Is it the same?

For that last week I have practically had an obsession with watching all of those baby shows on TV, specifically the TLC network. I've always liked these shows since I've been fighting off the maternal urges for about 10 years now. The show I watch the most right now is Bringing Home Baby as they follow families with newborns for the first 36 hours at home, and then revisit them 8 weeks later. I have been watching to see how women who have c-sections deal with the pain AND the visitors AND the changes in their lives, oh yea AND the newborn.

Since I already know that if we have a baby, that I will have to have a c-section, I have been curious to see if the pain I experienced with my surgery is similar. Most of the women look like they are moving around a little more then I had been in the fist few days, but apparently the recovery either varies by person, or some of these women just don't want to really show what kind of pain they are in. And then there are some women who look just like I did, and that freaks me out, because going through this again WITH a newborn is kind of scary.

I suppose I have learned as much as I wanted to get out of these shows now as I am deleting more then I actually watch. I still find the stories very touching and interesting to watch the new parents figure things out, but I don't think I need anymore reminder of what has passed and what is hopefully yet to happen.

Seriously?

No more then 24 hours since the carpets were cleaned.... PUKE! Freakin' cat puke in the hallway right outside my bedroom door, saying GOOD MORNING!

And then a few hours after I find that, Eric spills Soy Milk as he sits in front of the TV with his cereal bowl.

I totally live with boys!

Executive Decisions

What's the point of being home on disability if you don't get to splurge a little and milk the pain for all it's worth?

Even though we do have a slight cash situation since I'm not getting my usual paycheck, I've make the executive decision to hire a house cleaner while I'm down and out, and today the living room, stairs and upstairs hallway carpets are getting cleaned.
We've talked about a house cleaner for a while now, since both of us are working and just can't seem to keep up on everything. And now that I'm home recovering, but still can't do anything, and I am a bit of a clean freak, I have to sit and stare at the cobwebs, the dust, and the dirty bathtub, so a hundred dollars seems worth my sanity. Even though I want everything to be clean, we still tend to be clutter leavers, where within a day or two of de-cluttering a space, there will inevitably be crap strewn about. I have no problem leaving stuff around, but that surface under the crap had better be clean! So we are hoping that by having a house cleaner come every other week, we will be motivated to keep the clutter to a minimum so we don't have such a mad dash to throw everything into a closet somewhere the morning they are due to arrive. The current plan is to just do this while I can't clean myself, but we'll see.
And the carpets, well are disgusting due to kitties with tender tummies, and a husband that likes to eat in front of the TV, and can't seem to get the food to his mouth consistently. For years he has had the argument that we are just going to replace the carpet with wood anyway (well, fake wood) so he said we could put the carpet cleaning money toward the new floor. Well, that was 3 years ago he started saying that because we can't do the floor until we do the kitchen remodel and we have been putting that off for those 3 years. He has reasoned with me about renting a Rug Doctor and doing it himself, and he did that once, but it just didn't work very well and the stains came back up within a week. The professional carpet cleaning is another 100 buckaroos, and well.... I got a few bonus' this year, so again with the executive decision.

Yes, I realize that executive decisions about money are not the best for a new marriage. I mean, Eric does get to say his opinion, and I weigh that opinion with my wants and desires, so ....

The house is now clean, and the carpets are back to a lovely light beige with only 1 or 2 light spots they couldn't get out. The only bad room in the house is the home office, as Eric's new business plus his organizational style has taken over that room. Perhaps hiring a professional organizer could be my next move.... Hmmmm.

Flexing my Power

So a few weeks ago I was complaining that it was a little chilly here and I was having to wear sweaters and using blankets at night. Well... so much for that. It has been getting warmer and warmer and today it will go into the triple digits. And the powers that be have declared today a Spare the Air day and a Flex your Power day.

Normally I would be taking advantage of the free public transportation triggered by the "Spare the Air" day on my commute to work, which is close to the coast so it is at least 30 degrees cooler. But instead I am home healing, and HOT! We're not supposed to run our A/C as much as possible, or run any major appliances (great excuses to pick up a book eh?)

So instead of sitting in my very warm home, my good friend Liz is coming to get me to meet up with Julie for a lovely lunch. And then later today, Eric will take me to a local day spa for a massage to help relieve my very stiff and spasming back. And then.... dinner with my friends and their families, this time adding on Dot. Oh, did I say dinner? well I mean a dinner of gelato! To help us all cool off on this VERY warm day!

Happy 2 Month Anniversary!

Today it has been 2 months since that whirlwind filled day that I got married. That day was such a daze, and went by so fast. I was exhausted and kinda loopy due to the fact that I had hardly any blood, since I had hemorrhaged the day before. We have been through some stressful and challenging events in the last 2 months, but they have only brought us even closer together.

Since I am home during the day as I recover from surgery, I finally felt up to a little trip out to the Social Security Administrators office to officially change my name. I had filled out the form 2 days after the wedding, but wasn't feeling up to the trip to the office by myself. I also wasn't quite ready to decide on my new name. Would I move my madden name to my middle name? But I love my middle name. Would I hyphenate? But I never though I'd ever want to do that. So I filled out the entire form and left that one line blank. This morning, as I grabbed all of the documents to the take to the SSA office, I stopped to fill in my new name. I kept my first and middle name, and took Eric's last name.

So as far as the SSA is concerned, I no longer have an EASY 3 letter last name which always put me at the back of the classroom, but now am at the front of the class with 7 letters, with a name that was munged by the Ethel Island folks, including throwing in a silent 'H'. I'll hit the DMV on Monday afternoon, and then will start the joys of changing all of my accounts too.

Happy 2 Month Anniversary Lovey! I am very happy to finally share your name.

Hospital Recovery

The first day of my recovery I again don't remember that much, but some important events happened. I finally got off of the pain med pump which was making me itchy all over, and would knock me out within minutes of me pushing the button. I was introduced to Percocet. Hellooooo Percoset! More flowers arrived. I was visited by my parents, and my friends Julie, Maya and Dorothy. The CATHER was removed. YAY! I used the bathroom all by myself, and the biggest... Eric took me for my first walk.

On the second day of my recovery in the hospital, I was moved to a different room, in a new nurses station area, and now, with a roommate (the first of 3).

I wasn't able to really focus on anything. TV, books, nothing really held my attention. But thankfully I had my lovely cell phone with texting, IM and email capabilities, so I could communicate with my friends and family. My thumbs got pretty quick if I do say so myself.... ok, not fast enough for IM, but it was still a good distraction.

By this time I was getting up to us the restroom, and Eric would walk me around as far as I could go. I still had these air compression sleeves on my legs to help prevent blood clots, but once I was walking regularly (day 3?) the nurses finally said I could take them off. I was eating a bit more, but for some reason, I wasn't asking for pain meds in the middle of the night, even though I was getting up 3 times a night to use the bathroom, and each night I would wake up in a puddle of sweat as I had a fever each night.

My doctor was still concerned about my continued blood loss especially since I lost so much during surgery, so now we were waiting to see if my body would mend itself so I could avoid a blood transfusion. She was also a little concerned about how tender certain parts of my belly were since there were some complications around my fallopian tubes during surgery. She showed me pictures of the fibroids and of my uterus as she HELD IT OUTSIDE OF MY BODY! She pointed to the tubes and all of the parts of it. CRAZY! She said that the report had come back on the fibroids and they appeared to be "normal" fibroids and no cancerous (YAY!), and together they weighed in at 1 kilo. She visited right when I was trying to eat breakfast, and can I tell you how quickly nausea can come on when you mix a high dose of narcotics, french toast and turkey sausage, and having your fallopian tubes pointed out to you in a picture? Thankfully they have drugs which quickly make the nausea go away.

By Day 3 I had a new roommate who was suffering from an infection after a hysterectomy 4 weeks earlier. We were the youngest people on the floor, and the nurses seemed to like to come in to chat with us. Odd. My appetite was definitely coming back, and I could stand a little TV watching here and there. I also finally picked up a book I had brought with me, but had no interest in all of the food magazines I would normally love. We were still waiting on my blood work to stop going down and the outlook of a transfusion was looking likely.

Day 4 came, and there was a dispute between my doctor and the on-call GYN on whether or not to give me a transfusion. The on-call GYN just so happened to be who saw me in the ER right after the wedding, so he knew I had had a slight reaction to that transfusion. My doctor knew this as well, but there was some confusion amongst the nurses depending on which doctor talked to who. After that was straightened out, the process to get the transfusion got underway. It takes HOURS to get that going, so by that afternoon, I had the crazy experience of getting Benedryl via IV which SUCKED! The Benedryl was a precaution in case there was a reaction to the transfusion, but mostly they were going to slow down the flow to really, really, slow. I then I got a new IV for the transfusion (my other one's were too old), and then the blood started flowing.
There was a nurse shift change before my 2nd unit started, and my normal evening nurse was now training a brand new graduate. Newbie got to give me her first transfusion, and got to take out my staples. She had lots of firsts and she did such a good job, except she was afraid to hurt me with the staples and would jump when I jumped or made a noise.
That night my young roommate was discharged, and within 45 minutes, I had a new roommate. This time an 83 year old woman who fell and broke her wrists, AND she was hard of hearing.
This was the longest night of all of the nights in the hospital. Thankfully I didn't have a fever this night, and I was asking for the pain meds much more regularly, but I wasn't sleeping because my roommate was having such a hard time with things. Our night nurse had a VERY heavy accent and was rather curt and even a little cranky from midnight to about 5am, and then she was a doll until her shift was over at 8am. But you take her accent, and her shortness, plus an old lady that just got out of surgery and can't hear well, and you get loads of confusion. I ended up calling the nurses when she needed something, communicating with them about what she was asking for, and would try to calm her and explain to her what the nurses were asking of her. She kept crying as she was used to taking care of her husband, not having people take care of her and she felt very helpless and scared. Her pain meds made her nauseous, and no one figured that out until her husband came the next morning. It was kinda a big mess, but thankfully was straightened out the next morning. Funny how she could completely understand her soft spoken husband.
Each day Eric would come to the hospital to walk me around as much as I could. He found that there were little courtyards on our floor so I could get outside and breath some fresh air. The nurses let him stay as long as he wanted to, and even offered to get him one of those chairs that turn into a bed. On that last night, they asked if he was going to stay the night! We had no idea they would even allow that! Good thing because he just might have, but really he needed to get home to get some sleep for himself. One really doesn't get that much rest in the hospital.

Day 5 I was discharged in the AM as the blood work that was being done every 6 freakin' hours taken by those really cute phlebotomist guys, was finally going UP! Eric came as quickly as he could to pick me up and take me home. That car ride was a trip though (ohhh... drugs!), and I felt every little bump, but man it felt good to be going HOME, no matter how much pain I was still in. (at least the pain was less then a few days earlier!)

Day of the Surgery

As you all know I was hungry! I wasn't due at admitting until 11:30am, and I hadn't eaten since the night before, and hadn't had anything to drink since 6am. I was pretty restless, and was antsy to get things rolling.
In order to stay away from the temptation of food, I stayed upstairs while Eric ate lunch. Magically we both lost track of time, and it was soon 11:15 and we tore out of the house. As we pulled up to the hospital I realized that I didn't have on a blood transfusion cross match bracelet I was not supposed to take off all weekend (but I had realized that the nurse put it on too loose and I was able to slip it off, shhhh!), so we had to run back home to get it.
Although I was a little late to admitting, my surgery wasn't scheduled for another 2 hours, so I still had plenty of time to sit in pre-op, getting my IV and hanging out with Eric in a lovely gown, hairnet and fuzzy hospital socks. A few more hours went by, and I saw people leave and come back to pre-op (it was also the post-op room), and I was there for the nurse's shift change and the new nurses were concerned why I was still there. Apparently the previous procedure went over, or started late, so my doctor was running behind.
Around 4pm I was meeting almost my entire surgical staff. My doctor, her surgical assistant, the surgical resident who was assisting and the anesthesiologist, all came to pre-op to meet with me and to each stay and chat for a few moments. It was so comforting and didn't feel sterile at all! (well clean yes, but not stuffy and scary).
Then it was time to be wheeled behind the doors Eric couldn't go beyond, and he kissed me one last time before I got to see my surgical staff. I just have to gush a little bit more about how friendly and great they all were. We were all laughing and talking about what was happening in such a way that took away the scariness of it all. As my doctor came in, the anesthesiologist gave me a light sedative and began stroking my forehead, while the team discussed the procedure. And with a few calming pets I was out!
The next thing I remembered was my doctor's voice telling me they had taken out 2 fibroids, one the size of a small orange, and the other the size of a baby's head (why they keep using that as a size reference I don't know). I asked if I still had my uterus, and she said yes. I said the catheter hurt more then the incision, so they gave me more drugs in my IV and ADJUSTED the catheter. OUCH! still hurt, more adjusting, more drugs, still hurt. They told me to hang with it for a while and maybe I'd get used to it. And then I was out again.
From talking to Eric and my parents, they were cool and calm for the first 2 hours of the surgery, because that is how long my doctor estimated. And then for the next hour and 15 minutes (apparently Eric was counting), they were a tad on edge. The doctor finally came out to them, showed them pictures of the fibroids (I had asked her to take pictures per Eric's request), and then she brought Eric back to wherever I was.
I vaguely remember talking to Eric a few minutes later, and telling him that they found 2 more fibroids, but I think I was confused because it was only 2. Apparently my parents were there as they wheeled me to my room and I talked to them, so they tell me. The next thing I knew I was in the room I'd be in for the next night, being told to push this button every 10 minutes for my pain meds. I don't remember much that night, but I remember it being really dark, and that I was pushing that button more then every 10 minutes and it was so frustrating when it wouldn't give me more drugs to take away the pain.

That night was full of dozing and fuzzy memories. I think I ate that night too, as I remember it wasn't very tasty. Oh and flowers were delivered from Eric's Cousin. The nurse said they arrived before I went into surgery, and she had been happily enjoying them.

So that was the day of surgery. Don't worry, each day won't have that much detail. I just wanted to try to get down as much as I sorta remember. Drugs do funny things to the memory.

I'm Home!

Hellooooooo!
Thank you all for all of your well wishes you've left me over the last week. I was able to check my email with my cell phone from the hospital and each time I heard from my blogging community, it made me smile!

I've been home for a few days now, and am finally feeling up to turning on the laptop. I didn't have the energy to chronicle my experience while in the hospital, but would like to attempt to do that over the next few days, so bare with me. I may get into too much detail, but what is a blog without the details, and what's MY blog without WAY too many details?

For now I will leave you with this bit of info.... The phlebotomists that work the graveyard shift at the hospital I was at are HOT and they all hit their mark on the first stick every time, painlessly. They also use very corny pick-up lines like, "Didn't I draw from you last night?", and "Oh no, I'm sure I did, I'd remember a vein like yours".
6am blood draws are always a little easier from cute, young men in lab coats.

Waiting...

Ok party people... I am so hungry.

Labs are done, my forms are filled out, my list of medication and supplements is complete, and Eric has his list of people to call/email.

The last load of laundry is in the dryer, my list of stuff to pack is sitting at the ready, and I have one more anti-microbial shower to take (scrub down with a special soap).

The dresser/closet project didn't get touched and I'm totally fine with that. Perhaps it's a project I can do while sitting on the floor in a week or so.

I bought a stack of books and magazines last night, the iPods are full of podcasts and music (yes I have 2, gifts from the current and previous employer, but since I don't have an AC charger, I need to take both, and Eric will take one home each night to charge), and Eric will bring me my laptop and a stack of DVD's tomorrow if I feel up for it.

I still have a few hours before I'm due at admitting so I'm trying to keep busy because damn.... I'm hungry!

Pre-Op for the House

In preparation for next week, I have been getting the house ready as well. Why on earth would I be worrying about the house at a time like this?
Well, I am the daughter of 2 packrats, and therefore I have packrat tendencies which drive me batty. I am also a neat freak, and I'm also a procrastinator. So what we end up with, are some rooms which I obsessantly make sure are clean (the bathrooms and kitchen), some rooms I'm overwhelmed by their clutter so I pretend I don't see it all especially when its not my crap (the home office), and some rooms where I have particular areas of the room that must be spotless where other areas are piled high with stuff (living room & bedroom).

So since I will be stuck at home for a few weeks, and I foresee times when I'd be staring at clutter which I may not be able to physically deal with and therefore it would upset me far beyond reason, I am deciding to go through that clutter now. Procrastination over.

Plus, I'm going to treat myself to hiring a cleaning service to come in to clean things like the kitchen floors and the bathrooms, so I really want to have that clutter under control.

So last weekend I went through all of my little spots where I stuff, pile, and throw stuff in the living room. I ended up with 2 trash bags and a small stack of papers (mainly wedding related). It took me all of an hour to go through probably 3 years worth of crap that I've just been making evil eyes at as it grew and grew.

And this weekend, I shall tackle my closet and dresser. Oh sure, most people put clothes INTO the dresser and hang clothes UP in the closet. But since the dresser is full of clothes that really don't fit anymore there isn't any room for the items I have since bought that do currently fit, and the closet somehow got overrun by stuff that just got thrown on the floor so I can't get INTO it anymore. So right now when I do laundry, or bring something into the room that should go into the closet or dresser, it either gets piled on top of the dresser or on top of the pile of stuff in the closet. (And yes, my wedding dress and Eric's suit is somewhere in the piles.)

This weekend will be full of being honest with myself. Honest about those jeans that I put aside because they don't fit but just MIGHT someday. Honest that the stash of button ups will likely never be worn again because really they too don't fit and the land of button ups, pencil skirts and suits is just not me anymore. And then there is my collection of chef coats... which may just go into storage because I love them and am not quite ready to give up that dream, plus they have my name on them so who at Goodwill will want those? But mostly they don't need to be taking up closet space anymore. And of course I also have those shirts which I have recently purchased, but because they fit and I really liked them, have worn and worn and must now admit that I should NOT be going to work in shirts with little holes in them.

Wish me luck! And wish the local Goodwills luck too!

A Call for Suggestions

Next week will begin what may be the most boring weeks I have spent for a long time. I mean, who doesn't want the opportunity to take off from work for up to 6 weeks, and to be told to not lift anything, don't drive, to lay there, to relax, to sit about like a lazy log and don't really do anything, ...oh and here are some narcotics to take on top of the not doing anything. Oh sure, sounds swell. But I'm a girl who needs to keep busy and to stay in control. Right when I can't, is when I want to take on the world. Yes, yes, some blues has been keeping me glued to the couch for a long time now, but I am so sick of it. I wanna get back out and do stuff. Go dancing, ride a bike, go backpacking, travel, oh just to get out of the stinking house (which sometimes I do think is stinky! I did mention I have cats... and a husband.)

So, since I can't conquer the world right away, I'm asking you, my blogging buddies, to share with me your wisdom, your experiences, and your knowledge of the world of books, movies, easy crafty things, and nice to your body activities.

I am making a list of books for the library. I'm bulking up our Netflix queue and bumping up the account to have more movies at a time. I am looking for knitting patterns to use up my stash. I will want to cook and bake, but I'm not supposed to lift more then 5 pounds so any light ideas are welcome (we'll see how long I stick to that rule. A bored girl craves cream cheese frosting and will need something to spread it on!). I may even FINALLY make some changes to the design of this blog.

Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted with an open mind and heart. I have a feeling, my laptop will be my best friend over the next month or so.

Summer? This is Summer?

SERIOUSLY!
It is August in Northern California and I'm wearing a sweater!

Wrong! This is so wrong!

In The Weeds

This past weekend, I Sat down to watch a movie I thought looked amusing when the trailers came out years ago, In The Weeds. It's about some 20-30 something year olds who work in a NY restaurant. All of the characters are pretty much stereotypes of NYC restaurant workers, Angry "I'm Perfect" Chef, aspiring Actors/Directors/Playwrites as waiters, Model Hostess, Non-committal Bartender, holier than thou owner and the stuck in a rut waitress/manager types. Since I tend to enjoy movies about food and the food business, I figured this would be right up my alley. Plus Molly Ringwald was in it, and that girl that plays Grey on Grey's Anatomy.

I threw in the DVD, with Eric at my side thinking this would be a fun little Sunday afternoon flick. Within 5 mintues Eric got up with no intention of coming back. I kept watching because it had to get better. But it just kept droning on... and I kept watching it drone on. The acting sucked, or the editing of the acting sucked, or maybe just that the whole thing sucked. But I kept on watching because it HAD to get better.

The movie being titled In The Weeds, you'd think that at least they would be able to portray what it was like to be in the weeds (basically means you are behind and things are getting out of hand). But no, these kids were going on smoke breaks, and only seemed to have a few tables if that. They were chatting, and doing unmentionable acts in the walk-in freezer and other various locations, they were eating (which is normal), and drinking (also normal), and carrying on with private conversations while on the floor, loudly. I at least figured they would be able to show a tiny bit of the craziness that a dinner service can include. The only familiar bit was when the pastry chef got behind and everyone was hounding her about their desserts.

I actually watched the whole thing with my finger hovering over the fast forward button, much like I do with the Tivo remote when I'm trying to watch something but I want it to take as little time as possible. But I just had to finish it. It HAD to get better.... it didn't.

I Love Egg!

In yesterday's post on Hard Boiled Eggs, my friend Dennis left a comment with a link to a very happy song about the love of EGG (not Eggs, just EGG). It appears to be a Korean little ditty, but I had to share it, as it totally brought a smile to my face. Apparently they have some annimated cartoons and they sell little egg character items that are collected. I really had to resist the urge to play it outloud in my office.

Go, listen, enjoy.
I Love Egg - Egg Song

FINISHED!

Yes, I'm a very slow reader, but I finally finished HP7 early this morning. Eric's alarm went off at 5am... and then 5:09am.... and after convincing him that really that was his alarm, I turned it off and got up myself. I only had a few more chapters to read after falling asleep on the book a few nights in a row, so I picked it up and finished it off this morning (showered, did 2 loads of laundry, and still got to work before anyone else on my team!)

I had already practically sobbed the night before and was amazed I didn't wake up Eric, and then again this morning brought more tears. I'll miss those kids, but somewhere in me I'm kinda glad its over.

Hard Boiled

Did you grow up eating hard boiled eggs? Or Egg Salad sandwiches?

I ate plenty of eggs as a kid. Sometimes I'd get a hard boiled egg in my lunch, and always after Easter, we'd have egg salad on toasted bread. Did you ever read the Francis books as a kid? Do you remember in Bread and Jam for Francis, she would get a hard boiled egg and a little salt shaker in her lunch? That is probably the main reason my mom got away with putting them in my lunch along with a little baggy of salt to dip the egg in. But I hardly eat them anymore.

On Monday, J was telling me about her and Maya making Egg Salad Sandwiches for lunch and then of course I just had to have one. So off to the kitchen I went to boil up some eggs.

I rarely boil eggs anymore, so sometimes I forget the exact timing of a hard boiled egg, so I still refer to my notes.
Oh sure, you're probably all totally questioning my cooking skills now. A hard boiled egg? Really? Didn't you go to Culinary School?
If you'd believe it, a hard boiled egg is one of the first things we learned in school, and then as part of our Senior Practical we had to cook the perfect boiled quail and chicken eggs. And yes.... some people failed and had to do it over, some multiple times. Myself included. The technique I now follow is not one our teachers taught us, I got this tip from one of my fellow students, which many of you probably already know, but it was a test saver for me... especially since you don't have to really watch the time so much.

The perfect hard boiled egg has a tender but solid white, a centered fully cooked yolk, and NO GREEN SULFUR RING on the yolk. The trick is to slowly and gently cook the egg, and then stop the cooking as fast as you can. To help keep the yolk centered, before putting them in the water, prick a hole in the fat end of the egg to release the air bubble.
Another tip... fresh eggs don't peel well. Use the oldest eggs you have (that aren't bad obviously).

This is how I boil an egg:

• Prick the eggs in the fat end with a thumbtack and put in a pot of cool water, with enough water to cover the eggs by 1 inch.
• Place on High Heat until the water comes to a gentle boil.
• Cover and turn off the heat.
• Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 12ish minutes (in school this was perfect because there was no watching the pot while you worked on other items for your dishes. I've heard of people letting them sit up to 20 minutes with no issues, others swear by 10 minutes exactly)
• Put the pot in the sink and run cold water, to displace the hot water.
• Add Ice to quickly chill the eggs thoroughly.

Voila! A Perfectly hard-boiled egg with NO GREEN GOO!

I know this isn't how my mom taught me, but that's how I do it. How do you boil an egg?


Photo Info: I didn't think to take a picture of the eggs I made, even though I was quite proud of them. It was VERY hard to find a photo of a hard boiled egg without the green film around the yolk, and I know this is how they were when I grew up, so I think most people accept it as part of the end product. I found this photo on slashfood.com, from a post they did on the perfect hard boiled egg, and they used pretty much the same method.