Some Answers, Finally!

It’s been about 13 months since my ankle inury on the stairs. After 3 months on crutches, 6 weeks in a brace and 2 months of physical therapy, it’s still causing me problems. I went back to my orthopedic doctor in early October and he sent me for an MRI. The MRI came back showing that my ligaments are damaged and there’s scar tissue, but he wasn’t sure if there might be more going on. So he referred me to an ankle/foot orthopedic specialist.

Yesterday was my appointment with that doctor and I finally have some answers as to what’s going on. He agreed with my other doctor on what was showing up on the MRI. He also said that it doesn’t look bad enough for surgery at this point because scar tissue is going to continue to grow. It shouldn’t be causing me all the pain, swelling, limping and locking up that I’m experiencing.

After examining both my feet and having me stand up, he determined that the problems are caused because I stand/walk pronate. Meaning rather than my feet pointing straight forward like they should, mine point out a little bit. It’s never been an issue, but all that extra weight that gets put on the outside of my foot is what’s causing the problems on an already unstable ankle.

He gave me a cortisone shot and told me to get orthotics to put in my shoes that don’t already have arch support. I have very high arches and hopefully the orthotics will help to distribute the weight more evenly when I walk. He said to give it 6 weeks and if I’m still having problems to come back. Then we’ll consider other options or surgery as a last resort.

I feel so much better now that someone could tell me why I’m still having these issues and that I have a plan!

Favorite Holiday Tunes

I have a difficult time getting into the holiday spirit. I love Christmas and the week off we get between that and New Year, but it also means I have to cram the usual amount of work into less time. I’m not complaining, I know how lucky we both are to get that week off to spend visiting our out of town families, but it makes me feel stressed out and bah humbug.

Music always helps pull me out of that slump. I popped one of my favorite holiday CDs in last week and like flipping a switch, I was hit with that feeling of joy and spirit I’d been looking for. I’m just glad it hit now rather than just before Christmas because it’s not fun being a grinch.

My favorite holiday tunes are Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan and Midwinter Graces by Tori Amos. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise most of you since I’m big fans of both singers. There’s a mix of original and traditional (with the Sarah/Tori spin) music on both albums.

Sarah’s album came out a few years ago and I’d recommend the following songs as downloads:
River
Wintersong
Christmastime Time Is Here (from A Charlie Brown Christmas)

Tori’s album came out last month and these songs would be good additions to your holiday music collection:
A Silent Night With You
Holly, Ivy And Rose
Snow Angel
Pink And Glitter

Some of the classic songs are worth checking out too, but I like these because they’re different than the usual holiday music you hear all over.

What are your favorite holiday tunes?

Sonic Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving in our traditional non-traditional way. We tossed around a few ideas leading up to the holiday, none of which involved any cooking. Sonic became our top choice after driving by the week before and seeing on their sign that they would be open. This is the first Sonic near us and it’s been extremely busy since it opened a little over a month ago. Thanksgiving ended up being the perfect time to go because so many people were eating at home. There were others that had the same idea, though.

Behold our Sonic feast:

I had grilled cheese and tater tots. Kev had a cheeseburger and onion rings. We split a Fritos chili cheese wrap and also had strawberry limeades. Our dessert (not from Sonic) was chocolate moose tracks ice cream with magic shell.

Now we’re ready for the several home-cooked meals we’ll get to enjoy in a few weeks with our families for Christmas!

Pumpkin Carving and Cupcakes

Summer is my favorite season, but there are things I appreciate about every season. In the Fall, I love all the pumpkin flavored coffee, food and beer. And the candy! No other time of year can you buy bags of Dots or Nerds in single servings. Those aren’t even for the trick-or-treaters, they’re for ME!

Like many of you this week, I carved a pumpkin for Halloween. The only thing I hate about pumpkin carving is cleaning out the pumpkin. Lucky for me, Kev is the best husband ever and did that part for me. Isn’t that sweet? Here’s my masterpiece carved from a stencil with one star for easy since it’s about all I can handle:

The above picture is pretty dark because I put the pumpkin in the basement, which is the only place we had space for it. I’ll probably move it to the front porch tomorrow night. Here’s a picture of it with the lights on (Zoe couldn’t wait to start sniffing):

Last night Kev and I donated blood for the first time ever. I had wanted to do it for awhile and about a month ago I found out there was going to be a blood drive at the Ferndale Rec Center where I work out. I signed us up and before I knew it, the date was here.

I did fine with the finger prick for pre-screening. I did fine with the IV and blood part. I did fine when I sat up. Things went downhill after I stood. I warned them ahead of time that I tend to get dizzy after a blood draw, so thankfully they were ready for it. As the nurse was helping me across the room, things started to swim and look a little fuzzy. It didn’t register at the time, but I was pretty close to passing out. The nurse picked up on it and dragged me across the room to the semi-private cot. I laid down and she made me breathe into a paper bag. Kev brought me lots of cookies and orange juice and eventually I was able to sit up. After 8 oreos, 2 cans of orange juice and a bottle of water, I was ready to go home.

I figured I’d be fine by today. I was wrong. I got so dizzy in the shower that I had to sit down. I felt so weak, dizzy and light headed that I couldn’t get ready for work. I’ve spent the day guzzling water, eating big meals and making pumpkin cupcakes (once I could stand without dizziness):

If you want the recipe I used, click here. They were super easy to make and are SO GOOD. I’m feeling much better after eating one of them, so I’m pretty sure they are the key to recovering from a blood donation. I’m proud that I was brave enough to donate blood, but I don’t think I’ll be signing up to do it again.

To the Tune of that JT SNL Song

Step 1: Bring a box home for your cat

Step 2: Put the box on the floor

Step 3: Put your cat in that box

Or in this case your cat will cram herself in the box even if a shoe is taking up the other half

Different box, same week

To Blog Or Not To Blog

I’ve been suffering from bloggers’ writer’s block lately. I like to write, love it, actually, but don’t get much of a chance to use my writing skills except on this blog. Yet when I think about writing a post, I don’t know what to write about or where to begin. I share so much on Facebook on a regular basis that it seems like old news by the time I get around to writing a blot post. I’ve been blogging since 2004 and I’m not ready to give it up.

I’m not sure what that means except that I need to come up with something to make this different what I post on FB. I’m no Carrie Bradshaw, but I can be creative when I want to be. I enjoy writing reviews on things I’ve read or watched, which is something I started doing last year when I was couch bound with an injured foot.

So, any ideas for me? Are you interested in something different like reviews, or maybe a blog book club? Anyone else feeling the same way about their own blogs?

DIY Fun in F-Dale

There were a couple fun events going on in Ferndale this weekend: Funky Ferndale Art Fair and DIY Street Fair. We hit up both of them and made a night of it.

First, we made our way through the Art Fair, which was on 9 Mile. There were a few carnival food vendors and higher end, fine art type vendors. We checked out some things, but the prices were a little high for our tastes (and budget).

We made our way across Woodward to the DIY Fair next. This event is in its second year and was much larger this year. There were close to 100 vendors selling their hand made products, a huge schedule of bands, local restaurant booths and an amazing beer tent with breweries from all over Michigan.

Some of the vendor booths behind WAB

Beer tent to the left and the top of the main stage just next to that at dusk

Local restaurant booths

Giant motorized cupcake - we first saw it at the Art Fair and it later showed up at DIY

We finished out the night with nachos at Rosie O’Grady’s on the way home. One of the best things about where we live is being able to walk to events like this!

Book Review: Sookie Stackhouse Series

After watching the first season of HBO’s True Blood, I found out the show is based on a book series by Charlaine Harris. A few friends have read the books and recommended them, so I decided to check them out. I found a box set of the first seven books (there are nine  with a tenth due out next year) on Amazon for about $30.

I dove into the series and read the first three books in less than a week while on vacation. The first book more or less covers the first season of True Blood, but it’s an entirely different experience than watching the story unfold. Unlike the TV series, the books are told entirely from the perspective of the main character, Sookie Stackhouse, a telepath who works as a barmaid in small town Louisiana. HBO took creative liberties to expand the depth of the characters to show first-hand what is happening from their perspective, which I think sets it apart enough from the book to keep me intrigued.

There are some differences in the characters themselves as well, but those don’t become obvious until further into the book series. There are moments in the books that are a bit romance novel-y, but it’s to be expected when the main character is involved in dating vampires and shape shifters later on.

I’m just now finishing book seven in the series and ordered books eight and nine to complete my collection. I’m anxious to watch the second season of True Blood to see how well it follows the future books. I’ve heard about some current plot points that don’t happen until later in the book series, and I am excited to see how everything plays out.

Have you watched the series and/or read the books? If so, what do you think? My final thought after reading most of the book series: Team Eric!

Stories From an Alcohol Prohibited Campground

We headed across the state last weekend to camp at Warren Dunes State Park. While reserving our site, several notices popped up to tell me alcohol is not allowed. This is common in the beach and picnic areas of state parks, but you can usually have alcohol at your camp site. My family used to go to Warren Dunes when I was little and I remember climbing the towering dunes and playing on the beautiful beach, so this did not deter us. Instead, I concealed our alcohol in the form of sangria in a big blue beverage cooler with a spout. What?  We were drinking GRAPE JUICE.

This bee died wasted on grape juice

After we set up camp, we went to a liquor store in Michigan City, IN to stock up on Fat Tire and 1554. Those two New Belgium beers, along with Mothership Wit, are now being sold in northern Indiana in 22 oz. bottles. Some of it was for us, some was for friends, and we hid it in the car under a blanket.

When we got back to the campground, the DNR was patrolling like crazy. We had some grape juice in plastic cups while the guys across from us were drinking beer out of the cans and bottles they came in. We figured maybe the campground wasn’t so strict about alcohol. We were wrong. A little while later the DNR stopped in front of their camp site. They had to pour their beer out, were ticketed and had to pay a $160 fine!

After waiting for the weather to warm up (it didn’t) on Saturday, we layered our clothes for some hiking in the dunes. We climbed the steepest dune I have ever seen. It was windy and chilly at the top, which felt wonderful after a sweaty climb.

Getting ready to climb the steepest dune we've ever seen

Trails through the dunes with Lake Michigan in the background

The view from the top of the steep dune

Later that evening, we were cooking hot dogs over the fire when we heard lots of sirens. The campground isn’t too far from 94 and is right off another smaller highway, so we assumed something happened out there. Our site had woods separating us from the next row of sites and we couldn’t see anything. When we decided to walk to the camp store for more fire wood, we saw that the action was almost directly behind us. There was an ambulance, a fire truck, cop cars and the DNR. Apparently a group of guys had been drinking when one of them decided to drive his truck. A few got in the back bed of the truck and when the driver took off, one fell out. The driver backed up and BACKED OVER HIM. Everyone in that area heard the crack of what they assumed were his legs breaking. So glad I didn’t hear or witness that!

Despite the crazy happenings at this campground last weekend, I would still highly recommend staying there. Many of the sites, like ours, had trees behind them and on the sides separating it from the sites directly next to it. We were within walking distance of the dunes, other nature trails and a beautiful Lake Michigan beach.

Our next camping trip is scheduled for the first weekend in October. Since last weekend was quite fall-like, I’m hoping for Indian summer camping!

If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…

My parents came to visit last weekend for the Dream Cruise. Living so close to Woodward it’s no secret that we dislike the cruise with a passion. It wouldn’t be so bad if cruising was only on the designated days, but people start cruising a couple weeks early. It gets amped up every day until it’s impossible to travel Woodward to get anywhere (except to and from work) for the few days before.

Anyway, my parents bought a 1987 Mustang convertible last fall. They have been looking forward to coming here to drive it in the cruise pretty much ever since. They arrived on Friday afternoon and were able to cruise a bit that afternoon/evening.

Saturday is the main cruise day and it was insane around here! 9 Mile was closed and we walked around the festivities Saturday afternoon:

Mustang Alley on 9 Mile east of Woodward

Cops on Horseback (not something usually seen in the city!)

On the walk back to the house, my dad mentioned they were going to take the car for one last cruise. He asked if we wanted to go. At first I wanted to say no, but I knew the weekend wasn’t about me and it would make him happy. I have to confess that for the first time ever, Kev and I participated in the cruise. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em (as long as it’s not in a regular car!).

Proof that we cruised

The traffic jam, I mean cruise

It wasn’t so bad being a part of the cruise in a more classic car. It took 45 minutes to go about 4 miles roundtrip, though!

After that we headed downtown for the Tigers game. We had awesome seats 31 rows directly behind home plate. It was my parents’ first visit to Comerica Park and they wanted to be as close to the action as possible. Can’t say I blame them. The seats were awesome and it was an exciting game!

Our view without zooming in at all

I think the Dream Cruise may become an annual thing with my parents. They had so much fun and are already looking forward to doing it again next year! I guess that means I have another 51 weeks to prepare for another short ride in the cruise.