A Year in Review...

Have a seat & grab a beverage.  This one's a bit longer.  ; )

My year consisted of lots of friends, good food & drink, fun, work & more fun!  Here's some excerpts of my favorite moments!

The Great Guinness Toast at The Wine Tap (one of our favorites)

with our friends Ashley & Chad

St. Patty's Day

April was full of events...Opening Day for the Cardinals (which was unseasonably warm),

Easter,

...and a very special wedding that Chad and I were unable to attend.  I stole these pics from our S. African friends' FB pages.

Here is the bride and her bridesmaids...at their traditional "bachelorette" party.  Forgive me for I have forgotten what this tradition is called...something about the mother hens??

Here is a pic of Chad's brother, Ryan, and his wife, Tanya...

May is always fun with lots of wine tastings, microfests...and of course, MY BIRTHDAY!!

This year May also consisted of vacation!  Thank goodness for that!!  I promise I won't post the hundreds of pics that we took...or all the pics of the food that we ate.  Here are a few of the best...

July brought around more fun.  We spend the 4th at the Cardinal's game & air show under the Arch.

Here are Ashley and I with a St. Louis legend...the Cardinal Cowboy!

We also took a trip back to Rochester to visit with Chad's Mom, Sandi...always a good time.  Chad's friends, Justin & Kelly, just had a beautiful daughter, MaryGrace (AKA MG).  Here is Chad holding her after much coercing!  : )

July was also The World Cup, which was held in S. Africa this year!!  Ryan, Tanya and her family were lucky enough to partake in some of the festivities.  Here are more pics that I've bogarted from others.  : )

In August, Chad and I took a road trip to Kansas City for his birthday to take in a couple of Yankee's games.  It was ridiculously hot that weekend...something like 103F when we arrived the first day.  We also hit up a local dive that was featured on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives on the Food Network.  Yumm-o!!

September proved to be a fairly uneventful month...except for a crazy afternoon (of which my memory is a bit fuzzy) with friends at the Midwest Wing Fest.  This was a festival of many different types of chicken wings.  Since I am still not eating chicken, I unfortunately didn't eat much...hence the fuzzy memory.  Ha!  
Here's a pic of me with Ashley & Judy...

October brought about a good friend's bachelorette party & wedding celebration!  
Congrats again Vicki & Larry!


Here's the bacheorette in all her glory!

Me and the girls ready for the big night...

...and at the wedding.

Chad acting goofy like normal.

The bride and her "back-up bridesmaids".
(Might as well make the best of having the same dress as someone else, right?)

November was a month of celebration.  First came dinner and dancing for my good friend, Kristine's, birthday.

Awwww...

Then another good friend, Chad, left for training prior to his deployment overseas.  We celebrated his loyalty to our country with some brews at iTap.  (One of our faves!)

Later that night we met up with some of my cousins for dinner and cocktails, of course.

Rounding out the year...more celebration.  I won't bore you with too many Christmas pics, since I just posted them.  
Here's my favorite pic from the Christmas holiday...a vertically-challenged snowman built by my lovely niece.

We celebrated the end of 2010 with some cocktails at a small place called Taste, known for it's small plates and creative cocktails.  Then we had dinner at Sage...another of our faves.  Sage holds a special place in our hearts.  We had our first date at Sage, a couple of New Year's Eve dinners and many meals in between.


Now it's time to leave 2010 behind and see what 2011 holds for us.  More work for me (but hopefully some advancement).  Chad's graduation!!  A possible move?  Most importantly...good times with family & friends!


Happy New Year, Everyone!  Cheers!

Merry Christmas!

Phew!  What an exhausting but great weekend!  I had to work way more than I planned this weekend, but I still found time for plenty of fun!  It all starts Christmas Eve when the Fillback clan pays a visit.  There was 10 of us this year.  We were missing two of the cousins, Lizzy and Kristina.  But who can really blame Kristina, when she has this to wake up to in St. Thomas everyday!  

Here's what they missed out on...

Christmas Day brings more fun with the Gill's and the Mamino's!  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take too many pics.  Darn battery!  Here's what I did get...

My step-sister, Calyn & her husband, Ben

Ben getting as close as possible to the fire without actually burning.  Usually you will find him with his feet actually inside the firebox.

Ben and Calyn are the proud parents of the world's best snowman builder, Lehni.  (Supposedly the snow wouldn't stick together.  Hehe!)

Hope everyone had a great holiday.  Unfortunately, it's back to work tomorrow.  Cheers!

Random Night in November

I've been slacking on my blogs this month, since I've been without the best eyesight.  So here's some random shots of some of my November outings.

For Kristine's birthday, we had a yummy dinner at Lola and then headed over to Rue for a little 80's dancing.

The birthday girl

Chad & I

...and a little dancing.

This past Saturday, we spent the afternoon & evening in Soulard.  Our friend, Chad, is getting ready to head out for training in preparation for his deployment to Iraq.  We'll miss him, but we'll be sure to take good care of Ash while he's gone.  In celebration of him & his dedication to our country, we had a few brews...of course.  Here's a couple of pics from our afternoon at iTap...

Next Chad & I headed over to McGurk's for a "Fillback cousin" family dinner, and finally ended the night at Carson's with a mixture of both crews.  

That's all for now folks.  I hope to have some more great pics to post after the holiday.  I hope everyone has a great Turkey Day!  Drink lots, eat even more and enjoy every minute of it.  Cheers!

PRK Update - Day 19

It's been a week since I went back to the surgeon, acquired a punctal plug and was prescribed more eye drops.  Unfortunately, my vision in my right eye hasn't changed greatly.  My distance vision seems to have improved slightly, but I can't really tell any change in the near vision.  I still have to wear my stylish one-lensed glasses at work.  The doc said that it might be a few weeks, so I'm back to trying to remain patient.

The thing that is really a bummer is the lack of satisfaction I get when shopping.  I don't even want to go anymore.  It's too difficult to see anything.  BUM-MER!  I don't know what I'm going to do on Black Friday!  It's a tradition.  Guess I'll just be along for the ride.  Oh well.  It still should be fun.  At least I'll have an excuse for running into everyone.  Ha!

Cheer to getting through another Monday!

Punctal Plugs

Day 12
Today I went back to the TLC Surgery Center to follow-up with the surgeon...and hopefully figure out what the heck is going on with my vision.  The doctor confirmed that I was healing much slower than normal...more like how an elderly person would heal.  Ha!  He explained that when the epithelial layer of the cornea grows back, it does so from the outside in.  So basically it comes together in the center and makes a ridge.  This ridge usually goes away within about a week for most patients, but of course, for me it's taking much longer.  This is what is causing me to have blurry vision & double vision.  I'm trying to see the world through a ridge in my eye.  The surgeon feels that my chronic dry eye is what is causing the slowed healing process.  Even though I don't feel like my eye is dry most of the time, on exam he said he could see irritation.  I'm already taking eye drops for chronic dry eye & steroid eye drop, but he added some prescription lubricating drops to take frequently throughout the day. 

He also suggested...drum roll...a punctal plug.  This is a device placed into the tear duct to combat dry eye.  The device plugs that duct so that moisture (eye drops in my case) do not drain into that duct...and instead remain in the eye.  Here's a couple of images just in case you are wondering what the heck I'm talking about.  It looks way worse than it really way.  End result...good prognosis but delayed healing.

• Opening the Tear Duct
• Inserting the punctal plug

PRK

As many of you know, on Oct. 26th I had PRK ore performed on my right eye. The procedure was quick & painless. I think I was only in the procedure room for a total of 5 min & the laser itself took only about 5-10 sec. The rest was prep time...taping the left eyelid shut and the right eyelid open, attaching the device to keep my right eye open, removing the epithelial layer of the cornea, etc. (Are you squirming yet?). I was given several doses of numbing drops for both eyes, so I really didn't feel a thing. The worst part was the rinsing of my eye with cold water, which they did a couple off times. I did experience a bit of anxiety with not being able to move my hands, move my head or blink my eye. But as I said earlier, it was only for a few minutes, so I was able to get through it. A "bandage contact" was inserted into the right eye to protect the cornea while the epithelial layer heals. This stays in day & night for 5 days. The remainder of the day I was told I should rest...no reading, watching TV or computer work. I was given a Valium after the procedure to help induce sleep. I ended up sleeping a good portion of the afternoon, so it wasn't so bad. I just listened to the TV whenever I wasn't sleeping or dosing myself with one of the multiple eye drops that I had to take post-op. I also had to wear this clear plastic eye shield (that was taped onto my face) over my right eye for all of that first day and then at night for the next 4 nights. That wasn't a big deal except for the indentation it left on your face for several hours after it was removed...very odd looking, but maybe it will start a new trend!

Day 1
I took this day off work, since I was told I could go back to doing pretty much anything except computer work or reading for any length of time. It was just as well, since my vision was still quite blurry. I could tell my distance vision was a bit better, but I still couldn't see near. I never did have any pain. The only discomfort I've experienced was when my eye became dry (as it often does). It just feels like you have an eyelash in your eye. Once I put some rewetting drops in it, the discomfort immediately ceased.

Day 2
This was a Friday, and I had decided to work from home, so I could take frequent breaks. Computer work is next to impossible right now. My follow-up appt went well. My doctor said my cornea was healing very well. I was starting to experience this haziness. The doctor said that was because of the bandage contact...and not being able to remove it & clean it like you would a normal contact. He said that I should see much better once that is removed on Day 5.

Day 5 - Monday
I was told at my initial consultation that I need to be very patient with my recovery period, since PRK takes longer to heal than LASIK. So I remained patient all weekend, and anticipated the removal of my bandage contact. Chad drove me to my appt this morning, as driving is still a scary feat. I'm still experiencing double vision and nighttime halos. My eye doctor said that my cornea had healed well, so he did remove the bandage contact that morning. I immediately felt the haze go away, but I still had the horrible double vision & blurriness. However, I was seeing 20/30 at this point...and was told it should improve more over the course of the next week. My next surgery...for my left eye...was scheduled for Nov. 10th, two weeks after the first surgery. So I remained patient, and hoped for great improvement by that time.

Days 6-9
Computer work...or anything close-up...is still extremely difficult. I have always been nearsighted. So my left eye remains nearsighted. However, my right eye is a bit more farsighted now. I can't see anything close up with my right eye, so I end up squinting a lot of the time, Reading and working on the computer makes my head want to explode. My doctor suggested we remove the right lens from my glasses to assist with my work duties. (Another hot fashion trend that I'm setting!). But it does help when I'm sitting and trying to focus on something close. However it does not help when I'm walking or driving. Holy nausea, Batman! I have never been one to experience motion sickness, but I now am totally sympathetic to those that do! This must be what they are experiencing, I have learned to stomach it for driving though, since I don't want to kill myself or others. Too bad Chad can't be my chauffeur every day! : )
My patience is now wearing thin, and I'm starting to get a bit concerned because I don't think my vision has improved this entire week. So I called my eye doctor, and I'm scheduled to see him tomorrow.

Day 10 - Saturday
I drove myself, very cautiously, to my appt this morning. I couldn't see any of the lines on the chart that he expected me to see. He examined my eye and said that there is a small section in the middle of my eye that is still cloudy and not healing as well as it should be, He said that I should be seeing better. But since this area is in the center of my eye, it is causing my vision to remain the same. He is unsure why this is happening & recommends that I go see the surgeon again. So hopefully I will be able to get in on Monday. I've now become quite impatient & upset. My second surgery is schedule for this coming Wednesday, but I'll probably have to postpone it. The fact that my left eye is nearsighted is the only thing that's been getting me through my work days. I don't want to have the other surgery until my right eye heals more.

I'm still hoping for a positive outcome for all of this though. I was so excited to have the PRK done, but I can't say that I'm glad I did just yet. Wish me luck!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad/iPhone

Art & Food

I had a great day at the Best of MO Market & Shaw Art Fair.  There are so many things to nibble on...and lots of wine to taste (albeit MO wine...but it is wine)!    I ended up with a mini pumpkin spice gooey butter cake from Gooey Louie, some andouie sausage & salami, and a little prize for Chad.  If you haven't attended the MO Market before, you must put it on your list for next year.  The weather was beautiful this year!  After the market, we headed down the street to the Shaw Art Fair.  This event just keeps getting bigger and bigger each year.  I think we were getting kind of tired by this point, because we kind of flew through it.  Ha!  Here's a pic of John and I at the art fair...

 We ended the afternoon with a brunch at Square One Brewery/Distillery.  I had some scrumptious Crab Cakes Egg Benedict.  Yumm-o!  I finished it off with a pint of some pumpkin spice ale...which was much more like a spiced Oktoberfest more than pumpkin...but good all the same!

Well, here goes with a new work week!  Wish me luck!  Hope everyone has a good one!

Day 6

Well it has been one hell of a week.  I'm not sure how long I can keep up this pace at work and home, but I'm going to try and hang in there.  I'm hoping work starts to become more manageable.  I'm looking forward to beginning to work on getting my quality certification...CPHQ.  However, I have no idea how I'm going to work it in to the busy pace of my life at the moment.  I quess we'll see.  My new boss has now asked me to move into my old boss's office, so I guess we'll see where this goes.  I anticipate lots of changes in the future.  I usually embrace change.  I'm just a bit nervous about the unknown at this point.  More to come...

I'm so uneasy about my lack of control with the situation that I went and changed my hair...probably in order to actually be able to control something.  Ha!  I'm sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with me!  I'd been bored with my style for awhile now.  This situation just finally gave me the kick that I needed to actually do something about it. I now have a darker red color, more layers and....BANGS!  It's been about 15 years, since I've had them.  I must say that it turned out quite well.  It's definitely different.  Just what I needed.

Friday night Chad and I headed up to the chili cook-off in downtown Bellevegas!  It was a perfect evening for some chili and a few brews.  The Wine Tap was serving good beer outside, so I didn't even have to struggle to get down that horrible Bud Light stuff they call beer!  Cheers to The Wine Tap!!  Chad and I managed to sample about 75% or so of all the chili stands.  We finally decided that The Firemen stand was our favorite.  It even had a bit of kick!  the runner up was the chili from the Bar Association...smokey with some coffee and a small kick.  Last year I was disappointed because it was the same ole stands as the years before, but this year there seemed to be several more stands.  Refreshing!

This morning I woke up waaaaaaaaay to early for a Saturday morning to take Chad, his advisor and another "science student" to the airport.  Chad will be in Tucson for the week hanging out with all the other science-weather nerds.  (Love ya, babe!)  It was so early this morning that I actually got to the gym BEFORE it opened!  It was my first gym trip in a couple of months since I majorly injured my back.  I wasn't sure to what to expect, but it went well...30 min of cardio on the elliptical & 20 min of weights.  I worked around the house the remainder of the day...and now I'm not so sure what to do with myself.  I'd like to go out and be social, but not quite sure what to do or who to do it with.  Ha!  So it may just be a "stay-in wine and movie" night.

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Best of Missouri Market at the Botanical Gardens with Mom and John.  I haven't hung with the fam in a bit.  It should be a good time!  There is always lots o' food & wine to sample.  What could be bad about that?!?!?!


Hope everyone has a great weekend!