Christmas Picture Update

All the loot under the tree..

Me, opening one of my gifts.

Dan with one of his....

and Chip with his.

We were so worried that he was too attached to his bed that he wouldnt be interested in the new one, but he loved it :)

Back to work and CHRISTMAS

Wow, I have so much to blog about but its soo jumbled in my head lets see if I can get it all out and make sense :).

Lets start with last Friday, December 19th. Daniel and I were running around Hampton Roads trying to get all of the paperwork done and filed properly so that we can get reimbursed for our Mayo Clinic trip. Dan's shop was having there Christmas party that day at a restaurant called Roger Browns. It was very good food, but the people I am friends with were at a different table on the other side of the section that we were in :(. Anyways, right before we got to the restaurant Karen called and told me that she was quitting. She was going to email Mike Marshall and Dave with her resignation, telling them everything that was wrong with the hotel and the way they managed it. Because I know that Dave does not always read his emails I called Duane at Marshall Management and told him what was going on and asked what should I do. He went to his boss, Rick, and then called me back and told me that they had to tell Dave. After all was said and done, Dave came down for the luncheon with the owners on Saturday, which I did not go to do to other things that needed to get done at home. Dan got contacts and now is a sexy beast with no glasses to get in his way :)
On Sunday Dan and I woke up with the beginnings of a cold. Of course his was pretty much gone by the end of the day while mine just started to go away yesterday...We went and saw "Yes Man". It was very cute and a good entertaining movie. It was about time Jim Carey came out with a new movie so I was happy :).
Monday I went back to work and only worked for a few hours before I left for a physical therapy appt for my knee. Tuesday I worked a little longer because I had stuff to get done and because Dave came down to see what mess Karen had left. Not long after he came into the office he came up to me and said "I have already told Marshall this and I am telling you, if you want that desk it is yours you are more then capable." That made me feel so much better about all the work I put into that place. He told me that when I first got put into the hospital they started to notice that something wasn't right at the hotel. I guess Duane came in and was asking Karen for some reports and she had no idea how to get them. I do remember had calling me about how to find them but I had never thought that it was a "test" for her. Dave was very unhappy that she had to call me to find the information. I then told him what had really been going on it the hotel w/ me doing the owners report and Susan's marketing/budget report. I told him that I had done it and they didn't even try to do the reports with out me. He would ask why something wasn't done and I told him the answer to that question was "I wasn't here". Its a very sad answer, but it was the truth. I also realized that a lot of the problems the hotel had Dave was unaware of. Karen wasn't telling him when things broke, and she wasn't trying to fix them. Now I don't blame her for the not fixing part because there was no money, but she should have informed Dave about it. I left at lunch time to get lunch then to go to a counseling appointment with Dan. After that we just hung out at home. On Wednesday we both worked a half day and enjoyed a quiet Christmas Eve together. On Christmas day we woke up and opened presents and then went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was a good movie but it sucked because the theater was small and full so it was very hot, and since the movie was long and on the slower side the hotter it got the slower the movie seemed to drag, plus for some reason I was very sleepy and with the heat it was very hard to stay awake. We just hung out at home and had ham, baked potatoes, corn bread and pumpkin pie for dinner. It was delicious expect I had no powdered sugar for the pie so that stunk!
Friday I went back to work with a completely new attitude. I have come to the conclusion that if I can get everyone to pull there own weight we can turn the hotel back around into the place that it was when it opened instead of the dump that it has become. If they don't to pay me and a manager salary they will be able to pay of some of the bills faster so that we are able to order the things we need in the hotel. Everyone seems to like that idea for a few reasons, the biggest being that they already feel less stressed coming to the hotel and want to keep it that way. Hopefully with me and the help of Dave we will be able to get this place back to the way it should be. I am very hopeful and have a lot of faith that it can be done...especially before we hit the busy season again.
I guess the big factor in all this is me. I need to be able to get through the pain and get stuff done, but make sure I don't over due it and make myself worse. I am very scared about taking on the responsibility of the entire hotel but I have done it before for a short period of time. I would rather have to do everything at my pace then have to train and do stuff for someone at a different pace. Lets hope everything will work out for the best. Pray! I need it!! :) Thank you! :)

Merry Christmas

I promise I will post a update about my health here in the next couple of days, but most importantly right now I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!
Dan, Chip and I opened presents this morning. Dan and I are going to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in a little bit. Its a family tradition that I want to continue with my family. :)


so..

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Little Shopping Spree

So Dan and I went shopping last night, there were a few things we needed to get like...Stocking holders so we don't ruin our mantel. They are so cute cause its a set of 3 Deer, BUT!!! One looks like a daddy deer, one looks like a mommy deer, and one looks like a baby deer!!


We also got a banana hanger so my bananas wont go bad so fast anymore. A TP and magazine holder for the hall bathroom so that it isnt so messy when another person starts using it. We also got a few other small things for around the house...

Then we got SHOES!! We both needed shoes so it was like a Christmas present to each other that we got to open early (we are both wearing them today). I was kinda bummed because the ones I got came in a white shoe with a blue design and were 10dollars LESS then the ones I got.. But they didnt have any but the show model which was a size 8, and I am a size 9. How much does that suck...
Anyways here are my shows..


And here are Dan's shoes.





I also finished decorating the tree yesterday, so here is the final result!



::EDIT 1/1/09 7:45pm::i had dan and my shows backwards, but its fixed.

Dr Update and the beginning of Christmas

So I went to the doctor yesterday. It was a very good visit. He said my incision sites looked good. We talked a lot about what happened while we were at Mayo and what the future holds. He put in my prescription for my latix which is the diuretic. The diuretic is not for my every day pain, it is only for the pain i get with exertion. They think that removing some of the excess fluid in my body will help relieve some of the pressure in my heart. He explained how it all works and I understand it, but I can not explain it..sorry.. I am to continue taking the pain killers for my everyday pain. Because I do feel pain through the medication during exertion I will be able to tell if it is working or not. The diuretic hasn't been too bad, I haven't had to pee as much as I thought I would have to. I will go tomorrow to get my blood taken as the medication can cause some issues with my kidneys. It can make it so that my potassium level drops and remains low. We will not stop the medication but add on a potassium supplement and I will have to eat more bananas (yum). If all this doesn't work surgery will be necessary, but they do not believe the the surgery will help the everyday pain either. Because of how healthy I am otherwise it would take years to get a new heart if I went on the list now. However we may discuss putting me on a list in the near future.

In other news... Daniel and I have only a week and a half left of privacy as we are getting a roommate to help with the bills. While we are able to afford everything, money is tight. We also need to prepare for me loosing my job as the hotel is not doing well. Plus this gives me the ability to take a day off if I need to instead of going to work when I feel so awful.
Last night I put the Christmas tree up. Hopefully tonight I will get it decorated. I just need to get Dan to get the decorations down from the attic. We didn't know if we would get to put all this up so I am excited that we get to. Since my birthday has now passed Christmas can officially begin. My mom always wanted me to know there was a difference because my birthday and Christmas so we always waited until December 16th to start decorating and stuff. While I now know the difference, it feels weird not waiting...However I love Christmas and decorations to much from now on I think I am going to start earlier from now on. I don't like the idea of putting it up just in time to take it all down. So I guess we will see........

Anyways, here is a picture of me "forming" the tree.


And here is a picture of it all lit up.


Ill post another picture once I get it all decorated :)