Monday, July 7, 2008

Is it the weekend yet?

Torsten and I got home from North Carolina last night at around 11:30, after leaving my parents' house (normally a 4.5-hour drive) seven hours earlier. We knew the holiday weekend traffic would suck, but we were hoping it wouldn't suck THAT badly. Of course, we tacked extra time onto the trip with 45 minutes' worth of stops, plus missing a turn on our way back into the city and winding up on a road that seemingly had no exit, thus forcing ourselves into an extremely circuitous, if scenic, route home through downtown DC.

Still, the ride home was much better than the ride down there, because my neck was feeling better enough that I could actually move my head, and also I was no longer in a Percocet-induced haze. Percocet is a miracle drug in that it all but eliminates the pain, but it makes me feel incredibly dizzy when it starts to wear off, which is so not worth it, so I only took it for a day and a half before switching to Tylenol. The slight increase in pain was worth the lack of dizzy spells, and by now the pain has almost subsided. I am still always aware of the incision site, and sometimes if the Tylenol has worn off it does start to actually hurt if I move around too much, but for the most part the Tylenol is totally sufficient.

Also when we got home, there was a big vase of red and purple flowers from me, sent from Torsten's company. They actually sent them on Wednesday, but I was too out of it to check the mail when I got home, and the building didn't actually bring them by our apartment until Thursday when we'd already left. They held up remarkably well during the five days they spent at our front desk, though, and they also smelled lovely. I was really touched that Torsten's company thought of doing such a thing, and even picked out purple flowers to send.

Anyway, the weekend itself was fun--lots of sleeping and lying by the pool and visiting with friends and family. Also, lots of really good food. My parents' town in North Carolina has a lot of fabulous restaurants, more than we have ever discovered in DC, so we had great sushi one night and fabulous Mexican another night, plus a lunch at Torsten's favorite southern BBQ joint and brunch at a delicious German bakery. Plus, it all felt guilt free because I knew I would lose the water weight from the surgery despite all the restaurant visits, and I did. It was great. If only it worked like that all the time (except for the part where you gain the water weight in the first place).

Oh, and I hit up Old Navy with my mom (there is no Old Navy in DC, and somehow I never manage to make it out to the ones in the nearby suburbs), and they were having their summer clearance? And I'm pretty sure I totally exceeded my post-surgery limitation of lifting no more than ten pounds, just hauling all the clothes I wanted to try on to the dressing room. But I limited myself to purchasing a pair of jeans and two tops, plus a couple things for Torsten, and I was very proud of my self-restraint. Also, the jeans that I bought were a size down from the ones I had been wearing, and I was very proud of that too.

So, in sum? Surgery sucks, but a one-day workweek followed by a relaxing weekend trip to recover? Almost worth it. I'm only sorry that it's already time to return to the real world. This five-day week is going to drag FOREVER.

36 comments:

  1. Yay for weekend shopping sprees! Now I am going to have to go check out Old Navy.

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  2. Yay for fun weekends! Glad that you are feeling better. I agree, the five day work week is going to suck.

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  3. Our traffic home was so awful too... I felt I could write a book about how much it sucked. Arg.

    I'm happy you're starting to feel better! :)

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  4. Glad that you had a good time! Weeks off are awesome... and 5 day workweeks after a holiday suck.

    Oooh Old Navy sales... sigh...

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  5. So glad to hear you're feeling better and you were able to spend some time at home with the family. And congrats on dropping one size in your pants. That must feel great, despite the water gain!

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  6. Glad you're doing better!

    I LOVE buying a size smaller in jeans :) Congrats.

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  7. I think I'd perish without an Old Navy near me :) Glad you enjoyed your time here in the great state of NC this weekend :)

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  8. Glad you had a great weekend/recovery period. And yay for getting smaller jeans. I would like to do that sometime in the near future myself. :)

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  9. Congrats on going down a whole size. That's awesome!

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  10. Sounds like you had an awesome weekend. I could totally go for some Mexican right now. Glad the ol' neck is healing well and AMEN for the weekend needs to be here now :)

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  11. must... not.. enter... old... navy... rrrrgghhh...

    yay for neck feeling better! i have the same reaction to vicodin - great stuff for pain, but i could hardly stand up 1/2 the time i was on it because i would pass out cold. good times.

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  12. Welcome home. Glad your recovery's been a good one. Congrats on the smaller jean size, too! Woo-hoo!

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  13. I heart you, and yay on the size down jeans at Old Navy! That's fantastic! And also, I would like to go to Old Navy now. Kthxbai.

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  14. I love holiday weekends, but they make getting up for work for a full week so much harder. Ick.

    Yay on the smaller jeans size!

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  15. So sweet about the flowers... even sweeter about the smaller jeans. Woo hoo!

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  16. Oh man...that first time you put on a pair of jeans a size DOWN - does that feel like heaven or what!? Good job, Jess!

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  17. Oh, it is going to be a hella long week. Bah.

    A. and I hit ON, too! WHAT FUN. Congrats on the jeans - I bought two new pair of shorts because I keep getting bigger. *sniff* Kick my ass, will you? Please tell me to go to the gym and seriously start paying attention to what I eat...

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  18. Ugh. Mr. C and I were on our way home from the lake and we got stuck on the interstate b/c of a wreck. I hate holiday traffic.

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  19. I think that has to be the best way to recover: family, love, BBQ and a pool ;)

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  20. No kidding re: long work week. I don't want to do anything at work. It's not good.

    I'm glad you are feeling better, and that you had a good holiday!

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  21. DC doesn't have an Old Navy?! How can that "be"?!

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  22. Glad you are feeling better! YAY for fun weekend and BOO for 5-day work weeks. ~LA

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  23. Hooray for feeling better and some quality time with the parents!

    I spied that Old Navy sale while running a quick errand between ceremony and reception of the wedding I was at this weekend. I ALMOST stopped in, despite my fancy get up.

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  24. Go you on the wonderful weekend and clothes!

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  25. So glad you're not in too much pain. Sounds like you're well on the road to recovery! Family and delicious food always seem to speed that along!

    Old Navy is one of my most favorite places...especially for kids clothes. We've even found shirts for the husband there for $2! They have fabulous sales!

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  26. Good job finding deals at Old Navy. The last three times I've been there, I've been disappointed.

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  27. so glad you're feeling better!

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  28. Glad to hear your neck is feeling better. Ouch 7 hours to come home? that's awful. It once took me 9 hours to go from WI to Minneapolis, normally a 5 hour drive. Awful.

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  29. Good for you, going down a size! I hit a great sale just the other day at a nearby mall, and nothing makes me smile the way a clearance tag does!

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  30. Sounds like a great vacation: lots of good food and indulgence!

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  31. I'm glad you're feeling better and I hope this week doesn't TOTALLY suck for you. Hey, at least one day is over!!

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  32. I really love Old Navy. A lot.

    And I'm glad you're feeling better!

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  33. I'm a sucker for the Old Navy too. When I was in DC I used to order online all the time since returns were so easy and the shipping was included. Glad you had good food and are feeling better. You'll be back up to full roar before you know it.

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  34. wow i am super impressed torsten's work sent you flowers! that is so nice.

    and i cant' believe DC doesn't have an old navy. i don't know how you survive...!

    lol

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