I was very impressed with the RMS coach and wish I had pushed for Taylor to participate all three years. Oh well, c’est la vie. At least I know that it wet her appetite enough to want to do it in high school. *giggity*

The first step in Taylor’s quest to take on everything possible for her final year in middle school is now complete. She, along with her 2 “besties,” has made the cheer leading squad for the third year in a row. Prior to the squad announcement, each interested participant was asked to give a short speech to rally votes for either treasurer, secretary, co-captain, or captain. After much deliberation between herself and Caylin, they decided Taylor would go for co-captain relinquishing the title of captain to her partner-in-crime. Both were appointed to their desired positions without hesitation. I know this because I was bombarded by squealing teenagers as I arrived to pick Taylor up from school yesterday. I wasn’t worried…

Next stop, volleyball, ASB President, and then the WORLD!! *evil laugh*

Officially the queens of the school, these three are walking billboards for Dickies, VANS, and Jansport. They’ve decided they are coordinating outfits each day and went to pain-staking efforts to get the same skirts, pants, bows, and shoes in order to make this dream a reality. I think it’ll die off pretty quickly but will enjoy the ride while it lasts. I can’t believe my baby will be in high school next year… *gulp*

On May 14, 2010 I had my first major surgical event… a micro-lumbar discectomy. I had two herniated discs in the lumbar region of my back. One between L3 and L4 (the one my neural surgeon claimed was doing the most damage) and another between L4 and L5. I also have discovered that I have degenerative disc disease.

In late March I noticed that my sciatic nerve was tight and causing a bit of stabbing pain in my right buttock. I would stretch after playing volleyball and try to loosen it up a bit but nothing really seemed to help. After my drive to Utah it got steadily worse. 24 hours total inside a cramped vehicle + playing volleyball right upon my return did me in. My legs started to buckle while I played and I lost the ability to raise my right foot.

To make a long story short, it took 2 months before I finally had the surgery despite my emotional pleading with my former doctor to please do something other than give me pain meds. I was immediately better when I woke up in the emergency room. No more stabbing pain… thank God!

I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things activity-wise. I have difficulty moving my leg at any rate of speed and I’ve tacked on a quick 10 pounds (after losing 13 while I was in the throws of all of it). My metabolism is out of whack and my body hates me. But at least I’m not laid out in bed anymore… phew!

A couple of weekends ago we kicked off the 2010 CBVA season by traveling up north for an A tournament. Normally, my partner is Ali Justin, however, Karey Gregerson asked me if I’d join her this time.

We both headed into the tourney with no rating and just hoped to do well. We were okay with losing if it had to happen. Hell, we’d only played together for a couple of pick-up games so we had no idea how well we’d do as a team. We ended up taking 3rd place along with another one of the San Diego teams who traveled up with us (I guess we tie because we never actually got to play each other). All-in-all it was a solid performance and each of the two games we lost (to the 1st and 2nd place teams) were very close. It was a great time and because we made it to 3rd place in a 15-team tourney… we earned our A rating as well. I love me some volleyball!

I really wanted to do something in the realm of current events but was having a really hard time coming up with anything that would work for me (my body type is, well, one-of-a-kind). I dabbled in some of Lady Gaga’s questionable ensembles and toyed with the notion of another pick-up line. In the middle of one such brainstorming session, I decided that I would do a flying pig. I set out to get some wings but found I was going to struggle with finding a pink leotard that is exactly what I wanted. Then, while searching on Google for inspiration for flying pigs, I realized that a lot of people were using them to visually represent Swine Flu. That was it… a path was found, both creative and an up-in-our-face current event! I still struggled with what to wear, even visited a fabric store because I was determined to sew my own hospital gown. In the end, I found the perfect pair of pajamas, slippers, and a robe (complete with a friggin’ flying pig on it). Bought a gnarly pig nose, glued it to my face and the rest is history…

Update: Unfortunately, her stunt group has now been cut all to pieces because two of them couldn’t keep their grades up. The other day I picked Taylor up from school and she had a big ol’ fat lip because her new flyer kicked her in the face on a toe-touch. I still think it’s cute. Maybe I’m a little demonic. Hey, I’ve come to grips with the fact that she’s a cheerleader. I just hope that the competitive sports bug bites her really hard soon.

How can I hold on to the notion that we as a nation are leaving discrimination behind us when Obama is elected president and a proposition like 8 is passed on the same night? Why can’t we just wash our hands of discrimination and move forward. We always have to do it in small chunks. Okay, we’ll let an African American man be president but gays still need to put in their time of suffering. It disgusts me.

Anyway, it all worked out. I didn’t let the fact that I hadn’t received my mail-in ballot or the fact that I didn’t know what to expect stop me from doing it. Now I can do it with ease next time. This is ramping up to be the year of firsts for me. First jury duty, now this. Who knows … maybe next I’ll join the friggin’ PTA.