How is it that time goes so much faster when on vacation? The day is gone before you know it. May be in part because we sleep in a bit later and I read with Sophie a little longer in the morning. :-)

Called the pain management doctor today to see if I could start physical therapy again and he was not happy to hear that I had even been to the gym and did a few things with my arms. I guess my brain was as numb as my neck as I don't remember him telling me I had to be careful as I could hurt myself without realizing it. Well, now I know as I am hurting again. The numbness has worn off and I am scheduled for another set of cervical facet injections next Wednesday. Now that I know how darn awful they feel (combination of pain and pressure) I am even more nervous about them.

So today when Steve went to the gym to work out a bit, I went along and just walked on the track for a mile. Even that tired me out! I hate this - I have great days and do too much and then have bad days. So I'm sitting with a heating pad again. It can take several times with the injections before long term pain relief so I just need to suck it up and deal with it.

I am listening to The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks on my MP3 player as I walk. I have been listening to it for quite awhile as I haven't been doing much of that lately. The book is one you ponder about after just a few minutes of listening to it as the idea of someone always watching you and a foundation trying to eliminate anyone who thinks for themselves sounds a bit too real these days. The ones they are really scared of are the people who have a gene that allows them to travel through time. For generations the Travelers have been eliminated whenever found. I think teenage guys would love this book because of all the fighting, especially the Harlequins, with their swords. They have been trainedfor generations to protect the Travelers, who have ushered in changes in history. The Travelers is book one in the Fourth Realm Trilogy. Dark River, book two is out, but I haven't downloaded it yet. I am sure I will as I am thoroughly loving book one. Some days the idea of living "off the grid" - where no one can find you through a trail of paperwork - sounds pretty good. Especially when the mailbox is full of junk mail.

I was feeling lonesome for the kids on Christmas Eve so we went to see the second National Treasure movie to keep my mind occupied. I liked it better than the first one as Jon Voigt has a bigger part in the movie and his ex-wife is one feisty anthropology professor played by Helen Mirren. Clearly she loved this part and said she did most of her own stunts. Clues hidden national monuments and the president's desk results in more than a bit of a history lesson but in an enjoyable manner. Just seeing Mount Rushmore in the movie made me smile as I remember when we got to the park, it was raining and the clouds had settled in around the faces. We walked all the way out to the closest viewing area and couldn't see anything. We hung around for quite awhile, but gave up and walked back and got ready to leave. The dog had to pee so while I was walking Coco the breeze picked up and blew the clouds away, one face at a time. It was incredible. Took my breath away. And we would have missed it if it weren't for a tiny dog's tiny bladder! :-)

My morning reading has been The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt. A superb junior high age book. English teachers will love this one as it makes Shakespeare sound like something rambunctious, adventurous young teenage guys could get into, with all the violence and cussing! Because Holling isn't Jewish or Catholic, he is stuck in the classroom with Mrs. Baker while all the other kids are off to their lessons. This is where Shakespeare comes in - Holling is expected to read and understand it. His knowledge of Shakespeare results in him playing Ariel (in yellow tights with white feather on the butt - much to his dismay) in The Tempest on stage. He was so good at the part that his picture, flying through the air in a jump, ends up on the front page of the local paper - him in tights! Not a good thing for a teenage guy. The book is set during the Vietnam War era and Mrs. Baker's husband is missing in action, Holling's sister wants to be a flower child, and Holling would just like his father to pay attention to him other than to make sure he doesn't hurt the family's architecture business by offending anyone who might have an influence on if his father's company getting the contract for a new building. No vulgar language, no sex scenes to worry about - a perfect book for classroom reading. This one is going to win some kind of award - or at least it should. :-)

All for today.