Boot Camp (or Bye Bye Bunion)

Well, this has been quite the weekend, again. Last week, I finished up as much business as I possibly could, tried to tie every loose end, and Friday I went in for my second foot surgery. I think that going in for it this time was worse than the first time because this time I knew what to expect so I've just been dreading it.

Murray and I got to the hospital and we got to the pre-op room pretty much right away. I definitely wanted Murray to be there just in case the nurse came out to tell me that I was pregnant. But he didn't, so I'm not. My nurse was a burly man in his 50s who looked better suited to the back of a Harley than a hospital, but I didn't mind. He had a very gentle touch while trying to do my IV, except that he couldn't get it, so he had to get another nurse to do it. I didn't hold it against him, though.

(They give you shorts now in the hospital to give you extra coverage. These are one size fits all.)

Murray asked me to try to be as aware as possible, without trying to be too aware, as they put me under. Last time, I fell asleep before I got to the operating room and woke up after I was out. So this time, I do remember getting onto the operating table, maybe just a little. I know that Murray and I had discussed cast color previously, and I was stuck on black, but Murray wasn't so sure. So I didn't know what to ask for. I remember the doctor asking me, but then a nurse came in and interrupted and I don't really remember being asked again, but I ended up with a black cast, so I think I may have been asked when I was mostly out of it. I woke up on the operating table as they were bandaging me up, and although I think the cast was the part I was dreading the most, I do remember that when they were putting it on, my thoughts went something like, "Sooooo luxiouriously comfortable!" I also remember fighting the compulsion with every fiber of my being to say, "I have to look professional for my conference." (I'm going to BlogHer in 2 weeks.) But I have a follow-up appointment tomorrow and I wouldn't be even slightly surprised if my doctor asks me about my conference. It may have slipped out at some point.

Since the surgery, I have been recovering at Château In-Laws, which beats Disneyland as the happiest place on earth. I am more than thrilled to have left my home computer at home, and to legitimately tell clients that I will be unavailable to work on their projects until sometime after Wednesday. I feel I gave everyone fair enough warning and now it's time for me to have a break to just focus on getting better.

The funny thing is that I'm not even feeling bad. Not even remotely! My pain level since the surgery has never been higher than 0.5. I'm supposed to be on bed rest, and for the most part I've been honoring that, but I've also gotten on the floor to play with Gulliver. (It seems we should have had this surgery 3 weeks ago since Gulliver is working REALLY HARD right now on crawling and although he hasn't coordinated it all perfectly yet, I think that by the end of these three weeks, he's going to be a little mobile pro!) I've made my very own crock pot orange pork shoulder. I haven't even made my mother-in-law fetch me every single snack. I have been pretty self sufficient, but with a team of helpers nearby to step in at any moment. (Don't ask me if I've bathed yet though---the answer is no.) My father-in-law, bless his heart, even got me a deluxe cupcake because he knows how trendy and delicious they are. Murray has also gotten me special foods, including Fage yogurt (usually too expensive for me to justify) and fresh raspberries.


Yesterday, I watched several hours of TV, including 1.15 Meg Ryan movies. So I am living it up right now. I'm not even going to go home tonight. I'm going to stay here as long as I possibly can!


(THE END)

United Breaks Guitars

Have you seen this yet? Have you ever been so frustrated at poor customer service and getting jerked around by a big company? Well, here's a creative solution. Dave Carroll of Sons of Maxwell witnessed his guitar being mishandled by United Airlines baggage handlers. He discovered it was broken, but United refused to do anything about it. He haggled with them for nine months and finally told the last person to say no to him that he'd be writing a series of 3 songs about his experience with them. The first of these songs was released (this week?) and it's awesome. (One day maybe I'll write a post about Canadian musicians...)

You can read his whole story here. And you should definitely watch the video. Poor, poor United. Murray found one news story about this that said United is now using this video and experience as part of their internal training to teach their employees how to better handle these situations. (For starters, you might not tell someone who lives in Halifax that they need to take their guitar in person to Chicago for inspection.)

SF 2009!!

Every year for the past three years, I have gone to San Diego to visit Switchback. It's a Pioneer Day tradition (although the definition of "Pioneer Day" changes from year to year). This year, however, Switchback has moved to Provo (Yay!!!) and we don't need to drive 10 hours to see her. So instead, we're going to drive MORE hours to go see San Francisco. It's my first time, and Murray can be my guide. I'm so excited. It also seems like such an adult vacation. It's still weird for me to be in the pilot seat of my vacations. It seems like such a parent thing to do, and then I defer to all their decisions. Even visiting Switchback wasn't totally grown-up because we always stayed with her for free, and we didn't really plan what we were going to do until we were actually there.

So here's our tentative plan. I don't like to give dates, because robbers can break into my home, but just so that the robbers know, my mom will be in town while we're away and she'll be using our home. And we have a bad-A neighborhood watch neighbor who keeps an eye on things. So don't even think about it.

Day 1: Drive to Carson City to stay with KT and her family. It has been years since she and I have had a chance to really sit down and visit, so this will be wonderful.
Day 2: Drive to San Francisco. Check into the apartment we're subletting for a week. The apartment sounds great and it is in a cool location as far as I can tell. Close to Golden Gate Bridge and close to water. Soooooo cool!
Day 3: Play in SF!
Day 4: Play in SF!
Day 5: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 6: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 7: Teach a little and play in SF!
Day 8: Drive to Lake Tahoe to camp
Day 9: Drive home

I am so grown up. I planned all that myself!

Any suggestions of must-do's in San Francisco?

1 down, 31 more to go

Today is Gulliver's 0.5 birthday. Happy birthday Gulliver! To celebrate, I'm going to run out and buy him some rice cereal.

Last night we also discovered that Gulliver has cut his first tooth. In fine Gulliver fashion, he hasn't really made any fuss or big deal over the fact that sharp objects are cutting through his tender baby gums.

Myriad Activities!

This weekend was pretty much awesome. I took a much-needed break and we participated in many activities, nay a plethora of activities, nay even myriad activities!

(In Sunday School yesterday, "myriad" seemed to be the word of the day as everyone was trying to work it into their comments to sound smart. I told Murray to make a comment using the phrase, "...a plethora---nay, even myriad..." but he refused. Much like the time I dared him to use a phrase during the opening prayer of Sacrament meeting. We attend the Kolob x Ward. The opening hymn was "If You Could Hie to Kolob." I dared him to give thanks that we can hie to the Kolob x Ward every week. He didn't, that big chicken.)

On Thursday evening Murray and I took a nice scenic drive around Springville. Gulliver was getting hungry so we stopped at a park to feed him. We sat in the car and I just stared at the bizarre equipment in the park ahead of us. I wanted to know how it worked. So when I was done feeding Gulliver and while Murray was strapping him into the car, I went to the equipment and approached this one thing that looked kindof like a flower. You put your bum in it and it spins you around. Well, I sat in it and didn't have to do anything before the weight of my body started spinning me. And spinning me. And spinning me. It wouldn't stop! I was laughing. And laughing. And then calling for help. Murray meanwhile was sitting in the car, watching the spectacle. I called for help again and when I heard Murray say, "Oh, are you serious?" then I started to panic and I started spinning even faster. Murray eventually rescued me.

On Friday, El Senor and his girlfriend La Senorita came over to visit. We told them about the park and invited them to come back with us because this time we meant to record it on the Flip. Thanks to the Flip, I now have this to share with you:











And as long as I'm sharing videos, here's a couple that demonstrate what happens when I leave Murray at home alone with Gulliver.