Troll!! In the Dungeon!

I know that Harry Potter is the subject of a lot of my blogs.  Well, he's been a pretty significant part of my life.  In fact...I'm currently watching HP1.

But for real, there are sometimes Trolls in the dungeon of myself.  Does that make sense?

This Lent I couldn't really decided what to give up and what to do.  Normally I do something like give up Soda or Sweets or French Fries (Seriously, I did that in middle school).  I just wanted to do something different this year.  

On the day before Ash Wednesday I wrote in a blog entry "There is snow and a little grass poking through, but there really isn't much life.  Recently I've been feeling that way."  I then proceeded to see a post on my Aunt's FB profile for a website called Busted Halo.  On said website, there is a current dealio called "Fast-Pray-Give."  Each day there is something to fast from, something to pray about and...something to give.  Somedays it has been food or a meal or even facebook (which was difficult!)  Somedays, however it has been personality traits such as pride, jealously, even feeling sorry for oneself. 

Now, my mother seemed to think that some of these things were just an easy way out.  But, have you ever tried to be not jealous for a whole day?  It's a lot more difficult than one may think.  I believe I was at work that day.  Everytime I started to (or had) a jealous thought, I said a little prayer and asked for forgiveness and strength.  I thought that it would get easier throughout the day, but no.  I struggled until the end of the day when I went to bed.

As we're approaching the end of Lent, I've been thinking about how I was feeling at the beginning of Lent.  During that particular blog, I also mentionned how I wanted to declutter my life.  Physically, I was good at this.  I went through most of the stuff that I had left over from college, etc and I gave/threw a lot away.  I've slowly done different parts of my room over the last 40 days.  Emotionally, this was not so easy, but I think I'm getting there.  I really have been thinking in a more simple fashion, trying not to overthink things and in a sense, chill out.  I'm a huge type A personality and this is not easy for me.  So I guess that goal is getting met.  

I liked FPG because not only are there little things to do each day but there also quotes each day.  These are sometimes little gems of wisdom and sometimes thought provoking.  I often found myself reading them several times over and thinking about what it means.  It was just a few minutes I set aside each day, throughout the day.*

The real question that remains is what did I get out of all of this?  Well I gave up time for God each day.  That was nice, to just spend some one-on-one with the Big Guy.  He's pretty neat and always understanding.  I also got to think about things in my life that I may not have thought about before.  And I got to learn new things and quotes each day.  And the few times that I forgot to look, I was able to make up for it the next day, as the plan was "foolproof," in the words of the website.  So I really think that this was a good thing for me.  

Do I think I'll do this again next year?  Maybe, maybe not.  I may just fall back on my oldies but goodies.  We'll see.  I found some Trolls in my dungeon though, and I'm working on Wingardium Leviosa-ing them out of my life.  I do, however have Easter to look forward to.  Easter is a joyous time, and I'm excited to celebrate this year, and am going to try to go forward with the Easter season in a truly prayful manner.  

*As a side note, check out FPG.  It really is interesting and has some great quotes.

Gosh, I'm bored.

So, as everyone knows, I've had a broken leg for a while.  Well since I just had surgery a few days ago, I have yet to be cleared to transport so I'm only working a few days a week still.  I decided that I needed something to do.

I have this really neat friend named Whitney, and she's a fibers major.  One time we even sewed her halloween costume together.  It didn't really turn out well.

As one can see, it's kind of grungy.  And the "boot" that she wore made it awesome.  I copped out this year and wore a costume that I already had.  I know.  Lame.

Well anyways, I can sew well, if I want to.  So I decided to make something.  I did some searching around and have decided on a rag quilt.  Rag quilts are cool in that they really don't involve any hemming or anything.  You actually even sew the wrong sides of the fabric to each other.  Since there is little hemming, this is definitely something that I can do.  And I chose really cute fabric that is pink and yellow.

In my endless search to do things before I get to medical school because I know that I will not have time, I guess that making a quilt will do.  Maybe I'll even try to make my own halloween costume or something, before school starts in August.  We shall see.

Oh and for anyone who reads this, which I don't think is many, here's the website that I got the info from. Rag Quilt Instructions.  Enjoy it, if you like.

Spring has Sprung!

There are lots of things in life that make me happy.  Today, for some reason or another, I am very happy.  And thankful that I am happy.  So here are the things that I'm thankful for today (and happy about!)

1.  My window is once again open.  It's really Spring now!!  Yay!! I've blogged about this before.  But when the sun is shining and it's above 60 degrees, how can one not be happy about life?

2.  My pins are out.  This means that I get to start wearing TWO shoes soon.  And as we all know, I really like shoes.  It also means that I get to start being more normal again.  For instance, I get to stand in the shower in about two weeks.  I miss that.  I also will get to start driving in about two weeks.  Not that I minded not driving, but I feel like it's a freedom that I have been missing.

3.  I recieved an encouraging text from a friend.  It was just a little note, but it made me feel special.  And it made me smile, which just increases one's happiness.

4.  I'm listening to Children of Eden right now.  This is one of my favorite shows.  Not only is it by Stephen Schwartz, but it's happy and upbeat and I know all the words.  This means that I get to sing along.  

5.  Um, I bought new shoes today.  I haven't bought a new pair of shoes since like November.  That's a long hiatus for me.  Not even kidding.  They're very cute flats.  And they're white, so I'm going to wear them for Easter.  Now, I normally would wear heels for Easter, but seeing as how I haven't worn a shoe on my right foot for a long time and I can't stretch my foot very much right not, I think that flats are a good idea.  I also bought a new purse, but that's not uncommon.  

6.  I think I'm going to go and take a nap.  With the cool breeze coming in my room and a blanket, it's the perfect sleeping combination.  I'm thankful that I can afford to take naps.  Just saying.

So I guess I'm just a happy person right now.  So thanks to everyone and everything for helping me be happy!!

Oh and here's my new purse.  It's really cute!!

Where Music Plays.

This website is really cool.  One can listen to music for free, well most of it is for free.  And I really think it's a good idea, because now I can listen to somethings before I buy it.  

Everyone should CHECK IT OUT

As a side note, I was able to crack two of my right toes today.  

They're finally not so swollen.  

It was wonderful.

Obviously it's the little things in my life that are important right now.

Leg Weights and Disney on Ice

So my friends Sarah and Sarah (Metro and Thiele) and I went and saw Disney on Ice on Friday Night.  

Let's just start with the fact that it's geared towards small children.  Like four and five year olds, etc.  Well, I can't as much for Metro, but Thiele and I are very much like small children.  At least in personality.  I mean we were singing along with the songs.  I kind of felt sorry for Metro, as she was sitting between us.  Actually, I don't think she really cared that much.  

But so anyway, it was really cute.  My favorite part was during the first act.  They did this whole montage with the Disney princesses, who obviously are my favorite Disney characters.  Let's just say that it was fun.

And then later, during the second act, they did a really cute little dance to the new music to The Princess and the Frog.  I've been thinking that I'm probably going to have to buy that movie, because I really liked it.

The other thing going on in my life is that I'm currently using leg weights to do some intense muscle rehabilitation.  Okay maybe not so intense.  I do forward, backward and side lifts.  Oh and the hamstring curls.  So this on top of all of the foot exercises take up most of my time.  And by that I mean like 30 minutes.  

And my leg lifts are cute.  They're purple.  Which is cute.

So I guess that my life is not that bad right now.  At least the walking is going well.  And I'm almost done with the crutches.  Hopefully.  I'm heading back to Dr. Fissel's office on Friday, and then I'll find out when my pins come out.  Whoohoo!

Plantar Fascitis...

So, there's this foot problem known as Plantar Fasciitis.  It's painful.  Or so they say.

The Plantar Fascia is a big thick tissue that is on the bottom of the foot, from the heel bone to the toe bones.  It's pretty much important for everything from walking to pointing one's foot. 

Well, it's one thing that I have to stretch out, because my foots like "Woah.  It's been 12 and a half weeks since you've walked on me.  What're you thinking?  I was getting comfortable not doing anything."

And by getting comfortable, it basically means that it's non-existant.  Which is not a good thing whatsover.

Well, sometimes problems arise when one walks after three months of not walking.  For instance, my gastrocnemius (calf) is uber-atrophied.  As is pretty much everything else - even my thigh has lost quite a bit of tone.  My Plantar Fascia, needless to say, has been making my walking painful.  At first I thought it was just from the heel hitting the ground, then I realized that it was when I lifted the foot off the ground, that's where the pain was.  This really depressed me, because I was getting all excited about walking, and it was holding me back.  Upon consulting with my father, we determined that the problem may be mild Plantar Fasciitis.

Plantar Fasciitis is simply an inflammation of the Plantar Fascia, which in consequence causes problems in walking.  AKA it's painful. 

And I hate to sound so whiney.  But it just stinks. 

On the upside there are lots of exercises to do to help stretch out the Plantar Fascia.  So I get to do fun things like extra stretches for my foot and calf.  My particular favorite is that I get to play with my toes.  I.e. I get to manually bend and point my toes.  It's fun.  Really.  I feel like a little kid.

So, slowly but surely I'm getting better.  Which is a good thing.  I leg pressed  35 pounds today with my right leg.  Which isn't much, considering I used to leg press a lot more.  But still, it's something.  And I also got to start walking around today without my crutches.  Whoohoo!!!

K.  I'm going to sign off.  And tomorrow I'm going to try and not whine.  We'll see.

In like a lion?

So there's that little saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  Well, it's sunny today March. 
And it's only March 6th.

I'm just going to put a link here to St. Louis' weather for today, from my favorite site, the Weather Channel.

Yes, I love the Weather Channel.  And it's website.

I have always enjoyed checking out what the weather is going to be, because, well actually I'm not really sure why.

But the high for today is 57 degrees, which is amazing, and it's going to be sunny.  They're calling for AM showers tomorrow, but a high of 61 degrees.  I can handle a little spring rain if we're going to get warm temperatures.

I think I'm going to go and open my bedroom window.  My cat Moose will really be happy with my decision; he likes to sit in my window sill.

As for old sayings, it's been sunny pretty much all week.  
So take that, March.

Walk Like an Egyptian...

Well maybe not quite, because I only have one arm avaliable.  

But guess what?  I HAVE ONE ARM AVALIABLE.

Which means that I'm down to one crutch.  And this is sweet action.

Here's how it went down:  

I called Dr. Fissel's office on Tuesday because my physical therapist and I were worried that I might trip over my cam boot walker, so I needed to get fitted with a new one.  I spoke with his Medical Assistant and she said to just come on in on Wednesday and we'll see if a new fitting was necessary.  

It was.

So then she went to get me a medium, rather than a large, and now I have a boot that actually fits.  Which is pretty awesome.  It's only the "top of a thumb" longer than my toes, rather than four inches.  It's pictured to the right.

Well I wasn't supposed to see Dr. Fissel, because it was just a re-fitting, but right as Cheryl (the Medical Assistant) was saying take a few steps, Dr. Fissel came in because his next appointment was going to be late.  So, we asked him if I could walk.  

After going over the schedule of when I was supposed to walk again, Dr. Fissel gave me the go ahead to walk, since it was only a day and a half before I was scheduled to walk.  

Well, walking hurts.  Which I assumed it would.  But then today I went to physical therapy and my therapist was all excited and she helped me practice walking on flat surfaces and up and down steps.  We also did an obstacle course of sorts and worked on the leg press.  I'd say it was successful.  

And now I can walk.  And I'm going to only have one crutch at work tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes.

Little Steps

I get to start walking on Friday.  Can't wait.

And, I can sleep without the stupid boot tonight.  Thank heaven.  

And I really liked this quote from bustedhalo.com:

The simple sense of wonder at the shapes of things, and at their exuberant independence of our intellectual standards and our trivial definitions, is the basis of spirituality. — G.K. Chesterton

Yup.  I've been slacking on the blog, but it's just because I've been living a pretty boring life.  Yup.  Boring.

And this is a really random post, but I've got nothing else!