1) The Head:

I finally went to see a specialist yesterday for my headache issues. I figured since I had been to three previous doctors and still had the problem, it was time.

It was okay, except for the part where after consultation, I had to get a shot. IN MY HEAD.

Basically, I think he told me that I have some version of occipital neuralgia (according to Wikipedia: Occipital neuralgia is a medical condition characterized by chronic pain in the upper neck, back of the head and behind the eyes. These areas correspond to the locations of the lesser and greater occipital nerves.) He’s guessing that this is causing most of the every day issues- except for the occasional TRUE migraines. And the best treatment? Nerve blocker shots.

Here’s a diagram, because I know you’d love it.

Oh! Did you NOT notice that needle thing before you clicked on the picture? Sorry… Anyways, he added a little local anesthetic that lasted a whopping 45 minutes, and the whole right side of my head been hurting WORSE ever since! Is that what should happen? I didn’t think so…

If it’s still bothering me tomorrow morning, I’ll be giving them a phone call. Hopefully though it’s a little pain now, a lot less pain in the future!

2) The yard.

Jared and I are finally tackling our yard. I have some pics I took with my cell phone- they aren’t perfect, but they aren’t too bad either. I am really happy with how things are progressing, especially due to the condition the yard was in when we FIRST got the house.

I’m not complaining… the yard being less than great knocked a good $10,000 or so off the overall price of the house, helping us GET the house. It wasn’t like a messy yard was going to intimidate US though.

So, here’s some small things that I’ve been doing to whip the yard into shape. And we have had a lot of rain too. Good teamwork is happening between Jared, the rain, and I. 🙂

The front:

    

All of that was dead. Except the bushes. So all the pretty colorful stuff was either 1) non-existent or 2) died from the lack of water last year. Those bushes are prolific growers though… I have to trim them every couple of weeks! The little tree in the front will be really pretty soon- crepe myrtle is amazing when it blooms!

Then the backyard:

   

The first picture there is autumn sage and our little fountain. It’s really gorgeous right now. The second pic is of a rosebush and these pretty purple flowers (Irises?) that just popped up. Didn’t plant them, but we’re glad they’re there anyway!

The biggest thing in waging our battle against the chaos of the yard are The Oak Trees. Live Oak trees. And their pollen, which is causing KILLER allergies. If they aren’t shedding leaves, they are blanketing the ground with yellow little pods that cover cars and anything else outside with a fine yellow dusting.

The weather people say it should only go on to May. Only. Not like we’ve been dealing with it since the beginning of March or anything. Though, for all you Utahns and cold weather people are probably WISHING for the weather that tempts the Oaks into spreading their pollenific joy with the world!

Got to count the blessings, I guess.

 3) The Miscellaneous

A)  I get to teach The Lightning Thief and mythology in the final weeks of school! I mean, I am getting around to it this year, and my dream job would be to teach mythology classes at a high school year around! 🙂 I am stoked, and a lot of the kids love the book, so it should be kinda a “Fun” way to end the year.

Which leads us to

B) I’m on the home stretch for year TWO! I am SO loving life right now when I think that I made it this far. I know that part of me is panicking that I ONLY have seven more weeks with these kids… but then I think… SEVEN MORE WEEKS TIL SUMMER!

C) I hate filing taxes. Why would anyone even want that kind of job, where you deal with other people’s finances all the time? Yuck.

D) I can’t wait for summer so I can do more yard and house projects. I don’t know if that just reflects on how pitiful my life is that I am excited to have a break from work to work on my house and yard?

Anyways, that’s what’s up with my life in a nutshell. Gets more exciting, but I won’t bore you with the details.

Told you it was the miscellaneous section, right?