quickie update...oh wait, it's been a while. Not that quick then.

stitch-free!

I got my stitches out on 11/29. I can sleep on my right side and stomach now and being able to shift into any position at will has done wonders for my sleeping. Yay!

Tuesday marked three weeks since my second surgery. As I wrote that last sentence, I realized that my last blog update was before surgery #2. I guess I'll need to backtrack...

My chest incision was not healing well, this much I knew. And I knew that my head incisions were a little suspicious and weren't cleaning up like I'd hoped after I got my staples out on November 1. On November 4, I was in meeting with the study people and I asked Dr Enisa (who can do anything) if she could get me in to see the neurosurgery people to have them check me out. They put me on antibiotics (Levaquin) and scheduled me to come back in a week. Flash forward to 11/11 - Matt and I are in meeting with my neurosurgeon and he says all three of my sites are infected and I need surgery. The next day. Uh...

surprise! another surgery!

...so, on November 12 I went in for surgery #2, to debride the areas, treat the infection, stitch me back up, etc. And I was just starting to grow back my hair! I was supposed to be in the hospital for a night; instead I was there for four. At some point in there I turned 28, too. I still mess up my age sometimes because I was pretty high on pain meds on my actual birthday (the nurses sang me Happy Birthday, which was pretty dang nice of them). They even put in a PIC line to send me home with six weeks of IV antibiotics. Getting the PICC hurt (it took the person multiple tries and she kept bumping into the sides of my veins). My right arm was sore and bruised for weeks. But just when I thought I was going to be hosting home health aides and spending about six hours a day hooked up to an IV, the neurosurgeon's PA discovered that the study would pay for me to get Zyvox instead, a freakishly expensive and effective oral antibiotic ($90 per pill, two pills a day). They were able to take out the PICC and I got to go home. It was like surgery #1 all over again except the pain pills I went home with weren't as strong. I was as helpless and weak as a newborn kitten and my amazing family again swooped in to took care of me (I am very lucky to have them!).

I've had two post-op meetings with the neurosurgeons, and they are very pleased with my healing this time around. I'm just over halfway through my antibiotics course. My stitches came out on 11/29 and I am relieved to have those spiky things out of my head and chest!

Now, the obligatory gory pictures will follow... :)

INFECTION! (chest incision, three week post-surgery #1)

chest incision, four weeks post-surgery #2

PICC

Post-surgery #2 (I like taking pictures. They are going in my brain surgery scrapbook.)

And he can sing, too!

My father-in-law is a man of many talents, like being able to bike a hundred miles in August, catch big fish, and finish the New York Times crossword puzzle. But did you know he sings, too? =P

Happy Halloween!

great "get well soon" card

Emily gave me a hilarious "get well soon" card, so great I had to share. I went through a lot of bendy straws in the last week.

Naptime invaded

Piper did not respect my need for sleep or gentleness.

Pink!

I've been up to things lately. First there was a super fun trip with Emily to visit Lisa, Eric, and the kids in Bastrop. This was followed up by some family time, cat sitting, and experiments in hair color.

Emily and I stayed at a lovely B&B in Bastrop (the Pecan Street Inn) - here she is testing out our king-sized bed.

We helped Miles pick out his Halloween costume. It's a dinosaur. We promise.

Emily and I took Grandma Phyllis out to lunch at La Duni (la yummy!)

I watched the cats Petey and Nellie while John and Susie were in Telluride (so jealous!)

before

Beautician Matt

right after (looks darker than it is)

hair this morning ... it's like ... bubblegum color maybe?

Carolyn

Carolyn, 1942

Ann Carolyn Short Hall, age 83, died August 15, 2010. Funeral services are set for 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, in the Wildwood Chapel at Restland. Interment is to be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, in Evergreen Cemetery in Paris. Born in Paris, Texas on November 23, 1926, Carolyn was the first of two lovely daughters to delight Lydia Aden and Raleigh Ernest Short. After an idyllic childhood in Paris, she found her calling as a Registered Nurse after training in pediatrics at Bradford Memorial and obstetrics at Baylor Hospital, both in Dallas. In 1947 she married a handsome young surgeon, Dr. William Lloyd Hall. Their exciting early married life found them stationed in Washington D.C., Chicago, China Lake in California's Mojave Desert and in the Panama Canal Zone as Bill served in the U. S. Navy. Over the years Carolyn turned her attention to their growing family, which by 1958 would include four children: Marc, Mike, Lisa and Jay. The Oak Cliff area of Dallas became home. Family and friends will always remember Carolyn's ever-youthful personality; the interest in others that made her such a wonderful listener and charming conversationalist; that feisty nature and the sparkle in her eye; her love of all dogs, especially miniature schnauzers; and the fierce, loving loyalty she had for those close to her. She will be missed and remembered by her special friends on Averill Way, by the Oak Cliff doctors and wives she regularly lunched with, by her Paris classmates and by all who ever ate her coconut amaretto or buttermilk pies. Preceded in death by her daughter Lisa, she is survived by sister Nancy Cannada, son Marc and his wife Susan, son Mike and his wife Eve, son Jay and his wife Stephanie, grandchildren Lisa, Michael, Leslie, Cameron, Morgan and Hunter, great grandchildren Miles and Lyla, and by a wonderful extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews. (link)

Carolyn was one of my best friends and had my vote for world's greatest grandmother. For now, I'll just leave things at that.

Big Bend Videos

Emily and Rick brought their Flip along on our camping trip and captured a few fun videos.

Big Bend Wind Experience
Campsite and shower discussion
Rick tests the waters

Big Bend!

In late May, we (Rick, Emily, Luke, Matt, me) piled into Olive (my dad's Expedition) and drove to Big Bend for a much needed vacation. Emily has posted many pictures of the trip on Facebook, so I'll just highlight a few that make me smile.

Initially we were going to camp down by the river near the Rio Grande Village because they had showers. The weather reports indicated highs near 100 but lows in the 60s, so we thought that sounded fine. Once we arrived though, we found out that by the river the 100-degree heat stuck around until past 9pm and the lows weren't arriving until 3-4am. So...first big decision of the trip - showers or comfortable temperatures? Easy call. We decided to camp at the Chisos Basin campground, located at about 5000' elevation. Cooler weather >>>>>> showers. Plus we got a prime spot right at the edge of the campground that afforded us over 180 degrees of unspoiled view. This picture is us at the campsite. It had a great picnic table with shade - very important! Em and Rick (our camp cooks) made us fajitas that night and we settled in for an early bedtime. The wind was ridiculous! Our tents were battered and shuddered and popped all night (we lost both our rain fly poles at one point).

On Monday morning we set out for a hike on the Lost Mines trail. It was a short drive from our campsite and the trail led us up into the mountains. There was this great rock with a huge drop off that the less-vertigo-affected of us enjoyed being photographed on. The hike was about 5 miles round trip. It had some great views and nice people took our picture at the top. We made it down and back to camp in time for lunch.

at the top of the Lost Mines trail

The afternoons in Big Bend in the summertime were made for lounging! We set up the hammocks hanging from our shade and put up our tarp to expand the shaded area. We read books, played DS, napped. In the shade the heat was completely manageable. We had a plan for the evening (another hike!) so we had an early dinner of burgers and sausage (thanks again, Em and Rick!) and headed out just after 6 for hike #2, "The Window." We didn't even have to drive to get to this trailhead; it left directly from the campground. Nice! The hike was a fun contrast to the morning's hike. We headed in the opposite direction and down into a canyon. Rick was hoping there would be water but the most we got were a few stagnant pools. Just as well, though, because the dryness enabled us to get right to the edge of the Window without slipping over the edge - that rock was smoothed down to a glossy finish. We lingered for a while, enjoying lounging on the cool rock in the shade.

On Tuesday we did a mostly driving tour, heading west. Our first destination was Santa Elena Canyon, along the Rio Grande. It had a really high cliff on the Mexican side. We did a quick trot along the trail into the canyon but didn't go too far - it was getting hot! Back at the car, we ate lunch and then the boys got in their swimsuits and "swam" (waded) in the Rio Grande over to the Mexican side.

After the swim, we drove to Terlingua to see the ghost town. We met some interesting locals...

Back at camp, we did some serious lounging and I once again got comfy in our hammock. Grilled chicken and mac and cheese was the menu for dinner (yum), and then Emily and I retreated to the bathrooms to try and clean up and avoid the never-ending discussion the boys were having about immigration issues. That night we got a real treat - there was a huge storm over the mountains with amazing lightning to watch. (Unfortunately the storm eventually got to us and Matt and I worried about our substandard rain fly poles). Luckily we didn't wash away.

On Wednesday we paid a trip to the hot springs. I thought it was warm enough that the 100-degree water wouldn't feel good, but it was nice!
Once back at camp we packed up and got ready for our stay at the Chisos Mountain Lodge. The rooms were clean but very no-frills - much like a dorm room. But whatever! They had electricity and running water and showers, so it was like heaven. Luke stayed with Matt and me in our room so that Rick and Emily, definitely the two people without whom the trip could not have happened, could bunk on their own. (Incidentally they were also celebrating their 2-year wedding anniversary).

Thursday was our last full day at the park and we took advantage of being well-rested and clean to undertake our most ambitious hike, up the highest mountain in the park, Emory Peak. We got a really early start and the weather was overcast, so it was quite pleasant. The last bit of elevation to the peak was a rock scramble, which suited me just fine. I love scrambling. We ate an extremely early lunch up on the peak next to the radio equipment. The hike down was harder since it was starting to get hot. But we made it!



Big Bend was really amazing. I would love to go back and experience it again during another time of the year. The five of us had a great time.

...

Okay, continue watching this space for more updates. For now my fingers are tired of typing =P

watch this space

coming soon - belated Big Bend post, summer-time happenings

in the meantime, enjoy this picture of Piper grooming Pene's head (this happens a lot)

the California post

I've been back for a week now and am fully prepared to write an extensive and overly-long post about my trip to California. It was a lot of fun! Very relaxing but full of activities.

Wednesday, March 31: My afternoon flight on Southwest was relatively uneventful. There were 20-month-old triplets on our flight with their two stressed-out looking parents but there was no crying or any acting out. Amazing! Les picked up up from the Oakland airport (so nice) and we had the obligatory super-condensed catching up session in the car before arriving at their house. Once there, I got an enthusiastic greeting from Sous and Bryan (one was wigglier than the other) and we had a glass of wine and engaged in a great deal more catching up. Dinner was some amazing homemade cheeseburgers (I ate well on this trip!), and then I made up my little nest on the couch and crashed.

Thursday, April 1: Awoke to a really bizarre sound that I couldn't place. Maybe Bryan doing some sort of crazy exercise, I thought? It was Sous eating her breakfast out of some rubber and plastic contraption that has to be manipulated just right to get a single pellet of food out. It involves a lot of dropping on the floor. She's a smart dog. After a fortifying breakfast taco, Leslie and I took Sous on a hike at Redwood.Leslie indulged me and accompanied me to the crepe place for lunch. Embracing the state of vacationer, I got a sweet crepe, with cherries, ricotta and mascarpone with apple sauce and sour cream (it maybe have come with ice cream...just maybe). When we came home, we had a surprise! Sous had found my plane snacks within a plastic bag within my backpack, and we found wrappers to the following: 2 Fiber One granola bars, chocolate-covered raisins, lemon Girl Scout cookies, a Twix bar, and a bag of almonds. The Gummi Lifesavers were not acknowledged as food and therefore rejected. So remember kids - put food away and off the ground when you have smart doggies around!

After a relaxing afternoon (a nap might have been involved), Leslie and I rode BART/Muni into San Francisco to attend the NightLife event at the California Academy of Sciences. On Thursdays from 6-10pm, they open the museum to 21+ year-olds, have a DJ, and sell alcohol. It was great! No kids! No strollers! Actually good music! We took a quick spin through the rainforest, visited the living roof (picture at left), reclined in the planetarium (one of the big dome kinds that makes you feel like you're moving), then explored the aquarium. Some personal favorites: the little frogs that looked like moss, sea horses that looked like kelp, and big-ass jellyfish. After a while, we met up with three of Leslie's friends, Debbie, Bianca, and Laurel, and we all ate at the cafeteria (I had mac & cheese, yum!). And Bianca and Debbie gave us a ride home (in their Prius, which might have been my first time in one), which was super-nice and much appreciated. I enjoyed the adventure of riding public transportation, but an hour+ ride back in the dark of night did not sound like fun.

Winner of the best April Fools Day joke: Kristina (aka cousin Michael's girlfriend) with her post on Facebook about moving to Germany. I totally bought it and had to text Lisa to check the veracity.

Friday, April 2: Happy start to the morning with a trip to the dog park with Sous. She's such a fun dog to be around. It's nice to be with a dog that likes other dogs, too. Not just gets along with them, but likes them. After some mid-day quiet time, Leslie and I went to see "How to Train Your Dragon," which I really liked. It wasn't quite Pixar, but it was close. And Toothless the dragon was awesome! I thought the quality of the animation was also really good. After that, we stopped by H&M and got me a silly $13 dress to wear for Easter (picture down below).

Leslie and I met Bryan for dinner at Yoshi's Jazz Club and Japanese Restaurant. I was adventurous and had a shrimp tempura dish (‘Kakiage’ Fritter: black tiger shrimp, onion, carrots, enoki mushrooms, kaiware radish lightly battered and deep-fried). After dinner we took in the show - the Brad Mehldau Trio. They were good! My favorite piece was an uptempo Portuguese number, and my second favorite was an improvisation on The Sound of Music's "Something Good." We sat with the two biggest fans in the room, a couple who had even seen the trio perform in other countries. They were very nice and we had fun talking with them. They struck up a conversation after Bryan and I were playing the "stereotype personalities of musical instrument players in high school band." It was my clarinet player description that did it ("slightly anal but dedicated" was as far as I got... (I tried to get out of the hole I dug by saying I married one). Turns out the woman was a clarinet performance major before switching to musicology. Oops.

Saturday, April 3: Dog park in the morning with Leslie and Bryan and Sous. Sous pulled a good trick by going under a bridge and emerging on the outside of the dog park fence. Luckily the fence wasn't too high and I just popped over and put her back on the right side. We ate brunch at a favorite restaurant of all three of us: Citron. Three words: lemon ricotta pancakes. Then I did some shopping around the neighborhood while Les and Bryan went back to the house. The afternoon they spent getting ready for their Easter BBQ while Sous and I stayed out of the way. Oh, and Bryan showed me Final Fantasy XIII, which I now really want (no surprise, I've been dedicated since FFX). We stopped by Debbie and Bianca's place for Bianca's going-away party for an hour or so before heading back to the house for more prep and relaxing.

Sunday, April 4: I made buttermilk pies for the party. Trader Joe's pie crust does not get my endorsement. If you do use it, thaw it for twice as long as they say and roll it out a bit before using. I should've known better than to use an unknown product.

Easter "Southern/Kentucky Derby"-themed finery

You can't tell, but my headband has a flower on it. I went all out.

Leslie and Bryan's Easter BBQ party started at 2. There were people I knew (Doug, George, Clare, etc) and people new to me. Luckily Leslie and Bryan have amazingly nice, friendly friends so all was well :) Leslie and Bryan had made some great food (homemade cheese sticks, BBQ pork to name a couple) but the winner of the best food had to be the peep sushi brought by guests. I mean, look at this:

The party was really the culmination of the trip. I headed back to Dallas the next morning, very uneventfully. I had a great time!

good book

I finished a good book last night - The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose.

Also - Central Market's tagine chicken dinner for two is really good!

spring

Well, I think it's fitting to post for the first time in a while on the first day of spring. I have to say, it doesn't feel like spring outside! Right now it's 36 degrees. Brr! Makes me feel better about being lazy and not working on my yard yet.

Pene had her last day of dog training class last week. She did really well overall. She's better behaved and calmer than when she started, and she had the opportunity to be sort of near other dogs. She still has a long way to go in getting over her dog aggression and in obedience, but we've made a good start. Eventually we'd like to do more classes with her trainer (agility has been suggested).

Matt is a little less swamped with work than previous weeks. I saw him almost every day this week and he worked from home last Sunday. That enabled us to have brunch and visit the Arboretum on a beautiful day. It was Matt's first time back since our wedding and we had a good time revisiting the place.

Cousin Lisa visited with Miles and Lyla recently. We had a great time. Piper was the star of the show again - Lyla thinks Piper is hilarious and awesome, and Miles loves chasing her around. And luckily Lisa's nightmare of Piper scratching Miles' face did NOT come true. =P Pene wasn't quite ready to be loose with the small children, but I think soon with them getting older and Pene getting mellower we might be able to try it.

I'm gearing up for a trip to visit Leslie and Bryan in California soon. I can't wait!

Happy 2010!

I haven't yet had to remember to write "2010" or "10" for the date yet. I'm sure I'll screw it up the first few times. Speaking of the new year, poor Dick Clark. He really needs to retire.

I had a very exciting Christmas holiday. It was full of family, which is just how I like it. Leslie and Bryan were in town for the week leading up to Christmas. So that, of course, was great. We started their visit by celebrating my parents' 39th wedding anniversary (by having a fancypants dinner). Later that week we all went to the ranch and split logs. For whatever reason, I find that very fun. I know I already posted the picture on Facebook, but it's just too impressive to not put on the official blog.



Matt and I had our usual intricate dance of family events - Christmas Eve dinner with my family, a visit after with Matt's, presents Christmas morning with my family, then presents with Matt's, followed by the Stimson family gathering on Christmas night. Oh right, and then the Roberts extended family Christmas on January 1. Whew. A good time was had by all, except that I had a cold most of Christmas week. We had our first white Christmas in 80-something years here in Dallas, which was very cool except for the havoc it caused to my extended family trying to join us for Christmas Eve dinner. When Matt and I drove home that night, we actually slid backwards a bit while stopped at a traffic light near our house (and when the light turned green, we didn't actually manage to go anywhere and had to sit through another light cycle and try again). Oh, and I hosted cousin Lisa and Lyla the Monday after Christmas, which always makes me happy. :)

Christmas present breakdown:

• Most fun: bowling ball (Matt and I both got one from my dad. Matt has owned one before - it broke - but this was my first ball. I've used it twice so far...maybe I'll finally get better at bowling)
• Most practical: emergency car kit (I asked for it...I decided maybe it's a good idea to have jumper cables in one's car)
• Pleasant surprise: Anise wall decals (I had asked for this, but didn't think we'd get it, and then I forgot it was on my wishlist)
• Favorite present given by me: poppy stained glass needlepoint (see what it looked like here) that I worked on for about 6 months, given to Leslie and Bryan. I thought it would look great in their house as a pillow or framed.

Matt's back to work now after a nice break. It's officially busy season, so we're both mentally preparing for long hours and lots of time apart. One of my activities planned to keep me busy is taking another class through DCCCD - astronomy! I hope it is neat.

I'm excited about my friend Brian visiting on Friday. He's moving to Austin, so he's stopping by here on his way through. It's going to be really fun to have him living only a few hours away!