Slack, Slack, Slacking

Oh Yeah, I'm a slacker. Not necessarily by choice though. I have been busy. So busy that I don't have a life. Actually the latter is true, the first part... not so much.

I have been going to therapy 3x a week in the hopes of being able to walk like a normal person soon. Our trip is exactly TWO months away and I still can't walk for a long time. And to add to the fun, my Plantar Fascia is acting up. Never had a problem with it before the accident, so they're telling me that it is a complication from the fracture.

So how in the world am I going to be able to walk the streets of Paris & Barcelona????? Oh, and the 9 hour flight will probably be a doozy too. But in the end, I am looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience.

A huge plus is that my metal leg will not beep at airport security. How do I know this? Well, I took a last minute trip to visit my brother in Colorado. I did not beep at all! It's the little things that bring joy to my life!

Colorado was great. Loved spending time with the family and seeing the beautiful sights. Must definitely return soon, and next time with D. You know, in 23 1/2 years of marriage, this is only the 2nd time that I have traveled without him.

I hope everyone is doing well.

It's been really quiet around here

Wow! I cannot believe that I have not blogged on here in almost 2 months! I am never this quiet!

Recovery is moving along. I am now out of the brace and am full weight bearing. For the most part, it doesn't hurt as much as I was told it would. Except for when I try to walk normally... heel to toe. I still use my little old lady walker but will soon graduate to a little old lady cane!

In other news, my step-dad passed away last week. It's one of those things that was expected, yet unexpected. Although we miss him terribly, we are happy that he is no longer in pain. Complications from diabetes are so incredibly debilitating! I have lost 2 dads. Two great dads.

Seems like that saying that everything happens in threes is correct. First my ankle, then my dad, and then...just two days after the burial, my daughter is involved in a car wreck. Some idiot cut her off and hit her car, causing it to spin into the median wall on the highway. The car was totaled. The guy that caused it ran away. But thank GOD that she is okay! Just a bit of whiplash, a couple of bruises and seat belt burn. Now, can someone explain to me, how anyone can leave the scene of an accident like that? All airbags deployed and it looked pretty bad. Thankfully there are good people in this world as well and they stopped to assist.

My nerves are still fried, but I must remember to count my blessings.

By the way, I have a Cars 2 Giveaway on my other site. Check it out!

Time is going by too slow!

Until the accident, I was always saying that time was just flying by! I wish it would fly by right about now. This recovery is painfully slow. Days just seem to drag on by.

It's not that I don't have time to blog. Actually, like I mentioned before, I now have waaaay too much time on my hands. Not the kind of time that I want though. I want to walk, not hobble along in a walker or roll around in a wheelchair. I want to shower standing up, not sitting in a chair with my leg hanging out of the tub. I actually, believe it or not, want to freakin' vacuum! I know, right? CRAZY! It's things like this that we shouldn't take for granted!

But actually sitting down & blogging has not been easy. I have nothing to say, and that is just not common for me! Ask anybody that knows me.

Since the surgery, I've gotten behind on my posts and my reviews. I blame it on the pain meds. I can't wait to be off of them. They are doing a number on my eyes and I am not a happy camper. Especially, since it's cutting into the only thing that I can actually do, read!

Anyhoo, I have found one little thing that gives me joy. Watching people squirm a little when they are parked in the handicap spot and D is wheeling me from way in the back. Ya'll know my pet peeve about this. Not that they care really, because we all know that their sense of entitlement goes beyond feeling sorry for anyone. But in one case I did notice that the lady didn't jump out of her Dodge Ram 3500 until after I rolled by ;-) By the way, my Dr. offered me a temporary handicap placard but I did not accept it. The width is nice for getting in & out of the car with the wheelchair, but D is with me all the time anyway.

So I think I wave 3 more weeks without being allowed to put weight on my foot, then the dreaded PT starts. Wish I could just blink my foot back to normal!

Too Much Time on My Hands

So now that I have so much time on my hands, you would think that I would have more time to actually write. Well, although I do have the time, I don't have much motivation. The pain is intense and I am just counting the minutes till I can take another pain killer. Sad, but true. I know that people get addicted to the stuff, so I'm trying to stretch it as much as possible. But sometimes it's just too much. I only take it for pain so I don't know why addicts enjoy it so much. It does make me sleepy though, is that the appeal?

I talk to friends and family daily, and even strangers (I talk to everyone!). Not a day goes by that someone does not mention how horrible the recovery is going to be. They stress that the pain will be intense. If what I'm feeling right now is not intense, I don't even want to imagine.

So I sit here and get depressed. I cry like a baby until I talk myself into remembering that others have it worse than I do.

Our bed is made up of 2 adjustable beds in a king size frame. Danny moved part of our bed downstairs. So now I sleep by myself in the office on the 1st floor. When he goes to work and the girls are at school/work I am alone. I am alone quite a bit now. Maybe I'll start tele-marketing! I've never minded being alone before, I guess it's just the situation.

Another thing weighing heavily on my mind are the med bills. We have insurance and all, but then the providers are not content with the 80-90% that they get paid. They come after us for the rest. With our governor trying to cut Fire Fighter jobs & pensions plus my not being able to do anything, Can't even babysit my Mya! Actually, I need a sitter myself!

I'm totally freaking out. You know, I actually had a doctor (that I had never met) walk into my hospital room to ask why I had decided to go with another surgeon. I looked online today and saw that he billed my insurance $400 for that! WTF???

Then there is our trip.  I've been looking forward to our trip in October for over a year.  Everything is booked & paid for. But I forgot to buy the insurance. Not that it would cover much, since I booked using miles & points and all the other good stuff. It's just the fact that they are telling me 5 more weeks in the brace and about 4 more months (at least) after that in PT. That's cutting it really close.

Anyhoo, I know all this is just rambling but remember, I'm on meds. I have an excuse!

Hope all is well with everyone!

Broken

We all have take things for granted. No matter how little those things are, you will miss them...desperately! In my case, it's walking. Although it is not a "little" thing, it is something that I take for granted. Fortunately for me, it is not permanent. At least that is what they tell me. They better not be lying to me.

Let me rewind to Saturday night. I was alone at home. Totally alone. Not even the dog was here to witness the fall. It was getting a little late and I figured that I should go out and get something to eat. I had THREE opportunities to change my mind. Opportunities, meaning discussions with myself. 1) I told my self that I really wasn't hungry. 2) I told myself that I didn't feel like getting dressed to go out. and 3) I definitely did not feel like driving

I convinced myself with the fact that I would eventually get hungry and that it would be worse later. So yeah, I started down the stairs and I swear that I heard a voice tell me to turn on the light. But I was already halfway down and I didn't.What happened afterward was in slow motion. Literally. Like in the movies. When I hit what I thought the last step, I remember sort of verbally giving myself a pat on the back. What actually happened was that I miss the last 2 steps, fell, tumbled and hit the back of my head against the wall.  I literally could not get up. Just like the commercial. I had to drag myself to the house phone to call D who was at work.My left foot looked like it had been through a wringer, it was crooked and swollen. And HURT like a... use your imagination.
By the time was all said & done, we learned that I had broken my tibia AND my fibula. After surgery, I now have 2 plates and 13 screws in my body. I am using a walker and a wheelchair and even an old lady shower chair. I am also on heavy painkillers which keep me, well, pain free... and hallucinating. I am very slightly depressed. I now have PT appointments and a nurse will be coming to my house once I get discharged. The pain is excrutiating!

One thing that was re-affirmed again, again is that D LOVES me more than life itself! I have never been alone this entire time.  He sleeps on the chair next to my bed EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT! I don't know where I would be without him!

I have had some AWESOME nurses and one not-so-awesome one. One of the AWESOME ones even brought me a homemade angel the day after her shift.  She actually made me cry a bit. The nurses here are all great and they especially love D since he does EVERYTHING for me. I guess that the good out-weigh the bad but why do BOTH my arms look like this??? I didn't go into surgery looking like I had just gone a round with Rocky Balboa, but I definitely do now! Both arms were pricked SEVERAL times and one IV was actually not in the vein.
So that is where I am. Sitting in the hospital, on my laptop. If I didn't feel so dizzy, I could use it more often. Unfortunately, I will be MIA from both blogs for a while. Although I feel crushed, I know that I am loved. 110% Yep, the good always outweighs the bad!

Excuse the typos and errors. I'm on Dilaudid.

Giveaways! Ending soon.

I have two giveaways going on right now on my other blog. One is for a package of Stikin™ Labels ($40 value). These are great for everything including clothing. Think school stuff and s]Summer Camp stuff. Ends on 2/28.

I just posted another one. This one is for bra accessories from Exposed Envy. Functional yet fashionable. Ends on 3/7.

Free stuff is always good!

Rant, Rant, Rant

I don't normally go all nuts but this is my personal blog and it's time for a rant! My husband goes into fires, when everyone is running out. He saves babies and has even delivered them. He is usually the first one on the scene of tragic accidents and with his help, the victim may possibly make it. He sees thing that I would never want to see and others that I wish I could.

He just took a huge hit with pay cuts and freezes equaling about 15% of his salary. Now, our idiot Governor, is going after another huge chunk. Not only from us, but from police & teachers as well. This governor is as shady as he looks. I guess since fraud is his game, he just isn't interested in the huge Medicaid and Welfare fraud that is rampant in Florida. When I'm at the grocery store and the lady that is completely dressed in designer duds and is driving a Benz, whips out her food stamps card, my blood boils! Or when my husband runs a 3 AM call for a hangnail (or something similar) and arrives at a house that is worth at least a million bucks, with a BMW & a Hummer parked in the front. The patient insists on being transported because she'ss "Be seen right away" plus she's on freakin' Medicaid! News flash, skank, your hangnail doesn't take precedence over a heart attack! No matter how you arrive!

So yeah, lets not take away from the scammers. Let them live in the luxury that they are accustomed to and that we are paying dearly for. Instead, lets take it away from our Police & Fire, that put their lives on the line every day. Who also save many lives. When these public servants can no longer afford to do what they love, and there are none left, we'll see who will step up and help the public in their time of need. Definitely not our governor.
This would be funny, if it wasn't 110% spot on! Some parts of the video may be offensive to some people.


So there you have it. This is what we are paying for.

Hoarding much?

We travel quite a bit. Since we do not sleep in our car, our nights are spent in hotels. Hotels put out these cute little toiletries that for some reason, I NEVER use during our trip. But I do put them away in my bag and bring them home! For what? I don't know. I NEVER use them here either! Maybe deep inside I believe that one day there will be a shortage of soap & shampoo, and I just want to be prepared. You know, just like we stock up for hurricanes. Quite possibly, I'll be the only one in the toiletries recession that does not stink!

So while cleaning out my linen closet, I came upon 2 huge boxes full of hotel crap.  These are the contents of one box:

I have heard that I can donate it somewhere, but I can't remember where. Does anyone know? It has to be local, because these buggers weigh a lot!

Bucket List

I'm sure that most people have a Bucket List. I do. Actually, I just started mine less than 10 years ago. Well, I always had things that I really wanted to do and places that I wanted to visit. But I never really sat down and wrote them down. After my slight brush with death, I figured that I should start getting some things knocked off that list. Just in case. Because, they are things that I want to do before I kick the bucket!

One constant thing on my list since I was young, was to get married to a fantabulous man and have children. I knocked those off the list pretty early on. Heck, I've been married for more than half my life!

As of 2002, this is what my list looked like.

* Fly (get over the fear)  √           
I still am not completely over the fear.  But at least I get on planes now. I've even been on a helicopter & a tiny fixed wing. Yay me!

Be a contestant on The Price is Right and Wheel of Fortune (half a √)
Although I have not been called to Come on down! (phooey!),  I have attended tapings of TPIR (screen shots) One with Bob Barker right before he retired! I have won so much $$$ on WoF for Wii. Now if I can figure out how to cash in!

Visit Hawaii     √
We have fortunately been able to visit all 4 of the major Hawaiian Islands.  My heart belongs to Maui though.

Meet Tom Cruise.

Swim with a dolphin. √
The most amazing experience ever!

See the Grand Canyon √
Truly awe-inspiring

Travel through Europe.

Fly in a hot air balloon

Explore the Rainforest in Costa Rica

Own a beach house preferably in Maui

Have grandchildren

D basically follows along with whatever I want to do. Bless his heart. He does, however, want to RV across the U.S. I guess, at some point, I will have to give in to that one request.

My list is pretty tame. I have no aspirations to jump out of a perfectly good plane for no reason at all. Or any other daredevil crazy activities. After all. it's things I want to do before I die. Not things that I can die while doing!

As I have  asked before, I wonder what happens when I check I everything off my list. Just kick the bucket? Just in case, I will continue adding stuff to the list as I go along!

What's on your Bucket List????

No BlogHer for Me :-((

I guess it's not meant to be this year! I just realized that my final payment for the cruise portion of our vacation is due on August 6th. After much calculations and tons of head banging, I have realized that I won't be able to make it to BlogHer11.

I was really looking forward to the conference and to visiting San Diego again. But, unless I want to live under a bridge and carry all my worldly possessions in a shopping cart, BlogHer is a no go this year. Unless I win the lotto of course. Or some AMAZING company sponsors me!

Thing is, that I already bought my ticket. If you or anyone you know would like to purchase my ticket, let me know. I have the Full Conference Pass for $163 plus any applicable PayPal fees, if any.

I am wishin' & hoping that BlogHer12 will be somewhere within driving distance and in my time zone. Better yet, bring it to the MIA! That will make it oh, so convenient for me!

Go Red for Women on Feb. 4th

Here I am, once again, asking you to take charge of your heart health. Don't be fooled into thinking that heart disease only affects men. Here is a link to my Go Red post from last year. It also links you up to a short history.

Today I would like to share what it felt like to have a heart attack. On that day, I had taken my daughter to the pediatrician in the morning. As I was driving her back to school, I felt a pulling on the left side of my chest. It went away within a few minutes though, so I went about my day. I ended up at the grocery store, where I grabbed a basket since I only planned on purchasing a few items. I hadn't walked more then a few steps, through the store when I felt that I could not carry my basket with my left hand. I then felt the pulling on my left side again but this time it radiated to my back and left arm as well. I thought it was heart burn. It definitely did not feel like what I would expect a heart attack to feel like. I've heard people describe it as a crushing pain or like having an elephant sit on your chest.
I had cold sweats and when I tried walking towards the exit, I had a very hard time breathing. That is when I sort of started to panic.

I was taken by rescue to the hospital where it was confirmed that I was having a heart attack. The very next day, I was in the cath lab for my first of two procedures to have stents placed in my arteries. Every doctor and every nurse that walked into my room would do a double take when they saw me. I was a tiny, thin, 35 year old woman and they were not used to seeing that.

So why am I telling ya'll this? Well simply because I can. I am thankfully, still around to be able to tell it. To let you know that all heart attacks do not feel the same. That you won't necessarily feel that clutch your heart, intense pain that screams that you are having a heart attack. And that you are not protected simply by being a woman.

The best defense is to take charge of your heart health. See your doctor. Know your numbers. Know your risk factors. And take control. Your heart will thank you for it.

Perfect Miami Weather

Today was an absolutely gorgeous! Temps in the 70's, cool ocean breezes and clear skies.  Who can ask for anything more? We spent the day at Art Deco Weekend in South Beach. That is the absolute best place for people watching!  Fortunately, South Beach is very pet friendly, so Kassie was able to come along.  She LOVES outings!


We ended the afternoon at South Point to watch the ships leaving the port. Guess what? The Epic left without us again! Pfft! We sort of like to torture ourselves like that. We do that a lot. We grab our beach chairs, go to the park and wave good-bye to all those lucky folks on the ship.  We try to pinpoint where our stateroom is located and where we wish we could afford to stay. 

We won't be on the NCL Epic until October, when she sails her Trans-Atlantic crossing back to Miami from Barcelona. To say that we are excited is an understatement. But we are 9 whole months away! Enough time to grow a baby! So the countdown is on! We haven't been on a cruise since Oct 09 when we did the NCL Jewel Repo so we are suffering from withdrawls!

I have seen the Epic from the outside many times, I can't wait to see her interior! I will be sure to share lots of pictures this time!
Hopefully we can get a Cruise Critic cabin crawl organized so that I can preview each stateroom category and report back on those as well.!

Have any of you sailed on the Epic yet?  What did you think of her?

I was born a Libra

 From Google Images

I am not much into the astrology and I don't read my horror-scope every day. I am also not superstitious. But dagnabit, I was born a Libra and that isn't going to change no matter how much the Earth shifts! According to the new chart, I am now a Virgo! Um, no.

If you have not seen the new chart, here it is:

The New Zodiac Chart

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16.

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11.

Pisces: March 11-April 18

Aries: April 18-May 13

Taurus: May 13-June 21

Gemini: June 21-July 20

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23

Scorpio: Nov. 23-29

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20

They even have a new Zodiac sign in there, Ophiuchus. Don't ask me how to pronounce that! I would lean to thinking that it sounds like Confucius, maybe since I'm totally confused.

So to prove my case, here are a few snippets about the Libra woman


Born under the sign of Libra, the sign ruled by Venus the goddess of love; the Libra woman is one who definitely searches for peace, quality, and justice in everything she does. She is generally working to try to balance the oppositional forces that she senses exists all about her.

In her own life, the Libra girl may find that there is a basic duality as one of her scales is usually leaning towards compromise while the other leans toward her getting her own way.

Actually, I always lean towards getting my way! LOL

The Libra woman must take caution and be aware of her tendency to put off, or avoid, that which seems uncomfortable.

 ALWAYS try to avoid uncomfortable situations!

 Libra women love luxuries and good living in keeping with the sign of the goddess of beauty. However, in accordance with their sign of the scales and balance, the Libra girl will endeavour to balance her urge for the finer things of life by some appropriate saving and economies.

This is totally me! That is why I coupon & stuff, so I can travel!

Libra is the sign of partnerships, unions, and marriage and, for those girls born under this sign there is the inherent desire to merge. Libra woman can be very romantically inclined at a very early age in life.

I was picking flowers for my 17 year old neighbor boy when I was 3 years old!


The Libra woman will generally relate well with people of all the signs, however, those of Sagittarius and Leo can be particularly rewarding.

Well, my husband is Sagittarius, maybe that's why we are compatible.  But now he is supposed to be that new sign, Ophiuchus.  Does that mean we are no longer compatible??

Disney=Nostalgia

 

Walt Disney World will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary this year. As of October 1, 2011, I will have been going to WDW for 39 years and 10 months! We were originally supposed to go for my my 5th birthday in Oct of '71 but my parents, I guess to let them settle in and work out the kinks, decided to go in January instead.

I have seen some really neat retro 40th Anniversary merchandise, but I'm thinking that there really won't be a huge celebration this year. Especially since they are still in the middle of the Fantasyland expansion. Keeping with the retro theme, I would LOVE to see my all time favorite Pooh in his original costume. He was rounder and had a honey pot on his head. I know I have a picture somewhere! I would also like to see Dumbo with his big, floppy ears walking around the park again. Oh and the 3 Little Pigs and Gus & Jaq and ALL the dwarfs and...

I would love to see the the topiaries that lined the road to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom! Once we spotted those, our excitement level would triple! Then, my dad would tune in to the Disney Info Station on the radio and we would be bouncing off the walls!

I don't remember the crowds being as wild as they are now. The characters were free to roam with no one pushing & shoving. People in general are ruder now, so I can understand why characters need body guards. That's a shame!

You know what Disney? Just put everything back to how it was in 1972. Just for a few months ok? While you're at it, I wouldn't mind being 5 again. Thanks!

Here is a video that I found on YouTube. It's not mine, but it could easily be mine since I have one that looks exactly like that! I kept expecting to see a 5 year old me running around.

Even now, at my age, I still get tingly when I enter Disney property. I can not wait for the day that we have grandkids. Actually, strike that, there is no rush. My girls still need to finish school and all, but there is nothing quite like seeing WDW through the eyes of a child. Those are moments that you remember forever and take you back to how you felt when you first experienced the magic.

Now, the 50th Anniversary will probably be a huge shebang! I can only hope that I am around to see it...and maybe with a grandbaby or two! :-))

So, if  you've been along for the ride with WDW for a while, what do you miss most from that era?

Happy New Year!

Happy New year! I have been MIA and I need to get back on track. Sometimes life throws you a curveball and you need to detour in order stay focused.

As you know, I skipped the holidays this year. The best part about that is that I don't have to take down decorations and I don't have diddly squat to put away! Hurray!! As it turned out, however, we would not have been celebrating anyhow. At least not in the traditional way. On December 23rd, my step-dad had a heart attack. He has several other maladies that made this very serious. So he was taken to the cath lab and stents were inserted. That night, he went into cardiac arrest but was shocked back. The doctors basically told my mom that there was no hope and to make arrangements. After about a week and a few days in CCU, he was moved to a regular room and should be returning home soon.

So,although we spent practically every day in the hospital since the 23rd. We did end up celebrating a Christmas miracle after all.

Hopefully I can get back in the groove of things soon. I have to start a weight loss plan soon. I didn't technically make a resolution because I tend to break those pretty quickly. But I do need to really get it done this year. I might seek some outside help as well since I tend to suck at it by myself.

I hope you all have a wonderful, prosperous and healthy 2011!