Reading Rocks!

First off, I must say that I'm NOT a reader. I loved it when I first started in Kindergarten and then in 1st and 2nd grade, it was still great and I did really well, but then I got behind in 3rd grade because I was in the hospital for a few weeks, and I never quite caught up since then. From then on, the schools always struggled where to place me, because I excelled in Math but struggled in Reading, so I was always bored when they put me in with the "slower" kids, but fell behind when they moved me with the "advanced" kids. I understand, but still hate that they lumped both skills together for placement.

So now as an adult, I tend to go in phases where I love to read, and then where it can't hold my attention and I'd much rather stare at a glowing box and have it tell me the story, or look at pictures in magazines, or read recipes in cookbooks. I swear I didn't pick up a book to read cover to cover for about 2 years until the last Harry Potter book came out, which I then proceeded to read as fast as I could, which for many took 1 day, but it took me at least a week.

But then with my recovery period of being stuck at home, I have gotten VERY bored with television and DVDs so I have happily turned to books. Grated yes, I am now back doing a few hours of work from home everyday so that is helping with some brain exercises, but when I'm not working I don't reach for the remote, I reach for a book. In fact, yesterday Eric kept coming downstairs for a break from his landscape design work in our home office, to find me working in the living room with the laptop perched on my lap (go figure), and he'd click on the TV. I'd usually keep working and glance up every few minutes, but when he'd go back upstairs, I kept having to ask him to please turn off the TV. To say the least, he was shocked, as I'm a total television junky.

Since I have been home, I have read 3 books. This may seem like a week's reading to many of you, but for me this would normally take me a few months. And last night, I picked up a new book, (Something Blue) and put it down, finished in one sitting. I've NEVER done that! Granted it was a sequel to the book I had finished the day before (Something Borrowed) so there was little character development needed, but I just plowed right through it, with a few breaks near the end to blow my nose and wipe away the tears. (I'm such a sap - the main character gave birth and got married)

Today after I work for a few, I'm picking up the sequel to the first book I read, which was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. My sister-in-law recommended the first book, and when I mentioned I heard there was a new book by the author, she shipped one out to me for my birthday. So I will start, Peony In Love today.

Read on folks! Read on!

So Sad!

At a local Six Flags, Discovery Kingdom (previously Marine World), a 2 year old giraffe died last night! There was a fire in the giraffe barn and one of the giraffes didn't have access to the outside pen and was trapped. They say he was overcome by smoke.

This brings up something in me that I have struggled with much of my life. I used to LOVE animal parks and zoos. I had the dream to be a whale/dolphin trainer. I researched the career, I figured out what school I wanted to go to, and where I wanted to intern at, and also wanted to get my Marine Biology degree to increase my knowledge. I started volunteering 2 nights a week at the Marine Mammal Center mainly working with Elephant Seals, CA Sea Lions, and Harbor Seals. That was when I was seriously considering becoming an Animal Health Technician (Vet Assistant) with a specialty in large animals. At the center I worked with the Vet from Marine World and was given the opportunity to intern there, so get more large animal experience. And this was about when I was stricken by my distaste for keeping animals captive for the main purpose of entertaining people.

Oh sure, there is always the point of education, and studying the animals, and I truly do believe that some of these parks are half-heartedly living up to that, but I am sure not all of them are. I don't know, maybe I was too effected by Free Willy, but every time I do go to one of these animal parks, I inevitably will cry at some point during my visit. Partly for the animals and partly for me not following my dreams.

So yes, I still go to these parks, but in the last few years I have only gone when my radio station is hosting a special listeners day, so I don't actually pay to get in. I do pay for food though, and I realize I am totally being hypocritical, so this is why I'm torn. I enjoy these parks, but I don't know if they are really a good thing.

The local park we have here is especially bad though. Originally, Marine World Africa USA (as it was named before it moved), was a rather large animal park with mainly only animals. There were some small kiddie rides, and games but that was it. It really did seem to be more about the animals. But then the park lost their lease on the land and moved to a smaller location, they lost the Africa USA part of the name, but still had some of the non-marine animals. The new park wasn't nearly as grand, and within a few years it started struggling. And then Six Flags came in to save the day. They expanded the park into the parking lot to add huge roller coasters, and started adding in rides in any little area they could find. The animals started showing stress, and getting sick, and the energy of the park completely changed. The giraffe area always particularly upset me, because it was really small and pretty bare.

I still really struggle with how I feel about zoos and animal parks. Perhaps I need to go back to volunteering to ease some of my guilt.

Hint Hint

Today I received a forwarded email from my mother-in-law. She originally sent this email to her sister, and then apparently decided to forward the same email to her two kids and her kids-in-law.

... Still have not heard from either of my kids. I am going to do like Leona Helmsley and leave my fortune to my dog. When you see the end coming for me, please go out and buy me one. Have a great day!

I think someone should give this woman a call.

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.

Effing

Color me surprised. As I'm getting a little further into HP7, I've noticed that my beloved Ron, Hermione and Harry are SWEARING! Well, not really swearing, but a watered down version by saying, "Effing" blah blah blah.

I was mostly taken back that I had probably already passed a number of instances of this when I realized it. How sad is it that I didn't even notice that they were swearing? A kids book, and they are swearing! Of course they are supposed to be 17 years old at this point, and most 17 year olds swear a little, eh?

Did any of you catch it?
Do you consider it swearing when THE word isn't used?
Would you mind if your kid read that?
And yes, I realize there is death and murder going on around the non-swearing, but for some reason the non-swearing is bugging me more as I don't think it was really needed for the story. Prude? possibly.

Not how I want to wake up on Monday morning

Have you ever had one of those dreams where even though you KNOW it's a dream, the emotions from the dream totally carry over into your morning?

Right before I woke up this morning, I had a dream that I had forgotten my passport at home when I was going on a trip to England. My mother had just dropped me off at the airport, and I didn't realize my mistake until she had already left. Quickly getting on my cell phone, I started calling my mom and my husband to see if they could bail me out and get me my passport in time for me to catch the next flight, which I had already switched to (for only $36! My dreams are always incredibly detailed). No one was answering their phones and I was stuck. My own mistake but I was fulling blaming it on my loved ones for not being there when I needed them.

I woke up this morning very irritated with myself, my mother and my husband. All for actions that happened IN A DREAM! I needed a few minutes to calm down before I could greet my husband on this very lovely Monday morning.

What flavor are you?

Since Ice Cream is often on my mind and this weekend is gonna be another warm one, I thought this quiz was a pretty appropriate way to start the weekend.

You Are A Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Girl

Creative. Expressive. Unique.

What Flavor Ice Cream Girl Are You?

Last year Mint Chip was my flavor of choice. Couldn't get enough of it, but mostly in milk shakes. This year? I've been sticking with my old time favorites of Butter Pecan, Pralines N'Cream, and recently I've been throwing in the novelty, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. If it's gelato we're talkin' then I'm all over the Hazelnut. But going out for ice cream lately seems such a chore when there has been chilled Watermelon in the fridge. Mmmmmm....

On a separate note, nothing super grand composition wise, but I've caught up on my quest to keep my Flickr account up to date. I got a few months behind, but I think we're pretty much caught up now. I threw in a few 'borrowed' shots of the wedding from family and friends, since you know... I was busy. Feel free to check it!


Have a loverly weekend all!

Cucumber Salad

Thankful to finally have a kitchen back after getting all of the wedding business out of it, I want to COOK!

Since it has been hot, I've been wanting to grill, so I cheated and bought some pre-marinated Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) from Trader Joes. It isn't exactly correct per what I've had at Korean restaurants but it's still tasty and very tender. To accompany the grilled meat, I of course had some Kim Chee on hand and added my own take on a Korean Cucumber Salad.

It was spicy, crisp, sweet and cool, and went perfect with the heat and sweetness of the grilled beef.

Korean 'inspired' Cucumber Salad
yields about 6 cups

1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Chili Paste (Sambal Oelek) - adjust for the desired heat level
1 tablespoon soy sauce
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds - toasted
1 English Cucumber - washed, peel on, julienned on the bias
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 Carrot, julienned
1/2 small Diakon Radish, julienned

1. Mix together the vinegar, chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 10 minutes. Best if left to marinade a few hours.
4. Toss occasionally while marinating and again right before service.
   

This recipe made about 6 cups, which would normally be plenty for 4 people as a side, but Eric and I polished it all off in one sitting (of course).

Wordless Wednesday - THE CUT

Making some changes

I'm considering changing things up a little around here. Taking comfort, emotions and effort into consideration, my closet and appearance may be taking a turn soon.

For the past 6 months or so, I have been restricted to how I cut and color my hair, based on how I wanted to wear it for the wedding. My hairstylist worked with the woman doing my wedding day hair so there was no bang trimming or fun coloring to be done leading up to the wedding.

But today... today I get to do whatever I want (cut wise). Go short? Layers? Bangs? Or go for my basic slight trim and let it hang there look. It's finally to a length that I think is fun, young and kinda sexy, but do I hear the words of Stacey and Clinton in my ears? "Age Appropriate" Is it flattering? Appearances do matter. "Dress not for the job you have, but the job you want". Shouldn't I be taking some time on my appearance every morning, or should I continue with my run out the door with wet hair look.

Since the wedding I have been taking a few moments each day to apply a bit of make-up, since I really liked the look my make-up artist gave me (and I now own some of the make-up). Not much, but just a touch to feel a little more girly. Since I don't really dress very girly, I thought a little something would be nice. The guys I work with have finally gotten used to it and no longer ask, "Are you wearing make-up?" So I know change will be noticed, but it won't be made to be too big of a deal after a week or so.

I'm also considering changing up my daily uniform of the jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops too, since the jeans don't really fit anymore with my temporary bump, and I've just been feeling sort of dumpy since I have to wear larger sizes. Moving to maternity pants is depressing, but the saggy jeans are equally upsetting. So, I'm thinking of moving to skirts. It will be shocking I know, but I can still get away with the t-shirts and flip flops. Baby steps!

So what about you out there. Have you ever made that conscience effort to make a change in your appearance? Did it stick? Was it noticed?

Staying awake

As I mentioned earlier, I'm sleepy. I'm REALLY sleepy. I'm sleepy enough that I am considering having some coffee, and I RARELY drink coffee and certainly not caffeinated. Except I've had a tummy ache since this morning, so coffee would be bad. So I am considering soda or a red bull, but again with the tummy pain. Luckily it's not "Tummy Action" as one of my co-workers calls gas and indigestion, it's just a general tummy ache.

Other then banging my head on the desk, or taking a walk (didn't work), does anyone have any tips to staying awake which will be gentle on my tummy?
Something which will preferable get me through a 4pm presentation/meeting and the drive home, and does not involve actually taking a nap.

Thanks!

Weekend Wrap-up

I'm sleepy.
I need another day off this week so I can sleep in. Luckily I have a pretty flexible work schedule, so I was able to come into the office around 10am. But man I am beat!

I had a most lovely weekend though. Nothing too exciting, but Eric and I finally got to see a full movie, actually 2, at the drive-in. I don't know if this is standard, but our drive-in shows double-features, so we went to see Harry Potter and Ratatouille. Sadly I slept through the middle of Ratatouille but I think this is to be expected when you are sitting in your car, in a reclined position especially when the movie began at 11:30pm. I'll watch it again when it comes out on DVD I'm sure. After all it is a movie about food and cooking!

I also finally did some cooking of my own this weekend. Our kitchen has been a little messy since the wedding... ok, since before the wedding, but everything in there has some tie to the wedding, mainly gifts I can't seem to find a home for. I have a very hard time having the desire to cook when the kitchen isn't spotless. I've been wanting to, but have had less of a desire to clean then I have to cook. But this weekend I bit the bullet and dove in. On Saturday I made a lovely lunch of grilled Korean Beef (Bulgogi) and a cucumber salad (recipe to follow later), and on Sunday I taught Eric how to make Fresh Spring Rolls. He had a blast, and was amazed at how easy it was.

While we were out running errands on Sunday, we had to buy a new water glass and bowl for the cats. Cosmo has a case of kitty acne where his bottom lip swells up really big and he basically gets a huge zit, and has now been given the nickname of 'zitty kitty'. One of the possible causes of kitty acne is when they drink/eat out of plastic bowls. Since we are weak and have given in to the cuteness of the cats drinking out of a "people glass" we have given them a designated glass on the bathroom counter, as well as a normal kitty bowl downstairs. They had an old Tupperware tumbler upstairs, but now they have a fancy blue glass from Tuscany, and a large soufflé ramekin on the floor. Lucky fancy kitties!

By Sunday night I still hadn't cracked the spine of the final HP book, so finally, at 10:30pm Eric had rolled over to go to sleep so I got to lean back to finally enjoy the last book. Around 11pm I woke up with the book on my face at page 8. I think this is going to be a slow read for me. Can't wait until next weekend so maybe I can get to page 10!

Status: IN TRANSIT TO FINAL DESTINATION

Ok. Ok. Maybe I'm getting excited now.

I thought about staying up and in line at a bookstore last night, but then I'd have two! So now I must sit at home and wait. I think I might leave a note on the door for the UPS man as I can't just sit around ALL day. He better just leave it!

The worst part is that I live about 2 blocks away from the UPS depot, and I know those trucks filled with books that must be delivered today, have already left (they usually all hit the highway around 8-9am). So now I must wonder, will my book be at the top or the bottom of the stack.

Perhaps some floor scrubbing will distract me...


**Update: It is now 4pm, the bathroom floors are scrubbed, laundry is done, and the book is here. I'll catch ya in a few days!

Open Weekend

How odd.
I seem to be at a loss for words.
No whining, or complaining, or worry.
No witty stories, or anything to report on.

Just looking forward to a weekend with no firm plans.
Maybe a hike.
Maybe a movie.
Maybe some reading.
Maybe some baking or ice cream making.
Maybe even some house cleaning. Ah yes, some cleaning would be good. Ohhh, even some down on your knees, scrubbing the floor corners of the bathroom might even feel rewarding and therapeutic. We also have some wedding gifts that haven't quite found a home yet, so maybe if we get them put away, we might find the kitchen table and might even EAT at it!

Darn it. I liked it better when the weekend had no plans.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! At least here, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful one!

Pre-op

I had my pre-op appointment yesterday and I think it went pretty well. I got to ask the questions I needed to ask, we both gained even more confidence in my doctor and her abilities, and were able to leave the appointment actually looking forward to the surgery date and getting to the healing part. She explained the hows and the whys and what to expect all along the way. She was real, and honest, at the same time compassionate to our worries and desire for future fertility.

Can I tell you how oddly "normal" it is becoming to be in such a compromising position? No longer do they need to say "Skoot. Skoot. Just a little further..." and I think Eric is even getting used to seeing me in "that" position and having a doctor's head "down there". He even handled hearing about the details of the procedure, where he would have likely passed out a month ago.

I also talked to her about how uncomfortable I have been and she said there isn't really anything I can do about it. I haven't been able to sleep through the night, my pants don't fit (maternity pants are an option but totally depress me since... I'm not pregnant), I have to pee ALL the time, the constipation, the heartburn, OH the HEARTBURN! I don't know if this is like some of the physical aspects of a pregnancy without the morning sickness, but it kinda sucks. I'm not looking forward to the pain of recovery, but I am totally looking forward to how I'll feel afterwards. The surgery date has moved around a bit, and this final date is about a month away, and I can't wait!

The most difficult thing was actually hearing her say I will never experience labor. Sure hearing the risks of infection, blood transfusions and hysterectomy were there too, but I had already fully known those. Due to the surgery compromising my uterus, if I were to get pregnant and make it to the 3rd trimester, they will schedule a premature c-section. How premature would depend on how everything is going. Multiple doctors had talked to me about having an early c-section because of the fibroids even without the myomectomy, so I KNEW about it, but no one ever said, "You will never go through labor".

So why did hearing it, in those words, finally get through to me?

I'm not really upset, more disappointed and am coming to terms with it the more I think about it. Better to know now then to have it be a surprise and an emergency, eh?
I've described how I feel in a bazaar way:
It's kinda like my desire to go to Las Vegas. I've never been, and even though I don't gamble, I hate the smoke, I don't really want to pay the prices, I still want to go... to experience it.

Plenty of women have c-sections, and after having one they often deliver all future babies the same way. Do they feel like they've missed out on some amazing part of being a woman and a mother?

Commuter Love

I am casually sitting on a crowded commuter train with people standing in the aisles. The trains are like this every morning, but usually they are pretty silent aside from the rumble of the train moving on the tracks and the occasional announcement of an upcoming station. This morning I get to sit next to 2 people arguing in the aisle and they don't even know each other.
As any regular commuter on this line knows, you kinda get over people being in your personal space. The trains jostle everyone around, people stumble, people with backpacks on forget how much space they take up, we're all in this together and USUALLY you hear apologies and everyone helps each other out.

On this morning, a lady stumbles and steps on a man's foot with her heels. He is startled, rubs his foot and says, "Man, those heels hurt!" And so it begins. She calls him a 'baby', he spouts off about manners, she says she almost fell, would he rather her fall? The man wants her to acknowledge his pain and maybe she could apologize, she tells him to drive if he can't handle crowded trains. This continues for about 5 minutes. Then all is quiet again. Oh but then a seat nearby opens up. She turns to him and says, "Hey baby, you can go sit down now". And thus it starts up again. He's trying to ignore her, but she actually gets in his face to yell at him, bending down when he does, walks around him when he turns away.
As we finally pull into the first San Francisco station, they both appear to be trying to get off the train. She turns around snarling at him, and she runs into the door and bangs her head on a metal bar. He's not the only one to smile as half of the car catches what just happened. And now, she's yelling at him again, following him down the platform running around to yell at him to his face. As the train pulls out of the station, the people in the car who had the pleasure to catch the show, start chatting about what just happened. "Someone's having a bad day!" I say.

These two people appeared to be professional adults, at least by their dress. They looked to be your average financial district worker who just want to get their work week started. I'm sure neither got up this morning with the desire to piss someone off today but they did. Whether intentional or not (well, she was obviously intentionally workin' it). But they aren't the only ones affected by their actions. We all had to witness it. I wanted to get up to leave but there was no where to go. I wanted him to leave so she would shut up, but she egged him on to move to another car, so of course he couldn't. I've seen a lot of different behaviors on these trains in the 8 years I've been commuting, but the audacity of this encounter really takes it.

Pre-Ordered!

Final Book... Pre-ordered!
I didn't know if I really wanted to wait for a package to come to my door at some point on Saturday, but did I really want to wait in line at Costco or a busy bookstore? Nope! So instead I shall sleep in, and await the knock at my door.

I'm actually not nearly as excited about this book. Perhaps too much time has gone by since the last one. Perhaps I've just lost interest. Perhaps I'm in denial that this is the end. But I'm sure as soon as that last book is in my hands I'll get all swept up in the madness once again. Crazy isn't it?

McDonald's effect on me

When I was about 5 or 6 years old, McDonald's ran a seat belt campaign, where you'd get to check off a box on a card for every time you put on your seat belt, and when the card was full (about 25 boxes) you could turn in the card for an ice cream cone or a box of cookies. I remember it was such a special day when mom would buy me a box of those Ronald McDonald and Friend's shaped cookies or a soft serve cone. I think secretly she liked to get me the cookies because she could snag a few, but the cone was ALL MINE. So being the kid who would do anything for a sweet, I was VERY excited about this little card mom showed me.

When I was little we never wore seat belts in the car. In fact, the seat belts for the back seat were under the seat, and once this card of boxes came into my life, I insisted they be pulled out. With the power of this card, I became a tyrant to the seat belt rule in the car. Every time we were in the car I'd make sure everyone had on their seat belt.

After about ohh... 5 days, I had filled up that card. Mom took me on many errands so I had many opportunities to make a habit of this new rule. And still to this day, the car does not leave PARK until everyone in the car has a seat belt on. So even though I've had many a cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, french fries and ice cream sundaes since then, I still remember that day I walked up to the counter with my full card in hand to get my ice cream. I guess McDonald's had some good effect on me as a kid.

Do it yourself dryer repair

Steps to do it yourself dryer repair when you have no idea what is really wrong and are flying by the seat of your Internet connection:

1. Get husband to pull dryer out of laundry closet (space is tight in these little condos)
2. Do lots of Internet research
3. Get totally overwhelmed by diagrams found on the net and go downstairs for some breakfast and just a little bit of TV watching (ok, more like an hour or two)
4. Open tool box husband has left for you to find VERY few tools that are helpful for this project and swear openly (since husband is gone for the day WITH the key to the tool sheds)
5. Go back downstairs to process the complexity of this task with a cool drink
6. Ok, bite the bullet and start taking the thing apart per the AWESOME picture slide show and step by step instructions found on http://www.applianceaid.com
7. Get out the vacuum because um... GROSS! (I meant to take a picture but was too disgusted and just started vacuuming). You know that lint trap thingy.... It doesn't catch it all
8. Research what parts to buy and the cost of said parts
   
9. Research how much it would cost to buy the new dryer you want
10. Call husband for his opinion on the difference of the cost of the parts vs. a new dryer, factoring in the fact that really you don't know exactly what is wrong and are only guessing and may end up breaking the dryer even more
11. Grumble at the fact that husband is not answering his cell phone or returning your call
12. Resign to the fact that your alone in this decision and off to the parts center you go.....
13. Discover at the parts store that they sell a lovely discounted dryer repair kit, DRAT now we're saving even more money
14. Decide that waiting for husband would be smart due to lack of tools and third arm
    
15. Have a cocktail
16. Show husband all of the diagrams and parts and read him the directions, because you know he won't read them himself and after all you went through all of this hard work to get the project this far
17. Assist husband in dryer repair (see, now it's a team effort so he feels special too)
18. Turn it on.... Still making noise, yet now a slightly different one but still bad, like neighbors will be calling us any minute bad. (quiet little YIPEE! and silent planning of when you can be home for the new dryer to be installed) Oh but wait... husband has an idea, just let it run to see if it "works itself out"
    
19. Husband's idea works
20. Quietly start planning what to do with the savings

In the end we replaced the Belt Drive, Idler Pully and the Support Rollers. Parts $31 + a half day of labor vs. New Machine for $400 + delivery + take away of old machine + the ever present taxes. So I guess we saved about $500 and gained the knowledge of the simplicity of the dryer design and inner workings. Fine, Husband was right, and the dryer seems to run better then it has since we've owned it.
Perhaps the stove/oven/microwave combo thingy will go out next, or maybe the dishwasher. But first we will tackle the upstairs bathroom faucet. We've been without hot water up there for over a month.

Dryer Troubles

Being the multi-tasker that I am, I often run the washer or drying while we sleep. The main benefit being that it is the coolest time of the day so the dryer isn't making the upstairs sweltering hot.

Well last night we were laying in bed getting ready for a lovely night of sleep, when suddenly there was a loud bangady bang coming from the laundry closet. It sounded just like when the washing machine gets out of balance, except I wasn't running the washing machine.... it was the dryer.

CRAP!

Just to make sure we really killed it, we tried to turn it on again, and yup, it's dead.

Deep down I've been wanting it to die as it came with condo, and it's old and only has one setting.... REALLY FREAKIN' HOT! I'm sure Eric won't let us simply go out and buy a new one, so I'll look into repairing it. It sounded like a belt has come loose, so it may be a simple repair, but I'm not going to call a repairman as I'm betting that will cost more then the machine is worth. I guess I'm going to be putting on my handy-chick hat this weekend.

Super Sweet 16

This past Sunday I found myself blowing a perfectly fine Sunday afternoon on the couch, again. What had me glued to el'glowing box this fine day you ask? Well a marathon showing of the Top 10 Most Blingest My Super Sweet 16's, followed by a really BAD movie based on the same premise, all on the master of all great television channels..... MTV.

Once I got past the shame of just what I was wasting my time doing, I then got to the questions of why do these spoiled brats demand such extravagant parties and gifts? Why do they have such a sense of entitlement? And why do I find it so fascinating to watch? Does the show actually prompt the bratty behavior or do these kids really act like this without the cameras?

Now I myself was a spoiled brat, I admit that. I did not obey my parent's rules, they didn't really enforce them, and I pretty much did what I wanted to. But I wasn't like this. I didn't cry when my mommy gave me a $45k car on my birthday instead of at my party. No, I had to work for my car, I paid for it myself, but my mom did pay for the insurance. I had my own phone line, you know a land line, not a cell phone. I didn't get an allowance because I worked, but if I did my chores my mom paid for that private phone line. All $14/month of it.

If you have more to do in your life then watch MTV, as I should, but I seem to still watch the drivel, you may not know what My Super Sweet 16 is. Basically it is a show, documenting the planning of Sweet 16 parties for the rich and bratty. Sometimes they are 15th or 18th birthday parties, but they all follow one theme... see how much your parents love you by how much money they spend on you.

I can't remember what I did on my 16th birthday, but I do know it didn't involve a car, a performing celebrity, a couture gown, catering or any sort of hall rental. I likely worked that day, and maybe hung out with some friends. Probably had some pizza.
Do you remember what you did for your Sweet 16?

More then meets the eye

Yesterday my company sponsored a little movie outing. Being the geeks that we are, we went to see 'Transformers'. Oh sure, the company was also sponsoring a sneak preview of the new Harry Potter movie as well, but that one was for customers only. HOW SUCKY!

Even though I wasn't excited about seeing a moving about alien robots who can take the form of vehicles, I went anyway since I actually really missed being part of something bigger then me and my living room couch. I of course asked if I could go to the Harry Potter movie instead, but I was encouraged to stick to the plan and leave the customers alone. Plus they might ask me work related questions and what fun is that at the movies?

I grew up with an older brother and there were plenty of days were I was out in that dirt pile with him pushing hot wheels around, and of course he had a few transformers in the mix. I know the theme song to the cartoon from back in the day, so we must have watched it. And I know the general premise to the storyline... yes, yes, I am a girl geek.

Well, surprise surprise.... the movie was pretty fun. Sure the plot was hokey, and the 2.5 hour run time was a little long, but it was actually pretty entertaining, in a geeky, throw back to the 80's sort of way. I think filling the theater with 80 of my brainy, co-workers also gave the mood of the theater a care free, go ahead and make comments if you want, light hearted fun time, sort of feel. As in all action flicks, there was the obligatory boy gets girl bit, which was totally forced. There were some cool special effects, some bad humor bits, some pretty funny ones too, and the closing 15 minutes were full of cheese. Mostly the movie was entertaining, but I was disturbed by the attack and military involvement in the middle east, and then the later attack and military action in a city setting. Although the whole premise of the movie was VERY fictional, seeing the military sequences were a little too close to home. At least the extras who were running around screaming in the city were REALLY fake and poorly done, so that dumbed up the realness of it.

And of course at the end of it all, all of the guys I saw the movie with were dissecting the details of the movie the whole bus ride back to the office. I wouldn't be surprised if the discussion continues today in the office.

I don't know if I'd pay money to see it, but I'm glad I went.

Surgery fun

I received an email from my doctor late last night, ohhh at 12:45AM. Why she is responding to email at that time of night is beyond me, but I am LOVING this whole email your doctor business. I love that I can write down all of my thoughts, and then they reply and I can re-read it as much as I need to, and can forward it to Eric so he can read it to so there is no mis-understandings or mis-interpretations. (Eric tends to not hear the whole message, but I think we all do that sometimes).

So my doctor is trying to schedule my surgery earlier then she had thought she could. I guess the doctors rotate surgery days and they have these days scheduled way in advance so when I last talked to her she knew she didn't have an opening until late August, and now she is trying to add a surgery day to her rotation to get me in earlier. Kinda scary, and kinda a relief.

Now I am trying to figure out how to apply for a medical leave and Short Term Disability, and coordinate my vacation days in there too. Since my company was recently acquired, the few HR reps that we have on-site are still learning the new company policies. This is the downfall to the big company. I can no longer just walk downstairs to have an HR rep walk me through the process. Oh no, all I get from them is a web address to go read and attempt to apply online. JOY!

Back to work

BUMMER DUDE!

Today I am back to the grind. Back to the 2 hour each way commute. Back to sitting at a desk all day, in a little room filled with brainy engineering men. Back to eating out for lunch, back to following email, and meetings and having to watch the clock. Sadly this also means no more naps, or TV, or eating dinner in my PJ's, or being able to go kiss my Lovey anytime I want to.

I suppose I will be able to get back into the swing of things pretty quickly after 3 weeks away but first I need to get my barrings and figure out all that has change.

My little company that I left a few weeks ago was acquired while I was gone. This wasn't a surprise, it was all planned out, but still things move fast in this industry, and even though I kept up on email while I was out, I'm still spending a ton of time this morning talking to people and trying to figure out where to dive back in.

Do you think anyone would notice if I were to go take a little nap this afternoon? This is the most activity I've done in weeks and I'm pooped!

Watch out for Kittens!

I live in a townhouse/condo complex with a lot of turns, twists and round-abouts in the road leading into and through the complex. I can only assume they put in such a windy road to cause people to drive more slowly. Well of course people still take the turns as fast as they can, and there is one particular turn which worries me the most.

This turn we call the kitten crossing, as twice a year, there is at least one litter of feral kittens who hang out at this corner. They cross the two lane road right at the turn, darting out from the cover of ivy on one side and a rose hedge on the other.

Thankfully I have never seen an injured kitten, but it just breaks my heart every time I do go by to see them playing in the sun, or their little heads poking out from under the roses.

(I tried to get a picture of them, but they are so darn fast!)

Does Marital Bliss Sound Like This?

So umm.... since we got married, Eric has been rather..... gassy. Not your normal occasional toot, but down right fraternity competition grade, little bit juicy sounding, forced gross.

Now I'm no prissy girl who thinks that normal bodily functions don't exist or should never happen in my presence, but this particular level of fowl behavior is new and unwanted. Granted I do tend to be a tad more sensitive to such matters after a visit with his sister, as she is of the type who don't appreciate a good belch or anything of the like, but even he admits this is beyond anything he's experienced.

I posed the question tonight, "Were you just waiting for us to get married for this to "come out"?"

Of course the question was a joke, as we are pretty "open" about things like this, but COME ON! He claims it's all the fruit he's been eating, especially the plums we keep bringing home from my parents. We're going on 2 weeks here people and I think it may be time to slip a little Beano into his morning cereal.

Duck, Duck, GOOSE!

On Tuesday, I received a call from my new doctor to tell me that one of the doctors in her group had a cancellation and I could have my surgery on Thursday.... as in today! I was rather taken back and said I felt it was too soon as long as she felt it wasn't necessary RIGHT NOW! She thankfully agreed and said she too would feel more comfortable if I had the opportunity to have a few exams and meetings with whomever my surgeon would be.

And then I posed a question to her which she kinda of weaseled out of before when I was in her office. "If your sister needed to have this surgery, and you were unavailable, who would you want to operate on her?"
Like the good HMO provider she is, she said that this is a very common procedure and that all of the physicians in the department are very capable and have plenty of experience with this surgery.
This is the exact response I expected but was still a little frustrated. I understand that being a part of this particular HMO that they play as one big team. This is exactly why my parents left this HMO when they were pregnant with me (and my twin who didn't make it), as my mother was 41 at the time. They paid for me out of their own pocket so that they would get the individual attention they felt this high-risk pregnancy deserved.

So then what do I do now? How does one "pick" their doctor/surgeon?

I actually really liked the doctor who saw me in the ER, but he works out of a hospital which is a little further away. Not THAT much further away, but just a little. He and his wife have been through multiple births and miscarriages with fibroids, so he had that personal touch and was able to talk to Eric in a way that he really heard what he had to say.

And then the doctor who I am currently with is nice, is the most requested doctor in her facility and seemed to have a great balance between honesty and bedside manor. I loved that she called me personally to talk to me about the surgery opening, and although she is forced to keep within bureaucratic rules, I still feel a trust with her.

OY!

Dear Netflix,

I'm sorry we have been neglecting you. I'm sorry the last 2 movies you sent to us have sat there in their beautiful red envelopes without a thought to when we might enjoy their contents for the last um.... 3 months. We haven't forgotten about you, we have just been busy and I know that is no excuse to turn your back on a good friend like yourself who is always right there and waiting to quickly send us a new batch of fun.

Sure, you might have heard that we went out to a movie yesterday, and you are probably dancing about all smug, knowing that our plan was foiled by the one thing that a Drive-in needs. But we needed to get out of the house. If just for a few hours.

In an attempt to make things right, we sat home tonight and enjoyed all that you had sent us those few months ago, and are eagerly awaiting what you might send us next.

Please forgive us.
Your loyal friends,
-Cherry & Eric

Maybe we should just stay home

So tonight we decided it was time we left our house to do something. Something as a couple. Oh! I know! We'll go to the movies!

We never go to movies. Ok, not never, but very rarely as we are cheap :-) so we only go if it is something I think will loose that special something by watching it at home. Also, if I go to the movies I'm going to want to by popcorn which I will eat about 5 handfuls of and then feel ill, and of course the candy is tempting, maybe even one of those hotdogs that roll around on those metal rollers... MMmmm! I do especially like the communal condiments.

But tonight, a little sick of the pitty party, we ventured out to our local Drive-In theatre which recently re-opened after many years of sad times. We got there on-time, got all situated and as I went off to get me some guaranteed heartburn, Eric RAN home to get the new super lightweight folding camp chairs we received as a wedding present. No really....he RAN home. Within 25 minutes he was back with 2 chairs and his skateboard in hand (he's so cool!).

I of course was already feeling ill from the popcorn, so I handed it off, set the radio to the correct frequency and was ready for some "Ratatouille". So we thought.

About 10 minutes in (sadly 10 boring minutes, although I was kinda into the whole rat who speaks culinary terms thing, but still a little slow to get people into it) the whole place looses power. Both screens (the other one showing Transformers), also went kaputs. 20 minutes of no news, a short announcement of apology and we're trying.... a few more iterations of no news, and then sad news, and then 100's of cars trying to get out of the 2 parking lots at the same time while trying to get a refund.... get there at 8:10pm.... out by 11pm. With 10 minutes of a movie watched. Very sad for this struggling Drive-In, on probably one of the most busy nights of the summer.

Perhaps staying at home wouldn't have been so bad. We're getting the feeling we are not carrying around much good karma.

Not exactly how I planned it...

Right about this time last week I was hoping to be posting all sorts of cute stories about our families meeting for the first time, and those crazy last minute wedding planning escapades, and a few embarrassing moments. But you got a few pictures to tie you over so that was good right?

And then I was hoping to take a little time every day this week to post some jealousy inducing photos of us in Kauai, and of us having a fantastic dinner with a Bloggy friend and her new hubby, and all sorts of stories of memories and gaggy lovey dovey type posts. But instead I've been silent and have been staying away from the computer mostly.

Last year, we established that I am a verbal processor. Luckily for me I am able to process stuff by typing things out or actually talking them through. Great! Good thing I have a blog so I can do all the typing I want. Talking about it... if you ask, I will tell, no problem. But for some reason turning on the computer and starting to write this one down has been more difficult.

Is this beyond the lines of privacy? Is this something anyone cares to read? I'm all about the TMI but this'll be WAY TMI for most so why write it? And biggest of all for me right now, I hate the pitty. I am in self-pitty mode, and I hate it. HATE IT. And the depression begins to slip in so I've got to start typing. Besides, this is going to dominate my thoughts for a few years, so I should really get it out there.

(I took a break from writing this post and caught up on lots of blogs...Hello? Start already.)

To start....
This is the picture I have to share instead of the glorious Kauai sunset (It's kinda the same effect, no?)


My new hubby relaxing on our Honeymoon:


(TMI STARTS NOW)


The best nourishment EVER! It totally hit the spot!



I had mentioned to J at the wedding rehearsal (the previous Friday) that I wasn't feeling too hot, was bleeding more then I should be and thinking I should call the advise nurse. I figured they'd just tell me to rest, drink fluids, increase my iron, and I could do all of that without making the call.... well, except the resting bit because after all I'm getting married here!

So little stupid me hemorrhaged all through my rehearsal. I figured eh, it's just another shitty, heavy period due to the fibroids we found last year, which was technically correct, but HELLO! Hemorrhaging, NOT GOOD!. And let's just throw in "PORTA POTTIES" to the fun.

Oddly enough, "things" slowed down after we got to our rehearsal dinner 1 1/2 hour late, as we were getting a talking to by our officiant about not having my vows finalized and stamped with a seal of approval before our rehearsal, and not taking the ceremony seriously and paying attention to all of the wrong things, all the while I'm begging him to give me a break as I was feeling like crap and "bleeding down my leg" (which I wasn't and was a poor choice of an exaggeration, but strangely enough that did not phase him and he continued with the lecture, I continued with the tears, and after excusing our friends and family to go to the dinner and a little break we resumed talking things through, timing our walks, and all was hunky dory -- sort of).

We arrived at our rehearsal dinner to friends and family, and with smiles on our faces we played host to the dessert portion of our dinner.

Of course, being the procrastinator I am, I still had some things to take care of the night before the wedding, namly the flowers, the vow finishing up, and packing for the day and the night after. Thankfully Eric stayed with me to help instead of going to the hotel we had booked for him, and he called and explained to the hotel (who did not charge us and held the room for us to still checked in early the next morning to do the "Getting ready" photos).

After the high priority items were complete (around 4am), I closed my eyes for a few hours as Eric stayed up finalizing our playlists. At 6am I got up a little shaky and after feeding the cats, I collapsed on the stairs sobbing. Apparently I was looking rather green, but Eric didn't tell me and he rubbed my back, got me some water and some chocolate to nibble on and then the adrenaline kicked in. I felt nothing wrong but excitement and joy. Bags packed, lists checked off, I headed to the Salon to meet J and start MY DAY.

Sure I was having a hard time breathing, and I was tired, and a little shaky, and I was forcing myself to nibble on my favorite treat, an almond croissant J brought to me, but little determined me was going to have her day! and it was QUITE the day! LOVE, JOY, FAMILY, FRIENDS, TEARS, LAUGHTER, all that I had hoped the day would be. (good photos will follow soon...) and too boot, the bleeding had stopped.

Until Sunday night...and on to Monday, TUESDAY, CRAP.... ok maybe I'll call the nurse now.

And that's why on Wednesday, Eric and I ventured to talk to an OB/GYN, who sent me to the ER, and there we spent the first night after our families went home as I received 4 units of blood, got a little color back in my face, and got the news that one of my fibroids is now the size of a baby's head and I must have surgery if we ever might possibly want to conceive, and advised not to fly over the Pacific Ocean to an island where I'm gonna wanna do more then lay in bed.

YAY!

So here I am, PISSED OFF! AWAKE all night after a visit with a second OB/GYN with the same opinion, trying not to take it out on my new Hubby (which I already have), trying to come to terms with the possibility that my uterus may never be able to hold a child, and will not be able to go to term as they are already recommending a c-section prematurely IF things get that far, if we are to ever be able to conceive, if I still have my uterus after the surgery.

Scheduling your worst nightmare sucks.