9 Hours

Not sure how well I slept, and I'm really not sure how well I'm going to work, but I have to and I am....

THEN it's

SQUISH TIME!!!

T minus 9 hours and counting!!!

WORK, SLEEP, WORK...

SQUISH!

T minus sleep and work

I can't help it.

It's all I can think about.

The countdown clock now reads:

SLEEP, WORK, SLEEP, WORK...

SQUISH!

Totally Random

Last night I was out for dinner with my BFF and Joshua. Plain old run 'o the mill kind of place, like 'family diner'. And there's this man in the next booth. I can't place him but he looks familiar. Tall, lean, well-dressed and handsome. With a woman/wife and two young kids too, btw.

Then I noticed the ring on his right hand ring finger. This thing is HUGE and gold. I mean H.U.G.E.

I think... "That looks like a Super Bowl ring!" But it can't possibly be because, ring or not, I wouldn't recognize a football player if my life depended on it!

It took me a while of politely trying not to look as I attempted to figure out the puzzle of the familiar, handsome looking man and his oh so noticable ring, but I finally did.

I had just had dinner next to the Great Tommy Hearns!

I stopped staring after I figured it out. One woman did tear her paper placemat and asked for an autograph when he went to the cashier. I don't know if she got it or not, but I thought it was terribly tacky. I was just happy to know that I was in the presence of historic greatness.

So not only did I get to spend time with my BFF and my son, but I was mere feet from an international legend. Totally made my night!

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In unrelated news, it's now only 4 days til V arrives on leave. :)
insert happy dance *here*
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Happy Valentine's Day
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I am attributing this bit to one of my favorite Tupperware tools, the Quick Chef.


If you don't have one yet I'm not sure what you're waiting for. Go get one.

I had a hankering for egg salad. It happens about once every two years and I guess it was just that time, because two hard boiled eggs were in the fridge calling my name.

Out came the Quick Chef. In went two eggs (sans shells), a little Hellman's mayo, fresh cracked peppercorns, and a dollop of stone ground mustard. Stir about 6 times and VOILA! I ate it with a couple of celery ribs. Perfect lunch.

btw: Quick Chefs make the fastest tuna/salmon salad, fresh salsa/pico, dessert stuff, guacamole, crumbled taco meat, graham cracker crusts, etc, and I almost never chop up an onion by hand anymore. Plop it in and spin. Done. (I don't sell Tupperware, but I do know someone who does.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey ~ It's only 4 days til V arrives!
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My sister Karen and nephew Hunter are here from Gaithersburg, MD. I'm having dinner with them, and Julie and her family tonight.

Tomorrow the sisters go shopping. That should be fun.
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And did I mention...
It's only FOUR days til V arrives?!

Feel the AF Mom LOVE! Read from the bottom up

Now you see why I love these peeps!?
--------------------
So proud of V !! She gets leave on Tim's B-day....
I know you must be so Happy!!
Corinne

PAFM OF SR A TIM, Eielson, AFB,AK
PROUD AF FIREFIGHTER
--------------------
woo hoo! That is wonderful Lea and congrats V!!!! Way to go!!!

Kim (IN)

PAFM of A1C Jerry, Tinker AFB, OK
PM of Devon, IN
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Mazel Tov V, WAY TO GO!!!!
Always,
Lolly
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Glad that she passed prayers are wonderful. Lea now you breathe. LoL
Betty-Va.
PAFM of A1C James
-------------------
Thank you for the extra "push" of prayers on V's behalf.
She passed with a score of 83! (needed 63 or better) Leave is approved (2/18-25) AND she got the rest of the day off!

YOU GUYS ROCK!
Lea
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Prayers and positive vibes full force from Tennessee. GO V!
Glenda
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Praying V passes w/flying colors, I know she'll do well.
Always,
Lolly
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Sending prayers for V to pass with flying colors. Let us know how she did please.
Betty-Va.
PAFM of A1C James
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Lea,
Prayers and Positive thoughts heading that way!
Lana
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V is going to do just fine, will send positive energy and prayers anyway though!
Peggy (WI)
PAFM of SrA Corey, Minot
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Saying a prayer right now for her.
Michelle
Proud ANG wife and AF mom
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My prayers are going out to V. May she pass with flying colors.
Susan (KS)
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As I type, Avivah is taking her EOC/CDCs.

Although you get more than one chance to take it, for her this is not the case. Either she passes today and life is good (and she'll be allowed to come home on leave next week) or she doesn't, and will not be allowed to keep her position - if she gets to stay AF at all.

Please send loads of prayers and positive energy our way!!!
Lea

After years, finally

J and I finally started a project that's been waiting YEARS to happen. This is ridiculous really.

He's been asking to paint his bedroom since we moved in more than 7 years ago. Problem was, he wanted to paint it BLACK and I just wouldn't do it. Call me a stick-in-the-mud but it's just too hard to paint OVER black after you've outgrown it... and we all know he would have outgrown it quickly! So I said no, and no and no for years.

FINALLY he changed his mind! He wanted an "industrial look" so, said he, a shade of grey would be cool on the walls. I can go with grey! At first it was a deep charcoal grey - just a bit too much for me - then it was a pallette of greys from dusky to nearly black.

In our ReStore I asked one of the girls to keep her eye out for a gallon of grey paint - any shade. If it came in, I wanted to see it. It did! One full gallon of a darkish grey, latex base and eggshell finish. PERFECT!

I bought it and brought it home for approval - He liked it!!! Of course that was Winter Break. The kid was too lazy and too busy hanging out with friends to get the room prepped, and so it sat. Until this Saturday!

All the sudden we'd decided which wall to begin with (we're only doing 2), moved furniture, washed the wall, spackled a couple nail holes, taped the edges and voila - PAINTED!

Half way through the day I got called away and J'd had enough, so we stopped, we were like two geeks - hanging out in his room literally watching paint dry! I ran an errand and we went out for dinner together.

It seems so simple, so trivial, and of course - how much longer is the kid gonna live here is also a question, but hey; he's happy, I'm happy and the room is not black. Compromise is a beautiful thing.

Next weekend we'll do the other wall. Pics to come!

I lived

Well I lived through Monday's endodontic odyssey (with the assistance of some serious nitrous oxide!).

By midday I could gingerly sip soup, but speaking wasn't at all fun.
By the end of the day I was speaking fairly well and masticating semi-substantive food - albeit on the other side of my mouth - but heck, it worked!!

Today I returned for a full day of work. MAN, was my desk buried! Twice during the day I needed a dose of Advil, but other than that I was coherent and functional all day long. Wow, am I tired now though.

The radiating nerve pain is gone. The extreme sensitivity to cold is gone. The dull ache in my jaw will fade to a memory in time. I pray that the ability to open my mouth more than 1/16" will return someday.

Until then it's part and parcel of the diet plan. LoL

Thank you, to those who sent me good thoughts.

OWWWWWW!!!

So it's Tuesday and midday I have this 'bit of something' in my mouth. Dang, a chunk of tooth! By early evening I'm in pain like I haven't been since the birth of my daughter (27 hrs of active labor). Uh-oh!

I call home because I have meetings at which I need to speak at 6 and 8pm and can't spend time on the phone with my dentist.

T calls back - dentist is out of town, and the guy who is taking his calls isn't answering!

I NEED HELP!

My gf and colleague CopperPom to the rescue! She leaps into action and calls her dentist who agrees that if I can be there first thing in the morning, they'll find a way to see me. THANK YOU!

A few small hurdles...
1) Speaking that night, enthusiasticly, loudly, clearly. I couldn't wait to get through it as the pain reached from my ear to my neck, but I did.
2) Wednesday morning brought us a big snow storm and I was too dizzy to drive myself. Enter a dear friend who came from the southwest side of the city to drive me to Mt Clemens; a 1 hr trip that took 2 hrs and 15 min.

The Goddess of a dentist who saw me (thanks again, CopperPom!) and her assistant tell me I have an infection in the nerve, along the whole left lower arch.

She knew just what to do and has referred me to a endodontic specialist for a procedure (Monday). She also put me on antibiotics and Vicodin. Of course, finding out after two days of excruciating nerve pain that I am sensitive to Vicodin (which I'd never been on before) also meant that I had really been without any pain or infection relief since this little ordeal began... nothing was being digested and the infection was running free.

I tried to go to work on Thursday to no avail (of course that's when I discovered this little 'no-go' on the meds) and was sent home before I passed out, which I did - thankfully AFTER getting home and 'being sick' too.

I had to "reset" the meds, going without them for more additional hours than I want to recall. I switched to advil, eh, not so good. They kicked in Friday afternoon, thank the Gods!

Yesterday was the first time I've felt particularly human for more than an hour at a stretch. The swelling in my jaw is down so I look human now rather than half-chipmunkesque. Eating isn't anything to which I look forward, though I do it - gently, and being out in the cold sets off nerve pain, like wow. :(

I managed an appearance out of the house last night though I wasn't the best company (even talking hurts sometimes). I have episodes of break-through pain that last 10-30 min. because the only pain relief I have is from advil.

Today will be a big deal as I venture out with a friend to my very first Super Bowl Party! My meds will be close at hand and I'm not doing any driving or drinking so I have high hopes that this will be a good time - as long as I don't talk too much or get too cold.

Monday will bring sweet relief in the form of a nerve block and root canal. My SIL had this procedure done just a week ago and felt much the same. I'm taking her at her word that this isn't a difficult procedure, esp when done by a specialist, which I am. She may not be aware, but her energy is supporting me through something I find terrifying. I thank her for that strength. Thanks, Sharon!

Wish me luck! I hope to be pain free and back to work on Tuesday!