Ouch

Last week my Uncle came over to help me with a house project (have I ever mentioned that I have the best Uncle in the world?). As I was working, stuff was getting in my eyes. My Uncle said that I should probably be wearing safety goggles. I agreed.

Fast forward a week. Yesterday to be exact. I was continuing work on the same project. Not wearing any safety goggles. Raise your hand if you know what happened.

Yeah. I got something in my eye and I couldn't get it out. I was in agony all day. Eyewashes didn't help. Visine didn't help. I couldn't even see anything in there that I could try and pick out. I don't know how doctors remove stuff from an eye that you can't see and I was really afraid that I was going to find out. Fortunately, whatever was in there worked it's way out overnight. My eye was pretty crusty this morning and is still sore, but at least I can see without pain. Yay!

My Dad was moved to another facility and we went yesterday to visit (driving while it's snowing is *not* fun when one of your eyeballs isn't working!). He is not a happy camper. I feel horrible that he can't be home, but there is no way he can come home until he is well. He really needs to concentrate on getting better and not being miserable because he's not home. I wish so much that I could make everything better.

Well, back to work on the house. With my safety goggles on.

Perspective

My Dad is in the hospital again. I hope he's going to be OK.

It makes me not worry so much about buying Christmas presents.

I'm hoping for a Christmas miracle: That my Dad will be home before the 25th and will stay healthy and happy.

Space

Yesterday I attended an event where we needed to stand in line for a while. The lady behind me had no clue about the concept of personal space. If the line isn't moving, standing three inches behind me is not going to make the line go faster. It's not going to make me disappear. And it is definitely going to make me cranky. I really don't understand how anyone can be comfortable standing in practically the same space as someone else. Ugh.

On a lighter note, I finally watched the finale of The Amazing Race. I was very happy with the outcome. There was really only one team to root for, so I was glad when Nick and Starr won. Ken and Tina were just annoying (well, more Tina than Ken) and I can't figure out how the heck Andrew and Dan made it to the final three. The fact that they made past the first three eliminations amazes me.

The finale was good, but I think it would have been better if the final three teams were Nick and Starr, Toni and Dallas and Mark and Bill. I would have had a hard time deciding who I would want to win out of that group.

I think this cold/flu thing is starting to break. Last night I was up only half the night coughing instead of the whole night. Here's hoping it will be done and over with by the end of the week. Ugh.

Mucus

*cough* Alright, I think I've figured it out - take vitamins, get your flu shot, keep bundled up in cold weather... turn yourself into a mucus-making machine. Got it. *cough* *cough*

It started last Saturday and I've gone through just about every phase you can think of associated with cold and flu season. *sniffle*

All plans for the weekend have been cancelled. Lots of rest and pampering for me :) *cough*

On a lighter note - I don't know if it's just me or not, but it seems like there are a lot more people this year with their houses all lit up with Christmas lights. I haven't seen very many of the holiday inflatables on the front lawns, but just about everyone has lights up. It makes for a really pretty ride home from work. Not that I am ready for snow yet, but I can imagine how much prettier all the lights would look with snow on the ground...

Egads - I can believe Christmas is only 20 days away!!!!

*Cough*

Vote

I was number 532 when I went to vote today. I went after work and was so happy when I saw that my district had the shortest line out of them all at my polling place. Too bad the couple of people in front of me had no clue as to who they were going to vote for. Why don't people do their research at home instead of in the voting booth? I think every other line cleared through at least once before I got to vote.

I've decided to get a flu shot this year.

Years ago, I used to get sick every October and stayed that way until April. Congestion, coughing - just total misery. After a bunch of years of going through that, I finally went to see my doctor. She recommended that I get a flu shot. The following year I did and I didn't get sick. It was great. I continued to get a flu shot every year after that. Every year that is, until they had the flu shot shortage. After that, my doctor didn't give them at her office. I refuse to stand in line at the supermarket for a flu shot, so I haven't gotten once since. It's been OK tho' - I haven't been sick until last year. I had a bad cough for a couple of weeks. I don't want to go through being sick like I used to, so I figure that I'm due for a booster shot. We have the opportunity to get them at work for free on Thursday, so I'm going to go for it.

I hate shots.

Reflections

Thinking over the past year since I've started this blog, I've had some pretty big things happen during that time...

I had to quit a job I had for almost twelve years, thus having to pretty much start all over in the job market. I've had two jobs since. The first I hated very much. The one I have now I like most of the time. The only problem is that it doesn't pay enough to support myself. It didn't matter when I started the job, but it does now. I'm going to have to find something else that pays better. And soon.

After a bit of a hiatus, I re-entered the dating game. I never thought that I would ever feel this way again, but I am looking forward to finding someone to spend the rest of my life with.

I have a nephew now who is as cute as a button. It's amazing how fast babies grow!

My back is well on it's way to being functional once again. I've been able to get back on track to fixing up the house. Too bad it was such a rainy summer.

I was fortunate enough to be taken on a couple of nice trips this year. I have a smaller one coming up that I am very much looking forward to.

My Dad died, but we were all lucky enough that he was revived. He's doing better than I could ever have hoped. I hope that he keeps on improving.

Looking back, it's been a very busy year with a lot of new experiences and a lot of new people. I like to think that I've grown and learned from them all. There were a lot of things I wanted to accomplish that never happened - this is going to be the year to focus on big projects and get them done!