Thursday Thoughts

• I found out yesterday that my insurance will cover the PRP injections I told you about before! I’m so happy to be moving forward and hopefully healing my foot!
• It is so freaking hot in my office. All week I’ve felt like I’m sitting in a sauna. Someone really needs to crack open a window NOW. We aren’t allowed to do it for some reason.
• My mother’s day gift finally came in the mail yesterday. It is so cute. I seriously love Etsy. I’m sure my mom will love it, and she is hard to please! I promise I will post a picture and review of it after Mother’s day.
• I can’t wait for the weekend to start. This week seems to be never ending. I can’t wait to be able to relax, visit with friends and do a little spring shopping. There are these outlets by me that I love. I really want to go to the Puma outlet and buy some new shoes.
• Also have any of you ever bought Cole Haan shoes? I have never worn them before but someone told me that some of them actually are made with Nike Air. I’m very curious to see how they feel. They also have an outlet to where I’m going. I may have to try on a few pairs. ;)
• I’ve also been itching to do some spring-cleaning. Every so often I get the urge to just come through my room and get rid of anything that I don’t use anymore. It always makes me feel good when I do this. Not sure if I will have time to this weekend, but I will get to it soon.

What are your thoughts today?

Will you hold my hand?

I need to go to the eye doctor. I HATE the eye doctor. I’ve been to my share of doctors and I can deal with pretty much everything. Shots? They hurt but I can usually deal with it. Going to the dentist? Fine. I actually enjoy getting my teeth cleaned. But there is one thing that scares the crap out of me.

Getting my eyes dilated.

Seriously. I hate getting those eye drops from the doctor. When I was little I would actually scream and cry hysterically while they tried in vain to do it. I was not a good patient. It’s just awful and I’m so scared about going.

I really need to go to see an eye doctor though. When I was two I got eyeglasses because I was crossed eyed. That’s right. Crossed eye. My right eye was all the way toward my nose. My vision itself was fine, but because it was like that I had a tendency to see double. They gave my eyeglasses to keep my eyes straight.

By the time I was 12 my eyes had actually fixed themselves. I no longer needed to wear glasses! It was awesome! Best of all that meant no more eye doctor! The only thing was I just had to go back every few years to make sure everything was still working.

It’s about that time to go back. Normally I would put it off because I hate those drops so much, but I need to. I fear that I might be going cross-eyed again. This past week my eyes have been killing me, so much so that I have a constant headache. I think the problem may be the fact that I am sitting in front of a computer 9 hours a day, 5 days a week.

I think my eyes are getting too strained and if they weaken too much my eye will start to go inward again. This occasionally happens. When I really tired I will feel them cross, but usually a good nights sleep will solve the problem. Now that I’m always in front of the computer reading small print all the time, I think my eyes are just constantly tired. No amount of sleep is making them feel any better.

Worst-case scenario is that I will need reading glasses when I am at work. No big deal. I’m not worried that I will need glasses again; I’m worried about those damn eye drops!

How pathetic am I?

My question for you is: Is there a doctor that you always fear going to? Why or why not?

Decisions decisions

A while back I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish before my birthday. One of the items was to start saving more money. Well I’m happy to say that I’ve been doing really well with this! Since January I’ve managed to save about $3,000 dollars. Considering that I don’t make a lot of money and I have bills to pay I’m really proud of myself for doing this much.

My original goal when I started saving was so I can eventually move out of my mom’s house. Now I’ve really put that idea into motion but there are some things holding me back. I’ve always wanted to live in NYC. It’s been a goal of mine since before I can remember. Since rent is crazy expensive I defiantly needed to save up some money first.

Now I’m rethinking this. I feel like I would be wasting this hard earned money of mine to live in a closet. Also I have my dog to keep in mind now so it will be even harder to find a pet friendly place. I just keep asking myself if it’s worth it.

Maybe I should just try and find a place near me. But then would that be a waste of money moving out of my house to live someplace 10 minutes away? Also if I did that my dog would basically die or have to stay with my mom. I leave my house at 7:30 in the morning and I don’t come home til 8:30 every night. Having him sit in a cage for 13 hours is just cruel. I don’t think I could leave him at my mom’s.

Now I’ve been thinking is to put off moving out some more. Instead maybe I should invest this money in an IRA. I figured since I’m saving so much instead of it sitting in a savings account, I could be growing it into a good sum of money so I can retire eventually.

Best-case scenario would be if I found a job that had better hours or if it was closer to where I live now. Since the job market is still pretty crappy I’m not banking on that any time soon.

What do you think I should do? Stop being scared and take the plunge and move to the city? Invest in my future? I’m utterly confused right now. I’m pretty sure all this is coming up because I’m scared, but these are viable things to be worried about.

Peak at summer

What a beautiful weekend it was. It hit 90 degrees both days and was a nice little glimpse to summer that is quickly approaching. It may have even been too hot out. My house was a sauna on Saturday. Thankfully my mom caved and put the air on Sunday.

Saturday I went to a wedding of my brother’s really good friend. My brother was supposed to be the best man but couldn’t because he’s still overseas. It was beautiful though. It was at a place that was right on the beach. Really random, this is the place that the Craigslist Killer was going to get married. A bunch of people was talking about that on Saturday.

I’m not a person who cries at weddings. However this one defiantly had tears welling up in my eyes. It was just so heartfelt and you can just see how unbelievably happy the bride and groom were. Then during the exchanging of the vows the groom’s speech made everyone cry. Even grown men had out tissues and were wiping their eyes. It was just so touching.

Once the party got started everyone was talking, laughing and dancing. It was not a wedding where no one even gets up to slow dance; everyone seemed to have a great time. Some more than others. There was one person who got so wasted at the wedding that he puked ALL over himself and even left a little path of puke on his way to the bathroom. It was disgusting. Since our table was right near the bathrooms we got to see the whole thing unfold. Not fun.

Who gets that drunk anyway? I understand drinking and having a good time. I myself have gotten a bit tipsy (read drunk) before but you don’t drink like you’re at a kegger. It’s a wedding. Have a little restraint. Plus you will forever be known as THAT guy who puked at the wedding. I felt especially bad for the women who took off their heels and were walking around barefoot!!! Just thinking about it makes me gag!

Speaking of inappropriate can we please talk about how people dress for weddings? There was a bunch of woman at the wedding that looked like rejects from “Rock of Love”. I couldn’t even understand how they could sit down with their dresses that short. Again we are at a wedding people, not a club. It just baffles me that a person going to a wedding would think a dress that just barely covers your ass would be appropriate wedding attire.

Besides that it was great. I sat at great table with all our family friends and there was never a lull in conversation. The best part? There was a candy bar at the wedding! During the dessert there was a buffet table set up with all different types of candy. They gave you a little bag and you just pilled everything in. they had everything from gummy bears to mini snickers bars. That was the best idea ever! The perfect little gift to bring home with you.

Sunday was so hot out that I actually laid out with my friend by her pool. Her parents decided to open it up early. The pool was way to cold to go in, but it felt nice to just have you feet in. Then we had a little BBQ outside on her porch. It was a great way to spend a lazy Sunday.

What did you do this weekend?

Giving in to temptation

I finally caved in. I didn’t want to do it but I could resist no longer…

I shopped at Etsy!

I am officially obsessed with it. I want to buy everything I see there!

The first thing I bought was a gorgeous clutch from Shakuyaku.

Check out my new clutch!

Not only is it so cute but also the bag was shipped right away. I purchased it Friday evening and I got the bag on Wednesday. It was shipped from California.

Needless to say I will defiantly be going back if I need another clutch that practically no one else will have. I love buying unique and/or different items. It makes them more special to me.

I also bought the CUTEST thing for my mom for mother’s day on Etsy. However I haven’t received that yet so I don’t want to say anything yet. But from the looks of things I don’t think I will be disappointed.

If you haven’t shopped at Etsy, Do it NOW!

I heart MEMEs

I decided to take a break from all the drama in my life and decided to have some fun with this post. I've seen this meme circulating the internet for a while now. The things I've done are bolded. Things that are iffy are in italics.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyworld/Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill
24. Built a snow fort – which turned to ice so then it was an igloo!
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice - it was way to expensive so we took a water taxi
29. Seen a total eclipse – I’ve seen a lunar eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - in the "dutch country" of Pennsylvania
36. Taught yourself a new language – does 4 years of Italian in HS count?
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - AMAZING
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma – I’ve tried to but I have anemia so I couldn’t
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London – it’s really not all that fun
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit? – not sure if my run in with the law counts
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

To operate or not to operate?

One of my favorite bloggers Karen asked me yesterday about why I don’t want to get surgery. I was going to talk about that on the last post, but I felt that it was really long to begin with and I didn’t want to bore you any more about medical stuff. Anyway I did want to answer the question because I agree with you on how annoying it is when people don’t do something that can help them out.

I have nothing against getting surgery done if I know it’s the right thing to do. I’m not one of those people who needs to have surgery and won’t do it because it’s SURGERY. For instance my one friend needs to have her tonsils removed. She literally has a sore throat on a daily basis and every time she goes to the doctor they tell her she has to get them removed. For some reason though, she REFUSES.

It seriously angers me that she won’t do it. It’s not that big of an operation and you wouldn’t be in chronic pain anymore! I just don’t get it. She’s also one of those people that won’t take an Advil if she has a headache because too much medication is bad for you. Me? If the hint of a headache comes on I pop 3 of those babies.

The reason why I didn’t want to get surgery on my foot is because that particular surgery has little to no success rate. I’ve read up on a lot of the surgery and have seen bad outcomes. Most of the time, the pain is still there and the recovery itself is painful and unnecessary.

For me there is no way I will get that surgery. What it is basically, they go into your foot cut open your heel, and shave off the bone spur in there. Ew. Even though bone spurs can cause plantar fasciitis, getting rid of them doesn’t actually stop the problem or the pain. I just don’t see the point of getting a surgery like that done, if it doesn’t help the problem at hand.

Another reason why I don’t want surgery is because I’m 24 years old and I’ve had 10 surgeries. That’s a lot. Most people don’t even have to have half the amount of those in their lifetime. I’ve had 5 knee surgeries on my left knee alone. Three in one year when I was 13! Plus another one looming on the horizon but hopefully not for a while.

I hate that I have to get all these surgeries. There’s always a pity party that comes along with it, and I never feel “normal” because I can’t do certain activities anymore. I hate when people feel sorry for me because I don’t want them to be. Just treat me like you would anyone else. I’m fine. Yes, it’s very frustrating that I can’t do some stuff anymore but I deal with it and move on.

I just need to take another break from that operating table and if this injection will help me stay away? That’s just awesome.

Light at the end of the tunnel

For a while now I’ve had a problem with my foot. More specifically I have plantar fasciitis and nothing that I do is helping me. I’ve taken Advil regularly, iced it almost nightly, had very painful cortisone injections, and went to physical therapy which ended up being a complete waste of my time and money. A few months ago I basically gave up and stopped seeing the doctor. I figured that eventually it would just go away.

Well I was wrong. Very wrong. The pain has increased exponentially and I am in pain 24/7. Even when I am sitting I am in pain. Trust me it’s not fun. Then last week I was in a lot of pain. My foot was so swollen that it was almost twice the size as my other foot. I got really scared because that wasn’t normal and then I really freaked myself out because I started thinking I had a blood clot.

Obviously I didn’t, but after crying all night I decided it was time to see another doctor. My mom recommended a doctor that comes to the nursing home she works out. Luckily he took my insurance and did appointments on Saturdays. However, I was very apprehensive about seeing him though. I am just feed up with doctors to begin with and he will be my third doctor for my foot. I just lost all hope in finding a solution to my problem.

When I got to the office I didn’t feel much better. The exam room had a lava lamp! Not only that but there was a radio in there playing Dave Mathews. At first I was confused, I thought I was going to see a doctor, not smoke up in a dorm room. I couldn’t wait to see the doctor himself. He was a tool. He was one of those doctors that are just so full of themselves and thinks they are god’s gift.

For example, he was talking about getting orthotics in my shoes, and when I told him I wasn’t crazy about them because they were usually uncomfortable he suggest that I call any one of his “thousands of patients” and they will tell me that HIS orthotics are the BEST. Ummm okay.

Even though he was such an ass. I actually really liked him. He came up with something that no other doctor has mentioned to me yet. It’s called a PRP injection. What it is basically is they take a sample of my blood, spin out all the plasma and proteins, and injects it into my heel. What’s supposed to happen is the protein will heal the tissue. That way instead of stopping the pain temporarily like most of the shots I’ve had, this takes it away forever. It’s a minimal procedure done in the office and afterwards I would be able to walk fine and go back to most of my daily activities.

Finally a doctor with an answer that wasn’t surgery! The only thing I’m worried about is that it is a relatively new procedure. He himself has only done it a few times. He told me that every one of his was a success. Of course because he’s the best. lol. I did do some research today and it’s actually really interesting. A couple of Steelers players had it done before the super bowl and they saw great results.

I will most likely have the procedure done as long as my insurance covers it. I will keep you posted on that!Oh funny story. While he was explaining the PRP injections he was telling me about how they would inject my foot with anesthesia and then inject the PRP. As he was telling me about it, tears sprang from my eyes and slowly started running down my cheeks! I was so embarrassed. He probably thought I was crazy! I think I just freaked myself out about the needles and stuff. I don’t do well with them and I remembered how painful they can really be.

Either way I gave him a preview of how I will be the day of the actual injections.

Thursday Thoughts

Few random thoughts for today

• There are a bunch of people I work with who wash their hand BEFORE they go to the bathroom. WTF? You’re doing it backwards! Why would you wash your hands, knowing that in 20 seconds they will be dirty again and you will need to rewash them? Can anyone please explain why they are doing this??

• I’m going to a wedding in a little over a week. It’s not a big fancy wedding, the bride was married before, but I still feel like I should wear a dress. I bought on the other day that was on clearance for 10 bucks. I LOVE this dress. My mother? Hates it. Nothing really new there, we have totally different tastes, but now I’m worried that it doesn’t look good and I have nothing to wear. I need a second opinion. Maybe if I remember I will take a picture and you can be the judge!

• Oh and finally, I mentioned a while ago that I got a new dog. I left off with telling you that my family was fighting over his name. Then I never mentioned it again. Ooops. Anyway to make up for it I am posting a picture!

Meet Bruno!

Picture!

Here's a picture of me in Atlantic City. Not sure who took this picture or when, but I think it pretty much sums up the night. Plus I haven't posted a picture of myself in a while and I figured I should do an updated one!




You can defiantly tell I'm having a good time!

We are the Champions

My little mini break was awesome. It was exactly what I needed!! There was no drama just good times. Spent the whole day walking around, going to the outlets and gambling a little and spent the whole night drinking.

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was so drunk. I didn’t even realize how much I drank until the next morning where every part of my body hurt and I had the most massive headache ever. I wasn’t even sure I would be able to drive home. I couldn’t even eat a bagel for breakfast. I was a mess, but honestly it was totally worth it. The hangover didn’t go away for TWO days. lol.

In other news, my friend and I are beer pong champions at the Tropicana. I am usually really bad at the game and I was awesome that night. Well for the first few games. Then I apparently couldn’t aim straight anymore, but my teammate carried me and we won every single game we played. People were actually lining up to try and beat us. It was pretty unreal.

We weren’t planning on playing, but we went to one club that was basically empty. We decided to leave and come back when there were more people. Instead of losing more money gambling we saw the beer pong table and went for it. We never made it back to the club, but we didn’t even care. The bar we were at was playing great music, there were a ton a people and everyone was talking to each other and getting along. It was defiantly one of those nights were everything just seems to click and it ends up being an amazing night.

The rest of the weekend was relaxed. I really couldn’t move on Friday and most of Saturday. However, Easter was great. It was at my aunt’s house and I love when my whole family gets together. There was a ton of food and everyone just enjoyed each other’s company.

Now it’s back to the daily grind, but for the first time in a long time I don’t really mind it.

How was your holiday?

Keeping my sanity

This mini break I’m taking from work?? Couldn’t have happened at a better time. Things at work are insanely hectic. My brain in fried and I when I talk I no longer make any sense. Seriously. The dumbest things keep pouring out of my mouth and I can’t seem to stop it. My boss thinks I’m losing my mind. Hopefully this trip to Atlantic City will clear my head and bring me back to sanity. It also won’t hurt if I win some money!!

You know what’s weird though? Even though I desperately need these 2 days off and I couldn’t be more excited, I feel guilty about taking off. I know I am leaving some people in a lurch and they will have extra work to do so I can’t but feel bad. The responsible person in me keeps screaming for me to stay and be a good worker. I know I’ve mentioned before my inability to be spontaneous and this is why. I get really worked up that the whole world will crumble if I’m not doing what I supposed to be doing. I blame that on my anxiety issues.

I need to quiet the voice of reason and I WILL have a great time tomorrow.

Have a great weekend! If you’re religious, have a Happy Easter and/or Passover!

The Great Escape

This past weekend I went down to see my friends from school in Maryland. It was a great time and I always forget how much fun we have together until I’m there and we can’t stop laughing. I always love days like that.

However my back was still hurting me that weekend which made sleeping on my friend’s couch no fun. I actually ended up leaving at 7am. Which worked out to my advantage because I hit no traffic and spent the day sleeping in the comfort of my own bed! Besides that, all was great.

My one friend who is a teacher has off this coming week for Easter. She asked me if I had any days, if I would want to maybe take off a day or two and do something. Since work has been killing me lately and I’ve been trying to find an excuse to take a mental health day, here was the perfect thing!!

We decided to check out prices in Atlantic City since that was about half way between us. I found a room at the Tropicana for only 49 DOLLARS!! How freaking sweet is that? Divide that by two and I’m only spending 25 dollars for a hotel room that includes breakfast at Starbucks the next day!

I could not be more excited! The perfect escape and it’s so cheap! Whenever I go to AC I only allow myself to spend a certain amount of money. Since I’m saving so much I won’t feel so bad when I do gamble. It’s not even about gambling, though I did have a dream that I won like 39 million dollars (random number no?) the other night, I’m just happy to get away from reality a little while and spend some time with my friend who I don’t get to see often enough.

Next Thursday while all my co-workers are praying for the day to go faster and for it to be the weekend already, you can find me in AC, drink in my hand, playing some slots!