After pitching only twice in like 20+ days due to rainouts and scheduled days off, I wasn't sure what to expect from Roy Halliday - and I'm not sure even he was.
Although rusty at first - he had another great game. But this game was a little different. Nothing you would hear about on the local news outside of Philly - it wasn't another perfect game, or even a no-hitter. This time he threw a decent game - pitching 7 innings and just giving up 2 hits, no runs, but he did walk a couple guys and even hit a guy - but his bat came alive!
Roy doesn't know how to do things like a normal person - even a normal MLB player. He happened to hit just his second extra base hit ever (which is also the second this season) and get the first RBIs of the season off the hit. Oh - did I mention the bases were loaded, so he had a 3-RBI double. He definitely was the player of the game!
In other Philly sports related news
In case you live in a hole, Michael Vick just signed a 6-year, $100 million dollar deal with the Eagles. I know many people are not a fan of him because of what he did, and by no means do I condone it, but he served his time in jail, and has worked to prove himself good by others not just as a professional football player, but as a human being. I will save this topic for another blog post - cause otherwise, this could go forever...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Random Thoughts
Just some random thoughts that are going through my mind that I want to share with everyone:
Local (and not so local) Politics
I just read an article about Adam Taliaferro being selected to run for a Gloucester County Freeholder. For those who don't know the story of Adam, just google his name and you will find it, but the short of it is he played football for Penn State, and as a freshman he suffered a life threatening injury that was supposed to leave him paralyzed. He fought the battle and the long odds, and eventually walked again, graduated from Penn State, and went on to go to law school and become a lawyer. He was an inspiration around PA and NJ, and although I never had any interest in Penn State, or paid attention to their football team, I always loved to read updates about him.
Anyways, I obviously can't vote for him, since I don't live in that county, better yet that state, but for those few people I know who do - I think you should vote for him, not just because he is a democrat and therefore stands for most of the ideals I believe in, but also because he truly has the strength and willpower to push for what he believes. Additionally, in the story, the leader of the local republican committee said "that while he respected 'the challenges [Taliaferro] has overcome,' he thinks he is on the ticket to wow the public with his personal story and relative youth, rather than experience in government". Im sorry - but what was Jon Runyan on the Republican ticket for and why did he win a seat as a US Congressman?!?!? It was for a whole lot less than what you just said. He was on the ticket AND won because of his time and success with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hurricane Irene
Im glad that everyone survived it well, and I hope you all have your power back. Those of us in the Needleman Levittown house survived quite well. We watched some movies that I bought for $1.99 from Blockbuster (more in the post about that), baked cookies and brownies (maybe a future post), cooked a Sunday night dinner in the crock pot, and I got my eye scratched up by Charger. And never lost power (knock on wood for future storms), but were quite prepared with a flashlight with extra batteries, a lantern, glow sticks, a battery operated radio with extra batteries and plenty of reading material and shelf-stable snacks.
Movies
Along with many of my other bad, but harmless, addictions - I have an addiction to buying movies. If you live nearby and ever need free rentals, I am OCD and actually have an excel listing of my DVDs (which I now need to update), which probably is over 200 by now. Anyways, I continued that addiction at Blockbuster on Saturday in preparing for Hurricane Irene. I was hoping they would have a 5 for $20 deal on their previously viewed movies, of which they did - but I couldn't find 5 movies I had interest in spending $4 each on. On the other hand, they also had a $1.99 table, and there were a bunch that looked interesting enough to spend two bucks on. We ended up watching two of them.
The first, An Education, I had NEVER heard of - but would definitely recommend. It was set in the 60's in England, and was about a schoolgirl who was going to ruin her chances at Cambridge if she continued on with her "love affair". Im not good at giving film reviews, so Ill just leave it at that so I don't give too much away, but it was surprisingly good and kept both Adam and my interest throughout.
The second, Brooklyn's Finest, I had heard of, and would not recommend. After 2 minutes I was already having trouble following, and by ten minutes Adam had already fell asleep (and it was a hard movie to actually sleep through). It was all over the place, and the ending was pretty pathetic. They tried to do the Crash thing where all the story lines that were separated throughout the movie came together in the end. It worked great for Crash, its worked okay in a couple other movies, but overall - it doesn't work well anymore, and I'm sick of seeing screenwriters trying to sell it again. But that wasn't the only reason it was bad - it was just bad - and I have an eclectic sense of what I like, which does include action movies, but this will not fall into the like pile.
Weight Loss
I think my sister and I are gonna join Weight Watchers again. I had GREAT success with it back in 2003 when I lost 50 lbs - and Ive kept it all off. I lost a bit more after I stopped WW, but unfortunately, have put most of that on since my wedding, and I want to take that back off, plus some more to get down to 150. Let me know if you are interested in going to meetings with us, or if you just want to follow along together via email, text message, phone, etc if you don't live in the area.
Im sure there are other random thoughts, but I can't remember them, so Im just gonna go to bed now.
Local (and not so local) Politics
I just read an article about Adam Taliaferro being selected to run for a Gloucester County Freeholder. For those who don't know the story of Adam, just google his name and you will find it, but the short of it is he played football for Penn State, and as a freshman he suffered a life threatening injury that was supposed to leave him paralyzed. He fought the battle and the long odds, and eventually walked again, graduated from Penn State, and went on to go to law school and become a lawyer. He was an inspiration around PA and NJ, and although I never had any interest in Penn State, or paid attention to their football team, I always loved to read updates about him.
Anyways, I obviously can't vote for him, since I don't live in that county, better yet that state, but for those few people I know who do - I think you should vote for him, not just because he is a democrat and therefore stands for most of the ideals I believe in, but also because he truly has the strength and willpower to push for what he believes. Additionally, in the story, the leader of the local republican committee said "that while he respected 'the challenges [Taliaferro] has overcome,' he thinks he is on the ticket to wow the public with his personal story and relative youth, rather than experience in government". Im sorry - but what was Jon Runyan on the Republican ticket for and why did he win a seat as a US Congressman?!?!? It was for a whole lot less than what you just said. He was on the ticket AND won because of his time and success with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hurricane Irene
Im glad that everyone survived it well, and I hope you all have your power back. Those of us in the Needleman Levittown house survived quite well. We watched some movies that I bought for $1.99 from Blockbuster (more in the post about that), baked cookies and brownies (maybe a future post), cooked a Sunday night dinner in the crock pot, and I got my eye scratched up by Charger. And never lost power (knock on wood for future storms), but were quite prepared with a flashlight with extra batteries, a lantern, glow sticks, a battery operated radio with extra batteries and plenty of reading material and shelf-stable snacks.
Movies
Along with many of my other bad, but harmless, addictions - I have an addiction to buying movies. If you live nearby and ever need free rentals, I am OCD and actually have an excel listing of my DVDs (which I now need to update), which probably is over 200 by now. Anyways, I continued that addiction at Blockbuster on Saturday in preparing for Hurricane Irene. I was hoping they would have a 5 for $20 deal on their previously viewed movies, of which they did - but I couldn't find 5 movies I had interest in spending $4 each on. On the other hand, they also had a $1.99 table, and there were a bunch that looked interesting enough to spend two bucks on. We ended up watching two of them.
The first, An Education, I had NEVER heard of - but would definitely recommend. It was set in the 60's in England, and was about a schoolgirl who was going to ruin her chances at Cambridge if she continued on with her "love affair". Im not good at giving film reviews, so Ill just leave it at that so I don't give too much away, but it was surprisingly good and kept both Adam and my interest throughout.
The second, Brooklyn's Finest, I had heard of, and would not recommend. After 2 minutes I was already having trouble following, and by ten minutes Adam had already fell asleep (and it was a hard movie to actually sleep through). It was all over the place, and the ending was pretty pathetic. They tried to do the Crash thing where all the story lines that were separated throughout the movie came together in the end. It worked great for Crash, its worked okay in a couple other movies, but overall - it doesn't work well anymore, and I'm sick of seeing screenwriters trying to sell it again. But that wasn't the only reason it was bad - it was just bad - and I have an eclectic sense of what I like, which does include action movies, but this will not fall into the like pile.
Weight Loss
I think my sister and I are gonna join Weight Watchers again. I had GREAT success with it back in 2003 when I lost 50 lbs - and Ive kept it all off. I lost a bit more after I stopped WW, but unfortunately, have put most of that on since my wedding, and I want to take that back off, plus some more to get down to 150. Let me know if you are interested in going to meetings with us, or if you just want to follow along together via email, text message, phone, etc if you don't live in the area.
Im sure there are other random thoughts, but I can't remember them, so Im just gonna go to bed now.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Lucky Bones Restaurant in Cape May, NJ
On Adam and my recent day trip to Cape May, NJ we were looking for a place for lunch in between our winery visits, so we searched for a place through the Google Places app on my phone, and decided upon the one that didn't take us into "downtown" (as the wineries weren't in that location). The closest place I saw that sounded good was Lucky Bones Backwater Grille - so we went.
When we got there, I noticed that they had a sign for a grill night at Cape May Winery & Vineyards - our next stop - and on the way out I noticed a wine barrel with Cape May Winery & Vineyards logo on the barrel end, and finally on the way to the car, there was a Cape May Winery & Vineyards truck. I figured they had some partnership going - I later learned at the winery that they are actually owned by the same person, along with a well known, fancy restaurant in town - the Washington Inn and a cute store in town that Adam had shopped at last time we were in - Love the Cook.
Anyways, back to lunch. We got there around 1:15/1:30 and the parking lot was packed, and when we got in, there was a little bit of a line. Nothing major, but in the end it just ended up being a back-up in getting people seated, not a wait.
When I looked them up on google, it said that they were known for the sandwiches and brick-fired oven pizzas - so at that point I was originally thinking a sandwich, but if Adam and I could agree on a pizza, I could easily go for that. Once I looked at the list, there were like 4 or 5 that I could easily choose from, and same for Adam. Our thoughts crossed on 2 of them and finally settled on the Shrooms and Cheese Pizza.
After we ordered and were chatting, I noticed on the wall their soup of the day, and it sounded really delicious, so Adam and I decided to ask the waitress if we could order 2 cups of that in addition to the pizza. It was a Jersey BLT Soup. I really wanted the soup without the B, but I knew that wasn't possible, so I just hoped that it wasn't too crazy with the bacon. I love tomato soup, so I hoped the tomato might be able to overpower the bacon. Im glad I took that chance, because it was perfect for me. There were small pieces of bacon bits (real ones) throughout the soup - and provided good texture, but the flavor wasn't overpowering. The tomato soup portion was DELISH - we both scarfed it down. The lettuce part was cute - provided as garnish on top. If that were on the menu when we go down there again, I would definitely order it!
Just as we finished our soup, our pizza came out. The size was perfect for Adam and I to share and I loved the thin crust that they had. It turned out to be really good, but not something that I would order over and over again. As I said, the crust was perfect for me, there were a lot of mushrooms of a few different types - unfortunately I couldn't identify which types. It wasn't cheesy at all - just the right amount - it was just missing an extra flavor of something. Not sure what additional flavor would have done the trick for me, but maybe a little bit of truffle oil (but that would have caused the price to jump). Although I said I wouldn't order it over and over again, I would order it again - but there were lots of other things on the menu that Id like to try.
Oh - and the prices were very affordable - if you go to Cape May and are looking to drive around and not stay in the historic area - I would definitely recommend this for a lunch spot.
When we got there, I noticed that they had a sign for a grill night at Cape May Winery & Vineyards - our next stop - and on the way out I noticed a wine barrel with Cape May Winery & Vineyards logo on the barrel end, and finally on the way to the car, there was a Cape May Winery & Vineyards truck. I figured they had some partnership going - I later learned at the winery that they are actually owned by the same person, along with a well known, fancy restaurant in town - the Washington Inn and a cute store in town that Adam had shopped at last time we were in - Love the Cook.
Anyways, back to lunch. We got there around 1:15/1:30 and the parking lot was packed, and when we got in, there was a little bit of a line. Nothing major, but in the end it just ended up being a back-up in getting people seated, not a wait.
When I looked them up on google, it said that they were known for the sandwiches and brick-fired oven pizzas - so at that point I was originally thinking a sandwich, but if Adam and I could agree on a pizza, I could easily go for that. Once I looked at the list, there were like 4 or 5 that I could easily choose from, and same for Adam. Our thoughts crossed on 2 of them and finally settled on the Shrooms and Cheese Pizza.
After we ordered and were chatting, I noticed on the wall their soup of the day, and it sounded really delicious, so Adam and I decided to ask the waitress if we could order 2 cups of that in addition to the pizza. It was a Jersey BLT Soup. I really wanted the soup without the B, but I knew that wasn't possible, so I just hoped that it wasn't too crazy with the bacon. I love tomato soup, so I hoped the tomato might be able to overpower the bacon. Im glad I took that chance, because it was perfect for me. There were small pieces of bacon bits (real ones) throughout the soup - and provided good texture, but the flavor wasn't overpowering. The tomato soup portion was DELISH - we both scarfed it down. The lettuce part was cute - provided as garnish on top. If that were on the menu when we go down there again, I would definitely order it!
Just as we finished our soup, our pizza came out. The size was perfect for Adam and I to share and I loved the thin crust that they had. It turned out to be really good, but not something that I would order over and over again. As I said, the crust was perfect for me, there were a lot of mushrooms of a few different types - unfortunately I couldn't identify which types. It wasn't cheesy at all - just the right amount - it was just missing an extra flavor of something. Not sure what additional flavor would have done the trick for me, but maybe a little bit of truffle oil (but that would have caused the price to jump). Although I said I wouldn't order it over and over again, I would order it again - but there were lots of other things on the menu that Id like to try.
Oh - and the prices were very affordable - if you go to Cape May and are looking to drive around and not stay in the historic area - I would definitely recommend this for a lunch spot.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Phillies Games
I have a full season ticket plan to the Philadelphia Phillies - as I am that much of a die-hard - but I sell about 2/3 - 3/4 of the games depending on the year.
Two years ago, I went to like 35 games - and I learned that was just too much even for me. It was a lot of time that I wasn't at home - a lot of money to be spent on parking and dinner - and hard to find someone to go with me to all those games.
Last year, I didn't get to go to as many games as I wanted to because there were home series scheduled the same weekend as my wedding and while Adam and I were on our honeymoon - so that was a couple weeks of games taken out of the mix.
Every year work also gets in the way of a few games that I planned to go to, and then had to switch around because of trips that came up along the way (I plan what games Im gonna go to in February, and don't know my travel schedule until a few months beforehand - if I'm lucky).
Well this year, I had planned to go to about 20 games. I was going to go to about a dozen games with my mom and another half dozen plus with Adam. Adam and my second game of the season was supposed to be on April 16th - which ended up being a day of DOWNPOURS and the first (of many) postponement(s). Of course they then rescheduled a weekend evening game to a weekday day game - which we both couldn't go to - so I had to sell those tickets.
Then Adam (thankfully) got a new job - one whose hours were noon-9pm Tue-Fri and 7a-5p on Sat. This knocked out 95% of the games we were gonna go to together (plus our 3rd shot at a U2 concert...), so I found family and friends to go to those games with me, and Adam took on a couple of my mom's Sunday games, and kept the Saturday evening game we had.
Then came two weeks ago. I had tickets to 3 games in 6 days. The first was a Sunday that Adam was supposed to go with me to. It was raining bad, and therefore the game was postponed (of course to a day game in the middle of the week - so again, tickets now need to be sold...). The second game ended up being a beautiful night, and we got the whole game in - unfortunately we lost in the 9th inning. The 3rd game got to the end of the 3rd before a 2 hour plus rain delay started. About 10 minutes before they announced that they were gonna prepare the field and get back to the game, I left with my friend - because it was getting late, and I needed to work the next day. So three games - and I saw a whole 12 innings...
It of course doesn't stop there. I had a ticket to a game the next Saturday (13 days from the first "game"). Well that was last night - the night that Hurricane Irene hit - which meant yet another PPD game. This one at least is a night game - and the only reason for that is because Sunday's PPD Game is gonna be the day game of a D/N doubleheader.
So far this year, I have had 3 games PPD and sat through another 3 rain delays - and only got to attend about a dozen games so far...this better not be the beginning of the bad signs for the Phillies this season...
Two years ago, I went to like 35 games - and I learned that was just too much even for me. It was a lot of time that I wasn't at home - a lot of money to be spent on parking and dinner - and hard to find someone to go with me to all those games.
Last year, I didn't get to go to as many games as I wanted to because there were home series scheduled the same weekend as my wedding and while Adam and I were on our honeymoon - so that was a couple weeks of games taken out of the mix.
Every year work also gets in the way of a few games that I planned to go to, and then had to switch around because of trips that came up along the way (I plan what games Im gonna go to in February, and don't know my travel schedule until a few months beforehand - if I'm lucky).
Well this year, I had planned to go to about 20 games. I was going to go to about a dozen games with my mom and another half dozen plus with Adam. Adam and my second game of the season was supposed to be on April 16th - which ended up being a day of DOWNPOURS and the first (of many) postponement(s). Of course they then rescheduled a weekend evening game to a weekday day game - which we both couldn't go to - so I had to sell those tickets.
Then Adam (thankfully) got a new job - one whose hours were noon-9pm Tue-Fri and 7a-5p on Sat. This knocked out 95% of the games we were gonna go to together (plus our 3rd shot at a U2 concert...), so I found family and friends to go to those games with me, and Adam took on a couple of my mom's Sunday games, and kept the Saturday evening game we had.
Then came two weeks ago. I had tickets to 3 games in 6 days. The first was a Sunday that Adam was supposed to go with me to. It was raining bad, and therefore the game was postponed (of course to a day game in the middle of the week - so again, tickets now need to be sold...). The second game ended up being a beautiful night, and we got the whole game in - unfortunately we lost in the 9th inning. The 3rd game got to the end of the 3rd before a 2 hour plus rain delay started. About 10 minutes before they announced that they were gonna prepare the field and get back to the game, I left with my friend - because it was getting late, and I needed to work the next day. So three games - and I saw a whole 12 innings...
It of course doesn't stop there. I had a ticket to a game the next Saturday (13 days from the first "game"). Well that was last night - the night that Hurricane Irene hit - which meant yet another PPD game. This one at least is a night game - and the only reason for that is because Sunday's PPD Game is gonna be the day game of a D/N doubleheader.
So far this year, I have had 3 games PPD and sat through another 3 rain delays - and only got to attend about a dozen games so far...this better not be the beginning of the bad signs for the Phillies this season...
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Back Issues
I am not one to really complain about pain. I have a crazy high pain tolerance. So high, I had a cavity filled without any numbing agents or drugs. My tolerance for pain has a few negatives:
By this point I would be in crazy amounts of pain at night and in the morning. At night I would toss and turn until I found a position that was the least uncomfortable and didn't send sharp pains down my legs. In the morning, I would have to lie down on my back every few minutes for the back pain to subside - to the point that I would get out of the shower and lie down on the bathroom floor before I could take the 5 steps to my bedroom, and then I would get into my bedroom and lie down on the floor before starting the long process of getting dressed with constant interruptions of lying down. I had a HELL of a time getting socks and stockings on because it was way to painful to put my arms past my knees at that hour. I felt like I was an old lady or something. Then Id get on the shuttle to the metro and on the metro and Id flip back and forth between sitting or standing being better - and I had horrible pains written across my face it was so bad.
So at my next appt the doc finally said I should get an MRI, but then I couldn't get back in to see him for another month to see the MRI, so I found a new doc that I could get an appt with right away. As soon as he put the screens up - he scared me shitless. He had no clue how I was even standing/sitting in front of him. I had 2 fully herniated discs and 1 partially herniated disc as well as a few other issues going on in my back including spinal stenosis. He said I needed to have surgery right away. I said thanks, I just want to get a second opinion - which offended him greatly.
He did give me a 1-week steroid pack to help reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain - which I have to say was the best thing any of the doctors ever did. It worked! But I still took the diagnosis seriously and went to get a second opinion from my mom's doctor in Philly. I knew that she usually had to wait a month or so to get an appt with him, so I was prepared. The Philly doc wanted to get the doctors notes and scans from the DC doc before seeing me to make sure that I really need to see a Neuro and not an Ortho doc or soemthing. Long story short, during this time I found out that the doc who was offended that I would get a second opinion was a complete ASS, but I finally got the information needed to the Philly doc - and the nurse called me that day (a Friday) and asked if I could come in on Monday. Uh-oh! A typical one month wait and they want to see me the next business day! Even my mom was shocked and concerned.
So I went to see the doc, and he said that its great that the steroid pack was working and that I was feeling better, but that yes, I really do need to have surgery. He also said that based on the fact that I had no trauma to cause this and my mom's back history, although "they" say this is not genetic, he does feel that this is genetic (more issues Adam and I can worry about passing on to our kids).
With that I was back to square one, but I at least knew what my issues were. I was living in DC, but no longer had a doctor in the area to do the surgery, so now I needed to find a new doc. I was able to get recommendations from a co-worker at the time, and found a new doc with good bedside manner. Not only did he have good bedside manner - he wasn't in a rush to get me on to the operating table. He agreed with the Philly doc that based on my scans I absolutely needed to have surgery. BUT, the 1-wk steroid pack worked and Im not in pain, and therefore he was in no rush to get someone feeling good into surgery. He had another MRI done, but there wasn't any change in the scans, and he felt strongly about not operating on me if I was feeling good. Therefore he weened me back into an exercise routine, and I continued to go pain free, so after about 6 months, I stopped going to the doctor. Since then, I have stayed consistent with my exercise and kept the pain away. I usually find that when I get lazy, thats when my back starts to flare up.
Well at least that was the case until 6 months ago or so. Around that time, I started to realized I would have flare ups with my back more often - and they were BAD. They also happened to correlate with something else that would occur at that time of the month. And then after some heat, drugs and keeping exercise to a minimum, the flare up would die down at the same time that my "something else" died down as well. Each month I think about going back to a neuro - and now I'm back in Philly, so I could go to my moms doc. But the flare up eventually dies down - and the last thing I want is to have back surgery. But now I also think about the fact that Adam and I want to start to grow our family in a non-fur-creature way, and how will that affect these back flare-ups? Will it be a 9-month long back flare up? I have a high tolerance, but I have trouble handling 2-3 days of it some months, I don't think I could possibly survive 9 months of it....
But surgery usually isn't the answer. A lot of people who have back surgery end up continuing to have back pain - and in all honesty the pain Ive been getting now is back pain, not sciatica or the other pains that came along with the herniated discs. Its pain that (I feel) is due to weak back muscles.
P.S. Although my back is usually better, I still did wait too long with my back issues. I have a permanent "scar" from my sciatica - a numbness in parts of my both legs - so although my back is much better I really did ignore the issue until it was too late
- I get annoyed when people are constantly bitching about being in pain or something hurting - because I just wish they would deal with it like I do (I do know that everyone has different thresholds)
- I feel like a baby when I do finally bitch about something because I have it so well ingrained in me to just deal with pain.
- Because my tolerance is so high, I sometimes ignore things that are really an issue because they don't bother me all that much. Probably ignoring them until its too late.
By this point I would be in crazy amounts of pain at night and in the morning. At night I would toss and turn until I found a position that was the least uncomfortable and didn't send sharp pains down my legs. In the morning, I would have to lie down on my back every few minutes for the back pain to subside - to the point that I would get out of the shower and lie down on the bathroom floor before I could take the 5 steps to my bedroom, and then I would get into my bedroom and lie down on the floor before starting the long process of getting dressed with constant interruptions of lying down. I had a HELL of a time getting socks and stockings on because it was way to painful to put my arms past my knees at that hour. I felt like I was an old lady or something. Then Id get on the shuttle to the metro and on the metro and Id flip back and forth between sitting or standing being better - and I had horrible pains written across my face it was so bad.
So at my next appt the doc finally said I should get an MRI, but then I couldn't get back in to see him for another month to see the MRI, so I found a new doc that I could get an appt with right away. As soon as he put the screens up - he scared me shitless. He had no clue how I was even standing/sitting in front of him. I had 2 fully herniated discs and 1 partially herniated disc as well as a few other issues going on in my back including spinal stenosis. He said I needed to have surgery right away. I said thanks, I just want to get a second opinion - which offended him greatly.
He did give me a 1-week steroid pack to help reduce the inflammation and relieve the pain - which I have to say was the best thing any of the doctors ever did. It worked! But I still took the diagnosis seriously and went to get a second opinion from my mom's doctor in Philly. I knew that she usually had to wait a month or so to get an appt with him, so I was prepared. The Philly doc wanted to get the doctors notes and scans from the DC doc before seeing me to make sure that I really need to see a Neuro and not an Ortho doc or soemthing. Long story short, during this time I found out that the doc who was offended that I would get a second opinion was a complete ASS, but I finally got the information needed to the Philly doc - and the nurse called me that day (a Friday) and asked if I could come in on Monday. Uh-oh! A typical one month wait and they want to see me the next business day! Even my mom was shocked and concerned.
So I went to see the doc, and he said that its great that the steroid pack was working and that I was feeling better, but that yes, I really do need to have surgery. He also said that based on the fact that I had no trauma to cause this and my mom's back history, although "they" say this is not genetic, he does feel that this is genetic (more issues Adam and I can worry about passing on to our kids).
With that I was back to square one, but I at least knew what my issues were. I was living in DC, but no longer had a doctor in the area to do the surgery, so now I needed to find a new doc. I was able to get recommendations from a co-worker at the time, and found a new doc with good bedside manner. Not only did he have good bedside manner - he wasn't in a rush to get me on to the operating table. He agreed with the Philly doc that based on my scans I absolutely needed to have surgery. BUT, the 1-wk steroid pack worked and Im not in pain, and therefore he was in no rush to get someone feeling good into surgery. He had another MRI done, but there wasn't any change in the scans, and he felt strongly about not operating on me if I was feeling good. Therefore he weened me back into an exercise routine, and I continued to go pain free, so after about 6 months, I stopped going to the doctor. Since then, I have stayed consistent with my exercise and kept the pain away. I usually find that when I get lazy, thats when my back starts to flare up.
Well at least that was the case until 6 months ago or so. Around that time, I started to realized I would have flare ups with my back more often - and they were BAD. They also happened to correlate with something else that would occur at that time of the month. And then after some heat, drugs and keeping exercise to a minimum, the flare up would die down at the same time that my "something else" died down as well. Each month I think about going back to a neuro - and now I'm back in Philly, so I could go to my moms doc. But the flare up eventually dies down - and the last thing I want is to have back surgery. But now I also think about the fact that Adam and I want to start to grow our family in a non-fur-creature way, and how will that affect these back flare-ups? Will it be a 9-month long back flare up? I have a high tolerance, but I have trouble handling 2-3 days of it some months, I don't think I could possibly survive 9 months of it....
But surgery usually isn't the answer. A lot of people who have back surgery end up continuing to have back pain - and in all honesty the pain Ive been getting now is back pain, not sciatica or the other pains that came along with the herniated discs. Its pain that (I feel) is due to weak back muscles.
P.S. Although my back is usually better, I still did wait too long with my back issues. I have a permanent "scar" from my sciatica - a numbness in parts of my both legs - so although my back is much better I really did ignore the issue until it was too late
Friday, August 26, 2011
Everyones favorite topic to read about - my in-laws
Based on the stats that I can track through blogger - the topic people most enjoy reading about is my in-laws - and how couldn't you - they are just that crazy and ridiculous its so funny and enjoyable to read about.
So I'm gonna try to write a weekly post about their craziness. Since I'm currently in the middle of a really good streak of not seeing or talking to them, Ill be going back into the 3 year vault of stories for some of these weekly posts :)
Thinking about it, I think the last time we saw them was for the "pizza party" that MIL threw for FIL in the beginning of July. That's right - Ive gone almost 2 months without seeing or talking them - and its been wonderful! Of course, during that time, Adam has gotten calls from them bitching about me on numerous occasions - but alas, its impossible to be completely free of their craziness. Unfortunately, that streak will be broken on Saturday for the sake of attending the joint birthday party of my nephews - but I'm sure the few hours spent with them will provide for some entertaining stories later...
Since I mentioned the pizza party - I guess Ill start with that topic for this post. Back in the end of June, we received a card in the mail. When I looked at it, it had no return address (which was a sure sign it came from the in-laws, cause my MIL refuses to put a return of address on things she sends - or at least to us, which is one of my many small pet peeves with them). But I wasn't sure cause I could tell that there was a kids party invitation inside. We were 2 months away from any of the nieces or nephews birthdays, so I was really confused. I finally opened it up - and it WAS from my ILs. It was an invitation in the shape of a pizza slice - and for a pizza party for my FILs bday. SERIOUSLY?!?!? First off - the invitations was circa 1990 - and if it really wasn't that old - then that's just more pathetic. Second off - the invitation went out to a whole TWO freaking people - Adam and I and my SIL and BIL. Just f*ing call us and invite us over for dinner for his bday, don't make some stupid big deal with a childish invitation.
Unfortunately, we had no plans, and I knew we had to go, so I had Adam call to RSVP, but let them know we would be late, as they are calling the party for 5pm - and Adam doesn't get off work until 5pm. He still has to come home, change/clean up and we have another 45 minute drive to get to their house - so we wouldn't be there until 6:30ish. Im pretty sure they weren't thrilled we were coming late - but work has priority in this instance over some childish attempt to invite us over.
Party day eventually arrives - and Adam calls to let them know we will be leaving shortly, and guess what - they went out to dinner with my SIL, BIL and nephews and were gonna bring home a pizza for us. I knew they were gonna eat before we got there, because they eat dinner crazy early and it annoys me that they don't have the decency to wait for us when they invite us over - but I'm somewhat used to it now. But seriously - you take everyone else out to dinner to order whatever they want and then bring home a pizza and keep it in a warm oven for us?
We of course still went, and I didn't eat anything or really talk to them much because a) I was trying to be healthy and didn't want pizza and b) I was annoyed at them.
My MIL must have asked me if I wanted pizza about 6 times - 5 of those times I politely said, no thank you, Im fine for now, and continued to play with the boys. On the 6th and final time, I finally had enough of the same question and gave some attitude with my answer - which clearly annoyed FIL and MIL - but MIL FINALLY stopped asking. Although that wouldn't be the end of it...
The next morning Adam got a call from MIL pretty much asking what my issue was. If you have an issue with me, "man up" and bring it up to me - not to Adam.
Why can't I just have normal in-laws? I know they provide good entertainment and stories - but they get to me. I hate how the thought of them or sound of their name is like fingernails on a chalkboard....
So I'm gonna try to write a weekly post about their craziness. Since I'm currently in the middle of a really good streak of not seeing or talking to them, Ill be going back into the 3 year vault of stories for some of these weekly posts :)
Thinking about it, I think the last time we saw them was for the "pizza party" that MIL threw for FIL in the beginning of July. That's right - Ive gone almost 2 months without seeing or talking them - and its been wonderful! Of course, during that time, Adam has gotten calls from them bitching about me on numerous occasions - but alas, its impossible to be completely free of their craziness. Unfortunately, that streak will be broken on Saturday for the sake of attending the joint birthday party of my nephews - but I'm sure the few hours spent with them will provide for some entertaining stories later...
Since I mentioned the pizza party - I guess Ill start with that topic for this post. Back in the end of June, we received a card in the mail. When I looked at it, it had no return address (which was a sure sign it came from the in-laws, cause my MIL refuses to put a return of address on things she sends - or at least to us, which is one of my many small pet peeves with them). But I wasn't sure cause I could tell that there was a kids party invitation inside. We were 2 months away from any of the nieces or nephews birthdays, so I was really confused. I finally opened it up - and it WAS from my ILs. It was an invitation in the shape of a pizza slice - and for a pizza party for my FILs bday. SERIOUSLY?!?!? First off - the invitations was circa 1990 - and if it really wasn't that old - then that's just more pathetic. Second off - the invitation went out to a whole TWO freaking people - Adam and I and my SIL and BIL. Just f*ing call us and invite us over for dinner for his bday, don't make some stupid big deal with a childish invitation.
Unfortunately, we had no plans, and I knew we had to go, so I had Adam call to RSVP, but let them know we would be late, as they are calling the party for 5pm - and Adam doesn't get off work until 5pm. He still has to come home, change/clean up and we have another 45 minute drive to get to their house - so we wouldn't be there until 6:30ish. Im pretty sure they weren't thrilled we were coming late - but work has priority in this instance over some childish attempt to invite us over.
Party day eventually arrives - and Adam calls to let them know we will be leaving shortly, and guess what - they went out to dinner with my SIL, BIL and nephews and were gonna bring home a pizza for us. I knew they were gonna eat before we got there, because they eat dinner crazy early and it annoys me that they don't have the decency to wait for us when they invite us over - but I'm somewhat used to it now. But seriously - you take everyone else out to dinner to order whatever they want and then bring home a pizza and keep it in a warm oven for us?
We of course still went, and I didn't eat anything or really talk to them much because a) I was trying to be healthy and didn't want pizza and b) I was annoyed at them.
My MIL must have asked me if I wanted pizza about 6 times - 5 of those times I politely said, no thank you, Im fine for now, and continued to play with the boys. On the 6th and final time, I finally had enough of the same question and gave some attitude with my answer - which clearly annoyed FIL and MIL - but MIL FINALLY stopped asking. Although that wouldn't be the end of it...
The next morning Adam got a call from MIL pretty much asking what my issue was. If you have an issue with me, "man up" and bring it up to me - not to Adam.
Why can't I just have normal in-laws? I know they provide good entertainment and stories - but they get to me. I hate how the thought of them or sound of their name is like fingernails on a chalkboard....
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cape May, NJ and Turdo Vineyards
While on our mini-vaca with my family in OCNJ, Adam and I took a day and went down to Cape May for a date day in our new favorite beach town (we fell in love with it on our first anniversary trip earlier this summer).
Originally we were going to go to the beach with my family in the late morning, and then go to Cape May Winery for a 3pm tour that I had bought a deal for on Philly Dealyo, but Adam's legs really bothered him the evening prior after going to the beach, so we decided to bypass the beach altogether - which I was completely okay with since I'm not a huge beach person.
After deciding not to go to the beach, we hung around the house for a little while after everyone else left for the beach and then decided to head to Cape May earlier and grab lunch there, and maybe stop at another winery for a wine tasting. We ended up stopping at Turdo Vineyards for our first tasting, Lucky Bones Restaurant for lunch and then Cape May Winery & Vineyard for our tour. This post will review our first stop, and then Ill go into more detail on another posting (or two) for lunch and the Cape May Winery Tour and Tasting.
Our first stop when getting into Cape May was Turdo Vineyards. This is a small vineyard which makes about 200 cases of each type of wine and when they sell out for the year, they close shop. When we visited, they had sold out of at least 1/3 of their wines, and she told us that they typically sell out of everything by labor day weekend.
When arriving at the winery - you will think you are in the wrong spot, because it looks like you are at someone's personal house and they don't have a parking lot. They recommend parking at the lot down the street, but since Adam is limited in how much he can walk, and I knew we would be walking on the wine tour and that night on the boardwalk, I didn't want to park down at the ball fields down the street. Instead, I parked on the lawn after the house because I someone else did the same thing. (Initially I thought that's where I was supposed to park until I walked up to the sign and saw that it said the ball field parking lot). Anyways, once you park and walk up to the house, you see a small building to the side/back of the house and that is the tasting room - the house really is their personal house, and their backyard is the vineyard - wouldn't that be awesome.
We went in for the tasting, which was $5 for 5 wines. I didn't save the tasting sheet - but I think they have about 10 wines available for tasting - 3 dry whites, 6 dry reds and 1 sweet red and 1 sweet white (I think that was the breakdown). Additionally, they have some reserve collection wines which aren't available for tasting, and finally the owners son is starting his own label (Rossi) and currently has two wines with that.
Unfortunately for us, all the dry whites were out and a couple of the reds were out - so we tasted 4 dry reds and got to pick one of the two sweet wines. I liked all the dry wines, Adam typically doesn't - and didn't - but we did agree on 2 of the dry reds - their Barbera and their Merlot. To be honest, for the first time in a while I didn't take any notes on this day, and therefore (as I already mentioned) didn't save my tasting sheet - so I don't remember what the wines each tasted like - but I do know my taste buds lean more towards the dry, smooth wines and within that, Adam likes the smooth wines - and likes the ones that are more semi-dry.
Adam and I each tried one of the sweets, that way we were able to taste both. The sweet red - which I believe was the Dolcetto was actually pretty dry with a dash of sweetness. I typically don't like sweet wines, and in typical fashion - I didn't like this wine - but for a different reason. I actually found it to be more dry than sweet - but it was really an odd combination of sugary sweet and dry. The sweet white we tasted was the Moscato. It wasn't a bad sweet wine, I just know that I won't sit there and drink a sweet wine, so its always a waste for me to buy, because I would have a few uses for it in cooking/baking and maybe have half a glass - and the rest would end up going to waste as I wouldn't be able to use it enough before it went bad.
Before we were done, I did ask if there were any wines that weren't on the tasting sheet that they had - because I noticed on the site that they had a Pinot Noir, and that wasn't on the sheet (even crossed out). That's where I found out about the reserves not being available for taste - but they actually were sold out of even those reserve wines. At this same time, the woman who was doing our tasting did mention that Luca - the son - was just working on his own label and that those are available for sale - but not for tasting - and then she realized she did have a bottle of the red available for tasting because there was just an event or something. Now this red was really good - the best one I had tasted there. It was really smooth, semi-dry and flavorful, so I said I definitely wanted a bottle - and then she had to double check that there were ones available for sale and the price. Good news is it was available. Unfortunately, no white available. We ended up walking out with a bottle of the Rossi label Red, the Turdo label Barbeca and Merlot.
Additionally they had Gelato and Sorbetto that was made with their wine, and a few other Gelato flavors. Adam wanted the Gelato with Moscato and Almonds, but they didn't have any, so he got the Sorbetto with Moscato and Peaches. I ended up getting the Gelato with Rossi. Both were yummy and delicious - mine a little more. They are made by a gelato company in Cape May - so they can be found at that store front as well - unfortunately, don't know the name of the company. I know - Im full of a lack of details!
If you are in Cape May and enjoy wine - this is a cute place to stop at - if its a nice day (like we had), take some time to relax on their patio with your own picnic or with wine and/or Gelato.
And if you do go to Cape May - let me know - lots more recommendations from our short trips there - and plenty more places and things we want to check out.
Originally we were going to go to the beach with my family in the late morning, and then go to Cape May Winery for a 3pm tour that I had bought a deal for on Philly Dealyo, but Adam's legs really bothered him the evening prior after going to the beach, so we decided to bypass the beach altogether - which I was completely okay with since I'm not a huge beach person.
After deciding not to go to the beach, we hung around the house for a little while after everyone else left for the beach and then decided to head to Cape May earlier and grab lunch there, and maybe stop at another winery for a wine tasting. We ended up stopping at Turdo Vineyards for our first tasting, Lucky Bones Restaurant for lunch and then Cape May Winery & Vineyard for our tour. This post will review our first stop, and then Ill go into more detail on another posting (or two) for lunch and the Cape May Winery Tour and Tasting.
Our first stop when getting into Cape May was Turdo Vineyards. This is a small vineyard which makes about 200 cases of each type of wine and when they sell out for the year, they close shop. When we visited, they had sold out of at least 1/3 of their wines, and she told us that they typically sell out of everything by labor day weekend.
When arriving at the winery - you will think you are in the wrong spot, because it looks like you are at someone's personal house and they don't have a parking lot. They recommend parking at the lot down the street, but since Adam is limited in how much he can walk, and I knew we would be walking on the wine tour and that night on the boardwalk, I didn't want to park down at the ball fields down the street. Instead, I parked on the lawn after the house because I someone else did the same thing. (Initially I thought that's where I was supposed to park until I walked up to the sign and saw that it said the ball field parking lot). Anyways, once you park and walk up to the house, you see a small building to the side/back of the house and that is the tasting room - the house really is their personal house, and their backyard is the vineyard - wouldn't that be awesome.
We went in for the tasting, which was $5 for 5 wines. I didn't save the tasting sheet - but I think they have about 10 wines available for tasting - 3 dry whites, 6 dry reds and 1 sweet red and 1 sweet white (I think that was the breakdown). Additionally, they have some reserve collection wines which aren't available for tasting, and finally the owners son is starting his own label (Rossi) and currently has two wines with that.
Unfortunately for us, all the dry whites were out and a couple of the reds were out - so we tasted 4 dry reds and got to pick one of the two sweet wines. I liked all the dry wines, Adam typically doesn't - and didn't - but we did agree on 2 of the dry reds - their Barbera and their Merlot. To be honest, for the first time in a while I didn't take any notes on this day, and therefore (as I already mentioned) didn't save my tasting sheet - so I don't remember what the wines each tasted like - but I do know my taste buds lean more towards the dry, smooth wines and within that, Adam likes the smooth wines - and likes the ones that are more semi-dry.
Adam and I each tried one of the sweets, that way we were able to taste both. The sweet red - which I believe was the Dolcetto was actually pretty dry with a dash of sweetness. I typically don't like sweet wines, and in typical fashion - I didn't like this wine - but for a different reason. I actually found it to be more dry than sweet - but it was really an odd combination of sugary sweet and dry. The sweet white we tasted was the Moscato. It wasn't a bad sweet wine, I just know that I won't sit there and drink a sweet wine, so its always a waste for me to buy, because I would have a few uses for it in cooking/baking and maybe have half a glass - and the rest would end up going to waste as I wouldn't be able to use it enough before it went bad.
Before we were done, I did ask if there were any wines that weren't on the tasting sheet that they had - because I noticed on the site that they had a Pinot Noir, and that wasn't on the sheet (even crossed out). That's where I found out about the reserves not being available for taste - but they actually were sold out of even those reserve wines. At this same time, the woman who was doing our tasting did mention that Luca - the son - was just working on his own label and that those are available for sale - but not for tasting - and then she realized she did have a bottle of the red available for tasting because there was just an event or something. Now this red was really good - the best one I had tasted there. It was really smooth, semi-dry and flavorful, so I said I definitely wanted a bottle - and then she had to double check that there were ones available for sale and the price. Good news is it was available. Unfortunately, no white available. We ended up walking out with a bottle of the Rossi label Red, the Turdo label Barbeca and Merlot.
Additionally they had Gelato and Sorbetto that was made with their wine, and a few other Gelato flavors. Adam wanted the Gelato with Moscato and Almonds, but they didn't have any, so he got the Sorbetto with Moscato and Peaches. I ended up getting the Gelato with Rossi. Both were yummy and delicious - mine a little more. They are made by a gelato company in Cape May - so they can be found at that store front as well - unfortunately, don't know the name of the company. I know - Im full of a lack of details!
If you are in Cape May and enjoy wine - this is a cute place to stop at - if its a nice day (like we had), take some time to relax on their patio with your own picnic or with wine and/or Gelato.
And if you do go to Cape May - let me know - lots more recommendations from our short trips there - and plenty more places and things we want to check out.
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