Blizzard Conditions

I have done nothing today. Well, close to nothing. I brought up the laundry, but have yet to fold it. I was planning on doing my roots, maybe throw in a few highlights, run on the treadmill. Clean a little.  You know, be productive.  In reality, I haven't even showered or even thought about brushing my teeth.

Well, Missy, what have you done today? I'll tell you what I did, you judgemental busybody. I baked cookies with the kids. We snuggled under the blankets and watched the snow fall. I sent off a long email to a friend in hopes to ease her anxiety over her possible breast reduction. I bundled up my son so he could get out into the snow for a few minutes this morning, sending him off with a kiss. I looked up some possible classes to further my career to provide a little more financial security for my family. I called my mother in law and planned for her to come over tomorrow to celebrate my neice's birthday (and maybe mine as well...).

I haven't done much today but I feel like I got a lot done. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

     January globbin' 17th. I cannot believe that it is already half way through January.There has been so much that happened in the last few weeks, so much more to come in the next! Christmas came and went, quietly and uneventfully. New Years Eve, much of the same. I started back at yoga and dusted the off the old treadmill. I have races coming up and bikinis I want to wear. Getting into better shape was part of making 2013 an awesome year. I got sick last week and thought that maybe, just maybe, I was going to die. A bit dramatic, I know, but I felt like warmed over crap sandwiches. Migraine, inner ear infection, sinus infection, all took a hold of my head and assaulted it with the strength of 100 army's. I was miserable.
     Currently on the mend, I am looking forward to some momentous occasions. First, the one year (!!!!) anniversary of the new "Lady Friends" is quickly approaching and I was thinking of throwing myself a little party. I love parties, I love baking, I love celebrating ME, so why not combine the three and have a little Boobaversary Party. This is all in preparation for the bigger event...my 36th BIRTHDAY. I am planning on making 36 BRILLIANT. This is the year where I run races, improve myself both psychically and emotionally. Where I wean myself from the teet that is Facebook, only to replace it with this blog, my twitter (https://twitter.com/tmfvaughan), and hey, did you guys know about my tumblr (http://tmfvaughan.tumblr.com/)? I am planning on working HARD this year, both personally and professionally. I want to practice what I preach, spread kindness, but also stop letting people take advantage of my (mostly/sometimes) good nature. I want to spend time with the people I truly love, get the dog's weight down to a healthier number for her. Learn something new, make beautiful things, sing beautiful songs, spend quality time with the kids, and hopefully save for an amazing vacation.
     I hope to inspire you all. I hope to entertain and teach. I hope to bring the tiniest bit of beauty into the lives of each and every person around me. Have no fear, this is certainly not going to turn into some earthy crunchy spiritual crafty bullshit "I am Mommy, Hear Me Roar" blog (I can't stand that shit.) I'm not that girl. Big things are happening, and if we allow them to blossom, they can be beautiful. Sit tight, friends, the new year is only just beginning. xo

Don't Call It A Comeback!

I realize that it has been awhile since we last spoke. Since March, actually.  Have I been so busy I couldn't blog? Was I kidnapped? Was I on some glorious extended tropical vacation? Nope. I was dealing with a very old laptop that wasn't compatible with the new blogger format. Now that I have a newer (to me, anyway) and better laptop, we can start hanging out again. My last blog post was written 9 weeks after my breast reduction surgery. So let's pick up where we left off.

I have been VERY happy with the results of the surgery. Sleeping without a bra at night is pretty awesome. Running in ONE sports bra is like a dream come true. Practicing yoga wearing only a yoga top is pretty exciting. The only downside to the surgery is the scarring. (Before I go on I should tell you that I have VERY sensitive skin and I am ever so lucky to end up with keloid* scarring after any kind of trauma.) The scars, aesthetically, don't bother me. I am pretty comfortable with my body and seeing as I don't make a habit of leaving the house topless, the scarring was the least of my worries. Physically, it was a different story. I would wake in the morning and the scarring on the sides and where the drainage tubes were would be achy, feeling almost like a sore, strained muscle. Stretching out helped but waking up pain free would be preferable. I saw the good doctor for my 6 month check up and he asked about the scars. He told me about a laser trial he was conducting. By using lasers on the scars the appearance, thickness, and texture can be drastically improved. I signed on, armed with the knowledge that the lasers may or may not improve the scarring and being fine either way.

The surgery, from start to finish, took under an hour. It was performed in the doctor's office connected to MGH. The area that was going to be worked on was prepared by using a numbing gel. That part actually took the longest amount of time because the gel had to be applied about 20 minutes before the procedure was to begin. Aside from feeling cold, it didn't really feel like anything. The sensation you get from Novocain, or even some really strong pain meds, has a distinct feeling. With the gel I felt nothing. I was brought into another room and sat on a reclined chair. Two other doctors were in the room with my doctor. One held a fan while my doctor used the laser. The point of the fan is to lessen the pain and feeling of heat. In regards to pain, it almost like being tattooed but much more quickly. For me, the worst part was the smell. Burning flesh is not my favorite scent but both breasts were done in less than 5 minutes. It was tender and the seat belt rubbing against my chest was close to unbearable. I'm glad my husband came with me because I am not sure I could have driven and held the seat belt away at the same time.

When I got home, I avoided hugging the children and took 4 ibuprofen. It was sore, but not unbearable. I was told to keep it moist (ugh, I  HATE that word) so I applied bacitracine. The next day I was a chaperon for the third grade trip to Plimoth Rock. I was very uncomfortable the end of the day and my skin was all blown out from the bacitracine. I started using Egyptian Magic after that and my skin started to improve immediately.

The skin where the laser worked its magic had a comic book look to it. It had a ton of tiny little red dots and when I didn't keep up with the ointment it dried out. Today was my 6 week check up. The scarring has minimized and there isn't any more morning pain. The scars haven't disappeared completely and I am fine with that. The laser surgery certainly helped with the pain, the raised areas, the texture and color, and overall appearance.

And as of this morning, I am done with appointments. I am very pleased with my new breasts and the overall experience. My next blog will happen sooner, and have a lot less booby talk. xo

*for more information on keloid scars, check out this website http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001852/

Nine Weeks Later

This photo was taken the night before my breast reduction surgery. I was disproportionate and very very saggy. I did nurse two children with these monsters. I'm not 100% sure what my actual bra size was because I ha been wearing ill fitting and painful bras for years. I was somewhere between a DD and an E. Aside from the major back/neck/shoulder/head ache pain, dressing was a nightmare. Nothing fit properly. I was wearing L/XL shirts.

This is a photo of the new girls nine weeks post surgery. I am currently wearing a 36C bra (the same size I wore in FIFTH GRADE). My shirts are now S/M and I actually bought and can wear button down shirts. The constant pain I was in is gone. The scarring isn't too bad. you can't see the incisions that go along the bottom and into the cleavage area. The scars that are  most prevalent are on the side where he drainage tubes were and down the front of the breast (from nipple down the center to meet the other incisions running along the bottom) but in nine weeks they have already healed and are starting to fade.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about this surgery. Yes, it was extremely painful. Yes, the recovery was hard. Yes, I had a moment of "What the fuck did I do to myself!?" But yes, it has also improved my quality of life (and wardrobe!!). Yes, it has most definitely improved my self esteem because I was VERY self conscious of their size. And no, I am no longer in pain every day.

This is MAJOR surgery. If anyone out there is considering this surgery to improve their quality of life I say go for it. But make sure you have a good support system at home because you will need help, and a lot of it. And if you need the name of my doctor please don't hesitate in asking. xo

There's No Bad in This Romance

I never win. I buy scratch tickets. I never win. I enter raffles. I never win. Whenever it comes to winning by chance I, wait for it....never win. I'm okay with it.  The raffles I enter are almost always for a charity so in the grand scheme of things, when we donate to a cause we are passionate about, we are all winners. Yeah, you can totally barf at last sentence. Because people like winning stuff. People like getting stuff for "free." I am no exception to that sentiment. So now that we have established that I have crap luck with winning anything but I would really like to win something awesome, I just want to tell you that I won something. Something BIG. Something that involves charity and a great love of mine. LADY frickin GAGA.

Lady Gaga has established a foundation with her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, that takes a stand against bullying. As you may know, I feel strongly about bullying and gay rights. I'm not going to go off on a tangent about that right now but it is something, as a mother and basically decent human being, I really am passionate about. The foundation is called The Born This Way Foundation (www.bornthiswayfoundation.org) and they are formally launching today at Harvard University in lovely Cambridge Massachusetts. When I saw this posted I knew I had to be there. I planned on going with my fellow die hard  "Little Monsters" but unfortunately, if you wanted to go you had to enter a raffle and be one of the lucky FIVE people that were chosen randomly by computer. I entered and thought  no more of it because I never win. I was at work Monday, took a quick peek at Facebook and saw  that the names would be chosen and revealed later that day. I went about my day, doing hair, when I called my husband to check on the kids days at school. After a bit of chatter about the kids, he asked me what I had won. I was confused because I was at work all day and yes, never win. Long and confusing story short, in turns out I won. I won the Lady Gaga raffle. I was in shock and weepy. I went home after my work day, checked out all the details and then couldn't sleep that night.

I bought a new dress and broke out in hives. I am beyond excited. I am thrilled to be able to part of the launch of a foundation that I know will help a lot of young people who have no support system to help them through what could destroy them. Please check out the link I provided and see what you can do to help kids who may otherwise have no help at all. Be kind to each other, take care of the ones that need it and don't be afraid of being true to yourself. And when you get the chance, dance and bring a little glamour into your life. It's how Lady Gaga (and I) would do it.

Outside My GD Mind...

I can't workout for at least another three weeks. I haven't worked out in a month. My muscle tone is gone. My cardio vascular system is in deep hibernation. So I decided that now would be a great time to sign up for a 5K. And not just any old 5K, but a Zombie infested OBSTACLE course 5K. Smart, huh?

I love horror movies, I love zombies. I love being scared by the things that go bump in the night. I really love being social and having a fun time. So when I saw the commercial for the Zombie 5K during a break in The Walking Dead, I thought it would be an awesome time. Zombies, a group of people having fun. Beer! Problem with that is, I don't run. I don't like to run. And I am medically not allowed to run. So signing up for a 5K sounds like a great idea, right?

So now I have to figure out a way to start training without hurting myself. I think I will take advantage of this mild winter weather and start walking through the conservation land close by with the dog, because we all know that fat bitch needs to amp up her workout!

http://runforyourlives.com/

Oh This Week!!

This week has been both so awesome and so much of a shit show. I'm exhausted just thinking about the last five days. I was hoping to have a quiet, relaxing, last week before I headed back to work. But things have a way of getting screwed up, don't they?

Monday was every one's favorite holiday, MY BIRTHDAY. I turned 35 (!!!!!) and spent the day watching the kind of movies that Paul hates and that I can't watch with the kids (oh Breaking Dawn Part 1, how do I love thee!). We went to eat at one of the tastiest restaurants on the East Coast (http://www.gibbethillgrill.com/) and I had some of my favorite dishes. The grilled cheese appetizer comes with tomato soup and it will knock your socks right off. The meatloaf, oh the meatloaf!!! I can't tell you how much I love it! But the creme brulee will make you weep in your ramekin. They had a coffee creme brulee on Monday and let's just say if I could have married it, had its babies and then ate our offspring I would have. I got some great presents.  Paulie and the kids got me a gift card to Victoria's Secret to buy some new tiny bras. And the kicker...my children were well behaved the entire time!


Tuesday was Valentine's Day, which is MY favorite holiday. I had a great day filled with new experiences. But seriously? Any holiday that involves chocolate and flowers? Sign me up twice.


So Wednesday my love fest came crashing down. Lucie was sick and stayed home with me. We snuggled and she coughed all over me. That night I found out that my manager at the salon was unjustly fired, opening up Pandora's Box. Thursday was no better. Lulu was still sick and she missed her school field trip, which at 8 years old, is completely devastating. Colin had therapy but due to a few mess ups in the office with scheduling he didn't get his session. And then the Celtics lost. Damn you Chi-town. Damn you.


So this all leads us to today. Lulu is still home sick and Colin came home from school a half an hour after he started. More salon drama and...my mother called. There was a two hour period this morning when I thought that there was a very good chance my brain might have exploded. But on a positive note, today is the three week mark since my surgery. I am feeling good. I had a small mourning period there for a few days but now I love the girls. I kinda think they are perfect. I am going out tonight to get some fresh air, buy some smaller shirts, and watch Channing Tatum take his shirt off in The Vow.


So if I am a bitch tomorrow please know that it isn't most of you and Sunday is the start of a new week. I promise it will be rainbows and kittens, or at least clear skies and cute adult cats.