{baby showers & 21st birthdays!}

This past weekend was all sorts of important events/milestones. Brielle's baby shower was so much fun, and Baby 'C' got lots of clothes & other goodies! =)

After Brielle's shower, I went with my family to pick up my brother. He's living in Chicago now, so my mom flew him home for his 21st birthday =)

{visit to the neurosurgeon.}

Well, let's just say my visit with the Neurosurgeon didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Apparently the herniated disc isn't compressing any nerves, therefore it is not causing the pain, numbness, tingling & cramping in my legs/back/hip/groin. Wonderful. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the issue isn't something to do with my spine, however now I'm pretty much back to square one (or 2, since at least I do know about the herniated disc.) The doctor is pretty convinced the nerve damage is in my pelvis, and is more than likely from my first surgery when they removed my tube--the second surgery only made everything worse. The problem now is that my ob-gyn has said the problem is not from my surgery, my primary care doctor says it's my herniated disc & Piriformis Syndrome & my physical therapist says the same thing, and the Neurosurgeon says it's not my spine. I believe the Neurosurgeon. Not just because of his expertise, but because my pain originated in my groin and then gradually spread everywhere else. He started me on Lryica (a nerve blocker) to see if that relieves any of the pain. If it doesn't help within the next two weeks he will begin a series of nerve tests & then I will see a Neurologist.

I guess we will see what happens from here..

golf.

I went golfing with Alan today.. and it was hot. That is all.

{fourth of july weekend.}

We had a lot of fun this weekend! We went to dinner Saturday night at Blue Marlin, and then went to see Eclipse, and after that we went to Frankie’s and played putt-putt. We left for Savannah Sunday morning and got down there around 10:00 and decided to take Bella to the park and down River Street. We attempted to go to Tybee Island, but traffic was absolutely INSANE! So we went to the hotel and they let us check in early. The hotel was really, really nice and we had an awesome view of the bridge J We went to lunch at B&D Burger joint .. of course I had a slaw dog with chili though J And afterwards we took a nap at the hotel. We went down to River Street for the fireworks and other celebrations. We attempted to eat dinner down there, but after an hour of waiting for our food (peel and eat shrimp & fried shrimp) we left. So, we watched the fireworks and then just ordered room service at the hotel with Bella! Monday after check out we decided to go to Hunting Island since they allow pets. We went up in the lighthouse there and took Bella in the ocean for the first time! She didn’t quite know what to think of it though. Finally, Alan and I ate at Johnson Creek Tavern. They had the BEST shrimp! …And then we came homeJ And that’s the end of our trip!

bucket list.

On the way back from Savannah yesterday Alan and I got to talking about all of the things we want to do before we die. SO, here is my new & improved "bucket list." It's not finished, but what I already have will keep me busy (and broke) for the next 100 years. I have already flown hundreds of times in my life (my dad is in the aviation industry) so I have been to every state in the US (minus Hawaii and Alaska) and I have seen a great deal of things in our country =) Now it's time to explore the rest of the world! The majority of the things on my list I want to experience with our kids once we have them & they are old enough to understand & appreciate where we go. 

• Get married
• Go skydiving
• Visit New York City
• Have a slice of REAL New York style pizza
• Go to the top of Rockefeller Center
• Walk through Central Park
• Climb a mountain
• Give a heartfelt surprise to someone
• Make a difference in someone’s life
• Perform a kind deed to at least 5 strangers without expecting anything in return
• Have children
• Visit the Eiffel Tower
• Visit New Orleans
• Visit the Golden Gate Bridge
• Visit Yellowstone National Park
• Visit Niagara Falls
• See the St. Louis Arch
• See the Grand Canyon
• See Big Ben
• Visit Venice, Florence & Rome, Italy
• See the Swiss Alps
• See the cliffs in Ireland
• Go on an African Safari
• Go to Germany for Oktoberfest
• Go to Australia and hold a Koala Bear
• See the Northern Lights
• Go to the Florida Keys & take a picture with the “southern most point in the continental US” sign
• Go deep sea fishing
• Take a self defense class
• Run a marathon
• See a sunrise & sunset
• Graduate college and become a special education teacher
• Buy a house
• Learn how to salsa & swing dance
• Backpack across Europe
• Go on a cross-country road trip
• Ride on a camel
• Swim with dolphins
• Visit Fiji
• Pack my bags and set off for a random location with no itinerary planned at all
•  Visit Hollywood & see the Hollywood sign
• Go to the airport and buy tickets for the next departure
• Adopt a child
• Visit a castle in England
• Visit a concentration camp
• Learn sign language
• See the Mona Lisa in Louvre
• Visit a volcano
• Fly in a helicopter
• Volunteer at the Special Olympics
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving
• Visit Barcelona, Spain
• Visit a rainforest
• Kiss under a waterfall
• Learn martial art
• Plant a tree
• Witness a solar eclipse
• Go horseback riding
• Sail a boat
• Take scuba diving lessons
• Visit all of the wonders of the world
• Visit the Middle East
• Visit every continent
• Visit the Taj Mahal
• See the Great Wall of China
• Visit the Colosseum in Rome
• See Egyptian Pyramids
• See Mt. Everest
• Visit Hawaii and learn to hula dance
• Visit every state in the US
• Swim in every ocean
• Try surfing
• Take a cooking class in Italy
• Go whitewater rafting
• Stay in a cabin in the mountains
• Plant a garden
• Go to New York City for New Years Eve
• Go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras
• Change someone’s life
• See a kangaroo in Australia
• Go to Tahiti
• Stay in an over the water bungalow
• Visit a movie set
• Live without electricity for a week
• Ride in a hot air balloon
• Visit Greece
• Find my hidden talent
• Finally learn to whistle
• Witness a cure for an illness (cancer, diabetes etc.)
• Try something new
• Go to a Broadway musical
• Be in two places at once
• Explore my heritage
• Milk a cow
• Visit the Vatican
• Attend the Olympic Games
• Ride on a snowmobile
• Fly a plane  
• See my brother & sister graduate college
• See my family happy again & getting along with each other
• Find the true meaning of life and live mine to the fullest.

{MRI}

So, this past weekend my back/leg/hip pain got significantly worse. I ended up laying in bed all weekend just trying to find a semi-comfortable position where I didn't want to rip my lower body off. Sound extreme, yes--however I had not slept more than 3 hours in 3 nights and like I said, the pain was only getting worse. So I called my doctor first thing Monday morning and she called me in some more pain medicine and scheduled an MRI for Tuesday afternoon. I got this results this afternoon and apparently I have a herniated disc at L4-L5 and L5-S1 as well as degenerative disc disease. I am starting physical therapy next week and looking into getting an epidural to help manage the pain. It's pretty hard to have a positive outlook on things when it feels like nothing ever goes my way. 

On a completely different subject, I love this little girl =)