I had my surgery today. It wasn't too bad. They told me they were going to sedate me while doing the surgery just to relax me. I felt my nose getting itchy and then the next thing I knew they were waking me up to move me to the recovery room. Since my nose was itchy, they gave me Benadryl and I was out like a light. I didn't know anything had been done. I was in surgery for about 30 minutes. I was in recovery for about 40 minutes. They put me on a regular IV there, hooked me up to oxygen and after a little bit, got some ice chips (I needed them. I was so thirsty). Then, they took me to another resting area where they let Greg come back. I got some water there. I got dressed and got to go home after that. The people there couldn't have been nicer. The surgery was at 7:30 this morning and I'm writing this at 11:50 pm. My hand is still numb from the stuff they used. So far, I would have to say this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I might change my mind when I can feel my thumb and finger.

Yesterday, I decided it was time to chop off a bunch of hair again. I cut off over 10 inches. There was plenty to send to Locks of Love and I even went a little shorter than I had to. My hair is now right above my shoulders. I haven't had my hair this short since I was a kid. It feels pretty weird right now.

I met with the surgeon on Friday. He said that it could be a ganglion cyst but it could also be a mass that formed in the nerve. He thinks it might be the nerve with the way I can feel it shoot down my thumb when he was flicking it and when he was moving it around. If he knew it was a cyst, he said he could have used the needle to suck the fluid out. But, since he doesn't know for sure, he doesn't want to do that. If he tried to use the needle and it was the nerve, he said it would just make it mad and probably make it worse. So, I scheduled the surgery for 7-12 at 7:30 am. He said recovery should be about 48 hours. It might be a little stiff until the stitches come out 10 days later, but I can still work. Yippee!

I've read a lot of books since my last update. I'll cover it all here.

 

This was a great book. This is about a woman in a failing marriage that went on a cruise with her husband for their 2nd anniversary. He tosses her overboard to get rid of her. He thinks she knows things she shouldn't. She didn't die. The rest of the book is her getting even with him and making sure he pays for trying to kill her. Great story. ********9 stars.

 

This is a great series of books. The first one follows Nick and Billie. The 3 middle ones are about Max and Jamie. The last one is about Annie and Wes. I put them all together because they will sound very similar. Each book has mystery and romance. These are well done because it is not a standard romance that is all about sex. It is mostly mystery. Check these out. They are very good. *******8 Stars each.

So, I have put off surgery for a while at least. The doctor did say that it moves around too much and is too small to use a needle to remove the fluid. He is having me compress it with this tape stuff for 10 days and hopefully, this will be enough to either make it not hurt or reduce the cyst. I go back on May 2 to see what the results are.

 

Today, we went to Hot Fuzz. This is from the same guys that did Shaun of the Dead. This is a parody of action movies. If you like Shaun of the Dead, you are gonna like this too. This is hilarious. I actually think that most people would enjoy this movie. Definitely anyone who likes action movies. I highly recommend this!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I found this painful little lump in my hand, just under my thumb knuckle on the palm side of my hand. I went to the doctor and found out it is a ganglion cyst. Unless it shows symptoms, there is no reason to do anything about it. Well, mine is very sensitive and hurts when I stretch my hand. Sometimes, it just throbs for no reason. The doctor said to give it a week and see if the pain went away. He thought that maybe the cyst broke and the fluid was causing the pain. Well, it's been a little over a week and it still hurts. I am going to see a surgeon about it tomorrow. I will most likely have to have this surgically removed. We'll see for sure tomorrow.

I really wanted to read this because Rachel McAdams is going to be in this movie. Then I heard what it was about and I really wanted to read it. I was not let down by this book. It is about a man that has a disease that causes him to time travel against his will. He first met his future wife when she was only 6. They continued to meet and by the time she was 16, she was in love. He was in love from the first day he met her in his present time. In their present times, they are only 8 years apart. The book is about their life together, their struggles, and successes. You wouldn't think time travel is such a big deal, but when he does it, he could end up naked in the middle of a busy highway. This is an amazing book and I would recommend that anyone read this. ********* 10 Stars.

I just finished reading The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I happened to watch the movie in the middle of reading the book. The two are very different. Really, the only thing they have in common is a girl gets a job for a very mean and demanding magazine editor-in-chief. The book goes into a lot more detail about how mean she is and the ridiculous things she makes the assistant do. The movie didn't make her seem as mean as the book did. I really liked the book and the movie, but keep in mind that they are very, very different. 9 Stars

On November 17, we went to my Uncle Kyle's retirement ceremony from the U.S. Air Force. This was a very emotional day with everything that has happened this year, but I am so glad I went. I knew that Kyle was an amazing person, but to hear his colleagues speak of him with such respect was incredible. There are not words to express how proud I am of Kyle both in his career and his life. He is a true hero. I love you so much Kyle!

 

I got my temporary crown on my tooth the Tuesday before the retirement. After the novacaine wore off, it hurt worse than the root canal. I get the permanent crown put in on Friday. Looking forward to that.

 

Yesterday I had a mishap with some Super Glue. I was fixing Smoove's remote lock control for his car and I got a little crazy with the Super Glue and ended up squirting it all over my left hand. I soaked my hand in nail polish remover for a while but it didn't really do anything. I had to peel it all off, which hurt like crazy. It was really funny at the time, but the downside is that my wedding ring was glued to my finger for a while. I had to crack the super glue around my ring and then peel some of it off my finger to get my ring off. I am going to take it to a jeweler to see if they can clean it off. I made a mess out of it.

 

On Saturday, we went to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas concert. This was a great time again. The baritone guy, Richard, was goofing around with Greg. At one point, Santa is running around and the Oak Ridge Boys were tossing candy canes to the crowd. Richard comes over and tosses me a few candy canes. Then, he tosses one to Greg. He started to walk away but then looked disappointed that Greg only got one so he grabbed a handful and tossed him more. He went away and gave more candy canes to other people. Closer to the end of the song, he comes back over with a big smile on his face and tosses a huge handful at Greg again. He ended up with 20 candy canes. It was hilarious. We were front row and almost in the center. Now, I'm ready for Christmas.

Friday I had a root canal which wasn't as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind. While I was in the chair, I could feel my sinuses filling up. I tried to take care of it the way I normally do which is taking Sudafed to keep them cleared out as much as possible. Didn't work. This thing hit me hard and fast. I went the the doctor yesterday (Wednesday) after nearly a week of feeling like crap. I have a pretty nasty sinus infection. It looks like I got to the doctor before it took hold in my lungs. I've stayed home all week. I'm going back on Friday but was gone the rest of the week. I'm feeling better than before, but still not great. I'll have to deal with it though.

It took me a while to get through this just because I don't have much time to read right now. The book I read was Cell by Stephen King. This book is about a "pulse" that goes through the cell phones that basically turns people into zombie like creatures. Most of the people were turned into zombies but the story follows a few of the survivors as they continue to try to survive. Great book until the very end. It's like he wanted to end the book one way but stopped in the middle. The end stopped short and it's frustrating. Other than feeling lost at the end, this was a great book. Another solid one from Stephen King. 9 stars.

I’m going to try to get back into the swing of things here. So, I’ll start by listing the TV shows we’ve been watching. Everyone knows I watch a lot of TV, so here goes:

Sunday

Dexter – This is a show about a blood splatter expert who is also a serial killer. He goes after people that didn’t get punished for their crimes. This is a great show. If you have Showtime, you should check it out.

Desperate Housewives – After a not so good second season and an OK start of a third, this show seems to be starting to get back to the level of the first season. This is kind of a guilty pleasure show. I know it’s a silly show, but I love it.

Monday

How I Met Your Mother – Barney (Neil Patrick Harris aka Doogie Howser M.D.) makes this show. He is a man-whore and is hilarious. The only thing that irritates me is that toward the beginning of the show, they said that Ted and Robin don’t end up together but all along, it has been about Ted trying to get Robin and finally getting her and them dating. It seems like a waste of time when we already know what’s going to happen.

Heroes - The title of this one kinda says it all. It is a group of people who discover they have extraordinary abilities. They come from all over the world to try to stop certain things and save people. I was surprised at how good this show is and continues to get better.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip – This has been surprisingly good so far. It is a show about how a weekly, late night, sketch comedy show, like Saturday Night Live, gets made. This is good so far, but I wonder how long it can stay that way.

Tuesday

Gilmore Girls - This is an excellent show. This is an example of why I like old movies, fast talking, the obscure references, and lots of sarcasm.

Veronica Mars – Best show on TV hands down. Veronica is now in college (high school when the show started) and solves mysteries for friends and anyone that will pay her, really. She is smart and really sarcastic. They don’t dumb this show down for kids or anyone. It is awesome.

Boston Legal - William Shatner and James Spader being retarded, inappropriate, and just plain hilarious together. They are lawyers and James Spader gets all the wacky cases. William Shatner thinks he has mad cow disease and all he does is sit in the courtroom looking like he's asleep.

Wednesday

Jericho - This seems like something straight out of a Stephen King novel. It started out with a nuclear blast in Denver. The little town of Jericho, Kansas has to deal with the fallout. This is an intense show.

Lost – Love, love, love this show. For anyone not already watching this show, trying to explain it would make it sound really silly. Just watch it.

Thursday

My Name is Earl – I celebrate everything about this show. Earl and his list of bad things he has done and is trying to make up for. Randy and his simple mind. Joy and her white trash life with Darnell (Crab Man) and her kids.

The Office – Dry, office humor. If you get it, it’s hilarious. If you don’t get it, you don’t have a sense of humor. Come on, who doesn’t love to hate Dwight?

Smallville – Once Jonathan died last season, the show kinda went downhill. This season is a little better, but not as good as the first several seasons.

Ugly Betty – So far this show is good, but how many times can you watch something get screwed up, Betty is to blame or takes the blame, she tries to quit but her boss won’t let her and then the day is saved of course. I don’t know how long I can put up with Betty’s naive way of saving the day. It’s starting to wear a little thin.

Random Days

Robot Chicken – Hilarious sketch comedy show done with toys and clay. Very funny stuff and completely random.

Masters of Horror – This has only been mediocre so far, but with so many big names involved, it draws me in.

Ebert & Roeper – These guys give movie reviews. I love movies. They have given recommendations on some great movies that I would have passed on. Well worth the 30 minutes to check it out.

We tried 30 Rock & 20 Good Years also. 30 Rock was horrible. They used the same retarded joke 3 times in the 15 minutes we watched it. 20 good years was better than 30 Rock, but apparently watching 70 year old men say stuff that a 20-something would say is supposed to be hilarious. It wasn’t.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. This book started off slow, but got much better. It started with 3 stories of how people died. They are all unrelated. The deaths are a minimum of 10 years old, one was over 30 years old. They are brought together when a private detective is asked to solve the two murders and find the daughter of one of the people murdered. It never really says whether he solves them, but it did explain each of the deaths and what happened to the daughter. After getting through the whole book, I would give this 6 stars.

Speak Now: Married to Mystery by Margaret Dumas. This was a really good book. This is about a woman that was just married in Europe and has just come back to the U.S. She comes back and thrown into a very odd mystery. I loved this because they keep you guessing as to who did it. I only figured it out just before they actually tell you who was doing it. I highly recommend this book. 8 Stars.

 

Party Princess and Sweet Sixteen Princess by Meg Cabot. Party Princess is the similar to the other Princess Diaries books. One of the storylines would have been resolved with one conversation. At least the other was someone else not wanting to talk about their problems. Once it finally came out, it was all OK, but I just wish these people would just talk to each other sometimes. There is a lot of fun along the way, so that's why the books get the rating they do. Sweet Sixteen Princess is just about Mia worrying that her grandmother and her friend are planning some outrageous birthday surprise that she doesn't want and actually gets a surprise that she enjoys. 6 Stars for each.

Yesterday was Sarah & Cody's wedding. It was beautiful and they are so perfect for each other. The day went well with only a few hiccups along the way, like rain while pictures were being taken. It was an outdoor wedding, so that's why rain wasn't good. It did clear up before the ceremony. Sarah looked absolutely amazing in her dress. The reception was fun. Crazy dancing with family is always a good time. It was a great day all the way around.

 

Best wishes to Sarah and Cody!

 

In the photos, the first one is Sarah and Cody, the second is Sarah and her brother, Casey. Just a few of many pictures that were taken yesterday.

We watched the VH1 Rock Honors tonight. Most of the show was pretty straight forward, but at the end they had a band paying tribute to Kiss. They assembled what I would call one of the greatest bands of all time. They had Tommy Lee on drums, Slash and Gilby Clark on guitar, Scott Ian on bass, and Rob Zombie singing. They also brought out Ace Frehley to play guitar. They did God of Thunder. It was incredible. Only to be topped by Kiss themselves playing Detroit Rock City and Love Gun. Kiss just knows how to put on a good show and make everyone have fun.

No lottery win last night. Oh well. I knew the luck wouldn't hold out that long. I finished the book I was working on today during work.

 

A Married Man by Catherine Alliott - This was a good book and I was surprised. I picked this up at a bargain book store, so I wasn't expecting much. Basically, it's about a woman whose husband was killed in a car accident 4 years earlier. She has to raise 2 children on her own. She meets this married man and becomes a bit obsessed with him and tries to arrange these "accidental" meetings. She then moves into a converted barn that her mother-in-law offered since she was struggling to keep up in the home she was in. She then sees the married man at a party and they try to begin an affair. They are never able to actually go through with anything, not for lack of trying, for various reasons. She then finds out that his wife is not the freak he makes her out to be and that he had accidentally killed his son several years earlier. She ends up helping him and his wife come back together. Then she finds that her mother-in-law is trying to make her look like an unfit mother and take her children away. She started their house on fire and was going to tell police that the children were unsupervised and started the fire, but the house burned down and in the end, the mother-in-law died, but told someone about her lies before she died. There's a lot going on in this book, but I like that. Good stuff. 8 stars.

I had a great day at work today. I was offered a position in a different department. I am so excited!! They chose me out of everyone else that works there and that is rare. I, of course, accepted it. I start on Monday. I spent most of the morning listening with my new department to get a feel for what they do. Then I sat in on a little training for that group. There is someone else who just started over there and I sat in on a little training with him.

 

Also, they had these little drawing things going on all week and I won today. Nothing big, it was just a little water bottle that has the thing you freeze and put in the center. It's cool, but I never win anything.

 

Since I am having a good day, I stopped and got some lottery tickets. We'll see if my luck continues because the drawing is tonight.

Whew!! This weekend was busy and went really fast. Friday, when we got off work at about 3, we came home and got our stuff packed up. That took a little while, plus we had to get gas and we also grabbed some food quick. We finally start for Huron at about 5. We are headed to Huron today for Cindy & Randy's 25th anniversary party. We get to Huron at about 7 and stop at Greg's parent's house to drop our stuff off. After a few minutes there, we head to the party. There were a lot of people there and it was a good time. We stayed for a few hours but then it was about bed time. We left and went back to Greg's parent's house. After talking a little while, we head to bed.

 

Saturday morning, I get up and head to my mom's to get her. We have to go to the YWCA to decorate for Sarah's shower. We get a few things together and head to the Y. My aunt Nikki is just pulling up when we get there at about 8:15. We unload everything and get started. My dad, Kyle, and Randy all helped decorate. We finish up at about noon. I head back to Greg's parent's house to change and head back to my mom's house to pick her up. I have to print a few things again quick, so I do that. We head back to the Y to finish up a few things. The party doesn't start until 2 but Sarah is going to come at around 1 to check things out. We've kept her in the dark on most of what we were doing. She got there a little while before the guests got there. Smoove and Diddy crashed the party for a few minutes. Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves and Sarah liked it. That's all that really matters.

 

Right after the shower, it's time for Matt and Madison's birthday party. Even more people show up for that. We had some fun and what's even better, everyone was laughing and having a good time. It was good to see that.

 

We clean up the place a little. We had the place for the weekend, but then they told my mom that they had booked it for someone else on Saturday night. We left the decorations up but swept the floor and moved some tables out of the way. We then head back to Greg's parents house. I took a shower. The Y had their air conditioning set at 84 degrees, meaning that it didn't kick in until it hit 84 degrees. It was really hot and running around made it worse. I just needed to cool off. When I get done we eat and then play some marbles. I'm not very good at the game since I've only played 2 games before. I was teamed with Greg's dad and we lost both games. My back can't handle any more and I need some sleep. I went to bed at a little after 9.

 

Easter Sunday, we get up at about 7 after a horrible night's sleep. It rained all night and the wind was blowing in just such a way that the big rain drops were hitting against the metal down spout for several hours in the middle of the night. It kept us awake for quite a while. It was kind of a lazy morning and we talked, surfed the internet, and Greg's mom made a great Easter dinner. We start watching Into The West, just to see if it is interesting enough to rent on our own. It was alright, but it is 8 nearly 2 hour episodes. I don't know if I liked it that much.

 

Then we head back to the Y for an Easter get together with my family. There are even more people there than there were on Saturday. It was a good time. Sarah, Cassy, and I hid eggs for the kids to find. It was fun. I got some hilarious pictures of Zach, Marty, Matt and BDC among others. We head back to Greg's parents house to get our stuff and say goodbye. We then head back to my mom's house. I told a few people that I would copy the pictures I took for them. I took a few of Matt's blank CDs to do it, but that's cool. I wanted them to have them before everyone went their separate ways. My mom distributed them for me. We head home after saying goodbye to my parents. After no sleep, we needed to get home before dark or we'd fall asleep. We get home and watch a few short things before heading to bed. We knew we'd be exhausted so we took Monday off. We need it.

I went to the dentist for a cleaning/checkup. While I was there, I asked about my jaw which closes weird. It opens fine with only a couple of clicks. Closing it is a different story. I have to push my jaw to the right and then close it. Where your jaw meets your skull, there is a disc there that cushions when you open and close your mouth. I found out that when my jaw is closed and at rest, it is not resting on the disc, which it’s supposed to be. So, when I open my mouth, the first click is my jaw hopping onto the disc and the second click is my jaw hopping off the other end. Then, when I close my mouth, I have to pop my jaw to the right to get it back onto the disc and there is another click when it hops back off the disc. They said with as messed up as my jaw is, it would require surgery to try and fix the disc but even that is no guarantee. They suggested no action because of the fact that there is not much pain and it probably wouldn’t help. They just said to try not to open my mouth too wide. That sucks. I didn’t want surgery but I was hoping there was something else I could do. I guess I’ve dealt with this for years, I’ll continue to deal with it.