Jennifer Apodaca's Blog, page 99

Friday Five

TGIF. Time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

Turbo (my grandson) is sick with a mild ear infection   He’ll be fine, of course. His parents take excellent care of him, but his grandma is sad for him. I wish I lived closer just so I pop over, hug him, then leave him to rest in his mom’s care.
It’s hot here, and it’s slowing Maggie down. She hasn’t really wanted to go on a second daily walk in the heat. Our girl is getting a little older now. But she drinks plenty of water, eats fine, and plays in the backyard patrolling for lizards. Since I had planned to stop the second daily walk when it got hot anyway, it works out. Now Wizard and I have to negotiate morning walks
I saw my surgeon for another follow-up on Wednesday. It was 90% a great visit. I’m so thrilled that my latest x-ray is showing excellent healing. He was able to put three x-rays I’ve had since the surgery up side by side, and they showed very clear progression of growing bone. I can continue with all that I’m doing now, including the gym, and I can swim if I want to. He said wait three more months for more intense activity, and an example of that would be going in my son’s dune buggy in the desert (I specifically asked that). Which also means I can’t go ziplining in Hawaii Okay I wasn’t going to, but one day, I’d like to try ziplining if my neck can take it. But back on topic: The one thing he’s not happy about is I still have some pain, probably about 30% of what I was having, which means I’ve had a 70% improvement on most days, which is pretty good, right? Of course, it’s his job to worry, and he wants to fix it perfectly. The problem is–my neck isn’t perfect. Two other disks have minor bulging (we knew this), I have some age-related arthritis, and in one place, my spine has a Z in it where it should be straight. All that, coupled with the two years of severely compressed nerves likely causing some permanent damage, is probably causing the pain. I can live with this. So the doctor and I negotiated–he agreed release me from further visits as long as I call him if I have any progression of symptoms. I happily agreed, and I will follow through if that happens. For now, I’m just pleased that my bones are healing so well and I’m living a better quality of life than I was.
We’ve booked two tours for Hawaii. One is a Pearl Harbor Remembered Tour. Unfortunately, the dock to the Arizona Memorial is under repairs, but they’ve replaced that with a boat ride tour of the harbor to see the area. We can still go on the USS Missouri, and a few other things. Since my dad was a fighter pilot in WWII, this is something I really want to do. The second tour is a North Shore tour and I’m really excited about that one. One part of it I’m weirdly thrilled about is going to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. I think it’s going to be a fun trip!
Wizard and I met a friend for dinner this week, which was really nice! Since it was happy hour, we ordered an appetizer and drinks. I tried a mint cucumber martini. I was a little hesitant at first, but the drink was small (yay–I’m a lightweight with mixed drinks, and super duper careful not to trigger a headache), and it was light and delicious. I was totally surprised. I also had a yummy steak salad. I only chose it because it was literally the lightest thing on the menu, and it turned out to be a fabulous choice. I’d go back just to eat that. Sometimes luck is on our side!

So that’s my long-winded five. Saturday we’re going on a secret mission having to do with one of our kids I’ll tell you more in a week or so, once things are more certain. And now I’d love to hear five things about your week!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday Worthy

Happy Hump Day! Wizard and I met a friend for dinner last night, and once we got home, I grabbed this “oldie” pic from my files:

For me, I like the dog tags, and the pensiveness of the shot. But what I really want to know is what YOU think. Is he worthy?

Weekend Round

CPA Boy had a nice birthday, and Turbo liked the Easter Basket I got him He’s so much fun! Youngest Son was there too, and he tried to hog Turbo, but I pulled the Grandma card. Ha!

However, on Saturday, Youngest sent a bunch of pictures and videos of him and Turbo at the park and McDonalds. Youngest son is super sneaky, spending a big chunk of Saturday with Turbo without my knowing about it in time to crash the party. Okay, I’m teasing, there’s plenty of Turbo to go around and I do share. Sometimes.

So remember last week I ordered a dress for Youngest Son’s wedding in November? I wanted to get an early start to find the right dress after I had a hard time finding one for Middle Son’s wedding? Well, the dress arrived on Saturday, and It Fits!!!! I’m shocked. I think with the right shoes, I can even get away with not having it hemmed. I’m about 90% sure I’m going to keep it. It was a fluke I was even on Nordstrom’s Rack website looking at dresses, saw it for a killer price and ordered it.  I was so thrilled!

Then Wizard told me that I looked good in it now, but I need to make sure I don’t gain any weight…

We’re going to miss Wizard.

For Easter, I met Biker Witch for lunch, which is always nice.

How was your weekend?

Friday Five

TGIF! The weeks and months are racing by! I’m totally shocked that Sunday is Easter! Okay here’s five random things about my week:

I ordered a dress for Youngest Son’s wedding in November. I’m excited for the wedding obviously! But I also wanted to get an early start after I had such a hard time finding a dress for Middle Son’s wedding. Shall we start betting how many dresses I’ll buy and return this time? LOL!!
I booked Maggie at boarding for our Hawaii Vacay. They recognized me as “Maggie’s Mom” as soon as I walked in, which made me laugh. They were so nice, telling me Maggie does great there, and she’s one of the dogs they let “roam” the facility the most because she’s good and gets along with all the other dogs. That reassured me. Then she said, “And we all know she pees when we pick her up.” Umm…true. Maggie submissive pees, but I forget about it because she doesn’t do it at home, or with me at all, anymore. But with anyone else, yeah, she will if she’s unsure. But they’re used to all kinds of dogs with all kind of quirks, and just roll with it. Family has offered to take Maggie too, including my awesome sister, Biker Witch, and we thought about it. But we decided to keep her on the routine she knows, which is going to boarding. She always seems to have fun there.
Today is CPA Boy’s birthday and we’re going out tonight to visit. We’ll pick up dinner, and I’m making cupcakes. I’m also taking Turbo a very small, age appropriate, Easter basket. CPA Boy just doesn’t get to be the center of attention anymore, even when it’s his birthday! That’s what he gets for giving me an amazing grandson
Middle Son and his wife are coming home from their Tahiti vacation/honeymoon today. From our family messaging loop, they appear to be having a great time! They deserved a special trip after going through some tough times.
Short Girl Problems: So I had bought some shorts on sale, and I was very proud of that. I bought longer shorts than I’ve worn in the past since time is marching on, and I’m doing the world a huge favor :-). But I’m also short…so all that money I saved? I’m spending it on having the shorts hemmed.

Okay so that’s my five. We didn’t make any big plans for Easter. The weekend is looking pretty quiet, so I may FINALLY try to work. Now I’d love to hear five random things about your week! Hope everyone has a great weekend, and Happy Easter!

Wednesday Worthy

Here we are halfway through the week! And our candidate today made my cut only because I’ve been doing this particular exercise at the gym (at very light weight).

However I don’t look like this I have zero defined muscles these days, and lean way far into Pillsbury Doughboy Territory.  Which I’m totally okay with for me, my goal is recovery and healthy strength. But I can still appreciate those who have nicely defined back, shoulder and arms!

So what do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

It was a quiet weekend, and I enjoyed it. I tried to work–but let’s not talk about that.

Maggie is loving the nice weather and has been really enjoying the backyard. Although we’ve had to have a chat with her about good manners as in, DON’T EAT YOUR FRIENDS!

So I was out back doing some stuff and moved a trash can, a lizard ran out and Maggie caught it. Dang she’s fast! She was so happy, dancing around and showing me the lizard with his tail sticking out the side of her mouth. I, being a very calm and mature woman, spun in circles while cringing and hopping up and down, all while screaming, “Put it down! Maggie, PUT IT DOWN! NO! DON’T EAT THE LIZARD!”

She dropped it, and the little guy ran under another trash can.

Ugh. He looked okay, but I don’t know for sure and I’m not moving the trash can to find out. Maggie isn’t biting down. For her, the game is to chase and catch. But the lizards won’t play, then she gets sad. So I told her, “Don’t eat your friends, and maybe they’ll play with you.”

I don’t think she’s getting it. She’s chased three more lizards that she’d flushed out–all of which got away. Go lizards! Sigh, she’s being a normal dog and hunting the fun critters that run. I do love that she’s spending a lot of time in the backyard having fun. She never barks like most of the other dogs around us, in fact she ignores them, nor is she destructive. She either lays in the sun, “helps” Wizard BBQ, or chases lizards.

Otherwise, I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (I blame B.E. for that, and Wizard says Thank You to B.E.), spent hours looking at houses online as we’re making a long-range plan and I tend to get obsessed about things like that, and I did a bunch of normal stuff.

Today, I’m going to try to hit the gym, then hit the book for a session of Kick Butt Writing instead of this endless P&A (Procrastination & Avoidance) I’ve been doing.

So how was your weekend?

Friday Five

TGIF! It’s time to share 5 random things about our week.

The poppies, also known as the Super Bloom, have been declared dead! The city has been spreading the word, and the L.A. Times wrote a tongue-in-cheek obituary piece that I found amusing. I think my favorite line is the first two clauses in this sentence: In lieu of sending flowers, as that would be horrifically insensitive, Super Bloom enthusiasts are encouraged to donate to their favorite Lake Elsinore charity, or maybe just send a nice thank-you note to city leaders. There will still be some people who come hike the trail into the hills, and that’s fine–heck I want to hike the trail with Maggie some morning. We are just crossing our fingers that it won’t be massive crowds that the city isn’t prepared to handle.
I’ve been to the gym on average about twice a week. If I make it there today, it’ll be three times which is my goal. Although, I’m pretty happy with twice a week right now as I slowly regain some upper body strength. Plus I walk every day too.
I finally gave in from endless brick-and-mortar store shopping, and ordered three pairs of jeans and three pairs of shorts online. Four out of six items fit me, which isn’t too bad of odds. I’m going to return the two pairs of pants today, and once again, try some old-fashion shopping in the actual store. But I’m not holding out much hope of finding anything. My experience is usually: If I like it–they won’t have my size, or they’ll be something wrong with it.
We went to see our grandson, Turbo, yesterday. It takes most of the day, but it’s always worth it! His daddy ordered him some washable crayons that showed up while we were there. Turbo loved the crayons, and carried two around with him while we went on walks and toddler-exploring outside. Then once back inside the house, he discovered he could put the two crayons in one of the dog dishes–and Mommy was so busy on a phone call (we were watching him so she could make the call), that she didn’t notice and stop him. Grandma and Grandpa let him play with the clean dog dish and two crayons. Best Day Ever for Turbo! They are so easily amused at this age, LOL! (FYI, Grandpa secretly checked with Mommy, and she said it was fine, she’d just wash his hands before he ate lunch. What a good Mommy!)
 Maggie swears she’s not getting gray. Um….

So that’s my Friday Five. Now I’d love to hear yours!! I hope everyone has a super-fabulous weekend!

Wednesday Worthy

Happy Hump Day! Today my personal trainer is our candidate.

Okay, you caught me, he’s not my personal trainer But he is our Wednesday Worthy candidate this week.

So what do you think, is he worthy?

Weekend Roundup

I’m tired after a long, busy weekend, so forgive my typos.

The Good: Part 2 of Wizard’s birthday was so fun and relaxing! We went to Middle Son’s, had pizza, we gave Wizard his big gift from all of us (it was a milestone birthday for him this year), and we had a blast going for rides in Middle Son’s Razer off-road vehicle. It’s like a dune buggy. And I got two rides cause I had my daughter-in-law take me out too She loves driving it and I loved hanging out with her. It surprised Wizard and my sons that we did this for some reason, LOL! Eventually, once I’m fully healed, I’d love to try to drive it too Wizard has had a good birthday, and he truly deserves it.

The Weird. Maggie and Jett (Middle Son and daughter in law’s dog) did great together again. However, at one point, Maggie got possessive about something and growled at Jett. I was shocked, and put an immediate stop to that. The hilarious thing is Jett–who is three times her size–submitted to her. Later, she was laying in his favorite sunspot on the floor and poor Jett cried because he wanted to lay there, but was scared of Maggie. I made Maggie move, and he happily snoozed in his spot. OH! And Maggie was doing GREAT with Middle Son, even rolling over and showing him her belly. She never does that with boys or men! While I don’t like the one episode of possessive growling, seeing it and dealing with it is part of expanding her world and socializing her more and more. Jett is easily one of the sweetest dogs I know. In fact we left the two dogs alone together in the house a few times for short periods and they were fine.

The Bad. Many of you saw my FB post, so I’ll keep this the short version. A CHP (California Highway Patrol) officer was killed this weekend by an (allegedly) drunk and very reckless driver while the officer was conducting a traffic stop between two of our city exits. He was there helping control poppy traffic, and most of us in our town are incredibly sad and angry. We didn’t know him, but our hearts break for him and his loved ones. We’ve now had two major accidents in two consecutive weekend in this same place.

So that was weekend, how was yours?

Friday Five

Happy Friday! It’s time to share five random things about our week, here’s mine:

Yesterday was Wizard’s birthday. We went to a steak and lobster dinner. The lobster was amazing! We had a great time together.
Yesterday on my walk with Maggie, I fell. Sigh…I’m fine. I was winding around the edge of the mostly dry creek bed, and stepped on a soft spot that gave way. I slid, and hit my left arm and shoulder, but it wasn’t full impact since it was a sliding-fall. And thankfully, I didn’t hit a rock! I imagine I’ll be a bit sore today but I don’t think I did any damage except to my pride.
Allergy season is here   Even Maggie sneezes a couple of times on our walks. Benadryl is my new friend. I’ve never had allergies this bad.
Maggie stood like this for five minutes because she believed there was a lizard hiding in that plant. I wish I could concentrate on my book like she does on finding lizards!
This weekend we’re going to Middle Son’s house to continue celebrating Wizard’s birthday.

That’s my Friday 5, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!