Saturday, December 25, 2004

Traditions Out the Window
Thanks for the prayers and phone calls and emails and everything! I haven't been able to get online with my computer until now... and cellphone doesn't work in my hometown and has to be off in the hospital... so communication has been sparse, I realize.

The good news is that they moved Greg out of ICU yesterday. He's now in the neuroscience unit awaiting his coming out of the coma. He moves his legs a lot and has opened his eyes the last couple of days.

He's proven to be a bit feisty... pulling out his breathing tube a few days ago. Yesterday he pulled the feeding tube out of his nose twice. The third time they put it back in, he mumbled "take it out" -- a wonderful sign!

Yesterday morning, my mom and I came up to the hospital. (It's an hour away from my hometown.) They had him propped up in a chair. Our pastor had arrived as well, so mom was talking to him while I was telling Greg each person around the world who I knew was praying for him. All of a sudden I realized his eyes were open, so I called mom over. She got in front of him and said hello, and he smiled. It was the sweetest moment.

When the pastor was about to leave, he said, "Greg, I'm going to say a word of prayer, okay?" And Greg nodded his head. And I cried.

All good signs.

I know there is a long road ahead. Tonight the doctor said that he could be here another six weeks. But each little thing is so encouraging... things could have been worse.

My whole family is up in Sioux Falls tonight. A sweet friend of the family bought us hotel rooms so that we could all be up here for Christmas Eve and be able to see Greg and not have to drive back and forth.

I guess my Christmas wish is just that he would wake up soon and that he is the same good-natured brother I've always known.

Hoping you all have a merry christmas. Be sure to tell your family that you love them.

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Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Quick Update
Made it so far as Davenport, where some kind soul opened his home and offered a couch and free spinal adjustment. Woot!

Greg is becoming more responsive. Crossing & uncrossing his legs, etc. They're turning down the respirator tonight to see how he does breathing on his own and will take out the tube if all goes well. Then he will likely be moved out of ICU tomorrow. Everything sounds encouraging so far. Thanks for the prayers and kind thoughts!

Will drive the remaining six hours and go straight to the hospital tomorrow.

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Monday, December 20, 2004

The Same is Better Than Worse
Last report Sunday night was that the hematoma was staying the same... which, I guess, is good. Today they're going to start taking him off the morphiene which means no visitors for a while.

Bossman called last night and told me to go home. I will gladly oblige....

After getting my emissions test done so that I don't get in trouble with the law for expired tags.

People who know the cell number pretty much know where they can find me for the next 14 hours.

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Sunday, December 19, 2004

Prayers Please
Was just informed that my brother, the same one who only recently discovered this place, was in a car accident tonight. He was apparently pinned under the car and was air-lifted to a bigger hospital. My parents saw him, but he was sedated as they fear skull fractures and want to limit brain activity.

If you're of the praying sort, prayers for Greg would be very much appreciated. And if you want to throw in a mention for me too... it's times like these when I wonder what the heck I'm doing 900 miles away from family.

Thanks.

Greg Update: Sunday Morning
At noon, the doctors are apparently going to be weaning him off the medication that is keeping him in the coma. He's been given CATscans every hour to keep an eye on the hematoma. He also fractured the first vertebra in his neck, but he is responding to pain in his fingers and toes, so they don't believe there was any spinal injury.

His ex-girlfriend was driving. They were on a curvy country road and just missed a turn and rolled into the ditch. Dani is in the hospital with some sort of arm injury, but the other girl was killed.

Thanks for the prayers!

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Saturday, December 18, 2004

SuckitPCS
Connie called me at work today to see if I was alive. Seems I've had my phone shut off since I got back from Florida. I could say that was inadvertant... but honestly, I've known it has been off, and I'm perfectly happy with that. Freeeeeeeedom! I guess I should check my messages some day to see who else thinks I died.

A Sufjan Christmas
Do yourself a favor and get the Sufjan Stevens Christmas music. (found via catapult) He apparently has put together little Christmas cds for friends and family the last few years, not unlike the one Jay supposedly did that I never heard. *ahem* So anyway, Sufjan's is available for download, and it has made me incredibly happy for the last day and a half. If nothing else, may I highly recommend "Come Thou Fount" on Volume II and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever" on Volume III.

Birthday Countdown: T-minus 8 Days
You know, for those who care. ;)

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Friday, December 17, 2004

Reindeer Have Hooves, Silly.
I hate the "Up on the Housetop" Christmas carol, only because it reminds me of my own stupidity. I don't know exactly when I discovered the truth... but for the longest time I thought it was "Up on the housetop, reindeer paws", and I always thought that it was such a desperate attempt to rhyme with "Claus" and completely disregarded the fact that reindeer feet are hooves.

Reindeer pause... ptthht. Stupid carol.

Bah Humbug
Last night I went to my one and only holiday party this year. My rationale was that all the same people were going to be at all the other parties, so why not just RSVP to just one and get my fill in one shot. (And that way I didn't have to come up with 30 outfits to wear.)

Here in My Car I Feel Safest of All
Thanks for the music suggestions. Tash made a great effort for musical recruitment as well. I have access to some U2, DMB, some JEW, a little Buckley, Everythign but the Girl, Coldplay. Good call, people! And because it sounds like I am going to spend the majority of my week and a half at home... not actually at home, but rather driving to one of a half-dozen other destinations, it will be good to have quite a selection.

Might check in later. I'm busy.

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Thursday, December 16, 2004

Happy Birthday to My Couch and to Manda's!

Yay.

TMI
I do web maintenance for a few clients. One in particular, requires some database management as well for their weekly email blasts. This means that I see the email addresses for quite a few people.

Now, I know how hard it is to come up with an email address these days. Almost everything is taken. That's why my hotmail address involves one of my favourite pet fish instead of having anything to do with my first or last name.

But today I came across an email address that was "twotrying2b3", and it just grossed me out to no end. I understand that infertility is no laughing matter, but goodness... please spare me that little nugget of your private life.

Erin's Random Tuesday Question... a Day Late
RTQ #16: What is your favorite junk food and why?

Tough one, but I'm going to go with... ugh, I don't know. It depends on my mood. Sometimes I'm a chips'n'salsa girl, but other times nothing hits the spot like an OCP.

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Tuesday, December 14, 2004

I Came, I Saw, I Bought the... Scarf
Universal was so fun yesterday. Helps to have contacts. Got to go in the express lanes to get on rides faster. Went on both Dualing Dragons this time. Happened to be on the Men in Black ride when it broke. "That problem just got a whole lot worse." Good times.

A Little Traveling Music Please
Next Wednesday I will embark on another Roadtrip of Death and Insanity. Actually, I'm all about roadtrips... I dig the solitude and the "think" time and playing Name that Tune whilst hitting the scan button on the radio. However, it's right about hour #13 where suicidal thoughts kick in.

But that's where you can help. Tell me your favourite feel-good drive time tunes. Go ahead and throw out entire albums if you like.

My driving music tends to be distinctly different from my work music. While Massive Attack or Aphex Twin might be great for an afternoon of data entry, it just puts me to sleep on the road. Driving music needs to be far more singalongable.

So far on the list (in no particular order):
1. FamilylForcelFive
2. The River Bends - ...And Flows Into the Sea
3. Chris Thile - Deceiver
4. Abba - Gold
5. Remy Zero - Golden Hum

Song of the Day
Life is a Highway
- Tom Cochrane
I may have mentioned this before, but this song is one that would make my list if I could only hear 12 songs for the rest of my life.

just tell 'em we're survivors...

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Sunday, December 12, 2004

Did I Sign Up for This?
I'm at Manda's. Somehow she and Jack have gone to a dinner party, and I am here with the little pooper. We just had a toxic-waste diaper experience. Remind me of these things when I get married. I don't know how one gets used to that mess!

I can barely talk about what we did this afternoon, but it involves Tiffany. It was her idea.

Tomorrow we're ditching the man and the babe and heading to Universal.

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Friday, December 10, 2004

Seeing Green
Today it has been determined that I could never be a Fear Factor contestant. This morning I bravely downed a shot of wheat grass chased by half a glass of carrot juice, and let me tell you the thought still makes my body shudder and my face contort. If you don't know... you really have no idea. That is a whole new level of ICKINESS beyond anything I have ever experienced before.

Wheatgrass 101: It Tastes Like Hell, but Makes You Feel Swell. "Swell" isn't exactly the word I want to use right now.

Simmer Down
I witnessed the strangest exchange this afternoon as I was walking to the post office. I heard yelling, and as I got closer, there was a man standing in the parking lot of the post office yelling for an older man in a minivan to come over to him. The man in the minivan was yelling something unintelligible, but it was easy to decipher the final two words. "$&#* YOU!"

So then Older Man in Minivan is stopped at the intersection that I am about to cross. I decide to wait for him to go, not wanting to end up being driven over should he decide to gun it in another fit of rage. So I'm looking at him, and he is maybe late 50's/early 60's, and the guy is trying to put on one of those plastic tubey oxygen inhaler thingies.

I'm left with two thoughts about the whole thing:

#1. I am so thankful that I am not easily angered. That poor man is going to give himself a heartattack.

#2. Be careful when being an idiot, because people are probably watching.

Bravi, Bravi, Bravissimi
My roommate and I have been totally hooked on Bravo lately. How can you not be hooked on Project Runway. It's like the American Idol of the fashion industry. If they ever rerun the first episode, you have to get a load of the "Follow Your Bliss" guy. He was a little hard to take, but it was sort of fun to watch his demise.

We're also newly addicted to Significant Others. It's so messed up, but I love the idea of an improv-comedy.

And speaking of other shows I'm addicted to... Iron Chef: America! Hello! 2005 is going to be a good year. (I just discovered IronFans.com. I am such a geek, but the thing is... I'm okay with that.)

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Thursday, December 09, 2004

Reasons to Love the South
#482 Running around in short-sleeves on December freaking 8th.
#483 Black eyed pea soup

USB out the Wazoo
Does anyone else remember the days when you felt cool if you had a USB port? Now they are simply everywhere. 2 on my laptop. 2 on the docking station. 4 on my monitor. I even have 2 on my keyboard. My goal is to fill them all. All ports must be filled with... wait. Anyway, I'll start with the USB Aquarium, the USB beverage warmer, the USB glowing snowman, the USB christmas tree, the USB mini fan, the USB Santa drummer, the USB Ionizer, the USB Aroma Pot, and the USB Massage Ball (uhh..).

Who Has Counter Space for This?
What kind of lazy do you have to be in order to need one of those electric jar openers?

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Wednesday, December 08, 2004

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Tuesday, December 07, 2004

A Conversation
Me: I can read you like a book.
Michael: *gives look that says "uhh, no you can't"*
Me: A very short book.
Michael: Whatever.
Me: Okay... well I can read you like a book... except that it's in German, so I spend my time thinking "what the hell is this?".

As hard of a time as I give him, I do have to appreciate the fact that he is one of the few friends of mine who would bring up Bjork and ColecoVision in the same sentence.

Busy Signal
I'm trying to ship the Bossman off to California for the rest of the week, so I may post more later. In the meantime, go watch the layout evolution at Erin's... you never know what you're gonna get!

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Monday, December 06, 2004

Ad Awareness
Tv commercials at this time of year can be extremely pain-inducing. (See Tommy's post on the Gap non-rhyming song ads.) However, I've been singing "Let My Love Open the Door" for the past week straight, and I can't say that's an entirely bad thing.

And there is also one ad that just makes me giggle like a little girl. I don't know how you can't love it. You know the one. The Citibank mountain-bikers commerical... with the guy on the bike... or rather, not on the bike. Love it! (Watch it here)

Victory!
Having been back exactly four weeks today, I decided I was going to once-and-for-all unpack the suitcase. Found the postcards I wrote to Erin and Allison but didn't send because, for some reason, I didn't write down their zip codes when I wrote down their addresses before I left.

I also found the card I bought with the beautiful Martin Hill photography on the front. His work is truly stunning.

Savory Pancakes
Yesterday morning, for some reason, I had just gotten done with my bowl of cereal and mentioned to Stacy that I needed something savory instead of another sweet thing. She perked up and asked if I had ever had savory pancakes. No, but anything involving pancakes not being sweet sounded good to me.

So we spent the afternoon grocery shopping and the evening cooking, and I have to say, it was quite a tastey treat. Here's what you need and how you do it:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (really how ever much you like)
1 clove chopped garlic

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
herbs of your choice

1 cup grated cheese
milk
flour

pancake mix (or if you have a good crepe recipe, I bet that would work great too)

1. Brown meat, onions & garlic.
2. Add tomatoes, broth & herbs. Let simmer on high to reduce.
3. Make several pan-sized pancakes. (Big enough to fold over like a taco or burrito)
4. Stuff meat mixture inside pancakes.
5. Put filled-pancakes into glass pan.
6. Melt cheese with milk and add flour as necessary to make a smooth creamy cheese sauce. (Amounts were not measured, and therefore not available.)
7. Pour cheese over pancakes.
8. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes to warm and crispify.

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Saturday, December 04, 2004

Threebase: It's the Magic Weblog. Lots of pretty stuff there. Whee! I'm a geek. Alright...

I'm Melting Molting!
Heating is the bane of my present existance. I leave. I come back. Suddenly every building has the heater on, and my skin is DYING.

I remember back in my greezy-teenage-skin phase wishing for dry skin. I had no idea. Oily skin just makes you glow. Dry skin hurts and sloughs off on all your dark clothes and sucks. And I know I have no excuses, as I have the best skin care around! (I just need to use it. I'm so lazy.)

Okay Okay
I'm going to Florida next weekend so Manda will get off my back. Sad to miss Leslie though. I'm sure there will be many adventures to report. (And weird that my goddaughter is like a real child now. That will be interesting.)

Hack Attack
I broke down and bought a DVD player the other day. I needed one that could be "modified" to be region free. Plus the one I got plays MPEG4 & DivX too, so that works out well. I was told not to buy the Wild West DVD, so you know what that means....

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Thursday, December 02, 2004

Get Real
Okay, let's be honest. I'm behind on the Time Warp Posts, which is making me not post my Real Time Posts. And let me tell you, the reason is not for lack of desire to tell the fun details of my trip, but rather, it is because I don't have all my pictures from the end of the trip scanned in... and thus, I cannot adequately tell the tale.

So how about I just take some of the pressure off and say that you will have to... STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION. Which will come in a day or two or week or two. Depending.

Moving On... Almost
Before we talk about the things I want to talk about... let's just cover one thing I don't want to talk about. And that is the fact that Muse was in town last night, and I wasn't there. That whole thing better have come up while I was out of the country, because otherwise I completely suck and no longer deserve to call myself a fan. (Even though I bet I was a fan before 95% of the teeny boppers there last night.... First Blog Reference: 10/10/3, though listening before then.)

And We're Clear
The guys are on their way to Amsterdam. I didn't request any souvenirs this year, but I better darn get a t-shirt for Christmas (or when they get back next week). Paul called yesterday and said that he and Darren were rolling around on the floor like Dumb & Dumber when they read the email about my couch developments. I'll take that as a good thing.

And speaking of them and good things, think of your favorite bass player. And then think of him reuniting with our other favorite musicians. And then consider how unstoppable that will make them. Yes, indeed... you heard it here first.

And as a result of other news of theirs, I am trying to convince Bossman that we need to take an office fieldtrip to SXSW. You know... for managementy-type reasons.

Linkity-Link
I came across diversionary/daily whilst searching for a good picture of jaffas. (Don't ask... you'll find out during the EXCITING CONCLUSION.) Best I can tell, he takes pictures and is from Perth, and we all know that I love Perth. May have to check that one out every now and again.

It's True!
I went to the mall today. Never again. I hate shopping.

Music of the Day
Fools Paradise by these guys. So glad that album is finally being released. Dig it.

P.S. For Stevity Steve Steve Steve-o
"watch what you say around my momma... she raised me in the dirty south!"

I'm bringing the cd home tonight. Accepting all bribes in exchange for mp3s.

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