Happy 2008!!!

May this be a year of happiness, healing, joy, success, and love for all of us! Have a great new year!!
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Going to the shower and we're gonna get clean....

First shower, post surgery, coming up in a few minutes. Oy, I can't wait. My hair is ready to stage a coup.

Feeling stronger and better each day! Using a walker and a cane. Taking tons of percocet, drinking lots of fluids. Getting out of bed by myself - woohoo!!

Thanks for your wonderful comments and support. You're the best!
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Home sweet home

Wow - home has never felt so good.
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Day 3 of Recovery

All tubes removed, now just tired and sore. Eating some normal food (is hosp food ever normal?)
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All is well!

Drugged up, feeling better already. No food yet, but ice chips never tasted so good. Will post more later. Ciao!
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Almost there...

Well, friends, we are now entering the home stretch, the final leg, the final countdown (cue hair band) - my surgery is tomorrow. I have been on a liquid diet for today, and, surprisingly, it wasn't bad at all. Those Ensure drinks sure are tasty!

Oh, wait - Precious just climbed in my lap.... okay, there we go.

Anyway, my operation is scheduled for 1:30 pm tomorrow (isn't that a little late, considering I have to FAST??!?!). My mom arrived safely today, and now she and my sister are napping. I am up, unable to really relax, and am watching tv (just finished Best in Show, one of my favorites, and 10 Things I Hate About You is on now). I am almost done packing my bag for the hospital, including the super-cute new pajamas I bought: four mix-and-match pieces - tank top, long-sleeved shirt, comfy pants, and robe. Figured that they will be a good bet for the hospital and for once I get home. Speaking of which, I hope to be home by the end of the week - they have pretty much told me to expect about 3 days in the hospital.

I will definitely try to post remotely, even just to clear my head, feel a sense of normalcy, and reach out to all of you. I feel so loved, supported, and encouraged by all of the incredible souls around me (including all of my blog-friends). The image that comes to mind is a nice, soft cushion, filled with all the prayers and hope of my friends and family. This pillow is supporting me, comforting me, and sustaining me.

Well, that's all for now. I will probably feel the need to blog again later tonight, out of sheer anxiety, but, if not - wish me luck!

Ta ta for now :)

Good Old 80's Fun

I have got to tell you, I found the perfect distraction for today - one of my favorite movies: Earth Girls are Easy. Have you ever seen this one? It is a cult-classic, cheesy musical, starring Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Julie Brown (of "Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" fame), Jim Carrey, and Damon Wayans. Of course, when it came out, the latter two were "unknowns," and Jim Carrey was listed as "James."

When the movie first came out in 1988, I was ten and my sister was 8. We were just starting to venture out into our neighborhood on our own. So, on one of our weekend jaunts, we got a little bit of money from our parents, and walked to the local mall/movie theater. We thought we were such big girls!

We decided to have lunch at a little lunch place in Marshall Fields, and then took a chance by seeing this movie. Well, we FELL IN LOVE WITH IT. So much so, we had to go back the following weekend and see it again. We even got a movie poster as soon as we could, and it hung on our bedroom wall until we moved out of that house 7 years later.

So, if you haven't seen it before, give it a chance - you'll giggle, you'll groan, and you'll love it.

three days to go until...

Hi, everybody! I hope you are all having a good weekend, and finding the rest and relaxation that you deserve.

I find myself feeling more and more nervous, understandably, as I get closer to my back surgery. My operation in on this coming Wednesday, so I have three days left of whatever my life is now. I can't yet know what the days, weeks, months will be like immediately following my surgery, but I certainly think a little bit farther into the future...

I can't wait to finally feel better. I can't even imagine what it will be like to live without constant pain nagging at my consciousness. To walk without feeling like I need to find a seat. To do chores around the house without groaning from the growing burning in my back. Wow - that would be amazing.

And yet, even with the hope, I am really pretty scared about the whole thing. I keep doubting myself: maybe my pain is not SO bad, and maybe I can just live with it. But, I know that's the fear talking. I have fought so long and hard to feel better, and maybe, just maybe, the turning point has come.

So, I hope to post over the coming days (God knows I am going to need it), and then I will be sure to post as soon as possible, after the operation, to update you all on how I am feeling. I had a dream the other night that I woke up, right after the operation, as the anesthesia was fading, and I could already feel better.

Maybe it is prophetic?

Have you ever had a dream actually come true?

Underblog Award

Lo and Behold, I am a winner of an Underblog Award! Thanks, Dixie Chick! This is a fun award being presented to blogs that are just waiting to be better known than they are, and are considered to be the "Underblogs." I am so amazingly honored that Bradley (over at the The Egel Nest) suggested to Dixie Chick that she award one to yours truly.

Hooray!! What a great Chanukah gift!!

And the Winner is....

"Sex Kitten"

Can you believe it? A green Toyota Camry named Sex Kitten. Driven around the NYC area by a rabbi...

What will my mother say???

(Teehee.)

Happy Chanukah!

Hope your holiday season is filled with light, love, and laughter!

Monday Meme - Curious as a Cat

Curious as a Cat posts thought-provoking questions each Monday, and it always sparks interesting discussion and ponderings. I haven't had a chance to participate in awhile, so here goes! Plus, Cat reminds us that you don't have to play on Monday, so if you wanna join in, go ahead whenever you want!

1) If you had to experience one trauma your mother has gone through so that you could better understand her, what would you choose?

My mother's mother died when my mom was only 20. From what I understand, her mom was ill for most of her childhood, and thus my mom never really HAD much of a childhood. She was an only child, and wound up caring for my grandfather as the primary homemaker. Over the years, I have asked my mom about her mother's life and death, and my mom has (understandably) blocked most of it out. And I mean, completely. There are just no memories of it. Thus, I have had to speculate, recreate, and imagine what it must have been like for her to grow up with a sick and dying mother.

2) What is the most revolting combination of colors you can imagine?

What a cool question! Let's see.... definitely some combination of vomitous green and poopy brown :)

3) If you could punish the most difficult person at your workplace, what would you do, and to whom?

A previous co-worker of mine at a previous job was definitely toxic. He thought he was god's gift to the workplace, was incredibly pompous and arrogant, and was completely a FAKE. As soon as you got past the slick exterior, you found... nothing. Emptiness. So, I suppose I would just hope that he would one day be exposed as the fake he is. I hate wishing harm to anyone, but I also believe that he could probably cause a lot of harm to others if trusted too much...

4) What is the thing you know the most about?

Hmmm..... I pride myself on knowing a little bit about a lot, so I have to think. I would hope that the answer would be Judaism, since that it my job.... I also have way too much pop culture knowledge. So, between the two, you've got most of my brain.

5) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.
I don't know where this picture actually takes place, but it reminds me of Coney Island. I LOVE Coney Island, and I have had a number of memorable visits with family and friends (MJP - I am talking about you!). I don't know how much longer it will remain the Coney Island that we all know and love (they are supposedly tearing most of it down and building condos in the next few years), but the amusement park, historic roller coaster, sideshow, hot dogs, and general ambience make it a very special place. If you've never been - GO!

Surgery Update

Hey, Guys! Be sure to check out the poll to the right - it's time to vote for your favorite name for my car (Green Toyota Camry). I can't wait to see what you choose!!

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Well, friends, you have all been so wonderful and supportive. Your comments on my "Surgical Consult" post have given me hope, comfort, and solace. I can't say that I am looking forward to surgery, but, at least, I am not as scared.

The surgeon has decided that, yes, it is indeed time for surgery. I will be undergoing Posterior Lumbar Decompression and Fusion. Sounds exciting and exotic, yes? No matter what, I just want to feel better - wouldn't that be AMAZING????

My surgery is scheduled for December 20. Since I can blog remotely, I hope to be able to update you all directly from the hospital. Cool concept, right? And, you'll have to take the posts with a grain of salt, because who knows WHAT drugs I will be on at the time :) Thank goodness for modern technology.

Then, I was told to expect 4-6 weeks of recovery at home. This actually winds up being perfect timing - it's winter break time, so the synagogue is really quiet. There is very little that I have to reschedule or cover.

My mom is going to come into town for the first few weeks, and then my sister will be helping out. I am sure that friends and congregants will be around, as well.

My mom had a neat idea - she suggested that I journal as much as possible about my experience. It could make a great book one day. She's right - so much of the material available is written by DOCTORS, not patients. Hmmmm..... who knows!

So, I hope you don't mind that I process some of the myriad feelings going on inside of me on these pages. There will be plenty of other posts (of course!!), but this is the major theme in my life now.

Hope all is well in YOUR world!!! Have a great weekend!