Can you link to this map? It is a work in progress, of all the places I have traveled. It's cool to make a map of your own with Google Maps. Try it! :)
View Places Missi Baker has Visited in a larger map
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Sandpoint Archers Newsletter December 2009
I'm not seeing a way to upload a .pdf file here. Is it possible? I wanted to upload the Sandpoint Archers newsletter, but I guess I can't. If you're interested in reading it, leave me your email address and I'll send it to you in an email. Bummer!
Anyone know how to upload a .pdf?
Well, I uploaded the .pdf to my school web page. Here's the link, in case you want to see the Sandpoint Archers Newsletter:
Sandpoint Archers Newsletter
Here's the Sandpoint Archers Web Site
Anyone know how to upload a .pdf?
Well, I uploaded the .pdf to my school web page. Here's the link, in case you want to see the Sandpoint Archers Newsletter:
Sandpoint Archers Newsletter
Here's the Sandpoint Archers Web Site
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Rotator Cuff Surgery Recovery: Weeks 11-12
This is the last post about the shoulder surgery. Last week, Thursday, the doctor said I only had to wear my arm restraint for one more week, so, I haven't worn it since. :) Once freedom is so near, you just have to grab for it! Friday, for the first time, the PT has me trying to lift my arm over my head, push my hand up a wall, and use a pulley system to stretch my shoulder myself. All very weird feeling after 11 weeks of being told, "No, no, no." Now all of a sudden it's, "Yes, yes, yes!" It was a weird mental transfer for me. But once I got it, it was all "go, go, go."
Here is a negative of my shoulder I finally got. It's not very clear, but you can see a few of the screws. The screws were used to re-attach my tendons to the bones. There wasn't much of the "labrum" left so he might have used a screw with a tie on the end to try to hold that together, too. You can see the metal plate and the screws in my neck in this shot, too, a little. Just call me "Frankenmissi. :)
I have a picture of one of the MRIs too, from before the surgery, but I really can't tell a thing from it. I guess that's why you have to be trained to read those things. Well, here it is anyway. It looks even more creepy than the one with the screws.
So my mental attitude is much improved with the doctor's release to start doing some more aggressive strength building and stretching... They know that I shoot archery, so they are devising some fun exercises to get me back with my bow lickity-split. I went to the gym both Saturday morning and today. I'm going to have to work on getting there during the week, too, the days I don't have PT, until Christmas break.
So, what has changed this past week? I can touch my eyebrows now (still have to wash my hair with my left hand). I put the hanger on the rack with my right hand this morning (woo-hoo). Since I cast off the arm restraint, I can put both my arms in my jacket, thank goodness, now that it's down to 10 degrees Centigrade this weekend. I'm eating about half the time with my right hand now. Still can't really reach behind my back with the right arm yet.
The doctor said it might be six months to a year before my shoulder actually feels "normal" again. That's okay, though. Just being out of that arm thing is such a relief.
Well, I hope someone can benefit from these comments about shoulder surgery in the future. I hear that a lot of people have to go back and have the other shoulder done. I hope that is not the case with me. I don't want to do this again. It is just too weird! That's about the best word to describe what it feels like now. There is virtually no pain anymore, although sleeping is still an issue. I did sleep in my own bed the past two nights. Waking up and tossing and turning a lot. Anyway, I think I'm done with the recliner. I just don't want to go down to the den anymore. Especially now that it's turned so cold. I feel guilty heating the extra room at night. :)
What I'm going to try to do is keep doing these exercises they have given me to strengthen both my shoulders, to ward off any other shoulder issues. Archery, here we come.
I have a picture of one of the MRIs too, from before the surgery, but I really can't tell a thing from it. I guess that's why you have to be trained to read those things. Well, here it is anyway. It looks even more creepy than the one with the screws.
So, what has changed this past week? I can touch my eyebrows now (still have to wash my hair with my left hand). I put the hanger on the rack with my right hand this morning (woo-hoo). Since I cast off the arm restraint, I can put both my arms in my jacket, thank goodness, now that it's down to 10 degrees Centigrade this weekend. I'm eating about half the time with my right hand now. Still can't really reach behind my back with the right arm yet.
The doctor said it might be six months to a year before my shoulder actually feels "normal" again. That's okay, though. Just being out of that arm thing is such a relief.
Well, I hope someone can benefit from these comments about shoulder surgery in the future. I hear that a lot of people have to go back and have the other shoulder done. I hope that is not the case with me. I don't want to do this again. It is just too weird! That's about the best word to describe what it feels like now. There is virtually no pain anymore, although sleeping is still an issue. I did sleep in my own bed the past two nights. Waking up and tossing and turning a lot. Anyway, I think I'm done with the recliner. I just don't want to go down to the den anymore. Especially now that it's turned so cold. I feel guilty heating the extra room at night. :)
What I'm going to try to do is keep doing these exercises they have given me to strengthen both my shoulders, to ward off any other shoulder issues. Archery, here we come.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Shoulder Surgery Recovery: Weeks 1 - 2
I heard yesterday about another teacher who had shoulder surgery. The person telling me said, "She was surprised at how painful it is." Well, for those of you anticipating shoulder surgery, you need to accept this fact. The first two weeks are very painful!
It has been 10 weeks for me now, so I do not remember some things from those early weeks. I should have been writing about it sooner, to be more accurate, but for a long time I didn't feel up to it. Typing was actually quite hard at first.
My experience --
Week 1: I got to the hospital at 6AM, and left at about 5PM. I was the last one in the post-operative outpatient room. I felt sick and dizzy when I tried to stand up or move. That quick acting pain med they used in the recovery room was really nice! Shot it right into the IV. I'm allergic to morphine, so they couldn't give me that. They had to shoot me up with some nausea medicine , too. My poor husband! He had gone to work expecting a phone call in a few hours to come get me. He finally just came to the hospital around two, and ended up having to wait with me until I was able to get to the car and get home. I think he went to the drugstore during that time to get the prescription pain meds.
They gave me hydrocodone. I took that consistently for four days. And I used ibuprofen in between after about three days. After I got off the hydrocodone, mostly because it made me feel nauseous all the time, I remember I took some "night time" ibuprofen during the day once, just so I could try to sleep (that was my mom's suggestion, and it was a good one!). And I took it at night, about every other night for the first week.
There was this bulb attached to my sling that had a tube running up into the shoulder wound. They told me before I left the hospital that it had pain medicine that would leach into the shoulder over the first two days to provide longer pain relief over the worst two days. Also, I had a nerve block in my shoulder to numb that part of my arm for the first day or so after surgery.
I didn't even try to lay down in my bed for the first two weeks. Learn to sleep in the recliner!
Learn to live with an ice pack. Two ice packs, really. One in the freezer while the other one is on your shoulder. The ice really helps the pain. Numbs it some, and keeps the swelling down a little.
I had surgery on Thursday. My husband took off the bandages for the first time on Saturday night (according to the doctor's instructions), and took out the bulb pain reliever tube.
I only threw up once, Friday morning.
I thought I would enjoy watching television or movies, or reading books this first week. Didn't happen. Just slept and took pain meds, went to the bathroom with assistance, and didn't eat much. Holding anything in my right arm was impossible.
The first session of physical therapy came just four days after the surgery, on Monday. Getting dressed was a real challenge. Up to that point, I had just been in a nightshirt. Don was at work, so I had to dress by myself. Must have taken a half an hour! I was still in a daze. They put me in the chair that moves your arm passively for about a half an hour, and then manipulated it by hand for a few minutes. Then they stuck the electrode on me and iced and zapped the shoulder for 15 minutes.
Learn to live with everything taking at least twice as long as it normally does.
I thought I would still be able to teach my online class, but typing was so painful, it was impossible. I had to call for a "sub." He took the class for me for about five days, and then I tried to get back online. Even then, it was very difficult.
I was going stir-crazy after about six days of being cooped up in the den, so I went for a walk, about a quarter mile to a friend's house. Don came and got me to drive me home. I think I was still really out of it.
Week 2: I went back to work on my 11th day out of surgery. That was OK. I don't have a really physical job. Any time I needed to write something on the blackboard, I just asked a student to do it. I was still taking three ibuprofen every four hours. I took that much for at least three weeks.
It was funny; I saw one of my students from last year, and he asked me about what happened. And he suddenly said, "Oh yea, that time you couldn't lift your arm to write on the blackboard." (I injured my shoulder back in May.) It was cool that he remembered that.
Stitches came out at the end of the second week. They took a post-surgery x-ray of my shoulder, and I found out for the first time that I had six 5/8-inch titanium screws added to my physique. Light bulb goes on - no wonder it hurts so much.
Physical therapy for the next four weeks, three times a week, in the chair for an hour, manual manipulation by the PT for a few minutes, then the electrode zapping with ice for 15 minutes. That was it. All passive motion.
I have to stop now. It's Thanksgiving Day, and I have to start cooking. I found out at 6:30AM that I can't make bread very well with my left hand; can't kneed the dough with my right hand yet. I did try a little...
It has been 10 weeks for me now, so I do not remember some things from those early weeks. I should have been writing about it sooner, to be more accurate, but for a long time I didn't feel up to it. Typing was actually quite hard at first.
My experience --
Week 1: I got to the hospital at 6AM, and left at about 5PM. I was the last one in the post-operative outpatient room. I felt sick and dizzy when I tried to stand up or move. That quick acting pain med they used in the recovery room was really nice! Shot it right into the IV. I'm allergic to morphine, so they couldn't give me that. They had to shoot me up with some nausea medicine , too. My poor husband! He had gone to work expecting a phone call in a few hours to come get me. He finally just came to the hospital around two, and ended up having to wait with me until I was able to get to the car and get home. I think he went to the drugstore during that time to get the prescription pain meds.
They gave me hydrocodone. I took that consistently for four days. And I used ibuprofen in between after about three days. After I got off the hydrocodone, mostly because it made me feel nauseous all the time, I remember I took some "night time" ibuprofen during the day once, just so I could try to sleep (that was my mom's suggestion, and it was a good one!). And I took it at night, about every other night for the first week.
There was this bulb attached to my sling that had a tube running up into the shoulder wound. They told me before I left the hospital that it had pain medicine that would leach into the shoulder over the first two days to provide longer pain relief over the worst two days. Also, I had a nerve block in my shoulder to numb that part of my arm for the first day or so after surgery.
I didn't even try to lay down in my bed for the first two weeks. Learn to sleep in the recliner!
Learn to live with an ice pack. Two ice packs, really. One in the freezer while the other one is on your shoulder. The ice really helps the pain. Numbs it some, and keeps the swelling down a little.
I had surgery on Thursday. My husband took off the bandages for the first time on Saturday night (according to the doctor's instructions), and took out the bulb pain reliever tube.
I only threw up once, Friday morning.
I thought I would enjoy watching television or movies, or reading books this first week. Didn't happen. Just slept and took pain meds, went to the bathroom with assistance, and didn't eat much. Holding anything in my right arm was impossible.
The first session of physical therapy came just four days after the surgery, on Monday. Getting dressed was a real challenge. Up to that point, I had just been in a nightshirt. Don was at work, so I had to dress by myself. Must have taken a half an hour! I was still in a daze. They put me in the chair that moves your arm passively for about a half an hour, and then manipulated it by hand for a few minutes. Then they stuck the electrode on me and iced and zapped the shoulder for 15 minutes.
Learn to live with everything taking at least twice as long as it normally does.
I thought I would still be able to teach my online class, but typing was so painful, it was impossible. I had to call for a "sub." He took the class for me for about five days, and then I tried to get back online. Even then, it was very difficult.
I was going stir-crazy after about six days of being cooped up in the den, so I went for a walk, about a quarter mile to a friend's house. Don came and got me to drive me home. I think I was still really out of it.
Week 2: I went back to work on my 11th day out of surgery. That was OK. I don't have a really physical job. Any time I needed to write something on the blackboard, I just asked a student to do it. I was still taking three ibuprofen every four hours. I took that much for at least three weeks.
It was funny; I saw one of my students from last year, and he asked me about what happened. And he suddenly said, "Oh yea, that time you couldn't lift your arm to write on the blackboard." (I injured my shoulder back in May.) It was cool that he remembered that.
Stitches came out at the end of the second week. They took a post-surgery x-ray of my shoulder, and I found out for the first time that I had six 5/8-inch titanium screws added to my physique. Light bulb goes on - no wonder it hurts so much.
Physical therapy for the next four weeks, three times a week, in the chair for an hour, manual manipulation by the PT for a few minutes, then the electrode zapping with ice for 15 minutes. That was it. All passive motion.
I have to stop now. It's Thanksgiving Day, and I have to start cooking. I found out at 6:30AM that I can't make bread very well with my left hand; can't kneed the dough with my right hand yet. I did try a little...
Shoulder Surgery Recovery: Weeks 8-10
By this time, a lot of people are so comfortable with their arm, that they have received the okay from the doctor to quit wearing their arm restraint, and are doing some pretty vigorous stretching and weight resistance exercises to rebuild the muscles around their repaired shoulder.
Not so, me. There have been many times over these past three weeks when I have asked myself, "What have I done wrong?" And the faithful physical therapist (PT) keeps telling me, "Different surgeries recover at different rates." As far as I know, I have done nothing to re-injure my arm or damage the repair job Dr. Faggard did back in September, the 17th. I don't remember a lot of dates, but this one I think I will always remember. I haven't looked at the calendar to count weeks once since the surgery, but I know that it has been exactly 10 weeks since that day. Wow.
I get jealous when I see other people in physical therapy who had their surgeries weeks after mine, and are already doing movements and exercises I can't do yet. Have to knock myself on the head to get those thoughts out of my mind.
I did try a new machine yesterday, much to the PT's consternation. They have one of those arm bicycles, that uses water resistance. So I got on there and started doing it, just to see if I could do the motion, and I could! The PT let me push it around (with very minimal resistance) twice before she made me get out of that machine. She said I may start doing that one next week. :)
So I see the doctor again next week, and that's when the PT hopes that I will be "set free" to start more aggressive rehabilitation. She hopes I will be able to start using a pulley system at home to start stretching my shoulder every day. She said that would bring back a lot of mobility.
This week I've been doing the biceps and triceps exercises with a light resistance, and I started some back strengthening (using those elastic colored strips, pulling backwards, elbows in, squeezing the shoulder blades). Also using the elastic to start some rotation exercises, pulling and pushing my arm across my body and then away from my body. I don't have much rotation yet.
I'm beginning to think that the doctor doesn't tell you how painful it's going to be before the surgery, because he doesn't know. Everyone is different; every surgery is different. But I still wish I would have been better informed. At least, it seems that way now. Before hand, would I have wanted to know what it was going to be like? Maybe that would have only made it worse.
Sleep: Still tenuous. I had two nights of eight hours this week. I can make it in my own bed until about midnight, then I move down to the recliner for the rest.
New Benchmarks: I can brush my teeth with my right hand now! (Or for most of that process.) That is cool. Also, I can use my right arm to use a utensil to bring food to my mouth. That happened in Week 9. All of a sudden I realized I was eating a bowl of soup with my right hand. Very cool. It got tiring after a while, but it was quite a positive realization.
I can touch the lower half of my face pretty easily now. Back to a two-handed nose blow! I tried to "tweeze" my eyebrows yesterday, however, and I can't get my hand that high yet.
Since they told me not to try to lift my arm so many weeks ago, I haven't been trying. However, in the evenings these past two weeks, I haven't been wearing the restraint around the house, and I find I am using my arm more and more for regular activities. I can't actually hang a hanger in my closet yet. My arm gets about three quarters of the way to the bar and then stops. Still can't reach around my back at all.
So I'm close to the end. At the beginning of this experience, the doctor told me it would be a 12-week recovery for me. I didn't really understand what that meant, and I still don't really. Because I know that in two more weeks, I'm still not going to be able to draw my bow. I'm not sure when that will happen. January seems to be approaching very quickly (indoor leagues start in January). I thought I might be able to shoot then, but now I'm not so sure. One more month? Maybe!
My emotions spring from despair to hope and back again almost daily. Some days I still have a lot of pain (like after the PT stretches my shoulder out of the socket!), or after I start some new exercises. But some days are just awesome, and I don't have much pain at all. I have succumbed to taking Ibuprofen again when the pain is more noticeable. There is a teenage boy who got surgery about four weeks ago in my PT group. He hasn't been experiencing any pain since his second week. Maybe being close to 50 has something to do with my recovery time. And those six pesky screws! He didn't have any screws, but the doctor did use some "ties" to repair his shoulder, football injury. This young man hasn't had trouble sleeping since his second week either.
Another positive: My handwriting is very legible with my left hand now! (I mean on the board in the front of my classroom). I have progressed to at least 6th grade handwriting with my left hand! Quite an accomplishment. So, anything is possible. :) On a desk down low, I am fine using my right hand for writing now. It is just on the board I have to use my left still. Typing gets tiring after awhile, if the keyboard is not low enough. If it's low, typing is fine.
I can see the light recovery at the end of the tunnel. :)
Not so, me. There have been many times over these past three weeks when I have asked myself, "What have I done wrong?" And the faithful physical therapist (PT) keeps telling me, "Different surgeries recover at different rates." As far as I know, I have done nothing to re-injure my arm or damage the repair job Dr. Faggard did back in September, the 17th. I don't remember a lot of dates, but this one I think I will always remember. I haven't looked at the calendar to count weeks once since the surgery, but I know that it has been exactly 10 weeks since that day. Wow.
I get jealous when I see other people in physical therapy who had their surgeries weeks after mine, and are already doing movements and exercises I can't do yet. Have to knock myself on the head to get those thoughts out of my mind.
I did try a new machine yesterday, much to the PT's consternation. They have one of those arm bicycles, that uses water resistance. So I got on there and started doing it, just to see if I could do the motion, and I could! The PT let me push it around (with very minimal resistance) twice before she made me get out of that machine. She said I may start doing that one next week. :)
So I see the doctor again next week, and that's when the PT hopes that I will be "set free" to start more aggressive rehabilitation. She hopes I will be able to start using a pulley system at home to start stretching my shoulder every day. She said that would bring back a lot of mobility.
This week I've been doing the biceps and triceps exercises with a light resistance, and I started some back strengthening (using those elastic colored strips, pulling backwards, elbows in, squeezing the shoulder blades). Also using the elastic to start some rotation exercises, pulling and pushing my arm across my body and then away from my body. I don't have much rotation yet.
I'm beginning to think that the doctor doesn't tell you how painful it's going to be before the surgery, because he doesn't know. Everyone is different; every surgery is different. But I still wish I would have been better informed. At least, it seems that way now. Before hand, would I have wanted to know what it was going to be like? Maybe that would have only made it worse.
Sleep: Still tenuous. I had two nights of eight hours this week. I can make it in my own bed until about midnight, then I move down to the recliner for the rest.
New Benchmarks: I can brush my teeth with my right hand now! (Or for most of that process.) That is cool. Also, I can use my right arm to use a utensil to bring food to my mouth. That happened in Week 9. All of a sudden I realized I was eating a bowl of soup with my right hand. Very cool. It got tiring after a while, but it was quite a positive realization.
I can touch the lower half of my face pretty easily now. Back to a two-handed nose blow! I tried to "tweeze" my eyebrows yesterday, however, and I can't get my hand that high yet.
Since they told me not to try to lift my arm so many weeks ago, I haven't been trying. However, in the evenings these past two weeks, I haven't been wearing the restraint around the house, and I find I am using my arm more and more for regular activities. I can't actually hang a hanger in my closet yet. My arm gets about three quarters of the way to the bar and then stops. Still can't reach around my back at all.
So I'm close to the end. At the beginning of this experience, the doctor told me it would be a 12-week recovery for me. I didn't really understand what that meant, and I still don't really. Because I know that in two more weeks, I'm still not going to be able to draw my bow. I'm not sure when that will happen. January seems to be approaching very quickly (indoor leagues start in January). I thought I might be able to shoot then, but now I'm not so sure. One more month? Maybe!
My emotions spring from despair to hope and back again almost daily. Some days I still have a lot of pain (like after the PT stretches my shoulder out of the socket!), or after I start some new exercises. But some days are just awesome, and I don't have much pain at all. I have succumbed to taking Ibuprofen again when the pain is more noticeable. There is a teenage boy who got surgery about four weeks ago in my PT group. He hasn't been experiencing any pain since his second week. Maybe being close to 50 has something to do with my recovery time. And those six pesky screws! He didn't have any screws, but the doctor did use some "ties" to repair his shoulder, football injury. This young man hasn't had trouble sleeping since his second week either.
Another positive: My handwriting is very legible with my left hand now! (I mean on the board in the front of my classroom). I have progressed to at least 6th grade handwriting with my left hand! Quite an accomplishment. So, anything is possible. :) On a desk down low, I am fine using my right hand for writing now. It is just on the board I have to use my left still. Typing gets tiring after awhile, if the keyboard is not low enough. If it's low, typing is fine.
I can see the light recovery at the end of the tunnel. :)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Week 6 - 7: Rotator Cuff Surgery Recovery
Week 6 - No pain meds in Week 6, so more discomfort, but tolerable. Blew my nose with both hands, but it was awkward, so I went back to the one-handed technique. I did actually begin to use my biceps in physical therapy. They gave me one of those long stretchy rubber strips (the yellow one - the least resistance) and said I should do biceps curls by standing on one end of the strip, and then triceps exercises, hooking the strip over a door frame. I am supposed to do this every other day. My arm aches quite a bit the next day.
I was trying to think what differences there were this week, and I couldn't come up with much.
Week 7 - I've actually taken Tylenol and Ibuprofen this week. One day at school I lost my resolve and took some Tylenol. Then on Friday, I was bending over to put food in the dog bowl, and I must of twisted wrong, because I pulled a muscle in my lower back... It was really a relief to be able to take Ibuprofen again. I'm really just a big baby when it comes to dealing with pain (actually, I'm a big baby in a lot of ways, says my husband!). :) Here's the dogs we feed every day.
Got another lecture from the Physical Therapy people. Their message, "No, no, no!" No, I can't try to shift my car with my right arm. No, I can't try to put on my seat belt. No, I can't do any exercises requiring me to lift my arm. No, I should not be stretching on my own. No opening doors, no carrying groceries, no milk gallons, no stacks of books... Anything that requires me to bare weight with that arm is still out. I did try brushing my teeth again with my right arm, but it didn't work very well.
Along with losing my strength in that arm, I have also lost my coordination. Also, there is still little to no rotation in my shoulder, so my arm just doesn't work right. You'd be surprised how many motions require some sort of rotation at the shoulder.
They said that shoulder surgery is one of they types of recoveries that you should not try to use the joint ahead of schedule. My tendons are apparently building new sources of blood supply, and will be at the weakest at 12 weeks out of surgery. So trying to "push through the pain" to use the arm at this point will only lengthen my recovery time, and possibly damage the corrections the surgery put in place, according to the PT people. They said that time would come for me, just not yet. Five more weeks for me. Maybe by Christmas I'll be using my arm "normally" again.
I'm hoping to be able to pick up my bow again in January. We start indoor leagues then. I really don't know if I'll be able to draw my bow. If not, I'll borrow a baby bow just to get the muscles moving in the right direction again.
Have to include a picture, so here's one of Don at our "Broadhead Shoot" in August.
So I adopted a new "no use" policy Friday night when I got home from physical therapy. Then Saturday I went shopping. :) It was tough holding all those hangers of clothes and looking through racks with only one arm (I was not totally successful in not using the arm). And trying the clothes on was awkward (as usual!). But I came away with three skirts - black, dark brown, and a striped blue/tan (everything was more than 50% off, Veteran's Day sales), one jacket, one vest and one tank top. I felt successful, and did not spend that much.
Then we stopped by Cabelas, and we bought a pair of binoculars. All the top girls at the Traditional World Championships used binoculars. I figured I needed to have a pair, too. Maybe that would help be break into the top three next year. :) I don't know if I've written about the championships. I earned fourth place. Those women were sooooooo good!
Sleep has not been good this week for some reason. The amount of time I have slept in my own bed has cut back to two hours a night (it was 4 hours before). Then I am waking up more often at night, too. The PT people said there would be plateaus. Guess I hit one this week. Don gives me backrubs most nights before I go to sleep. Those feel really good. I told him it was an important part of my physical therapy. :) I don't think he believes me.
When I put in the picture, my paragraphs all got mixed up. Hmmm... oh well. Have to get into my online class now and do some grading!
I was trying to think what differences there were this week, and I couldn't come up with much.
Week 7 - I've actually taken Tylenol and Ibuprofen this week. One day at school I lost my resolve and took some Tylenol. Then on Friday, I was bending over to put food in the dog bowl, and I must of twisted wrong, because I pulled a muscle in my lower back... It was really a relief to be able to take Ibuprofen again. I'm really just a big baby when it comes to dealing with pain (actually, I'm a big baby in a lot of ways, says my husband!). :) Here's the dogs we feed every day.
Got another lecture from the Physical Therapy people. Their message, "No, no, no!" No, I can't try to shift my car with my right arm. No, I can't try to put on my seat belt. No, I can't do any exercises requiring me to lift my arm. No, I should not be stretching on my own. No opening doors, no carrying groceries, no milk gallons, no stacks of books... Anything that requires me to bare weight with that arm is still out. I did try brushing my teeth again with my right arm, but it didn't work very well.
Along with losing my strength in that arm, I have also lost my coordination. Also, there is still little to no rotation in my shoulder, so my arm just doesn't work right. You'd be surprised how many motions require some sort of rotation at the shoulder.
They said that shoulder surgery is one of they types of recoveries that you should not try to use the joint ahead of schedule. My tendons are apparently building new sources of blood supply, and will be at the weakest at 12 weeks out of surgery. So trying to "push through the pain" to use the arm at this point will only lengthen my recovery time, and possibly damage the corrections the surgery put in place, according to the PT people. They said that time would come for me, just not yet. Five more weeks for me. Maybe by Christmas I'll be using my arm "normally" again.
I'm hoping to be able to pick up my bow again in January. We start indoor leagues then. I really don't know if I'll be able to draw my bow. If not, I'll borrow a baby bow just to get the muscles moving in the right direction again.
Have to include a picture, so here's one of Don at our "Broadhead Shoot" in August.
So I adopted a new "no use" policy Friday night when I got home from physical therapy. Then Saturday I went shopping. :) It was tough holding all those hangers of clothes and looking through racks with only one arm (I was not totally successful in not using the arm). And trying the clothes on was awkward (as usual!). But I came away with three skirts - black, dark brown, and a striped blue/tan (everything was more than 50% off, Veteran's Day sales), one jacket, one vest and one tank top. I felt successful, and did not spend that much.
Then we stopped by Cabelas, and we bought a pair of binoculars. All the top girls at the Traditional World Championships used binoculars. I figured I needed to have a pair, too. Maybe that would help be break into the top three next year. :) I don't know if I've written about the championships. I earned fourth place. Those women were sooooooo good!
Sleep has not been good this week for some reason. The amount of time I have slept in my own bed has cut back to two hours a night (it was 4 hours before). Then I am waking up more often at night, too. The PT people said there would be plateaus. Guess I hit one this week. Don gives me backrubs most nights before I go to sleep. Those feel really good. I told him it was an important part of my physical therapy. :) I don't think he believes me.
When I put in the picture, my paragraphs all got mixed up. Hmmm... oh well. Have to get into my online class now and do some grading!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Week 5 - Rotator Cuff Surgery Recovery
This is a chronicle of my recovery, because no one told me what it would really be like trying to recover from intensive rotator cuff surgery. Or maybe, I just wanted to be ignorant. I heard several times that it was a "long recovery," but did I know I wouldn't be able to use my arm for three months? Yes, I guess I did know that, but what I didn't know is what that meant.
I didn't know I wouldn't be able to pull up my own pants the first week, or tie my own shoes for two weeks, or put on a bra. I just didn't think about the daily details that would be so different. So I thought, maybe someone else will want to know, and it won't be so difficult coping for them. I'll have to work backwards, because today is the first day I've had the strength/endurance in my arm and the motivation to type this much.
Week 5 has had some ups and some downs. I am getting totally off the pain killers (including Ibuprofen and Tylenol), but because of that, I'm experiencing more pain. Typing is still tiring and somewhat painful. I've extended the hours I can sleep in my bed (with a wedge to prop me up 7 inches) to five hours, then I move down to the den and the recliner for the rest of the night.
Mind you, I've only had two 5-hour nights in bed this week; the others were two, three, and four hours at a time. Part of me just wants to give up trying to sleep in my own bed, but Don likes to have me there, at least at the beginning of the night. (He doesn't wake up when I move to the den.) The other thing that keeps me trying is that I remember how much I was loathing sleeping by myself in the den after three weeks. (Part of that is because I'm afraid of the wind, and there's a huge willow tree right outside the den... I kept envisioning it breaking through the roof of the den.)
New Week 5 accomplishments: 30 minutes of aerobics (bike and treadmill) at the gym (twice this week), down to two times a week for physical therapy, can almost wipe with my right hand, able to update my blog :) , able to put on almost any kind of shirt (taking them off is more difficult), could put on tights without too much pain, have gotten 8 hours of sleep twice this week (with short wakeful times to change sleep locations), handwriting is almost normal if the writing surface is low, thinking and emotions more stable with the decrease in pain meds. I think that's about it.
Things I still can't do with my right arm/hand: lift it (PT people said "no, no"), brush my teeth or hair, put cream on my face, blow my nose (have to do that one-handed), wash my hair, dry off, wipe (just try wiping with your other hand! TMI), nothing behind my back, can't carry anything heavier than a cup of coffee (that hasn't changed), chores (yipee!) (actually, I did vacuum with my left hand yesterday, and I take out the trash, do my own laundry, dishes, cook and pick up dog poo, but all with one arm, so it takes about twice as long). Can't open doors, or put on my own seatbelt when I'm in the driver's seat, grading student papers is hard, ... blah, blah, blah... and of course I can't draw my bow.
I haven't tried to draw my bow, of course, big no, no. But my husband put it together yesterday and hung it back up on the wall (it is a take-down, 3-piece DAS recurve). I almost cried. I haven't seen it since we went to the 2009 Traditional Championships in Erie, PA (I earned fourth place). Two days after we got back, I was in surgery.
So, do you suppose he put it back up for some psychological motivation to heal faster?!? I won't be able to even try to pull it until January. Maybe it will keep me looking forward towards the goal of being able to shoot again.
This surgery recovery is more difficult than when I had disk-replacement surgery 13 years ago. After that surgery, I felt immediately better (no more pinched nerves). This time, after 5 weeks, my arm/shoulder still hurts more than before the surgery. Mentally, it is hard for me to grasp. I just don't understand. I should have "bounced back" by now. But I have to hang on to the belief that it will be better some day. Weird. When I saw the x-ray, it looked like Frankenstein. There are six-3/5ths inch screws in my shoulder, all womp-a-jog. And you could see the metal plate in my neck and the four screws there in the picture, too. Really Frankenstein!
I didn't know I wouldn't be able to pull up my own pants the first week, or tie my own shoes for two weeks, or put on a bra. I just didn't think about the daily details that would be so different. So I thought, maybe someone else will want to know, and it won't be so difficult coping for them. I'll have to work backwards, because today is the first day I've had the strength/endurance in my arm and the motivation to type this much.
Week 5 has had some ups and some downs. I am getting totally off the pain killers (including Ibuprofen and Tylenol), but because of that, I'm experiencing more pain. Typing is still tiring and somewhat painful. I've extended the hours I can sleep in my bed (with a wedge to prop me up 7 inches) to five hours, then I move down to the den and the recliner for the rest of the night.
Mind you, I've only had two 5-hour nights in bed this week; the others were two, three, and four hours at a time. Part of me just wants to give up trying to sleep in my own bed, but Don likes to have me there, at least at the beginning of the night. (He doesn't wake up when I move to the den.) The other thing that keeps me trying is that I remember how much I was loathing sleeping by myself in the den after three weeks. (Part of that is because I'm afraid of the wind, and there's a huge willow tree right outside the den... I kept envisioning it breaking through the roof of the den.)
Things I still can't do with my right arm/hand: lift it (PT people said "no, no"), brush my teeth or hair, put cream on my face, blow my nose (have to do that one-handed), wash my hair, dry off, wipe (just try wiping with your other hand! TMI), nothing behind my back, can't carry anything heavier than a cup of coffee (that hasn't changed), chores (yipee!) (actually, I did vacuum with my left hand yesterday, and I take out the trash, do my own laundry, dishes, cook and pick up dog poo, but all with one arm, so it takes about twice as long). Can't open doors, or put on my own seatbelt when I'm in the driver's seat, grading student papers is hard, ... blah, blah, blah... and of course I can't draw my bow.
I haven't tried to draw my bow, of course, big no, no. But my husband put it together yesterday and hung it back up on the wall (it is a take-down, 3-piece DAS recurve). I almost cried. I haven't seen it since we went to the 2009 Traditional Championships in Erie, PA (I earned fourth place). Two days after we got back, I was in surgery.
So, do you suppose he put it back up for some psychological motivation to heal faster?!? I won't be able to even try to pull it until January. Maybe it will keep me looking forward towards the goal of being able to shoot again.
This surgery recovery is more difficult than when I had disk-replacement surgery 13 years ago. After that surgery, I felt immediately better (no more pinched nerves). This time, after 5 weeks, my arm/shoulder still hurts more than before the surgery. Mentally, it is hard for me to grasp. I just don't understand. I should have "bounced back" by now. But I have to hang on to the belief that it will be better some day. Weird. When I saw the x-ray, it looked like Frankenstein. There are six-3/5ths inch screws in my shoulder, all womp-a-jog. And you could see the metal plate in my neck and the four screws there in the picture, too. Really Frankenstein!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Denver Airport
It seems like I've had to wait in the Denver International Airport quite often in the past couple of years. So often, in fact, that I knew where the area was for people to work on their computers. It's actually a pretty cool thing for the Denver Airport to do. Little cubicles with power and light, a not-so-uncomfortable chair, and a table top to plop your computer on. Free Wifi, too. It is a little slow, but certainly functional.
Only a three hour layover today, on my way to the International Bowhunters Traditional World Championships. In the spring we had to wait here for six hours, on our way to Arkansas.
I'm also quite familiar with the Salt Lake City Airport. I think I like Denver better. Seems cleaner and the food choices are more appealing. :)
My shoulder surgery has been moved up (thankfully, I want to get it over with). I am back for two days from this trip, and then go in for the surgery on Sept. 17.
My principal is not happy with me. At school for the first two days of class, then gone for three school days to this archery competition, then back at school for two days, and then out again for a week. My students are going to know the substitute better than me! She is quite good, at least. Writing all those lesson plans is pretty much a hassle. Stayed at school until 7:00PM last night writing them.
Plane is boarding. See you in another time zone.
Only a three hour layover today, on my way to the International Bowhunters Traditional World Championships. In the spring we had to wait here for six hours, on our way to Arkansas.
I'm also quite familiar with the Salt Lake City Airport. I think I like Denver better. Seems cleaner and the food choices are more appealing. :)
My shoulder surgery has been moved up (thankfully, I want to get it over with). I am back for two days from this trip, and then go in for the surgery on Sept. 17.
My principal is not happy with me. At school for the first two days of class, then gone for three school days to this archery competition, then back at school for two days, and then out again for a week. My students are going to know the substitute better than me! She is quite good, at least. Writing all those lesson plans is pretty much a hassle. Stayed at school until 7:00PM last night writing them.
Plane is boarding. See you in another time zone.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Back To School!
The time has come, and how the time has gone! Summer always stretches endlessly in June. The beginning of September seems forever away. But then comes the last week in August, and we hear ourselves saying, "Is it time to go back already? Where has the summer gone?"
Yes, it's time to go back. Emotionally, I'm ready. It's been a very full summer, lots of activity, several mini-trips, great weekends away with my husband. Mentally, it's still a little hard. Teaching a new subject is still making me quake in my boots a little. I don't know what to do the first day. Need to ask Sharon! Sharon was/is the best social studies teacher I have ever known. She is the most organized and the most creative teacher. She retired a year or two ago. I miss you, Sharon!
Even though part of my emotions are saying "scary," the other part is saying, "Woo-hoo!" I am so excited about being able to teach social studies and Language Arts this year. I have wanted to do it for at least 8 years. I added my social studies endorsement five years ago, but this is the first time at my face-to-face that I will actually be able to teach the "blocked" classes. At Sandpoint Middle School this year, that means I will be teaching the same students both social studies and language arts. So much will be new for me. Well, they say that's one of the things that keeps us young: challenging the mind with new and different endeavors.
Help! Anyway, I'm sending out a call for "Help!" If you have some ideas of how I can incorporate social studies with language arts, please pass on your ideas to me! The social studies content is early American history, to 1877. I hope to have as many cross-curriculum activities as possible, to make the whole blocking thing successful. Lend me your ideas, you wise teachers out there, wherever you are. :)
One of the best courses I've ever taken has helped prepare me for teaching social studies is "We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution." It was a seven-day workshop in Jackson Hole, WY, this summer; one of my weeks away from home. It was so encouraging to get this information and be around history/social studies teachers for this week. Of course it revealed how much I don't know as well, but it was mind opening! If you ever have a chance to attend a We the People institute, do it! I hope to attend more in the future.
We had one afternoon off to go to the Teton National Park and we hiked around Jenny Lake. The pictures are from that day.
Yes, it's time to go back. Emotionally, I'm ready. It's been a very full summer, lots of activity, several mini-trips, great weekends away with my husband. Mentally, it's still a little hard. Teaching a new subject is still making me quake in my boots a little. I don't know what to do the first day. Need to ask Sharon! Sharon was/is the best social studies teacher I have ever known. She is the most organized and the most creative teacher. She retired a year or two ago. I miss you, Sharon!
Even though part of my emotions are saying "scary," the other part is saying, "Woo-hoo!" I am so excited about being able to teach social studies and Language Arts this year. I have wanted to do it for at least 8 years. I added my social studies endorsement five years ago, but this is the first time at my face-to-face that I will actually be able to teach the "blocked" classes. At Sandpoint Middle School this year, that means I will be teaching the same students both social studies and language arts. So much will be new for me. Well, they say that's one of the things that keeps us young: challenging the mind with new and different endeavors.
Help! Anyway, I'm sending out a call for "Help!" If you have some ideas of how I can incorporate social studies with language arts, please pass on your ideas to me! The social studies content is early American history, to 1877. I hope to have as many cross-curriculum activities as possible, to make the whole blocking thing successful. Lend me your ideas, you wise teachers out there, wherever you are. :)
One of the best courses I've ever taken has helped prepare me for teaching social studies is "We the People: the Citizen and the Constitution." It was a seven-day workshop in Jackson Hole, WY, this summer; one of my weeks away from home. It was so encouraging to get this information and be around history/social studies teachers for this week. Of course it revealed how much I don't know as well, but it was mind opening! If you ever have a chance to attend a We the People institute, do it! I hope to attend more in the future.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Pick Up a Bow
Sitting here at school, trying to make my new computer do what I want it to do. Just spend 15 minutes trying to get the signature right on my email. Vanity, I suppose. Thank God for new computers, even if it is a hassle setting them up at first. My old computer was starting to act up, so I'm glad Dell had the recall. Every model of that computer was recalled, and we got a good deal on tech support, I guess, when we got new ones. So I have 10 new computers in my room (including mine). With my school laptop, that means I can have 10 students on a computer at a time. At this point, my largest class has 21 students. What are the chances that all 21 kids will show up on the same day?
So we went to one more shoot: Thompson Falls, Montana. Don and I really enjoy this shoot, for one reason really, the Clark Fork River. It is so cool to go down to the river to swim after a hot day of trudging around in the dusty hay fields and through dense underbrush in the forest, sweating going up hill and down shooting targets.
The river (I'll have to put a picture in later) is cool and strong. It has deep spots so you can climb the boulders at the edge and jump in. Don likes doing that more than I do. Mostly I just like crawling upstream, using my hands to pull against the current. You have to be really careful swimming there. It is just a few miles below the Thompson Falls Dam, and the current, when you get far out, is very strong. At the edge, it's not too bad. It did frighten me imagining Don getting towed downstream and not being able to get out. I'm not sure what I would do. It takes about 20 minutes to get back up the hillside to the hotel. He'd be far away by then... Thankfully, it was only my overactive imagination.
It was not the best shooting weekend for Don. The first day, I shot really well. The second day, not so good. I still won my class. I was the only one in it. :) That has happened several times this summer. Where are all the recurve women? Come on, girls. Pick up a bow, buy some arrows, and get out there!
It takes practice. The first time I shot a bow, I tried about three shots and said, "Forget it." It was about a year later I tried again, and kept trying. And now I'm pretty good (but not consistent!). We'll see how I compare to the competition at the IBO World Traditional Championship, in Erie, Pennsylvania, in September. There's definitely going to be some quality shooters there. Hope I turn out to be one of them.
Another thing about archery, make sure the weight of your arrows is consistent with the requirements of the bow and your draw length! Find someone who knows how to help you set up your equipment. It doesn't take a lot of money to start shooting traditional, but it does take a good set up. You can save yourself a lot of anguish with the right bow and arrows. Make sure the bow is not too heavy (in the pull weight). Lots of people make the mistake of using a bow that is too heavy. It is frustrating, and can hurt you. Don't let your personal vanity get in the way, i.e., "I can shoot a heavier bow that this!" Start with the lighter bow. You'll be happier and more confident. You can always move up to a heavier bow later, if you want to. My bow is only about 35 points. I shoot a DAS metal riser with some Olympic style (low end) composite limbs. It shoots great! Some people prefer an all wood bow. There are some really nice ones out there. Just find something you'll like!
We really need more female traditional shooters. Pick up a bow!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Idaho State Bowhunters Jamboree
Well, as a culminating event of the archery season, it was a little bit of a let down. The scenery was beautiful, of course, at the foot of the Sawtooth Range of the Rocky Mountains, and the trophy was nice, but... the competition for me was lacking. I was really hoping there would be lots of women recurve shooters, and I could find out once and for all if I'm any good. Didn't happen.
There were only six traditional shooters at the Idaho State Bowhunters Jamboree in Stanley. So yes, I won, but what an empty win. The Libby Traditional Shoot in Montana at least drew about 15 traditional recurve women (and I won that one, too, this year. That meant something). I think I liked Libby more. It was cooler in Libby (Stanley was nearly 100 degrees). If the Stanley shoot were in the Spring instead of the middle of summer, I'm sure the daytime temperature would have been better. At night it got plenty cold in Stanley. We woke up one morning with ice covering the little table and cooler at our campsite.
Last thing about this shoot. It was a really long drive to get there! 10 hours. We had to cross over the Bitterroot Mountains twice, going into Montana, and then crossing back into Idaho. I don't know if we'll make it again.
We, Don and I, have decided to go to the International Bowhunters Organization World Traditional Championships in Pennsylvania in September. Rick Welch told us about it, and encouraged us to go when we were at his archery school in April. This is the first time IBO has had this event just for traditional shooters. And since it is the first one, a person doesn't have to qualify, so this might be the only year we can go.
Don will be going for a whole week. His brothers live in Pennsylvania, close to Pittsburgh, which is about two hours south of Erie, which is close to where the event will take place. We found a time share available (that's a miracle!) close to the event also, so Don will be able to stay in a nice place for the week, and hopefully his brothers and their families will come see him there, too.
School: I'm really excited that I get to teach Social Studies and English at my face-to-face job at Sandpoint Middle School this year. I have wanted to do it for at least five years, since I earned my endorsement in Social Studies, specifically for the purpose of being able to teach this block situation. I am so happy! I am also really scared. I haven't taught Social Studies before at the 8th grade level, so the curriculum will be new to me.
I know I'll have lots of help from the two social studies teachers I'll be partnering with, still... I've brought home the textbooks. Now I just have to crack them open.
Here's the last picture from the Idaho State Shoot, part of the picturesque Sawtooth Range.
Friday, July 24, 2009
First Archery Shoots of the Season
(I had written this before, thinking I'd keep it up throughout the season... like that happened).
Archery Journal Spring/Summer 2009
4/4/09 - Our season started with a fun, one-day shoot in Hot Springs County, Arkansas. There were 25 targets. We wore muck boots. Don won his class, Recurve, and the long bow class. I won my class (since I was the only female traditional shooter), but had I been competing with the men, I would have tied for third.
4/19/09 - At our next shoot, Selkirk Bowhunters (Bonners Ferry/Moyie Springs) on April 18-19, Don took second in Men’s Recurve (with a one-day, 40 target score of 299), and I took first in Women’s Recurve (with a one-day 40 target score of 292). We both had about six people in our respective classes. We both did pretty well the first day, too. Don shot a 302 the first day (I think that is his highest points ever on a 40 target course), and I definitely had my best day ever with 288. It was really pretty shocking to me how high my points were. I kept thinking, “Rick Welch wouldn’t have approved of that shot,” or “Rick would have thought that shot was OK.” Don didn’t have any zeros his second day. I had two the second day and one the first day.
On Saturday, Don and I shot with the Neubauers and Larch and Clancy, so it was quite a big group, seven in all. Danielle kept score for us (which was great!). It was a fun time shooting with them. I’m glad that we shot with them, because I don’t think anyone would have believed my score if it had just been Don and I. I am likewise glad that we were flighted on Sunday, and someone else was keeping score. I seriously don’t think anyone would have believed my score was that high otherwise. Personally, I have never seen a woman’s score that high.
I know Vicki Winniger can shoot that well, and higher, but she did not have a good shoot this weekend, or she was only shooting for fun. Also, she has been having issues with her shoulder, she said (to others; she doesn’t speak to me). She has gone through several surgeries in the past few years, so has multiple neck and shoulder issues. It begins to appear as I will never know if I can shoot as well as her, as she refuses to shoot with me, or to take our local shoots seriously (this is the second year in a row she refused to shoot with the flighted women).
Maybe she thinks that she has proved her expertise, so why should she have to “play” with us anymore. Then again, maybe she doesn’t think about the rest of us at all, and just wants to shoot with her husband to have a good time. She has certainly earned the privilege to do whatever she chooses. In actuality, in our local archery shoots, you can do whatever you want anyway. So why has it bothered me so much? I don’t know. I’ve just got to let it go. Ever since I joined the club, I have known that she is the best female. I think my competitive nature just wants to know if I will ever be as good as she is.
But I suppose the time for that is past, so I just have to forget about her, and enjoy archery for myself. If ever we meet, then I will have to be content with her showing me up at that time. She and her husband rode away on their Harleys about a half an hour before the trophies were handed out. Had she shot with the flighted women, I think she would have come in third. I promise not to bring up this ridiculous subject again (and hopefully at our next shoot that we are both at, I can block her from my mind).
About half way through Sunday, I was wishing I was shooting with Don, as he is the most fun to shoot with, but he said he had a very good time shooting with the flighted recurve men. I enjoyed shooting with my women’s group, too, just wish Don would have been there, so I could have been myself with someone. I started talking about the shots, and where the 10-spots were with Laurie, and she did not like that, so after I had done that about 5 targets, I quit talking about it, and didn’t really talk much to anyone for the rest of our course. I guess I like talking about the shots, but Laurie did not, so I did not have as much fun after that. I felt like I had been reprimanded when she said she didn’t want or like to talk about where the 10-spot was, because she didn’t usually think about that…
What else happened this weekend? I looked really fat in the pictures, so that made me depressed on Sunday after the shoot. I had been feeling pretty good, until I looked at the pictures, and then I got bummed out.
Overall, both Don and I had a good weekend. The weather was superb: cool in the mornings, warming up in the afternoons, but not getting too hot. We ate out at Slates Saturday night with Zack, and had chocolate malts from Zips in Bonner's Ferry on our way home Sunday. The trophies are very nice. Mine is carved in the shape of Idaho, and Don’s is carved in the traditional shield, but both with very nice wood with an acrylic covering. Don got one of the Idaho-shaped trophies last year when he won first place in Men’s Longbow. So now we have a matching pair. Archery is fun.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Back Home
Even though school has been out for a month, I'm just now feeling like vacation is beginning. I did have 10 days at the end of school when I wasn't officially working, but four of those days were taken up with a conference. Then I came home, and went to see my mom for four days, and then I came home and went to the "We the People: Citizen and the Constitution" Institute for 8 days. So now I'm home, and as far as I know, I'll be home until September. We do have a few more archery shoots on the weekends to go to, but I don't consider that as really being gone. Those are just little weekend getaways.
I am teaching two courses this summer: English 10A and Entrepreneurial Economics for Idaho Digital Learning Academy. Anyone needing to take high school (and some middle school) courses should check out IDLA. It is the best in Idaho! (of course I'm biased.) :) Anyway, that will continue until the end of August, just before school starts again. So it's not as if I'm totally on vacation, but, ya, I'm on vacation.
The most exciting thing I want to share with the world today is that I get to teach three English/three Social Studies at my middle school this year! I've wanted to do that for about 10 years. Four years ago I got my social studies endorsement, so I was finally qualified to do so... And at last it has come through. I am sooooo excited.
This is my first blog ever. Hmmm... we'll see how it goes.
I am teaching two courses this summer: English 10A and Entrepreneurial Economics for Idaho Digital Learning Academy. Anyone needing to take high school (and some middle school) courses should check out IDLA. It is the best in Idaho! (of course I'm biased.) :) Anyway, that will continue until the end of August, just before school starts again. So it's not as if I'm totally on vacation, but, ya, I'm on vacation.
The most exciting thing I want to share with the world today is that I get to teach three English/three Social Studies at my middle school this year! I've wanted to do that for about 10 years. Four years ago I got my social studies endorsement, so I was finally qualified to do so... And at last it has come through. I am sooooo excited.
This is my first blog ever. Hmmm... we'll see how it goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)