My Cubicle Christmas Decorations

This year I decided to go with a Gingerbread Man theme.

Last year I went with a Santa theme. I wish I'd been able to find an African- American Santa, but it still turned out cute. I plan on recreating the decor at some point in the future when I find my Ebony Claus.






And speaking of African American Santas, I found this cute lil recipe that
I affectionately call " Ebony Clause Cupkettes"

Santa Hat Brownies

Yes, you can get strawberries in December!

The Art of Dawn Okoro

I love the art of Dawn Okoro. Her work is vibrant and colorful, but what I appreciate the most is that her artists’ eye loves women. She captures an attitude of certitude in each piece, showcasing women’s strength, femininity and most of all natural hair. I’m diggin the fros from the Crown and Glory series.

She also has a series of popular culture pieces entitled "Selfploitation" Paintings which explore sexting and posting pictures on social media sites.

My Myomectomy

Well since Judgment Day didn't come May 21, 2011 as predicted (shocker), my surgery was a go on May 24th, 2011.

Yep, they just had to cut a sista. I had fibroid tumor in my uterus that was causing monthly mayhem and menopause can't get here quick enough for me, so it had to be removed. If you're an African-American female and don't know what a fibroid tumor is, you need only ask your mom, aunt, sister, cousin or friend. I could go on because that's how prevalent they are among black women. According to The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 80 % of black women will develop benign uterine fibroid tumors by their late 40s. Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that develop in the uterus. The cause is entirely unknown. However, fibroid growth seems to depend on the hormone estrogen and family history is also a big factor.

There are different options for treating fibroids. I chose to have a Myomectomy, in which a small incision is made at the bikini line, the fibroid(s) removed from the uterus, leaving the uterus intact so that a woman can still bear children. I'm 42 with no children and felt I wanted leave that option open.

I wasn't a total ball of nerves about the surgery itself. I was just ready to get it over with and get my prescription pain killers. I like to affectionately call them "happy pills".

I did have a little pre-surgery paranoia, which I attribute to my love of psychological thrillers. Specifically those that take place in hospitals. First there's the general anesthesia. I mean just thinking about the "state of unconsciousness and loss of protective reflexes" is a bit terrifying. That coupled with the fact that anytime you are "put under" there is a chance, albeit rare, that you may not come out. And also if you've seen the movie "Awake", where the guy experiences "anesthetic awareness” and awakens during surgery to feel everything. Apparently that's rare also, but can you imagine the horror of that. I spoke to the anesthesiologist before the surgery and he was very assuring, so I relaxed on that a little. So then of course I just had to ask what operating room they were taking me to. I asked because I was praying that it wasn't room number eight, but of course it was. How uncanny is that? If you have ever seen the movie "Coma", then you know that was the room number where they would take patients to put them into comas and harvest their organs to sell on the black market. See, I told you.

The second procedure that unnerved me was being intubated. I have television hospital dramas to thank for that one. That's when a tube is inserted in your airway when you're unconscious or unable to breathe on your own. They wait until you are sedated and remove the tube before you come out, so you are totally unaware of the procedure, but it's very disconcerting to even think about having a tube down your throat.

But all of that anxiety fades as soon and they roll you into the operating room and administer the anesthesia, you don't remember being nervous at all. In fact, you don't remember anything because all of a sudden you're awake and the attendants are transporting you to your hospital room, with a catheter, a support garment and a medication pump with morphine for the pain. You have no sense that any time has lapsed. It's all over. I had a hospital stay of two days.

So now I'm home on medical leave recovering for six weeks, doctor's orders. I'm not feeling as debilitated as I thought I might. I'm still experiencing a little numbness and soreness in the area of my incision, but I'm told that is normal and will take a while to totally subside. The only thing I worry about now are the growth of new fibroids. I've read different studies and most report that fibroids that have been removed through a myomectomy do not come back, but a uterus that grew fibroids once is prone to developing new ones. Recurrence rates vary, but are believed to be around 20 to 40%.

Blue Monday

As if Mondays needed anymore bad press.

Like most folks who feel fortunate enough to see anyday, I don't particularly like Mondays, never have. I have chosen my work schedule for the past three years based on having Mondays off , so I consider all Mondays blue. But today's Monday is apparently bluer than most.

Blue Monday is not quite like Black Friday, but oddly enough, there is a Blue Monday partly because there is a Black Friday. Black Friday you get to hit the malls and rack up on steals and deals and Blue Monday you get to fret about paying those bills, among a few other things that depress you on this day.

Today's Blue Monday, January 24, 2011 is most depressive day of the year according to British psychologist, Cliff Arnall, who first coined the day in 2005. I'm guessing Cliff is probably not the fun guy people like to invite to their parties.

This particular Monday, which has a different date every year, marks the Monday that begets the last week of January and it's makes you blue based on certain circumstances: The Christmas spirit is officially gone, you've broken many if not all of your new year’s resolutions, the really cold winter weather has arrived along with all the Christmas bills, and the last paycheck of January is still a week away, but for some reason it's deemed your going to be more depressed about those things on today verses um, yesterday?

Here is the formula that has been devised:

W + (D-d) x Tq
______________
M x Na

Weather (W), debt (d), time since Christmas (T), time since failing our new year’s resolutions (Q), low motivational levels (M) and the feeling of a need to take action (Na)

So there you have it, but don't worry you won't stay depressed for too long. Apparently in six months you'll be happier than you will ever be for the year, as Mr. Arnall was at it again and discovered another formula that will give you the Happiest Day of the Year, June 17. And here’s the formula for that:

O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He

(O) for being outdoors and outdoor activity, (N) is communing with nature,( S) social activities with family and friends( Cpm) for childhood positive memories,( T) is the mean temperature which is warm, and (He) is holiday expected.

Interesting..

Rocket Scientist Wanted

A Rocket in India exploded shortly after takeoff on Christmas day. The GSLV launched carrying the communication satellite GSAT- 5P from the Satish Dhawan space centre in Sriharikota.
Let me first start out by saying the vessel was unmanned, so thank God no one was injured or killed. That being said, cue the Rocket Scientist jokes.

This is not the first time a rocket has exploded, but really you just can't look past the irony. The cause of the explosion is not yet known or if any of the rocket parts came from Spacely's Sprockets, but in any case, you know all fingers will probably be pointed at the Rocket Scientist, and probably will make people rethink using the occupation as the epitome of intelligence and know how. People are probably thinking to themselves that you don't really have to be a Rocket Scientist, not even to be an actual Rocket Scientist. And I bet other Rocket Scientist are less than thrilled, and probably have that feeling you get when someone of your race commits a heinous crime. Can you imagine the pressure going forward now to continue living up to the cliche?

But seriously, happy to hear no lives were lost and very unfortunate for India's Space Program. They seem to be having trouble getting things off the ground, no pun intended. The program experienced a failed launched back in April of this year as well.

I do wish them well in their endeavors and hope they work out all the kinks before the year 2016, when they plan their first manned space flight. I wonder if anyone has readily volunteered or if a Rocket Scientist wanted job ad has been placed in any of India's newspapers.