Tag Archives: knee surgery

A Couple of Things…

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1. Adding insult to injury after five months of pretty intense pain due to knee replacement surgery is the fun you get to go through coming off the pain meds when you no longer need them.  But I’m happy to announce that I made it through the withdrawals this week.  I’ll be honest, I was whining and complaining and dragging my ass while my body adapted to working without them, until I saw a movie where a guy was going through morphine addiction withdrawal.  All I’ve had to endure is low energy, flu-like symptoms and crabbiness…and the kicker is, I was down to only taking two a day (at the beginning it was two every four hours!!) and I still had to endure adverse physical effects.  But I’m feeling much better and looking forward to gaining my strength back.

2. I’ve never understood the concept of what a training bra is suppose to train breasts to do.

3Basketball court. Not to be a smart ass or anything, but I saw a LeBron James quote just days after winning the championship which read, “No Plans to go nowhere at this point.”
So that would be he has plans to go somewhere?
Here’s the quote:  https://www.yahoo.com/sports

4. Another Grammar Nerd Observation:

It’s funny enough when someone talks about themselves in third person; but even stranger when they start talking to you in third person. Example, “Maybe I’ll go see Pam about this” instead of “Maybe I’ll go see you about this.”

Happy Memorial Day5. Memorial Day recently passed and it occurred to me that we should stop saying, “Happy Memorial Day! What’s so happy about people dying while serving their country?  I saw a ton of those memes and advertisements saying such that weekend.  How about “Honoring Memorial Day” or “Remember and Honor” instead?  Now we just need a catch phrase when you want to convey it orally to each other.  Thoughts?

Honor Memorial Day

6. I don’t know why I feel more compelled to buy a lottery ticket once it’s reached 250 million dollars. Like 200 million dollars wouldn’t be enough? Or for that matter, one million.

7. Father of son convicted of rape said 6 months in county jail steep “A steep price for 20 minute of action“. He could have faced 14 years in prison.  Prosecutors asked for six.

I wonder if he’d think the same way if it were his daughter assaulted by someone else’s son.

Vote 20168. I would like to thank Bernie Sanders for engaging people. Just under 10,000 came out to see him speak in Ventura alone!  I love that the younger generation found a voice which spoke to them and they supported someone who did not look like them.  No matter what party one is affiliated with, you have to admit, this rocks.

9. One more political-type observation that’s as funny as shit.
President Barack Obama on Jimmy Fallon writing thank you notes (wait for Obama’s third one):

10. I’m a little over a month away from my next birthday.  Here’s a little bit of trivia about my youth…more to the point, about my parents.  They once confessed to me that they had celebrated my birthday on the wrong day for years!  IT’S THE 30th, not the 31st!!!

From my favorite quotes file:

“Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.” ~Oscar Wilde

Thanks for listening!

A Couple of Things…

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1. New Year’s Eve analysis (3 points)

#1 – A Critical Error
Not hydrating

#2 – A Stupid Error (non critical)
Texting

# 3 – The Smartest Plan
Having a designated driver

New Year’s Eve was great and exactly how I thought it should go.  Lots of fun, music, dancing, hugs from friends, walking downtown from venue to venue running into even more friends, cold drinks, hot texts, getting home before midnight to avoid that awkward moment, and the highlight of every New Year (this one no exception), a phone call just minutes after midnight from my daughter Sydney Rose.

Going to sleep on the first day of the new year knowing everything is all right, is comforting in every way.  Waking up later that morning with a hangover, not so much.

So many horrible photos that night, but here are a couple of my favorites with Diego from Bombay’s, Mike from Amigo’s, Brian from the Dive Bar Messiahs who was REPRESENTING!:

2. Twin babies born in Ventura are making news.  The first at 11:59 am December 31, 2015, and the second at 12:01 am on January 1, 2016.
Sage words of advice to the baby girls.  For sure it will be a thorn in the side of the younger girl up until she’s about 35 that her twin is “one year” older than she, but then all of a sudden, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES, you will forever be the younger one.  Wear it well baby girl!! Wear it well.

3. True story:  A gentleman – who I assume was hitting on me – was telling me bluntly how having deep long kisses are more important than the Big Chalupa (yeah, I know a horrible metaphor, but he was too graphic). In any case, I wasn’t offended until he referred to me as me a seasoned older lady.  So honestly, I don’t know if he was hitting on me because I didn’t stick around to find out.  #NotAGreatPickUpLine

The slippers4. I have to admit these bad boys were my favorite Christmas gift.  I asked for slip on slippers, and well…no doubt about it, my family has a sense of humor!

4a. My second favorite is a brand spankin’ new Spaulding basketball my dad bought for me as incentive to get back on the court. I keep it in plain view for inspiration.

5. I saw an article on USAToday.com about the world’s first “smart bra.”  I guess it measures a woman’s biometrics (measuring heart rate, steps, etc…) At $150 a pop, I’m thinking, not-so-smart bra, and anyways, I still consider the “Wondrabra” the first smart bra!

6. People walking around with a giant chip on their shoulders very rarely get the cognition that they have anything to do with it.

Portland7. Sydney Rose walking to work on Sunday, January 3, 2016 sent me this photo from Portland, OR.  BURRRR!!!  So glad I got her that jacket that has an internal heater for Christmas!  She sold her car and canceled her insurance and either walks, Ubers or uses public transportation.

8. I read somewhere that if you’re using a period while texting, you might be coming off like a jerk, in fact, some people think it’s a sign of insincerity

9. I thought I would share with you this amazingly quirky video of a small dog enjoying a head massage.  I not sure why this particular piece of music was chosen to go with the video, it just makes it even that more goofy.

tajin14oz10. Have I mentioned that the guys at work introduced me to spicy seasoning you shake onto fresh fruit? OMG!!!  Sooooo good!  It was a tad bit hard to find because it was not on the seasoning rack in the market, in fact it was found along side the fresh fruit in the produce department.  The guys first squeeze lime all over the fruit, be it watermelon, apples or oranges, then generously season the fruit with this godlike spicy goodness.

11. And with my knee surgery on the horizon, I choose this one from my Favorite Quotes file: “Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” – Paul Theroux

Doubtful I’ll blog until after my surgery.  So wish me luck and see you on the basketball court as soon as humanly possible!

Self Portrait from my photography class a few years ago.

Self Portrait from my photography class a few years ago.

A Couple of Things…

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stiches1. My surgery was pretty much a complete success.  I say “pretty much” because I’m a little disappointed on my prognosis.  Okay, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, so on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being thoroughly disappointed, I’m a “1”. The doctor fixed my knee, he repaired a torn cartilage and Mencius tear and cleaned up some arthritis.  I was on crutches and pain meds that day and a little the next.  The out-patient procedure was Friday; I was back to work on Monday.  Stitches removed on Wednesday.  I start physical therapy to strengthen my left knee next week.

The problem?  It’s been recommended that I give up running/jogging due to the arthritis.  I was looking forward to my first 5K in 2015.  Yeah, I know it was just a recommendation, but I’m leaning towards swimming, biking, brisk walking and some hoops from time to time might have to be enough; but I can’t help but think, my knees had never given me trouble before the injury.  I never noticed I had arthritis.

I am completely thankful I’m no longer in pain.  I had just been so proud that I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone and started exercising four years ago.  I turned off that little voice trying to talk me out of pushing my body.  My first time sweating due to exercise was four years ago while running; now I totally consider sweating a badge of honor!  I had never run before; I had never pushed my body. Oh well, I’m healthy, I’m active, I have other exercise options.  Glass half full, right?  And…it was a recommendation.  One 5K couldn’t hurt, right? companyBy the way, the two days I was on the couch, I had lots of comfort from my furry friends.  I knew I could count on Sammy to keep me company, but I was quite surprised that Molly felt the need to keep close. So sweet!  And the two actually did their best to tolerate each other.

2. Sydney Rose will be home for Christmas.  She comes in on Tuesday but has dinner plans in LA so she won’t be around that night.  She’ll be home Christmas Eve and Christmas and back on a plane to Oregon Friday evening.  Short visit, but so worth it! I sent her the picture of the stitches on my knee which grossed her out…but she did say she was going to show her boyfriend the photo.  Confidence is high my knee will look pretty much normal by the time I see her in a week.

Charlie-Brown3. One evening recently “A Charlie Brown Christmas” came on the TV  while I was working on websites.  I had seen it every year growing up, it was a tradition in my family; but now I fear times have changed and this cartoon special doesn’t hold up.  Those kids were just plain mean; they actually bullied Charlie Brown.  That Lucy was a bitch! And even though the kids had a change of heart at the end, I couldn’t imagine that comic strip special would get released nowadays.  Even Snoopy turned on Charlie Brown!  Damn!!

Santa4. Another thing I like about City Hall is the annual chance to visit with Santa Claus where City employees round up their kids who get to visit with St. Nick. One of these days I’m going to take advantage of a photo op and sit on his lap. 😉

Oh!  And yet another thing I like about City Hall…every week us employees receive an email called “Open Line” from the City Manager’s office and it’s an update on what’s happening in the City and some updates from all the different departments.  Each one of these memos start with a “Quote of the Week”.  Last week the quote was: “Who can’t relate to the idea of leaving one chapter behind and moving on to the next?”  – Mike Shinoda

Yeah, that’s Mike Shinoda from Linkin’ Park.  I even double-checked with the City Manager’s office to see if there was another Mike Shinoda, but I was told, “Oh! He’s a member of a band called “Linkin’ Park”.  How cool is that?

5. Did I ever mention I use to do surveillance work?  Yep, my friend had a P.I.’s license (Private Investigator) and he use to hire me to keep an eye on certain people.  Trust me, this was the most boring job I ever had.  Most cases were women trying to see if they were being cheated on.  The stupidest case was a psychiatrist who wanted to see if her boyfriend was seeing other women; the kicker?  She was married.

chia-pet6. Hchia-pet-bas anyone ever received a Chia Pet for Christmas?  Do people still give those away? While searching for a picture of Chia Pet, I came across a real live chia pet.  Love this sense of humor!  Poor pup!!

7.  By the way, not only was my doctor the best, but the team at CMH outpatient facility totally took care of me.  They were cheerful, attentive, caring and professional.  I didn’t even have a mark on my arm where the IV was inserted!  I’d do it again in a heartbeat!!

8.  Now something even harder to confront.  Wish me luck, I’m about to start my Christmas shopping…any day now.

9.  No matter what religion you follow, I wish you a happy and safe holiday season.  I suspect my next post will be after Christmas.

10.  From my favorite quotes file, “”My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” — Bob Hope Thanks for your time!!