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The Great Day of Stuffing

Thanksgiving is always a crazy day for me and Jason. Due to the proximity of our families, we try to make an appearance at both of their dinners. In theory this seems feasible but it is not as easy in practice. We spend the day jolting from dinner to dinner, trying to convince ourselves that somehow we really can eat more food, even though we just consumed mass quantities of it. It’s hectic, but we’re glad at least that we are close enough to make this nuttiness possible.

The yummy 4-layer pumpkin cake with caramel sauce I made.
The yummy 4-layer pumpkin cake with caramel sauce I made.

This year, my family assembled at my parents’ house, as usual, for a delicious Thanksgiving lunch. After we stuffed our faces we walked to the park to enjoy the sunny, but surprisingly frigid, day.

Jas is such a goof ball!
Jas is such a goof ball!
Our nephew Jadon chilling on the playground.
Our nephew Jadon chilling on the playground.
Benson and Miles having a blast!
Benson and Miles having a blast!

When we unthawed from our park experience it was time for some serenading. My niece, nephews, and sisters all played their various musical instruments; I have a very musically inclined family. We got to listen, and sing along to, a diverse assortment of violin, cello, guitar, banjo, viola, and piano pieces. Although Jason has never taken a music lesson in his life and he has absolutely no musical ability whatsoever-if you have been unfortunate enough to hear him sing then you know what I mean-he didn’t want to be left out. He played Joy to the World on his iPhone ocarina for us. (Yes, just like in Zelda.) Sometimes that boy goes above and beyond geeky.

Jas playing his iPhone ocarina.
Jas playing his iPhone ocarina.

It was another fun, but super busy, holiday for us!

Rachel December 14, 2008 3 Comments

An Ankle Update: Three Months Baby!

It’s been three months since I had my ankle surgery and my life is slowly returning to normal. Here’s what’s up on the ankle front.

My foot no longer looks like it belongs on the Stay-Puffed marshmallow man. The swelling has decreased dramatically and is now confined to the area surrounding my ankle bone.

My scar is a lovely shade of purple-pink. It’s still very noticeable but I’m okay with that since it is no longer open and raw.

My Lovely Scar
My Lovely Scar

I have to wear my awesome ankle brace anytime I go out of the house but I get to take it off when I’m home and I don’t have to wear it to bed. Sleeping without a cast, boot, or brace! It’s absolutely sublime! I also no longer need to keep my foot elevated on pillows at night. Yeah, I can actually sleep again!

I still can’t do any weight-bearing exercises but I can ride a stationary bike (with the brace on) or go swimming. I cycle on the stationary bike about three times a week. I have dearly missed exercise and I’m glad to have it back in my life in any form-even if riding the stationary bike is pretty boring compared to the activities I’m used to doing for exercise.

My left calve is still visibly smaller than my right. It doesn’t jiggle like a bowl of Jell-O gone awry anymore, but its muscle mass is pathetically petite and not quite the right shape. Hopefully, in a couple months it will be back to normal and ready for soccer and snowboarding again.

My handicapped parking pass expires tomorrow. Although I will miss the convenience this pass offered, I’m excited that my foot is well enough not to need it anymore. Jason, on the other hand, is not excited at all about its upcoming expiration. He’s grown rather accustomed to parking remarkably close to everything and doesn’t want to give up his newly acquired laziness. The poor boy won’t be able to profit from my pain anymore-how sad! I almost feel bad for him.

Although the loss of my parking pass troubles Jason exceedingly, he is excited that I will be handing the keys to our new Maxima over to him. The three-month mark means I should be able to drive my manual again. Admittedly, I’m not thrilled to give up the Maxima; it’s incredibly fun to drive. Jas definitely deserves a sweet ride though, so I might shed a few tears, but I will let him have his car back.

Just three more months to go until my ankle, theoretically, should be as good as new!

Rachel November 30, 2008 4 Comments

On the Town with the Twerds

For years many members of my gender have been telling me I need to read the Twilight series but I always abstained due to my meager amount of free-time. However, since my recent foot surgery forced me to be off my feet a great deal more than is customary for me, I decided to start reading these books.

Although they definitely don’t compare-as far as thought provoking complexity goes-to literature classics, they were perfect for distracting me in my immobile state. It’s easy to see why many a girl has been sucked into the tapestry of the fictional world weaved by Meyers. I too quickly became hooked.

Since I can now consider myself a Twerd, (stands for Twilight Nerd for those of you who aren’t geeky enough to understand) I was excited to be part of a large group of friends going to see the Twilight movie together, so excited in fact that I decided to buy a very geeky Twilight t-shirt and hoodie to wear to this event. After all, if you are going to be involved in nerdery, you might as well do it with pizzazz.

Oh the nerdery!
Oh the nerdery!

As far as the movie goes, for those of you who have not yet seen it, it was satisfying enough. The special effects were definitely sub-par; they reminded me of something you would see on a sci-fi channel original series rather than a major motion picture. I also thought James died way too easily and without much of struggle-for someone who was supposed to be incredibly tough it definitely didn’t work. And Jasper, what’s up with the constipated look? He was so rigid the whole movie. He keeps his distance in the book but he has a warm personality. That certainly was not how he was conveyed in the movie. Even though, after reading the book, the movie seems to fly by, only skimming on the surface of what the book dives into, I was pleased with all the principal characters. I thought they came through with the essence of the book. So if you are a fan of the books, I think you will like the movie despite its flaws.

I’m hoping, after how much money this movie makes, they will have a bigger budget on the next one, and we won’t have to witness those horrendous special effects again.

Rachel November 23, 2008 2 Comments
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