January 2009Monthly Archives

Ok, I admit it, I’m totally sappy about how much in love it appears our new President and First Lady are toward one another. I just think it’s really refreshing to see a couple who just seem to be so devoted to one another and aren’t afraid to let other people see it, too. Accordingly, of all the amazing photos I’ve seen from Inauguration Day, I think this is my favorite:

It’s a photo taken by new White House photographer Pete Souza. First Lady Michelle Obama keeps herself warm wearing her husband’s tuxedo jacket as they are riding in a freight elevator along with staff and Secret Service agents en route to one of the many inaugural balls they attended that evening. It is aptly titled “Precious Cargo”.

If you would like to see more of Mr. Souza’s photography, he has several galleries included on his website which I linked above. I would definitely recommend checking out the gallery “The Rise of Barack Obama” which includes some fantastic black & white photos. Even if you don’t agree with the new President politically, I still think the photos are worth seeing just for their artistic merits.

Sorry, I don’t have a picture today. I just didn’t feel like dealing with with the whole take a picture, download, upload, etc. process this evening. I’m too focused on being annoyed beyond words at my stupid foot. Yes, the same one that I’ve had an on-going battle with plantar fasciitis (PF) for a couple of years now.

I started noticing over the weekend that the ankle on that foot was looking a little swollen. By Monday, it was pretty bad so I made a trip to the doctor. Several x-rays, some blood work, and a couple of days later, I found out I have a case of gout and a bone spur on my heel. Leave it to me to come down with something that rarely affects women (Men are 9 times more likely to have gout than women). Grrrrr!

The bone spur actually didn’t surprise me. Dr. Bennett (my podiatrist) told me a couple of years ago when I was first diagnosed with PF that I had early signs of a bone spur which he said wasn’t that uncommon for people with PF. I’ve already got an appointment scheduled with him on Feb. 3, so I’ll pick up a copy of my current x-rays to take with me to find out just how bad the bone spur is and if anything needs to be done about it.

Honestly, I’m really starting to wonder if I’m cut out for athletic endeavors. In the past 2.5 years, I’ve had to deal with arthritis in my left knee, herniated disks in my neck which resulted in a multi-level spinal fusion, a compressed ulner nerve in my right arm which resulted in a surgery, three rounds of plantar fasciitis in my right foot, arthrosis in my left shoulder which could eventually lead to surgery, and now gout in my right ankle. Part of me is beginning to feel like I should just accept the fact that I’m an overweight 40-something woman and give up my dream of running again and, eventually, doing a triathlon.

I’m not writing this looking for sympathy. I just needed to vent some of the frustration I’m feeling right now. Thanks!

I know this photo doesn’t technically qualify as a photo of the day for me since I didn’t take it. That having been said, I can’t think of a better photo for this day than one of our new President.

This photo is from the newly redesigned White House website. If you haven’t already checked it out, you should. I think they’ve done a really nice job with it.