I'll Be Off, Then...

My parents should be here any minute so that we can all head over to the hospital together. My surgery time got moved up, which was a good thing, since it's 6 am and I'm already hungry and thirsty - waiting for a 2:30 surgery would have been sucky.

So, off we go...

She's Here!!!

I’m delighted to announce the arrival of my niece, Katherine Michele! She was born this afternoon after her rock star mommy gave birth (three pushes for a 10 lb. baby!!), and I can’t wait to meet her! Congrats to Pete, Stacy, David, John, and Mikey on the arrival of the newest addition to the family!

In other news, I had my pre-op appointment today, and they moved my surgery time tomorrow to the morning instead of the afternoon, as originally planned (someone else had to postpone their surgery, so I was able to take their morning slot). My doctor and I were going over all the restrictions I’ll have, post-op (not too many, really), and he said “no heavy lifting”. I said “what do you consider to be heavy lifting?” and he said “10 pounds”. I kind of snorted and said “dang it!”. He looked at me quizzically and asked what I *needed* to lift that was more than 10 pounds, and I said “well, my cat. Probably my purse. Definitely my friend’s kid. Lots of things…” The quizzical look didn’t leave his face, and he basically said “well, too bad.”

Apparently “heavy lifting” can make more stuff squeeze out of my disc, and would leave me basically where I am now. I’m not a fan of that, so I guess Milo is going to have to help himself up onto the sink for the next six weeks.

And it’s a good excuse to empty a lot of crap out of my purse.

Bleah...

Why, oh why is it so freaking hard for me to be productive these days? My mind is in about a million different places, and none of them are work-related, which isn’t great. If I could cook for people for a living, I think I’d be doing much better with my ability to concentrate, but since I have to worry about military installations, and not deglazing pans or figuring out how to recreate that tarte tatin au tomates I had in Paris last fall, I must deal with the present.

*le sigh*

I think that the whole impending surgery/sister-in-law in the hospital to give birth to my niece/health problems of future mother-in-law troika can probably justify being a bit distracted, but I still have to get off my arse and get some work done, or else it’s hard to justify not taking sick leave, which I haven’t had to do much of, because I’ve been able to work. But the last few days…not my best.

I’ve got my pre-op appointment tomorrow morning, so that will be all kinds of fun. I get to find out how long I have to stay at the hospital (if at all), how long it will be until I can be up and around (I’ve been told it won’t be more than a day or two), and whether or not I’ll need physical therapy. All that good stuff. I want to write stuff down, so I don’t forget it. Or rather, so my chances of forgetting are much slimmer.

More, More, More

This week has gone by awfully quickly in some ways, and has dragged in others. I’ve been awfully domestic – tidying up and making dinner (all these good ideas from the Food Network), and I’ve been struggling to be productive, still working on the discipline necessary to work from home effectively. I find that when I make “to do” lists, it helps a lot, but I also feel like this just isn’t quite reality. Mostly because it’s really not, I s’pose this has something to do with it.

Three days until surgery, and I really can’t wait. I mean, yes, I wish it wasn’t needed, but since I feel as though it is, I want the dang thing over with. The hardest thing for me, honestly, is not being as self-reliant as I like to be. Bleah. But it comes with the territory, I guess, and I know that it’s temporary. But WOW, I can’t wait to be better! I’ve got friends coming into town for a long-planned fun weekend this coming weekend. Fortunately, any night-on-the-town plans were able to be re-arranged so that I can lie prone on the couch while the festivities carry on! And it won’t involve the bridal gurney. (I really do have some great friends.)

I was perusing some local blogs the other day, wasting a little time, and I saw that someone else is referring to her special someone as Special K. I have to admit to having the juvenile reaction of “wait - *I* thought of that first!!”, but really, it’s just blogging, and not a big deal. I just found it odd, but I hardly have dibs on the name – I think Kellogg’s did that first.

Special K’s family has some health issues to contend with at the moment, so that, plus my surgery on Wednesday, has him dealing with more than he should have to deal with at the moment. (If you happen to see him, I think a supportive hug would be in order.) I think we’re going over to his parents’ place this afternoon, I’ll make some food since I can’t really do much else. (Standing to cook is okay. Sitting to eat the actual food, which I’ve done from time to time, is not the best idea, but it’s possible. And I’m getting sick of eating while lying down.)

Wedding plans are moving along, and I continue to be surprised at how quickly it’s all coming up! I mean, the date hasn’t changed, but every once in a while, I’ll look at a calendar, and think “GAH!!! Isn’t there more I should be stressing out over????”. But then the answer is usually “no”, and I return to a more rational frame of mind. I’m sure it’s possible that we will forget something important. But…well, it will be fine, I’m quite sure we’ll survive. As long as we actually get married, that’s kind of the main point. And it will be nice if people have food to eat as well. And we have pictures. And music.

Okay, I’m doing it again.

And now – lots of work to do, work that I haven’t been getting to in the past week that must be due by the end of the day on Monday, or I’ll be leaving a co-worker in a jam, which I don’t want to do, clearly. So, off to examine the socioeconomic impacts of…something. (Trying to avoid work-related details, after all. Well, now I am.)