Knock knock!

Is anyone there? Still? REALLY? It's been almost three months since I've written a post on this blog. And you've hung in there this whole time? Thanks a million! I'm back!!!

As you might recall, I began a break from writing at the beginning of December. I spent some time getting ready for surgery, including a preliminary hospital visit. They put a bracelet on me that I though I'd be hanging on to during my admission. Just after leaving the hospital, I ran into my friend and former boss, Lisa, when I stopped by my alma mater to drop something off. She happened to have this bling in her desk and she set me up!

Unfortunately, this bracelet had to be replaced when I got to the hospital for surgery - not because of the bling, but for other reasons. The surgery took more time than the surgeon had expected, but was free of complications. Hooray! I spent six days in the hospital in downtown St. Paul recovering.

I was lucky to have a great care team, but by the time my 6 days were up, I was very excited to go home! While I was looking forward to returning to my apartment, I wound up going to my parents' house and recovering there until just before Christmas. Some great co-workers and friends sent me wonderful cards and gifts of encouragement.

Love these flowers! I can almost smell them just looking back at the photo!

And these guys came with a sweet balloon:

Yay! I spent most of December hanging out with my family, resting A TON, reading blogs, knitting a little, and watching lots and LOTS of Hulu and Netflix on the computer. My energy came back slowly but surely, and I was able to go back to my apartment before Christmas. Once I got home, I was lucky to be the recipient of gifts of food (which meant a ton!) along with plenty of visitors. It reminded me of just how very lucky I am to have so many great friends in my life.

I returned to work pretty much right on schedule on January 7. I spent a few weeks working reduced hours, though I'm now back to full-time. I had hoped to resume blogging around the start of the year, but it took quite a while for me to re-adjust to going to work for 8 hours each day. The best news is that the day is here! I'm looking forward to writing a few more posts this week and will hopefully be back to full strength here very soon! Thanks so much to everyone reading for hanging in there with me. You're here and I'm amazed. The best is yet to come!