Nicole Tasker Woods

This year we had our first Halloween at 438 Appleton.

The largest mass shooting in US history occurred today in Las Vegas and I’m angry.  Afraid.  Worried.  Sad.

It’s clear that no where in the world is safe because there are billions of people on this planet and every one of them is different.  Some have mental issues and a strange desire to end someone else’s life.  I don’t know why.  Nor do I know how to change their minds.  Hearing the stories from people who attended the country music festival where the incident occurred.  I suppose it’s not fair to call it an incident.  It was murder.  Heartbreaking.  Terrible.

It’s hard to imagine how this could have been prevented unless guns were eliminated from the equation.  Why does someone need that many guns unless they are in law enforcement?  On an episode of Ozark, I saw a young man purchase a gun for an underage kid.  He did it within 5 minutes time and was even guided by the sales person to check the box that said he was purchasing the gun for himself, not behalf of anyone else.  I’m 100% positive that this is indicative of what occurs in sporting goods stores that sell guns over the counter.  Unbelievable.  There has to be a check and balance.  There has to be a restriction.  Melt the guns down and get rid of them already.

I have had a mole above my lip all my life. Ever since I was little, I remembered having it. It stared out quite small, looked like a small brown freckle. As I got older, it grew bigger and more pronounced. However, I never really thought anything of it until about 2 years ago when I realized it started to encroach upon my lip line. If it grew this big, would it grow even bigger and take over my mouth?! I went to the dermatologist and they shaved it off. I thought that was the best solution at the time. The healing process was tough because I had a 1/4″ scar above my lip and I tried so hard to hide it with make-up. When the scar finally healed, it was a spot above my lip, the same 1/4″ in size and it was very pale. It never tanned at the same level of the rest of my face, but I was OK with that.

Fast forward to October 2016 and this spot has yielded the mole and it has grown back bigger than before. However, it no longer had its original brown color, so again, I was OK with that. However, what if it got bigger?!

I was faced with the same dilemma and decided to seek out a plastic surgeon to have it surgically removed by a professional. I found a doctor I really liked, who had a great reputation and specialized in reconstructive plastic surgery. She had an impressive history with fixing cleft pallets so I knew my lips were in good hands to say the least!

Friday, December 23 was the day of my procedure and it was more painful than I imagined. The numbing process was quite unpleasant and then I had to lay still for an hour while she cut a chunk of flesh out of my lip (which according to Ryan was HUGE) and then stitch me back up, matching my lip line. I’m happy to say that 3 days after the procedure, it looks really good. There is no trace of the mole. When I get the stitches removed in 2 days, the scar will be minimal.

I’m so glad I decided to go through with it.

Home repairs suck! What also sucks is my dad living so far away he can’t just run over and fix it, whatever it is. Dryer won’t turn on, kitchen sink won’t drain. I can’t wait to see what breaks next!

The best part of being a homeowner is not wanting to call anyone because you don’t want to spend the money. So you try wicked hard to fix it. The dryer has so few moving parts that it didn’t take long before I just sucked it up and called someone to repair it.

But the sink not draining properly was different. With some drain-o, a plunger and the dispose-all running non-stop, we thought we had conquered the drain last night. Alas, we were wrong. This morning I was washing my hands in the sink and realized the water was not draining like it was supposed to (or like Ryan said it was last night after he ‘fixed’ it). I thought I’d give the plunger a go, after all, Ryan doesn’t really know how to properly use that piece of equipment. After two swift plunges and a nasty splash of sink water in my face I stepped away from the sink and picked up my phone.

While Aidan has a sleepover at Grammy & Pop’s house, Ryan is taking me out for my birthday dinner to Ruth’s Chris. We are meeting up with JenJen and her boyfriend Rami. The older I get, the more I just want a night out with people I love. Some time off from being a mom. A good steak and a glass (or bottle) of wine. And dessert of course.

Gifts are nice, don’t get me wrong. Please do not return anything that you may have already bought for me! But I feel like I have everything in life that I really need. Now I just want to make some memories.

It’s the big 3-4 this year. When I turned 31, I had to start doing the math. I guess it stopped being important how old I was. When I was younger and my parents were in their 30’s, I thought that 35 was SO old. I still think my folks are 35. It just feels like the right age for them to be. I’m sure the appreciate it, but now that I’m in my mid-30’s I feel old and I wonder, how old are my parents?!

Merry Christmas party people! It’s that time of year again!  Pop has delivered his wish list & I have included some much needed commentary as well as some links to make the shopping easier…

• Amplifier (and 6 banana plugs)
  • Not sure wtf this is or does.
• Oakleys
  • Something that will not make his pin head look smaller than it already is.

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First USC tailgate! U-S-C! U-S-C! U-S-C!