a perfect southern california weekend

what can i say, i think this whole knee thing isn't so bad as it could be.  don't get me wrong, i'm a little nervous about the surgery...particularly as i have spoken to a couple of people in the last week who've had the same surgery and they were on crutches for 6-8 weeks post-surgery.  as i've since learned, if the meniscus can repaired, i shouldn't have that problem, but only 10% of it can be repaired. if it can't be repaired, it will have to be removed, and if it's removed, i can count on a lot of crutch time.

september is one of my busiest event months.  i'm scheduled to be in four different cities next month, so i'm not sure how that's all gone work, but one step at a time.

in the meantime, i'm feeling more like myself than i have in ages.  thanks to the knee, i've been home for the longest uninterrupted period of time since i started this job.  there's something about being home and having the ability to decide how i spend my time that makes me feel like ME again!

this weekend i exercised my freedom by taking advantage of two great southern california staples.  first up, the orange county fair!

spreading the xshot love. alison wanted to try hers out, but i think i got the better pic.

my friend alison and i have been planning our date for months, and as i don't get to see her very often, i was excited to relive our fair experience from years past.  i also invited my roommates along, and our friend greg joined us after the styx concert.

the only plan for the evening was food.

i starved myself for days in anticipation of this event.  okay..maybe only a couple of hours, but still, there was plenty of room for the old favorites. onion rings, corn, funnel cake, and ice cream.  we added some new twists, including bavarian cream on the funnel cake, and me convincing alison that mayonnaise on corn is YUMMY!  she was a skeptic but acquiesced to a bite or two, and she was hooked.

in between our food stops, of which, there were many, we enjoyed some of the arts and crafts - particularly the photography - and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the ice museum.

the ice museum was inside a freezer, and the walls were made of ice bricks.  among the displays were an ice 'david', and a few other ice sculptures, including 'the thinker.'  we were all grateful for the blankets we were given, as it was a balmy 20 degrees inside the freezer.  and we enjoyed it so much that we made sure to take greg through after he had joined us.

we called it a night after we had stuffed and frozen ourselves silly.  not sure how i lasted so long, but i'm going to chalk it up to the vicodin.

the following morning, after running a few errands, heather and i headed down to the beach.

the ward beach party was being held that evening, but we wanted to spend some daylight enjoying the beautiful southern california weather.  for better or worse, the us open surfing championship, held every year in huntington beach, was also taking place.  it made for a festive environment, but the parking was horrendous.

heather dropped me off close to the ward party location, so i wouldn't have to walk too far, but she ended up having to walk a pretty significant distance after finding a spot for the car.   i found the few ward members saving our location and fire pits pretty easily, and enjoyed the bonding time with a couple of girls in the ward i don't know very well.

i got some reading and relaxing done , and slowly towards the late afternoon, other members of the ward began arriving.  i was sung to by a guy with great abs (photo below) watched and laughed at the semblance of a volleyball game, enjoyed a couple of ears from the saltwater corn roast, got to see a long and got to mingle with my peeps.

i also learned the power of a woman.

i was having a conversation with this guy and commented that a man in a suit is far more handsome than in almost anything else.  today, as i was singing in sacrament meeting, i saw him at the back of the chapel...in a suit.  this may not sound momentous, but i've never seen this guy in a suit before. shirt, tie, slacks, but never a jacket.  and to my point, he looks as good or better in the suit than he does in those abs. ;)

family fun week

last weekend was spent with laurie and her family who were in town for a little vacation. on friday night, the freemans, the donahoos, and i headed to angels stadium for the annual 'mormon night'.  as far as i'm concerned, there isn't a bad seat in a baseball stadium, and sitting in the nosebleeds gives you a little more freedom to watch the game...or not.  since we were surrounded by members from mick and jenny's ward, we found ourselves in animated conversations as often as we were actually watching the game.  and by the time we arrived (in the second inning) the angels were already down 5-0, so we didn't have much hope of it being a good game.

boy were we wrong!

in the 4th or 5th inning, the angels scored a bases loaded home run, and with the addition of one other run, they started closing in on the texas rangers.

we spent the rest of the game enjoying each other's company and cheering on the angels, who, by the way, ended up winning the game.

following the win, we stayed for a little while to watch the friday night fireworks, before deciding to beat the crowds and head for the hills (or the cars, as it were).

i had a little knee incident on the stairs, but was able to eventually walk it out.  and, bonus, i discovered that the stadium staff is both conscientious and kind, as they witnessed my fumble and made every effort to ensure that i was okay, and capable of supporting my own weight.

the following morning, the knee was a bit stiffer than usual, but not so stiff as to keep me from the day's activities.

i headed to the donahoos, and the freemans met us there. then we began our caravan to the beach!

cute family, huh?  they're mine!

the beach of the day was 'little corona', which, ironically was the first beach i visited (with the donahoos) after moving to california -- and i hadn't been there since.  little corona is a nickname for part of the corona del mar beachfront, and it offers some gorgeous scenery.  largely as a result of my physical limitations, we parked down below rather than walking down the very steep road to the beach...and i was also appreciative that we had ended up at a 'short beach'.  by that i mean that the distance between the pavement (parking lot, road, or boardwalk) to the water, is short.  some of the beaches here, huntington and newport, for instance are very 'wide', and i knew that the loose sand could present a bit of a challenge.

the beach was already buzzing, but we found a great spot to make camp, and after a quick clothing change, we headed down the beach to take some family photos of the freemans. a few waves, a knee twist, and many photos later, it was time to get down to the business of playing.

the kids showed us adults how it was done!

we spent hours enjoying the sun and surf and conversation before deciding it was time to head out.

before dinner we stopped at the hotel to rinse off with a dip in the pool, and i ran home for a quick shower before returning to the donahoos for a yummy taco dinner. sadly, after dinner it was time to say goodbye to the freemans.

i've decided that it's so much better when the family comes to visit ME.  okay, they didn't come to visit me, so much, as just take a vacation, but i like it when they come here because i get to spend actual quality time, rather than trying to catch up with everyone in the course of one dinner.  we definitely made the most of our time and i was sorry to see them go!

kneegate update

as my co-workers keep reminding me, if i were a dog, i'd have had surgery and spent the last several days recovering. but, as i'm not a dog, i've been working through doctor's appointments and insurance authorizations.

i've been back at work since monday, and thanks to the drugs, it has been mostly manageable.  i find myself more tired than usual, primarily because it takes so much energy to avoid those natural movements that might yield an unnatural pain, and the swelling from my knee to my toes has felt somewhat extreme.  but every cloud has a silver lining!  in this case, there is a silver AND a gold.

silver first.

i'm single-mindedly focused on hiding my fat ugly leg, and wearing pants is difficult due to the necessity of having to wrap, unwrap, and ice on a regular basis.  as a result, i've been pulling my maxi dresses out of the closet.  i am mildly ashamed to admit that i have four or five of these that i have never worn.  there's a rational explanation for that, but i won't bore you with it.  instead, i'll just say that i can't believe i've never worn them. rational shmational!  i LOVE them!

so, this week i was scheduled to be in atlanta for a conference.  it's a politically important conference, and i'm a little nervous about not being able to go, but there was absolutely no way i could drag luggage through airports or move boxes at the booth or average the 10 mile per day walking that is typical. so i'm home, while my co-workers are off to eat peaches.  but here's where the gold lining comes in!

my cousin laurie and her fam are in town!  as i was supposed to be leaving yesterday and returning home on the 2nd, and as they arrived yesterday and are leaving on the 2nd i was going to miss them entirely. but now we get to play:)

jenny, nic, laurie and i hang out poolside at the local embassy suites.

before we get to the serious playing though, i was finally able to go in today for the mri.  since i've got staples in my knee from the previous knee surgery, they also wanted to do a ct scan to make sure they got clean images.  and can i just tell you, there's nothing like being told not to move, then being slid into a tube for a half an hour, that makes you want to just get up and dance.

i managed to fight the urge though, and now i just have to wait until monday for the ortho follow-up. i snuck a peek at the films, but i don't really have a clue what i'm looking for, so i wait.

and then came the BRONZE lining.

anne and i really like our sonic

many of you are familiar with my sonic obsession (see picture at right).  but, as is my lot in life, the closest sonic is always just  a little to far away.  and then today happened.  as i was leaving the imaging center (just a few miles from my house), i took a wrong turn.  as i tried to get my bearings, there, on the opposite corner, was a radiating glow.  i think there may have also been a choir of angels singing. because there, on that corner, was a sonic.

after i snarfed down my strawberry limeade, popcorn chicken, and chocolate banana cream pie shake, i stopped for gas and my conversation with the attendant confirmed that it is brand new. do you know what this means?  it means i can snarf down a strawberry limeade and or a chocolate banana cream pie shake WHENEVER I WANT TO.

gold, silver, and bronze, folks.

gold, sliver and bronze.

kneegate 2010

it's the left knee - in case you can't tell.
swollen and bruised and ugly!

get it?  'cause it's my KNEE, and it was injured jumping off a tailGATE. right?!?

after giving the knee a chance to rest overnight following my big day at del mar, not only was it not feeling any better, it was even less weight-bearing and more swollen.  i called in sick before calling my health insurance provider to find out what urgent care i could visit to 'maximize my benefit'.

remember, i've been through this before.  and the last time, it happened only three days after my health insurance had kicked in. i hadn't even gotten my medical cards yet, so i called my then boss to find out where to go, who to call, etc. she was so sympathetic that she came and took me to the hospital herself.

an out of network hospital, as it turned out.

three words that now terrify me: out of network.  instead of the 20% portion i would have been paying in network, i ended up with the 80% bill, which took years to pay off, fairly destroying my credit in the process.

this time, i was/am determined not to make any similar mistakes, and was glad i was overcautious, as the urgent care i would have gone to, would not have been covered.  and at 8:30am when i arrived at an urgent care that WOULD be covered, i immediately saw the sign that said walk-ins were accepted between 1pm - 9pm.  i guess nothing urgent happens before 1pm.

so i made an appointment. the receptionist was quite nice, and was able to fit me in at 10:20. okay, not too bad!  she suggested i go ahead and check-in upstairs, even though i would be quite early, and when i made it to the upstairs receptionist, i was called back while still standing at the desk filling out paperwork.  as i commented on the speed to the nurse, her response was, 'well, if people are late and other people are early, that's just how it goes!'.

the largest bottle of pills
i've ever been prescribed

there was a little more up and down as i was sent for x-rays, but i was in an out of the urgent care with a mere $20 copay and within ONE hour, which, let's face it, is pretty miraculous.  the diagnosis was more ambiguous however, as i suspected it would be.  i'm fairly certain there is a ligament tear, and x-rays can't see ligaments.  they did confirm that there were no sprained, fractured, or broken bones, but i already knew that.

i was sent away with a prescription for the serious ibuprofen and vicodin, as well as being informed that they had run out of, but had ordered crutches and an 'immobilizer' for me.  they also submitted an ortho referral, and i was told that i would be contacted by phone or mail with more details. but, of course, after sitting on that overnight, i was more than a little confused.  by mail? really?

when i called this morning to follow up, i was transferred to ortho, where i was first informed that i could have and should have contacted them myself, and second, that the earliest i could be seen was august 19th.

after i stopped crying, i informed them that they could take me off their 'list' and that i'd find another place to go.  so i did.

monday afternoon was the earliest anybody could see me, but i was happy to take it. particularly since i'm scheduled to be on a flight to atlanta on wednesday, and will have to do some serious staff prepping if i am not able to go.  the truth of the matter is that i'm almost 100% sure i will no longer be attending this conference, but at least if i have an actual diagnosis, it will make it easier for my boss to swallow.

stay tuned for more kneegate news - i suspect that there will be a fair amount of it.

day at the races

while my familial readers will know this, others may not know that i LOVE horses.  i attribute it almost entirely to my maternal grandfather who was not only a large animal veterinarian (horses, cows, etc.) but also bred and raced quarter-horses.

as a child, summer vacations to the farm always included horseback riding, and visits to the racetrack.  every year, i'd select one of the race horses and claim it as my own, then get regular updates from grandpa as to the success (or failure) of 'my' horses on the track.

i've never been entirely certain whether i literally inherited some of my grandfather's 'horse blood' or if it's just a passion that resulted from experience, but regardless, any opportunity to be around horses is a good opportunity.

after mentioning to my friend vicki that i'd had the chance to go the breeder's cup a couple of years ago, she asked if i'd be interested in driving down to go to opening day at the del mar racetrack with her.  i immediately took her up on her offer, and it went on the calendar, along with my vacation request.

and the day finally arrived!

i've actually been in san diego quite a lot in the past couple of weeks for work, but this time i was actually excited to make the hour+ drive.  vicki and i met at the nearby outlet malls for lunch before heading down to the track.  what should have been a 15 minute drive took an hour, 45 minutes of which was spent on the exit ramp. fortunately we'd given ourselves enough time so as not to be too concerned.

we met up with vicki's friend tim, who works 'the gate'.  in this case 'the gate' means the starting gate, and tim is on the team responsible for getting the horses loaded into the starting gate.  he had gotten us free tickets and entrance to the backside of the track.  we caught a lift on the back of a pick-up truck, and when we got to where we were going, i straddled the tailgate and hopped out.

that was when i heard the sickening 'pop' in my knee.

roughly 14 years ago now, i had a bad landing off a lay-up during a basketball game, which resulted in severe acl, mcl, and meniscus tears, and required surgery, physical therapy, plus about six months of recovery time.  when i heard that pop, i recognized it. and it was not a happy remembrance.  i took a second to collect myself and gingerly determine whether or not i could actually walk.  i could. barely.  which was better than the last time.

for better and probably worse, i decided i was going to ignore the severe pain i was in, and make the best of the situation.  i hobbled along with vicki and tim as we headed into the grandstand and tim 'dropped us off' with plans to meet up again later.

i won't bore you with the details and challenges of actually finding a place to camp out for awhile, or mention how miserable i was, or how many times i cried, just trying to find a place to sit down for awhile, other than to mention one my favorite conversations of the day.  it came after we had been wandering around trying to find a seat, and one of the ushers told us we were probably going to have to stand.  the pain, coupled with my feelings of pure stupidity and not wanting to have ruined this experience for myself, or for vicki caused me to have a total emotional breakdown.  (poor usher didn't have a clue what his response would yield!):

Vicki: I can go get an EMT. Do you want an EMT?
Me; No
Vicki: Seriously, I can go get one.
Me: No. I didn't shave my legs today.

and with that, i pulled myself together - as best i could anyway- and we made our way downstairs where we (thank heavens!) found a place to sit right in front of the fence.  we watched the first four races from that bench, with vicki making periodic runs to place bets or get diet cokes and ice cream.  it should be noted that while we did make a few small bets, the only ones we 'won' were races we picked but didn't bet. figures.

the first self-portrait of the day. post 'knee-gate',
and i'm so happy to be sitting down!

after the fourth race, tim called to say that he would probably be able to take us out on the track before the 6th race, so after the 5th, we slowly hobbled along to meet him.  for those of you not familiar with a racetrack, typically the dirt track (in this case, shredded carpet) is on the outside, so spectators can see easily, while the turf track (faux grass) is on the inside.  a race day typically includes both type of races, and turf races are a little harder to see since they are on the inside.  the 6th race was a turf race.

me, tim, and vicki in the winners circle

we met up with tim and he walked us over to the winners circle, where we waited for the horses to come through the tunnel before making our way across the dirt track to watch the next turf race from the inside.  as you might imagine, this is not part of the 'standard' race track experience. you absolutely HAVE to know someone, and lucky for me, i knew someone who knew someone!

before making our way to the fence, and just minutes before the horses would take their positions, we walked through the gate, where tim snapped a couple of pics for us.  super super cool.

we watched the six race and headed back to the grandstand for the 7th and 8th, before rejoining tim on the 'backside' of the track for races 9 and 10.  again, we were almost on top of the gate, and it was pretty spectacular.

my knee was still killing me, but i was pretty proud of myself for hanging in there.  and with the final race concluded, tim put me in a car with a couple of the other guys so that i wouldn't have to walk back to their rv.

as i would learn, this crew of about 12 guys work together pretty regularly during the race season.  they are mostly from other parts of california, but for the duration of the season, they'll bring trailers in and set up their home away from home.  i wasn't complaining about the ride, or the fact that one of the boys was pretty cute.  'cause hey, bryan or no bryan (and there's no update on that) i can still appreciate a supercute boy.  especially one with a country twang;)

we hung out at the trailer for awhile, killing time, waiting for the place to empty out, and just chatting.  while there, a miniature man came over to say hello to the two tims (our host and the supercute boy), and introduced himself to us.  as you may have surmised, he's a jockey by the name of tyler baze, and he'd had a pretty good day.

after a little while, we started smelling something delicious from the trailer next door - the owners of which, are also a part of tim's crew.  the smell was followed by an invitation to join them for dinner, and we happily accepted.  boy were we in for a treat!  bbq'd spare ribs, corn off the grill, watermelon, potato salad, and coconut cake for dessert.

the food was insanely good, and i was just so.....content.  i've mentioned before that periodically the 'country' side of me needs satisfying, and this absolutely fit the bill.  i was grateful for the events of the day and for the opportunity to  experience this obviously tight-knit community from the inside.