Post blogs from my phone. Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!
Good morning from Scotland! :)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
Adventures with Teh Bear... part 9.5
This post is 3 months late, but its ok, because I'm the blogger, dammit! PS, Teh Bear is coming to visit me again the first week of May!!! YYAYYY!!!
While Teh Bear was in MD in February, I completed 2 Pinterest inspired ideas.
I started a project in November for decorating the apartment. From these inspirations:
One is on stryofoam board and the other is on canvas. I went with canvas, since I was worried about the wear and tear of the styrofoam boards. I bought fabric (sets of 5 from Jo-Anns) instead of paper and a super duper staple gun. I ironed the fabric since it had been folded, but stretching it over the canvas helped get the wrinkles out the best. Some of the wrinkles never came out period. Oh well.
We also did a lot of eating. Teh Bear made chili and we also found a killer pizza sauce recipe in the recipe book he got me for my birthday. We decided to make homemade pizza, since we already had the sauce. We used the dough recipe from the KitchenAid stand mixer recipe book. It was difficult and I actually made it twice. I had to add water to make it not too dry... both tries. Siiiiigh.
While Teh Bear was in MD in February, I completed 2 Pinterest inspired ideas.
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| Most important: food. Pepperoni croissant roll ups with string cheese. |
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| On canvas (image) |
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| On stryofoam (image) |
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| After ironing, I stapled the fabric to the back side of the canvas frame. |
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| Each canvas ended up being folded differently, but I did at least try to make each corner neat. |
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| Fabric completely stapled around the canvas. |
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| This was the part that I'd been waiting on. I had to hammer the hanging hooks on them. I just bought a can of sawtooth picture hangers and when I purchased them, I didn't have a hammer. Since Teh Bear and I were doing all kinds of home projects, the tool set was definitely in use and I no longer had an excuse. |
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| Completed Christmas set. Yay for decorations for next year! |
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| The final look of the final product. I didn't really measure between each canvas, but they are all still hanging on the wall, so I consider it a success. |
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| The final look of the bathroom canvases. These turned out matching the bathroom set better than I anticipated. |
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Being a tourist... driving around.
So, just because I work midnight to 8am (for the first part of my Scotland trip) isn't a reason to miss out on all the great tourism opportunities, apparently. So, another guy who is standing watch on a different shift than me decided he was going to go castle hunting. I asked if I could join him, since I didn't want to sit at the hotel all day for my day off. He said yes.
The next morning at 0615 I woke up, showered, got dressed and was ready to go by 7. Please note, I've not been going to bed till after 9am on days that I've worked, but that night I went to bed by 1230 with the help of a sleeping pill. Who's gonna be jacked up when she gets home?? This girl! We took my rental car and he drove, which was fine because I was still tired. Also, riding gives me the opportunity to enjoy the scenery... and helps me learns that I really do have some control freak issues... oops.
I was very worried about driving when I arrived in Scotland. They drive on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, and most of the cars are manual transmissions. Luckily, the pedals are still in the same order as in America, which was the most beneficial thing. I quickly was able to pick up driving. The biggest reminder I have to give myself is to get on the LEFT side of the road... we'll get to that.
After driving for 10+ minutes, I get into the swing of things and have minimal issues (unless I'm doing a u-turn, and those are always tricky and usually result in 3 point turns). As a passenger, I try not to pay attention to the driving abilities of the driver. I just navigate when asked and try to keep my passenger seat driver (since I'm not often actually in the back seat) quiet.
Several times on our castle huntin' trip, I couldn't control my passenger seat driver. She had outburts like, TURN! when I was almost certain that we were going to keep going straight while the road curved to the right. Or CURB! when I started to feel the road get bumpy and realized what the next obstacle was going to be. But roundabouts were my biggest demon.
I understand that as a driver in a different country, things are already strange. Then you add in roundabouts. America seriously needs more roundabouts. Traffic congestion would be so much less after the initial idiots were weeded out after having accidents. I was thrown into the roundabout world in Bahrain. One of my first driving experiences in Bahrain included going through a THREE LANE ROUNDABOUT! WTF?! 1. Arab drivers. Woah. 2. THREE LANES of cars/trucks/transfer trucks/etc vehicles. Woah. 3. My own inexperience. Eyes = opened.
Lessons about roundabouts:
-Don't stop unless there is a red light or another car coming. As in, passing in front of you. If there is an opening, keep going. If it looks close, you're probably alright. If its a line of cars, start pressing the gas as the last car passes you. Hesitation is your enemy.
-DO NOT EVER STOP WHILE GOING AROUND THE ROUNDABOUT.
-If you know that the road you are exiting to has 2 lanes, you can exit from the middle. If the road you are exiting onto only has 1 lane, you need to be in the left most lane.
-Don't blame other drivers for being stupid if you're the person pressing on the brakes in the middle of a roundabout. Roundabouts go in circles, its nice that way, so if you miss your exit, you can just keep going around. Woah.
My passenger seat driver also had to yell out GO! when I realized the driver was trying to stop to merge into the left lane to exit the roundabout. OMG scary. Talk about the stink eye from the locals. The only thing scarier than that during my Scotland trip was the curvy one-lane roads with other cars that didn't look like they were going to share the road (although the difference was, that wasn't my rental car).. at least so far.
As for myself being a driver.. sometimes, I, too, make mistakes... Like tonight after dinner. The keys were relinquished to me since my castle huntin' partner decided to have a few beers at dinner. When I pulled out onto the main road, I got in the right lane like it was no one else's business. At which point his passenger seat driver stared yelling, "WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY!"
At first I was confused, because I knew that we were supposed to turn left to head back to the hotel, then I realized, WRONG LANE. This was quickly remedied, what with the oncoming cars that were also starting to confuse me for the 3 seconds that I was in the wrong lane. Oops.. even persons almost having mastered roundabouts still choose the wrong lane while driving in a different country sometimes.
A few reminders:
The next morning at 0615 I woke up, showered, got dressed and was ready to go by 7. Please note, I've not been going to bed till after 9am on days that I've worked, but that night I went to bed by 1230 with the help of a sleeping pill. Who's gonna be jacked up when she gets home?? This girl! We took my rental car and he drove, which was fine because I was still tired. Also, riding gives me the opportunity to enjoy the scenery... and helps me learns that I really do have some control freak issues... oops.
I was very worried about driving when I arrived in Scotland. They drive on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, and most of the cars are manual transmissions. Luckily, the pedals are still in the same order as in America, which was the most beneficial thing. I quickly was able to pick up driving. The biggest reminder I have to give myself is to get on the LEFT side of the road... we'll get to that.
After driving for 10+ minutes, I get into the swing of things and have minimal issues (unless I'm doing a u-turn, and those are always tricky and usually result in 3 point turns). As a passenger, I try not to pay attention to the driving abilities of the driver. I just navigate when asked and try to keep my passenger seat driver (since I'm not often actually in the back seat) quiet.
Several times on our castle huntin' trip, I couldn't control my passenger seat driver. She had outburts like, TURN! when I was almost certain that we were going to keep going straight while the road curved to the right. Or CURB! when I started to feel the road get bumpy and realized what the next obstacle was going to be. But roundabouts were my biggest demon.
I understand that as a driver in a different country, things are already strange. Then you add in roundabouts. America seriously needs more roundabouts. Traffic congestion would be so much less after the initial idiots were weeded out after having accidents. I was thrown into the roundabout world in Bahrain. One of my first driving experiences in Bahrain included going through a THREE LANE ROUNDABOUT! WTF?! 1. Arab drivers. Woah. 2. THREE LANES of cars/trucks/transfer trucks/etc vehicles. Woah. 3. My own inexperience. Eyes = opened.
Lessons about roundabouts:
-Don't stop unless there is a red light or another car coming. As in, passing in front of you. If there is an opening, keep going. If it looks close, you're probably alright. If its a line of cars, start pressing the gas as the last car passes you. Hesitation is your enemy.
-DO NOT EVER STOP WHILE GOING AROUND THE ROUNDABOUT.
-If you know that the road you are exiting to has 2 lanes, you can exit from the middle. If the road you are exiting onto only has 1 lane, you need to be in the left most lane.
-Don't blame other drivers for being stupid if you're the person pressing on the brakes in the middle of a roundabout. Roundabouts go in circles, its nice that way, so if you miss your exit, you can just keep going around. Woah.
My passenger seat driver also had to yell out GO! when I realized the driver was trying to stop to merge into the left lane to exit the roundabout. OMG scary. Talk about the stink eye from the locals. The only thing scarier than that during my Scotland trip was the curvy one-lane roads with other cars that didn't look like they were going to share the road (although the difference was, that wasn't my rental car).. at least so far.
As for myself being a driver.. sometimes, I, too, make mistakes... Like tonight after dinner. The keys were relinquished to me since my castle huntin' partner decided to have a few beers at dinner. When I pulled out onto the main road, I got in the right lane like it was no one else's business. At which point his passenger seat driver stared yelling, "WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY!"
At first I was confused, because I knew that we were supposed to turn left to head back to the hotel, then I realized, WRONG LANE. This was quickly remedied, what with the oncoming cars that were also starting to confuse me for the 3 seconds that I was in the wrong lane. Oops.. even persons almost having mastered roundabouts still choose the wrong lane while driving in a different country sometimes.
A few reminders:
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| I think the languages for the road signs is Gaelic and English.. not sure though. |
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| Roundabouts. Scaring Passenger Teh Megan forever. |
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| Quality store. Suited to meet all vices no matter your age. |
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
April photo of the day.. falling off the wagon.
Not really surprisingly, I fell off the photo a day bandwagon. I'm going to try and catch up when I get home, but I make no promises. Depends on how the schedule turns out.
Sorry to be so disappointing. Maybe I'll try another month when my schedule isn't so busy.. hahaha. my schedule not being busy! What a funny joke.
Eating overseas
I'm well known for my sensitive stomach. It's a requirement at any place I live to have 2 toilets. One for me and one for anyone else, for simultaneous timed needs. This was especially important when Teh BFF and I lived together since she also has similar issues.
When I went to Bahrain, I was worried about what I'd eat. It was nice once I finally got into my apartment so I could cook for myself. Eating out all the time gets old quick. I could usually predict what was going to upset my stomach, so that was good.
When I went back to the US, I had to readjust to American food. Luckily, that wasn't as torturous as leaving America.
Now that I'm in Scotland, the food is strange again. We've all been complaining of stomach issues. I'm pretty sure I've eaten something either fried or greasy for every meal since I've been here. :( This makes me extremely sad, as I've worked really, really hard to eat better in the last year. Another issue with eating here is that everything is expensive. Pretty sure I've not eaten a meal that I've had to pay for that was less than $10.
Oddly enough, I didn't think about what I'd blog while I was away. Food never even crossed my mind till today. By the time I'd thought of it, they'd already cleared my dinner from the table. On the other hand, my eating schedule has been pretty messed up since I've been standing the midnight-8am watch, so that would explain why the thought hadn't really crossed my mind.
I've not yet tried Haggis, which is a local "delicacy". I'm willing, but I'm not going to order it for a meal then not be able to eat it.
Tonight, I went to The 1629, an italian restaurant. I ordered Tapas for dinner. I got 3 different things: some type of meatball that was fried, mushrooms stuffed with pate (also breaded/fried), and bruschetta. Since I was livin it up, I also ordered dessert: pancake with ice cream and cherries. Never had I considered pancakes a dessert, but I'm not opposed to the idea. I had wanted a cannoli, but this definitely made up for it.
I didn't anticipate such good lighting because from the hotel, I could see all the clouds rolling in. I was extremely disappointed when I pulled up for dinner and this was the view, along with the rainbow directly in front of me when I parked. Lesson of the night: don't leave the hotel without my DSLR. Teh Bear told me, "Duh," when I shared these photos with him.
It's ok, I deserved it.
When I went to Bahrain, I was worried about what I'd eat. It was nice once I finally got into my apartment so I could cook for myself. Eating out all the time gets old quick. I could usually predict what was going to upset my stomach, so that was good.
When I went back to the US, I had to readjust to American food. Luckily, that wasn't as torturous as leaving America.
Now that I'm in Scotland, the food is strange again. We've all been complaining of stomach issues. I'm pretty sure I've eaten something either fried or greasy for every meal since I've been here. :( This makes me extremely sad, as I've worked really, really hard to eat better in the last year. Another issue with eating here is that everything is expensive. Pretty sure I've not eaten a meal that I've had to pay for that was less than $10.
Oddly enough, I didn't think about what I'd blog while I was away. Food never even crossed my mind till today. By the time I'd thought of it, they'd already cleared my dinner from the table. On the other hand, my eating schedule has been pretty messed up since I've been standing the midnight-8am watch, so that would explain why the thought hadn't really crossed my mind.
I've not yet tried Haggis, which is a local "delicacy". I'm willing, but I'm not going to order it for a meal then not be able to eat it.
Tonight, I went to The 1629, an italian restaurant. I ordered Tapas for dinner. I got 3 different things: some type of meatball that was fried, mushrooms stuffed with pate (also breaded/fried), and bruschetta. Since I was livin it up, I also ordered dessert: pancake with ice cream and cherries. Never had I considered pancakes a dessert, but I'm not opposed to the idea. I had wanted a cannoli, but this definitely made up for it.
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| Pancake over ice cream with whipped cream and black cherries. |
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| Learning lessons 1 photograph at a time with my cell phone instead of my Nikon. |
It's ok, I deserved it.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
8 April: wallet
My first goal was to do this photo challenge on instagram. Luckily, all technology can be combined, so for my photo of the day via instagram:
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| I got a wallet! |
Saturday, April 7, 2012
7 April: Shadow
Of course, I started with the obligatory self-portrait shadow.
Then, I was like, ooo, lets be artsy!
Then, I realized Teh Bear might consider violence when he sees this photo, but I'm brave since he's so far away.
Finally, I decided on something a little more refined: shadows from the other petals.
I was planning on doing this challenge on instagram at first, but I had my Nikon with me today and not my cell phone, so blog it is!
April photo a day challenge!
Maybe you've noticed? I love taking pictures. :) I also like sharing my pics with the world, mostly when they are good, but that's not the point. I also love photo challenges. Apparently, several other people do as well.
So I'll be starting on day 7, since that's today and yesterday when I found this I'd already eaten lunch. /shrug.
Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with this challenge, but I have a trip to Scotland scheduled mid-end of April, so we'll see.
I don't always sit in front of the computer.. just frequently...
This weekend is the last weekend I have before returning to work after my surgery and that may not seem like a milestone to many, but for me, I had this "relish this opportunity" attitude to it being the weekend before I return to work. I guess I tried to make it like I would a "regular" weekend, and by "regular" I mean, worked like a normal person who wasn't on convalescent leave.
I've tried not to vary my schedule too much, despite not going to work. Mostly for Teh Phil-boy, he's a stickler for a schedule. When the caretakers were here, he continued his walks regimen, same feeding time, etc. I've also picked back up on our walk/runs since I was given the all-clear-but-be-careful talk from the doc. Wake-up time is only 45 minutes-1.5 hours (depending on how lucky I was each day) later. We still go on our long afternoon exercise session. Dinner is still between 6-7 (or 5-6 pre-daylight savings time, ugh). Bedtime.. well, that doesn't matter because, lets be honest, Phil sleeps all day and all night.
But today, I was all carpe diem. Phil let me sleep till 0755, at which point I tried to lay in bed and not move, because if he hears me move, he gets excited and gets up and his tail slaps all the furniture, which has to annoy the neighbors. I made it till 0801, which I know the exact time because I was roused by the sound of colors. After carry on, I carried on. I got up and took Phil out then came back and fed him breakfast. I enjoyed a scrumptious Carnation Instant Breakfast shake while doing my morning internetting. I finally burned Worldwide Jesus Lover's (WwJL) wedding photos onto discs. I poked around on Pinterest and watched 2 episodes of How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) and then the carpe diem started making me feel unmotivated and like I was wasting the day away.
I got the stupid motivational bug and did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters. Then, I decided it was pb&j toast day (mostly because I bought a whole new loaf of bread for Teh Granny since the loaf I had was almost gone, and she left the next day). As I was getting my PB&J toast prepared, my NY Cousin called me on Skype to talk to Teh Gramps. We didn't really have much to talk about, since I'm not often in touch with my NY relatives other than FB. He kept commenting on what a nice smile I had. I felt like I should have been smiling less, lol. But I was hoping that by being smiley there would be no reason for him to have a grouchy/angry mood swing (he has Dementia). After signing off with Teh Gramps, I finally finished my cold toast (it was still delicious) while talking to Teh Bear on Skype. We watched a few episodes of Community (love that show) then it was time for him to get ready for work and for me to be productive.
I started laundry and watched another episode of HIMYM. Since WwJL's photos were complete, I packed the dvd's and the spare bridesmaid dress (oh guess who forgot her dress on the wedding day? This girl!!!) in the box that my new flash came in. I also told someone that I would send her my brown undershirts since I would no longer be requiring them. She has some re-purpose ideas for them, and I'm excited that I don't have to deal with them (all 15+) in the closet anymore. I gathered those up for mailing on Monday also.
Then, I was searching for things to do again. So, I figured I'd make the chicken that's been sitting in the fridge since the day before Teh Granny left. We bought it for dinner then ended up eating other stuff and then she left.. so it was up to me to eat it. Le sigh. I also made rice and beans the night before she left. I made a whole bag of beans because I thought Teh Granny was going to be staying longer. Soooo much rice and beans. Anyways, 1 package of thigh pieces + 1 can of shredded pineapple (dump entire can into pan) + bake till done (165°F+) = delicious, fyi. Goes well over rice (without beans) and a salad (which I enjoyed for dinner). After the chicken was done and a few more episodes of HIMYM, some Pinterest scrollin, and a call from Teh Dad, I decided it was time to do something outside.
I figured I'd start with a walk/run with Teh Phil-boy. I think he was very appreciative, because he'd started to get restless. After our run, we went by the dog park to cool down. There we met a dog named Cody and his parents. Today I learned that Phil is possessive over toys. He only barked at Cody, but I quickly told him no and took the toy from him (and it was Cody's toy anyways, greedy Phil). Cody and his parents left and Phil was bored (I think when they finally mowed the dog park, they took out all the tennis balls that are usually laying around), so we left too. Once Phil was watered, I decided to finally take my camera and take photos of flowers/things I've been eyeing for a while now around the apartment complex.
Side story: I had my eyes on my (I call it mine since its right beside the stairs to come up to my apt) cherry blossom tree when I returned from NC with Teh Dad, but the flowers were only there for a day or 2 then started blowing away, and after my surgery I didn't give a shit that the tree had flowers, to take photos of it was way too much effort for this girl, so all the petals blew away and now the tree is just ugly again.
So, I set out for the single yellow Tulip amid all the other yellow Pansies? Idk, they were ground level, yellow flowers. I'm not a botanist people, I only took a Mushroom class in college. Everyday that I pass this single yellow tulip, I think to myself, "one of these things just doesn't belong" (oh yeah, Sesame Street kid!). After that, I kinda moseyed around the complex, finding whatever I could that looked pretty/interesting.
Evidence I went outside today:
After photos was more HIMYM, rolling the laundry (finally), and dinner time for me then Phil.
How about a YAY for shooting photos so awesome they don't need to be edited??? YAY!!
Also, I've noticed that Lightroom does watermarks. As in, you can put watermarks on all your photos with a few simple clicks. WIN. Maybe once I figure out a cool mark I can start putting some of my bestest photos on the blog/fb? We'll see. :)
I've tried not to vary my schedule too much, despite not going to work. Mostly for Teh Phil-boy, he's a stickler for a schedule. When the caretakers were here, he continued his walks regimen, same feeding time, etc. I've also picked back up on our walk/runs since I was given the all-clear-but-be-careful talk from the doc. Wake-up time is only 45 minutes-1.5 hours (depending on how lucky I was each day) later. We still go on our long afternoon exercise session. Dinner is still between 6-7 (or 5-6 pre-daylight savings time, ugh). Bedtime.. well, that doesn't matter because, lets be honest, Phil sleeps all day and all night.
But today, I was all carpe diem. Phil let me sleep till 0755, at which point I tried to lay in bed and not move, because if he hears me move, he gets excited and gets up and his tail slaps all the furniture, which has to annoy the neighbors. I made it till 0801, which I know the exact time because I was roused by the sound of colors. After carry on, I carried on. I got up and took Phil out then came back and fed him breakfast. I enjoyed a scrumptious Carnation Instant Breakfast shake while doing my morning internetting. I finally burned Worldwide Jesus Lover's (WwJL) wedding photos onto discs. I poked around on Pinterest and watched 2 episodes of How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) and then the carpe diem started making me feel unmotivated and like I was wasting the day away.
I got the stupid motivational bug and did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters. Then, I decided it was pb&j toast day (mostly because I bought a whole new loaf of bread for Teh Granny since the loaf I had was almost gone, and she left the next day). As I was getting my PB&J toast prepared, my NY Cousin called me on Skype to talk to Teh Gramps. We didn't really have much to talk about, since I'm not often in touch with my NY relatives other than FB. He kept commenting on what a nice smile I had. I felt like I should have been smiling less, lol. But I was hoping that by being smiley there would be no reason for him to have a grouchy/angry mood swing (he has Dementia). After signing off with Teh Gramps, I finally finished my cold toast (it was still delicious) while talking to Teh Bear on Skype. We watched a few episodes of Community (love that show) then it was time for him to get ready for work and for me to be productive.
I started laundry and watched another episode of HIMYM. Since WwJL's photos were complete, I packed the dvd's and the spare bridesmaid dress (oh guess who forgot her dress on the wedding day? This girl!!!) in the box that my new flash came in. I also told someone that I would send her my brown undershirts since I would no longer be requiring them. She has some re-purpose ideas for them, and I'm excited that I don't have to deal with them (all 15+) in the closet anymore. I gathered those up for mailing on Monday also.
Then, I was searching for things to do again. So, I figured I'd make the chicken that's been sitting in the fridge since the day before Teh Granny left. We bought it for dinner then ended up eating other stuff and then she left.. so it was up to me to eat it. Le sigh. I also made rice and beans the night before she left. I made a whole bag of beans because I thought Teh Granny was going to be staying longer. Soooo much rice and beans. Anyways, 1 package of thigh pieces + 1 can of shredded pineapple (dump entire can into pan) + bake till done (165°F+) = delicious, fyi. Goes well over rice (without beans) and a salad (which I enjoyed for dinner). After the chicken was done and a few more episodes of HIMYM, some Pinterest scrollin, and a call from Teh Dad, I decided it was time to do something outside.
I figured I'd start with a walk/run with Teh Phil-boy. I think he was very appreciative, because he'd started to get restless. After our run, we went by the dog park to cool down. There we met a dog named Cody and his parents. Today I learned that Phil is possessive over toys. He only barked at Cody, but I quickly told him no and took the toy from him (and it was Cody's toy anyways, greedy Phil). Cody and his parents left and Phil was bored (I think when they finally mowed the dog park, they took out all the tennis balls that are usually laying around), so we left too. Once Phil was watered, I decided to finally take my camera and take photos of flowers/things I've been eyeing for a while now around the apartment complex.
Side story: I had my eyes on my (I call it mine since its right beside the stairs to come up to my apt) cherry blossom tree when I returned from NC with Teh Dad, but the flowers were only there for a day or 2 then started blowing away, and after my surgery I didn't give a shit that the tree had flowers, to take photos of it was way too much effort for this girl, so all the petals blew away and now the tree is just ugly again.
So, I set out for the single yellow Tulip amid all the other yellow Pansies? Idk, they were ground level, yellow flowers. I'm not a botanist people, I only took a Mushroom class in college. Everyday that I pass this single yellow tulip, I think to myself, "one of these things just doesn't belong" (oh yeah, Sesame Street kid!). After that, I kinda moseyed around the complex, finding whatever I could that looked pretty/interesting.
Evidence I went outside today:
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| Can you find the camouflage tulip? |
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| Swaying in the breeze. |
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| Pretty and pink. |
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| Spyglass. Literally. |
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| Duck on what I like to call the "collector pond" since it seems to just sit there stagnant. |
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| Random boat/floaty thingy in the water... |
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| ...That these men seemed to be operating. |
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| Today's April Photo of the Day was "shadow". I had a more clever shadow of my camera lens. |
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| This is spring. In America. Which you never take for granted again after being in a desert climate for 2 years. |
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| Floating spider? |
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| The pathway for Phil's morning walk. |
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| Tulip. |
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| Fallen solider. |
How about a YAY for shooting photos so awesome they don't need to be edited??? YAY!!
Also, I've noticed that Lightroom does watermarks. As in, you can put watermarks on all your photos with a few simple clicks. WIN. Maybe once I figure out a cool mark I can start putting some of my bestest photos on the blog/fb? We'll see. :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
What I learned this week..
Growing up, my family almost always sat at the dining room table for dinner/supper/the last meal of the day. Rarely were we ever caught in front of the tv at dinner time. The tv was turned off and everyone (that was home) came to the table to eat. The radio was almost always turned off. There were no elbows allowed on the table (Teh Sister's rule), there was no talking with your mouth full (my rule), no singing (or humming or anything musically related) allowed at the table (Teh Mom's rule), and no reading at the table (Teh Mom's rule). There might have been other rules, but I've probably blocked them out. We weren't allowed to eat in our bedrooms either.
Since we had such strict guidelines to follow at dinner, all that was left to do at the table was to talk to each other (which was hard to do with your mouth full of food). So Teh Mom started this thing where she'd ask us about our day. It was a series of questions that everyone had to answer. Everyone. Even the friend that spend the night, the friend who lived with us for the summer, no one was exempt, including Teh Parents.
The questions were:
1. What was the best part of your day?
2. What was the worst part of your day?
3. What did you learn today?
(this is usually as far as we got)
4. Something that made you sad today?
I think once or twice we got past 4 questions each. I don't recall what the other questions were though.
And each person had to answer each questions before we could move on to the next question. Being skipped wasn't an option. We waited until you thought of something good that happened to you that day, even if you had the shittiest day ever.
So questions 1 and 2 were the easy questions. Question 3 was only difficult for Teh Parents who weren't in school having to learn stuff. Rarely did we get to question 4, but it was usually pretty easy too.
What does any of this have to do with anything? I'll tell you, Gentle Reader, I'll tell you.
This week, I learned something. Actually, this week I learned several somethings. It was pretty awesome.
When I went to Worldwide Jesus Lover's wedding (WwJL) (omg) 2 weeks ago, I felt like I might have been putting the paid for photographer out. I was there beside her for all the standard shots (except for the ones I was in). I even let her take my "good angle/spot" a few times. I took over 350 photos, which isn't a lot, except for the fact that, I was in the wedding.
I don't consider myself a pro photographer. I'm often really lucky and wind up at least a few awesome shots. Often, I try to put some thought into my photography like, is the lighting good on this, do I need a faster shutter speed, etc? But mostly its acquire target, point, focus, shoot. Whatever happens, happens. And I'll take 10 photos of the same thing just to make sure I "got it right".
I started out shooting flowers. Which is where my love of macro photography blossomed. I bought my DSLR with my bonus money from the Navy while I was in GTMO. Most of my friends in GTMO were actually Public Affairs guys and gals who did the camera/video camera/journalism thing for the Army or Navy, they were trained in the ways of being awesome (as far as I know). They knew Adobe Suite and Final Cut Pro and whatever else they used to make the media happen on the island. I had a basic understanding of Final Cut Pro and video cameras from my bachelor's degree, but that knowledge faded quickly.
Way back when, while I was still in college (sooo long ago), Teh BFF needed Adobe Suite for her degree program. I'd wanted to buy it, but I wasn't interested in paying $600 for it, because even with the student discount, that was about $600 more than I could afford. Then I had a good idea. Teh BFF and I could split the cost! $300 each wasn't nearly as painful as $600. So, I bought the license from NCSU bookstore and I installed the program on my computer and mailed Teh BFF the discs so she could install it on her computer. We were badasses with our CS2? CS3. I don't even remember now.
I originally got it for the video editing software, but Photoshop was also a pretty common word being tossed around by that point. I knew Photoshop could do awesome things, but I didn't know how to make it do those awesome things. The most masterful thing I could do in Photoshop was take away zits, and even that was a long time to learn. Photoshop just overwhelmed me. I never tried to learn much about it other than how to use the RAW editor once I got my DSLR.
Well, this week, Gentle Readers, I popped a few of my Adobe cherries. I learned how to make a graphic to use as my signature for the GEGR forums. I downloaded Lightroom (as a 30 day trial) and used it to edit most of the photos from WwJL's wedding. I popped a few photos into Photoshop to do some fancy stuff, like focus the subjects and blur the background.
Lightroom has been a challenge to learn because, while I've used Photoshop before (at least in minimal ways)... I've never used Lightroom before now. But now that I've removed the red eye from over 300 photos, I probably wouldn't have ever gotten through all the photos if I had to use Photoshop. I would have selected what I thought were the best photos and fixed those and sent a whole bunch of red eyed photos to WwJL and said, "Have fun fixing all your red eyes, Demon!" (Demon is the new nickname she acquired due to the fact that she was the person with red eye in almost every single photo. And considering she was the bride, she was in almost every. single. photo.)
So today I learned that with the internet, I can learn Photoshop and Lightroom, with just a few simple google searches. And to the Adobe elitists who reamed the poor guy who asked how to save his RAW files as JPEGs from Lightroom.. you're all jerks and you don't know anything about being a good friend! Export is how you save as JPEGs in Lightroom. Although if you're reading this, you probably a) don't care, or b) already know.
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| This original image included fly away hairs and bobby pins! But no more! |
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Removing the bad pieces
While I was in GTMO, I started having some serious pain. It was usually around "that time of the month", so I just associated it with being a girl. But then I was in a car accident, a TCN sideswiped me and the pain was exasperated.
Medical told me to stretch out the sore parts. They suggested the pain was due to the accident. I wasn't so sure. I went to yoga to help with the stretching, and left one day crying, in an unbearable amount of pain. Driving back to my cuzco was the most difficult thing I had ever done (since Teh Kaar was a manual) and I had to literally lift my legs with my hands to get up the stairs. I took a tramadol (which I had gotten at one my visits to medical for the pain) and collapsed into bed. I got up the next morning, and went to medical. I explained there was something wrong. They gave memore some 800mg Motrin and sent me on my way.
I went back several times for the pain, mostly so it could be documented. They changed my birth control (BC). When I arrived in GTMO I had an IUD. It had started slipping out, so they removed it and I asked to be put on Ortho Evra (the Patch). I was on the patch when I started having the horrible pain, so they switched me to Ortho-Tricyclen. I tried to think of what this pain could be, and the only thing I could come up with, with the help of Teh Bear jogging my memory, was when Teh Mom told me the year before that she had Endometrosis. I did lots of research on Endo, then went back to medical. People love it when you come up with a solution to a problem, so I thought this might work better than just telling them I was in pain.
Some Endo research links.
The next time I was hurting and went to medical, I explained about the Endometrosis family history (Teh Mom, Teh Sister, Teh Granny) and the symptoms. I told them I wanted to see about getting checked for Endo. They sent me to the OB/GYN at the hospital for an ultrasound, which was the only thing they could do on the island due to limited resources.
I got to my appointment, excited I might be able to find something out. The corpsman (HM) told me to undress from the waist down and the doc would be in soon. The doc came in, a male, O-4, and asked me what I was there for. I explained to him the family history of endo and how we were using the sonogram to see if there was anything to be seen. He told me that a sonogram couldn't determine anything with Endo and told me there was nothing that could be done to help me.
I was torn between saying, "Well, I'm already naked, so how about we just do this since we're all here," and just keeping my mouth shut, since he was a high ranking officer. I went with the 2nd choice, which I learned from quickly. The HM looked at me and looked at the doc and looked back at me. She was in just as much disbelief as I was. The doc and HM left the room, I put my uniform back on and went home. I looked over all the endo research again to make sure that a sonogram was part of the "finding process", it was. I wasn't crazy.
The issue then became, since the doc had shut me down on doing the sonogram, and he was the only OB/GYN at the hospital (at that time), there was no way to get around him. He suggested changing my birth control to Ortho-Tricyclen-Lo, which I did. It didn't help. Luckily, I was leaving GTMO soon, so I decided just to deal with the pain until I got to Bahrain and could hopefully find someone there that would be willing to help me.
When I got to Bahrain, I had to make an appointment with the OB/GYN since the OB/GYN in GTMO didn't give me enough birth control to make it through more than 3 months, which meant getting my yearly girl appointment done in November and then again in February... rah. The OB/GYN in Bahrain couldn't believe that the doc in GTMO hadn't done anything but change my BC (especially since I was already sitting there naked), and it wasn't even a good change she said. She changed my BC again to Norinyl, a monocyclic pill, where the hormone levels are consistent throughout the whole month, except for the placebo week and recommended Naproxen (Aleve) over Motrin for when I was in pain (naproxen is for cramping muscles where motrin is for general pain was how it was explained to me).
The doc explained that this was a better option for me, because it could help control the pain by controlling the levels of hormones where the Ortho Tri-Cyclin was different levels of hormone throughout the month. If I had Endo, the change in hormone levels was probably causing a majority of the pain. She explained to me that because we were in Bahrain, surgery wasn't an option until I was able to get back to the US. I knew the likelihood of getting my command to approve a trip to Norfolk to get examined/have potential surgery was minimal to a cool day in hell. I told the doc that as long as the pills were able to keep the pain under control that I'd just wait till I got my next set of orders (hopefully back to the US, thankfully back to the US) to try and get more definitive answers.
The new BC did control the pain, which was a huge relief. I wasn't a huge fan of going on the pill from the beginning because I knew I'd forget to take it. But the motivation of being almost painless was enough to make me able to remember to take it. The only difficulty I had with the BC was when I would switch from day shift to night shift, since I would take the pill first thing after waking up.
When I started preparing to leave Bahrain, the pain started coming back. Not has bad as it had been, but enough to make naproxen a regular part of my days. I suffered through it, knowing that as soon as I got to Pax River I'd be starting the Endo search again.
When I checked in with my HM2 and flight surgeon/doc at VX-1, I explained the situation to them. The pain that I was having, the history of endo, how the doc in GTMO wouldn't help, how the doc in Bahrain did all she could and finally put the Endometrosis prognosis in my medical record. Doc told me to come and see her whenever I wanted to start the research again and she'd refer me to the OB/GYN at medical. After I was finished checking in, I went back to doc. She gave me a referral to see Dr. Tremont, a male, O-6, who worked at the main medical clinic on base.
During my first appt with Capt. Tremont, I explained my medical history, the pain, the whole story. He was very surprised at the doc in GTMO and even looked him up to see if he was a OB/GYN, which he actually was, despite Capt. Tremont's quickly formed opinion after I told him how the LCDR said a sonogram wouldn't help determine anything. It felt nice to finally have people on my side.
Capt. Tremont made a whole list of issues that could be causing the pain. From a UTI, endometrosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, to cancer. His plan was to rule each thing out one by one. We were able to quickly rule out UTI and cancer. Then Capt. Tremont sent me for an ultrasound, which would determine if there were any cysts/things that were obvious that could be causing the pain. The ultrasound didn't show anything, which left endo and pelvic inflammatory disease as the options and the only real way to find out was to go in and look around. He referred me to a OB/GYN out in town who was able to do the surgery.
I had a consultation with Dr. Polawski in the beginning of March. He heard my story, explained some medical stuff to me about endo and ANDROmetrosis, and explained my options. It went like this:
There are 2 types of "metrosis" (I made that term up, but strongly encourage you to use it). There is Endo and Andro. Endo is outside the uterus, Andro is inside the uterus. Andro cannot be removed in any way other than by a hysterectomy (which is the complete removal of the female reproductive organs). There is also really no way to determine if you have Andrometrosis other than by doing a biopsy of the removed uterus. Endometrosis is uterine tissue that grows outside the uterus, sometimes making adhesions/fusions outside the uterus with things that aren't supposed to be connected (like your intestines). These fusions cause pain, since the fusions are connecting 2 places that shouldn't be connected.
Since my reproductive parts haven't served their purpose yet, I opted to keep them, in case of a desire to actually use them one day.
The methods Dr. Polawski said there are to "treat" the endometrosis are:
Option #1: Surgery
This is the only way to scientifically, without a doubt, say, "you have endometrosis". It was explained that the dr would go in laparoscopically (through my belly button and 2 or 3 small 1/2 inch incisions in my abdomen). There would be a scope to see what he was looking at, then the other 2-3 incisions were for the tools to remove the fusions that had been created by the endo/whatever else the dr found that shouldn't be there (cysts, random other things?). He would only know what would happen once he got inside and saw what there was to see. He also explained how they would use gas toblow me up lift my uterus, so he could see under my uterus to see if any endo had formed there. This minimally invasive procedure would require 7-10 days of recovery. The removal of all found fusions is taken to the lab to be biopsied to confirm Endometrosis. This procedure did not guarantee that fusions would be gone forever, in fact quite the opposite if Endometrosis was confirmed via biopsy.
Option #2. lupron shots.
For 6 months, I'd be given Lupron injections. These shots would essentially put my body into menopause, stopping the fuel for any "metrosis" in my body. The purpose is to "kill off" the "metrosis" since there is an absence of hormones to help the "metrosis" make fusions/spread. The downside is that I'd be 26 years old and in menopause. If the injections didn't help, surgery was the last option, but it probably wasn't "metrosis" if the Lupron didn't help.
After several years of trying to know and prove that I had endo and I wasn't just making some crazy shit up to get good drugs, I knew when I walked into Dr. Polawski's office that I wanted the surgery if he was willing to do it. I still let him explain everything to me so I could reweigh my options.
I told him the surgery was my choice and we scheduled it for March 28th (after Worldwide Jesus Lover's wedding). It was planned that Teh Dad would be my caretaker for the 1st half of my recovery and Teh Granny would be my caretaker for the 2nd half. Things worked out better than anticipated, despite some major difficulties. The wedding took place on the 24th instead of the 17th, I was able to attend and Teh Dad was able to just ride back to MD with me instead of having to make the 8 hour drive up and back. He bought a one-way plane ticket from BWI to CLT and it was only a 1.5 hour drive home. Teh Granny drove up on Saturday.
I had a pre-surgery consult appointment with Dr. Polawski a week prior to the surgery to confirm all decisions and to go over what would happen in the surgery (as covered above). He warned me that the hospital would call to confirm my surgery in the upcoming week and they would let me know the details of when to be there/not to eat after midnight/etc.
The pain got steadily worse throughout the month. I don't know if I was just more aware of it because of the upcoming surgery or if my body was excited. I kept telling myself, just a few more weeks, just a few more days! Finally, it was surgery day.
I got up at 0430 and took Phil out on his last morning walk with me for a while. I showered, make a snarky FB update about not having been up that early since bootcamp, and we were at the hospital by the appointed 0620. The surgery was scheduled for 0830. We were brought back to pre-op-prep where I had to get naked and put on my sexyyyy hospital gown. A vial of blood was drawn and my IV was put in. I read while Dad napped, all the while nurses were coming in an out to ask me the exact same questions over and over. What procedure was I getting done, who was doing it, any allergies, whats your birth date? I stayed pleasant about the repetitive questions what with the needle sticking out of my hand and the fact that some of these nurses might see me naked in a few hours. The anastealogist came in and explained that I was going to be put under and I wouldn't remember anything. That I'd wake up in a recovery area and everything would be done. Dr. Polawski came by with some forms for me to sign that allowed him to do all the things he re-explained, including the "if I find a fallopian tube that is damaged and doesn't look like it works, it will only hinder your ability to get pregnant down the line, so I will remove it." That was the most scary part, not knowing what was going to happen until after it was already done.
Finally, it was time. They came with a wheelchair to wheel me away. I told Teh Dad not to look at my butt since there was no way I could keep everything covered and get out of that bed. There was laughter all around. When I got situated, I was pretty sure Teh Dad might cry, but he didn't. He stayed strong. They wheeled me into the operating room, that didn't look anything like Grey's Anatomy. I had to lay myself on the operating table! Gosh! lol. I laid down, spread my arms out, Bryan, the anastealogist from earlier, who's name is the only name I remember from the operating room, put an oxygen mask on me and said, I'm giving you anti-nausea meds now. I woke up asplit second hour-ish later to a really nasty sore throat, needing some water and some nurse who was asking me what my pain level was.
Me (thinking): WHAT?! Lady, please. Tell those other yappers to stop yappin'. They are so loud I don't know what my pain level is. OUUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH. Throat. so. dry. I don't even care about my uterus.
Nurse repeats: What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?
Me (cursing her for making me speak outloud): uhhh. 8?
Me (thinking): Why can't I moooovvveeee? My throat hurts at at least an 8. I mean, I'm not crying. Those signs show tears if you're a 9/10. No tears. 8. OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, my uterussssssssssssssss.
A few minutes later:
Nurse: What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?
Me (thinking): Say something nice to ME. Stop talking about your weekend plans with your homies, who really are getting on my nerves. Why do some women have such high pitched voices? Shouldn't this recovery area be quiet? Like a library?
Nurse: What is your pain level?
Me (thinking): Hrm. I do feel less pain. That is nice.
Me: 6?
Afterseveral minutes some time that I have no way of determine due to being drugged out of my mind and being watch-less, I was rolled (in my bed this time) back to the pre-op-prep area. Teh Dad was waiting on me. He seemed relieved that I was back. I tried to stay awake so we could leave sooner, or at least that was my thought process. Nurses came and went and I think there might have been conversation between Teh Dad and I that I no longer can recall. He did tell me that Dr. Polawski had come to tell him that he'd removed a cyst and some fusions and there was some bad scar tissue near one of my tubes. After I finally peed, at least 100cc's, which I'm an overachiever and had 200cc's (prob from all the water I'd been sucking down for my sore throat and the cardboard graham crackers they'd given me to eat), I was allowed to put my clothes on and we were free.
We were out of the hospital by 1. We even stopped to pick up Japanese for lunch. Oh yes, I stomached sushi after surgery. Teh Bear was surprised, as he'd warned me that I'd be so nauseous I'd probably vomit from the drugs as soon as I woke up.
Teh Dad took extra good care of me. He wouldn't even let me remove the tape on my belly over the incisions. He took Phil out for all his business/exercise needs (I'd say that he even enjoyed it). He even made me go on a walk the day of my surgery, "because the doctor said you needed to move around and not just lay around!" I often referred to him as "masa".
The day of the surgery I was fine. I didn't want to move around much, but I wasn't in too much pain. Dr. Polawski had prescribed Percocet for my pain, which I, unknowingly, took the lowest amount possible. 1 pill every 6-8 hours instead of the 1-2 pills every 4 hours.
The day after the surgery (Thursday) I was sure I might die. I hadn't slept well the night before, my back hurt from top to bottom, my uterus hurt, I felt like a blow up doll might, my throat felt like the fire from a thousand suns had scorched it. I only got out of bed so I could take pain pills, and I was bitter that I had to eat before I could take them. Then something amazing happened. A nurse from St. Mary's Hospital called to check up on me after my surgery. I was seriously impressed. She asked if I had any questions, and I did! I asked her if I could take a Flexeril with the Percocet. She said yes, but suggested I should alternate which I take and not take them together. I was relieved. I stayed up a little while, ate lunch, took a Flexeril and then laid down for a nap. I woke up, the drugs had taken effect and decided that my "getting around" for the day was going to be a trip to Target for some random stuff.
Yeah, don't ever say I'm not a badass..
While we were in Target, one of the LT's from work called me.
LT: Hey, I know you're on convalescent leave and you just had surgery and you're probably not feeling very well. I'm sorry I had to call, I know you're trying to recover. I'm really sorry. But I need the diplomatic ID# from APACS and your office said you're the only one that can access the request since you created it.
Me: Sir, this can't wait till the 9th?
LT: Well, we are trying to get all the final arrangements done ASAP. Is there anyway you could come and look at the request?
Long story short, after some back and forth, I just succumbed to having to go into work on my 2nd day of convalescent leave to find this number that I knew didn't exist in any request I had process. I very strongly pressured the guy on watch to let me use his computer by flashing my taped up belly button surgery markings. Some people really take walking for granted! Once I finally got signed into the program, I made sure to go in and copy the ENTIRE approved request and send it to the LT in an email, so there could be no discrepancies over if I had over-looked something and to prove that I had went in on convalescent leave.
I was pretty sure after the trip to Target (and to Lowes to get some spare keys made) and to work that I might die by the time I got home. I very confidently told Teh Dad that I would not be going out for a walk that evening, that I'd done all the "getting around" that I was doing that day.
Day 2 after the surgery (Friday) was much better that the day prior. The Flexeril I'd taken before bed enabled me to sleep, which might have been the major difference. I moved around like an old lady for most of the day, but while Teh Dad was washing Yurtle (the car), Phil and I snuck out for a walk. Phil was easy on me, and Teh Dad quickly showed back up, cause the landscapers were in front of the car wash area. We walked to the car wash area and they landscapers had moved, so I told Teh Dad to go bring Yurtle back for her bath. He ensured that I would be ok, then hesitantly headed back to get Yurtle. Phil and I chilled while Teh Dad started washing Yurtle (YAY!). Eventually, that got boring, so I told Teh Dad that we were heading back to the apartment. I sent my across the street neighbor's a text message asking if they needed anything since they just brought home their new baby and was told I could come over and see the baby, which I did! Soooo tiny! Sooo precious! The rest of the afternoon was lazy.
Day 3 after the surgery (Saturday) was mostly normal. My incisions started to get itchy and were still moderately sore. Teh Dad purposely hit a speed bump pretty hard to "test" me to see if I would flinch. I didn't, but I made sure he knew that wasn't ok... ever. Jeez. We went out to a pet store across the bridge to see about some fancy/expensive food for Phil (which we determined probably was WAY more than I was willing to pay), then hit up Moe's for lunch. There are only 3 Moe's in MD. One of them just happens to be about 25 minutes from where I live. One more reason why Pax River isn't the worst place to be stationed. Teh Granny arrived after some very frustrating calls about directions, and we got home after she had already arrived at the apartment. That evening was spent getting Teh Dad's laundry cleaned and packed and Teh Granny settled in.
Day 4 after the surgery (Sunday) was church and then my first day driving! I hadn't taken any good drugs (which I mean anything stronger than 800mg Motrin) since noon on Saturday. Teh Dad needed to be at BWI by 1:30pm. After church, Teh Dad, Phil, and I jumped in the car and headed to BWI, Teh Dad drove. He only slammed Phil against the seats 2 times, which I teased him mercilessly about. Phil went with us because after dropping Teh Dad off at the airport, we were going to meet Phil's foster family/dog sitters for the time that I'm gone to Scotland. Everyone hit off well, they are excited to have him and I'm excited that he will be staying with an awesome family who is excited he is there while I'm away. I finally made it back home around 5pm and Teh Granny and I went out for dinner (despite the fact that all I really wanted to do was lay down and not move for several hours.. I wasn't too sore, I was mostly just tired from expending so much energy).
Day 5 after the surgery (Monday) was a pretty normal day. I took Phil on his morning walk. I only took 1 Motrin because my incision spots were really itchy and still kinda sore. Teh Dad had proclaimed that I leave the surgery tape on the incisions till I went to the doctor on Tuesday, so I'd left the tape on. Teh Granny and I went to the store to pick up some items (most important was yogurt for Phil who gets super stinky gas) and picked up Subway for dinner.
Day 6 after the surgery (Tuesday) was finally the day of sweet tape release. My follow-up appointment with Dr. Polawski took place. They showed me the pictures from the surgery (that I will somehow find a way to put on the internet), which was pretty cool. I was really excited about the photos. Apparently, there is a cul de sac underneath my uterus! heeheh. Dr. Polawski told me what all had taken place (now that I wasn't drugged out of my mind). He showed me the photo of the cyst on my ovary (which would explain a LOT of pain). He showed me where he found endo and what he removed. He told me that the biopsy revealed that it was endometrosis, for SURE. Doc also confirmed that I could have removed the tape the day after the surgery (yeah, Teh Dad, take that). He also told me that I could work out again, but to listen to my body. If it hurt, STOP (I'm not very good at the listening to my body and stopping part).
Dr. Polawski also encouraged me to stay on BC until the point at which I decided I wanted to use my girl parts. He recommended a pill or an IUD. He remembered my IUD horror story from GTMO and said he'd be willing to try it again if I could get the IUD from medical on base.
I learned today that the cost of IUD's has been raised, but the coverage amount by Tricare wasn't increased, so doctors that give military patients IUDs are being screwed out of the price difference ($200ish), even if the patient is willing to pay the difference. Contractually, the dr's office can't take the payment because Tricare covers 100% of the cost. Ugh, insurance is so retarded! (Says the girl who didn't pay a penny out of pocket for a surgery and hasn't paid a dime to a doctor/pharmacy since November 10th, 2008).
After the follow-up appointment, Teh Granny and I went by the most interesting place in Pax River, the airplane museum. Teh Granny was fascinated by the planes we were able to walk around, she said they looked much smaller in the air. Afterwards, we hit up the commissary for lunch, then drove by the hangar so I could show her the aircraft that I get to walk past (and sometimes into, ouch) on a daily basis. Finally, we headed home and ate lunch. After some laziness, I decided it was time to take Phil out for a 2 mile walk/run. We both survived, and I did have to stop due to a side stitch 2 times. Ugh.
Lessons:
-when the doctor says "move around" he doesn't actually mean go on a walk/to the store.. he means move around your house instead of laying in bed and being waited on.
-call the doctor for clarification when your caretaker insists on you leaving tape on your body for a week.
So that is my Endometrosis story. If you have an Endo story to share or questions/comments, the comments area below is a great place for that. I see all the comments that are entered below.
I know that was a LOT of text.. and no pictures. And to make up for that (since the inside pictures aren't available yet), I'll share something embarrassing with you.
Medical told me to stretch out the sore parts. They suggested the pain was due to the accident. I wasn't so sure. I went to yoga to help with the stretching, and left one day crying, in an unbearable amount of pain. Driving back to my cuzco was the most difficult thing I had ever done (since Teh Kaar was a manual) and I had to literally lift my legs with my hands to get up the stairs. I took a tramadol (which I had gotten at one my visits to medical for the pain) and collapsed into bed. I got up the next morning, and went to medical. I explained there was something wrong. They gave me
I went back several times for the pain, mostly so it could be documented. They changed my birth control (BC). When I arrived in GTMO I had an IUD. It had started slipping out, so they removed it and I asked to be put on Ortho Evra (the Patch). I was on the patch when I started having the horrible pain, so they switched me to Ortho-Tricyclen. I tried to think of what this pain could be, and the only thing I could come up with, with the help of Teh Bear jogging my memory, was when Teh Mom told me the year before that she had Endometrosis. I did lots of research on Endo, then went back to medical. People love it when you come up with a solution to a problem, so I thought this might work better than just telling them I was in pain.
Some Endo research links.
The next time I was hurting and went to medical, I explained about the Endometrosis family history (Teh Mom, Teh Sister, Teh Granny) and the symptoms. I told them I wanted to see about getting checked for Endo. They sent me to the OB/GYN at the hospital for an ultrasound, which was the only thing they could do on the island due to limited resources.
I got to my appointment, excited I might be able to find something out. The corpsman (HM) told me to undress from the waist down and the doc would be in soon. The doc came in, a male, O-4, and asked me what I was there for. I explained to him the family history of endo and how we were using the sonogram to see if there was anything to be seen. He told me that a sonogram couldn't determine anything with Endo and told me there was nothing that could be done to help me.
I was torn between saying, "Well, I'm already naked, so how about we just do this since we're all here," and just keeping my mouth shut, since he was a high ranking officer. I went with the 2nd choice, which I learned from quickly. The HM looked at me and looked at the doc and looked back at me. She was in just as much disbelief as I was. The doc and HM left the room, I put my uniform back on and went home. I looked over all the endo research again to make sure that a sonogram was part of the "finding process", it was. I wasn't crazy.
The issue then became, since the doc had shut me down on doing the sonogram, and he was the only OB/GYN at the hospital (at that time), there was no way to get around him. He suggested changing my birth control to Ortho-Tricyclen-Lo, which I did. It didn't help. Luckily, I was leaving GTMO soon, so I decided just to deal with the pain until I got to Bahrain and could hopefully find someone there that would be willing to help me.
When I got to Bahrain, I had to make an appointment with the OB/GYN since the OB/GYN in GTMO didn't give me enough birth control to make it through more than 3 months, which meant getting my yearly girl appointment done in November and then again in February... rah. The OB/GYN in Bahrain couldn't believe that the doc in GTMO hadn't done anything but change my BC (especially since I was already sitting there naked), and it wasn't even a good change she said. She changed my BC again to Norinyl, a monocyclic pill, where the hormone levels are consistent throughout the whole month, except for the placebo week and recommended Naproxen (Aleve) over Motrin for when I was in pain (naproxen is for cramping muscles where motrin is for general pain was how it was explained to me).
The doc explained that this was a better option for me, because it could help control the pain by controlling the levels of hormones where the Ortho Tri-Cyclin was different levels of hormone throughout the month. If I had Endo, the change in hormone levels was probably causing a majority of the pain. She explained to me that because we were in Bahrain, surgery wasn't an option until I was able to get back to the US. I knew the likelihood of getting my command to approve a trip to Norfolk to get examined/have potential surgery was minimal to a cool day in hell. I told the doc that as long as the pills were able to keep the pain under control that I'd just wait till I got my next set of orders (hopefully back to the US, thankfully back to the US) to try and get more definitive answers.
The new BC did control the pain, which was a huge relief. I wasn't a huge fan of going on the pill from the beginning because I knew I'd forget to take it. But the motivation of being almost painless was enough to make me able to remember to take it. The only difficulty I had with the BC was when I would switch from day shift to night shift, since I would take the pill first thing after waking up.
When I started preparing to leave Bahrain, the pain started coming back. Not has bad as it had been, but enough to make naproxen a regular part of my days. I suffered through it, knowing that as soon as I got to Pax River I'd be starting the Endo search again.
When I checked in with my HM2 and flight surgeon/doc at VX-1, I explained the situation to them. The pain that I was having, the history of endo, how the doc in GTMO wouldn't help, how the doc in Bahrain did all she could and finally put the Endometrosis prognosis in my medical record. Doc told me to come and see her whenever I wanted to start the research again and she'd refer me to the OB/GYN at medical. After I was finished checking in, I went back to doc. She gave me a referral to see Dr. Tremont, a male, O-6, who worked at the main medical clinic on base.
During my first appt with Capt. Tremont, I explained my medical history, the pain, the whole story. He was very surprised at the doc in GTMO and even looked him up to see if he was a OB/GYN, which he actually was, despite Capt. Tremont's quickly formed opinion after I told him how the LCDR said a sonogram wouldn't help determine anything. It felt nice to finally have people on my side.
Capt. Tremont made a whole list of issues that could be causing the pain. From a UTI, endometrosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cysts, to cancer. His plan was to rule each thing out one by one. We were able to quickly rule out UTI and cancer. Then Capt. Tremont sent me for an ultrasound, which would determine if there were any cysts/things that were obvious that could be causing the pain. The ultrasound didn't show anything, which left endo and pelvic inflammatory disease as the options and the only real way to find out was to go in and look around. He referred me to a OB/GYN out in town who was able to do the surgery.
I had a consultation with Dr. Polawski in the beginning of March. He heard my story, explained some medical stuff to me about endo and ANDROmetrosis, and explained my options. It went like this:
There are 2 types of "metrosis" (I made that term up, but strongly encourage you to use it). There is Endo and Andro. Endo is outside the uterus, Andro is inside the uterus. Andro cannot be removed in any way other than by a hysterectomy (which is the complete removal of the female reproductive organs). There is also really no way to determine if you have Andrometrosis other than by doing a biopsy of the removed uterus. Endometrosis is uterine tissue that grows outside the uterus, sometimes making adhesions/fusions outside the uterus with things that aren't supposed to be connected (like your intestines). These fusions cause pain, since the fusions are connecting 2 places that shouldn't be connected.
Since my reproductive parts haven't served their purpose yet, I opted to keep them, in case of a desire to actually use them one day.
The methods Dr. Polawski said there are to "treat" the endometrosis are:
Option #1: Surgery
This is the only way to scientifically, without a doubt, say, "you have endometrosis". It was explained that the dr would go in laparoscopically (through my belly button and 2 or 3 small 1/2 inch incisions in my abdomen). There would be a scope to see what he was looking at, then the other 2-3 incisions were for the tools to remove the fusions that had been created by the endo/whatever else the dr found that shouldn't be there (cysts, random other things?). He would only know what would happen once he got inside and saw what there was to see. He also explained how they would use gas to
Option #2. lupron shots.
For 6 months, I'd be given Lupron injections. These shots would essentially put my body into menopause, stopping the fuel for any "metrosis" in my body. The purpose is to "kill off" the "metrosis" since there is an absence of hormones to help the "metrosis" make fusions/spread. The downside is that I'd be 26 years old and in menopause. If the injections didn't help, surgery was the last option, but it probably wasn't "metrosis" if the Lupron didn't help.
After several years of trying to know and prove that I had endo and I wasn't just making some crazy shit up to get good drugs, I knew when I walked into Dr. Polawski's office that I wanted the surgery if he was willing to do it. I still let him explain everything to me so I could reweigh my options.
I told him the surgery was my choice and we scheduled it for March 28th (after Worldwide Jesus Lover's wedding). It was planned that Teh Dad would be my caretaker for the 1st half of my recovery and Teh Granny would be my caretaker for the 2nd half. Things worked out better than anticipated, despite some major difficulties. The wedding took place on the 24th instead of the 17th, I was able to attend and Teh Dad was able to just ride back to MD with me instead of having to make the 8 hour drive up and back. He bought a one-way plane ticket from BWI to CLT and it was only a 1.5 hour drive home. Teh Granny drove up on Saturday.
I had a pre-surgery consult appointment with Dr. Polawski a week prior to the surgery to confirm all decisions and to go over what would happen in the surgery (as covered above). He warned me that the hospital would call to confirm my surgery in the upcoming week and they would let me know the details of when to be there/not to eat after midnight/etc.
The pain got steadily worse throughout the month. I don't know if I was just more aware of it because of the upcoming surgery or if my body was excited. I kept telling myself, just a few more weeks, just a few more days! Finally, it was surgery day.
I got up at 0430 and took Phil out on his last morning walk with me for a while. I showered, make a snarky FB update about not having been up that early since bootcamp, and we were at the hospital by the appointed 0620. The surgery was scheduled for 0830. We were brought back to pre-op-prep where I had to get naked and put on my sexyyyy hospital gown. A vial of blood was drawn and my IV was put in. I read while Dad napped, all the while nurses were coming in an out to ask me the exact same questions over and over. What procedure was I getting done, who was doing it, any allergies, whats your birth date? I stayed pleasant about the repetitive questions what with the needle sticking out of my hand and the fact that some of these nurses might see me naked in a few hours. The anastealogist came in and explained that I was going to be put under and I wouldn't remember anything. That I'd wake up in a recovery area and everything would be done. Dr. Polawski came by with some forms for me to sign that allowed him to do all the things he re-explained, including the "if I find a fallopian tube that is damaged and doesn't look like it works, it will only hinder your ability to get pregnant down the line, so I will remove it." That was the most scary part, not knowing what was going to happen until after it was already done.
Finally, it was time. They came with a wheelchair to wheel me away. I told Teh Dad not to look at my butt since there was no way I could keep everything covered and get out of that bed. There was laughter all around. When I got situated, I was pretty sure Teh Dad might cry, but he didn't. He stayed strong. They wheeled me into the operating room, that didn't look anything like Grey's Anatomy. I had to lay myself on the operating table! Gosh! lol. I laid down, spread my arms out, Bryan, the anastealogist from earlier, who's name is the only name I remember from the operating room, put an oxygen mask on me and said, I'm giving you anti-nausea meds now. I woke up a
Me (thinking): WHAT?! Lady, please. Tell those other yappers to stop yappin'. They are so loud I don't know what my pain level is. OUUUUUUUCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH. Throat. so. dry. I don't even care about my uterus.
Nurse repeats: What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?
Me (cursing her for making me speak outloud): uhhh. 8?
Me (thinking): Why can't I moooovvveeee? My throat hurts at at least an 8. I mean, I'm not crying. Those signs show tears if you're a 9/10. No tears. 8. OOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, my uterussssssssssssssss.
A few minutes later:
Nurse: What is your pain level on a scale of 1-10?
Me (thinking): Say something nice to ME. Stop talking about your weekend plans with your homies, who really are getting on my nerves. Why do some women have such high pitched voices? Shouldn't this recovery area be quiet? Like a library?
Nurse: What is your pain level?
Me (thinking): Hrm. I do feel less pain. That is nice.
Me: 6?
After
We were out of the hospital by 1. We even stopped to pick up Japanese for lunch. Oh yes, I stomached sushi after surgery. Teh Bear was surprised, as he'd warned me that I'd be so nauseous I'd probably vomit from the drugs as soon as I woke up.
Teh Dad took extra good care of me. He wouldn't even let me remove the tape on my belly over the incisions. He took Phil out for all his business/exercise needs (I'd say that he even enjoyed it). He even made me go on a walk the day of my surgery, "because the doctor said you needed to move around and not just lay around!" I often referred to him as "masa".
The day of the surgery I was fine. I didn't want to move around much, but I wasn't in too much pain. Dr. Polawski had prescribed Percocet for my pain, which I, unknowingly, took the lowest amount possible. 1 pill every 6-8 hours instead of the 1-2 pills every 4 hours.
The day after the surgery (Thursday) I was sure I might die. I hadn't slept well the night before, my back hurt from top to bottom, my uterus hurt, I felt like a blow up doll might, my throat felt like the fire from a thousand suns had scorched it. I only got out of bed so I could take pain pills, and I was bitter that I had to eat before I could take them. Then something amazing happened. A nurse from St. Mary's Hospital called to check up on me after my surgery. I was seriously impressed. She asked if I had any questions, and I did! I asked her if I could take a Flexeril with the Percocet. She said yes, but suggested I should alternate which I take and not take them together. I was relieved. I stayed up a little while, ate lunch, took a Flexeril and then laid down for a nap. I woke up, the drugs had taken effect and decided that my "getting around" for the day was going to be a trip to Target for some random stuff.
Yeah, don't ever say I'm not a badass..
While we were in Target, one of the LT's from work called me.
LT: Hey, I know you're on convalescent leave and you just had surgery and you're probably not feeling very well. I'm sorry I had to call, I know you're trying to recover. I'm really sorry. But I need the diplomatic ID# from APACS and your office said you're the only one that can access the request since you created it.
Me: Sir, this can't wait till the 9th?
LT: Well, we are trying to get all the final arrangements done ASAP. Is there anyway you could come and look at the request?
Long story short, after some back and forth, I just succumbed to having to go into work on my 2nd day of convalescent leave to find this number that I knew didn't exist in any request I had process. I very strongly pressured the guy on watch to let me use his computer by flashing my taped up belly button surgery markings. Some people really take walking for granted! Once I finally got signed into the program, I made sure to go in and copy the ENTIRE approved request and send it to the LT in an email, so there could be no discrepancies over if I had over-looked something and to prove that I had went in on convalescent leave.
I was pretty sure after the trip to Target (and to Lowes to get some spare keys made) and to work that I might die by the time I got home. I very confidently told Teh Dad that I would not be going out for a walk that evening, that I'd done all the "getting around" that I was doing that day.
Day 2 after the surgery (Friday) was much better that the day prior. The Flexeril I'd taken before bed enabled me to sleep, which might have been the major difference. I moved around like an old lady for most of the day, but while Teh Dad was washing Yurtle (the car), Phil and I snuck out for a walk. Phil was easy on me, and Teh Dad quickly showed back up, cause the landscapers were in front of the car wash area. We walked to the car wash area and they landscapers had moved, so I told Teh Dad to go bring Yurtle back for her bath. He ensured that I would be ok, then hesitantly headed back to get Yurtle. Phil and I chilled while Teh Dad started washing Yurtle (YAY!). Eventually, that got boring, so I told Teh Dad that we were heading back to the apartment. I sent my across the street neighbor's a text message asking if they needed anything since they just brought home their new baby and was told I could come over and see the baby, which I did! Soooo tiny! Sooo precious! The rest of the afternoon was lazy.
Day 3 after the surgery (Saturday) was mostly normal. My incisions started to get itchy and were still moderately sore. Teh Dad purposely hit a speed bump pretty hard to "test" me to see if I would flinch. I didn't, but I made sure he knew that wasn't ok... ever. Jeez. We went out to a pet store across the bridge to see about some fancy/expensive food for Phil (which we determined probably was WAY more than I was willing to pay), then hit up Moe's for lunch. There are only 3 Moe's in MD. One of them just happens to be about 25 minutes from where I live. One more reason why Pax River isn't the worst place to be stationed. Teh Granny arrived after some very frustrating calls about directions, and we got home after she had already arrived at the apartment. That evening was spent getting Teh Dad's laundry cleaned and packed and Teh Granny settled in.
Day 4 after the surgery (Sunday) was church and then my first day driving! I hadn't taken any good drugs (which I mean anything stronger than 800mg Motrin) since noon on Saturday. Teh Dad needed to be at BWI by 1:30pm. After church, Teh Dad, Phil, and I jumped in the car and headed to BWI, Teh Dad drove. He only slammed Phil against the seats 2 times, which I teased him mercilessly about. Phil went with us because after dropping Teh Dad off at the airport, we were going to meet Phil's foster family/dog sitters for the time that I'm gone to Scotland. Everyone hit off well, they are excited to have him and I'm excited that he will be staying with an awesome family who is excited he is there while I'm away. I finally made it back home around 5pm and Teh Granny and I went out for dinner (despite the fact that all I really wanted to do was lay down and not move for several hours.. I wasn't too sore, I was mostly just tired from expending so much energy).
Day 5 after the surgery (Monday) was a pretty normal day. I took Phil on his morning walk. I only took 1 Motrin because my incision spots were really itchy and still kinda sore. Teh Dad had proclaimed that I leave the surgery tape on the incisions till I went to the doctor on Tuesday, so I'd left the tape on. Teh Granny and I went to the store to pick up some items (most important was yogurt for Phil who gets super stinky gas) and picked up Subway for dinner.
Day 6 after the surgery (Tuesday) was finally the day of sweet tape release. My follow-up appointment with Dr. Polawski took place. They showed me the pictures from the surgery (that I will somehow find a way to put on the internet), which was pretty cool. I was really excited about the photos. Apparently, there is a cul de sac underneath my uterus! heeheh. Dr. Polawski told me what all had taken place (now that I wasn't drugged out of my mind). He showed me the photo of the cyst on my ovary (which would explain a LOT of pain). He showed me where he found endo and what he removed. He told me that the biopsy revealed that it was endometrosis, for SURE. Doc also confirmed that I could have removed the tape the day after the surgery (yeah, Teh Dad, take that). He also told me that I could work out again, but to listen to my body. If it hurt, STOP (I'm not very good at the listening to my body and stopping part).
Dr. Polawski also encouraged me to stay on BC until the point at which I decided I wanted to use my girl parts. He recommended a pill or an IUD. He remembered my IUD horror story from GTMO and said he'd be willing to try it again if I could get the IUD from medical on base.
I learned today that the cost of IUD's has been raised, but the coverage amount by Tricare wasn't increased, so doctors that give military patients IUDs are being screwed out of the price difference ($200ish), even if the patient is willing to pay the difference. Contractually, the dr's office can't take the payment because Tricare covers 100% of the cost. Ugh, insurance is so retarded! (Says the girl who didn't pay a penny out of pocket for a surgery and hasn't paid a dime to a doctor/pharmacy since November 10th, 2008).
After the follow-up appointment, Teh Granny and I went by the most interesting place in Pax River, the airplane museum. Teh Granny was fascinated by the planes we were able to walk around, she said they looked much smaller in the air. Afterwards, we hit up the commissary for lunch, then drove by the hangar so I could show her the aircraft that I get to walk past (and sometimes into, ouch) on a daily basis. Finally, we headed home and ate lunch. After some laziness, I decided it was time to take Phil out for a 2 mile walk/run. We both survived, and I did have to stop due to a side stitch 2 times. Ugh.
Lessons:
-when the doctor says "move around" he doesn't actually mean go on a walk/to the store.. he means move around your house instead of laying in bed and being waited on.
-call the doctor for clarification when your caretaker insists on you leaving tape on your body for a week.
So that is my Endometrosis story. If you have an Endo story to share or questions/comments, the comments area below is a great place for that. I see all the comments that are entered below.
I know that was a LOT of text.. and no pictures. And to make up for that (since the inside pictures aren't available yet), I'll share something embarrassing with you.
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| These are my super sexy hospital underwear. Oddly enough, they were actually pretty comfortable for someone that was mostly uncomfortable most of the time. Now my butt is officially on the internet and I can't blame it on the drugs. |
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