nom nom nom

mom, dad, and i had an impromptu, and awfully yummy tasting dinner tonight. we had some unexpected news from our wedding caterer that has us doing a bit of shopping around. we're not sure that we're going to make any changes but want to make sure that we're making the right decision. i called around and got in touch with jo, the catering manager at berryhill baja grill here in the woodlands. she invited us over for dinner tonight, and i have to admit... it was SO good. unexpectedly good. :)
we tasted (clockwise from the left): the seafood del mar, spinach and corn tamales, pork tamales with mole sauce, and beef and chicken fajitas. we also tried to three different soups they have. i think we were all really blown away at how good it was. we met the manager on duty tonight, fransisco. he was incredibly hospitable and treated us to an excellent meal. way to go berryhill, you really exceeded all of our expectations!

i also got my hair highlighted today! i think it looks pretty schnazzy :) i went up to the aveda institute in the woodlands which i absolutely love! i got my entire head highlighted by a student for half what i would have paid if i had gone to any other salon. kady did an excellent job and worked really hard to make sure that i was happy. if you're ever in the area give them a call and schedule an appointment! ask for kady if you remember. its so much more blonde and summery than before. i love it! i just hope t will like it... picking him up tomorrow, yay!!!!!! (ps. i was parked in the parking lot of the salon while taking this photo. promise there was no photo taking while driving!)

normalcy

i'm finally starting to feel normal again. with the exception of being sore and moving slowly, i really feel like i did before the pain started. i am SO happy and relieved that i'm finally on the upswing and can just focus on healing. so many people have spent so much time thinking of me, praying for me, taking care of me (thanks mom!), and just being really really good to me and i am SO thankful for everyone.

this is the first picture that i've taken of myself since surgery and i feel like i can see the healthy, happy, and worry-free me that i was before all of this mess.

friends

no picture today. not sure how i missed that. so i'm stealing from facebook. :)

i spent a wonderful afternoon and evening with m, my bestest friend and maid of honor. it was so good to see her. i wish we lived closer, but at least being at my moms house i'm pretty close. we went and ate crawfish and hammed it up tonight. i honestly dont think anyone makes me laugh like she does, and while thats usually a really good thing, post-op laughing hurts more than anything else i've done. it figures that sometime so awesome would hurt the most. i really cant wait to heal.

getting out

my mom was helping out at the softball game today so i thought i'd join her. i've been going stir crazy and the fresh air really did me a lot of good.

it was bizarre being out here. the last time i played on this field was in 98 as a freshman in highschool. right after this we moved to jakarta and i havent been on this field since.

post op

it is my fifth day post-op and i'm finally starting to feel a little bit more normal. i've been able to get up and move around a bit, and my pain is much more manageable than i expected. maybe it's the overwhelming sense of relief that its all over and done with. now all i have to do is heal.

i ended up being delayed in surgery, and didn't get wheeled back until about 43o pm. t and i were able to spend some time together in the holding area which was nice. the anesthesiologist was exceptionally nice and we spoke at length about all kinds of random, non surgery related things before it was my time to go. i honestly think she was glad to be able to just hang out and talk while we were all waiting for the OR to open up. when it was finally time to go back t gave me a big hug and kiss, told me that he loved me, and my anesthesiologist gave me a dose of versed. i could feel it taking effect. it felt like the anxiety and anticipation i was feeling literally fell out of my body through my toes and i was able to relax. i remember dr. jurney being there with dr. beard as i was wheeled out of the pre-op area. i'd never met dr. beard before and i remember telling her something like, "hi there! nice to meet you, just wish it was better circumstances." i was definitely feeling goofy from the versed at this point. i remember scooting onto the OR table, looking over at the two docs sitting at a table to my right, and wishing them good luck :) they had a good giggle over this. the anesthesiologist (i really wish i remembered her name!!) asked me if i was ready to go to sleep, i told her i was, she placed the oxygen mask over my face... and the next thing i knew i woke up in recovery.
recovery wasn't too bad. i woke up with an oxygen mask on, asking for t. i knew he had to get to the airport shortly and really wanted to see him before he left. he came back and it was the best feeling ever. he was so sweet and comforting. even with the pain, i felt SO much better after seeing him. they took the oxygen mask off pretty quickly, and about 20 minutes later i started to feel like i had an elephant sitting on my chest. my chest was so tight and i really felt like i was working hard to breathe. i told the nurse and she placed me on a nasal canulla. this helped a lot, i felt a lot better. although now i understand why our NICU babies are always ripping those things out. they tickle!
they had a tough time getting my pain under control initially. they gave me fentanyl iv, which worked but wore off quickly. they tried morphine next. that made me want to climb the walls. i should have known that it would, but at this point i just wanted to stop hurting. my dad had morphine once when he was in the hospital and it made him so anxious that he couldnt stop moving. it was around 7pm and the nurses changed shifts. the nurse that i'd initially come back from the OR to was nice and looked very young. i shouldnt have, but i wanted to ask her how long she'd been doing this for. i probably did, just dont remember : ) i do remember as she was leaving telling her that she was a super star and got an A+ for awesome nursing care. haha i'm a nerd. the new nurse that came in took one look at me with the morphine and told me that she recommended trying demerol. this woman was magic. it was the first time post-0p that i'd really been comfortable. if the other girl got an A+, this girl definitely deserved extra credit. i drifted in and out of sleep until about 9pm.
when i woke up all i could think about was calling t before his flight took off. i asked the nurse if there was a phone that i could use in the unit because my mom's cell phone didn't have any service. she told me there was but that it was on the other side of the unit. i told her that i didn't care and that i'd get there however it took as she was telling me that all i had to do in order to leave was to pee! hah i thought, thats easy! out of sheer determination to call t i got myself up (after almost passing out twice), went potty (i had to think about it really hard), and got to talk with t before he took off. :)
after this i got dressed, with a lot of help, and got to go home. i layed flat in the acura the entire way home with all the bumps and turns. 24 hour walgreens was open so that i could get my pain meds before going to sleep, and we were at my parents house around 1030pm. talk about a long day.

its finally surgery day

i have to admit that i'm slightly terrified. i've wanted to get here SO bad, but now that its actually the day, and the time is coming up, i am so scared.
as a nurse i'm used to being completely aware of what is going on around me, (hopefully) in control of the situation, and confident in my own decision making. this is a complete 180 from what i am used to. i'm in a hospital i'm unfamiliar with. i'm the patient checking in. i have nurses starting my iv and pca's taking my vital signs.
i walked in to check in, anticipating filling out some paperwork and having a seat to wait for t and my family to arrive (we were running a little late and they dropped me off and went to park). what i got was an armband placed around my arm over the counter and directions through the double doors to be placed in a hospital room. a hospital room!!!!!! i almost cried. it all seemed so fast that i was sure i'd be put in the back, not able to hug and kiss my family, and whisked off to surgery before i knew it. i really should have known better, but panic is not a state of mind in which i think logically.
i can finally say that i understand how my patient's families feel. the uncertainty, not knowing what the outcome will be. hoping and praying that you just wake up after its all over and that it doesnt hurt too much when you do.
i'm hoping that they dont have to remove my right ovary. my doctor has assured me that she will do everything she can to avoid this and i trust her.
wish me luck and see you when its all over!

and we're swimming!!!!

i honestly never thought i'd see this day. dojo has been in the lake at the dog park before, but he would only go after balls that we right at or a few feet from the edge. today he swam all the way to the middle of the lake for not one but two balls.

it was awesome and i was a proud mama :)

i'm sure some people there thought i was absolutely crazy as excited as i got.


btw. if you have dogs and have never been to bill archer dog park off of hwy 6, you are missing out. we are SO lucky to live less than five miles from this amazing park and if you havent been there, you should definitely make the trip. every time we're there we speak with people who have driven from all over houston (even pasadena!) and sometimes even outside of houston (huntsville!).

buffalo bayou regatta

i swear t has the best job in the world. he literally gets paid to attend awesome events and do promotions.

so i'm sitting at home and he keeps sending me pictures. teasing me! i decided to head down to sesquicentennial park and enjoy the day with him and his coworkers. the weather was absolutely perfect, couldnt have asked for a better day!

t and i talked and we decided that next year we're going to participate in the race. i cant wait because i'll be healthy and able to do these types of things again! i guess i need to get started on the rowing machine as soon as i'm post-op and all healed! i really cant wait.

its rodeo time

its rodeo time in houston and i am so excited! the houston livestock show and rodeo is SO much fun. there really is something for everyone, no matter what your age! i had to twist t's arm a little bit to talk him into coming, but once he was there i really think he enjoyed it. he'd never been before!

my favorite part is where all the brand new babies are. there is a section in reliant park where they have all sorts of animals (cows, goats, pigs, etc) that are due to give birth during rodeo time. these little piggies were all born earlier today and i couldnt believe how spunky and full of energy they were!

we also went to the concert (tobey keith) but didn't stay long. he was playing a lot of his old songs, which means i actually knew a few, but i was so worn out after walking so much that i think everyone felt a little sorry for me and decided to head home. boo for overgrown ovaries that hurt!

in bloom

my orchids are finally blooming again! i thought for sure they were done for after last years tragedy.

i had to do some major surgery on them last year when all of a sudden they all ended up with root rot. i have absolutely no idea how this happened as i never ever over water them. if anything they probably stay much more dry than they should. they all required significant stem and root trimming and repotting. I lost two of them but the two that survived are growing new leaves, roots, and stems. best of all they're covered with buds and beginning to bloom. this is the first bloom that has opened this year and is on a new growth stalk. i'm just glad to know that i haven't completely failed and killed them all!

held hostage

obviously i cannot get any work done while java is holding my laptop hostage :)

that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

the post where i get in trouble

t's going to kill me for posting this, but really its the only picture i took today! poor babe was so tired that he crashed as soon as he got home.

i wish i could sleep that soundly in bright daylight.

we're in the water!!!

it had just rained and the puddles at the dog park were especially large and muddy. just perfect for my two puppies who obviously think they're little piggies! java likes to get her feet dirty, but she's still a bit wary of the water. dojo on the other hand is a trip! he loves to jump shoulder deep into the water and pounce around. he'll bite at it and go completely under. crazy dog! up until today they were only playing in the puddles but we couldnt get them into the doggie lakes where the "clean" water is. java definitely wasn't having it but i finally got dojo interested enough in a ball that he went after it in the lake. i was such a proud mama :)

wedding procrastination

i spent today working on wedding things with my mom, y, and s. they wouldn't let me procrastinate anymore about the wedding, so i procrastinated about getting my school work done instead. :)

we had an awesome lunch at a place i've never been to before in town & country called pronto! it was yummy and quick like the named claimed. then we headed off to the harwin and hillcroft area looking for fabric and such. flowers were also on the agenda and my mom had me taking pictures of a million different things. for some reason i only took one picture using my phone. its definitely a lot easier with the real camera. after shopping so much i thought i might die we headed to y's house where we looked at cakes and talked specifics. we got so much done!!!! i'm so thankful and lucky to have such wonderful people in my life that care enough to get me moving on all of this planning and decision making! sometimes i definitely need a good kick in the butt and i certainly got one today!

dogs that snore

i had absolutely no idea that dogs could snore, but both of mine do! weird!

i spent all day on school work and i think he spent all day just like this.

wedding schmedding

finally getting wedding things moving along again. its so hard to juggle everything. i want SO bad to get the invitations out this week but i dont think its going to happen. cant be perfect at everything :)

i found a printer just down the road that does excellent work and quickly. i dropped the file off with him earlier today and i already got all 150 of the 5x7 prints! i didnt know that was possible! i'm very happy with the way that they are looking. my friend DT designed them with just a few pieces of information and inspiration from me. yay for awesome extremely talented friends!

play date

its always fun to come up to my mom's and let all three of the dogs play together. her little girl (just behind java in the picture) is named tiga. she is dojo's sister. its funny because when they're apart, my two at home or tiga at my moms, they're pretty much normal calm dogs. when all three get together its like they've all taken a shot of doggie speed. they are insane and its so funny. they had been playing for a long time when i snapped this picture of them all calm and lounging by the pool. of course they decided that the rug my mom had brought out to vacuum would make a perfect place to enjoy the afternoon!

all our shots +1

at the vet today for our final boosters. really we're already done with our shots but because they both got their first shot with the breeders the vet decided to just be safe and give them the full course as if he had started them.

i guess this is common practice? i'm not used to this with babies but the vet made it seem like standard practice. it works out ok because we're on the "wellness" plan so the visit didn't cost us anything extra. yay!

furniture tetris

t is amazing! he somehow took all of the big furniture from my house, which i thought was going to take up the entire storage unit, and packed it into a space about 10x8 ft! of course he had to build a custom shelf in the unit to do it, but still!

amazing!

csf and more

clinicals again today. one awfully nice nnp asked me if i'd like to do an lp (lumbar puncture aka spinal tap) on one of her babies while she supervised. i was so scared and so red, but by the end of it all the baby was comforted, and i had obtained 3 beautifully clear specimens of csf (cerebrospinal fluid). thrilled and relieved cannot even begin to describe how i felt afterward. this was probably the procedure i was most scared of.

rebel babies

there is a family that is currently in our NICU that I absolutely adore. they have got to be the most kind, thoughtful, and FUNNY people i know. so although i'm very dissapointed that dad isn't blogging this time around (just wait... he's going to know that he didn't have a blog ;) ) i was amused to find this note from the "baby" today. you'll be home before you know it, little man... and then your parents might be wishing for a few more restful nights :)

i know this family will likely never read this, but i have to tell them thank you. e, i dont think you'll ever know how much the time you spent just listening meant to me. i really felt like you understood and i felt comforted in that. When i was SO overwhelmed you took the time to make me feel important and cared for, and i cant ever thank you enough. :)

clinicals

clinicals today. i took care of three relatively stable kids with no major issues and attended three deliveries. the deliveries were especially exciting, but also intimidating, being at the "head" of the bed. i'm definitely not used to this level of responsibility and decision making, although i guess i should get used to it?

i'm thankful that i'm still able to do clinicals with my health restrictions, otherwise i would possibility have to wait another entire year to graduate. i'm able to take it easy, dont really have to do any lifting at all, and can sit down when i need to. i just have to make an extra effort to remember to sit down and rest when i get opportunities!

in the photo we were getting ready for the delivery of a 25wk infant when k walked in with his interestingly placed hat. we all got a good giggle from his hair poof up front.

i think i might have to take a bubble bath tonight... ahh that sounds so nice!

breakfast at los cucos

i never thought about having breakfast at los cucos, but it turns out that the location on clay rd has an amazing breakfast buffet on the weekends. the boys loved eating tacos for breakfast, but i think the highlight for both of them was their dessert :) everyone loves dessert for breakfast!

blue and gold

tonight we went to a's cub scouts blue and gold banquet. i'm so proud of the things that he's doing and learning in scouts. i know what an impact scouts made on both of my brothers, and the people that they became, so i'm looking forward to seeing it have the same effect on the little man. he was definitely proud of the cake he and his dad (ahem... i) made.

i did pretty well with the silent auction :) i ran away with toby keith rodeo tickets and a nerf gune for the boys. (of course i paid for them first) woohoo!

i'm tired...

and i haven't taken a photo all day long.. so this is me right before going to bed. i'm dissapointed in myself but at least i took a photo.

bad kitty!

No, the mahogany bed post is NOT your scratching post. If only I really was the boss of her.

comfort food for dinner tonight....

ever since i moved in with t, essentially the last year [or so...], my cooking adventures have mainly consisted of steamed white rice and some sort of grilled/stewed/braised garlic-ginger-lemongrass-chile-soy infused protein. its worked out well with his asian-directed tastes and my white-girl experiences in those parts of the world. i had learned enough while i was living in thailand and indonesia to basically recognize the ingredients and somewhat know how to work with them... and while i agree with him that thai and indonesian food IS by far the best food IN THE WORLD, there is something special about a good old-fashioned southern comfort meal.

i had to dig deep into my south mississippi roots for this one, and it actually turned out pretty well. as t said, "this is the best damn meatloaf i've ever had."

thank you very much paula deen :) find the recipe here

on the 27th anniversary of my birth

i'm considering starting a 365 project today... and for some reason i'm drawn to the idea of writing a blog every day for an entire year. it seems like a bit of a crazy committment considering i'm the person that has tried (and failed) 3 times to do a 365 photo project. if i can't take a photo a day how in heaven am i supposed to write a blog every day? hopefully i'll be able to stick with it.

i think its a little weird that on my birthday all i really desire to do is take the dogs to the dog park. just to enjoy the beautiful day that is today, sunshine and clear skies, with my awesome lab puppies and my husband to be... maybe this is a sign that i'm getting old? or maybe life has been so crazy lately that i couldnt possibly handle another exciting thing thrown onto my plate?

speaking of crazy life, and things unexpected... i went to the doctor today for a checkup and to talk about when we were planning surgery to remove the GIGANTIC dermoid cyst on my right ovary, and she tells me that i shouldnt be lifting over 10-15 lbs, standing for long periods of time, and gives me a list of varied restrictions. i took the short walk over to the unit and spoke with my manager while i was there about this. apparently i'm unable to work while these restrictions are in effect, so i had to apply for fmla today. i guess the goverment is good for something?

so i guess i'll just have to see what other excitement the day has planned for me :)

oh yeah, happy fat tuesday!

they found every mud hole there was...