My Second Shift

1.5 Years Later

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March 19th, 2018

Wow. I cannot believe that it has been almost two years since I’ve written on my blog. So many exciting and new things have happened between Aug 2016 and now.

Kindergarten

  • My twins are finishing-up their 1st year of kindergarten and they’re loving it! Well, at least 90% of the time they are loving it; homework, tests, and learning to deal with the fact that not everyone wants to be your friend completes the other 10%. #kindergartenproblems.

    UCF

  • I’m back in school again (for myself)! Valencia offered to send me back to school (tuition free) to get my Graduate Mathematics Certificate so that I can teach any undergraduate Mathematics course at any Florida college or university!! I was beyond shocked when the dean of the math department approached me with this opportunity. What are you supposed to say when someone offers you a free education that could advance your career? You say, “HELL YAY!!” – LOL. So far, I have successfully completed 1 course (Scientific Computing) and I’m currently enrolled in my 2nd course (Advanced Mathematics for Engineers) and I still have 4 more courses to complete to finish my certificate. I am beyond blessed and grateful at the opportunity that Valencia has given me and I cannot help but think that this degree will lead me to bigger & better career opportunities.
  • Speaking of bigger & better opportunities, I’ve finally realized that teaching high school just isn’t for me anymore. For those of you that personally know me, you probably know by now that I’ve always dreamed of becoming a full-time-tenure-college-mathematics-instructor. Well, my experience at Valencia has opened my heart & mind to a new love for education; however, my experience has also removed the blinders on my current situation. Throughout my 10 years of experience teaching at the same high school, my patience-level has worn-thin, and I no longer believe in the educational system in which I am working and serving in. I’ll get into much more detail on this topic later; but for now, my husband and I have decided that it might be time for me to leave the traditional public high school classroom for good. Where I will go is still to be determined; all I know is that God will be leading the way. Amy

So there you have it; 1.5 years later and my kids are growing-up way too fast and I’m about to shift my career in an entirely different direction. Only He knows where I’m going from here. Thanks for visiting my blog again after so long. See you soon.

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My Cosmetic Surgery Journey

Post Op – Day 48: Freedom!!

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August 4, 2016

Wow – it has been a long time since I’ve posted. Between getting back into-the-swing-of-things at school & 3 children recovering from hand-foot-and-mouth disease, I have been extremely busy to say the least. But things have finally calmed down in my crazy household and I have some free time to give y’all an update.

large_bikiniAs of last Friday (July 29th) I am free!!

  • I no longer have to wear the life-sucking binder (even though I grew a little fond of it towards the end).
  • I am finally allowed to sleep laying on my sides (which means I can get back into my own bed and get out of the recliner chain – hubby is definitely happy about this).
  • I can finally go swimming & sit in a bathtub (You know what this means – BIKINI SHOPPING!!)
  • I can finally exercise again (with the exception of any chest exercises to avoid the implant shifting into the armpit).
  • AND …. I can finally lift my children (but don’t tell Dr. Soto that I was actually lifting my 16 month old at 4 weeks post op …. Shhhhhh)

However, with all of my new freedoms, I still have to:

  • Take 2 Vitamin E pills a day
  • Do my breast massages 3x a day
  • Wear surgical tape over my incisions until my scars become flat and light in color.
  • And apply the super expensive wrinkle cream on my scars after every shower.

Speaking of my scars, I think they have improved drastically!!! What do y’all think? The first photo was my scar on day 12 (which was the first day that I had my surgical tape removed) & the second photo is my scar today. So far I am extremely pleased. Luckily, I scar quite nicely. In fact, after 3 years, I couldn’t even see my C-section scar; so I am confident that these scars will heal in the same way.

Also, take a look at the freckle I’m pointing to in the 2nd picture … Can you believe that my freckle was once near my original bellybutton? And now it’s way down there? I am simply amazed (and a little amused). And yes, my skin is as tight as it looks. My skin is so tight that you literally cannot pinch the skin on my stomach (many people have tried with zero success)!!! It is a strangely awesome tight feeling and I LOVE IT!!!

tummy tuck scar      Slide1

I also tried running for the first time on Monday and it wasn’t that bad. While running I could feel the tension & pull in my abs and on my tummy tuck incision, but it wasn’t painful at all. It just feels different & tight, and I’m sure it will just be something that I need to get used to. I seriously cannot wait to start getting some of my muscle tone back. Hopefully it will be easier to get back some of my muscle tone then it was to originally achieve it in the first place.

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My Cosmetic Surgery Journey

Post Op – Day 32: Spitting Stitches

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July 18, 2016

Just when I thought things were going smoothly, I discovered multiple holes and 1 pimple-looking-bump on my incision lines. Apparently, my body has decided to reject some of the internal permanent sutures and has begun spitting them out of my skin !!! Except one of my sutures got stuck underneath my skin and created a suture-abscess on my breast.

pimple

I first noticed the abscess while changing my incision tape on Tuesday evening; but I didn’t think much of it because it didn’t look irritated/red & and it didn’t hurt. However, by Friday evening, it looked very irritated, and I was afraid I may have had an infection under the skin. So I immediately took a picture of the disgusting bump and e-mailed it to one of my favorite nurses at Dr. Soto’s office. She quickly responded to my e-mail and told me to come to the office first thing Monday morning; and in the meantime, to keep a clean, dry gauze pad over the area. She also informed me to not be surprised if the abscess pops and starts oozing blood and puss. Gross right?

 

popWell, that’s exactly what happened by Saturday morning. While doing my breast massages, the abscess popped! Luckily, I had my gauze pads on while doing my massages, and the gauze absorbed a lot of the initial blood and puss. Sorry if this is grossing anyone out – but that’s what-cha get when you sign-up for a big surgery.

Anyways, after I cleaned the area and reapplied some fresh gauze, I informed my favorite nurse via e-mail that it had popped & that I’ll be there first thing Monday morning.

Then what-do-ya-know, by Saturday evening I had popped 3 more sutures. Except this time, it didn’t create an abscess – but it did create three small holes in the incision line in which I could see the suture sticking out of the hole. Again, I’m sorry if this is grossing you out.

much better

 

Anyways, by Monday morning my favorite nurse had pulled out all the sutures she could see. Strangely enough, she couldn’t see the stitch inside of the hole created by the abscess. She dug around in the hole with her tweezers (ouch), but couldn’t find anything; so she thinks that my body may have spit-it-out when the abscess popped. I sure hope that is the case – otherwise, that hole will have a difficult time healing if there is still a suture stuck inside.

 

Moving away from the grossness factor, I was finally given the go-ahead to go bra shopping!!! Yey!!! No more ugly medical bra for me !!! So I treated myself to a Victoria Secret shopping spree !!! While out-and-about, I also found myself some new outfits for my new body. All I have to say is DAMN DR. SOTO, you fixed me up real-good. Now when you find me on rate-my-professor.com, I should have a red-hot-chili-pepper-symbol next to my rating because this professor is smoking – haha. Conceded much?   

boobs    body

For those of you that were wondering if I was awarded any more privileges besides my freedom from the medial bra, the answers were all “no”.

  • Still no lifting the baby.
  • Still no swimming until all incisions are healed.
  • Still no exercise. Not even 2 lb weights.
  • Still no sleeping on my sides.
  • Still wear your life-sucking-tummy-binder 24/7

Ugh …. But in 10 days I’ll officially be 6 weeks post-surgery; so hopefully all of these NO’S will turn into “YES”. At least one can hope.

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My Second Shift

New Opportunities Are Exciting!

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July 14, 2016

I have some exciting news!!!

Usually this follows with … “I’M PREGNANT!!!” … hehe. But not this time! No more babies coming from this factory!!!

Anyways, I am excited to announce that I got a 2nd job!!!

WHAT? A SECOND JOB?

Yes, I got a second job as an adjunct professor at Valencia College!!! I will be teaching two classes of Intermediate Algebra on Saturday mornings.

Valencia
WHY SATURDAYS?

Well first off, let’s be real honest; not many instructors want to teach on a Saturday, and since I will be the newbie in town, I felt like I couldn’t say no.

With that said, after giving it some thought, I realized that teaching Saturday’s will be absolutely perfect for me in terms of family time and financial profit! Think about it for a moment … If I teach on Saturday’s, I can still be home at 3:00 P.M. to spend time with my kids, prepare dinner, get a work-out in, and help my kids with their soon-to-be-homework (they are going to be starting preschool this year – I can’t believe how fast they are growing). Also, I won’t have to pay my nanny to watch the kids – my amazing husband can do that. Like I told him, “think of it as special father-daughter time”.

For those of you that know me personally, you’ve known of my long-awaited goal to teach at the college level. I have yearned for this job for so long. The thought of being able to teach students who want to learn, have the desire to learn, and have a goal for their life is intriguing. Now that’s not to say that the students I teach at the high school level don’t have the same desires – but the majority of my students are immature teenagers who haven’t yet had a taste of reality. They are more concerned about their expensive shoes, hats, and phones, than getting a good grade in a class – especially in a subject they already dislike.  So it will be heavenly to teach a different type of student.

I look forward to not worry about lesson plans, Marzano, disciplinary issues, parent conferences, and pointless after school meetings. For once I will be able to taste educational freedom. For once I will get to experience what it’s like to simply teach.

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