What a Week!

What a week this has been! Between the the weight of the decision to take a trip to the Windy City, the pressure to knit a baby blanket in a week, high school assessment (HSA) testing all week at work, and two doctors visits in a week... I am so glad it's the weekend! I need a drink!

The media center was closed each morning this past week for HSA testing. The ESOL students and students who had extended time as accomodations were taking the test in the media center. We hung a sign, big as day, in the door window that announced the media center being closed for testing. Can I tell you what I discovered this week about my high school students? THEY CAN'T READ SIGNS! The sign was 24" X 36" and it covered the WHOLE window in the door. The doors were also locked so that people couldn't wander into the center. (Test confidentiality is such a huge deal). Kids were still raddling and banging on the door to get in - completely ignoring the sign on the door! Unbelieveable!

The blanket is finished! The pattern was quick and easily memorized, but when you are under a deadline it kind of takes the enjoyment out of it. Here it is


Pattern: Zig Zag Eyelet Throw (Ravelry)
Yarn: Berella So Soft (2.5 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 9
Modifications: The pattern calls for double stranding the yarn. Since I wanted a baby blanket and not a full size one, I simply did a single strand of yarn and it worked out perfectly.

I went for the MRI on Friday. Now that was a crazy day for me! I went into work in the morning. Put in 2 hours of work and then headed back home for the MRI appointment and then I had to head cross county to get tot a work meeting for the afternoon! I will get the results of the MRI when I see the Orthopedic on Wednesday.

My knee seems to be so-so. It has it's good and bad days depending on I don't know what! Getting up from a sitting position has gotten a bit tricky. I kind of have to prepare myself to try and avoid the "stuck" feeling when straightening my leg and that helps to avoid the sharp, shooting pain that accompanies that if I try to move to fast. It would appear, from all the researching that I've been able to do so far, that I most likely have a torn meniscus. What I did or how I did it, I haven't a clue, but the more I read up on it the more I think that's what is wrong with my knee. And since I have the stiffening and the popping, it looks like I didn't do a half-ass job in tearing it. *sigh* You know, there are some things in my life that I really, really wouldn't mind doing half-assed, and injuring myself would be right up there. But no, when I do something, I have to do it all the way. Depending on where exactly that tear has happened will probably be the determining factor between PT and surgery. Not particularly thrilled with that concept. From what I could find, if the tear is on the outer edge of the meniscus (where there is more of a blood flow) then with proper treatment, the tear can heal itself, but if the tear is more in the center of the meniscus, then I am pretty much shit-outta-luck. There is little to no blood flow in that area and the meniscus cannot heal itself. I am so praying the tear is on the outter edge.

Either way, it looks like my excercising at Curves will not be returning anytime soon. I will also need to start looking aroung my area for water aerobic excersise. That's about as low-impact as you can get, I think. Once I've dropped the weight I've gained back from the surgery imobility and strengthened my knee a little more then I can think about getting back in to a gym for weights.

I spent most of today cleaning the upstairs floor of my house. You know, one of those really "good" type of cleanings. I had all the windows open upstairs to air the place out. I was a gorgeous day and now one that should have been spent indoors, but I haven't been able to really clean my house the last few months and it really needed it. It was one of those cleanings where you actually move things around to dust and wipe down all the things that stay out on the furnture. It was one of those cleanings where you moved the stationary furtinure around a bit so that you can vacuum up all the dust bunnies, or in my case Frisco hair, that you normally don't get to in the weekly vacuuming routine. Heck I even cleaned all the dust on the ceiling fans! My tummy area is now telling what a stupid idea it was to move all that furniture around myself. I think I'm going to have to give the GYN a call on Monday. She cleared me on all accounts and said I could return to exercising and to just ease into it - or course with the knee situation I haven't had the chance to make it back to Curves yet. But there are days when that area just just feel up to par. There are some days I get these little pangs on the inside. The best way I can describe them - if I were pregnant I would swear the little guy was pinching me on the inside. Just quick little zingers that don't linger long. Pressure still bothers it too. Frisco can't lay on my stomach for very long before it starts to bother me. I have no idea if this normal, if the inside portion takes longer to heal then the outside. All my gf that have had abdominal surgery have all had hysterectomies not myomectomies. Well, no sense in frettin' till I talk to the doc :)

I've hemmed and hawed and tossed the decisions around in my mind all week about what to do about Mr. X's invitation to visit. When he didn't ask for my decision right away, I made the conscious effort not to bring it up again myself. Over this past year and half that we've been talking again, I've come to realize that he tends to say things or offer things that are what I call "spur of the moment" thoughts. When I let him back in my life last summer I became aware of this. I think he said things because he was lonely and depressed about the choices he had made and the turn his life had taken. If he brought something back up a 2nd time then I knew it was something he was really thinking about. If he never brought it up again then I chalked it up to a spur-of-the-moment thought and left it alone. In some ways this helped keep me in check to not expect anything or to hope for something just to be disappointed. So, when he asked me again on Thursday if I had given his offer any thought or made a decision, I knew I really did need to make the decision. I told him I would see what I could do about some time from work on Friday and then let him know. So, I now have a plane ticket to the Windy City for Halloween weekend.