LASIK: I can SEE!!

I've been wearing corrective lenses of some sort for the last 15ish years (since 5th grade I think). I wore glasses from 5th-8th grade & was happy with them. I had big red-metal framed glasses. I loved them. Had no idea how silly I looked. In 8th grade I decided to try contacts. This was a big deal. To this point I couldn't touch my eyes if my life depended on it. I had to go to the contact/glasses place everyday after school for a week before I was able to get them in my eyes! And I had to wear gas permeable because they were smaller than soft contacts. Finally I got them in. It was a big life adjustment. It took a long time to get them in each day. And they hurt! There's nothing pleasant about hard contacts! After a year I was used to the ordeal & I made the easy switch to soft contacts. Easy schmeasy. Wore those for several years & have been generally happy with them. But for the last couple of years my eye doctor would say, "Let me know whenever you want to talk about LASIK." And I would say, "Oh no, it was a HUGE deal for me to even put contacts in my eyes & I would never choose to have surgery, so no, LASIK is not for me."

In the last few weeks though, it suddenly occurred to me...a 5 minute procedure could mean I never have to put in contacts again! So I started talking to people & realized a lot more people had had it done than I thought! And the vast majority said it was the best thing they'd ever done. So I decided I could do it. It would be a growing experience. And....I'd be able to see!!

So I went for my annual eye doctor appointment & said I was ready to talk. They told me I was a great candidate for LASIK. I'm in my 20's, my eyes were in a good range (-3.25 & -3.50) & I don't have astigmatism. I took out my contacts for 3 days so my eyes could be measured (funny side story--the machine that takes a map to read any mis-shapeness in your eyes couldn't read my eyes because they were perfectly smooth). And my surgery was scheduled for later that week (this past Thursday)!

My surgery was scheduled for 11:40am on Thursday. My mom came in from Houston to be my driver/take care of me for the day. I got there & they gave me some valium to calm me down. I got to sit in a recliner for about a half hour to let it take effect. In my mind, I figured I could tell when the meds kicked in because I wouldn't be anxious anymore. I was still nervous when I went into the OR. They numbed my eyes it was great because I couldn't feel a thing! There was a nurse whose whole job was to hold my hand & I was SO thankful for her because being awake & knowing what they were doing to me was a bit freaky. The laser part was just like looking at a dull flashing light for about a minute. But the eye flap thing was mentally painful. But it was over so quick it was ok! I went home, took 1 of the 2 sleeping pills they gave me, slept for a couple hours, woke up, had some minor discomfort (like the feeling of wearing hard contacts or having an eyelash or piece of dirt in your eye). But I went back to sleep, woke up & ate dinner, took the 2nd sleeping pill, slept from 7pm-8am & woke up a new person! I went for my day-after eye appointment & could see 20/30 in my right eye & 20/35 in my left. They said my eyes looked great! I drove to Houston that afternoon!

I go back this Thursday to get my eyes checked again. I think my right eye is 20/20 now & my left probably 20/30. It's been more dry than my right & they say as the eye heals & the dryness goes away my vision will get better. I couldn't be more happy with the was the surgery went! I've had no other discomfort and no itchy eyes (which people said was a side-effect). I LOVE not having to put contacts in or take them out. I LOVE not wearing glasses! I LOVE being able to see as soon as I wake up! And I'm actually loving not being able to wear eye makeup (I can't for a week after surgery). It's a great excuse for why I look tired! :)

Holy cow, this was one long post. That's what happens when I type while watching The Amazing Race & Ugly Betty! So anyway, I HIGHLY recommend LASIK! I can give you more details if you are interested in it. I'm praying for 20/20 vision in both eyes by Thursday so they don't want to "tweak" my eyes again. It's been a much easier process than I thought it would be but I don't want to start the healing process again! Pray with me, will you?

So that's that. Happy Resurrection Week!

Ski Trip 2k10 (brought to you by the Snuggie).

This past week we took 40 high school students & 10 adults to Colorado for the Grace youth annual ski trip. The bus ride there was about 21 hours & yes it was brutal BUT let me tell you the savior of the trip was my Aggie Snuggie I received for Christmas! I don't know if I've blogged about it before but I LOVE my Snuggie. I know--they're weird & look like something Yoda would wear, but oh my goodness they are awesome! People complained the whole way there that the bus was cold & that they weren't comfortable but I was never cold & was snug as a bug on a bus! :) Snuggies...don't get on a long bus ride without one!

The group skied for 3 days at Copper Mountain. I didn't ski (the last time I went skiiing I became very aware of my own mortality & decided I never again needed to participate in the activity) but instead was the mom of the trip. I sat & read in the ski lodge, took care of kids with altitude sickness, helped take care of broken ski equipment & held on to extra layers when people got too warm. It was really a great trip--one cracked rib, one sprained ankle, one bruised arm but no other major injuries or problems! God is good!

It was a great time to get to know the high school students (since I mostly spend time with the 7th & 8th graders) as well as getting to hangout some of our college leaders for a few days. It took me a few days to recover (I slept 12 hours when I got home!) and I'm glad we don't do it again for a year but I'll definitely go again if needed!

Here's our whole group on the last day--

In other news....I'm scheduled to have LASIK surgery on Thursday afternoon! I'm super excited and also a bit nervous. I'm glad I could schedule it this week (I had my consultation/evaluation appointment today). I think the less time I have to think about it & freak out over the fact that a laser is changing the shape of my eye (!!) the better.

In spite of the crazy weather this past weekend (Dallas got snow!) I think Spring is finally here! Huzzah! ttfn.

My friend Katie tagged me & well, these are fun, so here we go! Her very creative friend Sarah at her blog Our Nesting Ground shared the Beautiful Blogger Award with her & so she shared it with me. The rules are simple I am suppose to list seven things about myself and then pass the award on.

1. One of my all time favorite movies is That Thing You Do!, though I've probably seen it hundreds of times I still get tears in my eyes during the scene where they hear their song on the radio for the first time. Which leads me to #2...

2. I'm not really a "crier" but I do cry when I'm really happy or when other people are really happy.

3. I've been to all of the continental United States except for Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska & Rhode Island.

4. I've only driven a stick shift once--everyone kept saying how fun it was--I don't get it...I couldn't get it, so I gave up.

5. I love playing games...I'm awesome at Taboo & I could play Scrabble all day long!

6. I've only been outside the US to Mexico, England & France....but this summer I'm going to the DR & I'm super PUMPED about it!

7. The first time I went skiiing I fell coming down the end of the mountain & I took out the fence that separated the ski area from the eating/picture taking area. No one was injured.

I'm passing this on to...

Amber

Cara

Sarah

Jana

Lynn

More February Fun

For being such a short little month it sure held a lot of activity! Kardia (in-town youth retreat, like Disciple Now), a snow day, a wedding shower & a baby shower (neither for me, nor for the same person, thank goodness!).

Kardia was great--about 135 students (7th-12th grade) and about 40 college leaders spent the weekend looking at what media & culture tell us about who we are & what's important compared to what God & His Word say. My group of 7th grade girls doubled it's weekly size--14 girls came & I was so thankful to be able to open my home for them to stay at. Let me tell you, it was a par-tay! :)

Making cookies.

Ready for bed!

The week after Kardia it snowed! Everything was pretty white for most of the day, many a snowball fight was had & there were snowmen everywhere! There's a big park next to the church & the day after the snow it looked like it had been the sight for a snowman war. There were remains & casualties melting everywhere, it was pretty funny.

Some of the girls who work at the church--

this is pre-snowball fight in the church parking lot.

My house. Snow pretty! :)

And the back yard was a snowy, slushy winter wonderland!

This past weekend the 8th grade girl leaders & I did a pizza/movie night with our girls. One of the leaders got pizza mixes so the girls got to make the dough, put the sauce & all the toppings on it themselves--it was so much fun! And then we watched Ever After--the Cinderella story with Drew Barrymore. Half the girls had never seen it (made us feel so old!). Then we played Twister--how long has it been since you played Twister? It was easier than I remembered. I utilized some yoga moves & did pretty well if I do say so myself!

Making pizza.

Playing Twister.

Silly Girls.

And now it's March isn't it?! Let the March Madness begin! :)

February Friends

Can you believe we're half way through the shortest month of the year?! 2010 is officially flying by! I went to Houston this weekend to help give a wedding shower for my good friend Bethany! It was a whirlwind weekend but so fun to get to spend with these girls who I lived with for most of college!

I'm so blessed to have these good friends! I'm sure I've blogged about them before...we met freshmen year of college & quickly became BFFs, AE, AE (best friends forever and ever and ever). :) Ashley tracked me down in a hallway to introduce herself & boy am I glad she did! That was a few days before our freshmen year started, we ended up already being neighbors! We loved to dance, paint our toenails, watch music videos, watch the Bachelor, make waffles & eat pretty much everything! Bethany was also our neighbor...we both took classes as Blinn & so we started riding together & would go eat at Subway on the way home. She was definitely my shopping buddy--we could do some serious damage. We were the only two girls in the group we went to the A&M-OU game of 2003 (?). Bethany definitely yelled "hold'em Ags!" when they were going for a touch down. Great moment.

Here we are in 2004 at Lake Tahoe for Spring Break--

Ashley is in Houston now, counseling at a church. Bethany is serving in college women's ministry in Memphis & I'm at a church in College Station...funny...we're all in churches now. Anyway, Bethany is getting married in April & I'm so honored to get to be her bridesmaid!

Here's us this weekend--

My latest funny/slightly embarrassing story.

This past weekend we had a youth leader retreat at one of the church staff member's houses. Super cool house on a small lake...huge windows, lots of trees...really neat. Because the house is pretty secluded there weren't any curtains on any of the windows...always makes me a little nervous but I figure if they can live there full time, I can spend one night right? Anyway...so after our evening sessions are over, we have game/free time for the rest of the evening. While I'm not a stay up late person at all, somehow I found myself with the night owls playing cards. Come 2am I decide I'm not going to be a happy camper or able to make breakfast for all these people in the morning if I don't go to bed ASAP.

I decide I should take a shower before bed because (1) I don't want to have to wake up any earlier than I have to & (2) I smell a little like smoke from the fire we built outside. I get my stuff & head into this huge master bathroom...a queen size bed could fit in here people!...the shower is situated in such a way that while there is no door or shower curtain, it's enough "around a corner" that I feel mostly safe. So keep in mind...no shower curtain, also no curtains on the ceiling level windows. I decide to commit. Now comes the task of figuring out how to turn the shower on...there are 5 shower heads. Five! One up top like a normal shower head & four aiming straight out from the walls. There are two handles...one appears to be the one used to adjust the water from hot to cold & the other just turns around in a circle & nothing happens. After pulling, turning & tugging on both of them I finally get water to come out of the top shower head. I adjust it to the right temperature....so far so good. I hurry because there's so many windows in there & it is 2:20-ish by now.

Suddenly I realize I don't know how to turn the shower off. I turn the handle that spins around & water comes out of each of the 5 shower heads....one at a time...whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...up top...whoosh. No matter how many times I turn it the water just keeps coming from every angle. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...up top...whoosh. I can adjust it's temperature with the other handle but can't for the life of my turn it off. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...up top...whoosh. I see the clock...2:30...the thought goes through my mind...could I just leave it on? Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...up top...whoosh. Surely not that much water would be wasted in the next few hours till someone else gets up who can figure this out. But my competitive side told me failure was not an option & I had to figure this out. I keep turning handles....whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...up top...whoosh. I'm laughing and frustrated but don't know what else to do! I push at the handles in frustration & they turn off!...the temperature handle just needed to be pushed in...apparently I'd pulled it out to turn the water on initially, but I have no recollection of this. Relief washes over me (get it...washes...shower...whoosh..)...I can finally go to bed now. As tired as I was I did laugh about the whole event for a while...even while lying in bed...it was funny!

That's my story! And...it's my half birthday today! Happy Half Birthday to me!

A December to Remember

Are there really only 2 days left till 2010? Holy cow! This month has been jam-packed! It feels like Thanksgiving was just last week but in a few short days this whole year will be over!

Probably the best thing about this month has been all the time with family--my immediate fam & extended too! My sweet Grandma Betsy passed away the week after Thanksgiving so I've spent quite a bit of this past month in Houston with my mom & Aunt Libby. My grandmother was a great woman and I will miss her a lot! My mom & aunt are two of the most Godly women I know--they have done so much to take care of my grandma over the last several years. In lieu of a funeral a small gathering (of about 40 people) was held at my grandma's house December 16 & it was really like a going away party instead of a funeral. In addition to our family the 6 or so women who took full time care of my grandma all were there as well as some long time neighbors. Several people shared about how wise, faithful, generous, patient and genteel my grandmother was. And many of them talked about what a blessing her children were to her. It was very honoring to my grandmother as well as my mom, aunt & uncle & was overall a blessing for all of us! The "gathering" or "party" as we liked to call it was held a few days after my cousins Lee & Adam came in from Washington DC & the day before Adam left again to move overseas. All the cousins don't get to see each other a lot so it was an added blessing to get to spend time with them!

Christmas was about a week later & so down to Corpus we all went! Bonnie & I went down a day early & she & I along with our parents went downtown to hear a friend's band play. We had such a good time! If you know my parents, you know their dachshunds Noel & Pama. Well they puppy sat for a friend's 8 week old lab/border collie mix for the few days we were there. "Marley" was 100% puppy! He was confined to the kitchen at all times as he loved to chew & pee on everything! He would try to play with Pama (Noel the grouchy old lady stayed far far away) & she would just cower as he swatted at her. He was bigger than they were & we had to remind Pama that she didn't have to stay in the kitchen--she was a big girl & could go in the living room. They were all 3 very silly dogs. Here's the best pic with all three--

Marley modeling the dog snuggie, Pama (the black one) with her tail between her legs & Noel in the bed facing the other way. This was a rare & very supervised moment for Marley to be in the den.

The day after Christmas we headed back to Houston where the Matthews were going to be heading as well. It was a fun few days before Lee headed back to DC. We too some fun pics in front of my grandma's house in attempts to recreate some old ones--

c. 1988

2009--man I wish I still had that ukulele!

2007

2009

And remember that picture of Lee, Adam, Bonnie & I at the beginning? It was taken in our grandma's kitchen a couple weeks ago. Here we are in the late 80's in her living room--

Aren't these fun?

Tomorrow my 5th year college roommates, Katy & Lynn are coming to town! And then another trip to Houston & Corpus before the year ends! I am a pro-traveler! :) Happy last week of '09!

Nativity Dance.

A very funny video! I don't know why this is so big--double click & it'll take you to youtube where you can watch it full screen.

Next to opening presents, decorating the tree is the best part of Christmas! --Eloise at Christmastime

I love Christmastime! I love everything about it--the cold, wearing jackets & sweaters, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, and holiday beverages from Starbucks! And I absolutely love Christmas decorations! This year I traded in my Charlie Brown tree for a 6ft pre-lit one (totally worth it)! And believe it or not I actually have enough ornaments to fill it!

In case you can't see my tree-skirt down there...

I started making it last year & mostly finished it before Christmas but realized when I pulled it out this year, some of the snow flakes were held on with safety pins. So I finished it & am pretty pleased with how it turned out! I saw one in Pottery Barn that looked very similar & decided I could do it myself at a fraction of the price! Anyway, I love it! And here's some of my favorite ornaments...

Snow flake.

Holly! My first ornament (so my mom tells me).

Sparkly pink purse.

Roses from my debutante days.

Red cup from Starbucks!

Love this polka dot H! I think my friend Dawn gave me this a few years ago.

OK last picture...this is what I see walking down my hallway everyday. There's a mirror on the wall that catches the reflection of the tree in the living room. I love getting to "see" it before I actually see it! :)

Happy Christmastime!

giving thanks.

Went to H-town for Thanksgiving. We had about 20 come to Grandma's house for lunch--a delicious smoked Turkey & all the yummy sides you can imagine! My personal favorite was the sweet potatoes with marshmallows! I think I was the only one who ate them, but that was ok--more for me! :) It was a great few days--shopping with my sister, eating LOTS of food & just getting to hang out with my family!

One great story--Bonnie & I went to Anthropologie (one of our favorite stores!) Wednesday afternoon when I got to Houston & of course the first place we go is the sale closet in the back--we get several good things to try on & trade most of them back & forth between our two dressing rooms. The ladies who worked in the dressing room were getting quite a kick out of us & asked what sizes we wanted & then said they'd go back & get whatever was in the "back closet"--(Bonnie & I dubbed it "the secret closet")--whenever there was only 1-2 of an item left they had to take it off the floor. So she comes back with a huge pile of clothes of things that were marked down to like $10! It was awesome! We both tried almost everything on--laughing so much & just having an absolute blast! Best day at Anthopologie ever!

Well I definitely have a lot to be thankful for! Not just great sales at Anthro! My wonderful family is the biggest blessing in my life! My parents, Bonnie & Robert helped me so much this year with the whole home-buying & moving process. I definitely could not have done it with out them! I have great friends & a fantastic job--the Lord has provided more than I could ask or imagine through it. I have a lot to be thankful for indeed. Here's some pics from this weekend.

Bon & I

Silly Grobes.

Whoop! Ready to go to the game!

The fam.

This Old House

Any day now Operation: New Bathrooms will begin! While there's so many pros to owning an old home, there are also some cons! Not really cons, but challenges--opportunities to build character right? Only one of the 2 bathrooms in my house has a shower & a few weeks ago I discovered is has a leaky shower pan. The only way to fix this requires the entire thing to be torn out & rebuilt. So while one bathroom is being ripped up why not do the other one right? The other bathroom in my house is only a bathtub. It has a window in it & is lined with fake tile. It was in the list of things to re-do around the house someday. Well that day is quickly approaching. A lot of people have asked if I'm going to do it myself. Seriously? No way.

Shower with leaky shower pan.

Bathtub with a window in it, fake tile & no shower head.

Because the floors are already black & white, both the standup shower & the bath/shower will be tiled in white tile with a black & white checked accent border. Pretty basic. Kevin the tile guy is supposed to start tearing things out this week & hopefully will start tiling/rebuilding during the week of Thanksgiving. I'm super excited to have TWO working bathrooms in a couple of weeks! If buying a house didn't make me feel like a real grown up, remodeling two bathrooms surely does! :)

Fun group pics.

If you know anything about my former life (with Worldview) one of the things I loved to do was organize group pictures. It was the highlight of my Monday morning each week. Last night we decided to take a group pic to send to Mwangi, the Compassion boy we sponsor in Africa. They turned out pretty good--notice it's the college boys (the leaders!) in the back that are the ones misbehaving.


And of course, a silly picture...


Aren't these kids precious? Those are my 7th grade girlies in the front left--I just love them!

Oh and an update on the "Big Dance" that I blogged about a few weeks ago...one of our youth leaders created a facebook event for the performance next weekend...so far over 400 confirmed attending and over 700 maybes. This thing may be out of control, but it's going to be awesome!!

Halloween

I got to go to Midland this past weekend to see friends & visit my old stompin' grounds. :) Bad weather in Houston delayed my flight from an 8:45pm departure to an 11:45pm departure! Fortunately it was a direct flight & so I arrived in Midland a little after 1am. My sweet friend Sarah picked me up despite a stomach bug she was battling! But thankfully she was able to take the day off on Friday & we both slept in & watched tv until mid-afternoon when we got up to go have a late lunch with another friend & then got ready for a party our friend Caroline was having that night!

Sarah & I on our way to lunch.

Sarah, Dawn & I had decided to be "3 Peas in a Pod" for the party. Sarah & Dawn did an awesome job putting the costumes together! We stuffed some really big green shirts with HEB & Walmart bags & Dawn's mom made us a pod that put the finishing touches on our costumes!

3 Peas in a Pod

The best thing about our costumes was that they were so un-flattering that it completely freed us up to eat as much as we wanted! Or at least that was my favorite part of it! :) The party was fun & everyone had great costumes on!

Me & Hilary (Hi Hilary!)

Me & Caroline

Peas, bacon, eggs & a hotdog!

Bert, Ernie & 3 Peas in a Pod

Even though it was a super quick trip, it was super fun! I sure was blessed with good friends out in West Texas!

Braidy Bunch.

It is hard to take a picture of the back of your head! Inspired by Laurie, I tried a new braid today & am pretty pleased with the results. I pretty much just want to be like Laurie.

I don't remember it raining this much in College Station when I lived here 3 years ago. I feel like it rains a little everyday. And when it's not raining it's so humid it might as well be raining. So there's no use in trying to straighten my hair. A braid & pony are perfect solutions but I fear that I feel like people in my office are thinking "does she know how to do anything else with her hair?" I'm always game for a new idea! Thanks Laurie!

October so far.

This past weekend I went to Corpus to celebrate my grandpa's 84th birthday! Even though it was a quick trip it was a good time & beautiful weather! I had lunch with my parents & Pop at Brewster Street Ice House which is right under the Harbor Bridge, next to Whataburger Field--it was a gorgeous day to be down town near the water!

My Parents

Me & Pop

Last week my little 7th grade girlies & I played around with Photo Booth on my MacBook. The little hamster in the corner named Hammy & he's a mascot of sorts for our junior high ministry.

Also this month, my roommates & I busted out the fire pit in the back yard! It's been raining so much it that hadn't been dry enough to start a fire but we had a couple of dry days in a row a while back & we made the most of it!

Dottie gave a valiant effort to start the fire--it took a while but
she persevered & it was a major success!

Sarah & Rachel eat some s'mores!

Me & Dottie love s'mores too!

Griffin just wants someone to pay attention to him.