I uploaded them over the weekend.

You can find them here.

Please do not use or repost them without permission.

Now that I have a bigger server and a shiny new computer, I might actually go through all my old con pics that I haven't posted yet.

That was the amount of the unauthorized charge on my credit card this morning. From some hotel called 'Sleep Inn' which is a Choice Hotel (I have stayed at different Choice Hotels in the past). WTF. And when I called Choice Hotel to ask "WTF?" their system was down (as was their website), so I am thinking something was compromised. Fuckers.

So I get the pleasure of canceling my credit card the day before I fly to NY.

This is the card that most of my bills go to (on auto payment) and they are all due the last two weeks of the month. So, like now.

And to top it all off, I was about to order my new iMac and now I can't.

I have a new card being overnighted to midwifeonboard 's apartment in NY. Hopefully I'll get it. I don't know if I will be able to find my emergency card in all the boxes. I have my debit card if needed.

So, my first dance class back last Wednesday went well. I took it easy. I walked a figure (they needed a body) and did some of the warm ups and stretched before running through my reel. I kept it low, but was able to easily get through it all. Yay! I just did one step at a time for my hardshoe dances and never did either of them all the way through. I was careful to stretch and iced it when I got home. I felt pretty OK afterward and the following day. It was about the same as before I was injured - a little tight in the calves and the right achilles was a tad sore the following morning.

Another class tomorrow! Yay! And only 6 weeks until the Feis in Arizona. Airfare keeps going up for that, so I will have to think on it.

I need to do laundry and start packing tonight since I won't have any time to on Wednesday! I leave for New York on Thursday night! So excited.

Saturday I spent the day at the Irish Fair in Irvine supporting my dance friends at the Feis. I am destined to never dance at the Feis. I got a little color on my nose and cheeks (forgot to re-apply the sunscreen) and was exhausted by the end of the day. I laid down for a short nap at 7pm and just about slept through the night - though I was up from about 10 until 11:30 thanks to a runny nose and sneezing and general stuffy head stuff.

So my heads been a bit stuffy since then. I have started taking Claritin for the current allergy-type stuff as well as in preparation for staying with midwifeonboard and her kitty.

Exciting stuff.

I had my follow up appointment with the orthopedist this morning and he said that I am no longer restricted in my activity and I can go back to dance.

Yay!

Because of the obnoxious referral process, I only had my first Physical Therapy appointment yesterday. I was authorized for 5 - one assessment and 4 actual appointments - but the doc said I really didn't need to go to all of them. I have appointments for tomorrow and then Tuesday, Thursday next week and then the following Tuesday. I think will still go since it will hopefully be beneficial. The PT noticed my fallen arches and commented on them, so maybe she can help me fix that (which is possibly what is causing most of my issues). I will have to make sure to remind her about that.

I have also thought about getting a portable ultrasound therapy machine. I know I have a lot of issues with my feet and ankles that could benefit from using one of those regularly and it would be cheaper than trying to get additional PT time for all that crap.

I rode the stationary bike last night for about 10 minutes (per my PT person). It was so nice just to sweat again! And it was also nice not having to drive all the way to the gym for just a 10 minute session. hooray for the fitness room at my new apartment building!

I am also back on the 200 situps program. I started last week on week 3 and did week 4 day 1 last night. Hopefully I will finish this time, but I am afraid that I will be going to NY right in the middle of it (the trip to London is what derailed me last time).

So now that I am officially cleared to dance, I plan on doing those 2 competitions in August.

Yay!

We bought a dresser (I need one now that my closet space is more limited), a matching nightstand and a shelf to raise the TV up so that we can put the blu ray and stereo receiver under it (we also bought Chris a desk and me a desk chair, but those will not be assembled until we can actually get into our spare room). So the afternoon was spent assembling furniture. Good times.

We also dropped a good chunk of money at Target (again) picking up some essentials like a new vacuum and some more stuff for the kitchen.

And we also bought a new bedding set (the current one is at least 7 years old) which will be shipped to our apartment (they were out of stock). It's purple and stripey.

I am just really tired of spending money. I know I shouldn't freak out about it and that a new apartment generally means additional spending for the first bit. Most of the stuff has been 'essentials' and there have only been a few splurges (like the new HDTV for the bedroom and the stereo for the living room). Hopefully I will get my deposit from the previous place back soon (it was $1250 and I can't see them taking anything more out than a cleaning fee).

I also am in desperate need of a new computer as my old desktop took a crap back in November. I know I could get a cheaper computer system, but I am spoiled and really want a new iMac. So that's another huge chuck of money that will be going out.

I do have a good stash in my savings (which is where the $ for the computer will be coming from) and I am making a lot more than I was on unemployment.

And I feel guilty about complaining about spending money when I technically have it to spend. But I am also very paranoid and like to keep up a good savings (and I hate dipping into it).

Gah this whole post sounds obnoxiously selfish. It's just that I swore to myself when I got this job that I wouldn't start spending tons of money 'just because' and here I am doing exactly that.

I have decided that as soon as things settle down a bit I will be setting up a monthly donation to S4K. I am just now sure how much right now.

In injury news – I haven't put the boot on since Friday evening. Yay! Sunday at Ikea was a little tough, but that was mostly because I was wearing new shoes (replacements of my walking shoes that started falling apart – I got the new ones right after I got on crutches so they have sat in the box until now) – my leg was fine for the most part, but my feet hurt! Which made me walk a little funny which probably wasn't the best for my leg. But I am fine. It's nice to be wearing 2 shoes again. My first PT appointment is in a week. I feel that I am mostly healed and that I really just need to strengthen it so that I can get back into dance. For now I am going to start heading down to the fitness room in our building (yay!) and do some light stretching and maybe some upper body and core stuff. I just feel like a lump now. I can't wait until I am cleared for cardio! (an then dancing!)

I think that is about it.

So we are all moved into our new place. Yay!

The 4 days of moving was hell. Going up and down stairs in a boot while carrying boxes is not fun. While we did hire movers for the heavy stuff, we moved a lot of it ourselves. The goal for this weekend is to make the living room and kitchen livable. The spare room is a mess of boxes! Not even going to worry about that one right now.

Our internets are up and so is our cable. We opted for the 'Whole House DVR' option where you can record stuff on your DVR and watch it on other TVs in the house. *love* I was able to watch my dancing show last night while in bed (on our new 26" HD TV).

OMG I love our washer and dryer! So wonderful not to have to lug clothes up and down 2 flights of stairs. Fun fun laundry time this weekend since I am running out of clean clothes (I didn't want to do any more laundry at the old place).

My leg is doing OK, considering. I am going to wear my tennis shoes around the apartment this weekend (to break them in as well as get used to walking in 2 shoes again) and if all goes well I might start slowly transitioning out of the boot. The doctor said just to go with my comfort level. I have been doing the PT exercises I was given in the past (still waiting on the referral - I am going to call them today as it has been over 2 weeks).

Three weeks from tonight I will be flying off to New York! Yay! I am so excited. Hopefully I should be completely gimp-free by then.

I have also signed up for a competition on Labor Day weekend in San Diego - we are going to make a vacation out of it regardless if I can dance or not. We are thinking of taking the train down since last year it took us over 6 hours to drive down there on Friday.

So I have been completely off crutches for a week now. Yay!

I also can walk around my apartment in the morning and evening without the boot and without pain. Yay!

So I am happy about getting better. I am also incredibly frustrated. Because I am more mobile now I just want to get back to dance! It's driving me nuts. I know I should take it slow, but it's difficult and frustrating. Gah!

I am still waiting on the PT referral to come in the mail. I have already started doing some of the things I am sure they will have me do (seated heel raises and ankle circles and such) so maybe I'll be able to skip that bit when I do finally go.

Moving day is officially Tuesday, but we are going to start moving boxes over tomorrow since we have no more room to stack them at the current apartment.

There was a small snag. We went over on Sunday to check the place over again and pick up keys and such. When we had been in the week before I had noticed that the dishwasher looked a bit ancient, but figured that as long as it worked (and wasn't too loud) it would be OK. Chris had opened it briefly, but didn't take a close look. So on Sunday I opened it up and pulled out the bottom rack. Yeah. No. I think it was the original dishwasher (the building was built in 1986). The rack had broken tines and it was rusted and then mechanism at the bottom was all rusted. There was no way I was going to eat off dishes that came out of that. We called the manager and asked him to look at it (figuring he would come to the same conclusion). He said he would have the maintenance guy look at it on Tuesday. Long story short, they agreed it was old and crap and ordered a new one. It's being installed today. So yay! New dishwasher. And the stove looks new – gas burners with electric starters and a digital oven. We will finally know when our oven is preheated! We just guess now. So the only thing that isn't new is the washer and dryer, but they don't look too old.

So excited about moving, but I am worried about finding a place for everything. I am sick and tired of there being boxes stacked up and I refuse to live with them in the new place. All boxes must fix into closets or we are looking into storage (unfortunately all of the onsite storage is taken at the moment). Gah!

And I am flying to New York in 4 weeks! Ahhhh! Yay!

I think that is about it.

So, a quick update on me.

It's been two weeks since I partially tore my soleus muscle. I finally got into see the orthopedist yesterday. It was a nightmare trying to get the approval through so I could make an appointment (the referral system was down for 2 days and the people at my doctors office seeming less than useless). Luckily once the referral went through on Monday, I was able to get an appointment for the following day.

But there was another snag. An orthopedist will not see you without an x-ray. WTF?! There is nothing wrong with my bones. But apparently they can't order an MRI without an x-ray first *sigh* So we figured we could just head over to the x-ray place at 9am (when they open) and be out of there before my 10am appointment. The receptionist from the x-ray place that it should only take 20 minutes or so.

Just our luck, we got there just after 9am and one of the guys before me needed a massive series of x-rays that took for frakking ever! It was almost an hour before I was even called back for the x-ray and then the 5-10 minutes that they said it would take to get copies for me turned into about 15 minutes. We finally got the the orthopedist at 10:30 (I had called then to let them know I was going to be a little late).

The appointment was quick. The doc confirmed that it was just a partial tear (or muscle strain) and said that I should start flexing and pointing my foot every night to work the muscle and prevent scar tissue from forming. He also said to start wearing a boot (I already had one from a previous injury) and start trying to put weight on it, but obviously still use the crutches if I need to. He is also putting in a referral for physical therapy for me (should take 1-2 weeks for me to get it in the mail). It could take anywhere from 6-12 weeks to heal (from the time of injury), but he thinks it should be closer to the shorter end of that, like 8 weeks (*finger crossed*). I have an appointment to see him again in 4 weeks.

So for now, I am still using my crutches, but I am carefully putting some weight on it while I walk. I also slept without the splint last night – yay freedom!

Other than that, it's just 2 weeks until moving day! We've signed this lease and should hopefully be getting keys this weekend. Holy crap. We still have a lot to pack up. Hopefully we will get it all done in time. Hopefully I will be a bit more mobile by then and maybe even able to help carry small things (or push dollies).

We also bought a new couch. Yay! It will be delivered to the new place on the 28^th.

I think that is about it.

So it's been a hellish couple days for me.

Wednesday at dance class, I felt a pop in my left calf muscle follow by lots of pain. I couldn't put weight on it. Went to the emergency room where they determined that I tore my soleus muscle. They put me in a splint, gave me vicodin and crutches and told me to keep off it, keep it elevated and see my doctor soon.

If you have never been on crutches, I will tell you it is exhausting and frustrating. Stubborn me decided to go into work yesterday - I figured I would be fine at my desk job. Yeah, not so much. I only got up to go to the bathroom and a couple trips to the kitchen.

I woke up this morning to aching arms and shoulders (in addition to the leg), so I decided to just stay home and rest.

I could be on crutches up to 2 months. I've heard it is hell for the first week, but then you get used to it, but right now I just can't imagine going through this for 2 months. I am so frustrated and it takes so much energy to do the simplest things.

And to top it all off, we just gave notice at our apartment (we found a great new place) and are moving on May 31st. I have no idea how we are going to be able to pack with me out of commission.

And I had been planning on flying out to NY for the Songs for Sanctuary concert, but I don't know if I will be off the crutches by then and I don't think I could get around NY if I was still a gimp. 

I don't know if I have mentioned it here or not, but lately we have been having issues with the neighbor below us. Basically they are noisy and won't quiet down. They will play their stereo/tv/gaming console so loud that we can feel the vibrations through the floor. We have tried to politely ask them to turn it down, we've tried going through the manager, but they simply do not give a shit. The manager is less than useless. He just asks them to turn it down and there is no consequence for the constant complaints, so they continue with their behavior.

There are also a lot of other little things that bother us about the place – most notably the laundry situation. People cannot clean up after themselves and leave their clothes sitting in the machine and when the machines break, it can be weeks before they are repaired (see: useless manager).

So now that I am employed and Chris has a slightly better paying job (that doesn't make him insane), we started talking last week about maybe 'upgrading' our place of residence.

We had a few criteria: 2 bedroom, central air and washer/dryer in the unit and we wanted to stay in our same general neighborhood because it's nice, convenient and safe.

To make a long story short, we started sort of looking for a new place this past weekend, figuring we'd just get a feel for what is out there in our price range. Little did we know that we would find a great place, put our applications in and get accepted!

We are moving on June 1^st! (officially, though we will probably start the weekend before).

Yay!

It's just about 6 blocks from our current place and meets all of our criteria. And it's a great price.

The complex has only 32 units (all 2 bedroom, 2 bath) and our unit is on the ground floor with a patio in the center courtyard. It's at the back of the building (we originally had been looking at one at the front, but were concerned about the noise from the front, main hallway) so it should be quiet. No street noise to worry about since our windows are on the interior courtyard side. There is a spa out the back door and a fitness room in the basement. The building was recently bought in December and the new owners seem to be willing to put money into it – they've been renovating and even bought new cardio equipment for the fitness room (with more purchases planned). And since we have gotten in before they have 'flipped' the unit, we get to chose the floor color. Yay!

Since the current residents are set to move out this week, we haven't seen the actual unit (we will be seeing it Saturday), but we have seen the one at the front that has the same layout. On Saturday, in addition to picking out the floor color, we will be able to really nit pick about what things (i.e. fixtures, cabinet doors, drawers, etc) should be replaced. We've already requested that a microwave be mounted above the stove (to save counter space).

We are so excited about getting a place that is 'ours' and not just my apartment that he moved into. And it will be nice to have the second bedroom (instead of just a den) and a second bathroom (I hate it when I have to pee when he is in the shower!)

So now, with a new job and having to get up at 5:30 am, I will have to find the time to go through all my stuff and pack! I hope to get rid of a lot of stuff. It will be nice to get rid of some baggage.

Yay!