{ Balloon Glow at the Lake }

This year, the city moved the balloon glow from a local park to Lake Skinner. This was my first time going there, and I have to say, I was impressed. It's a beautiful lake especially when we got there a little before sunset. There was a concert going on there, and since I was still revovering from sinus surgery and had a little headache, we walked down to the shore of the lake. It was fun watching the sunset and the birds in the water. We saw a western grebe diving and swimming in the lake. A duck was eyeing us for snacks, but we had none! The kids had fun enjoying nature and of course, sticks with fishing line tied on. We took the line off and threw it in the trash so it wouldn't hurt any of the wildlife. We saw the balloon start to inflate, so we headed back just in time for it to be up in the air. There was only one balloon this year, a bit of a disappointment, but it's always fun to watch, even one balloon. It was a short trip out there, maybe an hour total, but it was nice to get out of the house for a bit. And it was simply a gorgeous evening.

{ Welcome to my Happy Dance }

I feel like a new person today. My nose is literally burning with every breath, deeper than ever before and the smells, I can smell so much. At Walmart, I noticed, that's not a good thing! The light is at the end of the tunnel. I'm so excited to get up and go! I'm now finished with getting sick all of the time and not living my life the way I want to. Yay!!!! Next chapter is coming right up...

{ Nose Update }

I had my nose splints removed today. My appointment was at 4:30 but the doctor was running behind. I'm so glad that he was about 1/2 hour behind, at abou 4:50 there was a M5.4 earthquake that shook the building quite a bit. If I was in getting the splints removed right then, that would have hurt! Anyway, it did hurt nonetheless, but after he finished and sucked out the mucous from my sinuses, I felt so much better! I can breathe. Better than I ever remember breathing. I can smell better, too! And my hearing in my left ear seems improved. Oh, I hope so much that this lasts and is the new norm. The doctor says everything looks great and that he expects me to be fully recovered by the time he sees me back in 10 days. For now, I must wash out with saline, which makes me naseaus. Is that a normal response to saline? I get it every time saline enters my body. Hmm. I'm finally feeling that this was worth the pain and effort and money to get done.

{ Happy Fourth of July }

My son was in the parade with his football league! He was so very excited to be riding on an antique fire truck and in the parade! All pictures were taken by his sister, and she did a wonderful job. Happy independance day.

{ Surgery Complete ]

I went to the hospital on Weds. afternoon where they prepped me and hurried me into pre-op. The dr. was ready for me. Except, an hour and 10 minutes later, he came in and told me that his previous patient was going to take another two hours to finish up. I had to reschedule. So, IV removed, got dressed and went to Macaroni grill to eat something - the first thing all day - and wait for traffic to die down.

I had my surgery yesterday morning. It took a bit longer than expected but went well with no problems. My nose is not crooked anymore, but it's so swollen and bleeding, that I'm still quite miserable. It feels like I have a bad sinus infection. I'll get there. I'm so sad that I'm missing all of the fourth of July festivities this weekend, but that's the way it goes. I can't wait to get healed up and get the splints removed from my nose!