Bye, Bye Mallet Finger

After 12 LONG, LONG weeks I no longer have a mallet finger. I now have a very stiff, slightly swollen pinky finger that still appears a bit droopy, but I guess that is as good as it gets according to the doctor.

Don't worry, I will be extra careful when I pick up my iPhone....I know it is very dangerous and I have learned my lesson.

My mended pinky will be put to the test as I attempt to play the piano at Madi's baptism on Saturday. If I mess up I'm SURE it is the pinky's fault (LOL!!!).

Thanksgiving, Twilight, and shopping

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love being around family and of course EATING. This year all of the girls did Thanksgiving dinner since my mom just had hip surgery and it was delicious! Scott actually BBQ'd the turkey and honestly I don't think I've tasted a better turkey. It was so, so good. Now Scott will be in charge of the turkey every year (sucks to be him).

The rest of the day was spent playing guitar hero (being "boo'd" off the stage), watching Ashley and Sienna dance, putting up the Christmas decorations and just chatting. It was so much fun.


Here is Ashley in her new princess dress from Aunt Jen (aka...the favorite Aunt!!). Not the best picture, but believe me she LOVED it.

Then on Friday night my sisters and I went to see Twilight. Lara & I LOVED it, Stacy & Amber had different opinions than us though. I guess since I openly admit to liking High School Musical I know that any teen movie will be fine with me. Even though Edward was not the Edward I pictured I ended up liking him.

After the movie we went to Red Robin to eat and then shopping. We haven't all 4 shopped together in years and it was really fun (and hilarious) to all be in the dressing room together laughing as we tried on various good and bad outfits.

How do you know your old??

So how do you know your old? Oh well I'll tell you.....I've found it happens at age 33 when your birthday plans consist of the following:

- A phone call at 12:10am from a well-intentioned friend wanting to be the "1st to wish you Happy Birthday" wakes you up from a deep slumber & you try to not be upset as you attempt to fall back asleep.
- An early morning meeting at work, forcing you to get to work earlier than normal (remember #1 above.....)
- A very, very busy day at work with a million meetings and a million things to try & get done.
- A GMAT prep class from 5-9pm...good times, good times.
- Going to the gym after your class
- Watching "The Office" on TV (Okay, this is actually why I look forward to any Thursday)
- Going to bed early so you can get to physical therapy the next morning at 7am.

Yeah, the list of birthday fun above reminds me more and more that I'm an adult and not turning 16 anymore. The worst part about it is that I honestly didn't care about any birthday plans. I now understand how my parents didn't care about their birthdays growing up.

I did get to go to Chick-fil-a for my birthday lunch at work which was of course delicious. I enjoyed it even more since I get rejected daily when I suggest Chick-Fil-A for lunch. For some reason I'm the only one who thinks it is delicious.

I do want to say thank you to all my friends and family who called to wish me a Happy Birthday! Sorry I couldn't talk to everyone of you.....many of you called during the most exciting part of my day.....my GMAT prep class.

Logan

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but life has been super busy. Two weekends ago I finally made it to Logan to meet my new nephew, Andrew. I love going to Logan because it is always a low key trip, Amber & Scott feed me SO well and I have to admit that Ashley just makes me laugh these days.

Highlights of the too short stay included:

- Playing "superman" with Ashley and subsequently having "superman" (me) tweak her back. As Ashley kept saying "Superman broken!" Yes, Ashley superman was broken.
- Teaching Ashley that I also wanted to talk to Amber as she continued to say "Momma bye-bye" everytime Amber walked in the room & wanted to "play" with Ashley & me. Apparently she thought mom was going to ruin her fun.
- "Harmony Bear" (a Care Bear I brought Ashley) coming EVERYWHERE with us, including the bathroom.
- Watching movies with Amber and staying up too late!
- Ashley actually realizing that Scott made fun of her at the breakfast table...."Daddy make fun of me." We of course burst out laughing which made Ashley cry.
- Holding sweet little Andrew
- Eating, Eating & more eating - Such good cooks those McAllisters are!

Other than having to work for 4 hours while I was there the weekend was wonderful!

Here is a picture of me, Ashley & Andrew

"I know I can't dance".....but I'm happy others can

Back in my "glory days" I had no trouble putting on a short skirt and dancing for the entire student body at Orem High. These days I wouldn't dream of dancing in public on any level, let alone on a stage in front of people. I can't even bring myself to go to the hip hop aerobics class at the gym (mostly because I feel twice the age of the teeny boppers in that class). Let's face it I should have played sports, but instead I chose cheerleading....oh the lame choices I made.

Even though I have lost all dancing skill I once claimed to have, I still LOVE watching other people dance so I jumped at the chance to attend the "So You Think you can Dance?" tour. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, it is a reality show with judges where real dancers showcase all different types of dance (ballroom, hip hop, contemporary, broadway, jazz, etc.). Once the show is over the Top 10 dancers go on tour and you can see your favorite dancers from the show perform live.

I went with Jenna and her friend Jennie from California. Our first stop was the Cheesecake Factory which I haven't been to since in opened in Murray. Dinner was of course delicious. Then we headed to the show. We had great seats (phew! I was nervous since I was the ticket coordinator). The show was awesome and lasted 3 hours. I couldn't believe they performed that many dances with pretty much no more than 1 minute breaks in between dances. I was pleased to see everyone of my favorite dances and many times I was flat out in shock with the sheer ability of these dancers. I can not believe what they can do with their bodies. Amazing. I can't dream of doing the splits anymore, but one of the dancers had no trouble leaping and being caught in mid-air in the splits. Seriously??? These dancers are amazing. It was a great evening and I can't wait to go again next year!

Me and Jenna at the show. Yep we took our picture in front of the sign along with all the teeny boppers.

My streak is over.....

This weekend marked a sad day in my life. My streak of 18 straight years of never missing a BYU home football game came to a screeching halt thanks to Monavie's convention. I had to sell my tickets and work at convention instead of going to the game (So SAD!!). Thankfully the Cougs didn't seem to miss my prescence and still won 44-0! Here are some of my favorite games or moments (in order) that I have witnessed at Cougar (I mean Lavell Edwards) Stadium.

1. BYU's win over #1 Miami in 1990 - This was the year that my dad got 6 tickets instead of 3 because we were all fighting over who got to go to this game (I "called" it in 1989 because I saw the next years schedule in the program). I have probably watched this game over 100 times in my life. (I'm retarded I know)
2. BYU vs. Utah 2001 - It was cold, but BYU won the game with a Luke Staley option play & an interception to seal the deal. It is always fun to beat the Utes but especially to remain undefeated.
3. BYU beating Utah 2007 - 4th & 18.....The best way to beat the Utes is to make them think they have won and then rip their hearts out!!
4. Going to Cougar Club luncheons with my Dad in the stadium (even now that I'm older)
5. Lavell's last game when President Hinckley renamed the stadium. I was near tears.
6. Finally becoming a student so I could sit in the "super fun student section" that I had long to sit in for years (now I'm back to not wanting to sit in the student section).
7. Winning - that is what the Cougs do at home. Any win is always fun!

There are many, many more, but I can't document them all. I just love football in the fall (even if it is roasting hot or freezing cold, rain or snow)....even if I have to sit by myself.

I will start a my new streak on Oct 11th....

The Pinky Update

I finally got in to see the hand surgeon today and there is good news and bad news.

Good news = No surgery (for now) and my splint is not up to my elbow!!!

Bad news = I have to wear this splint (or keep the top knuckle of my completely finger straight 100% of the time for 8 weeks (sorry about the picture, not the greatest I know).


I am allowed to shower with this splint on & I have to take the splint off 2 times a day so my skin doesn't get "gross," but when I take it off I absolutely can not let my finger "droop" or else I have to restart my 8 weeks all over again (boy did they drill that into my head!) If I follow their plan then my severed ligament (it is completely severed) will just re-attach itself to the bone (95% of the time). The fact that it can just re-attach itself to my bone is pretty amazing if you ask me.

Apparently surgery is only necessary 5% of the time & usually only when a person doesn't wear their splint 100% of the time & the ligament can't repair itself so the finger permanently droops. I plan to not have surgery.

I can do anything I want as long as I don't let my finger droop, which isn't too bad, but does mean no more softball and I will have significant trouble typing the letters A, Z, & Q, although "A" is the only "real" letter used. Also, I should be fixed prior to snowboarding season (unless I have another iPhone accident....LOL!)

And for those of you keeping score, so far it is
Internet 1 (8 weeks in splint)
Instacare 0 (surgery)
......When looking for treatment plans for hand injuries. Also....I'm still not sure why Instacare felt I needed a cast up to my elbow.....that should be worth negative points for the them :)