I've got a headache...THIS BIG!

I think I've already established that stairs are not a friend of mine. (Exhibit A and Exhibit B) But today I found a whole new way to make them dangerous.

I was vacuuming the upper flight of stairs with the hose attachment. We live in a tri-level so there's a mini flight going up and another leading to the basement. I had just finished the upper level and was making my way downward.  Well the vacuum was sitting at the top of the stairs and I was hunched over, vigorously combing and brushing (because, as previously mentioned, my dogs shed and it ain't particularly easy to vacuum up their delightful assortment of hair). I initially had planned on moving the vacuum to the bottom of the stairs once I was midway through.  But I was so engrossed in the hair removal that I lost track of how far I'd gone.

Then all of the sudden....BAM! The entire 15lb vacuum (yes, I weighed it) came crashing down on top of my head. OUCH. I sprang to my feet and shouted "OOW! OWOWOWOWOW!!!" so that my sleeping husband would hear me and come to my rescue. (Poor guy, but honestly he needed to get up anyway.) My head was throbbing like mad and I think my vision was even a little blurry...but that was probably just because of the tears in my eyes. *pout*  In what seemed like ages later, Jeremy popped out of the bedroom with a "Wha'? What happened??"

"I pulled the vacuum down onto my head!"

"Huh?"

"I PULLED THE VACUUM ONTO MY HEAD!!!"

"How did you do that??"

*overdramatic pulling motions* "I PULLED...THE VACUUM...DOWN...ONTO MY HEAD!"

He was so groggy, he really didn't get it. "How was your head lower than the vacuum?" *sigh* So I positioned the vacuum back at the top of the stairs and showed him exactly how it happened. His loving, gentle, caring response?

"Well that was retarded! Why were you doing it like that?" 

Thanks babe. Thanks a ton. That's really what I needed to hear right now. That kind of thing really should have been reserved for AT LEAST an hour or so later...or for me to say myself. *haha* Well he quickly realized the error of his ways (probably because of the piercing glare I gave him through my tears) and came and hugged me and apologized. Then we both kinda laughed...and he went and showered and came out in his "I Love My Wife" t-shirt. He's so cute. *haha*

I don't think I need to tell you that I have a massive headache and a goose egg about the size of my nose on the back of my head. They really should put a warning on the back of vacuums. (That way sane people like my husband would look at it and say, "Well that's stupid! Who the heck would do it like THAT?")

The girl who slept through Fall.

If there were a children's storybook written about my life as of late, that would be the title. *haha* I've never slept this much...not even when I have the flu. I did get out of the house and have a few adventures yesterday, but I paid the price with pain last night. My ankle hurt of course, but so did the rest of my body, which isn't fair at all. See, walking in the boot works totally different (and apparently unused) muscles in my leg, so it was really achy last night. AND the boot makes my legs uneven, and that hurt my back. Imagine that.

The Motrin just wasn't cuttin' it. So I got brave and popped another 1 & 1/2 Loritab. (Which, by the way, I have had an absolute brain-block on that name. I keep calling it Lipitor, which Jeremy tells me is for cholestoral or something. Yesterday I could think of every single "L" word BUT Loritab. Lancomb. Laptop. Legos. Lipsuction. Levis. Levitra. Jeremy was dying laughing but refused to tell me what it was REALLY called until I was red in the face. All of this while NOT under the influence of anything whatsoever.)

Last time I took it I was pretty much IN bed when the stuff took effect. This time I laid around watching TV and by the time it kicked in, I still had to walk upstairs, brush my teeth, take out my contacts, etc. I got the real Loritab experience. There is no way people could take this stuff and function in their daily life. NO WAY! I see what everyone's been saying about dizziness and everything. It was all I could do to get to bed.

Also, they say take it every 6 hours. Well, once again the stuff didn't wear off until about 12 hours later! I slept till almost noon again!! I don't remember even stirring. (I did have a crazy amazing dream about myself and some people I didn't recognize but apparently were my friends, rescuing dogs from an evil dog hoarder and then being chased through the mountainside. Yes, mountainside. I've been watching way too much Dog Town.)

You're probably dying to know about my adventures yesterday! Jeremy took me to lunch, then to Barnes & Noble where no comfy chairs were available so we didn't stay long, then to Wal-Mart for groceries. I got to ride around in one of those motorized wheelchair carts! When I say "got to," I really mean Jeremy forced me to. I was so embarrassed. People kept looking at me like I was just goofing around. I would avoid eye contact with the elderly...but I could feel their scorn. ;) I was wishing my boot was fluorescent pink or something so people would see it. Personally, I don't know why anyone who didn't NEED to ride one would want to. I can walk faster than that thing can move. It did steer amazingly well, though, I must say. The beeping noise it makes when backing up is a bit humiliating, but maybe that's just me. ;)

Rainy Monday

Well if I had planned on going anywhere today, the weather would be enough to deter me. It's very drizzly and cloudy...perfect stay at home, sleeping in weather. Unfortunately, I've gotten more sleep than any human being NEEDS over the last 4 days, so I'm not very tired. Maybe I'll get something else of value accomplished.

Ankle update: still sore and not very bendy. I can walk on it (with the boot or without) but it's not pleasant, which makes me think I probably shouldn't be walking on it much. Or should I? I know I shouldn't drive yet...it IS my right ankle, afterall. That wouldn't be a good idea. But I can't decide if I should be stretching it in the directions that hurt or just leave it be. Any physical therapists out there with advice? :)

Subject changer! On Thursday afternoon, the day before the spill, I took the doggies to Chisholm Trail. It's a nature trail/picnic area waaaaay out east near the neighborhood I grew up in. We spent a lot of time there during my childhood; lot's of rollerskating and exploring. I've been wanting to take the dogs out there for a long time but never could find the time. Well guess what I've had a lot of lately! EXACTLY! :) So we made the drive over and took a walk around. The leaves hadn't turned quite as much as I'd hoped, but it was still beautiful. (Speaking of leaves, seems like a lot of them did their changing WHILE I was confined at home! Got out of the house to eat lunch yesterday and as we were driving I couldn't believe how many trees had embraced Fall while I was hunkered down in my basement!) Anyways, I snapped a few photos (as many as I could manage while also holding three leashes) and thought I should share them!

Shameless attempt at a photo op, I know. Poor things, they were so hot (as can be seen by Wrigley's posture) but I DID position them in the shade, so I'm not such a bad mommy. Cubby's the only one really posing for me. Funny, because he's sitting up so straight he looks way bigger than the other two. (Sidenote: The things on MoJo's and Wrig's snouts are called "Gentle Leaders." They are amaaaaaazing. If you have a dog that pulls on their leash, these really do work. MoJo never pulled until we got Wrigley, and Wrigley never pulled until we got Cubby. It's some kind of competition thing. Anywho, this contraption wraps gently around their snout and connects at the back of their head. When they put tension on the leash, it puts pressure around their muzzle, which is apparently how dogs correct other dogs. They both walk so well now, it's a miracle.)

Snap, Crackle, POP!

Last night as I was waddling to the door to let the dogs out, I put some weight on my ankle and felt a pop-POP! At first I freaked out thinking, "Ooooh no! What did I just do? I should have been wearing my boot!!" until I realized that it didn't hurt, but actually felt really good. Really really good. Like in a chiropractor-popped-just-the-right-spot kinda good. I'm thinking maybe something had popped out of place when I fell and that's the snapping noise I heard. 'Course, I'm no doctor. This is just my best attempt at a self-diagnosis.

Anywho, this morning it is still very sore and even tender to the touch, but more in the muscles than the bones. (AGAIN, much like after you leave the chiropractor.) I can walk on it a little better, but I don't have a full range of motion. I'm still hobblin', that's for sure.

At some point today I'll probably strap on my boot and have Jeremy take me somewhere. I don't care where, I'm just so stir-crazy I need to get out and see street and sky. And I certainly can't drive myself anywhere, so I'll need taxi'd. :)

Is this what a hangover feels like?

I am amazed at the amount of "leftover substances" that are just hanging around peoples houses! Within 20 minutes of hearing about my plight, I had offers for both Percocet and Loritab. It's like my own personal little pharmacy. *haha* My good friend Courtney brought the Loritab by last night, including the "buddy" medication for nausea that came along with it. Oh goody! That was around 6pm, so I took one immediately and then then took 1 1/2 around midnight. Well that zonked me out GOOD! (Probably a good thing I didn't take 2 whole pills.) I can only imagine the kind of incoherent babbling I would have come up with had I been roused for any reason. I vaguely remember Jeremy coming in around 7:30am to let the dogs out...and I didn't even stir again until 11:00. I was OUT. And when I finally did wake up, I felt like my head was floating in a fishbowl and my eyes were moving involuntarily. Whoa, dude. Somebody make the room stop spinning!

My hubby brought home some "non-narcotic" painkillers he picked up at the jail's clinic for me to use this afternoon so I wouldn't spend the whole day sleeping. (Which is important, so I can continue with the important activities I participated in yesterday...like watching a mini-marathon of "What Not To Wear" and three straight DVR'd episodes of "Top Design." I'm fully aware that neither I nor my house has any style.) So now I've popped a Motrin 600...but I'm STILL groggy!!! Let's put it this way...I got out of bed at 11:00am, it's right not 2:30pm, and I've already taken about an hour nap. *haha* I guess that's one way to rest an ankle. Just sleep through life!!!

As for the ankle, it's feeling a bit better. Not throbbing as much when I'm just sitting. Getting around is still painful (and awkward) but as you can see I haven't been doing much of that. I think I'll go eat some lunch, watch some more tv, maybe take another nap...and then it will be time for more Motrin! WooHoo! ;)

What a Sprain in the Ankle!

This morning almost immediately after I got out of bed, I was going down the stairs, lost my footing and fell. This isn't an unusual occurrence around here, I fall down the stairs quite often. But THIS time, when I landed at the bottom, my right ankle bent in half and I coulda sworn I heard a snap. It hurt SOOOOO bad. I began rocking back forth saying something that amounted to "Ow ow ow ow ow ow" and ended in a "JEERRR-EEE-MMMEEEEEE!!!!" Poor guy had JUST gone to bed but he came bursting from out of the bedroom and rushed to my aid.

I was immediately drenched in sweat and felt like I was going to puke. Jeremy brought me a bowl and a bottle of water and began to make plans to take me to the emergency room. My first concern? Dang it, I haven't even brushed my teeth yet!!! So he brought me my toothbrush and I sat there on the floor, partially brushing, partially crying. He also brought me my bra. (I went in my jammies but the world doesn't need to see ALL of that!)

Well after swearing up and down that I'd broken it (it hurt worse than the time I broke my hand), the x-rays revealed no breaks. Just a severe sprain. Is it wrong that I was almost disappointed? I mean, obviously I didn't want to go through the recovery a broken ankle would have required, but the doctor was looking at me with much less sympathy after we found it was just a sprain. They gave me a boot, told me to "baby it" for a few days and sent me on my way. NO PAIN MEDS! What kind of trip to the ER ends with no pain meds?

So I'm doped up the best I can be on Aleve *tsk tsk* and hobbling around with a giant boot on my ankle. It throbs like the dickens, so I can tell I'll be couch-bound for at least the rest of the day.

It ruins my weekend, however, because our church friends are going to Worlds of Fun tomorrow and now we can't go. :( Why couldn't I have fallen at the BEGINNING of the week? It's not like I've been doing anything that couldn't have been rescheduled. *haha*