i was on a short hiatus simply due to lack of time. my days are spent checking mom’s blood sugars, administering meds, changing lancets, cleaning wounds, and recording any changes. she is doing fairly well so far. she hit a roadblock with her pain medication, but upon seeing the surgeon on wednesday, things have gotten better. she just hasn’t had the strength to do a lot lately; even the simplest tasks become exhausting rather quickly. especially when, on our ride home from her appointment (about 70 miles from home), the following took place:

driving down the road. *speedometer drops to zero*
“uh oh, mom.. my speedometer stopped working!
i don’t know how fast we’re going!”
mom gets out the tom-tom, which tells us
my speed. “you’re going about sixty.”
“then why am i at 2500RPM?!” *car starts chugging*
we pull over. “better call dad,” mom says. we call.
and call. and call. finally we reach him.
he must’ve been outside or something. “dad, my car!
something’s wrong with the car!” (i’ve had my car for six
years now. this has never happened before)
“what’s going on?” he asks.
i explain the situation. i tell him the nearest
mile marker, and push my luck just a bit
farther to get off of the highway where
semis were speeding past us,
and onto a side road. a tow truck is on the way.
about 2 and a half hours later, mom and i
finally make it back to town, thanks to adam,
the awesome tow-man.

the next day, it turns out my speed sensor went out.
which tells my transmission when to shift.
(we thought it may have been the transmission
itself going bad, which would’ve meant $$$.)
i thank my lucky stars that instead,
it was just a small part.

in the words of my boyfriend, “my dodge dodged a bullet!”

however, this happened at a really awful time. dad has been off of work to help take care of mom, and i have been jobless since the recession. money has been tight, so thank goodness it wasn’t my transmission, but still. i can’t help but feel.. helpless. i want to pay my own bills. but living in an extremely small town, where lay-offs are happening everywhere, makes it next to impossible. le sigh.

i’m keeping my chin up. there is a light at the end of this tunnel, at the end of this wonderful road to recovery.
it’s been quite an experience so far, that’s for sure.

one of my favorite blogs is doing a giveaway!

pixies and bears is a crafty blog featuring the wonderful adventures
of lindsay. right now she is giving away adorable pieces of art from
RVA. check out her site for more info! (& wish me luck! tehee. :] )

mom is home. while i’d like to say it’s all back to normal
from here, it isn’t. i’ve turned into her very own nursing assistant.
i’m certainly not complaining; i love her, and i will do
anything for her. but i can’t wait until things get even better.
the photo to the right is a pillow she received from the
hospital. they draw on it to show you what the surgeon actually did.

this experience has had its rough moments, but some positive came out of it:

i have now..

• rediscovered my carrie underwood cd. and fergie, too.
• mastered my cruise control.
  (140 miles round-trip x 8 days = lots of driving on cruise)
• discovered my speedometer is off by approximately 3 mph.
• decided free wireless = awesomesauce.
• met up with a friend from elementary school i hadn’t seen in years.
• met up with another friend, from high school,
  who just had a baby girl. (see photo)
• found out i have amazing family & friends. i am so thankful.
• sent and received lots of mail. <3
• become more independent as i am now responsible
  for new things: grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions,
  making phone calls, etc.
• taught marley how to “high five!”

so there you have it, folks. with every life lesson, there is the good and the bad,
and thankfully in this case, everything is good.

*some hearts by carrie underwood

]]> http://dani1ynn.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/some-hearts/feed/ 0 Dani heart flowers menpaige leaningpine sig http://dani1ynn.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/lazy-day/ http://dani1ynn.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/lazy-day/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:42:38 +0000 Dani http://dani1ynn.wordpress.com/?p=219 ]]> things should be (somewhat) normal come tomorrow.
until then, here are a couple of photos.

i caught ginger relaxing on buzz’s tank.
she knows she’s not supposed to be up there,
but i couldn’t help but snap a photo of her in this pose! :)
(& you can really see the heart-shaped spot
on her tummy that i adore!)

marley loves these rawhide rolls.
she has about 3 different ones in 3 different
stages of “chewed” around the house:
somewhat new, pretty-chewed-up, and
completely destroyed.
but at least she has beautiful,
strong teeth!

country omelette (& sour cream!) with pancakes.. delicious!

mom went into surgery at about 11AM this morning. it didn’t take long, and she was out (around 2PM). everything went smoothly; however,they ended up doing a quintuple (5) bypass instead of quadruple. even so, the doctor said everything is looking good so far.

while waiting for her to settle into the ICU, i went and ate breakfast at ihop. dad stayed in the waiting room.
it was a good breakfast, but i was lonely. i really wanted my mom. :(

anyway, i’m home for the night (to sleep in my own bed!).. hopefully i sleep well.

thanks again, everyone. i know i say it a LOT, but i want you to know how much i appreciate your support.

sorry my blog has been so melancholy lately; it’ll perk back up soon, i promise!

she’s on a strict clear-liquid diet, though i couldn’t help but sneak her just a bite of sugar-free chocolate. she was craving it so bad.

leslie the lemur, here to keep me company!

dad and i will be staying out of town for the night. i think i’ll sleep in mom’s room (i’m blogging while next to her IV machine.. it purrs like a kitten..), but i’m not sure yet. dad got a hotel room, but the way he snores.. i’d much rather sleep here. ;)

while on her walk, mom and i stopped in and gave a little girl down the hall a balloon and stuffed bunny. she’s about 3 years old, and resembles “lilo” from lilo and stitch. mom originally met her while walking yesterday. we’re not sure why she’s here (& didn’t push the subject), but thought we’d brighten her day. she gladly bounced the balloon up and down, and giggled. the bunny was a big hit as well. you know how i am with gift-giving.. lol!

just thought i’d share some photos from the day; things are going well so far, and i hope it continues.. (the prayers/good juju/thoughts are working!) thanks again, everyone. i’m looking forward to having something else to blog about soon, as you can imagine..

i can’t complain; i don’t really mind laundry, and it doesn’t take much to load the dishwasher.
but it feels.. strange. this is the first day we didn’t drive the 70 miles (one-way) to visit mom since wednesday. dad went ice fishing, and i did laundry all day while taking breaks to play on facebook and edit a couple photos.

i’m keeping my chin up. i’m just getting pretty run down. whew.

anyway, here’s a little something to make you smile: evening massage from Danielle Lynn on Vimeo

marley likes to pick on ginger, and i swear she does it for the “face massage”, as ginger doesn’t have claws. marley never tries to hurt her, so i let them play. sorry for the poor quality; it was taken on my cell phone.

enjoy! :)

dyshidrosis: a skin condition in which small, fluid-filled blisters (vesicles) occur on the palms of your hands or the soles of your feet, or both.
symptoms include small itchy bumps that progress into a rash,  intense itch, pain, and cracks or grooves in the skin. i knew i hit the nail on the head when i discovered these risk factors:

• being female, because women appear to have a higher incidence of dyshidrosis (my mom has it as well)
• stress, because dyshidrosis appears to be more common during times of stress (go figure..)
• having seasonal allergies, such as hay fever (they always appear around the same time each year)
• frequently exposing your skin to water or other wet substances (my hands sweat when i’m stressed/anxious)

these spots are terribly uncomfortable, especially when typing/playing video games/crocheting. and these are my top three hobbies, so it’s upsetting when it hurts to do such things! :( the symptoms usually last about 3 weeks. i get them most frequently around my pinky fingernail and on the tips of my thumb and index finger. once they come to the surface, there is a circle of dry skin. it’s really strange.

so hopefully when i see the doctor next, i can have them give me some kind of topical treatment to help. it’s miserable!

in other news, mom is doing okay so far. she’s scheduled to have quadruple bypass surgery on monday morning. she is in excellent hands (the best cardiovascular hospital in the area), so i’m optimistic. but she’s 70 miles away and i miss her. thank you, everyone, for your prayers/thoughts.. words cannot express how much it means to me.

this is a very difficult situation for me to be dealing with at this time in my life – my parents are not the “typical” age;  mom will be 50 in august and dad will be 64 in june. i lost my grandmother in 2003; she was 83 years old. i’ve dealt with a lot of death/illness in my life (especially due to my mom’s line of work; she’s in the home health care field), but never someone this close to me.

please continue to keep me and my family in your thoughts/prayers. thank you. ♥

crackers, pepsi, newspapers, laptop

it’s funny how much i’m like her; i love to read and surf the web, too. although pepsi gives me fizz burps. haha!

my day hasn’t even gotten started yet, but i’m staying optimistic.

i have a (IRL!) friend that started blogging, and i’m looking forward to helping her learn to use wordpress. it’s such a fun hobby! :)

more updates later, i’m sure..

we’re still trying to find a toy she can’t completely destroy. since she’s a puppy, she shreds nearly everything. as you can see, mr. leopard here is already missing his left ear. poor guy, he never saw it coming..

my experience (with a large breed) so far includes:

1. for chewing: stick to thick rubber with no edges to chew, such as a kong or rubber bone.

2. stuffed parts/animals = big no-no. stuffing will be everywhere. (see leo above)

3. tug/toss/retrieve: fleece may be good for dental hygiene, but it is destroyed very quickly. thick rope works best.

some of marley’s personal favorites include: rubber squirrel, tennis ball, and rope.

(all photos are from here)

isn’t he cute?! and the flowers smell wonderful. thank you, j!
(i gave him an “achievement unlocked: red ring of death” t-shirt from thinkgeek)

i also got a box of chocolates from my dad. it is mainly being consumed by him and my mom, while i bite cautiously and put the yucky ones back in the box until i find one i like. hehe..

several of my friends are having babies.. so i’ve been browsing etsy a lot lately, swooning over minky blankets and customized bibs. i found one that i absolutely fell in love with and have placed my order.. i can’t wait to receive it, and possibly review it! :) my buying experience has been great so far.

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend; please comment with any suggestions/complaints/requests!