Merry, Merry Christmas 2008!

Thinking of you this holiday season!

xoxo akjn westside

Scarred Diva

OK - All surgery is complete for 2008!
This neck surgery and recovery definately takes the cake this year. Thank goodness we go on the cruise in a couple of weeks - I totally deserve some pampering!

I know I sent emails saying that it was a success and I was doing well, blah blah, but it was actually the opposite. The surgery WAS a success, but the "doing well" was far from the truth.

I have a pretty large scar on the front of my neck, top to bottom. This was quite a shock as we were told the incision would be in the wrinkle - the fold where your neck meets the body. I've been wearing a scarf as it has been freaking everyone out, including the UPS man last Friday, poor man. I know it will fade and be fine, but it really seems to bother anyone who looks at me.

The muscle relaxer that they gave me induced major migraines, which imitated my symptoms prior to surgery, which lead me to think that something went wrong, and that would require another proceedure, making me quite anxious.

My surgeon might be brilliant, but he has no "warm & fuzzy" side. I need the warm/fuzzy from any doctor, especially one cutting my neck open. There have been some bad phone calls to his office and I have possibly yelled at each member of his staff - I'll have to check my notes. Needless to say, they respect the Jojo now, and I get call backs immediately.

You can imagine that these things don't promote a good recovery environment. I have been so tense that my entire upper back feels like I've been beaten with a baseball bat.

Yesterday everything came to a head, and I finally was able to get my point across to my surgeon, and he immediatley switched my meds, assured me that some of the freaky symptoms are normal, and I actually got a tiny bit of warm/fuzzy from him. I think he realized that he dropped the ball a bit on info regarding my recovery - I totally called him out on it.

Meanwhile, my poor ak has stood by and watched this, supporting me, taking care of me, and trying to get me calm so I can heal. God Bless him, he has had his hands full, and I am a handful when I am healthy and happy! We are so glad we have turned the corner, and I am so happy to say that I am feeling good, and have been able to walk a few times, and I am letting the Chritmas spirit back in :) Thanks honey - I do love you so!

As always, emails, texts and calls from friends make all the difference to both ak and I. My mom has been amazing, and one of the only ones able to "talk me down" when I really get going. She is my girl! Thanks, mama! The best has been getting back in regular contact with our college buddy Dean, living in NYC. He is one of the funniest people we know, and also one of the kindest. The mischief we made in college is legendary, and cannot be repeated without subpoena; however, I might be persuaded to let you in on some of our receipes that we are still all cooking to this day. Thanks, Dean, from your big 'ole donkey Girl Scout!

The hospital experience was one of the worst, and it is depressing that I have so many other experiences to compare it to. This was brutal, though. Here is just 1 example:
The TV was broken in my room. No big deal as I had my book and Iphone, but they would send in Maintenance occasionally to try and fix. Hospital tvs all work through this huge remote that is on your bed. This remote also has the call button for the nurse. Long story short, my remote got disconnected, I had to go to the bathroom, no response to my repeated buzzing (I had no clue it wasn't working), and no response to my scratchy/sore throat calling out from the room. I needed the IV disconnected to get to the bathroom, and was specifally told to call for assistance out of bed as well. Well, it got to the point where I was going to piss the bed. Therefore I had no choice but to get up, stretch the IV as far as it would go, hook my foot on to the trash can, drag it over to finally pee in it. You can be sure that everyone on that floor heard me cussing out the entire nurses station, once I found out I could unplug my IV from the wall - information that would have been useful prior to the incident. The Philly got out of the cage in a BIG way. Just delightful.

ENOUGH!!!

Out of the ashes, the phoenix rises........akjn is moving on happily towards the holiday, cruise, and hanging in Florida for a few weeks! Boxes have been arriving in the mail, and we have been getting great Christmas cards, too! The weather just turned chillier the past day or so, so although it is far from snow it at least feels as Chrstmas outside as it's going to get.

This is our biggest birthday month, too!

Birthday shout outs to: Georgie, Uncle John, Aunt Irene, Nicky & Evan, Andrew, Mark, Chuck, Kelly, Cindy, Tom, Bill and Ericka!

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY, PEEPS!

'Tis the Season

Wow - December is here! It truly amazes me how time flies, as I can recall as a child Christmas taking FOREVER to arrive.

The household has been buzzing a bit, as we are in preparation for my surgery Tuesday, Christmas, and then our cruise at the end of the month.

• All packages have been sent.*
• All labels, stickers and cards are in assembly formation for completion during recovery.
• We have an outline of our Christmas dinner, and are currently browsing cookie recipes.
• We have started putting items in the guest room for the cruise.

* Schmidts - your presents will be at Judith Lane for pick-up with Felicia :)

So, we are in good shape. I am also getting my side oft he bed ready for recovery with books, magazines, and the like. Wish me luck, peeps!

We were pumped by the Eagles game this morning. Just fabulous! We are so happy to be seeing this late season turn around.

More later - just got a call that my buddy Julie is stopping by :)

Mid-November

So, I've noticed a decrease in the blog postings from our posse, and have had one site officially close!!??!! It's disappointing, but I guess bound to happen. I've been told to check out facebook repeatedly, so I'll check that out in a few weeks. I enjoy this forum and style so much.

Anyway, time for a little update: I will be having the neck surgery to repair the 3 herniated discs on December 9. It has to be done, and I'd rather do it now than in the New Year. I am looking forward to starting 2009 ready to go, and putting a tough 2008 behind me. The neurosurgeon has assured us that I will be recovered & able to fly to Ft. Lauderdale on 12/29 for the cruise with Axel's mom, which had to be able to happen. I didn't want the surgery to be hanging over the trip.

akjn will be spending the holidays here @ home - nice and quiet. I am so excited that the Eagles are playing on Thanksgiving. ak found a BBQ joint over in the East Bay that fries whole turkeys, so we have an order in for our holiday meal - total score!

f. footbal is killing me! I have been in last place since Week 2. Pathetic, I know. Whatever - we love watching and are just trying to ride this crazy roller-coaster of a season through to February 1st.

Big Congrats to Chrissy & Eric on their house settlement - finally! How sweet it is!! We can't wait to see it!

Ok, now a little picture show:
Neighbor's cat Oliver. A little visit to our yard.















Clematis vine flower/plant from front patio.














Walking pic - Los Gatos Creek Trail, reservoir view



















Walking pic - view of creek from bridge, end of our road



















Walking pic - jr. high track up the road, early morning



















Me and Nicky before hitting Linvilla Pumpkinland 10/22/08

Later! I hope someone comments/posts :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING

No Tricks, Just a HUGE Treat!

Way to go, Phillies!

PHINALLY ... PHANTASTIC ...

PHUN ... PHILADELPHIA!

Wish I was there for today's parade, but I am so glad I was home for the first 3 games!

Any Given Sunday / Monster Park / Gang Fight (almost)

E - A - G - L - E - S

EAGLES!!!!!!


Ak and I got a special treat Sunday.....tickets to the Eagles/Niners game!
The tix were from my Fantasy Commissioner's father-in-law, and they were sweet, 5 rows in from the field. We sat with the brother-in-law and his friend Javier. A good time was had by all, of course, and we made some new friends along the way.

Part I
We were happily surprised to see the number of Philly fans in attendance. Lots of McNabb and Westbrook jerseys, and I even saw 2 Cunningham jerseys, and 1 T.O. Eagles jersey, and finally 1 Phillies shirt and 2-3 Phillies ball caps. Nice.

I rolled up in my Eagles jacket - old school green, carrying a 2' x 1' sign with the Eagles logo & stuff on the front, and then I customized the back in case of any TV exposure. It said: Go Eagles / Hi Mom / Hey Plumstead Inn/ Media - Everybody's Home Town, and was generously and tastefully sprinkled with cute football stickers. I waved it around the whole time, but not aggressively or obnoxiously. Everyone around us commented on my cool customization, and asked about Media, the Plummy, etc..

The peeps that we sat around were very cool - 2 Eagles fans behind us in full attire, and the guys next to us on both sides have had their seats passed down en familia since the dawn of time. In front of us was a dude from Jersey who knew all about the Delco area...apparently he has an ex from Conestoga. The dude right next to Ak, Matt, was a dead ringer for Drew Granger, except a CA style Drew - he and I sang the Eagles Victory song a capella together. Akjn fell in with the crowd, and within no time we were doing tag team beer runs of 12-14 cups at a time. We were invited to a tailgate afterwords, too.

The hussies danced on the riser in front of us after a Niner TD. There are 7 or 8 of them in a row - you can imagine the comments that are flying around :)

The game was AWESOME....of course there were the ever present ups and downs, and heart stopping moments that our Birds always provide for the faithfull, but they triumphed, so it was even sweeter representing for the boyz on the road.

Part II
Needless to say, we imbibed heavily on delicious $12 Hefeweizens, and were pretty shitty by the end of the game. Ak actually ate stadium nachos - I haven't seen him eat that crap since college. We also gnawed on a 1 foot hot dog the whole game, knowing that we had stepped on it the 10 times we dropped it on the ground. Delicious! Floor spice is always nice!! We had fun shouting out with all of the Eagles fans we passed on the way back to the car. We decided against the tail gate and more drinking, opting to get home and into our pj's to watch the next game.

We make it to the car, and slowly begin the long process of extracting ourselves safely from the stadium. Monster Park (aka: Candlestick Park, 3 Comm Park, or Paradise Park -- pick whichever name you like) is in a bad neighborhood, and you must weave throught it to get back on the interstate. So there are four lanes s l o w l y making our way down this sketchy street, when all of a sudden the car in front of us stops, even though there is space to keep moving forward. Then we notice the car in front of them stopping, and then all of the people in the cars got out. They were predominately Latino, dressed Cholo-style - even the 2 girls. Ak taps on the horn, rolls down the window and asks them to move their car, but they ignored him. At this moment, our beer buzzes and Philly attitudes activated, like superhero powers. Ak leans on the horn and stretches his head out the window and says louder - how about you guys move your cars and fight later, and we got multiple middle fingers back on that one.

The next thing you know, I've got my window down, telling the chicas that they need to get their men under control and back in their cars because I need to get home to my 3 kids (?????), and one of the guys said F-you, I got kids too, and then everything kind of got aggressive and obnoxious. Ak and I were both arm waving and finger-pointing out of our windows and yelling all kinds of trash talk, and then both Cholo cars kind of forgot they were fighting each other, and all focused on us. THANK GOODNESS a guy in the lane next to us beeped, and I yelled "go baby", and we were able to shoot into the right lane and take off with a green light. I looked back right as we were merging and one of the chicas had her hands on the back passenger window, running all screaming and cursing. We were totally fired up, and by the time we got to the on-ramp we were cracking up, and then when we got home, we realized that we were pretty lucky that the light had been green. Had it not, they would have definately caught up with us, and I would have had to fend them off with my inhaler.

Everynow and then, a stranger gets the pleasure of dealing with akjn doing our bad cop/bad cop routine. This behavior is usually only reserved for airline employees & strangers, but Sunday was special, we had huge beer balls, AND the victory, so we went for it.

Good times, good times.

Anyway, I was thinking about all of you guys, and knew that we were all watching the game together :)

I hope the Birds can keep it up.

Niners mascot "Sourdough Sam", or as our new friends call him " Sexual Harrassment Sam". He is definately wierd - I gave them a hard time about it, saying that he can't hold a candle to the Majestic,

Patriotic Eagle :)

How 'bout the Phillies, too? SUPER! I might need an emergency Phillies hat sent - we lost a box of caps in the move, and my Phillies is missing.

Take it light, and get blogging, people! Summer vacation has been over for a while!

No More Work!

I officially resigned from my job yesterday. My co-workers were surprised and upset, but at the same time, they all knew that I need this time to get back 100% physically and mentally. I was told that I always have a home there, and that they would have me back in a heartbeat. That means a lot.

Unfortunately, a side effect from the back surgery has come to light - I have a few herniated discs in my neck that are causing circulation problems in both my arms and hands, aggravated by my laying on my back for the past 4 months. I see a nuerosurgeon next week to determine therapy or surgery.......please say a little prayer for me that this situation can be resolved with therapy. I don't think akjn can go through another surgery!

Other than that, all is well. The weather is great, and we are preparing for a trip East next month. We have a wedding in Kill Devil Hills, NC the weekend of 10/18, then I will be heading up to Media to visit mama and the good buddies. I can't wait to see my mom!!! It's been almost a year.

OK, heading out to turn in my keys!
Have a great day, peeps!

MNF :(

Damn....we we so close tonight!
I hope this is not the beginning of another disappointing season....

Steelers next week - another nail biter.






Just back from the eye doctor - I was experiencing blurriness when reading up close.
Results: I am heading for bifocal glasses & contacts country within the next year. For now, he recommended the $10 reading glasses that you get from a pharmacy. I went to Walgreens, and unfortunately the selection of glasses for the strength I needed was very poor, so I ended up with some large black 1950's frames. Looking good!

Later, peeps!

I'm Tired

The title of this post needs is to be sung in place of I'm lonely in the INXS song 'What You Need'.

As of today, I have completed five 4 hour days back at work.
It sucks!

• My manager quit and the replacement starts mid-September. She is already micro-managing me via email.
• The girl who took my old job has been out 2 of my 5 days with her sick kids.
• There are 2 new empoyees working for me and I can't remember their names.
• 6 residents have gotten together and filed a class action lawsuit against the property and the company for "causing the inhabitability of their home due to the construction".
• 1500 of the residents are maintaining a bitch blog/google group. We have been advised not to join as it may interfere with the lawsuit.
• On Monday, a resident threatened to go back to his apartment, get his gun, and come back down to shoot us all. Lovely, isn't it?

I have regressed in physical therapy and have to take the vicodin again. I have actually gone backwards, and am back in the pool for less intense exercizing and stretching. I am very upset over this, as I was progressing with flying colors and getting a lot of mobility back. My therapist thinks that this regression is due to a combination of: my scar tissue hardening from all 3 surgeries (it is affecting the way I walk, can't get comfy laying down anymore), tweaking a muscle, and stress from the job. She can't believe how suddenly I deteriorated. I was so scared about the pain that I asked the surgeon to do an mri to ensure I didn't break anything back there. He assured me that short of a bus hitting me, my screws and disc would stay in place.

My first day back was last Wednesday.

When I got home, ak said that I have that look again.

What look, I asked?

He answered, the work look, where you seem pissed-off, constipated and about to cry all at the same time.

I asked him to slap it right off of me.

This surgery may be a blessing in disguise, as it has allowed me to step back and really take a look at myself. I don't like what I see, and hate the way work completely takes over me and changes my personality. I realize now that my priorities have gotten completely out of order, and how the office negativity eventually creeps into my personal life no matter how hard I try to shake it off....I am sitting here pissed-off right now!

Ok, enough!!
Everybody have a great Labor Day weekend! :)
Peace out.......

Anyway, at least it is only 4 hours a day right now :)

Happy Birthday, Newlywed!

...and the good times keep rolling for Chrissy this month!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOLL!

...oh, I just wanted to add that I start back at work this Wednesday. I am on 1/2 days for 2 weeks, and then will be re-evaluated for full days. Not too happy about leaving the cave, but it must be done.

In physical therapy news, I have graduated from the pool to "land". I have been doing a lot of work with Pilates machines - I like them very much! I've been continuing with my walking every day, and have been adding exercises to my home repertoire.

Finally, I went to my Fantasy Football draft yesterday, and feel very confident in my team. akjn is also just looking forward to the beginning of football season. ak put a sweet program on my iphone called Draft Central 2008 for .99, and I that is all I walked into the draft with. All players are listed by rank and also name, and as you and your league are picking, you just mark(tap) that person going to your team, or someone else's, and then the pick shows up as drafted on all of the main lists. It also lists your team exclusively. For less than a dollar, this little application was worth it.

ok, that was it :)

Peace Out!

Chrissy & Eric ... Happily Ever After

...so after texting back and forth Saturday, and then playing phone tag on Sunday, Chrissy & I finally connected Sunday evening, and this is how the first part of our conversation went:

jmn: Hey! What's up? How's Block Island?

cns: Good, good....guess what we did?

jmn: (increased pitch & volume) OMG -are you engaged? Are you married? Are you guys having a baby?

cns: (giggling) The second one.

jmn: (hollering & crying) So happy, tell me everything! etc. etc. ....

..we then proceeded to have what I consider one of the best telephone conversations ever!

I also gave my congratulations to the groom, whose smile I could feel through the phone & across the miles :)

CONGRATULATIONS,

Mr. & Mrs. Eric Schmidt!

Recovery Reads (so far...just keep scrolling down)

Sin In The Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, And The Battle For America's Soul
Karen Abbott

Edgar Allan Poe, Selected Poems & Tales *
Edgar Allan Poe; Gaiman, Neil; Summers, Mark

Sparkles
Louise Bagshawe

Colorstrology: What Your Birthday Color Says About You
Michele Bernhardt

Boom!: Voices Of The Sixties Personal Reflections On The '60s And Today
Tom Brokaw

Possible Side Effects & Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs

Black Girl/White Girl
Joyce Carol Oates

Life With My Sister Madonna
Christopher Ciccone; Wendy Leigh

Be Nice (Or Else!): And What's In It For You
Winn Claybaugh

Candy Girl: A Year In The Life Of An Unlikely Stripper & JUNO: The Shooting Script (2)
Diablo Cody

109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer And The Secret City Of Los Alamos
Jennet Conant

The Front
Patricia Cornwell

The Collected Poems Of Emily Dickinson *
Emily Dickinson; Wetzsteon, Rachel

Dominick Dunne: Three Complete Novels (The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, People Like Us, & An Inconvenient Woman) & The Way We Lived Then (4)
Dominick Dunne

A Hopeless Romantic
Harriet Evans

Paint It Black: A Novel
Janet Fitch

Bright Shiny Morning & A Million Little Pieces * (2)
James Frey

Love In The Time Of Cholera
Gabriel García Márquez

The Little Black Book Of Style
Nina Garcia

Something Blue & Something Borrowed (2)
Emily Giffin

The Beach House & Swapping Lives (2)
Jane Green

Down River
John Hart

The Drowning Season, The Ice Queen: A Novel, Property Of, Seventh Heaven, & The Third Angel: A Novel (5)
Alice Hoffman

Dead Sleep, Sleep No More, & Blood Memory * (3)
GREG ILES

Gods In Alabama
Joshilyn Jackson

San Francisco Stories: Great Writers On The City
John Miller

Anybody Out There?: A Novel
Marian Keyes

Candy Everybody Wants (P.S.)
Josh Kilmer-Purcell

If I Am Missing Or Dead: A Sister's Story Of Love, Murder, And Liberation
Janine Latus

Lady Chatterley's Lover *
D. H. Lawrence

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell
Tucker Max

Behaving Like Adults: A Novel, Getting Over It, & A Tale Of Two Sisters (3)
Anna Maxted

Confessions Of A Nervous Shiksa
Tracy McArdle

The Time Traveler's Wife *
Audrey Niffenegger

Harvesting The Heart: A Novel, Perfect Match: A Novel, Picture Perfect, & Songs Of The Humpback Whale: A Novel In Five Voices (4)
Jodi Picoult

CSI: Nevada Rose
Jerome Preisler

Cost: A Novel
Roxana Robinson

Olivia And Jai
Rebecca Ryman

The Heroin Diaries: A Year In The Life Of A Shattered Rock Star
Nikki Sixx; Gittins, Ian

Names On The Land: A Historical Account Of Place-Naming In The United States
George R. Stewart

Lost Boy, Lost Girl
Peter Straub

Teach Yourself Visually Knitting
Sharon Turner

The Art Of War *
Sun Tzu

Certain Girls: A Novel
Jennifer Weiner

Chasing Harry Winston: A Novel
Lauren Weisberger

The Complete Stephen King Universe: A Guide To The Worlds Of Stephen King
Stanley Wiater; Christopher Golden; Hank Wagner

The Writing Class
Jincy Willett

The Handbook Of Style: Expert Fashion And Beauty Advice Every Woman Should Know
Sarah Woodruff

* = reread ( ) = multiple books by same author

The total is somewhere around 70 books. I did not include any of the puzzle books or magazines, either. I am waiting on an amazon order as I am writing this!!

I wish I could link you guys right into my personal library with Collectorz-it is so cool! They offer a zillion ways to organize your books, dvds, games, music, and comics. All information about a book is available, and I am able to sort the library by author, cover art, # pages, date purchased, etc.

I am having a ball with the scanner playing store, and am trying to figure out the best way to tackle the 20+ boxes of books sitting in the Rita Room right now. If I can do a box a day, it would be good.

Recovery note: I have been walking every day since July 31. ak got me a cool pedometer, and I am averaging 5284 steps per day/approximately 2.6 miles. My goal is 5 miles by September 22, so I think I am on track. I actually did 7170 steps yesterday, so it's not that far off :)

I hope everyone has a FAB weekend!

Not Worth It + Sweet Redemption

Just in case you are all rushing out to get the "tell all" Madonna book written by her brother Chris - DON'T!
I eagerly anticipated the arrival of this book, pre-ordered on amazon with expediated shipping. I have been horribly let down. It is another biography of Madge's life ... been there, done that. There was no earthshattering or groundbreaking information revealed.
What a completely disappointing waste of paper! This book is taking the trip to the resale book store next week, believe it or not. You know I am not one to reject books, and am continuously adding to my library, but this is not fit to grace my shelves.

However, a book that has made up for that travesty completely is one about another of my obsessions, Stephen King. The book is titled The Complete Stephen King Universe, A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King, and it is remarkable! 98% of King's stories/novels/screenplays/collaborations, etc., can all be connected together to form one huge story. The book examines each peice of King literature, and shows the links, some obvious that I have been aware of, and some that were so subtle and hidden that it was like getting hit in the head, once revealed. Basically, all of his writing directly revolves around the Gunslinger novels, the 7 book quest series.
Ak calls the book my Stephen King Stalker Guide :)

Have a FAB Sunday, y'all!

5 Weeks

I am happy to report that I am feeling super, thanks for asking! I still have some soreness, numbness and minor pain in areas, but they are only minor annoyances. All of my scab & yucky adhesive suture stuff has fallen off, and the incisions don't look too bad. AND I am down to 1/2 the pain meds.


I have been to therapy 3 times now, and I love it! The pool is so cute, and I really like my therapist. The hour workout does tire me out, though, and I come home & take a nice shower then a nap afterwards. I feel like a kid again, smelling like chlorine in the summer, with my suit & towel hanging to dry in the backyard :)

below is a picture of the therapy pool...isn't it precious?















I managed to get ak out of the house last Monday night ... Rob & Dave called Monday morning to see if ak was intersted in seeing Sting and Elvis Costello at a venue close to our house that evening. At first he wasn't too enthused, but they swung by early evening and just took him. He had a great time, & I was happy for him to get out for a few hours, enjoy some music, & hang out outside with his buddies. He brought home a cool poster.
Elvis Costello was one of my first concerts in high school. We saw him at the Tower, & hung out at one of Bri Kelly's brother's houses before the concert, drinking and smoking. Elvis played an amazing show, and had a big huge wheel with the name of each of his songs on it, & he would ask someone from the audience to come up after each song to spin the wheel to decide what song he would play next. It was awesome.

I am totally excited that Project Runway started this past week. It could be my all time favorite show! This season promises to be very spicy - a bunch of freaks & fruits all together with sewing needles and scissors - it's going to be good.

Anyway, the reading of the books is out of control.

And I have completed all the crossword puzzle books, too.

I stole the neighbors Sunday paper just to read the comics and do the puzzle page.

I have been ordering every 3rd day from Amazon, and pace the mailbox between 2-3:30pm every day for arrivals. Sooooooo, I stepped outside of my library realm, and ordered a knitting kit. Ak's mom has been knitting for 2 years and has been trying to get me to start. I really don't think I have the patience for it, but in a moment of shopping weakness, I purchased yarn & needles to make a scarf. I have read the instructions about 100 times, but I still haven't picked up the needles. I'll let you know how this goes, OR someone will be receiving the kit as a gift sometime in the future.

Other news - ak stood in line for the new 3g iphones last week and is loving it. That means that yours truly has a new phone (the old iphone) and new digits. I am very excited with the iphone, and have been working with it every day to get to know it, as we hardly know each other. Texting is very different as there is not a button keyboard, & you tap the screen with the ball of your fingertips, not the nails. It's a bit to get used to. The solitaire & mahjong games are FAB, & there is a program to make your grocery lists, & a funny one that make the phone look like a cold glass of beer, & when you tip the phone, the beer looks like it is pouring out. I will let you guys know as soon as the Treo get turned off & the new digits- prolly at the end of the month.

That's all for now, peeps! Peace out :)

**p.s. I am accepting any books for the recovery fund - please! Media mail is cheap :):)

Recovery Update

So I am 4 weeks out from surgery, and doing quite well, thank you!

I had my physical therapy evaluation yesterday, and will start pool therapy on Monday. I am looking forward to it, as I can tell my muscles are a mess-either totally tightend up, or completely weak and shaky. I got some simple streching excersises to start with yesterday, so I am doing those frequently. I had to order a bathing suit for this....all my other suits are definately cruisewear, and say on the labels "no chlorine", so I have a sweet black speedo coming to me.

I am walking aroung better, and my gait is definately straighter and faster. Hopefully I can get rid of the bathroom apparatus within a few days, but I am not going to push it. I have ventured out of the house 3 times now, and those short trips have been great! We have just gone to our few food hotspots, and I got to go to the bookstore yesterday, so that was super sweet.

My routine is very regular. I get up between 5-6am, go downstairs and have my fist cup of java, and sit out on the back patio to drink it with a crossword puzzle. Then I do the dishes, and move to the "greeting" station...I have taken over our bistro table with my card supplies. I check to see if any correspondence needs to go out, prepare and sticker the correspondence, then take it out front to the mail slot. I then hang on the front patio and call mom and chit chat with her for a bit, then make any other calls needed. I'll go back to my puzzles, or pick up my book, and hang downstairs on the couch for a bit, then at around 11:30, I have some lunch, then head back upstairs for a nap. After the nap, ak and I hang in the office, or head out for lunch or an errand, then cook dinner anywhere from 7-9pm. I am usually am in bed reading by 11pm, and totally out by midnight. It's not too bad, and ak and I are really enjoying being together all day again, like in the West Chester treehouse...good times :)

Anyway, I continue to order online like a fiend, and I am going through a book a day, depending on it's size. It's pretty out of control, so I am glad amazon drops something off here daily. After my 6 weeks, I will post the list of books I read during the time - it should be interesting. We absolutely need a bigger bookshelf!

Thanks for all of the comments, texts and shout outs from you guys, checking in on me - it means alot! It's been very wonderful to be checking the blogs again on a daily basis, and being able to post more frequently - I feel better in touch with the pulse.

Also, here is a Belated Birthday shout out to Sophie...Happy 10th, girl!

Peace out, players.

New Look

I decided to make some changes here at the home office. The new color scheme is due to the discovery of my personal "color" ...see the new Colorstrology link. I am enjoying this new look already!

Next recovery update soon...I can only sit for 15 minutes at a time right now :)

CONGRATULATIONS!

akjn received a call from Armand yesterday - he and his girlfriend Katie got engaged in Washington, D.C.on July 3rd!
YIPPEE!

Recovering

Today marks exactly 1 week and 1 day from my back surgery. I am doing ok. This recovery process is definately different from the other 2 back surgeries, and as always, has been an adventure so far.

.....Rewind to last Wednesday:
7am-12noon: Frantically & unsuccessfully trying to wrap up loose ends at work. Due to my new job starting and the my old position not being filled yet, it was a huge challenge for me to leave for 6 weeks and feel as though I had done everything. Finally, I had to just leave some things as is, and say oh well.

1:30pm: Pick up Axel's mom from the airport, finally begin to relax at home. We have a wonderful home cooked meal, then I did some last minute Amazon book purchases, ending the evening with a call from the anesthesiologist working on me the next day. He was friendly, reassured me that the surgery would be fine, and kind of put me in a zen-like calm state.

4:00am: Zen-like calm state has flown out the window, and I am convinced that I am going to die during surgery, or that I will be paralyzed as a result of the surgery. I shed some tears, smoked my last Camel for a few days, and got my ass in gear. Put on the brave front for Ak nad his mom, both big hospital haters/strong dislikers of.

Thursday
6:30am: Arrive at hospital check-in. I am freaked out again. They begin "processing" me for surgery by giving me a Valium to start ( bless them ), getting me into my garb, height-weight-temp-blood pressure tests, then finally they start my IV after 3 bad attempts (old nurses- please retire!). Ak has been with me throughout, and I can feel his torture at seeing me go through this, so I try and stay as positive as possible, even with the death/paralysis thoughts filling my brain again.

8:20am: Kiss to Ak, then wheeled up to surgery. Meet the anesthesiologist, Dr. Chow, and he just starts with the nice talk and the good gas, and that is all she wrote until I woke up in my room about 4pm. The surgery took 5 hours and 45 minutes, and was a success!

Thursday-Friday: Loving the morphine drip!! I always forget how good it is. My mighty-morphine machine does have a bell on it, so it dongs everytime it hit the button for more juice. Well, at some point, I had a melody going due to my speed pushing. I got all paranoid for 10 seconds, then started making music again. I found out from the nurse later that it gave me a dose every 10 minutes, whether I pressed the button or not, so I definately felt a bit better.
My surgeon came by and said GREAT! The occupational and physical therapists came by and said GREAT, so the next thing you know, I am on my way home and back in my own bed by 6pm Friday night.
I was sent home with amazing parting gifts: a walker, a commode chair, a picker upper (long and short varieties for reaching things), and sock putter-onner, and underwear and pants puller-upper, and a shoe putter-onner. DELIGHTFUL!

There is nothing like being home, and I was really feeling good :)

Saturday arrived, and I was able to take a shower. It was awesome, until I caught a glimpse of my three incisions -HOLY MOTHER! I am so Frankenstein-yikes.

1:00pm: My girlfriend Julie and her 2 girls plus our friend Rob come over for a visit. I am feeling so good and so high on Vicodin that I am walking all over the place (very stiffly, mind you), chit chatting, laughing and smoking, until Julie's oldest girl smacked me across the back. I don't think she believed I was hurt, and was trying to see if I was lying or not. Well, the visit was over as you can well imagine. The three of us had another lovely dinner, and then I was off to bed*.

*Getting in and out of bed: Occurs 10-15 times a day = most painful parts of my day. It requires sitting, kind of free falling from sitting to laying on the bed on my side, aligning my spine still on my side, then rolling on my back with a pillow between my legs, then rolling from side to side to get positioned, then elevating my legs (requires ak's help), at this point, I am hopefully comfortable and can catch 1-3 hours of sleep until next pain med dose or tinkle -time. Repeat in reverse to get out of bed.)

Sunday: Took another shower - feeling super.....until at 4pm, I notice that my right knee, calf, ankle and foot are starting to resemble sausage. Immediately go to bed, feet up, getting up only to use the bathroom.

Monday am: Right leg is worse. Contact surgeon, who immediately directs me to go to the ER to ensure I don't have a life threatening blod clot...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Within 10 minutes, we are back at the hospital, where it takes 3 1/2 hours to get a sonogram and determine that I don't have clot, but I have to stop trying to act like I didn't just have back surgery and rest all the time. 6 weeks for recovery means 6 weeks.

So...here we are at the end of my first recovery week, and I can say thay my attitude has improved towards my limitations, and I am not allowing myself to feel anything but good things. For example, it still hurts to get in and out of bed, but not as much as yesterday.

Ak has been amazing. He has HUGE amounts of patience with me, and also is able to calm me down when I get upset or completely panicked. For example, a few times that I have woken up, I have forgotten about the surgery, and when I can't get out of bed, I start panicking and freaking, because it feels like I am a turtle stuck on it's back. Also bad are the RARE occassionas that I oversleep my medication time, and wake up pretty much crying and yelling.
My boy deserves a medal for hanging in there with me.

So there you have it. All is pretty good, and each day gets better than the next! I am alive and not paralyzed, and with the help of modern medical technology, I now have the ability to set off airport alarms :)

39: A Study

Thirty-nine is:
· In the title of the John Buchan novel and subsequent films (one by Alfred Hitchcock), The Thirty-Nine Steps

· The code for international direct-dialed phone calls to Italy

· I-39 is the designation for a US interstate highway from Normal, Illinois to Wausau, Wisconsin. I-39 is the 39th shortest of the primary "two digit" Interstates.

· The eternal age of comedian Jack Benny, and many other people as they grow older

· The traditional number of times citizens of Ancient Rome hit their slaves when beating them, referred to as "Forty save one"

· Japanese Internet chat slang for "thank you" when written with numbers

· "'39" is a track on Queen's album A Night At the Opera. If the tracks on Queen's original studio albums are numbered in sequential order starting with their first, "'39" does in fact fall in the thirty-ninth position

· "39" is a song by The Cure on their album "Bloodflowers"

· The duration, in nanoseconds, of the nuclear reaction in the largest nuclear explosion ever performed (Tsar bomb)

· The number of Scud missiles which Iraq fired at Israel during the Gulf War in 1991

· World War II broke out in Europe on September 1, 1939

· Pier 39 in San Francisco

· The retired jersey number of former baseball great Roy Campanella

· Uniform of former Pittsburgh Pirate Dave Parker

· Uniform of football's Larry Csonka of Miami Dolphins; Hugh McElhenny of the San Francisco 49ers; and Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams

· Super Bowl XXXIX, a Super Bowl in the 2004-2005 National Football League season between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida.

At age 39:
· Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong became the 1st person to set foot on the moon
· Charles Goodyear led the way to the effective use of rubber
· Jimmy Connors reached the U.S. Open semifinals
· Joseph Smith Jr., Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated

Vegas Pics

The Palazzo

ak in the massage chair in our room

ak & Jeffe by the canal

Tao Beach club, aka MTV Spring Break

drunk (bald) Elvis and akjn

showtime!

one last look ... until next time!

Super fun, super cool ... we had a blast! The LOVE show was worth the whole trip!

VEGAS, BABY!!

Yes - we are heading to Sin City this weekend. We are celebrating our birthdays a little bit early. Our friend Jeffe will be there for a convention, so we decided to go for it.

Poker Pro - will you be there? The WSOP is going on this weekend. it would be very cool if you were there!

We are staying at the newest place, The Palazzo, the new part of the Venetian. AKk booked us a phat room that is bigger than our townhouse. He's made best friends with the concierge, and got us a Saturday cabana by the Tao beach pool, tix to the Love/Beatles Cirque du Soleil show on Saturday night, and complimentary entrance to Jay-Z's 40/40 club at The Palazzo. It promises to be a fabulous time.

I know it sounds like a lot of activity for akjn, but we are resting up and getting ready to hit it hard! Spray tan Thursday night, ak haircut tonight - we are not messing around.

Other than that, things are going well. I finally got a surgery date - June 19th. I was expecting to be out of work for about 2 weeks, but to my surprise, this surgery requires 5-6 weeks off. I am just looking forward to getting it done and over with. The vicodin and I are a bit too friendly, recently. I am like Pavlov's dog - I start salivating every 6 hours & I know it's time for a pill!

Work is interesting. We moved to our temporary office last Tuesday, while the main office is gutted and remodeled. We are in 2 apartments with the wall knocked down - it is totally cool! It was also pretty amazing to do the whole move process with a business, between tranferring 12 phone lines, internet connections, and about 1200 files. Our IT department re-wired the apartments for business use, and they had us up and running only 1 hour after the movers started. Our new space is completely different, and there's been a lot of "have you seen..." and "where is", but we're finally settled in. Construction at the real office should take about 4 months, which actually means 6. One of the master bedrooms is actually my office, so it is huge, and I can totally rock out on the ipod now. And I have my own bathroom - loving it!

Spring has sprung - our plants are jungle like and gorgeous. The sun has been shinning and so warm the past 3 weeks, but the temps are still in the low 60's, and we still have the heat on at night. You definately need a coat/fleec in the am and pm if you are out. However, it's nice to have a slow start to the summer, rather than being hot immediately.

Happy Easter to any Orthodox readers out there!

Enough blabber - miss you guys!

Proust, Anyone?

In the back of each month's Vanity Fair, they ask a celebrity to answer the following questionnaire. I have always though of completing it, and today I did.

Proust Questionnaire

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
No sickness-anywhere, anyone, anytime.

What is your greatest fear?
Loss.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Fierce friendships.

Which living person do you most despise?
Despise is a strong word; I dislike many.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books.

What is your current state of mind?
Uncertain but optimistic.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Charity.

On what occasion do you lie?
To spare feelings.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My legs.

What is the quality you most like in a man?
Great sense of humor & patience.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Great sense of humor.

Which words or phrases do you overuse?
Motherf*cker.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Axel!

When and where were you happiest?
Penncrest and ODU –carefree living with no responsibilities, and finding out who I was.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
More patience.

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to sing.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My relationships.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
No coming back - I think once will be enough.

Where would you like to live?
Arhus, Denmark, or Munich, Germany.

What is your most treasured possession?
My books and my honey.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Not being able to express myself.

What is your favorite occupation?
Reading.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Boo Radley.

What are your favorite names?
Thomas, Zeno and Hilmar. And of course, Axel :)

What is it that you most dislike?
Authority.

How would you like to die?
With dignity, my feet up, and the remote in my right hand.

What is your motto?
If it’s free, it’s for me.

Here is some additonal info on Proust and the questionnaire, if you are interested:
http://www.chick.net/proust/question.html

I am intersted in how you guys would answer some of the questions :)

Down Low

In usual akjn fashion, a bunch of crap hit the fan at once the past week.

1. Our APC unit in the office had a power surge, which in turn took down ak's half of the office. Only my 'puter is working. Serious shizzit-6 drives bit the dust.

2. We lost a beloved family member, and a dear neighbor, on the eastside. My mom is freaked. I actually ran out of sympathy cards.

3. Finally saw the spine dude.
Here is my future: http://www.lajollaspine.com/stmi_lumb_xlif.shtml
I am freaked. Supposedly not that bad, and the 3rd time's the charm, right?


Hence the down low mental and physical state. A lot to process and take in. Weather is great :)

VD 2008

Have a Happy Heart Day!

Coming Up for Air

I have just surfaced after a reading marathon that began Friday night when ak purchased the new Stephen King novel, Duma Key, for moi. Yummy, delicious ... 611 pages.

Whew - it was amazing, and I am already re-reading it. Yes it's scary, but smart scary. Also, it is set in the Florida Keys, rather than Maine, which is a big change for him. We were in the Keys in early December, so I was feeling that connection.

I almost couldn't go to work the past 2 days due to the draw of the book :) But I tore myself away, and raced home the past 2 nights to have ak literally handing me the book as I came into the house.

Anyway, one of the best parts about the book was the last page. Not the conclusion of the book page, but the "acknowledgement" page directly following, where Mr. King lastly thanks :
'And you, my old friend Constant Reader; always you.'
I love this - being thanked for reading.

Excited about the weekend's game, but sad for the end of another football season. Stone Crabs and fixins' have been ordered from Joe's in Miami and will be delivered Saturday - akjn is ready!

Agador Spartacus - thanks for everything :)
Your visit was the best, hilarity abounded despite the dampness in The Cats.

... I am tellin' you ... no no NO NO WAY!

CONGRATS ON THE NEW J O B!

ok ... on to brownie baking for a work meeting tomorrow. Bye!

Reunion

It's taken a while to work up to this post ... it was something.



The evening started off with cocktails at Missy and Ob's house. The house was full of friends, fireplaces going and drinks flowing. We were having such fun that the time slipped away from us a bit, so we hurried into the huge white Hummer limo, complete with fireplace. I think there were 13 of us in it. Of course we brought our roadies. A big thanks to Jerry and Lynnie for coordinating the sweet ride - it was not only cool, but smart thinking.



We arrived at the reunion about an hour late. I know this because Kelly immediately hassled me for the one hour of quality time that we had already missed together. Anyway, the first of several trips to the bar began, and Ak was a trooper. He had a good edge on other spouses, since he resided in our fair town for a bit, so he did feel pretty comfortable. He was also approached about possibly "swinging" with another couple...ak DID look good that night! Due to the drinks, the evening is quite hazy, but according to the pictures, we all look like we've each won a million bucks.



It was bizzare to see some of my classmates, but I was proud to say I worked the room and tried to speak to as many people as I could. Ak even picked out a name tag and cruised the reunion as Andy Eunson-he pulled it off pretty well. The dynamics of the evening were fascinating. The core group would mingle then re-group over fresh drinks. I remember yick-yaking in the ladies room holding Kimbo's martini and telling her her drink tasted like dinner. I remember freezing my butt off smoking outside. I recall asking Penny Burkham if she remembered her mom kicking me out of Girl Scouts. I recall doing a drunken tango with Mike Oether - yikes. I remember being in the front of the group shot posing like Rita Hayworth. Was there a professional photographer there?



It was like a wedding - over too fast, too many beverages + lousy food.



Confusion ensued after the formal affair was over. We went back to Missy and Ob's in the limo, but ended up in Media again at Picasso's....it was the worst!! The music was soooooo loud, and there was a strobe light on. I was hoping for subtle lighting and good background music so we could possibly chat with each other. Instead I felt like I was in Berlin at a rave. We exited quickly, and made a last attempt for drunken normalcy at the Plummy....mistake. I love the Plummy, but this was something else. Missy and I were like conjoined twins-we couldn't move an inch. We finally got out of there and back to the O'Briens.



The next thing I remember is waking up in a pink paradise - literaly. Ak and I slept in one of their daughter's rooms in which every single thing in the room, everything, is a shade of pink. It was startling and soothing at the same time. We dragged our sorry bodies back to Judith Lane. I hit the couch, ak my old bedroom, and my mom hydrated us back to health. It did feel like I had just been at a high school party.

Erick & Chrissy

getting it together in the limo

Susan, Chrissy & Missy (Kelly hidden)

last pic of the evening....

Pat L. and yours truly...I don't remember this at all, but I look like I am having the time of my life, so I guess that's ok :)

Thanksgiving 2007

The day before Thanksgiving, Georganne brought the Greek Meatball and his brothers over to mama's house for a visit. The boys had a grand time tearing it up in the yard.



Georganne & Mom























Nicky, Alexander & Evan




Nicky & me

I love this little guy so much, and miss not being able to jump in the car and go see him!















Two of my personal faves, my mama and ak
















Thanksgiving was very quiet - it was just the three of us, and traditional greek fare for vittles. We hung around watching football, eating and making calls to friends and family. It was delightful not to have to drive anywhere or host anyone - we all stayed in our pj's. I also knew I had to conserve my strength for the next evening's much anticipated reunion!