other stuff

Wow, I just realized that I never finished my non-sports post...oops.  Since my last post in March (that wasn't just about sports) a lot has happened.  It looks like I forgot to mention it last time but my "little" girl N turned 2 in February.  A couple months ago she decided it was time for potty training and, after a rough couple of days, she is doing awesome.  She still proudly announces when she's going to go to the bathroom and again when she's done.  Every time she returns from a bathroom with one parent she makes sure to go tell the other parent "I did it!"  She moved to her "big girl bed" for a couple weeks or so but now spends most nights in her crib, although sometimes she'll want to sleep in her bed.  Actually, the past month or so she has been sleeping in her pack-n-play when we sleep in the basement because it is so much cooler down there.

I had one and two month post-surgery appointments for my LASIK and I'm happy to report there were no issues.  I'm still seeing between 20/10 and 20/15 and am loving it.  I don't really have any issue with dry eyes and I rarely need to use the eye drops.  I love playing softball without having to wear contacts and need to get out on the golf course to try out my vision.

I'm not sure LASIK will help this guy

In April I celebrated my 36th birthday and a few weeks later Angie turned 29 (again!)  L turned 5 on May 22 and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I have a 5 year old.  This past weekend we went shopping for her school supplies so I guess I have a little over a month to get used to the fact that she'll be in kindergarten soon.

Last week we went to Seattle for Angie's brother's wedding.  We had a great time seeing all the Van Voasts and the wedding was right on the water in a town called Olalla.

Wedding venue

After the wedding festivities were over, we spent a few days in Seattle doing all of the typical tourist stuff.  We took the monorail to the Space Needle and spent some time looking at Seattle from 520 feet.  As much fun as the Space Needle was the highlight of the day for L was getting to honk the Monorail horn with her cousins on the way back to the hotel.

I know the SN is over 600 feet high
but L sure looks little in this pic!

I've been in quite a few cities that have the Duck Tour but I've never tried it before until last week.  If you're not familiar with the Duck Tour it's basically a tour bus that drives on land and water.  We drove around Seattle a bit, boated on Lake Union for awhile, and then did some more sightseeing on land.  The driver is of course over the top silly and tells jokes the entire time but played a lot of music as we drove around and it turned out to be really fun.  I definitely recommend it and will probably do it again in another city.

I guess the tour wasn't too exciting for N

Now that we're back home it's time to enjoy the rest of the summer before school starts in mid-August.  I've still been trying to run 2-3 times a week but it's sure getting hard now when it's already in the 80s at 10am.  I am still holding off on signing up for the Denver Rock'n'Roll half marathon in October because I'm not 100% sure we'll be in town that weekend.

I'm going to try to post more often so I don't lose my 3 readers!  Angie and I are going to try to do a "recommended water intake" challenge starting today so I will post updates on that.  Have a great day!

Sports, Sports, and More Sports

Do you like the title?  It's been so long since my last blog entry I have decided to split this one into two separate blogs.  One on sports and one on everything else.  I'm pretty sure I could post the presents I'm going to get Angie for the next 10 years because I doubt she got any further than the title!

So much has happened since my last entry in early March.  Most of that post was devoted to the Broncos and the upcoming free agency.  Back in March I wrote that I thought Denver needed to pick up a safety, an edge rusher, and a linebacker.  I also mentioned that they were in need of another WR since they were most likely going to lose Eric Decker.  How does three out of four sound?  Denver made an immediate and loud statement when they signed two of the top defensive free agents in safety TJ Ward and pass rush expert DeMarcus Ware.  They also signed former Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders.  They didn't get any linebackers that I know of but how can you complain about the moves they made?  If Von Miller can get back to his 2012 form they should be able to put some serious pressure on opposing QBs.  

I can't wait to see Ware in the orange and blue!

Also, the NFL Draft wrapped up last weekend and Denver made a few interesting picks.  I'll all for the first round pick of CB Bradley Roby from Ohio State but I was a little surprised to see them trade up in the second round to pick up a WR.  I really thought they would go for a linebacker that could make an immediate impact but I guess they wanted another weapon for Manning.  I do hear good things about the pick, Cody Latimer, however.  I heard one stat that said he dropped only 1 pass last season for Indiana.  That will be quite the change compared to Dropsies Decker.  After the draft Denver picked up CSU Rams LB Shaquil Barrett and RB Kapri Bibbs.  I'm actually surprised that Barrett (2013 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year) wasn't drafted and I'm curious to see if he can make the team.  I've never thought Bibbs' game would translate to the pros so I'm not expecting him to make the squad although I'd love to be wrong.  Bring on training camp!

Will Bibbs be crossing the goal line for Denver this season?

As far as the Avalanche, they ended up with the #2 seed in the Western Conference and then ended up losing in the first round to Minnesota in 7 games.  It was a fun series to watch and this season got me excited about hockey again.  I actually ended up going to game 5 (which the Avs won in OT) with my college roommate and had a great time.  With such a young and talented team there is a lot of optimism at the Pepsi Center (for the Avs...not so much for the Nuggets.)

Too bad this wasn't the scene in game 7

The Rockies are off to a better than expected start this spring.  Hopefully they will keep it up for awhile to keep things interesting.

#24 = #1

Sorry that there hasn't been an update in a month but there hasn't been too much to write about.  I had my "month-after-surgery" appointment last week (it had actually been 5 weeks) and everything went great.  I could still see 20-15 and I was actually able to read 3 of the 5 letters on the 20-10 scale.  Needless to say I am still very happy with my decision to do LASIK and I think I made the right choice going with 20/20 Institute.  They want me to come back next month and then I'll be good until my one-year appointment.

The Avalanche are in a push to get a top playoff spot, spring training is going full swing, and the Nuggets are, well, the Nuggets of old.  That being said, the thing I'm most excited about is NFL free agency which starts tomorrow at 2pm MST.  There is a lot of talk about which direction the Broncos should go in and I'm hoping they can sign a big name safety.  It's funny how many people are saying that the Broncos need to rebuild and completely revamp their defense.  Obviously I wasn't happy about the way the season ended but can anyone really complain about going to the Super Bowl?  I'd be more than thrilled to have a repeat of this past season and see what happens in the Super Bowl.  If they had played SF instead of Seattle, or even if they hadn't snapped the ball into the end zone on the first play, things may have gone their way.  Considering all the injuries they had to deal with, I think they are still in great shape.

Yes they will lose Eric Decker and probably Knowshon Moreno, and yes they lost Champ Bailey (more on that later) but just getting Ryan Clady and Von Miller back will make a huge difference.  As I mentioned earlier, I think they need to pick up a few defensive players like a safety (Jairus Byrd or TJ Ward?) an edge rusher (Jared Allen or re-sign Shawn Phillips?) and a decent linebacker.  On offense they will need to pick up, or draft, another WR, but I'm sure Bubba Caldwell will be able to do a decent job of making up for Decker's absence.  Even into the playoffs last year I was sure they would/should re-sign Moreno but now I'm not so sure.  I think his performance (or lack of) in the Super Bowl pretty much sealed his fate.  They need someone that can break tackles and bust off a long run.  I couldn't believe when I saw this but Moreno's career long run is 36 yards.  Yes you read that right, 36 yards.  In 846 career carries his longest run from scrimmage is 36 yards?  To put that into perspective Montee Ball had 120 carries last year and had a long run of 45 yards.  Ronnie Hillman has a long run of 31 yards in 139 carries.  Don't get me wrong, Moreno was a beast for Denver last year and they would not have done so well had Moreno not been on the team but I think it's time for a more dynamic running back.  I really hope Ball can fill that need.  We shall see.

Bottom line, I think Denver does need to fix some holes but c'mon, why is the sky always falling?  Yes Denver has a very difficult schedule next year but they will still win at least 11 games.  They just need some toughness to help them win a road playoff game in Foxboro since, once again, the Patriots have a weak schedule and will probably get homefield advantage.  Maybe I should be more pessimistic but I think they are still in good shape.

Last thing here since I'm starting to ramble, it was tough to hear the news that Champ Bailey was released but I think it was the right decision.  There is no way they could pay him $10M when you don't even know if he'll be healthy enough to play half the season.  I really loved watching #24 the past 10 years and can't wait until he's on the ring of fame and in the Hall of Fame.  Thanks for everything Champ!

Still Good

This will be another short post because my "one week after surgery" appoint was like my last one, quick.  This one was slightly longer because Dr. Danzo actually did an eye test to check my prescription.  He said everything looked good and my eyes were healing nicely and I could still see the 20-15 line.  He mentioned that my left eye looked a little dry and that I should continue to use my artificial tears but could stop taking the prescription drops.

I am still very happy with the results and am glad I did it.  I've still been wearing my goggles at night although as far as I know I've never woken myself up because I was trying to rub my eyes so I think I would be OK to sleep without them.  I've been sleeping pretty well so I figure I might as well leave them on.  I do usually take them off if I wake up around 4-5am and it feels wonderful!

I'd say the worst part is still not being able to rub my eyes.  It's not ever that big of an issue except when water runs over my (shut) eyes in the shower and I really want to wipe the water off.  I end up showering with my eyes closed and hoping they air dry by the time I need to get dressed!

No more appointments until the "one month after surgery" appointment at which time I'm hoping they tell me that my flaps are as healed as they will be and that I can gently rub my eyes again.

First Post-Op Checkup

This post will be short because, well, the checkup was short.  After a rough night of sleep due to wrestling the goggles all night, I woke up with dry, but surprisingly clear eyes.  I drove to the 20/20 Institute and sat in the waiting room for about 5 minutes before I was escorted back to the exam room.  I have to mention again, I have never waited more than 5-10 minutes for any appointment which is great, especially since all my appointments are on work days.  The optometrist that day was a new one (to me) but still very friendly.  After giving me a few eye drops he asked which of the lines on the eye chart I could make out.  I could read most of the bottom line (I mistook an O for a C) with both eyes and it turns out that line is the 20/15 line!  He made a joke about how they can't call themselves the 20/15 Institute but that that is a goal.  I know that vision can, and probably will, change slightly over the next month but I hope mine stays the same!  It's amazing to me that this procedure works so well and so quickly.  The doctor did mention that there was a fiber under one of the corneal flaps but that it wouldn't affect my vision.  (Affect vs. effect, I hate these two words, just use one for all occasions!)  I was a little thrown off so I didn't ask what the fiber was.  I will ask today at my appointment but I'm thinking it is a cornea fiber.

Anyway, that was it, just a quick look at the eyes to make sure everything was healing and I was on my way to work.  The dryness has slowly been getting better.  The first night I could barely make it past 9:30pm before I couldn't stand it (even with all the eye drops) but now I'm making it past 10:30pm without having to use the artificial tears too often.  The biggest pain for me is worrying about the corneal flap and wearing the goggles at night.  I finally took a nap yesterday without them (I was home with a sick N) and it was glorious.  I slept a few hours last night without them but would wake up every hour or two worried that I had rubbed my eyes so I put the goggles on for the last couple hours.  Also, the drops, specifically the artificial tears, are pretty sticky and gunk up your eyelashes.  I use a Q-tip, very carefully, to clean them off but I'd still prefer to just stick my face under the shower stream and rub my eyes.  Oh eye rubbing, how I miss you.

Another update after my appointment today.  Here's hoping my vision is still 20/15!

Super Bore

Nobody needs me to rehash the pain that was Super Bowl 48 so I won't.  I will make a few comments.  Sorry in advance that they are going to be so random but I'm just planning on typing them as I think of them.

• I would first like to place blame on Joe Namath.  If he hadn't flubbed the coin toss, Denver would have won the toss, deferred to the second half, and the game would have been much different.
• OK, that was obviously said tongue in cheek but you do have to wonder how the game would have gone if Denver would have won the toss.  I think Denver would still have lost, and probably by double digits.  If they played 10 times I think Seattle wins 6-7 times.
• Even after the safety, and subsequent drive, Denver was only down 5-0 and only 8-0 after the next Seattle possession.  There was plenty of time to calm down and get things under control.  If they were in shock after the game the way started, they are not a very strong team mentally.  I mean come on, you're down by one score.  Get it together.
• It was clear Denver was not prepared to be hit.  
• It was clear Denver was not prepared to hit back.
• Denver could not get Seattle off the field on third down.
• That being said, when can a team give up 43 points and you can say the defense didn't play that bad.
• True, they gave up a couple scores late due to bad tackling, but the game had been over for quite some time and it was clear the offense had given up.
• Denver clearly got out-coached.  When it was obvious that their game plan was not working, why not try mixing things up.  After the two week break, I was fully expecting to see things we had never seen before.  Well, they scored only 8 points, I guess that was something new.
• They had some clear mismatches on offense, specifically with Welker.  He was open a lot and I think they should have kept feeding him the ball over and over again until Seattle had to overreact to that and that might have opened things up down the field.  Maybe that was the plan but Manning was too flustered to make the throws.
• Denver's special teams, and special team coaching, was a joke.  Why do a pooch kickoff to open the second half?  Sure, they didn't know it would be returned for a TD but why take that change?
• I think the onside kick to start the 4th quarter was a bad move.  No, I don't think Denver was going to come back but you never know and why give Seattle such a short field?
• I said this to anyone that would listen but one of Denver's biggest problems was that their defense forced 0 turnovers in the two playoff games leading to the Super Bowl.  The finished with 0 in their 3 playoff games.
• Manning got rattled right away with that safety and it didn't look like he could recover.  That was surprising to me as it was not his first (or second) Super Bowl.  I thought his big game experience would give Denver the advantage but he made mistake after mistake and couldn't regroup.

Believe it not I was not intending this to sound so negative so let me (sort of) change it up a bit

• I stopped watching at the end of the first quarter.  I did tune back in a few times to see how things were going.  Unfortunately when I did, I saw Peyton's pick-six, and unsuccessful forth down (and short) conversion.
• Maybe that didn't sound positive but it was for me because I didn't witness the ugly second half.
• Maybe because I didn't witness the second half I have a more positive attitude that most other Broncos fans.  I've been listening to sports talk radio the past 2 days and it sounds like most people are devastated.
• Sure, I had a few bad dreams about the game but nothing near what I experienced after the loss to Baltimore last year.  I didn't sleep well for 3-5 nights after that game.
• I know this might not sound like me but I really enjoyed the regular season and playoffs (until the Super Bowl) and look back at the season with a positive feeling.  I enjoyed hearing about Denver during the 2 weeks leading up to the big game (as opposed to Baltimore or NE.)
• I am very happy that Champ got to experience Super Bowl week and get all the attention he deserved for a great career.
• Although I wanted Denver to win, I have to say I'm happy for my friend Chris (who has been mentioned on this blog in the past) because, as a life long Seahawks fan, he finally got to see his team hoist the trophy.
• After Denver's 0-4 record in the Super Bowl, I know how happy I was to finally see them come out on top.  I think every sports fan should be able to experience that feeling once in their lifetime.
• IMO, it was remarkable that Denver made it to the Super Bowl with 5 of their 11 defensive starters on the IR.  Yes, almost half of the starting defense, including their best player (Von Miller) was out.  Perhaps this is why they finished the playoffs with a -4 turnover margin.
• Denver's schedule next year is brutal.  Road games in Seattle, NE (again?), St Louis, Cincinnati, and KC, along with home games against San Francisco, Indy, and Arizona.  I'm thinking Denver will win 10 - 11 games next year.
• Even with 10 - 11 wins, with that schedule I think Denver will be much more prepared for the playoffs and hopefully more mentally/physically tough.  Hopefully they don't have the injury issues next year like they did this year.
• I'm curious to see what Denver does this offseason as far as free agency goes.  They will probably lose Knowshon and Decker but I hope they focus a little more on the defense.  Specifically safety.  They need to become a better turnover forcing defense.

So much for thinking this was going to be a short post!

Are You OK?

I'd like to point out that I'm writing this post without glasses or contacts and I see what I'm typing!  OK, my vision wasn't bad enough that I couldn't see the computer screen from 2 feet away but I can't say the letters were crystal clear.  They are now!  Before I get to far ahead of myself let me go back to Wednesday.

I slept great Tuesday night but woke up Wednesday morning and was immediately nervous.  I was really wishing I had been able to schedule an earlier appointment instead of having to wait until 12:50pm.  I made the mistake of reading some LASIK stories on the internet.  While most of them were positive I read a few stories of eyes not being completely numbed during the cutting of the corneal flap and stuff like that.  Needless to say that didn't help with my nerves.  I ended up running on the treadmill for 30 minutes just to take my mind off the surgery.  After a small lunch Angie drove me to the doctor's office.  I sat down for maybe 2 minutes before they were ready to take care of the payment details.  Fortunately I had enough money in my HSA so there was no need to finance.  Oh, in case you were wondering, I did go with the Lifetime Assurance Plan.  Maybe it's a sucker's bet but since I was paying with pre-tax money and they gave me the 15% off I decided to go for it.  After the financial portion was taken care of I went back to the waiting room and sat next to Angie for about 1 minute before Dr. Danzo asked if I was ready to go back.  He asked Angie if she wanted to go back with us, to discuss the procedure with the opthamologist Dr. Montgomery, but she declined.  I would probably have done the same thing if I were in her shoes because who wants to hear about eyeballs getting lasered?

I figured the process would be slow and that there would be a lot of waiting but wasn't the case.  I went into an exam room so Dr. Danzo could take one last look at my eyes and give me the rundown of how to use my three different types of eye drops.  He also put a numbing drop in each eye.  I quickly asked if that was the only drop I would get and he assured me I would get a lot more in the operating room.  Dr. Montgomery then came in and looked at my eyes, gave me a pill to help calm my nerves, and answered any last questions I had about the surgery. He said the two things people ask about the most were 1) is it going to be painful and, 2) what if my eyes move during surgery.  As far as #1 he said the worst part was when they cut the flap because there would be a lot of pressure on the eye.  He described it like a blood pressure cuff on your eye.  It's not painful but not really confortable either.  For #2 he said that the laser tracks the movement of your eye so it's OK if my eye moved slightly.  It would also shut down if my eye moved too much.  After that they had me sit in a quiet room for 10 - 15 minutes for the pill to take effect.  I can't say that I felt any different although I did feel a little sleepy.  Maybe that was the pill or maybe that was just me getting sleepy from sitting in a comfy chair in a dimly lit room.  I do know that I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my neck so I wasn't entirely calm.  Pretty soon one of Dr. Montgomery's assistants came and got me and escorted me to the OR.  I really got nervous at that point.

They had me lay down on the "operating table" and get my head seated in the correct place.  It was a bit like a massage table that the head rest that looked like a donut.  They gave me two squishy foam eyeballs (that made me get even more nervous as I assumed I was to squeeze them while I was in pain...who said anything about pain?) and then things went really fast.  Dr. Montgomery came in and asked me to state my name and birth date.  I like that they make sure they are operating on the right patient.  They were going to start on my right eye so they covered up my left eye, although they recommend that you keep the covered eye open and blink as usual.  Then they taped my upper eyelashes up and my lower eyelashes down.  A lot more drops were placed in my eye and then an instrument was placed over my eye to keep my eye open.  They were constantly placing drops on my eyes and I assume some were numbing and others were used to keep my eye clean.  Dr. Montgomery then told me to get ready for the pressure and they placed and instrument over my eye.  He told one of the assistants to start the vacuum.  Vacuum?  That sounds painful.  There was a lot of pressure, just like they told me, and the worst part was where the vacuum was pushing against my bottom eye socket bone.  I knew they were cutting the flap although I couldn't tell exactly how, and I felt like my eye was bouncing all over the place.  I'm sure my flap looked like this:

Not my actual eye or corneal flap

One of the assistants counted down from 15 seconds and I was thankful when the 15 seconds were up.  After they removed the vacuum I could see as the grabbed the flap and pulled it up.  As soon as the (corneal) flap was moved things got blurry.  They squirted a bunch of drops on my eye and then moved the laser into palce.  There was a green LED to stare at which was much fuzzier now that my cornea was gone.  The laser started and there was a strange smell (either the laser smell or the smell of my eyeball getting lasered) and I focused on the middle of the fuzzy green light.  After what felt like 5 - 10 seconds the laser stopped.  My first thought was that I moved my eye too much and the laser shut down.  Dr. Montgomery squired more drops on my eye and then I noticed the flap was put back in place.  That fuzzy green light was immediately clearer.  I'm not saying my vision was perfect but the cornea being in place had a huge impact.  More drops and what looked like a little squeegee being rubbed across my eye to smooth out the flap.  After that they removed the device that held my eye open and took off the tape.  It couldn't have taken more than 5 minutes max.  They then covered up my right eye and started on the left.  It seemed to go so fast on the right eye I told myself I needed to pay better attention on the left eye so I could blog about it!  The left eye went the same and before I knew it Dr. Montgomery told me that I did great and that everything looked great.  The assistants tole me I could sit up, they handed me my jacket and I was on my way.  Wham bam thank you Matt!  I walked up to the receptionist desk, and they told me they would see me the next day at my first post-op appointment.  It all happened so fast that Angie, who was sitting in a chair watching a show on her iPad, didn't get up right away.  She just stared at me like I was going to sit back down in the waiting area and wait for my surgery.  (The girl that was called in before me hadn't left yet so Angie assumed I wouldn't be done until after she saw the girl leave.)  Once she realized I was putting on my jacket and leaving she packed up her stuff, walked over to me with a concerned look in her eyes and said "are you OK?"  I said I was doing great and she just kept staring at my eyes.  I guess they were a little (LOT) red.  I put on my sweet doctor's office sunglasses and we headed outside.  Angie asked what was going on and I said I was done.  She couldn't believe it.  It was only 1:30pm.  They said to expect being at the office for 1 - 1.5 hours.  My vision was a little blurry but better than when I got there.  We got home and I headed up to bed.  Wearing my goggles I laid down and dozed of and on for about 3.5 hours.  Once I got up my eyes felt much better (not so scratchy and dry.)  I put some of my antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops in and headed downstairs to see my girls.  L and N were excited to see my and I was excited to see them.  I never thought I would suffer any major side effects of LASIK but I was still glad my eyes worked.  I continued to use my prescription drops, as well as artificial tears, but by 9:30pm my eyes had had enough.  Off to bed to wrestle with my goggles.

Overall I would say that the surgery went very well, and very quickly.  I didn't experience any pain and the pressure wasn't that bad.  The worst part for me (and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting) was trying to keep my eye still the entire time because I couldn't help but over think it.  Want to know how my vision was the next day?  You'll have to wait for my next post!