Day Fifty Nine

I managed to put together a pretty good breakfast this morning. It is weird cooking and preparing from such a low level (my wheelchair) but I did it! The hard part is the dishes, I have to figure out some way to reach in there and clean stuff!


That plastic bag over there --> that's my cast cover so I can take a bath. Well a temporary cast cover made up of a garbage bag and some bright green duck tape!

I am pretty proud of my self for figuring out how to take a bath with one leg hanging out of the tub. Though I did order a bath seat and one of those detachable shower heads with a cord to make it even easier. I will have to wait for Susie to get here to put the shower head on though.

Should be a good week. I go to the doctors tomorrow and will most likely get this splint off and I can take some pics of my leg! But I am sure he will be putting a cast back on. :(

Day Fifty Eight

The Law Family (Martina and daughters) stopped by today to do a few chores and play with Riley. Riley was very excited about the company and ran them ragged. Now she is pooped out on the bed regaining here energy. :)

Martina loved her new scarf, the color is awesome and I am pretty proud of my first knitting project! So now I sit in a home with clean carpets, clean sheets, and clean dishes. It is nice! I am so lucky I found such awesome friends when I moved out here.

It has been real hard without my family since we are all so close. I actually didn't know how I would do without my mum to take care of me and Zach to entertain me by playing videogames with me while I recuperated! With that being said, I am sure the next few months will be filled with me always being thankful of my friends and being shocked I have such good ones. The last, hmmmm, about ten years or so I really didn't encourage close friendships.  Well that has obviously been my loss because friends rock!

Day Fifty Seven

Tricia (the boss) and Paloma stopped by today to visit, do a few chores around the place, and brought me some yummy salad and bagels with cream cheese.

It was real nice to see them, nice to have visitors. I think I have been more social these last two weeks then I have been these last two years!


We also discussed how tiny my computer is and it was decided that we would get my desktop from work and it bring it here.Woo hoo! A keyboard, mouse, and dual monitors again!

Today I used the table Diana brought over to work from and it was a real nice change from sitting in my bed to do everything!

Day Fifty Six

Had an awesome Italian dinner with the Charter family. I really enjoy spending time with them and apparently they like hanging with me too! Christa told me that Callie said I was the favorite of Christa's friends and Christa told Callie that if she ever needed a female to talk to and didn't want to talk to her mom, she could go to me. It's awesome to find friends like this; it is awesome I found a while family like that. :)



We stopped at the store so I could get a few things and Scott picked up the electric shopping cart, or 'gimp mover' as we called it. He was a little to comfortable and enjoyed riding it a little too much! The one I got was really slow and there were small children crawling past me!

Day Fifty Five

Today was one of those days that I mentioned in my very first post; a day where not much happened, not much to write about. I am actually having a grumpy day because it is almost been two weeks since I had this splint put on and I am tired of it :(

Hopefully I will have something to write about tomorrow.

Day Fifty Four

I did it! I finished my first yarn project. I made a beautiful maroon scarf. It has some dropped stiches and is far from perfect, but it looks good! I am sure Martina will be pleased with her gift for helping me out. :)









I also received a really nice e-mail from one of the new girls at PFM:

Hi this is Joie....the girl who didnt know how to "Derby Stop" and made an ass of herself during the drill?? LOL I just wanted to thank you SO much for your encouragement and your kick ass attitude! You're an inspirtaion to us all and I personally am REALLY glad I had you there to chat with when I was feeling pretty tore up about my absent skating skills!! :)

Hope to see you Thursday! Hope your leg is doing well.

xoxoxoxo
Joie aka "Askin' Forit" (boy am I!) lol

Day Fifty Three

I decided to take some of my time off my feet and do something that I can use to give back to the people that have been so helpful during my convalesence. I started crocheting a baby blanket for Christa and Indy. It is in a cool pink camo pattern. I should be done by Indy's b-day so I can give it as a gift. I would like to keep crocheting blankets and maybe donate them to an elderly home or something.


I also started knitting a scarf in a beautiful burgundy color that Martina already put dibs on. It is looking pretty good! I would like to kjnit more scarfs and maybe some fingerless gloves and leg warmers. I was surprised at how easily I picked back up both things. I hadn't crocheted anything in a long time and I really haven't done knitting before. This should be a fun, on-going project.


Oh, and the plant Martina brought me yesterday bloomed today. It looks beautiful!

Day Fifty Two

Martina and family came over today to help me clean house, do laundry, and play with Riley. And when I say help me I mean I lounged in bed eating fresh fruit and chocolate (that Martina brought over) while they did all that stuff. Riley loved having two little girls to run and around and play catch with! It was a really nice visit and I look forward to them coming over again.

I also went to derby practice tonight to hang out. It was good seeing everyone, but I think I overdid it a little this weekend because I am tired and my leg & ankle really hurts :(

Zach leaves to basic training early tomorrow morning and I am super proud of him and really nervous too.

Day Fifty One

Went out to lunch with Ashley at Victors Coffee Shop where I had my usual tomato soup and sandwich. We had a great time talking about everything, we actually spent a long time talking about everything. It was really nice. We discovered that the coffee shop had a ramp to get up on the sidewalk, but it was useless when parking is allowed on top of it. Lucky for me, people are generally nice in the area and two men stepped forward to help me hop one-legged onto the curb.

It has been a great social and physical experiment to see what it is like to have to get around in a wheelchair and it will be interesting to see what other obstacles I have to get around.

While at the store, two little kids asked me why my hair was all different colors. I said, "it makes me happy!" They stared at me blankly like that was a weird answer. It made me think... why is it weird to do fun, off-beat things that make you happy? It must be that whole societal expectations thing. Pfft! Who cares what society thinks is normal, create your own normal. :)

Day Fifty

I changed the background color on my posts because I thought it would show-off the Polaroid format of the pictures better and it looks like it does! This just means that the ones going forward will look awesome and the ones going back look a little messed up. Oh well, maybe one day I will go back and change 49 days worth of pictures; I will have plenty of time! 

So, I received a package today, opened it, and read the card and then I started bawling. It was from my good friends at th ATC forums. I don't know if it was just good timing or what, but I had just woken up from a nap close to tears from a bad dream and excruciating pain in my leg.

I wheeled over to the door and let Riley out and saw the package sitting there. It contained some candy and tennis balls (the balls are to put on my walker and to entertain Riley with), and a great card that said, "sorry things are kind of poopy right now". The sentiment was perfect because that was how I was feeling, kinda poopy.

I also ventured out into the world today in my new wheelchair. Peggy, one of my derby friends, offered to take me to get some yarn so I can have other stuff to do while recuperating. While out people were very friendly and I got quite a few of them asking me what happened. Their reaction was usually the same, "Roller Derby?! That is so cool!" One of the ladies that asked told me not to let a little thing like this get me down and make sure to get back on the wheels again. My response... Hellz yeah!!

Day Forty Nine

I was worried that I would miss the FedEx delivery guy because it takes me so long to get to the door, so I decided to sit out on the patio and wait. The weather was gorgeous! I sat in the patio chair, closed my eyes and just absorbed the sunlight. In Washington you just have to seize the sunlight when it is here because it is so fleeting.


The FedEx guy was super nice and brought the box into the house and set it up where I would have easy access to open it. And inside the box was.... my new wheels! I am really glad I decided to get a wheelchair: It is so much easier and safer to get things from the kitchen and transport them back to bed where I am holed up most of the time. I still use the walker when going back and forth to the bathroom but the wheelchair is for everything else.

Good news! My sister Susie is going to come out and visit me for a bit!  She called yesterday to say that she will be coming out in a couple of weeks. I am so excited!

Day Forty Eight

A tornado struck my house today! Okay, not exactly a tornado, but it seemed like one! Martina and Paloma stopped by to help me with some things around the house. First Paloma showed me all the foods she had made to stock my fridge with ready-made and easy to prepare meals. And Martina unpacked and put away the fresh fruit, organic coffee, and European chocolate she stopped at Trader Joe's to get for me.


The meals consisted of lentils, teriyaki tofu and veges, garlic chicken and veges, and the most wonderful salad ever. The salad was full of pineapple, kiwi, olives, red peppers, walnuts, and carrots. It was topped with a mouthwatering oil & vingar ginger dressing. And it now resides in my belly! She also brought me some homemade yogurt. Homemade yogurt? I can't wait to try it!

As soon as the food was put away they set out to rearrange things so it was easier for me to get get around on my walker and so the things I needed were more easily accesable. They then cleaned the living room and kitchen, swept the floors, washed the dishes, cleaned out the fridge, and took the garbage and recycling out. 

During all this they opened the curtains and patio door so I was surrounded by fresh air and sunshine while snug in my bed with my leg propped up.

Later that evening Daniel came by with the things he had picked up for me including my prescriptions, as well as dog food and flea medicine for Riley.

Diana also dropped by to let Riley out to play with Bailey a bit and to chat.

It's days like these that are so nice that make me wonder why I had become such a recluse the last few years. I really like hanging out with my friends!

Day Forty Seven

Christa dropped off some groceries (with chocolates!), but then had to run so she could get home and feed baby Indy. She had a little trouble finding the place and was gone longer then she planned. As I stared at the groceries I decided to suck up my pride and ask for help. I called my neighbor Diana and asked her if she would come put away my groceries for me. She was more then willing to help and came right over. Seriously... why do such genuinely nice people still shock me? Have I know so many self involved, greedy people that I forgot about the goodness of people? 

After putting away the groceries, Diana cleaned the dishes that made their way to the sink since she was last there. She joked that "I need to get them now before they pile up again and make my job even harder!" She even put together a plate of dinner (muffin) and snacks (cheese and apple) for me and filled my soda for me. We had a real nice chat as well.

Day Forty Six

I worked from home today and that worked out well since if I was feeling tired or groggy from the medication I could take a break and a short nap if needed and still get everything done that I need to. A lot of the day was spent getting used to not being able to do anything. I had a little spill last night when I slipped on some water, but I called the PA and he said I should be fine, to take another pain killer and just realize that it might take a little longer to heal and be a little more painful. OMG... eight weeks of this, at least! I am going to go crazy!

Riley went out with the dog walker but I guess she bit another dog so she has to take a break ffrom the pack for a little bit. I am sure Riley is all wound up and confused about what is going on and my emotions being all over the place probably knocks her for a loop.

My neighbor Diana stopped by today and brought my a print out I needed to fill out for liability at the derby practice area. She came by a bit later to pick up my mail that I needed sent off and brought me some chocolate. She also did my dishes and cleaned my kitchen for me!  How awesome is that!! But it's the little things that get me. Something as simple as mailing a letter I have to ask someone for help!

Oh! Another girl injured herself at derby practice last night and it turned out her ankle was broken; she had the same doctor and PA I did and said they were still talking about me last night and saying how hardcore my injuries were and what a bad ass I was since since I handled those hardcore injuries so well! That's because I am hardcore! I can't wait to heal and get back out there doing stuff!

Day Forty Five

My next door neighbor stopped by today and brought me some biscuits and sausage gravy for brunch. It was really nice of her and the food was yummy! I had mentioned to her how I was going to have to figure out how to put a basket or something on my walker so I can carry stuff easier and safe and she came back less then 30 minutes later with a basket and some zip ties and fixed my walker up!  How very cool!

It makes it so much easier to lug stuff back and forth, like the teapot full of nice warm tea I tested it out with.

Also, I contacted my gym, Redmond Athletic Center, and they are able to put my membership on hold while I am recuperating so I don't have to pay when I can't go in! Thats good news!

Day Forty Four

Ick, not much to write about today. In lots of pain and it is almost 7PM and I finally get to leave the hospital around 8pm. They have given me lots of drugs including morphine but for some reason it isn't really touching the pain. The P.A. just said I will have some good days and some bad days. When I get back in my own home, and bed, with my own food I should start feeling better. This is going to be really tough trying to heal. I still have to figure out how to get to doctors appointments since I can't drive my stick shift! With a minimum of eight weeks of no weight bearing, I will have to rely on the kindness of friends. That will be tough.

Day Forty Three

Well I broke my leg pretty good! Both the tibia and fibula were completely broken and they had to put some titanium plates and pins in. It looks like I will be unable to put any weight on that leg at all for at least eight weeks.

So there go some of my plans, like the 5K I was supposed to do tomorrow and of course roller derby for a while. I will just have to redo my exercise plan and find some more upper body and core ones to focus on. Which is a good thing!

PFM has been super supportive and sent me flowers and offered to put their awesome fund raising skills together and have a trivia night or something to help offset the medical costs my insurance doesn't cover. HOW AWESOME! They are such a great group of women!

Ashley has been awesome and not only took me to the hospital, she went back later with a friend and got my car and took it home for me and picked up my computer, a book, and some glasses, AND brought me some Diet Dr. Pepper. Christa and Martina offered to help me out to go to the store etc. and Dana the dog walker did as well, and she is going to watch Riley for a few days. Drea offered to come by and visit and keep me company. And m mom kept me entertained on the phone and I plan to talk her ear off tons while I am recuperating!

I felt so lucky to realize that I do have a friend and support system here that I didn't really know I had. I have awesome friends and family! And to top it off, I have not missed a day of blogging yet, even though I broke my leg! :)

Day Forty Two

At hospital. Broke two bones in my leg. Getting ready for major orthopedic surgery in a couple hours. Will wriite more later.

Day Forty One

It's Wednesday and that means.... MOVIE NIGHT with the Charters! Woo Hoo!  I made a Valentines cookie with everyone's name on each one for desert and brought over Zombieland to watch. :)

We had ribs and biscuits and corn had a blast watching the movie and chatting! Indy is growing up sooo fast. She is already eight months and is so happy and smiley :)

Day Forty

Today Riley and I went to go visit the Dana the dog walker and Riley's old gang. We had a blast hanging out and chatting. Well I did most of the chatting, Riley was busy playing. There were TONS of puppies everywhere. It was so much fun! I think we are going to go hang out there again on Thursday during lunch.


Earlier this morning while I was getting ready, Riley came over and sat on my lap. The photo is of me looking down at her on my lap. She is such a weirdo! How many dogs sit like they are human like that!

And to end the day I made some sugar cookies and decorated them for Valentines day. Aren't they pretty?! I made some specially decorated ones to take to Christa's tomorrow for movie night!

Day Thirty Nine

This morning as I was getting preparing my oatmeal I noticed how pretty it looks before it blends together. It is made up of: oatmeal, Fiber One cereal, goji berries, cranberries, flax seed, pumpkin seed, and brown sugar. That's wy I call it oatmeal +. Yummyyyy...


I was in a grumpy mood for some reason all day, so I stopped at the store to look at the plants. Looking at all the colors and brightness of them makes me feel better. While I was there I picked up some tomato plant seeds and decided to get a start on them since the weather has been so warm.


I also switched out the wheels on my skates so I can use them outside. I haven't skated outside with them yet, but it is good to know how easy it is to switch the wheels back and forth (It took minutes to do!). The red ones are the inside wheels and the turquoise ones are the outside wheels. And...I put new laces on my skates that match the new blue streak in my hair!

Day Thirty Eight

I did it! I made it to the hike today. Last night I had trouble getting to sleep and decided to turn my alarm off and let fate determine if I would make it to the hike or not. Fate my ass! I was looking for an excuse not to go because it was cold, and I was tired and sore. But luckily karma has a great sense of humor because I woke up with plenty of time to get to the hike.

I had no excuses so I forced myself out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my backpack and we (me and Riley) hit the road. I had a good time on the hike, which ended up being more of a walk, and which also ended up that we all went the wrong way and accidentally ended up on some private property!  Oops! It was still a good hour of exercise. :)

Afterward I went with Ashley to get her all suited up with new gear for roller derby. Woo hoo! I am so happy I am going to have friends to skate with :)

Day Thirty Seven

Today was a great day! The sun was shining and the weather was awesome so I decided to wander around the yard a bit and look at things to see if anything was blooming yet. I found one flower on the side of the house that was blooming a pretty purple color and I am hoping more spread from there.


I also took the time to replant one bush from the side of the house practically underneath Riley's ghetto doghouse to an area next to the porch that Riley calls her digging area. I then sat outside reading for a couple of hours and soaking up the sun I so dearly miss.

Next it was off to rollerskating! Ashley, Drea, and I had an awesome time and we were worn out afterward! I think we skated for about three hours! We only had a couple of falls which was pretty impressive considering there were tons of kids there and they were all over the place waving their arms and sprawling acorss the rink each time they fell (which was quite often). We also did the hokey pokey which I sang real loud to get others involved. It was fun!

We stopped at Red Robin because we were also starving! After dinner we were all groaning as we stood up as our muscles were protesting what we had put them through today.  To end the night we grabbed some coffee from Starbucks and then I headed home to relax and get the energy to take a hot bath! Hiking tomorrow!

Day Thirty Six

I decided I needed to clean out the food in my fridge, freezer, and pantry. I want to use everything up so I can buy some new fresh veges, fruit, and proteins. Not to mention to enjoy a nice loaf of bread without feeling guilty of all the food sitting and waiting to be eaten! And I don't want to toss everything because that is wasteful!


Tonight I grabbed some easy things, most of them were perishable and needed to be eaten soon. The results, au gratin potatoes, spinach, and spicy nuggets, were kind of boring and blah. Hopefully tomorrow night turns out a bit more colorful and yummy!