I am not a morning person. Never have been, will most likely never be. Sometimes I would get up after Evan had left for work and I would not want to talk to anyone until I had to - which was the minute I walked through the door at work. I would take the stairs to avoid taking the elevator with some random person because I was not ready to say hello yet...not until I knew I had to. On Father's Day I came rushing out of the bedroom because I realized Evan was fixing Liliana's breakfast...see, every day of the week I get up with and take care of Liliana - except Sunday...well since it was Father's Day - I was going to let him sleep. So anyway, I come running out and tell him I was going to take care of her and he just laughed and said, "Marla, you're eyes aren't even open yet!" Which was true, they were closed, completely not a morning person. Evan is lucky to get a head nod out of me in the morning. Sometimes he will be lucky and get a grunt. If he is really, really, really lucky - he might get a mumbled hello...maybe.
However, I have noticed something has changed - we now have a kid. A few years ago when Evan and I went on vacation with my family, Evan asked me why I talk to my niece in the morning but not him...I told him there is something different about kids. They are so gosh darn cute and they just talk...I do not have to think...and how could I not talk to them, they would be crushed.
There are some mornings when I get out of bed and Evan says good morning to me and he will get the head nod - but then 30 seconds later I am holding a conversation with him because I saw Liliana awake and smiling at me, so then I start talking to her and everything is good. There is something about those cute little faces that make my morning better...and gets me to talk.
Yes, I am blogging about Michael Jackson along with a million other people. The thought to blog never occurred to me, until I watched a movie about Michael Jackson and music videos that VH1 put together as a memory to him.
As I watched these music videos, you can see that Michael Jackson was happiest when he was performing. Obviously, that was his passion. It made me think about what my passion really is...and that I should dive into those things.
The other thing that struck me about Michael Jackson during the years his career was growing was that he was himself. I think part of the reason people wanted to watch him perform is because there is something about watching him perform that hooks you in - I think it is the fact that he really was enjoying himself and doing what he loved to do. He went after his dreams. He worked to see his ideas come into fruition. He wore some funky outfits and did some crazy dance moves, but he was himself and it reminded me that all I need to be in this world is myself - who God created me to be. It may seem like this is a stretch...but God can use the strangest things to speak to us.
I just need to be secure in my identity in Christ and glorify Him - I will be filled with the joy and the peace that passes all understanding, and His light will shine through me.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
It has taken me quite a while to hold onto this promise - really grasp this great promise that God provides for us...all the time, in all ways. I have had head knowledge for a long, long time. Then I sort of started to figure it out. This year, it finally stuck - my faith grew.
God provides for us on so many different levels. Evan and I have never been rich by way of money, in fact - there have been many times we wondered where the money would come from to pay our bills. When the time came that the bill needed to be paid, the money was there. But I worried the whole entire time, right up until the bill was paid. I also learned that God's time is different than my time. A lesson that was hard to learn. I wanted to be able to mail the payment and have it be exactly on time - sometimes I had to pay it in the grace period. It was not considered late by anyone but me...and that is when I figured out God was teaching me and I had better listen. (I think it is a little ironic that bills got paid in the "grace" period)
I remember one time a friend called and said the Holy Spirit had put it on her heart to help us and she asked how much we needed. I told her I had to talk to Evan and so I called him and we talked about if we were going to take the money or not and how much. When I called her back, I told her we would very much appreciate the help - but I could not give her an amount. I told her that if the Holy Spirit led her to give, then He would give her an amount too and whatever she felt the Holy Spirit led her to give, we would be grateful and content with. I had an amount in mind. The next night, she gave me an envelope and at the end of the evening when I had a moment to count it, there was the EXACT amount we needed...the exact figure I had in my mind but did not tell her before she gave me that money. I have a few more stories of ways that we had been provided for when it seemed as though money would have to rain for the sky because Evan and I had no idea where provisions would come from, but I think you get where I am coming from.
(Yes, I have family that is very willing to help - and has helped us on numerous occasions, so do not think we have bums for family members...the Lord needed to take Evan and I on our own journey throughout the years. In that time we could not always ask our family because we needed to trust God; to be taught...and to grow as husband and wife through the situation)
Over the past few months, I have found myself at peace when it looks like things might be tight - or tighter than tight. I finally was able to look back at our past and see that each and every time, God was faithful. God provided. He knows our needs. These past few months I have been able to just live life and hand it over to God and wait on Him. After I did the bills after that last payday - I asked Evan if he thought he would get a commission check at the end of the month. He laughed at me and said no. At that point I knew I had to take it to the Lord in prayer.
Yesterday was payday and on Wednesday, as I was taking a shower, I was praying - as I often do in the shower. I asked God for an exact amount and I just gave it over to Him. When Evan texted me the amount of his paycheck, I praised God and remembered all over His faithfulness...the check was $700 more than I had prayed for...yes, $700 more. (Which is also proving that God knows what the future holds because my car is giving us problems...again...) I did a little research today about God providing for us and found some cool stuff:
- We can choose to trust Him for our future based on what He has already revealed about Himself and His character. - Unwavering faith will always prove the faithfulness of God. (I hope I can one day be an example of this coming true, but a witness to God!) - God has revealed enough of His nature for us to be able to trust Him. He has declared and shown through the events of history, in the workings of nature, and through the life of His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, all-holy, unchanging, and eternal. And in that revelation, He has shown that He is worthy to be trusted. But as with the Israelites in the wilderness, the choice is ours as to whether or not we will trust Him. Often, one is inclined to make this choice based on what he/she thinks he knows about God rather than what He has revealed about Himself and can be understood about Him through a careful study of His inerrant word, the Bible.
Malachi 3:10 - God says test me and see...His Word should just be enough for us, yet He tells us to test Him.
He also promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him - how awesome. Deuteronomy 4:29/Proverbs 2:1-6/Matthew 7:7-11
And He promises to take care of us. Matthew 6:31-32/Matthew 6:8/1 John 5:14-15/Philippians 4:19/James 4:2
But my greatest and best example of the Lord's provision, being provided in His time and not my own- is the gift, miracle, and blessing that is Liliana Bonnie.
One of my best friends has a blog - she sort of was MIA for a while, around the time I started to blog. Within the past few weeks, she started up again (thankfully)...
First let's talk about a good friendship - I consider it a good friendship when you do not talk for quite some time because life gets in the way...but, when you finally do talk - you pick right back up where you left off. It is as if you never lost touch. And neither one of you gets upset with the other for not having called sooner. That is what my friend and I have. (now, I could go on and on about what else makes up a good friendship...but we will leave that for another post)
It has been sort of fun because we read about what is going on in each others lives and then we post our comments. I also have another friend that blogs and leaves comments on my blog and then I comment on her blog and then we talk about it during the day too. So there is e mail, IM, Facebook, Twitter (of which I am not savvy in) and now blog communication!
Those who really know me, know I like to be organized! I thought I would share just how anal I am about being organized. Being organized and tupperware bins are my friend! :) I could start with the paci holder on the crib, but we have covered that in a previous post - so I will move around the room.
This is Liliana's closet - I have a sweater holder and a shoe organizer - both filled with tupperware bins which make for a drawer type storage. Obviously you can see a lot of blankets on the right and on the left I have burp rags and socks...some extra pacis that Liliana does not like and a bin for instruction booklets and a few empty bins.
These would clearly be her bibs. It is nice to have them in one spot and ready to be picked up and put on. It is nice to not be going through almost all of these in a day! LOL.
It really frustrates me that blogger decides to upload my pictures whichever way it chooses - but you can plainly see the small container (bought at the dollar store, set of 3) which holds the Q-tips that need to be easily accessible to pick little nostrils.
Here we have the bottom of the changing table - of which we no longer use the changing table as a changing table - we just sit on the floor. So to the right are the diapers...next to that are some socks and shoes...a toy and a diaper that Liliana can play with instead of crying while I change her...and then the extra diapers.
99% of the time, Liliana is fed in the rocker that is in the living room - so here is the bin of burp rags next to the chair for such occasions. In that bin I also have a pair of her nail clippers so that when the opportunity arises to cut her nails - I do not blow it by getting up to get the clippers. And yes, the chapstick is always there for me!
Here is a simple idea - it is just an empty lunchmeat container that we put on the microwave which is by the sink - so when pacis fall on the floor & bottle nipples are dirty, they get put in here until the dishes are done. This way things do not sit in the sink (yuck) and that way they will not fall into the garbage disposal - which has happened. And then it is just known that they are dirty.
Ah, the Liliana kitchen cabinet - the top shelf contains some odds and ends. The middle shelf is for her bowls, bottle liners, and baby food - of which is organized. Dinners on the right, then meats, then veggies (of which are organized by green and orange - every other of course so she does not change colors on us!) :) And then fruits. The bottom shelf is for the formula, bottles, and cereal - then the other 2 containers from the dollar store hold the bottle nipples and the rings - I guess that is what I will call them.
In here you will see that the top bin is for shoes that Liliana will grow into, the next bin is for plastic bottles that we do not use, and the last bin has glass bottles that we no longer use - as if you could not figure that out by reading the label.
When we are in the office we need stuff in this room so we do not always have to go searching for things. So I bought these little pop up containers from Target and I have some blankets and burp rags in one (which we rarely use since she is older and I could probably fill it with books or something more useful) and toys in the other - and then I have a little container for pacis so they are always handy in here.
Now we can move to my stuff-
I bought these containers at Target and as you can see you can get them in different sizes - and so they help keep my desk orgazined! (Yes, there is pretty much chapstick staged everywhere in our house!)
This is in the office closet - another buy at Target. It could use some straightening up - but that is for another day. I have bins for cards and bins of cards inside of those bins - I have bins of office stuff - so on and so forth.
And this is how we store our bulbs and batteries.
So those are some of the ways I stay organized - and that keeps me sane!
I have nothing to blog about. Last night and tonight I have sat for a few short minutes thinking of what to post - and nothing comes to mind. I think it is because I am drained from working late last night and tonight.
So, I thought I would just post a picture of Liliana and call it a night!
Taken 6.10.09 - 9 Months
I was just reminded of one thing I could post about (I am now editing this, I am so lame) - it is about how my day started once I left the house...I was not 1 minute away from home. I thought there was a leaf in the road...as I got closer I realized it was a bird. Birds move. This bird committed suicide. It did not move. It just got flattened, but the tire of my car. Oops.
Yep - I am a mean mom. I had Liliana in her exersaucer yesterday while I was doing something in the kitchen. Things were pretty quiet in there so I went to check and saw my beautiful baby girl falling asleep. So I did not rescue her, I ran to get the camera so I could take video. I took two of them.
I think she is just so cute - nodding off and all!
I know I have not posted in a while - I actually tried to post this a few days ago and have painstakingly been trying to get my video to upload - to no avail. And you see, this post is quite lame, boring, and postless - I mean pointless - without the video. I thought something was wrong with Blogger, then my computer or internet. I would upload the video and let it process, during the whole day and even over night.
Today, I had a brilliant notion - the video was too big. So it never told me this, it just kept trying to upload and process it. So, I went to my camera and edited it so it would be two separate videos...that worked. Here...is...my...long...awaited...post:
This is Fizzle in the first few weeks we brought her home. We tried the whole newspaper down on the floor thing:
And this would be Fizzle thinking she is queen on her throne...which happens to be MY pillow:
Even though Fizzle is not housebroken after two years of having her, we keep her around. Maybe it is her charming shaggy homeless dog looks. Maybe it is the way she barks like a mad dog at me when I get out of bed during the night. Maybe it is the way she feels she owns our beds and is a person sleeping on MY pillow. (yep, I am a little bitter. Get off my pillow. Get out of the space between Evan's head and my head during the middle of the night) Maybe it is the way she growls - like a way I cannot describe in words and have never heard a dog growl this way before and I really need to get it on video. Maybe it is the way she gets under my feet all the time.
Wait, those are reasons I have to get rid of the dog!
Reasons we actually still have a dog that is not housebroken...I guess there are just a few reasons, but they are good reasons.
1. Evan would be heartbroken if we got rid of her. (I would be sad, but would probably get over it sooner than later)
2. Other than me taking her out and occasionally cleaning up after her, Evan takes care of her and cleans up after her.
3. Liliana lights up when she sees Fizzle and I want Liliana to grow up with a dog. (now, if we did not have a dog - we would not rush out to get a dog. This is Fizzle's saving grace factor right here - that we had a baby and the baby loves Fizzle)
Before I go further - let me address the fact that she is not housebroken before you ask me the questions. We tried to crate train her, but Evan is a softy and felt that it was cruel and unusual punishment, so the dog would cry and end up in bed with us. Fizzle pretty much only uses the kitchen as her waste land during the night. Now, we would just put her in the crate and let her bark her head off during the night if we did not have neighbors above and below us. When we get a house (whenever that might be) Fizzle will be in her crate night after night, barking as long and as loud as she wants, but she is not getting out. I can say this with authority because I know Evan is sick of cleaning up in the morning after her! I will say that having a dog before having a baby was good because Evan truly understands tough love and the outcome of it!
Now on with it...Liliana and Fizzle get along great together! We use Fizzle all the time when we are changing Liliana and she is crying or moving all over the place. We make Fizzle come and sit right next to her and then Liliana just looks at her and smiles and laughs. It is really cute. Liliana likes to stick her hand out for Fizzle to lick it. And then Fizzle does this thing where she rolls all over the carpet when she is done eating or when she dries herself off from a bath and Liliana laughs and laughs at her.
Now that Liliana is getting bigger, she can get to Fizzle and Fizzle is a bit skittish - she Fizzle is pretty much always backing away from Liliana. Unless Liliana has one of two toys of Fizzle's - Fizzle's pink bone, or this squeaky newspaper. They play well together.
All this to set up the video I got last night...which is actually a few nights ago...of Liliana and Fizzle:
PART I
PART II
Saturday, June 13, 2009
This is my little invention. Everyone knows that stage where you get up during the night to give your sweet little baby a paci so they will go back to sleep. Liliana does not do this often anymore - but there was a time that it was about 3 times a night or so. She would just cry and if you give her a paci, she would go back to sleep. Now it happens on occasion. Well, when I wake up in the middle of the night, the last thing I want to be doing is looking for paci's. Who the heck knows where they could be. Yes, I am fairly organized and so I know where the stash is...but do I really want to be going to the closet and pulling out my bin-drawer for a paci? Nope, not really. And you have to have more than one around because the paci that started in the mouth could end up anywhere...like on the floor between the crib and the wall and I sure as heck am not getting those until there are no more paci's to be found! So alas, I bought this cheap little container and Evan zip-tied it to the crib. Makes for a simple pacifier holder in the perfect place!
Now when I go in, I just pick up a paci and find her mouth. (although sometimes, she already has one in her mouth...she just decides to let out a cry!) Then in the morning I will pick her up and sometimes find 3 under her belly! If I would have just looked for the one she had, but that is to much work for me in the middle of the night. :) Sort of funny.
This morning was the best. On Saturday mornings Evan goes to Bible study at church, they start at the butt crack of dawn. So Monday through Saturday is all mine...Sunday morning is Evan's, and my day to sleep in a little. (Thank you Evan!) Anyway, she actually slept until 8:30...wonderful!!! First, I go to the bathroom and then I go in her room to see her smiling little self sitting in her crib, looking at me with a huge smile - she had a pacifier in her mouth...one in each hand...and 1 on each side of her on the mattress...apparently, now that she is a bit more mobile...she was able to move the paci holder on the crib down - as one zip-tie is not tight enough - and she must have just kept pulling the paci's out - no wonder she was quiet while I went to the bathroom!
Hopefully Daddy will have the same luxury tomorrow morning, as I did this morning! Good thing he is already sleeping in case it does not work out that way.
Today we went to a family birthday party - it was a lot of fun and there was a lot to do...so over the next few posts I will post pictures from the party, to much work for me to do now because I must go to sleep. Actually, I should have gone to sleep much sooner...but I got sucked into a Hallmark movie (which of course made me cry) and then I sat down at the computer...sucks me in, every time.
But now, it is time for me to end my relationship with the computer for the evening and start one with my pillow...
Liliana @ 9 months...there are a few pictures that are just my favorite from today. You know, if I had a room - a room all to myself - I would plaster it with some of my favorite pictures. I would not leave one spot of wall. It would be like a time line because I would just keep putting them up in order...not all over the room at once - just start at one end and work my way around. I could stare at pictures for hours. It is more than just the people in the picture, it is the picture itself - you know, a well taken picture. One day, I am going to have that room....
Just listen to the first 7 seconds of this: (and then promptly stop it! You will understand why quite quickly)
So...this is my bike. I actually have two bikes, the other is much more used than this one as this is the newer of the two. My other bike has been through some pretty nasty spills, but it is a good bike and I like it and other than one break making a lot of noise when you use it and some scratches on it...it still works. This bike is pretty cool...I am sporting the yellow, I have the handlebars that curve up a little so you can lean forward when you ride, and I have the shock absorber under the seat. It is a good bike.
I had sort of forgotten all about the fact that I have a bike to ride. (Which is why this beginning of that song seemed appropriate - besides the fact that it is Pee Wee Herman and cracks me up, every time!) We lived in apartments for so long with no room to store our bikes, that we have not gone bike riding in a very long time. Last year we did not go on any bike rides because I was pregnant with Liliana and did not do a thing, I barely fed myself for lack of laziness - okay, there was a little more to it than that, but not much.
Moving on - as I mentioned earlier, I am trying to shape up and one of the ways I am doing this is by walking. Well, today at work a co-worker mentioned that she was up to riding her bike for an hour at a time. It was at that moment that I remembered I have bikes I can ride! I had to work late tonight and so by the time I would be able to go for my walk, it would be getting dark, if not already dark - and walking 2 miles in the dark by myself is not a preferred thing to do, but...riding my bike can be done! Seems a bit safer to me. So I got home and told Evan that I was going to ride my bike instead of walk tonight. While I put Liliana to bed, he graciously got my bike ready for me to go. The tires needed air in them and it is a good thing he did it because I would have just filled them right up to the recommended amount...but he was smart enough to think ahead - the fact that it has sat all winter and the tires might be shot...so he filled them with air appropriately, a little under the recommended amount, and I gave it a test ride over some bumps and it seemed good to go.
I got ready to go, plugged my headphones in and I was off. I rode 1 mile in about 5 minutes. So I decided to go a bit further - all in all I believe I rode 4 miles in about 25 minutes. I wanted to ride for about 30-45 minutes, but I think I did alright. It was a little cool tonight, but I was able to work up a little sweat and was definitely out of breath when I got back. I was cruising pretty good. I probably could have changed to a bit harder of a gear, but for my first night out on the bike for more than a casual ride - I was doing pretty good.
And thus continues my journey to Shape Up or Shape Out.
Well - here we are on our wedding day. That picture was taken six years ago. Yesterday, Evan and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it. I feel like just the other day I was saying it was our fifth anniversary and even the wedding seems like it was just yesterday.
We have been through quite a bit together. We have had ups and downs. Job loss. Financial issues. Loss of loved ones. Miscarriage. Having a baby. Getting a dog. Moving several times and finding a place to live. Fights. We have gone through it all...together.
Yesterday we went out together for the first time in a long time. We are quite the homebodies! :) Our friends graciously watched Liliana and off we went. It started off well because Evan surprised me with flowers AND a card. (Cards are a big deal to me!) Then we went to a seafood restaurant. Oh my goodness, we are not use to nicer restaurants! The waiter went through the menu with us. We got a crab cake appetizer - one crab cake...$13.99. It was about the size of a dinner roll. The other appetizer we got was Lobster cocktail. Both were very good, we obviously shared them. We had to laugh because when we think appetizers, we think enough for a few people - these were like individual appetizers. I am not sure what Evan ordered for dinner...something stuffed haddock, it was ok. He liked it, it was not my style. I ordered Lobster Thermidor. First of all, I thought I have had lobster before - I was mistaken, I have had crab and like crab - so needless to say I was a little disappointed with my meal. It was also very difficult to eat something that looked like they had just slayed it in the kitchen, cut it in half and laid it on my plate. I just got the shivers thinking about it. Then they brought out this piece of very chocolatey cake on a plate with a candle and the plate says Congratulations, that was very nice. We then went to Starbucks to pass some time and then snuck our coffee into the movie. We saw My Life in Ruins - very cute movie. :) Hilarious lines in there. We had a nice evening out!
We see the Lord bless us on a continual basis, even in the tough times. The Lord constantly and is forever providing for us in so many ways. I am so thankful for His love for us - His unconditional love. Each day I desire more to be like Him, to seek His will for my life - especially now. My decisions do not just change my life, they change Evan's...and now Liliana's. I need to be an example to Liliana of what it looks like to be a Godly woman, a Godly wife, and a Godly mother. That is a loaded plate for sure! Which is why I need to seek Him all the time because there is always something to learn, and always an area I can be working on.
And here is our family from Easter this year, of which I am so thankful for my family.
Yep, you read that right. And yep, that is what I meant to write. If we do not shape up, we will shape out - I sure am. My thighs and my ass are shaping out into a nice big flabby bulge!
I heard somewhere, okay...I cannot lie...I heard on Oprah, Dr. Oz said you should walk 30 minutes a day. I have been thinking for a while now that I can do that and I should do that. Life got busy with my Grandpa and such so it was just talk. Then the Monday after Grandpa died, I did my 30 minute walk. Let me tell you, I started off at a decent pace pushing Liliana in the stroller and it was not long until I realized this was harder than I thought it was going to be and I had to slow it down. I was only able to make it 25 minutes. Of course I could have done the full 30 minutes, but I was at the driveway and was happy to be there!
The past few days I have been getting my butt into gear - literally! My friend Therese and I went out for lunch on Thursday and from there we ended up at a park and just went walking. I think we walked for about an hour and a half. I am not sure how far we walked, at least 2 miles - maybe a bit more.
So yesterday I was pretty determined to keep this up. So a bit before Liliana needed to get ready for bed, her and I went for a walk. I walked 15 minutes out and then turned around. Today I drove that route and I was a bit short of 2 miles. Then when I got home I did some jumping rope. (Although mostly called jump roping - it is not that) I am not sure how long I actually jumped rope as it was not continuous - but I am pretty sure I was out there for a while and got a good 15-20 minutes in. Next I did 5 push-ups. The girlie kind, for now anyway. If you do not know or do not remember, my goal is to do 9 pull ups by the end of '09. I cannot even do one right now. So I am going to work on my arm strength by doing push ups - from girlie to regular, and then I will work on the pull ups.
Today I was intent on going 2 miles in 30 minutes...I did it. I walk a simple, no frills route. I was not pushing a stroller tonight - but walked a good pace. In fact, when I got to right where I needed to turn around there is a gas station and I had to stop in for a drink! I was parched. I have yet to do my push ups! :)
I guess I need to join a gym come winter because I am NOT walking outside in winter and I do not have a treadmill! lol. No - I do not feel I need to loose weight. Yes, I would like to get in shape. I want some definition to my arms and the strength that comes with it. I really just want to be able to do pull ups and well, my buttocks and thighs could use to slim down a bit.
I did find this website where you can track your walking and it will tell you how many steps/miles (dependent on which one you enter) and how many calories you burned. They even asked about your walk - leisure or pushing a stroller or moderate...etc.) familycircle.com/walk2009 - check it out. I am sort of thinking of starting a separate blog to track how I am doing and to hear how you are all doing to - because you should be walking too!
It is up to you - shape up - or shape out. I am choosing to shape up.
Side note: speaking of shaping out - my sweet little Liliana is shaping out! She had her 9 month well visit today. She is 21 pounds and 7 ounces (cannot forget those ounces) and she is 27 inches tall. That puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. She is such a cutie with all that juicy love! She might have thick thighs - but they are adorable at this age!
When I hear the word "golly" - I think Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C. Today, it became the word of the day.
I was sitting in my cubicle at work and my p.i.t.a. co-worker was in the cubicle next to me checking out a patient, making a follow up appointment for them. When the p.i.t.a. asked a question, the lady responded with "golly, I think that will work." After they leave, I lean back and ask if that lady really said "golly" and my co-worker said yes and we started laughing. Who says golly these days? This lady did not look like a golly offender and so it made it all the more funny. Needless to say, golly was all we were saying the rest of the afternoon. Well, my co-worker dared me to use the word when I got home and see if Evan noticed at all.
First stop was to my sister's to pick up Liliana. I was there about 5 or 10 minutes and then got up to leave. My sister got up also, bent down to pick something up and when she tried to straighten up, she said "oh, golly my..." I do not even know what the rest of the sentence was because I just starting laughing out loud. And no, I am not joking. This really happened. I told her the story and even my sister said/asked in disbelief..."did I really say that?" I promptly called my co-worker to tell her how funny and ironic this is.
So this evening Evan and I were watching TV and he said something and I just said "golly" and continued watching TV. It was not long, a second or two before I could see this look on his face and I could not hold back. I just started cracking up and he was like...really, golly? I explained the story to him and it was just all around laughs!
What is not a laughing matter is that my desk area needs to be cleaned/organized so bad. I cannot believe I am actually tolerating sitting here in this muck for such a long time. I also need to respond to some e mails and write some letters and such - but I am just going to bed. Tomorrow is another day and maybe, just maybe...I will do something on this list. Probably not, but we shall see!
Golly, it is time for me to sleep - so until next time...
For the guys: You can read this post - but you may not appreciate all of it. Consider yourself warned.
My evening did not go as planned. We had lunch with friends today and that was fun. When we got home, I was going to watch a movie that was going to be on tonight...be in bed by 10pm and read my book and go to sleep at 11pm. Lovely.
Earlier today I had some abdominal pain. I noticed here and there, nothing terrible - but noticeable. By the time we got home, it was pretty bad. So now came all the questions of what is it and if I should go to the ER or what. I decided to go to urgent care.
6:30pm I leave and travel over to the urgent care. When I get there they tell me to have a seat in the lobby and as I am waiting I am looking around. I am noticing all the signs are up twice - one in English and one in Spanish...then I see another sign and realize it is all in English and there is not Spanish version. It is talking about having an HMO and how most HMO insurance company's do not cover the urgent care visit without a referral. I completely forgot that I have an HMO until I read this sign, which is completely unlike me. So I go outside to have the on call doctor paged...she calls me back and tells me that the urgent care visit is not going to be covered even with her okay and that I need to go to the ER anyway because they will most likely do imaging tests and the urgent care does not provide those services and they would just send me over anyway.
I was trying to avoid the ER. I honestly thought when I left home that I would be home by 8pm, maybe 8:30pm...especially since the urgent care closes at 8pm.
I get to the ER and wait to register. There are two women in labor - one is checked in waiting for L&D to come get her and the other one is registering. They ask her if her water broke and she did not answer as if she was clueless so they ask her if her bag, her bag of water broke...is it still there? She was completely clueless and said "I don't know" as if she did not know what they were referring to. How did you get to be this far along in your pregnancy?
I go into the triage room and they go through all the vitals and questions and send me back into the waiting room. Fortunately, I did not have to wait long to be taken back into a semi-private nook. Motel 6 was were I was at. I call them semi-private nooks because they are just separated by curtains...and I was in #6.
I am all by myself because I did not think this was going to be a big to-do. I change into the gown, I go pee in a cup, the lady comes asking for the insurance card and asks for money. Evan did not come because he was obviously home with Liliana. My mom is sick so I told her to keep her sick self home that I would be fine. But my family does not operate this way and so in walks my sister. She was very sweet for coming and stayed until I got a diagnosis. We had some good laughs from listening to the people on either side of me and good conversation.
The doctor comes in and asks questions and then says she thinks the pain is from my ovaries and she has to do a pelvic exam. Definitely not what I had envisioned for my Sunday night. So my sister leaves and I strip down and the doctor and the nurse come back and she does her little exam. I guess I do not have to go to the gyne to get my yearly pap done now, so there is one thing off the to do list. I also must say, ladies - this is why you keep clean and tidy down there. You never know when it will be exposed. And yes, I was all that and thankful I was.
After the exam I had the pleasure of having a catheter put in. It is an interesting procedure. They swab you with Betadine first and it is cold stuff, I think they pulled it out of the fridge or something. Then they do the inserting and they inflate the balloon to keep it in and there you have it.
At this point we wait for what seemed like forever to get the ultrasound. They come and transport me over to the ultrasound department and now the real fun begins. First things first, fill my bladder for me. As she is looking for the hook up on the catheter I tell her they taped the tube to my leg and so she has to take that off. It was a bit unpleasant as she peeled it off and that tape is so sticky that I still have the remnants of it on my thigh. So she hooks up the solution and my bladder fills. Once the bag is 3/4 empty, she starts the ultrasound. They really have to press to do the ultrasound and man it is not comfortable. Then she asks me if I am ok, I say yes...even though it is very uncomfortable and my eyes are welling up....only because my bladder is overflowing out of my eyeballs...so she says alright then I am going to let it fill a little bit more. She finishes that part and it is on to bigger and better things.
She opens the catheter and I could feel by bladder just collapse as the fluid came out. It was wonderful. Then she took the catheter out and went to throw it away and she said she would let me go to the bathroom. What? Everything just came out, what am I going to the bathroom for? So she came back and I told her that unless she needed me to go for some reason, I was fine. Strange. Now it is time for the internal ultrasound. Out comes the dildo. I am not kidding, this ultrasound wand thing is just like one - disclaimer: I do not have one. I have not used one. I must admit, I have been to a sex toy part and therefore have seen and touched one. So anyway, she has me insert it. It is a nasty feeling as if a condom is over it and I feel a little dirty inserting it myself. So I ask her, "why do you do that?" and she thought I was asking about the actual internal exam...then I said no - have us put it in. Bottom line is that it is for patient comfort that some people might feel a little violated if they just stick this thing inside them...but from now on, I am going to tell them they can just do it. Everything was going along fine until she hit the spot of the pain, I almost jumped off the bed. Luckily it did not last long and I was on my way back to motel 6.
I get back and this nurse that I did not have earlier comes in and this is the converstion, starting with her: "I'm going to get hooked back up to everything." "I wasn't hooked up to anything." "Oh, um....am I in the right room?" And she goes out and comes back in and says she is in the right room and says "Hooked up to the blood pressure" "Oh, I wasn't hooked up to that before" "Yep we just need to take your vitals again." As if she did not just walk into the room completely confused.
They finally come in and tell me that I had a cyst that ruptured and they will give me some medicine and blah blah blah follow up with your doctor and you can go.
My sister leaves and I wait to be discharged. This lady comes in and you can tell she wants to get me out of there faster than I want to leave, and I want to leave! She was like, so the doctor told you what you had, right? Yes. And she told you why you are having abdominal pain, right? Yes. So I don't need to explain it to you? No. (No it is okay, you do not have to take the time to explain it to me. I know that might be difficult for you and take much more time that you would like to spend in here) She says she has to take my blood pressure once more and then there are some papers to sign. She puts on the blood pressure cuff on my right arm and the pulse ox meter on my right index finger and lays down this clipboard and tells me where to sign. "I'm a righty." It took her a minute, but she figured out that I could not have my vitals taken with my right arm and sign her papers at the same time. She takes my vitals and puts the clipboard down again and tells me where to sign before even taking stuff off. Way to push a person out. I have to tell ya dear, I do not want to be spending the night here either...I will not be long, just give me a chance and the ability to sign, and we will be just fine.
So that was evening. 5 and a half hours of pure bliss, at least I got home 1 minute before midnight and so I can say it was all on Sunday! (have to find the plus somewhere!...besides that nothing is seriously wrong, just very painful)
On a side note - referring to a previous blog: as I was waiting to be discharged this lady in the nook next to me was talking to her family (her father was the patient) but she says it: "I have to go potty." I wanted to scream, but had to just laugh. :)
Evan and I have been married for 6 years and have seen the Lord work in our lives countless times and ways. Liliana is a blessing to us and has made our lives very rich. I can't wait for the day the Lord provides for me to be a stay at home mom, until then I am blessed to have a good job that I enjoy.
I enjoy writing and photography - and most recently have picked up reading for pleasure, which shocked my mom!
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