Fall Crafts

This time of year is my inspiration for many things. Here are a couple of signs I made using old pallet wood , fabric leaves and flowers, scrapbook paper, ribbon, twine , mod podge, paint and diamond glaze 

Marie + Ryan

a tribute to Coldplay

When I first met my husband I had discovered the band Coldplay just before hand.

They were unknown at the time and I was obsessed with them

My husband says every time he hears them he thinks of me

He would call me whenever they came on the radio

He even called me from the other room one time because they were playing on the TV

 It became our thing

Then my teenage daughter discovered them

Her best friend bought her tickets to see them at Phillips Arena in Atlanta for her 17th birthday

It was the first time she went to a concert unsupervised

She said it was the most amazing thing

And then the cutest thing happened...

My son heard this song on the radio and began singing it

He said it was he and Ariana's song to each other

Skyview Atlanta

My obsession get's bigger!

New HUGE Ferris Wheel downtown opened last week.

Rode it on my birthday



Margins of Society

a little cover art for an upcoming cd release

this is one of many not sure which will be picked until the album is pressed.

Finished Sign!

All the places my husband and I have been together. Hoping to fill up the other side by the fall with our big trip up the eastern seaboard coming up! We travel as our anniversary present every year instead of gifts. Sometimes it's a big trip, sometimes it's camping. Either way it's a chance for us to explore new places and create new memories together. 

Pallet Wood Projects

I had the guys in the warehouse cut up some old pallets for me to take home. I finally got around to making several projects out of them. Here is a peek at what I accomplished this weekend.

  made several photo blocks for myself and for family

 this is still a work in progress, just need to nail them to the post and put it in the ground

I have this thing for word puns...can you tell?

Anniversary present for my love

Tales from Morningview Cemetery

I was lucky enough to be a small part of this film project and got to view the first part of the movie on Sunday at the wrap party held at the Burge Plantation in Mansfield, GA.

Dayna Noffke and Shane Morton are so talented in so many ways and it was a privilege to be a part of this and I can't wait to see the rest of the film.

The weekend in pictures

under 32 minutes and by far my favorite T-shirt from a race yet

before the race

we wandered around the park before the race while no one else was there

the new 24 story swing ride filled with crash test dummies

Not open yet. It looks ridiculously scary

The Scream machine...I have to admit, it rattled my head so much I was a little worried about my jaw!

Ariana's friend Mikah 

She met his mom's best friend while running and she was playing cupid. We hung out with them for a bit and rode the roller coasters together.

All the Vampires lined up while the citizens ran past the start line. They got a head start before we could chase after them.

The locker strip I made for Ariana

My parting gifts

Gift from my boss for Administrative professionals day

D.R.I. @ Masquerade

my Iced Chai Latte

And finally, the hats we won playing the ring toss game

All Done...mostly

Had my last dive on Friday.

Was pretty un-epic.

I did give Phillip a hug on my way out and he slipped me a kiss on the cheek.

He told me he will always love me.

Wanda is a little frustrated since we began this adventure at the same time but she has a little while longer to go.

I got a certificate and a t-shirt.

I will go back in May for a follow up with Dr. King, just to be sure I am healing up properly.

I took the day off to start my celebrating early

Began with a Venti Chai Latte, 

followed by a trip to the Growers Outlet to grab some flowers 

then on over to the High School to decorate Ariana's locker for Senior week.

Picked up Ariana for the Vampire 5k at Six Flags.

It was a good day.

The Home Stretch

Well Tuesday they managed to get blood without too much fuss. I learned to drink TONS of water beforehand in order for them to be able to draw from me.

I had to skip Wednesday also due to a funeral I had to attend.

Thursday Philip made sure to tell me how much he missed me. Lord knows I did not miss him.

Today was Maria's last day for a while. She said she is going to come back and see us next Friday. There is something terribly wrong with her. Of course the Dr's can't tell us what that is. I am hoping that I do get to see her again. We all miss her so.

Watched Sherlock Holmes (seen it) Miami Vice (um can Colin Ferrell look anymore like a greasy 70's porn star?) Evan Almighty (not a Steve Carell fan) and Failure to Launch (seen it)

Got really good news late Thursday.

No more antibiotics!

I am pill free...wheeeeeeeeeee!

Friday I came to realize my patience with Phillip is wearing thin. I just wanted to get out of there and go home. My son was having his first overnight friend and I wanted to plan a fun filled evening for them.

First stop Pizza, then skyzone, the the store for ice cream and snacks, then camping out in the living room in sleeping bags and movies. They had a blast (and so did I )

Saturday picked up my vampire 5k race packet and headed over to a friend's 40th birthday party in Dunwoody with my bestie.

Spent most of Sunday re-cooperating from such a busy Friday and Saturday until I had to do some work.

Monday I was not feeling well. Got hot and had to sit next to Phillip (CIP) again because we added yet another member to the dive. He lost his pants standing up in the chamber in front of Wanda. I missed it but she said he had no underwear on. She said she WISHED she would have missed it.

At least she didn't have to listen to someone practically molest me verbally for 2 hours.

The 2 new guys have ear problems and have to breath in this Heliox treatments while we are going down in the dive. The newest guy can't speak English so it is hard to tell if he is in pain or not.

Lost a chunk of bone on Monday also.

The idiot they had in with us this past Tuesday had to be a stoner.

If you can't work a TV remote you should not be able to operate a chamber that can potentially blow up a city block. But that is just how my day was. Started with the kids yelling at each other at 5am and continued as soon as I got to work and every email and invoice I touched had an issue. I was surrounded by smart-ass techs and co-workers and I was not having a good morning. This Idiot in the chamber was the freaking icing on the cake. Then afterwards I was told I had to see the Dr. 

I gained weight :(

I have healed another 46% since 2 weeks ago and my vision had not changed (thank GOD)

But since I was not healed completely over he said I needed another 23 dives! I about had a heart attack!

I said 3 sounds more like it. He asked about my blood work and thankfully it was excellent so I am being released on Friday.

So long as I do not go backwards in healing I will be done!

I can't wait to get back to running at lunch and not working Sundays and shooting more pictures and having lunch, not at my desk!

Today Phillip (CIP) was on a roll. I am super thankful I got to sit on the opposite side today. He grabbed poor Kathy's boobs, butt and crotch several times. She was getting pissed but was trying to hold it together. Mr. Bosnia thought it was a riot.

But in spite of that, it was good to see him laugh. He had prostrate cancer and the radiation had made it unbearable to urinate. I know TMI, but that's how we roll.

I am assuming he is the culprit who is peeing all over the toilet and freaking M2 out. 

My ears started to bother me today.

I think because 3 people had issues going down and they kept stopping so it took forever that it was too much for me.

All I can say is 2 MORE DAYS!

The end is near

let's hit the highlights

 Gwinnett County Fire Dept. had quite a scare. Some jerk-off faked a heart attack in order to call them to his foreclosed house and hold them hostage at gun point. Luckily SWAT came in and blew the side of the house off and got everyone, except the gunman, out safely. Just about all the attendants (Matt, Josh, Hot Guy...etc) are firemen for Gwinnett. Matt was on duty at the time and gave me the skinny on what really happened. I am just glad it was none of them.

I have grown quite fond of my little diving family...well most of them.

Maria is not feeling well. She is having lots of sleeping issues (either lack of or too tired) and pain. She has not been herself. M2 left the dive early on Friday. Her blood pressure was sky high.

Wanda seems to be doing a lot better.

We have another new guy. Poor thing didn't tie his scrubs tight enough and his pants fell down and gave Maria an eye full. What a way to start the dive process.

I started reading a book on Southern Plantations a co-worker gave me. It seems I am to attend a Party at a Plantation that has ties to his family so i read about it in an old book he had.

Movies were Casino Royale (which I have seen numerous times)

Red Dawn (eye candy made it bearable)

Life of Pi (which I absolutely loved)

They have been slacking on the snacks so I have had to eat cheezits and fruit snacks (not the good dried ones I like)

Pain is back. I am thinking it is because I am eating more normally and it is just sore but it still worries me some.

Phillip is feeling good again. he is all about annoying the shit out of me with his kissing noises and making sure he waits until it is dead silent to announce his affections toward me in the dive chamber.

Every single male attendant thinks this is funny 

I am really over it. I can only take so much unwanted attention. If I say something I am an ass so I smile and suffer in silence. I told Dr. Roser that I think they wanted me to do those 10 extra dives for purely entertainment value only. He laughed and made his own jabs at my expense about the situation. He did say I looked great, it is almost completely healed and to just go ahead and suck it up for the full 40.

Again Mom did not come and again every Dr., Nurse and office person at Emory asked about her. Guess I need to make her come next time.

I did find out what Dr. Funny's name was. 

Dr. Talent.

Today I skip my dive and go become a human pin cushion...wish me luck

long week

I have had a week of ups and downs. Monday and Tuesday were pretty quiet. Phillip was not there.

Maria gave all of us girls some sweet almond oil for our skin. It works wonders since the oxygen dries our skin out. I lost another chunk of bone. Phillip came back on Wednesday. he had to have all of his teeth pulled out. His face was swollen and now you really can't understand him. I felt bad for him. He was very quiet.I missed Thursday so I could go out and get my color run packets for my team for the weekend. I managed to get a couple of runs in the week and a new pair of running shoes from REI. I am going back to minimalist running. Friday Phillip was still not feeling well. I asked how he was doing and he said like shit.

 The weeks movies were 3:10 to Yuma, what to expect while your expecting, Little Fockers and Parental Guidance.

The weekend was a busy one. Shane, Brody and I went to Fusion for dinner. I had sushi (which is never a good idea for me right now). Went to be early in order to get up at dark thirty to go the the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Color Run. We sat in traffic for 3 hours. We walked up to the starting line 5 minutes before our start time. I did run the whole thing but it was not a full 5k. It was 2.98. regardless it was a blast. and it was more fun to hang out with my favorite girls. It was Kathy's first 5k and the first one I got to run with my best friend and her whole family. Ariana smoked us all but that was a given.

I had color in places I have no idea how it got there. I was supposed to do Ariana's senior portraits after but we did not get home and cleaned up until 4 and she wanted to hit some of the free concerts with her friends going on downtown during the final four festivities. I met up with some friends and had dinner on the patio at Gary's Bistro and enjoyed the nice weather and a couple of cocktails. Came home a a reasonable time and went to bed early. I was beat. I slept in Sunday. was not feeling great. Once I snapped out of it a bit I got ready and Ariana and I head to L5P and EAV for graduation and senior breakfast dresses and to shoot her senior portraits. She had to have a dress no one else would have and we found a perfect one of a kind Rene Rene original, fitted by Rene herself that fit her perfectly. We managed to find another dress at Rag-O-Rama for the breakfast (and I found one too for the Wrap Party for the cast & crew of Tales from Morning View Cemetery). After shooting in and around L5P, we shot some in EAV and headed to cabbagetown to finish up. I had to take her to somewhere I have not taken any other senior portraits. She has to be different (wonder where she gets that from). We then headed to the Vortex so Ariana could have her first good burger. She is an instant fan.

Monday I came into work extra early since I did not get to do much of payroll at home. Wanda is getting her pick line out today so she missed the dive. Maria was not feeling well. Phillip was back to normal. I asked him how he was feeling and he said ok and I told him he looked better and then he said I was sexy as hell, so I knew he was ok and I sat down out of his eye sight. M2 had the group picture of us blown up and framed and she gave it to Phillip with the caption, "Phillips dive team". which was very sweet of her.

 Maria was not herself. She actually was in tears by the break and she left the chamber early. I am worried about her. I had to stay after and get a check up. I have lost more weight, my vision is barely passable for driving now. it's really bad and I hate it. The doctor says I am at 50% healed. I am doing good but not good enough to stop yet. I have 2 appointments next week. One with Emory and one with my regular doc to get some blood work done. Please God I hope I am done by the end of next week.

catching up

The second half of last week was eventful.

Maria came out of surgery ok. Seven large needles in her mouth though. poor thing!

Dave had his last dive with us. he has been in rehab and is now home and going to the Marietta HYOX because it is closer for him.

We got a new guy. No name yet, he laughs loudly.

Big older black dude with a grey beard.

we watched zero dark thirty (good)

this is 40 (really funny) but I did not get to see the end of it because it offended all the old people

Then we watched, hell I can't remember. hmmm

I do remember that on Friday it got very quiet on our way back up (decompression) and CIP decided to yell across the chamber

" I want to sleep with you"

Josh told him to knock it off but then he said he was just trying to tell me he loved me.

I also got caught by him again trying to leave the office. This time he grabbed me but I got behind him so he could only head lock me and not grab my ass.

I had a bit of anxiety too this week and over the weekend a little pain. maybe I was just too active.

Either way it felt good to get out and run and do some shooting.

Good News

Monday was different

It was dive 20

I didn't know what was going to happen after today.

I got a huge hug from Maria and a lot of well wishes

Though Dr. King didn't share my enthusiasm about being close to done.

Shane had his 50mile race but he turned his ankle at mile 32:(

I wanted to hear more about it but he was kicked out of the sub so we could get started.

Wanda was missing but Dave was back.

Matt snagged my hair again in the helmet.

We finished watching Hope Springs- that was cute-and awkward 

*spoiler alert*

Meryl Streep tries to give Tommy Lee Jones a BJ in a movie theater

anyway second movie was Due Date

I love Robert Downey Jr.

And that guy from the Hangover-wolfpack of one guy, I don't care who you are, if you don't think he is funny you have no sense of humor.

I felt a big sneeze coming on and that is not something you want to do in that apparatus!

I managed to stave it off but my nose burned like a MoFo.

I headed over to Emory after the dive to finally get some news.

Mom could not make it this time.

One of the unfamiliar faces came in to check on me.

He did see me once before. He stuck a swap in my hole and cleaned out some of the loose bone. I was bleeding...which is awesome. it means it's alive not dead

I no longer see or feel exposed bone in my mouth.

Now Dr. Roser and Dr. Funny came in. they checked me out and were both ecstatic about what they saw.

I was told 10 more dives and I should be done.

no surgery! Just one follow up appointment when I am done.

I celebrated by stopping by the Camera Doctor on my way back to work to pick up some infrared 120 film.

Luck must be on my side today because I forgot they are closed on Monday. When I pulled up, the owner was unlocking the door, I walked in behind him, he was startled and told me they were closed. I apologized. he asked what I wanted and he sold it to me anyway.

Took a minute because he had to turn everything on. That was super cool. Some people say he is a jerk but every time I have every came into his shop he has been nothing but great, helpful and we usually talk for a while.

I then walked over to Wuxtry Records. I was so tempted to buy an old Jazz LP but I really need to get a turntable first lol. It's been on the wish list for a while. I am just not spending a ton of money on one...damn hipsters 

When I came back to HYOX today the first thing out of Shane's mouth was "when is your surgery"? and I said no surgery and we high fived.

Dr. King asked what all he said and did and I told him. he still thinks I will need at least 20 more dives due to my history.

Maria is not here today. She had her surgery

I haven't stopped thinking about her all day. She is losing all of her teeth due to the cancer.

Wanda is back. She missed yesterday because her son and grandchild were moving to Boston.

She was very sad. Sucks too because you can't fly during treatments or after for a little while, something to do with the pressure.

We finished Due Date. yep it was funny. Now we are watching zero dark 30. I saw the other Bin Laden movie on Netflix and it was excellent...this one seems way too Hollywood but it's interesting enough.

Anything 9/11 strikes a cord. The beginning of this movie almost threw me into a complete tailspin. Not cool when you can't get away (I left my book)

After the dive I was told  it was my 2 week check up so I had to go get my eyes checked again. My vision has changed dramatically. Oxygen effects the eyes because the are absorbing it directly. I pretty much can't see at all without my glasses now, but it is only temporary.

I have lost 2.4 lbs since I started the treatments.

Dr. King said he wishes he had 100 patients like me. he still doesn't believe I am 40. Perfect BMI

Great skin. I could hear that all day long, especially from a Doctor.

The hole in the bone has healed 50%

there is no infection at all anymore

New bone and tissue is growing 

total I have healed 25% but I feel like is have healed 75%.

he said I can't quit until the tissue has grown up and over the hole.

Here is hoping it's sooner rather than later.

The gangs all here... Well almost

So I wasn't the only one who thought you, me and Dupree was stupid. We told Shane we preferred action so he said he'd switch the movie and put in something we would like. I read the first couple of chapters of On The Road by Kerouac. Then the Last 3 days with Russell Crowe came on. I was sucked in.
Maria (MP) wasn't there . I missed her but luckily the movie kept my interest pretty much the whole time. So much that I didn't even notice the door was open and I could leave, lol.
Today is dive #19. It is supposed to be Dave's last day. I wanted to take a group picture. Unfortunately Dave wasn't there but I did get one of the rest of us!

left to right then down and right

T-something...he's the new guy from Bosnia, Wanda, Maria (MP) Mary (M2) Me then below me is Phillip aka Cip Or Mr. Inappropriate then Madeline (stinky)

Now you can put a face with the name.

If Dave is there on Monday I will snap one of him and I'll try to get the staff too but that is different every day

Matt (the dweeb) is not a dweeb.  He grew on me. I never did see the hot guy again :(

So we finished the movie. It was good, I recommend it.

When it came around to snack time Matt gave me my AJ without asking and there were not any goldfish or cheezits in the snack been so he had them sent in.

There is this little hole that has its own seal that they can do a super quick pressurization in to send in things we might need, sometimes it a blood sugar kit, coke, pillow or blanket. Today Matt had them send me some Goldfish. When the came out of the hole they looked like they were freeze dried. Couldn't get them open the were vacuum packed so tight. He had scissors sent in. He made sure I got to eat my damn goldfish.

of course since it was a production I did not get to finish them.

for the first time today my hair did get caught in the helmet and get pulled out a bit. Guess I need to go back to the pony tail.

It never fails either that as soon as the helmet goes on I have to itch somewhere.

The second movie we started was Hope Springs.

Another chick flick but has Tommy Lee Jones in it so it makes it watchable.

Maria said she had seen it before and it was ok.

her itch is back with a vengeance today :(

Monday is a big day.

It's dive 20 and I go back to Emory to see Dr. Roser.

I should know the next step soon.

fingers crossed

The Dive Inn

the weekend was busy and productive. I "over" celebrated St. Patricks Day...let's just say I don't have a tolerance anymore so a few beers = wasted

that was friday, Saturday was re-coop and over eat

Sunday was yard work, clean the house, do laundry and the Amazing Race with Brody at the school. We were Zombie Leprechauns and we won the costume contest.

I also won "chamber champ" at HYOX. 

It is a weekly trivia contest they do at the oxygen chamber.

Both contests I won movie tickets.

Brody, Shane, Ariana and I will go see Iron Man 3

and Shane and I will got see Evil Dead

win for the whole family

Mondays movie was a chick flick, One for the Money

Tuesdays move was a chick flick, The Descendants

Wednesdays movie was a chick flick, All About Steve

And for Thursday we started another chick flick, You, me and Dupree

I am not a fan of Chick Flicks

They all sucked

I finished World War Z

I will be beginning On The Road by Jack Kerouac tomorrow

M2 is now highly medicated, in the corner behind Cip with head phones on.

MP finally got some sleep and her itch is gone.

Wanda got some promising news about her toes, she may not lose them!

Dave is on his last week, he was not there yesterday because he had some plumbing installed (IV port)

His insurance runs out Friday. He is a sweet old man.

I have been managing to finish my snacks without pain.

Actually have have been eating virtually pain free this week. I did have an apple that was a little tough to bite into but I did get to finish eating it (sliced up of course)

Cip was singing and dancing today

he has spent some time telling me how beautiful I am

I had to duck and dodge him on the way out today

ahhhh Freak Out... Le freak...so shiek

I got into the dressing room a bit early. Got dressed. Today they gave us all beads for St. Patty's day to give us a little luck of the Irish.

Cip had his shirt off to show me how manly he was with his beads on. He asked me if I was Irish and was excited because he is Irish too. 

We have a new older man joining us, he has not visible ailments. M2 (the other Mary) was back again today. She cowered in the corner until Becky, the main Nurse, came and coaxed her to sit down next to Wanda. I just knew I was going to get moved away from Ms. Portugal. To my excitement, when I stepped inside  my Helmet was in my old seat. I actually said out loud, YAY! And MP and I agreed as long as we sit together all is fine. She is less itchy today. Her new allergy meds are working. She told me her cancer had spread to her bones but it is a slow cancer and she will always have it but she could still live another 20 years. I asked her about the pain and she said she is always in pain from the rod in her back. I am really growing fond of this woman and I am saddened by this.

So the Movie of the day is Fools Gold...lame...I am glad I am in my spot to read. M2 hovers at the door until the very last minute when Shane finally get her to come sit down. She complained about not sitting where I was sitting but was told I was a reader, she said she was too. I can see the writing on the wall :(

I am probably 2 dives away from finishing World War Z.

We are slow to dive down today. One because of the newbies and Two because the newbie had ear pain.

Halfway through the dive, just before break time Shane checked on M2 and she asked to stand up. He said when we take our masks off for the 15 minute break, for snacks and drinks, she could.

As soon as she got that helmet off she freaked.

She was pacing in the corner (next to me) teary eyed and scared to death. I could not hear everything, but I could hear that she wanted to move. She wanted my spot.

They put her in the corner with Cip.

I tried to ignore her the rest of the dive and read.

As soon as it was over I was out of there. Headed to the dressing room to beat M2, hoping MP would take the second one behind me, but she being the awesome lady she is, took her stuff to the bathroom to be considerate of M2. M2 came in and I could hear her sobbing. Becky was trying to comfort her. She asked if they had any single chambers, which they don't. She said she did not want to come back, she said something about if she had a gun and Becky stopped her and said she would talk to Shane. I told her Crawford long had a great single chamber set up.

hey, I understand, I freaked out myself, but geez, get it together and don't scare the shit out of everyone else.

If she is back on Monday I am sure I will be stuck with Cip. I just hope I get set next to MP.

new faces, new seat

Dive #12 pretty uneventful.

They started Skyfall again, I guess they forgot we watched that one already. I read the entire time. I actually got really sucked in and time flew by. Which was nice for a change. I went in having some pain. Was worried since it was not brought on by eating this morning. Maybe I just brushed my teeth too hard.
Only weird thing today was my helmet wasn't on tight enough and popped off. that was freaky.
We watched Argo and I was very involved in this movie so time flew by.

The door to the dressing area was closed today. I think that was for my benefit.

Managed to escape Cip's clutches again today. On a happier note, through sweaty palms and high anxiety, I signed up to run my first 1/2 marathon. I figure if I sign up and it's far enough away (November) that I won't have any choice but to do it. Until this happened my goal was to run the Publix 1/2 this weekend so I am kinda bummed I haven't been training. I did run today and froze my butt off!

Lucky #13

No pain today. Good, because that crappy Flagyl should be out of my system by tomorrow and I was worried that going off that antibiotic was the cause of my pain.

Today is Pi Day (3.14)

So naturally, I bought a pie for my work family.

yes, you can see I decorated it myself :)

and it's keylime, so I can eat it too.

We have another Mary in our little submarine

She took my seat :(

I was told she had to sit there because all new people have to sit there the first time because it is across from the attendant. She was very panicky.

Maria was in the middle of us, so at least I still got to sit next to her. She didn't like me having to move seats, she said it was too dark for me to read and that they need to put me back.

I love this woman. She reminds me of my grandma. When she is done with treatments she is moving to Maryland. She was complaining about T-mobile and her new cell phone today helping distract me from the fact that now I am across from Madeline...aka stinky and in direct contact with Cip, who now I can hear the kissy sound he makes trying to blow me kisses and get my attention. Oh and he told me I was "sexy as Hell" again and kept winking at me. Yeah, I hope I don't have to sit in this spot again tomorrow.

I also don't like the angle I have to be in to see the TV. We watched lawless today. Forest aka Tom Hardy is a hottie.

Now I am not first out of the chamber anymore. Maria told me to go to the other dressing area, she would use the bathroom, she knows I have to go back to work and I am in a hurry. The new girl throws a wrench in our groove and I can tell Maria doesn't like it. LOL. 

I did talk to the new lady while I was getting dressed. She said she was ok but she was nervous because she did not know what to expect. I told her about my panic attack and she said she was having one but didn't want to freak out in a room full of strangers. I told her it gets easier. Ugh, if she is freaking out they may stick me next to Cip again. Josh was not there today, I hope he moves me back when I see him again.

Halfway Point

The weekend was a full one.

Managed to get out of the house, see some friends play roller derby, eat fish tacos, pain free with some friends and got 2 runs and a trip to the Farmers Market in.

Did not take any pain meds all weekend!

Shane got new running shoes, they look pretty cool, he took then off so I could see how thick and light they were. He's a runner too. Dr. King told me everybody's pizza is closing in Decatur so he took his wife there. he was there for the opening when he was in college (Emory) so it was fitting that he closed it down. It's going to be an Irish Pub. Mr. Inappropriate chimed in that he liked Irish Beer. A short discussion was had by Shane, Josh, Dr. King and I about where to get cheap beer, old nickel nights back in the day and how the Hipsters have ruined cheap PBR in Atlanta for the rest of us.

Monday's dive I started to read but got sucked into the movie . Don't know why but my anxiety has been high. Managed to stave it off mostly by watching Water for Elephants. 

Got the whole movie in.

Ate my fig Newton and Apple Juice. I guess they know me by now because Josh didn't even ask he just handed it to me. He's cool. He told me the movie was sad but actually it had a happy ending so I am glad I watched it anyway.

After dressing and fixing my hair and makeup, I left the office but managed to catch up to Mr. Inappropriate on my exiting of the building itself. he was alone in the wheel chair while his Nurse was pulling the car up. he caught sight of me an immediately wheeled himself over my way. I tried to speed past but his arm caught me. I tried to be polite and smile and just shake his hand but he grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug that ended with a grabbing of my ass. I managed to get free and just took off without looking bad. I feel bad for the guy but geez.

Today I had to go in early so I could meet with Dr. King for my 2 week evaluation. When I got there it was only me and the receptionist. She validating my parking and went and found me some scrubs to change into. She said they were short staffed today and that after I changed she would tell the Doc I was there. When I got out of the dressing room, Cip was there ( Cip= creepy Inappropriate)

As soon as I sat down he wheeled over to me. He told me I was a beautiful as ever. I tried to divert and smile and looked helplessly around for someone. Shane came in and he was trying to get things together. I just focused on him, meanwhile Cip started telling me over and over that I was "sexy as Hell". At this point I got up to go see the receptionist and Shane met me in the hallway and moved me to another room. He apologized and said they were short staffed and he was trying to get to me as soon as he could. he called Hector and told him to go babysit Cip because he was being inappropriate this morning.

Vitals were all good. Shane was shaking. his blood sugar was all messed up. he could barely write down my info. My vision has definitely changed. Side effect of diving. pain has gotten better. I have healed 50% in area and 17% in Volume but the Dr. thinks its more than that because he could not measure as deep last time due to my pain level. Also I have a big mouth...which is a good thing considering how many surgeries I have had. I am supposed to get neck massages but we shall see if that can be afforded later.

Even better news is I am off Flagyl as of today!

I will be able to have a drink by Friday-woo hoo!

Today was another full house. We watched Argo. I got really sucked into that one. Hector stayed for the whole dive this time. We talked about World War Z until I had to put my helmet on.

No fig newtons today so back to goldfish and AJ.

Not too bad today. I was too involved with the movie to pay anything else much attention. I did get dressed in a hurry and got ready in the car. I was out of the dressing room before Cip was even out of the chamber. 

Whew!

TGIF

Well at least the car started.

Today we celebrated Daniel's birthday at work, Marie made blueberry and banana pancakes so I went diving with a full belly.

Not a good idea.

It was Wanda, Phillip (he is Mr. Inappropriate) and Maria (Ms. Portugal) today.

The movie of the day was "The Time Travelers Wife"

I read mostly, I was in and out of the movie.

My ears had issues today. Then I got warm. maybe it was the full belly, maybe it was the long sleeve shirt I wore underneath, maybe both but toward then end of the dive I felt it. Like there was no air. Like when you are cold and under a blanket and trying to get warm but you can't quite breathe right. Then the warm spread in my chest, the flush in my face. I was starting to have a panic attack. I concentrated on my breathing and reading my book to get my mind off of it. I wanted to rip that damn helmet off but I knew I was close to the end. Mr. inappropriate had been telling me he loved me today. He also was showing me with sign language in the chamber that he loved me. I did not want to draw anymore attention to myself than I needed too.

Josh (the younger orderly) seemed like he was having a tough time clearing his ears too. When we were coming up, my left ear hurt. First time.

While I was in the dressing area (it is open to the chamber room but has curtains so you can change in private) I was finishing up getting dressed and fixing my hair and makeup, (you can't have any hair products, make up, lotion, etc on during) Shane (the head attendant) was standing between the dressing area and Phillip. I could here them and Josh talking but wasn't paying attention.When I went to leave Phillip's nurse was in front of me and Shane held the door open for them but told me to wait a minute before I left.

Apparently I got Mr. Inappropriate all worked up and he did not want me to feel any more uncomfortable than I had to, so he wanted to give me some time and space to get him out of there so he didn't try to grab me or say something to me. I thought it was sweet of him to look out for me but I felt bad for the poor kid. I told Shane I could handle it but thanks anyway.

I guess I have a brain damaged admirer.

And the bubble burst

I was in a pretty happy go lucky mood today.

Managed to eat some raisin bread without much pain.

Got to HYOX and it was a full house.

Ms. Portugal and I chatted while we are getting changed into our scrubs.

She has jaw issues from the cancer and skin irritations from radiation. She also has constant pain from the rod in her back. I learned that she was working for a family when she found out she had cancer. No family or husband.

The family happened to be a PA and through him she got some of the best doctors. She even had surgery done for free because she did not have insurance.

It makes me feel good to know there are still good doctors out there with a conscience helping people who would otherwise have to suffer.

She called this doctor her Angel.

I am glad she sits next to me in the chamber.

Dr. King was there to talk to me today. He wanted to know what Dr. Roser had said.

I told him and he informed me that no matter how I healed I was still going to need a debridement (to remove the dead bone). So looks like I will be having surgery after all.

True Grit was the movie of the day

I read, I was so into it that Shane actually smacked my book down to get my attention to pick my snack from the bin.

I am not a fan of most political/war novels but World War Z is pretty damn well written and with all this talk of FEMA camps on the news, it makes me wonder .... maybe not zombies but something 

Anyway, fig newton and apple juice again. no pain

Firefighter was there again, this time training with Josh for the first half of the dive. he's a dweeb.

Apparently all the old people like westerns...me ...not so much.

I was told by the nurse that my skin looked really good, not that I thought it looked bad before but I guess all that oxygen does wonders for your looks.

On unrelated news...the car wash guy at work left my lights on and ran my battery down. Had to get Charlie to jump me off, then afterwork it died again and had to get Al to jump me off. Was so pissed because Kathini and Marie were in their cars ready to follow me to the park to go for a run.

So much for that idea. I thought at least if I could get home I could get a run in but as soon as I turned the car off it would not start again, so Shane messed around with it for a while then he and Ariana (who loves to work on cars) went and got and replaced my battery. More freaking money.

No run.

In my pain free day I got saucy and made beef with broccoli stir fry. I cooked the meat a little too done and there was no eating it for me. Pain...I guess it is back to veggie burgers and pasta and soup.

a pictorial post

Well I got to get out of the house Monday night to see Dropkick Murphy’s at the Tabernacle. We got there and made our way to the floor. I knew this would not be a good idea. This was going to be a crazy show and being in a pit could be potentially life altering for me right now, so Shane and I went to the balcony. The first one was full so we went to the 3^rd floor and got a front row seat. It is really hard to be sober at an Irish Punk Rock show that is just screams about drinking beer. Shortly after Old Man Markley took the stage I could see that I made a good decision to not be on the floor. There was a decent pit forming. By the time DM took the stage the entire floor was nothing but arms, elbows and feet in the air. It was an amazing pit. I was super jealous when they brought all the girls from the floor up on stage for the encores. That could have been me if I could have handled a punch in the face.

 The control Panel of the Chamber

 This is the inside of the Chamber, I sit in the seat closest to this view

 This is the other side. the corner where that stool is where the inappropriate guy sits.

 this is the door to the outer lock, for when they have to switch out attendants for safety reasons or if you have to come in late or leave early.

 This is the infamous latex ring. We have to put this on (with help) around our necks, then when we come up to pressure the tubes and attached and the masks are put on to this.

 you can see the tube and the humidifier here. I have ice in mine, it makes it less stuffy and me less claustrophobic.

 this is what the outside looks like

we even have a few little windows. I sit under one so I can hold my book up to it and read.

Dive 6 was a full house again. Finished watching DeJaVu and started definitely maybe, but mostly I just read. Had a twinge of pain but no big deal. Sucked on some goldfish again and my AJ. I learned that Wanda was trying to save her toes from being amputated. I did bring my camera this time and after the dive I went in a snapped a few shots to show you what it looks like, so you know what I am talking about. Stinky was stinky again. She is so nice but man, I'm glad I don't sit next to her. Inappropriate guy did not like the second movie and got all upset. He had to be talked down.

I had quite the gap between HYOX and going back to Emory to see my surgeon so I took a vacation day and picked up my mom after the dive and we went to Emory early and killed time in the Carlos Museum on campus. It was a nice, quiet afternoon with just me and mom. Something we had not had in a very long time, just us. We were amazed at the collection of artifacts on display. They have a heck of an Egyptian exhibit. Mummy’s are just crazy cool.

 This is looking through a magnifying glass at a tiny piece of garnet that was carved in the shape of a face.

 This was a paper etching from France
"death on a battlefield" 1648

 Mom and me in the elevator

 Mummy's

We walked over to Building B, no reason to repay for parking, though I don't think I saved any money. It was nice to walk with mom through the campus and the weather was overcast but 65.

Saw another new face, Dr. Rosenthal. He got my mom all panicked by saying I'm very red and inflammed but he had not seen me before. I swear I feel like a patient on Grey's Anatomy with all these interns and residents clammering to get a peak at my jaw.

Dr. Roser and the other surgeon ( I forgot his name) came in the room next to check on me. The funny one (whats-his-name) said he was really worried last time but that I looked good. Dr. Roser said it was nice and red because of the new blood vessels forming from my treatments. It is even starting to spider over the wound. So if things progress I will be done on March 25th. That will be my 20th dive and that is when I go back to see him. I have to take the crappy Flagyl for another week but then I am off that, which means I can have a drink on St. Patty's Day! Let's hope this also means no surgery!

Since we got in and out so quickly and it was now raining, we decided to kill time and let traffic die and go to Ikea for food and shopping. I managed to choke down some horse balls...no I did not know about the whole Swedish meatball scandal but that was in Europe not here anyway.

 Dive 7

it's month end so I am busy as heck at work. Thankfully my friend Cheryl dropped off my prescriptions for me today to save me some time. It was only me, Dave and Ms. Portugal today.

They trained a new guy, a firefighter, during the second half of the dive.

Dave wanted to watch the Bourne Supremecy. MP and I didn't care so we nixed watching the end of definitely maybe and actually watched and entire movie. Well they did, I read my book.

MP is in there for thyroid cancer, and it spread to her spine. She had a fall last night and was in some pain today. She is a spicy old lady.

We chatted about how ridiculously cold it gets in there when they de-pressurize the cabin. It is literally like sitting in a freezer. They give us blankets but its not enough.

I also learned that the attendants switch our halfway because a woman is not supposed to be in there longer than 45 minutes because it does something to your ovaries. If someone has to stay the whole time it is a guy.

Today I had a fig newton. no pain. and AJ. It was nice to be in there with a small crowd today.