Who Hair

Dale and I spent Christmas with my his side of the family up near Dallas. We had a wonderful time! We stayed at Dale's Brother's house. He and his wife were wonderful hosts. Can you say cinnamon rolls for breakfast, EVERY MORNING? Awww yeah!

Bonus--They have one of those fancy media rooms with big, comfy couches, soft lush carpet, and a giant movie screen. On one of the nights, I slept in that room with 3 of my nieces and one nephew. We were watching Shrek II. It was awesome.

There were 9 adults and 5 kids. I had plenty of opportunities to curl, braid, twist, and brush my nieces hair. One of my nieces decided to return the favor and show me how to create "Who Hair."

You take a small waterbottle and place it on top of your head. Pull your hair up around it and secure with a hair band up top.
Easy as pie.

I could have used a larger water bottle, but the results were still cute. Especially on my niece.

In other news:

I want this!

Dale Tiffany Champagne Chandelier

It's a wee bit out of my budget so I'll have to save up but it will be worth it. Perfect for the big room.

Happy last day of 2011! It's been a bitch of a year, but not without it's gems. I recovered from neck surgery, continued to search for treatment for my residual neck pain, had another health problem arise, underwent 3 procedures and one full fledged surgery to attempt to fix it (still not fixed), saw both of my parents in the hospital at the same time, gained weight, helped to plan a surprise party for a good friend that graduated with her Master's, completed the 30 day photography challenge, created a bad ass Lichtenstein Girl Halloween costume, went to some amazing concerts (Railroad Revival being one of my favorites), groomed my buddie's beard for a contest, went to New Orleans for the wedding of two dear friends, and went to a Stephen King book reading (complete with an autographed 1at edition of his newest book).

I am happy to have done everything with Dale either by my side, or with his support.

Life is beautiful.

Fun With Photos

I'm addicted to camera and photo editing apps. I recently obtained the Apps Diptic and Picframe. They do the same thing. Check it out (the first one is created with images of my nieces and nephew. The rest are yours truly).

Phirst Phone Post

Just testing out this blogger app. Don't mind me. Wait, while you are here why don't ya lean back in your seat and check my hair out! I so
should have had my teen years/young twenties during the decade of decadence. I don't even have any hairspray in that main. It's just flipped to the side, baby! Ok...test over.

El Camino

The newest album from The Black Keys came out Dec 6th, 2011. They have been making promotional appearances all over the place!
SNL
MTV Release Show
The Colbert Report
Late Show with David Letterman

If you are only going pick one link to watch, I say pic The Colbert Report. There is an interview and a performance, and both are great. The interview is pretty funny. Normally, these guys come off with a "sarcastic/smart ass" flavor. When Steven Colbert interviews them, they are all grins and giggles.

Wait...is "giggles" the right word? Do grown men "giggle?"

They do when Steven Colbert interviews them.
Ha!

Any-hoo, I pre-ordered the album. It arrived wrapped in cellophane with a shiny silver sticker saying "Play Loud"

You don't have to tell Dale twice. He popped that baby on the record player and turned it up loud enough to shake the needles off our Christmas tree.

Lonely Boy and Gold on the Ceiling are the two songs getting all the play and talk right now. They are both tremendously great songs and if you have not seen the video for Lonely Boy, go watch it now. You will want to thank me later. You probably won't actually thank me, because you have to make cookies and put stamps on your Christmas cards. I get it. You're busy. I'm busy. We all busy.

Where was I....Oh yes, The Black Keys.
Alright, so the two songs they are playing just about everywhere are great. I love them. But, heck, side one if the album is nothing but gems. Little Black Submarines reminds me of the Led Zeppelin era of Rock-n-Roll while Money Maker is a fat groove that will have you shakin' your hips. I promise you.

As for side B, I would have to pick Nova Baby as my favorite. Though Run Right Back could just as easily take that spot.

When their last album, Brothers, put them into the mainstream I gotta say that it was a little strange hearing Tighten Up come over the sound system at Ulta while I was shopping for cosmetics. Even more strange when the 17 year old cheerleader standing next to me started singing along. I wanted to shove a copy of Rubber Factory in her hand basket, next to her glittery lipgloss and hair straightening serum.

I mean, I've followed these guys since forever and while many of my friends enjoyed their music, it was not something the general population knew about. Now, three grammys later, everybody up in here know about Dan and Pat.

And that's ok.

: )

Cat Eye

I saw these sunglasses on Ebay and bought them thinking they might look good on me.

I like how the look sitting there on the counter...

But when I tried them on,



I look a little like a space alien.



I think it's the combination of my "5-head" and the pointy, upturned peak of the rims.



But look what happens when I wear a short blond wig with bangs:



Yeah, that's more like it! Now if I could only walk around in a wig whenever I wanted... like it was Halloween everyday. How fun would that be, to change your hair like you change your lipstick? Not that I want to be forced to wear a wig (pleasedon'tgivemecancer), but it would be cool if it were the normal thing to do.

In a wig friendly world, I could pull off cat eye sunglasses.

Surgery

I’m on my 3rd bowl of ice cream for the day. It’s all I can eat. The anesthesia made my throat VERY sore and all I want to do is pour ice cream down my gullet. My mouth hurts like the dickens. My tongue is a little swollen and it hurts when I move it.

Let’s rewind to the start of my day. I wake up at 6:00am. We had to be at the hospital by 7:30. I put on my new comfy clothes (purchased yesterday evening. What? It’s how I dealt with my anxiety for the upcoming surgery), brushed and flossed and got in the car. Dale stopped at Starbucks to buy a coffee, a bottle of water, and a breakfast sammich. I could have none of those as you are not allowed to eat or drink anything before surgery. NPO = Nothing Per Orem (Nil Per Os in Latin).

We got to the hospital (Seaton NW) and made our way to the surgical center. Everyone there was extremely nice and professional. I signed a few papers and was asked, again, if I had a living will or advanced directive. I do not. Dale and I really need to get on that. You should too! I for one do not want to be kept alive via a breathing machine and feeding tube if I am brain dead. No sir. Getting the living will, medical power of attorney, and advanced directive are on my list of things to accomplish in 2012.

I then had to pee in a cup. You know, they gotta do a pregnancy test and what not.

They brought me to the pre-op room where I changed into hospital attire (so sexy) and read a little (Stephen King’s new book 11/22/61). The nurse came in and took my temp, bp, and started an IV.

Ewww.....

She then asked me a series of medical questions that I would have to answer 3 more times as the anesthesiologist, surgeon, and surgical nurse all came to visit one by one.

Before I knew it, they came to wheel me to the operating room. Before they did, the nurse shot two different meds into my IV. The room took on a soft, warm glow. Everything is beauuuuuuuuutiful! I kissed my husband and away we went.

In the OR, I rolled from my bed onto the table. I was amazed by the ceiling but I can’t remember why. The anesthesiologist put the misty mask over my face and that was that. I was out.

A nurse woke up me up in recovery. Except for shivering like a leaf on a tree, I felt fine. No pain. No nausea. The nurse placed a warm blanket over my head and wrapped it around my shoulders. So nice. Dale came in and they told me I could get dressed and go.

So I did. I was still cold when I got home so I crawled into bed, turned on the heating pad, wrapped a scarf around my neck, cuddled my dogs, and went to sleep.

A few hours later, the pain kicked in. Guess whatever pain killer they had me on at the hospital wore off. I feel like my trachea is lined with sand paper. I am not talking because that hurts my throat and my mouth. Dale is being a wonderful care taker. He brings me the ice cream and my water. He checks on me and tells me he loves me.

Cooper and Charlie only leave my side when they need to eat or use the bathroom. Aww. They do love to nap but I also believe they know when I am not feeling well and want to comfort/watch over me.

Charlie is not in the picture because he is under the covers next to my feet.

That’s all for now. My pain meds are making me sleepy so I am gonna post this and then nap a little. I’ll probably wake up later and have some ice cream for dinner.