the new year is a month old...

Updating this blog hasn't crossed my mind in ages. There has been more going on than I can begin to recount here: I became a full-time instructor for Kaplan in January, I defended my dissertation proposal in December and am waiting for IRB approval to launch my web survey, I've turned over a new leaf with regard to my diabetes and have been checking my BG like it's my job, and I'm getting ready to go back on an insulin pump for the first time in nearly 25 years.

It has been colder this winter than I remember Alabama ever being, and there's snow on the ground as I type. We're still loving the house,and last month Charles and Dalila moved back to Alabama. We have only seen them once, but it's nice to know they are near once again.

We've endured one great tragedy since my last post. Our dear old dog died in October, a few months shy of her 14th birthday. She went down very quickly, but the hole in our hearts still feels like it may never fully heal.

More soon, I hope....

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things! 

I don't like Mondays

Yesterday I posted at about 1:00 a.m., so it still felt like Sunday. Not until after I went to bed, got up, and started trying to get some work done (new week, new me) did the Monday-ness kick in.

Last week, I spent Monday getting tested and checked in to the hospital, then the day ended with me in surgery having my appendix removed. Nice. This week was a different sort of bad.

On the Landlanders blog I've posted about our hopes and dreams and fears and tribulations about being under contract to buy an older house in need of some TLC. Well, this Monday all plans fell through and we were forced to void the contract. I will continue to leave the real estate discussion on that blog, but suffice it to say we were extremely upset and felt completely wronged.

Well, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. And today we went to see a different house, one that's practically move-in ready, and are waiting to hear from our agent to work out an offer. We've joked that this is the rebound house; we'll have at least one date with a really good-looking house to get over the drama that just ended. But it's possible this is the one!

--Jennifer
Nothing shines as bright on a Monday

appendix free -- that's me!

It's been almost a week since my appendix was removed. Feels like three weeks. I've not had much energy or opportunity to post, but here's a quick recap. I felt unwell last Sunday afternoon, and by Sunday night I knew something was seriously amiss in my belly. Monday morning Tom took me to the doctor's office, where they did some lab tests and decided I likely had appendicitis. So across the street to DCH I went, where the rest of the afternoon was spent getting blood drawn, IVs started (in my dehydrated veins), and then a CT scan.

By Monday evening my mom had arrived and I was in a room. The surgeon came to visit and said, "It's coming out tonight." And at about 11:30, surgery commenced. I returned to my room at about 2:00.

Tuesday I was troubled with post-surgery pain and a high fever; it stayed in the 102.5 range most of the day and spiked to 104. A miserable day, despite the morphine and visits from my boss, Dr. Blum; my cousin Ron; and my oldest friend, Meredith. (She's 103. Not really. But she has been my friend for almost 32 years.)

And then came the call that an agent wanted to show our house the following day.

I spent Wednesday largely by myself while Tom tried to get the house ready to show, and then he entertained the carful of animals while the people were in the house. I felt better than the day before but still not fantastic. And someone made an appointment to see the house on Thursday morning, so Tom got to do it all again the next day. (And this one was for a 2.5-hour stint. Poor Tom.)

Thursday my mom came down early and was present when my drain tube was removed. The darn thing was about 14 inches long and stung as it was pulled out! But much of the pain and irritation I'd had since the surgery was alleviated almost instantly once the tube was gone. I got to go home Thursday afternoon.

Since then I've slept a lot and worked out the stiffness in my limbs and back, generated by trying to not use my abs. Compensating with legs and back makes for a lot of aching. Today my folks and Grandma came and brought us lunch, plus plenty of leftovers to feast upon for the next few days.

And that's it in a nutshell.

One more thing: The folks who came to see the house on Wednesday came back for a second visit on Friday evening. No word yet though.

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things stuck in my arms! 

sad, sad day

Yesterday the world lost a light, a woman I am very sorry wasn't one of my best friends. (I'd have had to take a number, though; seems lots of folks felt the same way.)

Penny vs. Cancer, Little Red Hen

Penny McAllister lost her battle with leukemia yesterday. A valiant three-month fight, which ended a few weeks before her 57th birthday. I only met Penny once. I worked with her daughter Katie at the time, and her mother, Joyce, had been the curator of special collections at the University (and Tom's boss) for years and years. Katie is very much like Joyce, and when I walked in and saw Penny sitting in the office, I said something about how she fit right into the space between her mother and her daughter. (They are three of a kind.) She said, "Yes, I'm the missing link!"

This was before I knew her younger daughter, Mary-Keeley. Both girls worked at special collections while they were undergrads, and I worked there as a grad student. I ended up working with MK longer and knowing her better than I did Katie. But my heart aches for both of them right now, and for Joyce. For everyone who knew and loved her, which by all appearances was a huge circle of folks.

--Jennifer
No shiny things today.

more signs that I'm old

Not only do I blog about cleaning my refrigerator, I now get to add an ACE-inhibitor to my daily drug roster. For those of you young folks reading this, that's blood pressure medication. I'll be on blood pressure AND cholesterol-lowering meds.

And on top of that, this pain I've had in my shoulder is most likely not an injury to my rotator cuff (which is good), but a somewhat spontaneous condition called capsulitis, or frozen shoulder. "People 40 or older are more likely to develop this problem." Nice. But seriously, it's possibly an autoimmune disorder, so it fits in with all my other endocrine issues. *sigh* (At least I'm almost 40, not having this happen at 25.)

Also I get to take daily anti-inflammatories, probably Advil. Maybe I need some rheumatism liniment, or perhaps a poultice of some sort would help. Or I could just feel blessed with the ability to forecast the weather with my arm! (No, I can't really do that. At least not reliably.)

So today was an odd mixture of good and bad. Blood pressure still running slightly high, bad. Going on medication that might have some unpleasant side-effects, bad. But treating it before it becomes a scary problem, good. And not having to have shoulder surgery is very good indeed! (I love my endocrinologist!)

And tomorrow we'll (hopefully) have lined up the inspector, paid our earnest money, and have a plan for listing this house on the official market. Good, good, good!

And I almost forgot! The day started out GREAT when I got a reply from a fellow genealogist I had contacted, who sent me a link to a resource I didn't already know about. Spent my spare time today tracking down death certificates for folks whose certs we hadn't located and collecting parents' names in some cases. Very, very good for the family research! More about that here.

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things!