Thing to Do #82: Build a Snowman

When I created my to-do list, I thought I'd have to wait until my next winter vacation up in Illinois for this one. But in December 2009, Alabama got a snowfall that accumulated a whole few inches! Of course, within a few hours it had melted and our snowman's head fell off. But he had a good life while it lasted.

Allison and I finally had another chance to build a snowman this past Christmas while in Illinois, but she wouldn't let me take any pictures of her that time. Which is a shame, because my mother had an honest-to-goodness corn-cob pipe that we stuck in his mouth.

Thing to Do #1: Get eye surgery

When I was 5 years old my parents informed me during dinner that I had to get glasses. I looked around the room and thought: But I can see just fine.

That was the last time I remember seeing with my own eyes. Until now!

With a prescription of -9 on my left eye and -10 on my right, I'd known for years that I didn't qualify for Lasix. I'd have to get the same surgery that my sister had about 10 years ago, ICL, where a lens is implanted in the eye. I also knew that it was two or three times as expensive as Lasix. But I made a deal with my parents: They'd pay half. Great deal - except that it took me about 5 years to raise my half.

Finally, thanks in large part to our 2009 tax return, I had my portion of the cash, so I booked an appointment. Back when my sister had the procedure done, it wasn't FDA approved, so she had to go to Canada to have it done and wait a couple weeks in between eyes. But since then the FDA has blessed it, and I got to have the surgery performed by a doctor whose office is five minutes from my house. And I had both lens implants done on the same day.

I didn't feel nervous even for a second. I was more anxious than anything. There are a LOT of pre-op tests you have to go through, and you have to wear glasses for two full weeks before the surgery. Had I still been wearing hard contact lenses, I'd have had to wear my glasses for three months, so I was grateful I'd moved to soft lenses a few years back. I was told I'd be awake for the procedure, but I was knocked right out. I remember them putting on a clamp, then taking the other off. Simple as that. An hour later, I had better than 20/20 vision.

I've had a few issues since then, and my vision's still not as clear as I'd like it to be, but it will continue to improve. Overall I can't complain. For the first time since I was five I can get out of bed without having to fumble around the bedside table looking for my glasses, knocking over a glass of water in the process.

Oh, and thanks Mom and Dad!

New Blog. New Posts. New Stuff to Do.

It's time for a fresh start.

Almost two years have past since my last blog post (and yes, we finally resolved that pesky cat-in-heat issue). While hectic schedules and plain old-fashioned procrastination are on my mile-long list of excuses for not writing, my main reason has to do with the fact that I used this blog to write about what was going on in my life. Around the time of my last post, what was going on was my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor, to which he lost his battle on June 20, 2009. My father was a private man and one of my most loyal blog followers, so I didn't want him seeing his struggles posted so publicly. I also tried to maintain a brave face during that year he was sick, so I did not want to frighten him by reading about my own fears and emotions. So, I stopped.

Lately I've really missed writing, so I'm ready to come back. And while I may occasionally write a post about my dad, I promise I won't harp on it. Instead, I intend to use this blog as a launching pad for a project inspired by my father's untimely death. A project that's all about remembering to live life every day and to always have goals that you're working toward.

It's called 101 Things To Do in 1,001 Days. The object is to make a list of 101 things you want to do, like New Year's resolutions. But because, really, it's not always possible to get those resolutions done in a single year, you get to work within a more realistic time frame of just under three years. I started the project on August 22, 2009, so my deadline is May 19, 2012.

So far, it's been a lot of fun, and I feel my life is more focused. I encourage everyone to try it. It was tough coming up with 101 different goals (I started to struggle around 50), but that just encourages a little creativity. And for those of you who do not have 1,001 fingers to count, here's a calculator to figure out when your deadline will be.

So here we go. 101 Thing to Do #21: start blogging again regularly.