LASIK Journey: Sight and how much I appreciate it

Today I had my pre-op appointment at Gailey Eye Clinic to see for what, if any, laser vision correction I might qualify. I have never had my pupils dilated before, and I was a little anxious about that part of today as it was uncharted territory.

I was dilated at about 9:30 this morning. They put a drop of the solution in each eye and sat me in a room for a half an hour. It was wild because I was watching the first season of M*A*S*H (which, by the way, was comic genius), and I could see the TV just fine with my glasses on.

"This stuff is not working," I said to myself, "I am supposed to be blind, right?"

Well, after about 15 minutes I attempted to look at my watch. No way was that happening. It was a total blur. And when I took my glasses off, I could see better than when I had them on. Bizarre.

The picture above was one I just took. My pupils are still a little crazy, which is expected, even though most of my vision is back to normal. My peripheral vision is still funked up, but I obviously can focus enough to type this, and, yes, I can read my watch. Scott says I look like I anime.

Now you may look at the photo and think, "You look fine!" However, my pupils have been that big, without changing much, for 12 hours. When someone's pupils don't change with light and such, it's a tad freaky to look at.

The one gift I had today was while I was waiting outside of the clinic for Scott to pick me up. It was a gorgeous day. I could tell because of the warmth of the sun on my arms. There was a lady with a walker going into the office. I could tell by the slow squeak of her wheels as she crossed the street. There was lots of traffic. I could hear the tires on the road's pavement as I stood. I had my eyes closed because it was painful, even with sunglasses on, to be outside with my pupils dilated. Eliminating the vision aspect of me opened up some other senses, particularly hearing, to take a more central place in my perceptions. It was fascinating, and it made me appreciate the vision, though slightly out of focus, that I currently have.

But not enough to cancel the surgery. :)

Permanent

David Cook is one of my favorite singers. The guy has pipes. Ignatius and I pretty much exclusively listen to his album every morning. When the song "Permanent" comes on, Ignatius asks every day how I think David's brother is doing. Well, sadly, David's brother lost his battle to a brain tumor this week. The following video is of David announcing his brother's passing after completing the Run for Hope in DC. Then, lyrics to the song "Permanent." If you ever have a chance to hear the song in its entirety, do.

Permanent

Is this the moment
where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my
broken promise
that you’ll never see me cry
And everything,
it will surely change
even if I tell you
I won’t go away today
Will you think that you’re all alone
When no one’s there to hold your hand?
And all you know seems so far away
and everything is temporary
rest your head
I’m permanent

I know he’s living in hell
every single day
And so I ask
oh god is there some way
for me to take his place
And when they say
just touch and go
I wish I could make it go away
But still you say

Will you think that you’re all alone
when no one’s there to hold your hand?
When all you know
seems so far away
and everything is temporary,
rest your head
I’m permanent
I’m permanent

Is the moment
where I look you in the eye?
Forgive my promise
that you’ll never see me cry

Easter 2009

We began the Easter weekend with a day off for everyone... even Dad was home, off and on, on Good Friday. That was nice.

On Saturday, the Easter Bunny was BUSY making impulse buys at Walgreens. We also colored eggs before church. That night, we all attended Easter Vigil Mass at St. Patrick of Merna. Max was fantastic through the 3-hour service. He held a candle and tried hard to follow along in the program. Absolutely no foul words through the entire Mass (for anyone, but especially Max). Perhaps an exorcism? I just love the Easter Vigil, despite it's length.

Party boy Max didn't want to go to sleep when we returned. That meant we went to sleep and Mom needed to wake back up at 2:30 to make sure the Easter Bunny had arrived.

Max went around the house saying, "Happy Easter Bunny!" on Sunday morning. We had our typical pancakes and bacon. Then, at around 1, we had a ham dinner. After that, we all crashed. Now, at about 6:15, Scott and I hear Tony Horton calling us to, "Bring It." My heels finally don't ache, and I think I might be ready after my day o' rest.

Great weather, good times. Enjoy the photos.

Ouchie wa wa!

OK, so I am obviously somewhat addicted to the P90X workout. At about 9:30 PM, I was feeling a little unsettled, as we had "skipped" Yoga tonight. Scott was really tired, and I had smashed my pinky toe into a kitchen chair, and it was wicked swollen. Yoga just didn't sound like our gig tonight.

I decided, with some cajoling from Karen, that I should give it a whirl. It's an hour and a half routine, and it kicks behind. I do most of the stretches, a lot with modifications, trying to keep the spirit of the stretch. I need to purchase some yoga bands to help with the lifting of my legs to where they need to go. Otherwise, I really like this particular workout.

Conclusion: When you don't want to do it, just do it. I am not always good about pushing myself.

I am glad I completed it, and am now thinking of running some bath water. The toe survived.

My legs finally stopped aching

Whew. I have let myself get out of shape, and this week, I have paid the price. The P90X workout has kicked my legs to a level they have not gone in a while. Cool. Heh heh.

I literally was grasping the railing at school while I went up and down the steps. Lots of quad work. Sprinkled in there was some yoga, which I think was a great thing for my legs at the time.

I am just having trouble getting in all the food I need to get in. Lots of protein. Lots of veggies. The protein is not a hard thing, but the veggies... yeesh. I am not a big fan.

So, as we wrap up week 1 of P90X this evening, in all, I really have liked it. We repeat this week next week and the week after. By then maybe I will feel comfortable doing a decent pull-up. We shall see.

Our gym membership also began (again) this week. I am not sure how much I want to do above the P90X workouts, but at least it's there if friends are going. I will definitely need it after I get this rear back in shape.

Fabo at 40 - The "I Hate You, Body" Workout

Sucked in by the land of infomercials, I found myself strangely attracted to the P90X exercise and nutrition program. Understand that I was the same person who was, a week prior, sucked in by the Malibu Pilates chair. I was poised and ready to order that when Scott said, "Have you read any reviews on that?" He's so logical. The reviews on the chair sucked.

So I thought before I approached him with, "Let's spend $150 on P90X!," I would research it. You know what? People LOVED it. It was crazy. I was a little wary because they all talked about how you had to be "in shape" already. It promises that, if you stay true to the program, you will have a "beach body" in 90 days. People were thrilled with their results.

The program works in three phases for each of the months of the workouts. After taking the Fitness Test and, well, kind of, sort of passing it, we thought, "why not?"

The best part of P90X is the power of choice. You can choose between three programs, Classic, Doubles, and Lean. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. The meal suggestions come in two options for each Phase (month), Portion Approach or Meal Approach. They give realistic calories and the food intake changes as your workout changes. We are prepping to start the "Fat Shredder" part of the program. I am using the Portion Approach (how many servings of what in a day... similar to WW), but get this... I need to eat double the calories of any weight loss program I have ever been on. Interesting, yes? It's not the calories, it's where the calories are coming from that is key.

Scott and I have participating in two workouts so far. Day 1 was Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X. This basically kicked both of our behinds because we just aren't as strong as we used to be. I fell in love with the individualization that Tony Horton stressed. Personal goals for each exercise. He tells you what the "extreme" goal is for reps, but the whole point is that you work to failure (you just can't physically do any more). Scott and I were so sore today, it was insane. Even though I did what I considered to be very few reps, it was the quality of what I was doing that was important. I also used muscles that I have let grow dormant. With a slight modification, touching my foot to a chair, I was able to do pull-ups. I haven't done even one pull-up in YEARS. I was so excited, now I really can't wait to do them without a chair. But that's wayyyyy down the road. :) We also were thinking we would use our Bowflex, but we really need to invest in some additional free weights unless we want to really elongate the workout (already a 50-60 minute workout). They also give you enough time on the DVD to transition, and they build in water breaks, unlike other DVDs I have done where they stop the camera, but at home, you just have to keep rolling right along while they look all refreshed.

Day 2 was Plyometrics. Oh my gosh. We were already so sore. This was... I can't even come up with a word... CRAZY? But in a good way. In their words, "Plyometrics are drills designed to connect strength with speed to produce power." It is supposed to help you, "run faster, jump higher, and maneuver in multidirectional sports." It reminded me a lot of volleyball camp. I believe tomorrow, I will feel the same way as I did on Day 2 of camp after we did a million suicides on Day 1. Wait... I'm 39, and I was 16 then, so... it will feel worse. :) What Scott and I both realized was that we have to do the low impact version of this. Scott has a leg that was weakened by a bad break in his teens, and I have strained, sprained, and stretched just about every joint in my legs and feet. The nice thing was, the program allows for these modifications. It's all about pushing yourself to your maximum. They had one person who was supposed to be showing lower impact, but I think she got overly excited and was hopping around way too much.

The program also stresses vitamin supplements and after-workout drinks (theirs, of course, and why not?). Scott and I already have a regimen of supplements (I have gotten a bit sloppy with taking them, but I will need all I can get now), and we bought an after-workout powder similar to what they were selling through P90X at a local store (ironically right by Krispy Kreme in Bloomington!).

So, that's our gig. I am trying to get home right after school so we can work out before picking up Max. He is not the most flexible child when we are working out together. We found that one out on Sunday! I'll keep the blog updated with our progress as we go. No photos, no weight postings. Just how we're doing and how we feel. Maybe some measurement stats. :)

Comic Relief for Parents/Teachers

Please be aware... dealing with ADHD is no easy thing to deal with. However, if you are a teacher/parent who deals with an individual/individuals with ADHD on a minute-to-minute basis, a sense of humor is essential. So, I bring you comic relief. You know what happens in your head. Be honest and laugh.