My Goodness

Has it really been (almost) three weeks since I last posted? My, time certainly does fly, doesn't it?

Well, let's start off with the good news...my nephew's wife had their baby yesterday! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present, Ms. Ajia Dita Trinidy (fanfare, please)



Isn't she the sweetest! I'm a great-aunt and my mother's a great grandmother! (okay, enough with the exclamation marks.) The hospital posts pictures of all the newborns on the site so we were able to access the picture quickly. While I was looking at the other baby pictures, I ran across this little gem, name of Atticus Ranson Felix:



The caption under this picture should read "my name is WHAT???" Poor kid, what a name!

Mom flies out next Tuesday so she gets to see the baby in person. Of course, she'll take lots of pictures...she's a little like me in that respect.

Hmmm, let's see...what else has been going on...I printed out my story to date and heaven help me it needs editing. You couldn't follow this mess with a map and a compass and a GPS and a tour guide. I spent a little time in the library earlier today and will likely go again tomorrow after church. It's easier to concentrate there without all the distractions of home. It's such a mess, I'm actually kind of depressed about it. I will work through it though, but I won't project how long it'll take me to finish because I honestly have no idea.

My only other news is that I spent the wee small hours of this past Thursday morning at the hospital emergency room. I've been having some heartburn related issues that I was kind of controlling with Tums, but on Wednesday, I had a disturbing new symptom. It happened a couple hours after lunch. My chest was feeling tight, but my pulse and breathing were normal. I had taken a tums and was waiting for it to work when I felt this flush all over my chest, shoulders and upper arms. It was like that feeling you get right before you throw up, only I didn't feel hot. It lasted for about fifteen, twenty minutes, then it faded away. It was very weird. I did ask the other two women I work with if I looked flush and they said I did, but as I said, it faded and I put it out of my mind.

Later that night, it happened again about an hour after dinner and this time my mother witnessed it. It scared her (not to mention me) because I have a history of heart disease in my family. My father died of a heart attack at age 56, and his father died of one in his 70s, so the fear is there. The flush faded and my mother was reluctant to let me go to bed, but I said I was okay. Problem was, I wasn't...I was too worried about what might be wrong that I could only get about two hours or so of sleep. I woke up around one am and Mom took me to the emergency room.

The good news is, my heart and lungs are fine. They did blood tests, an EKG, CAT scan and chest X-Ray, and they all came back clear. Basically, I just have acid reflux. I saw my regular doctor that afternoon and he put me on Axid to control the acid reflux. I'll be taking it for about three months, to give my esophagus time to heal. I go back next Thursday for a check-up and I'll be happy to report that the Axid is already working. I'm definitely noticing a difference. The only caution is that there might be something wrong with my gall bladder. He's having the hospital run additional tests and I'll get the results Thursday. I'll let you know when I know.

Well, that's all for now. It's late, and I need to get some sleep. G'nite all!

Yay Steelers!!!

Okay, so let's review the list of resolutions and see how we're doing, okay?

1) Study the New Testament. - Okay, I'm a bit behind in this, so I need to make more time to fulfill this resolution.

2) Continue writing my story. - I finished January with 22,845 words. Short of my goal of 30,000, but I'm pretty happy with what I did accomplish, plus I still have more to write, thanks to Pixie...who I think has jetted off to Paris for Valentine's Day. Yeah, she's early, but that's the way she is. Hopefully, she'll come back with something for me.

3) Lose 50 pounds. - Haven't lost a single pound, but neither have I gained one, so not too bad. Besides, I have ALL YEAR to work on this one, right???

4) Improve my attitude at work. - It's working, what can I say?

5) Look for a new job. - I'm looking, but pickings are slim here in the Valley.

6) Post to my blog more often. - Ten posts in January, that's one every three days. Not bad, if I say so myself (and I do).


So I feel pretty good about this. Compared to 90+% of the population, I'm still working on my resolutions while that 90+% have given up (Editor's note: percentage of resolution-giver-uppers is a shot in the dark and not based on any actual statistics...as if we could be bothered to find any.)

Write-ins resume this Saturday, so I'm taking a little break from writing this week. If I feel absolutely compelled to write, then I will, but I'm not pushing it because I want to have something to do come Saturday. Oh, and I thought up a new story plot! Came to me out of the blue. It's not part of the one I'm working on...it'll be a brand new story, but I really like the idea. I put it in a new file so I don't forget it...maybe it'll be my NaNo 2009 story?

Finally, if you're wondering about the title of this post, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl last night (yay!) I have the morning off--Boss Man declared this morning a holiday which he titled "Steelers Appreciation Morning." Had they lost, it would be "Steelers Mourning Morning." But they won, so that's good. Boss Man is a RABID Steelers fan, so everyone in the office (I think everyone) was rooting for the Steelers last night. They came close to losing, but managed to pull off a great game-saving touchdown in the last minutes of the game. It was a great game, no matter who was playing, and I'm glad the boss will be happy because his team won.

My only problem is, I have no yellow shirts in my wardrobe, so I can't properly wear black, white and yellow. So I'll wear black and white with gold jewelry. That's the closest I can get. At least I won't be wearing Cardinal red, like I did to church yesterday morning!

My Nephew, the War Veteran...

...will be landing on US soil tomorrow around noon. And I'm going to go see him!

Mom, Mike's two younger brothers, hopefully his older brother and his wife, one of his other aunts and I will all be going to the airport (not together...the logistics of that are insane) to spend a couple hours with him while he's on layover before the final leg of his journey home! I'm so thrilled that he's finally almost home.

I know Mom is over the moon that she finally gets to see him again, to know that he's safe. He called her probably once every two weeks or so while he was over there, so he's kept in constant touch and to let her know that he was all right. He never saw any combat (that I'm aware of). His assignment mostly kept him on base, though he did hear plenty of shots fired and mortar rounds going off. But now he's almost home!

Tomorrow, I have to get fresh batteries for my camera. Can't have it dying tomorrow and having to pay those outrageous airport prices. I'll be taking plenty of pictures of my war veteran nephew. Hopefully he won't mind posing too much.

Century Post!!!

100th POST! YAY !!! (cue the confetti)

I can't believe I've made 100 posts here. When I first started blogging, I wasn't even sure I would keep it up for very long, but here I am at #100. Woo-hoo!!

And now for the other reason for making this post...my nephew's coming home!

My nephew Mike has been in Iraq since August (I think) and he just called to say he has left Iraq. He didn't say where exactly he was for security reasons and that's fine. I'm just thrilled to know he's out of Iraq and on his way home. It would be so wonderful if he could stop in here to see his family before going back to his base, but I'll be happy knowing he's back on US soil and that he'll be home in time for his daughter's birth. I wish I could be there when he lands and sees how big Stephanie has gotten. She's only three weeks from her due date so you know she must be huge! (Just joking, Steph!)

Thank you, Lord, for hearing my prayers and keeping Michael safe. Thank you, Linda and Dad, for watching over him and keeping him safe so he could return home to Stephanie and their baby. Thank you, thank you, thank you, amen.