I just watched about 45 minutes of movie trailers...

These are two of my favorite dudes.  They left today for L.A.  Hopefully they'll both be running in just over a month.  I had a pep talk with Nigel before he took off on this journey.  He's a little nervous to be away from Scotty's where his new friends kept him in good company.  He said he likes the attention he got being there.  I told him this trip would make him feel better and he'd be more admired since he'll be seeing a lot more people.  I don't know where this narcissism comes from.  Me?  Nooooo...


Saturday night was a riot.  Since Jeff was in town, we all got together over at Kip and Mel's new house (which looks FANTASTIC) for some delicious pizza and good times.  During this much needed and healthy visit, we talked and eventually moved the party into the living room for some Apples to Apples.  I must say...I've never played with such low down dirty cheaters in my life.  You couldn't take your eyes off the table without someone grabbing an extra card, exchanging a card or looking over your shoulder to see what your cards were!  I was almost ashamed for knowing such cheats!!!!!  Truth be told...I may or may not have been one of those cheats...oops!!!


Early tonight I made it to an "older than dirt" birthday party for a family friend.  There were babies everywhere running around and being darlings.  I had the pleasure of listening to a Jersey accent!  We talked about donks, hookers, bulls, scorpions, snakes and taking up snake charming with a hookah flute, but not necessarily in that order.  Alissa also came home from another epic road trip and told stories of UFC fights in Canada, catching fish at Pike Place, getting invited on a boat to party with strangers, and wedding crashing (SERIOUSLY ALISSA.  WHAT THE FUCK?!?!  HAVE YOU EVER EVEN BEEN ON A TRIP THAT YOU DIDN'T END UP DOING SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ONLY READ ABOUT IN BOOKS AND SEE ON TV?  OH.  THAT'S RIGHT.  YOU'RE NAME IS ALISSA.  EVERYTHING YOU DO IS AMAZING AND NO ONE SHOULD BE SURPRISED ANYMORE.  I'M NOT.  HURRY UP AND WRITE THAT DUMB BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE ALREADY.  PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH YOU.  AND BE YOUR FRIEND TO GO ON THESE TRIPS).


My roommates rule.  Simplest things become adventures you wish you were there for. 

Nigel has a girlfriend.

Her name is Suzi.  Here's a picture of the happy couple together!!!

Free food, Temple mocha, Link 80...

Could today have gotten any better?!?!  Probs not.  Okay, okay...probably, but today was quite fantastic!  Brandon and I went out to Johnny Garlic's and I'm not gonna lie, the food was pretty good.  My friend Peter works there and he's been telling me to go in and try the food.  He wasn't working, but he came down and hung out with B and I anyway.  We got the garlic fries as an appetizer and by the time our food came, we were barely hungry.  The 32 oz. Shirley T may have had something to do with it, but who knows, right?!  Brandon and I both got pasta dishes and as we were finishing up our drinks a fantastic brownie delight showed up on the table out of nowhere!!!  It was like freaking MAGIC!  We were so full we barely finished half the brownie.  Peter and his roommate (who served us and was VERY sweet and amazing) ended up picking up our tab too.  Score!!


Grandma called me today to check on me too.  I got to hear her voice and listen to her talk.  Most.  Amazing.  Accent.  EVER.  Double score!!


After Brandon and I got home I coerced Grant the Veggie to venture downtown and hit up Temple for sweet sweet caffeine.  We hung out at Temple for a bit.  It was nice to be out of the house surrounded by something other than furniture and a semi-empty house.  Grant said he might get the change to go to Portland soon and he said he planned on visiting Voodoo Doughnut.  I got so excited when he told me that!  I told him he NEEDED to get a bacon maple doughnut!!!!  Yeah...I told Grant the VEGGIE he needed a BACON maple bar.  I know he's a vegetarian and have known for years, but I still tried to convince him that he should eat one because they are THAT succulent.  It makes my mouth water just thinking about that doughy goodness.


Grant and I also went to WalMart so I could pick up some yarn to make him a soda can cozy and I even threw in a couple to-go cup sleeves for good measure.  Maybe that will guilt him enough to either bring me a doughnut back, or just try one on his own!!!  But mainly bring me one back...

It's almost 5 and I'm looking at miniature pot belly pigs online

Yikes.  Too bad they're mad cute and ridiculously smart.  I watched a bunch of videos on youtube and saw all the neat tricks.  Maybe instead of dogs, my folks should get pot belly pigs.  I don't even remember why I started looking them up, but I always remember Royal Dandies and I guess now they make super ultra mega tiny pigs.  I know they're probably genetically altered so much that they have new unknown issues, but they're so freaking cute and baby size I want to ride around with one in the basket of my bicycle.


I woke up surprisingly early for having gone to bed so late today.  I did about 8 hours on the machine and I got some Thai food (finally) that I've been craving since about the second day I was at my folks place.  I also got to get out of the house a little longer when Brandon and I went to Jill's and did some porch sitting.  I definitely missed that for the past 5 weeks or so.  Making mistakes by yelling possibly rude things to passerby's should not be underrated.  I think perhaps I should get some shut eye...I've got a big day of ebay-ing tomorrow.

Taco Tuesday?!?!

I think I experienced my first Taco Tuesday tonight. It's not quite what I've heard about, so maybe it wasn't exactly THE Taco Tuesday...but I'm going to pretend it was and that it migrated downtown so I could be part of it in my handi status. It was very cool to see the bikes parked in front of the taco shop and I can't wait until Nigel and I are fully a part of it. I'm gonna ride Nigel 'til his wheels fall off.

I did my 6 hours on the machine today and did my stretches. Since I've been out of commission, I've decided to try and get a little limber, so I've been stretching once or twice a day. I need to be able to get my shoes on my left foot with no issues and I can't do that until I can touch the bottom of my feetsies. I'm almost there and it feels amazing to stretch.

I spent the later part of the evening looking at motorcycles. I think I'm starting to depress myself with that ish. I think I'll start looking at trikes.

Me? Go to bed early?

I may or may not have forgotten to take pictures of my knee for comparison. Apparently I was WAY too busy to be bothered with that task today. I did, however, find the delightful creature above lurking amongst my clothes. The day consisted of waking up ridiculously late (as always), hanging out on the machine for about 7 total hours and getting picked up by Brother for dinner with the family. When I wasn't at dinner, I was watching tele and a few movies. Pretty busy day. Or not.

It was nice enough today to sit outside for dinner, so we did just that. When it was time to leave dinner, my 4 year old cousin started crying because she just didn't want to leave. Brother and I laughed for a while, because how often does crying work in getting what you want? I mean, getting out of tickets is a whole other story, but as a kid?! Then we started talking about how when we were young we remember the one punishment that worked the best. Turns out Brother and I had the same reaction. Punishment: cold shower. Clothes and all, mom or dad picked us up and threw us into the shower and held us in there. We stopped throwing our fit and started crying because we were so shocked. The one thing both Brother and I remember crying about: "But, but, but...I'm still wearing my clothes!!!!!!!" I specifically remember being sooooooo bummed because I had JUST taken a shower. That's what I got for throwing a gnar gnartantrum! I don't EVER remember getting another cold shower after that.

I've got dreams of waking up earlier tomorrow, but we'll see how that works out since it's almost 5 already.

Favorite quote of the day: "I need you to see Final Destination 3D with me. It combines my 2 favorite things, 3D and final destinations."

First day back at home

Being home for an entire day was pretty sweet. Alissa came home from work last night and took me grocery shopping. Right when we got back she made cheesecake and today when she got off work she made me a late dinner. Apparently she became amazingly domestic while I was gone. Score!

I made it out of the house for a couple hours today to watch Brother and Brandon play soccer. Dad showed up and delivered a few things I had forgotten at their house and to watch his son's team lose terribly. By the time I made it home my leg was all purple and slightly swollen. I think I need to ice it more and try to get this swelling thing under control, even though the doctor said it's not uncommon for the knee to still be swollen...even this late in the game.

Brandon decided he wanted to see how sitting in the machine was, so he did a few minutes and decided it's not too bad. I don't think he'd like being in it for 6-8 hours a day though. While he was in the machine, I was doing some strengthening exercises out of the machine (part of my rehab). One of the exercises I do is pretty much the same thing the machine does for me, only I use my own muscles to bend and straighten my leg (which is actually really difficult for me). As I was bringing my knee up, I think I probably made a good 115 degrees of flexion or so, I was looking at my knee and I hear a POP and see part of my knee kind of loosen near one of the dimples. A STITCH BROKE. I doubt it's bad and it's an internal stitch, but it felt weird and freaked me the fuck out. I got a little apprehensive to continue with those exercises right away, but once I realized I wasn't a wuss and started the exercises again it looks like I have more flexion. It's also not as tight and straining in that area of my knee. But it was still fuckin' scary when it happened.

Perhaps I'll take pictures tomorrow and compare to see if I can tell the stitches popped.

2 party nights in 1 weekend?

Perhaps I think I have 2 usable legs. I'm extremely surprised I got out both Friday and Saturday nights. I can already tell I'm going to need some real time to recover. My body is exhausted. Tonight was a rock party with rock band with people in rock garb! There was almost too much rock to handle!!! I got a little shit because I didn't "dress up" until I reminded them how rock I really am. They let me slide!

Friday I decided that I didn't need to go anywhere and that I'd stay home with my folks since I was leaving Saturday. I didn't let anyone else know because I got a phone call around 8 or so. It went like this:

Scotty: Hey, you ready?

Me: Ready? Ready for what?

Scotty: To come bar hopping with us?

Me: Umm...no. I'm not going out tonight, I'm just going to stay home.

Scotty: No you're not. We'll be there in 20.

Me: Shit. Really? I guess I'll get in the shower now then!

I figured I didn't need to shower since I literally sat around all day and hadn't had any plans to leave the house until Saturday. I was sorely mistaken. Kip, Melissa, Scotty, PJ, Andrea and I all went to The Shady Lady to see our friend that was working. It was mad fun, but there wasn't much room to sit and anyone who was sitting at a table seemed to be saving it for another group of their friends that were coming in a little later. As the night went on we saw one girl standing sort of in/around a table so Kip went to ask if she was going to be sitting there with any group of friends. Apparently she was saving the table for some "friends" that were going to be showing up "in a little bit." Kip even tried to pull the "but, hey...look, we have a handicap with us who needs to put her leg up" trick. She didn't take the bait. Seriously? Who the fuck lets a handicap suffer?! Oh...that's right, she does. I was a little sore at this chick until about 10 minutes later when her group shows up in the entourage is a guy in a wheel chair with NO LEGS. Needless to say, I didn't feel as bad. But at least the guy had a permanent place to fuckin' sit no matter where he was.

Sunflower cafe today

So I'm sitting here in bed, typing this before I decide to call it a night and let my head hit the feathers. My computer's sitting on my lap, but the whole thing is tilted left. Am I partially sitting on one of the many pillows on this bed? No. Has part of the bed started to sag since I've been sleeping in the same exact spot for the past 4 weeks? No. Oh wait, is my left leg obviously smaller than my right? Bingo!! Guess I'll prop my leg up a bit with a pillow so I don't have to tilt my head to match my screen. Adjusts. Much better.

I think today was the third day in a row I've gotten up before noon. Go Rijel! Alissa picked me up and we had lunch at Sunflower Cafe. I've been dreaming about a nutburger all up in my grill (that's what she said?) for the past few weeks. The one I had was every bit as delicious as I was hoping it would be. Although the chickens and roosters were running about, there weren't nearly as many lingering around as I'm used to.

For the past couple days I was trying to figure out when would be a good time for me to finally head back to my house to finish up with my recovery. I've decided to venture back to the Grid on Saturday. When my folks got home today I let them know. Mom looks at me and seemed sort of sad. She just said, "Oh. Okay, are you sure you'll be alright at home?" Dad looks sort of stunned and confused, "Well...who's going to make you tea?!" he asks. I sort of laugh, but neither him or mom are laughing with me. They looked pretty bummed that I set a date to head home.

One of my all time favorite things revisited: actually laughing out loud at something sent via AIM message.

Favorite thing said today: "I just want to get mopped off and take a nap."

Sleep with no brace on

I woke up fairly early (for me anyway) today. 11:10 to be precise. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be since all my efforts of going to sleep early failed. I did, however, get a mocha delivered at about noon when Nathan came to visit. I had a lot of action today for not having gone anywhere! I talked to Katie and then her mom (but about an hour or so apart) and set up a lunch date with the Vela still living in California.

Alissa came over with 17 Again and I Love You Man. 17 Again was actually better than I thought it was going to be and I liked I Love You Man quite a bit too. I realized after watching both movies that I was just shy of being a pedophile. Zac Efron's a babe in that movie and he's what? Like 20 or something. Okay, okay...I googled it just to make sure I wasn't totally pervy. Turns out I'm only slightly pervy.

Peter also made his way to the country with another movie and snacks! I was showered with Twizzlers, Reese's peanut butter cups, Sour Straws and popcorn. I only ate the Reese's tonight, I'm saving the cavities for tomorrow!

I talked to my surgeon earlier today too. He told me my progress isn't quite where he had hoped and perhaps I should get back in to see him before my next scheduled appointment. Turns out I'll be on this machine for another 4 weeks or so and will definitely have to stay off my leg until my appointment in September. He wants me to take as much time as possible to really let this thing heal. Apparently he thinks 5 surgeries is 4 too many. He had also mentioned me going to physical therapy, but I haven't received any paperwork or phone calls about seeing a physical therapist so I might be a lot further behind in rehabilitation than I thought. But on a GOOD note, he did say I no longer need to wear my gigantic brace while I sleep and when I leave the house I don't have to have the brace locked straight. I can't wait to get to sleep just so I can try out my tum tum again.

LIke a good ol' fashioned nightmare

Or not. The day was amazing to say the least! I got my hair cut (which always makes me extremely happy), got to hang out with good friends and was out of the house for 7+ hours! My leg wasn't thrilled with me, but it didn't hate me either. I think that means I might be heading home soon, much to Brandon's dismay. He's bummed because that means he won't have the house to himself anymore; to me it just seems like now he'll know how Alissa and I feel on a regular basis.

The only thing I really had planned for the day was to get my hair cut and since I can't drive myself, I asked Brandon to pick me up and take me. He said he would and that he had a couple houses to take pictures of for work and it wouldn't take too long so I told him I'd go with him. I figured he wouldn't mind the company and I could use some sun. So we went and took pictures of 3 houses and we called Scotty. We ended up staying and talking to Scotty for an hour or so why everyone poked and touched my super sweet knee scar. Brandon ended up getting 3 more houses to take pictures of while we were at Scotty's, so we all got back in the car and took a mini road trip around Roseville. It was rumored that Kip and Melissa were headed back to Sacramento to work on the house, so we got in touch with them and ended up getting dinner and hanging out at Teriyaki Bowl for a bit. I didn't get back to the house until just after 8 and Brandon went on to tell my mom that I hijacked him. My mom laughed. How is it that a handi who can't even close her own car door, let alone drive the car hijacked him and forced him to have fun with his friends? I know how: I'm THAT good.

Knee's being bothersome, hopefully I won't need meds to sleep, I haven't had any for 3 days and counting. Oh yeah...and I saw my main man, Nigel. He's looking sexy. Dusty, but sexy.

Atomic Fireballs

I completely forgot how much I adore that candy. Until my mom brought a bag home. Now my mouth is slightly sore. Totally worth it.

I was able to be part of Amber's Birthday Week today. Since I couldn't really go to her to celebrate, she came to me! And she brought me ice cream!!! She also brought me cards and proceeded to beat me in Skip-Bo, but I made my swift and calculated comeback and grabbed the rug from under the feet she thought she had firmly planted and kicked her ass in Phase 10. Okay, okay...it may or may not have been that good of a comeback, or that glorious of a win...but the fact is: I beat her. Man I hate losing!!

Later on the whole family came over for dinner. Mom made steam cake and we had key lime pie. If you were close enough to come get some and didn't (and don't bitch about not being invited...my mom's place is an open invitation kind of deal), you're at a major loss. Brandon came over for dinner. He had to fatten up his scrawny baby body and there's no way he's turning down a free meal, even if it means he has to drive 100 miles round trip. Lucky for me though, since he was at dinner I volunteered him to take me to get mah hurrrr did. I can't wait to clean up this mop. I won't have to blow dry my hair for at least 2 weeks.

I keep waking myself up all panicky in the middle of this dream where I jump up out of bed or off the couch without my crutches. For whatever reason my leg is fine and I can just walk around like normal and it seems like the crutches are just for show around my folks. Then I wake up panicked because I'm worried I'll wake up thinking my leg's good to go. I also keep daydreaming about RUNNING. Yeah, me. Dreaming about running. That's how I know I'm not awake. I fuggin' hate running.

Oh. And what the fuck is with Craigslist going down?!?!?! Yeah...so it wasn't very long. But that ish shouldn't happen. Ever.

No one likes a Monday with nothing to read...

And for you, I will update. Last night I tried sleeping with no meds. It went alright. It was mostly uncomfortable. I'm going to go ahead and give it another try tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to get some sleep (the again, it's already a quarter to four and I was hoping be asleep about an hour ago). This weekend was pretty eventful for myself and my knee. I'm now operating on 100 degrees of flexion. I've only got 5 more to go and then I'll be at 105 until my appointment in September. A lot of my swelling has gone down, but it's still a little tight (that's what she said?) and I still don't have feeling on the left side of my kneecap. I lotion my knee a few times every day and it seems like some of the dimpling/scar tissue is being worked out. My knee almost looks like a knee again!! Woot woot!

As for the party side of my weekend, I was able to take another trip to the drive-ins. Jill came and picked me up and we saw The Ugly Truth and The Time Traveler's Wife. In between the two films we also listened to about a half hour of The Goods and accidentally sat through the first 5 to 10 minutes of G.I. Joe because I decided it was the Time Traveler's Wife because it looked "sort of futuristic." I laughed so hard I cried. So did Jill. Too bad that was the extent of our tears. I thought Time Traveler's Wife would be waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more sad. I even packed tissues. I only used them to blow my nose after eating my burrito because I had a bit of hot sauce on it. Overall, both movies were good...I just feel like I the leading ladies have other movies I would rather watch a second time. The BEST part of the night was when I got to wear my new red Keds out. That made my night...finally putting those beauties on my feet!!!

Earlier today Bryce surprised me and called. He said he was coming by, so I politely requested a Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard. He came through in a major way. He even brought Jeannie Mae a hot fudge sundae. That guy is a sweet heart and obviously knows that to keep any girl happy you bring her (and her fantastic mother) Dairy Queen. Hey dudes...that's a tip. Keep it in mind.

And for the shameless Mom plug: she added a diaper bag to her site (www.thecartbag.com) for anyone who wants to take a sweet, sweet gander. Apparently she needs to work on her web skillzzzz, but she's a master with a needle and some thread!!!! Before you look at the price and think "Holy shit...that's a lot for a diaper bag." keep in mind it that her bags are all hand cut and sewn and have the durability of a fucking rhino. What does that mean? I'm not sure...but trust me and others that have purchased/received them from her, they LAST. All the bags come with 2 washable and flannel lined (for baby's comfort) changing pads that affix to the bag with velcro (for that 2009 mom-on-the-go) so they are easily kept track of. Also, if you don't like the one she has posted, but LOVE the design (but what's not to love ? Especially for that almost-mom you're still trying to find the perfect gift for before the baby shower in a few weeks), feel free to shoot her an e-mail and request some colors/designs. If you have durable fabric already...she'll sew that ish up too!!!

Welcome to the dream come true

Soon at least. I'll be running in 9-12 months. Optimism, right? Although it's unusual for my normally pessimistic self, I'm trying to open my eyes to the concept. The only part that gets me is the "Oh. 9-12 months, really? That's a LONG time..." Actually, no. It isn't. What's a long time is 9 years of not running, swimming, bicycling without pain. 9 to 12 months is cake!!! Shoot...today will feel like yesterday by the time it rolls around anyhow.

This week hasn't been packed full of visitors, but I don't mind so much. I LOVE having the company, but it's good to know that I'm not throwing pity parties because no one's been able to make it over. Although today I got a pleasant an unexpected visit from Peter. I haven't heard from that guy in months, but he hit me up out of the blue to come visit. It was very pleasant. I started watching Dexter tonight. That might have been a bad idea. For one, it's one more series I'm now addicted to and for two, which my luck I'm going to have nightmares tonight (err...today?). It doesn't really matter though, it's a pretty good show so far. I think I'm 4 or 5 episodes in and I'm hooked. I can't wait until the 9th or whenever How I Met Your Mother starts!!! It's gonna be gooooooood.

Last night, about a half hour after I fell asleep my leg twitched so hard it woke me up. It was almost more like I kicked then had a myoclonic jerk. It scared the shit out of me though, it was the second night in a row I had done that and woken up from it. The past week or so I haven't been able to sleep very well. For whatever reason I wake up about 2 hours into my sleep, then again every hour and a half or so until I decide to get up. Sometimes I'll be wide awake (whether it's 2 hours in or 5) and other times it's just a nuisance. It doesn't even seem to be directly related to any pain. Even though I've been waking up at 2pm every day, after figuring out the hours and everything, I still get no more than 9 hours of sleep and I generally get 8.

Earlier today I lost my balance and as an involuntary reaction, my leg hit the ground to steady myself. It wasn't too abrupt and I don't think I put that much weight on it, but it definitely scares me. I've tried extremely hard to keep all weight off my leg and I ruined it today. It bummed me out, but then I though that at least I'm 3 1/2 weeks in and that hopefully gave it enough time to not be detrimental to the healing process.

And it's 5:30 and I'm wide awake. Rad.

Today was a good day.

Especially for my knee. More so, even for the progress my knee has made. Not only am I at 95 degrees of flexion, -2 degrees of extension, but I was able to use my left quad today to lift my ENTIRE leg on it's own!!!!!! That, is a major feat. I did a few leg lifts, but didn't want to overdo it and pay for it in the morning. Now I've just got to get this swelling to go down!

The other things to make today great: Keds came in the mail, Katie's birthday present was delivered to her (a little late, but hey...at least she got it!), hand delivered pay check, hand delivered delicious elk chili and two amazing roommates visiting and bearing gifts. Brandon has skirt his way back onto the "good friend" list with delivery of aforementioned elk chili. He's teetering on a fine line though, I mean, he did show up on his moto which only made me insanely jealous. I've got a itch to ride and I got it bad...soooooooooooo bad.

While getting ready for bed, I was looking in the mirror and my skin is pretty much the same shade of white as the bathroom walls. This is sad because it's the same color as the Google freaking home page. I've only seen the sun once in the past 3 1/2 weeks. I'm gonna burn my first day out. Perhaps I'll actually invest and wear sunscreen the rest of the summer. But probably not.

It puts the lotion on the skin...

Since taking the tape off my knee yesterday, I've been lotioning my knee (when I remember) throughout the day. I'm supposed to do small circles or at least go over the scar multiple times. Doing this is supposed to help the scar blend in with the rest of my knee (which I don't care much about) and break down the scar tissue that's trying to build up. Breaking up the scar tissue will also let me bend my knee with less discomfort.

Today was pretty chill. I keep telling myself I'm going to wake up and get out of bed earlier, I just keep not doing it. It's not even that I don't wake up early enough to do it. Since the only reason I have to wake up is to get on the machine (which only requires 6-8 hours) when ever I see the clock, I just roll back over. I got worried about myself for a bit, then I did the math and I still only sleep about 8 or 9 hours a day. I wake up most mornings around 7 or 9 only to realize I went to sleep at 5 or 6. It's incredibly broken sleep and I can't wait until I can take this brace off my leg while I sleep. It will be a glorious day.

I did, in fact, make it to 95 degrees today. It felt pretty gnar gnar, but I did it for about 5 hours and I feel confident I'm progressing at the right speed. I still can't feel half my knee or lift my leg (which seems ridiculous), but with icing it and getting the swelling down, hopefully that will come back soon. I can live without feeling in my knee, but I would like to be able to lift it up without using my hands one day. As long as I can ride Nigel, I'm set to jet. Err...to ride. I'm set to ride.

A gentleman caller...

I don't know how it happened, but somewhere in this madness of me doing most absolutely nothing, I forgot to mention that there is a new love in my life. He's there, to your right, making kissy faces at Nige Nige. Perhaps he was trying to prove his worth, perhaps he's actually a she. I'm not sure yet, I've yet to actually meet this new love, let alone give it a name. I'm pretty sure it's a girl. I'm sure I'll have to converse with Nigel. See if he plans on having a hetero partner for a while. Or Kip. Kip's gotten to know it pretty well lately.

In knee news, I am still doing 90 degrees. I've been at 90 for 4 days now and I think I'm gonna go for it and do 95 tomorrow. The doc said I can progressively go up to 105 if I feel up to it. I'm also at -2 for the extension, which I started doing last night. I took the tape off this morning and man it's ugly. Since there's still a bit of swelling, when my knee is bent the scar isn't straight, it looks like the doc took a few swigs before he started cutting. When my knee is extended, you can tell it's a pretty fabulous cut. I just need to wait for the swelling to be completely gone. I uploaded some photos of the dimples the stitches have created. It looks like the surface of a golf ball right around the scar. The damned thing looks a lot worse than it feels too. I still can't feel anything left of the scar. It's completely numb. It's cool...but I'm worried I'll damage it because I can't feel it.

I keep meaning to go to sleep much earlier than I do. There's something about being tired at 2 or 3 that seems incredibly overrated nowadays. 6am is the new 2am.

Bobby Womack is my new DCFC

And I'm going to apologize now because about 10 minutes before I started writing this I took 2 pills as opposed my normal 1 pill. The pain wasn't getting any better...and usually when I go to sleep I'm still uncomfortable. I decided before I went to bed tonight I didn't want to wake up 10 times in 8 hours. So if this post goes awry, I'm sorry.

I interrupted my usual activity of going through personal ads on Craigslist (and sending them to unsuspecting friends and family members) to update this. I didn't want the 4 or 5 people who read this when they get to work (or home from it) to be disappointed with my lack of posts this weekend. This weekend in summary: Brandon's working his way back on to the "good friend" list (he finally brought me Opa! Opa!), my cousin Cyndi and our soon-to-be cousin Debbie stopped by to purchase a diaper bag from my ridiculously talented mother (you can too!!!!! Just visit: www.thecartbag.com) and I watched far to many teen-pop sensation films. I literally watched 4 really bad movies in a row today...all shown on ABC Family network (that should give you an idea of how terrible they were).

Who the FUCK posts pictures of their face along with their junk on CL anyway!???! Seriously...at some point someone who KNOWS YOU will see that. And then they will do exactly what I would do...and forward it to all of your friends and family members. Then they will print it up and hopefully no one that it was forwarded to works with you, because if they did it would end up in your cubicle/on your desk. I would like to know how it seemed like a good idea in the first place. What were they thinking when they uploaded those pictures...both those pictures? It's not like it's an incredibly quick process...I mean, you take the picture, upload it to your computer, go to CL to post it, then add your photos, then go to your EMAIL TO APPROVE IT. Somewhere...along steps 4 or 5, I would think they would stop and think "am I really this desperate?" Seriously...if you're going to do that...just go pick up a hooker. I hear 33rd & 3rd...or Watt Ave. near 80 are really good places for that.

Back to Craigslist to find sweet pervs and random dudes "looking for love in all the wrong places..." Seriously? Get real. If you want babes to respond to your ad instead of just bots, get a better title.

Pachuca Sunrise...

How appropriate is this song right now? Minus the whole...being in the Mediterranean thing. It's light blue outside right now and I can see bits of white clouds through the slivers the curtains haven't managed to hide. It's 6 and I'm still awake. Woot? Maybe? I can't tell if this is a good thing or not. I'm going to assume it's not bad.

I did 7 hours on the machine today. I also got out of the house today. Jill came over around noon and brought Confessions of a Shopaholic. Worst.Movie.Ever. Okay, maybe not ever...but it was terrible. Really, really bad. Not going to lie though, I'd probably watch it again. After Jill had gone home I took a little nappy nap (yup, I slept!!! Gimme a break, I woke up at 11!!) and Alissa showed up to hang out for a bit. Around 7:30 Scotty showed up and we met Jill at the drive-in to watch Funny People. This movie = not funny. I mean, it had it's funny parts, but overall the movie just wasn't good. Lucky for us, the second feature film was The Hangover!!! Jill and I have already seen the movie, but Scotty hadn't. After Funny People it was pretty freaking late though and he's an old guy...had to get home to take out his dentures or something. Just kidding!!! But it really was late, Jill and I didn't get out of there and home until about 2 am.

Funny little story...when Scotty got to the house, my mom handed him a bag and told him, "Hi, her blanket, sweater and snacks are in here. She's got her meds, her brace and some money." It felt like the first day of school all over again. My mom's so fantastic!!!

In knee news, I'm at 90 degrees of flexion!!! It still feels a little tight, but I'll be at 90 degrees for the next week or so. They want me to be able to do 90 with no probs. I also got the "go ahead" on starting to strengthen my quadriceps. I remember they didn't really want me doing my quad exercises right when I got home, which was strange to me since every other surgery I've had so far it was the very first thing they had me do. Since this surgery is still fairly new and not regularly practiced, they wanted me to just get on the machine and only do that because walking isn't the goal at this point...forming and healing the cartilage is. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll have voluntary quad movement again in the next week or so. Being able to lift my leg without using my hands seems like such a small, but important and exciting victory.

Tin Roof Sundae

Is by far my favorite ice cream. Ever. And I'm happy to announce that I have at least ONE good roommate who cares enough about me to venture to the country to visit. This particularly amazing person is (obviously...I DID say amazing) Alissa. She made the trek out here today while our other cubby, lazy roommate sat at home (probably doing nothing and posting on facebook about how he is bored and doing nothing and begging people, aka: girls to bring him cookies...and then making the obligatory "what's going on tonight?" post that no one in Sacramento responds to because that just means they'd have to hang out with him and listen to him whine about being bored even though he's hanging out with someone other than his 42" lame-o computer monitor/tele).

I made it up to 85 degrees of flexion today. It was...gnarly. Seriously, it hurt having to stretch that skin and those stitches. I can feel the scar tissue that's been building up. I didn't do as much time on the machine as I wanted to, but that's because I came in here, my bedroom, at about 1 am hoping that I'd be going to bed soon. I made the mistake of bringing along my computer and now it's going on 4 and I'm still awake. Wide awake. I should be sleeping. Rumor has it that I am having a visitor at noon. Hopefully she can make it! I know it's a ridiculous drive to come see me and I know I say it a lot, but I REALLY am excited and happy that people are willing to make this trip. When I can drive again it won't be so bad...and when I can go back to my house downtown it'll probably be more enticing for people to hang out since there's stuff to do near my place.

I've been working on the baby blanket lately too. I'm almost halfway done and have started on the 3rd color now. If I keep it up...I could have it done by the weekend, but I probably won't be that diligent with it. Damned internet keeps me from my yarn and hook.

I think it's time to try to get some shut eye.

Gourmet cupcakes, udon, burrito and Jamba Juice!!!

These are the things people have been so gracious to bring me the past 2 days. It's been fantastic and I have amazingly awesome friends. The past 2 days have been full of a lot of knee bending, Netflix and Shark Week (minus sharks when they decided Cash Cab and World's Deadliest Catch were more important).

Today I went to my post-op appointment and saw the light of day for the first time in 14 days. It was very bright. I was sure the world had changed while I've been recuperating...as always, things stayed the same. It was me that changed. I was now a walking tripod instead. My appointment went better than I had expected. She told me I was doing well, I just needed to ice my knee more. I still have quite a bit of swelling in my knee which creates discomfort and pain in the joint. Once that goes down I'll be more comfortable and more mobile. I heard from my PA just after getting home and she said I should be completely off my leg until my next appointment, which is about 5 more weeks. Until then I'm to continue using the CPM machine for 6-10 hours a day at 2-3 hour rotations.

Bryce brought me a Jamba Juice this morning for breakfast, my friend Jay brought me a burrito and last night I got gourmet cupcakes and udon. Since I've been out of commission (the past 13 days) I think there has only been 1 day where I haven't had any visitors. It's awesome to know that I have amazing people surrounding me.

I miss being outside. In the world. With other people. It's much different then the safety of my folk's place. I can't wait to be able to walk again...and hopefully riding again at right around the same time. Scratch that. No "hopefully." I will be riding again after I can walk.

It's 3 and I'm getting tired...

I think that's a good thing, but I can't be sure. Although I am watching Enchanted for the second time in 2 days. I can't help it...this movie is kind of amazing. I'm up to 65 degrees of flex and it's not getting easier. I think I'm going to try waking up earlier so the time I'm actually off the machine isn't so great. Maybe that will keep up some of the flexibility in my knee.

Tonight Tony, Deb, Chris and Amber came over. Tony and Deb brought an amazing pirate game...that I undoubtedly would (and did) lose at. Chris and Amber brought over Chris' xBox for me to watch Netflix instantly on the tele. I have to say...I miss having an xBox at my house, it was by far the worst and best thing ever. I've already watched 2 1/2 movies since it's been here. Yesssssssssssssssss!!!

I can't wait until I can get around and not be dependent on meds to sleep. My leg in that brace is quite cumbersome, and having to adjust myself around in that bed every night definitely doesn't make things easier. I'm a stomach sleeper 90% of the time and I can't wait to take delight that tiny little joy again! Soon...hopefully soon.

It keeps getting later...

And I can't seem to go to bed at a "decent" hour. It's 5:30 and I'm not even tired yet. Freaking yikes. I think it'd be a lot easier if I could get comfortable. It seems that every time I lay down my leg aches or just outright hurts and I can't get comfortable. And if it isn't my knee...it's my derrière becoming numb from all the sitting. I'd stand up for a while, but if I stand any longer than 5-10 minutes my whole foot turns black and blue from lack of circulation. Wow. Bitch fest for sure, didn't mean for this post to go that way, but I also won't be removing it.

I watched a bunch of tele and I've watched 3 movies...since midnight. Right now I'm watching It's a Boy Girl Thing. It's about 2 high schoolers (a boy and a girl) who end up exchanging bodies. When they wake up and they're in each other's bodies they both freak out because they have each other's anatomy. All I know is that if I woke up in a good looking guy's body...I'd probably go to town. I'd be stoked...exploring EVERYTHING. I'd probably be locked in my room for a full day, exploiting my new found body.

Earlier today Jody and Amanda brought over Mayflower...incredibly delicious. Justin and Amy also came by. Amy made a super fantastic dessert out of peaches and brown sugar. I'm up to 60 degrees and it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. My stitches and skin seemed a lot drier than normal so the whole thing itched like crazy. All along the stitches it felt like there were thumbtacks being stuck into my leg. It was terrible and I forgot I had meds until I went to bed. I wish I would have remembered I had 'em earlier today!!!

I showered all by myself for the first time today too!!! Woot! I think that means I'll be able to shower every day now...which makes me extremely happy because that means I'm closer to recovery.