Missing No More

So, I've been on "hiatus" - not completely intentional, but I didn't completely fall off the face of the earth.  I did however fall while rollerskating.  In February.  Here's the story - I took my 4-year-old niece to a skating party thinking that a) she wouldn't in a million years want to roller skate and b) on the off-chance she did want to skate, the party was with all of her friends from daycare so she would skate with one of the teenagers that she loves.  That's what I get for thinking.  Yes, she wanted to skate.  No, she didn't want to skate with anyone but "Auntie".  So, Auntie decided she'd take off her shoes and just walk around the rink holding onto J so she wouldn't fall.  Auntie was quickly shot down by the powers that be at Skateland - evidently you can't be on that floor without skates.  It's not safe.  Evidently.  So, Auntie put on skates for the first time in about 10-15 years (after signing a waiver that she wouldn't hold them responsible if she got hurt).  Auntie and J did a few laps, had a few laughs, and then attempted one of the games.  That wasn't a good idea.  Auntie fell. Hard.  Hurt her left hand.  Auntie's left handed.  It's Bad.  But, I braved it through 'til the end of the party - then J and I buckled up in the car with the help of one of the kind teenagers and went to the Emergency Room.  Nurse Practitioner working took a bunch of x-rays, gave me a bag of ice and said it was just a bruise - a bad bruise, swollen, but it should be fine in a few weeks. If not better, go see your regular doc. I was wrapped in an ace bandage, told to take aleve, then sent on my merry way.   A few weeks come and go.  Still swollen, still achy, and my hand still looks like a bunch of pork sausage links connected by a band aid.  So I see my Doc.  "Try a Spica Splint" he says.  If it's not better, come see me in a few weeks.  So, I got the Spica Splint.  A few weeks come and go, and still not better. I still can't bend my wrist - I still can barely use my left hand. I can't do much in the way of cooking - I can't do much of much.  So I go to the Doc.  Doc takes another set of x-rays, but doesn't see anything significant, so I'm sent to an Ortho Specialist.  A few weeks go by - first appointment, Dr. C has me remove the splint and tests my movements - which are none.  I'm sent right away to Hand therapy.  Weeks of this, combined with appts every 4 weeks.  Therapy at least twice a week, home exercises everyday, specialist appts every 4 weeks....for about 3 months.  It gets better, but still not healed.  I have an arthrogram.  Followed by an MRI.  Now, the MRI?  Piece of cake.  I had to lay on my belly surrounded by pillows while they did a bunch of scans of my hand.  I fell asleep.  It was heaven.  The arthrogram?  Not so much.  Even if you were one of my worst enemies, I don't think I'd want you to go through one.  Or maybe I would.  Repeatedly.  While I watched.  (ha ha).  Anyway, verdict came in that I did have 2 tears in the cartilage and what appeared to be scar tissue under the thumb/wrist area.  Shouldn't be significant, but I was still having issues.  That was the first time Dr. C brought up the subject of surgery.  I told him "not now" ...so we tried a topical cream of sorts that has the anti-inflammatory in it.  Didn't do much.  So we tried cortisone injections in August. It maybe helped a little bit, but not so much that I could see.  So, more appointments.  More talk about surgery.  More praying, more waiting, talking to my family, researching - I finally decided to have the surgery.  So it's scheduled for the 18th of December.  We'll be doing a wrist arthroscopic surgery - 3 incisions.  One on the left under my pinky to try and either fix or remove the torn cartilage, one in the middle of my wrist to try to get the cartilage, and one under my thumb.  It's minimally invasive, but will still take approximately 6-8 weeks to heal.  Then I get to start all over again with the hand therapy and the home therapy and the doctor visits. I'm only hoping it works because I'm in pain everyday that radiates from my wrist to the tips of my fingers and also down the arm to my elbow.  It's not fun, and it's no good to take so many aleve on a daily basis.  A good day is 2-4 pills; a moderate day is 4-6, and a not-so-good day is 6-8.  Everyday.  That can't be good on the kidneys. Anyway - I've never had surgery before so I'm nervous.  And it's going to hurt.  A lot.

Anyway, as a result of the fall I wasn't able to do a lot.  I couldn't even open an easy pull bag of salad.  I still can't do a lot of cutting - softer foods, yet; but pomegranates (which I love), pineapples, squash, etc., etc...forget about it.  Doesn't work.  So I wasn't able to cook for awhile, so I reverted to a lot of convenience food and takeout.  And not the "good for me" kind.

So, part of the regiment for the surgery was a physical.  Which is fine - I was due for one.  Just putting it off because I didn't want to face the dreaded scale.  The nurses tell me all the time "We really don't care what you weigh." Well, that's not the issue.  I do - and there is a lot of shame when I'm not taking care of myself.  It effects the whole psyche....add to the fact that I'm on anti-depression and anxiety meds, mixed in with some blood pressure meds for good measure and you can imagine what kind of hot mess I am when I have to face that dreaded scale.  It's a lot of things - mostly shame, though I think.  So, had my appointment last week.  Still waiting on the results.  Got my meds renewed for another year.  Got my labs ordered for two weeks from now (has to be done less than 30 days from surgery) - Dr. P talked to me about taking some appetite suppresents short term to maybe help get me back on track.  I said I'd think about it - I don't eat because I'm hungry, I eat to fill some sort of void.  Also, need to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day - or a minimum of 150 minutes  a week, and I need to start immediately.  So life went on - until Monday when I checked my messages and found a call from my doctor after my appointment stating they found blood in my stool.  So I have to do stool cards at home for three days.  And may I say there is really nothing more shitty than having to dig through your own fecal matter to spread it on lab cards? (Pun completely intended).  It's absolutely disgusting.   I also did decide to start on the tenuate at least for a few months to see if it gives me the boost.  So far, I've made good choices - I've eaten lots of veggies and fruits, drank my water and even braved the scale.  That was the most surprising part.  I expected it to be worse than it was.  Yes, I gained some back.  But it was only 10 pounds - I can be happy about that  and I can move forward from there.

I guess the last bit of news would be in my genealogy stuff.  The adoption agency that we think handled my grandma's adoption has opened a file for me - if they do have records on grandma, I'll be able to get something - at this point I don't know what that something will be.  They say they won't give any identifying information - but this adoption happened in 1919 - everyone that was involved has passed away. So, I've petitioned for all information.  My father has even signed off on a letter releasing those records to me.  So fingers crossed and say lots of prayers.  This is something I would really like to discover!

Also - I took the new DNA test that ancestry.com is doing for $99.  For the most part I wasn't surprised with the results.  I'm 61% Scandinavian (well, duh! I'm mostly Norwegian, but I do have some Danish and I also count my German in this category since they were from the Schleswig-Holstein area and intermingled with the Danes quite a bit); but here's where the confusing part sets in.  24% Eastern European - Russia wouldn't surprise me, because my g-g-grandma Clara said she was part Russian although I haven't been able to find anything that validates that.  Then again, Clara was raised by her Aunt Frances - her parents either died or just disappeared after she was born.  So I really know next to nothing about her dad except he came from Manchester, England.  I also wouldn't mind having some Greek in me - maybe that's why I've always been so fascinated by Greek Mythology and dream of seeing the ruins one day. Here's the surprising part -- 15% Southern European  (Italy, Spain, Portugal) - have no clue.  None whatsoever.  What's also interesting is no British Isles?  No Ireland?  My Hughes are all based from Ireland; my Schofields, Farleys, Coes, Pyles, Gallups, Andrews, and Collins all come from England - so I have no clue.  I might question the results a bit, but I've already discovered some new-to-me family connections with common ancestors, so there is a level of legitimacy.  I guess that leaves me with more to discover.

21.9 Pounds

I'm starting to see changes in my body now......my stomach isn't as big and my face is slimming down.  Also - my pants are too big!!  I'll be needing to head to town and pick out a few new pairs to wear until I drop a few more pounds :-)

In other news - those of you that are facebook friends know I sprained my left wrist rollerskating on Saturday.  That'll teach me!  The biggest bummer of the whole thing is I'm left-handed.

Once More with Feeling :-)

YAY for successful weigh-ins!!! I'm down -5 pounds today - bringing my total loss to -14 pounds to date.  Woo-hoo for me!!! (the sound you hear is me patting myself on the back).  The challenge now is to start exercising.....

So, for the readers out there that are on Goodreads ~ Any idea why they're removing all of the Amazon content from their site?  I think I remember reading on their site somewhere that the cost to keep Amazon's information has gotten so prohibitive - yet.............none of the other "reader sites" seem to have that problem.  I've been trying to rescue my books, but then again, for the most part I only read on my Kindle; amazon is the only seller of kindle books.........so finding their info on other sites has been a bit difficult.  I've looked on publisher sites, author sites, etc.  So at this point, I just don't know.  I've spent a lot of time (yes, years!) building my library, inputting books onto the goodreads system, and now that work just seems to be going away with a click of a button.  That being said, I'm not that fond of librarything (although they have improved their site over the years) and I quit using bibliophile years ago (I think they're gone now; I tried to find a link and I keep getting connected to Gospel Media Network??).  I did stumble on another reading site, The Reading Room; but all in all, Goodreads still seems to be the best.  Deep sigh, I guess.  I just hope when they pull the kindle books from their collection that the new edition that they link my book to is still an ebook ~ that's the only way I'll be able to know which of my books are paperback or not.

Food plan for today:
B: Yoplait Key Lime Pie (6 oz) w/ 1/4 c. grape-nuts (6 pts)
S: Apple w/ 1 babybel (1 pt)
L: Sun-Dried Chicken Roll-Ups w/ 1 c. mixed veggies (9 pts)
S: Grapefruit
D: ??? Either roll-ups again or I'll cook something
S: ???
E: ???

The First 6 Pounds

First weigh-in was today and I'm happy to report I'm down 6.2 pounds!!  Now, that may seem like a lot, but not when you are considered "morbidly obese" (aren't those ugly words??) ..... plus, I think it was water weigh versus true weight loss. Either way, though, I'll take it! What a wonderful way to start off a Monday morning!

In other news, I'm morning a long time friend this week.  Not sure how many of you watch soaps, but I've been a faithful One Life to Live fan since I was 15 years old.  I'm 42 now, so do the math.  That's more than 1/2 of my lifetime.  Funny story on how I got started - my best friend's step-father, this big, burly tow-truck-driving-mechanic-biker-dude had to be home everyday at noon to watch his soap.  When Carol and I would go to her house, we'd sometimes find ourselves watching with him........and that's all it took.  I was hooked.  So this week is the final week of a show that has been a fairly consistent part of my life.  Despite all the changes I had going in my world, that has been one thing that hasn't changed. I have a feeling I'll be a puddle while watching the final show on Friday....and P.S. ABC I will not be watching the drivel you're replacing my show with. If I weren't such a fan of Castle and Grey's Anatomy, I wouldn't watch ABC at all.

Food plan for today:
B: Good Value Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt w/ 1/4 c. grape-nuts (4 pts)
S: Grapefruit
L: Butternut Squash Ravioli Lean Cuisine (7 pts)
S: Apple w/ 2 LF Baby Bel (3 pts)
D: ??? I'm thinking Chicken Piccata.....or Chicken Roll-ups w/ Ham, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and LF Provolone Cheese..........
S: ???

Victory is Mine!!

The dreaded freezer has now been moved to its' rightful place in my office.  Woo-hoo!!  And it only took me 3 days :-)

I had this for dinner tonight (with a few modifications - I used agave nectar in place of the honey and used the smuckers low sugar marmalade.  It was amazing!!!

Thirteen Days...

is all we have left until Christmas?  How did that happen???  I didn't even realize it until Jill Shalvis mentioned it on facebook yesterday, (thanks Jill!).  So, I did some last minute shopping (thanks Amazon.com!). I'm still not ready, though.  Who would think that the hardest one to buy for would be the 4-year-old?  Yup, she's spoiled!

Lesson Learned

Looks like I'm going to buy an external hard drive after work today - That's $130 I hadn't planned on spending this week.  On the bright side, I'll be able to do an xcopy from dos so I can save the data on my hard drive.  The bad news is I'll need to reinstall windows and then reinstall all my programs after that.  Ugh.

I guess through all this I learned a valuable lesson - when I kept getting prompted to do a backup of my drive, I would always choose the "later" option.  Next time, I'll take the time to make a backup.  I may not have had to do all these extra steps if I had.

Lesson learned.

Updated to add:  Okay - feel a bit better.  Got a T2 external drive that was on sale for $99.99.  Deep sigh.  Have my data backed up now.  Windows is now being re-installed.

Death of a Desktop

I really hope not..........but it's looking that way.  I woke up this morning, went to turn on the computer, and it doesn't finish powering up. Am doing diagnostics right now, so am keeping my fingers crossed.

Ugh.  Not the way I wanted to spend my Saturday morning.

One Week Later

I had injections last week.  For as nervous as I was, they have been a God-send.  I've gone one full week without the chronic burning between my neck & shoulder, no numbness in my fingers, and no achiness in my arm. I get a little twinge of a flare up now and then, but it's occasional and I'm in heaven!

I've been transitioning between genealogy and reading - doing a bit of both every day.  Currently, I'm on the 4th book of Toni Blake's Destiny series.  Loved, loved, loved the first two; liked the 3rd one, and so far am enjoying Holly Lane.  My goal is to read 100 books by the end of the year; so far, I've read 80.  So far, so good - but I think I need to pick up the pace a little bit if I plan to obtain this goal!

As far as genealogy goes, I'm fairly active (like on a daily basis) at ancestry.com and myheritage.com. MyHeritage is more a collection of gedcoms, but it is a great way to connect with other folks.  I've made connections with German relatives in Schleswig-Holstein which is amazing to me since I don't know much about that branch.  Rumor has it there's a written history somewhere, but I haven't been able to find a family member that knows anything about it. Then again, I wasn't too interested in my German ancestry while growing up - it has nothing to do with the sperm-donor-that-I-really-don't-consider-my-dad, but more the whole Anne Frank issue.  I loved her growing up and I was so ashamed to share heritage with the folks that were responsible for killing her.  I wanted nothing to do with it.

I also have to say that I love the changes made at www.familyhistory.org and the way the holdings are cataloged now - makes it so much easier to search and locate records!  Also, if you haven't been there before - findagrave.com is a form of crack for me.  I've actually connected with some Irish and Danish relatives through that site.

Well enough rambling for me today - I have to go in for traction today (potentially my last one!!) and then decide if I want to buy a home unit (I'm not sure it's effective enough to warrant the $$$).

Take care,
Devonna

Blunt Doctor

Doctor's visit went about as planned.  7 x-rays, disc degeneration, and bone spurs = epidurals and traction.  No surgery, which I wasn't considering anyway. Doctor also doesn't want me to take so much flexeril - since it's a muscle relaxer and what I need is anti-inflammatories....which means Aleve on pretty much a daily basis.  Best thing to do is traction and to start epidurals so they can inject steroids right into the inflamed area....

Oh right, and exercise.  Because, he says as he eyed me up and down and then pointed to my belly, I obviously don't take care of myself.

Jerk.

Updated to add: 9 hours later I'm still upset.  It's not like I don't know what I look like - and who are you to make me feel bad about myself?  PS - My sister wants to know which bedside manner book taught you to be so judgmental and insensitive.

Yup, you're still a jerk.

What's Up With Me (also known as making very bad excuses for why I've deserted my blog)

I moved in August. Physically I just wasn't able to live on-campus at work anymore - I'm so limited in what I can do right now, so I just thought it was best to leave.  Plus, I watch J a lot and if I have to choose between spending time with her, or spending time on-call, it's really no contest. So am trying to re-educate myself on budgets, since I didn't have to worry about housing & utilities when I lived on-campus.

In February, I started getting another flare-up of my neck/back.  I've endured months of chiropractor, physical therapy, doctors, etc., etc...finally in August I had X-Rays and MRI done.  Of course, I've known that I've had issues with my neck/back stemming from 2 car wrecks in which I was T-boned on the passenger side of my car.  The first time, the truck was going roughly 40 mph; the second one, the car whipped through a red light and hit me going at roughly the same speed.  So, it could be worse; but has left me with a lifetime injury.  Anyway - X-Ray and MRI showed what I already knew - well, mostly.  I do have 2 bulging discs (C3-C4, C5-C6) plus bone spurs, which are pressing onto the nerve roots at the base of my spinal cord which is what causes the burning, tingling, numbness from my shoulder blade all the way down my right arm. Doctor thinks I'm a good candidate for epidurals  blocks, or injections (not quite sure what the difference is between the 3); so am on my way to a neurosurgeon on Tuesday (the same neurosurgeon that did my mom's surgery last month).  I've a bit nervous - I think the worst thing someone can do is research on the internet.......which I've done a lot of.

The thing is, I've lived with this for 9 years - it wasn't horrible when I lost the weight 4 years ago...but then again I was very active and exercised everyday. About 3 years ago, I gained the weight back and then some. Now I hurt all the time, so common sense tells me that I would feel better if I lost the weight and got to moving again. The problem is I hurt all the time and don't really feel much like moving around. But I need to do something.

Which brings me to vacation plans.  The whole family is going to Disneyland next year for J's 5th birthday.  I want to be in the family pictures, but I can assure you I won't be at this weight.  Either I don't lose the weight and don't get in the family photo, or I get busy knowing what I have to do.

A New Day

After work today I'm headed to town to go grocery shopping and stockpiling healthy stuff so I can start back on South Beach tomorrow.  I've done South Beach several times and it just works for me.  So I'll be headed to Costco, then Walmart, then Copper Colander to buy seeds for my Aero-Garden. I've got a closet of beautiful clothes that I can't fit into right now and I'll be darned if I let this weight stay with me.

A Small Freakout

I got a call from the doctor's office earlier this week regarding my mammogram.  There's a change in the tissue that the radiologist is concerned about, so I need to go in for a second mammogram and possibly an ultrasound.  I've done the research - I know that only a small percentage of these things are cancer; that usually something like this ends up being benign, fibrocystic usually.  I was actually calm, cool, and collected until about 15 minutes ago...when it dawned on me that my appointment is only 1/2 hour away.  Like I said before, the chances of it actually being something are so small, but until the radiologist actually tells me it's nothing, I'm starting to freak out a bit.  At least this time the radiologist will actually read my scan while I'm there and then will move forward from that point.  Mom's coming with me - seems like no matter how old we get, we're still Mommy's babies.  :-)

Updated to add - it's a cyst!  It should go away on it's own, but if it doesn't they may just go in and pop it with a needle.  I have a follow-up appt with my regular doctor on August 3 to discuss.  Thanks for the thoughts, prayers, and good wishes.  It's much appreciated!!

I Really Need to Get My Stuff Together

I've been paying $17.95/mo for my weight watchers membership and $15.00/mo for my gym membership (well, $27.00 really, when you figure in the add-on fee that the teenager doesn't pay me)......One guess.  Have I used either?  I'll give you a hint.  It's starts with a big, fat, bold "N".

I need to go shopping and get some veggies and fruits in this house.  I've been craving them like crazy.  Which is good!

Not quite sure how much I want to try on the exercise front right now.  I had another bad flare-up of my back/neck..(thanks to getting T-Boned twice within an 8-year time frame......the accident 3 years ago just aggravated the injury from the original accident)......I have one more doctor appt on Thursday...hopefully I'll be released for the time being until it flares again.

Still reading...lots and lots of reading..which has been great.  I'm reading The Magnificent Seven by Cheryl St. John right now.....I've never been disappointed by her yet. :-)

Genealogy - still on the back burner for now.  I'll need to get back on track sometime, but am enjoying the respite.  Once I get back into it, I'll be obsessed all over again.

Vacation plans ~ we're going to stay close to home this year.  We're going to The Black Hills for a week in late August.  Not sure if we'll hit Rushmore this time or not since the purpose of this trip is for toddler and we've all seen it several times.  I do think we'll hit The Cosmos, Bear Country, Flintstone Land, Reptile Gardens, Keystone, Old MacDonald's, and Storybook Island.  Not to mention there's TGI Friday's, Chili's, Boston's and Sanford's which we don't have here - plus all the local places we love to eat at.  It's going to be a great trip!

E-book Prices and Other Ponderings

So, I think I may have been one of the last few people to hop on the ereader bandwagon, but when I did I went wholeheartedly.  I started with my ebookwise ereader and absolutely loved it...I had it for 4 years before I even dared look at another option.  But then the next generation Kindle caught my eye, so I bought it in April (Happy Birthday to Me!).  To say I love it is an understatement - I love the 1-click buy option (though it is getting me in trouble with my budget) and the fact that I have immediate access to my book through instant downloads. I even love the fact that I can have the first few chapters sent to me for free before I decide to buy the book (I must remember to use this option!).

The reader I am now - I prefer digital versus paper (who woulda thunk it???) and am always on the hunt for bargains.  I update my ereaderiq watch list several times a day and am always adding things to my wishlist. The thing is, I still can't bring myself to pay the prices that the publishers want for their books these days.  And as a reader, if I'm not reading you know I'm shopping for new books, new deals, etc., etc.

I still have my auto-buys that I don't blink twice at having to pay a few dollars more for.  I'll pay $7.99 for the new Jill Shalvis or Julia Quinn because they get downloaded to me the same day of publication and that's worth it to me versus saving a few bucks by having to go shop at the big box stores....Or waiting to receive it via mail from amazon.  But I absolutely refuse to pay $10, $12, $14 for an ebook when it is free at my library.

That being said, I am a collector and have thousands of books. I have lots of reading options! I can afford to wait for the prices to go down and if they don't, I have no qualms going to the library or paying less for the paperback copy the next time I'm grocery shopping at Walmart.  Not a big deal. Before I went digital, I was a paperback girl all the way. That hasn't changed..though I prefer digital, I prefer a bargain even more.

In other news ~ I finished books #1 - #3 of the Kowalski series by Shannon Stacey last night.  I loved each and every one of them and can't wait for books #4 - #6 to be published (September 2012, thank you very much).  I think there may be some re-reads in my future :-)

Pondering

So, I've been a downloading & reading fool lately.  Forgive the pun, but my Kindle has re-kindled my love of reading.  Which is great - I have a lot of books to get through :-) 

On the genealogy front, I did hear back from an adoption agency in Minnesota that stated I would need to send them my father's consent along with $30.00 to even look to see if they have the records.  Okay....so my father and I don't really speak.  He sends me the obligatory birthday card once a year, but that's about it.  So I asked the Adoption Agency if my aunt could sign instead (same parents and I actually have a relationship with her).  The answer?  No.  Seems a bit unbelievable to me.  So not sure what to do now.  I could petition Ramsey county (where the adoption agency is), but then again, if the adoption records were private they wouldn't have been released to the state.  I'm one frustrated researcher. 

I Wish.......

there was a way to automatically add a book to my goodreads account when I buy it from amazon :-)  This kindle 1-click buying is way too easy!

Whoa???!!!!

2 months?  Really?  And here I was going to be so much better about my blogging.  Ah well; evidently I'm as good at the blogging as I am at the dieting :-)  Fell off the wagon so hard it ran me over!  That ended today (well, so far - it's only noon after all!).

I ordered myself a kindle which will be delivered today.  I debated on whether to Kindle or Nook; but I finally went with amazon.  I'm more interested in the reader than the apps.  So, I am (im)patiently waiting for UPS to get here.

On genealogy news, I've been busy.  And excited. And disappointed.  I received permission from the Hennepin and Kandiyohi courts (MN) to have access to my grandma's sealed adoption records.  Which was very exciting until I found out that grandma's adoption happened in neither county.  There's also no record of birth in MN for grandma or her sister, so I now have no idea where Grandma was born. I'm beginning to think I'm going to have to wait the 7 years until her records are no longer sealed.  Then again, I'll need to know where the adoption even occured.

I'm reading the Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts now.  I just finished the first one and am anxious to start on Emma's story (book 2).  I've also pre-ordered Sean's book from the Winds of Change series by Julie Lessman.

Eating front - well, as I noted above, that's not good.  But I got back on the wagon today.  I need to persevere on this because I do not want to have to replenish the fat side of my closet.  As it is now, I did have to go drop some $$ down on a few new outfits because I have very few things that fit me now.

My mom and I are taking the girls to Hop this afternoon.  It looks cute, though I've heard all the funny parts are in the previews (isnt' that the way it always is anymore??)

Later,
Dev

Somebody Stop Me!

Truly.  Someone needs to block me from accessing amazon.com & qvc.com.  Today alone I just bought 8 new books (pre-ordered quite a few also).....and then yesterday I bought a new LED HDTV.  Darn you QVC and your EZ Pay option!!!

Toddler and I are going to the library tonight and then are going home to make portabella pizzas. Baby wants soup, but she'll have to settle for the pizzas for tonight.  I plan on slow cooking a pot of soup tomorrow and then will take some to her on Thursday.

Snowed In

Mom was supposed to leave today for Minot for Christmas.  So far, she's still at the airport.  Darn those snowstorms in the midwest!!  She is still supposed to get out by 3pm today; which will put her into Minneapolis by 6pm......then she won't leave Minneapolis until 9:40pm (if she gets to leave at all!!) and gets to Minot at 11:30pm.  Yikes!!  Being the loving daughter, I told her "Ya know, if you'd driven, you'd already be there by now!"  Of course, that's not true - the roads are closed in North Dakota and the plows aren't even coming out.  I do pray for safe flights and that she gets there tonight - this is the first time she's been able to spend Christmas with all of her brothers and sisters (7 total!) in about 30 years.

In other news, I'm just ready for vacation.  Two more days and then I'm off for 11 fun-filled days of sleeping in, reading, watching old movies, and doing genealogy.  That's it.  That's all I have planned - and I cannot wait!

Oh! If you could, please say a quick prayer for Morgan and her family.  She had surgery this morning and I'm really hoping they were able to get most (if not all, preferably!) of the tumors from her lungs.