Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me! To celebrate, I treated myself to a slice of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake after my appointment with the surgeon. I thought I would be able to sit down and eat the slice - nope, only got about halfway through before I had to put it away. Man, that's good stuff!

The surgeon isn't any happier about my lack of extension than I am and has prescribed an additional 4 weeks of PT. That's OK, but it's going to make for some long work days for September as I'll be forced to take an hour lunch three days a week to accommodate the therapy. Monday will be extra hard as I already have to put in 10 hours. I'll be working from sun up to sun down. Oh well, what else do I have to do?

Sleep - that's what. I have been napping almost every day for at least 90 minutes a day. What is up with that? I have tried to break the pattern but just can't seem to do it. Then when I wake up I'm all groggy, which I hate. I have to stop the napping - I just have to.

School Supplies

So I took Emily and Krissy to K-Mart for school supplies, shoes and a few outfits. The items on the supplies list were a bit insane - why does EVERY kindergartner need to take in FOUR boxes of 16-count Crayola crayons?!?! A bit excessive. Emily got two outfits and Krissy got three and all told, it cost about $230! Throw in a pair of boots for Felicia and some kitty litter and M&Ms for me and I ran up a $285 bill - at K-Mart! There is no way Susanna could have gotten the stuff on the supplies list (much less clothes for the girls). What would she have done?

I also booked our week-end at Great Wolf Lodge for September. It's not going to be much of a vacation, but this summer has been odd, what with the surgery and recovery. I got a room that has a cabin inside for the girls (their own bunk beds, TV, Nintendo game) and an electric fireplace for me. So I could have gone cheaper but decided we only go maybe once every three years so I might as well make it a fun week-end.

Shawn and I are suppose to be heading to Weston and Pirtle's Vineyard this afternoon. We haven't been in months. Although I have to be careful because I'm still on pain killers, I think I can have one glass of wine and be OK; especially since my last dose of pills was 7:00 last night and I don't plan on taking more until this evening. The nurses told me at the hospital that an occasional glass of wine would not harm me. Looking forward to spending an afternoon with Shawn!

Home PT

I'm nearing the end of my home physical therapy. Beginning next week, I have to go to them (and 'them' isn't Kale - too bad.) I have three weeks left of Family Leave time and then it's back to work. I am shocked at how NOT ready I am to get back to the grind. I thought I would have been bored out of my mind and ready to reenter the world - but I'm not. I really have worked too long.

Apparently Susanna has lost both Internet and phone. I tried calling her cell and it had been turned off. So now the only way to contact her is to call her at Homers, which I did to see if the girls could go swimming on Wednesday - they can. It's a bit scary that there's no way to contact them other than via Homers or just going to their house (and they never answer the door so even that wouldn't work.)

I am going to volunteer to pay for Emily's and Kristen's school supplies and get them each a few outfits. The fees aren't too horrible, and they have till February to pay them (and they get their Uncle Sam check in January). Those poor girls - I bet they haven't been out of that house since I dropped them off a month ago. I pray for them.

Surgery

I did it - I had knee replacement surgery. I had it done just over two weeks ago and still can't believe I did it. It went smoothly with no complications and now all I have to do is recover and get this knee working again. Straightening it is incredibly painful and that process seems to be going nowhere. I am hanging around 11-14 degrees from straight. Getting it to bend is just as challenging but also has been more successful. I'm at a 95 degree bend right now. You need 110 degrees to climb steps properly so I'm getting there. But if I can't get it to straighten any more, the surgery might have been almost pointless. People will still notice a limp and that's what I wanted to get rid of. Kale, the PT guy, tells me I'm doing well for the amount of time since surgery so I'll just hold on to that.

I have the summer off because of the surgery. I get 7 weeks of vacation - I haven't had that kind of time since I was in school and not working over the summer (about 25 years ago!). I have done a lot of sleeping and a lot of television watching. Just like I did 25 years ago!

It's Scheduled

Terrified - that's what I am. I've scheduled my knee replacement surgery and it ain't gonna be pretty. Four days in the hospital, no RA drugs, compression hose and shots in my tummy for 10 days (which Shawn is going to have to do). And that's not even touching the whole recovery/physical therapy ordeal! I guess the good thing is that by this time next month, the surgery will be over and the tummy shots halfway through. I don't know if I can actually do this. Hell, this is elective surgery - I don't HAVE to get it done! I might end up in a wheelchair if I don't, but I don't HAVE to do the surgery, right?

I just have to focus on the benefits. By September I can maybe be in heels again. And feel comfortable in dresses and skirts (even with the scar?). I can possibly ride a bike again or go rock wall climbing. Or walk around the block without someone asking me if I need a lift.

I can do this. I can.

Greece!

Wow, was the Greece trip great! Dan and Kelly were the best hosts, driving us all around not just Athens but a few ancient sites and out to the island of Paros as well. We went nonstop from the minute we hit the shores. I ate like I shouldn't have and STILL lost 3.5 pounds - that's how much walking we did!

We wandered through the Athens shopping center (a few times!), hiked up to the acropolis, roadtripped to Delphi and Nafplio and basked in the sun of the island (while walking around shopping!) After all that, Kelly was still upset that we didn't get everything in that she had wanted to! I told her one more site might have just killed me!

Traveling with Gayle was very easy - and she had a wonderful time, too. She attached to the girls almost instantly and left calling them her adopted grandchildren. I knew the girls would make the trip for her - she loves kids that much. Next time Dan and Clan visit, I am going to have to include Gayle in any plans!

I hope I can get one of the brothers out there to visit - although I'm sure Dan was glad to see me, I know he has so much more in common with his bros. John might make the trip. Charlie possibly if he would get his passport.

I recommend Greece to anyone - more the island than the mainland of Athens. As the ancient Greeks would say, "Oompah!"

Greece Bound

This time next week I will be packing for Greece, we leave next Friday. It's kind of hard to believe I'm actually going to get there! Maybe not with Shawn as was the original plan, but it doesn't matter - I'm going! I have so much to do between now and then I can't even think about it!

One thing I 'get' to do is visit the knee surgeon next Monday for a consult on my knee. I had sweaty palms and a racing heart just making the appointment to see him! I'm not sure I'm going to make it to surgery! I just keep focusing on all the things I'll be able to do in 6 months that I can't do now. Focus!

I have started a new diet, Slim4Life. Very expensive, very time consuming and very restricted. And I'm not sure it's working very well! They guarantee three pounds a week if I follow their guidelines but I don't think I'm going to get that this week. I have to drive 30-minutes (one way) tomorrow to check in and we'll see what they find on the scale. I actually lost almost 9 pounds last week (my first week) but 5 of that was the easy-drop easy-add weight I always play with. If I can get to 160 by the time of the trip, that would be amazing. I just weighed and the scale said 166 - this morning it was 163; I don't know which one to believe! In any case, this is a very hard, not fun diet and I doubt I would recommend it (due to the amazing cost they don't warn you about). I hate having to wage this war.