A Big Change

Sometimes it's hard to see any change. Other times I see it. I saw it today. Here's a before and during. I've been reluctant to admit I'm trying to be healthier because accountability is scary. Lisa

Flat Chested with a Mullet????

I've agreed to a free haircut on Thursday of this week. A "wolf cut". Then the following Wednesday a surgeon takes my breasts down 8 sizes. So by Thursday of next week I'll be flat chested with a mullet...but it's got a cool new name for a mullet so it's gonna be all good right? RIGHT? These before and after pics are gonna be something else lol -  Lisa

Good News

Good news.We got the test results back from Junie's EEG - no evidence of epilepsy. Bad news: unless this is some weird habit (and I doubt it) we have to eliminate the other possibilities the doctor brought up.

 Guess its time to invest in a humidifier upstairs. Too many nose bleeds and sore throats. - Lisa

Down 4

I'm down four pounds this week and am at my lowest weight since 2006, and only four pounds removed from my lowest weight of the century.

It could happen only to me

That awkward moment at the grocery store when someone congratulates you on your weight loss while you have three pies in your hands.

A medical update

I went to my physician today to follow up on the chest pain, but after a short wait he came out and told everyone in the waiting room there was a staffing problem and we'd have to reschedule. Swell. I wasn't going to wait and fret another week so I went to a local urgent care. A nurse hooked me up to an EKG and pronounced my sinus rhythm normal, showing no evidence of a heart attack, and said it was probably muscle strain combined with a bad panic attack. He said the dr wanted some more tests, and plopped me back in the waiting room. Ninety minutes later,still waiting but with class looming, I thought "F this" and bolted. I'm going with the panic attack/muscle strain theory, and thus will happily resume both gym and romantic activity.

A Scare

A scare tonight. I had severe pain in my left arm, and as a long time fat man I grew concerned. My anxiety led the pain to expand to my jaw, at which time - after stopping at a friend's house to try and relax - I went to the ER. One look at the wait there and I turned tail and left. Once I did so the pain immediately lessened. I'll still follow up with my physician, but it's probably a pulled muscle from lifting weights yesterday. Or my impending death. Either/or.

 Back to back appointments two days in a row, plus work and school, means sleep has been in short supply. The hip is progressing fine. I've abandoned the cane and the pain is only notable - meaning rehabilitating - maybe twice a week. The physical therapist complimented my progress and work ethic, saying I'm ahead of where he and his coworkers thought I'd be by this time. Aiming for medical clearance on April 5th.

Good News

Good news: after a follow-up, the doc says Junie's hearing is back to normal and the replacement ear tube is working fine.

A Follow Up

Good news: after a follow-up, the doc says Junie's hearing is back to normal and the replacement ear tube is working fine.

That Was a Doozy

Well now. That was the worst asthma attack in years.

My asthma was dormant for about twenty years before returning in 2013. The attacks are still infrequent and mild. This one was as bad as the last dozen combined.

Hot Lava!

 Visiting my Ma at St Lukes with Smiley and Junie, and the white floor tiles are hot lava!

The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor

Today #TeamSlap (minus Junie and Lisa) took on The St. Vincent De Paul Society Walk for the Poor along the Oak Leaf Trail on Milwaukee's lakefront.

Despite stopping for some pictures (and to move a caterpillar out of harms way) we finished the 3 mile course in just over 45 minutes! A fine pace! Smiley, in fact would often run ahead as much as a quarter mile, then double back to us, so he probably did the equivalent of a 4 mile route. 

They ran short of t-shirts and had only one left, and Lu won an epic rock-paper-scissors battle to claim it. The organizers asked for a picture of us at the "summit" of the walk so look for that in future ads for the annual walk. 

Way to go Smiley, LuLu, and YaYa! I'm so proud of you!

So Far

So far I've spent the first day and 1/3 of my days off coughing up a lung or passed out in bed. I should have called in over the weekend when this thing hit and been done with it, but noooooo, I am a prisoner to my childhood and refuse to skip work/school unless I'm dying. Which, at the moment, it feels like might just be happening.

An Update on YaYa's Arm Injury

YaYa got a full arm cast, as the break was rather severe, but won't need surgery. Three weeks from now they'll X-Ray it again, and maybe switch her to a shorter cast. Meanwhile, that's the end of volleyball for the year, and there's a chance we might have to scrap her bday party; it's a lazer tag party and to activate a shot you need the use of both arms. We'll take her there and have her try it out before we make the call.

Misc

Miscellaneous: a - this is day 7 a bad, unchecked headache. The Hoff believes it to be caused by a muscle I pulled in my neck, & I believe she is right. Here's hoping it goes the bleep away soon, as nothing seems to be helping. b - w/ Milwaukee now having had its first real snow (~5") so late in the  year I have now come to the conclusion that I would prefer a climate where snow is not *unknown*, but far more rare than it is here c - after having only the right boot for a year, then losing it and finding only the left for TWO more years, I have finally reunited my beloved black steel-toe shit kickers in time for said snowfall. Yay me!

I Might Call In

seriously considering calling into wrk for only the 3rd x since 1998. Dental problems, tired, and generally blah. I wish my hrs hadn't changed 2day - I'd b nearing the end of my day, not the start.

I have a good immune system, and a childhood spent with a hypochondriac mother. Just as a matter of delayed teenage rebellion, I refuse to be sick.

RE: Smiley's Foot

Smiley has a "questionable" fracture in his 2nd metatarsal. How can be questionable when they can name the bone? I'm not sure. Sees the specialist in 5 days. He doesn't whine, but crawls around the house instead of putting any weight on it all...my poor baby. I'm convinced it is not a questionable break at all and he needs a cast so he can walk instead of crawl!

And for those worried about my other baby, I'm not mad at him. I was mad for a minute by his less-then-sympathetic initial reaction, things are fine now. Shit happens.

Update 5:03pm: Smiley has three broken metatarsals (bones on the top of the foot). He now has a BRIGHT orange cast, and is much happier now that he can walk around (albeit slow).

- Lisa

Wednesday Lu called from school saying her stomach felt 'mushy', and w/in a day all the kids were down w/ it. It seems to be a quick 24-48 bug (3 are over it) but YaYa just puked all over my newly cleaned dining room floor. Dangnabbit.