I'd like to write that I am well.  But that would be a lie, a big lie.  I actually went backwards from yesterday.  The good part is that Sheila did make some progress. When she left for work we agreed that if she had a good morning she would stay and have lunch with the ladies.  I didn't hear from her at shift's end so I figured she had a good morning.  That meant that I could take advantage and ask her to do me a couple of errands.  So I did, and she did.  She's been spending the evening making cookies.  Me, I've been watching BYU basketball.  The game is still on, but certainly over for Weber State.  I'm about over too.  I will end my day and hope for a bearable night. I did get my morning work ready and it looks like I will have another good day in a strong week.  So things are going well except for my health.  I spend my days working hard and feeling quite terrible.  Here's hoping...

The best part of a pretty good day is that I believe that Sheila is finally making some progress with her cough.  She said that she made it through her work, and she has done much better when she has been here at home.  I can say that I have made some progress as well, but now that my day is pretty much over I am aware of feelings that I do not like and a general yuckiness that makes me aware that it is still here.  Better bu still hanging around.  I don't cough very much but when I do it kinda hurts.  I will take another dose of alka-seltser and try for a long and good night sleeping.  (for both of us, of course)

Until my cold is done and gone my days seem pretty routine because I don't feel like doing anything more then just getting through the day.  I know that I do sick pretty well, but if I have my druthers I choose to not be sick.  Enough being a good sport about it. lets have it over with---please!

I am faced with a pretty common dilemma.  One that comes around almost every night.  But tonight it does have a few new elements.  The most obvious is my state of health.  But to come to the end of any day wanting to do more and work harder yet knowing that it is time to call it and get ready for tomorrow.  The time is different too.  It is only 18 minutes after 7 which is way earlier then normal.  But I really feel like I am empty and hoping that good sleep will not only fill me up, but I really would like to make progress against my cold.  I'd love for Sheila to do the same with her cough too.  At least it is quiet in my office as opposed to the last few day with several of those fans blasting away making a constant racket.  The basement is supposed to be dried out now, so we can move on to the other work that needs to  be done to repair the damage of our little holiday flood.  My illness has really been the biggest part of my day.  I have really felt quite horrible today and it has been hard for me to keep working through it.  I napped 2 maybe 3 times and now I'm going to try to go to bed quite early.  I'd like for Sheila to try too, but if I know her she will not claiming that she would not be able to sleep.  Me, I can most anytime, and if not I just relax myself enough that it is almost the same.  I feel pretty good that I can sit home all day listening to good 'church' music and slack off on overworking myself and still have a good day money-wise.  I'll keep on keeping on, but mostly I just want both of us to feel better.

I actually slept in until 11 am this morning! Of course it wasn't like I slept for 14 hours straight.  I was up several times during the night and in the morning for bathroom and 'change of venue' and medicine.  That 'change of venue' meant that I slept in my bed, in the recliner chair in the front room and in my 'green' chair in our bedroom.  My night seemed quite restful despite all of that changing going on.  I knew that I needed to stay home from church, but that didn't keep me from wondering if I wasn't sick enough to stay home.  I had a couple of small moments when I felt okay enough to figure that I should have gone, but they were quickly replaced by strong feeling of 'un-wellness' and downright being sick.  Right now I am feeling that again as I have been enjoying the family and our time together.  As soon as they left and it got quiet again I noticed all of the discomfort and yuckiness come back and over take my body.  I am also very tired all of a sudden, and find it hard to even think about anything but some medical treatments and rest and sleep and quiet and close my hurting eyes.  As badly as all of that sounds it was that good for the previous 4-5 hours.  I know I don't always appreciate them as I ought to, but I do while they are here, and then it continues to foster 'units of pleasure' just thinking about what was and what will be in similar occasions in the future.  That's from my LDS hedonistic philosophy that I learned in college.  Remind me to explain it to you sometime.

They gave me my birthday present tonight.  It was in a book form and had the pictures and some entries.  I will enjoy it forever and will try to figure out which one on the front cover is me!

I would very much like to continue with 'my book' but that will require me to be well and not sick.  I don't think very well when I feel sick as I do right now.  So task # one is to get better.  Then I hope to review and record and continue with that book project.  I continue to ponder on it and appreciate it as a very good idea and one that I really want to do.  And the importance of that is only heighten by the family hanging around as they have today.

For the 1st time in a long time I will stay home from church in the morning.  I am sick and nearly every moment reminds me of that fact.  It hasn't kept me from a little bit of work today which has prepared me for Monday.  But mostly I have just been watching BYU sports and passing the time of day. 2 victories have made it enjoyable.  It I have to be sick I chose this way to do it.  So my mind isn't very sharp and I am more then ready to call it a day and miss church for I believe only the 2nd time this year.

I was looking forward to sleeping in just a little bit this morning.  But we woke up to another situation.  It seems on top of our flooding of last week and my copy machine and the 'wicked winds'  which brought Shelli's family here for the night our water died during the night.  Sheila was up and had to take kind of a sponge shower because the water just wasn't flowing.  I had actually been debating with myself about whether I would shower of not.  But the choice was taken from me.  So I just got up and came down to the office and I got to work.  It changed Phil and Shelli's plans too.  I did call the plumber at 8 and by noon our problem was rectified.  So that was a relief, but my world was still too noisy to be comfortable.  All of these fans make noise and after all day it has gotten on my nerves a bit.  The good thing though is that at least it isn't cold like it was with the fans that our kids had gotten earlier.  Now there is some kind of a humidifier which warms the air a bit. So my day never did get 'fresh' just busy.  And now it is on a downward trend.  Sheila just left to drive to Centerville to attend a movie with the 'girls'.  Me, I am feeling all of my symptoms and I am so very tired with everything.  I figure I will take an Alka-Seltzer which I teased Sheila into buying and I will try to read for a little while, but I expect to be asleep about the time that their movie starts.  My day hasn't been too bad, just a little 'off''.  I will be happy when the time comes when these fans get gone.  And I will be even happier when my health returns.  It doesn't keep me working, but it does make me tire easily and at the end of my day when I am unwinding it bothers me more.  At least I should be able to take a hot shower tomorrow.  And we now know that we need to get a new toilet.  And Saturday, ah Saturday a day with a little less pressure.  I have a lot to look to tomorrow for.  (with an attitude of gratitude---from Sheila's prayer before she left)

I'd like to write that I feel well and am all over my cold, but it actually feels worse right now then it has throughout the day.  I realize that I need to get to bed and try for another good night and some progress tomorrow.  As for today I did do much of what I hoped for.  Richard served all of those tax garnishments  and he made $1,019.00 for himself and just a few dollars more for me.  I was hoping for more from the other guys, but so far that won't be what I wanted.  But there is tomorrow and my week should end up above my average for this almost over year of 2011.  

Right now we have Shelli's family sleeping over and Robert's kids here waiting for him to come get them after his class gets over.  Today was historic in the annals of Utah weather and as a result there was a downed tree in Shelli's back yard and no power to keep their home warm and lighted.  So they are here along with what seems like a dozen powerful fans blowing away trying to dry out our basement.  It will make for a noisy office for another couple of days.  This is a major insurance and fix-up project such as never before.  But it is what Sheila wants and who am I to argue.  Just as last night I come to the end of my day having spent my energy with good work habits, but even more so with my cold and cough which has sapped my strength.  I am beginning to wonder just how long this will last.  My history suggests that every year I do this 2 and possibly 3 times and it usually last for several days.  It changes from cough to misery to running nose to fatigue and back and forth for a while before it finally gives up on me and leaves.  I have learned to take some advantage of it which usually comes during the time I try to sleep, but if  not it is a wonderful time to ponder and study myself and my foundation principles.  I find it quite edifying and really a lot of fun.  It makes being sick almost worth it, but I would rather be well and do it then too.  anyway, cough, cough time for bed.