Poolie Sent Me

Yes she did, indeed.  I'd pretty much given up on this whole blog thing, but it does still haunt me  I mean, the urge is still there.......is there a Viagra for blogging???  Hahahaha  Maybe now that I'm getting close to the end of some rough times, I can find more upbeat things to write about.  I felt that all my posts have become negative, but my life has been pretty damn negative for quite some time.  That is simply the way of it!

I do have some upcoming events that will certainly put a positive spin on things and I do need to write about them, right??

First up is my trip to San Diego next month, to spend a week with Poolie and Terri T.  It's been 2 years since we were last together and it's high time to meet up again! 

After that, I will be going to Alaska for a month. Leaving April 20th and returning May 23rd.  I totally can't wait for that!!!  There will be love and hugs and roller derby and fun and movies and fun food and roller derby and hugs and more love and more roller derby and exciting stuff!!!!!!!!


And THEN, on June 11th, I will have my long awaited surgery.  Bionic hip #2 and after my recovery from that, I am hoping and praying and wishing for a far better quality of life than I have had in 3 years!  Or has it been 4???  Too freakin long, that's for damn sure!

So, this is a start.......I will elaborate more on those things and other stuff as well, in the days to come.  I have lots of Roller Derby news and pictures to share.....and I'm sure I'll come up with other things.....I just know it.  And I need to do some new pictures and some tidying up around this here blog page, too.  See ya soon!

Why Do I Need a Title???

It's so friggin' hot here. Still. And more triple digits predicted for next week.  We need rain SO bad!  Our lawn and the pasture is so dead and dry that even Gus, our Cocker Spaniel, leaves a little cloud of dust behind him when he trots across the pasture!  You should see the cloud of dust the horses raise!!

In this shot, you can see how badly poor Gus needs a hair cut, and I took this a couple weeks ago, so you can imagine his hairy curly self now.  Also alot less green on the ground than that now, as well.

He does get to go to the groomers tomorrow, now that I can get out and about, so he'll be all sleek and fast and COOLER!

I'm happy to say that my hip is feeling great, most of the time.  It even feels normal.  Sure wish I could act and move like it's normal.  sigh..... It's really hard to keep myself from just 'doing things' when it feels normal.  But I'm not all healed yet and it's not ready to have me do all this normal stuff like bending or sitting comfortably or dancing thru the living room to the Boondock Saints theme song.  Sucks, I tell ya'!  But I try to stay focused and I improvise a LOT.  I just wish I had longer toes so it would be easier to pick up stuff that I drop.  hee hee

We've got 2 birthdays coming up this week.  My 2 baby boys, Tim and Xander!  Tim will be 11 on the 3rd and Xander will be 6 on the 5th!

Here's a great shot Terri got of them yesterday with a couple of Storm Troopers at AlaskaLand.  Pretty awesome huh?

So funny....Terri said to Xander "they look pretty scary....what if Darth Vader is near by".  Xander replied, "Mom, they're just guys in suits."  He's just so damn logical all the time, I told her she mayhaps should have named him "Spock".  LOL

Oh, yeah....an update on our toilet disaster the other day......they are fixed and all is well, however we now need to replace the ceiling in the Living Room.  I am so thankful I am married to a Contractor that has spent his whole life doing such things!  I figure it will only take him 2 or 3 years to get around to it. :-p

Doctors, Tires and Toilets

I woke up this AM fully expecting to have a really great day.  I had my 1st follow-up appt with my surgeon, after which I was going to Sears to get much needed (and long awaited) new tires for my Tahoe and THEN, I was/am supposed to get my hair color done this afternoon.  That's about 2 weeks over-due.  Ick!  So, here's how it went......

Went to the DR, didn't even get to see HIM, but  saw one of his PAs, which is fine.  My X-Rays looked good, my progress and healing is all exceptional, but.........none, as in N.O.N.E. of my restrictions are lifted, except driving.  For 3  (THREE) months more!  I was crushed.  This DR is so over cautious.  I guess that can be a good thing, but man!  I did tell them that some of these restrictions (like the way I have to sit) are a wee bit hard on my back.  His reply was that if I was to dislocate my hip, I'd forget I even had a back!  Well, allllrighty then.....

So I go to Sears, so not in the mood to wait for tires and they tell me it will be a 2 1/1- 3 hour wait.  WTF?  No way was i gonna even attempt to sit there that long, even with my Nook in my purse!

Now, let's go back to last night......when I went to the potty and the toilet plugged... I plunged and plunged til I could plunge no more and called called upstairs for assistance.  By the time it was all said and done, BOTH toilets upstairs were backed up as well as the bathtub in one bathroom and the shower in the other.  Thank God we have a toilet downstairs....and it works.  So HE was supposed to have an early day of it today and be able to meet the plumber here this aft.  But NOOOO.  I just get a call and he told me the plumber (friend of his) is gonna try to be here before 2:00 (hair appt time) and for me to just let him in, show him where to go and it's okay to leave him..........Good grief.  It's 1:45.  He better be getting here!  Only takes me 4-5 minutes to get to Becky's, but still.

I'm thinking it might not be a good day to get my hair colored, but then again I am optimistic that she will make my day!  **sigh**

Oh, and BTW.  When you have one Brand New Hip and the other one NEEDS to be Brand New, it can make ones sex life......shall we say, a wee bit interesting......not!  Just sayin'.  Thought all y'all needed to know.

I Don't Know........

Don't know why I haven't written for a few days.  Time has just slipped away, I guess.  Who knows!  But I am just certain that I have lots to report on.

The roof is done, thank GOD!  It's quiet and Murphy is happy once again.  All is well in her little kitty world :)

I've been out driving on my own, even tho' the Doctor said to wait 6 weeks.  It felt SO good!  I love driving, even if it's just to go on errands or even if it's just to drive!  Mostly I love road trips, but it's been a coon's age since I've been on one of those! (and NO, that's not a racial term).  Racoons tend to live quite awhile, unless some poor boy that has a pet coon also has a little sister that feeds them poison berries!  In a case like that, they don't live long....I'm pretty sure he knew I didn't mean to kill his coon.

Anyway, I have driven to town to pick up a prescription and to visit the newly remodeled Dolla@r General nearby.  Boy, are they ever cleaning up their act!  Wal*Mart has started opening new little stores called Wal*Mart Express that is supposed to be similar to Doll@r General stores so I guess they figured they better re-group and they have done a damn fine job of it, right down to the new staff at this one!  Anyhoo, I also drove to Missouri (about 20 miles round trip) to get cigarettes (yeah, I'm still smoking....whatever) and that went well.  I don't like the angle that I have to adjust my seat in order to be sitting properly or that I have to be quite so far back so I can keep my leg as straight as possible, but after next week I think I should be able to sit normally and can readjust my seat.  I'm just glad that the seats are electronic and can be adjusted in so many ways!

A week from today is my follow appointment with the Surgeon and I can barely wait!  I hope he thinks I'm doing as well as my PT guy does and lifts a bunch of restrictions.  There are some changes that can take place at the 6 week mark, but many of them have to wait until 3 months or 6 months.  I'll take what I can get for now, tho', but I won't do anything I'm not supposed to do until he says it's okay.  Well, except the driving thing.

Roof, PT and DERBY....Oh My!

This AM I still have men banging around on my roof!  All week this has been going on and all week, my poor kitty, Murphy, has been in hiding.  She is terribly unimpressed by the noise.....as am I.  They 'say' they will finish up this AM and I sure hope so.  Murphy & I want our "little piece of quiet" back!

I thought that yesterday was my last day of Physical Therapy, but NOooOoO.......PT Dude says that I am doing so well and so far advanced with my progress, for only being 3 weeks and 5 days post-surgery that he wants to give me some more challenging exercises.  Joy, joy, happy happy. :) So, he'll be back 2 more times next week, after he checks with the good Doctor to report on me and get authorization to 'step it up'.  Actually, it's all good, especially since I'm doing so well because I'm so "young"!  Weeeeeeeeeee.  Gotta love THAT!  {and I DO.  Truly, indeed, I do!}  I ditched my walker at least a week ago and am using my cane.....when I don't walk off and forget it.  Have I already told you this?  Probably.  Sorry :-D.  I no longer have much hip pain at all.  Mostly some discomfort when I over-do it.  My back bothers more than my hip, at this point, but I am hoping that the continued exercises will strengthen my ab and back muscles and help with that.  I'm pretty sure that since I'm 1 year 4 months post spinal surgery, that my back is pretty much as good as it's gonna get.  But I am so thankful to be able to walk again, that I will deal with it!  Trust me!

I'm so anxious to get in my trusty Tahoe and drive......just go somewhere, anywhere.  Being cooped up 24/7 since June 20th is grating on me.  But it IS a bit better now that I am able to do more besides "sit" and "lay down".  I mean, I can do laundry (except for the carrying), I can cook, I can sweep and mop (carefully and not perfectly, but, hey...it's something!).  Best part is, I can take showers by myself now, but I sure do miss having Chuck scrub my feet! {cuz I still can't bend over and he was SO good at it!}

Okay, enough about me....let's move right along to my latest favorite subject, Roller Derby!!!! Yay!!!  Gonna share some great photos of the last couple practices.  I sure wish it was me there shooting the pictures, but alas......I must enjoy the pics taken by others and be thankful that I get to see such great new shots every week!

First up is my sweet Xander!  Yes, folks.  The little man is on skates and determined to be a referee for the Midnight Sun Roller Girlz.  hee hee.  That's Camo Cazi helping him and my Emily (Emma Lee the Strange) in the background.

 He went down....but look at that smile!  How fun!

 This amazing action shot is the girlz practicing jumps over a skate board, in this case.  {They'll jump over anything...or anyBODY, for that matter!} We have my Riley (Boom-Dot Saint) on the left, Chelsee-U-Inhell in the middle and Camo on the right.  I really don't know why Riley looks like she just swallowed a frog.....If I coulda been there, maybe I'd have more insight.  Hmmmm

 This one is of Boom-Dot and Raggedy Andi doing 'Chariot Rides'.  Tough workout for the lead dog!

 And last, but not least is another awesome shot and it's of Camo and Raggedy Andi doing 'Leg Whips'

Aren't these girlz spectacular!!  But wait!  There's more!
Next up is Maggie {Morbid Maggie} getting her 'skate on'!!  Woo Hoo!! 

 And Emily {Emma Lee the Strange} getting HER 'skate on'!  I'm so proud of all my girls.  They are so gonna rock when they get a Junior Team going!!

Well, that's it for today.  I hope ya'll have a great weekend :)

Hot & Crispy

Wow.  It was 102 here yesterday and they are calling for 104 today. Ugh.....  That is just wrong! So, I shall light a candle and say a prayer for the man that invented Air Conditioning and stay inside and let my Bionic Hip heal, while the electric meter spins in a wild frenzy to keep me cooool............I think some knitting might be in order today.

Chuck rounded up a couple of strays young men in the neighborhood to help him get hay for "The Girls".  The guy we buy it from grows the most awesome weed free Bermuda and he was baling

yesterday, so Chuck headed over for a couple of loads.  208 bales of fresher than fresh, yummy hay for our babies.  They were sure happy last night to get that treat, since their pasture is all dry and depleted.  We need rain SOOOO bad!  It's been weeks upon weeks since we've had anything significant.  But what a miserable day to have to get the hay at 102 degrees!  With hay, it's all about the timing and ya can't take a chance and wait, so that hard working man of mine was hard at it yesterday!

Between the heat and the Japanese Beetles, my poor rose garden is looking pretty sad.  I do believe that Chuck finally got the Beetles under control and with plenty of watering, the roses finally seem to be making a come-back.  I'll be so glad when I am able to get out in the yard and take care of some of this stuff.  All of my flower beds and plants need a lot more TLC than poor Chuck is able to give them when he gets home at night.  Hopefully, it won't be long and I can get out and do more. {and hopefully, it will be cooler by then too, so this Yankee doesn't melt!}

Today is the half-way mark to being able to get back to doing some normal daily activities.  It's been 3 weeks today since my surgery and there are so many things that I can't do for "6 weeks".  My follow-up appt with the surgeon is the 28th and I can't wait!  The incision has healed 'nicely' and I'm finally able to leave it un-bandaged and I'm past the point of any risk for infection, so that's a plus.  They actually "glued" the incision, so I haven't had to deal with those nasty staples, like I did for my back (all 24 of them. yuck).  There has been so much improvement the past week or so, I am finally able to get a feel for how much better off I am going to be. I am feeling better in general, but also gaining in strength and stability each day.  The Physical Therapy is rather rigorous, but so very beneficial.  I have gone from my walker, to using only a cane and half the time, I walk off and forget that.  Chuck is paranoid that I'll fall and 'disrupt my ball joint" as he puts it.  LOL  Actually, as time goes by it IS getting harder to keep from doing the things I'm not supposed to do.  This last 3 weeks might be tougher than the 1st 3 weeks.  Still can't bend over (but I 'can') still cant get my leg past that 90 degree point, still can't sit in chairs too low, still can't 'twist & shout', but......Boy Howdy, can I walk!!  Not for miles and miles, yet, but a hellovalot further than I was able to!  Still can't drive, tho'.  Some surgeons say 2 weeks, mine is all about waiting 6 weeks.  I could understand that while I was dependent on Percocet to keep me pain free, but I'm down to Vicodin now and much less often.  Anyway, I'll be a good girl and wait for his okay, but I am sure antsy to DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!  Places to go. Things to do. People to see.  Primarily......lunch with Victoria!!!!!

Well, me thinks I shall go check on some blogs, check in with FB and tend to my knitting!  See ya'.