Our Govenor

I had the news on this afternoon and saw the live coverage of Blago's speech to the IL senate. He is such a cry baby! His main argument was that issues brought before the senate were from his first term and that the trial rules were unfair. He did nothing to dispute most of the charges against him, he just railed about his background and how he has always tried to do what's best for the people.
If he was really trying to do what's best for the people of IL, why doesn't he spend more time in Springfield, the state capital? Shouldn't the leader of a state government actually spend time in the same city where the state congress meets?

Open Air MRI

Now that I've had two MRIs, I have to say that I like the Open Air version MUCH better. The facility at Ogden and Rt 83 in Westmont is very nice. My technician today was Erin and she was fabulous.
The open air machine is a lot less noisy than the closed machine at the hospital and Erin did a great job of communicating with me about what was happening next and how long each shot would take. She even did a really good job of injecting the dye into my arm.

We have a good dentist

I had to go to the dentist today to begin the process to have a crown replaced. I've had crowns for a long time and have had 3 dentists prior to today work on my teeth. The dentist I have now is the best! His name is Dr. McGuire in Downers Grove and he is very patient and observant. He noticed that the one shot on anesthetic didn't work and gave me additional shots until I no longer felt anything.
Another thing he does that I like; he splits the crown replacement into 3 appointments to minimize the stress and to get the best fit for the crown. If anyone needs a dentist in the Western suburbs, I'd definitely recommend this guy!

GE Money Bank

If any of you out there are customers of GE Money bank (you are if you have JC Penny or Lowes credit cards), I hope you NEVER need anything from them above basic customer service.
My poor Mom has had to call them twice in the past week regarding accounts that aren't hers, but are showing up on her credit report. She's not doing ANYTHING wrong, she's just trying to let them know that there is a reporting issue so that it can get fixed. Well, both time she has called the employees of the GE Money bank fraud department have been rude, but the lady today takes the cake. She YELLED at my Mom over the phone and accused my Mom of committing fraud by calling them. The lady was so terrible rude, she had Mom in tears and worried that she has done something wrong......
We currently don't have any accounts with GE Money Bank and we never will if we can help it.

Ebay

I am amazed at what people will bid on in an Ebay auction. My husband had currency left over from a trip to Europe that is obsolete because of the conversion to the Euro. He wanted to throw it away, but I told him we should but it out on Ebay hoping to get just a few dollars for it.... The last time I checked, the bidding was up to $18.
Getting stuff out on ebay and dealing with the shipping, etc can be a big pain, but it can pay off big sometimes.

Pediatrician Visit

Today was a well baby visit for our little girl and she did great... right up until it was time for her to get poked. Poor kid had 4 sticks.... one in her finger to test for anemia, one in her arm to test for TB, and one in each leg for vaccines. I felt terrible because after getting her calmed down from the vaccines, I had to lay her back down on the table to get her pants on and she didn't like that. I think she expected more shots.

Our New President

We watched the inauguration today, a big chunk of it anyway. I turned the coverage off after President Obama gave his speech and the Bushes left the Capitol. I was very impressed with the grace with which everyone involved handled themselves during the ceremony. It will be interesting to see how history judges President Bush and how long President Obama's honeymoon period lasts. Right now, the media and most of our country is in love with our new President. I hope that he is able to do all of the things he is saying he would like to do, but it's hard to tell what will happen.

A doctor shouldn't laugh

I went to my alternative therapies doctor on Friday. After I left I decided that was my first, last, and only treatment session with him. During the course of our treatment session I was concerned that he was focused on everything but the Bell's Palsy. At the end of our session, I was asking questions and when I showed him the things I was most concerned about (again) he laughed at me. One of the hardest things about having Bell's Palsy is the emotional impact of not being able to use your face, being in pain, etc. Having a doctor who is supposed to help you laugh at you is really hard... and unacceptable.

Finding a babysitter

Up until now, my MIL has been our primary baby sitter. But, I am getting ready to start physical therapy again and she is scheduled to have another knee replacement in mid February. I may need to find a back up sitter, but I have no idea of where to start looking.
I go back to the doctor tomorrow (that's the current plan anyway) to find out what the treatment plan is, so I'll have more information then as to how often I need a sitter.

Little Miracles

I was looking out our patio door this morning and noticed little miracles out in the snow. We had several cardinals flying around in our backyard. It seemed like there were 5 or 6 of them...I saw at least 3 bright red males and a couple of females. They must be sturdy little birds to brave the freezing temperatures. I hope they have a warm place to nest!

Cold Weather Coming

It looks like little girl and I will be spending a lot of time at home this coming week. Tomorrow (Monday) is supposed to be the warmest day of the next 5 and the high is going to be 30 degrees. There a couple of days this week that are supposed to be in the single digits. That's just too cold to take a baby out in, especially now that she's out grown the infant carrier.
I shouldn't complain though, I'm lucky that I have the option of staying home with her. There are plenty of Moms out there that don't have a choice. They will be packing their cute little ones up in their snow suits and heading off in the bitter cold each morning.

Scary History Essays

I spent the day reading history essays written by 8th graders about the Gettysburg address. Lets just say that I was less than impressed with some of the discussions about the ideals contained within President Lincoln's address and how those ideals impact us today. Most of these students have been taught that the civil war was strictly about slavery and many students tried to make correlations between the civil war and the conflicts the US is involved in today. It was just really disheartening to think this is what our children are being taught about our history.

Bell's Palsy Update

It's been 9 1/2 months since my Bell's Palsy started and I'm still struggling with recovery. My face LOOKS normal when it's at rest, but my mouth isn't really right yet. Also, in the research I've done, I've figured out that I have synkensis. Synkensis is a problem for people who have had long recoveries from Bell's... Basically, what happens with Synkensis is the nerve fibers connect to the wrong muscles and incorrect movements happen along with correct movements. For me, that means my mouth moves when I raise my eyebrows.
I've done some research and have found exercises to try, so I'm going to start there. I would also like to find a physical therapist who specializes in Bell's and the residual impacts, but I don't know where to start.

Sore from the Wii

I received a Wii fit for Christmas and have been trying to do that on a regular basis. So far this week, I've used it to exercise for about 30 minutes each morning and I am feeling it in my hips and waist. I'm really surprised at how much work that little "toy" can make you do.

Illinois Senate Seat

Our crooked Governor decided to appoint Roland Burres to the IL Senate seat vacated by the president elect. Since the governor hasn't been convicted of anything (yet) and Mr. Burres has only been accused of bad judgement for accepting the appointment, he should have been able to take the oath of office with the other new senators today, but he was denied his seat.
I really think that the Senate leadership is making a mistake by trying to deny Mr. Burres his seat. Our country is faced with numerous issues at the moment and this issue is taking much needed attention away from those other, greater, concerns.

Distressed

My Mom called today to find out if I'd gotten test results back and the conversation came around to when and if hubby and I were thinking about trying for baby number 2. I mentioned that we were thinking about starting to try before our little girl turns 2. She was a little negative about the idea...talking about how difficult it can be if the first baby isn't potty trained when the second is born. Considering that I just turned 30 and hubby is 35, I was surprised about how negative she was about the idea of us having kids who would be 2 1/2 to 3 years apart in age.

Lost Wedding Ring

We were at a New Year's Eve party and my husband realized he didn't have his wedding ring on. He really thought he'd put it on before we left for the party, so we looked high and low to see if he could find it. It wasn't anywhere at the party or in the car, so we had to wait until we got home to look more. When we got home, we found hubby's ring, right where he left it on his dresser.