Yup it's been a long day

Hello friends!

I am heading for the barn early tonight. Mom Shap's done in. I had a bridal shower which turned out to be quite the party. But it was fun. Just too much fun for Mom right now. I'm so tired.

We laughed a LOT tonight, and everyone was old, or at least older than the people I most often associate with who are under 22.

But I'm watering. So I guess I have to finish that. Or not, depending on how much ambition I have.

Laura is apparently out with Steph. I made food for the kids before I left, and packed some for Greg. The party started at 5pm and I am winding down at 10:15.... poopy. I did the dishes. I cleaned up the kitchen.

Bed sounds nice. Nice.

Boring post. But it's what's what. I don't think I had any great news tonight. I did win a nice apple scented candle at the party. wOOt. And I miss everyone. Especially you.

Goodnight.

Whoa is me

Kokapelli

So this slowing down stuff is frustrating, but is working quite nicely.

I went shopping with Laura yesterday, and she helped me find a nice dress for a friend's wedding. It's quite pretty, and very pink and femmy. I get to wear her Italian sandals from Germany with the dress.

Laura, Elizabeth and I went to see 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' last night. I loved it. I love just about anything Johnny Depp does, but this was especially entertaining. I had heard some negative comments, but I was pleasantly surprised. After that the girls and I walked the dog on the ditch bank for about half an hour.

I can't help but think ahead two weeks to my first day back on the job. I dread this. Not because I dislike the job; I really do love what I do. But I just don't want to go back to work. I want to be healthy and healed and work HERE, getting ready to move. I want to feel like the move is just around the corner, and we will soon be making those fun plans for a major life change. As far as the four-letter word itself, M-O-V-E, not so exciting. But I do feel that we will have a lot of help.

Of course, between now and the time I go back, much fun and wonderful stuff lies in store. I guess I better shut off this thing and go find some, eh? Mainly I just want to crawl under a blanket and sleep some more.

Last night I dreamed that Christopher who is now not going by that name but it kills me to try to call someone a different name arrived here unexpectedly. In the dream I cried and cried and cried - and NOT because I was sad. I wonder if that dream might one day come true? But I'll try not to cry.

I have the teakettle on. Like Polly. It's on a medium-low heat so it is boiling timidly. It's like the thing is trying very hard not to make any noise, but it just can't help it. It's funny. It makes Greg laugh, too.

OH MY GOSH Charlie made me the coolest thing!!!!! He has started doing some woodburning, and he made me this little fob with a Kokapelli image on it, and my name. It is going in my Scion. Very, very cool. And Elizabeth said she saw one of the scenes of the movie that had me in it and it was good. I don't know if I can stand it. I loved filming it, but dread watching it! Yee haw. I'm gonna be in a movie. What if it goes international? What if it gets an award? They are still finishing up the music part, which is the hardest part of all. The film is "silent", no dialogue, and the music provides the mood. It will be played live while the movie is being projected. There are a couple of people who read this who have NO idea what I'm talking about. Ask me. Greg is just happy that James, Jim, and Jimmy (his character), can now have "their" hair anyway "they" want! ha ha ha ha

OK, time to rescue the poor teakettle. I need a new one. I want a blue one. New one, blue one - I sound like Dr. Seuss.

Heavenly

What a night. I think I'll have to skip my mile walk tonight and just relax. OK, maybe I'll walk a little.

What is better than having friends in for a nice dinner? Having the friends all cook WITH you! Wow. That was just excellent fun. It's hard, in a kitchen like mine that was made for one skinny person who likes to heat up frozen dinners. BUT, we managed. Four people, cooking one meal. Excellent. More fun than I've had in a long time.

Now it's time to unwind and just veg out. In today's headlines: I SLEPT last night. PRAISE GOD for sleep!!!! I have decided that I have been over-doing it to the max, and I need to get a grip and slow the heck down. So, my reward for being a couch spud was I was in no discomfort last night and I slept. I s-l-e-p-t. YES.

Maybe I won't walk a little! Ha ha. A television movie sounds about good for tonight. :-)

My dinner guests/co-cooks did the dishes tonight before they left, so I am free to vegitate. Life is indeed good.

Ok, so Jacob made this bread that was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!! It had salami in it, for cryin' out loud. OH MY. *sigh* And, yes, this is Jacob of the slug-killing fame. He got to take a look at the results of his salting tonight. He was ashamed.

Goodnight all. I hope your dinner was as heavenly as mine.

Five months until Christmas

The weather lady informed us of that today, as Laura and I sat watching daytime television at its finest. Jerry and Maury kept us going. All the commercials were for one of three things: colleges, products for the elderly, and weight loss. So you are either too stupid to have a job, to old to have a job, or too fat to have a job IF you are watching Jerry and Maury.

The hill above East Wenatchee is on fire. You can actually see it from our backyard, and see it better from our roof but Laura won't let me get on the roof. The moon is red. It is an eerie sight. I don't know what's burning because I'm not working right now so I'm out of the loop! That's okay by me, except I'm used to being "in the know".

I rested today. Last night it took 6 benadryl tablets to allow me to sleep, and then I couldn't wake up!!!! I think the more I do the less I am able to sleep. So, since I have a lot to do tomorrow, I did less today. Now it's 14 minutes until tomorrow, so I better try to sleep.

I am having company for dinner tomorrow - an Italian meal featuring this gourmet spaghetti sauce recipe that uses steak and mushrooms as the base, with almost no tomato sauce at all. It is most awesomely yummy. I will try not to stress about housework. I'll TRY.

David is going to come home for three weeks here in about 3 days. It will be his final "visit" before he really pulls up stakes in CA and moves home for good. He feels badly that I have had to go through this recuperation time without him. I feel badly about that too, because I did not OVERDO it while he was here helping me. It's not his fault! But still, I will be glad to have him keeping me healthy.

Endeavor is going on tour, which is majorly awesome and cool, and then coming back and will be playing Tomfest. I am going to Tomfest with Laura. Possibly with Greg too, and MAYBE David will go. I am exceptionally excited to see my boys on the main stage. I will shout from the audience "THEM'S MAH BOYS!!!!!" but I doubt it will be heard. Maybe I'll crowd surf. Ha ha haha. I will say I've known these boys for YEARS, because now it's been more than one.

I now have brown hair again.

Warning

A couple of things to keep in mind. If you've been sliced in an unnatural way, internally, you may want to ease back into your insanely busy life rather than trying to rush things. Consequences for NOT doing that include, but are not limited to, sleepless and pain-filled nights, lectures from the Laura, lectures from the friends of the Laura, and a sudden desire to cry at 4am. What have we learned from this, class? Yes, to take another look at our progress and s-l-o-w down.

My weekend was a whirlwind of activity. I am blessed with three adorable and very loud grandchildren. They came for the weekend, along with their parents of course, and a huge amount of work was done. It's awesome that Justin and Sadie pitched in and did the truly distasteful job of hauling junk off to the dumps in three large loads. The difference they made is incredible. I got to see and hug and breathe in my grandbabies. But I am me, although I am an impaired me, and I don't like to admit the impaired part. So, yes, I way overextended, did far too much, and ended up hurting me. I don't know how badly. I think I'll call the doc tomorrow and see what he has to say. You know what it sounds like when a guitar string breaks? That's what I felt deep inside me.

Friday I cleaned the house and got the beds ready, shopped, and made Justin's birthday "cake" which was two pans of buttermilk brownies with a cocoa fudge frosting. Then I walked my 40 minutes including the 15-minute mile. Saturday I got up at 9am, having slept very little, and fitfully at that, and greeted three very much awake little people. I made pancakes for breakfast. We were on the go from then until about 10pm when we finally settled into mindless movie watching. We played in the yard, in the house, we ate hot dogs, and had a wonderful bbq dinner, in addition to shopping for Justin's birthday present. Thus, Mom Shap was on her feet working and racing around for about 13 hours. This was a very, very bad thing. I was unable to get to sleep until something like 5:45 am. Once again, at 9am, the three little happy voices called "Grandma Shapovalov!" fully expecting a cheerful reply. *sigh* We went to the 11am church service at Calvary Chapel. I'm always thinking everyone will be as impressed when they see my beautiful grandchildren as I am. Lunch was leftovers, and in a flurry of Otter Pops and hugs, the kids and their parents were on their way. Shortly thereafter, my buddy Brian arrived with his three very sweet children to spend a few hours. My little precious ones - I love them to death. We hunted bugs for hours, and made little homes for them. Danny got to adopt a rather large and deliciously slimy slug for a pet!!! They painted, drew on the patio with chalk, watched a movie, and played with toys. More Otter Pops, brownies and ice cream, and soon they were headed home. Garrett arrived while they were still here, and soon after they left, Stephanie and a friend of hers arrived. More brownies and ice cream. While the teens were otherwise occupied, I watered the lawns and started on the overwhelming job of post-company laundry, as well as walking a mile, but not in 15 minutes. *heavy sigh* Now, as the washer and dryer do their thing, I sit here droning on about the past 72 hours.

I wish to have a home filled with children always. Big ones and little ones. Coming and going, eating and pooping.

But I wish to have a pain-free and sleep-full night. Happy to start again tomorrow, but Lord please gift me with the awesome gift of sleep tonight. I'm not often a begger, but I'd say I am BEGGING for a night of rest. Mom Shap does not often cry...

Walkin'

I'm so proud of me today. I walked a 15-minute mile on the track at the highschool. I walked from here to the school, did the mile, and walked back. That took just about 40 minutes. I got some water, grabbed the dog, and took her on her little old fat dog walk for two blocks. So I nearly got an hour of walking in again today. wOOt. Now I'm very tired, but I feel like I accomplished something. I hope I didn't rip or pull anything internally! Ha ha ha

In other news, Greg nearly refused to help his poor post-surgery mom but eventually his sister convinced him he was a.... bad word.... and he came back to take me on my errands. Justin, Sadie and the three little ones will be arriving late LATE tonight, and I needed things for their visit. (Still not released to drive) I also had to go to the post office. So dutifully, Greg drove me around in the Scion and benefitted by bringing home two large bags of groceries for himself.

Now it's time to start getting ready for the crew to arrive, so I must go. Love and kisses.

Slug Guts

So, yeah, they're right by the "welcome" sign. And a warm welcome it is, too. I'm going to have to find out what removes sun-baked slug guts from the wall.... mmmmmmmmmmm

It's ten pee em

Do you know where your children are?

That message used to flash across the television screen at exactly 10:00 PM when I was a young girl. Parents of America, check on your children.

It was a goodbye day today, which was sad but exciting. Sarah, Elizabeth, Melinda and Jesse are all driving to San Francisco! The car is PACKED. They're going to bed down at my brother's house in Grants Pass Oregon tonight. Late, probably. Then on to The City and the really big adventure of finding the YWAM base!

I just took the dog on a 45-minute walk and you'd think I made her climb a mountain. She is huffing and puffing and barely hanging in there. Getting old. She's trying to eat her food, but has to take breathing and lying down breaks every few minutes.

I feel like making a hot dog. Maybe I'll have salad.

I hate it when it's so QUIET and empty here.

Tonight on our walk, Steffy and I met a ton of people. I started walking at nearly 9 pm but the ditch bank was a popular spot. People on bikes, people with dogs, people jogging. Steffy sniffed them all and was very happy. Well, she didn't sniff the joggers. I was just glad for a safe place to walk. Now it's dark, finally.

I have slug guts and blood on my wall outside, beside the front door. It's so disgusting I have to take a picture. Jacob was SO enthusiastic throwing salt on 3-4 large slugs. Now their remains are plastered to the wall, looking like alien guts. Perhaps I'll post a picture of this. Yes, I believe I shall.

Good night.

Spring it on, baby!

Ha ha ha - I'm "resting" so much. Um, so today Sarah was talking to Carley whose name I am not sure how to spell. They wanted to get together tonight sort of as a final farewell. So I bought salmon. Two large salmon filets. I told Sarah, Carley LOVES my barbequed salmon. We invited her to dinner, and she invited Michael. I made two kinds of barbequed salmon, noodles with butter and garlic, and a huge tossed salad. OH MY. Yeah, dinner was pretty above-average. With all of them helping clean up, it was a snap. And by the moaning in pleasure during dinner, it was obvious everyone loved everything, even the humble noodles.

Sarah's sister stopped by today, and brought her little girl, Madison. Adorable. Madison played evil duck with me. It was great fun. She is crawling, but does this flat-bellied military crawl so her mom calls her "GI Jane". My friend Lisa from work also stopped by, and brought me GORGEOUS flowers and a hilarious card. What an incredibly awesome day.

No word from Laura yet. Hmmm. Seems Sarah will indeed be able to leave tomorrow. SAD SAD. But still, what an awesome day. Good memories for her to take with her.

So much fun

I haven't yet counted how many kids were here last night. A LOT, I can tell you that. We had a little ice cream "social" for Sarah's going away party. It was planned and carried out by Rebecca; I just loaned the house! Sarah leaves for San Francisco this week, for her two year comittment at the YWAM outreach, working with the street ministry. Thankfully, she managed to secure the needed $700 per month support. She can still use occasional one-time gifts, and I would be so pleased if any of you might find it in your heart to help her in that way. We're so proud of Sarah, and what she has overcome, what she's accomplished, and what God has in store for her to do. If you want to help her, write to me and I'll give you the San Francisco address. Any additional funds would go toward things like extra needs (toiletries, food, laundry) and potential trips home for holidays, etc. Anyway, what a fun night. The kids started arriving at 8:30 pm and the last three left at almost 2am! We had tons of ice cream and various toppings, and I made these little cups out of marshmallow cream, chocolate, butter and Rice Krispy cereal. The kids thought it was really, really good to eat the ice cream from those edible dishes. Just like Willy Wonka, I said. So it's a very sad time, but in the chaos of a party you forget that it is a farewell.... we just had a lot of fun and a LOT of great conversations and laughs. It never gets old; listening to kids talk.
At about midnight thirty, Tommy, Jacob, Sarah, and Tommy's friend....errrrrrrr forgot his name, went on my nightly walk with me. Better late than never, right??? Even that was hilarious. I almost expected someone to call the police. I felt great yesterday. And you can see in the picture I'm wearing "real" clothes. It wasn't exceptionally comfortable, but it wasn't too bad either. Progress? I hope so!!!!!! The picture is me, duh, Tommy who may be my #1 fan, and my only Sarah May. Sarah and Rebecca helped me with all the lifting chores yesterday. Rebecca and her sister did almost all of the dishes while I was outside socializing! Yee haw! I get to really say goodbye to Sarah possibly today or tomorrow, but it's like this; she is "my" Sarah May. She's not leaving my life, she is just living out her calling at the place God has put on her heart. How can I dispute that????? What kind of mom would I be to try to interfere with that? Still, there will be a Sarah-shaped gap in this home without her. There will be a Sarah-shaped gap in Laura's arms! *sigh* This morning I woke to sounds of Sarah emptying the dishwasher, so I don't even have to do that. SWEET. Later Brian and Danny, Madison, and Josh will stop by to play with me. ;-) The kids realize their swimming lessons are just down the street from my house, and they've been asking to come and see me so... today's the day! I must get ready, so I'll close.

Amazing

Normally, Greg flies in my front door about 4-5 minutes before he has to be at work at the hospital across the street. He's hoping that Mom has some leftovers he can snag for dinner at work. He works the graveyard shift, and he is always hungry. Tonight it was different. At the time he normally is wild-eyed and desperate and coming in the house, he CALLED me. He was approaching the bridge, he said. Know what I did? I stood at the curb with his packed dinner in a bag, and handed to him as he barely came to a stop. Yes, I did. I know he was grateful, and finds it funny that I'll do things like that. I'm just glad I can! What if I couldn't walk right now??? He'd starve! He will be a bit late signing in at work tonight, but he'll have some wonderful stir fry to keep him company.

Oopsie Daisy

There are ups and downs with having your insides sewn together. Some days you feel just wonderful, and others you feel poopy. I felt fine today until I reached down and picked up Laura's CD "wallet". Right. The thing is HUGE. Pulled something. So now I'm on the sidelines. My studly girl did the grocery shopping and lifted everything for Mom.

Sarah said goodbye to Laura today, and I don't think any of us really grasps the "two years" concept. She's just going to San Francisco, that's all! Right? Right? No? I get to see her one more time before she leaves. That is so unbelievably sad. But I am very proud of her and I am glad she gets to do this ministry.

There are times when life is like that old proverb image of a boy allowing a sack of chicken feathers to blow off into the wind, and then trying to capture them all and put them back. Sometimes the things we say and do take off and create a world we never planned. Stopping the damage can be like trying to go grab those feathers. It's painful to watch. But a lesson learned is not wasted. Acting on impulse, speaking ahead of thinking, making juvenile-quality choices - oh my... This should prove to be fascinating.

I just got yelled at for changing the sheets on my bed. Well??????????? It's not like help is right here at all times.

I want to make cookies. I had Laura get me 10 lbs of flour and the nice little lady went and put it in the flour container for me. So the trick will be; how do I take that container off the shelf??? I guess I'll have to bribe somebody. While she's gone this weekend, I'm makin' cookies. Some chocolate chip, and some peanut butter chip. Oh, yes, and perhaps some oatmeal. Ambitious, I know. We'll see if it happens. For now the goal is to stop making my side hurt. I am going out to lunch with Tommy tomorrow. I'm thinkin Chinese food, maybe.

What a pointless post. Good thing it isn't read! :-)

OH, I got a new book by David Sedaris. I heard him read from it on PBS about 3 years ago and I always remembered the name of the book. 'Dress Your Family in Denim and Corderoy'. It's a great book. Just commentaries on life. He writes like I think. You might enjoy the book. He has a few; and he makes you cry and laugh quite easily. He was a young gay male struggling to grow up and find where he belonged, but the main stories are not about that, but about his family life in general. Very interesting, at least to me. So maybe I better go back to reading it. The other night I took Laura and Sarah out "book shopping". I was the first person in Sarah's life to allow her to select a book for pleasure, at least as an adult. This was sort of an anniversary of that wonderful moment. Each of the girls got C.S. Lewis books.

I'm really leaving now. It's almost 8pm, Laura and Christine are chatting on the couch while Laura cuts her toenails. Hmm. Beefy, she calls her toenails.

It is well with my soul

And so the world settles back into the "right". Laura's face was in the right place this "morning" which is actually past noon. But we had not planned on doing anything today - this is a total vegetation day and holds no expectations other than complete relaxation and healing. My healing is physical. Peace reigns. Laura is home from Germany. I'm glad she got to go, but gladder that she is home. The pictures are awesome, the stories vary from hilarious to unbelievable, and the little gifts are priceless.

Stephanie drove me to Bellevue yesterday, and we checked into the hotel early - maybe 5pm? Something like that. She showered and then we went to Seattle to find food. I can't be within 50 miles of Seattle and not crave sushi. She knew of a place - oh yeah - I'll go back there. It was fun and challenging to walk in Seattle.

We met Laura at the airport right about 9pm. I "ran" to greet her. I guess I run funny these days. So funny - I can't lift anything, so she had to juggle all that luggage (luggage juggle, that's funny) by herself as Steph waited outside in the loading zone. Back to the hotel, gift time, and then Daniel joined us.

Sunday was sleep day, but we made it to Antioch Bible to catch up to the crew. Laura and Daniel and I went out for some VERY good Mexican food, and then I got to play Snow White for a while. We went to the House of Musical Men and it became the House of the Six Dwarves as I looked about and said "Six children must live here. Six messy children!" An hour of dishwashing and counter scrubbing later, and with the dwarves all scurrying around with vacuum, dust cloth, buckets, and trash bags, the place was transformed!!!! I got to hang out and watch a movie while the band practiced. Later, a wonderful dinner at the Dobyns' house. Dobyns. What a great name. Mom Dobyns made these incredible burrito fillings, and the company was so nice. Adam was glaringly obviously absent. That was sad.

Home. Finally. Late, like midnight. So the kids and I did sleep in very late - and now they are off buying Pilsbury biscuits to make for BREAKFAST at noon thirty. Guess MY biscuits just aren't good enough! I am so happy today. All feels calm and right. Not calm and bright, or it would be Christmas. But like that, anyway.

God is so good. Waiting is hard, but sometimes yeilds great rewards. People do change. Things often do get better with time and care and prayer. Oh, yeah, and history does not always repeat itself. Now the only down side is this pile of laundry that smells very odd, waiting for me in the basement. There's always something! Still, I'm feeling contented and happy and very peaceful. I wish this day to pass s-l-o-w-l-y.

That took guts!

So on Monday morning, June 27th, I walked nervously into the Wenatchee Valley Hospital clutching my "princess" pillow and pre-op instructions. By 8am I had the proper tubes attached to me, was dressed in the oddest attire I've ever seen, and sported a shiny metallic cap that made me look like an insane 60's beauty shop client. They let me wear my socks. This covered up my very purple toenails, so nobody got to appreciate them. I have tried very hard to remember how they put me out, but one of the last things I remember was the impossibly young anesthesiologist saying "this is something to relax you", and pushing some sort of medicine into the IV. I didn't say anything. Next thing I knew there were two nurses, one on each side of my gurney, and I was still hooked up to an IV, but felt like I was made out of lead. I said something and they kept laughing. I wish I could remember what I was saying. I did ask where my husband was, but it came out sounding like I was drunk. I was sort of... like "David? Um. David?" When we got to "my" room, I was thinking they wanted me to get up and move to the other bed. This was impossible, as I had no feeling in my legs or anywhere below my waist for that matter. They told me my only job was to grab my belly and hang on. Did they think it would stay on the gurney if I didn't do that??? The one, two, three lift thing was weird. But it felt SO good in that bed. I think I called Daniel pretty soon after I was put into bed, because I needed to tell him he didn't have to sing at my funeral because I did, in fact, wake up. I was on morphine. It's not a feeling I would wish to repeat anytime soon. I was shaking and disoriented. When David walked into the room I was SO glad.

Things went just fine until I started throwing up. That was so not cool. I didn't get anything to eat on Monday, and I was really hungry on Tuesday morning, but still nothing. All day Monday I tried to talk to people but it was exhausting. On Tuesday morning early they got me up, took the vital signs and blood, pulled out the catheter, and then took me into the hall to walk. Shuffle. I had to push my own IV cart and shuffle along like I was 97. Fortunately I had brought a little robe, so my assets weren't on display. That walk went well but I didn't fart. You have to fart for them to allow you to go home. Donovan would win no matter what. Fart? OK. *Breeeemp* Fart on command. It's not so easy to do as they've re-arranged your guts. I was looking at pictures of the procedure, and no wonder everything is so mixed up after that. They stick your legs up in the air, put a thing in you, grab the poor uterus, suck it into some sort of tue thing, slice it away from whatever it is holding onto, cut the falopian tubes away, and scoop the whole thing out past all the familiar neighbor organs. It must frighten the bladder and the intestines to see this thing come screeching out like that. Hey, am I next??? Yikes. So farting is this really big deal after that. I guess the procedure also involves blowing some sort of gas into the abdomen to make the organs move away from each other. Your goal is to get that excess air/gas out of the belly because TRUST ME it's not comfortable. Still, farting is an elusive talent at that time. 3 walks around the hospital floor didn't do it. The shower and all that effort helped. I went home at about 2:30 in the after noon on Tuesday, just a bit over 24 hours after the procedure ended. I walked to my cute little car, got myself all situated, and waved goodbye to my cute little plump nurse. She was so sweet.

Home. Ah yes. Easily climbed up the stairs to use the potty. Farted a little. Got the pillows and a nice flannel sheet, and settled in on the love seat. I was cared for like a true princess. Every wish and whim - handled with tender efficiency. Very nice. And I was SOOO hungry I couldn't believe it. He brought me cottage cheese - I must have eaten a cup or more in about 2 minutes. By this time I was on Vicoden? However you spell that. But what it makes me do is just suddenly fall asleep with no warning. So I woke to a lap full of cranberry juice. Right after surgery that can look scary. We took the dog on a walk that very evening. I've been walking a mile every day since then, and I have to say I'm amazed and blessed at the progress.

So let's see. This is Sunday, the 6th day post-surgery. I'm doing all my own laundry, but not lifting the wet clothing and not carrying large loads of dry clothes up and down the stairs yet. Just small loads, or David carries and I put away. I'm making dinners, although last night's dinner may have been a bit over the top, effort wise, and I felt a bad burning sensation in the offended parts of the inside of me. I need to stick to baking chicken or something for the moment. Standing there chopping and chopping and sauteeing for an hour was a DUMB idea. I'm washing dishes, but not lifting heavy pots or loading the bottom rack of the dishwasher. I have weeded, trimmed back my chives, and have done simple watering of the back yard.

I get to go out to dinner tonight, which sounds really nice. What to wear???? I'm a big puff ball. Maybe I can hide my gut in a dress. Actually, I have been looking at women in Wenatchee who aren't 5-6 days post hysterectomy, and probably 60% of them have much puffier guts than me! Ha ha ha. Ow. But at least I'm not wearing a spandex crop top above too-tight black pants! YIKES.

That's the update. Mom Shap is so very much "on the mend". I feel really, really good. I feel really thankful and blessed that my surgery and recovery experience is so far very easy and relatively pain-free. I am looking forward to life without constant pain and discomfort! My poor invaded uterus was 5-times heavier than it was supposed to be. Just think if I let it go another year!!!!!

I'm looking forward to welcoming my Lauuura home on the 9th. Also, perhaps her good buddies from the West Side will be coming to see Mom Shap once Laura's home!!!! So far I've gotten visits from Justin and Shannon, Christine, Elizabeth (yeah!) and Julie. That's it! Ha ha - I'm the only 47-year-old whose friends are all under 22 years old.

Good day, and if any of ya'll have friends or family who have surgical procedures, do not hesitate to call them, send them a little card, or send up a prayer in their behalf. The little 5-minute visits and small expressions of care have meant the world to me. I am sure that the first thought is "I don't want to disturb....." but PLEASE DO DISTURB. Yes, Mitch, I'd have a sign that either says "DO Disturb" Or "Don't Disturb". Die hard fans will get that one.

Mom Shap