back into the grind at 6 weeks post op

long time no see!  it's been about a week and a half since my last post, my apologies for leaving like a one night stand.  If I recall, the last post was a sad day.  Since then, things have gotten back to its regularly scheduled program.  I started work, continue to eat a lot, and PT has cut down to 2 times a week.  Coconut misses blogging too!

Since surgery, I've learned the importance of flowers, even if you have to get them for yourself to brighten up a day!  Every day that I was stuck at home, I woke up to beautiful flowers that naturally lifted my spirits, literally!

Let's start off with being back at work- I was happy to be back with the babies, but not happy about the size of the unit (that's what sheee said).  Boy was I struggling to get out of the nursery to walk to the stock rooms and round little corners in confined spaces.  I could tell that 12 hour shifts were a bit much for a 5week post op knee.  I wore a full leg TED hose to control the fluid distribution.  Even packed my jar of cocoa butter.  But when I craved a cocoa butter scar massage, forgot that the knee was trapped under a full leg ted hose!   Walking was a bit of a struggle when I would first get up, but loosened up after a couple steps.  I sat down every moment I had a chance to, and with that, would rest the left leg on a more elevated swizzle chair.  Parents probably thought I was weird as I charted cirque de soleil style.  i wonder what Soleil Moon Frye is up to lately.  Anypunkybrewster, I forgot what the last couple of hours during my shift felt like- extremely tired eyes that cause minor headaches.  But I also blame my hair buns/ponytails.  So it was kinda my fault to schedule back to back 12 hour shifts because come the second day, lefty hated me.  It was swollen, sore, and indented where the scars were.  Won't be doing 3 in a row for a while, not until the end of April.  Thank God I had 4 days off after those back to back shifts.  So here's how lefty celebrated being off:

watched some march madness with Shar at Krolls (south loop bar  I always wanted to go to) along with greek wrap and tater tots (it was on a Friday so no meat)

dim sum and then some at Phoenix with the rents

Peruvian food at Ay Ay Picante with the GGWild girls... they serve their food with french fries!

part of my PT playground

On the PT end, things are moving along smoothly, literally!  I'm up to the highest setting on the total gym with squats.  Even doing left leg squats on level 10!  I can feel the muscles burning when I reach that 90 degree deep bend followed by the push back up, but that's what's needed to build that muscle again.  More unique planks and hip raises are squeezed into the mix of things.  At my last session I got the okay to do the elliptical!  That felt good because it's the machine I used weeks before my surgery to prep the left leg muscle for the grafting that never happened.  Squats on the balance board have started, as well as lunges.  I have to do 5 sets of 5 lunges on each leg that outline an asterisk on the floor.  Feels good to get those muscles burning again, but at the end of the day, it gets hard to get comfortable for sleep.  I end up doing butt stretches in bed just to figure out what a good sleeping position would be.  I don't know how long my PT sessions will go until with 2 times a week.  Kim said running can't start until 12 weeks post op.  But I have to admit that sometimes I do a trot, or 2, or 3 just to catch the bus.  Don't get me wrong, I use the CTA bus tracker so I know what time to leave, but when I refresh it after I get off the elevator, it seems like i lose 5 minutes and end up scurring 2 blocks to the bus stop.  When the weather gets nice, I bike to work.  I asked Kim when that would be allowed but she told me to ask Dr. Edwards first (my next appt. with her is April 7).  She brought up the stop and go and getting on and off the bike.  Woops, forgot about that!  All that stationary biking when to my head!  On the shoe end, I have been wearing normal gym shoes to work instead of my usual MBTs.  But I feel like I'm getting shin splints!  Wearing the MBTs is like balance boarding while walking, so I opted to tone down on the double workout by busting out my old running shoes from 3 shamrock shuffles ago.  Wanna see one of my views at PT?

this is what I look at when I'm at my table, it's right at the head of it so it's the only thing can stare at when Kim does my leg bends to the butt when I lay on my tummy

Forgot to mention, there's a lot of Bosu exercises mostly for balance and stability.  Random factoid:  BoSu stands for "both sides up".  Vince told me that, then I mentioned it to Kim.  Funny thing is, Kim pointed out that on the flat side of the BoSu, it says something along the lines of "you should not stand on this side".  Next time you run into a BoSu ball, look for it on the flat side.  I'm doing fine with walking, not so much crunchiness felt when I take initial steps.  It's amazing how the minor hip exercises and core strengthening relates to the overall movement of the surgical leg.  The muscles are like a team that have to work together to move forward.  literally!  Here is my progress with the walking:

16 minute walking mile?  I'll take it!

 Remember weeks ago when it was a pain and struggle to get the heel to touch the butt?  not anymore!  Kim easily bends it down for 10 second holds, 3 sets.  Before, it took a couple of warmup bends until i could touch the heel to butt as I sweat profusing under my arms and at the hairline.  Now i only get red when it happens, AND I can do it on my own, look!!!-

hard to get this pic but we did it!

 So I've gotten through 2 weeks of work, not quite a full time week just yet though.  Last Tuesday I was cancelled for 8 hours, so I worked a "princess" shift (4 hour shift).  That would be the ideal shift!  knee was fine and not so fatigued when I got home.  Had one day off after that where I went to PT, then scrumptious food with Sarah.  We went to a Korean restaurant for bi bim bop, soup, and banchan (those lil dishes you see in the middle, refillable, mostly kimchi based...i just made that up)

get yo' banchan...get yo' banchan....get yo' get yo' get yo' get yo' banchan!  (Sing to the tune of "get yo' freak on" by Missy Misdemeanor Elliott)

 I was craving something sweet after the meal, but Sarah said Koreans usually top off their meals with fruit for sweetness.  She mentioned a Korean cafe that served shaved ice, but that was gonna be too much for our tummies because we ate all of the above.  All of it and some refills.  I mentioned that I had never had a shamrock shake.  So our desination was McD's, but on the way there, an Ann Sather's was spotted where cinnamon rolls came into mind.  We struggled to parallel park, but got to the door of Ann Sather's only to get rejected- the door was locked because they closed at 2pm, what the frick?  So we proceeded to the original plan after getting thrown that curve cinnamon roll.  Got my shake!

heaven.  even without lactaid!

2 back to back shifts followed that day off which weren't bad because it was the same assignment each day.  Probably won't go to deliveries for a while just because sometimes you have to rush to them.   Coming back to work, I felt like I was just there.  But when I was at home recovering, the time went by so slow!  It's really nice to be back to see my lovely coworkers.  They welcomed me and made me feel like I was missed.  I was already asked the first day to make name signs, which I miss because it's my creative release.  It's good to feel useful again! 

So that's what's been going on during the 5th-6th week post op.  Lots of changes and movements and improvements!  Still have a lot to work in with the knee, but patience is the key!!!  Also have to work on keeping a PRN lactaid with me for more shamrock shake momentos.  Here's the 6th week post op pic:

post op day 42 pic

tearful tuesday

sorry for being MIA (not miami or the singer-songwriter), took a break from blogging so I could take advantage of every minute my heart was in town.  It was definitely an emotional last couple of days but was a great way to end my healing days off because i start work TOMORROW!  I'm nervous because I have no idea how the leg will hold up for 12 hours.  It'll be my 5 week post op anniversary.  Here's the recap of the weekend (fyi, this is more of a food blog entry than ACL)

our BBF inspiration

Saturday- I was able to wake up early enough to get a real good knee workout by biking and treadmilling.  Before picking up Vince at O'hare, re-enacted some Boys Before Flowers scenes with Steven at Mitsuwa Japanese market up in Arlington Heights.  It was my first time there, I decided I need to dedicated a whole day when I go back to that place, it brings the kind of feelings I get when I go to Costco because it's like a party!  After traversing the many aisles, we grabbed some pastries at the hoppi dessert cafe, then got what we came for:  RAMEN!!!

Goo Jun Pyo!

Jan Di!

doraemon and turtle custard filled pastries for Vince!

before doing this move, had to look around first

No shame, it was all for BBF and puffy face

What's funny was that we had no clue what kind of ramen we ordered, it was more about the concept and drinking from the bowl.  After getting our ramen on, we decided our next adventure would be at Asi Market for more Ramen.  I headed to O'hare to pick up Vince, still felt surreal that I was actually getting him because a week ago, these plans didn't exist.  I was excited for him to see the cute pastries I got for him!  When I scooped him up, he told me he ate some snacks along with 3 ginger ales and 6 mini packs of pretzels on the 3 plane trips.  Those were enough to hold him over until dinner.  I was still stuffed from the ramen so that was fine by me.  We watched the bulls game and the very emotional halftime tribute to the 90-91 world champion bulls.  Then hunger struck.  So we hit Maxwells for the most unhealthy meal:

polish sausage, t-bone sandwich, hot dog, hamburger, and 4 sides of fries

Ended the night watching and falling asleep to the documentary "Freakonomics".  Sunday we started the day with a cardio session in my building's workout room.  Got the knee warmed up and did some strenghtening exercises.  I took Vince to a new hot dog joint that I had tried out earlier with Alisa and Sharon- Frank n'Dawgs.  While waiting for our large order, we played who's line is it anyways with 180s

Abraham Lincoln!

truffle mac n'cheese dog, krazy kimchi dog, chicagoesque dog, side of fries, truffle mac n'cheese, and betty white

He was satisfied but I think he's still a fan of Superdawg.  We checked out the apple store where I got my iphone from, Jon was there (the guy who sold me my phone).  I approached him and had to talk to him a lil bit until he remembered me.  He didn't recognize me without the knee brace.  Anyhoo, got him some business because Vince ended up getting the beats by Dre headphones that he always talked about.  Love them because they are bulls colors, but don't love them because when he put them in he was completely deaf, even with no music playing.  V just liked wearing them, felt like he had swagger.  When we got home, finished up the documentary, then Jenny came over after work.  I trimmed her hair while discussing how work has been.  We wanted something hearty and filling for dinner, so we headed to Al's beef to get some food to go.  Unfortunately they were closed so we miraculously drove past a philly's best!  Here was our dinner:

12 inch combo (italian sausage and beef), 12 inch philly cheesesteak, seasoned fries, cheddar fries

Monday was our last full day together.  Our tummies weren't feeling too hot but we asked for it, and it was so worth it!  Vince came with me to my PT appointment.  New week meant some new exercises.  Kim was excited to meet Vince because I always talk about him.  I started off with a 5 minute warm-up on the bike, then headed to the table.  Kim massaged my scars with the cocoa butter.  She asked Vince if he massaged my scars, he said "nah, it's kinda weird", hehe.  Kim adjusted the total gym to a higher incline where she had me do 3 sets of 15 squats.  The trampoline balancing act on the foam was next.  I told Vince that's my favorite exercise.  Before doing step work, Kim had me go back on the table to do the lying on the tummy hamstring pulls.  I did 10 with the ankle strap, then Kim manually did 5.  Vince sat in a chair next to me and witnessed the pain I endured as Kim forced my heel to touch my butt.  I could feel tears build up in my eyes and my armpits starting to sweat.  For some reason, they hurt more than before, but about 4 of them were able to touch my butt.  Vince commented, "too bad your butt's not bigger, then they wouldn't be so hard".  Kim introduced some new core exercises, similar to planks but with a twist, literally!  She had me hold a push up position while moving my hips in circles and up and down without moving my feet.  Definitely felt it in my torso but could see how it requires knee strength and balance too.  I did these all on a panel mat that reminded me of the matts that I did my first somersault on.  She told V to join me but he said his arms are too big to hold his whole body up that long.  I made fun of his gun show.  After core work she set up the 8in wooden platform for me to do step-ups on, but added a foam cushion on the top.  That was challenging.  Alternated 3 sets of 20 with 3 sets of 10 right heel taps while the left leg is on a 4in wooden platform.  The last new exercise she had e do was the total gym, 3 sets of 12 left leg only squats.  We ended the PT day with a nice ice session.  I loved that Vince came with me to every exercise station, always by my side.

After PT I took him to greektown for the first time for gyros, feta fries, a burger, and grilled chicken.  He enjoyed the food and the company of po-po's dining there for lunch too.  Headed home after that to relax with some games of tetris (he played on his macdaddy, I played on my macdaddy).  It got pretty intense, check out the results of my best game ever-

I think Vince was slightly jealous because he compared me to Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind with my mad tetris skills

After getting over the excitement of scoring over a million points in my tetris game, we did a quick bike/treadmill session upstairs, then headed to dinner at Joy Yee's with Shar, Purv, and Lis!  They changed their menu again!

back to our meeting grounds :o)

Tuesday marks my official last day off!  Many emotions- this morning lots of sadness, mid-day laziness, late afternoon nervousness.  Good thing there's a Bulls game on to kinda ease my mind.  I will try to end the day with some strengthening and stretching to prepare the leg for busy days ahead.

This morning I was emo because obviously Vince had to leave.   He wasn't even supposed to be here this weekend so I cherished every second of his stay.  43 more days until we see each other again.  Moral of this post is to appreciate the vicinity of your loved ones.  A long distance relationship teaches you patience and makes you value every second you have with that person when you are actually together, even if it's just you guys playing side by side tetris.

that scar is something else, huh!
post op day 34 pic

It's a sun-shiny day!

Hours of sleep: 6
I brought an old move back because I felt I had the ability to: the kicking bicycle move to take the comforter off.  I woke up at 6:11am and couldn't get back to sleep because I saw the sun peeking through my curtains.  Started off the day watching Zack and Kelly's wedding in Vegas, I totally teared up at the montage of the history of their relationship during the wedding (it was a flashback, all the way back to early bayside days).  Gosh they were the perfect couple.  I knew he was the one for her when he set up "Zack and Kelly's prom" outside the gym where their actual prom was going on.

I was able to make another pair of leg warmers in the morning while watching Keeping up with the Kardashians.  Ironically, they showed the episode when Kris (their mom-ager) was asked to dance for the old school dance team for the L.A. Sparks.  While she was rehearsing with Cris Judd (choreographer and J-Lo's ex), she fell and heard a pop in her knee.  She said it was like a rubberband snapped in her knee.  Hmm, sounds familiar.   Back to the episode, 2 days after the injury, she had knee surgery because her MRI showed that she "ripped" her meniscus.  She acted fast!  Then Bruce Jenner mentioned that he had 2 knee surgeries.  We're tied!

Oh boy I just smiled real hard because it's hitting me that Vince will be here in 1.5 days!!!

So I completely forgot that today was the random day where I have PT early afternoon.  I was headed out the door until something made me check my schedule on the fridge.  PT at 2:30pm.  So I used my free time to make some detailed chocolate covered pretzels.  Good thing I checked the schedule last minute, I don't know what made me do it.  Otherwise I would've taken an unnecessary trip there.  Today we did a lot of one legged exercises- left leg squats on the total gym and one legged stool scoots.  Can you believe I matched with Kim again?  Today we both wore royal blue on top.  I gave her and the receptionist, Maritza, some pretzel treats.  Both of them said they were too scared to eat them and Kim said she wanted to take a picture of them :o)  I was happy to give them a boost of glucose.  During our scar massage session, I told her that this morning I was actually able to kick the covers off when I got out of bed.  She thought it was funny and was contemplating charting that quote.  I also told her that when I crawled into bed, I went left knee first.  After my 1.5hr session, walked on the treadmill.

16 min mile?  I'll take it!

Proceeded to bike a lil more.  While doing that, I met a guy who was my left side neighbor who just wanted to chat.  His name was Stewart.  Everytime I hear that name I think of 2 Stewarts:  stewart smalley from SNL (below):  "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggonit, people like me!"

The 2nd Stewart is the annoying neighbor who Beavis and Butthead would make fun of (right).  Or was he Beavis' cousin?  He wore a shirt that said, "I love unicorns."  Anyhoo, real life Stewart mentioned that he was one of those guys stuck on LSD during the blizzard, for 18 hours!  He was a paramedic back in the day, coached jr. high football, baseball, and track and field, wanted to get a job as a trainer at Xsport, and his blood type was... just kidding.  He was so random and really liked to talk about how he was stuck in the blizzard and can't wait to tell the story in the future.  He was there on a 7 day friend pass.  I basically told him the gym is nice if you avoid "rush hour" (between 5pm-8pm).  I told him it smells really bad at that time.  Back to treadmill talk, this is how I "cooled down":

combining 2 exercises:  monster walk on the treadmill

After PT-ing/gym-ing, came home to get ready for dindin at sushi samba.  There, I met with Steven, Sharon and Nav (he's in town from san fran for the weekend!)  I was starvin marvin so I was so ready for some meatless grub

seaweed salad under tealight.  my fav!  (the seaweed not the tealight)

hamachi caliente 

shrimp tempura and philly rolls...nothing to write home about, but the ginger was good!

After getting our grub on, we were in search for patron.  It took 2 bars until we found one that had it.  It was the most unexpected lil Irish pub too.  We took our shots to "honeybees" (gaga/beyonce reference) and to "getting it in" (snooki reference) as our feet crushed lots of popcorn kernels on the floor.  It was that kind of bar.  Then we headed to Moe's because it was the closest bar and nobody wore appropriate coats in order to be fashion forward.

team honeybee with steven holding my purse :o)

this is my favorite coutoure knee brace pic

It was another fun night out, danced a lil more than last week because I just love to and because I have to be on my feet more, PT orders!  Got home a couple hours later to scar massage, ice, and elevate.  So many things to look forward to this weekend, Vince being one of them!!!  I'm gonna make him go through knee rehab with me :o)  Even Kim wants me to bring him in to this Monday's PT session.

eek, this is what the leg looks like after a couple hours of standing.  The line is from the seam of my leggings under the brace

I'm as old as how many days post op!

Hours of sleep: 5.5
I think my body has become accustomed to naturally waking up between 5:55am-6:30am.  sheesh.  Today I didn't start my job (knee rehab) until mid afternoon.  I was so lazy and couldn't get out of bed.  So I made more fabric flowers and hats

While doin my crafts, I talked to Vince while he was on his way to work.  I told him I was making flowers.  He asked me if I made the boys before.  Get it?  Boys before flowers?  tap tap... Btw, it's his mom's bday today, so happy bday Edna!  Anyhoo, even though I couldn't get myself out of bed, he was able to find a way to make a trip here this weekend!  Tickets were listed as high as $1000, but with the help of Jesus, our homeboy, Vince was able to find a really good deal!  It was magical and it took me a while to think that this wasn't all a dream (RIP biggie smalls whose death anniversary was yesterday).  Oh, it's also Chuck Norris and white castle's bday today.  White castle turns 90 just like Betty White, who is from Oak Park, IL.  Man, this post is loaded with random factoids.  I've been all smiles today because a visit from my heart is just what I need.   I've been more down than usual lately.  A lot of it has to do with me being out of work, which normally would be my time to travel to SoCal.  But I'm stuck here because of rehab.  I've been so content since the booking of the flight!

Finally started my knee exercises around 4pm-ish.  Went to the gym and took the stairs up to the cardio area where I biked.  Going up the stairs takes a while because I focus on taking even steps rather than putting more weight on my right leg.  I left the brace at home to get the knee used to real terrain, just like a bugaboo stroller.  It did well, but because of the sensitivity of the scars, the inside of my pants didn't rub well on the leg.  Walking while trying not to look like a pimp feels odd because since the muscle has quasi disappeared, I feel like my bones are taking an extra beating every time I take a step.  What's cool is that when I hold the bottom of my knee to let it dangle, it's such an acute angle...ahhh, cute :o)  I hate math but distinguishing between acute and obtuse angles was my thang.  It's cool that I've gotten the full knee bend back.  When I got home I tried to sit indian style just to see how far I could get.  Not even close!  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can add indian style to my list of comfortable sitting positions.  Because of the latest exercises focusing on the left hamstring and glut, my legs have gotten so sore.  I try to do stretching poses while laying on my back just to lengthen the muscles.  It's amazing how these little isometric moves can create all the soreness.  Maybe that's why I'm inconsistent with sleep, my bum is uncomfortable.

Since the day wasn't too eventful (except for Vince's last minute ticket purchase) here's a pic I dug up from the archives of my old desk 3 weeks ago

trapped!

I can't believe it's been a month, starting to hit me that I return to work next week!  Gotta kick it into high gear by being on my feet more.  The end of the day was very low key, just scar massaged and iced while watching the lakers-heat game then Jersey Shore.  I'm just extremely happy that Vince will be here this weekend!

post op day 29 pic

One month anniversary

Hours of sleep: 6
Happy one month of having a stranger ligament in my knee and happy Ash Wednesday.
I woke up with this rat nest on my head, so I pulled a Kelly Kapowski and washed my hair.  I don't wash my hair every day because it dries out quicker, and since I don't have anywhere to get ready for beside PT, I've lost track of hair washing days.  I was able to fall back asleep after the early morning hair washing, then got ready for PT.

It was a gross rainy day out so thank God I had PT, otherwise I'd just stay in bed and be lazy again.
PT session was another 1.5hours of hard work!  What's cool is that Kim and I always match during our sessions.  Last week we did pink and black, Monday we both wore gray on top, black on bottom, today we paired gray with green.  But not your usual green, but the middle part of a green onion green.  It's not easy... I started off with 10 minutes on the bike.  I face Michigan Ave when I bike, my view is St. Mary's Church.  I saw a sign on the side of the church saying there was noon mass.  I thought it was perfect if my session went as long as it did on Monday because then I could just go straight there after.  After biking, Kim had me walk to the back to the total gym apparatus.  While walking, she started to critique my walking without the brace.  She told me to pick up my left leg higher when I'm done with my step, and to move my right arm more.  It was so Miss J of her to tell me that.  I felt like I was walking down the runway with Miss J making his critiques, then I realized ANTM is on tonight!  I hope it's the makeover show.  Here's the total gym and how high the platform is set up for laying squats:

the area where I do all my stepping and balancing

After total gymming, she had me foam roll my legs, ending with the inner thigh move that I hate doing if there are guys there.  While rollin with the homies, Kim did a quick assessment and asked if I had any complaints or feelings on what activities I feel restricted about.  Pretty much told her that I have started to take the stairs at the gym, and that since I'm doing more leg movements, I feel random tingly sensations, but I think it's because I'm waking up parts of the leg that have been unused for a month.  I did 3 lines of stool scoots, 3 laps of side steps with the red theraband, and 2 laps of monster walks.  After those, she had me lay on the table.  Today she spent an extra long time cocoa butter massaging my scars and patella.  Did a deep massage of the build up of scar tissue too, which she mentioned has definitely gone down since I first complained about it.  Every 6 visits, measurements are done and muscle strength is tested.  My knee bend is up to 148 degrees naturally!   Even when we were doing manual knee bends, I was talking comfortably with Kim about gyms in the area, yoga, blah blah blah, while my heel was touching my butt each time she bent it!  No more lamaze breathing!

the trampoline device that I throw the ball against while standing on left leg on foam pad

We went over the robobrace and whether or not I was ready to stop wearing it.  I told her I had learned my lesson of not wearing it too soon after my last surgery after my foot had slipped on ice when I got out of my car which caused a weird tweak in my knee.  If I had a brace on it, wouldn't have felt that lingering pain.  Dr. Edwards said the brace should be worn for a month, so technically I don't have to wear it anymore.  I love my 10 min icing sessions at the end because it's my time to just relax.  A couple weeks ago when Goldie Hahn was on Oprah, she said her key to being happy is to take at least 10minutes out of your day and sit in silence.  No distractions, no thoughts, just 10 straight minutes of relaxation.  That's what my icing session does for me, I don't even feel the cold covering 1/3 of my knee.  After my session, headed to Old St. Mary's to celebrate Ash Wednesday, where I ran into my Godmother, Auntie Charito!  It was nice because I was able to reflect and pray for all the important people in my life as well as what's in store for my future.  I decided to give up the 3 "S's": Shopping (except for food), Sweets (except for yogurt- the activia/dannon kind), and all things Sour cream and onion!

Did you get your ashes today?

Kim had skipped a couple of exercises.  When that happens, she'll remind me to do them on my own.  so I headed to the gym to finish up treadmill walking, planks, and more balancing.  She mentioned machines that I should avoid, including the the bottom right one, it puts too much strain on the ACL.  It was surprising to me because before the surgery, when I heard that part of my hamstring was going to be used to make my new ligament, I used that machine a lot to build up my left muscle.  She pretty much said to never ever use it, it only causes more knee strain.

17 minute mile?  I'll take it!

the machine I should never use again, it's bad for the ACL!

Later on in the night I went to pick up Purv to hit up

On my way back home, hit up Chinatown to buy me some Ramen so I could cook it at home!   Had a couple hours to chill at home, then watched some ANTM (it was the makeover episode!) and da bulls. I got scurred when Boozer got injured in the 4th quarter because they kept showing him fall onto his ankle with a weird knee bend, all in slow motion.  Prior to the surgery I would keep reliving the moment when my knee buckled anytime I closed my eyes.  It was so annoying and would just make me so mad at myself for getting injured trying to be stupid.  I brought this on myself and now I'm suffering the consequences.  As positive as I am, it's getting difficult dealing with this limited movement, trying to look at every little improvement as a huge success.  But I admit, it's really hard!

Clark and Belmont to get her nose ring changed.  This was my first time going out in public sans the robobrace.  I put on my wide leg jeans so the material would rub against my scars.  I've been so tired of putting tape and dressings over them because I don't like the feeling of taking the tape off my skin since the whole are is still more tender than tingly.  Was a nice late night outing, but the definite hilite was when we went to pay to park.  Didn't realize it was already past 9pm, so we double checked the box.  Purv goes, "no payment required until mario...What's mario?"  So I took a look at it too, for a while.  Then realized it was Mar10.  (see left)  hehe, typical us.  Moral of the story, we didn't have to pay to park.  Thanks Mario!  Ended the night with a cocoa butter massage and ice session.  That's how I celebrated my one month anniversary of the surgery!

one month anni pic! (day 28)

tasty city tuesday

Hours of sleep: 7.5, fo realz!
Could it be true?  Did i really get that much sleep?  Getting that much definitely helped because I was a maniac this morning- vacuumed every inch of the floor, 2 loads of laundry, reorganized cupboard, cleaned the toilets, AND cleaned out the vacuum filter (which I love doing btw, I know, I'm weird)

Wanted to share a very funny post by my coworker friend, Danielle, who also mentioned that laughter is the best medicine...enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HePTmrV-og
gotta love my peeps!

Around noon time Sarah joined me in some treadmill walking in my building gym.  Completed a mile while watching the real housewives of NJ on NBC and the at&t world cup gymnastics competition.  The tvs on the treadmills show things a lil wider, so I was thrown off seeing the lil gymnasts in my face wider than usual.  Got even more thrown off when they showed Nastia Liukin sitting by some commentators with her usual bang bump-it.  I wonder if she's still dating Evan Lysacek.  It was a pretty low key workout today, but enough to unstiffen the knee.  Usually when Sarah and I "workout", we reward ourselves with some good nutrition.  So, we tried out Tasty City in Chinatown!  As we walked in, Sarah spotted a Chicago food critic (forgot his name) walking out, he was featured on the episode of Bizarre Foods when they featured Frank n'Dawgs.  That's where Shar, Lis, and I ate last week!

there's a drawer of flair under every table!  sneaky!

Still on a Korean high, so guess what I ordered...Kimchi and beef ramen, yum!

the ramen's hiding on the bottom

we shared this fried rice

Sarah's order, but didn't taste as good as it looked

When we walked back to the car after the large MSG filled lunch, a little boy passed us up!  After getting over that, we hit targhee afterwards, it was hoppin' as always.  What was annoying was that the leg warmer under my knee brace started to slip down my leg, causing robobrace to slide down too.  But I was not about to adjust that thing in targhee.  It's like when you wear pantyhose and they start to slide down where the crotch part is mid thigh?  Anyone?  Bueller?  That used to happen to me a lot when I wore tights when I was little because I didn't know any better.  Another good comparison is when little boys play in the house and run around to the point where their socks are halfway off their feet.  Anyhoo, the hinge part of my brace slid down so low that it was below my knee.  there was one point where I was in the freezer section and the left side locked to flexed position by itself!  I really hope I get the okay from Kim tomorrow to stop wearing the brace.  Yeah, my knee feels stable in it if put on properly, but it's so hard to walk normally because the padding on the upper thigh is so bulky so even with full ROM on the left leg, I still walk like a cowboy.  Sarah compared my walking with the brace to a pimp walk.  When I tried not to walk like a pimp, then she compared me to Amber from making the band 3 season 2 when P.Diddy made them run around the Resevoir twice in Central Park.  Amber ended up dislocating her hip and had the funniest walk as if one of her legs was shorter than the other.  That poor girl didn't even make it to the semifinals which would then lead the the creation of the short lived girl group, Danity Kane.  I think I'd rather walk like a pimp that like Amber.  Of all the Making the Band cast members, my favs were from the first season, especially Dylan

click on this to see Vince and my favorite Dylan clip!!!

Back to my day, I was so lazy when I got home, partly from yesterday's workouts, partly from all the MSG I consumed during lunch.  I'm thinking about giving up MSG for lent.  I should consider giving up reality TV too.  psych!  I did some step ups with my makeshift platform and then called it a day with exercises:

stepping up my game, literally!  the bottom tier is an upside down section of my hair caddy

Ended knee care with a scar massage.  The tingling is more today, don't know how that happened.  But it's amazing how different the scars look like after massaging them and pressing them down for a couple of minutes, the puffiness goes away and the skin gets a great moisturizing.  The smell doesn't hurt either!

got cocoa butter?  

Okedokes, gotta rest up for another challenging session tomorrow... happy fat Tuesday!

post op day 27, no bruising!!!