Update on Martin

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Martin's vision has been improving, but not as quickly as he'd like. Unlike last time, when we went for three weeks with the misdiagnosis of pink eye, we started treating this early enough that there were only a couple days when it was painful. It's just frustrating to him to not be at 100% when he's got so much going on.

He's been working every morning at one of the local hotels and then coming home to edit the infomercial with two producers. (I call them "the ladies" and they were at our house every morning at 9 AM last week. Nice ladies, just always here.)

As for the blood tests to rule out any possible auto-immune causes, he's got an appointment in September with a rheumatologist, but I'm trying to get him to schedule an appointment sooner with a family practice doctor. No need to pay for a specialist if we can get it done more inexpensively, right?

As for the insurance not covering any of this, that's a bridge we have yet to cross. The opthalmologist's office has submitted everything to BCBS, so once those claim are rejected we'll have to work out payment. Good news is that this doctor gives a 50% discount to cash patients. But 50% of what is yet to be determined...

JT, on the other hand, is fully recovered and no longer has to wear the hated cone. He's on anti-itch meds that are costing us more than his life is worth, but we'll wait and see if he deserves to live. Actually, we're on a plan that hopefully will find us the lowest possible dose to keep him from itching his eyes out, but he has cost us $200 this month, which is more than we paid for him! If he were a car...

I'm Not Going to Lie...

I saw Hancock Monday night, and I loved it. I was really excited to go see it, although I can't say why. The previews were very vague, but it looked good. I've been disappointed in the past when I go to movies with high expectations, and I try not to. But something about the clip of him lobbing that whale back into the ocean seemed so original that I had to see it.

This movie was so very unexpected. The story, the emotion, the dialogue... all so great. I guess I was expecting comedic action, and instead there was all this character and conflict and feelings. At several points, I wanted to cry. And I was so amazed by Will Smith's acting in this - he was unappealing, unattractive and uncharming. I sincerely disliked him at the beginning of the movie, and then I had sympathy, and then I loved him. (My admiration and amazement for his acting skills may be a result of me catching reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the afternoons, where his acting leaves much to be desired.)

There was a huge plot twist about halfway in (which Martin saw coming - props to him! Even when he called it, I didn't think he was right) and the movie changed dramatically. On some levels, it almost felt like two movies mashed together at that point, and for about 20 minutes I wasn't sure I was going to like the direction the movie had taken. (Ever seen AI? That movie took a weird turn and never recovered. It just got weirder and weirder and weirder. I hate AI for that. Even if it does have Jude Law in it.)

I absolutely loved Jason Bateman's character, Ray Embrey, who was so understated to Hancock's super antics. Their conversations were hilarious but also so revealing about both of them. Their relationship was interesting, original and heartfelt.

Jason Bateman was also in my #1 favorite movie of the past year, Juno. I would have to say, all things considered, that Hancock is my #2 favorite movie.

Which is why I was surprised last night when Noelle said she hated it. So I'm wondering, am I alone in this? Have you seen Hancock or do you plan to? Did you love it? Hate it? Why?

A Lot to Say...

Well, I've been busy, what with not working and all, and I have seriously neglected this blog. Here's what I've been up to:

Our friends Amanda and Janelle came to visit for Memorial Day weekend. We had a lovely time and of course I took no photos. I've been meaning to post these pictures, however. I didn't take them, and she didn't do it here, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show everyone how INSANE she is.

Apparently, she went rattle snake hunting, which is basically finding snakes, pinning them with a stick, and then picking them up. She thought this was fun. She is crazy. (Not to mention, she took her 10-year-old niece with her.) I guess there's just not that much to do in Tulsa, 'manda?

Amanda wearing a snake as a hat - The snake is pinned, now to pick it up
The craziest thing I've ever see Amanda do

I've also attended Marc & Ashley's wedding reception in Seattle, which included a nice time in downtown Seattle with Brad & Noelle, and Matt & Cristin. Of course, again, I took no pictures of Matt & Cristin. I did get these, though, of the rest of us! (Cristin, will you send me copies of all the pictures you took?)

Noelle meets Hannah Montana! - Brad & Noelle at the Pike Place Fish Market
Brad at the First Starbucks Ever - Brad & Noelle
Martin & Betsy - Martin, dreaming about the yacht we will never own

Then Martin and I went to Tijuana, Mexico, on another AMOR Ministries trip to build a house. (Our first trip was in February of this year.) We had a great time! I can't even begin to relate how satisfying it is to build a house for a family.

Click on any of the photos to see the whole set. We had so much fun, but worked so hard. I'm still digging cement out of my ears.

On the trip, however, Martin started feeling a familiar pain in his eye. Martin had a case of iritis about a year ago, which was hugely painful and scary. At that time, we were told that one case of iritis is no big deal, but if you get it twice, it can be a sign of an auto-immune issue, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. To make things more complicated, when I lost my job and we switched from a group plan to our own individual plan on BCBS AZ, he had to sign a waiver for both his chest and his eye as "pre-existing conditions" which would not be covered, at all.

Well, in Mexico, on Saturday, all of a sudden Martin started feeling the same pain in his (other) eye. We weren't sure if it was all the dust, sweat and sunblock that was in all our eyes just irritating it, or if the iritis had come back in his other eye. He was OK on Sunday and Monday, but by Tuesday morning it was so bad he stayed all day in our darkened bedroom. He finally got in to the doctor this morning, and they confirmed that he does have a severe case of inflammation in the eye. He's got steroid drops and other drops that keep his eye dilated, and a follow-up appointment on Friday. He also has to get an appointment with his PCP for blood tests to rule out any other things (lupus, RA, even TB). There's a 60% chance that there's nothing else.

He's got a video shoot on Saturday, editing all next week, then another video shoot the next Saturday. They have already prepaid him for this job and he can't not do it - there are many other personnel involved in the shoot that are depending on him. Right now, his right eye (his shooting eye) is completely clouded and so sensitive to light he just stays in our room. He obviously can't do the shoot on Saturday (in this current condition), so he needs immediate improvement.

Martin in his Bat-Cave (click on image to read notes) - What it REALLY looks like in there

On top of that, although we're doing OK financially with both of us at home, a huge medical ordeal that our insurance won't cover puts us on shaky ground. Please pray for favor with our insurance company, as we work to see what they will cover in spite of this waiver, and wisdom to know whom to ask for help.

Not to mention that we just paid $95 for more meds for JT, because of his own eye issues. Just think, when we got this puppy, I told Martin if we had vet bills over $100 we would just put the dog down. JT doesn't know how close to death he was. :) Oh, I am so kidding: it will break my heart to have to do that. I love his silly little furry butt. (He's looking like Spaceman Spiff in his collar. Check him out.)

Poor little guy doesn't fit through the doggy door with his big collar

And finally, I've been greatly amused by this comic:

Probably because the "dead squirrel" comment reminds me of my family's endless amusement with roadkill. Don't ask. We're weird.

Update [7/16/08]: Martin's eye is getting much better. He's been taking steroid drops and the inflammation has greatly decreased. He has a follow-up appointment in September for the blood work, but that seems like more of a formality than an urgency. We're still looking into our insurance issues, but the good news is that the ophthalmologist gives a 50% discount to his cash customers.

Hilarious

The Onion: Age-Progression Technology Helps Find Runaways

In the News

Martin made our local news! Click here to view it.

If You Aren't Reading...

...Stuff Christians Like, you are missing out.

Jon's post today was incredibly awesome, and as always, the comments to the post were even better.

Check it out. I'm not going to cite any of it here, because you need to go to his website. Read one post and you'll be hooked.

Bookmark SCL and read it daily. You'll always get a good laugh, but sometimes you'll get so much more.

An Open Letter

To the old-ish guy sitting behind us at Olive Garden today:

No one cares about your back injuries, including the guy sitting across from you pretending to care.

Perhaps we all care in the larger, "I'm sorry that a fellow human being was in pain" kind of way, but we don't want to hear about every detail, including your daily exercise routine and the vibrating massager that you shouldn't use too aggressively or you'll hurt yourself. I especially don't care to hear it for 25 minutes in excruciating detail at cell-phone-in-an-airport volume, when I'm celebrating my husband's birthday at his favorite restaurant.

Thank you.

Where Have I Been?

When Shannon tells you you're shannoning, you know it's got to be true. Well, I have good reasons, people.

On May 16, um, shall we say my "employment status" changed. You can call to get the full story. Anyway, Martin and I decided that I've been wanting to work from home for a long time, and we're taking this opportunity to make that a reality.

The following weekend Janelle and Amanda came to visit. We also had a freak cold snap - it was rainy and in the 70s on Memorial Day weekend, when it had been 109° just days before! We had a lovely time with the ladies, and we were sad to see them go. (I'll post pictures whenever Janelle gets around to sending them to me.)

On Memorial Day, we threw a last-minute party, the perfect party if I do say so myself. No RSVP, very little set-up, everyone brought their own meat and a side to share, and they came and went all day. We had a great time with everyone who showed up, and it only took 30 minutes to clean up after! Of course, the weather returned to normal and it was warm and sunny and Martin burned his head.

All the while, we've been working on the impending E3 move. This next weekend, June 8, we'll be meeting on Sunday mornings (currently we're on Sunday evenings) in a movie theater. I'm very excited about the change, but it has been tons of work to get all the stuff organized, signage designed and printed, postcards, web updates, etc.

Not to mention that we went to Nashville for a friend's wedding. (Lisa Shaker's daughter and Dan's sister, for those of you who are wondering.) We arrived at 2:15 PM on Friday, the wedding was at 6:30 PM that night, then the reception, then we flew out the next afternoon at 3:05 PM. We were literally on the ground 24 hours and 50 minutes. Martin edited a quick preview video for a party to be held Saturday night, on Saturday morning, and we were exporting and burning the DVD in the car on the way to the airport. He did a fantastic job, by the way - it was a candlelight ceremony, which makes it very difficult to do video! You should see the final project... it's gorgeous.

So, needless to say, I've been busy. And when you're working from home, there's no "off" time. I feel like I work more hours now than I ever did before. (And then, just when I'm feeling successful, Martin asks, "But how much of that is paid work?" and I realize how much free work I do. Oh, well, treasures in heaven, right?)

It's A Boy!

My friend just had her 4th child and 1st boy! Here's a video of baby Ethan.

Congrats, Shawn & Stephanie!

Best Headline

Man with mullet sought in dog's shooting