Feeling much better today. I got my stints out on Monday, and since then, I've been able to breath much better! My nose is still really dry, though, so it's difficult to gauge how much better it's going to be. I've been using a saline spray - any other suggestions?

Septoplasty

Yesterday I had a septoplasty and turbinate reduction to realign my deviated septum and reduce the sidewalls of my nose. Before, apparently, I had 80% blockage of my airways, so hopefully this will fix it.

The day was...no fun. First, I've never really had surgery before. I had my wisdom teeth extracted several years ago, but I couldn't afford anesthesia, so they just gave me a shot and I was awake for it, and it wasn't bad at all. But, yesterday, I was full-blown knocked out. First, I wore one of those embarrassing gowns with a butt flap that, when you're tall, only comes down to your knees. So, when you're laying down on the bed, you're on full display.

Then, the IV. My first nurse was very sweet, but couldn't quite figure out how to get the needle in my hand. I normally don't mind needles that much, but this one hurt! She put it in the back of my hand and sort of moved it around a bit to try to stick my veins. No luck - so she pulled it out, apologized, and said she was too chicken to try again and would get another nurse. Nurse 2 - she trys the other hand - still no luck. I have plenty of veins and have never had a problem getting needles in (I mean with a doctor getting them in - not me personally, of course). So, Nurse 3 - nothing, finally anesthesiologist comes in and on her second try, she strikes oil! Finally. So, I've been poked many times in not fun places. The anesthesiologist said I have a strong basal...something...reaction, so there's plenty of veins, but they close off quickly when anything enters them.

Well, all the pricking and prodding of the needles left me a little frazzled. They wheel me into the operating room, and my body is sort of freaking out. I remember getting onto the table, then it's pretty much gone from then until recovery room.

Right after surgery, I had a bad headache and achy nose (of course) and threw up a little, but by the time we got home, I was doing okay. There's been a lot of bleeding, but I think that's pretty much passed by today, too. All I have left are these stints stitched in my nose and this "moustache dressing." Monday, I got get the stints removed, and I'm supposed to breathe much better!

The Loop

This is the intersection where I work...only in 1941!

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Catherine's birthday. She turned 26 (at which age, you're officially older than half the world!). We celebrated with a party forthcoming and dinner out with her family. We went to this new restaurant in Logan Square called Rustik, which was excellent. It's thing is comfort food with a modern twist, I guess. Delicious.

So, if you're a regular reader (do we have those?), wish Catherine a happy birthday and come celebrate with us on Friday night!

Yer not from around here, are ya?

Catherine got that a few times when we were in Tennessee this past week.

We drove down to Dayton to see my parents for "Christmas" on January 2. We hadn't been able to exchange presents with them this year, and since Catherine and I still have Christmas breaks, we decided to drive down and spend a few days celebrating with my side of the family. After a stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch (of course - I always get it when I can), we drove through Nashville and picked my little sister up from work downtown, then we all drove home. On the way, we stopped at Fazoli's for dinner and had an interesting time. This Fazoli's was in a little interstate town between Nashville and my home town, Dayton. I ordered the Ziti with meat sauce, Leah got the spaghetti, and Catherine got the pizza...no wait, the salad...no wait....um...er....(Cath, hurry up, the locals behind you are getting restless)...the lasagna? That's when she got the..."Y'all aren't from 'round here, are y'all?" Oh well.

We had a nice time, though. It's always fun to go to my parents' house. They live in a very small town, and coming from Chicago, it's a nice change of pace. We always walk down to the town square to go to the little shops or to the post office or something. (In fact, when Catherine and I went to the post office, there was one sheet of paper from the local newspaper sitting on the counter, and it was dated March 7, 2007 - it was the page that had our engagement announcement and picture on it. We felt famous).

We ate well and ate lots! Turnip greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, sausage biscuits, beef stew...not all at once, but it was all delicious!

Now, we're back to Chicago. Nice in some ways, but the impending busyness looms on the horizon.

Happy New Year

It's 2008, and our first official item of the new year is to watch football - lots today. Currently, Michigan and Florida are tied at 14 in the Capital One Bowl, and Tennessee just pulled out a victory over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

In other news, we've not told anyone officially about our blog, and it's probably time. A couple of our friends have stumbled upon it, which is nice. The problem is, how do you tell people about a blog? Borrowing from a good friend of ours, we're going to just list our friends' names in hopes that they Google themselves and thereby find our blog. So, if that's you (and you know you do it), and you found our blog that way, PLEASE comment and let us know!

Leah Knox
Quentin McCuiston
Rachel Hackett
Arthur Hackett
Wes Jones
Jeremy Pietsch (and Stacy)
Bill Smiljanich (Katie)
Sheree Goertzen
Stacie Parlee

There's many more...maybe we'll do this again soon depending on the success of this trial. Others of you (Nate and Kelley, Eric and Emily ... we know you already found it - kudos to you).