Faces in Places

http://facesinplaces.blogspot.com/

Dont ask me why I love this website so much, but it has made me smile a few times. I thought I would share.

La Conner

This weekend the band had a gig up north in La Conner for a wedding on the beach. It was a beautiful setting, and luckily I got there early enough to have my own quiet time at the ocean. (it was MUCH needed!) I found a very remote beach where I was able to park my car on the sand and take some pictures. Side note-I think that there is a part of me that wants to be a photographer, but then the rest of me really isn't that good at taking pictures nor does it have the time to learn. But I do have an obsession with taking them, and then staring at them for hours after. I think it drives Matt crazy because we will go some where to be together, and all I do is walk around taking shots! I never leave the house without my trusty Cannon digital! I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and I cant even begin to tell you how many useless pictures I have sitting around of leaves and other peoples pets. Im totally nuts.Anyway, it was nice to be able to relax for an hour (and take tons of guilt free pictures). The weather was perfect, the ocean was so peaceful and my new hair cut looked really cute. (I might be a little snotty today) The gig was also a lot of fun. We played after the wedding dinner, and needless to say, after plenty of drinking. This not only makes people more entertaining for us, but it makes the band sound so much better! As my dad sometimes says "The more you drink, the better we sound." (in no way does About Face support the action of drinking) We were a big hit, and got a pretty good tip out of it. The perfect ending to the day was the awesome sunset that we were able to watch during one of our breaks. The sky was so pink.

Special Olympics-Bowling

Every Saturday morning, Courtney and I head out to Kenmore Lanes for bowling. The league starts in August and ends in February, and it is fun to see everyone improve over that time. Courtney and I have been in the same lane for 3 years in a row, so we have gotten to know the people that we play with very well. Courtney's best friend these past few years has been Briauna. She is such a fun girl, and Courtney and her are always giving eachother hugs and high fives. Its so fun to watch them together. Briauna has a little brother named Dominique that comes and helps us hold the ramp :)

Courtney beat her all time record this year bowling a 152. She was so excited, she went home and emailed everyone. I don't blame her, I can hardly get past 100 when I bowl!!

Sleep and Sunsets

Matt and I finally had a pretty normal night. We had a breakfast dinner together at home, (Matt had been craving pancakes) and watched a little TV before I had to head out to rehearsal while he stayed home and changed my brakes (they split on the way to the ER). The sunset was really beautiful last night, and it had just finished raining so everything was wet and shiny. This is the view from our slider.Matt didnt seem too uncomfortable or drugged yesterday even though he told me this morning he didnt sleep very well. He has an appointment with his General Prac. on Friday just to talk about what he can do until he gets in with a specialist. The Dr. that we were referred to can not get Matt in until October 12th. So, we are just dealing with things to the best that we can until then. I hope that this month goes by fast so that Matt will not have to be in pain for too much longer and we so that can have a good nights rest once again!

More Hospital visits

Friday night, while visiting the Daniels family, Matt started to get really bad abdominal pain. He had flu like symptoms all week, but things really escalated around 7 o'clock at night. So, around 9, when the pain started to get even worse, we headed down the street to the Urgent Care center in Issaquah. The doctor told us that it sounded like appendicitis, so they sent us over to Overlake Hospital. We waited through triage (even though we were told it was enough of an emergency that we wouldn't have to) and got a room. They put Matty on fluids, took some blood (which wasn't easy with his phobia of needles-and I was no help!!) and antibiotics and prodded his bloated stomach some more. (These pics are from my cell phone, what a night to forget my camera :)Around 2 o'clock in the morning the doctor came in and told Matt that he thought he was going to need an emergency appendectomy first thing in the morning. The most heartbreaking thing about this news was that that meant Matt was going to miss the funeral of his good friend Selden (last post). However, the doctor wanted him to have a CT Scan just in case so they gave him this huge jug of flavored dye to drink before the scan. (Here he is faking a smile)The hospital was freezing, and having to drink this huge cold mix of "kool-aid" Matt started to shiver violently which wasn't easy on his abdomen. It was really hard for me to watch him be in so much pain.
Around 2 o'clock, they took him to get his CT scan, so I went home to try and get some sleep before his surgery at 7am. At 3:30am Matt called me and said "There's nothing wrong with my appendix, but you need to get back here now."
So I hurried back into Overlake for Matt to explain to me that he has been diagnosed with diverticulitis. Yeah, I didn't know what that was either, and I guess its really rare for some one as young as Matt to have it.
The way it was explained to me was that there are little pouches in his colon that have gotten infected and ruptured, thus the distended stomach and the pain/nausea. We don't know how long this has been going on, and we are not sure right now what is going to happen. The ER doctor couldn't help us, so he gave us the name of a specialist to call tomorrow morning. They sent Matt home with some pain medication (woo hoo!) and antibiotics, so right now we are just focusing on keeping him comfortable.
Hopefully we will find out more tomorrow, and I will keep everyone updated as best I can. For now I am trying to catch up on the lost ZZZ's and relaxing my brain, which is close to impossible after this weekend!
Please keep us and the Daniels family in your prayers.
Thank you.

Selden Daniels

Its been a tough week for us but I feel bad complaining, because it has been even worse for others.

Sunday, September 9th, Donna Daniels called Matt to inform us that Selden was back in the hospital and that his Cancer was getting really bad. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer about 2 years ago, but the hormone therapy that he was using seemed to be working. However, Labor day weekend Selden's condition took a turn for the worse and he was admitted to Stevens hospital for treatment.

So first thing Sunday morning we headed into Stevens hospital to see Selden. He was very thin and pale, but seemed to be in good spirits. He spoke with Matt a little, but he had a hard time because he was so tired. We stayed with him and Donna (his wife) for about an hour and she informed us that they were waiting to see what the doctor said on Monday.

Monday we waited for news. Without wanting to bother the family we didn't call them. But later that night, Jeff Daniels (Selden's son) called us and said that Selden wasn't doing good, and that he was requesting that Matt come quick. After driving to Stevens to find out that Selden had been released earlier in the day and was home we arrived at the Daniels place. We were told that the doctor told Selden that he could try chemotherapy, but that it was going to be really hard for him in his weakened state. Selden decided not to try the treatment.

At home he was seated in a room with O2 trying to stay comfortable. Without speaking, he pointed for Matt and I to look in the corner of the room. There he had hung the lei that he wore when he spoke at our ring ceremony. It was very touching. Matt took Selden's hand and kissed him, and told Selden that he loved him, and Selden yelled back, "I love YOU" and we left the room so that he could rest.

Selden passed away on September 11th, 2007 surrounded by his family. He held on to see his youngest daughter Christine, and was able to speak with his son Kurt who is serving his mission in Japan. The Daniels asked that I put together a slide show of Selden for the funeral, and I was honored to do so. It turned out great, and the family seemed to love it.

Matt was asked to give the opening prayer, and he did a great job. I was so proud of him. He kept it together good for his good friend Selden.

I want to post the obituary, because I think that it is a really great tribute to Selden and the amazing person that he was.

Selden Mansfield Daniels II
Selden Mansfield DANIELS II Beloved husband, father and ji-san passed away Sept. 11, 2007 after battling prostate cancer. Selden was born in Salt Lake City, UT March 9, 1944 to Manny and Ella Daniels. After growing up in Riverton, UT, he served an LDS mission to France, served in the U.S. Army, and attended both Utah State University and Thunderbird Business School. While attending USU, he met and married Donna Jean Zollinger June 26, 1972. He is survived by wife, Donna and their 6 children, Mark (Miki), Kim (Brad), Jeff (Naomi), Carrie (David), Christine (Eric), Kurt, and 5 grandchildren. Selden's professional career spanned the globe taking him to Japan, Taiwan and all over the U.S. while working in the shipping and air freight industry. Selden was known for his witty sense of humor and his willingness to serve others. He loved the outdoors, especially crabbing, fishing, boating, and hunting. Funeral Services will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 at 12:00 p.m. at the LDS Chapel in Bothell, WA (19215 88th Ave NE). Viewing will be held one hour prior to service. Internment will be held at Redwood Memorial Estates in West Jordan, UT.
Selden will be dearly missed by many, and there was proof of that at his funeral. Selden was a great friend, father figure and crabbing buddy to Matt, and I know that Matt will never forget him. We are so thankful to have known him, and I am so thankful that we were able to be with him during the last moments of his influential life. We are thankful for the Atonement, and for the promise that we will be able to see Selden again, and again laugh at his jokes and enjoy his personality.

We'll miss our place

The lease on our townhome is over in November, which is coming up way too fast. We are hoping to move up North closer to both of our jobs, but we haven't been very serious about looking yet.

I have had the best time decorating our place from our guitar wall to our "neutral" painted walls. We never got around to painting the bedrooms, but I did find some really cute antique shutters that I am hoping to finish soon. (when do I have the time?)

Living here in Issaquah has been really great. We are close to my family, great restaurants (Lombardi's) and of course Krispy Kreme :) It was our first place together as newlyweds so its going to be a little sad leaving. However, I am excited to have a yard for Busy to play in, and maybe an extra room for an office. Right now Matt's sister Shauna lives with us, but she will be moving into her own place come the move. As much as I love her, I am really looking forward to have our own place.

Bailey Block Party 2007

The 7th annual block party was last weekend, and it was a great night. The turn out was WAY better than anyone expected considering it was a holiday weekend and a little rainy during the day. But it cleared up just in time for the party! (We did cover the band equipment with a tarp just in case) My parents have been devoting their time and money to the front yard so that it will be nice for the block party every year. This year was no exception. The house and lawn are looking SO much better than it did when we first moved into the house. Congrats to them, its really coming along.

Matt took this picture with a "stitch assist" feature on my camera, but I haven't had a chance to link them together. But, this gives you an idea of how many people showed up. (there were ever more at night!)

The Dillons were able to make it out for the show, and it was fun to watch Aubrey and Laurel play the tambourine and maracas. They had a great time, and everyone loved them as an addition to the band.

I may make funny faces when I sing, but NO camera is fast enough for my amazing keyboard hands...especially during China Grove. :) The band sounded really great and everyone seemed to really enjoy the music. The last few years it has only been About Face that has played, so its been hard for me to enjoy the party because I am on stage all night. So this year I asked my dad to get another band to play half the time, and he brought with him "The Grand Delusion". (a Styx/Journey tribute band). They also played really well, and we all had a great time dancing and singing along to the music.Thanks to Matt for taking all the pictures for me. It was a really fun night, and I cant wait until next years!