While I kept saying that 2011 was a sh*tty year, in the end it wasn’t so bad.
We started off the year with CP’s mortgage problem out west. While that mess was a pain and we are having to pay more, the loan will get paid off sooner.
Fuzzy’s britches seizure was awful. Thankfully she hasn’t showed any signs of another one. Recently we took her into the vet to get sedated for Xrays and found out that while she doesn't have arthritis, she does have a partial tear in the ligaments in her hind legs. Poor baby. We have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to find out if surgery is necessary/possible or if there are other treatments we can pursue.
Fibroid surgery was a success and I am fully recovered. I'm crossing my fingers that I get my period soon and that we are successful in getting pregnant this winter/spring!
The jaw surgery and braces may not have to happen because my teeth are starting to move back together now that I am not wearing my mouth guard. This would be fantastic news! As long as I can chew on the left side of my mouth and stop breaking teeth I'll be happy.
The 13 DAYS we spent without power this year because of Hurricane Irene and the freak October snowstorm sucked (especially while I was recovering from my surgery). But having the power off meant playing cribbage with CP with a lantern, getting to know our neighbors a bit better, and getting to know our friends that did have power better after we spent every night at their house for dinner!
Amazingly, I completed a half marathon. I'm still not sure how I did it! Of course my heels are still giving me problems, but I have started to wear this boot to bed and the pain is lessening.
2011 brought Buster into our family. He was a HANDFUL in the beginning, but is a smart, adorable, cuddly and loving puppy. I’m so glad that we made the decision to get him!
Our friendships in our town are deepening. I have a great group of girls to go to dinner with, hang out with, etc. CP even likes their husbands which is great. In addition our monthly dinner club has been a huge hit!
My awesome healthy family. Even though I don't get to see them as much as I would like, I talk to my parents all the time and I will be eternally grateful to my Mom for flying out after my surgery. It wasn't necessary as it certainly wasn't life or death but it was nice to have her help around the house...especially because we didn't have any power.
Far away friends that are all doing well.
We were able to take two vacations this year. One to Southern CA/Denver for weddings and then another to the Bahamas. Can’t complain about that.
Our garden has been great this year. Bumper crop of cherry tomatoes (man I miss picking them right off the vine and popping them in my mouth!), sugar snap peas, swiss chard, kale, etc. I’m crossing my fingers that our winter garden continues through the cold months. So far we have had great lettuce and swiss chard. Everything is definitely taking longer to grow, but that is to be expected.
My weight has steadily increased this year. I look back through my monthly posts and cringe. But I have started to try to run again and on January 10th my friends and I are going to be doing a high-intensity month-long boot camp.
Basically after clicking through the most powerful photos of 2011, I once again realized that my life is not all that bad.
Looking back, how was your 2011?
12.30.2011
12.29.2011
Weird holiday season
In general this holiday season has been very weird. Thanksgiving was nice, but it came right after my surgery and recovery period. A scant two weeks later we left for the Bahamas. We had a week of work before Christmas, and then two weeks of four day work weeks. Let me be clear - I AM NOT COMPLAINING AT ALL. These past two months (other than surgery pain in November) have been pretty easy. Luckily it hasn’t been too busy at work because of the holidays or else I would probably be really behind!
But the random vacation in mid December, while it was fantastic, totally screwed me up. I rushed to get presents out the door before we left so that we didn’t have to pay extra in shipping. Despite the Christmas music playing during our vacation, the Christmas trees and decorations all over the Atlantis property, and the knowledge that Christmas was coming up, it didn’t FEEL like Christmas. 80 degree weather can do that to you.
So when CP and I got home? We put up outside lights, put the candles in the window (sooo New England-y of us), and neglected to decorate the inside of the house. Well, I guess the blame is mostly on me because as soon as we got back from the Bahamas, CP had to fly to OH for work and I was supposed to drag Christmas decorations out of the closet. But frankly, I was too lazy. We didn’t get a Christmas tree, we weren’t going to be around Christmas weekend anyway, so what was the point?
Maybe in some subconscious way I was displaying my unhappiness that our family hasn’t grown this year (in babies, not puppies). It would have been fantastic to put up a tree for a baby’s first Christmas or even to take pictures of me with a belly. But obviously that was not going to happen. Or maybe I’m just not a person that gets into the holidays that much. It takes effort. Effort that I hopefully want to expend once we do have kids.
On a side note, at least I wasn’t crying and grumpy this year when heading to CP’s family Christmas Eve and Christmas gatherings like two years ago. It certainly helps that I know everyone better, but I think that my mood stems from accepting the fact that I do have to share Christmas celebrations with CP’s family now. Next year we are headed back to Chicago (unless I can’t fly from pregnancy)!
Do you have problems getting into the holiday spirit?
But the random vacation in mid December, while it was fantastic, totally screwed me up. I rushed to get presents out the door before we left so that we didn’t have to pay extra in shipping. Despite the Christmas music playing during our vacation, the Christmas trees and decorations all over the Atlantis property, and the knowledge that Christmas was coming up, it didn’t FEEL like Christmas. 80 degree weather can do that to you.
So when CP and I got home? We put up outside lights, put the candles in the window (sooo New England-y of us), and neglected to decorate the inside of the house. Well, I guess the blame is mostly on me because as soon as we got back from the Bahamas, CP had to fly to OH for work and I was supposed to drag Christmas decorations out of the closet. But frankly, I was too lazy. We didn’t get a Christmas tree, we weren’t going to be around Christmas weekend anyway, so what was the point?
Maybe in some subconscious way I was displaying my unhappiness that our family hasn’t grown this year (in babies, not puppies). It would have been fantastic to put up a tree for a baby’s first Christmas or even to take pictures of me with a belly. But obviously that was not going to happen. Or maybe I’m just not a person that gets into the holidays that much. It takes effort. Effort that I hopefully want to expend once we do have kids.
On a side note, at least I wasn’t crying and grumpy this year when heading to CP’s family Christmas Eve and Christmas gatherings like two years ago. It certainly helps that I know everyone better, but I think that my mood stems from accepting the fact that I do have to share Christmas celebrations with CP’s family now. Next year we are headed back to Chicago (unless I can’t fly from pregnancy)!
Do you have problems getting into the holiday spirit?
12.28.2011
Decisions decisions
Last week was our latest doctor’s appointment at the fertility clinic. CP and I went to discuss our options with the doctor now that the fibroid and the endometriosis is out of my body.
Right now we have three options: try on our own, an IUI, or IVF.
From age 30-35 (I’m 33), a Fertile person has a 15-20% chance of getting pregnant in a given month.
Same age range, but with an Infertile person the percentage drastically decreases to less than 5% in a given month (my surgery probably knocks me up a few percentage points, but not all of the way to that of a Fertile person).
If we decide to go the Clomid/IUI route, the percentage for my age increases to 10-12%.
If we try injectables with IUI, the percentage increases a bit more to 15-18%.
If the 3 IUIs that my insurance cover don’t work then IVF is our next step (you have to have a major justification to jump to IVF without trying an IUI first). The percentage of pregnancies after an IVF procedure jump to 50%!! I had no idea that you had a 50/50 shot of getting pregnant after IVF. According to my doctor my insurance covers 2 IVF procedures, but I’m not sure that’s correct AND getting CP on board for an IVF might be very difficult. Boy is it expensive if insurance doesn’t cover it though- $15,000-$20,000!!
In general I’m a bit confused coming away from the appointment. The doctor that did my surgery said that the endometriosis was the reason that I wasn’t getting pregnant, while this doctor said that it was the fibroid. Both of them are now out of my system but what if there is something else wrong? From my research (and what the surgery doctor told me), fibroids generally don’t keep you from getting pregnant, they generally cause a woman to miscarry. As far as I know, I have never been even a little pregnant.
We have been told that the most fertile time for me to get pregnant will be the first few months after my uterus has healed. Depending on when I get my first period since early September, we can start trying sometime in February. The question is- do we try on our own or do we go the IUI route? I asked about any side effects of Clomid and the doctor said there are usually two. Hot flashes (OH BOY THOSE AGAIN!) and PMS-like symptoms. That’s nothing too major- especially if I am only taking the medication for 5 days. Meanwhile, CP and I both remarked that we aren’t getting any younger. CP will be turning 36 in June and if we want to have two kids we need to starting getting on board the pregnancy train. But it would be nice to be like a “normal” couple and get pregnant on our own.
Decisions, decisions. We don’t have to make the call right now but we do have to think about it in the next month. Do we risk my most fertile months by trying on our own? Not only do we risk fertile months passing us by, but every month I don’t get pregnant is a month closer to when another fibroid could form or endometriosis could come back. So should we jump onto the IUI train?
Right now we have three options: try on our own, an IUI, or IVF.
From age 30-35 (I’m 33), a Fertile person has a 15-20% chance of getting pregnant in a given month.
Same age range, but with an Infertile person the percentage drastically decreases to less than 5% in a given month (my surgery probably knocks me up a few percentage points, but not all of the way to that of a Fertile person).
If we decide to go the Clomid/IUI route, the percentage for my age increases to 10-12%.
If we try injectables with IUI, the percentage increases a bit more to 15-18%.
If the 3 IUIs that my insurance cover don’t work then IVF is our next step (you have to have a major justification to jump to IVF without trying an IUI first). The percentage of pregnancies after an IVF procedure jump to 50%!! I had no idea that you had a 50/50 shot of getting pregnant after IVF. According to my doctor my insurance covers 2 IVF procedures, but I’m not sure that’s correct AND getting CP on board for an IVF might be very difficult. Boy is it expensive if insurance doesn’t cover it though- $15,000-$20,000!!
In general I’m a bit confused coming away from the appointment. The doctor that did my surgery said that the endometriosis was the reason that I wasn’t getting pregnant, while this doctor said that it was the fibroid. Both of them are now out of my system but what if there is something else wrong? From my research (and what the surgery doctor told me), fibroids generally don’t keep you from getting pregnant, they generally cause a woman to miscarry. As far as I know, I have never been even a little pregnant.
We have been told that the most fertile time for me to get pregnant will be the first few months after my uterus has healed. Depending on when I get my first period since early September, we can start trying sometime in February. The question is- do we try on our own or do we go the IUI route? I asked about any side effects of Clomid and the doctor said there are usually two. Hot flashes (OH BOY THOSE AGAIN!) and PMS-like symptoms. That’s nothing too major- especially if I am only taking the medication for 5 days. Meanwhile, CP and I both remarked that we aren’t getting any younger. CP will be turning 36 in June and if we want to have two kids we need to starting getting on board the pregnancy train. But it would be nice to be like a “normal” couple and get pregnant on our own.
Decisions, decisions. We don’t have to make the call right now but we do have to think about it in the next month. Do we risk my most fertile months by trying on our own? Not only do we risk fertile months passing us by, but every month I don’t get pregnant is a month closer to when another fibroid could form or endometriosis could come back. So should we jump onto the IUI train?
12.23.2011
Happy holidays!
Happy holidays!
I hope you have a safe and wonderful weekend!
P.S. No animals were hurt during this photo shoot....except for maybe their egos! :-)
12.21.2011
Almost Wordless Wednesday- Bahamas edition!
Our Bahamas trip in pictures (at least the ones that I can show because we are not in them)....
We had free access to Atlantis which was AWESOME because they had a fun water park. I didn't think that I would still enjoy a water park at age 33, but it's a blast. This was one of the slides in the park- you could challenge someone to see who hit the water first. On the back side of this "Mayan Temple" is the slide that is shown in the commercials for Atlantis. It is a huge drop off, then you go through a tube that is surrounded by sharks before you hit the pool at the end. Very cool. By the end of the week we went down all of the different slides (half you went down with just your body, half you were in a tube) at least once.
Atlantis has a HUGE aquarium where you can view all of the various fishes, sharks, manta rays, etc. three different ways- outside near the pools, in tunnels, and in a tube where the animals can swim right over your head. Here we were outside watching a funny looking shark swim around.
Hammerhead shark
Reef shark swimming above us in the tube.
This was the pool and a view of the condos where we stayed.
A local Bahamian restaurant where we had a delicious conch salad (think ceviche just with conch instead of shrimp or fish). Mmmm.
The amazingly turquoise waters of the Bahamas.
The horses in downtown Nassau all wore hats. Adorable!
One afternoon CP and I wandered around Paradise Island. I was ready to head home because my feet hurt when we came upon this place. Very pretty, even though we have no idea what this place was or who owned the property.
We did a total of three days of diving with Stuart's Cove Dive Shop. The reefs weren't that amazing, but we did get to do some wreck dives which was cool. A lot of celebrities dive with this shop so they had pictures all over the place with the various celebs (Matt Damon, Heidi Klum, Andy Samberg, etc.). One of our dives took us to an underwater Cessana plane used in one of the James Bond films.
View from the dive shop
We had free access to Atlantis which was AWESOME because they had a fun water park. I didn't think that I would still enjoy a water park at age 33, but it's a blast. This was one of the slides in the park- you could challenge someone to see who hit the water first. On the back side of this "Mayan Temple" is the slide that is shown in the commercials for Atlantis. It is a huge drop off, then you go through a tube that is surrounded by sharks before you hit the pool at the end. Very cool. By the end of the week we went down all of the different slides (half you went down with just your body, half you were in a tube) at least once.We also enjoyed the "Raging Rapids"- think lazy river except with rapids while you are floating down in a one or two-person tube. That was especially fun after a few mango daquiris!
Atlantis has a HUGE aquarium where you can view all of the various fishes, sharks, manta rays, etc. three different ways- outside near the pools, in tunnels, and in a tube where the animals can swim right over your head. Here we were outside watching a funny looking shark swim around.
Hammerhead shark
Reef shark swimming above us in the tube.
This was the pool and a view of the condos where we stayed.
A local Bahamian restaurant where we had a delicious conch salad (think ceviche just with conch instead of shrimp or fish). Mmmm.
The amazingly turquoise waters of the Bahamas. 
The horses in downtown Nassau all wore hats. Adorable!
One afternoon CP and I wandered around Paradise Island. I was ready to head home because my feet hurt when we came upon this place. Very pretty, even though we have no idea what this place was or who owned the property.
We did a total of three days of diving with Stuart's Cove Dive Shop. The reefs weren't that amazing, but we did get to do some wreck dives which was cool. A lot of celebrities dive with this shop so they had pictures all over the place with the various celebs (Matt Damon, Heidi Klum, Andy Samberg, etc.). One of our dives took us to an underwater Cessana plane used in one of the James Bond films.
View from the dive shop
Our last day of diving we went SHARK DIVING! The whole experience was very cool. We were surrounded by ~30 reef sharks for about 40 minutes. The dive masters had to wear chainmail because they fed the sharks the chum via a long stick. No cages for us which made me especially nervous, but after a while I relaxed and enjoyed the experience. The dive masters stressed keeping our hands as close to our body as possible, no sudden movements, etc. Towards the end a shark was gliding past me and I bravely stuck two fingers out to touch its body as it glided by. Very cool.
Overall we had a fantastic time at a very beautiful place. :-)
12.20.2011
Back from vacation
Our Bahamas vacation got off to an awful start on the 9th. We show up for our 10am flight at 8:15am. We park the car in the economy lot and head to the check in desk. There is no one lined up and no one behind the desk, so I swipe my credit card into the Jet Blue machine.
That's funny. The machine is telling me that I can't check in earlier than 24 hours in advance or within 30 minutes of my flight.
CP walked over to the departure screen....there was a 8:15am flight down to Fort Lauderdale, but nothing at 10am. He glares at me, then asks if we are supposed to be on the 8:15am flight. I check my iPhone calendar and confirm that we are supposed to be on a 10am flight. But then I check the Orbitz travel reservation printed out just a few days prior (that I clearly never glanced at) and OH NO we were supposed to be on the 8:15am flight. WTF??!??
With no one at the desk, I dialed the Jet Blue contact number and grabbed a baggage handler to ask if they could get a Jet Blue person at the desk. A Jet Blue representative comes out and proceeds to tell me that the flight time had changed and that I should have received an email from Orbitz telling me about the flight change (she also said this happened to someone yesterday so I didn't feel so stupid). Luckily there were seats on the late afternoon flight out to Fort Lauderdale and we were able to get on that flight for no cost.
I was thankful that CP didn't get angry because really, what would we have done? Yes we were arriving in the Bahamas a few hours after our originally scheduled time, but it could be worse.
With no flight for hours, CP and I went out to breakfast and did some Christmas shopping before heading back to the airport. The flight to Fort Lauderdale kept getting delayed and we only had an hour between flights as it was. Halfway through the flight I asked the flight attendants to see if people would stay in their seats so that we could run to our next flight (I would have thrown in a "but it's our honeymoon!" if needed). Thankfully the people in front of us complied and we ran to our next flight, making it just in time!
The rest of the trip was smooth sailing after the rocky start. I had a great birthday- a wonderful facial at the spa, fun at the water park, many mango daquiris and then an amazingly delicious dinner at the Mesa Grill, a Bobby Flay restaurant.
Other than the HIGH HIGH HIGH prices for food (we got a little bitter towards that at the end), we had a great week. Pictures to come tomorrow!
That's funny. The machine is telling me that I can't check in earlier than 24 hours in advance or within 30 minutes of my flight.
CP walked over to the departure screen....there was a 8:15am flight down to Fort Lauderdale, but nothing at 10am. He glares at me, then asks if we are supposed to be on the 8:15am flight. I check my iPhone calendar and confirm that we are supposed to be on a 10am flight. But then I check the Orbitz travel reservation printed out just a few days prior (that I clearly never glanced at) and OH NO we were supposed to be on the 8:15am flight. WTF??!??
With no one at the desk, I dialed the Jet Blue contact number and grabbed a baggage handler to ask if they could get a Jet Blue person at the desk. A Jet Blue representative comes out and proceeds to tell me that the flight time had changed and that I should have received an email from Orbitz telling me about the flight change (she also said this happened to someone yesterday so I didn't feel so stupid). Luckily there were seats on the late afternoon flight out to Fort Lauderdale and we were able to get on that flight for no cost.
I was thankful that CP didn't get angry because really, what would we have done? Yes we were arriving in the Bahamas a few hours after our originally scheduled time, but it could be worse.
With no flight for hours, CP and I went out to breakfast and did some Christmas shopping before heading back to the airport. The flight to Fort Lauderdale kept getting delayed and we only had an hour between flights as it was. Halfway through the flight I asked the flight attendants to see if people would stay in their seats so that we could run to our next flight (I would have thrown in a "but it's our honeymoon!" if needed). Thankfully the people in front of us complied and we ran to our next flight, making it just in time!
The rest of the trip was smooth sailing after the rocky start. I had a great birthday- a wonderful facial at the spa, fun at the water park, many mango daquiris and then an amazingly delicious dinner at the Mesa Grill, a Bobby Flay restaurant.
Other than the HIGH HIGH HIGH prices for food (we got a little bitter towards that at the end), we had a great week. Pictures to come tomorrow!
12.09.2011
Bahamas baby!
After a flight to FL that leaves this morning, a three hour layover, and then a flight to Nassau, CP and I will be in 80 degree weather for the next 8 days. I can’t wait. I will most likely get sick due to the weather change, either when we get there or coming back but WHO CARES!
The past couple of years I have been calling my birthday my “Pretty Princess Day” because it annoys CP (ha ha). I will be turning 33 (!) tomorrow while we are in the Bahamas….so I think that calling it my “Pretty Princess Week” is in order. :-) We don’t have anything specific planned, probably just head out for a nice dinner. We don’t have ANY part of the vacation planned which usually works out well for us. I will be getting a facial at some point in the week (CP said that he would give me one for free- HEY-O) and we will do at least a day of scuba diving, but in general our plan is to RELAX.
Needless to say, no blogging until I get back. Try not to freeze too much while I am gone. :-)
The past couple of years I have been calling my birthday my “Pretty Princess Day” because it annoys CP (ha ha). I will be turning 33 (!) tomorrow while we are in the Bahamas….so I think that calling it my “Pretty Princess Week” is in order. :-) We don’t have anything specific planned, probably just head out for a nice dinner. We don’t have ANY part of the vacation planned which usually works out well for us. I will be getting a facial at some point in the week (CP said that he would give me one for free- HEY-O) and we will do at least a day of scuba diving, but in general our plan is to RELAX.
Needless to say, no blogging until I get back. Try not to freeze too much while I am gone. :-)
12.06.2011
Nook books
I have continued to read a bunch of books on my Nook. All ratings out of a possible 5 stars.
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen
2 stars
A woman whose husband leaves her for a man he met on gay.com only a week after a horrible car accident heads home to her Mennonite family for solace. I wanted to like this book. The author has a sharp wit and remembers minute details about various stories. However, she jumps around so much while telling stories I would often get lost. The book needed to be more structured.
Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir by Bill Clegg
4 stars
I am such a sucker for stories about addictions. Bill Clegg was a literary agent who walked away from his job, boyfriend, and home to go on a two month crack binge. As usual, I was horrified but couldn’t put it down.
Run by Ann Patchett
3 stars
Two families come together unexpectedly after a traffic accident in a snowstorm. I think that this may be the last Ann Patchett book I read because nothing compares to Bel Canto. The story was interesting enough, but I certainly wasn’t rushing back to the book.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
4 stars
In the days following the Hurricane Katrina Syrian-American Abdulrahman Zeitoun travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. On September 6th police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his own home. Some of the background information on Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his family dragged at times, but overall this true story makes for a riveting book. It’s so amazingly sad that this actually happened in the US.
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
3 stars (basically 3.5 stars)
Golden Richards, polygamist, is having a midlife crisis. His family is in turmoil, his business is failing, and he hasn’t dealt with the deaths of two of his kids. I wanted to like this book more, but didn’t like Golden, the main character in the book. When the author told the story through one of Golden’s sons and one of his wives I found the book to be a lot better.
Have you read any good books lately?
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen
2 stars
A woman whose husband leaves her for a man he met on gay.com only a week after a horrible car accident heads home to her Mennonite family for solace. I wanted to like this book. The author has a sharp wit and remembers minute details about various stories. However, she jumps around so much while telling stories I would often get lost. The book needed to be more structured.
Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man: A Memoir by Bill Clegg
4 stars
I am such a sucker for stories about addictions. Bill Clegg was a literary agent who walked away from his job, boyfriend, and home to go on a two month crack binge. As usual, I was horrified but couldn’t put it down.
Run by Ann Patchett
3 stars
Two families come together unexpectedly after a traffic accident in a snowstorm. I think that this may be the last Ann Patchett book I read because nothing compares to Bel Canto. The story was interesting enough, but I certainly wasn’t rushing back to the book.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
4 stars
In the days following the Hurricane Katrina Syrian-American Abdulrahman Zeitoun travels the city by canoe, feeding abandoned animals and helping elderly neighbors. On September 6th police officers armed with M-16s arrest Zeitoun in his own home. Some of the background information on Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his family dragged at times, but overall this true story makes for a riveting book. It’s so amazingly sad that this actually happened in the US.
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
3 stars (basically 3.5 stars)
Golden Richards, polygamist, is having a midlife crisis. His family is in turmoil, his business is failing, and he hasn’t dealt with the deaths of two of his kids. I wanted to like this book more, but didn’t like Golden, the main character in the book. When the author told the story through one of Golden’s sons and one of his wives I found the book to be a lot better.
Have you read any good books lately?
12.05.2011
Restless
This weekend I felt restless. Walking was just not cutting it.
On Thursday CP and I had taken the dogs for a walk and let them off their leashes at a park. I started to jog to get the dogs to run around a little more and lo and behold, it didn’t hurt! So on Saturday I decided that I would go out for a jog to see how it felt. Technically I am not supposed to run for another two weeks but I was feeling pretty good.
I decided to start allllll the way back at the beginning. Week 1, Day 1 of Couch to 5K. I haven’t truly been consistently running since MAY when I ran the half marathon, so there was no need to kill myself. Plus I figured that if my body could handle it, I would try to run at a 10 minute/mile pace instead of my usual 11.
I’m proud to say I DID IT!! With no pain near any of my incisions! The only pain I felt was afterwards- in my heels of course. This plantar fasciitis is killing me! It’s already been a year of pain….maybe it’s time to think about the boot that I can wear at night…
Oh yeah that is sexy- aka poor CP
I stretched out when I got home but was definitely sore yesterday and was sore when I woke up today. Today during lunch I ran Week 1, Day 2 and it also didn’t hurt.
I guess I should start thinking about goals. Three days a week of running through winter? What will be my first race back?
12.01.2011
The State of NSC- November 2011
A monthly take on my world.
Weight: 211. YIKES. I’m not sure if I am getting ready to get my first period in a while or if I really have gained that weight (I guess it’s possible although two weeks ago I was around 204). Looks like I need to start weighing myself weekly and post it so that I am paying more attention to what is going in my mouth because this is EMBARASSING!
Current Feeling: Fat. I am wearing the same black pants into work on the days that I go into the office because I am nervous to try on some of my other work pants. I’m pretty sure they are not going to fit. (Thank goodness for Jeans Friday even though I can’t fit into my jeans right now…). I have been walking at least once a day but it doesn’t seem to be helping.
Running Stats (taking a break until the new year from running to rest my heels/recuperate from surgery)
Total Miles Run: 0
Time Spent Running: 0:00
Longest Single Run: 0
Current aches and pains: Despite my lack of running, my plantar fasciitis is back! It’s so ridonkulous that I have been talking about this for A WHOLE YEAR. JUST GO AWAY. Other than sharp stabbing pains at random moments near one of my incisions (good times), I don’t have much pain from my surgery anymore.
Current Favorite Song: Fitz & the Tantrums- “Moneygrabber”
Looking forward to: Our trip to the Bahamas in 8 days!! My birthday in 9 days! Christmas in 24 days!
Annoyed about: I am going to look like crap in a bathing suit for our trip. I curse my MIL for bringing down the apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving as I’m sure it didn’t help with my current belly.
Proud about: Frankly, nothing right now. Booooo.
How are you feeling with the start of this new month?
Weight: 211. YIKES. I’m not sure if I am getting ready to get my first period in a while or if I really have gained that weight (I guess it’s possible although two weeks ago I was around 204). Looks like I need to start weighing myself weekly and post it so that I am paying more attention to what is going in my mouth because this is EMBARASSING!
Current Feeling: Fat. I am wearing the same black pants into work on the days that I go into the office because I am nervous to try on some of my other work pants. I’m pretty sure they are not going to fit. (Thank goodness for Jeans Friday even though I can’t fit into my jeans right now…). I have been walking at least once a day but it doesn’t seem to be helping.
Running Stats (taking a break until the new year from running to rest my heels/recuperate from surgery)
Total Miles Run: 0
Time Spent Running: 0:00
Longest Single Run: 0
Current aches and pains: Despite my lack of running, my plantar fasciitis is back! It’s so ridonkulous that I have been talking about this for A WHOLE YEAR. JUST GO AWAY. Other than sharp stabbing pains at random moments near one of my incisions (good times), I don’t have much pain from my surgery anymore.
Current Favorite Song: Fitz & the Tantrums- “Moneygrabber”
Looking forward to: Our trip to the Bahamas in 8 days!! My birthday in 9 days! Christmas in 24 days!
Annoyed about: I am going to look like crap in a bathing suit for our trip. I curse my MIL for bringing down the apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving as I’m sure it didn’t help with my current belly.
Proud about: Frankly, nothing right now. Booooo.
How are you feeling with the start of this new month?
11.30.2011
Almost Wordless Wednesday
Saturday morning my MIL and I got up early to hit the New Haven Flea Market. My coworker told me about the market- she went last year and found North Face, Tiffany jewelry knockoffs, Ugg boots, etc. She did warn me that she heard the place got raided earlier this year so the merchandise might be a little different.
My MIL LOVES flea markets so we headed down, unsure of what we would find. I should have taken a picture, but it was rows and rows and rows of fake purses (every label imaginable- Coach, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana, etc.), jewelry, clothes, music, rugs, etc. It was pretty impressive, despite the fact that some of it was repetitive.
Sorry about my manly-looking hands but I got these three rings for $1 each. Super cute!
I have needed a clutch for a while and this fake Burberry clutch fit my iPhone and was only $7. Score!
I have also wanted a light gray purse for a while and this fit the bill as it was only $10. It's not my favorite, but for $10 it works!
My favorite purchase was the moose hat. CP HATES it which means I love it. Ha! Actually I have been threatening to get a hat like this for a while....once I found one (only $8!) for an adult (they also other animals like a cat and a cow), I knew it was allllll mine.
My MIL LOVES flea markets so we headed down, unsure of what we would find. I should have taken a picture, but it was rows and rows and rows of fake purses (every label imaginable- Coach, Hermes, Dolce & Gabbana, etc.), jewelry, clothes, music, rugs, etc. It was pretty impressive, despite the fact that some of it was repetitive.
Sorry about my manly-looking hands but I got these three rings for $1 each. Super cute!
I have needed a clutch for a while and this fake Burberry clutch fit my iPhone and was only $7. Score!
I have also wanted a light gray purse for a while and this fit the bill as it was only $10. It's not my favorite, but for $10 it works!
My favorite purchase was the moose hat. CP HATES it which means I love it. Ha! Actually I have been threatening to get a hat like this for a while....once I found one (only $8!) for an adult (they also other animals like a cat and a cow), I knew it was allllll mine.I wouldn't head to this flea market every weekend but it was not bad. All four purchases added up to less than $30 which is a good day of shopping for me!
Do you own a piece of clothing that your significant other hates?
11.29.2011
Baby shower
Today my office held a baby shower for a coworker who is due in the beginning of January. I have to admit, it was a little hard. I am, of course, very happy for her. I have no idea if she had problems conceiving or how long they tried to have a child but at this point it doesn’t matter as she is almost to the finish line.
But during the shower my mind kept wandering to whether the office will ever get to throw ME a baby shower. Will I ever get to complain about a lack of sleep because I am too uncomfortable and big? Will I get to talk about the labor and delivery tour that I took of the hospital? Will I get to ask older coworkers about whether I should take a Lamaze class (it’s not applicable to me because I have to have a c-section, but still)?
When she was opening her presents I oooohed and aaaaahed with everyone. I mean everything is just so small and adorable! But afterwards while in a circle talking with the mother-to-be and four older women who all have kids I tried to play down my knowledge of giving birth/all things babies because I didn’t want to tip anyone off that we had been trying….or that I read pregnancy blogs…..or have talked about giving birth/pregnancy with friends that have kids.
Thankfully, the “NSC you are NEXT!” was not uttered. I have to be honest that I contemplated NOT going to the baby shower because I am literally the only childless married person in the office of child bearing age. The few others who could get pregnant or get someone pregnant are not in long term relationships (except for the gay guy and I don’t think pregnancy for either him or his partner is in the cards). I was terrified that someone was going to say something and I don’t know what my reaction would have been. Turn bright red? Start crying? Make a sarcastic deflective remark? Suddenly clam up? I have no idea.
These days not knowing what my reaction is going to be is tough. The hope that I have of getting pregnant is still tempered. I am still planning things for the spring thinking that we won’t be pregnant. If I didn’t do that I am not sure how emotionally stable I would be right now because if I can’t look forward to a pregnancy, I need to look forward to something else.
But during the shower my mind kept wandering to whether the office will ever get to throw ME a baby shower. Will I ever get to complain about a lack of sleep because I am too uncomfortable and big? Will I get to talk about the labor and delivery tour that I took of the hospital? Will I get to ask older coworkers about whether I should take a Lamaze class (it’s not applicable to me because I have to have a c-section, but still)?
When she was opening her presents I oooohed and aaaaahed with everyone. I mean everything is just so small and adorable! But afterwards while in a circle talking with the mother-to-be and four older women who all have kids I tried to play down my knowledge of giving birth/all things babies because I didn’t want to tip anyone off that we had been trying….or that I read pregnancy blogs…..or have talked about giving birth/pregnancy with friends that have kids.
Thankfully, the “NSC you are NEXT!” was not uttered. I have to be honest that I contemplated NOT going to the baby shower because I am literally the only childless married person in the office of child bearing age. The few others who could get pregnant or get someone pregnant are not in long term relationships (except for the gay guy and I don’t think pregnancy for either him or his partner is in the cards). I was terrified that someone was going to say something and I don’t know what my reaction would have been. Turn bright red? Start crying? Make a sarcastic deflective remark? Suddenly clam up? I have no idea.
These days not knowing what my reaction is going to be is tough. The hope that I have of getting pregnant is still tempered. I am still planning things for the spring thinking that we won’t be pregnant. If I didn’t do that I am not sure how emotionally stable I would be right now because if I can’t look forward to a pregnancy, I need to look forward to something else.
11.25.2011
Non sequitur thoughts
Why does Buster feel the need to lay down in the bathroom every time I need to pee? He always cocks his head trying to figure out where the sound is coming from which is hilarious….but still. Why does he feel the need? Is it because I watch him pee every day? At least he gets praised while doing that- I just get a weird look!
CP and I realized that for the next few months while my uterus is healing we are going to actually have to prevent pregnancy. An odd concept after trying for a year and half with no results. But if what the doctor said is true (that CP’s sperm is okay and the endometriosis was the reason we couldn’t get pregnant), then we will have to be careful. Now I just have to wait and see if my periods are going to go back to normal cycles. *crossing fingers*
So I finally decided to check out Pinterest after hearing so much about it from you guys. I love the idea, but why do you have to request to get an invite? That is kind of annoying.
I think that this extra workload is going to be around for a while. The coworker who was put on a special assignment wrote on another coworker’s Facebook wall that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Since she is older, I don’t think that she is very tech savvy….so I’m not sure that she knows that I could see her post. My company won’t be hiring anyone to fill her position so although I hate my job, at least I’ll stay busy.
Would you get falsies for your dog? We will be fixing Buster after he turns a year old (waiting that long is better for his joints since he is a bigger breed) and CP wants to get false balls put in. I think that the idea is absolutely ridiculous, but CP claims that Buster needs them. Someone mentioned that Kim Kardashian had falsies put in for her dog and I keep asking CP if he really wants to be like Kim Kardashian…..but that doesn’t seem to sway him. Thoughts?
I'm not happy that I am working today, but at least I don't work in retail and have to deal with crazy shoppers. What happened to spending time with your family on a holiday? I feel bad for all of the hourly workers that have to deal with people that PEPPER SPRAY others just for a discount. Unfortunately I think that stores are helping create chaos by holding these intense sales for only one day and at weird hours when people are tired/drunk. Why not buy more of the in-demand products and spread out the discounts throughout a weekend or a week? Even if the stores don't make the discounts as steep they could get more people through the door, produce less craziness, and get more product moved. Do you shop on Black Friday?
Comment so that I can be entertained during my very boring work day today!
CP and I realized that for the next few months while my uterus is healing we are going to actually have to prevent pregnancy. An odd concept after trying for a year and half with no results. But if what the doctor said is true (that CP’s sperm is okay and the endometriosis was the reason we couldn’t get pregnant), then we will have to be careful. Now I just have to wait and see if my periods are going to go back to normal cycles. *crossing fingers*
So I finally decided to check out Pinterest after hearing so much about it from you guys. I love the idea, but why do you have to request to get an invite? That is kind of annoying.
I think that this extra workload is going to be around for a while. The coworker who was put on a special assignment wrote on another coworker’s Facebook wall that she will be retiring at the end of the year. Since she is older, I don’t think that she is very tech savvy….so I’m not sure that she knows that I could see her post. My company won’t be hiring anyone to fill her position so although I hate my job, at least I’ll stay busy.
Would you get falsies for your dog? We will be fixing Buster after he turns a year old (waiting that long is better for his joints since he is a bigger breed) and CP wants to get false balls put in. I think that the idea is absolutely ridiculous, but CP claims that Buster needs them. Someone mentioned that Kim Kardashian had falsies put in for her dog and I keep asking CP if he really wants to be like Kim Kardashian…..but that doesn’t seem to sway him. Thoughts?
I'm not happy that I am working today, but at least I don't work in retail and have to deal with crazy shoppers. What happened to spending time with your family on a holiday? I feel bad for all of the hourly workers that have to deal with people that PEPPER SPRAY others just for a discount. Unfortunately I think that stores are helping create chaos by holding these intense sales for only one day and at weird hours when people are tired/drunk. Why not buy more of the in-demand products and spread out the discounts throughout a weekend or a week? Even if the stores don't make the discounts as steep they could get more people through the door, produce less craziness, and get more product moved. Do you shop on Black Friday?
Comment so that I can be entertained during my very boring work day today!
11.23.2011
Turkey Day!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I am so excited about all of the yummy food that CP is making! CP’s grandmother, his mom and her husband are coming down from NH later today. We would have gone up to NH with the dogs, however I have to work on Friday. :-(
As usual, CP is planning on making way too much food for only 5 people. But at least I know where he gets it from- his mom is baking 4 (!!) pies (AGAIN) to bring down which is so ridiculous. Her excuse is that her friend and friend’s brother will be stopping by for dessert on Thursday night. Luckily I only like two of the desserts so I won’t be tempted by the other two.
Our meal:
Butternut squash bisque
Salad with pears and gorgonzola cheese (featuring lettuce from our garden!)
Turkey (currently sitting in a maple brine)
Mashed potatoes
Wild rice salad (healthier than stuffing)
Roasted root veggies (carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes)
Kale and bacon
Cranberry sauce (since CP is the only one to eat it he got it in can form this year)
Gravy
Dinner rolls (made by me!)
Dessert:
Pecan Pie
Squash Pie
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (made by me!)
Interested in what our meal looked like in 2010 and 2009?
Does your family make too much food for Thanksgiving? How many people are you having over to your house? Whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great Turkey Day!
As usual, CP is planning on making way too much food for only 5 people. But at least I know where he gets it from- his mom is baking 4 (!!) pies (AGAIN) to bring down which is so ridiculous. Her excuse is that her friend and friend’s brother will be stopping by for dessert on Thursday night. Luckily I only like two of the desserts so I won’t be tempted by the other two.
Our meal:
Butternut squash bisque
Salad with pears and gorgonzola cheese (featuring lettuce from our garden!)
Turkey (currently sitting in a maple brine)
Mashed potatoes
Wild rice salad (healthier than stuffing)
Roasted root veggies (carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes)
Kale and bacon
Cranberry sauce (since CP is the only one to eat it he got it in can form this year)
Gravy
Dinner rolls (made by me!)
Dessert:
Pecan Pie
Squash Pie
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (made by me!)
Interested in what our meal looked like in 2010 and 2009?
Does your family make too much food for Thanksgiving? How many people are you having over to your house? Whatever you are doing, I hope that you have a great Turkey Day!
11.18.2011
Looking forward to warm weather
Yesterday I alluded to our upcoming vacation….in three weeks CP and I will be headed to the Bahamas (Paradise Island to be exact)! My parents have a time share so we are staying right next to Atlantis FOR FREE. Yay for a free hotel!
Check out that water!!!
Check out that water!!!We really haven’t planned this vacation too much. Partly because that is our m.o. for vacations and partly because we have been too busy with having no power, my surgery, etc. I have been to the Bahamas before, but it was a quick cruise so I only got to spend a couple of hours on each island. CP has never been down there before so it will all be new to him!
This is not our usual type of vacation because it is a pretty touristy place. We certainly aren’t going to complain, but I think that it is going to be hard to get to a local restaurant to sample REAL food….not just the meal plan Atlantis tries to push on you (which we didn't get. $69/day? Ridonkulous). But, we are going to try to find a grocery store (locals have to get their food somewhere right?) to search out weird and new things to eat as we have a full kitchen where we are staying.
Has anyone been there? Do you have suggestions on things to do there? How about a nice restaurant? We will be there during my birthday which means we will be headed out for a nice dinner! I think that we are going to try to do one day of scuba diving. The doctor has cleared me for that, but I have a feeling that the doctor doesn’t realize how heavy the tank is out of the water. :-) I’ll just have to see how my stomach is feeling when we get down there. Other than that we have no plans except for kicking it at the pool/beach drinking fruity drinks.
Warm weather awaits…..
This is not our usual type of vacation because it is a pretty touristy place. We certainly aren’t going to complain, but I think that it is going to be hard to get to a local restaurant to sample REAL food….not just the meal plan Atlantis tries to push on you (which we didn't get. $69/day? Ridonkulous). But, we are going to try to find a grocery store (locals have to get their food somewhere right?) to search out weird and new things to eat as we have a full kitchen where we are staying.
Has anyone been there? Do you have suggestions on things to do there? How about a nice restaurant? We will be there during my birthday which means we will be headed out for a nice dinner! I think that we are going to try to do one day of scuba diving. The doctor has cleared me for that, but I have a feeling that the doctor doesn’t realize how heavy the tank is out of the water. :-) I’ll just have to see how my stomach is feeling when we get down there. Other than that we have no plans except for kicking it at the pool/beach drinking fruity drinks.
Warm weather awaits…..
11.17.2011
Back on the horse
Today is the first day that I am allowed to drive….but that’s not what I am excited about. Today is the first day since my surgery that I am allowed to exercise!* It’s just walking, but at least it’s something.
During lunch today I took Buster on a 25 minute walk. After that I took Fuzzy Britches for a 20 minute walk. For the most part, it felt great. I had a dull pain in my lower right abdomen, close to one of my incisions, but it was manageable. I have it when I am just walking around our house on a daily basis anyway, but I made sure not to push it too much.
So walking is my only allowable form of exercise for another three weeks or so. It’s frustrating, but I can only imagine how much pain running would produce. Even though I can only walk, it would be nice to lose a few pounds before our vacation- does anyone have any suggestions for walking weight off (other than just walk a lot? Ha ha.)? I know that losing weight/toning up is 75% eating right so I’m adding more salads/healthy things….the good news is that my two weeks off from the surgery didn’t add any weight to my body. I never asked the doctor if I could do squats, lunges, etc. so I’m guessing those are out of the question….along with weights. What is a girl to do??
*I sort of cheated and took Buster for a 25 minute walk yesterday because I had to get out of the house! Shhhhh.
During lunch today I took Buster on a 25 minute walk. After that I took Fuzzy Britches for a 20 minute walk. For the most part, it felt great. I had a dull pain in my lower right abdomen, close to one of my incisions, but it was manageable. I have it when I am just walking around our house on a daily basis anyway, but I made sure not to push it too much.
So walking is my only allowable form of exercise for another three weeks or so. It’s frustrating, but I can only imagine how much pain running would produce. Even though I can only walk, it would be nice to lose a few pounds before our vacation- does anyone have any suggestions for walking weight off (other than just walk a lot? Ha ha.)? I know that losing weight/toning up is 75% eating right so I’m adding more salads/healthy things….the good news is that my two weeks off from the surgery didn’t add any weight to my body. I never asked the doctor if I could do squats, lunges, etc. so I’m guessing those are out of the question….along with weights. What is a girl to do??
*I sort of cheated and took Buster for a 25 minute walk yesterday because I had to get out of the house! Shhhhh.
11.15.2011
Almost Wordless Wednesday
This is what our street looks like 2 1/2 weeks after Winter Storm Alfred. Our town has promised to pick up the tree branches- we just aren't sure when.
The dogs have enjoyed their new chew toys.....
Especially this limb....
Fuzzy Britches' favorite thing these days is to squeeze herself into the smallest places possible....here it is under a side table.
Being at home while CP works has made me bored....so I made a test batch of dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. They turned out great!
We also had very brown bananas so I made banana bread muffins with raisins. Yum!
Despite lots of leaf stalks breaking due to Winter Storm Alfred, the brussel sprout plants are surviving and the sprouts are getting bigger!
Winter beets are looking good under our winter greenhouse.
Spinach on the left, swiss chard on the right and out-of-control lettuce in the back!New trees
Earlier this summer, we received an advertisement from the Arbor Day Foundation. If we joined (for only $10), we would receive 10 free trees and 2 shrubs for planting (the trees you receive depend on your location in the country)! We don't have a ton of room in our small yard, but we have been looking for a tree for the front yard and we would love a nice shrub to cover up the concrete wall on the back of the garage....so we sent in the membership fee and promptly forgot about it.
Fast forward to Saturday. What looked like a newspaper bag arrived in the mail with 10 dormant trees and 2 dormant shrubs. The instructions suggested planting them in a raised bed or garden for a year so that the tree doesn't have to compete against weeds. Because of our winter garden we didn't have any room for the trees in our raised beds so I decided to plant them in pots. I planted all of them in case some don't make it (if all of them end up surviving I will have to find family, neighbors, or friends to plant the leftovers!).
The dormant sticks
I am hoping that the trees survive the winter. I can either leave them near the side of the house (where they are now) or bring them inside to our sunporch. They will get more sun outside, but will obviously be subjected to the cold. If I bring them inside they will still get some sun (but not full sun) and will stay at least above freezing. Any thoughts on what we should do?
Meanwhile, this is what the trees will look like YEARS down the road....
Crapemyrtle
Eastern Redbud
Sargent Crabapple
Washington Hawthorn
White Flowering Dogwood*I was not asked to write about the Arbor Day Foundation- I just wanted to get the word out!
11.14.2011
Finally some good news in 2011
With every passing day, I feel a little bit better. Today I was able to get out of bed unassisted with only a twinge of pain in my stomach. That is quite a difference from a week ago when getting out of bed by myself elicited moans of pain. My doctor is allowing me to work from home this week and thank goodness he did (and that my company allows that)- I was getting extremely bored at home while CP did work. Turns out there is only so much tv you can watch (and that’s when we had power).
I had my post-op appointment on Thursday. I had wanted to post about it on Friday but OUR POWER WENT OUT AGAIN. I was seriously going to shoot someone, anyone. But luckily it came back on in the late afternoon and lives were spared. :-) The appointment went great. The doctor usually sees patients two weeks out so he was surprised to see how well I was doing only a week out.
Basically he believes that the reason that CP and I have been unable to get pregnant is because of the endometriosis* he found during the surgery. To recap, the doctor found three things: the fibroid, endometriosis, and a cyst.
-The cyst that he found was not a big deal (it was benign) and he removed it because if we ever do IVF down the road, it can be mistaken for a follicle.
-The fibroid was big (size of a baseball) and stretched my uterine wall. It probably would have caused a miscarriage, but wouldn’t have hindered actually getting pregnant. He took pictures that I REALLY wanted to see (because I’m weird like that) but couldn’t pull them up while we were in the office. Boooo.
-The endo was a surprise to find. I don’t have any of the symptoms (bleeding in between periods, pain during sex), but the doctor said that often times people don’t have symptoms (the one symptom that I did have was irregularly heavy bleeding during periods but that is also a symptom for fibroids too). The only way to really know if you have endo is to have laparoscopic surgery (less invasive than mine). I obviously no longer need to have that surgery as my doctor was able to remove all of the endo. I guess I was kind of lucky to already be heading in for surgery for the fibroid because I got a two-for-one surgery! Ha ha. I was a “Level 2” endo patient which means that it wasn’t too bad, but it was located in a bunch of different places. I didn’t have any scar tissue from the endo which is great news.
My doctor looked through our health records and concluded that the endo was likely the sole reason I wasn’t getting pregnant. He checked CP’s sperm analysis and although the number of “good sperm” swimming around is low, CP is producing more than the normal amount of semen and should have enough good sperm to get my pregnant. This was music to CP’s ears. It also made me happy because this is what I wanted all along….to be the reason that we didn’t get pregnant because it is often easier to fix whatever is wrong with the woman than it is to fix what is wrong with the man.
We do have to wait until the end of January to start trying again (for my uterus to heal), but my doctor said that we have a great chance of doing it on our own now that the endo is gone! In about a week and a half the Lupron will be out of my system and I’m hoping to get my period sometime soon afterwards (but who knows how long that is going to take). I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much….
* Endometriosis is the growth of endometrial tissue-which normally lines the uterus-in other parts of the body. Endometriosis typically grows in the abdominal cavity and most often attaches to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, outer surface of the uterus, bowels, or other abdominal organs. Endometriosis growths, called implants or lesions, often bleed during menstruation, causing pain. They may also develop scar tissue (adhesions) that can interfere with an organ's normal function. Scar tissue can also cause pain and difficulty becoming pregnant.
11.10.2011
Recovery
This week has been at times painful, at times boring, and at times annoying. The first night in the hospital was a mix of short bouts of sleep, then bouts of pain. I asked for morphine twice and then decided that twice was enough for me. The second time I think that the morphine resulted in a 30 minute long hot flash which originally convinced me that I had an infection in one of the incision sites (temperature turned out fine).
CP brought cut up pineapple that I tried to eat throughout the night. The nurse brought water and ginger ale- the latter to help move the CO2 gas out of my stomach.* At 2:30am the nurse had me sit up in bed which felt like my insides were ripping apart. Eventually I stood up with shaking legs and walked around the nurse's station (walking helps with soreness the next day).
After getting discharged with a prescription of Percocet and Motrin, CP took me home to no power (thankfully he hooked heat up to the generator Thursday night). I feel asleep on the couch while he picked up my mom at the airport.
My mom was here until Monday morning and was a big help. She helped CP move fallen limbs from Winter Storm Alfred, wash dishes and take care of me. I know that she would have done more cleaning-wise if we only had power! After EIGHT DAYS of no power, it finally came on Sunday night- and thank goodness. Reading put me right to sleep, now at least I can fall asleep to the tv.
I feel better than I thought I would. Walking isn't too difficult, it's just sitting up. I have someone help me when they are around because otherwise it is seriously painful. Having to pee in the middle of the night is the worst because I would feel bad asking CP to wake up to help me get out of bed. Also, weird movements trigger pain.
Even more painful than sitting up is the constipation. Percocet and Motrin both constipate people which the doctors warned me about. They didn't warn me that a stool softener once a day and five laxatives in addition to fiber-friendly foods would result in the most painful bowel movement I have ever had on Monday. Thank goodness that is over with....
Today I have some bruising and soreness around all of the incisions which is normal. My belly is still inflamed, but hopefully that goes down soon. Cross your fingers my post-op appointment goes well today!
*During the procedure the doctors pump CO2 gas into the stomach to blow it up. After the procedure they remove as much as possible, but inevitably leave some. The gas is eventually absorbed by your body, but often patients have shoulder pain for a day or two after surgery like I did.
CP brought cut up pineapple that I tried to eat throughout the night. The nurse brought water and ginger ale- the latter to help move the CO2 gas out of my stomach.* At 2:30am the nurse had me sit up in bed which felt like my insides were ripping apart. Eventually I stood up with shaking legs and walked around the nurse's station (walking helps with soreness the next day).
After getting discharged with a prescription of Percocet and Motrin, CP took me home to no power (thankfully he hooked heat up to the generator Thursday night). I feel asleep on the couch while he picked up my mom at the airport.
My mom was here until Monday morning and was a big help. She helped CP move fallen limbs from Winter Storm Alfred, wash dishes and take care of me. I know that she would have done more cleaning-wise if we only had power! After EIGHT DAYS of no power, it finally came on Sunday night- and thank goodness. Reading put me right to sleep, now at least I can fall asleep to the tv.
I feel better than I thought I would. Walking isn't too difficult, it's just sitting up. I have someone help me when they are around because otherwise it is seriously painful. Having to pee in the middle of the night is the worst because I would feel bad asking CP to wake up to help me get out of bed. Also, weird movements trigger pain.
Even more painful than sitting up is the constipation. Percocet and Motrin both constipate people which the doctors warned me about. They didn't warn me that a stool softener once a day and five laxatives in addition to fiber-friendly foods would result in the most painful bowel movement I have ever had on Monday. Thank goodness that is over with....
Today I have some bruising and soreness around all of the incisions which is normal. My belly is still inflamed, but hopefully that goes down soon. Cross your fingers my post-op appointment goes well today!
*During the procedure the doctors pump CO2 gas into the stomach to blow it up. After the procedure they remove as much as possible, but inevitably leave some. The gas is eventually absorbed by your body, but often patients have shoulder pain for a day or two after surgery like I did.
11.09.2011
Fertility busters
As you saw from yesterday's post, I survived my surgery. During my surgery I was placed on a table with an incline with my head towards the floor. I guess it helps to move the organs out of the way for the robotic arms to do their job. It took a little bit longer than expected because while the doctor said during the pre-op appointment that he would take a look around my uterus to make sure there was nothing else going on, he didn't expect to find a cyst and endometriosis.
I had some trouble waking up after surgery. CP was supposed to be able to see me afterwards (the doctor finished around 4:30pm) but around 6:30pm he left to take out the dogs and feed them. I remember being wheeled from the recovery room to my hospital room and every time we hit a bump it HURT. Once we got to the room I asked for CP and the nurses told me that he had to go home so I didn't get to see him until 8pm or so.
When CP told me about the extra infertility-causing items in my uterus, I was surprised, crushed and in a way, relieved. I guess I always figured that it couldn't just be the fibroid and CP's sperm. Maybe now that my uterus has been cleaned out CP and I won't even need the help of a fertility doctor?
But then again, cysts, fibroids, and endometrosis ALL can come back. Whichever way we work on getting pregnant, we need to do it as soon as my uterus heals (three months) so that the pregnancy will keep those things away. I definitely don't want to have to go on Lupron again, take birth control or go through another surgery.
I had some trouble waking up after surgery. CP was supposed to be able to see me afterwards (the doctor finished around 4:30pm) but around 6:30pm he left to take out the dogs and feed them. I remember being wheeled from the recovery room to my hospital room and every time we hit a bump it HURT. Once we got to the room I asked for CP and the nurses told me that he had to go home so I didn't get to see him until 8pm or so.
When CP told me about the extra infertility-causing items in my uterus, I was surprised, crushed and in a way, relieved. I guess I always figured that it couldn't just be the fibroid and CP's sperm. Maybe now that my uterus has been cleaned out CP and I won't even need the help of a fertility doctor?
But then again, cysts, fibroids, and endometrosis ALL can come back. Whichever way we work on getting pregnant, we need to do it as soon as my uterus heals (three months) so that the pregnancy will keep those things away. I definitely don't want to have to go on Lupron again, take birth control or go through another surgery.
11.08.2011
I survived!
This is what I tried to post from my phone in the wee hours of Friday morning:
Surgery went okay. It ended up lasting 4.5 hours. I didn't get a chance to talk to my doctor afterwards, but CP talked to him. Not only did I have a baseball-sized fibroid tumor, but the doctor also found and removed endometriosis AND a benign cyst. Triple threat!
No wonder we haven't been able to get pregnant!!!
Morphine is the bomb-diggity but the after-effects of anethestia suck. Everytime i get cold i start to shake uncontrollably. That doesn't make my belly area feel good at all.
Surgery went okay. It ended up lasting 4.5 hours. I didn't get a chance to talk to my doctor afterwards, but CP talked to him. Not only did I have a baseball-sized fibroid tumor, but the doctor also found and removed endometriosis AND a benign cyst. Triple threat!
No wonder we haven't been able to get pregnant!!!
Morphine is the bomb-diggity but the after-effects of anethestia suck. Everytime i get cold i start to shake uncontrollably. That doesn't make my belly area feel good at all.
11.02.2011
Going under
Fibroid surgery is tomorrow. I’m not worried about it because I am too busy at work and then when we are home, we are dealing with the whole no power ordeal. I keep telling myself that having no power could be worse, but then again, how sanitary are things going to be around my house when I get home from surgery if we don’t have power? We have been heating water on the stove (thank goodness for a gas stove) in order to wash dishes, but we would have to heat a lot of water for a shower!
CP found a Courtyard about an hour away that has an open room for the weekend and was urging me to go there (worried about me? Or not wanting to deal with my complaining? A little of both?). I don’t want to spend the money- I also worry about being able to sit in a car for an hour. I would just rather be home than in a hotel. I’ll hopefully sleep most of the powerless-days away anyway. I HAD planned on a bunch of trash tv watching, but with the power out I guess I will read a lot of books and be very very bored.
Our power company says our electricity should be back on by Sunday at midnight. My timeline until then:
*CP and I head to the hospital tomorrow morning at 10:30am.
*Surgery starts at 12pm.
*Surgery should last until 3pm or so.
*I stay the night at the hospital with heat and electricity (CP will go home to be with the dogs).
*Friday morning I am released from the hospital to a home with no power, heat, hot water, etc.
*Friday afternoon CP picks up my mom from the airport. My poor mom is flying out for the weekend to help CP out and will have to wear sweaters all weekend and a headlamp! Moms are great.
At least the temperatures for the next five days should be in the 50s during the day.
I may not be posting for a bit. First we have to get our power on. Second I have to be able to sit at a computer (my work laptop does not allow for WiFi and we don’t have a tablet) long enough to craft a post. I’ll try to at least update that I survived! :-)
In the meantime, I have a few restrictions for the next couple of weeks:
*Stairs only once a day so that means staying on the first floor all day (where we have a bathroom, the couch near the fireplace, and the kitchen) until I am ready for bed.
*No driving for two weeks (!)
*No walking for exercise for two+ weeks.
*No lifting anything for a month.
*Eating, showering, etc. should be normal, but I won’t have much of an appetite when I am on the heavy drugs the first couple of days.
*I may have some pain the first couple of days as the CO2 they have to pump into my stomach gets absorbed into my body. It tends to be pain in your right shoulder (weird).
*I will likely have bruising and soreness for a week+ in my incision points.
As my doctor said, this is major surgery on the inside (to the uterus), but not major surgery on the outside.
…..And here we go!
CP found a Courtyard about an hour away that has an open room for the weekend and was urging me to go there (worried about me? Or not wanting to deal with my complaining? A little of both?). I don’t want to spend the money- I also worry about being able to sit in a car for an hour. I would just rather be home than in a hotel. I’ll hopefully sleep most of the powerless-days away anyway. I HAD planned on a bunch of trash tv watching, but with the power out I guess I will read a lot of books and be very very bored.
Our power company says our electricity should be back on by Sunday at midnight. My timeline until then:
*CP and I head to the hospital tomorrow morning at 10:30am.
*Surgery starts at 12pm.
*Surgery should last until 3pm or so.
*I stay the night at the hospital with heat and electricity (CP will go home to be with the dogs).
*Friday morning I am released from the hospital to a home with no power, heat, hot water, etc.
*Friday afternoon CP picks up my mom from the airport. My poor mom is flying out for the weekend to help CP out and will have to wear sweaters all weekend and a headlamp! Moms are great.
At least the temperatures for the next five days should be in the 50s during the day.
I may not be posting for a bit. First we have to get our power on. Second I have to be able to sit at a computer (my work laptop does not allow for WiFi and we don’t have a tablet) long enough to craft a post. I’ll try to at least update that I survived! :-)
In the meantime, I have a few restrictions for the next couple of weeks:
*Stairs only once a day so that means staying on the first floor all day (where we have a bathroom, the couch near the fireplace, and the kitchen) until I am ready for bed.
*No driving for two weeks (!)
*No walking for exercise for two+ weeks.
*No lifting anything for a month.
*Eating, showering, etc. should be normal, but I won’t have much of an appetite when I am on the heavy drugs the first couple of days.
*I may have some pain the first couple of days as the CO2 they have to pump into my stomach gets absorbed into my body. It tends to be pain in your right shoulder (weird).
*I will likely have bruising and soreness for a week+ in my incision points.
As my doctor said, this is major surgery on the inside (to the uterus), but not major surgery on the outside.
…..And here we go!
11.01.2011
Winter Storm Alfred
Winter Storm “Alfred” hit our town at 12pm on Saturday. CP and I were in the middle of trying to put up greenhouse plastic on our raised beds when the snow started. Afterwards we had lunch, ran a few errands and came home before the roads got bad. By 4pm, in the middle of doing laundry, our power went out.
The dogs when it first started to snow
The greenhouse plastic held up through the storm!
Out came the headlamps and hand-crank lantern we bought after Hurricane Irene. We grabbed bags full of wood to start the fire. Heavy snow mixed with the leaves still on our trees spelled disaster. Soon after we started to hear tree limbs crack and fall down to the ground- at least one every five minutes. That continued through Sunday morning.
Our street is a mess
At least the dogs are enjoying the snow (Sunday morning)
Buster's first snow (he LOVED it)!
The dogs when it first started to snow
The greenhouse plastic held up through the storm! Out came the headlamps and hand-crank lantern we bought after Hurricane Irene. We grabbed bags full of wood to start the fire. Heavy snow mixed with the leaves still on our trees spelled disaster. Soon after we started to hear tree limbs crack and fall down to the ground- at least one every five minutes. That continued through Sunday morning.
Our street is a mess
At least the dogs are enjoying the snow (Sunday morning)
Buster's first snow (he LOVED it)!The first two nights we slept downstairs on the floor in front of the fire in our sleeping bags with the dogs. Last night we decided to sleep upstairs in our bed because the low was only going to be 30 (only! Ha ha) and our backs were a little sore. CP was able to procure a generator from a coworker yesterday so we were able to save the hundreds of dollars of homemade food and CSA beef in our downstairs freezer. Work has power so I have been there the past two days. Going into work means the ability to take a hot shower and the chance to plug in my phone.
There are no estimates on when we will get our power back and my town looks like a war zone. Things could be worse though. We have tons of limbs down in our front and backyard from neighbor’s trees, but nothing hit our house or cars. It would just be nice to have power….and heat….and grocery stores/gas stations/ATMs/etc. open.
There are no estimates on when we will get our power back and my town looks like a war zone. Things could be worse though. We have tons of limbs down in our front and backyard from neighbor’s trees, but nothing hit our house or cars. It would just be nice to have power….and heat….and grocery stores/gas stations/ATMs/etc. open.
10.28.2011
Friday dump
Wow. The work week flies by when you don’t post (or don’t really have any time to read other people’s posts)! My life these days:
- Work has been crazy. Trying to attend meetings and get caught up on reading background for projects that were just explained to me the day before is stressful. Not only do I have projects from the person that is leaving, but new projects are getting announced that I am a part of so most of my day is sitting through trainings or conferences.
- I met with my oral surgeon for my jaw surgery. Because my teeth started to move right after my wedding (when I started to wear a night guard for grinding), he thinks that the guard could possibly be moving my teeth. He had me not wear the guard while sleeping for a month and already my bite has closed 1 millimeter! We are going to wait another three months to see if my bite moves back to normal even more and then depending on where the teeth sit, I MAY NOT HAVE TO GET MY JAW BROKEN!!! I might still need braces, but frankly if my teeth are not perfect and I can at least chew on both sides of my mouth, I could put braces off for a little bit.
- Last weekend CP and I had our cookout. We had perfect weather and a good turnout. Buster was a little scared with all of the new people- he would bark at them- but he got better as the day wore on. The kids weren’t huge fans of the barking, but everyone made friends with the dogs at some point. Both dogs were very excited to get all of the dropped food. I didn’t end up having enough time to run out and get any of your suggested toys for the kids but it turns out that we didn’t need any! The kids spent an entire hour giggling and having a blast while going in and out of the doggie door. Kids can make anything fun.
- After the kids left we played Beirut in our basement. I was originally against the idea because who wants their finished basement to smell like a frat house after a party? But we kept a mop out just in case a cup fell over (only two) and the tiles are just fine. It was definitely much more comfortable in the basement without the cold and the bugs.
- The next day we were hungover from drinking for 12 hours, but knew that we had to at least plant the rest of the seeds and get the garden cloth covers over the rest of the raised beds. Good thing we did because CP was out of town for work all week and it SNOWED last night! After work today and during the day tomorrow we are going to have to work quickly to get the greenhouse plastic on the beds because we are forecasted to get 6-10 inches of snow tomorrow!!!! TOO EARLY.
- My friend and I went to a hip hop class last week. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to like it and start taking the classes. Unfortunately the woman who runs the dance studio is disorganized. She likes to talk too much at the beginning and doesn’t have music or the steps ready before class starts. I have never taken a step class or a power class where the instructor has to sit and think about what they want to do next. It was extremely frustrating because she would put together moves that required too much movement within the beats of the too-fast music. Thank goodness the class was free!
- A bunch of friends and I went on a haunted hayride on Friday. There were some things that jumped out at you, but for the most part I was tense and looking for the things that were trying to scare us. Other people sat back and had fun, whereas I intentionally ruined the experience for myself because I didn’t want to look foolish jumping at something that came out of the woods. *sigh* I suck.
- Yesterday we got our house insulated. It had some insulation, but it was most likely original to the house (1948) and seriously needed an update. I’m hoping we see a difference in our gas bill this winter!!
Phew. It’s been a busy week and the beginning of next week is going to be just as bad with trying to cram things in before my surgery. Thank goodness for the weekend!
10.21.2011
Uncomfortable
One of my coworkers is….odd (we’ll call him Mike). He is very smart, but doesn’t have people skills. I would say that it is highly possible that he has some form of autism. He will ask nonsensical questions in meetings, go off on tangents and pull facts and figures from who knows where. He openly takes magazines from the break room into the bathroom (ewwww) and regularly eats only three oranges for lunch (I mistakenly asked him about it one day and got a 30 minute lecture on why. I can’t tell you what he was talking about, just that most of my thoughts when listening to him were about how to get out of the conversation). I am never rude to him and say hi in the hallways, but generally don’t engage him in conversation because I simply don’t want to have 30-60 minute conversations with him (I use this tactic on other people in the office too because some people are TALKERS).
Anyway, Mike is known for his overeating. He is not overweight but if given free food at a meeting, conference, company function, etc. he eats EVERYTHING possible. At our last employee meeting he took an entire bowlful of fruit (along with a muffin, bagel, yogurt, etc) then hovered while the rest of us got food. Meanwhile he is shoving food into his mouth the entire time so that he can make room for more food on his plate once the line died down.
Taking him to conferences and meetings can be embarrassing because of his eating habits. Yesterday I attended a conference with a number of my colleagues, including Mike. We sat down for lunch and he quickly shoveled down his salad and dessert because it was in front of him. Our entrees came and he quickly ate all of his chicken piccata, vegetables and rice. The woman sitting next to me recently had lap-band surgery and can’t eat much so she offered up her extra piece of chicken to him. He took it and ate it. Another woman at the table is pregnant and also can’t eat much anymore so she offered up her extra piece of chicken. He ate that too. Another woman didn’t want her dessert so she offered it up to him. He said that he was too full, but said she could put it in front of him. Two minutes later he ate that too. He turned to me afterwards and said, “I don’t normally eat like this. This is a special occasion.”
After lunch he left the table and a couple of coworkers were joking that he probably went to look for more food. I felt disgusted not only with how much he ate but the fact that it almost seemed like my coworkers were pushing their food on him. If they know that he overeats in these situations and they themselves get embarrassed, why push their extra food towards him? Did it make them feel better? Are they doing it because they are overweight themselves? Does it make them feel better because then they didn’t eat as much as him?
I don’t know what the answer is but the whole thing made me uncomfortable. There was no chance for Mike to get any extra food after the meal was over. If the three women hadn’t pushed their extras to him, I don’t think that he would have asked for it. It’s almost unfair that they push their food onto him and then when he leaves the table, then make fun of him.
Anyway, Mike is known for his overeating. He is not overweight but if given free food at a meeting, conference, company function, etc. he eats EVERYTHING possible. At our last employee meeting he took an entire bowlful of fruit (along with a muffin, bagel, yogurt, etc) then hovered while the rest of us got food. Meanwhile he is shoving food into his mouth the entire time so that he can make room for more food on his plate once the line died down.
Taking him to conferences and meetings can be embarrassing because of his eating habits. Yesterday I attended a conference with a number of my colleagues, including Mike. We sat down for lunch and he quickly shoveled down his salad and dessert because it was in front of him. Our entrees came and he quickly ate all of his chicken piccata, vegetables and rice. The woman sitting next to me recently had lap-band surgery and can’t eat much so she offered up her extra piece of chicken to him. He took it and ate it. Another woman at the table is pregnant and also can’t eat much anymore so she offered up her extra piece of chicken. He ate that too. Another woman didn’t want her dessert so she offered it up to him. He said that he was too full, but said she could put it in front of him. Two minutes later he ate that too. He turned to me afterwards and said, “I don’t normally eat like this. This is a special occasion.”
After lunch he left the table and a couple of coworkers were joking that he probably went to look for more food. I felt disgusted not only with how much he ate but the fact that it almost seemed like my coworkers were pushing their food on him. If they know that he overeats in these situations and they themselves get embarrassed, why push their extra food towards him? Did it make them feel better? Are they doing it because they are overweight themselves? Does it make them feel better because then they didn’t eat as much as him?
I don’t know what the answer is but the whole thing made me uncomfortable. There was no chance for Mike to get any extra food after the meal was over. If the three women hadn’t pushed their extras to him, I don’t think that he would have asked for it. It’s almost unfair that they push their food onto him and then when he leaves the table, then make fun of him.
10.20.2011
Kids help
This weekend CP and I are having a cookout. I’m excited to get friends together from different stages of both of our lives (that was one of the best parts of our wedding), including new friends in our current town.
This is our problem: most of our friends have kids. Our house is not set up for kids/childproofed so we are going to have to be careful about that. But we also don’t have any games or things for kids to do at our house. Obviously if there were no kids coming we would break out the stump and the Beirut table for some over-21 fun. But with kids that makes it more difficult.
We will have a mix of kids ranging from 18 months to 8 years old. We have the entire backyard to use- we were thinking of playing Bocce Ball (as long as the dogs don’t think the balls are their toys) because that is something that most of the kids and the adults could play. We also have a Frisbee and dog toys that squeak (ha ha). But other than that? No idea.
We don’t particularly want to spend money on things that will just sit at our house unused after this party. And with such a large age range, how are we going to keep all of them occupied? We were thinking that keeping the kids outside as much as possible would limit the damage they would do to our furniture/house inside. Thankfully it is scheduled to be a nice day out on Saturday.
HELP US. Do you have any ideas?
This is our problem: most of our friends have kids. Our house is not set up for kids/childproofed so we are going to have to be careful about that. But we also don’t have any games or things for kids to do at our house. Obviously if there were no kids coming we would break out the stump and the Beirut table for some over-21 fun. But with kids that makes it more difficult.
We will have a mix of kids ranging from 18 months to 8 years old. We have the entire backyard to use- we were thinking of playing Bocce Ball (as long as the dogs don’t think the balls are their toys) because that is something that most of the kids and the adults could play. We also have a Frisbee and dog toys that squeak (ha ha). But other than that? No idea.
We don’t particularly want to spend money on things that will just sit at our house unused after this party. And with such a large age range, how are we going to keep all of them occupied? We were thinking that keeping the kids outside as much as possible would limit the damage they would do to our furniture/house inside. Thankfully it is scheduled to be a nice day out on Saturday.
HELP US. Do you have any ideas?
10.18.2011
Time to stress
BOOM. Right before I was scheduled to leave work today my division had a quick meeting. The passive-aggressive woman that I thought was getting transferred down to Philly? Well she is now heading down to DC instead…but it may only be for 90-120 days. Not the permanent basis that I was hoping for, but this may mean more work for at least the next three months….
However, this comes at the worst possible time. She literally leaves Monday so I have two days to figure out what is going on with her projects. Not that she won’t be available while she is down in DC, but she will be busy working on other things and won’t have a ton of time to answer questions. In addition I have a week and a half of work before I am then out for two weeks with my fibroid surgery. I will have just gotten introduced to everyone…..then they will get the dreaded out of office notification.
This is exactly what I thought would happen. No time for a transition and right before my surgery. That’s just how my company rolls. Nice. Not only that, but we are getting into the holiday season which means the two other people in my division are going to be away a lot with their families. I might start to be a major stress ball. Already next Thursday I have three conflicting events. One in Boston, one at my office and one in southern CT. Ridonkulous.
In addition, although I can handle speaking in public just fine, a speaking engagement just fell onto my plate for next Tuesday. There will be cameras. Elected officials. Press. And I will probably be crapping my pants. I didn’t set out to be a prosecutor in law school because I am not a big fan of public speaking. If I am comfortable with the topic I should be fine….but this project is one of the ones that I know the least about. YIKES. Guess I have some reading up to do!!
At least this change allowed me to weasel out of a project I had been putting off because it requires zero thought....
However, this comes at the worst possible time. She literally leaves Monday so I have two days to figure out what is going on with her projects. Not that she won’t be available while she is down in DC, but she will be busy working on other things and won’t have a ton of time to answer questions. In addition I have a week and a half of work before I am then out for two weeks with my fibroid surgery. I will have just gotten introduced to everyone…..then they will get the dreaded out of office notification.
This is exactly what I thought would happen. No time for a transition and right before my surgery. That’s just how my company rolls. Nice. Not only that, but we are getting into the holiday season which means the two other people in my division are going to be away a lot with their families. I might start to be a major stress ball. Already next Thursday I have three conflicting events. One in Boston, one at my office and one in southern CT. Ridonkulous.
In addition, although I can handle speaking in public just fine, a speaking engagement just fell onto my plate for next Tuesday. There will be cameras. Elected officials. Press. And I will probably be crapping my pants. I didn’t set out to be a prosecutor in law school because I am not a big fan of public speaking. If I am comfortable with the topic I should be fine….but this project is one of the ones that I know the least about. YIKES. Guess I have some reading up to do!!
At least this change allowed me to weasel out of a project I had been putting off because it requires zero thought....
10.17.2011
DIY Winter Greenhouse
With our summer garden almost finished (the only plants left- eggplant, leeks, brussel sprouts, swiss chard and hot peppers), a few weeks ago CP and I planted seeds for our fall/winter garden. With some plants still left in our raised beds, we had to work around them. No biggie (especially for things like carrots and beets) because with staggered planting, we then won’t have to pull the whole crop out at once.
So most of the seeds have come up and are starting to grow. We took down the Buster-proof fences in order to turn over the soil after taking out plants and I wish that we had kept them up because we have a bunny (bunnies?) that is eating some of the seedlings. Oh well.
Anyway, this weekend we started to erect our homemade winter greenhouses over our raised beds. For anyone interested, here are the basic DIY steps to do it on your own.
Supplies needed:
Winter seeds
Metal wire
Garden cloth
Plastic greenhouse film
Heavy duty wide tape
PVC piping
Garden staples
Scissors
Our experimental guide to a winter garden:
1. Buy The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman and read it. Coleman is an organic farmer in Maine whose farm produces four seasons of veggies. If he can do it in Maine, why couldn't we do in CT?
2. Buy winter seeds- there are a few seed companies recommended by Coleman (We used Johnny’s Selected Seeds).
3. Plant winter seeds before first frost.
4. Use metal wire from the Home Depot and shape it into a wicket (or really any shape you want). Push the metal wire into the ground as much as you can, but you want to leave 2-3 feet above the ground for the plants to grow.
Metal wire
Metal wire shaped like wicket
6. We then used garden staples to hold down the garden cloth. (See picture above.) Use them all around the structure to keep the cloth from lifting up and off the ground.
7. Next we took PVC piping and made hoops. In the spring we put 1 1/2 “ pipe into the ground at all four corners and depending on the size of the bed either one or two more down the sides. We then took 1” pipe and bent it to make the hoop.
PVC piping
Roll of plastic and tape
Not the prettiest thing, but hopefully it works!
So now that you have a bit of a primer, will you try winter gardening too?
So most of the seeds have come up and are starting to grow. We took down the Buster-proof fences in order to turn over the soil after taking out plants and I wish that we had kept them up because we have a bunny (bunnies?) that is eating some of the seedlings. Oh well.
Anyway, this weekend we started to erect our homemade winter greenhouses over our raised beds. For anyone interested, here are the basic DIY steps to do it on your own.
Supplies needed:
Winter seeds
Metal wire
Garden cloth
Plastic greenhouse film
Heavy duty wide tape
PVC piping
Garden staples
Scissors
Our experimental guide to a winter garden:
1. Buy The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman and read it. Coleman is an organic farmer in Maine whose farm produces four seasons of veggies. If he can do it in Maine, why couldn't we do in CT?
2. Buy winter seeds- there are a few seed companies recommended by Coleman (We used Johnny’s Selected Seeds).
3. Plant winter seeds before first frost.
4. Use metal wire from the Home Depot and shape it into a wicket (or really any shape you want). Push the metal wire into the ground as much as you can, but you want to leave 2-3 feet above the ground for the plants to grow.
Metal wire
Metal wire shaped like wicket5. Drape wickets with garden cloth. Garden cloth (which we also used this spring to keep out pests/protect against the cold nights) can be found at a bunch of places, we get ours from Gardeners Supply. Rain is able to pass through the fabric while it also allows 85% of light to shine through (according to the website).
6. We then used garden staples to hold down the garden cloth. (See picture above.) Use them all around the structure to keep the cloth from lifting up and off the ground.7. Next we took PVC piping and made hoops. In the spring we put 1 1/2 “ pipe into the ground at all four corners and depending on the size of the bed either one or two more down the sides. We then took 1” pipe and bent it to make the hoop.
PVC piping8. Then, using the plastic greenhouse film (see picture, CP found it on Amazon) put up a sheet on the hoops at both ends of the bed. Using the big roll of tape (also found on Amazon), tape the film to the hoop with the tape located on what will be the inside of the greenhouse. Tape up most of the hoop, but leave about two feet at the bottom on both sides so that you can access the plants inside.
Roll of plastic and tape9. Then take another sheet of the plastic film and drape it from end hoop to the other end hoop (make sure there is a little bit of overhang as you are going to tape the ends down to the plastic film already on the end hoops). Use tape to place about five pieces (per hoop) on the inside of the greenhouse to affix the plastic film to the inside hoops.
10. Make sure that the garden cloth does not touch the plastic anywhere around the structure.
11. Tape or somehow affix the plastic film to the wood all around the raised bed. You don’t want any wind to get in there.
Our first bed looks like this:
10. Make sure that the garden cloth does not touch the plastic anywhere around the structure.
11. Tape or somehow affix the plastic film to the wood all around the raised bed. You don’t want any wind to get in there.
Our first bed looks like this:
Not the prettiest thing, but hopefully it works!We used a bungee cord to keep the plastic down on the left side. Because the top of the raised bed on the right side is flush with the ground (stupid sloping backyard), we currently have bricks holding down the plastic. We will probably have to do a little more once there is danger of freezing temperatures at night.
Coleman claims that we won’t have to water the entire winter. The plastic will keep the freezing temperatures out and as long as the cloth and plastic film don’t touch, the temperatures in the bed will stay right above freezing. Condensation from the cold outdoor temps and the hotter temps inside the plastic will help water the plants. Crazy huh?
This winter we have planted (the plants need to be ones that are hardier/grow in colder temps. They are going to grow at a slower pace, but according to Coleman, things like carrots are going to be very sweet because they do take a long time to mature):
Bok choy
Pak choi
Golden beets
Carrots
Kale
Spinach
Romaine lettuce
Asian greens
Swiss chard
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Radishes
Coleman claims that we won’t have to water the entire winter. The plastic will keep the freezing temperatures out and as long as the cloth and plastic film don’t touch, the temperatures in the bed will stay right above freezing. Condensation from the cold outdoor temps and the hotter temps inside the plastic will help water the plants. Crazy huh?
This winter we have planted (the plants need to be ones that are hardier/grow in colder temps. They are going to grow at a slower pace, but according to Coleman, things like carrots are going to be very sweet because they do take a long time to mature):
Bok choy
Pak choi
Golden beets
Carrots
Kale
Spinach
Romaine lettuce
Asian greens
Swiss chard
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Radishes
So now that you have a bit of a primer, will you try winter gardening too?
10.14.2011
Debating
I am having an internal debate over exercising. Specifically, exercising prior to my surgery.
As of yesterday I have three weeks until my surgery. Not tons of time to whip myself into shape, but three weeks COULD make a difference. I could continue walking the dogs every day (at least a mile) and do something like the 30 Day Shred or Killer Buns and Thighs. My brain KNOWS that the more exercise I put in before the surgery, the easier it will be to get back into exercising when I am cleared to do so. It will probably aid my recovery from the surgery. Not to mention the fact that only a month after surgery CP and I will be in the Bahamas and I’ll have to be in a bathing suit (who’s grand idea was that???).
But my other LAZY brain keeps telling me that three weeks isn’t going to do anything. That I am going to be a blob by the time I get to exercise again anyway….why not relax before the surgery?
Anyone have any insight into working out before surgery? Can anyone give me any inspirational words to get my a** into gear? I clearly have a bunch of reasons why I should but my lazy brain is currently winning…..
As of yesterday I have three weeks until my surgery. Not tons of time to whip myself into shape, but three weeks COULD make a difference. I could continue walking the dogs every day (at least a mile) and do something like the 30 Day Shred or Killer Buns and Thighs. My brain KNOWS that the more exercise I put in before the surgery, the easier it will be to get back into exercising when I am cleared to do so. It will probably aid my recovery from the surgery. Not to mention the fact that only a month after surgery CP and I will be in the Bahamas and I’ll have to be in a bathing suit (who’s grand idea was that???).
But my other LAZY brain keeps telling me that three weeks isn’t going to do anything. That I am going to be a blob by the time I get to exercise again anyway….why not relax before the surgery?
Anyone have any insight into working out before surgery? Can anyone give me any inspirational words to get my a** into gear? I clearly have a bunch of reasons why I should but my lazy brain is currently winning…..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)