I've been trying to find a delicate way to blog this...
I have been told for years by my singer friends that the neti pot is the way to go. What, you ask is a neti pot? Click HERE to see. Basically, it's this little genie lamp looking thing that you fill with warm salty water. They come in a few different sizes and materials (some are fancy clay... mine is cheapy plastic). You then take the little spout and stick it over one nostril. While leaning over a sink, you tip your head and let the water run into your nostril, through your sinuses and out the other side. You then gently blow your nose and repeat on the other side. As Eva put it "Isn't that like waterboarding?". It sure did sound like it to me, but when you have the burning sinuses from hell, you'll do just about anything to make them stop. It is a little awkward and kind of an uncomfortable feeling. My advice is to make sure you're breathing only through your mouth (Mom, don't try this...). I've been doing it twice a day and it defintely does make a difference!
In other news, Shadow got a bath today... which is always hilarious. For some reason, the instant he's done he has to run around the yard like a crazy dog for about half an hour and then roll in the grass. Apparently the whole ordeal was a lot for him because he's been taking a nice long nap for the last half hour. Oh to live the life of a dog!
Many of you have been taken with this whole Twitter thing, and I've heard from just about everyone on the planet that it's so much fun. Here's my deal. I signed up for like a day. And do you know what Twitter taught me? I'm a boring person. Well, maybe not boring, but I just don't DO enough to update that thing. It was hard to use. And if I'm updating anything, why wouldn't I update Facebook? I mean, isn't Twitter just a bunch of status updates? I guess they call it a "micro blog". Well, I have a big blog (?) and a Facebook page... do I need a micro blog? Is there anyone out there that really wants to know that much about me? If I tweeted every hour today, it would look something like this:
9am: Getting allergy shots.
10am: Read 20/15 at the eye doctor!
11am: Coughed.
12pm: Blew my nose, had some chicken noodle soup.
1pm: Coughed again.
2pm: Called into a meeting and had to mute so I could cough and Shadow could sneeze (is that one too long for Twitter?)
3pm: Fell asleep
4pm: Woke up
Riviting, isn't it? I just don't get it. I want to be hip, but all I feel is old. So I deleted my account. Sorry to the four of you who were following me. And by following me, I mean read my one posted that says "Trying to figure this Twitter thing out". You'll have to get the latest on me the good old fashioned way - Facebook! :)
That said, Eva sent me some pretty interesting material that led me to a bit of researching. Apparently, the whole concept behind Twitter is not that people really care about your every move, but that people actually are taking the media back. Celebrities are making announcements on Twitter before they hit places like CNN and People (every PR person's nightmare, right?). People are using it (Ashton Kutcher, for example) to promote causes. I really do like that aspect of it. Who knows, someday I may go back... after all, I was about five years late on the Facebook train...
I feel better today. I'm not sure that makes much of a difference, since I still sound (and probably look) terrible, but I'm just throwing it out there. I do have to say, this whole no makeup thing has been pretty fun. You see, after Lasik, you can't wear any makeup for a week - you don't want to go getting mascara stuck under your corneal flaps (seriously, how bad does that sound like it would hurt?). Now, those of you who know me know that I definitely don't wear a lot of makeup, and the makeup I wear is more natural looking ("enhancing" as my mom says) than anything. But, I feel naked without it. Toss in the "bloody eye factor" - I have some small bruises on the whites of my eyes - and I'm feeling like a goddess. My very first day back at work (Monday) I had a little bit of a sunburn, so of course my freckles were standing out. I had more people tell me how pretty I looked with bloody eyes, no makeup and a sunburn than I do on days I get all done up! I know it sounds funny, but I was really self-conscious over this whole thing (don't ask me why... I'm normally not about these sorts of things), but it's really made me take a look at how people percieve you. Apparently all the MAK makeup in the world doesn't make a difference - sometimes all you need is a little sunburn!
My eyes are doing really well... my vision is continuing to improve and I'm on my last day of antibiotic and steriod drops. Monday was the first day I didn't wear my stunner glasses 24/7, which was a little scary, but apparently I rub my eyes a lot less than I thought I would. The only real lasting effect I have (if you can call it "lasting" - it's only been 5 days!) is the halos at night and even those have started to get better. I'm totally happy with my surgery - I still reach for my glasses in the morning and think "I need to take my contacts out" at night, but I'm sure those are both habits I can get myself to break fairly soon!
Yeah, that's pretty much my mantra right now. My eyes are doing great, but my allergies have kicked in full strength. So bad, in fact, that I actually stayed home from work the second half of today. *gasp* Those of you who know me, know that I don't stay home unless it's pretty bad. At one point today, I think I asked Mike if I could die from sneezing, because I'm pretty sure I was going to. I sneezed so many times in a row that my stomach hurt! I don't know which is worse... having allergies (that they can't do a damn thing about) or ALMOST wishing I had a sinus infection so at least I could take some antibiotics and get better! Clearly, I'm the least patient sick person ever and just want to be better! I'm telling you, I would worship the person who came up with a cure for allergies!!!
Time for another benadryl-induced nap!
What a crazy weekend!
First of all, the eyes are doing just fine. I went in yesterday for my follow up appointment and read the 20/20 line! I have noticed that I'm having a hard time looking at white for a long time (like computer screens and televisions), but I'm told that's normal and goes away after a week or so. I see halos at night, but that too is supposed to go away. All in all, I'm doing pretty darn well!
Today was pretty cool... Mike and his brother, Charlie, teach a volunteer firefighter class. As part of class, they do a perscribed burn. Someone had donated their house (I guess it needed to be demolished) to be used as a training exercise. Mike, Charlie and Nate had it all set up for them to go in and practice putting out the fire a bunch of times before the whole thing actually burned down. It was so cool to watch! Here are some pics:
In other, much less exciting news, my allergies have apparently reared their ugly head. Hooray for spring!
Well, I did it! Yesterday was my Lasik surgery and I'm already super happy with the results!
My appointment was at 9am, so of course, I was there right on time. And, of course, my actual surgery wasn't until about 10:15, which left me about an hour and 15 minutes to totally freak out. Thank goodness my mom was there... she talked to me and distracted me so I was less worried than I would have been if I was alone! She was awesome yesterday - she hung out at my house all day, helped me with emails and even brought me In-N-Out! Then the doctor took me into a room to look at my eyes one last time, talk me through the procedure and answer any questions I might have. He's a great guy (I totally recommend him - Dr. James Abrams at the LasikPlus Center) and even made a couple jokes to keep me relaxed. Once we got into the surgery room, they laid me down and had me stare up at the first laser... this was the one that cut the flap. They put numbing drops into your eyes first - so you really don't feel anything through the whole procedure. He then puts this ring on your eye (it helps keep your eyelid open) and they start the first laser. This is a total of about a minute per eye, but the scary part is that your vision goes black. Once they're done with that, they swing the table that you're on over and have you look up at another laser. This one is a red and green light - you're supposed to focus on the red light. When he moves the flap (because this laser has to do it's work under there) all the lights get all swirly and psychedelic. I would assume this is what drugs would be like. They count down from 10 and your eye is done. They put in some eye drops and repeat on the other eye. At this part there was a faint "burnt hair" smell (those of you who have had laser hair removal know the smell). It was a little gross to me because I knew it was "burnt eyeball" smell, but then the whole thing was over.
The receptionist had asked if I wanted some Tylenol PM and I'm really glad I took her up on it instead of waiting until I got home. You see, as the numbing drops wear off, you get what they say is a "slight stinging" sensation. Let's not lie... your eyes burn like hell. Granted, it is only for about an hour, but it sucks. Yes, for those of you who are thinking about Lasik, I would do it again... it's not THAT bad. Just like you're cutting onions times 10. Once the Tylenol kicked in I was able to nap and when I woke up it was gone! The rest of the day just felt like I had an eyelash in my eye.
There are tons of eyedrops that I have to put in... I seriously feel like I'm doing it every 5 minutes. Every hour, on the hour I have to put in tears (lubricated eyes are healing eyes). Then 4 times a day I have to put in steroid eye drops and antibiotic eyedrops. It's quite the regimen! Finally, I have some great sunglasses that I have to wear 24x7 for the first three days to keep from touching my eyes. They're quite sexy!
The only real side effects that I'm feeling are that everything still has a little bit of a haze (more of just a glare), I see halos at night, and it's hard for me to look at the computer for a long time. I also have some broken blood vessels on the whites of both of my eyes. All of these things are supposed to go away in the next week or so. Not to shabby!
Last night was trippy - as I was getting ready for bed, I actually thought "I need to take my contacts out". It's so weird to not have to do something that's been such a habit for such a long time! It was great to wake up this morning and to be able to see the trees outside!
I know it's been an obnoxiously long time. Very sorry. Lots has happened! Last Friday I made the decision to have Lasik surgery. My appointment is for tomorrow morning at 9am. I'm utterly terrified and totally excited all at the same time. I think I just need to mentally get through the two or so hours that I'm going to be there. Everyone that I've talked to that's had it says it's the best decision they've made and that they wouldn't go back. I can't wait to open my eyes Saturday morning and not need to put glasses on or contacts in! More details later this weekend, but think happy thoughts for me tomorrow!
Last weekend was pretty insane. On Saturday night Kati, Brigitte, Amber, Kristine and I went to see Britney Spears. I was pretty disappointed in the show. The Pussycat Dolls opened for her and were pretty good (I've seen them before). In between, they had circus performers come out and do their thing, which was pretty cool (the title of Britney's latest CD is "Circus"). I was really disappointed in her actual performance - she was clearly lipsynching, which I had expected. But if she was gonna lipsynch, I wanted to see some serious dancing and all of her moves were halfhearted. I honestly don't know if she'll be able to pull off another tour.
We got up bright and early Sunday morning to head to the Bay Area for Easter and to celebrate Oma's 80th birthday. On the way there, we saw a terrible car accident happen... a lady clipped the car in front of her while changing lanes and they went spinning and flipping off the road. Mom pulled over and her, Kati and I went over to help. The lady's car had landed on it's side in a ditch with the other car on top. We were able to get the couple in the top car out but the lady and her passenger were stuck in the sideways car. I could tell that the passenger wasn't breathing, but couldn't safely get to her. It was beyond frustrating. All I could do was talk to the driver, tell her help was coming and try to keep her calm. She told me that the passenger was her sister. When we got home, we found out that the passenger had died.
The rest of Easter was fun - we spent time with the whole family at Oma's house, including the much loved "throw eggs over the house" tradition. I have some great pictures posted on Facebook (I'm too lazy to upload them here today).
That's right... once again, it's time to change my hair color! I've had a good run as a blond, but I'm ready for something new... so tonight I'm going to head back towards natural... dark with some pretty highlights. I can't wait! I think I'm singlehandedly keeping my hairdresser in business... his eyes must light up when I call!
Today it started raining again... and once again I'm at work standing by the windows watching it come down. I don't know what it is about the rain that mesmerizes me! While I'm totally stoked about summer coming up, I'm loving what the rain is going to do to my garden... everything has started blooming! This year I already have apricots and will get some apples. Here's a little rundown of my current fruits and veggies:
- Apples
- Apricots
- Grapes
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Basil
- Raspberries
- Red Bell Peppers
- Green Bell Peppers
- Blueberries
I'm also going to try corn again this year... but I think I definitely need to plant it a lot closer so it doesn't get all scorched by the sun! I love having the fresh herbs... my spaghetti sauce tastes so different with fresh basil and oregano in it! Note the lack of tomatoes. I'm not sure I'm ready/willing to face the dreaded tomato horn worm again. The jury is still out on that one!
