Though I do still have some numbness on the ball of my foot and around the heel. The doctor said that it may take up to a couple of weeks to go away, and it may not completely go away. I'm hoping it does, because it's super weird being numb on that part of the foot.

I'm glad the original back pain has been resolved, Dana. Healing~ma for the rest of it.

ND, that's some BS. I hope the banks work things out soon.

Do you have to go to areas likely to be flooded, Connie? In my area, there are places that always flood after hurricanes or major remnants thereof come through. I can generally find alternate routes, but it sucks for people who live or work in the low spots.

Dana, how's the actual back pain/sciatica?

Oh, that's gone. The only challenge walking now is the muscles, and I guess the lingering loopiness from the anesthetic. Even with the surgery drama, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

That's fantastic! Do you have an Rx for a muscle relaxant? That helped me for the first week or 2 after surgery because my muscles were pissed at me.

My husband yesterday said it was nice to have me back, and I said I was only gone for one night, but he meant that I was functional and could actually stand and participate in things.

I get that.

Though I do still have some numbness on the ball of my foot and around the heel. The doctor said that it may take up to a couple of weeks to go away, and it may not completely go away.

I remember that -- the bottom of my left foot was not totally numb prior to surgery, but maybe 80%. It did take a few weeks to go away. IIRC, my doctor said that the numbness is because the nerves got squished by the herniated discs, and the nerves don't un-squish immediately.

They did give me a muscle relaxant and told me to be vigilant about taking it, because otherwise I'd end up with muscle spasms.

I forgot to mention, after the IV pain meds ended, they were giving me Vicodin for the pain. I already have this giant bottle of Percocet, which I assumed I'd be using post-surgery. No, now I also have a giant bottle of Vicodin. If I were actually drug-seeking, I would be set.

I got the O2 sensor in our old Nissan out and put in a new one. I cleared the codes and ran the engine for awhile and so far the check engine light is staying dark. It feels like the engine is running a little smoother too, but may that's just my imagination. I was a little concerned when I saw a little smoke, but it was just some excess anti-seize compound burning off when the exhaust manifold got hot. I'm starting to gain confidence in my ability to fix our cars. That can save a lot of money.

Do you have to go to areas likely to be flooded, Connie?

Most of the people who are going to be affected by flooding are the ones that built new houses right near the rivers and streams because we live in a desert and we don't have to worry about water--until we get heavy, late snow and the dams have to release water to make room in the reservoirs.

If I were actually drug-seeking, I would be set.

Hubby used to joke about taking his extra bottles of drugs to the high schools and make enough to pay off the medical bills. I pointed out that with our luck he'd find the student that was a narc and he'd go to jail.

Hey, that's great, Dana! Here's to continued good healing.

Ice cream cake update: the brownie bottom was dumb. I mean, it was delicious, but it stayed frozen way longer than the ice cream, and the proportions were kind of off. Next time I would try the pound cake, and probably more ice cream to cake. Or do Sue's ice cream lemon meringue!

Thanks for passing on your hard-won brownie ice cream cake wisdom, Jesse.

Hooray for successful surgery! Easy~recovery~ma.

Despite my doubts last night, I am successfully en route to Alask! Well, at least as far as airport, that counts as en route, right?

ALASKA!!