Your FTD Reminder...

Last Sunday, as Brad drove us to church, I took a quick glance at my email on my phone. There was an email subject line that I didn't expect and it knocked the wind out of me...

"Your FTD Reminder for Bernadine Ward's Birthday"

I sat there for a minute trying to speak as Brad tried to figure out why tears were streaming down my face. I was finally able to explain that Bernadine was my Grandmother who passed away last May. Today she would have been 89.Somehow FTD didn't get the message that I wouldn't need to send flowers this year. 

Almost a week later, the email is still in my Inbox. I haven't been able to delete it. Then again, I still have her phone number and address saved in my cell phone too. Not sure why.

I miss you so much Grandmother. You are always on my mind and I know that you are happy and healthy in heaven. You are no doubt singing in the choir, visiting friends, filling the bird feeders and playing with all the cats. You have probably re-organized God's office by now as well.

So, maybe I will leave the FTD Reminder setup. It will be a reminder to say a special birthday prayer for a woman I loved so much.

Footloose!!

Come on... everyone knows the movie... a young Kevin Bacon in his leather jacket with taboo rock n roll cassette tapes. He is a reluctant Chicago-transplant in the ultra-conservative and very strict small town of Bomont. He falls for the rebellious preacher's daughter in her red boots and turns the town upside down by suggesting that they... gasp, have a dance. Okay, even if you don't know all the details of the movie, you must know the title song by Kenny Loggins...

Loose, footloose kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise pull me off a my knees
Jack, get back c'mon before we crack
Lose your blues everybody cut footloose

Enough of memory lane... the reason for this post is because Brad and I had a fun night on Saturday seeing "Footloose The Musical". It was at Cedar Ridge High School and we were there to cheer on a very special cast member. 

One of my longest and dearest friends, Shaunna has a daughter named Paige who is an aspiring actress and was one of the chorus dancers. I have seen her perform in other plays and it has been so fun to watch her progress and fine tune her craft. Since I have known her since she was born, I can join Shaunna in being so proud of her. Plus, having bene very active in high school theater myself and a lover of theater in general, I have a soft spot for these kinds of shows. 

We tried to take pictures but the lighting in the theater and our camera just didn't get along. Not to mention that Paige was very rarely sitting still, so she ended up being a blur in most of the pictures we DID get! We had better luck at video, so here you go...

This snippet is from when they were at the country bar across county lines...(Paige is in the yellow/black shirt).

This is the big finale. Paige is in a red dress. Give the video a couple of seconds because at first she is blocked by the guy in the fashionable 80's suit. 

We had a great time reliving the famous scenes and singing all the lyrics to songs like "Holding on for  Hero", "Almost Paradise","Let's Hear it for the Boy" and, my person favorite, "I'm Free". After they made their finale curtain call, we waited with Shaunna and other family members to congratulate Paige. We knew that the only proper way to recognize a job well done is flowers!! We weren't the only ones, so Paige was all smiles when she was met with applause, hugs and flowers all around. 

Older sister Nicole, Proud Mom Shaunna and Super Star Paige.

It was a fun night. Paige did an outstanding job, the rest of the cast and crew did as well. We are already looking forward to her next performance. She has the lead role in the award-winning comedy "You Can't Take It With You". We should probably get an autograph from this girl... it could be worth something some day!!

I can see clearly now...

The surgery is done. Whew. Although I am not sure what I expected... this wasn't it!!

After working a half-day, Brad picked me up from work and took me to the surgery center. I had been nervous all day but as we checked in, it became a reality about what I was about to do! The nerves set in, my stomach started making weird noises and I got very antsy. Poor Brad... on more than one occasion, I kind of snapped at him. I was SO nervous!! They had given me a Valium to calm my nerves, but I never felt the drug kick in. 

They finally came to get me and Brad gave me a goodbye kiss. There was a HUGE window into the surgery suite that would allow him to watch the whole thing and TV screens showing my eyes. As they laid me down in the chair, I seriously thought I was going to throw up!!! Then the Tech asked me if I wanted to hold a teddy bear during the procedure. I don't care how old you are, there is certain comfort in a teddy bear. This bear was named "Lucy the Laser Bear" and was an "old pro" according to the surgeon... I was thankful to have her. Not only did it give me something to do with my hands but I could squeeze the life out of her when needed!

Look closely and you will see Lucy the Laser Bear laying on my stomach.

Putting the clamp on.

The laser at work.

The entire procedure took probably 10 minutes. It is kind of all a blur now. Basically I laid me in the chair, gave me lots of numbing eye drops and secured my eyes open. In one position they cut the "flap" and then they would swing the chair to another machine where the laser did its work. You don't see anything except a red light to focus on. The only paid I ever felt was the clamp to hold my eye open- I never felt any cutting or lasers. One thing I wasn't told about and didn't expect... the smell. I won't go into detail but I will say that is it what I imagine burning flesh would smell like. So, I squeezed the bear, took lots of deep breaths and then it was over!! I was a little woozy but otherwise okay. 

We left right after the procedure. I had been assured by doctors and friend that I would be so drugged that I would go home and pass out. It was recommended I sleep for about 6 hours giving my eyes time to heal. One problem... the Valium still had never kicked in. I never felt loopy or sleepy. Nothing. So, when we got home, I went to bed but couldn't sleep at all. We improvised and I stayed in dark room with my eyes closed for about 6 hours. Brad came in an checked on me and other than a few snoozes, I was wide awake! My cat Zoe had stayed close- very close the whole time. She slept on me and kept me company. The problem with not falling asleep as I had expected, was that I felt the pain most people slept through. I won't lie... it wasn't fun. 

Later that night I was able to come downstairs for some dinner. I ate with my eyes basically closed and listened to "American Idol". I was well taken care of by Brad and constantly surrounded by the cats. Cheyenne and Samson would pop in occasionally too. 

I managed to sleep all night last night which felt great. When I sleep I have to wear this VERY attractive hear gear...

This morning I went to my post-op check-up and passed with flying colors. He said the incision is almost non-existent and my eyes look healthy. The doctor told me that they "aim for" 20/40 vision with LASIK surgery. He tested my vision and said something I never thought I would hear... "You have 20/20 vision." First time in my life I remember ever hearing that. It is unreal to me that I don't have contacts in my eyes. I have been dependent on them for more than half my life. So it is with great excitement that I show you the bthroom trash can...

Going to a laser show... sort of...

So, today is the day. I am finally doing something I have wanted for YEARS and my stomach is in knots. No, I am not skydiving (although I want to some day), or bungee jumping (might want to do that some day) or running with the bulls (never want to do that)... I am having LASIK Eye Surgery. 

I was going through my paperwork and signing my life away this morning and read through all the procedural stuff. The basic gist of LASIK surgery is that a laser is used to cut through the two 2 layers of the cornea creating a "flap" that is lifted so the eye can be re-shaped. I am not sure it did anything to help my nerves, but it was FASCINATING stuff!! Here is just a short portion...

"...performed on an outpatient basis and takes only 10 - 15 minutes to complete. Althought patients often feel some pressure sensation, the procedure has little, if any, discomfort. The eyes are made numb with topical anesthetic drops, an eyelid holder is user to prevent blinking and patients focus on a blinking light ...the patient cannot see when the flap is being created... once the treatment is completed, the flap is laid back in place and the natural suction within the cornea seals the flap within 1 - 5 minutes and no sutures are needed. Patients are able to blink normally and there is rapid overnight visual improvement."

What a crazy combination of amazing technology and the body's own healing power. To think I will be slightly drugged, in a chair for about 15 minutes and then go home. I will wake up being able to see without contacts or glasses!! After over 25 years with glasses, it is a hard concept to grasp.

So, I will work a half day today and Brad will be my driver back and forth from the procedure. I know I am in good hands with Brad and he will take good care of me. Tomorrow I have a post-op check-up to get an all clear and the remainder of the day is intended to rest. That part I am looking forward to!! Now, if I can just keep my nerves in check today, it will all be okay!!

What's been happening...

Hello ol’ blog… I have been a real slacker lately with my blogging. Life has just been crazy!! So, here is what’s been happening…

I survived another Quarter-End at work. This one happened to be the week of New Years and we were prepared to ring in the New Year at the office but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to leave at a normal time!! I am not sure if it was the workload or the fact that we have a larger team to share the work, but we weren’t arguing!! I have been very blessed with my Austin teammates. Last week, I celebrated one year with ShoreTel. This time last year, I was in California training and then I returned to Austin as the only member of my team. As of this week, I have a new Manager here and EIGHT new co-workers!! My, how things have changed.

I am currently maintaining occupancy in 3 cities! How is that possible? Well, as of this weekend, I am officially renting a room from a good friend Laurie- she lives in Leander. All of my stuff, plus Cheyenne, Zoe & Gypsy are now at Brad’s in Georgetown. All my furniture is still in the condo in Austin that I have been renting since last May. The owner of the condo (and my friend), Lisa is going to be selling. So, I offered to “stage” it for her since I didn’t need any of my furniture until I move in with Brad after the wedding.

Brad and I finished cleaning everything this past Saturday. (Well, to be fair, I think Brad did most of the hard work!! Little did I know... he had been going over there on his lunch hours and cleaning!! He is too good to me!) A few minutes before we left, we reflected on the memories there. It was where he brought me home from the airport after my business trip to CA- when we “officially” started dating. We spent many evenings there eating dinner and watching TV, while hanging with my animals. Not only did Brad and I begin falling in love here, but so did he and Cheyenne. :o) It was where we had our first kiss. It was where we worked on our first home improvement project together (my awesome sliding door). It is where Samson first shared his puppy destruction skills. It is where Kasi picked me up to begin the Scavenger Hunt set up by Brad to propose. There are so many other memories there… so it was a bittersweet moment. But as Brad said as he prayed over our lunch that day, we are so thankful for that chapter and looking forward to the next one!

Speaking of next chapter… the wedding invitations are out!!! We sent them out about a week ago and have already had some RSVPs come in. My friends Melinda and Kasi tied for first place! We are very excited to share our wedding plans with everyone- it makes it more official. We are still planning everything, however, most of the major decisions are done. It is down to the details now. Yesterday, I went to the Bridal Extravaganza with my friend Erica. (She just got engaged over Christmas.) I came home with a few more ideas! Not that I would recommend this, but the second time around is so much better. :o) Brad and I get a “do-over” and are having fun planning things that neither one of us got to do last time. I am much more relaxed and just going with the flow on things. The other night Kasi, my Matron of Honor, asked me what color shoes she should wear and what she could wear in her hair… I told her she could do whatever she wanted! NO Bridezilla here!!!

Beginning this month, Brad and I switched to a new Sunday School class. We are now in the “Nearly Wed and Newly Wed” class. The first 4 weeks we are going through part of the Dave Ramsey financial course. We will then continue for the next year with other topics specific to engaged and newly married couples. We are both really looking forward to it. We will soon be doing pre-marital counseling through Brad’s friend Jim. He is a minister in Tyler and has known Brad for over 10 years. I met him when we went to the Casting Crowns concert in October. We have asked him to perform our wedding ceremony and we are thrilled that he agreed! He has been sending us material in preparation for our time together. And thanks to technology, we will do our sessions via webcam!

This week is another adventure… on Thursday, I am having LASIK eye surgery. In preparation, I had to stop wearing my contacts for 2 weeks and those of you that know me well, know that has been torture!! I go in Thursday afternoon for the procedure and will be off work Friday. I am going to recover at Brad’s house on Friday so I can be surrounded by my animals. I am terrified of the procedure and excited for the results. I have been wearing glasses for over 25 years and contacts for over 20 years. I can’t wait to be able to wake up in the middle of the night and not stumble to the bathroom. I can buy “normal” alarm clocks that don’t have 3 inch numbers! I also look forward to throwing away my contacts and glasses!!! So, I will focus on those things… not that I will be awake while they cut into my cornea with a laser. I am told they give me Valium as soon as I arrive, so I will look forward to that!!

The next couple of months will be busy with wedding details and plans. We will have our tasting at The Winfield Inn, get suits for the guys, my dress fitted, a fun shower for me and a Boys Day for Brad… all fun stuff!

Christmas outtakes...

While Mom finished getting Christmas dinner ready and Brad installed their TV mount, I worked on getting the camera set up for family pictures. Since I was working without a tripod, I came up with a combination of an end table and random wrapped presents stacked on one another. It was interesting!!

In order to make sure the camera was aimed correctly, I had to give it a try. Brad would jump in from his installation to help... they made for some funny pictures.

My Dad is not big on pictures but he humors us. However, he reaches a point when he is "done". Unfortunately, we asked him to take our picture after he had passed that point...

Self- Portrait

Even Sassy the Cat had enough with pictures.

My Dad modeling the Texas Tech hat that Brad gave him.

Brad modeling a bit of the gift wrapping.

Christmas... better late than never!

Yes, I realize it is mid-January and I am just now posting about Christmas. What can I say? I have been busy. Oh, and I wasn't able to find the camera USB cord until today. Oops.

So, Brad and I headed to Mississippi for the Christmas holiday. Our holiday spirit was quickly changed when we got to the airport. We had a very early departure the day before Christmas Eve. Now granted, we probably could have gotten to the airport a little sooner, however, the line for Security was unbelievable. Never in all my years of flying out of ABIA have I seen lines like that- especially prior to 6AM! So, we were still in line waiting to go through Security when our flight was boarding. UGH. So, I went to the desk and got us rebooked. I will spare the details but it basically required that we nap in the Austin airport for about 3 hours, fly to Houston and fly Stand-by to Jackson. 

We made our stand-by flight... but only one of our three bags did (the bag with only Christmas gifts - no clothing or cosmetics). Since my parents live 1.5 hours from the Jackson airport, it was out of their delivery area. We were told that they would FedEx it and that we "may or may not" get it before the holiday. With that information, it was decided we would go ahead and head home and someone would come back that night to get our bags.(We were also told there was no guarantee that the bags would actually be there and there was no way for us to call ahead to know. What a lovely system they have.)

We arrived in Hattiesburg, exhausted. We relaxed, visited and wrapped presents. At about 9PM that night, my Mom and Brad made the 3 hour round-trip back to the airport and thankfully, our bags were there! They got home around midnight.

The rest of the holiday was much quieter which is the way we like it! We enjoyed lots of food, football and time to read. On Christmas Eve we went to my the Candlelight service at my parents church. Then we came home for dinner and presents. My parents had asked Brad if he could install their new wall mount for their TV. So, while Mom finished dinner and I helped her, Brad worked on it with some assistance from my Dad. 

After we were stuffed with my Mom's yummy food, we opened gifts. Everyone was certainly happy with what they gave and received! We also made some time for some family pictures (thank you camera timer!).

Christmas Day was spend eating MORE food and relaxing. We also did one of our family traditions- a movie on Christmas Day. This year's selection was "The Tourist" with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. 

The next day, we went to church and then loaded up for the airport after lunch. This time we connected through Atlanta. They had been getting snow (along with most of the Eastern US), so we had no idea what we would have waiting for us. Thankfully, other than a little delay, we made it home okay. We heard lots of announcements for cancellations while we were in Atlanta... we were just thankful we had a flight taking us home!

As with most years, the holiday went by too quickly. We are looking forward to see my parents again in March and April for wedding events!