Good times in December...

 What a crazy holiday season this one has been!  Since I wasn't feeling well through the beginning/middle of the month, I was super behind in the whole Christmas experience.  I finished off my IV's in Utah on the way to see my son graduate with his B.S. degree in Communications from BYU-Idaho.

Joshua's 2010 Graduation from BYU-Idaho

Proud Grandparents

My parents and in-laws made the trip as well and we had fun hanging out in our hotel together.  Rexburg was super cold  (they lovingly call it Iceberg for good reason) and I was worried it would be hard to breathe but I was blessed--no problems at all.  They held commencement in the new BYU-I Center and it is a beautiful facility.  Afterwards we helped Josh move out of his apartment and started for home.  The weather had other ideas however so we opted to spend an extra day so we could travel through Wyoming in the daylight hours.  We had some hair-raising roads periodically but it could have been much worse.  Had we not left when we did, we would have been stuck for several days because of snow storms and closed roads.

Once I got home, shopping started with a vengeance on Monday morning, the 20th.  I have never been so unprepared for the holidays before. But with some online help and determination, I had things all purchased two days before Christmas.  Rheid and I had a marathon wrapping session that night and finally the Christmas tree didn't look bleak due to an extreme lack of presents.

Reindeer Production Crew

Then it was time to make neighbor/friend treats.  Not learning my lesson from the turkey cake pop incident, I decided to make reindeer pops on a mass scale for distribution.  Luckily I enlisted the family to help since time was getting short.  The professionals sure made the sample reindeer look good and easy in the pictures.  Ours, on the other hand, looked like they came from The Island of Misfit Treats.  Some of them looked rather dubious but they did taste fantastic.

Mom made us do this.

The annual Christmas letter still has yet to be written or sent--just not feeling it this year.  Maybe I'll get around to a New Year's letter, who knows.

Santa brought me a Nook ereader and I've had fun trying to figure out how it works.  Next I need to learn how to find free books to download!

Now on to 2011!

A right jolly old elf...

Today I got to do one of my favourite things...going to see Santa Claus...with two of my favourite little people, Maggie and Max.  A local business hosts Santa for their clients to come visit.  And this isn't your regular store-type Santa, this Santa rocks!  He is real from the tip of his white, wavy beard to the bottom of his big, black boots.  His plush red suit covers his round belly and makes his lap look snuggly and inviting even to this 45 year old.  Not only is he authentic looking but this Santa does magic, tells stories, and laughs with a deep "HO HO HO."  Two month old Max took all the fuss in stride and 4 year old Maggie was hesitant but brave enough to climb on up.  Too cute!  It was so fun to watch the varied reactions of the little children and it helped me remember some of the magic of the season.

Things are going along with the IV's.  I'm just feeling really mediciney and shaky.  The home health nurse came by on Thursday to take blood for a random Vancomycin level and creatinine.  Took every ounce of patience I had to be nice after the 6 tries, count them 6, it took for her to finally get a working vein.  Home health nurses are frightening on so many levels.

Got to get feeling better quick cuz there is shopping that needs to be done and time is getting short...Santa can't do it all by himself!

Home again...

I got to come home last night.  It was an all day process to get my home IV meds delivered to the hospital and then get checked out.  Found out the day before I left that one antibiotic the doctor wanted me on somehow didn't make it to my orders--I was on three instead of the four that was planned.  So they started the fourth drug at home instead.  I didn't want to stay one more day to figure that one out; I'd just deal with it all at home thank you very much.

The most frustrating part of this hospitalization (there always has to be at least one annoying thing--it's the rules) happened to be my eyes.  I had my yearly eye check-up, like the good little diabetic I am, just two weeks ago and diabetically speaking, my eyes were great.  But the eye doctor noticed the cataracts my eyes started to grow two years ago were still progressing--thanks again for giving, prednisone.  He said if they weren't giving me any problems then we would just check them again next year.  Sounded good to me.  I occasionally notice strangeness in my vision when I am looking far down the road while driving and at random other times but it's not so bad.

Well, fast forward to the second day in the hospital when I notice that things seem a bit blurry with my contacts in.  I chalk it up to dryness and hospital air.  So I was thinking when I put my glasses on for the night, things would be better.  Not so.  It's like someone took my glasses and put a different prescription in them.  I couldn't see the television clearly and then when I decided to read before going to bed, well, the pages were all a blur.  Squinting didn't even make things legible.  Crud.

When I mentioned the problem to my CF doc, he said that when I got off the IV steroids, it would probably resolve itself.  Comparatively speaking, my steroids were low this admission but I dutifully waited until the IV steroids were discontinued before becoming too alarmed.  Now call me alarmed--or maybe aggravated would be a better word.  It hasn't gotten any better and I'm only on 32 mg of oral medrol.  Tomorrow I need to call the opthamologist for another appointment to see what's going on, literally.  Getting cataract surgery was not on the top of my list of things to do over the holidays, but is it ever frustrating to not see right.

On the bright side, I am breathing better and the meds aren't making me feel uber yucky.  For that, I am thankful.  Also slept well last night, ahhh I love beds that don't have any mechanical abilities.  :)