Good News, Everyone!
Baby Update
Mary Elaine made it through the surgery okay! tilly_cat called me last night to tell me the surgery took six hours (ugh), but that they were able to repair the hole in her heart and separate (build a wall of some kind, I believe) her fused ventricles. The baby's going to need to stay in the hospital a few more weeks for stability and observation, unfortunately, and she's still got a ways to go, but the first BIG step went well. Now, they also noticed she had a "stiff valve" in her heart, but it's not imminently life threatening, so they're going to leave it alone for now. There's even a chance it could work itself out, but even if it does need surgery, it won't be until she's a bit older, and therefore stronger and her body will be able to handle it better.
Tilly also described her a bit more to me last night and having a lot of black hair and a pixie face with a pointed chin and full cheeks, and I said to her, "Congratulations, Til. You've given birth to a Gelfling." She cracked up--I think she's calling the baby "My Little Gelfling" now. :)
When I got off the phone with Tilly, I felt like I had taken an 8 hour nap. I knew I had been worried, but I don't think I realized just how much it was bothering me until it (mostly) went away. Good lord.
More Good News
Then, I went and had my taxes done, and I'm actually getting a modest amount back! Nothing to write home about, but it's better than paying like last year, of course, and it'll be a little help towards Get Out Of Debt 07.
Still More Good News
Then, deetycarterlong and bigsmitdawg came over for the dual purpose of dropping of My Little Ponies (PS, skyesurfer, think you'll be free to come over sometime soon? You're welcome to any doubles I have now, and I want your secret techniques of spiffing up old ponies and playsets), and doing a "quickie" shoot in my basement. I tell you what, my back might hurt today from arching it in a damp basement for over an hour, but even the quickest previews of the shots on her camera last night made me feel like I had taken ANOTHER 8 hour nap. I'm incredibly pleased--if any of you get a chance to work with Pepper and Agent Smith at the same time, I highly recommend it. They're an incredible team. Agent Smith's a lighting guy in real life, so he's really handy on these photoshoots--especially when you have to jury rig a floodlight. And by the way, having a big, tattooed guy with facial hair and a classic Brooklyn accent smear glitter on your face saying, "This'll make your cheekbones POP!" is GUARANTEED to make you genuinely grin for the camera. :) And Pep's eye for art has always been good, but as she gets more confident she's getting better and better. She's got some of the previews up on her LJ, but the posts are friends locked, so those of you not on her list as well are going to have to wait a bit to see the photos.
Today? I'm tired, because Pepper and Agt. Smith left way later than I usually go to bed because we were having so much fun and on such a roll (no pun intended), and like I said I'm a tad achy, but my body feels more relaxed than it has in months. My brain's actually making decisions on its own, instead of me agonizing over every choice I make from when I call my family to whether I should take this fax over to my boss *now* or whether I should type a few more sentences first. I'm operating much more efficiently today...and I'm so relieved.
Also! Today is Elliott's, my friend Psychorange's baby, first birthday! Happy Birthday, baby!
Also,
Happy Birthday, gothbargod! Sorry if the snowflake picture seems a bit random, but it's hard to think of something as beautiful and unique as you.
Mary Elaine made it through the surgery okay! tilly_cat called me last night to tell me the surgery took six hours (ugh), but that they were able to repair the hole in her heart and separate (build a wall of some kind, I believe) her fused ventricles. The baby's going to need to stay in the hospital a few more weeks for stability and observation, unfortunately, and she's still got a ways to go, but the first BIG step went well. Now, they also noticed she had a "stiff valve" in her heart, but it's not imminently life threatening, so they're going to leave it alone for now. There's even a chance it could work itself out, but even if it does need surgery, it won't be until she's a bit older, and therefore stronger and her body will be able to handle it better.
Tilly also described her a bit more to me last night and having a lot of black hair and a pixie face with a pointed chin and full cheeks, and I said to her, "Congratulations, Til. You've given birth to a Gelfling." She cracked up--I think she's calling the baby "My Little Gelfling" now. :)
When I got off the phone with Tilly, I felt like I had taken an 8 hour nap. I knew I had been worried, but I don't think I realized just how much it was bothering me until it (mostly) went away. Good lord.
More Good News
Then, I went and had my taxes done, and I'm actually getting a modest amount back! Nothing to write home about, but it's better than paying like last year, of course, and it'll be a little help towards Get Out Of Debt 07.
Still More Good News
Then, deetycarterlong and bigsmitdawg came over for the dual purpose of dropping of My Little Ponies (PS, skyesurfer, think you'll be free to come over sometime soon? You're welcome to any doubles I have now, and I want your secret techniques of spiffing up old ponies and playsets), and doing a "quickie" shoot in my basement. I tell you what, my back might hurt today from arching it in a damp basement for over an hour, but even the quickest previews of the shots on her camera last night made me feel like I had taken ANOTHER 8 hour nap. I'm incredibly pleased--if any of you get a chance to work with Pepper and Agent Smith at the same time, I highly recommend it. They're an incredible team. Agent Smith's a lighting guy in real life, so he's really handy on these photoshoots--especially when you have to jury rig a floodlight. And by the way, having a big, tattooed guy with facial hair and a classic Brooklyn accent smear glitter on your face saying, "This'll make your cheekbones POP!" is GUARANTEED to make you genuinely grin for the camera. :) And Pep's eye for art has always been good, but as she gets more confident she's getting better and better. She's got some of the previews up on her LJ, but the posts are friends locked, so those of you not on her list as well are going to have to wait a bit to see the photos.
Today? I'm tired, because Pepper and Agt. Smith left way later than I usually go to bed because we were having so much fun and on such a roll (no pun intended), and like I said I'm a tad achy, but my body feels more relaxed than it has in months. My brain's actually making decisions on its own, instead of me agonizing over every choice I make from when I call my family to whether I should take this fax over to my boss *now* or whether I should type a few more sentences first. I'm operating much more efficiently today...and I'm so relieved.
Also! Today is Elliott's, my friend Psychorange's baby, first birthday! Happy Birthday, baby!
Also,
Happy Birthday, gothbargod! Sorry if the snowflake picture seems a bit random, but it's hard to think of something as beautiful and unique as you.