all clear. sorta.

well, my sinuses are not all clear yet, but yesterday i got the "all clear" from the ENT doctor for scuba diving!

see, when i did my first classes, i discovered this problem where i can't NOT inhale through my nose if it's not covered or pinched. i was never the swimming type, and while i can swim well enough to save myself, i spent 27 years of my life holding my nose when i went underwater. also, when i was younger, an ENT doc told my mom i had some problems with my palette, so i wasn't sure if that was keeping me from being able to hold water out of my nose. so, i went to the ENT doc yesterday to have everything checked out.

2 hours and $35 later, i left with the following information: there's nothing wrong with my anatomy, and neither the ENT doc nor the speech therapist had any suggestions for how i could teach myself to hold water out of my nose.

before i went i wasn't sure if i wanted him to tell me there was something wrong with me (so i wouldn't feel so dumb, but then i wouldn't have been able to scuba dive either), or that i was fine and just had never learned that skill (which would mean i was kinda dumb since everyone else in the world can do it, but that i can indeed continue to pursue scuba certification). once i got the "diagnosis" (or lack thereof), i was relieved and determined. there's something about knowing that there's no reason you can't do something that sort of frees you up to do it. maybe that's just me.

anyway, so it was back to bryan's original suggestion: practice makes perfect. so i went home, filled up the bathtub, pulled out the snorkel, and stuck my face in the water. and wouldn't ya know, it was a lot easier this time than it was the last time i practiced when i thought perhaps there was something that was preventing me from being able to do it.

so, friday bryan and i head to lake rawlings scuba park for me to complete my open water dives on friday and saturday! hopefully my sinuses will be cleared up by then because you're not supposed to dive when you're sick. keeping my fingers crossed...

in other news, on sunday we went and selected the style of tuxes for the guys at men's wearhouse, registered for more things at target, and finally watched the season finale of LOST (what an AWESOME show). and my invitations came in yesterday! now i just gotta go get 'em! 109 days 'til wedding day!