12/30/14. The post where I share happy news.

12/30/14: left the resort yesterday morning for the two-hour drive to visit my parents-by-love.  We spent the afternoon having a late Christmas celebration, watching football, and doing some shopping.  They have citrus trees on their property, so we also spent some time peeling and juicing oranges.  We are drying the peels for one of our kitchen science experiments, and the juice?  For mimosas, of course.  (Vitamin C has been shown to help prevent flare ups and the spread of CRPS after injuries, so I take supplements every day.)  A few mimosas are just what the doctor ordered.  Well, maybe not exactly what the doctor ordered, but close enough.

I am very fortunate when it comes to my patient, long-suffering husband's parents.  They are kind, loving people who accepted me immediately, and we have lots of fun every time we are together.  This visit is going to be even more special, because my parents are flying in this morning to meet us!  This will be their first "real" trip since Mom's diagnosis back in March.  We have some fun activities planned for the next few days, but mostly we will just enjoy spending time together in a place that doesn't involve doctors, needles, or jello.  

My foot feels pretty good, but I still have the stimulator set to warp level 7. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G-cOsbIv2iA

I don't have time for any issues right now.  Too much life to be lived.  

12/29/14. The post where I am not very smart.

12/29/14: one more day at the resort before leaving tomorrow to visit family.  My patient, long-suffering husband started the morning with a massage.  I'm still not quite mentally ready to try a massage.  Besides the fact that the masseuse would have to work around the stimulator, it seems to me that I would either need to turn it off (not a pleasant thought) or risk getting "zingers" periodically (not a pleasant thought for me or the masseuse).  So instead, I went to the fitness center and rode an exercise bike.

Next, we got our geek on at a university-run facility that simulates different habitats and climates.  Such as a rain forest.  Which is extremely humid, by the way.  I really enjoyed the tour, but about halfway through it I started to feel some serious pain.  When we got back to the car, I turned the stimulator up even higher, which helped, but it is now back up to "panic mode" again.  I hope not to have any additional issues, because I am running out of maneuvering room.

We stopped for a late lunch on the way to our next destination.  We had spent the last few days reading up on the best places to get local cuisine, but we never managed to make any of them work.  Everything seemed to be on the wrong side of town or closed for the holidays.  So we tried a different approach instead, stopping by a random place that was on our route and happened to be open.  As it turns out, that was a pretty good approach.  It was a small, family-run restaurant - nothing fancy, but the food was delicious.  I ordered one of the local specialties and enjoyed it thoroughly.  I didn't even mind when, about half-way through, I discovered it contained pork.  As some of you are aware, I eat a generally vegetarian diet, supplemented with fish periodically.  This is for health reasons, not moral or religious reasons, and it's a good thing, or it would have been a much worse discovery.  While I probably should have asked more questions before ordering, I'm glad I didn't, because I would have missed out on a really good meal if I had.  I skipped dinner to make up for it, which was no big loss, because I was stuffed the rest of the day.

Our final destination for the day was a scenic tram ride through a canyon and forest.  The weather had been beautiful all day, so we chose seats on the uncovered car.  Knowing that the weather was likely to be cold on this trip, I packed three coats, four pairs of gloves, three ear warmers, and more scarves than I can currently recall.  And I bought two more pairs of gloves and another ear warmer on our shopping excursion yesterday.  (I can't resist a good sale.)  Guess how many of those things I brought on the tram?  If you guessed "zero", get yourself a cookie.  And of course, about the time the tram started, the sun went behind the clouds and the wind picked up.  By the time we returned to the car, I was an icicle.

After a long, hot bath, I managed to warm up again.  I did plenty of dumb things today, but still had an excellent time.  I'll try to be a little smarter tomorrow, but I'm not making any promises.  

12/28/14. The post where it's a dry cold.

12/28/14: went to bed early Friday night, so I got a good night's sleep, even though I woke up too early on Saturday.  We both woke up refreshed and ready to see the sights, so we got an early start.  First we did a little shopping for an item my patient, long-suffering husband forgot to pack, then we were off to a botanical garden/zoo/outdoor museum.  Along with every other person in the tri-county area.  I think this was the day everyone woke up and said, "My family is still visiting - what am I going to do with them???"  

While it was very cold, it was a beautiful, sunny day with almost no humidity. Perfect for our outing.  I was a little concerned about how my foot was going to react to being out all day in the cold, but it did pretty well.  I was smart enough to leave the stimulator setting high this time. You know how people say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity" when talking about discomfort?  (At least, they say that in the humid area where I live.)  I'm beginning to think with my foot, "It's not the cold, it's the humidity."

Our afternoon would have been perfect, had it not been for the crowds. And for one family in particular.  The family of a kid I'll call "Logan".  Because apparently that is his name.  I know because of the number of times I heard his dad say it.  Logan's favorite activity was to run ahead of his dad, who was behind us, pushing me violently out of his way as he did so.  Then when his dad called his name, he would run back, pushing me again, only to start the activity over again.  After about three circles, I began looking Logan in the eye and saying, "Excuse me!" in my most authoritative adult voice and then turning around to look pointedly at his dad.  His dad, however, could not be bothered to respond or take charge of Logan because he was busy talking on his walkie-talkie to ask Logan's mom for her "10-20" like they were extras from the movie "Convoy".  I was beginning to envision a scenario where a video of me shrieking at Logan and his family goes viral and I become an Internet pariah, so we decided to duck out and join a different throng of people.

I spend a lot of time around well-behaved kids.  And that is because I spend a lot of time around well-behaved adults who teach their children by word and example to behave in a similar fashion.  It's rare for me to be in situations where I encounter people like Logan's family, and it makes me appreciate my family and friends with kids even more.  Keep up the good work, y'all.

We enjoyed a quiet evening back at the resort and I collapsed into bed early for another good night's sleep.  I think I am back in the sleeping groove again.  More tourist destinations and walking today.  I just hope Logan's family has different plans.  But if you see a YouTube video of me ranting like a deranged lunatic, just remember that Logan started it.  

12/26/14. The post where we reach our destination.

12/26/14: I woke up way too early again this morning, even earlier than usual because we had moved to a different time zone.  My patient, long-suffering husband didn't have any better luck sleeping, so we got up and made an early getaway.  And as a result, we got to see snow.  Snow is not a usual sight for us, nor was it expected where we were, so it felt like a special treat.  Fortunately, it was not cold enough for the freeway to ice over, so we were on our way with no trouble.  Within an hour, we were out of the snow and it was a beautiful, although cold, day.  

Since we were making such good time, we decided to make an unscheduled stop at a tourist site on the way to our destination.  Boy, was it interesting, and not necessarily in a good way.  It was the site of an American historical event, but it had been turned into more of a theme park, and not a classy, Disney-type theme park.  As my patient, long-suffering husband commented, the work force appeared to be made up of carnies and convicts.  And the tourists were only slightly more savory.  After looking around a bit and buying tickets for a really schlocky reenactment of the event, we spent an hour looking for a restaurant with empty seats and then another hour waiting for our food to arrive.  On the bright side, it gave us an opportunity for some excellent people-watching.

We got back on the road and made it to our destination by late afternoon, a resort which was much less crowded and more serene than our unscheduled detour.  We spent the rest of the day enjoying the quiet and then had a nice meal at the resort before retiring for an early bedtime.  We are determined to catch up on sleep before the trip is over.  

I had the brilliant idea to turn down the amplitude on my stimulator this morning since my foot was feeling better.  By mid-afternoon, I turned it back up again.  Perhaps I'd been a little hasty.  But in comparison to the last year, or even the last month, I'd say I'm getting along pretty well.  

12/25/14. The Christmas post.

12/25/14: whew!  We made it.  Three Christmas services, with choir, handbells, and a brass and timpani band.  Since I was wearing a choir robe over my fancy Christmas duds, I wanted to wear special shoes.  Here's what I picked:

In retrospect, sneakers would have been a better choice, given all the running around I did.  But I enjoyed wearing them, nevertheless.  The services were beautiful (thanks to my patient, long-suffering husband) and, like I do every year, I cried when we lit the candles and sang "Silent Night".  I'm so predictable.

I have a story to tell, but it won't make sense without a flashback to this time last year.  It was prior to my diagnosis and my doctors were still casting around in the dark trying to find a solution.  (Get it? "Casting"?  I crack myself up.)  I got my cast off on December 23, only to find my foot wasn't any better after six weeks of total immobilization so I had to go back into a boot (a medical boot, not a fun boot) and the dreaded knee walker.  For this and several other reasons, we had to cancel our yearly post-Christmas getaway.  It was not a happy time.  We decided we should at least have a nice Christmas Eve dinner and made reservations at a local Italian restaurant, one of the few places,that was open Christmas Eve.  

Big mistake.  It was a comedy of errors.  More like a tragedy of errors, actually.  They called just as I was going into rehearsal for the first service to ask us to move up our reservation time because they had decided to close early. We moved it up as early as we could and still ensure we could get there n time after the last service.  Despite racing to get there, the doors were locked when we arrived.  We finally got someone to let us in, but as it turned out, it would have been better if we hadn't.  They were out of the special dish they had advertised, which is what had enticed us to go in the first place.  The waiter completely abandoned us and the busboy apologetically took over (and was the one bright spot in the evening).  As we left the restaurant, we witnessed our waiter and the bartender having a screaming, cursing argument over how to split the tips from the evening.  Merry Christmas.

Fast forward to yesterday.  After last year's experience, we had decided to abandon the idea of eating out, but then we learned one of our favorite places was going to be open Christmas Eve. We were skeptical, but decided to give it a shot and made reservations.  The experience could not have been any more different than the previous year's.  The restaurant had their A-team on staff and they all seemed genuinely glad to be there.  After all the work we'd done, we were in no mood to make decisions, so we asked the waiter to just bring out some of his favorite foods.  And fortunately for us, he had excellent taste.  The sommelier, with whom we've developed a relationship over the last two years, picked a special wine for us that was a real treat. They also brought us several complimentary treats, of both the solid and liquid variety.  The evening ended with hugs all around and it felt like home.  If home were full of good chefs and had an impressive wine selection.  Which, now that I think about it, is actually not a bad description of home.  What a great way to end a really long day.  As the spouse of someone who has to work on Christmas Eve, I wish no one had to, but I sure appreciated the great attitudes of the professionals who did work.  I hope they all got some well-deserved rest today.

I woke up really early again this morning, which is not surprising, given that I had not packed anything for our trip and we had an eight-hour drive ahead of us.  I've gone into exhaustive detail about my packing issues previously, so I won't repeat them.  Just know that eventually we got out the door and I'm fairly certain I have at least the essentials.  We got to the hotel in time for dinner and a drink before collapsing.  In contrast with our experience last night, the B-team was on duty today at the hotel and restaurant, but they were certainly earnest.  And talkative.  We really got to know everyone - one of the perks of staying in a deserted hotel over a major holiday.

Another five hour drive tomorrow and then we'll stay put for a few days.  I had a couple of unpleasant moments with my foot yesterday, but today was much better.  I guess sitting in a car for eight hours in comfortable sneakers didn't hurt.  Hoping my luck holds out tomorrow.

12/24/14. The early morning post.

12/24/14: the last few days were a whirlwind.  Scratch that - my life is always a whirlwind.  The last few days have been more like an F5 tornado.  I finished up my work year with a bang, including two unpleasant tasks that made me feel like a real grinch, but it was better than saving them for the new year.  I have definitely earned my holiday break.  

The rest of the time has been filled with rehearsals, Christmas and trip preparations, regular household chores, and a seemingly endless stream of parties and get-togethers.  And when I'm lucky, a little sleep.  I was really looking forward to this morning, when I could finally sleep in a little.  Except I didn't.  I woke up a full 30 minutes before my alarm usually goes off and after 45 minutes of tossing and turning, I finally gave up on sleep.  Thus the early morning post.

My foot has behaved pretty well through it all.  I have the amplitude on the stimulator turned up to "panic mode" and for the most part, it is working.  By the end of the day, my foot is generally red, swollen, and unhappy, but I barely notice it during the day.  Today will be a physically demanding day, but after today I will have some rest time and I hope to be able to turn the stimulator back down.  You know that feeling when you sit with your legs crossed for a long time and cut off the circulation, then you stand up to walk and all the blood rushes back down?  Now imagine having that feeling 24/7. That is what it feels like with the stimulator turned up to this level.  Annoying, for sure, but definitely preferable to the alternative.  

One last thought before I get up to face the day.  For those of you who are church-going people, while you are in services this evening or tomorrow, please take a minute to think about all the work that goes on behind the scenes.  The Christmas season is not a fun time to be a staff member of a church.  (Or the family of a staff member of a church, frankly.) It is three or four of the hardest work weeks of the year, culminating in a few days of absolute frenzy.  My patient, long-suffering husband hasn't had a full day off work in several weeks and any time spent with family and friends has to come at the expense of sleep. Church staff members make these sacrifices willingly because they feel called to do so, but it takes a physical and mental toll on them and their families.  Which is why we go off the grid for awhile after Christmas each year.  

I wish each of you a wonderful Christmas filled with love, laughter, and joy.  And I wish myself luck getting through tonight.  I will have lots of time tomorrow to post, so I will let you know how it went.  

12/21/14. The post where I start to think maybe my health monitor isn't so smart.

12/21/14:  finally got a good night's sleep and woke up feeling refreshed.  It was a good thing, because it was a crazy day, much more crazy than I expected.  I spent the morning doing chores around the house until it was time for church.  After that, the day was a blur.  Choir practice, church, attending a concert, administrative work at church for the music series, then a holiday get-together with neighbors.  By the time I finally got home, my foot was a red, swollen mess.  

With the cool, humid weather this week, I've been riding my bike on the trainer most mornings.  My health monitor is not impressed.  It thinks I am not burning calorie and constantly admonishes me about my lack of activity.  Of course, it also thinks I am sleeping any time I pay close attention to something for any length of time - be it a concert, a sermon, a movie, a teacher.  I'm starting to figure out that my health monitor mighty not be as smart as it thinks it is.  After a week of cycling, my clothes are fitting a little better and my weight is starting to drop again.  I think maybe I'll stick with the cycling for the next few days, regardless of what my health monitor thinks.  

The next few days will be filled with activity.  (I know, you're thinking, "What else is new?")  Another day and a half of work, some rehearsals for Christmas Eve services, and parties.  Lots of parties.  I'm hoping my foot will hold out for a few more days, because starting Thursday, I'll get a break for awhile. I'll check in when I can, but more importantly, I'll keep cycling.

12/20/14. The post where I finally get into the holiday spirit.

12/20/14: it was cold this morning, but the rain was gone, so my foot felt a little better.  I had planned to sleep in this morning and try to catch up a little, but my body was having none of it.  I am a creature of habit, so I was up early even without the alarm.  I stayed in bed, hoping I'd fall back asleep.  Instead, I tried to recall lines from the acting scene I recently started rehearsing, made a mental to-do list for the time between now and Christmas, and did some other mental exercises.  When I finally gave up and got out of bed, I wasn't physically refreshed, but I sure felt organized.

My patient, long-suffering husband had a rehearsal this morning, so I ran some errands while I waited.  As you've probably figured out, I don't like to be out in crowds at any time, but most of all I don't like to  shop around Christmas time.  I needed to buy wrapping paper, cards, and stamps, so I was prepared for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I was able to get everything but the stamps at a drug store right by the post office.  And when I walked into the post office, it was like a ghost town.  There were only about three other patrons in the office, and they were all friendly and in good spirits.  I felt like I was in a scene from a '40s Christmas movie.

After my patient, long-suffering husband got home from his rehearsal, we picked up our friends and took off for a (partial) day trip to nearby wine country.  We had some wine club shipments to pick up and our friend just had a birthday, so we decided to make a day of it.  And we had a lovely time.  The weather was crisp and dry and we found a couple of new gems in addition to our old favorites.  We followed it up with a nice dinner and started the drive back home.  As we passed through a small town on our way back, I was pleasantly surprised again. The town housed the electric company that serves the area, and the company property had an amazing light display.  As my patient, long-suffering husband observed, when you get a bunch of guys together who regularly play with electricity and have access to cherry-pickers, they're going to put up some pretty good Christmas lights.  There were lots of folks walking around admiring the lights, and because it was a small town, some of them were in horse-drawn carriages and flat-bed trailers pulled by tractors.  Once again, I felt like I was in a scene from a '40s Christmas movie.  

My foot started feeling worse on the drive home, but all-in-all, I'd say it behaved quite nicely today.  Apparently it has also finally gotten into the holiday spirit.  

12/19/14. The post where I admit I'm not very artistic.

12/19/14:  it poured rain this morning, so once again I rode the trainer.  It was my last Friday to work before the end of the year and I have one project I want to finish before I leave the office for the holidays next Tuesday.  Fortunately for me, it is a self-imposed deadline, because it ain't gonna' happen.  Today was filled with meetings and in between meetings, there was a parade of people in and out of my office.  So much for my plans.

I did manage to sneak out for long enough for a manicure.  ("In My Santa Suit" from the OPI Holiday collection. Of course.)  While my nails were soaking, my manicurist was working to decorate her door for a contest sponsored by the salon, so I helped her.  And by "helped", I mean watched and gave periodic words of encouragement.  And not because my fingers were soaking.  Because artistic creativity is not my thing.  The only award my decorated door would win is "most symmetrical", and I'm pretty sure that's not a real award.  So it was fun to watch her decorate her door, which looked great.

My foot was really angry this evening, but we had no plans, so I was able to relax on the couch and watch an old movie.  I'm hoping it feels better tomorrow and I like my chances.  The bad weather clears out tonight and we have fun plans to go on a wine-tasting day trip with friends tomorrow, so it can't help but be a better day.  

12/18/14. The post where I win.

12/18/14: it was cold and foggy, this morning, so it was another bike trainer day.  I'm starting to get used to it.  Today was a big day at work - maybe not the best day to show up with a radically new hair color.  But everyone loved it.  Or at least they were afraid to say otherwise.

It was a very long work day, although it went very quickly, and I got home pretty late.  It was the first night this week with no rehearsals or meetings.  But there was plenty to do.  We decided to run some errands, which included purchasing a new tablet for me.  Between my blogs, work, and music series obligations, I am a power user, so it was time for an update.  I was not excited about braving the shopping crowds, but we made it through without permanent injury.  (As a result, it will have to be a short post tonight - my new tablet is still being synced and the old one is officially dead.)  We decided to celebrate our shopping success with a late sushi dinner.  We sat at the sushi bar next to a couple who, when asked by the chef if they liked a particular roll, said it was "too fishy."  No further comment necessary.

An update on the Christmas lights situation - we got a second email from our homeowner's association today apologizing for the confusion and saying that our lights were fine after all.  I feel like such a political activist.  That was almost too easy.  Although now I don't have anything to rebel against.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

The busy day was hard on my foot, but turning up the amplitude on the stimulator helped quite a bit. More rain tomorrow - this is getting old.  At least it is Friday.

12/17/14. The post where I become a rebel.

12/17/14: the rain and cold came back today, so I rode the trainer again this morning.  I have slowly been adding my strength exercises back to my morning routine, and this week I finally got brave enough to start doing stomach crunches again.  Pre-surgery, I could do 70, so I thought I'd just get started and do as many as I could before I started to feel it.  Monday morning, I got up to 40 and was pretty impressed with myself.  Forty felt fine on Tuesday, too. But this morning?  Ouch!  I did all 40, but I was sore all day.  Not sure what's up with the delayed reaction, but I guess I'd better keep at it.  A few more months and I might be able to zip my pants and breathe at the same time again.  Right now that's an "either/or" proposition.

As I mentioned, we put up our Christmas lights over the weekend.  This morning, we (along with everyone else in our small neighborhood), got an email from the manager of our homeowner's association "reminding" everyone that our bylaws don't allow holiday decorations on the outside of our homes, other than around the door.  Whaaaaaaat?  We have lived here almost five years, and this is the first we've heard of this.  And at least a third of our neighbors also have outdoor lights.  I am a rule follower by nature, but you've got to draw the line somewhere.  We are surrounded by neighborhoods with more expensive homes that are brightly decorated and we do not live in historic homes, so I don't get it.  I asked for clarification and haven't gotten a response, so guess what?  Our lights are still shining brightly tonight.  

After work today, I had an appointment to have my hair cut and highlighted.  My stylist asked what I wanted to do, like she has done every month for nearly 15 years.  Today, though, I remembered my acting class last night, where they suggested you should change your "look" about once a year.  How long has it been since I've changed my look? Nearly 15 years.  So my response to her was, "Oh, do something crazy for the holidays."  And she did.  The cut is the same, but the color? Well, it's a little different.  Actually, a lot different.  Still generally a hair color found in nature, but nothing that has ever been seen on my head, and I love it. The real kicker was when another patron asked if my hair was always that color and another stylist said, "Oh no, she usually looks very conservative."  Guess it was time for a new look.  And the best part?  It matches my new car.

She finished up just in time for me to race to choir rehearsal.  No time to warn my patient, long-suffering husband that he might not recognize me.  I walked into the room and there was a collective gasp from my fellow choir members.  No blending into the wall tonight!  During the break, I was surrounded by admirers complimenting me on the change.  My patient, long-suffering husband?  He's still getting used to it, but I think he likes it.  Because now he has options for new nicknames for me.  (So far, he seems to be torn between "Red" and "Santa's Little Helper.")  

With the weather change, my foot was pretty irritated again today, so it was nice to have some distractions.  And now that I'm a rebel, everyone had better watch out.  The next thing you know, I'll be wearing white linen pants in winter and not using my turn signal.

12/16/14. The post where I learn a new profession.

12/16/14:  the clouds cleared out this morning, which made it less humid, but also colder.  My foot felt a little better, and I decided to ride the trainer inside instead of walking.  That was probably a good idea.  I felt better all day - whether it was the weather, my choice of exercise, or a combination of the two, I'm not sure.  But I'll take it.  I still have a big red bone bruise on my hand, but I don't think I did any serious damage, which is a relief.  It would be a pretty sad state of affairs if I can't be trusted with handbells.

I had a mid-morning pedicure appointment and as I drove there from work, I found my car completely surrounded on the freeway by four UPS trucks, which I figured meant either: a) it is nearly Christmas, or b) I was about to be kidnapped by a well-organized criminal gang.  I made it to my appointment, so it must have been a).  Since the holiday season is upon us, I went with something fancy - "My Signature is DC" from OPI's Coca Cola collection, with a glittery top coat of "My Favorite Ornament" from their Holiday collection.  My manicurist suggested that this sparkly combination deserved a blog photo, so here you go:

You can also see that my foot looks pretty good today.  I'm enjoying it while it lasts - another cold, rainy front comes in tomorrow morning.

I had to leave work again in the afternoon for a year-end appointment with our financial advisor.  Our semi-annual reminder that we don't have enough finances on which to be advised.  But no worries, because my acting class tonight was a business class, all about résumés, head shots, agents, makeup, auditions - all the things an actor needs to make a living.  Mind you, I have not yet done any actual acting in this class. But as soon as I do, I feel certain fame and fortune will follow quickly.  I just hope it happens before the next meeting with our financial advisor.

12/15/14. The short, whiny post.

12/15/14: my foot felt progressively worse all evening and I had the crazy idea to turn off the stimulator for a bit, just to be sure it wasn't the cause of the discomfort.  It wasn't.  So much for that experiment.  After about 30 minutes, I turned it back on and upped the amplitude.  This worked well enough for me to get some sleep.

I took my walk this morning as usual.  I know that may not sound like a good idea, so I'll keep reminding you (and myself) that I am not doing any damage to my foot.  Today was our annual holiday luncheon and gift exchange at work, so the day went quickly.  Handbell practice was pretty serious this evening in preparation for Christmas Eve services, and somehow I managed to hurt myself.  Because that's how I roll. Tonight I have a bruise on my hand and a heating pad on my shoulder. And neither feel as bad as my foot.  This may be a long week.

12/14/14. The long post.

12/14/14: things have been so busy the last few days that I haven't had a chance to post, but I have a lot to say, so I'll try to catch everyone up.

Thursday: it's already that time of year where people's minds are not on work, so I spent most of the day reminding colleagues about things I need from them before they leave for the holidays.  So that I can finish the things I need to do before I leave for the holidays.  I was excited for the work day to be over, because it was date night.  The first free evening my patient, long-suffering husband and I had alone together in too long to remember.  And we had fun plans.  Dinner at a hip local restaurant that specializes in artisan pizzas from their brick oven and then a concert by my favorite band in the history of ever.  These days, it's extremely rare for me to attend a concert featuring music written within the last 300 years, so this was a real treat.

Our evening alone didn't turn out to be very "alone" after all, but we had a great time.  The restaurant was very intimate.  And by "intimate", I mean tiny, with tables packed together so closely I couldn't get up without giving our neighbors an inappropriately close view of my backside.  We started chatting with an older couple at the table next to us, who were visiting from a small town about two hours away because their son was getting married here over the weekend.  They were checking out the restaurant because the rehearsal dinner was the next evening at a nearby (larger) restaurant run by the same executive chef.  They were a lovely couple and we enjoyed talking with them about their weekend plans.  I was distressed to hear that they were still waiting for RSVPs from many of the guests invited to the rehearsal dinner.  (Editor's note: I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you this, but it is so easy to RSVP to events, and so important to the hosts.  All it takes is a call, an email, a text, a smoke signal. I'm sorry this appears to be a dying form of courtesy.) We had a delicious meal, as expected, and thoroughly enjoyed the company.

After dinner, we walked to the concert venue, where we ran into some very close friends.  We enjoyed the concert with them, and afterward they let us in on the wonderful news that they had just gotten engaged!  We were thrilled to hear it - besides being two awesome individuals, they are perfect together, and we couldn't be happier for them.  It was a great way to end a really nice evening.

A few words about the concert.  It was every bit as good as I expected it to be and I'm really glad we went.  I knew it would be loud, so I thought ahead and brought our ear plugs.  It would have been even better if we had actually worn them.  Also, I have read that CRPS can be triggered by loud noises and that some people have to give up concerts for that reason.  The concert definitely triggered it.  My foot felt as bad as it has in the last four months, but I enjoyed myself anyway.  Maybe that won't always be the case, so I will try to appreciate events like this while I can.

Friday: speaking of concerts, I did something crazy Friday morning.  I took the morning off work so I could stand in line with a friend for tickets to an upcoming concert.  A huge pop star is coming into town next year and playing at a really small venue, so we knew tickets would sell out immediately.  We are from the generation where you camped out for tickets to events like this, so we got to the box office at the crack of dawn.  And found ourselves alone.  Apparently that's not how it works these days.  The good news was that we were first in line!  We were there almost two hours before the next person showed up.  By 30 minutes before tickets went on sale, there were about six of us in line.  We had fun swapping stories about previous ticket buying experiences and wondering why there weren't more people in line.  Fifteen minutes before tickets went on sale, the box office opened and we were excited to learn they were going to reserve our seats beforehand and run the transactions when ticket sales officially started, so we were assured of tickets and got better seats than people buying online.  Plus, the people buying online paid a hefty "convenience fee", so we felt like geniuses for going in person.  In my case, a genius who only got four hours of sleep.  Next time we'll know we don't have to be there quite so early.

I spent Friday afternoon at work, where all the reminders I'd sent the previous day resulted in lots of work to get done that afternoon.  Friday evening, my patient, long-suffering husband and I went to a friend's 60th birthday party, a very fun affair that included a piñata filled with the tiny plastic liquor bottles you get on airplanes.  A party like that will take the sting out of turning 60.  We left a little early and I went straight to bed, where I spent the next 11 hours catching up on sleep after a long, event-filled week.  My health monitor thinks 11 hours is too much sleep and gave me a failing sleep score, but I will have to respectfully disagree - it felt like an A+ kind of night.

Saturday: I woke up refreshed and ready for action.  We had no events scheduled other than a holiday party that evening, so the day was spent in a frenzy, shoveling out the house after the previous week's activities, running errands, making cookies for various events in the coming week, and doing about 700 loads of laundry.  Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's amazing how much laundry two adults (and houseguests) can accumulate in two weeks.  We had a really fun evening visiting with friends at an annual Christmas party with a gag gift exchange.  If you see me in the near future wearing a belt buckle with a resin-encased scorpion, you'll know where I got it.  And my favorite random quote of the night?  I was having a conversation with a friend about travel, when he took a sip of his drink and suddenly exclaimed, "Man, I love grapefruit juice! This is the third glass I've had since I got here."  I've known him for 20 years, but apparently I was unaware of his fondness for citrus drinks.  Guess I'll stock up on grapefruit juice the next time he visits. And antacids.  

Sunday (today): it has continued to be humid and rainy most of the week, a terrible weather pattern for my foot. I've used up all my stimulator programs and various amplitudes, to no avail.  I guess I'll have to face the fact that winter is not going to be as good as summer when it comes to foot pain.  At least the temperature has been moderate.  Despite how I feel, I am trying to stay active this week in what is probably a futile attempt to make up for all the holiday parties and special meals, so I took my usual walk this morning before church.  I managed to make it home about 15 seconds before the sky opened and the rain came pouring down.  Score!  By the time I showered and was ready to leave, it had stopped raining and I was able to get to church and back with no weather-related issues.  This afternoon, my patient, long-suffering husband and I put up outdoor Christmas lights in between rain storms.  I proclaim our house ready for Christmas - in any event, this is as good as it is going to get.  This evening, we will make dinner for the next few days, since we'll have rehearsals through Wednesday night.  

There, I am now officially caught up.  Thanks for being patient.  As a reward, here's a very silly scene from one of my favorite movies, which is set around the holidays. I was reminded of it because the man we met Friday night at dinner looked like "cowboy guy" in the movie clip.  Enjoy!  http://youtu.be/rFgEItulMmc

12/10/14. The post where I curse humid days.

12/10/14:  my foot started to feel worse last night on the way home from class, but I chalked it up to a long day and being tired.  I haven't really had time to pay attention to the weather forecast and so I didn't realize a humid, rainy front was on its way in.  By this morning, it was a little more obvious.  I took my walk, but my foot was really red and splotchy afterward, and it felt bad all day.

I changed programs this morning, but it wasn't very effective, and by now I didn't expect it to be.  I think I have this this figured out, and unfortunately, it looks like rain is going to be an issue.  At least I don't live in a place where that happens very often.  

Between a long work day and choir practice, the day went quickly.  On a positive note, my weight loss program has been a little more successful recently.  How can that be during the holiday season, you ask? Because green chile cheese fries are not a traditional holiday treat.  When it comes to sweets, I have superhuman willpower.  But if co-workers brought plates of truffled macaroni and cheese every morning instead of cookies and fudge, I'd be in big trouble.  I'm still almost five pounds away from a new pair of shoes, but I'm finally making steady progress.  In retrospect, that stomach bug got me started on the right path.  Not that I recommend it as a weight loss tool. But to quote from "The Devil Wears Prada" (since I couldn't find a video clip), "I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight."  

12/9/14. The post where the universe aligns.

12/9/14: I didn't think it was possible, but I was even more tired when I woke up this morning.  Note to self: take a day off after the festival next year.  A brisk walk in the crisp morning air helped me wake up.

I had a dentist appointment to have my teeth cleaned at lunch time today.  As they always do, they asked if I have had any medical changes since the last time they saw me, and this time I had a pretty exciting answer.  The hygienist and dentist were both very interested in hearing about the stimulator and its effectiveness.  Then the hygienist asked if it was okay for me to have an x-ray.  And I totally panicked for a moment, because I couldn't remember.  I didn't recall anyone saying I couldn't, but I didn't want to screw anything up, either.  So I turned off the stimulator, just as a precautionary measure.  And turned it right back on as soon as the x-rays were done.  It wasn't off long enough for my foot to notice...at least I hope not. I guess I should verify the whole x-ray thing.

This evening I went back to my acting class.  Tonight they were filming scenes they'd been working on before I started, so other than warmups, I was still just a spectator.  It was very interesting, but I had spent much of the day wondering if these classes were a wise expenditure of my increasingly rare free time.  Especially on a night like tonight, where I was worn out from the previous week, way backed up on chores, and would be sitting for three plus hours with plenty of time to think about what I should be doing instead.  

And guess what the big takeaway was from tonight's class?  That acting, especially film acting, is all about patience.  Patience while waiting to film, patience while filming the same scene multiple times.  The coach had quite a bit to say about acting and patience, and it dawned on me that this would in fact be a very wise expenditure of my time.  Sometimes the universe aligns.

12/8/14. The post where another family member tries to get healthy.

12/8/14: the alarm went off way too early this morning.  I managed to take my morning walk (which was more like a stumble) and then went to work while my patient, long-suffering husband took the last of our visiting musicians to the airport.  If my work day had been the slightest bit more complicated, I would not have been up to it.  

I spent much of the morning in contact via text message with my family because my brother had back surgery.  Yep, another family member, another hospital visit.  Too bad hospitals don't give family discounts.  All went well and he is recuperating nicely.  By the end of the year, my family should be super-human.  

I got home from work to find my patient, long-suffering husband sitting in a catatonic trance in his comfy chair.  I made a very simple meal, our first home-cooked meal in...well, I can't remember when.  We managed to get it together enough to go to handbell practice.  Afterward, I spent some time talking to my brother, who called me from his hospital room after the rest of the family left.  I'm fairly certain he won't remember most of our conversation, but I enjoyed it anyway.  Plus, I have blackmail material for years.  

12/7/14. The post where I survive the weekend.

12/7/14: when last we spoke, I was trying to figure out how I could make my friend's brunch party on this crazy festival weekend.  Well, I made it.  I woke up Saturday morning thinking with my heart instead of my head, which everyone should do, at least sometimes.  Forty-five minutes before the party, I had no gift and a 25 minute drive.  I steeled myself for a very unpleasant driving and shopping experience.  Fortunately, the stars aligned and the store I chose was not crowded, so I was able to get in and out without a major catastrophe.

As I expected, it was a wonderful party filled with people I love and I'm glad I went.  For the last week, I've tried to concentrate on one thing at a time, so I waited until I left the party to start thinking about the post-concert gathering I was hosting that night, and the fact that I had no plan.  By the time I drove to the grocery store, I had at least a vague notion.  I spent the afternoon cooking and getting the house ready for a shindig, then spent the evening manning the box office and enjoying the concert. The gathering went off without a hitch, due mostly to the fact that our visitors have very low expectations.

The evening went very late, which is maybe not the best idea the night before I have to perform.  But as you know, good judgment is not always my strong suit.  I ended the night by making some last-minute alterations to my husband's concert clothing at 1am after post-party cleanup, So in case you are wondering...yes, being married to a musician is just as glamorous as you would imagine.

Today was a blur. I spent nearly the entire day at church, selling advance tickets, singing in the service, and setting up the box office for the concert. Not to mention the dress rehearsal and, oh yeah, the concert itself.  A few minutes of rest after the concert to bask in the afterglow, then it was time to shut down the box office and finish the associated administrative work before going to the post-concert party, an awesome affair hosted by our closest friends. Just posting about the day makes me tired all over again.

I don't know how many of you get a first-hand opportunity to see your significant other excel at work, but I do.  This weekend my patient, long-suffering husband programmed amazing repertoires for two different concerts, played beautifully last night (so beautifully it made audience members weep - no lie), and conducted a 20-piece orchestra and 25-person choir tonight.  Not bad for a guy who slept in a chair for four hours last night because he is still having coughing fits. Even if I weren't crazy in love with him, I would be awed by his talent and dedication to his craft.

My foot didn't feel great this weekend, but I was busy enough to ignore it much of the time.  Tonight I finally took a few minutes to change my stimulator program, which helped quite a bit.  There's no rest for the weary, though. Tomorrow it's back to the grind.  Thank goodness it will be a more quiet week.  Except for handbell rehearsal. And acting lessons.  And choir practice.  And a concert (as spectators, not participants).  And a birthday party.  And a holiday get together.  Guess I'd better get to bed.  Sounds like I am going to need some rest.

12/5/14. The post where I share a few random thoughts.

12/5/14: almost through festival week.  Other than, of course, the performances.  Tonight we are spectators, tomorrow night my patient, long-suffering husband performs, and Sunday afternoon he conducts our choir (which includes me) and the orchestra.  He is still fighting some kind of cold or allergies, but he's muscling through it.  I have managed to exercise and eat healthy every day, and I've worked almost a full week. (In retrospect, taking a day or two off would have been a good idea.  Live and learn.)  My alarm did not go off this morning and, in the interest of full disclosure, it is quite possible that I failed to set it.  This week, nothing would surprise me.  In any event, I got an additional two hours of sleep, giving me a grand total of six, which felt pretty luxurious.  And I did not have any meetings or emergencies this morning at work, so the world did not stop turning just because I got in a little late.

My posting has been spotty this week and probably will continue to be for the next few days, so I thought I'd share a few quick random thoughts:

I think my stimulator works better for cold weather-induced symptoms than for humidity-induced ones.  It has been humid the last few days and my foot has been swollen and splotchy on and off, with a pain level back up to a 4.  Bearable, but I haven't been able to decrease it by changing the amplitude or the program on the stimulator like I can when it is really cold.  It's probably too early to make a sweeping statement, but if this is going to continue, I may have to move to the desert.

I am not accustomed to the stimulator yet.  It is so close to my skin that I can easy feel it when I run my hand over my hip.  In fact, a few days ago, I hit my hip against a doorknob and it made a loud "clunk."  And if I have any swelling at all, which I have had the last few days with the humid weather, it feels downright uncomfortable.  It's only been three months since the surgery, so I'm hoping it will continue to improve.  

Festival week is always tough, but this year it has been even more difficult while I try to figure out my new limits.  In addition to rehearsals and administrative work and entertaining musicians and doing my "real" job, one of my friends has a wonderful holiday brunch and gift exchange that always falls on the date of the Saturday concert.  It's an event that shouldn't be missed, but I'm trying to figure out how I am possibly going to make it happen and make it through the rest of the day.  And we have three immediate family members with birthdays this week.  Which means they never get gifts from us on time.  Fortunately, they are very forgiving.

12/3/14. The post where my family has a good day.

12/3/14:  as you know, my plan for this week was to take good care of myself.  Exercise every day?  Check.  Eat healthy?  Check.  Get plenty of sleep?  Well...two out of three ain't bad.

A busy day at work, then straight to choir rehearsal for our performance this weekend.  Not much time for a post, but I wanted to make sure I told you about Mom's test results.  Still no sign of cancer!  It was a very happy day for our whole family.  Best of all, she doesn't have to go back for more testing for three months.  It is going to be a great holiday season.

My foot has behaved pretty well so far this week.  It's a little whiny tonight, but so am I.  I will try to get a little more sleep tonight, because tomorrow will be even more crazy.  It was still cold enough this morning that I rode my trainer, but I'm hoping for a walk tomorrow morning.  I don't know whether it is better to walk or ride the bike, but my health monitor is certainly more impressed when I walk.  And I am result-oriented.  

12/2/14. The post where I do something interesting.

12/2/14: it was a cold morning, so I rode the trainer instead of walking.  And it felt pretty good.  I'm liking this new stimulator program.  My work day started before I left the house with a call from a colleague needing assistance.  Any time a call begins with, "So, the thing I'm worried about is...", I know it is going to be a long day.  And it was.  

I was able to sneak out at lunch for a manicure ("OPI, Ink." from the Night Brights collection), but it took the rest of the day to resolve the work issue.  I finished up just in time to meet my patient, long-suffering husband and some of our visiting musicians for a quick dinner before doing something very interesting.

I took an acting class tonight.  Taught by a real actor.  For privacy reasons, I won't share his name, but he is a character actor best known for movie and TV work in the 80s who still acts regularly.  He and my patient, long-suffering husband have recently become friends and he offered to let me try out a class to see if I wanted to start taking lessons.  And tonight was the night.

I wasn't really "taking" the class so much as I was auditing it.  It was a group class and they were already into week four, so I watched them do a series of warmups and then rehearse scenes they have been working on for several weeks.  All of this was interspersed with musings by our actor friend, who was trained in Method Acting.  As you might imagine, he had some very interesting stories to tell and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I am seriously considering taking lessons.  Because you know what I need? Another three hour weekday evening commitment.  As you already know from reading my blogs, good judgment is not always one of my strong suits.  But I think it might be a good creative outlet and who knows? I could be the next Big Thing.  As long as I can find a role calling for a short, slightly overweight 40-something female with a nerve disorder and an implanted medical device. (And a self-deprecating sense of humor.)

12/1/14. The post where the flare-up flares down.

12/1/14:  yesterday was another busy day getting ready for the music festival and finishing Christmas decorations.  We capped it off with a nice dinner out with friends.  The last restful evening we will have for a week.  

It was warm and humid this morning when I went for my walk.  But within a few hours, the temperature had dropped more than 25 degrees and the wind was howling. It was cold enough that the light rain jacket I had worn to work would not do.   Fortunately, I had a doctor appointment near my house, so I was able to run home and trade out the jacket for my wool coat and a pair of gloves. I'm really appreciating the seat warmer in my car.  Good thing I found it! 

At the doctor's office, I got three new programs for my stimulator, which gives me a total of six.  I am particularly fond of the one that has a slower but more intense pulse.  It feels like someone is massaging my calf - my calf isn't part of the problem, but it sure feels nice.  I can also feel it more intensely on the ball of my foot when I walk, which seems to help.  The medical device rep also increased the maximum amplitude on the first three programs, something she said she would probably need to do several more times over the next few months as I continue to heal and become more desensitized to the stimulator.  She reminded me that I will still have good days and bad days.  (Tell me about it.)  Still, it's nice to have a few more tools in my arsenal.  

And speaking of good days and bad days, over the last 48 hours my foot has started to feel much better.  It was gradual and I'm not sure when it went over (or should I say, under) the tipping point, but by the time I went to my appointment, I was back down in the 3 range.  Whew.  So I guess I made it through a flare-up without too much disruption.  At least, I hope I made it through, which would mean it is over.  I really need to feel good this week.  I am going to do my best to take good care of myself with regard to sleep, exercise, and healthy eating, which is more easily said than done on a week like this.  For instance, our first house guest will arrive around 12:30 tonight.  But my patient, long-suffering husband is on welcoming committee duty tonight.  I intend to be sawing logs long before then.  And enjoying my calf massage.  

My other mission will be to try to make sure my patient, long-suffering husband takes care of himself, too.  He has had his customary music festival cold for the last few days and has nearly lost his voice.  Not good for someone who needs to spend the next six days herding about 50 (metaphorical) cats.  He's armed with a medicine cabinet full of cold and allergy remedies, so we're hoping he'll make a speedy recovery.  As you know, I am the eternal optimist.

And speaking of being an eternal optimist, Mom had her three-month CT scan and lab work today, and she'll get the results Wednesday morning.  We have no reason to believe it will be anything other than continued good news, but all the same, I'll be glad when it is Wednesday afternoon.