Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
January 25 - 31, 2009
Well, my shoulder feels a tad bit bigger, so I'm going to try to start catching up on my posts, bit by bit.
On Sunday the 25th, Norm and I went out to dinner at the Onion with a couple from his work. I had met them at the annual barbecue they host at their home in the summer for many of the crew on Norm's shift. I had the Hula burger, which was pretty good, but not fabulous. We enjoyed our time with R and C and just getting out of the house to relax. Earlier in the day, I had hosted Scanfest and finished scanning my great-grandfather's funeral book and started on my grandmother's yearbook.
In the middle of the week, we got a notification from our credit union that my debit card would have to be canceled. Seems like a Visa processing center in New Jersey had a security breach and my card number was at risk for possibly being used for fraudulent purposes. So I had to either use Norm's debit card (our checking account was unaffected) or one of my credit cards for bills and shopping until I received the new one they mailed to me.
The kids had eye exams for the first time in years on Wednesday. When they were little, our insurance covered eye exams, but we changed providers over time and weren't covered. Later, when Norm was hired at Itronix, we added vision insurance for him and me since we were in need of reading glasses, but not the kids as they seemed to be doing OK. We decided a few months ago to add the kids to our vision when Missy started complaining of headaches and eye fatigue. Matt's vision was 20/20, but Missy did need some corrective lenses. I really like the frames she picked out.
On Sunday the 25th, Norm and I went out to dinner at the Onion with a couple from his work. I had met them at the annual barbecue they host at their home in the summer for many of the crew on Norm's shift. I had the Hula burger, which was pretty good, but not fabulous. We enjoyed our time with R and C and just getting out of the house to relax. Earlier in the day, I had hosted Scanfest and finished scanning my great-grandfather's funeral book and started on my grandmother's yearbook.
In the middle of the week, we got a notification from our credit union that my debit card would have to be canceled. Seems like a Visa processing center in New Jersey had a security breach and my card number was at risk for possibly being used for fraudulent purposes. So I had to either use Norm's debit card (our checking account was unaffected) or one of my credit cards for bills and shopping until I received the new one they mailed to me.
The kids had eye exams for the first time in years on Wednesday. When they were little, our insurance covered eye exams, but we changed providers over time and weren't covered. Later, when Norm was hired at Itronix, we added vision insurance for him and me since we were in need of reading glasses, but not the kids as they seemed to be doing OK. We decided a few months ago to add the kids to our vision when Missy started complaining of headaches and eye fatigue. Matt's vision was 20/20, but Missy did need some corrective lenses. I really like the frames she picked out.
I had been running short on sleep all week and it was obvious when I went to teach my third Online Beginning Genealogy class Thursday evening and discovered I had forgotten to bring my flash drive with my PowerPoint presentation, "Clues in the Census," on it! At least I had reviewed it the evening before, so it was fresh in my mind. I was able to wing it by simply going to the genealogy websites that had census data and talking about the various highlights of each decade's census.
Saturday was the best and worst day all rolled into one. It was the best because I got to see my brother and my paternal aunt, neither of whom I'd seen in a year. The awful wintry weather across Washington State had prevented my brother, who lives on Whidbey Island, from visiting during Christmas. My aunt is a nurse with a traveling nurses agency and she has been working in the San Francisco area. Both this year and last year she came at the end of January to stay with my other aunt who lives in Spokane Valley and to get together with all the extended family in the area at a restaurant. My parents came down, as well as my sister and her boys, and her biological daughter with her adoptive family. We celebrated the January birthdays of my visiting aunt, my niece, and my son Matt. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do, and none of them were posed very well, but here are a few shots:
My dad and his sisters
My siblings and I
Saturday was the best and worst day all rolled into one. It was the best because I got to see my brother and my paternal aunt, neither of whom I'd seen in a year. The awful wintry weather across Washington State had prevented my brother, who lives on Whidbey Island, from visiting during Christmas. My aunt is a nurse with a traveling nurses agency and she has been working in the San Francisco area. Both this year and last year she came at the end of January to stay with my other aunt who lives in Spokane Valley and to get together with all the extended family in the area at a restaurant. My parents came down, as well as my sister and her boys, and her biological daughter with her adoptive family. We celebrated the January birthdays of my visiting aunt, my niece, and my son Matt. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do, and none of them were posed very well, but here are a few shots:
My mom and my sister
My dad and his sisters
My siblings and I
As usual, someone snapped the camera while I was talking.I'm sure some family member will now wisecrack about how it is impossible to photograph me when I am not talking!
And now the "worst day" part: Saturday night was the worst night I had, painwise, since my shoulder problems started eight months ago. While it wasn't the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life (that's a three-way-tie between ear infections, a tooth nerve dying, and childbirth), it was constant pain at a fairly intense level and I was so exhausted and frustrated that my shoulder has only gotten worse since I returned to work earlier in the month. I took a painkiller for the first time in about six weeks, which took nearly two hours to kick in. Fortunately, it did not make me itch (someone told me later this may be an allergic reaction), but I did get horribly nauseous, had insomnia, and swelled up (another symptom of an allergic reaction?). The next day I was simply exhausted, even though I slept til 1 PM (after finally falling asleep at 3 AM). This was not a great way to end the week.
And now the "worst day" part: Saturday night was the worst night I had, painwise, since my shoulder problems started eight months ago. While it wasn't the worst pain I've ever experienced in my life (that's a three-way-tie between ear infections, a tooth nerve dying, and childbirth), it was constant pain at a fairly intense level and I was so exhausted and frustrated that my shoulder has only gotten worse since I returned to work earlier in the month. I took a painkiller for the first time in about six weeks, which took nearly two hours to kick in. Fortunately, it did not make me itch (someone told me later this may be an allergic reaction), but I did get horribly nauseous, had insomnia, and swelled up (another symptom of an allergic reaction?). The next day I was simply exhausted, even though I slept til 1 PM (after finally falling asleep at 3 AM). This was not a great way to end the week.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Taking a Break
I'm taking a self-imposed break from blogging for one week. My shoulder has been getting progressively worse since I started work a month ago, in both the intensity and duration of pain as well as the involuntary movements and muscle spasms I'm experiencing--identical to what was occurring in the weeks before surgery. Last night was the worst night, painwise, I've had in the eight months since all this started and I can't continue blogging, working, driving, doing paperwork, and keeping house without risking injury or worse. Something has to give for a bit, and I'm hoping a break from blogging will relieve the symptoms some.
I'll still be online, as I can read other blogs and my e-mails and publish my comments. It's just keyboarding that is stressing my left shoulder and arm, and while it's possible to type with just one hand, it's too frustrating for me to go that slow.
Thank you for your understanding.
I'll still be online, as I can read other blogs and my e-mails and publish my comments. It's just keyboarding that is stressing my left shoulder and arm, and while it's possible to type with just one hand, it's too frustrating for me to go that slow.
Thank you for your understanding.
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