Cleaning House, so to speak

Big News

And now for the most anti-climactic moment of the month…da, da, da, DA! I quit my job today! No, this is not a joke, April Fool’s is tomorrow. I know big surprise. My last day will be April 24th and then, God help us, I will officially be a Stay at Home Mom (SAHM). Right now I’m flying high on my "giving notice excitement" (I love giving notice, it’s such a sense of freedom!) I’m sure two weeks into this, I’ll be begging for them to take me back (I don’t think they’ll want me). DD2 turns two 3 days after I do this, so I will be staying at home right after my kids are done with their baby years. I think that means I’m doing this for them vs. for me.

Oh, yes, and for my love of you internets. You will benefit from more posts and I imagine more fodder for posts. All that time with the two year old, what else could come from it?

………………

Computer Issues (AKA Death vs. Taxes, I may just choose death)

Yesterday, I finally sat down to start our taxes, don’t want to rush into anything you know. It took me two hours to ascertain that the computer can not locate last years return. BAH!

I don’t know if you remember a couple months ago we had a big storm that knocked out our power (and our back fence, which also is still jimmied together, I see a theme emerging). The resulting power surge killed our CPU. It was fine, we have like 4 hard drives backing everything up 2-3 times. Seriously. We pulled out an old CPU which was loaned to us by a friend.

In Silicon Valley everyone pretty much has extra computers, parts and
accessories around their house. Seriously, it’s part of our geek code
here.

So that was all fine, right? Well other then photos we really haven’t tried to access the old files too much and last night when we did, I can’t find the one I need, of course. But hey, the text for my wedding invites, no problem. So I’m pretty sure I also saved this file on my laptop, which is having WiFi issues since we returned from our Cabo trip. Fine, I’ll lug it up the stairs and plug it in to the modem MANUALLY. The humanity of it! In the process of doing this, I found that the laptop is having driver problems (I suspect it may actually be Vista problems, but I don’t know for sure) and can not locate any networks anywhere at anytime. What I do know is that I will now have to spend some time on the phone with someone from Bangladesh and it's going to suck! Fun that I am so looking forward to. I also managed to set it up so that the CPU was not talking to the modem for a while as well. Big Fun! I love playing IT geek when I NEED to be doing something else. After two hours of all of this, I did finally get the CPU talking to the Internets again, but I was done. I loaded some pix to our Google photos and called it a day.

Tonight I get to re-enter all our personal information to start our taxes for this year.

And to really spice things up on Friday, I'll probably call Bangladesh. I'm just saying...

So how was your weekend?

Since I loaded some new photos I’ll share. This is my favorite of both of them together. Taken in Feb., when the outlaws were visiting.

Not Quite so Dramatic this time.

A little melodramatic no? Yeah, I know, I get that way once in a while. It’s more or less passed. When it happens I feel like it I write it down & get it out maybe it’ll go away. I’m not sure it helps, other than to prove I’m mentally ill (and help my kids have me committed some day.) But, whatever. I was in the thick of a very bad time with my back. I believe I peaked yesterday. God, I hope that was the peak. I spent almost all of yesterday in bed on drugs. I was pretty good this morning, driving in the car put me backward for sure, but now I seem to be better. Vicodin is, once again, one of my very best friends evah! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s passed now. It was awful.

Work has been super busy, which hasn’t helped things, but all of this business should soon be slowing down. On MONDAY I can finally tell you my BIG NEWS and then, hopefully there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. After all this, I’m sure it will be very anticlimactic. Ok, back to work, just wanted to let you know I’m ok & I haven’t done anything like thrown myself down a flight of stairs or something.

yeah, I think it's time to up the meds again

Usually I write about the funny, the odd or the ordinary in my life.

I try to avoid the darkness I sometimes feel. Lately, that darkness has been hanging out closer to the surface. Today is one of the days I’m having trouble holding it off. I don’t like to write about it. Almost as if I don’t acknowledge it, it doesn’t exist.

I wish it were so easy.

I try not to give into it, but late at night it overwhelms me. It envelops me and if I give into it I fear I might fall into a dark pit forever. Just falling, falling, like Alice in a never-ending rabbit hole. Just blackness.

I hope that if I write tonight, maybe that will chip away at the power it seems to have over me. I’m not sure it matters. I hate this sense of helplessness I feel toward it.

I have a big change coming up in my life. It’s been taking shape for a while now and it’s finally coming to fruition. Next week I’ll be able to tell you more. But I believe it may be why the darkness is near now. It a good change. It’s something I’ve been working toward. It’s positive. But it is a big change. And I fear change. Outwardly I seem fine, but on the inside, I’m a mess.

I get overwhelmed and the darkness sees the weakness and waits nearby to try and work it’s way into me. It threatens my happiness. It makes me question my abilities, my desires….I hate this darkness. It knows and it’s waits. It waits for the time I’m weak enough to try and take hold of me fully. I think that’s why I have trouble sleeping, why I’ll play mindless games on the computer. I need to block feeling anything, and I want to be completely exhausted so I won’t be able to feel that darkness once I get into bed. I want to hit that pillow & be out. Otherwise, it's like I can feel it. It's waiting. The darkness, it's patient, and it's near.

Things I love--AKA Love Thursday Style

Meet Pancho & Speedy

(need I say more? Yeah, we'll be sending out Cinco De Mayo cards this year.)

Things I Hate!

• I hate 4 PM.
  
• I have an awesome day w/my girls, but 4 PM hits and it's like someone hit a switch. The whining, the screeching, the drama, and that's just me. Seriously, I just don't get it. It can take a great day of 8 hours that fly by and dissolve it into 2 that seem to last all day and make me feel like mom of the year.
• My Job
• They don't pay me enough to deal w/the idiots I'm working with; I know that goes against my do not talk negatively about work rule, but damn some people have no regard for others. Let's just say I got a really rude (insulting) email at the end of th day on Monday. Even though I vowed not to let it bother me and consider the source, I'm still stewing over it. Grrr!...I'm working on this one (remember my "big news" from a while back ago? Soon, I may have an announcement. I'm just saying...)
• Sharing computers
• I'm a selfish bee-yoch when it comes to my bathroom & my computer. Knowing this, it's obvious that I love my husband very, very much when you consider we share both of these. I find these to be extremely personal areas of my life (yes, my computer is very personal, I have it all arranged just so and it drives me ape shit when someone removes a shortcut or adds software or something! It's up there w/putting the toilet paper roll on wrong.) I'm moving on, I could rant for hours on this one.
• Giving up Chocolate
• Sigh, it looks like I'm going to have to. It's becoming more and more apparent that I'm having a really hard time w/chocolate. I've realized that I seem to be getting reflux from my mochas now. If that isn't a sign I don't know what is. Bah!
  

That's it for now (cause now I'm super depressed). Isn't it enough? Sigh.

'Éirinn go Brách

I have these totally adorable pix of the girls that I took this AM of them all in their green, but no way to post them right now! BAH.

That statement right there could describe my life right now. I have the materials/drive/what not to make things happen & technology/tools are preventing me from doing it. And so is my life. I'm tired, we had a crazy busy weekend and it was fun, but it was crazy busy and I have so many things on my plate that I'm overwhelmed and blah, blah, blah, I know you aren't really interested in listening to me complain, but damn this girl needs a nap (and an IT guy, maybe a finance manager to pay our bills, a cleaning service, etc....)

So I hope to post more later; on my ambitious side I'm hoping to jump onto the Fun Monday bandwagon and write more about our Cabo trip and post the St. Paddy's Day photos of my girls. Realistically: Happy St. Paddy's Day, raise a glass of green beer (seriously, stick to the grasshoppers or Irish Cream, green beer makes you pee green, which, seriously, is gross) and hopefully you'll more than one post from me this week.

Sláinte!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside…

Ok, if you live anywhere in the US, but the West Coast you can pick yourself up off the floor now. I know it’s not cold here compared to where you live, but for me 67 being the high is not cutting it anymore. I got used the mid-80s thing pretty quickly and now this is an rude reminder that it is not summer yet.

Oh Yeah! Hi, yes, we’re back, we’ve been back since the weekend, but I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things. So, um, sorry I’ve been absent, no our plane didn’t crash or anything.

Our trip was super fun & I totally intend to write more on it, but I’m swamped at work (of course) so I need to get a couple things done & then I’ll write you a good post; all about warm, breezy days, whales waving at us, sleeping in and cabana boys bringing super-fresh sushi and swirled margaritas. YUM! If I close my eyes I can almost feel the warmth of the sun on my skin right now. Almost.

Salute!

Hola Chicas & Chicos!

Let's all give a cheer to Senior Greenberg's for not only providing internet access, but FREE access for paying customers (1 hr max, if I apruptly get cut off you'll know why). So we made it to Cabo in spite of the fact that we missed our plane (cab never showed up and yes, we did cut it too close). We ended up buying tickets to LA via Southwest and then from LA to Cabo via Alaska. And just to be clear, the folks at Alaska (especially Linda in SJ and some guy in LA who's name escapes me for now, but hopefully I will remember cause) they both went out of their way to try and "fix" our day for us. And let us also mention the nice lady working the bar at SJ airport who kept our glasses full while we wait to head out. When we did get here we were feeling a bit ragged (having been up since 4 AM!) so it was very nice to arrive at our hotel and see that it really is super posh. We have a view of the pool and the Pacific. I can not believe how large the waves are here ! There's no swimming at our beach, but it's not an issue. DaddySpeak is a really good swimmer and tends to disregard those warnings sometimes, but not this time. He couldn't get over the drop off on the beach. It's the result of the waves.

My first impression of the Los Cabos area was that it looks a lot like home during the summer. That's because we basically flew down the San Andreas fault. But the best thing was first thing in the AM DS goes out on our balcony & OMG we got to see a pod of whales go by. Same thing this AM, so we're foregoing the whale watching boats since we can watch them for free from our room.

Yesterday we walked around a lot, checked things out, went on our obligatory "hotel tour". Our host was really cool, he realized right off we were not interested, and cut us lose right off. In the afternoon I hung by the pool and drank swirled margaritas. I perdict they will be the new popular drink down here by the time I leave. Last night we went out. The wind here is COLD!!! So we ended up eating in a restuarant that was relatively empty to be inside; Captain Fish. We ordered oysters on the half shell & were kinda feeling a bit "taken" since it was $10 for a half doz when we pay $1 each at home. But then they brought them out. OMG! I've never seen oysters this large before. One of them was so large it could've eaten us! That alone could've been my diner, but we split dinner too. Then we went bar hopping. We started a CaboWabo which was fun. The crowd was our age so it was good. After a couple margaritas there I was feeling no pain, I had started the drink a rita, drink a bottle of water, but the ritas were ahead of me. So I stopped. We headed to Giggling Marlin, where we danced for a while & DS did a couple of jello shots. (Bad Idea.) Then we headed to Squid Row where we were some of the old folks there (it's Spring Break here!) Well, us and a half doz dirty old men. It was ok, but a lot of the kids there were sloppy drunk, so that part was lame. We danced for a while there, DS did a couple more jello shots and we headed home.

We were home before midnight. DS over did it.

I mentioned to him at the beginning of the evening to remember we need to pace ourselves, and by the time we were headed home, I was sobered up. I'm sure I wouldn't have passed a DUI check, but my buzz had more or less worn off. DS, on the other hand, had the spins. He got so sick, that we know now, that
1) housekeeping does not work 24 hrs at our resort and
2) the only bucket like item in our room is the ice bucket.

It was a long night, part of which he spent next to the toilet, but he was good as new today and has eaten & everything. I had a very expensive (but worth every penny) spa day today; mani, pedi, & facial at the same time AND a back & neck massage. It was lovely, and NOW I really feel like I'm on vacation. Tomorrow, DS is going fishing, I'll probably lay by the pool all day. On Wed, we're scheduled for a snorkleing booze cruise (not sure that's a great combo, but we'll see) and we're going to go sign up for the sunset cruise in a bit here.

We are having a blast, so I raise a swirled rita to you internet & hopefully you'll hear back from me again soon this week.

Hola! From What Better Be Sunny Cabo!

After some research DaddySpeak and I determined there does not seem to be a Starbucks in Cabo San Lucas, Gasp! I know, I was shocked too! I had no idea we were headed somewhere so remote! Anywho, the resort we're staying at will charge us like $20 a day for internet service, so we are going to take a true step back in time & travel without a laptop! Oh, sorry, guess I should've warned you to sit down first. Soooo, if we find that there is an internet cafe there then you will realize this little post is moot. But if you just came over here and this is what you got, (Yes, I flake on Fun Monday, sorry, but...) you know those Corona commercials? That's me right now! And let me tell you after the day I just had (it's almost 2 AM & I have a 6 AM flight what does that tell you?) I NEED this vacation.

I will however miss the girls desperately, so to deal with that I promise to drink an abundance of tequila. Cheers! Salute! Adios!

It's 84 and Sunny in Cabo today!

And tomorrow, and the next day, and as far as the forecast out. I will be in Cabo as of Saturday and I'm so antsy to get there I can hardly stand it!!! Warm sun, sand, cabana boys w/ umbrella drinks for me & DaddySpeak. (Ok, he can have Cabana Girls bringing him his drinks, but only if there's an umbrella in them and if the girls are at least as old as me. ;-)

I can. not. wait! I will miss my girls so very, very much though. But SUN! And UMBRELLA DRINKS! more later....

Starbucks Closed!!!

Did you know that Starbucks closed tonight for 3 hours????

Every single Starbucks in the Nation was closed.

WTF???? Just Wrong People.

Luckily, I was forward thinking and headed over to my local Barnes & Nobel café.
I’m nothing if not resourceful.

Fun Monday!

I’m Back!
The lovely Mariposa is hosting this week and has chosen a topic I’m interested in participating in.

(1) Please share to us how the NAME of your BLOG was made? I can't wait to
hear interesting funny stories!
(2) Please share to us (in words or photo, though a combination of both
will be a bonus!) your favorite/ most common dish!

1) I wish I had a funny story to share on this one. I knew I wanted to start a blog, but I also knew I didn’t want to use our family’s real names, so I wanted some kind of title that would lend itself toward a name. When I first started this blog my intent was two-fold: to give myself an outlet and to have a written record of myself for my girls. (I want them to have a better understanding of me as a person, of course I won’t let them read this till I’m old and dead, so maybe it’s really for my great grandkids.) After looking up many others (already used) I came up with Mommy Speak. It allowed me to use DaddySpeak, MommySpeak, ToddlerSpeak and BabySpeak or The House O’Speak which I liked. It gave an indication of the blog topic, so it was all good. Of course, toddler and baby aren’t anymore, but it’s still a name I’m happy with.

2) My favorite dish: ummm…Chocolate! Seriously my very favorite thing to eat/drink is my daily mocha from Starbucks. Seriously. Kinda pathetic, huh? I really like a lot of other foods, I list some of those below, but if you wantta make mama happy the fastest way is a: Vente, decaf, single-shot, whole-milk, w/whip mocha. Warms me up and makes me smile just thinking about it.
Other foods high on my list:
Greek
Sushi/sashimi
Swiss Fondue
Ethiopian Food
Mexican
Tapas
Ok, now I'm hungry! Go visit Maraposa for the rest of the Fun Monday participants.

At The Very Least She Could Do Spoken Word

So this afternoon I was playing with the girls in the playroom and they pulled out their musical instruments. I belted out “On Top of Spaghetti”. DD1 stopped what she was doing to listen & requested an encore. After that she says, “Want to hear my song?” Sure!

My poor meatball turned into a guy. He rolled out the window & wouldn’t come
back till the sun laid down.

The airplane dumped into the trash can & wouldn’t come back until the 4th of July.

He turned into the sun and wouldn’t come back until the clouds waited up.

But at the end of the day he turned back into a meatball.

Who knew she was so deep?

I’m signing her up to work coffee houses starting next weekend.

Driving in the car….

We are sitting in DaddySpeak’s new Nissan Altima Hybrid at a stop light and notice that the truck in front of us has cheesy cover on the hitch.

DaddySpeak: I’m gonna git me a hitch on this car just so I can get a cover on it.

MommySpeak: Why don’t you just get the car slamed w/neon lights lining the bottom?

DaddySpeak: Nope, I think a hitch w/a cover would trick this car out.

MommySpeak: Ohh! I know, get some truck nutz on it!

DaddySpeak: You think if they made those for motorcycles you’d only get one ball?

MommySpeak: I am SO blogging this…

Ok, prior to posting this I did not know that biker ballz existed. Now I do. No, DS you still get the standard issue 2, but since there's no picture I'm not positive where they would go on a bike. They come in many colors too; flesh, brass and camo to name a few. Of course they do.

Icing on the Cake

Apparently my back wasn’t bothering me enough. My body thought I was getting off too easy, cause today…today I woke up with a rotten cold. The whole family has had these croup-y sounding coughs for more than a week, but I keep chanting; “It’s the tree pollens. It’s the tree pollens.” And it may well have been the trees, but this morning my sinuses were feeling neglected and got into the act. Now I have all this pressure on my eyes & nose. I'm blowing & spitting up lots of "yellow gunk" (your welcome, eating breakfast, huh?) And my ears are all itchy (on the inside)! Wah! Seriously, I was feeling better than this when I woke up and now I just want to crawl back into bed and go back to sleep. I'm seriously considering it.

Checking BACK In….

Yup, more back cracks. I know, I’m sorry. Honestly, it’s pretty much what’s going on here these days. I was down for the count Thursday and Friday. Saturday & Sunday I took it easy, sort of. Taking it easy meant I didn’t pack moving boxes up and down stairs I guess, cause on Monday I worked in the garden. I know, what was I thinking???? I was thinking that those bulb kits at Costco were a good price, (only $15) and that we had a weekend long break from the rain and it was nice to get outside. I was thinking it was a nice project for my MIL & the kids. That’s what I get for thinking. But DaddySpeak & I planted them w/the girls, so that's what I get for thinking. They weren't labor intensive or anything. They were even in raised beds, but it was enough bending and reaching to throw me off I guess. I spent the later part of yesterday & early today feeling like crap. I hope I didn’t undo any good the shot had done. I promise I will behave myself from now on; beside it’s raining again & we go to MEXICO in two weeks! GAWD, I can’t wait.
In the meantime, apparently Antique Mommy’s Sean is walking around in a coma. (No, I’m not making light of her situation, but if his count really was 2000, I’m pretty sure a coma would be the upside of things. I’m on the side of human error in the testing, but I’m also saying a little prayer for them too.) Amalah & Mrs. Mogul went & got knocked up again! (Yes, I’m totally broody and jealous. Sigh) And Juni’s a big sis! So there’s your something shinny. Go read and enjoy, I’m going to bed early to try and HEAL!

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Yes, I'm a day late, but really by an hour, so sue me. Would you expect anything less? It's been a very rough week w/my back and all (excuse #37 for not posting), so let's cut me some slack & pretend like I got this up yesterday, ok? Great, now let's all move on to my riviting words.What did you get for V-day? Know what I got? I got an epidural shot! Woohooo! We are living it up at the Speak household. DaddySpeak’s b-day was yesterday, so that coupled w/my back issues (got to have a nerve test yesterday. Big Fun let me tell you.) meant we were very low key this year. Luckily, I had extra stocking stuffers from the $1 bin at Target, and heart balloons I got for the girls yesterday when picking b-day balloons for DS (from the girls) yesterday and matching “play cell phones” (also boutique target, but a bit more than $1) in house for just such a need. Today was shot as far as I was concerned. Once I got home from the shot, around 10, I went to bed & slept till 2. The vidcodin on an empty stomach might have had something to do with it. Ya think? I do feel bad cause I really didn’t do much for DS for his b-day or V-day. But he didn’t go without, just not as much as I might have normally put into it. Between my back issues & his parents being here I just couldn’t get it anymore together than that. I’ll make it up to him & I said so, but I also think he really does know that I will. He ponyed up big time & bought this beautiful necklace a neighbor MADE!!! I may be able to get a photo on here soon, but I’m not promising a date with everything else that’s happening. I will post a photo at some point though cause it’s super awesome and I LURVE it. (Plus I think she's going to open a shop on Esty, so I will link to it for sure when she does.) I have a feeling it was uber expensive, but that’s ok; I love the piece, the person who made it and most especially the person who gave it.
About the shot:
Not exactly like your epidural that you (may have, like I did) got when in labor. I guess I forgot how much the shot HURT! OMG, did that thing hurt like a mofo! Seriously. I think the one that they give you during labor typically gives you so much relief that you don’t really think of it as hurting? Or maybe I blocked that one too, who knows at this point. I can’t be trusted on these topics I guess. If it makes me feel better I seem to be able to completely block the awful part out of my mind. Since this is my 4th go around with this type of shot you might think I’d have some memory of pain. Maybe I’m brain dead or something, cause I really don’t. I do remember from last go around that getting onto the OR table hurt as much as getting off, so that may have been part of it. Everything was already such a mess, the shot didn’t really add much. The other thing is that during that time my right leg was more or less numb and this go around it’s and on and off thing, so I’m thinking I may have been too numb to feel all of it then too. Not so much this time. The pain is this huge pressure, and it feels like the shot is in my hip bone by the time it’s done. I’m sure it’s not, in fact it’s between two vertebrae, wouldn’t you think my tailbone would feel it more or something? The pressure traveled down my leg to the back of my knee & seemed to stop there. Tonight it’s pretty much just my lower back. I'm very stiff now, and I wasn't before, just hurting, as of right now I'm worse. I'm working on the pretense that I'm going to wake up tomorrow (if I ever get my arce in bed) and feel miraculously better. We'll see. I’m pretty sure I did too much today, so I might have felt slightly better if I hadn’t been picking up toddlers, walking up and down stairs, walking the block to deliver valentines and giving DD1 a real mani & pedi (yes, I spoil that child) as the bending to get to her toes & fingers wasn't the best. But you should see her nails; they rock!
About the nerve test:The results of the nerve test were that I am not worse. I’m not better either. Doctor wasn’t thrilled with that, “after a year it should have more healing and therefore better response.” But on the upside, it isn’t worse, so it’s a start. I knew the nerve test hurt like heck last time, but I forgot about the best part: the second part of the test they stick needles (not as thick as an IV one, but much thicker than say an acupuncture one) in you (my leg & lower back) and move them around while running a low current of electricity into them. I’m. NOT. Kidding. It’s to see if the nerves in the muscles are damaged. They are deep enough to cause you to bleed too. So, not only do you get the pain, they up the ante by pressing on the needle and moving it around, while you bleed. This is one of those tests I think all med students should have to have so they know how it feels and be more empathetic about it. I don’t think my doctor was especially rough, but he does seem to be somewhat flip about it. Trust me, IT HURTS!
Must get to bed before I fall over, so looking forward to a pain and test free weekend. Hoping for the same for you and your family!

Back At It

Ah, the back metaphors are back (get it they're back). Lucky you Internet! The saga of the herniated disk continues…When we last left our heroine she had been progressing nicely. The week in Miami in October (sans kids) had done her wonders. In fact, until she got home from that trip and picked the (not so) little ones she was feeling no pain; and we aren’t talking about the Mai Tai’s folks.

Tank you verry much, I’ll be here all zee week!

Yeah, this week was a bad one for my poor little disk. I am almost at the point of naming the guy. Yes, the disk in my back. It seems to get as much press as my kids do, so it seems fitting. Maybe we should have a naming contest, what’d you think? Any suggestions?

I headed out to the orthopedic surgeon today. He had me bend and cough a lot, (but was never behind me & I’m a chick and was fully dressed so save it). I think he was impressed with my mobility, but that’s the thing about being a mom, you do what you have to, which is everything, until you can’t. Then you can’t move at all. At the time the bending didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but by the time I got home from the appointment I was sore & exhausted. Talk about being out of shape, huh? The biggest thing was that he tested my reflexes and guess what! Not so good. My right ankle seems to have lost it’s reflex. (It’s a sign of nerve damage.) I was tested a year ago because the reflex wasn’t so good then either. At that time, I had little to no feeling in my right leg (the disk was pressing on my sciatica nerve). The doctor thinks it’s worse. The only way they can know for sure it so redo the nerve test, so I’m having that done on Wednesday. Oh Joy! On Thursday I be having another epidural. It’s been about a year since my last epidural so that’s good.; means it’s more likely to be effective. I’m actually looking forward to the epidural. I got so much relief from them last time I could be the epidural poster child. Of course, I felt similarly after my first child’s birth and not quite so much after the second. So I’m tentatively looking forward to it. I am NOT looking forward to the nerve test. Last time I had one my leg was more or less numb, especially the part they were testing. Now, I have complete feeling in my leg. It hurt like HECK last time. No, really, it hurt like HELL. Seriously, not a fun test. I can hardly wait to see how much fun it is now that the nerve is working. If you’ve never had a nerve test, they send electrical impulses into your muscles to see how they respond. The slower they respond the more nerve damage you have. I would think it's like getting lots of mini taser guns shot into various parts of you for an extended period of time. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if it came up that they use this type of thing to torture terror suspects. I'm just saying...
I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if the nerve is DEAD! Mine is not, so I don’t imagine it’ll feel good.
The up side of all of this (well beside the fact that I’m getting an epidural which should make me feel better more or less immediately,) is that I got my pain pill prescription refilled! I take vicodin, and I get nervous when I get low. The press that these kinds of drugs get these days make the doctors hand them out sparingly and I’m always nervous when I start to get low. I’m fearful that I'm going to run out over a weekend & be a mess until I can get in on Monday. It’s never happened, it’s just an irrational fear I have.

Alright, I’m off to bed now. At least I can sleep in tomorrow.

Gung hay fat choy!

Happy Lunar New Year!!! It's the year of the Rat folks. Go out and eat some long noodles (for long life) and maybe some egg rolls or lumpia (Pilipino egg rolls) mmmmm! just because they're so yummy.
This is one of those times I am so very glad I live here in Silicon Valley because people not only know about all these cool different cultures, but they actively celebrate them. I didn't know that not everyone celebrated Lunar New Year until I went to college and had my eyes opened to some less diverse areas of the world. I'm very excited because our weather is back to normal (sunny! warm!) and it's supposed to hold this weekend, so I believe we will be taking the girls to their first Lunar New Year Parade. Yeah! The closest one to us is in San Jose and it's Vietnamese, (the big one in SF is Chinese) but they're all celebrating the same thing and it's so fun! DD1's class is having their own parade on Friday and they're all supposed to dress for it, I can't wait!
DaddySpeak & I are both Monkeys and we're supposed to have a very good year. DD1 is a Goat (or Sheep depending on where you're looking it up) and she too is supposed to have a very good year. DD2 is a Dog and it's supposed to be a tough, but growing year for her, fitting considering she's turning two this year and has already started her stride in the terrible part.
Do you do anything to celebrate the Lunar New Year?

Did You Vote? AKA-- Avoiding Fun Monday

Yeah, yeah, I know I’m supposed to write a “bucket list” for Fun Monday. Honestly, this is one of the hardest things I’ve tried to do, so I’m trying to distract you; “Look! Something Shiny!” This is effectively my “The dog ate my homework of the Fun Mondays.”
When I started thinking about it, I realized I’ve done quite a few things that would typically be on the list; I’ve traveled to 11 countries in Europe & 3 in Asia, I’ve gone paragliding (run off a mountain w/a parachute, it was actually in the Alps, so a BIG mountain,) I whitewater rafted a level 5 river (also in Switzerland, BTW), I’ve hiked & skied in the Alps, so the usual things you’ll find on peoples lists; ie--thrill seeking and travel to exotic places are more or less covered. I’d still like to go to Australia & Africa, but I those are things I will probably save until after our kids have grown and if I don't make it, that's ok. I don’t really care if I do something like jump out of an airplane, I’ve run off a cliff so I think it’s more or less all the same at some point. Plus I kind of feel that now that I have children I really need to rethink the thrill seeking thing if death is a possible option.
Things I know I want to accomplish in this lifetime; I wanted to find my soul mate & grow old with him. I’m doing that. I wanted to have children and be able to be here to watch them grow. I hope to be able to be around to have a strong and happy relationship with grandchildren at some point. But these things are all things that will take my lifetime to accomplish.
I know, a bucket list is supposed to be the things you want to accomplish before you die. But if I could have spent a lifetime making happy memories w/my husband and watching my children grow up happy, healthy and into well-adjusted, successful adults who are able to meet their soul mates and have happy families, then I will have accomplished my life goals.

Sappy, yes. But truly the way I feel.

Look! Over there, something sparkly and shiny!