Fortunate.....or Not???

 
What a way to end the year!

Unfortunately, while putting away our Christmas decorations Friday afternoon, my poor hubby slipped and fell off the ladder...about 7 feet from the ground. Fortunately, the corner of his work bench broke his fall preventing him from landing solidly on the cement garage floor. Unfortunately, hitting the work bench hurt his back and caused him to slam forward into the ladder, also hurting his stomach. Fortunately, he just seemed dazed and a little sore Friday so he decided to tough it out. Unfortunately, Saturday morning he was VERY sore and questioning his decision not to seek medical treatment Friday. Fortunately, we have the option of going to the Urgent Care facility which is only a fraction of the cost of the ER and is much less crowded. Unfortunately, the urgent care doctor did a little poking and prodding and said, "I don't like the tenderness I feel in the area of the liver; you need a CT scan to check the liver and kidney and we don't have the equipment to do that here and normally we would send you across the street to the Imaging Center, but they are closed on weekends, so we have to send you to the ER." Fortunately, the ER is just down the sidewalk and the attendant put my hubby in a wheelchair and pushed him into the ER with me following alongside... supposedly we would get much quicker attention because the Urgent Care was delivering him instead of us just walking in on our own. Unfortunately, the ER was completely packed and we had to wait just like everyone else. Fortunately, after a couple of hours of waiting, they opened an ER annex room and admitted 5 patients including my hubby. Unfortunately, they had to do blood work before they could perform the CT scan and we had to wait an hour for the lab results to come back. Fortunately, the blood work was all normal, so they ordered the CT scan. Unfortunately, more waiting and by now 5 hours had passed. Fortunately, the scan was finally taken and was quick and not too painful. Unfortunately, it would be another hour before the radiologist could read the results and send them back to the ER doctor. Fortunately, the scan came back and the ER doctor reported to us that there was no damage to the liver or kidney. Unfortunately, my hubby does indeed have a broken rib and a huge contusion. Fortunately, he got a prescription for some strong pain meds and they released him 7 hours after arriving. Unfortunately, by the time we got home it was late in the evening and our normal pharmacy was closed. Fortunately, I was able to find a pharmacy close to home that was open and get his prescriptions filled. Unfortunately, yesterday the poor guy got up with a sore throat and yes, a COUGH (bad news for someone with a broken rib). Fortunately, today the cough is a little better and he is keeping it under control with the help of cough syrup. Unfortunately, he is still having quite a bit of pain and not getting around too well. Fortunately, he should be able to mend enough to go back to work Wednesday. Unfortunately, he spent the last days of his vacation and 2007 sore, tired, and miserable! Fortunately, his injuries will heal in 3-4 weeks and he will be fine and dandy.

Happy New Year to everyone and my best advice for 2008.....
STAY OFF OF LADDERS!!!

Happy Howlidays!

Fa la la la la May you all have a song in your heart this holiday season!


We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Fish Tales

Since I have a family full of fishermen, I have heard more than my fair share of fish tales. Although their stories are interesting and usually highly embellished, I must admit that my fish tales are more unusual and completely true. I have a barrel pond in my backyard that I have enjoyed keeping goldfish in over the years. I have had many unusual experiences with my fish...for instance Big Old Stupid Crooked Mouth (yes, that was his actual name and believe me he earned it) would get bloodshot eyes and act drunk for a day or so and then recover and be completely fine. He attempted suicide once by jumping out of the pond and though he looked dead I was familiar with his theatrics so I simply picked him up and put him back in the water where he floated for awhile and then began swimming and had a complete recovery and lived for many more years.

Then there were Smoky and Casper. Smokey was black and Casper started out completely white, but ended up with a black stripe down his back. They were prizes I had won from the state fair and I had them for a couple of years when one day they just disappeared. Well, I tore the pond apart looking for those two. I took out the plants, half of the water, and cleaned the pump...still no fish. I blamed their vanishing act on the pesky neighborhhood raccoons that were spotted a few days prior to my fish disappearing. I decided not to get more fish because I was heartbroken. Well, 6 months later while cleaning out the pond filter for the second time since the fish vanished, I spotted some movement in the bottom of the pond. Imagine my surprise to find Casper alive and well. I honestly thought it was the strangest thing that could have happened...that is until a few minutes later, I spotted Smokey too. These fish lived 6 months without being fed and with me looking in the pond and cleaning it and never seeing them!!

Then Kyle moved back to California from Texas bringing his 2 goldfish from his aquarium. Well, unfortunately, one of them didn't survive the trip, but the one that did we put in the pond with my two. They all got along great and were growing into big fish. Every morning they would all be waiting at the surface for their breakfast. Then one morning I went out to feed them, and much to my disappointment, no fish skimming for food!!! The plants around the pond were all knocked over as well as the plants inside the pond. My fish didn't give up without a fight, but this time I knew the raccoons had gotten them because they left their muddy little footprints across the patio and took a bath in my dog's water dish. Not taking any chances though, I completely dismantled the pond to make sure there were no hidden survivors, and unfortunately there weren't. I had to tell Kyle the critters ate his fish as well as mine. Thoroughly discouraged, I vowed NO MORE FISH!!!

That was several months ago and I didn't get any more...that is until today and it wasn't by my choice. Perhaps the most bizarre fish tale of all...my husband discovered a live catfish lying on the gravel path in our back yard this morning!! How did it get there? No idea. What to do with it? Put it in the pond of course. I know this sounds like a whopper of a tale, but it is the absolute truth!! Anyone know what to feed a catfish?

Proud Mom

I try not to be the type of person that goes around doing a lot of bragging, but sometimes one of my kids just does something that is so exceptional I have to share. Please forgive me for this indulgence as I claim BIG bragging rights today!

My younger son is a college student studying mechanical engineering. He works very hard and his efforts have been paying off. He was just inducted into the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society. To be eligible for Tau Beta Pi, a student has to meet certain requirements. They must be in the top 1/8th percentile of their class and they must also exhibit exemplary character. I am very proud of my son's academic acheivements, but to this proud Mom's heart, it is the wonderful character qualities that he exhibits that mean the most to me. After all, he will soon be finished with his schooling and nobody will remember his GPA, but he will spend the rest of his life being defined by his character.

Thank you for allowing me this bit of bragging today as I am sure you can understand why I am such a proud Mom.

Sam wearing his Tau Beta Pi medallion

Breathe, Baby Breathe

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am recovering from surgery. While I was in the hospital, I was blessed to be cared for by some of the sweetest nurses I have ever met. Although I really liked all of them, I have to admit that Nga (pronounced Nah) was my very favorite.
Nga is a tiny little 61 year old dynamo of a woman that came to the US from Vietnam. What she lacks in physical size she makes up for with energy, drive, and determination. Nga was my nurse for the first night shift following my surgery. She works 12 hour shifts and seems to have one speed--FAST!
Nga decided that since my doctor put on my chart that I should get out of bed Saturday morning (surgery was Friday), that meant I needed to get out of bed on her shift which ended at 7:00 am. So, at 1:00 am here comes this little tornado telling me it was time to get up. I politely told her it was the middle of the night and it was time to sleep! Well, we went through this routine several more times throughout the night until around 5:00 am when I realized in order to get any rest, I was going to have to get up and make Nga happy. I upped my pain meds (yes, they actually let me have a button that allowed me to give myself a little boost of meds in my IV when I felt it was necessary!) and managed to get to my feet with Nga's help and encouragement. The entire time she was saying, "Stop holding your breath; I want you to breathe through the pain!" Once I was up, I realized that it felt sooo good to be up that I didn't want to get back into bed! Nga helped me walk around my bed a little and then eased me back into it. I am not sure who was more proud...me or Nga.
I will never forget Nga...she just managed to touch my heart. She made me laugh (although at the time that hurt like crazy), she made me teary eyed when we talked about our faith in God at 2:00 in the morning, and she inspired me to breathe, even when it hurts.

I Guarantee Nothing

After many months of family and friends encouraging me to start a blog and me claiming, "I don't have time for that" here I am. Although I usually have a lot to say, I don't presume that anyone else is really interested in my chattering and meanderings....after all, I am just an ordinary homemaker living a simple life. Not a boring life, but a simple life. As a matter of fact, I can't seem to hold a conversation with my son for more than 3 minutes and 23 seconds before he gets that glazed over look in his eyes and I know I have lost him to somewhere far away, so why would anyone else want to listen to (or in this case read) my ramblings? But, alas, since I find myself with too much time on my hands and unable to do much right now, I decided to give blogging a try. I will do my best not to be boring or monotonous, but I guarantee nothing.

The reason I have time to spare is that I am recovering from surgery. I had a big, old, ugly hysterectomy Nov. 16 and I have to take it easy for a while. I am feeling great, but am not allowed to do anything, so the restlessness has set in and I turned to the computer. I shouldn't really complain because I have been blessed with so many people, family and friends, who have all spoiled me rotten these past 11 days. I have received so many gifts, flowers, cards, food (lots and lots of good food), and phone calls that I am humbled. My hubby and kids have been especially wonderful in taking care of me. My youngest son, who is not very fond of hospitals, rarely left my side for 2 days while I was hospitalized, and my older son drove 6 hours each way with only 2 days off just to check on me in person. I am blessed and thankful.

I hope I have set this up correctly...it has only taken me ALL day!! But of course, you ask, what else did I have to do anyway?? So, if you happen to find yourself reading this blog, be kind with comments since I am new and remember...I guarantee nothing!