Father's Day has come and gone. I roped Clay into heading to Granbury to visit with my Papa..which was to be a surprise. His daughter and family from Arkansas came in Friday night...unbeknown to Papa, then Clay and I drove up at about 10:00 Saturday morning. Papa was ecstatic. It was a house full. We all had a really nice time. I really haven't spent any quality time with Papa's new wife, Mary and her family. I also really haven't spent any time with his daughter Susan and her family, so this was a good opportunity for us to get to know each other.

Jerry and Susan had brought some fresh catfish that he corn mealed and deep fried for us. They also brought an ice cream maker and made home made vanilla ice cream...it was delicious! I bought a bunch of fresh fruit and made a nice fruit salad and made some dip for chips. Simple yet delicious meal.

Best quote of the day:

Clay: The catfish is fried? I can't eat that... it will tear my stomach up.

Papa: Oh, it will be okay...it's deep fried...

This past Friday, Clay went to get his tattoo finished. If you remember, last time they just did the outline. He went back for the color. That was his Father's Day present from me. He had paid $200 for the outline and it was going to be another $200 for the color. I gave him $220 (anticipating a tip). Shawn and I accompanied him and I brought my trusty camera to document the visit. 3 hours later, Trey (tattoo artist) still wasn't finished with all of the color. Clay still has to go back for prolly another couple of hours. He's going to wait for the area to heal first. He's really wanting the tattoo finished and healed before we go to San Diego Comic-Con at the end of July.

If you haven't been able to tell, I like to keep my posts light and hopefully a little entertaining. I'm about to get a bit serious, so if you no like, no read.

I just found out yesterday that my father...my Papa has Emphysema, or COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Damn! For those of you out there that don't know anything about Emphysema or COPD:

emphysema (ěm'fĭ-sē'mə)
Irreversible expansion of the alveoli with eventual destruction of alveolar tissue, causing obstruction to airflow. Patients with emphysema often have labored breathing, wheezing, chronic fatigue, and increased susceptibility to infection, and may require oxygen therapy. Long-term smoking is a common cause of emphysema.

I lost my mother just last year due to this disease. It's not a pretty thing. It's so painful to see the person that you always knew as lively and vibrant turn into a virtual vegetable. I guess more painful is knowing that inside, they still are that lively and vibrant person...how "trapped" that must make a person feel.

My mother and I were never very close. That's a fact that has always been hurtful me, believe it or not, more so now that she has passed on. I guess because we never resolved the situation and I never got to find out why.

My Papa...now there's a totally different situation. We have always been close. We had a bond from the very start. You know, "Daddy's Lil' Girl". What's different about our circumstance is that Papa is my Step-Father. He came into our lives when I was 7 or 8 years old. The rest is history. I started calling him "Papa" when I was a freshman in high school and taking German. I wanted a name that would set him apart from just a regular dad. To me, he wasn't a regular dad. He was and is my Papa. Well, everyone else in the family picked it up and now he is known by one and all as Papa, children and grandchildren alike.

Brick wall...that's what it felt like I hit when I heard that Papa has Emphysema/COPD. I know he's not immortal...I know he's 74 years old...I love everyone in my life with great passion and with every fiber of my being, but there are four that I would lay down my life for...Trey, Spencer, Clay and my Papa. I don't want anyone to hurt, be sad, depressed...anything bad. I worry so much about Papa and this condition. Papa was my mother's main care-giver. He was the one taking care of her day in and day out. Papa was the ONLY one that truly watched my mother's health declining on a daily basis. He knows what to expect. OMG! I don't know what's worse? Not quite knowing or knowing completely. That saying: "Ignorance is Bliss" comes into play here, I think. I hate that for him. Emotionally, Papa is not the strongest person in the world. He may sound like it through words, but I know his words are a facade.

Sorry for the downer post.

I love my Papa.

Okay, so with many long hours and much anticipation, I finally hit Level 40! I know, big whoop, right? Well it is a big deal for me. At level 40, I will be able to buy a mount to ride, so I won't have to walk everywhere and take FOREVER. My character race is Draenei and each race has a specific mount.
Mine is an Elekk. It's huge. I'm all about the "style" and I'm holding out for something a little more streamlined. By completing quests by the other races, you gain Reputation points and once you become Exalted with a race, you can ride one of their mounts.The one that I have my eye on is this here
Frostsaber. It's the mount of the
Elves. Nice lines, I mean spots, eh? I would look totally awesome atop that sleek beast. Unfortunately, I am just Honored with them, so I have to achieve Revered and then Exalted status, but it would take me a lot longer than I'm willing to wait.

So, I'm thinking this here Black Stallion, which is the Human mount, will be my alternate mode of transportation. Which is mighty fine with me. I've been working really hard on my mining and jewelcrafting to make jewelry to sell in WoWbay and make the gold that I need for my steed. (i rhymed) I will need around 100g for the Riding training and to buy my mount. I was almost there with 95g...then I went to WoWbay and upgraded my armor...Time to slave away with my mining again :(

I know that I have mentioned this before, but I have bad feet. I suffer from "Plantar Fasciitis". While on vacation in San Diego a couple of years ago, I woke up and was unable to walk without excruciating pain. My feet had gone out. I didn't bring tennies, just sandals...I mean San Diego, Hello!
After vacation I visited a Podiatrist and he diagnosed me with Plantar Fasciitis. He showed me stretching exercises to do and told me to ice my feet 6-8 times a day and stay out of high heels. I also had 2 cortisone injections on each of the soles of my feet. I also had Accupressure treatments on my feet by my chiropractor. (not sure if that even helped) I also wear these special "shoes" at night to keep my feet in a flat or prone position. (no toes pointing)

Anyhoo, I woke up this morning and jumped out of bed and felt like I had stepped onto knives. Just my left foot. I hadn't been wearing my "funny-walk" shoes (that's what my family calls them) to bed over this weekend and yesterday I didn't wear shoes all day. I usually always have my MBT shoes on. Well, today has been spent stretching and icing my foot, willing it to get better so I don't have to miss any more work. It's weird to feel completely perfect and yet be so helpless at the same time. You are screwed without your feet.