My Eyeballs

A little over a year ago my eyes were really bloodshot and I couldn't really figure out why. Long story short, it ended up being my contacts. I went to the eye doctor and he said let's try different contacts, different solutions, etc. No go. So I was stuck in my glasses.

Although my glasses are cute, I really hated them. They bug my ears, they slip off my nose, and they are just a general pain. Plus, I tend to be a paranoid person. And there was always the worst-case-scenario of, if something happened to my glasses I would be so completely screwed because I am so completely blind.

My contact prescription is negative eight, negative nine, for those of you to whom that means anything. Translation: without any contacts/glasses, I can see about two inches in front of my nose and that's it.

So. I decided I was going to look into eye surgery. I started calling around different places and I found, to my surprise, that they won't just give you a price. You have to come in and be examined so that they can give you an "accurate quote" (which is all a bunch of crap, because let me tell you that they do not personalize the quote, it's all the same number).

I already knew from my eye doctor that I wasn't a candidate for Lasik because I was so blind. I scheduled an appointment with Barnet, Dulany Perkins, because my sister got her eyes fixed there and they weren't going to charge me for the consultation. After about two hours of having weird different tests and having my pupils dilated, they finally told me I was a candidate for ICL, or implantable contact lens.

What is that? They actually stick a permanent contact lens in your eye, behind your iris, in front of your natural lens. The cost? Six grand. It's actually better than Lasik, but because it's more expensive, those who are a candidate for Lasik usually just go for the cheaper option. ICL is reversible; they are not burning your cornea. If for any reason you need the lens removed, they can do that.

Alright. I finally had what I wanted: a price. Now I had to wait. Joseph and I were buying a house, and all of our money was being squirreled away for an emergency fund (because those things are important!) and for our down payment/closing costs for our house.

Fast forward to present time. I finally have my eye-fixing money. I started talking about my procedure because I was excited, and someone told me she heard the lenses only lasted ten years.

Ten years?? That didn't even make sense. Wouldn't someone have told me about that??

So I call Barnet Dulaney Perkins and ask. After making me spell my first and last name TWICE (they can't find my history), the girl can't answer my question and says she will transfer me to someone who can. The second girl makes me spell my name again, still can't answer my question, and says she'll call me back.

She never called me back.

Well that was too bad for them because Joseph, scared about my eyes, was pushing for me to "check out other places" and if you've heard the advertisements for Schwartz, you know they do the Phoenix Suns' eyes.

Seriously, how much more of an endorsement do you need?

So I called Schwartz. Made an appointment. Liked Schwartz better. And Jay Schwartz told me (himself, because I thought I was going to get a partner doctor) that he does one eye at a time because it's safer. And he wasn't talking badly about Dulaney behind his back, because he's told it to him to his face. Risk of complication is pretty small, but he had one patient who reacted poorly to the medication, and they actually had to take the lens out, and she couldn't see out of one eye for a week. Wouldn't she have been really badly off if she couldn't have seen at all for a week?

Oh, and that whole ten-year business is some weird rumor and Schwartz laughed about it. He said he's heard all sorts of crazy stuff and he doesn't know how that got started.

I was sold. Schwartz got my business. It was going to be a little more expensive, $6400, because to do the two eyes separately is a little more cost-intensive.

This is a very long post. I didn't mean for it to be so long. It will have a part two of my surgery experiences. I just got my second eye done today so I will wait a little bit and then you can hear if I'm happy or not once the "temporary" side-effects wear off.

Joseph's Garden

I was minding my own business when Joseph approached me carrying one of those plastic tubs that plants come in. He told me to look at what he had, and I figured it must be a little seedling or something of the sort from his garden. Wanting to be a supportive and encouraging wife, I eagerly looked into the pot that he outstretched to me. I did not recognize what he had. That didn't really surprise me, because I don't know much about plants, but I continued to stare at it, thinking maybe it would look familiar. It was small, cylindrical, and covered in his new, expensive dirt. Was it a root? It didn't have the little dangling parts that roots have. I finally gave up trying to puzzle out what it was, glanced at Joseph and asked, "OK, what is it?"

With disdain on his face, he exclaimed, "It's cat poop!"

Joseph was very distraught that there was cat poop in his garden.

I was very distraught that he had just put CAT POOP under my nose and let me STARE at it.

I didn't know whether to yell at him or laugh. I ended up doing a bit of both.

I'm not looking at anything else Joseph Lee. You are officially untrustworthy.

Joseph's Garden and New Dishwasher

One of these Saturdays I am just going to relax. I promise myself I will....

Joseph and I don't even know if this dishwasher works. It was disgusting inside. My mom made suggestions to clean it out, but we have just been hand-washing our dishes. I really can't believe that only two people go through so many dishes.....We didn't have a new dishwasher as a high priority just because it wasn't really necessary. Although washing dishes by hand is not ideal, there were other projects that we really wanted/needed to get done first. But we've finally saved up, and Joseph checked consumer reports, and we are the proud new owners of a dishwasher. Da da da daaaaaah.

Joseph is hooking up the wiring.

That is me. Inside the cabinet under the sink. Connecting the drain hose. I seriously had to crawl in there; I don't know how a big burly man would have been able to reach that connection.
There is always a point in a project that I wonder to myself why we didn't just pay the extra $150 for installation. When the pipe is leaking everywhere even though we turned the water off, or my connection isn't fitting properly, or there are additional steps that we didn't anticipate.....I seriously kick myself and promise myself that next time, I'm paying someone to do it.

But then the dishwasher is installed, or the toilet is installed, or the closet doors are hanging straight, and I feel such pride. I feel like I've learned something and I understand a little bit more how things work. And dangit, I saved myself $150. It only took us two hours.

So next, we will be tackling the garbage disposal. :)

Switching subjects, here are the follow up pictures of Joseph's garden.

Look at the watering system. I hope everything works out for him. He's really excited about his little vegetables.

Joseph's Garden

Joseph has always wanted a garden. He used to talk about it when we first got married over three years ago. I told him once we got our own house he would have one. Well, now that we've got most of our high-priority house projects done, and it's a good season for planting, he decided it was a good time to start his garden. We went to Lowe's (I think some of their employees have started recognizing us) and got some wood, piping, screws, etc.

It was a nice day outside with a nice breeze. I was inside with two friends, Anna and Larissa, but I did step away to take a couple pictures.

Here is where he is going to put his garden. You can see the dead bushes in the back. I'm glad those bushed died; they had thorns. We are just going to have to tear them out. That day after my friends left, I had to tackle weeds in the front yard. I don't particularly like that part of homeownership.

Joseph flexing. He hasn't completely finished the garden yet; it got dark and started raining. I don't know what is happening to Phoenix; I thought we were supposed to live in a desert. My weeds are really thriving with all this rain.

I will post pictures of the finished garden when it's done. Joseph can't wait to start planting.