2017-Holiday Letter from Katherine and Victor Soto

Posted on by

Holidays 2017- Happiness is wished to everyone for this season and for the New Year.

I find it hard to believe another year has slipped by and here we are back into December at the end of the year. We have had many things to look back and reflect on this year.

The biggest change has been being grandparents to a very busy toddler now.  Violet will be two years old in February 2018.  She is a happy little girl.  She hangs out willingly with just about anyone.  We have babysat her at least once while the kids have gone out for a concert and dinner.  It has been fun to see the changes in her month by month.  She seems to learn something new every time we see her.  I like being a Grandma and Victor enjoys playing Grandpa with her.  We have lots of pictures and a few videos of them together.  Precious memories.

We had our bathroom tub worked on in May. Funny how simple things will expand into major projects.  The tub faucet was dripping water and here in SO CA every drop counts.  We ended up with half a wall torn out, tiles taken out, a new tub faucet, and new shower head, with a wall redo to finish it off. I am sure our handyman liked to see the money he earned.

We made a big mistake this year and went from ATT U-verse to DirectV as our TV provider.  Nothing was installed properly and we had to have repairman out several times.  I was furious by the time we got reasonable service from them.  I am leaving them as soon as the two-year contract is up.  I much preferred ATT to the mess we have now.  I do NOT recommend them at all.

Of course there were regular medical office visits for both of us as ongoing issues continue to be ongoing. . Victor has modeled for a few classes working on prosthetic development with Loma Linda University.  I tease him to leave those clothes on, when he goes to model.  They pay the models a little gas money and the students get to work with real life patients.  He likes doing it.

I am still on dialysis for six hours three days a week. I am still am an admin for <ihatedialysis.com> an online forums and Facebook group of everything related to kidney disease.  It keeps me busy and out of trouble most days.  I took my annual trip to Las Vegas in October for the tenth annual reunion of <ihatedialysis.com.>  We had nine people at the dinner this year and enjoyed seeing the sites in Las Vegas.  This year it was Señor Frog’s Drag Show, Chippendales, and Menopause the Musical as our girls’ nights out.  A friend of mine and I also ate lunch at the Top of the World Restaurant in the Stratosphere. I am afraid of heights so to sit at a table right next to the windows was amazingly frightening for me for several minutes.  I calmed down and we had a superb lunch.  I love adventuring around Las Vegas with my crazy friends.  I also have a new blog: <lifenotonthelist.com>  It has glimpses into my life as a forever dialysis patient, and my worldviews.  I am posting some of my poetry and some of my thoughts from over the years.

I bought a brand new Toyota Corolla iM in Barcelona Metallica Red/Four door Hatchback with safety stuff galore. I traded in the 2012 two door Yaris for a four-door car due to needing room for the granddaughter when she visits us in the next years. It is a sporty looking Corolla.

We still have our crazy dog and cat.  We have been down to two pets for a few years now. I bought a new loveseat for my office area and they have taken it over.  I knew it would happen.

I have plans to be in Oklahoma for Christmas this year.  We will celebrate early here with family, especially the grand child and her parents, with plans to be at the Mills Family party on the 17th.

The saddest part of the year was when Aunt Nita, my Godmother, made her transition to spirit.  I was honored to share scripture at her service. It was great to see family from far away.  I miss her, but know she is carried in hearts all over the world.

So as 2017 comes to its end, I will turn 55, and the year will turn to 2018.  May the New Year bring you blessings from the Universe and bring you enough.

Katherine and Victor Soto

Rialto, CA