Sinus Surgery

Paul has nearly always had an impossible time waking up in the mornings, no matter how long he stayed in bed. He went through a sleep study about a year ago and the doctor said he had mild obstructive sleep apnea... meaning he wasn't a candidate for the CPAP machine nor for any surgery, etc.

As his bed partner, I found this to be rather unsatisfying, since it is not unusual for me to hear Paul struggle while sleeping to both inhale *and* exhale. It's damn stressful laying there and hearing him stop breathing... "Breathe damnit!!"

So, Paul consulted a sinus specialist, who agreed he was a good candidate for a surgical solution to help him breathe far better (& sleep better and feel more rested in the mornings). This involved correcting his deviated septum, removing his uvula, and having a turbinectomy.

The procedure took place yesterday, and Paul is home now recouping on the couch next to me. He's got straws up each nostril, stitches along the soft palette at the back of his mouth, and a really sweet suite of drugs that seems to make this all okay for him.

He's started eating more substantial foods (potato soup, pudding, and such) this afternoon, and we're hopeful that we'll be able to begin getting some useful nutrition in him to really help him heal quickly.

For my own part, I'm really excited about the prospect of him feeling more rested, getting rid of that persistent cough he's had ever since the day we first met (it's honestly how I always find him in a crowd) that is apparently caused by constant minor sinus infection, and correction of the deviated septum that was probably exacerbated by getting hit hard in the nose - twice within 5 minutes - with a soccer ball when playing goalie about 8 years ago.

Nation-wide Tour

Tess Turbo - the band I've been in for a number of years, first as a back up singer and now as bassist - just took our act national!

Back in March we were invited to play a large Christmas party in San Antonio. At the time we just thought, "Oh sure, that'd be fun, but it probably ain't gonna happen."

Time passed, rehearsals continued for other shows, and we mostly forgot about it... until the invitee followed up again in October, agreed to make all the arrangements, and set us up with gear.

All of a sudden, we were taking our drag-rock cover band to the same state that essentially boycotted the Dixie Chicks for disagreeing with our previous president - THIS would be interesting, thought the band.

Our hosts were gracious and fun loving - along with their whole family (related to our Drummer, Buckin Beckie) - and the revelers really and truly reveled: People danced, some guy did a flip right in front of the band as Paul was singing at him, and we got all kinds of rock love after we wrapped up our two sets. Special shout out to the couple who told us all about when shagged in the nearby bathroom during our performance - rock and roll, baby.

Most of all, props to drummer Buckin Beckie and guitarist JJ Pooper for all their hard work that made the entire trip possible. You guys are THE rockstars of the tour!

Movie I have to see...

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2009/11/kickass_teaser_though_unlabele.php

...anyone want to see it with me?

Olympic Peninsula day trip

So I'm sitting here looking at our camera, that has some really nice pix of our recent weekend trip out to the Olympic peninsula....

But i don't have any idea where the cable is that connects the camera to the puter, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was lovely, green, pretty, stormy, and fun.

The first place we tried to see, Hurricane Ridge, was actually closed due to snow. So, the ranger suggested that it'd be a great weekend to do some storm watching out on the coast.

Took his suggestion and headed out to La Push to watch some massive swells roll in.
Of course, since it was early November and stormy, almost no one else was around, so we had a grand time hiking around the coast and then the national park all on our own.
Quite rejuvenating, actually.

Even with the hail and lightning. :-)

If I ever find that cable, I'll post some pix.....

ROCK!!!!!!

We ROCKED!!!

Just had a show at seattle's Rendezvous club - sold out show, standing room only, TONS of fun, people up and dancing (that was a first), and we totally ROCKED the place.

:-)

Trying to find some good video and photos, but it was about 30000000 times more fun than I could have imagined playing out would be.

We had an awesome crowd.
Yay fans!

Sold my Pony!

Even though you may not have known it had a name, you undoubtedly knew I drove a cute purple car for the last 16 years.

She was The Pony (Blue Highway reference), and today she moved to a new family.

The new owners were very pleasant people, and I feel good about her new home, even if a little misty at this passing of an era!


Oh, and the official name for my new car is Binky.
In a series of oddly funny novels, Death's horse is named Binky, an obviously cute name for a transport of such gravity.
Binky is also smooth and quiet, which fits the hybrid engine quietness really well.
Lastly, Binky the horse is white. And, while my car isn't stark white, most white horses are actually just light gray ones. So, my light grey car fits there, too.

This is silly and pointless, but I'm not sure naming a car should be anything else, so I'm having fun with it!
:-)

How I Celebrated Labor Day

.... by deciding it was damn well time I stopped thinking that it is obvious that we should have a national health care plan. Smug self-assurance that everyone would eventually see the correctness of my view is the bane of the left, and it breeds apathy and - ultimately - failure.

So, I spent the morning sending letters to the President, my Senators, and my Congressional representative.
Below is the one that went to the White House:

Dear Mr. President,
Hello.
I am writing today to clearly communicate my support for the inclusion of a government backed health plan as part of national health care reform.

Below I will say why I think this is a critical element, but first I want to give you my background:
I'm a married woman, have a master's degree, and am employed full time. My employer provides 100% of my medical insurance payment, though none for any dependents.
My spouse is working full time for our small business (cakes and cookies).

I support a government-backed option for the following reasons:
1) As the costs of healthcare increase, those with employer-provided insurance (like myself) will continue to see our benefits reduced or even totally cut unless insurance companies are forced to truly become more wisely competitive. Costs increase = fewer insured = forseeable future where only an elite class has any coverage. This 45 million uninsured figure will be peanuts compare to what's around the corner.
2) I'm a spirited proponent of fair market competition, and am deeply dubious of any insurance company that thinks it can't do better than a basic plan offered by the federal government. The model of the government being involved in an industry - but not dominating that industry - is sufficiently proven through history to be one that provides consumers choice AND allows private companies to offer alternatives for a profit. Everyone wins.
3) I firmly believe that this nation is a creative powerhouse, and if we are committed to goal we can not only do what other nations have done, but we can learn from them and do it better. It is also embarassing that a nation with our wealth and stature has yet to meaningfully prioritize caring for all of its own people at some minimum level.
4) I believe it is in every American's economic self-interest to want this plan: I should not be required to be employed in order to have coverage. Most Americans want stability, and guaranteeing that we do not lose health care when we change employment would be a critical stabilizing effect. Reasons for changing employment are many, and Americans should NOT be punished for them: Need to care for a family member, desire to start one's own business, being laid off, desire to seek different/additional training for career change or enhancement, etc.
Creating a safety net for Americans to make these choices will undeniably promote a more vital, dynamic economy!
5) The fear-mongering that is being orchestrated by health care opponents is, perversely, an indicator that a government-backed plan is the right thing to do.
We are sometimes defined by our adversaries, and their incoherent logic combined with their volume suggests this is really a fight worth having. And winning.

If volume would win the day, your argument must be louder. If logic would win, then you must be smarter. As President, you have the unique opportunity to be both on this critical issue.

Thank you for taking to time to consider these points, and please know that there are a lot of Americans who want this plan and who think it's just logical that it should exist.

On a personal note, I'm scheduled to get an MRI tomorrow because my knee has really been giving me some grief over the last year or so. Chances are I'll have to pay for much of it, and they aren't cheap. It'll be an interesting time to listen to the debate on reform.

Hope you are healthy and well!
And, if you support a federal option (not as a mandate, but as an option), make sure to tell your representatives! It's far easier than building a time machine to go back and let them know what you wanted once the debate is over.

Inexcusably long post

My blog allows for the most recent 5 posts to appear on the front page, and I'd delayed posting anything new for a while because it would mean that the post about my grandmother would be moved off the front.

It surprised me to come to that realization.

I guess it's all been a little reminder that life can't be put on hold forever, and continuing to live doesn't mean I loved her any less.
Still, I miss her.

Thanks to Paul who has managed to transfer an audio recording of a conversation I had with her last year - I'm excited to give it a listen.


But now, to catch up to the present:
I did get a new car, the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid mentioned in an earlier post.
That's right, baby, I'm driving car a from the future!!

I'm getting just over 41 mpg, which is nice, and it's a very comfortable ride. It was a bit more than I was expecting to spend, but it was the only car that combined some form of alt-fuel technology, physical comfort (oh for shame, VW, for shame...), and an engine that doesn't make me want to apologize for asking it to go up a hill.

As alluded to in an earlier post, I would NEVER have thought I'd be a ford owner, not after the 1972 Torino (apparently a good car, ugly as sin), the 1985(?) Thunderbird, and 1990-something Taurus our family had. That Thunderbird was.... a stunning POS, the Taurus, nick-named the white whale, had a variety of issues. And all the other Fords I encountered along the way just illuminated the trajectory of a company that had given up making decent cars and was, in fact, in business to pay its employees to stay busy.

So, imagine the surprise to stumble on the Fusion, almost as a lark, and find it was the best in its class (for my criteria, above). Lots of good automotive reviews, a glowing demo on Jay Leno's garage, and an experimental road test that showed hypermiling could get the Fusion to reach 1,400+ on a single tank of gas.

I'll miss my pretty purple car, which is admittedly far more fun in appearance than a staid, grey sedan. But the comfort, mileage, and safety features are really really nice changes.


"That's great, Liz" you say, not caring one iota about a new car, "but hasn't anything else meaningful happened lately?"


Well, the big news is that Paul left his job at the end of June to focus 100% on our cake biz. It's a weird time to be jumping in like this, but we have a few goals in mind:
1 - Really commit to the business for some time, rather than always keeping it at the margins. We'd been turning down cakes because we had too little time - and were too burned out from the few we could fit in, between both of us working full time at day jobs.
2 - If we end up not staying in our current space (still working on ways to buy it, mortgage market not so friendly these days), then we need to decide by next June if we need to find a space *with* enough room to run the business or not. Since that's such a huge difference, it's important to us both to take this time and really figure out if this business thing can fly.
3 - We've invested some great sweat equity already, and we'd like to see it pay off. We have fostered some great personal connections, have a great company truck with our logo and everything, and would like to see if the investments we've made so far will bring some returns.
4 - Paul and I needed to begin living a more balanced life, especially after he'd become physically ill after the last few deliveries because of how much stress even one cake added. It was really clear that the current model was not sustainable.

Strangely, we've been getting a lot of people contacting us recently, and it feels like the universe's way of saying this was the right move! Kind of nice.


There's more, but it's probably dull and this post is long enough.


So just one last thing - YAY SUMMER!!!!!!

"I'm a 4-door, I'm a Ford...."

Getting a new car, a Ford Fusion Hybrid.*

A Ford sales rep said he'd sell it to us for about 11K over invoice.


>crickets<


Folks, this isn't a freakin Lamborghini where 11K is the cost of the wingnut that holds on the oilpan.
It's a Ford.
You know, the one that's a camp song:

"I'm a little pile of tin, nobody knows what shape I'm in.
I got 4 wheels and a running board
I'm a 4-door, I'm a Ford.
Honk honk, rattle rattle rattle, crash beep beep..."

What bizzarro-universe are they living in that Ford (whose nationwide sales declined last month more than any other American car company) has the chutzpah to ask for that much over invoice?

During a recession???


But it gets better - the description of the car on one of the sites reads as follows:

"Hard to find in the market.
Due to the large amount of inventory on this particular model we have radically reduced our prices."

Now, I know I'm not the most technically savvy person, so maybe I'm missing something here that would be obvious to a rocket scientist.
Or, a lobotomized monkey.


But it seems that it takes a pretty severe case of cognitive dissonance not seen since Scott McClellan and Ari Fleischer to say one thing is true and then say the total opposite is true in the very next sentence.


So, be you brain surgeon or former press secretary/lobotomized monkey, you're going to be treated like the latter at a car dealership.

Do your research.

I'll post victory/acquisition pix if it ever actually comes to pass.....



* I've sworn off Fords ever since I knew the difference, after driving a few here and there. The current strong preference for a Ford is freaking me out and has triggered a minor identity crisis.
But.... it has GREAT mileage, is not a gutless wonder like some of the other hybrids (Honda?), and has some really good safety features that - with a 40 mile commute each day - would be nice to have.

Peep peeps

On the way home from work this week, I saw a handful of crows dive bombing a bald eagle in mid-air as it flew towards the sunset, a pigeon on a solo trek to somewhere, and a couple of seagulls having an apparently leisurely flight to Lake Washington.

I like spring, and I really like birdies.

Ahhhhh.

April so far

I can't believe it's been over a month since the last post!
To catch up, here goes....

Paul - my sweet beloved and total weirdo and person who makes me laugh more than I thought possible - turned 45. I think he's actually about 25. Had a nice party where we played 45s (get it? 45 speed records on his 45th birthday? GOLD!)

Gotta say it was a real treat to see so many friends.

My family came to visit and hung out for a week - quite nice to have them here for a bit, though I wish I'd been a little less busy at work and could have taken more time to be with them all.

Spent last weekend scrubbing the back deck and stairs in the rain. They're all covered with your standard dirt/dust/pollen mixture, with the occasional dollop of some green growth, so I decided that the best thing to do was to wait for some rain and give everything a scrub. Kind of therapeutic, actually.

Will attempt to treat the deck this weekend - gotta figure out how and with what. The owner says it's a pain, so I have no idea what to expect, but there are some cans of goo in the shop that might help.

Working with our lender to see if we can buy the house. No idea if we will be able to qualify for anything close to what the owner wants... but I guess that's part of the exciting journey.

No cakes in April, so it's a quieter month. We're both trying to return to a more balanced life and figure out more effective ways of taking care of ourselves.

Last note - spring has definitely sprung, and I'm loving it. Aside from the allergies, all the flowers and trees are so pretty!

Appreciation, and Linda Ronstadt's teeth

First, let me say how much I appreciate everyone's comments and emails about the posting on my grandmother (below). I don't know if it's cuz I don't have kids to pass things on to or what, but I feel tremendously pleased/relieved/soothed by being able to share who my grandmother was with so many people.

Unrelated to that...

My waking thought this morning was, "Linda Ronstadt has 3 rows of teeth!"

I'd apparently been having a very specific dream about this:
She took them all out and cleaned them - they came out of her mouth in rows - every other day, or before she met anyone important. Then, once a month on the new moon she took them all out and did a thorough chemical cleansing. She did this on the night of the new moon so that there would be no mistake when the sun came up because letting the teeth sit too long in those chemicals would damage them.
Did I mention that at these times she would also strip all the flesh off her skull and had enormous eye sockets?

Lest you think this reflects some sort of theme on my part, the other dreams I had last night involved:
> a very specific and realistic view into the fridge during which I discovered we had no more orange juice (we actually do, though I remember feeling really bummed out about it in the dream)
> being a small bird
> Paul being a space jet pilot trying to land his expensive space jet thingy on the top side of a narrow cliff
>being in a high mountain lodge at night searching for a lost South American female hiker - then finding her in the lodge

This should be more than enough information for the average person to discover the following about me:
1 - what I had for dinner last night
2 - how I feel about my mother
3 - my shoe size in 3rd grade, and
4 - I have strong powers of prediction. You just wait and see, I know I'm onto something with Linda Ronstadt's teeth....

PS - If I die under mysterious circumstances, question Linda's people.

A tribute

My grandmother, Marta Grace Walsh (nee VanAuker), passed away last week at the age of 100+. While I am saddened by the loss on a personal and selfish level, I've been surprised to learn how much it has catalyzed a sense of thankfulness.

a - I am grateful I had the great fortune to get to know her after I became an adult - I simply never understood the depth of her character and enjoyable personality as a child. And, to have learned more about how she lived has inspired me in my own life.
b - I am grateful that I got to see her before she passed away. Due to weather craziness over the holidays I hadn't been able to go down to the ranch since last summer, and was deeply sad about that because we all knew she wouldn't have another year. I thank my family for letting us know it was time, so I could see her and be ready to say goodbye.
c - I am grateful for how she went. She did not linger, her pain was well managed by good hospice care, and she was still shockingly with it up till the end. Her vision and hearing were pretty weak and the morphine surely had her a bit whacked out, but she did perk up sometimes and say some pretty funny - and compassionate - things. She then passed away a few hours later in her sleep, still only on the minimum morphine dosage; she did not have to suffer through ever-increasing pain cycles. If I could choose the way I will go, that'd be it without a doubt.
d - I am grateful I got to tell her while she was fully alive and alert how pleased I was to know her, and how proud I was to have her as my grandmother.
e - Finally, I am grateful for my family, and that we could all be together last week.

She was such a strong personality that she still feels like a big presence. I guess I'm kind of amazed that her presence persists - at least for me - so strongly even though she's died. But then again, for someone like her, it kind of makes sense.

Only a few of the many high points from a rich life lasting over a century:

She took her first world cruise in her early 90's, at about the same time she decided to learn how to use email.

She was quite a dancer for much of her life, and at her 99th birthday party she demonstrated that could still stretch her leg up above her head - she seemed to embody the idea that aging was for other people.















She gave birth to my father during the depression, and raised him as a single mother loooong before it was as common or as possible as it is today.

She painted all her life, even taking up new techniques in the last decade just so she could keep learning. This black and white is a picture of her (center, circled) at a painter's retreat in the northern California hills.

















She appeared not to fear anything, and enjoyed travel, watching sports, listening to opera, and taking a strict approach to the weeds in her yard.

Those of you who met her at our wedding may remember a lively, self-sufficient 94 year-old.... she looked and acted like that up until right near the end. It's just so impressive.

When we gathered last June in California for her 100th birthday celebration - which included a hot air balloon trip because she'd always wanted to do that - I just marveled at how she managed to keep up with everyone. Heck, sometimes she was even leading the charge. We all had to take naps to keep up with the full schedule, but she was able to keep pace with us 'young'uns'.

My grandmother in her 20's at a picnic in northern California, with my grandfather's arm around her, and two of their friends.



















GrandMarta - Born in June 1908, died in February 2009, and really full life in between.

Gas Pump Girls

There are bad movies, and they exist at different levels.

Some are bad because they aim to be, which perversely can make them really good (Army of Darkness, Frankenhooker, Grease 2, My Chauffer, Bad Taste).

But this isn't about those.
No, this post is about the kind of bad movie that makes you realize there is a point at which you will no longer watch it, a movie so bad you will walk out of the theater or press that small square button on your remote in order to end the agony.

But that decision can be tough - sometimes there's the hope of something better, staying the executioner's hand. Afterall, most movies manage to assemble at least 1 good scene; what if that scene is such gold that you end up laughing your brains out and quoting it for the rest of your life? Or, what if there is the promise of some good gratuitous nudity?

So the tortured viewer must ask: How - and when - do you decide??

Last night, I discovered the point closest to stopping a movie without actually doing so. And that point was called Gas Pump Girls.

Sure we could have turned it off anytime. But there were SO many things going for it that could have resulted in a classic piece of B-movie gold: description called it a 'sex comedy", filmed in 1979, a totally unknown cast, a bad plot explained in 1 random musical number, unbelievably bad steroetypes, and a creepy character named Uncle Joe. SO much potential!!

Alas, at the end of the movie we couldn't recall a single good scene - The 'sex'/nudity was so depressingly lackluster it made flannel nightgowns seem racy. The implausibility of the plot never ventured into campiness, it just roamed the neighborhood of earnestness looking confused. And the characters were so bizarre that I found myself wondering how strong the pot was back then.

Favorite costume: Motorcycle gang leader (with an inexplicable Brooklyn accent, despite the setting being the California central valley) wearing a full black leather riding jacket (in the blazing sun) with no shirt (ewww), tiny black shorts with white trim (ewwww), and black leather mid-calf boots (ohdearohdear).

My brain cramps up when I try to figure out the logic of that one....

Does it help to know that he is an Israeli and was a Chippendales dancer as well as a model in playgirl?

brains oooooozing out of ears.....

Movin' on up

So I got promoted this week to manager (nee research analyst). My boss sent out an email announcing it, and said some very nice things about me. Co-workers, too, were very positive and congratulatory.

It's weird because I didn't see it coming, and am totally stoked about it but still a bit nervous cuz I've had some horrendously bad managers in the past and holy crap I want to avoid doing what they did!

That said, my current boss is really an excellent manager, and so if I can learn from him then I think I'll be in pretty decent shape.

Other updates:
* Got my hair cut short again (cute!)
* Going back to DC for a few meetings next week (yay!)
* President Obama
* Discovered a fun site called Geekologie.com (Note: adult and potentially offensive content on that site, read with healthy funny bone)
* Really digging on this bass thing, hoping we can play a party or gig soon


Off to give sauteeing squash a go for the first time. If I can't get it to be tasty with butter and salt, I'll never like it.

A decade ago

A decade ago I found myself attracted to this guy who was nothing like what I was looking for.

He kissed me... then sent me home.

I've been obsessed ever since.

He makes me laugh more than I thought possible.

10 years on, and I know there are so many more suprises awaiting us.

It feels like the blessing of a lifetime to have as my partner such an amazing friend.

13 fingers

Working from home today.
Kinda punchy, maybe there's not enough air in my little office... I got it in my head that I have 13 fingers, and Paul suggested I name them.
So, here you go: (Best when read alound, there is a rhythm to the names)

Grumpy, Picky, Pointy, Flicky, Bendy, Plucky, Dippy, Sucky, Grippy, Scratchy, Slippy, Catchy, and Broke.

tee hee