10 things I've learned from my vacation

1. The speed limit outside Phoenix (75) makes for a rockin' start if you can't get a seat on an airplane and decide to drive the 768 miles to Sacramento.

2. Coming "home" feels great. Going back home after 8 days feels better.

3. Murillo's tacos are really as good as I remember them.

4. Bees and wasps are not welcome guests while camping, and having them present (and ultimately stinging Abby) makes it incredibly difficult to enjoy the experience.

5. Peacocks, while beautiful creatures, have the most annoying call on the planet.

6. Holding a newborn baby ("Awwww!") did not make me want to have another ("Whew!").

7. Watching a crying boy (my nephew) run full speed into a screen door and then be launched airborne off of it will make me forget my knee problems for a while.

8. Having a kick ass digital camera is a must for documenting every step of your vacation. But don't accidentally delete essential photos because you won't get them back (!!).

9. It's always a good thing to be very nice to your gate agents at the airport, for you never know when they may decide on their own to bump you up to First Class.

10. Sleeping in your own bed, even if it's the same bed you've been complaining about for years, feels better than anything in the world after an 8 day vacation.

If you would like to see some of our photos from our trip check us out on Flickr. I'll be busy catching up with what everyone's been doing for all this time.... I've missed you all!

My best birthday present. Ever.

Dear Emily,
I hope that being a big Eight Year Old Girl doesn't mean that the hugs, kisses and cuddles that we share have to come to a stop. I plan on doing that for at least another 10 years. Get used to it!

I have warned you repeatedly that you must stop being so incredibly cute or you will face severe consequences. Think of a billion zerberts on your belly for starters.

Happy Birthday, Buglette!

News Flash

C a l i f o r n i a!
Sunny.
Hot.
Family.
Pictures.
Hugs.
Kisses.
Swimming.
Sunburn!
Mexican food. *drools*
And that was our first full day!

Today we go camping for two days. I wonder if they have Wi Fi? ;)

If nothing else, it makes for good blogging

For 45 minutes I lay as still as possible while this machine excited hydrogen protons in my right knee so that they their magnetic field could be detected and captured digitally.

In other words, I had my MRI this morning. It didn't hurt. I wasn't in an awkward position. I didn't feel like I was entombed. I had more than enough time to reflect and ponder the meaning of life. All in all, the experience was almost relaxing.

I was rather nervous at the idea of what might be found after the fact, but the awesome technician who worked with me offered up no explanations and I didn't ask for any. Why potentially spoil my vacation?

I have my next visit with my orthopedic surgeon on the 7th to go over the findings. I'm hoping that I'll get some images from my MRI and my x-rays and share them because they too make for good blogging. ;)

I'm broke

Alternate titles for this entry include:
MRI Is Just A Three Letter Word
Body, Betrayed
It's Not The Bees Knees
I Shaved My Legs For This?

I visited an orthopedic surgeon yesterday who placed a hand on each knee while I extended and flexed my lower legs. In doing so the doctor both heard and felt the gravel that the cartilage under my knees has become. When he told me that my knees were among the worst he's ever palpated I almost fell apart on the examination table. Lucky for him, I saved the crying for when I got home. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Tuesday I'll be going in for an MRI where my right knee will be scanned because it's the worst of the two. When I get back from California I'll have another appointment to go over the results with my doctor. I wonder if knee replacement surgery is in my near future. I find it sadly ironic that this business with my knees, going on for some time, has come to a head just weeks after getting my personal training certification. When I think about what sort of impact that this may have on everything my knees get hot, my chest gets heavy, and my eyes fill with tears that I try to hold back.

I'll probably continue to feel sorry for myself for at least one more day before trying to look on the bright side. If I do need surgery, I'm going to request the Deluxe Package. I'm going to ask for bionic parts, à la Jamie Sommers. Then I'm going to get my own personal sound effect.

These shorts do nothing for my butt

I've had an intense, crazy week and it's not over yet. Until such time as I can sit down and give The Insanity the justice it's due I'm going to share with you a video my husband showed me that made me giggle.

And then I'm going to go shopping for some new shorts.

Ouch!

Note to self:
You can take the girl out of California... but you no longer tan like you did 20 years ago!

I had better work on that before hitting the California sun or I will be thoroughly embarrassed.