Wow…these past two weeks in Switzerland were EXACTLY what I needed!!!  The mountains were so gorgeous, and the weather was fantastic (for the most part…we did have a day or two of rainy snow, but otherwise, perfection).  I managed to get in lots of rest, tons of relaxation, and just the right amount of outdoor sports to make me happy.  I wasn’t able to go skiing (damn knee), but I was able to go sledding a few times, snow shoeing once, and lots of walking about the small town.  Jamie skied quite a bit and was really happy with it, so I was glad he was able to do that.  While he was off skiing, I was working on a crochet project (Tupp’s baby blanket) that I’ve been trying to finish up for what feels like forever!  I’m nearly there…I’ve crocheted all the granny squares, and now I am just connecting all the squares to make a blanket.  I used to think that weaving in the ends was the worst part of crochet.  Nope…not so much…it’s the damn connecting of everything that’s going to be the end of me!  We’re heading over to Tupp’s on the 1st, so it needs to be finished by then, regardless.  I plan on spending some time on it today (after we hit up the grocery, because we have absolutely no food), and then finishing it up tomorrow if I can’t manage to finish it today.   After that, I have one more baby blanket to make for a friend, then my mom’s afghan that was supposed to be for a Christmas present, until I got her something else, and then…finished with planned projects!!!   Maybe at that point, I can make something for myself.  We’ll see…I just love being able to make things for friends…it makes me happy!

Jamie and I have been on the great hunt for all things fun and exciting for our non-existent house.  Things like…washers and dryers…squee!   Actually, a few places are having really good sales right now, so I think we’ll end up purchasing a washer and dryer, then storing it until we move home.  Can’t pass up 25% off!  The rest of the stuff will probably wait until we’re actually stateside again, but if we come across a sale, I think we’ll jump on it.  

Which then brings me to my newest bitch about life…cell phone plans!  Holy crap, those suckers are expensive!!  It’s been so long since I’ve had a US plan, I had forgotten how much they were, but now that we’re putting together budgets and such, its all come back to me!  Cell phone plans here are so cheap…phones are unlocked, so you just go to a store to get al el-cheapo Nokia or whatever, then go get a SIM only plan at a carrier service.  Smart phones are a little more in-depth, but you can still buy an unlocked smart phone, then just go get a data plan from a carrier.  Best thing…they have unlimited data, and you’re only charged minutes for the calls you make, not incoming calls.  Also, you’re only charged for texts you send, not incoming texts.  Man…I’m going to miss that.  And though I love my iPhone, I think I’m just going to get a regular, non-smart phone for when we get home.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to break down and get an iPad with wireless and 3G to take the place of a smart phone, then just carry that around everywhere.  I’m thinking the iPad mini, rather than the full sized one…do any of you have any experience with the mini??  Do you like it??

Tomorrow is NYE and we’re having a little soiree here at the apartment (and by ”little,” I mean, 5-8 people).  I’ve put together an appetizer menu, complete with LOTS of champagne and wine!!!  It’s the first NYE we’ve spent in our apartment (and the last), but the Netherlands has a tradition of shooting off fireworks at midnight, and with our 7th floor apartment, the view should be amazing!!!  Our apartment overlooks downtown on one side, and residential areas on the other, with full wall windows, so we should have a good show!  And, if not, well…I have plenty of champagne.

Hope you all have a wonderful AND SAFE holiday!!

xoxoxo,
K.

Protected Post Up.

Oy…after a hellacious past few months at work, we are finally on vacation!  On Saturday, we packed up the car with a ton of stuff (including our cat), and made our way towards the Swiss Alps!  We’re here for two weeks of relaxation, snow, and Christmas.  I’ve had to pass on some activities, due to the knee, but Jamie’s making it up to me by sending me to the spa a few times.  Good man.

I hope to upload a few photos soon, because it is absolutely gorgeous here.  In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful week!

XOXOXO,
Kristin

So, I went for my ultrasound on my knee today.  The guy looked at my knee, moved my knee cap all around (I have super loose joints, so my knee caps move in really weird ways), then started the ultrasound.  Almost immediately, he’s all “oh.  uh oh.  hmmm.”   Ummm…NOT HELPFUL! 

So, he does the ultrasound, then drops the not-so-unexpected bomb.  Torn meniscus on my lateral side, right knee.  Plus…the area under my patella has about zero cartiledge and the bone is really ragged in there.  He doesn’t believe that my meninscus tear will heal on it’s own, due to it’s position, and thinks that it’ll need surgically repaired.  While they’re in there, they can shave down the bone area under my patella and smooth it out, which will help with the grinding that I feel/hear every time I move. 

My ortho is supposed to call me on Monday, while we’re in Switzerland, to discuss options.  I’ll definitely have the surgery here.  If it’s anything like my last knee surgery, I should be up and walking that day (slowly, and with great hobbling, but walking nonetheless).  I’m hoping they can do it as soon as the new year rolls around, so I’ll be more mobile when I go home for house hunting a few weeks later!

There’s the update…FML.  Stupid knees.

xoxoxo,
K.

Ugh, I am trying really hard to reign in my frustration with how things are going, but it’s getting really difficult.  This whole repatriation thing is going to be an absolute hot mess, I can tell already.  We’ve had two calls with HR and other people in the process, and we are absolutely no further than we were nearly 2.5 weeks ago!  They still don’t have a timeline for when we’ll do our house hunting trip, nor have they completely sorted out my contract extension and our visas (though our visa paperwork has been filled out by the lawyers and is with the Dutch government, so that is in the process, at least).

Our latest call was to figure out when our house hunting would be, and what sort of assistance with the process we would receive from our company.  Yeah…no idea.  HR still hasn’t gotten it together, because they’ve been working towards an “end of March” date, which is when we MOVE…did they think that you just show up in the US and there is stuff waiting for you?!  Jamie has to be back in the states in mid-January to kick off his new job, so it only made sense that we would do our house hunting trip at the same time (to save the company money, since they’re paying for it).  Well…since HR isn’t sorted, it doesn’t appear that the repatriation company will be ready for that come January, so February is looking more realistic for the house hunting.  Which doesn’t leave us much time in way of house hunting, buying, inspections, and closing, etc.  Plus…we were looking at houses that would require some work, so we could personalize them more, but our plan was to contract that out and have it finished by the time we moved home for good…also doesn’t appear to be feasible with the new timeline.  We would do all this on our own, but we’re still not sure what the financial assistance is for the move back, and if we do it all on our own, we might not be reimbursed by the company.  So…because I don’t want to throw away the financial assistance, we really have to deal with their timeline and inability to have their shit in gear.

Ugh…I just need to get to Friday.  After Friday, we’re spending the next two weeks in gorgeous Switzerland, and I can relax and forget about my job and this moving fiasco.  Get me to Friday, just get me to Friday.

XOXOXO,
K.

Had my appointment with the orthopedic yesterday…he took a look at my knee, ran some x-rays, we went over the x-rays, and then scheduled an ultrasound for next week.  Doesn’t look good…his response was “we’ll look at the ultrasound then discuss surgical options.”  Doesn’t sound like PT will even be an option this time (not that it usually works, but whatever).  Sigh…he said he could get me into surgery between Christmas and New Year’s, but we’ll be in Switzerland, so that won’t work.  It will probably happen in January, after our house hunting trip back in the States.

I’ve had one knee surgery before (other knee), so I know what to expect, but I am just not looking forward to it!  It’ll be scope, so really short recovery period (it’ll be about a month before I have 100% range of motion back, but the last time, I was walking the same day of surgery), so that’s good…and the pain isn’t too bad…probably need some anti-inflammatories that first day, then just Aleve/Paracetamol after that.  Still…I hate not being 100%, and I hate being relatively immobile.  There’s a slim chance I won’t need surgery, but it’s not looking good, so I’m just accepting the inevitable.

Wish me luck…ultrasound is Thursday.

XOXOXO,
K.