Approaching Glory

Is This The Maid's Day Off?

Now I know that you must have done this at one point in your life.  You look at the disaster of a kitchen and think - "Forget it.  I'll do it tomorrow morning when I'm fresh."  Let me tell you - it was an ugly sight to first meet my eyes this morning.  Must get started.  Right.  Let. The. Maid. Do. It.  Oh - don't have a maid - rats!

Upon threat of his life, Hubby is remaining still and quiet today.  One of his buds called earlier and asked if Hubby was coming over to watch the game with him.  It's a good thing he admitted that he needed to "take it easy" and he planned on staying home.  I was about ready to inflict further pain to Hubby's body if he had said otherwise.  Um... not that I'm a violent person or anything :) 

Called to check on my friend who is having the procedures and surgeries this coming week.  She appears to be "making the nest" for her return from the hospital.  She's got her bag packed and ready to go.  Knowing her it has the bare minimal essentials.  I have another friend that when she goes in the hospital she takes everything but the kitchen sink with her. (BTW this friend is supposed to return from Mexico tomorrow where she has been doing clinicals for her Masters)  I'm somewhere in the middle on how much to pack.  If I knew I was going in the hospital for four or five days an IPod (which I don't own but would quickly be purchased) would be filled with Christian music, some Podcasts, and a couple of books.  Of course I would have a pair or two of socks to knit.

Last time my friend had major surgery (double knee replacement) she came to our house for recovery.  But that was when she was living with her son and she knew she couldn't do the stairs.  We parked her in our downstairs where we have a guestroom, bath, and family room (so she could be with us in the evening.  However, now she has her own little apartment - more like an efficiency.  She wants to go "home" to her bed and her bathroom - to her place.  And while I can totally understand her reasoning, I'm concerned about her being watched - although her son is supposedly going to sleep on the floor on an air mattress to be with her for a few days.  Okay.  I'm here as backup - just in case.  I see me making meals and taking them to her for a little while - fine by me.

Kitchen is almost done - breakfast and lunch have been served - I'm thinking calico beans in the crock pot for dinner - a load of wash or two to go in - and finally - my time to paint or knit. Woo hoo.

Down for the Count

  Well.... Hubby was getting a little better.  Today he was down again - big time.  Not good.  He did too much yesterday because he was feeling a little better.  Of course it goes without saying that he didn't listen to my admonishments to take it easy.  And since I've been there - done that myself... well...I can't be too hard on him.  So imagine a day of sleep, eating, and doing as little moving as possible and you have Hubby's day.

Meanwhile - Jbird is progessing nicely.  He's beginning to go stir crazy, but physically he is coming along.  He still gets tired toward the end of the day and he did complain he was a bit tender.  But he is definitely on the road to recovery.

The day here was cold, wet and windy.  Jbird and I went out to pick up some staples - bananas, eggs, etc. We also took him to get a haircut.  He stopped in at Panera to get his check.  I told him to pick up a Baker's Dozen of bagels for this weekend.  He came out with the bagels and a latte for me and forgot his paycheck.  Right.  Brain not working on all cylinders yet.  Saturday is his first day back at work and he has closing.  He's already told them he can't lift over ten pounds and they said no problem.  I hope they remember what they said.

I made a crockpot full of soup which we ate off and on throughout the day.  We spent the late night continuing to watch the seventh season of Smallville.  I keep thinking I'm going to paint or knit and somehow when I sit down I'm too tired to think about it.  Maybe tomorrow.

Pumpkin Protein Shake

  Several days ago, (who actually knows when since all this stuff has started happening around here!) I decided to start Jbird on protein shakes.  He's recently started taking a med that causes an increase in appetite.  He's already gained a few pounds and asked for my help.  I've read all over the Web about protein shakes and decided to give it a shot.  Off we went to the health food store and came home with the Whey of Life vanilla blast.  We also got some rice milk, almond milk, lots of frozen fruits, bananas, and some Udo's oil - the 3-6-9 blend (fatty acids).

Well, I'm doing better than Jbird with them.  I've made some great tasting shakes and hopefully in the next few days will be able to go back to the Y and start swimming again.  Hopefully.  Anyway - this morning I was debating whether or not to whip up some oatmeal raisin muffins, bran muffins, or pumpkin raisin muffins.  Instead, I did this:

• 1.5 cups vanilla rice milk (almond or soy would work fine)
•  2 tbsp of Spenda brown sugar
• 3 big heaping tbsp of Libby's Pumpkin Pie mix
• 1 scoop Natural Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp of Udo's
• handful of ice (this depends on how thick or thin you like it

Does YUM mean anything?  Wow.  This was super.

Three Stooges Do Changing a Tire

Somehow I knew this day was going to be an interesting one because:

1. Hubby's step-dad was supposed to have early A.M. surgery in Ohio which was switched to 2 P.M.

2. Hubby is still in agony but the chiro won't work on his until the spasms calm down

3. Hubby decides to ask for the rest of the week off (he NEVER takes off from work) - so I know he's worse than I think

4. Sonny boy has to be at college for math test.  He's really recovering well but he's not clipping along.  We tell him just do your best - it is not the end of the world.

5. I drive Jbird to college. Get him settled and Hubby calls to say he'll pick him up for me.  I know this isn't the best for Hubby but I'm in a bind because:

6. I'm supposed to be at a surgeon's office with one of my nearest and dearest friends.  She had a colonoscopy last week and they found two areas - one which they think they got and the other side will require the removal of a section of her bowel.  She has to have another colonoscopy on Monday to make sure all of right side polyp is removed completely.  Then on Tuesday she goes in for the other surgery - for which she'll be in the hospital for four or five days.

7. After that meeting I head home for a little down time.  Hubby and Jbird made it home okay.  J's test was NOT 2 hours since he only had to do the one section and it was only twenty questions.  Whatever!  I could have just waited on him and taken with me to the meeting!

8. Get news that step-dad did fine and should go home on Thursday. Woo hoo.

9. Hubby is miserable.  I decide to take up my friend's son's offer of his prescription muscle relaxer.  Yes - I know.  We're desperate here.

10. Jbird tells me that while I'm out I can get a pizza.  Right.  So Hubby orders.  Jbird and I take off to get pills and pizza.  I stop at a store to pick up a 2 liter of Coke for the friend.  Get to his house - he doesn't want a Coke - he wants a Diet Pepsi so he's going to go back to the store and exchange.  Whatever. 

11. Jbird and I head on over to the pizza store and hear the unmistakenable (is that a word?) sound of a FLAT TIRE!  Oh. My. God.

12. I pull over at the first flat lit site I can find on a dark country road.  I get out and look at a tire almost on the rim.  Wonderful.  I open the trunk and find three bags of trash from over five days ago - since before the appendectomy.  Gross out!  They are light so I tell J to take them over to the store's dumpster.  Is that okay?  Nope but you do what you have to.  I get the pitiful excuse of a spare tire out (why in the world do they make them that small?)  I look at it and the jack.  It just ain't gonna happen.

So this is what happens:  I call hurting Hubby who comes over and the three of us change the tire.  You read that right.  Three of us.  Jbird lays on the ground and turns the handle for the jack.  Hubby (who is doing his best not to display shear agony takes off the lug nuts and is positioning the wheel.  My job was to lending my weight to the loosening of the lug nuts by stepping on the handle.  Trust me - I did my job well. LOL.

Rest of the night?  Hubby downs the more-than-ever needed med.  In one half hour he is feeling MUCH better.  J, Hubby, and I are watching an episode from the last season of Smallville.  And then all three Super  People Stooges go to bed.

Appendix Appendicitis Appendectomy Ah-Resting and the Back Story Part Two

Read Part One first and then come back!

So when did Jbird eat last?  Hmmmm.... like less than an hour ago?  We are told that they will have to wait over six hours for the food to digest.  They don't like to do surgery with a chance of the food backing up in the lungs.  Right.

They plop son in the ambulance, I follow in my car, Judy follows in hers, and Hubby promises to meet us at the ER.  Let me tell you - you NEVER want to sit in an ER cubicle for over seven hours.  They have one chair (we ended swiping another), it was hot in there for some reason (normally it is cold) - hot and me is NOT good, I ended up getting one of the worst migraines I've had in awhile, we took turns going to the cafeteria and getting something to eat (we were waiting on the surgeon), and J's temp began to rise.

On the good front.  A couple of our friends stopped in on their way home from the GA game to pray for J.  That was special - they did the same for me over twenty years ago when I had my tonsils out.  Lots of concerned calls.  My cell phone had had its call list deleted on Thursday by Verizon.  Here I am when I need all my numbers and I have a blank screen and a dying cell.  I was supposed to go back to Verizon to tell them my battery (still under warranty) is a loser and please replace.  What did we do before cell phones?

Finally, the surgeon gets there (when Hubby and Judy are out and about somewhere).  Very nice doc (young and good looking which didn't hurt) and he'll do the surgery laparoscopically.  I tell him God bless him and he turns around and says meaningfully - Thank you.  He then says he has to leave and go read the book on the procedure.  I smile.  My kind of doc. Jbird is more focussed on the comment than the surgery - woo hoo.

Around 9 something they decide to move us up to our private room (thank you Lord) and get Jbird ready to go from there.  Around ten something J is ready for this to be over and from the look of agony of Hubby's face - so is he.  Besides - Hubby is beginning to send a little loopy from the meds he must be popping in order to walk, sit, and function.

I don't think anything prepares you for watching your child wheeled away from you into surgery.  I kept it together until I couldn't see him anymore.  I went in the bathroom where I sobbed and prayed.  By now the Exedrin migraine stuff was working - praise God.  I splashed some cold water on my face and went down to the cafeteria with Judy (I was SO thirsty and I knew I would need a stash of drinks for through the night).  Hubby plopped down on the bed and heaved a huge sigh of relief.

I got back in time to see two of our closest friends arrive.  They talked and stayed with us til Jbird got back.  He did good.  And once he was settle - everyone left.  I did my mother thing.  I arranged the room to my liking and got myself settled into "the chair from you know where".  Whoever designs those things must work for a torture company as well. 

I don't think I've ever seen anyone sweat so as J did the first four hours after surgery.  I spent most of my time wiping down his face and neck.  Around 4 in the morning the nurse and I got J up and we stripped down everything.  All of it was soaked.  At least Hubby just shakes and clatters his teeth for awhile after surgery! 

Around 6 something I started feeling that "if I don't sleep I'm going to be sick" feeling.  I closed my eyes and zonked out for about twenty minutes.  I waited until after eight and the doctor had come to call Hubby and tell him that his shift was beginning ASAP.  And please bring a biscuit for me (sonny boy also wanted one and this is after he inhaled a hospital breakfast)  So home I came and fell across the bed.  After I made up the couch downstairs and got it J ready.

Jay's aunt and cousin came by to see him and then we all crashed.  Later Sunday night we watched the latest Indiana Jones movie - cause Jay had gotten it for Hubby for his birthday.  (we never even got Hubby's cards signed).  Well - some of us watched it.  Jbird fell asleep.

Which brings us to today:

Hubby went to chiro (finally) He got a sub for today and probably for tomorrow.  He is resting on ice.

Jbird got up and got a shower.  We changed his dressings.  He is hurting more today than yesterday (which is normal) and already getting a little stir crazy.

Jbird was supposed to take a college placement test today which they nicely switched to Wednesday.  I hope he's okay by then - but he doesn't have much of a choice.  If he doesn't take it then, he won't be able to register for the spring semester.  Wonderful.

So - off to eat some Chinese food - and watch some mindless tv with my healing, recovering guys.

May you and yours be blessed.

Appendix Appendicitis Appendectomy Ah-Resting and the Back Story Part One

  After that title you've got to have some idea what this post is going to be about!

Time Line:

Friday: 

Hubby: heads out early morning to go golfing with some buds.  His back had been giving him some problems but it came to a head when he swung at a ball.  He comes home in agony with a back that is spasming and he takes some percogesic and is down.  Why I didn't get him to a chiro immediately is beyond me.

Jbird: tells karate teacher his side is bothering him.  J decides it's probably a pulled muscle.  He tells me his side is bothering him when he gets home - but I figure he got kicked.  He goes to a Bible study up in Forsyth and gets home after eleven with severe stomach pain.  Of course I think he's eaten something and ask if the food was spicy.  He goes down on the couch saying no and then he drink some Pepto.  And then goes to bed.

Saturday:

Hubby:  I hear him in the kitchen early groaning as he is trying to get some more meds.  I know this is NOT a good sign.

Jbird: I hear him groan in bed and I know that is a TERRIBLE sign.

I then go downstairs and tell Hubby he has to get to a chiro -and here comes J down the stairs holding his stomach.  Hubby says to take the kid to Quick Care and that he can't go with me cause of his back.  BTW this is Hubby's birthday.  I was asking him if he wanted me to bake him any special flavor of cake or if he wanted me to go get a cheesecake when pain in the stomach boy hobbled down the stairs.

So - off Jbird and I go and leave Hubby in pain with muscle relaxers (so he won't drive himself to a chiro).  Don't ask me why but I did not go back with J at Quick Care.  I've been working hard all year for him to learn how to do these things by himself due to his age - but looking back this doesn't make alot of sense to me in this case.  I kept looking at the clock thinging that they were taking some time -when he comes out and tells me that they are going to send him for a CAT scan.  His blood work (white cells) show in the high/normal range.  And I am actually surprised - for some reason.  I call Hubby to tell him and he offers to come to the hospital but he is hurting and I tell him I'll let him know when I have news.

Meanwhile - I call my friend Judy who tells me she'll meet me at the hospital. And then I make one of my stupider choices in quite awhile.  Jbird tells me he's famished and so am I.  Neither of us has eaten breakfast and it is after 12.  So I stop in at Wendy's and get a chicken sandwich.  Then we head off for the CAT scan.  We were so happy to see that a doc that we know from karate is there and the one that J gets.  Of course they take the same blood tests as the Quick Care and discover the same thing.  The tests are inconclusive but if a surgeon wants a CAT scan that sometime the CAT scan shows appendicitis and sometimes it doesn't.  As they are wheeling my child away Judy and I pray that the test IS conclusive one way or another.  I don't want J to leave and then burst somewhere out there in the world.

In less than ten minutes we get the results.  He has appendicitis and will need to be operated on today.  They will transport him over to the big Medical Center.  And when did he eat last? (I know I've done something bad)

Continued in Part 2.

Early Mornings

  Sorry the pic is so out of focus.  It really does look crisper than this.  Had to get up this morning to see Jbird off to early work.  I checked into my Typepad account to find out that they have made a bunch of changes to everything.  Kinda like going from the old Windows to Vista. (which I hope never to do)

Got Jbird to write a couple more thank you notes for his graduation gifts.  We didn't send out the announcements until September and some cards are just getting here.  Then we cruised over to Gainesville State to see about signing him up for some of the stuff he has to do before going to orientation.  However, he didn't want to do the placement tests this week so I'll have to call later today to see about next week's times.

This week is loaded with activities.  My friend Judy has two different medical tests this week.  Jbird is scheduled to work three days and he has a class on Tuesday.  He also has a meeting Friday night.  My final art class for this period is Thursday. Hubby's birthday is on Saturday and he will be going to the UGA homecoming game as a gift from one of his buds.  Thank goodness I don't have to go!

I've got a couple of paintings to finish up. I am beginning to appreciate the quick dry of acrylics.  The two paintings I need to work on are oils and it will take six months for them to dry proper before you can varnish them.  I've got two new paintings I want to start.  Came up with an idea yesterday and can't wait to see how it works out.  I do think I'll try them both in acrylics.  I may want to give them away as Christmas gifts and I wouldn't be able to do that with oils. 

And I should have a picture in the new show at the Quinlan opening this week - with the opening on Thursday at 6 something.  I am going to need some canvas soon - trying to decide if I want to buy a roll of canvas and then stretch the finished project or buy pre-stretched canvas.  It is cheaper to buy the roll but a whole lot more convenient to have the canvas already stretched.  I know I want to paint a picture for the master bedroom but other than that all other pics are just experimental and having a bunch of canvases stacked around isnt' what I want either. (which leads one back to a roll of canvas because you can store the pictures flat)

Off to get the daily chores started and surf a little bit.  May your day be blessed.

Together As A Family

I got up early and surfed the Net awhile.  Then I made the coffee and toasted some bagels.  Carried down a tray to the family room so Hubby and I could watch the Sunday morning shows.  The political scene is definitely getting harried.  Unfortunately, I tend to agree with the view that some of the issues are not being addressed and that typical politics have taken over. There are a lot of unanswered questions.

We decided to go see Fireproof as a family.  Jbird was so touched by the movie that he wanted us to go see it together.  Unfortunately, we had a group of people in their fifties who were a bunch of talkers.  I'm watching a Christian movie and I had to keep telling myself that I couldn't turn around and snap my fingers in their direction (trust me - the teacher in me definitely wanted to address their conduct - lol).  In spite of them - the movie was very good.  You can tell the producers have matured in their filmmaking since Facing the Giants.  The shots were much more varied and the quality of the shots and action was much better.  Kirk Cameron did a fine job in his role.  There were a few stilted moments but then again, exept for Kirk, the cast are pretty much novices.  We'll definitely be buying this one when it comes out.

Spaghetti Saturday

  Hubby and I decided to attack the house.  I worked in the kitched and he went to war with the family room.  I think I got the better end of the deal.  I got the dishwasher loaded, hand items washed, counters wiped down, and the floor mopped.  Then I started a bunch of meatballs and threw them in the crockpot with sauce.  Jbird had purchased a couple of baguettes for us from Panera so the meal was ready.

Judy stopped in to bring back a dish and left with a bowl of spaghetti.  Not a bad exchange!  This will be the last time I use the garlic/onion spaghetti sauce though.  I mixed it with two cans of regular sauce and it was still too strong by me - and I like garlic!

Jbird worked 5- closing.  I had him bring home a bag of bagels for breakfast tomorrow.  Having son work at a place that feeds my carb addictions might not be such a good thing!

BTW - guess what we found at the bottom of a pile in the family room?  Jbird's acceptance letter from Gainesville State College!  I already knew he had gotten accepted because I was checking online everyday - but I'd been waiting for the letter with all the instructions.  And there it was.  I don't know who got the mail but it never got looked at (Hubby and I swear it was Jbird).

Lillium's Awful, Very Bad, No Good Day

  Okay - there are just days when the best thing you could do is pull the covers over your head and go back to sleep!  This was one of THOSE days.  It started out with a couple of early morning phone calls that you could do without.  Enough said.  Now these phone calls came whilst I was packing up my car to go to my art class.  Rather ticked was I that Hubby was not helping me get said car filled to the brim with my stuff.  Translated:  Hubby was not doing my bidding.  So little Miss Miffed threw a couple of one-liners in Hubby's direction.  There are days when I am just SO mature - not!

Hubby smoothed my ruffled feathers and I jumped in the car, threw her in reverse..... and hit the lawnmower!  Oh. My. God.  I stop the car and get out to look at the damage. Yup.  Right there on the front left - a nice long gash.  I get out of the car, go back in the house, and inform Hubby that I ran into the lawnmower.  Bless his little heart!  He didn't yell or scream.  He already knew I wasn't in the best of moods.  He said, "Well - let's go out and see it."  Took one look at the poor car and said, "Yup you sure did!"  Meanwhile, I'm apologizing profusely and feeling like a worm.

Then Hubby looks at me and says,  "Well - here's what I'd do.  Ask Jbird when this happened!"  I caught the gleam in Hubby's eyes and burst out laughing.