Halloween Eve Friday Fill-ins

I heart Halloween. I'm rather excited for this Halloween...even if I'm not really doing anything. :o)

1. It was a dark and stormy night, and the vampires were out!

2. SwingKid's sister was busy, but had books to take back to his other sister, so I offered to take the books myself.

3. Rushing out, I almost forgot the important pieces to my cool ice machine.

4. It was nighttime...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... the baby is sleeping (what baby? I haven no idea, but it worked....).

6. Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to who knows what, hopefully something entertaining with SwingKid, tomorrow my plans include my first time back teaching and Sunday, I want to go to Stake Conference!

Wonderful Wednesday

I realized this morning that I didn't do my monday marvels post. I apologize and blame it on the pain killers. my brain hasn't been functioning at full capacity as of late because of those darn pain killers. Although, they were fabulous. :o)

Anywho...that's about all I gots for you. I had day 1 of rehab on Monday, and it went pretty well. I'm walking fairly normal these days - albeit slowly and like an old woman. day 2 of rehab is today and i'm pretty nervous about it.

SwingKid has earned a bucket full of brownie points by doing sweet things for me. Last night he called me beautiful even though I was in my pajamas, a ponytail and no make-up. He was so sweet. sigh. I knew I loved that boy.

UPDATE: boyfriend win: he visited me at rehab AND brought me flowers.

The Day After

So...the surgery went well.

My gown was actually pretty covering AND guess how cool it was? It had this place for a tube to insert into my gown to keep me warm or cool or whatever I needed at the time. :o) THAT was one of the best parts.

I don't even remember them putting me under. That was good. the first iv did hit a nerve and that wasn't fun at all, but the second iv went in great and was pretty fabulous.  I guess I went under about 7:20 and was out of surgery at about 8:40 or so, but because I was so tired and because they gave me some Benadryl for my cold I slept until 10 am or so. When I came out of it, I couldn't believe how sunny it was! (it was SO SO SO dark yesterday morning.) I wasn't feeling anything on the top of the knee thanks to the fabulous femoral nerve block they gave me. I did however feel pain in my hamstring on the back of the knee. They gave me some morhpine and then they took me back to post-op and then SwingKid appeared. How i love that boy. sigh.

my nurse was a very nice, funny man. I don't remember his name. I want to say George. But I'm not sure. Let's pretend his name is George. George was nice. He gave me more drugs and at one point he asked how I was feeling and I told him I was feeling very woozy. Woozy was my favorite word. I think it's because it was fun to say. Woozy. just let it roll off your tongue.... he he he

Then George made me get up (after me getting some cookies and apple juice. followed by cranberry juice. yummy) I didn't want to get up, but at the same time i had to pee so Truit followed me with the wheelchair in case i fell over, George held a belt around my waist, and SwingKid was on my left cheering me on carrying something and I was on crutches. It was like a little entourage. I made it to the bathroom and back again but at that point i was SO SO tired. I slept for a little bit and I think SwingKid studied. But then George the murse (man-nurse) made me get up and walk a lot more. THAT was not happy. In fact I'm pretty sure I told him No way. Ha, but he was full of good humor and put up with me. We walked a much further distance where I used another bathroom w/the aide of Truit (i love that girl SO SO much) and then back again. Then I got to put real clothes on (definitely an adventure) and eventually i got to be released and then they put me in a wheelchair and i got to go on a little ride to the car and then it was off to Costco to get drugs. I did throw up once in the parking lot of Costco (sorry costco people) and after drugs were procured we drove to my apartment. And Let me tell you, getting up the 18 stairs to my apartment was an extreme adventure. I would hop up them on one foot heavily leaning on both banisters. I would hop 3 or so, stop and breathe and then hop up some more steps. It was quite the adventure. :o)

Yesterday i slept a TON and read a little. Lots of sleeping. I eventually went to bed and slept all night, waking up every 4 hours to take happy drugs. They make sleep nicely, although i've done a pretty good job of ignoring the tired part of them here during the day. or something.

anywho....i'm pretty sure my favorite part of this whole thing is the fact that 1) everyone wants to take care of me and i get a TON of attention. 2) FLOWERS! My family sent me pretty flowers. a TON of gerbera daisies. I love them they make me happy. 3) yesterday, my favorite thing was the morphine they gave me. That was super happy.

And now! pictures of my awesome knee.

This is my torn ACL. I'm not sure what angle this is at exactly, but all I know is that the doctor said this was torn completely through. FUN!

I'm pretty sure this is the torn meniscus? or it's the torn ACL? I'm really not positive. lol

This is my new ACL!! Yay!! I'm hoping it works better than the new one.

So, if you're still reading this, then you're a trooper. It's been quite the long post. I hope you have enjoyed my recap of "Knee Day." I can't think of anything else to say and I'm sure I've said way too much already. ;)  Anyways. If you have any questions, pop them into the comments and I'll answer them when I feel like it. Because I can. Catch y'all later!!

Surgery Day

i love being able to post pre-emptively. which is SO what I am doing, because RIGHT NOW I'm undergoing surgery. woo hoo....more later!

1. The crickets sing, can you hear them?

2. come out, come out wherever you are, you blog lurkers you

3. I want to get far away from the stress of this surgery.

4. once upon a time i was chased by lions and tigers; this was a dream.

5. But as for me I will soon be a lame-person.

6. they don't sing like that where I come from

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nice drugs keeping the pain away, tomorrow my plans include LOTS of movies and Sunday, I want to continue to be pain free....

5:45 AM

check in time tomorrow morning. that is WAY TOO EARLY. ick.

it's tomorrow guys...

and i am still freaking out. eek! plus, my head hurts and i can't take anything for it. this is stupid.

as far as my to-do list goes, it has shrunk and grown in different respects. what it looks like now:

• grocery shopping for like 2 weeks (well...maybe not two weeks, but close enough)
  
• make food and freeze it so i don't have to cook (i bought a lot of easy to make items and just need to make some jello tonight. :] i am awesome)
  
• find a chair for the shower (anyone??) or SOMETHING
  
• get glitter toes (tomorrow. SwingKid's sister. :o) I'm thinking purple....) (they are SUPER cute!!)
  
• books (also tomorrow. :o) )
• movies (tomorrow and every time i need a new one SwingKid is in charge of my entertainment...I'm not sure he completely realizes this yet.)
• get gas for the car
• clean room (6p-7p)
  
• clean lv room (6p-7p)
  
• get a blessing (9:15p ish)
• pick up crutches from friend (9:15p ish)
• go to gold's gym and freeze my account 
• go talk to the trainer to set up rehab
• take BU2 co-director BU2 things (8:40p)
  
• pick up CD of pictures from photo shoot (9p)
  
• call hospital for surgery time (i can do this in 30 min....)
• take a nice, hot bath (10p ish)
  

oh man. i'm trying to just breathe and not freak out, but that hasn't worked all week and i don't think its going to start working now. sigh. i need work to be over so i can take a half hour nap and then get things done!

CRAZY!!!!

#1 - my lil' bro turned 17 yesterday. I'm not old enough to have a 17 year old brother. eek.

#2 surgery is in 3 freaking days. How did it happen so fast?

#3 my Truit is home from her mission and will be in UT today and I GET TO SEE HER. omg i am so excited. I can't wait. it is like the one thing getting me through my day. I love her and can't wait to see her again!

#4 my to-do list is not shrinking, I've decided if i post it here maybe more of it will get done so -

THE PRE-OP TO-DO LIST

• grocery shopping for like 2 weeks
• make food and freeze it so i don't have to cook
• find a chair for the shower (anyone??)
• get glitter toes (tomorrow. SwingKid's sister. :o) I'm thinking purple....)
• books (also tomorrow. :o) )
• movies (tomorrow and every time i need a new one SwingKid is in charge of my entertainment...I'm not sure he completely realizes this yet.)
• get gas for the car
• clean room
• clean lv room
• get a blessing (thursday)
• pick up crutches from friend (also thursday)
• go to gold's gym and freeze my account 
• go talk to the trainer to set up rehab

i'm sure there's more to that list...sigh. my life is going to change a lot on Friday and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle all the change....Also, am I forgetting anything? After being sick this weekend and not being able to get anything done, I'm worried I'm forgetting something. I know there's at least 2 of you (Marisa? Erin?) that read this and have done this before...sigh. I'm trying to just breathe and be okay with everything...

monday marvels

i'm going to apologize, cause i've got nothin' for ya today. i've been sick all weekend, and i'm home from work today because even though i FEEL 10x better, I SOUND awful. Since I have to talk on the phone practically all day at my job...I didn't think it would be a good idea to go sounding sick.

So i'm at home sick today. Going crazy.

I hate staying home, and I HAVE to do it all over again come this weekend...blah. 4 days my friends. 4 freakin' days....

Friday before the surgery...

You guys....it's a week from today. SCARY!!! gah!!!!

1. So are we going to ever be normal again? Because right now it doesn't feel like it!

2. SURGERY is what's up ahead.

3. I love to laugh, kiss in the rain and cuddle with SwingKid.

4. I hope the Cougars go to a Bowl Game of some sort.

5. I walk a lot of stairs each day. don't ask me how i'm going to do this 7 days from now.

6. Sleep is the true elixir of life!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the corn maze that I didn't get to last weekend, tomorrow my plans include setting an entire piece on BU2 and finishing BU's piece and Sunday, I want to enjoy dinner with Sister B and Roommate R!

URGH!!!!

Why is it that 8 DAYS before my surgery I am sick? I have a cold. Stuffy nose, sinuses that feel like they're going to blow up, an itchy/scratchy throat....yeah definitely sick.

The good (?) news is that SwingKid is sort of sick as well...so at least we can be sick together.

Also...did you notice the 8 DAYS part of that sentence above? yeah...I can't believe it's coming up so fast. However, I am ready. I am ready to start the awful, long process of getting better.

Now if only this cold would go away....

Wordful Wednesday

So I know the "norm" is a Wordless Wednesday...but I just have too many words today.

1. I have had a weird itch the past couple of days. It's feeling better today and I'm praying and knocking on wood that I don't jinx it by saying such things.

2. Work was awful yesterday. Too many hard things to deal with. Hopefully today is MUCH better.

3. While I know I looke decent yesterday, I didn't feel that cute. Today.....is a different story. I feel downright sexy today.

4. My oil is getting changed as we speak. YAY!

5. 9 DAYS folks....9 freakin' days. GAH!!! (don't know what i'm talking about? go here)


and that's all for now...but i'm sure today will prove to be anything BUT a wordless wednesday...

Monday Marvels

I want this at my apartment.



someone work on that for me k?

Friday love

oh i love Fridays. I only have 2 weekends left before i become an immobile cripple...but until then I plan on doing everything awesome. :o)

1. Sweet dreams _have eluded me lately. I have had a lot of weird dreams about me post-operation.

2. Surgery is scary, especially for me.

3. Silliness should be my middle name. I love being silly.

4. Because I'm going to be a cripple, I have decided to be a mummy or the Bride of Frankenstein this Halloween.

5. Outstanding or not I want to see Fame.

6. About 3 more hours of sleep is what I want right now!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include 2 different photo shoots and a corn maze and Sunday, I want to make a new friend!

Monday Marvels - conference edition

I love General Conference. It always seems to buoy my spirits and help evaluate my life. This conference was no different. I had several favorite talks including, President Uchtdorf, President Monson (always a favorite) and Elder Holland (sorry all the links are to the audio, there isn't text up for it yet.)

There is just something calming about hearing the words of the prophet. I love it.

btw - 18 days until D-day (aka knee surgery day). I'm trying to come up with a list of things that I need to do prior to surgery. Like go to a corn maze before walking becomes difficult! I also was thinking of sky diving - but I'm not sure I want to do that anyways. lol. So what are your suggestions, dear readers, of things I should do before I get surgery? I'm trying to dance as much as possible before D-day but it hurts a little so I have to be careful. suggestions??

and the verdict is!!

I went to the Orthopedic Surgeon today. He's very nice. I like him. Which is good, because we're going to become GREAT friends....

I have significantly torn my right ACL. Meaning, it's 50% or more torn through. He thinks that of the two clumps that make up the ACL I have torn the first one clean through, possibly the second. We opted not to do an MRI because it costs $1,000 and he knows I've torn the ACL. :P So....

...Surgery is 3 weeks from today.

I am nervous. I have NEVER had surgery, NEVER been under ANY kind of general anesthesia (yes, even for wisdome teeth...i had other drugs) and have never REALLY been to a hospital since I was born.

The GOOD news is, I have an awesome boyfriend who came with me, held my hand, told me it would be okay and then took me to Great Harvest for lunch. How I love him....

Now what to do before I become immobile in 3 weeks??

First Fall October Friday

oh man, I LOVE fridays. Although, today at 10am, I am meeting with an orthopedic surgeon about my knee. I'm NOT excited about this fact. well i am, but I'm not. If that makes sense. I'm excited to get things fixed...but scared to find out what it will take. sigh...

but on to more exciting things! Friday Fill-ins!

1. I have a history of getting in trouble for dancing in the kitchen.

2. A foreign language is something I wish I knew.

3. I'm eating (or recently ate) chips and salsa. YUM!.

4. I hate seeing dead animals on the road.

5. So that's it, that's the end of summer. GOODBYE!.

6. Something is always better than nothing!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to the BYU vs Utah State w/Sister Bree and friends, tomorrow my plans include General Conference and movie night with my favorite ballet student and Sunday, I want to watch more of General Conference and enjoy time with SwingKid!

smells good!

oh man, i love the smells of fall. My favorite thing about fall is walking outside in the middle of the afternoon and feeling the warm sun on my face and feeling the crisp air and smelling the smells of the outdoors. mmmm......

also! i've decided that everywhere I go should smell like apple pie, pumpkin spice and cinnamon...or some combination of those awesome smells. I love October and the randomity of it in Utah. It  can get pretty warm, sometimes snow, usually rain once or twice, but ALWAYS there are beautiful fall colors everywhere. sigh.

i'm hoping to go up the canyon with SwingKid in between sessions of General Conference this weekend, but we'll see what REALLY happens....