10/29/10 Downs and Ups

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DH got a new (used) car finally (his was sucking us dry with repairs the last few months)...picking it up in Ohio now (my brother is in the car biz)!

The neck/back is finally much better (thanks for your help)...some trouble sleeping still.

I'm officially depressed...my Surgeon's receptionist called and my Surgeon is leaving the state (remember his partner left for another hospital in town a few months back)...I was wondering why he was acting aloof at my last visit and didn't talk to me about the pics for his website that he'd asked me about. So much for getting him to vet the book. I'm going to miss him. Two new Docs will be starting in January...no fills before the holidays...*sigh*.

My project all week has been organizing the loose holiday stuff into bins (Mom gave us each some boxes of her things with the move...yes, boxes...I'm blaming her for my holiday decoration illness)...fun project...not.

I got an email from someone running an OCD website asking me to post a link here...OCD?!! ME? I didn't say I 'had OCD', I said I was 'almost OCD' (and lest I'm offending anyone that has it; it's a serious disease). I just think I'm VERY organized and I don't like re-work...everything in it's place and all that. Hmmm... I do have a label maker that gets a lot of use...actually the most labels are in the area I'm now working on...OK, you decide...Here are my holiday shelves...yes seven shelving units of just holiday stuff (and yes, I'm working on those bins today where the holes are)...but I'll tell you right now I didn't even look at her OCD website...I don't even want to know that I've got something else wrong with me...I'm still working my way through the first list of health issues LOL.
You're all on your way to my house for an intervention aren't you?

10/21/10 Health Advocate and NSAIDs

Well, I went off to the PCP Monday. Apparently the pain in my neck is not my DH (LOL), but is definitely from the ladder fall...in fact, it was 'right on schedule' for inflammation.

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BTW, The PCP gave me the same anti-spasmodic drug (Flexeril) I hijacked from DH…yes, I'm a SPAZ! My range of motion in my arm is better, but not my head…so I'm walking around like Frankenstein with my head bolted to my body…make that a SPAZ FRANKENSTEIN…Hey, I've got my costume!…Just in time for Halloween!

10/18/10 Scary Story; How my Bellybutton is like my Stoma

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...BOO!

10/15/10 Stiff and Tight

D*mn...PCP appointment on Monday (soonest they can get me in). I was just sitting early evening yesterday and my neck started to feel stiff. It ramped up quickly until I couldn't turn my head by the time DH got home...nerves zinging in the upper left back and down the arm. I took some OTC pain reliever, put on the heating pad, and shared some wine with Sandy. I was able to sleep until a little before 3am...up until 7am, then I took a short nap...ughh.

DH thinks this is the result of my ladder fall as I can't trace the neck back to anything else, not even sleeping funny as I didn't wake up with it (and it's on the left side, which is the shoulder I fell on). Geez, I thought I was out of the woods with a few bruises and skinned appendages...four days later? Could it really take this much time for an injury to start? Funny thing was, I was planning to blog about how quickly I recovered from that fall and how that never would have happened 100 pounds ago...jinx. I do have that Osteoarthritis in my neck that was affecting my same shoulder (went to Physical Therapy 1.5 years ago for it). I wish the Doc could have gotten me in today...I may be better by Monday (fingers crossed)...but I may be rifling through the old prescriptions tonight *sigh*. OK, enough whinefest...No worries, it could have been so much worse!

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Have a great weekend all...If you need me, I'll be in my self-medicated coma LOL...come join me...I have whine wine ;-)

10/12/10 5th Fill...Chasing the Sweet Spot

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OH, and can I just say...WHAT THE HECK WOMEN??!!! I tried on about 4 outfits before finding one that fit OK this morning...yes, I'm having fat days again. I wore a new top, no coat over it. Do you know how many women I passed today...in the parking lot, in the ladies room, in the stairwell, in the waiting room (where I was called to the window three times), three different nurses during my appointment. I was wondering why I was getting stares and was starting to take it personally that I look like a stuffed sausage in these jeans.


COULD ANY OF YOU HAVE TOLD ME THAT I HAD TWO LOVELY *SHINY* TAGS WITH THE SALE STICKER HANGING ON MY BACK?!!! *sigh* ...and I'm guessing some of you were fellow banders...*double-sigh*

10/11/10 Boo-Boo's

I'm such a klutz, but no worries, I'm OK.
Yesterday, I was finishing up the last piece of outside painting (the casing boards around our garage doors). As much as I tried to make this house maintenance free outside, there's still a few things to paint (I also repainted all the outside lights this weekend, remind me to show you as I need opinions). Actually, I only got the prep for painting underway. The paint was flaking so I was outside from 9am-5:30pm (until I wiped out) scraping off paint and then using the belt sander to get the final pieces off. OK, picture this; I was up on the ladder at the top of the garage door (feet about 4-5' off the ground), leaning a little to one side away from the ladder, with the heavy belt sander in both hands, and then....I turned on the belt sander. You already know what happened next...it grabbed the wood and pulled me right off the ladder (think America's Funniest Home Videos, but without the video).

I'm not sure what happened next, but I rolled and ended up on the concrete, in front of the other garage door, with a little less skin (wonder how much skin weighs LOL). I'm celebrating the season with a fall. I'm thinking it's a good thing that I weigh a lot less now or the outcome might have been much worse. DS2 happened to be outside mowing the lawn, so I waved him down to come help me up. I've got two skin knees (yes, even with long pants on, thank goodness), a skinned elbow, I'm going to have a huge bruise on the shoulder that I landed on, and I did something to my back and neck (hopefully just aggravated the osteoarthritis). I'm moving like I need a walker.

OK, let's find an upside...DS2 is off school today for Columbus Day, so I have the help I need to get the primer on to protect the raw wood (remember, DH left yesterday for the week). Oh, and I've decided that scraping (my bat wings were flying scraping that paint) and sanding paint off all day is an excellent workout for the arms...and if you tumble off a ladder...it can be considered aerobic activity!!

10/10/10 Ten over Ten to the Tenth

Kind of an ominous date isn't it? I wonder how many weddings happened just because of the date? It certainly is a beautiful weekend here. DH brought the sun back with him from his week away; just left early this morning for another week of travel (I hate it when he has to travel on the weekend, but that's life). It might just hit 80 degrees here today!

Here's some pics of DS2's first Homecoming...He's pretending here that parent's don't exist (and was he ever shocked that everyone's Dad's and Mom's were at the girl's meet-up house to take pics...he thought we'd be the only ones LOL).

Guess who decided to link arms and is mumbling jokes under that smile?

We lucked out and the before pics were in our neighborhood...at the gazebo (I love that the girl's plan everything now that I'm down to my last boy; dinner, dance, and a bonfire after...yes, I waited up for him...he had a blast and he's still sleeping it off).

Don't the girls look beautiful?!

One of the Mom's yells 'Do something funny!'...What does my kid do? Jump into the arms of the guy next to him!

10/7/10 More Signs of Fall

Hearty crockpot meals...this is Chicken Sweet Potato Stew (shout out to Lap-Bander Lena at "Fat Frog Diary" for this recipe)...yes, I cooked it (Don't look so shocked...and yank up that chin)...I had no choice...DH is in Seattle all week, so it was either cook or have him come home to dried up, emaciated kids (DS2 threatens to call Children's Services after a few days if I don't feed him something besides frozen pizzas LOL...and that skinny boy comes home starving!)...besides, crockpots are anti-cooking for we folks that are much too creative to cook. I secretly want to be one of those cooks who can throw in a pinch of this and a dash of that, but getting off-recipe is all too tempting for we creative ones and has never worked out too well for me...guess you have to actually learn what you're doing before you get to that point and there's not enough appreciation for the time spent to hold my attention to learn it all (eg. I spend all day cooking for that Thanksgiving meal and they scarf it down in 15 minutes...I always make them sit and just look at it for a minute...drives them nuts.). I'd be really good as a 'presentation chef'...it always looks just beautiful...as long as you don't have to actually eat it. Maybe I'll try taking more pictures when I cook before they eat it...food porn...that's why I love art...lasts forever...I'm off subject again, aren't I? OMG this smelled SO good cooking (nutmeg and cinnamon); it just smells like Fall...and my kids LOVED it (even asked to have it again tonight instead of freezing the leftovers...that NEVER happens). I love it when I actually use things from my herb garden. I picked my fresh basil from the garden for this stew, you add it at the end...YUM!

Foyer Table with DS2's gourds he grew.

Fall smelling candles, more gourds he grew, and indian corn here and there.

Front door is bedazzled...I always get at least one kid every Halloween night who tries to take one of my fake apples out of that basket, thinking they're what I'm giving out (good thing they're glue gunned in or I'd be making some kid choke).

Fall boots in brown and black...can I just say these are the first boots (other than ankle ones) that my calves have fit into in years! I'm still on the hunt for some spiky ankle boots.

Sweaters have replaced tank tops in the closet, and leggings and jeggings have replaced shorts and Capri's (oh, and the black boots fold over...maybe I'm too old for the thigh highs?...but I thought they might be OK since they're flats and not the spiked-I-still-think-I'm-20 ones, like DD bought. Or maybe I should only wear them folded?).
YAY Fall!

10/6/10 Signs of Fall

Signs that Fall is here:

- We had the first wood fire in the fireplace this weekend (the sap buckets still need some mums).

Coats and winter scarves are out (and swoopy bangs have been brought back, now that I'm no longer in the garden sweating).

The gazebo and patio have been deflocked, and the bamboo is in full bloom (right).

The thermostat lever was switched (brrrr).

Weight has been put on to survive the long winter.

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10/1/10 Who Told You You're Allowed To Grow Up?!

We spent last afternoon and evening at three stores getting DS2 a shoulder to toe outfit for the Homecoming Dance next week...suit, shirt, tie, socks, belt, and shoes...I said 'shoulder to toe' because he wanted a top hat...yes, a top hat...Where would one even buy a top hat these days? He said he wanted a cane too and that he wanted to go as Mr. Peanut...funny boy....I informed him it wasn't a Halloween costume party.

Just one thing I want to know...WHO TOLD YOU YOU'RE ALLOWED TO GROW UP?!

What happened to my little baby (second from the left below)?!!



Yes, thanks to your suggestions (thank you) and then 4, count them 4 trips to the Target Photo Place (after getting some of them done on the Staples-not-so-photo-quality copier) to redo the bad ones (over and over because the Target scanner sucks and left smudges and lines every time...you wouldn't believe me if I told you what I went through...let's just say the gal felt so bad that she gave me a full refund and I didn't even ask or complain)...the hall is done (thanks again Diane for the wall quote).

OK, almost done...I'm still considering the quote for the other wall (there's my baby again second from the right...God I feel old). As my youngest sister reminded me...we'll be moving soon...every house that we've lived in, the minute I hang a wall of kid photos we move...so I waited 9 years and this is the longest we've been in any home...wonder where we'll be moving...somewhere warm I hope...it's freezing here, but I digress...

OK, he's still my baby...see...this is how he really felt after hours of shopping with Mom (and then I made him try it all on again at home)...Do I dare tell him to tie his shoe...I think not...he's got to have some level of independence now that he's in High School...
...do you think he'll let me chaperone the dance?...hee-hee.

Happy Weekend all!