Post Surgery Update

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Hair-Raising Day....

Yes, I got my hair done. No, I'm not doing the happy dance quite so much anymore. May I just say that I miss my friend Candy who used to do my hair? I mean I really, really, miss her! That said, I guess it's not horrible. It's just a bit more "hip" than I am. It's not so much "frosted" as it is streaked. It looked pretty good when it was wet, but once she dried it, it became a LOT more platinum and a LOT more stripey than I really like it.

And the cut is just weird. The idea was to trim off about 3 inches and then add some long layers to frame my face and give me some more options when I wear it up... The reality is that there is a distinct line across my hair separating the longer section from the shorter section...sigh.

On the brighter side, the man likes it. When I told him that I hated it, he said, "I think it looks good. It looks, you know, kinda like the way they do it now. I actually like it...a lot. It's kinda s*xy." And THAT ladies is why I married that man....well, that and the fact that he makes pretty babies and has great legs!

As for the continuing saga of my kidney surgery...yes, we're having it as planned, however, two different people wimped out and cancelled theirs, so mine got moved up and I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 IN THE MORNING!!! Have I mentioned that I'm not exactly a morning-type of person? Well, I'm not. And all I've got to say is that they are very lucky that they will be providing me with an hour or so of deep uninterupted sleep, or I would totally rebel! Yes, I am looking forward to the sleep. I am not looking forward to when they will forcibly wake me from said sleep and make me go home. You would think they would take pity on the poor mother of 4 kids and let her get a little extra sleep in! Then again, they charge by the half-hour, so I guess it's a good thing that they will wake me up and force me out!

One thing you can all pray for (besides the obvious-a successful outcome to the surgery) is that the payment will go through in the morning. Today, the insurance company was having issues with their computers and the payment wouldn't go through even though I have the money in my account there. If it doesn't go through tomorrow morning at 6:00am, I will have to find another method of payment BEFORE I can have my surgery. I don't know about you, but I don't keep $1200+ dollars in my purse...or in my bank account for that matter! So, I'd appreciate any prayers that it will all work out in the morning as planned.

Now, I need to get to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow before I go in, and I'm in too much pain to do any of it now, so I'll crash for now and get up early in the morning to get stuff done before I go. And hopefully I'll be feeling a whole lot better and be relatively pain free in a day or two. :)

I don't know if I'll be back to update tomorrow or not, and I don't know if the place we are going for the weekend will have internet access or not, but I'll update as soon as I possibly can to make sure you all know how the surgery went and, of course, to post a picture of my hair...such as it is!

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig...

Well, we made it home while it was still technically yesterday. :) We were just having so much fun that it was hard to leave!

On the kidney surgery front, you may be interested to know that once I got home, I tried to call the various employees of the various hospitals/doctor's offices, etc. that called ME a bazillion times at least 3 times a day while I was gone, to try to get me to pay my bill, because, you know, they need to make sure they get their money before I go under...just in case. Anyway, I called twice to pay those bills, since I don't want anyone who might be holding a knife to be angry with me, :) but all I got was put on hold and then hung up on...I guess they don't need that money so much after all... AND I still haven't heard the radiologist's report on the whole matter. I think tomorrow I'll call and make sure we're actually going through with the surgery, and then I'll try to pay for it.

Now, I have a little personal business to take care of if you don't mind...I have been checking my sitemeter, mapstats, etc. over the past few days to see who is visiting me here in bloggy land, 'cause the site meter says that I get about 20-30 people a day, and yet I have only 1 or 2 comments......ahem! So, I was just checking on all you lurkers out there, and I discovered that someone from East Grand Forks, Minn. has been here recently....now honestly, that has to be a relative of mine. Who else in East Grand Forks would read this thing? SOOOOO, someone needs to own up and leave a comment to let me know you're here, because seriously, the curiosity is getting the best of me...and you KNOW what happened to that cat!!!

Now, sadly, that's about all I have to say...how sad is that? I didn't make any cakes today. I didn't take any pictures of the kids being cute today. And nothing remotely amusing happened around here today. Sigh. I think I'm going to give it up for tonight and go to bed. I am finally getting my hair cut and highlighted tomorrow... *doing the happy dance*... and I fully intend to update my profile picture with my newly highlighted do as soon as possible. Maybe I'll even put on my chef's coat for the picture and be all professional about it...LOL!

So, tomorrow promises to be a little better, blog-fodder-wise...and who knows, I might just get ahold of someone from the surgery center who wants to take my money! I'll be sure and let you know about that when it happens!

In the meantime, keep praying for Kelli, and Heather, and Baby Ethan. They are all still in the middle of their battles. And as always, thanks for stopping by...

Weekend Wind Up

Well, it's time for the Weekend Wind-Up even though since it's a holiday, the weekend is not technically over...

The graduation party went well for the boys. My sister-in-law gathered a bunch of pictures of them growing up, and I made a photo slide show of them with Wayne Watson's "Watercolour Ponies" playing in the background. It made me cry and they aren't even MY kids! I'd upload it for you, but I don't think my sister-in-law is too keen on the idea of putting her babies out there for strangers to look at! LOL!

And then there was, of course, CAKE!



It was a combination of chocolate layers and white/vanilla layers. YUM! And, yes, the cap on the top is made of cake, (the mortar board is cardboard covered in fondant) but that is a real tassel off of one of the boys' graduation caps. It was sooo hard for me to decorate a cake in Aggie colors, being the devout Longhorn fan that I am, but alas, those were their high school colors, so I bit the bullet and did it...sigh.

That was about it for the weekend...graduation and cake!

Although, my boy, Dario Franchitti did WIN THE INDIANAPOLIS 500!!! I was soooo excited about that! And sad that my other boy, Jeff Gordon, got wrecked in the Coca-Cola 600 later that evening...although Kyle Petty finished 3rd and if any of you follow NASCAR, you know how funny that truly is...and it made me VERY happy! I like Kyle. I can't remember the last time he finished in the top twenty, so every week, while I'm hoping Jeff wins the race, I'm quietly cheering on Kyle, hoping he breaks out of the 30's...I was tickled pink to see him finish THIRD last night!!!

And we aren't even going to discuss my Spurs...they let me down, and little Dave was even wearing his Spurs suit...they've never lost before when he wore his Spurs suit...I'm so very disappointed. (Even though he just got it, and had only worn it once before....still, we were on a roll. LOL!) I haven't even heard how my Astros did over the weekend...I know they lost at least once...sigh. So, if it weren't for Dario, it would be a sad weekend for me, sports-wise. Oh well, hopefully this week will be MUCH better all around!

So, today we head back home. I'll start tackling the house and trying to get things washed, and packed for our trip next weekend, as well as cleaning and scrubbing as much of the house as I can before my surgery...which I am assuming is "a go" since I've had multiple phone calls from the various doctors, surgical centers, etc. calling to get me to pay for it all ahead of time....you know, just in case I don't make it through the surgery...at least they'll have their money!!! As you may recall, we were supposed to be waiting on the final report from the radiologist as to whether or not the surgery was going to do me any good...and of course, that is the one person I haven't heard from yet! Sigh...

So, the next time I talk to you all, I'll be back home...on my own couch...sipping my own Diet Coke...ahh, bliss....

Everyone have a GREAT Memorial Day, and remember to pray for all the families who are mourning the loss of their soldiers today. Freedom, isn't free, is it?

A Few Quick Pics for You

Hello Bloggy Friends! In case you haven't figured it out, I'm out of town this week. I am in the lovely town of Magnolia, TX (near Houston) celebrating the High School graduations of two of my nephews by...you guessed it....BAKING CAKES!!!

Before I left, I made this one for J's "End of the Season Soccer Team Party". Kids just love pictures of themselves on cake!



And the day that we left, I delivered these three bouquets to my friend Heather. They were for her kids' teachers on the last day of school.





And once I got here, I made THIS for my sister-in-law's father for his birthday. He is visiting from Indiana for the graduation, and he likes John Deere, so we made a green and yellow tractor cake!




Today, I have baked the 5 layers for the graduation party cake and they are all chillin' in the freezer. I have also cleaned up my mess in the kitchen, and am now headed upstairs to clean up my kids' mess before other family members start arriving for the graduation. (Why is it always easier to clean someone else's house? It seems like it should be easier to clean your own, but I'd MUCH rather clean someone else's house than my own!) LOL!!

Anyway, I'll be here for a few more days, but will post pictures of the graduation cake when it's all finished. And Lisa, I tried to answer your email...and some other newbies who sent comments, but while I am able to receive email here without any problem, I'm having difficulties with the sending of the email. So, if you haven't heard from me...THAT'S WHY!!! I'll catch up on all my comments when I get back home...

Thanks for stopping by.

Scan Results

Hello everyone. I know you are all on the edge of your seats wondering how my scan went...

Not as well as I had hoped. I was hoping to hear "Oh yes, there is a big, giant stone in each kidney, and we'll just go on it and take those out." Unfortunately, what I got was, "Well, with the naked eye, I can see that there are definitely stones in the kidneys, but we don't see anything large blocking the tubes. We'll have to wait for the radiologist to read the scan and let us know if there are some smaller ones in there or not." And then, when I asked about the calcifications on my kidneys, I got this, "Well, there are a lot. I'm not going to comment until we hear from the radiologist who will compare them to the last scan. He will be able to tell us if there has been any change. I just know there are A LOT of them."

So, I'm still waiting...he kept my surgery scheduled for next week pending the report from the radiologist. Really, if there are stones in the kidneys, I'd just as soon have them go on in and take them out before they try to pass and send me into a Vicodin eating frenzy. Also, if there isn't anything blocking the kidney flow, then we have to look elsewhere for the cause of the pain and other symptoms. I don't know if just having hardened kidneys would make them hurt or not. I do know that while all of my symptoms are common with stones, they are also common with chronic kidney failure. I'm obviously NOT in acute kidney failure right now, but chronic kidney failure means that I would be losing function a little at a time. That is also one of the possibilities with the kidney disease that I have. I had thought that with the medication and new diet, we had caught it in time. I guess we're going to find out whether or not that is true.

If the calcifications on my kidneys have increased, then we don't have things under control. I have another full kidney function test scheduled for the middle of June and that will tell us if my function has dropped off at all. In the meantime, I'm still just waiting. I'm still hurting, but it's more of just an aggravation at this point. It's been way worse many times before. The swelling goes down if I stay off my feet...HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But the numbness in my hands isn't as bad as it was, so that's a good thing.

Well, I'm off to get my very busy day started, and to drink some water! I'll update when I know more.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Big Shocker...

Well, I had planned to stop in here for just a minute to give you the weekend wind-up and let you know that I may be MIA for a day or two while I try to get way too much stuff done in a very small amount of time...but then, I signed on only to discover that this is my 100th post! Wow, that's a whole lot of writing for someone with nothing to say except that the house is a mess, and the kids are driving my crazy, but, hey, I baked a cake, look!

So, I thought I would commemorate this occasion by FINALLY posting those 7 random things about me that you are just dying to find out....oh, you are going to be sooo disappointed....

1. My first record purchase ever was "Billy Don't be a Hero" by Bo Donaldson on a, um, 45. And in the interest of full disclosure, I also bought David Soul's "Don't Give Up on Us Baby", also a 45.

2. I have a BA degree in Bible Theology.

3. I actually LOVE to clean...really, I'd be steam cleaning carpets and scrubbing floors on my hands and knees in a heartbeat...if I didn't have to pick up all the STUFF first! I love to clean stuff, I HATE to pick up stuff. I go from one activity or project to another, and tend to leave out the stuff from the first project to be dealt with later...eventually, the stuff takes control and I must stop all other activities to regain control. Once things are in control however, I tend to vacuum the living room at least once a day, and mop the kitchen EVERY time something gets on it, even if it is 3 times in one day! I know, I'm a total paradox, but I like cleaning things that aren't dirty. Once it gets dirty, it's so much more unpleasant, I tend to put it off until I'm in danger of losing the kids to Child Protective Services!

4. I own a DVD copy of Lisa Whelchel's first movie, "The Double McGuffin" AND a copy of her record album (this one is a 33 LP by the way).

5. I used to want to write and publish my own curriculum for Kindergarten thru Third Grade...now, I look for the curriculum with the least amount of teacher prep! Our current curriculum is on the computer, so it even grades it for me, and produces a report card all by itself!

6. I paid for my last 3 years of college tuition and room/board with a singing scholarship, and got to travel around the southeastern United States singing with the "Trinity Singers". We even got to sing on a 5 day cruise through the Caribbean the summer after my senior year.

7. You know how some people are starters, but not finishers, and some people are slow getting started, but finish well? I'm a middler. I hate to start anything. The thought of getting up and cutting out 3 dozen cookies later today is putting me in a funk...however, once I start something, I really enjoy doing it. Even dishes, and laundry. I'll be washing dishes, or folding laundry and think to myself, why did I put this off for so long? Or I'll be decorating a cake or cookies and wish I had nothing else to do all day. But then comes the finishing, doing the dishes AFTER baking the cookies, putting away the dishes after getting them washed, putting away all that clean and folded laundry...I HATE all of it. So, if I could find someone who would start my projects for me, and then come in and finish them up...well THAT would be a match made in heaven!

So there you have it, and if you haven't done this particular meme yet, consider yourself tagged, and be sure and leave me a comment, so I can come and check out your list!

And now, because I think some of you may revolt and not visit me again if I don't post the pictures of this weekend's cakes, I'll go ahead and do that now.

Here is little D with his birthday cake. I know, I know, it's way too plain. But really, we were in the middle of a baseball tournament, I had four other cakes to do, and this was just for his actual birthday with just his brothers and sisters. I make Thomas Cookies for his little party at the park on Saturday. Besides, he didn't give a flip about the cake. He just LOVED that little Thomas that actually rode around on that track on top of the cake. Believe me, it was the perfect cake for the little man!



And here are the roller skate with the rainbow wheels for a little girl's skating party, the diaper for a diapers only shower, and the cowboy hat for the little boy's western party (complete with horses in their backyard I might add). I forgot to take a picture of the back of the hat which had that twisted rope thing tied in a knot and hanging off the brim.





And now, if there are any men reading this...you will probably want to run, run from the computer, NOW! I will not be posting this cake on my regular website where people go to order my cakes, however, I knew you ladies would want to see it. This cake was made for a friend who was giving a "Coming Out Party" to another lady who was having a hysterectomy after years and years of problems. They wanted to lighten up the experience for her and give her some good memories of the whole thing to counter the pain and sorrow that will inevitably rear their ugly heads. So, I agreed to make the cake...and this is a first for me, but honestly, I had fun with this one! And the next time someone wants to know 7 random things about me, I can say, "Well, I once made a uterus cake, complete with ovaries!!!



And now, I really must be going. I have a very full week with a To Do List a mile long, and in exactly 2 hours, I'll be in a CT machine having my insides scanned to check my kidneys for blockages. If one is found, I will have surgery in a little less than two weeks to remove said blockage and have a stint put it for who knows how long...ugh. However, a blockage is really the best case scenario. If there is no blockage, then we must look elsewhere for the cause of this pain, swelling, numbness etc. Really, as much as I hate them, kidney stones would be the best thing.

Anyway, I'll be a bit scarce at least for today and tomorrow. (I'll do a quick post later when I know the results of the scan, just so you're not all wondering....I hate not knowing stuff, so I figure you do too!) But I'll be back on Wednesday or Thursday for sure with a list of all I'm sure I will have accomplished by then and pictures to prove it!

Thanks for stopping by, and yes, I'll take any prayers you choose to send up on my behalf. :)