Jumping on the Bandwagon...

Finally! Part II

2008-08-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

I hated to do that to y'all last night, but it was really turning out to be a long post, and I like doing cliffhangers anyway, so I thought it was a good place to stop. :) I'm evil, I know.

So anyway, my attorney pulls out LB's Facebook profile, and I start reading it. Here are some of the lovely highlights of what she had written:

"I love driving fast and have the record to prove it"

"Here's to the drunken nights I'll never remember with the friends I'll never forget"

"I love staying single, seeing double, and sleeping triple"

Later, the mediator comes in and says to my attorney, "The defense is saying they never got the Stowers letter," which was essentially a letter my attorney had sent back in January telling the insurance company that we just wanted to get this all over with, and if they paid us the policy limit, we would settle immediately and that would be the end of it.

The insurance company never responded. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside just thinking about it.

So my attorney told the mediator, "I sent that Stowers letter back in January, and here is a copy of it," and handed the mediator the letter. Seemingly, someone at the defense attorney's office f-ed up and the defense attorney never got the letter, or he's lying. My attorney gives the mediator the Stowers letter to show to the defense, and then says, "Show them this, too," and hands the mediator LB's Facebook profile, with all the juicy bits highlighted.

A few minutes later the mediator comes in and says, "You got policy limit." She goes on to tell us that she pulled the defense attorney and the insurance adjuster out of the room and said, "Here is the Stowers letter you claim you never received. The plaintiff is demanding you give her policy limit, or I am going to pull LB's father out here and show him his daughter's Facebook profile," and she handed the attorney and the adjuster the pages, to which they said, "Oh, crap," and I got a check the same day.

Success!

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall to witness that conversation.

Finally, after almost a year and a half, this whole stupid business is over. After my medical bills and the attorney was paid, we came out with a decent amount that will help pay off some debt and have some left over to put into savings. And I learned a valuable lesson - if someone rear ends you and runs off, and they catch who did it, have their ass arrested!

Finally!!

2008-08-19T20:16:00.003-05:00

Okay, it's really sad when you haven't posted in so long the Blogger dashboard has changed in your absence, and it threw you for a loop for a second.

As little as I post, you'd think I'd pack it in already, but, as few posts that come out of here now, I still love blogging and hope that someday, relatively soon, I will regain my mojo. :)

Anyway, I wanted to share with the few who are still readers a little bit of what happened last week. A couple of you have already heard this, but it's a good story and needs to be told again.

In April of 2007, some of you may remember that I was in a car accident, where I was rear-ended while going to work and the person who hit me fled the scene, and they caught her, the Little Bitch (from now on referred to as LB) had no remorse, yadda yadda yadda. I was in physical therapy for five months and still, almost a year and a half later, suffer from pain on my right side, from my neck all the way down my leg. I'd originally thought I was going to let the insurance company take care of me, but several months of physical therapy coming out of my own pocket and hearing some horror stories about insurance companies wanting to take care of their bottom line before they took care of you made me decide to hire an attorney, who would be on my side.

An MRI and X-rays showed that I had an injury to my leg as well as two bulging discs in my neck, and my attorney presented the facts and demanded a certain amount as a settlement based on my injuries, to which LB's insurance company essentially gave us the finger and counteroffered $1700, about a tenth of what my medical bills ended up being. They said that since there was minor damage to my car that I couldn't possibly be as hurt as I said I was, and that I was pretty much faking. Lovely, huh? I guess I paid the MRI technician to switch my results with someone else who had the bulging discs.

In March I gave a deposition, as did LB and her father, since LB is still on his insurance, and found out while reading her deposition that after she rear ended me and left she went home and tried to lie about the accident to her dad, who called her on it and she admitted the truth. But the kicker is that about six months before my accident, she was in a wreck that was her fault, and four months after she rear ended me she was in ANOTHER rear end collision, her fault, of course, and she totaled her car. And you know how her parents "punished" her for that? They bought her a new car!

You'd think that after hearing all this evidence that my case was pretty much watertight, but no, this crap dragged on for yet another five months until last Wednesday, when, in an attempt to keep this from going to trial, we all met up for mediation.

So, last Wednesday morning I showed up at this gorgeous little office in Uptown Dallas, wearing a suit and looking very professional. I was incredibly nervous because LB and her dad were going to be there too, and I just didn't feel like facing them, but I did, and guess what she came dressed in?

Bitch was wearing jeans! JEANS! I mean, come on...my attorney got a kick out of me being so outraged at that, but it just goes to show you what kind of person LB is that she doesn't know that there are times you need to look professional.

So we had our General Session, where the two parties meet in a room with the mediator and the attorneys present their sides of the case. My attorney said that it's an open and shut thing, and if it goes before a jury the defense is screwed and I'll be awarded all these damages, while the other side says I'm faking and the jury would see that and laugh in my face, and then we all adjourned to different rooms, after which the mediator would try to facilitate negotiations for a settlement. My attorney was trying to go for LB's policy limit or as close to it as possible.

While we were waiting for the mediator to come back to us, my attorney says to me, "My paralegal was doing some research on LB, and look what she found."

And my attorney pulled out LB's Facebook profile. And after reading what she wrote, our case started looking better and better.

That's all I'm going to post tonight! Tune in next time for another gripping installment! :)

Bobby Brady Lives on my Block

2008-07-28T21:10:00.005-05:00

Most of the people who live on our street are older than we are. Our neighbor on the left is the oldest person in the neighborhood, at 91, and is quite proud of that. The neighbors on our right are a retired couple whose kids and grandkids live nearby. When we moved in a year and a half ago, DH was unpacking in the front room and he said that a gaggle of pre-middle school kids kept running by our house, stopping short of ringing the doorbell and asking if any kids lived here and wanted to come out to play.

When we lived in Frisco, the area was literally teeming with babies. It was baby this, baby that, oh look at my baby, I have a baby, and pretty much wherever we went we saw families lugging small children around in Baby Bjorns and Peg Perego strollers. Which was totally cool with us, but moving to Allen has thrown us into dealing with a whole new age group of children.

The teenager.

For example, the past few nights I've been serenaded by the sweet, sweet sounds of a drum kit being hit with full force by, most likely, a teenage boy with dreams of traveling all over the world, being a rockstar flocked by groupies. (I wonder, do drummers these days still twirl the drumsticks in their fingers like all the hair metal guys did in the '80s? Probably not - wow, Bdogg, you are really showing your age now!) I have to say, it isn't that bad, and I was never coordinated enough to hit a bass drum with my right foot and hit a snare drum with my left hand while tinging the cymbal with my right hand, but come on! Just because you're on summer vacation and can stay up all hours of the night does not mean that the rest of the neighborhood should be subjected to killer beats when they have to go to work the next day. Why don't you try to wake up early, say 10 am or so, and practice then? The majority of the neighborhood would most likely be at work during that time. Oh my gosh, will you listen to me? When did I become old? Next thing you know I'll be going to Denny's for the 4:30 dinner special.

Bobby Brady doesn't have anything on the hot tub banger, though. Remember that classic?

Ear plugs, I love you.

There's a Birthday Among Us...

2008-07-25T10:14:00.003-05:00

Today is the birthday of my bestest friend in the whole world, Poppy. She's an awesome chick with a huge heart and a load of sassiness to boot. I am incredibly lucky to have her as a friend.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!!!!!111

Riddled with Bullets

2008-07-23T20:18:00.005-05:00

--On Sunday, DH and I went to our favorite place, Studio Movie Grill, to see The Dark Knight. It was all-you-can-eat pizza night, so DH and I ate pizzas and drank sodas and watched the movie. The thing about the pizza is, they bring you a full-sized pizza the first time around, and if you order another one, it's half the size of the first one. That's okay with me, though. I thought the movie was really really really good. There were several times that I sat there, slack-jawed, and looked over at DH who had the same expression. Heath Ledger was amazing as The Joker, and of course, Christian Bale is one of my favorite actors. After the movie, DH and I were mostly quiet on the way home, just processing it all.

--Yesterday I was coming back from the sandwich shop near work, and as a cop drove by on the other side of the street, I watched as a man in a pickup truck pulled right out in front of me to turn left and stopped in the median area, the back of his pickup taking up my entire lane. So, I laid on the horn and kept my hand there until he finally moved, and when he was pulling away from me the bastard moved his hand in a "yap yap yap" motion at me. So I gave him the finger.

--It is hot as blazes here. Yesterday the high was 103, but today it actually cooled off a bit. The high is 98! I should have worn a sweater. But it is kinda sad that my office gets so cold in the summertime that I welcome going outside just to warm up...

--Menchi and Kino are pretty smart kitties. I think one of the reasons he is such a butthead is because he gets bored easily. So one day I was watching Housecat Housecall on Animal Planet and the vet suggested giving the cats toys that made them work for things to occupy their time and engage their mind, and showed a clip of a cat batting around a Kong filled with kitty treats and eating the treats contained within, as its reward. So last weekend, DH and I went to Petco and bought a Kong, brought it home and promptly filled it with treats. The cats looked at us like we were crazy, so we just left it on the floor and DH went to work out. About ten minutes after DH left I went into the kitchen and saw Menchi batting the Kong around and eating the treats that came out. I got so excited that I called DH and told him about Menchi's super intelligence. She hasn't done it since, though, so maybe it was a fluke.

--I'm in a big rut with my job. I mean, I've been doing the same thing, essentially, for nearly 10 years, and I'm tired of sitting at a desk all day. So, I figured, why not try something new? So I'm selling Avon. Not full-time, of course, not yet, but it's something I really want to try to do. I'm not allowed to advertise my website link on my blog though (boo,) but if you want to buy stuff from me, e-mail me and I'd be glad to help you out.

--Happy belated birthday to Ms. Bearette!

New Eyes

2008-07-17T21:43:00.004-05:00

Thanks to all of you who left get well comments. I am finally starting to feel better, thank goodness! Five days after the surgery, I woke up with a puffy rash all over my torso. Turns out I had an allergic reaction to the antiseptic prep stuff they swab all over you pre-incision. My body is weird like that -- I once finished a ten-day course of a sulfa medication before I blew up like a balloon. But, a prescription for steroids and a week later and presto! No more rash!

My incisions healed nicely, but the scars aren't that pretty. I see Mederma in my future...

Anyway, last Saturday DH and I had our annual eye exams. Well, it was annual for me -- DH hadn't been to the eye doctor since before we moved to Dallas 4.5 years ago, when he got glasses to replace the ones he lost in the Guadalupe River on a toobing trip.

Ever since mid-June, DH had been wearing his old contacts that I had to dig out of a box in our closet because, big surprise, he lost his current pair of glasses in the Guadalupe River during a toobing trip. Now, let me tell you, when he decided to go (I'm not the biggest fan of toobing, so I decided to stay behind, plus, my dad and stepmom came to town and took me shopping--way more fun,) I said to him, "I really hope you don't lose your glasses this time," and he assured me this wouldn't happen.

Flash forward to Saturday afternoon. I'm in the car with my parents heading back from the mall when I get a phone call. It was DH, telling me that, as usual, I was right, and guess what he did? He lost his glasses in the river. Luckily his prescription isn't that bad and he can still see mostly without his glasses, because he had to drive back to our house!

Anyway, so we had our eye appointment, and he got new glasses. The new glasses bug bit me as well, since my pair was 3 years old, and, well, I couldn't have DH looking all snazzy in new glasses with me wearing my old ones. Never mind that I don't wear glasses in public. Oh well - I got a new pair in addition to my contacts, and I love love love them!

While DH got his glasses right away, because his prescription is so minimal they can make them in-house (and he looks so cute, y'all, in his new glasses, you don't even know!) mine, being coke bottles, have to be sent off and ground down from giant sheets of plastic, or whatever they do for people who are half-blind.

They came in earlier this week, and I thought I'd show them off, because I think they're quite fetching. I might even wear them in public!

Here are my previous glasses:

And the new ones:

What do you think??

Up and at 'em...sort of

2008-07-05T21:33:00.002-05:00

Well, folks, I survived my gallbladder removal. So far, I've been feeling pretty well, considering, but I've been trying to take it easy. Wednesday morning I checked into the hospital and got the IV and all that great stuff, and met with my surgeon and anesthesiologist (both very wonderful people,) and was wheeled into the operating room. The anesthesiologist and I were talking about different types of music we liked, and they were piling warm blankets on top of me, and the last thing I remember was the gas mask being put over my nose.

I woke up in recovery, having a very difficult time breathing, and every once in a while the oxygen machine would beep at me, reminding me to breathe since the anesthesia relaxed my respiratory system so much. Luckily, though, I wasn't nauseous or anything, but I was in quite a bit of pain, so they kept giving me painkillers.

According to the surgeon, my body had started attacking my gallbladder, and was in the process of walling it off by growing fat and tissue around the offending organ. She took a picture of it, and I have to say it was a very interesting sight. So it was a good thing that they took it out, since my body would have eventually killed the gallbladder anyway and kept causing me pain.

The past few days have been spent with me on the couch, my Mom taking care of me and she & my Dad pretty much doing all the housework, bless them. They left yesterday afternoon, and DH has taken really good care of me, too, bringing me drinks and snacks and ice packs for my tummy. I have three incisions on the right side of my abdomen, and one in my belly button, which are held together with super glue-like stuff. Kinda disconcerting to look at, but so far everything seems to be holding together all right. :)

Just wanted to let everyone know that the surgery went well. Sitting up can be a bit uncomfortable, so I'm going to go recline as much as possible until I have to sit up all day back at work on Monday!

American Girls and Gallbladders

2008-07-01T21:57:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, my sister-in-law came up and took her daughter and son (my niece and nephew) and their cousin to the American Girl Cafe. Now, I know you're wondering why my nephew came too, but that was because his dad is in Korea preparing for the family to move there at the end of the month, so he was kind of stuck doing all the girly stuff.

I got one of the very first American Girl dolls, Kirsten, when it was still called Pleasant Company and before Mattel bought the company out and kind of sullied the brand, in my mind, but I have to say I got suckered in, and had a fabulous time. I even brought my doll and got her hair done back to its original style, and we all had a lovely lunch - here's a pic of the afternoon--you can see the rest of the set here:

Later on that afternoon we went to see Wall-E for my nephew, and it was very very good. I definitely recommend it. At first I was worried that it was going to be a bit too preachy like Happy Feet, but I was pleasantly surprised and even teared up a few times.

Tomorrow morning I check into the hospital to have my gallbladder removed, and while I'm a bit nervous, I'm glad the whole thing is soon to be finished. So, until sometime after the surgery, I bid you happy blogging and I'll see you on the flipside!

Cats - 0, Humans - 1

2008-06-22T20:48:00.004-05:00

Our bedroom furniture belonged to DH during his bachelor days. Medium-brown wood, done in the mission style, it is really well made and for the past nearly five (damn!) years it has served us well.

There's one problem, though. The headboard is a ledge of sorts, and this perch is something that the cats just LOVE to jump on at 5am, 6am, 7am, pretty much when they want to drive us out of bed to give them food/attention/what-have-you.

And it drives me up the f-ing wall. You wanna know why? Because I can't count how many times I've been sleeping peacefully, ensconced in a fabulous dream, only to have a damn furry body slip off the headboard right onto my head.

Since new bedroom furniture is not very high on the list of priorities (need to put back moolah for my surgery a week from Wednesday as well as our Christmas trip to NYC, and then we want to upgrade our appliances, etc. etc. etc,) DH and I devised a simple plan to deter the cats from their favorite morning perch.

Painter's tape. Turned inside out to expose the sticky side. After we put it on the headboard, BlackJack, ever the curious bastard, promptly jumped up on the ledge to see what was going on, and proceeded to freak out at the stickiness assaulting his paws.

That was a couple of weeks ago, and so far, no morning headboard hijinks from the cats. Every once in a while Joey contemplates jumping on it, but one touch of his paws to that tape and he decides it isn't worth it.

Sure the tape isn't very attractive, but I don't care since I can now sleep peacefully at night.

However, if you're interested in a well-made mission style bedroom set, please let me know - I'm more than happy to give you a good deal!!

Clandestine Post

2008-06-11T09:11:00.004-05:00

I'm not supposed to be doing this at work, but Poppy posted this meme and I thought I'd do the same. Our Internet has been on the fritz at home for the past couple of weeks, which is why I haven't posted recently, but it's been fixed now. So I should be posting more after hours. :)

This morning I was looking at my reflection in the mirror and noticed that when I smile, my eyes crinkle up around the corners. I don't remember them being that pronounced previously. I'm kinda freaking out right now.

But anyway, here's the meme:

What is in the back of your car? Shoes, mainly. And workout towels.

Name one person that made you smile today? You know, it's early, and I'm at work, so no smile as of yet.

What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Making my morning tea.

What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Driving to work.

What is your favorite candy bar? Oooh, the Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Butter Biscuit. They're magically delicious.

Have you ever been to a strip club? I've been to a male one, when I was young and foolish.

What is the last thing you said aloud? I can't remember the exact words, but it was something to my boss about a tradeshow booth.

What is the best ice cream flavor? New York Super Fudge Chunk! And Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! Wait, that's two...

What was the last thing you had to drink? I just had a sip of tea.

What are you wearing right now? Black pants, black tank, black and gray patterned sheer top, black shoes. Even my underthings are black. And it's going to be 98 degrees today. What the hell was I thinking?

What was the last thing you ate? Frosted Shredded Wheat.

Have you bought any new clothing items this week? I bought some new workout shoes yesterday...

When was the last time you ran? I don't run. I did go 5.5 MPH on the elliptical last night, though. My best yet!

The last sporting event you watched? College Baseball was on the screen at Studio Movie Grill this weekend while we were waiting to see Don't Mess with the Zohan. (Terrible movie, btw)

What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Regular popped, with Old Bay sprinkled on.

Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on myspace? I rarely visit MySpace anymore.

Do you take vitamins daily? Yes.

Do you go to church every Sunday? No. I used to, growing up, but I lost my faith quite a few years ago, and despite several tries to find it again, it's still gone. I'm perfectly okay with that.

Do you have a tan? Nope. Pale as a ghost.

Do you like Chinese food over pizza? I like both equally.

Do you drink your soda with a straw? Only if it is served to me that way at a restaurant.

What did your last text message say? It was from dear Poppy, telling me they were being sent home because of the weather.

Are you someone's best friend? Yes. :)

What are you doing tomorrow? Working. Going to the gym. Cooking dinner. Watching TV. Going to sleep. Standard Thursday.

Look to your left, what do you see? A box of tissues, and a bottle of water.

What color is your watch? I don't wear a watch.

What do you think of when you think of Australia? The Thorn Birds.

Do you use chapstick? Every day!

What is your birthstone? Garnet.

What is your favorite number? 13.

Do you have a dog? No. They're cute and all, but with 4 cats, a dog would be a bit much.

Last person you talked to on the phone? I think my mom.

Have you met anyone famous?No. I'm boring.

Any plans today? Not really. I have to go with the VP to a lunch & learn session today, but that's about it.

How many states have you lived in? One.

Ever go to college? Yes, yes I did. (Your mom goes to college.)

Do you dye your hair? I've dyed my hair for so long I don't remember what my natural color is. I think what I have now (minus the highlights) is pretty close, though.

Biggest annoyance in your life right now? My leg is bugging me from the workout last night.

Last song listened to? "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" by Thompson Twins

Can you say the alphabet backwards? Of course!

Do you have a maid service clean your house? No. I want to get one, but I'm too lazy to clean up beforehand so they won't see what horrible housekeepers we are.

Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? I usually wear my ballet flats during the week, and flip flops on the weekends.

Are you jealous of anyone?Nope.

Is anyone jealous of you? I like to think so.

Do you love anyone? More than anything.

Do any of your friends have children? Yes.

Do you eat healthy? I try to, for the most part.

What do you usually do during the day? Sit in front of the computer. Yay.

Do you hate anyone that you know right now? No, but do fellow drivers count?

Do you use the word 'hello' daily? I do. I know Poppy thinks it is too formal a word, but I still like it. :)

What color is your car? Seafoam green. After I had my wreck last year the police were there taking my statement and when they asked me what color my car was, I said, "Seafoam." The officer looked at me and said, "I can't put that in the report. How about green?" I guess he didn't want anyone to question his masculinity, or maybe men just see all shades of green as just "green." Who knows?

Do you like cats? They are the best animals ever!

Have you ever been to Six Flags? Yes, and got heatstroke when I was 15, and the bitches I was with didn't want to get out of the rollercoaster line to help me. Whores.

How did you get your worst scar? I don't really have a "worst" scar. They're all quite tiny, really.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

2008-05-26T21:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, DH and I went to Scarborough Faire - a lovely village festival in Waxahachie where you are transported back into the 16th century. Well, sort of.

There is an equivalent near Houston, which I've been to twice in my life, and since we've lived here in Dallas I hadn't been to Scarborough Faire, which was something I've wanted to remedy for So, it being the last weekend and all for the festival, DH and I took the hour drive down to see what we could see.

Here is some of what we saw:

Some kids getting tossed around in a barrel swing...
A procession that went on forever...Henna tattoos...The final result...(my hair looked horrible!)
Camel rides...
A guy who played music by rubbing his fingers on glasses filled with water...(it was actually really cool)
And me trying on hats. I wanted this cute pink cowboy hat, but it was $55! I passed on it.It was a really, really fun day, despite the fact that it was 1000 degrees outside and I sweated like I've never sweated before (and you all know how I hate to sweat.) There were lots of people dressed in costume: I saw barbarians, lords and ladies, belly dancers, and a man in Native American garb who had the most gorgeous head of black hair I've ever seen. Gentlemen, why is it that when you grow long hair, it looks damn awesome, but if I try to grow it, it looks like crap?? I ate some lightly breaded, fried mushrooms and a barbecue pork pie, followed later by some skewered fresh pineapple and drank about 50 bottles of water. And, silly us, DH nor I wore any sunscreen on our bodies, so I have the nice farmer tan/burn on the back of my neck and part of my arms. Yeah.

Next year I plan on going in costume, like the big nerd I am, oh, and I'll go when the faire opens at the first of April instead of the end of May, so maybe I won't roast to death....

Plane Rides, Sinus Infections, and 25 Big Hershey Kisses

2008-05-20T18:12:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Last week I was in the land of milk chocolate (Hershey, PA) for a tradeshow. I left Friday before last and flew straight to Harrisburg in one of those regional jets that hopped up and down on the wind currents and scared the ever-living crap out of me (oh, Xanax, where are you when I need you?) and sat next to the most inconsiderate asshole on the planet who brought a stinky hot sandwich on the plane with him and proceeded to linger over it for a good 20-30 minutes, in between sips of a nasty-looking blue-ish smoothie. Oh nausea, you were my good friend that evening.

I arrived in Harrisburg around 9:45 PM and went to get my rental car, and thank goodness, they had some with GPS. However, when I typed in the address of my hotel, I chose "shortest time" instead of "use freeways" or something like that, because I wound up doing all kinds of twisty-turny crap, and let me tell you, PA is extremely DARK--there were hardly any streetlights. Thankfully I arrived at my hotel in one piece and pretty much fell into bed.

Next day, I mapped out some things to do and headed out to Hershey's Chocolate World, where I took a "tour" of how chocolate is made (complete with fake factory and all - apparently my father-in-law was really mad when he took that tour because he wanted to see a real factory) and, at the urging of a co-worker, brought back those big Hershey Kisses for everyone in the office. Well, they were in between the big ones and the regular size. I'd briefly thought about just going to Wal-Mart, picking up a couple bags of Hershey Miniatures, and saying, "I bought these in Hershey!" when I got back, but that wouldn't be nice, would it? :)

Sunday through Tuesday was the tradeshow, and it was your typical tradeshow - people going apeshit over crappy 99-cent pens and stress balls. I got sexually harassed by one winner whose wife was talking to one of our other reps not five feet away. I didn't really know how to deal with that, so I just laughed it off.

Tuesday we packed everything up and I got to the airport to find out that my 8 PM flight from Chicago to Dallas (I had a layover) was canceled, and I was put on the later, 8:45 PM flight instead. Well, due to storms in the area and delays, our 8:45 flight sat on the runway for about an hour and we didn't take off until nearly 11 PM, and by the time I got my bags and took the shuttle out to get my car, it was 1 AM, putting me home at 2 AM. I had been up nearly 24 hours by this time and was freaking exhausted! And wouldn't you know, I went to work the next day--granted, I went in at 10 and left at 4:30, but I was there all the same. Some consolation is that I got to take Friday off, though....had a two-hour massage.....it was great.

I don't know if I caught something on the plane, but Friday I started getting stopped up. By Saturday I couldn't breathe and Sunday was running fever. A trip to the doctor yesterday revealed a nice sinus infection, but at least I'm on antibiotics now and hopefully I'll get over it rather quickly.

Oh, and I got a prescription for Xanax too, so I won't be unprepared on plane rides anymore. Woo hoo!

I Have a lot of Gall

2008-05-07T19:55:00.003-05:00

Last week I had my appointment with the surgeon about my gallbladder. She really listened to me when I told her my symptoms, and based on all my test results, it was recommended that the ol' gallbladder come out. (Duh, like we all knew THAT wasn't gonna happen!)

So, my surgery has been scheduled for the early morning of July 2nd, which I chose because I get a "free" day off for July 4th and now will only have to use two PTO days instead of three. The surgeon said that she sees a lot of women my age with gallbladder disease, and that there also seems to be a correlation with losing significant amounts of weight and gallbladder problems. Who knew?

On Friday I'm heading out to Hershey, PA, for a tradeshow that will take place over the weekend and through Tuesday. It should be a pretty fun time - I was supposed to see some friends while I was there, but found out this evening that they're in Arizona for the week and won't be back in time to see me. :( Bummer!! Oh well - I have some things to do in mind.

Dancing with the Stars is starting to heat up! The funny thing is, DH has gotten hooked on it too, mainly because of Jason Taylor. I can't decide who to root for, though, him or Kristi Yamaguchi. But the judges didn't seem to like either of their dances the other night!

I'm such a dork. But y'all already knew that.

Changing my Mind

2008-05-02T17:02:00.001-05:00

Have I ever mentioned just how much I hate exercising? I mean, I really hate exercising – always have. Why exert yourself, and heaven forbid, sweat, when you can be doing something far more relaxing, like reading a book or watching your favorite TV show?

This apathy towards exercise was probably a massive factor in my weight gain of epic proportion over the past 8 years, and when I joined Weight Watchers, DH signed us up for a gym membership not long after. I gave it the old college try for a little while, but I hated it, and slowly stopped going. DH, however, kept at it, and hired a personal trainer a couple of months ago to show him what he needed to do in the weightlifting department.

I blithely watched him go to the gym several times a week, while I stayed home, made dinner, and watched myriad episodes of House Hunters on HGTV. (I love that show, but people can be real bitches when they’re looking at houses – “The bedrooms are a little small” – like a kid needs a 15’ x 15’ bedroom? But I digress…)

Then, about six weeks ago, something happened. DH started making me go to the gym. I’m not kidding. I would come home and the bastard (sorry, honey, but I seriously hated you then) would badger and guilt-trip me until I put my gym clothes on and go with him to work out. I would moan and complain and be in a general pissed-off mood until about 5 minutes into my warmup on the stationary bike, when the endorphins would kick in and I would start feeling better. I would leave the gym in a nicer mood than when I came in, but I still maintained that I hated going.

This pattern went on twice a week for about three weeks – badger, bitch and moan, work out, come home – until one day, I came home from work, immediately went to the bedroom, changed into my gym clothes, and went with DH to the gym—without complaint, shockingly enough. I even went a third time last week, and, when DH told me yesterday that he was going to be late and to go to the gym without him, you know what I did? I got home, changed clothes, and went to work out, all. by. my. self. And you know what? I rather enjoyed it.

I can’t pinpoint what caused me to change my attitude toward working out, whether it was my forming a habit or just resigning myself to the inevitable that if I didn’t go I would be getting hell from my husband, but in any event, I don’t mind it as much anymore.

Now if I could only change my attitude towards my job like I did exercising, I'd be set!

Waiting for #3

2008-04-28T18:00:00.002-05:00

Weekend before last, DH and I noticed my battery was a bit sluggish. Thinking I could get by a few more days, we let it go. Then, Monday afternoon, as I was about to take my lunch break, wouldn't you know, the battery was completely dead. The damn thing wouldn't even turn over. I had to get a co-worker to take me to Wal-Mart (oh, how I loathe thee, Wal-Mart,) and of course the book couldn't tell the person behind the counter what kind of battery my Mazda 6 needed, so I looked at the kind of battery a Mazda 3 needed and bought that, figuring it would be the same, right?

I get to work, and as 5 pm approaches, realize NOBODY HAS JUMPER CABLES IN THE ENTIRE OFFICE. Not even me, and I'd just been at Wal-Mart a mere two hours earlier and could have bought some. The AP chick's boyfriend drove up right about that time and miraculously had jumper cables, so I was able to get home for DH to put the new battery in.

But the battery didn't fit, so he had to go to AutoZone and buy one that did, so as I puttered around in the garage, and as he closed the garage door, I just happened to look up at the garage door opener. Which I never do. Because who looks up at their garage ceiling? Not me...

And what do you know - one of the brackets holding the garage door opener to the ceiling has broken and now it is dangling by one measly bracket.

I gasped and immediately called DH and said, "ohmygoshthegaragedooropenerisdanglingandthebracketbrokeyouhavetofixit!"

(I'm usually not this dramatic, but for some reason I was being super affected by all this.)

So DH went to Home Depot as well as AutoZone, and bought a metal bracket to fix the garage door opener. And now everything's back to normal, whatever the hell that is.

But that makes me wonder. Everything happens in threes, right? Well, my battery died, and then the whole brouhaha with the garage door opener happened. Where's number 3?

I need to go find a piece of wood to knock on or something...

Back from Outer Space

2008-04-23T16:47:00.001-05:00

Wow - I haven't posted in FOREVER! Work has been very busy lately, and it seems like it never stops. Add to that the fact that my blogging opportunities at work have dropped sharply (they monitor just about everything here,) and, well, I'm just not as verbose as I used to be.

Last Friday I had an endoscopy, which is just like a colonoscopy except the camera goes down your throat instead of up your, well, you remember my talking about that, don't you? Right before the procedure I mentioned to my doctor that I was fearful of waking up during the procedure like I did during the colonoscopy, and she said, "Oh, we'll hook you up."

And boy, did she! Holy crap, I was practically comatose! I vaguely remember sipping on juice or something, and I think my doctor was talking to me at some point, and how I got dressed God only knows, because the next thing I remember the nurse was LEADING me to the car because I couldn't walk on my own. DH was quite amused at that, apparently. We stopped at the drive thru on the way home, and after eating my cheeseburger and tots, I promptly fell into bed and slept for the next seven hours, only to wake, eat dinner, watch Battlestar Galactica, and go back to bed, where I slept soundly until 7:30 am feeling MARVELOUS.

The rest of the weekend was quite productive, since I usually sleep my Saturdays away on the couch. Well, I'd already done that the day before, so DH and I did laundry and shopped for groceries - it was great, actually!

My doctor called me yesterday and told me that she didn't see anything in my stomach that would explain the pain I've been having, so she is pretty confident that it is my gallbladder that's bothering me and has been all along, so she referred me to a surgeon, and I have an appointment on Tuesday to discuss having it out. The thing is, though, with my schedule at work being so busy (I'm attending three tradeshows in the next two months,) I doubt I'll be able to have it out until July, but I can wait. I'll probably have it out the week of July 4th so I can have the long weekend to recuperate. What a way to spend a holiday, huh?

I'll keep everyone posted, I promise!

This Cracks me up

2008-04-10T10:38:00.001-05:00

ICHC rocks, don't you agree??

see more crazy cat pics

Frackin' A

2008-04-04T09:48:00.002-05:00

The McGee household is doing a big happy dance because tonight, after a YEAR, people, our favoritest show in the entire universe is coming back on.

This morning I went to Starbucks in honor of my favorite character, and I am waiting on pins and needles for 9 PM tonight.

Who is the final Cylon? Anyone have a guess? We're thinking it's Starbuck, but who knows? This season has the potential to keep us all guessing.

Can't wait!

(Anyone guess what the above pic is modeled after? How symbolic!)

Lost in Austen

2008-04-01T20:17:00.002-05:00

Since January, I've been hooked. PBS is playing The Complete Jane Austen, which ends, unfortunately, this Sunday with the conclusion of Sense & Sensibility.

I came rather late to the Jane Austen fan club. I don't know why, but I never picked up any of her books in my childhood (guess I was too busy with Laura Ingalls Wilder and those trashy V.C. Andrews books,) but I was introduced to Pride & Prejudice in college for an English class I was taking. And that, coupled with the 1995 BBC miniseries, was all it took.

Lately, I've been on kind of a P&P kick, especially with the sequel novels. I adore Elizabeth Aston's novels, and always read them too quickly for my own good, because as soon as I finish them I realize that I have to wait an entire year for the next one to come out. I've read P&P variations, mysteries, and rather racy sequels, but nothing is as good as the original. In fact, at Barnes & Noble a couple of weeks ago I picked up a hardbound copy of the novel, and have decided to re-read it again, and I wonder why it always seems that books are better when you read them because you want to, not because it's required for a class?

To crown my Jane Austen nerdiness, last week I received my membership papers to the Jane Austen Society of North America. Ah, bliss!

Well, I'll be Damned!

2008-03-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Online Dating

Thanks, Poppy!

The Cowboys Have their Yoko

2008-03-27T20:00:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I'm not sure if this is exactly true or not (I saw it on TV while at the gym and googled it when I got home,) but if it is, then Kim, my friend, it looks like the Redskins just might beat the Cowboys this season....

Jessica Simpson Married to Tony Romo

(Please don't let it be true!)

I Hate My Guts...

2008-03-24T21:07:00.003-05:00

Hello all!

So last Friday I had my latest test for the ol' digestive system. This was a HIDA scan (not hydoscan like I'd originally thought it was spelled,) which consisted of my fasting for an evening, checking into the hospital at the crack of dawn, and getting yet another IV. But, this time I got to sit on an X-ray table for 2 hours while a radioactive isotope traveled from my liver to my gallbladder--that was interesting, because everything glowed--and then I was injected with a chemical that told my gallbladder "Hey, she ate something, get to work!" This was to check how much, if at all, my gallbladder was functioning.

The test finally ended, and by that time I had to pee so badly (Why is that? I didn't have a drop to drink after 8 PM the night before!) I literally sprinted to the bathroom and peed forEVER.

So, what's the verdict, you ask? Well, according to the nurse, my gallbladder function is at 48%. They automatically remove the gallbladder when it functions at 30% or below. As it stands I'm at the low end of normal, but as she wasn't a doctor, she couldn't tell me anything definitively. She did, however, say that it is probably a better than average chance that I'll have to have it out, since the function will continue to decline over the next few years and I'll have to have it out anyway. I haven't heard from my doctor yet, but I probably will tomorrow. If it will alleviate my problems, though, I'm all for it!

On another note, though, is anyone watching Dancing with the Stars? I got hooked last season quite unexpectedly, and of course I'm watching this season as well. The singers are kind of bad (the rendition of "Hey Baby" was atrocious) and some of the dancers have a lot of room for improvement, but what can I say? But I'm wondering, what the hell is up with Priscilla Presley's face? Did she really have to have whatever work she had done? She used to be so pretty! Woman can dance, though. I hope at 62 I can move like she can! I probably won't, though. I'll be hobbling around on a walker, mainlining Ensure and wondering where the hell I am. A girl can dream, though....

Anyone have early predictions of who might win??

No More Jell-O for a bit

2008-03-13T19:45:00.004-05:00

Hi all!

The colonoscopy went fine. They all say the prep is the worst part, and I am inclined to agree. However, the prep wasn't as awful as everyone made it out to be, but I think that is because I got the new-fangled prep liquid where I only had to drink 2 liters instead of a gallon, which used to be the norm.

BUT...(no pun intended)

I have to say, if any of you ever have to have a colonoscopy in the future, to please remember to pick up Preparation H wipes or Tucks. Do not, I repeat DO NOT think that the Cottonelle wipes will suffice. Things get a little, um, raw down there, and the Cottonelle wipes tend to burn quite a lot. That's all I'll say about that, though.

We got there right on time yesterday morning, and the IV went very smoothly--they let me have it in my arm instead of my hand, and I hardly felt a thing. DH stayed with me until they wheeled me to the room where the procedure would be done, and the doctor discussed the procedure and, after all of my questions were answered, they gave me the happy juice and I drifted off to oblivion.

I assume about 5 minutes before the procedure was over, I came to, but didn't feel anything, and was able to see my insides on the 42" flat screen monitor right in front of me. From then on, things kind of happened in bursts of memory: the next thing I remember is being in the recovery room, drinking juice and holding DH's hand, and after that I was getting dressed and the nurse was walking me out to the car.

Things were coming more into focus by this time, so DH, wonderful man that he is, took me to Pancake House and filled me up with eggs and pancakes, and then I went home, fell into bed, and woke up at 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I slept ALL DAY LONG.

The doctor said I had a "pristine colon," and although I'm glad that they didn't find anything unusual, I'm also a bit disappointed that she can't explain the pain I'm having. Sigh. But, I have one more test on the 21st, to check my gallbladder, and maybe I can get some answers by that route.

I don't think I'll be eating any more Jell-O for a while, though.

Mmmm....Jell-O

2008-03-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

Remember my earlier bouts this year with stomach pain, in which we thought it was appendicitis, and I spent the evening in the ER? Well, that was nearly two months ago, and I'm still not any better. Over Valentine's weekend I suffered from a spasm in my abdominal area that was so painful I could neither stand up straight nor lie down flat, so for a few minutes all I could do was bend myself at the waist and pray that the pain subsided.

It did, but it hasn't totaally gone away. A visit to the gyno revealed it wasn't my ovaries, so week before last I made a trip to the gastroenterolgist. She took my history, and asked me about the pains I've been having. In addition to the lower abdominal pain, I've also been suffering from a pain when I eat in the middle of my abdomen. The GI doctor's theory is that the two pains are unrelated and she wants me to have two procedures done: a colonoscopy, and a hydoscan, which is essentially an X-Ray where they check gallbladder function.

Tomorrow morning,I check into the hospital for my first test, the colonoscopy. Woo! (I'm brimming with sarcasm, can you tell?) It is going to be a short test, only lasting about an hour, and I'll be sedated for the procedure (THANK GOD,) but I'm really only concerned about two things: the prep the day before, and the IV before the procedure.

Today, I am on a clear liquid diet, and can have no solid food. I can have chicken broth, clear soft drinks & beverages, and Jell-O. Thank goodness Jell-O counts as a liquid, otherwise I might go crazy. I'll be at work most of the day, so I've warned everyone that I might be a real bitch due to the lack of food, and apologized in advance. Then, in the afternoon, I begin taking the prep, which is essentially a giant laxative to prepare my colon. Everyone I've talked to said this is the worst part, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Then again, who knows? I might end up losing some weight by doing all this!

Maybe I should weigh in before I go to the hospital?

The other thing I'm worried about is the IV. Every time I've had an IV in my hand, I've sort of passed out due to the pain. Shots don't bother me. Giving blood doesn't bother me. IV's, though? They REALLY bother me. Hopefully they'll be able to either put it in my arm or deaden the area before they try to put it in my hand. I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it....
The hydoscan is scheduled for the 21st, and calls for an IV as well. Good lord, I don't know how I'm going to stand this!!!

So please send me good vibes tomorrow morning, and let's hope that they figure out what's going on with me!

March Madness

2008-03-06T16:10:00.007-06:00

And I'm not talking about basketball...

If I am not mistaken, today is March 6th. I live in Dallas, where our winter weather this year has been very mild, to say the least.

But what do you know? Monday night we got snow, and today? Yup. More snow. Four to six inches in places.

Granted, the 2 inches that we got earlier in the week had melted by midday the following day, but today we've been getting these huge clumpy flakes. I even shot a video of it, if you don't believe me.

(Okay - I was originally going to put a video of the snow up here, but I didn't like the way it turned out, so here's a cute video of Joey playing with a toy instead.)

Yes, I know, I know. The snow we're getting ain't shit compared to what all of you up north have gotten this winter, but you know what? We don't get this all the time, so it's a novelty for us. Shut up. :)

While I was filming the snow, I thought I'd treat you to a picture of the bookcases we installed recently. For a year the study was a cat room filled with boxes of books stacked on a desk, and now, nothing but prettiness.

Because of said snow and freezing conditions my office closed early. I got home around 1:45 to see that Kino had knocked over the nice French press we got for Christmas and broken glass and coffee grounds were everywhere. (Didn't have time to clean them out this morning.) I cursed God who made this evil creature, picked up the big pieces of glass, and obsessively swept, vacuumed, then mopped the kitchen floor. Right about that time DH came home, as I was putting the mop away. That man has all the luck.

Oh, now, one last picture. Of moi. Because even though my weight loss has stalled at around 35 lbs. due to lack of exercise and, well, let's face it, laziness, I'm still one hot chick.

Bye for now!