~ Eyes Update and Christmas Treasures from Tammy ~

Hello Friends... 

Hi it's me. No... real live me... posting in real time. Not a scheduled post here today!


I wanted to let everyone know that Cathy from Tolent Treasures got her Un-birthday giveaway and shared her new treasures. Stop over and say I and see what I gifted her!

Yesterdays appointment did not go as well as I would have liked. My left eye is healing a little faster than  expected, which surprised my doctor after having lost my contact last Friday. He expected it to be a day behind. My right eye is healing super slow which also surprised the doctor. He said he had never seen that happen. Ever. Ugh. Oh well. I did get my left contact out. But my eye is still super scratchy and dry. My right eye still has it's contact in. I go back tomorrow at 1:30 to see if I am healed enough to get the right contact out. I don't know if I want it out. My right eye feels pretty good with that contact right now compared to my left without.

Last night my contact fell out. I was lucky enough to feel it happen and caught it in my hand... but dang. It hurt. I got it back in fortunately.

I also don't want to discourage anyone from checking into having this surgery just because what I have gone through has been hard. Every second of this is worth it. And also remember that almost everyone else is a candidate for the Lasik with and i. No pain involved and  a 24 hour heal time. Just because I have been through the ringer does not mean you would be. And again... this is worth it to me! I can already see better and when this is all said and done there will be no regrets!


So I'm still catching up with scheduled posts and sharing Christmas treasures 

These goodies are all from my best friend Tammy. We have been friends for 33 years and she knows me sooooo well! 

Snowmen!  Who doesn't love a fat snowman! 

This awesome cat puzzle! Which I put together while I was recovering from my appendix surgery.

The beautiful Chen helping me take pictures. :) 

2 pieces of Pfaltzgraff Folkart. 

Does anyone know what this bowl is for? I have no clue. 

This Goblet is unique. It has the Folkart bird on it... but it's brown. I have never seen brown in Folk Art. It's the color of Pfaltzgraff Village goblets. Strange. But I like it! 

A couple of wonderful blossom Bucket Ornies that I adore! 

Fat BB cat! 

Wonderful Stars that I hung on my tree. 

And my yearly Mischevious Kittens Hallmark Keepsake ornament!

Don't forget to sign up for my February giveaway! 

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Eye Surgery update ~

Hi Friends,

If you have been reading the last few days you have been reading posts that I have scheduled for a few days since I knew I would be out of commission. 

For those who have not caught up on facebook on my surgery here's an update on my Corrective Vision Surgery, PRK Custom Advanced Surface Treatment.  aka. Custom Lasek with an E. 

I have been near sighted all my life. I can see close but I can not see much more than 8 feet in front of me. Probably less. I have had bad vision since about 4th grade, though it was never addressed until I was 18 and an adult with a job and insurance to get glasses. I started wearing glasses full time at 19. I was never a candidate for contacts because of my dry eye. So for the last 16 years I have been stuck with glasses. A few years ago I decided that I was going to get Lasek . And I started saving years ago too, it was $3000.00. Cheap when you consider what I have spent on glasses over the years. and as many of you who follow me know... I scheduled this last November and have been ready for it ever since. 

Moving on... I really want to take a moment to to explain my surgery specifically. I had PRK Advanced Surface Treatment, also known as Lasek with an "e" . Not Lasik with an "i". 

There are 2 different and distinct corrective vision eye surgeries. Let me explain the difference. 

The most common is Lasik with an "i". You have all heard of this one. Some of you have even had it and most of you know someone who has had it. Lasik with an "i" is a very quick healing procedure. A flap is cut on the eye, your eye is lasered and that crystal clear flap is put back down over your newly lasered eye. In about 24 hours you are good as new and can see perfectly. There is little to no pain. It's very easy and is the surgery most people are perfect candidates for and most chosen based on the quick healing time and lack of pain.

I unfortunately was NOT a candidate for Lasik with an "i". I have severe dry eye and an uneven cornea that is thin in some places, thick and others and bulging at the bottoms. Conditions that disallow the cutting of the flap for the cake Lasik with an i. My eyes are so dry that I have never been able to wear contacts. They just fall out of my eyes. Fall out. I blink and out they go. This is important because it is going to matter about 12 hours after I had my surgery. uh oh! 

So I had to get PRK/ Lasek. with an "e" Advanced surface treatment. The difference is that there is no flap cut and they laser right through my cornea causing abrasions and scratching that make it very hard to see for about a week. It's also very painful. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Definition from Bloomberg Eye Center :

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) or advanced surface treatment is a form of laser vision correction where the re-shaping of the cornea is performed at the surface of the cornea instead of deep under a flap as in LASIK. As such, more of the corneal substance is left untouched in PRK, making it a safer procedure, especially for thin and irregular corneas. The patient is left with a corneal abrasion that takes a few days to heal, and the vision improves slowly over several days.

Benefits of Surface Treatment

The laser used for vision correction is the same as LASIK, and the visual results are essentially the same as well. Studies of customized vision correction have even suggested slightly better visual results with PRK than LASIK. This may be because the corneal flap created for LASIK may induce slight visual changes, while PRK avoids the flap. Additionally, since the corneal laser ablation is done at the surface, and not deeper in the cornea, there is less dryness following PRK, than LASIK.

Having mentioned the benefits of PRK, LASIK is still the procedure of choice for most of our patients in Columbus and Newark, Ohio. Slow recovery of vision and the initial discomfort from the abrasion induced by PRK are the major downsides. A somewhat rare corneal haze or superficial scar can also occur with PRK especially with extensive unprotected exposure to UV light in the first year following the procedure. This is usually treatable with eye drops or additional laser. PRK is recommended if the integrity of cornea is in question and cutting a LASIK flap may further weaken the cornea. In the past, some branches of the armed forces only allowed PRK. Some patients who are good LASIK candidates also choose to have PRK for its safety.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also added the Custom feature to my surgery. It corrects night vision, halos and makes a custom map of your eye correcting things that regular lasik can not even detect. These were  major issue for me as I could not drive at night and feel safe. Mr. Primcat always drives.  I won't post all about that here but you can read what more about that at this link.   http://www.bloombergeye.com/custom-lasik.html And I really hope you do read it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So definitions... there ya go. 

"Corneal abrasion" is an understanterment. I couldn't see crap. I have my screen currently blown up to 400% and I can barely make it out without shoving the screen into my face so I can make sure what I thought I typed was actually there. 

So let me share the last 3 days. Everything is very blurry. I'm sorta blind in either one eye or the other at any given time. Strangely it changes at whim. It's weird. Friday my left eye was messed up. Saturday both eyes were messed up. Sunday my right eye was messed up. Just weird. It does as it pleases without warning.

Friday morning I woke up in unbearable pain. Unbearable. I was freaking out! What the hello was going on. I woke Mr. Primcat and he awoke with a start and said... "Nurse Shane on Duty". Bless that man. I love him so. Very funny now. Not so much then. He looked in my eye because I was swearing I lost my contact. He thought I had not. What he was seeing was the circle of membrane they removed from on top of my cornea on my eye. You can clearly see it in the video. So in severe pain I took a neurotin,  pain nerve blocker they prescribed and a Xanex and I forced myself to go back to sleep until my appointment the next day. 

Vicki picked me up and took me in. I was a mess. I can not even describe to you the amount of pain I was in. I basically cried from the moment I awoke until I got there. It felt like I was blinking on sand paper and really I was! I walked in and they took one look at my face (I said not one word!) and KNEW I was in unbearable pain. Bless them... within seconds they took me back and numbed my eye and verified that I had lost my contact in the night. All I can say is I can not imagine ever experiencing that pain again. There was nothing I could have done, I lost it in my sleep... but I have been diligent about putting in excessive amounts of tears when I am awake to make sure that doesn't happen again. 

The Dr. asked me to come back Tuesday but I asked him to make it Monday because I'm hoping to go back to work Tuesday. I am hoping I am healed enough to get these maddening band-aid contacts out and get back to work. I feel so bad about missing so much this past month. I was on vacation when my appendix went bad, and I technically only missed 4 days after my surgery, Jan 3-6. The rest was my pre-scheduled vacation time and holidays. But I still feel bad. I even gave my boss the option to have me to reschedule my eye surgery. Unfortunately if I am out he is the only one who can do my job. I offered to reschedule but he said no and I appreciate that because I have so been looking forward to having this done and over with. Back too the point... we scheduled for Monday at 1:45. I came home and went to bed. Best plan ever. 

Saturday... I didn't do much. Both eyes were being defiant. I could mot make much out. Everything was just blurry. 

Sunday. My right eye decided to be defiant. So blurry and itchy.  It's maddening. I want so bad to just rub the holy heck  out of my eyes. I can not ever tell you. I'm going insane!!! 

Today is my appointment. I can not wait. I am Praying for good news. If he can take the contacts out without it being painful I can go back to work I think. I know I should not be worried about work.... but I am always trying to cover myself and my boss. 

So there you have it. My experience so far. What I want to tell you most importantly is that I can see far amd near when my eyes are not being wonky. And over time that will improve more. I can not wait! 

I am again going to post this video of my personal surgery and I hope you will watch it. It really is amazing. I know many find it gross but try to take a different perspective and appreciate that my eyes were just fixed and you can see it on video. 

 

Please send me prayers and good vibes for my appointment today! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Christmas Treasures from Mr. Primcat ~

Hello Friends,

Still playing catch up here during my recovery from eye surgery with scheduled posts that are WAY over due !

Check out my wonderful and useful gifts from the hubby for Christmas! He did really good!

Ok... this one is funny... because honestly... I break everything!!!!! Superglue is my best friend! Hubby  thought I should step it up and got me some Gorilla Glue!

Oven mitts. Needed these!

So smell good Swan Creek Candles in pans! Yum!

A wonderful cat clendar.

One of these fancy wine bottle openers! I haven't even gotten to use it yet!

And the best gift ever! My very own dehydrator!!!! I haven't used this yet either... but you can bet your behind I will be soon!

It's a really nice one. With temperature controls and everything!

And I went and bought this later! It's awesome! Got it at my local store for $10.00 and I can't wait to use it on some oranges to put in the dehydrator. It really works!!!! 

Don't forget to sign up for my February giveaway. Just click this pic below!

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

~Facebook ~

Hi Friends,

Just wanted to leave a quick note here that I have been posting my post surgery updates on facebook. I just added my badge on the right so you can friend me and get the latest if you want to.

The post you have been seeing here and will be seeing here for the next few days I scheduled pre surgery.



And I apologise... but I can not resist posting this video of my surgery.

Enjoy... if you can. lol



Going to bed now. I need to rest my eyes.

Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Shopping at Gathered Treasures ~

Hi Friends! 

This post is terribly over due... terribly! I bought these treasures at last falls Gathered Treasures show... and found the draft as I was scheduling posts for while I am recovering from my PRK eye surgery. Yikes! Oh well! Better late than never!

So you have seen all of these in my decor but I never focused on them and I really do love them all. 

First up. this snowman pillow head. SO cute! 

These wonderful antique skates!

And these cute mittens purchased from Cheryl Frederick. Thank you Cheryl! 

My Tree topper purchased this year from Stacey at http://tatteredntornprims.blogspot.com/

A Walnut and gourd strand purchased from http://tatteredntornprims.blogspot.com/

And this beautiful little pin keep! Oh how I love pinkeeps! I have 4 and I just love each one so! :) I want more!!!! 

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend! 

Don't forget to sign up for the My Memories Suite Giveaway! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

~ February Giveaway ~

Hi Friends…

I have another fun giveaway for you today!!

My Memories Suite has asked me to review their easy scrapbooking software and if I liked it offer up  One free Software package to one of Primcats followers. How could I say no? I love working on the computer and I love scrapbooking! Right up my ally!

So what was my first project you ask? Well a cat page of course. And in honor of the story I told you yesterday of how the beautiful Tracy Cat came into our lives I used a quick page and made this up in a few minutes.

Adorable right?

My Memories Suite is really simple and offers a lot of great features to make quick pages, like I have done here, or you can get fancy and build your own pages from scratch.

You can also make cards, calendars, blogger headers and tons of other great projects with this scrapbooking software. I really like all the quick page options though! Lookie!

Queen Ebby when she was a cute little kitten.

The beautifully marked Punky on one of her first trips to play out into the cat enclosure. Look at that face!

Well I love it! So today I’m offering up a giveaway of this great Scrapbooking Software free to one of my lucky followers!

To sign up… 

1. Be a follower of my blog!

2. Open to everyone all over the world as this will be a digital download!

3. Visit My Memories at http://www.mymemories.com/ and pick your favorite scrapbooking kit. Come back here and tell me which one and wala I will enter you.

4. If you do not have a blog you must leave your email here in your comment or I can't enter you. I have to be able to contact you.

5.  This is not a requirement but I would really appreciate it if you would post this giveaway on your side bar or do a blog post.

This giveaway is open until February 10th!

I will draw a winner on February 11th!

As an added bonus...

As a special bonus for readers of Primcats a $10.00 off coupon towards the purchase of this software and a $10.00 credit to spend in the store when you use my coupon code! 

Copy and paste this coupon code to get your $10.00 off and $10.00 store credit! 

STMMMS64663

Until Next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

~ Thrifty Thursday ~

Hello Friends…

Today is my PRK/Lasek.  My arrival time is at 12:30 so if everyone could say some prayers and send some vibes I would appreciate it. I am sure it will be fine but I’m nervous.

I am sooooo looking forward to not having to put on glasses to drive or to mingle in a room full of people. And I am so looking forward to being able to buy awesome sunglasses whenever I want.

I don’t know when I will be back with a real post as it will depend on when I can see again. They are saying 3-7 days. Lets pray for 3! :)

In the mean time lets get caught up with some thrifty find from over the last month. 

Two Santa Gourds. I now have 4, all from the Goodwill.

Love love this one!

A smiley snowman head ornament.

A huge bell. I’ll be painting this of course.

And the piece of the week. This ladder back chair for $4.99. In great shape and looks great with my pillow from Melinda!

That’s it for now…

I’ll see ya when I see ya! O.o

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Two anniversary's, losing weight and a game!

Hi friends, 

I do not know what is wrong with me... or why I haven't been in the blogging mood lately. I have piles and piles of drafts ready to post filled with pictures... but I just haven't finished any of them. I have been busy at work, and busy tinkering around the house so I guess getting on the computer for play time hasn't been my thing lately. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today, January 24^th, two huge things happened in my life. And I am not sure which matters most to me. What I do know is I thank God for both. 

Number one... I quit smoking 5 years ago today after smoking for 18 years. I had promised myself for years I would quit by the time I was 30. I quit 5 days after. Not bad.  That is probably the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. But I am so glad I did it. Smoking is nasty. Just nasty. It was nasty before I quit and nasty after. But I don’t have to worry about it anymore because I don’t smoke! :) Go me! Jump and and a heel click!

Number two… 4 years ago today I brought home a new cat. Tracy. 


After spending 3 weeks walking the streets of downtown Columbus alone, handing out and hanging up thousands of flyers, in the dead of one of the coldest winters we had in years, and hundreds of online postings later I found Tracy Cat, who had been dumped by a now ex friend of mine’s husband because he locked Tracy in the garage and she peed on his things. They were Tracy's old owners but anyone that would do that to an animal should be shot in my book! Terrible! Just terrible! That’s a long, long story short. 


The point is an angel watched over Tracy for 3 weeks in the big city while I searched desperately for her daily and by some miracle of God she was delivered into my loving arms never to worry about a warm bed, food or love again. 


I ♥ you Tracy. You bring so much joy into Mr. Primcat and my’s lives everyday! Thank you beautiful little fur baby for allowing us to love you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My PRK/Lasek is Thursday. So you for sure will not be seeing me for a few days after that. 

This is the treatment I'm getting. 

http://www.bloombergeye.com/prk-advanced-surface-treatment.html

Wanna see what I'm having done? NOT for the Squeemish!   Here is a video. Gross!

http://cms.bloombergeye.com/video/videos-pkr.htm

Please pray that it goes well... I know they do this every day but I'm kinda freaking out now that it's here. It's all in my head... I know that... but it's scary when you think of what could go wrong. It’s my eyes. You can’t fix that if it goes wrong. So just send me up some good ones please. :) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have continued to go to the gym 5 days a week. GO ME! Yesterday I did 3 miles at 3.5 mph at a 5% incline. Sweated my butt off! Woohoo! I am down 5 pounds and incredibly proud of that. I am only 35 pounds away from my goal now instead of 40. Every pound that drops off feels good. :) 

Weight watchers is going great and I am enjoying the “game” of counting points. It's very easy. I highly recommend it. The meals are yummy and also very cheap if you coupon and do it right. I am only paying about 1.00 per meal since I stock up when they are on sale. 

I am still not able to wear jeans... my guess is because I'm fat. lol. They pinch right in that belly button scar and if I go up a size then I need a belt and that pinches. No end situation. So I am just going to have to continue on my weight loss goal until I can get into jeans that can be lower than my pooch and not fall off. HA! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now a Tag Game... 

I have been tagged by Sue at http://wickedfaeriequeen.blogspot.com/ ! 

I have to tell 11 things about myself, answer some questions from her and tag 11 others to do the same so here goes.

I am not going to tag 11 others... I am just going to ask you to play along! All of you... if you want! :) So here's mine. 

1. I quit smoking 5 years ago today! Huge deal! Go me! 

  

2. Mr. Primcat and I have 14 cats. He started it. Not me. 


You can see pics of all of our cats on this page: 


http://primcats.blogspot.com/p/meet-primcats.html

2. I never wear makeup. I don't know why. One day I just stopped. Probably about 2000 and I never put it on again. 

3. I have crohns disease. Not fun. 

4. I sit behind a desk all day at an office crunching numbers. Boring. 

5. I really really want a Papillion dog. Someday when I have time for a dog... it's on!

  

6. I have tons of tattoos. Including having 7 of my cats portraits sleeving my lower left leg. My artist is Tabari Rose and she is amazing! 

Below are three of my Tattoos. 

Gizzy and Ebby.

Ebby and Tracy.

I also have Poofie, Chen,  Punky and Katrina on my lower leg. 

7.  I love driving a Harley or riding on the back! Nothing more freeing! 

8.  I love camping... especially when we take the Harley and camper to get there! 

9. I was once a Nail Tech and I can put on a mad set of acrylic nails! 

10.  Until I was 33 ... I did not eat white food. 

11. Mr. Primcat (Shane) and I have been together since I was 19. 

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS.

1. What is your favourite film?

The Notebook. Gets me every time! 

2. What is your dream vacation?

To travel all over the word. See Paris, the pyramids and snorkle the great reef.

3. What is your favourite medium to work with?

Paint. Usually black! 

4. Are you a cat person or a dog person?

lol. Really? Cat.

5. Do you dream in colour and do you remember your dreams?

I dream in color and I remember sometimes. 

6. What famous historical figure would you like to have lunch with?

Easy. Jesus. 

7. Who is your favourite musician alive or dead?

I don't really have ONE favorite. 

8. If you could go back in time for one week what period of time would it be?

Colonial Times. 

9. If you could eat something and never gain weight what would it be?

How about drink something... Pop, Cranberry Grape juice and wine. Oh sugary goodness how I miss you! 

10. Are you a country person or a city person?

Country. 100% Country. 

11. What is a good time for you, home with a good movie and great company or out on the town with music & dancing?

Depends on my mood. I am a stay at home kinda person most of the time... but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy a night out dancing too! :) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you would like to play along... Please do. Just copy and paste! :) 

Time to go. I have a lot to do today! 

Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats