Baby, You Can('t) Drive My Car

I purchased my first car, a beautiful emerald green Plymouth Neon, in 1995. I say that I purchased it, but honestly, my daddy went with me, picked out what he thought was best, and did the haggling for me. I chose the color. But I was fine with that.

When we got to the first of like three dealerships (and ultimately the one where I got the car), the salesman went straight up to Dad and asked him what he could get for him. Dad said, “Well, it’s my daughter, here, who is looking for a car, so you probably want to talk to her.” Thanks, Dad. So the salesman looks at me and asks me what I’m interested in. I don’t recall my exact words were, but essentially, I stood there like a deer in headlights, drooling, and looking like Moe and/or Ron the idiot twins, then I expressed that I wanted a good stereo.

Yes, my IQ and the plight of women’s equality suffered that day, all because of Rose.

Dad just shook his head and took it over from there. As I said, I was fine with that.

Flash forward to 2001. Jennifer and I went car/window shopping. Went to Saturn, just as they were closing, as I recall it, and Rodney, the salesman, spent a couple of hours after he was supposed to be off work, showing me the car that I currently own. I was very impressed by this. Now I know that it was in his own best interests, fiscally speaking, because of the commission he’d get from selling me a car, but still I thought well of him because of it – he also sent me birthday and Christmas cards for the first several years afterwards. Looking back, I don’t recall if I looked at other cars or not, but it ended up with me dragging my daddy to Saturn that weekend and buying me my current car, Baby.

The more perspicacious of you will be sensing a trend or two, here. First, my daddy played a big part in me purchasing my cars; and B) I tend to make decisions quickly. I know what I like and once I see it, nothing else is going to make me happy. I could give you a variety of examples, but that would bore you and drag this blog out.

When we looked at the Neon, we also looked at a Mercury Mystique. Now I really liked the name, but all things being equal, I just didn’t like the stereo. I wanted the Neon. As I said, I don’t recall looking at anything after the Saturn. I knew I wanted it. And it’s been a very good car, I’ve had it eleven years with nary a problem. There was one big repair having something to do with the timing belt? that cost $1900 to get repaired, but then I ended up being reimbursed by GMC because it was later part of a recall, so I don’t count that. The original battery, after 10 years, had to be replaced last year, totally blowing the mind of the AAA guy who came to help me, and there’s been new tires and oil changes and things. I’m not sure, but it might even have the original brakes. I guess I ought to keep track of that stuff, eh? Hmm.. If it weren’t for my 43 year old knees and the fact that between the car being so low to the ground and my legs being so long that I feel like I have to climb out of a hole to get out of the car, I’d probably keep it for longer. I don’t like change unless it has pictures of presidents on it.

Anyway, since I paid off the Saturn, I’ve done my best to put money in savings toward a down payment for a new car, whenever that time came. Yes, there have been other things, like vacation trips to the beach, and the like that some of the money went to, but as of this moment, I have $4,700 in savings. Then, there’s the income tax return. Thanks to my medical bills, mortgage interest, and other deductions I can take for the first time in my life by itemizing, I get everything back this year. Yes, EVERY PENNY. Tee hee!! So, there is another $4,800. My car fund is as flush as it’s ever had a chance of being.

Rose is ready to go shopping. I’ve been looking off and on at the cars on the road, the internet, the paper. And I’d decided that I wanted either a Honda CRV or a Toyota Rav-4. (I would have just got the Saturn Vue, but Saturn up and stopped production of the whole line of cars!) Then there’s the whole new vs. used issue. I tend to waffle. Maybe I’m a snob. Everyone tells me that the reason to go with one of these vehicles is because it’s going to last me for YEARS! Well, I’m thinking if it’s going to last me well into my 50’s, by golly, I want it to be new going into it! I understand the whole depreciation thing intellectually, but in my heart …

I went to the Toyota dealer the other day, to get a brochure. I should have known better, you can’t go into a car dealer, get a brochure and leave. I spent about 45 minutes with the salesman talking about the Rav-4 and fell in love. I know that Dad would have been impressed with the way I've grown, car-wise.  I asked perspicacious questions, and if the sales guy said something that I didn't understand, I made him explain it to me.  I knew just about everything there was to know about this vehicle, and I was in love.  Afterwards, I went to the Honda dealership to see the CRV, but it was only so I could say that I did it.  I knew I was getting the Rav-4.

So I had to wait...  about a week, plus, for the tax return to show up in my account.  I took the afternoon of the next Friday, (this past one) off and intended to go shopping.  I was oddly at peace with the whole thing.  After signing the paperwork for the Neon, I went home and suffered all weekend with buyer's remorse until I could go back and pick up the car.  With the Saturn, my only concern was signing a car loan when I'd only been at my "new" job for 3-4 months.  Having been "let go" was still very fresh in my mind.

But now, no problems.  I was ready to write that $10,000 check and get my new baby.

Friday afternoon.  I go to the dealer and ask for my salesman.  He was another thing that I felt good about.  I would recommend him to anyone.  I'd prayed for a good salesman and I got one.  I'd prayed that if this was the wrong thing to do, that they would not have the one I wanted (blue, with a sunroof, were deal breakers), but if it was the right thing, they'd have one.  And they did!  Now, I could go into a LOT more detail about the FIVE hours I spent there Friday, but you don't want to be bored by it.  You want to see it. 

So, now, without further ado, I'm happy to present, my new baby...

I have not put the "Rosemary's Baby" plate on it and do not plan on it, at least not for a while.  I may change my mind.  I've decided that there is comfort in anonymity.  Now, I'm going to go get in my car.  He doesn't have a name yet, but we're working on that.  And go for a drive.  Later!

They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha Ha!

I met with my new therapist yesterday for the first time. I was a wee bit concerned that she might not like me, but that didn’t seem to be a problem and we got along like gang-busters.

You’ll recall that I was seeing someone last year… Janet. I can’t really recall if I went into it or not, but Janet is a Christian, as am I. But it seemed like her answer for everything was to ask, “How is your walk with God?” Now, I believe in prayer and I know that God can and does perform miracles. But I also think that he probably wouldn’t have led me to a therapist if the only advice I was going to receive was something I could get from my pastor, my deacon, my Christian mother, sister and friends. So, after she “released” me from my initial five free sessions, I just never went back!

Flash forward to now. My friend Ashley told me about her therapist and I’m like, I want to go to that person! So she gave me the contact info and I made an appointment. Last week, I had a day of appointments, including my first appointment with the new therapist, and I just took the day off for Rose (and her appointments, of course).

Anyway, my new psycho is Pat. We got along well, and I have high hopes for our success. My first assignment (and we all know Rose does NOT like homework), is to make a list, as I’m going through my daily life, of each moment where I feel contentment/happiness with whatever I’m doing, where food is not involved. For example, I probably shouldn’t list the enjoyment I get from biting the little head off of my Teddy Grahams. That would probably be bad on a variety of levels.

Knowing that I risk being yelled at again by my “fans” if I wait another month before I blog again, I decided to put my list in a blog and kill two birds with one blog. So here goes….

First, and honestly, this happened the Saturday before I met with Pat, but she said I could include it, so I’m going for it, I had to buy new shoes. I know! Every woman’s nightmare, right? But no, these were the shoes I wear when I’m walking. Back in May, I’d bought myself some Sketchers, the kind that are supposed to trim your butt and legs while you walk. I don’t know if that happened, although my butt does appear to be smaller, but I loved them because of the extra cushioning in them. After I bought them, my knees and hips didn’t hurt after walking, like it did in the other shoes. Also, in the other shoes, which were “Walking” shoes, I would get shin splints and that wasn’t a problem in these shoes. These shoes helped me lose 126 (new total) pounds, got me around London and, well, what little of Scotland that I saw. But they weren’t giving me the support I needed anymore and my knees and hips were aching after walking.  I'd worn them out!  Back to the Shoe Carnival went Rose!  But unfortunately, I couldn't get another pair of the exact same shoes.  I did get some that are very close, and am happy with them.  I just can't wait for these shoes to wear out!

B) I had an appointment to have my eyebrows waxed and I was going to get a manicure and pedicure, but then a few weeks ago (don’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before), I had some neck and shoulder pain and I went for a massage and it felt good and helped, so I switched the mani/pedi appointment to a half hour in the sauna and a massage. The reason for the sauna is that for me, the first 30 minutes of any massage are generally wasted because it takes me that long to relax. The poor masseuse told me to relax at least 5-6 times. And I really try! But she suggested that I try the sauna because the heat might help relax some of the muscles, making the time to relax into the massage less.

I said, “I’m hip!” and signed up for the sauna. Now, everyone who knows me, knows that Rose don’t like to sweat. I would have bet money, and I’m too cheap to be a betting woman, that I wouldn’t last 5 minutes, let alone 30 minutes, but I stayed for 25 minutes and it felt great. And during my massage, the masseuse only had to tell me to relax once and that was when she was pulling my neck muscles, and I’m sorry, but I’m never going to relax through that. I’m too afraid that my little head is going to pop like a big ol’ pimple!

All of that aside, I was the most relaxed after that massage. It was almost like I felt after being off of work for a month! There was nothing that could spoil my mood. I made the decision that since I’m saving money by not eating out as much anymore, I can afford the sauna and massage once a month. A little Rose time got put into my regular schedule.

3: I’ve been a “blonde” all of my life. In the beginning, it was all natural, then starting in my 20’s, it received some help from Garnier Nutrisse.. (#100 Extra Light Natural Blonde). It served to cover up the white hairs (our family gets white hair, not grey hair) and gave some color to my natural color which, I think of as a dull dishwater blonde, almost no color to it, like black and white TV… I don’t know, it’s hard to explain, but for those of you who followed me through the spring and summer of ‘09 when I revisited my natural hair color, you may understand. I’ve flirted with the idea of what I’d look like as a red head. But I just didn’t have the guts to make that leap. Then I thought about just darkening it to like a dark blonde or even a light brown.

I was at Target, and they had a little computer set up there to “help” you find the right hair color for you. Basically, you tell it what color your hair is and it tells you to go with something no more than 2 shades up or down. Really, the whole computer thingee was rather disappointing. So I left without any purchase, but later that day, I had to go to CVS to pick up a prescription and I bought me some “Dark Golden Blonde.” Now, I’d used Extra Light Golden Blonde in the past before hitting upon the Extra Light Natural Blonde. I don’t think I could have put it into words what the difference is, but there was one. So why did I got with Dark Golden Blonde instead of Dark Natural Blonde? That’s a good question. The answer is that the color on the box had more color to it. I did my hair. It turned out more red that I planned on, but that’s probably the “Golden” part at work. I have before and after pics, but be warned, the before one is eerily reminiscent of Nick Nolte’s mug shot  but that's what you get when you take your own picture in the mirror using your iphone.

And the after pic looks like it belongs in a school yearbook. 

I still forget that I did it and am shocked when I look at myself in the mirror, but everyone seems to like it and got used to it. I like it a lot. But when I had to go to the Federal Building for computer training and show my driver’s license, I’m like… that picture doesn’t look at all like me. Before, at least I had the blond hair going, but now… I just look like I may be related to that woman. We’ll be having to get a new driver’s license next. Which will be another happy event!

Finally, I went to the eye doctor for my annual eye exam. I haven’t had any problems with my distance vision (other than being horribly myopic), but, especially since I passed the big 4-0, I’ve been noticing issues with my near vision. I almost bought me a pair of purple cheaters at Burlington pre-Christmas that were on clearance, but Jennifer told me not to because if I started using them before I needed them, I’d never not need them. Well, it made sense to me. But they were purple and regret not getting them, but that’s neither here or there. Anyway, it was time to visit the eye doctor. First, I’m not sure why the eye doctor’s nurse took my blood pressure, but it was 116/67. I’m thinking Dr. Marienau and I may need to discuss the small amount of Atenolol that I’m still taking (not for BP, but as a preventative for migraines), because I’ve been noticing wooziness when I stand up quickly of late. Any who, Rose is feeling pretty good because the BP is healthy!

Then, Dr. Irwin comes in and looks at me like I’m a total stranger. Now, seriously, we see each other one time a year, so I wasn’t hoping for much of a reaction, but he didn’t disappoint me. The first words from his mouth were “They told me you were here, but I didn’t see you in the waiting area… I just didn’t recognize you!” It felt so good! Tee hee!

I said “Finally” after that last one because although there is one more, it’s a blog entry on its own. And I anticipate it being a whopper!

BCIS: Bathroom Criminal Investigation Service

A year ago, today to be exact, I wrote about Shoes, the woman running around our office not changing the toilet paper roll.  See January 24, 2011.  I don't recall if I ever mentioned this before, but she's no longer with us.  And by that I just mean she found a different job.  But the TP issues remain. 

Last spring, I bought myself a "Crime Scene Do Not Cross" scarf (I know, but I have a point) and at the same time, I got some "Crime Scene" toilet paper (see, I told you.)  Our thoughts were that we were going to write, film and produce an Oscar-worthy short movie co-starring Michael Weatherly from NCIS outlining the pitfalls that go along with not changing the TP roll.  Ah, well, life intervened and spoiled our plans for fame.  Shawna got pregnant and now uses her two kids as excuses for not bringing baked goods into the office.  I had my surgeries.  And, of course, Michael Weatherly never returned our calls.

Well, yesterday, Shawna comes out of the ladies room on the 2nd floor running for her tape, phone (for the camera) and the crime scene TP.  Fun was afoot!

Shawna posted this pic on Facebook and, in addition to being wholeheartedly "Liked", an ex-Kahn also posted the following comic in our honor:

We somehow forgot to go in and take the TP down, though, and.. (and here's the best part!) the cleaning lady saw it and didn't clean the ladies room!  Like, she couldn't tell that it was Crime Scene TOILET PAPER?! 

Well, Shawna has sworn to catch the offender, so if you happen to have to go when  you're at our office, be sure to change the roll if you empty the TP.

December - Part Two or Goodbye 2011

The second half of December was just as busy as the first.  We had our firm support staff Christmas lunch where we bring in food, have fun, then give our Christmas gifts to the person whose name we drew and reveal ourselves as their Secret Santa.  Hopefully, not to their disappointment! 

Now, I have been told that I’m fun to buy for.  Along with putting our name into the pot, we’re supposed to give gift ideas/suggestions or likes and dislikes.  Of course in years past, in addition to my likes of funky socks, cats, knitting, cheese, and cat-safe Christmas decorations, my Secret Santa also could rely on the old stand-by: Chocolate.  Yeah, this year, my person didn’t have that luxury.  As shame really, I do so enjoy chocolate.  But did well anyway.  First, by giving me some fuzzy penguin socks that had Oh! Oh! Oh! (instead of Ho! Ho! Ho!) on them.  I thought they were rather unique, but turns out it was just a typo.  After Christmas, she told me that she’d gone back to make sure she wasn’t crazy, and she said that some of them were correct and some of them had the typo.  I don’t care.  I like penguins and fuzzy socks.  The “quantity, not quality” gifts were the best… she got me a snowman keychain that, if you touch the metal things on the bottom of it, make the thing light up and change colors for about a minute or so!  Very cool

I was going to make and bring cake balls to the lunch, but the one time that Duncan helped me make them to take to the church cookie exchange, I discovered that in addition to being easy to make, they are very messy and I ruined not one, but two batches of chocolate in the process.  So I chose to take something else.  But in case you’re interested in the cake balls (Duncan got the recipe from some girl in his speech class last semester when she did it for her demonstrative speech), here goes:

You bake a cake (whatever flavor you want, I chose strawberry) according to the directions.  After it’s cooled, you crumble it up with a fork.  Then you take a tub of store-bought icing (again whatever flavor you want, as long as it goes with the cake flavor.  I chose cream cheese frosting over the strawberry because I figured it would be too much strawberry, and I love cream cheese frosting… like I was going to eat any of this!)  Where was I?  Oh, you take the tub of icing and mix it into the cake crumbs… here’s where the mess begins.  I got some plastic gloves (like the kind doctors use, not the kind for doing dishes) and did it with my hands.  Then you spoon the mess into balls.  At this point, the mixture had been handled enough, so we felt it wise to refrigerate them for a little bit to help them keep their shape before proceeding.  Meanwhile, we heated up some chocolate.  Here’s where I went wrong.  I thought I was being decadent in using Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips.  What I should have been was smart and used baking chocolate.  Anyway, mom used the “ruined” chocolate to make herself some fudge.  No chocolate goes to waste in our house!  You dip the balls into the melted chocolate and refrigerate.  Be warned that after a couple of crumbly balls, the chocolate gets crummy (so to speak) and it gets more difficult to make attractive chocolate dipped things.  Just all around disappointing, but they did taste good, even if they didn’t look all that good.  Sigh..

The Thursday and Friday before Christmas, I took off and Mom and I went to Indy.  I had my 8 month appointment with the surgeon up there and after making 7 trips to Indy and back in 2011, I was going to go up for the appointment, then go back up for Christmas! 

My appointment went well.  I don’t recall where I was on their scales by that time, but per my scales, I’d lost 124 pounds.  I’ve STILL only lost 124 pounds, but I try to look on the positive side of that.  Both the nutritionist and the doctor were pleased with my progress AND I got a t-shirt for having lost 100 pounds!  Of course the t-shirt makes no mention of having lost 100 pounds, so I don’t see the point, but a free t-shirt is a free t-shirt.

Christmas with the sibs and their families went well.  As usual, my gifts rocked!  I’m pretty well known for giving great gifts.  As for my favorites, it would be a tie between the bacon scarf I got for Duncan and the monster movie motif purse I got Brynn for her birthday.  Yup, I’m good.  J

Mom and I came back home Saturday, Christmas Eve, afternoon and spent Christmas with the kids.  Gizmo had already commandeered the purple cat bed I got for them, before I could wrap it.  And I got them some Angry Birds cat toys.  And I got them a couple of Hairballs… hairy little toys with googlely eyes and Santa hats.  I’m thinking it was the cat nip, but they went over very well.  I got mom a map of Scotland with the various clans marked on it, so she could see where our clan came from in Scotland.  It’s currently hanging over the dining room table.  I’m told that the mailman was very impressed when it arrived from Scotland in the mail.  Especially since in the same week, I received a package from India!

As for Rose’s loot.  There were a few quantity, not quality items (pickles, Teddy Grahams, and .. let me think.. uh... string cheese), but the quality item was my iPad!  After ascertaining that my Christmas bonus was NOT going to be a membership to the Jelly of the Month Club, I ordered my iPad from Best Buy, and between the bonus and Christmas money from Mom, all I had to cover was the sales tax!  Boo-ya!!  And topping it all off, were the gift cards to iTunes from my Secret Santa, my boss Carrie, and the sibs!  So I could get tons of apps!  Needless to say, there has been a lot of raising frogs and merciless slaughter of zombies via my ‘pad since I got it!  And we recently played with the video conferencing between ‘pads.  Holly has one, and so does Aunt Chris.  We’ll have to “call” Chris someday and surprise her!  (Of course, since she’ll probably read this before we actually get around to it, it won’t be that big of a surprise… hmm..)

Christmas Day, mom and I went to church and then did what I think should become a Barger family tradition, we went to Yen Chings (fa-ra-ra-ra-ra!) for their Sunday buffet (not sure if they would have had the buffet if Christmas hadn’t been on a Sunday, but that’s neither here or there) and then took in a movie and popcorn.  We saw the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and again, I assumed I’d get around to giving it its own review a la me, but it’s not gonna happen, so I’ll just say it was FANTASTIC!  Very violent, graphic.  Yes, there’s a rape scene.  And yes, I wouldn’t take my child to go see it.  But, especially if you’ve read the books, the movie was GREAT!  I saw the “original” Swedish movie of the book.  It was good.  I can’t put my finger on it, but I liked this movie better.  It may be as simple as the combo of Daniel Craig and not having to read subtitles (Hey, I’m shallow, remember?), but I highly recommend this movie!  Especialy if you’ve read the books.

Ok, now that I’ve referred to both of my favorite Christmas movies, I think we can bring December to a close.  I worked the week between Christmas and New Years.  Steve didn’t.  So I got a goodly amount of stuff done. 

I was not unhappy to see 2011 go.  As you know, it had been eventful and everything turned out good, but the medical crap alone had me bumming’.  Here’s to 2012 being a better year!

December – Part One

Last summer sometime, my friend Amy called and invited me and Mom to go along with her and her mom to go see Straight No Chaser at the Centre in December.  Well, back in the summer, that sounded good.  When December rolled around and it was the night of the show, I would have done anything up to, and possibly including, selling my soul, to just stay at home in my warm fuzzy new pjs under a blankie and a cat.  Sigh.  But I had committed, so we went.  First we met Amy, her mom, and my formerly foreign fan Heather at Applebee's for dinner.  A fine time was had by all, including Rose – I never said that I wouldn't enjoy myself, I just like to stay at home under a blankie and a cat after I work all day.  I really think I missed my calling because I could be a good hermit.

 

The show was very good.  We had great seats near the front of the upper tier and had a very good view.  And best yet, we were in the middle, so we didn't have all these pesky people having to traipse past us to get to their seats.  WE were those pesky people!  I, of course, had heard the group's rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas on the radio, but that was really my only exposure to them.  I knew they were an accapella group from IU, but not much more.  I expected only Christmas music, as this was their "Christmas" show, but no.  They performed Madonna and Lady Gaga as well.  And they were funny.  If you have a chance to see them, go for it.  Several thumbs up…  let's see, there were 5 of us, and most all of us have 2 thumbs.. 10 thumbs!

 

The next week, the Tran-Siberian Orchestra was going to perform at the new Ford Center in Evansville.  I have to take a moment to remind my regular viewers that a little over a year or so ago, I was upgraded to what I lovingly refer to as the "big boy" parking lot and I love parking there despite the fact that I'm in the "bird poop" spot, mostly because I do not have to walk across the street to get to my car.  Not that across the street is bad, but keep in mind that I used to weigh over 300 pounds, and plus, when there was snow and (more importantly) ice, it was downed-right treacherous to walk to my car because during the winter months, the sun NEVER shines on the alley beside the parking garage and even the relatively safe snow turns quickly to ice overnight.  I'm a klutz – having fallen and twisted both ankles multiple times in my misspent youth, and I even walked into a Stop sign once while at DePauw, and I hadn't even been drinking!  I guess my point is that both laziness-wise and safety-wise, the big boy lot was a good move for Rose.

 

So what does this have to do with the Tran-Siberian Orchestra?  I'm glad you asked.  About the same time I graduated to the big boy lot, the PTB (powers that be) in Evansville decided to build the new stadium in Evansville directly across the street from our parking lot.  So Rose has great parking for any of the shows which come to the new Ford Center.  I mean.  I am probably literally less than 100 feet from the door.  And if my seat happens to be in a section close to that particular door, even better!  People will be trudging through snow, rain, heat, past our parking lot while I'm in my car driving off already!  The landlord does have some poor soul out there charging $5 for people to park there, but since I'm already there, as long as I don't leave, I park for free!

 

Anyway, back to TSO.  I got tickets for Mom and me to celebrate her birthday which was the following week.  In order not to risk me losing my parking spot, Duncan dropped mom off at my office before going to his class that evening.   It was a very cold evening and we had a couple of hours to kill before the show.  We had dinner at the Main Gate, a sports bar across the street from my office and the Ford Center.  Mom thoroughly enjoyed her food.  I got a grilled chicken breast sandwich, hold the sandwich.  And frankly my boob was overdone.  But I got a lot of pickles, which helped make up for it, they were my veggie for that particular meal.  I've been back there since and had very good food, so I'm not holding my tough old boob against them.  Hahahahaha!

 

The performance was fabulous!!  I asked mom afterwards what she thought of it and her response was that it was "LOUD."  But then the next day, after her ears returned to normal, she said she enjoyed it a lot and felt the vocalists were great.  Actually, we have the CD of the "story" they performed and I listened to it the next day and frankly, thought the vocalists at the show were better than the ones on the CD!  Although I'm also not 100% that my soon to be 11 year old CD player/speakers in my car may not be getting old.  (I apologize if there are double negatives in there, I'm too tired to reread that sentence.)

 

I didn't really know what to expect, although I had heard on the radio about how last spring, when they came to town to perform in a much smaller venue, they came in 5 semi trucks and for the December performance at the arena they would come in 35 semi trucks!

 

The month of December went pretty quickly.  One Saturday, Aunt Marilee and Uncle Doug, and Aunt Chris and her hubs were to come to the 'do for a Christmas lunch/get together.  Chris's hubs couldn't come, so she brought her son and grand-daughter instead.  Pardon me, Chris, for saying that I wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having a 4 year old terrorizing my cats for the afternoon, but she was a very good girl and didn't torture anyone!  Although Sophie did choose to spend the entire afternoon under the couch, but it wasn't because she had any real reason to do so.

 

Another Saturday, Mom's Sunday School class had a Christmas brunch at the church.  I made my world famous sausage gravy and biscuits for them and attended as the official photographer.  I used to go to that class, so I know pretty much everyone who is in it, so my natural reticence to being social with strangers never really came into play.

 

One Sunday, MY Sunday school class served a lasagna dinner to the college students before they went home after finals.  (Note that we didn't have a party for ourselves, NO we had a party for other people!!)  We miscalculated and ran out of everything (AND we didn't even get any food at out of it!), but at least all of the kids got one serving.  We just had to turn their sad faces away when they came back for seconds (Mwa-ha-ha-ha!)  While I was in the kitchen helping with things, Ronda, my SS teacher's wife and general pal, somehow talked me into going to the Christmas party/December meeting of the Harvest Women's Missionary group the following Monday evening.  Not that I have a problem with any of the people in the group, or the purpose of the group.  I'm just not a joiner and, as I mentioned previously, after working all day, I just want to go home and get in my pjs and climb under a blankie and a cat.

 

But despite having a really rough day that Monday, almost killed the boss man that day, I did go.  Mostly because Amy offered to pick me up and take me.  I had directions to get there, but I can't say that I might not have conveniently gotten lost if left to my own devices.  I'm glad I went.  (Note a trend… I NEVER want to go to things, but generally ALWAYS have a good time… the story of my life… remember, I should have been a hermit.)

 

Well, that's that for about the first half of December.  I'll stop here and leave you wanting more.  J

2011 Round-up - Part One

Ok, I have been remiss, as demonstrated by not only regular reader Becky, but also my former foreign friend (formerly foreign, not former friend) Heather, both of whom have impressed upon me my delinquency by quoting, word for word, the opening sentence of my last posting. 

I'm not sure if I'm honored or a little creeped out.  I'll choose to go with honored.

It's been a busy two months, but I will endeavor to hit the highlights and to bring you up to date on Rose.  Spoiler alert:  this may have to be a series of entries.  You know I tend to run on.  But as my much acclaimed series on the trip to the UK this summer proved, my readers will read anything.  Which is ironic, isn't it, Becky?.

November:

You will recall, especially Becky and Heather, that in our last episode, I had an eventful weekend, going to the ER because I knew I was dying of a heart attack and totally bummed that it was happening AFTER my bariatric surgery and privately bemoaning all of the yummy food I could have shoveled in the previous 7 months if I'd only waited to have the surgery in December.  I, of course, was fine and since I have resumed taking my Prilosec like a good little girl, have had no issues whatsoever.  Not even that weekend that I made REALLY spicy chili – so spicy that Duncan told me that if I'd entered it in our firm's chili cook-off, I'd have won the spicy category hands down - and then proceeded to eat it for several meals a day after that until it was gone.

Thanksgiving – well, the sibs had plans that didn't include me and Mom so it was just the two of us.  The week before, however, mom had the brilliant idea that maybe some of the little old ladies in the church might not have plans and we could invite a few of them over to join us.  I wasn't going to be eating much, so at least mom would have someone to cook for.  Not that she had to cook for me.  I'd have been ok with the same-ol' same-ol'.  So I left for work thinking that Mom was going to call a few and fill the seats at our table.  That evening, when I got home, I asked who we were having Thanksgiving dinner with, and she said that she remembered that my college roommate came home with me once for Thanksgiving because she couldn't go home for a 4-day weekend, so she thought maybe there might be some college kids in the church who'd like to join us.  A slightly less preferable option, in my book, because I probably would have known the old ladies, whereas I don't know many of the college-aged kids.  As it turns out, though, we didn't have any college-aged kids join us either.  Either they'd all had someplace to go, or we'd left it too late and they were thumbing their way up the highway.

So Thanksgiving arrives.  I told mom that there wasn't much point in her cooking the turkey boob she got for just the two of us when we could just go out to Bob Evans or someplace and get a perfectly good meal.  She was game.  That morning, as per my usual, I got the newspaper with all the Black Friday ads, and as I'm skimming them, looking for what/where I might want to get/go the next day, mom is reading the actual paper.  Silly rabbit, news is not for kids.  It turns out to be a good thing, though.  While reading, she noticed an ad for a restaurant on the (far enough that mom almost packed a bag) east side of town that was serving turkey and all the trimmings.  We decided that we'd head out, and if we saw something that flipped our wigs before we got there, then fine, but otherwise, we'd go to the Carousel Restaurant.  As we drove down the Expressway near the 'do, there were two options: Burger King and Denny's.  Closer into town, we passed the Cross-eyed Cricket, but we were in the wrong lane to make a left-turn to get there, so we ended up at the Carousel.  It was fab.  Turkey, dressing, veggies, a roll, a drink and pumpkin pie for… well, it's been a while… I'm thinking $9.99.  The place was packed! 

After filling our tums (mine is filled much quicker and there was quite a doggie bag for me), we headed a wee bit north (so for those of you keeping track, now we're even farther away from the 'do… making mom REALLY wish she'd packed that overnight bag) and went to go see the new Muppet Movie.  At the time, I intended to give you my impressions of the movie in a blog entry, but, yeah, that obviously didn't happen.  I enjoyed it.  It was very entertaining, and I adore Animal.  But.. I'm thinking that the unthinkable may have happened and I may have outgrown the Muppets.  I'll have to ponder that and get back to you.

Après movie, I took mom back home and then I went to Michaels.  Yes, this was Thanksgiving afternoon, but they were open and there was a coupon with everything 40% more off!  Mom and I generally take a couple of names from the Angel Tree at church – each angel has the name of a kid who has a parent in jail/prison and age/gift suggestions/sizes for the child.  The gifts are delivered from a member of the church along with a tiny Bible and the kid has a present "from" the incarcerated parent.  Well, one of the names we picked wanted art supplies and so not only were the art supplies that I got him on sale, but I got an additional 40% off, so for the $20 I spent on him, he got $40 of loot!  I do try to get as much bang for my buck for these kids, since they may not get much more.  In addition to getting the Angel kid's art stuff, I was able to get some quantity/not quality gifts for my secret pal at work, and for the nieces and nephews… and, let's face it, some stuff for me, too!

 

Friday, mom and I had been invited down to Eddyville, Illinois, to have a "real" Thanksgiving meal with my Aunt Linda's family.  We had a very nice time.  They hadn't seen me in person since my surgery in April, just pics on Facebook which is not the same thing, so there were ooh's and aah's which, although not necessary and certainly not required, sure did make me feel nice. 

Before we left for Eddyville, though, I was able to hit Kohl's and get myself a new coat, since the one I had was big enough for three of me (when I bought it, I accidentally bought the wrong size, so it was huge on me even when I was bigger), and some sweaters, and the other Angel kid's gift – clothes at really cheap, so he got $40 worth of stuff for my $20, too!  Very successful!

We finished up the Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping weekend by going to Burlington's on Saturday to get Mom a new coat because the coat she had been wearing was the one she bought in Indy when she went up for either Hollian, Natalie, or Brynn's birth.  So at a minimum it's 21 years old.  A good quality coat, but ready to be put out to pasture.  Mom doesn't like shopping, AND Burlington also qualifies for her needing to pack a bag to go there, so I got her home as soon as possible and we burrowed into our condo for the remainder of the weekend.

By Monday, I was rested and relaxed and, other than just not wanting to get up at 6:30 and go to work, I was ready to go back to work.

I'm Doing Much Better, Thank You

Medically speaking, 2011 hasn't been a lot of fun for Rose.  That's not to say that it hasn't all turned out fabulous.  As of today, I've lost 112 pounds and other than a lovely scar and almost NO memories from Scotland, I can't complain about the appendectomy either.

Wednesday, October 25th, was the official 6 month anniversary for my gastric surgery.  Post-op, I was given a prescription for Prilosec to reduce the production of acid in the stomach and thereby reduce the risk of ulcers.  I was told to take it for six months.... October 25th was six months... ergo, when the prescription ran out on Saturday the 29th, I took the last pill and said adios to the Prilosec!

Sunday, I made chili and had some for dinner.  Monday, I had chili for lunch.  Not mine, but some Buffalo Wing Chili which was super spicy.  For dinner, I don't recall what I had, but for Tuesday breakfast, I had the rest of the Buffalo Wing Chili that Deborah graciously let me make off with.  Lunch was... I don't know, but for dinner, Mom made spanish rice which, while not as spicy as I would have made it, did have a tomato base.  I had leftovers for breakfast and lunch on Wednesday.  For dinner, Mom made spaghetti.  Again, not overly spicy, but tomato-y. 

Thursday morning, I awoke at my usual 5:30 am.  I didn't want to get up.  In fact I laid there for a couple of minutes weighing the pros/cons of calling in for a mental health day and decided that it would only make going in on Friday almost impossible, thereby requiring two mental health days and I didn't think I needed that.  I got up.  The muscle in my upper left arm ached, like I'd had a shot in it.  I thought maybe I'd slept wrong on it.  I ambled into the kitchen to make my protein shake, I noticed that it was pouring outside and quietly said a prayer of thanks because obviously God knew that I didn't want to go out for a walk and provided accordingly.  I also noticed that my tum wasn't feeling all that great, but...  I took my shake to my room, sat at my computer and started to farm while slurping it down.

About 20 minutes into the shake, and I hadn't drunk but about 1/3 of the 16oz shake, I started having pains and it hurt to breathe.  I got up to try to "walk it off", but that didn't work and I realized that I needed help.  I hobbled into Mom's room and woke her up from a complete sleep (slacker), told her she needed to take me to the ER and I walked to my bathroom to put on my sweatpants... a total of 40 feet?  During that incredibly long trip, I started hearing the blood rush in my head and all sound started coming from far away thru a tunnel.  I knew I was going to pass out.  Thank God that I got my sweatpants and was able to collapse onto my bed.  I didn't pass out.  Mom got the elevator, I got in, knowing that it's the world's slowest elevator, and when I started feeling woozy, slid to the floor, so I ended up crawling to the car.

Mom drove my car to the ER.  Now, anyone who really knows me knows that NO ONE drives my car unless I'm dead or dying, so that alone should speak volumes.

At the ER, my insurance paid for an EKG, blood tests, a chest x-ray, and a CT scan (my fourth one this year - I should be due a free one soon, I think).  The end result was that although I was having pain when I breathe and couldn't breathe deeply, they had ruled out anything life-threatening and were sending me home.  WTF!?  I should rest and follow up with my doctor.  Sigh.

On the way home, I called my doctor who, as I already knew but hoped I was wrong about, doesn't work on Thursdays.  After arguing with the telephone nurse that this wasn't acid reflux because I've HAD acid reflux, I was told I could either see my doctor, the best in the world, at 9:30 on Friday morning or come in and see Dr. Conway at 11:45 (a couple of hours away).  I decided to wait for my doctor.

Mom got me home and up the elevator without incident or gravity taking over.  I slipped off the sweatpants and, having wore my Snoopy nightshirt to the ER, I was ready to crawl back in bed.  The tech had told me to drink lots of fluids in order to flush the CT scan dye from my system, so I asked Mom to get me some juice.  She wanted to get me water, but I wanted juice, so I whined and she brought me juice.  In retrospect, I would argue that although this whining is/was not a mature thing, it was beneficial as it brought us to an answer sooner rather than later... so don't judge!

Since you've already read the background, I'm sure you can guess that, yes, the juice caused more pain.  We called the doctor's office back and got that 11:45 appt with Dr. Conway.  An interesting man, he was my father's general doctor... yeah.  Anyway, after listening to all of my back story about surgeries, health conditions, current meds (including the fact that I'd stopped taking the Prilosec almost a week before, he gave me some Mylanta to see if it helped.  I can't say that it HELPED!!, but it did make me feel somewhat better.  We decided that the stopping of the Prilosec, combined with the almost full meals of spicy acidic food for a week, had caused some damaged.  I needed to resume the Prilosec to get back to the acid reduction, take Mylanta to help heal the damage, and resume my Carafate (this pink liquidy stuff I had to have an hour before meals and at bedtime for the first two months post-op - it creates a protective liner on the stomach wall to prevent further damage and help aid healing.)

As I'm typing this, it is Sunday evening.  I've been taking the medicine, eating only bland foods, and resting/sleeping a lot.  Oh, I forgot to mention the Lortab the doctor gave me for the pain!  :)  I'm not 100% back to the Rosemary version of normal, but I do feel much better.  I will admit that this afternoon, after Mom left to go somewhere, I got me a glass of juice and, even though I watered it down, it make my tum hurt, so I'm drinking water.  It still hurts to take deep breaths, to yawn (damn, why is it even typing that word makes me do it?), etc., but I do think we're on the road to recovery.  If not, I'll call and go see MY doctor!!  The bestest doctor in the whole-wide-world!... but obviously not on a Thursday!