Chazen Museum of Art, Winter Trip Pt. 2, Madison, WI

This is everything I took in besides the special exhibit in Part 1. Enjoy.

Now that I have some feel for the place, I didn't really need to spend too much time there. I could easily find the special exhibit, then hit up some areas I hadn't seen my first trip. It was only about 45-60 minutes worth of time, and way cool to see everything there, some for the first time.

Didn't see the artists info near this table display, but it's probably not too far away.

Chazen Museum of Art, Winter Trip Pt. 1, Madison, WI

The special exhibit this trip was an Aboriginal display of their modern art, from various regions/tribes in Australia. I thought it was very interesting and more than worth the price of admission (free to enter, donations accepted throughout).

I learned a lot.

I thought the sheer diversity of styles, art and methods was pretty interesting. Plus, the colors. I believe they are getting much of their supplies for their surroundings... but perhaps now they use traditional paints and such. Also, I would say, you cannot get the detail (pointillism-esque) of these images from my pics. Even in person I had to walk up close to some of the pieces to see how they were painted/done.

Quote of the Day

Sarah Bloom: You said, "Nothing in life will call upon us to be more courageous than facing the fact that it ends. But on the other side of heartbreak is wisdom."

From the movie, Wish I Was Here, 2014

Early Bird Cafe & Bob's Donuts, Omaha, NE

I've heard from at least a few Omaha natives that these two storefronts now represent the best brunch spot in town, i.e. not to be taken lightly. The spots are located in an older neighborhood, but with some new-age gentrification going on. Think boutiques, custom ice cream, drinks, and many eateries.

Perhaps the best part, of at least this trip, is that these two establishments are connected on the inside. When the temps are in the single digits, you can easily walk back and forth b/w the two joints. It helped that day, for sure.

Early Bird
Seriously fun menu for this brunch/lunch-only spot. Good service, interesting layout and decor, and a very creative & tasty food mix.

These unique circular booths hold a bunch of people and were fun to see too.

Basically an "Egg in the Hat" French Toast. Was eaten very fast.

Their version of "Avocado Toast". I think I would have appreciated a couple tweaks - a nice avocado spread on the toast and a poached egg.

Bob's Donuts
Wow, just wow. Amazing looking product, tastes as good too... and all we took home were a couple Chocolate Glazed - they were that good.

If you live in the area or are heading through on I-80, definitely stop in. You can go full brunch or just grab coffee and a sugar puck.

This was taken in the pass-through to both places. That might be myself and a niece.

Think Dirty (App)

I don't recommend many products or apps, but after reading "Whats Gotten Into Us" and speaking with others, it seemed like trying the Think Dirty app would be pretty simple. From their welcome email:

"Let's start out by turning your attention towards the following dirty thoughts:

Currently there are 80,000 synthetic chemicals that are not fully tested (Source: Natural Resource Defense Council) 

In US, cosmetic industry's panel has reviewed just 11 percent of the 10,500 cosmetic ingredients cataloged by FDA (FDA 2000)

Only 11 Chemicals are banned in US.

Canada has a guideline for just over 650 and The European Union Health Commission has restricted over 1,300 chemicals.

There is outdated government regulations when it comes to cosmetics, that hasn't been updated since 1930.

Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013 finally introduced and awaiting for voting. But there's no pre-market approval requirement for cosmetics to be on sale in US and Canadian markets.

No legal definitions of "Natural" and Organic.

Laws are not required to regulate the use of words like "Natural" and "Organic" on cosmetics and personal care products.

Fragrances are considered trade-secret

Manufacturers are not required to disclose specific fragrance ingredients on the product label. Instead, the generic term parfum is listed, representing a mixture of potentially dozens of chemicals.

Ick, right? But don't panic! Now that you have the Think Dirty app, you can scan products – from face wash to shampoo to makeup — and find out what's really inside. The Think Dirty app helps you choose products that won't sacrifice your health for the sake of beauty.

Also, come check out our website at thinkdirtyapp.com. There, you can get the latest news, read more about the effects of ingredients in the products you use every day, or even ask us a question about personal care products.

As a thank you enjoy $10 OFF with this promo code: WELCOME10 for your next purchase at our clean beautique™. We curated a monthly box of rated clean beauty brands to make it easy for you!

Get ready to start scanning!

Think Dirty, Shop Clean."

Important stuff that apparently we have to monitor for ourselves. 

Sinus Surgery, Madison Surgical Center, Madison, WI

This was a real fun one... great way to end the year, right? After numerous sinus infections in the last year (never any before), it was time to have my sinuses fixed or as I think most people call it - "roto-rooted". Kind of like an early Christmas present to myself, through my insurance... or something.

First off, let me say that anything a consumer/patient has to do for insurance "pre-authorization" is malarkey. What a waste of time, effort and worry. In this instance, I hadn't received approval for the surgery until the day before I went under. Thank you medical and insurance companies for the extra worry, nice doing business with you.

Now, as we discussed recently regarding my hip surgery, I don't really get too wigged out going in for outpatient surgery (especially for something as "easy" as sinus stuff - Maybe I should write a book of tips for the hospital?). It's like I get to work on my stand-up act (that's never performed) with a new person every 5 minutes or so. I wasn't too worried about this one, and thought the results & removal of sinus infections, would be well-worth the temporary pain. A different sister came up from IL to help me get home from the procedure (thanks BIG, V! I don't think I called you out on social media - my bad - HUGE help... no, I'm not calling her "Big V" either).

[new footies for my collection - not really]

In a nutshell, you get your own private "surgical suite" to get ready in before this surgery. You have to take a series of Affrin in the nose to open 'er up for surgery. It went fine, took about 50 minutes, and then it wasn't too long until they wheeled me back, awake (seems like you get onto the table awake now-a-days). The staff here at MSC was pretty pro, save for maybe the woman that put my IV in. Whatever she decided to do, it left my left hand with a large bruise and sore for days after. Shout-out to the main nurse, Ana, she was great.

Once out of the drug induced sleepy-time, I felt pretty decent (though possibly too loopy to really comment), save for the pain pressure in the nose area. Luckily, I got a "free" ice pack just for my eyes and nose. Amen.

I headed home soon after, had a calzone and watched TV (Thank you FreeForm network). The next day was a bit more stressful, not only did the sister duck out (who wants to sit around with a lump?), the nose started to feel like it was burning inside. I suspect from all the "enhancements" to my nasal passageways. Only one way to put out a nasal fire, sterile saline solution. Tons of it, all the time. It helped, some.

I had a couple Norco to take the edge off on Saturday, and by Sunday, though not sleeping or breathing well, I didn't feel too bad. Over the next couple days it got better. I really wanted to packing out by Tuesday (3.5 days after) and even went in early to do so.

So, when I went in, we went over my CT scans, results and one or two minor issues. He had almost all my questions answered through his normal post-op info.

Since he had not used normal packing material, but used dis-solvable packing, due to a feature of my sinuses, all that was left was to suck out the dis-solvable packing. I mean, "evacuate". Sign me up, I was way ready. In a few moments and about 6 sneezes later, I could smell, taste, and breathe again. It was glorious.

[up my nose with a metal "hose"]

I should feel even better in the next two weeks or so, after using a netty pot daily. In 3 months, I should be totally healed.

If you've been having issues with your sinuses (multiple infections each year), I'd whole-hardheartedly recommend this procedure. Dr. David Upton was very professional as was Madison Surgical Center. Of course, I'm sure there's somebody in your hood to do these too. My other suggestion for this surgery (and LASIK) would be to schedule it for the spring or summer. The natural humidity in the air will help healing.

Last shout-out  - to the brave soul in NC that had this earlier in the year and was a big help in allaying my (many) concerns. Thanks!

Blog Note: this is blog post #1001. Not too shabby after 7 years.