Happy Monday!

We had quite a weekend! My parents came to visit and see our new house, and we were very busy. My backyard had a good start (shaped beds, lots of trees) but it was really overgrown and weedy. Now, I have 2 small beds and one very very large bed weeded, planted and mulched. My back is feeling that mulch this morning! Oh, and since having mulch near your house can encourage termites, we put egg rock against the house instead. About 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide, it took lots of bags, but I really like the way it turned out. We've got bugs on one big plant and a mildew on another, so those need to be sprayed down, but other than that, the backyard looks awesome!

Last week, I had an EMG (electromyography). I'll try to explain what happed.
Background: Lots of pain in my hands since last November, but lots of blood work did not come up with any answers, so my doctor wanted to rule out carpul tunnel using the EMG.
The procedure: the doctor hooked a ground wire to my arm and attached two small pieces of metal attached to the machine on my hand. (You've seen what they put on someone when they are watching their hearts? It's like that but smaller.) Then he drew on my hands, wrists, and arms different spots that he wanted to check. He then used something that looked like a two pronged fork, felt around for a certain nerve or muscle, then shocked me three times in each spot. The first shock wasn't too bad, the second one was a little worse, then the third was really painful. He would measure from where he shocked me to one of the marks he drew. Using that measurement and the readings from the metal dots to determine how fast my nerves felt the shock and how fast it sent that shock back. After about 8 spots per arm, with three shocks each, he said that I have "Olympic class nerves." Unfortunately, we still had to finish the test, even though he didn't think it would turn anything out.
Part 2: This was very strange. The doctor took a needle and poked me in 5 spots in each arm. He would put the needle in, then irritate the muscle by moving the needle around. This time, the machine was listening to the firing in my muscles. When he would move the needle, it sounded like a record scratching; when he stopped moving it, the sound would change to a sound like "fit-fit-fit" which was the firing in the muscles. One place, he his a blood vessel and that really hurt. I got a stick in my bicep, tricep, another up top, one in my forearm in the doorknob turning muscle, then the last place was the most painful: if you make an "L" with your finger and thumb, there is that little flap of skin between them. That spot. No fat, no muscles, just nerves! It really hurt, and my hands and arms were sore for the next 4 hours or so.

I've got to finish getting ready and go to work. More about the updates on the house later!!