Nothing to complain about

I have nothing to complain about really.  I'm going to the heart doc tomorrow and really it's not that big of a deal.  I love my current cardiologist and I haven't always been able to say that.  I'm having an echocardiogram and a holter monitor like I do every December and really that's not that big of a deal.  I'll have the exact same conversation with the echo tech that I do every year because she doesn't remember me from year to year.  I'll have the same conversation I do with the doc every six months (Are you exercising?  Why not?  When are you going to start?  What's the plan?)  I get a day off of work.  I'll be able to do all my Christmas shopping when I'm done. 

So what's the deal?  Every adult CHD'er (CHD = Congenital Heart Defect for those that don't know) will tell you the same thing I'm sure.  Going to the heart doc is annoying.  I work with around 50 people.  I can think of only two others that work here who have standing appointments with a cardiologist and they're men in their 50's/60's.  Although now that I'm less than 6 months away from 40 I'm starting to fit into the right age group.  It's fun trying to explain to people why you're going to a heart doc when you're 25 - "Are you waiting on your grandfather?"  "No, I'm here to see the doc." "But you're way to young for that." "No, trust me, I'm getting way to old for this.  It was much easier when I was 5".  Because lets face it.  When you're 5 the heart doc has toys to play with while you wait.  I mean come on! 

It's annoying because if I tell my family I have a heart doc appointment I get "Gasp!  I hope everything's OKAY!"  It is.  It's been okay for years now.  Please don't worry.  But they do.  Parents, aunts, uncles, cousins...they were there.  They remember the days when we were all fighting for my life.  They remember the tears, the prayers, the hopes, the wishes.  And then there's the brothers who all they've ever known is a sister with heart problems.  So it instills fear in them to hear I'm headed to the heart doc.  But then there's the new family.  My husband and his family.  All they've ever known is that I have heart problems, but other than 3 days in the hospital 5 years ago they haven't really seen it manifested so...."Do we worry?  What's going on?  Is something wrong?"  No, it's just what I need to do.  And the flip side of all of this is if I keep it to myself that I'm going for a check-up then I get.  "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US???"  So I kinda can't win here.  And I get both sides of that coin.  I really do.  And I try to be understanding.  But when I post the status, send the text, tweet, whatever...I brace myself. 

It's annoying because I'm allergic to some of the adhesives they use for the leads for the holter monitor.  Which means 24 hours of itchy.  Yay. 

But if I've learned anything by meeting CHD'ers on the internet it's that I have it really good.  It's been almost 20 years since my last open-heart surgery with only minor complications since then.  I've gotten off relatively easy.  I understand that I'm one of the few that's kept consistent contact with good medical care.  It's paid off.  I do have a hole in my heart, but it's not a big deal and doesn't seem to be anything to worry about anytime soon.  I'm truly blessed and truly have nothing to complain about.

But when has that ever stopped me???

Land of the Living

I'm back!!  If anybody missed me, I was at home with a stomach virus.  I don't recommend it.  Two days home, alone has it's benefits....but not if you feel like death warmed over.  But I'm back to "normal" today and craving  chicken strips...so lunch had better hurry up and get here. 

A couple of thoughts from the last couple of days....Ramen noodles are the best food in the world.  Saltine crackers are the second best food in the world.  I can be excused for getting sick.  It happens.  What is inexcusable is when I forget to take my medication and do it to myself.  The stomach virus was complicated by a lack of my diuretic for too long.  Memo to me...don't mention that to the cardiologist on Friday. 

And that's about it.  Not a lot of thinking when you're laying on the couch trying to keep down said noodles and crackers. 

Holiday "Rules" for Husbands

After stifling several screams last week, I came up with the following rules for husbands during the Holidays.  This may not apply to any husband other than mine....and actually, it may apply to some wives depending on how your family rolls.

Rule #1 - If your wife is cleaning and cooking and going to the grocery store and running around like a chicken with her head cut off....go away.  Go to the office, go to the shop, go hunting, go to the grocery store for her...it really doesn't matter.  Just get out of the way!!  Oh, and if you do go hunting, do NOT, for the love of everything holy, actually bring back anything until after the holiday is over.  Your wife will not appreciate having to cook Thanksgiving dinner AND dress out a deer.

Rule #2 - If your wife has made several lists...grocery lists, lists of things to do, lists of what she's cooking, etc.  Don't sit there and point out everything she may have forgotten.  Either add it to the list or go get it for her.

Rule #3 - The night before Thanksgiving, eat a sandwich, or go get a pizza, or something.  Anything but ask "What's for dinner?"

Rule #4 - If your wife is in the process of cleaning out the refrigerator....wait a few minutes to make a sandwich.  You're not starving.  It can wait 10 minutes.  Same goes for getting yourself something to drink.  Unless you just came in from a week in the desert, you're probably not going to die if you don't get something to drink before she's finished.

Rule #5 - Much like rule number 3 - the night of Thanksgiving, after your bride has been cooking for two days and after eating a huge dinner....do not then, that evening ask "What's for supper?"  The answer is either a) leftovers or b)@#$#@&^ or if your lucky c) she rolls her eyes and ignores you for the rest of the night.

Actually, they all could boil down to one basic rule...unless you want to do it all yourself, help a girl out!!!  Especially when the majority of the people coming are your family.  If it's hers, then still see all these rules, but she has less to complain about.

Anybody else have any good rules for the holidays?  I'm sure I missed a lot.

The Most Organized Thanksgiving Ever...

Secondary title - When did I become my grandmothers???

I can't say that I've always been the most organized person when it comes to the holidays.  Anything worth doing is worth doing at the last minute is generally my motto.  And this is probably really only my 3rd or 4th holiday with all the family coming to my house for dinner.  So I feel like I'm way ahead of the learning curve.

Before Thanksgiving, I had to make sure the following things were accomplished:

1) Decide what the heck we're going to eat.
2) Let everyone know what we're going to eat and what all the girls need to bring.
3) Clean out my dining room which is currently the granddaughters' play room so we can put an actual table in it.
4) Do the shopping for the food that I'm cooking.
5) Clean house.
6) Cook.

On that list, I have managed to...

Are you ready for it???

Wait for it...

Do all but #'s 5 and 6.

And actually I'm ahead of the game on #5 because I did quite a bit of cleaning this week-end, but I still have to live in my house between now and Thursday so I'm sure I'll have a couple of things to do on Wednesday.  And I do have to go to the store either tonight or tomorrow and get a couple of things that I forgot.  But no trying to push a cart around on Wednesday night after frantically cleaning all day and hoping beyond hope that there is still one ham that will feed 8 adults and 4 children while trying to figure out if I want to bake all my desserts or just buy them frozen and hope they thaw out in time for us to be able to eat them with forks and not chainsaws after dinner.

So instead of looking at my day off on Wednesday with little panic attacks wondering what in the heck I was doing agreeing to have Thanksgiving at my house this year.  I'm actually pretty chilled out.

This can mean only one thing.  Some crazy flu, virus, cold, something is going to hit and I'll be trying to cook with 102 degree fever.

Wish me luck!!

I'm so excited!!!

And it's really weird.  Not a lot of people will understand this.

I'm so excited because...my knee hurts.

Seriously.

I'm a watcher.  I'm not a participator.  I watch people play sports.  I watch people run.  I watch people do things. 

I am now a doer.

I have jogged enough now to hurt my knee.  This is so cool.

Ouch.

A whole lot of nothing

Which is exactly what's been going through my mind lately.  A whole lot of nothing.  Not a lot to build a blog post around I know but that's where I'm at. 

My focus has been in about a million different places lately.

My grandson finished his first soccer season.  We made two games.  But he's going to be playing basketball this winter and soccer again in the spring.  So there's more opportunities to go watch.  And spend more time with him and his sister.  Since they live an hour and a half away and their lives are super busy, we don't get to see them a lot.

My middle granddaughter is now 4.  It goes by too fast.  It seems like just yesterday I was talking to her minutes after birth telling her how much I already love her.

I have two nieces or nephews coming in the Spring.  I'm leaning toward niece on both of them.  I have mad baby predicting skills.  I have been right about every niece and nephew that I knew about ahead of time.  (There were a couple of instances of "we're having a girl/boy in a couple of months").  And I was right about all 4 grandkids.  Even when everybody just knew the middle granddaughter was a boy, I was like, "Whatever, I'm buying pink."  But I could be wrong.  I recently tested this on my daughter-in-laws cousin to see if the baby had to technically be "mine", but I called boy and boy it is.  I think it may be God's way of letting me have some fun since I don't get to have kids of my own.... So, P and L, I hope you didn't throw all of Miss A's stuff away.  I think you can re-use it...

If I'm going to run the week-end of my 40th birthday, I need to exercise more than twice a week. 

I hate migraines.

Work right now is scary....and our governor is an idiot.

Is fire season going to be as bad as they say, because the last time it was bad, it was pretty scary watching the hills around my house burn. 

My roots have grown out quite a bit and I saw my hair in the sun for the first time in awhile without it being pulled up and holy mackerel my hair has gotten gray.  I need a date with Miss Clairol ASAP.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are number 1 in the Big 12 South and how flippin' cool is that???

And oh, crap, there's only two NASCAR races left this season.  :(

So that's it.  The contents of my brain lately. 

Good luck with trying to figure it out.  If you have any clues about where it's going to go next feel free to let me know....

I need your help...

All both of you...

I've been thinking about this whole running thing and I've gotten started and seem to be doing okay.  If you can call walking for 20 minutes and running for 75 seconds okay.  But compared to last week when I could only run for 70 seconds...it's progress. 

But something is bothering me.  And I need your help. 

What should my t-shirt say.  I've been thinking about the idea I posted last week and I'm just not feeling it.  I'll be 40.  I've survived three open heart surgeries.  And I'm running for the first time in my life that wasn't because of grade school little olympics or some evil teacher who made us run because we didn't get our homework done on time. 

So everyone let me know what you think and I'll pick the one I like best and make it into a shirt for the run.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll even get some made for my family and put Team Jennifer on it or something.