The holidays were mellow in Lafayette this year. It was just me and my Mom and Dad. We would have loved to spend Christmas with Morgan and Piper (oh, Meg and David too), but the Allendorfs weren't able to travel South from Spokane this year. We understood, Piper is only 4 months old and it's an ordeal to get a family of 4 packed up and able to travel during the holidays. We sent them lots of goodies and gifts and the photos on Meg's blog have been fun to see.
I had a much-needed "staycation" between Christmas and New Year's. My work closed the corporate office during this week and although we had to use 4 days of PTO, I was more than willing to comply. For me, it was all about sleeping in, taking it easy, and not having much on my schedule. I was able to spend time with a couple of friends that are hard to get together with since they have moved along the road of life of marriage and having kids. All that goes along with it is very time consuming! It was really good to see them since my schedule was much more flexible than usual. : )
My parents, as usual, cooked up some wonderful food (our traditional crab bisque on Christmas Eve) and there were lots of treats to go around. While present opening is not near the event it was when Meg and I were kids, it was still fun. My favorite gift was my Burberry Rain Boots from my Mom and sister. Of course, it hasn't rained since I got them. Ha! Overall, it was nice to have the downtime after months of crazy work schedules and travel.
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
My Knee and the Latest Follow-Up Appt.
I wish I had good news to report on my knee, but I don't. Unfortunately, the cycling didn't go very well. I got to 15 minutes, then in mid-November, after cycling on a bike in a hotel gym, my knee flared up again. It wasn't a terribly flare-up, but it felt uncomfortable enough to lay of the cycling for a bit. I didn't realize until it was too late that the bike at the hotel gym had a little resistance on it and I'm sure that was not ideal for my knee. Obviously, the bike was very different than cycling on my bike on the trainer at home. Oh well.
I explained this all to Dr. Dye at my appointment with him on December 14. He seemed a little disappointed too, but urged me to keep doing what does not irritate my knee. He made the comment that many people are like me and after the surgery, the healing is very slow. As usual, I've come to terms with that as long as eventually I can get back to normal exercise.
One change Dr. Dye did make was to switch up my anti-inflammatory medication. I've been taking one Piroxicam pill each day since last May, maybe late April. He switched me to a different medication (I cannot remember the name at this moment and am not near my prescription bottle) that I need to take one pill before breakfast and second pill before dinner. When I picked up the prescription, the pharmacist told me to make sure to drink one full glass of water before I take each pill and do not lie down for at least a half an hour afterwards. Hmm... my only thought was wondering if I lie on the couch right after I take this medication that this would allow the medication to settle in a certain spot in my stomach and cause an ulcer. Scary thought. Needless to say, I'm following their instructions carefully.
I explained this all to Dr. Dye at my appointment with him on December 14. He seemed a little disappointed too, but urged me to keep doing what does not irritate my knee. He made the comment that many people are like me and after the surgery, the healing is very slow. As usual, I've come to terms with that as long as eventually I can get back to normal exercise.
One change Dr. Dye did make was to switch up my anti-inflammatory medication. I've been taking one Piroxicam pill each day since last May, maybe late April. He switched me to a different medication (I cannot remember the name at this moment and am not near my prescription bottle) that I need to take one pill before breakfast and second pill before dinner. When I picked up the prescription, the pharmacist told me to make sure to drink one full glass of water before I take each pill and do not lie down for at least a half an hour afterwards. Hmm... my only thought was wondering if I lie on the couch right after I take this medication that this would allow the medication to settle in a certain spot in my stomach and cause an ulcer. Scary thought. Needless to say, I'm following their instructions carefully.
Monday, December 14, 2009
More Travels
In late November/early December, I was out of town for almost 2 weeks and away from the office for 3 weeks! As I previously posted, I was in Los Angeles the two days before Thanksgiving, I headed back to L.A. the first week of December and spent my birthday there.
It took me a while to decide what to pack for the trip. The plan was to spend Mon, Nov 31 - Fri, Dec 4 in L.A, then fly up to Spokane for my niece Morgan's 2nd birthday. Last, I went from Spokane to Minneapolis, MN on Dec 8 for more press checks. The weather in Los Angeles was to be much different than Spokane or Minneapolis, but I tried not to worry about bringing a heavy coat because my suitcase was heavy as it was! Well, it turned out I really needed that heavy coat. This was the weather when I flew into Minneapolis.
Yikes... I had planned to stay downtown, but the reps at the printing company I work with recommended I change my reservations to a hotel closer to their plant. Good call. I was in Minneapolis for 3 nights and each night I returned to my hotel room and cranked up the heat! This was the view from my hotel window:
Burr... you should have seen me the first morning I was there, trudging across the parking lot to my beloved Caribou Coffee in a winter jacket appropriate for San Francisco in the Fall. The guys from the printer called it a "windbreaker." Thank goodness one of their wives offered one of her winter coats for me to borrow. I figure the next trip I should take one of my winter coats with me from the time I lived in Salt Lake City and leave it there.
It took me a while to decide what to pack for the trip. The plan was to spend Mon, Nov 31 - Fri, Dec 4 in L.A, then fly up to Spokane for my niece Morgan's 2nd birthday. Last, I went from Spokane to Minneapolis, MN on Dec 8 for more press checks. The weather in Los Angeles was to be much different than Spokane or Minneapolis, but I tried not to worry about bringing a heavy coat because my suitcase was heavy as it was! Well, it turned out I really needed that heavy coat. This was the weather when I flew into Minneapolis.
Yikes... I had planned to stay downtown, but the reps at the printing company I work with recommended I change my reservations to a hotel closer to their plant. Good call. I was in Minneapolis for 3 nights and each night I returned to my hotel room and cranked up the heat! This was the view from my hotel window:
Burr... you should have seen me the first morning I was there, trudging across the parking lot to my beloved Caribou Coffee in a winter jacket appropriate for San Francisco in the Fall. The guys from the printer called it a "windbreaker." Thank goodness one of their wives offered one of her winter coats for me to borrow. I figure the next trip I should take one of my winter coats with me from the time I lived in Salt Lake City and leave it there.
My next trip? Atlanta, GA in January.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
On My Mind
Has anyone else started to think of their life in terms of "status" posts? Ever since I joined Facebook a year and a half ago, I find myself often considering what I could post about my life at any given time of the day. Such as, "Eating the best frozen yogurt ever!" Or, if something interesting happens, I wonder, should I enlighten my "friends" with the details via a new status post? For example, on Saturday I went to see a movie. As the lights dimmed for the previews, I was surprised to notice the couple sitting next to me had pulled their tiny dog out of somewhere (from where I do not know) to enjoy the view as well. Really?! I kind of expect babies in theaters from time to time, but having a dog sit right next to me was a first. If the light from the screen on my iPhone wasn't so bright, I so would have posted something! BTW, the dog didn't make a peep during the whole movie. I can't say as much for babies. ; )
I feel that I have a pretty good filter in terms of what information is OK to post online and what is not appropriate. I admit, sometimes my posts are really *blah.* I think this may be better than the people who offer way too much information (you know, I really don't care what you ate for breakfast this morning). I'm not the kind of Facebooker that updates her "status," now called "What's on your mind?," constantly. My postings tend to go in waves, sometimes I'm into it, sometimes I'm not. I find myself sharing information during vacation since it's fun to be a little obnoxious that everyone else is working and I am not!
The thing I enjoy most about social networking is being able to see new photos that people upload from someones trip overseas, a big event, or even a horrible photo from back in 7th grade (thanks Heather, I made sure I "un-tagged" myself from that over-permed hair, skinny-legs image). Social networking is also a nice way to stay in touch with friends and even reconnect with people I haven't heard from in years.
So right now, boring or not, I would post "I'm sitting in my hotel room in SoCal trying to decide whether I should walk down the long hallway to get ice for my knee." Am I lazy or what? It's been a long day.
I feel that I have a pretty good filter in terms of what information is OK to post online and what is not appropriate. I admit, sometimes my posts are really *blah.* I think this may be better than the people who offer way too much information (you know, I really don't care what you ate for breakfast this morning). I'm not the kind of Facebooker that updates her "status," now called "What's on your mind?," constantly. My postings tend to go in waves, sometimes I'm into it, sometimes I'm not. I find myself sharing information during vacation since it's fun to be a little obnoxious that everyone else is working and I am not!
The thing I enjoy most about social networking is being able to see new photos that people upload from someones trip overseas, a big event, or even a horrible photo from back in 7th grade (thanks Heather, I made sure I "un-tagged" myself from that over-permed hair, skinny-legs image). Social networking is also a nice way to stay in touch with friends and even reconnect with people I haven't heard from in years.
So right now, boring or not, I would post "I'm sitting in my hotel room in SoCal trying to decide whether I should walk down the long hallway to get ice for my knee." Am I lazy or what? It's been a long day.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Happy Birthday to Me!
Yep, December 1 is my birthday. Don't ask me how old I am, I'm not discussing that information anymore. ; ) Still, it's always nice to acknowledge the event that comes around each year. I'm in Los Angeles for work and was taken out for a fabulous dinner at Asia de Cuba in the Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood last night.
The candle on top of the slice of chocolate cake was the type with the "sparkler" effect. I made my wish, blew out the candle... and it lit up again! Who knew such a nice restaurant would use trick candles? Ha!
The candle on top of the slice of chocolate cake was the type with the "sparkler" effect. I made my wish, blew out the candle... and it lit up again! Who knew such a nice restaurant would use trick candles? Ha!
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