mmm, puffball anyone?

every year a crop of giant puffballs crop up in our back yard. some years are better growing years than others. cool temps, lots of rain at the right time and voila! you get puffballs!! when we first bought out home we had a few very large puffballs grow. they were bigger than gianna's head. literally not figuratively. this year in order to get a good perspective i had the girls pose next to some of the puffballs. as and added bonus - they are edible. simply slice them like bread and saute in butter. make sure that they are completely white with no brown beginning to show. i personally do not like them, but it is considered a delicacy.

mommy! i caught three crappies!!

yesterday i took maya fishing. with a little help from phil, and a disney princess fishing pole, we had a great time and it was a perfect night to be out on the lake.

here kitty, kitty, kitty

fish: flat head catfish

caught: June 20, 2009

weight: approx. 25 lb

location: mississippi river in st. paul, mn

shoot my foot is numb again

from the time that i first wrote about "throwing out" my back, i have since done it again. this time around it was compounded by the fact that i was playing soccer. it was causing enough pain that i went and got an MRI. that was an experience. it took me two tries to do it because the first time i went to the imaging center i drove myself and didn't take the strong pain pills. they make me really drowsy. the pain was so intense from laying on the flat table that i couldn't do it. so four days later i tried again (with a chauffeur). this time i was lucid enough to lay flat for a little over 30 min. and not even realize the time had passed.

it turns out that i have a bulged disc in my back that is pinching the root of the S1 nerve. OUCH! i believe that the S1 is the sciatic for the right side of the body. basically from the hip down to the foot i either have sever pain or numbness on the right side. if i sit for too long then my foot goes numb. well what do you know! its numb right now!!

from here i get to receive a steroid injection into my back to make it feel better. gianna and i get to bond in yet another fun way. we both get to experience an epidural!
yippie.
whahoo.
yeah.
bleah.

coming soon to a grocery store near you

stay away from my garden!!!

for the first time in the six years we have lived in our home the grackles are out in force. some people may like this bird since it has a very cool metallic purple head.

i don't like them.

i planted lettuce in my garden about three weeks ago and had two very nice rows of little plants coming up. to date i now have about four little leaves of lettuce. i don't really have any proof that these pesky birds are the culprits, but from past experience i would guess they are to blame.

the only reason that i have any lettuce at all is due to the fact that i put a milk jug on top of my remaining plants. time will tell who will win this battle, but i do have the upper hand.

a bb-gun.

falling apart

exactly one week ago i threw out my back. i have always had problems with my back a little bit due to a pre-existing condition that i have had since birth, but this was completely different. i was getting ready for work and needed to get a box of cereal from the basement. while rummaging through a bag of groceries i had a coughing fit. the next thing in knew i felt a pain in my back. dead center, in the area of a person's L5.
so i went to work, emptied a truck, got home and was doing okay, but not great. on friday i went to work to unload another truck, and without thinking i assisted in moving the dock plate. dumb! that was about all i could handle with my back. i was about ready to lie down and not move. for the rest of the weekend i pretty much was flat on my back trying to move as little as possible.
on monday i went to the doctor (after talking with a friend of my who is a sports trainer) to get official documentation in my medical record, and to get a muscle relaxant. it has been determined that i have a swollen disc in my back. if the pain doesn't get better in a week then they will check me out again and possibly schedule a mri.
so when you hear stories about people throwing out their back because they tied their shoe, sneezed, or simply turned wrong, it is true!! i didn't even get to pick up the cereal box.

getting older stinks.