On the Mend!

Oops. I really didn’t mean to be gone from here for so long. It wasn’t until I spotted my email from Katy Blogless checking to see if I was ok that I realized how long it had been! Everything seems to be a blur when you’re not living your life by the calendar.

Speaking of emails, my mailbox has gone craaaaaaaaazy and the hosting company & I are going in rounds to get it fixed. Basically, sometimes I can get my email in Outlook, and sometimes I can’t. This, of course, is super frustrating. It also means that if you write me, I may not see your email. Or I may see it days later when the server decides to finally let Outlook download my email. I have actually been answering business email on my phone most of the time – which is not as fun as it might sound.

Ok, back to the update. Where was I? I think a list is in order.

— iPhone: Speaking of phones, I didn’t mention it here but the day after the two weddings, as Mike was driving me home, I started talking about the iPhone. He was scoping out my BlackBerry Pearl, and before I knew it he was telling me that I had shot two weddings the day before and if I wanted an iPhone we could stop at the AT&T store to pick it up. I think I might have been a bit delirious when I agreed. It did save me when I was in the hospital though, as there was no public access to their WiFi network, so even though I could see it, I couldn’t get online. I got online on my phone though, and fed my Flickr addiction in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. Isn’t it ironic that you get the worst sleep in a hospital?

— Post-op progress: I was having just general healing pain last week. Years ago when they removed my right ovary, I developed a lot of scar tissue that the doctor cleaned up when he did this surgery. Weird thing is, the right side is where I have more pain. Hm. I have finally made it to the point where I can stand up from the couch without help. I can move the laptop off of my lap. (Sliding inches, not lifting.) I spoke with his office yesterday and got clearance to drive at the 3 week mark instead of having to wait 4 weeks, as long as I’m not on painkillers then. I also got permission to do my engagement session photoshoot that I had booked on December 8th, as long as it is limited to 2 hours and I have someone else carry my extra gear.

— Sitting Still: Yes, it is official. I can’t sit still. I am now at the point where I’m getting edgy just staying in the house all the time. I have completed my full round of antibiotics though, and have clearance also to return to visiting the real world. (I just can’t drive.) My doctor must have missed that I am self-employed on my info sheet in my chart, because he said again yesterday that as long as I was working an office job where I spent all day on the computer, I could return to work if I felt up to it. I pointed out that I do spend a good portion of the day on the computer, but it is at home fortunately, so the no-driving thing works ok.

— Thanksgiving: We spent most of Thanksgiving at my parent’s house. My Mom made a fabulous meal, and I was lucky enough to be sent home with leftovers too! Mmm… I’m craving stuffing just thinking about it. It was a nice day, although it was my first day out of the house so I had to go and take a mid-day nap. (In addition to all the remodel work they have done in the past year, they also got a new bed. A super-duper comfy bed. I may have to return to nap on that bed in the future! Haha!)

— Day After Thanksgiving: No, I did NOT go shopping on Black Friday. Mike did go out and pick up two 500gb external drives – a whole terrabyte of space! Sweet! I need that for archiving all the wedding photos. He also picked up a few stocking stuffers. Later that day, we went to Mariely & Mauro’s wedding ceremony. I was originally supposed to be photographing their wedding, but that was no longer an option after the surgery. Once again, I am *SO* thankful for Elaine! She not only shot their engagement session along with Jeff who filled in for me the day after my surgery, but she was also shot their wedding and along with my friend Jesus Tirso of Decca Photography. It gave me such peace of mind knowing that Mauro & Mariely were in such good hands. Mauro & I worked together years ago at the evil web design firm known by us now as Scamatech, and I was really looking forward to their wedding day. We’re going to get together to do a “Day After” session in a few weeks though when I’m all better, and I’m glad I was able to attend their wedding ceremony! (I skipped the reception — I know myself well enough to know I would have never left!)

— The Emergency Wedding: While I’m wrapping up proofing Mercedes & Tim’s wedding from November 10th, I met with Lauren & her mother, Tami, on Monday — the bride from the other November 10th wedding. They came over to the Panera right by our house, and Mike drove me over there. We looked through their wedding photos, the wedding packages and album options. It was so great to have a chance to talk with them! Since all of my packages contain an engagement session, we’re actually going to convert that to an “Extreme Bridal” session! Whee! Lauren is having her dress cleaned since someone got wine on it the night of her wedding, and Dante will get all dressed up in a nice suit for us, and we’re going to go out and PLAY! I’m so stoked for this, I can’t wait! Really, it is something I would like to see all of my brides do in the future – I think the resulting photos are just so awesome. Meanwhile, they haven’t received the refund yet from the no-show photographer, but they are definitely actively working on it!

I think that pretty much wraps everything up. While I’m working on getting better, the past day or so Jason has complained of not feeling well. Elaine also stayed home from work today because she is feeling sick. It is that time of year when everyone ends up with the winter crud – so I’m trying to avoid them all! Coughing is still very painful (you never realize what you use your ab muscles for until you can’t), so I really, really don’t want to get sick!