To Paraphrase Eric Cartman.......

Via Grain Edit

Okay, maybe I can't do everything I want to like well.... ride my bike, talk to people long...or walk much further than about a half mile slowly, but I'm doing better. The biggest problem is a "gurgly" right lung...but it's less audible than yesterday, and I'm feeling stronger than the past couple of days. Last night, a couple of friends brought me dinner which was awesome of them.

This weekend? Go out, but prepare for the Memphis trip the weekend of the 7th and 8th of August. Guitar shaped pool at our hotel? Yes, please.

Update:

I'm doing fine. Surgery went well. My lungs feel "junky" but that's what's to be expected the next couple of days.

Surgery Eve

I go in tomorrow morning for the first Bronchial Thermoplasty treatment tomorrow morning. I've been on prednisone (40 mg a day) since Thursday in preparation for the surgery which means I've gotten by on little sleep, done tons of projects, am eating constantly and have 5 boxes (they were cheap) of Klondike Bars in my freezer. Plus, I mopped the kitchen twice.
"Prednisone Joy" is kind of awesome, but I'm hoping this procedure will make it so she doesn't appear again.
Mostly though, I just feel lucky that I've been given an opportunity to have a "new" pair of lungs that won't be so high maintenance. This just might be life-changing...at least to me. Plus, I have 5 boxes of Klondike Bars in my freezer!

“We were no longer Good Society”

Jane Austen parodies are a dime a dozen, but this parody?  Easily a favorite.  Yes, this one was done by LDS Singles down in SoCAL.  Pretty sweet, eh?

From the Internets: Catch-up Version

Here's just a random group of stuff I found online that amused me:

1) On today, the day that Lindsey Lohan reported to jail, the following image was released for Lohan's new film, "Machete" .
2) Selleck-Waterfall-Sandwich:Several months ago, a website featuring photoshopped pictures of Tom Selleck with a sandwich amongst a backdrop of a waterfall was all the rage for about 5 minutes. Here's my favorite so far. Via http://selleckwaterfallsandwich.tumblr.com/

3) Mothers Marrying off their Adult Single Children

There's now a website for everything. A mother who is obsessed getting her single son married set up a website where mothers can set up their kids. I foresee a Mormon version in less than 6 months. I foresee my mom talking about doing this half-jokingly for myself and my baby brother.

Recent Happenings

Here's a roundup of the things that have been happening the past couple of weeks:

Fourth of July (Observed): Kelli wasn't working on the 5th of July so when she finally arose from her bed, we decided to go play skeeball up at Dave and Buster's in Maryland since it was 100 degrees outside. I had to convince there wouldn't be much traffic (luckily there wasn't) and we had a great time up there at the arcade playing skee-ball, killing dinosaurs, racing horses, shooting moose, and racing NASCAR cars. Pretty much a redneck's dream 4th of July Celebration.

Afterwards, we stopped by the Capitol Hill neighborhood to get burgers at Good Stuff Eatery. The hype around this trendy burger joint is completely well-deserved. The veggie burger was the best I've had in the area, and the milkshakes are worth $5.00 a piece (and more than big enough to split). While we were eating outside watching the sun set on the Capitol Hill neighborhood, Kelli remarked, "I wish every day was the 4th of July.....Observed."

LDS Singles Conference: I’ve decided that the only way to get me to Church Single Adult Activities is to ask me to help plan…and even then I drag my feet a bit. 3 days (after registration closed) before our LDS Mid-Singles Conference I finally realized that because I was going to be help planning my weekend was going to be shot so therefore I should probably register. I’m a little slow. Anyway, Friday we had dinner at Red Curry in Old Town (Recommend this place) and then took the Cherry Blossom Steamboat out on the river for 3 hours* with 200+ of my closest single friends. There’s something about trapping 200 single adults on a boat for 3 hours* that makes for some interesting people watching, conversation and observations. Saturday I ended up spending the morning at the church and then we had a bbq that afternoon. Sunday was shortened church at GW Middle School in my neighborhood with lunch provided afterwards. Shortened church+free lunch=happy Sunday.

Avenue Q: Thursday, Kelli and I went to see Avenue Q. A spoof of Sesame Street with Gary Coleman as the Super of the apartments, it’s hilarious (and raunchy at time). We learned valuable lessons like “Everybody is a Racist” and the “The Internet is for Porn.” The show wasn’t over-the top crude all the time, and I’d recommend it to well, some people. That being said, I enjoyed the play, and it was definitely worth it to me.

Lung Surgery? In March, my pulmonologist started talking to me about Bronchial Thermoplasty procedure. I agreed to it, we got my information and sent it to my Insurance. On Thursday, I got a phone call saying I was scheduled for the first procedure….on Wednesday, if my insurance goes through. I haven’t heard yet if it’s been approved but if it is, I’ll be going in on Wednesday. Lung Surgery sounds much more dramatic than an outpatient procedure which is what Bronchial Thermoplasty is.

People with asthma and especially people with moderate-severe continuous asthma have continually small airways in the lungs because of the chronic inflammation of the lungs. When an attack happens to someone with asthma, the airways get even more constricted. Bronchial Thermoplasty opens up those airways permanently so when an attack happens, the airways don’t restrict as much as they did previously.

Bronchial Thermoplasty is an outpatient procedure where the patient is put under conscious sedation, and a little probe is put down their airways. At the appropriate times and locations, the probe shoots super heated air on the airways in the lungs making them larger. 3 procedures spaced 3 weeks apart are done and after that I’m finished. Almost all patients in the clinical study experienced a remarkable improvement and over 80% of patients in the study came off all of their asthma medications except for occasional use of albuterol.

Needless to say, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Bronchial Thermoplasty just may be life-changing....if my insurance approves it.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday via Ransom Note Indicator

Wordless Wednesday: Auntie Sherpa Edition

Via Rich and Nicole's Blog

RIP George

Picture via Lohud Yankees

I wouldn't be a Yankees fan unless I paid a little tribute to George Steinbrenner today. Love, hate or be secretly glad he was banned for baseball for several years which gave the team an opportunity to build a dynasty in the '90s..........Thanks George, you will be missed.

Besides, don't you love that he evidently had a picture of Cary Grant in his office? Too cool.

The Many Faces of a Space Invader.....

Who knew that those little space invaders were so nuanced?

Via http://gamovr.mx981.com/page/17

The Fifth of July

I'm one of the proud few Federal Employees (not counting DOD) that "gets" to work on the 4th. I coordinate a Secretarial Ceremony on the 4th that honors Interior employees who have served the government for 30,40, and 50 years.

The Secretary of the Interior speaks, we sing the National Anthem, then we all head over with other employees who won an e-mail drawing to watch the Fireworks in DC. Although the event is exhausting, watching everyone enjoy themselves on the 4th? Totally deserving.

The Secretary went off script twice to tell the employees of the Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation and Energy (formerly known as Minerals Management Service) to keep up the great work and he was being sincere about it. This past summer has been tough on employees at Interior's morale, and seeing that expression of thanks from Secretary Salazar was touching.

Many people salute the Armed Forces on the 4th*, which is totally appropriate, but I want to take a second to thank those maligned, "lazy," Civil Federal Employees. Not fully understanding the function of the Department of the Interior, I've had "friends" tell me that the Department shouldn't exist. Many of us could go into the private sector for more money --even in this economy, but the majority of the people I have the pleasure to work with and for; work for the Government for reasons besides the monetary benefits or the cash. Despite the problems this country has, the US remains great not only because of our armed forces. There's many, many un-sung heros out there who have also taken an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution also.

*Even if we already have two federal holidays to honor our Vets...

Baby Name Ideas for Richard and Nicole

My little brother and his wife are expecting a baby girl any day now. The baby is now overdue by a few days, and may decide to be born today.
On top of this, the two of them aren't quite sure what they'll name the little girl. I've come up with a few ideas, and I'm sure any suggestions from you would be welcome.

Here's a few holiday themed names:

Liberty: What child wouldn't want to be named after a bell in Philadelphia?

George: Naming little girls traditionally male names has been the rage for many years. There's little Madisons, Reagans but you'd be one of the first with a little Girl George. What better way to pay homage to her birthday than name her George? On top of that, George is a family name. There's Richard's great-Grandfather George Roundy who was named after his uncle (I think) who was killed in Park City around the turn of the 20th Century...in a bar fight.

Patria: Patria Buhler. What a ring that name has. Patria could be a feminine version of Patriot plus it means fatherland in Spanish.

Columbia: Columbia is another name for the Americas, plus I think Steven would give you major bonus points for naming the baby after a river. After seeing the picture below, how could you not name the kid Columbia?

A Drawing of "Columbia"

Rich and Nicole, Love you!

Scene from a Singles Adult Event Planning Meeting

Scene: A group of 6 adults-men and women- planning a multi-day event for a group of singles at church. The time is late at night, and everyone is exhausted.

Meeting Participant 1: Now, let's talk about the DJ for the dance on the riverboat.
Meeting Participant 2: (loudly) Can I just make one request? I can't stand when YMCA is played at church dances. I hate the song and I'm the only person who knows what the song is really about.
All: (Shouting in unison) We ALL know what the song is about!

End Scene