Hey, gang! I swear I haven’t forgotten how to write in more than 140 characters, although you wouldn’t have any way of knowing that just by looking at my Geek Habitat blog here. Sincere (and ongoing, it seems) apologies.

Here’s some of what I’ve been up to this August 2010. I hope you enjoy it, and if you’re doing something similar or just returning to regular workouts (of any type) in general, let me know. I have a bit of a “Fit Club” on Twitter of folks who support and encourage each other to exercise, and their comments and support have been very helpful and enjoyable.

Oops. So much for my personal blogging having longevity when I’m heavily involved in using social media (Twitter, Facebook, blip.fm, etc.)

I’ll try to get back on track by posting a “Where Have We Been” outline since there’s plenty of news that just never trickled back here for a blog entry. I’ve also done a truly underwhelming job of summarizing the NASA Tweetup experiences I have had the privilege of experiencing in November 2009 (STS-129 launch at KSC) and February 2010 (STS-130 mid-mission at Johnson Space Center, aka Mission Control – Houston.)

I’d usually throw in a “we’re all well — kidlet’s doing great, etc.” here but right now I’m on antibiotics and oral steroids to back down a sinus infection and we nearly had to take Sara to the ER today due to illness-induced dehydration. She see’s her pediatrician at 9AM today.

Yes, apparently I have forgotten I have my own blog… I’ll try to stop being such a stranger around here!

I posted the following as a series of tweets (start here,) and they struck me as something I would like to record in the blog and expand upon in a full entry at a later date. Apologies to those for whom this is a repeat (but thanks for following me on Twitter, if so!)

I feel a VOID due to the loss of the Constellation program and Moon 2.0, but it occurs to me — what was NASA’s grand vision/goal when I was growing up (frame of reference: 1986 to 1993)? There really wasn’t one. I remember being incredibly disillusioned/disheartened when Space Station Freedom was cancelled. I remember wishing for the “glory days” of Skylab. Despite that, I recall a childhood and indeed, a lifetime thus far, spent excited and inspired by what NASA and our international partners were/are doing. Out of the “ashes” of Space Station Freedom, I never could have imagined all that we would accomplish building and inhabiting the International Space Station. My point being: dreams make their own reality, in a way. Those who love space, exploration, education, knowledge: don’t stop dreaming.

First of all, if you’re not following me on Twitter (@Ageekmom) or Facebook (wildtexas) then I’m not sure what’s inspiring you to read the blog, but…

In case you’ve missed my weekly tweet & update streams since my last blog post, here’s a post-sinus surgery update –

I’m Doing Great!

The first week after surgery was not especially comfortable, and pain medications were very much appreciated especially the first 48 hours post-op. Kidlet managed to knock me in the nose a couple times, including once in that painful first week, causing my world to narrow, my eyes to well up with tears, and me to sob like a baby for a couple minutes. All was well–no damage done (but she has a wicked right hook!)

Today was my 2 week post-op checkup. I see my ENT once a week for the first 6 full weeks after the date of my surgery (January 26). This means my next checkup is February 15, the day before I drive to Houston, TX, to attend my second NASA Tweetup. My first was, of course, the EPIC launch of STS-129, Space Shuttle Atlantis, on November 15, 2009. Expect a blog post specifically about the Houston, TX (Johnson Space Center / #JSCtweetup) tweetup after I get some sleep…

Today’s checkup went well and was very informative. I’m an information geek of the highest (worst?) degree, so I’d been wanting to ask my ENT if he’d taken any photos or videos of my surgery. Sadly, he didn’t and he would have been thrilled to, had I mentioned it prior to surgery. Oh well, lesson learned. I don’t plan on having a repeat sinus surgery, so chalk it up to a missed opportunity. That inquiry opened the door though, letting him know I wasn’t easily grossed out and was legitimately interested in some of the specifics about what he removed from my 100% blocked left sinus cavities. Suffice it to say that, while it wasn’t anything he didn’t expect to find, there was A LOT MORE of it than he sees when operating on a typical patient. He basically said his attending nurse at my surgery is one of the more “tough” gals and even she was a little grossed out by the amount of crud he removed. In short, he said, “You must have been MISERABLE prior to this.” YUP!

One of my doctor’s favorite phrases is, “Listen, the surgery won’t make you anything you aren’t already,” which basically means if you’re a really allergic person, it’s not going to “cure” your allergies. But if you’re a really allergic person and your SINUSES ARE BLOCKED, heck yeah, the surgery is going to open those up and try to give you functioning sinuses again (meaning: ones that can drain properly.)

The upshot with me is that I’m healing great, he is really pleased with where we are, but when he went in with a scope to check out my left maxillary sinus (cheek area; the place I had the worst collection of stuff) it’s filling slowly with “allergic mucin” again… that could lead to a sinus infection and we’d rinse and repeat. So he’s got me back on my sinus nebulizer which mists a specially mixed concoction of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory medication directly into my sinus cavities. Prior to surgery this was minimally effective since, yes, even misted medication couldn’t pass into my blocked sinuses. Now? It’s like night and day…I can breathe, my left nostril isn’t perpetually useless (as it has been for the past year) and I can resume my medication free-saline sinus irrigation (think neti pot for you purists, or pulsing irrigator for you techies like me.) I think we’re on the right track and I certainly feel better than I did prior to surgery so it’s already paying for itself.

I may have some stuff to add–as a consolation prize for not having any photos or videos, he gave me a copy of some of his notes from the surgery, so I may find some useful tidbits in there that I want to post. Or not. “Journey to the Center of Shannon’s Sinuses” doesn’t make for very compelling reading.

Check back on Tuesday sometime for my Johnson Space Center (home of MISSION CONTROL / HOUSTON) NASA Tweetup post.

T’Care!

AP Radio News — Jon Belmont interviews @Ageekmom

The above is my brief interview with Jon Belmot (@JBelmont) for AP Radio News. This was on launch day at around 5 AM. I didn’t sleep at all on the night before launch, just like a kid on Christmas Eve. From Jon Belmont: “This is the third minute of the Associated Press Radio News’ morning 6 o’clock newscast” on launch day for STS-129 (November 16, 2009.) They also used my soundbites a couple of times later. And yes, Jon, I did “have the time of (my) life at launch!”

I’ve struggled with how to put the NASA Tweetup experience into words, but this video I taped in my hotel room less than 24 hours after the launch and end of the NASA Tweetup does it pretty well, judging by the positive reception its received from my fellow tweetup participants and the NASA folks who’ve seen it. Forewarning: Yes, I cry & make a fool outta myself!

And from people who managed *not* to cry and get all blubbery but still thoroughly conveyed the joy and honor of attending the tweetup and STS-129 launch (with just a few colorful metaphors, as Spock would say), check out the podcast from the awesome Somacow.com gang whom I had the privilege of sitting with during the launch day tweetup: http://somacow.com/somacow-410-nasa-good-luck-mr-gorsky