"The Invisible Woman"

When I got to work this morning and logged into my email, I had a few emails waiting for me (as usual).  There was one particular email entitled "The Invisible Woman".  I immediately thought, "This should be good".  Little did I know or realize how good it was!!  This spoke to me on such a deep level.  I want to share this video for you all to watch and gleem from it.  It truly speaks to us mothers and fathers!!  The video is a little over 5 minutes long but it is so worth it.  Please watch it and let me know what you liked.  You can check more things out on her website at:  http://www.freshbrewedlife.com/
ENJOY!!

Recovery and PT

I am going into my third week of recovery from my shoulder surgery and feeling so much better than I ever expected.  I made it through work yesterday - not without aching and fatigue - but I made it!  I have also started physical therapy.  Yesterday was my second session.  The first session I had, my Dr. had advised me to take a pain pill before I went so I did.  By the time I left, the drugs had kicked in and I was a drugged mess.  This time I decided to just take 800 mg of Ibuprofen.  I still very much enjoyed having that shoulder stretched and manipulated but I did leave in pain.  I guess I'm going to have to find a happy medium with the meds.  It's amazing to me how an hours worth of moving your shoulder around in PT can make you soooo exhausted. 

After PT, hubby and I went to eat at a local "dive" in our town and after that went home to relax.  Before I knew it I was sacked out in my recliner snoozing for the night.  I guess I fell asleep at 7:30 and woke up at 10:45 in time to crawl into bed.  I slept all night and woke up with a lot less stiffness this morning in the shoulder.  AMAZING!!  I'm far from where I need to be but far from where I was.  Doesn't that ring true in our spiritual lives as well?  Far from where I need to be but far from where I was!!  Hallelujah!  Thank the good Lord above that He is daily watching over us and taking us (His children) where we need to be.  What a great God we serve.  I do have to give him all the glory for the easy recovery I have had.  I am truly blessed! 

I'm Back...

I'm back...at work, that is!!  This is my first day to be at work since my surgery two weeks ago.  I have been impressed at how my recovery is going!  I am very blessed & thankful that the Lord has graciously smiled on me through this time.

Well, the holidays are officially over!  YAY!!  Back to some normality in my life...maybe?  I do love and anticipate the holidays when they are "on the way" but I hate them when they get here and by the time they're done, I'm ready to be done!  It took 5 minutes for the family to leave our home on Saturday (after having our Christmas a day late due to the blizzard) to start pulling all of my Christmas stuff down.  I now have it all neatly assorted on our dining room table until my hubby gets home tonight to help me box it up.  I don't know how much of the boxing I will be able to do but I could handle taking stuff down fairly easy. 

As soon as I REMEMBER to sit down and upload pictures of Christmas, I will.  I was going through my camera yesterday looking at the cuteness of it all and realized that I never uploaded Birthday Party pics from my son's Secret Agent Birthday Party.  Guess I have a lot to catch up on huh??  Doesn't surprise me!

Looking forward to a new beginning in 2010!

1 Week After Surgery

I have officially made it one week!!  It has truly not been as bad as most people told me it would be.  I have done a lot of thinking about that and wondered why not.  Obviously, the first thing I think of is God has just smiled on me on this and the second things is that I did recently realize that I did have full range of motion in my shoulder before surgery where most of the others that really had a tough time did not.  I think that made a huge difference with my recovery time.  I'm still struggling to get my energy back up.  That's been about the biggest issue.  I'm sure it's because I am just not sleeping well at night so my rest is not there and the uncomfortable ways I have to sleep just won't let me.

Turn your eyes if you're squeamish!!!  OK, I warned you!!!  I wanted to show a picture of my shoulder.  I had orthroscopic surgery so, it's not all black & blue and oozing.  It's just a few small incisions with a couple of stitches.  BUT, I still did warn you!!

See, it's not THAT bad!!

Santa showed up AGAIN at my house this week.  I first told you about the recliner that I got "for Christmas" and then on Thursday evening, we realized that our freezer was not freezing properly in our refrigerator.  Sooo, we got a repair man to come out on Saturday morning to look at it & repair it.  By then, the fridge part was also losing its coolness.  The repair man said he could fix it but it would be a gamble and we would have to spend about $600 by the time it's over.  The gamble was that he didn't know if the repair would last two hours or two years.  He just couldn't guarantee anything.  Sooooo, we talked it over and decided to go ahead and buy a new fridge.  On Saturday (slinged arm in tow) I got out with the hubster and we shopped for a couple of hours looking for the fridge we both agreed on.  It wasn't too long into the trip that we decided which one to get.  The problem was finding it in stock.  We went to 5 different locations to get it.  It's one of the #1 fridges going right now so NO ONE had it in stock!!  At the last place we went, we found that they had 1 white one left...JUST WHAT WE NEEDED!!  YAY!  The hubby had asked another salesman to see if he could order it in for us but we wouldn't know until middle of next week.  After we found what we wanted and came home, I realized I had completely overdone it!  I really wore myself out and didn't have a great night after all of that.  We all got up the next morning and went to church.  After lunch with friends the hubster informed me that he was thinking about getting our old fridge fixed....WHAT?!?  Where did this come from?  I didn't quite know how to handle this.  I had gotten all worked up about getting a new appliance, got out and found it, paid the price for that and was getting excited about when it was going to be delivered.  This really threw me for a loop!  I honestly didn't know how to act.  He asked me how mad I would be if he didn't get the new one.  I didn't know how to answer that!!  Hubby left & all he said was "I'll be back".  I called a great friend for some moral support.  Was I being this awful wife or what??  I didn't know how to look, how to turn, how to speak, nothing!  When he pulled up, he had the fridge in the back of his pick up.  GREAT!!  Now, I felt even worse!!  If I'd a had a little more time to process this, maybe I would've thought differently??   I really don't know.  I will say that I do absolutely LOVE our new fridge! 

We decided on the Samsung RF267AEWP   Isn't she lovely??

I knew I wanted a fridge with the freezer on the bottom and when I saw the french doors on top, it was a no brainer!!  Anyway, here's a peek in our kitchen once she was placed -

OK, so, that's all the excitement and chaos around the Conner Blend this last week.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what occurs this week!!  Hope all are well!  ENJOY your Holidays!!

Shoulder Surgery Sentiments

Well, this has been the extent of my days since Monday.  I went in for shoulder repair surgery early Monday morning and ever since have been in this LOVELY, NEW leather recliner.  Merry Christmas a few days early for me!!  Yeth!  My hubby bought me this recliner for my recovery time.  Wasn't that sweet??   I had all intentions of posting something everyday since I was going to be home recovering.  Well, I guess my wants were a little bit extravagant compared to my reality.  Between the pain and the medication, I haven't been very coherent.

 My sweet daughter washed my hair for me today (not without a little pain).  See my boo-boos all patched up (thanks to the hubby)??  How sad I look!!  Today seems to be the worst of all the days so far.  I'm trying to wean myself off of the pain meds.  All it does is make me loopy and want to sleep all day.  Soooo, I'm trying.  I think that's why I have had more pain today than the others.   My Dr. had a lovely chair brought in for me to sit in 6 hours a day and it would move my arm a few degrees a day until it hits the maximum degree it needs me to be at.  I was really dreading it, until I tried it.  WOW!!  It feels soooo good to have it move my arm around. 

Today, I had a lovely friend of mine from church bring over supper to the family.  That was sooo sweet!!  It was nice to actually have a home cooked meal.  Since I have been down, my hubby hasn't known what in the world to do for me in the food department.  Poor guy!  I've not felt much like eating but, sure got tired of Ritz crackers and water....HMMMM, maybe I lost a few pounds??  Now I'm dreaming again!  ha

All in all, the family has taken good care of me and done everything that I have needed.  I think I am beginning to drive them crazy with all of my requests. 

On a side note, my lovely friend, Loren from The Magoos News, lost her father this morning.  He has been dilligently fighting cancer for several months.  God has another plan for this sweet man.  I just want to send her my thoughts and prayers and encourage those of you out there to do the same.  What a short life we live here on earth!  Have a great holiday!!

Why Do Holidays Depress Me?

I don't guess I have ever really mentioned on my blog that I kind of dread the holiday time. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy buying presents for my kiddos and watching them open them on Christmas day. I also enjoy all of the parties that are planned with my church family. Last but not least, I always enjoy our Christmas program we have at church. The thing I hate about the holidays is the lack of family. I am an only child. I grew up in a his, hers & ours family. There is a 10 year span between me and my mom's youngest daughter and my dad's youngest daughter. I was not raised with any of them in the home so I never knew what it was like to have a sibling. I've often told people I've gotten the short end of the stick in two ways: 1 - I'm the baby of the family and 2 - I'm the only child. I just can't win for losing!! ha

Anyway, growing up it was never a huge ordeal for me to be the only child in the family. I did get bored at times but I always got whatever I needed and majority of the time what I wanted. As I have gotten older and grown into adult friendships, I often see how my friends are getting together with their families for different things or going shopping with their siblings or cousins or just spending time with their mom for the day. I get kinda down about it because I don't have that. My parents moved away from Oklahoma about 3-4 years ago and I haven't been the same since. It's kind of depressing. Then the holidays start. Everyone is getting together with family and enjoying different things with them. Maybe it's a pity party?? BUT it's true feelings.

OK, maybe I now have this negative vibe out...maybe I can go on with my week & feel a little better.  I love having this blog where I can vent!  Some people don't like that I do it but oh well!!  I've learned a lot this week about pleasing others.  Many have made some great comments on facebook after I put up this status:  Tamara Conner hates the fact that I can't say what I am feeling on a public blog or here on facebook without making someone mad.  I've also been reading my friend Nicole's blog this week & she is feeling the same way about the negativeness from some people.  She's moving on and her blog is helping me realize that I need to just move on, too!  Thanks Nicole!!!! 

Anyway, time to move on and get my mind back in order!  Thanks to all my friends and family out there!!  Have a great day!

Wonderful Weekend in Sight

Well, we've all made it another week! YAY!! I am so looking forward to this weekend. It seems that I have had something every night this week...well, I have!! Ready for this??

Monday - Pampered Chef Party at a friend's
Tuesday - Bunco with my friends
Wednesday - Church
Thursday - Basketball Practice/Family Night (eat out together)/take down fall decor

Can you say too busy?? I think I'm trying to cram it all in before I have to be cooped up and sitting down for hours on end during the day and night OR maybe it's just the way I am. I've always been the type to be busy. If I stay home, there's no adult interaction so I make myself get out to get the interaction I long for. My kids do a lot of running with me and I'm afraid I'm teaching them a really bad habit. Anyway...

Well my cookie recipe exchange kinda flopped!! Oh well, I tried! I did get some great recipes from some old and new friends. I can not wait to go home and try the ones I haven't heard of.

Even though there has been much excitement with our running around, it's really been nothing exciting to report on...oh wait...I am done with my Christmas shopping!!!! That's one thing that's exciting and I bought the final item on Wednesday when I had some time to waste.

Hope all are well out in bloggy land!!

Holiday Cookie Recipe Exchange

I was at Bunco last night with all of my gal pals and we played Dirty Santa. I am now a proud owner of a platter that has "cookies" written on it. The back of it had the cutest little poem about how it is a "traveling cookie platter". Well, I am just not yet willing to be giving my platter to even my closest of friends (sorry), full of cookies, in fear that I won't get my platter back. Sooooo, I was thinking about doing a cookie recipe exchange on my blog today.

I'm sure it's not a new idea and that someone else out there is doing it or has done it, but I was proud of this little pitiful brain of mine to even come up with the idea. Soooo, without futher ado....

Please link up to my post (using MckLinky) and post your favorite holiday cookie recipe, or two, or three... you get the idea!! I can't wait to see all of the great recipes that we get on this post & that we can try at home this holiday season. 'Tis the season!!

**Cookie picture at top was found on Google Image**

First Day of December

My 10 year old son woke up this morning and wished me a "Happy 1st day of December!"  Can you believe this year went by that fast??  I can't.  Seems like just yesterday it was Valentine's Day.

The countdown has begun in the Conner-Mock Blend.  Countdown to Christmas has begun for the kids and countdown till surgery has begun for me!!  Lots to look forward to in the next few weeks. 

The hubby and I began our Christmas shopping on Black Friday.  I have everything bought for my kids this year.  I laid down the law about Christmas.  I am tired of buying tons of presents just to have them torn up in a few weeks.  Sooooo, mom thought - maybe if I buy one large (kinda pricey) gift and told them that was all they were getting, it would be better.  We'll see!  I'm spending about $200-$250 on each child this Christmas and calling it quits!!  They are fully aware they will have one present under the tree.  I can't vouch for what "Santa" will put in their stockings though!!  I hope it will go over well and it really takes the pressure off of me to find all these gifts.

As for the rest of the family, well, my hubster's side draws names.  We have that taken care of also.  I have no family nearby so the holiday season just gets to be a depressing state more and more each year.  I take it really hard that I have no family around to fit in with.  Bummer!!  Anyway, my half brother and half sister are going in with me on a flat screen for my mother.  She had recently been talking about wanting a 19 - 22" in her bedroom.  Sooooo, on black friday, it was accomplished! 

Coming home from church on Sunday, I was giving the run down to the hubby and kids about our schedules for the next two weeks.  Lots going on (with holidays) and even more going on because of preparations for surgery.  Basketball has started so that just adds a little more to the running. 

I attended a Pampered Chef party last night.  It was sooo much fun!  We made cookies with the new cookie press!  My 12 year old daughter got in the kitchen after everyone had left & made a whole pan of cookies and baked them before I even knew she was doing it.  WOW!!   Sooo, I bought the cookie press just for her.  She told me while I was down, she would make cookies for me...HOW SWEET!!  Guess I'll get fat while recovering huh??

Tonight is Bunco Christmas Party!!  Woo-Hoo!  Such great ladies I am friends with!  Wouldn't trade them for the world.  They keep me going a lot of days (more than they know).  Then it's to church on Wednesday for our next to last Wednesday practice before the Christmas Concert.  It always seems that no matter how early you start learning Christmas music, it always seems like the last few practices are a cram session.  Thursday, we are planning on having a family night.  Can't wait for this time to spend with the kids! 

I will have to stop here so I will have something to post about the rest of the week/weekend.  Just in one of those rambling moods I guess.

I pray all had a fabulous Thanksgiving with their families!  Happy Holidays!