Surely You Can’t Be Serious

The Happy Dancing lasted two days.  Hubby and I were estatic when we heard that he didn’t have a serious heart problem.  I seriously thought we had turned a corner when I went to the dentist on Thursday and got the good news that I didn’t need a crown, or a filling, or a root canal.  Life was good.  Until Friday evening. 

 

That’s when MIL called and said she was being admitted to a hospital not in our town (30 min drive away) for observation for her irregular heart beat problem.  Doc wanted to give her some meds to help the problem and if that didn’t work he was going to do a serious procedure that scares the heck out of us.  She’s had the procedure done a couple of times before with great success, but it’s still scary. 

 

So it’s back to the nightly trip to the hospital.  And worrying about the health of a parent.  There goes Hubby’s blood pressure back through the roof. 

 

If the boringly normal life I used to live ever comes back I will not complain.  Ever.  I promise. 

Change of Pace

 

For years and years, Hubby worked weekends.  He would leave early in the morning and come home mid-afternoon.  I spent the day cleaning the house, running errands, doing laundry.   Hectic days for me. 

 

But all that’s changed since he did the semi-retirement thing.  We get to sleep in.  I don’t have the pressure to get all the chores done in one day.  This morning we had Captain Crunch for breakfast, ran some errands, I did some laundry and grilled hamburgers for lunch.  He mopped the kitchen floor and the mudroom floor and then got his little boat ready for the fishing trip he’s taking with Jr. tomorrow.  No rush.  No timeframe to get anything done.  It’s been nice to take some time to enjoy each other’s company. 

 

The errands we did today were simple little things.  Return some pipe insulation to the local hardware store – and then spend the money we got back at the Dollar Day bins.  Pick up some Day-Quil for Hubby’s allergies.  Get gas in the Dog Mobile.  Buy worms for Hubby’s fishing trip.   

 

Maybe there’s something to this semi-retirement thing after all. . .  

 

 

Happy Happy Joy Joy

 

Today was Hubby’s visit with the cardiologist to get the test results.  (Drum roll, please.)

 

Doc walked into the room and said "Good news.  All the test results were good."  No blockages.  No cardiac problems.  Nothing medically wrong to cause the increase in his blood pressure or the dizziness.  Doc thinks that stress caused the blood pressure to increase, which caused the dizzy spells, which increased his stress . . . just a viscious circle. 

 

The new meds are working and the blood pressure is starting to come back down.  It’s still a little on the high side but at least we’re moving in the right direction. 

 

Hubby has an appointment with the family doc next week to discuss treatment options for the blood pressure. 

 

I’ve been one happy girl today because I thought for sure the cardiologist was going to give us some very bad news.  We won’t even go into the things that were running through my (and Hubby’s) head these past few weeks. 

 

Excuse me while we continue our happy dance through the house . . .

You Might Be a Redneck

 

If you drive to Krogers barefoot and put on shoes so you can go into the store . . .

 

If the shoes you put on before you go into Krogers are combat boots and you think that’s a hot look with your jean shorts and tank top . . .

 

If you drive with your left foot hanging out of the driver’s side window . . .

 

If you don’t want to run your central air and open only the front and back door to your house to circulate air through the house . . .

 

If you hang your laundry in your front window because you don’t have a dryer or an outdoor clothesline . . .

 

If you use your back patio as a parking space . . .

 

 

The funny part is that I saw all of these things this week in my neighborhood. 

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

 

I’ve had this Tom Petty song running through my head for the last couple of days.  It will probably be there for about a week. 

 

Hubby had an appointment with the cardiologist yesterday to figure out what’s causing the dizziness and the pain in his back.  We thought it would be a simple stress test and a consult . . . . turns out they had scheduled him for a full battery of tests.  Echocardiogram, scan of the arteries in his neck, stress test with and without contrast, EKG.  He spent the entire day at the doctor’s office.  The tech that did the echo and the scan of his neck said that everything looked clear to her.  So what could possibly be causing his problems? 

 

He goes back for the results next week. . . .

 

 

A Sure Sign

 

You know it’s going to be a long week when you’re waiting for the elevator and you have someone ask if you know about the broken coffee pot.  Then you open your email and see two urgent messages about the very same coffee pot.  Yes, my job includes making sure that the vending machines and the coffee machines are in good working order.  I don’t have to fix the coffee machine myself . . . I have "people" who do that . . . I just make the phone call to the vending machine company to come fix it.  

 

So that was Monday morning.  And Wednesday morning.  Apparently the service guy that came to fix the coffee machine on Monday didn’t find a leak and left without fixing the coffee machine.  That lead to the large puddle on Wednesday morning.  And the frantic urgent emails.  Luckily the service guy saw it leaking when he showed up on Wednesday and the machine was fixed – finally! 

 

Then there was the meeting that the head of the training department scheduled for two different days . . . in two different meeting places . . . with two different orders for lunch to be served during the meeting.  And I was called at the last minute to try and figure out where the meeting was really supposed to be held and which lunch order needed to be cancelled.  The phrase "herding cats" seems to fit here . . .

 

Add on top of that Hubby’s continuing health saga.  He’s still having some problems with his blood pressure being a little on the high side and he’s still having some dizziness.  We’ve had a CAT scan done on his chest, an EKG, an ultrasound done on his kidneys, and a full panel of bloodwork done.  It appears he’s as healthy as a horse.  Nothing abnormal on the CAT scan or the ultrasound, bloodwork all within normal ranges, and the EKG was fine.  So what’s wrong?  Family doc can’t explain it, so Hubby is going to see a cardiologist on Monday.  We’re trying to rule out a blockage in a vessel somewhere.  At least Hubby’s mood is a little better.  Last week he was a horrible grump but his attitude has improved 100% since we learned the test results.  We still have wait for some real answers, but it doesn’t seem as scary as it did last week. 

 

But there were brights spots to the week.  Namely seeing Luci’s face at the door every night when I come home from work.  And hearing Blacky growl "goodnight" to me as I get in to bed at night.  Oh, and the fact that my mom’s recovery from her hip surgery is finally on the fast track and she drove herself to the grocery the other day . . .

 

All I can say is that I’m glad this week is over. 

 

Happiness Is A Warm Puppy

 

 

The highlight of the whole weekend happened last night.  I was on the computer last night about 10 p.m. when Luci decided that she wanted my attention.  She walked up to me and put her head on my lap.  How can I resist those brown eyes?  So I got off the computer and sat on the floor with her.  She snuggled up on my lap and promptly fell asleep.  Something she did a lot when she was a little puppy but hasn’t done much these days.  

 

I sat there with her for about an hour.  

 

The best hour of the weekend . . .