Yikes!

It's done. We signed the lease papers for Escuela del Sol today. We get to pick up the keys on Aug. 15th and we will hopefully be doing business by Sept. 1.

I own a business.

Hehe.

FYI

Nothing much happening here. Only have internet access when I got to the public library, thanks to our crappy satellite and it's crappy crappiness. They're coming out to work on it someday. Until then...you won't see much of me.

So Busy

Today we...

...checked out a space for our business to be located. It was very nice. Just the right size, reasonably priced (compared to local stuff anyway), lots of natural light, comfortable neighborhood, adequate parking, nice owners. We're still looking around, but in my gut it feels like this is the place.

...went to the dentist. I have 3 cavities. THREE?!!? I don't know who was more shocked, myself or my dentist. I never get cavities. To be fair, one is an old filling going bad, and the other two are back to back between a couple of teeth (so they should really only count as one!). I'm bummed though. I have to have 2 more visits back. Bleh. Luckily, my dentist is kind and gentle and only slightly religiously nuts. :)

...went to the doctor. Mikey had a follow up on his visit to the ER last week. Things are much better now, but the doc sent him to get his back x-rayed. She wants to know if there is a reason to send him to the specialists for further attention. She's also sending him to the tummy folks, something he has needed but put off for some time, so I guess there will be good coming from this craziness.

...went to the blood bank. Mikey wasn't feeling up to it, but I gave a unit. I try to go as soon as I am eligible (every 2 months). It is a good idea, if you're capable. There are lots who need it. I am a universal donor, so I figure it's particularly important for me to give.

...watched the new Bruce Willis movie. He's still yummy even though he's getting old. (Shhh...don't tell Mikey I said that!) The movie wasn't great, and some of the dramatic action scenes were a little silly, but it was fun. Plus, Kevin Smith is in it. Hooray!

...bought Orange Guard, which is supposed to repel ants. We have been having serious ant trouble lately, and this is our compromise. I am perfectly willing to sacrifice some karma points killing the little buggers, but Mikey is a gentleman and would like us to deal with the issue non-violently. The compromise was that we would use the Orange stuff to keep them out, but I toasted the ones that were already in. This stuff better work, or I am going to start breaking out the heavy duty poison.

...bought an edger. We are going to be setting up an invisible fence (of the underground variety) in a further attempt to keep the dogs on our property. It will follow the same perimeter as the regular fence, and will hopefully keep them from getting close enough to dig out. This is getting a little rediculous. We will then have a 6 foot chain link fence, fortified with shock wire and the top and bottom and protected by another hidden wire that first beeps and then zaps the silly creatures. So much work for two goofy black dogs. I can't stand the alternatives though.

Time for bed. Another busy day tomorrow. G'night.

Holy Adreneline Rush, Batman!

Yesterday was quite an adventure for us. And not the kind I want to repeat any time soon. It all started with a pain in Mikey's right shoulder.

It felt like a crick in his neck from sleeping funny (he slept in a chair due to heartburn), but it came on very rapidly around 10 am. He went from feeling fine, to not being able to lift his right arm or turn his head at all without intense pain. He spent about an hour resting uncomfortably on the bed, and then decided to get up to make some toast.

It was very painful for him to stand, and by the time he got to the kitchen, he needed to sit down. He was very lightheaded and dizzy. When he said he was having trouble hearing, I turned to look at him. I had just enough time to notice how blue/white his lips were and get concerned before he passed out. I was close enough to catch him before he fell off the chair.

I was actually thinking that it would be a good thing for him (he hadn't been taking very good breaths because of the shoulder pain) and that he would feel better when he woke up before I realized that he wasn't breathing at all. Instantly, I became that hysterical girl in the movies, slapping him and shouting for him to wake up. I laid him down on the floor and ran for the phone. All I could think was "Shit - I don't think I remember how to do CPR."

Eventually (in a matter of seconds, I'm sure, although it felt like several minutes), I managed to dial 911. Just as they were answering, Mikey started to shake and make choking noises. I rolled him over on his side (I remembered that much from my seizure training) as I was telling the 911 Operator that "there is something wrong with my husband and I need an ambulance". She got our information and sent out the Fire Rescue vehicle and an ambulance. While we waited I was a wreck, but Mike calmly reminded me to do things in preparation of leaving. I got him shoes and socks, fed the cats, etc. He directed it all from his prone position on the kitchen floor.

After about 15 minutes, the paramedics showed up and took over. They asked all kinds of questions and took all kinds of vital signs. Everything seemed okay for the moment, but they suggested that Mikey take a little ride to the ER anyway. Considering how pale he was, I thought it was a good idea. What I wasn't so thrilled with was the idea that I wasn't allowed to ride with him. So, they took off with him and I stood alone in the kitchen wondering what the hell to do next.

I called his parents and told them briefly what had happened and where he was going to be. I then tried to think of what we would need in the off chance that he would end up staying the night. I managed to pack him a toothbrush, hairbrush, and book. I got stuck as I stood in my closet. Most of my brain was shouting "just pick something!" but part of it was very concerned with whether each shirt would be appropriate for the weather and the environment and the company. It was very strange what my brain would get hung up on as I tried to get ready to go. I finally decided that I couldn't wait any longer, grabbed my purse, and jumped in the car.

At the hospital, I walked in and asked them where I might find my husband. "He would be in there...but we have some important papers you need to sign here." Stupid red tape. I finally signed enough of my life away that they were willing to let me back to see him. He was on a bed, in the hallway. This is apparently how things work in this overcrowded hospital. Despite the less-than-satisfactory location, we were happy with the doctor and the nurse who were attending him. They were very kind and seemed to know what they were doing. The nurse was quite amusing, guessing our weights and throwing out little political barbs.

They did a series of diagnostic tests, mostly wanting to rule out anything heart related and to make sure there wasn't any internal bleeding happening anywhere. He had a chest x-ray, an EKG, bloodwork, and regular PB/pulse/O2/etc readings. Several hours later, they decided that it was all a result of his shoulder pain, which was muscle related. The pain was bad enough that when he stood up his dilated blood vessels weren't up to the job of getting blood (and therefore oxygen) to his brain. He fainted and somehow his breathing got messed up (this is the part I don't understand so well). His brain, in an attempt to get things back in working order hit the "Reset" button, causing the the shaking/seizure-like stuff. They gave him some heavy duty pain meds and some muscle relaxants and sent him home.

I didn't sleep very well, trying to make sure that Mikey was still breathing and getting him to take his medications and such. But this morning, he was looking much better. His shoulder still hurts, and he refuses to take the pain meds because they might make him nauseated, but he's taking the muscle relaxants and moving much better than before. The whole thing was really not such a big deal, and he was never in much real danger, but I will never forget how awful it was to look at his completely slack face and realize that I couldn't see any breathing.

Okay...enough. Time to take him out for ice cream. It is 100.5 F here. Bleh.

Speaking of our Government...

It's easy to get caught up in the beauty of the buildings and the honor of the ideals that Washington represents. Before too long, however, someone does something to remind me of how far we've drifted from the intentions of our Founding Fathers.

Rather than try to sound intelligent on this issue, I will just point you to this Special Comment by Keith Olbermann. Mr. Olbermann takes a good 10 minutes of MSNBC's airtime to throw down the gauntlet. If only Bush/Cheney were men enough to take it up. It's a sad day in history when we are challenging our leaders to be as noble as Richard Nixon.

You both crossed the Rubicon yesterday. Which one of you chose the route, no longer matters. Which is the ventriloquist, and which the dummy, is irrelevant. But that you have twisted the machinery of government into nothing more than a tawdry machine of politics, is the only fact that remains relevant.

It is nearly July 4th, Mr. Bush, the commemoration of the moment we Americans decided that rather than live under a King who made up the laws, or erased them, or ignored them — or commuted the sentences of those rightly convicted under them — we would force our independence, and regain our sacred freedoms.

Amen.

You can read the transcript here, but you really need to see it to get the full emotion behind it. You-tube has it up here.

Washington Pictures

~Arlington Cemetery~

Standing in the middle of Arlington, seeing row after row of gravestones as far as the eye can see, has to be one of the most heartbreaking things I've experienced.

There is a section of Arlington reserved for Supreme Court Justices.

JFK and wife are buried here, marked with the Eternal Flame. After Kennedy was buried here, they had to put stronger restrictions on who was eligible. Everyone wanted to be in the same cemetery as he was.


Another heartbreaking sight. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, memorializing all those who have died defending our country. Despite my feeling about war and violence, I can still be grateful to those who have given their lives to protect us.

~D.C. Monuments and Buildings~
Our first stop was the Korean War Memorial.

Our guide described the Korean War as the "forgotten" war. It is often forgotten there between WWII and Vietnam, but that doesn't make the sacrifices of those soldiers and their families any less important.

Being abused by the Right to justify taking away our constitutional freedoms doesn't make this statement any less true. We have paid greatly for our freedom throughout the years.

The next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.

Walking up those steps was tiring. I relished the ache in my legs and let it remind me how so many struggled and fought for those rights that I take for granted today.

Anywhere the states are listed in D.C. they are put in order of statehood. Until taking this picture, I had never noticed that WI, CA, and MN all fall right in a row. My three homestates.

Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech. It is marked (very subtly) with this engraving.


Definitely one of my heroes. He just LOOKS like someone you could talk to, you know?

From Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

From Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

The Washington Monument standing elegantly behind the reflecting pool. I'm disappointed in how dark this picture turned out, but it's still an amazing sight.


We then went to the Vietnam Memorial.

I love the image of the hand supporting a fellow human. If only we could memorialize more acts of kindness and support and fewer acts of war and violence.

So many names. There were several letters and photographs along its length. The one that got me was about a dog which had been adopted by a soldier. She would greet his helicopter after each run. After he died, she continued to meet each chopper, waiting in vain for his return.

The reality of war. People die. There is pain and suffering. War is bad.

Finally, we went to Pennsylvania Avenue.

The building which houses the executive branch of our government.

The building which houses the legislative branch of our government. The flags above the right and left wings let us know that both the Senate and the House were in session that day.

Virginia Pictures

On this fourth of July, I share with you my pictures from Virginia and Washington, D.C.

~Colonial Williamsburg~

An important government building during Colonial times.


A silversmith at work.


A pewtersmith's shop.


A kiln used for firing bricks. Notice how the bricks are different colors in different areas. This is due to the difference in temperature during the firing.


A giant stack of bricks, ready to be used in building.


The Williamsburg armory. It was from this building that King George's men confiscated gunpowder, upsetting the colonists and contributing to the start of the Revolutionary War.


The mansion of the Williamsburg Governor.

~Monticello: Home of Thomas Jefferson~


The house where Thomas Jefferson lived. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but there were some very cool things. He had a Museum of Curiosities in his entryway, and a gigantic library (of teeny, tiny books).




Jefferson had a huge, beautiful garden. He organized it according to which part of the plant was used (roots, fruit, leaves).


Check out those copper pans. The kitchen was located on the lower level and the opposite side of the house as the dining room (I think this had something to do with keeping the heat out of the main house during the summer?).


Jefferson wrote his own epitaph, identifying the Dec. of Independence, the Virginia Constitution, and the University of Virginia as his greatest accomplishments.

~Mount Vernon: Home of George Washington~


Again, internal pictures were forbidden, but I was able to get these of the outside. Washington lived a lavish life, complete with fancy bright green paint and a plethora of guest rooms.

A brief (but important) aside -

I promised these pics a long time ago and then forgot all about them. I came across them as I prepared my Washington pics for uploading, so here they are...






My heart dances for each of you every day. Keep fighting, Kate.

Happy 4th of July!

July 4th, 1776. One of the few dates I actually require my students to memorize! :)

I don't feel very festive today, since I spent all of Saturday celebrating the 4th. It seems as though this should be just another day. Except that the Post Office isn't open. Meh.

In honor of our nation's independence, I am going to post some of my pictures from the Virginia/D.C. trip. What better way to remember our country's birth than to show pictures of her birthplace? :) If I can get them from the camera onto my computer that is...