Wordless Wednesday

Participating in WordlessWednesday for the first time.

It's Me - Alphabetically

I am following up to a post from July of 2006, which I wanted to do annually. Since I blew through many more months than 12, I'm going to post it now. (Yes, something was taking up my time in July of 2007!)

So, the following are things about me, some things you know, some you don't. Here's my list:


A - Anny - my wonderful wife. We celebrated our sixth anniversary in March, and will celebrate her first Mother's Day next month.
B - Blogging - I have two that I keep up, but am working on a more global third. I'll post more about it when it's ready.
C - Child - I had to be sure that Abby made it in the top five, but Anny is in at A. Abby is amazing and I feel like she has completed our little family.
D - Dining - Anny and I have learned the value of eating in shifts, especially when dining out. We're also learning that breakfast out is just as nice as dinner out, and it's usually less crowded!
E - Ecletic - My musical choices have grown a lot since I did this exercise last. I could spend all day goofing off with iMixes. Right now I'm pulling together a great mix for Abby's first birthday. Suggestions?
F - Family - There are lots more in the family than a few years back. In-Laws. Neices. Friends close enough to call family.
G - Garden - For several years now I have grown pumpkins. This year we are going to try for some eating-vegetables! Since my list is limited in what I can eat, it was fairly easy to pick out what to try.
H - Hockey - I'm looking to get back into playing, possibly as soon as this summer. I'm hoping to get into shape by forcing myself to!
I - Immunosuppresants - I take these twice a day to battle my FSGS. Yes, there are other meds, too, but these are the long-term ones that are supposed to be working.
J - Jason - My brother and I are much closer since we've moved up to Maryland. It's actually pretty cool to hang out with my brother. Definitely brings my cool quotient up a notch.
K - Kidneys - for obvious reasons.
L - LPC - The church that we go to. I'm on the Session and have become the webmaster too.
M - Myspace - Finally canceled my account. It was useless. Stupid popular tool that is no good for me.
N - Now - I'm trying harder and harder to live for right now. Yeah it's fun to think back to when Abby did this or that, but she makes every day cool.
O - Orange - Though I'm not supposed to have the fruit, Orange is my favorite color.
P - Parenting Group - Anny and I worked hard this year and it was a hit. We have gotten to know folks a lot better. I've been toying around with designing curriculum to share with others.
Q - Quest - I wish that Quest Diagnostics were more efficient. This is my health we're talking about!
R - Redhead - I'm a natural. Are you?
S - Signing - I'm having a lot of fun learning with Abby, and get really excited when she signs back.
T - TypingTest - I got 74 words per minute with 98% accuracy at typingtest.com!
U - Unwithdrawing - Look it up - it just means liberal. That's me!
V - Verizon - Wireless. Home Phone. Internet. Wow. We have been debating how much we actually need a home phone line, though.
W - Wii - Love it! I wish I played it more often, but don't have as much time as you might think.
X - XXX-XX-XXXX - My social security number. At least as far as you're concerned!
Y - Yawning - I've been less tired since the time change, but I sure could go for one good night of sleep right now!
Z - Zamboni - Z is for Zamboni is a children's book on the alphabet that I love to read to Abby.


If you want to participate, please just copy and paste and change as is appropriate. I'm not a huge "tagger" online.


(Yes, again I'm weak on the "X" line. Would love to know what you would put for X as it relates to your life!)

I Hope They Didn't Drink It!

Background: to find out how much protien my kidneys leak, a good indicator as to the overall health of said kidneys, I have to pee in a cup more often than a pregnant lady. It's not nearly as bad as the 24 hour samples.......

Turns out that the call last week was about two things:

There was no urine sample submitted.
My Nephrologist forgot to mark "cyclosporine" for them to test. It's an important test, and he forgot. I'm not too much in arms about that, really.

But the pee. I did pee. I put it right where I was told to. For crying out loud, I hope that they did not attribute it to someone else's file, which would indicate that they too have kidney issues that they need to check out. I hate the idea of that.

So - I have a new blood draw form, with the "random urine" line checked too. Maybe tomorrow they will understand that "random" refers to the time it is drawn and does not mean "randomly lose Rob's pee."

That's a relief four days in the making. Oh wait, that means that I now have to live with the whole thing over again - he didn't call because there was a problem with the sample. What if there really is and he just hasn't seen it because they lost it? Crap. I was so close to being comfortable about it.

"Give me a Call about your Results"

Last week I went to my nephrologist for a regularly scheduled apointment.

I'm decidedly starting with the good news: During the apointment he told me that my cholesterol has done well while off of the drug he took out of the rotation in the fall. Good news! It was a little high, but I had two options: diet and exercise or go on another, lower dose drug for the cholesterol. I would like to think that I'm going to diet and exercise this summer, so we went with that.

I did my blood-work (and pee-work, too) on Tuesday, called that afternoon and they slotted me in for Wednesday morning. I thought it was too quick of a turn-around, but they know the system better than I do, so I went with it.

When I saw the doctor on Wednesday he told me that I should have scheduled for at least a week out! I told him that his staff scheduled it that quickly, that I was expecting to wait for several weeks. Argh.

Indeed he did not have my full test results. Some of the requests are out of the norm, so it takes a little longer to get the results than just the normal CBC. He assured me that things were probably normal and that he would only give me a follow-up call if something came back out of whack.

Well, last night after dinner Anny noticed the voicemail light blinking. Sure enough, it was my doctor calling. Just left a casual "give me a call" and nothing more. Not good. Keeping my head up, I decided, I can call him Thursday (today) and see what's up. I just tried that. He's not in on Thursdays, and is out tomorrow. Dammit, I now have to wait through the whole weekend to find out what was so wrong that he called?

Something you don't know about me, or maybe you do: I'm an optimist when it comes to other people, but the worst pessimest when it comes to me. I think I've been conditioned for it, though. On several occasions I have been feeling better than ever only to be told by the doctor that the drugs were not working right and we had to try something new. Not fun.

So, there you have it. I have the next four days to try not to freak out too much about the fact that something is wrong enough with my labs to initiate a call from my nephrologist.

'Tis the Season (UPDATED)

So, there is the passion that I have that I don't blog about often. It's one of those things that people either accept because they are with you, or are confused about because they do not.

There are things that I blog about that people get, regardless of their life. My kid. My disease. My family. If you don't have kids, you still understand that kids change everything. Same with disease. You all have families. You understand family issues.

I'm.....

I'm.....

I'm a hockey fan.

People either get it because they, too, are hockey fans, or they say "huh? they still play hockey?" It's not like football, where you can like it even if you don't. Hockey is not as easy to follow because it's much faster.

I played for several years back in high school. I have picked up playing again, though at a much MUCH less competitive level than ten years ago. (more on that in another post later)

But more than playing the sport, I just LOVE the sport. I have dragged my wife to a bar to watch Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Finals. I dragged my daughter along to her first game at the whopping age of five months. She's not yet a year old and has been to two.

I was concerned that the birth of my child might cause me to miss a game last year. Seriously. We were told the estimated due date of June 18 and on the way home I was genuinely worried that I would have to choose between the birth of my child or catching some hockey. Even worse - at a bar with my very pregnant wife and she would go into labor during the second period. I would miss then end..... It didn't happen so I was relieved.

My favorite team is the Capitals. They were terrible at Thanksgiving, but have changed things up and are in the playoffs. It's exciting to watch, even on TV.

We've had people over each of the last two weekends to watch Caps games. They play again tonight. Game 7 out of 7. Win and they move on, lose and they play golf all summer long. I'm not inviting people over, but will be up for the whole thing. Here's hoping there is no OT.

Only three hours until game time. Woo Hoo! Let's Go CAPS!

Update: April 23
The Caps lost last night. Anny say's she's not happy about it, but I think she is. She can have her evenings back. Abby was still awake for the first Caps goal, and was clapping. I think I might be creating a monster....

Giving to Charities: How do You Decide?

Okay, you've got an extra $100 earmarked for giving away. Can't buy anything tangible, it has to go to a charity of some sort. How do you decide where that money goes? It's something that we talk about from time to time.


The first part of ours goes to our church. We support the ministry that happens inside the building, and the ministry that happens outside of the walls. Our combined funds there help to fund everything from electricity for the building, to housing two families that need a place to live while they get their lives in order.


Exactly $0 goes to the county police, mostly as penance for arguing with me (!!) about the police department coverage. I didn't really need to write that, but it bothered me so much that I thought I should.


More than a year ago I implored you to help with Multiple Sclerosis. That is a disease that my mother deals with. We get a letter asking for support her in her yearly walk each spring, and we do what we can. We have given money, but it never feels like we're making a difference.


This year a friend is participating in The Breast Cancer Three Day walk. She has acknowledged that she is crazy for trying to pull off sixty miles in three days, but she's doing it because she sees women every day in her office dealing with cancer of all kinds. (Men too) My grandmother and several friends have been affected by breast cancer. Some have survived, and some have not. We will support Charlene in her walk, too.


Well, I just found out that there is a walk in May to raise money for studying kidney disease, particularly FSGS. Wait, I have FSGS! It looks like I can get a shirt if I bring them $100. That's a lot of money for a shirt. We've talked about it, but have not decided if we're going to participate. Is it weird to participate in an event aimed at helping you? Should I be allowed to have a shirt for free for being a patient? (kidding)


But there are still other great causes, some health related but lots that are not. How do you decide to split your money? Do you give to only one place? In these days of high gas prices and soaring grocery prices - have you stopped giving or cut back?

(Sorry, this post is generally all-over-the-place. It was in my head differently.)

"You're Making this Man Uncomfortable"

Time for labs - meaning getting blood drawn and peeing in a cup at my local Quest Diagnostics. Here's the thing about phlebotomists - sometimes they're great and sometimes they're painful. There really is no middle ground.

This morning I had the "pleasure" of being stuck by a woman on her second day in the office. I have to assume that she has practiced on fruit or something in the past. They DO make people practice before giving them live bodies, right? RIGHT?

One of the longer term staff was there to enter the right codes into the computer and get everything ready, but then she went to get the cup. In the meantime, newbie searched both of my arms for a good vein to stick. Once she decided on my right arm, the stuck. Then dug. Yes, one of the most awkward things in the world: someone has a sharp needle in your arm, and does figure eights with the tip to find the place they are looking for. (shudder)

The regular person came back and could see my face (must have been too blunt this time, usually I just suck it up) and said "Please let me do it, you're making this man uncomfortable." Yes, that's the word, uncomfortable.

So she stuck the other side and drew what seemed like a quart of blood. She was quick, and mostly painless. I really would like to see the turnover rate at a place like that, because I have been stuck by more people there than I have movies in the last decade!

So here I sit, fully expecting to look like a heroin addict by the end of the day with a huge bruise in my elbow. Scratch that - BOTH elbows.

I don't want to waste this story to just whine, so here are some helpful hints to having blood drawn:

• Pay attention - If you're not supposed to have food, Don't Eat! They will turn you away and you've wasted a trip.
• If you're NOT supposed to fast, go during lunch or after work. Those of us that DO have to fast are trying to get in and get out.
• If you're retired, please wait to go until later in the morning, too. I have places to be, you don't.
• DRINK WATER. This helps to sort of inflate your veins, making them easier to find, and therefore less painful for you.
• If you can't stand the sight of your own blood, don't look! Seems simple, but I still catch myself getting light headed watching myself pour out into a small tube.
• Be prepared to sit and wait. The one time that I found an office that was good at the ten minute turn around. It was because they only had like 10 clients a day. That office was closed down and I lost a great phlebotomist that day.

I know that I have some friends that get stuck more often than I do. Any other suggestions to share?

What IS God Like?

In our Parenting group we have been working through a DVD based curriculum and finished up this past weekend. One of the activities that we were supposed to do was "God is Like ......" We ended up in a laugh fest over trying to figure these things out.

I now ask you, oh Internet, how is God like: (responses from Sunday are in italics)

A) An Ipod? (holds volumes of music?)
B) Peanut Butter? (sticky, nutritious?)
C) Windex? (cleans your soul? poisonous if swallowed?)

There were a bunch of other things to compare God to, but these were the ones that stuck with me. So, what do you think for them?

Give Them a Chance

Tired of your spouse not helping around the house? In our house it is apparent that Anny does most of the traditional housework, and I do most of the traditional repairs/major housework. It is also apparent, though, that the work is more shared today than it was a year ago. What precipitated the change? We changed our attitudes.

Rather than deal with one another huffing and puffing about how little help we are getting, we have put systems into place that set each other up for success. You may remember that from Puppy Training School, but I am here to tell you that it is a great method for keeping your sanity.

For the first two (or so) years that we were married I was on a drug that, mixed with poor sleeping habits and my disease that it was supposed to fight, made me constantly exhausted. Now that I have changed drugs I have more energy, though I will still admit to one or two really bad days a month. I used to think that I was just being lazy, but that was not giving credit to the fact that, like it or not, I'm sick. Since then, though, I have picked up my fair share.

Here are some things that we have done to maintain sanity, especially through 9 months of parenting:

Laundry:
The big problem that I have with laundry is the sorting. I never learned it and it did not make sense to me that one shirt was cold and another was warm. Once things were sorted, I got more confused because I could not remember which pile got which load. When we were still in VA Anny made three post-it notes, and put it on top of the respective pile. That was helpful to us all.
Laundry #2:
In the fall we were dealing with two laundry baskets, one for us and one for Abby. This made my sorting issues even more frustrating, because there are more colors and varieties now. We made a purchase that has helped to save us both from killing each other: three hampers. Nothing expensive ($4 at Ikea) and nothing big. This has helped me to understand why things go in which basket. The BIG BONUS to this method is that you don't have to wait until the weekend to toss a load in the washing machine. When I see that one basket is getting full, I will grab it when I get home from work. Very nice system in place.

Grocery Shopping/Meal Preparation:
I can not stress enough how much meal planning has helped our budgeting and sanity, all at once! On Friday we decide what we want to eat for the week ahead. Hopefully this is done as a team, because one person deciding what the family wants is not helpful to everyone.

The big advantage is that everyone has a say. If you don't feel like chicken next week, it's your job to come up with something that you DO want. I also don't get to be authoritarian about what we should eat, and it gives us assurances for variety. (Yes, I would like pizza Monday and calzones Tuesday. Just some garlic bread on Thursday would be cool too..) Once Abby is old enough to help in the kitchen, she will be included in making the lists and helping all around.

It also makes grocery shopping a lot easier. If I have had a hand in figuring out what we're eating next week, it makes it easier for me to go to the grocery store on the way home. (which is much better than Anny detouring with Abby in tow.)


These are two examples, but this post has been sitting as Draft for weeks so I'm publishing. What other ways have you figured out to set up your significant other for success around the house?