Ah! I survived my trip across the country, which took FOREVER. I got dropped off at noon at the Philadelphia airport because I was worried about long security lines (you should have seen them when I landed in Philadephia on 5/30/08), and waited patiently for my flight to....JFK airport in NY. You know how long a flight that is? 26 minutes! So, 2 hours and 45 minutes of sitting (mostly), for a 26 minute flight. I did talk with a nice Irish man sitting next to me, who was headed back to Ireland. (And yes, for those who have seen me, he said I would fit right in when visiting Ireland with my hair (red), skin (pale), and freckles.)

Cue sitting around the JFK airport for 3.5 hours. Wifi access did not work. :( Not a lot of restaurants, and the ones that existed were packed. Starbucks was there in a couple locations though.

They board the airplane, pull away from the gate, and then we sit there FOR AN HOUR while waiting for takeoff. Hmmm, who scheduled a domestic flight to take off at the same time as all the other international flights that have takeoff priority? Sigh.

Here's where the real fun part comes in. Yet once again, I get to sit next to drunk, intoxicated seatmates (this also happened after the 2004 STC conference). But this time it's a young couple, and not just the person next to me....and they are both reeking and have slurred talking. Yikes.

As you can guess it, after we got to cruising altitude at 36,000 feet, the young lady next to me states a preference for puking, and sends all of the people within a 5 foot radius looking for a puke bag (most of us didn't have one in the back pocket seat). Once two are found, I hurriedly head to the back of the plane, book and ipod in hand, so she can do whatever puking she needs to. I certainly don't want to be puked on...and I tell the flight attendants, who promptly go up there with some ginger ale and a huge "Delta" plastic bag for barfing. Those poor flight attendants...they had a lot to deal with.

Somewhere near Nebraska, we take a 30 minute detour around a lightning storm (remember, this is a 5 1/2 hour flight, that is not inconsequential). Around this time, when i'm forced to sit down because the "seat belt sign" is on due to the turbulence, I realize I can sit no longer. I'm squirming in my seat, I am dog tired, I can't fall asleep, and I can't move.

At some point after the storm, one of the passengers has a medical issue. I'm not sure what, but apparently we got priority landing in Portland and a pair of EMTs to escort the patient off the plane. Most of us were happy to wait until the EMTs were off the plane, but there are always those folks who believe the rules don't apply....

I'm safely back, majorly jet lagged, and happy to be home!

I had my followup visit at the doctor today - it's been 15 days since the accident.

No more sling, unless I'm walking (because the arms swing too much and cause a lot of pain).

Keep wearing the brace, but do some range of motion movements. I think if the wrist is still as painful in 2 weeks, they'll probably do an MRI, because that will indicate whether I tore ligaments a bit more seriously.

She thinks I might have dislocated my shoulder a smidge - she called it sublexation (which basically means a partial dislocation). That's based on the pain and how it occurs with movement.

She's happy I'm getting acupuncture, she thinks it will help immensely.

I will see her again in 2 weeks, the day before I leave for Philly. I will have had 2 physical therapy visits by then, so she can judge progress. She will also evaluate prescriptions and issue new ones if necessary, especially for travel. She warned me to pack light. :)

Good news!

Apparently, nothing is broken, at least in the wrist or forearm (those x-rays were taken on 5/2/08). Today, the doctor had more x-rays taken in the neck, spine, and shoulder areas to make sure there are no "hidden" fractures they can't see (there are no obvious breaks).

She said it was definitely cervical strain and gave me three prescriptions and physical therapy (6 visits to start with, she'll check in on my progress every week or two and prescribe more if necessary).

This is what the Durango looked like after the crash.

I spent three hours in the urgent care this morning, getting myself checked over. They took x-rays and nothing is broken, but they did give me a wrist brace to wear. I did go to the ER after the accident, but no x-rays were taken then.

I have a followup appointment with my doctor next week. I will go to the immediate care as necessary until my appt, so my pains can be documented as belonging to the accident.

The appraiser looked at the Durango yesterday, and apparently the impact hit the front right tire to the point that it snapped the linkage to the steering wheel column, which explains why my arms are the sorest part of me (the energy from the impact came up to the steering wheel). All of my pain is common in whiplash/cervical strain injuries. The bruises have not even showed up yet.

The Durango has $5k worth of damage, so far.

I will be going back to work on Monday. I took off Thursday and today.

Someone ran a stop sign and rammed the front passenger/headlight area of my Durango. Lucky for me, I was in the Durango, because I was in the "right" and going 35 mph.

My right arm went numb almost immediately, and my left arm started hurting a little bit later. I declined the ambulance trip to the ER and DH took me in after the Durango was towed. It was not drivable at all, the tire was blown (and was smoking right after the accident) and DH thinks the frame has been bent.

I'm wearing a sling on my right arm, and I've been told that i will hurt much more tomorrow. Both forearms hurt, neck hurts, spine hurts a bit...I will call the doctor tomorrow.

Poor guy who hit me kept saying he was sorry - he did not understand much English. We do have the same insurance company so that will make things easier.

Hey look, blogging two days in a row!

I'm sitting here in the Portland State cafeteria, about ready to head to my Monday night class. Nope, I'm not attending, I'm teaching it. Every spring, I teach Creative Suite 3...it's an intro class that introduces the basic concepts of 4 programs (Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, and Photoshop) and how to use them together.

It makes Mondays incredibly long, since I go into work early to compensate for leaving early to beat the traffic downtown....I'm usually in at 7:15 or so, and I won't get home until 9:30 tonight.

I walked for 30 minutes with my coworker today. Our standard walk, about 1.2 miles.

I didn't get a chance to do Wii, and given how late I'll get home tonight, I'm not going to get it in today. I think I will try to do the Wii or one of my WATP DVDs tomorrow morning before work.

Has it really been three months? *gasp*

Tomorrow, I go back on the Weight Watchers wagon. One of my coworkers challenged me, and she'll be starting tomorrow as well.

Some of my upcoming plans:

- Get my bike tuned up/checked out and start riding with my coworker during our lunch hour
- Start using the Wii daily, especially after Wii Fit comes out
- Use the elliptical 3 times a week
- Walk with my husband 4 times a week (or more)

Yes, that's right, I now have a Wii! We got it yesterday - I guess you can kinda call it a birthday present! :) I did just become another year older last week...

I've been sick for most of the last week, thanks to my boss - he dragged himself into work on Mon and Tues when he was not feeling well. Guess those sick germs can go over cubicle walls! :)

I've been relaxing and taking it easy. Yesterday I watched a lot of HGTV shows, read a book, and watched "Over the Hedge" with my husband. Today is more of the same. I don't feel like I've got a fever any more, but now it feels like the cold is moving into my lungs. Tell it to go away please!

In good news, I actually lost 1 lb this week on my weigh in - although I probably have gained it back. This cold really wants me to feed it....

Well, time to go back to relaxing.....

I took some pictures of my walking route around work...and even one of me actually walking! :)

Today's photo of the day, my husband relaxing on the couch watching Mythbusters.

I'm starting a photo a day challenge, so I hope to be posting at least once a day with a photo. I've also started counting my steps and getting back to points on Weight Watchers.

I walked approximately 6,000 steps today.

My photo of the day? It's a picture of my elliptical trainer. Yes, that is a TV above it - it actually isn't connected to the elliptical, but wall-mounted with an articulating arm.

I am SO frustrated at my mortgage company.

When they set up our loan, they estimated our property taxes for the year. Our mortgage payment has several parts: PMI (mortgage insurance), payment, homeowner's, and escrow for property taxes. Of our total monthly payment, *20%* of that payment each month is the escrow amount.

Fast forward to tax time. Instead of what *they* estimated in property taxes, our tax bill came almost HALF what they expected.

I called them up. They said they do the escrow analysis in early December, any overage amount will be sent to us in December, and any adjustments to our payment should be reflected in that analysis.

You'd think that our payment would go down, right? At least a couple hundred bucks a month, since taxes were low.

NO. They looked at last year's "estimated" number and just plugged that puppy into their calculations INSTEAD of the "actual" number for taxes.

Our payment did not change. They WILL get a call. There is no reason for us to be paying almost twice as much into escrow as they are going to pay out (while it makes for a nice holiday time check - i'd rather get interest on it myself).

GRRRRR! We pay on time, we're not subprime, and those idiots can't even look at one stinkin' number to make sure their calculations are on target?

Okay, off my soapbox now.

Woohoo!

The Digi Chick has release a kit for the holiday season, called "Secret Santa"....

With a $10 purchase, it's FREE! Look at how many goodies are in the kit...it's fabulous!

My sister sent me pictures of my niece and nephew in the latest snowfall. Aren't they adorable?

I couldn't resist!

I don't know these people, but this is just plain hilarious!

Yes, yes, I know, it's been a while. I've been busy! :)

I'll post later this evening with a whole bunch of layouts and information. In the meantime, check out the Amazon link on the right side navigation bar. My boss has a new book out!

I got my lower retainer yesterday. Ouch.

So, here's the skinny on the retainer.

- I have to take it out to eat
- I have to take it out to drink anything other than cold water
- I have to take it out to brush my teeth

Did I mention it hurts for a good 5 minutes after I put it back on?

If you're thinking, "Bet she's not going to take that retainer out all that often," you'd be right. No more snacking or impulse food! In fact, it better be a dang good reason to take the retainer out - I want to go through that pain as few times as possible!

They told me it could take two months to get used to this retainer. Guess I'll be losing a lot of weight in the next two months - this retainer will certainly keep me on the straight and narrow!

Monday, I got braces for the THIRD time. My teeth are bound and determined to move and crowd, while I am just as determined to keep them straight and uncrowded.

I realized that this is also a metaphor for my weight loss. This will be the time that my lifestyle changes will take effect. I always get stalled right around this weight, but this has to stop. I will get over this hump, and move on to the next size and goal.

I've set up a back massage appointment for next Friday. I am going to make every attempt to hit 190 before then - as it is my reward for hitting the "0" mark (my goals are based on 190, 180, 170, 150...).

Even if I'm close, I will deserve it, and use it as incentive to keep going. I will do what it takes to get the weight off, get in shape, get healthy, and lower cholesterol.

I will have these braces on for as long as it takes - no shortcuts! The same has to apply here for weight loss.

So cool!

I found out yesterday afternoon that I came in 3rd place in fundraising for my team for the Race for the Cure! I get a restaurant gift card and some other prizes...the DJ wasn't sure what was in the packet, but it's coming in the mail this week.

I raised $355 for my team with 11 donations from friends and family. Thanks so much to those who donated - you know who you are! :)

Today is the deadline for the Stand Up and Scrap Week 1 Challenge. I'm so relieved I got mine in on Friday, I'm not panicking to get a layout in before the deadline! We'll see if I make the top 10 this week....