The Center of Iowa

Blogging today from the center and capital of Iowa - Des Moines. Speed TV is on in the background, as we're watching the F1 Monaco race. A few of my favorites are in the points, but unfortunately my picks for the week did poorly. B, a co-worker of his and myself have a friendly bet going on (mostly for bragging rights) where we picked two drivers for each race based on skill level and teams. Too complex to describe...but I'm now in 3rd. Yikes, hopefully the next few drives will bring me better luck! I hate to lose, even if it is "fantasy racing." As the only girl I need to hold my own here.

Just arrived in Iowa late yesterday. The plan was to originally leave Friday, but I had a bone scan at CCF that took five hours. They give you an injection of this dye, take a few motion scans, then you have to kill time for four hours while it goes through your system. Then you go back for the series of 10 minute scans. Now the purpose of the scan is to look for fractures, healing, deterioration or cancerous bone. If there are issues with the bone, the dye they injection sticks to the bone and makes it look florescent on the scans. They did scans of my low back and legs - and the low back looked quite "green." They showed scans to the head doctor in the department, who also wanted to do a CAT/CT scan of my entire mid section so they could lay those on top of the bone scan results. Which was a little odd, since I had a CT scan two weeks ago. So, they either found something, or the glob of metal in my back skewed things. Unless my doc calls me sooner I have to wait until June 11th to find out, so no use worrying about things.

So B and I got on the road at 6:15am Saturday, and it was a good trip. We used our EZ Pass in Indiana and Illinois, and that was real slick - and a time saver. Checked into our Des Moines hotel, then drove another 45 minutes to have dinner with B's mom. She looks great, and we had a good time. We'll be here today and Monday, then head to Iowa City Monday night. Tuesday morning we're stopping by the farm to see Grandma G., then we make the long drive home.

I know most people think Iowa is flat and boring, but it's really quite beautiful. If we had the money, I'd buy property here. The trees, rolling hills, creeks and ponds....it's so serene. I see the land for the beauty it holds, and I'm reminded of my Grandpa G., who worked his small part of this land for 80 years of his life. Though he traveled often to see his kids (and often my family as we were the big "movers"), he was happiest here, working on and living off the land. Though I'm a city girl, I will always have a great appreciation for the beauty this land holds; it's my second home.

I digress. Off I go, as we should be heading off for our visit. Wishing everyone a great and safe Memorial Day weekend.

In Hiding

My blogs have been few and far between lately, but with my current workload it's been difficult to find the time. The new job is going well, and I'm finally feeling comfortable with my responsibilities and tasks. I've already been able to make some very visible changes in our department, and the feedback I'm getting from management and staff is positive. There are still many challenges to face, so it will continue to be a very busy year. At least I'm having fun and the days do fly by when I'm there. Work life is good.

Personally, B and I are keeping busy. B finished his spring semester with two A's, so that was awesome. He's doing well in the MBA program and I'm obviously proud of him. Graduation date will be Dec. 2009, so that will be here in no time. We went to Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago for a change of scenery, and to try out our new EZ-Pass device. We decided to get an "EZ" after our trip to D.C., since it is a pain to have to pay tolls all of the time. We rarely carry cash, so it's even more of an inconvenience. We can use the pass in 12-something states, including Indiana and Illinois, so it's worth it. We're going to Iowa for Memorial Day, so that will definitely be a time and money saver for us. The device did work, and we did find a few good buys in Pittsburgh. We also decided to never use I-376 again, since the last two times we have they closed off whole sections of the interstate, leaving us to sit in the car for over two hours trying to get through the detour.

Not too much else going on. I did have my appointment with a neurologist, who has an interest in my case. That was a great thing, to not have yet another doc turn me away. The best part was he is to-the-point, honest/blunt, and made me feel very understood and cared about. He was disgusted about the lack of tests and response from previous docs, so he put together an action plan. Had a CT and EMG on Friday; a bone scan was scheduled for the 23rd. He also gave me Lidoderm patches for pain, and another medication which I only took once before it made me so ill I had to miss a day of work. I feel like I'm on the right track with this guy, and am looking forward to what the results show.

That's about it. Will be heading to Iowa at the end of the month, and probably heading to Athens, OH at some point soon to visit my brother. And though I keep forgetting about it, I do turn 32 this week, so this will probably be my last "31" post. I still feel young, and like I have time to accomplish things, so I'm not to worried about it. Now when I turn 35...then some panic might kick in.

Mother's Day '08

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom, grandma's (the great one and the not-so-great one) and all of the special mom's I know out there.

What does today hold? Pretty low key stuff - a late lunch at Mallorca with the family, minus my brother since he's stuck down at college. A few cards/gifts, then who knows? With rain in the forecast, it limits the options. Both of my parents have 60th birthday's this year AND their 40th anniversary, so I'm really focusing my bigger efforts on those. Dad's birthday was in January, but Mom's is in September so I'm still in planning mode. My best stuff will be then.

Have a great day, everyone!