To sleep, perchance to dream.

Ah, back from our glorious West Virginia Mountain Vacation! Talmadge has blogged about it on his blog, complete with pictures. It was lovely, and the snow.....the snow was just COOL (literally and figuratively). It was the first time this South Georgia girl had seen this much snow. There was the time when I was 4 years old, living in Albany, and had what we considered a blizzard for that area - about 3 inches. It looks like we got at least 4-5 inches in our little West Virginia Winter Wonderland. Gorgeous! Then we had to come back to the humid 80-degree Fahrenheit sandgnat-filled weather of the Coast Empire. Bummer.

After our return, we had Tiger with us until the end of the week. I took him back to meet his mother in Ft. Valley, GA (the usual hand-off spot) and then I went northward a few miles to Macon where I ventured downtown on a search for Nu-Way Weiners. I saw them featured on a Food Network show some time back and HAD to try them when I got the chance. I am a sucker for a good chili dog and I've had some good ones in my time. People in Albany, GA line the block for a Jimmie's Hot Dog, wrapped in deli paper and stuffed in a brown bag that is nearly transparent from the grease by the time you get to your picnic spot (no inside dining there). Star-Ways and Lil' Red Dog House in Albany were also favorites. And, of course, when they ask you "What'll ya have?" at the Varsity in Atlanta, and you answer "Hot dog all the way!", you'll get one the way I like it - chili, mustard, and onions. Yum!

Now, Nu-Way DOES have several locations, one being just blocks away from the Burger King in Ft. Valley where I left what I can only assume was Josiebelle giving instruction to Tiger before handing over the car keys to him. There are also a couple of locations in Warner Robins - within blocks of the highway I had just taken en route to Ft. Valley and could have made the return trip on. But one thing that I have learned from my dear husband is that if you're going to visit a locally renowned and historic eating establishment for the first time, you've GOT to hit the original location if you can! Which is what I did.

It was tucked in a off-street and every bit the old-fashioned lunch counter I imagined it would be. I got three chili dogs for myself, one plain dog for Puddy (who had accompanied me on this trip) and a large triple-thick chocolate malted milkshake. I was in heaven! My only mistake was that I took the chili dogs with me and ate them in the car. It's especially challenging when you're trying to fight off a dog who has already wolfed down hers and is going after yours!! The chili dogs were not the best I have had - I think the Varsity still holds top honors with me - but they were still very good. But the shake was heavenly. I should have gotten the small, as it was so thick that I had to wait for it to melt a bit to get it through the straw. They gave me a spoon, but do you think I could have handled this thing with a spoon at 75 mph on the interstate? I don't think so! It took me nearly the full 2 1/2 hours of the trip home to finish it.

After the weekend, I had a couple of doctor appointments. Monday was the lung specialist (Dr. Maria) for my sleep apnea issue. We have a sleep study scheduled for this coming Monday night (April 2), in which I will go to the clinic where they have a "motel-like room" and sleep while they monitor me. I wonder if I will be able to sleep......I mean, with people watching me??? And, OH GOODY, when I wake up the next morning (provided I go to sleep, LOL) I get to go to the dentist for a possible root canal and a buildup for a crown. JOY! Knowing me, I probably won't get any sleep at the sleep clinic, but I'll probably pass out in the dentist chair. Hehehe.

Dr. Maria was telling me about some of the problems that sleep apnea can cause. To give you an abridged version, check out this brochure. After we find the right treatment, should she find that I do indeed have sleep apnea, my world is (hopefully) going to change for the better. I can't remember a morning since I was young that I actually woke up feeling like I got a good night's rest. I don't want to feel like a zombie any more!!

Tuesday, I had an appointment with the urologist. That went OK, and he says he can fix that problem at the same time they do the LAVH. (TMI! TMI!) This procedure is called a mid-urethral sling transobturator (some rather detailed drawings on this page - don't look if you're squeamish). I'm starting to get the feeling that I will be walking like a cowboy for a few days afterward these two procedures. The horse I will be riding will be named Ice Pack......yee haw. Methinks Tal will be able to sympathize with me on that, eh Tal?

SO, I'm almost set. Once I get the results of the sleep test on April 9th, we'll be able to get the hysterectomy surgery scheduled.

OK, it's Friday night. Just got home from work and finishing this blog entry. Tal and I will be heading to the Y in a bit, then back home for some chicken and rice. (Tal's favorite - his mom's recipe: One can of white meat chicken mixed with one can of cream of chicken soup, served over rice.) So easy, one day Tal might be able to make it. (hint hint) Like maybe Thursday nights coming up. (hint hint) :) (love you!) Maybe we'll get a movie, I'd like to see "The Pursuit of Happyness" (yes, that's how it's supposed to be spelled!) with Will Smith. It just came out on DVD this week and looks to be a good movie. Then off to sleep. I've got a cake class from 1-5 tomorrow. Sunday I will probably do some rat-killing in the house. (That's what Tal calls a major house cleaning - NO, we don't have rats.....or mice......or even roaches, thanks to Jackie the Exterminator). I may do some yard work and get my garden plot dug up. We'll just see how much energy I can muster. Knowing me, I'll be lucky if I can get the dishes done and all the mess out of the living room!

Have a great weekend!

-Seraphim "Did I miss Spring????" Gleck

To cut or not to cut.......

.....that will be the question.

I had an appointment with Dr. Amy today. Talmadge went with me to the appointment. Scratch that - he went to the appointment and I got there late. :) Gotta love that Savannah traffic. I thought I'd try to be smart and avoid what's probably one of the worst intersections here. Then thought that I could get on the road that would lead me right to the hospital where Dr. Amy's office is. I ended up on another road, stuck behind a school bus stopping at every freakin' block, so I tried to go down another street, then another, then another until I thought I was in Dead End Hell! Finally got turned back around and to the street I SHOULD have turned down in the first place. Got stuck in a long light at the intersection there. Tal calls and says, "Where ARE you?" I told him, "I'm stuck in line at a traffic light about 1/4 mile from the hospital but I've got a lovely view of a big azalea bush in some folks' yard so I'm not bored!" Poor Tal had to go into the Dr. Amy's OB/GYN office by himself. I'll bet he was glad to see me walk in! Well, he's ALWAYS glad to see me walk in, but he was probably especially glad at that moment.

I was almost 10 minutes late getting there. Not that it really mattered, as we ended up waiting an hour and a half to see Dr. Amy. Several pregnoids came and went with their "baby daddy". I was praying that none of them would attempt a conversation with me by starting with, "So, when are YOU due?" Because I had worn a rather loose dress and with my gut I could probably pass for an 11 1/2 month pregnant woman carrying quadruplets, and I was sitting there with my husband, it could have very well been an easy assumption. However, the mood I was in after dealing with the stupid traffic and waiting for so long to see the doctor, no telling what I may have said.

So we finally got taken to a room where we waited a little while longer, then Dr. Amy came in and talked to us. Looks like sometime in May I will be scheduled for an LAVH. Dr. Amy said hopefully this will go OK and she won't have to switch mid-operation and do a Total Abdominal Hysterectomy (TAH) where the uterus is removed through a large incision in the abdomen. This is the last resort, as recovery is longer and more painful than it would be with a LAVH. Dr. Amy said that since I haven't had any children the LAVH might be a bit more difficult to do because (entering TMI zone) my vagina has not been stretched out by some big ol' melon-headed rugrat. So if she finds she can't git r' done with the LAVH, I'll be getting cut. Pray that this does not happen! She will also be removing my ovaries and fallopian tubes. I will also have to have HRT after the surgery. Basically, at age 37 1/2, I will be going through (surgically induced) menopause.

I will be seeing a lung specialist before the surgery to be tested for sleep apnea (as I believe I mentioned in the previous post). In my heart, I feel like when all is said and done I will feel so much better. Maybe my hormones will actually get straightened out, I'll be able to get better sleep if the sleep apnea is treated, and hopefully I'll get fixed so (TMI zone again) I won't pee myself when I cough, sneeze, laugh, or bend over to pick something up. (That will be yet another doctor - a urologist - I will be visiting prior to surgery.)

So.....feeling like you know much more about me than you cared to?? LOL.

In the meantime, I am working like crazy trying to get caught up and ahead in work so I won't have that hanging over me. I don't know if this is a blessing or a curse, but my boss and Dr. Amy go to church together. Hopefully, they will both respect my privacy and not discuss me more than relating our "three (two?) degrees of separation". Bosslady has had her own health issues recently and asked me not to mention that to Dr. Amy, which I wouldn't, so I am sure she would be reciprocal.

So, as of right now I am vascillating between being being scared poopless and feeling optimistic that my life is about to change for the better. One moment I want to cry, the other I feel giddy. Weird, huh? I'm truly a work of art, ain't I?

-Seraphim

Gimme a mulligan??

So, here I am again, blogging. It's been over a year since my last blog entry. Sometimes I take for granted that my husband, Talmadge Gleck, blogs everything that goes on in our lives and for me to do so might be a bit redundant. For those who periodically visit my blog to see if I have finally written anything, thanks for visiting! I'll try, once again, to keep up with my blog this time.

What's happened this past year? To start out, since my last blog entry, my Cuz has had an amazing recovery from his incident. The man who shot him has been sentenced to 60 years in prison - he's in his 30's now. Cuz still has the bullet lodged in his neck and will undergo more surgery to his upper jaw in the future. He still has some psychological issues to work out but is doing much better since his attacker has been sentenced. He is back to work on a light duty basis. He's received several commendations from local and state law enforcement agencies and has also been featured on Court TV twice - this is video from one of the shows.

Tal and I have done a little traveling, I got a new job in October at the university I work at (yay, less stress!) and started teaching cake decorating classes at a local craft store.

I've got a few health issues that I am dealing with. Gotta lose weight, and Tal and I have started going to the Y as often as we can. Baby steps...... Been seeing doctors for female issues. If you do not care to hear about them, just scroll to the bottom of the post because from this point on, many of my blogs will more than likely tread into the TMI zone. Well, it won't be that bad, but most entries will probably be about my female parts for which I will not hesitate to use the proper terms. If you are cringing now, you probably won't want to continue. :-P

In early December, I went to my regular doctor for my 3-month follow up visit. She's following my blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. I have a previous diagnosis of PCOS which I've been kinda treated for but since it's such a mysterious malady there just still isn't a real comprehensive course of treatment for it. PCOS can really mess up the ol' menstrual cycle. I haven't been to a GYN for a while, so my doctor referred me to one. I saw the GYN in January who discovered a couple of endometrial polyps growing in my uterus. February 20 found me in Day Surgery having a hysteroscopy (where they insert a scope up into your uterus, blow you up like a balloon, and take a look around). There was not just 2, but 3 polyps and hyperplastic endometrium (thickened, tough lining as a result of the PCOS) which they removed. Tal calls this procedure a "Roto-rooting". I had a similar procedure done 5 years ago with no real follow-up treatment, which is why I had to have it done again.

My GYN called me this past Monday with the pathology report. It's called complex hyperplasia without atypia. This sort of a pre-pre-cancerous condition that could eventually develop into endometrial cancer. There are 2 courses of treatment for this: progesterone for 13 days out of each month and a biopsy every 6 months.........or a hysterectomy. What a decision I have to make. Now, normally a 37 year-old woman with no children whose only been married 5 years would not even CONSIDER a hysterectomy if there was still a chance of her getting pregnant. But I'm not and never have been normal. I've got several cards stacked against me: PCOS means I don't ovulate. Those of you who regularly read Tal's blog know that he's mentioned getting the snip-snip not long after his son, Tiger, was born. Meaning: world peace will happen before Talmadge and Seraphim Gleck procreate.

That being said, the only obvious decision will be to have the offending organ removed. I'd love it if they could do a tummy tuck while they're down there. :)

I had an appointment with my GYN - who I will refer to as Dr. Amy- this past Thursday. Tal was going to go with me so we could discuss my decision and what to expect and prepare for. Unfortunately, Dr. Amy had the flu and was not able to see me that day. So I will be seeing her on Tuesday. In the meanwhile, I have been surfing the net and reading everything I can about hysterectomies and the aftermath. I've got a good list of questions for Dr. Amy. I also came across this support group, HysterSisters. Cute site.

I've already started a shopping list of things to take to the hospital, like an eye mask - a' la Dorothy Kilgallen of "What's My Line" fame:

I told Tal that I wanted one that looked like a pair of open eyes with lots of makeup, like Tammy Faye Baker's. If anyone comes across one like that, let me know! :) Hey, just because you're in a hospital doesn't mean that you can't have fun! You know the saying, "Laughter is the best medicine!".

Before I have any surgery, though, I will have to be tested for sleep apnea. When I had the hysteroscopy, I had a tough time coming out of it and getting my blood oxygen levels up. Back in my Day Surgery room, the alarm on the pulse oximeter (the machine that measures the amount of oxygen in the blood) kept going off and the nurse kept getting after me to breathe. My mom and Tal were in there coaching me,"Breathe! Breathe!" You'd swear I was in labor or something. I thought my mom was going to hyperventilate and probably pass out (the woman has consciousness issues, I swear) from helping me try to breathe.

Tal and I are going up to West Virginia for a few days next week. I'm looking forward to it. We're renting a small cabin up there and will go to Charleston for a couple of days. We'll spend the night in Chattanooga on the way home.

OK, so I guess that's kind of gotten me caught up. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to blog that, too!

Sweet dreams!

Seraphim

Whew....close call!

Yes, I know, I know, I know! It's been a couple-few months since my last confes-- Oops, I mean BLOG ENTRY. Talmadge has delivered 1000 lashes with a wet noodle, and Bolivar has also reprimanded me. SO, here are a few thoughts that are bouncing around in my head that I'd like to get out:

First, a very scary thing happened to my family this past weekend. My very sweet cousin, who is a deputy sheriff in a county near where my parents live, was shot while on duty. He's only 25, and had only been in law enforcement since last May, I believe. (Bolivar and Nettiemac, you may or may not remember him, he was at our rehearsal dinner.)

He was patrolling late Friday night (actually 1 a.m. Saturday morning) and a car with its radio blasting passed him. Well, he pulled the car over, just to warn the fellow to turn the radio down. As he was approaching the car, the driver got out and fired at cuz, striking him in the face, just below his right eye. While he was on the ground, semi-unconcious, the guy tried to shoot him again, but the GUN JAMMED. So he started pistol-whipping him while trying to get his gun out of his holster. Cuz managed to regain his senses and get away from the attacker. He got back to his car as the guy ran for his, and with his training and instincts kicking in, Cuz fired a round at the guy's car as he was getting away. He filled that car with holes (I saw pictures of it on the news). But the guy still got away.

He called for help, and they got him to the hospital. He was stabilized and taken to another hospital nearby, where he was listed in serious condition in the ICU.

Fortunately, he was not hit in any vital areas. The small-caliber bullet is lodged against his 1st cervical vertebra and that vertebra has a hairline fracture. The doctor said that if the bullet had gone just millimeters further, he might have been killed or paralyzed. He's also lost a few of his molars - those are what slowed the bullet down. He will have to wear a neck brace for 2-3 months, have dental work done, and once the fractured vertebra is healed they may do surgery to remove the bullet, but because of the fracture he's better off with the bullet remaining in there.

Believe it or not, he went home yesterday evening. Just four days after being shot in the face, he was released to go home.

What a miracle - first that he was not critically injured, and second that the attacker didn't get that second shot in, which could have been a fatal shot. We are all convinced that God had a hand in this miracle, no doubt. He sent Cuz's guardian angel - Cuz's father who passed away 11 years ago at the age of 41 from leukemia - to protect him.

I think the physically he will recuperate just fine. He is young and strong. But, think of this - this is one of those things that will either strengthens an officer's conviction to his job or make him consider a new line of work. I can only imagine what goes through the mind of someone who came so close to losing his life. I mean, I know every police officer knows going in the risks involved in this job. The reality of this risk literally hit Cuz square in the face this weekend. I myself would be scared sh--less to get back out there again.

There have been a couple of incidents since he started in law enforcement that were a lot more risky - the high speed chase, a foot chase when he was just a rookie without a gun chasing a guy with one, and probably a few others that I don't know about - and to get out of those unscathed. But c'mon we're talking about a small rural Georgia county, not friggin' Atlanta, or even Albany, or Savannah with it's high crime rate! Then to get shot in the face while just trying to tell a guy to turn down his radio. That's GOT to somehow get you f---ed up in the head. Or at least make you re-evaluate your life.

Then again, this could have just been a minor setback for him and he gets back out there wiser and a little more cautious.

Whatever comes of it, I'm just going to pray for a smooth recuperation for him and that he suffers no permanent physical or mental damage from this. He's a good guy and deserves to live a full and happy life.

Talmadge told me that, after this incident, he became more than "just another deputy" in the area, as his name has become pretty well known throughout many of the law enforcement agencies in the area. Might open up some great career opportunities for him in the future. "What department wouldn't want to hire "the man who survived a bullet to the face"??" Tal said.

As far as the guy who shot him.......he turned himself in around 9:00 that morning. This guy has served prison time for aggravated assault and had several violations for obstruction of an officer and eluding police. He is now charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, criminal attempt to commit murder (!!!), obstruction of a police officer, removal of a firearm of a police officer, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. His future is pretty messed up now. All because he was playing his radio too loud.

-SG

Starstruck

Great Googly-Moogly! I can't believe that it's been a month since my last post, has it really been that long?? Sheesh, I just don't know where the time went. Seems like just yeterday was the beginning of the month and now it's almost halfway through!! I overheard someone at the Christmas Made In The South craft and trade show this past weekend say, "Did you know that Christmas is just 5 weekends away?" I nearly fainted dead away. I'm not ready for it, I'm just not. Seriously, I was just kidding when I asked Talmadge if he'd get the decorations from the attic!

Well, I guess I haven't really written much because there really hasn't been much to write about - or Talmadge had already written about it and it's no use in repeating. :)

A pretty cool thing happened this past weekend. My mom had been here visiting all last week (I kidnapped her the previous weekend and brought her back to our home to stay for a bit - to have a vacation away from things that were troubling her back at home regarding my sister and her issues) and my dad came over Saturday morning to spend the weekend and then take Mom back home on Sunday.

Late Saturday afternoon, we decided that we would try to get a table at Savannah's famous "Lady and Sons" restaurant owned by Food Network's Paula Deen. I had gotten Mom and Dad a gift certificate for Christmas last year and it was about to expire, I didn't want them to lose it. Well, silly us - we were thinking that if we got there early, there wouldn't be much of a wait! HAH! When we got there, we encountered a line winding around the block!

Fortunately, the gift certificate was also good at the restaurant that Paula's brother runs - "Uncle Bubba's Oyster House" further out on one of the islands. So we decided to try our luck out there. It was a short drive from downtown Savannah and, as we pulled into the parking lot, we saw that we'd made the right decision.

We found a parking space just a couple down from the front door. As we were parking, I noticed a very distinguished-looking gentleman standing beside a big, black truck that was parked in the space closer to the front of the restaurant. He was talking to the people sitting inside the truck. We got out of our car as he turned and started walking out into the parking lot. I immediately recognized him - it was Gordon Elliott. I remember thinking, "Hm, I wonder who was in the truck."

We were walking toward the restaurant as the big truck backed out and started driving in our direction. I then realized who was in the truck - Paula Deen and her husband Michael Groover. We waved as they approached, thinking that they would just wave and drive by - I secretly feared that my mother - who is a big fan - would throw herself on the hood of the truck! Not surprisingly - they stopped the truck right beside us and opened the window to be greeted by Paula's well-known, "Hey ya'll!". My mom says, "Do you remember me?" and Paula says, "You look familiar to me, what is your name?" (Well, for those who don't know - my mom and Paula knew each other at and graduated from Albany (GA) High School together in 1965.) My mom told Paula her name and Paula turns to her husband and says, "We went to school together!". They talked for a short bit - Paula's a busy lady and was on the go - Mama told Paula how we had gone to Lady and Son's and saw the line decided to come out to Bubba's instead. Paula says, "Honey, on the weekends even I can't get a table there!" Then they had to get going - we went inside and sat at the bar until the restaurant opened at 4:45. The food there was pretty good - a bit pricey for what it was, but still good.

I have two things to say to all those people who were standing in line outside of Lady and Sons - 1) the food there is good, but IT'S NOT THE ONLY RESTAURANT IN TOWN, and 2) nanny-nanny-boo-boo, we got to see and talk to Paula and YOU DIDN'T!! Hahahahahahaha!!! (Evil laugh). And we didn't have to stand in line for an hour. LOL.

- Seraphim "Yep, I'm gloating" Gleck

Say it ain't so.....PLEASE.....say it ain't so......

I beg of you who work in the fashion industry to please reconsider your decision to bring back the gaucho pants. I can't think of anything much worse than these except maybe culottes.


These things - a cross between a pair of pants and a skirt - have got to be one of the most hideous items of fashion that came out of the 70's. I remember I had a pair or two of them and I avoided wearing them at all costs (hey - I was still a child without much say-so when it came to clothing purchases). They remind me of how my "I can barely wear a size zero" sister looked when she put on a pair of my shorts!!

OK - some people CAN pull off wearing these things. In my most humble opinion the only accessory I can think of that remotely compliments these is a nice pair of tall boots like these. But please don't wear them with these - I don't think these boots are good for anything but dog-sledding, hunting polar bears or while scoring a half-caff double latte' in your favorite bedsheet like our favorite mom, Britney.

I admit that maybe some of my animosity toward gauchos and culottes stems from the fact that I have neither the right type of thighs to pull off such an outfit - nor the calves to wear the tall boots. I like to eat - and I prefer to digest my meals thankyouverymuch.

Who is guilty cuplrit who decided to resurrect this hideous frock??? Was Donatella Versace going through some boxes in her brother's attic and found these stuffed away in a corner and thought, "I'll bet if I just slap the Versace label on these they will sell like hotcakes!"? Did Stella McCartney think, "They were good enough for my mom - and she was a famous musician - then they are are good enough for me!" ? Do they bring back warm fuzzy memories of little Isaac Mizrahi running around in his Mommy's clothes?

I have never claimed to be a fashionista. I think that those who get orgasmic over haute couteur (high fashion), hang on every word of the top designers, and are almost spastic about having name-brand design labels attached to their clothing and apparel are above-the-neck paraplegics.

But GAUCHOS???? C'mon.

Introverts Unite!

You know......some days it pays to be an introvert. Today was no exception.

I have a couple of co-workers who are always at each others' throats. Not in a bad way - kind of in a "mom, he's touching me!" way. You know, the types who are always picking at each other but are the best of friends. They are truly funny to listen to - and I hear almost everything because one of the ladies' desk is just outside of my office.

Today, they were both out there doing their usual stuff.
J: "C...look at this for me...can you -"
C: "WHY are you bothering me???"

I look at my office-mate and say, "T - the kids are fighting again." Then a moment of incorrigible-ness overtakes me. I sling open the office door and say to both of them, "Don't make me HURT you!!" The look on their faces was priceless. I dare say it's the first time either of them have been rendered speechless.

I close the door and notice T writhing on the floor in a fit of laughter. I hear through the door, "Damn......Seraphim has crossed over to the dark side......" Minutes later, after the shock value wore off, we were all laughing.

Welcome to my Wittle World!

OK, here is the first post to my new blog. Um, I think I will leave it at that right now because I am at work and have to answer the phone. Joy.