I still haven't heard from the doctor about my xray results. It will be interesting if they show anything. Taking my 800 mg of Ibuprofin three times a day has really helped my shoulder. Saturday, I was able to use BOTH hands to wash my hair! I haven't done that in TWO weeks! Then today, I was able to raise my hand straight up over my head! There's still a little ache when I do it, but I CAN DO IT! (It's the little things that excite me, lol) But don't tell Cubby that, he'll never let me forget it. I'll keep taking my meds for the full 2 weeks, and will let you know when/if I hear anything from the doctor.

Health Update:

My doctor's appointment was at 1:30pm this afternoon, I needed to be there at 1:15pm to fill out the paperwork first, since it was the first time I've been to that office. The previous insurance plan I was on at work allowed me to keep seeing my old doctor, but that plan was cancelled after 2006, requiring me to pick a new doctor. A co-worker said she'd been happy with BCBS HMO Illinois, and she lives in the same city as me, so I went ahead and switched to it. Since I soooo hate doctors, I haven't made any attempt to go in for a physical or anything since I joined the HMO.

Anyway, this shoulder problem forced me to do it, therefore, paperwork about me and my insurance. I was hoping it wouldn't be some three page list of every ailment or medical problem I've ever had and when. I've done those, and they are a PITA! This was just basic name, address, phone number, emergency contacts, insurance info, etc.

I was pleasantly surprised to be called quite promptly. I was taken back to an exam room, weighed, BP measured (134/84) and told the doctor would be in shortly. I changed into those stupid paper shirts that are open in the back, and waited probably less than 5 minutes for the doctor to come in. He took a basic family history, asked me about my problem, examined my shoulder by pressing on it in different areas, asking if it hurt (which it didn't.)

He had a sheet printed out for me to go get a shoulder x-ray done, a prescription for 800 mg tablets of Ibuprofen, a referral for PT, and a photo-copied picture of some exercises to try for my shoulder. I'm not sure if I'm going to try them or not, since from what the pictures show, I can't put my shoulder in the correct position to do the exercises. I was out of there by 2pm. Since I still had most the afternoon to kill, and one of the locations to get an x-ray was about 10 minutes down the road, I decided to go right then and get that taken care of. The sooner I do that, the sooner they get the results, and the sooner I know if there's something wrong with my shoulder.

I walked in, gave the sheet explaining what I needed, and in about 5 minutes I was called back by the technician. I changed into the robe like gown, walked back to the x-ray room, he put me in position with a lead shield around my waist. The first picture was with my palm facing back, the second picture was with my palm turned facing front, and the third picture he wanted me to raise my arm over my head. I said, "I can't, that's why I'm having the x-rays done." He asked me to raise it as high as I could, I even used my right hand to lift my arm a bit more, then told him to take it quick cause it was hurting and I didn't know how long I could hold it up there. A few seconds later, he was done, and I was done. Whew!

It was now about 2:30 or so? I decided to stop at Target on the way home (the same one I took you to, Kerry) to get my prescription filled. I wandered around there for about 15 minutes, and was out of there by 3:20. Wasn't I getting a lot done today? LOL Next stop was the grocery store, since I needed some food. Especially something to eat when I take the Ibuprofen, since even I should take it with food for that high a dosage. I don't really need to get an ulcer. Came home after the store, at about 4:10. Not a bad afternoon after all.

I'll update when I hear back from the doc on the x-ray results. I also have decided to wait to call for a PT appointment until the doc calls me with the x-ray results. Might as well see if it's something that PT can help with before I start trying to make time for it.

As some of you may know, and others may not, I haven't been online much the past week due to shoulder problems. Last Saturday (just over a week ago) my left shoulder was hurting really bad, and I couldn't raise my arm over my head. Advil and Aleve weren't helping me manage any of the pain either. At first, I thought it was because of how I had been sitting in the chair at my computer; leaning slightly to the left, resting on my elbow. But after taking a couple days away from the computer last Sunday and Monday, it was no better.

I was on the computer Tuesday and Wednesday night for a bit during Idol, with my shoulder still bothering me. Thursday night I came home from work and stayed off the computer (for the most part.) Friday I was off work, so I rested my shoulder and arm all day, but by late afternoon, I wasn't even comfortable sitting in the chair at the computer, so there was no way I'd be able to stream, let alone sit for four hours listening to Kerry's and AK's streams.

Saturday I did nothing all day, again trying to rest my shoulder. Still no change. I spent yesterday, Easter Sunday at my aunt's house (her son cooked lunch/dinner for us), and rested it again last night. It was still no better this morning, so I decided I better call the doctor to see what's going on with it. I really hate doctors, so my calling to make an appointment is a big deal. My appointment is Wednesday afternoon, so I'm taking a half day. At least I can sit at the computer without pain, for today at least.

Keep your fingers crossed that it's nothing serious.

Happy F**king Spring!

WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM FRIDAY TO1 AM CDT SATURDAY
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM CDT FRIDAY TO 1 AM CDT SATURDAY. THE WARNING AREA IS GENERALLY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM STERLING...TO JOLIET...TO CROWN POINT INDIANA.SNOW WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY TONIGHT...SPREADING INTO PORTIONS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL WILL LIKELY BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES DURING THE DAY FRIDAY...WITH SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR POSSIBLE. SNOW WILL THEN GRADUALLY DIMINISH FRIDAY EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 6 TO 9 INCHES...WITH SNOW AMOUNTS DIMINISHING RAPIDLY SOUTH OF A STERLING TO JOLIET AND CROWN POINT INDIANA LINE WHERE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BE MAINLY RAIN.

I can't take credit for the picture, but I saw my FIRST American Robin of the year! Just in time for Spring too! It was sitting in the tree right next to the the sidewalk up to my front door, and wouldn't sit still while I was walking past it. So there was no way I would get upstairs, into my apartment, grab my camera, come back downstairs and out the door with it still sitting there. As soon as I can get a decent picture of one, I'll prove that I actually have them here, lol.

This was my Thursday page on my day-at-a-glance calendar that I got for Christmas from Mother. I thought Kerry would appreciate this, and make her long for a visit to Nova Scotia.

Don't forget! Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday morning at 2:00AM.

Wow, what a change in the weather! It's currently 53F, but by tomorrow morning, it's supposed to be back down near freezing, with a "wintry mix." I can't wait for more warm weather.

This weekend I saw two very good movies. One was Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Connelly. There's some violence, but it's an awesome movie! Plus it's based on a true story.

The second movie I saw was The Spiderwick Chronicles. This is based on a book series written by Holly Black. The movie stars Freddie Highmore as brothers Jared and Simon Grace. Playing their mother is Mary-Louise Parker, with special appearances by Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright, the voice of Martin Short, and Andrew McCarthy.

One more week and we move our clocks forward. Spring will definitely feel like it's on the way once the sun starts setting later. I can't wait!!!!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig. I arrived home Monday night in the middle of a snowstorm. They weren't even sure if we would get to Chicago, let alone land in Chicago. But, the snow angels were on our side, allowing us to land safely, and for me to arrive home without too much hassle. I wasn't feeling well when I got home, I was running a slight fever. I still had it Tuesday morning when I got up, so I stayed home from work. When I got back up at 9:00AM, this is what I saw outside. And it was still snowing.

I love how the snow is on every branch, it all looks so pretty. I'm not sure why the pictures are so dark. I set the camera on "Cloudy" and this is what I got. Hmmmm. Anyway, by mid-afternoon, the snow had stopped, the clouds parted, the sun came out and most of the snow was off the trees. It's still on the ground, however. And, we're supposed to get another inch or so tonight I've heard. Have I mentioned lately that I want Spring to be here?

Tonight, I heard the news about my dear friend LittleWing who finally succumbed to cancer. I will miss you dearly, even though it's been a long time since we talked. Rest in peace with the angels, Wingie.


Yonder Mountain String Band - To Say Goodbye, To Be Forgiven

Are you one foot in the grave, or one step closer to your savior
Brother tell me how it feels, it's much too soon to meet your maker
You ain't ever walked a line, boy, you always were a rebel
Now ain't no time to strike a deal now, now for someone to cheat the devil

Won't get a nickle for your name, no, 'course you won't need it where you're going
But brother tell me can you feel, now, the winds of change that started blowing
It ain't a hot and dusty road, no, it ain't a highway it's a journey
Sure you're walking for the train still, but it's a train that's bound for glory

Every man is born to die, there ain't no mystery but livin'
Brother tell me is it hard to say goodbye, to be forgiven
You won't ever get it back, don't you hear the angels calling
'Cause you listen to them now, now that the tears have started fallin'

When he reaches out his hand for you, and you kneel before you savior
Say, your brothers know you're gone now, gone to heaven a believer
Say, your brothers know you're gone, gone to heaven a believer

Robert "Uncle Bob" Douglas

1929-2008

Rest In Peace

Friday February 22 I will be flying to California for a memorial, to be held on Saturday February 23. My Uncle Bob was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease several years ago, and up until six months ago, was being cared for at home by his wife and a caregiver. When he could no longer swallow on his own, a feeding tube was inserted and he was placed in a full-time care facility. He lived a long and happy life, and I know my Aunt will be just fine, with the support of so many family members that love her.

Anyone remember my post from February 11, 2007? Check it out HERE to refresh your memory. Almost one year to the day, I had the same problem happen again. My pipes froze over the weekend due to the cold temperatures, and Monday night they started bursting. This time it burst from under the sink, in the cabinet, punctured the drywall, and was shooting a spray of water out about six feet into my hallway. I had just fallen asleep at about 12:30AM, when the water hitting the bathroom door woke me up. Shutting off the valve under the sink didn't work, neither did shutting off the one under the toilet. Fortunately, maintenance was there within 10 minutes, but it felt more like 30. He shut off the water to the building, but had to go back to the other apartment he had been working on when he was paged for my emergency.

About 20 minutes later he comes back, with Jack (my buddy from last year), the maintenance supervisor. They proceeded to try to replace the damaged section of pipe, but every time they'd turn the water back on, another area would start leaking. They left about 3:45AM since there was nothing more they could do until a plumber came. They were hoping to have one there by 6:00AM. I called work to leave a message for my boss, explaining what happened, and that I would be there in the afternoon. I went back to bed at 4:00AM and slept till 9:00AM, so I could be up, showered and dressed before the guys with the shop vac came to suck all the water out of my carpet.

Monday night, showing the drywall that was cut out to get to the pipes, and the interior insulation that was pulled out from around the pipes.

This was taking Tuesday morning, after the plumber had been in while I was sleeping. They pulled the toilet up (it's sitting off to the left in the bathtub) and ripped out more drywall.

Here's a close up of the pipes and insulation in my wall. If you look carefull, you can see some small shiny sections of copper pipe. Those are the newer pieces they put in to replace the busted sections. I'm assuming some are from last year. There are at least four that I can tell in the picture, one longer piece on the right side, lower pipe, one small piece in the middle top pipe, and one small piece on both top and bottom pipes on the left.

Because of the water on the bathroom floor, I knew it would start leaking to the carpeting in the bedroom, so Monday night (Tuesday morning actually), once the water was shut off, I started getting everything out of the way before the water got to it. I dragged it wherever I could, and still leave a path to my computer.

Here's the finished bathroom tonight when I got home. Same toilet, can't get that replaced yet (next on my list), but I have a new vanity, cabinet, sink, faucet, I got it all. If you compare this photo with the first one, you can see the difference in the cabinet door. This new one is much nicer quality than the old one.

Everything needs to be thoroughly cleaned, but the water is back on and working. This morning when I got up for work, I didn't have any hot water, so took an amazingly quick shower, then called Jack from work. Apparently, while the plumber was here yesterday, they had been turning the breaker on and off for the water heater, because it's electric, and Jack forgot to turn it back on when they left. So my water heater wasn't heating any water! It's back on now, and I have hot water again! This Saturday, after my dentist appt, I'll be cleaning the bathroom, and putting everything back in it's place in the bedroom.

What are the odds this would happen two years in a row, and on exactly the same day?

Ok, I'm SERIOUSLY ready for Spring, any day now it can arrive, I won't complain, I promise. I've REALLY had enough of the below zero temperatures. At the rate I'm going, I won't make it to 2009 before moving to California. I've really gotten intolerant of the cold in my old age. Keep warm, where ever you are!

The storm I was supposed to get didn't quite materialize as they expected. The snow was supposed to start last night, but the cold air didn't move south enough to change the rain to snow. So instead, I got rain all night, which turned to freezing rain/sleet this morning on the way to work, then about 9AM turned to snow. It snowed steadily the rest of the day. By 1:30, management of my company decided they would let us leave starting at 2PM, as the weather was not looking to improve until supper time. Some areas were expected to get over a foot of snow, with areas by me expected to get closer to 6 inches.


Fortunately, the highways weren't too bad, and traffic wasn't too heavy, so I made it home in under an hour. Not bad for the middle of a snowstorm! When I got home, while it was still light, I took a few pictures. This is the tree right outside my front door. The wind was blowing the snow in every direction, so the trees got a good coating of snow all over.

Also standing from my front stoop, this is a picture of part of the parking lot. The one car in front hadn't moved in at least a couple days, so it was all covered in snow. Mine is the silver one on the far left, partially obscured by the tree. There are piles of snow from the plow, and the sidewalk hadn't been shoveled yet. Those are footprints on the far right side leading up to my door, where people had to trudge through very wet and slushy snow.

From my apartment, this is looking out on the golf course. The darker areas in the middle are where the water was collecting from all the rain we got before it changed to snow. This was taken without flash, from my bedroom, through the window. You can actually see the water droplets in the picture that were on the outside of the window.

The snow has finally let up I think, not sure when we're supposed to get more, but I'm sure winter hasn't finished with us yet. This has been a very snowy winter, as opposed to last winter, when we had very little snow but brutally cold temps for several weeks. I would much rather have the snow than the below zero temperatures.