The Night Before Surgery

Twas the night before surgery and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, 'cept me and my Mac mouse.

All of the laundry did I not do,
neither all work projects, but I'm down to just two.

It'll all have to wait, til I'm back on my feet,
I'll try and rest since it all will be there when my recovery is complete.

The Christmas tree is up, though it's not done with my usual flair,
there's only so much I can do, husband and daughter don't seem to care.

Christmas shopping this year will be done via the Net
Just a few more clicks and the presents will be all set.

I'm not too nervous, though I do fear the pain,
But once that's over, being at home for weeks I might go insane.

Well wishes are welcome and prayers are too--they're a definite must
God is watching over me and in Him I will trust.

Twilight the Movie

I went with my daughter, Rebecca, to see the movie, Twilight. The movie is based on a young adult vampire-romance novel written by Stephenie Meyer. It's the first book of the Twilight series, and introduces 17-year-old Isabella who moves from Phoenix, to Forks, Washington and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire, Edward. Neither one of us have read the books, but had heard about them and knew a little about the premise of the series. We got there early, thank goodness, because for some dumb reason Regal Cinemas had the movie in one of their smaller theaters. I think it sold out because it looked to me like every seat was taken. I was surprised at the boys who were there--they looked like middle school age.

Anyway, the movie grabbed me from the beginning. About half way through, the call of nature was beaconing me, but I didn't dare leave. I'm not sure what it was about the story or the characters, but Twilight just sucked us in. I'm still thinking about it. We both enjoyed it so much, that we went to the bookstore and bought the next book in the series, New Moon.

Check out this job opening

I got this e-mail the other day about a job opening? Who are they kidding? Sounds a little fishy to me!

We have found your resume and would like to suggest you a
"Goods Shipment Agent" vacancy.

We have studied your resume and are happy to inform you that your skills
completely meet our requirements for this position.

This is a part-time position. Your job will be to transfer consumer goods between our clients
Your job will consist in the following:

° To accept goods to your address
° To deliver the goods to the nearest USPS/DHL/UPS office
° To send the goods to a specified by us address

Hip Journey

Don't expect to read about a cool road trip. I'm calling my entries "Hip Journey" to chronicle my experience of going through hip replacement surgery (for a second time). Surgery is in one week--December 1. I thought it might be interesting to blog about, if not for any other reason, but to help keep my sanity while recuperating.

Today was pre-op testing day. They listened to my lungs, drew blood for tests, and did an EKG--all done from the comfort of a recliner without having to change into a hospital gown! They also gave me this breathing gizmo to practice my post surgery breathing which will clear my lungs from the anesthesia. I have to bring it with me on the day of surgery--yeah, like I'll remember to bring it.


Now I've got one week to finish up several projects, spend Thanksgiving with the family, and get some Christmas shopping done.

Oh to Blog

OK, I haven't had a chance to blog in a couple of days. I thought maybe tonight I could but there has been one interruption or distraction after another. From the cat walking on my keyboard, to the dog nudging me to go out, to my mother calling for computer help, to my daughter calling my name while I'm on the phone and then blasting her music. Oh, how could I forget--having to go into the bathroom and remove a tiny spider because of, guess who, my daughter, screaming. Maybe I'll give it a go in a few minutes.

Scary Situation

This was an e-mail I got the other morning from my husband. He was staying at his boss' (Scott) second home in the Baltimore area. Pretty scary. The next day, he went out and bought a baseball bat.

I am asleep and I wake up at 2am to hear my cell phone ringing, I look at the number and it says Scott R New Home. I answer the phone and Scott asks "where are you", I reply that I was asleep and I'm in the bedroom of his house, he says "the neighbor called the police, there is someone trying to break into the kitchen window".

WHAT DO YOU DO?

I went to the closet and put my pants and shoes on, I don't know why I guess whatever is going on I will need pants and shoes. I do however, take the cell phone with me.

Here I am on the second floor of the house without any weapons or anything but Ive got pants, shoes and a cell phone. I thought it was a bad idea to go downstairs unarmed but I also didn't want to stay in the bedroom where there was no exit.

I decided to go out on the second flood deck off the master bedroom, I heard voices, turns out voices with guns and flashlights... a good half dozen of Anne Arundel County Police men.

The neighbor next door (Nancy) heard someone outside messing with the house, called the police and then called Scott, thank God she did. I will have to go over tomorrow and thank her.

I am officially up for the day, made a strong pot of coffee, no more sleep tonight for me.

The police had a dog sniff around the lot, looks like the person just jumped the fence and was trying to remove a window, not break one. I guess they figured they would be quiet trying to remove the window, the neighbor heard them anyway.

I noticed that the spot lights that usually light up the lot like Times Square were not working when I arrived this trip, they were on last time I was here. Scott is having them fixed tomorrow, they sure are annoying but I'm a big believer in them now.

Sure wish Grace was staying with me.

G

CT Results

Followed up with my hip doctor after having the CT scan the other day. He says there is a small erosion spot in the bone behind the socket joint. You can kind of make it out in the image below. It's a small black spot behind the socket at about the 10:00 position. When he operates, he'll inject some "fake" bone into the spot. From all appearances, the stem is solidly in place. He plans on replacing the cup liner and the ball joint. You can also see where the liner is wearing thin near the top.

I thought of these positives about having the surgery: I'll be off of work for at least a month, I'll get a handicap parking sticker, I won't have to do laundry for at least a couple of weeks, and this hip should last for another 20 years.

Blepharitis Go Away!

So I blogged about being diagnosed with blepharitis back in September. This cranky stuff is still around. Apparently it pops up and is difficult to get rid of. I talked with my friend again that works for an eye doctor and she has suggested cleansing the eye every day with a mild solution of baby shampoo. I must confess I haven't been faithful with cleansing my eyes at night. So I'm going to give this a try and see if this helps. One semi-positive thing about having blepharitis is that I haven't been wearing eye makeup. That saves me about 10 minutes in the morning.

As Seen on TV - Pedi Paws

We tried this new gadget we saw on TV, Pedi Paws, to trim our dog's toe nails. On the commerical they show how simple it is to use (it looks like they're not really trimming the nails.) It's actually a sander/grinder type thing. When you get the actual product, it strongly suggests that you get your pet used to the sound of the "instrument." Our dog did fine with the noise, but it was more of the vibration on her nails that bothered her. I trimmed them, but I still her her nails clicking on the hardwood floors. And, the biggest drawback is the smell of the nails when they're ground down. It sort of smells like when you get a tooth drilled for a cavity. Pew! I'd give the product a C-.

Honoring Our Veterans

We honored our veterans today. Where I work, we had a special chapel and prayed for soldiers and chaplains serving our country. I remember going to Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. One of my favorite things to see there is the Tomb of the Unknowns. It's guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I found this video on YouTube and wanted to share it. Thanks to all our soldiers, past and present who serve to protect our country.

CAT Scan

I had my first CAT (CT) scan today. The doctor ordered one of my hip that is going to be re-replaced. The machine looks like a big donut. You lie on a table and it takes you through the donut hole. When the area they are scanning is in the middle of the hole, this whirring/spinning noise starts. It kind of sounds like what you think it would sound like if you were in a space ship taking off at warp speed. Then this automated female voice tells you take a breath in and hold it. Then after a second or two she tells you to breathe again. And then they take you in and out of the the hole a couple of times and then you're done. The table was actually very comfortable--I think I could have fallen asleep on it. I follow-up with my doctor in a couple of days to go over the results.

Oh no, a co-ed party!

So my soon to be 15 year old wants to have a party for her birthday. This makes me nervous because this time she wants boys to come and her father, my husband, will not be home. Can I handle this on my own? The girls are invited to spend the night (oh boy I can hear the loud laughing and screaming now) and boys are to leave at 10 p.m. She wants to have a fire in the outdoor fire pit. This makes me nervous, too. Teens and fire don't mix! What will they do to have fun? What do teens nowadays think is a "cool" party? For my 16th party, we played games. Somehow I don't think kids play games anymore. We'll probably need something like a Wii set up or something hi-tech. I hope they don't tick off the neighbors by running around outside. What if the party turns out to be like the wild ones you see in the movies? Any advice?

Kudos to Kodak

Gorgeous Maple

I've been having issues with my Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS camera. When I took indoor pictures with the flash, the images were grainy. This was frustrating since the outdoor pictures in bright sun were great. I read the the manual. I talked to photo experts I work with. No one could find the solution. I had been told to set my camera on the "action setting." That way, whether you moved or not, the photo wouldn't blur. After taking some photos of Rebecca and the cat at Halloween and seeing how grainy the photos came out, I decided to take further action on solving this problem.

If you're interested, click on this image to make it larger and you can see the graininess.

I went to the Web and tried searching Google for other people experiencing the same problem. I got no where. Then, a brillant idea came to me--maybe I should go to the Kodak Web site and search under support. I found my model, clicked support, and then clicked "chat with a support person" (or something like that). Ernesto G. answered my call for help. I described the problem. His solution: set the camera on the auto mode and take a picture. It came out fine! I had the camera on the wrong setting! Talk about feeling like an idiot! I don't even want to tell you how long I've been wrestling with this problem. OK, I will. A year!

I write all this to say how pleased I was with the customer support from Kodak. The support guy knew the product and gave me a quick and simple solution. I felt really dumb, but the problem is solved!

Enjoy some of the fall pictures I took today (No photo corrections were made to the images in case you're wondering).

Remembering When

As I pulled into the garage tonight and my window was down I was thinking back on my childhood. This is how my crazy mind works. The window was down, I had a bunch of "stuff" in the car that I needed help with to get inside. My thoughts turned to calling my daughter and asking her to come to the "drive up window" to pick up her orders. You see, when I was younger, we used to play drive up window at the bank. That was back when there was no direct deposit paychecks and you had to go to the bank to cash your check. This started a whole train wreck of thoughts of ... I remember when.

I remember when ...
... gas stations were full service and the gas guy would come out to your car and ask, "Fill 'er up? High test or regular? Check under your hood?" He also would have a wad of cash in his pocket because people paid with cash back then. He usually had a rag hanging out of his back pocket, too.

... you'd go to the mailbox with excitement because there might be a letter in there instead of just bills and junk mail like we have today.

... KFC was known as Kentucky Fried Chicken and their extra crispy was better.

... Hardee's had charbroiled burgers and a special sauce that tasted great.

... going to McDonald's and getting a burger and fries was a special treat.

... milk was delivered by the milk man and left at the door in a tin box.

... After church on Sunday, the family would take a Sunday afternoon drive. Sometimes we'd drive for an hour to get to a really good restaurant where we'd have to wait another hour or so to be seated. Where I grew up in Maryland, two of our favorites were Peter Pan and Friendly Farms.

... We'd go to drive-in movies dressed in our PJs so that when the second feature came on and it was late, we could go to sleep.

... Typewriters were manual and to make a copy you used carbon paper.

... When you went to buy new shoes, a person waited on you. They measured your foot, went and got the shoes, and actually helped you get the shoes on. They also knew the products!

... Elementary school boys thought it was cool to eat glue paste. It came in a plastic jar with a flat stick to spread it. Do they have those anymore?

... The teachers would make copies using, help me here, memeographs? The copies would come out with purple ink and everyone loved to smell them.

... Phones were rotary dial and you shared a line.

... there were only three or four tv channels to choose from.

... the family would have dinner together every night at the dinner table.

What are your memories?

Travel Tip

If you're traveling and left your cell phone charger at home, check with the hotel lost and found. Sometimes they have a collection of chargers and one might work for your phone.