Asher & Senya

Here are the latest photos of my adorable nephew, Asher, and his new sister, Senya. It's amazing how much Senya looks like Asher did as a baby. Megan and Cody sure do make beautiful, sweet kids!

The Generosity of Others

One thing I am continually grateful for in this life is my network of amazing friends. I was reminded today of just how generous and thoughtful some people can be.

I work with my wonderful friend, Jen Harris, who is constantly spoiling me with coffee, lunch, etc. She is even helping me supplement my income right now by paying me to do research and writing for an educational project she is starting up.

While working this afternoon, Jen sent me a mysterious message saying that a guy named Brian would be calling me. As she's often on the search for my "Mr. Right" (or Mr. Right now...), I assumed this would be a call from an intelligent, funny, attractive man who would tell me he was ready to drag me away from my mundane life and whisk me away to paradise. Good thinking, eh? Well, that wasn't quite the case...Instead, I received a call that went like this: "Deborah, my name is Brian and I'm a massage therapist. Your friend Jen is a client of mine and she would like to give you the gift of massage." Hello, paradise!!! What a great surprise...though I shouldn't be surprised by anything Jen does. This is the same woman who earlier this year took a mutual friend of ours on an all-expense paid trip to Greece to celebrate her cancer survival. She is just one of the most loving, giving and inspirational women I know.

After weeks of stress, my body (and mind) can't wait for Saturday morning so Brian can kneed away the hundreds of knots that have taken up permanent residency within my shoulder, neck and back muscles. It will be a very welcome escape from reality which will remind me never to take my wonderful friends for granted.

Good, Bad and Ugly

Good: The doc says I'm no longer limited to soft foods! PIZZA, here I come!!!

Bad: I sprained my foot within 24 hours of getting the okay from my doc to exercise again, so I have 4-6 more weeks of no lower body exercise.

Ugly: The thought of my butt following the combination of pizza eating and no exercise.

Halloween 2009

I was just getting back on my feet after jaw surgery when I began experiencing nerve pain on the sides of my head and corners of my eyes. It increased to the point that I couldn't even function...I would literally wake up in tears every day. My doctors and my wonderful physical therapist all began running tests and working together to figure out the problem. They finally determined that it's a neuropathic issue. Apparently, when small pieces of muscle were cut out above my ears in order to be used in my jaw, the nerves around the original muscle site were damaged. It's likely that they will heal themselves, but in the meantime I have to take medication (gabapentin) to reduce the pain. I had to gradually increase my dosage before feeling any relief. Luckily, I began feeling better on Friday night and was even able to dress up for Halloween and spend a couple hours with friends on Saturday night. After weeks of being in "recovery mode", it was nice to get out and socialize. I still have some pain but it's not anything close to what it was before. So, life should now return to normal (crossing fingers, toes, eyes...everything that is capable of crossing...).

My adorable nephew, Asher, in his monster costume:





















Asher and cousin Eisley:








Me and Eisley:




A little fun with wonderful friends:

Another family addition: Senya Sophia Smith

My youngest sister, Megan, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on October 28th. Senya Sophia Smith was born at 6:02pm, weighing in at 8lbs and sporting a full head of dark hair. She is the spitting image of her older brother, Asher...she even has the faux hawk! Congratulations Megan and Cody!!

FINALLY meeting miss Eisley Harper Giddings!

My little sister, Denice, and my niece, Eisley, moved back to Salt Lake a couple weeks ago. It was so great to FINALLY meet little Eisley! She is a little drama queen who loves attention...and she is getting plenty of it from me. I can't imagine not having her around now that she's here! She is very sweet and a total flirt.

I am SO happy to have Denice back in Utah. Life just didn't feel the same when she was away. Denice and Eisley - WELCOME HOME!!!

A little better each day

I woke up this morning feeling well enough to venture out of the house, which meant a visit to Coffee Garden was in order. It was nice to meet up with friends for a few minutes of conversation (limited due to the lovely splint I have to wear in my mouth for the next 5 weeks...I sound like the sister on South Park when I speak). But it was awesome to realize that the hardest days of recovery are now behind me!

Day 3:





















Day 4:





















Day 5:










































Today (Day 8) I was able to remove my bandages and I was SO excited to see how minimal my scarring will be. The doctor warned me that I could expect up to 2 inch scars, but he would do his best to "tuck" the stitching into my ears in order to hide the scars. Well, he did an amazing job! This photo is blurry, but you can slightly see the scar line:






















I start my eight weeks of physical therapy on Thursday. I can already open my mouth more than I could prior to the surgery, so I'm excited to see how much life will improve once I'm fully healed and no longer have to live with pain, headaches, muscle aches, etc.

Recovery Mode

My jaw surgery went very well on Monday. After waking up, the worst pain I was feeling was in my left eye. Turns out that I somehow scratched my cornea while under anesthesia. So, besides wearing my very sexy "Jaw Bra", I have also been sporting an eye patch for the past couple of days. Arrrgh Matey!

I woke up this morning to a lot of swelling and pain. The doctor said that tomorrow through Saturday will most likely be the worst days to get through. Luckily my pain meds are helping and I've been able to sleep a lot.

Thanks to everyone for your emails, texts, visits, etc. I appreciate your help, love and support!

Farewell, Jim Carroll - Thank you for the inspiration

Today is a very sad day for me, as I learned this morning that one of my writing heroes has passed away. Jim Carroll was an amazing poet, lyricist and musician who's writing I stumbled upon in my teen years. His autobiographical tale, The Basketball Diaries, quickly became one of my favorite books when I read it in 9th grade. Though our lives were extremely different, his writing style spoke to me and made me feel as if reading his words were like conversing with an old friend. When the book was made into a movie in 1995, I was afraid that the film may not live up to the book. However, I was very wrong. The film turned out amazing, mostly due to the fact that Jim sat on the set and assisted the director and producers with every scene. The young actors in the film all praised him for helping them achieve such notable performances.

Aside from The Basketball Diaries, Jim wrote astonishing poetry full of raw, unfiltered emotion. His "Fear of Dreaming" collection is a treasure. Many of his poems were turned into lyrics when he formed the Jim Carroll Band. The little punk rocker in me will always adore his albums, "I Write Your Name" and "Catholic Boy."

Mr. Carroll - Thank you for all the inspiration. You left a mark on this girl that will never fade.

Friendship

Peace, OUT!

Poor Eric. The night before leaving town, he parked his moving truck outside my house. Well, some A**HOLE came along during the night and tagged the entire side of the Budget truck. Being the wonderful, helpful friend I am, I sat across the street and took photos as Eric and Brad scrubbed the truck down before saying "Adios, SLC!" and heading to Denver. :) Nice work, boys!

A Bliss Like This...

I feel very fortunate to have such an amazing circle of friends. They are all unique individuals who inspire, educate, nurture, support, and bless me in ways I never even knew were possible. I love them all for the many laughs they share with me, the shoulders they allow me to lean on, and the adventures they bring to my life. I love to watch them grow and prosper...enrich their lives with new experiences. But selfishly, it's not always easy. Case in point, this past week was spent saying goodbye to two great friends who are moving on to different cities.

First, Carolyn has moved back to Portland in order to go back to school. Thankfully, I spend a lot of time visiting Portland, so I will still get to see her quite often. Carolyn is an awesome chick who has become a very trusted friend over the past couple of years. I love her dearly and already miss her.

Her boyfriend, Eric Bliss...who also happens to be my best friend...decided to move as well...he is heading to Denver for a new job. I am SO excited for him because I know that accepting his new position with the Denver Unitarian church is an ideal fit for Eric. He will be getting paid to work with youth, but in a much different environment from the public schooling system he has had to deal with here in Salt Lake for the past 10+ years. Eric is an amazing teacher who realizes and appreciates all the gifts we're given in this world. The kids in Denver are lucky to be getting him. I guess I'll just have to start spending more time visiting Denver.

Here are some pics from the going away party we threw for E&C. (FYI - Eric has always wanted a Rosie O'Donnell pinata...he despises the woman. I had to resort to a large jackass pinata with Rosie's face taped to the front. I filled it with dum-dum suckers...seemed fitting.)

A shot of tequila, followed by 3 spins...


















...led to this.




































A very fun night was had by all












































































































Eric and Carolyn, I love you both and wish you guys ALL the best!! Thanks for everything you have brought to my life.