Well, the housecleaning never happened for Mother's Day, but I did get the pictures. I got picture frames that the kids made. I got Genny a sitting for pictures at Sears. She took a bunch of really cute pictures. If you'd like to see, please email me privately, and I'll send you the stuff to go look. baewe at yahoo dot com.

I also made the shadowbox from the San Francisco trip. I put it where I can see it while I'm in bed snoozing and recovering, and it joys me up. I put in seashells and rocks the children and I found, and pictures from the trip and a little slip of paper that says "San Francisco, 2005." I know I have some tickets from stuff we did, including a cable car transfer, but I can't find them, so when I do, I'll stick those in there.

I keep looking at it and sighing happily, which means I probably haven't been out much lately, but wow, it's so cool to see how it came together and how precious it is. The other thing that was really weird this week was that I was realizing that I had few pictures of the children in our bedroom, and that primarily they were out in the livingroom. Maybe it was because I have been sitting in my bedroom snoozing so much in recovery that I missed them and wanted to see them. I take for granted those pictures I have of them in the livingroom and my ability to get into the livingroom, perhaps, so this was to some degree to change that.

It made me so happy to see them. Also, with Russell's school pictures, I have a picture of him on my dresser and really wanted one of Genny, too, thus, the Sears portrait studio today. Now, I'm wanting to find another shadowbox to do the Florida trip because at some level I am more of a sentimental fool than I'd normally admit. I also love that we have had the vacations this past year.

I guess I'll have to do one from Vegas in September, too. We're already talking about going to Hoover Dam, swimming at the Hard Rock Hotel Pool, and walking on the strip, so we'll have cool pictures from that, too. I just have to work on Russell to get that kid to actually smile AND keep his eyes open. Okay, I have to do that with Genny, too.

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I'm still struggling with the pain. I managed to go most of the day without meds. I think I overdid, though because I finally broke down and took a pill tonight. This after I couldn't stay awake through a Star Wars movie on TV -- completely unheard of -- and I snoozed for two hours.

I felt old and decrepid like an old woman snoozing in her wheelchair at the nursing home, not so much like a young one recovering from surgery.