Strategery

I am scheming.

Next fall, I want to take about a dozen of my students to New York. I already have the itinerary, I have activities lined up, I pretty much know which students will be going. They will take a semester-long electives class where they will learn Art History/Appreciation and also do some fundraising to get the money to go.

That's the dilemma I'm at right now. Most of these students come from disadvantaged families and have few resources.

That's where you all will come in. In a few months, I will be asking--begging, the Universe to find a way that all these students can go. One student in particular (let's call her Maria) moved to the States less than a year ago without a single word of English in her vernacular but has managed to maintain Valedictorian status at our school - the result of incredibly hard work and a brilliant mind. She's shy, always polite. She gives me 1/2 her orange in the mornings. She keeps the sticky note messages I write her and puts them on her binder. But I also know she's incredibly poor. Her family wouldn't be able to give much money toward her trip. So we need to find the money somewhere else.

I'm not asking for any money now, but I want you to think about how amazing a trip to the Met or the Museum of Natural History or a tour of NBC or a few hours on Ellis Island would be for her.

Joey Lawrence

Poor Joey Lawrence.

His driver's side door doesn't unlock with a key so I have to climb over the passenger's side to unlock it.
Automatic seatbelt isn't automatic anymore, must buckle both seat and shoulder.
Glovebox door falls off its hinges.
Gaping holes in dash where buttons should be.
Must crawl through back seat, pull seat down, climb halfway into trunk to pull a cord in order to pop the trunk.
Seats don't move.
Rear defroster doesn't work.
Only one light on dash; can only see how fast I'm going until 60mph when it's dark.
Hubcaps missing.
Visor falls down if you try to use it.
Gas gauge is 5 mi/hr off.

...but, as James puts it, "It's all paid for."

You know you're a nerd when you're excited about the fantastic deal you just found on a really great specimen of petrified wood.

Click here to watch The Vagabond Opera

...or their song, Ravella

You haven't lived until you've heard nine cellos play "Sweet Child of Mine." ...Followed by a lovely Vivaldi number.














Valentine's was filled with sparkles, a handlebar 'stached accordian player, a professional hula-hooper, and music that might be described as The Decemberists on Vaudevillian LSD. Also, about 12 cellos. I lost count.


















I felt like I was getting a fair share of both culture and freak show. And I am totally stoked that I could do both at the same time.

Thank you, Vagabond Opera! And your cello guests! And Libby for the suggestion!

My wonderful day with Hubby

Today we drove over to Cannon Beach.











It was chilly, a little damp, and overcast, but the beach was still peaceful.










We ate at Mo's. James has never been there so I had to take him.











I had clam chowder and fish and chips, and he had the slumgullion. Slumgullion!









Then we went to Cloverfield. We both really enjoyed it. Go see it--I don't think it would have the same effect on your average tv.

Oh, and I didn't take any of these pictures. Especially that last one. My camera battery is dead (alas).

Behold! The Mighty Arm of Skunkie!

This afternoon I took advantage of my iTunes gift card and purchased three albums. I've owned the first two before, but lost them long ago... and it was about time I replaced them! For those of you not familiar with James or Pink Martini, your life is incomplete. And who doesn't like a little electronica?

Wrapping it up.

What's 18 inches shorter, 10 pounds lighter, and ate a WHOLE CHEESE SANDWICH today?

Yay! Me!

I've finally updated my links, by the way. I feel like a bad friend when I follow the links on someone else's blog and find a link to my own. There are plenty of blogs I follow, but have been too lazy to change my template... and I figure, hey, it's the new year, I'm starting from scratch, I should really do SOMETHING productive with the time I'm spending not napping on the couch. How I will survive the next two weeks is beyond me. Hubby and I have already talked about how I'm going to want to go back to work too soon, and I really need to take it easy... funny how when you're in the middle of work all you want is rest, but once you get it, you go crazy. At least for me.

Anybody have any good new year's res's? I know I already posted mine, but this year seems especially "new." I hope I don't botch this one up.

Sprung!

I'm outta that joint!

No more IV tubing sticking out of my neckmeat.

Skunkie slept on my chest all night long. He usually doesn't do that. I think he missed me almost as much as James did.

Still here

Well, I'm still in the hospital. The doctor said hopefully Friday or Saturday I'll be able to go home. That'll be the 2-week mark.

I did end up getting that headache, and I've spent the last couple of days laying down as flat as I can. This kind of headache doesn't respond to any kind of pain medication, even migraine stuff. Fortunately, the anti-nausea meds they've been giving me also make me super sleepy, so I've been knocked out for most of that. Yesterday I think I slept 21 hours. Highlights: I can now eat jello, and I can pee without anyone else's help. It's the little things that keep me going.

New Year's resolutions, in no particular order:
*Do yoga at least three times a week. I mean it this time.
*Plan ahead
*Take deep breaths
*Appreciate Hubby more
*Get down to 158 lbs

Surgery Updateowel

This is James. Because I'm such a leet haxxor, I am updating you from Aud's blog.

Aud went in for surgery at 5ish, was out into recovery at 830 or so. They removed about 18 inches of her bowel, pretty much what they were expecting to have to do. There were no surgical complications, and the surgeon said she responded well. The anestheia doc said there was a problems when he went to do her epidural, and that he punctured the sac in her spinal column, essentially giving her a spinal instead of an epidural. There is the possibility for a nasty headache for the next 4-5 days, but there may not even be that, and keeping Aud on her back will help that. I know Aud would LOVE visitors, but I don't know when is a good time to start, I imagine starting tomorrow would be fine, but your results may vary. She's at Meridian Park Hospital in Tualatin, by the way.

Today

Thank you, Hubby, for the totally rad Christmas present--the iPod Nano Video! Mine's green and pretty. It has lots of music in it. Now it just needs a name! I'm going to figure out how to put my pictures on it and make an audio slideshow.

Today at 5 I'm going in to surgery. Most of my abscess is gone, and the doctors aren't too worried about my friend Santa (even though he's alive and kicking, and located between the layers of tissue by my skin and fat). They'll take out between 12 and 18 inches of small intestine, and possibly part of my large.

Bumped up *edited*

My abscess is a bit worse than they thought, and as of Christmas Eve, I've developed another one 6-8 inches away from abscess #1. I've named this new one Santa, since he came on Christmas Eve AND because "Santa" is an acronym for "Satan." He's located above my right hip, and he's big and red and swollen and very warm to the touch. We also found out that he's made up (at least partially) of some sort of staphylococcus species. I'm taking a look at my lab reports from this morning (they did a culture of some of the gunk that came out of my abscess) and I've got:
*Light growth Klebsiella pneumoniae
*Heavy growth Presumptive Streptococcus anginosus group
*Heavy grown Staphylococcus species, coagulase negative
*Scant growth Bacteriodes fragilis

Don't worry, the staph is the kind that can be treated by normal IV antibiotics. It's just not the right kind to be treated with the Cipro and Flagyl I've been taking for everything else. But let me tell you, it was NOT the thing I wanted to be freaked out about at 3 AM on Christmas morning, when I had woken up and seen it in the mirror. The nurse was so kind to me, though.

Tomorrow I'll have another CT scan to determine how big this thing is, if the swelling's gone down at all, and if Santa has gotten any smaller. One of the nurses drew a line around it tonight with a surgical pen so we can see exactly how it changes. If it's getting bigger, we operate Thursday or Friday. If it's getting better, I think we wait another 10 days, and THEN operate.

In other news, Christmas was more cheerful than I thought a Christmas in a hospital could be! Pat and Libby are still here, and we've been watching "Lost" and playing Hand and Foot. Hubby has been here, and he next the next few days off so it was wonderful for him to stay here until late last night holding my hand and vegging out. The Wrights came by and we had a quick Christmas get-together, shortly joined by both my doctor (who brought me a cute gift and a card! so sweet!), one of the surgeons, and a nurse or two. And of course I've spoken to the fam in NY, and I got to talk to my grandma last night as well. Being in the hospital at this time of year has made me (and James) realize just how far away from personal the holidays can seem, and we've made a resolution to change our ways in future Christmases/birthdays. It's about relationships, you know? And too many people try to maintain those relationships by annual giving-of-the-perfect gift, and there's so much pressure, and the amount spent is always an issue, and everybody gets stressed out, yadda yadda. I was forced this year to forgo Christmas shopping, and instead, I talked to a lot of people. True, I got many dismissals from said shopping, but wouldn't it be nice if everybody got that dismissal? Wouldn't it be cool if no presents was genuinely the expectation? Hmmm... Maybe I'm just a grinch.

Oh, we've also become official celebrators of "Festivus." I have the perfect Festivus pole, even! It's on wheels!

Third Time's a Charm?

I'm back in the hospital again. Ugh!

New symptoms, in addition to the old ones. Also, a urinary tract infection to boot. What is wrong with me?!?!

Warning: I include gross details. My inhibitions have all but vanished and now I don't really care who knows all the disgusting things going on with my body. But if YOU care if you know, then proceed with caution!

My test on Monday showed very little inflamation, and a small linear lesion (what was left of the original) in my intestinal lining, but no abcess. Basically, I looked almost normal. However, sometime in the three days AFTER the test I developed the UTI and an abcess--painfully squooshing other organs out of the way and settling in the lining next to my abdominal muscles. Also, they found that it is, indeed, a fistulating abcess (look it up; it's gross), and that the little bugger is attempting to eat through my muscles all the way to my skin. Translation: PAINFUL. I spent Thursday night awkwardly propped up on the couch, paralyzed with pain. So, Friday I came back here. I'm actually glad they found the abcess, because now they'll actually DO something about it.

The plan: today, they will drain the abcess (the most painful experience I've ever had, when they did it 6 years ago--you have to be awake when they do it). They'll leave the tubes in for two weeks, and if there's no more infection, they plan to go ahead and remove all the infected intestines. The surgeon said he'll try to do it laproscopically, but operating on Crohn's patients is a tricky business, and they might have to open me all the way up. Also, he doesn't know yet if they will remove only the ilium or also part of the large intestine.

The surgery is pretty simple, but I'll have to be on steriods for quite a while after, and that increases the chance that there will be a leak and a consequential infection. However, if all goes well, it will probably mean years Crohn's free, which appeals. After the surgery, if I'm recovering well, I'd stay in the hospital for about 5 days, and the doctor recommends I stay home for another two weeks after that. If everything goes as planned, this would mean that I'd go back to school right at the start of the next semester.

Looks like it will be longer than I expected before I can have that cheeseburger I've been craving!

I've been getting lots of support, thank you. Gage and Jessica stopped by last night, as did my boss (principal) Laurie, laden with gifts from school. My heart just melted when I got a present from one of the "troublemakers"! And my principal is so so so supportive--we chatted for quite a while, she feels more like a friend than a boss. She got me a beautiful wrap/shawl. And we're making arrangements for a long-term sub for the rest of January. Oh, and she brought me my laptop (obviously, I guess).

I'm rambling. Sorry. Guests are MORE than welcome, and if anybody comes after this afternoon you'll probably get the pleasure of seeing my new tubing. I remember last time I had one I named her "Cathy the Catheter." Hopefully, I'll be out of here before Christmas!

Just some randomness

Click here to go to one of my favorite new blogs!

Aaaaachh!

So, my car is now in the shop. I think it's the fuel pump or some other fuel-ish gizmo that's gummed up, so no biggie, but it took some creative driving to get myself to work this morning (it started acting weird halfway there). Fortunately, I have some kind coworkers to give me rides until it's fixed.

Let's start taking bets on what ELSE could happen before Christmas, shall we? sheesh!

Body odor and Pac-Man

Teaching was interesting this week. (I went in on Thursday and Friday.) The kids didn't know why I was sick, as the rest of the MACA crew wasn't sure how much I wanted to be known. I figured the best way to explain Crohn's was through a Pac-Man analogy. Too bad I don't actually make the sound effects.

To be honest, being at school was hard. I was really glad to be back with the students (I really did miss them, even the snotty ones) and doing normal things again. But I'm tired, and achy, and the medicine makes me feel nauseas all the time. One of the few things that I can tolerate eating are those little colored/flavored mini-marshmallows, so I have a bag of those at my desk, and the students try to bum them off me all the time. Rubia convinced me to let her try one, and her face was priceless--not her cup of tea! One question I got from all the classes--"Is it contagious?" Once that was asked, 28 nervous little pairs of eyes pleaded at me from their desks... I was tempted a couple times to say yes, and you can get it simply by touching the same piece of paper, and then handing back old assignments. I figured the concerned parent calls wouldn't be worth it, though. So I satisfied my need for humor by convincing students to do silly things. Yesterday, Hayden did an interpretive dance at the front of the class, demonstrating a type of volcano. And I got all the guys in my math class to give a group hug to the "tough" guy. The squeals of "Stop! Stop! The BO!" was enough to last me for hours.

Thank you, everybody, for your concern and support and for checking up on me. It's helped me to keep a positive perspective and a sense of humor. Hubby has been gracious and helpful, and I'm so glad that both times I've had a flare-up, I've always gotten the support I need.