I'm back ... rub down the goosebumps

I stopped blogging when I discovered the allure of Facebook in combination with having a full-time job. I'm going to try to give this a go again - let's see how it goes!!! I'll catch up more later - I promise.

All I Want For Christmas ....

is to avoid hearing Justin Bieber sing any other holiday song other than All I Want For Christmas with Mariah Carey. I'm really embarrassed, but I love that song and their version is really good. The video? Not so much. But, I do love the song.

So, Christmas is here and I've been a bad blogger. With Facebook, Twitter, work, etc etc I've neglected the blog. Let's get the latest:

Still Married to Army of Dad.
Still love sports.
Pickle is now a senior in high school and is planning to attend a local JuCo and maybe hit UNT after that.
Hot Rod is in the 8th grade and is the tallest kid in the family. He's been playing football and baseball, but had his season cut short because of a nasty chop block that left him in a big brace for two months. He's recovering well though.
Stinkerbelle is now 10 and in the fourth grade. We changed schools this year, which was hard, but she's transitioning very well. She's in the school choir and the gifted/talented program. She's started competitive gymnastics and is now a Level 3. She really enjoys it. We missed our first Nutcracker performance in five years, but the gymnastics made it too hard to get to rehearsals.

So, back to what I want for Christmas ....
* a new set of speakers for my computer. Wow, mine sound bad, but they are about 10 years old
* a new pocketknife. No clue what I did with mine. I'm sure I'll find it as soon as I get a new one.
* new perfume. Love my Katy Perry Purr ... but the bottle is designed so awkward, it tips and falls very easily and the nozzle is messed up (and almost empty, to boot)
* and the most luxurious thing I could ask for is a massage. Massage Envy (which is now almost as prevalent as Starbucks for being everywhere) is pretty inexpensive, close by, and they have a deal right now through Christmas Eve (good for those last-minute shoppers like AoD **hint, hint**).

The Massage Envy deal - buy three gift cards valued at $75 each and get a free one-hour massage session. I think they have to be bought at one of the 28 DFW locations, but they can be redeemed nationwide. So, you can get one for your mom, your sister, your husband, and then get a free massage for you!!! This may be the best solution for last-minute shoppers looking for the person who has everything!

And, here ya go: www.massageenvy.com or on Facebook www.facebook.com/MassageDFW

You can thank me later ... or get me some new perfume ... or one of your Massage Envy gift cards ... I'm pretty easy to please.

Happy Mother's Day!

Did you forget to buy a gift for your wife, mom, special someone?

Well the good folks at Massage Envy have been running a special that ends today, if you can run out and hit one of the 28 DFW-area Massage Envy clinics, you can get the special Mother’s Day deal – buy three gift cards valued at $75 each and get a free one-hour massage session gift card! So, you could even get yourself the massages and give your mom the freebie! This offer is valid only at the 28 DFW area Massage Envy clinics while supplies last through today (May 13, 2012.)

At Massage Envy, an introductory one-hour massage session (a 50-minute massage and time to talk with your massage therapist and get changed) is just $49. Memberships are available for $59 per month and include a one-hour massage session. Members can enjoy unlimited additional one-hour massage sessions at the $39 member rate. Go to www.massageenvy.com for info and locations. All clinics are open 7days a week. Follow Massage Envy DFW on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MassageDFW and Twitter - www.twitter.com/MassageEnvyDFW.

Here's me with my mom in San Francisco a few years back. I won't see her today, which seems weird.

 Me and my eldest a few weeks back. He'll be 18 in the fall and graduate from high school in 2013.

Me and the kids at Halloween. My way-too-cool to dress up kid will be 13 in a week.

And, my sweet baby girl, who decorated a cake for me at school this week. HMD stands for Happy Mother's Day in case you didn't know. :) And, if any of you care to give me a Mother's Day Massage Envy gift certificate ... I'd be ok with that, too! Sorry I didn't advise everyone earlier .... life just got in the way!

AoM Takes on Chi-Town

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of making my first trip to Chi-Town. Here's a photo diary.

Looking up in downtown Chicago. I went for a volunteer event and took some time to site-see. Couldn't believe how big the downtown was.




I encountered my fear of heights by going out on the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower).



The view from the skyledge.

Me in front of one of the Milennium Park sculptures.

The same sculpture, bt with the skyline reflected in it. I think it's called the Cloud Gate or something like that. But, all the natives call it The Bean.

My wonderful hosts in the 'burbs of Chicago. They took me site-seeing and let me crash in their home office. And, they took me out for my first real Chicago deep-dish pizza at Giordano's.

This is my Chicago colleague, who took me to the Field Museum to see Sue the dinosaur. It was the first time we've met in person even though we've worked together since October 2009.

And real Chicago deli food downtown. I just liked this because Eppy was the original name of the UNT mascot (now known as Scrappy.)

Christmas Card Time!

It's that time of year again when we get ready to start sending out the holiday cards and the good folks at Shutterfly are so convinced that once you get your holiday cards from them, you'll never go anywhere else! So, they've asked me to offer readers a chance to get 25 free cards for your family (use them for birth announcements, birthday cards or, like me, for Christmas cards.)

Last year was my first year to use Shutterfly for my Christmas cards and I got so many compliments, I knew I had to create one of these cards again. The one you see here is our 2010 card.

I'm thinking, too, of creating some photo book gifts for the grandparents of this year in photos of the kids. They've all three grown so much and I do take a few pictures here and there ... You can also create your own personalized greeting cards, too, for special occasions (and when you don't want to run to the store!)

So, here's the challenge for you. I have special promo codes for 25 free cards for three readers. Tell me why I should give you the free cards ... what's your story? Because everyone has one ... hard luck, good deeds, or simply because you've got cute kids to show off ... let me know by emailing armyofmomblogger at yahoo dot com and I'll respond ...

Happy Early Thanksgiving!!!

Mostly All's Well

Things have been nutty and crazy (which is normal for me), but things are turning out ok. My old minivan finally had the last thing break and inspired me to trade her in. So, I got a new Mitsubishi Outlander on Monday. It's really cool, but lots smaller. So, I'm having to adjust to having space for lots of junk in my vehicle. That's probably good.

After almost two months of testing to find out why I have blood in my urine - the urologist concluded that it's just the way my body works. *sigh* Some people just have microscopic amounts of blood there and I appear to be one 'em.

I got to see the Rangers win the American League Championship Series Saturday night. it was one of the best nights of my entire life ... seriously!

Kidneys, ureters and bladders: Oh my!

*sigh*

Army of Dad likes to give me massive amounts of grief because he says I have an uusual hobby: an annual trip to the OR.

I really don't mean to and I actually missed a few years, thank you very much.

And, maybe I'll miss it again ... but I just don't know and it's making me crazier than usual. Went to the doctor because I was retaining water and my skin felt like a grape about to pop.

So, the dr wants to know what's causing the edema (the fancy word for swelling.) So, an EKG shows it isn't my ticker. A CBC just shows some elevated LDL levels, so bring down the cholesterol, he says. Then, there is the matter of tinkling into a cup. Not so lucky there. Showed blood in my urine without any signs of infection to be causing it.

So, off to the hospital I go (today) to have a renal ultrasound and an IVP (where they inject dye into veins and then check the kidneys, ureters and bladder). Yippee. Not. Some minor notes on the procedures:

The sono tech did her exam. I'm always asking questions about how these things work, so it's like a class for me. Of course, the techs can't tell you anything ... but as I'm leaving from the ultrasound, the tech says "So, you're not having any pain?" Which makes me wonder what she saw that should/might be causing me pain.

Then, the IVP tech is a cute young guy ... he's taking me back and stares at my chest and then says: "you're wearing a bra, right?" Um, yeah. Then, he looks at me again and says "If you just want to take off your bra, you can just wear your T-shirt and skip the gown." Hell yeah, that is definitely preferred. The yoga pants (thanks for the idea, Army of Dad) seemed to be a better choice than jeans for the day b/c I was able to keep them on the whole time.

So, I'm giggling at cute young boy asking me to remove my bra ... then, he's positioning me on the table and says "I'm going to feel you" as he's got his hands on both of my hips. Then, "perfect!" I did start giggling out loud then. The nurse in the room (who did the IV) laughed, too, when I said "A cute young boy just grabbed both my hips and said 'perfect.' My day is improving!"

So, we're taking different x-rays and I'm asking him questions about how they work, etc. And, I'm about to wet my britches and ask him if I can go to the restroom and he says to wait because they will do a "post-void" x-ray, too. So, hooray, peeing is part of the procedure. I can't wait! So, when we get to the point in the x-rays when I can go potty, he says "You ready to go to the restroom? I know you need to go." Yep, I replied, Could you read my expression that clearly? "Nope, I saw your bladder."

Hahahahahaha. I told him to stop making me laugh or I wouldn't make it to the bathroom. So, we go back to the xray room and he goes to show the radiologist the films and returns to tell me I can leave. So, I can go to the changing room to get my bra back on, I ask. "Unless you wanna go like that," he tells me. *giggling* I love cute boys with a sense of humor!

We did talk about our families and he and his wife are trying to have a baby right now. That's so sweet ... and, fun, too, I'm guessing. Ha!

So, now, the waiting is the hardest part. Xray tech said my doctor should have the results by the end of the day. Hopefully, he'll call today or tomorrow. (The doctor with the results, not the cute Xray tech.)