Los Angeles...Here I Come!

I am leaving for L.A. today...Yay!  This shift has been going SO SLOW though!  I hate when I am not busy at work, especially when I have something to do in the morning that I am excited about.  I will be flying out around noon and then will see my hubby soon afterward :)  Tomorrow we will be seeing Andrew.  I am so excited!

Late Night for Shawn

Shawn arrived in California last night...but much later than was expected.  Originally, his flight was supposed to leave from O'Hare at 7:30am on Sunday.  Since it is kind of a pain in the ass to get to O'Hare on the train, I arranged to get Saturday night off of work so I could drive him to the airport in the morning.  Well...Saturday afternoon we discovered that his flight had been cancelled and he was rescheduled on a flight at 6:30pm instead.  That was a bit of an inconvenient time for me, since we would have to leave for the airport at a time that would get me to work WAY too early but depending on traffic and the weather I wouldn't necessarily be able to stop back at home...you get the drift.  So we got him to the airport by 5:15pm and I left to stop for some food before going to work.  In the meantime, the weather in Chicago was getting pretty lasty.  His flight was delayed...and delayed again.  He ended up not leaving Chicago until 9pm so it was almost 1:30am our time when he finally got to San Francisco and then he still had to take a shuttle to the hotel for the conference (which was in Santa Cruz and I guess that's not too close to San Fran).  To end this long story...he arrived in California safe and sound, which is all that matters to me.  I never can relax when people I love are in the air!  Now I can't wait until Wednesday when I am flying out to Los Angeles and meeting him there :)

Shutter Island

Oh, how I love date night :)  Shawn and I went to the mall last night to do some shopping then we decided to see a movie while we were there.  Shawn had been planning to see Shutter Island when it came out, but I wasn't so sure.  I thought it looked kind of scary plus I typically am not a huge fan of Scorcese films, but Shawn loves them (especially when they have Leonardo DiCaprio in them).  So we decided to see the movie then get dinner afterward.  I have to admit that I loved the movie!  I was so surprised.  I didn't know anything about the movie at all (and I have since discovered that it is based on a book - my dad read it and said it is good).  It is a great movie!  There are parts that a bloody and kind of graphic but the story is really great.  I would definately recommend seeing this movie.  We were near a Steak N Shake, which Shawn loves, so we ate dinner there and got milkshakes before heading home.  We really had a nice night together...but we always do anyway when we're together!

Shawn leaves tomorrow for his work conference in Santa Cruz, California, which is right outside of San Jose.  He'll be there for 3 days, but we decided since he was going there for work anyway we might as well make a trip of it.  So...he will be done Wednesday morning and I am going to fly out to LA and we'll meet there Wednesday then we'll stay until Sunday morning.  We're going to be staying with Albert, plus we'll be able to visit Andrew finally!  Our friend Bryce lives out there also, and Shawn has another old friend who we're going to try to see as well.  We planned out today all the stuff we're going to try to do while we're there and we're getting excited.  I've been out there once before in 2003, but Shawn never has.  I'm sure we'll have a great time plus we're really looking forward to seeing Andrew!  He's doing really great in his recovery, so we're really happy about that!  We'll take lots of pictures, so check back.

Distraction

I am having a hard time staying focused on my diet.  The days I work I don't have trouble at all.  I don't snack at work at all...I just drink water and one soda then eat something at one point during the night.  My trouble is the days I am home!  I don't want to go out to stay busy because then I spend money I don't need to spend.  If I stay home and read or watch tv then all I can think about is food!  I need something else to do!  I haven't been going to the gym because my neck has been bothering me so much...so I am really lost.  Any suggestions?

On a related note, I spoke with my doctor about my neck.  The Xray doesn't show an lasting damage to the bones where the fractures were, so that is good.  However, my neck as a whole didn't heal exactly right.  The curvature of my neck is off and the muscles and tendons on the left side of my neck are weakened.  So, after we get back from California next week I will be starting physical therapy.  I really hope that will help. 

Why do I need to title this post?

I went to the doctor the other day about my neck pain.  We got an xray and make sure that the pain isn't being caused my additional damage.  I should get a call tomorrow from my doctor to let me know what the xray shows.  She said she may want me to bring in my old xray from after the neck brace came off for comparison.  A girl I work with said that the pain could be because of arthritis forming where the fracture was...I never thought of that.  I hope that isn't the case though!  If the xray looks good then I am going to start physical therapy.  I hope this all works out in a way that allows me to be pain free (or at least with a tolerable level of pain) and not using prescription pain medications.  We'll see...

A few things that have been irritating me lately:

#1 - the Tivo has skipped the recording of two of my favorite shows this week. Jerk.

#2 - My favorite old Tae Bo workout was never made on DVD, only VHS.  So.....I can't do it anymore. Boo.

#3 - When I am taking care of three babies at work, all that take bottles by mouth, and ONE of the babies is a slowpoke kinda feeder that likes to be held so he falls asleep as soon as you start trying to feed him but then wakes right up as soon as you lay him down the other babies start to notice my severe irritation and start to eat poorly too.

Ok.  I feel better now.  Time for bed.

Grey Hair

I found another grey hair today.  That makes my 4th one...I guess I should stop counting, right?

Comfort Food

Apparently, when I have killer headaches and severe neck pain all I can think about is eating.  This is bad.  All the more reason to get this neck pain taken care of.  Thank goodness I am going to the doctor tomorrow.  As for now...I guess I will eat some more?

My Favorite Things...

As I have mentioned, my neck has been causing me a lot of pain lately which has been making me have killer headaches and as a result I have not been sleeping very well.  I have just rediscovered how much I LOVE my heating pad!  I LOVE IT!  If I use it for about 30-45 minutes just before I go to sleep then I can actually sleep for 2-4 hours without waking up and when I do wake up my neck isn't killing me!  Woohoo!  I am going to the doctor on Thursday though to make arrangements for physical therapy hopefully and something for pain that is not resolved with ibupofen or acetaminophen.  But again...thank goodness for heating pads!

Odds 'N Ends

The Colts lost the Superbowl last night...and the way the played was deserving of what they got.  The Saints played a better game and the Colts defense was nowhere to be found.  Although, the game was overall pretty boring.  Nothing really great happened from either team.  The commericals were not all that great.  There were a few funny ones, but nothing that I will even remember tomorrow probably.  All in all it was a pretty uneventful Superbowl.  But...we had a pinata and that wasy fun!  Watching 5 grown men punching then hitting a pinata with a small childs-size paddle was hilarious!  Thanks for the great party Brent &  Soriya!

My headache of the last few days has finally started going away.  It is still currently lingering at my temples, but it is at a tolerable level so now noises and the lights are bothering me.  I think it is time to call the doctor though.  A friend of Brent's that we met last night is a Chiropractor and he told me I should go see one.  Mimi suggested the same thing.  I think I will talk to my doc about physical therapy and then see about a Chiropractor.  All I know is something has to change because I can't tolerate my neck hurting like this and causing these terrible headaches.

On to the random activities planned for today:

Grocery shopping

Not eating everything in my house

Watching Bones

Possibly reading a bit

Superbowl Sunday

Today is the Superbowl.  Shawn is so excited for another Colts victory!  We're gonna head out to my Elgin to watch the game with my friends Brent & Soriya plus my friend Aaron from college is in town so we'll get to see him too :)  I don't want to speak too early, but I think the Colts are gonna win!

Headache

I am currently entering hour 16 of the worst headache I have had  in as long as I can remember.  My neck has been aching and the pain is radiating up toward my head, which is probably the cause of this monster headache.  I thought I was going to be ok without the prescription pain medication for my neck, but I am starting to think I was wrong.  Looks like I will be calling the doctor on Monday for an appointment.  If only I could make this headache go away now though so I could get some rest and maybe actually relax a bit, plus I am going to miss an 80's party that a friend of Shawn's is having tonight.  Boo.  I love the 80's, but I just feel miserable and I don't want to ruin Shawn's fun by not feeling well.  Stupid headache.

Weight Update

Even with the horrible eating last week due to our visitors (not their fault...I really needed some Lou's and eating out for breakfast is wonderful even though incredibly fattening) I still managed to lose 0.5 lbs.  Not a big loss but at least not a gain!  yay!

Now...to figure out what I will be able to eat at the Superbowl party???

Rude Drivers

I wish I could understand why people are so rude when they are driving.  These are the things I hate most when driving.

- When you are behind a bus and you want to get to the next lane, so you turn your turn signal on and the guy  behind you immediately moves over when you can so now you can't...then everyone behind them does the same thing so you can't get away from the bus.  Jerks.

- When a lane is ending and people KNOW they have to merge but they don't.  They keep driving where they are until the last second that they HAVE to merge and then the people who have been driving like they should get held up...for very long times sometimes!

- When people change lanes right in front of you and almost hit you and  you look and they are talking on their cell phone or putting on makeup and obviously not paying attention.

- When people on the highway in the left lane (especially when there are 4 lanes) are driving below the speed limit or at least less than the flow of traffic.  There are 3 other lanes of slow moving taffic...seriously!  Move over!

- Gapers Block.  Enough said!

- Pedestrian crossing in front of traffic or not at crosswalks then there IS traffic.  In cities like Chicago there are crosswalks for a reason...wait for the little white "you can cross now" symbol and then cross!  The people in cars have someplace to be too!

- People in cars that honk at pedestrians or bikers.  That is just cruel!

Anyway...I will stop ranting now.  The one thing that drives me nuts about typical drivers is that they do these things, but when someone does the same stuff to them they act like it is so horrible.  Hello?  Get a grip!  If everyone could just stop and think for a second my road rage would surely improve.  I wish the driving test was harder!

Wii Sports Resort

Wii Sports Resort is probably one of the most addicting games ever...or at least for the moment.  I have decided that it is such a good workout that I don't need to go to the gym today.  Seriously...my arms are aching!  Try it...you will see!