New hip...new possibilities!

During my second pregnancy, I started having a lot of trouble with my left hip.  There were times when it would buckle, my range of motions started to decrease, and cold weather really brought out the discomfort.  With each pregnancy, AND advancing age, the hip continued to deteriorate. In 2007, the hip was starting to have an impact on the quality of my life. Around this time, 2 people VERY dear to me (Barbara Becker and my mother, Shirley) were having joints replaced. Brave Barbara had both knees done at one time and Mom had one hip replaced. Both of them said it was the best decision they had ever made.  They encouraged me to not put my own surgery off.  I was mostly concerned that the doctor might say I was too young to consider that route, but when we got back from our last cross country trip, I knew I couldn't put it off any longer.  I went to see my family doctor during the Christmas break.  When I brought the subject up, she said age shouldn't even be considered with deciding on hip replacement. She gave me a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and I saw him yesterday.  Good news is; I will be back to normal by August.  Bad news is, I have to wait until June for surgery. 

GeoCaching...

I love having a day off when the weather is beautiful.  It is a great opportunity to get together with family and visit some of the beautiful parks here in Temple.  While we were out this morning at the Whistle Stop Park, we decided to do some spur of the moment geocaching.  (We are new to this current fad, but have decided we could get hooked rather easily.  I won't bother to explain the process completely, but compare it to modern day treasure hunting.)  Scott happened to have downloaded 4 different caches at neighborhood parks within a 5 mile radius of the house. After grabbing some lunch at Mc Donald's, we headed to Colquit Park and found the first cache.  Scott actually found it hanging in a tree.

The second one was at Lion's Park, hanging on a fence.  I found it before Seth, who happened to have his hand near the container. 

The third cache was the trickiest.  It was a tiny, magnetic cylinder attached to a metal sign near a small bridge that crosses a creek near Lion's Park. Seth was leaning on the sign and saying "I think it's the sign."  Scott finally noticed it tucked neatly inside the gap between the sign and the pole. 

The fourth one was the hardest.  It was supposed to be in a "Majestic Oak Tree" but we couldn't find it anywhere.  Luckily, Becca has a Blackberry and was able to log on to the geocaching site to get some more information.  Once we knew what the cache looked like, and that it had once been found on the ground in the pasture near the tree, we spotted it.  Scott crawled under the fence and snagged our 4th cache.  It was a wonderful afternoon and I look forward to the next adventure.

Getting old... at least parts of me are!

We have had a lot of cold weather lately and that seems to have made the arthritis in my hip flare up.  So, I finally broke down and talked to Dr. Graham about it.  It seems I am my mother's daughter in more ways than one.  It looks like I have a hip replacement looming on the horizon.  I am actually thankful that I have a doctor that believes that quality of life shouldn't be put off just because I am "not old enough" to be considering hip replacement.  She gave me a referral to an orthopedic surgeon and I will be meeting with him on the 27th.  I am sure I will be getting a second opinion regardless of how that appointment goes, because if he agrees with Dr. Graham, I will ask to see Mom's surgeon.  Hopefully, by this time next year I will have a new hip and be a much more limber and pain free person!

2010 Refreshment...

Our lesson in Relief Society helped me look at New Year's Resolutions in a new way. I usually jokingly say the only resolution I have ever kept was the one I made to NEVER make resolutions! But, our teacher helped me see that resolutions shouldn't be viewed as something I will eventually end up not keeping; but rather a way to refresh myself.  She encouraged us to look at 4 areas of our lives: education, social, spiritual and physical, and find ways to refresh those areas to make them richer. By placing the emphasis on refreshing and revitalizing those areas, it changes a resolution from an unattainable NEW goal, into a continuation of your earthly progression.  So, the way I choose to refresh myself in the area of education is to learn something new. Nothing specific, and nothing planned; just to take advantage of experiences I have and gain knowledge from them.  In the area of social, I choose to refresh my free time by spending more of it with friends and family, and less of it consumed with work.  In the area of spiritual, I choose to delve more deeply in scripture study and actively participate in the Gospel Doctrine lessons on the Old Testament.  And finally in the area of physical, I choose to find a good beautician and stop taking chances on whoever is available at JC Penny's salon!