Various Lauren News

What a whirlwind of "news" we have had for Lauren. Here it is in a nutshell.

1. Amherst said "no." They sent an email, no bother wasting paper on saying thanks, but no thanks.

2. Colgate said "maybe." They said they thought she'd do well at Colgate, but with over 8,000 applicants and only 760 spots, they have waitlisted her. She was disappointed, but Danny and I are still quite proud! She will find out whether she makes the cut May 1.

3. She wrote and auditioned to be the student graduation speaker. She was not selected, but her scores from judging was 1 point away the selection committee asked her if she would write an original poem for graduation and read it! They have never done this before --- so this is a wonderful honor!!!

This spring break we have had a great time hanging out. We did a quick overnight trip to UNC and Lauren got to sit in on a creative writing class. She loved it! Then she got to meet with the Creative Writing Department Head who was encouraging and gave her a lot of helpful information. He even said, "Sometimes its difficult to get into a creative writing course as a freshman, if you run into problems, just let me know and I'll be glad to help you." WOW.

We spent time in Chapel Hill ---- visiting the UNC Ackland Art Museum, visited shops on Franklin Street ( the main street that runs along campus), the comic shop and then we had lunch at a cute little Vietnamese place "Lime & Basil."

The thing Lauren got to experience was the town of Chapel Hill which has so much to offer, whereas Hamilton (Colgate) had 1 stoplight.

The whole time she kept saying "This campus is sooooo beautiful!" And it is! On our way home, we drove through campus. As two college boys ran by, she said, "Oh! I think I could definitely go here!!"

And the best line of all out her mouth, "I'm sooooooo over high school!"

Amen, sista. I been telling you this day would come!

Enjoying a bubble drink on the quad of UNC!
She looks like a Tar Heel to me!!

Mini-Girls Weekend

This past weekend Zoe came to visit me. Our activities included a vigorous 5 mile walk, getting pedicures and chit chatting galore. Saturday night Beth and Sue joined us for dinner, chit chatting galore and the chick flick "The Women." (Danny, Michael and BamBam were visiting the Gardner's in SC.)

Dinner menu included chipotle marinaded grilled chicken, spinach goat cheese penne and salad. Wine and Beth's sangria was available. Sue brought fresh strawberries with homemade angel food cake. Mid-night snack included brownies baked by Zoe :)

What fun to have girlfriend time!!!

Happy Spring

Happy Spring! Thank God for spring and the exiting of winter! We had gorgeous weather this weekend and I finally got to plant my "garden" --- deck flower troughs/boxes. Also planted some gerber daisies and cilantro (yum!).

In the evening when its dark we turn on the white xmas lights we left and the deck feels like a romantic little get away....

Its Nice When the Packet is Thick

We (Danny and Jacqueline) are thrilled that Lauren received the "thick" packet in the mail from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) on Friday with an admissions offer. She was having a bad day and when she opened her acceptance letter she smiled and said, "I needed this right now." And we both thanked God for blessing of His timing.

UNC is ranked #14 of the "Best Values: National Universities" and #5 of the "Top Public National Universities." GO TARHEELS!!

I was quite emotionally overwhelmed with a real feeling that my daughter is going off to COLLEGE. There was such a mix of being proud, excited, and sad all at the same time.

Lauren is still waiting to hear from 3 other schools and although she likes UNC, she hasn't decided if its where she will go. We are trusting God to be very clear about that.

In addition to that, she was also awarded the NC Teaching Fellows which is essentially a full-ride with a committment to teaching post college in the state of NC for 4 years. This is a major accomplishment and again, we are so proud of her. Unfortunately, there are "caps" on schools the fellowship can be offered and there were no UNC spots available. They have offered her the fellowship if she wants to go to UNC-Charlotte, which is a school she is not considering. Oh well. Its still nice to be selected!

A Visit to the ER

Monday night I went to bed with abdominal pain. Severe abdominal pain. This was no "had a bad Mexican restaurant experience" abdominal pain situation. It was sharp all over and no position, sitting up or laying down or standing helped. I was having thoughts that there might be an alien inside of me ready to rip its way out to kill us all (you know the movie scene I'm talking about!).

Finally at 12:30 am, Danny took me to the ER because he was afraid it was appendicitis. After waiting almost 1.5 hrs, there was a room available. The Dr. checked me out and was not convinced I had appendicitis, but only a CT scan could determine this.

Then while waiting for the order for the CT to go thru, I was hooked to an IV by a grumpy male nurse who stabbed me without much empathy in the middle of my arm. I have some of the best veins around and never experience any pain when I get an IV, but this guy was not into being gentle. He had the bedside manner of a nurse who was tired, had been there all day and was about to finish he shift. Which turns out, he was.

Then he offered me indifferently a sorted round of "cocktails" as Danny put it. "There is blah-blah for anti-nausea, blah-blah for anti-acid, and morphine." MORPHINE?! I already felt like I was on morphine from lack of sleep at this point and I couldn't process anything he was saying to me. He might as well just have said, "Would you like mayonnaise and mustard with your burger?"

"Its a pediatric dose of morphine," he said practically rolling his eyes like "Give me a break, you're not getting crack folks."

"OH, pediatric dose of morphine." Because the thought of little kids being injected with morphine was going to make me feel better? I looked at Danny for help. Nothing was computing for me. In the end, we decided I'd have all 3 meds.

Now I was hooked up and still in pain and getting groggy and freezing. I had 5 blankets on me I was so cold. Despite a "fixed" husband and me just finishing my period, they needed a pee sample to ensure I was not pregnant before the CT scan.

Pee sample? Why can't they just give me a bed pan? They want me to get out from underneath my shelter of 5 blankets and drag the IV all the way to the bathroom down the hall to pee?! Did I mention I am in pain and having a hard time staying focused?

Fine. Let's get it over with, I thought. I better try it now before the morphine really kicks in, pediatric dose or not. Danny was hesitant, but I was insistant in getting it over with. So I fumbled my way out the room toward the bathroom in the main area, with Danny holding my IV and me. Suddenly I knew successful peeing was not happening.

"I can't make it to the bathroom. I feel dizzy ..... " And then I fell limp in his arms as the world around went fuzzy and static-y. Ah yes, a good fainting spell. A nurse came rushing over with a chair and then a load of other nurses came over with my hospital bed. I remember my head bobbing back and then down. They were talking to me, "Can you hear me?"

It was all sort of very exciting with so little effort on my part. They rolled me quickly back into my room and hooked up a heart monitor and took my blood pressure and the numbers, I must confess, were impressive. My heart rate got down to 38. A normal rate is 60-100. When it "settled" it was up to mid-40s. There was much discussion about my low heart rate.

At this point, blood had returned to my head and I was "back" and I mentioned to them that whenever I have my pulse checked, there is always a comment on my low resting heart rate.

"Do you run alot?" one nurse asked.

"Why yes, yes I do. I am an Olympic athlete." That must have been the morphine talking in my mind.

The next goal was to drink 1 and 1/2 bottles of water with CT "stuff" in it. Okay, wait. I couldn't make it to the bathroom to pee, and now you're going to make me drink 24 oz of liquid that I have to not pee out? Am I the only one on morphine?

With Danny's help, I drank that stuff down, and luckily it tasted just like water. Then I had to wait an hour and a half for it to filter through before the scan. All the while I am still in pain, desperate for sleep and feeling gross from drinking all that liquid.

Finally, it was time for my CT scan. The nurse that helped Danny with the chair when I fainted was the one to roll me out. He was trying to be nice and joke about my fainting and I said, "Yeah, I'll do anything for a little attention."

He responded with, "Well, I have certainly seen that, but there's no faking that pasty look you had."

"Pasty look? Oh, that. I'm just Asian." Again, the morphine talking in my head.

Well, CT scan showed no appendicitis. There is a cyst on my left ovary and the Dr. thinks I probably had a cyst that ruptured. I was feeling no pain by the time I was discharged at 7:15 am Tuesday morning. Danny and I got home, ate breakfast and slept until 2 pm!

Turns out cysts on ovaries are common and so are having them rupture. But I'm headed to see my gyno Dr. next week.

Yay for pediatric morphine and an excellent Danny who took such great care of me.

Forced Snuggling

Artist of Tomorrow Scholarship

Wednesday night Lauren and 4 other high school seniors in Wake County, were awarded $1000.00 scholarships each in their areas of art. Lauren received hers for literary arts. The other categories were visual arts, dance, theatre, and music.

This was a competitive scholarship awarded by the the Raleigh Arts Commission by the City of Raleigh. It is the inaugural year for the scholarship so Lauren and the other students are the first to receive it. They can use the scholarship money toward any school not just in state schools.

CONGRATS to Lauren for going through the application and interview process -- needless to say we are so proud of her!

The awards ceremony was held at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts (our version of the Kennedy Center only 1/16 the size!). The MC was a local news anchor and the awards was a small portion of the program that celebrated the arts in the Wake County Public Schools. It was the "best of the best" in all areas of art across the county and there was a full house.

Lauren was nervous but I think she began to realize the honor of the award and that it was a big deal. There was a professional photographer and she is featured on their website with the other winners. The scholarship money is completely privately funded by members of the community who love and support the arts. How cool is that?

Did I mention I couldn't be more proud of Lauren? Sorry, but I really do think she is one of the most talented and creative writers I know.

These pics are of us backstage and in the lobby.
Hopefully I'll get the professional ones stage ones soon.

A Final Farewell

This past weekend we made our final trip to Harrisonburg to pick the last of my parents' things from their house. The buyers go to closing early March.

The house was clean and freshly painted and looked great. It was empty and as I expected it to be an emotional experience saying "good-bye" it really wasn't. It was hard to wrap my brain and heart around the fact that this was the last time I'd ever be in a house my father designed and built and was part of my life for 17 years. Even weirder, was the idea that I'll probably never go back to Harrisonburg again any time in the next couple of years. I'm sure it will hit me at another time. All that is left of my parents is what is in my head and heart.

The trip turned out to be quite "social." When we arrived, we met my dear and lovely friend Lisa and family at Jess's Quick Lunch for their infamous chili dogs. If you were ever a JMU Duke or have spent any time in H'burg, you know about this experience.

We spent the night at Steve and Kathy Gardner's --- he was the dentist I worked for years ago. They are precious people/friends who I have many fond memories with. It was an opportunity for them to meet Danny and we all talked for hours upon hours catching up. It was good and a real blessing to get connected with them.

As we headed home Sunday, we swung through Roanoke to have lunch with the Kidds and Jenn. That was a lot of fun and I love love love those Kidd girls!! Good choice on the sandwich shop Lynn!!

Pics are below.

I know way too much about dentistry because of them!


We did not get Amelia! She was off at soccer practice :(