I'm back!

I feel like I should knock on something before I say this again, but I AM BACK. I am feeling like myself, finally, for the first time in over six months. Or well, I should qualify that: I am feeling like my new old self. I am feeling good, great even. I have energy, I have a clear head, and I have motivation to do more than the bare minimum. This means a few things:

1) I am back at the gym, lifting weights and going crazy times on the elliptical, because in my true competitive style, I am always racing the guy next to me to see who can outlast who, only he doesnt know it, so I always win.

2) I am sleeping somewhat normal hours and not waking up stressed at 3am about dumb things (ie, how the busses are getting from LAX to JPL six months from now).

3) I do things after work. Like real things. Today I worked out and then hung out with the minis and their parents and ate bean soup that Jessica cooked (pick yourselves up, Jessica has been known to cook. Once.) Brylee is an expert Sweet potato puree eater, and plays the game well, opening her mouth and being generally cute while eating. Yesterday I didn't get home until 10:45pm. This has been unheard of, even on the weekends, in months.

4) I don't want to crawl under my desk and nap at 10am. Just at 2pm. And that is normal. Always has been. I get through it with a soda run, an ice cream run, or a visit to someone's desk with candy. Being that Halloween is this month, the candy visits are easy right now!

5) I am sending birthday cards again. This might not sound like a big deal, but man, I used to be so good at birthday cards. And then February and March happened. Don't get me wrong, I buy them. And sometimes I even write them. But sending them, and gifts, has all but ceased since the beginning of the year. My dad got a gift, mainly because I could order it online and ship it directly to him. I dropped the ball majorly on all my friends who turned 30. BUT, I am back, and hoping to make up for lost time with some great Christmas gifts. Or, at the very least, a nice card.

6) My house is clean. Now, not immaculate Katie Hutchings clean (please, let's not pretend). But like, live-able clean. The carpets have been vacuumed, the kitchen swept, the bathroom bleached, even the palm trees trimmed (but not the bamboo...cuz that's a project in itself). The cats even have had flea medicine within a month. Dude, I am on it.

7) I am drinking water more. And less caffeine. Towards the end there, I was drinking Coffee followed by Diet Coke followed by more Diet Coke. And barely any water. And I knew it was bad, but the caffeine was all that got me through.

So, I am excited to be back. And to have my life back. Well, mostly. For those of you keeping track, the surgeries start next week. That's right, they are putting holes in me. Several of them in fact. First up, the gallbladder. Yea, this one should be the most minor of the surgeries. Out patient procedure, yadda, yadda, yadda. This just means I can totally get Jessica to pick me up because she thinks it is funny to pick me up after I have been drugged because it seems I am rather funny. So, next Thursday, around noon, I arrive at Clear Lake Hospital (I am now very familiar with this place) so that Dr. Yo (yup, I'm not making it up, that's his actual name) can puncture me 4 times and take out my gallbladder. Mom and grandma have both had theirs out, so I blame them for this, obviously. Then I get a day off on Friday to recover, and a good excuse to not lift anything heavy for the next two weeks (this only sucks because all the babies will just make eyes at me, and I will want to pick them up, and won't be able to. They better learn to walk real fast!)

After the gallbladder, and yet to be scheduled, will be the tonsils. Less exciting, since I imagine this will actually suck once I wake up and have the worst sore throat in my entire life for two weeks. And after the tonsils there is always the possibility that Henry will be coming out, but I am not convinced. Either way, if Henry is coming out, I am requiring that these cuttings all happen during 2011. See, first of all, 2011 has sucked. And 2012 will not suck. So, they all need to happen this year. And second, and possibly more importantly, I am about to hit my out of pocket max for my insurance, and then everything will be free. So, you better believe I will taking care of EVERYTHING this year so I dont have to pay for it next year. Bring it on, Clear Lake Medical Area! And even more so, bring it on, life!