Happy Halloween

Sunday night we finally got around to carving our pumpkins.  They turned out alright.  We really need to get a pumpkin carving knife next year.  

More Halloween Fun!

Saturday night we had another Halloween party at the mortuary.  This one was thrown by us and our friend Ami.  It was a lot of fun.  There weren't a lot of people, but we had a lot of fun!

Connor and I dressed up as characters from The Exorcist.  I've never seen the movie, but we thought it'd be fun.  I was the crazy girl, and Connor was the priest.

Some of our decorations.

Dry ice in the fountain.

For the record, more people came after we took this picture.   :)

I think it looks cooler with the red eyes. 

Zombie Halloween Party

I look too happy to be a zombie. 

We bought a house!

Well, we're working on it at least.  Thursday we went and saw a house that we really liked.  It's a really great house and we could both see ourselves there.  The only downside is that the yard is teeny but it does have some common areas and 2 parks that are pretty close by.

Anyway, we put an offer in on Thursday and today our offer was accepted!!!  We are very excited.  It's been fun living above a mortuary, but it's time for us to start a new chapter in our lives.  And I'm very excited to have a dishwasher.

The house is vacant (it's a foreclosure/HUD) so we should be able to close and move in pretty soon.  Hopefully before Thanksgiving.  We set a goal to be in a home by Christmas so it looks like it actually might happen!

We'll have to go back soon to take pictures of it to post.

We did really like that other house that we had an offer on, but we still hadn't heard anything back from the bank.  This house that we are getting is only about 2 years old and we feel like it will be a great starter home for us.

Thursday

Both Connor and I were off on Thursday so we decided we'd drive down to Provo and go visit the cemetery, and while we were there we had to go to Coneys!  So we drove to Provo, had a tasty lunch, and then went over to the Cemetery.

Temporary grave marker

It was nice to go visit.

13 Reasons Why I loved 13 Reasons Why

Clever title, right?  :)

I just finished reading a book called 13 Reasons Why.  It's not exactly an "upper" but it is a really great and thought provoking book.  I read about it in Entertainment Weekly and was really intrigued by the article so I decided to get the e-pub version from the library on my Nook.

The book is about a high school aged kid, Clay, who one day receives a package when he gets home from school. The package turns out to be cassette tapes that his former classmate, Hannah, recorded.  Hannah had recently committed suicide and recorded the tapes before she killed herself, stating the 13 reasons, which turned out to be people, why she decided to kill herself.

I know, it sounds depressing.  But it was actually really good.  The protagonist, Clay, is a really great character and his reaction to the tapes is really moving.

Here are the 13 Reasons why I loved 13 Reasons Why (and these are in no particular order)

1.  It makes you consider more deeply the way that you treat others, and the effect that it has on their lives.

2.  I love YA books.

3.  At first I really disliked Hannah.  She sounded snotty on the tapes, but by the end I was mourning her death, and her last minute cries for help.

4.  Clay, the protagonist, is a truly genuine character.  He is a shining light of hope in the book.

5.  I've never read anything like it.

6.  Apparently they're making it into a movie and who doesn't like watching movies based on books?

7.  I can't stop thinking about the book after I finished reading it yesterday.

8.  It's relatable.  We've all been through (or will go through) H.S. and have experienced the difficulties associated with rumors and what not.

9.  It reminds us of how we cannot control the consequences of our actions.

10.  It addresses very real issues that we don't often want to deal with.

11.  It reminds us that while we can't change what's happened, we can learn from our mistakes.

12.  It helps us realize how important it is to try to reach out to people.

13.  It was just really, really good.  So go read it!

And if you do, let me know.  I'd love to know what you think too.

Bran Muffins

These last couple of days have been tough.  Yesterday I went to physical therapy, and so yesterday my knee was really sensitive.  Not fun.

Also, I've had some ugly side effects to the medication.  I'm not taking hydrocodone anymore, but the side effects are lingering.  Connor was very sweet and made bran muffins last night to help...uh....move things along.  :)  I think it has helped, but I'm still not feeling so great today.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

LPCS

Lateral Patellar Compression Syndrome is apparently what my knee issue is called....in case you were wondering.

I'm feeling good.  Yesterday was great.  I had no issues with nausea.  Today, I haven't had as much luck.  My favorite remedy is a cool washcloth around my neck.  I don't know why, but it feels so nice.

New home?

Here's the house that we've been looking at.  It's kind of got a different layout.  It's multi-level.  When you walk in there's the living room.  Then there are stairs to go either up or down.  Upstairs are the kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.  Downstairs are the family room, another bedroom, bathroom, and laundry room.

We went back to see it today.  We saw it first at night so it was good to see it during the day.  I'm glad we did also because there were some features of the house that I had confused with other houses.  But I still really like it.  It needs paint and the carpet needs cleaned, but it's in good shape.  Eventually one day we could update the kitchen (it definitely needs a new stove), but everything is great overall.

I feel really good about it, but who knows what will happen.  It is a short sale so even though the seller has accepted our offer it doesn't really mean much.  The bank has to accept it and that could take months.

We are still keeping our options open and potentially looking at other homes, but we really like this one.  One of the things that I LOVE about it is that there is a huge park right across the street.

Here are some photos that we took of the house today.

This is from the Living Room.

Like I said, it definitely needs a new stove.

I think the swing set comes with the house.
They've already moved everything else out so I don't know why they'd come back for this.

One of the bedrooms.  Needs painting.

Definitely needs painting.

Master Bedroom.  Not huge but not too bad.  I love that it has its own bathroom.

Like I said, we're still looking around.  But we're really hoping that this offer goes through.  Darn short sales.

Knee News

This morning I got my knee brace off.  Yay!  Little did I know, that involved getting staples removed too. Last time they put sutures in my leg, so I thought they would have done the same this time.  Not so!  I was surprised when I saw the staples, and the PA who removed my bandages told me that she's surprised that the last time they didn't do staples because there's a smaller chance of infection with staples.

I was nervous about her pulling them out, but it didn't hurt.  It just pinched a little.  One of my incisions did start to bleed again, but it stopped quickly.  Then she put some adhesive and tape over my incisions.  Then came the pressure sock.  Oh, the pressure sock.  How I hate it.  But it's better than the brace.  2 weeks.  I can do 2 weeks, right?  Last time I made it 1 week and 5 days.  Maybe this time I'll make it the full 2 weeks.  We'll see.

I'm going to my physical therapy appointment on Friday.  By this point I've paid so much into my insurance that the physical therapy is "free" as is pretty much anything else I need to do this year.  I'm trying to think of other things I can/need to do.

Pre Brace Removal.  (Sorry it's blurry.)

Removing the gauze.  It was actually pretty bloody.  Yuck.

I think I was checking out the staples.

Waiting for the staples to be removed.  

Compression sock!

House Hunting

We are on the hunt for a new house!  Yay!

It's no secret that I don't love where we live.  It's really not awful.  And I do love that we don't pay rent (we clean the building instead), but I don't love that we don't have a dishwasher or AC or even a swamp cooler.  The AC isn't a huge deal because that's only something you need during the summer.  A dishwasher, on the other hand, is necessary all year round.  And we always have dishes to do.  It would really take a lot of stress off of us (me) if we (I) didn't have to worry about doing the dishes by hand.  We did consider buying a portable dishwasher,  but those things are expensive.  

So after a year and a half of living here, we are looking at homes.  We found one that we love that is in Layton.  While Connor's not thrilled about his potential commute, we both feel really good about the house and about the area.  We did put an offer on the house, but it's a short sale so who knows how long this will take.  We are going to keep looking so if anything shows up in the meantime that we love then we may have a change of plan. 

But for now, we love this house.  (I think I love it a little more than Connor, but he loves it too.)  And we are really hoping that this short sale doesn't take too long.  We would love to be in our house (wherever that may be), by Christmas.

Birthday's and Allergies

Yesterday my adorable niece, Robin, turned 10.  10!  I can't believe she's 10 years old.  She's the cutest little 10 year old that I know.  She is so sweet and so much fun.  I love spending time with her.  Yesterday we went over to Eric and Kari's for breakfast to celebrate Robin's birthday.  We had such a fun time with them. 

Here's me with Robin when she was almost brand new.  I was 17.

Me and Robin ice skating in Virginia in March.

My knee is doing well.  The oxycodone was making me all itchy so now I'm on hydrocodone instead.  Apparently it's not as strong as oxycodone, but I'm doing okay with pain.  I'm definitely looking forward to Wednesday when I can get this brace off!

Knee Surgery - Round 2

At 6:15 this morning I checked into TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital) for my 2nd knee surgery of the year, and hopefully the last of my life.  I was the first on Dr. Cooley's schedule so I got checked in and set up pretty quickly.

It's interesting to see how hospitals work differently.  My last knee surgery was in Park City and TOSH does things a bit differently.  My room this time was bigger, and I had my own bathroom, which was nice.  When Connor and I got into the room they had me give a urine sample to make sure I wasn't prego. The nurse who was helping me told me that she's had a few times where the pregnancy test has come back positive, and sometimes it's a teenager whose pregnant and that can create some drama.

After I came out of the bathroom I found Connor like this:

Poor Connor.  He was exhausted.  His parents had gone to New York for his dads high school and the flew in at midnight.  Connor was very kind and offered to pick them up from the airport and didn't get home until after 1.  Needless to say, he didn't get very much sleep.

Then they had me change into the very attractive hospital gown and explained the process to us.  In Park City Connor was able to wait in our room the entire time.  At TOSH he had to go back out to the waiting room and then when Dr. Cooley went out to talk to him when the surgery was finished, he was supposed to go move his car to the other side of the building, and then wait in another area until I woke up.

So then Dr. Cooley came in and wrote 'Yes' on my left knee.

For the record, I really like Dr. Cooley.  He is so nice and he has such a good reputation (he works with the Olympic Skiers, and Tiger Woods, among others), and he did a really good job on my right knee that I would never ever go to anyone else for anything knee related.

About 20 minutes after Dr. Cooley left the OR nurse came in and talked to me a little bit, and then arrived Dr. Johnson, my anesthesiologist.  He gave me some info, and then asked me if I was okay to walk to the OR.  I was really surprised (I was wheeled into the OR at Park City) but I said okay and got up and walked.  He did put the blanket over my back so not everyone could see all that loveliness as we walked by.  So we walked to the OR (which was freezing cold) and I got on the table.  I told Dr. Johnson that at Park City they wheeled me into the OR and he said that I was far too healthy to be wheeled into the OR.  :)  Then he told me that he had already given me the first set of anesthesia, they put the oxygen mask over my face, and then I was out.

I woke up and I remember I was dreaming a little, but I have no idea what about.  They came to me and asked how I was.  I was okay but my mouth and throat were really dry.  They said it was because of the breathing tube (I didn't know they had done that).  They brought me some cranberry juice and some graham crackers and I took some percocet.  I was shaking a lot as I came off of the anesthesia, so they brought me some warm blankets.  Plus, I was nauseated so they gave me something to throw up in, just in case. 

A little while later Connor came in from the waiting room. They gave me my prescriptions, and some instructions.  I got a nice new ice cooler, which I loved so much from last time.  They weren't going to give it to me because I already have one but I asked for it so they gave it to me anyway.  I'm glad I did, though because I realized later that the one I have wouldn't have worked because the clasps are different.  Then I got dressed and they wheeled me out to the car.  The nurse who wheeled me out warned be about the side effects of percocet, mainly constipation.  I remembered that well from last time.  Hopefully this time won't be so bad.  :)

We got home and I slept on and off all day long.  Then I got really nauseated and even though I was taking anti-nausea medicine, it was still pretty bad.  Connor brought me a cold washcloth, which made me feel a lot better.

Now I'm feeling really good.  My follow-up appointment with Dr. Cooley is Wednesday morning so I will get my brace off then (thank goodness).

P.S.  I am still kinda drugged up, so hopefully this post is coherent.  :)

Here We Go Again

In 6 hours I am checking into TOSH for my 2nd knee surgery of the year!  And the last of my life!  I'm not looking forward to it, but I feel like it's the right time to do this.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through all of that again, but at least I know what I'm getting myself into.

Wish me luck!

Colorado

This we we headed back to Colorado for Connor's labs for school.  His school is online, but it's through Arapahoe Community College (in Littleton) and he has to go out there once this semester and once next semester to do labs for embalming and restorative arts.  Since last week we drove out on I-80, we decided to take I-70 this week.  It was a little longer, but definitely a more scenic drive.  

We drove out there Sunday, and on Monday after Connor was done with school we went to see the Columbine Memorial.  We drove by the high school first.  Seeing the high school brought back memories of sitting in various classes in 9th grade and watching the news of the Columbine shootings on TV.  The memorial was very nice.  In the center it has the name of each of the victims and a short obituary.  Against the far wall are other various quotes related to the shootings said by students, teachers, parents, etc. 

Columbine Memorial

On Tuesday I got sick.  I think I got it from my cute little 2 year old nephew.  He was here last week for the funeral and he was sick on Sunday, and I think he must have passed it on to me.  So on Tuesday I did basically nothing, and pretty much on Wednesday too.  It was fine, though, because Connor just went to his labs pretty much all day long so I just hung out in the hotel room feeling gross.

By Thursday I was feeling a lot better, which was good because we had plans Thursday night.  Connor got finished with his labs early on Thursday so we drove to the Denver Temple.  We were planning on going to it, but it was closed, so we just stopped by to see it and took some photos.

Connor's head is blocking the temple.
I like how you can see the reflection of my hand in my sunglasses.

After that we drove out to where Connor did his labs.  There is a mausoleum there that he wanted to see.  It took us about 45 minutes to drive the 20 miles there due to traffic.  Then we got there and found out it was closed.  :)  So we drove around the cemetery a little bit, and then drove another 45 minutes to where we came from to the Park Meadows Mall where we had plans to meet up with Michelle and Kristi.

Michelle was with Ryan the night before he died, and she and her sister, Kristi, flew out to Utah last week for his funeral.  We made plans to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  We got there a little bit early so Connor and I walked around the mall and bought some new sunglasses.

I used the bathroom, which had a little seat in it for you to strap your baby/toddler to whilst you do your business.  I thought that was pretty funny and took a picture.

Then we had dinner with Michelle and Kristi, which was so so fun.  We had such a good time with them. The past weeks have been difficult, but it's nice that some good things have come out of it, like new friendships.  I brought my camera, but I was having too much fun that I forgot to take any pictures.

On Friday Connor and I drove home.  Connor became very inventive in the car and started dipping cashews in Nutella.  Yum!

He's holding up the Nutella in the photo, but it got cut out.

Cute, huh?

It was a fun trip.  So fun that we'll have to do it again some time next year!