Another Chance Ranch

They're Complementary

We don't travel a lot, but we sure get a lot of complementary shampoos, conditioners, lotions, mouthwash, and toothpaste.  Toothpaste?  That was a new one for me.  But it even says Hyatt on it. 

The other day I was cleaning out cabinets, because that is one of my favorite things to do, and I dug out several ziploc bags of complementary products.  Please tell me that we are not the only ones that take this stuff home.  Some of this stuff is really good.

Like...

Good lotion.  I just wish I remembered where we stayed to get this.  At least some hotels have their name printed on the goodies.  We were just lucky they left us two bottles.  :)  And it doesn't smell "girly."  McD really doesn't like it when they leave the fru-fru smelling stuff for us.

At least I know where this stuff comes from.  The Hyatt.  I think McD stays at the Hyatt when he goes to his board meeting out of state.  He uses the soap and then brings it home, see it in the ziploc baggies.  He is saving it I guess. 

This is one of my favorites.  It is also one of my oldest of the collection.  I will never use this, and I will probably always have it.  This is from Salzburg, Austria.  This is from my trip to Austria and Germany with my Granny in 1998. 

Need the address or phone number to the hotel?  This is where we were staying when I saw Rick Springfield in a soap opera in German.  I couldn't understand one word he say, but he was nice to look at. 

This stuff just looks cool.  Don't you think?  Couldn't tell you where we got it, but I like it.  I am not really sure why we ever take the soap.  Who uses bars of soap anymore?  And if so, do you use Irish Spring?  The real question is - do you ever cut into it like they did on the commercial?  I've always wanted to do that.  No particular reason though. 

Not sure why I couldn't get this one in focus.  LOL  Sorry.  The shampoo and conditioner were so good that I did use them.  This is all we have left of these little boogers. 

This hotel paired up with Bath & Body Works. Cool idea. I finished using the shampoo and conditioner last week.  I just wasn't thinking or I would have kept the bottles so you could see how cute they were.  They look just like this bottle, but they are flat on one side, and sitting back to back they looked like one bigger bottle.  Cute idea.

This is my FAVORITE!  I love staying at the Broadmoor.  Love it!  I love their shampoo, conditioner and lotion.  I've not used their mouthwash, but McD has and he reports that it is refreshing.  I like this stuff so much that I bought some of it in the gift shop before we came home.  I try not to use it every day because then it will run out.  Yea, another weird thing about me.

Oh, this didn't turn out near as well as I wanted it to.  I might have to retake this photo just so you can see the soap that is shaped like a leaf.  Well, you can kind of see it.  I was in a hurry, I don't know if you can tell. The only reason I still have this is because it is cute.  Don't know if you can tell, but the shampoo is almost gone.

Aren't these little bottles the cutest?  They reminded me of little milk bottles.  It is Rosehips and Lavender lotion.  See why McD wishes they would have just regular smelling lotion?  Most of these come from hotels where we stay when we are on business trips (because those are the only kinds of trips we take) and he doesn't care to go to the meetings smelling like a girl.  :)

I sure hope you guys have a collection of complementary products.  I can't be the only one.  I have decided that I am not going to buy any more shampoo, conditioner or lotion until all of these are gone.  I wonder how long they will last.

Random Thoughts

I am really going to miss watching American Idol.  Don't get me wrong, I am glad this season is over.  I am bummed that Crystal didn't win, but she will get a recording contract and I will buy her music.  I am probably just not going to watch Idol after Simon leaves.  He was one of the main reasons I watched to begin with.  He is such a cutie patootie, and I love his accent.

America's Got Talent - I am really looking forward to this show.  I like Howie and I am anxious to see the little 5 year old sing and dance, and the Veteran group too.  They just suck you in when they run those commercials.  I hate it that I love those shows.  McD really hates it, but between you and me...shhh...come in close so no one else will hear...McD gets sucked into those shows too. 

What are these dragonflies doing?  I think they are doing the nasty, believe me they are connected.  It is very strange.  I've seen it a million times, this time I just happened to get a pic.  I will be researching this one, and will let you know.

I am addicted to Words with Friends.

I would really like a Diet Dr. Pepper about right now.

Very happy that I will be able to wear eye make-up tomorrow, and that I don't have to put eye drops in my eyes anymore.  I can't stand doing that, plus I am not very good at it. 

Can't believe it is already Memorial Day Weekend.  Okay, so almost Memorial Day Weekend.  Do you do anything special on this weekend?  I can remember when we all (4 of us) packed into our single cab pick-up and drove to Pampa, Texas because that is where my Grandpa was laid to rest.  For some silly reason my sister and I decided that we needed to wear our seat belt.  I say seat belt and not seat belts because we were in the single cab pick-up with a bench seat.  It was back in the day when if you wanted to move the seat forward, you moved the whole seat.  It was not a 60/40 split.  So, we squished together and buckled up.  Aww, the good ol' days.

And a flower for you for listening to all my random ramblings.  This is just a little of it.  I could go on and on all night.

Wait till you see tomorrow's post.  Shampoo galore!  And conditioner, lotion, shower gel, even tooth paste. Oh my!

You're So Vain

Oh believe me, when you have LASIK done you cannot be vain.

The week before my surgery I had to wear my glasses.  Then the day of surgery I had to go to work without make up on.  Wow, that was a different.  And for a week after the surgery I cannot wear eye make up. 

For three nights you have to wear goggles to sleep in, very seductive let me tell you.  I could see a person wearing the goggles with some really hot smokey eye make up, but without the eye make up the goggles just don't do anything for me.  :)

There are these really great shades that they give you to wear as well.  They really weren't that bad.  I felt like they made things foggy though, but then again I might just need to clean them. 

There were a few questions about the LASIK so I thought I would just answer them here before moving on.

My eye sight before the surgery wasn't as bad as some.  I don't really know what my prescription was supposed to be because the doctor at the surgery center told me that my local eye doctor had me in the wrong prescription.  And it all makes sense.  You see, when you go to your eye doctor for your yearly eye exam you should not wear your contacts for 3 days prior to the exam.  This allows your eye to return to its natural shape and your true prescription.  When we go to our local eye doctor he just has us remove our contacts and continue with our exam. 

Sorry, back to the question/answer or whatever I am doing.  Last week the doctor told me that my prescription should have been -3.00 at least in both eyes.

They told me that I was a great candidate for the surgery.  They even told me that I have extra thick corneas and cute little squigglies (iron deposits) very deep inside my eye.  The doctor actually called them cute little squigglies.

I do not regret having the LASIK done, I am very very pleased with the outcome.  Now if I could just get finished with the stinkin' eye drops.  That is one of my least favorite things to do.  Don't tell anyone, but McD usually puts my eye drops in.  The surgery center said that the patient is the only one that can do that, but apparently they didn't pay much attention to my McD.  He is one talented man.  They just thought the patients were the only ones that could do that.  :)

My LASIK Experience - Part 2

Believe it or not Dr. Fly called within 5 minutes.  It sure made me feel good knowing that they were calling me back even in the middle of the night.  I can't even explain the pain.  I just can't find a good comparison.

Dr. Fly offered to meet me at the office right then, but since I live 2 hours away from the office it wouldn't work. He said to put a cool compress on my eye, take something for pain, put some artificial tears in my eye, etc.  So, I did. I even fell back to sleep.  I am not sure how, but I did. 

My follow-up appointment was at 8 the next morning, so we got around and went for my follow-up.  Dr. Fly said my right eye looked really good, he said you couldn't even tell I had had LASIK the day before.  But, my left eye, well the flap had moved.  Believe me, I have no idea how it moved.  I didn't touch my eye.  I had my googles on while I was sleeping.  I guess my head moved to the side and the flap moved too.  Who knows, who cares.  It moved and that was that, it hurt like crazy. 

He was very nice about everything.  Friday is their big surgery day, but they got me in before everyone else.  They put me in pre-op, numbed my eye, and got me back in surgery except they didn't have to do surgery again.  Dr. Wilson just smoothed the flap out and I was back in post-op in 5 minutes.  I sat there for a while, then they sent me home again, telling me to keep my eye shut as much as possible.

Wow, they didn't need to tell me that more than once.  When my eye was open it felt like someone had taken sandpaper to it.  i kept it closed as much as possible.  It hurt, but I could see.  I was so happy that I could see that I didn't mind the pain.  Pain on one hand, Vision on the other.  I would take the pain to have the vision. 

I slept most of the day.  I was so bored!  I wanted to read, play on the internet, play Words with Friends, ANYTHING!!!  But I couldn't open.my.eyes.

I went to bed, well, back to the recliner because I wasn't risking my flap moving again.  So, I put my goggles on and went to sleep.  About 1 o'clock in the morning I woke up, and looked at the alarm clock.  Well, you have to understand one thing.  It wasn't like the alarm clock was next to the recliner.  It was across the room, and I COULD SEE IT!! 

Saturday morning things were much better.  We had to drive back to the doctor's office for another follow-up, and everything checked out fine.

I tried sleeping back in the bed, but I just couldn't get comfortable with my goggles on so I slept in the recliner again.  I kind of like seeing the alarm clock clear across the room.  :)

Everything is great now!  I can see, I have zero pain, and am so glad I finally had this done.  I would certainly recommend ClearSight Center in Oklahoma City.

My LASIK Experience - Part 1

Well, I did it.  I said "never" a long time ago. 

I said I'd never wear contacts because I could never put anything in my eyes. 

I wore contacts for 15 years.  

I said I'd never have eye surgery because I just couldn't image someone cutting on my eye. 

Well, last Thursday I had LASIK surgery. 

Never say Never! 

Here's how it all came about.

Years ago I worked for an eye doctor, LASIK was fairly new at the time and I wasn't a candidate.  I was fine with that because, I was NEVER going to have eye surgery unless I just HAD to. 

I started wanting to check into the whole LASIK eye surgery again when it got harder and harder to see the alarm clock at night.  You can only put your alarm clock so close to the bed.  Now granted, my eyes were not as bad as some but were worse than others. 

I could read without my glasses, and I could see to get around.  I could not see the television unless I was sitting on it, and if you wanted me to look at anything at any sort of distance then I was just out of luck. 

My friend Laura told me she was going to have LASIK and peaked my interest again.  McD was scheduled for a few tests in the big city close to where Laura had her surgery done.  I thought what the heck, I will call and see if I can get in on the same day he has his tests.  We were going to be there all day anyway, so I would just see what happened.

I called them, ClearSight Center, to see when the next available appointment was and believe it or not, it was right when I needed it to be.  I didn't even ask for a specific time, it was almost like they were ready for me. 

I went into the appointment knowing that I wouldn't be a candidate, no reason why,  I just knew it wasn't for me.  I was wrong.  They told me that I was a candidate and they could get me in that same week for surgery.  SWEET!!  I was pretty excited that I might be able to see without wearing any glasses or contacts.  Very excited! 

Then the fear set in. 

What if I something happened and I lost my vision, silly to think about since they do so many successful surgeries?  Well, it still went through my mind.  Laura's surgery went well, and she was recovering nicely.  Then I heard that my boss had the same surgery, so what did I do?  I called him.  I had to know how he liked his experience, where he had gone, yada yada.  Let's just say he scared the poop out of me. 

He didn't have the LASIK surgery, he had the lens replacement surgery.  He had each eye done at different times.  He said that when he went in for the second surgery they didn't get his eye completely numb.  Oh my gosh!  I couldn't even imagine.  My eyes started watering just listening to him tell me of the experience.  My eyes are watering now thinking about it. 

I just can't even imagine.  Needless to say, I sat in pre-op telling them that I wanted my eyes completely numb.  That was my only concern at the time.  Then I started to pray.  I was going to talk myself out of having the surgery if I kept sitting there thinking about it all.  So, I gave it all to God.  I went from shaking a little, to almost asleep when the doctor came in to introduce himself to me. 

You may have heard stories about how uncomfortable the surgery was, but I didn't feel that way.  I was so focused on watching the green light that I didn't really notice anything else.  There was a little bit of pressure, but it wasn't bad at all.  Everyone is different though, it might really bother someone else.  In less than 15 minutes the surgery was over and I walked out of the surgery room.  I could see better immediately. 

Off to post-op I went.  I was the last patient of the day, and was told that I was going to have to help empty the trash before I left.  Believe it or not, I felt like I could do that.  Instead they stuck me in a recliner and had me lay there with my eyes closed for about 15 minutes.  They brought McD in and went over my instructions for the night, and appointment time for the next day.

I slept on the way home, ate when we got home, and then went to bed.  I was stylin' in my googles when I went to bed that night.  I was told to sleep in the recliner, which I hadn't done in years, but I did it.  At 1 o'clock the next morning it felt like someone just stuck something in my left eye.  Oh wow, I thought this dry eye thing really stinks. So McD put artificial tears in my eye.  It wouldn't quit.  Oh my word, the pain was horrible.

Finally, at 2 am I called the surgery center and tried to wait patiently for the doctor to call me back.

Sunday Shout Out - Swampwitch

Swampwitch is one of my oldest blogging buddies.  I haven't seen her in a really long time, and I miss her.

This one is for you Swampy!  I still keep up with ya, and your worldly travels. 

I hope your broomstick guides you our way again soon.

Everyone go check out Swampy's latest travels at Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes.

Buildings in DC

I love taking photos of buildings. Love it!  Sometimes I find some cool stuff and sometimes not so cool.  Here are a few of the shots I thought were cool in DC.  There are only a few because I haven't gotten through all of the photos yet.

 

 

The only way this photo would have been any better was if we could have caught the place empty.  We tried, but people just kept coming.  I could have spent hours here, but we had places to go and see.  I am anxious to go back to DC. 

Prayers

Praying is something that comes easily for me;  I am just not sure I am doing it properly.  No one has really told me how I am supposed to pray.  There are instructions in the Bible on how we are supposed to pray.

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed by Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

Amen.

But who prays that every time they pray?  

I have been told that it is just a conversation with God.  That is the route I take.  My prayers depend on the day, and what has been going on in our lives.  I have prayers of thanksgiving, pleas for help, prayers for guidance, prayers for forgiveness, etc.

I have mentioned that I like to pray when I get in bed at night.  But let me tell you something, that is not the only time I pray.  I pray a lot while I am driving down the road.  I turn my radio off and just talk to God. Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I pray in the bathroom too.  Do you think he minds?  Do you think he hears an echo like when you are talking on your cell phone in the bathroom.  Do not even try to tell me you've never talked on the phone in the bathroom.  We are all human, it happens. 

Have you ever prayed for something that you really, really wanted to happen and then it didn't?  At the time you think it just isn't fair, or right.  I mean seriously, the Bible says "ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door shall be opened to you."  So why aren't all of our prayers answered?  Apparently some of our wants aren't what God wants for us, or it isn't in the plan and that is kind of hard to accept sometimes.  The other day I looked back on things that I had prayed for or about that ended up being unanswered prayers, and I thanked God for leaving them unanswered.

Remember the Garth Brooks song Unanswered Prayers?  It hits the nail on the head. 

The Bible also says, Pray without ceasing.  ~~1 Thessalonians 5:17

What does that mean really?  Pray continuously, that is how I interpret it.  That is why I pray in my vehicle, in the bathroom (Shhh), when I see an ambulance flying down the road with their lights on, when I see a funeral procession, when I see someone's prayer request, etc.  I pray all day long. 

I have added a prayer list on the left hand sidebar.  If you would like to add to my prayer list please email me at anotherchanceranch at gmail dot com and I will add your request to the list.  It can be as detailed or vague as you like.  That is the nice thing about prayer, God knows what we need before we ask him.   Feel free to add my list to yours.  There is power in prayer, and I truly believe that.

I can honestly say that if you ask me to pray for you, I will pray for you.  I won't tell you I am going to pray for you, and then not do it. 

Yummy Strawberry Slush

There is nothing better than a fresh Strawberry Slush.  Oh my.  Fresh strawberries right out of the garden are the best for this, of course any strawberry will do. 

Give this recipe a whirl and let me know what you think.

Strawberry Slush

2 cups (or so) of fresh strawberries

1 1/2 cup ice cubes

1/4 cup of honey

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Now, combine it all in a blender, cover it (can you imagine the mess if you didn't?), and blend until pureed.  Then pour the mixture into glasses and serve.  Throw a couple of berry slices on top to make it look pretty. 

You could use raspberries too.  Yummy!!  I am thinking I might have to make one of these tomorrow.

My Model

When we went to Tucson earlier this year I took some photos of a friend of ours.  This chickadee is really part of our family.  We were the first people to hold her when she was born, I have changed her diapers, and wiped her tears. 

She is a soccer star, and wants to be a model.  I think she is model material.  She is a beautiful girl.  I have shown one photo of her with you before.  But here are the black and white photos from that shoot.  

I think they turned out okay. 

Maybe one day you will see her in some really cool magazine ads.  :)  Then you can say you saw her here first.

Love you Shelby!