I had my post-op visit today and they took the stitches out. I am still amazed that I could have a huge vein yanked on a Thurs and have the stitches out the next Wed! It looks awful right now but I can see the potential. The ropey, bulgy vein is totally gone. Once the bruising is gone and the little incisions heal, I will be a happy girl. The Dr said that on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the worst bruising he had ever seen, I was a 7.5. I had a monster vein taken out and I bruise pretty ea...

When you are little, Christmas has the magic of Santa. When you are a little older, you look forward to all the stuff you'll get. Once you have kids, you look forward to giving them the magic you experienced as a child. I hope I can give my boys wonderful Christmas memories like I have. We made a gingerbread house together last night. They loved it! They were surprised that I let them decorate it. I hope to give them a go at decorating sugar cookies within the next couple of days. I re...

Yesterday I had "surgery" to remove a huge vericose vein that ran from practically the top of my inner thigh to about 4 inches below my knee. I say "surgery" because I would call it a procedure. It was done right in the office and was very quick. I am back on my feet today! I can't believe that something that used to require a huge slit and major recovery time has been so far reduced in invasiveness. It is similar to the differences made in gall bladder surgery (which I had the opportunit...

Police officers in Cincinnatti are being investigated for possible misuse of force and people went as far as to say it was "another lynching of the black man". I see this as another example of people jumping on the Racism Card and waving before they think. Let us look at things from a police officer's view for just a moment. There is a 350 lb man (let's just assume for a moment the officer is color blind) coming at you and yelling at you. You tell him to put his arms behind his back and he s...

I have had way too many bad experiences with elderly men on the road to not say something. Driving is another example of something we tend to think of as a right but it is definitly a privilege. Some people should not be driving! Examples: I was driving up the aisle between parking places in a parking lot and a guy who looked to be in his 70s comes flying across the parking spaces. He has to slam on his brakes to keep from t-boning me even though he should have seen me for some time. He ...

I am getting a little discouraged with some family members (I won't name any names because they may read this) who make gift exchanging almost not worth it. Personally, I enjoy getting stuff that people thought of for me. I really don't like it when I have to give them a list to go buy. I truly believe it is the thought that counts. So many people now seem to think of holiday shopping as such a chore. They have all of these people they "have" to buy for. Personally, if I don't have some...

I just had to write about this because it is in my face every day. Too many parents let their kids walk all over them these days! A prime example is played out in a commercial that irks me every time I see it. It is the one about which is more frustrating, sharing a phone with a teen or dealing with dial up. Whenever the snotty teen says, "I'm on the phone!" I think, that parent should say, "Are you paying the phone bill? Until you do, you will use the phone when I say you can." How is ...

Thanksgiving was enjoyable again this year. We have been going to our cousin's home for Thanksgiving for the past few years and it has become a nice tradition. There was adjustments to be made in the beginning of course, but I truly enjoy it now. Spending this holiday with my inlaws was quite a change. It seems as though Thanksgiving was pretty much the same for the first 21 years of my life. It was spent with my Mom's side of the family. It pretty much consisted of good food, football...

I did a little shopping at our local Sam's Club today and was dissappointed in the behavior of a few people. Even my 3yr old commented. His usual comment when someone is misbehaving is "bad guy!" One such "bad guy" had a hissy when we were exiting the store and the woman checking reciepts informed him he had to enter through the other door. He started saying things like "Stick it in your hat lady! You can kiss my butt!" It was comical in a sad way. I just couldn't believe a man in his 5...

Well, the good news is, I got a lot done today, therefore, I don't need an intervention as I suggested earlier. The bad news is I had to lock the laptop away in my rolltop desk and stay clear until I got everything done on my list (Thank goodness for that list). Tomorrow is another busy day but I should have ample time for blogging. Got a new minivan today! I know that doesn't sound too exciting but hey, it is still a new car with new car smell. It has a DVD player in it which is a wonder...

Boy did I waste my day! I slept in because the boys let me. I woke up with a horrendous sinus headache. It was one of those that covered all bases, pressure behind your eyes, bridge of nose, back of head and the top of my head felt like it was going to blow. I also felt like I could hurl at any moment. So I took some sinus meds, drank some water and dozed on the couch until my poor children and husband needed food. Sunday is waffle day so I always make waffles. It was 67 degrees out so ...

Having kids has been a great excuse for playing with paper and paste and paint. For getting excited about trick-or-treating and birthday parties. I had forgotten what fun it was to suck the helium out of a ballon and sing a silly song. Being a kid is great! My son is about to turn 7 and decided he wanted a Bionicle birthday party. For those of you who aren't familiar with Bionicles, they are Lego characters that look like robots but have this spirit world that reminds me of native America...

Before I started blogging I had a pretty low opinion of my debating skills. My husband and some of our friends are extremely good debaters. I would usually put my two cents in only to have one of them say something that made what I said totally irrelevant. I have since learned that I am a far cry from the worst of the debaters. I at least try to fully think through what I write down. I read through what others have said then think, "Do I have anything new to add?" If the answer is yes,...

A friend of mine just gave birth to her second child and were reflecting on how quickly we forget what newborns are like. They are like a completely different creature! Then I got to thinking about how once they get to be about 5 or 6 months old, they are this fun little cuteness machine. It is as if you have a newborn for 3 or 4 months, it is replaced with a new creature called an "infant". Your infant then gets replaced with a toddler, then a preschooler, then an elementary school age ch...

I take joy in the every day things, well, every day. I'm thrilled when my 3 yr old says "Good morning!" I marvel at the fact that my 7yr old reads, writes, tells time, and even philosophizes these days. I should write an article of "Alexisms" some time I'm prould that they are such sweet, happy boys. And I am thankful every night when I tuck them into bed safe and sound. My fears aren't just the typical worries about physical harm. With boys that is an imminent thing. I fear them gro...