For those keeping track, surgery went well. Zero complications, overall blood loss was that of cutting your hand. Total surgical time was about an hour (the minimum time for this type of surgery). 

I'm at nearly 2 weeks of recovery at the time of writing this. I'm mostly off the narcotics and relying on Motrin for pain. I still get tired easily and sore quickly...but I did have body parts removed so that's to be expected. 

I think it's going to really settle in when my period comes and goes with no actual period. 

I go in later this week for my 2 week followup. He'll probably be checking the few internal stitches I have and making sure my external incisions have healed well. 

Along with that, July brings another Camp Nanowrimo. This camp I'll be working on revising my 2014 Nano project "Dream Harvest." 

I hate revisions, but it's necessary. I have a checklist so that makes it easier. 

I'm also running two discussions on my Facebook page each week. One for "Pretty Little Liars" and the other for "Under The Dome." That doesn't include the weekly Book Chat event that I also host. 

Did I mention it's JULY IN ARIZONA?! That means heat. Lots and lots of heat. 

Like, over 100 most days. Usually up close to 110. Which is awful because generally: 

So now you're caught up!

As of writing this post, I'm having surgery in roughly 2 days. Hysterectomy! Basically, I'm keeping my ovaries but everything else gets to go. 

I'm excited. 

Seriously. No more pain. No more periods...EVER. It's all worth it in the end. 

So I did what, apparently, a lot of women do in this situation...

I threw a party! 

I went with a medical theme and invited all of my friends. Check it out! 

For these I bought plain gelatin and dye free drink mix (Walmart makes some) in grape flavor. I made up the drink mix like instructed and then used it as my liquid to make jello. The result is a nearly clear base that really looks like agar (the clear stuff in specimen plates) 

The helixes are Twizzlers! I grabbed a package of the "4th of July" ones and cut each in half and then CAREFULLY (because they snap) pulled the colors apart. 

I bought the dishes from Amazon! I made up the helixes in the lids and put them in the freezer to set while the jello set up. After the jello was firmed, I set the helix candy on top and put the lid on and taped it shut. Boom. Helix Jello Snacks.

My husband came up with this one. He called it a Kidney Punch. It's literally just tequila with a teeny splash of grenadine. 

It looks like blood in urine. Get it? Kidney Punch! He's so creative. 

The test tubes were also purchased on Amazon. These are plastic and came with lids but there are glass available as well. 

In the back you can see the test tubes and rack (also from Amazon). The Helix Snacks are in the corner and the rest are lemon jello shots made with Absolute Citron. 

Lemon Jello...yellow in small containers....yes, pee themed again. Sue me. 

The food was pretty basic. We did a large variation of chips and I made two different dips in the crockpot. 

I love food you can literally dump in a crockpot and just stir from time to time. I doubled the cheeseburger dip and it was devoured by party goers! 

I also had games out!

We also had out our dice games, "Zombie Dice" and "Chupacabra." Pandemic was the most popular. 

And you can see we had latex gloves and face masks to wear if anyone wanted. 

The night ended with a few rounds of Smash Bros and one final game of Pandemic before the house emptied out around 1am. 

It. Was. Awesome. 

I really needed a night to forget the anxiety of my upcoming procedure and this was perfect. 

One of my really good friends introduced me to the Housecleaning Game a few years ago. 

There was a group of us that would play together but our lives all changed and we couldn't sync up our schedules. 

Annnd then I moved and now I'm exhausted or in pain too often to hardcore clean anymore. 

But, I wanted to share the game with you! 

First step is to gather your friends! 

This is actually the most difficult step because who wants to play a game that involves cleaning? 

We used to play in Facebook chat but you can do a regular Facebook thread or other online chat. 

Next step is to make a list of 10 things you need to accomplish. Put "rest" in one of those slots at random. The rest can be as specific or vague as you like. 
Example: You can put "Kitchen" three times OR "Sink, Oven, Counters" instead. 

Write 1-10 on slips of paper and fold and place in a bowl/hat. 

Now everyone sets a timer for 10 minutes. There are free places online, Google itself does it, most cell phones have a timer app, and your microwave/oven usually has one too. 

Ready. Set. Draw a number out and announce it to your group. Now click the timer and go accomplish your task! 

When your timer goes off you find a stopping point and step back. Go back to your chat and just TALK for 5 minutes. Draw another number during this time. You can talk about your previous task, your future task, the weather, etc... Just don't CLEAN in that moment. 

After 5 minutes you repeat until your items are all done! You can repeat the game with as many or as few tasks as you need. Sometimes we would play rapid games with 5 items and shorter clean/talk times. Some days it was two or more rounds of the 10.

Breaking it up into small chunks and having people to chat with in between REALLY makes the time fly by!

And knowing others are suffering along with you helps too!