Update on Dad...

In my time off over the past two weeks, I've been spending time in Gardnerville, trying to give mom and dad something else to think about. Mom has been going crazy trying to keep up with all the aspects of the business while taking care of dad. Dad, on the other hand, is getting frustrated as all hell and is bored out of his mind. Last night he said, "I'm tired of being a god damned invalid." Progress is finally being made in getting something done about his pain. He has a herniated disk somewhere in the lumbar area of his spine. That disk is pushing on a nerve, and that, in turn, is causing him excruciating pain right above his left knee. He also has a compression fracture and a bone spur in another part of the lumbar. There herniated disk is the culprit for the pain, and the only position he can be in without pain is flat on his back. So, with the exception of a doctor's appointment here and there, that's exactly where he's been for nearly three weeks.

He's been on all kinds of pain meds which have only served to make him sick, not relieve the pain. He goes in tomorrow to get an epidirl that, if it works, will relieve the pain immediately. The relief could last a day or a year. Fortunately, it's just a stop gap measure to ease the pain as he is scheduled for back surgery on September 13. I think he is slightly relieved to know the shot tomorrow might offer him some relief, and even more relieved to know surgery is scheduled and he now knows when this pain will end and he can go from suffering to recovery. Apparently the back surgery isn't all that invasive and they say he could be back to work within two weeks of surgery. They've warned him, however, there will be all new pain that's just as bad when surgery is over. The bright side is he'll know he's heeling.

I am in Gardnerville now and will stay until Friday when I have to go back to work. Beth and I are flying up here Labor Day weekend to spend some time with mom and dad, also. Brian came up last weekend. I know mom and dad both appreciate the distraction, and I am glad I am able to spend the time with them. Beth has been great about the whole thing. Her school year started today, she knew she'd be busy with that all week, so she encouraged me to come back to G-ville this week. I spent most of last week here, went to work, and came back yesterday. I'll be in Vegas again on Saturday, but just for one night. I'll be home Tuesday for about a week next week. I get frustrated with my job, more often lately, but I still can't help but love the flexibility it offers.

Happy Birthday Jenn!

On Saturday I flew up to Portland to spend the weekend with Jenn and her parents. I originally had a layover here Saturday night, and Jenn and I had made plans to go out to dinner for her birthday, and it ended up her parents were coming to town this weekend also. My trip that would have had me laying over here was canceled, so I flew home to Vegas on Friday (from St. Louis). I decided I still wanted to come to Portland for the weekend, and Beth gave me the ok, even though her birthday was yesterday.

Beth would've come too, but she had other commitments this weekend and early this morning that she wouldn't have been able to make if she came to Portland. I'm still here, BTW. Cathy, Jim and I will be headed to the airport in about an hour to catch a flight home. I was flying nonstop from Portland to Las Vegas, but decided to make a one or two day pit stop in Reno to visit my parents. My dad hasn't been feeling well all last week, some sort of pinched nerve or something in his leg, so I thought I would visit them for a day or two to hopefully take their minds off of it. Dad has lots of appointments over the next few weeks to get to the bottom of the problem and treatment, but between insurance and scheduling appointments, it doesn't happen fast, even though he's in a lot of pain.

My weekend here in Portland has been a lot of fun. There was definitely a central theme: FOOD. When I arrived Friday morning Jenn picked me up at the airport and then rushed us to our 10:30 appointments for pedicures and manicures. The shop we went to was nice, complete with complimentary mimosas. What a great way to start off the day, and a short vacation. Shortly thereafter, Cathy and Jim arrived and we eventually made our way out to lunch for sushi at a place called Sushi Land. It was really good and cheap!

Later that night we headed to a Cuban restaurant called Pambiche. The food and atmosphere were both awesome, and the desserts were even better! That's where we celebrated Jenn's birthday, even though it isn't until today. We headed back to Jenn's place and played some much anticipated rounds of Head and Foot, a card game we are all addicted too. Yesterday we went to breakfast at Zell's, this great cafe down the street for some of the best Eggs Benedict I've ever had. Amber, it's a must when you come. After breakfast, we headed off to some second hand shops and garage sales. We had a leisure afternoon. Aaron came over later with his world famous chicken enchiladas. What a great meal. We headed downtown after that to Powell's bookstore and wondered around there for a bit. When we got back, Jim taught me how to play backgammon. That's an interesting game and fun. We crashed not long after. Jenn left early this morning to go to work, and we're headed off to the airport. It has been a great weekend, and I am glad I was able to spend three days here as opposed to the fourteen hours my layover would have allowed. Yeah! Happy Birthday Jenn!

Happy Birthday Bethany! I love you!

Ok, Ok.... so I've been getting a lot of crap lately for not updating my blog. You're right, it's well overdue. Although I'd love to sit down and write about all that has gone on since I last wrote, I have neither the energy nor mental capacity to achieve such a goal at this time. But here are the highlights.

If you remember a while back I mentioned I had started the South Beach Diet. Well, I am happy to report I've lost 20 pounds so far and am on my way to lose more. I recently had a doctor's appointment and she was quite pleased with the progress. Last week, to further my weight loss goals, I began going to the gym with Kanako. I'm sore as hell, but they say that's a good thing. I'll just have to believe "them." The diet is still working but the weight loss has slowed and I needed to up my activity anyway, so I finally took the plunge and have committed to a semi-regular workout schedule. My work schedule prevents me from keeping it as regular as I'd like.

Today Beth and I held a garage sale at her parent's house to get rid of the majority of my old clothes among many other things. (I've dropped two to three sizes in everything!) We've had a garage sale pile in our bedroom for quite some time and it's nice to finally have gotten rid of all of it. We made about $60 at the sale and dropped the leftovers at Goodwill.

Tomorrow we are heading to Pasadena for a one-day whirlwind trip to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It's been voted CA's best, and one of the best in the nation, so we hope it's everything we hope it is. We are looking for several items, like old night stands to make a desk out of and a wire/wrought iron headboard and footboard for our bed. We even rented a truck in hopes we find something worth bringing home. After the flea market, we're going to make our way over to Burbank to check out the IKEA store there. Beth and I have never been to one and are dying to go. It should be a lot of fun. At some point we'll head home, tired as hell I am sure. It'll be a long day, but it should be a lot of fun. Drive time each way is estimated at about four hours. Ick!