Men in Black, Blues Brothers, or just cool dude?

Everything went well with Del's surgery, other than the timing. His originial appointment was at 3:30; they called to tell us they were running behind and we should come in at 5:30 instead. We arrived at 5:25, only to wait 3-1/2 hours. His surgery ended up being at 9:00 p.m. They explained to us the laser equipment didn't have the proper "energy" in the morning and they had to call the engineers in to fix it that morning, which put them behind a little over 1/2 day. There were about 25 people that were scheduled for the surgery yesterday. Del ended up being the third from the last in the day.

He had a little rough time of it immediately following the surgery - very light sensitive, a lot of watering, but no pain, really. They gave him an Ambien to knock him out, so he slept well and woke up being able to see better than ever.

We went for his follow up visit this morning with Dr. Jaben. His vision is now 20/15 - as good as it was with his contact lenses. He is having some halo effects around lights and a little haziness (which they say is normal for the first 24-48 hours), but is able to do pretty much anything (i.e. read, watch TV, drive, etc.) other than strenuous activities for at least a week. He was even able to get his bagel fix this morning after his appointment



His regiments is quite comprehensive:
One multi-vitamin once a day
Three Omega-3 supplements once a day
One drop in each eye of Acular twice a day
One drop in each eye of Zymar four times a day
One drop in each eye of Pred Forte every hour
One drop in each eye of Lubrication drops every 1/2 hour
One drop in each eye of Refresh Liqui-Gel before sleeping/napping

He has to wear the plastic shields that you see in the very front of the picture for the first four nights, then he can wear the protective glasses. He has to wear the sporty sunglasses whenever he goes outside, but because he has been having extra light sensitivity, he's been wearing them inside, too. He thinks he looks cool in them (I will let you be the judge, yourself, on that one!)

We aren't planning on doing much this weekend - just taking it easy and putting some form of drops in his eyes every 1/2 hour (oy!).

Overall, everything was a success.

More Every Day Life...

So, I took the day off from work because Del is having his Lasik surgery today. So where is Del? At work, of course, working half a day. I could have done that, too, but decided to take the entire day to do some decompressing. So this morning I took some time to take some more everyday life pictures for my photo assignments



Something or someone that makes me smile. I could have put several things here, but Maggie, our neighor's dog, is the one thing that consistently makes me smile everytime I see her. She is the sweetest thing. She'll see us pull into our driveway everynight and run (not walk, not plod, not jog, but run!!) around to the back yard (since she can longer come to the side in the front yard due to the electric fence they put in place) to see us. Of course I know she is only looking for the Milkbone treats we always give her, but it boosts my ego to think she is happy to see me - not just the Milkbone!








Something I use everyday. I know it isn't horribly exciting, but it is the one thing out of everything else in my life that I use every day - twice a day.



Favorite Drink - Did you expect anything else?


















Family Shoes: I wanted to be sure to represent both our "work" shoes and our "play" shoes. Of course, it was extremely hard to pick which pairs of shoes I should use out of 66 pairs I own, but I think I chose a well representation. Del's was a little easier - less to choose from. ;o)









Pictures of family photos or any group of photos: I love my family photos on our sofa table!












My comfy place: I used to not use this chair at all unti we moved it closer to the rest of the bonus room furniture to make room for our Christmas tree this year. It looks a little bare by the window now with the tree gone, but I didn't want to move the chair back to its original place. This has become the place I read my morning devotional, the place I update this blog, and the place I surf the web and read in the evening. I've grown to love my comfy chair!

That's it for now. I have more assignments, but they are all outside and haven't taken those yet. Of course, as I do, I will share.

I will post more later, to let you know how Del's surgery went. He is VERY nervous - to the point he wanted to back out of the whole thing. I can't say that I blame him, really, knowing what's at stake, but I know he will so appreciate not having to put contacts in every morning. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Better late than never...

Del's sister, Laurie, asked the question on their blog "Have you made any New Year's Resolutions?" In previous posts, I alluded to some of the resolutions that Del and I made this year, but today, I actually committed to them even more by creating a layout of them.

I stole (or what is better known in the scrapbooking world as "scraplifted") the title for this page from one I saw in one of my scrapbooking magazines. Some of these intentions are pretty lofty, but having them down on paper will help us remember throughout the year what we should be working on.

I also started the projects from my scrapbooking class. The first project was to decorate an ordinary composition book and make it into a daily journal. I've never been very good at journaling, but I hope to use this book to write down a few words or statements each day to remember at least one thing special from that day I want to remember.

Well, another weekend is about over. Since Valentine's Day falls during the week this week, and since Del is scheduled to have is Lasik surgery next weekend, we decided to go on our Valentine's Day date last night. We were going to go to a very upscale restaurant for dinner, but Del ended up taking too long of nap and I ended up watching a movie too long (a movie I had already seen, none the less), so we had a little change of plans. Instead of going to The Capital Grille, we went to Hops before going to see the Charlotte Symphony. Since neither Del or I have ever been to the symphony, we can count this as our "new" thing this month! Yeah!

Although I talked with her on her actual birthday - I wanted to wish a very Happy Belated Birthday to my niece, Lisa! Her birthday was Thursday, February 8th. Hope you had a great day, Lisa! Lots of love of wishes coming your way!

Until next time...

Everyday life

So I signed up for another online scrapbooking class called 28 days. Outside of having a project everyday (which I have yet to actually complete one!), there is a photo assignment each day. The idea is to capture every day life in pictures - one photo for each day of the month of February. The first three days' assignments were...

1. Our pantry. It really looks pathetically empty - a true testament to our eating habits (that which we rarely eat at home!) At least in this picture, Chalupa's food dish is full - we aren't starving her - at least not this day! Yes - it is sad to admit, we sometimes forget to fill her dish and she has to remind us with a lot of meowing. Poor thing! That's why we can't have kids - we'd forget to feed them! :o)

2. Our mailbox....with its stickers of identification. The orange represents weekend only of the Charlotte Observer (mainly for the adds and coupons!) and the green circle for Del's Wall Street Journal. You can't tell it in this picture, but our mailbox is a little crooked on its post. Our neighbor down the street hit our mailbox with the mirror of her minivan. We're still not quite sure how she managed that.

3. Our refrigerator...it, at least, looks a little better than our pantry. Our biggest eat-at-home meal of the day is breakfast. I usually make breakfast every morning during the week, except when Del decides he needs a Bruegger fix. We can never eat breakfast at home on the weekends because Del has to have his Bruegger's - it really is an addiction - do they have a bagel's anonymous?

I haven't done all my homework yet for the other four days of the month so far, but as I do I will post more of our every day life...

For those of you in Ohio - We feel for you!! It is colder than usual here, too (only been in the mid- to high 30's), but I'm sure it feels like a heat wave compared to what you are having. Think warm thoughts and stay warm!

Until next time...

Snow Day!!!

Well - it was for some people anyway. We got our first snow fall in quite some time this morning. It ended up being only a couple of inches, but it was enough to close all the schools and prevent people from getting to work. Del was not happy about having to drive the Porsche in the snow and freezing rain, but it (and he) is back safely in the garage.

The pictures are taken from our back porch. Maggie, our neighbor dog was enjoying (or not so much) the snow. She's pretty funny - she doesn't like to get her feet wet, but willing to sacrifice to get her Milkbone treats from her favorite neighbors.

We are expecting more freezing rain tonight, which should be fun for the morning commute, so we are off to go pick up bread and eggs for breakfast, since we will probably be stuck here until the ice is melted later in the day (darn!!).

Stay warm!

Until next time...

Weekends go by WAY too quickly...

Another weekend has come and gone. Didn't get to do much this weekend - did get my hair cut and spent a lot of the time working, which was OK - earned brownie points with the boss! :o)

Mom is back at the nursing home and still in good spirits. They moved her to another room which, she says, is much better than the last- quieter and she is closer to the window.

Del and I went to check out the Charlotte Table Tennis Club. Let me tell you, they take their ping pong seriously. In watching some of them - ALL of them play - only a few seconds, I knew it wasn't for me. Del, however, could probably play some of them and beat them - one day - but not today. It was fun to watch, though. We're planning on checking out some rock climbing next weekend - can't wait! I'll be sure to have my camera with me to post.

Until next time...

Mom Update...

Mom had her surgery today. She did not need to have surgery on her right heel; the doctor believes it will heal on its own as long as she stays off of it. He fused the bones together on her left ankle with screws. He said her bones were very soft and brittle and he is a little afraid that the screws won't stay in place, so he has ordered her to stay off her feet completely - no pressure on the feet whatsoever - for three weeks. So she will be going back to the nursing home for the proper care and therapy.

The part that really stinks is her birthday is Thursday. It's never good when you have to spend your birthday in someplace like a hospital. It sounds like she may have a long haul ahead of her yet, so please keep her in your prayers.

Maybe for a belated birthday gift and a you-made-it-through-recovery gift, we should take her on a vacation. I'm sure she'd be glad to go anywhere other than a cruise! :o)

Busy few weeks

It seems like quite a bit has happened since my last post. Other than the normal day to day activities we have here in NC, there was a quite an eventful week, particularly for my mom. Let me start from the beginning....

For Christmas and her birthday, we kids bought mom a ticket to go on a cruise with my two sisters, Tina and Jenny (and their significant others). Although excited about the trip, Mom was very nervous about the trip...worried she would get separated from the others, worried she was going to get too sick to enjoy the trip, or worried that something would happen...well, happen it did. Mom bunked with Jenny and Brian the first night and insisted on sleeping in the top bunk so as to not split the couple up. In the middle of the night she needed to go to the bathroom and slipped off the bunk ladder and came crashing down on both of her feet. Turns out she broke her right heel and both the inside and outside bones of her left ankle. Since this happened on the first night, she had two more nights on the ship before they were scheduled for land fall in Grand Cayman. The hospital doctor in Grand Cayman insisted she needed to go home to get immediate attention - meaning surgery! The ship was set to sail at 4:00 that afternoon, and it had to sail without mom. Tina and Jenny had to figure out arrangements for mom to get to Detroit as soon as possible - without them. They were lucky enough to find a connecting flight through Charlotte so I was able to make arrangements to get a special needs pass to meet mom and take her to her next gate and spend the 3-1/2 hour layover she had in Charlotte before heading on to Detroit. She made it home and was in the hospital for a couple days before they had to send her to Heartland-Holly Glen to await the swelling to go down before surgery can be done. What a mes this has been. The surgeon couldn't understand why neither the ship doctor or the Grand Cayman doctor didn't set mom's ankle. He is afraid more damage has been done than expected and is only hoping their hasn't been a lot of tissue damage - something we won't know until surgery is performed Over all, though, mom has been in pretty good spirits and has really been a trooper. She told me she was having a good time despite the circumstances and did not want to come home, but the doctor made her. The picture below was taken in the Charlotte airport waiting for her plane. Please keep her in your prayers.

In other events...

Del and I attended the Charlotte Checkers hockey game this past Friday night. It was Family Dollar night at the Checker's game. It wasn't something we normally would do, but it was fun, and at least gave us something to do. The Checkers beat the South Carolina Stingrays - five to nothing.

We, then, had some friends (John and Gina Bumgardner) over Saturday night for dinner. I was stressing about this one because I know that Gina is a very good cook. And as most of you know - I am not known for my cooking. It turned out to be a success and received no complaints - only compliments.

So far, I think Del and I are doing a really good job in keeping our New Year's resolution to have more fun.

Until next time....

Finished projects

As promised here are the two projects I've been working on. Both of these projects are from an online scrapbooking class I took from Big Picture Scrapbooking.

The first one is just a little book that has 14 different sections with blank 5 x 8 index cards. I plan on using this as an idea book - to sketch out scrapbooking layouts, or keeping track of things that inspire me.


This one is created from a 9 x 12 canvas. It has a picture I took of the path of Mauna Iki Trail that we hiked in Hawaii at the National Volcano Park. The bible verse is one of my favorites - Proverbs 3:5-6

Happy New Year!!

Ok - so I'm a little late in wishing you a Happy New Year! Our New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful, we were both asleep by 11:30 (how sad is that?). We spent New Year's day taking down Christmas decorations. I get really hiped up about Christmas beforehand, but once it is over, I am ready for it to be done. Out with the old...in with the new.

I want to send a special heartfelt Happy (belated) Birthday to my sister, Tina, whose birthday was yesterday. She tells me this is the last birthday she is celebrating - she will be holding steady at this age (which, for fear of her disowning me, I won't tell you what that age is!) Happy Birthday, sis! I love and miss you tons!

Del and I started our Saturday at Dream Dinners. I somehow convinced him to go with me. He wasn't thrilled with it and has vowed never to go again, however, I have proof that he went at least once and even wore an apron. He was thrilled that I had my camera with me. (Being the scrapbooker I am, I resolved to take more pictures this year, so I can even be more behind in scrapbooking my pictures!)

Last night we went to see Edward Scissorhands at Belk theater. A really good show - very well done. I never saw the movie, so I didn't know the exact story line. I was also expecting a play and musical, however, there was no talking and no singing. Just a theatrical epression through dance - a modern ballet, if you will. I really enjoyed it. Del said he actually thought it was better than he expected, too.

After church today, in response to another resolution, I spent the day doing laundry and scrapbooking (well, kind of) while Del watched football. I was actually doing some crafting that wasn't really scrapbooking. As soon as the two projects I am working on are finished, I will post pictures here. Until then...