ACL surgery - day 12 Sunday

The crip can settle!

This morning Nathan and I got to sleep in! I listened to NPR while Nathan snoozed. He went to manball (basketball with men) from 11 to 1 while I sat on my couch. When he came home I had what I termed the "Ellisfield blues". I have been home for only a week and I am tired of being at home all the time. I am tired of not being me. I consider myself very independent, but I can't do much for myself and this is really frustrating. Nathan let me cry a little and then he was loving enough to suggest a thousand things for us to do until I decided what I wanted. We went for some coffee and then out to eat. Afterwards, Erin and Keith were kind enough to invite us over to play some games.

For dinner we went to Rockwood Filling Station, a new pizzaria in Durham. (side note: I love Durham and all the great places to eat!) We had the antipasta plate which features a great deviled egg, a yummy cheese, a roasted garlic head (delicious but bad for the breath), and other Italian specialty meats and salads. We also had the eggplant pizza. Then we headed over to Carrboro to be the first visitors to Erin and Keith's apartment. We talked for a while, catching up on the happenings of the new teachers and then we moved to the dinning room table to settle into our favorite game of Settlers of Catan. At first it looked like Erin may be taking a lead. Then it was Keith and Nathan's turn to lead. No one was keeping an eye out for me and I came from behind and won! Go gimp!

ACL surgery - day 10 Friday

I've been meaning to write a blog post ever day out of surgery, but the pain pills have made me a little loopy and I find that when I spend more than five minutes in front of the computer I start to fall asleep. I'm going to try to work backwards: first tackle today and then go backwards with many days as I can before my eyelids drop.

Today has been like many of the other days this week. Nathan got up and got ready for work, then he spent 15 minutes helping me get ready to live on the couch for the day. We moved my leg-wrap-cooler, pillows, covers, computer, socks, and pills. He filled my leg-wrap-cooler up with ice for the day, and set the cooler up so that I could empty the melted water into a bowl and fill it up with ice from a mini cooler where I stored my breakfast and my protein shake. It is so heavy that I can't carry it from the kitchen to the living room by myself.

Today no one is visiting me for lunch so Nathan planned on coming home at lunch, however around 11 I started noticing that Pancake was itching his left ear. His ears are usually perky, but his left ear was droopy and he kept itching it. I had him come over towards the couch and it was really red. I think he has an ear infection. I called his doctor and they said he could come in at 3. So instead of eating lunch with me, Nathan has to take Pancake to the doctor. He was not excited to add this task on top of all the other things he has to do.

While sitting on the couch I started to notice that the outside underneath of my knee was killing me. I twisted myself so that I could see it, and realized I have a GIANT bruise there. Nathan has been seeing my leg while helping me shower and doing PT, but he thought I knew this was there. It was shocking! Here is a picture. To orient yourself: the blue thing on the right is my sock, the round undefined thing on the top middle is my knee, the blinding white thing on the left is my ghostly thigh, and the yellow-purple thing in the bottom middle is the nasty bruise.
I do have something to look forward to. Tonight Sarah and Ben are coming over bringing dinner! We are having Shepard's pie - yumm.

We have to think of something to do this weekend. Maybe I can go to the mall and ride a jazzy! Michelle mentioned doing some sewing. It would also be nice to something outside if it's not too hot. We'll see.

ACL surgery - day 5 Sunday

Today was my first whole day home. Nathan and mom got to sleep in while I was still on the hospital schedule and woke up at 7am. I listened to my ipod while they slept. When mom got up I used the walkie talkies and had her come to help me out of bed. She assisted my move to the couch and fixed me breakfast of steel cut oats and coffee; my appetite was slowly getting back to normal. My pain was under control, and I was quite comfortable.

Around 10, I made mom wake up Nathan. I was really in the mood to take a real shower! As the last time my hair had been washed was Wednesday morning. Needless to say it was looking gross! Mom had brought all her paraphernalia from when she had her total knee replacement so we made good use of these products. We arranged my leg so it was propped out of the shower on the shower stool. We used the uplifted toilet in the shower because it had handles and was more like a chair. Nathan had installed a hand held shower nozzle which was perfect! He got in the shower and helped me. I ended up washing my hair twice because it felt so dirty. After this I felt 100% better! I lounged on the bed napping while catching up on some NPR.

Later that afternoon Michelle, Mark, and Camden came over for a visit. I was feeling some Camden withdrawal and my mom had never met him. He was so good! and entertained himself on the play mat that my sister gave us as a hand-me-down.

Big smile!

We had banana peppers stuffed with a mix of cream cheese, spinach, and mushrooms in addition to salmon for dinner. My mom brought us tons of banana peppers and this is a good way to consume them. I ended the evening by watching the Olympic closing ceremony. I became a little loopy by 9ish and my mom and Nathan sent me to bed. Loopy consisted of me thinking thoughts clearly in my head, but nothing coherent coming out of my mouth.

ACL surgery - day 1

This morning I had to arrive at UNC's Memorial Hospital at 6:30am. Nathan and my mom accompanied me. They deserve a shout out for getting up that early to just sit around and wait. I checked in, which included signing some papers and getting my blue identification bracelet. And then I went to the PCS (post care stay)B where I had to take off my clothes and don a lovely Carolina blue gown, booties, and hairnet. After that, things moved pretty fast. I was bombarded by nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists who were asking me questions about my history and poking me getting BP and other baseline measurements.Around 7:30, which seemed to come really fast, I was ushered to a curtained "room" to get my nerve block. I was given the "I don't care" medicine and remember very little of what happened after. I gleaned from Nathan and my mom and from the marks on my body that they marked up the right side of my body and stuck with me with two needles aimed at my femoral nerves. Making me not be able to feel my right leg, butt, and foot. While this sounds inconvenient it was the best thing that happened all day! Nathan and mom tell me they took some pictures (see above with me laying in the bed), I talked to the doctors, and we just hung out until it was time for my surgery. At 8:15 I was wheeled into the surgical room. I do remember a few things from this. I remember that it was really cold in the room and they strapped me onto the table like I was going to go crazy. They wrapped a belt around my waist and put my arms out wide like I was flying and strapped those down to. I evidently did not go under general anesthesia, which seems so bizarre to me! I know I was not fully under, but I have no idea exactly what that entailed. I do not remember anything, which is good.

I choose to do the patellar ligament as my new ACL graft. There are generally three options for the ACL reconstruction all of which have their drawbacks.

• Patellar Ligament
• Hamstring Tendons
• Allograft (Donor Tissue)

If I get bored I might describe all of them at some point and find a good description on the web, but I'm going to try to keep describing the day's events.

The surgery went well and I went to the recovery room where I slept. Nathan came and sat with me until I woke up when I was moved

ACL surgery - Before

Here are two pictures of my legs before surgery. The right leg is the one going under the knife! As you can tell, obviously there are no scars and the legs are the same shape and size (albeit they are quite white and ghostly looking). The top one is me laying on our bed - a place where I anticipate spending many many hours the next few weeks. The bottom one is me standing; this is something I anticipate NOT doing alot of for the next few months.



To note: I am wearing shorts - I'm not naked.

Pictures have been uploaded!

We uploaded 150 pictures from our Galapagos trip onto our photo website. Currently we posted just the "best of" and they are in chronological order. I will try to make day by day albums and also hope to post on here a day by day itinerary with some pictures.

We're Back!

We've returned from the Galapagos. Needless to say we had a wonderful time!

Above is a picture of the group that traveled with us on our boat. We will post pictures on our photo website soon!

Grilled Peaches

We went to South Carolina to hang out with Kim and Brian. South Carolina is known for it's peaches... it even has a huge peach (aka butt) on I-85 see pic below. On our way back into NC we picked up a peck of peaches (no they were not pickled :)
We had so many peaches! So we had to find a way to eat all of them. My sister suggested we grill them.
Here is the recipe we made up:

Cut peaches in half and remove pit
Sprinkle with sugar
Place halved peaches on the grill and grill until caramelized
Remove skin (it should be very easy)
Cut peaches into slices and place in a bowl
Drizzle with honey, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and fresh mint
Crumble feta cheese
Serve warm - and enjoy!

Babies!

All the spring babies are here and boy are they cute! We have another wave coming in the fall with Sarah Birken having a girl, Stephanie White TBA, Andrea O'Hara having a girl, Adrienne Abramson TBA, and Kathy DeBree TBA.

Here are some of the latest pictures of all the little ones.

Michelle and Mark's baby, Camden Ross Leslie born May 10th. Now at 12 weeks old and laughing. More pics on our photo website.
Seth and Anne's baby, Daniel Mordecai Kotch born May 18th. Pictured below at 7 weeks. Elese is holding Daniel on the left and Anne is holding Graham (2 weeks old) on the right.
Elese and Christoph's baby, Graham William Stutts born June 21. In this picture he is 1.5 weeks old playing his first game of Settlers of Catan... with a mom like Elese this boy is going to be a gamer. More pics here.

Heather and Jeff's baby, Jackson Jeffery Petursa born June 30th. Here he is tiny (~5lbs) at 2 weeks old. More pics here.

The 11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating

New York Times recently published an article about easy to find foods that are extremely healthy. Here's the list.

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
   
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
   
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
   
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
   
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
   
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
   
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
   
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.'’ They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
   
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,'’ it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties..
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
    
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.

I hope to go to the Farmer's market when we return from our trip and stock up on some of these items. We've been eating Swiss chard out of Michelle and Mark's garden and it's delicious! also tons of blueberries that Michelle, Camden, and I picked fresh from frog pond farm. Although I am not sure if I am down with #8 Sardines... I think I will focus on the other 10.

A new music genre

This is what I am coining "lab boy band" music. Go here to see a music video and listen.

You can even download the MP3 and listen to it on your ipod while pipetting.

What are you waiting for? go listen already :)

Things I like right now

Toast paninoteca
Sandwhich (yes there is supposed to be an extra 'H')
Locopops
Cookout's chocolate and peanut butter milk shakes
Decorating with birds
Riding my bike
Todays weather
Tomatoes from the framer's market

Master Bathroom Remodel

We took our bright seafoam green bathroom and remodeled it this weekend. The new color is Bay leaf green. Here is Keith helping us paint.


Nathan rolling the back wall

We replaced the old white shrunken linoleum with a updated tile-like linoleum. We cleared out the living room and cut it there.

And the partially finished project. We are waiting for light fixtures and new framed mirrors. We also updated all of the towel bars, face plates, and toilet paper holder. As well as painting the cabinet white. Soon we will have pictures of the completed project.

Grandpa's 80th Birthday

Grandpa Marvelle is the only grandfather Nathan and I have. So, it was such a joy to join with all of Nathan's 34 immediate relatives to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday. Everyone gathered at Francis Farm's for a Massachusetts clam and lobster bake.

Here are a select few pictures from the event. You can see more here and here.
Grandpa and Grandma Marvelle with their children and their children's significant others.

Grandpa and Grandma Marvelle and their grandchildren.

David showing off his lobster. Yum!

Amanda with little Madeline.Nathan and Amanda after a long day of picnicking.

World's Actual Largest Basket

Early this month I posted about a sighting of what I claimed was the world's largest basket... my claim was bogus (really?!). And I have been directed to what actually is the "World's largest basket". This basket is a 7-story basket shaped building and home of the corporate headquarters of Longaberger Basket Company in Newark, Ohio.

One website states:
"The basket is a replica - 160 times larger- of Longaberger's Medium Market Basket. It's 192 ft. long by 126 ft. wide at the bottom, spreading to 208-ft. long by 142-ft. wide at the roofline. It is a magnificent sight- especially at night.

We'd like to think that job satisfaction is higher than normal at Longaberger's. After all, no matter how menial your daily labors or how incompetent your boss, you still work in a giant basket."

I am just going to ask... Who wouldn't like to work in a giant basket?

This website also illuminates that OH is known for all their large baskets... who knew? Visitors come carrying baskets... to look at giant baskets. Very odd hobby.

"Another reason that aliens could be confused about the relative importance of designer party baskets on this planet are the hordes of basket carrying zombies that routinely make pilgrimages to [the] woven Mecca. Over a half-million fans, many members of the "Collectors Club," visit HQ and other area Longaberger landmarks each year, carrying baskets, ready to remortgage the house for more, and hoping to get an autograph.

The entire region around Newark is basket-happy, thanks to the Longabergers. The World's Largest Apple Basket -over 29 feet tall - stands at the Longaberger Homestead in Frazeysburg, OH. It was hand-woven from hardwood maple in 1999. It's become an even better photo op since it was augmented with giant fake apples.

In nearby Dresden, on Main St. and 5th, you'll find the old HQ still standing, a house-sized picnic basket- 23-ft. tall and 48-ft. long. This huge basket was the first architectural creation of the Longaberger juggernaut.

The Big Easter Basket up in Lorain, OH is not a Longaberger creation, and it is a tad amateurish when compared to the other big baskets. Still, at 9 ft. high and 10 ft. wide, it suggests that big baskets have something to do with the soul of Ohio, not just the market-savviness of the Longaberger Basket Company. [Note: Giant eggs are placed in the Lorain basket, but only between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.]"

How dare they have giant eggs in the basket any other time...

Weekend: Pros and Cons

I am taking a line from my friend Laurel's blog. She is way more personal and conversational with her writing and I am going to try her style for a few posts and see how I like it. I also love her weekend pro and cons posts so this may or may not be a weekly addition. It also reminds me of the High/Low from Keith and the Girl (a daily podcast). Keith and Chemda always recap their day with the what was the best and the worst event/thing of the day... let's recap the weekend:

Pro: Dain's place and Nathan's return (see post below). I hate it when Nathan is gone and was really excited to hear about his first trip to New Orleans.

Pro: Finishing The Beak of the Finch! Saturday morning I had a lovely relaxing breakfast and sat out on our back porch and read. Pro #2 Humidity was low and the temperature was perfect! I'll post a review of the book later.

Con: Shopping at Costco on Saturday. There were thousands of people! and the lines were ten deep... but I made it out with all the things I wanted.
Pro: One of the things I wanted was Mario cart! I love love love this game and it even comes with a wheel.

Con: P.F. Chang's was too busy - a 30 minute wait.
Pro: Because of this, we went to Ted's Montana grill and had a bison burger and baked sweet potato. Yummy!

Pro: Bought hiking poles for the Galapagos, BPA free water bottles, and a new bike seat for me!

Pro: My lab came over for a picnic. Karen brought baby Adam - He's too cute! And he did not even cry. We introduced more people to ladder golf. And had a good lab bonding time.
Con: It rained - It poured! We had to go inside, but we played Wii and everyone loved it!

Dain's Place

On Friday Nathan returned from an overnight trip to New Orleans. This was one of the few overnighters that he has had to do with his job. In order to "catch-up", we headed to Dain's Place, a local bar on Ninth Street. We love this place! We each had several micro-brews and also a yummy marinated chicken sandwich. We love the decor, the people, and to top it off it is one of the few bars that is smoke free (note North Carolina is a leading producer of tobacco). While we were chatting about Nathan's amazing meals and the wonderful reception his report had with the city council, we watched the UNC tarheels beat LSU in quarter finals of the college baseball tournament.

Back Porch Music - David Wilcox

The Back Porch Music Concert series is held on the lawn at the American Tobacco Campus where Nathan works. Tonight, we joined up with our friends Lloyd, Adrienne, June and some of their friends with kids. We brought our blankets but the place was packed and there was only a few inches of empty grass. We had to squeeze in tight.
Everyone came out to hear David Wilcox. He is from Asheville and evidently has a huge following here in Durham. I have not heard his music before, but tonight I was a little disappointed. The music was slow and monotonous. The lyrics weren't that cleaver and his voice wasn't all that good. Although we had a good time and the weather was amazing (I hate humidity!), I will not go out and buy any of the songs.

New Zealand here we come!

Yay! I am so excited! We just booked our flights to New Zealand for next spring. Although I tore my ACL, I am having surgery in August and should be fine by February for a trip to one of the most beautiful countries in the world. I am crossing my fingers that I heal correctly (and speedily) because we are planning on hiking our butts off and taking in all the beautiful mountain scenery.

Brett's Wedding in Beautiful Boulder

Amanda and I had a wonderful time at Brett Saum and Ashley Hafner's wedding. To commemorate the occasion, I created this slideshow on YouTube with the pictures we took.



The song playing in the background is called 'Geneva' by Rockwell Church. Jake and Alex love to play this song and whenever I hear it I have the fondest memories of my B-CC boys. Here's a video of Jake playing 'Geneva' the night before the wedding.