The Big Scare

So on Monday everything was fine until the evening. I hadn't been feeling well and didn't have much supper. I had gotten sick and told Aaron who then tested my blood sugar. His meter reads up to 500. We kept getting the message "hi." He then gave me the option of going to the ER that night or the next morning. I told him let's go that night because I didn't want to miss school, thinking I had some bug that was probably going around. Well after a bunch of tests, I found out that I have...diabetes. My sugar level that night was 753. That's deathly high. The doctor admitted me to the hospital until my sugar levels are lower. I have been poked and prodded, given vials of blood, or as I say, donated to my local mosquito. You name it. So ends my 2nd day here at the hospital.

Book Review

Ah yes, it's that time of the semester. I'm taking American Literature II and are big semester project is to read a book from after the Civil War era to the present and it has to be approved by the teacher. Mrs. S approved my choice of Catherine Marshall's Christy. I absolutely loved the book. Our entire assignment is to write our own review of the book we chose, (a person would have thought she wanted us to sow the South 40, dig a cess pool and give up our firstborn after hearing the complaining and the panic among my classmates.) then later we are to present our review in class (I don't care how many speech classes I took, I still hate talking in front of large groups), and we are also to re-design a book cover and present that as well. I have about a month to come up with the book cover. Any ideas?

Update

Well, yesterday we went to the hematologist to find out what may be causing my anemia.

My hemoglobin reading went from a 6.7 to a 7.2. The doctor examined me a bit and asked me some questions and put me on straight iron tablets to have three times a day. He is also wanting me to be tested for von wellbrands disease. Apparently those who have it bruise easily and bleed more than they should after surgeries. It's something he said that wasn't really life threatening and that medicine will help if I have that condition. I see him again in October.

Sick and Tired

"Just when you hit rock bottom someone throws you a shovel."-Garfield.

I love this quote because it describes how I feel. You see, the ankle I broke just healed and I just got hit with something else. Anemia.

That explains why I have been feeling like a slug, it also explains the pale complexion, and the tired appearance, and the dizzyness. Last year, when I was tested for anemia my hemoglobin reading was an 8. It is now a 6.7, so I now have to see a hematologist and figure out what needs to be done.

How does it feel to be this low? Well, let's just say that snails have more pep than I do. I look like one of Caspers relatives and feel like I could easily sleep through the next decade or two. Just walking out to the mailbox makes me feel like I participated in every single Olympic game known to man in under 30 minutes. What's worse is the lack of sleep. Since the hemoglobin has something to do with oxygen to the blood, and since I am at such a low level, my body is missing that oxygen, making it nearly impossible to sleep. Sounds like fun, huh?

Here's hoping I can get through this quickly.

MRI...and more

Well, I had my MRI this past Monday. I did NOT like that monster! It was way too loud! My ears were ringing for about an hour after it was over despite the fact that they gave me earplugs! Anyhow, the results were not very pleasant. I have some how fractured the bone and it split enough to cut off the blood supply to the bone. (Who knew that was possible?) Anyhow, the doctor said that the blood supply is starting to come back and that I have to start taking a low dose aspirin to keep it from clotting. I also have to keep weight off my foot. I can use my heel to maintain balance, but that is it. I have a cast and am supposed to have that for about a month, possibly longer. I go back to the doctor in exactly one month to see if I still need the cast. I have asked my professors for permission to change to online classes, so I can work from home. Other than that, I will be bored out of my mind!

Repeat performance

If you have read my previous blog entry (the only other one this year) you will have read about the first time I hurt my ankle, back in December. Well, fast forward to February 12th, and repeat what happened the first time around. You see the doctor told me I could go off my brace after a month. So I did, and on my way out to go to Wal-Mart (why do I always seem to get hurt when I am going out?) So I step down and sure enough my ankle turns and I end up in the same situation all over again. Since i am incredibly stubborn it took Aaron about 1 whole day to convince me to go to the ER to get my ankle examined. So we went there and were out in less than two hours (and some people says miracles don't exist) I was x-rayed, poked and prodded and given a pain pill and anti-inflamitory. Yesterday, Aaron and I spent 2 hours at the bone doctors where I was again, poked and prodded and then I was told that my ankle was not broken. (Thank goodness!) However, I was told that I would have to have an MRI to see what kind of damage was done. (This time, my doctor thinks I could have some muscle damage, aside from my ligaments being torn again) If necessary, I will have to have surgery to repair the damage, if not I will have to have physical therapy to help strengthen my ankle muscles. Update to follow...

Ouch!

Okay. Aaron and I got home from South Carolina December 27. We had a lovely time spending time with the family. The next morning we got up and got ready to go to a doctor's office for an appointment. I stumble out the front door, and I hear the most disturbing popping noise and experience white searing pain. "Take two Tylenol and walk it off." says Aaron. (This explains why he's a web applications developer and not a doctor!) So I did just that. we run to Wal-Mart to grab a few things since we were early for the appointment. Well, about halfway through the Meat department, I am in so much pain, I want to start gnawing on the grocery cart. We go to the ER.
I go through x-ray (the discs I had to lay my ankle on came straight from the freezer, I swear they did!) It also didn't help that the x-ray tech's hands are just as cold. After some more time, the ER doc says that it's probably a bone spur break. He hands Aaron a prescription for pain pills, puts my ankle in a splint, fits me with crutches and releases me into the wild. The next morning I mistakenly took a pain pill on an empty stomach, so I get sick. Aaron calls the consult-a-nurse and asks what to do. "Have her eat more food." she tells him. So I took another pill and had a sandwich and pretzels. On the way to the doctor, I get sick again. It leaked through a plastic bag all over my skirt. We were pretty much around the corner from the bone doctor so Aaron covers me with a towel, and wheels me into the office. I felt awful and I'm pretty sure I looked the part. They wheel me into an exam room almost immediately so I wouldn't scare anyone off. They remove the splint, but as soon as the doctor touches the back of my leg, I almost scream in pain. They are cautious and send me over to radiology so they can check out my legs to make sure I didn't have a blood clot. Thankfully, I did not. They ship me back off to the bone doctor. Who fits me into this air cast boot that you can pump air into or remove air from. It's not too bad, but it weighs about 3 tons. I was then informed that it was not exactly a broken bone that I had, but that I had torn some ligament off of the bone. Next Tuesday I get to go back and see what happens next.

June

June is a very special month for me for two reasons:
#1) My birthday falls on the first of the month.
#2) On the 17th, my husband Aaron and I celebrate our anniversary.
This year I turned 31. I'll be honest I don't really mind the fact that I am no longer in my twenties. Although, I do still feel like I am in my twenties (and as the saying goes: "you are as young as you feel"or something like it).
It was a quiet celebration. I didn't want a cake, (I'm not much of a cake person anymore, however, I do enjoy making them for other people) which prompted to Aaron inform me that I was weird (you should have seen his reaction when I told him I wouldn't have minded a birthday pie). Since I always pick on him about being older (by 6 months) he felt it was perfectly fine to inform people that I was turning 40. He stopped that when I told him that he was welcome to sleep with the cats. He did, however manage to sneak and inform the waitress of a local restaurant where we had dinner and inform them about my birthday and of course they sang their little cheesy birthday song (Grr!!) It was a nice day for me.
This year Aaron and I will celebrate being together for 4 years.It has been and interesting 4 years with life's general ups and downs, and I am looking forward to what is to come in the future with my eternal sweetheart. We have no children yet, (yes, we do want them!) However, we have two cats who, I believe at times are giving us much needed practice. Especially since the famous tuna incident.

The ol' Switcheroo

Well, after filling out the world's easiest form, I have changed from being an Early Childhood Education major to just Education. I want to teach older kids. Not necessarily high school or even middle school (although I will teach anywhere). I just wanted to stick to doing what I have always wanted since before I can remember. I love kids of all ages and I love teaching so I have now begun the journey to doing so. I am now taking new classes. Math for the Liberal Arts, (I think that will be my toughest battle) Educational Psychology, US History1, and World Geography. The last two being my favorite subjects. So, throughout the semester I will keep you posted on these aforementioned subjects and the fun I have studying them.

Christmas 2009

Well, since we satyed in Virginia for Thanksgiving with Aaron's family, it's only natural for us to go to South Carolina for Christmas with my family. On Christmas Eve morning we left the s-l-o-w-l-y melting snow and headed for North Augusta, South Carolina where at the time it was nice, sunny and in the mid 50s. We started out wearing jackets, when we stopped for lunch in North Carolina, we shed our coats but kept our sweatshirts on. However, just before we hit Rock Hill in South Carolina, we were down to t-shirts because we were so warm. It was a nice quite Christmas, where we cooked, and then played board games. Aaron killed us in Monopoly (no surprise there) and we all won in several Yahtzee games. We exchanged gifts Christmas morning and had stockings with the cousins the next day. On our way back to Radford, we got stuck in nasty traffic in Charlotte, where there was a car accident that closed down two lanes. Aaron had a window down and next to us was a car who's driver had a baby dachshund with her I decided to have a little fun at the critter who was barking the most adoreable little barks I had ever heard, and barked back. It was funny, because he/she kept looking for who was barking back. After taking 45 minutes to drive two miles (gotta love traffic jams!) we finally got through it and got back to Radford at 9:30 Sunday night, two hours later than planned. All in all it was a very Merry Christmas. I hope all e

What Plans?

Well, as much as we wanted to, we are unable to make the trip out to California to see my mom, my sister, and my neice. In the three and a half years Aaron and I have been married, he has never met my California side of the family other then phone conversations.
The trip wa called off because our Mazda had decided to call it quits on us by over heating constantly, so Aaron decided we needed a newer safer car and we now have a Green Saturn station wagon. Our dog, Yeti, who is still a pup was pleased that he had extra room to move around in. (The dog is HUGE) and he even has his own door. (the hatch back)
So now, our plans so far are to go down to South Carolina and visit my family that is down there. I'm glad we won't have to worry about driving in the snow, because it almost never snows in North Augusta and if it does, it's not more than a few inches, although a White Christmas would be nice, right?

Yeti

Well about a few weeks ago our Great Pyrenees Yeti, turned one. He obviously has grown a great deal from his puppy days (although he still is a puppy until he turns two). Here are some of his likes and dislikes:
Likes:

• walks (especially at the "bark park")
• when daddy grills out and gives me steak scraps
• herding Aaron's niece and nephews
• licking the cats
• being the center of attention
• receiving lots of love
• treats from "L"
• mealtime
• playing "Catch me if you can"
• chewing and tearing stuff up (mommy doesn't like this very much)
• going to Honey and Papa's

Dislikes:

• leashes
• the vet giving me shots
• sitting in the back of the car
• thunderstorms
• hot weather
• getting wet
• loud noises (especially those loud things mom and dad call airplanes)

Happy Birthday, Yeti boy!

More Observations

Once again I had the opportunity to go and observe the children at the ELC. My second time I got to watch the kids make toothpaste. The kids seemed to enjoy that activity. My third time was this past Friday during NRCC's fall bash. Every single kid got a caricature portrait (which was cute and funny) done to take home to their parents. The artist was a guy who does caricatures in one minute or less. Then the kids got to listen to the guest musician. They liked some of the music and a couple of the kids started "dancing" which was hilarious. After that they went back to the center and had a pizza lunch. ( The school was serving free slices of Domino's Pizza to everyone there.) Those two hours went by quickly.

Part 2

To sum it up (the temple trip) we saw the White House, The Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, and the pentagon. I am just glad to be home.

To DC & Back...Thankfully in one peice...

Well, On Friday afternoon Aaron, his father and I all piled into the Lincoln and made the drive to up to Washington for the temple trip. We decided to let his dad drive because well, one I hate driving for any reason and two Aaron is not all that familiar with DC ( and I'll be honest, we were both chicken about getting on the beltway.) So we had a long drive ahead.
The drive up was fine, for the most part. (Although I spent half the time in the backseat trying to keep my sanity in check. I do not do well on long car trips, especially in the backseat. Not because I get sick...I don't unless I'm reading. But because I feel trapped.) So we get to the Crowne Plaza at around 8 or so. I nearly jumped from my seat and fell to kiss the ground, never in my life have I been so glad to get away from a car! Aaron's dad's driving is interesting to say the least, and the beltway was a nightmare! And here, I thought Atlanta traffic was a disaster.
We even saw a van swerving and actually hit a car in front of us ( well, us and a VA state trooper who had pulled over someone else....talk about lousy luck.) Well, it took us about forty-five minutes, 6 turns around the block and $12 before we finally parked. We hummed and hawed after we went to our rooms and changed our minds about 10 times before we decided to go to the Macaroni Grill (How on earth could his dad NOT like Italian food?!) well all enjoyed a fabulous meal and went back to the hotel and zonked out. Aaron before me, becasue I wanted to do some hotel exploring (yes, it's a weird thing, I know but I love to do it anyway.) and reading.
Despite the little "go to sleep kit" I found on my bed in the hotel ( which some kind soul packed with a sleep mask, som lavendar linen spary, and ear plugs) I did not sleep well... (strange environment, I guess.) Although I did have a blast throwing pillows off my bed and into random targets in the room. (hey, when the cat's asleep THIS mouse will play!!!) Why on earth must you put 20 pillows on a bed I only need 2, max 3 if the pillows are lousy! I truly believe the best part was when I saw the most breath-taking view of the temple lit up at night from my window on the 16th floor of the hotel. (I swear, I spent at least 15 minutes just sitting there staring at it.)
The next morning at the hotel, Aaron and I just wanted to do a grab and growl breakfast, but his dad wanted to go to the hotel's restaurant, which was a big mistake. The bacon was leathery, the eggs were powdered, the pancakes were WHITE ( I do believe those suckers were raised in total darkness.) I choked down a few chunks of fresh pineapple (the only edible thing there) and gulped down a $3 chocolate milk. (gotta love those DC prices)
Well, we go through the temple and saw a few folks from the ward, which was wonderful.
After the temple and before we went home, we went sight seein...... to be continued.....

The Observations of Little Ones

I am officially a second year student at NRCC. Classes began on August 26th and so far things seem to be fine. My teachers seem decent enough and my classes have been interesting.
This semester I am taking CHD 120 also known as Introduction to Early Childhood. Our main project is to spend ten hours observing the children at the Early Learning Center. We have had about five classes expressing the different variations of Observation.
The one I completed today was the Frequency Count where we watched the children and made tally marks on good or bad behavior.
I came in during the last part of nap time so it was easy for the first thirty minutes. Although it was kind of hard to pick my way through the room to do a head count and not step on anyone.
for the most part the kids were pretty well behaved, except one little girl didn't want to get up from her nap and it took the teacher plus the interns about 30 minutes to get her to get up and put away her nap stuff. It was so hard for me not to be able to sit down and play with them or what have you. Well, I have eight more hours of observation time left, so I will update more when the time comes.

Ready or Not...

Well, whether I like it, or not I soon start my third semester at New River. In a way I'm excited, because I am taking new classes. This semester I am taking: Introduction to Early Childhood Education, Single Parent Families, English 112, Intro to Computers (again, I bombed the first time around. Yes, the computer guy's wife failed basic computer class, and no he did not faint when he found out my grade.) and finally, I'll be taking Child Psychology. The last two are online courses which is fine with me. I've done well with those classes the past two semesters.
What I'm not looking forward to, is the having to stand up and introduce myself to the class.
I hate doing that. I guess it's because I'm chicken. Jenn, you are probably thinking, chicken? Never! (cluck, cluck, cluck) I don't know, I just feel like such a geek standing up and telling the class who I am and where I'm from or whatever the teacher has us tell the class.
In three of my classes I have the same teacher, she'll probably get tired of hearing my voice by the end of the day.

My Fourth

Okay. I have been a slacker. I haven't posted anything about my 4th of July Celebration, and a friend of mine had asked me to do so. (sorry!) So here it is, a week or so later.
Aaron and I decided that since I haven't seen my South Carolina family since last Thanksgiving, we would go down and visit them. My uncle and his family were coming from Florence and bringing their boat. The plan was to go along the Savannah River and dock at an assigned spot on the Marina and watch the fireworks being shot off from the 5th Street Bridge.
We also planned to stop at my friend M's house and see her baby for the first time.
So we rented a car and drove down to North Augusta. (Which is a 4 and a half hour drive)
We left on Friday after dropping Yeti off at Aaron's parents. About halfway through North Carolina, we saw road signs saying that there was an accident ahead. Sure enough we see a Mac truck pulled over on the side of the road. As we got closer, we saw that it looked as if someone had taken some TNT and set it off on the back of the truck. There was no back door, and you could see burn damage. Ahead of us were two vans that belonged to some church, and they were all taking pictures of it with their cell phone cams!
Well, we made it to North Augusta and visited my dad and step-mom and my stepmom's cousin and Aaron and I found ourselves surrounded by chihuahuas.
Chyanne who would snarl at anyone if they put their foot near her while she was trying to eat, and Mollie who is a scrunchie theif. (She will climb up, and pull the scrunchie out with her teeth, then run away) I kid you not, the dog has a collection of scrunchies in her toy basket.
Friday night we paid a visit to my friend and saw her baby girl K. Ka had just been home for two weeks after spending 10 weeks at Childrens Hospital in Atlanta. (K has De George Syndrome)
She is the tiniest and cutest baby girl I have ever seen.
Saturday all 12 of us in the Goforth-Mcgrady clan got on to the 25 foot deck boat and traveled around on the river. The cousins and Aaron got out and swam around in the river. (No way was I going in...Let's just say I've watched too much Law and Order and leave it at that)
That night we all got back on the boat and we went to the Marina and docked the boat. We were about 200 or so yards from where the fireworks were set off. They were loud but beautiful.
It would have been nicer if the people on the boat next to us weren't drunk as skunks and being obnoxious, but oh, well. The only lousy thing was that after the fireworks show we were stuck in the boat in a long line waiting to unload. We couldn't figure out what the hold up was and then we realized the Department of Resources (AKA the Mud Marshals) were doing inspections and sobriety checks. By around midnight, we got tired of being on the boat so we just went back to the marina and car-pooled to the boat landing in North Augusta. Aaron and I didn't get back to the hotel until 1 in the morning. Neither of us slept well, and so we skipped church and just hung out with my family. Aaron made a nice steak dinner and about halfway through it I got sick.
We headed back to Radford a few hours later. It was a nice trip and I really enjoyed that whole weekend. Except for getting sick.

A Bad Influence? Me?

For the 4th of July weekend I will be gone. I will be visiting my family and hopefully seeing one of my dearest friends and her little baby girl.
And as soon as I meet little Miss KC I will rub my influence off onto her. (evil laughter)
When she is older I will teach her everything from what songs will drive her mom nuts on down to how to cheat at UNO. (But then again I teach ALL kids how to cheat at UNO...just ask her neices and nephews.) Sigh...I can't wait to be a mom...my kids will be evil. :)
Well, I wish everyone a Happy and SAFE 4th.

Time an Punishment

Okay. On March 11th I got pulled over for the VERY FIRST TIME EVER. I turned around in a driveway because I got lost trying to find the Dublin post office to drop off Christmas packages. (yes, I know. I'm three months too late.) Well, I was pulled over by a state trooper who scolded me for turning in a driveway. (As if no one else on this planet has EVER done this) He gave me two tickets that day one for expired inspection (grr!) and for not having a VA liscense. He also asked me if I was "under the influence of a drug." Of course I wasn't! I was shaking becasue I was scared to death!!!
Well the next day, on my way to picking Aaron up from work, I wrecked the car. And guess who was on the scene? THE SAME COP who pulled me over the day before (I just wanted to DIE).
I managed to stay calm (though I don't know how) I recieved three tickets that day. One for the inspection sticker (Aaron was in the dog house for that), one for not having proof of insurance on me (I cleaned out my wallet earlier and left it on the nightstand by mistake), and failure to yield.
We now have a new-old car and everything is fine. *FLASH FORWARD TO JUNE 2ND 2009* I went to court the day after my birthday so nervous it was not funny. After waiting an hour and a half I faced the judge and the trooper. I got everything dropped and I am now supposed to take driver improvement school. I find this somewhat amusing consider that according to everyone who has driven with me, I drive like a granny....slower than molasses in January. I don't speed or do anything crazy. (I just turn in people's driveways) I do not look forward to driving class because I know that they show graphic bloody gut spilling videos and I will either lose my lunch or come dangerously close to doing so, becasue I DO NOT DO BLOOD. or anything else medical. I am a wimp when it comes to things like this. But, oh well, I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it.
SIDE NOTE: I have a VA liscence now, I got it on my birthday. Since I was sick I didn't smile in my pic, and so I look like a murderer in a mugshot. How lovely is that?!