Deep in the Heart of Texas

“Never ask a man if he's from Texas. If he is, he'll tell you on his own.

If he ain't, no need to embarrass him.”

 

So, last weekend Randy and I got to go to Texas. He had a safety conference and I went along to see our son, Jesse, and his wife Amanda. We flew into San Antonio on Saturday evening and drove up to Austin to their apartment. The four of us decided to go and get something to eat. We ended up eating at a place (Gourdoughs) that has huge unsweetened donuts in all the dishes.  It was really good. Randy had a hamburger and the potato chips that came with it were unbelievable – they were homemade, were thick and unsalted. Jesse, Amanda and I had desserts – donuts with fruit toppings and whipped cream. They were so big and so good! We stayed at their place for the night.

Sunday morning real early Jesse had to go to work, and around 10am Amanda had roller derby practice. Randy and I went to the local church meeting from 9-12. It’s wonderful to be able to go to a Mormon church anywhere in the world and the meetings and doctrine are all the same. The people there were wonderful. We all got back to the apartment a little after noon. We drove to one of the national parks there and walked around for awhile. One of the trails led to a couple of small waterfalls. At one point we saw a bunch of turtles lying in the sun. Then we drove around downtown, past the Capitol building (it was closed) and the University there. When we got back to their apartment Jesse made omelets for everyone for dinner. They were great. After some more visiting, Randy and I headed back to San Antonio. 

We checked into our hotel that evening, the Valencia. It was downtown and just a few blocks from the River Walk. It was very nice – but everything was so dark! The lobby was dark and there was a waterfall that was so loud that we could hardly understand the person at the check-in desk. The hallways were not lit well, and the lights in our room were all low. I couldn’t tell if they were just trying to set a mood, they were trying to save on the electric bill, or if it was so old they didn’t want anyone looking too close! Pictures on the web aren’t dark at all!

Our room

Online picture

Randy was going to work on a Habitat for Humanity house on Monday morning with other guys from the safety conference, but they were driving everyone in a bus there and he didn’t think he could get back in time to drive me to the airport, so he didn’t go. Instead, we worked out in the exercise room for an hour, showered and then walked along the River Walk for awhile. After that we went and got some lunch. Then Randy drove me to the airport and I flew home. He will fly home on Wednesday afternoon after the conference is over. 

It was nice to get away for a couple of days, great to see family, and wonderful to be warm and soak up some vitamin D from the sun!

Olympics - here I come!

First – my hip. Originally I was supposed to go to the physical therapist twice a week starting a few weeks after my surgery. I told her I wanted all the therapy to go fast because I had ‘busy times’ coming, plus I just didn’t want it to drag on. I don’t think she was too impressed. Anyway, that was on a Wednesday. She asked “Do you want to come back on Friday or wait until Monday?” I opted for Monday. She had me doing exercises twice a day. When I went back in the next Monday, she was so impressed with the fact that I actually DID my exercises, and I was progressing so well that she said I didn’t have to come back for 2 weeks! Woo-hoo!  I was doing the exercises that she had assigned me to do, plus adding about 30 minutes a day on my stationary bike. (I wanted to start doing the treadmill, but we had to get a new walking tread for it since the one on it was really frayed and starting to get holes. We ordered one, and then it took Randy about a week to put it on and finally get everything correct so that it wasn’t making a lot of noise.) 

Anyway, I also slowly started adding my regular stretch and strengthening exercises. When I went back two weeks later, she was again impressed and said she would send the results (they measured my range again) up to my doctor. I had an appointment with him that week and he said everything looked good enough that I wouldn’t need to see him again!! I am still going to do the exercises the physical therapist gave me for another month (my hip should be fully healed by then) and add time to the bike and treadmill. I don’t think I’ll be in the Olympics any time soon, but I am so excited to be almost healed. :)

8 months pregnant

Second - Part of the ‘busy times’ come this weekend. Randy is flying to Colorado and then driving a moving truck back here. My daughter Ingrid, who is 8+ months pregnant (with a daughter), will be coming to stay for awhile along with her 20 month old son. Her husband, Jeff, and their 2 dogs will follow in a few weeks. We will definitely have a full house! It will actually be fun to have a toddler and a newborn around, but I’m not as young as I used to be! I hope I can keep up.

Lastly – I have a CD out!

For Christmas I always try to do something extra for my kids, and this year I decided to make a CD. It has a bunch of songs that I sing lead on, and a few duets with Randy. They are all original songs that Randy wrote. Randy will put all the songs up on Root Note (which puts it on ITunes, Amazon, etc.) where they can be bought and downloaded one at a time, or I have the entire CD for sale. They will be $10 each, or $13 if I have to send it through the mail. Just email me (kmundy@digis.net)  – I am not doing this through paypal right now. Think – stocking stuffer! ; )

The ghosts of Halloweens past

In honor of Halloween this year, I have posted a few pictures of Randy and I from this holiday long ago. We used to enjoy dressing up and going to parties – and then life happened!

1982 – Raggedy Ann and Andy

1983 – Obi-wan-Kenobi and Princess Leia

 

1983 – I worked in the Primary and dressed up as a cowboy for a party we had

1985 – Lois Lane and Clark Kent (notice our 3 oldest kids around us!)

 

1988 – Papa Smurf and a mummy

1989 – Moses and a housewife

 

 For those of you that dress up, or those who just hand out the candy - have a great Halloween!

Update and Surgery

“I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for.” 

                                              ~James H. Boren

My last post was about Randy’s health. We found out that he is in the beginning stages of both kidney disease and diabetes, but they can both be reversed with diet. He has lost 20 pounds so far and walks on the treadmill 45-60 minutes 5 days a week. His neuropathy (where it feels like pins and needles are sticking in his feet) is still bothering him especially at night, so he built a footboard for our bed because he has found that if he has something to push against, he gets relief.  Then he can fall asleep. 

I finally got tired of the pain in my right hip. I can’t run, and walking hurts if I go very far. It even hurts to walk through a grocery store. So, after x-rays and an MRI, it was decided that I had a small bone growth on my femoral head (the ball part of the hip bone in the socket). The doctor said that it had probably been that way for 40 years, but I am just noticing it now because of my age. Not that I’m OLD – but I’m not a spring chicken anymore, either!  

My younger sister, Wendy, flew in from California on Friday evening and was here to make meals, get my mom her meals, drive my oldest sister to and from work, take that sister to the bank and store, and get me whatever I needed. Her help was invaluable and I will forever be indebted to her! 

Wendy

Becky

One other sister, Becky, was here for awhile on Saturday from Las Vegas and made several meals that she put in the freezer for us to use in the next week or so. I had also put up about a week and a half worth of meals so that I wouldn’t have to cook for awhile. 

So, last Friday morning the doctor went into my hip joint using a small camera through one incision (arthroscopy) and small tools through another incision, cleaned up torn labrum, took off a few bone spurs, and shaved off a small part of my bone. I never did have any swelling at the site of the two incisions, but just a little bruising the 5^th day after surgery. I only had to take pain pills for 3 days and ibuprofen for a day or so after that. I feel really lucky on both points. I got tired of using crutches after a few days, but the doctor had said that I would need to use them for 3 weeks. When I saw the doctor 6 days after surgery, everything looked great, but he still said that he wanted me to use crutches for a couple of more weeks. It’s an insurance-thing, I think. Yuk.

Anyway, Randy and I are on the mend and we are looking forward to being 100% again.

“Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died” ~ Erma Bombeck