And now for an update on my attempt at Project 365.
Day 118 (November 13, 2009)
My Jack Skellington-obsessed kid wrote me a thank you note which is up on the fridge….
Day 119 (Nov. 14)
We had a late Halloween party….
Day 120 (Nov. 15)
My daughter was doing a word search….
Day 121 (Nov. 16)
In the car with my nephew and my niece….
And apparently I’m kinda funny! *snicker*….
Day 122 (Nov. 17)
Starting to bring up the ornament boxes from the garage….
Day 123 (Nov. 18)
Definitely still Autumn….
Day 124 (Nov. 19)
There are a few stubborn leaves still hanging on our cherry tree….
Day 125 (Nov. 20)
**description and picture have been censored through no control of my own. Sorry.**
Day 126 (Nov. 21)
It was dark. (Oh shut up – they can’t all be winners, okay?)….
Day 127 (Nov. 22)
Bummer. Our local Value Village closed down. This made me quite sad because I’m a fan of thrift stores. Thrift stores, garage sales and eBay are recycling at its most fun!….
Day 128 (Nov. 23)
So, I bought a new coat which I absolutely love and it only cost me $20, which just made me love it even more…. until I looked at the tag inside it. Paris Freaking Hilton. It’s just wrong, okay? Wrong. I love the coat. I hate Paris. How can I love the coat when I hate Paris?! Gah!….
Day 129 (Nov. 24)
I let my two year old niece decorate her own handprint turkeys. She seems to have given them freckles. Or chicken pox….
Day 130 (Nov. 25)
Glass ornaments my daughter and I made at a glass blowing class two years ago….
Day 131 (Nov. 26)
Setting the table at Thanksgiving….
Day 132 (Nov. 27)
Touring wedding venues and hotels with Scope *wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*….
Day 133 (Nov. 28)
The Garden d’Lights display in the Bellevue Botanical Garden….
Sunday Scope and I looked at a couple more wedding venues, starting with the Fairwood Golf and Country Club, which is pretty much within walking distance of the house I grew up in. The Country Club was gorgeous inside and even more so outside – DEFINITELY a place for STUNNING wedding photos! My my my.
After a quick lunch at home, we drove out to Snoqualmie Falls to tour another potential wedding spot, The Salish Lodge. The Salish Lodge has a lavish reputation and I’d never stepped inside it before, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect….
Was it lovely? Yes. Was it the loveliest place we’d visited? No. Was the price tag lovely?…. Ummmmm…. how do I put this delicately? NO!!!! – it was probably twice as expensive as everywhere else we went and hefty price tags give me hives, so *annoying buzzer sound here* we scratched that one right off our list!
*Scrrrrrrratch*
Then we walked over to the waterfall for some very damp sightseeing….
After having a shower at visiting the Falls, we went back to my house and we started setting up my Christmas tree while watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.
*Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*
Soon my daughter returned home from her dad’s and she started decorating the tree with me and Scope, and, I have to be honest, it was sooooooooooooo nice doing that, just the three of us! We were one little happy family right then doing our happy family stuff and feeling all happy familyish.
*giddy glow*
And here’s the end result….
For dinner, the three of us hung out with my mom and laughed at people getting hit on the crotch on AFV.
*snicker*
Then, most horribly and tragically, Monday morning kinda seemed to pounce out of the shadows at us. I don’t even know quite how it happened. It felt like Scope had just arrived and then suddenly *POOF* it was time to take him back to the airport.
We lingered in my house as long as we could. We stopped off at WalMart to buy Scope some bronze Space Needle figurines which he’s going to make into ornaments for his Christmas tree back home. We had a quick lunch.
And
then
he
was
gone.
:-(
Now we’re back to sending each other emails at work and talking for hours on the phone at night and counting down the days until December 30th when we’ll be together again.
Saturday Scope and I took my mom out to breakfast at a little local restaurant called Plum Delicious, which I’ve driven by many a time but have never been brave enough to venture inside because…. because…. well, because of the decor, okay?
*gulp*
Doilies. That about sums it up. There are doilies EVERYWHERE!! It’s like a battalion of grandmas went into battle!
It was epic.
And the Plum Delicious lost.
Clearly.
I’ve seen the doilies covering everything in sight through the windows every time I’ve driven by and I’ve always been dramatically and spastically paranoid suspicious that I might have my cheeks pinched and get called “sugar booger” by a posse of grannies if I ever got up the nerve to set foot in there.
*insert Psycho shower scene music here*
*shudder*
But curiosity got the best of me, so we went in. And in all honesty, it was quite nice in there, doilies and all. The food was great, the waitress was utterly adorable, and no-one pinched my cheeks.
After breakfast, Scope took me Christmas shopping. He took me into Cameras West and I fondled all the DSLR’s on display. Oooooooh, baby. Then because I’m disgustingly spoiled because he’s the sweetest fiancé EVER (!!!!), he bought me one.
*Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!*
It’ll be wrapped up under his tree in Chicago, awaiting my visit on New Year’s Eve. I can’t wait!!!!
*giggle*
We came back to my house and had leftover turkey sandwiches for lunch. Mmmmmmmm…. And then that evening we met up for dinner with my dad and my step-mom at Lombardi’s, which was absolutely delicious! Mmm-mmm-mmmmmmmmm….
My step-mom and I had a big ol’ powwow about Scope in Lombardi’s ladies room. Talking through the stalls, she told me how much she adores Scope and how good she thinks he and I are for each other.
:-)
After dinner (and the bathroom gab session) my dad and step-mom took Scope and me to the Bellevue Botanical Garden d’Lights display, and here is a sampling of what we saw….
All these displays are made out of strings of LED Christmas lights. It’s hard, HARD work putting these things together. How do I know? Because earlier this year my dad, my step-mom, my brother, my step-sister and I volunteered at the Botanical Garden and we actually made parts of one of these displays. Wanna see?! Okay! These are the very flowers we slaved away on….
Fun, huh? :-)
Anyway, inside the gift shop they also had an LED light aquarium….
And, because it’s Seattle, out in the garden they also had an LED slug, complete with a nasty slime trail….
There were places for photo ops, of course, like this tree….
….and this bench….
Here’s my dad and my step-mom….
(How cute are they?! Hee hee hee.)
And because wherever you go there’s always bound to be a freak, we kept running into this clown with his panda hat, bare feet (it was like 45 degrees!) and his constant pleading, whining and begging of his poor, poor mother to take his picture in various idiotic poses….
There you go, shoeless panda-hat freak! You’ve been mocked on the World Wide Web immortalized in blog. Happy now?!
[to be continued tomorrow where you’ll find me babbling on about a country club, a water fall, my Christmas tree, and boys getting hit in the crotch….]
Friday Scope and I were on the hunt for potential wedding venues. Yes, you read that correctly: Wedding. Venues.
That’s right, folks - this is really happening!!
*Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!*
Seeing as though every place we went to was in full-on Christmas decorating mode, most of the halls we visited looked somewhat like this, with holiday decorations scattered everywhere….
But we got the gist of it. We found one place we loved (not pictured because we were too impressed with its beauty to remember to whip out our cameras – epic bloggy fail. Sorry!) but we still had more places to view later on in the weekend, so our decision was not made. Yet.
….and the waitress told us she’d charge us a dollar if we did NOT throw our peanut shells on the floor….
Mm-kay then.
(Yeah, I don’t get it either, but whatever)
The food was great! And, bonus! - later on I saw the writing on the wall (in the bathroom)….
(Yeah, try giggling and peeing at the same time, I dare you. It ain’t easy.)
(For those of you who don’t know, Scope’s real name is Eric. And the graffiti is right, he is a hottie!!)
(And, yes, I took a picture in the bathroom. I figured since they served me my meal on a hubcap, taking a pic in the stall probably wouldn’t be frowned on!)
Back at my house, I got a call from my five year old nephew. He told me his mom (my sister) is having another baby. When is my sis’s baby due? July, of course - which is the month Scope and I had already picked out for our wedding! Well, GRRRRRR.
(My mom calls this “The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry.”)
(I call it “Little Sister Is Trying To Steal My Thunder. Again.”)
(Just kidding!)
(Kinda.)
Will Scope and I tie the knot before little sis spits out another spawn? Time will tell. In other words: THE RACE IS ON!!
Ohhh yeah.
Friday evening, Scope and I went out to dinner at Red Robin with Callista and her hubby, Mad Dog (who was kind enough to take this picture for us to commemorate in bloggidy goodness)….
The food was fantastic! So was the company! And, hey, I even got to play Wonder Woman at the end of the evening when Callista and Mad Dog’s RAV had a flat tire. Pffffft! Nah, I didn’t FIX THE TIRE, silly! (*cough citygirl cough*) But I found a can of Fix-A-Flat in the trunk of my car which was remedy enough.
So, all in all, not a bad day! :-) . [to be continued tomorrow where you'll find me babbling on about doilies, bathroom stalls (again), Christmas lights, a botanical garden, and a shoeless freak in a panda hat....]
Wanna know where I’ve been and what antics I’ve been up to? Hmm? HMM?! Do ya? DO YA?! Well, read on….
Last Wednesday night Scope skedaddled his way across the country to spend Thanksgiving weekend with me. (*wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!*) I was a little wary about meeting him at the airport the day before Thanksgiving, as I was sure the airport would be packed like Twinkies (much tastier than sardines) and that the planes might likely be landing late. But no. Surprisingly, the airport crowds were sparse and Scope’s plane even landed (….wait for it….) early. Can you believe that?! Crazy, huh? I know!
….and I loaded up the car with desserts and snacks and a couple of small gifts for my niece and nephew to fight viciously over enjoy, and then we took my daughter to her dad’s house (*sniffle*) and made our way to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving with my sis, my brother-in-law, my BIL’s mom, my nephew, my niece….
….my mom, and two drooling dogs….
Scope survived the whole day with my relatives without even once running away and screaming in terror.
He’s an amazing man, I tell you.
AMAZING.
The dinner was delicious. My BIL brined the turkey and, as always, it was scrumptious! With it we had stuffing, potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, rolls, pecan pie, pumpkin bars, apple pie, and more, more, MORE!
Of course, my pants are still embarrassingly and ridiculously snug today. Oh w-w-well. *sniffle* I suppose nothing says ‘Welcome to the Holidays!’ quite like uncomfortably tight pants, r-r-right?
*sigh*
Someone pass the ice cream.
[to be continued tomorrow where you’ll find me babbling on about hubcaps, peanuts on the floor, bathroom graffiti, geek speak, a bun in the oven, and the hunt for the perfect wedding venue….]
Yesterday was a big, BIG red letter day in little ole Land o’ Cora. You see, yesterday was my five year anniversary of defying Death.
Mm-hmm.
I won’t retell the whole lonnnnngggggggg tale here today. I did that last year. (You can catch it HERE if you’re so inclined.) But the gist of it is that I survived a freak, rare, bizarre Neurological emergency in the form of a golf-ball-sized blood clot in my spinal cord which should have either killed me or left me paralyzed. But I walked away from it.
True, I walked away from it with the assistance of a metal walker….
But, still, I walked away.
I eventually ditched the walker for a cane….
And then I ditched even that.
I’m the luckiest person I know. My Neurologist still shakes his head in amazement every time we cross paths.
“Do you know how lucky you are?” he says.
”Absolutely,” I grin back.
”No, really. Do you know how INSANELY LUCKY you are?!” he marvels, gesturing wildly, kinda reminding me of Tigger. *snicker*
”I know,” I breathe, shaking my head too.
”This never happens. NEVER!!” he’ll exclaim, slapping my chart down on the counter top, “I mean, WOW!!”
He once introduced a medical student to me. He introduced me as “a miracle” and told her she’ll never see anyone with my condition – EVER. I’m one of a kind.
Last time I went to the Neurologist he was running behind schedule by about an hour. His assistant told me I’d have to wait. But when my Neurologist heard I was in the office, he immediately took me back and told his assistant, “Cora doesn’t have to wait – she’s famous! In fact, she made ME famous!” and he told us how his saving my life made his career. And because of that I’ll never have to wait. Never.
So, wanna see it? Want to see my blood clot?
Okay!
Here it is. This is the MRI picture taken five years ago….
See the dark spot in my spine there? That’s blood. The blood clot had burst and was leaking in my spinal cord, preventing my brain and body from communicating with each other. I couldn’t control my legs. I had absolutely no balance; I would fall over while sitting or while on my hands and knees. By the time I went into the OR, I couldn’t even lift my legs. I couldn’t roll over. I had no feeling in most of my body from my armpits down. And it took three people to carry me onto the table because my body was violently shaking and I couldn’t stop it.
If you look closely to the right of the dark streak in my spine you can see the blood clot there, like a dark oval. Scary, huh?
Five years ago today I was in the ICU, having survived the surgery on my spine without paralysis. I could wiggle my toes. True, it took all the concentration I could muster to wiggle the toes on my right foot. But, still, I could do it. And the doctors were THRILLED.
I could feel it when they poked me with sharp objects too. True, even sharp jabs with safety pins on my right foot and leg felt like blunt, soft touches with a sponge. But, still, I could feel something. And the doctors were ECSTATIC.
Word spread throughout the hospital of what had happened and I had dozens of doctors and nurses coming in to see if it was true. They were constantly clustered at the foot of my bed asking me to wiggle my toes, then gasping when I did. I was told a hundred times over that I was the luckiest person they’d ever met.
Wow, huh?
Every November 18th since, I celebrate my day. I call it my anniversary and I take the day off work and do whatever the hell I want to. The first anniversary was the day Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released in the theater, so I kept my daughter out of school and we went and saw it. Twice.
The second anniversary of it was more emotional, oddly, and I spent the day crying my eyes out remembering how small and scared it felt to be in that hospital before the surgery when they didn’t think they could do anything to save me, and how terrified I was of what would become of my daughter if I died.
Each anniversary has been different. But especially this one. Why? Because I forgot all about it this year. I didn’t remember it until the night before when I was walking on my treadmill and it suddenly hit me. It was too late to ask for the day off, and, honestly, I’ve missed so much work lately due to my tonsillectomy and romping with Scope (wheeeeeee!!) that I wouldn’t have asked for the day off even if I had remembered it. But I honestly can’t believe I forgot about it! I didn’t think it was something I would ever forget – or only remember at the last freaking minute!
Jeez.
But anyway, as typically ends up happening at some point every November 18th over the last five years, in honor of my medical miracle, let’s mock Death, shall we?!
Yes! Let’s!….
. Ahhh, that was fun. Okay, now let's learn about Neurology with Schoolhouse Rock!
