Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Shopping & Food

The day started out excellently because Mrs. Green brought by one of her heavenly pound cakes, which made for an amazing breakfast. After breakfast, Father had a meeting in Charlotte, so Mother and I shopped at Carolina Place Mall while he was being all important and whatnot. We were looking for a dress for me for Justin's wedding, but we didn't find anything good that would cover my scar completely. We walked away completely empty-handed, but we did discover a transvestite who works in Dillard's. That was pretty funny. We then met Aunt Susan and Deefle at Olive Garden for a scrumptious lunch. Unfortunately, our waiter was really annoying because he kept trying to tell us stories about his family. His stories were not funny, but he thought they were. It's like he was a stand-up comedian on the side or something, and he was practicing his jokes with us. I had a wonderful pizza with olives and tomatoes on it, as well as the salad, breadsticks, and obligatory sweet tea. We also enjoyed some excellent conversation, filled with lots of laughter and craziness. I'm sure the waiters were glad to be rid of us when we left. I was so tired, too. I napped on the way to Charlotte and on the way home, watched some Arrested Development, and then Mumphy and I watched Twilight while Deefle restored another world in Magic Carpet. I love Twilight far too much, and I'm dying for New Moon to come out already! Now I'm going to take a shower to prepare for my visit with Dr. Hey tomorrow. My back hurts so much from all the walking today, but I had a good time overall!

Monday, June 29, 2009

An Eventful Day

I had been hoping for some excitement, and I actually got some today. The morning started off as usual, which means that it was insanely boring. I watched some more Arrested Development and then the usual soaps with Mumphy. After that, Mumphy and I went on a walk around the block and a little farther because the humidity wasn't too bad. I handled the walk really well, and I would've handled it better had I not still been able to feel Sunday's church pew digging into my back. I chatted with Mary a little bit when I got back from the walk, and then Mumphy and I went to the basement to weed through some old books. We've accumulated so many books from library used book sales over the years, but we got rid of a lot of them today. Some of them had water damage from the basement flooding, and others were just worthless. I was pretty tired by that point, so I took a nap from 6:00 until 6:45. When I woke up, I got in the car and headed over to Catherine's house for her summer book club. Unfortunately, the books she ordered hadn't come in yet, so our group of girls just sat around and talked, baked chocolate chip cookies, and then delivered the cookies to various workers at the hospital. We had an awesome time, and I met several really nice girls! I think that the book club is going to be a great success! I got home at about 9:45 and hopped on the computer. Marty popped up on AIM and asked if I wanted to go to Sonic. At about 10:10, I met him at Sonic for an ocean water, also known as the suntan lotion beverage. It was delicious. We stayed there on the patio and talked until they started to shut off the lights at 11:00. Now I'm back home and planning to watch a little more Arrested Development before I go to sleep. I doubt it'll be long before I head to bed, though, because today has been pretty eventful for me!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Relaxing Weekend

I woke up yesterday at 7:30 because Deefle told me that he had made coffee. We all hung out in the den for a while, and then Mumphy and I decided to cook. I helped her make some cowboy stew in the crock pot, and I baked some spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I then took a nap for 4 hours. It was wonderful. We enjoyed our dinner and dessert very much. Honestly, nothing else happened whatsoever. I stayed up last night until about 2:00, and then I crashed. I finished The Night Lives On again, too. Now I have to find another book to read. It's probably going to be the Twilight saga all over again. I'm not complaining.

Oh, another funny thing that happened last night was that Sarah passed out. It may not sound funny, but it happens to her so often that even she is able to laugh about it. I was chatting with her on AIM, and she had had to leave dinner early with one of her residents who had gotten sick at the restaurant. Some of her friends were bringing Sarah's food to her later, but they didn't show up until about 11:45. All of a sudden, Sarah disappeared on AIM, and when she returned, she told me that she had passed out. Apparently, her friends knocked on her door with her dinner, so she jumped up to get it and stubbed her toe on the door. It started bleeding, which she could not handle. She told the girls that she didn't deal well with blood, so they started bandaging her toe up for her. She passed out anyway, but she was only out for a few seconds. The irony is that when she had to share something about herself with her fellow group advisors in an icebreaker activity, she had told them that she doesn't deal well with blood and that her younger sister makes up words for medical terms that she can't deal with. For instance, blood is bishkin in our household. One of the girls who brought her food actually remembered this. Sarah was fine after she ate her dinner, and she's apparently fine today, but it was hilarious. Typical Sarah.

Mumphy woke me up at 9:45 this morning to get ready for church. I was pretty tired, but I hopped out of bed before Moses jumped up and pinned me down for another 15 minutes or so. It was Clyde's last Sunday, so it was pretty emotional. A nice service though. I spent a good amount of it watching little Natalie imitate Carmella's conducting. She's so precious. Natalie, that is. Afterwards, everyone said goodbye to Clyde and Wanda at the door and signed a quilt that some of the church members had made for him. I wrote "Go Duke!" and signed my name. When we got in the car, I suggested that we go out to eat, and Deefle agreed. Harmanco's was the restaurant of choice, and we all ordered clubs, chips, and sweet tea, of course. The best thing about getting a club is that you always have half left over for another meal. We got home, and I took a nap for about 3 hours. Dinner was almost as delicious as lunch since we all had our leftovers, but we were missing the sweet tea and chips. Now, we're all just sitting in the den watching TV and doing nothing. I've restarted Arrested Development, and even Sarah has promised to begin watching it when she has time. Well, that's about all for tonight. Is it just me, or is my life getting much more boring? I'm pretty sure that my writing is going downhill, too, due to the lack of interesting activities. Sorry about that. Maybe something big will happen soon.

Friday, June 26, 2009

No New Developments

Today was great except for one thing. I finished all the episodes ever made of Arrested Development. The last episode leads right into the possibility of a movie, and the project has been rumored for 2010, according to IMDB. They had better make the Arrested Development movie! I guess I'll just be watching all the episodes again until The Office starts back, Glee begins, and the movie comes out, which must happen.

I got to bed at about 3:00 this morning and woke up at 8:15 because I just couldn't fall back asleep. Deefle went into work today, so when Mumphy got up at about 9:30, she drove to McDonald's and got us some sausage biscuits and coffees. I love being able to relax and enjoy my breakfast in the summer instead of skipping it in order to sleep a little bit longer during the school year. After that, we just lay around doing nothing. I watched Arrested Development, of course, and I also chatted with Mary sporadically throughout the day. I eventually decided to get up, take a shower, and get dressed. Mother shaved me and curled my hair, and Father came home wanting to go out to eat. We ended up going to Sagebrush. The meal was mediocre, in my parents' opinion. In my opinion, it was yucky. I ordered steak and mashed potatoes, and it honestly tasted like a Lean Cuisine frozen meal. I promise you that I've had that exact entree at home before, and Stouffer's made it better than Sagebrush did. The sweet tea was good, at least.

When we got home, Deefle went to play Magic Carpet in the basement, and he's been down there ever since. He's obsessed. It reminds me of my obsession with The Sims several years back. In his words, "It's a Friday night. I have Magic Carpet. I'm retired. Life is good." Okay, Gene. Just wanted to let you know that your family upstairs just loves hearing that exotic Arabian music, the sound of fireballs hitting your enemies, and the heavenly noise of you claiming your manna. You're 52 years old, man. Eh, whatever. I am honestly really glad that he enjoys it. It keeps him from pestering me, too!

Well, I suppose that I'll be doing nothing until I go to sleep. I had to take 2 Tylenol earlier for an excruciating headache, but not for my back. The last little bit of scab came off of the scar last night as well, so it's looking great, and I'll be seeing Dr. Hey on Wednesday. Oh, everything that I write in this blog is just so pathetic. I need to get a life. Truthfully, though, I love this time off. When the school year starts, I'm pretty sure that Scoliotastic will die. Sorry, Mary. I might be able to update every now and then just for your sake.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Six Weeks Ago...

Six weeks ago, I had my surgery. Unbelievable. My scar looks great now, and I'm getting around fabulously. Today marks my fourth day without any medication whatsoever. I feel great. Even about 2 weeks ago, I still wouldn't have recommended this surgery to anyone, but now, I definitely would. It's one of the best things I've ever done, and I'm so glad I went through with it when I did. I love being taller, too. I realized a couple days ago that if I walk a lot, I can actually breathe now. Before the surgery, I had to gasp for several minutes after walking to class, so I'd have to leave my room early to allow for this breathless time. Now, I can breathe through my nostrils. Apparently, my lung capacity was greatly reduced by the pressure from my spine. Not anymore!

So, the last two days have been worthless except for Arrested Development, an absolutely hilarious show that Matt recommended to me. I'm hooked on it now. It's not as good as The Office because nothing is, but it's still really funny. I finished the whole first season yesterday, and I'm over halfway into the second season today. It's really depressing that the show was canceled after only 3 seasons. I just don't know what I'll do when it ends. Other than that, I've done nothing. Absolutely nothing. Deefle just got over a rotten cold, and Mumphy just caught it yesterday. I do have a project to look forward to, though. Mary has enlisted me to help her with a fabric animal project for her baby's nursery wall. I'm so excited, and it's gonna be super cute! I'm referring to the project, but the baby will obviously be super cute as well!

I see Dr. Hey this coming Wednesday, and I'm guessing he's going to be really happy about my progress. I've still got numbness in a rectangular area across the top of my back, but I think that's normal. It used to be all over my back, but that gradually went away, so I think this will, too. Eventually. I only have a tiny scab left on the bottom of the scar, and it's on there pretty securely. Part of it loosened up and was hanging off for a while, so Deefle tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. He ended up cutting just that loose part off with scissors, but the rest of it is still there. No big deal, of course. That's all that's left! I'm going to continue watching Arrested Development now while celebrating the fact that the past 6 weeks are now over!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

No Tylenol

I've made it two days without any medication now, not even Tylenol. I've not had too much happen in that time either. Yesterday, I walked a half a mile on the treadmill while Mumphy and I watched our soaps. I took a shower, fixed my hair, and then Mumphy and I went to Harris Teeter to buy some ingredients for cooking in my old Ronco Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ. I love that machine. I had to text Matt and tell him that I was about to cook in it because we both used to be addicted to the infomercials. I must confess that I still watch them every once in awhile. He texted back and reminded me not to forget to use the flavor injector! I was going to make salmon steaks, but Harris Teeter was out of them, so honey mustard chicken had to suffice. It was good, but I was disappointed about not getting to cook the salmon. The most important part of the evening was being able to say, "Just set it... And forget it!" I can't say it enough: I love that machine.

We came into the den after supper and watched some pretty good Lifetime movies. Since about Christmas break, I've been making a list of all the Lifetime movies I can remember seeing. It's not even halfway complete because I don't know the names of a lot of them, and I have to rely on commercials for upcoming showings to jog my memory, but I have 75 so far. Sad? I wouldn't call it that. I would call it glorious. I stayed up until about 3:00 and read some of The Night Lives On, since I finished A Night to Remember last week. I've read both books a billion times, but they're so good. I woke up at about 8:30 this morning, but then I fell back asleep and didn't get up until 1:00. I watched Lifetime movies and just messed around on the computer, and then I took a nap at about 7:00. When I got up, I watched America's Got Talent with the family, and now I'm watching Will and Grace, one of my favorite shows. Once you have a gay best friend, that show makes so much sense. It's so scarily accurate. Well, maybe tomorrow will be more eventful. Today was lame.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

A Day Of Firsts

Apparently, the Oxycontin is pretty much out of my system now. Two nights ago, I slept all night long and even later into the afternoon. Then yesterday, Mumphy and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some Father's Day gifts for Deefle. We got a little backyard pool, some UNC shirts, and tried to find a watch but were unsuccessful. He gets a watch when he can find the right one for him. I had also ordered a used CD of Magic Carpet, his old favorite computer game, off eBay in February. He was ecstatic and spent the rest of the night figuring out how to set it up on Windows XP since it is supposed to run on MS-DOS. Deefle has had a cold, so he went to bed early, and then the rest of us went to bed later. I had taken no medicine the entire day. Nothing at all. The pain wasn't too bad either, honestly. I fell asleep at about 3:00, and Sarah woke me up at 6:55 to say goodbye. Deefle was driving her to the airport, and she was off to NYC. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't, and neither could Mumphy, so we both got up, had breakfast, and got ready for church. I actually wore a bra for the first time since the surgery, too! Deefle got home a bit later, and I had to take two Tylenol since I hadn't taken a thing yesterday. This was my first time going to church since the surgery, and although I was really glad to be there, the pew killed my back. Mumphy and I headed out of there pretty quickly, and the first thing I heard when we got home was the Magic Carpet theme song playing in the basement. Deefle was having a ball. We all had lunch at home, and then I took a nap. There was a tiny Father's Day celebration at Goggy and Granddaddy's house, so I went there when I woke up, and I drove for the first time since the surgery! It felt really weird, and I actually bumped my head on the doorframe when I first got in. My torso has definitely grown. Driving is something you don't forget how to do, though. Thank goodness, because I'm ready to just go on some drives to get a McDonald's sweet tea during the week and stuff like that. Only Goggy, Granddaddy, Mary, and Mumphy were at the celebration, and I had a delicious hot fudge cake sundae. Mary then had to go pick up her dog Stella from a friend's house at the river, so I rode with her out there. We got a tour of the house and everything. It was interesting. She drove me back to my car at the grandparents' house, we said our goodbyes, and I just drove home a few minutes ago. Basically, the past two days have been great. Sarah's in NYC having a great time now, and the rest of us are at home doing nothing, which means that I've got to figure out some kind of craft or project to work on. I'll be pondering my options over the next few days.

Friday, June 19, 2009

A Better Day

Today was better, but still not as good as I had hoped. I got about 6 hours of sleep and woke up at 10:30. Mumphy, Sarah, and I just hung around in the den for a while this morning, and then I decided I wanted a nap since everyone else was planning on taking one. I fell asleep in my bed at about 12:15, and Mumphy woke me up at 2:20 to start getting ready for the 3:05 showing of Up. The whole family went together, and it was a great movie! Disney/Pixar is genius. Afterwards, we ate at Zaxby's and came home. I chatted online with Andrew for a bit, and then the family went to Sonic for ice cream. When we got back home, we were going to watch Twilight, but Deefle and Sarah were annoying me with their inattentiveness and semi-rudeness within the first 2 minutes of the movie, so I told Mumphy that she and I would just watch it another time. I'm just annoyed right now. As I said yesterday, PMDD and Oxycontin withdrawal make for a deadly combination. I'm so cranky, and it's really difficult not to get mad at every little thing that gets on my nerves, especially since everything is getting on my nerves right now. I have nothing to do, every single day is the same, and I want more out of this summer. I've just gotta find out what it is I need to start doing to make the summer seem worthwhile or at least somewhat enjoyable.

Hot Mess

Yesterday was just a hot mess. What else can I say? I got 4 hours of sleep last night and wouldn't let myself sleep any during the day because I hoped it would help me sleep better tonight. We'll see about that when I try to go to sleep in a little while. Sarah, Mumphy, and I had breakfast and just hung around in the den watching TV, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful included, of course. We had planned to go see Up, but then we postponed it until the 9:20 showing. Sarah played some Broadway and Disney songs on piano, and I sang along until Deefle got mad and said maybe he shouldn't have retired. It's too bad the man doesn't appreciate true artistic talent. I went to take a shower and had Mumphy shave for me. I can do it myself now, if necessary, but it really does hurt. I was so exhausted, and with the combination of PMDD and Oxycontin withdrawal, I started to just lose it and get all cranky and weepy. I was able to get it together after about 30 minutes, and I found some old beads and started making a necklace while Mumphy dried and fixed my hair for me. She used her curlers on it, and it actually looked pretty cute. For the rest of the time until Goggy came to pick Sarah and me up at 6:30, my mom and I wrote out our ideas for a new series of children's books we're planning to write this summer. She's always wanted to do that, and she has recruited me for help and possibly illustrations. I would share more, but I don't want anyone stealing our ideas!

At 6:30, Gog came to pick us up, and we swung by to pick up Poo. All of a sudden, I started feeling weepy again and almost asked Goggy to take me back home so I didn't ruin the meal for anyone else, but I was able to suck it up. We ate at Blue Bay, and I had some delicious Alaskan white fish, salted and peppered, of course. Then Goggy took us on a little ride around the county. The more we rode around, the worse I started to feel. Eventually, we got home, and we were planning to pick up Poo at about 9:00 to see Up with us. This time, I totally broke down. I was crying uncontrollably and feeling just hopeless. It was like the end of the world, but I didn't know what was wrong with me. Like I said, it's just a mixture of PMDD and Oxycontin withdrawal, but the crying wouldn't stop. It took me about an hour to calm down, and I skipped the movie. Thankfully, I fell asleep on the sofa about 10:30 and slept for 2 hours. I've not had another emotional breakdown, and I hope that today was the worst of it. I knew Oxycontin was powerful, but I never knew it was this powerful. I need for all of it to be out of my system. Now.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Five Weeks

Today marks five weeks since the surgery. How crazy is that? I honestly don't know whether it feels like it was a longer or shorter amount of time ago. I feel a lot more like myself now that I'm off the Oxycontin, and even though the insomnia and restless legs are super-annoying, I'm just so happy to be doing better. I guess I shouldn't push it though, especially by picking up the cats, which I did thrice yesterday. I picked up Moses (17 pounds) twice and Zacchaeus (12 pounds) once. I just can't help it, but I've gotta do better, I know.

I updated during the day yesterday, and not much else happened than what I had said was going to happen in my previous blog entry. I went over to Goggy's for supper at about 7:15, and she was desperately trying to convince me to spend another night with her, insisting that my family would be too tired to even say hello to me when they got home from LA. Sarah is only home for a few days, though, and staying at Gog's was getting kind of old, so I told her I would rather come home. I know that my stay would've been more enjoyable had I not been going through drug withdrawal and she hadn't been trying to assume the role of Nurse Gog instead of just Gog. She was very reluctant to bring me home, but I had Mumphy call her and tell her that the family wanted me home, too. Even then, she tried to prolong my departure. Eventually, I got home, and the family arrived about 30 minutes later.

Sarah got me a really cute yellow UCLA shirt with precious tiny Bruins on it and the university logo. She then convinced me to watch a new Fox show online called Glee with her. It was excellent, and I can't wait to start watching it regularly when the season begins in the fall. In return, she agreed to watch Twilight with the family tonight. We're watching Twilight because I've now gotten my mom hooked on the saga ever since I gave her the first book for Mother's Day. Since she got out of school last week, she just now finished it, but she's ready to continue on to New Moon and so on and so forth. Excellent. Anyways, since Sarah and I finished Glee, I've just been watching more Whose Line. I hope I get some good sleep when I head upstairs, and Sarah and I are going to see Up today. I'm pretty sure that Poo, Sarah, and I are then going with Goggy to Blue Bay, so it'll be a good day. I've gotta keep tabs on my Tylenol dosages though. It's gotten to the point where I've been napping so much during the day since I can't sleep at night that I wake up from naps in a lot of pain and then have to catch up on Tylenol. It's all too confusing, but it's not Oxycontin! There's another thing to be grateful for!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Another Restless Night

Yesterday was pretty good despite being exhausted after only a few hours of sleep. When I got up, I had breakfast, and then Goggy and I went shopping at Burke's. I had told her that there was a lot of fun stuff to look at in there, and we both really enjoyed it. We spent over an hour just looking around, and she bought two frames and a gold bracelet, and then we went to Applebee's for an afternoon snack, although it was more of a meal. I didn't realize how tired walking around Burke's had made me, but as soon as I sat in that booth at the restaurant, the exhaustion hit me. By the time we left and were driving back to her house, I asked her to drop me at my house so I could take a nap on the sofa. Moses joined me, and Gog called me at about 7:00. She came to pick me up for dinner, and we had some country ham and vegetables. I was still really tired, so I hung out in the back bedroom until I finally fell asleep at about 3:00. Of course, I woke up again at 7:00 and couldn't go to sleep until 8:30. Every time I got up in the middle of the night, Gog came to check on me. It was very kind of her, but also pretty annoying because I knew she was just waiting to hear my footsteps and swoop down upon me. At noon, she woke me up, and now I'm at home while she takes Poo and Meagan to rehab. I expect that I'll take a nap pretty soon to make up for another night of restless legs and insomnia, and then I'm going to take a shower. I can tell that the restless leg syndrome is not as bad anymore at night, but I'm still an insomniac. Maybe sleeping in my own bed tonight will help. The family will get home this evening, and I will be very glad to see them. Hopefully, the side effects from my Oxycontin cold turkey withdrawal will subside soon. Aunt Susan's pharmacist friend said that the worst of it should be over in 4 days, based on what she has read. Good. I'm ready to start enjoying my summer.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

No More Oxycontin

That's it. After last night's restless limbs and tonight's insomnia and night sweats, I'm done with the Oxycontin. I refuse to let myself take any more of it. It's one powerful drug for sure. Tonight, or this morning, whatever you wanna call it, I woke up again at 3:00 and have been unable to sleep ever since. What's the use in prolonging the withdrawal? It's time to just get it over with, so let the records show that my last dosage of Oxycontin was taken on Saturday, June 13, 2009. As of Sunday, June 14, 2009, I am now clean. I'm tempted to flush all the pills just so I don't relapse, but I'm going to keep them around for emergencies, just like a heroin addict would. Man, I didn't realize what a powerful hold these tiny pills had on me.

Anyway, yesterday was a good day. I woke up at about 11:15, had breakfast, and then Gog took me home. I finished writing all my thank-you notes, and now all I need to do is address them and send them out. I then ate the brown bag lunch Goggy had sent with me, took a shower, and shaved my own legs again. Yay! By the time I had finished drying my hair, I was exhausted, so I took a nap for about an hour and a half until Gog called and said that she would be sending Granddaddy over in the next little bit to pick me up for supper. I had no idea that Emily and Edmund were coming to visit today, and when Gog told me that they were over at her house, I was about to take a much-needed nap and couldn't muster the energy to head over there. The good news is that the baby was still around when I arrived for supper, but I missed seeing Emily! That was very disappointing. We had spaghetti, took a little walk outside, and then Goggy went to doctoring up my scar with alcohol swabs. Just a few days ago, my entire back was still numb, but the numbness is gradually going away, especially now that I'm off the Oxycontin. On a side note, I just sneezed and it nearly killed me. Sneezes are the most painful things ever these days. After the nurse fixed me up, I lay on the bed and watched some Whose Line until I went to sleep around 12:30.

Surprisingly enough, the pain without the Oxycontin has not been unbearable or even as bad as I thought it would be. I've been dosing myself up with Tylenol and Advil, but not too many and not too often, either. I think I'm just so ready to be back to normal that my body is just sucking up the pain. I might eat my words after a few more days without my dear friend Oxycontin, but I certainly hope not. Well, I guess I'll put the computer down now and lie here hoping that sleep will eventually find me.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Oxycontin Withdrawal

It's far too early for me to be awake, but I can't sleep. I went to bed at about 1:00 this morning, and I slept until 3:00, but it was all downhill from there. I've been suffering ever since from muscle spasms and restless limbs, both symptoms of Oxycontin withdrawal, which can begin only 6 hours after you skip a usual dose. Maybe my body knew that this was coming, allowing me to take 2 naps yesterday. This is unbearable. I keep kicking uncontrollably, and I can't lie still to save my life. I actually caught myself beating one of my arms just to try to get it to stay still at one point. I didn't even feel the pain, just the restlessness. According to some stuff about Oxycontin withdrawal that I've read online, the symptoms significantly decrease after a week, but I can't imagine a week of sleepless nights and my limbs flailing all over the place. I've made the biggest mess of my covers from all the movement, and Goggy is going to wonder what in the world happened when she wakes up and sees all these blankets strewn about so haphazardly. I need sleep badly. I read early on that Oxycontin is like heroin, and it's so true. Right now, I feel like a druggie trying to kick the habit. I want more just to get rid of this restlessness, and yet I know that I can't allow myself to take anymore if I ever want to get better. I'll just lie here, I guess, or at least try.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

With The Grandparents

Last night's country style steak was amazing, and Goggy made sure that I was extremely comfortable when I went to bed. We went for a little walk up her street, too. She kept telling me that she didn't have to go to church in the morning, but I convinced her to go. I can take care of myself. I took 4 Advil and 1 Oxycontin yesterday, and I didn't fall asleep until about 4:00 this morning, which isn't unusual at all. The grandparents didn't wake me up when they got up for church, but I woke up at about 10:30 and got dressed. It didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't ready to get up yet, so I climbed back in bed. When Goggy and Granddaddy got home at 12:30, they woke me up and told me that they would have lunch on the table in about 15 minutes. I said that I'd wait until then to get out of bed, but I fell asleep again, and Gog didn't wake me up until about 1:30. We had tuna salad for lunch, went for a walk, watched some TV, and then Gog wanted to check out my scar. She got me lying on my stomach on the bed and insisted on cleaning the incision with alcohol and cotton balls. Then she washed my whole back and my feet. I would've objected, but it felt too good. I just let her carry on. She covered me with a blanket afterwards, and I fell back asleep from 3:00 until 5:30. I had two incredible dreams during both of my naps today, and whenever I was awakened, I wanted to cry because reality was so awful compared to the dreams! Sigh. Gog decided that we needed to go for a ride, so Granddaddy chauffeured us around town. We ended up at KFC and had a good meal there, and then we came home. Of course, Gog insisted that I do some exercises to limber up my back, so we stretched a little bit in the kitchen, of all places. That's pretty much been my day. I assume that tomorrow will be about the same, except for maybe hanging out with Poo and Meagan, or maybe Abby. We shall see! My biggest accomplishment today has been not taking any Oxycontin. I've only had 2 Tylenol, and unless my pain increases tenfold in the next few hours, I plan to not take anything else! I probably won't be able to stop the Oxycontin cold turkey now, but I'm at least going to try to take it every other day instead of every single day. I hope it works because I'm ready to start driving again!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

New Lifetime Movie

To prove what I said in my last post about having wild dreams even without the morphine, I want to report on a dream I just had during a nap about an hour ago. I was the writer and director of a new Lifetime movie. I don't know what the name of it was, so Mary will have to help me come up with that. I was watching it all for the first time post-production, and here's what I saw.

It starts with a madman born without a face. He has a head and hair, but there is just blank, smooth skin where his face should be. Somehow, though, he can see. There are a boyfriend and girlfriend living in a small house in the suburbs, and he goes to their house to kill them for some unknown reason. He is really after the girl, played by Taylor Swift, whom I don't even like. Her music is lame, and she can't act, but she is the female lead. We can't see what's happening inside the house, but we hear screaming, and then we see Taylor run out of the house. This is set in the 1950s, and Taylor has a short blond haircut and an I Love Lucy outfit. She runs out of the sight of the camera, the madman escapes out the back door, and the neighbors come running. Incidentally, I play one of the neighbors, along with another woman and a guy. None of the actors besides Taylor Swift and me are known. Taylor's boyfriend is slumped in front of his mailbox and appears to be completely fine, so we run over to him, but as soon as he stands up, we see that the madman has chopped off his left arm completely. There's a lot of blood, and he's grimacing but otherwise taking it pretty well. He knows that the madman is after his girlfriend, so he tells us that he's going to go find her and kill him. He hops in an old, beaten-up truck, and there in the passenger's seat is a stuffed teddy bear with its right arm ripped off. The bear is sitting up straight and has its seatbelt on. He looks at the bear, grabs its remaining arm with his remaining arm, mumbles something prophetic, and heaves the bear out the window into my arms. Yes, I still have both arms. Then he drives away with one arm, leaving us neighbors in his dust.

Meanwhile, Taylor has decided that while she's running from the madman, she's going to make her trip fun. She has her cell phone, which is obviously not 50s-appropriate, and she starts taking pictures of herself in various locations all around the country and sending them to her online blog, which is also not 50s-appropriate. With every picture, she also writes, "I can't tell you where I am, but it's awesome." One time she's standing with a windmill, and one time she's in Times Square, and another time she's in front of the Hollywood sign. The madman is keeping up with her blog, but of course he doesn't understand where she is when she's in all these landmark locations. What strikes his eye, or lack thereof, is a picture she takes in a restaurant, where the booth is magnetic. He recognizes a little magnet of a generic red brick house behind her in the booth, so he now knows her location and is headed after her. The FBI has picked up his trail, and they know where he's going, but every time they try to catch him, he eludes them once again. Taylor is sitting in this small restaurant when she hears some fantastic music start up from a live band. She starts bobbing her head to it, and it turns out that it's the Bee Gees, who are also not 50s-appropriate. She gets up to dance and ends up onstage with the band. They ask her to go on tour with them, and she quickly agrees. Luckily, their private plane, which is a red WWII fighter craft with yellow stars on it, is inside the restaurant as well, so they all climb in the plane and prepare to leave. Before the plane takes off, presumably through the roof, Taylor asks a waitress to take a picture of her with the Bee Gees in the plane. Then the phone rings.

At this point in the dream, I was wondering why Taylor wasn't picking up the darn phone, but then I realized that it was my own. Goggy was calling to see when I wanted to be picked up. Maybe I'll finish the dream later. It was very interesting and not even as far-fetched as some of the real Lifetime movies I've seen before. I woke up, got a shower, and even shaved my legs by myself! I'll pay for that with some extra pain later. Now I'm going to dry my hair and head over to Gog's for some delicious country style steak and green beans!

What I Remember

I thought I should blog on exactly what I remember about the surgery in between being conscious and knocked out. Even when I was awake, trying to remember those times now is extremely difficult and blurry, so soon enough, I probably won't remember anything. Therefore, this is what I remember about the day of the surgery and the following days in the hospital.

On the morning of the surgery, I honestly wasn't that nervous. I was more worried about getting an IV put in than the surgery itself. We woke up exhausted, and I was starving, but I headed to the hospital in pretty good spirits. I got all checked in and was given my "pager" to tell me when I could head back. The first thing I thought of when I got the pager was that it looked like a remote control and reminded me of the pagers they give at The Loop to tell you when your food is ready. Deefle and I were joking around about it when it went off. I had been told that one, if not both, of my parents could come back with me to get my IVs in and everything, so Mumphy walked up to the nurse with me, but she said that they usually had the parents come back after the patient was all set up. I wanted to object, but I put on a brave face and headed through the doors with the nurse alone. I was put in a room with its windows decorated with a Hawaiian theme. There were leis draped across and colorful paper fish stuck on the outside. When we walked in, the nurse joked, "I know the room is pretty small, but you won't be in here long, and at least it's very festive!" I remember wanting to say, "Okay, that's cute, and thanks for being nice, but let's just get this show on the road." She was really kind, honestly, but I was just ready to go. She asked me some basic questions again, the same ones I had been asked at my pre-op appointment in March, as well as when was the last time I had eaten or drunk something. After that, she left me alone in the room with a super-stylish hospital gown and a bag to put my clothes in. I got undressed and dressed, lay down in the hospital bed, and covered myself up with the wonderfully warm blankets. The nurse came back in a little bit later, gave me a shot of Lorazepam in my hip to relax me, and started my IV. I told her I might get a little bit woozy, so she told me to hold an alcohol swab up to my nose. That's the best trick I've learned yet. It even kept me completely alert when another nurse came in to take my blood. The good news is that she had no problem locating a vein this time. By the time my parents walked in the door, I had had my blood taken in my left arm and an IV started in my right arm, and that Lorazepam was starting to go to my head. Mumphy passed me the remote control for the TV above my head, and I desperately tried to find Lifetime or LMN, but there were too many channels. I asked my parents if I had already been anesthetized because I was only expecting the shot of Lorazepam to relax me and not come close to knocking me out. Apparently, the IV contained a special mixture of happy juice in addition to the Lorazepam, so that explained the high feeling. Also, I wasn't even supposed to get an IV in my right arm, so they disconnected that and put it in my hand instead. As if I wanted to be poked and prodded any more. Dr. Hey walked in shortly, had a prayer with us, and asked me what I hoped to get out of the surgery. I told him, "I want to be as straight and tall as possible!" He laughed, told me that that was the goal, reassured my parents, and headed out to scrub up. My parents took some pictures with me in my hospital bed, and I was only semi-conscious by the time two nurses came to wheel me back to the operating room. Mumphy and Deefle kissed my forehead, I remember being slightly jostled when the nurses started moving me, and I saw the doorframe to the small Hawaiian room pass above me. The last thing I remember is being in a really bright room, looking up at a super-white light, and having someone hold my arm and murmur some comforting words. Then I was out.

When I woke up, I was in my official hospital room, and Dr. Hey was sitting beside my bed telling me that things had gone really well, I now had a completely straight spine, and I had gained some height. I couldn't really make out anything else he said, and I was too weak to respond or even nod. My throat hurt from the breathing tube I had during surgery, and I had two tiny tubes just right up my nostrils to deliver extra oxygen. The first thing I thought of when I noticed those was Twilight. I felt like Bella in the hospital after her accident when she had the same tubes up her nose. I also had a new IV in my neck, as well as a catheter. I didn't feel much of anything at that point, but my parents came in pretty soon, talked to Dr. Hey, and came over to kiss me on the forehead. They talked to me, and I'm sure I listened, but they didn't try to elicit any responses from me, and I was still pretty much out of it. The only thing I remember saying is, "Daddy, I grew an inch." Of course, I would discover later that it was more like two inches, but at the time, I thought it was just one. I was still pretty excited about that. Soon after that, I was out again.

The next couple of days were a blur. I was on the morphine drip, and I remember pushing that button every single time I saw the light go off to give me the okay to push it again. I'm sure it didn't deliver another dose each time, but I needed to believe that it did. I was in pain, but I was still pretty numb. I slept mostly, and I'm completely unsure about the timeline here. I don't know when it was, but I had an excellent night nurse named Sheila, and she brought me my first meal, which was a small bowl of lime Jello. It was absolutely delicious, and after I ate it, I crashed again. I only became nauseous twice the entire time, and with my fear of throwing up, I blew both instances out of proportion. I started panicking, my father called the nurse, and I got a shot of something in my neck to calm the nausea. It worked almost immediately both times, and I could relax again. The first time, one of the nurses made the mistake of holding a barf bucket up to my mouth, which just freaked me out even more. I don't like having people think I'm going to throw up because it makes me believe it, too. I shook my head at her violently, and she assumed that the gesture meant that the vomit was coming, so she held the tray closer to my mouth. Thank goodness my mom understood and told her to take that thing away from me.

As Deefle posted during my days in the hospital, the morphine gave me some intriguing dreams. I usually have insane dreams, even when not on any drugs, so the two that I remember weren't at all shocking to me. Mary told me that I should write down all that I remember about both of them, so I'll try to remember as much as I can. The first one popped into my head like a bubble floating towards me. As the bubble came closer and closer to me, I could see what was happening in more detail. I noticed some things bouncing around what appeared to be a fire, and soon enough, I could make out what those things were. The fire was in the middle of an open field with a forest behind it, and it appeared to be some kind of ceremonial bonfire. The colors were so vivid that they blew my mind. The red, orange, and yellow of the crackling flames were so warm that I felt like I was standing right next to the fire, and I saw sparks dancing above my head. The next thing I noticed was the midgets. There were midgets, or should I say dwarves to be politically correct, dancing around the fire and chanting in some foreign language. It didn't make sense to me because although I heard the chanting, I couldn't figure out where it was coming from since the midgets had no heads. That's right. There were headless midgets dancing and chanting around a bonfire. There was nothing where the heads should be, not any blood or gore. Just torsos and limbs moving around. It felt like I was standing just a few feet away from the action watching it play out. The chanting was so rhythmic and high-pitched, and the dancing was so graceful. It was almost like Riverdance, but each time the midgets jumped off the ground to kick or shuffle, they remained suspended for longer than normal, as if they were floating momentarily. All of this was occurring while they orbited the fire with each step. It was phenomenal, and when I woke up, the only thing I said to my dad was, "There were headless midgets dancing around a fire," and then I fell back asleep.

The next dream was probably based on the fact that my dad was the one spending the night at the hospital with me at the time, and every now and then, he'd come bend over my hospital bed to check on me. This dream entered my mind with a slow and gradual flashing until it all came into focus. Someone was walking on the water toward me. The water seemed endless, and the sky was glowing behind him and around him. He was wearing white flowing robes, had long wavy hair, a mustache, and a beard. It wasn't until he came very close that I could tell he was my father. It was obvious that he was also Jesus. I would capitalize the word "he" in this case if it had not been my father. So my dad was Jesus walking on water toward me. As he got right up to my face, I noticed that he hadn't been walking towards me, but towards a tiny island instead. The island had several palm trees on it and lots of sand, and there on the edge of it sat our two cats, Moses and Zacchaeus. They were completely enthralled as Jesus/Deefle walked toward them. They both sat side by side in the same position, their wide eyes sparkling at him. As he walked right up to the edge of the island, he reached into his white robes and pulled out what appeared to be a small parcel. The cats watched intently as he opened the parcel, its wrapping disappeared, and inside was a bag of treats for them, what we call "snackies." He opened the bag, the bag disappeared, and in his two hands, he held several snackies for them both. He raised his hands and opened them, and all the snackies fell right in front of each cat in two perfect stacks. The cats remained completely still until Jesus/Deefle gave them a slow nod, and then they both started eating in unison. Once they had finished, they both raised their heads at the same time, gazed up at Jesus/Deefle, stood on their hind legs and raised their front paws, and began bowing down to him. He smiled at them as they worshipped him repeatedly, and the dream began to fade out. When I woke up, I immediately knew it was a dream because Zacchaeus hadn't meowed a single time, and my dad was actually asleep on the pull-out sofa with his mouth hanging open. I told him about the dream later, and it's obviously his favorite of the two morphine dreams since he was Jesus in it.

Now that I've described both dreams in great detail, I'm again at a loss for the reality of the situation. I know that Mumphy and Deefle alternated spending nights with me and spending nights at the hotel, and I was woken up far too much during the night to have my vitals checked. I always felt like I wasn't getting enough oxygen, but I was at 100% every single time except once, when my blood oxygen level was 99%. Heavens, that was a close one. I had some wonderful nurses, and some annoying ones. My favorite was named Sheila, and my second favorite was Toni. Sheila worked the night shift, and Toni worked during the day. Sheila would come check on me at exactly the right times, as if she knew when I needed something. She knew that I hated the lemon Jello that was being forced on me at the time, so she brought me some strawberry Jello cups instead, as well as some ginger ale instead of the unsweet tea I got with each meal. Her demeanor was just so sweet, and when she wasn't on duty, I was always asking my parents when she would be back. Toni was also fantastic. She was spunky and funny, and she would always get on me to eat more of my meals. The liquid diet for the first couple of days was awful, but the solid diet was even worse except for one delicious buttered bagel I had, compliments of Sheila. Lucy brought in my meals every day, and as soon as she opened the tray, I was grossed out. I didn't feel like planning my own meals, so I just took what they gave me. I'm pretty sure that nothing I had requested would've been any better. My parents benefitted from the meals, though. Lucy usually had extra trays, so she would offer them to Mumphy and Deefle, who always accepted.

Once they took me off the morphine after about 24 hours, I was in pretty bad pain. I was put on a lot of pills and the occasional shot of some strong and delicious pain medication in the neck, but I still felt every little movement, and it was impossible to get comfortable in that bed. That hospital bed was pure evil. It adjusted to your pressure points, so after you moved it to what you thought was a good spot, it would move on its own to a very uncomfortable formation around your back. There was no way to make it stop either. Sheila and Toni tried to override the whole pressure points mechanism to no avail. The bed moved on its own. Nana and Boopa wanted to come visit Friday, a day after the surgery, but I was in far too much pain to have them come. I don't know when it was, but I did get some visitors later, perhaps on Saturday. My dad's co-worker Angie came to visit for a few minutes and brought a lovely arrangement of miniature flowers, Uncle Mike and Aunt Candi came at one point, and then some cousins I don't know also came. Gog had called those cousins, a mother and her son, to come spy on me in the hospital. When they showed up at the door, my mom and dad didn't even know who they were. Goggy had to have her private eyes on the job, of course. I think they were my second cousins. To all the visitors, I'm sure that my appearance was ghastly, but I kept hearing how good I looked. I didn't believe it for a second, but it was really nice to hear. The best thing is that nobody overstayed his or her welcome. I felt very loved. My room looked quite lovely, too, with Angie's gorgeous arrangement and a huge vase of beautiful flowers sent by some of my dad's other colleagues on a shelf where I could see them.

The physical therapists came to try to have me walk on the second day, but I almost howled out in pain when they helped me sit up. I told them I couldn't do it anymore, and I would've collapsed back onto the bed if one of them hadn't caught me. They said they would come back later in the day. Every time one of my nurses said "physical therapy" for the remainder of the day, I winced and prayed that they wouldn't show back up. Luckily, they didn't that day. However, they came back the next day, sat me up, and even had me stand up. They had brought in a walker for heights up to 5'8" and had it on the highest level, but it was still too short for me. One of the physical therapists estimated that I was about 5'10" and set another walker to that level. It was just the right height. I walked a tiny ways up the hall, past the door of the annoying, complaining lady next door, and then I had to go back. A physical therapist laughed as I started booking it back to my room. He said, "Funny how the journey back to the bed is a lot faster than the one away from it." My dad took a picture of me walking back into my room, I collapsed back onto the bed with the therapists' help, and I crashed for who knows how many hours. I was so proud of myself though. I think that was Saturday, and I was released on Sunday.

Sunday morning, I got all my equipment removed and the remaining IV holes taped up. I had actually gotten the catheter out Saturday night and had been using the raised potty in the bathroom since then. It was so difficult, but I couldn't stand being in the hospital anymore. My resolve to get the hell out of there was even greater on Sunday morning, when I walked to and back from the Homeward Bound Gym down the hall without the assistance of a walker or a physical therapist. In the gym, I had to climb up and down five stairs and get in and out of a mock car. They put a plastic bag on the seat to help me slide in and out. I did both these things in no time at all, and I knew that I would be discharged that day. It was also the first day since the surgery that I had worn anything besides the hospital gown. My mom helped me put on a new nightgown and bathrobe, compliments of Goggy, and I just felt so much better. We had to wait forever for all the paperwork to go through, and I was served a lunch of roast beef and mashed potatoes. It was repulsive, but I didn't even care. While I was attempting to eat it, Mumphy and Deefle bought a high-rise potty for us to have at home, and let me just say that I couldn't have survived without it during those first few weeks. Finally, I was released. They wheeled me out of the hospital and to the car, where I slid into the front seat with my pillow. My mom was in charge of the flower arrangements in the backseat, my dad was driving, and I was just concentrating on getting comfortable. Every tiny bump on the way home was awful, but the nurses had doped me up pretty well before the ride, so things could've been a lot worse. Anyways, I didn't care that much because I was so thrilled to be going home!

I don't remember a lot after that. I remember getting home, staying in the downstairs bedroom, having to have help to even shift in the bed, and using the raised potty in the bathroom. The cats were so sweet, too. Moses would come visit me every now and then, but he would position himself on me so as not to hurt my back. The pain was intense, and I just wanted to sleep all the time until it went away. I was getting doses of high-powered drugs every few hours at the most, and my dad would wake up several times in the middle of the night to administer them. It's hard to believe that all this was four weeks ago now, and it's amazing how far I've come. I'm only taking one Oxycontin a day now, and occasionally a few Ibuprofen. I can sit, walk, use a regular commode, eat normal foods, and even bend pretty far at the knees. It's fantastic. When I'm completely back to normal, I plan to victoriously yell at my mother, "Mom-Pom! I can walk, I can talk, I can read, I can write! Mom-Pom, I can do anything!" That's from a book about a girl with cerebral palsy that Goggy has at her house. It's called Karen, if you're interested, but I'm pretty sure that I just gave away the ending. Sorry about that. It's too late to give you a spoiler alert.

Well, even though it took me a little over two hours to write all that down, I'm glad I did. Not only will you hopefully enjoy reading it, but I will also not forget it now. If I think of anything else I left out, I'll put it in another entry, but I'm pretty sure that covers it. Now all that's left to do is proofread it. Oh joy. Mumphy and Deefle left at 7:00 this morning to catch their flight to LA, so I'll be writing thank-you notes for the rest of the day until I head over to Goggy's house tonight. I may or may not write another entry for today, depending on how busy Gog keeps me, but if not, I'll be back in touch tomorrow! Also, I just discovered that this post is six pages long, single-spaced in 12 font, on Microsoft Word. If you just read all of it, I send my condolences and congratulations your way.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Milkshake Friday Night

Today was completely uneventful, and I fell asleep more than once while lying on the sofa playing on the laptop and watching Zoolander, but Milkshake Friday Night was fantastic! Mary came to pick me up at about 8:30, and we headed over to hang out with Poo and Meagan. David and Poo's friend Chris were watching a hockey game, so we girls made milkshakes and talked in the kitchen. I had a delicious Reese's vanilla shake and enjoyed some actual socializing for the first time in a while. I hope that we can all get together again soon! Mary dropped me back at the house at about 10:30, and I've been watching Whose Line ever since. Mumphy and Deefle are getting up at 6:00 in the morning to catch a 9:00 flight to LA to visit Sarah, help her move out, and bring her home for a few days, so I'll be staying with Goggy and Granddaddy until next Wednesday, but I'll be at home a good part of the time, too. Gog just can't accept that I can take care of myself 4 weeks after the surgery. Her nurse side takes over, and she has to have the patient under her roof. I love spending time with her and Granddaddy, though, so it should be fun as long as she doesn't pester me about my back. I'll get some delicious meals out of it as well. I guess I'll sign off now and continue doing nothing. Hope my readers have a great weekend! Just a couple more things. I peeked at my scar today, and it looks amazing! It's healing beautifully! Also, I only took an Oxycontin today and nothing else, so the weaning is going really well!

Thursday, June 11, 2009

A Visit From Nana & Boopa

I usually try to update the blog before midnight so I don't have to refer to "yesterday" instead of today, but once again, I missed the deadline. Yesterday was grand. I woke up to the sound of Deefle vacuuming outside my bedroom door at about 11:00, and then I got up and got ready for the grandparents to come visit at 3:00. About 2:00, I got really sleepy, especially since I had taken my morning dose of Oxycontin and Ibuprofen for the first time in a while, so I decided to take a short nap on the sofa in the den. At about 2:15, Nana and Boopa called and said that they had just entered the city limits, and Deefle told me to continue my nap upstairs. I crashed, and I didn't wake up until Mumphy got home about 4:30, but it took some coaxing to get me up. I went downstairs and greeted the grandparents, and they gave me my official birthday present of a beautiful Duke flag for the front yard, as well as some cash. Then, we all headed to Yadkin Valley, and they seated us at a table this time, which was much better on my back than the booth we had 2 weeks ago. I didn't even have to stand up and walk around a single time, but I did have my pillow. I had a yummy steak, broccoli and cheese, sweet tea, and a hot fudge cake sundae for dessert. Nana and Boopa left, and then we came home and relaxed as usual. Andrew called from Argentina, and it was great getting to talk to him! Everyone is abroad this summer! Andrew is in Argentina, and Jordan is leaving for Australia today. I'll just sit here and recover, I guess. In other news, Anna texted Sarah and said that she had just seen John Krasinski in Bowery Bar in NYC! Robert Pattinson was at the same bar last night, according to all the Twilight websites I check! I'm so jealous. She reported that John was tall, very cute, and had a great Jim Halpert smile. The best part was that Anna texted me and told me that John looked like he wanted her to tell me hello for him. I bet he did! Robert Pattinson and John Krasinski in that bar only one night apart. How I would've loved to have been there! Well, I'm gonna hang out downstairs a little longer and then head to bed. On Wednesday night, which can kind of be considered last night, I decided to read a bit of Granddaddy's book of war stories for the second time, but I got too hooked and ended up reading all of them. It's just like Band of Brothers, which I love, and it was just too interesting to put down. Tonight is Milkshake Night at the Baugh household, so I'm definitely looking forward to that!

One Dose

I'm only taking one dose of Oxycontin per day now, except for today since Nana and Boopa are visiting.  We're going out to eat, so I don't want to be miserable at the restaurant.  I plan to take all my medicine throughout the day, but only for today.  As for yesterday, it was pretty good.  I woke up earlier than usual to have some time alone at the house since Deefle was going in to work, but he got home about 20 minutes after I woke up.  Oh well.  Mumphy picked me up some lunch, and we had a little picnic in the basement on her lunch break.  After she left, I fell asleep on the futon in the basement and woke up when she got home about 3:30.  She waited for me to shower, and then she shaved my legs for me again, bless her.  I can't wait until I can shave on my own, and I'm sure she can't either.  From then on, it was pretty much the usual day.  I watched Whose Line on YouTube, played Dress Up Challenge, went on FaceBook every 5 seconds, checked all the news for the upcoming New Moon movie, kept up with Twitter, and did a few photo manipulations on PhotoShop.  About 7:45 last night, Abby called and invited me over to her house, so Deefle drove me over.  We played on the Wii, and then Olivia wanted to play with her Barbies, so we did that.  Abby drove me home at about 10:00, but we just sat in my driveway talking until about 11:00.  It was fun, as always.  Now I'm just lying here on the sofa watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which is incredibly lame.  Jimmy Fallon should've stuck to SNL because he's an awful talk show host.  I'm only watching this to see John Krasinski as a guest.  I'm glad Nana and Boopa are coming today.  It'll be really nice to see them, and I think we're going to Yadkin Valley for dinner, so I'm definitely looking forward to that, as long as my back cooperates.  I finished Breaking Dawn again last night, and I'm thinking about reading Twilight again.  I gave Twilight to my mom for Mother's Day, and she's loving it, so I may just read it along with her for the millionth time, and we can watch the movie together when we finish.  Of course, I can watch the movie anytime.  That's pretty much it, I think.  I know it's nothing exciting, but I'm writing mainly for my number one fan.  Mary, your comments encourage me to keep the blog updated!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Brotherly Love

I woke up at about 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday, so the day kind of revolved around the old Disney show Brotherly Love, which Sarah told me was on YouTube.  It had been forever since I'd seen it, and since I'm out of Whose Line episodes except for a season I missed, I watched 15 episodes of Brotherly Love.  I had woken up feeling kind of bad because of a sore throat, so I didn't feel like doing much else besides watching TV. The best news of the day was that I discovered that I can now bend about 40 degrees forward if I have my knees bent!  It's a huge milestone.  Also, I only took one dose of Oxycontin and 2 Tylenol for the whole day.  I'm really working hard on this weaning business.  I got out of the house for a little while to go on a ride with Mumphy, and I didn't take my pillow either. Other than that, nothing special happened.  Nana and Boopa are coming to visit on Thursday, and I'm really looking forward to Milkshake Friday!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Not Much

I've had another one of those uneventful days, but it's not been too bad.  I went about 29 hours without medicine, which was somewhat of a mistake because I had trouble sleeping last night, but I'm really trying to wean myself off these drugs.  I guess I tried to do it a little too fast, though.  I am down to only taking Oxycontin twice a day now, along with sporadic Tylenol and Ibuprofen, so it's a lot better than it was.  At one point, I thought I was going to have to go back to Dr. Hey and ask him for more Oxycodone when I ran out of that, but I made it through.  Also, I'm dying to drop this Oxycontin so I can drive again!

As pathetic as it sounds, I'm so upset because I've now watched every single episode from every season of Whose Line is it Anyway on YouTube. I don't know what to watch now!  I could start watching my full collection of The Office DVDs again, I guess.  That's always a good option.  I watched The Notebook tonight when it was on TV, and despite many prior viewings, I always cry at it.  I hid it pretty well, though, since my dad was in the room, and he always makes fun of me when I cry at movies.  I'm too sensitive for my own good.  After rereading the Twilight books recently, I'm kind of lost in the world of vampires, and all my dreams revolve around Edward Cullen.  In every single dream, I'm either Bella Swan, or I'm fighting Bella for Edward's affection.  I always win, except for last night, which was terribly upsetting.  I woke up so sad and couldn't figure out why until I remembered my dream.  How pathetic am I?  Alas!  The life of a single 20-year-old recovering from back surgery and being a couch potato.

That's pretty much been my day.  It's past midnight now, so that was all yesterday, but it's all the same.  I figured I should update the blog for Mary's sake at least since she is my most devoted follower!  Speaking of Mary, I can't wait for this Friday night!  She is coming to visit, and we're having a milkshake night with Poo and Meagan.  It should be utterly fabulous.  Then I'm spending a few nights with Gog and Granddaddy while the parental units go to LA to visit Sarah, help her move to her new apartment, and then bring her home.  At least I have some events planned in the near future.  I need some things to do besides lie around and have weird dreams!  Of course, they're nothing compared to the morphine dreams I had right after surgery.  Oh, Sweet Lady Morphine.