, there would be a class or two he didn't take, or he wouldn't have enough time to finish all his online courses....it was always something. But at this point he's taken all the classes he needs in order to graduate. He's only lacking one class, his senior project, which he is currently taking. Today he went and filled out an application for graudation (he made the deadline by about a day), and is getting all of his credits transferred. So it looks (this time for real) like he is finally going to graduate!!!! lol. So after May 12, Joel will have a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science with a minor in Animation. YAY for JOEL!!!

A profound message.

ok. ok. i need to tell you something. ready? ok. here it is.
You can't see air, you can't touch it, you can't hear it, you can't taste it, you can't smell it....
BUT you CAN swallow it!!!
i know, i know. i totally amaze you guys with my profound knowledge.
ha ha ha ha!

Analysis Paralysis

From time to time, Joel teases me about having a condition called "Analysis Paralysis". Analysis Paralysis is when a person spends so much time thinking and analyzing something, they get to the point to where they are too fearful to do the activity they had originally intended to do, thus becoming "paralyzied". It sounds silly. And it really is. But yesterday, I came to a realization. I have Analysis Paralysis!!! I've been in denial. And for the most part, I really only struggle with this incredibly ridiciulous condition when it comes to working on my Arbonne business. Yesterday I had all the materials out, and I was working on some stuff for Arbonne. Then it came time to talk to some people, and I totally chickened out!! AHHH. And then it hit me: I really DO have Analysis Paralysis!! Yes, I'm quite silly, I know. I spend too much time thinking about what I should be doing, instead of actually doing it. I need to spend less time thinking about what I should do, and more time doing! ;o)

I would also like you guys to know that Joel brought me home flowers earlier this week. For no other reason, except to surprise me. It made me happy. :o)

Goodbye

It's been a month since my dog disappeared. She also needs her heartworm medicine today. I can hardly believe it's already been a month. Everybody knows that I've been quite heartbroken over losing her. I still miss her. I never realized how much she kept me company when Joel wasn't home. I get more lonely now. But it's been a month, and I'm ready to accept the fact that she's not coming back. I suspect that my dog was either eaten by the moutain lion, or taken by somebody. But we'll probably never really know what happened to her, and that drives me crazy. (my neighbor told us a couple of days ago that he was visited by Sachi's ghost, because he was awoken to something licking his toes the way Sachi used to). But I am thankful for the time that we did have her. Sachi was truely a gift to Joel and I. The Lord knew exactly what we needed at that time, and she truely brought joy to us (that is, when she wasn't getting into trouble). At the time, I was having a difficult time getting out of an "emotional funk". I needed something to put my attention on. Right before Sachi came, Joel had been constantly talking about how much he wanted to get a dog. I was reluctant. But I asked God to help us to find the right dog. And then one day she followed me home, and we ended up keeping her. We named her Sachi. We found the name on the internet. It's Japanese for "girl-child of bliss," and she truely lived up to that name (even the child part) lol. I have to admit that she was above and beyond our expectations. She house trained herself, she played hide-and-seek, she rarely barked, she let me dress her up (lol), she was intelligent, and she was completely loveable. (She also turned out to be quite an expensive dog. She was constantly getting into trouble the required medical attention! But that was ok) I am so grateful for being able to have her. We'll be getting another dog within the next couple of months. I only hope that we can find a dog as neat as Sachi was. (She even had a cool name...well...we gave her that name) Thank you, Lord for Sachi. We loved her very much.
In the 2nd picture, Joel was showing her the goldfish swimming inside the bowl. In this last picture, Sachi was trying her hardest to convince me to let her inside. Since it was snowing, I did.