Cars and books and husbands

So yesterday, Artemisia saved me $400. Because she is awesome. I was going to pay a mechanic to fix our brake problem, but then she told me that her Honda had the same issue. Apparently it's a problem caused by altitude and cold temperatures, and Honda has issued a service bulletin about it. So, I brought the car into the local Honda dealer, they took a look and said yes, that was the problem, and then they told me they'd fix it for free even though the car isn't under warranty anymore. And then they changed the oil for free. So really, I guess you could say Artemisia saved me $420, because I was going to pay the mechanic for an oil change too.

They didn't actually fix the brake problem yesterday, though, so I have to bring it back this afternoon. And it will take three hours, apparently. And I have nobody to give me a ride so I'm going to be stuck at the dealer the whole time. So, I need a new book for my Kindle. Any suggestions? I'm reading Sarah's Key right now, and I like it, but it won't take me three hours to finish.

In other news, Torsten and I are thinking about buying bikes, but I am having a slight weight-related panic attack about that. I wrote about it over here, so please go over there and talk me out of my self-induced paranoia.

And, speaking of Torsten, he comes home tonight! No more nights sleeping in our giant bed without him! Is it bad that several days ago, I picked out an outfit that I know he likes to wear when I go pick him up at the airport? I was going to surprise him with it but I suck at not telling him things, so... yeah, I already told him. And every time something happens to me during the day, I email him to tell him about it, so then when he calls every night and asks how my day was, I have nothing left to tell him. Basically, I'm like a little kid who can't keep her mouth shut.

But lest anyone think that I am ALL sunshine and rainbows, I really need to vent for a second. It's been three weeks since my surgery and I know that isn't THAT much time, but I am so SICK of this stage. Not the food intake--that's going fine. It's the incision that's pissing me off. There are five incisions, but only one hurts, the one where the port is. It doesn't really hurt anymore, exactly. It's more a constant, annoying reminder that it's there. If I twist a certain way, or lie on my left side, or angle my hips wrong, or lean forward in jeans so that the waistband presses against my abdomen--there's a quick sharp pain, a reminder: yes, you had surgery, and no, you haven't fully recovered yet.

So I have to be careful, and I wear a lot of skirts and dresses, and when I go to the gym I'm going to have to be very aware of what my body is telling me and make sure not to do anything that causes pain. Although it's not like I have to be hyper-vigilant about it because the incision is right there in my face, yelling at me whenever I do anything it doesn't like.

It's just hard because I feel like I'm pretty much recovered from the surgery itself, and ready to move on to the next stage, and I'm so close to being there, and this incision is just laughing at me and holding me back. The feeling has become so constant that sometimes I wonder if it will ever go away or if I'll spend the rest of my life gingerly tiptoeing around an inch-long line left of my belly button. You know?

All I can say is, at least I don't have kids right now. I have no idea how women recover from c-sections while dealing with a newborn. Seriously. No idea.

Oh, and speaking of the gym, on the schedule for this weekend: trying out a new gym! It has a pool and it only costs $30/month, so I am seriously crossing my fingers that it doesn't turn out to be a total dump. And I'm going to drag Torsten along with me. It'll be such a nice change from our last apartment gym, which only had one elliptical trainer so we had to take turns.

What are you doing this weekend? And don't forget about those book suggestions! I need input!