Wow, John did a great job guest blogging yesterday - I honestly only expected him to write that I was alive and recovering... but you guys got a typical rundown sort of like I'd write. He's such a cutie!
All I can say is that yesterday was looney bin day at the hospital... I am so not kidding! There was a young lady there that must have been terrified (obviously not a frequent flyer - like me), we went into the pre-op area together. I ended up learning about how she was having a full hysterectomy and that she'd already had a partial. She asked me several times if I was scared, but I didn't want to tell her that I'm pretty much a surgery professional at this point... or at least I feel like it... I managed to go 28 years and only have my tonsils out in college... but then 2007 started a good run... where I had surgery in January, surgery in November, and now 7 months later... there I went again.
Anyway... things kept on progressing, and I'm not sure what they were giving me to get the anesthetic started - but it took a good two or three doses before he stopped asking me if I was feeling anything yet. This time I felt like I got a good look at the OR, and all the crazy stuff that they have in there... and can I just say... it looks nothing like what they show on ER or Grey's Anatomy!! I feel very cheated in that right, but I guess I'll get over it. I remember them asking me to move onto the table, and strapping my arms down... then putting the oxygen mask on me... asking me again if the meds were working... then nothing until I woke up in recovery.
That's when the real fun started... seriously - It is no wonder that the nurses were calling me the gold star patient... so here's what I saw/heard. I say it like that only because I was dosing on and off... but first there was an older man across from me that was moaning about his pain, and that he needed to use the restroom - but he had a catheter... he just didn't understand what that meant. Next to him was the girl from the pre-op area, and she was trying to rip out all of her IV's and things... while asking a million times for her husband, and they don't let family in the recovery area... she finally got them to call him on the phone for her though. The last weirdo was a man that had just had either a knee or hip replaced - I don't know which, but he kept trying to roll over in the bed - and the nurses would take off running to him telling him that he was going to tear his incision open and have to go back to surgery. (I'm pretty sure he never understood them either!)
My surgery was over around 11:15 0r so and for some reason I didn't get out of recovery until around 2:30... I have really bad nausea when it comes to anesthetic, so they always pump me full of medicine to combat that - which means that it takes me a while to wake up from the surgery. After they let John come in to the phase 2 area though - things started moving. The nurse got me up for a walk to the restroom, and then gave me my clothes to put on when I was ready. I think within the hour we were on our way home.
I spent the rest of the day snoozing, and enjoying Renee's WONDERFUL dinner. She made us the most amazing whole wheat pasta dish with yellow squash, orange bell peppers, and tomatoes in a sun-dried tomato and basil pesto sauce. Simply amazing - I'm not kidding! She also made us these really terrific oatmeal raisin cookies that are to die for... they're not overly sweet - and we totally dug them! I've asked for both recipes from her, and I'll share when I can.
Today has been a little more difficult for me as far as the pain goes... my doctor called earlier in the day and asked if I felt like someone beat me up... when I said yes, he informed me that he was the one that beat me up. HA!
I've been staying pretty close to my bottle of pain medicine today, and doing as little as I can get away with because every time I move - I have pain... so I'm hopeful that as each day progresses that will go away. The 5 surgery sites look really good though - he did a much better job than the surgeon that did my bypass. (that's what John tells me anyway) I don't remember having this much pain with the bypass, but I'm sure that I did - I think the mind and body have a funny way of letting us forget those things... but it's nothing that I can't live with.
Tonight we had dinner delivered from another lady in our church, and it was wonderful too. She brought us a really lovely salad, ravioli, and some chocolate chip cookies. We just finished eating the main part of the meal, and I'm stuffed. It was great! I'll have to ask her for her recipes too. John will check out the cookies a little later this evening, and if I'm not still stuffed - I'll probably have a couple of bites of one too.
I think that about gets us caught up for today... I am feeling like I need another nap - which is funny because it's 7 PM, but I'll be up a couple of times tonight to take that pain medicine... so I'm pretty much existing on naps right now... but honestly - I'm probably sleeping more than I'm awake right now... so we'll see how that goes over the next day or so as well.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Home & Resting Peacefully!
Hello there Internets...Just wanted to let all of you know that Kim is home and is resting peacefully with her two girls. She went into surgery this morning at about 10:40 and by about 11:20 the doctor came out to tell me that everything was successful. There weren't any complications at all, and by 3:30 - 4:00 PM we were at home. One minor snafu was that Dr. Ngo prescribed vicodin pills. Luckily I saw Dr. W in the surgical waiting area and talked to him for a few minutes. He said he was going to go back and take a look at her chart and that is when he noticed the prescription that Dr. Ngo had written. He told the nurse that they needed to change it to the Lortab Elixir (basically a liquid vicodin).
We are very grateful to all of our friends and family for all of the wonderful prayers that went out for Kim over the last several hours, days, weeks, etc. We feel very blessed that God has taken us from one great church home to another without us really missing a beat.
On another note, as we were driving home Kim got a call from Cy Fair ISD asking if all of her information that they had on file (e-mail addy, phone number, etc.) was still correct. They said that their principals are starting to call people and they just wanted to make sure they were giving them the correct information. They also asked if Kim was currently under contract with another district. Hopefully this is the good news that Kim has been hoping for. She has put so much into preparing for becoming a teacher I really hope that it pans out for her this year. Right now I think we have both just accepted that it will happen when God thinks she is ready. We all have our own time lines for the desires of our heart, but we have to be willing to put our feelings aside and let the Lord guide us in the direction he wants us to go. That is what we are trying to do.
In addition to hearing from Cy Fair ISD, she also received an e-mail from the lady at the Drug Rehab place and she wants Kim to call her on Friday. I know that things are going to work out the way that God intends, but sometimes his grace, mercy and his all knowingness just amazes me. If things work out how they appear to be working out, Kim and I will actually make money from her being laid off. We basically cut our budget down to the bare bones when the layoff occured. At the same time, she continued to get her paychecks (just got the last one which takes us through until mid August). We are hoping that the amount that we will have saved up will allow me to have the surgery (either gastric bypass or lapband - I haven't decided yet) and if I have to pay 20% we should have more than enough saved up to pay for it in cash. God is indeed very good.
Anyway, that is all I have for tonight Internets. Hope all of ya'll enjoyed the guest posting and I'm sure Kim will be back on here to correct all of my erroneous mistakes tomorrow.
We are very grateful to all of our friends and family for all of the wonderful prayers that went out for Kim over the last several hours, days, weeks, etc. We feel very blessed that God has taken us from one great church home to another without us really missing a beat.
On another note, as we were driving home Kim got a call from Cy Fair ISD asking if all of her information that they had on file (e-mail addy, phone number, etc.) was still correct. They said that their principals are starting to call people and they just wanted to make sure they were giving them the correct information. They also asked if Kim was currently under contract with another district. Hopefully this is the good news that Kim has been hoping for. She has put so much into preparing for becoming a teacher I really hope that it pans out for her this year. Right now I think we have both just accepted that it will happen when God thinks she is ready. We all have our own time lines for the desires of our heart, but we have to be willing to put our feelings aside and let the Lord guide us in the direction he wants us to go. That is what we are trying to do.
In addition to hearing from Cy Fair ISD, she also received an e-mail from the lady at the Drug Rehab place and she wants Kim to call her on Friday. I know that things are going to work out the way that God intends, but sometimes his grace, mercy and his all knowingness just amazes me. If things work out how they appear to be working out, Kim and I will actually make money from her being laid off. We basically cut our budget down to the bare bones when the layoff occured. At the same time, she continued to get her paychecks (just got the last one which takes us through until mid August). We are hoping that the amount that we will have saved up will allow me to have the surgery (either gastric bypass or lapband - I haven't decided yet) and if I have to pay 20% we should have more than enough saved up to pay for it in cash. God is indeed very good.
Anyway, that is all I have for tonight Internets. Hope all of ya'll enjoyed the guest posting and I'm sure Kim will be back on here to correct all of my erroneous mistakes tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ready to Go
I've been doing laundry and getting things ready before I go to the hospital in the morning. I wanted to get as much done as possible so that John could relax while he's here taking care of me... we've got meals coming from our wonderful church family for the next couple of days - so all he'll have to do is warm it up for me and make sure that I get my medicines on time.
Renee (guest blogger) has made the first of the meals for us, and took it to John while he's at Worship Team practice tonight - so I can't wait to try that - I'm sure that it'll be healthy and yummy at the same time!
I've had to wash my sheets today, which isn't a big deal - but the hospital has a strict new regimen that I have to follow before surgery to prevent infection. For those of you that might not know (I only know because of my last job and the funding issues that would have come from the new program) as of a certain date... I think it's in early 2009... Medicare is no longer going to pay for any hospital care for patients that get infections while in the hospital. Now, before you react like I did... it doesn't mean that they will bill the patient for it... it means that the hospital has to eat the costs themselves.
It's an incentive for them to make sure that they are following proper protocols and cleanliness guidelines... so if a nurse comes in and doesn't wash her hands.... or maintenance comes in and cleans the room incorrectly... the hospital has to deal with those issues - in the hope to try to cut down on staph infections and the like. I think it's a great program... and I love the fact that they are putting the blame and costs back on the hospitals. The only down side is that I know (from experience) that the hospital systems will take it out on those employees without really figuring out the situation. ANYWAY...
They gave me a bottle of a soap solution that I have to shower with tonight and scrub my tummy for 3 minutes... then make sure to put on clean clothes, no deodorants or perfumes or powders... and then sleep on clean sheets. In the morning I have to take another shower using the rest of the solution and wash for another 3 minutes on my stomach. Again with the clean clothes, and from there they think that will help keep me from getting infections.
They are taking the position that most infections are caused by bacteria on our own bodies... I highly doubt that, but I guess it couldn't hurt to make sure that things are sterile while operating... So I plan on starting that ritual tonight before bed... and then we head to the hospital by 8:30 in the morning to express check in, and my surgery is supposed to be at 10:30.
I'm going to make sure that John blogs for me tomorrow when we get home so that everyone will know how things are going. I expect that I'll be pretty groggy... and I have no clue what time we'll be able to get home... I have to pass through a process of recovery, alertness, pain management, and finally be able to keep fluids down before I am released to come back home.
I'll see you guys on the flip side!!
Renee (guest blogger) has made the first of the meals for us, and took it to John while he's at Worship Team practice tonight - so I can't wait to try that - I'm sure that it'll be healthy and yummy at the same time!
I've had to wash my sheets today, which isn't a big deal - but the hospital has a strict new regimen that I have to follow before surgery to prevent infection. For those of you that might not know (I only know because of my last job and the funding issues that would have come from the new program) as of a certain date... I think it's in early 2009... Medicare is no longer going to pay for any hospital care for patients that get infections while in the hospital. Now, before you react like I did... it doesn't mean that they will bill the patient for it... it means that the hospital has to eat the costs themselves.
It's an incentive for them to make sure that they are following proper protocols and cleanliness guidelines... so if a nurse comes in and doesn't wash her hands.... or maintenance comes in and cleans the room incorrectly... the hospital has to deal with those issues - in the hope to try to cut down on staph infections and the like. I think it's a great program... and I love the fact that they are putting the blame and costs back on the hospitals. The only down side is that I know (from experience) that the hospital systems will take it out on those employees without really figuring out the situation. ANYWAY...
They gave me a bottle of a soap solution that I have to shower with tonight and scrub my tummy for 3 minutes... then make sure to put on clean clothes, no deodorants or perfumes or powders... and then sleep on clean sheets. In the morning I have to take another shower using the rest of the solution and wash for another 3 minutes on my stomach. Again with the clean clothes, and from there they think that will help keep me from getting infections.
They are taking the position that most infections are caused by bacteria on our own bodies... I highly doubt that, but I guess it couldn't hurt to make sure that things are sterile while operating... So I plan on starting that ritual tonight before bed... and then we head to the hospital by 8:30 in the morning to express check in, and my surgery is supposed to be at 10:30.
I'm going to make sure that John blogs for me tomorrow when we get home so that everyone will know how things are going. I expect that I'll be pretty groggy... and I have no clue what time we'll be able to get home... I have to pass through a process of recovery, alertness, pain management, and finally be able to keep fluids down before I am released to come back home.
I'll see you guys on the flip side!!
Gourmet Hubby
So, what's the best thing about leaving your husband to his own devices for a 4 day girls trip?! When he gets really bored, he starts looking for new recipes on Food Network's website.
Last night we tried an Asian feast that consisted of Sweet & Sour Pork Chops, and Fried Rice. We did change up the fried rice recipe a little - we left out the ham, ginger, and corn - and added some soy sauce. The meal was amazing!!
Tonight we're testing out Caribbean Chicken... which has been marinating since 6 this morning... so after we eat - I'll update on how successful the meal was. The chicken was fantastic... you guys should try it!! (All of it!!)
Here are the pork chops... They really were tasty...
John wanted me to wait until he got the food "plated up" before I took the picture... so this was my plate, but I didn't finish it. The food was yummy...
Last night we tried an Asian feast that consisted of Sweet & Sour Pork Chops, and Fried Rice. We did change up the fried rice recipe a little - we left out the ham, ginger, and corn - and added some soy sauce. The meal was amazing!!
Tonight we're testing out Caribbean Chicken... which has been marinating since 6 this morning... so after we eat - I'll update on how successful the meal was. The chicken was fantastic... you guys should try it!! (All of it!!)
Here are the pork chops... They really were tasty... 
Our fried rice, which there is plenty left in the fridge... I had some left over today, and it was great... maybe would be wonderful if you added some chicken for a little higher protein count.
John wanted me to wait until he got the food "plated up" before I took the picture... so this was my plate, but I didn't finish it. The food was yummy...
Tennessee Girls Trip
As promised - here is the rundown of the trip... which can also be known as the tour de Starbucks. HA! We had a lovely time, and even got through the two hour delay on the runway before we took off. I've never seen a line of planes that long... but eventually we got our turn, and got on the way to Knoxville.
This is our cabin - it was absolutely beautiful! It had two king sized bedrooms, and two really big soaky bath tubs... and if you look on the right of the cabin - that is one of our three porches... it's the screened in one with the hot tub.
My sisters, Cathi and Cindy sharing a shake with me... it was at a wonderful old time soda shop - so we couldn't resist taking a small indulgence.
My beautiful sisters on the sky tram up the mountain... what a wonderful way to take in the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.
At the top of the mountain they had a black bear habitat, and this is the baby of the bear group - his name is TJ and he was getting a snack from one of the keepers in this picture.
Here we all are enjoying a scenic view... this was on a back round around Gatlinburg where we could see the entire town... it was amazing! 
Gatlinburg has a fabulous aquarium, with a really long tunnel that you ride under and watch the sharks. Here Lynne is picking up a horse shoe crab... and he's trying to escape! 
We took a scenic drive up the mountain through the Smoky Mountain National Forest, and Cindy needed a little "snack" for the road... for someone allergic to dairy products - I sure do have a lot of pictures of us eating them!!
A view from one of the areas on the drive that we could pull over to take pictures.
Ya'll - I fell in love with babbling brooks on this trip... they are wonderful, and I wish I could have this one in my backyard!! 
On the way home, Cathi and I had a three hour delay getting home - so she took a little bit of time to get a chair massage. Our flight was supposed to leave at 6:30 local time, but didn't leave until 9:45... and the airport shut down completely by 7!! We didn't have much else to do other than try to keep ourselves occupied by any means we could find.
This is our cabin - it was absolutely beautiful! It had two king sized bedrooms, and two really big soaky bath tubs... and if you look on the right of the cabin - that is one of our three porches... it's the screened in one with the hot tub. 
Here Lynne and Cathi are relaxing and enjoying the view from the second floor balcony... it was gorgeous!
Lynne and I at lunch on day 2 - it was an English Pub, and was very quiet... we were in a craft village, and found lots of fun stuff to shop for. They had homemade goodness everywhere we looked - from candles, to food products, and even homemade soap products.
My sisters, Cathi and Cindy sharing a shake with me... it was at a wonderful old time soda shop - so we couldn't resist taking a small indulgence.
My beautiful sisters on the sky tram up the mountain... what a wonderful way to take in the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.
At the top of the mountain they had a black bear habitat, and this is the baby of the bear group - his name is TJ and he was getting a snack from one of the keepers in this picture.
This is another of the bears, relaxing... the keeper told us that these bears live longer than they do in the wild, and grow up to 750 pounds (this one was exactly that weight). In the wild they typically only reach about 350 pounds.
Here we all are enjoying a scenic view... this was on a back round around Gatlinburg where we could see the entire town... it was amazing! 
Gatlinburg has a fabulous aquarium, with a really long tunnel that you ride under and watch the sharks. Here Lynne is picking up a horse shoe crab... and he's trying to escape! 
We took a scenic drive up the mountain through the Smoky Mountain National Forest, and Cindy needed a little "snack" for the road... for someone allergic to dairy products - I sure do have a lot of pictures of us eating them!!
A view from one of the areas on the drive that we could pull over to take pictures. 
Here are the sisters at the same stop looking happy and healthy!
Ya'll - I fell in love with babbling brooks on this trip... they are wonderful, and I wish I could have this one in my backyard!! 
Cathi, Cindy, and Lynne stopped to put their feet in for a minute. Apparently it was VERY cold water, but well worth the shock to the system.
On the way home, Cathi and I had a three hour delay getting home - so she took a little bit of time to get a chair massage. Our flight was supposed to leave at 6:30 local time, but didn't leave until 9:45... and the airport shut down completely by 7!! We didn't have much else to do other than try to keep ourselves occupied by any means we could find.The trip was fabulous, and we all enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Lynne suggested that we do this annually - so we'll see how that works out. John missed me a lot, and told me that he has no desire to become a bachelor again... so I haven't mentioned to him the possibility of a repeat trip! We'll wait and bring that up after he gets tired of being mothered again. HA!
Interview Update
I'm planning on about 3 posts today as I've got so much to tell you guys, and want to be somewhat organized about how I keep my posts focused.
My interview this morning went well, I handled the presentation better than I typically would... so I was really pleased with that. The job would be the program manager for continuing education - for certain subjects. I chose real estate as my program to expand, and naturally after my presentation - they told me that the real estate program is moving to another division of the continuing education department this fall.
I don't know if that would hurt my chances, but I felt good about what I did. I spent another 20 minutes or so answering the panel's questions and then it was on with my day. Which included a stop at Target because my pants were about to fall off during the meeting - so I decided that I'd get a belt.
I do plan on getting a few more outfits when I get closer to a job, but right now - the stuff doesn't really work and it's in between seasons right now, so I'll give it another week or two and see how it goes.
I emailed the principal again, and the lady at the other job placement possibility - to let them know that I'll be out of pocket tomorrow, but available by phone anytime after that. So on the job front I'm good to go.
My interview this morning went well, I handled the presentation better than I typically would... so I was really pleased with that. The job would be the program manager for continuing education - for certain subjects. I chose real estate as my program to expand, and naturally after my presentation - they told me that the real estate program is moving to another division of the continuing education department this fall.
I don't know if that would hurt my chances, but I felt good about what I did. I spent another 20 minutes or so answering the panel's questions and then it was on with my day. Which included a stop at Target because my pants were about to fall off during the meeting - so I decided that I'd get a belt.
I do plan on getting a few more outfits when I get closer to a job, but right now - the stuff doesn't really work and it's in between seasons right now, so I'll give it another week or two and see how it goes.
I emailed the principal again, and the lady at the other job placement possibility - to let them know that I'll be out of pocket tomorrow, but available by phone anytime after that. So on the job front I'm good to go.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Check it Out
Hi there again. Just popping in quickly on a break from presentation writing...
I found this through Gastric Girl and wanted to share it with everyone. It's a way to get your name out there and find some more readers - which for all of us is a good thing to get the word out about people that have had a good experience with weight loss surgery or whatever your blog is all about... check it out you guys!
I found this through Gastric Girl and wanted to share it with everyone. It's a way to get your name out there and find some more readers - which for all of us is a good thing to get the word out about people that have had a good experience with weight loss surgery or whatever your blog is all about... check it out you guys!
Hi Guys!
Hi Internets!! I sure have missed you guys, but the trip was great. I am a little bit rested, but have some big things going on today... so the run down on the trip will have to wait until tomorrow.
I got a call when I got into Knoxville from the college people and they want me to come in for a face to face interview tomorrow morning - and I have to give a 15 minute presentation about things are really out of my league, but I'm going to pray that God gives me the knowledge and strength to get through it. The presentation and interview are tomorrow at 10 AM, so at least if I can keep my exhaustion at bay for today and tomorrow morning - I'll get plenty of sleep for the next several days.
You guys - I've got so much to tell you, but I've got to get to work too - so I'm going to keep this short, and maybe I'll come back and write more if I get the presentation done before bedtime. In the mean time - I want to ask you all to pray for a small list of things...
I got a call when I got into Knoxville from the college people and they want me to come in for a face to face interview tomorrow morning - and I have to give a 15 minute presentation about things are really out of my league, but I'm going to pray that God gives me the knowledge and strength to get through it. The presentation and interview are tomorrow at 10 AM, so at least if I can keep my exhaustion at bay for today and tomorrow morning - I'll get plenty of sleep for the next several days.
You guys - I've got so much to tell you, but I've got to get to work too - so I'm going to keep this short, and maybe I'll come back and write more if I get the presentation done before bedtime. In the mean time - I want to ask you all to pray for a small list of things...
- My surgery to go well, and for my doctors & nurses to be rested and prepared for anything that might come up on Wednesday
- My sisters, they are both dealing with some bigger financial problems than I am right now - and I know that they both could use some divine intervention to get them through these tough times. My sister Cindy and her family especially as their problems are fairly large and complicated, but my sister Cathi and her family need some help with getting a more steady income as well.
- For me to get through the upcoming interviews and to find a job where God wants me to be right now, and also for our friend Robby who has also been laid off and is looking for a position as well.
Alright guys, for now I'm off to write a curriculum plan, marketing plan, and target audience presentation for the continuing education department of a local community college... and I honestly have to start by learning exactly what continuing education means to them... (anyone have any advice or helpful hints... please send them my way!!)
Until later... I miss you guys, and have 62 blog posts to read, and I can't wait to catch up - but it might be tomorrow before I get to it all. I promise you'll have pictures and stories from the mountains by tomorrow evening!!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Blogs To Love
I thought that in my absence, I'd share with you some of my favorite blogs... in several categories:
My weight loss surgery friends:
My weight loss surgery friends:
- Lacy is one of my lovely friends that has had weight loss surgery as well, we've gone through our journeys together... and she has been a great encouragement to me.
- Meghan is another of my friends that has gone through this journey with me... she has been a great inspiration to me to get back to working out as soon as possible.
- Kim is another friend that has gone through this process with me... and you already met her as she guest blogged for me on Friday.
- Donna is a lovely friend that is in my hospital support group, and is so inspirational as she's a year ahead of me in this process - but is competing in the MS150, and triathlons.
- Laurie is another lovely friend that is also in my hospital support group, and has been an encouragement to me along the way.
- Jil is one more friend that is in my hospital group, and had the same surgeon that I did... she's really rocking the weight loss, as she just posted that she's lost 106 pounds in 3 months!
There are others in this category that I follow, but these 6 ladies are my favorites to read.
Other blogs that I love... (not in order of importance) - there are a couple missing from the list as they are private, and I can't share them with you. (Hi Jenn B., and Tasha!)
- BigMama is a blog that I've just started reading, and I think it's hysterical... the writer is a great Christian woman that has a wonderful sense of humor...
- BooMama is a friend of BigMama, and is similar - very entertaining Christian woman... please check these ladies out.
- Allie is a friend of mine that I used to work with - she struggled with infertility, but overcame it with twins! Her blog is an entertaining adventure of the life with very cute, highly active twins.
- Staci is a friend who also overcame her struggles to get pregnant by having twins. She and her husband used to go to our old church, but have since moved out of the country. Her twins are very entertaining as well... and SUPER cute!
- Becca is one more infertility survivor with twins... her stories are very entertaining as well... and of course the kiddos are extremely cute!
- Pam is another former co-worker that has an incredible way with words... I find her posts entertaining - she's just starting out at being a stay at home Mommy... which provides for some really funny stories.
- Jenn is a friend from our former church, and has a very entertaining family - her daughter is the cutest red-head that I've ever seen.
- Sarah is another friend from our former church. She and her husband have become two of our closest friends... and I absolutely LOVE their daughter... she's one of the sweetest babies I've ever known.
- Dawn is yet another friend from our former church, and has a big family with lively kiddos. They just adopted a little girl from China which prompted her to start the blog - the stories from their trip were amazing to read.
- Renee is a friend from our current church, and has been such a blessing in our lives... you got to meet her on Thursday when she guest blogged for me.
I love reading all these blogs, and hope that you'll check them out and give them some love...if you do - leave them some comments (and tell them that you found them through my blog).
I'll be back blogging live tomorrow - so see you all then!!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Getting Away
Hi everyone,
By the time this posts, I'll be half way through my girls weekend getaway. This is a trip that has been a long time coming - you see back on September 12, 2001 (yes the day after the terrorist attack) the first weekend of this kind was planned. Lynne (my step mom), Cathi (my sister), Cindy (my sister), and I were set to go to Chicago for a weekend.
Well, the terrorists had other ideas of what should be happening during that time in our nation's history... and by the time our trip was set to happen - the FAA hadn't even allowed airplanes back into the skies. So needless to say, the Chicago trip wasn't to be at that time.
So fast-forward to 2008, and we're giving it another shot... this time the destination is Knoxville, TN - for some rest and relaxation... now - the three other women going with me on this trip have children under the age of 13 - so they are in need of some time to recharge their batteries... and my reason is more to hang out with them, and have one last hurrah before going back to work.
My sisters and I have never been what you'd call close - none of us really grew up living together for various reasons... but mainly because my older sisters are 9 and 6 years older than I am... so you wouldn't say that they had common interests with me growing up.
The three of us are as different as you can get... but as we've gotten older - I think we've learned to embrace those differences and love them for what they are. We've gotten closer over the years, still not as close as we could or maybe should be... but who knows what'll happen over the course of 4 days in the mountains.
My prayer for the trip is that we enjoy ourselves, have a great time, recharge our batteries, and bond in ways that we've never been bonded before. I would absolutely love to come out of this trip with a newly bonded relationship with all three of these women - as time and circumstances has led us in different directions, and sometimes further apart.
All that being said - I know that we'd all be there if we needed each other, and we love each other... but being friends on top of being sisters bonded by a common father would be even better, right? (and let me just say that we have the BEST father in the world as our common thread!)
So, when I see ya'll on Monday for a new post - I'm sure I'll have stories and lots of pictures to share of our weekend!!
By the time this posts, I'll be half way through my girls weekend getaway. This is a trip that has been a long time coming - you see back on September 12, 2001 (yes the day after the terrorist attack) the first weekend of this kind was planned. Lynne (my step mom), Cathi (my sister), Cindy (my sister), and I were set to go to Chicago for a weekend.
Well, the terrorists had other ideas of what should be happening during that time in our nation's history... and by the time our trip was set to happen - the FAA hadn't even allowed airplanes back into the skies. So needless to say, the Chicago trip wasn't to be at that time.
So fast-forward to 2008, and we're giving it another shot... this time the destination is Knoxville, TN - for some rest and relaxation... now - the three other women going with me on this trip have children under the age of 13 - so they are in need of some time to recharge their batteries... and my reason is more to hang out with them, and have one last hurrah before going back to work.
My sisters and I have never been what you'd call close - none of us really grew up living together for various reasons... but mainly because my older sisters are 9 and 6 years older than I am... so you wouldn't say that they had common interests with me growing up.
The three of us are as different as you can get... but as we've gotten older - I think we've learned to embrace those differences and love them for what they are. We've gotten closer over the years, still not as close as we could or maybe should be... but who knows what'll happen over the course of 4 days in the mountains.
My prayer for the trip is that we enjoy ourselves, have a great time, recharge our batteries, and bond in ways that we've never been bonded before. I would absolutely love to come out of this trip with a newly bonded relationship with all three of these women - as time and circumstances has led us in different directions, and sometimes further apart.
All that being said - I know that we'd all be there if we needed each other, and we love each other... but being friends on top of being sisters bonded by a common father would be even better, right? (and let me just say that we have the BEST father in the world as our common thread!)
So, when I see ya'll on Monday for a new post - I'm sure I'll have stories and lots of pictures to share of our weekend!!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Guest Blogger - Kim J.
Hi! This is Kim (aka "the other" Kim) from Knitten Kittens, guest blogging for Kim while she is enjoying herself on a girl’s weekend. She more than deserves it, with all that has been going on in her life from job interviews to gallbladders!
I love the thought of a girl’s weekend and it is something I should really plan one day. Oh, I have girl’s days; my knitting friends and I get together from time to time, or my friend and co-worker, Paula and I will go to lunch. But a long weekend to just be with my girlfriends? That sounds like pure heaven.
I live with all men; a husband and two boys, which on many days is fun and fine, but guys just don’t get us like our girlfriends do. Oh, we’d never trade in our men, after all, who would fix stuff if we did (raise your hand if you are the one who fixes stuff regardless of living with men)? No, really, if we want to feel safe and protected, we need our guys (or at least our hubbys) and if we want to feel cherished and provided for, we need them as well. But the fact is that men and women are two completely different creatures.
My girlfriends are much less likely to hurt my feelings and they are way less likely to get annoyed with me if I ask them if they are okay, because if we are not okay, we so want to talk about it. Girls do not generally want to sit there and bottle in their feelings but often times because of the vast differences between men and women, I think we do just that, until we are within the safe circle of our girlfriends. Because we are ruled so much by our emotions, we understand each other completely. It’s okay if we are being irrational, moody, or completely hormonal; we understand each other.
We can empathize, sympathize and accessorize together with our gal pals. We can shop together, cook together and eat together without it having to be a meat and potatoes kind of meal, as chocolate is so one of the food groups. We can actually hold conversations with one another that last longer than the commercials do. Heck, we can even not turn on the television for a whole weekend!
I cherish those precious moments when I am with my female friends, like very few other extracurricular activities. There is an easiness that goes with spending time with them, a comfort and a peace that just invades all the empty little places in my heart. There are so few expectations with them; you come just as you are, much like we come to God, and they are there for us, just like He is. No preconceived notions, we can just be ourselves and they will meet us where we are, listen to us, offer us encouragement and then even listen to us rehash it all over again. Simple beauty.
Thank you, God, for our girlfriends.
I love the thought of a girl’s weekend and it is something I should really plan one day. Oh, I have girl’s days; my knitting friends and I get together from time to time, or my friend and co-worker, Paula and I will go to lunch. But a long weekend to just be with my girlfriends? That sounds like pure heaven.
I live with all men; a husband and two boys, which on many days is fun and fine, but guys just don’t get us like our girlfriends do. Oh, we’d never trade in our men, after all, who would fix stuff if we did (raise your hand if you are the one who fixes stuff regardless of living with men)? No, really, if we want to feel safe and protected, we need our guys (or at least our hubbys) and if we want to feel cherished and provided for, we need them as well. But the fact is that men and women are two completely different creatures.
My girlfriends are much less likely to hurt my feelings and they are way less likely to get annoyed with me if I ask them if they are okay, because if we are not okay, we so want to talk about it. Girls do not generally want to sit there and bottle in their feelings but often times because of the vast differences between men and women, I think we do just that, until we are within the safe circle of our girlfriends. Because we are ruled so much by our emotions, we understand each other completely. It’s okay if we are being irrational, moody, or completely hormonal; we understand each other.
We can empathize, sympathize and accessorize together with our gal pals. We can shop together, cook together and eat together without it having to be a meat and potatoes kind of meal, as chocolate is so one of the food groups. We can actually hold conversations with one another that last longer than the commercials do. Heck, we can even not turn on the television for a whole weekend!
I cherish those precious moments when I am with my female friends, like very few other extracurricular activities. There is an easiness that goes with spending time with them, a comfort and a peace that just invades all the empty little places in my heart. There are so few expectations with them; you come just as you are, much like we come to God, and they are there for us, just like He is. No preconceived notions, we can just be ourselves and they will meet us where we are, listen to us, offer us encouragement and then even listen to us rehash it all over again. Simple beauty.
Thank you, God, for our girlfriends.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Guest Blogger - Renee
Hi ya'll!
Since I'm guest posting for Kim today, while she is off having a ball on her girl's weekend, let me introduce myself. I'm Renee, from Houston, and my normal home is over at Right Foot Forward. Kim and I met a few months ago when she and John started attending our church. Since then, I've really enjoyed getting to know her and hubby and let me tell ya'll, if you didn't already know, they're gold! Pure gold.
It took Kim and I a little while to get to know each other, since we're both so darn shy (you'd never guess that form either of our blogs, huh), but we finally did one night when we went over to play games with some other friends from church. We played this horrible game called guesstures, where you have to get up and act like a plum fool until someone guesses what you're trying to act out. You know, one of those games. Actually, it wasn't all that horrible, but I was terribly embarrassed the whole time. That's a circumstance I find myself in often though, so I guess I'm used to it.
By the cherry hue of her cheeks, I could sense Kim and I were kindred spirits when it came to um...social experiences. The next time Kim and I hung out it was at our ladies retreat, where we had the pleasure of riding up and back together with my sweet aunt and one of my best friends Meredith. It was good times, ya'll, good times. What with my constant caffeine cravings (I get a little nervous if I get too far from a caffeine source), my crazy driving, and my sorry attempt to run a sound board, well, I could have a whole other post or two...or three. I'll spare you, I promise.
Enough on that, I love your Kim, and am really pleased that I'm getting to meet her internets!
Over at Right Foot Forward, I write a lot about things that interest me and how they relate to the life of my family. We're pretty young, I'm 28, my hubby Kyle's 26, and our little L is almost 2, so we're facing a lot of the struggles you go through when you're a family that's just starting out. K's a high school teacher and the youth pastor at our church, I'm a stay at home mom (former middle school teacher), we've been married almost 3 years, and we're both madly in love with each other. We're learning to be good stewards of the things God has given us, and we try really hard to live our lives with integrity. K and I are also learning a lot about what, or who rather, God wants us to be as parents. This includes constant exercises in patience, self-control, patience, understanding, and well patience. Both with ourselves and our daughter.
I am also a forth generation super-frugal mom (aka el cheap-o), so if you're interested in learning how to save and stretch your money, check out my regular posts on Money Mondays. On Fridays, I also have a regular post called the Friday Five (oh, I am oh so creative), where you can check out some of my favorite products to use and things to do. They'll almost always be cheap! The rest of the week you can just read my babble about things that we're doing, things that catch me by surprise, my constant struggle with eating/living healthy, and our goals to be good stewards of our bodies, earth, money, time, and minds.
Well, Kim's internets, now that we've had a chance to meet, I hope we can get to know each other a little better. Feel free to drop by Right Foot Forward any time and leave me a note while you're there! I can't guarantee I'll always be insightful, but at the very least you'll have something to entertain yourself by! :-D
Since I'm guest posting for Kim today, while she is off having a ball on her girl's weekend, let me introduce myself. I'm Renee, from Houston, and my normal home is over at Right Foot Forward. Kim and I met a few months ago when she and John started attending our church. Since then, I've really enjoyed getting to know her and hubby and let me tell ya'll, if you didn't already know, they're gold! Pure gold.
It took Kim and I a little while to get to know each other, since we're both so darn shy (you'd never guess that form either of our blogs, huh), but we finally did one night when we went over to play games with some other friends from church. We played this horrible game called guesstures, where you have to get up and act like a plum fool until someone guesses what you're trying to act out. You know, one of those games. Actually, it wasn't all that horrible, but I was terribly embarrassed the whole time. That's a circumstance I find myself in often though, so I guess I'm used to it.
By the cherry hue of her cheeks, I could sense Kim and I were kindred spirits when it came to um...social experiences. The next time Kim and I hung out it was at our ladies retreat, where we had the pleasure of riding up and back together with my sweet aunt and one of my best friends Meredith. It was good times, ya'll, good times. What with my constant caffeine cravings (I get a little nervous if I get too far from a caffeine source), my crazy driving, and my sorry attempt to run a sound board, well, I could have a whole other post or two...or three. I'll spare you, I promise.
Enough on that, I love your Kim, and am really pleased that I'm getting to meet her internets!
Over at Right Foot Forward, I write a lot about things that interest me and how they relate to the life of my family. We're pretty young, I'm 28, my hubby Kyle's 26, and our little L is almost 2, so we're facing a lot of the struggles you go through when you're a family that's just starting out. K's a high school teacher and the youth pastor at our church, I'm a stay at home mom (former middle school teacher), we've been married almost 3 years, and we're both madly in love with each other. We're learning to be good stewards of the things God has given us, and we try really hard to live our lives with integrity. K and I are also learning a lot about what, or who rather, God wants us to be as parents. This includes constant exercises in patience, self-control, patience, understanding, and well patience. Both with ourselves and our daughter.
I am also a forth generation super-frugal mom (aka el cheap-o), so if you're interested in learning how to save and stretch your money, check out my regular posts on Money Mondays. On Fridays, I also have a regular post called the Friday Five (oh, I am oh so creative), where you can check out some of my favorite products to use and things to do. They'll almost always be cheap! The rest of the week you can just read my babble about things that we're doing, things that catch me by surprise, my constant struggle with eating/living healthy, and our goals to be good stewards of our bodies, earth, money, time, and minds.
Well, Kim's internets, now that we've had a chance to meet, I hope we can get to know each other a little better. Feel free to drop by Right Foot Forward any time and leave me a note while you're there! I can't guarantee I'll always be insightful, but at the very least you'll have something to entertain yourself by! :-D
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Honestly!!
I don't even know where the day has gone, but I am still working on getting organized in order to pack... I used to be the type of person that would pack days in advance... but not anymore... maybe it's because I don't have enough clothes to do that anymore? Or I just procrastinate? Who knows... all I know is that I've got to get on the ball because my sister is picking me up at 7:45 in the morning.
I've been calling and waiting for an answer on the surgery issue since 2:30, and I'm getting really frustrated!! Their office closes at 5:00, and it's now 4:45 - I just left her a message saying that I'd promised to let John's boss know the schedule before I left town. Which is true - we need to let him know as soon as possible.
Ahhh... she just called at 4:55 to tell me that I'm scheduled for Wednesday... I check in to the hospital at 11. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before - which is normal of course, but GEEZ - even for someone that doesn't get hungry - I get headaches from not eating!!
I have to go first thing on Monday to do all my pre-op blood work and testing... so as soon as I get home from the trip - the fun begins again!!
I'm relieved to get that much off my shoulders though - I can now go on the trip and not have to worry about getting that scheduled while in another time zone. Hopefully a massage is in my future, and with a clear head... it will be GREAT!
I've spend a good portion of the day straightening up the house so that it'll be nice for John while he's on his little bachelor's weekend... I can only imagine that he's got a weekend of old school Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Wii planned for himself - and that might be just about it - other than mowing the grass. I feel sure that he'll get that done in anticipation of having to take care of me for a couple of days next week... but also since we got some rain today. (FINALLY!!)
The hurricane did bring us a couple of showers so far, and might bring in some more before the evening is over... and we'll take any of it as we're so far behind right now - naturally we're happy with any free irrigation for the yard too.
I believe that the blog as been left in good hands for the next couple of days - we've got two guest bloggers, and some pre-written stuff from me... so hopefully you won't even notice that I'm gone. HA! Actually I hope that you do miss me, but there will still be good stuff to read in the meantime.
I've been calling and waiting for an answer on the surgery issue since 2:30, and I'm getting really frustrated!! Their office closes at 5:00, and it's now 4:45 - I just left her a message saying that I'd promised to let John's boss know the schedule before I left town. Which is true - we need to let him know as soon as possible.
Ahhh... she just called at 4:55 to tell me that I'm scheduled for Wednesday... I check in to the hospital at 11. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before - which is normal of course, but GEEZ - even for someone that doesn't get hungry - I get headaches from not eating!!
I have to go first thing on Monday to do all my pre-op blood work and testing... so as soon as I get home from the trip - the fun begins again!!
I'm relieved to get that much off my shoulders though - I can now go on the trip and not have to worry about getting that scheduled while in another time zone. Hopefully a massage is in my future, and with a clear head... it will be GREAT!
I've spend a good portion of the day straightening up the house so that it'll be nice for John while he's on his little bachelor's weekend... I can only imagine that he's got a weekend of old school Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Wii planned for himself - and that might be just about it - other than mowing the grass. I feel sure that he'll get that done in anticipation of having to take care of me for a couple of days next week... but also since we got some rain today. (FINALLY!!)
The hurricane did bring us a couple of showers so far, and might bring in some more before the evening is over... and we'll take any of it as we're so far behind right now - naturally we're happy with any free irrigation for the yard too.
I believe that the blog as been left in good hands for the next couple of days - we've got two guest bloggers, and some pre-written stuff from me... so hopefully you won't even notice that I'm gone. HA! Actually I hope that you do miss me, but there will still be good stuff to read in the meantime.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Out and About
So many things - so little time...
I spent the better part of today out running various errands that I needed to get done before leaving town. I wanted to get most of it done on the off chance that we get some much needed rain tomorrow as the hurricane makes landfall in south Texas.
I have been trying to sell some things on Amazon in order to make a little extra money - so far it's been really nice because unlike Ebay... once you list something on Amazon it stays listed until it sells or you take it down. So, my first item sold last night, and I went to get it shipped off to California...
From there, I headed to a family friend's house... this is a long time friend of my Mom's that has gotten cancer in the last year or so, and is about to sell her house in order to move closer to her kids. My Mom had a few things at her house from back when they were roommates, so I drove over to pick those things up... and ended up spending a good hour or so just chatting with Joyce. She's like a third Mom to me in a lot of ways, and I've always enjoyed hanging out with her.
From there, I swung into Lane Bryant to see if I could find a bathing suit there for a cheaper price... well, come to find out - they don't even sell bathing suits at any of the LB stores in my area. They didn't carry them at all this year... weird. I tried on a bunch of different tops - as they were having a sale, but I really didn't find anything. I found one top that was really cute, but it was $50 as it is a new item for the fall - and I just couldn't justify paying that today. I'm going to have to spend some money on clothes here in a couple of weeks - or go to work naked... and I know that no one would appreciate that! Maybe I'll try my luck at TJ Maxx or Ross... or ask my frugal friend Renee for some ideas... since the clothes are hopefully only temporary purchases.
After my little shopping trip - I went to the nail salon... it's my one indulgence that I got to keep when the budget got tightened... and I really think it was more about me having nails in order to scratch John's back and head. He's basically a cat... so I spend a lot of time scratching his back... but at least I get to have nice looking hands as part of the trade off. Right?
Finally - I headed to Wal-Mart because I needed an ingredient for dinner (that's a story for later in the post), and wanted to look into a couple of things for the trip. I gave it one last effort to see if I could find a bathing suit, and I didn't see any adult bathing suits in the store - only juniors and kids... but I did find workout shorts and shirts/tank tops for $6 a piece! They had them in lots of different colors... so I bought two sets. I will wear them as I get back into working out, and on the trip - I'll use one set as a bathing suit. HA! It ought to be a funny sight, but it'll work - and again it's family.
Dinner - well, I'd planned on making a really nice dinner for John... chicken stroganoff. It's my lower fat version, and it's really good... but it involves layering ingredients, and it takes about an hour to make the sauce... well I got down to the second to last step in the recipe, and it called for me to put in beef broth... somehow I got some that had expired - and not only did it smell nasty, but John and I both sampled the mixture after I'd added it, and it was DISGUSTING! It tasted like some sort of weird chemical had been added to it. So I scrapped the mushroom sauce and ended up making spaghetti (low carb noodles) with homemade tomato sauce, and chicken on top... not exactly what I'd planned, but I ended up pulling out a nice dinner before John had to leave for worship team practice.
It's never dull around here...
I spent the better part of today out running various errands that I needed to get done before leaving town. I wanted to get most of it done on the off chance that we get some much needed rain tomorrow as the hurricane makes landfall in south Texas.
I have been trying to sell some things on Amazon in order to make a little extra money - so far it's been really nice because unlike Ebay... once you list something on Amazon it stays listed until it sells or you take it down. So, my first item sold last night, and I went to get it shipped off to California...
From there, I headed to a family friend's house... this is a long time friend of my Mom's that has gotten cancer in the last year or so, and is about to sell her house in order to move closer to her kids. My Mom had a few things at her house from back when they were roommates, so I drove over to pick those things up... and ended up spending a good hour or so just chatting with Joyce. She's like a third Mom to me in a lot of ways, and I've always enjoyed hanging out with her.
From there, I swung into Lane Bryant to see if I could find a bathing suit there for a cheaper price... well, come to find out - they don't even sell bathing suits at any of the LB stores in my area. They didn't carry them at all this year... weird. I tried on a bunch of different tops - as they were having a sale, but I really didn't find anything. I found one top that was really cute, but it was $50 as it is a new item for the fall - and I just couldn't justify paying that today. I'm going to have to spend some money on clothes here in a couple of weeks - or go to work naked... and I know that no one would appreciate that! Maybe I'll try my luck at TJ Maxx or Ross... or ask my frugal friend Renee for some ideas... since the clothes are hopefully only temporary purchases.
After my little shopping trip - I went to the nail salon... it's my one indulgence that I got to keep when the budget got tightened... and I really think it was more about me having nails in order to scratch John's back and head. He's basically a cat... so I spend a lot of time scratching his back... but at least I get to have nice looking hands as part of the trade off. Right?
Finally - I headed to Wal-Mart because I needed an ingredient for dinner (that's a story for later in the post), and wanted to look into a couple of things for the trip. I gave it one last effort to see if I could find a bathing suit, and I didn't see any adult bathing suits in the store - only juniors and kids... but I did find workout shorts and shirts/tank tops for $6 a piece! They had them in lots of different colors... so I bought two sets. I will wear them as I get back into working out, and on the trip - I'll use one set as a bathing suit. HA! It ought to be a funny sight, but it'll work - and again it's family.
Dinner - well, I'd planned on making a really nice dinner for John... chicken stroganoff. It's my lower fat version, and it's really good... but it involves layering ingredients, and it takes about an hour to make the sauce... well I got down to the second to last step in the recipe, and it called for me to put in beef broth... somehow I got some that had expired - and not only did it smell nasty, but John and I both sampled the mixture after I'd added it, and it was DISGUSTING! It tasted like some sort of weird chemical had been added to it. So I scrapped the mushroom sauce and ended up making spaghetti (low carb noodles) with homemade tomato sauce, and chicken on top... not exactly what I'd planned, but I ended up pulling out a nice dinner before John had to leave for worship team practice.
It's never dull around here...
Monday, July 21, 2008
It's Outta There
Today has been another crazy whirlwind of a day.... I started with my phone interview with the college, and I think it went rather well. It lasted about 20 minutes, and their next step is to call me and let me know if I've made it to the next round within the next week. The next round is a face to face interview, and then the last step is a final face to face interview.
After the phone interview - I jetted down to the hospital to pick up my films from the ultrasound and HIDA scan last week. They sure give you a lot of stuff, but I know that it's a big help to the surgeon to have those images.
In between picking up the films and my appointment at Dr. Ngo's office - I had about 2 hours to kill... and with my trip looming in my head - I went shopping for some clothes... our cabin in Knoxville has a screened in porch with a hot tub... so my little brain started thinking that maybe it's time to break down and get a bathing suit again.
Ya'll, I haven't owned or tried on a bathing suit since I was 11 years old... this is HUGE! I found two that were pretty cute - option 1, option 2... option 1 was my favorite, but in the end - I decided that $45 (that's 50% off!!) was too much to pay for a bathing suit that I hope to only fit in for a couple of wears... BUT I did try them on - so that's a big step back to the land of fun... I might give a couple of other stores a try to see if I can find something cheaper, but if not - I figure that it's not the end of the world to wear shorts and a t-shirt in the hot tub with my family.
I met with the surgeon, and he thinks that getting my gallbladder out will help me in a number of ways. Apparently there is a long name for what I have, but it boils down to the fact that my gallbladder doesn't squeeze properly - which causes the pain. So lets get it outta there!! Their scheduling person is supposed to call me before Wednesday to get it all set up... so I'll let ya'll know how that goes.
In the interest of being smart about this guest blogging thing - I'm probably going to wait and beg John to write for me on the day of my surgery... I've got one volunteer and already have her post - you'll be in GREAT hands that day. Anyone else that wants to be my best friend... just let me know... I've got three more days open. I'll fill in where I need to, but I'd appreciate help where I can get it.
I'm off tonight to help a friend drop her daughter off with her grandparents for a few days - she doesn't want to drive home alone after dark - so I'm up for a short road trip/gab fest with a girlfriend!!
After the phone interview - I jetted down to the hospital to pick up my films from the ultrasound and HIDA scan last week. They sure give you a lot of stuff, but I know that it's a big help to the surgeon to have those images.
In between picking up the films and my appointment at Dr. Ngo's office - I had about 2 hours to kill... and with my trip looming in my head - I went shopping for some clothes... our cabin in Knoxville has a screened in porch with a hot tub... so my little brain started thinking that maybe it's time to break down and get a bathing suit again.
Ya'll, I haven't owned or tried on a bathing suit since I was 11 years old... this is HUGE! I found two that were pretty cute - option 1, option 2... option 1 was my favorite, but in the end - I decided that $45 (that's 50% off!!) was too much to pay for a bathing suit that I hope to only fit in for a couple of wears... BUT I did try them on - so that's a big step back to the land of fun... I might give a couple of other stores a try to see if I can find something cheaper, but if not - I figure that it's not the end of the world to wear shorts and a t-shirt in the hot tub with my family.
I met with the surgeon, and he thinks that getting my gallbladder out will help me in a number of ways. Apparently there is a long name for what I have, but it boils down to the fact that my gallbladder doesn't squeeze properly - which causes the pain. So lets get it outta there!! Their scheduling person is supposed to call me before Wednesday to get it all set up... so I'll let ya'll know how that goes.
In the interest of being smart about this guest blogging thing - I'm probably going to wait and beg John to write for me on the day of my surgery... I've got one volunteer and already have her post - you'll be in GREAT hands that day. Anyone else that wants to be my best friend... just let me know... I've got three more days open. I'll fill in where I need to, but I'd appreciate help where I can get it.
I'm off tonight to help a friend drop her daughter off with her grandparents for a few days - she doesn't want to drive home alone after dark - so I'm up for a short road trip/gab fest with a girlfriend!!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
I'm an Idiot
I have no one to blame - other than myself... but I let a craving cloud my better judgement today. See a week or so ago, before I truly knew that the problem was my gallbladder - I was looking for a cheap meal option, and well before surgery - once in a while on a Sunday afternoon, John and I would make fried zucchini and mushrooms... what a horrible food choice, but that's another topic for another day...
So needless to say, in our attempt to keep our grocery bills down while I'm not working -I decided to go ahead and make the fried stuff so that we didn't have to spend money on food for lunch today... and to make matters worse - we ate the fried stuff dipped in ranch dressing... OMG - can ya'll see how this story will end? (Like I said - I'm a complete idiot!)
I am vowing now (much like a college student after their millionth hangover) - that I will NEVER eat another fried veggie or anything else so long as I live... I have been miserable ever since... I've napped, I've taken a hot bath, I've done just about anything I can think of to stop the pain and discomfort... but I'm guessing that God has decided to REALLY teach me a lesson on this one... I can't say that I blame him...
John is in the kitchen right now making dinner - which is the last thing in the world I want, but I know that I need more protein... so I'll eat it anyway - but I'm not looking forward to it at all. I hope that you guys have had a better day than I have...
Side Note - Most of my regular readers know that I'm doing this Blog 365 challenge, and have posted everyday of 2008 so far. I'm thinking that I don't want to take my computer with me on my trip this weekend, and am coming up with how I'm going to manage to post on Thursday through Sunday... so if anyone wants to volunteer (read: I'll love you forever) to send me a post that I can set up to post early... please let me know... I'll pre-write for any days that I don't get volunteers. (Again, I'll love any volunteers forever!! Maybe I can talk John into it too?) Either way - I'm sure that it'll be entertaining enough to get ya'll through in my short absence...
So needless to say, in our attempt to keep our grocery bills down while I'm not working -I decided to go ahead and make the fried stuff so that we didn't have to spend money on food for lunch today... and to make matters worse - we ate the fried stuff dipped in ranch dressing... OMG - can ya'll see how this story will end? (Like I said - I'm a complete idiot!)
I am vowing now (much like a college student after their millionth hangover) - that I will NEVER eat another fried veggie or anything else so long as I live... I have been miserable ever since... I've napped, I've taken a hot bath, I've done just about anything I can think of to stop the pain and discomfort... but I'm guessing that God has decided to REALLY teach me a lesson on this one... I can't say that I blame him...
John is in the kitchen right now making dinner - which is the last thing in the world I want, but I know that I need more protein... so I'll eat it anyway - but I'm not looking forward to it at all. I hope that you guys have had a better day than I have...
Side Note - Most of my regular readers know that I'm doing this Blog 365 challenge, and have posted everyday of 2008 so far. I'm thinking that I don't want to take my computer with me on my trip this weekend, and am coming up with how I'm going to manage to post on Thursday through Sunday... so if anyone wants to volunteer (read: I'll love you forever) to send me a post that I can set up to post early... please let me know... I'll pre-write for any days that I don't get volunteers. (Again, I'll love any volunteers forever!! Maybe I can talk John into it too?) Either way - I'm sure that it'll be entertaining enough to get ya'll through in my short absence...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Mental Description
In this second part of this assignment - I was to take the same child and get inside their head. Which is intimidating as a 30 year old to try to think like a 5 year old... but I apparently nailed it.
I shared these stories with Taylor's Mom yesterday, and she liked them both - as she was reading the physical description... she looked up and said "I remember this day," which made me smile because I remember it vividly too.
This is the photo that I used for inspiration for this story...
I am so excited today because my baby sister is going to be born. My Mommy made me go to school for part of the day, and we learned some more counting- who cares about counting?
“Mrs. Adams, what time is it?” I asked.
“It’s 11:00, Taylor, why do you ask?” Mrs. Adams said.
“My PawPaw is picking me up at 11:30 to go meet my BABY SISTER!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, okay. Well, when we get finished with story time it will be 11:30,” Mrs. Adams said.
Our story today was about a gardening duck, and I was not interested. I sat in the circle quietly, but did not hear a word that Mrs. Adams was reading.
At 11:30 PawPaw came to my class to pick me up, and off we went to meet my new sister.
“Has Brooklyn been born yet?” I asked PawPaw.
“Yes, Baby she was born a couple of hours ago,” PawPaw said.
“Wow, I can’t wait to play with her,” I said.
“Well, lets just go meet her and worry about playing later,” PawPaw said.
When we got to the hospital, I remember walking for what seemed like a week. There must have been a million different hallways, and I thought that we’d never find Mommy and Brooklyn. While we were walking, we passed a big window that looked into a room full of babies, but Brooklyn was not in there. Two more hallways and we were there. PawPaw opened the door, and there was Mommy sitting in bed with Brooklyn in her arms.
I was so excited! I ran up to the bed and jumped in next to Mommy. I got in trouble for not being careful around the baby. My Aunt was there taking pictures, and I got to sit in a chair and hold Brooklyn for a picture. She is very little and doesn’t do much other than cry, sleep, and have diaper changes. I wanted to help with all of it, but all I was allowed to do was sit on the bed and watch.
I hope that Brooklyn will be able to play with me soon because right now having a little sister is boring!
I shared these stories with Taylor's Mom yesterday, and she liked them both - as she was reading the physical description... she looked up and said "I remember this day," which made me smile because I remember it vividly too.
This is the photo that I used for inspiration for this story...
I am so excited today because my baby sister is going to be born. My Mommy made me go to school for part of the day, and we learned some more counting- who cares about counting? “Mrs. Adams, what time is it?” I asked.
“It’s 11:00, Taylor, why do you ask?” Mrs. Adams said.
“My PawPaw is picking me up at 11:30 to go meet my BABY SISTER!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, okay. Well, when we get finished with story time it will be 11:30,” Mrs. Adams said.
Our story today was about a gardening duck, and I was not interested. I sat in the circle quietly, but did not hear a word that Mrs. Adams was reading.
At 11:30 PawPaw came to my class to pick me up, and off we went to meet my new sister.
“Has Brooklyn been born yet?” I asked PawPaw.
“Yes, Baby she was born a couple of hours ago,” PawPaw said.
“Wow, I can’t wait to play with her,” I said.
“Well, lets just go meet her and worry about playing later,” PawPaw said.
When we got to the hospital, I remember walking for what seemed like a week. There must have been a million different hallways, and I thought that we’d never find Mommy and Brooklyn. While we were walking, we passed a big window that looked into a room full of babies, but Brooklyn was not in there. Two more hallways and we were there. PawPaw opened the door, and there was Mommy sitting in bed with Brooklyn in her arms.
I was so excited! I ran up to the bed and jumped in next to Mommy. I got in trouble for not being careful around the baby. My Aunt was there taking pictures, and I got to sit in a chair and hold Brooklyn for a picture. She is very little and doesn’t do much other than cry, sleep, and have diaper changes. I wanted to help with all of it, but all I was allowed to do was sit on the bed and watch.
I hope that Brooklyn will be able to play with me soon because right now having a little sister is boring!
Physical Description
Since today has been ultra boring - a lot of yard work, house cleaning, and grocery shopping... and the most exciting thing that I have done is a toss up between vacuuming the mini-blinds and cleaning the fan blades... I thought that I'd share my two latest returned assignments from my writing program.
This first one I was assigned to write a physical description of a child... I was having trouble figuring out which child in my life to choose, and I was sitting in my craft room. I looked over and saw a picture of one of my nieces named Taylor on the day of her first ballet class... I used that as my inspiration, and this is what I wrote... (also the picture that served as my inspiration)
This first one I was assigned to write a physical description of a child... I was having trouble figuring out which child in my life to choose, and I was sitting in my craft room. I looked over and saw a picture of one of my nieces named Taylor on the day of her first ballet class... I used that as my inspiration, and this is what I wrote... (also the picture that served as my inspiration)
As I sat in the tan leather chair, the door opened quickly and hit the wall. She ran inside covered in dirt, and her hair all over the place. Her blue jeans were dusty and her lime green shirt had muddy hand prints all over it. She threw her papers down on the table and climbed on the couch. She sat down to watch a cartoon on television, but heard her mom calling, “Taylor, come get a bath before ballet. HURRY!”
Slowly, she started to get up, but for as long as possible her little sapphire eyes never left the television screen. At first she cried, “The water is too hot!” That was quickly followed by giggling, and splashing.
About 5 minutes past, and she glided across the room with her light brown hair wet, her body dripping, and she was wrapped up tight in a fluffy pink towel. She plopped herself on the couch, again, to watch the rest of the television show. Her Mom calls her, “Taylor, we’re going to be late… come get dressed!”
She looks up at me and smiles a mischievous smile as she gets up to go back into her room. A moment later, I hear her cry, “Ow, stop it, you’re hurting me… you’re brushing too hard!” She cried for several minutes, but reappeared looking like a pretty little princess.
She had her long hair tied up in a ponytail with a pink satin ribbon, but little ringlets were surrounding her face. She was wearing pink tights, a jet black leotard, a black skirt with tiny pink roses around the waist, and tiny pink ballet slippers with bows on top. Her Mom was following behind pulling the tags off of each item she was wearing.
She looked up at me with her face glowing, and asked, “Do I look like a ballerina?” As soon as the words were spoken, there was no time to answer because she blazed into the house and was gone again. The door swung open hitting the wall, and the door slammed closed behind her. Taylor was on her way to her first ballet class.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Not Motivated
Susan and I were lacking in the motivation department today - which I think was started by my poor start to the day. I woke up fairly tired today, and my stomach (gallbladder) was bothering me from the very start of the day... which is a new occurrence. My plan was to leave for Susan's by 7:30 this morning, but I didn't actually get off until 8:15 or so. Not a good start to our day...
I did manage to show up at her house by 9:15 with Starbucks in hand... so we had our coffee and chatted for a while. We did get started by getting the shredder rolling, but after a while the machine got hot - and even though it shreds credit cards, we managed to get one stuck. So, I had to do some minor repairs and get the machine cleared out. So while we waited for it to cool off - we did some more chatting. (You catching the theme of the day?) Really by the time the shredder got hot - it was time for Brooklyn to take a nap - so we were doing our best to keep quiet for her.
When she woke up - we took her into Susan's room and I played with her while Susan got some clothes sorted and folded... we didn't get much work done in terms of sorting through her clothes like we'd planned, but when I left - her room looked a lot more organized than when I got there... so really her closet is the last major battle for her to mount before school starts... unless you count keeping everything organized. HA!
By the time we got that done, it was time for Brooklyn's next nap - which did last a bit longer... so we of course did some more chatting in order to keep quiet for her to get some sleep. She's fighting off a cold - so we tried to do our best to let her get as much sleep as possible. By about 2:30 - I really made some progress with the shredding (it had to be done in small batches in order to not burn up the machine), and got the area in Susan's breakfast room all cleaned up...
I left her with some filing to get done, but overall - I think we did a good job. I think she needs to come down here one day next week and help me get some things organized as well... but we'll see what happens - because I've got Monday pretty much booked, and I pray that my principal friend will find some time to meet with me on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I certainly would love for her to come hang out with me one day though!! We've REALLY had a great time this week. (or I have... I hope she has too!)
I got home at about the same time John did from work, and I'm completely exhausted! I did manage to cook dinner, but seriously - the word of the day for tomorrow is NAP!
A note to those of you out there reading that don't have blogs of your own... realize that those of us that write for your reading pleasure - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting comments... so please let me know you're out there. Click on the link below that says comments... and drop me a line whenever the spirit moves you to provide an opinion or some encouragement. You can leave an anonymous comment - meaning that you don't have to create an account do leave a comment, but I do prefer that you sign your name to your note. I look forward to hearing from all my readers!
I did manage to show up at her house by 9:15 with Starbucks in hand... so we had our coffee and chatted for a while. We did get started by getting the shredder rolling, but after a while the machine got hot - and even though it shreds credit cards, we managed to get one stuck. So, I had to do some minor repairs and get the machine cleared out. So while we waited for it to cool off - we did some more chatting. (You catching the theme of the day?) Really by the time the shredder got hot - it was time for Brooklyn to take a nap - so we were doing our best to keep quiet for her.
When she woke up - we took her into Susan's room and I played with her while Susan got some clothes sorted and folded... we didn't get much work done in terms of sorting through her clothes like we'd planned, but when I left - her room looked a lot more organized than when I got there... so really her closet is the last major battle for her to mount before school starts... unless you count keeping everything organized. HA!
By the time we got that done, it was time for Brooklyn's next nap - which did last a bit longer... so we of course did some more chatting in order to keep quiet for her to get some sleep. She's fighting off a cold - so we tried to do our best to let her get as much sleep as possible. By about 2:30 - I really made some progress with the shredding (it had to be done in small batches in order to not burn up the machine), and got the area in Susan's breakfast room all cleaned up...
I left her with some filing to get done, but overall - I think we did a good job. I think she needs to come down here one day next week and help me get some things organized as well... but we'll see what happens - because I've got Monday pretty much booked, and I pray that my principal friend will find some time to meet with me on either Tuesday or Wednesday. I certainly would love for her to come hang out with me one day though!! We've REALLY had a great time this week. (or I have... I hope she has too!)
I got home at about the same time John did from work, and I'm completely exhausted! I did manage to cook dinner, but seriously - the word of the day for tomorrow is NAP!
A note to those of you out there reading that don't have blogs of your own... realize that those of us that write for your reading pleasure - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting comments... so please let me know you're out there. Click on the link below that says comments... and drop me a line whenever the spirit moves you to provide an opinion or some encouragement. You can leave an anonymous comment - meaning that you don't have to create an account do leave a comment, but I do prefer that you sign your name to your note. I look forward to hearing from all my readers!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Three More Hours
Ya'll - this has been the most interesting interview process in the history of my career! I went in to meet with the CEO and the lady that would be my boss today, and I was thinking... this is the CEO surely this meeting won't be much longer than a half hour - he's a busy man for crying out loud. I spend a good hour with him... then another hour with one other team member, and finally a third hour with the lady again having lunch and talking some more.
I've literally spent 8 hours with them already... I totally respect that they are trying to make sure that it's the right fit for the team, but I'm just amazed that they invest so much time in finding the right person. It really tells me a lot about the difference in this organization compared to the one I just left.
We had another good meeting, and I was equally impressed with the CEO - a very bright man that has a very supportive management style. It's really different from what I'm coming from - just because they give their staff so much room to spread their wings and take things wherever you want to go... and in so many ways I feel like I've been a caged animal for the last three years. I never was able to suggest things or make them my own... so that in and of itself is sort of overwhelming.
At the end of the meeting we went over a few things we talked about the first day - like the salary requirements (gasp... I know Dad, you aren't supposed to talk about money until they decide they want you, but I got trapped into that one), and it sounds like they are on board with that. She did tell me that they're interviewing one other person, but that I'm definitely leading the pack - but they need to finish the process with this other candidate before they move forward. She asked for my references, which I know I've got the best people behind me there - so I have no doubt that they'll tell her exactly what I have, and maybe even some better things.
When I left she told me that if someone else offered me a job that she wanted to talk to me before I accept it... we'll see how that plays out because I'm not sure that if another offer came in (teaching) that they could compete with that... in fact, I know they couldn't.
The weird thing is that when I got home - I had another call for an interview with a college down the street from my house. The position is for the continuing education manager - which I'm going to have to go back and look up what the job description says about the job... but I have a phone interview with them on Monday. I'm still waiting to hear back from my principal friend as well, but maybe she's not checking email until she gets back in the office on Monday...
So things are rolling and the prospects are pretty good... so we'll see where I land in the next few weeks.
I did get set up with a surgeon today as well - so I meet with him on Monday, and from what his receptionist told me after we meet on Monday - it'll be about a week to a week and a half before I can get a surgery date. Not bad at all... so it looks like I'll be able to go on my girl's weekend trip after all... which will be great. I haven't ever gotten to spend time with my sisters & stepmom like that, and while we're VASTLY different... it'll be a fun weekend to connect with them more as adults.
I absolutely think that God's hands are all over my life right now, and providing the right steps for each thing to happen in its own time... and I think that right now I feel at peace with whatever happens... that's not to say that I won't be emotional if the teaching thing doesn't work out this year, but I really get a sense that he's in charge right now and will provide the offer that he thinks is best for me right now. The timing is just right for anything to happen at this point - so it's up to him and I'll go with it - whatever it is.
Wow - that's pretty profound and mature of me, right? HA! Oh, I can talk a good game, but when it comes down to it - I'm an emotional mess a lot of the time. Mostly because I am so passionate about what I spend my time doing, and I just feel like if I have to work - I want to make the most of it and do something that I absolutely love... and work with people I like and respect because ultimately you spend most of your time with them.
I'm off tomorrow for more organizing at Susan's... so if nothing else - I'll get some work done and play with Brooklyn (and hopefully Taylor) for a bit. Oh, and it's an excuse for a Starbucks!! YIPEE! It doesn't take much to make me happy... and lately a warm yummy Starbucks coffee every once in a while seems like such a luxurious treat.
I've literally spent 8 hours with them already... I totally respect that they are trying to make sure that it's the right fit for the team, but I'm just amazed that they invest so much time in finding the right person. It really tells me a lot about the difference in this organization compared to the one I just left.
We had another good meeting, and I was equally impressed with the CEO - a very bright man that has a very supportive management style. It's really different from what I'm coming from - just because they give their staff so much room to spread their wings and take things wherever you want to go... and in so many ways I feel like I've been a caged animal for the last three years. I never was able to suggest things or make them my own... so that in and of itself is sort of overwhelming.
At the end of the meeting we went over a few things we talked about the first day - like the salary requirements (gasp... I know Dad, you aren't supposed to talk about money until they decide they want you, but I got trapped into that one), and it sounds like they are on board with that. She did tell me that they're interviewing one other person, but that I'm definitely leading the pack - but they need to finish the process with this other candidate before they move forward. She asked for my references, which I know I've got the best people behind me there - so I have no doubt that they'll tell her exactly what I have, and maybe even some better things.
When I left she told me that if someone else offered me a job that she wanted to talk to me before I accept it... we'll see how that plays out because I'm not sure that if another offer came in (teaching) that they could compete with that... in fact, I know they couldn't.
The weird thing is that when I got home - I had another call for an interview with a college down the street from my house. The position is for the continuing education manager - which I'm going to have to go back and look up what the job description says about the job... but I have a phone interview with them on Monday. I'm still waiting to hear back from my principal friend as well, but maybe she's not checking email until she gets back in the office on Monday...
So things are rolling and the prospects are pretty good... so we'll see where I land in the next few weeks.
I did get set up with a surgeon today as well - so I meet with him on Monday, and from what his receptionist told me after we meet on Monday - it'll be about a week to a week and a half before I can get a surgery date. Not bad at all... so it looks like I'll be able to go on my girl's weekend trip after all... which will be great. I haven't ever gotten to spend time with my sisters & stepmom like that, and while we're VASTLY different... it'll be a fun weekend to connect with them more as adults.
I absolutely think that God's hands are all over my life right now, and providing the right steps for each thing to happen in its own time... and I think that right now I feel at peace with whatever happens... that's not to say that I won't be emotional if the teaching thing doesn't work out this year, but I really get a sense that he's in charge right now and will provide the offer that he thinks is best for me right now. The timing is just right for anything to happen at this point - so it's up to him and I'll go with it - whatever it is.
Wow - that's pretty profound and mature of me, right? HA! Oh, I can talk a good game, but when it comes down to it - I'm an emotional mess a lot of the time. Mostly because I am so passionate about what I spend my time doing, and I just feel like if I have to work - I want to make the most of it and do something that I absolutely love... and work with people I like and respect because ultimately you spend most of your time with them.
I'm off tomorrow for more organizing at Susan's... so if nothing else - I'll get some work done and play with Brooklyn (and hopefully Taylor) for a bit. Oh, and it's an excuse for a Starbucks!! YIPEE! It doesn't take much to make me happy... and lately a warm yummy Starbucks coffee every once in a while seems like such a luxurious treat.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Paco Update
Since Allie asked...
Paco was spotted yesterday in the grass... being tormented by Missy, and after I made her leave him alone - I think he flew off again. Poor little guy - I looked at him after she moved away and I think he was having a heart attack... or just breathing REALLY hard.
I didn't see him tonight, but I was gone all day and normally I see him earlier in the day. So maybe he's off flying somewhere - I'm going to fill our bird feeder tomorrow in case he's looking for a meal and can't find one.
Paco was spotted yesterday in the grass... being tormented by Missy, and after I made her leave him alone - I think he flew off again. Poor little guy - I looked at him after she moved away and I think he was having a heart attack... or just breathing REALLY hard.
I didn't see him tonight, but I was gone all day and normally I see him earlier in the day. So maybe he's off flying somewhere - I'm going to fill our bird feeder tomorrow in case he's looking for a meal and can't find one.
Productivity
I spent the day today with my sister-in-law, Susan. I also got to hang out with Brooklyn and her big sister Taylor as well. I really enjoyed the day, and we did get quite a bit done at Susan's house.
Brooklyn's room was our focus - we packed up all her clothes that don't fit her anymore, and I organized her closet into the various sizes of clothes that she still can wear... We picked up all her toys and a few other things that had been stacked in her room... and her room is now clean!!
Susan has been systematically working through her house to do a "spring cleaning" of sorts, and it's so funny because we ended up with two bags of trash just from Brooklyn's room... now we've got to work on a corner of her house where all her filing and stuff is... and finally her bedroom.
Susan wants to have a garage sale, so we're also going to go through her clothes for that as well. She's so funny because she absolutely wouldn't throw anything away if I didn't tell her to... it's like it would just move from room to room otherwise. So, I sort of took over and threw a bunch of stuff out. Poor Susan felt like she was losing lots of valuable stuff, but in the end I convinced her that it was the best thing to do.
I need to do some similar stuff around my own house... but I'm going to buy a shredder to get rid of the things that I have. (We didn't throw anything away at Susan's that should have been shredded either.) So I think maybe on my way back from my interview tomorrow - I might pop buy Office Depot and pick up a shredder. I'll work on getting my stuff done tomorrow afternoon, and then take it with me next time I go to Susan's so we can shred her useless bills and old paperwork that she doesn't need anymore.
Does anyone know why it is that you can go to someone else's house and be WAY more productive than you can be in your own house?! I feel like I did more at her house today than I've done in a while at my place... but there again - I don't have to keep up with kiddos and all the changing clothing sizes or any of that stuff yet. I did lovingly pack away Brooklyn's things in the hope that we'd be borrowing it in the next year or so... I need to find a close friend that I can latch on to with a young boy too - so that we'll have some good hand-me-downs either way! Almost everyone I know has a girl... it's strange how that works.
I also offered to help Susan with some stuff for her classroom while I'm recovering from my gallbladder surgery - I've got my nifty scrapbooking machine that cuts out letters and shapes - and we can make some really cute things by using it. I helped her a couple of years ago, and spent over a week designing things on the computer, cutting them out, laminating them, cutting them out again, and then hanging them in her classroom... it's sick how much fun I had too! If she was closer - I'd do it all again... Last year I did help my friend Sarah with some things for her classroom, but it wasn't quite as involved.
I had to fax the list of surgeons on my insurance plan to my doctor's office today because when they called with some more recommendations - they weren't on my plan either. This stinks because I feel like I'm getting a second rate doctor this way... like I'm only able to use the doctors that were in the bottom of their medical school class... I know it's not the case, but it just feels like it because I can't use the people that I want to. I just hope that we'll figure something out tomorrow so that I can get it scheduled - I need to get it taken care of before I start working again, and if the interview tomorrow goes well - I'll need to have a date for them when they call. I think I could probably tell them yes, but I need a couple of days to get the surgery scheduled before we figure out the start date - I'd just hate to put them off to long. Naturally, I don't want to prolong the pain anymore than I have to either! (Of course in the meantime - I'll be praying for those principals to call!!)
Brooklyn's room was our focus - we packed up all her clothes that don't fit her anymore, and I organized her closet into the various sizes of clothes that she still can wear... We picked up all her toys and a few other things that had been stacked in her room... and her room is now clean!!
Susan has been systematically working through her house to do a "spring cleaning" of sorts, and it's so funny because we ended up with two bags of trash just from Brooklyn's room... now we've got to work on a corner of her house where all her filing and stuff is... and finally her bedroom.
Susan wants to have a garage sale, so we're also going to go through her clothes for that as well. She's so funny because she absolutely wouldn't throw anything away if I didn't tell her to... it's like it would just move from room to room otherwise. So, I sort of took over and threw a bunch of stuff out. Poor Susan felt like she was losing lots of valuable stuff, but in the end I convinced her that it was the best thing to do.
I need to do some similar stuff around my own house... but I'm going to buy a shredder to get rid of the things that I have. (We didn't throw anything away at Susan's that should have been shredded either.) So I think maybe on my way back from my interview tomorrow - I might pop buy Office Depot and pick up a shredder. I'll work on getting my stuff done tomorrow afternoon, and then take it with me next time I go to Susan's so we can shred her useless bills and old paperwork that she doesn't need anymore.
Does anyone know why it is that you can go to someone else's house and be WAY more productive than you can be in your own house?! I feel like I did more at her house today than I've done in a while at my place... but there again - I don't have to keep up with kiddos and all the changing clothing sizes or any of that stuff yet. I did lovingly pack away Brooklyn's things in the hope that we'd be borrowing it in the next year or so... I need to find a close friend that I can latch on to with a young boy too - so that we'll have some good hand-me-downs either way! Almost everyone I know has a girl... it's strange how that works.
I also offered to help Susan with some stuff for her classroom while I'm recovering from my gallbladder surgery - I've got my nifty scrapbooking machine that cuts out letters and shapes - and we can make some really cute things by using it. I helped her a couple of years ago, and spent over a week designing things on the computer, cutting them out, laminating them, cutting them out again, and then hanging them in her classroom... it's sick how much fun I had too! If she was closer - I'd do it all again... Last year I did help my friend Sarah with some things for her classroom, but it wasn't quite as involved.
I had to fax the list of surgeons on my insurance plan to my doctor's office today because when they called with some more recommendations - they weren't on my plan either. This stinks because I feel like I'm getting a second rate doctor this way... like I'm only able to use the doctors that were in the bottom of their medical school class... I know it's not the case, but it just feels like it because I can't use the people that I want to. I just hope that we'll figure something out tomorrow so that I can get it scheduled - I need to get it taken care of before I start working again, and if the interview tomorrow goes well - I'll need to have a date for them when they call. I think I could probably tell them yes, but I need a couple of days to get the surgery scheduled before we figure out the start date - I'd just hate to put them off to long. Naturally, I don't want to prolong the pain anymore than I have to either! (Of course in the meantime - I'll be praying for those principals to call!!)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Bonus Post
I just got off the phone with the addiction treatment center and they want me to come back for an interview with the original lady I met and the CEO of the center. That meeting is going to be on Thursday morning.
I also emailed my friend the principal to see if we could set up something for early next week to get together before I get wrapped up in this surgery mess too. I haven't heard back from her, but I only emailed like an hour ago... so I don't expect to have heard by now... but I really would love to at least get on her calendar before this gallbladder stuff gets messy.
I also got a call from my surgeon's office, and naturally - they don't take my insurance. Unreal! So, I'm waiting for some other referrals to figure out who will be having the pleasure of yanking out my gallbladder for me. I can't believe my luck!! I mean honestly... I could walk into the ER and probably have it done without all the hassles, but that's not right... I'm just saying that it really shouldn't be that hard.
I also emailed my friend the principal to see if we could set up something for early next week to get together before I get wrapped up in this surgery mess too. I haven't heard back from her, but I only emailed like an hour ago... so I don't expect to have heard by now... but I really would love to at least get on her calendar before this gallbladder stuff gets messy.
I also got a call from my surgeon's office, and naturally - they don't take my insurance. Unreal! So, I'm waiting for some other referrals to figure out who will be having the pleasure of yanking out my gallbladder for me. I can't believe my luck!! I mean honestly... I could walk into the ER and probably have it done without all the hassles, but that's not right... I'm just saying that it really shouldn't be that hard.
An Answer
While I was out running errands today - picking up John's birthday gift (it was a pre-order), going by Walgreens, going to the Library... etc... I got a call from Dr. W. As it seems - the gallbladder will be coming out. Finally, an answer! He's sent my test results over to my surgeon (the one that did my weight loss surgery) and an insurance referral... and I'll be seeing him on Friday at 3:30. From there we'll schedule my surgery.
His office didn't seem very confident that it would happen next week, so I might still be able to go on my trip with my sisters & step-mother to Knoxville, TN next Thursday - Sunday... but I am keeping them on standby because the sooner I can get this done the better.
They said that the recovery time is about a week - so I've got to get it done quickly so that I can be ready to go back to work as soon as possible. Or at least ready when time for teachers to return to work - if that works out for me.
I'm relieved that they've finally got an answer for me, and hopeful that things will get back to normal for me once this thing is out of my body!!
So in the meantime - I'm going to my sister-in-law's house tomorrow to help her get organized, and other than that I'll be reading library books and anything else I can find to entertain myself.
His office didn't seem very confident that it would happen next week, so I might still be able to go on my trip with my sisters & step-mother to Knoxville, TN next Thursday - Sunday... but I am keeping them on standby because the sooner I can get this done the better.
They said that the recovery time is about a week - so I've got to get it done quickly so that I can be ready to go back to work as soon as possible. Or at least ready when time for teachers to return to work - if that works out for me.
I'm relieved that they've finally got an answer for me, and hopeful that things will get back to normal for me once this thing is out of my body!!
So in the meantime - I'm going to my sister-in-law's house tomorrow to help her get organized, and other than that I'll be reading library books and anything else I can find to entertain myself.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Umm...WOW
We found this little guy yesterday in the yard... it appears that he's just learning to fly, and John picked him up with some gloves and carried him over to one of the open lots around our house. I found him again this evening on our patio furniture making a mess... but I think I've named him Paco. If I can keep him away from the dogs - he'll be fine and continue to grow.
After finding Paco tonight on the furniture out on the patio - I got a call from Maria, my best friend that is in the Navy. I haven't talked to her in a couple of months, but as usual nothing changes - we just pick back up like we talked an hour ago. It seems that she graduates from her Naval Officer training in August, but just found out today that they are sending her to Japan for her first tour.
Japan is considered a fully deployed area (combat area) and she'll be there for 30 months. Of those 30 months, she'll be out on a ship for 18 months. She got this assignment because she and her boyfriend asked to be deployed together, and in order for them to make it happen - this is what they have to do. So now she's got a million things to figure out over the course of a month - do they go ahead and get married now or do they wait until they come back... do they take their cars or let the Navy store them... where are they going to live... when do they need to report for duty?
You can see how for a type A personality - this can be a VERY stressful situation. I pray that she will be safe, and that this is actually a good experience for her. I pray that she'll be able to email and communicate with those of us here in the States as often as she is able... so that we all know that she is safe. I have a feeling that a web cam might be in my future - so that we can talk over Skype when we can.
The good news is that when she graduates - she'll be able to come home through Texas on her way to the next assignment, and she's planning on spending a day or so here with us!! I haven't seen her in almost 4 years... so I'm thrilled about that part! She also thinks that I could potentially fly to Japan to visit on a military cargo flight (which is very similar to our normal flights - just not quite as luxurious) and only have to pay the taxes which would amount to $20 to get to Japan!
So I am shocked and scared for her, but trying to be strong because we knew this was a possibility. It could be a lot worse, but it came as a big shock to her today - and was not what she expected. She thought that they'd be assigned to Virginia... which I can see how this option is quite a blow compared to Virginia.
Maria, we're here for whatever you need... and we're praying that you and (your) John are safe in your travels. We pray that you'll be able to safely complete all your assignments and duties, and come home to us as soon as possible. We love you, and know that Japan will be a better place for having you both there temporarily. If you need tastes from home - I'll become great friends with the Fed-Ex people... and send you refried beans or whatever you need. Pop Tarts? Hamburger Helper? Whatever other ultimate American products I can think of... HA! Maybe ya'll can send us some sushi in the meantime...
Yowzer
Ya'll - can I just say that my body has been through the wringer today?! My goodness - I had no idea what I was getting into with this HIDA scan stuff... but seriously - I don't wish that on anyone!
Let me start by saying - thank God for John - he decided at the last minute that he'd rather take me to the appointment in the event that I had a reaction to the nuclear medicine or just couldn't handle driving myself home... what a lifesaver!
So basically - the test takes 2 hours... about 30 minutes of getting your IV inserted at the beginning and then taken out at the end... then an hour and a half of laying on a table suspended in midair. I guess that the machine is taking pictures during the hour and a half, but after the first hour they give you another injection of this stuff called CCK.
CCK is apparently something that our bodies produce naturally, but the injection is basically an overdose of the chemical that causes your gallbladder to contract and empty all the bile into your intestines. So there I am laying on the table, and they start telling me about this stuff... and they say: "Some people have no reaction to the injection, some have nausea, and others have intense cramping... and then there are some people that have both reactions."
I'm laying there thinking - ummm... lets just not do it because the idea of this isn't exactly a great start to my week... - but there's no getting out of it when you're suspended in midair, and basically can't move anything other than your head. So they gave me the injection through the IV, and that's when things went downhill...
I have never felt nausea like that, and the cramps were nothing short of childbirth... okay not quite that bad, but just about some of the worst pain I've experienced throughout this ordeal. I believe it was even worse than the pain I felt when I went to the ER... They told me that the symptoms would only last a couple of minutes, but I swear they lasted the entire remaining 30 minutes of the test.
From there - I had my abdominal ultrasound which checked my gallbladder, liver, spleen, kidneys, and I think that's the entire list.... but maybe there is something else in there that they looked at... but after the HIDA scan ordeal... having someone put goo on your stomach & sides - then mash down into your organs is NOT fun!
So, after 2 and a half hours of testing - I was so thrilled to see John sitting out in the waiting room to take me home. He did take me to lunch on the way home since I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since the night before... and honestly all I wanted was some water... but we had a nice lunch and then I came home for a nap.
I don't know if the test caused the need for the nap or if it was a combination of that - and the fact that I haven't been sleeping lately... it's amazing how my mind just will not shut off these days! I lay in bed all night thinking about students that I might have, meetings for school teams that I might be on... problems with kids not completing assignments, my mentor teachers... if it has anything to do with a school... you name it and I'm constantly thinking about it. Is that weird? I don't know, but I am definitely emailing that principal on Wednesday to see if I can at least schedule a time to come talk to her when she does get back to the office!!
I haven't heard anything from the people that I interviewed with last week, so I think that I might have heard her correctly when she said that there were some other candidates to interview... I wonder if everyone goes through the same process that I did... because if they just had 2 or three other people to interview - that's 4 to 6 days of interviews... and not everyone has as open of a schedule as I did!
So that's about it - I'm just driving myself crazy, and hoping that the gallbladder situation is figured out in the next day or so...
Let me start by saying - thank God for John - he decided at the last minute that he'd rather take me to the appointment in the event that I had a reaction to the nuclear medicine or just couldn't handle driving myself home... what a lifesaver!
So basically - the test takes 2 hours... about 30 minutes of getting your IV inserted at the beginning and then taken out at the end... then an hour and a half of laying on a table suspended in midair. I guess that the machine is taking pictures during the hour and a half, but after the first hour they give you another injection of this stuff called CCK.
CCK is apparently something that our bodies produce naturally, but the injection is basically an overdose of the chemical that causes your gallbladder to contract and empty all the bile into your intestines. So there I am laying on the table, and they start telling me about this stuff... and they say: "Some people have no reaction to the injection, some have nausea, and others have intense cramping... and then there are some people that have both reactions."
I'm laying there thinking - ummm... lets just not do it because the idea of this isn't exactly a great start to my week... - but there's no getting out of it when you're suspended in midair, and basically can't move anything other than your head. So they gave me the injection through the IV, and that's when things went downhill...
I have never felt nausea like that, and the cramps were nothing short of childbirth... okay not quite that bad, but just about some of the worst pain I've experienced throughout this ordeal. I believe it was even worse than the pain I felt when I went to the ER... They told me that the symptoms would only last a couple of minutes, but I swear they lasted the entire remaining 30 minutes of the test.
From there - I had my abdominal ultrasound which checked my gallbladder, liver, spleen, kidneys, and I think that's the entire list.... but maybe there is something else in there that they looked at... but after the HIDA scan ordeal... having someone put goo on your stomach & sides - then mash down into your organs is NOT fun!
So, after 2 and a half hours of testing - I was so thrilled to see John sitting out in the waiting room to take me home. He did take me to lunch on the way home since I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since the night before... and honestly all I wanted was some water... but we had a nice lunch and then I came home for a nap.
I don't know if the test caused the need for the nap or if it was a combination of that - and the fact that I haven't been sleeping lately... it's amazing how my mind just will not shut off these days! I lay in bed all night thinking about students that I might have, meetings for school teams that I might be on... problems with kids not completing assignments, my mentor teachers... if it has anything to do with a school... you name it and I'm constantly thinking about it. Is that weird? I don't know, but I am definitely emailing that principal on Wednesday to see if I can at least schedule a time to come talk to her when she does get back to the office!!
I haven't heard anything from the people that I interviewed with last week, so I think that I might have heard her correctly when she said that there were some other candidates to interview... I wonder if everyone goes through the same process that I did... because if they just had 2 or three other people to interview - that's 4 to 6 days of interviews... and not everyone has as open of a schedule as I did!
So that's about it - I'm just driving myself crazy, and hoping that the gallbladder situation is figured out in the next day or so...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Weekend Recap
This has been a marathon day today - we started off with church of course, and we definitely had more kids this week in the nursery. I ended up being with the babies instead of the toddlers this week, but I got to play with a friend's baby, Charlotte, and had a wonderful time. Next week I'll be back with the toddlers, and I'll get to play with another friend's daughter, Lucy.
After church - we went out to lunch with the young adults group from church... it's a mix of a bunch of us at different stages of our young lives - from college to married without kiddos yet and everything in between. We had a lovely time and had some great Italian food in the process.
We came home and rested for a couple of hours, and got some laundry done... but from there we went to our new small group meeting. There were 5 couples there tonight and it was wonderful. We had a great time, a lovely dinner, and a nice short Bible study as well. I am really excited about our new small group - I think we're going to enjoy getting to know these couples in the coming weeks.
As I get ready for bed, and my tests at the hospital in the morning - I'll leave you with some photos of John's birthday celebration and the new car!
After church - we went out to lunch with the young adults group from church... it's a mix of a bunch of us at different stages of our young lives - from college to married without kiddos yet and everything in between. We had a lovely time and had some great Italian food in the process.
We came home and rested for a couple of hours, and got some laundry done... but from there we went to our new small group meeting. There were 5 couples there tonight and it was wonderful. We had a great time, a lovely dinner, and a nice short Bible study as well. I am really excited about our new small group - I think we're going to enjoy getting to know these couples in the coming weeks.
As I get ready for bed, and my tests at the hospital in the morning - I'll leave you with some photos of John's birthday celebration and the new car!
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