Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Back Update!

I went to the doctor yesterday to find out the results of my MRI. He said that my L4, L5 and S1 discs are bulging. There is no space between the S1 disc and the S nerve that goes down my left leg. That is why I’m in so much pain. He showed me the MRI … it was pretty crazy to see how bad the discs look. I took a picture of the screen with my cell phone, which doesn't take very good pictures, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

I was really disappointed because I thought they were going to be able to do the treatment yesterday, but I have to wait until Thursday. I’ll get an epidural that should relieve the pain … if not completely then I will have another one in two weeks.

I have to be taken and picked up by someone since I will be heavily sedated. I won’t be out, but I will be “almost out.” He calls it “la la land.”

Please pray with us that I will only need this one treatment. This is quite costly, even with insurance, and I really want this pain to be over soon.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Two Updates

#1 | Update About My Back

I had a great appointment with a specialist on Tuesday. He said that I've either herniated my L5 disc even more as well as the S1 disc and/or I've got a nerve problem on my hip joint. He said he couldn't be sure until he got the results of the MRI.

I had the MRI done today. It was painful to lie flat on the table, but other than that it went really well. I meet with the doctor on Monday to go over my results and, hopefully, to get treatment for my pain.

Thank you all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers!


#2 | Update About Our House

Travis and I have been looking for a house off and on for over a year. Well, we finally found one we love!! We put an offer on the house last Saturday and on Sunday we got news they accepted our offer! We are so excited! We had an inspector come out yesterday, and everything was great. Now all we have to do is wait and pack. We are scheduled to close on Friday, April 24. If you live near us and want to help us out, let me know! :)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Biggest Loser | Day 79

Well, the good news is I haven't gained any weight. The bad news is I haven't lost any either. :(

I've been in so much pain and haven't been able to exercise. I haven't even felt like eating right ... although I did MUCH better than last week!

I'm going to Spine Team Texas today at 2:00 pm. If you feel led, please pray for me. I need them to figure out what's going on so we can start working on a plan to recovery.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Watch This Amazing Video

My friend, Natasha, just returned home after spending a week in Honduras. She and her husband, Aaron, are gifted photographers. Their pictures, along with the music, tell the amazing stories of the people they met in Honduras. It's an inspirational, heart-breaking, thought-provoking video. Watch it ... and share it with your friends.


Honduras from Natasha Brown on Vimeo.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Biggest Loser | Day 70

Blame it on the steroids ... I am.

This past week was insane. I ate everything I could get my hands on. I couldn't stop eating! I was constantly hungry. My co-workers got sick of hearing me talk about how hungry I was all the time ... I definitely know Travis was tired of hearing it!

Last Monday, I went to the doctor for my back (which still isn't better) and for an allergy shot. I got a shot of steroids and she put me on a steroid pack. So, being on a double dose of steroids has made me want to eat non-stop. It's been an absolutely crazy week. I was hungrier this week than ever before. I thought about food all the time, even when I wasn't hungry. I didn't even struggle this much the first week of my diet.

So, I've decided that I'm not going to "officially" weigh-in tomorrow. I weighed at home this morning and, thankfully, I haven't gained any weight. (But I certainly haven't lost any.)

This week, I'm going all out! I'm back in the game. I'm going to be THE Biggest Loser! No more steroids! No more munchies! No more cheating! No more excuses!

It's on!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A Sweet Reminder

Yesterday, Katrina, one of my close friends and one of the designers at Gateway, sent out an email to our department. It was a sweet reminder that God cares about the smallest of things. She gave me permission to post it on my blog. I hope it blesses you all as much as it did me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This morning while I was getting ready I couldn't stop thinking about a friend's Facebook posting from last night that said his 4-year-old little girl prayed and thanked God for STRAWBERRIES! Sometimes when I pray I feel like God will think it’s silly to ask for or thank Him for such minute or meaningless things. It is so easy for me to forget or take for granted all the little things that God has given us to enjoy. I let my "adultness" get in the way of having that childlike appreciation for what God has done for me. But as this kept coming to my mind this morning I couldn't help but thank God for COLORS! In everything I do, one of the things that makes me the most happy is lots and lots of COLOR! It is what I do. It surrounds me. It makes me whole. Red, orange, purple, green, blue and all the shades in between! How wonderful is that!! Can you imagine how depressing and miserable we would be if it weren’t COLOR? THANK YOU GOD FOR COLORS!!!

What seemingly unimportant or minor thing will you thank God for in a major way today?

Have a joy-filled day!

Katrina


Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Trip to Pocola, Oklahoma | Saturday, March 7

This was a crazy, but fun day. The whole family got up early and went to breakfast at Scott and Annette's house ... everyone, but me and Travis. We stayed back to get the house ready for the baby shower and to get in a little extra sleep. I'm so glad we stayed home. Travis' Aunt Kathy stopped by the house and was acting very strange. When everyone else got home, we let them know she had come by. Loretta, Kathy's sister and Travis' mom, went next door to their parent's house and found her in the bedroom. She wasn't doing well at all. As it turns out she was having a small stroke. Loretta had to rush her to the hospital about 15 miles away.

While she was taking Kathy to the hospital, the rest of us went to the local bowling alley to celebrate Rachel's birthday (again) with her friends. Travis and I were so glad we had everything ready at the house for the baby shower so Loretta wouldn't worried about all the work that needed to be done. It turned out to be a huge blessing.

My husband has mad bowling skills!

Becky, Chad and Baby Brett.

Becky made these cakes, a bowling ball and a pin, for Rachel. They were so good!

So, we bowled and ate pizza and cake with Rachel and her friends. We had a good time. But, I must say, the most fun (for me anyway) was after the party. I told Rachel to get her friends and meet me in the field by the parking lot. I didn't tell her at the time, but I brought cans of silly string. The three girls had a massive silly string fight out in the empty field. It was so funny to watch. Every time Rachel would spray her silly string, she would close her eyes. I guess you had to be there, but it was so stinkin' funny! And it was so windy. It seemed like whenever Rachel would spray one of her friends that almost all the silly string would fly back on her. Poor thing!

When it was all over, her friends said that it was the best party every! They loved the silly string. Rachel, on the other hand, sulked over to me and Travis and said, "I hated it!" LOL ... it was so Rachel!!!!!!

The look she gave us when it was all over. Priceless!!!!

After the party, we went to pick up the cake and some ice for the baby shower. Loretta ordered the cake from a local grocery store. It was by far one of THE cutest baby shower cakes I've ever seen.


We had a wonderful time at the shower. Becky received some great gifts. One of the best gifts came from Grandpa and Grandma Duncan. Grandpa made a baby cradle with antique wood from 1929. The entire piece is hand planed ... he wanted it to be an authentic antique. It is absolutely amazing! I wish I had a better picture of it.


The day ended at The Lighthouse, a really cool restaurant on the Arkansas River. It was so much fun. They have amazing food, and Travis and I both splurged and had steaks. It was a perfect ending to a crazy/busy day.

The Lighthouse

The ceiling inside.

The decorations inside.

Family picture at The Lighthouse. From left to right: Annette, Elden, Becky, Chad, Loretta, Scott, Grandma Burnett, me and Travis.

The back of the restaurant overlooking the Arkansas River.

The Tulsa Burnetts

The Dallas Burnetts

The end.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Trip to Pocola, Oklahoma | Friday, March 6

This past weekend, Travis and I went to Pocola, Oklahoma, to celebrate our niece Rachel's birthday, to throw a baby shower for our sister-in-law Becky and to just relax and spend time with family. We didn't get to do much relaxing, but we had a ton of fun doing all the other things! :)

On Friday, we woke to the smell of bacon and Loretta's famous pecan waffles. Oh my goodness, I'd been saving all my points for these waffles. I love them! I wish I had taken a picture for you all to see, but I was too busy eating them. Yummy!

After a quiet morning, we spent the day running errands and getting ready for the parties and the shower ... and, of course, we had time for a mani/pedi. That night we celebrated Rachel's 11th birthday as a family. She got a Karaoke machine, so we spent some of the evening "singing" songs and the rest of the night we watched one of her new movies, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

I knew you'd want to see my feet!

Rachel as she is about to open her Karaoke machine.


She's getting ready to sing. I don't think she wanted anyone to look at her.


Now she's singing!

And her Mom is singing.

Becky and Chad are singing.


Mom and Dad Burnett are enjoying the singing.

Here's the movie we watched. She loved it!

The Biggest Loser | Day 57 & Day 64

I'm sorry I've been behind on updating my blog.

Somehow last Monday the scale showed that I gained 1 pound. (I blame it all on the scale!) It was disappointing, but I knew I could do better.

Today, when I got on the scale it showed that I had lost 5 more pounds! So, I definitely made up for it ... and this time I like what the scale showed! Yay!

I have lost 26 pounds in just 9 weeks!

Sunday, March 1, 2009