So I remember this awesome day.

Today was a pretty awesome day. 

We have a new city council member, and this morning the city engineer and city manager introduced the new council member to our department. The city manager introduced me and basically said that I'm an asset to the City and the lives of developers are a lot easier thanks to me. My supervisor tells me I'm doing a good job sometimes, but it is much more awesome when the city manager says it to my face while introducing me - makes me feel like I'm doing my job right!

Then at lunch I went bra shopping. Turns out I've dropped a band size and a cup size in the last six months. No wonder my bras weren't fitting right... This also reaffirms my thought that my boobs are the first place I lose weight. 

And yesterday, I got my tetanus/whooping cough booster at the County Health Department. Apparently I'm the only person that keeps their vaccination record; the county nurse said I should hold onto it because it's a "relic". (I store it with our birth certificates and car titles; I figure my vaccinations are pretty important information!) The nurse that gave me my shot yesterday was the same nurse that gave me my 6 month-newborn shots 28 years ago. She was reading through my vaccination record and kept saying "I gave you THAT shot, and THAT shot..." And she was really good. I didn't even feel the needle go in my arm. In fact, I wouldn't even believe she gave me a shot, except that my arm has been a little sore all day...

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Garden Update 5.18.13

Cherries have set on 

Black beans and green beans have sprouted. It appears some of the corn seeds were eaten by birds.

 The lettuce is finally getting bigger.

Peaches are set on!

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Another Lasik followup

Today is three weeks since my Lasik procedure. I'm shocked how quickly my eyes healed.

Before I left for Boston, I had a followup visit with my regular eye doctor. I was concerned about traveling so soon after the procedure. She advised me to stay hydrated, especially on the plane (translation: minimize alcohol consumption), and to keep lots of eye drops on hand. My eyes did feel drier in the air, but one day I woke up in Boston and the dryness was gone. Even after arriving back home, the dryness was gone.

I've still been using eye drops several times a day. My eye doctor said the more my eyes and I stay hydrated, the less chance of a touch-up or enhancement procedure later on.

A couple observations:
Before the surgery, I could see extremely well the first 6 inches from my face. This was helpful when plucking my eyebrows and shaving my armpits. Now, that area is not as clear, but I can see leaves on trees and individual blades of grass. You win some, you lose some I guess. This may be something that improves with time. I'm sure this will make for interesting conversation with the eye doctor. And possibly awkward situations when my eyebrows and armpits go crazy. (No worries, the Hubs will keep me in check.)

I wish the surgery could do something about my floaters. Floaters were explained to me once as small pieces of eye blood vessels that died and are now in the jelly-like part of my eye. When I am in bright light they are more obvious, and look like dirt floating across my field of vision.

I wonder if the Bible verse (Matthew 7:3) was referring to floaters... Take care of the plank in your own eye before helping the speck in your friend's eye. (I'm joking, I know it doesn't refer to that...please don't be offended)

My eyes aren't watering as badly when cutting onions. Maybe I'm getting used to cutting onions without contacts?

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Garden Update 5.9.13

It feels like forever since I've written a garden update. Mostly because it's been so rainy and wet (I'm not complaining!) that I couldn't even walk in the garden.

I was caught up on plan review and my other projects, so I decided to take a couple hours off this afternoon.   There's rain coming in the forecast, and today was 80s and sunny - perfect time to plant!

I planted:
Kandy Korn sweet corn
Illini sweet corn (supposed to be good for freezing and canning)
Black turtle black beans
Soybeans (mmm edamame)
Kentucky Blue green beans
Some sweet peppers - napoleon, and some of the sweet mix I started from seed
The rest of the tomatoes I started from seed - yellow pear, thessaloniki, black cherry, dinner plate, red zebra
Artichoke seed- this is 4 years old so it may not germinate
Transplanted the 2 rhubarb plants
Perennial and annual flowers at the end of the garden to attract pollinators: zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, dianthus, bachelor buttons

I need to remember next year to start the pepper seeds earlier and the tomato seeds later. My tomatoes were getting really leggy, which meant I buried a lot of the stem, but they were REALLY leggy. And the peppers (and tomatillos) were still really small - they could have used another 2-4 weeks inside.

I'm going to try to convince the Hubs to roto-till the garden tomorrow if it isn't raining. I would like to plant cukes, zukes, watermelon, squash, cantaloupe and pumpkins soon, but hoeing the garden when it hasn't been tilled in several rains is backbreaking. (This is possibly evidence that I could not be a pioneer woman- I like my power tools. But, if I was pioneer woman, I also wouldn't be reviewing building plans as my primary job; I'd be planting a garden and looking after children, so I'd have more time to dedicate to planting a garden. I'm 28 and already looking forward to retirement. Hopefully I'll still be in good enough physical shape that I can garden when I retire!)

On other notes:
Our bird feeder is attracting several different birds: cardinals, goldfinches, indigo buntings, mourning doves and (possibly) wrens - or some other small bird.
We put up a hummingbird feeder last week after seeing a hummingbird outside the window. It was back and feeding less than an hour after the feeder was installed!
There is a swallow of some sort (looks like a barn swallow nest but more mossy) on our garage. This morning I saw fuzzy chick heads poking above the nest.
Rembrant tulips are beautiful! I'm going to buy and plant more this fall. I like them better than monocolor tulips.
It appears the Blue Spruce, raspberries, blackberries and cherry bushes from Burgess did not survive. I'll be notifying them I need replacements soon.
Our spruce order from the Missouri Conservation Department came this week. The trees are the same size or bigger than the ones from Burgess. They'll be planted this weekend, as well as the daylilies.

My garden plot looks a lot smaller now with planted rows.

The lettuces and root vegetables are really slow growing. I'm afraid they won't get any growing in before they get too hot and bolt. After they come out of the garden, I'm going to direct-sow broccoli and cauliflower. I started some from seed but am not sure where to put it. Once the cucurbits, more corn and more beans are in the ground, there won't be room for brassicas.

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Boston

This week, I was in Boston for several days for a work conference. We are implementing a new city-wide software at work that is rolling out across all departments over the next 18 months or so. The conference was full of training sessions for the new software, and was located at the Boston Sheraton, just blocks from the Boston Marathon bomb sites. Surprisingly, I was not concerned about my safety during the trip. Before the conference started, we were sent emails from the conference coordinators that security was beefed up to protect us. Bag-check points were at all entrances to the conference venue, and bomb-sniffing dogs periodically walked the venue.

Bomb-sniffing dog taking a break

See the location of the Sheraton in relation to the 1st and 2nd bombs! 

Facade of the buildings at the 1st bomb site

There didn't appear to be much damage to the buildings; broken windows were covered by plywood. The sidewalks in Boston are very loud but when we walked by the bomb sites there was an eerie quiet that settled over the crowd. 

But it was a little creepy that there was still crime scene tape in the street gutters. 

We didn't let the recent tragedy prevent us from enjoying the City of Boston, and it appeared the residents and other tourists felt the same as us. We enjoyed a lot of good food: 

Bruschetta at Papa Razzi 

Crab roll with crispy onions and jalapeno polenta at Legal Seafood

A Pilgrim Burger from Boston Burger Company: turkey burger with stuffing and cranberry mayo. This was a recent  stop on Guy Fieri's Diner's Drive Ins and Dives show!

Cupcakes from Crumbs Bakery

We did the tourist "thing" and rode a trolley around to historic sites in Boston, and then took a Boston Harbor cruise (said: Bost-in Hah-bah")

Fenway Park

Me in front of House of Blues

Me and some coworkers on the Harbor Cruise

It's crazy what you see on the wharves - here's a park wharf

Pirate ship

Condominiums that resemble ships

Our last night in Boston we were treated to a comedy act by Wayne Brady. He was on "Whose line is it anyway" as well as other comedy shows. We were all rolling with laughter. 

This was my second trip to Boston and I would definitely visit again if given the chance. My first visit was with the American Institute of Architects Students group, for an architecture conference in December 2006. I saw sites this time that I didn't see last time. There is so much history in this area of the country that you could fill weeks looking at historic sites and learning our nation's history. 

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Lasik Follow-up

Sporting the sexy eye-wear I had to wear all day yesterday and for the first 5 nights after surgery

Bright and early yesterday morning, I went in to the eye doctor for my Lasik procedure. There are several different methods available, but because my corneas are so thin, I had to have the all-laser procedure. For my eyes, they cut a flap in my eye with a laser, and then used a different laser to shape my eye. Another procedure is available that uses a blade to cut the flap instead of a laser. 

I was told not to wear any perfume or anything scented (like lotion), and no makeup the day of the surgery. When I arrived at the office, I was fitted with a hairnet and then a series of eye drops were put in to disinfect and numb my eyes. I was also given Valium to calm my nerves. (Thank goodness because my heart was racing!)

The laser procedure didn't take very long at all. In fact, the shaping of each eye took only 47 seconds per eye (I know this because one of the surgeon assistants counted down in 10 second increments.) Have you ever seen the movie Clockwork Orange, and there's the part where they hold the guy's eyes open with the metal eyelid openers? I had those yesterday. I even asked the doctor "Do I look like the guy from Clockwork Orange?", and surprisingly he knew what I was talking about.

The worst parts of the procedure were the sounds the laser made. The Hubs could hear it out in the waiting room. It made really loud clicks. And when my eyes were being reshaped, the room smelled like burnt hair (or burnt eye?). 

Immediately after surgery I was able to see better. My eyesight before the surgery was -7.75 in my right eye and -8.25 in my left eye. My doctor said legally blind is 20/200 and my sight was 3/200. 

To give you an idea of what my eyesight was like... This is not a joke. 

Prior to surgery, without contacts or glasses

Before surgery, I could make out colors but not shapes. I could only see clearly for the first 6-8 inches from my face and then everything was blurry.

Immediately after surgery

Right after surgery, I could make out shapes, but it felt like I was looking through safety glasses with smudges on them.

Today, and also prior to surgery if wearing contacts or glasses

This morning I went in for a followup and my vision is at 20/20. My doctor said my sight will continue to improve over the next several weeks to months.

Right now I also experience a halo effect when looking at a light or reflective road signs at night. The road signs look like someone is standing right behind them with a spotlight. That will diminish as my eyes heal.

I'm currently on an antibiotic eye drop  a steroid eye drop and artificial tears. I can't ride a motorcycle or swim for the next two weeks. I also have to keep water out of my eyes when showering, and keep dust out of my eyes when working outside. 

Curious about cost? 

Since I had to do the all-laser procedure, the surgery was $4,700. This included pre-op procedures, the surgery, post-op follow-up visits for a year, any touch-ups for 2 years, taxes, and some medications. The eye drops cost about $100 after insurance.

However, I received a $300 discount for being an Anthem insurance member. 

And I have Aflac supplemental vision insurance that will reimburse me $480. 

Total cost out of pocket: $3,920 + eye drops

In comparison... My employer doesn't offer vision insurance so my contacts and glasses came out of my own pocket, usually in the range of $500-$800 every year. I usually purchased a year's worth of contacts, and only updated my glasses every 2-3 years because I didn't wear them as often.  This surgery will pay for itself in 5 years. 

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We're growing Milk. (Not.)

Today I started transplanting tomatoes, tomatillos and peppers. I only transplanted as many as I had milk jugs to cover. I cut the bottom off the milk jugs and left the caps off. This allows the hot air to escape on warm days, but still allows dew and rain into the jugs, and protects the plants from frost. 

I still have 2 more rows of tomatoes to plant, and possibly more peppers. I went ahead and formed 2 more rows even though I ran out of milk jugs. I wanted to see where the green beans and corn can start. The garden is not looking so big now that half of it is planted. I still have the cucurbit family to plant, too. 

Between some of the tomatoes I planted basil, dill, parsley and cilantro seeds. 

 I also transplanted peppermint and lemon balm. I had it in large plastic pots, that were beginning to break due to the sun. I put them at the edge of the garden, to act as an edge. I can't wait for it to get established so I can mow over it. That sounds strange, but I love the smell of mint. (And the flavor of homemade mint liquor.)

The more I dig here, the more I'm convinced there used to be a farm house here. I keep finding shards of pottery. I found several pieces today that look like they're from a crock. One piece even has the number "2" on it. I'm keeping all the shards in one area.

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