! ! ! I Will Be School Bound ! ! !

Today I visited IBC (International Business College) and decided that it was the place for me to attend to get an Associate's Degree. This is a full time College therefore I will be a full time student again after many, many years. The plus of this College is that they give me the courses that I need and not the general education that I don't need. Therefore I can focus on my goal of Graphic Designer. Once I receive my Associate's they will help place me in a job and if ever needed down the road they will continue to help me if I need it.

Next Tuesday is orientation and a shortened class schedule. Then on Wednesday, I will begin as a full time student going 5 hours a day 5 days a week. After 16 months, however, I should have my Associate's Degree and opportunities in my new career as a Graphic Designer. We will be working on Mac's and not PC's so there is a class just for learning the Mac. Everything this College uses is up to date with the industry and it will help me one I am finished. Since it is a Business College it focuses on getting people into jobs which is what was one important factor for me.

Who would have ever thought that after 44 years I would be going back to school ? ? I know that I wouldn't have thought about it but here I go. I was asked today if I would feel intimidated by the young college students. Personally I don't think I will be. I am going for a specific reason, to do something different and to open up some doors that are currently closed. If they aren't ready for me then that is their loss as I intend to be there and get my Associate's Degree. Wish me luck ladies, I'll do my best to keep you all updated though.

Schooling Thoughts

It seems that our govenor has decided to help all of the RV employees that have been displaced because of all of the recent layoffs. That is a plus for those willing to take the extra step to improving their futures. So on Monday I will be getting a letter from my last job to take to the local WorkOne center to hopefully get approved to receive some training for another career. They are giving up to $6,000.00 per person for further training. There is a total of 3 million available and once it's gone it's gone. So the sooner I get to this the better my chances of getting it will be. I figured this was my chance to get an Associate Degree in either Graphic Design or Computer Programing. I am sort of hanging in the middle though Graphic Design holds a better interest for me. I have done my research and am ready though I am not quite sure if they will allow online training from a respectable school but I wouldn't see why not. So keep your fingers crossed everyone.

Finally Another Layout

Just a quickie little note here. Showing off one of my latest layouts of little Avriana. She spent the day with me on Friday so the camera was out again. Thought I should do something with at least one of the hundreds of photos I have.

Sharing. . . .

I had the opportunity to keep my sweet little granddaughter last Friday and Saturday. She is such a cutie patootie and of course you know I had all available cameras charged and waiting...LOL I haven't created a layout in I don't know how long but I do have plenty of photos that need scrapping. Right now I am working on moving a couple of rooms around in the house. With a bum leg it's taking a while but eventually I should have it completed. Today was errands so furniture movement was halted but I intend on working on it tomorrow along with cleaning out my truck since I washed it today.

Not sure if I mentioned it or not so I may be repeating myself. I got laid off from work and am currently in the market for another job. Maybe it's time for a career change, will have to see what comes my way. It's going to be tough since there have been massive layoff's in my area recently. Since this is the RV Capital you can imagine all the layoffs taking place. No one is buying them because of the economy and the fuel prices, therefore there is little work. We have had several companies close the doors in the past couple months and others laying off anywhere from 300 to 1,600 workers. Most of the jobs out there that pay anything close to what I was making require you to have either an Associates Degree or Batchelors Degree and I have neither. This is going to make it tough to find work along with all of the other people looking at the same time.

Now that I have blabbed enough bad new let’s get back to the sharing part of this post. I have some really cute pictures of Avriana that I wanted to share. Of course I had to take her shopping...LOL The first one was taken Friday night at the Car Show. She was so good and then finally decided to eat her foot. The second one was on Saturday and she was getting tired with all of the playing and was about ready for a nap.

I Know It's Been A While

I know it's been a while since I have been on here posting anything. Things are a bit off here at home but I am trying to get things back in line. Hopefully the next week or two will bring on something new and exciting or a life changing event will happen. One never knows until it smacks you right in the face I suppose. So for now just this simple note letting you all know I am not gone but working my way through life's trials and hoping to see the light at the end of this tunnel.

Back To Iraq

My DS left for Iraq on Thursday. Sure wish it had been home for good but I was just glad to get what time I could while he was here. At least this time he left his car here with us. The other car wasn't as lucky as he left it with buddies and let's just say...they need oil in order to continue running :( I found a nice looking Jaguar for him while he was home and he went over and looked at it and ended up buying it. It's an awesome looking car too. A beautiful red with some sparkles in the paint. I canceled my therapy on Thursday so I could see him before he left.

I have also had to quit taking any pain pills. The percocet has caused me some issues that I need to relay to the doctor. Blood in my stool at least once a week if I take them. I have had some severe stomach pains for the past 3 days since my last dose. I wouldn't have taken that dose had the therapist not made my leg hurt so badly. So right now I am staying away from any pain medications until the DR can tell me what to do. As I write this, it is after 2 am and the pain is terrible. The blood in my stool only lasts for the first movement after taking the pain pills so I assume it is related. I am afraid to take anything for the pain though as I am afraid it will cause more trouble than good. Maybe I should call the hospital and they could suggest something for me. I have tried calling the doctor that prescribed them but I usually end up with the answering machine for the nurse. That really aggrivates me since I explain to the person I first talk to that I am having issues.

I suppose that is enough whining for now. I need to see if I can ease the pain without causing further problems. Have a great weekend.

Nice Sunny Skies

Today was extremely beautiful. It did manage to warm up a bit later in the afternoon but it wasn't terriblly bad. Therapy today instead of tomorrow and let me just say this..."OUCH!!" I think I mentioned that my therapist said I have some tendinitis below the knee. I researched it a bit tonight and..well...there are mixed "How to treat" exercise...no exercise...heat..ice...surgery..OMG though I did find where it said the quad being weak can cause this and this is part of my problem right now. A weak quad that only cooperates when it wants to. Well...that tendinitis pain is only part of it, and today he managed to bring out the pain. You see, I can't straighten out the knee all of the way and the tendinitis prevents a lot of the bending as well.

So today he gets next to me after I finished my leg lifts and presses DOWN on my knee. This hurt extremely bad and I know he was just trying to loosen up the muscles but "OUCH". I did remind him that my other leg didn't hurt, was free, and he had his head right over it...LOL He said just relax, well that was easy until he would press down and of course I would tense up because it hurt so badly. This was the first time since I started therapy that my leg continued to hurt hours afterwards. Actually, as I write this at 11:30 pm it is still hurting. I wonder how he will sleep tonight...probably better than I will. Enough for now as I need some rest.

The Birthday Boy

Here is a layout I have tried to complete for 2 days now. This time my program behaved itself and I got it finished. Not quite what I started with as the first one I had made everything for the layout. Maybe it was better this way as I really like how it turned out this time. This was one of the many photos I took at Riley's 2nd birthday party. He's such a little doll :) Now I am off to bed for the night.

Therapy....and Layouts.....hmmm...LOL...

Another day of therapy has come and gone. Seems my poor leg is giving me fits, so what else is new? Seems I now have tendinitis in my leg below the knee. The tendonitis caused me yet another sleepless night and then tells me quickly when I am moving it incorrectly. No more increasing the exercises or adding any new ones until the pain goes away in the tendon either. Let me tell you, it really hurts to say the least. I hope it doesn't delay my progress much though.

I am now at a 90 degree bend which is good since the last measurement he took last week was only 59 degrees. Straightening the leg completely is still an issue but my therapist said it will come in time. Who would have thought that something we take for granted would be so difficult to accomplish ? There seems to be pain for me in either direction, bending or straightening. My hope is for it to go away and the sooner the better. As for the swelling, I asked about it today and how long he thinks it will continue to swell. Well...I didn't expect his answer at all. He said it could be as long as 6 months before the swelling is gone and here I thought 3 weeks worth of it was a long time.

My DS stopped over for a few minutes today. He's so busy while he is home and I'll grab every second I can get. The days are getting shorter for his departure too which I am not ready for but know it's inevitable.

I have managed a couple more layouts. I have tons of pictures to use I just need more computer time. This first one is of my sweet great nephew Brandon. He was looking out the patio door and wanting to go outside and play with everyone else.

This one is of my niece Emily and her son and my great nephew Julian. Boy do they grow fast and right before your eyes. He's gotten so big since I saw him the last time. At least he was awake for pictures this time...LOL

Finally . . . I Did A Couple Of Layouts

Just a quickie post to show you 2 layouts I finally had the chance to do. Though it took several sittings I did manage 2 layouts today.

What A Fun Day . . . . .

I had a really fun day today, though tiring it was so worth every minute of it. My son and I went to Kokomo for my Great Nephew's 2nd birthday. So fun being 2 :) We spent the entire day down there with everyone and didn't arrive home until midnight. My leg is thumping but I will survive. I had so much fun and it was a much needed break from looking at my own house for so long. Not too much to post because I believe I am heading to bed now and going to get this knee some much needed rest.

My Boy Is Finally Home . . . .

CJ arrived home today around 4:30 pm. I was so very happy to see him again. To see he was ok in person and to hug him again. Of course pictures are always on the agenda here at my house and within minutes the camera was doing it's job again. He really looks good too and doesn't seem any worse for wear right now. His girlfriend Erica brought him from the airport since I had doctor appointments and therapy today.

Doesn't he look great here ? I think so :) It will sure be nice to have him home for a while. They went out for dinner and he said he will be back over tomorrow and sleep on the sofa if I didn't mind. How could I mind....I love it that he's home even if it is just for a little while.

On another note...though the first one was the best news of the day. I had therapy today and then the visit to the doctor. I am finally out of the straight leg brace I have been wearing for 2 weeks now. That makes me extremely happy because it had been causing me some terrible pain this week. The doctor said I didn't need a brace at all as long as my therapist thought it was a good idea. Well my therapist agreed with me today, hoping I could get out of that stupid brace. I did however decide I still needed some support because it just felt better when walking if I had some. So I am wearing a hinged knee brace right now. The doctor told me the other brace was basically because my leg muscle needed the help and not the knee since everything he did to the knee is good to go.

With my knee having limited mobility right now this brace seems to help me walk much better and steadier. I still don't have pain free or complete bendability yet and straightening it completely out is painful. It is however coming along much better than the first time I had therapy. Unfortunately my therapist did say we might need to get a bit more aggressive since the muscle just above the knee is sore and hard when I bend and causes some pain. I did come off the table, or as my therapist said "Did a wheely", with some of his help in the bending today. So for now it looks like at the least, 2 more weeks off of work and we will go from there.

Getting under the desk is a bit easier now but still painful so computer time looks to still be limited time. I will be so glad when the knee gets as back to normal again, or as close to normal as possibble. I will be looking at some arthritis later in life because of the damage he found on my bones that he smoothed out while in there. I suppose it is just something that is inevitable and he did say it would have been worse had he not smoothed it or found it so that seems to be a big plus.

Surgery Update . . .

Thanks so much for thinking of me everyone. I just actually thought I would try to get under my desk. I can see this will be a short lived experience until I can lose this leg brace. Doesn't feel real good but thought an update was needed.

Surgery went well and wasn't as long as expected which is good. He did the reconstruction of my ACL and the cartilage turned out to be in good shape so there was no need to repair it. I did however have a chipped bone which he fixed and smoothed out. The doctor took pictures and showed them to my DH while I was in recovery. I do have a few questions about the photos so they will be venturing to the doctor with me. The after surgery care instructions are a bit muttled but I intend to clear that up as well when I see the doctor on the 1st. I start physical therapy on Wednesday though I have to remain in this brace until my appointment with the doctor. I think a bunch of the pain comes from the leg being held straight with no bending.

The pain has been horrendous but manageable. The entire leg has been in pain since the surgery but it is getting better. Missing a pain medication dose on accident, I found, was a very bad idea. The incisions do look good though and that is a good sign. Though they really aren't incisions but I have been glued back together. Wonder if he scraps ??? There is still some swelling but no infection that I can see. I have some numbness around and below the knee but I am hoping that will go away soon. I just started using my cane today and put the crutches off to the side for the final time I hope. Not sure I am ready for therapy as I have heard some bad things about it. I did tell my DH I was not afraid to smack a man if needed. That meaning I refuse to let them put me in too much pain as I have had enough of that for a while.

That is about all I can stand for now. Not sure when I will be back on to post but I will be back when I can stand it under my desk.

Just Have To Share

The grandkids came over Sunday with their mother to share father's day with their Grandfather/Dad. It was so much fun to share some time with them all. Miranda baked a cake and some yummy italian dish. Tristan played with Grandpa and they took turns in the recliner. You know...Move your feet lose your seat. It was so funny, Tristan was trying to lure his grandpa out of the chair so he could steal it.

Avri is getting so big and of course cuter by the minute. Grandpa got her first since I was busy with the camera. She just loves him to death and talks to him when he talks to her. He even had her laughing and I managed a few good photos.

You see Avriana is sitting with Mommy on the left and looks tired. This was just after they arrived and just before Grandpa got to hold her. On the right she is laughing at her Grandpa because he said something funny.

This picture of Tristan is after one of the recliner battles.

He needed to get a drink to continue.

Grandpa has the right words to make you laugh it seems.

She is talking to him here and this is just before he had her laughing.

I think I am ready

They called me today to give me my surgery time. I will need to be at the hospital by 6 am and surgery will be at 7:30 am. If all goes right I should be home by noon. I am ready to get on with the healing but I am always amprehensive about surgery. The thought of everything I suppose always weighs heavy on me for some reason. I know it will be alright, I just need to get past the first few steps.

I think I will try to do a layout tonight. It will be the last one for a while as I won't be able to get to my computer. Sure hope they get something better on the tv's during the day. I suppose I could record some more shows at night to have something during the day to watch.

Only Two More Days

Two more days until my surgery, well tomorrow then in the am on Wednesday. I suppose I am ready but still a bit nervous just the same. I did a bit of research today on the ACL. This site here explains it pretty well. Anterior cruciate ligament repair It's interesting to know that women are 2 - 8 times more likely to have an ACL tear than men because of how we are made. Go figure. I can't remember what he called the other tear, I just know it's the cartilage in my knee. Wonder if he will need to do that first and then the ACL ? Supposed to ba about 2 hours for the surgery, 1 hour in recovery and then 1 more hour in a room. Then if all goes well I will be home. I don't know how long it will be before I can get on the computer again and I have loaned out my laptop for a bit. So I suppose it will be a lot of movies and HGTV shows along with of course TrueTV (CourtTV). The cabin fever will set in again I am sure of it as it's right on the edge now.

One More Layout Finished

Since I couldn't sleep I did a layout for the sketch challenge I posted at SAF. Just thought I would share it with all of you. Now off I go to try to get some rest through the pain. I hear the weather warning going off. Looks like we are in for some more storms today. High winds up to 60 mile per hour with hail and heavy rain.

Another Sleepless Night

I am so hoping that this upcoming surgery will help the pain go away eventually. I have been in pain since May 26th and to tell you the truth I have had enough. So here I sit with another sleepless night because the pain won't go away. I have taken my pain pill and am still waiting for relief. I think it became more pronounced once all of the swelling went away. At least that is when I began noticing it more.

Since I am up, I wonder if I can manage a layout or two. I just posted a couple more challenges trying to get SAF moving a little bit. The ladies aren't very chatty yet. I sure miss seeing all the wonderful layouts everyone is doing too. Hmmm...I wonder though, if they aren't where I am and not being very creative lately.

OK so I am off now to try to do a layout. OH and I have a flier that needs to be made for a friend again this year. Should do that as well since it has a date on it...LOL

Surgery Date...Guess I forgot that last night

Well, they have me scheduled for the 18th in the early morning. I will need to arrive 1 1/2 hours before the scheduled time though. I am so ready to start getting better, so tired of all the pain. The surgery should take roughly 2 hours then 1 hour in recovery and then another hour in a room. They want to make sure I am ok before allowing me to go home. I will be taking my crutches and some shorts along. The doctor said I will be wearing a brace when I leave so I need something that can go over that.

I went for all of the pre-op stuff today. Blood work, urine tests and X-rays. They want to make sure I am good to go before hand. That is a good thing for sure. I am not supposed to shave 2 days before surgery either because they don't want any open wounds at all. An open wound would cancel out the surgery so we don't want that because I want to get better and right now I think I am just living with the pain and not really healing.

I took the brace I have been wearing off for some breathing time tonight. I just started wearing it since it popped for the third time last week. Well, now my leg is killing me again and I know it's because it doesn't have that support of the brace. I also noticed that since the swelling has gone down, the pain is more intense than it had been. Probably because I can actually feel the tears.

I thought I would start doing an altered book today. I found a couple of those children's cardboard books on clearance at the dollar store today. I think they will be perfect for what I want to do. It's going to basically be just an art inspiration book. Is that it or would it just be a book of my creativity. At any rate you will be able to see them at Scrapbooking Among Friends as I will be posting them there when I am finished. I do have the books posted there now as the before pictures. I will be working on them tomorrow since I don't have any appointments I need to go to for a change.

Here's To Some Healing Finally...

Finally some really nice weather for a change. The sun was shining all day and the humidity was gone for a change. It was so nice to be able to go outside and be able to breath at the same time.

There have been a few things going on since I last posted so maybe I should update everyone. I know I have been slacking but I have also been sick and still hobbling around the house. I did finally manage another layout.

CJ should be coming home on June 29th for a short leave until July 19th. I am so excited and it will be so good to see him again. Too bad it won't be home for good but I will take what I can get. He said he wasn't going to tell me because he wanted to surprise me but he said he was so excited he had to tell me...LOL

I went for my MRI on the 5th. That is truly an adventure for someone who has never had one before. It would be wise to try and get it scheduled for when you "AREN'T" sick though. I did manage to only have her pause it one time because of my coughing fit. So glad I took some cold medicine before I left for my appointment. It took about 50 minutes to scan my knee but she did give me some music to listen to during the process.

Today I had a doctor's appointment to go over my MRI's. We had all figured that surgery would indeed be needed. Well, we were right according to the MRI's. The cartilage is indeed torn around my knee. There was another tear that wasn't expected though. Looks like my ACL is also in need of some repair. This took a 3 week recovery to 6 weeks. The way I look at it though, as long as this will make it better that is all that matters. I am so ready to try and get back to normal.

I truly LOVE my Dear Husband and everything he has and is doing for me. There is a part of me that is ready to be able to do things other than sit on the sofa or for my limited times on the computer. WOW...I am so very lucky to have such a wonderful man in my life. It's moments like this that make me realize just how lucky I truly am.

Rainy Days

Looks like we are in for several of them according to the weather man. At least a week he said. Sure hope he's wrong but so far it looks like he's not wrong.

Wrenched the knee yesterday while walking in the kitchen. Not good and had me in tears again. So I am sporting a brand new knee brace to help support it. Better than it going out for a third time. Good thing we had already gotten the braces. It sure made a difference in sleeping. Well when I got to sleep that is. If I could lose this cold I would be good to go.

I did get to speak to my son Sunday night. Sure is nice being able to chat with him through yahoo. Seems the heat didn't do his laptop any good either. It is useless now, well unitl he get's a new video card and motherboard that is. He said he did get a regular computer so hopefully this one will hold up in the 110 degree temps over there. I can hardly believe he turned 21 on the 2nd.

Finally managed a couple of layouts. I haven't been doing many lately but I had been on my laptop and not many pictures on there to work with. Then little Avrianna came visiting with her Mommy yesterday and of course I had to get some more scrapping pictures. You do know a grandmother can never have too many of those. Will have to see if I can come up with another layout or two from some of these pictures.

A Beautiful Day Today

Good evening everyone. I know it's been a bit since I last posted. I suppose I am slacking just a little bit. The weather is beautiful today and finally over 70 degrees.

I had my doctors appointment this morning. It was at 9:30 but I didn't get in until 10:00 and didn't see the doctor until 10:30. I am scheduled for an MRI on the 5th. He feels 85% certain that surgery is needed. Then on the 10th I will be seeing him again for the results and if needed to schedule surgery. I am off work until then and just hobbling around the house.

I wanted to clean up my office and take some stuff upstairs but my DH said I don't think so. You don't need to be attempting those steps. I suppose he is right but let's keep that to ourselves. lol

What a Wonderful Night....

I just have to say that today's technology is certainly fabulous. It is because of it that I was able to chat with and see my Dear Son who is currently serving his tour in Iraq. It was so nice to see him, even if he was being a goof at times...LOL...LOL I wouldn't have it any other way though. We all miss him so much and only want a safe return home for him.

The leg is about the same as it was yesterday. Though I am down to only 1 crutch because a little weight doesn't hurt it though it feels strange. Bending is still a major issue and causes much pain. I have learned how to move it while sleeping without causing pain. The only way is to use my other leg under it because I am not able to move it without help. Well I can move it but the pain is so bad I prefer not to if you know what I mean.

I supposed that is about it fo today. I really need to rest my leg some more. Sitting up is bothering it right now. Have a wonderful evening and morning all.

The Sun Is Out

The weather is pretty good here today. Too bad I can't move around much to enjoy it all. The yard looks good and green though.

I had a visit with the orthopedic doctor today. He thinks that I have torn the cartlidge in my knee. I am off work for 10 days, until I see him again. He thinks he might have to have surgery on it but we shall wait and see. He said it's too early to tell because of the swelling and pain. No brace but the crutches stay for a while.

Teresa and I have begun a new adventure. A new scrap site called Among *Friends* with a link at the top of my blog or click the name here in this post. I would love to see some of you there. We don't have a gallery right now. Maybe in the future we can get one. I am still working on that. For now you can post to photo bucket or a simular site for photo storage.

OH What A Start To The Weekend....

Today finally turned out to be a fairly nice day. I was surprised because it was so cold this morning. The wind finally died down a little bit and the sun showed me it's pretty little head. We finished our work week early this morning and headed for home around 10:30 am. That makes for a nice day and makes it almost feel like a long weekend.

On our way home I stopped at the local garden center for some flowers to plant in my tree stump. I also bought some more soil for potting and a plant for the front porch. We also picked up some tomato plants, red for Melvin and a couple of yellow for me. I went out and fed the boys around 3 pm. They truly are rotten Momma's boys, though I don't mind it one bit. I brought home the empty feed bags, 4 of them stuffed with other bags, and tied together so they wouldn't blow out of my truck.

At about 5:30 Melvin and I decided to go out to eat some dinner. I changed out of my work clothes and into something clean while Melvin was getting ready. I remembered those feed bags in my truck so I headed out to toss them out. I climbed up on my rear tire and tossed them behind me to the ground. I bet they don't weigh 10 pounds total for all 4 of them, so it made tossing easy peasy.

I started to bring myself back down off the tire, pulled my right leg towards the ground, and poof...My left knee popped and gave way and down to the ground I went with a thud. I did land on those bags so the sudden stop wasn't too bad. That was the best part of it all though. I couldn't move my left leg and bending it was out of the question. I would have almost sworn I had broken it, just because of the shear pain and lack of movement I had in it.

I yelled for Melvin probably 4 or 5 times but he couldn't hear me. The neighbor's dog Ike was throwing a fit by now because I did something I normally don't do. Gunner was in a state of panic, running about in his little fenced area and barking. I told him to go get his Daddy about 4 or 5 times. Melvin said he came into the house at a dead run, looked him square in the eyes and ran back outside. He did this each time I told him to...What a good boy he is :) Melvin finally said what is she doing and headed towards the kitchen at which point he heard me telling Gunner, again, to go get his Daddy. With his help, I finally got to my feet and managed to get into the house to drop my jeans down past my knees. Nothing looked broken but the pain was (and still is) so bad that I was crying.

So much for going out to eat dinner. Two and a half hours later we finally left the emergency room. Nothing is broken in my knee, though the doctor thinks I tore my tendons or muscles. I am now on crutches with a knee brace that keeps my leg from bending, which if bent is excruciating pain anyways. I also gained a pair of pull up pants as my jeans wouldn't go over the brace. Who would want to see me walking out of the emergency room in my T-Shirt and underpants...lol..lol