They're Winning!

Someone sure is wishing really hard that things won't work out for us. We keep on pushing back, so we'll see. This whole "sit and wait" is NOT cool though.

Feels Like We Are Camping

Down to about 36 hours and I am still not relaxed over the whole moving deal. Rusty and I got lots ready this weekend. Right now, for example, we are sleeping on our mattress on the floor. Feels a little different. We will be ready, I just hope everything else is.

My friend Becca said I won't look as cute as that little puppy in the pic of my last blog. I will be sure to take a pic and post it. We'll just see Miss Becca!!

That's it. I'm out of stuff to say. There was lots more to our weekend like movies (Mall Cop, The Hangover, Yes Man, Flicka, The Horse Whisperer, Walk The Line) and taking Marley out for some running around and seeing a fox while we were at it.

On an ending note, I really really like Joaquin Phoenix. I am gonna have to buy "Walk The Line" in blue ray. Maybe the soundtrack too!

Please don't stop acting Joaquin!!!!!!!!!!!

I Don't Even Know

I don't even know if I should blog right now. I'm not even sure WHAT to blog about. I could continue to bore you with woes of the housing purchase but who wants to hear someone talk about the exact same stuff OVER AND OVER? I just understand being on the other end I guess, no matter how great the news/future.

I imagine come Tuesday (if it ever comes) I will feel like those kids on the TV commercial that are melted to the couch because they smoked too much pot. Or, like this..........................
tongue hanging out and all. I even went to bed last night at 8:50 and even though I slept I don't feel like I got any rest at all. Yep, come Tuesday evening I will look like that picture above-no matter the outcome. It will either be relief and happiness or depression and disappointment. We shall see. We have been guaranteed the relief and happiness but good ol' me always waits for the other shoe to fall.

EGBAR

That means Everything's Gonna Be All Right.

I struggled most of the day with my back. The satellite clinic just took too much of a toll on it yesterday. Finally feeling a little better this evening. Everything is still a go for closing on Tuesday. Only 5 days............lol.

This evening it came out in the news that not only have Ed McMahan and Farrah Fawcett passed away, but Michael Jackson too. There has been a lot of talk about it on Facebook and even some pretty heated "arguments" (in type). Yes, the man was accused of child molestation. Yes, the man had some issues. This does not change the fact that he was one of my generations greatest musicians. Even more so, one of the greatest of all time. Yeah, his shananigans of late have tainted his image but he is still the Michael Jackson that came out with the "Thriller" album. I always said it was sad that he lost touch with reality and started behaving and acting the way he did because he was sooooo talented but it NEVER changed how much I liked/like his music. It for damn sure didn't change how talented he was.

On a sad note one of my previous students called tonight in tears. She was on her way to the ER to be with her grandfather who had just had a heart attack. To most that may not seem like THAT big of a deal but the fact that her grandfather has raised/is still raising her and is her EVERYTHING to her changes things. I pray for him, her, and her sister who is a year or two younger than she is. The former student is only going to be a sophomore in high school and she needs her sole provider, her grandfather, to be there with her! Please pray for them.

Ok, I'm gonna "Beat It". Ha......that's in honor of Michael Jackson!

Status Post Injection

I had my sacroiliac injection yesterday. This injection was down near the tailbone and had to be angled in. The doctor said that most of the time people tense up and he has to restart because he has to "bend" the needle in the joint. Ok, so this one hurt quite a bit more than the three transforaminal injections I had done at the L2-L3 level of the lumbar (just below the middle) back. I am happy to say that the doctor was really pleased with the injection and he said I did perfect at not tensing up. It was really weird to have part of my butt numb afterwards. It didn't go away until this afternoon! Last night I used an ice pack in bed and it felt really good.

Today I had to travel to satellite clinic and I'm not supposed to stay in one position for very long after these injections, but work is work and you do what you gotta do. Either way, it was not good for my back. I was so glad to get home and lay down on the couch and put the ice pack on. I think I ran a little of a fever today and have had slight bouts of dizziness but I think it's okay. I have to call tomorrow and report my progress/problems so I will mention it. At least this injection wasn't near my spinal cord/column so not as much of a chance of paralysis and meningitis and so forth. I am hopeful, and I do feel a little better but the numbing medicine is still in there. I am willing to wait and see how it goes. It was really discouraging when the anesthesiologist stated he thought I would have to have surgery anyway but if this is what Dr. Dickerson suggested we would do it. It's just more money in his pocket and that is how it was stated. I am too convinced that Dr. Dickerson knows exactly what I am talking about because he knew the symptoms SO well. I am almost out of Mobic (high dosage anti inflammatory) so I don't know after that. It had helped a lot in the beginning so maybe the injection will finish it off.

I just ask for one day to feel as good as you do (back wise). Is that too much to ask? I would like to stand up without it hurting, pick something up without it hurting, sit down without it hurting. Am I making my point? No matter how you go about it, I will not use it as an excuse to get out of my responsibilities such as work, packing and so forth. Being responsible may cause more pain but I'd rather have it that way than not step up. At some point in life, you gotta face the facts and be a grown up.

Ouch

That's all I have to say...........ouch.

8 Days

Guess What......................................8 Days! Little inside joke on my part. ;o)

Today was interesting at work with all five of us techs there. That doesn't happen very often!

Tomorrow is my first (and only by my decision) sacroiliac injection. It was supposed to be today but we have to work around the surgery schedule for downstairs and they had to change it to tomorrow. Not really anything I have control over. It isn't until 3:30 so it should be fine. If I can I will go back to work, but after having a five inch needle shoved into my lower back/hip area I'm not sure! Plus, I may not be done in time. I have begun to wonder if the meds have done all they are gonna do.......I'm starting to have a little more pain. Nothing like before so hopefully the injection will knock it out. If not, that means scoping of the area. Ick.

One week from tomorrow we should be closing on our house. We asked for as early a closing time as possible since we need to be out of our rental by the 3rd. That doesn't leave any weekend time to move and we will be doing it all in the evenings around work. Thankfully we aren't that busy and I put in dibs to leave early on Wednesday and Thursday if needed. Got the inspection back today and everything was great. Just a few minor things that need attention. Can't wait! Can't wait even more for our parents to be able to come visit and stay with us!

Welp, gonna grab a shower and get to bed to "dream" about where I'm gonna put what in the house! That's getting in the way of my sleep! LOL

Where To Start?

Rusty and I decided to run and grab a cache in Colorado on Saturday. It's not that far of a drive so it was nice. Plus, it rained on us ALL DAY which was pretty awesome since we didn't have to sit in the sun in the car. We also had fun trying to get a few done while trying not to get too wet! The toy above, Lightning McQueen from "Cars" was an item I traded for at one cache. He enjoyed the travels with us! All in all it was a great day and such a cheap way to have fun! Especially when you have a Prius! We got to at least 225 on that trip. As Rusty says "It's not about the numbers, it's about the fun. Oh, and the numbers." That's my baby.



Thursday was our inspection and the "Sold" sign was placed on the realty sign in the yard of what we hope to be our home here in Hays. It was bittersweet as we were dealing with problems at the time and I wasn't even sure if we would be getting the place. It sounds like we have finally jumped through all the hoops for the loan company thanks to the support of so many people who helped and kept their fingers crossed for us! You know who you are! We had said we would stay in the rental we are in now for at least a year and we got close. Just gonna be short by two months since we moved here in September of 2008. We really thought we would stay longer but location turned out not to be very ideal. When you can't watch TV with your windows open because every time a car goes by you can't hear the television...........that's a nuisance! Either way, almost a year so we know we didn't JUMP into anything.



There's peanut. She was wore out from missing us all day I guess! Right now she is snoring her little head off! We washed her blanket and fixed her bed back up for her. She pretty much loves it!



So, as stated before, the ritual for geo-caching is going to McDonald's and getting a drink on the way out. Well, when peanut goes along we now also get her a water! Her cup holder is towards the back of the seats so you can't see it but don't you worry, she has one! Today we did a few caches and got to #233. We have done all in the Hays area except for about 20, and there are 90 or so total. Yep, we are addicted. Or, should I say, my husband is addicted and I like to go along! So far we have 48 for the month of June (a record for us) and are hoping to break 250 next weekend. That's if we aren't preparing to move. It won't be that difficult since most of our stuff is still packed away.

So, that's pretty much it for our weekend. Still stressed about the house but not as much. The tension just won't let up in my neck, shoulders, and back. I had told myself that after this whole house deal was done I was going to treat myself to a massage but that money should probably go to the house payment. Darn it!

I have my sacroiliac injection on Tuesday. I am not as confident about the pain tolerance on this one. It is in a different location and I am afraid it is going to be a big difference from the last. Either way, I hope it helps. Not sure with all the tension I have right now.

Come on June 30th!

Just Come On

Stressed, tired of thinking about it, just want it done. Completely mentally exhausted with the whole deal. Let's just come on.

Call, Call, Call

Rusty is sitting on the phone right now. He is on call tonight and of course he JUST got a call around 9:00. We'll see where that goes.

Today was a good day at work. Good as in going well. Becca did great for what she had to endure last night! We got more news on the house and are keeping our fingers crossed that we can close on the 30th still. Asking you to keep your fingers crossed too! Rusty and I walked over there tonight with Marley and were looking around the back yard when Marley started barking at the neighbors. Well, when no one has lived there for almost a year OF COURSE the neighbor was curious and looked over the fence. Whoops! Marley tattled on us! He was super nice and seemed about our age. Maybe a little younger......not for sure. We look forward to getting to know them and he seemed genuine when he welcomed us to the neighborhood.

Can't wait....but I'm gonna have to!

Here are some pictures of bubba. I tried to get him scratching his *nails* on the basket there. Hint-he's been declawed! Then here is a picture of bubba getting ready to knock my stuff off the end table. Of course I saved the Dr. Pepper before he did it!



Here is peanut waiting for her daddy to get back from being called out for work. She was mad after I took the picture and looked over and stuck her tongue out at me in the second picture. Seriously, check it out!



Those are my babies. Not much else. Just completely engrossed in this whole house thing and wanting it done. We have not been this stressed in a long time. Even the whole "let's sale the house and move to Hays" happening in less than a month wasn't this stressful! Geesh!

Oh yeah, I have to BEST dad's in the world!

Pooh-pey Day

Becca told me yesterday that she was taking her dog Tucker to be put down tonight. Her appointment was at 6:00, the same time as Benny's. Ok, let the emotions start. Damn it, I HATE it.

All day today I watched the clock and as it crept closer to 5:00 I knew she would be heading home to spend her last hour or so with Tucker. I have had the most somber evening, my mind on all that comes with the act of ending the life of your best friend. How the hell do you drive your best friend out to a location in which you know they will be taken from you, all in a span of about 5 minutes from when you walk through the front door and you walk out? No matter how sick or how bad the circumstances, just how the hell.............................

I did it and I don't know how. Still the hardest thing I have had to do. Sad that it is about a dog? No. If you don't understand I feel sorry for you and if you think it's "stupid" well, frankly, kiss my ass and quit reading. Seriously.

I can go from kiss the ground you walk on to pure hatred and anger in a heartbeat when it comes to innocent animals. Example, see above paragraph. :0) Sorry for going there.

You always wonder if you made the right decision. What if they would have gotten better? What if it wasn't their time? What if they wonder WHY? Why did the one I love and trust do this to me?

I know in my heart that none of the above is true.

It still doesn't help.



In memory of Tucker!

A Weekend Full of Fun For Us

I took the above picture this last weekend as we were driving down the country road. I did a little editing of it. I love to take pictures...especially of wildlife and flowers. Sometimes, however, when you are driving 45-60 mph down a country road it is hard to get those shots that pass you by! I always miss some good ones!



Rusty and I got our 200th geo-cache this weekend. Not bad since we just started on November 1, 2008. It was on Saturday and we had great weather for it. That's us above with our third team member and the cache.



This is at Cheyenne Bottoms, a nature preserve near Hoisington. These were pelicans that were eating. They took off in flight and landed again in the middle. It was beautiful!



Miss Marley Sue...she is a geo-cacher by heart. She is such a free spirit! She loves to just get out and roam around looking for caches! And, yes, it is ritual that we stop and get a drink at McDonalds before we leave!



Rusty in one of the many beautiful wheat fields we saw.



Look how tall this wheat was!! LOL



Another pic that I liked.



"OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CUTER THAN THEY APPEAR" (I stole that from Rusty!)
There's Marley waiting for daddy. I was too scared of the surroundings at this one. Can you say "Tick City"? It was going to be our 200th if he found it and I'm glad he didn't! He said it was just too thick of a wooded area in there. You can actually see him to the right in the pic.



This is the full blown picture of us with our 200th! It was such a beautiful setting.

Sunday was a Meet and Greet for Geocachers of our area. It was small but is was a lot of fun! There were 20 new caches placed and we found 10 with 6 of those being "First to Finds"! We had such a great weekend and the weather was so nice. Weekends like that are the best. Of course, I am stuck doing laundry tonight since we spent the whole weekend geo-caching but I spent it with the ones I love and that's what matters most!

Ode To Geo-Caching

This is dedicated to my husband.........

"Ode To Geo-Caching"
(think Louis Armstrong "What A Wonderful World")

I see fields of wheat
and oil rigs too
As I spend my Saturdays
geo-caching with you.

And I think to myself
what a beautiful life.

Trees of green
and skies of blue
plenty of caches
never too few.

And I think to myself
what a beautiful life.

The windows are down
the wind in our hair
all the worries in the world
today not a care.

And I think to myself
what a beautiful life.

Beautiful flowers here
beautiful birds there
no deadline for us
so we just stop and stare.

And I think to myself
what a beautiful life.

Yes, I think to myself,
what a beautiful life.

Love you babe!

A Nice Friday

Today was a good day, especially the afternoon. Rusty, Jason, and Claudine met Becca and I for lunch at my favorite Chinese place. It was yummy and just the right amount. Leigh and Casey were also there! These people know good food! LOL The afternoon went smooth at work and was nice.

Rusty and I went to see Becca's new puppy, Charlie, tonight. He is super cute and I think he is gonna be the kids little buddy. He seems to be very open to training. Rusty had a good time getting him to fetch his ball. Can't wait to get back over there and spend more time with them!

Marley doesn't seem to be feeling well. I think she might have a cold. She has had a runny nose and feels almost feverish. We took her for a quick walk and it helped perk her up a bit. She finally ate earlier and she ate quite a bit! Hoping her fever broke. I think she is ready for bed now. She probably got too cold in bed the other night and we have been using her sweater the last two nights. We keep it at about 65 degrees in the bedroom and it's a little chilly for a little girl!

Tomorrow is Saturday and we are planning on doing some geo-caching. I don't know how much or how long. I am trying to get Rusty to "plant" a few but we just aren't sure where since you have to make sure you have permission. Wanted to put one in Oklahoma but that didn't work out. Either way...........we will have a fun day!

Facebook Keeps Me Too Busy

I sat down to check e-mail and blog and then I got on Facebook too. Big mistake! I was gonna shower and be in bed by 9:00. In case you can't tell, it's a quarter 'til now! LOL Of course, right now I am chatting with Staci and Aubrey at the same time....it's kind of fun!

Tomorrow is Friday and I am ready. We have a geo-caching gathering to attend on Sunday and we are looking forward to that.

Not much else going on. Went to the dentist today to get a small cavity filled and it turned into a big old ordeal. The cavity was in such an awkward spot that it was WAY hard to get to. Not a good afternoon. I had planned on going back to work after the appointment but wasn't done until 4:30 and numb as heck so I came home.

TTYL!

Porn

I was looking at PetFinder today because a really good friend is thinking of getting a puppy listed on there from our local humane society. Marley went and sat with Rusty and he said "Yeah, she's looking at porn."

Well, that's fine. I also cheated on her after work with Duner and Moxie.

She still loves me.

Pleasantly Happy

The stretches and anti-inflammatory medicine is really helping. I still have some difficutly but not nearly as much as I did. I am hoping to only have to endure one injection at the sacroiliac joint. And I mean REALLY hoping. That happens on the 22nd which is coming up soon! Believe it or not, I am ready. (I think, lol)

I received my Upgrade Kit for my Private Quarters today and there are a couple of items that are to die for. I know some of it is expensive, but what price do you give quality AND comfort? The North Woods throw is amazing. We are calling it the "O" blanket. You figure that one out. If you don't know what I am talking about go here. The micro-plush blankets that have the silk edge (like you want Dawn!) are amazing too. So much good stuff. It is expensive but holding a party is the best way to purchase stuff at even more discounted prices! Of course, you don't have to host to purchase. ;o)

Nighty Night!

*big sigh*

I don't have much to say tonight. Just choosing not to.

Work was crazy since I went in a little early and NO ONE was in yet. Schedule was a little fubar for today. Glad I went in when I did. There were 7-8 people just waiting.

That's it.

Hello There

It's a beautiful Saturday night and I am ready to shower and hit the hay but I am gonna blog first. Dr. Dickerson at the Abay Neuroscience Center was AMAZING. I really, really like him. Definitely worth the 3 hour drive. We were so happy with what we found out. Dr. Green did a good job with helping part of my problem, there is a major problem that was the second cause of my pain. It was unfortunate that the MRI couldn't detect this problem as it would have saved some time and some days in pain. Based on my symptoms my sacroiliac joint is VERY inflamed causing daily tasks such as brushing my teeth, putting on pants, putting on shoes, etc. to be painful enough to cause difficulty in completing them. I was so happy when the doctor started naming off things that were difficult to do. It was like someone finally understood my pain. Guess what? He did! Dr. Dickerson has suffered from the exact same thing. He has it under control now so that he only has to take meds when it flares up. I will be getting my first sacroiliac joint injection on the 22nd of this month. I have already started the high dosage anti-inflammatory that is taken once daily and it has already helped. I am a little scared of this next injection because of the location. The mid-back injection was okay. But down between my hip and lower back?? ICK. That is way better than surgery I'd have to say!

While Rusty and I were in Wichita we grabbed a quick geo-cache so we could have one in Sedgwick county. We didn't find the first geo-cache we went to, but I did find $5.00 and this beautiful bird protecting her eggs! She kept a close eye on us!



Rusty and I went geocaching today and let me tell you, I am scared to death now. I hate the thought of getting out in ANY tall grass. I don't want it to be like that but it's the truth. Even with spray, I don't feel safe. I think from now on I will prefer to wear jeans at all times and always pull my hair up since that last little booger that gave me Rocky Moutain Spotted Fever was attached to my neck. I don't want to be deterred from doing something I really like but I am scared of it. No doubt about it. It's a good thing that it happened a few weeks ago because it would effect my injection if not. I sure hope it doesn't effect my life too much.

Here is a cute pic of Marley in bed one night. She stayed there the whole night!


I think that's probably it. I am tired and HOT. Can't wait to get in there in our cool bedroom! Even more excited to get into our new home. Praying the inspection and all else goes well!

Uh Wee Mo Wuh Uh Wee Mo Wuh

I'm not sure if that's how it's spelled out??

Tomorrow is my visit to the neurosurgeon in Wichita. I am nervous because I don't know how I want it to go. Do I want him to suggest surgery or not? I don't want to remain in the amount of pain I have been in but then again I can't IMAGINE having them go in through my belly, move my superior vena cava and aorta over to the side (along with muscle and other organs) to get to my spine. There are no guarantees that the pain will go away. What if it's worse?

I guess there are lots of questions for the surgeon tomorrow. Glad Rusty is going with me because I'll sit in there and forget to ask any thing!

Exciting Day!!

I don't think I mentioned Keiko practicing his hunting skills lately. Last week (I think), I heard a screeching bird out in the back yard as I was getting ready for work. Well, it got louder and louder until it was echoing in my kitchen. Here comes Keiko to show momma his latest catch. The bird got loose in the bathroom and Rusty wouldn't pick him up so I went and got him. I was hoping he would live as I placed him out front. We looked out shortly after that and he was dead. :o(

Last night we had just crawled into bed and were reading when I heard another screaming noise. Again, it got louder and louder.........................



He was just the cutest little bunny you had ever seen! Rusty locked Keiko inside so we didn't get any more surprises and I let the bunny go out front. He was SO soft!

Confused

Rusty and I signed a contract on a house today here in Hays. This leads me to my complaint........why do I feel so bummed? I know there are other things on my mind, but I should be excited. Rusty says I will after the shock and worry wear off.

I sure hope so.

P.S. I sure hope I got to tell some people before others stole my good news.