Deanna (aka Adam’s mom) had her first solo art show this past weekend! On Friday, we gathered at Bush Barn Art Center in Salem to celebrate Deanna’s art work displayed in the focus gallery. Over 92 people came to the show, including my mom, aunt and grandmother. It was a great event followed a nice dinner party at her friend’s house. It was the perfect evening to honor Deanna’s artistic creations.

Well the cast if off…and I will spare you the details of the amount of dead skin on the bottom of my foot and length of my leg hairs that were lurking underneath my cast. But needless to say it was pretty gross. The doctor took a new set x-rays which revealed everything was healing how it should. The fracture has still not fully healed, but it is well on its way!

For the month of March, I am in the giant black boot I have come to know so well over the past few years. The boot will only be used doing the day to keep my foot supported. Three times a day I need to do exercises to increase movement, strength and range of movement of my ankle. When April hits, I am back in real shoes….my left shoes have been missing me. My plan for the month of April is just to get back into exercise by walking and biking, and then in May I will start to get back into running. In May I go back for my final x-rays to ensure the healing is complete. So June is when I am planning to return to soccer, but I will take it easy if I need to. I don’t want to rush back into soccer and risk re-injury.

Surprisingly, there is not as much loss of muscle and there doesn’t seem be that much difference.

Umm…how is it March already. February was by far the busiest month for me. But life is good here. I get my cast off on Wednesday which is probably the highlight of year so far. And spring break is in three weeks, can’t wait for a break…er…the vacation kind, not the broken bone kind

Friday night was girl’s night to celebrate my friend’s birthday. We had a nice dinner at Olive Garden, then headed to the annual Micro Brewfest. Over the past few years I have become a huge fan of microbrews to the point now that my sister has made us a journal to write down all of our favorite beers. I am not expert on beers, but here is what I tried and what I thought.

1. Southern Oregon Brewing Co. (Medford, OR) ‘Nice Rack IPA’
Good IPA. Nothing special, but with a name like that, I had to try.

2. Laurelwood (Portland, OR) ‘Workhorse IPA’
Good IPA. It was lighter and seemed to have fruity taste to it.

3. Deschutes (Bend, OR) ‘Hop Henge IPA’
The best beer I tried there. I will be having this IPA more often.

4. Laughing Dog (Ponderay, ID) ‘Dogzilla’
It was a little dark for my taste, but it’s good to try new things

5. Mad River (Blue Lake, CA) “Jamaica Red Ale’
Good. It might have been the only red beer there.

6. Block 15 (Corvallis, OR) ‘Aboriginale’
Solid ale, nothing overly special but still yummy.

7. Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA) ‘Olde Gnarly Wine’
Nice and sweet.

8. Oakshire (Eugene, OR) ‘Duck Billed Platypus’
This was a dark rye that was bought for me. I took a risk and it didn’t work. I don’t like dark beers, but to someone who likes dark beers, it might be delicious.

9. Eugene City Brewery (aka Rogue) ‘Track Town Brown’
Good solid beer

Other interesting beers I sipped from my friends….
1. 21st Amendment (San Francisco, CA) ‘Hell or High Watermelon Wheat’
This beer was interesting. I enjoy wheat beers in the summer, but watermelon in a wheat beer, just didn’t seem right. Also, this beer came out of a can…and to me that just seems wrong.

2. Calapooia (Albany, OR) ‘Chili Beer’
This beer actually tasted like salsa….weird.

3. Block 15 (Corvallis, OR) ‘Love Potion #9′
This beer was a special Valentine’s brew. It is a chocolate raspberry stout. I am not a big fan of stouts but this could be a yummy dessert.

you have to buy them this.

We tried a new restaurant this past weekend, Cafe Maroc in downtown Eugene. This restaurant features cuisine from North Africa which was very delicious. The atmosphere, the music and the decor was wonderful. We sat on the floor under a large tent and ate a five course meal. We started with hummus, then lamb soup, a salad sampler (beets and carrots…not my favorite), a lamb entree for me and a goat entree for Adam and we ended with baklava. The entire meal and the experience was wonderful. There was a belly dancer there, and I even got up, with my bum leg, and did some belly dancing. It’s actually quite a work out. My foot wasn’t feeling so great after it, but it’s something I may only do once!

Well my fibula is…maybe not my mental sanity.

I went to the orthopedist today almost a month to the day when I fractured my fibula playing soccer. After a month of crutches, elevating my leg, hopping around all over, teaching from my rolling desk chair and not moving much, I am free of crutches. I am still in a cast, but I am able to put full weight on my left foot. So I am walking now, but I look more like Frankenstein’s monster or a zombie.

Today at the orthopedist, they removed my cast to check my progress. It is amazing how much better my leg looks. My ankle area is still mildly swollen and my leg looks almost anorexic with the atrophy of the muscles. The sore on top of my foot from the hospital splint is healing well and my foot is looking more like a foot and my toes look less like sausages. After my foot got some fresh air, it was re-casted then went through another round of x-rays. The x-rays showed that the formerly broken bone had healed itself…oh the magic of the human body. You can tell where the break in the bone was, but everything was aligned perfectly.

So for the next month, I will be hobbling around on my cast with the very sexy ’shoe’ to support my movement. After a month, I go back for another round of x-rays and to be fitted in a boot, which is an orthopedic device I have come to know well over the past few years. It’s been a month of some hard times, but things are looking up now. I can’t begin to thank everyone for their support!

It’s been three weeks since my soccer collision that turned into a fractured fibula. This has been the longest three weeks of my life! I feel like I have been on crutches and in this cast forever!

During this past week, my leg has made great improvements. My foot and leg are no longer swelling to my cast. I am able to walk on my foot with the help of crutches, and I am able to put a good amount weight on my foot. I did try to take a few independent steps, but after three awkward steps I got a charlie horse in my leg, so I decided to not do that until I have more range of movement. It seems like I could walk better but my cast restricts my movement. I am able to move my ankle within in my cast, but walking requires more than just moving your ankle. So overall, I am feeling good.

I am trying to stay optimistic through all this. It’s good for me to slow down for a while. There are some positive that have come out of this experience:
-Because I am a control freak, this experience has been good for me to let go of the way some things are done and to just appreciate that things are getting done
-I have learned its okay to ask for help
-It has improved communication between Adam and I
-I have a greater appreciation for people who do not have use of their leg(s)

Wow, he’s old. Well not really because I’m older. This past Thursday was his birthday, although the celebrations seemed to last throughout the week.

Adam got his birthday present from me last Saturday. I got him a ESky Big Lama Outdoor 4 CH 2.4 Ghz Electric Coaxial Helicopter RTF or more simply know as a remote control helicopter. He had been wanting one for a while, so he was excited to get it. Although, it only lasted a few days before it took some dives and now needs repairs. Adam now vows he will work on the flight simulator more to protect the longevity of his new toy.

For his birthday, I decided to make him a cake. We both love to watch Cake Boss, so I wanted to make a simple cake in the shape of a Lego. It didn’t turn out as nice as I wanted it, but it was delicious. It was a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting dyed green (Adam’s favorite color), with Oreos to give it the Lego block look. I don’t think I will have a career in cake decorating, but it was fun to try. The cake was supposed to be for his birthday on Thursday, but after coming home from work on Wednesday and taking in the wonderful smell of the kitchen, he wanted the cake then and there.

On Thursday we had planned to go out to dinner and dessert. But after I got home from a long day of work, we were both keen on the idea of spending the evening at home. We got a yummy pizza from Pizza Research Institute and watched American Idol from the DVR. It was the perfect night!

On Friday, we headed up to Salem for dinner with Adam’s parents at our favorite Mexican place. Then we headed back to the house for delicious cake and a game of Cranium. We stayed the night and lounged around the next morning. Nothing like a lazy Saturday morning.

So it was a week of mini celebrations! Happy Birthday Adam!

One of the many good things about having your mom go to the orthopedist with you is that she can take pictures to document everything. Although I am sure my ankle pictures will end up in a family scrapbook.