Post-op picture Day 3

***Hey Holly, I know you didn't want to see any pics of me all yucky and bandaged, but I think this one is pretty mild. You can take your hands off your eyes now! ;)
I decided to post at least one picture for now. This one shows the least amount of swelling and bruising, that's why I chose this one. I wouldn't dare to show a view from the front, as it would probably scare the crap out of many of you. I look pretty strange and super puffy all over! The only pain I've really experienced is an occasional throbbing behind my eyes and some headaches. And this is really very minor; I think I've been lucky as far as recovery goes. It's been pretty much a breeze. The only negative about all of this has been my ability (or lack of) to sleep. I have to sit upright at about a forty-five degree angle to sleep. But last night I was able to sleep much better than the first night. On that first night, I woke up at least every hour of the night. I only awoke maybe 3 times during the night last night, very much an improvement. I have sneezed a few times since the surgery too. I've been very careful to sneeze out my mouth as not to cause any damage to my nose, so far so good. However, it does give me a moderate headache if I sneeze. So in addition to my vicodin and antibiotics, I have been taking my allergy meds off and on to avoid any chance of sinus issues. Anyhoos, that's about it for now. Arthur wanted me to say what a good job he's done of taking care of me, and yes, he has. Thanks Arthur! :) I'll now be going, and I'll keep you guys updated. Thanks for all of the sweet comments and encouragement from you all. I really appreciate it!

Attitude of Gratitude Award!

Look at what I got the other day, thanks CJ for nominating me. That was so sweet of you! Now I have another award to list on the sidebar of my blog, whoo hoo!!! And for those of you who don't know this lovely lady, I recommend you head on over to her blog and check her out. She's a fun gal, and has giveaways quite often. Those are always fun to participate in!

And here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Nominate your favorites and link to this post.


My Choices for the Award:

The Fred's

Rachel

Mom

Cindy

Tiffany (And just think, Gratitude is your special word for 2009)

Yvonne K.

Abby

Libby and Josh

Chrystina

Lura

**And like I've always said in the past, I don't want you to feel obligated in participating. I figure since I love them, everyone else does too. But just know that I love you guys enough to pass on such a prestigious award. That's how special y'all are to me. ;)

Everything turned out well

I won't post pictures today, as I look like I got hit by a semi. And this won't be too long either, as Arthur is upset that I am up walking around and blogging on the computer. :) I guess I really should be laying down with my frozen peas on my eyes, but I'll done that soon enough. Promise!! As you can see form the title of this post,the surgery went very smoothly. I have yet to see what the final result will look like, so far I'm pleased wit it. The tip of my nose is higher now, maybe too high (I sure hope I don't look like Ms. Piggy), but like I said, I can't tell what it'll look like until it starts to heal and the swelling has gone down. Either way, it's definitely and improvement, and I happy about that. The pain I've had today is really hardly anything. Yeah it's uncomfortable, and my eyes feel like they're about to begin to swell shut. The bruising is also really bad, and I know it'll just get worse before it'll get better. I chime back in a couple of days, to give an update, that is if there's any update. Thanks you guys!

Burr, it's cold!

We finally got some wintery precipitation this year, whoo hoo. Unfortunately, it's not the kind I would have liked. I've been wishing for snow for a long while now, but instead we just got ice. The good news is that I got out of work early yesterday, and am going in later today. Yay! Other than that, the ice is not so nice. I'm actually going to be heading out to work in about 10 minutes; the roads are still super icy and dangerous. So yeah, I'm a little nervous about driving. I'll be driving 5 mph the whole way there, even if it takes an hour (normally it's a 15 minute drive)! :) I was able to take a few pictures from the balcony outside, because there was no way I was going to risk the walk down the stairs just to take pictures. Arthur agreed to take the dogs out this morning for their walks, he did well on the stairs but fell as soon as he stepped onto the parking lot. Whoopsies! He's alright. Better him than me, as I always say...

I put this little sign up last night as soon as the water started to freeze causing the stairs to be super dangerous. Aren't I sweet?!?

This morning I took these pictures. It almost looks like snow from here, but it's not. pooey!



The treacherous stairs (I hope I make it down them without falling today)!

Eggplant Steaks

Since I had the day off yesterday, I spent some time (not alot) watching TV and came across the Food Network. Rachael Ray was cooking it up, making an interesting vegetarian meal that looked quite appetizing. I'm certainly no vegan, but lately I've been trying to eat healthier, and I can never seem to get in my full serving of vegetables for the day. I have come to the conclusion that it's just not humanly possible! For those of you who say you're able to do that, I hate you. Okay, hate it a strong word, maybe I should rephrase that: I am disgusted by you, always and forever. lol ;) Anyhoos, this is what I cooked up yesterday-

(I just deleted this picture, oopsies! I can't get it back until I get home later tonight, my bad)

These are just a few of the ingredients I used. It calls for eggplant (obviously), frozen spinach (thawed and drained), tomatoes (3), minced garlic, parsley, plain bread crumbs, humus (any style you prefer, I used the classic), e.v.o.o., and some salt and pepper. Since I've already started, I guess I'll just keep on going with the recipe. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the eggplant vertically into small steaks (anywhere to 1/2-1 inch thick), coat both sides with e.v.o.o. and place steaks on a griddle at medium heat. Salt and pepper just one side of the eggplant and flip after about 5 minutes or so (the steak will have browned a bit and become tender on the bottom side). While steaks are on the griddle, mix together chopped tomatoes, the defrosted bag of spinach, and a couple of cloves of garlic (minced) in a skillet on medium heat. After the second side is done, place steaks on a baking sheet. Top with the warmed spinach mixture, then place a large dollop on each steak and spread. Mix about 3 cups of bread crumbs and chopped parsley in a bowl, stir in 1/8-1/4 cup e.v.o.o. and mix together thoroughly. Sprinkle crumbs on top of the steaks, place in oven for no longer than five minutes until the crumbs begin to darken.



Here are the steaks fresh out of t he oven! They looked delicious!!!



They tasted pretty good too. I'm not really into spinach, so that flavor was a bit overwhelming to me. I'd never tried eggplant either, and it just so happens that eggplant isn't my favorite vegetable either, though it wasn't too bad. But any of you who love all veggies, this would be a good healthy meal.

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Today is my brother, Austin's, 17th (I think) birthday. Happy Birthday!!!!! Whoo hoo! I hope you have a grrrrreat day today, don't party too hard. I know Mom can get a little out of hand sometimes, just keeding. :) Enjoy your day, the party, and cake and ice cream. I wish I could be there to help celebrate. Hey Mom, mail me a piece of cake, k?!?

Unlikely pair of friends

A friend of mine on facebook had posted this little gem on her page earlier today, and I just had to share it. All of you know I am an animal lover, so this story just melted my heart. After many years of wondering what I want to be "when I grow up", I've just recently decided what it is. I want to become a veternarian who works at a zoo or sanctuary treating wildlife and zoo animals. Obviously, not your typical vet, but that would be my dream job for sure. Anyways, back to the video, enjoy! It takes a moment to load, so just be patient with it. :)


Watch CBS Videos Online

Look at what I found!

*If you are easily grossed out (though I tried to make this gross-free), then you may not want to read this. *

Okay, well the little rock you see on my fingertip (yeah I know the picture is fuzzy and not too close up, I'm using my cell phone) is something I found beneath my skin. I had noticed a bluish purplish mark on my body and decided to investigate. Yes, I cut into my skin to find out what the heck this was because I knew it wasn't a bruise. And I found this tiny little hard stone and proceeded to take it out. I called my mom because this was just so strange to me, and I wasn't sure if this was okay. My family advised me to see a doctor, so that's exactly what I did. The doctor immediately knew what it was, phew. What this is, is a build up of dead skin that had collected in one of my pores. She says it's similar to what a blackhead is, but this is found on the body and is quite common. I had never heard of something like this. Sorry if this kinda weirds anyone out, but I thought I'd share. I was a little (just a tiny bit) nervous about this being something that could be serious, and even moreso something expensive. I kept thinking, "Oh no, what if I have to cancel my surgery?!?". That would have been horrible, lol. What a relief!

Chloe and Me

Okay, well, darn! The computer at work isn't letting me upload a picture of Chloe, so I'll put one up when I get home. I went and saw Marley and Me at the theater last night and really liked it. Thanks Holly for suggesting it; I'd been wanting to see it for a while now. I did notice that a lot of people brought their kids to see the flick, but it's really not a kid's movie. Sure there is a cute puppy in it, but the movie is really about the adults and about life in general. When I got home, I gave my little dogs a couple of big hugs! I'll give it a two thumbs up fo sho!!!
Following the movie, I headed off to bed and awoke around 2am with the sound of my dog, Chloe, licking Arthur's pillowcase OVER and OVER. She had licked it so many times, it looked as though she'd had an accident on it. She refused to stop, even after I asked her to so I kicked her out of bed (yes, the dogs sleep in the bed). Without a pillowcase to lick, she started licking the carpeted floor. Ugh! I couldn't sleep and then I noticed my stomach was feeling not quite right either. Arthur eventually woke up and decided to sleep on the futon with Chloe to help me sleep. I couldn't sleep, the pains in my stomach were getting worse and nausea was setting in. Chloe was hacking by now, sounding as if she was going to throw up, poor baby. Chloe also began to start picking at the carpet and trying to eat it, so I suggested Arthur take Chloe outside to eat some grass, as I was sure she needed it. Sure enough, he told me that she ate quite a bit of grass, and luckily she started to appear better afterward. My stomach problems lasted the typical 4ish hours or so (it's a problem I have frequently and the doctor's can't seem to figure out what's wrong with me, :( ), and by then Chloe was seeming restless once more and picking at the carpet again. I called my vet and explained the situation (at about 8 in the morning now), and they recommended she come in to be looked at. So...we are waiting this out till tomorrow to see if she improves. I tend to be a paranoid "parent" and take in the dogs at the first sign of anything wrong (usually), so I will wait until tomorrow. The grass seems to help, I let her eat some before I left for work and she was fine. I just hate to see her so uncomfortable! I was imagining her feeling what I was feeling and all I wanted was to make her tummy stop hurting too. So while I'm feeling much better, I'm unsure of how Chloe is feeling now. If any of you have had this happen or had a similar experience, let me know. I'm sure this will just fix itself, but I don't think you can ever be TOO cautious. And how ironic that my dog would be feeling under the weather after I'd watched the movie, Marley and Me. Weird, I think...
***Update: Chloe is doing much better. Since yesterday morning, she's been just as normal as ever. I guess that grass really helped out, yay! :P

With the new year, comes new changes

For those of you who aren't aware, I'm having my rhinoplasty at the end of this month. I'd talked about this sometime last year and finally set the date for the 29th of January. I'm both nervous and excited (more excited than nervous); I can't believe it's almost here! I heard both mixed reactions to my decision, but I've done the research and understand the risks involved. I guess this is where the nervousness comes in, I guess there's no way to know for certain what the outcome will be. The recovery is also something I'm not looking forward to, but I gotta do it. I do know that if I don't do this, I'll regret it forever. So, this is my final decision. I love the surgeon, he listened to all of my concerns and gave me answers to all of my questions. Because the procedure is just weeks away, I'm becoming more and more anxious. I find myself taking a lot more pictures, so that I can morph them and get an idea of what I could look like. Below, I attached a before and virtual after. After speaking with the surgeon about what all my rhinoplasty will consist of, this is the best visualization I could come up with. I hope it turns out like this, or close enough to it. I'm counting the days!


Oh, and I think I'll keep "The Final Countdown" as the background music, as it still applies. :)