Happy Fwiday the Firteemf

Today was a good day. It was one of those crisp fall mornings that started out in the upper 50s with ridiculously blue skies. The Geej was in a good mood. And it was my last day of "freedom" before I head back to work on Monday. My last day of work prior to all this surgery sickness B.S. was August 29th. I am SO ready to go back. Not only for the paycheck (which I'm sorely in need of after unpaid medical leave for 6 weeks), but for the social aspect and to get my brain working again.

So here's how today went.

Took The Geej to school. It was cool enought that she got to wear her adorable new Old Navy hoodie. It was also the first day since starting at New School (which is what she's still calling it) that she didn't shed a tear or two when I left. YAY!!

Went to Whole Foods and shopped. There's nothing like shopping at 9:30 in the morning when you have the store practically to yourself. Managed to keep my bill under $75, which is saying something.

Came home. Read the Chronicle while kicking back in the hammock swing on the deck. Did I mention in was a beautiful day? Cuz it was fucking awesome.

Decided to FINALLY go see "Little Miss Sunshine." Was surprised it was actually still playing. Looked forward to having popcorn and Coke for lunch.

Decided to take 360 to the theater. Drove with the windows down and Tom Petty blaring on the stereo. I had one of those "GOD I love Austin" moments when I crossed the 360 bridge.

Got to the movie theater, and surprise, "Little Miss Sunshine" was actually no longer playing. So I decided to see the next random movie that was playing at that time, "Infamous." Having just read In Cold Blood for the first time this past spring, I was curious. What a tour de force of acting by the dude who played Capote. He made the rest of the impressive supporting cast look like a bunch of amateurs. Especially Peter Bogdonovich. He's NOT an actor. So why does he get cast in stuff and take roles away from actual acting professionals? Anyway, it was enjoyable.

Went to my favorite vintage store after the movie to buy a swag lamp. You know: one of those cheesy 70s lamps that hangs down from the ceiling. Why, you ask?

So I could finally complete the triumvrate of cheesy 70s swag lamps in the corner of my bedroom.

Got home; hung said lamp. Took about a 45 minute nap before going to get The Geej.

Came home and played outside with The Geej until dinner time. It was still gorgeous, and not hot at all. She was being hilarious, running around the back yard, squealing as only 2 year old girls can do, imploring me to "WATCH MOM!!" as she kicked balls around the yard.

Ate dinner and had a drama free bathtime and bedtime. And now it's time to go dump the Diaper Genie and watch my Tivo-ed episodes of "The Office" and "Grey's Anatomy."

Life is good.

Speaking of Thursday night TV, holy SHIT "My Name is Earl" was brilliant last night. The whole Randy/Cat Lady thing? And Amy fucking Sedaris? And the "Time After Time" montage with the boombox? Can we please just give them the Emmy right now?! And I am SO hot for Jason Lee and his white trash mustache and little belly paunch, I can't even tell you...

Overhang, part deux.

'Member back in July when I wrote about The Overhang? Well that was the mid-summer version. Now, may I humbly present you with the early autumn version of...THE OVERHANG! Now with more chubby goodness!

You know how when it's a cool day, and you open up your windows to let in the nice, fresh air, and sometimes that open window and the windowsill in front of it prove irresistible to certain fur-covered members of your household? Then, this happens:

And then you realize, "Oh man, look at the Overhang going on there!"

Exactly how big is this Overhang, you ask?

About this big:

Your boyfriend's truck.

So, I saw your boyfriend driving down the road the other day. It's cool what he's done with his truck.

Oh, you can't read what it says underneath that cool Calvin pissin' sticker (or whatever the Hell it is)? Let me interpret:

"If I shove that cellphone up your ass, will it make you drive any faster?"

Your boyfriend's a class act, let me tell ya. And smart too! I mean, putting that sentiment on his BACK window to complain about some hypothetical knucklehead who's in front of him is WAY clever.

His truck customization is nearly as cool as your brother's, who I saw today. Those 15" letters on his back window saying "GIT-R-DONE!" fucking rawk.

Vroom...vroom!

As Malcontent Mama said, Sunday she hosted the best birthday party ever for her oldest and youngest chirrens. (The oldest is actually her husband. I keed! I keed!) It was at every guy's/kid's dream: a race track next to the airport. I'm sad to say that the females were not represented in the racing posse (it was ALL guys), but we had baby wrangling to tend to and beer to drink, so there you go.

Okay, here they are. All suited up and ready to race. This is serious stuff, people. I mean they had to take like a half hour lesson and shit.


And here are the throngs of fans in the stands, captivated by the thrilling, speedy action on the track.After the race, the racers congratulate each other on a good run as the adrenaline pulses through their veins.

After the race, we all retired to the "lounge" because, you know, there was cake. And beer.

The littlest birthday boy likes cake.

And the bigger birthday boy likes the littler one just fine. Happy Birthday, you two!!

$89,324

That's how much my first bill from the hospital is for. That's JUST for the hospital. Not the doctors' consults, the radiology stuff, the surgery itself, the anesthesiology, etc.

Granted, this $89k amount hasn't gone through the insurance "process" yet (thank GOD I have insurance, or The Geej and I would literally be out on the streets), but still... When you open up a bill and see that amount on it, it's enough to give you a massive heart attack and put you BACK in the hospital.

Cripes.

Dispatches from Casa de Dah.

I'm at my mom's house. The Geej and I came up here for the weekend so that a) my mom could spend some quality time at her house that she's been at very rarely over the past 5 weeks of caring for my sick ass and b) so that I could still have some TLC due to my minor setback this week.

The flaming knives of pain? They're still present, but not as persistent. Instead of flare ups every 5 to 10 minutes, it's more like once or twice an hour. MUCH more tolerable. I think the serious "taking it easy" I've been doing over the past 48 hours and the hardcore drugs are to thank. I quit bending over, picking up anything heavier than a banana, and managed to lie around a LOT more than I'd been doing. I did get my PICC line out yesterday (as planned) which means that my 3-a-day IV antibiotics regimen is fini. YAY!! And I had that CT yesterday around lunchtime and never heard from my doctor afterward, so I guess there's no new abscess to contend with. DOUBLE YAY!!

Slowly but surely, life returns to normal. I cannot wait to be able to look back on this past month of shite and be like, "Remember how SICK I was?! And all the pain?! Well, THAT sucked. And yes, I'll have another martini, you darling cabana boy, you." Having all of this be a distant memory will be like a gift. I will tell you this, however: I will never, EVER take my health for granted again. I mean it. I'm a pretty damn healthy person. Don't smoke. Haven't eaten red meat in over 12 years. Not too fat. Drink in moderation. And yet STILL this seriously kicked my ass. I can't imagine how much worse and more lengthy it would've been if I hadn't been in good health to begin with. You've got to stay healthy in case something like this falls in your way. You've got to be ready to fight it. And it's not just for me anymore: The Geej needs me to be healthy. It's all been a very enlightening experience, I'll tell ya.

Also, I wanted to continue my "Enough already" theme from my previous post. Feel free to add to my list:

ENOUGH ALREADY...

...Mark Foley
...FOX "news"
...Paris Hilton
...Anna Nicole and that shyster lawyer Howard and all that paternity bullshit
...Iraq
...hot weather
...Carol Keeton Strayhorn and her "one tough grandma" shtick
...Kevin Federline
...my mom whining about not having a boyfriend
...potty training The Geej