Monthly Archives: January 2010

brain bleed?

Posted on 01/21/2010 | 1 Comment

** Note: It has been 8 days since my CT scans … and I finally have an answer. Funny, you would think I would have heard something sooner, but they sent a letter to my house explaining the results. A letter that I still haven’t received. Um, okay? So … this post was planned for the day of or after the scans because that’s when I thought I might know something. Silly me. **

Yep, you read it right.

I’m writing this post on the eve of my two CT scans – scans that are being done to determine if my 4-day headache of unbelievable intensity is caused by sinus issues or a brain bleed.

A brain bleed.

Awesome.

One scan is of my sinuses and is to rule out sinusitis (And to see what’s really going on in there.) and the other is of my brain and is to rule out a bleed.

A brain bleed, you know.

Fear not, though. I’m confident it’s sinus issues as I’ve been plagued by them for the past 7 winters and recently completed an unsuccessful 7-day regimen of antibiotics started on Christmas Eve for this year’s bout. My doctor and her colleague (The office’s headache guru.) are also confident it’s sinus related. They do, however, want to be sure, as a patient presenting with “the worst headache ever” is not one they feel they should ignore. Thanks to them and their confidence, I’ll be able to sleep tonight – thankfully. Really. (Lily, are you listening? I’d like to sleep tonight!)

So when this post actually gets published, I’ll be okay. Bleed free, even. Won’t that be nice!?

Here’s to a happy, normal brain – and to hoping I actually get to click “Publish” tomorrow after my CT scans!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in health, life

Tagged brain bleed, sinusitis

alphabitty moments – M

Posted on 01/21/2010 | Leave a comment

These Alphabitty Moments layouts are so much fun! MamaBear at 4 the Love of Family kicked off the fun to keep record of the little things our children do. She, along with the other weekly participants, have some amazing ideas and cute memories … you really should check it out!

Yes, I’m still totally out of order, but I’m trying to catch up, so I’m doing letters as I think of their theme. I had a little trouble thinking of something for the letter M, but when I finally thought of this word, I knew I had found it. M is for milestones! Specifically, rolling over, her first bath in the big girl tub, sitting up and crawling. So many things to keep track of, and this makes it super easy to remember dates! Here’s the letter M!

Psst …
Want to see all of the Alphabitty posts together? They can be found here …
Want more information on these Alphabitty Moments? Yep, it’s awesome! That information is here …

→ Leave a comment

Posted in alphabitty, blogging, lily, parenting

Tagged alphabitty

this lens …

Posted on 01/21/2010 | Leave a comment

I know I haven’t added any pictures of Peanut in a while … I know. My very inexpensive and most favorite lens has been driving me crazy lately, and it seems for every 50 photos I take, I end up with 2 or 3 that are in focus. The lens has gotten so slow (Or perhaps it’s my imagination and it’s always been this way.) and has trouble focusing when there’s little contrast. If I want a properly focused photo of Lily, my AF point has to be on something like an eye, ear, or something with some texture for it to register. It’s annoying and takes far too much time. I guess I could switch lenses, but my others just aren’t as fun with Lily …

At any rate, over the past few days, I’ve captured a few okay photos, so without further ado, here’s Peanut in mid-January …

I’ll try to keep ‘em coming, but I’m growing more and more discouraged by the day. I’ll switch lenses and see what I can come up with this weekend – promise!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in family, life, lily, photography

beauty.

Posted on 01/21/2010 | Leave a comment

Not pretty to you, but to me, this photo represents something far more than a mess on my bathroom wall. That off-white box is what’s responsible for heating the granite floor (with unconditioned space underneath) in our bathroom. It’s been dead for what I want to say has been two years, but I’m delighted to say that as of last night, it’s back in business! It’s a luxury I can’t believe I lasted so long without.

When we originally discussed the possibility of a heated bathroom floor, I never thought it would happen – seemed too expensive for this first home newlywed couple. However, because my husband does all of our renovation work himself (And with the helping hands of some fabulous family members and friends!), we save tons of money. That makes a heated floor not so expensive after all! If you have a handy husband or are handy yourself, you really should think about it. It’s awesome, and well worth a few hundred dollars!

So … instead of being just a box on the wall, that mess is a beautiful representation of all things warm. Particularly my feet.

Thank you, husband. And … woohoo for warmth!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, home, life

Tagged bathroom, heated floor

a confession.

Posted on 01/20/2010 | Leave a comment

I have a confession to make. Are you ready for this? I use Johnson’s Bedtime Lotion at work.

It’s true. See it there? It hides behind my monitor (Because my co-workers, for sure, would think I’m insane if they saw it.), and using it helps me not miss my Peanut so much. It’s what we use on her every night, and it smells oh. so. good. Just like a baby. Just like my baby.

Some days are okay, and other days I just miss her like crazy. Today’s one of those “like crazy” days. Sigh. Guess I’ll be using lots of lotion today!

How about you? What confessions do you have?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, life, work

alphabitty moments – J

Posted on 01/15/2010 | Leave a comment

Catching up, and that means things might be a bit out of order – sorry! Here’s the letter J – for jeans! Because I took several of these so close, you can’t really see just how adorable the jeans are, but they’re there! I love Lily in jeans, and they’re easy because they match essentially everything! Here’s the letter J!

Psst …
Want to see all of the Alphabitty posts together? They can be found here …
Want more information on these Alphabitty Moments? Yep, it’s awesome! That information is here …

→ Leave a comment

Posted in alphabitty, blogging, lily, parenting

Tagged alphabitty

excel: conditional formatting

Posted on 01/15/2010 | 2 Comments

This would be me giving to you. Though it’s only a small piece of probably not-so-useful information, it’s sharing nonetheless. So Happy New Year, okay?

I love learning new things, and I especially like learning things that work for me and make my life easier. Such a thing happened this morning, and it was a beautiful moment. (Okay, maybe that’s just a bit over the top, but it was still fun!)

While I don’t live in Excel and am much more a graphics/creative type gal, I do have great appreciation for a well-designed spreadsheet or two. This morning, I was on a mission to get my spreadsheet working for me – you know, alerting me when things are different.

If you’re at all into “IF” statements in Excel, you know how much they rock. I wanted an “IF” statement that changed the font color when the value fell below zero … but that wasn’t meant to be through the use of an “IF” statement. A quick google search led me to the “Conditional Formatting …” option under the “Format” menu. Awesome! Here, you can set up several different conditions and resulting changes in the cell color, font formatting, and cell border. Awesome!

I ended up using two conditions – one that changed the font to red if the cell value dipped below zero, and a second that turned the cell orange with a white font if a value was missing.

Try it out – okay, not just for fun (Because it’s really not that fun.), but if you have the need! Get your work working for you!

→ 2 Comments

Posted in curiosity, smarts, web/html/tech, work

Tagged conditional formatting, excel, if statement, microsoft, spreadsheet

upright!

Posted on 01/15/2010 | 1 Comment

Oh my heavens, we have yet another milestone to report! As of last night, Lily is officially going from crawling/laying/rolling to sitting on her own! I caught her twice – once she was laying on her back playing with her remote and when I came back she was sitting up playing with her baby. The second time, she was again playing with her remote and upon second glance, she was sitting at her music table. Awesome! I knew she was close, but didn’t think it would happen this fast.

Being a mom is so amazing!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in lily, parenting

crawling.

Posted on 01/14/2010 | Leave a comment

Remember this promise? Well, I haven’t really had a chance to capture so many crawling pictures, but here are a few to kick things off. Last night, both Justin and I witnessed some actual crawling – like the real thing. We both just looked at each other after we watched Lily’s hands forcefully hit the ground and her legs shuffle back and forth. Truly an incredible sight! These milestones are awesome!

→ Leave a comment

Posted in lily, parenting

Tagged crawling, infant, milestones

details 01.

Posted on 01/14/2010 | 2 Comments

Remember this? I was promising to get “lost in the details.” I got my start, now I just have to finish out the month. See what I meant? This month, my camera and I are picking up the details – the small things that often go unnoticed.

Know this guy? He’s been painted on a crab shell and given to us by a dear friend. I love his details – the brush strokes, the glitter, and the hand-drawn nature of his eyes.