What a difference 60 days makes

60 days ago was my surgery. I had a ton of pain in the elbow itself - weakness - tingling all through the arm - generally owie.

Now, after 4 weeks of therapy, stretching, strenghtening & pain meds, I am able to type properly, eat with my right arm again, wash my hair with my right arm again, and generally use my arm without too much pain. I'm not 100% healed yet. You have to remember this battle has been since February 25, 2006 when I broke my elbow in the first place.

Things I'm looking forward to being able to do by the summer 2007:

• Practice yoga
• Start playing "Quincy" (my cello)
• Get strong enough to be able to use the computer mouse in my right hand

I'm thrilled to say the least! Thanks for supporting me in this journey.....

:) Karen

World AIDS Day: December 1st

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVE

Today, my husband turns the same age as I am. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOE!

You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. No. Explanations.

You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. No. Explanations.

1. Yourself: fun
2. Your spouse: smart
3. Your hair: mousy
4. Your mother: stressed
5. Your father: stressed
6. Your dream last night: none
7. Your favorite drink: vodka
8. Your dream car: hybrid
9. Your bedroom: boring
10. Your fear:
11. What you want to be in 10 years: Librarian
12. Who you hung out with last night: Maddy
13. What you’re not: boring
14. Muffins: blueberry
15. Time: late
16. The last thing you did: hugged
17. What you are wearing: comfy
18. Your favorite weather: cool
19. The last thing you ate: yogurt
20. Your life: lovely
21. Your mood: better
22. Your best friend: husband
23. What are you thinking about right now? bed
24. Your car: Odyssey
25. What are you doing at the moment? answering
26. Your summer: fun
27. Your relationship status: married
28. What is on your TV?: news
29. What is the weather like? dark
30. When is the last time you laughed? minutes

Maddy Musings

"Mommy? I'm sad."
"Why are you sad, Madeline?"
"Because nuks hurt my teeth."

It's been a week now! WooHoo! Obviously she's a bit sad, but we are so proud of her!

"Mommy? I want to be a dancer!"

We went to the Holiday Parade on Saturday morning. There were a LOT of dance studios represented in the parade. I have visions of her marching in the parade 5 years from now. Not sure if I'm prepared to be a "dance mom".

No, really, I feel your pain!

Poor Brett. What a horrible game yesterday, and #4 injuring his elbow to boot! I couldn't help but think: "I feel your pain!"

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe T'day week/end.

7 years....(a letter to my sister)

It's been seven years since I witnessed you become a mother. You gave Mom and Dad their first grandchild - the first granddaughter. I was thrilled when you wanted me to be your labor coach. I will cherish that day - how I was able assist you, cheer you on, care for you, and finally, cut the umbilical cord.

You have had to deal with a number of stupid and awful cards. You've always struggled with knowing who you were and having the label of and the challenges motherhood brings didn't exactly help you.

It's been over a year since you left - since you left your children, a home, family. I don't know what you expect out of life - whether you think you are owed something by the universe. Life isn't fair. Get on with it. You had a bad day? Suck up and be nice.

I don't mean to sound so angry and bitter. I apologize for that. You are missed. Your family misses you. Your friends miss you.

I wish I could say the right words to make it all ok - to make whatever pain you are going through go away, but I'm not naive to believe that. Everyone makes his or her own reality. You need to make yours. 7 years ago, I witnessed your strength. I hope you can find that strength again.

love, Karen

Maddy- OCD or just a toddler?

Maddy and I had a low-key weekend. Very low-key. Near all-day pajama-day for Maddy and I on Friday, but we did get out of the house to go across the street to get her hair cut. Nearly 3 years-old, Maddy's a hoot. Her favorite thing to do when we are home is to take out the 15-20 DVDs and VHS tapes and spread them all over the floor like a train. It's hilarious, especially when she faces them ALL down. She groups them in rows, in columns. Maddy even talks about playing with her movies when we aren't home.

hmmm... I hope it's not OCD and that we aren't stimulating her enough ....

Keep her in good thoughts though...tonight was night 1 with no nuks. She's had a nuk (I blame it entirely on her Nana T who thought she should have one) since ~6 months I think. But tonight, we said bye to her three nuks, placed them in 3 envelopes for the 3 babies we know...Lilas, Charlie, and Joshua. She's been crying up a storm. Egads, we're awful. I feel awful. But I know we are doing the right thing.

I just checked in on her. Deci - the best cat for when one needs a cuddle, decided to sleep with her, so he is snuggling with her. She seems asleep (HURRAY), so hopefully this won't be so bad.
Ahhh...the things they don't tell you about in Lamaze!

I should be happy...

As a lifelong Democrat supporter, I should be ecstatic about the key wins for the party. I should be happy that our governor has been re-elected, the senate race was won by a Democrat, and other key races were won by Democrats. So why am I so sad? I suspect two reasons:

1. The two-party system seems to have melted into a choice for the better of two evils. I suspect Republicans feel the same way about their party's nominees. I have reservations about the Democrat winner, and I did consider voting Independent, but I didn't want it to be a "wasted-vote".
   
   
2. The referendum results astounded, shocked and dismayed me, not just here in NE Wi, but elsewhere. I'm thrilled that abortion rights were upheld, stem-cell research was legalized and that minimum wages were raised in a few states.
   
   
   YEAH!
   
   
   However, it saddened me that 7 out of 8 states banned same-sex marriage and referendi (I think that's the proper Latin plural) to legalize or allow medical marijuana were rejected.
   
   Wow.
   
   I'm astounded that people are so afraid of people different than themselves and so utterly ignorant of the real reasons why these bills should have been defeated.
   
   I blame it on the insurance and the drug industry and no doubt suspect much money was spent by these companies on making sure same-sex couples (as well as opposite-sex unmarried couples) did not receive benefits. And my take on marijuana is this: for many people who are able to or medically need to, ingesting marijuana in moderation shouldn't be a crime. It's been proven to alleviate pain and nausea. I'd rather do that than finding out the side-effects of pain-medication or anti-nausea medication.
   

Guy Fawkes Day

A day late. Thanks, Jenica, for reminding me.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!

Guy Fawkes, guy, t’was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.

By god’s mercy he was catch’d
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king.

And what shall we do with him?
Burn him! (from http://www.bonefire.org/guy/remember.php)

My family and I lived in England in the late 1980's. We lived in the beautiful city of Skipton in North Yorkshire. We experienced Guy Fawkes Day as a wonderful community gathering day of bonfires and parties. Our landlord Basil Spensley was fond of "making friends" by inviting others to partake a "wee dram" of whiskey. The bonfires were too hot to roast marshmallows or other campfire fare, but I remember it as fun and festive.

More Halloween Pics...

Argh! Pirates!

Are you a good witch or a bad witch?














Of pirates, clowns, vampires, and witches














Crazy clown...














Gotta watch out for those vampires!

More Halloween Pics

We're having a Halloween Party Saturday, so we'll have yet MORE pics...but until then....

Self-esteem fund

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty is awesome. Check out their website. I particularly liked the Evolution film. "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." No shit.

Halloween2006

Our little witchy-girl...

2 articles that caught my eye...

UW-Madison joins massive Google Book project

Gambian bumsters clean up their act

What I'm doing on my time off

• emailed family, friends about surgery & how I'm doing
• nap every afternoon
• eat if hungry (tummy still not 100% from anesthesia)
• watch movies
  
1. Chronicles of Narnia
2. X-men - Final Stand
3. V for Vendetta
4. Constant Gardener
5. Akeelah & the Bee
6. The Notorious Betty Page
7. Elizebeth I (love Helen Mirren)
8. Mrs. Henderson Presents (love Dame Judi!)
9. Art School Confidential
10. Brokeback Mountain
    
• making sure neighbor's dog is being cared for (story to come)
• Fighting fever today
• start sorting Maddy's wardrobe for fall/winter
  

by the #s

4 - # hours slept night before surgery
2 - # hours knocked out
1/8 - # inches thick scar tissue removed
8 - # hours in hosp. total
4 - # times threw up cuz side effect from anesthesia (bleh)
1 - # arms/hand useful now
3 - # times D'Argo kitty wanted to sleep on "owie" arm during night
3 - # times renegotiated with D'Argo kitty where he was allowed to sleep

all's well. typing well w/ 1 hand. now... on the road to healing.

5:30 am

5:30am. WAY too early to be anywhere, but at least I don't have to dress up! Everything going to plan, I'll be home mid-day tomorrow. Maddy is staying the night tonight at Nana Terri's house since it's going to be so FRELLING early!

DONE:

• Find out where I need to be when next Thursday.
• Print out list of movies I would like to get from the video store for after the surgery.
• Vacuum
• Sweep downstairs
• Did all reporting
• Train co-worker on project
• Had performance review

NEED TO DO:

• Finish memo
• Do last work project
• Clean room Mom will be sleeping in
• Clean bathroom
• Watch / tape LOST
• Try not to stress about everything. I'm stressing about everything and the acne on my face shows it.
• Take care of me! (thanks Heather :) )

Wish me luck and send healing thoughts my way, please. Thanks everyone who has sent me nice messages. :) It does help.

Now on with the next step to being able to play Quincy (my cello) again....

FUN FUN FUN!

I'm glad I didn't remember that we would be away from Maddy for 2 nights in a row until we got to Milwaukee. I would have probably made a big deal about it. As it was, Maddy had a good weekend, and Joe and I had a good weekend.

The wedding was VERY fun!

Some Pictures:
Jess and Chris - at the Milwaukee Brewing Company - where they met.

On the Milwaukee River:

Joe and I: