Thursday, December 31, 2009

2009 In Review

As 2009 draws to a close, I thought that it would be fun to take a look back at what the year has been. Let's go!

January

* I celebrated the 100th post on the blog.
* We found the house that we put an offer on

February

* Drew made me a candlelight dinner for my birthday.
* We had trouble with the inspection and closing on our house.
* We were almost famous.
* Drew celebrated his birthday
* We closed on our house with only 2 days to move out of our apartment. Awesome!

March

* I finally posted some pictures of the move
* The 22nd marked 5 years since I lost my father

April

* We celebrated Easter weekend by going to not one, but two Cubs games with some friends.
* We had our housewarming party.
* Drew and I marked our 6 month anniversary.
* Our "tenants" moved in.

May

* I began the horrible journey towards the endometriosis diagnosis.
* We began doing some outside work on the house and started on the lilac bushes.
* Then, Drew dropped the ugly pine tree in our front yard.

June

* I chopped my hair.
* Rockford received a huge amount of rain and a Canadian National train derailed not too far from our house
* I absolutely lost it!

July

* Journey To Together celebrated it's 1st birthday
* Drew and I went to North Carolina to visit Drew and Jen and welcome baby Emma. We took a quick trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

August

* Drew and I had a play day with my sister
* More doctor's appointments
* No cancer!!
* Airfest 2009

September

* Drew and I spent Labor Day together at the park
* We decided that surgery was the next step.
* My mom turned 50 and we surprised her good!

October

* Drew surprised me with a new kitten for my anniversary present
* We celebrated one year of marital bliss
* I had surgery
* We actually had trick-or-treaters and went to a party at Adam and Nicole's

November

* I had a follow-up appointment at the doctor and we decided to go on birth control
* I quit the bank and revealed that I had been working a new job since September
* We went to Georgia for Thanksgiving
* Our hard drive died and we completely lost everything on our computer

December

* We had a snowfall and shoveled our driveway for the first time as homeowners
* My family's Christmas Eve party was held here
* We celebrated Christmas Day with Drew's family
* I had to go to the ER

I had forgotten about a lot of things that had happened! This was fun for me and I hope that you enjoyed looking back with me. Here's to 2010!! Let's hope that it's much better healthwise, right?

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Presage / PRES-ij; pre-SEYJ / noun
1. An indication or warning of a future event; an omen.
2. A feeling or intuition of what the future holds.
3. Prophetic significance.
4. [Archaic] A prediction; a prognostication.
transitive verb:
1. To indicate or warn of beforehand; to foreshadow.
2. To have a presentiment of.
3. To predict; to foretell.
intransitive verb:
1. To make or utter a prediction.

Although the enlightenment and liberation which had been expected to come after the war had not come with victory, a presage of freedom was in the air throughout these post-war years, and it was their only historical meaning.
-- Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago

Never before, perhaps, in the history of the world, was an hour so fateful, so full of presage, as the present. Big with starting possibilities, unfolding vistas of unimagined boldness and beauty, it speaks with a very trumpet-call of eternally recreative energy to us "upon whom the ends of the world are come."
-- Clara M. Codd, Looking Forward

It [the comet] had been there for some time, said Todd, "and for the Sherpas it presaged things not going terrible well." A superstition, yes, thought Todd, but a matter of serious concern, because the people who knew the mountain best said it mattered.
-- Anatoli Boukreev and G. Weston DeWalt, The Climb

Earlier in the day a supply teacher I had never seen before sat down a few chairs away with the happy ostentatious sigh that invariably presages an invasion of privacy.
-- Michael Foley, Getting Used to Not Being Remarkable

Warhol, a wigged-out psychic, had presaged the whole thing.
-- Phoebe Hoban, Basquiat

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

My Worst Nightmare

It happened. It came back.

The pain, the shakes, the nausea, the vomiting. All of it.

Sunday night I got those intense stomach pains again. Of course, I got sick. And this time, the pain didn't go away. Usually it would kind of come and go in waves. After taking 1000 mg of Tylenol and still being in pain after about an hour and a half, Drew decided that we needed to go to the Emergency Room.

Once there, they started an IV and drew some blood. Then, they gave me something for the nausea and some Tramadol for the pain. They might as well not have even given me the Tramadol because it did absolutely nothing. The doctor came in and told me that my white blood cell count was extremely elevated, which is a sign on infection or inflammation. My count was at 18000 and it usually caps out at 11000 at the highest. They were a little concerned to say the least. The doctor was concerned that it could be my appendix, but wasn't fully convinced because my symptoms weren't classic to appendicitis. The doctor then decided that he wanted to do a pelvic exam. Oh joy!

They asked if I was still in pain, which I was, so they then gave me some Dilaudid. I was loopy and lightheaded before they even pulled the needle out of my IV. However, that took care of the pain.

Then came the pelvic exam. That was awful fun while trying not to pass out. Then, another ultrasound.

Nothing new was found. The doctor said that if I was a male, they could have said that what I was experiencing was appendicitis and gone from there. But since I'm a female and have a uterus and ovaries and all that good junk, they have to rule out problems there first. The doctor suggested that I go back to my OB/GYN the next day and have a follow up with her since the problems were probably associated with my endometriosis.

They prescribed me some Norco (the same stuff I took after my surgery), told me to take 2 as soon as I got them, and sent me home.

When I woke up at 7:30 Monday morning, I took 2 more Norco and went back to sleep for a little bit. I woke up again a little while later, called the doctor, and made an appointment for 1:45 that afternoon. Drew and I eventually got out of bed between 10 and 11 and I went to the couch. I was starving, so decided to snack on some graham crackers. Shortly after that, I began to vomit again. And I could not stop. The time came for us to leave for the doctor's appointment, but Drew called them and told them what was going on with me and they suggested that I just go back to the ER.

So back we went!

It took us 2 hours before we finally got put in a room. Round 2 of IV and lots of fluids and nausea medicine. After the doctor looked at my info from yesterday, he said that he wouldn't be a good doctor if he didn't do a CT scan so he could rule out my appendix. Then began the journey of drinking the nasty dye crap. It wasn't horrible. It was lemonade Crystal light, water, and the dye stuff. I couldn't taste the dye crap, but I'm not a fan of that much lemonade at one time. I don't drink that much liquid in 2 days, let alone 2 hours. I choked down about half of the container and then got frustrated because my stomach was so upset from all of the liquid. They then gave me some Reglan, which the nurse said would help with the full feeling and the nausea.

The CT scan was painless and the results came back that my appendix was fine. They sent me home again and told me to just follow up with my OB/GYN. Two nights in the ER to have absolutely no answers.

I'm frustrated that I'm having these problems again. I'm supposed to be better. My problems were supposed to be fixed after the surgery and taking the birth control. I have an appointment to see the doctor on Monday and hopefully she has some answers.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Day 2009

We spent Christmas day with Drew's parents and grandparents. Jessica and Eric are also in town and were there also.

Drew's grandpa.
Drew's grandma.
Eric had to start a little early. I think that it was barely passed noon.
The tree at Drew's parents. We all call it her Who-ville tree.
Drew's dad got the best present of all!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

Since Drew and I bought our house earlier this year, we hosted the Christmas Eve party for my side of the family. Our house turned out to be perfect to host such a large gathering. Here we are all getting ready to open presents.
My cousin, Jenna and my sister, Rachel. Both such gorgeous girls!
My grandma and me.
Drew had to take some pictures to show off all of the food in our newly redone kitchen and dining room.

My cousin, Austin.

Drew got some new grilling tools. Yay!!


Ahhhh, Matt and Sheena! You're just so gosh darn cute!!
If the attention that my mom gave to Leo is any indication of how she'll be once we have kids, that kid will never get put down, nor will it be starved for attention.
I had such a great time playing hostess this year. I can't wait to do it again!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Clinquant / KLING-kunt / adjective
1. Glittering with gold or silver; tinseled.
noun:
1. Tinsel; imitation gold leaf.

Leaves flicker celadon in the spring, viridian in summer, clinquant in fall, tallying the sovereign seasons, graying and greening to reiterate the message of snow and sun.
-- Ann Zwinger, Beyond the Aspen Grove

The room had a twelve-foot high ceiling: hanging from it, four dimly lit antique brass chandeliers cast a clinquant glow on this sunless day.
-- Sally Koslow, The Late, Lamented Molly Marx: A Novel

The water, turned clinquant by the sunset, lay rather than stood.
-- William Least Heat-Moon, River-Horse: The Logbook of a Boat Across America

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Hee-Woman!

If it keeps snowing . . . .

(which, let's face it, it will, because we live in northern Illinois)

and I keep shoveling the driveway . . . .

(which, let's face it, I probably will because I'm too nice)

I'm going to have some serious muscles!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Doff / DOF / transitive verb
1. To take off, as an article of clothing
2. To tip or remove (one's hat).
3. To put aside; to rid oneself of.

After I finished sweeping, I grabbed my check, went to the locker room, and doffed the monkey suit, slipped into my jeans, sneakers and T-shirt and broke camp.
-- Reginald McKnight, White Boys: Stories

Any moment now and Max Linder would ride out from around the corner on a pair of white horses, fire blanks at a passing beauty, and doff his top hat to hide his face from the policeman.
-- Nina Berberova, The Book of Happiness

Benny doffed his cap grandly.
-- Thomas Maier, Dr. Spock: An American Life

And he became as a pillar of fire to superannuated peoples who had but to doff the lethargy of custom to find themselves young.
-- J. F. A. Pyre, "Byron in Our Day", The Atlantic, April 1907

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Thanksgiving 2009

I am finally getting around to doing a recap of our trip to Georgia for Thanksgiving. We left on Tuesday around 12:30 PM once we had both skipped out of work. We drove like little bats out of hell and made the 788 mile trip in 11 hours. I have never been so happy to see an end destination in my life! We visited with Eric, Jess, and Drew (Jen had already gone to bed) for a little bit before heading to bed.

We both slept in kinda late on Wednesday. My Drew spent the day helping the other Drew do some stuff to his car. That evening, us girls went to see New Moon at the movie theater. This was a HUGE deal for me! I hadn't been to a movie theater in over 3 years. And Drew and I have never been to the movie theater together. Amazing, I know. Anyway, I broke my streak and we went to see a movie.

Thanksgiving morning is when we do the Gobble Job. It's a 5k/10k that is sponsored by Must Ministries (I think).

Lots o' people!

Drew and I are sadly out of shape. And not to mention, that walk was the first time I had done anything sorta strenuous since the surgery. And they had us trudging up some sorta steep hills! I'm proud.





Friday was some more bumming around the house. The Drew's worked on the car some more. Then, us girls went shopping. I couldn't complain.

On Saturday, Drew, Jen, and Emma went to go visit some of her family in Alabama, so Eric and Jess took us around Atlanta.



We went to Centennial Park and spent a whole bunch of time there. Of course, I wanted a picture in the fountain.
We start to try and get out and it's really nerve-wracking! You never know when those fountains are going to squirt up. So, Eric, who took the picture, walks over and points to a fountain and says, "This one didn't squirt the whole time I was taking pictures. I think it's broken." Can you guess what happened the minute that Drew went to step over it?




The CNN building is located right by the park, so we went inside for a little bit. They offer tours, but we didn't really want to do that.



On Sunday, Drew and I left bright and early to begin our trek home. I was excited to be able to go through the mountains in the day light. Well... early morning light!

It was so wonderful to be able to see friends and family for the holidays. And now, it's not too much longer until we see them again for Christmas and New Years. Yay!!!

We're Cool Homeowners!

We got our first snowfall recently, so, of course, we had to shovel the driveway for the first time as homeowners.
Aren't we so cool?

And you can even use this picture as a before picture. We're painting the kitchen and dining room! We're hosting the Christmas Eve party for my side of the family and we figured that we needed to at least paint the kitchen and dining room before everybody comes over. As of right now, the kitchen is finished and work has begun on the dining room. Here's a before of the dining room.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Ratiocination / rash-ee-ah-suh-NAY-shun; rash-ee-oh- / noun
The process of logical reasoning.

For all their vaunted powers of rationcination, grand masters of chess tend to be a skittery lot.
-- "People", Time, October 26, 1987

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes proved so popular that it became a given that mystery tales should include a sleuth who investigates a murder or other crime, and by virtue of intelligence, ratiocination and perseverance solves a case that initially seemed unsolvable.
-- Maxim Jakubowski, "A beginner's guide to crime fiction", The Guardian, October 29, 1999

Anticipation Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by more than 20 years, an American physician named John Babbington Williams was scribbling stories extolling the fictional exploits of James Brampton, a New York detective with uncanny gifts of observation and ratiocination.
-- Marilyn Stasio, "Guilt's Companion", New York Times, December 26, 2008

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I Have An Excuse This Time

Have you wondered where I've been? I've been a little more MIA than usual. The last time I was here I told you that Drew and I were going to Georgia for Thanksgiving. While we were in Georgia, the guys decided that they would try and fix the computer.

Yeah, that didn't exactly go as planned.

They did some defraging and then suddenly we needed a password to sign onto the computer. We've never had a password. And we couldn't guess what the computer decided to magically make it either. We have a friend who is quite the computer genius and said that she would fix it as soon as we got home.

The minute we got home last Sunday I made Drew take the computer over there. She couldn't hack into it, and after having the computer for a week, realized that the hard drive was completely dead. And she couldn't get anything off of it. We lost everything on there! All of our documents and most importantly, our pictures. Words cannot express how upset I am about this.

Needless to say, we have a lot of work to get our computer back to where it was. And, we've started to paint our kitchen and dining room to get it ready for my family to come over on Christmas Eve. I'm overwhelmed!

I promise to recap our trip to Georgia, it just may take a little while. Bear with me!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Wednesday's Word

Myrmidon / MUR-muh-don; -duhn / noun
1. (Capitalized) A member of a warlike Thessalian people who followed Achilles on the expedition against Troy.
2. A loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question.

He risked assassination, torture or . . . retaliation, the defining signatures of Mr. Milosevic and his ultranationalist myrmidons.
-- Bruce Fein, "Follow U.S. war crimes advice?", Washington Times, May 10, 2001

I felt quie sure that the myrmidon on duty in Gadsby Row would tell you all about my visit.
-- Georgette Heyer, Behold, Here's Poison

The best hotel, and all its culinary myrmidons, were set to work to prepare the feast.
-- Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit