Swollen Finger

I've noticed, for the past 2 months, that I haven't been able to take off my wedding ring. I wear a size 7, but my fingers to tend to swell a bit with my arthritis, and with the colder weather, they have been a bit swollen. I've tried taking off the two rings, but they don't come off easily, and since I really have no reason to take them off, I haven't worried about it.

Yesterday I decided our rings needed cleaning, and since I bought a new toothbrush, I took some toothpaste on the brush and scrubbed his ring, and it came out so nice and shiny. So I went to take off my ring, and of course, it wouldn't budge. So I cleaned it with it on my finger, and it looked like it was brand new, but I wanted to get it off so I could clean underneath it. A few hours passed and I tried taking it off again, this time pulling and twisting it as hard as I could, and I got them both off, but it made my finger red and swollen. So I got it nice and clean and took a shower, and afterward put the rings back on again and the finger got even more red and swollen, and the rings wouldn't move an inch. I tried putting butter and oil on my finger and it just wouldn't move, and I ended up making my finger raw. So I iced it all night, and went to bed hoping the swelling would go down. No luck, the swelling was still there, and my finger felt tight, and we had no choice but to cut off the engagement ring part. I was scared as hell when he came at me with the pliers, pleading for him to not cut off my finger as well, but he was so gently and after a few tries, the ring snapped off, and I cried. I love my ring, more for the symbolism then anything else, and it broke my heart to see it laying there on the counter broken. But my finger started feeling so much better right away. I iced it more, and I thought I was going to have to take the wedding band off as well, but it doesn't seem to be bothering my finger, and I really don't want to go around wearing no ring at all. Luckily the swelling has gone down some, and the finger is feeling better.

I would like to get a new set, because I love wearing a set and not just the band, but for now, at least I have my wedding band to wear, and that it good enough for me. Eventually I'll get something else that I will love just as much, but I am going to hold onto my engagement ring, because it has so much meaning for me. I put it in my jewelry box for safe keeping.

All sorts of news!

As I had mentioned, I realized on my birthday that one of the diamonds in my engagement ring was missing, and after a little bit of a hassle, I was finally able to send it off to repair, no charge. Well, the store called Thursday afternoon and said it was ready for pickup, so Phil went over to get it, and now I am able to wear my complete wedding set again.

Thursday was also the day when I had to take the truck in for emissions. It is a '99, so every even year they require any vehicle which isn't a 2004 or newer around here to go through emissions. I am used to do the type of test where they hook this thing to your tailpipe and rev your engine a few times and check under your hood, praying all the while that the thing passes so you can get your new tags. Well, the guy this time just hooked up something under the steering column for a few seconds and it was done, guess anything 1996 and newer is all run by computers now, so no need for all that other testing. We paid our fee, got our paper that said we passed, and headed over to the DMV to get our tags. Luckily the place we went to wasn't very crowded, and we were only there about 5 minutes before our number was called. (Side note: Have you ever, when at the DMV, wanted to shout out BINGO when you number is called over the loudspeaker?). So now we are legal to drive for another year.

Laptop..it is still a no show. It was supposed to be here on the 28th, but the 28th came and nothing. So we called and it turns out that the batteries were back ordered, so it isn't going to be shipped out until Aug. 5th. Ugh..more waiting!

My final piece of good news though..I got a job! My mom delivers the local newspaper around here and we are always trying to find something we can do from home so she can quit that route. Well, one of the fellow carriers mentioned to her the other night that she had started a new job working for a company that processes rebate checks. They are looking for people who want to work from home to enter these rebate checks in their system. So mom got the number and talked to the guy yesterday morning. He said there is no money needed to start this, which if money is needed to do anything work from home, it is a scam. There is a training class on Wednesday that we go to from 11:30-4pm, and they pay us for it, and they give us the software for free. For the next two weeks we go into the center to pick up mail, they give us a certain amount during the training period, and you take it home, work on it and get it done by a certain deadline, then bring the mail back and get more. After the two weeks, you can pick up as much mail as you want, and earn as little or as much as you want. We looked up their business on the Better Business Bureau and it is a legit company, BBB Accredited. Mom's friend has been doing it for a few days and says she likes it, and it takes about 3 minutes per rebate check. I used to do this sort of thing when I worked for Verizon Wireless, on slow days when there wasn't a lot of calls coming in. So we are all set for training on Wednesday and I can't wait. This is the kind of job that is perfect for me, and something I know I can get real fast at doing. And it feels good to know that I will be contributing more to our finances.

I got my doctor...and getting my ring fixed!

So I went through all my old paperwork at the end of last week, and found all my worker's comp paperwork from my elbow injury from 2002, and was able to get a hold of the insurance company to see about re-opening my claim. When I had dealt with these people before, they were so rude to me, so I was expecting more of the same. This time, however, the were very nice and helpful. They said that in order to re-open the claim, I need to print out a Petition to Re-Open form from the Industrial Commission of Arizona, who is the department in charge of all worker's comp claims. I can print that form out online through their website, and then I need to send that in to them with a medical report showing that I do need the elbow replacement and why. Now, the next obstacle was making sure that the doctor that did my original surgery was still available and would take worker's comp claims, since last time I had seen him he was considering no longer doing any worker's comp claims since they are sometimes just close claims and not may not render payment that they should. My biggest worry was that the doctor would not be able to perform the surgery. He is one of the top surgeons at Banner Desert Samaritan Hospital here in Mesa, AZ, and he did such a wonderful job on the surgery and I felt very comfortable with him. If he couldn't do the surgery, I was going to have to consult with a few other doctors and find one I felt comfortable with.

So I made the fateful phone call yesterday morning and good news, Dr. Purcell is still available and does take worker's comp claims! The first available appointment was August 13th, so I grabbed it. Now I just need to pick up a copy of my x-rays and then I will be all ready to meet with the doctor again. It has been 6 years since the original surgery and as much as I am very nervous and anxious about getting this elbow replacement done, at least I know I will be in good hands with a wonderful doctor who will take good care of me.

Besides the whole elbow thing, things are going well. Phil is really enjoying his new job working as a contractor for Intel. He leaves around 5am every morning and gets home around 3pm. With him having such a great job now has helped us to stop worrying so much about how we are going to make ends meet, because know we will be having a constant income coming in weekly and we are going to be able to finally get caught up on our bills. It really has helped me not be so stressed, since I am the one who is in charge of paying the bills and such. And I still plan on trying to get a job being a greeter at Wal-Mart, because I would love to be able to take the money I make there and just sock it away in our savings, but right now I am going to put that on hold since I am going to need the time available for the surgery and all the rehabilitation needed.

Oh...and remember when I said on my birthday I noticed that one of the diamonds was missing from my engagement ring? Well, we had gone to the store where he bought it twice, asking what could be done, because when we moved, I lost the receipt! I figured we'd be screwed and we'd end up having to get it replaced ourselves, and who knows how much that would set us back. Well, I ended up being near the store last week and the manager was there who recognized me since we had come in together to buy the set. She was so sweet and took care of everything, she found all the information on the ring and sent it off to repair, with no charge to us! She said it will be about 2 weeks to a month before it will come back in, and she will call me personally when it does. So I was so happy and grateful, and she is also having them check the other settings to make sure they are all secure. Luckily the setting in my wedding band was fine, so I still have that, I just like wearing the set together, so I miss it.

Well, that's about all that's new around here. I hope all is well for all my blog friends out there!