Weight loss, Walking and Wrinkles

I stepped on the scale this morning for the first time since my surgery on March 29th and.......................are you ready for this? 

Since I was a thoroughly miserable, emotional, reluctantly dependent invalid and wearing sloppy sweatpants for all those weeks, I was not able to see it, but I was very, very pleasantly surprised to have discovered that I lost..............drumroll please..................

20....YES, I said TWENTY pounds!!!!

All possible by not being able to get my own meals, or to the sweets in the cupboards...........asking for small portions, cutting out most carbs and the devil in disguise...........sugar!

Now, mind you....I have at least ::ahem:: 40 more to go, but I am determined to continue my quest for self-improvement in all aspects of my life.   Starting with some exercise, as possible, in this phase of my surgical recovery.  Today I will venture down the mountain for a little shopping, which will require some calorie burning as I attempt to "walk" with the removable cast.  That thing weighs about 3 pounds and just the mere act of lifting it and balancing myself with the "good" leg as I meander about should be enough to constitute "exercise" when compared to when I was using a walker.  I can't really complain about the walker because I did develop some much needed upper body strength and just this morning I did a few "girly" pushups! 

Then, in the fight against dreaded facial wrinkles.....because I am going into this aging crap kicking and screaming.......I treated (?) myself to a chemical peel on Thursday.  Whoa...is that an interesting process....that I paid for.....something like 7 layers of this burning concoction spread over your face during an hour period or so.  Then you leave it on for two days before washing it off and then your face dries up, cracks and peels off over the next week or two. 

Voila....beautiful new skin.   I will let you know how it works. 

Smiling gingerly,

Lisa 

 

Senate Chambers

Looking in to the State Senate Chambers.  The desks in the foreground are for the media.  The beautiful desks inside are for the Senators and are original to the building, well over a hundred years old.  What stories they could tell..............

Capitol or Capital?

This is a shot of the beautiful wooden stairway in the Capitol building.  It was such an interesting tour, and we had a delightful tour guide, who made lots of "Ahnold" jokes. 

We had an opportunity to sit for a few minutes in the empty Senate chambers before taking in a little of the Assembly session a little while later.  Their chambers were not quite as ornate as the Senate staffers, but it's not a shabby place to go for a day's work.  Work, if you can call it that.....It occured to me that business and their attitudes were somewhat lax at times. 

The Assembly was to begin at 9:00 am and there were staff milling about and not taking their seats when we were escorted in about 40 minutes later.  Only after one of the Representatives said, "Mr. Speaker, We are here to do the work of the People and it's quite late.  May we get seated and started?" did they truly get down to business.  He's got my vote from now on!

We watched as the final pros and cons on the bills before them were delivered, then they began their electronic voting.  It really made me think that we may be in trouble with some of these folks when one Representative said....."Mr. Speaker, Is it appropriate for the sponsor of a bill to vote against it?"

The Speaker replied.."Only to his great peril!"

What's up with that? 

Geez, our tax dollars at work and these people are passing laws?!  It makes me think he was asleep at the wheel while voting or he just took the contribution and ran! 

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One more thing....when do we use Capitol and when is it Capital?  In Sacramento it's Capitol this and Capital that?  I thought I knew the rule and now I am thoroughly confused.  There was Capital Cleaners, Capitol View Drive, Capital Drug Store...and on, and on and on. 

 

   

Sacramento-State Capitol

I just now got AOL downloaded on this new computer.  I am now able to upload images and I am excited to share some more photos I took on our recent trip to Sacramento. There are a few posted at my Up Close and Personal journal as well. 

As a mountain girl, I was like a kid in a candy store with all the interesting angles and buildings to photograph.  If only we had more time on that trip.  Well, one thing is sure, the next time I visit I won't be in a wheelchair and that will make the trip a lot more enjoyable.  Something to look forward to in the future. 

This and That...

Fly Boy is in North Carolina, enjoying some serious quality time with his new bride for the first time since his deployment to Iraq.  He also said he's enjoyed a few adult beverages with some buddies, and I am sure he's managed to make a quick trip through his local Taco Bell....one of the treasures of American life that he's desperately missed.   Yo Queiro Taco Bell! 

On May 21st, his paternal grandparents and I will be flying in for a visit for just a few days, so we don't wear out our welcome with the lovebirds.  I've never forgotten that saying....What do fish and company have in common?  They both start to stink after about 3 days!  But, I have to go while the gettin' is good and love on that soldier boy before he heads back to finish up 6 more months in the war zone.  ::Sigh: 

I have been walking on what feels like pins and needles since the removal of my cast...but I am terribly grateful that it's off and replaced with a "Cam Walker."  The surgeon has said that I can remove it to shower, sleep and drive!  So, in the past 24 hours, I have done it all!  I took that sucker off and drove my self to the beauty shop and got a facial and a pedicure!  The drive its self was enough to make my day!  Oh how I missed being "in control" of my own transportation! 

Grandma Jessie is doing better, however she's still hospitalized.  She will have to have dialysis twice a week for the rest of her days.  If my schedule permits, I will try to stop in Oklahoma for a day or two prior to seeing Fly Boy.  I am sure that she'd love to have some loving from her eldest granddaughter! 

Then, back to work on "light duty" on June 1st!  Then the countdown to retirement starts!  ONE year to go!  

  

 

Life is GOOD!

Fly Boy is safe and sound on American soil for his mid-tour rest and relaxation! 

I sucessfully "migrated" over to Cingular with a tiny little flip-phone, with nationwide calling with no long distance, and free mobile to mobile calling on the Family Plan, so my girl children also got new phones! 

There's only a day and a half left of my 6 weeks of "non-weight bearing" ankle recovery...the cast comes off Wednesday afternoon!  Then I am going to walk on two feet (well maybe a removable cast on the one leg) into a salon to get a pedicure before that foot dries up and falls off!!!! 

And................I have a brand, spanking new computer!  Yeeeee Haw!  Windows XP, Photo software and all the bells and whistles!  I am in HEAVEN! (This coming from someone who still used Windows 98) 

It don't get much better than this!

 

Mother's Day Thoughts

Today I remember and celebrate the lives of several of the loving mothers in my life. Some gone, and some barely hanging in there.

Grandma Jessie, our paternal matriarch, is in the hospital again. This is the way she will spend her Mother’s Day. She missed the Gaither’s concert last night. The tickets; a Mother’s Day gift lovingly purchased by her granddaughter, so Grandma and her daughter could see their favorite gospel singers.

Her tired body is full of toxins that her failing kidneys can’t remove. At 88 years old, she is weary and each day is a genuine struggle. She tenses her every muscle and trembles with fear when a blood draw is necessary. Who knows how many needles have pierced her soft, milky white skin in her lifetime. She’s had enough.

"Can’t you just give me a pain pill before you do that?" she cries.

The doctor tells her, "Now Jessie, they’d run me out of this hospital if I gave you a pain pill every time we had to take blood!" A compromise. Blood will now be taken from a newly inserted IV that is pumping her full of cleansing fluids.

She’s outlived many of her siblings and one of her son’s. She often joked that she was in "waaaay better health" than her 3 children. In my father’s case, that was so very true. He’s been gone for 8 months now and she says she’s had to put his photograph in a drawer because she cries every time she looks at it. I understand completely. It was he who was supposed to handle her final wishes. Mother’s aren’t to live long enough to see their aged children die.

How I wish I were there today to hold her hand and thank her for all the mothering she’s done, the lives she’s nurtured and the wisdom she’s bestowed. Instead, I will call her at the hospital and hope that she’s able to talk for a moment, and feel the deep love I have for her, this special woman who brought my beloved father into the world.

We love you Grandma!

Sacramento Trip

Our visit to Sacramento, and the Capitol was both fascinating and exhausting. But, I am so glad I had the opportunity to go because for a few minutes that morning we thought I wouldn’t be able to make the trip. It turned out the bus was not equipped for a wheelchair, nor could I maneuver my walker through the tiny aisle even if I were able to board the bus’ narrow steps. If I were physically fit and adept at using crutches, maybe it would have been possible. It was an obstacle that I just couldn’t overcome, with or without help. Silly us, the principal and I just assumed that a chartered bus would be equipped for the handicapped. How quickly one learns and greatly appreciates how difficult life can be for those with physical limitations. My post surgical recovery has been a very humbling, frustrating and such an eye-opening experience.

After several minutes of brain storming, a parent volunteered to drive me in her mini-van, as we followed the bus. It turns out neither of us was particularly keen on riding a bus full of 15 loud and crazy teens, so it was a blessing and a great solution to the problem. We had never met before, and it turns out that we had an incredible amount in common, that made the fascinating conversation flow and the five hour drive just fly by! Kathy is a retired law enforcement officer with 20 years with her agency and get this….we were both long-term hostage negotiators for our departments! What an amazing woman, and an awesome contact for our current negotiation team, as she’s agreed to come speak with them during an upcoming training session! Networking at its finest and a new friend too!

The kids had the most fun doing what teens love to do….shopping at the mall, going to the movies, swimming, eating and playing video games in the rooms. Every time I turned around, I had to hand out a 20 dollar bill for something Ab needed or wanted. That was on top of the spending money she earned by selling raffle tickets for a beautiful donated quilt! Yikes, what an expensive trip!

Of course, I did my share of some serious shopping as well! I purchased a few things for our new game room, such as a black and white wooden Tic-Tac-Toe board, an acrylic box containing conversation starter questions for the coffeetable, and a black photo frame that holds multiple 4x6 photos at different depths! I also treated myself to a beautiful lab-created emerald ring as my Mother’s day gift!

Speaking of expenses, Ab will be buying me a pretty new cell phone for Mother’s Day, since she left mine at the Hard Rock Café on Thursday night! Grrrrr! And, nobody found it or turned it in at the restaurant! So, Friday morning I borrowed a cell phone and spent about an hour and a half in automation land, trying to reach a live person at Cingular to suspend my phone activity until I could get a replacement.  Double GRRRR!

Finally, I reached a live person who said they couldn’t help me because even though my AT&T account was bought out by Cingular, I hadn’t "migrated to Cingular as yet!" 

What the hell?

She gave me the number for the "Unmigrated"  where I was once again in an automated loop of craziness and ready to scream! The mission was eventually accomplished, hopefully right before multiple calls were placed to some busboy’s Motherland.

Anyway, here’s one photo from our trip of the Capitol at dusk! I just love this one, which was snapped from the moving van as we were leaving downtown that evening.

I will be back later with more stories of our little vacation after Ab and I migrate over to the Cingular store here in town!

Mini Vacation?

Today, I will accompany Ab's 8th grade class on a 3-day trip to Sacramento.  I am hoping for lots of photo opportunities, if I can concentrate through all the giggling and noise!  YIKES!  All that and a wheelchair too!  Wish me well!

Tatiana and Troubles

 

 

Ab took this photo at the Crescent City Harbor, in April.  I posted it previously in color in my photo journal, however I've since altered it by changing it to a sepia tone, which I think looks awesome.  So, I thought I'd post it here. 

Also, I took it to Walgreens yesterday and had it enlarged into an 8x10 so I can frame it for her.  Right now, more than ever in her life, she needs to embrace her abilities to discover her potential and improve her self-esteem.   Her artistic eye just amazes me and she now speaks of a career in art.  A teacher that she had for 7th and most of her 8th grade is a fantastic artist and quilter and she provided the kids with a variety of art projects that really inspired Abbie.  During that time Ab excelled in art, discovering her favorite artist, Escher.  She loves the black and white and geometric aspects of his work. 

Lately in school, she's dabbled in computer artwork, such as designing covers for music CDs, Power Point presentations and graphic design art for their imaginary businesses.  She also completed her colorful quilt that now adorns her bed.  (Note to self-upload that picture to share here.)

This summer she's asked to attend a music camp, called Power Chord Academy, where teens 12-18 create their own music, form bands and make a video and CD of their work.  I am all for it, especially if it creates a fire in her soul. 

Her tendency for depression scares me, especially with summer coming.  Since I will be working all day, I am reluctant to leave her alone for that amount of time.  She will have too much idle time on her hands, so I must work on finding someone to supervise her and ensure she's involved in worthwhile activities.

::Big Sigh::