Blood Suckers

Last week Shannon and I went to get a Health Risk Assessment done.  That's fancy talk for having someone check height, weight, blood pressure and doing some blood work.  Essentially we get paid to do this by my job.  This was also the first time Shannon has been around when I actually had blood drawn.  I've told her the stories, but somehow, she didn't quite understand.

Basically, they take my blood, and right about when they're done, or even a few seconds afterwards, I go white as a sheet, and remain that way for about 10 minutes.  During this time, I get lots of attention, as no health care professional will let me stand up, or do anything, and they start pulling out treats and drinks and all sorts of stuff!  It's great!  After a while, they let me go, but Shannon didn't let me drive home.

Once more, I survived the blood suckers, and no, I didn't (nor have I ever) pass out.

Brown Baggin' It

How 'bout them lunch-toters,

Ain't they a bunch?

Goin' off to work,

A-totin' they lunch

It's bit a bit over 5 years now that I started working full time.  As Shannon has stayed at home the majority of that time, she's made me a lunch to take to work almost every day.  She must love me.  It's cheap, and it turns out that I really don't mind eating the same thing just about every day.

Totin' them vittles,

Totin' that chow.

Eatin' it later,

But a-totin' it now.

Inspired by Shannon's dad, I also started re-using the brown paper sacks I brought my lunches in.  As a kid, I'd undoubtedly thrown away thousands.  But I'd keep a little stack at work and bring them home every week or two.  So, there'd be a dozen or more bags in circulation at a time.  Gradually, they'd wear out, rip and get thrown away.

Look at them Lunch Toters,

Ain't they funny?

Some use a paper sack,

Some use a gunny.

More than one person has given me a hard time about it, usually good-naturedly.  I'd just tell them I was being frugal, and that someday, when I was rich and they were poor, we'd both know that it was because I had saved all that money on paper sacks.  So it went year in, and year out.  We left St. George and moved to Michigan, and the stack of sacks came with us.  Ever dwindling.

Them food frugal Lunch Toters,

Ain't they wise?

Totin' they lunch,

Made by they wives.

Finally, the day has come.  After 61 months, I asked Shannon to get another package of paper bags for when the last half dozen remaining bags finally wear out.  They'll still probably hang on for another couple of months, but their time is near.  So Shannon went and got a pack of 50 more bags.  Which was on sale.  For a dollar.  A buck.  If I'd thrown the bags away, 250 work days a year would be 5 packs of sacks, or 5 bucks per year.  So, I've saved about $24 so far with my bag recycling.  That means, that by the time I retired, Shannon and I will be able to go out to eat with all that money we've saved.  Maybe even 2 or 3 times!

How to be a Lunch Toter?

Iffa may emote it,

Gitchy wife to fix it,

Go to work and tote it.

(Poem by Mason Williams)

Kanorado

What could be so important as to break my near 2 month blogging hiatus?  In a word: Kanorado.

A year ago, Shannon and I moved far away from our families and my family in particular is spread out quite a bit.  So, we don't get to see people much.  And, even if we visit UT, half of my sisters (and all of Julia and Ella's cousins) don't live there.  So, clearly, we should all get together somewhere in the middle.  But we're in Michigan, Colorado, Utah and Texas.  Where exactly is the middle?  The answer is, of course, Kanorado.  Well, about 3 or 4 miles SSW of Kanorado, but really, who's counting.  So, to minimize total traveling time* I suppose we should all meet up there next summer.  Who's game?

(Carrie is the big winner here, as she can get there in under 4 hours.  My drive will be nearly 20 hours.)
(And because you're curious, before we moved, my family was centered around Teluride, CO)

*Really, this is a "center of mass" calculation for each nuclear family (including my youngest sister with our parents) and assuming "as the crow flies" travel paths.  Truly calculating a minimal total travel time would increase difficulty by orders of magnitude.  I will not be attempting this.