Day 13 - Normal Update

Wow, I am feeling tired right now.  I had a busy day, but a really great day.  First, as you might have seen on the other Day 13 post I came up with the idea of trying to do a bunion facebook page.  I'm not sure that was the best way to try and make a site more interactive for people, but we will see if it goes over well or not.  If not no worries!

First thing I did when I got out of bed was I took a SHOWER!!  Yay!  It felt good to just be like every other normal american getting up and taking a shower.  The only thing is my foot turned a funny purple color.  I recall Sara mentioning this happening to her as well.  Tomorrow I will try to have my camera handy if I think of it and take a photo.  I could stand fine and was in now pain.  Keep in mind I only had one foot done so I can put lots of weight on my other good foot.  I also weighed myself and I'm actually down .7 from 11.17.2011, yet I'm assuming this is muscle mass so I'm not thrilled about the weight loss. I still feel fine body wise, but in a day or so I will be going back to the p90 tapes.  Even though I think I'm going to stick to the upper body ones and not do the leg one again for awhile.

GOOD NEWS!!  Slept like a baby - NO burning pains or heavy brick feeling like someone was squeezing my foot to death!!  AND I gotta say I felt a little naked because I didn't wear my surgery shoe to bed for the first time in 12 days!!  I still kept the big ass tube sock on that I was given to wear while in my walking boot.  And I also took down my elevation by about 2 pillows plus back roll stretchy things.  When I say I had my foot elevated I'm not lying.  I had one of those blue rollers that you use for stretching, then a normal pillow, a down comforter and a throw pillow under my foot the last 12 days.  I Know, I know... I'm a bit nutty, but when I'm told to elevate my foot above my heart I do it!  So last night I only used the down comforter!  And I might live on the edge today and lose the sock and maybe even the comforter, but that might be too CRAZY to go back sleeping like a normal person again!

My friend Molly stopped by today to drop off some vegan soup (which was yummy), tea, pita chips with humus, word puzzles and magazines.  She truly is so nice!!  I enjoy interacting with her because she is so down to early and just so sincere.  Our sons go to school together so it's nice.  She's got boys the same age as Riley and Anton plus she's got another little one that came along today.  Her hands are full!!  Yet, she's so calm and relaxed when I see her.  Anyway - Thanks Molly for the visit!

While she was here though I was showing her my foot and noticed how now my bruises are moving to the bottom of my foot and along the edge of my foot.  Honestly, yesterday these bruises were not here. In person the color is much deeper, but I thought it was interesting and I think I remember others commenting on how suddenly their foot was bruised too.  Anyway - had to share that not only will your toes look butt ugly, but your whole foot/feet will decide to join the B&B party!  I honestly don't think I have ever thought about feet or looked at my foot this much in my life.  It truly does make me laugh how now this has become my life.

So in the photos below I am trying to model me doing my toe exercises!  What a pain this is to remember.  When I heard 8x a day 30 seconds forward / 30 seconds backwards.  I thought oh that will be easy!  No it's not.  First you have to remember to do it and then you have to keep track of how many times you did it.  I still have one more set to get in and it's already 6:34 p.m.  I just thought oh I'll do these on the hour - yeah right!  I have iced my foot after doing the exercises not knowing if this is bothering them or not.   Keep in mind I am very flexible and always have been, but I can tug on that toe like there is no tomorrow.  Forward more so than downwards.  I can also move my toe pretty easily when I'm just laying, but I try not to do that too much.  When the doctor was showing me how to do my exercises yesterday I told him "it doesn't hurt when I pull on it and I'm almost afraid to keep pulling".  He mentioned to pull it until I feel an uncomfortable feeling.  Well, I pull until I feel tightness, but I think I could pull it more, but I'm afraid I might be doing too much too early.  My goal right now is just to remember to do it.  And I know I'm not really holding my toe correctly in these photos but I needed one hand to snap the photos (smile).  Anyway - remember to do your toe exercises and ladies remember to do your kegal exercises too while your at it (smile).  I can't remember to do those either!

Okay, probably enough foot pictures for awhile hey!!

• Other fun updates - my mom and sister came to visit me in the afternoon!  My mom brought along some banana bread and of course the boys ate it all when they got home and Steve was like... where is my soup and where is my banana bread.  Had a fun visit and it was nice of them to come since they live 2 hours away so it was a 4 hour trip for them.
• The boys got the tree decorated and all my x-mas houses up and on display.  Last year I started this thing where I took one of the small santa's from the house displayed and would hid it each night before bed and in the morning the boys would look for it and be all excited.  I did it like that "Elf on the Shelf", but with my own thing.   Of course they were talking all about it last night, yet before I went to bed I forgot to move the little guy, so this a.m. they come running down and were all confused why the little santa guy didn't move.  So I said "maybe he is just still recovering from being let out of the storage container" and they accepted that.  So as soon as they went out the door I moved the little guy and when the boys got home they were so EXCITED to see the guy was moved.  It's so cute to see them get so excited over the little things!  Now I have to remember to move it tonight.
• The last two day's I've put in a few hours of work and that has felt good!  Each day I do a little more so that's keeping me busy too during the day.
• I did not drive today - can you believe it!  Tomorrow a friend is having a little purse party and I thought maybe I'd venture there for a little bit.  Yet, I just don't want to over do anything either.  I will see how I feel.  Otherwise on Friday I have my dentist appointment so I will be doing that and then hitting Starbucks for my.... you know what... CHAI!
• You'll be happy to know that Steve has been back to the grocery store and this time got me my banaville yogurt AND Chobani yogurt.  Now watch soon I will be saying I'm up 2 pounds : ) 

So all and all another good day and restful night!  Pray I have another good night.  I really have been in bed almost all day!!  When the boys came home we moved to the kitchen for a little bit, but then as soon as my mom and sister left then I was back in the bed!  Last night I watched Marley and Me.  Love that movie because it's so realistic regarding family life and the tiredness that goes along with having babies and that crazy dog reminds me so much of Allie.  She actually had a twisted stomach last year and I found her the same way the owner did in the movie.  Luckily we decided to move forward with the surgery and she recovered  perfectly.  It was just very scary and so sad.  Anyway - I had a good cry last night as I watched the movie.  I can't remember the movie I watched the night before.  Oh... remember me.  I had forgotten I had seen that one, but I re-watched it.  Descent flick.  Not my favorite, but good.

Humor me: go out to this site and share your story, a photo, a piece of advice, or just something you think others might find helpful or interesting.

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bunion-Surgery-Recovery-Chats-QAs-and-Connection/266239080090146?sk=wall

Until next time rest peaceful and free your mind from thinking!  Be in the present moment!

Day 13 - Set up Bunion Surgery Recovery Chat, Q&A, and Connection page

I know this is totally geeky, but what I find from doing this blog is I'd love more interaction from all of you. So I set up this facebook page where I'm hoping you can share your stories, questions, opinions, photos, etc...

I'll put this out there for while and see if I get any traffic. If it's not successful oh well I'll just delete it.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bunion-Surgery-Recovery-Chats-QAs-and-Connection/266239080090146

I'm not sure if I set this up right, so can you go out and either click like or join as a friend and provide some feedback so I know it worked.

Again, just thought it would be nice for all of you to hear more than my story and to connect with others that are having surgery on the same day as yours or close to it.

Let me know your thoughts. Have I gone completely crazy : ) I will admit I'm a little embarrassed setting this page up, yet if it can help others out there so be it.

Enjoy your day

Day 12 - 2nd Post Op Visit (Photo Gallery - Stitches Out)

Big Day

Stiches come out and New X-Rays are taken

Foot at 12 days post surgery

I know the toes look bad but look at how good the overall foot looks!

Removing the stitches. A little tug and they were out - not painful

Stitches are OUT!! Foot look all wrinkly from bandage

Applying safety strips. Will come off naturally over the next week or two

Foot to foot comparison - who beat up those toes!!

The patient!

X-Rays

Left side (before)

Right side (after) - see the two pins under my joint?

Cute doctor in action - had to take this one for all of you!!

Side view - see the two pins! Bone is healing great. Doc said he can barely see the cut in the bone. He again just mentioned what strong bone mass I had which helps in the healing process.

Lovely toe spacer. Where the black line is on my toe and where the dots are on the tape is where I need to hold my hands to do my toe exercises. 8x per day 30 seconds up and 30 seconds bending down. It's important to hold your foot where the pins are and then on the joint that needs to be worked. Don't hold the tip of your toe. Work the joint.

Yes, I am a geek and asked him to put these marks on my foot so I don't screw up!

My new walking shoe! Looks like and feels like a ski boot!!

Updates of the visit:

• He said my healing is more at the 4 to 5 weeks healing process which thrilled me
• I can shower and stand on my foot
• I can drive with my surgery shoe not the ski boot
• I still should have my foot up, but I don't have to always have it elevated and iced (only do these things when I have over done it or my foot is throbbing.
• I should still wait 3 weeks until I start physical exercise
• I did over do it and that's why I've experienced pain the last two nights in the middle of the night. He suggested I do ice before bed until I have a pain free night again. Last night I needed Steve to get me ice at 2:30 and then I was fine. The pain wasn't as bad as the night before.
• I go back 3 weeks from today for more x-rays and confirm all continues to go good.
• I do not need to wrap my feet anymore. I can be in my bed barefoot and just wear a sock in the walking boot.

So all and all it was a great visit and he was full of good news. Now I have to keep myself in check and not over do it even though I feel so good/strong. Just think maybe by the New Year I will be given free range to do whatever I want! That's my light at the end of the tunnel! What a way to ring in the New Year - 2012!!

Joe - if you read this today! Good Luck tomorrow!!

Day 11

Well last night I had my worst night in the 11 days that I've been going through this recovery process. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to water the x-mas tree. With my luck the water sprout for the tree holder was in the back of the tree, so I decided to just pour the water from the front versus really crawling under the tree. Let's just say by my fourth pitcher of water (and forth trip back and forth from the kitchen) all of sudden the water starts overflowing over the sprout and getting ALL over the floor. Well my natural reaction was to lunge forward to stop the water from going down the heating vents, etc.. And with that lunge forward let's just say I could feel that I bent my bad foot more than I probably should be at this point. I wasn't in PAIN, but I got a signal that I bent my toe. Well after I cleaned up the mess I then realized it was recycling and garbage day today, so I had to go throughout the house... up the lovely wood steps and down, down into the basement and back up and just empty all the trash in the house. Then I noticed the kids didn't get their school stuff ready like I asked them to do so I spent some time getting their jackets, back packs, etc... ready for this a.m. So figure I was probably busy on my feet a good 30-40 minutes from watering the tree to making all the trips out to the garage with recycling and trash. I got to bed around 10:00 and I did think I should ice my foot, yet I was so tired and just wanted to get in bed. And I probably should also add that I haven't used my crutches since Tuesday, so I've been pretty much walking slowly with my surgery shoe.

Well around 12:00 AM I woke up because I felt like my foot was on fire and it was throbbing bad. I wasn't in OMG PAIN, but it was unpleasant. I remembered I put the Ibuprofen out in the kitchen cabinet so I hobbled out and got 3 tablets. Then I returned to bed and did fall back to sleep. At 3:00 AM I woke again with what I would describe as feeling like I had 3 bricks tied to my foot. The burning and throbbing pain were back. I tried to lift my leg but realized I really couldn't move it or my foot. I just laid in bed quietly thinking since I knew I really should not take more Ibuprofen for another hour. My foot felt broken for the first time since it has been broken just because I literally could not move it. At 4:09 I tried to sit up and pick up my foot to move it to the ground so I could go get more Ibuprofen. And at that point I could't do that either and I had a striking sensation go up my leg/foot when I tried to move it. I simply said "Steve I need you to go get me Ibuprofen and ice" and bless him he hopped right up and got me what I needed. I was in too much pain to take off my surgery shoe so I just had Steve open the straps and place the ice bag on top of my foot that way. Amazing enough the Ibuprofen kicked in quickly and by 4:30 I was able to move my foot. When Steve got up at 5:00 I asked him to please wrap my foot in ice normal now that I could take off the shoe and he did. I laid in bed until 6:30 until my alarm went off and to my surprise I could move my leg and foot like normal. The difference is today when I got up I reached for my crutches!!! And plan to use them throughout the day today. Our bodies are crazy regarding how they can communicate to us. I have not had to take any more Ibuprofen today. I was going to take some again at 8:00 a.m., but since I wasn't in any pain I didn't. I have been icing my foot religiously again today. Besides being up before bedtime I really spent most of the day in bed yesterday. So it's crazy how the little things can just set something off. I have a feeling this is how it's going to be over the next few weeks. Really good days and then much needed rest days.

My 10:30 meeting got canceled and I ended up calling my teammate and asking him to lead the meeting at 9:30. I was so tired at 9:00 a.m. and just needed to rest. I was up with the boys starting at 6:30 and got them out the door by 7:40. Of course the boys had to have a big break down over trading pokemon cards. Riley wanted a card back that he had given to Anton and Anton said "no" and Riley thought he could just rip the card out of Anton's hands. The joy of parenthood : ) I had started checking work email and started on my to do's around 7:30 and put in a little over an hour but my foot was throbbing, so I iced it and then got extremely exhausted. I set my alarm for 11:00 a.m. so I'd be ready for my 12:00 meeting. I naturally woke up around 10:45 and got myself some juice and then iced my foot prior to my 12:00 meeting.

My 12:00 meeting confirmed that I need to move my work stuff back to the bedroom. So my meeting tomorrow will be done from my bed! I never thought I would be literally confined to my bed. It's now where I sleep, eat, work, and anything else you can think of! How much longer does this go on? (smile). BUT tomorrow I might get to drive!!! Yippee! Don't worry I doubt I will go anywhere.

What I hate about laying around all day is sure I could take another nap, but then I won't sleep so well tonight, so I never know how much I should be napping or not. I'm tempted to go do the shoulder and chest video yet deep down I think I should just wait until I get my walking boot. I'm assuming that boot might be more stable and offer more support. And considering my night last night I probably should just hang loose and relax.

I'm thinking at some point I have to make my way back up those stairs for a bath and I probably should do it before the kids come home.

Wish me luck on getting my stitches out tomorrow!! Hopefully I remember my camera and I'll have some actual feet photos for you tomorrow!!

Also it drives me nuts how the time that shows when this is posted is wrong. I think it's off by 4 hours or so too. Have I mentioned I'm a time freak : ) Again, this is why Eckhart Tolle is good for me.

Until then - keep smiling and feeling good,

Julie

Day 10

Gosh, Am I already on Day 10! Wow, I gotta say the time has gone by quickly, yet I know I have lots of days ahead of me too. Oh these lovely stairs in my house. And yes when we bought the house we actually tore out the normal stair case that was there and added these nice hard, thick, log stairs. Do you know where I am going with this yet? Well, let's just say I'm sick of climbing the stairs to take a bath as well as the couple of nights I put the kids to bed. I try to be very careful... good foot, then bad foot.. good foot, then bad foot. Well twice now I've nailed my surgery shoe on a step and I felt the wonderful sensation go from the tip of my toe up to my ankle. And all I could think was what if I didn't have this shoe on! OUCH!!! Moral of the story! Wear your surgery shoe or boot at all times. I read a story where a patient asked her doctor why she had to wear the boot when she is out and about versus wearing normal shoes and her doctor said "because then people won't step on your toe/feet. When you don't have the boot on you look like nothing is wrong. When you have the boot on people will notice it and will be more careful around you. Then he added if someone was to step on your toe right now. You'd have a broken toe!! And I gotta admit you never stop to think about how many times in a day one stubs their toe/shoe. I know I do it all the time without even thinking about it.

I am proud of Steve for getting out and getting a tree with the boys. One word for Steve today "HUNG OVER". He took a taxi home last night and let's just say at 3:36 a.m. the dog jumped over my foot to greet Steve! And I've had that man stink in my house all day! But I've also had a resting/ napping buddy too so that was sort of nice. The kids have been pretty much on their own today.

Yesterday, my wonderful friend Karen took the kids during the day. I was able to get my workout in which consisted of legs and back, yet the leg portion I had to make some adjustments, but all the back stuff I could do. I also took a bath which now I feel like I'm a pro at that process minus climbing the steps!! I ended up canceling the sitter and things were fine. We had dinner and then watched Annie and the kids LOVED it which I was surprised. I started reading Eckhart Tolle "Oneness With All Life" and do enjoy his work. I have such a busy mind so I enjoy reading about his theories and trying to practice them too. I go in streaks with all of this, but right now I think it's a good time to have a quiet mind and just accept things for the way they are and realize there is no right or wrong!! I read New Earth and the Power of Now back when Oprah was doing that as a book club.

On the tree front it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get it decorated. I don't know if I can even watch the process unfold (smile). I love the smell of pine, yet I can't stand all the dropping needles, etc.. And this year Steve will have to be the one bending down to keep that baby's thirst quenched. Last year we bought too big of a tree and one day I was working in the basement and I heard this loud bang. When I went upstairs the tree had completely fell over and it was not a pretty site! Lesson learned: always tied your tree to something!!

Tomorrow I will be working probably 1/2 the day. I have teleconferences at 9:30, 10:30, and 12:00 so hopefully no one on the other end can tell they are talking to an injured person. I brought up my work phone and put my work computer out in the kitchen. I plan to put up my foot up, yet I can already tell I will not be very comfortable since my leg will be out to the side of my desk. I'll take it day to day. Tuesday I only have one meeting so that will be better. I also will be on kid/bus duty starting at 6:30 a.m., so my a.m. will be busy.

My room has become the center of a "play room" and there are times I just have to say "everyone out" and the boys will be like "Why" and "all I can say is "I need peace and quiet" or I will say "all that's allowed in here is hugs and love" because not a moment can go by when someone isn't pushing on the other. Not that the peace goes away because I can still hear everything echo through the house, but the kids have been very cute coming and hanging with me throughout the day and I find they listen to me much better - Go Figure.

Take this a.m. Steve and I are sleeping. I hear Anton yell "Hey Riley, come wipe my butt" (Anton can wipe his own butt, but he is trying to bug Riley). Riley's reply is "No way that is EVER going to happen". Then me yelling "Anton, what's up do you need toilet paper?". Anton "I need Riley to wipe my butt because I just pooped". Me: "Riley go check to see if he needs something" Riley "Yeah, he needs some toilet paper". Me: "Get him some" Riley: "there still is a square left for him to use". And at this point I think whatever... I just gotta stay out of this one. But it's like really just get your brother a new roll of toilet paper!! They worked it out some how!

Today I've been a little more mellow. There's just been a lot of action going on in the house ever since Wednesday afternoon and everyone being home. It's been a blessing, but it's also tiring. I didn't work out today, yet I don't feel bad about it. I am hoping to do the shoulder and chest P90x tomorrow, but I don't know how realistic that is either. I'm thinking if I do it as soon as the kids get on the bus then I will be good, but it depends on how much I'm on my feet starting at 6:30 and how crazy the a.m. is.

Okay - so Tuesday is the day the stitches come out. Now will that hurt or no? I hope my doctor was serious when he said I will be able to drive starting on Tuesday!! Not sure where I'll go, but I like knowing the option is there if needed. I have a Dentist appointment early on Friday, so it's good to know I don't have to cancel that one even though it's just the normal 6 month checkup/cleaning.

I was happy to read that Sarah - another blogger wrote that she is in her 9th week and she is back to all normal activities except running and she even mentioned that there is times she has forgotten she has had this surgery!! She feels no bunion pain anymore!!

Keep in mind even though I did not experience a lot of pain over the last 10 days I think many people do feel pain. Everyone's procedure is different and don't let it get you down if your in pain the first week. It's normal considering what is being done to your foot/feet.

Okay, I think that's all I have for today!! Joe, good luck on Wednesday and I'd love to hear how it all goes for you!

p.s. Steve read my post and then said "oh shit I forgot to water the tree". He is half asleep right now and I said "Steve did you water the tree" and he said "can you send me an email and I'll do it in the morning". So guess who is going to go wobble out and crawl under the tree!!! Me. : )

Day 9

Below is a photo from today's game. Steve wrote "cold and rainy"

Go Badgers Go

Mr. Steve is all ready to go!!

Photos below are from a couple years back

I believe this is the year one of his buddies brought his brand new truck and after taking a taxi back to our house the guys thought it would be fun to go off roading on some land we had about 10 miles away from our house. Let's just say his truck didn't look so new the next morning. I will miss not waking up and hearing all about their stories, but I won't miss being woken up at 2 a.m. when they all get home. Even though over the years they do tend to come home earlier and earlier, but still tipsy as can be.

Have Fun Steve. As Joe mentioned a few days ago you earned it!

I keep tightening the straps on my surgery shoe which leads me to believe my swelling continues to go down. So I'm curious if my foot looks any different come Tuesday when I go back to get the stitches out. On the foot front really I have nothing new to report. All is going well.

I am getting a little sick of being confined to the house. This a.m. when Steve said I'm going out for coffee I said "hey, can you go to starbucks and get me a chai" and he said "no". Starbuck is 10 minutes away or less, but there is another coffee place 2 minutes away. I only like Chai at Starbucks. I'm not a caffeine drinker and once or twice a week I treat myself to Starbucks Chai on my way back from the health club. I know - doesn't make sense to work my ass off and then drink 220 calories right afterwards, but it's a treat for me so I do it. So that was my first rejection for the day.

Then I said... while you get yourself some coffee can you stop and pick me up some Chobani yogert or Stonefield Banavanilla yogert along with some different kinds of fruit. I added and no chips or crackers because it's too easy for me to munch on. Today I did get on the scale and I'm right where I need to be. There hasn't been any change in my weight over the last week, so I was happy.

Steve gets home from shopping and getting himself a cup of coffee. I said "so did you get my yogert?" He says "yeah", so I wobble out to the kitchen and see some Sugar River Rock Vanilla Yogert on the counter. Okay - grant it no big deal, but I couldn't help but say "REALLY, what part of STONE FIELD BANA_VANILLA did you not understand" and then I had to add "Today I will be getting in the car and driving, so I can get a CHAI and the yogert I WANT". Then I hear "Mom, stay above the line" coming from Anton's mouth. A couple weeks back I attended a training session on risk management and in that session the instructor drew a line and below the line he wrote Excuses, Blame, and Denial and mentioned when things go wrong people tend to go below the line, but when things go wrong people should stay above the line and he wrote the word responsibility. Well I took this theory back to my kids and said "okay boys we have a new rule and it's called "Stay above the line". On my sheet I drew a line and wrote whining, blaming, hitting, complaining below the line and above the line I wrote take responsibility and ownership. So over the last couple of weeks my kids have heard me say "Stay above the line" and it's been working really well. So needless to say all I could do was look at Anton and say "your right, I need to stay above the line". And he said "good, because I was talking to you and not to dad". And then Steve adds in "just add a banana to the yogert and you'll have banavanilla" and I said "I'm trying to stay above the line please keep your comments to yourself. Steve also bought a big bag of cheese puffs and his variety of fruit was green pears and red pears. I guess when I said "bring a variety of fruits like plums, necterines (spelling) etc.. wasn't clear enough. And also not sure if he understood do not bring any crackers or chips home either. The problem is when cheese puffs are in the house then I will eat them.

So today my goal is to exercise once Steve and the kids leave. Take another bath. Maybe get a nap in and read. I also thought I should work on my photo album.

Last night the kids and I watched Igor while Steve cleaned the house so tonight I thought it might be fun to watch Annie so they can see who the monster was trying to be in the show yesterday. Not sure if the movie Annie will go over well with two little boys but I thought it's worth a try, right : )

Also watched life as a tree movie - not really sure what I thought. I couldn't really keep watching it. A little to slow for me or my mind wasn't in the right place.

Steve thinks I should rename my blog to just say "Julie's Thoughts". He is probably right, hey.

Enjoy your Saturday,

Julie

Day 8

Look who just got home. Again, this photo should be at the end of the message, so it will make sense if you choose to read this post.

This photo was also suppose to show up at the end of my message not here. I have yet to figure out how to get photos to appear where I'd like them in these posts. When I go to attach a photo it always posts it to the top of the page versus within the text. This photo was just suppose to show you how I've been hanging out with the kids in my bed playing computer games. I can't keep up with all the excitement in my life these days (smile)

Three years ago today I lost my father. The two pictures below were taken two days before he died. I had the whole family over to my house to celebrate Riley's 5th b-day. It was a really nice day, yet had I known that was the last time I would have seen him... boy the things I would have taken the time to say to him that day instead of assuming it was like every other day we said good bye to each other.

I am at peace with thing now, but every day he is in my thoughts and I miss him dearly. I believe he continues to look out for me and he does continue to visit me in my dreams which I love. Sorry just needed to acknowledge him today.

My last photo of my dad and I. 11.23.2008

Whenever I think of my dad I always think of my dear friend Joyce. She was one of my best friend's/college roommate. I lost her a few months after I lost my dad. Love your parents and family/friends because you truly do not know when it will be the last time you see someone.

Okay sorry for getting sort of morbid on you.

Alright on to happier updates:

• Steve is out enjoying a long bike ride. I think it's like 50 degrees here in Wisconsin.
• I just got done doing P90x. Today was shoulders, triceps, and biceps. I also did abs. I stood the whole time and I didn't feel any pain in my bad foot. I put my body weight on my heal and outside of my foot. What I find interesting is if I sit normal in a chair. My foot starts to throb, but I can stand and it doesn't seem to bother me. I'm icing my foot right now and I continue to be good about icing it every 2 to 3 hours.
• Still no pain last night or today.
• Yesterday late afternoon when I had the house to myself I ventured upstairs and took a bath. It all worked well, but keep in mind I am 5'9 and 3/4ths, so our standard bath tub isn't the most comfortable for my long ass legs. I kept my bad foot rested on the top of the tub and NOTHING got wet. I was able to also turn on the hand held shower and wash my hair and rise off when needed. So that is how I will plan to stay clean until I can stand in the shower. And yes, today I finally did find some time to do some much needed body grooming, so I am feeling human again. Sorry Mr. Camera man wasn't around for my bath or grooming. Now those could have been some interesting photos.

Normally this weekend we'd go out and cut down our x-mas tree, yet I don't know if I'm ready for all of that to happen. Obviously, I wouldn't go along for the tree cutting, but I'm thinking about the bins of x-mas decorations and that's what I'm not sure I want to deal with right now.

Today has been all about hanging with the kids and I'm looking forward to Steve getting home soon because I might be reaching my "quality family time limit" : ) . The kids have been great, but they have had their little moments. I think it's good they will get out of the house more tomorrow.

If your just doing research on bunions my suggestion would be to keep reading different sites and blogs. You will quickly see how everyone's experience is different. What I found to be the best for me though was getting a hold of actual referrals from my doctor. At first I was told they couldn't get referrals because of patient confidentiality. When I pushed to get referrals then the nurse said she'd send some patients a letter and ask if they'd be open to being a referral and if yes, then she'd have to send them another letter to sign. I told her ideally I'd like to talk with someone that just got the surgery done, someone that is past the recovery period, and someone in the recovery process. The nurse was able to get a hold of 4 patients for me to speak with and I found that to be so helpful and I gained the confidence I needed in my cute Dr. (smile).

Also, when in conversion with friends, etc.. I'd just mention I'm thinking about having Bunion surgery and asked them if they knew of others that had it done and there too I was able to connect with a few other people. Just know everyone is going to have their opinions so you have to do what is best for you. I personally am glad I did not put off doing this surgery.

It's probably to early for me to say this, but so far I have not found this to be a painful process just more of an inconvenience and sort of boring to have to rest so much. Deep down I just pray that the surgery was successful meaning the pain is gone and that I won't know about for weeks/months ahead.

Last night Steve and I watched Bad Teacher. Tonight I have The life of a Tree's. That might not be the right title, but it's a Brad Pitt film. If you've watched any good movies please let me know. The other night we watched Days/Nights - Tom Cruise movie. I watched bridemaids and thought that was funny too.

I think Steve's 2 hour bike ride is turning into a 3 hour bike ride. This is also normal for him to say "oh I'm just going out for 2 hours" and then he shows up 4 hours later and says "what, I got a little lost or I got a flat tire". He did say he is going to clean the house when he returns, so as long as that happens I don't mind him being out a little long than normal.

The kids are sitting on the bed with me right now. Anton is on our iPad playing some Math computer game with a rocket and Riely is on a different laptop playing a ninago lego game.

Well, I hope your having a good Friday. For those of you who went out shopping last night in the middle of the night - your crazy (smile). I'm just not a shopper so I just can't wrap my head around the whole experience, but if you had fun that's all that matters.

Okay get out and do something active for me today.

Curious: When one's foot is in a walking boot. Is your foot still wrapped in a bandage? This bandage is driving me nuts how it keeps getting loose by my heal and I have to keep rewrapping it. This is an on-going activity. I look forward when this bandage is no longer needed.

Day 7 - One Week Post Surgery

Happy Turkey Day!!!

So I bet you only came back to check on one thing.... Does Ice Man get to go to the Badger Game on Saturday.... drum roll.... Go Badgers Go... Yes, he does. The kids will go to a friends house for a play date, then come home and be with me for a couple of hours and then a sitter will come and take them back to her house to provide dinner and run them silly. I will then just need to put them to bed once they return.

Steve and his college buddies do this once a year and usually they crash at our place afterwards, but this year I told Steve I think it's best if they just get a hotel downtown versus crawling back to our place in the early a.m. Then I don't have to deal with that man stink in the morning : ) Frankly, I knew I'd let him go I just needed him to feel a little guilty for not getting things aligned for the kids. Yet, who am I fooling he knew I'd let him go. Even yesterday afternoon I said "so have you got a hold of a sitter yet" and he said "No, but I'm working on it" and I said "Really, and how are you doing that... do you even have their numbers" and he just laughed and said "No, but I'd figure something out". He cracks me up because he is SOOOOO laid back and to his credit things always do work out for him.

Yay! a friend just called and she's coming to visit me. She wants to get out for a walk and asked if she could come visit. Love her!!!

Okay next bit of good news. I got down with Mr. P90X today for some Chest, Back, and Ab Ribber X. I felt strong and good. I did my best and forgot about the rest : ) (one of his mottos). It felt good to exercise, yet I will also admit that this past week felt nice not having to worry about getting in the exercise. This might sound sort of pathetic, but usually my last thought of the day is "what am I going to do for exercise tomorrow and what time do I need to get up" and then in the a.m. when my alarm goes off at 4:45 am or 5:15 I tell myself "Just get up and exercise and be done with it".

I'm 40 years old and can honestly say besides last week I don't know if I've ever let more than 2 days go by without exercise. It's just part of my lifestyle, yet I hate how moody I can get when I can't get it in. Yet, last week I was totally at peace which just felt so odd to me. Part of it I think is I am the type of person that normally my mind is always going and my to do list is running through my brain 24/7. Last week I truly did surrender and let things be. If the kitchen was a mess - so be it. As the laundry piled up - so be it. I think you get the picture. Okay, sorry that was a whole lot of rambling about nothing, but I think my point is I need to continue to relax and let some shit go. And if your about to have this surgery I encourage you to do the same. Just lay down, ICE, ICE, ICE and Elevate your foot (follow the R.I.C.E for healing) and all will be fine. If you feel pain take your meds.

Oh and I also got down with Mr. Steve last night and no foot was hurt (smiling). I know you've all been wondering how that subject ever turned out for me. I think he was willing to do anything to make sure he could go to the game : ) I hope you get my sense of humor.

On the pain front - The last two nights I did not take any Ibuprofen before bed and all was fine. Yesterday a.m. I took my tablets out of habit, but then didn't take any more until this a.m. This a.m. I only took 2 tablets because I had a head ache and I think that had to do with the fact I treated myself to two beers last night. So I truly do believe the Ibuprofen will be headed back to the cabinet today and will be staying there unless I over do it in the weeks to come. Which I'm sure will happen.

I realized today that it's been one full week since I left the house. Keep in mind I am sort of always house bound because I work from home full time for my job, but at least I tend to get out at least once a day. So that was a strange thought too.

If you happen to be a bike racer (criterium racer). I thought I'd share this fun website with you that Steve works on when he has the chance. http://criteriumcoaching.com/ Biking is his true passion. He is a man of many traits, but you will see his passion is bike racing.

I'm thinking one of my goals for today should be figuring out how to shave these lovely legs of mine. Let's just say the last time I shaved was LAST Tuesday. Things are not looking pretty, yet here too I just don't care : )

Turkey day for me I think is going to be enjoying a quiet afternoon. The kids right now are fighting out by the t.v. They are trying to get some netflix show going and I keep hearing "it's not going on". Steve is in the basement biking on his trainer and my dog is barking. Steve will take the kids to his parents house at 2:00. I think it's best I stay home. Okay, kids are now out on the trampoline and why is it that my 6 year old is in shorts. Oh yeah, today he came down and said "mom, I have to wear shorts today because I have no clean pants". The kid would live in shorts year round if I let him. Earlier this month I told him I will be putting his shorts away if he keeps thinking he can go to school dressed in shorts and a t-shirt in November. We live in Wisconsin might I add.

I'm trying to think what else I should share, but I think that about does it. Oh, I did work a couple of hours in my bed yesterday. I still have to work on my arrangements. How I'm currently sitting I know is not good for my back. That will all come together too. I just have to figure out the right set up between my phone, laptop, etc..

Thanks for reading my message. I am thankful for you. And just want to add I think everyone is wonderful.

Have a super day and lovely long weekend ahead.

Julie

Day 5 - photo gallery (1st Post Op Dr. Visit)

Mr. Ice Man!!

Today was my post op doctor appointment. As the nurse is unwrapping the dressing she says "so how long has this dressing been wet". Me: "Oh, did the water soak all the way through" Nurse: Yes, isn't your foot cold? I can feel the coldness through my gloves Me: Oh, well I decided last night to try and take a shower and didn't think all the dressing got wet Steve: She also has been icing a lot Nurse: Yeah, her foot is REALLY cold. Me thinking: YEAH it's frozen from icing it 15 times a day!!!

Ta Da!!! Pretty, Hey!!

Before shot below: Notice the big ball on the side of my right foot!!!

And now look - it's gone and both feet sort of look like each other!!

Yippee - hopefully no more pain when I run, jump rope, do sprints, do Mtn Climbers, burpies, and of course jumping on that trampoline!!! And think of the new found comfort in my shoes!!

Steve waiting patiently - Mr. Happy all the time.

Highlights from my visit:

• Steve calling me 90 minutes before my appointment to confirm when he should pick me up and being a smart ass saying... well last time we got to your appointment 45 minutes early, so I was thinking I need to pick you up by 12:30 since your appointment is at 1:30. And I simply said "Just pick me up by 12:50, so we get there a little early. Of course he gets home at 1:00 and we pull into the parking structure at 1:27 and on the drive he did ask "are we going to 1 S. Park St?" And I said "I don't remember what was on the invitation I sent you" and he confidentially says "1 S. Park St". We go in and register and hear "oh, your not in the right location. You need to be at 20 S. Park Str." Steve got the evil eye look from me as the clock now says 1:33. I grab my lovely crunches to hobble back to the parking structure and of course I grab out my phone and look at the invitation and say "Gee, the invitation says 20 S. Park Street". Luckily 20 S. park street is just a cross the street. This is the story of my life. To give Steve some love he did say "I'm sorry I create extra stress in your life". He KNOWS I can't STAND being late.
• The doctor said everything looks great. He said "I can tell you have been icing and elevating your foot" he said the scar is healing great and looks wonderful. And then he added "You don't have to ice your foot 24/7 and all I could do was look at Steve and smile.
• The doctor said I can drive after I get my boot NEXT WEEK, but I should not drive in the boot, but in my surgery shoe I have now. I can start more physical exercise 3 weeks after 11/29, but it's fine to do upper body work, core exercises now.
• So it was a super doctors visit. He said to keep elevating my foot. He mentioned to keep icing it as needed and know that my foot will naturally tell me when I'm over doing anything.
• I asked if he has any concerns about me getting the full range of motion back and he said "No". I'll give you some exercises to do, but really I'm not worried about that at all.
• I asked if I should take supplements to help the healing process. He said if I want that's fine but really my bones looked so strong he doesn't see any issuing with it healing or needing anything additional.
• He was happy with everything and I gotta admit I'm sort of giddy myself. I did ask him if I should keep taking Ibuprofen even though I don't feel pain and he said "no, only when you feel pain otherwise it's not really doing anything. So folks I am now officially going to stop with all pills (no Ibuprofen unless needed). Let's hope I still feel the same tomorrow.
• He mentioned I had very little swelling and if I keep icing the foot and elevating it he thinks things will continue to go well.
• I asked for his ideas on showering and he laughed and said take a bath. He said he tried most of the products out there and they all tend to leak, etc...
• We got home and what's the first thing Ice Man says "let's get ice on that foot and then I gotta get back to work". At this point all I can do is surrender : )

Help me out here/Question:

I scheduled this surgery months ago. During that time Steve came home one day and said "my buddies and I are planning on going to the Badger game on Nov. 26 (Saturday). And I said "Oh, you do realize that's a little over a week AFTER my surgery" and he said "Oh" and I said "As long as you figure out something for the kids I don't care if you go, but I can't take care of the kids all day by myself that day". Steve: "Oh sure, no problem I will figure something out". Then a month or so ago I said "Steve, just letting you know my surgery is coming up and I'm not sure what you planned yet for the kids". Steve: "Oh yeah, I'll look into that". Two weeks ago "Steve, where are the kids going on that Saturday". Steve says "Right, I better call my parents" A week ago... STEVE are the kids going to your parents. S: I don't know yet. This past Monday he says "Well, my parents can't take the kids". I give him a look and said "that sucks". Today he comes into the bedroom and says "So on Saturday my buddy is picking me up at 11:00. The game is at 2:30. Then I'll hang out for a while and take a taxi home late in the evening". I listen to him and say "Really and where are the kids going to be". He shines me his pearly whites and says "I don't know can't you take care of them" and I say "Have you given your buddies a heads up that you might not be attending". And then he goes into the speech of "come on I only get together once a year with all these guys" blah blah blah.... And now I look like the bad guy because I'm telling him he has to find a home for the kids.

Am I wrong here? Is it realistic for me to take care of the kids while I am laying in bed starting at 11:00 am through 8:00 pm? And then I asked the doctor this same question and he laughed and said "Well, it depends does your husband have an extra ticket for me". REALLY!! did you not just say I need to stay in bed and keep my foot elevated. Again, the story of my life!!

Other updates:

• I had a lovely visit from one of my dear friends this a.m. So good to catch up and hang out.
• Slept for crap last night. Lights out at 9:00 and I was still wide awake at 1:00. Finally I went and took one of those all natural sleeping pills. I did have fun connecting with my oldest sister since she was also awake. But learned her 12 year old golden retriever has bone cancer, so that's sad.
• Pain: Well up to this point I have been pain free, but last night at 4:00 a.m. I was sleeping and all of sudden I felt like my foot was being pulled apart. It took me a while because I didn't know if I was dreaming or if it was really happening. And realized this is PAIN and it's REAL. At first I was going to grab the strong pain meds but just kept breathing and took some Ibuprofen and within 10 minutes or so the pain calmed down.
• Tried sitting at the work desk in the basement with my foot up under my desk, but that didn't work. My foot started to throb right away, so I have to think through that process a little more. I have some meetings I'd like to conduct next week if possible.
• My doctor: http://www.uwhealth.org/findadoctor/Provider.action?_sourcePage=/results.jsp&id=6556 He has been wonderful to work with and would totally recommend him if your in the Madison, WI area!!! I like that he gets to the point, yet has a decent sense of humor too. And he's not so bad to look at either. Maybe one of these times I should try to dress up and look nice for one of my appointments : ) (kidding)

So all and all life is still good. I just hope I can get to sleep tonight. Yet, all I do is lay around and rest.

The next big milestone is on 11/29 - Stitches come out. I am getting a little worried how I will be able to keep entertaining you until then, so I can't promise these daily updates will continue. I will do my best. If you made it through this long message - Thank you!! And if there is something I am not covering just let me know.

Day 4 - Shower attempt... oops

This post is a continuation of the earlier post from today.

As you may know I asked my husband to help me take a shower and once again tonight when I asked him if he was going to help me he said "Fat chance of that happening. Your not suppose to get your foot wet", but then he did proceed to go get me some plastic piggly wiggly bags to use on my foot.

We wrapped three bags around my foot with rubber bands. I tried to keep my foot outside of the shower door while I washed my hair and my body. I gotta love how that striped towel is hung just right!!! And no, I didn't ask Steve to take these photos. He did that all on his own. Well, when I went to rinse myself off I thought I'll just stick my foot in the corner of the shower quick and I grabbed our hand held shower thinking that would work better than the normal shower head.

And as you can see below my attempt was not successful. Water went down my leg and into the bags. I think I only got the heal part wet and not where the actual stitches are located so I'm not too worried. I am going to sleep with my shoe off tonight though in hopes everything drys out prior to my doctor visit tomorrow. My shoe got wet too since I left that on inside the bags. Again, I did mention my brain just isn't thinking yet, right.What can I say... I am clean, so that's all that matters right? I think my next adventure will be climbing the stairs to our bathtub because then I can at least just hang my foot out of the tub. When do I get the boot 11/29? So I think I'm stuck doing this creative stuff with the shower/bath until then. Then I think I can go barefoot and pretty again because the stitches will be out. Why does 11/29 seem so far away?

Good night,

Julie

Day 4

Okay, I'm sort of playing around today and trying to figure out how to add pictures within my post. A friend had suggested I keep adding photos and because I love her I will try and add some more photos. Yet, honestly I really don't have to many exciting photos to add.

First photo my boys... they never leave each other alone and can not be apart. Even when they are mad at each other they can't leave each other alone. I just hope this continues 10, 20, etc... years down the road. Both boys are having fun in this picture just so you know. No one was harmed (smile).

The dog: Allie islooking at me and saying "get your ass off that couch and let me in". It's the story of my life (smile). She goes in and she goes out of the house throughout the day and when she wants to come back in the house we all know. If I was a dog I'd want her life. That's all I'm going to say.

The picture below is of my lovely ice pack wrapped around my foot. I attempted to try and watch some movies via our Wii using netflix and let's just say I was never able to get one downloaded and it was frustrating as all heck. One thing I can tell is right now is my mind doesn't really feel like "thinking". I think my mind is in "rest mode" too. I did spend a few hours on the couch though as a way to break up my day. But since I don't have any t.v. channels and could not get netflix to work it was sort of boring. I did attempt to work on my online photo album, but again my mind just didn't want to wake up, so I just laid and laid and laid. Fun!

I'm just playing around with my iPhone with the picture below. Another goal of my to do while I am laid up. I got the new phone and have not had time to really figure out all the ins and outs. This is what I look like today. Still no shower mind you since last Thursday, Nov. 17th. This a.m. I said to Steve. Will you help me later take a shower? Steve: I'm not sure you should take a shower yet. We don't want to get your foot wet Me: We'll if your not going to help me you need to tell me because then I will do it myself while you are gone Steve: I'll see what I can do. Let me think about it. REALLLY!! Seriously, I might try doing this on my own if I can get my mind to think through the process (smile).

I'm not sure who is resting more comfortably here... me or Allie.

Okay, enough photos. I will try to get one of Ice Man himself later. Speaking of ice. I need to go ice my foot and grab some lunch. I will be back.

I'm back...

I think I have to remember to carry that darn phone with me. I made it to the kitchen which is just outside my bedroom door and the phone starts to ring right when I sit down to eat my lovely go lean, crunch cereal and of course the person doesn't just leave a message they keep calling back until I wobble back into the bedroom and grab the phone... Guess who it was... It was Ice Man and what did he want to know? Have you been icing your foot? And then of course he did check in to see if I needed anything, etc... I forgot to say "YEAH A SHOWER". It was sweet he called. But of course I got myself back to the bed and what did I forget to grab.... the ICE. This wobbly crap is going to get pretty tiring (smile) and I have ONE GOOD leg/foot. I am sure if I had two bad bunions I would have done them both, but seriously bless you all that have two feet up and out of commission!!!

Okay back to business. What is it you want to know today.

Pain: Still no pain. Yesterday I took my dose of Ibuprofen 3x during the day (every 6 hours) and all was fine. I take 3 tablets each time for swelling. I can see my 3rd toe now and that one is also just as black and blue as the other ones. I have also started to take amino acid pills to help make sure I'm getting enough protein in my diet. I take those with my mid- morning and mid-day snack. I will ask my doctor if I should keep up with the Ibuprofen or if I should be taking something different for the swelling.

Post operation appoint is tomorrow at 1:30 CST. I will admit part of me is afraid to see what's under the dressing. Yet, it will be interesting. I believe he will also take an x-ray. So tomorrow I might actual have photos you care to see (smile). I just know it's going to look all ugly with the stitches, swelling, etc... but such is life right.

Sleep: Yesterday I didn't nap at all, yet I pretty much laid around ALL day. I was probably up more than I was the other days but only for 10 minutes here or there or transferring to a different location. I also know I am sleeping on my stomach. My foot is still elevated. It's just not facing up... it's facing down into the pillow. Do you think that's okay? It's the only way I am able to sleep. During the day I'm on my back and at night I'm on my stomach. Today I hope to get a nap in after I write this post.

Steve did end up staying home to help with the kids this a.m. and I was happy he did. I felt tired when I woke up and the noise level in the house was a bit more than I could handle. And I loved I wasn't the one saying "You need to wear a coat today, it's cold outside". And then I laughed when Steve said to me "I gotta jump in the shower. Can you get the kids to the bus stop" and I said "sure" then yelled "Kids, are you going out to the bus stop". What did he think I was going to do. Get up and walk them to the bus stop. Honestly, if one could record what takes place in the typical American home and just be able to re-watch themselves and the normal interactions that take place it would be so funny and could probably save many marriages and families. Right now all I can do is observe/listen (through a wall) and I just gotta laugh because it's the same ole same ole thing every day. AND learning to keep my comments to myself has been a blessing. I just gotta let Steve run with it because really at the end of the day if the kids are still happy and alive that's all that matters. Everyone does things their own way. There is no right or wrong.

I did finish my book yesterday. It was called The traveler's gift - Seven Decisions that determine personal success. It was a quick read and good. Below are the 7 decisions my friends, so go and be successful!! Seriously though it was a good read. Look it up.

1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.

2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.

3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.

4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.

5. Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

Earl Nightingale's Greatest Discovery is the next book on my list.

I keep sort of thinking about the surgery center and how many people are in there day in and day out and just hope everyone is okay. We tend to forget about everyone that is going into some sort of surgery every day. Some don't make it back out and it's sad how caught up we get in our own little worlds. It's normal, but I can still hear 2 babies that were crying the day I was in there and I thought gosh I wonder what they are having done. Okay, that's my deep thought for the day. Just appreciate your life and notice the small things today.

Regarding work. I did make my way downstairs yesterday and decided to leave my laptop and stuff there. I figure if needed I will make my way downstairs today, yet I can see what is coming through via my iPhone so I'm feeling okay.

Not sure what my goal really is today. Continue to rest and try to think positive. This a.m. I could tell I got a little snappy with Steve when we were discussing the whole shower thing. I don't know if you've picked up but I'm a bit of a control freak (smile). See that's the other thing I'm learning... I gotta slow down and just let things be and life will still be good (probably even better).

One funny story. So since we have no t.v. channels I go out to the different players on the internet. Well, I decided to watch desperate housewives and after watching several episodes my one 6 year old son comes in and says "what did they say about a dead body". And I tried to explain this is just a silly mom show. Well, the next thing I know I have all three boys (Steve, Riley, and Anton) in my bed watching this stupid show all because they wanted to see the dead body. And I know the show is not appropriate for little kids but it was too cute. And I loved when the one lady was taking some sex drive liquid and my kids were like "what is she doing" and Steve and I were like "I don't know she's taking something she shouldn't" and then when there were long kissing scenes the kids would say "boy those two sure like to kiss a lot" and I'd be like "yeah". So now I have my kids hooked on Desperate Housewives! Nice Hey!!

Okay my friends - thanks for reading! Please if I'm not covering a topic you'd like to know about regarding bunions please let me know.

Enjoy your day!! And say and extra prayer out there for anyone that might be having some sort of procedure done.

Day 3

YEAH I finally POOPED!! Sorry, but this is big news for me since I'm normally a very regular sort of a girl. If you recall I even started with Miralex on day 1 to try and prevent not getting plugged up, but looks like it still happened. A big thanks to my friend Michelle who dropped off a wonderful and yummy box of fruit yesterday!! It was perfect!!!! Another friend dropped off a big bag a carrots since she knows how I love my carrot, apple, and celery juice. Hey, what can I say my friends know me oh too well (smile). Seriously, though everyone has been so kind and considerate.

I am laughing right now because my window shade is open and my kids are out jumping on the trampoline. They just crack me up and I think when oh when will I do that again with them : ) Yet, I can say that was another deciding factor on getting this surgery done. I'd be out jumping with the kids and within 30 minutes my lovely bunion pain would always set in. Here is a silly video we put together this past summer. http://www.youtube.com/user/criteriumcoaching#p/a/u/0/Arqbkl27NZ4

Okay what else do you want to know... you know me I could ramble on about anything...

Pain: I am proud to say that I still feel NO pain or discomfort. Yesterday I started with Ibuprofen every 4 hours then went to 5 hours and then took my last dose at 8:30 and made it through the night and woke up with no increased pain/feelings. This a.m. I only took some thinking I should to help keep the swelling down. From what I can see my toes are swollen but it doesn't look to bad. I'm almost afraid to see what's under all this dressing/wrapping on Tuesday. My toes are black and blue. My big toe is really black and blue and yesterday my second toe joined the B&B party, but in a fainter color. I can't see any of the other toes do to the dressing. I'm curious to see where the act cut is and stitches are located and how sensitive that whole area will be.

Sleep: I slept fine again. The thing is I literally have not been leaving my bed or have only bed up maybe 10 to 20 minutes of the day. Otherwise I am in my bed and for some reason I'm content being in my bed resting. I did go out to the couch last night to watch Horrible Bosses just thinking the change would be good.

Ice Man: Continues to be very helpful. He cleaned the house yesterday WITH the boys. My foot is being iced as I type, he accomplished entertaining 15 boys yesterday for Riley's b-day party. He has been great as much as I like to pick on him. And tomorrow will feel weird being home alone for the first time. I will have to get the kids ready for school since Steve has to be to work early. Part of me looks forward to a totally quiet house and just being able to rest. Yet, it's nice when I get hungry just to say "STEVE..." or call one of the boys. This whole resting thing is just interesting to me, yet I wonder how I will feel in a week (Smile). I'm curious if I will be going crazy or still being content knowing it's what my body needs.

Okay my goals for today: Finish reading the book I started a few weeks back. I never got to that yesterday. AND maybe shower (smile). Oh and the big one is try and get my work laptop upstairs. For some reason I left all of my work stuff in the basement thinking "I'll just go down stairs and work if I feel up to it". Well, let's just say I have no motivation to try and walk down 8 steps and make my way back up. I figure I can just have my computer set up in the kitchen and check email a few times throughout the day tomorrow. I don't think I want it in my bed yet otherwise I won't be able to shut off from it and right now I do just want to allow myself to rest and be shut off from work if that's possible.

What else do you want to know about.... how about sex (smile). I'd be game and suggested it last night, but Mr. Ice man is afraid of hurting me right now. I told him the foot just needs to stay elevated, so come on we could be creative and have some fun, right (smile). Personally, I think he is too tired from chasing after my ass all day long. Don't worry I'll get him yet. When there is a will, there is a way.

Okay, just had to try and make you smile/laugh. I truly feel blessed that I am not feeling pain and each day really does feel better. I just have to stay in the mind frame of resting and I think I will be okay. Believe it or not I have not even thought about exercising yet, but figured I'd allow my mind to go there after my dr. appointment on Tuesday. And when I say exercise I'm talking about sitting down with my foot elevated and trying to do upper body weights/bands, some sit ups, etc... Just something to keep the blood flowing and trying to keep my body alive. I have been curious what I weigh in at these days. I normally weigh myself every day so not being able to weigh myself makes me just sort of look at myself in the a.m. and think... all is still good. I have one of those body fat scales where your bare feet need to be on the scale, so that's why I can't weigh myself. It's probably a good thing, yet I don't think I've gained any weight these past few days. I truly am feeling good, healthy, and positive - right now. Tomorrow could be a whole new day (smile).

Kids: Kids are doing great and are still happy and continue to give me big hugs and will just come and sit with me to talk about pokemon cards, toys, ask me questions about my foot.

Allie: (dog) - thinks all these pillows are for her. I gotta take a photo of her when I'm on the couch with my foot up. She thinks nothing of jumping up on me (she's 50 pounds) and then she hugs my foot and pushes it aside so she can rest her head/body on the pillows. I've had to move to the middle of my bed so she can easily jump up and down on the bed. Let's just say she continues to get her needs met.

So there you have it for Day 3. If you want to know anything else just ask and I'll tell.

Until next time - keep smiling and being positive and keep praying the pain stays away and my foot is healing as it should.