september visitors

sorry about the lack of blogging lately. i've been really busy at work, and then when i come home the last thing i want to do is be on the computer. i'm sure you understand how it goes...

a few weeks ago we were lucky enough to have the new mr. & mrs. wech (justin and angie) stay at our humble abode for a long weekend. we didn't really do too much. but that was part of the fun of it, just lounging, talking, and being together. there was wine tasting (girls only), beer tasting (all), basketball (boys), a walk around Greenlake (girls), a visit to alkai beach (all), and a lot of talking.

one of my favorite parts of our visit was that angie and i traded skill sets. she taught me crochet (i'm amazed at her paticence), while i taught her knitting. how fun! how little-house-on-the-prairie of us!

i really wish we could live in the same city at some point (or state). but maybe the fact that we live so far apart, is part of what makes it so much fun to see each other. it's a rare, fun, celebratory event.

i miss them already. *sigh

amazing vision

yesterday i was the day i got lasik. i'm not going to lie, i was really scared. but everyone at clearly lasik was really warm and understanding. i didn't have to wait long before my name was called and aaron and i went into the back room and discussed payment. they really tried to work for me to get it as cheap as they could. they even gave me the "teacher's discount" (because i work at a university), which saved me $500. then she went over all of the medicated drops i need to put in my eye. it's pretty intense. i have 3 kinds of drops that go in at different intervals. i have a running tally on the white erase board that helps me keep track. i then chewed up my valium and waited in the "relaxation suite". i probably waited there for about 30 minutes, while the valium took effect. the butterflies definitely went away, and i started to get drowsy. then my name was called

i laid down and numbing drops were applied to my eyes. there were two nurses in the "operational suite" with me and they were really good about counting things down for me and using reassuring words. my left eye was taped down and the began on my right eye. the doctor had to talk to me a bit to get me to relax a bit more. there was a lot of pressure that went to black, then i could blurrily see the laser. i looked into the light and there as a lot of clicking, then the smell of burnt hair. this would have scared me, but the nurses prepped me so i knew to expect it. once the laser quit clicking the doctor replaced my corneal flap. then the same routine with the left eye.

once i was done the doctor quickly looked at my eyes through a magnifying machine to make sure things looked alright (he had to remove a rogue eyelash). then i was sent along my merry way. by this time the valium had me in it's grip and i don't remember a whole lot. aaron got me home safely and i slept for 6 straight hours. when i woke up, i could see. no joke. it was amazing.

this morning i went to my first post-opt appointment and my vision tested out at 20/20. perfect! and it looked like both of my eyes are healing wonderfully. my aftercare is essentially eye drops constantly for a week, no eye make up for a week, no swimming for two weeks, and no rubbing my eyes. i also get to sleep with goggles for the next week so i won't accidentally rub them in my sleep.

hurray! this is so totally worth it. never was there any pain...i know a few friends who have been thinking about getting this done. feel free to ask me any/all questions. i would love to help you!

clearly anxious

yesterday i had my free consultation at clearly lasik in renton. i was feeling pretty anxious, but the staff there quickly made me feel at ease. they ran a series of tests on my eyes measuring all sorts of things from pupil dilation size, to cornea thickness, and the stability of my prescription. as it turns out...i'm a strong candidate for lasik! i'm not going to lie, there was a small part of me that wanted to not be a candidate. that way i could not go through with it, but at least i could say i tried.

i've already scheduled the lasik for next thursday, august 27th at 9:30 am. i figured the sooner i could get an appointment, the better. less chance of chickening out. i'm of course nervous, anxious, scared, but for the most part i'm really excited. my doctor has 50,000 lasik surgeries under his belt, so he's been through this a few times. also, 95% of people are happy with their lasik results. i keep repeating these statistics through my head. send calming, positive vibes my way, please.

hurricane andy

andy visited seattle this weekend. we knew he was probably coming sometime in august, but last thursday he let us know that he was coming on friday. the last few days have been a whirlwind of fun, laughs, and well, andy.

saturday was full of the normal (well, normal for us) saturday things. bocce, brunch, beer, and a bbq at the weekly home. an exciting hightlight was that i went with my friend, theresa to get her nose pierced. it appeared to be less painful than i had imagined it would be. i'm glad i went with her because i would be interested in getting it done sometime. i think the tiny diamond studs are very pretty.

sunday we went for an 8 mile hike to blanca lake. i'm not going to lie, the first 3 miles the beauty was lost on me. the trail gains 3,000 feet of elevation in just under 3 miles. this, to me, is significant. i also learned that my definition of the word "slow" is different from others (note to self: work on cardio so you aren't so pathetic). after all the climbing, i did finally appreciate the setting. the lake was an amazing bluish-green aqua color. really, stunning. probably one of the prettiest lakes i'd ever seen.

monday it was difficult to move. it has been awhile since i've been this sore. i wasn't alone though, andy was sore, too. spry aaron was left unscathed. it's tuesday and i'm still sore. this is probably good for me. i believe it is called "character building".