2013 to 2014

champagne with frozen pineapple

 new year's eve was delightful. i drank too much "champagne," meaning i drank too much barefoot bubbly.  i love their sparkling pinot gris. i especially love it with frozen pineapple. it becomes insanely cold, and then you have sweet chunks of fruit to eat at the end.  it's a win win WIN.  my husband made this insane-o spread of nibbles, that included chips and dips, a giant crudité tray, fresh ceviche and salsa, cheese and crackers, salami and paté.  it was amazing. 

last selfie of 2013 in a ridiculous sweater

 i wore this ridiculous sweater i found at forever 21 with the girlchild.  boxy sweaters are a fat-girl's friend at places like forever 21! (this forever 21 doesn't carry the plus line, but they should.)  i blurred the bottom of the photo out because there is an awful lot of toothpaste on my bathroom mirror. 

crazy quilting in action

 i started working on a crazy quilt top for a pillow i've had laying around.  i've really been enjoying my new sewing machine.  i have a few projects that i'm hoping to finish this year that i started last year, or even back in 2012.  hooray for long-lasting projects!

my first big thing of 2014 was that i had my very first surgery today.  i think getting to 36 without going under any knife is pretty good, don't you think?  i mean, i had my wisdom teeth taken out, but this was a real, operating room surgery.  about two months ago i noticed a hard lump on my neck, about the size and shape of an olive pit.  it was weird and it stuck out and it made me nervous. a visit to the doctor and an ultrasound confirmed it was a rogue lymph node.  now, since my dad had lymphoma, i'm kind of cautious with my own nodes.  the doctor's thought this was pretty reasonable. we watched it for a bit, then i had to decide if i would have a biopsy or just have it removed.  the node was only about a centimeter and a half long; a biopsy might not have gotten enough tissue. plus, i'd still have the weird lump on my neck that made me self-conscious.  removing it seemed like a better idea, as we'd know then exactly what it was, and either way, no lump on me. 

i've included a photo after the jump, which is just a bit of bloody steri-strip. you can skip it if you want!

first selfie of 2014

the surgery itself went well.  it wasn't too long, i wasn't in a terrible amount of pain when i woke up (although i was absolutely parched and my head hurt).  everyone at the hospital was freaking delightful, and i even got a cup of coffee and got to watch some cartoons.  i also can't praise my husband enough; he was thoroughly supportive, very sweet, held my hand when i got the iv (before i even asked!) and has been an absolute doll.  i mean, i know why i married him, but days like today i'm so grateful to have such a loving person in my life.  we had to get up at the crack of dawn (my check-in time at the hospital was 6 a.m.) so after a truly epic nap this afternoon (thank you vicoden) i watched a bunch of the it crowd and drank gallons of lipton's raspberry iced tea.  the girlchild isn't really stoked on seeing the incision, but the dressing they put on it was so fucking itchy i had to take it off.  it wasn't doing much and if the wound is going to weep, let it do it on my black tshirt, i don't care. 

i go back to the doctor's in two weeks for a follow-up, but mom said that they knew dad's lymph node was trouble the minute they took it out, and i got no sign of that from my doctor.  this may have been overkill, but i feel better having it out of my body.  also, if this is a trial run for other weird medical issues, then i'd say D is going to be great at anything that comes my way.  hospitals don't freak him out, doctors don't scare him, and he tells terrible jokes to nurses.  i love that man.